《I Will Touch the Skies – A Pokemon Fanfiction》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 ¡°And would you look at that! Weavile has gone down! Craig Goodwill¡¯s Smence haspletely swept Petra Dixon¡¯s team with barely any difficulty! What a testament of his skill as a Pokemon trainer!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right about that, Doug. Goodwill¡¯s Smance was good enough to overpower Dixon¡¯s ice and fairy types. With this victory, he continues his undefeated streak at the Sunyshore tournament. I think Craig will be the one to watch during this year¡¯s conference at Fall¡¯s End.¡± ¡°For sure. That Smence and Typhlosion are a deadlybination, and we haven¡¯t even seen the rest of Goodwill¡¯s team! Now, for the next match, we have Ellis Bahl all the way from Heahea city in Al against Peter Newman from Pastoria right after thismercial break. Stay tuned!¡± I groaned, hitting my head against the couch. This tournament was the only good thing on T.V., and theyhadto have ads in between every battle, even when said battlested five minutes. ¡°Prrrii!¡± My Togepi squealed in my arms. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m just bored,¡± I said, petting her head. August was fast approaching, and that meant that soon, thousands of trainers would sign up to Sinnoh¡¯s league circuit again, like every other year. What that meant, however, was that unlike every other time of the year, there was a serious lull in battle content on television. Most tournament organizers wanted to wait for trainers to be traveling to start up again, and gyms were closed. And so here I was, watching the only tournament on T.V. today, where some guy that was clearly way better than everybody else was crushing thepetition. He was probably on a power trip. Props to him for having raised a Smence, though. I wouldn¡¯t be able to be anywherenearthose things. As I turned my brain off watching some advertisement about Ultra Balls, I heard our apartment door open. ¡°Toge! Prrrri!¡± Togepi said, squirming out of my arms. She jumped off the couch and ran toward the door. Weren¡¯t you almost asleep just a second ago?I thought with a silent chuckle. A balding man came into the living room and dropped three paper bags on the table. ¡°Wee back, dad. Not too busy out?¡± I asked. ¡°Nah, it was fine. You know Jubilife, people are out with their families enjoying the break¡ªOh, hello little princess!¡± Dad eximed, picking up Togepi. He spun her in the air and blew a bunch of kisses at her. ¡°Dad, stop babying her. Plus, you just look silly,¡± I sighed. I stood up and made my way to them. ¡°What d¡¯you get?¡± I rustled through the paper bags and saw some juice, berries, food, and¡ª ¡°Yes!¡± I screamed. ¡°Chocte cake! Gimmie some!¡± Dadid Togepi back down and snatched the bag away from me. ¡°Nuh-uh, that¡¯s for after dinner tonight. I¡¯ll put it in the fridge.¡± We talked about our day while Togepi was simply content to listen in, and after he finished putting away all the food, weid down together on the couch. ¡°To! Toge!¡± Togepi said. It took him a while to understand, but dad let her go, and she snuggled up against me. ¡°Watching the Sunyshore tournament, eh?¡± Dad grinned. ¡°Not this again, please,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°Stop trying to¡ª¡± ¡°Make you sign up for the circuit, yes,¡± Dad interrupted. ¡°Sorry, Grace.¡± We had gone through this before. I had turned fifteen this year, which was the age every kid dreamed of reaching all over Sinnoh because that was when they were allowed to go out into the world and start traveling, challenging the gyms. It was every child¡¯s dream to get their eight badges, win the conference and then go on to beat the elite four and the champion. And yet I had never been interested in all of that. Sure, watching battles was fun and all, and it would have been a lie to say that I hadn¡¯t daydreamed about doing it, or theory crafted about which Gym Leader was the strongest at school or whatever. Normal kid stuff. But when I looked at Togepi, and I imagined her being hurt, or even worse¡­ it sent shivers down my spine. I couldn''t imagine actually sending a Pokemon you owned and loved out to fight like that. ¡°Prrrri?¡± Togepi looked up at me, like she sensed something was wrong. I scratched one of her crown ¡°spikes¡±, which were actually quite soft, and she smiled. Cute, I thought. Dad had gotten me Togepi for my fourteenth birthday¡ª well, it would be more urate to say that he won an eggpletely by ident at a lottery and gave it to me. He had been after the pokedors, but he ended up being pretty happy with his win. His n was to get me to train her as my starter for when I went on the league circuit. Even back then, battling hadn¡¯t really interested me that much, but when she hatched, and I looked into her eyes¡­ all of my interest in the field evaporated. ¡®Twas still fun to watch, though. ¡°You know, I was going to ask you something,¡± Dad started after lowering the sound of the T.V. ¡°Can¡¯t it wait? Come on, I want to hear thementators speak,¡± I saidzily. ¡°Just hear me out for a sec, alright? I already know you won¡¯t like this.¡± I pouted yfully. ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious, Grace. I¡¯m going to be really busy with work for the next week. We¡¯re pushing for a new version of the Poketch to be out by the holidays, and the crunch isreal,¡± He said. I nodded. Dad worked at the Poketchpany, and they made a new version of the device every two years or so and sold it at full price, even though they barely added anything to the new model. Supposedly though, this one was the real deal. ¡°But I was also supposed to deliver some vitamins to your mom¡¯s Herdier. He¡¯s getting old, and he needs these to stay healthy. I really can¡¯t afford to be traveling right now or my boss will fuckingkillme,¡± Dad said, with a sh of fear appearing on his face. ¡°So? Just get it delivered or something,¡± I said, letting a little bit of panic slip in my tone. ¡°Or get mom to buy the vitaminsinTwinleaf. This has nothing to do with me.¡± ¡°Twinleaf is a small town, Grace. There¡¯s no inte there, no delivery services, and no Pokemart or Center. You¡¯ve got to do this. I know you and your mother aren¡¯t on the best terms, but you don¡¯t have to stay. Just pop in, say hello, make some small talk, give her the vitamins and go.¡± ¡°And how do you expect me togetthere? Togepi¡¯s anindoorPokemon! I¡¯ll need her to protect me, but what if she gets snatched by a Staravia or something?!¡± I screamed. Togepi flinched at my sudden outburst and began to whine. ¡°Damn it! You made her cry!¡± I hissed at him. ¡°I¡¯ll be in my room trying to calm her down. In the meantime, let me know how you expect me to get throughtworoutes with her withoutdying!¡± I grabbed Togepi, ran to my room, and mmed the door. I ced her on my bed and began pacing. ¡°I hate him!I hate him, I hate him, I absolutely hate him!¡± I muttered. ¡°Stupid dad and his stupid vitamins!¡± I jumped into my bed, screamed into my pillow, and kicked repeatedly. I felt two stubby arms touch my hair. Togepi was petting me, just like I always pet her when she was sad. I teared up and hugged her. ¡°I love you, Togepi.¡± I spent the next few hours on my Poketch¡ª that I had gotten for free thanks to my dad¡¯s work¡ª browsing the inte for information about the uing circuit. I always followed a few trainers during their journey and rooted for them through the screen. Apparently some hotshot from Unova had just flown into Jubilife to prepare for the circuit. Her name was Cecilia Obel, and her brother, Mark Obel, was Unova¡¯s newest champion. There was a picture of her posted to the Circuit forums. It was blurry because it had been taken by the press while she was walking toward a taxi right out of the airport, but it was the best we had. She had beautiful brown skin and dark hair tied into a ponytail. ¡°She¡¯s just some carpetbagger hoping to ride her brother¡¯s coattails,¡±One of thements said. ¡°I heard she¡¯s been training since she was five years old to be a trainer. Plus, her family¡¯s rich, so she¡¯ll have all the potions, vitamins, and top-tier food to keep her team healthy. I wouldn¡¯t underestimate her.¡±Someone replied. ¡°Oh yeah? Well I already signed up to the Circuit, so I¡¯m bound to run into her eventually. My Bidoof and I will destroy her and send her running back to Unova,¡±The firstmenter said. My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. ABidoof?! Talk about being confident. Anyway, I ignored thements, but bookmarked the page. She¡¯d be interesting to follow, even though ¡®carpetbaggers¡¯, or people who flew in from other regions to join another League Circuit, were frowned upon. I spent a few more minutes scrolling for interesting trainers before hearing a soft knock on my door. ¡°Don¡¯te in!¡± I said. To my dismay, dad opened the door anyway and sat down at the foot of my bed. ¡°I said not toe in,¡± I muttered before turning away from him. Togepi had woken up again and began trying to climb his back. ¡°Listen, kiddo¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°Whenever you use kiddo, you usually just want to appear rtable to me so I forgive you,¡± I said quietly. Dadughed softly. ¡°You¡¯re right on the money. But seriously, listen. I know I¡¯m asking a lot out of you, but you gotta understand that if I had any other way, I¡¯d let you stay here. You know that, right?¡± I didn¡¯t answer. ¡°It won¡¯t take too long. A week and a half at most for the round trip. Route 202 and 201 are really short,¡± He said. ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°And the Pokemon there tend to be really weak and rtively peaceful, especially next to Twinleaf. I¡¯d say it¡¯s a good opportunity to get Togepi to toughen up a little bit, right? You¡¯re the one who always tells me to stop treating her like a baby,¡± He continued. ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°And it¡¯d be nice for you and your mom to reconnect. I haven¡¯t forgiven her, you know. It¡¯s not like we talk every day. I¡¯m still pissed she took our Herdier!¡± He said. ¡°But I also know how depressed she¡¯s been ever since she moved back in with her parents. You haven¡¯t been answering her calls. I¡ª I want you toknowyour mother, Grace.¡± ¡°I already know her. She¡¯s a bitch.¡± ¡°Language, youngdy!Anyway, the point I¡¯m trying to make is that I¡¯m sorry, but I think that long term, this will do you a lot of good,¡± He said, caressing my shoulder. ¡°Nowe on. Gimmie a hug.¡± He spread his arms and looked at me with Lilipup eyes. I tried rebuking him for a few seconds, but I ended up embracing him. ¡°I love you, dad,¡± I said. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry for saying I hate you, I know you heard that. I don¡¯t actually hate you.¡± He held me tightly ¡°I know you don¡¯t. Every teenager is entitled to saying they hate their parents at leastonce.¡± ¡°Prrrri!¡± Togepi cheered. ¡°Aww, aren¡¯t you a sweet one,¡± Dad said, petting her shell. ¡°Look, she¡¯s happy we made up!¡± I smiled. ¡°So when do I have to leave?¡± ¡°Uh, in two days would be ideal. You have time to prepare and buy some supplies, I¡¯ll give you some money for potions. I¡¯m getting a big bonus when this damn Poketch is released.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s do it then. I hope you¡¯re ready for this, princess.¡± ¡°Toge?¡± The little Pokemon looked at me and tilted her head. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2 The next day Jubilife had a bunch of Pokemon Centers and Marts. It was, after all, the biggest city in Sinnoh, home to millions of people. Where the city really shone, however, was the Pokemon Mall. It was a government-owned facility with stores as far as the eye could see. If you wanted anythingrted to Pokemon¡ª potions, stones, TMs, grooming, trading¡ª you¡¯d find it in the mall. I, however, was only here for supplies. I had already wrangled my dad into giving me enough food tost the entire trip and then some, mostly in the form of gran bars. He had also bought me camping supplies, a lighter, a small axe and spade, and a book called ¡®A trainer¡¯s first guide¡¯. So right now, I was only there for Togepi. She was in her Pokeball right now, since she wasn¡¯t used to being next to so many people at the same time. The mall was bustling right now with people and Pokemon, but it¡¯d be packed to the brim in a few weeks when the Circuit would actually be about to start. I made my way through the facility with a specific store in mind: the general items store, where a trainer could find the mostmon, cheaper items. I wasn¡¯t here for the best, I was here for what was necessary, so I wasn¡¯t about to buy a bunch of hyper potions. Although IwishI could have. I stepped into the quiet store and inhaled loudly. I loved the smell¡ª it was a particrly perfumy smell, probably what they used to clean the store during the night. I made my way to the potion aisle and grabbed five potions. 300 pokedors each. Ouch. I bought a few antidotes too, because from what I had looked up, the routes I was going to go through had some bug types as well, although way fewer than Eterna Forest. I slowly shuffled toward the queue when something caught my eye. The Pokeball aisle. I wasn¡¯t nning on catching anything. But¡­ what if, right? I grabbed five Pokeballs and shoved them into my basket.You never know when you¡¯re going to run into a legendary. It¡¯d be real silly not to have any Pokeballs.I joked to myself. The woman working at the checkout had dyed purple hair and looked really tired, with deep bags under her eyes. I quietly ced my items on the counter and let her scan them. ¡°That¡¯ll be 2,800 Pokedors, please,¡± She said. Cursing at myself for not having gotten the money out beforehand, I fumbled through my bag and gave her the cash. ¡°Thank you for shopping at the Pokemon mall, have a¡ª¡± ¡°Um, wait, sorry!¡± I said. The woman looked at me like I had just murdered her firstborn child. ¡°I had a question regarding repels! I, uh, was wondering if they would work if I was traveling from here to Twinleaf?¡± She gestured at the person next in line. ¡°It depends. Most of the time, it¡¯ll just annoy the wild Pokemon, but it won¡¯t actually deter them from attacking you. Hell, sometimes it¡¯ll evenmakethem attack you. They¡¯re mostly only useful if you already have a strong Pokemon at your side when traveling. Twice the deterrence.¡± I bowed my head. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Thank you for shopping at the Pokemon mall, have a great rest of your day,¡± She said to someone who had just paid. She then turned to me and smiled. ¡°Good luck out there, and good luck on the circuit. It was the best time of my life, although I only got to two gym badges.¡± I¡¯m not even signing up for the circuit, I thought, but I just decided to be polite and say thank you. Two gym badgeswasimpressive, though. Every year, after every League Circuit, there¡¯d be stats that came out about the percentage of trainers that got to what number of gym badges. Usually, half couldn¡¯t even get past the first gym. There would be all these tips online about which gym battle was the easiest one to tackle first, and most people agreed on Oreburgh because of the many weaknesses of rock type Pokemon, but most of the time, people would try their hands at the gym the closest to them instead of traveling for weeks with no progress. Probably had something to do with the time pressure and all of that. I quickly got back home and let Togepi out of her ball. She chirped, shook her entire body, and then smiled as she saw me. I leaned down and caressed her cute little cheeks. ¡°Hey, princess,¡± I said. ¡°Got some bad news for you.¡± She tilted her head in confusion. She was only a few months old and still had difficulties understanding everything I said. ¡°We¡¯re going to go on an adventure, you and I. Well, I call it an adventure, but it¡¯s gonna suck. We¡¯ll be living in the wild for a week and a half and sleeping on the cold, hard, ground. Well, I¡¯m exaggerating, dad¡¯s going to bring a sleeping bag tonight, haha¡­¡± ¡°Toge! Togepi!¡± Togepi eximed. ¡°Are you telling me not to worry?¡± I guessed. There was no way to truly know what a Pokemon was saying, but a good trainer would usually be able to tell with tone and bodynguage. Not that I was a good trainer, I had just spent thest few months of my life locked inside with this adorable little thing. ¡°That¡¯s sweet. But, uh, yeah, it¡¯ll be dangerous. Nottoodangerous, but traveling always has some degree of danger. So I want to make sure that we¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Prrrri?¡± She asked. ¡°So I want to try out some of your moves and stuff. You know, just to get you into shape. I need to make sure we¡¯re on the same page with verbalmands and stuff like that, you feel me?¡± The Pokemon nodded hesitantly. ¡°Great! So, uh, there are battle arenas in the city for this stuff, but¡­¡± I started twiddling my thumbs. ¡°I was too embarrassed to go. I mean you have all these kids tryharding for the Circuit, I¡¯d just get destroyed!¡± ¡°Toge¡­¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault! It¡¯spletely on me! Well, anyway, let¡¯s see what you can do,¡± I said as I got up. I tapped my feet and thought for a moment.It¡¯d be great if I had a Pokedex for this, but you only get one if you sign up for the Circuit.Pokedexes allowed you to see the moves a Pokemon knew, so I¡¯d be able to know if Togepi had any hidden moves I had never discovered. Right now, all I knew was that she had Pound, Rollout, Sweet kiss, and Growl. Pound, I had discovered pretty quickly when she saw dad and I argue for the first time. Togepi believed that the first person or Pokemon they set their eyes on when they hatched was their mother, so essentially, she thought dad was about to hurt her mom. In reality, I had just lied to my dad about stealing a little bit of his money and he had found out. Togepi ended up hitting him with her stubby little arm, which knocked him on his ass. Scary in the moment to see this tiny baby hurt a human, but funny to look back on. Plus, he basically loved her more than me now. Growl was¡­ well, growl. It was a move almost every Pokemon was capable of learning, and it could trip up an opponent enough to make its attack slightly off or weaker. It usually only worked on weaker Pokemon though. For Sweet Kiss, Togepi had used it on another male Togepi we saw at a Pokemon Center when we brought her in for a check-in when she was a little bit sick. That trainer was practically about to tear my arm off before dad intervened after he came back from the bathroom. And for rollout, that move was more of a theory. Sometimes, Togepi would just roll into things, but thedamageit did was substantial, meaning I believed it to be a move and not some random action. I looked at a crack in the bottom of my wall and snorted. Still just a theory, though. Reminiscing about these events made me nostalgic for some reason. I grabbed Togepi and raised her into the air, and she chirped happily at me. ¡°Let¡¯s believe in ourselves! We¡¯re gonna do it!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Togepi, use Pound, and then Rollout! Togepi¡¯s little arm shone slightly as she ran toward the empty stic bottle. She shed it and cut it in half before retreating into her shell and rolling toward one half of the bottle. It was crushed under her weight. ¡°Good job¡ª wait Togepi, stop,stop!¡± She continued rolling right into the counter and dented the old wood. ¡°Prrrri?¡± She said, tilting her head. ¡°Damn it¡­ dad¡¯s going to kill me,¡± I said, putting my face in my hands. ¡°Togepi, when I say stop, you need tostop, understand?¡± ¡°Togepi!¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that, but you keepnotstopping!¡± I said. ¡°Man, the counter issofucked. Damn it. Is it the momentum maybe?¡± ¡°Toge?¡± She said with a confused look on her face. ¡°Like, when you¡¯re using rollout, maybe you can¡¯t stop until you run into something?¡± ¡°Prrrri!¡± The Pokemon nodded happily. I punched my palm as my eyes widened. That wasprogress! ¡°Alright Togepi, let¡¯s try this again. You¡¯ve got pound down pretty well, but we need to work on your rollout. Try to stop as soon as you hit your target alright?¡± I said, grabbing another stic bottle from the recycling bin. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Togepi, stop!¡± I screamed as I winced, expecting her to hit another wall. Togepi slowed down and clumsily ended up on her back. She struggled to stand back up, taking a few seconds, but she hadstopped! ¡°Yes! Yes, yes, let¡¯s go!You did it, princess! I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± I said, grabbing her and spinning her around. ¡°Prrri! Togeprrri!¡± She said, happily moving her arms. ¡°Arceus, what time is it? Is the sun already setting?¡± I asked myself. I grabbed my Poketch from my pocket and my eyes bulged at the time. It was already 5:23 pm. Dad was going to be back any second! ¡°Oh, fuck.¡± I cleaned up where I could, but it was no use. Dad always came back by at 5:30 pm at the. He walked into the house as I cleaned up some ss from the ground that Togepi had knocked down by rolling into a cab. Togepi, as usual, chirped as she ran toward my dad, oblivious to the dressing down that we were about to receive. Dad dropped his keys when he entered the kitchen. He had calmly asked me to go back to my room to wait for him to finish cleaning up. That was bad. Calm dad wasreallymad. Twenty minutester, give or take, dad entered my room and crossed his arms. He stood at the entrance, blocking the door. ¡°Grace¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, dad! I just got carried away and, uh, I wanted to train Togepi for our journey. It turns out that it was really fun and I¡ª I¡¯m sorry,¡± I finished weakly. ¡°Grace, I¡¯m not angry at you because you wanted to train. In fact, I¡¯mproudof you for taking this seriously. I just don¡¯t understandwhyyou had to do it here. There are public arenas for this very purpose!¡± He said, finally raising his voice. ¡°Pokemon gyms, new trainers looking to battle, everything!Now I have to deal with thisandwork,¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I just said. Togepi seemingly imitated me and gave a sad chirp. ¡°Look, you¡¯re leaving tomorrow and I don¡¯t want this argument to be on your mind when you¡¯re out there, so I¡¯ll just let it go. Butpromiseme, when youe back and if you happen to want to train again, you¡¯ll actually use the correct facilities.¡± ¡°I will, I was just scared¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°Scared? What do you mean?¡± ¡°I was scared that I¡¯d just make a fool of myself. You have all these trainers¡ª really good trainers, even, training for the Circuit, and I¡¯m just¡­there. I¡¯m a really bad trainer with no experience and I have no idea what I¡¯m doing,¡± I vented. He took a deep breath and sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. Togepi jumped on my thighs. ¡°Grace, I thought you didn¡¯t care about training or battling?¡± He asked softly. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t. Or I think I don¡¯t. I still don¡¯t want Togepi to get hurt, but training her today¡­ it wasfun. More fun than watching some shi¡ª crappy tournament on T.V. or browsing the inte. I was actuallydoingthe real thing. But I feel that if I actually took that final step¡ª that step into the real world, then I¡¯d realize howbehindI am regarding everything Pokemon-rted. It¡¯d be like getting woken up with cold water. So if I stay home, I¡¯m safe in my little bubble. I can act like I¡¯m getting better and not justpretending.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ that¡¯s some heavy stuff, kid,¡± Dad sighed. I just nodded and hugged Togepi. ¡°Listen, I won¡¯t go into wanting to be a trainer, or signing up for the Circuit, or whatever. But, Grace, to be sessful in life, you¡¯ve got to be unafraid of failure.¡± ¡°What if the failure is really big?¡± ¡°Really big?Come on, losing your first battle is an event almost everyone goes through. Want to know how my first battle went?¡± Dad asked. ¡°Uhuh,¡± I simply said. ¡°I signed up for the Circuit as soon as I turned fifteen along with Herdier¡ª well, he was a Lillipup back then. I set off toward Oreburgh on route 203, and I was challenged by some other kid way younger than me. He looked eight, or nine, so he wasn¡¯t on the Circuit. I got cocky and underestimated him. His Budew justpletely obliterated me. I couldn¡¯t even getonehit in.¡± ¡°No way,¡± I said with a small gasp. ¡°I swear! He¡¯d just keep his distance after setting up Leech Seed, and Lillipup was too panicked to do anything. He started rolling around the ground, trying to get the nts off of him while Budew kept attacking. It was¡­ embarrassing, to say the least. But you know what I did after that?¡± ¡°You went on to win the Conference and then the League to beat the Champion?¡± I joked. He chuckled. ¡°Young me would have wanted that. But no, I went back to square one, and trained for a few weeks in Jubilife before setting off again. Of course, when I reached Oreburgh I got my ass kicked by the Gym Leader, so the story doesn¡¯t really have a great ending,¡± Dad coughed and pped his hands. ¡°But it¡¯s about your mindset, kid! You can¡¯t be just doom and gloom all the time, right? Whenever you want to get good at something, you¡¯re going to fail at some point no matter what¡ª even the most gifted, talented people fail. Get it?¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± I nodded. ¡°Thanks for the pep talk dad.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be rooting for you during your Circuit.¡± He grinned. I pushed him off me yfully. ¡°Shut up, I¡¯m not signing up for it. As soon as I get back from Twinleaf, I¡¯m never battling or training again.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. You got the bug, it¡¯s going to be impossible to get rid of now.¡± ¡°The bug?¡± I frowned. ¡°The training bug. It¡¯ll grow and grow until you only want one thing,¡± Dad paused. ¡°To be Champion,¡± I finished, as something clicked in my mind, and dad¡¯s smile grew into a wild, toothy grin. Chapter 3 Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3 I ced my hand over my forehead, shielding my eyes from the harsh summer sunlight as I stepped out of the gate to route 202. Route 202 was one of the shortest routes in the Sinnoh region, but I wasn¡¯t going to underestimate it. I retied myces as tight as I could and released Togepi from her ball. She chirped happily at me before observing the unfamiliar surroundings. ¡°Come on Grace,¡± I said, pping my cheeks. ¡°You can do this. You¡¯re a tough girl.¡± I stepped onto the road. It would continue for a few hours until nature overwhelmed it and I would only have grass to walk on. There were trainers all around me, some of them battling, and some of them just hanging out with their Pokemon. I expected the poption to lower the deeper I got into the route. Togepi pulled at my jeans and chirped sadly. ¡°Sorry, princess. You¡¯ve got to walk for now. We¡¯re building your endurance.¡± ¡°Toge¡­¡± Her sadness tugged at my heartstrings, but I managed to ignore her for now. The next hours were uneventful. It was almost anticlimactic how peaceful it was. I hadn¡¯t even gotten attacked by a wild Pokemon yet, although I had seen a bunch. I wasn¡¯t exactly expecting this to be like hiking to the top of Mount Cor, but I couldn¡¯t help but be slightly disappointed. Was there something wrong with me? Eventually, though, the vegetation began to slowly overtake the dirt road. Route 202 wasn¡¯t exactly a forest, but it wasn¡¯t exactly some grassy in either. It was something in between. I decided to take a slight break below a tree, shielding myself from sunlight. I was actually more tired than Togepi was. It¡¯d take a while to get myself into shape. Into shape for what? I asked myself. I¡¯m still not signing up for the League Circuit! ¡°Whew. That was a workout, huh?¡± I asked my Togepi. ¡°Prrri!¡± She answered. ¡°Want some water? I¡¯ve got¡ª¡± ¡°Yo. You want to battle?¡± I heard a voice toward my left. My head whirled toward the voice. It was a kid my age¡ª probably training for the Circuit. There was a small Shinx at his side. ¡°Ah¡ª Uh¡ª I mean¡ª¡± ¡°Arceus, why are you so nervous? We¡¯re all in the same boat, right? We battle, we both get better. So you¡¯re in or what?¡± He asked. ¡°Um, yeah!¡± I managed to get out. ¡°My name¡¯s Grace, by the way, haha,¡± Iughed nervously. ¡°I¡¯m Patrick. One on one?¡± ¡°Sounds good. I only have one Pokemon anyway,¡± I said. I stood up and Patrick went around fifty feet away from me. His Shinx roared¡ª which was more like a cub pretending to roar than an actual roar¡ª and steeled itself. ¡°Alright Togepi, remember our training,¡± I said as confidently as I could. I hoped she wasn¡¯t noticing my shaking legs or hands. Sweat was umting dangerously fast on my palms and my armpits. I took a few deep breaths. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll throw this rock, and when it hits the ground, we can start!¡± My opponent said. He threw a rock into the air. Time seemed to slow the closer it got to the ground. I ran through dozens of scenarios in my mind, imagining the worst. ¡°Shinx, hit ¡®em with Tackle! Then Bite!¡± Patrick¡¯s Shinx roared again and dashed toward Togepi. He was faster than her, so dodging wasn¡¯t an option. ¡°Togepi, wait¡­ keep waiting¡­ Growl!¡± I screamed. Togepi chirped louder than I¡¯d ever heard her, and Shinx flinched right before hitting her. It didn¡¯t stop it from biting her, but her shell was shielding her from most of the damage. ¡°Uh, Togepi, use Sweet Kiss! Get it away from you!¡± I yelled out. Togepi puckered her lips, and a pink heart escaped from her mouth, hitting the Shinx directly in the face. It stopped its attack and looked around confusedly. ¡°Shinx! Snap out of it! Focus on my voice!¡± Oh no, you don¡¯t, I thought. ¡°Togepi, use pound!¡± Togepi¡¯s arm turned white, and she hit the Shinx directly in the nose. It screeched in pain and snapped out of its confusion. ¡°Focus, Shinx! Use Charged Tackle!¡± The Shinx began to charge up electricity into its body. ¡°Don¡¯t let it finish its attack! Togepi, rollout!¡± Patrick¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Shinx, stop charging! Dodge!¡± Togepi¡¯s rollout was too fast and struck Shinx¡¯s hind legs. The Pokemon went flying toward his trainer. ¡°Keep going, Togepi! Keep using rollout!¡± She followed Shinx closely, hitting it again right after it fell to the ground. Shortly after that, Patrick returned Shinx to his Pokeball. ¡°I forfeit,¡± He said, after clicking his tongue. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°What? Why? The battle wasn¡¯t over,¡± I said. He approached me and reached for his backpack. I flinched, but he ced a few hundred pokedors in my hand. ¡°I don¡¯t want Shinx to be too beaten up and have to go all the way back to the Pokemon Center in Jubilife. I could tell the fight was going to end badly after you hit me with Sweet Kiss. Good battle,¡± He said, holding out his hand toward me. I shook his hand and stayed there like I had been hit by Astonish. I had¡­ won? I had won my first battle? ¡°Good luck. Maybe I¡¯ll see you again on the Circuit, Grace,¡± Patrick said before leaving. I could only muster a nod. When he left, I grabbed Togepi into a happy hug. That had been the most fun I¡¯d had in years. The rush, the adrenaline, the tension, the feeling of victory. ¡°The training bug,¡± My dad¡¯s voice echoed in my head. I was going to have to find some new trainers to fight on the way to Sandgem! ¡ª¡ª ¡°Bidoof, shake it off! Use Headbutt!¡± My opponent screamed in frustration. ¡°Togepi, use rollout! Keep going if he¡¯s still standing!¡± Togepi chirped in acquiescence and folded into a ball rolling toward the confused Bidoof. She hit it square in the face, and then again as it tumbled down a hill. The Bidoof fainted. ¡°Grrr, using Sweet Kiss is cheating!¡± The girl said. ¡°How are you even supposed to counter that?!¡± Not knowing what to say, I stayed silent as the bliss of victory washed over my body. She handed me a hundred Pokedors and left with her unconscious Bidoof in her arms. I crouched and called for Togepi, who walked back to me. She was limping slightly, which made me quickly look for a potion in panic. This was the third trainer she beat, including Patrick, and she had gotten hit multiple times. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, princess,¡± I said as I sprayed her leg with the potion. ¡°No more battling for now, I promise. I got a little too carried away.¡± Seeing her limp like that¡­ it almost made me grab her into my arms and run back to a Center, but dad had already warned me not to be too impulsive about this. After a few sprays, she seemed to be back to normal, but I couldn¡¯t afford to use too many potions. I wasn¡¯t even near halfway to Sandgem yet, where I''d be able to restock. I began carrying Togepi in my arms to give her a little break. We continued on our way, and soon enough, the road endedpletely. I opened my Poketch and looked at the map application that I had downloaded yesterday. I could either go through these woods or go around toward the left. The woods would be a bit faster¡­ but I decided on staying safe. What if I stepped on some unsuspecting Wurmple and angered an entire colony? Dustox were really dangerous and usually took care of their young, while Beautifly were more solitary until breeding season. Either way, I wasn¡¯t about to be poisoned by some bug¡ª antidotes only worked on Pokemon. I carefully stepped around the woods, dly taking the two-hour detour. However, as I jumped down a ledge and walked down the gentle slopes of route 202, I came across a Scyther and a Dustox fighting right outside of the woods. I froze. A Scyther, here? They were one of the most powerful bug Pokemon around! My head frantically turned, searching for a ce to hide. If they noticed me, Dustox would possibly run, d that I gave it the opportunity to escape being eaten, but Scyther? I looked down at my Pokemon and saw that she was just as scared as I was. I swallowed. It¡¯d be furious that I caused its meal to escape, and all of that anger would probably be refocused on me. And there was no way I was risking Togepi. The ledge was too high for me to climb back with Togepi still in my arms, and returning her to her ball would make too much noise. There was no other choice. I stepped into the woods. ¡ª¡ª Walking through some unmaintained woods wasn¡¯t like I thought it would have been. It was seen as one of the mostmon trainer experiences, yet no one exined to you how grueling it would be. Or maybe they did, and I just hadn¡¯t looked hard enough. The ground wasn¡¯t an even thing. It was a mess of fallen leaves, branches, ferns, and more than everything, it was slippery. I had fallen three times in an hour. After the first fall, I¡¯d gotten Togepi back in her ball to be able to better catch myself. It didn¡¯t help. I was bleeding from the back of my forearm after a fallen branch tore through the skin. The good news was that it wasn¡¯t hurting much and that I hadn¡¯t seen the Scyther. The bad news was that the sun was setting soon and that I¡¯d probably have to sleep in this hellhole. ¡°Shit, I should have just gone right away without battling anyone. Maybe then I¡¯d have avoided the Scyther,¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°Need to find some kind of clearing.¡± The sun''s rays turned orange-red and then disappearedpletely. It was nighttime now, and all I had for light was my Poketch. The device came with a charger, but it also charged with sr energy. Unfortunately, I now had neither, so I was on a time limit. ¡°Hissss,¡± I heard through the underbrush. I flinched, and then shined my light toward the sound. An Ekkansunched itself at me, and I fell on my back. I swore, ignoring the pain as it bit into my arm. I clicked on my Pokeball and saw a sh of red, then white as Togepi chirped in anger, hitting the snake with Pound. I scrambled backward and grabbed my little axe, waiting for the Ekkans to strike at me again. For a few seconds, there was aplete silence, only interrupted by the bustling wildlife in these woods. Then Ekkans attacked me again, and I swung the axe wildly in front of me with my eyes closed. I heard it hiss in pain as it finally decided I wasn¡¯t worth the risk and fled. ¡°Damn it!¡± I hissed, looking at my arm. I looked around for my Poketch and found it on the ground after a few seconds, covered in mud. I shone it at my arm and sighed in relief. It looked like it hadn¡¯t prated the skin anywhere to inject its venom. I leaned against a tree and sighed. All that fun from earlier had disappeared now. ¡°Toge,¡± Togepi said quietly, touching my leg. She was barely visible with how high the underbrush was. ¡°I¡¯m okay. We just have to find a spot to sleep in,¡± I lied as I returned her. I wiped my hands on the back of my jeans and kept going. I hate woods, I hate woods, I hate woods, I screamed in my head. Thirty minutester, I found a mini clearing, and by clearing, I meant a spot where it would be possible toy t on the ground. Unfortunately, it was still muddy, so my sleeping bag would get really dirty, but it was what it was. Luckily, it was still summer, so lighting a fire wasn¡¯t necessary. Sinnoh winters were known for their brutality. I snuggled up in the sleeping bag and slept, waking up every few minutes to a Pokemon cry. Tomorrow was going to suck. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4 Tomorrow sucked. I was sore all over, tired, and Togepi kept not wanting to go in her ball because she was worried about me. I was attacked a few more times by two Rattatas, a Wurmple, and even a damn Paras. Atst, however, I got out of the woods safe and sound. The next few days were paradisepared to what I had gone through in those woods. One thing was for sure, I wasn¡¯t passing through them on the way back. No more jumping ledges for me! Finally, after three days of traveling, I reached Sandgem town. It was a quaint little coastal town and the closestrge human settlement next to Jubilife. The first thing I did was get Togepi to a Center, and myself as well. Pokemon Centers had doctors specialized in treating trainers as well, although they were nowhere near as good as treating Pokemon. They washed my cuts and bandaged them up, but the cut on my arm was too deep, and they put me on antibiotics. I hated taking pills, but I¡¯d have to do it. I also put my clothes in the wash and changed into my second set of clothes, another pair of jeans with a different shirt. Pokemon Centers also had clothes they could give trainers if they were out, mostly thanks to donations. Basically, if a trainer needed something, chances are, they¡¯d find it in a Center. ¡°How¡¯s Togepi, Nurse Joy?¡± I asked a pink-haired nurse at the counter. ¡°Can I visit her?¡± She wasn¡¯t actually called Joy, and her hair was a wig, but it was a part of the Pokemon Center brand, and everybody usually yed along. ¡°Togepi will be fine, she was never a worry. You were in much worse shape than her. You¡¯ll have to be careful during your travels¡­ what¡¯s your name? I don¡¯t think we have you in our database.¡± ¡°Grace Pastel,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s my first time in Sandgem.¡± ¡°No, I mean the region-wide Pokemon Center database. Could I get your trainer ID?¡± Ah, I thought. ¡°I¡¯m not actually signed up to the League Circuit, so I don¡¯t have an ID. I hope that¡¯s fine?¡± ¡°Oh, alright. You¡¯ll have to pay for your treatment, then, if that¡¯s ok? Togepi¡¯s checkup is still free of charge. Sorry for the misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I nodded. The cost ended up being 2,100 pokedors, most of that spent on the antibiotics. Luckily I had padded my savings by beating those three trainers, so I still had a good amount left in case something else happened. I spent the next few hours walking around Sandgem, seeing the sights. It was way calmer than Jubilife, and just had a rxing vibe in general. It was nice to be away from the city like this, although the way it had happened was¡­ less than ideal. I watched a few battles at the arena close to the Pokemon Center, and one of the trainers there had a Muncx, which were notoriously hard and expensive to raise. It seemed to be well-behaved, though. Seeing people battle gave me the itch to do the same, but with Togepi still at the center, I wouldn¡¯t be able to. Plus, I wanted to give her a few days of rest, at least. Thest thing I did was head to the beach. Sandgem was a coastal fishing town, and it was also home to some tourist trainers. I hadn¡¯t brought a swimsuit, so I just got my feet wet and walked along the beautiful beach. It was true what they said. The sand shone like gems. After heading back to the center to pick up Togepi, I called dad on my Poketch. ¡°Hey dad, hope I¡¯m not interrupting your work,¡± I said. ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± He whispered. I could hear him type away on his keyboard, so I knew it was a lie. ¡°How are you, Grace? I hope the first leg of the trip wasn¡¯t too hard?¡± I stayed silent for a few seconds. ¡°Grace?¡± He said. ¡°No, it was fine,¡± I lied. ¡°Battled some trainers and some wild Pokemon. I¡¯m at the center right now picking up Togepi. Listen to this! My first battle¡­¡± I exined to dad how Togepi beat Shinx using her Sweet Kiss into Rolloutbo. ¡°She¡¯s way stronger than she looks!¡± I said. ¡°Well, I¡¯m really proud of you both. Keep it up! Have fun and live a little. There¡¯s nothing like traveling when you¡¯re young,¡± Dad whispered. ¡°And with that, I¡¯m going to hang up. Talk to youter, sweetie. Call me when you get to Twinleaf.¡± I agreed and hung up. Togepi came back a few minutester, looking healthier than she had been even back at Jubilife. I carried her in my arms as I showed her the city a little bit, but after a few more hours of fun and buying lunch at a local restaurant, I decided to have a little team meeting. ¡°So, what did we learn during our travels so far?¡± ¡°Prrri!¡± She said cheerfully. ¡°We learned that wild Pokemon were extremely dangerous and not to be trifled with. And that I should probably walk with you around when there''s a risk of being attacked by one. I''ll still recall you if it''s too dangerous, but¡ª¡± ¡°Toge, prrri!¡± Togepi disagreed. ¡°I know you only want to protect me, but I don¡¯t want you to get hurt. Anyway, route 201 should be rtively easier. There are way less bugs there and fewer forested areas. It¡¯s mostly a straight path through some grasnds. I¡¯ll keep you out of your ball for now so you can keep building up your endurance,¡± I said. ¡°Prrrri!¡± She said. ¡°Next up, we learned that trainers are actually pretty nice! Before starting this, it was them who scared me the most. Did you know that back in the day, if a trainer challenged you, you weren¡¯t allowed to refuse?¡± I asked. ¡°That honestly sounds horrible, and I¡¯m d they changed that rule.¡± Togepi nodded as we walked toward the gate. ¡°Lastly, we need to teach you more moves somehow. Right now, what we have¡ª using Sweet Kiss to trip them up and then overwhelming them with rollout¡ª it works, but when we¡­¡± ¡°Prrri?¡± I paused. When we what? I was going to get Herdier his vitamins, get back to Jubilife, and then go back to how it was before. Go back to how it was before¡­ Spending my days in bed or on the couch watching T.V., rarely doing anything apart from asionally going out with dad. Would I be okay with going back to the status quo? Traveling was horrible, but the battles? Oh, Arceus, the battles were so fun. I wanted to go to different ces and battle different trainers with different Pokemon. Maybe even¡­ Gym Leaders. ¡°Hey, Togepi, I¡¯m going to ask you something, but you¡¯ve got to promise me to only say yes if you¡¯re one hundred percent sure you agree, alright?¡± I said, picking her up. She looked at me. ¡°I think I want to sign up for the League Circuit when I get back to Jubilife. It¡¯s this whole thing where we¡¯d have to travel like now to other towns, get stronger together and battle really strong trainers called Gym Leaders.¡± Togepi continued to observe me. ¡°It¡¯ll be hard,¡± I said. ¡°I bet some moments will make what happened in those woods look like a stroll in the park. But¡­ I think I want to do it. But I¡¯ll only do it if you agree. If you say no, I¡¯ll give up on it.¡± She said nothing for a few minutes and stayed silent as we entered route 201. She was probably thinking about how to say no andy me down gently. I sighed mentally. I was probably way in over my head anyway. Just because I beat a few beginner trainers didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d be able to¡ª ¡°Prrri! Toge, prrri!¡± She said, moving her arms excitedly. I smiled. ¡°Really? Are you sure?¡± ¡°Prrri.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, bringing her into a hug. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± ¡ª¡ª Traveling through route 201 was rather uneventful and took two days. There were very few trainers there, mostly because they had left for Sandgem already in preparation for the League Circuit. There was no Pokemon Center in Twinleaf, so there was no way to sign up from there. I had battled a few wild Pokemon and began trying to teach Togepi Headbutt, but we weren¡¯t making much progress. When I signed up for the Circuit, I¡¯d get a Pokedex and ess to her potential moves, so that would help a lot. Twinleaf was home to only a few hundred people, and they were mostly farmers. It was a close-knitmunity where everybody knew each other, or at least ording to my dad. Apparently, it was why mom had left at first, but she went back soon after they divorced. I looked down at my Poketch, where I had written down mom¡¯s address and how her house looked¡ª at least ording to my dad. Togepi followed closely behind me, and we attracted a lot of stares. People here weren¡¯t used to seeing new, young trainers. I made my way toward the town¡¯s edge and found mom¡¯s house sitting next to a smallke. My heart pounded against my chest as I approached the door. What would she say? Would she be happy to see me? Angry I hadn¡¯t answered her calls in so long? I retrieved Togepi and ced my ear against the door. Nothing. I swallowed my anxiety and knocked on the door loudly. After around thirty seconds, an old woman opened the door. She had long, white hair and piercing blue eyes. ¡°Yes? Who are you?¡± She said in a dry tone. I winced, realizing how bad this must have looked. I was dirty, I probably stank, and had crazy hair. I was a crazy-looking stranger knocking on their door. ¡°Um, I¡¯m looking for Samantha Pastel? I came here to deliver some Vitamins for Herdier,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m also her¡­ daughter.¡± I continued weakly. The old woman¡¯s eyes widened. She turned back into the house and called out. ¡°Sam! You won¡¯t believe this! The son of a bitch sent your daughter here!¡± I frowned. She must have been referring to my dad, and I didn¡¯t like that. I heard someone step closer and closer, eventually breaking into a run. A woman burst through the entrance and embraced me. ¡°Grace! Oh, Arceus, look at you! You¡¯ve grown so much,¡± The woman who must have been my mother said. The resemnce was uncanny. We had the same dirty blonde hair, the same thin nose and the same freckles covering our entire faces. Our eyes were different, though. Hers were blue, and mine were green like my dad¡¯s. ¡°Come in! Traveling here from Jubilife must have been awful, but we¡¯ll catch up. You can take a shower if you want,¡± She said. I was in a dazed state. She wasn¡¯t angry at me, and that was good, but why was I feeling¡­ happy? I was supposed to be angry at her for what she did to dad. I bit the inside of my lip. ¡°We were in the middle of a luncheon between neighbors,¡± Mom said, showing me the dinner table. This is Ronald and Casey, they live in the house at the opposite side of theke. And this is their son, Denzel. He¡¯s sixteen, so slightly older than you. Oh, and this is mom¡ª I mean grandma. She¡¯s the one who opened the door,¡± She continued with a nervousugh. ¡°Herdier¡¯s out somewhere in town. He alwayses back in the evening, though.¡± They all greeted me, and mom guided me to the bathroom. ¡°Take as long as you need, and then join us downstairs. We have so much to catch up on.¡± ¡°Wait, the medicine,¡± I said. I pulled the pack of vitamins out of my bag and handed them to her. ¡°Thank you so much, Grace. This¡¯llst us a few months,¡± I took a long, hot shower, and I needed it. This was going to drain my social batteries so hard, and then I¡¯d have to talk to mom alone. This sucked. I ended up releasing Togepi and cleaning her up too. Soon afterward, I dried us, took a deep breath, and stepped toward the dining room. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 CHAPTER 5 Togepi hid behind my leg as I introduced myself to everyone at the table. They were all nice people, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. Even my grandmother seemed to have eased up on me. It seemed that most of her hate was toward my dad and not me. ¡°So this is your Togepi then, Grace? Those are pretty rare, from what I¡¯ve heard,¡± Casey said, tilting her head to get a better view. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s mine. They¡¯re notthatrare¡ª I¡¯ve seen multiple people with one, and even a Togetic once a few years ago,¡± I answered. ¡°Forgive her, she¡¯s pretty bad with crowds. I¡¯m trying to work on that.¡± ¡°Oh, no worries,¡± Ronald waved his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t have any Pokemon, and no one everes to Twinleaf, so I¡¯m just happy to see a new one.¡± ¡°Sit, Grace. You can have some of this if you want. You must be famished after your journey here,¡± Mom said. Well, I wasn¡¯t going to say no to that. The juicy meat they were eating looked really appetizing, as was that sd on the side. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, sitting down in an empty seat. I grabbed food while they continued chit-chatting, stuffing myself with as much as I could. It was a very wee change after days of eating gran bars. ¡°Cun I have sum watew?¡± I asked. Grandma poured me a ss. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Denzel? You haven¡¯t talked since Grace got here,¡± His mother asked. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª uh, yeah, I have a stomachache. I think I ate too much,¡± He answered. His voice was extremely deep¡ª deeper than his father¡¯s. ¡°You were fine when she was showering. Why don¡¯t you tell us all about your n for the Circuit,¡± Mom said. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t remind me,¡± Casey eximed. ¡°If he hasn¡¯t changed his mind by seeing Grace¡¯s state when she came here, Denzel¡¯s a fool¡ª no offense, Grace.¡± ¡°None taken,¡± I answered, my mouth full. ¡°Let¡¯s not do this here, mom. I already told you I was going no matter what. You already stopped me from goingst year!¡± ¡°Oh,sorryfor not wanting mysonto risk his life out there when he has a perfectly normal life in Twinleaf.So sorry!¡± Casey said in a sarcastic tone. This was getting awkward. Ronald had stopped talking altogether and was fidgeting in his seat. Casey kept going. ¡°Do you know how many trainersdieout there? Poor kids that get lost going through Mount Cor, or Eterna Forest? I don¡¯t want that to happen to you!¡± Denzel mmed the table and stood up. ¡°I already made up my mind. Thank you for the food, Samantha.¡± I slowed my chewing as I observed him go out. He mmed the door. A few secondster, he opened it again and apologized for mming the door, and then left again. Casey and Ronald took off pretty quickly after that. I finished my food and fed Togepi an Oran Berry. She didn¡¯t eat much¡ª I couldn¡¯t me her; the entire berry was bigger than her head. Maybe next time, I¡¯d slice it up instead. Mom and Grandma worked on cleaning up the dishes while I yed a little bit with Togepi. I¡¯d throw her on the couch, and then she¡¯d jump off, chirping happily. How cute. ¡°Are you ready to talk now?¡± Mom tapped my shoulder. I inhaled sharply and nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do this in my room,¡± She continued. I followed her, and she invited me in, closing the door behind her. ¡°Whew¡­ let¡¯s do this,¡± Mom said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have questions for me. Go ahead, and then I¡¯ll ask you mine.¡± ¡°Why did you cheat on dad?¡± I blurted out. She put her head against the wall and sighed. ¡°The big one¡¯s first, huh? I¡¯m sorry, Grace, but there¡­ there wasn¡¯t a good reason. I was a terrible person, and I¡¯ll always regret it. I begged Arthur to stay when he found out, but he wanted a divorce. At first, I wanted to stay in Jubilife to see you, but the city had this¡­ oppressive force. It was like I couldn¡¯t breathe properly there. It reminded me of what I had lost too much.¡± I let the statement marinate in my mind for a few seconds. I knew it was stupid, but I had been hoping.Hopingfor there to have been a reason better than ¡®I was selfish, so I slept with someone else.¡¯ ¡°So you moved to Twinleaf to escape that?¡± I asked, crossing my arms. ¡°Why¡¯d you take dad¡¯s Herdier?¡± ¡°Your dad worked long hours, and I didn¡¯t work at all. You were still a toddler, and Herdier take a lot of work to care for. He was¡­ extremely disheartened to let go of him, but we mutually agreed in the end. Plus, Twinleaf¡¯s a better town for him than Jubilife. All that open space.¡± ¡°Why does Grandma hate dad? I heard her call him a son of a¡­ b-word,¡± I asked hesitantly. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind her. She just loves me too much. She knows I¡¯m in the wrong, but she can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°That just isn¡¯t right! Dad¡¯s always so nice to me and so understanding¡­ I don¡¯t like it,¡± Togepi chirped in agreement. ¡°But anyway, I¡¯m done. It¡¯s your turn now,¡± I finished, crossing my arms and legs. ¡°Well, I certainly won¡¯t ask why you never answer my messages or calls, but I¡¯ll ask you now. When you leave, can you please at least talk to me every few weeks? Just so I can hear your voice?¡± Mom asked as she began tearing up. She fanned her eyes with her hands. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡ª I don¡¯t want us to never speak again.¡± ¡°I can try to make an effort¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, I mean it.¡± She said. ¡°And um, I was wondering if you were signing up for the Circuit? You have a Pokemon.¡± She lifted her chin toward Togepi. ¡°Toge!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to, but I changed my mind recently. I¡¯m all in,¡± I said with a reluctant smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do well. Denzel¡¯s also signing up this year, maybe you guys could help each other out? He¡¯s quite the shy one, and he likes to keep to himself. There aren¡¯t any kids his age left here.¡± I thought back to the scene in the dining room. ¡°He seems a little scary, though.¡± ¡°He¡¯s as sweet as theye! He¡¯s just been having problems with his parents, but it¡¯s not my ce to say. Speaking of, I hope your dad agreed to you joining the Circuit?¡± ¡°He did,¡± I said before pping my head. ¡°Crap, I was supposed to call him when I got here!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it. Me being in this room when he¡¯s calling would be a bad idea,¡± Mom said. I nodded, and she left. I called dad, put him on speaker for Togepi, and told him about me signing up for the League Circuit. He was ecstatic, saying he¡¯d root for me and watch every battle I would have. It was embarrassing, really, but I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I also told him I kind of made up with mom, and he was genuinely d for me, even though he would still never forgive her. The call ended after I told him I¡¯d spend a few days here to get to know mom better and maybe deal with this Denzel situation. The truth was, I really wanted a trainer friend to talk to, but right now I had nobody, so there was certainly a selfish reasoning behind my reason for helping. That night, Herdier came back and licked my face all over. He somehow recognized me, even though I hadn¡¯t seen him in eleven years. Mom said it must have been my smell. We gave him his vitamins by mixing them with his food, and I went to sleep shortly after in the Guest room. The only good thing I could think of about living in Twinleaf was that every house was huge. More space for me. The next morning, I trained a little bit with Togepi outside. We practiced the speed of her rollout, which was getting more and more powerful, and we also practiced Sweet Kiss on wild Pokemon like Bidoof near theke. Maybe with enough training, it would be more effective, but right now, I was basically shooting in the dark. The worse thing was that if Togepi eventually evolved, she wouldn¡¯t be able to use rollout anymore. After a few hours of training, I recalled Togepi and made my way around theke toward Denzel¡¯s house. It was slightlyrger than my mom¡¯s, and there was a pasture with a bunch of Milktank in the back. ¡°Woah. They¡¯re bigger than they look like online,¡± I said, quietly observing the Pokemon go about their day. I climbed the stairs to their porch and rang their doorbell. Surprisingly, Denzel was the one that answered, and not his parents. ¡°Who¡ª oh, you¡¯re that girl from yesterday. What¡¯s up?¡± He asked. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m really bad at this, but¡­ do you want to be friends?¡± I said, averting my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m also signing up for the Circuit soon, and I think we could help each other.¡± His face brightened up in surprise. ¡°Oh, no shit?Come in!¡± ¡ª¡ª Denzel brought us sses of Milktank milk and homemade cookies that his mother had made. ¡°Those lookreallygood, thanks,¡± I said. ¡°Theyare. My mom runs apatisserie. That¡¯s what she calls it. Apparently it¡¯s a Kalosian word. So yeah, usually we have a bunch of homemade stuff lying about,¡± He exined as he sat down. ¡°So,¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°The League Circuit, huh? How are you feeling about it?¡± ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m super excited, but the nerves will probably get to me when Iactuallyam a part of this thing. Right now, it¡¯s unofficial, you know? I just dered it.¡± ¡°I totally get that,¡± Denzel said, dipping his cookie into his milk. ¡°I¡¯m so happy I can finally go, though. My mom wants me to keep helping her around the store, and dad just lets her walk all over him. They guilt-tripped me into stayingst year, but not anymore. I¡¯m going no matter what!¡± ¡°Sounds rough. My dad¡¯s been supportive. In fact, he had to basically pushmeto get out of my shell. Just a few days ago, I basically wanted nothing to do with Pokemon battling.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll be d you changed your mind. We only have a few attempts at the Circuit before going back to the real world, you know? Even less for people that fail really early,¡± Denzel pondered. ¡°Why? Can¡¯t you just try over and over? The League hasn¡¯t set a limit.¡± ¡°Yeah, but consider this: have you ever seen someone older than, like, twenty-five attempt the Circuit?¡± He waited for my answer, and I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching a lot of Circuits online in preparation for this year, and everyone¡¯s young.¡± ¡°Wait, you have inte here? I thought you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What? Why wouldn¡¯t we have inte? I think that¡¯s just your mother¡¯s house¡ª but anyway! The fact is, you can¡¯t be trying over and over. At some point, you¡¯ve got to start working in the real world, right? Boring nine-to-five office job.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you make a living off of fighting trainers?¡± I asked, remembering the pokedors I had gained on my way here. ¡°Theoretically, you could. But the truth is, you¡¯ll be makinglessmoney than with a normal job, and if you can¡¯t at least do well in the Circuit, what¡¯s the point? Might as well go back home and sleep in afy bed every night and eat hot food.¡± ¡°Ok, I get your point. But some people still do it and join tournaments too. Like that Craig guy with the Smence¡ª¡± ¡°You know Craig Goodwill?¡± Denzel said, his face lighting up. ¡°Isn¡¯t his Smence the coolest?! I heard he was signing up for the Circuit too. I hope I can see it in person.¡± ¡°ASmence? Those things are capable of killing thousands on a whim. Dragon types are terrifying¡­¡± ¡°But he raised it correctly, so it¡¯s not a danger. Plus, he¡¯s not allowed to have them out in cities. The danger rating¡¯s too high, and it would cause a panic.¡± ¡°Ok, enough about Craig,¡± I said, shaking my hand. ¡°Want to show me your starter?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± He said. He grabbed a ball from his desk and released a sleeping Eevee. ¡°This is my Eevee. I rescued him from route 202 two years ago, and he¡¯s been with me ever since.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so cute!¡± I gushed. The Eevee slowly woke up and looked me straight in the eyes. He then ¡®huffed¡¯ and jumped onto Denzel¡¯s bed, turned a few times, andid down. ¡°I think he doesn¡¯t like me.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a little bit rude,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But I¡¯m hoping the Circuit will get him to open up a little. So you have a Togepi?¡± I sent her out, and she chirped happily, much to Eevee¡¯s dismay. He barked and crawled under the covers. ¡°She¡¯s still a little young, but I believe in her fully,¡± I said. ¡°Prrri!¡± She said with a smile. ¡°She looks energetic. How long have you had her for?¡± ¡°She¡¯s eight months old,¡± I replied. ¡°Hatched her from an egg.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Denzel said. ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing one ever¡ª well, outside of aputer screen.¡± Denzel spent some time getting familiar with Togepi while I tried approaching his Eevee, but that was to no avail. Togepi was a little wary at first, but she got used to him very quickly. ¡°Her little noises are too much! I love them,¡± He smiled. ¡°But anyway, I¡¯m a little nervous about asking you this, but¡­ want to battle?¡± Chapter 6 Chapter 6 CHAPTER 6 Denzel looked at me and grinned. I certainly felt the urge to say yes¡ª hell, it almost slipped from my mouth. Unfortunately, though, I had some worries. ¡°I¡¯d really like to, but Twinleaf doesn¡¯t have a Pokemon Center. The odds are pretty low, but if Togepi got really hurt, potions wouldn¡¯t be enough, and I need her healthy for the trip back.¡± ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Denzel said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry about it. It was just a silly idea.¡± ¡°Maybe if we see each other in Sandgem or something,¡± I said. ¡°But anyway, you said you had inte here? Can I get the password? I want to check the Circuit forums.¡± I ced Togepi on the bed and let her decide how to approach this Eevee. Denzel gave me his wifi password and leaned to watch as I typed in a familiar name in the search bar. ¡°Cecilia Obel, huh?¡± He said. ¡°You know her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the talk of the forums. Everybody knows her. Her brother¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Unova¡¯s Champion, I know,¡± I said. ¡°Before I decided to sign up, I was just going to root for her, but now she¡¯spetition,¡± I finished. ¡°Aiming for the top already?¡± ¡°No point in not trying your best.¡± ¡°Eh, right now I¡¯m just aiming for one gym badge. Mom said she would start paying for some of my supplies for the Circuit if I at least get that,¡± He said. ¡°But this Cecilia girl intrigues me. She¡¯s never been seen battling before, even in Unova. There¡¯s nothing about her online. It¡¯s like she just appeared when she first flew to Jubilife.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± I acquiesced. ¡°But anyway, I just wanted to see if there was anything new about her, but nothing substantial. Just footage of her going in and out of her insanely expensive five-star hotel with bodyguards.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t have those for the Circuit,¡± He chuckled. We spent the next hour or so just looking up interesting trainers and theory-crafting about our strategy for different gyms. Togepi tried making inroads with Eevee, but the little one was not having any of it, often trying to push her off the bed. Unfortunately, Denzel was still a beginner trainer, so I had no luck trying to learn the best way to teach Togepi new moves. Still, it felt great having someone to talk to about this. Eventually, I decided to leave to go hang out with my mother. I hadn¡¯t forgiven her, but I still wanted to get closer to her. Dad would always say that family was important whenever he tried to get me to call her, and I wanted him to be happy. He deserved nothing less. Mom and I went to Casey¡¯s store and ate together, talking about her life in Twinleaf. She found it boring, but she always filled her days by helping around town with whatever she could. Every time she tried to bring up her old life in Jubilife, I shut her down. I didn¡¯t want to hear her reminisce about her life with us, because that would get my mind racing about whatcouldhave been if she hadn¡¯t screwed up. When we got back home, I ended up letting her hang out with Togepi while I caught up with Herdier. His fur was graying, and he had a little bit of hearing issues, but other than that he looked healthy. Every time I crouched to pet him, he¡¯d get up on his hind legs to lick my face. The next day was more of the same. I went to Denzel¡¯s house in the morning and stayed with mom afterward. The day after that, however, when Denzel and I were walking around, he asked me something. ¡°Hey Grace, want me to show you something?¡± ¡°What is it? Please don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s at thepatisserie, your mom overwhelmed me with questions about youst time I was there,¡± I hoped. Casey was a nice woman, but she was way too overbearing when it came to her son. ¡°Sorry about her,¡± He said. ¡°But no, it¡¯s outside of town just a thirty-minute walk away. It¡¯s my secret spot.¡± ¡°Okay, and what¡¯s so special about this spot that I have to walk all the way there instead of you telling me about it?¡± I asked with a hint of sarcasm. ¡°Dude. You¡¯ve gottafeelit, then you¡¯ll know,¡± He said. I frowned, wondering what he was talking about, but I agreed to follow him. We reached the edge of town and got our Pokemon out, just in case. Togepi walked close to my legs and Eevee quickly climbed on Denzel¡¯s shoulder. A pack of wild Starly attacked us ten minutes in, but Eevee quickly dispatched its leader by baiting it low and then hitting it with a Sand Attack. The bird was too disoriented to get back in the sky and was hit with a Quick Attack shortly after. The rest of their pack fled after seeing their leader taken down. ¡°You guys are really good at that,¡± I said after watching their battle in awe. They were locked in step, never wasting a single moment. ¡°I¡¯m used to taking this route, so I¡¯m pretty confident I can deal with whatever nature throws at me here,¡± He said. ¡°I even used to make the trip without Pokemon.¡± ¡°Huh?You must have a death wish,¡± I eximed. ¡°Nothing strong enough around here to kill a human. Plus I¡¯m good at running away.¡± That¡¯s what I thought about route 202 before a damn Scyther showed up,I thought. Maybe this route was different? Regardless, I trusted him if he was still here to tell the tale, but it still wouldn¡¯t calm my nerves. The vegetation began to be denser and denser until we crossed a thick line of trees and found¡ª ¡°Woah,¡± I said, unable toe up with any other words. ¡°This is¡­ wow.¡± In front of us stood ake wayrger than the one back at Twinleaf, with water clearer than anything I¡¯d ever seen. And it was just sostill, without a single ripple at its surface. Around theke, Pokemon were coexisting and living together. The area waspletely¡­ peaceful. That was the word I wascking. It waspeaceful. ¡°People from Twinleaf call this Lake Verity. Its location has been passed from generation to generation, and most people outside of our town don¡¯t even know this exists,¡± Denzel said before sitting down on the grass. Togepi chirped quietly and just watched the water¡¯s surface, while even Eevee jumped off of Denzel¡¯s shoulder to stand next to her. ¡°This isamazing. It¡¯s so peaceful, but there¡¯s something else about it. I feel at ease here. All of my worries are just washing away,¡± I said with a heavy breath. ¡°That¡¯s the effect of the Lake, and it¡¯s why Pokemon here don¡¯t attack each other. You could put a Zangoose and a Seviper next to each other here and they¡¯d just ignore each other without any problems.¡± An absurd statement to make in any other circumstance, buthere? I actually believed him. ¡°Ie here when I want to clear my head, or when I want to rx. I figured it¡¯d be good to bring you at least once before you go back tomorrow,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve got an idea. Why don¡¯t youe with me back to Sandgem?¡± I asked. ¡°But I¡¯ve got nothing prepared.¡± ¡°So prepare when we get back! Who knows, we could be travelingpanions during the whole Circuit. A lot of people do that to have it easier in the wild. Two trainers or more is always better than one, and I think that I vibe pretty well with you, no?¡± I said. He paused for a few seconds before breaking into a smile. ¡°Screw it. Let¡¯s do it, Grace. You, me, Eevee, and Togepi against the world.¡± I didn¡¯t know how that had just happened, but I was still delighted. It was as if the Lake itself had popped the idea into my mind. Or maybe it was just some repressed emotion that wed its way out? Either way, things were looking up. Just then, I heard a rustling in the trees behind us. A man with spiky blue hair and bizarre-looking clothes with a yellow ¡®G¡¯ written on it passed through the treeline and walked toward the Lake, paying us no mind. Denzel practically jumped, and I frowned at the peculiar individual. ¡°Um, hello,¡± I quietly said. The man did not answer. ¡°Is he from Twinleaf?¡± I whispered to Denzel. ¡°No, I¡¯ve never seen him before,¡± Denzel answered. ¡°Sir? How¡¯d you find this Lake if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± I called Togepi back to me and she hid behind my leg, while he recalled Eevee back to his ball. ¡°Please don¡¯t leak this to the press,¡± He continued. ¡°Or anyone for that matter. This is Twinleaf¡¯s secret, and I¡¯d like for it to stay that way.¡± The blue-haired man stayed silent and perfectly still, observing theke¡¯s surface with his hands behind his back. ¡°This guy¡¯s creeping me out. Let¡¯s just leave?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I need answers¡ª¡± ¡°Mister Cyrus, sir!¡± A woman passed through the trees. She had a simr, skin-tight uniform with the same ¡®G¡¯, this time at its center. ¡°Please don¡¯t get too far away from us¡ª¡± She started before noticing us. ¡°Who are these kids?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to ask the same question toyou,¡± Denzel said. I pulled his arm, indicating for him to calm down. I didn¡¯t know who these people were, but I wantedout. This situation gave me a bad feeling even Lake Verity couldn¡¯t shake. ¡°Oh, yeah?¡± She smirked as five other people joined her. She grabbed one of her Pokeballs and released a Golbat with a mouthrge enough to swallow me whole. The others released their Pokemon as well, including Zubat, Stunky, and meow. Denzel¡¯s bravado evaporated straight away. Not even entertaining the thought that we could fight them, I recalled Togepi to her ball. ¡°We¡ªwe¡¯re really sorry! We¡¯ll leave now, just let us go,¡± I said, my voice shaking. ¡°Sir? What should we do with them?¡± One of them said. She then gestured cutting her throat with her finger and giggled. ¡°Please,¡± I pleaded. The blue-haired man called Cyrus turned to us slowly, his face stoic. I couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking. ¡°Let them go,¡± He said with a smooth voice. I felt a giant weight lift off my shoulders. ¡°We did note here to harass children. Call Charon and tell him the Lake has been located.¡± His eyes drifted toward us, and he lifted his chin. We took that as our sign to leave, slowly at first and then running as fast as we could. I felt my legs turn to jelly, but I couldn¡¯tstop. Not until I was sure we were safe. This wasscarierthan any wild Pokemon attacks. These people hadconsciouslytrained their Pokemon tokill. I let that feeling sink in and felt a shiver of dread. They had threatened to kill us. We reached Twinleaf and copsed on the ground. I was drenched in sweat, could barely breathe, and my throat wasdry. I heaved for a few seconds as a nauseatic feeling took hold of me. A few secondster, I threw up all over the grass and coughed up the rest of my breakfast in chunks. ¡°We¡­ have to¡­ tell someone¡­¡± Denzel croaked. I kept coughing and then rolled over. I couldn¡¯t speak. I was too tired. My lungs were aze, and my heart was hammering my chest to the point that I believed that I was getting a heart attack. ¡°Sandgem¡­ Police¡­¡± Denzel said. It took ten minutes for me to recover. I had never run this hard for that long, and it took a lot out of me. My legs still shook when I stood up, and even walking took an immense effort because of the soreness. Denzel supported me back to his house¡ª I didn¡¯t want to have to exin why I could barely walk to my mother. ¡°This isfucked!¡± He said, mming the door to his room. ¡°Completely and utterlyfucked.¡± ¡°Who were these people?¡± I asked. ¡°What did they want with theke?¡± I asked. ¡°Your guess is as good as mine, but all I know right now is that they¡¯re trainer killers. There was no hesitation, no doubt in their eyes when they asked what to do with us. Theywantedto kill us.¡± ¡°Their leader spared us, though,¡± I said before my eyes widened. ¡°Themon uniform, the logo, a leader¡­ what if this is an evil organization? Like Team Rocket from twenty years ago in Kanto?¡± Team Rocket had run rampant in Kanto for years, and they had been adept at stealing trainers¡¯ Pokemon to sell them on the international ck market to make a profit. They were only stopped when it was discovered that one of the Gym Leaders was their leader, and that was why they always seemed to know how to avoid the authorities. ¡°Pokemon traffickers? Could be. Either way, we have to leave for Sandgemnowand go to their police department. I¡¯ll call them too, but it¡¯ll be better to make a report in person so they can ask us anything,¡± He said, nodding to himself. ¡°I hate that this will bring the secret of Lake Verity into jeopardy, but this is more important.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I agreed. ¡°And then they might be able to find evidence¡­ DNA or something. And also warn the League.¡± He agreed, and after we warned our parents about what we had seen and told them not to go to the Lake, we set off for Sandgem immediately. Chapter 7 Chapter 7 CHAPTER 7 Thanks to Denzel knowing the area like the back of his hand, the trip back to Sandgem took around a day and a half instead of two. Togepi was finally getting around to being able to use Headbutt as a move in battle and not just as a proof of concept. She was getting tougher, even though it was little by little. I noticed that her eggshell was getting harder, and she was growing slightly. During the night, Denzel had to sleep on a towel since he didn¡¯t have a sleeping bag, and I had to lend him a potion after his Eevee suffered a nasty bite from a Nidoran. He kept saying that he¡¯d pay me back, but I didn¡¯t mind. That night, I was barely able to sleep. I kept jolting awake at the slightest noise, expecting that huge Golbat to sweep down and kill me with its sharp fangs. When we reached Sandgem, I was tired, still sore, and in desperate need of a shower. I took one in the Pokemon Center while Denzel checked in our Pokemon, and I used the opportunity to buy some new bandages. I had run out and had been forced to wear the same one two days in a row, which was obviously unhygienic. After our Pokemon were healed, we made our way to the Sandgem police department. We talked to the receptionist and waited in a room for an officer to talk to us. After a short wait, Denzel was called in a room, and I was summoned shortly after to a different one. The officer closed the door behind me and directed me to sit at a table. She was old¡ª probably in her fifties, and had a soft look on her face, making me rx a little. The interview began with her confirming my information. My name, age, and address. She also asked for my trainer ID, making me remember that I still had to sign up for the League. ¡°So, Grace. Can you exin to me what happened in detail? Everything you remember,¡± She said. I told her everything. The uniforms, the thinly veiled threats of murder, and that I suspected this was a new evil organization. The officer let me speak and offered me tissues when I choked up at the thought of that Golbat. ¡°Did you hear any names? Describe the people you saw for me.¡± ¡°Only Cyrus¡­ he was their leader¡ª maybe not of the entire organization, but just this group,¡± I said. I then proceeded to describe everyone I could recall. The only one I remembered clearly was Cyrus. ¡°He had deep, sunken eyes and spiky dyed blue hair. And¡­oh!He had no eyebrows! That was really weird.¡± The officer nodded and kept writing. ¡°And the uniforms, you said they had a yellow ¡®G¡¯ insignia?¡± I nodded. She finished writing and put her pen down. ¡°So¡­ what happens now?¡± I asked. She sighed. ¡°Well, we send a few officers there to verify that there¡¯s akeat all. Might be time to ask the League for funds to make a new station in Twinleaf,¡± She said. ¡°Then we see if we can find any evidence at the scene, and if we find something substantial, we¡¯ll contact the League about it.¡± I frowned. ¡°So you aren¡¯t contacting the Leaguenow?Why?¡± ¡°Grace, when we first got this call, we thought this was a prank,¡± The officer said with a light chuckle. ¡°Now that you showed up, we¡¯re obligated to confirm your report, but¡­ anorganization?Sinnoh isn¡¯t like Kanto. People don¡¯t do that here.¡± I scoffed in disbelief. ¡°How could it hurt to at leasttellthem? So that they¡¯re on high alert if something elsees up with these people? What if they actually hurt or kill someone next time?¡± ¡°No need to exaggerate, Grace,¡± The officer rolled her eyes. ¡°The Circuit¡¯s right around the corner, and we wouldn¡¯t want to distract anyone with rumors.¡± Feeling anger boil up inside of me, I stood up. ¡°We¡¯re done here, correct? You saw me cry, and you still think I¡¯m lying? You¡¯re beyond help.¡± The officer let me out and muttered ¡®teenagers¡¯ under her breath as I left. Denzel was already waiting for me in the lobby and was seemingly as angry as I was. We talked on our way back to the Center. ¡°Arceus, these cops are so useless. They didn¡¯t believe a word of what we said! I bet they¡¯re not even actually sending anyone to theke!¡± I said angrily. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. I thought the police would take care of this, but they don¡¯t even want totry,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Can we tell anyone else? Rangers?¡± ¡°Rangers only take care of wild Pokemon going berserk too close to where trainers are. They wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about this,¡± He said. He paused for a second. ¡°Maybe wecouldtell someone. A Gym Leader! All we need is to actually get to Oreburgh or Eterna. Those are the two closest Gyms.¡± ¡°Oreburgh is closer,¡± I said, remembering my time looking at my Poketch map. ¡°Plus, we need to go there anyway, right?¡± Denzel grinned as we approached the Pokemon Center. It was time to sign up for the League Circuit. ¡ª¡ª The process was moreplicated than I thought it would be. First, I needed to get a full health check-up, including blood tests. Needles were not my forte, but I went through it anyway, relieved that it hadn¡¯t hurt as much as I thought. That reliefsted for about ten minutes before a nurse brought a slew of vines I needed to take to protect myself against diseases. Those oneshurt. Next, I needed to read through the entire terms of services page. Yes, I actually needed toreadit. It essentially said that the League wasn¡¯t responsible for anything that happened to us out in the wild, including death. That sobered me up a little, but I wasn¡¯t going to change my mind. I signed at the end, and they took the form away. Next, I got into a queue with a bunch of other kids. After a short wait, they took a picture of me. I was a little sad that I couldn¡¯t have any makeup on for it, but at least it hade out really well. I watched as they quickly 3D printed my trainer card. The newest card model has a thin, digital screen that would tell you how many badges you had at all times, along with the amount of Pokedors on your ount¡ª an ount that I was forced to open. I put in everything I had, which wasn¡¯t much: a few thousand Pokedors. Finally, I was given a Pokedex and taught how it worked. It was considered a trainer¡¯s most important tool, showing you what potential moves your Pokemon could learn and the moves they already knew, along with crucial information about every Pokemon you scanned. It could be the difference between life and death in the wild. The entire process took a few hours, but I was d it was finally over. Being a part of the Circuit came with many advantages. All services at the Pokemon Center became free, and you would get a deposit of ten thousand Pokedors to start your journey just to equalize the ying field a little. Supplies, food, potions; all of that added up very quickly, and if your parents weren¡¯t able to help you with money, then you would be screwed. The money helped with that. ¡°Whew! All done!¡± I said, releasing Togepi. ¡°Togeprrri?¡± She said curiously. ¡°It¡¯s finally done. I signed us up for the Circuit, Togepi! I¡¯m officially a trainer!¡± Togepi chirped and hopped around happily, garnering the reaction of many who fawned over how cute she was. ¡°Alright, princess. Stand still for a sec.¡± I opened my Pokedex and scanned her. Togepi, the spike ball Pokemon. As its energy, Togepi uses the positive emotions ofpassion and pleasure exuded by people and Pok¨¦mon. This Pok¨¦mon stores up feelings of happiness inside its shell, then shares them with others. Type: Fairy Moves: Pound, Growl, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Headbutt (click for more information) Ability: Hustle (click for more information) I was surprised by the Pokedex entry, but smiled at the confirmation that she had learned Headbutt. ¡°So you can share positive feelings, huh?¡± ¡°Prrri!¡± I thought back to many little events after which I suddenly felt better for no apparent reason like arguments with my dad, missing an important show on T.V. Larger urrences like what had happened with the Scyther or that Cyrus individual seemed to be too big to affect, however. Maybe she was still trying. Maybe without her, I would have been scarred. I crouched and caressed her little crown, and she buried her face into my hand. I loved her, and we were going to go ces. ¡°Thanks for taking care of me, princess.¡± Our heart-to-heart ended as Denzel appeared in the lobby. ¡°All done?¡± He asked. ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯m thinking of buying a Poketch with the money they gave me, but then again, I should probably save for actually important things for the journey,¡± Denzel said, rubbing his chin. ¡°Since you¡¯re tight on money, I wouldn¡¯t. You can use the Pokemon Center phones to call your parents¡ª but I¡¯m not trying to influence your decision, or whatever.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see when we get to Jubilife. Did you check out how awesome the Pokedex is, by the way? I just discovered that Eevee could have used Baby Doll Eyes the entire time, and that little bugger didn¡¯t even try to tell me or anything.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s awesome. Way more in-depth than I thought it¡¯d be,¡± I replied. ¡°Anyway, before we set off for Jubilife, I believe you owe me a battle,¡± Denzel smiled. I chortled. ¡°I almost forgot. Let¡¯s get to it then.¡± ¡ª¡ª I stood in one of the few battle arenas that littered Sandgem town. It was a rather small one, with a simple Pokeball design at its center. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and released Togepi. We hadn¡¯t worked on any strategy, but I trusted myself and her to make the right decisions. Denzel released Eevee and I watched as arge screen at the side of the arena counted down with a robotic voice. ¡°Three, two, one, begin!¡± ¡°Eevee, get closer with Quick Attack!¡± Denzel yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Growl when he¡¯s in range!¡± Eevee began to glow white and became a blur. In just a few seconds, he crossed the entire length of the arena, and suddenly turned and began circling Togepi. Togepi was struggling to keep up. I bit the inside of my lip. ¡°Concentrate, Togepi!¡± ¡°Go!¡± Denzel yelled. Eevee stopped, and used its hind leg to gain another burst of speed, barreling toward Togepi. He hit her side, but not before she got a Growl out, lowering the damage dealt. I hid a wince as she got hit. ¡°Shake it off! Use Sweet Kiss before he gets away!¡± A pink heart escaped from her lips and drifted toward Eevee. ¡°Dodge¡ª¡± ¡°Start rolling out! Block off his escape!¡± Togepi copsed into a ball and rolled toward Eevee, who chose to get hit by the confusing attack rather than take a rollout to the face. ¡°Great! Now keep gathering speed and then hit him with everything!¡± I yelled. ¡°Eevee! Eevee, snap out of it!¡± Togepi rolled faster and faster and then hit her opponent, sending him flying. Alright, keep the initiative, I thought. ¡°Keep it going! Follow him!¡± ¡°Quick Attack out of the way! Growl if you can¡¯t!¡± Denzel said. The Eeveended on its feet and barely got out of the way. Togepi wasn¡¯t able to stop and hit the wall. ¡°Hit her while she¡¯s down!¡± He screamed. ¡°Don¡¯t let him hit you without getting out unscathed! Pound!¡± The two Pokemon both hit each other and brawled for a few seconds without using any particr moves. I have to end it now. Togepi¡¯s younger and getting tired. ¡°Alright, princess!Hit him with another Sweet Kiss!¡± Sweet Kiss would get less and less effective the more it was used on one Pokemon, but we just needed a few seconds. Another pink heart flew toward Eevee, who couldn¡¯t dodge because of his proximity. ¡°Now, Headbutt!¡± I said. Togepi ran as fast as she could on her two little legs and jumped at thest moment, aiming her crown toward her opponent. She hit him and hit him hard, but he still stood, and this time he was no longer confused. Denzel ordered another Quick Attack and that was that. Togepi was out for the count. My shoulders sagged, and I hung my head. My first defeat in battle stung, but the words of my father echoed in my head. ¡°To be sessful in life, you¡¯ve got to be unafraid of failure.¡± I hadn¡¯t even realized it, but I was out of breath and sweating. I wasn¡¯t even the one that had been fighting! This hadn¡¯t happened in any of my previous battles. ¡°You were great, Togepi,¡± I told her as I recalled her. ¡°Let¡¯s get you healed up.¡± Denzel finished celebrating with his Eevee and came to shake my hand. ¡°That was a great battle¡ª wait, stop, you don¡¯t have to give me money. Arceus, it was just a battle between friends,¡± He rified as I searched through my backpack. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. ¡°It was really close. It¡¯s the first time Eevee had to work that hard for a win, and Togepi¡¯s still a baby.¡± ¡°You went easy on me,¡± I used him. ¡°You didn¡¯t use Baby Doll Eyes, which is faster than Growl. Plus, this wasn¡¯t really the best terrain, because you couldn¡¯t use Sand Attack, and¡ª¡± ¡°I was going one hundred percent the entire time, I swear. I just panicked a little bit after that Sweet Kiss. Thatbo with rollout isnasty.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty good,¡± I acquiesced. ¡°But I¡¯ve got to get better if I want to get past the first badge.¡± ¡°As do I. Now let¡¯s get to a Center.¡± Chapter 8 Chapter 8 CHAPTER 8 We waited a few hours for Togepi and Eevee to heal, and I used the opportunity to call dad to tell him I was back in Sandgem and that I¡¯d be back in Jubilife soon. I also introduced him to Denzel and said that we¡¯d be traveling together, and he seemingly did not approve. I got embarrassed because I knew exactly why, and I hung up on him before he could run his mouth. Just because we were the opposite sex didn¡¯t mean we couldn¡¯t just be friends. Anyway, after getting Togepi back, I had one more thing to do before getting back on the road. Denzel was curious, so he came with me to observe. We made our way to the beach and I rolled back my sleeves, took off my shoes, and dove into the water. ¡°What in the world are you doing?¡± He asked me. ¡°How haven¡¯t you figured it out? I¡¯m trying to bait a Pokemon to attack little old me,¡± I said. In reality, I was more scared than I let on. We were on the non-public side of the beach, which meant wild Pokemon would be there. ¡°You should have bought a fishing rod or something. Is this even deep enough?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt to try, right? You should probably do it too. We¡¯re going to challenge Roark first, right? But we don¡¯t have anything good against rock types. I¡¯m just trying to remedy that.¡± ¡°I have a specific team in mind I¡¯m trying to build, and the water type I want wouldn¡¯t be here. But knock yourself out, I guess. All you¡¯ll get is a Magikarp, probably.¡± ¡°I¡¯d take a Magikarp. Who wouldn¡¯t want a Gyarados?¡± I said, as I continued wading through the water. ¡°ording to some stats I found online, only 5% of all Magikarp owners actually manage to evolve them.¡± ¡°Why? Does it take some super rare stone or something?¡± I asked. ¡°The exact method isn¡¯t known, but it just takes a lot of time. And by time, I mean years, where all you have on your team is a Magikarp that can¡¯t fight.¡± ¡°Okay, that does sound awful,¡± I agreed. ¡°But all I¡¯m saying is that Gyarados are really¡ª¡± I felt a shiver run down my spine. Something cold touched my leg and I felt tired. Denzel noticed, jumped into the water, and dragged me out. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I saw a blue pokemon with five tentacles, shining red eyes and some kind of light blue cor around its neck. I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned it. Frillish, the floating Pokemon. It wraps its veillike arms and legs around prey swimming by, uses its ghostly powers to tire them out, and drags them down to the depths of the ocean. Type: Water, Ghost I¡¯d only be able to see its moves and ability if I managed to capture it. It hovered over the water and began to approach us. I saw Denzel grab his Pokeball, but I stopped him. This was my fight. I released Togepi. ¡°Sorry about this,¡± I told her. ¡°I know you just got healed, but I need you for this fight.¡± ¡°Prri!¡± She said, determined to help me. You¡¯re too nice to me, I thought. The Frillish¡¯s eyes shone brighter as it yelled andunched a stream of bubble toward Togepi. Was that bubble? No, it¡¯s too fast, it¡¯s¡ª ¡°Togepi, roll out of the way, then stop!¡± The Bubblebeam attack pounded the ground and threw a good amount of sand all over me. Our opponent kept throwing out bubble attacks while I was trying to find a way to bait it toward Togepi so I could deal damage to it. An idea formed in my head. I got back into the water and watched it smile gleefully as it floated toward me. It attacked me with another Bubblebeam, but I dove underwater, avoiding the attack by the skin of my teeth. I slowly made my way toward Togepi and waved my arms to keep the Frillish¡¯s attention. As soon as it got close enough, I dove to the side. ¡°Use Sweet Kiss, Togepi!¡± The heart barely avoided me and confused the Frillish, who moved haphazardly. It began hovering over the sand, and now I knew I had it. ¡°Headbutt it!¡± ¡°Prrri!¡± Togepi jumped and hit the Frillish as fast as she could. The Pokemon fell to the ground onto the shining sand, and I threw an empty ball at it. ¡°Get closer and prepare to Sweet Kiss and Headbutt again if it breaks out,¡± I warned. The Pokeball shook once, twice, and finally, three times. Iughed in disbelief. I had caught my first Pokemon! ¡ª¡ª Moves: Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport. Ability: Water Absorb As we waited in the Center, I was giddy when I saw my new team member¡¯s moves. This was a perfect moveset for my future battle against Roark, and it would seriously add to my long range offensive abilities. Denzel had berated me for using myself as a distraction to trick the Frillish, but it had been worth it. I felt like I was making real progress now. We finally made our way back to route 202, and that meant I had to start getting familiar with Frillish before we reached Jubilife. Trainers were obligated to have their Pokemon under control if they wanted to release them in cities¡ª and even then, some Pokemon were considered too dangerous. Regardless, I released Frillish from his ball, and he started attacking us right away. A ghostly replica appeared in front of him and rushed toward me. I managed to recall him just in time for the attack to dissipate before hitting me. ¡°That was Night Shade,¡± I said with a shaky voice. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting it to hate me that much.¡± ¡°It always depends on the Pokemon. Sometimes, they¡¯ll warm up to you real quick, like my Eevee. Other times, well¡­ they try to kill you repeatedly.¡± Denzel exined. ¡°Let¡¯s try again.¡± After releasing Togepi just in case, I freed my new teammate from his ball again, this time at a distance. ¡°Frillish! I¡¯m sorry I tricked you and caught you, but I really need your help. We can be friends¡ª¡± A stream of bubbles exploded where I stood just a second ago. I cursed under my breath and continued. ¡°Ok. I get it; not friends. I still want us to be a team.¡± I pointed to Togepi. ¡°She¡¯s my Pokemon, just like you now¡ª¡± His eyes shone, and he flew toward me. I returned him again. ¡°Okay, ownership seems to be a no-no,¡± I said. ¡°It didn¡¯t attack you right away this time,¡± Denzel pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s progress.¡± I nodded and released Frillish. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sorry. I think I know what the problem is. I still want you to help me on my journey, but I won¡¯t force you to do anything. If you don¡¯t want to do something, I won¡¯t make you. That¡¯s already how I treat Togepi, but I guess the wording I used confused you,¡± I said. I spoke slowly, and methodically, expecting to get attacked at any moment. The attack never came. ¡°I won¡¯t force you to battle or train if you don¡¯t want to. But I¡¯ll keep you fed and healthy, and maybe if you change your mind one day, we can be partners.¡± Frillish paused and nodded slowly. I did the same. ¡°So, uh¡ª do you want to stay out? Or I can return you to your ball,¡± I asked hesitantly. Frilish bobbed his head and gestured toward the ball, and I obliged. Denzel breathed a huge sigh of relief. ¡°That was impressive. I thought it¡¯d take much longer for you to convince it,¡± He said. ¡°Him,¡± I rified. ¡°But you¡¯re right, I¡¯m also surprised. I was winging it the entire time. I honestly thought I¡¯d take a Bubblebeam to the face at some point and that we¡¯d have to rush me to the Center.¡± ¡°And yet you still tried.¡± ¡°No risk, no reward.¡± We resumed our journey, battling a few trainers and wild Pokemon along the way. Denzel did most of the fighting, and for every battle, I had Frillish out to observe how Togepi and I fought. He didn¡¯t look interested, often drifting off in the wind and looking somewhere else. Either way, I was happy he wasn¡¯t attacking me anymore, but I couldn¡¯t help but watch my back every time he was out. Something about his eyes disturbed me. They were both carefree and intense at the same time somehow, and I couldn¡¯t help but break eye contact every time I talked to him, something I¡¯d have to fix if I wanted to gain his respect. Frillish seemed not to hate Togepi as much as me, however, and I¡¯d seen them talk a few times. I wish I knew about what. We took the long road around the woods I had found Scyther in. Denzel was interested in going in and trying to fight, but I dissuaded him. Scyther were ruthless predators, and extremely quick. If it decided toe after us instead of our Pokemon, it would be impossible to dodge. Eventually, however, we finally made it back to Jubilife. I took a deep breath, smelling the city air. ¡°Home sweet home,¡± I said. Denzel was speechless. This was his first time in a city, and considering it was the biggest one in Sinnoh and home to hundreds of thousands, it must have been a big culture shock. We stopped by one of the Centers to heal our Pokemon and shower, and then we grabbed a bite in a restaurant close by. ¡°So what now?¡± I asked, shoving a handful of fries in my mouth. ¡°Every Center is packed. You¡¯ll have to wait to get a room.¡± ¡°I can buy a few nights at a hotel with League money, it¡¯s not a problem.¡± I pointed a fry toward him. ¡°You¡¯re weird. You never ask for any help. Is it, like, an independence thing?¡± Heughed and took a sip of his drink. ¡°So straightforward. No, I just don¡¯t want to intrude in your house when it¡¯s not necessary.¡± ¡°What if I told you I didn¡¯t have a problem with it,¡± I said. ¡°I know you wouldn¡¯t, but your dad?¡± ¡°Eh, my dad wille around. He¡¯s a big softie.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­ but if he gets mad at you, I hold no responsibility. Thank you, though, I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°Gotcha. Our couch can turn into a bed, so you should be fine.¡± After we finished up our meal, Denzel decided to go and buy a Poketch. He bought an older model to save money, and then we took a bus ride home for free¡ª another benefit of being a League trainer. We reached my apartment, and I showed him around. It¡¯d be a while before my dad came back. I wanted to show Frillish around too, but I was scared he¡¯d make a mess since he wasn¡¯t used to¡­ civilization. ¡°It¡¯s pretty small, but it looks cozy,¡± Denzelmented. ¡°Can I let Eevee out?¡± I nodded and also let Togepi out, who was ecstatic to be back home. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we let your dad know about this before hees back from work?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯ll call him. I just need to change into my PJs first. Oh, crap, are you alright with your clothes, by the way?¡± Trainers usually traveled with clothes that were fit for living in the wild, not cities. That meant that he wouldn¡¯t have somethingfortable to sleep with. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you¡¯ve done enough. Sleeping with normal clothes won¡¯t kill me.¡± I left him in the living room and changed in my bedroom, putting on shorts and one of dad¡¯s t-shirts that were way too big for me that I had stolen. I let my hair down, ced Frillish¡¯s ball on my desk, and called my dad. ¡°Grace? I¡¯m a little busy at the moment, so make it quick if possible,¡± He said. ¡°Hey dad. Remember how I told you I was going to travel with my friend for the Circuit? Denzel from Twinleaf?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Great! Well, we¡¯re back in Jubilife, and since all the Centers are full, I decided to let him stay with us until the start of the Circuit¡ª¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± He interrupted, incredulous. ¡°He¡¯s actually already here, and it¡¯d be really rude to kick him out¡ª¡± ¡°So I have no say in this?¡± ¡°You owe me for delivering Herdier¡¯s Vitamins and reconciling with mom, and I¡¯m cashing in the favor now.¡± ¡°No, we should talk about this¡ª¡± ¡°Hello? Dad? You¡¯re breaking up.¡± ¡°Grace, don¡¯t you dare¡ª¡± ¡°Okaythankyoubye¡ª¡± I hung up. That could have gone better, but he¡¯de around. Denzel and I spent the rest of the day watching television and browsing the Circuit forums. We created profiles and verified our ounts using our trainer cards. I didn¡¯t want to post anything, preferring to just lurk on the forums and observe the different posts andments. Meanwhile, Denzel startedmenting under a lot of posts. ording to him, it was to start getting his name out there. ¡°Being a good trainer is half the work,¡± He said before pausing. ¡°Alright, that sounded wrong. Let¡¯s say it¡¯s two-thirds of the work. But you also have to build connections, and not only with other trainers. Sometimes, rich people use the forums and bet on who¡¯s getting the furthest that year, or they even sponsor you and pay for a lot of your expenses.¡± ¡°Holy crap, really? You¡¯re not pulling my leg, are you?¡± ¡°No, I swear. Oh, speaking of sponsorships, look,¡± He said, showing me his brand-new Poketch. ¡°Cecilia Obel is sponsored by a bunch of big names. The Bianchi family, Tanaka Ikeda, and Ca White.¡± ¡°I have no idea who any of those people are,¡± I said with a nk expression. ¡°And I¡¯m the one from the middle of nowhere,¡± Denzel joked. ¡°I don¡¯t care anyway. I¡¯m going to be the Champion without any help from these bigwigs. Plus, I feel like we talk about this Obel girl too much.¡± Never mind that I was probably more intrigued with her than I wanted to be, I thought. We kept hanging out for the rest of the day, and then dad came back.
DISCLAIMER: IN THIS FANFIC, NORMAL TYPE ATTACKS CAN HIT GHOST TYPES THAT HAVE A PHYSICAL BODY. AS AN EXAMPLE, POUND COULD HIT A GOLURK BUT COULDN¡¯T HIT A GENGAR. Chapter 9 Chapter 9 CHAPTER 9 Dad yelled out my name immediately as soon as he entered our apartment. ¡°Let me do the talking,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°You just nod and smile unless he addresses you directly, alright?¡± ¡°Got it,¡± He answered, adjusting the shirt cor around his neck. I had dealt with an angry father a thousand times before, and that meant I had learned how to diffuse the situation effectively. First, I ced Togepi on the ground and watched as she ran toward the door with a joyous chirp. It had been two weeks since she had seen my dad¡ª the longest she had ever gone without seeing him. ¡°Grace!¡± Dad yelled out again as his stomps got louder in the hallway. I could tell exactly when he noticed Togepi because he suddenly stopped walking, then greeted her. His steps were lighter now, so that was part one of the npleted. There was no way to stay angry with a cute little Togepi at your feet. He entered the living room with her in one arm and groceries in the other. ¡°Answer me when I call you, damn it!¡± He scolded. Dad nodded toward Denzel. ¡°Is this¡ª¡± ¡°Togeprrri!¡± Togepi chirped, waving her hands needily. That meant she wanted a hug. Dad put down his groceries and obliged her. ¡°So you¡¯re Denzel?¡± He asked, much calmer. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Denzel answered. ¡°He has no ce to stay, dad,¡± I started, getting straight to the point. ¡°And his parents aren¡¯t supporting him financially because they disapprove of his decision to participate in the Circuit. It¡¯d be rude not to house him.¡± ¡°You could have told mebeforehand.¡± ¡°You would have said no,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe not! You don¡¯t know that,¡± He said. I stared him straight in the face, letting him know I could see through his obvious lie. ¡°Ok, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have,¡± Dad admitted. ¡°But I pay rent here, so I should decide who gets to stay.¡± ¡°Togepi likes him a lot. Plus, she¡¯s just started getting friendly with his Eevee.¡± Dad groaned and then looked at Togepi. I could almost see the gears turning in his head, deciding if making his second daughter sad was worth punishing me for my actions. But I knew he couldn¡¯t resist that stare. Nobody could. ¡°Fine,¡± Dad sighed. ¡°But I reserve the right to change my mind at any moment. And I don¡¯t want his Eevee on the couch. Fur¡¯s hard to clean up, and since I wasn¡¯texpectingthis, I don¡¯t have a lint roller.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡±I squealed as I rammed into him with a hug. ¡°Thank you so much dad, you won¡¯t regret it.¡± ¡°I already do.¡± ¡ª¡ª Dad asked us to put away the groceries while he showered, so we did so while letting Togepi and Eevee mingle. Her efforts to get closer to the little furry Pokemon were bearing fruit. Eevee would act angry while she would y around with his fluffy tail, but Denzel told me he secretly enjoyed it. I would still need to show dad Frillish at some point, so I¡¯d also have to figure that out. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t callthatbeing a softie, by the way,¡± Denzel said. ¡°His re wasterrifying, and his tone¡­ my dad¡¯s not like that at all.¡± ¡°Eh, that¡¯s because you don¡¯t know him,¡± I said as I ced dad¡¯s beers in the fridge. ¡°I know what makes him tick, so I can n around whatever made him angry in the first ce. Don¡¯t let him know that.¡± ¡°Obviously I won¡¯t. But still, it¡¯s usually my mom who yells at me and stuff, and she¡¯s way smaller than I am. I guess I¡¯m just not used to it.¡± ¡°My dad wouldn¡¯t hurt a Cutiefly, don¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯ll warm up to you soon enough when I tell him how big of a help you were in the wild,¡± I smiled. ¡°Plus, notice how he bought all of this food? I bet you he did it because we didn¡¯t have enough food for three people tonight.¡± ¡°By the way,¡± I continued, suddenly getting serious. ¡°This goes without saying, but not a word about what happened at Lake Verity.¡± Denzel nodded, and we finished putting the groceries away in silence. Dad came out of the shower and started cooking a big dinner for all of us¡ª Pokemon included. It was somewhat awkward, but at least he and Denzel were making small talk, mostly about his parents, life back in Twinleaf, and our trip back to Jubilife. I would sometimes interject andpliment my friend about his trainer or survival skills. By the end of the night, dad was talking to Denzel like they¡¯d known each other for years. Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, but they were friendly with each other. The next few days went back quickly and were spent introducing Denzel to the city and its facilities designed to train your Pokemon. There were dozens of arenas where trainers could battle or gyms that had targets to train your Pokemon on. I battled a few trainers there, and I won the majority of my battles. People here were better than people on Route 202 or 201, and every battle was extremely close. Even Denzel lost a battle to a guy with a Teddiursa. He was focusing on battles more than I was. He would stay in arenas as long as he could, getting Eevee to be as strong as possible before the Circuit started. Me, however? Just like yesterday, I walked through the gate to route 202 and released my Frillish. He stared at me and began floating in the wind. ¡°Hey buddy,¡± I said before releasing Togepi. ¡°Let¡¯s hang out.¡± ¡°Prrri!¡± Togepi chirped happily. It seemed silly at first. How did you get a Pokemon to warm up to you? Well, as the inte answered when I looked it up on my Poketch, it was something that changed on a case-by-case basis. There were no easy answers, no skips, no special items or berries that would speed up the process. So I decided that we¡¯d just¡­ hang out. I sat on the grass and sliced a bit of Oran with my knife. ¡°Want some?¡± I asked Togepi. She chirped, and I fed her. I cut another slice and looked at Frillish. ¡°You want some too?¡± The blue Pokemon bobbed his head up and down, and I threw him a few bits of Oran, which he caught mid-air. I still wasn¡¯t able to touch him because then he would always start draining my energy with Absorb, so I had to feed him this way. I struggled to understand how Frillish thought. He was fine with just staying with me, but touching wasn¡¯t allowed? I sighed. At least I wasn¡¯t worried about him attacking me anymore, and I was getting morefortable with eye contact. After finishing the Oran berry, Frillish started levitating away. I raised an eyebrow and then followed him. He was floating at a leisurely pace, and I turned down challengers from a few trainers, mostly because I was scared Frillish would go too far and kill their Pokemon. One of the first things most trainers needed to instill in a Pokemon they had just caught was that battling trainers wasdifferentthan just battling wild Pokemon, and seeing as I still hadn¡¯t even talked that much with Frillish, that was a lesson for another time. ¡°Toge? Togepi?¡± Togepi asked. At first, I thought she was talking to me, but it appeared she was addressing Frillish. Needless to say, he didn¡¯t answer. Looking back, I had never even heard him talk. I kept following him until I reached a small creak. He dove into the water, and for a second, I got nervous. I imagined the worst. Was he going to run away and try to escape? Thankfully, he just stayed there and chilled with his head peeking out of the water. ¡°Do you miss the ocean?¡± I asked. Frillish looked at me and threw a little bit of water at my face. I flinched, thinking it was an attack, but it was just a normal, low-pressure jet of water. ¡°Does that mean yes?¡± I continued, wiping water off my face. He didn¡¯t answer. ¡°I seriously don¡¯t get you, dude.¡± I paused for a few seconds and smiled. ¡°Want toe back here tomorrow?¡± ¡°...lish¡± He murmured. ¡ª¡ª Denzel Williams was on top of the world. Throughout his stay at Jubilife, he had been in sixteen battles, and he had won fifteen of them. Thest one had been particrly close, and if he had anticipated that Teddiursa knowing Bulk Up, he would have won, he was sure of it. Instead of ying it safe with Sand Attack from a distance, he would have immediately rushed in with Quick Attack, and Eevee¡¯s brand new move, Bite. Regardless, he and Eevee had kept it close. Denzel was steadily building his reputation among Jubilife¡¯s new trainers waiting for the Circuit to start, and that would go a long way. The teenager smiled. All of that was far off in the future. First, it was time for another day of battling. He stepped into therge, stadium-like building and saw a number of trainers already battling among the many arenas. He also noticed a few heads turn as he walked toward an empty battlefield and had to stop himself from getting too giddy. Just you watch mom,he thought.I¡¯ll make you eat your words. The first two battles went as he had learned to expect. Eevee was on top of his game and only got hit once by a Piplup¡¯s Bubble attack. He had taught him to use Quick Attack defensively without hismand, and it was paying off. Most Pokemon couldn¡¯tnd a hit on him. ¡°Great job, Eevee! Keep it up, just a few more.¡± Eevee barked at him, clearly prideful about his performance. He loved that little Pokemon, and he couldn¡¯t wait to see how far they¡¯d get. ¡°Attention!¡± Denzel heard a yell near the entrance.¡°Who¡¯s the strongest trainer in here?¡± He frowned and observed as a short-haired teen with his cap on backward strode in the building like he owned the ce. Denzel rolled his eyes and minded his own business, applying a potion where Eevee had gotten hit. There were always these types of trainers that thought they¡¯d dominate the Circuit before they got knocked down a peg. He waited for a few minutes, hoping a new challenger would approach him, but people had started avoiding him. ¡°Yo,¡± He heard to his left. ¡°I heard you¡¯re the strongest kid in here.¡± The same person who had caused the earlier ruckus approached him with unmatched confidence. He was slightly shorter than him, but looked extremely fit. ¡°I might be, but I¡¯ve only been here for a few days,¡± Denzel replied dryly. He disliked these kinds of people. It was fine to be confident, but keep that confidence unchecked, and it would quickly grow intoarrogance. ¡°Battle me and I¡¯ll show all of these losers you¡¯re worth nothing,¡± The teen with the cap said. ¡°Oh?¡±Denzel answered, feeling anger build up inside of him. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll battle you.¡± ¡°Thank you for being a stepping stone for my ultimate goal of bing the Champion. I just got here, and I need to make a big ssh,¡± He smirked. ¡°One on one,¡± Denzel hissed. ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± They each got into position and sent out their Pokemon. Eevee was already out of his ball, so he had sensed his trainer¡¯s anger and was growling in a battle-ready position. ¡°Your time to shine, Ri,¡± He said with a bored look on his face as he sent out a Riolu. The screen counted down and as soon as it hit zero, Denzel barked out the first move. ¡°Eevee, rush him with Quick Attack and then Sand Attack!¡± Surrounded by a white glow, the little brown Pokemon became a blur and dashed toward the Riolu. He had gotten faster, and Denzel struggled to follow him with his eyes now. ¡°Ah, just deal with it, Riolu. I can¡¯t be bothered.¡± He said, waving his hand in dismissal. Denzel clenched his teeth as Eevee used his front paws to throw sand in the Riolu¡¯s eyes. It simply backstepped out of range, and then a small bone grew out of its hand. ¡°Eevee, keep going! Hit him!¡± Denzel said. Eevee listened, and with a jump, he hit Riolu¡¯s torso with Quick Attack. The Riolu, however, didn¡¯t even flinch. He grabbed Eevee¡¯s head, locking him in ce. ¡°Eevee, Bite him! Get out of there!¡± Denzel screamed, his voice faltering. With impressive strength, Riolu threw Eevee into the air and mmed him with his bone like a baseball, sending him flying back toward Denzel. It shimmered and rushed forward, positioning himself directly under where Eevee was about to fall. That was Quick Attack,Denzel thought.So much faster than ours, but what was that bone move? Denzel snapped out of his thoughts. There was no way for Eevee to dodge what wasing, but maybe¡ª ¡°Eevee, listen to my voice! Use Baby Doll Eyes!¡± He screamed. Eevee didn¡¯t move, sending a wave of panic over Denzel¡¯s body. What was going on? Riolu¡¯s palm shone with a pale blue light, hitting Eevee once again. Denzel couldn¡¯t believe it. His Pokemon was lying unconscious in the dirt, having lost after two attacks. Sure there was the type advantage, but that had been soquick.And Riolu hadn¡¯t even received anymands! ¡°Well, that was boring. I got my hopes up a little bit after hearing that you were the strongest here, but you¡¯re just as bad as everybody else,¡± His opponent said, returning Riolu. Denzel just stayed silent. He couldn¡¯t believe it. The loss wasn¡¯t the issue, the issue was howhardhe had lost. He returned Eevee and noticed the small crowd of trainers that had gathered to watch their match. They were whispering among themselves¡ª some of them were evenughing. ¡°Well, that should be enough. Onto the next arena facility then!¡± The teen said. He walked off but turned back before leaving the building. ¡°Oh,and the name¡¯s Chase Karlson. Remember it, losers, because you¡¯ll be watching me on the big screen after the first Gym¡¯s sent you packing. See ya!¡± The crowd dispersed and people slowly went back to battling. Denzel gnawed on his thumb nail the entire way to the Pokemon Center. He opened up his Poketch and looked up Chase on the forums, hoping that he was some experienced trainer that had signed up for the Circuit again. Deep down though, he already knew the answer. He wasfifteen, and it was his first time in the Circuit. There was nothing else on him, but his following had supposedly skyrocketed these past few days after he went around and beat up everything in his path with his Riolu without ordering it a single time during any battle. How had he gotten so good?Denzel thought. Failure was a good thing. Something that was always hard to experience but that trainers could grow from. And yet when a loss was soplete and total, without the opportunity to even theorize what had gonewrong, without even entertaining the idea that a battle could have gone a different way, a little thing would start to crawl into your mind. Slowly at first, and then it would bepletely unstoppable. For the first time, Denzel Williams began to doubt himself.
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 10 Chapter 10 CHAPTER 10 The next few weeks were a blur. I spent most of them getting closer with Frillish. I discovered that even though ghost types didn''t need to eat, he was a glutton. He¡¯d eat anything I threw toward him, and his stomach was seemingly bottomless. There was unfortunately still no progress on him letting me touch him. Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t misbehave when I introduced him to dad, or Jubilife city, although the sensory overload was too much for him, and he asked to be put in his ball soon enough. Dad, for all his praise about me catching a second team member so soon, seemed to dislike him. When I asked him why, he simply said he hated ghost types. How silly. Denzel was changing up his strategy, deciding to train in the wild on route 202, going out for days at a time beforeing back. Togepi¡¯s jumping Headbutt¡ª which was now her main attack¡ª was getting stronger and stronger. I didn¡¯t want to put all of my eggs in the rollout basket because when she evolved, it would be impossible to use the move. We also started working on a new move called Fairy Wind. My Pokedex told me it was one of the fairy moves Togepi could learn, and it would be great to give her a bit of variety and range. Unfortunately though, it was kind of a shot in the dark. Togepi tried her best, but the amount of wind she was making was barely enough to even botherme, so right now, it would do nothing against another Pokemon. Finally though, September 1st rolled around. Children younger than fifteen would be going back to school, but for us? It was time for the League Circuit to begin. ¡°You¡¯ll call me when you reach Oreburgh, right? Straight away!¡± Dad sobbed. ¡°Yes,dad, I will. Please don¡¯t cry, you¡¯re embarrassing me,¡± I said, trying not to tear up. ¡°Plus, when we¡¯re done in Oreburgh, we have to go back through Jubilife anyway, so cheer up!¡± Dad sniffled and then nodded. Denzel stood by my side, acting like he couldn¡¯t see what was going on to spare me the embarrassment. We stood at the gate to route 203, along with hundreds of young trainers and their parents going through the same thing we were: saying goodbye. Some trainers had already left days, or even weeks earlier, to be able to challenge Roark as soon as the Circuit began. Denzel and I had decided against it so I could spend more time with my father. I was thankful for that because I could tell he wanted to leave early. Something was bothering him, but I couldn¡¯t tell what. ¡°And call me before your gym battle! Both of you!¡± Dad continued. Denzel¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Um, of course, sir.¡± ¡°Come on, Denzel. Enough with the sirs. You¡¯re just making me feel old,¡± Dad said. He pped both of our shoulders. ¡°I believe in both of you. You¡¯ll go far. I can feel it in my gut.¡± I hugged dad and told him I loved him. He did the same. We started to leave before dad called out one more time. ¡°And Denzel! Take care of Grace for me!¡± My cheeks reddened, and I dragged Denzel past the gate¡¯s exit before he had time to answer. Route 203y before us, along with hundreds of trainers and their Pokemon. It was honestly overwhelming to see this many people, all heading in the same direction. The route was rtively simple and well maintained by Rangers because it was often the first route a trainer would actually go through, so unless we strayed off the road, there would be very little to worry about in terms of wild Pokemon until we reached Oreburgh gate. Denzel and I had estimated it would take three days to get to the cave if we weren¡¯t stopped by too many trainers looking to battle, and another day and a half to get through Oreburgh gate. The first few hours were uneventful. We mostly kept to ourselves. There were a few incidents between trainers, however. Apparently, someone¡¯s aggressive Phanphy had gone on a rampage and wounded a few people and their Pokemon further up the route, and had to be neutralized by four trainers at the same time. Phanphy¡¯s owner had gotten furious and started a fight, and chaos ensued. It was scary to hear about, but it also taught me a valuable lesson. Not every trainer would be as diligent as I had been with Frillish, makingsurethat they stayed in their ball if I wasn¡¯t confident there wouldn¡¯t be an ident. Some trainers were rash, or immature, and didn¡¯t think before they acted. We had to take a few breaks after a few hours of walking. Route 203 went permanently uphill, so it drained our energy faster than a normal route. We sat near the side of the forest that surrounded the route. ¡°You know, this is kind of anticlimactic so far, isn¡¯t it?¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯d rather this be anticlimactic than too dangerous. This was expected. There¡¯s no way the League would still exist if a bunch of teenagers died every year at thefirstroute they went through.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Denzel answered, trailing off. ¡°I was thinking though, how about not following the route for a little?¡± I frowned. ¡°How? It¡¯s a straight path to Oreburgh gate, so it¡¯d make no sense. We would just be wasting time.¡± ¡°Well, it isn''t exactly a shortcut. In fact, we might be wasting a few days in there, but there¡¯s a certain Pokemon I want to look for. Remember when I said I already had a team in mind?¡± I nodded and took a swig out of my water bottle. ¡°The first one on my list is a Budew, and they can apparently be found here. I thought I¡¯d just find one on the normal route, but the Rangers seemingly went extra hard on keeping wild Pokemon out of the way here this year. If I ever want to beat Roark¡¯s rock types, then I¡¯ll need a new team member anyway. You already have Frillish, but I only have Eevee.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± I said, suddenly understanding. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t like it, but I said we¡¯d travel together right? So I¡¯ll follow you and help you out.¡± Denzel¡¯s face brightened. Had he expected me to say no? ¡°Thank you, Grace. How about leaving the route after our break? I want to catch one as early as possible so I have time to train it before Roark.¡± ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll use the opportunity to see if Frillish feels like fighting any wild Pokemon.¡± ¡°How¡¯s it looking with him? You were almost always out of Jubilife when you used him,¡± Denzel asked as he nced at the Pokeball on my hip. ¡°I like him. He¡¯s certainly stubborn andweird, but he¡¯smystubborn and weird friend, y¡¯know? Plus, he¡¯s kind of cute if you look at him the right way. We¡¯ve been connecting more and more.¡± Denzel scoffed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call him cute. Menacing, maybe. Anyway, I certainly hope the Budew I catch is easier to manage thanthat. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to spend weeks in Oreburgh just trying to get it to listen to me.¡± ¡°You were good with Eevee, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, I was,¡± My friend said, looking at the sky. ¡°I told you I rescued him, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know what he got attacked by, but when I found him on route 201, he was barely breathing. I took him back home and my family and I nursed him back to health. I tried releasing him afterward, but he wouldn¡¯t leave my side,¡± Denzel continued, putting his hand on his Pokeball affectionally. ¡°So I decided to keep him. He didn¡¯t even have a Pokeball for an entire year.¡± ¡°Woah,¡± I said. ¡°You did a great thing. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d try to save an injured wild Pokemon I randomly came across.¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°Pokemon¡­ they can be your greatest friend, but the world they live in is ruthless. It¡¯s kill or be killed. I honestly feel bad for them. Could you imagine Togepi trying to survive in the wild?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Hey y¡¯all,¡± A short trainer waved toward us. ¡°Fancy a battle?¡± ¡°You can go ahead,¡± I told Denzel. He had battled much more than me back in Jubilife, and I expected him to do the same during our journey. ¡°Uh¡ª I¡¯m good, actually. Not feeling it,¡± He stuttered with a nervousugh. ¡°Mind if I take this one, then?¡± I asked, noting his strange behavior. I thought I was imagining things, but he had been¡­ timid when it came to battling for a few weeks now. I faced the challenger and sent out Togepi. I considered sending out Frillish, but I decided against it. It would be better to be safe and try him out in a battle against a wild Pokemon instead of a trainer. A quick Sweet Kiss, Headbuttbo made quick work of his Plusle, but not before it shocked Togepi with Thundershock. It was a quick battle, but I was surprised at how much damage a single attack had done on Togepi. I thought about it for a while as we finished our break until I figured it out. Togepi¡¯s shell was excellent at mitigating damage from physical attacks, but she was still vulnerable to special attacks. There wasn¡¯t much of a solution to this problem right now, and Togepi was slower than most attacks, so there was no way she could dodge unless she was using rollout and building up speed for a decent while. Luckily, rock type moves were mostly physical, so I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it for a while. We passed through the thick tree line and started looking for a Budew. Denzel released his Eevee, and I released Frillish, who looked extremely irritated that he was in such a dense forest. I was starting to be able to tell how he felt using his bodynguage. It mostly had to do with how bright or dim his eyes were, and how tense he was while floating. ¡°Sorry buddy,¡± I told him. ¡°Togepi¡¯s resting right now, so I wanted to ask you if you were alright with helping us out?¡± Frillish¡¯s eyes dimmed, and he slowly bobbed his head. ¡°Thanks,¡± I told him. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a lot of foodter. Maybe we can even get some poffins when we get to Oreburgh.¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± We continued looking for hours. Luckily for us, this forest was rtively well maintained and it was nowhere near as hard to walk through as the woods on route 202 had been. Frillish dealt with most Pokemon from a distance with a few Bubblebeams or Night Shades, while Eevee took care of the grass types with Bites and Quick Attacks. To my delight, Frillish was starting to listen to what I said during battles. Onlystarting, because sometimes he¡¯d follow every move by the letter, and other times he would just do whatever he wanted. I had to stop him from killing a few wild Pokemon¡ª apparently, that¡¯s how he was used to eating. He would knock a Pokemon out and then start draining all of its energy with Absorb. I suppose that was why he was so enamored with the taste of normal food. I doubted pure energy tasted like anything. ¡°Grace! Stand still and quiet,¡± Denzel whispered, interrupting my train of thought. He pointed to my right with a trembling finger. Five green Pokemon looking like nt buds with yellow faces on their bottom half were waddling through the forest alongside a small pond. I scanned them with my Pokedex. Budew, the Bud Pokemon. When the sun¡¯s light strengthens, the bud atop this Pok¨¦mon¡¯s head opens, releasing toxic pollen. This can be a sign to the people that the harsh winter is over, and the season of budding has begun. Type: Grass, Poison ¡°I¡¯m going to need your help keeping the rest of its group off of Eevee,¡± Denzel whispered to me. I responded with a determined nod. Denzel gestured to Eevee and called him to his side and then gestured toward the biggest Budew of the group. He grabbed an empty Pokeball, and Eevee started to shine.
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 11 Chapter 11 CHAPTER 11 With a growl, Eevee rammed into the biggest Budew walking at the back of the group. They all shrieked and started attacking him. ¡°Night Shade!¡± I yelled out to Frillish. A ghostly, ethereal form appeared in front of Frillish and hit two Budew. Eevee was dodging as best he could, but he was starting to slow down after inhaling spores. ¡°Change of ns, Eevee! Deal with the small ones first!¡± Denzel said. Eevee barked and bithardinto one of the Budew. The group¡¯s attention was now focused entirely on us. I swore in pain as seeds mmed into my abdomen. I coughed and fell to the ground. ¡°Fuck! Eevee, hurry up!¡± My vision was swimming, but I heard a Bubblebeame out of Frillish¡¯s mouth. I slowly crawled behind a tree and heaved myself up. With a few ragged breaths, I released Togepi, who immediately rushed to my side, her face warped with worry. ¡°Keep it going! You¡¯ve¡ª fuck, fuck,fuck!¡± I heard Denzel scream with rage. ¡°Get back!¡± I heard a dozen of small impacts scatter throughout the battlefield¡ª most likely that seed attack that had hit me. ¡°I need you¡­ to help them,¡± I croaked. ¡°Sorry¡­ I know you¡¯re hurt, so just try to use Sweet Kiss.¡± Togepi screeched in anger and joined the battle. I peeked my head and looked at what was going on. Three Budew had fainted, but thergest one was still fighting hard, ejecting seeds toward Frillish and spores toward Eevee. Togepi¡¯s Sweet Kiss hit the smaller one, who immediately received a Night Shade to the face and fainted. ¡°Get behind him and Quick Attack! We¡¯re almost there!¡± Denzel yelled out. Eevee circled around his opponent, much like he had done to Togepi during our first battle. The Budew shrieked, and nts around it began to wither. Eevee crashed to the ground, as did Frillish. ¡°Togepi¡­ Headbutt.¡± I said. She obliged and rammed into the raging Budew, who stopped whatever it was doing. Denzel fumbled around his bag and threw a Pokeball at it. The ball shook amidst the deafening, post-battle silence. One time¡­ two times¡­ Budew broke out of the ball, but Eevee was back on his feet and bit its bulb. I returned Frillish, who was out for the count, and told Togepi to use Sweet Kiss on Budew. After a few more attacks from both Togepi and Eevee, Budew finally fell to the ground and was caught by Denzel. ¡ª¡ª ¡°How does it look, doc?¡± I asked Denzel jokingly. My chuckle turned into a painful cough.Laughing hurts. Got it, I thought. ¡°Oof, this sucks.¡± Denzel¡ª who was looking at my stomach area¡ª was extremely apologetic. He kept saying it was his fault, and that we shouldn¡¯t have attacked such a big group. ¡°Lesson learned,¡± I simply told him. ¡°Now tell me if it¡¯s bad or not.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s very¡­ purple. I think your entire midriff area¡¯s going to turn into a giant bruise.¡± ¡°Damn it,¡± I swore in frustration. ¡°This is going to sucksobad. How¡¯s Eevee?¡± ¡°Poisoned. He could barely stand, so I retrieved him, but we have antidotes and potions for that. Worry about yourself.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll live,¡± I said. I wanted to appear strong so that I wouldn¡¯t slow us down, but in reality, I was terrified. I felt like if I stood, I would throw up because of the pain. ¡°What kind of Budew even was that? A Budew on steroids?¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°I never expected it to be so strong, but it was the leader of the group, so it makes sense. I guess I underestimated how strong Pokemon in this forest would be. They¡¯re somewhat passive, but if you attack them¡­ Arceus,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°Sorry. I should have been more careful.¡± ¡°You should have,¡± I reprimanded him. ¡°This is going to slow us down. I¡ª I¡¯m not going to lie, I don¡¯t even know if I can walk.¡± Denzel grabbed a towel from his bag, soaked it in water, and pressed it on my giant bruise. He asked me if I wanted to get back to Jubilife. ¡°Just let me rest a lil¡¯,¡± I said. I released Frillish¡ª who was barely staying afloat¡ª and Togepi. ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re really as sorry as you say, do me a favor and heal my team.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± He murmured. Denzel did just that, using multiple potions on my Frillish and Togepi. He used the opportunity to heal his Eevee as well. ¡°What about the little beast?¡± I asked before leaning back against the tree. The little movement caused the pain to re up, and I hissed. ¡°Budew? Now¡¯s not the time. That battle was intense, and we essentially robbed it of her family here¡­ I think it¡¯ll be a while before she even lets me talk to her without attacking me right away, and I don¡¯t want to risk that with your wound.¡± ¡°Makes sense. What move was that, by the way? I¡¯ve never seen it in any battles I watched,¡± I asked. The truth was, I didn¡¯t really care, but anything to distract me would be good. Denzel opened his Pokedex. ¡°Bullet Seed. Hold on, let me get the description¡­ah, there it is.The user forcefully shoots seeds at the foe. Two to five seeds are shot in rapid session.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that was five,¡± I said, holding the wet towel against myself. ¡°What else does it have?¡± ¡°Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Growth, and Absorb,¡± Denzel answered. ¡°Quite the powerful moveset.¡± I nced at the dead, withered nts surrounding where Budew hadst stood. ¡°That Absorb¡­ it was way more powerful than Frillish¡¯s. And Budew used it at a distance too, while Frillish has to make contact with his target.¡± Denzel tapped his chin for a few seconds. ¡°I think that¡¯s just because Budew¡¯s a grass type, and Frillish isn¡¯t. I read online that moves of a Pokemon¡¯s type will always be more powerful. Plus, I¡¯m pretty sure it used Growth.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± I said. The silence settled in again, and I felt the dull ache re up again. ¡°Ow, um, can you distract me? Talk about something. Anything?¡± The next few hours were painful, but Denzel tried his best to keep my mind focused on something else. With his help, I eventually managed to stand up, although I almost cried from the pain. I leaned against his shoulder, and we managed to get back to route 203. I was in no shape to keep going for the day, so we ended up deciding to set up camp and stay here for a few days. Sometimes, he would go back in the forest to train with Eevee or attempt to get on more¡­ civil terms with his Budew, but there was no progress on that axis. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how to get through to her,¡± He said as he poured pellets into a bowl for Eevee. ¡°Like, I can¡¯t even speak with her. I don¡¯t even have time to open my mouth.¡± I was lying down, carefully avoiding any movement. The pain was slowly getting better, but it was obviously slower than I would have liked. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know what to tell you,¡± I said after a pause. ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll understand that attacking you doesn¡¯t work after a while.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± He agonized. ¡°I really need her for Roark.¡± Eevee threw a powered-down Sand Attack at Togepi when she tried to steal his food, and Frillish was hovering above me, soaking in the sunlight. ¡°You might be going at it with the wrong angle,¡± I mused. He frowned at me. ¡°If you want her to listen to youjustto beat the gym, then it¡¯ll be hard to bring her on board. Why don¡¯t you try to just hope to reach a mutual understanding first? Sometimes I feel like Pokemon can sense that kind of thing. Or at least that¡¯s how it was with this guy,¡± I said, nodding at Frillish. ¡°I mean, Idowant that too, but¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°I want¡ª no, Ineedto get stronger.¡± I noticed the straining in his tone. His clenched fist. The anger in his eyes. ¡°Alright, Ihaveto ask. Did something happen to you in Jubilife? You¡¯ve been kind of weird, and I haven¡¯t known you for that long, so if I¡¯m wrong, just let me know.¡± Denzel practically flinched at my question. ¡°Weird how?¡± ¡°You never battle with trainers anymore. You seem kind of frustrated with yourself too. Does that make sense?¡± I asked. ¡°Plus, you stopped posting on the forums before we left. I thought you wanted to get your name out there. Put yourself on the map.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± My friend sighed after a pause. ¡°And annoyingly perceptive. It was during one of the days when you were on route 202. Some trainer called Chase Karlson absolutely destroyed me. Ever since then, I haven¡¯t battled anyone. I¡¯ve tried going back to the battling facility, but I just can¡¯t¡­ cross the door. I¡¯m terrified of losing again.¡± I sat up, which caused Denzel to panic and an unbelievable amount of pain. I took a few deep breaths. ¡°Listen, buddy. I used to be like this until my dad knocked some sense into me, so I¡¯ll try to do the same with you,¡± I said. ¡°There will always be trainers better than you and I. Gifted, talented people who will dominate the Circuit. People who probably work ten times as hard as we do. But look at it this way: we have a year to catch up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ what if I can¡¯t even beat the first gym? Budew¡ª¡± ¡°Then you try again. Or we leave and go to another town. Challenge another gym. There¡¯s no set order. There¡¯s no need to give up at the first hurdle.¡± ¡°But if I can¡¯t even beat Roark¡ª¡± ¡°Arceus, you¡¯re being such a Debbie downer. AndI¡¯mthe one who can barely move. Pull yourself together!¡± I said, raising my tone. ¡°Look!¡± I pointed toward the route. We were sitting at the edge of the road. ¡°Look at all these people. You think they¡¯re all like this Chase guy?¡± Denzel shook his head. ¡°And they¡¯re still trying. Battling, getting better and better. You¡¯re going to be left behind if you keep doing this. Come on,¡± I extended my hand. ¡°Let¡¯s reach the Conference together.¡± He sniffled and shook my hand. ¡°Promise.¡± ¡°Also, I hope this internal crisis isn¡¯t why you roped me into engaging withfiveBudew at once because that would be kind of fucked up.¡± ¡°Um. It¡­ was? I think?¡± ¡°Shit. You owe me!¡± ¡ª¡ª In the end, it took another five days for me to be able to walk at a reasonable pace. I already knew Pokemon were dangerous, but to be this hurt byoneattack from a Budew? I¡¯d have to be more and more careful as we progressed and reached more dangerous routes that weren¡¯t as well maintained as this one. Denzel was back to battling and was doing well mentally, whereas I was taking a break because of my bruise. Regardless, I was d that my friend was back to his confident self. Frillish was getting progressively grumpier as we progressed. I knew him well enough now to know that it was because he hadn¡¯t been in water for too long, but I kept him in line by telling him that there was supposed to be ake next to Oreburgh gate where he¡¯d be free to do whatever he wanted. Togepi was still making slow progress on Fairy Wind, and she was always cheerful no matter how our training sessions went. I was d she was there to keep my morale up, and I believed she was also sharing some of her happiness with Denzel. Finally, after days of painful walking, we reached Oreburgh gate. The mountain looked imposing, and its jagged cliff stretched for thousands of miles upward. The entrance to the mountain was less¡­ wild than I imagined. It looked like the entrance of a tunnel rather than a cave, and a lot of trainers were taking a break at the entrance. Instead, we continued ten minutes to the west and found theke I had promised Frillish. I released him, and with a happy cry, he dove headfirst into the water. ¡°Don¡¯t go too far! Don¡¯t kill anything!¡± I screamed. I knew he was a water type, but I couldn¡¯t help but worry he¡¯d get in trouble with the local wildlife. We decided to camp out here for a night, and tomorrow, we¡¯d head into Oreburgh gate. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 CHAPTER 12 Huge stctites hung high on the cave¡¯s ceiling. The air felt colder than it had been outside, but more humid, and the ground was slick with moisture. Geodude could be seen camouged against the cave walls or among rocks, and a pack of Zubat could be seen hanging upside down on the ceiling. Oreburgh gate was often a trainer¡¯s first caving experience, and I found it to be an oppressive, anxiety-inducing experience. My throat felt clogged up, and I had to remind myself how to breathe often. Plus, even with how cold it was, I found a way to sweat. Stupid nervousness making me sweat everywhere, I thought. Luckily, the cave was also mostly a straight path, just like route 203 had been, and it was lit up all the way through by gasmps to help new trainers. ¡°Ahh!¡± I squealed as I heard pping wings right behind me. I waved my hands around wildly and ran away, ignoring the pain it brought to my abdomen. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± ¡°I think that was a Zubat,¡± Denzel said. Eevee was on his shoulder and barked at the bat Pokemon, chasing it away. My mind shed back to the Golbat that I had seen at Lake Verity, and I shuddered. ¡°Zubat, Golbat, I hate all of them. What was nature thinking when it made that Pokemon line? First, there¡¯s a creepy little guy with no eyes and whose mouth basically takes up its entire face, and then there¡¯s its evolution that¡¯s basically just a mouth! That¡¯s literally what it is! How does it survive?! It¡¯s a flying mouth!¡± ¡°Nature doesn¡¯t think,¡± My friend deadpanned. ¡°Please indulge me for at least a second,¡± I groaned. ¡°How much longer do we have to go?¡± Denzel opened his Poketch. ¡°Eh, Eighteen hours or so, including breaks. More if you keep panicking at every noise you hear.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± Eevee barked in agreement. I wished I could have my Pokemon out, but Togepi was absolutely terrified of the cave¡ª even more than I was. When we first walked in, she had just grabbed my leg and pulled, begging me not to go. I decided to carry her, but she kept crying, and I couldn¡¯t bear to see her scared like that, so I recalled her to her Pokeball. Meanwhile, Frillish just feltzy and wanted back in the ball as soon as I released him. In the end, that meant that all we had to defend us was Eevee, but he was doing a pretty good job so far. ¡°Hey, on a scale of one to ten, how stupid would it be for me to find a Geodude and train with Eevee against it?¡± Denzel asked after a few minutes of silence. My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. ¡°One hundred!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not on the scale,¡± Denzel chuckled. ¡°I was just wondering. I¡¯ve never fought any rock types, and even though I know normal type moves aren¡¯t very effective¡ª or most physical moves in general¡ª I¡¯d like to see how Eevee fares against one of them.¡± ¡°Dude¡­ no, just no. I¡¯m not getting hit by another Pokemon attack trying to help you. I¡¯ve had enough of that for the entire League Circuit.¡± ¡°Think about it¡ª¡± ¡°I already thought about it. No. Or at least wait until we¡¯re closer to Oreburgh.¡± ¡°I feel like I could be doing more to train,¡± Denzel grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. Denzel was in a better mental space than he had been a few days earlier, but I could tell he still thought a lot about that trainer who beat him. ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we y a game to pass the time? Truth or dare?¡± ¡°Now who¡¯s the crazy one? I¡¯m not doing any dares in the middle of a cave.¡± ¡°So you can be responsible when you try.¡± We kept going, asionallying across a few trainers traveling alone or in groups as big as ten. To me, that number seemed way too chaotic, but if it worked, I wasn¡¯t going to shame them. Our goal had been to reach the cave¡¯s exit in a day, which was theoretically possible. Unfortunately, we underestimated how slow we¡¯d be going because of the uneven ground and my bruise. Much to my chagrin, we ended up spending a night in the cold, wet cave. It felt like the moisture was seeping through my backpack somehow as well, and I got scared a few times my Poketch would get wet. Fortunately, at least Pokedexes were waterproof, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about that. About ten hourster, we were finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. I squinted and covered my eyes with my hand as we finally stepped outside. Seeing sunlight after so long was painful. In the distance, plumes of smoke rose into the sky, and huge apartmentplexes covered the entire city center. Whereas Jubilife was a nice-looking modern city, Oreburgh was an industrial mining town. Coal, tin, and copper were the vast majority of the products exported all over the region by air, but they also were famous for the number of fossils that were unearthed here every year. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Finally, we were out of that stupid cave, and our first objective was practically right in front of us! These next few days would be extremely important and would determine if I had what it took to keep going on the League Circuit or not. The first gym awaited us. ¡ª¡ª The first thing we did was obviously head to the Pokecenter. I immediately took a very earned shower, checked in Togepi and Frillish, and then headed toward the human care wing of the building. ¡°Legendaries, that¡¯s arge contusion. And you said you¡¯ve been walking around with this?¡± A male doctor told me. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s been slowly getting better,¡± I said. ¡°I can walk, and I can bend over if I really brace myself.¡± He exhaled loudly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that¡¯s great progress. Now, what move was the one that hit you? And from what Pokemon?¡± ¡°Bullet Seed from a Budew on route 203,¡± I said. I omitted the fact that we had gone off-route. The doctor grabbed a huge dossier, licked his finger, and flipped through what must have been hundreds of papers. ¡°Budew¡­ Budew¡­ ah, there it is. Hold on a second,¡± He said, writing something on a piece of paper as he read. ¡°It¡¯s not bad is it?¡± I said, with a slight surge of panic. ¡°Well, it could have been worse. It could have hit a bone and broken it. It could have hit you in the neck or temple and killed you. So I would say you got off pretty easy, ms. Pastel,¡± The doctor said nonchntly. I swallowed. ¡°Alright, give this to the front desk. It¡¯s a prescription for a cream that you¡¯ll have to apply on the contused area four times a day. Next, I¡¯d like to run some tests to see if you didn¡¯t inhale any spores.¡± ¡°I was pretty far. I¡¯m more worried about my friend in that case.¡± ¡°Better safe than sorry. Budew¡¯s poison isn¡¯t weak by any means, but it is slow acting. In a month, you could be dead if you don¡¯t go through the necessary precautions now.¡± ¡°...Alright.¡± He ran a few more tests on me, including a blood and a urine test, but I ended up clean. I hurried up back to the front desk, grabbed my prescription, and told Denzel to go get scanned asap for poisoning as well. Luckily, he was also unaffected. ¡ª¡ª While our Pokemon were being healed, Denzel and I visited Oreburgh. Heined endlessly about the polluted air, but I couldn¡¯t really tell the difference between Jubilife¡¯s air and Oreburgh¡¯s. We made our way to a fast food ce, where I ate enough for two people. I ordered a milkshake to go and we went to the Oreburgh Mining Museum, which was one of the city¡¯s main touristic attractions. There, we learned about Orebugh¡¯s history. The city was rtively young, only being settled a few hundred years ago during the industrial revolution. We also learned that coal was formed with the help of dead grass type Pokemon and nt matter, and we saw a bunch of old mining artifacts and some fossils. All in all, I found it pretty boring, but Denzel seemed to have liked it. Finally, we reached the city¡¯s main attraction: the rock type gym. The building was grander than it looked on television, being easily one of thergest in the city. It looked like Jubilife¡¯s battling arena facilities, just three times bigger. There was a giant queue that stretched all around the block to sign up, and it took an hour and a half to finally get inside the gym. There was a receptionist in the lobby that helped trainers sign up for a battle, and he sported a white and brown uniform with a brown Pokeball on the white side of the shirt. Above him, there was a screen with all the scheduled matches, and the monitor changed days every so often. I groaned internally when I realized that Roark had been booked for the next week already, and I¡¯d have to wait that long to challenge him. The truth was that the situation was a mixed bag. I would have more time to train, but I¡¯d feel the stress build up the entire time. I just wanted to be done with it, win or lose. I couldn¡¯t really me the way the gym was organized either. Every match was scheduled tost twenty minutes at most, and then there¡¯d be a ten minute break in between. That meant that Roark would be battling for the majority of his day, from eight in the morning until the gym finally closed at seven every single night for the foreseeable future. I loved battling, but there was no amount of money anyone could pay me to do this job. ¡°Next!¡± I heard. Finally, after an annoying wait, it was my turn. I walked up to the receptionist with a smile. ¡°Good afternoon, and wee to the Oreburgh gym,¡± He said, almost by reflex. ¡°Are you here to sign up for a gym battle?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, suddenly feeling very small. ¡°Alright. Trainer ID, please.¡± I quickly handed him my ID. ¡°Grace Pastel¡­¡± He muttered as he typed something on hisputer. After ten seconds or so, he handed me a piece of paper and a pen. ¡°Read through this and answer the questions honestly. Lying on any of these is grounds for disqualification from the Circuit.¡± I understood right away what the questionnaire was for after reading the first question. Is this your first time participating in the League Circuit? If not, how many times have you done so and how many badges did you get during your most sessful year? They were gauging our skill level to know what Pokemon to use against us. The questions I found the most interesting were these ones: Have you joined any of the Circuits in other regions? If so which ones and how far did you get? Have you had any experiences battling before joining the League Circuit? If so, please state how many years/months/days. How many Pokemon do you currently own? (Make sure to warn a gym official if you catch another Pokemon while waiting for your match) I answered all of them honestly and handed back the paper. The receptionist typed away for another minute or so and then ced my form in a drawer full of them. ¡°Alright, ms. Pastel. Let me exin how this gym works to you very quickly. In five days at 2:40 pm, you¡¯ll have to battle one of our gym trainers. If you win, you move on and get a battle with Roark, but if you lose, you have to wait two weeks to sign up again. This also applies if you miss your battle, by the way. We¡¯ll only wait for five minutes until you¡¯re counted as missing, so don¡¯t bete.¡± I absorbed the information as best I could. The receptionist clicked his mouse a few times, and a small slip of paper came out of a device to his side. ¡°This is your ticket with the date and time. Do not lose it, or you have to wait the full two weeks. Any questions?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Next!¡± He yelled. I walked past Denzel and winked. I decided to wait for him outside, and as soon as he came out, we walked back to the Pokemon Center to grab our teams back.
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 13 Chapter 13 CHAPTER 13 ¡°Please make sure to warn us adequately next time, Mr. Williams,¡± Nurse Joy said in a stern tone as she gave him back his Pokeballs. ¡°That Budew wasn¡¯t just aggressive, it was a danger to our staff and all the Pokemon around it.¡± Denzel could only hang his head in shame and apologized profusely. His Budew had attacked everything around it as soon as the nurses let her out of her ball, and had to be shot with a tranquilizer twice before going down. It was the only way they could heal her. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Denzel continued. ¡°I thought my warning was enough¡­¡± The nurse sighed. ¡°Well, make sure to let the nurse know if you go to another center and it¡¯s still behaving this way. Have a great day.¡± As we left the Pokemon Center, I kept trying to find the words to cheer Denzel up. I figured something out, but he raised his hand and stopped me. ¡°I need to be alone today,¡± He muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯ll be fine. I just need to figure this whole Budew thing out. If I can¡¯t¡­ well, I might need to release her. Let¡¯s meet back here tonight and get something to eat,¡± He said as he touched her ball. I nodded. ¡°Alright, but be careful.¡± He left and made his way back toward Oreburgh gate. I considered following him, but I felt that he would be disappointed if I did. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just me now,¡± I told myself. The first thing I did was call my dad to let him know I was in Oreburgh and that I had signed up at Roark¡¯s gym. It took a few minutes for him to understand that the gym trainer I was supposed to battle in five days was not actually a gym leader and that it wouldn¡¯t be televised. The gym trainer system was rather new, and ording to Denzel, it had been implemented by Roark to create another barrier before reaching him. This was because the number of trainers that signed up for the League Circuit increased each year. And if you couldn¡¯t beat a gym trainer, there was no way you were beating the gym. Then, since I had called one parent, I decided to make good on my promise and check up on mom. The fact that I could tell she was almost crying of happiness made me feel terrible I hadn¡¯t gotten in contact sooner, but I couldn¡¯t change the past, so all I could do was look forward. If Denzel was going to brood, I decided it was time to work on my team. I made my way to the city¡¯s northeast, past the museum, and toward a small portion of route 207 that was isted in Oreburgh. This area was a small, self-contained wild zone that had been created by the city to help trainers get ready for the gym without having to train in the cave¡ª something I was very grateful for. Wild Pokemon here were supposed to be weak and passive, and any threats were always quickly dealt with by the Rangers. The area as a whole was about two miles squared. Luckily for me, most trainers ignored this area, preferring to battle in Oreburgh¡¯s battling facilities as a training method instead of this. To some extent, they were correct that they would get stronger faster using trainer battles, but today, I wanted to do something different. I released Togepi and Frillish, now fully healthy from their trip to the Pokemon Center. Togepi hugged my leg and chirped happily, while Frillish spun around in the air, which was certainly the happiest I¡¯d seen him. I smiled at both of them and pped my hands. ¡°Wee back, guys! Our first big fight at the gym is in five days, so let¡¯s have a little team meeting,¡± I told them. ¡°Now, before we even talk strategy, I want to get something out of the way. Let¡¯s make you friends!¡± The truth was, even though Togepi and Frillish seemed to get along, they didn¡¯t interact with each other very much. Sure, they talked a few times, but I wanted us to be a team, and to be a team, they had to be as close with each other as they were with me. ¡°Prrrri!¡± Togepi agreed. Frillish stopped spinning and stared at me with a confused look in his eyes. ¡°This won¡¯t help us in the short term, but in the long term? If I can have a team that fully trusts each other in every situation, it¡¯ll help us a lot, especially in the wild, so I¡¯m doing this whether you like it or not,¡± I exined. Frillish started drifting away. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t just drift away from me, mister! I promised you poffins, and I haven¡¯t forgotten. It¡¯ll be your reward for cooperating today.¡± He stopped and then reluctantly joined us again, but not before shooting a jet of water at my face. I let out a small scream of surprise and sighed as the little pranksterughed silently, bobbing his head up and down. ¡°I¡¯ll act like that didn¡¯t happen¡­¡± I said, wiping my face with my shirt. ¡°Anyway, another reason why we¡¯re doing this is because I¡¯m still hurt, and I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯d be able to focus on battling properly with this pain at the back of my mind,¡± I exined. ¡°Hopefully it¡¯ll be better for our battle.¡± I told the two to face each other, and I ced myself at a distance in between them so that we¡¯d form a ¡®triangle.¡¯ ¡°Alright! First of all, I want you two to say something you like about each other. Oh¡ª let me go first. I love how Togepi always tries to cheer me up no matter how down I¡¯m feeling. She¡¯s always trying her best to keep the mood up.¡± ¡°Togeprrri!¡± ¡°And I love how even though Frillish acts like he doesn¡¯t care about anything, he seems to be a little softie inside.¡± For a second, Frillish didn¡¯t react, and I was scared he was going to take myment the wrong way, but he propelled himself upward excitedly as his eyes shone bright red. I smiled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that feel good? When someonepliments you? Togepi, you go first.¡± My two teammates went back and forth, and soon enough they were speaking together on their own. It felt a little lonely not being able to tell what was being said, but I was still extremely happy, because it seemed they had finally befriended each other. They went a few hours hanging out, and Frillish helped Togepi y around by doing tricks like spinning upside down, or making a Night Shade do the same. It didn¡¯t take much to make her have fun. Our little friend-making session was interrupted when a trainer challenged me to a battle¡ª something I had to force myself to refuse. I left the route, returning back to the city with Togepi in my arms and Frillish floating by my side. After a twenty minute walk, I found what I was looking for. I entered the Poffin house and took a deep breath. ¡°Smells good doesn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. ¡°Prrri!¡± ¡°Lish!¡± I went to the counter and eyed the dozens of different Poffins through the ss. ¡°Which one do you want, Frillish? You really liked the sweet ones in Jubilife, didn¡¯t you?¡± I asked. He bobbed his head and smiled. ¡°Wow, uh, we gotta work on that smile buddy. Okay, two sweet poffins¡­ one made out of Mago berries, and one made out of Pecha,¡± I told the clerk, who promptly started stuffing them in bags. ¡°And for Togepi, one made out of Oran, please,¡± I continued, already knowing what her favorite one was. I handed the clerk a few dozen Pokedors through my trainer card and exited the building with my poffins. I carefully split Togepi¡¯s into five pieces and fed them to her. As for Frillish¡­ ¡°Say aaah,¡± I teased, cing the poffin right next to his mouth. Frillish turned away. ¡°C¡¯mon¡­ do it for me¡­ please¡­¡± I asked with Lillilpup eyes. He rolled his eyes at me and ate out of my hand. ¡°Yes! Thank you! Now let¡¯s do the other one¡ª¡± He hurriedly and clumsily snatched the bag away from me and stole the poffin. ¡°No fair!¡± I pouted, but I couldn¡¯t help butugh. This was possibly the happiest I¡¯d been in a long while. My Pokemon were getting along with each other and with me, and soon I was pretty sure I¡¯d be able to call Frillish family. Traveling was fun most of the time, and although I had gotten hurt, I didn¡¯t regret signing up for the Circuit at all. I was d I did, and that I was going to experience new things for the next year, and possibly multiple years. Nothing was going to ruin this¡ª My mind shed back to Lake Verity. The Golbat¡¯s giant maw that led to an oppressive, unending darkness. Forever falling into its mouth. The smell would be atrocious. I would be digested alive and melted by its poison. The pain would be unimaginable. Unbearable¡ª ¡°Toge?¡± Togepi asked. As if I had been jolted awake from a dream, I snapped out of my vision. Togepi had little chunks of blue Poffin around her mouth. I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Thank you, princess,¡± I said, petting her head. I felt a cold, slimy tentacle touch my neck. I turned my head, and my eyes widened as I saw Frillish with a worried face caressing me. ¡°I made you worry, didn¡¯t I? Sorry,¡± I said in aforting tone. Suddenly, I realized that he was touching me. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not using Absorb! You¡¯re fine with touching now?¡± I asked. The blue Pokemon nodded and barely had time to register what was going on before I pulled him into a hug. A few hourster, Denzel called me to let me know that he was back at the Center. I joined him quickly, but no matter how hard I asked, he wouldn¡¯t tell me how his attempts to calm Budew down went. I just assumed they had failed because of his aversion to the topic, but I obliged him and stopped bringing it up. He checked in Eevee, who had seemingly been wounded, and then we decided to chill out in our room until it was time for dinner. We spent that time studying up on Roark¡¯s tactics. ¡°So far, I¡¯ve only seen him use Geodude, Rhyhorn, Aron, and Nosepass depending on the battle, but that just means he¡¯s holding back,¡± Denzel said as he watched a Geodude¡¯s Rock Throw annihte some poor kid¡¯s Spinda. ¡°No Onix, no Cranidos or Boldore yet this year.¡± ¡°I mean, maybe he¡¯s just going easy on us because we¡¯re too many,¡± I contemted. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a good look if he just used Onix over and over and crushed everybody.¡± ¡°That, or maybe everyone this year is so bad that he hasn¡¯t even had to use some of his alright Pokemon yet,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Well, if he doesn¡¯t use at least one of those against me, I¡¯d feel bad,¡± I said, before reconsidering. ¡°Actually, I can go without fighting an Onix.¡± Denzelughed as he switched to another one of today¡¯s gym battles. ¡°This is going to be difficult. There haven¡¯t even been that many wins yet.¡± ¡°The Circuit just started. It hasn¡¯t even been a month yet,¡± I said, waving my hand. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± In reality, I couldn¡¯t help but be terrified. Who wouldn¡¯t be, for their first gym battle, with tens of thousands, or possibly hundreds of thousands of people looking at you. But I thought that acting confident would in turn give Denzel his own confidence back. First the battle against Chase, now this Budew issue¡­ I was worried about him. ¡°I can¡¯t afford just to squeak by. I need to make an impression on Roark¡ª not only for my potential career, but for him to listen to me when I try telling him about what happened at Lake Verity.¡± I nodded solemnly. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best too.¡± ¡°I know you will. We both will,¡± He said. After a small pause, he kept going. ¡°I wanted to ask you something, by the way. In two days, the arguably most anticipated matches of this entire Circuit so far are going to happen. Chase Karlson and Cecilia Obel are both fighting Roark, and their battles are back to back,¡± Denzel said. My eyes widened. I had never seen Chase battle, but I knew he had left his mark on Denzel, who now considered him a rival or a goal of some sort. Then there was Cecilia, whose Pokemon had never been seen yet. ¡°Want to go see?¡± He asked. ¡°Hell yes,¡± I answered.
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Interlude – Steps (Part 1) Interlude ¨C Steps (Part 1) INTERLUDE - STEPS (PART 1) There was a certainfort to being in a cave that Denzel found hard to exin. It could have been the humid air that coated his throat every time he took a breath, or the warm embrace of the gas lights that hung from the ceiling. Either way, he had decided that Oreburgh gate was going to be his main training area until his battle with the Oreburgh gym trainer. ¡°That seems like a good rock to practice on,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You ready?¡± ¡°Vee!¡± Eevee jumped off of his shoulder,nding gracefully onto the wet ground. Denzel rolled his shoulder and then pointed at the rock. ¡°Double Kick!¡± He yelled. His voice resonated in the cave, probably spooking trainers traveling through it. Eevee barked in acquiescence before he turned around and kicked the rock with his two glowing hind legs. The impact left two small craters, which was more damage than yesterday, but still not good enough. ¡°Again,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Try turning around faster and using that momentum to hit harder. Like¡­ your turning velocity¡¯s the hammer, and your legs are the nail. Or something like that.¡± Eevee continued using their new move, Double Kick. It was something Denzel hadn¡¯t nned on teaching his starter, but with Budew still being as uncooperative as she was, he realized that he would need a fighting type move if he hoped to even take down one of Roark¡¯s Pokemon. Fortunately, his Pokedex had told him that Eevee could potentially learn the move, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be this difficult. Bite had only taken a day, as had Quick Attack back when he lived in Twinleaf. But this? Denzel feared it was taking too long, which was why he was going to spend as much time as humanly possible trying to get Eevee¡¯s Double Kick at its peak. That wasn¡¯t to say that he was neglecting Eevee¡¯s other moves, however. Bite wouldn¡¯t be very useful against rock types given their hard exterior, but Quick Attack would still be an excellent move to use. In all the high-level battles that Denzel had watched, almost no one used Quick Attack defensively¡ª which was, in his opinion, a waste of opportunity. The only downside he could see was that it would tire Eevee out fast, but he wasn¡¯t counting on a prolonged battle anyway. Eevee turned around slightly faster and hit the rock as hard as he could, cracking the entire surface. The rock copsed quickly after. ¡°Great job, Eevee,¡± Denzel smiled as he crouched and scratched Eevee¡¯s neck. ¡°Let¡¯s find another one.¡± He needed to get stronger faster. He needed to catch up. ¡°I promised you that we¡¯d be the Champions, didn¡¯t I?¡± Denzel told Eevee. It was as much Eevee¡¯s dream as it was his. Back in Twinleaf, when he first thought he was going to set off on his journey at fifteen like everybody else, Eevee and Denzel had sworn to be the best in Sinnoh. His Pokemon had an unending thirst for battling that put Denzel to shame, and when his mother had stopped him from leaving, Eevee was the one who had been the most depressed. And after finally starting to realize their dream, they had been dealt a lethal dose of reality. They were like Magikarp in a very big pond. Thankfully Grace had pulled him out of that rut, but Denzel still couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Was he the right trainer for Eevee? Was he disappointing him with his failures? ¡°That seems like a good one,¡± Denzel said, pointing at another rock. ¡°You know what to do.¡± Eevee barked and started hitting the rock with all he could, but it moved out of the way. ¡°Dude!¡± A Geodude revealed itself, and it was angry. Before Denzel could even regain his bearings, Geodude hit Eevee with a nasty Tackle, hitting him into the cave wall. Seeing his Pokemon hurt snapped him out of it. ¡°Eevee! Are you ok? Can you f¡ª¡± A rock flying faster than a car hit the wall next to Denzel, crumbling against it. With a scream, he flinched and fell backward, instinctively crawling away. If that had hit him¡­ Arceus. ¡°Geodude!¡± His opponent shone, and its stony skin began to sparkle. It grabbed another stone and threw it toward Denzel with all of its strength, and it was faster than before. Unable to dodge, Denzel raised his arms to protect his face, but the rock never hit him. Eevee jumped and destroyed the Rock Throw with a mid-air Double Kick. He growled at the Geodude, who hit the ground with its fists in frustration. ¡°Eevee¡­ you saved me.¡± Denzel muttered. Eevee shimmered, and in an instant, he was behind the wild Geodude, ready to hit it with another Double Kick. He only had to hit it once before it fled, unwilling to risk itself any further. ¡°Thank you,¡± Denzel simply said, clenching his jaw. Again, he had been too weak to even react. Grace had kept ordering her Pokemon to help him in the forest on route 203 even after getting directly hit with a Bullet Seed, and he couldn¡¯t even give simplemands to his after a miss? Pathetic. What was he doing here? Had his mother been right? Was he just wasting time¡ª ¡°Vee! Eevee!¡± Eevee barked out. Denzel stared at him for a second before smiling sadly. ¡°You¡¯re right. I can¡¯t be beating myself up all the time. I need to look forward,¡± He said, remembering what Grace had told him. ¡°I will improve. I will be the Champion.¡± ¡°Vee!¡± Eevee said, snuggling close to Denzel. ¡°The future¡­¡± Denzel muttered. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Alright, remember to breathe as little as possible,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯ll do the same. Don¡¯t hit her unless she¡¯s about to kill me.¡± Denzel stared at his Budew¡¯s Pokeball sitting in his palm. He had decided. He was never going to give up on her. He would make her a part of his team, no matter how long it would take, one step at a time. After making sure that no trainers were nearby, he released Budew as far away as he could. She let out her usual, ear-piecing shriek before throwing out a Bullet Seed toward Eevee, who dodged with Quick Attack. ¡°Budew! Listen to me,¡± Denzel yelled. She ignored him and continued to attack Eevee, throwing purple, toxic spores. ¡°This thing you¡¯ve been doing? Attacking us over and over, I understand! I understand that the way I captured you waspletely unfair and uncalled for.¡± Budew only screeched in response. She attacked him with a Bullet Seed, but Denzel managed to hide behind a human-sized boulder. ¡°I thought I could bring you a better life than out there, in the wild,¡± Denzel continued. ¡°And I also wanted your strength. To help me in trainer battles. I realize now that I was being foolish.¡± Denzel left from his hiding spot and started walking toward Budew, who only looked on with a fury he didn¡¯t even know their faces were capable of. ¡°And I know nothing I say will ever be enough. I know I¡¯ve robbed you from your group. Your family¡ª¡± Denzel winced as a series of seeds grazed his left arm. He carried on. ¡°I just want to let you know from the bottom of my heart that I am sorry. Truly. But I can¡¯t release you. I can¡¯t bring you back. I¡¯m a selfish son of a bitch, aren¡¯t I? Springing all of this on you.¡± Budew let out another scream, probably letting him know not to get any closer. She wasn¡¯t attacking anymore, so he listened to her and stood at a distance. ¡°But I have a goal I set for myself, and you unfortunately are a part of it. I know this won¡¯t change anything between us, but I just wanted to let you understand why I did what I did. I had a reason for it¡ª which you may disagree with, but it was a reason nheless. Have you even been in the sun that long since I caught you? You¡¯re starting to look unhealthy, and your attacks against us are getting weaker and weaker. I wish we could at leaste to an agreement regarding that,¡± Denzel paused, waiting for a reaction. There was none. ¡°I can take you out and let you soak in the sun''s rays. All I need is for you not to attack me right away.¡± ¡°Bud¡­¡± ¡°We can take this one step at a time. I don¡¯t expect you to ever forgive me, but let¡¯s at least keep you alive,¡± Denzel finished. ¡°How about it?¡± ¡°Dew.¡± Budew agreed with a small nod. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll return you for now, and bring you out of this cave, alright?¡± He recalled her and clenched at his arm. It had only grazed him, but that Bullet Seed hurt like a bitch. After thanking Eevee for the help, he began making his way out of the cave. ¡°One step at a time, I¡¯ll catch up,¡± Denzel told himself. Interlude – Steps (Part 2) Interlude ¨C Steps (Part 2) INTERLUDE - STEPS (PART 2) To Chase Karlson, life was about excellence. Most humans would be satisfied with doing the bare minimum, drifting along the current and offering up no resistance. Living your life as a spectator, so long as you earned three meals a day, a warm bed, and maybe a trip or two per year. Then eventually start a family. This was what people thought was a good life, and honestly, could he really me them? Yes, he could, and he would. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Chase felt the blood pump through his legs as he ran through route 207. After another thirty minutes of jogging, he would slowly increase his speed as time passed until he reached his maximum velocity. He jumped over a fallen tree trunk as if it was a hurdle. Riolu did the same, flipping twice in the air andnding gracefully without even a single noise. Chase paid it no mind. It was an expected performance. This was their routine. They had been doing this for years, even before the Circuit started. Chase had implemented a workout regiment to bring them into top shape, and Riolu had taken it in stride, just like he had expected. They were so alike, Chase and he, and that meant they both expected excellence. This was only the first section. First, they always worked on their endurance. Chase smiled as he began hitting his second wind. The pain was almost all gone now, and it was being reced by numbness. The next thirty minutes went by in a sh, and he handed Riolu a bottle of water. The small Pokemon clumsily held it with both paws and downed the whole bottle. They could have done this in a gym¡ª Oreburgh had many gyms adapted to Pokemon¡ª but why practice in an unrealistic environment? Being a trainer was all about survival in the wild, and so in the wild, they trained. ¡°Alright, Riolu. Five minute break. Walk off the pain if it hurts. No sitting down,¡± He told his Pokemon. Riolu looked at him with his usual determined stare. ¡°Rio!¡± As usual, Riolu simply stayed by his side, emting his stretches. He always imitated Chase and looked to him for guidance. At the same time, Chase believed Riolu to be as close to perfection as it got. Sure, he had other Pokemon¡ª two, in fact¡ª but their bond went beyond that. It was in Riolu that Chase believed above all, and it was Riolu who would bring him the title of Champion. After all, Riolu was the only one who could tell how he was feeling at all times. Chase¡¯s dad had exined the concept of aura to him when he gave him his Riolu, but it still was difficult to believe sometimes. The young trainer stared into Riolu¡¯s red eyes and wondered. What is he thinking about right now? In some ways, Chase was jealous. Humans ruled the world behind their fortified cities, as had been the case since pre-history, but they were imperfect. wed. Riolu, meanwhile? He could go on a run twice¡ª no, three times as long if he so desired. Chase was the only factor holding him back, and it was infuriating to think about. He would be perfect one day. ¡°Let¡¯s cut the break short,¡± Chase said. ¡°Time for push-ups. Five sets of ten, then another break.¡± Chase took off his cap and ced himself t against the ground, and pushed. Riolu did the same. He was not fully grown, and so he was weak, but this would pay off in the long run. His muscles would destroy themselves, and then be rebuilt a little stronger every time. The teen had nned his life in meticulous detail, and he would make sure to have the strongest body possible to stand by Riolu¡¯s side. And so he pushed past the pain, knowing that next time, this would be slightly easier. Another hourter, their workout was finished. Chase made his way back toward his Poke Center and took a well-deserved shower, using the opportunity to clean Riolu right afterward. Next was lunch. He kept it simple and healthy: chicken, rice, and vegetables on the side. The taste was mediocre, but it was necessary to push through. Riolu only ate in the mornings and evenings, just like the rest of his team. While eating, Chase spent his hour browsing the forums or sometimes watching one of the gym battles. The boy always ego searched his name, seeing what people said about him. He had made quite an impression in Jubilife, and he reveled in their admiration. It was good that they knew their ce. Their only job was to watch and wish they were as good as he was. Chase could sense their jealousy through the screen. Their envy only fueled his desire for excellence. Sometimes though, Chase would see others being talked about, and one name came up more than any others¡ª even his. Cecilia Obel. Anger boiled up inside of Chase. Cecilia this, Cecilia that, it was all these losers could talk about! She was nothing! Some Unovan trash who was too scared topete in her own region because that meant she would have to fight her brother. And yet, she was more popr than he was? Someone who had proven himself time and time again since the Circuit had started? These people were all trash¡ª ¡°Rio!¡± Riolu yelled out. Chase snapped out of his inner rant, realizing he had already cut a slice of chicken and was just slicing the te, creating an eerie scratching noise. That had garnered the other trainer¡¯s attention, and they stared at him with irritated gazes. Don¡¯t look¡­ don¡¯t look at me while I¡¯m being mediocre. Chase finished his meal quickly and left the center before his one hour break was up. He needed a distraction to put this moment of mediocrity behind him. So he decided to go to a battling arena a few blocks away from the gym. ¡°Hey losers!¡± He yelled as he walked past the door. ¡°Who¡¯s the strongest trainer here?!¡± They stared at him like a group of confused Spinda. Chase continued walking, wasting his breath by asking around for the strongest trainer. This time, he got answers. Soon they¡¯ll understand. He thought. No¡ª he would make them understand that he was the only name worth following in this League Circuit full of losers. ¡°One step at a time, I will reach perfection,¡± Chase murmured to himself. Interlude – Steps (Part 3) Interlude ¨C Steps (Part 3) INTERLUDE - STEPS (PART 3) The evening sky was settling over Oreburgh city, and with it came the lights. Cecilia Obel had always thought that a city at night was the most beautiful thing there was. A city was made out of millions of individual parts and inhabited by hundreds of thousands, but at night? All individuality melted into a concert of shing lights, and humans couldn¡¯t be seen, especially from so high up. Still, no city had everpared to Castelia, her home back in Unova. ¡°And so apparently, the Gible my parents bought me has the potential to eventually rival¡ª or perhaps even overtake Cynthia¡¯s. That¡¯s what our private breeder said. Can you believe it? All those times that I let that little monster feast on the wildlife here seem worth it now,¡± Louis Bianchi bragged. ¡°You don¡¯t say?¡± Cecilia answered with a high-pitched voice. ¡°Well, I certainly believe you can achieve that potential.¡± She tilted her head, stared straight into his eyes, and smiled at him. The young man blushed. Internally though? In the depths of her mind? She was miserable. Louis Bianchi¡ª the heir to the Bianchi family and their fortune numbering in the billions. The potions you bought, the vitamins, the repels, everything that could be found in a Pokemart? Chances are they were made by the Bianchis. And this young, eighteen-year-old boy had signed up for the Circuit for the first time and was traveling with her along with an entourage of other rich heirs. Tonight though, they were alone, as he was, unfortunately, also Cecilia¡¯s fiance. Cecilia hadn¡¯t had any say in it, of course. She had been practically forced to fly to Sinnoh and sign up for the Circuit by her father, and he had told her this a month before her flight. She hadn¡¯t been surprised by not picking who she was going to marry, of course. Her family¡ª the Obels¡ª had raised her for that very purpose. To be married off to a man of high status. Cecilia had just been surprised at how early the decision had been made. She was still just fifteen, and set to marry someone three years older than her as soon as she turned eighteen. Guessing her father¡¯s goal was easy enough. As soon as they married, the Obel Energy Company in Unova and the Bianchi Conglomerate would inevitably intertwine economically and would be able to throw their influence around the entire world. She knew her father would no doubt urge her to have a child before she even finished reading her vows so that eventually, the twopanies would merge. The second goal was obviously name recognition. If Cecilia did well enough in the Circuit, then the Obel name would start spreading throughout Sinnoh and would stop only being a Unovan household name. She had been instructed to gain eight badges, help Louis do the same, and then lose to him at the Conference. ¡°Well, I am d you agree, Cecilia. I believe we will go very far this year together,¡± Louis said, cing his hand on hers. Ew, she thought. ¡°Of course. With you as our leader, there is no ss ceiling we couldn¡¯t break,¡± She answered. She had to resist the urge to pull her hand from his. ¡°How are you finding the food, by the way? I have to ask where they raise their Goldeen, these sushi rolls are simply exquisite,¡± Her fiance said. ¡°It¡¯s perfect. Just like you, darling,¡± Cecilia lied. She needed to keep showering him with titudes. Her father had explicitly asked her to make Louis fall for her, and he had. Hard. Men were so easy, and yet so terrifying all the same. A smile, a fewpliments, and they¡¯d be eating out of the palm of your hands. But if they ever realized that they weren¡¯t in control for an instant? Cecilia held back a shudder. Louis swallowed. ¡°Say, Cecilia¡­ would you want to join me in my room tonight? I could order the best champagne bottle in this city.¡± Cecilia drew a sharp breath. The stare, oh, Arceus the stare. My eyes are up here, She screamed internally. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it¡¯s gettingte, and I¡¯m quite tired. I think I¡¯ll just go straight home and sleep. Maybe Emilia or Justin will keep youpany.¡± ¡°I see,¡± He said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. ¡°Maybe some other time then?¡± ¡°Some other time,¡± Cecilia said. Cecilia knew she was beautiful and¡­ well-developed for her age, which was more a curse than a blessing. Since the age of twelve, she had suffered under the stares of men. Father¡¯s business partners, friends, or even family. They sometimes stared for an entire conversation, unable to realize that she could tell. Or maybe they just didn¡¯t care? ¡°Cecilia? Are you feeling sick?¡± Her fiance asked. ¡°I¡ªuh¡ªI¡ª¡± She stuttered ¡°Is the smell of fish too overwhelming?¡± Louis continued. ¡°Server! Here, please.¡± Is that really how weak I am to you? You think smell is making me feel like this? Cecilia thought. ¡°It¡¯s quite alright,¡± She told the server. The poor man looked whiter than a sheet of paper. The entire restaurant had been cleared for them, and they were attended by the entire staff. ¡°I apologize, I¡¯m just feeling tired.¡± ¡°Should we cut dinner short then? It¡¯s a shame, but we must prioritize your health before all else. Plus, you have to be well rested for your battle against Roark.¡± Cecilia nodded and they quickly left the restaurant after Louis paid an astronomical sum. To them, however, it was spare change. They were in the richest neighborhood in Oreburgh, separated from the rest of the city to avoid the heavy pollution that gathered around the mines and the industrial area. They got into a taxi and rode in silence to their hotel. When they got there, Cecilia quickly said goodnight to Louis and her otherpanions, Emilia, Justin, and Pauline. They smiled at her and wished her well, but were those smiles fake? Were they even friends, or was it just a facade? Cecilia couldn¡¯t tell, but the fact that she had to ask herself this didn¡¯t bode well. The young girl locked herself in her room and stared at her three Pokeballs in silence. The weight of her battle was slowly mounting on her shoulders, creating an ample amount of stress. Not because she wanted to win, but because she knew the wrath from her father her defeat would incur. She slowly touched her cheek, caressing it softly. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. At least in Unova, she had¡ª Her Poketch rang, and Cecilia beamed as she read her caller¡¯s name. ¡°Amy! I was just thinking about you, how are you doing?¡± Cecilia asked in an upbeat tone. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I was just excited. You hadn¡¯t called yet tonight, so I wondered if you had finally taken the plunge with your ch¨¦rie.¡± Amy Saunier was Cecilia¡¯s best friend back in Unova, even though she had originallye from Kalos. She was the only one Cecilia could be herself with, but she hadn¡¯te to Sinnoh for the Circuit. ¡°I didn¡¯t. Not tonight. But enough about him, how did your modeling gig¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, no,¡± Amy interrupted. ¡°You need to hurry up and sleep with him, Cece. If you don¡¯t he¡¯ll get tired of you and find another woman.¡± Cecilia froze. She couldn¡¯t evenprehend the words that hade out of her friend¡¯s mouth. ¡°W¡ªwhat?¡± ¡°Are you surprised? He¡¯s a man, he wants to have sex. The longer you wait, the more cumbersome your rtionship will get. Take it as advice from your best friend. I know you¡¯re nervous but¡ª¡± ¡°Has father been talking to you about this?¡± ¡°Monsieur Obel? No, why?¡± Is she lying to me? Cecilia thought. Why can¡¯t I tell? I should be able to tell! ¡°D¡ªdoesn¡¯t it bother you? The fact that I¡¯m supposed to marry him? I¡¯ll have to live in Sinnoh and we won¡¯t be able to see each other.¡± ¡°Well, it is a shame,¡± Amy started. ¡°But I also can¡¯t get in between you and your familial duty.¡± ¡°I have to go,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Cece? Hold on¡ª¡± Cecilia was on the verge of tears as she hung up. Who had she just talked to? She sat on her bed and hugged her legs as she silently cried for what seemed like hours. She had no one here, no one back home, and she had no agency. She was a tool for her father to exploit, and there was nothing she would ever be able to do about it. Even the one she loved the most had betrayed her. Was this it then? She stared at her Pokeballs through her teary eyes and cursed. There was one way. One avenue through which she could escape. To forego her father¡¯s n and build a life for herself here by actually winning the Circuit. Not only would she get a good amount of money and stop being dependent on her father, but she would also burn his ns to the ground. But would she? Could she? She was so tired. A part of her hoped she would go to sleep and not wake up tomorrow. The only thing she could was¡ª ¡°Take it one step at a time,¡± She cried. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 CHAPTER 14 Frillish inhaled and released a stream of bubbles. ¡°Now, Togepi!¡± I yelled ¡°Toge!¡± Togepi held out her little hands and wind started to form¡ª gentle at first, and then as powerful as a small storm. I held on to my shirt and observed as the Fairy Wind changed Bubblebeam¡¯s direction, making it hit the edge of a tree. ¡°That was great, everybody! Frillish, your Bubblebeam is getting faster than before, but we need to work on that power with the time we have. Togepi, you¡¯re going great. Just a little more progress before we can use Fairy Wind in battle,¡± I said, congratting my team. Our battle with the gym trainer was fast approaching, and I was desperately trying to get Togepi to perfect her Fairy Wind. She was getting a good grasp of controlling the wind¡ª something that was probably owed to her future evolution being flying type¡ª but the fairy part of it? The part that would deal real damage against rock types? That part of the move was still rudimentary. I picked her up and caressed her head. ¡°Oof, you¡¯re getting heavier. My poor arms¡­¡± ¡°To¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll still carry you around! Or maybe Frillish could,¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Prrrri!¡± She chirped with a smile. ¡°Fri¡­¡± Frillish said, obviously disagreeing. Suddenly, my Poketch started to ring. I put Togepi down and answered. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s Denzel. Where are you right now?¡± He asked. ¡°Route 207. Why?¡± ¡°Might want to start getting to the gym. I¡¯m there and the ce is already starting to get packed,¡± He said. ¡°What,¡± I asked in a surprised tone. ¡°But Chase Karlson¡¯s battle is in more than two hours. What the hell is wrong with people?¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t shoot the messenger¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m on my way,¡± I said, hanging up. I recalled my Pokemon and headed directly to the gym. I cursed internally at Oreburgh for not having any public transportation like in Jubilife, forcing me to get there by foot. I alternated between running when I had the energy to, and walking when I got too tired and the pain from my abdomen got too serious. The cream the Center had given me was doing wonders, and had sped up my recovery to the point where I was sure I¡¯d be ready for my gym battle with Roark. It would probably still be there for my battle against the gym trainer, however, but at least it was more of a dull pain at the back of my mind now instead of something I just couldn¡¯t ignore¡ª unless I moved too much that is. I met Denzel inside of the gym, using him to skip arge part of the queue, which got me a few death stares. People here were mostly non-trainers who wanted to watch battles, but they had to pay for a ticket to get in. The League had to make money somehow. Trainers participating in the Circuit, however, got to spectate any match they wanted for free. We made our way deeper inside and reached the stands, which surrounded the entire battlefield in an oblong-like shape. Denzel managed to spot two seats in the second row to the arena¡¯s side. ¡°Hell yes! I¡¯m so d we got good seats,¡± He said, sitting down. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. I was kind of out of it. To me, this almost felt like a dream. The buzzing in my ears from everyone talking around us, the sheer size of this ce, Roark getting ready for his next battle by healing a Geodude on the ground. The atmosphere here was so thick I could almost drown in it. ¡°Now that we got our seats, do you want anything? Hot dog, burger, fries?¡± Denzel asked me. I shook my head. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get myself some, then. I¡¯ll get nervous if I stay too still.¡± He released Eevee and instructed the Pokemon to stay in this seat. ¡°Don¡¯t give it up under any circumstance, got it? Fight for it with your life! Grace, take care of him for me.¡± And he was gone. ¡°I should have asked him for water,¡± I murmured. Roark¡¯s battlefield wasrger than any I¡¯d seen so far, and was specifically built to give rock types an advantage. Rocks andrge boulders littered the field, and tall, jagged hills had been raised in each corner. There was also a small pond in the center-left that was there for water types that couldn¡¯t fight outside of water, such as Goldeen¡ª something each gym was obligated to have. Soon enough, the next battle started. And then the next. Since Roark was battling almost all day, people were always filtering in and out of the gym. Most people only came for a single battle, or a few, and when those were over, they were out. Some more passionate about Pokemon battling would sometimes stay the entire day¡ª but that category mostly included trainers trying to find any weakness in Roark¡¯s battling style. I had already taken note of this before, but it was even more obvious when I saw the real deal. Roark was a brutal trainer to take on. Normally, someone would think rock types to be defensive Pokemon, but the gym leader was relentless and simply did not stop attacking. I winced as a poor trainer¡¯s Spheal was mmed against the ground repeatedly until it bled by Geodude. That hadn¡¯t even been a move! The teary-eyed trainer left without shaking Roark¡¯s hand. To think that a Pokemon that strong wasn¡¯t even a part of Roark¡¯s real team¡­ it was sobering. That could happen to Togepi or Frillish, I thought as I felt my palms get mmy. Or Denzel¡¯s Eevee, I continued, looking at the little furry Pokemon. He was somehow asleep on his trainer¡¯s seat, as if the loudness of the gym didn¡¯t affect him whatsoever. We made our choice. I won¡¯t back down now. Soon enough, Denzel came back with a bunch of food and two drinks. ¡°I got you fries and a soda anyway. I¡¯ll eat ¡®em if you don¡¯t,¡± He said. I felt my lips rise. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Did I miss anything?¡± ¡°Oh, not much. Just a few trainers getting their hopes and dreams crushed in front of thousands of people,¡± I said with a hint of sarcasm before grabbing a fry. In the next hour and a half, only one trainer managed to beat Roark by using a pretty innovative strategy. He ran out the clock with a Shuckle that had insane defenses, and ording to Denzel, they were higher than normal. There had only been one trainer that had participated in the Circuitst year, and Roark used even stronger Pokemon against him, beating him by the skin of his teeth. But now, it was Chase Karlson¡¯s turn. I leaned to the side to get a better look at him. He had dark hair, wore a cap, and was seemingly extremely well-built. That was all I could see from up here. I nced at Denzel, who had his hands clenched around the handles of his seat. ¡°Wee, challenger,¡± Roark began in a dry tone, as he probably had a thousand times before. ¡°This will be a three-on-three battle with one switch-in allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.¡± Chase sent out a Riolu, and Roark sent out a Rhyhorn. The referee raised his hand, and then threw it downward. The battle had begun. ¡°Begin!¡± ¡°Riolu, Quick Attack to get close, and get a Bone Rush ready,¡± Chase said. ¡°Rock Polish,¡± Roark said. The Riolu shone, and then dashed forward in a blur as a bone grew out of its paws. Within seconds, it was on the opposite side of the arena, and it swung its bone downward¡ª Rhyhorn dodged to the side, almost as if it was figure skating on the rocks. ¡°Keep up the pressure until it hits,¡± Chase calmly said. ¡°Dodge, then Horn Attack.¡± My eyes widened. Riolu was using two moves at the same time, something that should have tired him out in seconds! Especially with a move as intensive as Quick Attack. Riolu struck again and again, hitting the ground and kicking up dust, rocks and sand. Rhyhorn roared and rammed into Riolu, but it ignored the hit, instead grabbing onto the rock type¡¯s head. ¡°Circle Throw!¡± Chase said, raising his voice for the first time. Riolu lifted the huge Rhyhorn and mmed him backward, flipping it on its back. Its palm began to glow blue, and it struck the poor Rhyhorn¡¯s belly five times until his armor cracked. Roark recalled it and signaled to the referee. ¡°Rhyhorn is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your next Pokemon.¡± Roark obliged and sent out Nosepass. ¡°Riolu, get in close and Metal w!¡± Chase said. ¡°Rock Polish,¡± Roark calmly said. ¡°Then Thunder Wave.¡± Using Quick Attack again, Riolu rushed toward the Nosepass with shining, metallic ws growing out of its fists. The Nosepass shone, and then sparks of electricity slowly materialized around it. Riolu feinted toward the left, prompting the Nosepass to dodge right, but then suddenly followed it and hit him straight in the face with two brutal Metal ws. The Nosepass fainted before it could even paralyze Riolu. The audience cheered and broke into thunderous apuse. I discretely looked at Denzel, who was the most focused I¡¯d ever seen him. He was barely blinking, analyzing every second of the battle. ¡°Nosepass is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out yourst Pokemon,¡± The referee said, not bothering to hide his astonishment. Roark grabbed hisst Pokeball, but didn¡¯t send out his Pokemon. He frowned, and then ced it back on his belt before grabbing a new one and sending out¡ª A huge Onix appeared in the arena with a roar that shook me to my core. It stared down at the Riolu like a bug, and awaited for Roark¡¯smand. It was the first time Roark had used it this entire Circuit. Chase stared up in disbelief, unable to speak. ¡°If you won¡¯t start, I will!¡± Roark said, seeming more alive than he had been the entire day. ¡°Onix, m it!¡± Onix¡¯s massive tail mmed downward as Riolu jumped out of the way, recovering with a roll. ¡°Riolu, Metal w again! Get close!¡± Chase said, snapping out of his stupor. Close to that monster? I thought. Why? Using another Quick Attack, Riolu approached the Onix and shed its hide multiple times. Onix roared in pain. ¡°Screech! Get it away from you and Rock Throw!¡± Roark yelled out. The humongous Pokemon lowered its head toward Riolu and screamed, forcing even me to cover my ears. The sound was horrendous, like nails on a chalkboard, and it knocked Riolu to the ground. The Riolu squirmed in pain, covering its ears. ¡°Now m it! Knock it out!¡± Roark said. Onix let itself fall onto Riolu, covering itpletely. When it rose, Chase¡¯s pokemon was down for the count. Chase¡¯s face contorted into what I could only describe as pure rage as he retrieved Riolu. ¡°Riolu is unable to battle. Challenger, please send out your next Pokemon!¡± Chase yelled as he released a Houndour. ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me,¡± He said. ¡°Smog!¡± A sinister purple smoke began to leave Houndour¡¯s mouth. Luckily these psychic barriers will protect us, I thought, But a fire type? This is going to be hard. ¡°Don¡¯t let him! Rock Throw!¡± Onix curled its tail around a boulder and threw it toward the Houndour. ¡°Jump out of the way!¡± Chase yelled. Houndour barely made it out, and the rock mmed against the barrier right next to Chase, who seemingly paid it no mind. ¡°Now, Ember!¡± Onix was starting to struggle because of the toxic Smog, but he was still a rock type. He took the Ember and barely flinched. ¡°Keep Rock Throwing! One is bound to hit!¡± The battle kept going like this for the next minute, with Houndour barely dodging Onix¡¯s attack and retaliating with Embers that barely scratched its opponent. Onix was slowing down more and more, however. ¡°Now, Smog again!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all or nothing, Onix! Get in close and Screech, then m!¡± Roark yelled with his hand outstretched. Onix slithered into the thickest part of the smog and screamed again, forcing the Houndour to stop its attack. Then, using its face, it mmed into the houndour, sending the small Pokemon flying into the barrier. ¡°Houndour is unable to battle. Challenger, please send out yourst Pokemon,¡± The referee said. ¡°Fuck, fuck!¡± Chase whispered, which was then picked up by his microphone. He sent out hisst Pokemon¡ª one I had never seen before. ¡°Grubbin, you¡¯re thest one. Do not lose.¡± ¡°Onix, let¡¯s finish this quickly! Screech into m onest time!¡± ¡°String Shot! Don¡¯t let it get near you!¡± Chase yelled out, letting panic slip into his voice. The bug type Pokemon spit out an incredible amount of string, sticking and slowing the Onix down. However, Onix¡¯s huge size meant that he barely had to move to get in Screech range. He used the move one final time, and again, Grubbin was stunned and unable to move. As Onix prepared to m into the small bug, he stopped moving, and then fell to the side. Smog¡¯s poison had slowly but surely finished it off. Chase Karlson had won. Barely. But a victory was still a victory. The stadium erupted into a cacophony of apuse and cheering as the referee announced Chase¡¯s victory. Roark shook his hand, looking happier than he had ever been, and gave him the TM to Rock Polish, along with digitally adding money and his badge through his trainer card. Again, Chase Karlson had won. But he looked like he had lost.
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 15 Chapter 15 CHAPTER 15 ¡°Wow, that kid was good,¡± Someone behind us said. ¡°He made Roark use Onix¡­ I¡¯ve never seen him smile like that.¡± ¡°He definitely has potential. That was the best battle of the year so far.¡± All around us, there were murmurs of gossip about Chase Karlson. He had already stomped off angrily, but the effect of his victory still lingered in the room. Roark had left to take a break twice longer than normal to get his Pokemon sent to the nearest Center and also rece his team, and a lonely gym trainer released a Kadabra to rebuild a part of the psychic barrier surrounding the arena. It had been damaged by Onix¡¯s Rock Throws and showed signs of cracking. ¡°You good? Doom scrolling already?¡± I asked Denzel. He had his Poketch open and was scrolling through the Circuit forums, looking at what people had to say about the battle. The thread was already sporting more than two thousandments and was on the front page even though the battle had only just happened. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m just surprised that Roark used Onix, that¡¯s all,¡± He said, his face glued to the device. ¡°That thing was a beast. One m is all it takes and your Pokemon are gone¡­ wow,¡± I reminisced. ¡°I wonder how I¡¯d go about beating something like that.¡± Togepi would be out of the picture immediately¡ª her only ranged attack being Fairy Wind and that wasn''t even fully learned yet, so I¡¯d have to use Frillish. I closed my eyes and imagined the potential battle. I¡¯d tell Frillish to float up high out of Onix¡¯s m range and keep throwing out Bubblebeams. How would Roark respond? Onix¡¯s Rock Throws were pretty telegraphed and easy to dodge because of his size¡­ could I potentially win? My head told me yes, but knowing Roark, he probably had a strategy to get his opponents back in range of his Onix. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t like I was even strong enough to warrant using that monstrosity. How frustrating¡­ ¡°What are they saying online?¡± I asked, distracting myself. ¡°Most of it is sucking up to him, calling him the next potential Champion or whatever. I¡¯m just looking at the very fewments analyzing the inner workings of the battle so I can see if what I¡¯m thinking is right,¡± Denzel said. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I continued. ¡°That other than Riolu, his other two Pokemon were underwhelming. Even with the type disadvantage, you have to admit that Houndour and Grubbin were so much weaker than Riolu. Or maybe Riolu¡¯s just too strong and that''s warping my judgment?¡± Denzel said. I let him focus on what he was doing and continued looking back on the battle. My strategy for Onix was already set, but what about that Rhyhorn or Nosepass? Roark was an avid user of the Rock Polish move, and thanks to that, his rock types could actually be fast, closing in the distance with Frillish in seconds. Nosepass looked to be a long-range attacker with Thunder Wave, but I hadn¡¯t seen him in action enough to know his other moves. Meanwhile, Rhyhorn wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Frilish at all, although I doubted Roark would even use it against us. I had a lot of studying to do. This gym battle was going to be hard, and I wasn¡¯t going to be able to rely on type advantage alone to win. Another fifteen minutes passed until Roark came back with a fresh set of Pokemon on his belt. Gyms had dozens of Pokemon of all skill levels avable to them able to be used by gym trainers or the leader alike. That was the only way they were able to keep going the entire day without stopping¡ª except for a lunch break. None of these were a part of the gym leader¡¯s actual team, who had to be strong enough to gain at least eight badges. Almost every single current gym leader had previously made it to a conference during a Circuit. Roark was twenty-four years old, which was rtively young, but he was not the youngest gym leader. He had made it to the conference on his third attempt to the Circuit and then been personally chosen by the League to be the old rock type gym leader¡¯s apprentice. He had taken over two years ago after his retirement. Cecilia Obel walked through the arena doors, stopping my train of thought. She looked even prettier than in the pictures¡ª granted they had been blurry. She wore a checkered ck and white skirt with a ck long-sleeved shirt, and her dark skin glowed under the gym lights. Roark once again weed his challenger and stated his gym rules, including that this would be another three-on-three battle. I swallowed as Cecilia grabbed her first Pokeball. This was it. The first time anyone would see what she used. The Pokeball released a four-legged Pokemon, whose blue body was covered in dark fur¡ª or were they scales?¡ª Going up to its eyes. Its roar reverberated through the stadium, and the audience started to go wild. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked Denzel. He didn¡¯t hear me. I grabbed my Pokedex and hoped I was close enough for it to work. Deino, the irate Pokemon. Because it can¡¯t see, this Pok¨¦mon is constantly biting at everything it touches, trying to keep track of its surroundings. It will usually eat anything that moves near its mouth. Type: Dragon, Dark I read over the typing again. It was a dragon type. The most feared Pokemon type that only the greatest trainers could raise. Even their unevolved forms were a threat to anything that could anger them. And Cecilia Obel had that power at her beck and call. Roark¡¯s eyes widened, and he sent out his Cranidos¡ª another Pokemon he had never used this year. The referee signaled the start of the match. ¡°Begin!¡± ¡°This one¡¯s a doozy, Cranidos. Rock Polish!¡± Roark yelled out, shifting into gear right away. ¡°Dragon Breath. Fifty percent,¡± Cecilia said in a calm tone. Cranidos glowed white and increased its speed as Deino burped, then gurgled and roared out a massive beam of yellowish-blue draconic energy. ¡°Outnk it to the left! Don¡¯t get hit!¡± Roark screamed. Cranidos ran left and hid behind a boulder. The Dragon Breath shortly followed and¡ª The boulder exploded, sending chunks that would havended in the stands if not for Kadabra¡¯s barrier. It hit Cranidos, who promptly fell to the ground and fainted. That Dragon Breath hadsted more than thirty seconds¡ª and Deino wasn¡¯t tired whatsoever. In fact, he looked angry. ¡°Calm down. Be a good boy.¡± Cecilia said. The dragon snapped and roared at her in anger, but he listened. ¡°Cranidos is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your next Pokemon.¡± Without any hesitation, Roark sent out a Lairon. I nodded, remembering my days back at school. The steel type would help resist dragon type attacks¡ª ¡°Deino, Incinerate. Eighty percent.¡± I gasped as Deino¡¯s mouth was engulfed in mes before they were ejected at full speed toward the Lairon. ¡°Lairon, run¡ª¡± The mes already hit it, superheating its iron tes until they glowed red. ¡°That was as fast as a methrower¡­¡± Denzel said in disbelief. ¡°L¡ªLairon is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± ¡°Impressive. In my few short years working as a gym leader, this is the most impressive Pokemon I¡¯ve seen a brand new trainer raise,¡± Roark said as he grabbed hisst Pokeball. ¡°I underestimated you. But no longer.¡± He sent out a Graveler, Geodude¡¯s evolved form. ¡°Rock Polish into Rollout!¡± Roark said. ¡°Dragon Breath, full power,¡± Cecilia responded. The Graveler retracted its arms and began rolling as fast as a Quick Attack, taking the brunt of the Dragon Breath attack. It rammed into the Dragon, who quickly attempted to bite it in retaliation. ¡°No biting! Focus! Keep using Dragon Breath!¡± Cecilia yelled. The Dragon snarled and kept attacking the Graveler, but eventually, the speed it had built up was too much. It rolled around the arena, taking a fullp before making another pass at Deino. ¡°You can¡¯t dodge! Give me another Dragon Breath!¡± Cecilia said. The Graveler hit the Deino and sent him flying into the barrier. For a second, there was only silence as Cecilia waited to see if her dragon would stand back up. It didn¡¯t. She sighed as she returned him, whispering something to her Pokeball that the microphones didn¡¯t pick up. ¡°Deino is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokemon.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± She answered as she released a sleeping Slowpoke. The pink Pokemonzily got up and stared at its trainer in confusion. ¡°That Graveler took down Deino. Steel yourself.¡± As if a switch had been activated in its mind, Slowpoke lost all of its sluggish movement and stood ready for any attack. I¡¯ve never even heard of a Slowpoke like this, I thought. They¡¯re supposed to be stupid and¡­ well, slow. ¡°It¡¯s fast! Water Gun!¡± Cecilia said. Slowpoke opened its mouth and a huge st of water flew toward the Graveler. ¡°Roll left, and then Bulldoze!¡± ¡°Send it left!¡± The Graveler obliged and dodged to the left, but the Slowpoke¡¯s eyes turned pink as its Water Gun attack curved mid-air and hit its opponent. Graveler yelled out in pain and fell unconscious. That was it. The battle was over. That girl was even stronger than Chase Karlson. Not only did she keep a dragon type under control, but her other Pokemon were seemingly strong as well. Denzel and I decided to leave quickly afterward now that the two battles we hade to see were over, but we were both shaken. I expected her to be strong, but that was entirely another level. My mind whirred as I looked back on the battle. How would I have beaten Roark if he used the same Pokemon? After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that I just couldn¡¯t have. ¡°I¡¯m going training,¡± Both Denzel and I said at the same time. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± ¡°Sorry¡ª¡± He said. We bothughed it off and went our separate ways without more words needing to be spoken. That battle hadpletely upended the way we looked at the way we were currently doing things. I needed to work harder. I needed to reach the level they were standing at. And I knew I would in time. I smiled to myself. This was the joy of Pokemon battling. Striving to be better and stronger, and working hard until you won. And that win? It would feel like the best thing in the world. As I left the stands and reached the lobby, I saw Cecilia Obel surrounded by a bunch of other people. Were those her friends? Her travelingpanions, probably. I stared for a few seconds before her eyes met mine. I flinched, averting my eyes, and pretended that the ceiling was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. I¡¯m so obvious, I cringed at myself. Luckily, Cecilia seemingly ignored me and left the building. Unwilling to see her again because of shame, I waited a few minutes before exiting the building as well, but what I saw surprised me. A massive group of trainers was standing in a circle around something. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I asked someone at the edge of the circle of human bodies. ¡°Looks like two people are about to fight,¡± He said. ¡°And they¡¯re apparently really good, but I don¡¯t know much about ¡®em. Ask someone else.¡± ¡°Thanks anyway,¡± I said. I decided to take the initiative using my small stature. It was sometimes a curse, but today it was a blessing. I sneaked in between a few people, reaching the front of the group, and saw that Chase Karlson was practically frothing at the mouth in anger at Cecilia and her group. ¡°Let¡¯s get our teams healed and then battle me, you coward! I¡¯ll show the world that you¡¯re nothing but overrated Unovan trash!¡±
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 16 Chapter 16 CHAPTER 16 A series of ¡®Ooooohs¡¯ ran through the crowd after Chase¡¯s challenge. Cecilia simply sighed and shook her head. ¡°No, thank you,¡± She said. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a question. I¡¯m going to put you in the dirt and expose you like the fraud you are!¡± Chase yelled. ¡°Watch yourself, low-ss trash,¡± One of Cecilia¡¯spanions said. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare talk to her like that! Don¡¯t you know who I am?!¡± ¡°Fuck off, I¡¯m not talking to you. Can¡¯t she speak for herself?¡± ¡°I did, and I said I wouldn¡¯t battle you,¡± Cecilia said, before walking off. Her group followed suit. ¡°I know what you are! I looked you up! You think you¡¯re so strong when the only reason you¡¯re here is because of your brother and father,¡± Chase said. She stopped dead in her tracks. ¡°Oh? Did I hit a nerve?¡± He grinned and turned to the audience. ¡°Everybody acts like this chick having a dragon is some great unimaginable feat, but her brother owns a Hydreigon¡ª which I¡¯m sure most people here know, but connect the dots! They probably gave her its offspring. Not only is that an unfair advantage, but she has the best Deino possible! Good genes, and someone to call for training advice whenever she wants.¡± Murmurs ran through the crowd as people began to agree with his points. ¡°Now, with your father, you get virtually infinite amounts of cash! And not only that,¡± He paused as he pointed to the biggest kid of the group. ¡°But you¡¯re also engaged to this motherfucker.¡± I heard a few people gasp, along with whispers about his name. Bianchi. ¡°So yes, motherfucker. I do know who you are, and I just can¡¯t be bothered to care. Don¡¯t you people see?!¡± Chase asked, addressing us. ¡°These rich fucks are pooling their resources together and helping each other even though they already have an unfair advantage to begin with! And I¡¯m going to prove that no matter how much you cheat, you¡¯re still worse than I am,¡± Chase finally finished. The crowd was now fully on his side, chanting for the girl to go back to Unova. Cecilia¡¯s shoulder were shaking, and she was frozen in ce. ¡°Why are you like this?¡± I blurted out. ¡°Huh? Who the hell are you? Some other groupie?!¡± He asked. I looked around myself, and my eyes widened. I had just spoken without realizing it, and everyone¡¯s attention was now on me. My breathing quickened and my heart pounded against my ribcage. ¡°Ah¡ªuh¡ªI mean¡ª There¡¯s no reason to be m¡ªmean, right?¡± I said, stumbling all over my words. ¡°Let¡¯s all just get along¡­¡± ¡°You add nothing to the conversation. You don¡¯t counter my points. Do us all a favor and stop talking¡ª¡± ¡°N¡ªno, look, sure, some of it might be unfair, but it¡¯s not the first time this happened. It¡¯s like this every year!¡± I said, finding my courage. I remembered that this was the man who had destroyed Denzel¡¯s self-esteem for sport, and now he was trying to do it to someone else? No. ¡°In fact, I think that you¡¯re just mad that her victory overshadowed yours. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°Even if you were right, my point still applies.¡± ¡°Thenin to the League, don¡¯t make all of these people gang up on her. Ask them to institute some standards! She¡¯s not at fault here, the system is!¡± ¡°Why are you fighting so hard for someone who would never give you the time of day? You¡¯re sucking up to them for no reason!¡± Chase asked me as if he was unable toprehend my actions. ¡°Because it isn¡¯t right! We¡¯re all in this together, and fighting because of your small ego won¡¯t make you any better. Try to be a better person for a change, and maybe one day, you¡¯ll have friends to ask for help too if you¡¯re struggling!¡± "Graaaah,¡± Chase groaned. ¡°Fine, you¡¯re off the hook for now, Unovan. You can thank the Legendaries that some bootlicker decided to bat for you¡ª you didn¡¯t even have to defend yourself. But that¡¯s how it always is with you, isn¡¯t it? Always have other people speak for you. Your dad, your brother, and now this random trainer,¡± He finished. ¡°This city¡¯s fucking mediocre, I¡¯m out.¡± The boy shoved his hands in his pockets and stormed off. The crowd dispersed soon afterward, and I noticed that some people had been recording with their Poketch. I hoped nobody would put this online¡ª with these two trainers being the center of attention this year, some would inevitably fall onto me, which was something I didn¡¯t want. Unlike Denzel, I simply wanted to do my own thing without being ¡®famous¡¯. I wanted to be able to walk down a street without trainers recognizing me because that could either go well, or really badly¡ª case in point: what just happened to Cecilia. ¡°You. What¡¯s your name?¡± Someone asked. I jumped and turned toward the voice, which was Cecilia and her group. ¡°M¡ªme?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course. Who else?¡± ¡°Grace Pastel. Why?¡± ¡°Well, Grace. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it. I didn¡¯t have it in me to defend myself, but it was nice to have someone willing to do so,¡± She said in a passive-aggressive tone. Was she throwing shade at her group, or was I imagining things? Either way, Cecilia was gone as fast as she hade, and I¡¯d probably never see her again. I sighed. I wanted to ask her about how she battled. She was so cool and collected the entire time. And the percentages? What did that even mean? The power of her Pokemon¡¯s attacks, maybe? How did one train a dragon to do something like that, and why would you even do so? So many questions, and so few answers. Anyway, that was enough drama for an entire year. It was time to train. I may have disliked Chase and wanted to know more about Cecilia, one thing was for certain: they were way better trainers than I was, and I had to discover what was the difference between us. For now, though, it was time to train. ¡ª¡ª I spent the next few days training harder than ever before. With Frillish, we worked on strengthening his Bubblebeam as much as possible, along with attempting to increase his speed. Sure he could float, but he would just be a sitting target for Rock Throws if he wasn¡¯t able to move out of the way. Denzel had told me to go train against the Geodude from Oreburgh cave, although he had warned me explicitly not to underestimate them and take cover whenever I fought one. He didn¡¯t have to tell me twice¡ª I already knew wild Pokemon were extremely dangerous because they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to target the trainer, and had no restraints on their attacks. Frillish¡¯s training had gone well, and his Bubblebeams were faster, more powerful, and For Togepi, she was now fully capable of using Fairy Wind. I had to be careful with her, however, because she still couldn¡¯t really control how big it was, which meant that I was forced to stand very far away from her every time she used it and that I couldn¡¯t use it in battles to avoid risking the lives of trainers facing her. I didn¡¯t know what would happen if a human was hit with it, but knowing how strong Pokemon were, I was sure it wouldn¡¯t be pretty. The second move we worked extensively on was Sweet Kiss. It was faster now, and its confusion effect was more potent. I was confident Roark¡¯s Pokemon would stay confused for at least two of Togepi¡¯s next attacks instead of the one we normally always got. We had also created a signal for it so that it wouldn¡¯t be telegraphed so easily. Whenever I¡¯d tap my foot twice against the ground hard, she would send out a Sweet Kiss. I had already tricked quite a few trainers with it. The only other move we worked on was Rollout, but not as an offensive move. It would do nothing against Roark¡¯s rock types, but it would be useful as a movement-oriented ability. Like Frillish, Togepi was quite slow¡ª obviously, with the size of her stubby little legs. With Rollout, however, she¡¯d be able to relocate anywhere on the field at rtively good speeds, and it would be useful to dodge attacks as well. In the end, we had improved on her maneuverability with the move, and she was able to take sharper turns and stop abruptly more easily. Atst, my battle with the Oreburgh gym trainer had arrived. Denzel¡¯s would be tomorrow, and he had attempted toe to see me, but the battles were meant to be private. I followed the gym trainer deep inside of the gym until we reached a battlefield that was a replica of Roark¡¯s¡ª only one point five times smaller. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it. This¡¯ll be a two-on-two battle with no switching allowed. Obviously no killing, and you have to send out your Pokemon first,¡± She said in an upbeat voice. ¡°You seem excited,¡± I asked as I grabbed my Pokeball with trembling hands. I was trying to distract myself with small talk, but it wasn¡¯t working. ¡°First time doing one of these, so that means Roark acknowledged my skills,¡± She said with a smile. ¡°Cool, cool¡­¡± I said. Enough stalling. I took a deep breath, held it there for a few seconds, and exhaled as I released Frillish. Calm down, Grace, I thought to myself. It¡¯ll be fine. You trained for this. ¡°You¡¯re up Frillish. This is it. This is what we trained for,¡± I told him. He nodded and stared straight ahead. ¡°A Frillish, huh? Interesting, I haven¡¯t seen many of those before,¡± The gym trainer said as she sent out her Pokemon. A small tree-like being materialized in front of her, confusing me for a second before I recognized it. It was a Bonsly. A screen nking the arena lit up and counted down from three. I got this. ¡°Get up high and then Bubblebeam!¡± I yelled out as soon as the timer hit zero. Frillish propelled himself upward with his tentacles, and a stream of bubbles rushed toward the Bonsly. ¡°Jump back, and then Rock Throw!¡± Bonsly dodged, but Frillish¡¯s attack hadn¡¯t ended. The Bubblebeam followed it and impacted it directly, causing it to faint. Yes! I celebrated in my head. I had taken inspiration from Deino¡¯s seemingly endless Dragon Breath and trained Frillish to keep his Bubblebeam going as long as possible. One more. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re good,¡± The gym trainer said as she sent out a Geodude. ¡°I am?¡± I asked, beaming with a smile. ¡°Yep. Geodude, Rock Throw!¡± Geodude grabbed a rock and threw it upward, but it failed to even reach Frillish because of how high up he was. ¡°Aw, shucks,¡± She said. ¡°B¡ªBubblebeam?¡± I ordered, unsure of what was going on. Wasn¡¯t this too easy? Frillish sent out another Bubblebeam, which Geodude dodged with Rollout. Eventually, however, he tired out, and after two hits, he went down. ¡°Congrattions, challenger! You¡¯re now allowed to battle Roark. Head down to the lobby, and we¡¯ll tell you the date and time of your battle,¡± She said, returning her fainted Pokemon. After a pause, she spoke again. ¡°I can see the look on your face. You¡¯re good, but you¡¯re not that good¡ª no offense. This is just the only check we have to regte the amount of trainers taking up Roark¡¯s time. Beating the Pokemon we use is the bare minimum level of skill someone should be at before challenging him, and if you struggled, the odds are you¡¯d never beat him. You have a chance, though,¡± She said with a wink. ¡°Don¡¯t let the win get to your head. I¡¯ve seen it happen, and the consequences could be disastrous.¡± I took her advice to heart and made my way back to the lobby. I immediately told Denzel I had won, and he looked ecstatic for me. After a few minutes of waiting, my battle with Roark was scheduled. In three days, at 5:30 pm, my first gym battle would finally take ce.
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 17 Chapter 17 CHAPTER 17 Obviously, I spent the next days training on the same moves I had been. They had delivered me a victory against a gym trainer, and they would help me immensely against Roark. We took very little breaks, apart from waiting for the results of Denzel¡¯s gym trainer battle in the lobby. He came out with a huge smile on his face and had apparently done even better than expected, just like I had. ¡°Eevee should be able to deal with it¡ª I don¡¯t want to use Budew at all, which is a shame because I caught her specifically for this gym,¡± He said. ¡°But our Double Kick, Quick Attackbo is lethal.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± I responded dryly. I was too focused on strategy to have a conversation, as rude as it sounded. Every moment I didn¡¯t spend training was spent going through battle scenarios in my head. I went through as many battle videos as possible, analyzing each one of Roark¡¯s Pokemon and moves to be ready for anything. Some nights, I would barely sleep at all, much to Togepi¡¯s chagrin. She was worried about me, the little sweet thing. I couldn¡¯t stop, though. I was so close, and I would better be safe than sorry. Plus, gathering information about Roark calmed my nerves, even though I was still terrified. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay with taking a day off work to watch me?¡± I asked Dad the night before my battle. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to get scolded by your boss.¡± ¡°Nonsense. I had a lot of sick days saved up, and the new Poketch is finally out. Plus, I think the higher-ups are going a little bit insane¡ª they have this whole marketing idea with clowns¡­¡± Dad kept talking about his work. I wanted to cut him off at multiple points to get somest-minute studying in, but I felt bad. He didn¡¯t have any friends¡ª more like work acquaintances¡ª and now that Togepi and I were gone, he didn¡¯t have anybody to talk to. He was fully confident I was going to make it, and his belief in me did more to help than he could ever imagine. After our call, whichsted an hour and a half, I looked at the time. 11:23 pm. If I started back up again at midnight, I¡¯d have four hours or so to study Roark, and then I could sleep for another five. Before that, however, I called my mother. ¡°Your battle is tomorrow? Oh, Arceus, I¡¯ll have to go to Ronald and Casey¡¯s ce to watch, our house doesn¡¯t have the inte.¡± ¡°Just inte, mom. No ¡®the¡¯ at the start. Anyway, it¡¯s at five-thirty, so make sure to root for me,¡± I said. ¡°Of course, I will. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do very well!¡± She said. I could tell she was smiling on the other side of the call. I had been nervous about reconnecting with mom, but to be honest, it was¡­ nice. Her voice felt reassuring in a way that I couldn¡¯t exin. I was d dad made me go to Twinleaf that day. We spent thirty minutes or so just chit-chatting about anything that came to mind. Herdier was doing better than ever, and there had been no ¡®weird people¡¯¡ª which was how we had described that shady organization to them before we left¡ª hanging around Twinleaf ¡°You should go to sleep, Grace. It¡¯s almost midnight, and you¡¯ve got a big day tomorrow,¡± Mom told me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll stay up for a little while longer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you what to do¡ª you¡¯ve been doing fine without me in your life so far. But from experience, you¡¯ll do better during an important day if you had your full eight hours the night before. You¡¯re exhausted, aren¡¯t you? I can tell.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Do what you think is right, Grace. I¡­ I love you. Was that fine to say? Is it too early?¡± She asked with a shaky voice. I let out a little gasp and hung up out of surprise before throwing my Poketch on the other side of the bed. Her words had jolted me out of my dazed state, and I was now fully awake. Waking up like this made me realize that she had been right. I was tired. I sighed and got into bed before drifting off to sleep. ¡ª¡ª ¡°And you¡¯re okay with bright, shing lights?¡± A gym trainer asked me. I nodded. ¡°Sounds good,¡± He said as he finished fitting me with a microphone. ¡°There¡­ you¡­ go! On you go! Oh, and reminder not to touch Kadabra¡¯s barriers. That can mess with them, and we certainly don¡¯t want that. Good luck out here, challenger!¡± I nodded again and got ready to step into the arena. The night had passed so quickly. One second I was awake, and the other, the sun was shining through my curtains. I bit the inside of my lip to stop my teeth from chattering, and I wiped my hands on my jeans before stepping outside. I raised my hand to cover my eyes, trying to get used to the light. There were a lot less people than there had been for Chase or Cecilia¡¯s matches, but there were still thousands here. And that wasn¡¯t ounting for the people watching from thefort of their homes. My entire body felt tight. Like I was getting squeezed until I¡¯d pop. I had to remind myself to breathe before I stepped toward the area designated for trainers¡ª a slightly elevated rectangr tform. A few secondster, Roark did the same. He looked older than he was, with deep-set lines running across his face and rectangr sses. ¡°Wee, challenger,¡± Roark said nonchntly. ¡°This will be a two-on-two battle with one switch-in allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.¡± ¡°Alright Grace, y¡ªyou¡¯ve got this,¡± I told myself after a few deep breaths. A few people in the audience startedughing, confusing me until I remembered that I had a microphone on. I drew a sharp breath and apologized, which provoked moreughs. I wanted to die. I hurriedly grabbed Frillish¡¯s Pokeball with a sweaty hand and almost dropped it before releasing him on the field. He was a little taken aback by the uniqueness of the situation, but I had warned him ahead of time, along with Togepi. After a few seconds, he was ready. Roark nodded and a small rock-like creature covered in shining diamonds floated into the air. It was one of Roark¡¯s rarest Pokemon to use, but I had still studied it, so I knew what to expect. ¡°Begin!¡± The referee said. ¡°Power Gem,¡± Roark said. Instantly, my mind went from a nervous wreck to overdrive as everything I had learned in thest few days rushed back to me. ¡°Just like we practiced! Dodge with Water Sport!¡± I yelled out. A few shining light rays appeared next to Carbink and rushed toward Frillish, who quickly propelled himself out of the way with a jet of water. ¡°Now Bubblebeam it!¡± I said. Frillish reared his head back, and then forward as a mass of bubbles escaped from his mouth faster than they had ever been. ¡°Light Screen.¡± A shiny barrier surrounded the floating Carbink, weakening Frillish¡¯s attack. From what I studied, it was one of Roark¡¯s most defensive-minded Pokemon. ¡°Keep it going, buddy!¡± The Bubblebeam didn¡¯t stop. After twenty seconds or so, the Light Screen was broken. Carbink attempted to move out of the way, but Frillish homed in on it with incredible uracy. ¡°Get behind a boulder!¡± Roark said, raising his voice. Carbink chimed and escaped from our relentless attack. Frillish stayed up in the air as we waited for Roark¡¯s next move. ¡°Ancient Power, then rush it!¡± Roark said after a few seconds. Ancient power and not Smack Down? I thought. That was new! A few rocks were surrounded by blue light and levitated toward Frillish. Slowly at first, and then extremely quickly. Without needing mymand, he dodged the first few with Water Sport, but he was hit by two. Before he could even recuperate, he was hit directly by Carbink¡¯s Tackle and began falling to the ground. ¡°No! Focus! Get him away from you with Night Shade!¡± I screamed, letting panic slip into my voice. ¡°Fri!¡± A shadowy replica of Frillish appeared behind the two falling Pokemon and dashed through the Carbink, getting it off of him. With another jet of water, Frillish stopped himself from hitting the ground too hard, and he was back in the air in seconds. Carbink crashed into the field, kicking up an insane amount of sand, rocks, and dust. ¡°Don¡¯t let it recover! Bubblebeam again!¡± Frillish started hitting the plume with multiple, short attacks until he found his opponent thanks to its chime of pain. He focused on that area until it was revealed that Carbink had fainted. ¡°Carbink is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± The referee said. One more, I thought. One more, and I¡¯m fucking golden. Roark smirked and returned his Carbink before sending out hisst Pokemon. What would it be, I thought to myself anxiously as the red form materialized into shape. One of his strongest? Needless to say, I couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed when I saw arge Geodude appear. On one hand, it was the one I had studied the most, but on the other, it stung to know that I wasn¡¯t good enough to warrant using one of Roark¡¯s main threats. ¡°Up high, Frillish!¡± I said, recalling my n. ¡°As high as you can, then Bubblebeam!¡± Frillish began to float upward¡ª ¡°Rock Throw, crush variation.¡± Roark said. Crush variation? What was¡ª Geodude¡¯s body crackled as it flexed its arms before grabbing a huge rock. Using its hands, it crushed the rock down to rubble and then threw them at incredible speeds toward Frillish. ¡°Shit! Frillish, Water Sport¡ª¡± He was already using the move before I even finished, propelling himself downward to dodge the barrage of rocks making its way toward him. Unfortunately, they covered an area toorge to dodge. I swallowed as my Pokemon was hit by a dozen of small rocks, prating through its body. If he hadn¡¯t been a ghost type, he would be bleeding right now. ¡°Another one, Geodude!¡± If this keeps up, I¡¯m done, I thought. ¡°Don¡¯t let him! Attack, attack, attack!¡± I yelled out. A stream of bubbles rushed out of Frillish¡¯s mouth, but they were simply popped by Geodude¡¯s attack, and only a few reached their target. Meanwhile, another dozen rocks hit Frillish, staggering him. This isn¡¯t working. ¡°Get down, and then get close with Water Sport!¡± Frillish deactivated his levitation powers and fell to the ground like a ragdoll before propelling himself with a jet of water seconds before hitting the ground. ¡°Rock Polish before another throw!¡± Roark screamed. Geodude shone for a few seconds and then crushed another rock. It threw the rubble toward Frillish hard, and it would deal more damage now that the distance was lower. I gambled that he¡¯d be able to take it anyway. Frillish spun around and tried as best he could to evade the oing rocks, but the majority of them still hit him. He slowed a little, but kept going. ¡°Wrap around him and then Absorb!¡± He bumped his soft body into Geodude and wrapped his tentacles around it before sucking its energy. Roark¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Get him off of you quick!¡± Foregoing levitation, Geodude used its two hands to run toward the biggest boulder he could find before ramming into it. Frillish bore the brunt of the damage, and after struggling to get off the ground for a few seconds, he fainted. ¡°You did great,¡± I said as I retrieved Frillish. ¡°I¡¯ll give you lots to eatter.¡± ¡°Frillish is unable to battle. Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± I sent out Togepi. ¡°Frillish is out. It¡¯s up to you and me, princess!¡±
TEAM: Togepi - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 18 Chapter 18 CHAPTER 18 Geodude was slower, and he looked tired. Frillish had done a great job, but now it was time to finish this. ¡°Rollout!¡± Roark said immediately. The Geodude scrunched up into a ball and began to roll toward Togepi. It was incredibly fast thanks to Rock Polish, but if it was going in a straight line, that wasn¡¯t a problem. I waited as much as I could until I mmed my foot twice against the ground hard. A pink heart hit Geodude, prompting it to veer off course and ram into Kadabra¡¯s barrier. ¡°Fairy Wind as long as you can!¡± I said. ¡°Geodude, get up!¡± Pink mist began swirling around Togepi and then rushed toward the Geodude. It keened in pain, but was still too disoriented to do anything. For the next few seconds, I thought that this was it. That there was no way he¡¯d be able to withstand such a move after that onught he had suffered fighting Frillish. I was wrong. ¡°Snap. Out. Of. It!¡± Roark bellowed. Geodude shook itself, and then faced Togepi, who was too tired to keep up her Fairy Wind. ¡°Now Rollout again! Zig zag randomly to avoid Sweet Kiss!¡± ¡°Dodge with Rollout! Run away!¡± Togepi retreated into her shell and fled, but the Geodude was faster than her. It caught up and rammed into her, sending her headfirst into a rock. ¡°Togepi!¡± She slowly got back on her feet, but she was staggering now. One more hit and she was done. I clenched my fist. ¡°Fairy Wind! I know you have another one in you!¡± ¡°Get behind something!¡± The Fairy Wind was weaker than it had been before, but it still hit the Geodude before he managed to take cover. ¡°Now, get ¡®em!¡± Roark continued. Geodude rushed toward Togepi, grabbing her and mming her against the ground. My hand hovered over her Pokeball as I wondered¡ª Snap out of it! There¡¯s still hope¡ª Geodude threw her high into the air before using Rock Throw and hitting her. Ah. It¡¯s over. But suddenly. High up in the sky. A light began to shine. She was like a star. Togepi was surrounded by a blinding light as her body morphed and elongated. She never hit the ground. ¡°Togepi, you¡¯re¡ª you¡¯re flying!¡± ¡°Geodude, Rock Throw, crush variation!¡± I snapped out of my daze. There was no way to know if she had learned a new move, so I stuck to what I knew. ¡°Try to dodge! Then Fairy Wind!¡± Togetic clumsily beat her wings and dodged whenever she could as she gathered fairy energy around her. Rocks began to swirl in the wind as she gathered everything she had into onest attack. ¡°Go!¡± I said. ¡°Getic!¡± The wind was faster now, and thicker. Geodude rolled behind a rock, but Togetic could control it better now. The wind curved around the boulder and mmed Geodude against the psychic barrier. It didn¡¯t get back up. I had won. The stands broke into thunderous apuse as I stood there, wondering if I was dreaming. Still in my dazed state, I returned Togetic to her ball while Roark made his way around the battlefield at a brisk pace. ¡°Congrattions, challenger, that was a great battle. May I have your ID?¡± He asked. I stared at him for a few seconds before slowly giving him my trainer card. He scanned it using some kind of device, and when I got it back, my first badge was disyed near the bottom left. ¡°I¡¯ve handed you the coal badge and transferred five thousand pokedors to your ount. Your Pokedex, please?¡± He continued. ¡°Uh¡ª yes.¡± He inserted a disk into the TMpartment and gave it back to me after a few seconds. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to teach the TM Rock Polish to Pokemon that can learn it. Again, congrattions. Feel free to catch your breath in the waiting room for a few minutes before leaving. I can tell you¡¯re shaken.¡± ¡°Wait! I¡ªI have something to tell you. Ah, the microphone¡ª¡± ¡°They¡¯re disabled as soon as a match end. What is it?¡± Roark asked. I felt like telling him about what happened at Lake Verity would make me lose all of my credibility. Looking at it from his perspective, who would even believe what a random fifteen year old said? Unfortunately, I still had to forego allmon sense and try. ¡°Could we do this in private? It has to do with something that happened near Twinleaf. There¡¯s a criminal organization in Sinnoh¡ª or at least I believe so. They threatened to kill me and my friend.¡± Roark frowned. ¡°Is this a joke?¡± I shook my head. ¡°You¡¯re serious then. Meet me back in the gym lobby when I¡¯m done battling for the day. Bring your friend.¡± ¡°But the gym will be closed¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have someone let you in. And this better have some substance to it. I don¡¯t take nicely to people wasting my time. Now go.¡± I nodded and left. I was happy I even managed to get the story out. Passing through the waiting room, I saw a nervous trainer waiting for her turn. That had been me ten minutes ago, and now I was on top of the world. It hadn¡¯t sunk in yet, that I had gotten my first gym badge. Fifty percent wouldn¡¯t make it past their first gym badge. That meant I was better than at least fifty percent of trainers. I made my way to the lobby and waited for Denzel. He came out of the stands with a radiant smile. ¡°Grace! You did it! You were fantastic¡ª you and your team! I can¡¯t believe Togepi evolved!¡± He said with his hands on my shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I won. I mean, I worked like hell for it, but I think there was a part of me that just expected me to flounder and lose miserably. I¡¯m¡­ so happy,¡± I said softly. ¡°Cheer up, dude! You¡¯re looking all morose when you should be celebrating! In fact, let¡¯s go out tonight, I¡¯ll treat you to something,¡± Denzel cheered. ¡°What about your training?¡± I asked. ¡°I still have tomorrow. I want to celebrate with you,e on!¡± I broke into a smile. ¡°Fine!¡± On our way back to the Center, I spoke to him about our meeting with Roark tonight, turning him into an uneasy mood¡ª a far cry from his joyful attitude just minutes ago. ¡°So that¡¯s it, huh? This is ourst chance to make our pitch. There¡¯s no one else to rely on.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s still the other gym leaders, but if Roark doesn¡¯t take us seriously, there¡¯s no reason to think the others will. So yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I handed in my Pokemon to Nurse Joy and took a long-awaited shower in my room. My clothes were soaked in sweat, something my body did without my consent whenever I was nervous. You¡¯d think I had just gone for a run in a marathon. I sighed as I let the warm water wash over my skin. The water was free after all, and I was going to take my sweet time. ¡ª¡ª Thirty minutester, I stepped out of the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes and noticed that I had a grand total of twelve missed calls on my Poketch. Eight from dad and four from mom. ¡°Arceus¡­ you guys are so extra,¡± I muttered as I called my dad. ¡°Grace! I¡¯m so, so proud of you! Legendaries, I was so nervous the entire battle, I thought I was having a heart attack! Hell, I want to go out in the streets and tell everybody that my daughter¡¯s got a badge!¡± I smirked. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t embarrass me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have an entire selection of cakes when youe back! Chocte, carrot, vani, name it, and it¡¯ll be on the table! And I can¡¯t believe our little Togepi¡¯s all grown up. That evolution came in the nick of time, eh?¡± ¡°Yup. I think I would have lost without it, I don¡¯t know if she was getting up after that Rock Throw.¡± ¡°And your Frillish was great too! I don¡¯t want to look like I¡¯m ying favorites¡ª although between us, Togepi¡ª ah, Togetic now, will always be my little princess. I¡¯m so happy for you two.¡± ¡°I was a nervous wreck. I hope nobody remembers that.¡± ¡°If I hear or see anyone talking about you in a bad way, I¡¯ll knock ¡®em out.¡± ¡°And then you¡¯ll go to jail for assault,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Worth it. But seriously Grace, don¡¯t let anybody take this way from you. This is your aplishment. You worked hard for it, and you deserve it. Enjoy the win.¡± It was finally sinking in. I was a good trainer. I wasn¡¯t a prodigy or even a top contender, but I was fucking good. ¡°Thank you, dad. I love you.¡± ¡°Love you too, future champ,¡± He said. I rolled my eyes, but couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Make sure to treat yourself to something.¡± ¡°I will. Denzel¡¯s taking me somewhere¡ª although I still don¡¯t know where.¡± ¡°Alright, well I won¡¯t annoy you any longer. You kids have fun! Bye!¡± I hung up, and after a few moments, I started skipping around my room. ¡°I¡¯ve got a badge! I¡¯ve got a badge!¡± ¡ª¡ª A few hourster¡ª just before we were supposed to head out to meet Roark¡ª I got my Pokemon back. I brought them out and brought them into a tight hug as soon as we were back in my room. ¡°You guys¡­ you did so good,¡± I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so happy we¡¯re partners.¡± Togetic let out a familiar chirp, and Frillish wrapped his cold tentacles around my back. ¡°I love you,¡± I told them both. After a small heart-to-heart, I freed them from my grasp. ¡°We¡¯ll review the battleter to see what we can improve on,¡± I said. ¡°Mind if you go in your ball again, buddy?¡± I asked Frillish. He shook his head, and I returned him. ¡°Now, let¡¯s take a look at you,¡± I told Togetic. She had grown so much. She stood slightly taller than two feet, and her shell had been absorbed into her body. Every Togepi had a unique pattern on their shell that would be imprinted onto them when they became a Togetic, and this was no different. ¡°Can you try flying for me?¡± I asked. ¡°Toge!¡± She answered right away. She began pping her wings and clumsily got into her air, knocking over all kinds of items I hadid on the room¡¯s counter. She continued until she hit a wall and then fell on her back. ¡°Alright, we can work on that,¡± I said. ¡°I wonder how you even fly.¡± Togetic¡¯s wings were small for a body of her size, and she shouldn¡¯t have been able to fly under any realistic circumstances. Maybe she was using some kind of fairy energy to help her float. Either way, I scanned her with my Pokedex. Togetic, the happiness Pokemon. Togetic is said to be a Pok¨¦mon that brings good fortune. When the Pok¨¦mon spots someone who is pure of heart, it is said to appear and share its happiness with that person. No records exist of Togetic being seen in the wild. It evolves under the loving care of a trusted humanpanion, upon whom the Pok¨¦mon then bestows great joy. It can float in midair without moving its wings. Type: Fairy, Flying. Ability: Hustle ¡°Seems like you think I¡¯m kind-hearted. I¡¯m ttered,¡± I joked. ¡°Tic!¡± She cheered. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again. Apparently, you¡¯re supposed to be able to fly without your wings. I think they¡¯re just for maneuverability,¡± I exined. Togetic nodded and began to float like Frillish could. When she was unable to stop, she wiggled her feet and arms around. It didn¡¯t help. She hit the ceiling and then fell to the ground again. I crouched at her side and caressed her face. ¡°You okay, princess?¡± She smiled as she wrapped her tiny arms around me and snuggled into my chest. Still as cute as ever, I thought. Now it was time to check for any new moves. My Pokedex disyed the moves Extrasensory and Ancient Power, which surprised me. I had no idea Togetic could be this versatile, but I wasn¡¯t going toin. Still, that meant two new moves to work on, along with her flying. And that wasn¡¯t even adding Frillish to the mix, who I wanted to start working on too now that I didn¡¯t have to focus so much on Bubblebeam. But that was all in the future. For now, it was time to go meet Roark.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 19 Chapter 19 CHAPTER 19 It was strange to be in the Oreburgh gym at night. Most lights were turned off, and almost nobody was there, giving the building an eerie atmosphere because it was just so . The gym trainer that had let us in led us to Roark¡¯s office upstairs, which was in an isted corner of the building. Personally, I wouldn¡¯t want to work somewhere that took so long just to get to, but maybe the peace and quiet during the day was worth it. The gym trainer gently knocked on Roark¡¯s door and waited for a few seconds. ¡°Come in,¡± He said. The trainer opened the door and gestured for us to get in before closing the door. ¡°So, Grace Pastel and Denzel Williams. Tell me your story.¡± Denzel and I nced at each other and waited. I think we both expected the other to do the talking, so we ended up in this moment of awkward silence. ¡°Well?¡± Roark probed. ¡°Ah¡ª well, a few weeks before the Circuit¡­¡± Denzel started. Just like we had done with the Sandgem police, we told him everything, but this time we stressed that they had threatened to kill us with their Pokemon, believing that was the thing the most likely to spur the League to action. Roark asked for more details, such as the exact location of theke, and the exact time the incident took ce. We answered as best we could. ¡°Anything else?¡± Roark said, spinning a pen in his hand. His uninterested, tired gaze made me anxious and was a far cry from how he looked when he battled me. ¡°That¡¯s everything,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not lying to me. Criminal organizations are extremely dangerous¡ª so I hope you understand that I wouldn¡¯t take kindly to this being all fake.¡± ¡°We have nothing to gain from lying,¡± I said. ¡°Especially when Denzel¡¯s battling you soon. You could make sure he never gets his badge.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Roark said after a pause. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it. Now leave, I have work to do.¡± We nodded and left quietly. All things considered, that could have gone way worse, and we at least had confirmation that someone important was at least going to attempt to figure this out. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. If something was to happen without us having done anything about it, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to forgive myself. I looked up at the sky as the cool air blew into my hair. Autumn was soon approaching, and I finally felt like I¡¯d be able to enjoy this year to the fullest. Denzel ended up taking me out to a somewhat fancy restaurant to celebrate my victory, and even after my many protests, he still ended up paying after snatching the bill away from me. It tasted great, and it was a nice change from fast food or the Pokemon Center cafeteria. The next day, Denzel was about to go off to Oreburgh gate to train. I could tell the nerves were getting to him, so I did my best to cheer him up. ¡°Once the battle starts, you barely even register the audience, I swear,¡± I said as I watched him tie his shoces. ¡°You¡¯ll do fine. Eevee¡¯s a little trooper.¡± ¡°Vee!¡± Eevee eximed. ¡°I¡¯m already getting a stomachache, and it¡¯s not even tomorrow yet¡­ I literally just went to the bathroom, man¡­¡± Whereas I sweated all over the ce when I got nervous, Denzel apparently had to go to the bathroom. A lot. ¡°Want to call my dad? He said he¡¯d watch your battle since it¡¯s on a weekend.¡± I asked. ¡°Now I¡¯m even more nervous¡­ I gotta go to the bathroom!¡± Denzel said before running back to his room. Again? I thought. How is that even possible? I left the Center soon afterward and let out both of my team members. While Togetic was going to focus entirely on her flight for the time being, I was going to have a more personal training session with Frillish. ¡°Alright, Frillish. I have two moves I want you to start learning: Water Pulse and Hex. Bubblebeam works, but it¡¯s more of a precise attack, whereas Water Pulse can hit a bigger area in one go¡ª that means it¡¯s harder to dodge,¡± I exined. Frillish nodded. ¡°Good. Next, ording to my dex, Hex doesn¡¯t need to be aimed or directed¡ª it just affects your opponent directly from the inside. That should mean it¡¯s basically impossible to dodge unless you¡¯re confused or something.¡± I left out that the move dealt more damage if the enemy was affected by a status condition, such as poisoning or a burn because we had no means to do that yet. Either way, Hex was a better ghost type move than Night Shade, and we needed to learn it. When both Togetic and Frillish mastered these new challenges, then I figured it would be time to think about a third member for the team. Throughout the day, Togetic stumbled through the air, and Frillish barely managed to get something that didn¡¯t look like a Bubblebeam out of his mouth. Maybe it was too early to think about that, then. ¡ª¡ª It was strange to be back in the stands after having been down in the arena. Everything up here seemed so small now. I watched as a clearly nervous Denzel walked up to the arena, and Roark did the same. I had no doubts in my mind that he would win. I fully believed in my friend. After Roark¡¯s pre-battle instructions, Denzel sent out his Eevee, and Roark sent out a metallic Pokemon with stubby little feet that I immediately recognized as Aron. The battle would be two-on-two with one switch in allowed, but I hoped that Denzel wouldn¡¯t have to use Budew. ¡°Begin!¡± The referee announced. ¡°Quick Kick!¡± Denzel yelled out as he pointed forward. A custom move, I thought. Trainers sometimes woulde up with moves that weren¡¯t listed in the official Pokedex list¡ª or in this case, they¡¯dbine two moves together to create something new. Eevee became a white blur as he weaved in between the rocks, making his way toward Aron. ¡°Harden,¡± Roark simply said. When he reached Aron, Eevee dashed to his right and quickly spun around with one foreleg before kicking Aron¡¯s nk twice. The metallic Pokemon cried out in pain, but it was nowhere near done. ¡°Headbutt,¡± Roark continued. Aron reared its head and ran toward Eevee, who promptly jumped over and kicked his opponent in the back. The battle continued like this for a while, with Eevee simply being too fast for Aron to even hope to touch. ¡°Enough! Mud-p and then ram him!¡± Roark yelled. The steel type used its leg to hurl as much sand as he could in Eevee¡¯s general direction. He staggered and closed his eyes before Aron crashed into him with a Headbutt. ¡°Next time he does that, use Baby Doll Eyes,¡± Denzel said as he wiped the sweat off his brow. ¡°Keep up the pressure with Quick Kick!¡± After six more kicking attacks, Aron finally went down without much of a fight. It seemed that Roark had underestimated Eevee and had thought that Aron¡¯s defenses would be enough to make up for itsck of speed. Luckily for Denzel, that backfired and got him the first win. I squinted and looked at Eevee. He was clearly tired and panting heavily, and I didn¡¯t know how many times he¡¯d still be able to use Quick Kick. ¡°Aron is unable to battle. Leader Roark, please send out yourst Pokemon!¡± Roark frowned as he hovered his hand over his Pokeballs for a few seconds before finally choosing his next fighter. Rhyhorn came out of its ball with a defiant roar. ¡°Rock Polish into Horn Attack. Quickly!¡± Roark said right away. ¡°Wait for him to get to you, and then Double Kick!¡± Denzel responded. Smart. He¡¯s saving Eevee¡¯s energy, I thought. The Rhyhorn shone and then skidded across the battlefield without any resistance, aiming its horn toward Eevee. He responded byying t on the ground before kicking Rhyhorn¡¯s head upward and then scrambling away. He ran as fast as he could, gaining a little bit of distance with Quick Attack whenever his opponent got too close. ¡°Smack Down, and then ram him!¡± Roark said. Rhyhorn mmed his horn into a rock, and arge chunk hit Eevee in the back. He fell and struggled to get up. ¡°You¡¯ve got this! Sand Attack!¡± Eevee threw sand into the Rhyhorn¡¯s eyes with its tail before rolling to the side and then hit its rocky hide with another Double Kick. I clenched my fists around the handles of my seat. This was it! They had regained the initiative! The rock type shook its entire body and then began ramming into random boulders with its horn. ¡°Focus on my voice, Rhyhorn! He¡¯s on your left!¡± Rhyhorn roared before suddenly tackling toward Eevee. ¡°Quick Attack so you¡¯re faster! Double Kick!¡± Eevee blurred to the left and kicked the Rhyhorn¡¯s head before getting clipped by his horn. Blood soaked his brown fur, and he could barely stand, but Rhyhorn went down and never stood back up. I was the first one to stand up and p, yelling out his name. We had both won! Denzel quickly returned his panting Eevee got his badge, money, and TM before he left. I squeezed through my row to leave the stand and met him in the gym¡¯s lobby with a hug. ¡°You were great down there,¡± I said. ¡°I knew you¡¯d win.¡± ¡°Thank you for being such a great friend Grace. I don¡¯t know if I would have won without your support. My parents didn¡¯t even call me¡ª¡± ¡°None of that gloomy stuff,¡± I said. ¡°Screw them! You¡¯ve got your first badge! Hell, didn¡¯t your mom say she¡¯d send you money now?¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I hope she actually goes through with it,¡± He paused. ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe this is real.¡± ¡°Feels like a dream, right? It was the exact same for me. All that worrying you did seems silly now, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It does, but I feel like it whipped me into shape. I don¡¯t think I would have trained anywhere near this hard with Eevee if I hadn¡¯t been destroyed by Chase back in Jubilife. I¡¯m almost¡­ happy it happened now? Does that make sense?¡± ¡°It totally does,¡± I said. ¡°But it¡¯s my turn to treat you now. Let¡¯s get you some lunch! We can n our next moves over some fries.¡± ¡°Just fries isn¡¯t a healthy lunch¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to be healthy, it¡¯s supposed to be a treat. Let¡¯s buy some poffins for everybody on the way.¡± During lunch, we decided that we¡¯d stay in Oreburgh for a few more days to get a well-deserved break. We considered getting a ne ticket back to Jubilife, but after checking the prices, they were way too expensive. Plus, Denzel was averse to the idea. There weren¡¯t any rules that said trainers weren¡¯t allowed to forego traveling through the routes and take a ne ride instead, but it was frowned upon, and it meant that we would skip on a lot of training. With Denzel¡¯s goal of bing famous, he didn¡¯t want to get caught boarding a ne, only to get ridiculed on the forums. Denzel ended up calling his mother and wrangling for a good amount of money which she transferred to his ount. She still disagreed with his decision to participate in the Circuit, but she was a woman of her word. The faces and the eye rolls he made when speaking to her were too much. I could tell they didn¡¯t have the best rtionship, but a part of me wondered if these issues went back to before they even disagreed on Denzel¡¯s journey. I ended up lightening my team¡¯s training, going down to barely an hour per day. Togetic, Frillish and I would usually just hang out in my Poke Center room. Togetic would cuddle with me while I watched T.V. or browsed the inte while Frillish soaked in the bathtub to simte being in a body of water. I felt bad for him, but soon we¡¯d be back on route 203 and he would be able to get in a realke. Soon enough, we finally said goodbye to Oreburgh and headed back into Oreburgh gate. All in all, we had made good progress and we hadn¡¯t even spent a month in the city. At this pace, we¡¯d make it in time for the conference at the end of the year. Oh, and I couldn¡¯t wait to see dad again.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Interlude – Roark Interlude ¨C Roark INTERLUDE - ROARK ¡°Fair enough,¡± Roark said after a pause. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it. Now leave, I have work to do.¡± Roark van Aarde watched as the two young trainers left his office. As soon as they were gone, he rxed into his chair and sighed. ¡°Paul, you and the others can leave early,¡± Roark told the gym trainer who led them to his office. ¡°I¡¯ll close up.¡± Paul smiled. ¡°Thank you sir. Have a good night.¡± Roark stretched with a groan. What he had just heard was almost unbelievable, but he didn¡¯t get the sense that the kids were lying. On the off-chance that they were right, it was better to verify their story. ¡°More work for me,¡± Roark sighed. He opened up a familiar app on hisputer and scrolled through his contacts. He paused before pressing the call button. ¡°Ahh, just do it.¡± He called his boss. Roark heard hisputer ring for a few seconds until he heard a smooth voice on the other end of the call. ¡°Good evening, Roark. To what do I owe the pleasure?¡± The Champion of the Sinnoh region asked. ¡°Cynthia. I just wanted to check up on you and let you know about something that might be important,¡± The gym leader dered as he immediately straightened up as if she was in the room with him. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not taking too much of your time?¡± ¡°If you were, I wouldn¡¯t have answered. How¡¯s work treating you?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Don¡¯t even talk to me about work,¡± Roark groaned. ¡°This is the worst year so far¡­ I¡¯m having to battle for longer and longer hours, but I¡¯ll manage. At least the gym trainers do most of the paperwork now.¡± ¡°Good,¡± She simply said. ¡°I got word from the Directorate that trainers areining about you. Apparently, you¡¯ve been going extra hard this year.¡± ¡°Pff, the Directorate. What do they know? More and more trainers are joining the Circuit each year because they won a few battles at trainer school with their first Rattatta. That doesn''t mean I¡¯m obligated to let them win out of pity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know, Roark. I¡¯ve already told them that the average skill level is going down, I just want you to be informed about what they think of you.¡± Roark groaned again. Sinnoh was governed by a top-down structure system. But each of these ¡®ranks¡¯ had trainers and non-trainers in charge, as a sort of bnce of power system. Gym leaders and mayors cared for their respective cities¡ª although cities without gym leaders only had mayors. The Elite Four and the Directorate oversaw the entire region, and finally, the Champion and the leader of the Directorate¡ª the Prime Minister¡ª were the supreme authority of the region. Most of the time, Roark was mostly fine with this system. After all, trainer supremacy led to the rise of Team Rocket in Kanto. It was always good to have some checks and bnces on power. Now was not most of the time, though. The Directorate clearly didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, and it showed. ¡°Thank you for the information, though. Do let them know I won¡¯t be changing the way I battle,¡± ¡°Of course. And the family? Have you still not made up with your father?¡± Roark winced. ¡°I have nothing to say to Byron,¡± He blurted out. ¡°And I have a lot of work with the gym. What about you?¡± He tried changing the subject. ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t been to Celestic in a long while now,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get back soon, thank you for reminding me. Time goes by so fast that sometimes months have passed before I realize it.¡± They kept talking about their lives for a while. Roark knew that it was a strange rtionship to have with his boss, but Cynthia was more of a friend to every gym leader than a boss. They still had to show her respect, and everybody admired her greatly, but when she spoke to him, Roark could tell she cared. Cynthia would let him talk to her about his problems, and monthster, she would ask if he had fixed them. He knew how busy she was all the time¡ª and that she had rtionships like this with hundreds of people. The scale of it boggled the mind sometimes, and yet when Roark still had the audacity toin to her, she listened and empathized with him. ¡°I almost forgot, I wanted to ask you about something. Two trainers came into my office just before I called and told me about a potential criminal organization. Have you heard anything about that? We might need to look into it.¡± Roark asked. He described some of the event that Grace and Denzel had told him. Cynthia stayed silent. ¡°Cynthia?¡± ¡°So you found out, hm,¡± She sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to worry you.¡± Roark frowned. ¡°Worry me? It¡¯s my job to know! So they were right then? They talked about a uniform with a single ¡®G¡¯ on it.¡± ¡°Correct. We¡¯ve been tracking such individuals for a few months now. They¡¯ve been popping up all over the region.¡± ¡°They threatened to kill two kids,¡± Roark hissed, raising his voice. ¡°Were there any in Oreburgh? Have they killed anyone yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. We haven¡¯t managed to catch them for anything illegal yet. Threatening murder is new for them, so I might be able to finally get something done now.¡± The gym leader sighed. "There was something about a police report in Sandgem, can you check with them? Apparently they didn''t believe the kids, I''d like to see whoever took their reports punished," He said. "I''ll have my contacts there check it out." ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me why I wasn¡¯t informed about this, Cynthia.¡± ¡°Knowledge about Team Gctic is on a need-to-know basis,¡± She simply said. ¡°And you, unfortunately, did not need to know. If they ever feel cornered, there''s no telling what they''re capable of. I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m sounding harsh here.¡± ¡°Who knows? You owe me that now, at least.¡± He asked. ¡°The Elite Four, the Directorate, Wake, Fantina, and Byron all know. The younger gym leaders were kept in the dark.¡± ¡°So my dad knows, but I don¡¯t?!¡± Roark said, mming his desk. ¡°That is bullshit, and you know it.¡± ¡°Look at this objectively, Roark,¡± Cynthia calmly said. ¡°Younger gym leaders are more vulnerable. Maylene is fourteen, and the only reason she¡¯s a gym leader is because of her incredible talent. Candice is eighteen, and so is Gardenia. Volkner is twenty-two¡­ you¡¯re the eldest in a new generation. We had an entire line of leaders retire almost all at once.¡± ¡°The kids make sense,¡± Roark acknowledged. ¡°But I¡¯m twenty-four. If you don¡¯t trust me with this, I don¡¯t even know why I bothered to be a gym leader in the first ce.¡± ¡°I did what I thought was best. Let¡¯s move past this. Is there any more information those two trainers told you? And tell me their names and their ID, please,¡± Cynthia said. Roark acquiesced, telling her the rest of Grace and Denzel had told him, including the location of this supposed newke. ¡°The location¡¯s a little fuzzy because they didn¡¯t really have precise coordinates,¡± ¡°Alright,¡± She said. ¡°That should be everything. What do we do now? What¡¯s the n?¡± Roark asked. He wanted to take the fight to this organization and take them down before they became a threat. ¡°I wish I could tell you I¡¯d fly somewhere and take them down, but they¡¯re still quite an elusive group. We¡¯ve seen them across the region, but there¡¯s no information on a potential base of operation or anything. I¡¯ll have to ask Vernon to address the Directorate to create some kind ofmittee to allocate more resources to the investigation.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll take time. People could die.¡± ¡°I wish I could tell you something else, but my hands are tied, Roark. There are procedures that need to be followed.¡± The gym leader clicked his tongue. ¡°Fine, the Directorate is being a pain in the ass again. But promise me that if something happens, you¡¯ll be there to stop it,¡± Roark asked. ¡°I will. The moment I hear anything about a problem, I¡¯ll fly on Garchomp and deal with it.¡± Roark nodded. ¡°Just keep me informed, at least. And let me tell the others. Even Maylene deserves to know. We trust her with running a gym, so we should trust her with this information.¡± ¡°The Meowth¡¯s out of the bag anyway, so go ahead. And Roark,¡± She said, before pausing. ¡°Get some sleep. You sound tired.¡± The phone call ended, and Roark copsed against his chair. This was bigger than he had ever imagined, and he was just starting to know about it. Was Cynthia taking the best course of action? He thought as he looked at the ceiling. She was Sinnoh¡¯s best champion in a long time, and it wasn¡¯t even close. Her skill as a Pokemon trainer was so far ahead of everyone else that it wasn¡¯t even funny, and she had been promoted to Champion more than twenty years ago now as Sinnoh¡¯s youngest Champion. But was time clouding her judgment? She was almost forty, and Roark worried that age had made her growcent in the system she implemented. The Directorate, the Mayors, they were all her ideas. Cynthia was beloved throughout Sinnoh because she had been responsible enough to split up her power with others, and under her, the region had undergone immense growth, but sometimes trainers just had better judgment about these things! ¡°And yet¡­¡± He muttered. Roark knew troubling times were ahead. He nced at the picture on his desk and smiled. Maylene, Candice, Volkner, Gardenia, and he stood in the frame with their arms around each other. They were his best friends. His brothers and sisters. His family. Tomorrow he would worry about telling them about this new ¡®Team Gctic¡¯. For now, though? Roark closed the gym, headed back to his apartment, and crashed into his bed. Interlude – Forums Interlude ¨C Forums INTERLUDE - FORUMS This chapter is heavily inspired by the forum posts in Borne of Caution and Worm. Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! Gyms ¡ú Oreburgh ¡ú Roark Topic: What the f*ck is wrong with Roark? Original Poster: Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer) Date: 25th September 20XX There¡¯s a serious problem going on in Oreburgh for this year¡¯s circuit, and I¡¯m tired of pretending it isn¡¯t. This is the second time I¡¯m challenging Roark, and I lost again. Pardon my Kalosian, but this is fucking bullshit. I had a Monferno and a Buizel and he still beat me by using his Onix. This is only my second year on the circuit, and he¡¯s fighting me like I own a damned Garchomp. I¡¯ve heard a lot of trainersining both online and in Oreburgh that the difficulty is on another level, so I think we need to get together and send some sort ofint to the League or something, otherwise this year is screwed for all of us. The worst part is I¡¯ve heard on other boards that the other gym leaders are doing the same thing. I¡¯m willing to hear out any other ideas. ?Brodie_Atkinson (Verified Trainer) You¡¯re right, but the assholes that got off easy by fighting a Geodude and a Rhyhorn will all pretend that this is a skill issue. There¡¯s a serious discrepancy between the better trainers that have to fight Graveler, Onix, Cranidos and the weaker ones that get easy opponents. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been saying that gyms should have a standardized team for each gym badge a trainer has, and none of this wishy-washy ¡®I pick who the hell I want against you¡¯ shit. I won after my second attempt, but I live in Oreburgh, and I feel like I wasted a lot of time waiting for the two weeks here. Meanwhile, the weaker trainers get an advantage. It¡¯s like the world¡¯s turned upside down. ?AverageRoarkEnjoyer Seems like the tears are flowing early this year. How about you just get good? ?Brodie_Atkinson (Verified Trainer) Lmao guys we just found Roark¡¯s alt. ?AverageRoarkEnjoyer Nah, I just think you¡¯re pathetic. ?Harpesifflet12 Looking forward to months and months of salt from these forums. Inject that shit right into my veins! ?Narita_Akira (Verified Trainer) Can we make this thread trainer only? Get these trolls out of here. ?Nancy_Courbet (Verified Trainer) I think our time here will be more productive if we talk strategies instead ofining and giving these trolls attention. I¡¯ve lost twice now, but Roark used Rhyhorn twice against me, and I found a pretty consistent strategy to use against it. It¡¯s kind of dumb and angry all the time, and it¡¯s really slow, so if you use something fast that can move sideways really quickly, it¡¯ll struggle to hit you. Regarding Rock Polish, you can try to counter it with something like Quick Attack because Rhyhorn is kind of bad at turning abruptly, but if it catches you, you¡¯re royally screwed. ?Julia_Rykard (Verified Trainer) What about something that flies? It should be unable to reach, and you can attack it from a distance. ?Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer) That¡¯s just a bait. Have you not done any research? That Rhyhorn knows Smack Down, and if that hits your Pokemon, you¡¯re done. Nancy¡¯s strategy seems safe. The best strategy against Rhyhorn is evasion. Anyone got anything for Onix? ?Nikita_Doyle (Verified Trainer) I¡¯ve fought Onix only once and I managed to faint it. The thing with Onix is that even with the type advantage, the sheer size of that monster will just negate everything you try to set up on the field. Distance is meaningless, dodging is harder, and it can take hits for days. What I found is that it seems particrly weak to ground type moves and ground type Pokemon in general. Hit it with a Bulldoze, a Mudshot, or a Mud Bomb and it¡¯ll go down really quick. If you don¡¯t take it down fast enough, it¡¯ll just Screech your team into submission. ?Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer) Alright, so if I don¡¯t have a ground type, I lose? You¡¯re basically telling me to ¡®just get a ground type, lol¡¯. There aren¡¯t any good ones around here, and teaching a Geodude Bulldoze will take an entire month. ?Nikita_Doyle (Verified Trainer) I gave you advice. Take it or leave it. ?Cole_Kennedy (Verified Trainer) Does anyone know how to beat Geodude if all I have is a Bidoof? ?Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer) Man, get the hell out of here. --------------------------------------- Trainers ¡ú Cecilia_Obel ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Cecilia Obel Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 67/102) ?usianDol I can¡¯t believe that this girl had a dragon all along, and it was right in front of our eyes! I should have known her family would have pulled all the stops to get her to win. People this year might as well give up, the victor¡¯s already obvious. ?Aintgonnacalluagain Not only does she have a dragon, but she can fucking control it too. My dad is a breeder who¡¯s worked with multiple dragon types over his career and he¡¯s said that Deino are almost impossible to train unless you know exactly what you¡¯re doing. ?Ashton_King (Verified Trainer) Well, she has her brother to ask questions to, so that¡¯s not a problem. ?FKJ Hydreigons are even worse. Her brother has one, and it¡¯s so aggressive that he can only let it fight for battles against insanely high skilled opponents, otherwise it¡¯ll just kill whoever it''s fighting. ?Aintgonnacalluagain Yeah, I¡¯ve looked him up after seeing her gym battle against Roark. Each head can use a different attack at the same time. Imagine fighting something that throws out a Hyper Beam, a Dragon Pulse, and a Fire st at you. Good luck. ?Gabriel_Webb (Verified Trainer) Please keep the conversation in this threat rted to Cecilia Obel only. ?SippinMart Well talking about this girl without talking about her family is impossible at this point. Going up against her is like going up against all of them. ?LilChimchar That Slowpoke was no joke either. Any spection about what her third member might be? ?Morgan_Franscescoli (Verified Trainer) Well, the only lead I can think of is that she didn¡¯t use it against Roark, so maybe it doesn¡¯t have a type advantage. Or maybe she just came so prepared that she had a grass type waiting in the back. Seems pretty foolish to specte, it could be anything. ?LilChimchar Fair enough, I¡¯m just curious af. I get chills every time I watch her battle. ?Rosie_Marshall (Verified_Trainer) I still think that she got lucky Chase Karlson took down Roark¡¯s Onix right before her battle. It might have been a different story otherwise. ?Ariadeus She¡¯s insane, but that¡¯s not all. That squad she¡¯s traveling with? All rich kids with Pokemon with incredible potential. Emilia Lussier has a Beldum, Justin Gardner has a Sandile, Pauline King has a Charmander. And do you know what that mother fucker Louis Bianchi has, other than an incredible amount of wealth? A fucking Gible. ?SippinMart You¡¯re fucking with us ?Ariadeus No, check out their other threads and the videos of their fight against Roark. Everyone¡¯s going crazy over them. ?Gabriel_Webb (Verified Trainer) Again, keep this thread on topic. ?Emerson_Shaw (Verified Trainer) Fucking carpetbaggers and privileged assholes. I had no expectations for myself but I¡¯m still disappointed. --------------------------------------- Trainers ¡ú Grace_Pastel ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Grace Pastel Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 6/6) ?MadCarr Y¡¯all are ignoring the fact that her Frillish is a lot stronger than you give it credit for. That Bubblebeam is no joke, and they clearly worked hard on it. Give her credit where credit is due, for Arceus¡¯ sake. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) Sorry that I don¡¯t fawn over some trainer who just got a lucky evolution when she was about to lose. Obviously, that never happens to me, so I¡¯m forced to wait two weeks to try again, but the most unskilled people always get rewarded with luck. ?MadCarr Alright but I also watched your battle and you¡¯re clearly just a worse trainer lmao cope and seethe. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) Well at least I¡¯m doing something with my life instead of sitting at home all day and simping for random trainers. ?Madcarr I¡¯m not even fifteen yet, you dunce. I couldn¡¯t go if I even wanted to. ?Hakeem_Kante (Verified Trainer) Let¡¯s not get heated and stay on topic. Yes, her Togepi evolving at a pivotal moment probably affected the oue of the battle, but like Madcarr said, her Frillish is good, and battles will always have a little bit of randomness to them. ?TM_INFIN1TY At the very least I¡¯m d we got to see Carbink. Roark doesn¡¯t seem to use it much, and it was valuable information for trainers to get. ?Mark_DeTore (Verified Trainer) Yep. I honestly forgot he even had one. I¡¯ll be looking over the footage tonight. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) You¡¯ll still lose. Enjoy this thread while itsts. The girl was obviously a nervous wreck and she¡¯s not going to get very far. I¡¯m gonna leave before I get muted by the mods. ?Madcarr No one cares. --------------------------------------- Trainers ¡ú Denzel_Williams ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Denzel Williams Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Page 13/15) ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Teaching Double Kick to Eevee is unorthodox, but it was pretty smart of him to do so. I don¡¯t know what his second Pokemon is, but he probably avoided a huge headache by doing that. My Pokedex says my Nidoran can also learn it, but I wasn¡¯t going to bother until I saw his battle. I have a Budew, but I¡¯d rather be safe than sorry and have something I can fall back on. ?Aaron_Smith (Verified Trainer) The endurance on that thing was no joke. It was Quick Attacking the entire time, I was in the stands and I honestly thought it was going to copse from exhaustion, but it just kept standing. ?Micheal_Jain (Verified Trainer) I¡¯d love to get Denzel¡¯s training routine. It can probably work with every Pokemon with Eevee¡¯s body type, so @Samuel_Pane¡¯s Nidoran could train its endurance for example. I own a Growlithe and I would have loved for her to have as much stamina as Eevee does for my fight against Gardenia in two days. ?Jonathan_McMiller (Verified Trainer) I¡¯ll shoot him a DM and see if he answers. He¡¯s usually pretty active on the forums. I¡¯ll report what I find on this thread. ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Ty everybody. Honestly, this thread is so much more civil than the other ones it¡¯s like a breath of fresh air. Like, wow! Actual human decency for a change. ?Jonathan_McMiller (Verified Trainer) Are you new to the forums? It¡¯s always like this, and the moderators are pretty hands off for the most part. It tends to calm down a few months in, though. ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Honestly this is kind of embarrassing, but for the longest time I thought only trainers were allowed to browse and post, so I never did. ?Micheal_Jain (Verified Trainer) Well, you¡¯re here now :). Wee to the forum, king. --------------------------------------- Trainers ¡ú Chase_Karlson ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Chase_Karlson Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Page 37/49) ?ArceusIsReal222 You guys are overhyping this man way too much. Yes, his Riolu is impressive, but his finish was a little shaky. He seems to be the kind of trainer that panics as soon as something doesn¡¯t go ording to n, and you know the famous saying. ¡®No n survives contact with the enemy¡¯. ?Kylian_Rouge (Verified Trainer) How much of that is because the type disadvantages were ridiculous, though? Houndour and Grubbin are such a terrible matchup against Roark that I honestly don¡¯t me him for getting into that hot mic moment and panicking. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) You¡¯re a joke if you don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t wipe the floor with this gym. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) @ArceusIsReal Go outside and touch grass, loser. I¡¯d wipe the floor with you. ?ArceusIsReal222 Double posting much? Commenting on your own thread much? ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) Being cringe much? Ur mediocre bro. I don¡¯t care about these stupid forum rules. Let¡¯s get real, Roark went all in against me because he knew I was a threat. Then he went easy on that Unovan girl, and now all of a sudden everyone thinks she¡¯s won the Circuit already. Newssh idiots, we¡¯re not even one month in. I predict that she¡¯s going to get 4-5 badges in and then she¡¯ll stall on one of the more experienced gym leaders. Come back to this message in 5 months, you¡¯ll read it and weep. ?Kylian_Rouge (Verified Trainer) I take back everything I said, you¡¯re delusional. Seek help. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) I taKE BaCk EvErYthInG I sAiD, yOU¡¯rE dEluSiOnAl. SeEK hElP. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) Your profile is public man. 0/8 Badges head ass. Have some shame ande talk to me when you¡¯ve beaten your first gym Chapter 20 Chapter 20 CHAPTER 20 The trip back to Jubilife city was thankfully uneventful, although I was starting to struggle to sleep due to... nightmares. Thanks to my almost healed injury, we managed to keep a good pace this time. I kept Togetic out of her ball most of the time so that she could get used to flying, and it looked like she was finally getting the hang of it. There was still a lot of progress to be made in the speed department, but she was at least able to keep her bnce now, and she could fly without pping her wings. I released Frillish less, but I still managed to get him to theke on route 203, where we stayed for a few hours despite his incessant brooding. I had started our training back up, and Frillish was finally starting to get the hang of Water Pulse, although it would probably take a week or two to perfect. The trick had been to switch up our approach. Instead of Frillish trying to get him to change the way he released water right away, we were slowly working our way down until the stream became a single ¡®pulse¡¯ of water. The problem had been Frillish¡¯s muscle memory. Since he had been using Bubblebeam his entire life, undergoing such a sudden change was too difficult. I also decided that we''d work on Hexter. Togetic¡¯s progress toward Ancient Power and Extrasensory was slower, since we had no base to start up from. Luckily, the mechanism behind both attacks was somewhat simr: she would need to use psychic energy to move things around¡ª in this case, rocks or another Pokemon. Living beings were way harder to lift than objects, and right now, she struggled to lift even a small berry, but I hoped we¡¯d be able to work our way up. It took three days to get back to Jubilife. When we got back, it was already night time, so I wanted to barge home and surprise my dad. We made our way to my apartment and I sneakily opened the door, took off my dirty shoes, and tip-toed through the hallway toward dad¡¯s bedroom. I put my head against the door and smiled after hearing his loud snoring. I gestured to Denzel and lifted up three fingers, then two, then one. I barged into dad¡¯s bedroom and jumped on his back. ¡°Surprise! We¡¯re back!¡± I squealed. ¡°Ow, wha¡ª Grace?¡± He said, beaming. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you untilte tomorrow!¡± ¡°We made it back faster than we thought we would,¡± I said as I hugged him. ¡°I missed you so much.¡± ¡°I missed you too, kid,¡± Dad softly said as he caressed my hair. ¡°Hey Denzel, hope you had a good trip back?¡± ¡°It was as smooth as it could have been,¡± He answered. ¡°Oh, you kids must be hungry. Let me go make something, I have a bunch of stuff in the fridge,¡± Dad said. ¡°You guys can go shower, because no offense, Grace, but you smell.¡± ¡°Why must you wound me so deeply?¡± I joked. ¡°What kind of girl wants to hear that she smells¡­¡± ¡°The kind that¡¯s getting dirt all over my bed. Shoo! We can catch upter along with your team.¡± Dad left his room and started cooking while I went back to my room and emptied my bag. ¡°You wanna shower first?¡± I yelled out at Denzel. ¡°Nah, your house, you go,¡± He said. ¡°Gotcha!¡± I quickly grabbed a change of clothes along with my favorite shirt, which was actually my dad¡¯s, and showered. It felt really good being in such cozy clothes after this long. While Denzel showered, I went to see my dad and released Togetic and Frillish. Togetic flew toward dad and hugged him. ¡°Prrri! Togetic!¡± She chirped excitedly. ¡°There¡¯s my girl! All grown up!¡± Dad eximed. ¡°And the¡­ ghost. Hi.¡± Frillish shed a creepy smile and started slowly approaching my father with a suspicious glint in his eye. Dad screamed like a little girl and ran out of the room with Togetic still in his arms, abandoning his hotpot. ¡°Dad he¡¯s just ying! Come back!¡± I said. ¡°And you!¡± I pointed at Frillish. ¡°Stop scaring my dad.¡± Frillish sniggered silently and spun around. I rolled my eyes as dad inched his way back into the room. ¡°Don¡¯t be a wimp dad, he¡¯s going to keep scaring you if you don¡¯t take a stand,¡± I exined. ¡°He¡¯s the nicest guy around if you get past his rough and¡­ strange exterior.¡± ¡°Tell it to the judge!¡± I rolled my eyes and eyed his hotpot. ¡°Whatcha makin¡¯?¡± ¡°There¡¯s meat, potatoes, mushrooms, and spinach in it,¡± Dad said as he tasted it with a small spoon. ¡°Mm, good.¡± ¡°Were you expecting people? Why¡¯d you even have all of this?¡± ¡°Well, obviously I was expecting you and Denzel, just not today. I already had all the ingredients prepared and cut up.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, leaning against his shoulder. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten homemade stuff in so long¡­ I can¡¯t wait.¡± ¡°Leave some for tomorrow. Cooking two days in a row is a drag,¡± Dad said as he yed around with Togetic. She flew around his head and grabbed his hair whenever he was distracted. ¡°I¡¯m a growing girl, I¡¯ve got to eat.¡± ¡°I still say that sometimes when I need an excuse to eat a lot before I remember I¡¯m forty-five,¡± Dad chuckled. ¡°How long will you and Denzel be staying?¡± I groaned. ¡°We haven¡¯t even thought about it. A few days at least. I need to restock on potions, Pokemon food, and I want to get the new Poketch. You can pull some strings, right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it like I¡¯m being corrupt. It¡¯s just a benefit we get from working at thepany,¡± Dad said. ¡°Also, don¡¯t you want to hang out with your poor old dad?¡± ¡°That goes without saying! Let¡¯s go somewhere this weekend!¡± We kept talking until Denzel came out of the shower, and then we enjoyed a very nice dinner. That night, I called Denzel to my room to discuss our future ns. ¡°So what¡¯s the n?¡± I asked, closing the door. ¡°I want to stay in Jubilife at least for the weekend so I have some time to spend with my dad, but other than that, I have nothing.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s two ways we could go,¡± Denzel said. ¡°We could either go to Eterna or try to catch a ferry to Canve.¡± ¡°Thoughts on both?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t mind delegating this to Denzel, because he was clearly more knowledgeable than I was regarding gyms. ¡°Um, Canve is closer, but we¡¯d have to catch a ferry because Frillish is too small to even carry one of us across the water. It¡¯s closer, but we¡¯d have to pay a hefty cost¡ª although it¡¯s nowhere near as expensive as an airne ticket. Their gym leader Byron is also one of the older ones, so he¡¯s more experienced and harder to beat no matter what team he uses against you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the steel type leader, right?¡± I asked, thinking about Togetic and Frillish. ¡°My team is terrible against those.¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°Mine isn¡¯t great either. I¡¯m not sure if Double Kick will do the job this time, so I¡¯d rather wait to get more experience as a trainer and catch some new members.¡± ¡°So no Canve then. What about Eterna?¡± I asked. ¡°I know Gardenia¡¯s the grass type gym leader. They made a whole fuss about her on T.V. when she was confirmed because she¡¯s so young.¡± ¡°Correct. Eterna¡¯s pretty far. We have to get through¡­ route 204, the Ravaged Path¡ª¡± ¡°The Ravaged Path?¡± I eximed. ¡°What the hell kind of name is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just what they call that cave because it has another path off route that apparently leads to some dangerous area. We won¡¯t be going there.¡± I nodded, and he continued. ¡°When we get out of the cave, we¡¯re on route 204 again and then there¡¯s Floaroma, our first stop. Then there¡¯s route 205, Eterna forest, and finally, we¡¯re there.¡± ¡°You make it sound easy,¡± I mumbled. ¡°It¡¯ll take two to three weeks of travel, depending on how long we stay at Floaroma. It¡¯s not as bad as it sounds though, the worst part is obviously Eterna forest.¡± ¡°Alright then,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s do it. Eterna it is.¡± ¡ª¡ª The next day was Friday, and while dad went to work, Denzel and I went to the Pokemon mall to restock on supplies and buy whatever else we needed. I browsed the TM store andmented at myck of funds. Togetic could learn so many moves through TMs, and yet I couldn¡¯t afford any. Even the moremon ones were ludicrously expensive because they were extremely difficult to make. Only onepany called Silph Co. knew how, and needless to say, they weren¡¯t going to reveal that secret. But the result was that they could set the price at whatever they wanted, and no one would be able to do anything about it. I met Denzel outside of the mall, and he greeted me with a fishing rod in his hands. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± ¡°Catching water types, what else?¡± He deadpanned. ¡°I¡¯m going to go to route 218 and try catching my third team member. Hopefully this time it¡¯ll go better than with Budew¡­¡± He trailed off. His Budew was still unusable in battles, and it looked like she was going to be that way for a long time. He couldn¡¯t even bring her out next to me or others because he was scared that she¡¯d attack them, although she seemed alright with Eevee for some reason. ¡°You¡¯re catching a water type when we established that we were going to Eterna literally yesterday?¡± ¡°Grace, Grace, Grace,¡± Denzel started. ¡°I nned it all out. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worrying, I¡¯m calling you an idiot,¡± I said. ¡°But now I¡¯m curious, so I¡¯lle with you after we drop all of this off. Plus, you might do something stupid like attack a group of five Tentacruel or something, so I have to be there.¡± ¡°Touch¨¦. Again, I am sorry. I won¡¯t get us in a dangerous situation again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just fooling around, don¡¯t be so apologetic all the time. I already scolded you when it happened, and you clearly took it to heart, so let¡¯s put the Budew incident behind us.¡± After getting everything we bought back to my apartment, we took a bus to the gate to route 218 and walked to the small port. Denzel walked up to the pier and sat next to the edge before setting up his fishing rod. He ced a colorful Wishiwashi-looking lure on the hook and started to wait. After twenty minutes, nothing was biting still. ¡°Maybe the water¡¯s too dirty next to the city,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, the boats might be scaring the Pokemon away.¡± ¡°Dirty is good, but you might be right about the boats. Let¡¯s wait another twenty minutes, and then we¡¯ll move.¡± Dirty is good? I thought. Strange. We ended up moving to an empty pier at the edge of the port and setting up there. After only ten minutes, something bit. Denzel leaned back and reeled in the line as fast as he could before an ugly Feebas jumped out of the water. With barely enough time to spare, he threw a Pokeball at it without even dealing any damage. The Pokeball shook three times, and then stood still. ¡°That was easy,¡± I said. ¡°It took a decent amount of nning,¡± Denzel said with a smile as he picked up his Pokeball. ¡°First, the location. Feebas are one of the most resilient water Pokemon out there, and they can live basically in any environment, including polluted water. That meant that my odds were higher in a polluted body of water than anywhere else because other Pokemon would stay away. Next, the lure was also nned. Water type predators tend to stay away from Wishiwashi because when it¡¯s threatened, it calls other members of its species and form a huge school of fish that will make even Gyarados think twice. Feebas is a dumb Pokemon, so it didn¡¯t think about that at all.¡± ¡°Wow. And also harsh, but true, I guess. Can I scan it with my Pokedex?¡± I asked. Denzel released his Feebas on the pier, who flopped around with a dull look in its eyes. Feebas, the fish Pokemon. Feebas¡¯ fins are ragged and tattered from the start of its life. Because of its shoddy appearance, this Pok¨¦mon isrgely ignored. It is capable of living in virtually any body of water. Type: Water ¡°Aw, even the Pokedex is just roasting it. I feel bad for the little guy,¡± I said as Denzel recalled Feebas. ¡°Well, it¡¯ll take a lot of work to take care of, and it can barely fight better than a Magikarp, but it¡¯ll be worth it when he evolves into a Milotic,¡± Denzel said as we walked back to Jubilife. ¡°Mhm,¡± I agreed as I kept looking at my Pokedex. Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks. ¡°Wait, it evolves into a Milotic? I forgot!¡±
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport Chapter 21 Chapter 21 CHAPTER 21 I ran through the forest as fast as I could, but my legs felt sluggish. Nonresponsive. I ducked under a branch and jumped over a fallen log before slipping and tumbling down for what seemed like minutes. When I stopped, I was on the shore of Lake Verity. Sweat clung to my hands and back as I looked around, trying to decipher where this sinking feeling in my heart came from. ¡°Found you.¡± I turned and saw a group of those same criminals standing over me, each more sinister looking than thest. Their heads were distorted, twisted, and mangled. Their eyes were sunken deep into their skulls, and their voices were echoing across the entire area. ¡°What should we do with her?¡± A tall, blue-haired humanoid figure stepped through the crowd, and with a twisted smile, he answered her. ¡°Kill her.¡± I scrambled backward, hoping to buy myself some time as I grabbed my Pokeballs. I clicked on the button to release them, but it was stuck. Jammed. The girl who had asked what to do with me released a monstrous Golbat with rows and rows of needle-like teeth. I tried to scream, but no sound escaped my mouth. The Golbat flew toward me and bit¡ª I woke up in my bed, screaming with tears in my eyes, and it took a few seconds to get my bearings. With a trembling hand, I turned on the light on my bedside table and sat up. I sped my head with my hands and took a few deep breaths. ¡°It¡¯s not real. It¡¯s not real. You¡¯re fine,¡± I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes, and the Golbat appeared in my mind, causing me to flinch. ¡°Water,¡± I whispered, licking my dry lips. I tip-toed through my apartment and opened the fridge, basking in the warm,forting blue light. After a few seconds, I grabbed myself a cup of water and downed it straight away. Luckily my scream didn¡¯t wake anyone up, I thought as I put the cup in the dishwasher. I silently walked back to my bedroom and took off my shirt. I needed a shower, but it was toote to take one, otherwise I¡¯d have to exin to my dad why I was awake at 4 am in the morning. I changed into a tank top and hopped back into my bed. There was no sound but my heartbeat, my breathing, and the city outside of my window. ¡°Why now?¡± I asked myself. ¡°I was fine until recently. No, I am fine. Everything¡¯s been taken care of. Everything¡­¡± I trailed off. Closing my eyes, I hugged my knees and waited to fall asleep. ¡ª¡ª When I woke up, I felt like I hadn¡¯t even slept at all. My eyelids were heavy, and I struggled to keep them open. ¡°Ugh, I need to change my bedsheets¡­¡± I dragged my feet into the bathroom and met my dad in the hallway. He was already dressed in a suit. ¡°Morning, kid.¡± ¡°Hey, dad.¡± ¡°Ready to leave your poor father alone once again? I¡¯m gonna miss you!¡± ¡°You know how hard it was to convince myself to leave. Don¡¯t guilt trip me¡­¡± I muttered as I entered the bathroom. It had been five days since we came back to Jubilife, and I had gotten this recurring nightmare every single night. Every time, it ended as the Golbat bit my head off, but the worst part was I could never tell it was a dream, meaning I woke up screaming every night, and always at three or four in the morning. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, and made myself some buttered toast. Denzel wouldn¡¯t wake up for another hour or so, and we were going to leave in the afternoon anyway. The goal was to reach the halfway point to the ravaged path before it got dark and set up camp there. ¡°You look tired. Did you go to sleepte?¡± Dad asked me. ¡°No¡­ no, I¡¯m good,¡± I said, turning my head away. ¡°You know I¡¯m here if you need to talk, right?¡± ¡°I said I¡¯m fine,¡± I said, raising my tone. His face grew saddened at my sudden outburst. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Anyway, I¡¯m going to work, so¡­ hug?¡± I stood on my toes and hugged dad, trying not to cry. In a way, I felt like I was failing him by not saying anything. I trusted him more than anyone, but at the same time, I felt like it was silly to make him worry for no reason. If the people that had threatened us were still a threat, the League would find out and take care of them, so there was nothing to worry about. The nightmares would stop soon, and things would be back to normal. ¡°Love you, Grace. Always.¡± ¡°Mhm. Me too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget to lock the door when you leave. Oh, and make sure you guys don¡¯t forget the lunchboxes I made, otherwise I¡¯ll have busted my ass cooking those meals for nothing. Love ya! Say bye to Denzel for me!¡± I nodded, waiting for him to step into the elevator to get back inside. A feeling of loss began to take hold of me. It was thest time I was seeing my dad probably in almost a year, and yet we had said goodbye so casually. Izily began to pack my bag while I waited for Denzel to wake up. My somber mood didn¡¯t improve whatsoever in the two hours and a half it took him to do so. ¡°Are you good? You look tense,¡± He asked me. ¡°Just sad about leaving my dad,¡± I said in half-truth. ¡°It¡¯ll pass, don¡¯t worry.¡± How do you do it? I thought. How are you fine after what happened? We locked up, grabbed dad¡¯s homemade food, and quickly made our way onto a bus toward route 204. The ride there was quiet, and I mostly spent it enjoying thest few minutes of inte I was going to get for a while. Unlike the previous routes I¡¯d been on, this route was more of a wide, grassy, open field without any apparent edges. Nothing much of note happened on the first half of the route, apart from a few battles with trainers or weak wild Pokemon. There was this surprising moment when a kid owning an Eevee recognized Denzel and asked for his autograph. I hadn¡¯t realized it, but even trainers with only a single badge were somewhat famous and had fans rooting for them. Denzel was giddy the entire rest of the day. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it. He said I was his role model! Sure, his Eevee was a bit weak, but I gave him a ton of training advice. I hope he¡¯ll get his badge,¡± Denzel said happily. We were at the halfway point, and so we decided to set up camp. It was barely the start of October, but the temperature at night was already dropping below fifteen degrees celsius, a sign of what was toe during winter. Sinnohan winters were extremely brutal, with temperatures in the south of the region reaching down to negative twenty, and Snowpoint city could sometimes get to negative forty degrees Celcius. No trainers with half a brain would ever go there during winter, so Candice¡ª one of the newer gym leaders¡ª often ended up being challenged as a trainer¡¯s eighth badge, even if there was no official order. And that wasn¡¯t even starting to scratch the surface of the hell that was getting to Snowpoint. You either had to trek through the caves of mount Cor, which was the area known as the deadliest for trainers, along with Victory Road and Eterna Forest, or you could try your luck and scale it. It was quicker, but deadlier. Oh, and the best part? Due to how small the town was and how terrible the conditions were, there was no airport, so you had to get through mount Cor one way or another. I so wasn¡¯t looking forward to that. If I even made it that far in the Circuit, that is. ¡°...Set him on the right path to learning Double Kick, but he needs to train her endurance up so she can use Quick Attack more.¡± Luckily, I finished my thoughts right as Denzel finished his spiel. I liked him, but his need to be recognized was not something we shared. ¡°Can you set up the tents? I¡¯ll heat up the food, my legs are killing me.¡± ¡°Sure, I got you,¡± He said. ¡°Hey, what do you think about working out?¡± ¡°Working out? Like going to the gym?¡± I asked, tilting my head. ¡°Yeah. People tend to only train their Pokemon, but after seeing Chase, and knowing the things we¡¯re going to have to go through in theter routes, building up some endurance and muscle should be a good idea,¡± He exined. I tapped my chin. ¡°You know, that does make sense. Aw, man, now I¡¯m sad I didn¡¯t do any of that in Jubilife.¡± ¡°Well, a few days wouldn¡¯t have made a difference, but there are things you can do in the wild. A nice t road like this? We could jog our way through tomorrow. Not only is it healthy, but we¡¯re also getting to the Ravaged Path faster.¡± My excitement immediately deted as soon as he brought up starting our workouts so soon. Imagining it and getting pumped for it was one thing, but actually doing it? That was a whole different story. ¡°And you can have Togetic improve her flight time too,¡± He added. He had probably noticed my change in demeanor, a sign that after more than a month of traveling together, we were starting to notice our bodynguage quirks. ¡°Getic!¡± She said happily. ¡°You¡¯d agree with anything,¡± I joked at Togetic. ¡°But I guess that¡¯s what makes you special,¡± I continued, petting her head. ¡°Let¡¯s do it, then.¡± We agreed, and then I heat up the food with a portable oven and a battery we had bought in Jubilife. Tasting dad¡¯s cooking still made me feel like a part of him was still with me, but we¡¯d run out after a few days. Then it¡¯d be back to jerky, gran bars, and fruits. Despite not expecting it to be the case, theck of food variety was one of the worst parts of traveling in the wild for me. Sure, I could always hunt and cook Pokemon if I was really desperate for food¡ª and a significant amount of trainers did so, but I was vehemently against the practice. Whenever I ate meat, I only ate animals. Animals, huh? I thought. We had learned in school that animals used to be way more numerous until Pokemon came into being hundreds of thousands of years ago, and we still don¡¯t know where they came from. All we know is that roughly one hundred and fifty thousand years ago, fossil records start showing Pokemon appearing all of the sudden. Animals were quickly hunted close to extinction, and today they¡¯re all living inrge industrial farms that deliver our food, or in natural reserves with rangers that protect them. Other than insects, I had never seen an animal with my own eyes. The vast majority of people ate animals, mainly because they were cheaper to raise and ughter. Pokemon could defend themselves and could easily break out of wherever they were held, meaning that virtually every Pokemon a person ate had to be hunted in the wild, except for a few exceptions like Magikarp, which could be raised in fish farms because of how weak they were. But the main point was that unless you were filthy rich, you weren¡¯t going to be eating Pokemon anywhere near a regr basis. I found it to be immoral, and the government seemingly agreed with me, since they kept putting more and more restrictions on using Pokemon as food every few decades. We finished our food as we talked about the future. Togepi fooled around with Frillish while Eevee snuggled close to Denzel. Budew stood at a distance, looking at us with angry eyes, and Feebas was¡­ well¡­ a Feebas, so he was in his Pokeball. I was starting to wonder if Denzel wasn¡¯t letting this nned team of his get in the way of practicality. Tunnel vision was a problem anyone could be the victim of. We returned our Pokemon except for Eevee and climbed into our sleeping bags. It was getting cold, and soon we¡¯d have to start making fires. I still had that lighter I had bought at the very start of my journey, but gathering firewood would be such a pain. I gradually fell asleep. And the nightmares came back.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Chapter 22 Chapter 22 CHAPTER 22 I woke up our camp with an ear-piercing scream. Tears and snot were running down my face, and my arms shook like leaves in the wind. Whereas Denzel screamed in tandem with me¡ª probably because I had startled him¡ª Eevee rushed to my side and was ready to defend me at a moment¡¯s notice. It was a humbling thought, that someone else¡¯s Pokemon liked me enough to protect me. ¡°What the hell was that? Are we under attack?!¡± Denzel asked as he rushed out of his tent. He was slurring his words, clearly still half asleep. ¡°No, no¡­ I had a shitty nightmare, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I answered as I pet Eevee¡¯s head. ¡°You can go back to sleep.¡± It was the crack of dawn, and the sun was peeking over the horizon. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down and exited my sleeping bag. I already knew I wasn¡¯t going to fall back asleep, so there was no point trying. ¡°Oh, alright. Some nightmare that was, huh? Want some water to wash your face?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, I¡¯ll just be going for a walk,¡± I said. ¡°Ok, don¡¯t go too far.¡± I nodded and left. After a few minutes of walking alone, I released Togetic and Frillish. The two floated by my side silently as we silently strolled with no direction in particr. They both knew me well enough to know that something was wrong, and I knew that I would have toe clean eventually. I trusted them, but I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to say my problems out loud. Was it because I was scared of appearing weak? Maybe that yed a part in it, but if I was being honest, I already knew they wouldn¡¯t care. Hell, Togetic would probably cry for not figuring it out on her own. I believe a part of me was still in denial about even having an issue. That was probably because it had taken so long to manifest itself. No, that was a lie. The visions were always there. Whenever I closed my eyes, whenever I spaced out for even a second, the Golbat was there. It was always there. But I had been so focused on my gym battle with Roark that I kept pushing these thoughts at the back of my mind. I crouched and watched the sunrise. Togetic leaned against me, and I felt a sudden burst of happiness. That was when I remembered her Pokedex entry. Togetic could bestow great joy upon a human. Togepi could too, but this one felt much more¡­ fulfilling. I stroked her head and dragged Frillish into a hug. ¡°I love you guys, I really do. Thank you for being here for me.¡± ¡°Frillish.¡± ¡°Toge!¡± ¡°And since I love you, I gottae clean. I¡¯m fucked up. I am so tired, and I can¡¯t sleep for more than four hours at a time. I keep having these nightmares¡ª¡± I choked up and paused for a few seconds. ¡°It¡¯s about that time at Lake Verity. You weren¡¯t there, Frillish, and I recalled Togetic before anything terrible happened, but¡­ I think I almost died that day. I was saved by the whims of a single man. Sometimes I wonder, what if he had said nothing? What if I meet him again one day and he doesn¡¯t spare me? How can life and death be decided by a single being?¡± Frillish¡¯s face twisted in anger while Togetic broke into a heartbroken cry. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long these nightmares and visions willst, but I have to keep looking forward. I can¡¯t let them hold me back,¡± I said. ¡°We need to be stronger. Strong enough to not be threatened by a damn Golbat,¡± I continued, spitting out the Pokemon¡¯s name. ¡°I know I¡¯ve asked this before, but let me do it again for real this time. Togetic, Frillish, will you help me win the Circuit and be Sinnoh¡¯s champion?¡± I had asked Togepi the same question back in Sandgem, but it felt different now. There was an unexinable weight to it. It was no longer the simple promise of a naive trainer, but a pact. A mutual understanding between me and my Pokemon. They both nodded with newfound resolve. I finally felt refreshed, and my wistful mood evaporated. There would still be problems, of course. The nightmares would not simply leave. I was still miles behind the most talented trainers out there, with only a year to catch up, but that only motivated me more. I wanted to push past these problems, and be a stronger person. This was the first time I fully believed in myself, and I felt like the sky was the limit. ¡ª¡ª ¡°You look better,¡± Denzel said as I approached our camp. ¡°Breakfast?¡± ¡°Thought you were going to go back to sleep,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, I tried, but then I realized I¡¯d be an ass to do so. I hate mornings, but I¡¯d rather be here for my friend in case she needs it.¡± ¡°Aw, you¡¯re making me blush,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not blushing at all, though,¡± Denzelmented. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll dly have some breakfast, thank you for asking. Then we can go on our run.¡± While we ate, our Pokemon did the same. I kind of felt bad looking at their food. They were Pokemon pellets with all the nutrients they needed, but I wanted to learn how to make high-quality food for them at some point. Of course, it would be basically impossible to make some in the wild, but it¡¯d be good for whenever we were in cities. After eating and cleaning up camp, I recalled Frillish, and we started to run. After five minutes of jogging, I was already heaving for air and barely feeling my legs. Denzel seemed to be doing way better than I was, only slowing down to make sure I wasn¡¯t left behind. Meanwhile, Togeticzily floated above me, cheering me on with her chirps, and Eevee was adding a few Quick Attacks to his run. After twenty minutes, we stopped, and I copsed to the ground. ¡°That¡­ was the worst¡­ thing¡­ I¡¯ve ever done,¡± I said, taking deep breaths in between each word. ¡°The bag makes it worse, but like I said, it builds up endurance,¡± Denzel answered as he leaned on his knees. ¡°I¡¯m going¡­ to die.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being dramatic. Let¡¯s do one of these twice a day, every day, what do you say?¡± ¡°I¡­ already agreed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear! By the way, good job, you two,¡± He said to our Pokemon. After a short break, we continued toward the Ravaged Path, reaching the cave at the end of the day. On the way, I battled another four trainers and rolled the floor with them with Togetic¡¯s Fairy Wind. We hade a long way with the move. The truth was that we were probably too strong for this area, so not many people would be able to pose a challenge. Most trainers here were training before setting off toward Oreburgh or simply skipping Oreburgh altogether, preferring to go to another gym first, but they all had no gym badges, which was a testament to how fast we were progressing. Denzel was taking a break from battling today, preferring to spectate our battles and keep aggressive wild Pokemon off our backs. After another night spent at the entrance of the cave, we entered bright and early in the morning after another nightmare had woken me up. ¡°You know, you probably have to see someone for those. Pokemon centers have therapists for trainers,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll deal,¡± I said as I peeked my head into the cave¡¯s entrance. ¡°This ce sure isn¡¯t menacing whatsoever,¡± I continued sarcastically. Despite having gas lights along a path just like Oreburgh gate, the Ravaged Path was nowhere as tidy. The ceiling at the entrance hung low in an oppressive manner and then spread upward until it was impossible to see. The path was also uphill and wet from the water dripping from the ceiling like slow rain, so that was a perfect recipe for slipping and breaking something. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go in then. We should be out in five hours if we follow themps, give or take,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Arceus bless, at least it¡¯s shorter than the other cave,¡± I said before releasing Frillish and taking Togetic back into her ball. Having a water type would certainly help out against any aggressive rock types, and I wasn¡¯t going to take any chances. Using the right wall as support, we slowly advanced through the cave. Most of the Pokemon here were the usual suspects: Geodude and Zubat, but there were asionally Roggenr, Aron, or even Rolycoly. I scanned thetter because it was the first Pokemon from Gr I ever saw in the wild. I even considered catching it before the rest of its group rolled up behind him and red at us with their glowing orange eye. Needless to say, we left as fast as we could. Three hours in, the incline really increased, and we were essentially walking up a thirty-five degree hill. Blood pumped through my legs as I heaved myself and everything I carried with me. ¡°How much longer is this incline? I¡¯m dying here,¡± Iined. ¡°I don¡¯t know, all the trainer tip map said was to follow the lights. There was nothing written about this.¡± ¡°Well, fuck. Can we take a break?¡± I asked. ¡°Sure. I think Eevee wants some water anyway.¡± I sat on the ground facing downward as Denzel poured some bottled water into Eevee¡¯s bowl. Due to the nature of the terrain, he had to hold it up with his hand to prevent it from spilling. After a few minutes, we heard a scream reverberate through the cave. ¡°What was that? A Pokemon?¡± Denzel asked with a hint of panic. ¡°No¡­ no, that was a trainer!¡± We quickly got up and ran. The pain in my legs seemed like much less of a problem when I thought about the possibility of a lone trainer being in danger. As we rushed through the cave, the screams got closer and closer and were starting to be decipherable. It was someone asking for help. The incline slowly became gentler and gentler, and we finally found out the origin of the scream. A trainer¡¯s Wooper was continuously throwing out Water Guns at a swarm of Zubats surrounding the trainer. The Zubats screeched in his ears and bit into his arms, legs, through his clothes. He furiously iled, trying to swat away the pests with his hands, but it wasn¡¯t working. Acting on instinct, I released Togetic. ¡°Togetic, help that trainer! Fairy Wind!¡± Her control of the move had improved leaps and bounds, and the pink mist split right before hitting the trainer, knocking the Zubat out of the way. They all turned their collective attention to me and swooped toward us. ¡°Eevee, keep them off of Grace!¡± Denzel yelled. ¡°Frillish, Bubblebeam the ones you can hit. Avoid that trainer!¡± The Zubat swarm rushed toward us, but Togetic kept up her Fairy Wind, preventing them from reaching us. The stronger,rger ones did, however, but they were met by Frillish¡¯s Bubblebeam and Eevee¡¯s jumping Quick Attacks. After a minute or so, they were all either unconscious or had fled. ¡°Good job, everyone,¡± I said as I felt the adrenaline evaporate from my body. With a trembling hand, I retrieved Togetic. We slowly walked toward the sobbing trainer. He was crouching and bleeding from everywhere, while his Wooper was looking at him worriedly. ¡°Shit, man, we need to get you out of here. Can you walk?¡± Denzel asked. I squatted down in front of him. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°M¡ªmy Starly! My Starly¡¯s gone,¡± He sobbed. My heart dropped. Just from his tone, I could tell what he meant. ¡°What¡­ what happened?¡± The trainer slowly raised his hand and pointed toward a dark corner of the cave. I squinted, trying to get a better look¡ª I stopped breathing. I stopped moving. I stopped thinking. At the edge of the cave, hung high in the ceiling, A Golbat was feasting on a mangled Starly¡¯s corpse. Feathers and¡­ chunks of Starly fell to the ground as the Pokemon savaged the poor bird¡¯s body. After it was done, it licked its bloodied fangs with its snaky, purple tongue, and then flew away with a wickedugh. I copsed on my knees.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Chapter 23 Chapter 23 CHAPTER 23 ¡°ce¡­ Grace!Grace!¡± I snapped out of my stupor and stared sluggishly around the cave. I blinked, noticing that my eyes were extremely dry. Denzel was shaking my shoulder, calling out my name while Frillish and Eevee looked over with worried gazes. I swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m fine, that was just¡­ wow,¡± I muttered. ¡°Are you hurt? Did you get hit by a Zubat?¡± My friend asked. ¡°That Golbat¡­ that Golbat isn¡¯t supposed to be here isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s too strong to be in this cave,¡± I rambled. ¡°What is a Golbat doing here? What are the Rangers doing¡­¡± ¡°Right now we need to get Jacob out of here. And ourselves too. There could be more Golbat around here,¡± He said, ncing behind his shoulder. ¡°Jacob?¡± ¡°That¡¯s his name,¡± Denzel said, pointing at the trainer who had lost his Starly. He was on the ground just like me, still crying and muttering to himself. With a weak nod, I slowly stood up and took a breath. Denzel grabbed Jacob¡¯s arm and dragged him up. ¡°No,no!My Starly!¡± ¡°It¡¯s dead¡­ we can¡¯t do anything about it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡ªI want to bury it. I live in Floaroma. The flower fields will be great for him to rest.¡± We approached the Starly¡¯s corpse and lurched, covering my mouth to stop myself from puking. The bird was unrecognizable. He had missing feathers, bones protruding through his bloody corpse and his body was horribly deformed. Jacob held out his Pokeball with his head hung low and returned hispanion. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±He cried. ¡°If o¡ªonly I hadn¡¯t t¡ªtried to catch that Golbat, you would still be alive.¡± We stayed silent and allowed him to grieve for a few more minutes before we left. An hourter, we were back outside on route 204. In the distance, we could see Jubilife city in a blue hue because of Earth¡¯s atmosphere. We could also see all of the first half of route 204, which was a magnificent sight. Unfortunately, the mood was somber, and we spent no time looking at the view. Jacob was opening up more and more to us now, and he was venting, cursing himself for being so stupid. ¡°I was just training Wooper in the caves until I saw thatfuckingGolbat,¡± He spat. ¡°And I¡¯m so fucking dumb, I figured I could catch it because the Pokemon here are usually weak, and then I would use it to beat Gardenia. I was fucking wrong, like always.¡± Denzel and I mostly just nodded or gave him grunts of approval when he finished saying something. I personally just didn¡¯t want to say something rude¡ª it was hard to know what was insensitive or not around a trainer who had just lost a Pokemon. If I told him that he shouldn¡¯t ever underestimate evolved Pokemon, would he nod and agree, or would he blow up at me? There was no way to know, and so I stayed silent. Denzel probably thought the same thing, and Jacob didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. He probably just wanted anyone to listen. ¡°I always fucking slip up. Forget to buy potions before leaving to train, or get lost in the Arceus damned woods all the time. Starly was the one who would lead me out¡­¡± Jacob trailed off with a sniffle. ¡°He¡­ he was my first Pokemon. He loved me, trusted me, and I failed him because of myownself-confidence issues.Fuck.¡± I nced toward Denzel, wondering if this is the path he could have gone on if I hadn¡¯t spoken to him after his loss to Chase. Hehadattacked that group of Budew, and he might have done more senseless things like that. I shuddered when I imagine Eevee, dead and mangled like that Starly was. ¡°I was shortsighted. No, I stillam. I still hate how weak I am, and I thought I¡¯d be able to get a shortcut by catching that Golbat. When I saw that people were getting their first badge already, I started doubting myself.¡± ¡°But you have months to get all the badges. Hell, even if you fail, you have years of attempts still,¡± Denzel finally said. ¡°Champion Cynthia did it in a year¡ª¡± ¡°You can¡¯tpare yourself toCynthia. It¡¯s good to strive forward and have idols or people you want to catch up to, but you have to focus on yourself,¡± I interrupted. Seeing someonepare himself to someone so great was hurting me. ¡°It¡¯s toote now, but you can take it as a lesson for the future.Neverforget about Starly. Use this tragedy as a lesson.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t forget.¡± ¡°Good. And Jacob?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to cry. To let it all out. But the fault doesn¡¯t only rest with you. Rangers should have taken care of this, but they didn¡¯t.¡± As we got closer and closer to Floaroma, flowers began to adorn the fields around the route. They came in all colors, stretching for miles, and miles beyond the horizon like an ocean. Jacob stopped and started digging a hole with his hands until I handed him my small spade. He made a hole small enough for a Pokeball, kissed it, and apologized onest time before burying it. Denzel tapped him on the shoulder as he cried. It was another hour until we reached Floaroma, and Jacob kept getting weaker and slower. The town reminded me a lot of Twinleaf¡ª except that there were roads for cars. The buildings were spaced out to let nature grow in between them, and the center of town had a small concentration of buildings along with the Pokecenter. Jacob was immediately taken to the human wing. The main threat was poisoning, and not the Zubat¡¯s bites themselves. A few hourster, a nurse came back to us and said he¡¯d have to stay for a few days, but that we could visit whenever we wanted. Denzel and I checked in our Pokemon that had fought and booked two rooms. Floaroma still had a surprising amount of trainers who were still training¡ª of course, that number was nowhere near Jubilife or Oreburgh. Trainers from here were often dealt with a dilemma during every Circuit: take the long trip to Oreburgh or train in Floaroma until they were confident enough to tackle Eterna Forest. I assumed most of the people who were still here were going to do thetter, and that had also been Jacob¡¯s n until¡­ until his Pokemon died. After we went to the local Ranger station and warned them about the wild Golbat, I went into my room and copsed onto my bed. I was too tired to take a shower, but too scared to sleep. Starly¡¯s death had been a grim reminder for me that even though Pokemon were incredibly strong, they could still be killed in the wild. It wasn¡¯t like trainer battles. There were no rules, no limits, no means a wild Pokemon wouldn¡¯t go through to win and feed itself. ¡°It had to be a Golbat¡­¡± I whispered before catching myself. A trainer had just lost his starter, and all I could think of doing wasin about being scared of Golbat. It hadn¡¯t even attacked me. And yet my entire body just shut down as soon as I saw it. I never understood the meaning of fight, flight, or freeze until that very moment, and apparently, I was a freezer. That would be terrible if I ever found another one, but hopefully, Denzel would be able to get me to snap out of it. It¡¯s not like we were going to go through more caves anytime soon anyway. Eterna Forest, though¡­ It was an area with no traversable roads, and full of wilderness. It was extremely easy to get lost, with very fewndmarks to use. The Rangers had set upsomecheckpoints, which were just signs that basically said ¡®you¡¯re on the right track.¡¯ There was an incredible amount of Pokemon living in it, and they were mostly grass or bug types. The forest was one of the most infamous ces in Sinnoh because trainers would enter and nevere out. Eventually, their corpses were found weeks or monthster, having been gnawed to the bone by the wildlife. Honestly, I was more terrified of going through there than in any cave other than Mount Cor. It was possible we¡¯d spend weeks in there, with no contact with civilization. But at least there wouldn¡¯t be any Golbat. I stretched on my bed and turned over, looking at the window. Even in the city, the fields of flowers never ended. They swayed in the wind like a single connected being. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful out there,¡± I whispered. ¡°Like a dream.¡± Not wanting to fall asleep, I finally got up and took a cold shower. The frigid water woke me up, so I changed and quickly went back downstairs after calling my dad and mom to let them know I was safe and sound. Calls with mom had been a bit awkward and ufortable ever since she told me she loved me. It was too fast, and I was nowhere near ready to say it back, but she thankfully took the hint and followed my lead when I acted like it never happened. Denzel was already in the lobby waiting for me when I got there. ¡°Yo. Want to explore town?¡± He asked. ¡°Not much to do until we get our Pokemon back.¡± ¡°Sure, I could use a distraction.¡± We spent the next two hours browsing different shops. Floaroma was obviously known for its flowers, but they were also famous for the quality of the berries they grew and their export of clean energy thanks to Valley Windworks. The city wasn¡¯t inhabited by many people, but that power nt was absolutely massive, meaning that they could sell energy at a profit to other cities. I bought a few juicy-looking berries for Togetic and Frillish, and we ate in a small casual restaurant in the town center. Soon enough, we took a break andid down on the flowers. ¡°You still don¡¯t want to talk about it?¡± He asked me. ¡°About?¡± ¡°About your problem with Golbats,¡± Denzel rified as he picked a purple flower. He put it in his hair. ¡°Cute. But no, there¡¯s nothing to talk about. I have a phobia of Golbat, so what? Plenty of people are scared of a Pokemon in particr.¡± ¡°That goes beyond phobia, Grace. You couldn¡¯t even function fortwominutes.¡± ¡°You and Frillish were here to protect me, and Togetic would have been too if I hadn¡¯t put her back in her ball. It was fine.¡± ¡°You keep saying that word. Fine. It¡¯s like you¡¯re trying to convince yourself,¡± He used me. ¡°I told you Pokemon Centers have therapists, and you didn¡¯t evenaskabout it when we were there. You have huge bags under your eyes because you can¡¯t sleep¡ª¡± ¡°So what¡¯s your point?!¡±I said, raising my voice.¡°You think a meeting with a shrink will fix me?¡± ¡°¡ªAnd you¡¯re easily irritated because you¡¯retired. You told Jacob it was ok to cry, but haveyou?¡± I flinched, finding his words to cut deeper than I ever thought they would. ¡°I¡ªI cried when we went to the police,¡± I said with a trembling voice. ¡°You did, but is that enough? You¡¯ve been bottling up everything, haven¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t it hard?¡± He asked in a soft tone. ¡°I told my Pokemon¡ª¡± ¡°But humans aredifferent. You haven¡¯t talked toanyone,¡± He continued, touching my shoulder. ¡°Not me, not your dad, your mom, or any medical professionals.¡± I could feel the dam begin to break. First, there was a single tear, and then a deluge as I cried into my hands. It felt awful, but also liberating in a way, to let myself be weak for a moment. To act with no restraints in front of my friend. I must have cried for a good twenty minutes, drawing stares from strangers, who must have been imagining a very different situation than what was actually going on. I didn¡¯t care. ¡°That felt good, didn¡¯t it?¡± He said, looking at me. I let out a teary chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m a mess.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any tissues for you, sorry,¡± Denzel said with a smile. ¡°Are you going to get help now?¡± ¡°I will. Sorry for making you worry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Nurse Joy about it as soon as we get back. But Denzel, I have a question.¡± My friend looked at me. ¡°What about you?¡± I asked worriedly. ¡°Are you ok? Sorry for never bothering to ask.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± He breathed out after a pause. ¡°To be honest, I think I¡¯m just better at hiding it. I''ll talk to someone too if that helps you get help.¡± I nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s get back. And hand me a flower, will you? The same one that¡¯s in your hair.¡± And so, a girl with a face that looked like hell and her friend walked back to the Center with matching flowers in their hair.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Chapter 24 Chapter 24 CHAPTER 24 ¡°Alright, Ms. Pastel, that¡¯s one therapy session with one of the Nurse Joys in two days at 6:30 pm. Is that ok with you?¡± I looked at the Nurse Joy speaking to me. We were in a secluded room for privacy, but I had almost forgotten that each Pokemon Center had multiple Nurse Joys that worked in shifts to keep the ce running twenty-four seven. I was a bit taken aback at how soon the meeting was going to be, but I nodded. ¡°Sounds good! See you then,¡± She said, picking up a clipboard. She led me out, and I walked back to the lobby. Nurse Joys were probably the most underappreciated people in the world. They had to not only be proficient in healing all kinds of Pokemon, but they also had to be good at fixing up humans too, both physically and mentally. Denzel had been right, though. It felt good to be finally taking a step forward. Now I just needed to keep walking. I waited for him toe back from the appointment-making area and smiled at him as he walked toward me. ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°We didn¡¯t even do anything, it was just set up. I see her in two days, at six-thirty,¡± I said, nodding toward Nurse Joy at the counter, even though it wasn¡¯t her I¡¯d be seeing. ¡°You?¡± ¡°In two days as well, in the morning,¡± He muttered. ¡°So what now?¡± ¡°Well, our Pokemon are still in the Center, so I was thinking of going to see how Jacob¡¯s doing,¡± I said. He grunted in agreement. ¡°I think I¡¯ll try to spend some time with Budew and then find a stream or ake for Feebas. He hasn¡¯t been out of the ball in a while.¡± ¡°Stay safe around Budew,¡± I warned. ¡°She still despises you.¡± ¡°Oh, I know. She probably won¡¯t like me anytime soon, but I¡¯m making inroads. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.¡± ¡°Still, be careful. I¡¯m not joking around with this, I don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± ¡°I will. I¡¯ll drop byter.¡± We went our separate ways, and I made my way to the human wing of the Pokemon Center. Regr hospitals existed too, but I found them to be cold and unsettling. It was probably all the white and bright lights making me feel nervous every time I stepped foot in one in the past. Meanwhile, Pokemon centers used bright, warm colors that made you feel right at home. I didn¡¯t know the reason for the design choice, but I weed it with open arms. Stepping out of the elevator on the second floor, I made my way to Jacob¡¯s room. ¡°224¡­ 224¡­ there it is!¡± I said. I gently opened the door and saw Jacob in a hospital gown, lying on his bed. He had an IV drip injected in his arm, administering some kind of dark fluid, and his skin was covered in bandages. He turned and met my eyes. ¡°Jacob,¡± I said with a pause. ¡°How are¡ª¡± I cut myself off. Of course he was feeling terrible, I was such an idiot. ¡°I came to see you,¡± I finally said. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯de,¡± Jacob said. His voice was barely audible. ¡°Why? Can I sit down?¡± I asked. ¡°Be my guest.¡± I sat down next to his bed. ¡°And I don¡¯t know, we just don¡¯t know each other at all. I really thought you¡¯d wash your hands off me as soon as you got me to a Center,¡± He whispered. Now that I looked closer, he was as pale as a sheet of paper. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that. Denzel isingter too,¡± I said. A low-volume television was ying a si in the corner of the room. Something about a talking Meowth going on a journey with a satirical version of Team Rocket, I had seen it a few times. ¡°How bad were your wounds?¡± ¡°The bites were fine,¡± He sighed. ¡°Zubat teeth are pretty non-threatening. The poison¡¯s the problem. The doctors say it¡¯ll take at least two months for me to be back on my feet.¡± Two months? I thought. But¡ª ¡°So yeah, no more Circuit for me, I guess. I was honestly thinking of quitting anyway, I can¡¯t even think of going out in the wild again after what happened.¡± ¡°I see,¡± I said. There wasn¡¯t much else I could say¡ª it was hard to find the words. I honestly had wanted to help Jacob recover and maybe get him to travel with us, but he was¡­ broken. I didn¡¯t want him to give up¡ª he could still try again after he got better. But I also didn¡¯t want to disrespect his choice. ¡°Your parentse see you yet?¡± ¡°You missed them by a hair, actually. I was going to ask if you somehow found them and told them I was hurt, but they actually got a call from the Center. They were worried sick,¡± Jacob clenched his hands around the bedsheets. ¡°They didn¡¯t even ask about Starly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re their son. I understand that you¡¯re pissed¡ª I¡¯d be pissed too, but you¡¯re their first priority.¡± Jacob just grunted and turned away from me. I took it as a sign to stop talking and just stayed with him for a while. I figured he¡¯d feel better with someone here. Or maybe I was just annoying him? Either way, we stayed silent until Denzel came to the room. We stayed there for an hour and then left Jacob to rest. ¡°He¡¯s really bad,¡± I said. ¡°He feels¡­ hollow.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it,¡± Denzelmented with a sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope professionals help him out.¡± We finally got our teams back, and I immediately released Togetic, who immediately flew to my side, brushing her head against mine. I caressed her neck and smiled. ¡°Prrrri!¡± She squealed. ¡°Hey princess.¡± Denzel released Eevee, who climbed on his shoulder and licked his ear. They were obviously in a good mood. Walking out of the Pokemon Center, I asked Denzel about a body of water for Frillish, and he said that there was a river on route 205. I decided I¡¯d go there at some point since Valley Windworks was on the way there anyway, and apparently, there were interesting Pokemon next to the nt. ¡°So how long are we staying here?¡± I asked Denzel. ¡°I¡¯m thinking a week, give or take?¡± ¡°We might want to stay for longer to prepare for Eterna. That ce is seriously no joke, I want all of our bases covered.¡± I nodded. ¡°So how long?¡± ¡°Well, we can¡¯t be too long, but I want to really try connecting with Budew here. She seems to like the ce. All the flowers and the natural air must be doing wonders for her.¡± ¡°So two weeks?¡± ¡°That sounds perfect. We¡¯ve also been cking on trainer battles. We¡¯re always the ones that get challenged and not the ones that do the challenging. We need to make as much money as we can to stock up on supplies before leaving. We¡¯ll probably need bigger bags too.¡± ¡°Mhm. I¡¯m really nervous about it. The stories thate out of that ce¡­¡± Denzel nodded somberly. ¡°But we¡¯ll make it.¡± Just as he finished his sentence, we noticed a group of people crowding around a nondescript building. We decided to give it a look, and as we got closer, I noticed a sign at the edge of the building, obscured by the crowd. Monthly Floaroma Tournament ¡ú Sign up here! Five hundred Pokedor entry fee. 1st ce: Ten thousand Pokedor and a secret TM. 2nd ce: Five thousand Pokedor 3rd ce: Two point five thousand Pokedors ¡°Ten thousand Pokedors for first ce? That¡¯s as much as we got when we beat Roark!¡± I said, feeling surprised. ¡°Tournaments are big money makers for the city, so it makes sense that the prize pool would be high,¡± Denzel said. I could feel the excitement in his voice. ¡°Want to sign up?¡± I asked. ¡°You read my mind,¡± He answered with a grin. The reason we hadn¡¯t seen that many trainers in Floaroma was apparently because they were all signing up for this tournament, because Arceus damn, there were a lot of people. We slowly filtered into the building when I let out a small gasp after seeing a familiar face. Cecilia Obel and her group were also signing up. I straightened my back when they passed us, but she didn¡¯t even glimpse at me. I felt foolish for being so nervous around her. Why was I even nervous around her? After pondering for a few minutes, I deduced that it was probably because she was such a good trainer. It was intimidating to recall how she had control over a dragon. If she was in the tournament, I wanted to try my best to fight her. I walked up to the counter with renewed motivation. I handed in the five hundred pokedor fee and looked at the rules. They were simr to what the rules had been in Roark¡¯s gym, except that we were only allowed to use two Pokemon and no switch-ins. I thanked the stars above for how convenient this was for me, and Denzel exined that it was probably because the Circuit had just started and everyone was so new. Of course, there was also the possibility that someone who had obtained multiple badgesst year would sign up, but I assumed they wouldn¡¯t bother with such a low-levelpetition. It was clearly meant for newer trainers. The tournament was to start tomorrow and take ce over a few days on the outskirts of the city, in a ce the locals called the meadow, north of town. Apparently, they farmed honey there, and I wouldn¡¯t mind trying some. After we signed up, I decided to finally make my way to Valley Windworks. On the way, I stopped by the river and let Frillish follow along while I walked on the shore until we had to change course. Togetic followed me in the air. She was getting more agile with her flying, often doing twirls and spins, and then ncing at me to see my reaction. I praised her every time. She obviously wanted to impress me, and I found that really cute. Valley Windworks took my breath away. Wind Turbines stretched for miles and miles until they reached the power nt itself. They were honestly bigger than I thought they¡¯d be. To the right, arge mountain range separated Floaroma from the south of the region. ¡°Wow,¡± I muttered. It was at times like this and when we exited the Ravaged Path that I was ovee with a feeling that was hard to describe. Like I was finally realizing the scale of Sinnoh. I hade a long way since my sheltered life in Jubilife. I broke into a jog. The path was t, and I had decided to go on runs twice per day. If I stopped after the first day, I¡¯d be disappointed in myself. Frillish and Togetic followed close behind me. It was easier today because I wasn¡¯t carrying my backpack. All I had were a few empty Pokeballs at my hip. After twenty minutes, I heaved as I leaned against my knees. ¡°It¡¯s easier my ass. I¡¯m still cooked by the end of it,¡± I said, wiping sweat off my brow. ¡°Ele?¡± My head whirred toward the sound behind me. Frillish and Togetic both got in front of me and cried out menacingly. A yellow Pokemon with stripes of ck fur and plug-like horns on its head looked at me curiously. It wasn¡¯t attacking, so I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned it. Elekid, the electric pokemon. Elekid stores electricity in its body. If it touches metal and identally discharges all its built-up electricity, this Pok¨¦mon begins swinging its arms in circles to recharge itself. Type: Electric Really? I thought. The electric pokemon? Ten points for originality, Pokedex. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, crouching so I appeared less menacing. ¡°Did you follow me here?¡± ¡°Kid! Elekid, kid!¡± ¡°Woah, you¡¯re talkative,¡± Imented. It was probably peaceful because it was used to humans. Employees at the power nt probably walked or drove by here every day. ¡°Well, unfortunately, I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± ¡°Ele¡­¡± The Pokemon crossed his arms and closed his eyes like it was thinking. I didn¡¯t walk all the way up the power nt, obviously. I wouldn¡¯t even be allowed to ess the inside. There were a lot of electric types hanging about, and I scanned them all with my Pokedex. Shinx, Pichu, Pikachu, Magnemite¡­ they were everywhere. I wondered if the nt had no problems with them stealing their energy. ¡°Kid!¡± I jumped. ¡°You¡¯re still here? Man¡­ what do you even want?¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± It eximed, pointing at my hip. I nced down and noticed he was staring at my Pokeballs. I frowned. ¡°What? You want to join me?¡± I asked in disbelief. Pokemon willingly joining humans wasn¡¯t unheard of, of course, but it was rare and I didn¡¯t expect it to happen to me. I stared into Elekid¡¯s eyes and wondered what in its life had led it to this point. I grabbed a Pokeball and stared at it. It¡¯s not like I hadn¡¯te here hoping to catch something, but this felt too easy. I captured it and waited until the confirmation ¡®beep¡¯ sound to rx. Togetic and Frillish seemed just as confused as I was. I released Elekid, who screamed with a voice way too loud for its body. I scanned it again with my Pokedex to see its moves, gender, and ability. Moves: Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer (click for more information) Ability: Static (click for more information) ¡°You¡¯re a male, huh? Well, Elekid, wee to the team, I guess?¡±
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 25 Chapter 25 CHAPTER 25 On our way back, Elekid kept trying to pull me toward the power nt with his clumsy little hands, and I kept having to tell him that I wasn¡¯t going to go there. ¡°What do you even want in there? The electricity? I don¡¯t want to get in trouble,¡± I told him. ¡°Elekid! Ele!¡± He yelled. ¡°Man¡­ you¡¯re a strange one.¡± Frillish looked at our new member with disdain, while Togetic was trying to make friends in her own strange way. She kept trying to y with Elekid¡¯s plug-like horns, looking at them like she was fascinated. It was in these moments that I realized that even though she had evolved, Togetic was still just a baby. At some point, I ended up having to recall Elekid to his ball because of how adamant he was about getting to the nt. I walked back to the Pokemon Center and gave him to Nurse Joy for a check-up since I had just caught him. Since we had been cking on our training a little bit, I decided to make Togetic practice her Extrasensory, while Frillish continued to work on Water Pulse. Togetic was slowly working her way up in what she could lift, and I could actually notice the attack now whenever she used it. It was as if an invisible force that distorted the air around it surrounded an object, and after that, she could move it however she pleased. I was confident in her lifting light Pokemon, but heavier ones would be a no go for the tournament. Meanwhile, Frillish hadpletely mastered Water Pulse. I rewarded him with one of Floaroma¡¯s famous berries, but Togetic whined, and I ended up giving her some too. There was no way I could ever resist her sad stare. Hex was trickier. The only way to practice the move was against living beings, so we weren¡¯t able to try to learn the move very much. I decided to put it on the back burner for now. I was getting used to spending more and more time with my team out of their Pokeballs, which was honestly a weed addition. Denzel already did the same with Eevee, and a lot of trainers simply never recalled their Pokemon unless they were forced to. Plus, seeing as how chill Elekid was around me, I¡¯d probably be able to do the same thing with him. Not only would it elerate the pace at which we bonded, but I¡¯d be able to learn his bodynguage¡ª how he thought, moved, and his behavioral cues. When I picked him up from the Center, I hurried back to my room and released him there. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me again. I wanted to talk to you with my team here,¡± I said. Elekid crossed his arms and stared right into my eyes. ¡°I caught you, but I want to make sure you know what you¡¯re in for. I¡¯m a trainer participating in the League Circuit. That means that I travel, battle other trainers, and we get stronger together,¡± I exined. I gauged his reaction, expecting him to be confused, but he seemed happy. Excited, even. ¡°We have a little less than a year to get as strong as we can, then we¡¯llpete against the most powerful trainers in the region. Are you fine with joining us?¡± Elekid flexed his arms and began rotating them. Sparks of electricity flew in between his horns. ¡°Kid!¡± I didn¡¯t have to speak Pokemon to realize that was a yes. ¡°Well, now it¡¯s truly official. Wee to the team!¡± I smiled. ¡°Oh, and we¡¯re also traveling with another human friend and his Pokemon, but we can get you introducedter. For now, I¡¯ll start training with you to measure your strengths and weaknesses, and I¡¯ll also have you observe during tomorrow¡¯s tournament¡ª oh, I forgot to even tell you about the tournament!¡± I exined everything to Elekid. I wasn¡¯t going to have him fight yet, obviously, but it¡¯d still be nice to have him see how trainer battles worked. He was seemingly bummed out about not being able to fight, which surprised me. I was slowly getting a hold of his personality, and he seemed to be hyper all the time, but also a battle junkie. Maybe his life in the wild had made him this way, but it was still peculiar to look at. Anyway, after finishing our conversation, I took a shower, and we headed outside toward the edge of town. It was annoying to be doing this back and forth between outside and the Pokemon Center all the time, but what could I do? My standards had been ruined by Jubilife¡¯s quick public transport. I rechecked my Pokedex to make sure I hadn¡¯t missed any of Elekid¡¯s moves. Thundershock and Thunder Punch meant that he¡¯d be useful both at a distance and in close range, which was a boon. Swift was extremely useful as well, being a move that homed in toward your opponent. All in all, I needed to assess what level he was at with those moves until I even thought about teaching him anything else. I directed Togetic to practice her Extrasensory on any object she could find lying about, and I told Frillish to stick with her to make sure she didn¡¯t get lost. Her new flying abilities had seemingly made her increasingly likely to just float off somewhere as soon as something grabbed her attention. ¡°Okay, Elekid, let¡¯s do it. use Thundershock in the sky,¡± I started. ¡°Keep it going for as long as you can.¡± Elekid grunted and began to spin his arms around. Electricity sparked, and then gathered above his head before flying off into the clouds. He kept it going for around eight seconds before tiring out. ¡°Good job!¡± I said with a smile. Elekid grunted in between heavy breaths. ¡°Eight seconds¡­ y¡¯know, I should really start taking notes about you guys¡¯ progress. I feel like I¡¯d be able to track your growth better with a spreadsheet.¡± Elekid looked at me like I was speaking gibberish, but he yelled anyway as if he understood. I was d his movements were so telegraphed. This was nowhere near how hard getting to know Frillish had been. Probably something about ghosts. I pointed toward a tree. ¡°Can you use Swift on that tree?¡± The electric type nodded and aimed his arms forward as stars materialized all around him before flying toward the tree trunk. I approached it to see the damage it had done and noticed that it had created some pretty big scratches. The move was definitely usable in battle, but we¡¯d have to work on it. ¡°Swift again on the same tree, but aim a bit to the left this time,¡± I said. I wanted to test the limits of Swift¡¯s homing abilities. As it turned out, the only requirement was for the target to be within Elekid¡¯s eyesight, and it would always hit. That was truly a powerful asset to have. ¡°Thunder Punch that same tree,¡± I continued. Elekid spun one arm, and electricity coated his fist. With a scream, he punched the tree with all of his strength, creating a huge hole in the bark. ¡°Stand back, I don¡¯t want it to fall on you,¡± I told him. Thunder Punch was definitely his strongest attack, and ideas were already forming in my mind about how to maximize its potential. First, I needed to ascertain a few things¡­ ¡°Can you do it on both fists?¡± I said, lifting my own fists up as an example. I mimicked a series of punches. ¡°Like that?¡± ¡°Kid! Kid!¡± He said excitedly. ¡°Show me what you got,¡± I grinned. ¡°No need to hit the tree this time.¡± He spun his arms around again, and once enough electricity had gathered in his fists, he threw a series of jabs in the air until his fists ran out of energy. ¡°We definitely need to work on endurance, but that¡¯s like, the easiest thing to work on, so don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. As it stood, he had the power to battle, but he wouldn¡¯tst more than two minutes in a fight¡ª less if he had to use more moves than usual. ¡°Ele¡­¡± He said. ¡°Disappointed?¡± I asked. He nodded and hung his head. His body¡¯s behavior was so human it was almost unsettling, but that was probably the way it was with bipedal, humanoid-shaped Pokemon. ¡°Aw, don¡¯t worry, honey. We¡¯ll get you in shape in no time.¡± Leer was pretty self-exnatory. Elekid would try to intimidate a Pokemon with a scary re and hope to catch them off-guard, simr to Growl. Those types of moves only worked on weak Pokemon though, and the higher I¡¯d go, the less useful they would be. Charge was just the way Elekid gathered electricity in his body, so he basically used it subconsciously with every attack. However, my mind shed back to my very first trainer battle. Shinxbined the move Charge with Tackle to create an entirely new move, so maybe I¡¯d be able to do so when Elekid learned something else. Or maybe I¡¯d even be able to create an electric type Swift. For now, though, Elekid¡¯s assessment was over. I looked around, trying to find Togetic and Frillish. They were hanging out high in the sky, looking at something I couldn¡¯t see. If I remembered correctly, that direction was north of Floaroma, which was¡­ Eterna Forest. ¡°Guys! We¡¯re done here,e down!¡± I yelled. Togetic gently floated downward while Frillish just deactivated his levitation and stopped himself with Water Sport, simrly to our battle with Roark. He seemed to enjoy that little trick. ¡°Togetic, I thought I told you to practice your Extrasensory¡­¡± I said, putting my hands on my hips. She avoided my gaze and hid behind Frillish, who proceeded to get out of the way. ¡°I know flying is fun, but you can¡¯t ck off, alright?¡± I told her. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I¡¯m not mad! Have I ever gotten mad at you?¡± Togetic shook her head. She chirped, and then her eyes turned blue as she tore a branch off of a nearby tree before dropping it in front of me. ¡°Is that for me?¡± I asked as I bent down to pick it up. ¡°You¡¯re sweet! Let¡¯s get back to the Center and see if we can meet Denzel. I¡¯ll call him.¡± We ended up meeting him back at the Center thirty minutester, where he walked in followed closely by Eevee and Budew. The little nt waddled next to Eevee, and was seemingly ok with the situation, although she still had that permanent scowl on her face. I would have called her cute if she hadn¡¯t tried to kill me. ¡°Wow, who¡¯s that?¡± Denzel asked, looking at Elekid. The Pokemon put his arms up and yelled out his name, introducing himself. ¡°New member of my team. I caught him earlier today near the power nt at Valley Windworks, and he¡¯s fitting like a glove already,¡± I said, patting him on the back. I felt a small shock run up my arm and jolted. ¡°Ow, ow, ok, let¡¯s not do that again.¡± Elekidughed loudly, eliciting some stares. ¡°Anyway, what about¡­ well¡­¡± I trailed off, realizing it¡¯d be rude to just talk about Budew like she wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Oh, Budew still hates me, but she¡¯s taken a liking to Eevee. Progress is progress, right?¡± Denzel said, bending down toward the big Budew. She released spores at him, making him cough and fan the air in front of his face. I just about screamed for Nurse Joy before he stopped me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re nonlethal, I¡¯ve already had this incident before, and I checked with a doctor. It¡¯s just something that she does if I¡¯m being annoying.¡± ¡°How extreme,¡± I said, side-eyeing the grass type. ¡°How will you deal with the tournament? You still can¡¯t battle with her, right?¡± ¡°Bud!¡± Budew screeched. ¡°What in the world does that mean?¡± I said in a cautious tone. ¡°She¡¯s saying no, obviously. And I¡¯ll just use Eevee. If he loses, I¡¯ll forfeit. I know I¡¯ll be at a disadvantage, but the majority of participants probably won¡¯t have a badge, so I¡¯m hoping to at least get the third ce money.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be fun if we fought again. It¡¯s been a while,¡± I said. ¡°True, it has been. Looking forward to seeing you out there, Grace. I¡¯ll make sure to turn our score into a 2-0.¡± ¡°Be cocky while you still can, I¡¯ll make you eat your words,¡± I joked. I recalled my Pokemon and Denzel did the same while we went to eat in a restaurant. It was an early dinner, but the food was excellent, and all nt-based. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you caught an Elekid,¡± Denzel said before taking a sip of water. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, because they¡¯re one of the few Pokemon that we don¡¯t know how to evolve, right? Well, Electabuzz, I mean. The only trainer that has an Electrivire in Sinnoh is Volkner, and I doubt he¡¯ll ever spill.¡± ¡°Well, obviously I know that,¡± I said. ¡°But when I looked into his eyes when he asked toe with me, I couldn¡¯t refuse. We¡¯ll make it work,¡± I said confidently. Even with today¡¯s knowledge, some Pokemon evolutions were unknown to the public. Electabuzz, Magmar, Dusclops, and Haunter were all examples I coulde up with at the top of my head, but there were more. Only a few trainers owned their evolved forms, and they hogged the knowledge like gold. After digesting dinner, we went for a run. I had Elekid with me and Denzel had Eevee. Elekid was actually surprisingly fast, which was something I hadn¡¯t expected with his two little legs. He was faster than me and Denzel, but the problem was he tired extremely easily, which is why I had him on this run in the first ce. That night, I fidgeted in my bed until sleep finally imed me, but of course, the nightmares came back.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 26 Chapter 26 CHAPTER 26 The next day, Denzel and I made our way north of town to the meadow, where hundreds of trainers were waiting, and more were on the way. Dozens of adults were helping with the event setup, checking in trainers, arranging food and drink, or setting up bleachers. There were six makeshift battlefields demarcated on the ground, with their edges marked by four poles, and some news crews were even interviewing a few trainers. Denzel and I handed in our trainer IDs, and we were officially checked in. The way the tournament would work is that we would all draw numbers and be matched against random trainers until there were only sixteen trainers left. From there, the round of sixteen would take ce tomorrow, and we¡¯d go all the way up to finals. I felt butterflies in my stomach, excited at the opportunity to be experiencing this with so many trainers. I quickly went to draw my number, which ended up being 56. Denzel pulled number 92, meaning we wouldn¡¯t be fighting each other in the first round. The matches would start at the lowest number, so we decided to grab some water and go take a seat on the bleachers while waiting for our turn, but we were osted by a green-haireddy with a microphone and a cameraman wearing an orange cap and a tank top. ¡°Excuse me, Ms. Pastel and Mr. Williams? As one of the few trainers in this tournament already in possession of a badge, how confident are you going into it? Do you have any advice for any trainers struggling out there?¡± I drew a sharp breath and nced at Denzel. Trainers around us began to stare, clearly surprised about what thedy had just said. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯re good, thank you,¡± Denzel said. ¡°No interviews.¡± He pushed me along toward the bleachers. The news reporter clicked her tongue, muttering something about children nowadays before going on the prowl for another unsuspecting interviewee. ¡°Denzel, you didn¡¯t have to do that,¡± I told him. ¡°I know you wanted to answer. Your dream¡ª¡± ¡°Can wait. You were a nervous wreck as soon as you saw the camera. I would rather my friend befortable than go on some no-name television station. The big shots won¡¯t be covering the first day of the tournament. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I just said before taking a sip of water. As I sat, I couldn¡¯t help but notice Cecilia Obel and her group sitting a row in front of us, to our left. I kept staring at her until the first battles started. Maybe she would reveal her third Pokemon today? I released Elekid so he could watch. Luckily he didn¡¯t have any electricity stored in his fur this time, so he sat on myp. He was observing the battles very attentively, foregoing his usual energetic behavior to focus on every move. Unfortunately, since there were six battles going on at once, we were only able to watch one at a time. Most Pokemon we saw were clearly low leveled and inexperienced. I couldn¡¯t help but micro-analyze the way each trainer fought, trying to find a weakness in case I ever came up against them. For example, an older-looking trainer kept making his Lotad use Ice Beam¡ª a move the small Pokemon clearly didn¡¯t master and obviously learned via TM. Even if TMs taught your Pokemon a move, it was always barebones at first, and you needed to practice with it like any other move. Case in point, the poor Lotad was incapable of aiming the move and kept being flung back by its force. It was quickly taken out by the enemy Doduo. Eventually, the first member of Cecilia¡¯s group had to battle. With a smug expression, Louis Bianchi flicked his blond hair back and stepped into the arena. With a coin flip, it was decided that his opponent would send his Pokemon out first. She sent out a Monferno and steadied herself. The fire type grunted and put his fists up. ¡°That¡¯s Maeve Chang. She¡¯s a frequent forum browser, we¡¯ve interacted a few times online. I had no idea she was here,¡± Denzel muttered to me. Louis Bianchi grinned and sent out a Gible. Gasps ran through the crowd of trainers, although some already knew he had one¡ª including me. He was arguably the most famous trainer in the Circuit right now, given his status as a billionaire heir and his extremely rare Pokemon. Dragon type trainers were always seen with envy or admiration, but owning a Gible went beyond that. That line was synonymous with Cynthia. Wherever she was seen, Garchomp quietly followed behind her. ¡°Think she stands a chance?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, she has the Coal badge like us, but against a dragon, it¡¯s hard to say,¡± Denzel said. The referee shed his hand across the air and blew his whistle. The battle had begun. Maeve immediately sprung to action. ¡°Monferno, get in close, and then Mach Punch!¡± ¡°Destroy that runt, Gible!¡± Louis yelled. Gible opened its mouth at an angle that shouldn¡¯t have been possible as blue and yellow mes umted in its mouth. Unfortunately, Monferno was already there and delivered a strong Mach Punch to its gut. Gible slid across the grass, releasing whatever attack that was. Monferno didn¡¯t have to be told to dodge, and he quickly sidestepped the mes. ¡°Grab it and bombard it with Ember!¡± She continued. Monferno grunted and ran on all fours, approaching Gible at ridiculous speeds. He seized the Gible and put him in the air before bits of mes rushed out of its mouth. Gible screeched at the burns and started thrashing around. ¡°What are you doing?! Get him!¡± Louis screamed, stomping his foot against the ground. ¡°Use your Sand Tomb!¡± I felt sand and dirt gather around us, rushing toward the battle and surrounding the two Pokemon. It slowly spun around them, until itpletely obscured them from view. ¡°Get back, Monferno!¡± Maeve ordered. Monferno dropped the Gible, whozily left the mini-sandstorm as if nothing had happened. The attack stuck to Monferno no matter where he ran, continuously wearing it down. ¡°Finally! Now finish it with your Dragon Rage,¡± Louis said. Gible spat out that same blue me out of his mouth, and now that Monferno couldn¡¯t see, this first battle was a done deal. The fire type quickly went down, as Pokemon often did against dragon type attacks. Maeve shook her head and sent out her second Pokemon, a Staryu. The star-shaped Pokemon jumped and spun around, clearly excited to battle. ¡°Staryu, you¡¯re thest one! Hit ¡®em with a Psybeam!¡± Maeve said. ¡°Use the same tactic, Gible.¡± Gible grunted, and sand began to gather around Staryu as multicolored rings of energy hit its nk. The dragon cried out in pain, but he just wouldn¡¯t go down. ¡°Use Rapid Spin to disperse his attack! Then Psybeam again!¡± Staryu began to float and rotated faster than the eye could see, and the sand slowly began to disappear. Gible opened its maw again and screamed out another Dragon Rage, which clipped one of Staryu¡¯s arms as it dodged. The star-shaped Pokemon sent out another Psybeam, which Gible didn¡¯t even bother to dodge. ¡°Take Down! Get in close and finish this!¡± Gible turned and snapped at his trainer as blue mes wreathed in its mouth. Louis squealed and fell backward, shielding his face with his hands. Gible turned back and threw out the Dragon Rage he was building. Maeve had been too stunned by what had just happened to issue an order, but Staryu countered with a Water Gun, meeting the move head-on. The high-pressure jet of water wasn¡¯t enough to stop the mes, and Staryu went down after being hit a second time. ¡°You¡¯re pathetic. Only winning because your daddy gave you a Gible,¡± The girl scoffed as she returned her Pokemon. ¡°If you were anyone else I would have won.¡± She walked off toward Floaroma, presumingly back to the Pokemon Center. Louis yelled out some obscenities at her, asking if she knew who he was and that he¡¯d have her disqualified from the Circuit, but she just flipped him off without even turning her head. ¡°Yikes,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s a terrible trainer.¡± ¡°Yeah, he only won because of how good Gible was. That thing is a little juggernaut, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d win against it,¡± Denzel replied. I watched Bianchi as he returned to his group with a scowl. ¡°I think I could win, I said. No, I know I could.¡± ¡°You have a n?¡± ¡°I have a n and a fairy type,¡± I grinned. ¡°But I can¡¯t be sure I¡¯ll be fighting him anyway, so it¡¯s just a backup. I¡¯ve been making rudimentary ns for most of the trainers I¡¯ve seen win.¡± ¡°Scary¡­¡± Denzel whispered. ¡°I heard you!¡± I hit his shoulder yfully, and he chuckled. ¡°But anyway, this kind of tactic doesn¡¯t work for that long. The further along he gets, the less battles he¡¯ll win like this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised it even worked against Roark,¡± I said. ¡°I watched his battle, Gible just overwhelmed everything Roark threw at it. Dragon Rage is a move that bypasses a Pokemon¡¯s defenses, so no matter how bulky his rock types were, they always went down in two or three attacks.¡± I nodded as we watched the next battle, and then the next. Soon enough, it was my turn. I left Elekid with Denzel and they wished me good luck. I was fighting one of Obel¡¯s people¡ª Pauline King was her name if I remembered correctly. We stood at opposite sides of the arena, and I picked tails, meaning I¡¯d have to send our my Pokemon first. I was surprisingly not nervous like I had been at Roark¡¯s gym. I was still a tiny weeny bit nervous, but it was nowhere near debilitating. It was the kind of nervousness that kept you sharp and on your toes. I grabbed my first Pokeball and sent out Togetic. My opponent sent out a huge Charmeleon, meaning Extrasensory was out. The referee blew his whistle. ¡°Keep your distance and Fairy Wind,¡± I called out. ¡°Ember!¡± Togetic yfully floated upward as a pink wind gathered around her, and then swung toward the Charmeleon. The mes flying toward her dissipated or strayed out of the way, and the wind hit the fire type at full speed. Pauline King flinched when it reached her, but it dissipated right before hitting her. Charmeleon screeched andid t against the ground to stop itself from flying off. ¡°Keep. It. Going,¡± I slowly said. Togetic spun around and chirped happily as storm-like winds kept battering the Charmeleon. Pauline clicked her tongue and groaned. ¡°This is unfair!¡± I could barely hear her with the wind. It seemed like the only long-distance move her Pokemon had was Ember, and it was clearly useless here. She tried everything she could, but eventually, the Charmeleon passed out and flew off before she recalled it in its Pokeball midair. ¡°You battle like a crook,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Huh? I¡¯m just using strategy¡­¡± I answered, embarrassed. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± She yelled, sending out a Gothita. Perfect time to test out Ancient Power, I thought. ¡°Psybeam! Hit it out of the sky!¡± ¡°Shake her off with Extrasensory, then Ancient Power,¡± I ordered. The first multicolored psychic energy beam hit Togetic, but the second never did. Togetic¡¯s eyes turned blue as she kept making the Gothita do sudden movements, throwing off her aim. She flew downward, barely hovering above the ground. Chunks of rocks and earth were lifted off the ground and thrown toward the small Gothita. They weren¡¯t asrge as Roark¡¯s Carbink¡¯s, but they would do the job. Gothita tried to dodge, but she was too small, and one of the rocks crushed her small body. Pauline quickly returned her. I let out a sigh of relief. That had gone pretty well, but Togetic still needed to work on her mid-air dodging, and she was fooling around too much while battling, making unnecessary movements. I was all for her having fun, but it¡¯d be good to shake off the habit now so that when I was in more important battles¡ª ¡°You¡¯re a lowlife who can¡¯t fight fair and square. I know your name, I¡¯ll have my friends make your life a living hell,¡± She whispered as she passed me. I frowned. That was an extreme reaction to a loss in a battle, but I thought nothing of it. If anything happened, I would report it to League officials. Either way, Denzel congratted me when I came back with a high five, and Elekid looked more excited than ever to battle.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 27 Chapter 27 CHAPTER 27 Denzel¡¯s battle went rather well, as he and Eevee made short work of a trainer¡¯s Krabby and Poocheyena with Bite and Quick Kick. Eevee was excellent, only getting hit twice by Krabby¡¯s Bubblebeam. Fighting Denzel would definitely be a hard battle. I would have the advantage due to my focus on long-distance battling and flight, but he was very good at conserving as much energy as he could and only spending it with quick bursts of Quick Attack. The battle would probably be a fight of attrition. If Eevee tired out first, I would win, but if my Pokemon did, the contrary would be true. I was also quickly figuring out that this tournament wasn¡¯t only about your battle prowess as a trainer, but also about your battle management skills. What I meant by this was that there were no healing services given out after every battle, and the Pokemon Center was twenty minutes away by foot. That meant that if your Pokemon took too many hits, you¡¯d be screwed for the next battle, and that could start a snowball effect where you ended up only having one Pokemon to battle, or even both of them being unable to. In that regard, I had underestimated the power of flight in Pokemon. It was truly a great advantage to have, and it wouldeventuallybe a thwarted advantage as I got further into the Circuit and my opponents got more diverse, but as it stood now, in the middle of this tournament for beginners? I was possibly among the top contenders¡ª ignoring a few prodigies, of course. It was finally time for Cecilia Obel to take the stage. Funnily enough, she was going against one of her friends. ¡°That¡¯s Justin Gardner. His father owns Pherzen, a pharmaceuticalpany that makes a lot of what Pokemon Centers use,¡± Denzel said with admiration. ¡°I don¡¯t care about his dad, tell me about his skill as a trainer,¡± I answered, rolling my eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t know much apart from the fact that he has a Sandile and a Growlithe. This should be interesting.¡± ¡°Ele! Kid!¡± My Pokemon added. I leaned against my fist and observed Cecilia. I thought our eyes met again, but that must have been my imagination. She sent out a Fletchling, finally revealing her third Pokemon. It was one of the moremon birds in Kalos. There weren¡¯t too many in Sinnoh due to the cold climate, but some could still be found in the southern reaches of the region. I couldn¡¯t contain my smile, as the fact that a trainer clearly better than me was also using a flying Pokemon confirmed my thoughts about the tournament. Or maybe it was a coincidence and I was in over my head. The Gardner kid sent out his Growlithe and the battle began. ¡°Ember! Shoot it out of the sky!¡± He yelled out, pointing toward the bird. Growlithe¡¯s mouth lit aze as huge globs of fire shot out toward the Fletchling. The bird effortlessly dodged with minimal movement before being recalled by its trainer. ¡°What?¡±I said, not hesitating to show Denzel my surprise. ¡°Hold on,¡± He said. Cecilia sent out her Deino, who turned toward her trainer and let out a low growl. She clicked her tongue. ¡°Be good, Deino. Dragon Breath, fifty percent.¡± The dragon roared in disapproval, but listened, as draconic energy built up in its mouth. It looked stronger than it had been during Roark''s battle. If that was only fifty percent, I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s like at full power. ¡°Growlithe, escape with Dig!¡± Justin panicked. Deino roared out his Dragon Breath, but Growlithe was already underground. Denzel used the slight lull in the battle to tap my shoulder. ¡°Here¡¯s what I think happened. Growlithe can have the sh Fire ability, meaning that all fire type moves against them only make them stronger,¡± He exined. ¡°Ahh,that makes so much sense. And I¡¯m guessing Fletchling¡¯s only long-distance moves were fire type, and a bird that frail would get beaten by Growlithe at close range. Plus, she lost the coin flip so she had to send out her Pokemon first.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Growlithe emerged right under Deino, hitting it right in the chin. The dragon seemed rather unphased, and brought its huge jaw around the fire type¡¯s neck, biting downhard. Growlithe whined and screamed as it squirmed on the ground, desperately trying to move out of Deino¡¯s grasp. ¡°Bad! Deino, bad!¡± Cecilia said, before clicking her tongue multiple times. Deino let go of Growlithe¡¯s neck, and the poor Pokemon scrambled away. I bit the inside of my lip. This was less like a battle and more like aplete humiliation. Cecilia was just trying to keep her dragon on a leash, lest it killed somebody else¡¯s Pokemon. ¡°Good boy. Now Dragon Breath, sixty percent.¡± ¡°Dig again, but don¡¯t attack him this time!¡± Justin snapped. Sixty percent now?I thought.Just like with Roark, she¡¯s slowly going up. Growlithe barely managed to dodge this time, since the attack was not only stronger than before but alsofaster. ¡°Get to the hole, Deino,¡± Cecilia ordered. Deino growled and ambled toward the hole Growlithe had dug, angrily snapping its mouth at any noise it heard. ¡°Dragon Breath into the hole, at seventy percent,¡± She said. Justin gasped.¡°Growlithe, get out of there!¡± Deino hacked a few times as his throat glowed, and then expelled another Dragon Breath inside of Growlithe¡¯s tunnel. We heard a yelp deep from inside the hole, and Growlithe was thrown out through another exitcreatedby Deino¡¯s attack, flying off for a few feet before hitting the ground. Justin sighed, and he recalled his Pokemon. ¡°I give. Your Deino is simply magnificent, Cece. You win,¡± He said with a small bow. ¡°You did well, Justin. You would have bested me with Growlithe if I hadn¡¯t been able to switch out. You are improving at a great pace.¡± ¡°You tter me.¡± I raised my eyebrows. He seemingly didn¡¯t even care about his extremely embarrassing loss. Personally, I would have left running and never showed my face in Floaroma again, but then again, Iwasextremely self-conscious, which was something I needed to work on. I stared at Cecilia as she climbed back onto the bleachers, but my eyes slowly widened when I realized she wasn¡¯t going back to sit with her group. She wasingstraight for me. ¡°You,what?What do you want from me?!¡± I asked with a shaky voice. ¡°What the hell?! Leave her alone, what the fuck is your deal?¡± Denzel shot up. Even Elekid was yelling, and we were attracting a lot of attention. ¡°I need to speak with her. Inprivate,¡± She said. ¡°You need tofuck off, that¡¯s what you need to do!¡± Denzel raised his voice. ¡°You can tell me what you want here,¡± I tried. Cecilia looked at me as if she was analyzing my every move. Her group made their way to where we were sitting. ¡°Cece, my darling, is there a problem?¡± Louis Bianchi asked. ¡°I need to speak with this girl.¡± ¡°Thatgirl? The one who can¡¯t fight fair and square?¡± Pauline scoffed. ¡°Bring me with you, I¡¯d like to see what you¡¯re nning with her,¡± She said, twirling her hair with a smirk. ¡°Do I need to call an organizer?¡± Denzel hissed. ¡°Watch your tone, you¡¯re talking to¡ª¡± ¡°Stop harassing my friend!¡± I said. ¡°Enough of this mean girl bullcrap.¡± I eyed Cecilia. ¡°I¡¯lle with, as long as it¡¯s just you and not her,¡± I finished, pointing at Pauline with a nod. ¡°Fine, follow me.¡± I recalled Elekid and mouthed a ¡®sorry¡¯ to Denzel as he was left all alone together with those rich snobs. Obviously, I was also with a rich snob, but his life would be harder than mine. She kept grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward one of the bathroom stalls. ¡°What do you want from me? Aren¡¯t we far enough?¡± I asked, looking back toward the tournament. She didn¡¯t answer. A few gruesome images began to swim in my mind as I imagined myself eaten alive by a bloodthirsty Deino, but as soon as we reached one of the stalls, she pushed me in and mmed her hand against the wall next to my head. She was taller and stronger than me, so any hopes of escape were gone. ¡°Did he send you?¡±The dark-skinned girl yelled. ¡°Did what? Who are you even talking about?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb! My father! Did he send you?!¡± Cecilia hissed. All the refinement she had in her way of talking was gone now. ¡°Why would your dad sendme?And to do what? I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about, you¡¯re making no sense!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb!¡±She yelled, mming her hand right next to my ear again, making me flinch. ¡°At first I thought you were just some nice girl when you helped me out in Oreburgh,¡± Cecilia started. ¡°But then you show up to Floaroma one day after us? And then you sign up for the same tournament, and you keepstaringat me, Arceus!¡± She said with a dry, sarcasticugh. ¡°You couldn¡¯t be more obvious if you tried!¡± ¡°Okay, hold on just one second. You think I¡¯mspyingon you for your dad?¡± I scoffed. ¡°Iknowyou are! I know he wants to control me and that he can¡¯t do it through my group, but Arceus, now this¡ªthis is going very far!Tell me one reason I shouldn¡¯t have Deino teach you a lesson right now?!¡± My heart dropped. ¡°Okay, first of all, the world doesn¡¯t revolve aroundyou,¡± I said, jamming my finger at her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t spying on you, and everything was a coincidence. Second of all, if I die, my friend will know you¡¯re the culprit, so you¡¯ll be going to prison.¡± ¡°D¡ªdie?¡± She deted. ¡°No, I was just thinking about scaring you a little¡­¡± ¡°Well pick your words better! Fuck, I just want to keep my head down and live my life as a trainer, is that too much to ask?! Let me out!¡± ¡°And the stares? You didn¡¯t deny looking at me!¡± I paused as I was caught off guard ¡°I¡­ I was looking at you because you¡¯re Cecilia fucking Obel, alright?! One of the top trainers of the Circuit this year! I was just intrigued, and I wanted to know more about your battling, now let mego,¡± I said, pushing against her. She stepped to the side, crouching and putting her head in her hands. ¡°Oh, no. Oh, no, no,no!¡± She cried. I stared at her in utter confusion for a few seconds before I sighed and opened the door. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell this to anyone!Please.¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Are you kidding me? You threatened me! And I have had enough of that for anentirelifetime.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say I threatened you¡­ please. If it gets out and my dad finds out, I¡¯ll be screwed. Please.¡± ¡°So what? He¡¯ll cancel your credit card for a month, no biggie. Just get your friends to help you,¡± I spat. I was being vicious like Chase had been with her back in Oreburgh. I would most likely regret these wordster, but right now I waspissed. I started walking out the door. She grabbed my pant leg. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, this¡ª this isn¡¯t about money.¡± I stopped and looked at her for a second, and what I saw surprised me. I expected to see a capricious girl sad that her father would ground her and yell at her for a few minutes, but instead, I saw realfear. She was terrified, sping her hair and muttering ¡®please¡¯ over and over. Thinking about it, her eventhinkingher father was spying on her was suspicious in the first ce, and I began to worry something sinister was taking ce. I looked back at the door and then at her before exhaling loudly. Damn it. I¡¯m too nice.I thought. I crouched in front of her. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong here, but is your father¡­ violent with you? Or threatening you in some other way?¡± I probed. She shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t say. I can¡¯t say. If he finds out¡­¡± She shuddered. ¡°Okay, well I promise I won¡¯t tell anything, alright, just don¡¯t go around threatening people. Others might not be as understanding.¡± The girl nodded and sniffled. Her behavior was a far cry from the way she had been just a minute ago, and it had shattered the entire image I had of her. I had believed Cecilia Obel to be rich, infallible, and stoic, but as it turned out she was just¡­ She was just a girl. Like me. ¡°I¡¯m leaving, alright? You should talk to someone about this¡­ problem, whatever it is,¡± I said, echoing what Denzel had told me. ¡°Anyone. Your friends, or a therapist at the center.¡± Cecilia muttered something that I couldn¡¯t catch. ¡°What did you say?¡± I asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Take care,¡± I said and left.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 28 Chapter 28 CHAPTER 28 Cecilia¡¯s entire group of friends scowled at me as I walked back, so I instinctively kept my head down and quickly made my way back to my seat. I had handled that confrontation very well, but I would be lying if I didn¡¯t admit it made my heart race. Denzel looked at me with a worried look in his eyes as I sat down. ¡°What happened? Did she fuck with you?¡± He asked. I almost blurted out the truth before I paused, contemting what to say. Denzel was my friend, and someone I absolutely trusted, but I had promised not to say anything. But at the same time, I didn¡¯t want to lie to him. ¡°No, it was fine. Just a misunderstanding,¡± I said in half-truth. ¡°She won¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°Good, because that was weird. And her buddies over there kept looking at me like I killed their entire family the whole time. Anyway, it¡¯s time to draw our next number soon, and then we can battle again,¡± Denzel said, grinning. ¡°Sounds good. Right after two more sets of battles, right?¡± ¡°Yup. Hey, check this guy¡¯s Shroomish out, it¡¯s really good¡­¡± We observed the rest of the battles,menting on anything we found of note. Around five minutester, Cecilia walked up to the stands, as if nothing had happened. She had her chin up, a refined air around her, and a smug smile. Gone were her tears and her hysterical behavior. She was nowpletely in control as if she had flipped a switch. ¡°Huh,¡± I whispered to myself. We went for two more rounds of battling, and both Denzel and I made quick work of our opponents. I sent out Togetic against a Ralts and a Combee, keeping them at a distance with Fairy Wind and dealing heavy damage with Ancient Power. The second battle, however, had been difficult. Togetic barely managed to take out a Staravia before I had to return her against a ruthless Pidgeotto. Frillish managed to take it on with a lot of maneuvering with Water Sport. The amount of leverage I was getting out of the move boggled my mind, as Frillish somehow managed to only be slightly slower than an actual flying type. By the end of the day, though, I had made it to the round of sixteen, and so had Denzel. We were famished, so we decided to leave for the Pokemon Center, get some cafeteria food, and then decide on what to do. Denzel went back to the river on Route 205 to spend more time with Feebas, while I took Elekid to train near the meadow. I wasn¡¯t under any impression I¡¯d be able to use him for the tournament, but it was good to get ahead of these things. Strangely enough, I was more nervous about my therapy session tomorrow than I was about the tournament because I knew these trainers in the round of sixteen would be no joke. They all had the Coal badge, and some had been on the Circuit before. The best I was hoping for was third ce, but maybe if I got lucky with my opponents, second ce would be within reach. The next day, I woke up early and drenched in sweat as usual. With my head in my pillow, I groaned and hit my bed out of frustration, but ended up hitting the bed frame. I squealed in pain and cursed, clenching my hand as I stepped into the shower. It¡¯d be a while until Denzel woke up, and he had his appointment anyway, so I ate breakfast with my team. Togetic seemed to get along well enough with Elekid, but Frillish didn¡¯t seem to like our new friend. He eyed him with suspicion, always with that creepy stare I knew so well. Oh well, he¡¯d have to get used to it. After an early morning run with Elekid and another shower¡ª man, I was really taking advantage of the free water here¡ª I waited for Denzel to finish his session in the lobby. I waved at him as he walked down to the lobby. ¡°How was it?¡± I asked anxiously. ¡°What did she ask you?¡± ¡°We just¡­ talked. About anything really, it was really nice. I even got to vent about my mom a little,¡± He said, scratching his cheek. ¡°You¡¯ll do fine, it¡¯s like a conversation with a friend.¡± I nodded. ¡°If you say so.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon, don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, you did get me attacked by a gang of Budew that one time,¡± I teased. He put his hands in the air. ¡°Come on, how many times are you going to bring that up?!¡± He said, eliciting a chuckle. ¡°Ready for the round of sixteen?¡± I asked as we left the Center. ¡°Ready as I¡¯ll ever be. I honestly hope I get that TM, but I doubt I can get first ce.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more interested in the money, honestly. They wouldn¡¯t be giving out an actually good TM in a tournament for new trainers like us. It¡¯ll probably end up being as useful as Rock Polish¡ª which ispletely useless.¡± ¡°Actually, if you had a rock type¡ª¡± ¡°You know what I mean, Denzel,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. The tournament was more packed than it had been because Floaroma inhabitants were actually there to watch now that there were only sixteen of us left. There was only one battlefield left, and a podium had been set up to its left, where two men were fiddling with a microphone and testing their audio. ¡°Holy shit,mentators,¡± Denzel choked. ¡°That¡¯s kind of annoying. I feel like they¡¯ll mess up my groove.¡± ¡°No, it means that we¡¯re the real deal now! And I bet the news will film every match and put it on T.V. instead of just doing interviews. Crap, I think I need to go to the bathroom¡ª¡± ¡°You won¡¯t make it back in time,¡± I said, grabbing his hand. ¡°Come on, I¡¯m nervous too, but we have to face this head-on.¡± Multiple channels were currently filming in the area. One of them was talking to Louis and Cecilia, while others were focused onmenting about the tournament setup itself, the stakes, and its history, for example. They ran this tournament every single month except during summer, although the first two months of every Circuit were always the busiest. I paid them no mind. I appeared calm, but I knew that if one of them came up to me, I¡¯d just stumble over my words and make a fool of myself. Instead, I immediately went to draw a ticket, and my eyes widened when I pulled number one. I¡¯d be the first. At least potions and one of the Nurse Joys were there this time, so we¡¯d be able to heal our teams. There was both bad news and good news. I had observed my opponent like a hawk yesterday, and I knew exactly what his Pokemon were and how he fought. The bad news was that he had both a Plusle and a Minun, meaning that I was most likely screwed. Excellent trainers knew how to work around the type advantage, but I doubted I knew enough to work past it. My mind raced as I attempted to find the best strategy to win, and suddenly as I walked onto the pitch¡ª ¡°Ah. I got you,¡± I muttered, holding back a grin. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, trainers and civilians, wee to the second day of the Floaroma tournament. We hold these every month, so make sure toe back! My name¡¯s Ricky, and I¡¯ll be your announcer today,¡± Thementator said before coughing. ¡°Sorry about that. On the left, we have Grace Pastel from Jubilife City, owner of the Coal Badge. On the right, we have Gavin Barnes¡ª also from Jubilife and also owner of the Coal Badge! I¡¯m excited to see what these two trainers have in store for us today. Do your best! After all, who knows who might catch the attention of a gym leader? Anyone could be watching! I rolled my eyes and picked tails, winning the coin flip. Of course, it didn¡¯t matter. Gavin sent out his Plusle, I immediately sent out Frillish, and the referee dered the start of the match. ¡°Thundershock!¡± He yelled out. ¡°Okay, buddy! Get close! Water Sport to dodge!¡± I said, clenching my fists. The thing about Plusle and Minun was that even though they packed a serious punch for their size, they were also extremely fragile. Unfortunately, we hadn¡¯t mastered Hex yet, and water moves wouldn¡¯t be very effective. We¡¯d lose in a long-distance battle because electric attacks were simply faster than water and extremely hard to dodge, and that meant¡ª ¡°...Frillish gets hit by a Thundershock! Will it go down?! Oh,dies it gentlemen, it stopped itself from falling with Water Sport! What an innovative strategy from Grace Pastel, but will it be¡ª¡± Shut. Up. I thought, focusing entirely on the battle. Frillish was only seconds away from his opponent. ¡°Nuzzle when it touches you!¡± There it is. ¡°Water Pulse,¡± I said coldly. Frillish used a jet of water to stop all of his momentum, sshing the Plusle in the process, who squealed in surprise. The electric Pokemon attempted to jump toward mine as electricity began to envelop its body, but multiple rings of water hit it point nk, sending it flying toward its trainer. ¡°Wrap around him and absorb!¡± ¡°Plusle, get it together! You need to Nuzzle!¡± Frillish let out a gleeful cry before wrapping around Plusle. He absorbed his energy, rendering it weaker and weaker. ¡°Spark! Thundershock! Anything!¡± Gavin let out in a panicked scream. Frillish lit up and spasmed as he was hit with multiple attacks, but he didn¡¯t let go. I winced as both Pokemon screamed in agony as they kept hitting each other, squirming on the ground. After a brutal twenty seconds, both went down, and we recalled them. The n to hit the Plusle with our strongest attack to stagger it and then rush it with Absorb while it recovered had worked, but not as well as I had hoped. ¡°...what a ruthless showdown between the two and their Pokemon! We don¡¯t see many battles like this folks, but strap in, we¡¯re only halfway through!¡± I exhaled and released Togetic, while Gavin let out his Minun. n B was a go, but it was less solid than my tactic with Frillish. ¡°Run up, and then Electro Ball!¡± ¡°Your turn, princess! Fairy Wind, and trip him up with Extrasensory!¡± Wind began to coil around Togetic and then blew toward the running Minun, but it was fast. By the time Fairy Wind had made contact, it was already right under Togetic, even with Extrasensory. It pushed through the damage and threw a ball of pure electric energy right at Togetic, who was hit and fell to the ground. My heart dropped. ¡°Nuzzle it!¡± ¡°Growl, then Ancient Power!¡± Togetic screeched, scaring the Minun for a split second before it hit her with Nuzzle. Her body convulsed, and she struggled to move. Paralysis, I thought. Fuck, fuck, fuck. ¡°Finish her off with Spark!¡± I stomped my foot against the ground twice, and Togetic barely managed to get a Sweet Kiss out. Minun crashed into the ground and stopped his attack. ¡°Hit it with Ancient Power. Push through!¡± I yelled, biting my lip. Large chunks of earth floated upward. Togetic dropped some along the way because of the Paralysis, but she managed to get a hit on Minun, who rolled away. It got up and stumbled around. ¡°Again,¡± I said. ¡°Wake up!¡± My opponent begged. Another Ancient Power hit the electric type, causing it to faint. I swallowed and released a breath it seemed I had been holding for the entire battle. That had been close, but I had won. Just barely. Togetic couldn¡¯t even stand when I recalled her. I was sure that with another few seconds, she would have fainted as well. The announcer cheered and yelled out titudes, which did make me feel good about myself, but I couldn¡¯t becent. I was moving on to the quarter-finals, but this was just the beginning. I gave my Pokemon to Nurse Joy, hoping the little time she had would be enough to fix them up. They had almost never been this hurt, and I scared myself at how much I had enjoyed that battle. They followed me of their own volition, but my heart broke after every battle high, realizing how much they had suffered. I shook my head. It was toote to turn back now. Next was Denzel¡¯s match against Louis Bianchi.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 29 Chapter 29 CHAPTER 29 ¡°Good luck, dude,¡± I told Denzel as he nervously left the stands. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll need it,¡± He answered with a huff. Louis Bianchi sported that same pompous smile as he always did, even as he lost the coin flip. The blond man sent out his Gible, who announced his presence with a juvenile roar. It seemed pitiful now, but even as the first stage in its evolution line, Gible were absolutely deadly. Denzel breathed through his teeth and sent Eevee. I believed he could win, but it wasn¡¯t looking good. Not only could he only use one Pokemon, but he¡¯d have to win against a dragon type. I retreated deep into my mind right before the match started. What would I do if I was Denzel here? Eevee was faster, but could his attacks even hope to take the Gible down? ¡°Here is our second gamedies and gentlemen! On the left, we have Denzel Williams from Twinleaf town, owner of the Coal Badge. On the right, we have Louis Bianchi from Jubilife¡ª also owner of the Coal Badge!¡± Thementator said. Murmurs and cheers ran through the stands when the name ¡®Bianchi¡¯ was spoken. ¡°Yes, you heard that right, Bianchi! But on the battlefield, every trainer is equal! Here¡¯s to a good match!¡± ¡°I am not equal with this peasant from nowhere. I haven¡¯t forgotten how you spoke to my friends and my fiance. Time to show you who¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Quick Attack!¡± Denzel yelled, interrupting Louis. With a sh and a burst of speed, Eevee blurred toward Gible, who roared out a Dragon Rage in response. Eevee skirted to the left, barely avoiding the draconic mes, and ramming into his enemy. Gibble slid back across the grassy field with a grunt. ¡°And Eevee gets the first hit! But it doesn¡¯t look to have done much to that sturdy Gible!¡± The announcer eximed. ¡°But will it be fast enough to respond?¡± ¡°Next time he does that, grab him,¡± Louis said. ¡°Again!¡± My friend ordered. ¡°Around him!¡± With a bark, Eevee rushed forward, and just as he reached Gible, the dragon snapped his jaw shut. Eevee sidestepped and began to run around the dragon, who hissed in a fit of rage. ¡°I sure do hope Louis Bianchi has that dragon under control¡ª but it looks like Eevee¡¯s running around him in circles! Gible still hasn¡¯tnded a hit yet, and it¡¯s looking like it might not be able to!¡± ¡°Dragon Rage to cut him off! It doesn¡¯t matter where you aim!¡± ¡°Get in now! Quick Kick!¡± Gible screamed out another Dragon Rage, hoping to stop Eevee dead in his tracks, but he suddenly carried all of his momentum and hit the dragon hard with his hind legs, cracking some of its scales. Gible screamed in rage, and sand started to gather around the battlefield. ¡°Eevee, don¡¯t let him concentrate! Keep using Double Kick!¡± Denzel ordered urgently. Eevee barked and kicked Gible in the chin, but the dragon shed across his face. He retreated with a whimper as the Sand Tomb began surrounding him. ¡°And Gible has finally found a counter! Eevee seems helpless against that Sanb Tomb, and it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll be able to escape any time soon!¡± ¡°Good, good, now finish him off,¡± Bianchi said with a grin. Gible was obviously not bothering with anything his trainer said at this point. The dragon stomped his foot, and the Sand Tomb intensified,pletely enveloping Eevee. ¡°Get out of it with Quick Attack!¡± Eevee blurred through the sand and immediately rammed into the Gible, who stumbled back, and then Double Kicked it. Gible caught on this time and bit down on Eevee¡¯s back paw. Blood dripped down his fur as he squirmed, trying to get out of Gible¡¯s bite. ¡°Oh, Arceus! What a ruthless bite from that Gible! Eevee appears to bepletely stuck,dies and gentlemen, this could be it!¡± ¡°Kick it with your other foot! Don¡¯t panic!¡± ¡°Just Dragon Rage it, you stupid dragon! Finish this!¡± Louis hissed. Blue mes began to grow in Gible¡¯s mouth, burning Eevee¡¯s hind leg before three kicks managed to get him out. This is bad, I thought. Eevee¡¯s almost done. Eevee¡¯s hind leg waspletely screwed. Bleeding, singed, and the poor thing was limping, barely able to put any weight on it. I winced as Gible let out another Dragon Rage, which he dodged with a roll to the left. Any hopes of using Quick Attack were gone now, and the situation was grim. ¡°Just keep using Dragon Rage, one of them is bound to hit. Stay at a distance,¡± Louis said. ¡°Dodge if you can! Get closer!¡± ¡°Dragon Rage! What a powerful move from an even more powerful Pokemon! Eevee dodges the first¡­ he dodges the second¡­ he¡ª oh, he gets hit!¡± Eevee cried out in pain as the Dragon Rage hit him,pletely covering him in searing hot draconic mes. He copsed onto the ground and fainted. The battle had ended. Denzel¡¯s head hung low as he returned his Eevee. Apart from a few cracks in his scales, Gible wasn¡¯t giving any signs that he had just been in battle. That thing was ridiculously tough, and even a bad trainer would be able to win with its help. ¡°Well? Send out your next Pokemon!¡± Louis smirked. ¡°Nah, I forfeit,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°You win.¡± The audience pped as he walked off the pitch, leaving a very confused announcer and a gloating Louis, and hurriedly came to me. ¡°You did great, that Gible is just something else¡ª¡± I started. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to run to the Pokemon Center. Eevee got really hurt¡­ I pushed him too much. I don¡¯t think they have enough to help him here. Sorry I won¡¯t be able to watch your next match.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I answered. ¡°Let me know if he¡¯s fine when you get any news.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± He said, running off. I had honestly thought that Denzel would be more depressed about losing on television, but he had grown more than I thought. I could tell he was frustrated with himself, but he knew Eevee was the priority. Bianchi walked back up to the stands, and I could hear him gloat to his group about his victory. I clenched my fist, containing my anger. There was no need to be an asshole about a victory, and yet this man was just awful at sportsmanship. I almost hoped I¡¯d be matched against him to beat his Gible into submission with my Fairy type, but he was on the opposite side of the bracket. Speaking about the bracket, who will I have to fight next? I asked myself, looking at the giant screen. My jaw dropped. I would have to fight either a trainer with no badges or Cecilia Obel. Needless to say, she was going to crush that trainer in a single minute, meaning our battle was almost guaranteed. I spent the next few battles strategizing. I knew she wouldn¡¯t use Deino against Togetic, because dragon moves simply left fairy types unaffected, and from what I saw, its only other long-distance attacking move was Incinerate. But she also had that Fletchling. Both of my Pokemon countered hers to some extent, so it all came down to getting favorable matchups. I could switch out, but then she would do the same, and then I would be fucked. So the battle entirely depended on who won the coin flip. If I won, I¡¯d be able to send my Pokemonst, forcing her to switch, and then I would do the same and trap her in an unfavorable matchup. If she won, I would be forced into sending out Togetic first, because I was sure Frillish would lose against Deino. The oue of the battle depended solely on luck. Soon enough, it was time for the quarter-finals. I picked up my Pokemon, who were almostpletely healed from their previous battle, and I made my way onto the pitch. I took a breath, picked tails, and she picked heads. The referee flipped the coin, and time slowed as it fell back into his hand. I adjusted my cor as he caught it and slowly lifted his hand up into the air, teasing the audience. It was heads. ¡°Fuck,¡± I whispered. I grabbed my first Pokeball and sent out Togetic, and Cecilia released Fletchling¡ª an unfavorable matchup not because of the type but because of the flying type¡¯s sheer speed and maneuverability in the air. Togetic wasn¡¯t fast at all rtive to an actual bird, and she wouldn¡¯t be until I evolved her into Togekiss. I wiped my hands on my pants and tuned out all the noise around me. The announcer, the audience, they were all gone. There was only Cecilia and me, ready to battle it out. The referee blew his whistle. ¡°Quick Attack to get close, then Acrobatics,¡± Cecilia calmly said. ¡°Keep it away from you with Fairy Wind!¡± I ordered. Fletchling shone and flew toward Togetic at breakneck speed. It was faster than Eevee, and it reached her before she even had time to gather her wind. Fletchling savaged her with its talons, nimbly moving around to avoid any retaliation. ¡°Extrasensory!¡± I ordered. ¡°Toge!¡± The bird¡¯s wing jerked, causing it to tumble down for a few seconds before it stabilized itself. It kept trying to get up close to Togetic, but she kept using Extrasensory to stop it mid-flight. This tug of war, unfortunately, wasn¡¯t in my favor. Eventually, Togetic would slip up. I bit my lip. My only hope was to slow this thing down enough or catch it off guard to hit it with Sweet Kiss. My worst fear came through as Fletchling pressed its wings t against itself, dropping under Togetic and lifting itself up behind her. ¡°Ember,¡± Cecilia said. The bird opened its beak and let out dozen of small mes, hitting Togetic in the back. She retaliated with her psychic attack, mming the bird down. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to get it on the ground, and it recovered easily. ¡°Fairy Wind before it gets back to you!¡± Togetic gathered her wind faster this time and threw it against her opponent. ¡°Quick Attack upwards,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Follow!¡± I screamed. The pink wind followed Fletchling, twisting and turning as it did. ¡°Ember again to throw off its concentration,¡± She ordered. ¡°Drop down!¡± Togetic levitated down as Fairy Wind rammed into the Fletchling, who had to stay still every time it used Ember. The small bird fell to the ground, and my eyes widened. This was an opportunity. ¡°Ancient Pow¡ª¡± ¡°Up!¡± Fletchling stood back up, and with a Quick Attack, it rammed into Togetic, who cried out in pain. The bird wed and pecked at her, drawing blood as the two Pokemon fought themselves with no particr move. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to use Extrasensory!¡± I added. Fletchling was fast and hitting my Pokemon more than she was hitting it, but Togetic was a sturdy, stubborn girl. The two Pokemon fought each other in a vicious melee, but I needed a little bit more. Fletchling was slowing down, little by little. Just a bit more, and I would be able tond Sweet Kiss¡­ Just a little bit more¡­ A little more¡­ Now! I stomped my foot twice against the ground, and Togetic sent out a Sweet Kiss toward Fletchling¡ª ¡°Now!¡± Cecilia shouted. Fletchling dodged to the side and hit her with Acrobatics. Togetic slowly levitated down as the bird kept wing at her, and she fell to the ground. Fletchlingnded and stumbled a little, but it was fine. How? I asked myself in disbelief with wide eyes. She knew about the signal. ¡°And Togetic goes down! What an amazing battle in the skies between two excellently trained flying types! Grace Pastel is down to one¡ª¡± Concentrate! I thought, clenching at the fabric of my shirt. It¡¯s not over yet. ¡°You did amazing, princess. I¡¯m proud of you,¡± I softly said, returning Togetic. I released Frillish and immediately sprung to action. ¡°Bubblebeam!¡± I screamed. Bubblebeam was a faster attack than Water Pulse, and thanks to Frillish¡¯s proficiency in the move, they dealt roughly the same amount of damage. The water type reared its head back and let out a stream of bubbles, but Cecelia returned her Fletchling right before they reached it. She grabbed another Pokeball and released Deino. Why wouldn¡¯t she deal as much damage as she could before switching? I asked myself. Regardless, I had no time for these thoughts. Thest phase of the battle was beginning.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 30 Chapter 30 CHAPTER 30 ¡°Deino, it¡¯s time to behave,¡± Cecilia calmly said. Not wanting to let her speak with her Pokemon, I immediately barked out amand. ¡°Bubblebeam it as long as you can!¡± Frillish reared his head back and released a stream of bubbles that exploded on contact. Deino let out a booming roar, spitting out a huge Dragon Breath in retaliation that missed by arge margin. I swallowed nervously. That would have taken out Frillish in one hit. ¡°Calm down. Do it again, this time at fifty percent,¡± She ordered. Deino stomped his foot and screamed, but listened, and a smaller, slower stream of draconic energy flowed toward Frillish, who dodged with Water Sport. ¡°Keep your distance, and keep attacking with Bubblebeam!¡± I yelled out. Frillish flew even further up, and I had to cover my eyes to protect them from sunlight. The further Frillish was, the easier it¡¯d be to avoid Deino¡¯s attacks. He spat out another Bubblebeam toward the dragon. ¡°Again, longer, sixty percent,¡± Cecilia ordered. Deino screamed out another Dragon Breath, exploding Frillish¡¯s bubbles midair. He barely managed to dodge. I clenched my fists. This wasn¡¯t working, and I don¡¯t know for how much longer I could keep this up. Cecilia was being surgical with her strikes, and they were slowly growing more powerful. At one hundred percent, I didn¡¯t think dodging would be possible. Frillish tried again, and this time the bubbles reached their target, but Deino seemed unscathed. Dragon pokemon were just too powerful. Too tough to faint to weak attacks like Bubblebeam. ¡°Get in close with Water Sport!¡± I yelled. ¡°Dragon Breath, seventy percent.¡± Frillish coiled around the draconic attack, only getting grazed by its edge. I winced, but kept going. ¡°Water Pulse point nk!¡± A ball of water appeared in front of Frillish, elongated, and then formed into a ring before ramming into Deino. The dragon grunted and was knocked back a little before biting at Frillish, who barely avoided being trapped in its maw. I knew that if Bite ever hit Frillish, he was never escaping, and the battle would most likely be over. ¡°Go around and keep hitting it with Water Pulse! ¡°Take Down, then Bite!¡± Cecilia said. Two Water Pulses hit Deino before Frillish had to retreat out of fear of being bit. ¡°Dragon Breath, seventy percent.¡± Frillish shook and squirmed as the Dragon Breath hit one of his tentacles. It was charred and had shrunk in size considerably. I cursed. The amount of damage here was considerable. What would happen to Frillish if his entire body was hit? My hand hovered over my Pokeball¡ª ¡°Eighty percent.¡± The attack grazed Frillish and continued into the sky, parting arge cloud. I gulped, and my shoulders slumped. The fact that Deino was barely slowed after all those hits probably meant that even Togetic wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it down with Fairy Wind. Strategy hadn¡¯t mattered. The coin flip probably hadn¡¯t mattered. I would have lost no matter the circumstances. And it stung. ¡°I forfeit,¡± I said as I recalled Frillish. The battle had shown how big the rift between the top trainers and me was, and I was nowhere near bridging that gap. As ps rang through the audience, the announcer celebrated Cecilia¡¯s victory, and I walked toward Nurse Joy, I couldn¡¯t help but listen to intrusive thoughts finding their way to the forefront of my mind. She only won because she was gifted a dragon. If I had only fought her Slowpoke and Fletchling, I could have won. Maybe that Chase Karlson guy had been right¡ª ¡°Ms. Pastel, your Pokemon, please?¡± Nurse Joy asked. ¡°Oh¡ª right, sorry,¡± I fumbled. ¡°Here you go.¡± I left my Pokemon and returned to the stands. I was angry I had lost, but these thoughts would do nothing to help me improve. It was important to focus on what I could do from now on, and not just think about the ¡®what-ifs¡¯. I walked back to the stands and opened my Poketch. Denzel W. Eevee is really hurt, they¡¯re saying he has to stay in for three days. I can¡¯t even see him, I feel like shit. I shouldn¡¯t have made him fight that hard. Me You¡¯re right in hindsight, but Eevee would have wanted to stay and fight. Denzel W. He would have, but it wasn¡¯t worth it. I failed as his trainer. Me You¡¯ll see when he wakes up that he¡¯ll tell you otherwise. Stay strong, I¡¯ll be backter. Denzel W. Ty for cheering me up. Isn¡¯t your match soon? Me I lost already. Cecilia was too strong, but I¡¯m staying to watch. Denzel W. Bummer. Lots of catching up to do! Me Yeah! Ttyl I smiled as I closed my Poketch. If Denzel was keeping his chin up after his loss, I would too. The next few matches were impressive, but nobody even came close to how powerful Louis and Cecilia¡¯s dragons were. Even their friends lost to them, and eventually, it was time for the finals. The battle I had been waiting for, dragon against dragon. I had a hunch Deino would win¡ª it seemed to listen to its trainer more than Gible, and that Dragon Breath was more powerful than Dragon Rage, but I was still on the edge of my seat. Thementator announced the contestants, and then the battle started. Cecilia had to send out her Pokemon first, and she sent out Deino while Louis sent out his Gible. The battle was going straight to the main event. Dragons were resistant against most types, but for some reason, they were the best at ripping each other apart. I leaned down and focused entirely on the battle, ignoring the annoying announcer. ¡°Let us have a fantastic battle, my love!¡± Louis said. ¡°May the best dragon win!¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Cecilia replied with a small curtsy. Ugh, what year is this? I thought to myself. Why would she demean herself like this for him? ¡°Dragon Rage, my dear!¡± The boy yelled. ¡°Intercept with Dragon Breath, fifty percent,¡± Cecilia said. The two draconic attacks hit each other mid-air, but Dragon Rage overpowered the Deino¡¯s attack and flew toward it. It attempted to dodge, but it was slow, and the attack hit. Deino roared in pain¡ª the first sign that it actually felt pain in the entire tournament. ¡°Great job! Trap it with Sand Tomb and then Dragon Rage a second time!¡± Louis said. The Gible forwent that order and screamed out another Dragon Rage right away. ¡°Intercept at six¡ª fifty percent again,¡± Cecilia said. I frowned as the same scenario yed out again, with Gible¡¯s attack burning Deino. Gible ran forward, releasing another Dragon Rage, and then another, and another. Each time, Deino used half of its power and let itself get hit. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening. Cecilia Obel was throwing the battle. Eventually, Deino screamed out a roar of frustration and began charging a fully-powered Dragon Breath at the Gible, but Cecilia returned it. ¡°Good job, Gible! Again, you prove yourself to be the superior dragon!¡± Louis said smugly. ¡°That was a great effort, Cece. Perhaps We should train more once this event is over, now release your Fletchling and let¡¯s get this over with.¡± For a split second, I managed to catch Cecilia¡¯s expression changing from frustration into a beaming smile. ¡°Of course, Louis. Your training always does wonders for me and the others,¡± She said. ¡°But I don¡¯t think there is a need to continue this battle, you have clearly proved yourself to be the superior trainer. I hereby forfeit.¡± ¡°Arceus, what¡¯s with the forfeits today? Well, with that somewhat underwhelming ending, Floaroma¡¯s monthly tournament has now ended. In first ce, we have Louis Bianchi, who wins 10,000 Pokedors and the secret TM¡­ for Return! Second ce and third ce will of course also get their prize money¡­¡± The announcer started. I couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter at the fact that the three people who would receive the money all traveling in the same group. Whatever. Chin up, Grace, the world isn¡¯t fair, I thought. Anyway, Cecilia had intentionally lost, and everybody seemingly knew, from the people in the audience to the announcer to the organizers. Only Louis and his clique seemed to be in their own little world. Cecilia was making her way to Nurse Joy, and I decided to take the initiative. I would ask her why she had lost on purpose. I exited the stands and made my way to her. I tapped her shoulder. She turned toward me. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you again. What do you want?¡± I was taken aback by those words. ¡°What do you mean me again? You¡¯re the one who dragged me into the bathroom before¡­ but anyway, I had a question for you. Is that ok?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Why did you throw the game?¡± I asked, tilting my head. The girl¡¯s eyes bulged, and she looked at Nurse Joy, who was applying a potion to her barely conscious Deino. She then spun around and looked behind me before putting a finger over her mouth. ¡°Shhhh! Never say that again! I didn¡¯t throw the match, I lost. Deino was just too tired to use his Dragon Breath at full power.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°There you go, lying again. You could have won that battle! Your Deino is obviously better trained than that Gible. Are you losing because you¡¯re in love with him, and you don¡¯t want to hurt his feelings?¡± I asked bitterly. Cecilia scowled. ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Stop it. Don¡¯t get involved with me, you¡¯ll onlye to regret it.¡± I contemted leaving it there and just making my way back to the Pokemon Center, but I just couldn¡¯t. This girl had utterly dominated me during our battle, and now she does this? It felt insulting, to see someone who crushed you so utterly not even try to win it all. Like what she had done to me was just a way to pass the time. She clearly hadn¡¯t taken her battle seriously at all. ¡°I won¡¯t leave until you tell me,¡± I said, crossing my arms. ¡°Or what? Going to ckmail me?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°No. I¡¯ll just follow you around and keep asking.¡± ¡°What if I go back to my group? Then what?¡± ¡°Then they¡¯ll know you throw games because your boyfriend¡¯s ego is too big to take a loss,¡± I said with a smile. Deep in thought, Cecilia tapped her foot against the ground. After a few seconds, she clicked her tongue, groaned, and dragged me back to the toilets. I hadn¡¯t had years of arguments against my dad for nothing. She pushed me into one of the stalls, came in a locked the door. ¡°Why are you doing this to me? Do you want money?¡± She asked. ¡°No, I just want to know,¡± I stared into her eyes. ¡°Genuinely. It pisses me off that you fight normally against my Pokemon but just let Bianchi win.¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m going to tell you this, but you win. I can¡¯t ever win against him, you understand? I can¡¯t humiliate him, or¡­ uh¡­ how do I exin¡­ I¡¯ll get in trouble with my family, there you go! Happy now?!¡± She said, throwing her hands up. ¡°Fine. Thank you for answering,¡± I said. ¡°I really thought it was about love,¡± I said, feeling relief. ¡°I don¡¯t even¡ª ugh, whatever. Is that it?¡± ¡°No, hold on! What¡¯s with the percentages? You always go up throughout the course of a battle. What does that even do?¡± ¡°Arceus, this girl,¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s to train Deino¡¯s discipline. Dragons are very aggressive, and they hate being told what to do, so by restraining what he can do, I¡¯m reminding him of who¡¯s in charge.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that make you lose battles?¡± I asked, before realizing that no, it would not. Deino was so strong she could afford to do this. ¡°Nevermind, don¡¯t answer. Anyway, thank you for your time. I¡¯ll be going back now.¡± ¡°Wait! I realized I never apologized for what I did to you yesterday. I shouldn¡¯t have threatened you, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Cecilia apologized. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Thank you. I mean, it¡¯s fine, you were clearly worried about your dad, so I forgive you,¡± I said. Cecilia nodded. ¡°Oh! And our battle¡­ it was fun.¡± I smiled. ¡°It really was¡­ and also an eye-opening experience,¡± I said. When I opened the stall, a man and a woman in in clothes were standing at the door with a Hypno. I flinched and stumbled back. ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± Cecilia yelled out. ¡°Were you listening in?!¡± ¡°Is that the Obel girl?¡± The woman asked, ignoring her. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no mistaking it.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the other one?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. One of her friends in high ces? Let¡¯s take her too. Hypno.¡± I felt my heart beat against my ribcage as I nced toward Cecilia. Her Pokemon were getting healed, but she still had Slowpoke, and I had Elekid with me. The Hypno approached us and climbed into the stall as its pendulum began to swing erratically. I grabbed Elekid¡¯s ball. ¡°Cecilia, release your¡ª¡± I was no longer in the bathroom. The floor was entirely white, and huge, humming machines hugged the walls of the room. Dozens of people in coats and normal clothes were sitting on the floor, trembling, crying, or begging. There was even a child hugging her dad in the corner of the room. Cecilia stood next to me, just as bewildered as I was. And all around me, the same people that had threatened me so long ago stood in their uniforms, with their Pokemon out. They had taken us, and everyone in this room hostage.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 31 – Turning Point Chapter 31 ¨C Turning Point CHAPTER 31 - Turning Point Teleportation wasn¡¯t like they said it was in the movies. There was no distortion, no pain, no nausea, and no dy. One second you were somewhere, and the next, you were somewhere else before you could even blink. ¡°Your Pokeballs. Give them to us,¡± A man said. I was so confused by this point that I didn¡¯t even answer. I couldn¡¯tprehend what had just happened to me. The uniformed man whistled, and a Mightyenazily approached us, baring its teeth. ¡°I won¡¯t say it a second time,¡± He continued with a sinister re. Even if I had wanted to fight, there were too many of them to take on. With a trembling hand, I handed over Elekid¡¯s Pokeball. ¡°And you?¡± He told Cecilia. I nced toward her, and she waspletely still, with her hand hovering over her Pokeball. Multiple Pokemon inched their way toward her. A Mukzily glided across the floor, emitting a nauseating smell, a Zangoose sharpened its ws and got in an attacking position, and a Raticate barred its huge teeth with a hiss. I discreetly pulled on Cecilia¡¯s skirt, hoping she¡¯d get the message. I didn¡¯t want her to die. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her, she¡¯s an Obel,¡± The woman who had taken us here said as she put on her uniform. ¡°She¡¯s more useful alive than dead.¡± ¡°We should make an example out of her,¡± Another member said. ¡°Show the people what happens when they fight back.¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up, you moron. Take her Pokeball yourself. She¡¯s a child, and you¡¯re a grown man,¡± The woman said. ¡°You,¡± She told me. ¡°Sit down, don¡¯t try anything, and you¡¯ll live.¡± I nodded and copsed on the cold, hard floor. I waspletely powerless. There was nothing I could do. ¡°Hypno, you can get back to Commander Charon, we have enough hostages and we found the Obel kid,¡± The woman said. Hypnozily nodded and disappeared into thin air. One of the criminals grabbed Cecilia from behind, putting her in a chokehold while the girl grabbed her Pokeball and took it away somewhere. Would I ever see Elekid again? Feeling tears stream down my cheeks, I hugged my knees and buried my face in them, making as little noise as I could. I didn¡¯t want to attract attention. I didn¡¯t want to annoy them. I didn¡¯t want them to kill me. Cecilia sat down next to me and observed our kidnappers silently. Every time I looked at her, I couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking. Was she as terrified as I was? ¡°Daddy, I want to go home!¡± The child in the corner of the room sobbed. She couldn¡¯t have been more than five. ¡°I want to leave!¡± ¡°Shhh, we¡¯re leaving soon. Don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t cry,¡± Her father said, stroking her hair. ¡°Shut her up, or I will,¡± A girl leaning against the wall said. She had a Hoothoot on her shoulder. ¡°Now.¡± ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m trying my best! Please, she¡¯s just a child,¡± He shuddered, hugging his daughter tightly. ¡°Shhh, quiet down, Hannah. ¡°Then maybe you should have raised your kid better,¡± The woman said. ¡°Hoothoot¡ª¡± ¡°Hey guys!¡± My head whirled to the voice. A short woman with red, spiky hair skipped into the room. Literally skipped. All of the kidnappers turned toward her and offered a military salute. ¡°Come on, rx! It¡¯s just little old Mars!¡± Sheughed. ¡°Commander Mars! We have taken Cecilia Obel hostage. The n can go as proceeded!¡± A grunt dered. ¡°Interesting! Which one is she?¡± Mars asked. When directed to Cecilia, she skipped toward us and crouched. ¡°Ms. Obel! What a pleasure it is to meet you!¡± She said, in a clearly joking tone. She leaned in further, her face mere inches from Cecilia¡¯s but Cecilia didn¡¯t budge and stared the girl right in the eyes. ¡°Hm, you¡¯re no fun¡­ I love making people squirm. What about you?¡± Mars continued, turning toward me. I jumped a little and recoiled. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re much better! I¡¯d y with you for hours if I had the time¡­ but s, duty calls!¡± The woman stood up. ¡°Listen up, grunts! ¡°Charon is still busy in the control room, but he told me that he needed two more hours before we can vacate the power nt!¡± So we were in Valley Windwork¡¯s power nt, I thought with a sigh of relief. There had always been the possibility that we had been taken to a secret base in an unknown location. But Charon¡­ My mind shed to that fateful day at Lake Verity. It was the second time I heard that name, so he was clearly someone important in the organization. The grunts pped and cheered. What were they even here for? I was too scared to try to find out. There was one thing I could possibly do. When I sat, I felt my Poketch in my back pocket, meaning that if I was discreet enough, I could send a message to Denzel so he could call for help. But how? These people and their Pokemon looked at us like hawks. No, it was too dangerous. The best I could do right now was not sumb to fear and gather as much information as possible by just listening in. As long as I was focused on something, I¡¯d be fine. Something¡­ something¡­ What if they killed us all before leaving? I whimpered and hugged my knees tighter. Mars seemingly caught that and looked at me with a gleeful smile. ¡°You know what,¡± She said. ¡°Come with me.¡± ¡°N¡ªn¡ªno, please¡­ please,¡± I cried. Mars justughed and forcefully pulled me up. Her partners looked at her ufortably before ncing away. The red-haired woman dragged me into another room full of chairs around a giant desk. It had seemingly been a meeting room. She pushed me into a chair, restrained me with some zip ties, and sat on the table, cing her feet on the armrests. ¡°What¡¯s your name, darling?¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± She grabbed my face and pressed hard. I groaned in pain. ¡°Come on, tell me your name!¡± Sheughed. ¡°My name¡¯s Mars! Well, I wasn¡¯t born with the name, but I picked it myself when I joined Team Gctic. I think it¡¯s cool, personally. I really vibe with the space theme we have going on!¡± All while she was talking, she still had my face in her hand, twisting and turning my neck at every wild gesture. Team Gctic, I thought. So that¡¯s what the G meant¡ª I yelled out as she yanked my face to the left. ¡°Now, I shared something personal about myself, soe on! Don¡¯t let me carry the conversation alone here!¡± ¡°I¡¯m G¡ªGrace. Please don¡¯t hurt me, I won¡¯t make any more noise. Just¡­ please take me back.¡± ¡°But then all the fun¡¯s gone. Oh, by the way, don¡¯t tell Charon I was cking, I¡¯m supposed to be doing my job! He¡¯s always grumpy¡ª probably because he¡¯s old. He¡¯s going to die in like¡ª ten years. I¡¯d be grumpy too in that case!¡± She rambled. That was when I first realized that this girl waspletely unhinged. She talked to me as if I was an acquaintance or a friend, but she kept hurting me. She looked like she was having fun doing all of this. ¡°Man, Floaroma¡¯s really a bummer. Flowers are nice and all, but I¡¯d rather be with Cyrus¡­¡± Mars trailed off. There was a sense of admiration in her voice. ¡°I miss him so much, but he¡¯s always working. I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him¡ª Oh, my bad! I bug out like that sometimes when I think about him.¡± Cyrus. Another name I had heard at the Lake, I thought, before vaguely remembering his face. Thoughts were all I had. I was desperately trying not to break down. ¡°Now, enough about that! What should I do with you? I want to hear you scream¡ª people screaming are just the best! Take off a fingernail or two, maybe?¡± I sobbed. ¡°Ohh, you like that one? I personally think it¡¯s a little cliche, and I¡¯d have to find pliers somewhere¡­ we can find something better. What about a thousand little cuts all across your body?¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± ¡°Luckily, I always have a knife on me. A girl¡¯s gotta defend herself, y¡¯know, and it¡¯s not like we can get guns anywhere other than Orre,¡± Marsughed. ¡°I have to save my v-card for Cyrus. What if some creep tries to assault me?¡± She grabbed a knife from somewhere inside of her uniform and threw it upward before catching it by the de. I squirmed and pushed my face away, but she kept my head still and pressed the knife against my cheek. She pressed harder and harder¡ª ¡°C¡ªCommander Mars! A trainer has broken through the entrance!¡± A gctic grunt said, barging into the room. Mars clicked her tongue. ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± She hissed, pressing the knife into my skin. Blood dripped down its edge. ¡°It¡¯s just one trainer, just capture him, kill him, I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°He¡¯s currently taking us down with three Pokemon, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°Damn it¡­ damn you!¡± She screeched, throwing the knife at him. The grunt barely dodged, yelped, and fell to the ground. ¡°I guess that''s what we get for putting the newbies by the entrance. You interrupted my fun, fine. Dusky, go take care of it.¡± I felt a sudden chill run down my spine as the temperature of the room dropped significantly. Smoke began to materialize out of nothing right behind Mars, slowly forming into a coherent shape. Color drained from the world itself, the white walls, the floor, and the ckboard turning into a sinister gray. A low ring could be heard, steadily getting louder and louder as my ears slowly filled up with pressure. The creature that formed behind her had apletely dark body, along with light gray extremities. A golden motif adorned its body, going around its abdomen, its arms, and its head, and a singr, shining red eye looked into mine. It was a Dusknoir¡ª something I had only seen as an illustration, and Arceus, it looked different. How was this possible? How did this woman find the secret to evolving a Dusclops? I could only stay frozen in fear as the smoke-like being exited the room and passed through a wall like it hadn¡¯t been there. The temperature and color returned to the world, and I started to breathe again. Mars rolled her eyes. ¡°Arceus, this job is such a drag. Now, where were we¡ª¡± ¡°Mars. Hypno informed me that you released that monster into the world again. Recall it,¡± Someone else said. ¡°Arceus, damn it, just let me have my fun!¡± She yelled. I nced toward the voice, and an old balding man with rose-tinted sses that had dyed the rest of his hair purple slowly walked into the room. He walked with a pronounced limp, and Hypno followed closely behind. ¡°I won¡¯t repeat myself. Cyrus will be furious if he knows what you have done. That thing is not under your control. It will possibly kill every hostage we have to sustain itself.¡± ¡°Shut up, Charon! Dusky isn¡¯t under my control because he¡¯s family! I just hate to keep him in his Pokeball, since he doesn¡¯t like it. Plus, that way, he¡¯s always next to me!¡± The woman whined. ¡°Let this child go. I¡¯ve had enough of you fooling around. We are here for a reason and one reason only, do not derail the n. I will deal with our unexpected guest myself,¡± Charon dered, as he walked toward the hostage room. Mars pouted. ¡°You¡¯re no fun. If Cyrus wasn¡¯t our leader, I would have left already!¡± ¡°And we might be better off for it,¡± Charon said. ¡°Juju would be depressed without me!¡± She yelled out. He didn¡¯t turn back. Mars looked at me with sad eyes and untied me. ¡°I¡¯ll take you back, but only because I don¡¯t want Cyrus to be mad at me. That¡¯d be a total disaster! Don¡¯t worry though, we¡¯ll meet again. I¡¯ll have my eye on you from now on. Forever. Oh, I almost forgot!¡± She said, closing her eyes. She kept them closed for a few seconds, and then returned to her default, smiling face. ¡°There you go! Dusky should be gone now.¡± She took me back to the hostage room, and I sat back down at my spot. I didn¡¯t have the energy for anything. I just stared nkly at the floor, hoping this would all be over soon. A few minutester, I could hear yells outside of the room. ¡°...fuck off! You couldn¡¯t take me in a fair fight, so you had to gang up on me! Fucking losers, can¡¯t take down a single kid alone!¡± Chase Karlson was pushed to the ground into the middle of the room, and with a groan, he rolled onto his back. He swore a couple of times before pushing himself against one of the many generators. His face was bleeding and swollen. I guessed that he was the one that had busted in. There was nothing any of us could do, and so for the next two hours, we sat in silence. My cheek was burning, and I wasn¡¯t sure I would even be able to function after this. I was just exhausted. After what seemed like an eternity, Charon limped into the room once more. ¡°Attention! All of the relevant data has been collected. We can leave with Hypno¡ª¡± Suddenly, I heard a disturbance on the roof, and then a tear. Charon frowned, looking up, and his stern face turned to horror as a Garchomp burst through the ceiling, creating a mini earthquake as itnded on the floor. A tall, blonde woman in all ck clothes slowly climbed off of its back and looked around with a calm smile. Chase chuckled. ¡°I called the police before breaking in here, but I never expected them to send the Arceus damned Champion. What now, you fucking Gctic goons?¡± He asked with a bloody grin.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 32 Chapter 32 CHAPTER 32 ¡°Mars! Get in here now!¡± Charon yelled. ¡°Grunts, kill her!¡± Three red shes appeared next to Cynthia, forming into a Lucario, a Milotic, and a Roserade. Milotic coiled around its trainer protectively, and Lucario seemed to be analyzing the room with a look of pure rage. A Roserade shook its arms, releasing a minor amount of spores, and got into a fighting pose. A dozen attacks flew toward Cynthia before hitting a see-through green barrier. Milotic¡¯s eyes were shining, apparently having used some sort of protective move. ¡°Lucario, Garchomp, take care of the Pokemon. Roserade, put these criminals to sleep,¡± Cynthia said, never losing her smile. Lucario nodded and instantly blurred before ramming a glowing palm into the nearest Zangoose, while Garchomp wed into a meow, sending it flying and bleeding against the wall. They were knocking every Pokemon unconscious, and all it took was a single move. The fight was a massacre. They were too fast for eyes to track or attacks to hit, too powerful to stand back up after getting hit by them. Roserade spun around, almost as if it was dancing, carefully avoiding every attack thrown at it before shoving its bouquets into the grunts¡¯ faces. They promptly fell to the ground, unconscious. Meanwhile, Milotic kept wrapping loosely around its trainer, protecting her from any attacking her way. All of this while Cynthia stood there, unwavering and smiling like this was just another day for her. She wasn¡¯t the Champion for nothing. It was a magnificent disy of skill and strength that only the best could hope to evene close to. One of the grunts grabbed Cecilia and ordered his Honedge to stick its de to her throat. Cecilia whimpered and struggled, trying to escape his grasp, but to no avail. ¡°Stop it! If you move, the girl dies! And we wouldn¡¯t want that, would we? She¡¯s too important¡ª¡± ¡°Extreme Speed,¡± Cynthia ordered. Even faster than before, Lucario disappeared as if it had teleported, knocking the Honedge away with its fists wreathed in a shadowy aura. The Honedge fell to the ground, and its trainer screamed before being put to sleep by Roserade. Garchomp finally finished taking care of thest stragglers, announcing his victory with a roar that shook the entire room. All while this was happening, Charon just watched in horror. ¡°What¡¯s with all themotion¡ª What the hell happened here?!¡± Mars said as she walked into the room. ¡°Oh, Arceus, is that Cynthia? For real? I¡¯m your biggest fan¡ª¡± Lucario blurred again but stopped right before reaching Mars as Dusknoir materialized in front of her. I shivered as the ghost loomed above us, fading the world itself. For the first time, Cynthia lost her smile. ¡°Dusknoir?¡± She said. ¡°How peculiar. Garchomp, kill it.¡± Garchomp strode forward, hitting its ws against its chest before dashing forward with darkness festering in its mouth. It bit into the Dusknoir¡¯s arm, and the ghost¡¯s mouth opened, revealing it to actually be on its abdomen. It let out an otherworldly noise that simply couldn¡¯t be described. It was like listening to a thousand voices at once, all whispering in our ears at the same time, in differentnguages, at different pitches, causing all of us to get a splitting headache. I put my hands over my ears, hoping everything would be over soon. ¡°Dusky! No!¡± Dusknoir solidified,ing into reality for a few seconds as ice surrounded its fist. It punched Garchomp in the chest, and then in the head, but the dragon simply didn¡¯t let go, shaking its mouth, dissolving more and more of the ghost¡¯s body. ¡°Lucario, Roserade, restrain those two,¡± Cynthia said, pointing at the Gctic leaders. ¡°Mars, we have to teleport out! I have the data¡ª¡± Charon yelled before Hypno pushed Lucario back merely inches from his face with its psychic powers. Mars ran toward Charon, being closely chased by Roserade. Hypno¡¯s pendulum began to shake. ¡°Dusky! Get out of here and find uster!¡± Mars yelled. ¡°Bye Cynthia¡ª¡± And just like that, they were gone, having abandoned all of the gctic members left asleep. Garchomp kept fighting Dusknoir, hitting it with its w glowing bright with blue draconic energy. Roserade sent out a stream of pink petals toward the ghost, and Milotic screamed out a powerful jet of water. The attacks clearly hurt Dusknoir, but they also passed through him, destroying more of the power nt. Dusknoir kept screaming in a thousand different voices, and soon enough, it slowly disappeared, fizzling out as if it had never been there as the world returned to normal. ¡°Teleportation, hm? A shame,¡± Cynthia said, looking around. She grabbed a walkie-talkie and brought it next to her mouth. ¡°Coast is clear, you cane in.¡± Within the next few minutes, dozens of trainers all dressed in orange-brown uniforms streamed into the room, recovering the unconscious grunts or taking care of the hostages. One of them came to me and attempted to speak to me, but I didn¡¯t even have to energy to respond. We were given nkets, water, and food if we wanted while they assessed the damage done to the power nt and investigated the remaining rooms. Cynthia, meanwhile, recalled all of her Pokemon except Garchomp, who stood tall next to her. After ten minutes or so, we were taken back outside. Barely more than two hours had passed since I had been kidnapped, but it felt like a lifetime. I couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like for the others who had been there longer than me. The entrance to the nt was full of police officers creating a perimeter around the facility, media reporters and their bright, shing cameras, and just curious civilians who had probably heard of the situation. I was put on a bus with a few other people, and we were driven to the Floaroma Pokemon Center. Denzel was there waiting, and he looked like he was being eaten from the inside out until he saw me. He tried to approach me, but he was pushed away by the police and doctors. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯lle visit you,¡± He said with his shoulders slumped. I didn¡¯t answer. I was ced in one of the human rooms, and one of the doctors came in to do a check-up on me. He asked me questions, but his voice seemed distant. Like a dream. Except for the cut on my cheek, I was alright, so he cleaned the wound with warm water, disinfected it, and then ced arge bandage on it. He then asked if I wanted anything else before leaving. I don¡¯t know how much time passed until a few officers came into my room. They were nice enough, smiling and making small talk before getting to the meat of the conversation. They were trying to get me to answer questions. Questions about Team Gctic¡­ Team Gctic¡­ I had difficulty breathing, so they eased off the questioning for now and left. I felt like garbage. I had listened in, trying to gather information exactly for this moment. It was all I was able to do, and yet¡­ and yet I just couldn¡¯t speak. Time was a blur, and the next time I nced outside, the sun was setting. One of the doctors came in with a te of food and water, along with Nurse Joy with two Pokeballs. I shook my head. Just thinking about food right now was making me nauseous, and the smell¡­ My Pokeballs were ced on my bed before they left, taking the food back, but leaving a ss of water. My eyes zed over the Pokeballs before I realized that there were only two. Where was Elekid? I bit my lip, but no tears came out. He¡¯d be back¡­ they¡¯d bring him back to me. I held my two Pokeballs and hovered a finger over the release button, but my arms slumped. I couldn¡¯t bear to let them see me like this. I ced them on the bedside table andy down on the bed, watching nothing in particr. The wall, the ceiling, did it matter? Hourster, someone else came into the room. It was night time now, and it had been for quite some time. I turned and saw Denzel sit next to me. He hung his head. ¡°Grace, I¡¯m so sorry. I¡­ I should have been there, I shouldn¡¯t have left,¡± He sobbed. ¡°I should have protected you.¡± I opened my mouth. Say something, I thought. Anything. No sound came out. ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to speak. I¡¯ll just stay here, alright? I sneaked in some food if you want. Some fries? I guess they¡¯re cold by now. I have a milkshake too, if you want. Don¡¯t force yourself, though,¡± He said. His sentences were always interrupted by sniffles and sobs. ¡°It¡¯s a no, huh? Well, that¡¯s ok,¡± He said, ncing at my Pokeballs. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about Elekid, the League trainers are just trying to sort through the huge pile of Pokeballs to see who owns what. He¡¯ll be back eventually when they get to you.¡± I nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief. Denzel¡¯s face lit up a little at the slight movement. ¡°Oh, and¡ª and I bet he¡¯ll be happy to see you again! I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be worried sick when he learns what happened. I don¡¯t know him very much, but I know he liked you already¡­ and¡­ and¡­¡± Denzel trailed off, before sping his hands together. He paused for a few minutes before continuing. ¡°They have policemen and league officials all over Floaroma now. These people¡ª Team Gctic¡ª they¡¯re all everyone¡¯s talking about now. They¡¯re calling them the worst criminal organization since Team Rocket. Luckily no one died at the power nt, thank the Legendaries,¡± He sighed. ¡°I also called your dad about what happened. Sorry,¡± He added when he saw me flinch. ¡°I had to tell him¡­ he asked me to take care of you when we left, and I failed him. It wouldn¡¯t be right to keep it a secret. He¡¯s worried sick about you, uh, you should call him when you feel better. I already told him you were alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Silence imed the room once more for another ten minutes. Denzel fidgeted nervously, desperately trying to find something to talk about. ¡°I can help you take that therapy appointment again, since¡­ y¡¯know¡­¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯ll obviously be a great start for your recovery. And take as much time as you want, alright? I don¡¯t mind staying here for a few months if you want. I¡¯ll stick around. I¡¯ll visit you every day and¡­ read you stories? Talk to you about what¡¯s going on outside? I don¡¯t know. Just know that I¡¯ll be there, alright? There¡¯s always next year, and we can travel together again,¡± Denzel said. But your dream, I thought. I coughed, choking on the words before mming my fist against my bed. ¡°Your¡­ your dream. Don¡¯t hold yourself back because of me,¡± I whispered. Denzel¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I¡¯m staying because I want to, not because I feel obligated to. I¡¯m still young, my dream can wait. Let¡¯s get you back on your feet, ok?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± I cried. Tears streamed down my face as I sobbed quietly for what seemed like an eternity. Could I push myself forward? Was I strong enough to keep going? I¡¯ll have my eye on you from now on. Forever. That was what Mars had said to me, and I was inclined to believe her. She waspletely deranged, and a feeling in my gut told me that I¡¯d see her again if I kept traveling. I could hang up my coat, go back to Jubilife and stay inside. She wouldn¡¯t find me there, would she? Would she? ¡°I guess you don¡¯t want to see your Pokemon yet. Eevee¡¯s still in bad shape, so I don¡¯t have him, but, uh, want to see Budew? Believe it or not, she was worried about you, even though she tried her best to hide it. Hell, even Feebas seemed off, but I can¡¯t release him here.¡± ¡°Budew¡­ worried about me?¡± I muttered. ¡°She did, I swear. She kept ncing at the television in the lobby downstairs when we learned that you were one of¡­ one of the hostages,¡± Denzel said. I could tell he was tip-toeing around me, trying to say the right words. He released the small nt-like Pokemon on hisp, and she looked at me in what I could only describe as abination of relief and surprise. That was only for a split second, though, and she quickly returned to her default scowl. ¡°Thank you, Budew. For worrying about me, I never thought you would,¡± I slowly said. In the next hour, I slowly regained my confidence in speaking. Tomorrow I¡¯d have to find the police again since I had information they wanted, but I was terrified of sleeping tonight. What nightmares woulde to haunt me now? I could tell Denzel was tired, he was slowly drifting off to sleep in his chair. The nurses had told him he could sleep in here as an exception because of what happened to me, but I felt terrible he would have to sleep upright in a chair. Budew was standing on the ground, already sleeping. She was next to the window in the exact position she would need to be in to catch sunlight when the sun rose. Suddenly I heard a soft knock on the door. I flinched and recoiled before remembering that I was in a Pokemon Center. I was safe. I was safe. ¡°Ce in,¡± I said. Cynthia opened the door with two policemen and stared at me with a smile. ¡°Grace Pastel, may I borrow a few minutes of your time?¡±
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Interlude – Cynthia’s Burden (Part 1) Interlude ¨C Cynthia¡¯s Burden (Part 1) INTERLUDE - Cynthia¡¯s Burden (Part 1) Earlier League trainers swarmed around Cynthia, telling her about the state of the nt, the wounded, the amount of team Gctic grunts they had captured, and more. Hostages were being carried outside, and the gctic members were being arrested all around her. She answered mechanically, having already gone through the motions thousands of times throughout her career as Sinnoh¡¯s Champion. Right now, she was deep in thought. A Dusknoir¡ª the first Cynthia had ever seen. Shemented not having been able to kill it. Ghost types never stayed dead for long, but it would have taken weeks for it to rematerialize into the world. She would have much to talk about with Fantina. The Champion recalled all of her Pokemon except Garchomp and returned her attention to the situation at hand. ¡°Champion Cynthia, we have the nt¡¯s supervisor ready for you,¡± One of the League trainers told her. It took a split second before Cynthia ced a name on her face. ¡°Excellent, Sonya. take me to him,¡± She replied. The League trainer blushed, seemingly surprised that the Champion had addressed her by name, but she led Cynthia to a conference room of some sort, with Garchomp following closely behind. Cynthia knew the nt supervisor, and they had spoken on numerous asions whenever a problem about energy generation came up. He was a man in histe fifties on the heavier side, but he usually did good work. The League trainer bowed before quickly leaving the room. ¡°Karmine,¡± She said, sitting down on one of the chairs. There was a little bit of blood on the floor. ¡°It is unfortunate to meet under these circumstances, but I have a few questions for you.¡± Karmine looked like he had gone through hell. He was pale, his hands were visibly shaking, and he had clearly been crying. ¡°Cynthia,¡± He looked at her. ¡°Can¡¯t this wait? It hasn¡¯t even been twenty minutes.¡± ¡°No.¡± The man was taken aback by her quick rebuttal, but he sighed and nodded. ¡°Ask away.¡± ¡°Thank you for understanding. First, when did team Gctic first get here?¡± She asked. ¡°It was this morning. That¡­ that ghost suddenly appeared inside of the nt at around 9:00 am, and when we tried to run, they were already breaking in. They took us hostage, but throughout the day, they kept teleporting more and more trainers into the nt.¡± Cynthia nodded. That meant that Dusknoir had possibly been hiding inside of the nt for hours, or days before the attack. Had it been gathering information for its trainer? Learning theyout of the power nt, perhaps? ¡°Great,¡± Cynthia smiled. ¡°Now, originally, I believed this to be a terrorist attack to strike at Sinnoh¡¯s energy infrastructure. They could have plunged half the region into darkness. I heard something interesting, however. Something about some data they were stealing?¡± Karmine swallowed and began to sweat. ¡°I have no idea what they were talking about. Maybe data about our future n for expanding the nt? Or maybe the amount of energy we produce and send to every city¡ª it could mean anything, we have a lot of data.¡± Cynthia crossed her legs, and Garchomp began to loom over the sweating supervisor. ¡°Come on, Karmine. We¡¯ve known each other for what? Twenty years, now. I know you, and I know you¡¯re lying. Don¡¯t treat me like a fool. What is it?¡± ¡°Cynthia, I¡ª I¡ª¡± ¡°How¡¯s your family doing, Karmine? I hear Emily¡¯s doing very well at the University of Sunnyshore. She¡¯s trying to be a Pokeball engineer, correct?¡± Karmine nodded as sweat dripped down to his chin. ¡°That¡¯s admirable. That¡¯s what I like about your family, Karmine. You always strive to improve Sinnoh through engineering. Now, since you aren¡¯t willing to tell me what happened, I might have to call for Lucian¡¯s personal kazam.¡± ¡°Memory extraction is illegal,¡± Karmine shuddered. ¡°Well, right now, you would be correct. I could make it legal by the end of the afternoon. I will have to anyway, because of all the criminals we just captured. Vernon is just a single call away, and the Directorate is furious, Karmine. This is the first criminal organization since the fall of team Rocket. People will die, and investors are going to be reconsidering where they spend their money until the region feels safe again. That¡¯s a loss for all of Sinnoh, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand what that has to do with me,¡± Karmine said, adjusting his cor around his neck. Garchomp growled at him, causing him to squeal. ¡°Well, you could keep ying hardball, Karmine,¡± Cynthia shrugged. ¡°Bute tonight, I¡¯ll have an kazam ready to extract everything you know. And trust me, it isn¡¯t pretty. The human brain is a fickle thing, Karmine. I wouldn¡¯t want you to forget about your family. Memories are quickly lost, and damage to the brain might be irreversible. A shame, really.¡± ¡°Fine! Fine, I¡¯ll tell you. The power nt¡­ we used to have a facility deep underground where we researched things¡­¡± ¡°Things, such as?¡± She pressed, still smiling. ¡°We were trying to find a way to bring teleportation to the mainstream. As it stands, only the best psychic types can use the move with people, and trying to teach them to use it almost always results in death or injury. Teleporting in the sky, or inside of a wall by ident¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m the Champion, Karmine. I don¡¯t need a lecture on Pokemon moves.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± He sniffed. ¡°We generate so much extra energy each year at the nt¡­ we thought that we could use that energy to create and power a device for humans to teleport between locations. But a year ago, something went horribly, horribly wrong¡­¡± The supervisor trailed off. ¡°Keep going.¡± ¡°We activated the teleportation machine, but it¡­ it just went wrong, okay?! It was unexinable! Our calctions were correct¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. What happened?¡± ¡°It tore a hole¡­ a hole through reality. Six people were sucked inside of it, and they were never recovered¡ª I just assume they died.¡± ¡°How did no one hear about this?¡± ¡°We paid off their families. A million pokedors for each death, and we also said they died due to an ident at the nt, but we didn¡¯t specify what it was. We destroyed everything afterward and sealed the room with cement.¡± Cynthia uncrossed and crossed her legs again. ¡°But you kept the data. Interesting. I recall your job being generating electricity for the region, not messing with forces beyond your control.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an engineer, Cynthia, but I¡¯m also a scientist. You knew this when you selected me. I wanted to use science for the good of Sinnoh.¡± ¡°Perhaps, but you messed up. You and your colleagues are going to prison,¡± Cynthia said before getting up and leaving. She was still smiling. Cynthia told her League trainers to take him and his colleagues to the police before she leaned against the wall and gathered her thoughts. Garchomp stood by her side, waiting, always vignt. Team Gctic had stolen that data, so they probably wanted to master human teleportation¡ª Wait. What benefits would that bring? They already had a powerful Hypno that had mastered the technique, and teaching it to another psychic got exponentially easier if you already had a Pokemon that knew the move. That was why Lucian was able to churn out so many Kadabra that could teleport every year for the League to use. Then what was it that they wanted? Cynthia paused and tapped her chin. Team Gctic wanted to trifle with reality itself. This was going to be a long day. Cynthia walked out of the power nt surrounded by her League trainers, and reporters immediately swarmed her to ask questions. ¡°Champion Cynthia, what can you tell us about team Gctic?! What do you know so far?¡± ¡°What measures will the League and the Directorate employ to make the region safe again?¡± ¡°Did you know about this organization before today? Do you know what they¡¯re after?¡± ¡°I have noments to make at this time,¡± She simply answered. Garchomp roared, and they backed off immediately. Cynthia discreetly nodded to thank her friend. People often forgot that even though she was very well-trained, she was still a dragon. Frustrate her enough, and there was no telling what she would do. Or at least that was what Cynthia wanted them to think. The honest truth was that Garchomp would never hurt anyone. She had had her since she was six, and she already knew she would only attack people if shemanded it. But it was nice to keep reporters off of her. A League trainer drove her back to her hotel, where she secluded herself in her room after recalling Garchomp and called Lucian. Fantina would have to wait. And finally, she could lose the Arceus damned smile. She sighed and sat on her bed before dialing Lucian¡¯s number. ¡°Cynthia, how did your little expedition go?¡± Lucian immediately asked. That was Lucian. Always straight to business, something the Champion loved about him. ¡°It went better than I expected. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard already, but there were no casualties, and we captured a decent amount of them. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t nab their leaders though. They had a Hypno that could teleport. One of them also had a Dusknoir.¡± ¡°A Dusknoir, you say?!¡± Lucian asked in surprise. ¡°And a teleporting Hypno, too. These are some awfully powerful trainers, then. I assume you need kazam from me?¡± ¡°Correct. Send him my way, then I¡¯ll call Vernon,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°I¡¯m afraid this is bigger than we thought it would ever get. These aren¡¯t just people looking to make money.¡± ¡°Very well. Call me again if anythinges up.¡± ¡°Thank you, Lucian.¡± Cynthia hung up, and when she turned around, an kazam was standing in the corner of her room. The psychic type carried two metallic spoons and a giant scar across his gaping eye socket. ¡°Always quick on the uptake, aren¡¯t you?¡± Cynthia said. You called for me, so I came. Where are the people I need to work on? kazam were one of the few advanced Psychic types that could talk via telepathy. It had taken a long time and a lot of headaches to get used to, but after decades of working together, themunication was seamless. ¡°Hold on, I need to call Vernon. Need to change the rules first.¡± Humans and their childish rules, kazam said with a scoff. What a waste of my time. Cynthia called Vernon, who had already called her around ten times. As soon as he picked up the phone, he was yelling. ¡°Cynthia, fucking finally! Arceus, can you tell me what the hell is going on? You¡¯re supposed to with me about these things!¡± Vernon said. He was furious, as he often was. Vernon was the current Prime Minister, and he had been since Cynthia had created his position. He had been an old trainer who attempted the Circuit a few times before retiring and getting into politics, and Cynthia had practically pushed him into the role because of the potential she saw in him. With her endorsement, he was elected by the Directorate by a wide margin. ¡°I was busy, Vernon. I will be for the next few days. I¡¯ll tell one of my trainers to catch you up to speed, but right now, I need you to call the Directorate into session.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I need you to make memory extraction legal again¡ª only for gym leaders, the elite four, and me of course.¡± ¡°Excuse me?! We agreed a decade ago that forcefully extracting memories was a barbaric practice¡ª¡± ¡°And it still is, but this is a matter of national security. There are forces at y here that you couldn¡¯t even begin to understand.¡± ¡°So help me understand! Thest I knew, this team Gctic wasn¡¯t a threat whatsoever, and now they¡¯re attacking our energy infrastructure and taking hostages! The media is going to be on our asses for this! I already have Harvey Bianchi calling,ining that I even let his son be in the same city as these gctic crooks, and the Obels are threatening to pull their new investments!¡± Vernon yelled. Cynthia pinched the bridge of her nose and watched as kazam rolled his eye. ¡°Vernon,¡± She started. ¡°We¡¯ve worked together for over twenty years, have we not?¡± The man grunted. ¡°Then it is simply a matter of trust. Get the Directorate together, tell them to vote on thew, and pass it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to negotiate with a lot of people¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°But you¡¯re good at your job. I trust that you will manage.¡± ¡°Ok. Ok, fine. Just call me when you can. I don¡¯t want to hear it from some underpaid League trainer, I want to hear it from you.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Thank you, Vernon,¡± She said. Pathetic. You are the strongest human on this Earth, why do you not take what is yours? The psychic typeined. ¡°I don¡¯t know about the strongest. There are other Champions,¡± Cynthia yfully told kazam. I am in no mood for jokes. Call Fantina with that primitive electric device humans are so fond of. I am curious to hear about this Dusknoir. Cynthia was as well. She called Fantina, and the gym leader answered after three calls. No one in Sinnoh knew more about ghost types than Fantina, and few knew that she was the strongest gym leader whenever she decided to go all out. Hell, she most likely could have be a member of the elite four if she wanted¡ª there was no doubt in Cynthia¡¯s mind that Fantina was more powerful than Aaron and Flint. Unfortunately, her passiony in Pokemon contests, and battling was more of a side hustle for the old Kalosian woman. She was already trying to groom a recement for her gym. ¡°Fantina, please answer the phone when I call,¡± Cynthia sighed. ¡°Cynthia, my darling! I heard that you took down dozens of criminals by yourself! How grand! How magnificent!¡± Fantina said in a thick Kalosian ent. Even though she had lived in Sinnoh for decades, she still had never lost it. ¡°Correct. There¡¯s a lot of information going around, but right now, I called you because one of the team Gctic leaders has a Dusknoir.¡± ¡°Are you certain?¡± Fantina said after a pause, immediately bing more serious. ¡°Yes. I believed the knowledge to be lost to time, but someone actually found a way to evolve Dusclops. I was wondering if you had any information to give me?¡± ¡°Well, even I do not know much about Dusknoir¡ª although I wish I did. From the stories of old I read, they are among the most powerful Pokemon to ever exist. Whenever theye out into the world, they affect reality itself, and they sustain themselves by eating human souls.¡± ¡°Souls?¡± ¡°They have a mouth on their abdomen. When a human passes through it, their body is fine, but they be a shell. Their soul is trapped inside, to be forever tormented by the Dusknoir. If hell had a definition, I believe that fate to be it.¡± Cynthia recalled the screams when Dusknoir opened its mouth. Thousands upon thousands of souls yelled, begging to be killed so their suffering could end. It was chilling to think about. ¡°So there is no information on the evolution?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. But the girl could also have befriended the Dusknoir itself after it evolved.¡± ¡°I doubt that.¡± ¡°Why, pray tell?¡± ¡°My gut.¡± Fantina paused before chuckling. ¡°Your gut, as you call it, is not often wrong, so I¡¯m inclined to believe you.¡± ¡°Could the evolution maybe be like other rare ghost types?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Tormenting someone for a certain amount of time, or taking a life in a certain way?¡± ¡°Well, that often is the case with ghosts. They are so beautiful, and yet so deadly.¡± The Champion nodded. ¡°Well, thank you anyway. Let me know if you find out anything.¡± ¡°Of course. I could try to contact Morty from Johto to see if he has any more information.¡± ¡°You do that,¡± Cynthia agreed. ¡°Goodbye.¡± The Champion hung up and stretched. ¡°So?¡± She asked kazam. ¡°Interested in this Dusknoir, still?¡± I thirst for knowledge. I know more than your little human brain could ever imagine, and yet this still eludes me. I am frustrated. ¡°Well, let¡¯s have you take out your frustration on someone, shall we? Meet me at the police station.¡± kazam nodded and disappeared, and Cynthia exited her hotel. It took an hour and a half for Vernon to gather a simple majority to pass this neww. He called it the ¡®National Security Emergency Act¡¯. She couldn¡¯t help but smile at Vernon¡¯s ruthlessness in the art of negotiations. An hour and a half to pass a once-in-a-generationw. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had used all of his political capital to ram the bill through. The other half of the Directorate was enraged at her and threatening to start a vote of no confidence to force Vernon to step down. The media and the public were even more so. They were calling it an encroachment on their liberty and freedom, and to be honest, they were right. Cynthia just couldn¡¯t be bothered to give a damn, she had a region to save. Interlude – Cynthia’s Burden (Part 2) Interlude ¨C Cynthia¡¯s Burden (Part 2) INTERLUDE - Cynthia¡¯s Burden (Part 2) Vernon had signed thew, and so it was time for interrogations. Two policemen were in the room with her, ready to take notes of everything the gctic grunts would say. ¡°Let¡¯s start this the easy way, shall we?¡± Cynthia said with a smile. kazam was right next to her, ready to use his abilities when needed. ¡°What is your goal?¡± ¡°Go die in a ditch,¡± The grunt said before spitting on her shoe. She smiled at him. ¡°kazam,¡± She said in an icy tone. kazam¡¯s eye shed, and his spoons bent unnaturally, and the grunt started to squirm, then scream. The policemen winced and turned away, but Cynthia kept looking. Right into his eyes. With a smile. The torture kept going for around two minutes until the grunt was left on the ground with a nosebleed, passed out, drooling all over himself. ¡°Verdict?¡± The Champion asked. He did not know much, but he knew the names of their leaders. Their organization is led by a man called Cyrus, but he doesn¡¯t know what he looks like. Under him, there are fourmanders. Saturn, Jupiter, Charon, and Mars. The reason he didn¡¯t talk was because he seems to fear Mars more than you. They weren¡¯t told what the goal of their operation today was. Cyrus, hm? Cynthia thought. That was a name those two trainers had told Roark. ¡°Of course, that would be too easy. What will happen to him?¡± He will never speak again, and his intelligence has been reduced to one of a five-year-old. ¡°Should have talked,¡± Cynthia said. They continued like this, going room by room. Floaroma¡¯s police station was never meant to hold so many criminals, so sometimes they had to be packed tightly into rooms. A few of them had tried attacking her, but kazam stopped them in their tracks using Psychic. Out of the thirty-four people they had captured, eleven were crippled beyond function by the memory extraction process, and two had died. All of the grunt¡¯s Pokemon would have to be sent to the League to be rehabilitated. They had all been rather new to the organization, so Cynthia had only learned what the leaders looked like except for Cyrus after kazam perfectly drew their faces on a piece of paper by levitating a pencil. She had also learned that Dusknoir had been lurking in the nt for a week before team Gctic had moved in, observing the schedules to know when would be the best time to strike. ¡°Thank you, kazam. You can go back to Lucian,¡± I hated every minute of it, He told her before teleporting. Cynthia walked out of the police station and ignored the reporters swarming her once again. Now that she was done with interrogations, it was time to go see some of the trainers that had been held in the nt. There were three in particr that she wanted to see, so she quickly made her way to the Pokemon Center with the two police officers that had interrogated the gctic grunts with her. She ignored the stares and immediately asked for Chase Karlson¡¯s room. The Champion knocked on his door. ¡°What¡¯s up? Who is it?¡± He said. Cynthia came into the room with the police. ¡°Chase Karlson, I presume? I have a few questions for you.¡± The young trainer¡¯s face was swollen and purple, but his eyes widened for a second before returning to a neutral expression. ¡°O¡ªoh, yeah, no problem. Ask away.¡± Cynthia smiled. ¡°I heard you took down a few of the team gctic grunts yourself. I am thankful, but you could have been hurt. Whatpelled you to go inside of the nt after you figured out something was wrong? Actually, how did you figure out something was wrong?¡± ¡°I was working out with my Pokemon next to the nt before my Riolu sensed that something was wrong using his aura. He usually knows better than I do, so I just immediately called the police.¡± ¡°And why did you go inside?¡± Cynthia asked again. ¡°To test myself,¡± He spat. ¡°And I failed. How mediocre.¡± ¡°You did more than most would have done, and for that, I wanted to thank you personally. Is there anything you heard that could help our investigation? Go over your experience inside of the nt, please.¡± Chase did, recalling every detail that happened while he was in the nt, which admittedly wasn¡¯t much since he got therete. Still, every piece of information would help solve the greater puzzle at y. ¡°Thank you very much, we¡¯ll be on our way now. I wish you a healthy recovery,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Wait,¡± Chase called out. ¡°I¡¯m going to beat you this year. Just wait and see,¡± He said with a confident grin. ¡°Hm? Interesting. And then what?¡± She asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll beat me, and then what? What will your goal be beyond that victory?¡± Chase stammered a few words, but Cynthia ignored him and left. It wasn¡¯t the first time she had met trainers like him, and it wouldn¡¯t be thest. The best she could do right now was help him think. Cynthia smiled as she knocked on Cecilia Obel¡¯s door. She was swarmed by what Cynthia assumed were her friends. She recognized all of them¡ª all heirs to rich businesses. ¡°Good evening. May I have a few minutes of your time, Ms. Obel? Alone?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Champion Cynthia! What an honor it is to finally meet you! My father has been trying to arrange a meeting between us,¡± The oldest of them said. Cynthia recognized him as Louis Bianchi. ¡°Louis¡­ not now,¡± Pauline King said quietly. Emilia Lussier sped her hands. ¡°Cece¡¯s in a really bad ce right now, so please be careful with her,¡± She said. ¡°Of course. You have my word.¡± Louis cleared his throat. ¡°Cece is shaken from what happened to her, I believe it may be best for us to stay to support her¡ª¡± ¡°Leave,¡± Cynthia ordered. They timidly nodded and exited the room. Cynthia sat next to Cecilia Obel, who straightened her back and fixed up her hair. ¡°None of that with me,¡± Cynthia said. She had lived long enough to spot a girl faking her way through life from a mile away. ¡°Be yourself.¡± ¡°C¡ªcan I? Be myself, I mean.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Cynthia said, before gesturing toward the two policemen, who then promptly left. This one was delicate and needed privacy. ¡°I see you¡¯re shaken by what happened today. Do you need to vent? I¡¯ll listen before asking you my questions.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re the Champion of the region, aren¡¯t you? How does it feel to be free?¡± ¡°Free? In what sense?¡± ¡°You can speak how you want, act how you want, go where you want! You can be free! There¡¯s no one breathing down your neck, judging every little move you make!¡± The child snarled. If only she knew how wrong she was, Cynthia thought. She would entertain her idea for now. ¡°Well, you could do all of this. Just cut the cord, leave your family¡ª I assume you¡¯re talking about your family here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Cecilia sobbed. ¡°You don¡¯t get it. No one gets it. You¡¯re all fake.¡± ¡°Well, exin it to me, then,¡± Cynthia tried. From that point on, she knew that her nned questions were a no-go. She had originally wanted to ask her to tell her dad not to pull back funding from Sinnoh, but Cynthia now knew that would be horribly out of line. She still wanted to help a girl in distress. ¡°My father called me earlier today. He told me, ¡®thank the Legendaries! You¡¯re alive!¡¯¡± She said, imitating him with a gruff voice. ¡°For a single second, I thought that he was actually worried about me. Can you believe that? For some reason, even though he has always treated me like a thing, I still unconsciously crave his approval. But all he actually cared about was me living until I¡¯m eighteen so this deal between the Bianchis and the Obels can go through. To be honest, I didn¡¯t even care about being taken hostage. I was happy! Happy! That if something happened to me, father¡¯s deal would go up in mes! It¡¯s like two parts of me are ying tug of war! I¡­ I can never be free.¡± Cynthia paused. ¡°That was¡­ that was a lot. There is no easy answer here.¡± ¡°I knew it. Just go¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take time and effort. Little by little, you¡¯ll have to free your mind from your father¡¯s clutches. But you¡¯ll also have to grow stronger. Strength is nice. It¡¯s humanity¡¯s simplest form ofmunication. ¡®I am stronger than you, and therefore I take what¡¯s mine.¡¯ Strengthen yourself enough until you don¡¯t have to take his orders.¡± ¡°I already considered that, but¡­ he¡¯ll just send people after me. Both him and the Bianchis.¡± ¡°Well, if they attack you, you can report them, but honestly, I doubt that will do any good. They can line the pockets of any policeman or judge out there.¡± Cecilia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? Surprised I can acknowledge Sinnoh¡¯s faults? I know it like the back of my hand. The region isn¡¯t perfect, but I¡¯ve worked on it for more than twenty years. Slowly. Methodically. But slow and methodical work takes time. Grow stronger and send your father¡¯s agents packing. That is all I can give you.¡± The girl clenched her fists around her bedsheets. ¡°Can I really?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know until you try. I¡¯ll be observing you, Cecilia Obel. Win the Circuit, win the conference, beat the elite four, and then let us have a grand battle at the end of the year,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°I personally challenge you. Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Cynthia left the girl in her hospital room, and all of her friends barged back in, trying to know what had been said. The Champion didn¡¯t really know what had pushed her to say this. It had just felt right. Obviously, even if Cecilia did make it to her, she would crush her. She didn¡¯t expect any first-year trainer to actually win against the elite four. That hadn¡¯t been done since¡­ well, since she herself did so. But sometimes, all someone needed to leave the dark ce they were in was a little push. Cynthia knocked on Grace Pastel¡¯s door. It took a few seconds for her to answer. ¡°Ce in,¡± She said. Cynthia came in with the two officers and was surprised to see Denzel Williams in the room too. That was perfect, though, since he had also been at Lake Verity that day. ¡°Grace Pastel, may I borrow a few minutes of your time?¡± Cynthia asked. The girl nodded. It didn¡¯t take an expert to see that her time at the power nt hadpletely shaken her. She was pale, constantly shivering, and her voice was barely a whisper. Cynthia wondered if she would even be able to ask her anything, but she also couldn¡¯t help but feel terrible for this trainer. Children were a weak spot of hers¡­ she had always wanted some, but there was never enough time. And no one could ever hold her attention for long anyway. ¡°Champion Cynthia,¡± Denzel said. ¡°In other circumstances, this would have been the most exciting day of my life, but I suppose it is nice to meet you. Need me to leave?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Grace panicked. ¡°Don¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°No one needs to leave. In fact, do you want these two officers here to leave?¡± Grace shook her head. ¡°No¡­ I know things. Things that will be useful for them.¡± ¡°Very well. Are you alright with recounting what happened to you at the power nt? I was told by a few hostages that you were taken to another room.¡± The young trainer took a deep breath. ¡°That girl¡­ she calls herself Mars. Do¡ª do you need me to describe her, or¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Just keep going,¡± Cynthia said softly. With much difficulty, Grace Pastel told her story. That she was cut with a knife and threatened by Mars, and that she witnessed the appearance of Dusknoir firsthand. She also had a few nuggets of new information, like the apparent rift between Mars and the othermander Charon, her infatuation with Cyrus, or that the red-haired woman could seeminglymand her Dusknoir without words. She would have to send that information to Fantinater. ¡°You¡¯re doing very well, Grace. This information could save a lot of people,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get back to the month of August. I was told by Roark that you saw this individual called Cyrus. Could you and Denzel describe him for me?¡± Grace nodded and told Cynthia about the blue-haired man with sunken eyes, sharp cheekbones, and no eyebrows. She couldn¡¯t remember the exact details, like height or eye color, but Denzel did, so he was a huge help. Cynthia was about to leave, but she could tell that the girl had something to ask of her. ¡°Do you need anything else?¡± The Champion asked. ¡°While I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°How can I be as strong and fearless as you?¡± Grace asked with a sob. ¡°I¡¯m useless. I freeze when I¡¯m scared and I couldn¡¯t even fight back. I can¡¯t do anything. I can¡¯t even sleep without getting terrible nightmares. I¡ªI feel like I¡¯m copsing.¡± ¡°You can never outgrow fear, Grace. You learn to deal with it. Think about it, after today, experiences that may have scared you before feel like a joke, don¡¯t they?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Continue your journey on the League Circuit, and grow alongside your Pokemon. Learn to rely on them and others¡ª they¡¯re smarter and more emotionally mature than you would think. Make connections and meet people. That¡¯s what it¡¯s all about, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I want to. I want to keep going, but Mars¡­ she said she would look for me. And if she finds me again, there¡¯s no telling what she¡¯ll do to me,¡± Grace cried. Cynthia¡¯s eyes widened slightly at that revtion. A thousand scenarios brewed in her brain about using Grace as bait before she slowed down and realized that was the pragmatic, and not the human thing to do. ¡°Grace, I promise you. I will scour all of Sinnoh to take down team Gctic if I have to. You won¡¯t have to deal with her. I will keep every trainer safe.¡± ¡°I wish I could help, but I¡¯m terrified. I¡¯m just a kid¡­ I just wanted to have fun on my journey and try to be the best, but I don¡¯t know if I have it in me,¡± She muttered. ¡°You¡¯re still standing, aren¡¯t you?¡± Cynthia said. Grace looked into her eyes for the first time. ¡°You¡¯re strong Grace, stronger than you give yourself credit for. There are others in much worse shape than you are, but you want to keep pushing. That¡¯s what differentiates great trainers from the rest. Even after all the madness, the danger, the death, you still want to do it.¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Then take as long as you want to pick yourself up. And then keep going,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°That¡¯s all the advice I can offer.¡± Cynthia got up. ¡°Oh, and Grace. I hope you won¡¯t mind, but I read your file. You have a Togetic, don¡¯t you?¡± The young trainer nodded. ¡°Sleep with it close to you. It¡¯ll do wonders for your nightmares. Just be careful not to get hooked on it, I rmend doing it for a month at most. I suppose it¡¯ll be very useful for Eterna Forest if that¡¯s where you¡¯re going next. Good night.¡± ¡ª¡ª Cynthia finally made it back to her hotel. Thankfully that had been thest time she would be going out tonight, so she made her way to the bathroom and washed off her makeup, revealing deep bags under her eyes, and the stress lines on her face. Age was getting to her fast, but what could she do but pretend to be perfect for the public? She was only human, but the people didn¡¯t see it that way. To them, she was their Champion. A woman without ws. And she would keep acting that way. She touched her face, realizing that she was still smiling. ¡°You¡¯re alone, you don¡¯t have to smile,¡± She told herself. The woman sighed as she sat on her desk. It was time to call the kids. Cynthia opened herptop and began adding all of the young gym leaders to her call. This team Gctic was bigger than she could have ever imagined. They wanted to mess with reality, but what were the implications? Cynthia felt a sh of fear, remembering stories about team Magma and Aqua. The information wasn¡¯t known to the public¡ª gym leaders included, who only knew of organizations with lesser goals, such as team Rocket, but Magma and Aqua had almost ended the world in a fit of folly, and right now, it looked like team Gctic was on the same path. And so, it was time to bring the kids up to speed. They all politely greeted her, except Candice, who wasgging horribly. Roark was sitting in front of the camera, waiting for her to speak. Maylene was hitting a punching bag in the background, but Cynthia assumed that she could hear her. Gardenia was singing as she spun around in her chair, and Volkner was barely awake. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ve all heard about what happened today?¡± She started. Pandemonium erupted in the call, each gym leader trying to get their word in. ¡°Quiet down! I¡¯ve had a long day, so please. One at a time.¡± They all quieted down, probably taken aback by the amount of weakness Cynthia inflected in her tone. ¡°Roark, you first.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you kept your promise and dealt with the threat at hand, Cynthia. Please tell me if there¡¯s anything I can do?¡± ¡°Keep a teleporter in your gym at all times in case you need to be called up¡ª that goes for all of you. Your League-mandated Kadabra don¡¯t know the move yet, so call Lucian and get them reced,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Sounds good. Also, I want to know anything we have about them. Their goals, the number of people they have, and their leaders, if possible.¡± Cynthia exined everything she had found out today. ¡°Damn, what a drag,¡± Volkner said. ¡°I thought my tenure as gym leader would be chill, man¡­ turns out I have to deal with terrorists.¡± ¡°Anything productive to add, Volkner?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°I can send a few of my people to rece the employees at Valley Windworks,¡± He said with a sigh. ¡°They¡¯re well versed in anything electrical, and I assume you don¡¯t want an energy crisis in yourundry list of fucked up shit to deal with.¡± ¡°Thank you, that¡¯ll be a big help,¡± She said. ¡°If they want to screw with reality, then there¡¯s no telling how many people they could end up killing. We need to be on top of this, now,¡± Roark said. ¡°Your neww today was a great step.¡± ¡°Really, Roark? Really? You want to torture people and turn them into vegetables?!¡± Maylene yelled. ¡°Maylene, they¡¯re criminals¡ª¡± Roark protested. She cut him off. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but criminals have rights to a defense and a trial! And they got none of that!¡± She interrupted him, still kicking and punching the punching bag. ¡°It had to be done, Maylene. Don¡¯t let your sense of justice get in the way,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°The only reason I joined this call was to know if you had really caused thew to pass,¡± She said. ¡°And now I know you did. I lost a lot of respect for you today, Cynthia.¡± Cynthia sighed. Maylene was the youngest gym leader, and more hot-headed than even Roark. She often let her ideals get in the way of efficiency, something Cynthia hoped she would learn to deal with as she aged. ¡°Calm down, Maymay. Screaming isn¡¯t helping,¡± Gardenia said with her usual angelic voice. ¡°Look at it from¡ª¡± ¡°From her perspective, I know! I¡¯m just pissed off because if we keep going down this path, we¡¯ll end up being just as bad as the bad guys!¡± Maylene had a lot of respect for Gardenia, and they were very close. In fact, Cynthia was sure the two girls were practically sisters. ¡°That judgment is wed, Maylene,¡± Roark said. ¡°We¡¯re doing this to help people. If they don¡¯t want their memories extracted, then they can just talk.¡± ¡°And what if they lie? How can you be sure? Wouldn¡¯t you just have kazam do it anyways to be sure?¡± ¡°kazam can tell when people are lying,¡± Volkner said tiredly. ¡°Your point is null.¡± ¡°Shut up, youzy bum! you never visit me, but you keep being annoying! I hate you!¡± Maylene screamed. ¡°I have a city to run,¡± Volkner said. ¡°You barely do any of the work, you just battle people over and over.¡± ¡°I want to help out more, but they keep saying I¡¯m too young!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stay on topic,¡± Cynthia said. Dealing with all of these children at once was pure hell, even if she liked them. ¡°Gardenia, anything else you want to say?¡± ¡°You know me, Cynth. I¡¯m a pencil pusher, you tell me what to do, and I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ah, Gardenia. Always the reasonable one. ¡°Good. And¡­ uh, Candice?¡± ¡°Yeah¡ª Trying¡ª Fuck!¡± ¡°I thought we sent someone up to Snowpoint to fix the inte. What happened?¡± Cynthia heard Candice hit herputer. ¡°Oh, wait! I¡¯m getting four bars! I¡¯m here! Can you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Cynthia said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Hurry up before you lose connection again.¡± ¡°Okay, so I had this really wild idea. What if the next time team Gctic showed themselves, we have kazam ready, and boom! He just scours one of their leader¡¯s memory right then and there while we protect him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯ve been trying to say this entire time? That was a given,¡± Volkner yawned. ¡°It¡¯s a smart idea. You¡¯re just jealous ¡®cause you don¡¯t have my intellect.¡± ¡°Candice, that was already in the cards. The problem is that if they have a Dusknoir and a Hypno that is capable of teleporting, there is no guarantee that thebined strength of Jupiter, Mars, Charon, Saturn, and Cyrus won¡¯t overpower you¡ª older gym leaders and elite four included. As of now, I¡¯d call theirmander a threat to all of you¡ª especially Mars. If you find them, do not engage and call me. I sent you all kazam¡¯s portraits.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Candice smiled. ¡°All of this fuss is unwarranted. As soon as you find their HQ, they¡¯ll be dealt with,¡± Maylene said. Cynthia shook her head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure, Maylene.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re¡­ you,¡± Maylene said, having stopped her workout. ¡°If you can¡¯t deal with them, no one can.¡± Cynthia could sense fear in her voice and in the gazes of all the others. It seemed that they were finally realizing the true threat that team Gctic posed. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I can¡¯t, I¡¯m saying that nothing is set in stone and that these people are an actual danger, and will be for the foreseeable future. I¡¯m going to go to sleep. Stay alert, and do not under any circumstances speak to the media. We can¡¯t let anything else slip to the public, or there¡¯ll be a panic. Am I clear?¡± They all acquiesced. Cynthia was satisfied as she hung up. The Champion was nice, but strict. She needed to whip all of the kids into shape really quickly, or there was no telling what would happen. She released her Togekiss, who chirped happily and snuggled next to her. It was a tight fit on the bed, but it would have to do. She couldn¡¯t escape the nightmares without his help. Thepanions she had seen die, the people she had killed, her failures, her duties, they all came back to haunt her. Sleep was impossible without her Togekiss, and she hoped that Grace Pastel would not fall into the same trap. Smile Cynthia, She thought. Everything is fine. Don¡¯t let them see your weakness. Cynthia Collins was Sinnoh¡¯s Champion, but she was human too. She carried the entire region atop her shoulders, and her throne sat on a pile of lies. Chapter 33 Chapter 33 CHAPTER 33 I sunk deeper into the soft couch and felt my body melt into the fluffy fabric. I stared at the piano in one of the corners of the room and raised an eyebrow. I really wanted to y a little before I left, but time always went by too fast. I had always wanted to try ying the instrument. I returned my attention to Nurse Joy, who sat with her legs crossed on a chair across from me. ¡°And these nightmares, you say they¡¯ve finally disappeared?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve finally been getting full nights of sleep, and it¡¯s making a world¡¯s difference on my state of mind. I feel like the world is a little bit brighter,¡± I told her. ¡°But you still haven¡¯t tried without your Togetic, have you? Have you considered doing so?¡± I exhaled. ¡°Right now, I just want to do what works. I think I¡¯ll be using Togetic for a while¡­ I¡¯ve gotten advice from someone.¡± ¡°If you trust them, I suppose that¡¯s enough. I still rmend weaning off that way of sleeping. Now, since this is yourst day, let¡¯s move on to your worries about Mars.¡± I felt my heartbeat quicken, and the wound on my face re up. I couldn¡¯t help but imagine Mars pressing her knife against my cheek, moving my face around like I wasn¡¯t evenhuman. Like I was athingfor her to y with. ¡°I can¡¯t help but be terrified,¡± I said as I exhaled. ¡°But someone helped me find my resolve. Someone I look up to, so I¡¯m not going to hole up and hide forever.¡± ¡°The same person that told you to sleep with your Togetic, I presume," She said perceptively, "I trust that the League will take care of her and the rest of her ilk before you have to see her again,¡± Nurse Joy said. ¡°It¡¯s good to be vignt. I don¡¯t want to be caught off-guard ever again.¡± I waited for Nurse Joy to respond, but an rm rang on her phone. ¡°Oh my, has it been one hour already? What a shame. These seven sessions between us have been very productive, Grace. I rmend booking more whenever you get to Eterna city.¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t beyou,¡± Imented. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can talk to someone else and pretend she¡¯s you, Amanda.¡± Nurse Joy shook her head and smiled. ¡°When I¡¯m on the clock, I¡¯m Nurse Joy, not Amanda. And don''t worry, we can always arrange meetings via video chats, although I would say face-to-face meetings are more effective. Youcouldalways stay longer as I asked you to, many times.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stay here forever. I have to get stronger. I have a friend waiting on me, and being here forces me to think about the incident,¡± I said. ¡°I have to leave.¡± Nurse Joy stood up. ¡°If that¡¯s what you think is right, I can¡¯t stop you. Stay safe in Eterna forest, Grace. Keep your wits about you.¡± ¡°I will. Thank you for everything, I''ll call when I get to Eterna city,¡± I told her as I left. It had been a week and a half since the attack on Valley Windworks, and I was slowly getting back on my feet. Honestly, it felt like what had transpired didn¡¯t even happen to me. It was like a dream, where I had been observing myself act until Cynthia came and spoke to me. Her words shook me¡ª and they still did. I walked into the Pokemon Center¡¯s lobby and hugged Denzel. ¡°Congrats. You did it,¡± He said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s over,¡± I told him. ¡°It seemed like an unsurmountable climb before, and now I¡¯m done. It¡¯s a little scary.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ll manage. You¡¯re strong.¡± Denzel and I had grown much closer after the Gctic incident. I considered him to be my best friend now, or maybe a brother? It was hard to put a term on it. He had always been there for me, visiting every day and trying to keep my mind focused on positive things, or making meugh. I honestly didn¡¯t think I could have made it without him. ¡°Ready for tomorrow?¡± He asked me as he let go. ¡°Yup. Just gotta buy a ton of antidotes and potions, right?¡± I asked him. Denzel grinned. ¡°Already did, they¡¯re all in my bag.¡± ¡°Seriously? Man, you¡¯re thebest.¡± ¡°Duh. Although Ihopeit¡¯s enough, I spent almost all of our money on that and a few Pokeballs.¡± We made our way to my room, and I copsed on my bed, while Denzel sat on its edge and released Eevee. The furry Pokemon barked happily and licked both of our faces before settling on my belly. He had been battered by that battle with Gible, and he had been seriously depressed about it for a while until Denzel finally convinced him that he had fought well. He was also now back at full strength and ready to go. We rxed for a few hours¡ª Denzel browsed the forums while I watched whatever was on television. We had learned to enjoy each other¡¯spany in silence too, and neither of us felt forced to try springing up a conversation when it wasn¡¯t necessary. I felt my Poketch vibrate in my pocket. Probably dad or mom again,I thought. Dad had called me multiple times every day since the kidnappings, and I had barely managed to convince him not to drop anything and book a flight to Floaroma. He had been worried sick about me the entire time, and he felt partly responsible for what happened to me because he was the one that pushed me into this journey. No matter what I told him, he still felt guilty, and it ate me up that he felt that way. Mom had called too, and surprisingly just as many times as dad. They had also been a part of my recovery, and I had never felt more grateful for my parents. I grabbed my Poketch and felt a surge of panic when I saw the name. It was a message from Cecilia Obel. ¡°How in the world did she get my number?¡± I muttered. ¡°Who?¡± Denzel asked before pping his forehead. ¡°Wait, are you talking about the Obel girl? That was me.¡± ¡°What?¡±I demanded. ¡°She confronted me outside of the Center yesterday and asked for your number. Strangely enough, she was alone, and she was nice this time, so I gave it to her. Should I not have? I figured it¡¯d be nice for you to connect with someone who went through the same thing as you did.¡± I sighed. I hadn¡¯t seen Cecilia since the attack at the nt, and I honestly thought I wouldn¡¯t again. Hell, I kind of thought she had left Floaroma already, and for some reason, I felt sad about that. ¡°It¡¯s alright, thanks,¡± I said as I opened my Poketch. Cecilia O. This is Grace Pastel, correct? ¡°She¡¯s asking if it¡¯s me,¡± I told Denzel with a smile. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even trust you enough to be sure you gave her the right number.¡± Denzel raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you kidding me? I have that shit memorized.¡± You It¡¯s me. What is it? Cecilia O. Meet me inside of room 17 right now. You Why? Do you need something? Cecilia O. I need to talk to you. You Are your friends going to be there? Because they¡¯re pricks. Cecilia O. No, it¡¯s just me for now. They are busy, soe quickly before theye back. ¡°She wants me to meet her in her room,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°In her room? Are they all about to jump you, or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± I said as I gently pushed Eevee off of me. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°See youter,¡± I said, leaving my room. ¡°Bye, Eevee.¡± ¡°Vee!¡± I made my way to the first floor and knocked gently on room 17¡¯s door. I was a little bit nervous, which surprised me. I hoped I didn¡¯t look silly. I ced my hand on my chest and took a deep breath as Cecilia told me toe in. She was ever so graceful, sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. I stood still for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to say. ¡°Come sit. I have a proposition for you,¡± Cecilia said, patting a spot next to her on the bed. ¡°Good morning¡­ wait, it¡¯s the afternoon now,¡± I awkwardly said as I sat. ¡°What do you want to ask me that you couldn¡¯t ask over text?¡± ¡°I want to form an alliance between our two groups to travel through Eterna forest,¡± The girl said, going straight to the point. ¡°W¡ªwhat? That honestly sounds like aterribleidea to me. We basically hate each other. Your friend¡ª whatsherface¡­¡± I trailed off before remembering her name. ¡°Pauline! She threatened to make my life, and I quote, ¡®a living hell¡¯. This isnothappening,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry for that outburst.¡± ¡°Pauline said that?¡± She blinked. ¡°How unlike her.¡± I scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t think you know her very well. She literally wanted to see you bully me when you dragged me off to the bathroom¡ª¡± I started before terrible memories came shing back. I took a few seconds to calm myself and swallowed. ¡°Anyways, she isn¡¯t the only problem. They¡¯re all assholes.¡± ¡°Is this about your¡­panion? I know Louis is not fond of him, but we can mend those bridges.¡± ¡°Louis is the biggest ass of them all. Sorry, I know he¡¯s your boyfriend. What¡¯s the deal, anyway? You guys have two dragon types and a bunch of other powerful Pokemon, it¡¯s not like you can¡¯t get through it together.¡± Cecilia breathed in deeply. ¡°The truth is, they¡¯re scared.¡± ¡°Scared of the forest?¡± I asked, doubting her words. Cecilia adjusted her sitting position. ¡°Yes. They are terrified. Everything so far has been easy, and we stayed on the routes, but Eterna forest is when the real challenge begins. The n was to leave two days ago, but they keep putting it off. You especially impressed them during our battle, so I believe that if webine our forces, they¡¯ll be willing to take the plunge.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call Denzel here? We travel together, I can¡¯t make a decision on my own,¡± I said. ¡°But if you had to choose right now, what would you do?¡± Cecilia said, staring right into my eyes. I felt a surge of shyness and averted my gaze. I bit the inside of my lip, thinking about what to do. The truth was that I had also been worried about Eterna forest, it was just I had been entirely focused on getting back on my feet. What were the pros on cons here? Okay, a big group meant higher chances of survival because of the amount of Pokemon everyone brought to the table, and we¡¯d be able to watch each other''s backs. But then again, if a big group was dysfunctional, it could be deadlier than traveling alone. But maybe¡­ ¡°I would ept under a few conditions. One, I want you to show Denzel and I how you train.Youspecifically, because I know you¡¯re the best trainer in your clique. Second, I want ess to your resources. All that money you¡¯ll use to buy the best potions, antidotes, and everything else? I want your group to lend those to us if we need them, we barely have enough for both of our teams as it is. Third, I want your pals on their best behavior, and I want that Pauline girl to apologize to me,¡± I said. ¡°And I want your boyfriend to apologize to Denzel.¡± I had blurted out that third part without thinking, but Pauline had really hit a nerve after our battle, even though I didn¡¯t exactly show it. At the time, I had simply taken her threat to heart and figured it would be best to keep my head down in case she sicked her family on me. But if I was to travel with her? I needed this. ¡°That is¡­ a tough sell, but I believe I could make that work. Now, can you convince Denzel?¡± ¡°Probably. He likes me too much to say no,¡± I smiled. ¡°And if you fulfill all of my conditions, it probably won¡¯t take too much convincing.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Cecilia smiled. ¡°Now I can finally make some damned progress.¡± I was surprised at the way she spoke. During all of this conversation, Cecilia had spoken in a prim and proper way, but she was apparently letting her mask slip again. ¡°So you aren¡¯t scared?¡± ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m eager to get going. Someone recently lit my passion for Pokemon battling aze, and I want to get stronger as fast as possible.¡± ¡°Wait, so you weren¡¯t passionatebefore?¡± I asked. ¡°And you were still so good¡­ man.¡± ¡°I enjoyed it, but I didn¡¯tloveit,¡± Cecilia said as she brushed her hair behind her ear. ¡°I have a promise to fulfill now, and I n to make good on it.¡± ¡°Who was it then?¡± I asked curiously. I wanted to know who had ignited Cecilia¡¯s passion for battling, potentially unleashing a monster. ¡°It¡¯s a secret,¡± She said with a smallugh. ¡°Now, on you go. My group will being back soon, and it would be easier to exin if you weren¡¯t in the room.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± I said. ¡°See youter?¡± ¡°See youter.¡± I felt a grin creep up on my face as I left Cecilia¡¯s room, feeling butterflies in my stomach.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 34 Chapter 34 CHAPTER 34 ¡°Hell no!¡± Denzel yelled, looking at me like I had just murdered someone in front of him. ¡°There is no fucking way!¡± ¡°What? Come on!¡± I pleaded. ¡°Are you kidding me? Traveling with those arrogant assholes in the middle of a deadly forest? No!¡± ¡°But wait, you haven¡¯t even listened to the conditions I added yet¡ª¡± ¡°Grace, I would honestly rather die than spend a minute that Louis Bianchi. Did you not hear the way he spoke before and after our battle? If I hadn¡¯t been so worried about Eevee, I would have made a scene.¡± ¡°I know, but Cecilia said she could get them to behave normally. And apparently, they¡¯re impressed with us,¡± I said. ¡°Impressed?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I added. ¡°Apparently, they liked the way we battle.¡± ¡°They have a really funny way of showing that, then,¡± Denzel said as he stopped pacing around the room. ¡°Think about it. We get to train with Cecilia! By the time we¡¯re out of Eterna, we might be close to her level.¡± My friend paused. ¡°We get to train with her?¡± ¡°Yes! And just her, not her friends. Doesn¡¯t that sound awesome?!¡± Denzel avoided my eyes. ¡°That does sound good, but¡ª¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t even heard the best part yet. Doesn¡¯t forcing the Louis Bianchi to apologize to you with his head hung low sound like the sweetest revenge?¡± I grinned. I saw a glint in Denzel¡¯s eyes. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m in.¡± ¡°What? But I haven¡¯t even told you about the potions and the antidotes yet.¡± ¡°Wait, we¡¯re getting their stuff too? That¡¯s icing on the cake! You¡¯re like a master negotiator. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d think Cecilia¡¯s taken a liking to you.¡± My heart practically jumped out of my throat. ¡°M¡ªme? Shut up, you idiot! You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Ouch. I didn¡¯t even say anything.¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever. I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡± I opened the bathroom door and sat down on the toilet before sending Cecilia a text telling her that I had convinced Denzel. I made sure to add that the apologies were crucial and that we were eagerly expecting them. After calming myself down, I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned. ¡°Ugh, is that a new pimple? Crap.¡± I froze as my hand hovered over the door handle. I grabbed my wrist and shook it, forcing myself to push forward. Every time I stepped out of a bathroom now, I couldn¡¯t stop my thoughts from racing. I couldn¡¯t help but expect something terrible to happen to me on the other side of that door. Luckily, I was slowly getting better. When I walked out, I noticed Denzel quickly changing the channel from the news back to some random cartoon. I was thankful to him for trying to keep anything regarding team Gctic out of my reach, but it was obvious he wanted more information. ¡°I¡¯m going to go out for a bit,¡± I told him. ¡°Training Elekid and stuff.¡± ¡°Oh, alright. Remember, I¡¯m one phone call away if anything goes wrong.¡± I smiled. ¡°Thanks.¡± I walked out of the Center and made my way to the spot where I had first trained Elekid. Another way I had found to keep myself distracted was to focus entirely on training. And I would need it, especially with danger ramping up so quickly in the region. I was still scared, but Cynthia¡¯s words made me want to be able to fight back. If team Gctic ever came back, I at least wanted to take down a few grunts. Hell, Chase Karlson had dove into danger to do so. I wonder what he¡¯s doing now? I thought. Well apparently, I was a psychic, because Chase Karlson was currently in the distance doing sit-ups along with his Riolu. Meanwhile, Houndour was practicing using a move that looked like Fire Fang, and his Grubbin had apparently evolved into a Charjabug, who was scuttling on the ground surrounded by electricity. It looked like a tough training session, and even though I wanted to thank him for trying to break us out, I also didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near the aggressive trainer, but I felt obligated to at least thank him. I called out as I slowly jogged toward him. ¡°Hey! Chase!¡± I said. ¡°What?¡± He grunted. He nced at me for a second before resuming his sit-ups. ¡°You¡¯re that girl from the power nt. I argued with you in Oreburgh, right?¡± He asked. I was surprised he could speak so easily while working out. ¡°Yeah. I just wanted to thank you for busting into the nt¡ª¡± ¡°Thank me? I failed. I lost, and I got captured, why would you thank me?¡± He said. I could feel anger rise within him as his tone got more aggressive. His Riolu stopped his exercise and barked at him. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± He said, more subdued than I had ever heard him.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t let me finish, but yeah, I was about to get¡­¡± I swallowed. ¡°Tortured. I know you didn¡¯t do it for me, but I still feel like I owe you.¡± ¡°Whatever, I guess.¡± ¡°Sorry for bothering you. Take care.¡± All in all that could have gone worse. I made my way to the meadow, then released my entire team, who greeted me in their respective way. Togetic floated up to me and nuzzled against my neck. Frillish bobbed his head toward me, and Elekid screamed as he flexed and spun his arms around. I had gotten him back at the start of the week after confirming that he was mine. To do this, the League made sure that the Pokemon knew you, but apparently, every Pokeball had a serial number that the League, stores, and manufacturers could use to keep track of them. I guessed this was why Pokemon trading always had to be tracked. Some trainers even kept stickers on their Pokeballs to differentiate them. Either way, this system made sure that there were very little errors whenever an ident happened where Pokeballs were lost or mixed up. I grinned and pped my hands together. ¡°Alright, everybody! Time for more training! Togetic, I want you to keep working on Extrasensory. You used the move well during the tournament, but I want you to start being able to lift Pokemon soon, so wild Pokemon aren¡¯t off limits..¡± ¡°Prrrri!¡± Togetic chirped happily. ¡°Frillish, I want you to work on Hex if you find any wild Pokemon out here, but remember, no killing. If you can¡¯t find any, then keep working on Poison Sting like yesterday. It¡¯ll be a great surprise against the grass types of Eterna forest, or even Gardenia if I¡¯m forced to use you. Plus, if we poison one of her Pokemon, Hex will deal double the damage. Keep Togetic close to you and take care of her, alright buddy? Meet me back here in two hours.¡± ¡°Lish,¡± He murmured as hezily floated away with Togetic. She squealed happily and affectionately butted her head against him. I crouched and looked at Elekid. ¡°And you¡¯re with me, as usual. Let¡¯s keep working on your endurance.¡± Normally, I would never have trained on wild Pokemon that didn¡¯t attack me first, but after what happened to me, something clicked in my mind. I needed to get stronger faster to protect myself and my team if team Gctic was ever going toe knocking. I couldn¡¯t afford to pull any punches and hold back my team¡¯s progress. It hurt to think that Frillish or Togetic could potentially get a wild Pokemon killed by injuring them, but I couldn¡¯t afford to feel bad. I watched with my arms crossed as Elekid kept his Thundershock going for eighteen seconds. ¡°Kid!¡± He screamed, clearly frustrated. I could tell he desperately wanted to catch up to the others. ¡°You¡¯re doing great, hon,¡± Iforted him. ¡°That¡¯s a great amount of progress in less than two weeks.¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use you in a real battle soon. Here, why don¡¯t we look for a wild Pokemon together.¡± Elekid flexed his arms, agreeing with me. There weren¡¯t that many wild Pokemon this far into the meadow, but we still managed to find a Buizel skulking around. It had probablye here from the river on nearby route 205. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I whispered to Elekid. He nodded. ¡°Hit it with Thundershock, you¡¯ve got the element of surprise.¡± Elekid made a noise akin to a scoff before loudly announcing himself to the Buizel. He spun his arms and grinned menacingly. ¡°Or not. You want to fight fair and square, hm?¡± ¡°Kid!¡± Buizel squared itself up and let out a warning cry as its tails spun menacingly, but Elekid wasn¡¯t intimidated. He charged at the water type, who let out a high-pressure jet of water. Staying at a safe distance, I smiled as Elekid weaved to the right. He was quickly bing my fastest Pokemon. ¡°Hit it with Thunder Punch!¡± I ordered. Elekid spun both of his arms and gathered electricity into his fists before hitting Buizel with a quick session of punches. The water type cried out in pain before trying to ram Elekid with its tails, but I could tell it was already almost out for the count. Elekid didn¡¯t even need my help. He held the Buizel and channeled a Thundershock directly into the wild Pokemon, who promptly fell to the ground as smoke emanated from its body. Elekid celebrated with a triumphant yell before making his way back toward me. ¡°You did great, but we did have the type advantage. Still, it looks like your electric type attacks are bing really powerful.¡± I continued watching as Elekid trained. I had gotten him back one day after the attack, and I had used the opportunity to exin everything to my team. Frillish still hadn¡¯t recovered. I could tell that he felt like he failed me, no matter how many times I told him it wasn¡¯t his fault. Togetic had cried and had fully embraced her role as my sleep aid, which I was grateful for. Elekid also felt down, but his reaction was a little bit more peculiar. He stopped wanting to go to the Power nt altogether. Come to think of it, why had Elekid wanted to go to the Power nt? It surely wasn¡¯t for energy, or he would have kept pestering me about it even now. Had he known something? Something about what would happen? No, that would be impossible. But what if? I called him over, and he panted as he trudged toward me. ¡°Good job,¡± I started. ¡°You deserve a little break. I have a question to ask you.¡± ¡°Kid?¡± He said in a curious tone. ¡°Do you remember how you wanted to bring me to the Power ntst week? And how just two dayster, team Gctic attacked it? Did you know something?¡± Elekid fidgeted around nervously, a far cry from his usual boisterous behavior. ¡°I¡¯m not mad,¡± I smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s try going by process of elimination. Did you know team Gctic would attack soon?¡± He shook his head. I frowned. ¡°Did you know something bad would happen soon?¡± ¡°Kid! Kid!¡± He nodded. My eyes widened. ¡°How? What gave it away?¡± I asked. Obviously, though, he struggled to exin. It was at times like these when I wish I could understand what my Pokemon said. I tried finding out what he knew for a few more minutes, but it was to no avail, so I sent him back to train. I needed to figure this out at some point, but right now, it was like I was speaking to a brick wall. Before finishing our training, I went on a run and practiced doing push-ups on the ground. I only managed to do six before I fell t. Seeing Chase Karlson work out like that had kind of inspired me, but I was nowhere near his level yet. At the end of our training session, Togetic came back carrying an unconscious Pachirisu with Extrasensory, closely shadowed by Frilish. I looked at the small electric type guiltily for a few seconds, before turning toward Togetic with a smile. She always liked to bring things she lifted with Extrasensory back to me as a ¡®reward¡¯. ¡°You did great, Princess. You didn¡¯t have to bring it back to me, though.¡± ¡°Toge!¡± ¡°Well, you do you. Frillish, what¡¯s the progress on Hex?¡± The ghost type eyed the Pachirisu for a few seconds, and then looked back at me. It took me a few moments to realize he was asking for permission to use the move. I took a deep breath. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Frillish¡¯s eye brightened as smoke began emanating from the Pachirisu¡¯s body. Even while unconscious, the small Pokemon began to convulse violently. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± I said. ¡°Good job, you two. You brought down an electric type together despite the type disadvantage.¡± Frillish nodded. I quickly grabbed a potion and used it on the little electric type. It was still unconscious, but at least it would wake up with no wounds. Plus, I was going to get ess to a lot of them soon thanks to traveling with Cecilia¡¯s group, so I felt like I could use them more freely. ¡°Come to think of it, I have to tell you guys about our temporary new travelpanions¡­¡± I exined everything to my team. Frillish scowled and turned away from me, and Elekid crashed his fists together, creating a spark. ¡°You guys are even worse than Denzel,¡± I sighed. ¡°At least you¡¯re fine with it, princess,¡± I said as I gently scratched her back. ¡°Togetic! Prrrri!¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s get back then.¡± When I came back to my room, Denzel was gone. He had sent me a message telling me that he was off to spend some time with his team, but to call him if I needed him. I spent the rest of the dayzing around with my Pokemon. Elekid was slowly making Frillish warm up to him, even though he kept throwing water at him whenever he got too annoying. Whereas Frillish probably thought of Togetic as a little sister he needed to protect¡ª which even though I never said anything about, I found very cute¡ª he probably viewed Elekid as an annoying brat that was loud all the time. Ghost type Pokemon were immortal, so he was probably a jaded old man anyway. If I had to ce Elekid¡¯s age¡­ I¡¯d probably say he was still a kid, no pun intended. When it was time to go to sleep, Frillish floated protectively above my bed, since he didn¡¯t need to sleep. Elekid slept by leaning against a wall with his arms crossed¡ª the little bugger spoke and yelled in his sleep, by the way¡ª and Togetic snuggled under the covers with me. I felt happiness swell inside of me as I rxed, slowly drifting off to sleep. I would have gotten my eight hours, but I was woken up by a text from Cecilia at 5:33 am. Cecilia O. The deal went through. We will travel together in two days until we reach Eterna city. I am honoring my side of the bargain right away, meet me in the Pokemon Center lobby with your friend to start our training. I fell out of my bed.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse, Hex, Poison Sting Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 35 Chapter 35 CHAPTER 35 It had taken almost ten minutes to wake Denzel up from his slumber. The man hated waking up early, and he kept asking me for ¡®five more minutes¡¯. We quickly made our way to the Pokemon Center¡¯s lobby with our Pokeballs. I was shaking in anticipation. What secrets to Pokemon training did Cecilia hold? I was excited to find out. I wasn¡¯t used to seeing the lobby so empty. It was usually crammed with trainers at all times of the day, but so early in the morning, there were only a few people here. Cecilia was leaning against a wall with a hoodie and jogging pants. I frowned and then realized that Denzel was wearing warm clothing too. Meanwhile, I just had a t-shirt on and some jeans that I had hurriedly thrown on. ¡°Good morning,¡± Cecilia told us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we¡¯re doing this so early, but my team needs to wake up at six every day.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just excited to see what you have in store for us.¡± ¡°Mornin¡¯¡± Denzel yawned. ¡°Sorry about him, he¡¯s not a morning person,¡± I said. Cecilia nodded, and we made our way to the outskirts of the city. I hugged myself as I felt a cold gust of wind. It was still dark out, and the temperature had droppedfast. It was still October, for Arceus¡¯ sake! Not wanting to waste time, I decided to tough the cold out and kept going, following closely behind Cecilia¡ª but not too close. When we reached our destination, Cecilia opened her Poketch. ¡°Five-fifty-five,¡± She muttered. ¡°My team can wait. Let¡¯s start with the basics. Obviously, you two have won a badge, so I¡¯ll assume you at least know a little bit about what you¡¯re doing, but I still need to make sure. Exin to me how you train your teams.¡± Denzel and I looked at each other, wondering who should start. I nodded in his direction, telling him to go ahead. ¡°Well, I¡ª¡± He was interrupted by his yawn. ¡°I usually just have Eevee train his body and do his moves over and over so he can improve. The other members of my team¡­ aren¡¯t that usable at the moment.¡± ¡°And Grace?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°I do the same with my team, but I sometimes send them off to do their own thing to build up their teamwork. I¡¯ve also started seeking out wild Pokemon to practice on recently.¡± ¡°You did?¡± Denzel asked in a surprised tone. ¡°Yup. Figured I needed to get past that block if I wanted to get stronger.¡± Cecilia crossed her arms. ¡°Hm, thatisan effective method, but it is as I feared. You¡¯re doing the basic minimum.¡± My shoulders slumped at the unexpected criticism. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Well, what you¡¯re doing now is working because you¡¯re still early in the Circuit. It¡¯s worked for you so far, but your Pokemonck one distinctive thing,¡± She said, lifting up a finger. ¡°And that is battling experience.¡± ¡°What? We¡¯ve battled plenty!¡± Denzel protested. ¡°Not enough. Pokemon thrive in battle, and the more fights they are in, the faster they¡¯ll improve. But that¡¯s not all. What about diet? Supplements? Bodily care? A regr schedule? All of these little things add up, but theydomatter.¡± She said, looking at us. ¡°I can see the look on your faces. I realize you are¡­ less fortunate than I am, so let¡¯s just stick to what you can do for now.¡± Cecilia looked at the time before releasing her Slowpoke, Deino, and Fletchling. I gasped when I saw Slowpoke¡¯s tail. A huge chunk of it was just missing. ¡°What the hell happened to your Slowpoke?¡± I asked worriedly. ¡°Deino bit it off during one of his fits,¡± Cecilia said, waving her hand nonchntly. ¡°It¡¯s been slowly regrowing, and he felt no pain, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± I muttered. Deino released a fierce roar. It was my first time seeing the dragon up close, and I instinctively backed up. Slowpoke stared off into the distance, and Fletchling perched on top of Cecilia¡¯s shoulders. The girl clicked her tongue at the Deino, whose head angrily whirled toward her. He screamed at her, sending drool all over her pants. ¡°Ugh¡­ bad Deino! Bad!¡± She said, clicking her tongue and snapping her fingers multiple times. Deino finally relented and became quiet. ¡°Good. Now, he¡¯s not used to you yet, so don¡¯t get too close. He bites.¡± ¡°I figured,¡± Denzel nervously said, eyeing the Slowpoke¡¯s missing tail. ¡°Now, trainers at lower levels can make do with battling whoever they find out in the wild, or in cities, but people like us? We crush anyone that we challenge, except once in a while. What I meant by battling experience was battles that actuallychallengeyour Pokemon. When was thest time that happened aside from the tournament?¡± She asked. My heart fluttered at the idea that she considered me a good trainer. ¡°Um¡­ that would be Roark, I think,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Exactly! Ages ago! Now, one of the best ways to challenge yourself is to make your team fight each other.¡± We looked at her like she was speaking gibberish. I had used Frillish¡¯s Bubblebeam to help Togetic improve her Fairy Wind when she was still a Togepi, but making them fight each other seemed¡­ ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of too much?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s necessary. Now, since Deino¡¯s too strong, I usually have Fletchling and Slowpoke attack him together. Today, I¡¯ll bemanding them instead of Deino. Let me demonstrate.¡± We gave her team some space and observed carefully. I didn¡¯t want to miss anything she said or showed us. ¡°Deino, keep your Dragon Breaths at fifty percent, andno biting,¡± Cecilia ordered. The dragon grunted, which was one of the few times I saw him listen to her without protest. ¡°Slowpoke, Water Pulse. Fletchling, keep your distance until Deino gets angry,¡± Cecilia said. Slowpoke immediately snapped out of its daze and spat out five consecutive rings of water that were bigger and faster than Frillish¡¯s, and every single one hit Deino. The Dragon hadn¡¯t even bothered to dodge, and simply started charging up a Dragon Breath. ¡°Get ready to intercept with Confusion,¡± Cecilia said. Deino released his Dragon Breath, but Slowpoke¡¯s eyes shone and the attack curved to the right before hitting the ground. It was the same trick she had done with Water Gun from her battle with Roark, except now she was using it on enemy attacks. Deino let out an enraged scream, seemingly angry that his attack had been dealt with so easily. He charged ahead, and Slowpoke kept hitting him with Water Pulse. ¡°Now, Fletchling.¡± The bird chirped and flew off of her shoulder, going so fast it was hard to keep track of. ¡°Ember behind him,¡± She said. Fletchling spat out dozens of little mes, hitting Deino¡¯s back. The dragon turned and let out another Dragon Breath, aiming at the flying type, but another Water Pulse interrupted his attack. The battle kept going like this for seven minutes, with Deino constantly having to juggle between two opponents and getting more and more irritated. ¡°Holy shit,howis it not going down?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Well, dragon types are tougher than other types, but we¡¯ve trained like this for months. Deino¡¯s scales have hardened due to all the beatings he took." The dragon roared out an Incinerate at the Fletchling, lighting up the early morning sky. He was still standing, but he was noticeably slower and panting. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he just rush the Slowpoke if he can ignore Fletchling¡¯s ember?¡± I asked. Cecilia smiled. ¡°Because he¡¯s stupid as a bag of rocks. You see, this training serves another hidden purpose. When Imand, Deino, he wins, but when he acts out on his own, he loses. Why do you think that¡¯s important?¡± I pondered her question for a second before figuring it out. ¡°To show him that without you, he¡¯s weaker!¡± ¡°Exactly. He knows this, but I still have to remind him sometimes. Training a dragon type is a constant tug of war between their desire to be stronger and evolve into their final forms, and their hatred of being held on a leash. They like their independence and freedom, but you have to show them that theyneedyou. Otherwise, you get¡­ idents.¡± ¡°idents?¡± Denzel probed. ¡°You know my brother¡¯s the Champion of Unova, but what you probably don¡¯t know is that he was almost killed by his Hydreigon when it first evolved. It took his entire team at once to take that monster down, and he had to stay in the hospital for months after that battle,¡± Cecilia said grimly. ¡°He¡¯s been helping me train Deino so I won¡¯t repeat his mistakes.¡± Deino copsed on the ground after Fletchling hit him with a powerful Peck. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Cecilia told her team. ¡°You two did great today, you weren¡¯t hit even once.¡± Fletchling flew back to her shoulder and rubbed its head against hers, and Slowpoke returned to staring toward nothing in particr. She walked up in front of Deino and crouched, looking at its face. The dragon stood back up with much difficulty, but ¡®stared¡¯ right back at her with a low growl. Cecilia smiled and rubbed his cheek before recalling her team. ¡°I see the benefits of training like this,¡± Denzel started. ¡°But won¡¯t this create¡­ animosity in the team? I already have a problem with my Budew¡­¡± ¡°It might. There are rtionship dynamics to consider. For example, Pauline¡¯s Charmeleon gets so frustrated every time she loses to foes she sees as weaker than she is that training her is a¡­ hassle. Louis¡¯ Gible hates the other members of his team and simplycan¡¯ttrain without putting too much strength into his attacks. This means he only trains against my Deino, which is the only Pokemon it respects in our entire group,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°But you let him win every time,¡± I scoffed. Cecilia eyed Denzel worriedly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him, he won¡¯t spill your secrets. I trust him one hundred percent,¡± I told her. She ced her hand over her heart. ¡°I do let him win, but I have to keep going until I¡¯m strong enough to fight back against anyone my father could send. So for now, I¡¯ll keep following my father¡¯s n.¡± ¡°n?¡± I asked. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell us more if you don¡¯t want to,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The girlposed herself and returned to her exnation. ¡°It''s fine. So yes, it might affect how your Pokemon view each other, but it also might not. Pokemon aren¡¯t as smart as humans, and some¡­¡± She trailed off, looking at Deino¡¯s ball. ¡°Some aren¡¯t as smart as others, but you should give them more credit. They can tell the difference between training and a real fight.¡± ¡°I see,¡± I said. ¡°Now, release your Pokemon and start training!¡± She said with a smile. ¡ª¡ª Two hourster, my team was beat. It took a long time to exin to Frillish that this was just training, but he felt so bad about hitting Togetic that I could tell he held back in his attacks. Togetic, meanwhile, had been pretty doubtful, but she was now having the time of her life, even though she was bruised and battered. Elekid had fun, too, mostly training with Eevee because of Budew¡¯s aversion to doing anything Denzel told her. Strangely enough though, she ended up joining in once Elekid delivered a vicious Thunder Punch to Eevee¡¯s chin. She had been screeching furiously, reminding me of the time we¡¯d first found her in that forest, and she made quick work of my tired Elekid. All in all, I felt like we were about to make alotof progress. I shivered as we walked back to the Pokemon Center to heal our teams. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wear anything warm?¡± Denzel asked me. ¡°I didn¡¯t even think about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to the cold. You can have my hoodie if you¡¯d like,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°R¡ªreally?¡± I stammered. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to be ufortable¡­¡± ¡°Just take it,¡± She sighed as she wrapped her hoodie around me. ¡°T¡ªt¡ªthank you,¡± I stuttered¡ª and it wasn¡¯t because of the cold. I was so incredibly nervous, and I was trying to find out why. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you somehow!¡± Holy shit,I thought.Am I crushing on this girl? ¡°Fuck,¡± I whispered to myself Really, Grace? The girl with the Arceus damned fiance? Cecilia quickly left back to her room right after we gave our Pokemon back. She was going to meet her friends soon, and it was probably wise to stay separate so she could smooth things over before our travels. I walked into Denzel¡¯s room and sat on the floor. ¡°I thought I was going to die,¡± I muttered to myself. ¡°She even left me her hoodie.¡± ¡°Okay, you obviously like her, and you¡¯re really obvious about it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I would say I would try to be your wingman, but she¡¯s already dating someone else.¡± ¡°How did you already figure it out when Ijustdid?¡± I groaned. ¡°T¡ªt¡ªthank you,¡±Denzel imitated me, his eyes fluttering. Heughed and opened a window. ¡°Ugh, stop being such a dick,¡± I sighed, cing my face in my hands. ¡°I really need her not to know.¡± ¡°I honestly had my suspicions with how much you stared at her all the time, but I figured I must have been imagining things. Today settled it.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ damn it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to rain on your parade, but she has a fiance. You should probably give up.¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured. Like you said, she¡¯s dating someone else, and she¡¯s not into girls. Plus, I¡¯d rather focus on training my team with her instead, anyway.¡± Ididwant to train my team with hers, but the words still felt like a lie.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse, Hex, Poison Sting Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 36 Chapter 36 CHAPTER 36 The day had finallye. We were finally going to leave Floaroma and make the long trek to Eterna Forest. I put on my sweater, tightened my shoces, and grabbed my backpack before leaving my Pokemon Center room. I nced back at it onest time. ¡°It feels like I¡¯ve stayed here a lifetime, but it hasn¡¯t even been three weeks,¡± I said to myself. I closed the door, but before leaving and handing the keys back to Nurse Joy, there was onest thing I wanted to do. I nervously stepped in front of room 224 before knocking softly. After a few seconds, I opened the door and saw Jacob staring at me. He was looking much better than he had before. Color had returned to his face, and he looked somewhat happier in general, although he was still confined to a hospital bed due to the Zubat¡¯s poison. ¡°Jacob,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry for never visiting you afterst time. I assume you know¡­ what happened?¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. It¡¯s all anyone can talk about these days,¡± He sighed. ¡°I heard you were in there with them.¡± ¡°I was,¡± I said, trying not to remember. ¡°I¡¯d rather not speak about it.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Silence swallowed the room. It wasn¡¯t the gentle silence I felt when I was hanging out with Denzel, but an oppressive force that made me want to say something to keep the conversation going. ¡°I just wanted to see you onest time before I left. See how you were doing,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± Jacob said, his eyes widening. ¡°I mean, I can¡¯t stay here forever. I have to keep going if I want to get eight badges before the conference. Are you sad?¡± I asked. ¡°No¡­ I mean, we barely know each other. Of course, I¡¯ll be forever grateful for you saving me and Wooper¡¯s life, but what I meant was¡­ after everything that happened to you, you¡¯re still going to travel?¡± Jacob asked, tightening his fist. ¡°I want to,¡± I simply said. ¡°Being a trainer calls to me.¡± I could see Jacob¡¯s jaw tighten. ¡°Then¡­ then what the hell am I doing?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Grace, you¡¯re what? A 5¡¯5¡¯¡¯ scrawny girl who looks like anything could break you¡ª no offense.¡± Ididtake offense, but I let him keep going. ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯m here, constantly self-deprecating over what happened to me. I still can¡¯t even fathom going out there¡ª and I hadn¡¯t even traveled that far! I was just a few hours away from home, and yet, when I imagine going in the wild again, I can¡¯t help but think I¡¯ll get my Pokemon killed again. I can¡¯t help but bescared, when I shouldn¡¯t be, because Iwantto be a trainer!¡± Jacob said, screaming thest few words. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say to that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± He sighed, calming down. ¡°I just need to do some thinking. Where I wanted to go with this rant was that I¡¯m jealous of you. I¡¯m jealous that you can keep going like nothing happened.¡± You know nothing about me,I thought.I almost copsed in on myself. ¡°People are different. What happened to us was different,¡± I started. ¡°No one will have the same experience recovering from trauma. Just¡­ take it easy, alright? Don¡¯t do something stupid.¡± ¡°I know¡­ I know I still have to recover. I can¡¯t even move my limbs properly yet. The doctors have to feed me and move them around to help my muscles not atrophy,¡± Jacob said. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me with so much pity,please,¡± I snapped out of it and looked at him normally. ¡°I guess what I¡¯m trying to say¡­ in an incredibly convoluted way, is that I think you¡¯re inspiring me to keep being a trainer. Or at least try to. I still think this year¡¯s a bust, but maybe the next?¡± I smiled. ¡°You definitely can. And in less than two months, you¡¯ll be able to walk again, and maybe you can start training.¡± Jacob nodded. ¡°So¡­ I guess this is it, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m alreadyte, I need to get to route 205.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be rooting for you, Grace Pastel!¡± He told me. ¡°I finally figured out that you had one badge already.¡± ¡°Watch me, Jacob. I¡¯ll win this whole thing,¡± I said with determination. ¡ª¡ª Running was easier now, even with my backpack. Togetic flew close by, amazing me with her progress. She hade a long way since not even being able to float correctly in Oreburgh. The n was for everyone to meet on the bridge that intersected Floaroma town, Valley Windworks, and route 205. I stopped when I found Denzel and Eevee waiting for me at the side of the river. Togetic greeted him by chirping happily and ying with his hair, before doing the same with Eevee¡¯s tail. Eevee protested at first before smiling and answering in kind. ¡°You were waiting for me?¡± I asked him. ¡°Yeah, man, I don¡¯t want to meet the snobs without you to back me up. It¡¯d be five on one instead of five on two.¡± ¡°Why are you counting Cecilia in the five? You already know she¡¯s nice,¡± I said as we walked toward the bridge. ¡°That¡¯s fair, I was just being kind of a dick. Where were you, by the way?¡± ¡°Visiting Jacob,¡± I said. Denzel¡¯s face tightened. ¡°Jacob¡­ oh, shit, I forgot to say goodbye.¡± I looked back toward Floaroma. ¡°Probably toote, now. I feel bad, but we don¡¯t want to bethattardy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I have his number. I¡¯ll send him something while I still can.¡± We walked at a brisk pace, and fifteen minutester, we finally reached the bridge. I was surprised to see that none of them had their Pokemon out. Louis stood with his arm around Cecilia, talking to her about who knows what. Pauline was twirling with her red hair as she stared at us, while Emilia and Justin just sat on the edge. I stopped Togetic from immediately going to greet our new temporarypanions. As a Togepi, she had been shy around strangers until she got used to them, but now, she had be a social butterfly. Cecilia¡¯s face brightened when she saw us, and she gathered her friends as we stepped onto the bridge. ¡°Hello,¡± Denzel said awkwardly. ¡°Nice to meet you, I guess?¡± Louis nodded. ¡°Before we begin, I believe we owe you an apology?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah? I didn¡¯t think you would already be doing it¡ª¡± All four of Cecilia¡¯s friends lined up and apologized to us for treating us poorly during the tournament. I stared at her, and she simply grinned. I honestly had expected much more pushback, or maybe a snarky, sarcastic apology from Pauline. Hell, she had even made Emilia and Justin apologize when they hadn¡¯t really done anything but re at us. ¡°Apology epted,¡± I said. Cecilia nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s begin, then.¡± Route 205 started as a canyon between two small mountain ranges, but we would progressively be walking more and more uphill before reaching the teau where Eterna Forest sat. Denzel had told me he expected us to take five to six days if he ounted for the incline. Maybe a week, if traveling in a group this big slowed us down. The start of the trek was somewhat ufortable. Denzel and I stayed to the side, following the others and talking between ourselves while they did the same. It was like we were two separate groups just going in the same direction. Honestly, a part of me was relieved, but I also wanted to¡­ Nevermind. We met many trainers on the route, as it was the main area to train in before entering Eterna Forest. None of us epted any challenges, mostly because they¡¯d be a waste of time. Every time a trainer offered to battle, we¡¯d ask how many badges they had, and the answer would always be zero, although I expected that to change once we got near Eterna Forest, although I doubted any trainer was crazy enough to actually battle inside of that hellhole. A few hours in, Pauline approached me. I instinctively went into fight or flight mode, expecting her to say some mean remark out of earshot. ¡°You. Listen up.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I heard from Cece that you suffered horribly during the kidnappings,¡± She started, as she watched the bandage on my cheek. ¡°One of their leaders took you into a secluded room, did they not? So I figured it would be best to bury the hatchet, especially when we¡¯ll be going into Eterna Forest,¡± Pauline said. I thought I noticed her tremble slightly after mentioning the forest. ¡°Forget everything I said about making your life a living hell.¡± Hard to forget that,I thought, but I was pleasantly surprised at her maturity. The pleasant feeling was unfortunately overwritten by the mention of Mars, though, and I felt my breathing quicken. I stopped Denzel from saying anything. ¡°Of course, Pauline. Let¡¯s just all get along, yeah?¡± I said. ¡°Sure. Don¡¯t expect me to like you, though. You¡¯re still a nobody,¡± She said, flicking her hair before returning back to her group. ¡°Arceus¡­ bringing up what happened to you like that and then¡ª¡± He started as soon as she was out of earshot. ¡°She was just trying to be nice, I think?¡± I interrupted. ¡°She¡¯s kind of terrible at it, though, but at least I feel like we can work together now, maybe.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± The only reason I could find for this abrupt change in behavior was the kidnappings, and she had said as much. Even though she was still a sore loser, maybe me going through the same thing as Cecilia made it easier for her to empathize with me. ¡°Can I change the subject?¡± Denzel asked. I smiled. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I could tell you were getting depressed. Anyway, my fourth team member should be along this route, although it should be easier to find the closer we get to Eterna Forest.¡± That piqued my interest. ¡°Really? Tell me which Pokemon it is.¡± ¡°But then it¡¯ll ruin the surprise!¡± ¡°Then why did you even tell me about it in the first ce?¡± I groaned, yfully pushing him away. ¡°Killjoy.¡± ¡°Fine, fine¡­ I want to catch a Buneary.¡± ¡°Buneary? Those are super cute! I used to see a ton of ¡®em in Pokemon Contests on T.V. back in Jubilife.¡± ¡°Yeah, but they¡¯re also really good battlers. Anyway, I hope I find it sooner rather thanter,¡± He said, looking around. ¡°I don¡¯t think the group would be fine with me holding them up to find a Pokemon.¡± ¡°Eh, we can make it work. Plus, I¡¯ll help you out, since you obviously need it.¡± He looked at me for a few seconds in silence. ¡°Wow, you didn¡¯t go for the five Budew joke this time.¡± ¡°Yeah, that one was getting old. I need some new material.¡± The rest of the day was uneventful, but I used it to release my entire team as we walked. Elekid still wasn¡¯t that close with the others, so it¡¯d be good for them to hang out. When the sun started to set, we settled at the bottom of a cliff. It was cold, even with my sweater, and we gathered around to n for the night. Louis pped his hands. ¡°Alright, everyone. That was an excellent first day on the road, and I hope we can keep this pace going until we reach the forest. Now, Pauline and Emilia are on tent duty, Justin, Denzel, and Grace can gather up some firewood¡ª I assume you two have an axe?¡± He asked. We just nodded. I was weirded out that he had made himself the leader of the group, but I guessed that this was just how it was usually, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb what they had going on. ¡°Good. Cecilia and I will scout ahead to make sure there aren¡¯t any dangerous Pokemon around.¡± I looked at Denzel, and we immediately understood what we were thinking. This guy was giving himself the easiest job and using the time to hang out with his girlfriend. ¡°Louis, surely that¡¯s a one man job. I could even send Fletchling to scout,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I should probably help with the firewood.¡± Louis looked saddened for a second before agreeing. ¡°Very well. I will scout ahead on my own. Is everyone alright with their tasks?¡± We all agreed, and Cecilia, Denzel, Justin, and I made our way toward the nearest trees with our axes.
Chapter 37 Chapter 37 CHAPTER 37 Even though I had had this axe for months, it was my first time actually using it for its intended purpose: cutting firewood. The activity was grueling and harder than I expected. First, I had to find the appropriate tree. A fallen one or a young, thin one always worked best, but sometimes I could also easily tear some branches off. Second, swinging an axe over and over was tiring. "Prrrri!" Togetic cheered behind me as I brought down my axe toward another log. "Thank you, princess," I said. I was trying to make them around thirty centimeters long if possible since that was the optimal length, ording to Justin. He was apparently used to camping outside, and would frequently do so with his father as a child, where he learned a lot about living in the wild. I was honestly surprised. I had thought that he had been a sheltered kid just like I was, but he was currently helping Denzel chop down a bigger tree. "Need any help?" Cecilia asked aftering up to me. I wiped sweat from my forehead and gathered all the wood I had cut. "If you could help me carry this back, I''d appreciate it. Is it enough?" "That should be enough, yes. I already brought my share back, so I wanted to see if anyone needed my assistance." "Thanks." I left Denzel and Justin and got back to camp, where Pauline and Emilia were setting up a huge tent. It actually looked more like a miniature circus tent than a normal tent a young trainer should have. It looked like it could fit at least ten people. How did they even carry this thing? I turned and smiled before almost telling a joke. That was close, I thought. I unconsciously mistook Cecilia for Denzel, since he was usually always next to me. A joke in bad taste now would just be rude, especially when everyone had just apologized earlier today. "Impressive, isn''t it?" Cecilia said, breaking the silence. "No kidding. How can you even fold this into one of your bags?" "Well, it has a few parts¡­" Cecilia began exining the intricacies of their huge tent as we dropped off the firewood. Togetic grabbed two pieces to y with using Extrasensory and brought them with her as she followed closely. "I haven''t forgotten our training, by the way," Cecilia said, sitting down on the ground. I sat down next to her¡ª not too close, of course. "I sure hoped so. It was a part of our deal. I want to get as strong as possible," I said, feeling determination swell inside of me. She grinned. "Good. We can start after dinner, if Denzel is okay with it? We won''t be able to do mock battles against each other in Eterna forest." I nodded. "Yeah, that would be too risky. Let''s do that then!" We watched as Pauline and Emilia finished bringing up the tent. I felt somewhat bad for not offering help, but I was tired from all the wood cutting I had just done. Soon enough, Denzel and Justin came back with even more firewood¡ª probably more than we needed for one night. I figured it was a good time to release the rest of my team, so I let out Frillish and Elekid. Frillish red at Cecilia and floated up away from everyone no matter how many times I called him, and Elekid was just screaming and being hyper, as usual. "He sure is a little ball of energy," Cecilia said, looking at him. "Kid!" He answered back proudly. "He might be too much, sometimes," I smiled. "It is good that you''re so close with your team. It will definitely help in the long run." "I mean, they''re my partners. We can''t work together if we don''t get along." Cecilia sighed. "I''d like to get that through their thick skulls," She said, nodding toward her group. "Oh, Louis is back. He''ll want to see me. See youter?" "Yup. See youter." The girl stood up and left, after which Denzel immediately slipped into her spot. "Where have you been?" I asked. "Talking with Justin," Denzel answered as Eevee climbed down his shoulder to cuddle next to me. I pet him behind his ear. "I also didn''t want to interrupt." "You would never be interrupting. Just join the conversation if you feel like it." "That''s not what I meant, Grace." I eyed him annoyingly. "I told you I''m giving up. Even you said so, we were just passing the time." "If you say so. Anyway, about Justin! He''s actually kind of cool if you can get past the weird way he speaks." "Really?" I asked. "Like how?" "Eh, he''s just a really nice guy, you''ll have to speak with him to figure it out. You''ve been hanging out in your little corner, you should try to talk to people¡ª well, maybe not Louis," He whispered. "I will, I''m just not used to such a big group. If it was one new person, I''d be fine, but this is somewhat different than how I imagined it." "We can speak to them as a group if you want. That way, you don''t have to initiate alone." "How about we do that tomorrow, then?" "Gotcha. Holy shit, did you even see that tent, by the way?" "Hard to miss it," I joked. Heughed. "Do you think they have a maid in there?" My eyes widened. "I was gonna make that joke!" We fooled around for a few more minutes until it was time for dinner. We were all gathered around a fire Charmeleon had lit with his tail. Our Pokemon ate the usual¡ª berries and food pellets, while the few Pokemon they released ate things I had never even considered before. Louis'' Gible stood in a corner as he savaged some poor wild Pokemon''s corpse, eating it raw, while the rest ate some kind of paste that their trainers had brought in a bag. I would have to ask Cecilia about it after our training. Meanwhile, we ate the food we had bought in Floaroma and heated with our portable oven. Finally, it was time to train, and we walked around five minutes away from camp to not disturb the others. I decided to focus on Togetic and Elekid today since Frillish was brooding in the sky. He hadn''t evene down to eat a berry. Being in such a big group had seemingly angered him greatly, and it would take some time for him to get back to his usual self. Today, I wanted Togetic to finally master Extrasensory, while for Elekid, I simply wanted him to keep working on all of his attacks. Cecilia released her Slowpoke, whose tail had regrown slightly since thest time we saw each other, and her Fletchling. Denzel was obviously going to train with Eevee, but he released Budew to watch. "No Deino today?" He asked Cecilia. "No, I don''t want to risk any injuries that would force us to turn back," She answered. She seemed deep in thought for a few seconds before snapping her fingers. "Here''s how it''s going to go. Togetic is going to be working with Slowpoke, and Elekid is going to be working with Eevee again. Fletchling, you can watch and join in if one of our Pokemon gets too tired." Fletchling sang happily and rubbed its head against hers. "For Elekid and Eevee, we''re going to be doing the same asst time, except that you''re going to be directing them," She said, pointing at us. "Togetic should just try to lift Slowpoke with Extrasensory as much as she can. He''s heavier than he looks, so if she can lift him, she''ll be in good shape to fight most threats." "Toge!" Togetic said happily before flying a few feet away. Slowpokezily followed behind her, and I could have sworn I heard him sigh. "Have fun, princess!" I said to her. Denzel and I positioned ourselves opposite of each other, and our Pokemon got ready to battle. Elekid punched the air with quick consecutive jabs while Eevee simply stood nted forward, with its hind legs ready to give a powerful burst of speed. I eyed my friend and smiled nervously. It had been so long since west battled, and even though this was just, training, it still had some weight to it. Cecilia just observed with Fletchling still on her shoulder, and soon enough, she started the battle. "Quick Kick!" Denzel yelled out. Eevee blurred forward with a quick burst of speed, but Elekid was also extremely fast. He stepped to the side, but Eevee just turned incredibly fast and kicked him in the back. Elekid roared before spinning his arms as a burst of electricity sparked all around him. "Chill out, hon," I said. "Use Swift," Elekid calmed down, and stars materialized above him before barrelling toward Eevee, who had retreated back to Denzel. "Dodge with Quick Attack!" He ordered. I grinned. The stars followed Eevee around no matter how many times he zig-zagged, and it was only a matter of time until they hit. Right now, all he was doing was expending energy. I waited for a few more precious seconds, where Eevee dashed madly around the battlefield before extending my hand. "Corner him with a short Thundershock." Elekid spun his arms as electricity quickly shot out of his horns, blocking Eevee''s path. The normal type struggled to stop, sliding across the grass before getting hit by Swift. Elekid stopped his attack right afterward. "Get in, and Thunder Punch him as many times as you can," I said. Elekid rushed forward, only slightly slower than Eevee, as electric energy surrounded his fists. "Sand Attack, then Bite!" Denzel yelled. Eevee flung dirt across Elekid''s eyes, and he promptly fell to the ground. He started furiously rubbing his eyes, desperately trying to get his vision back to normal. "Charge up! Don''t let him touch you!" Elekid ignored my order, still desperately trying to get the dirt out of his eyes. Eevee bit into his arm, and Elekid yelled before punching him in the head, forcing him to let go. The two Pokemon stared at each other, ready to go again. I can''t approach him with that Sand Attack, so better do something that worked, I thought to myself. "Swift again!" Denzel let out a frustrated groan. "You have to take it, but get as close as you can!" Elekid released another set of stars that homed in toward his opponent, while Eevee Quick Attacked forward, simply pushing through Swift''s impact and ramming into Elekid. Elekid was grinning wildly as he released a point-nk Thundershock. Eevee yelped and retreated with smoking fur. "That''s enough," Cecilia said. "The first round is finished, let me go grab some potions." "Wait, the first round?" I asked. The girl smiled beautifully. "I did say I wanted to train as much as possible, didn''t I? And we have enough to go around." Elekid and Eevee did nothing but battle for the next three hours. The two Pokemon were obviously developing quite a friendly rivalry, and they were the two members of our teams that enjoyed battling the most. Toward the end, though, Elekid was clearly getting the advantage in most fights, and it wasn''t because Eevee was weak. It was because I was starting to predict what Denzel and Eevee were going to do, and I was always able to respond ordingly. Plus, we had ranged attacks while Eevee did not, meaning he was forced to approach while I pestered him with Swift and Thundershock. The two Pokemon were exhausted. Potions only healed injuries, after all. Meanwhile, Togetic was lifting Slowpoke and making him do flips in the air as she joyfully chirped and pped her tiny hands against herself. We couldn''t help butugh when we saw the oblivious Slowpoke just lying in the air, all limp and taking it with that signature nk stare. After we returned our Pokemon to let them rest¡ª except Togetic, of course¡ª Cecilia wanted to tell us what she thought about the battles. "To a degree, you two have the opposite problem. Let''s start with Denzel. Here''s the good, your Eevee is a machine, and it seemingly never goes down. It was moving around a lot more than Elekid, and still, it was less tired by the end. However, your attacksck¡­ variety? No, let''s call it creativity. You do the same thing over and over and expect it to work. Why?" Denzel scratched his head. "Well, I haven''t really thought about it. Usually, Eevee just pushes through until it works, and we win." "Not good. Find new ways to use your moves. Improvise, and surprise the enemy. Quick Attack into Double Kick works the first few times, but then the enemy learns. Always think about what the other trainer is going to do next. Which is something Grace is good at," She said. I resisted the urge to grin like an idiot. "Also, you need some variety in your team. Using only Eevee might have worked so far, but you need to either start using your Budew, or catch something new for the fight against Gardenia. Do you realize how dangerous it would have been to go into Eterna forest with only one usable Pokemon if you hadn''t joined us?" She continued. Denzel nodded, but I knew he was probably angry at himself. "Now, Grace, you anticipate your enemy''s movements, but that''s not all. When something doesn''t work, you try to change it. Keep doing that. Although¡­ you seem to oveplicate things sometimes. You don''t need to use Swift into Thundershock all of the time. There were many times during the battle where you could have hit a simple, longer Thundershock and dealt more damage than by trapping Eevee using the two moves." I thought back to the battle, trying to find the moments she was thinking about. "I see what you mean. I guess sometimes, a simpler move just works." "Correct. For example, in Deino''s case, a simple Dragon Breath is more powerful than setting up an borate trap with Incinerate to block their escape by burning the grass behind the enemy and then running up to use Bite or Take Down. There are undoubtedly moments where traps are useful in battle, but they have a time and ce. Sometimes, simple is just better." I nodded, absorbing all of the information she was telling me. Cecilia was a treasure trove full of battling advice, and I couldn''t help but wonder where she had gotten all of that information. Her brother, maybe? He was the Champion, but it felt inappropriate to ask since I knew she had family problems. Either way, we were tired, and it was time to hit the sack. We made our way back to the camp, where the fire had been extinguished, and they were already sleeping inside of that huge tent. We entered the tent, and I hopped inside my sleeping bag while Togetic settled next to me, showering me with happiness. Tonight would be another full night of sleep, and I would need it, because tomorrow, I would have to socialize. Oh, and I also needed to ask them about their Pokemon food, which I had somehow forgotten about.
TEAM: Togetic - Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory Frillish - Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse, Hex, Poison Sting Elekid - Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer Chapter 38 Chapter 38 CHAPTER 38 The problem with having a ridiculously huge tent was that it also took alongtime to disassemble it. While Denzel, Justin, Emilia, and I took care of cleaning up camp, the rest of the group tirelessly worked on folding all of the tent parts back up. Denzel nodded to his right, toward Justin, which I immediately noticed and answered him by mouthing out ter¡¯. He apparently didn¡¯t care. ¡°So Justin, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve talked to my friend Grace here yet?¡± He asked. ¡°I have not. Would you formally introduce us?¡± He answered. ¡°Uh, well, Grace, this is Justin Gardner, and Justin, this is Grace Pastel. She¡¯s a little shy, but don¡¯t hesitate to pester her a little if you want to know more about her.¡± I held back a sigh and met the teen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Likewise. And my friend Emilia here thinks the same,¡± Justin said, nodding toward her. She huffed before introducing herself. I tried my best to initiate a conversation about Pokemon battling, asking if they had any Pokemon we hadn¡¯t seen yet. Justin answered enthusiastically, showing us his team. I had only seen his Growlithe, but the boy released a Sandile, which I excitedly scanned with my Pokedex. Since they were from Unova, these were extremely rare in Sinnoh. ¡°My father had her imported from Unova,¡± Justin exined, petting the Sandile¡¯s rough skin. ¡°Their evolved forms are fearsome. I¡¯ve even heard that they can learn dragon type moves.¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± I smiled. Sandile didn¡¯t seem too interested though and looked like she just wanted to get back in her ball. ¡°What about you, Emilia?¡± I tried. The girl wasn¡¯t keen on talking to us, but one judgemental look from Justin made her speak. ¡°You saw that I used a Rockruff and an Aipom during the tournament, but I also own a Beldum.¡± I gasped at the mention of Beldum. Metagross were among the most powerful Pokemon in the world, not only having psychic abilities rivaling kazam, but also being extremely physically lethal. Emilia didn¡¯t release it, though, which made me question if she had something to hide. She hadn¡¯t used a Pokemon as powerful as Beldum in the tournament, and even now, she wasn¡¯t showing it to us. ¡°You guys have such good Pokemon,¡± Denzel said. I sensed a little bit of bitterness in his tone, but I didn¡¯t think the others caught it. ¡°If you train them properly, I have no doubt that you¡¯ll make it to the conference.¡± ¡°I sure hope so,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°I would bring shame upon the Gardners if I didn¡¯t.¡± I paused. ¡°Is your family pressuring you into winning the conference?¡± Justinughed. ¡°Me? Win? Of course not. They just want me to getin.The conference is the most watched event each year. Millions of eyes will be glued to their screens for the duration of the tournament. My family is sponsoring me, you see. That means I¡¯m representing Pherzen and attracting potential customers.¡± I thought back to what Denzel had told me. Pherzen was the pharmaceuticalpany that supplied most Pokemon Centers with whatever high-tech devices they used to heal Pokemon, although they also had products intended for human use. ¡°You do enjoy battling, though, right?¡± I asked. ¡°I do. I think it is a fun activity, but it¡¯s not mypassion. I¡¯ll only be doing this for two years. That is the deal I had with my father: two years in the conference, and then I¡¯m free to return to Jubilife.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I was forced intonotparticipating in the Circuitst year, and I was furious. I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s like being forced to risk your life by participatinginit.¡± Justin sighed sadly. ¡°It is what it is. Originally we were supposed to get a flight to skip Eterna Forest, but our families gathered together and came to the conclusion that their children being caught not going through the Circuit ¡®properly¡¯ would hurt the image of theirpanies.¡± ¡°And so here we are,¡± Emilia spat, kicking a can of food. ¡°Stuck living like pea¡ª¡± She stopped herself, eyeing us. ¡°Like¡­ like animals!¡± ¡°Calm yourself, Emi. You only have to do it for a year,¡± Justin said. ¡°I hate it! I hate these Arceus damned routes! I want to get back to a city already! I want to be able to go to a bathroom!¡± She yelled. ¡°Did you have the same problem with your parents?¡± I asked. ¡°Weallhave it. And it doesn¡¯t bother Pauline, Louis, or Cece because they actuallywantto do this trainer thing, but us two? Justin says he likes it, but he¡¯s just trying to convince himself!¡± She said. ¡°Emi¡ª¡± Justin tried. She interrupted him. ¡°And me? I absolutely despise it, but I wouldn¡¯t have cared if we could have actually stayed in cities! I hate living in the wild.¡± ¡°Please forgive her, that tone is unbing of a young woman,¡± Justin said. I frowned. ¡°What? What do you mean by that?¡± I asked. ¡°I mean that young women shouldn¡¯t speak like this¡ª¡± ¡°Bullshit. Let her speak how she wants to speak. I don¡¯t care how it is at your house, orhouses, or whatever, but I won¡¯t stand for it here,¡± I fumed before storming off. These people! They were nice enough, but every so often, something would slip, and it was like we were frompletely different worlds. We finished clearing up camp, and the tent was finally folded back, and soon enough, we were ready to start traveling again. I looked up in the sky where Frillish still hovered. He had stayed there the entire night. ¡°Buddy! We¡¯re leaving!¡± I called out. He red at me, reminding me of the days when I had just caught him. ¡°Come on, Frillish, get down here!¡± There was no reaction from him. ¡°Please?¡± I begged. Frillish turned toward me again and reluctantly floated downward. ¡°Come on, I know you haterge groups, but you can¡¯t be acting like a child the entire time,¡± I said, holding one of his tentacles. ¡°Right now, it¡¯s alright because the Pokemon on this route are rtively weak and tend to stay away from us because of our numbers, but Eterna forest is going to be different. One thing goes wrong, and we could get seriously hurt or¡­ or die.¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± He said, bowing his head. ¡°Thanks for apologizing,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry too. I should have told you about this beforehand. I just got so excited that I forgot. I¡¯ll make it up to you somehow.¡± The water type bobbed his head and rubbed me with his tentacles. I chuckled. ¡°Alright, alright! That tickles!¡± I recalled Frillish to keep him away from the group. It had been my first time seeing him like this since I had just caught him, but I was d I had at least learned something new about him. It was kind of confusing too, because he didn¡¯t seem to mind cities or towns, but the problem was when I actuallytraveledwith others. While we were on the road again, climbing the gentle incline that would lead us to Eterna forest. Denzel quietly approached me. ¡°Sorry about Justin,¡± He apologized. ¡°He didn¡¯t say anything about women when we talked yesterday.¡± ¡°Not your fault, don¡¯t apologize. Next time, speak up with me instead, yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Anyway, any progress on that Buneary?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope, but I haven¡¯t looked that hard yet. Today I want to actually start actively searching. Think I can ask Cecilia¡¯s Fletchling for help?¡± ¡°Cecilia¡¯s nice enough, so I think she¡¯ll say yes. I can also get Togetic to help you look.¡± Denzel thanked me and made his way toward Cecilia. I wondered what was determining what Pokemon Denzel chose. At first, I thought he was copying a part of Cynthia¡¯s team¡ª a part because she had more than six Pokemon, while we trainers were forced into having a maximum of six of them on us at a time because the League didn¡¯t think we were capable of taking care of them adequately. The Champion didn¡¯t have that problem, and neither did the Elite Four or the Gym Leaders. Cynthia had ten Pokemon in total, and maybe even more that she hadn¡¯t shown yet. Denzel could have evolved Eevee into ceon, and then had a Roserade and Milotic, but Buneary broke the streak of Pokemon they¡¯d have inmon, so clearly, he was after something else. I would need to ask him soon, but he was probably going to tease me again, dangling the information in front of me. Either way, this was making me think about a potential fourth member. It wasmon sense for trainers that the earlier in the Circuit you obtained six Pokemon, the better it was, because you would have more time to spend with them and train. But it also wasn¡¯t good to rush and capture the first Pokemon you saw on any route, there were a lot of factors to consider. First, what types did I want? My mind immediately jumped to dragon after seeing how Deino and Gible performed, but I had to be realistic. If I considered the types I already had, I needed a fire type, a grass type, and thest could be anything to give the team a bit of variety, but if I could choose, I¡¯d probably take a steel or a rock type. Something that could take a ton of hits. Sinnoh was an extremely cold region, and winter wasing, so the fire type was out for now. Weweregoing into Eterna forest soon, though, meaning that if I wanted a powerful grass type, the forest was the best area to get one. Plus, a grass type wouldn¡¯t help offensively in my fight against Gardenia, but it sure would helpdefensively, and it would also help immensely against Wake and Volkner. I smirked. That settled it then, I would try to catch whichever grass type caught my eye in Eterna forest. Fletchling screeched as she began flying overhead, so I released Togetic and described to her what Buneary looked like. She flew off into the sky and began to search. As soon as Louis stopped sticking to Cecilia, I walked up to her, hoping to ask about what kind of food she fed her Pokemon. She was talking with Pauline, so I found it awkward to interrupt, but once she saw me, she called me over with a gentle smile. ¡°Grace,¡± Pauline said dryly. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I had a question, I hope I¡¯m not interrupting?¡± ¡°Oh, we were just talking about Pauline¡¯s mother and her new venture into the fashion world, so nothing too interesting,¡± Cecilia waved her hand. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it uninteresting. More like mindless small talk,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what uninteresting means¡­?¡± I asked, raising an eyebrow. I stopped when I saw her re at me. ¡°Anyway, remember how you talked to us about how diet affected your Pokemons¡¯ effectiveness in battle?¡± Cecilia nodded. ¡°I was wondering what that paste you were feeding your teams was.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not getting any¡ª¡± Pauline started. Cecilia interrupted her softly ¡°Pauline, you promised to be nicer.¡± ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m going to discuss my mother¡¯s business with Emi.¡± Pauline stormed off, ring up that temper I had learned to expect since that time at the tournament. I apologized to Cecilia for making her argue with her friend. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it too much,¡± The girl said. ¡°Pauline has always been like this except with Emilia. They¡¯ve known each other since they were toddlers. Anyway, regarding our Pokemon food, it¡¯s made by a team of hired breeders and airlifted to us every time we get to a city.¡± My eyes almost fell out of their sockets.Airlifted?And it was all homemade? They didn¡¯t evenbuyit at some expensive store? Cecilia continued. ¡°It¡¯s a special mix that contains every vitamin a Pokemon needs to grow stronger¡ª and all top quality, of course. This isn¡¯t known amongst most trainers, but vitamins not only keep your Pokemon more healthy, but they also give them a boost. One or two meals are negligible, but over multiple months? It¡¯ll stack up and result in your team being much more powerful than an average trainer¡¯s.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± I muttered. I couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous, even though much of that jealousy was overshadowed by the happiness I felt just speaking to Cecilia. ¡°So if I save up enough money, I should feed my team vitamins?¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°You won¡¯t ask for some?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I said tly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to seem like I¡¯m just milking you for money. I mean, you¡¯re already lending me and Denzel your potions, right?¡± Cecilia grinned and bumped her shoulder against mine as we walked. I had to stop myself from shutting down. I knew I had no chance, but by the Legendaries, just talking to her still felt amazing. The next two days were uneventful. We trained with Cecilia at night and kept traveling toward Eterna during the day at breakneck speed. I was slowly getting closer to Justin¡ª we weren¡¯t close to being friends yet, but I¡¯d say we were at least acquaintances. Emilia wouldn¡¯t talk to Denzel or me and instead preferred hanging out with Pauline and Cecilia. On the fourth day, Louis attempted to join us during our training session. ¡°May I join you three tonight? Gible has been restless thesest few days, and I believe Deino needs a sparring partner,¡± The blond man asked. Cecilia smiled. ¡°Of course. I was starting to worry that I was neglecting his growth. Could you wait until we¡¯re done, though? A fight between dragons requires my full attention, and I have to watch what Denzel and Grace are doing.¡± ¡°I also have Prinplup to take care of,¡± He said. I had known that Louis had a Prinplup from the forums, but I had yet to see it. ¡°Surely he can join.¡± Cecilia paused, seemingly considering his offer. ¡°You know what, it would be a good test. Why don¡¯t you and Grace do a mock battle?¡± ¡°Excellent! I have wanted to battle Grace since I saw her fight with your team at the tournament.¡± I grabbed Elekid¡¯s Pokeball before Cecilia shook her head. ¡°The type advantage would make the battle too one-sided. Why don¡¯t you use Togetic for this fight?¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I said nervously. Louis released his Prinplup from a Luxury Ball. The Pokemon announced himself with a weird honk. That wasn¡¯t at all what I expected it to sound like. I grabbed Togetic¡¯s Pokeball and sent her out. She chirped and floated a few feet in front of me. Unlike my mock battles with Denzel, where I didn¡¯t care who won or lost, I couldn¡¯t help but be nervous about this one. I felt like I needed to prove myself to Cecilia by winning against her fiance. You gave up on her already,I thought to myself.Stop these silly thoughts. Either way, the battle was about to start, and since I hadn¡¯t expected it, I didn¡¯t know any of Prinplup¡¯s moves. I¡¯d have to craft a strategy on the fly. Which was probably why Cecilia made it happen in the first ce.
Chapter 39 Chapter 39 CHAPTER 39 There were a few things to consider before I could even think about winning this battle. Louis hadn¡¯t used Prinplup in Roark¡¯s gym, or the tournament, so there were no videos of footage of its moves. I was going in blind, so my first condition for victory was wasting time to learn how Prinplup fought. There were a few ways of doing that, but first, I needed toy the first trap. Louis extended his hand in a dramatic fashion. ¡°Prinplup, Ice Beam!¡± My eyes widened, but I didn¡¯t panic. ¡°Fly up, princess.¡± Togetic floated upward, barely avoiding the st of ice. It collided against the facade of the mountain we were next to and froze the jagged rocks. I hadn¡¯t considered Ice Beam, but Louis probably had his Prinpluppletely decked out with TMs, which was strange because Gible only had moves it naturally learned. ¡°Again! Aim for her body!¡± The Ice Beam clipped Togetic¡¯s side, and she cried out in pain. It seemed Louis was going to be using the move over and over, and he seemingly had the Prinplup under control, unlike his Gible, so I wasn¡¯t going to get any new information by waiting. ¡°Togetic,nd!¡± She looked at me confusedly, but one look into my eyes made her understand I was serious. Togetded, avoiding another Ice Beam, and clumsily stood on the soft grass. ¡°Get closer to her and keep Ice Beaming!¡± The water type awkwardly ran toward Togetic. It wasn¡¯t very fast, which meant that I thankfully had ample time to react for the next step of the n. ¡°Protect yourself with Ancient Power,¡± I ordered. Togetic¡¯s eyes lit up as she lifted a giant chunk of earth in front of herself, blocking two Ice Beams. I had made hernd because it was simply faster and easier to form a barrier with Ancient Power so close to the ground. ¡°Just get around and Metal w!¡± I wanted to smirk, but I hadn¡¯t won yet. I waited as long as I could, and when Prinplup was two steps away from Togetic until I mmed my foot twice against the ground. I was scared that because of the soft surface, Togetic wouldn¡¯t hear, but a pink heart escaped from her mouth, hitting her opponent. Prinplup staggered and began swaying around. ¡°Fly up and gather a Fairy Wind,¡± I said. Princess chirped and floated up as a pink gust gathered around her. Louisined endlessly to his Prinplup, begging him toe back to his senses. ¡°Make it as powerful as possible, Togetic. You¡¯ve got time,¡± I told her. After gathering up the wind for twenty seconds, I could barely see her in the middle of it all. She yelled out confidently, sending it all downward to m against Prinplup. The water type copsed under the weight of such a concentrated Fairy Wind, and when it cleared, he stood back up. My eyes widened. I had honestly expected that supercharged Fairy Wind to knock it out in one move, but Prinplup was still standing, albeit it was obvious that he was barely staying awa¡ª ¡°Ice Beam!¡± ¡°Shit! Ancient¡ª¡± Togetic tried to dodge, but the ice hit her directly, and she fell to the ground. I had been thinking too much! Or at least I wasn¡¯t thinking fast enough. ¡°Quick, get to her and Metal w!¡± Louis yelled. ¡°Extrasensory!¡± I barked out. ¡°Try to lift him up!¡± Togetic was still on the ground, but Arceus bless her, she was still ready to fight. A strange force surrounded Prinplup, and he was slowly lifted up in the air. I stared at Togetic, and I could tell she was struggling too much to m him against the ground, or the wall of the mountain. ¡°Just get your bearings back and let him go. Stay on the ground.¡± I concentrated, feeling the gears in my mind turn as the world slowed. The problem I had was that gathering up a Fairy Wind would always be slower than Prinplup¡¯s quick Ice Beams, and if princess was busy concentrating on using the move, she wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge. For all I disliked Louis, I had to admit he had trained his Prinplup exceptionally well, which was a heavy contrast with his Gible. I needed to somehow trap Prinplup intoing close to Togetic again, but now, Louis knew the signal, so it wouldn¡¯t work. Think, think, think! ¡°Ice Beam, again!¡± Louis ordered. ¡°Ancient Power.¡± The Ice attack hit Togetic¡¯s barrier, and Prinplup began running around it, hoping to get a good angle to attack. As the scene unfolded, Cecilia¡¯s words resonated in my mind. Sometimes, simple is just better,She had said. ¡°Raise more earth around you with Ancient Power!¡± I yelled out. ¡°Prrrri!¡± Multiple rocks and chunks of dirt rose around Togetic, surrounding herpletely. ¡°Now, attack!¡± They all shot out toward Prinplup, who had topletely stop his attacks to concentrate on dodging one rock after the other. I watched in awe, as what was inevitably Togetic¡¯s strongest move hit Prinplup, knocking the water type out. I pumped my fist and squealed in joy. That had been so obvious, and yet in the heat of battle, I hadn¡¯t even thought about it at all. ¡°Damn it,¡± He said, returning his Prinplup. I could see real disappointment in his eyes, the same kind Denzel and I had when we lost a battle. It seemed that he truly enjoyed battling and always strove to win. ¡°That was¡­ that was a good battle, I suppose.¡± ¡°It was,¡± I said, surprised at his calm reaction. People that had huge egos like Louis tended to blow up whenever they lost. ¡°It went a little bit too far as well. Sorry for knocking out your Pokemon when you might need him in the wild.¡± ¡°Well, nothing a little bit of rest and potions won¡¯t remedy, I suppose,¡± He said. ¡°Thank you for setting up that battle, Cece. It seems Prinplup still has much to learn.¡± Ah, there it was,I thought. ming his Pokemon instead of himself, that was the Louis I had expected toe out. ¡°Come find me whenever you¡¯re done so Gible can train with Deino,¡± He said as he left. ¡°I need to go heal Prinplup.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Cecilia answered. When Louis left, Denzel rushed to my side and high-fived me. ¡°You did so good! I¡¯m jealous, I don¡¯t think I could have won against that Prinplup,¡± He said. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at the praise. ¡°As soon as I saw that Ice Beam, I thought it was over, but you managed to win anyway. It¡¯s kind of annoying, but that just means I have to train even harder. Right Eevee?¡± ¡°Eevee!¡± He barked. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. ¡°But I think you could have won. Prinplup can¡¯t run really well, and Eevee¡¯s a fast little guy. You could have overwhelmed him with speed and close-rangebat.¡± He looked at Eevee for a few seconds, thinking about what I had said. ¡°You might be right. I was annoyed when Louis interrupted our training, but I actuallywantto battle him now. Well, as long as I don¡¯t have to battle that Gible again¡­¡± Cecilia approached me with an amused look. ¡°You did well, Grace. I wanted to see how you would respond to a sudden battle without the time to study your opponents, and you managed to pass, although there are many improvements you could make. For example, have you tried altering the path of a move with Extrasensory¡­¡± She started. I swallowed and averted my eyes. I was sonervous, I could barely focus on what she was telling me. Was I blushing? Did I look weird? I was sweating so much, oh Arceus, what was I doing with my hands¡ª ¡°Hey, Cecilia, Grace over here¡¯s been wondering if she could be your friend,¡± Denzel said. If looks could kill, he would have spontaneouslybusted right then and there. He looked at me and shrugged, and I stepped on his foot. He rolled his eye and looked at Cecilia. ¡°Well,¡± She started, hesitantly. ¡°Sure, we get along. I suppose we can give it a try.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Denzel said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get back to camp.¡± I wanted to drag him aside and yell at him. I was trying to get over Cecilia, not get closer! She was just my teacher, and when we were out of Eterna forest, we¡¯d go our separate ways again! She hadn¡¯t even been that enthusiastic about being friends, which hurt a lot more than if she had just t-out refused. It was like she was epting out of pity. I stomped away furiously, and instead of getting into that giant tent, I decided to hang out with my team instead to calm down and clear my head. Togetic hovered closely with her head over my shoulder as I pet her head. Frillish was observing the surroundings, scaring away any wild Pokemon that got anywhere close to us. Elekid was training a few feet away, punching the air with Thunder Punch. ¡°Rx, buddy,¡± I told Frillish. ¡°You can chill out with us. Why don¡¯t you y with Togetic a little?¡± After so many days of intense training, I wanted to spend an hour or two just rxing with my team, although I was under no illusion that I could convince Elekid to stop until he himself determined that he was done. ¡°Toge!¡± Togetic agreed. Frillish rolled his eyes and came down. It was cute how he had designated himself as the group¡¯s protector, but being on edge twenty-four-seven wasn¡¯t healthy. I grabbed one of his tentacles and started dancing with him like he was a human. The look of disappointment he shot toward me made me burst outughing, almost to the point of tears. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re something else, Frillish. Come on, let¡¯s dance some more!¡± He spat out water at me and turned away. I wiped it off and smiled. Togetic flew toward Frillish and snuggled her head against his, and even though he looked annoyed, he stayed still and was subject to her vicious cuddles. I walked toward Elekid, who screamed enthusiastically as he shot out a Thundershock at a tree. ¡°Hey, honey,¡± I told Elekid. ¡°Let¡¯s get you and Frillish on good terms, yeah?¡± He crossed his arms and looked at Frillish with devilish eyes. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what prank would befall my poor water type. Elekid called out with a booming cry, and Frillish stared at him for a few seconds before ignoring him. Elekid called out again. ¡°Come on, buddy! He just wants to speak to you!¡± I lied. I knew he wanted to do something, I just didn¡¯t knowwhat. Hopefully, the prank wouldn¡¯t anger Frillish too much. I could stop it, but a part of me wanted to see his reaction. ¡°Fri¡­¡± He said quietly as he flew down, followed by Togetic. ¡°Kid! Elekid!¡± Elekid screamed, extending his arm. Did he want to shock him? Frillish¡¯s red eyes narrowed, and he sprayed the electric type with water. Elekid simplyughed and retracted his hand. Togetic smiled and tried touching Elekid¡¯s horns, but he nimbly dodged her advances. It looked like even to Elekid, hurting Togetic was off-limits. Frillish turned back and looked with interest as Elekid weaved and dodged Togetic as she tried flying into him. His head slumped as he approached Elekid once again with one of his tentacles extended. Togetic watched in awe, probably because she really wanted to know what would happen. Had Frillish finally started respecting Elekid after seeing that he wasn¡¯t willing to hurt her with his antics? Now he was finally willing to entertain his pranks. My heart melted. He was so sweet! Elekid sniggered and clumsily grabbed Frillish¡¯s tentacle with his three ws. Frillish jumped a little and sent out a slightly more powerful jet of water this time. Togeticughed and pped her hands, seemingly satisfied by the prank. We continued hanging out deep into the night. I would be tired tomorrow, and eventually, I would need to exin the dangers that were ahead of us, but right now? All I could think about was how much I loved these three.
Chapter 40 Chapter 40 CHAPTER 40 On the afternoon of the seventh day, we were on the brink of reaching Eterna forest. It had taken longer than we wanted to because the closer we got, the more rough and uneven the terrain became. Over the course of the trip, I felt like my team had gotten much better, but I still wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d be enough for our venture into the maws of the forest. Frillish had mastered Poison Sting, which was weak but had a chance to poison his foes which could be deadly with Hex. Elekid was finally at a level where I¡¯d consider him equal to the rest of the team, and I was trying to make him inject electric energy into his Swift attack, but progress was slow. Togetic, unfortunately, had learned most of her powerful moves, but she still had incredible potential. Psychic energy was like a muscle, so she kept training and improving Extrasensory and Ancient Power as much as she could while making sure to keep Fairy Wind up to par. Denzel felt frustrated with his progress, but right now, I¡¯d say Eevee was improving faster than Elekid was. He was starting to win more and more of their battles, and Denzel had taken Cecilia¡¯s advice to heart since he was in the process of teaching Swift to Eevee, which would be a boon to their long-distance battling. Budew sometimes joined in training but listened to none of hismands, but Denzel was still incredibly happy with her. Meanwhile, Feebas could onlye out when we were next to a pond or a river, which were sparse on this route. There was still no sign of any Buneary, but they lived in greater numbers in Eterna forest itself. There was still awkwardness between Denzel, me, and Cecilia¡¯s group. Justin was still the one we spoke to the most often, but being with him was sometimes irritating since he seemingly was raised in another century. Emilia was starting to be terrified, and would rarely speak, while Pauline and Louis put all of their energy into training with Cecilia and us. Tensions were high, especially when we finally reached the outpost at the forest¡¯s entrance. There was a Ranger building, standing tall in its usual army green color palette, a Pokemon Center, albeit way smaller than the usual ones found in cities and towns. There were also a few buildings littered about, along with trainers walking about and filtering in and out of the Center. The Center itself was bigger than it looked, but there was no specialized human wing. Nurse Joys took care of trainers and Pokemon here. ¡°Finally,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the Center and rest.¡± We all agreed. We were all exhausted, even if some showed it more than others, and finally sleeping in a soft, warm bed would do wonders. We were all assigned to different rooms, and some were on different floors, but Cecilia¡¯s room was pretty close to mine. ¡°When should we meet again?¡± Denzel asked. Louis tapped his chin. ¡°How about one hour? Then we can grab lunch and talk strategy.¡± Emilia sniffled. ¡°Could we stay here for a bit? Three days at least?¡± She begged. ¡°We¡¯ll see, Emi,¡± Louis said. ¡°For now, let us rest.¡± I nced at Denzel, and we nodded at each other before making our way up the stairs. He entered my room and took off his shoes with a satisfied groan. ¡°Don¡¯t sit on my bed before you shower,¡± I warned. ¡°Which is what I¡¯m going to do.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m getting the jitters.¡± ¡°We all are, but it¡¯s something every trainer has to go through. With our numbers and the amount of Pokemon we have, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll make it,¡± I reassured him. We had all heard stories about the unfortunate souls that got lost in the forest, never to be seen again. I was terrified that it¡¯d be one of us, but I had to push forward. ¡°You should probably clean yourself up before we have to meet up, by the way.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, just let me rx for a second,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°Catch up with the forums and any news I might have missed on the way here.¡± I nodded and stepped into the bathroom. I took off the bandage on my cheek and winced slightly at the pain. I stared at the cut. It had healed slightly, and it had formed into a crust, but it still hurt when I touched it. I took a warm shower before filling up the bath with cold water for Frillish, who thanked me by nodding his head up and down excitedly before jumping into the bath. After taking a deep breath and forcing myself to open the door, Denzel was gone. After some thinking, I decided to put on a fresh change of clothes and get to the lobby early. ¡°Get him to one of the Nurses, now!¡± I heard someone say. Heads turned toward the entrance as a trainer was brought in on a stretcher. Half of his body waspletely purple, and he was foaming at the mouth. Sharp, purple darts were sticking out of his arm. He was quickly carried behind the counter. I stood there with a grim look, my eyes following the young trainer, wondering if that fate was what awaited us. ¡°Grace,¡± I heard. I turned and saw Pauline with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall. It took a few seconds for me to answer. I was still shaking from what I had seen. Would that trainer even live? ¡°P¡ªPauline, you¡¯re already here.¡± ¡°I am observing. This is the third trainer that has been brought in by the rangers in thirty minutes. The first one was missing a hand, and the second was bleeding profusely from his gut.¡± I clenched my fist. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s horrible.¡± ¡°It seems the rangers still patrol the forest¡¯s entrance to save straggling trainers, at the very least,¡± She said. ¡°But when we¡¯re deeper in, we¡¯ll be on our own.¡± I frowned. Pauline wasn¡¯t sounding like a scared person, as Emilia, or even Justin was sometimes. Hell, even I could tell Louis was getting more nervous the closer we got to Eterna forest. But her? I couldn¡¯t figure her out. ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked. ¡°About?¡± ¡°About what happened to them?¡± ¡°Why ask such a question?¡± Pauline said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Because I¡¯m interested.¡± The redhead paused for a few seconds before answering. ¡°Frankly, I don¡¯t care,¡± She said dryly. ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about the people that matter to me than random trainers I don¡¯t know anything about.¡± ¡°So seeing this doesn¡¯t phase you at all?¡± I asked, clenching my teeth. ¡°No. Well, it does, but only when I imagine it happening to me, or my friends. Is that so wrong?¡± She asked with a slight smile. Around us, trainers were calming down and going back to their usual routine. Some people gossiped and tried to find out more information about predators that lurked in the forest. Some tried forming groups with others that looked like they knew what they were doing and that had been on the Circuit in previous years, while others just looked dejected, and were probably considering giving up. ¡°You have no empathy for others,¡± I said. ¡°I think that¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Can we afford to care about every little thing?¡± Pauline asked me, twirling her hair. ¡°There are thousands of events like these happening all over the world at all times. Do you grieve for each one?¡± ¡°No, but this is happening in front of your eyes,¡± I said forcefully. ¡°I think it¡¯s fucked not to even care.¡± ¡°You talk a lot, for someone who¡ª ah, Cece!¡± Pauline said, immediately softening her expression. ¡°Hello, girls. I see you¡¯re here early.¡± ¡°There¡¯s just twenty minutes left. I was just passing the time with Grace, discussing moral quandaries. Did you speak to Louis?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s just calling his father to let him know we¡¯re here,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°You should all do the same before we go. Call your parents.¡± ¡°I will, after lunch. Speaking off, let¡¯s get seats together,¡± She smiled. I agreed, following the two girls toward the cafeteria. I was trying to find out what Pauline¡¯s deal was. With her friends, she behaved normally, but she seemed topletely disregard others. I supposed maybe we were just built differently, and there was nothing I could do about it. Hell, maybe I had been in the wrong, pushing my morality onto her. We sat at arge table and waited for the rest of the group. These weren¡¯t things to worry about right now. I needed to bepletely focused on our task at hand: surviving the next leg of my journey. ¡°There they are,¡± I heard Justin say. Justin and Emilia sat at the table, and Denzel followed suit two minutester. We all grabbed lunch and got to discussing a n. ¡°First thing¡¯s first, how long will it take to make it through the forest,¡± I started. ¡°I feel like that¡¯s among the most important things to know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve read online that it entirely depends. Some people take a week, others are stuck there for a month. There isn¡¯t an official path or direction to take, but there are checkpoints and markings that were set by rangers or previous trainers passing through.¡± ¡°A month?¡± Emilia trembled. ¡°A month?!¡± ¡°Calm down, Emi,¡± Justin said, patting her back. Pauline grabbed her hand. ¡°What are these markings like? Do you know?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yeah. Words, arrows, or warnings carved onto trees. Some of them tell us where to go, some warn about aggressive Pokemon being ahead, and stuff like that. They¡¯ve been left there over generations, and most of them point toward the northeast.¡± ¡°Great, so there¡¯s at least some kind of path to follow,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll have to sleep in shifts,¡± Louis said. ¡°I¡¯ll have a schedule ready for us whenever we leave. What are the Pokemon we have to watch out for?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard many stories about Scyther lurking in the forest,¡± Justin said. ¡°They are apex predators, and forests are where they thrive,¡± Cecilia said with a slight smirk, which I found strange. ¡°There are Dustox there too,¡± He said. ¡°Their poison is lethal, but that¡¯s not all. There are Arbok, Beedrill colonies, Vileplume, Parasect, Ninjask, and hell, that¡¯s not even counting the ghosts. All of the worst Pokemon you can think of will be there, I can send you guys a list to study up.¡± ¡°That would be wise,¡± Louis said with a dark look. ¡°Next up, we should find out what the best configuration is regarding our Pokemon.¡± ¡°Configuration?¡± I asked. ¡°He means what Pokemon would be best to use,¡± Pauline rified, rolling her eyes at me. ¡°Thank you, Pauline. It would be wise not to have all of our Pokemon out at once. That would attract too many unwanted eyes and stalkers in the forest, and some of our Pokemon don¡¯t like each other very much. Plus, it would be better to keep some in their Pokeball in case others are irreparably wounded or need to rest. I believe our best option is to each have one Pokemon out at all times.¡± ¡°I have Charmeleon,¡± Pauline said. ¡°There are rules,¡± Denzel interjected. ¡°You can only use fire moves if you¡¯re one hundred percent sure you¡¯re about to die, and even after that, they expect you to stop its mes with water types. Don¡¯t forget the forest is also a protected natural park. The Rangers don¡¯t want anyone to start a forest fire.¡± ¡°How aggravating,¡± She quickly said. ¡°Then I suppose Gothita will do. Charmeleon will light our fires at night.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just be using Eevee, I guess,¡± Denzel said. "He''s got a good sense of hearing." ¡°It¡­ it pains me to say, but I have to use Prinplup. Gible will be useful in battle, but my starter tends to be more obedient.¡± ¡°A water type?¡± I asked. ¡°Gible is without a doubt the strongest Pokemon here,¡± He said. I ignored his boast. "But he knows this as well, so he is more resistant, but I¡¯m afraid he might run off to fight something and bite off more than he can chew.¡± I nodded at this surprising moment of rity. He must have been really nervous to admit such a thing, but I was happy everyone was doing their best to make it through. ¡°I¡¯ll use Growlithe,¡± Justin said. We stared at him confusedly. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like I¡¯m a pariah. Sandile is unfit for the forest¡¯s environment, and Growlithe has plenty of non-fire moves to use. Plus, his sense of smell is excellent.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I¡¯ll use Deino.¡± That was simple enough, no justification was needed. I thought about it for a second. Frillish was out of the question for now. There were too many Pokemon with grass type moves to threaten him, and they wouldn¡¯t pull any punches. Wild Pokemon never held back in general, but here? I didn¡¯t want to risk it. Togetic could fly, but in the forest¡¯s environment, that might be a disadvantage. Pokemon could leap from trees and jump on her, and she wasn¡¯t nimble enough to dodge the kind of predators that would being. I couldn¡¯t help but imagine a terrifyingly fast Scyther just flying into her and cutting her apart before I even had the chance to recall her. That meant I¡¯d have to use Elekid. ¡°I¡¯ll use Elekid,¡± I said. I was unsure of my choice, and nervousness began to take hold of me. I was terrified I was going to make a mistake and lose someone, but no matter how much I thought about it, Elekid was the right choice. ¡°What about you, Emilia?¡± Louis asked. ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t want to do this,¡± The girl shook. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, Emi,¡± Justin reassured her. ¡°No! It won¡¯t!¡± Justin looked at Louis and shook his head. ¡°Very well. Don¡¯t worry too much about it, Pauline. We¡¯ll figure something out. For the rest, we¡¯ll be using that set of Pokemon, but of course, we¡¯ll be able to swap them out whenever they get too tired, or wounded beyond what a potion can heal.¡± ¡°When are we leaving?¡± I asked, wanting to rip the band-aid off. ¡°I think we should take a day or two off,¡± I continued, looking at Emilia. ¡°Yeah, I think so too,¡± Denzel added. ¡°I¡¯ll use the time to talk to trainersing back from the forest to gather info and see if they have any useful tips.¡± ¡°Alright. I assume that means no training tonight?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Yeah, sorry. To be honest, I think Eevee deserves a break. The rest will do him good.¡± ¡°Alright then, that¡¯s it for the strategy meeting,¡± Louis said. ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±
Chapter 41 Chapter 41 CHAPTER 41 After lunch, we decided to split up and go about our business. Pauline and Justin stayed in Emilia¡¯s room tofort her. Denzel was going around and asking people for information and making connections. Louis and Cecilia had probably gone off somewhere to train their dragon types since they hadn¡¯t had as much time to do so since we joined the group because Cecilia¡¯s attention was focused on us. Or maybe they were just hanging out. That left little old me. What would I do? I stepped out of the Center and explored the makeshift town that had been built at the forest¡¯s entrance. People that lived here were all employees associated with the League or the Rangers, and I assumed the personnel rotated every few weeks, or maybe months. I stepped toward the forest entrance and saw that Rangers were stopping trainers and asking for some kind of ticket. Wanting to know more, I stepped forward curiously. ¡°No entrance ticket, no entry!¡± One of the Rangers said. The trainer scoffed. ¡°What¡¯s this about a ticket? I just got here!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a new system we¡¯re trying out, and it¡¯s been approved by the League. You have to go through a four hour ss in the Ranger building to have ess to the forest.¡± ¡°A ss? I have a badge, I don¡¯t need any sses!¡± ¡°Trust me, kid, you¡¯ll need it. It teaches you everything you need to watch out for in the forest and how to fight back.¡± The girl groaned and left in the direction of the Ranger building. It was the first time I was hearing about this, and even Denzel supposedly didn¡¯t know about it, since he hadn¡¯t said anything. I entered therge, cube-like building. Ranger stations were set up like Pokemon Centers. They had a lobby the same size, with a receptionist and an employee-only zone further in the back. There was a line of trainers, who were no doubt here to sign up for this ¡®ss¡¯. I didn¡¯t want to sign up without informing everybody else, so I left. One thought was stuck in my mind, however. Even with this ss, people were severely wounded. And where they were wounded, there were deaths. When I got back to the Center, I found Denzel in the lobby, speaking to some guy that looked older than us. If I had to ce his age, I¡¯d say he was in his early twenties. ¡°... underestimate Morelull. If you¡¯re lucky, you won¡¯t be seeing any, but if provoked, they emit lights that make you fall asleep for hours. That¡¯s a death sentence in the forest. If you see one, turn away as fast as you can.¡± Denzel was typing away furiously in his Poketch, taking notes. ¡°Damn, this ce is designed to get you killed. What about Phantump and Trevenant? I¡¯ve heard some other kid talking about seeing those during his first venture inside.¡± ¡°Leave the Phantump,¡± The man said in a grim voice. ¡°And that trainer¡¯s full of shit. Probably he wanted to embellish his story. You won¡¯t be seeing Trevenant here.¡± ¡°Sounds good¡ª ah, Grace!¡± Denzel said when he saw me. ¡°Come here.¡± I walked up to the two and introduced myself. The old trainer did the same. ¡°My name¡¯s Scott. I¡¯ve been giving information to your friend here,¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯s my fifth go through the Circuit and my fourth time going through the forest.¡± I looked at Scott in awe. ¡°Wow,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks a lot. Sorry for interrupting though,¡± ¡°No problem, we were almost done anyway,¡± Scott said. ¡°I enjoy giving advice to new trainers. I have to say, though, it pains me to see so much suffering. This year¡¯s the worst one so far. There weren¡¯t that many injuredst time.¡± ¡°That must be why the Rangers are forcing us to take a ss,¡± I said. ¡°A ss?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a four hour course on Eterna forest. Personally, I find it a little redundant, but if it helps the new generation, I won¡¯tin,¡± Scott said as he got up. ¡°It was nice to meet you, Denzel. You¡¯ve got my number if you need any more info. I¡¯ll be hanging at the outpost for a little longer.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± He said. It wasn¡¯t often that we saw old trainers like Scott. Most people would have given up and returned to their normal lives by now, but it looked like he was still going strong. I was sure he was an extremely powerful trainer to have survived going through the forest so many times without a scratch or a scar. I told Denzel about how to sign up for the ss and then left him to gather more information. I was sure it would be crucial for traversing the forest, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb him too much. I went back to my room to pick up Frillish, but when I stepped out, I heard a door m. Cecilia stomped out of Louis¡¯ room, seemingly on the verge of tears. I felt my heart ache, and I followed her. The girl took refuge in her room, and I hesitated to knock. Would I be intruding? Was I doing this out of the goodness of my heart, or was I hoping for something else? I was a terrible person. I knocked anyway. ¡°Louis¡­ not now, please,¡± Cecilia sobbed. I flinched, not expecting her voice to be so close. She was right behind the door. ¡°Uh¡ª it¡¯s not Louis, it¡¯s¡ª it¡¯s Grace. Should I leave?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I heard. ¡°Sorry.¡± After around thirty seconds, Cecilia opened the door and let me in. She looked fine, although her eyes were red. She was clearly trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. ¡°Sorry, I saw you cry when you came out of Louis¡¯ room, so I was wondering if I could help. We¡¯re friends, right?¡± The girl nodded. ¡°I wasn¡¯t crying,¡± She lied. ¡°But thank you anyway.¡± ¡°What happened? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just something stupid,¡± She sniffled. ¡°He¡¯s been talking to my best friend in Unova behind my back. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s like I can¡¯t trust anyone here. I like my friends, of course, but I can¡¯t speak freely to them. I always have to watch what I say.¡± ¡°Is it because of your dad?¡± I guessed. ¡°It¡¯s always because of my father. I¡¯m scared that he¡¯s getting information about me through them, through no fault of their own. They don¡¯t know how bad he really is. With you, I can at least say something because you¡¯re just a normal girl,¡± She said. ¡°No offense.¡± I nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s your best friend, right? Would she say stuff to your dad?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± She said, clenching her pants. ¡°I wish I could be sure, but recently, I¡¯ve started doubting her¡ª anyway, I¡¯m okay now, so it doesn¡¯t matter. Thank you for helping, Grace.¡± ¡°No prob,¡± I said, shuffling around. ¡°How did you guys meet, anyway?¡± ¡°Me and Amy?¡± I guessed that that was the name of her best friend. ¡°No, you and the rest of the group.¡± ¡°Oh. Well, I knew Pauline from her mother¡¯s many business trips to Unova already, but the rest, I met recently when I first flew to Sinnoh. Our parents arranged our travels together.¡± I wanted to ask about Louis too, but I decided against it. One, it would just be rude to do it right after she argued with him. Two, I wanted to prove to myself that I was better than that. I didn¡¯t want to take advantage of the argument for¡­ What was I doing? She didn¡¯t even like girls. I deted. ¡°Anyway, I also wanted to tell you about a ss we have to take¡­¡± I exined the situation to Cecilia, who seemed to be better now that we were focusing on something other than rtionships. We hung out for a while, something I couldn¡¯t help but be happy about. I mostly asked her about how it was back in Unova. The region was a little bigger than Sinnoh was, and it was home to way more people. Cecilia told me about how she used to go to one of her family¡¯s beach houses in a city called Humu with Amy every summer. I couldn¡¯t help but notice the sad twinge in her voice whenever she brought up her best friend, so I steered to conversation away, talking about how I first got Togetic and the antics she used to pull as a Togepi. That seemed to cheer her up. Ultimately though, we couldn¡¯t stay inside all day. Cecilia went to pick up her friends in their room while I was in charge of letting Louis know about the course because Cecilia was still furious at him, although she asked me to hide that fact. When I knocked on his door to let him know, he just ignored me and asked me if I knew where his girlfriend was. ¡°I do know, but uh, she¡¯s picking up the others... Anyway, it doesn¡¯t matter, since we all have to go to sign up for the ss.¡± ¡°You have to help me talk to her. She misunderstood¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my job,¡± I said. Every time I talked, I felt more and more awful. I was letting my jealousy affect the way I spoke, and I knew I had to put these feelings behind me. ¡°Talk to her yourself, man.¡± He sighed. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to. So we¡¯re meeting at the Ranger station?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Walking in silence with Louis felt awkward, but we just didn¡¯t have that much inmon. At least with Cecilia, I could push through listening about her insane amount of beach houses because of my stupid crush, and we could bond over our Pokemon training, but I wasn¡¯t about to listen to Louisin about whatever problems billionaires had. Even though Louis enjoyed battling, the passion Cecilia had for it simply wasn¡¯t there. He didn¡¯t put out even half of what she did. Argh, I was just trying to find more reasons to dislike him, wasn¡¯t I? Whatever. We all met at the station a few minutester. Louis kept repeatedly apologizing until Cecilia reluctantly epted it, and everyone else seemed fine. Even Emilia, although still clearly scared, appeared to have calmed down. Luckily we wouldn¡¯t have to wait, so we were ced in a makeshift ssroom right away. There was the beginning of a powerpoint being projected onto the wall, and we all sat in stic chairs facing the presentation. Our ¡®teacher¡¯ was a veteran ranger with a strange decoloration on his neck and half of his face, and his right eye was permanently stuck looking to the right. ¡°Listen up!¡± He yelled, mming his fist against the wall. ¡°My name is Anders Ld, and unfortunately, I¡¯m your professor for the day. This is the first ss I¡¯m giving, but before I begin, I know there are a lot of you in this ss, and in the other sses that think that you¡¯re too good for this. That this isn¡¯t your first year going through this damned forest. But I want your undivided attention during these four hours. I¡¯ve gone in Eterna forest more times than you sorry asses can count, and I will have information you¡¯ve never heard before,¡± He said. ¡°Take this ss seriously, and your odds of making it out will be pretty high if you have the appropriate team, which might not even be the case, considering how many of you worms there are this year.¡± I made myself small and just observed. He was being very aggressive, somewhat reminding me of a bootcamp instructor. ¡°See this?¡± He said, pointing at himself. ¡°See this fucked up face? Got hit by Poison Sting six years ago. That¡¯s what can happen to you if you get hit by one of the wild Pokemon out here. But I¡¯m one of the lucky ones. Most of the time, one hit is all it takes. One hit, and you¡¯re done. I personally don¡¯t know why there¡¯s been such an increase in trainers participating in the Circuit, but I do know one thing. You¡¯re all terrible! You keeping back all injured, or dead, so we were forced by the League to implement these sses to stem the bleeding.¡± I inhaled sharply. Why hadn¡¯t I heard about the increase in casualties in the media? And if they were sorge that the League had to step in, I could only imagine how many people had been lost. Was it just ipetence, or had there been a cover-up? The instructor grinned, and the right side of his face stayed unresponsive, like it was permanently under anesthesia. ¡°Introductions are over. You know the stakes, now all I can hope for is that you listen. I¡¯m going to make you into motherfucking professionals.¡±
Chapter 42 Chapter 42 CHAPTER 42 ¡°Let¡¯s get the big three out of the way first,¡± Instructor Anders said. The powerpoint changed to pictures of three bug type Pokemon, two of which I was familiar with. ¡°Scyther, Dustox, and Parasect.¡± Louis raised his hand excitedly. ¡°Why the hell are you raising your hand for? This isn¡¯t fucking elementary school. I do the talking, you shut up and watch,¡± He snarled. Louis audibly gulped and pulled his hand down. ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of shitty Scyther, Dustox, or Parasect you¡¯ve seen in the past, Pokemon in the forest are just better, and stronger. They¡¯re fighting in life-or-death situations their entire lives. Let¡¯s start with Scyther. They¡¯ll be on your ass before you can even get your Pokedex out, that¡¯s how fast they are. Luckily, you won¡¯t have to deal with any poison with them. The moves you have to watch out for are Fury Cutter, sh, and X-Scissor for the really tough ones. The rest is usually just icing on the cake.¡± Instructor Anders exined to us what each move entailed, and the effect they¡¯d have on us if they hit. ¡°You want a fast Pokemon out that can counter the thing before it gets to you¡ª and it will aim for you. Eterna forest¡¯s wildlife is the most aggressive in all of Sinnoh, save for Mount Cor and Victory Road,¡± He said. ¡°If you don¡¯t have a fast Pokemon or a Psychic type that can hold them in ce, turn back and don¡¯t enter the forest. Next up, we have Dustox. Unlike their counterpart Beautifly, they are vicious. Approach one of their colonies, and you get a Poison Sting or a Poison Powder to the face. Luckily their other attacks aren¡¯t that threatening¡ª rtively speaking. Just watch out for the poison. Never approach them, and watch your fucking step. If you step on one of their Wurmple, they''ll kill you. Let me y their cry.¡± He pressed forward in the powerpoint, and we heard an eerie, high-pitched noise that I recognized from my one encounter with the Pokemon. ¡°Unlike Scyther, Dustox like to be loud and announce their presence to let other Pokemon know not to approach. Usually, they usually live in groups of two or three, but they''ve been observed to gather in numbers as high as ten. They protect a dozen or so Cascoon, and even more Wurmple. Their only natural predator in the forest is Scyther. Lastly, we have Parasect,¡± He said, switching to another picture. The Pokemon¡¯s eyes were dull and lifeless, and it had a huge vibrant mushroom growing on its back. I had never seen it before today. ¡°These fools started showing up here twenty years ago as an invasive species after some dumbass trainer brought in a couple of Paras, and we still struggle to cull their poption. They¡¯re too big and bulky for Scyther to aim for, and they¡¯re resistant to most poisonous attacks Pokemon use to hunt around here.¡± He paused, grabbing a sk from his hip to drink. ¡°They¡¯ll throw anything at you. Spores to poison you, to make you sleep, to paralyze you, you name it. And while you¡¯re writhing on the ground, unable to move, or sleeping, they¡¯ll cut you up. Luckily for you, they¡¯re rtively slow. You can outrun them easily, so as long as you don¡¯t get caught by surprise, you should be okay. Now, I see a few of your eyes glinting. Do not try to catch one of these if you value your life. You¡¯re better off just getting out of the forest as soon as you can. Keep your head down, travel in groups, watch each other¡¯s backs, and you will make it through. Now let¡¯s move on to the less threatening Pokemon¡­¡± Instructor Anders kept on going for four hours, teaching us about the mostmon wild Pokemon we could find, the ways to fight them most effectively, and how to respond to being hit by all kinds of attacks. For Poison Sting, for example, if you were hit on the arm or the leg, you needed to make a tourniquet¡ª which he taught us how to do¡ª around the poisoned area to prevent the poison from spreading too fast and get back to the Pokemon Center as fast as possible. He also went over the rules of the forest, asking us not to fight the endangered Pokemon like Beautifly or Gossifleur. We all absorbed the information rigorously, not letting one bit past us. Lastly, he told us what general direction we should head toward, along with thendmarks and tree markings to follow. The exit was apparently somewhere toward the northeast. By the end of the lesson, we got our tickets, and even though I was scared of what was toe, I also felt more confident than ever. Some were not as ready to go as I was, however. ¡°I can¡¯t do this,¡± Emilia said. I had looked at the girl during ss, and she was practically crying the whole way through. She was even more terrified than before, and honestly, who could me her? The instructor had really beaten the notion that death or a life-changing injury was a real possibility in the forest. Even Louis and Justin seemed unsettled. Denzel looked nervous but excited. Cecilia had her usual poker face on, and Pauline was ying with her hair, like usual. ¡°We¡¯ll get through this, Emi,¡± Pauline said. ¡°It¡¯s what, only three Pokemon to watch out for? The rest are all small fries that our team can easily deal with.¡± ¡°Hell, with our entire team, we might be able to defeat one of the big three he warned us about,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Agreed,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I must tell you now, I will catch a Scyther.¡± We all gasped. She hadn¡¯t even said she would try to catch a Scyther, she just said she would. The amount of confidence honestly baffled the mind. Louis perked up. ¡°Cece, about earlier¡ª¡± ¡°Not now, Louis. Please.¡± "I wasn''t cheating on you¡ª" We ignored him. ¡°That¡¯s something Anders explicitly told us not to do,¡± Justin said worriedly. ¡°Let¡¯s not be rash.¡± ¡°I will do it with you, or alone. I have wanted one since I began this journey, and I won¡¯t let the opportunity slip by.¡± Seeing how resolute Cecilia was, we all just let the issue go. Maybe we''d be able to convince her to change her mind when we were in the forest. I used the opportunity to bring up my own ambitions for a new team member. ¡°I also want to catch a grass type in the forest, I guess,¡± I muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t know which one, though.¡± Cecilia¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Very good! Denzel, you and I can all cooperate and catch our new Pokemon soon.¡± We decided to get back to the Center. In two days, we would leave bright and early into the depths of Eterna forest. I decided that it was time to warn my team about the dangers ahead. They would be the ones protecting me, so it was only right to tell them ahead of time. I released the three in my room. I sat at the foot of my bed, and Togetic settled in between my legs. Frillish hovered calmly in front of me, and Elekid announced himself with a small cheer. ¡°Listen up, gang,¡± I said, pping my hands. ¡°In two days, we¡¯re going into Eterna forest.¡± I paused, waiting for their reactions. They all looked at me confusedly. ¡°It¡¯s an extremely dangerous ce. I won¡¯t lie to you, it¡¯ll be tough. Something bad might happen to me, or the rest of the group, but I¡¯ll try to catch you up to speed.¡± I used my notes and recounted everything the instructor had told me during his ss, making sure everyone knew how to counter and fight the Pokemon we would encounter in the forest. Even Elekid was listening intently, not letting his attention split for one second, especially since I had told him that I would be using him the majority of the time. Frillish looked more anxious than I had ever seen him. His eyes were darting all over the ce, and his tentacles were trembling slightly. Togetic looked worried and chirped sadly as she sunk her head into my chest. ¡°Toge¡­¡± ¡°I know, princess,¡± I said, petting her. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Fri!¡± Frillish said. ¡°I know you¡¯re angry at me, buddy. I¡¯ll still use you whenever I can, I just don¡¯t want to risk you getting hit by some dangerous grass type move.¡± The water type huffed silently and turned his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry about me. I trust Elekid to protect me,¡± I said with a slight smile. ¡°Elekid!¡± He screamed as he flexed his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, hon. You¡¯ve got the hardest job of the group.¡± ¡°Kid! Kid!¡± Iughed. ¡°You can handle it, huh? How about onest day of training? You guys can have a rest day tomorrow.¡± Elekid mored happily, Togetic chirped, and Frillish rolled his eyes. After thirty minutes or so, we stepped out of the Pokemon Center and walked toward a secluded area of the outpost where not many trainers were. ¡°You guys feeling like an Elekid versus Frillish match today?¡± I asked. They both nodded. ¡°Alright. Togetic, you watch. I¡¯ll direct Frillish since Elekid has the type advantage.¡± Elekid got into position as Frillishzily floated up. It was the second time Elekid was fighting on his own, and I had found that this way of training was also the perfect way to improve my team¡¯s battle instincts. Trainers didn¡¯t always have the time to yell outmands all the times. Sometimes, we froze during battle or even thought for too long, which was when our Pokemon had to take matters into their own hands and decide what moves to use for themselves. I inhaled through my teeth. ¡°Alrighty, let¡¯s go!¡± Elekid mmed his fists together and let loose a Thundershock toward Frillish. ¡°Drop down and Water Sport,¡± I ordered. The water type dodged the electric attack and propelled himself forward as he spun. ¡°Don¡¯t get too close,¡± I said. I knew Elekid would counter with Thunder Punch. He immediately stopped as the electric type¡¯s fist charged up. ¡°Bubblebeam!¡± Frillish spat out a stream of bubbles, hitting Elekid and kicking up dust from the ground. I heard Elekid yell out as arge number of stars came out of the smoke. ¡°Don¡¯t bother dodging, you can¡¯t avoid them,¡± I said quickly. ¡°Water Pulse!¡± Elekid ran out of the smoke plume at terrifyingly fast speeds, dodging Water Pulse after Water Pulse before sending out another Thundershock. It hit Frillish, who fell to the ground after taking the super effective move right after Swift. Elekid let out a cackle as he rushed toward his opponent to deliver a Thunder Punch. ¡°Hex!¡± I yelled out. Elekid was impressing me, so it was time to take the gloves off. Frillish¡¯s eyes lit up, and smoke beganing out of Elekid¡¯s body. He slipped and fell to the ground before writhing in pain. I winced, but I knew this would only make him tougher in the long term. ¡°Don¡¯t let him recover! Water Pulse!¡± Frillish let out a smooth cry as he released another ring of water, this time hitting Elekid and sending him flying. He quickly got up and dusted himself off, eliciting a smile from me. Before all of our training through route 205, he would have gone down from those two moves, but he was still standing proud. ¡°Kid!¡± He yelled out, running toward Frillish once again, albeit slower. I frowned. If he got into Hex¡¯s range, we would just use the move again, and I knew he was smarter than that. ¡°He¡¯s preparing a trap,¡± I told Frillish. ¡°Batter him with more Water Pulses, then Hex as soon as he¡¯s in range. Let me think.¡± Frillish nodded and issued my orders immediately. I smiled as immensely powerful Water Pulses rushed toward Elekid. We had trulye a long way from when he first was beginning to use the move. Elekid formed another set of stars above him and then released a Thundershock immediately after. My eyes widened as electricity imbued itself into the stars. Swift sped up immensely, and each hit to Frillish was devastating. Elekid had finally mastered our new move. An electric type Swift. I snapped out of my stupor and saw Frillish was still floating, though barely. ¡°Rush forward and Hex!¡± ¡°Frillish!¡± He sluggishly propelled himself with Water Sport again before using Hex, and Elekid finally went down as he convulsed and shook on the floor. Frillish stopped as soon as he saw that Elekid was unable to fight. I rushed toward Elekid and grabbed him. ¡°You did amazing,¡± I told him. He smiled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have asked for a better fight. You did awesome too, Frillish. Sorry for being caught off-guard, I thought it¡¯d still take a while for Elekid to master that move.¡± Frillish nodded and waved a tentacle absent-mindedly. Togetic pped at the great fight she had just seen, crying out happily and flipping around in the air. ¡°Sorry, princess, it looks like no fight for you today,¡± I apologized. I ced all of them back in their balls and gave Frillish and Elekid to Nurse Joy. I wanted to do onest thing before finally resting before our trip through Eterna forest, and that was finally determining which grass type I was going to catch. Instructor Anders'' lesson had shown me the mostmon ones I would find. Paras was out of the question. Apparently, the mushrooms on their body was a parasite, and it took control of their brain when they evolved, so their entire personality would be gone. I didn¡¯t want to have to go through that. Oddish or Shroomish were certainly in the cards, although I felt like they wouldn¡¯t serve the purpose I was looking for in the team. Oddish was a long-distance fighter that fought with spores and status effects. Shroomish was as well until it evolved and turned into a close-range fighter, but it was still weak defensively. I wanted something that could take hits. My entire team right now was made out of fragile Pokemon, although Togetic was the best one in that regard. What did that leave me with? I flipped through my notes, looking for the perfect candidate. I smiled as my hand hovered over a name I hadn¡¯t considered yet. Tang. The Pokemon was one of the bulkiest grass types, and it could fight at close range easily with its numerous vines. Exactly what I was looking for. I smiled as I closed my notes. I had made my choice. I was going to catch a Tang no matter what. The next two days went by quickly. I spent most of them resting or hanging out with Denzel, my team, and Cecilia, which was a pleasant and exciting development. Finally, though, we stood at the forest¡¯s entrance. The trees were tall and looming above us, forming an all-consuming dark entrance that was terrifying. Pokemon cries could be heard on the inside. I clenched my fist as I released Elekid, who stood next to me loyally. We all released our agreed-upon Pokemon, and Emilia finally released her Beldum. Its color was different than usual, however. It waspletely white like marble, and its three ws were yellow like gold. The metallic alien-looking Pokemon hovered silently over her head, its singr eye looking at us one by one. Hoping for the best, we stepped into the forest.
Chapter 43 Chapter 43 CHAPTER 43 Huge trees towered far above us, forming a canopy so dense that the sky was practically invisible, with only small slivers of sunlight bursting through the thick cover. The forest floor was soft, with a thickyer of leaves and whatever nt debris had fallen from above over the years. The asional rtive quiet of our steps was often broken by the snapping of a twig underfoot. The smell of the forest was so thick it was almost oppressive. The scent of nature and vegetation masked everything else and prickled the inside of my nose. I jumped as I felt a small branch touch my forearm, and I pped the neck of my sweater, hoping to cool myself off. Even in the frigid cold of the forest, I was already sweating due to how nervous I was. Cries of different Pokemon could be heard all around us, and unlike in the previous routes, they weren¡¯t scared of making themselves known. Emilia screeched as an Ariados lowered itself from a tree ahead. It quickly scuttled forward, chasing a Venonat that desperately tried to jump out of the way. My brain quickly recalled what Instructor Anders had told us about the two. Venonat were nocturnal, but due to the thick vegetation protecting them from sunlight, they were active throughout the day. They weren¡¯t generally a threat to trainers and mostly ate small bug types. Meanwhile, Ariados would usually never go after humans unless they were hungry enough, in which case they¡¯d trap you in their web and drag you back to their nest. Not wanting to provoke the two, we stayed still and watched as the spider savagely bit into the Venonat before spinning it in its web and dragging it away. I swallowed and watched mypanions. We all nodded at each other and kept going. We had created a formation to maximize our chances. First was Justin in the front with his Growlithe. The fire type was the only one whose sense of smell would be able to find threats in the forest, so it was only natural that he would lead us. Next, we put Emilia and Cecilia on his nks. Deino and Beldum were both incredibly bulky while also packing a punch, meaning that they were the perfect first line of defense to ward off an attack from the front. Behind them, we had me, Pauline, and Louis. Gothita, Elekid, and Prinplup were our long-range attackers, meant to support Beldum and Deino from the back without being at risk of suffering from a lethal attack. Finally, we had Denzel and Eevee in the rear. Whereas Growlithe could lead us with his sense of smell, Eevee¡¯s strength was his hearing, and he¡¯d be able to warn us if anything was stalking us. So much nning had gone into this, and yet we were still all terrified. Louis couldn¡¯t help but look behind his shoulder every five seconds, while Emilia kept muttering to herself that it would be okay over and over under the watchful eye of her Beldum. Denzel was distracting himself by petting Eevee and whispering something in his ear, but I knew he was scared because of a nervous tick he had where he clenched and unclenched his fists. Justin had protested many times to being put in the front due to being the obvious first target. The only ones who looked somewhat unfazed here were Cecilia and Pauline, but even I could tell they were anxious. And we hadn¡¯t even been in here for thirty minutes. ¡°Emi, please stop talking. You¡¯re driving me crazy,¡± Louis said quietly. We didn¡¯t want to make too much noise due to the amount of risk involved. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay, it¡¯s going to be okay¡ª¡± ¡°Please, Pauline, shut her up,¡± He hissed through his teeth. Beldum¡¯s eye darted toward Louis and glowed slightly. He inhaled sharply and stopped talking. Pauline broke formation slightly and offered Emilia a shoulder to cry on. Her quiet sobs turned into a cry, and the cry became louder and louder no matter what we tried to calm her down¡ª Growlithe started growling and barking loudly, and Eevee did the same, his ears twitching. We all stopped dead in our tracks and got ready for whatever wasing. My ears were ringing, and I was barely even breathing. It was like time had stoppedpletely. I braced myself as loud stomps rang through the forest, slowly getting louder. A huge Pinsir burst through the thick vegetation, but he stopped, apparently sizing us up. It probably hadn¡¯t expected such a huge group. ording to Anders, they were rather rare because of their dislike for the cold, but they were incredibly dangerous. Just our luck. After a few seconds, Pinsir yelled out as its pincers mmed together, creating a terrifying sound that the Pokemon used to intimidate its enemies. It rushed forward. Ignoring Emilia¡¯s screams, Cecilia gave the first order. ¡°Deino, don¡¯t hold back. Dragon Breath!¡± Deino roared as his mouth lit aze with draconic energy. The Pinsir sidestepped and dodged as it continued its way toward us. Not stopping his attack, Deino simply kept going and turned his head, hitting the Pinsir who screeched out in pain. Beldum used the opportunity to ram into the bug type without any of his trainer¡¯smands. ¡°Thundershock!¡± I ordered Elekid. He grunted and spun his arms, sending an arc of electricity toward Pinsir. The bug type convulsed for a few seconds before he screeched in rage and leaped at Deino, grabbing its neck with its pincers. It shook the dragon type wildly, and he attempted to fight back, but he couldn¡¯t get out of its grip. I couldn¡¯t use any of Elekid¡¯s attacks without hurting Deino now, so I could only watch. ¡°Get in close and Bite! Distract it!¡± Denzel yelled. Eevee blurred as he ran toward the bug type, who was still relentlessly assaulting Deino. ¡°Gothita, stop him with Confusion.¡± Beldum let out a weird metallic, grinding sound and both he and Gothita''s eyes turned pink as a psychic aura surrounded Pinsir, restraining him. Eevee used the opportunity to bite the bug type¡¯s arm, tearing a bit of its ted armor off. It let go of Deino, who rammed it with its head before sending it flying with another Dragon Breath. The dragon¡¯s scales around his neck were cracked and some were taken offpletely, exposing its flesh. I ordered another Thundershock, and Elekid obliged immediately. Pinsir was never able tond another hit again. As soon as it got anywhere close, Beldum and Gothita would stop him with Confusion, and we kept battering it with our long-distance moves. After five minutes or so, it finally left, deciding not to bother. I let that fact sink in for a moment. We had only won because we had annoyed it enough. It was stillpletely fine, although slower and clearly weakening by the minute. If it had wanted, it could have kept this up for at least another ten minutes. I swallowed. Our Pokemon all looked exhausted already and we weren¡¯t even one hour in. Only Beldum seemed fine, and Deino seemed enraged more than anything. Cecilia struggled to apply a potion to his neck. ¡°Damn it, Emilia!¡± Louis said in a ragged voice. ¡°Control yourself!¡± ¡°Oh, please,¡± Pauline rolled her eyes. ¡°You were the only one who didn¡¯t do anything, Louis. You just watched from afar as we all risked our lives to take that Pinsir down. And we¡¯re lucky it decided to go after our Pokemon first and not us!¡± ¡°I was just surprised!¡± He said in a haughty tone. ¡°Next time, Prinplup and I won¡¯t be caught off guard.¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± ¡°Stop it. Now is not the time for petty disputes,¡± Cecilia snapped. She stood up and put the potion back in her bag. ¡°Sort this out when we¡¯re all outside safe and sound.¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± He said. His voice was shaking slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s just keep going.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Emilia muttered under her breath. As for me? I still felt the adrenaline pumping through my body, but as I slowly ran out, I felt my legs begin to shake. I could barely even walk straight. The inside of my clothes waspletely soaked, and I was starting to get cold. That Pinsir had been more powerful than any other wild Pokemon I had ever seen, and we weren¡¯t even deep in the forest yet. I let out a shaky breath as I wondered what else was lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack. ¡ª¡ª Luckily for us, the remainder of the day had been rtively peaceful. Oh, we still got attacked seven times by wild Pokemon, but none were as threatening as that Pinsir had been. The most problematic one had been an aggressive Gloom whose territory we had apparently stepped into. It had let out a noxious smell from the gel-like substances it secreted from its mouth, but that was the least of our problems. Because of Gloom, both Deino and Eevee had been poisoned badly, and even with our antidotes, they would need to rest for an hour or two to get back to their full potential, which was why we decided to set up camp since it was getting dark anyway. Setting up camp in a forest this dense was infuriatingly difficult. Obviously, the big tent was a no-go, but even with the smaller tents Cecilia¡¯s group had purchased at the outpost, we still needed to do a lot of work. First, we cleared the forest floor out of vegetation, evening the ground enough to put the tents on. Just clearing out around a seventy feet area took hours, and we had to do it with our hands. Luckily, Growlithe sped up the process, and Eevee started helping as soon as he recovered from his poisoning. Next, we had to collect firewood. We had no food to cook, but the warmth would be useful to soothe our minds and dry our clothes, and while Denzel, Louis, and Justin did that, we set up everybody¡¯s tents. They¡¯d be able to fit two people each, meaning that some unfortunate soul would have to sleep on their own. I volunteered since I had to sleep with Togetic anyway. I wasn¡¯t about to summon the entire Arceus damned wildlife to our location by waking up screaming. Anyway, we had to do all of that while being constantly under attack by anything that thought it could take us on. Ekans, Weepinbell, Venipede, anything desperate enough for food. We considered building some kind of wall using more wood, but that idea quickly died when we realized how much work it would take for what would amount to not that much protection. Pokemon would be able to either fly above it, or just burst through with a move. Finally though, we had our camp set up. Pauline¡¯s Charmeleon quickly lit the fire with its tail before being recalled once again. We had Prinplup in case it spread by ident, and we needed to extinguish it quickly, and if that wasn¡¯t enough, I had Frillish and Cecilia had Slowpoke. We stayed silently by the fire. Some of us ate with our Pokemon, while others like Emilia and Louis were just staring in the distance, terrified that something would leap out of the shadows and attack us. The fire would do us good, yes, but it also made us extremely easy to spot, adding to the tension. And tension, there was. Louis seemingly thought that this was an appropriate moment to try to rekindle his romance, while Pauline was getting more and more aggressive toward him. ¡°Shut the fuck up! I¡¯m tired of you, Louis! I¡¯m fucking tired of you!¡± ¡°Mind your own business.¡± ¡°This is my business! You¡¯re letting your silly little lovesick heart in the driver¡¯s seat when it should be your fucking brain in there!¡± ¡°Pauline, please, yournguage¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck off too! I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± Pauline hissed at Justin. ¡°Wake me up when it¡¯s my turn to stand guard.¡± Her tone turned soft when she turned toward Emilia. ¡°Come on Emi, let¡¯s get you in bed.¡± The girl just nodded weakly and followed her friend. ¡°I ought to get to bed too, I suppose. Louis, my friend, remind me of the watch order again?¡± Louis¡¯ head was pointed downward, and he didn¡¯t even bother to lift it as he spoke. ¡°Cecilia and I were supposed to be the first watch¡ª¡± He was interrupted by her sigh. ¡°Then it¡¯s Denzel and Grace, then it was you and Pauline.¡± ¡°Oh dear,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°Well, good night, everyone. May tomorrow be smoother than today.¡± We all bid him goodnight. Emilia wasn¡¯t going to stand watch because we considered her too unstable and scared to be reliable, so she¡¯d get to sleep all night. Throughout the next few minutes, we trickled out of the camp. Denzel was first, joining Justin in their tent. I considered staying a little while longer, but I realized it was just my jealousy speaking, and that it was better if I was rested for when they¡¯d wake me up. I released Togetic, who seemed eager to know how today had gone. I decided to release Frillish as well to update the entire team on what had gone on. We were partners, after all, so it wouldn¡¯t be fair to keep them in the dark. Finally, I recalled Elekid and Frillish and fell asleep to Togetic¡¯s quiet chirps.
Chapter 44 Chapter 44 CHAPTER 44 Cecilia opened my tent two and a half hourster. ¡°Grace,¡± She whispered. ¡°It¡¯s your turn now.¡± I yawned and stretched, barely keeping my eyes open. Togetic was still asleep, so I discreetly recalled her so she could keep sleeping in her Pokeball. I took a deep breath and shook my head wildly to wake myself up before making my way outside. It was actually staggering how dark Eterna forest was at night. The fire was extinguished, so I could barely see anything due to the thick tree cover blocking the moonlight. We had purchased shlights, but we were too scared to use them at night, just in case the bright light attracted some wild Pokemon we couldn¡¯t fight off if we kept it on too long. I felt at my hip and released Elekid. ¡°Hey, wanna spin your arms around for me for a sec?¡± I whispered. ¡°Quietly, please.¡± Elekid grumbled at my specification, but he obliged and spun his arms, creating a light source. I knew how dangerous it was, though, so I just used it to find Denzel, after which I ordered him to stop. He was standing against a tree with Eevee at his feet. The Pokemon was lying down, but I could tell he was focused by the way his ears were pointed, listening for any danger. My friend yawned as he saw me, causing me to do the same. ¡°Damn you and your yawns,¡± I said quietly. ¡°How¡¯d you sleep?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t even fall asleep. Too nervous. I justid down in my sleeping tent and looked at the ceiling for almost three hours.¡± ¡°You can sleep in my tent if you want,¡± I said. ¡°Togetic can¡ª¡± Eevee stood up, and our heads whirled to our left. I couldn¡¯t recognize which Pokemon cry that was, and neither could Denzel, so we just stayed perfectly still and silent, hoping it would pass without noticing our camp. Even at night, Pokemon were still active. The forest never slept, and we¡¯d be foolish to let our guard down. Luckily for us, it passed, and nothing happened. I finally took a breath I didn¡¯t know I had been holding. ¡°This ce is hell,¡± I groaned. ¡°Tell me about it. That Pinsir was something else, and that Anders guy didn¡¯t even tell us that much about them. I just hope we don¡¯t get lost or stuck. The longer we stay here, the bigger chance there is of something going wrong.¡± I hoped to Arceus he hadn¡¯t just jinxed us. The next two hours and a half went by agonizingly slowly, and we had to be constantly on edge. I never thought about how exhausting that was, andbined with the fact that I was already dead tired, I fell asleep immediately after getting back in my tent. Denzel joined me this time after waking up Justin and Pauline, and Togetic helped him rx and fall asleep. When I woke up again, it was morning. Cecilia had a really good internal clock and woke up at five-thirty on the dot every morning, so she was in charge of waking up everybody. Thank Arceus for her. Nothing bad had happened at night. Apparently, Gothita and Growlithe had chased off a group of Caterpie looking to scavenge anything they could find in our camp, but they weren¡¯t that threatening. We all ate breakfast in rtive silence, cleared our camp, and continued on our way. We were still walking north, waiting a few days before starting to turn east. We followed the same formation as before, hoping for the best. Pauline was sticking to Emilia more and more since she was the girl¡¯s biggest support. There was a bit of animosity toward her from Louis for having caused the Pinsir to find us yesterday, but Pauline shut down everyint immediately. Three hourster, we all paused as Growlithe let out a low growl. My heartbeat quickened as I looked down at Elekid, who stared up at me and nodded. We heard a small rustle beyond some bushes to our right. We were all in position. What horror would reveal itself this time? I wiped my hands against my pants and waited with bated breath¡ª A small, brown furry Pokemon slowly limped through the bushes. Its ears were rolled up, and one of them had arge gash that was bleeding massively. it waspletely covered in spores. ¡°Neary¡­¡± The Buneary copsed as it reached us. After being taken out of his stupor, Denzel grabbed a Pokeball and approached¡ª ¡°Wait!¡± Justin yelled, blocking him. ¡°Growlithe still smells a threat.¡± We froze, as scuttling could slowly be heard in the distance, slowly getting louder, and louder. Suddenly, at least ten Paras burst through the vegetation and started attacking us. Yes, us. And more wereing. ¡°Try not to breathe!¡± I yelled, before thest shred of order evaporated from the group, and the formation fell apart. Emilia yelled and fell backward as a Paras jumped onto her leg and bit down hard. Beldum tried to wedge it off using Confusion, but the thing waspletelytched on, and it began releasing spores. Cecilia ordered Deino to take care of anything that got close to him, and the dragon started roaring out Dragon Breaths, taking out each Paras in one hit, but they just kepting. Elekid started by Thundershocking the ones he could aim at without hurting anyone else that was in the way, but soon, they were getting closer, and he switched to Thunder Punching. Seeing the writing on the wall, I swore and grabbed my axe. ¡°Use your axes as weapons!¡± I screamed. I swatted a Paras away from me. Their shells were hard and probably too hard to break, but they were extremely protective of the parasite on their backs, so one hit to one of the two mushrooms hard enough, and they¡¯d run. Denzel cut the Paras¡¯ mushroom on Emilia¡¯s leg, wounding the bug enough for it to let go, and Beldum threw him against a tree. Gothita was busy keeping every Paras off of Pauline, who was fighting to protect Emilia and Cecilia and covered in green blood. and Eevee was cracking their shells with Double Kicks, making them more vulnerable. Louis was crouched and trembling against a tree, and his Prinplup was using Ice Beam over and over again, freezing the Paras into submission. I felt something crawl on my back, and I screeched. ¡°Grace!¡± Denzel yelled out. Elekid panicked as I desperately tried to get the bug off my back. He was too short to Thunder Punch Paras, and he couldn¡¯t use Thundershock without hurting me. It bit into my back, and I copsed, writhing in agony. Elekid Punched the bug twice, and Eevee rushed to my side, ramming into it, but it was ultimately Denzel who sliced one of the bug type¡¯s parasites, causing it to scuttle off as it screeched. ¡°I¡ª I can¡¯t move,¡± I told Denzel amidst the chaos. A Dragon Breath flew above us, hitting a Paras that was about to attack us mid-air. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you,¡± He said. ¡°Eevee, keep them off of me! You guys need to release everything you¡¯ve got!¡± He yelled, before grabbing Budew¡¯s Pokeball. I looked into his eyes, and he seemingly understood me. ¡°I need all the firepower I¡¯ve got.¡± The group listened, and a flurry of red lit up and dark forest. Budew looked around confusedly before Denzel brought her up to speed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I need you just this once, Budew. You need to keep the Paras off of us. Use Absorb, Bullet Seed, anything.¡± Budew stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and, started glowing and growing slightly in size before attacking the nearest Paras with Bullet Seed. ¡°My Pokeballs,¡± I grunted. ¡°Use my team.¡± Denzel kicked one of the Paras into Gible¡¯s huge Dragon Rage. ¡°Alright, but I¡¯ll stay here with them and you, alright?¡± I offered a weak nod, and he released Frillish and Togetic, who kept battering our enemies with Water Pulse and Fairy Wind. Eventually, after five minutes of fighting off the horde, they were either dead, too injured to fight, or had escaped. I grunted in pain as I pushed myself against a tree. Despite having been bit once on my upper back, my entire back was hurting. Emilia couldn¡¯t walk without someone supporting her. Cecilia¡¯s right arm had been severely injured and bit multiple times by the same Paras, although she looked like she¡¯d be able to keep going. Pauline, Denzel, and Louis were unscathed physically, but one of them hadn¡¯t even helped. One of them hadn¡¯t even pulled out a weapon to fight and had instead hidden like a coward. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you!¡± Denzel screamed, pushing Louis against a tree. His Pokemon didn¡¯t even defend him. Gible was just eating a Paras, while Prinplup was just looking around awkwardly. ¡°Keep your hands off me!¡± Louis said, trying to push my friend away. Even though Denzel was two years younger, he was still a big guy, and the situation devolved into a fight, which Justin stopped. Denzel wiped his bloody nose. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking wimp,¡± He spat. ¡°You could have gotten someone killed. Even Emilia fought! But you? You fucking hid.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you speak to me that way¡ª¡± ¡°Shut the fuck up and listen for once in your Arceus damned life!¡± He interrupted. ¡°Being scared is fine. We¡¯re all fucking scared! But as it stands, you¡¯re dead weight.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Louis scoffed, looking around to his friend for support. His face turned ugly when he realized none wasing. ¡°Cece?¡± He tried. The girl turned away and walked up to me before crouching and assessing the damage on my back. ¡°Pauline¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy, Louis,¡± The girl said, tending to Emilia¡¯s wounded leg. ¡°Justin?¡± The boy shook his head. ¡°Not now, Louis.¡± Louis copsed with his back against the tree and buried his face in his knees, not saying anything else. ¡°The bite is right next to your spine, but it looks like it¡¯s only surface damage,¡± Cecilia told me. I breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°It tore off a pretty big chunk of flesh, though.¡± ¡°Damn it,¡± I said. I winced as I felt a wet towel touch the wound. Cecilia warned me before pouring alcohol to disinfect it. I thrashed around and swore after just a few drops, but I had to endure it. ¡°What about spores?¡± Justin asked. ¡°Anyone feeling weak, stiff, or tired?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re all okay. Paras¡¯ spores aren¡¯t as potent as Parasect¡¯s, so as long as we didn¡¯t breathe in too much, we should be fine,¡± Pauline stated, applying a few potions to Charmeleon and Gothita. ¡°Let someone know if that starts to change,¡± Cecilia told us as she wrapped a bandage around my back. I froze as her soft hands wrapped under my clothing. In any other circumstances, I would have been ecstatic. ¡°There you go, Grace. Can you walk?¡± ¡°I think so, yeah. I was probably just in shock before,¡± I said. I got up and steadied myself against the tree trunk before taking a tentative step. I was thankfully fine if I ignored the searing pain in my back, although running would probably be out of the picture because the simple motion of my arms would transfer to my back and make the pain way worse. I stared at Emilia, who was sobbing silently as Pauline wrapped her own bandage around her leg. ¡°Should we stay here for a few hours? I don¡¯t think Emilia can walk,¡± I asked. Pauline looked at me, and for the first time, I saw no animosity. Just gratefulness. ¡°I think that would be wise,¡± She said. ¡°Emi needs a break.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch,¡± Denzel said. He thanked Budew before recalling her. ¡°I need to do something first.¡± He slowly approached Buneary, who squirmed on the ground. It was terrified of him, but he just crouched and started applying potions on the area where it was wounded. ¡°Can one of you guys give me an Antidote?¡± He asked. Justin handed him the yellow bottle, and he applied the concoction on the Buneary¡¯s skin. The liquid would be absorbed and cure it of its poisoning. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of you, alright?¡± He said softly before carrying it in his arms ¡°This is Eevee,¡± Denzel continued, pointing at his friend. ¡°I won¡¯t make the same mistake twice. I¡¯ll nurse you back to health, and if you want to join me by the end, I¡¯ll take you in.¡± The normal type nodded weakly. He carried it a few dozen feet away and started to watch for any danger. We slowly started setting up camp again in the same way as yesterday. We were all alternating our team members to let them rest after that tough battle. Instructor Anders had warned that Paras usually traveled in packs, but I wasn¡¯t expecting a horde. Luckily they hadn¡¯t been led by a Parasect, or we probably would have run away and gotten lost, or¡­ died. It was only the second day, and Eterna forest was already taking its toll on us. Paras usually didn¡¯t attack humans unless they were desperate for food ormanded by a Parasect, and that group had been way too big. First the Pinsir, now this? Anders had said trainers going through the forest were unlikely to meet the bigger threats that he had shown us, so it looked like we were extremely unlucky. I hoped I would be able to withstand what was toe, but even more than that, I hoped that no one would justpletely break down. Beforehand, I would have said Emilia was the most likely candidate. The girl was wrapped around a nket in between Justin and Pauline, who, even though appeared a little shaken, looked to be doing alright. Denzel was the one I was putting all my trust in. I knew in my heart that he wouldn¡¯t give up if I was still here. Cecilia seemed to be the most mentally strong of us all. With a bandage wrapped around her wounded arm, she was working hard to keep all of us positive, talking about anything that came to mind, or about what we¡¯d do when we got out. Louis, though? The man hadn¡¯t talked since the Paras attack, and while he was sulking in a corner, his fiance was taking charge and keeping the group together. Right now, what I feared the most was still the wild Pokemon lurking around every corner. Most were weak enough for Deino to beat in one hit, but the sheer amount of attacks were going to take a toll on us. And that toll was causing the tension to rise, slowly but surely. I could tell something was brewing.
Chapter 45 Chapter 45 CHAPTER 45 ¡°We need to do something about Louis,¡± Pauline stated firmly. Cecilia and I looked at her confusedly. It had been a few hours since we had settled down, and Louis had just kept sitting down and moping like a child. Pauline had gathered Cecilia and me to talk, and now she was saying this? ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t even think I should even be here, I¡ª¡± I winced and hissed through my teeth as I felt a wave of pain re up. ¡°I¡¯m not even a part of your group.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here even though I dislike you because you seem to know what the hell you¡¯re doing,¡± She said. ¡°And so does Cecilia. Your friend Denzel needs to cool off and is protecting his new Pokemon like a Kangashkan protects her young, so I didn¡¯t want to bother him.¡± ¡°Alright, but what are you implying by doingsomething?¡± I asked her, frowning. Pauline smirked and grabbed a strand of her hair. ¡°Nothing as horrible as you¡¯re imagining. I just meant that we need to talk to him and set him straight. As mommy says, there¡¯s nothing a good yelling can¡¯t fix.¡± ¡°I think that thinking is seriously wed¡ª¡± Cecilia spoke up for the first time. ¡°Forget it.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Pauline said, raising her tone and getting closer. She was so aggressive all of a sudden that I felt the instinctive need to make myself smaller. ¡°Are you joking?¡± ¡°No. I won¡¯t take any action, and you shouldn¡¯t either. Louis will get better, just let him be,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°He¡¯s going to get us killed!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°Ifanythinghappens to Emi, I¡¯ll make his life a living hell! Do you believe what you¡¯re saying, or are you too blinded by the fact that you¡¯re fucking a hot, rich, eighteen-year-old?¡± I inhaled sharply, calming the rage I felt bubble up inside of me. I couldn¡¯t blow up, not now. Icouldn¡¯t. ¡°Stop it¡­¡± The dark-skinned girl said weakly. ¡°Why? You¡¯re noting to your senses, so I need to p you a little bit with my words until you do!¡± ¡°Please¡ª¡± ¡°Shut it!¡± I hissed. ¡°Can¡¯t you see you¡¯re hurting her?! Let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s not fight, alright?¡± I said as my arms slumped. ¡°Not now after that attack, and especially nothere. We¡¯re all on edge.¡± ¡°I know we¡¯re all on edge, I¡¯m notdumb,¡± Pauline said. ¡°But we have a clear culprit who¡¯s not pulling his weight, and he needs a dressing down.¡± ¡°Iagree, but again, let¡¯s let him recover a little bit first, yeah?¡± I told her. ¡°If we hit Louis when he¡¯s down¡ª¡± ¡°Just stop!¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Leave me out of this.¡± She stormed away, her voice shaking. I wanted to run after her, but it seemed foolish. What would I even say? Apologize? No. It would be best to apply my own advice and let her cool off, even if it hurt me to see her like this. ¡°Hmph! I thought she was better than this,¡± Pauline said. ¡°What do you say, then, Grace? Will you let your feelings blind you as well?¡± I felt my heart jump out of my throat. Did she know? ¡°W¡ªwhat?¡± ¡°As much as it pains me to say this, Cecilia sees you as a friend, but sometimes, even friends need to be argued with for the good of the group.¡± I sighed in relief. ¡°I agree with you,¡± I started, before raising my tone. ¡°But that shit you said about Cecilia being too dumb to know something was wrong because she has¡­ sex with him. That was too far! You¡¯re aterribleperson, Pauline. I hope you know this.¡± ¡°I thought we weren¡¯t supposed to argue in the forest,¡± She smugly said. ¡°Oh well, you¡¯re not the first one to tell me this, and you won¡¯t be thest.¡± She finished as shezily left. I clicked my tongue. This girl¡¯s entire way of thinking got on my nerves, but I let it go and decided to take a break like everyone else. To distract myself from the pain in my back, I made my way to where Denzel was, and Frillish followed me since he was out while Elekid was resting. He was in a secluded part of the camp, away from everyone else, crouching next to Buneary. It was sleeping in such a serene and peaceful way, so I quietly tip-toed up to him. Eevee was standing near, listening for any threats and watching over the normal type. Surprisingly, Budew was also out of her ball, still with her usual angered expression, but softer than I hade to expect. I crouched in turn next to my friend, who looked at me and smiled. We stayed quiet not to wake up Buneary, but one look at him was enough to understand quite a lot. I could see how much anger he still had left over from his fight with Louis, and that he was trying to calm himself down. I had seen him angry before, like when he was defending me during the tournament but notthatangry, and it was honestly shocking. Denzel Williams was snarky, and big, but soft-spoken, so to see him start a physical fight like this? Eterna forest took a toll on us all. Buneary rustled, waking up slowly. It flinched when it saw Frillish and me, but Denzel reassured her and pet her soft head. ¡°Sorry,¡± I told Buneary. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to wake you up. I¡¯m Denzel¡¯s friend,¡± I pointed at my Pokemon. ¡°This is Frillish. He¡¯s one of my partners. Don¡¯t mind the creepy stare.¡± ¡°Bun¡­¡± I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned the little rabbit, hoping to learn more about her species. Buneary, the Rabbit Pokemon. When it senses danger, it perks up its ears. On cold nights, it sleeps with its head tucked into its fur. Its ears are always rolled up. With enough training, they can be forcefully extended to shatter even arge boulder. ¡°She¡¯s still shaken, and scared of everything,¡± Denzel said softly. ¡°But at least she¡¯s healthy. I think that cut on her right ear will scar, though. Potions aren¡¯t that effective. If it had been a Full Restore¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s League only,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up. Even the others couldn¡¯t procure those, and they have all the money in the entire world.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± He said. ¡°I just feel like I could be doing more, you know? I let you get wounded, and you could have inhaled too many spores, or been bitten somewhere worse. What do I get? I getnothing.¡± ¡°Denzel¡ª¡± ¡°Think about it,¡± He interrupted. ¡°Every time, you¡¯re the one thatsomethinghappens to, and I¡¯m alwaysfine. The attack when I first caught Budew¡ª¡± The grass type screeched and turned away. ¡°I already forgave you for that¡ª¡± ¡°Then there was you getting kidnapped by team Gctic, and again, I couldn¡¯t do athing,¡± Denzel said in a hurt tone. ¡°Denzel, you can¡¯t me yourself for that¡ª¡± ¡°How can¡¯t I?I wasn¡¯tthere.¡± ¡°You were taking care of Eevee!¡±I said, raising my voice. ¡°Taking care of himhow, Grace? He was already with the Nurses. I couldn¡¯t do anything more, I could havee back!¡± He yelled. Eevee barked, and we paused and looked around the forest. Nothing was there. Denzel lowered his tone before continuing. ¡°And now this? You get a fucking chunk of your back ripped out by a Paras, andagain, I keeping out of itfine. Why?Why?!You¡¯re my best friend! Do you know how worried I am about you? That you¡¯re just holding everything all in, and that one day, you¡¯re going to go back to how you were on that hospital bed?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ this isn¡¯t the time, Denzel! I don¡¯t me you for any of this!¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I keep failing you, over and over. I need to be a better trainer, or one of these days,something¡ª¡± He stopped when we heard an argument back at the center of the camp. He took a breath, looking at me awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯d be better if you went to check. I¡¯m still pissed at Louis, and I feel like I¡¯d only add to the tension,¡± He said. I sniffled and left, wiping my eyes on the way back. Frillish hovered quietly above my shoulder, offering me somefort. I was d he hadn¡¯t gotten angry at Denzel, at least. I wiped away more tears. Why did it hurt so much? Ah. It was our first argument. Our firstactualargument. And the fact that it looked like there was no easy way to fix things was like pouring salt on the wound. Iposed myself before stepping into camp and saw Pauline and Louis arguing. Emilia was crying again, this time on Justin¡¯s shoulder as he watched the sh with mncholy. Cecilia was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Grow a fucking pair, Louis! You appointed yourself leader at the start of this journey, then act like it!¡± Pauline hissed. ¡°Quiet, you! I¡¯ve tolerated your foul mouth and temper for months, and I¡¯m tired of it!¡± ¡°I never fucking liked you, Louis! And I bet nobody does, but we¡¯re all forced to suck up to you because of your shitty dad! Hell, I bet evenCecefeels the same!¡± I frowned. First, she said Cecilia was blinded by love, now this? Her words didn¡¯t make any sense, she just said anything tohurtas much as possible. Pauline used her words like a weapon. The blond man froze for a second. ¡°Lies.¡± ¡°All I¡¯m asking is for you to take a little bit of responsibility, Louis. Not even one Arceus damned apology out of your mouth!¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny, foryouof all people to be talking about apologizing¡ª¡± ¡°Alright then, you have no argument, so you bring it back to me, likeusual.¡± I shook my head in disbelief. The entire group was copsing before my very eyes, and it hadn¡¯t even been my or Denzel¡¯s fault. Their entire dynamic had been broken from the start. A facade. I started looking around for Cecilia. I feared the worst, but she was just sitting in her tent, shielding her ears, with her Fletchling worriedly looking at her. I stepped inside while Frillish stayed out, since I told him to monitor the situation outside and intervene if the fight got violent. ¡°Thank the Legendaries,¡± I sighed. ¡°I thought you ran off. Are you okay?¡± She was just muttering something that I couldn¡¯t hear, rocking back and forth over and over. I leaned in further to listen in. ¡°Father, no, it wasn¡¯t me. It wasn¡¯t me. It wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll do what you want, I¡¯ll follow the deal. Pauline did it. She provoked him...¡± ¡°What the hell,¡± I muttered. I stepped closer and grabbed her shoulders. ¡°Cecilia?¡± Cecilia kept rocking her body back and forth, continuously speaking to her father even though he wasn¡¯t there. Therehadto be some sort of abuse going on. I bit my lip, feeling pain in my heart. It hurt, seeing her like this. ¡°Cecilia! Your dad isn¡¯t there!¡±I said, shaking her. ¡°You¡¯re with me. It¡¯s Grace.¡± The girl slowly looked up at me, and her thoughts seemed to clear, as her face turned from anguish to embarrassment. ¡°Grace¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡­ my dad¡­¡± ¡°I understand,¡± I just said. I could clearly see she didn¡¯t want to get into it. ¡°Just know that I¡¯m here, ok? Your friends and your Pokemon too. You¡¯re not alone.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Are they my friends?¡± ¡°I think so. I think they like you. Even Pauline, even though I don¡¯t like her. And hell, if they aren¡¯t, I¡¯m still here. And I¡¯ll stay here. Just don¡¯t break on me, alright Cecilia?¡± She nodded. ¡°Call me Cece.¡± ¡°Cece,¡± I said softly. ¡°Sorry Fletchling,¡± She said, gently petting the bird. ¡°I must have worried you.¡± ¡°The situation isreallybad,¡± I said. ¡°Pauline and Louis are fighting. Emilia¡¯s a mess. Justin is fine, but he seems like he just doesn¡¯t want to deal with it, and I just had a fight with Denzel. Youknowthem. I need you to help me fix things.¡± ¡°I would, but I just can¡¯t,¡± Cece sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t bare to look at Louis right now.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. Sort yourself out. I¡¯ll fix it,¡± I said as I got up. She just stared at me in bewilderment, but I just left her tent. I ran my hands through my hair, shook my head, and pped my cheeks to focus. Cece had traumatic issues with her father, and something else going on with Louis. Justin wasn¡¯t motivated enough to do anything. Emilia was two steps away from breaking down. Pauline was a bitch to everyone that wasn¡¯t Emilia. Louis was a coward who thought he could do nothing wrong. And Denzel had some form of survivor¡¯s guilt developing because of me. And it was up to me to fix it. All of it.
Chapter 46 Chapter 46 CHAPTER 46 I took a deep breath and looked at Frillish. "Frillish, I''m recalling you," I said. "I might need Togetic for this, and you already hate the others enough. I don''t want you to get mad and raise tensions." I thought he would protest, but he just nodded. "Thank you, buddy," I smiled slightly. I recalled him and let out Togetic before bringing her up to speed. She was ast resort in case I needed to just attack everyone with her happiness. I didn''t want to do it without their consent, but at this point, I was at the end of my rope. The first priority was breaking up the argument between Louis and Pauline before they attracted some wild Pokemon, but how would I go about it? I needed to somehow let Louis down gently without offending Pauline too much. I stayed deep in thought as I made my way toward the center of the camp. The fight was still going on, and Louis had released his Gible while Pauline had released her Charmander. The fire type was growling protectively in front of her trainer, while Gible was probably just excited to fight anything. Not good. "...dare you! Idareyou to attack me, Louis, because it''ll show how pathetic you are! You''re willing to attackme, but when we ask for a little help against wild Pokemon,oh, suddenly, you''re nowhere to be found!" "You''re wrong. This is just a precautionary measure against you and your deranged behavior!" Louis yelled. I bit the inside of my lip as Togetic observed behind me with a sad chirp. If a fight erupted, the forest could light aze, and Pokemon could probably hear this for miles. I had no time to think, it was time for action. There was a chance¡ª however slim, that they were so out of their mind that they''d attack Togetic, I was pretty confident Togetic would be able to take care of Gible thanks for her fairy type. Frillish could defeat Charmeleon and extinguish any fires. "Guys," I said. They ignored me and continued to argue."Guys!" "Don''t get involved!" Pauline yelled. "You were too scared to speak out, so now this is between me and¡ª" "Shut up," I said. She could only offer me a bewildered look in response. She clearly wasn''t used to being interrupted."Don''t you¡ª" "Shut. Up," I said again. Togetic clenched at my shirt as she hid behind me. "You''re going to get all of us killed. Stopyelling. Can you do that, at least?" "She started it¡ª" Louis said. I raised my hand and red at him. "Doesn''t matter. The argument was going nowhere anyway. Louis, I need to speak to Pauline. Alone." "What gives you the right¡ª" "I don''t want to speak to you¡ª" "I don''tcare. Finish this argument after we get out of here! For the love of Arceus, I''m two fucking steps away from just taking Denzel and leaving you people!" I hissed, omitting Cecilia from that list. Although I doubted she''d go along with me anyway. "If this is how the group is going to be from now on, we''d have a better chance of survivingalone." That seemed to have shut them up. I let out a satisfied sigh and continued. "Recall your Gible, Louis," I said. The dragon type was snarling and looked like he was going to let out a Dragon Rage any minute. "Prinplup should be fine by now." He recalled his Pokemon, clicked his tongue, and left, leaving me alone with Pauline. Charmeleon being out was fine because at least she seemed to have no problems listening to her trainer. The redhead in question red at me with her arms crossed. "So that''s how it is then?" She said. "He gets off with no consequences?" "Pauline. I agree with you in principle, like I said a thousand times before, but now isnotthe time." "Whatever. Youpeopleare all the same. You think you know how to lead? I''d love to see you try," She said. Pauline was about to storm off before I called out to her. She turned with an annoyed look. I was tempted to let her go. Ireallywas, but I couldn''t. "Pauline," I started. "I actually need you here." "Excuse me?" "You''re strange. You''re the only one who seems not to be affected by almost dying to a horde of Paras. I think you''re an asset." "Don''t call me an asset like I''m a thing." "Sorry," I apologized. "I think we need to join forces to fix things, otherwise we''repletely fucked, and I don''t say this lightly. It''s clear that we dislike each other, but in some fucked up way, I kind of respect you. Yeah, you''re mean andpletely unempathetic to anyone that isn''t Emilia, but you''ve got a good head on top of your shoulders, and you''re stillstanding," I said, echoing the words Cynthia had told me. "And so am I. We''re both the only ones that are still thinking sensibly here. We need a temporary alliance to get the group back on track. Can I count on you?" "Mere ttery won''t get you anywhere¡ª" "Can I count on you?"I repeated. "Or do you want the group to copse and something to happen to Emilia?" I was being maniptive, and I knew it, but I had no choice. Pauline stared into my eyes, and I stared back, not breaking eye contact. We must have stayedpletely still for at least thirty seconds. She blinked and rolled her eyes. "What do you need me to do?" She asked. I grinned. That was my first breakthrough. ¡ª Our first order of business was swinging by Justin and Emilia. The two were sitting on a half-rotten fallen log, and they both looked like they had seen better days. At least Emilia had stopped crying, although her leg was in terrible shape. Blood had already seeped through the bandage. Pauline gasped and ran up to her friend. "Emi! Your leg! Why didn''t you say anything?!" She muttered something quietly that I couldn''t catch, and Pauline seemingly couldn''t either. Her head turned toward Justin. "You didn''t help her switch bandages?! What''s wrong with you?!" "Oh? I apologize," Justin said hollowly. "I must have missed it." "You fucking nitwit¡ª" "Pauline, let''s focus on Emilia for now, alright?" I interrupted before she could yell again. "I''ll help you switch her bandages." Pauline grabbed bandages from her bag and slowly unwrapped the old ones around her friend''s legs. I grimaced at the state of her limb. It was swollen, emitting a foul smell, and the bites were full of pus. "Shit, it''s infected," I said. "What do I do?" Pauline said, her voice trembling. "I was never good with this stuff. Cecilia was always helping us." I started recalling instructor Anders'' words. "We need to wash it with warm water¡ª wait, don''t touch it! Wash your hands first. Don''t you have sanitizer?" She nodded and cleaned her hands, and then handed me some. Emilia was turning her head away, trying not to look at the state of her leg while Pauline gently dabbed it with a warm cloth as I held the leg still. After a few minutes, we finally gave her new, fresh bandages, but we''d probably have to change them again soon enough. When we were done, Pauline pulled me to the side for a second. "Should we turn back?" Pauline asked with a whisper. "Hm?" "What if it''s not enough? Emi might need to get to a Center urgently." "We can discuss it as a group after we finish bringing everybody back together," I said. "That''s not a decision we can take on our own." "But Emi¡ª" "I know," I said. Seeing her so hurt and worried was strange, and it was somehow making me feel bad. "We''ll get her help. For now, let''s stick with the n. We need Justin on board." She tapped her heel repeatedly against the ground. "Fine." We approached Justin again. The thin boy was just¡­ sitting there, staring at nothing, as if he hadpletely shut down, but he was still responsive and willing to speak, which was more than we could have asked for. "Justin," Pauline said. "What''s the problem?" "There is no problem, Pauline," He said with a sad smile. "I just need time to¡­ adjust to the reality that my father would send me to such a ce willingly." Pauline stared at me, and I nodded. "Come on, Justin! Get it together already, you already know our parents are different." I would have liked alittlemore tact, but I hoped she knew what she was doing. She knew Justin much better than I, after all. "So? Are you saying this is justified? A parent should unconditionally love their child, should they not?" "Your father does love you." "Would you send someone you lovedhere?" "Justin, look at me!" Pauline said. The boy stared up at her with dead eyes. "Think about it. Your dad never leaves Jubilife or Sunnyshore, and he lives in the best hotels those cities can offer. Do youreallythink he knows anything about traveling? All he reads about this ce is probably headlines once every few months." "The headlines that say that some trainer died or was wounded beyond repair?" Heughed dryly. "Yes," Pauline said. "Those headlines. But he probably thinks you can handle it because he got you the best Pokemon money can buy, and you''re traveling with others whoalsohave the best Pokemon money can buy. It''s shitty, but that''s life. There''s a fundamental disconnect that can''t be bridged because none of our parents have ever been trainers." "My father¡­ we''d go camping together. He knows¡ª" "Camping in some fucking bought-outnd doesn''t equate to¡­this!" Pauline yelled, gesturing all around her. "Now, you can call your father after we get out of here and tell him to fuck off because that''s certainly what I''m going to do with mommy." "Truly?" "Yes! Now get it together. You''re usually the sensible one. Let''s get out of this damned forest." Justin offered a slight smile. "Very well. I would have liked it if you could have said all of that without swearing." "Fuck off." I felt relief wash over me. That was the second one, but we weren''t even halfway there yet. "Thank you, Justin," I smiled. "Now I''m going to speak to Louis. Can I trust you guys to help Emilia?" The girl hadn''t said anything during Pauline''s entire speech, but I would be useless here. I had only been with her for Justin in case Pauline needed backup, but now that two people would be able to help Emilia, I could finally go talk to Louis. We had decided that Pauline shouldn''t be there forobviousreasons. The rift between them would need a lot more than words to be repaired. "We know her the best," Justin said. "I believe we can help her. Right Emi?" He asked, putting his arm around her gently. "Alright, great," I said. She was in good hands. I left and walked around the camp, looking for Louis, still followed by Togetic. I was d I hadn''t had to use her powers on anyone yet. Having her at my back made me feel stronger, somehow. Like I was unstoppable, and I''d be able to get everyone back on their feet. I found Louis brooding with his Prinplup next to Cecilia''s tent, seemingly rehearsing something he would say to her since he was speaking by himself. "Hey," I said, making him jump. Prinplup honked at me, angrily moving his flippers. "Grace? What is it? Has Pauline sent you to berate me some more?" "What? No, I need to talk to you and set you straight. First, you fucked up." "Hmph. There it is¡ª" "You fucked up twice. But you''re human, so that''s normal. People have lost faith in you, but you know what you should do?" He looked at me and shrugged. "Prove them wrong the next time." I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. I knew Louis'' biggest weakness was his incredible ego, but it could also be a strength. Feeding it here was also the key to our problems, even though it pained me greatly. "Prove them wrong," I repeated. "Contribute next time we get attacked and make Pauline and Denzel eat their words. Impress¡­ impress Cece." "She already lets you call her Cece?" He asked. "That''s beside the point," I said. "You''re our leader, soshowus. And it''s okay if it takes you a little bit of time to get to the action, just make sure togetthere. Arceus knows what else we''ll be meeting deeper in the forest." Louis paused for a second before scratching his head. "Fine, if you need me so much, I suppose I can do what you''re asking of me." "Great! Thank you!" I smiled. "Um, were you about to go in Cece''s tent?" "Yes, to apologize¡ª" Cecilia''s words rang in my mind.I can''t bear to look at Louis right now,she had told me. I had to stop this. "I think that''s a bad idea." "Why?" "Let me talk to her for you. It''ll be easier between girls." After much convincing, Louis recited to me an apology he had made and asked me to tell it to Cecilia with the exact same intonations and words. It was something about not having cheated on her, and I was astonished he even thought that was her problem. How was he her fiance, and yet didn''t know about her problems with her dad or her issues with her best friend? Either way, I lied, saying I would apologize for him, and entered her tent again when he finally left. I was d to see that Cece was doing better. "Hey," I softly said. "You okay?" "I am. I have¡­ rposed myself, and I''ll soon be ready to leave this tent. How goes the outside?" She asked as she fiddled nervously. "It''s going good. I''ve been going around, fixing things as best I can. Pauline''s been a great help, and we''re almost done, actually. If you''re doing well, there''s only¡­ Denzel left." I swallowed. She nodded. "I can tell this troubles you. If you want, we can wait here until I''m ready to step out. I can help." "No," I shook my head. "I have to do this alone. Thank you for asking, though, I really appreciate it." We stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before I coughed. "Well, I better get going then. See youter, Cece." "See youter, Grace. Thank you for all the help. I''ll be there soon." I bent down and left her tent, and nervously trudged my way back to where I had fought Denzel. I felt a surge of nervousness swell within me. What was the best way to approach this? An apologetic approach? An aggressive one, maybe? Before I coulde up with a n, I was already there, and my friend called out to me. "Grace," He said. He was still sitting by that same tree, still watching Buneary doze off with Eevee and Budew. "You''re back." "I am." The words were short and felt stilted. Unnatural. "I''m sorry¡ª" "I''m sorry¡ª" We had both tried apologizing at the same time, speaking over each other. We chuckled, and that seemed to have cut the tension at least in half. "I''ll go first," He said. "I''m sorry I blew up at you like that earlier. It wasn''t like me. I just feel so¡­ inadequate, you know? I feel like I don''t deserve to be your friend sometimes because I''m not doing enough to help. But I should have articted that better, and I shouldn''t have yelled at you. It''s not your fault." "And I''m sorry too," I sniffled. "I''m sorry I just dismissed your worries like they were nothing. I shouldn''t have. I didn''t know you had all of these worries building up inside of you¡­ and eventually, it''s too much pressure, right? You''ve got to let it out. And you were already angry with Louis." Eevee barked happily and climbed my shoulder, while Togetic chirped, floating up and down. Budew screeched, letting her scowl go soft for a second. I felt tears stream down my face, but they were happy tears. I choked up, approaching Denzel as he pulled me into a hug. "Friends again?" He asked. "Best friends, you idiot." "Great, because I''d only let my best friend get her snot all over my clothes." Iughed.
Chapter 47 Chapter 47 CHAPTER 47 It took a few minutes to rpose myself, but even then, I felt incredibly happy. I hadn¡¯t really had any close friends before starting on this journey. Oh, sure, there were school friends that I hung out with, but never outside of school, and they felt more like acquaintances. None of us had much inmon, and we felt more like friends of convenience. Something that we forced upon each other to not be as lonely. It was the opposite with Denzel. He was someone I felt incredibly close with even though we had only known each other for a few months, because we were together every day. And I couldn¡¯t stand the thought of not being on good terms with him. ¡°I probably need to apologize to Louis too,¡± Denzel said, rubbing the back of his neck. ¡°I was too aggressive. I shouldn¡¯t have started the fight.¡± I nodded. ¡°You do that. I can watch Buneary for you if you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll carry her,¡± He said, lifting Buneary. She was startled for a second until she realized Denzel was picking her up. ¡°I¡¯ll return you to your ball so you can rest, Eevee. Budew, you cane with.¡± I smiled at the grass type, who turned her body away from me. It looked like she had finally warmed up to Denzel enough to work with him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go check on how Emilia¡¯s doing. I had Pauline and Justinfort her,¡± I said. ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¡°Oh, and could you bring Louis back to where they are? We need a strategy meeting to figure out our next steps.¡± My friend nodded, and we separated shortly after. I walked through the thick woods and made my way to the same fallen log Justin and Emilia had been sitting on and saw the three of them talking. Pauline was gently rubbing the girl¡¯s back while she had her head on Justin¡¯s shoulder. I leaned against a tree and silently observed the scene. These three were incredibly close, which made me wonder what Cecilia and Louis¡¯ status in all of this was. The two were obviously nowhere as close to those three, although since Cece was from Unova, that probably made sense. Although for Louis¡­ I recalled one of Pauline¡¯s lines during their argument. She had said that they were all forced to stay with him because of his father. Had it been something she had said to wound Louis as much as possible, or was it the truth? Or maybe it was somewhere in between. I was starting to get a picture of their situation at home, at least. They all seemed to have issues with their parents. Trauma, crushing expectations, bad rtionships¡­ I sighed and walked up to the trio. ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± Pauline said sharply. ¡°How¡¯d it go with Louis?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see him?¡± I asked. She nodded to my left, and I saw the man with his arms crossed looking at us. I felt bad at the fact that Denzel would probably look for him for longer than was needed. He could have juste with me. ¡°He¡¯s been there for a while,¡± Justin said. ¡°I spoke with him, and it went well. Don¡¯t expect him to apologize, or anything, but I think he¡¯ll have no problems helping us when needed now.¡± Pauline rolled her eyes. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting one of those.¡± ¡°Cut him some ck,¡± Emilia said quietly. ¡°We¡¯re all on edge.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± The redhead grumbled. ¡°But I¡¯m not apologizing either!¡± ¡°No one asked you to,¡± Justin said. We continued making small talk while we waited for Cecilia and Denzel. My friend eventually showed up, and we observed his talk with Louis. The apology was out of earshot, and I trusted him enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t screw it up and make the situation devolve into another argument. By the end of it, the two shook hands and nodded at each other, and they both walked toward us. Pauline clicked her tongue. ¡°Be nice,¡± Emilia reprimanded. ¡°I don¡¯t want us to fight anymore.¡± ¡°Hey guys,¡± I said. ¡°Made up yet?¡± ¡°We have, and it feels damn good,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°That it does. It feels even better to see the group reunited once again,¡± Louis said, eyeing Pauline carefully. There was obviously still tension there, but as long as they were civil with each other, it would be fine. ¡°Should I go get Cece?¡± ¡°No,¡± I blurted out. ¡°She said she¡¯de out on her own.¡± ¡°What if she feels hurt?¡± Louis asked. ¡°She might need me.¡± ¡°I trust her word.¡± The minutes passed slowly as we waited. I felt anxious, but at least Pauline and Louis were slowly getting back to talking again, however small and inconsequential the topic was. Denzel was still taking care of Buneary, while I tried getting to know Emilia better to distract her from the horrible state her leg was in. I had gotten off easypared to her. Around twenty minutester, Cecilia finally reached us. She looked The answer looked to be no one. ¡°Cece! We were all so worried for you,¡± Louis said, running up to her and grabbing her hands. She offered him a smile. ¡°I needed topose myself, but I am fine now,¡± Cece said. ¡°But we have much to talk about, so let¡¯s save the pleasantries forter.¡± ¡°We need to turn back and get Emi to a Center,¡± Pauline said right away with fire in her eyes. ¡°If the majority decides, we will,¡± Cece said. ¡°No point in dying the vote. Who¡¯s for turning back?¡± Pauline, Justin, and I raised our hands, and then looked at Emilia in confusion when they realized that she wasn¡¯t raising hers. ¡°Emi, why?!¡± Pauline yelled. The girl sighed, cing her hands over her eyes. ¡°If I leave now,¡± She started. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to go back.¡± Justin stammered. ¡°Y¡ªyou will! And even then, if your leg¡ª¡± ¡°I took my decision. I don¡¯t want to turn back.¡± Pauline glowered at the others who had voted no, grinding her teeth. I personally felt the need to not go back and get through this trial, but I couldn¡¯t do it in good conscience when Emilia¡¯s leg was like this. ¡°Can you even walk?¡± I asked her. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t tried since earlier. It¡¯s not as painful, so maybe.¡± ¡°Try,¡± Cecilia said. The girl slowly got up, supported by Pauline, and managed to take a few steps. She was limping, and she would be slow, but it looked like she would be able to keep going, so at least we wouldn¡¯t have to stay in the same spot while we waited for her to get better. ¡°That settles it then,¡± Denzel said. ¡°What else is there? Should we change our formation?¡± ¡°I think that would be wise,¡± Cece quickly answered. ¡°Emi needs to be in the middle so that she¡¯s less exposed to threats and has more time to react to anything jumping at her.¡± ¡°Thank you, Cece,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Beldum can stick around with you.¡± The dark-skinned girl nodded. ¡°Then we have the matter with Louis¡ª¡± ¡°Already fixed,¡± I interrupted. ¡°He¡¯ll help out from now on. Right?¡± I looked at him. ¡°I will. My performance might have been¡­ unsatisfactory thus far, but I will be at the top of my form from now on.¡± Cece nodded, eyeing me with a slight smile. ¡°Then I have a proposition. We rest here for the rest of the day, and then tomorrow, we start heading northeast again,¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m only going along with this on one condition,¡± Pauline muttered. ¡°If Emi¡¯s leg gets worse throughout the day, we head back, no questions asked.¡± ¡°I can go along with that,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Very well,¡± Cece also agreed. ¡°Then the meeting is adjourned.¡± We all went back to our upations. Denzel and Justin decided to watch the opposite ends of the camp with Eevee and Growlithe, while Pauline decided to watch over Emi while she slept in her tent. Louis evidently tried to speak to his fiance, but she seemingly always had an excuse to avoid him, and apparently, I was hertest excuse. We were in a secluded part of the camp, where Denzel had been before. Water slowly dripped from the foliage, which was so dense it covered the sky and stopped the rain from falling on us. ¡°So Castelia¡¯s even bigger than Jubilife?¡± I asked, feeling mindblown at the existence of such a city. ¡°Muchrger¡ª twice asrge if I remember correctly. It is truly a magnificent sight, especially at night. I¡¯d love to go back one day,¡± She said, looking at the sky. ¡°I mean, a year¡¯s a long time, I guess, but after the Circuit¡¯s over, you can go back, right? At least during the summer.¡± Cece smiled sadly and looked to the side. ¡°I wish it was that easy, but to be quite honest, there are also advantages to being in Sinnoh.¡± ¡°Right? I mean, it¡¯s not as popted or as dense as the other regions, but it¡¯s got a charm of its own.¡± ¡°I mostly meant avoiding my father.¡± I felt my stomach sink. I should have known that was what she was talking about. I was so stupid! ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, suddenly finding the forest floor to be very appealing to look at. ¡°I¡¯m super oblivious sometimes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was the one who steered the conversation toward such a dark topic. The truth was, I had an ulterior motive to bringing you here¡ª beyond avoiding Louis, of course.¡± ¡°What is it? I¡¯ll help you out with anything,¡± I blurted out. ¡°How about just listening to a girl vent? It may seem strange to you, and I mean no offense, but since wee from different upbringings¡­ I feel like I can tell you anything without having to worry if my words will make their way back to my father¡¯s ears.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to you. We¡¯re friends, right?¡± ¡°Right. I suppose I should start by exining what the problem was at the outpost. I mentioned that I worried that my father was spying on me through the others, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Well¡ª actually, it might be better to start with Amy. Amy¡­ Amy is my best friend from Unova. Or maybe she was my best friend. We grew up together, and we supported each other through our struggles with our parents, but since I left for Sinnoh, she¡¯s been different. Like she¡¯s apletely different person, and it¡¯s obvious that my father has her under his thumb. So I can¡¯t help but wonder if our friendship was ever real in the first ce,¡± Cecilia said sadly. I didn¡¯t respond. I couldn¡¯t. I knew nothing about their rtionship, so any advice I offered right now would just look like I was pitying her. ¡°And suddenly, I hear that she¡¯s been talking to Louis? That crushed me. Completely crushed me, and I know it¡¯s only a matter of time before she starts asking about me to the others.¡± ¡°She knows all of them?¡± I asked. ¡°We all know each other, or at least our parents do. That¡¯s how it is at our level of wealth. We all attend the same parties, the same gs, the same business conventions¡­ everyone is connected to each other.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand one thing,¡± I tentatively said. ¡°You say your dad is spying on you, and I believe it. But what does he want from you? You¡¯re passionate about Pokemon battling, and you actually want to be the Champion, so you¡¯re not like Justin and Emilia.¡± Cece exhaled and stared at me. ¡°I need you to promise me one more time, Grace. Promise me that father didn¡¯t send you.¡± ¡°I promise,¡± I answered, looking into her light brown eyes. ¡°I¡¯m my own person. I have my own goals, and I know nothing about your dad.¡± How much had her father done to Cecilia for her to have such a huge amount of trust issues? I bit the inside of my lip, wondering about what kind of hell she had had to live under back home growing up. And for her only support, her best friend, turning out to be some spy? It was obvious why she was so unwell. ¡°I choose to trust you, then,¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m being forced to marry Louis against my will by our fathers.¡±
Chapter 48 Chapter 48 CHAPTER 48 It had been three days since the group almost fractured. Three days of tiresome traveling through this dense forest. Three days of relentless attacks by wild Pokemon, which grew more and more frequent as we reached the deepest parts of the forest. Every hour or two now, we were getting attacked by wild Pokemon. They were all rtively easy to deal with, but they were incredibly draining. Still, we held strong. Apart from a minor scratch Denzel suffered to his leg, tearing up his pants and breaking the skin, nothing had happened. Emilia¡¯s leg wasn¡¯t getting better, but it wasn¡¯t getting worse either. I hoped we had made the right decision not to turn back, but it was toote now. We could only march forward. In the end, everyone in the group decided to work with each other again to get out of the forest. Louis and Pauline still didn¡¯t talk, and a few arguments had almost started between them, but they always managed to control themselves. Louis had taken my advice to heart, and he was now helping during every battle, although he still hesitated sometimes. Denzel and Ipletely made up, and Emi¡­ well, Emi was tired and in pain all the time. The bite on my back had gotten better, and I could run now, even though it still hurt like hell. Every one of us was exhausted, mentally and physically. Being constantly on edge did that to a person, and none of us were able to sleep more than an hour at night because, again, we just kept getting attacked. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, trying to keep myself awake. Even while walking, I was barely holding onto consciousness. ¡°Hold,¡± Louis hissed, pointing at a tree to his left. ¡°The wood here is marked.¡± I¡¯m being forced to marry Louis against my will by our fathers, Cecilia had said. The words echoed in my mind over and over, distracting me. Cece had exined that it wasn¡¯t Louis¡¯ fault. That even though he was in love with her, he had been forced to do this just as she had. Still, I was only human, and my innate jealousy of the man had turned into a deep dislike. I just couldn¡¯t help it. He could have done the right thing and worked with Cecilia to torpedo the deal, but¡ª He was in love with her, and she wasn¡¯t. Denzel approached the tree and squinted. He had peacefully caught Buneary the day before. It had grown extremely attached to him and joined his team without a fuss. ¡°Arceus, how old is this? Can anyone read this?¡± He asked, peering at the markings. ¡°The first part says¡­ look out, I think,¡± I said, carefully reading the writings. ¡°S¡­ Scy¡­ Scyther?¡± Denzel continued. We all froze, and our Pokemon grew uneasy. The marking was saying ¡®Look out, Scyther territory ahead.¡¯ We all knew what that entailed. ¡°Can we go around?¡± Emilia asked with a shaky voice. ¡°Around how?¡± Louis asked. ¡°We don¡¯t know howrge this ¡®territory¡¯ is. For all we know, we could be walking ¡®around¡¯ it for days and getting lost.¡± Pauline crossed her arms. ¡°We should at least consider it.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I recall saying I would catch one of these,¡± Cecilia smiled, softly touching the carving. ¡°Cece¡­¡± I slowly said. ¡°I don¡¯t know about this. This is reckless.¡± The girl broke into a wicked grin. ¡°It shall be a great battle, shall it not? If I can¡¯t do this, I won¡¯t be able to fulfill my promise.¡± Again, like when Cecilia had asked me to join her group, she brought up some kind of promise. I bit my lip. Thinking back on our situation, Cecilia had never really been affected by any of the attacks on a psychological level, even though she was as tired as everyone else. The attacks had started to get even on Pauline¡¯s nerves. And again, unlike everyone else, her problems in the forest had always been rted to her family or her¡­ engagement. In fact, from the way she looked now, it seemed that Cecilia was thriving. I wouldn¡¯t go as far to say that she was enjoying it, but she sure as hell was stronger than all of us, and without a doubt the bright light that had kept us going. And I admired her so much for that. It was just a step too far this time. ¡°I will follow you wherever you go, Cece,¡± Louis said firmly. ¡°I mean, I think this is a bad idea,¡± Denzel added. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± She sighed. I rxed for a second before she uttered the next part of her sentence. ¡°Then I shall go on my own. Wait for me here.¡± The group erupted into protests. We must have spent at least twenty minutes debating fiercely in an attempt to convince Cecilia and Louis to take the long way around, even though it would probably extend our trek by multiple days. In the end, however, we just weren¡¯t willing to split the group up. That was bound to result in catastrophe, and at least together, maybe we¡¯d be able to fight off a Scyther if it attacked. I wasn¡¯t about to let Cecilia die, nor Louis, no matter how much I disliked him. ¡°This is fucked,¡± Pauline raged. ¡°She¡¯s holding all of us hostage.¡± And I agreed with her. Cecilia seemed to havepletely been consumed by this promise to whatever individual had talked to her. If I knew who it was, I¡¯d let them know a thing or two about what her reckless promise had done to Cece, who seemed to put it above valuing her own life. For hours, we advanced at a brisk pace¡ª the fastest Emilia¡¯s leg allowed since we wanted to spend the least amount of time possible in Scyther¡¯s territory. Elekid followed by my side. He had grown extremely protective of me since I had been wounded by that Paras, and it pained me to see his yful side erode slightly. I hoped he didn¡¯t me himself, and that he¡¯d at least return to normal once we got out of Eterna forest. If we ever got out. I heard something snap to my right and jumped. The entire group immediately got into position, hiding behind each of their Pokemon as we grabbed our axes. Days of constant fighting had made the process automatic now. Freezing up meant injury, or worse. Snap. We heard the sound again, closer this time. And then over and over. The snapping of branches and crunching of leaves. A bead of sweat dripped down to my chin as I stood still. I adjusted the sweaty grip on my axe, clenching the handle as hard as I could to stop myself from shaking. We were waiting for whatever wasing. But the truth was that we all knew. A huge group had trespassed onto its territory, so it was bound to investigate. It wasing. Scyther slowly emerged from the shadows. Its two des looked deadly, like they could cut me in half like a knife slicing through butter. Its armor was hardened and scarred by years of living in Eterna forest. For a brief moment, it stared at us. And then it attacked with a deafening screech. The bug type fanned its wings and blurred forward, going straight for Deino, who roared a Dragon Breath at it. Scyther just flew above, using the trees as cover as it slowly and methodically made its way toward us. ¡°Elekid, you¡¯re up!¡± I quickly yelled. He whirled his arms and began shooting out Thundershocks, each narrowly avoided as well. It was getting closer. Emilia cried out and ordered her Beldum to use confusion, and Pauline quickly did the same with Gothita. The psychic energy restrained Scyther in the air, and I breathed out a sigh of relief as a Dragon Breath, a Thundershock, and an Ice Beam all hit our assant. Scyther simply brushed it off and broke out of the psychic restraint with a defiant screech. I swore as its sickle glowed and shed across Deino¡¯s head. The dragon type roared and bit back, but Scyther was already gone, having moved on to attacking Prinplup. Our psychic types restrained him again, giving Louis and his Pokemon time to reposition themselves behind our most sturdy members, but Scyther quickly broke out and chased him. It seemed like Louis was his target. ¡°Grace, with me,¡± Denzel screamed. ¡°Swift!¡± Eevee summoned a series of shining stars, which flew at high speeds toward Scyther. He was right. Scyther was too fast for normal attacks to hit. We needed to use Swift. ¡°E-Swift,¡± I yelled out. Elekid grunted, and electric stars barrelled toward Scyther. Justin tackled Louis just in time for him to avoid getting cut in half by the wild Pokemon, but Prinplup wasn¡¯t so lucky, and Scyther raked its des across his back in the shape of an X. He retaliated quickly, sending out a stream of bubbles that hit the Scyther thanks to their close proximity, but shortly afterward, the bug type took to the air again, narrowly avoiding both of our Swifts before the stars turned abruptly and just kept going, but it was just too fast. ¡°Keep restraining it with the psychics so Swift can hit!¡± I yelled. ¡°What do you think we¡¯re trying to do, dumbass!¡± Pauline responded as Scyther froze in the air again. It broke out in just a few seconds, keeping its focus on Prinplup. The water type was panting heavily and bleeding profusely from its back, but it was still standing. I considered telling everyone to just release our entire teams, but that was probably a bad idea. Unlike with the Paras, we¡¯d need to keep track of every Pokemon to ensure they wouldn¡¯t get killed by the Scyther¡ª Prinplup took another hit to the chest, but not before delivering another crucial Ice Beam, freezing one of Scyther¡¯s wings. The bug type screamed in frustration as it desperately tried to free its wing, and that was enough time for our Swifts to hit. ¡°Another,¡± I told Denzel. He nodded, and both of our Pokemon sent out another set of homing stars. Louis recalled his copsed Prinplup and released his Gible, whose eyes glinted as soon as he saw what we were facing. Scyther was unable to fly now, but that didn¡¯t mean it was slow. The wild Pokemon stared at Emilia¡¯s leg for a split second, and sensing weakness, it blurred forward. Pauline, Beldum, and Gothita stood in between them, and Scyther again was stopped by Confusion. ¡°Growlithe, now!¡± The fire type barked, jumping out of the ground and hitting the Scyther with abined Dig and Fire Fang. He shook his head violently, melting off some of Scyther¡¯s armored ting, and it screeched in agony as it violently kicked Growlithe against a tree. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and it sprinted toward Growlithe, who still hadn¡¯t gotten up. Justin recalled him just as it sliced across the tree in that same X shape that I now recognized as X-Scissor. The tree copsed shortly after, just as our Swifts hit its back. ¡°It just got way stronger,¡± Denzel yelled. ¡°Watch out¡ª¡± Scyther was faster than before. Way faster, and it was almost impossible to track with the naked eye. Justin jumped behind another tree, which went down after one X-Scissor, and another set of Confusion restrained the bug type long enough for him to rerelease his fire type. ¡°Keep using Swift!¡± I told Elekid and Denzel as I grabbed a Pokeball. Now wasn¡¯t the time to freeze up. A Dragon Rage clipped the Scyther¡¯s leg as it tore through trees like paper, and Dragon Breath followed closely behind. I released Togetic and immediately warned her. ¡°W¡ªwe¡¯re fighting a Scyther. Use Ancient Power to protect Justin!¡± I stammered. She nodded, and her eyes shone as she tore huge pieces of the forest floor up with her psychic energy. Scyther¡¯s sharp des met a chunk of earth instead of Justin¡¯s flesh, and it desperately tried to go around. Princess kept raising more stones and earth until theypletely surrounded Justin and Growlithe like a protective shell. The bug type raged and kept hitting the barrier in frustration as more attacks hit it. It kept hitting, again and again, until it slowed, and then stoppedpletely. We paused our attacks and stared at it confusedly until we realized what had happened. It had fallen unconscious while standing. ¡°Fuck,¡± Pauline whispered. ¡°Is everyone alright?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Justin yelled, his voice muffled by his shell. I ordered Togetic to pull down the barrier. Cecilia sighed, grabbing an empty Pokeball and throwing it at the Scyther. A part of me almost expected it to wake up and break out of the ball, but after three shakes, nothing happened. She had caught the damn thing, and we had all gotten out of it alive. Emilia copsed on the ground, breathing hard and erratically. Denzel¡¯s fists were clenched around his pants. I leaned against a tree, feeling the adrenaline drain from my body, and my legs began to turn weak. Pauline kept swearing and pacing around, and Justin just stared at the ground. The terrain around us was inplete disarray. Trees torn down and fallen to the ground, nts soaked with Prinplup¡¯s blood, chunks of the ground missing and turned over. Cecilia crouched and grabbed her Pokeball with a slight smile. Personally, I wouldn¡¯t be smiling if I were her. How was she ever going to control this thing? It had taken all of us to take it down! She wasn¡¯t going to be able to even bring it out of its ball. But at least we had survived. The fact that some trainers attempted to go through this forest with a small group, or even alone wasplete madness to me. I shuddered to think what would have happened to Denzel and me if we had gone through Eterna forest on our own. We took a few minutes to gather our spirits before leaving again, but before that, I grabbed a small knife I carried and started carving a message against one of the few trees still standing around us. ¡®Scyther defeated and caught, October 23rd, 20XX.¡¯
Chapter 49 Chapter 49 CHAPTER 49 Another two days had passed since Cece had caught Scyther, and she had only tried letting the monster out of his ball once. He was still heavily wounded, so he was way easier to handle, but there was still no cooperation possible between them for the foreseeable future. Scyther was a ball of pure rage concentrated into a Pokemon, like Budew on steroids, but at least I managed to scan him with my Pokedex. ording to Cecilia, the reason he had suddenly gotten way stronger during our battle was that he had the ability ¡®Swarm¡¯, which boosted his power when he was on the verge of defeat. What a terrifying ability that was. The attacks had apparently peaked already during our time spent outside of Scyther¡¯s territory. Their frequency was lowering at a rapid pace, which meant that we were on the right track and had passed through the deepest parts of the forest. That kept our spirits up, but we were still tired, and I wasstilllooking for a Tang. Fighting for our lives so often had made me shift my priorities, but now that things were slowly bing easier, I wanted to search harder, but leaving it to chance was leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I stared at Justin, who was, as always, in front of the group with his Growlithe. Maybe¡­ No. Surely not. But what if, right? I hurriedly walked up to him and called out his name. ¡°Justin, do you have a second?¡± I asked him. ¡°What is it?¡± He answered, not turning back. I paid it no mind. Our time in Eterna had made him be increasingly vignt. He was always on the lookout for threats, even when we had Pokemon that could do the job. ¡°So your Growlithe,¡± I started. ¡°When he smells something, would you say he¡¯d always remember it?¡± Growlithe cried out in indignation, apparently angry that I was even questioning his sense of smell. ¡°You heard him,¡± He said yfully. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Has he ever seen a Tang before?¡± I asked, mentally crossing my fingers. ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve decided on what grass type you want to catch?¡± Justin said. ¡°You¡¯re in luck. It was months ago, but I fought a trainer with one at the start of our journey in one of Jubilife¡¯s arenas.¡± Growlithe nodded and exhaled loudly. I broke into a smile. ¡°Thank you, thank you! Can you lead us to one?¡± I asked the fire type. Growlithe looked up at his trainer, who nodded, and then he barked in agreement. I couldn¡¯t contain my grin. The search had just gotten much easier. After informing the group about my new tactic, we continued for a few hours, and my heart trembled in anticipation. I was going to get a new member soon. When the sun began to set, and the rays slipping through the foliage turned orange, Growlithe barked excitedly and veered toward the right with his nose stuck to the ground. ¡°This is it, I think,¡± Justin said. ¡°He¡¯s got a lead.¡± ¡°Yes!¡±I squealed. It took Growlithe a few minutes, but he eventually led us to a clearing in the forest. I gasped as I looked up at the beautiful, orange sky. There wasn¡¯t a cloud in sight. I felt emotions well up inside of me. It was my first timeseeingthe sky in¡­ in more than a week. ¡°There¡¯s your Tang,¡± Justin said, pointing forward. I wiped my eyes and squinted. It was seemingly asleep and soaking in thest remaining sunlight. Or at least it wasn¡¯t moving, and it was facing away from us. The entire group was about to send their Pokemon to attack, but I stopped them, saying to only intervene if it attackedmedirectly. Denzel protested, but I quickly convinced him by saying that Tang wasn¡¯t a predator and wasn¡¯t likely to attack unless I provoked it, which wasn¡¯t how I wanted to catch the thing. I stared at Elekid, and we nodded at each other before carefully approaching the grass type. I circled around Tang and showed myself. ¡°Hey,¡± I said hesitantly. The grass type opened its eyes and just stared at me with its big, googly eyes. When it saw Elekid, two vines sprung out of its body, and it whipped him away further into the clearing. ¡°Shit! Are you okay?!¡± I asked worriedly. My Pokemon got up immediately and shook off the attack, and defiantly shook his arms, generating electricity. ¡°Calm down,¡± I told Elekid. ¡°It¡¯s just scared, I think.¡± He listened and quieted down. Tang didn¡¯t retract its vines, but it didn¡¯t attack further. ¡°Hey,¡± I said again, before pointing at Elekid. ¡°That¡¯s Elekid. He¡¯s one of my partners. We travel together and¡ªah!¡± I yelled as Tang used its vines to touch me, even going under my clothes. ¡°Stop it!¡± I yelled. The grass type didn¡¯t listen and kept touching my skin until it was satisfied. ¡°Arceus¡­ you can¡¯t just go around doing stuff like that.¡± It just stared at me with the same nk expression. This was probably one of its first times seeing a human, so maybe it got curious. ¡°Is this your spot?¡± I asked, looking around the clearing. ¡°You¡¯ve got a pretty sweet setup here. Easy to take in the sunlight. I¡¯m surprised there aren¡¯t any other grass types here.¡± The Pokemon turned away and began touching Elekid now instead, who justughed at the whole thing. Was it even listening to me? I pped my forehead and grabbed an empty Pokeball. ¡°See this?¡± I said. ¡°If you go in there, then we be partners. I tried telling you this earlier, but I¡¯m traveling with others to try to be the strongest trainer. That means we train in battles and stuff, but we¡¯re also one big family.¡± The grass type ced a vine over the device and curiously felt at it. It flinched and retracted the appendage when it felt the metal, but it slowly brought it back and started caressing the ball and feeling its button and its crevices. ¡°I¡¯m going to catch you, but if you want, you can break out, alright? You¡¯re not wounded or anything, so it should be pretty easy.¡± I was probably going to let it go if he didn¡¯t stay in the ball. We had Growlithe, who¡¯d be able to find other Tang with his sense of smell, so it wouldn¡¯t be a huge loss, even though I did kind of like how aloof this one was. I gently hit it with the ball, and he was absorbed into it. I stood back and watched as the Pokeball shook three times before letting out the familiar chime that indicated I had caught the grass type. I jumped up and down in excitement, celebrating before running back to the group. Cece was the first one to congratte me. ¡°You did very well, Grace,¡± She said. ¡°Many trainers would have just attacked that Tang to catch it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really like doing that,¡± I said. ¡°Ever since Frillish and Denzel¡¯s Budew, I kind of vowed never to catch a Pokemon against its will again. It just feels icky.¡± She looked at me for a few seconds. ¡°I can see what you mean, but s, sometimes, if you want something, you need to take it.¡± Denzel walked up to me and offered a high-five, which I enthusiastically took, and I also thanked Justin and Growlithe for their huge help. Before long, we were back on the road. That night, I let Tang out of its Pokeball in an isted part of camp and scanned it with my Pokedex. He was a male. Tang, the vine Pokemon. Tang¡¯s vines snap off easily if they are grabbed. This happens without pain, allowing it to make a quick getaway. The lost vines are reced by newly grown vines the very next day. Type: Grass Moves: Vine Whip, Absorb, Mega Drain, Stun Spore, Bind, Poison Powder (click for more information) Ability: Chlorophyll (click for more information) ¡°So your vines are like your hair?¡± I said. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s under there,¡± I smiled. He shook his entire body, making his vines move around as well. All I could see below the sea of vines was his bright, shiny eyes and some kind of darkened body. His feet were odd. They looked like shoes and felt like rubber to the touch. I tried softly pulling on one of his vines too, and saw that they seemingly extended forever. While I did this, Tang returned the touching tenfold, feeling my clothes and my hair with multiple vines. ¡°Alright, alright, enough,¡± I said. Tang quietly retracted his vines. ¡°You¡¯ve already met Elekid,¡± I said, pointing at my electric type. ¡°Kid!¡± ¡°Quiet down, hon. Oh right, I call him honey or hon too.¡± ¡°Kid!¡± He said, a little bit quieter. ¡°That¡¯s better, I guess,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s pretty hyper, but he¡¯s also kind to everyone he meets. He¡¯ll be friends with anyone. Hell, he¡¯s already forgiven you for attacking him earlier, I bet.¡± ¡°Ele!¡± He said, crossing his arms proudly. ¡°Yes, yes, I know, you¡¯re great,¡± I told him. I grabbed Togetic¡¯s ball and released her. I¡¯d better keep Frillish forst since I already knew he was going to be grumpy about this. Togetic immediately noticed our new member and chirped at him happily. Tang responded by grabbing her with his vines and feeling her soft fur, tickling her. Sheughed and squirmed around, trying to escape. ¡°That¡¯s Togetic, or princess. She was my first Pokemon, and she¡¯s still a baby, so be gentle with her,¡± I said. Tang softened his grip on her, much to her chagrin. She escaped from his grasp and floated above me before grabbing my hair to protest. ¡°Alright, alright! You¡¯re a big girl now, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Iughed. ¡°Toge!¡± ¡°She loves ying around, so she¡¯s probably going to love you and, um, your vines,¡± I said, before grabbing Frillish¡¯s ball. I released him, and he looked at me happily before noticing Tang standing behind all of us. His stare turned sinister, and that wasn¡¯t helped by the fact that Tang immediately started extending his vines. I immediately stood in between the two. ¡°Hold on. Frillish is really sensitive about touching, so that¡¯s not going to work,¡± I said. Tang stared at me, his expression unchanging. ¡°I know it must be weird for you since you really like it, but he¡¯s just not like that.¡± Frillish huffed, and I knew that if we weren¡¯t in a ce as dangerous as Eterna forest, he would have left and flown into the sky to brood already. ¡°So, yeah, that¡¯s Frillish or buddy. He¡¯s a little bit grumpy, but he¡¯s a softie if you get past his rough exterior,¡± I said, grabbing one of his tentacles. He whipped it out of my hand in protest. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a child,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t do this every time we meet someone new.¡± Frillish looked at me and lowered his head. ¡°Fri¡­¡± ¡°Aw, thanks for apologizing, bud. You¡¯ll be fine, just try to be a little bit less anti-social,¡± I said before looking at Tang. ¡°There you have it, that¡¯s the entire family. Sorry to spring up all of that on you, but it¡¯s good if you get acquainted as early as possible.¡± He stared at me with that same unchanging expression. Hopefully, I¡¯d be able to pick up some of his bodynguage cues since they appeared to be much more subtle. This wasn¡¯t going to be like Elekid, who behaved simrly to humans. Hell, he wasn¡¯t even talking, which was something that could have helped. ¡°Everyone has a nickname,¡± I said. ¡°Do you want one?¡± He didn¡¯t respond, but grabbed one of my hands with his vines and shook it as he blinked twice. ¡°That a yes?¡± I asked, before thinking. All of the other¡¯s nicknames hade out pretty spontaneously, so I didn¡¯t want to force anything. ¡°Tang¡­ hm¡­ what¡¯s a good nickname for a Tang¡­¡± I trailed off. ¡°Tang¡­ angel¡­angel!What do you think about that?¡± I eximed, waiting for a reaction. There was none. ¡°Well, you snooze, you lose. It¡¯s corny, but I like it. Wee to the team, angel.¡± ¡ª¡ª Another two dayster, we were walking along an elevated portion of the forest. I had Togetic out with me after Elekid had taken a couple of nasty hits from a pair of Butterfree. It wasn¡¯t anything threatening, but he needed to rest. We were getting more optimistic by the day. Even Pauline was being nicer to me, and Emilia was happy again. Denzel and Justin had estimated that in another few hours, we would probably finally leave this hell hole. I couldn¡¯twaitto see the sun regrly again or to actually sleep in a bed in a heated room. The other side of the forest also had an outpost with rangers, a Center, and a few inhabitants, so it would be possible to rest there for a few days before setting off toward Eterna city proper, which would be another day away. The good mood was shattered when we saw a Wurmple climbing a tree. Then two. Then three. We slowly stepped back, but a few Cascoon hissed behind us, their spikes dripping with poison. The Wurmple started to screech, and I feared they were calling out to the Dustox that cared for them. That fear was confirmed immediately when we heard the familiar, alien-like cry echoing in the woods. There were a lotof theming. ¡°Fuck,¡± I hissed. ¡°Can we run?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll catch up,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I say we fight.¡± Cecilia shook her head, but Pauline was the one who talked. ¡°One Poison Sting could mean your death, and those aren¡¯t stoppable with our psychics,¡± She exined. ¡°Too many darts to keep track of at the same time. They aren¡¯t that good yet.¡± ¡°Then what?!¡± Emilia cried. ¡°Hurry up and decide!¡± ¡°We run,¡± Cece said. She didn¡¯t have to say it twice. We bolted away, watching our every step not to slip. Emilia wasn¡¯t going fast enough on her own, and Justin dragged her by the hand. ¡°Push through the pain, Emi!¡± He screamed. Behind us, the screeches were getting closer. I looked back for a second and saw at least eight Dustox chasing us, their alien,pound eyes and the red markings on their wings shining in the dark. I screamed in terror as I saw poisoned darts hit the tree to my right, and I redoubled my efforts. All those runs I had gone on were paying off. I was faster than before, and I felt like I¡¯d be able to keep this speed going for at least ten minutes. ¡°What in the world is that?!¡± Louis yelled. I looked in the direction he was looking and saw a huge mansion justsittingin the middle of this Arceus damned forest behind a run-down fence. ¡°I don¡¯t care, just get in it! We can hold them out at the doors and the windows!¡± Pauline said. Unable to stop his momentum, Louis mmed against the door. He desperately tried to open it, but it was locked. ¡°Move!¡±Denzel said, beforekickingdown the entire door. We hurried inside of the mansion. ¡°Stand behind anything!¡± Cecilia yelled. ¡°Furniture, couches, it doesn¡¯t matter. We hold them here!¡± I jumped behind a bar, and Togetic hovered slightly above it. ¡°Try to hit them with Fairy Wind or Extrasensory if they get close,¡± I said before releasing Frillish. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re under attack by Dustox. Hit ¡®em with all you¡¯ve got.¡± A shower of Poison Sting flew through the door and the windows, breaking the ss. The first two Dustox flew inside the building and were immediately battered with every move we had. Togetic mmed another one against the floor, and Growlithe finished it off with Fire Fang. Gothita and Beldum were our best match against the poison types, and soon enough, the rest fled. Inside of a building where we had cover, they weren¡¯t as threatening. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Pauline said, kicking one of the Dustox we had knocked unconscious away. ¡°I fucking hate this forest.¡± ¡°My leg¡­¡± Emilia groaned. She tried walking and whimpered. ¡°I think I need to rest, I can¡¯t put any weight on it.¡± "Sorry," Justin apologized. "I pushed you too much, but there was no choice." ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Louis said. ¡°This ce will work wonderfully as a shelter. I wonder who would build such a wonderful mansion inside of a forest as deadly as this one. And suchmarvelousarchitecture¡­ it¡¯s a shame it¡¯s all run down.¡± He was right. The entire mansion looked like a dozen battles had gone on inside of it, and that was before we hade in. Furniture was littered about, there were holes in the walls, and a part of the ceiling had a gaping hole in it. After checking ourselves for any potential wounds that we hadn¡¯t noticed, we settled down and waited in the empty mansion for Emilia to recover.
Chapter 50 Chapter 50 CHAPTER 50 ¡°This ce gives me the creeps,¡± Pauline said, hugging herself tightly. ¡°Is it colder in here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so paranoid,¡± Louis answered, as he looked at a defunct painting of what looked to be the Prism Tower in Kalos. ¡°We¡¯ll be out in a few hours.¡± It had been a few minutes since the fight with the Dustox, and Louis, Pauline, and I were exploring the foyer of the mansion. Looking past all the destruction, the room was absolutely massive andpletely symmetrical. Tworge sets of staircases opposite each other led to an upper floor, and past those stairs was another huge double door. We didn¡¯t want to go too far, however, so we decided against going past the foyer and into other rooms. Who knew what kind of wild Pokemon found refuge here? ¡°The man who owned this ce had an excellent taste in art, I must say,¡± Louis said, looking at a beautiful, unlit chandelier hanging overhead. ¡°A shame what happened to the ce. I wonder why it was abandoned.¡± ¡°Well, maybe they realized that living here was suicidal, and they left,¡± Pauline said. She was clearly more unsettled by the ce than we were and was probably only with us to talk and think about something else. ¡°Good decision if you ask me.¡± Louis traced his fingers across the dusty walls before wiping his hand on his pants. ¡°Why take nothing, though? The number of things in this foyer alone must be worth millions, and that¡¯s not even counting the other rooms. ¡°Trying to carry all of that out of this forest might have been more trouble than they could afford,¡± I muttered. We finally reached the massive doors behind the stairs and stopped dead in our tracks. ¡°We should turn back,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve been getting better at having good ideas,¡± Pauline jabbed. ¡°Sheesh, thanks,¡± I said irritatedly. We turned away, but Elekid held my leg and began to stir. He was extremely agitated, yelling and pulling me toward the room. I crouched and looked at him. ¡°What is it? What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± He yelled with his face full of anguish. I frowned. This was unlike him. Pauline and Louis were already leaving toward where the others were. The only time Elekid had ever been like this was¡­ before the attack on the power nt in Floaroma, and he had explicitly told me that he had known there was a problem. I gulped as sweat began to umte on my palms. ¡°Kid! Kid!¡± I took a breath. Team Gctic couldn¡¯t be there, it was impossible. ¡°A¡ªare there bad guys in there?¡± I whispered with a shaky voice. ¡°Like the ones you see on T.V. sometimes?¡± He shook his head. I sighed in relief as the feeling of utter terror that had started enveloping me evaporated from my body. ¡°Ele!¡± ¡°Alright big guy, let¡¯s see what your problem is.¡± I sneaked up to the doors and slowly opened them, and a slew of Zubat flew out of the damp, dark room, causing me to scream. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I sighed. In front of me stood a giant dining room with a table so long and so many fancy, cushioned chairs it was almostical. Elekid strode into the room. ¡°Wait up!¡± I told him after he reluctantly stopped. Pauline and Louis rushed back toward me after hearing me scream, followed by the others¡ª even Emilia. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Denzel said, worryingly tapping my shoulder. ¡°Nothing¡­ just some Zubat living in here, and some problem with Elekid. He¡¯s obsessed with this room.¡± Elekid carefully walked into the dining room, making sure not to make any noise. I carefully followed, wanting to see where he would bring us. He stopped when reaching one of the chairs at the edge of the table. ¡°What¡­ what is it?¡± Cece asked. ¡°Alright, I think we need to leave, something¡ª something is wrong.¡± Pauline panicked. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. I had wanted to find out more about what Elekid¡¯s problem was, but¡ª Suddenly, we heard a voice throughout the room, but it wasn¡¯t in a specific area. It was speaking to us from everywhere at once, and it was¡­ it was undiscernible. It bordered on ournguage, but it was also impossible to understand, like a word on the tip of my tongue. Old lights, whether they were electric or candles, lit up all at once and started to flicker. The old cutlery and the tes on the table started to rattle and shake. I slowly edged back, bumping into Denzel and Cecilia, who were watching the spectacle with terrifying awe. ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡± Emilia screamed. That broke us out of our spell, and we rushed toward the doors, but they mmed shut right as we were about to exit. The voice was getting louder. ¡°Fuck!¡± Denzel swore. ¡°Louis, help me pull!¡± Louis nodded, and they each got on one side of the doors and pulled as hard as they could. They wouldn¡¯t budge. We were stuck in here. ¡°Beldum, ram into it!¡± Emilia screeched. The steel type let out an alien-like grinding sound and flew at the door, but it wasn¡¯t breaking. ¡°What kind of fucked up shit is this?!¡± Pauline screamed. ¡°I¡¯m not about to die hours away from the Arceus damned exit!¡± I turned back toward the dining room with trembling legs and watched as one of the lights stopped flickering, grewrger andrger, and began to take shape. But as it morphed into something else, it, along with the other lights, also became darker, more sinister, basking the room in a cold, purple light. I leaned against the wall and then copsed, covering my ears as I could only watch helplessly. The light finally took form as the voice reached its crescendo. It was made out of different shades of ragged, purple cloth that became more transparent the longer I looked. Three shiny red gems adorned its ¡®clothing¡¯ shining bright along with its yellow and red eyes. Its head didn¡¯t end, instead forming into a witch¡¯s hat. The Pokemon floated up and stared at us. I heard someone¡¯s Pokedex speak with a familiar robotic voice. Mismagius, the magic Pokemon. Its cries sound like incantations. Those hearing it are tormented by¡ª by¡ª by¡ª I heard Emilia yell as the Pokedex screen glitched out, flickering on and off for a few seconds before finally turning off. ¡°We have to fight,¡± Denzel said, recalling Eevee and releasing Budew. ¡°Normal type attacks won¡¯t work against this one,¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Justin yelled. The voice was too loud, he hadn¡¯t heard him. ¡°We fight!¡± Denzel yelled out, louder this time. ¡°Budew, we¡¯re fighting a ghost. Bullet Seed it!¡± A series of seeds flew toward the ghost type, who screeched out, either in pain or outrage. We all ordered our Pokemon to attack, but suddenly, the Mismagius disappeared into thin air, as if it had never been there. The voice¡ª or the incantation, ording to the Pokedex¡ª was also gone, and the lights had gone back to normal. I took a few breaths to calm myself, but I struggled to. Seeing this reminded me too much of Mars¡¯ Dusknoir, and I just couldn¡¯t keep myself from freaking out. Cecilia was also unusually shaken, but she helped me up and held my hand gently. That¡¯s right, I thought. I have my friends with me this time. ¡°Let¡¯s not spend another second in here,¡± Pauline said. ¡°It cane back at any time.¡± We all agreed and hurried back to the entrance. Emilia would have to struggle, but we were only a few hours away, or maybe a day away at worse, so it hopefully wouldn¡¯t be too bad. ¡°Uh¡­ what in the world?¡± Justin said. ¡°No¡­ this can¡¯t be happening,¡± Pauline cried out, bringing her hands to her face. I frowned and walked in front of the group, and my eyes widened at what I saw. The windows and the exit door no longer led to Eterna forest. They instead led to another mansion, and then another, and another. It kept going¡­ forever. The sight of it was utterly disturbing, forcing me to look away. It was like two mirrors facing each other, bouncing the light off of each other forever. Louis ran to the kicked-in door and hesitantly walked through. I winced, expecting something to happen, but he waspletely fine. ¡°We¡¯re stuck. That ghost fucked us,¡± Denzel said in a defeated tone. ¡°When you say stuck, you don¡¯t mean forever, do you?¡± Justin cautioned. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We don¡¯t know anything,¡± He replied. ¡°Why the fuck did you open that door,¡± Pauline yelled, aggressively jamming her finger at me. I grimaced, expecting the dressing down of a lifetime, and I couldn¡¯t even me her. It was my fault. I had been too focused on figuring out what was wrong with Elekid and underestimated the danger this mansion could have posed. ¡°Ugh,¡± She groaned. ¡°I don¡¯t even have the energy to be mad at you anymore, I¡¯m just¡­ I just want to get out. All this time, I¡¯ve been strong. Strong like mommy would tell me to be, but I just can¡¯t. We were so close, Grace.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said weakly, staring at the ground. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ve all fucked up in different ways during our trip through the forest,¡± Denzel said. ¡°We¡¯ll make it out, I promise you.¡± Cecilia nodded. ¡°I certainly am no better, making you lot fight a Scyther.¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of my fault, too,¡± Emilia muttered. ¡°I mean, my leg was the entire reason we had to rest here.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t me yourself,¡± I hurriedly said. ¡°And my performance during the first few days left a lot to be desired,¡± Louis chimed in. ¡°And you brought back the group together when we needed it the most. Let¡¯s let bygones be bygones and focus on getting out of here,¡± He continued. I wanted to cry. I had judged these people so harshly before, but now here they were, supporting me. I sniffled and wiped my eyes before standing straighter. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s make a n.¡± The first thing we tried was breaking out through the side of the mansion. Beldum could easily ram through the half-rotten walls with Take Down. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that the ¡®mirroring¡¯ of the mansion not only applied to the doors and windows but to the walls as well. The hole in the roof seemed to still be there, but above it was what looked to be some kind of floor, meaning it also lead to another version of the mansion, but Cecilia sent her Fletchling to check it out anyway and confirmed it. Lastly, we considered digging our way out with Growlithe¡¯s Dig. Beldum again rammed through the floor, expecting to find dirt, but he opened a gaping hole that was at least a fifty feet drop, and we quickly realized that there was no getting out through conventional means. After hastily covering the hole with a wooden we tore off the floor, we went back to strategizing. ¡°If I had to guess,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d say we have to defeat the ghost or kill it for it to release us. It¡¯d only be dead for a few weeks, but that would be enough for us to escape.¡± ¡°So we have to find it then,¡± Cecilia said, before looking toward the entrance. ¡°But it could be in¡­ any of these mansions.¡± ¡°It could be,¡± I said grimly. ¡°Come on, that wouldn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Denzel interjected. ¡°It didn¡¯t attack us, it trapped us in here. A powerful ghost type like Mismagius could have done a number on us. I think this is a test of some sort.¡± ¡°A test?¡± Emilia frowned. ¡°When Justin scanned it with his Pokedex, we couldn¡¯t hear the full description, but I looked at the screen and read it. I¡ª I didn¡¯t think it was important, but¡­ it said it creates hallucinations because¡ª because it loves to torment people.¡± ¡°So this is just a hallucination, then?¡± Cece said. ¡°Can we wake ourselves up somehow?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t count on it, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to try anything,¡± I said. ¡°But if it¡¯s tormenting us, at least we can agree that it won¡¯t kill us like Denzel said. Still¡­ there must be a way to beat it.¡± Pauline lifted her head. She was still in low spirits, but we all understood. She had stayed strong the entire time and was finally at her limit. ¡°How about we start looking for that fucking ghost, then? Search this mansion first, and then the next.¡± ¡°And then the next¡­¡± Justin sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll starve. How much food do we have left?¡± ¡°Enough for a few weeks, but time could be meaningless in here,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°This is an illusion, and It¡¯s been¡­ two hours since we¡¯ve been trapped here, give or take. I feel the exact same as I was. I¡¯d normally be getting hungry around this time, and as you know, I live a very scheduled life.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be great,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But we can¡¯t guarantee it until more time has passed.¡± Pauline frowned for a few seconds and then perked up. ¡°Guys, think about it. There¡¯s no way there are actually an infinite amount of mansions, right? I mean, the amount of power that would require would be insane¡­ like, only Legendaries from old stories you¡¯d read could do something like that.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Cece nodded. ¡°But still, it probably could create enough to strand us in here for days or weeks.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Emilia asked with fear in her eyes. ¡°Grace and Pauline are right,¡± Cece sighed. ¡°We need to look for Mismagius, and then we need to defeat it in battle.¡±
Chapter 51 Chapter 51 CHAPTER 51 "Nothing in there?!" I yelled out. "I''m afraid not, it''s just another bedroom," Cecilia answered. We split into groups to fasten the search. The mansion didn''t really have a lot of depth to it, but it wasveryWhy?Why had he freaked out like that? What was themon denominator between the power nt at Valley Windworks and this busted mansion? No matter how much I racked my brain over it, I just couldn''t figure it out. Cece, Denzel, and I walked down the giant staircase into the foyer and saw that Justin, Pauline, Louis, and Emilia were already waiting for us. Emi wasn''t a part of the search because of her wounded leg, so she just stayed in the lobby waiting for us every time we moved on to another mansion. She had protested, mostly because being alone terrified her, but she knew it was for the good of the group, and at least it didn''t look like Mismagius had brought any wild Pokemon into this made-up world. "Nothing?" Louis asked with a grimace. "Nope," Denzel said. "Let''s move on?" I sighed. "Yeah, let''s." I bit my tongue. Were we just wasting time here? For all we knew, maybe Mismagius would simply leave us here forever. The good news was that Cecilia''s theory appeared to be correct. We weren''t getting tired, or hungry after hours of searching, so it appeared we could theoretically stay here forever. Unfortunately, we didn''t know what that entailed for our real-world selves. Had we passed out in that dining room, or were we whisked away to Mismagius'' world? So many questions with so few answers. I brought it up to the group since I felt like it was an important discussion to have before we split upagain. "I mean, I definitely think we were transported somewhere," Denzel said. "Our Pokeballs still work, right? And so do our Pokedexes, save for Justin''s." "If this was a dream of some sort, there was no way for Mismagius to know what the rest of our teams looked like, and yet they are still intact," Pauline added. I nodded. That made sense, and I should have figured it out on my own, but right now, I just wasn''t myself. The issue with Elekid, and the guilt over dragging everyone into this mess was eating me up inside. "Alright, we take the right, you guys take the left again," Denzel said. Think, Grace, think!I internally screamed. Elekid had dragged me to the Power nt, but when he did, team Gctichadn''tbeen in the building yet. At first I thought he just wanted to steal some of their electricity, but then he told me that he knew something bad was there. Something bad¡­ "Elekid," I said, my eyes widening. "You also knew something bad was in the dining room before we went inside?" I asked him. Denzel and Cece looked at me confusedly, but I raised my hand at them before they said anything. "Kid¡­" He said timidly. "I''m not mad, honey, but I need to know." The electric type nodded. "Alright. Does it have something to do with ghosts? Like, actual ghosts, not Pokemon like Frillish." Elekid nodded again, more confidently this time. I exhaled in relief, jubnt I had finally figured it out. He must have¡­ felt, or sensed the Dusknoir in the power nt at first, and then the Mismagius. But that still didn''t answer thehow. People often said that when ghosts were near, they sometimes feltwrong, like Pauline had before Mismagius attacked us, but Elekid''s ability was something else. "So if I understand this correctly, Elekid can find ghost types?" Cecilia asked. "Ghosts, not ghost types. There''s a difference," I said. I stared into Elekid''s eyes. "Could you help us find the Mismagius again? You could tell Dusknoir was in the nt from pretty far back in Floaroma." "Wait, it knew that Dusknoir was in the nt?!" Denzel asked incredulously. I ignored him and kept looking into Elekid''s eyes. He shook his head and sagged his arms. I frowned, trying to figure out what the issue was. Thinking back, he had only started feeling Mismagius when we started getting near the dining room door, which was a far cry from the range he had shown at Floaroma. Cece caught on to what I was thinking. "Perhaps it has something to do with the ghost''s power," She theorized. "That Mismagius may be capable of powerful illusions, but when we attacked it all at once, we didrealdamage. It''s defeatable." I hit my palm with a fist."That''s it!"I eximed. "But it still doesn''t help us track the Arceus damned thing down that much. We still have to search." "But at least we won''t have to search the rooms anymore," Cece smiled. "That''s certainly an improvement. Some of these arewaytoo big," Denzel said. "Can you do that for me, Elekid? Try to feel the ghost through doors like you didst time?" The electric type yelled out, finally regaining his usual energetic behavior. It wasn''t much, but it wassomething. ¡ª¡ª Eight hours. Eight dull, mind-numbing hours had passed, and there was still no progress. We searched through twenty-two mansions, by our count. Our speed was greatly improved. Thanks to Elekid''s help, by the time we were done searching our side of the mansion, the others still weren''t even halfway done with their side, and we would always go and help out. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of Mismagius. We were starting to lose hope. "What if it''s in one of the ones toward the bottom? Or the top?" Paulinemented. "How do we even get down there?" We were currently taking a small break just to refresh our ideas and brainstorm another tactic, because this clearly still wasn''t working. "I could have Beldum drop you guys down with Confusion. Or bring you up," Pauline said in her usual quiet voice. "He can levitate with you, so you''ll never be out of range." Louis slouched into the defunct couch he sat on. "We can do that after we clear all the mansions on this floor, I suppose." "This is going to take weeks," I sighed, looking toward the ''exit''. After a few seconds, I blinked and averted my eyes. Staring at what looked to be infinity gave me a headache. However, something on the ground caught my eye. I gasped when I saw a specific piece of wood we had ced hours ago to avoid falling to our deaths. "Guys," I started. "Isn''t that what we put to plug that hole Beldum made?" I said, pointing at the piece of wood. Cece stared at it intently. "That¡­ thatis!" Denzel rushed toward the wooden nk, removed it, and smiled. "Holy shit, I can''t believe our luck. If you hadn''t seen that, we would have kept going and searched the same thing over and over again. Wait, have we been going in loops this entire time and not noticing?" "That''s a possibility," Justin said, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "How about we test it out? I''ll run through the mansions and count how many I go through before returning here again." "Alright," I said. "But if you count above twenty-two, turn back. It could be some ghost fuckery again." The teen nodded, got up, and ran toward the exit. We watched intently until eventually blurred anddisappeared. "That was five mansions," He said, panting. We jumped, hearing his voice behind us. "Arceus, can''t you run alittleless silently?" Denzelined. "Five?!" Pauline yelled. "We already looped for no reason, then!" "If there are five mansions, then we should be able to see¡­ ourselves by looking toward the exits, no?" I asked. "Mismagius might be using its powers to trick us," Cece said. "What''s done is done," Louis said. "Is it safe to assume that there''s five in all directions then? Up and down? Toward the sides as well?" "It''s not safe to assume anything," Cece shook her head, grabbing a Pokeball. "I''ll send Fletchling." She released the flying type, whonded on her shoulder. "Darling, please fly up through the ceiling and keep going. If there are more than five instances of this mansion,e back down right away." The bird chirped and blurred upward impressively fast, and vanished as it created a hole through the upper floor. After around two minutes, she flewthroughour floor with Quick Attack,nding on her owner''s shoulder and singing in her ear happily. "Five upward, then it must be five downward as well," She said. "Fletchling, please go check the sides too." The fire type nodded and flew up the stairs toward one of two hallways. It took longer this time, but she looped back, and Cece recalled her. "Five times five times five is¡­" I started, trying to do the math in my head. "Any of you guys got the calctor app on your Poketch?" "It''s one hundred and twenty-five," Emilia said. "That''s such an easy calction." I shrunk down in embarrassment. "I''ve never been much of a math girl." "But that means that there are one hundred and twenty-five mansions in total," Justin said. "We''ve already looked through all of them on this row." "Then we keep going," Cece dered in a determined tone. "First, we check the rest of them on this floor, and then we''ll do the same on other floors." ¡ª¡ª Being lifted by Confusion felt funny. That was the only world I could describe it with. I felt a thousand different palpitations on my skin as Beldum hovered in front of me with its shining eye. My body waspletely stiff, and I couldn''t move whatsoever. I was at the steel type''splete mercy, and that was certainly a sobering feeling. A few inches above the floor, it finally let me go, and I messed up thending, falling to the side and onto my back. I cried out in pain. "Fucking¡­fuck!" I hissed through my teeth. "Gotta stick thending next time." Denzel and Cecilia helped me up. I was thest one to go down, so we were finally all there, on another level of Mismagius'' fucked up world. Another twenty-five mansions to look through. It would take time. It would take effort, but wewouldmake it. "Well, let''s get looking," Denzel said, pping his hands. ¡ª¡ª "Still nothing?" I asked Elekid. The electric type shook his head. "Let''s head to the next one, then," Justin said. We were currently helping them search since we had finished looking through our side a while ago. We were currently on our fourth floor. Nobody knew how much time it had been anymore, but we were starting to consider the possibility that Mismagius was moving to avoid us. We made our way back to the foyer, but right before we were about to head toward the entrance, Elekid''s eyes widened. He started spinning his arms, making my hair stand up. "Feel something?!" I asked urgently. "Kid!" "Holy shit, this might be it," Denzel said. "Get ready." Allof our Pokemon that knew long-range attacks got into position, and Growlithe and Eevee were still out in case they ever managed to Bite the Arceus damned thing. We hadn''te up with a n of action aside from throwing everything we had at Mismagius, so we weren''t going to hold anything back. We edged our way through the door and into the kitchen, where Mismagius stoodpletely still, hovering over the dinner table as if it had been waiting for us. "Gothita, Psybeam! Charmeleon, Dragon Rage!" Pauline ordered, breaking the silence. The attacks passed through the ghost type, but it screeched out in pain anyway, and it began its incantation again. "It''s trying to trap us again!" I yelled. "Elekid, Thundershock! Frillish, Hex! Togetic, Fairy Wind!" Mismagius screamed as a dozen attacks kept passing through it. It was behaving strangely, not dodging or attacking back. The singing was gettinglouder. I covered my ears and kept ordering my Pokemon, but I wasn''t sure if they were even hearing me. My jaw trembled as contemted the fact that we might get transported deeper into another one of Mismagius'' worlds. An illusion within an illusion. A Dragon Rage from Gible hit the ghost, and it disintegrated into purple smoke. A deafening silence settled into the room, but a few secondster, the world around us started to do the same. It was alling apart. "Did we do it?" I asked in a worried tone. "Well, either we did it, or we''re all about to disappear," Denzel said,ughing nervously. "I hope it''s the former." The world was unraveling, and soon, only darkness was left. And then I blinked. We were back in the dining room. The original one, where Mismagius had first trapped us, and it wasstill there. Everyone was in the same positions they had been, along with the Pokemon we had out when we first got transported. It was as if no time had passed at all. "Magius!"The ghost type yelled a shadowy force began to swirl into a ball around its mouth. "Deino!" Cecilia yelled. The dragon type roared and let out a Dragon Breath, hitting the ball and causing it to explode into a thousand shadows. "Elekid, hit it," I simply said as orders thundered around me. He hollered in approval as his arms began to spin. Beldum let out a sh Canon thatpletely ripped apart Mismagius'' form, but it coalesced again, and the steel type''s body started to smoke. I recognized Hex immediately. Mismagius darted left and right as it tried to avoid the numerous moves we threw at it, but it was too much. It couldn''t focus on dodging and attacking at the same time. Cecilia released her Fletchling and ordered it to harass the ghost type with Peck and Ember. "We''ve got it on the ropes! Can we run?!" I yelled out. "Hell yes, we can!" Pauline answered. Eevee used Quick Attack to jump on the table, and thenatMismagius before Biting at it, pulling out some of the cloth it used as its body. Gothita tried restraining the ghost type with Confusion, but psychic type attacks weren''t great against ghosts, so its abilities were limited there. Mismagius screeched and sunk into the ground, its form bing nothing but a shadow on it ground. In a sh, it was behind Gothita, and it hit it across the floor. The psychic type struggled to get up, but after a few seconds, it fainted. "On the count of three, we all rush out!" Denzel said. "One, two¡ª" The door mmed again, and it was imprable. Mismagius was forcing us to stay here andfight. "Arceus, damn it!" Denzel screamed, mming the door with his fist. Mismagius sniggered and it used Hex on Fletchling, who crashed onto the table. It grinned as it sunk into the shadows again and swatted the bird at the wall. "Fletchling!" Cecilia cried. "Deino, go Bite!" The dragon let out a gleeful roar as it rushed across the room, paying no mind to the table or the chairs. Mismagius shrieked as another Thundershock and Dragon Rage hit, and its form copsed again. It took a few seconds for it toe back together, and it was still focused on Fletchling, but Deino was there. I could almost see the darkness fester in his mouth as he bit into Mismagius and shook his head, trying to dissolve it once more. Fletchling tried to fly away, but it was too weak. Cecilia grabbed her Pokeball to¡ª I covered my eyes as the bird started to shine. She wasevolving. Mismagius screeched even louder, no doubt angry at the light, but it was busy gettingpletely destroyed by Cece''s enraged Deino. Fletchinder rose and struggled as she flew toward Cecilia. Her talons wed into her trainer''s shoulder, causing her to wince. Cece gently recalled her flying type and released her Slowpoke. "Keep Water Pulsing when you have an opening," She ordered. I snapped out of my daze and released Frillish as well. The water type was enraged as he flew toward Mismagius before hitting it with Hex. Deino let go right before another sh Canon utterly dissolved the ghost once again. We waited¡­ and waited, but it didn''t reappear this time. The doors gently creaked behind us as they opened. We didn''t need to speak another word. We ran. ¡ª¡ª If someone had told me a day ago that I would have been d to be back in Eterna forest, I would have called them insane. We were finallyfree, and ording to the dates on our Poketches, no time had passed at all. In fact, it looked like not evenonesecond had passed in the real world during our stay in Mismagius'' world, as if the experience had been instant. We made sure to warn future trainers passing there about how dangerous this ce was by carving a message into one of the nearby trees, and then onto the mansion''s door for good measure. Who knew what kind of ghosts would move in now that Mismagius was gone for a few weeks? Oh well, we had done all we could, and we would tell the Rangers about this mansion. I could only hope it would serve someone in the future. I grinned as I saw the Eterna forest''s exit in the distance. We had made it through more trials than most trainers would face in their careers. And we had gone so rtively unscathed. Everyone was alive. I stepped into the sunlight and exhaled shakily as tears welled up in my eyes. The Pokemon Center was right there. In the distance, I could see Mount Cor, covered in snow and striking through the clouds. Emilia let out a smallugh mixed with a cry, and we all started giggling. We were free. And damn, did it feel good.
Interlude – Goals Interlude ¨C Goals INTERLUDE - Goals Chase couldn¡¯t stop himself from repeatedly tapping his foot against the ground as the ranger exined the ins and outs of Eterna forest. He groaned and pulled his cap over his eyes. When the teenager had arrived at the outpost, he had originally wanted to go straight into the forest after a one hour lunch break, but lo and behold, the rangers implemented a damn course, and now he was being treated like he was in kindergarten. Chase didn¡¯t need a damn ss to make it through the damn forest, but he had no choice but to suffer through it to get that damn ticket. Not that he was listening anyway. Right now, he was thinking about how he¡¯d reorganize his workouts in the forest. It¡¯d probably be smart to lower the intensity a little so he could save his energy in case anything happened. It was frustrating to think about, but Chase wasn¡¯t stupid. He knew how far his workouts pushed him and his team, and he wasn¡¯t about to make them take a risk if he didn¡¯t need to. Especially not Ri. ¡°I think you should listen, kid,¡± Someone whispered next to him. Chase considered getting up right then and there, but then he¡¯d be kicked out, and he¡¯d have to sit in a ss all over again. He nced at the clock above the projected screen. There was only one hour and twenty-two minutes left, and then he¡¯d be out of here. ¡°Seriously,¡± The man said again. ¡°I¡¯m saying this to help.¡± ¡°What the fuck do you want?¡± Chase snapped, turning toward the man. A few heads turned toward him, but the Ranger hadn¡¯t heard. He looked to be in his early twenties and had a patchy beard. The man sighed. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t like it either,¡± He muttered under his breath. ¡°I¡¯ve been through this forest four times, but you don¡¯t see me not paying attention. I¡¯ve learned things I didn¡¯t even know before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking to me, not paying attention,¡± Chase replied. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your story, fuck off.¡± That seemed to have convinced him to leave him alone. Chase smiled and retreated into his thoughts once more. The trainer was a bit tight on money, even after battling and crushing as many trainers as he could. Hemented missing that Floaroma tournament. That would have given him a big boost, but oh well, what was done was done. Chase had no doubt he¡¯d be able to power through the forest with Riolu. Time passed slowly, but finally, the ss was over. ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡± The ranger said. ¡°I¡¯ve got your tickets here, make sure to grab one before exiting the ss.¡± She continued. Chase hopped out of his chair and grinned as hezily picked up his ticket. He readjusted his cap and strode out of the Ranger building, going straight toward the entrance of the forest. Suddenly though, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes bulged, and he immediately swatted it away before getting into a sparring position. Chase felt his throat clog up before realizing he wasn¡¯t home. There was no need to be on edge. This was a long way from the Iron Inds. ¡°I thought I told you to fuck off,¡± Chase said before putting his hands in his pocket. The same man who had talked to him in ss stared at him with a smile. Chase didn¡¯t like that smile. It exuded pity, and no one had the right to pity him. ¡°Why¡¯re you looking at me like that? Think you¡¯re funny?¡± The man raised his hands. ¡°Listen, I just want to warn you. I¡¯ve seen plenty of kids like youe and go, and it usually doesn¡¯t end well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a usual trainer,¡± Chase said. ¡°Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡± Chase¡¯s poprity on the forums and throughout Sinnoh had exploded since he busted in the power nt at Valley Windworks and took on team Gctic. Hell, he¡¯d even given some interviews a few times. He reckoned that he was more popr than Cecilia Obel now, although she had also gotten another bump due to her being one of the hostages. ¡°Chase Karlson, right?¡± He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Scott Montante. Pleasure to meet you.¡± ¡°Are we done? Do you want to battle or something? An autograph?¡± Chase asked. ¡°No, I just want to save you from killing yourself, kid,¡± Scott said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we head to the Center and talk? I got someone else waiting for me.¡± ¡°No,¡± Chase shook his head and started walking away. ¡°I¡¯ve read about you, you know?¡± Scott said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a video of your scuffle with Cecilia Obel in Oreburgh. Seemed like some shitty teen drama to me, but still. I¡¯ve met a few kids from her group, and from what I¡¯ve seen, they¡¯re doing much better than you.¡± Chase¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Easy to do good when her dad pays for everything,¡± Chase confidently said. ¡°I¡¯m better than her. I¡¯ve got more talent and dedication. Is she here right now?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Scott smiled. ¡°Come with me to the Center, and I¡¯ll help you find her. You wanted to battle, right?¡± ¡°Well, if you put it that way, fine.¡± ¡ª¡ª Chase watched as Scott sat next to a girl at one of the tables in the Pokemon Center¡¯s lobby. He frowned. ¡°Where¡¯s Obel? That¡¯s not her,¡± He said. ¡°Obel?¡± The girl said. Chase could feel a certain amount of disdain from the way she spoke. ¡°Why would you think I was her?¡± She turned to Scott. ¡°What have you been telling this guy?¡± ¡°Sorry kid, I tricked ya,¡± Scott said. ¡°Sit.¡± ¡°What the hell¡ª¡± ¡°Sit,¡± Scott said more forcefully this time. Chase considered just storming out, but at this point, he was too interested in what this guy had to say. Maybe he still knew where Obel was. Chase dragged the chair and sat down. ¡°Good!¡± Scott continued. ¡°Now, let me introduce you kids. This is Maeve Chang,¡± He said, pointing at the girl. ¡°This is Chase Karlson.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Chase Karlson?¡± She said. ¡°You look different than in the pictures and videos.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ve just got a fucked up sense of sight,¡± Chase snarked. ¡°You should get that checked out.¡± ¡°Stop bickering,¡± Scott groaned. ¡°Now, you two got a lot inmon. You both hate Obel. Well, in Maeve¡¯s case, she more specifically hates Louis Bianchi, but the principle still applies. And just like you, Chase, this girl was about to storm into the Arceus damned forest alone.¡± ¡°So?¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯m kind of bad with people, so I just didn¡¯t want to bother. I thought I could handle it.¡± Chase felt the corner of his lips rise. He liked the confidence. ¡°No, you can¡¯t. Something¡¯s going on in the forest this year,¡± Scott said grimly. ¡°The Rangers theorize that there are too many trainers trying to get through, and that¡¯s making the wild Pokemon more agitated than usual. This is you guys¡¯ first year, so you wouldn¡¯t know, but I¡¯d say that there are at least¡­ thirty to forty percent more people than usual signing up for the Circuit.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but either way, the forest is deadly, and I unfortunately don¡¯t want two dead kids on my conscience, so I want you to join up with me.¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Chase said. ¡°If you want to y guardian angel, you can pick up someone else and go in with them.¡± ¡°I mean, I might be willing to ept that,¡± Maeve replied after a few seconds. ¡°But only if I get ess to your items.¡± ¡°Alright, Maeve, you¡¯re in,¡± Scott smiled. ¡°And Chase, you two are the only people I¡¯vee across that were thinking about going through Eterna alone. The only ones. The others are at least smart about forming a group, so I¡¯m focusing on you.¡± Chase mused. ¡°Find me Obel, and I¡¯ll consider it.¡± The man groaned. ¡°She left yesterday. You arrived toote.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m out¡ª¡± ¡°Wait. I know my way through the forest. Like I¡¯ve said, I¡¯ve been through it four times. You didn¡¯t even listen to the course, do you know what way to head toward?¡± Scott asked. ¡°Pretty sure the Ranger said north.¡± ¡°Northeast, you moron,¡± Maeve said, waving her hand. Chase was about to retort, but Scott interjected. ¡°Look, what I¡¯m saying is that if you want, I can lead you to the other end, and we¡¯ll probably be fast enough to meet her at the outpost on the other side of the forest. The advantage of being a group of three is that we¡¯ll be quick on our feet.¡± The teen thought about the man¡¯s offer. What was his goal? To be perfect. And to be perfect, he needed to be the Champion. Obel stood in the way of that. Sure, he had gained in poprity, and he had intensified his training since that¡­ humiliating near loss to Roark, but he wanted to crush her. To prove that he was better once and for all. You¡¯ll beat me, and then what? What will your goal be beyond that victory? Cynthia¡¯s words cut through his train of thought, causing Chase to grind his teeth. In many showers or long nights, he had fantasized about what he would answer to that question if he was given to chance again, however unlikely that was. Meeting the Champion was unlikely, and even though he knew himself to be special, he was under no delusion that Cynthia paid any attention to him. Still, he had no answer to that question. But why did he even need one? Plenty of trainers were only driven by their goal to obtain the position of Champion, and he went a step beyond that. He rxed with a sigh. Perfection was the goal. He couldn¡¯t hold Riolu back. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m in if we leave immediately.¡± Scott smiled. ¡°Sounds good, let¡¯s get started!¡± ¡ª¡ª The forest was more oppressive than Chase had thought. Even after the first day, the constant attacks were one thing, but the darkness reminded him too much of the mines back home. He hated traveling through caves for that reason, and the forest was having a simr effect on him. Riolu ced a paw on his leg as they sat by the fire Maeve¡¯s Monferno had lit, and he looked at Chase with worry. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Ri,¡± Chase softly said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± ¡°Rio!¡± Scott was lying on some tarp he hadid on the forest floor, and Maeve was sitting dangerously close to the fire. She hated the cold. Scott¡¯s Kricketune¡ª who he called Lute¡ªid back against a tree as he finished ying another one of his songs. It was certainly a unique Pokemon to use, but the teen had to admit the music was soothing. ¡°Damn, I¡¯ve never heard that one before. That was great, Lute. I know you like ying for an audience, but you shouldn¡¯t have hidden it from me.¡± ¡°T¡ªthanks, Lute,¡± Maeve trembled. Her Monferno hugged her back and let his warmth spread to her. ¡°Thank you, Monferno. Watch the tail, though.¡± Kricketune let out a smooth, beautiful cry that itbined with its violin bow-like arms to create a melody. Every Arceus damned noise that came out of that Pokemon¡¯s mouth was a blessing. ¡°Was Lute your first Pokemon?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°You don¡¯t often see trainers use them.¡± ¡°He was, and I¡¯m damn proud of him,¡± Scott smiled as his friend started ying another song. ¡°He¡¯s taken me far, but I also have a Granbull, a Maon, a Quagsire, and a Carkol.¡± Even Chase¡¯s eyes widened at that. Scott looked to be a hell of a trainer. It pissed him off. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯ve been at this for years. You¡¯ll catch up in no time,¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m not that great. The best I¡¯ve reached was four badges, and that wasst year.¡± Chase felt the urge to go out and train, but it wouldn¡¯t be wise in the forest. Plus, he was sure he would catch up soon enough. Like Scott had said, he had been at it for years. ¡°Any tips for new trainers like us?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not great, but I¡¯d say try to catch a team of six as soon as you can. I¡¯ve been trying to look for my sixth member, but the amount of training I¡¯d have to do to bring it up to par with the rest of the team seems exhausting. Maeve, you¡¯ve got four Pokemon, you said?¡± ¡°Yeah. Monferno, Staryu, Staravia and Skorupi.¡± ¡°Good. Well bnced, too,¡± Scott nodded before chuckling. ¡°You¡¯ve got a thing for the letter S, though.¡± ¡°You¡¯re like the fiftieth person to make that joke. Stop.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, sorry,¡± Scott said, waving his hand. ¡°What about you, Chase?¡± ¡°Hmph. Riolu, Charjabug and Houndour.¡± ¡°Great. You guys are on the right track. It¡¯s always good to have three members before the second gym.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°Because after your first badge, every gym leader expects you to have at least three Pokemon. If you have less, tough luck. You¡¯re fighting a two versus three, or a one versus three.¡± ¡°I could handle that with Ri,¡± Chase grinned. ¡°We¡¯ve trained hard after Oreburgh. I think I¡¯ll wipe the floor with Gardenia.¡± The conversation continued for another hour, apanied by the warm crackling of the fire and Lute¡¯s songs. ¡ª¡ª Chase, Scott, and Maeve were all crouched behind a fallen log, observing a Pinsir quietly feed on some Seedot that it had knocked off a tree with its powerful pincers. Chase almost shot up, starving at the opportunity to challenge himself by fighting the Pokemon, but Scott held him back by pulling on his shirt. ¡°What the he¡ª¡± Scott ced his hand over his mouth. Chase tried to punch and kick his way out, but even though he was slowly making progress, Scott was a twenty-one year old man. There was no getting out of this. Riolu was looking, Chase thought as a pit full of dread formed in his stomach. A few minutester, Pinsir left, and Scott finally let him go. Riolu was looking carefully with his arms crossed. ¡°What the fuck is your problem?¡± Chase yelled. ¡°Quiet, or it¡¯lle back,¡± Maeve hissed. ¡°You were stupid for trying to challenge a Pokemon way out of your league,¡± Scott said. ¡°That Pinsir¡¯s bad news. I thought it never came around here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck,¡± Chase said. ¡°Never do that again.¡± Scott sighed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sorry. But hear me out. That Pinsir belonged to a trainer who died here¡ª I don¡¯t remember his name. But he¡¯s wild again, and he¡¯s tough. I could probably take him on because he looked wounded, but I didn¡¯t want to risk it.¡± Chase wiped the dirt and leaves from his clothes. ¡°Fine, but you do that again and I¡¯m out,¡± He said, clicking his tongue. He wanted to scream. To get in his face and fight, but Riolu was already disappointed as it was. ¡°So you¡¯ve seen that Pinsir before?¡± Maeve asked. "If it belonged to someone, why is it dangerous? Shouldn''t it be friendly?" ¡°Yes, but way deeper in the forest. I reckon it¡¯s the most powerful Pokemon in this Arceus damned forest. I wonder what kind of crazy motherfuckers fought him. I hope they didn¡¯t die,¡± Scott sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll have to tell the rangers about this when we get to the other side.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Maeve breathed out. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± ¡ª¡ª Another two days had passed, and they were making good ground. Truth be told, Scott was right when he told Chase he knew what he was doing. He knew how to avoid the most dangerous Pokemon using prints, cries, and markings on trees. It was impressive, to say the least. Obviously though, Chase was catching on quickly, as always. ¡°See that on the ground?¡± Scott said before turning to the two teenagers. ¡°Guess what Pokemon that is.¡± Chase crouched and observed the shape of the print. ¡°That¡¯s a Shroomish,¡± He said right away. ¡°Those are perfect circles.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Scott smiled. ¡°Maeve, try to be faster next time.¡± ¡°It was on the tip of the tongue,¡± Sheined. ¡°Come on!¡± Scott frowned before raising a finger. ¡°Feel that temperature drop?¡± He asked. Maeve held out her hands. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Ghost iing,¡± He warned. They all got in position and got ready to fight. Chase quickly released Houndour, and Maeve released Staravia. Scott left his Kricketune out. A series of eerie screams resonated through the forest, and Scott rxed. ¡°We¡¯re good,¡± He said. ¡°Stand down.¡± The two trainers acquiesced and watched as five Phantump floated through the forest as if they were being gently carried by the wind. Each one carried a unique mask made out of wood. Chase couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy when staring into their red eyes. A few minutester, they were gone without having attacked. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they aggressive?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°Ghosts usually are.¡± ¡°Not Phantump,¡± Scott said with his eyes downcast. ¡°They¡¯re¡­ the spirit of kids that died in the forest. They never attack other trainers unless they¡¯re attacked first.¡± Chase scratched his neck ufortably. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. No time to waste.¡± The words felt hollow when they came out. ¡ª¡ª The very next day, a Pokemon caught Chase¡¯s eye. A Zangoose was dashing in between trees and wing at them with a move that seemed to be sh. It was doing so with a level of dexterity that rivaled Riolu¡¯s, and it kept alternating between running on all fours and on its hind legs. Scott wanted the group to avoid it, but Chase felt something inside of him. The same thing he had felt when he had caught Houndour and Charjabug. An unexinable feeling that tugged at his heart, screaming at him, ordering him to catch the Pokemon in front of his eyes. ¡°Why is it taking so long,¡± Maeve whispered. ¡°Zangoose¡¯s ws grow forever, so it often needs to use them on something before they get too long. I guess this one figured out a way to train while doing so. Talk about taking out two birds with one stone,¡± Scott answered. Chase smirked. Zangoose had the drive to be on his team. A dedication to the craft of training. ¡°I¡¯m catching it,¡± He simply said. ¡°Stand back.¡± ¡°What?¡± Scott shook his head. ¡°If you want to catch it, fine, but let us help you.¡± ¡°Have some Arceus damned respect,¡± Chase said. ¡°I could never ambush this Zangoose. Ready Riolu?¡± ¡°Ri!¡± He stepped out of his hiding spot and announced himself. ¡°Zangoose!¡± The normal type immediately stood on his hind legs and hissed as the hair on its back stood up. ¡°You are like me. You work to perfect yourself through training, slowly but surely,¡± Chase smiled. Zangoose was still ready to fight, but it was listening. ¡°Riolu and I challenge you to a fight. Both of us, so don¡¯t hesitate toe after me,¡± ¡°Are you crazy¡ª¡± Scott yelled. ¡°Goose!¡± ¡°Ah, you''ll have to excuse them. Those are my travelingpanions. We¡¯re helping each other get through the forest, but they won¡¯t join the battle. If I win, I want you to join my team,¡± Chase continued with a wild grin. Zangoose hesitated, but it nodded after some deliberation. ¡°On the count of three,¡± Chase started. ¡°One, two, three,¡± Zangoose rushed forward with a blur, but Chase could see it. Now it was about his body not falling behind. He ducked as Zangoose raked its ws where his neck had just been. ¡°Riolu, on me! Force Palm!¡± Chase ordered. His Pokemon blurred with Quick Attack and jumped on Chase¡¯s back, using his trainer to propel himself to hit the Zangoose with Force Palm at incredible speeds. The normal type wed back, but Riolu was already back at Chase¡¯s side. Zangoose hissed and raked its ws together before dashing toward Chase once again. Riolu jumped and hit it away with Bone Rush, but Zangoose blocked with its arm and shed Riolu away. Chase scrambled and grabbed his backpack, moving it to the front to block the attack, but he was still knocked away by the sheer force. Riolu barked, and his palms glowed once more as he shone with Quick Attack. The normal type hissed before wing at Riolu, but he quickly stepped back with a feint and stepped in after Zangoose¡¯s sh, hitting it right in the abdomen over and over. ¡°Wait!¡± Chase ordered. Riolu stopped his onught. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a chance to surrender ande with me.¡± Zangoose hissed and jumped at Riolu. ¡°Circle Throw!¡± Chase said. The fighting type awkwardly pushed Zangoose¡¯s right leg away before grabbing its arm and lifting it over his body, and ramming its face straight into a tree. ¡°Force Palm,¡± He calmly said. Before Zangoose could even recover, he came under assault from Riolu¡¯s Force Palm. It was hit over and over, and it tried to w back, but it was too weak now. Too slow. Chase grabbed one of the Pokeballs that had fallen from his now torn-up backpack. ¡°We defeated you,¡± He told Zangoose. ¡°It was a good fight. I¡­ I tasted defeat back home, but I left and vowed never to lose again. Join me.¡± Zangoose let out a trembling nod. Chase touched it with his Pokeball and smiled. ¡ª¡ª Zangoose, the cat ferret Pokemon. Memories of battling its archrival Seviper are etched into every cell of Zangoose¡¯s body. This Pok¨¦mon adroitly dodges attacks with incredible agility. When it battles, it stands on its hind legs and attacks with its sharply wed forelegs. Moves: Quick Attack, sh, Hone ws, Fury Swipes, Scratch, Leer, Fury Cutter (click for more information) Ability: Toxic Boost (click for more information) Chase grinned. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of moves, and an outstanding ability,¡± He said. He immediately started imagining scenarios where he poisoned his Zangoose with Houndoor¡¯s Smog before a big battle. Zangoose hissed and bowed her head. It seemed like she had gained a great deal of respect for him thanks to their battle. ¡°She looks angry all the time,¡± Maeve said as she nestled closer to the fire. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you asked her toe after you,¡± Scott said. ¡°You¡¯ve got a death wish.¡± ¡°Why would I make my Pokemon fight if I never join in? That¡¯s how you gain their respect and show that you''re worth a damn,¡± Chase said. ¡°That¡¯s some unhealthy mindset,¡± Scott said. ¡°But congrats on the new member, I guess.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need congrattions. If I couldn''t catch her, I wouldn¡¯t deserve to be a trainer.¡± ¡ª¡ª Another two days passed, and ording to Scott, they were close to the exit. Even though the trip through Eterna forest had been rtively easy, Chase was d it¡¯d be over soon. It was exhausting and reminiscent of home. ¡°Well, I think this is going to be myst time going through this damned forest,¡± Scott chuckled as hezily chewed on some canned beans. ¡°Why? You retiring after this year?¡± Maeve asked curiously. ¡°Yeah,¡± He replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to try to be a Ranger.¡± Chase¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Why? Why settle for such a mediocre goal?¡± He asked dryly. Scott frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t call it mediocre. It¡¯s been my dream since I was a kid,¡± He said, raising his tone slightly. ¡°Then why¡¯d you try to Circuit so many times,¡± Maeve asked. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°To get better as a trainer,¡± Scott said. ¡°It was never about bing the Champion for me, I just wanted to get experience. I¡¯ve always wanted to use my skills to help others, and I feel like I¡¯m good enough to join next year.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± Maeve said. ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Chase scoffed. ¡°I really don¡¯t. I¡¯ve seen you battle. You¡¯re good. Better than you act. You could easily get more than four badges if you pushed yourself harder. You could try to reach the top¡ª¡± ¡°Stop it, Chase,¡± He growled. ¡°Stop. I know you¡¯ve got issues, but don¡¯t project them onto me.¡± Chase shook his head and blinked. It was as if he had been pped. ¡°The fuck do you mean?¡± ¡°I said what I said,¡± Scott added. ¡°Good night.¡± He turned away from the teenager. Chase tapped his foot against the soft ground repeatedly. He didn¡¯t have issues. It wasn¡¯t his fault people seemed content with mediocrity in their lives. It just baffled him to see someone with the potential to reach the Conference just¡­ give up. And for what? To be some shitty ranger? ¡°Well, this is awkward,¡± Maeve said, pping her hands. ¡°I¡¯m just going to sleep too. Nighty night.¡± Chase huffed. They were all blind. Everyst one of them, and he would prove them all wrong. All of them. ¡ª¡ª When they reached the outpost on the other side of Eterna forest, the group immediately split. There weren¡¯t really any hard feelings. They knew that their group had been just a temporary arrangement. Scott got his wish and got them through the forest, and he left for the ranger building to warn them about the Pinsir. Maeve was more of a solitary trainer, as he was, and she quickly left for the Center, since she wanted to get to Eterna as fast as possible. The sun felt gentle on his skin, unlike the harsh weather of the Iron Inds. Chase walked to a secluded area of the outpost and released his team. Charjabug screeched happily since he hadn¡¯t released it during the entirety of the forest trip except once to keep watch at night. Riolu, Zangoose, and Houndour were tired and had suffered some wounds due to fights with wild Pokemon. Perfect. ¡°We¡¯re all tired right now,¡± Chase grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s work out and push ourselves to the limit.¡± He needed to catch up for all that cking off he had done in Eterna forest first. Then, it was time to find Obel.
Chapter 52 Chapter 52 CHAPTER 52 I ran through the power nt as fast as I could. How had I even gotten here? My legs felt sluggish. Slow, and unresponsive, like I was wading through water, but I kept going. Every corner I turned, she was there, waiting with a gleeful smile. Mars. She was everywhere, her knife in hand and Dusknoir at her side. She shed her de at me, cutting across my face despite me not being near her. I screamed and felt at my face. The pain was unbearable. My hand was slick with warm blood. Marszily approached me, skipping across the floor like a little girl. ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? That I would find you again,¡± She said, beforeughing wildly. I spoke, but no words came out of my mouth. She gripped her knife tighter and stabbed me, over and over and over and over and over¡ª I jolted awake with a shriek, clutching at my abdomen. Frillish was floating above, watching me with intense worry. I groaned and sat at the edge of the bed, wiping sweat off my body. ¡°Fuck¡­ that was¡­ Arceus.¡± The pain had felt so real. Even now, my body throbbed where I had been stabbed in the nightmare. It was our first night at the outpost¡¯s Pokemon Center, and I had decided enough was enough. Cynthia told me that I needed to not get too dependent on Togetic¡¯s power, and when the Champion gave you advice about something, you listened. That didn¡¯t mean that she wasn¡¯t sleeping with me, though. ¡°Prrri¡­¡± Togetic cried out with a sad look on her face. I grimaced. Seeing her sad was like someone was crushing my heart. Elekid got off from the wall he leaned on to sleep, and called out reassuringly, while Tang looked up at me with his vast googly eyes. ¡°Sorry guys, I must have woken you all up,¡± I said. ¡°I¡­ I need a shower.¡± I closed the bathroom door and stared at myself in the mirror, taking deep breaths to calm my beating heart. This was incredibly discouraging. It was as if I had made no progress at all, and I was back to step one, except the nightmares about Golbat were now reced with Mars and Dusknoir. I shivered when the image of the ghost shed in my mind. ¡°No point thinking about it, I¡¯ll just scare myself some more,¡± I told myself, gripping the counter until my knuckles turned white. ¡°Mars is gone¡­ I¡¯ll never see her again. I¡¯ll never see her.¡± I swallowed. ¡°Let¡¯s shower.¡± I took a while to wash myself. The warmth of the water just felt tooforting on my skin after spending so long in Eterna forest. Getting out, I realized I had forgotten to grab a change of clothes. I groaned and ced a hand on my heart as I left the bathroom. Still needed to work on that. I felt the door hit something, after which I quickly heard Elekid bark out an order. When I opened the door again, my Pokemon were back in their original positions, acting as if nothing happened. ¡°Were you guys trying to spy on me?¡± I asked. Elekidughed and let out a noise I had learned to recognize as no. Togetic hid behind Frillish, who turned awkwardly, avoiding my eyes. ¡°Hey, angel,¡± I smiled at Tang. ¡°Were they trying to spy on me?¡± I asked again. The grass type extended his vines and touched my ankles. He was a bit odd, but then again, so was every member of my team, and I liked that about them. I still was nowhere near understanding how hemunicated, though. He seemed to be non-verbal, instead preferring to use his vines to talk, or at least I had never heard him speak. Not a single sound. ¡°Thanks for worrying about me,¡± I said softly to my team. I grabbed a set of clothes and spent the rest of the early morning browsing the inte. There was a lot I had missed, and I desperately wanted to catch up on anything trainer rted. Apparently, some people had four badges already, but they were all people that had been trainers for years, like Craig Goodwill, the guy with the Smence I had seen on television the day dad talked to me about leaving for Littleroot. Experienced trainers like him already had their flying licenses, so they could just fly around on their Pokemon and zip through the region like it was nothing. The most badges first-year trainers like us had were two. I felt a pang of worry at the notion that I was falling behind before remembering that the vast majority of trainers still had zero badges. Plus, the Circuit wasn¡¯t a race. As long as I had the eight badges by the end, I¡¯d be fine. Apparently, my megathread had picked up a little bit of steam too. I really didn¡¯t like reading it because of the toxicity it tended to garner, but the most recent messages since it hade out that I was one of team Gctic¡¯s victims had been mostly supportive. Then, people discovered I was traveling with Cece and her group, which put even more attention on me. My performance at the Floaroma tournament was making rounds too. I blew a raspberry before turning my Poketch off. My name was starting to get big, and it¡¯d get bigger if I kept doing good in the Circuit. People were starting to look me up and theorize about how an apparent nobody like me managed to be friends with billionaires. How annoying. Elekid touched my leg. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Kid!¡± ¡°Sorry, hon, no run today. My shoulder still hurts,¡± I told him. He looked down sadly. Elekid missed our runs, and I did too. The doctor I saw yesterday told me to take it easy and not move around too much though, because it caused too much friction on the wound. Cece¡¯s arm was in okay shape, and she would just have to keep an eye on it as the Paras¡¯ bites healed. Emilia¡¯s leg would be fine, but right now, she needed a lot of rest, painkillers, and antibiotics, which meant that we would stay here for a little bit. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t move too much, but there¡¯s no use staying in my room all day,¡± I told my team. I fed all of them some berries I had bought the day before¡ª except for Tang. ¡°Alright, guys, I¡¯ll get you out of the ballter,¡± I said as I recalled them. Soon enough, we¡¯d have to start our regr training back, but they deserved a break after everything we had gone through. I stared at angel. ¡°You¡¯re with me this morning,¡± I told him. He tilted his body and stared. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not making you fight yet or anything,¡± I continued, trying to guess what he was thinking. ¡°I just want to hang out, just you and me.¡± It was still early morning, meaning only Cece would be up. My heartbeat quickened when I thought of her. Would it be fine to just go find her? It was 6:23 am, so knowing her, she¡¯d be training her team somewhere. I felt Tang¡¯s vines caress my back as another one tapped the door handle. ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± I said, snapping out of my crush-induced freeze. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Tang followed me as I walked through the Center¡¯s empty halls. I was probably luckier than the average trainer when it came to building my team. Aside from Frillish, no one had given me any difficulties yet, and Elekid sought me out. I ced my hand over his ball. I still didn¡¯t know how he could sense ghosts so well, but I sure wanted to find out. I walked out of the Center and looked into Tang¡¯s eyes. He squinted slightly and shook himself. I tapped my chin, looking at the sky. It was an overcast morning, and the sun was just starting to rise, peaking over Mount Cor to the east. ¡°Are you sad that there¡¯s no sun?¡± I asked. The grass type blinked twice. ¡°Does that mean yes?¡± I asked again. Tang blinked twice. Again. ¡°I¡¯m just going to assume that means yes, then.¡± I kept walking through the outpost, looking for nothing in particr, and certainly not for Cece. I totally didn¡¯t want to run into her or anything, but it wouldn¡¯t bother me if I did. I spent the next hour trying to learn Tang¡¯s quirks. I had neglected him in the forest, and I wanted to remedy that. Right now, I was crouched, and he was feeling the individual creases in my palms. ¡°Angel, that tickles,¡± I chuckled. The species was fascinating to me. He did everything through vines and touching and was engrossed with human skin. I had to stop him from touching others a few times on our walk. ¡°Hey, look, the sun is out,¡± I told him as rays peeked through two huge clouds. The grass type shivered in excitement and closed his eyes as he soaked in the sun¡¯s energy. After he finished, he tapped my back softly to signal that he was done. ¡°Well, let¡¯s head back in then,¡± I told him. No Cece this morning, huh? It would have been too convenient to get some time alone. ¡°I need to eat breakfast and meet the others.¡± I recalled him and went to the Pokemon Center cafeteria. Denzel wasn¡¯t there¡ª and he wouldn¡¯t be up for another few hours. He had earned his right to sleep in after having to wake up so early every morning in Eterna forest. Pauline was eating alone. I bit my tongue. On one hand, I wouldn¡¯t say I disliked her anymore. After our experience in the forest, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to. On the other hand¡­ she was definitely still not my cup of tea. ¡°Ah,¡± I let out, as she saw me. ¡°Well, can¡¯t eat alone now, that¡¯d be impolite.¡± I grabbed some sausages and hashbrowns and sat in front of her. She chewed on her food slowly as she stared into my eyes. ¡°Morning,¡± I tried. ¡°Sleep well?¡± She swallowed her food. ¡°Not really,¡± She said, fiddling with her hair. ¡°I was with Emi all night.¡± ¡°That¡¯s sweet,¡± I smiled. ¡°So, I hope you don¡¯t mind if I ask this, but are you guys best friends?¡± ¡°Well, obviously,¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Emi¡¯s the person I care about the most. We¡¯ve been together for a while,¡± Pauline said as her face softened. ¡°She was always so meek. I had to be there to protect her.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Well, for what it¡¯s worth, I think you¡¯re doing a great job.¡± ¡°No need to tter me,¡± She huffed. ¡°I¡¯m just telling the truth. You¡¯ve been great to her.¡± Pauline wiped her mouth with a napkin. ¡°What¡¯s your angle?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no angle, I just want to try to get along,¡± I sighed. She was more amenable in the forest, but it looked like getting back to safety had made her get back to her ruder self. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be nice?¡± ¡°I recall you saying that you disliked me multiple times, Grace.¡± ¡°I did at the time,¡± I said, containing a groan. ¡°I still think you could be nicer, but you¡¯re a nice gal. Just misunderstood.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your opinion of me,¡± She said as she got up. ¡°Enjoy your breakfast.¡± Yikes. Maybe I could bring myself to dislike her again. I was willing to try to get along, but eventually, I¡¯d stop just taking the hits¡ª ¡°Ahem,¡± Pauline said behind me. I turned. ¡°I forgot to thank you for helping us get through the forest, and also for being so good to Emi,¡± She hesitated. I could tell she felt embarrassed doing this. ¡°I¡ª I won¡¯t forget it! Bye!¡± Pauline yelled, storming off. Well, there was progress being made after all. ¡ª¡ª Even after finishing my meal, I waited to see if someone else would show up. Unfortunately, no one came, so I left. I considered just knocking on Cece¡¯s door, but I didn¡¯t want toe off as too stalker-ish. ¡°Arceus,¡± I told myself. Now that we were out of the forest and my priority was no longer survival, I couldn¡¯t help but get these thoughts about Cecilia, and they were irritating me to no end. I made my way to Denzel¡¯s room and knocked, but there was no answer. I mmed my fist against the door again and again until I heard some muffledints on the other side. ¡°What the hell is going on¡ª Grace?¡± He said before yawning. ¡°Whaddya want?¡± ¡°I¡¯m lonely,¡± I simply said. ¡°Hang out with me.¡± ¡°I was sleeping¡ª¡± I ducked under his arm and walked into his room. Eevee barked happily and climbed on my good shoulder. ¡°Hey, little guy,¡± I smiled, petting him. ¡°Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today or something?¡± My friend asked as heid back down under the covers. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You look irritated.¡± ¡°It¡¯s annoying how perceptive you are,¡± I said, pinching his leg through the covers. He yelped. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re not irritated, you¡¯re just angry,¡± He said. ¡°Spit it out, I don¡¯t want you to keep being annoying.¡± I pouted and brought my two fingers together in a threatening manner. Denzel lifted his legs away from me. I let my arms fall to the bed. ¡°I keep thinking about Cecilia, and it¡¯s making me angry,¡± I said. ¡°Angry, why?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t stop,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t help but be scared too. I mean, Eterna city¡¯s just two days away, right? Our agreement was to travel together until we reached the city, so what if¡­ what if¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re wondering if you¡¯ll still be friends after,¡± Denzel said. I nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think that every minute I don¡¯t spend with her is just precious time I¡¯m wasting, y¡¯know? I have until Emi gets better, then two days, then it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°You can still hang out together in the city,¡± Denzel said as he sat down next to me. ¡°And hell, maybe we can travel together again to Hearthome. I wouldn¡¯t really mind, I¡¯ve grown to like her group.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t. People are talking shit about her online and spreading rumors because she¡¯s traveling with us. She already has so many haters¡­ I don¡¯t want to bring her even more trouble.¡± He put his hand around my back and brought me close. ¡°You really like her, huh?¡± Denzel said quietly. ¡°I thought it was just a crush.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so stupid,¡± I said, clenching his bedsheets. ¡°I have no chance, and I still can¡¯t stop myself from imagining things.¡± Even though Cece didn¡¯t love Louis, at the end of the day, she was still going to be forced to marry him. I hoped that she¡¯d escape somehow and find freedom from her father, but she looked like she was so utterly traumatized by him that I couldn¡¯t imagine her going against his will. ¡°You¡¯re not stupid,¡± He said. ¡°You can¡¯t control who you fall in love with, right?¡± ¡°Blergh,¡± I said. ¡°I just feel blergh today. And it started so well too. I was getting closer to Tang.¡± ¡°Here, how about this,¡± My friend started. ¡°Instead of worrying about stupid trolls online, you just do what you want and ask Cecilia to hang out with you in Eterna city? I¡¯m sure she¡¯d say yes.¡± ¡°I dunno,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Well, now I know you¡¯re just scared of asking her out,¡± He grinned. I felt my face heat up, and I shot out of the bed. ¡°What time is it?¡± I asked, changing the subject. He grabbed his Poketch. ¡°It¡¯s 8:24 am,¡± He answered, thankfully dropping the subject. ¡°Oh right, we were supposed to meet at nine in the lobby to n the trek to the city, I almost forgot.¡± ¡°Well, you should thank me for waking you up then,¡± I yfully said. ¡°Well? I¡¯m waiting.¡± ¡°Screw off,¡± Heughed. ¡°I¡¯m going to step in the shower real quick. Mind keeping Eeveepany? We can leave right after.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said. I released Togetic, who chirped happily at the sight of her furry friend. I sometimes had to remind myself that Eevee was the Pokemon she had known the longest. Togetic pulled on Eevee¡¯s tail andughed as the normal type escaped and ran away from her. I watched them y in silence with a smirk. Anything to distract myself from our two group¡¯s impending split was a win in my book.
Chapter 53 Chapter 53 CHAPTER 53 ¡°Ayoo!¡± Denzel greeted everyone happily with a wave. We werete because he dozed off in the shower, and we were thest two to arrive. ¡°Sorry we¡¯rete,¡± I apologized before taking a seat. ¡°Anything new?¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± Justin said. ¡°I did call my father to give him an earful this morning,¡± He said with an excited smile. ¡°It was my first time ever speaking to him like that. How riveting!¡± I grinned. I had also called dad, but I couldn¡¯t imagine living my entire life without having a fight with my parents at least once. ¡°I fight with mommy all the time,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°But anyway, Emi¡¯s doing great, although she¡¯s still confined to her bed. The doctors say it¡¯ll be safe for her to walk again in three days¡ª although she¡¯ll have a limp for a while.¡± I nodded before meeting Cecilia¡¯s eyes. I swallowed before averting my gaze. ¡°So, we were going to talk about the rest of route 205, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Correct,¡± Louis said. ¡°It¡¯ll take two days for us to get through.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pretty chill route, all things considered,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Easier to get through than the first half before Eterna forest. It¡¯s just a t path, and we¡¯ll have to pass a hugeke too.¡± ¡°Pass how?¡± Justin asked. ¡°It has a bunch of inds connected by bridges, so don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t need to pay for a ferry, or waste time by going around,¡± Denzel added. ¡°And then we¡¯re already at the city?¡± I asked, sinking slightly into my chair. ¡°Yes,¡± Denzel said, looking at me apologetically. ¡°At least we¡¯ll be able to rx, right? Gonna feel damn good not to be on edge while traveling.¡± ¡°I concur,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Anyway, that should be it, right? Justin,e visit Emi with meter¡­¡± The meeting quickly devolved into just normal conversations, which I honestly didn¡¯t mind. It felt like we were finally allowed to be kids again. Not worrying about anything, just hanging out and having fun. I spoke with Denzel about how Feebas was doing. He had finally released him again by going to theke yesterday, and he was going to go there again today. Denzel felt terrible about neglecting the water type¡ª even though he hadn¡¯t had a choice. The forest wasn¡¯t a ce where Feebas would be able to thrive. Either way, he wanted to make up for lost time, and he would spend as much time as possible with him on the rest of route 205 since we¡¯d be traveling next to ake the entire time. Cece and Pauline were talking about activities that they could do in Eterna city, from shopping to the different five-star restaurants to spectating a Pokemon Contest. Justin and Louis spoke about needing to get a new member for their teams soon, because after the second badge, gym leaders expected us to have at least three Pokemon. ¡°Well, if worstes to worst, I can have my father send me another Pokemon,¡± Louis shrugged. ¡°I think that building your team organically will turn you into a better trainer,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Surely having the most powerful Pokemon possible is better than¡ª¡± Suddenly, I noticed that someone¡ª wait, that was¡­ Chase Karlson wasing right at us with a determined look in his eyes. He was wearing his signature dark blue cap. I was surprised to see that he had already made it through the forest like us, but my surprise was quickly reced with dread when I saw that he was only looking at Cecilia. I leaned toward Cecilia. ¡°Cece, you remember that guy from the power nt that busted in? And that wanted to battle you in Oreburgh,¡± I whispered. She frowned. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯sing right here,¡± I said, nodding toward him. ¡°And he¡¯s not looking too happy.¡± ¡°Well, well, look who it is!¡± Chase said boastfully. ¡°Obel and her ilk.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Louis asked. ¡°What do you want with her?¡± ¡°Typical,¡± The boy spat. ¡°Of course, the rich spoiled asshole wouldn¡¯t remember me,¡± He continued before pointing at Cece. ¡°You. Battle me right now. Let¡¯s settle our score once and for all.¡± ¡°There is no score to settle,¡± Cecilia said stoically. ¡°I don¡¯t want to battle you.¡± ¡°You heard her,¡± Denzel red. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to battle you. Now leave.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the guy I destroyed back in Jubilife?¡± ¡°Want a rematch, asshole?¡± Denzel quipped. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got some additions to your group, Obel,¡± Chase smiled maliciously. ¡°And they¡¯re not even rich. Probably just bootlickers using you to get ess to some of your fortune,¡± Chase said. His smile grew wider when he saw her subdued reaction. He had hit her where it hurt¡ª her trust issues. ¡°What? You don¡¯t really think they like you, do you?¡± I rose to my feet. ¡°Back off.¡± ¡°Watch your mouth, scumbag,¡± Pauline threatened. ¡°Get the fuck out, or I¡¯ll make your life a living hell.¡± ¡°Do I need to call someone?¡± Louis said. ¡°I will if you keep bothering us.¡± Chase crossed his arms. ¡°So no battle, then? You¡¯re going to run away again? People are curious, you know? They want to figure out who¡¯s stronger, you or me. When I win, are you going to call your dad to get more dragon types¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± I hissed, feeling rage bubble inside of me. ¡°Leave her alone. You don¡¯t know anything you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°I think I have the gist of it,¡± He said. ¡°My point from Oreburgh still stands.¡± ¡°No one cares about your little freak out in Oreburgh,¡± Denzel said. ¡°The video went viral,¡± Chase grinned. ¡°You would know. I see you on the forums all the time.¡± ¡°If¡­ if I battle you, will you finally leave me alone?¡± Cecilia quietly asked. I looked at her with worry before grasping her hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this if you don¡¯t want to. Trainers can¡¯t force you to battle.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t,¡± Cece whispered in my ear. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to lose publicly, Grace. Only to Louis.¡± ¡°You think you¡¯d lose?¡± I asked in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± She answered. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to take that risk.¡± ¡°So?!¡± Chase asked. ¡°I¡¯m waiting!¡± I ignored him as the group continued to defend Cece. Heads in the cafeteria were turning our way. ¡°Then say no,¡± I told her. She sped my hand tighter. ¡°That reflects badly on me. That makes me look like a coward.¡± ¡°And that would make your dad angry,¡± I understood as I sighed. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I think I¡¯ve figured something out for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. For always relying on you so much,¡± Cece apologized. ¡°That¡¯s what friends do, Cece,¡± I smiled nervously. ¡°Chase. You say you want to battle her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been saying it the whole time. Get your damn hearing checked.¡± ¡°I lost to her in the Floaroma tournament. You know what that means, right? You¡¯ve got to go through me first. If you can¡¯t beat me, there¡¯s no way you¡¯re beating her.¡± ¡ª¡ª I stared at Chase as he grabbed his first Pokeball. We were on the outskirts of the outpost next to theke, and a small crowd had assembled around us at a safe distance, including my friends. Some people were recording us, which made me fiddle nervously. I hated being the center of attention. I needed to focus. In a way, I was surprised Chase was being like this. I thought he had changed after his experience at the powernt, and he was much more mellow when I thanked him for stopping me from being tortured by Mars, but I supposed that had just been wishful thinking. He wouldn¡¯t stop harassing Cece until he was either put in the dirt or had proved his superiority. I was hoping today would be the former. ¡°How are we doing this?¡± I said, trying to stop my voice from shaking. ¡°Coin flip? Switch-ins?¡± ¡°Nah, no swapping, three on three,¡± He grinned. ¡°You¡¯re weak, I¡¯ll just send out my Pokemon first. You¡¯re up Ri,¡± He said, releasing his Riolu. The fighting type looked around before his eyes settled on me, and he got into a fighting stance. Alrighty, I thought, taking a deep breath. While we had been walking here, I had been thinking. I was going into this battle with a few advantages. One, this moron was underestimating me big time. Sure, I wasn¡¯t the best trainer around, but my time through Eterna forest had taught me that I sure as hell wasn¡¯t weak like he thought I was. And as that saying went, it was always good to appear weak when you were strong. Cocky opponents made mistakes. And he had already made the first mistake when he disallowed switching Pokemon. I grabbed Togetic''s Pokeball and held it tightly. Second, I had information. I had seen Chase¡¯s battle with Roark. I knew his Pokemon¡ª or at least three of them, and I knew some of their moves. But Chase? Chase didn¡¯t know a thing about me or my team. I was getting the best possible setup for this battle, and I had to make it count. I released Togetic, who chirped happily. ¡°Battle time, princess.¡± Chase¡¯s confident grin immediately turned into a grimace. That¡¯s right, I thought. You fucked up. Third? As corny as it was, I was fighting to help the girl I liked. I exhaled as the sound of the crowd dissipated. ¡°Up high!¡± I ordered. ¡°Whip up a Fairy Wind!¡± ¡°Quick Attack and jump onto it before it gets too high!¡± Chase yelled. Togetic floated up as Riolu shone brightly and blurred forward. When he got below Togetic, his legs bulged, and he jumped. My eyes bulged at the sheer height the fighting type was getting. His palms started to glow with a pale blue. He was going to reach Togetic¡ª ¡°Stop him with Extrasensory,¡± I said. The Fairy Wind dissipated, and Togetic¡¯s eyes glowed as she restrained Riolu midair. The fighting type tried to struggle, but he wasn¡¯t going to break out. I grinned. ¡°m him on the ground,¡± I ordered. Togetic giggled, and Riolu plummeted into the floor, creating a small crater. ¡°Go lower to get in range and do it again,¡± I said icily. ¡°He can¡¯t get to you.¡± Riolu was lifted off the ground and mmed again. And again. Chase tried barking out orders, but fighting types were weak against psychic attacks. Riolu was never going to be able to stop Togetic¡¯s Extrasensory through brute force alone as Scyther had done with Confusion. Riolu¡¯s body was surprisingly durable. Princess had to keep mming him on the ground for over five minutes until Chase finally recalled him. The first battle had been aplete ughter, and even though Togetic was tiring, she would still be able to keep going. And she would need to, because I already knew what Pokemon Chase was going to send next. Houndour would just be weak to her Fairy Wind, so the logical choice would be¡ª ¡°Charjabug, don¡¯t disappoint me,¡± Chase said as he released his electric type. Togetic was probably going to lose this one, but I would have her deal as much damage as she could. Ideally, I would have released Tang after she lost, but I had never used angel in battle yet, so that wasn¡¯t an option, meaning I¡¯d have to use Elekid. ¡°Get low!¡± I yelled. ¡°We¡¯re doing the same thing we did with Prinplup!¡± ¡°Thundershock!¡± Chase angrily said. ¡°Charge it up!¡± Charjabug started scuttling along the ground and gathering electricity before shooting out his attack. ¡°Ancient Power,¡± I ordered. Togetic nodded and raised a small chunk of earth,pletely neutering the attack. ¡°Get around it!¡± Chase yelled out. ¡°Throw it forward!¡± I said. The chunk of earth and rock was propelled forward and appeared to hit Charjabug, but he had simply dug a hole to avoid the attack. ¡°Again!¡± I said. ¡°Enough!¡± Chase screamed. ¡°String Shot!¡± The next Ancient Power was stopped in its tracks by the bug type¡¯s powerful string. Togetic tried to push it forward, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°Keep getting closer, and String Shot every time it attacks!¡± ¡°Alright, princess, it¡¯s time to fly up again!¡± I said, biting my lip. If it was going to stop every Ancient Power, she had better odds dodging at a distance, and surrounding Togetic with a barrier was useless since it could just dig under her. ¡°Start charging up a Fairy Wind.¡± Togetic chirped as pink mist started to swirl and twist around her. Chase ordered Charjabug to use Thundershock again, but she barely managed to dodge the electric energy. She was getting better at multitasking. ¡°String Shot! Restain her!¡± ¡°Release it!¡± Strings flew out of Charjabug¡¯s mouth, but the Fairy Wind pushed them away and hammered the bug type against the ground. ¡°Keep it going as long as you can!¡± I said. ¡°Dig! Get to shelter!¡± Chase said. Charjabug shook, creating a hole to protect himself from the wind, which quickly ran out. My eyes darted around the field, looking for any sign of disturbance on the ground. It wasn¡¯ting out. ¡°Get another Fairy Wind going!¡± I quickly said. ¡°Release it when ites out¡ª¡± The electric type burst from under Togetic and shot strings at her. She quickly became entangled and fell to the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Release it!¡± I bit my tongue. Even though she didn¡¯t need her wings to fly, it looked like the attack still had an effect on her ability to float. The wind erratically went in all directions, but some of it hit Charjabug. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough to even stop the Pokemon in its tracks, and it quickly scuttled closer to Togetic. ¡°Thundershock point nk,¡± Chase said. I winced as Togetic started to convulse and squirm in pain from the electric attack. I tried to get her to calm down and fly up again, but she was in too much pain. Too scared. I recalled her. ¡°You did great, princess,¡± I whispered before releasing Elekid. The electric type grinned when he saw that we were in a battle, and he spun his arms in excitement, generating electricity in between his horns. ¡°Swift!¡± I quickly ordered as I extended my arms. The Electric variation was more powerful, but I was fighting against another electric type. Stars materialized above Elekid¡¯s head and rushed toward the bug type. ¡°Dig,¡± Chasezily said, seemingly regaining his confidence. I frowned, not knowing how Swift would interact with the ground move. I smiled as they turned at an outrageous ny-degree angle into Charjabug¡¯s hole. I heard a muffled screeching from the ground, but my smile quickly vanished when I realized that it wasn¡¯ting out. It was going to hit Elekid directly with a ground type move. ¡°Shit!¡± I swore. ¡°Run around! Don¡¯t stand still!¡± Elekid cackled as he started zig-zagging around the battlefield. Worst case scenario, he was going to get hit, and I would have a counter. My mind whirred as I trieding up with a strategy to beat Dig. Charjabug jumped from below ground and bit Elekid with his sharp mouth. The electric type flew off toward Chase and struggled to get up. That¡¯s it! I thought to myself. I had a n. ¡°Swift again!¡± I quickly ordered. I had to use the move as much as possible while Charjabug was still in Elekid¡¯s line of sight. His arms spun as he summoned another set of stars. And another. And another. Elekid was tiring quickly, but that was fine. Chase¡¯s eyes widened, no doubt surprised by the sheer amount of Swifts I was sending Charjabug¡¯s way. The bug type quickly dug again and was quickly followed by the stars. ¡°Elekid!¡± I called out. The electric type stared into my eyes. ¡°Ready to go out with a bang?¡± He grinned and yelled out, flexing his arms as he started to spin them. ¡°Thunder Punch as soon as he hits you from below,¡± I ordered. Chase hearing this wasn¡¯t a problem whatsoever. It was a game of chicken. Either Charjabug finished his Dig and took at least two Thunder Punches to the face, or he didn¡¯t and had to tank a Swift. ¡°Hit it!¡± Chase ordered. Charjabug burst from the ground below Elekid, who immediately punched the bug type back with everything he had. The attack crackled throughout the field with electricity, and both of our Pokemon went down. We both recalled them. Chase looked at his Pokeball with disappointment and anger before grabbing hisst Pokemon. I did the same. ¡°Who¡¯s going first?¡± I asked, wiping the sweat off my brow. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll do it,¡± He answered shakily before releasing his Houndour. ¡°You¡¯re up, buddy,¡± I said. Frillish¡¯s eyes glowed bright red as he floated upward. The strategy here would be roughly the same as it had been with Togetic¡¯s. I nodded and clenched my fist in determination. ¡°Get higher up!¡± I yelled out. We both had the type advantage over each other, so the biggest priority was making sure the dark type couldn¡¯t hit Frillish. ¡°Then Bubblebeam!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Chase yelled. ¡°Roll left and Ember!¡± The dogy t against the ground and tightly moved to the left with a roll, wasting no movement. Unfortunately for him though, Frillish could just keep going. Houndour yelped as the bubbles exploded on contact with his body. It tried running away, but Frillish¡¯s Bubblebeam just followed the fire type, and there was nowhere to hide on this battlefield. It didn¡¯t know dig, or any long-distance dark type attack, so Frillish made quick work of Houndour. He kept attacking with Bubblebeam, and sometimes switching it up with Water Pulse whenever it looked like Houndour was getting the hang of dodging. The only thing the dark type could do was strike back asionally with Ember, but that only dealt minimal damage. The dark type barked out onest time before going down. Chase¡¯s gaze fell to the ground as the reality of the situation sunk in. Chase was a good trainer. Riolu might have been able to beat Deino, and Charjabug Slowpoke. But raw strength wasn¡¯t everything. Through the power of knowing my enemy, I had won, humiliating him in front of dozens of trainers. ¡°Don¡¯t bother Cecilia ever again,¡± I said.
Chapter 54 Chapter 54 CHAPTER 54 ¡°I¡­ I lost?¡± Chase mumbled with a look of disbelief. ¡°How?¡± I huffed as I returned Frillish. I was about to answer before remembering I was being filmed and looked at by a lot of people. The battle had brought in even more onlookers that hadn¡¯t been there at the start of the argument. ¡°Erm¡ª just don¡¯t bother her again, alright?¡± I said, trying not to look at the crowd. ¡°Your words can hurt more than you would think.¡± ¡°How¡­?¡± The teen kept whispering. ¡°How?¡± Hoping that he had gotten the message, I dipped my head and decided to leave. Luckily, it seemed like most trainers were leaving as well now that the battle was over, and they weren¡¯t grouping around me to ask questions as I had feared. I made my way back to my friends, who were among the ones who had stayed. Denzel shed a smile. ¡°You were amazing. I¡¯m d you put the guy down a notch, his ego¡¯s way too big.¡± Something was off about that¡ª He pped my shoulder and kept praising me. ¡°I¡¯m lucky he didn¡¯t know anything about my team and that he got overconfident,¡± I sighed. ¡°But it was a good battle nheless.¡± ¡°He seems obsessed with us,¡± Louisined. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely have to hire bodyguards when we get to Eterna city.¡± ¡°Hmph. It wasn¡¯t bad, I suppose,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I think you could have done better.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an ass,¡± Denzel rolled his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s literally her default behavior,¡± I joked, before mming up and meeting Cece¡¯s eyes. ¡°Thank you again, Grace. I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve never had someone go so far for me,¡± She said. ¡°I feel like I owe you so much.¡± I eyed her friends nervously, but they didn¡¯t seem to mind what she had just said, which was strange. She had essentially put them down byplimenting me. ¡°I mean, it was nothing. Denzel wanted to battle him too,¡± I said, avoiding her gaze. ¡°I definitely did, but I felt like Grace would be able to handle him better,¡± He said, winking at me. Arceus. ¡°But that¡¯s enough doom and gloom. What¡¯s everyone doing now?¡± ¡ª¡ª The enormouske next to the outpost didn¡¯t really have an official name, but people called it Eternake due to it being in between the city and the forest. Denzel, Cece, and I walked along one of the t bridges linking the many inds together that permitted trainers to cross as we watched Feebas swim along the surface. His blue fins seemed to have fewer holes in them now, and his beige scales seemed to be slightly shinier. Frillish was also hanging around underwater somewhere, but I wasn¡¯t going to hold him on a leash. He loved theke, so I let him go wherever he wanted. ¡°Is Feebas faster than before?¡± I asked my friend. ¡°He seems a little bit prettier too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably because I¡¯m feeding him actual healthy foods now. Feebas in the wild tend to eat a lot of trash and stuff, which is why they¡¯re always in terrible states when they¡¯re caught at first.¡± Feebas jumped out of the water and created a huge ssh. I squealed, covering myself from the frigid water. ¡°What an interesting Pokemon,¡± Cecilia said, seemingly not minding the cold water. She crouched and watched the water type approach her curiously. ¡°Does it not bother you to not be able to use it?¡± She continued. ¡°Not at all,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted a Feebas since I started nning my team a few years ago. You guys don¡¯t know him very much, but he¡¯s a great Pokemon.¡± I was surprised at how much affection he had inflected in his tone. It was true that I hadn¡¯t seen Feebas at all, but I had forgotten how many times Denzel had gone out of his way to be with him as much as he could when we were in Floaroma. ¡°I¡¯ve had a team nned as well, but it has gone through¡­ many iterations,¡± Cece said. ¡°Really?¡± Denzel raised his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve always had one team in mind, y¡¯know? Grace is more like you, I guess. She¡¯s kind of going at it randomly.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I protested. ¡°I chose Tang,¡± I said, affectionately holding the grass type¡¯s vines. The three of us had decided to go for a walk along theke, and Denzel and I were using the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with our new team members some more. He carried Buneary tightly in his arms. The normal type was very attached to him, and liked being held all the time. I looked at her scarred ear with a pang of sadness. I was holding Tang¡¯s vine, which was mimicking a hand. Eterna forest was truly a strange ce. On one hand, there were Pokemon that were bloodthirsty and incredibly aggressive toward humans, like Cece¡¯s Scyther, and on the other, there were Pokemon like Tang or Buneary, who didn¡¯t seem to mind them at all¡ª although I supposed that applied to all Pokemon. Obviously, Cecilia hadn¡¯t released her Scyther for our walk. The bug type had to be tranquilized as soon as the Nurse Joys healed him. I was very curious as to how she was going to deal with Scyther. Hopefully, she wouldn¡¯t be reckless. ¡°You did decide to catch it when we were at the outpost,¡± Cece smiled as she watched her newly evolved Fletchinder fly overhead. ¡°But to be quite honest, there is no great disadvantage to not nning your team as long as you make it diverse enough.¡± ¡°Unless you¡¯re trying to be a gym leader right away,¡± Denzel added. ¡°Did you know Gardenia already specialized in grass types before bing the gym leader?¡± He said, petting Buneary¡¯s head. She closed her eyes and let out a blissful sound. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s amazing. How did she even counter her weaknesses? I managed to barely win once against electric types with Frillish and Togetic, but still.¡± ¡°There are many ways around that,¡± Cecilia said, covering her eyes from a gust of wind. ¡°But every trainer has their own ways of dealing with type weaknesses. I suppose we¡¯ll have to see hers when we study her teams before battling in her gym,¡± She sighed nervously. I wanted to grab her hand and tell her that everything was going to be okay. I hadn¡¯t known that her father had disallowed her from losing at all. I thought back to her battle with Roark, wondering how nervous she must have been. Cece was good at hiding herself when she needed to, but I was d that she was being herself with us. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get back into the city,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°There¡¯s something about the atmosphere of thousands of trainers, each trying their best to train, studying the gyms, and asking for help or shit-talking on the forums that just can¡¯t be beaten. Can I call it trainer culture? I fucking love trainer culture.¡± I grinned. I did actually miss all those nights I spent studying for Roark¡¯s team, which would have no doubt surprised my past self. Back then, I hadn¡¯t really discovered the kind of trainer I wanted to be. Now, I knew that I thrived when I had information avable to me, and if I didn¡¯t, I bought as much time for myself in the battle as I could, scouting out my opponent¡¯s moves and fighting style. ¡°This trainer culture you speak of,¡± Cece started. ¡°It is quite different in Sinnoh than in Unova.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Denzel said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Couldn¡¯t imagine it differently.¡± ¡°Well for one, trainers can be quite rude here. Our forums in Unova are heavily moderated, and that influences real-life behavior as well. There aren¡¯t as many deadly routes as well. I have to say, it was quite the culture shock for me to see that trainers with no badge were allowed through Eterna forest.¡± ¡°I mean, I guess that kind of makes sense,¡± He said. ¡°But there¡¯s a reason Cynthia¡¯s the strongest Champion, you know? We make ¡®em tough in Sinnoh.¡± ¡°That¡¯s debatable,¡± I interjected. ¡°Champions almost never battle, so there isn¡¯t really a ranking.¡± ¡°No, I believe she is the strongest,¡± Cece said with admiration. ¡°In many ways.¡± ¡°What about your brother?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Sorry for prying, I¡¯m just curious. I don¡¯t know much about Unova.¡± I stared daggers at him, and he apologized with his eyes. ¡°Oh, Mark?¡± She said. ¡°He¡¯s quite strong, but he¡¯s only been the Champion for two years after beating Iris. Cynthia would beat him handily.¡± I sighed in relief internally. It seemed that Cece didn¡¯t mind talking about her brother, or at least she didn¡¯t show it. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he beat a dragon master,¡± Denzel said with wonder. ¡°I hope I can stand on the top one day.¡± ¡°No, because that¡¯ll be me,¡± I said half-jokingly. ¡°Wanna go right now?¡± He yfully said. ¡°My entire team¡¯s at the Center, big guy,¡± I said. ¡°Of course, the only time you challenge me, my team is mysteriously missing. Coward.¡± ¡°Maybe I meant after they were healed.¡± I grinned at him. ¡°No, I think you just forgot, because you¡¯re stupid,¡± I said. ¡°Right, angel?¡± Tang blinked at him twice. ¡°What are you teaching this poor Tang?¡± Denzel said dramatically. ¡°You¡¯re a bad influence on him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to be traveling with us, so he needs to know who¡¯s stupid and who isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°You two really get along, don¡¯t you?¡± Cece interrupted our banter. ¡°That seems nice.¡± I immediately deted. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re best friends, I guess. We banter sometimes.¡± ¡°Do you think I could be like that someday?¡± ¡°With m¡ª with us? Of course, you can,¡± I quickly said. ¡°Hell, you can already call Denzel an idiot if you want. There¡¯s no one here with us.¡± ¡°Why me?! Why not you?¡± He groaned. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want Cece to lie,¡± I deadpanned. We reached arge ind and decided to stop there. There was no point in going too far without the others anyway. I looked on at Mount Cor on the horizon. Its height boggled the mind. One of the fun facts I always read online about the mountain is that it was almost taller than the height nes flew at. It stood at a whopping thirty thousand feet, and people that were crazy enough to climb to the summit needed oxygen not to die¡ª and that wasn¡¯t counting the crazy wild Pokemon that made Eterna forest look like a kindergarten. Pokemon were tougher than humans and could live all over the mountain fine, even at its summit. Either way, I wasn¡¯t suicidal. I was never going to climb the damn thing, and only trainers with eight badges were allowed to get to the summit anyway. Of course, plenty of trainers climbed the side of the mountain. It had many overhangs and tter areas to make camp on. ¡°So like I said, Cece,¡± I started again. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hold back with us. I¡¯d love¡ª like it if you werepletely yourself when it¡¯s just us.¡± ¡°Then¡­ may I?¡± She tentatively said. ¡°You have my blessing.¡± She hesitated for a few seconds, but then let the truth out. ¡°Denzel¡­ you¡¯re an idiot.¡± ¡°What? Why did Grace give you permission to call me an idiot? You people have this backwards,¡± Denzel grumbled as he set Buneary on the ground. The rabbit took a few steps forward before Tang started rubbing her with his vines. She cried out and ran behind her trainer¡¯s legs, pulling her cream-like fluff up to her eyes. ¡°Angel¡­ don¡¯t touch people without their consent,¡± I groaned. ¡°One day, you¡¯ll touch someone who gets angry easily.¡± The grass type blinked once and wrapped its vines around my ankles. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine with it, you can do it to me. But Cece, how did that feel?¡± ¡°That felt¡­ that felt liberating! My heart is pounding so fast. May I say it again?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hold back.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m the victim in all of this?¡± Denzel said with a half-smile. Cece beamed as she looked at me, her dark skin glistening in the sun. Arceus, she was so beautiful. I wanted to get closer to her. I didn¡¯t want our time together to be over so soon. I wanted to keep traveling with her. To learn more about her. To help her break free from her family. To hold her. ¡°Stupid. Stupid idiot!¡± Cecilia yelled happily as Denzel bantered back. Eventually, she fell to the ground andughed so hard she started to cough and tears streamed from her eyes. ¡°Oh! Oh, Legendaries! What a wonderful way to be friends,¡± She said. Why was I ruining this moment? Why couldn¡¯t I be happy for her? ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said. ¡°It really is.¡± Why was I like this? Denzel¡¯s smile froze when he looked at me, and his face turned into a look of concern. It seemingly only took him a few seconds for him to realize what was going on with me. He mouthed to me, asking if I was okay, and I just nodded. He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m gonna feed Feebas,¡± He said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two wait for me, and then we can start to head back?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Cece said, breathing heavily and wiping tears from her eyes. We watched Denzel leave and grab some food pellets from his bag, closely followed by Buneary, who grabbed one of his pant legs. Why was he doing this to me? Did he really want me to ask her now? After everything I told him? ¡°Thank you for taking me in, Grace,¡± She said, breaking the silence. ¡°I feel like all you do these days is help me. If you ever need anything, don¡¯t hesitate toe to me.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no problem,¡± I said, fiddling with one of Tang¡¯s vines. ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your n after¡­ after we get to Eterna city?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll probably be staying at a hotel, and getting more food and supplies that are going to be sent to us. Why?¡± I felt my stomach sink. ¡°Ah, I mean, I just wanted to know if we could still hang out or something?¡± ¡°Oh? I assumed that was a given?¡± ¡°What? But it reflects badly on you, and you said your¡­ you know.¡± ¡°My father wouldn¡¯t like it, I know,¡± Cece said, her eyes suddenly turning icy and her face neutral. ¡°Yes, that may be the case, but I¡¯m willing to take that risk.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to cause you any trouble¡ª¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t. This is my decision. If he dislikes it, then so be it,¡± Cece said, her voice almost faltering. ¡°I want to be free. I can¡¯t be a scared little girl forever. I don¡¯t want to always rely on you to defend me. And it all starts with a step. One step of disobedience.¡± ¡°One step at a time,¡± Denzel said,ing behind us. ¡°I like that saying.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± Cece smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t mind him knowing,¡± She said when she saw how worried I was. ¡°If he is your best friend, then he is trustworthy.¡± ¡°I mean, I kind of figured, but I wouldn¡¯t mind knowing more about it,¡± He said. Cecilia exined her situation to Denzel. The engagement, the pressure she felt from her father. She didn¡¯t go into the details, but it was easy to see that she had been emotionally abused. I hoped it wasn¡¯t physical as well. ¡°Well damn,¡± My best friend said. ¡°That¡¯s some serious baggage you¡¯re carrying. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I want to be free,¡± Cece repeated. ¡°But I can¡¯t do it on my own. Will you help me?¡± She pleaded, looking at us. ¡°Of course,¡± I softly said. ¡°Fuck yeah, we will,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I thought my mom was controlling, but this is just on another level.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Cece softly said. ¡°Eventually, they will send people after me, you know? Both my and Louis¡¯ father. It won¡¯t be easy.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll help you out,¡± I said. ¡°And hey, by the time they do, we¡¯ll be strong enough to fight back anything he throws at us.¡± ¡°Then it is decided,¡± Cecilia said as she stood up. She stared into our eyes with fire and determination. ¡°The first step. We will keep being friends, even in Eterna city. In fact, I think we should be as public as possible with our friendship.¡± ¡°Well, that goes without saying,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡±
Chapter 55 Chapter 55 CHAPTER 55 I felt tion wash over me during our walk back. The conversation the three of us just had were just words, but deep inside of me, I knew it was the start of something else. I already knew Cece wanted to win her freedom, but beforehand, she was always alone. Always scared to take that first defiant step against her father. But with us by her side, I knew that real progress could be made. Even now, the resolve hadn''t left her eyes, but it was also in the way she walked. The way her shoulders swayed, the firmness of her steps, her slight smile rising on the corner of her lips. It was as if Cecilia had just been reborn into a different person. "I''ll need to visit Emi in her hospital room," Cece said. "Sure," I nodded. "I was nning on doing that anyway." I still hadn''t visited Emilia, mainly because it felt awkward with Pauline always being in the room. I didn''t want toe in between the two, but I figured I''d need to do it at some point anyway, and it would feel less awkward if we went as a group. "Knowing Pauline, she''ll be there as well," Denzel said, speaking my thoughts out loud. "That''s good," Cece said. "I want both of them to be there." "Why?" I asked. "I need to borrow their psychics." ¡ª¡ª We opened Emilia''s hospital door, and I was surprised to see that only Justin was there. The girl was watching television while dozing off, but she woke up once she saw us enter. I stared at her leg, which had been bandaged up much better than anything we could manage. I expected her to be a little out of it because of the painkillers, but she seemed fine enough. Justin smiled as he saw us. "Hey, everyone," He said. We greeted them both. "How''s your leg, Emilia?" Denzel asked. "It''s better," She said happily. "I''m just happy to be back to civilization." We all rted to that feeling. I was d she was being more forceful with her tone now that we were out of Eterna forest. She was definitely the one that suffered the most in there, but she stayed strong and allowed us to make it through. "Well, we won''t have to go through such a harrowing experience for a long time," Denzel said before pausing. "What''s on TV?" "Oh, just some trivia gameshow about Pokemon I enjoy. Here, let me exin the rules¡­" Justin started. We hung out for a while, talking about anything that came up while we waited for Pauline to show up. After ten minutes of waiting, Cece seemingly got impatient. "Say, Emi," She said. "Could you lend me your Beldum? I''m going to be releasing Scyther soon, and I''d like to have his Confusion avable, just in case," She asked. Cece told us on the way back that she was nning on fighting Scyther with her team¡ª on her own. Of course, we''d be there for backup, but she wanted to try taking it down alone to gain its respect. With Beldum, Gothita, and her Slowpoke, she estimated that all of their Confusions would be enough to restrain it permanently, or at least long enough for her to retrieve it if it attacked her. She would be fighting it with Fletchinder and Deino. "Beldum¡­ I don''t know," Emi said quietly. "You know how I feel about him." I raised an eyebrow. Back at the first half of route 205, Emilia also seemed to release her Beldum as little as she could, opting to use her Aipom or Rockruff instead. I initially thought I had been overthinking it, but now that she herself had said it, I was definitely curious. "Why don''t you like Beldum?" I said bluntly. Emilia sighed, but Justin answered for her. "Emi''s Beldum¡­ well, it doesn''t speak to her." "It canspeak?!" Denzel eximed. "Well, itshould," Emilia insisted, clenching her teeth. "Beldum can''t really speak inplete sentences until they evolve into Metagross, but they should be able to say some words, or convey emotions to their trainers through their psychic powers," She said. "He''sneverspoken to me. Not even once." "Oh¡­" I awkwardly said. "I''m sorry for asking." "Yeah," She sighed. "But it''s alright, I¡­ I have to get over it eventually. Beldum just hates me." "Are you kidding me?" Denzel asked. "It defended you so many times in the forest without you saying anything. It fought with us and listened to your orders. If it hated you, he''d be behaving like Cecilia''s Scyther." "Trying to kill everything that moves," I added. "Maybe it just can''t?" "Can''t what?" Emi said. "Can''t talk. Maybe it''s not good at it yet and it''s been trying the whole time. Have you tried asking?" "I don''t know, that seems pretty far-fetched," Emilia sighed. "Either way, I''ll lend it to you," She grabbed one of the Pokeballs on her bedside table and released Beldum. The hulking, marble-like metallic Pokemon floated upward and loomed over us, watching with its red eye. "Beldum, I''m lending you to Cece. She''ll be fighting her Scyther and she needs you to protect her if he attacks her." Beldum let out a sound, like metals shifting and grinding against each other, and it made its way next to Cece. "Thank you," Cecilia said, dipping her head slightly. Emilia handed her Beldum''s Pokeball and she recalled it. "Now I just need to go find Pauline, I suppose." "You missed her by a hair. She left five minutes before you arrived," Justin said. "Something about a phone call." "Was it Josephine?" Cece asked. "No, she''s having her fight with her mom for sending her through Eterna forest," Justin shook his head. "You should have heard the screaming match they had in here yesterday. The nurses had toe in here to ask her to stop yelling." "Pauline and Josephine''s rtionship has always been special," Cece nodded. "I guess we can go look for her," I said, eyeing Cecilia. She frowned for a second before her eyes widened. "Yes, I suppose we could." "Can''t it wait?" Justin asked. "I wouldn''t want for you to intrude, she said the call was very important." We got up. "Youing, Denzel?" One look into my eyes, and he knew something was wrong. He tilted his head slightly toward the others. "Nah, I''ll stay here." Running interference,I thought.Got it. "Alright, let''s go then. We''ll be backter." As soon as we were out of Emi''s room, I said what was on my mind. "I''m d you got what I was thinking so fast," I said. "That phone call sounds suspicious." She nodded firmly. "Louis is missing as well, so he could be involved," She said. "It might be Amy again." "She''s trying to get info on you?" "No. If it''s her, she''ll be trying to know more aboutyou." I swallowed. This was already moving fast, but I was resolute. I was going to help Cece no matter what. The first thing we tried was going inside of Pauline''s room, but it would have been too obvious. She wasn''t there. Luckily, we went to Louis'' room next, and he was just reading some book about running a business. "Oh! Cece, did youe to keep mepany? We haven''t been alone together a lot these days¡ª" "Louis," I said, speaking for Cece. "This is really important. Have you seen Pauline?" "It is rude to interrupt people," He huffed. "But I have seen her. She came to ask me¡­" He trailed off before stopping. "Ask what?" I asked. He didn''t budge."Spit it out!" "Erm, before I say this, I want Cece to know I had nothing to do with anything. I haven''t spoken to Amy since that day at the outpost, and it was the greatest mistake of my life. I can tell you still haven''t forgiven me, but I swear to you, I have been a loyal fiance¡ª" "Yeah, yeah," I said, waving my hand. He still thought that Cece believed he was cheating on her? I sighed internally. At least my hunch about that phone call had been correct. "Now tell us what she asked you and where she went." "Pauline came into my room a bit ago¡ª just a few minutes ago, actually, asking about Amy. She was calling her nonstop, and at first, she thought Amy wanted to talk tome, but I refused to do it out of love! Then she berated me with her foul mouth and stormed off, saying she was going out." "So she''s outside?" I asked. "Know where?" "Unfortunately not," He asked. "Do you want me to help look for her?" I stared at Cece, and she shook her head. "Uh, we''ll be fine. We just wanted to ask her about lending Cece her Gothita," I said in half-truth. We left immediately after that. "Damn that Amy¡­" Cece cursed. "Trying towormher way into my friendships." "It''ll be fine, we just need to catch Pauline and spy on her." "We aren''t confronting her?" Cecilia asked, quickening her pace. "I''mangry. I want to fight." "It''ll be better if we find out what Amy''s asking Pauline," I said. "We can confront her after. Now quick!" By the time we made it to the Pokemon Center lobby, we were practically running. Cece released her Fletchinder, and I released Togetic and Frillish to ask them to look for Pauline from the air. Not even a minuteter, Fletchindernded on her trainer''s shoulder, making her wince. The flying type hadn''t realized how powerful its talons were yet. I whistled and called for my Pokemon before recalling them, and Fletchinder led us to Pauline. She was in a secluded part of the outpost, near one of the electric fences that blocked off the forest to make sure trainers always entered and exited through the main entrance. Luckily for us, she was also next to a convenience store that we could hide behind, and she would still be within earshot. Pauline looked angry¡ª well, Pauline looked angrier than usual. I settled behind Cece as we tried to hear the conversation. "...keep asking me that? What''s wrong with you?" Pauline waited a few seconds before continuing. "You''re pissing me off, Amy. If you want to know more about her new friends, just call her. You''re best friends!" I swallowed. We were right on the money. Amy was asking about Denzel and me. "Oh, you''re fighting? I don''t rememberasking. You know I hate this¡­ this fucking backstabbing, backroom dealing shit. That''s not how I roll. Talk to her directly. If you''re fighting, there must be a good reason¡ª" Pauline stopped, seemingly having been interrupted. "Arceus,"She groaned. "No, I willnotdo that. I won''t. Tell Harvey and rence that I don''t give a fuck about what they think. Mommy will back me up on this," Pauline said. "You know what? I''m hanging up. I''m tired of you and this shady shit." Pauline hung up and swore a few times before she started to leave. "Are we confronting her?" I asked, tapping Cecilia''s shoulder. "Cece?" She took a deep breath before answering. "Sorry. When she mentioned my father, I¡­ I froze up. Let''s talk to her." I nodded, wondering whether her dad''s name was Harvey or rence, and we quickly ran up to the redhead. "Pauline!" I yelled out. She turned and grimaced when she saw us. "What? Were you spying on me?" "Was it that obvious?" I asked. "Pauline," Cece said, crossing her arms. "I need to know everything that went on in that phone call down to the veryst detail." She clicked her tongue. "Fine. What about her," She asked, looking at me. "Grace has every right to hear this, especially since it''s about her," Cecilia said. "Now spill," I added. "Amy''s been calling Louis and me ever since we got through Eterna forest," Pauline started. "At first, I just ignored the calls because I''ve always hated that Amy bitch. Seemed too fake to me, and I hate fake people. Eventually, it got on my nerves, so I answered, and she asked me to talk to Louis, but he refused, so I called her back and told her that, but then she started asking me these questions." "Such as?" I asked. "I wasgettingto it, Grace," Pauline retorted. "She wanted to know why we were traveling with you and Denzel," She said, nodding toward me. "And she also wanted me to tell her about the way you behaved and stuff. It was really fucking weird." "What''d you tell her?" Cece asked. "Nothing," She shrugged. "I''m not going to y informant for her, especially if it''s about people I respect. Anyway, then she did that thing where she subtly but not so subtly threatens you¡ª" "Ah," Cece sighed. "¡ªand she said that your dad and Louis'' dad wouldn''t be happy about what I was doing. I don''t take kindly to people that threaten me, so I decided to hang up after that." Cece''s face rxed. "Thank you, Pauline. You''re a great friend." "I know. Anyway, she''ll probably try to call Justin or Emilia next, but I''ll tell them not to talk. Is that it?" Pauline asked, tapping her foot against the ground. Cece grinned. I couldn''t imagine how good it must have felt to finally be sure that someone she was doubting for so long was actually on her side. "Well, Iwaswondering if I could borrow your Gothita¡­"
Chapter 56 Chapter 56 CHAPTER 56 Cece and I stood around twenty feet away from the electric fence we had found Pauline at. It had taken a few minutes to convince her to lend Cecilia her psychic type, but we managed after telling her that she would be owed a favor that she¡¯d be able to call on at any point. I watched in awe as Cecilia released Beldum, Slowpoke, and Gothita. The trainer exined her n to the three Pokemon, which was just to restrain Scyther if it ever attacked her or me. She quickly released Deino and Fletchinder afterward. The dragon roared out defiantly, but settled down when Cece told him to since we didn¡¯t want anyone to find us. I noticed that he was definitely growing more obedient than he usually was, which was a far cry from Louis¡¯ Gible. Fletchinder sang and pped her wings, staying stationary in the air. Her voice had grown deeper than before, and all traces of the high-pitched cry she usually had was gone. ¡°So you¡¯re just going to fight it?¡± I asked. ¡°No talking?¡± I honestly thought she was going to try to reason with it first, like Denzel did with his Budew, but it looked like Cece was just going to go straight into attacking it. ¡°Strength is the simplest form ofmunication,¡± She recited. ¡°Before reasoning, I must teach it that it cannot go against me, and for that, I have to earn its respect by beating it.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± I sighed, slightly disappointed. No matter what I thought about the matter, there was no avoiding the fact that different trainers had different philosophies that they abided by. Cece valued strength andmanding respect from her team, I valued bonding with them until they loved me. ¡°Do you need me to do anything?¡± I asked. ¡°Thank you for asking,¡± She smiled. ¡°But no, I must defeat it alone, with only Deino and Fletchinder. Just¡­ stay by my side and give me some confidence.¡± I nervously stared at the ground and kicked some rocks around. ¡°Of course.¡± Cecilia unclipped Scyther¡¯s Pokeball and released the Pokemon far away from us, with its back facing the fence. Every time I saw it, I felt an instinctive fear creep up. Scyther rolled his shoulders, grinding its huge, green armored tes together, and observed his surroundings. His eyes settled on us, and the bug type screeched, sharpening its sickle-like des together. ¡°Deino, get in close and bite it. When you do, never let it go,¡± She started. ¡°Fletchinder¡ª¡± Scyther rushed forward, surrounded by a shimmering white aura. I squinted, desperately trying to keep track of it, and it hurled its entire body at Deino, mming the Pokemon back. The dark type roared as draconic energy gathered in his mouth. He reared his head back and then lurched it forward in one smooth motion. Scyther screeched and took flight, narrowly dodging the attack. I winced, expecting it to destroy the fence, but it dissipated before impacting it. Scyther was aiming for Cece now, and I hoped the psychics would be enough to stop¡ª ¡°Fletchinder, me Charge!¡± Shemanded, using the flying type¡¯s brand-new move. The bird cried out as mes appeared and wreathed around her body. Like a meteorite, she blurred forward, and she was just as fast as Scyther was. Fletchinder rammed into the Scyther, melting off some of its armor, and it crashed to the ground. ¡°Deino, now!¡± Cece yelled. I could almost see Deino grin as he opened his maw. Darkness and shadows surrounded his sharp teeth, and the dragon bit down on Scyther¡¯s neck. Scyther screamed and thrashed around, sometimes hurting Deino with sh or X-Scissor. ¡°Ember,¡± Cecilia said with a breath. The bird cried out, opening its mouth. Dozens of small mes flew toward Scyther, also hurting Deino in the process. I watched as the girl grinned, and I instantly knew what she was thinking. Scyther was a bug type, meaning that he was being hurt more than Deino was. The battle continued like this, with Scyther desperately trying to get out of Deino¡¯s tight grip while Fletchinder harassed him with Ember. I whistled. I was honestly surprised at how well this was going. The psychics weren¡¯t even needed. Sure, we were out of the forest, which was Scyther¡¯s natural habitat and where he would be able to thrive the most, but this beatdown was unimaginable. What had been the difference? A more controlled setting and a battle on her terms, meaning there was less panic, and she clearly came at the battle with a strategy in mind this time. Plus, Fletchinder had evolved and was looking mighty powerful. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough,¡± Cecilia told Deino. He let go of Scyther¡¯s neck with drool dripping all over the bug type, but he still loomed over him. Cece approached the bug type, and I hurried behind her with all three psychics. Scyther looked at her with his eyes bloodshot and ragged breathing. It looked like even with Swarm, he was too tired to do anything. ¡°I have proven my strength to you, Scyther,¡± Cecilia started. Scyther just looked away from her, causing Deino to snarl. ¡°I can see you¡¯re not convinced. Very well, I will bring you to a Center to heal, and then we will be doing the same thing tomorrow.¡± Scyther¡¯s eyes widened, and for a second, I thought I saw fear. ¡°Yes, darling,¡± She smiled. ¡°We will do this until you ept your new arrangement as my Pokemon. It is good training for all of us,¡± Cecilia continued. ¡°Eventually, you will give in.¡± Cecilia recalled him with ambition and satisfaction swimming in her eyes. Fletchindernded on her shoulder and squawked, while Deino let out a triumphant yell. My eyes wandered to the psychic types. Gothita looked like she was furious that we had just wasted her time, but Beldum didn¡¯t seem to mind¡ª not that I could understand its expression. Slowpoke was just¡­ Slowpoke. ¡°That was¡­ intense,¡± I said as I exhaled. ¡°A great battle,¡± Cece smiled. ¡°I was sure I was going to win.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it just make Scyther hate you?¡± I asked, unable to resist. ¡°I don¡¯t see how this holds up long term.¡± She nodded. ¡°He will hate me at first, of course, but not forever. How do you think he feels right now?¡± She asked. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I thought. ¡°Angry, I guess? I¡¯m kind of drawing a nk.¡± ¡°Angry, and humiliated,¡± Cece added. ¡°In the forest, he was an apex predator. Now all of the sudden, he loses to me? I took his pride and destroyed it. That was the first step.¡± My mind shed to my battle with Chase. ¡°And now what?¡± I asked. ¡°He will convert that feeling into a desire to grow stronger,¡± She said. ¡°And to grow stronger, he will need to cooperate with me. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.¡± Cece recalled all of the Pokemon around her. ¡°So you¡¯re kind of doing what you did with Deino?¡± I asked. ¡°Beating him to remind him that his best avenue to grow is through you.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Cece said with a glint in her eyes. ¡°Well, I suppose it would be instilling that value instead of reminding him since it was the first time I was doing so. I have a good winning strategy, so I believe I¡¯ll be able to convince him quickly.¡± We started walking back to the Center. ¡°Restraining him with Deino? That was vicious,¡± I said. She smirked. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have worked without Fletchinder. Her evolution made her grow leaps and bounds, so she¡¯s able to keep up with Scyther and hit him with me Charge. She¡¯s the key to all of this.¡± ¡°She was great,¡± I said. ¡°And she¡¯ll be a great help against Gardenia.¡± ¡°For sure. What are you nning now?¡± Cece asked. ¡°I was nning on picking up my Pokemon from the Center and using Tang for the first time, why?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want our time together to end yet,¡± Cece said quietly. ¡°I¡¯ll go and hand Gothita and Beldum back, then why don¡¯t Ie with you?¡± I beamed. ¡°Sure!¡± ¡ª¡ª Comically, we went back to that same area where Pauline had taken that phone call and Cece had defeated Scyther. Trainers apparently never came here, seemingly ufortable with staying near the huge electric fence, so we figured it was a good spot to hang out. I released Togetic and Tang. The grass type stared up at me before wrapping a vine around my ankle. ¡°Prrri!¡± Princess yelled out happily. ¡°You were great in that battle with Chase,¡± I smiled and pet her. ¡°Now I need you to help me out. Can you use Ancient Power and raise some rocks or earth in front of us? Try to make ¡®em into spheres if you can.¡± Togetic chirped and raised threerge¡­ um¡­ shapes from the ground. Those weren¡¯t spheres, but I supposed she tried her best. ¡°Needs some work, but good job,¡± I told her. She rubbed her head against my cheek and flew around my head. I looked at Cece, who was holding her hand up to her heart. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. She coughed. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I was restraining myself all throughout our travels, but now that I decided to stop hiding my true self from you¡­ that Togetic!¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s¡ª it¡¯s ridiculously cute!¡± Cece sputtered. ¡°Seriously!¡± ¡°Toge!¡± Togetic said with a satisfied look. ¡°Right?!¡± I squealed. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even try, but she¡¯s still the cutest. I love her,¡± I said, rubbing her neck. ¡°I¡¯ve had her since she was born.¡± ¡°You must have such a connection,¡± Cece said. ¡°Yep. Since she hatched in my arms, she views me as her mom.¡± ¡°Is that how it works?¡± ¡°Yeah, Togepi get attached to the first person they see,¡± I exined before crouching. ¡°But enough about that. Let¡¯s get to you, angel.¡± Tang shook and loosened the hold on my ankle. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I started. ¡°Why don¡¯t you start with a simple Vine Whip on one of those rocks princess raised for us?¡± Tang looked at me and tilted his head. ¡°Vine Whip?¡± I tried again, pointing at the rock. He apparently didn¡¯t understand. ¡°How strange,¡± Cece said. ¡°Pokemon usually instinctively understand human speech.¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably just a little confused,¡± I said, smiling at him. ¡°Let¡¯s take it slow, alright?¡± I grabbed one of his vines and extended it before holding it like some kind of whip. I struck the ground with it. ¡°See? That¡¯s Vine Whip,¡± I said. Tang blinked twice before using the move against one of the rocks. ¡°Great job!¡± I said, pping. Togetic copied me and pped as well. ¡°That Vine Whip is powerful,¡± Cece observed. ¡°Look at the damage to the rock. It¡¯s¡­¡± There was a huge crack in the middle of the rock, and it slowly grewrger until the boulder split in two. My eyes widened at the sheer power Tang seemingly held. There was a reason he managed to survive in Eterna forest, and it showed. Tang excitedly tippy-tapped with his feet, his eyes squinting slightly. ¡°Aww,¡± I said. ¡°Look, he¡¯s happy!¡± It was my first time seeing this kind of emotion from him, so that meant huge progress was being made. ¡°Uh, now let¡¯s get more technical,¡± I said. ¡°Can you try extending your vine for as long as you can? I¡¯d like to check your range.¡± Tang nodded, and I smiled, thinking he understood, but he just used Vine Whip again, splitting the next boulder in two. ¡°That¡¯s great, angel,¡± I said. ¡°But it¡¯s not what I asked.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but notice Cecilia holding herself back fromughing. This was going to be a long training session. ¡ª¡ª Angel was¡­ how could I say this? Angel was slow, which was incredibly cute, but also frustrating to deal with. Luckily, with Cece there to brainstorm with me, we managed to make it use all of its moves and experiment how I wanted. First, I had to extend his vines manually to make him understand what I wanted. His maximum range seemed to be around fifty feet depending on the vine, but he struggled to extend them that far on his own, and when he did, it was slow. The closer his target was, the quicker and the more powerful his Vine Whip or Bind would be. That was definitely something I wanted to work on, especially considering his next move. Tang¡¯s Mega Drain worked differently than Budew¡¯s Absorb. Whereas Budew could apparently drain energy from a distance, Tang had to drain energy through his vines, meaning that if I could get him to improve the speed at which he could grab something with his vines, I¡¯d be able to catch Pokemon off-guard with Mega Drain. ¡°Bad Deino! Bad! Stay still!¡± Cece yelled at her dragon. He snarled, biting at the vines wrapping around him, but more kepting. Cece and Deino were helping me test out the move since he¡¯d be very resistant to it. ¡°Okay, angel,¡± I slowly said. ¡°Mega Drain. M-e-g-a-d-r-a-i-n,¡± I repeated extremely slowly. His vines¡¯ extremities started glowing, and the energy slowly traveled through until it reached the grass type. Tang shivered when he received the energy. ¡°Alright, great job,¡± I said as he rubbed another vine on my hand. There were so many vines¡­ everywhere. They were an extension of himself, and that meant he used them a lot. Right now, two vines were ying around with Togetic, another rubbing my hand, and six wrapping around Deino. Angel was slow, but Arceus, he was a fantastic multitasker. There was so much potential all held up in this little ball of vines. Bind was the simplest move to make him use. He understood that one surprisingly easily, with me mimicking crushing something with my hands. Then it was only a matter of associating the move with the verbalmand. Tang squeezed one of Togetic¡¯s rocks as tight as he could¡ª not enough to shatter it, but enough to leave marks and dents. Finally, we had Stun Spore and Poison Powder. Unfortunately, I was stumped. No matter how differently I tried to exin the two moves, I just couldn¡¯t get him to use them. Maybe I¡¯d have to ask Denzel to help out since Budew knew those two moves. Surely Budew would be willing to help¡­ maybe. Still, I ended up experimenting for two hours, and those were very productive. Soon, I¡¯d be able to get Tang involved in our mock battles. Ideas swam in my head on how to best use Tang as we walked back to the Center. Could I use get him to use his vines as lotion to move faster? Could I create abination involving Vine Whip, Bind, and Mega Drain? Again, there was so much potential there, and if I could get his vines to grow longer, then dealing with flying types by mming them on the ground was definitely possible. Hell, he could even learn Ancient Power! Princess would be able to help with that, but not anytime soon. First, I needed to focus on what he knew. I did have new moves I wanted to teach Togetic, Elekid, and Frillish on our way to Eterna city and before the gym, but that¡¯d have to wait. Cece and I split up, and I went back to my room to rest. I sighed when I saw that Chase Karlson was waiting for me, leaning against my door.
Chapter 57 Chapter 57 CHAPTER 57 ¡°You again?¡± I drawled. ¡°What else would you possibly want from me? How did you even find my room?¡± Chase took a breath and straightened himself before crossing his arms. His body was tense. ¡°I wanted to speak with you, obviously. And finding your room was just a matter of asking around,¡± He said. ¡°Asking around? Are people watching me?¡± I asked, letting a little bit of panic slip into my tone. ¡°Who was it?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re traveling with that band of crooks, and now you just beat me, one of the rising stars of the Circuit,¡± Chase said, his face wincing. ¡°So expect more people to watch you from now on.¡± I frowned. He wasn¡¯t as angry as I expected him to be. In fact, he was cordial. ¡°I¡¯m tired, so talk,¡± I ordered. The boy smiled, adjusting his cap. ¡°I underestimated you, and you beat me. That was my first loss since I left home, and that stung,¡± He hissed out the word, his face contorting. ¡°All the work I¡¯ve done my entire life feels meaningless now, and my goal feels more out of reach than ever. But!¡± Chase said, pointing toward me. ¡°The next time we fight¡ª because there will be a next time¡ª I will utterly crush you. No underestimating you next time.¡± Chase pushed himself off the door and started walking past me. ¡°And I also want to thank you for something,¡± He said, stopping at my side, still looking straight ahead. ¡°You know, that loss really fucked me up. I felt like I was about to lose myself for a few minutes, but it also made me think clearly. Finally, I can make Cynthia eat her Arceus damned words. I¡¯ve finally found something worth fighting for. Have you?¡± I frowned. He had spoken to Cynthia? ¡°What goal? And Cynthia talked to you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see after I be the Champion,¡± Chase said as he began to walk away. ¡°None of you have even half the drive or dedication that I do. And of course, Cynthia talked to me. I¡¯m Chase fucking Karlson. See you in Eterna city, shrimp. Look forward to that rematch.¡± Cynthia talked to me too! I screamed internally. Of course, it was probably inpletely different circumstances, and he probably wouldn¡¯t even believe me. I would just appear to be a jealous kid trying to one-up him. ¡°What an asshole,¡± I whispered. Whatever, it wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t gotten used to it with Pauline. Although to be fair to my friend, Pauline didn¡¯t think herself to be the best thing in the world, but the aggressiveness was simr, and she sometimes let go of her hard outer shell. Chase never let me see the good in him except when he had stormed into the Valley Windworks powernt to try to save us. I supposed that was why I couldn¡¯t bring myself to hate him. I opened my door, and my hand rested on top of Togetic¡¯s Pokeball. This would only be a nap, but naps still brought nightmares. I had to be strong. Cynthia had warned me. One month maximum, and I had gone slightly over that. I groaned, copsed onto my bed, and sunk into a deep sleep. ¡ª¡ª Chase walked toward the stairs with his hands deep into his pockets. That conversation had gone rtively well, all things considered. It took everything he had not to assert his superiority over Pastel and her clique, but he knew better now. It would be foolish to behave the same way after being beaten and proven to be the weaker trainer¡ª yes, he had underestimated her, but Chase had to admit that her Pokemon were good. Riolu would be proud if he were there to listen, but unfortunately, he was still being healed. That Extrasensory had done a number on him, and he¡¯d still be there for a few hours. Whispers made Chase¡¯s ears twinge. ¡°That¡¯s Chase Karlson¡­¡± ¡°Did you see his loss to that Pastel girl? Here, I have it on video¡­¡± ¡°I think I might be able to take him¡­¡± The teenager scoffed. These motherfuckers were talking just loud enough so he could hear. The loss of his undefeated streak had done a number on his reputation. He red at them as he passed, and they shut up real quick, eliciting a smile. The weakest trainers were always the ones that talked the most. Chase was obviously an exception to that rule. But he already had a n on how to rebuild. Chase would need a spectacr win against Gardenia. A win so dominant that no one would be able to question his skills ever again. It would hopefullye in due time, however. Right now, he was looking for someone else. Oh, it wasn¡¯t that Obel girl. A deal was a deal, and he had lost, meaning that he wouldn¡¯t bother her again. Plus, he had misjudged the situation. She wasn¡¯t even the leader of the group. Chase didn¡¯t know how Pastel had done it, but during their trip through Eterna forest, she had apparently taken control of the group and was now leading it. Why else would she stand up to defend someone who could buy her way into being a contender to win the Circuit? She was obviously using them for her own advantage. Pastel¡¯s only real connection in that group looked to be Williams, that tall kid he crushed in Jubilife. Chase entered the Ranger building, basking in the bright fluorescent light. The only ce he believed Scott Montante could be if he hadn¡¯t left yet was here. The trainer confidently strode up to the front desk. ¡°Hey. Did you see a Scott Montante that came here to make a report about some Pinsir?¡± He asked. The woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, tapped her chin and hummed for a few seconds. ¡°Uh, I think Scott¡¯s still around here somewhere. Wanted some information about bing a Ranger. Looking for him?¡± ¡°You know him?¡± He asked. ¡°I want to speak to him,¡± He ordered. ¡°Watch your tone, kid,¡± The Ranger warned. ¡°And yeah, I know him. Comes through here every year.¡± She whistled and gestured for someone toe. ¡°Elliot! Still have that Montante guy running around?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bit busy right now, Georgia!¡± The man answered. He was carrying a huge carton box with a bunch of files in it. ¡°Ask someone else.¡± ¡°You¡¯re using your hands right now, use your mouth!¡± ¡°I think he was sitting in that orientation thing we¡¯ve been doing!¡± Elliot said before disappearing into a hallway. ¡°Orientation?¡± Chase asked. ¡°I thought he wanted to finish this year¡¯s Circuit before signing up.¡± ¡°Orientation doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s signing up yet, it means he¡¯s getting information about signing up. We¡¯ve been running it every few weeks, and he got lucky enough to catch this one, or maybe he nned the trip to get here in time. Anyway, nothing you can do about it. Wait for your friend in the lobby.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not my friend,¡± Chase grumbled before sitting down on one of the chairs that lined up the walls of the building. He didn¡¯t like that he was wasting time, but he wasn¡¯t about to work out or train without Riolu. It took around twenty minutes for Scott toe out, and he had a huge grin on his face. Chase shot up and walked up to him. ¡°Yo,¡± He said. ¡°Can we talk?¡± Scott stopped in his tracks, and his smile vanished. ¡°What is it, kid? Thought you¡¯d be gone like Maeve already.¡± ¡°I thought so too, but shit happens,¡± Chase shrugged. ¡°So?¡± Scott sighed. ¡°Fine, we can talk.¡± ¡°Not here.¡± Chase led Scott to a secluded part of the outpost, away from prying eyes and ears. This was going to be an important conversation, and he didn¡¯t want some random trainer to listen in. ¡°Isn¡¯t this far enough?¡± Scottined. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What, are you about to tell me your deepest, darkest secret? What is it? You¡¯re a part of team Gctic?¡± Scott asked. ¡°I beat the shit out of grunts, so that wouldn¡¯t make sense,¡± Chase said. ¡°It was just a joke, sheesh,¡± Scott said. Chase turned abruptly and faced the man. ¡°I think we¡¯re good,¡± He said. ¡°I wanted to talk to you about goals.¡± ¡°Goals?¡± ¡°You heard me. Well, first I¡­ uh, I wanted to apologize for shitting on your dream of bing a ranger like that when we traveled together,¡± He started. Scott¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Never thought you¡¯d be the type of guy to apologize for anything, but I ept. Go on.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t understand it at the time,¡± Chase sighed. ¡°Your need to help people. Well, to be honest, I still don¡¯t quite understand it, but that¡¯s beside the point. I¡¯ve gone through an illuminating experience recently that¡¯s changed how I view the world a little bit.¡± ¡°Oh, right,¡± Scott said. ¡°You lost to that girl.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Chase groaned. ¡°You know about it already? I would have¡ª might have won if I didn¡¯t fuck around. But still, when the battle ended, it was only me and my thoughts, and I started thinking. My goal¡­ isn¡¯t achievable anymore.¡± How could he be perfect if he had lost? Cynthia had never lost a single battle during her entire career, even during her first year when she rose to be the Champion. ¡°But I can still do something for the next generation,¡± Chase continued, licking his dry lips. ¡°I can make the Circuit a more even ying field. No more outside money, no more sponsors, no more buying the best Pokemon.¡± ¡°But the girl that beat you wasn¡¯t rich,¡± Scott interjected. ¡°But she¡¯s using them to make her journey easier, so the principle still applies,¡± Chase retorted. ¡°I seriously considered quitting after that loss. Just hang my cap and go back home, but no,¡± He said, clenching his fist. ¡°I¡¯m going to be the Champion, and I¡¯m going to bring an end to big businesses involving themselves and their kids in the League Circuit. The winners will be the people that worked hard and deserve it. Cynthia has allowed the system to erode under her watch.¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s great. I agree with some of this, but it¡¯s easier said than done,¡± Scott said. ¡°And why are you telling me this?¡± Chase mmed up. ¡°With our talk about dreams and goals in the forest, I thought it¡¯d be good to let you know I¡¯ve settled on something,¡± He got out. The truth was, he just wanted to let someone know, and Riolu wasn¡¯t there. It was kind of lonely. ¡ª¡ª Five days had passed since they arrived at the outpost, and Emilia was finally alright enough to walk again, although her leg wasn¡¯t anywhere near one hundred percent. I thought about Chase as I stepped down the stairs to the Pokemon Center lobby to meet the others. He had kept his word and hadn¡¯t bothered Cece or any of the others. In fact, he had already left, but not before beating up a bunch of trainers in battles, which was probably to fix his wounded ego. ¡°Already here?¡± I smiled at Denzel. ¡°Bright and early. Surprised?¡± He asked. ¡°I thought you were the one who¡¯d bete,¡± Iughed. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else?¡± ¡°Louis is calling his dad about some new Pokemon he wants,¡± Denzel grimaced. ¡°Yikes,¡± I sighed. ¡°I should talk to him about that.¡± ¡°I mean, as long as it¡¯s not some Pokemon he can¡¯t control, he should be fine,¡± Denzel said. I stared at him, letting him know that that was most likely a pipe dream. ¡°I mean, Prinplup is fine!¡± Denzel tried. ¡°But we¡¯ll see what he asks for. Pauline and Justin were helping Emilia pack,st I heard, and your crush¡ª¡± ¡°Denzel! Not in public!¡± I hissed. My friend grinned. He was trying to get a rise out of me and seeding. ¡°Cece¡¯s refilling our potion and food supplies. They ran low in Eterna forest.¡± I nodded and sat next to Denzel, sinking into the soft couch. Pokemon Center couches were seriously the best, especially with how tired I was getting again. I probably would have dozed off, but there was a sentence Chase had told me that had been stuck in my head since he confronted me in front of my room. I¡¯ve finally found something worth fighting for. Have you? What had he meant by this? Something worth fighting for¡­ what did I want? To be the Champion and surpass Cynthia. To enjoy my journey through Sinnoh and to build a family with my team. That was enough, or that had been enough until now. Chase¡¯s words had infected me and spread doubt like a virus. I stared at Denzel. What did he want? To be famous and build a brand for himself. Cece? She wanted to free herself from her father¡¯s clutches, escape from her arranged marriage with Louis and build a life for herself. Chase? Well, he hadn¡¯t told me, but he apparently found something. That¡¯s when it clicked. Themon denominator with all of these people. They were using the position of Champion as aunch pad to further their own goals, while I was still stuck at the first step. What did I want? ¡°There she is,¡± Denzel whispered and nodded toward Cece, who carried multiple bags full of supplies. She smiled when she saw us. ¡°Good morning.¡± I stood up. ¡°Morning! Let me help you out,¡± I said, before gently kicking Denzel¡¯s leg. ¡°You too, youzy bum.¡± ¡°I was going to!¡± He protested. Cece chuckled and handed us some of her bags. I needed something to strive toward. A goal beyond the finish line, or I would just crash and burn when I got there. In a way, I was d Chase had osted me that day, or I maybe would have never figured this out. Now all I had to do was find it.
Chapter 58 Chapter 58 CHAPTER 58 I readjusted my bag, shifting the weight to my non-wounded shoulder as we stepped out of the Pokemon Center. We were finally ready to make progress and get to Eterna city. The trip would take two days, although since we were arge group, it would probably end up being slightly longer, but I didn¡¯t care. All I wanted was to get on the road. My need to get back to a city wasn¡¯t as bad as Emilia¡¯s, but I would be lying to myself if I didn¡¯t admit that I missed living in one. I was a Jubilife girl through and through. ¡°Whew,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get this show on the road!¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s excited,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I think we all want to get to the city,¡± Louis shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get to my hotel suite.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re excited about very different things,¡± My friend added. The first order of business was to pass through Eternake. I had gone on it with Denzel and Cece before, but we hadn¡¯t really gone that far. The truth was, theke was enormous, and it would take at least four hours to get through. Of course, there was also the possibility of going around, but that would take longer, and since there wasn¡¯t any danger, there was no reason to take the long road. Many trainers were fishing along the bridges, hoping to catch something good. Denzel theorized that most were probably hoping for a Tentacool for its poison typing to help against Gardenia. Even this far out, people were already preparing to face her. ¡°By the way,¡± Denzel started. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Justin and Pauline be catching something? You guys only have two Pokemon.¡± Pauline huffed and crossed her arms. ¡°Nothing on this route interests me. I¡¯ll see if there are any good Pokemon around the city itself.¡± ¡°Fair enough, I guess. What about you, Justin?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Well, the truth is that there is a Pokemon I¡¯m looking for, but it wouldn¡¯t be the end of the world if I didn¡¯t find it. It¡¯s a Lotad.¡± It took a few seconds for me to recall what the Pokemon looked like. A grass and water type would work alright for Gardenia, and it would be wonderful for future battles. All in all, I would call it a smart choice. ¡°Come on, we¡¯ll help you find it. Do you know how it lives in theke? Do you need a fishing rod? Denzel has one.¡± I asked, wanting to repay his help with Tang. ¡°No, Lotad live along the surface,¡± Denzel said. ¡°They float across the surface like lilypads, and they¡¯ll be at shallower parts of theke, next to the shoreline.¡± ¡°Well, there weren¡¯t any next to the outpost,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ll keep an eye out,¡± I said. ¡°And, uh¡­ Louis,¡± I continued, hesitating slightly. ¡°Have you figured out what third Pokemon you¡¯re getting?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯ll be wonderful,¡± He replied, barely containing his smile. ¡°Our breeders will be sending me a top-of-the-line Vulpix that hatched a few months ago. A perfect fit to win against Gardenia, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± I frowned. I didn¡¯t know enough about Vulpix to know if it would be uncontroble, but I did know Nales were extremely rare. The usual Fire Stones that were found in stores andmonly mined weren¡¯t enough to get a Nales. Only the best quality Fire Stones were able to get Vulpix to evolve¡ª although with his money, I suppose that wouldn¡¯t be a problem. I just hoped Louis wouldn¡¯t rush into things and evolve it into a Nales too quickly. There were many bedtime stories read to kids that talked about the strong curses a vengeful Nales could inflict on a human. ¡°Well, I hope you know what you¡¯re doing,¡± I just said. He seemed to have already arranged everything, and there was probably no way to change his mind. If he started talking about evolving it, I¡¯d ask everybody to stage an intervention to stop him from getting himself killed. ¡°I actually wanted a Vulpix for a bit when I was first nning my team,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Changed my mind when I heard about the curses and their vengeful nature though. Plus, I¡¯d probably never be able to afford its evolution.¡± Very smooth, dude, I thought with a slight smile. I looked at Eevee, who was perched on my friend¡¯s shoulder as always. Thinking about Fire Stones made me curious as to what evolution he had chosen for the normal type. I supposed I would ask himter tonight when we set up camp. We made it to the other end of theke with no troubles. Denzel battled a trainer that specialized in water types and had one badge, but he wiped the floor with him thanks to Budew. The grass type just battered the kid¡¯s Pokemon with Bullet Seed, even when they retreated under the surface of the water. The attack was powerful enough to pack a punch after being slowed by theke. ¡°Let¡¯s look for that Lotad now, shall we?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Should we split up?¡± Justin asked. ¡°Cover more ground?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the sensible thing to do. I don¡¯t want to waste too much time,¡± Emilia chimed in. ¡°You don¡¯t have to help Emi. In fact, why don¡¯t we both stay here and watch the others do all the work?¡± Pauline asked. The girl smiled. ¡°That seems like a great idea.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but be happy at how great Emi was doing again. The forest had for sure changed her, but at least she was having some degree of fun. Compared to how she was before, it was like night and day, and going through Eterna forest taught her to appreciate traveling in such a rtively low-risk area. ¡°If you didn¡¯t want to help, you could have just said so, Pauline,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°How are we splitting the groups?¡± Denzel interjected immediately. ¡°How about a girl group and a guy group?¡± ¡°How pass¨¦ of you, Denzel,¡± Pauline said. ¡°That seems appropriate,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°Louis?¡± The blonde boy nodded, and the groups split. We agreed to catch the Pokemon for him if we found one, after which we¡¯d hand it to him in Eterna city. There wasn¡¯t a need for another Pokemon to trade, but these kinds of transactions had to be tracked by the League. I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants as I walked with Cece along theke. The water gently crashed over the slightly sandy shore. From this angle, it was hard to believe that this was ake and not the ocean. ¡°Ahem,¡± Cece coughed. ¡°I¡­ I have something to confess.¡± My throat clogged up. ¡°W¡ªwhat is it?¡± ¡°The truth is¡­ I have no idea what a Lotad looks like,¡± She said, staring at her feet. ¡°I was too embarrassed to tell the others.¡± My nervousness evaporated as fast as water thrown at the surface of the sun, and I started choking on my own saliva whileughing at the same time. I doubled over as Cece worriedly pped my back. ¡°It¡¯s not that hrious, surely,¡± She said after I recovered. ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of the Pokemon. I bet that they don¡¯t live in Unova.¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m pretty sure they live everywhere,¡± I said, still giggling. ¡°Sorry, that just came out of nowhere. I¡¯m pretty sure there was a Lotad at one of the Floaroma tournament battles too, if I remember correctly,¡± I said, before describing the Pokemon to her. ¡°Really?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°I probably wasn¡¯t paying attention. I was nervous, you know? I was terrified I¡¯d lose.¡± ¡°Well, now I know, but at the time, I didn¡¯t. You just looked like your usual self.¡± She stared at me intently. ¡°What does my usual self look like?¡± I fiddled my thumbs. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know. Confident? Like you¡¯re ready to take on the world, I guess.¡± Cece brought a hand to her heart. ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s what I want people to think.¡± I nodded sadly. I couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like, to constantly have to mask your true self. ¡°Hey, one day you¡¯ll be able to look however you want,¡± I said, trying to cheer her up. ¡°Thank you,¡± She smiled gently. ¡°You know, you and Denzel have been a great help to me. If I can repay you by whatever means, I¡¯d like to give you¡ª¡± ¡°No. No money,¡± I interrupted. ¡°But anything you could ask for would cost me practically nothing! Plus, I¡¯d be using my father¡¯s money on someone he disapproves of.¡± ¡°Nuh-uh,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Just being friends is enough for me.¡± The conversation paused for a few seconds before Cece let out a sigh. ¡°Fine. But if you need anything, just ask. And I¡¯ll still try to help in any way I can.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Now let¡¯s find this Lotad! Hey, did you know they evolve into really good dancers called Ludicolo?¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± She eximed. ¡°Those are where Ludicoloe from?!¡± ¡°Well, yeah.¡± ¡°Humu city has this wonderful annual festival full of those, and they perform magnificent dances¡­¡± In the end, we didn¡¯t find any Lotad, so we decided to get back to Emilia and Pauline, who were lying down on the grass next to each other and talking. We joined them and waited for the boys toe back, and they did. An entire two hourster, that was. They were in a sorry state, all shivering andpletely wet from head to toe. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, standing up. ¡°You need to dry yourselves!¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Pauline groaned ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll have to set up camp early then?¡± ¡°Unless they want hypothermia, I would suggest so,¡± Cece said. ¡°Did you at least catch the damn thing?¡± Pauline asked. Justin grinned and released a Lotad with a leaf on its head that lookedrger than average. The Pokemon seemed quite friendly, at least. It struggled to walk as it approached us curiously. I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned it. Lotad, the water weed Pokemon. Lotad is said to have dwelled onnd before. However, this POK¨¦MON is thought to have returned to water because the leaf on its head grewrge and heavy. It now lives by floating atop the water. Its lilypad-like hat serves as a ferry to Pok¨¦mon that can¡¯t swim, but if it doesn¡¯t drink clean water for too long, its leaf withers and dies. Type: Water, Grass ¡°I can certainly see the resemnce now,¡± Cece whispered to me. I held back augh. ¡°It took us a while to catch because it kept escaping deeper into theke whenever we got too close,¡± Justin exined as he held his body. ¡°I apologize for the dy.¡±. ¡°I tried blocking it in with Prinplup, but he isn¡¯t the best swimmer,¡± Louis said. ¡°How can a water type not be a good swimmer?¡± Pauline snarked. ¡°I¡¯ve raised him onnd. He only swims in our swimming pools!¡± He answered defensively. ¡°Let¡¯s just get a fire started and get these guys warmed up,¡± I sighed. It looked like day one was a bust, but honestly, I was having a lot of fun. ¡ª¡ª Denzel and I stood away from camp and that giant tent that the group had started to use again. He released his Budew, who announced her presence with her habitual screech. The grass type looked at me disdainfully and turned toward Denzel in protest. ¡°What¡¯s up with her today?¡± I asked, feeling slightly hurt. ¡°She¡¯s just being¡­¡± Denzel trailed off before looking at Budew. ¡°She¡¯s doing great!¡± ¡°Did she just pressure you into lying?¡± I teased, grabbing my own Pokeball. ¡°Nah, Budew and I are always on the same page these days. Right Budew?¡± ¡°Bud!¡± The grass type yelled in protest. I released angel from his Pokeball. Since we had set up camp already, I decided to ask Denzel for help to teach him to use Poison Powder and Stun Spore. Sure, these attacks would be useless against Gardenia¡¯s own grass types, but I just wanted to get angel up to speed on all of his moves as fast as I could before focusing on improving a particr move. Tang greeted me with his habitual vine touching. ¡°So, how are we doing this?¡± I asked. ¡°What? I thought you¡¯d have a strategy worked out,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re the one that said you could help me!¡± I groaned. He waited a few seconds before a smile split his face. ¡°I¡¯m just fucking with you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the worst.¡± ¡°So you said Tang already knew the moves right?¡± My friend started, ignoring me. I nodded. ¡°So all you need to do is get him to associate the verbalmand with the move, so I figured I¡¯d just have Budew use them next to him and hope he uses it too. When he does, you shout out the order.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, that makes sense. I think Tang will figure that one out.¡± Tang waded to Budew and touched her with some of his vines. She immediately pelted him with a weakened Bullet Seed, but he seemed not to mind. Budew screeched in annoyance, but she didn¡¯t attack¡ª a true mark of all the progress she had made. After fifteen seconds or so, Tang finished his inspection and was ready to get to work. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stand back a bit. We don¡¯t want to breathe in the spores,¡± My friend said. I nodded and followed him, and then he shouted out an order. ¡°Alright, Budew, start with Stun Spore.¡± Budew shook her entire body, diffusing yellow spores. Tang looked at her curiously and shook his body as well, sessfully using Stun Spore, albeit it looked weaker than Budew¡¯s. ¡°That was Stun Spore, Tang!¡± I yelled out. ¡°S-t-u-n S-p-o-r-e!¡± ¡°Think he caught that?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I hope so. Let¡¯s try.¡± I ordered Tang to use the move, and he just looked at me before using Vine Whip on the ground. ¡°I think he¡¯s worse than you described,¡± Denzel chuckled. ¡°Shut up. He¡¯s trying his best!¡± I said. ¡°That wasn¡¯t it angel, but that was still a very good Vine Whip!¡± Tang squinted in a way that I had learned was a smile, and he used Vine Whip again. Even Budew looked puzzled, and she quietly stared at me while my Pokemon kept using Vine Whip over and over. I didn¡¯t speak Pokemon, but I instinctively knew what that look meant. You¡¯re making me work with this?! ¡°Let¡¯s start over,¡± I sighed. ¡°He¡¯ll figure it out eventually.¡± ¡°And then we have to do it with Poison Powder¡­¡± Denzel sighed. ¡ª¡ª An hourter, Tang had made a lot of progress. He recognized Stun Spore and Poison Powder most of the time, and so he finally learned to respond to all of his moves. That meant I¡¯d be able to work on my idea for a Vine Whip, Bind, and Mega Drainbo, although that would probably take weeks. The idea was to hit an enemy with Vine Whip and immediately have the vine wrap around it with Bind, after which angel could suck their energy with Mega Drain. Then, there was also the idea of getting him to dodge attacks with his vines, but that couldeter. He¡¯d be able to take a lot of hits in Eterna¡¯s gym, and I wanted to focus on the other members of my team as well. For Togetic, I wanted her to learn Double Edge, one of the most powerful normal type moves. In fact, it was so powerful that it inflicted some damage on the user. It wasn¡¯t a priority for now, especially since I¡¯d use her to fight long-distance against Gardenia, but it would be useful to counter quick, fragile flying types like Cece¡¯s Fletchinder. What I did want for the gym, however, was the Thunder Wave TM. She was surprisingly able to learn the move, and it was one of the more affordable TMs. If I remembered correctly, the price was around¡­ fifteen thousand pokedors. I had around nine thousand on my trainer card right now, so I¡¯d need to participate in a lot of battles to get there, and then I¡¯d be broke, but it would be worth it. The move would be useful forever, even against highly skilled opponents that I¡¯d face at the Conference if I got there. Frillish would probably be myst resort against Gardenia, but I still wanted him at his best, and I had a strategy in mind if I had to use the water type. Of course, I had Poison Sting and Hex, but I wanted him to learn Acid Armor and Mist. First, Acid Armor would liquefy his body and do wonders against any physical grass moves. Mist would just make him harder to hit along with that. For Elekid, I wanted him to learn Ice and Fire Punch. These would be the hardest to teach, because we had no base to work from. Where would the fire or the icee from? That was something I¡¯d have to figure out, but if I managed to get him to master those in time, he would quickly be the heavy lifter for the Gardenia battle. I¡¯d need to start working on all of those in Eterna city. I walked up to Denzel, who was watching Buneary and Eevee y around. I smiled at the two normal types. Eevee had a real gift with other Pokemon since he seemingly got along with anyone extremely quickly, although the Pokemon could also be grumpy when he wasn¡¯t in the mood. ¡°Hey,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°Had a question for you.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been curious,¡± I whispered, not wanting to disturb his Pokemon. ¡°I wondered what evolution you were picking for Eevee?¡± The boy¡¯s face froze before answering. He sighed. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I want him to pick, but¡­ he¡¯s scared to pick, I think. Too many options.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± He quickly said. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve got to think about it someday, right? It¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t want to evolve either,¡± He continued as he watched the normal type jump over Buneary. ¡°I¡¯ve asked him, and told him I would have been fine with that. He just doesn¡¯t know what he wants, which is unusual.¡± ¡°Is it? Why?¡± ¡°Eevee¡¯s just not like that,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°He always knows what he wants. He¡¯s steadfast.¡± We watched his Pokemon y in silence for a few seconds. ¡°But it¡¯s not like I have to decide now. I mean, I won¡¯t have the money to buy an evolutionary stone any time soon, and Eevee can hold himself back from evolving if he really doesn¡¯t want to yet. As long as he¡¯s giving it his all, I¡¯ll support any decision he makes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a great trainer,¡± I softly said. ¡°A lot of people would have just forced whatever they wanted onto their Pokemon.¡± ¡°I¡¯d never forgive myself if I did that. I¡¯ll give Eevee as much time as he needs.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m sure he loves you for that.¡± ¡ª¡ª Later, I was forced to exin that I was going to sleep in my own tent to not wake the entire group up too early. I had forgotten that my friends had never actually known that I had nightmares because I had used Togetic¡¯s power our entire time together. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Justin asked me with concern. ¡°Maybe sleeping in thepany of people will help.¡± ¡°I wish I¡¯d known about this sooner,¡± Cecilia said painfully. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, guys,¡± I said. ¡°You guys just have a good night.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate to call if you need someone,¡± Denzel pped my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re right there.¡± Pauline crossed her arms. ¡°If I ever see any of these Gctic guys, I¡¯ll fuck them up. The fact that you can¡¯t sleep pisses me off. No one should have to go through that.¡± ¡°Well, the right thing to do would be to call the League or the cops, but I appreciate that,¡± I smiled. ¡°Thanks, everyone. Good night.¡± I stepped into my tent and fell asleep. When I woke up screaming, Cece was there. I hurriedly climbed out of my sleeping bag. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°No, but I figured it would be nice to wake up to a familiar face. I wake up earlier than everyone else anyway.¡± ¡°I¡ª Thank you. It really does. If I was alone right now, I¡¯d probably still be trying to calm myself down.¡± ¡°I did say I would try to help in any way I could,¡± The girl smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t we train while we wait for the others to wake up?¡± ¡°dly.¡± ¡ª¡ª On the third day, we finally reached Eterna city. The city¡¯s aesthetic waspletely different from Jubilife and Oreburgh. The roads were still paved with gray bricks instead of concrete, and there weren¡¯t any skyscrapers in sight. Two huge stadiums towered in the distance that I recognized as the gym and one of the contest halls that Emilia was crazy about. The buildings had a rustic feeling to them, and vegetation was everywhere, although there was less of it than in Floaroma. Loud screams could be heard as we turned the corner to the Pokemon Center, and I was outraged at what I saw. People were¡­ protesting, yelling loudly, and carrying signs with different slogans written on them. ¡°Down with the League¡¯s tyranny!¡± ¡°Our memories are ours only!¡± ¡°Cynthia, step down!¡± ¡°What the hell?¡± I said, my voice trembling. ¡°They¡¯re protesting the National Security Emergency Act,¡± Denzel grimaced. ¡°This could spell trouble.¡±
Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Announcement Small retcon notice:In chapter 33, a nicementer on RR told me that it was actually possible to set up therapy sessions using video chats, so Grace will be seeing Amanda (her therapist) again in Eterna city. Their goodbye has been changed slightly.
CHAPTER 59 ¡°...third week of anti League government protests are underway with no signs of slowing down. Cities with thergest protests are Eterna, Hearthome, and Veilstone, but people in Jubilife and Sunnyshore have started organizing. There has still been no official response or acknowledgment from the League, but civilian governments are desperately trying to maintain order. Now with us, we have reporter Jensen here on the scene right in the heart of Eterna City. Jensen, what are you hearing on the ground?¡± ¡°Thank you, Mallory. As you can see behind me, people¡ª both trainers and civilians alike¡ª are angry. They want answers from the League, and they aren¡¯t getting any, which begs the question. What is Cynthia waiting for? Now, here is one of the protesters who was willing to run an interview with us. What¡¯s your name, sir?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Willie, and I¡¯m fucking pissed off¡ª¡± ¡°Please refrain from swearing, sir.¡± ¡°Fuck you! What kind of government takes back the people¡¯s freedom? Not my government! If they¡¯re extracting team Gctic¡¯s memories, it¡¯s only a matter of time until they extract yours! Fuck Cynthia¡ª¡± The screen cut away, returning to Mallory in her newsroom. ¡°Well, sorry about that. One thing is for sure about Champion Cynthia, she¡¯s going to have toe out of hiding eventually because she¡¯s facing rebellion from within. The coalition government in the Directorate has copsed, and the new opposition party has been floating the idea of voting Prime Minister Vernon out of power. Of course, to do that, they¡¯ll have to get a majority vote, which they don¡¯t have yet, but a few members have already dissented and joined the opposition. And remind me, Patrick, what does that entail?¡± Patrick, her co-host, spoke up. ¡°Well, a Prime Minister opposed to the Champion has never been seen before, since there¡¯s only been one PM, but if they are, then they¡¯d have the power to start a vote with the intent of impeaching the Champion out of power. Granted, that would take two-thirds of the Directorate, so it seems like a long shot.¡± ¡°Still something to keep an eye on. Cynthia might be safe for now, but Prime Minister Vernon¡ª¡± I switched channels and mmed the remote on my bed out of frustration. I was waiting in my Pokemon Center room with Denzel while the others went to the airport to pick up their special food mix for their teams, and I, unfortunately, couldn¡¯t help myself from listening to the news. ¡°This is bullshit,¡± I spat. ¡°Did you see their faces? They¡¯re enjoying every second of this.¡± Denzel sighed and crossed his arms. ¡°Well, this is Cynthia¡¯s first big controversy, so they¡¯re going to be running this story for weeks or months. The ratings must be through the roof.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they understand the danger that team Gctic poses?! Cynthia just wants to help the region!¡± I eximed with my fists clenched. ¡°And the media¡¯s just fanning the mes! Why don¡¯t they go speak with the victims instead of these protesters?¡± ¡°You¡¯re angry,¡± He simply said. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± I yelled. ¡°These people are going to distract Cynthia from investigating team Gctic with these stupid political games. That means more people might suffer. People might die.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to understand their point of view,¡± Denzel said. ¡°They¡¯re scared. Cynthia basically showed that she could just brute force their rights away.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not their rights, she¡¯s only using it against team Gctic!¡± I said. ¡°But that¡¯s not how it looks from their point of view,¡± My friend sighed. ¡°It looks like a power grab from the League side of government, and civies aren¡¯t liking it. Hell, even some trainers are protesting. The forums are incredibly toxic, and that¡¯s saying something. Plus, the League certainly isn¡¯t helping by being radio silent.¡± ¡°I just¡­ I hate this. It¡¯s exhausting.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we do something to clear your head? You haven''t eaten fries in a while, want to go get some?¡± Denzel asked with a sad smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just feel like doing nothing today.¡± ¡°Come on, we at least have to go check out the gym!¡± He said. ¡°The wait times are apparently crazy, so it¡¯d be best to sign up as early as possible.¡± I groaned. ¡°Fine, I guess.¡± We exited my room and made our way down using the elevators. I had gotten used to the smaller Centers of the outposts at both ends of Eterna forest, so I had almost forgotten how huge city Centers were. They were the tallest buildings in Eterna, bar a few exceptions. I breathed easy when I saw that the protestors had moved onto another street. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to contain myself if they were still there. Unlike in Oreburgh, the Eterna city gym was easy to spot. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the city. The stadium-like building looked modern and smoothpared to the old, rustic architecture that dominated the city, and it was also thergest building in Eterna by far, dwarfing anything else in sight. Still, even though it was visible from anywhere in the city, it was still rtively far away from the Center we had picked to stay at. We chose this Center mostly because it was close to the other¡¯s hotel, so it would be easy to meet up whenever we wanted. Denzel and I stepped on one of the many trams that ran through the middle of Eterna¡¯s streets. Unlike Jubilife or Oreburgh, the city was much more axed toward pedestrian life, which was impressive for its size. But if someone had to get far from where they lived, they¡¯d need to use the trams. Izily stared at one of the tram line maps stered on the walls of the vehicle. We were far, but at least we wouldn¡¯t need to do any line transfers. We rode in silence for twenty-five minutes, and then we got off. I bit my tongue when I heard more protesters camped in front of the gym. It made sense, in a sick sort of way. Gardenia answered to the League, so protesting in front of her workce was the best way to reach her. ¡°Keep your head down,¡± Denzel said as we squeezed through the crowd. ¡°I¡¯m not going to start a fight,¡± I retorted. He probably didn¡¯t hear me. A few policemen were stationed in front of the entrance, blocking the protesters, and asked for our trainer ID cards before letting us through. Needless to say, there weren¡¯t that many trainers inside of the gym lobby proper, but I could hear the chants and yells of the crowd sitting in the stand. ¡°Must be a good battle going on,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Here, why don¡¯t you sign up first.¡± I nodded and approached the receptionist, who looked to be a trainer just as young as I was, or maybe just slightly older. Unlike Oreburgh city, the gym trainers here wore a green and white uniform, with a Pokeball on the white side of her shirt, which was obviously because of the grass type specialization. ¡°Good morning, and wee to the Eterna gym,¡± The girl said with irritation. ¡°Before you ask, no, I cannot go and tell Gardenia to do anything about the protests.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just here to sign up,¡± I hesitantly said. The girl¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Oh, Arceus, I¡¯m so sorry! Um, here, trainer ID, please!¡± She stammered. I smiled. She was probably new here, and she reminded me of myself when I had first started out as a trainer. ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± I said, handing her my ID. ¡°Again, so sorry,¡± She professed as she typed something on herputer. ¡°Oh, this isn¡¯t your first badge! Um¡­ oh, right! Here, you¡¯ll only have to answer these, then,¡± The girl continued, handing me a questionnaire. ¡°And if you lie on any questions, you can get disqualified from the Circuit.¡± I stared at the paper intently. It was mostly a streamlined version of the questionnaire I had answered at Roark¡¯s gym, with the same kind of questions, such as the number of Pokemon I owned. I answered them all honestly and handed the receptionist the questionnaire. ¡°Thanks! I swear, we need to start making you answer these digitally right away, it¡¯s such a chore to input this manually¡­¡± She grumbled as she typed away on her keyboard. ¡°And¡­ there!¡± She eximed after a few minutes. ¡°Your info¡¯s all updated. Your battle is in seven days, at 6:20 pm. If you lose, or you¡¯rete, you have to wait for two weeks to sign up again,¡± She smiled as she handed me my ticket. ¡°Any questions?¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t have to battle a gym trainer this time?¡± ¡°Well, you already have a badge, so we assume you know what you¡¯re doing and won¡¯t waste Gardenia¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Oh! Sounds good! Thank you for the help,¡± I said as I left the counter. I sat on one of the chairs as I waited for Denzel to sign up, ring at the sliding ss doors that separated me and the protesters. One day, they¡¯d all see that Cynthia was doing this for their own protection. I just wished that that day came sooner rather thanter. ¡°There you go, I¡¯m done,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Oh, that was quick. When¡¯s your fight?¡± ¡°6:50 pm.¡± ¡°Ah, you got the timeslot right after mine.¡± ¡°Yup. Ready to head back?¡± ¡°Yeah, these people are giving me a headache,¡± I said, pointing my thumb toward the crowd outside. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the Center.¡± ¡°Sure you don¡¯t want something to eat? There¡¯s this really cool fast food ce that I noticed on our way here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to eat fast food in the morning,¡± I groaned. ¡°Let¡¯s just go tonight. If I¡¯m hungry, I¡¯ll grab something from the Center cafeteria.¡± He nodded, and we quickly caught another tram before heading back to the Pokemon Center. I whipped out my Poketch and checked the time. The others were probably checking into their hotel by now, after which they¡¯d go and sign up for the gym. I sat on the desk, setting the device against the wall, and grinned. I opened up the Eterna city gym website, where all of Gardenia¡¯s battles would be stored. It was time to study. ¡ª¡ª ¡°What in the world is this?¡± I sighed as I watched one of Gardenia¡¯s recent battles. Luckily for me, there was a way to filter the battles by the number of badges the challenger had, so I didn¡¯t have to scour the site to find what the gym leader would use against people of my level. I groaned as Gardenia¡¯s Cherrim spat out a Leech Seed up in the sky at a trainer¡¯s Wingull. The flying type cried out and crashed to the ground, and Gardenia finished it off with Magical Leaf. The first thing I noticed from watching all of her fights was that all of her Pokemon had Leech Seed. All of them. And they could hit you from any distance with incredible uracy¡ª including all but the fastest flying types. If they did, you were on a timer. Your Pokemon would be slowly weakened, and its energy would be slowly sucked away. Next, Gardenia didn¡¯t fight like Roark at all. Roark was a brutal trainer who¡¯d keep attacking until either he or his challenger lost. He was always on the offense, and his Pokemon were trained to take as many hits as possible. Gardenia¡­ Gardenia fought like me. Well, that was insulting. It would be more urate to say that I fought like a worse version of Gardenia. She was methodical¡ª no, she went a step forward. She was surgical. The start of her fights was always spent wasting time as she baited out her opponent¡¯s moves. When she did, she ruthlessly shut them down with a strategy she probably crafted on the fly. Roark¡¯s fights were often done brutally quickly,sting just a few minutes. Gardenia¡¯s fights usually went over ten. I could already feel the stress mounting, and the battle was still seven days away. But at the same time? Gardenia was the trainer I wanted to emte the most. Win or lose, I¡¯d learn a lot during the battle. The Pokemon she used the most against trainers with one badge were Turtwig, Cherrim, Roselia, Pansage, and Foongus, but tougher trainers also had to face her Grotle, Leafeon, Sunflora or Gloom, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. She used way more Pokemon than Roark did, and that meant that studying against her would be incredibly difficult and time-consuming. I grinned. It woulde down to a battle of endurance. All of her Pokemon used Leech Seed, but she was also an avid user of spore moves as well. Gardenia started off the battle slowly and fished out your weaknesses. Hell, you might even take down one of her Pokemon in the process, but then she would take that sense of security and obliterate it. The woman also liked using Grassy Terrain sometimes, which would boost the power of grass type moves, but also heal both of our Pokemon over the course of the battle. Next up, I noticed something I hadn¡¯t seen before. Her stadium had no roof. This was important because she was an avid Sunny Day user. The move made most grass types more powerful, but it was also a double-edged sword if one of her challengers had a fire type. Or at least that¡¯s what I thought until I saw herpletely shut down a trainer¡¯s Litleo with her Lombre¡¯s Rain Dance. That¡¯s right, she had first used Sunny Day to boost her Gloom¡¯s speed to take down her opponent¡¯s first Pokemon, and then she changed the weather again¡ª although it took a few minutes for her to be able to change the weather after having just done so. So not only did I have to contend with a surgical trainer that would take me down with a thousand cuts, I had to deal with her manipting the weather to her advantage. Oh, and her Sunflora also knew Sr Beam, one of the most powerful grass type moves that would probably take down Frillish in one hit. Roark¡­ Roark was an incredible trainer, but he was nowhere near this difficult. What was with the incredible jump in difficulty? I sighed and sunk deep into the armchair I sat on. How was I going to deal with this? The trainers that won against her did so using two distinct strategies that I could find. Either they overwhelmed Gardenia with powerful Pokemon before she could get her footing and start counterattacking¡ª which was something Cece was far better at doing than I was¡ª or they tried using Pokemon fast enough to avoid her spores or Leech Seed. You could never go wrong with speed. Well, for overwhelming power, I had¡­ nothing, and for speed, I had Elekid. I¡¯d have to beat Gardenia at her own game, which was something no one had figured out how to do yet. The one advantage I¡¯d possibly have was that just like in my battle against Chase, I¡¯d know almost everything about her, but she¡¯d know nothing about me. The longer I used one of my Pokemon, the worse my position would get. And if I lost? Then the second battle would be at least twice as hard. This fight was going to be a puzzle, and I¡¯d have to use everything I had learned so far to win. I needed a n against each Pokemon, and then a n B, and probably a n C for good measure, and that wasn¡¯t even counting all the training I¡¯d have to do to teach my team their new moves. ¡°Holy fuck,¡± I said with a slight chuckle. ¡°This is insane.¡± But I loved it all the same. The crafting of a strategy that paid off and carried you to victory. The rush of adrenaline, the tion after winning. Seeing how strong I could be if I emted Gardenia had just made me fall in love with Pokemon battling even deeper, and this was only the second badge. What kind of strategies did all the other leaders employ? What heights would I reach if I absorbed Gardenia¡¯s fighting style to perfection? I licked my lips and started ying another video. I probably was going to put off meeting with the others today. I was going to train and study all day instead. This was going to be the most intense seven days of training I was going to put myself and my team through. I wasn¡¯t going to sleep tonight, but on the bright side, there¡¯d be no nightmares. Speaking of nightmares, I had to call Amanda to set up new sessions soon.
Chapter 60 Chapter 60 CHAPTER 60 I flinched and almost tripped on a rock before being caught by Togetic¡¯s Extrasensory. Unlike Confusion, Extrasensory manipted the areaaround the object or thing it wanted to manipte instead of controlling it directly, but it still felt strange all the same. My hair levitated as if I was in space, and the air I breathed struggled to get into my lungs. Togetic let go of me and let out a happy cry. ¡°Thank you, princess,¡± I said, looking at her with a smile. ¡°That was probably a sign anyway, I think we¡¯re far enough.¡± I set my bag on the rocky ground that this side of route 211 was best known for, and felt a sense of dread wash over me when I looked up at Mount Cor in all of its glory. It was my first time being this close to the mountain in person, and it was nothing like seeing it on a screen. I felt small. Insignificant, in the face of such a colossal creation of nature, and I was still adayaway from reaching the actual mountain. Not that I¡¯d actually be able to get in even if I was suicidal enough to go. The entrance to this side of the mountain was permanently closed, meaning that if someone wanted to go through to get to Snowpoint City, they¡¯d have to go all the way around and go through Celestic. I was starting to see why some trainers preferred to scale the Arceus damned thing instead. I grabbed my Pokeballs and released the rest of the team. There was no wasting any time. I needed to be as ready as possible for the gym, and that meant that all social activities would have to be dyed to after my battle with Gardenia. They settled in a line in front of me, and I pped my hands together to get their attention. ¡°Alright, guys,¡± I started. ¡°In one week, we¡¯re going to have our second gym battle.¡± At the mention of a gym battle, Frillish¡¯s eyes narrowed, and Togetic started paying more attention. Elekid stared at the two in confusion and then acted like he understood what I was talking about, while Tang just stared nkly into my eyes. ¡°Been a while, right?¡± I grinned. ¡°We¡¯ve progressed immensely as a team since our battle with Roark. Honey, angel, let me exin what I¡¯m talking about¡­¡± I exined the concept of gym battles to them and Elekid¡¯s eyes immediately shone in anticipation. Tang¡¯s vines wriggled slightly, which was what he did when he was excited. ¡°That means that we¡¯re going to train harder than ever before! C¡¯mere buddy,¡± I told Frillish. Hezily approached me, and I wrapped an arm around him. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be such a downer! This is going to be great! I need you to work on two new moves, and since you¡¯re awesome, I think you can manage.¡± Frillish turned his head toward me slightly and bobbed his head. ¡°Great! They¡¯re called Acid Armor and Mist, and they¡¯re mostly defensively minded. We already have Poison Sting and Hex to deal damage, so now I just need you to have a little more survivability for the battle. I¡¯ll be around to help you out soon.¡± The water type nodded, and I rubbed my head against his until he groaned in frustration and slipped out of my grasp. ¡°You wound me!¡± I joked. ¡°You don¡¯t see meining about how slimy you are.¡± ¡°Lish!¡± He yelled out in protest. ¡°Oh yeah? Well, I¡¯ll keep hugging you anyway!¡± I eximed. ¡°Ahem¡­ now, princess, you¡¯re going to y a major part in the battle, so I¡¯ll need you to work hard, alright?¡± ¡°Prrri!¡± She answered with a twirl. ¡°Very cute. First, I need you to work on improving Extrasensory¡¯s range. What I¡¯m thinking you can do is alter a ranged attack¡¯s path with the move, maybe? It won¡¯t work as well as Confusion, but it¡¯ll do the trick. And obviously, more range is always good, since you¡¯ll be able to use the move from a safer position.¡± Princess tweeted, and her eyes shone as she picked up angel with the psychic move. The grass type extended some of his vines toward her, but she giggled and stopped him from doing so. ¡°Hey, now¡¯s not the time to be ying,¡± I said with my hands on my hips. ¡°Use Ancient Power to get some targets to practice on. In fact, I¡¯ll need some for Tang too.¡± Togetic let go of the grass type, who caught himself with his vines with surprising dexterity. ¡°That was good,¡± I praised him. He wriggled and squinted at me. ¡°Oh, and princess, I¡¯ll also have to save to get you a TM soon!¡± I yelled as she flew away. In retrospect, she probably didn¡¯t even know what that was. ¡°Frillish, you¡¯re on older brother duty again. Keep an eye on her while you train.¡± He smiled and floated toward her. ¡°Thank bud! I know I always ask a lot of you, and I appreciate your help,¡± I eximed. ¡°Alright, now back to you, little one,¡± I continued, crouching next to Tang. ¡°No new moves. We¡¯ll just practice what you already know and try to get you to be a little tougher so you can take more attacks, understand?¡± I spoke slowly, clearly enunciating every syble. He blinked at me twice and pet me with a vine. ¡°Good! We''ll also work more on your understanding of verbalmands.¡± I looked at Elekid and grinned. ¡°You¡¯re our ace in this battle, Elekid,¡± I said. He flexed his arms and yelled out triumphantly. ¡°There¡¯s no time to learn both Fire and Ice Punch, so we¡¯ll have to pick one¡­¡± I trailed off. On one hand, Fire Punch could be a nasty surprise if Gardenia ever set up a Sunny Day, but on the other, it could be shut down easily by Rain Dance. I nodded. Ice Punch was the safer option to go with. ¡°We¡¯ll go with Ice Punch. Now you and angel are with me today since you¡¯ll probably need a bunch of help, but I¡¯ll also be with the others a bunch.¡± I heard the ground rumble as Togetic raised rocks and boulders from the ground one by one. She was getting better at making them circles this time around. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get started!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°How about you tryfeelingthe ice?¡± I asked Elekid. The electric type screamed and punched the air, but there was no ice to be seen. It was a dilemma I knew I was going to have to deal with, which was why I wanted to be with Elekid to train. How did a Pokemon create ice from nothing? ¡°So, for Thunder Punch,¡± I started. ¡°You just use Charge and spin your arms around, and then channel it to your fist. For ice¡­ hm, why don¡¯t we go see how Frillish is doing?¡± I asked. The electric type nodded. ¡°Alright, angel, keep the Vine Whips going! You¡¯re making good progress,¡± I told him. He smashed another rock that Togetic had raised for him with terrifying speed and strength. We walked up to Frillish, who was away from all the noise and hubbub and keeping an eye on Togetic, who was ying around and juggling some rocks with Extrasensory. Her childlikeughs immediately stopped when she saw meing, and she started pretending to train seriously. ¡°I saw that, but I¡¯ll let it go,¡± I said to her sternly. The truth was, I was trying to hold back a smirk, but a parent had to be the voice of reason in times like these. ¡°How¡¯s it going, Frillish? I know you have a soft spot for her, but being the older siblings means you''ve got toy down thew.¡± The water type huffed, ignoring me before he spun around a puff of mist starteding out of his mouth, slowly enveloping him. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near the amount we needed for the gym battle, but I was surprised he was already so far along. ¡°It¡¯s only been two hours,¡± I told him. ¡°Wait¡­ Frillish¡­ are you a genius?!¡± He huffed and sshed me with a little bit of cold water. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t do that in this cold weather¡­ you¡¯re killing me here,¡± I whined, wiping water off my face. ¡°Anyway, Elekid and I are in need of help. I see you¡¯ve already mastered how to use ice. How?¡± Now, I wasn¡¯t expecting him to answer with an essay here, but I figured he¡¯d be able tomunicate the gist of it. ¡°Fri¡­¡± He said quietly as his eyes dimmed. He was thinking. Frillish¡¯s eyes widened before he spat out a small jet of water. The water was so cold that mist started to form around it¡ª albeit in small quantities. Frillish stared at me and nodded proudly. ¡°So¡­ you use the water already in your body to create mist,¡± I nodded. A few seconds passed before I mmed my fist against my palm. ¡°Living Pokemon are always made ofsomewater,¡± I eximed. ¡°For humans, I remember learning in school that the number¡¯s sixty percent,¡± I said, before staring at Elekid. ¡°I think you need to find a way to turn some of that water into ice, hon. Maybe you can even use, like, the moisture in the air, or something. Since the Dex says you can use the move, there should be a way for you to do one of these or both.¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± He boasted. ¡°Nothing you can¡¯t handle, huh?¡± I smiled. ¡°Well, that¡¯s gettingsomewhere. Let¡¯s get to work!¡± ¡ª¡ª Another two hours had passed, and we were getting somewhere. Elekid managed to make his fist colder and have fragments of ice form onto it whenever he attacked, but it tired him out fast, and it also made him thirsty. I handed him a bottle of water, which he awkwardly held with his wed hands and downed in seconds. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a break, honey?¡± I told him. He protested, but I insisted until he said yes. ¡°You too, Tang,¡± I said. ¡°Or¡­ maybe not?¡± The grass type had been using Vine Whip the entire time, and he wasn¡¯t tiring. At first, I had been impressed, but now I was kind of scared, although I theorized that it was because today was particrly sunny. Improvement by repetition was slow, but if he could do it for hours at a time without breaks? His improvement speed would be on par with the others, or maybe even faster. ¡°I¡¯ll go check out Frillish and Togetic again. Be back in ten minutes,¡± I told the two. I let out a satisfied sigh when I saw that Togetic was taking her training seriously, no doubt because Frillish kept scolding her. She silently moved a small boulder away from her with a look of pure concentration on her face. I stayed silent and winked at Frillish, who was watching intently. I could tell by the slight movements on his face that he was silently rooting for her. After around forty-five feet, her control over the rock weakened, and after sixty, it crashed onto the ground. ¡°You did great, princess!¡± I praised her. She turned to me in surprise and could only muster a tired nod. ¡°Here, take a break. I have some water if you want.¡± I gave her some water and gently scratched her neck before turning to Frillish. ¡°How are you doing?¡± I asked. He bobbed his head silently. ¡°Good, huh?¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve got the hang of Mist, and now it¡¯s all about practicing with it, but how about Acid Armor?¡± The water type shook his head. ¡°Then let¡¯s get to it. Here, let me help you,¡± I said, grabbing my Pokedex. ¡°It says here that you¡¯re supposed to¡­ alter your cellr structure to liquefy yourself. Uh¡­ that soundsplicated, hold on,¡± I said, reading it a few more times. ¡°Okay, so in simple terms, you¡¯re supposed to turn into goo.¡± ¡°Lish¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re already pretty slimy,¡± I started. ¡°Can you make yourself slimier?¡± He looked at me with a disappointed stare. ¡°Okay, sorry, that was a stupid question, but I¡¯m just spitballing here. Uh, you¡¯re kind of like¡­ entirely made out of liquid water, no? And you can alter water and weave it into moves. Why don¡¯t you try to alteryourselfusing the same methodology?¡± I asked. The ghost type nodded before closing his eyes. I watched in anticipation with Togetic, waiting to see what would happen. His body trembled slightly for around two minutes until he finally opened his eyes again. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like much has changed,¡± I said before trying to touch him. My hand wentthroughhis body. ¡°Holy shit, that felt so¡­ soweird,¡± I said. My hand felt wet when I passed it through him, but it waspletely dry now. Suddenly I realized that he had used the move. ¡°Wait, you did it! You did it, you did it!¡± I celebrated, jumping around wildly. ¡°Youarea genius!¡± He nodded and let out a familiar huff, but the sound waspletely different than his normal voice. It was distant and alien like I was listening to something underwater. He went through the same two-minute process again to turn back to his natural state. ¡°Now we just need to get you to use it in seconds instead of minutes,¡± I said. ¡°Although that¡¯s probably easier said than done.¡± But when hedid? His defensive options against physical attacks would go through the roof. ¡°Take a break, bud,¡± I said. ¡°You deserve it.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Feeling tired now, huh?¡± I told Tang. ¡°The sun¡¯s down.¡± He blinked twice and nodded. The grass type was sitting on the ground with a bunch of his vines all untangled, forming into some kind of cushion. It was very cute to look at, but also somewhat disturbing to see his form so¡­ fluid was the word. I had been so engrossed in my training that before I realized it, night hade. I was hungry, tired, and sore, since I had gone on a run with Elekid. I figured it was time to start those back up again, especially with how useful my endurance was in Eterna forest. I gathered my team and stood in front of them with my back straight. They were all exhausted. Frillish was struggling to float, while Togetic was just lying down on the ground. Elekid was still standing, but I could tell he was only doing so because of his pride as a battler. ¡°You all did amazing today,¡± I started. ¡°I¡¯ve never pushed you this far, but you did even better than I expected. If we do this every day, I have no doubt that we¡¯ll be ready to tackle the gym.¡± Another two days to get familiar enough to use the moves on a regr basis without tiring themselves, and then I¡¯d use the other three to make them battle each other. ¡°But uh¡­ this is kind of awkward,¡± I started. ¡°I¡¯m kind of low on money, so I need one of you to go with me to one of the arenas to battle some trainers. Anybody up for that?¡± I tried. Tangzily retracted all of his vines and walked up. ¡°Thanks, angel,¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll let the others rest. You can rest in your Pokeball too until we get to the arena.¡± I recalled them all and started walking back toward Eterna city. My feet and legs were terribly sore, and I was physically tired. It was important to remember that I wasn¡¯t a Pokemon. I couldn¡¯t keep working myself to the point of exhaustion, but I was just having so much fun. Plus, it wasn¡¯t like I could sleep anyway, although I hoped the appointment with Amanda next week would help remedy that. Oh well, at least when these seven days were over, I¡¯d be able to take a well-deserved break. I wondered what the others were doing. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Isn¡¯t she one of Obel¡¯s friends?¡± ¡°Did you see her destroy Chase Karlson the other day?¡± ¡°She¡¯s smaller than I thought.¡± Ugh. Whispers and gossip spread around me like a disease. All of this attention was making me nervous. I wanted to go back to being a no-name trainer like I had always been, but that was impossible now. I walked up to one of the battlefields before tightening my shoces, but before I was about to look for someone to battle, a few trainers had already made their way to me to challenge me. Well, I supposed that was one way to make money. I epted the first challenger to a one-on-one battle, and he won the coinflip, prompting me to release Tang. I could tell that the boy was nervous, which surprised me. How could someone be nervous to battle little old me? He released a Timburr, who carried arge piece of lumber in its arm. I had seen the Pokemon a few times on television, and they were known to be excellent construction builders, but I never expected the piece of wood they carried to be brought into the Pokeballwiththem. I took a deep breath, and the battle started. ¡°Timburr, Bulk Up, and then get close!¡± The teen yelled out. The fighting type¡¯s muscles bulged out as it flexed its entire body. I watched as Timburr slowly ran up to Tang, giving me ample time to think. The Pokemon was slow, especially with the load it carried, but a few good hits was probably all it would take to beat Tang, especially since he was so tired. Now wasn¡¯t the time to underestimate our opponent. ¡°Bind him, angel!¡± I ordered. Tang shivered as five vines flew toward the fighting type. Timburr used his piece of Lumber to knock two away, but the other three grasped him tightly. It groaned in pain as angel tightened his grip¡ª so much so that I was starting to worry. ¡°Not too hard, angel,¡± I warned. ¡°He¡¯s not a rock.¡± He was still a wild Pokemon in many ways, unused to battles. Tang loosened his grip enough to let the Timburr breathe, but he was still unable to move. ¡°Come on, Timburr! You¡¯re stronger than this!¡± My eyes widened as Timburr let out an enraged scream and tore out Tang¡¯s vines. ¡°Bind him again,¡± I said, Three, five,tenvines confined the Timburr this time. There was no getting out of Tang¡¯s grasp. ¡°Mega Drain.¡± Tang¡¯s vines started to glow, and the energy made its way back to the grass type, who writhed in delight. When he was done, he retracted his vines, and Timburr fell to the ground. ¡°Good job, Tang. That was some good range,¡± I praised him. A vine extended behind him and affectionately wrapped around my ankle. ¡°Good battle,¡± I told the teenager. ¡°You¡¯re too good,¡± He smiled thinly. ¡°But I¡¯ve always wanted to battle against a trainer with a badge.¡± I nodded, and he walked up to hand me my prize money, which wasn¡¯t much. There wasn¡¯t a set amount trainers were forced to give when they lost, which was something the League implemented to stop trainers from bankrupting themselves from a losing streak, but the minimum amount was one hundred pokedors. I thanked him, and the next challenger was already ready for me. At this rate, I¡¯d be able to buy Thunder Wave before the gym battle.
Interlude – Preparations Interlude ¨C Preparations INTERLUDE - Preparations Justin watched in awe as the weather above Gardenia¡¯s gym¡ª far in the distance¡ª became overcast. He couldn¡¯t see the individual raindrops, but he knew that it¡¯d be raining, or at least that was what Louis¡¯ informant had told him. He felt bad about skirting around the learning process that so many trainers seemed to go through religiously, but his heart just wasn¡¯t in it. Louis¡¯ father always paid people who already knew the ins and outs of the gym leader¡¯s strategy and then tell them about it. It was a rather lucrative job that older, more experienced trainers tended to do. After all, the evolutionary stones, supplementary vitamins, and powerful TMs that were needed to thrive at the top wouldn¡¯t buy themselves. The teen shrugged and walked off toward route 205. s, even with an informant, he still needed to train, even though he somewhat disliked doing it. Watching his Pokemon practice their moves over and over was dull, but he couldn¡¯t afford to lose. Plus, there was his Lotad to think about. The water type couldn¡¯t move very well due to the overgrown leaf it carried, and it seldom listened to his orders. It was Justin¡¯s first time having to train a Pokemon from scratch. Growlithe had been his family¡¯s, but his father allowed him to take the fire type with him for the journey. The old canine was loyal and was the Pokemon he tended to use the most. Sandile had already been trained and was used to humans thanks to the breeders his father had bought it from. It was a littlezy, and it hated Sinnoh¡¯s cold temperatures. His species was native to the hot deserts of Unova, so he couldn¡¯t exactly me him. Justin sighed and released his team. Growlithe immediately barked and sat obediently. Sandile let out azy growl and blinked a few times, and Lotad croaked as he stumbled through the grassy terrain. ¡°It¡¯s time to train,¡± He started. ¡°I¡¯d like to use mostly you and Lotad for the gym battle, but Sandile might see some action as well,¡± Justin finished, pointing at Growlithe. He half-heartedly asked them to practice their moves. Growlithe would work on Fire Fang and Ember, and Sandile would need to improve the strength of his Bite. Justin scanned Lotad with his new Pokedex again, since he couldn¡¯t remember his moves. ¡°Mega Drain, Water Gun, Growl, Astonish, Absorb, and Bubblebeam,¡± Justin recited. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to dish out that much damage, but you should be able to resist at least some of her grass type moves.¡± A day had passed since the group reached Eterna city, and his gym battle was in eight days, as was everyone else¡¯s except Grace and Denzel, who rushed to sign up while they were at the airport and checking in at their hotel. The young trainer wondered if it would be enough to win. From what their informant had told them, Gardenia was a surprisingly tough gym leader. That was for two reasons. Now that they all had a badge, gym leaders tended to hold back less, and Gardenia was apparently among the strongest of the new generation of gym leaders along with Volkner. Justin quite liked battling, but not to the extent that he¡¯d need to work this hard to get a win. He preferred the more casual approach that the group had had back in Jubilife, before setting off on their journey through the Circuit, but now, it seemed that only he and Emilia just couldn¡¯t get their heart into being a trainer. The others were passionate, with their eyes full of life every time they spoke of the sport. He sped at his coat. Why couldn¡¯t he be like them? Justin¡¯s passiony in business. He dreamed of taking over Pherzen, his father¡¯spany. There were so many avenues that his dad could use to improve thepany¡¯s profits, influence, and interregional reach, starting with getting involved in human medicine. Of course, thepany sold some products intended for human use, but they could be doing so much more. Justin believed that Pherzen¡¯s scientists could push the limits of human medicine and make healing human wounds and diseases just as easy as healing Pokemon, but his father kept saying that it was too dangerous. He was stuck in the past. Now all Justin needed was to go through the Circuit twice, and he would be primed to take over thepany once his father retired. He would endeavor to usher humanity into a new golden age. Cancer, Alzheimer¡¯s, limb regeneration using Ditto cells. These weren¡¯t theories. They were already proven to work. All they needed to do was fune the process and get through human trials. If Pherzen wasn¡¯t going to patent these technologies first, anotherpany would, and they would be a majorpetitor. But he was getting ahead of himself. There was no point in dreaming about the future if he couldn¡¯t make it through the present. ¡°Lotad, please,¡± He groaned. ¡°I asked for a Bubblebeam, not a Water Gun.¡± The boy ced his hands over his face and groaned again. Maybe this was a waste of time, and he would be better off counting on Growlithe for everything, which was what he had done with Roark by using Sandile. He wanted a Lotad, but this one seemed to be very uncooperative. Justin was about to give up and call it a day when an idea popped into his head. Why not call someone for help? Surely one of his friends would be avable, although he wouldn¡¯t call Emi, since she shared his same distaste for training Pokemon. He dialed Pauline¡¯s number into his Poketch and was surprised when she picked up immediately. ¡°Justin, not now. I¡¯m busy,¡± Pauline said with her usual snark. ¡°Sorry, I was just wondering if¡ª¡± Ah. She hung up on him. Well, Pauline had always been like this, so he paid it no mind. Justin called Cecilia next. She took a while to answer, but after a few rings, she picked up. ¡°Cece! I was wondering if you could help me. I have issues with my Lotad, and I¡¯m in need of some training guidance,¡± Justin said. ¡°Have you tried beating it in a battle?¡± She asked. ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°You need to win until it respects you.¡± Justin stared at Lotad, who used Bubblebeam and was blown away by the force of the attack. He was stuck on his lilypad, with his six legs wriggling in the air. ¡°Tad!¡± He croaked in panic. Justin sighed and helped the poor water type get back on his feet. ¡°I don¡¯t think respect is the problem here,¡± He said. ¡°I think I need a softer approach.¡± ¡°Well, that isn¡¯t how I do things, so I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be of any help,¡± She said with a saddened tone. ¡°Maybe try someone else?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Justin smiled. ¡°Thank you for your time.¡± So Cecilia wasn¡¯t going to work either. He wanted to call Louis, but the truth was that even if he liked him as a friend, Louis could get very irritating when exining something. Plus, he still struggled with his Gible, so the boy probably wouldn¡¯t be the best to take advice from. ¡°Alright,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°Denzel it is.¡± The Poketch rang a few times, but no one answered. Justin called another two times, but he didn¡¯t want to bother his friend. For all he knew, Denzel could be deep in a training session after all. That left Grace. ¡°Justin?¡± She said in her familiar high-pitched voice. ¡°Grace, I hope I¡¯m not bothering you. I might need some help to train my Lotad and get him up to speed.¡± Justin heard a small yell that he recognized as Elekid. ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± She told the Pokemon. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there, just hold on a sec,¡± She told Justin. He waited for a few seconds before Grace spoke up again. ¡°I¡¯m training on route 211 right now, but if you¡¯re willing toe, I¡¯ll help you out.¡± ¡°Oh, truly?¡± Justin smiled. He originally had just wanted advice, but him being with her would probably make the process easier. ¡°I¡¯ll be there. Where exactly on route 211?¡± ¡ª¡ª Justin watched as the small blonde girl waved at him from afar. It was his first time on this route, and he already hated it. The uneven, rocky ground made it a pain to walk through, and the wild Pokemon here weren¡¯t scared of walking up to him due to their curiosity and being used to humans, since they lived so close to a city. She was surrounded by her Pokemon. Justin swallowed as Frillish red at him behind her with that usual sinister look the water type always had. Tang had so many of his vines wrapped around her right leg and arm going under her sleeves that it made him shiver. Elekid was at her side, working on some kind of punching attack, and Togeticzily had her neck over her shoulder as she pet her head. It still surprised him, how close Grace was to her Pokemon. It was a connection he had rarely seen in most trainers. The only ones that came even close were Denzel¡¯s Eevee and Cece¡¯s Fletchinder, but Grace was intimate with her entire team. Even the Tang she had caught rtively recently. ¡°So where¡¯s the little Lotad?¡± The blonde girl said, getting straight to the point. ¡°My Pokemon are on a break right now, so I¡¯ll help you out.¡± Justin nodded and released the water type, who stared at Grace and her team before looking back at him. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to get him to use his moves correctly, but he won¡¯t listen,¡± Justin said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with him.¡± Grace frowned. ¡°Well, first of all, let¡¯s not be rude, alright? He¡¯s trying his best.¡± She walked forward as Tang unwrapped his vines around her before crouching next to Lotad. ¡°Hey, little guy. Think we can work together today?¡± Lotad let out a slight croak. ¡°Sounds good,¡± She beamed, before looking at Justin. ¡°What moves is he struggling with?¡± ¡°Mostly differentiating Bubblebeam and Water Gun,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°But there¡¯s also the fact that he can¡¯t walk very well.¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s an aquatic Pokemon, so that¡¯s a given. C¡¯mere bud,¡± Grace said, beckoning her Frillish. His eyes stayed on Justin the entire time. ¡°Mind helping out Lotad here? You know Bubblebeam, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re good enough to make some bootleg version of Water Gun.¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± ¡°No? Not for me?¡± She said, pouting. Justin watched in awe and confusion. This girl seemed to understand what her Pokemon was saying, and was having a full-blown conversation with it. It usually took months for a trainer to get that good at reading their Pokemon, and Justin still struggled with Growlithe, who he had owned for years. Eventually, she managed to convince the ghost type to help Lotad, and she sent him off with a pat on the back. ¡°Thanks, Frillish! You¡¯re the best!¡± The girl smiled. The water type turned and red at her, and Justin flinched. ¡°Aw, you¡¯re so cute when you¡¯re mad. Isn¡¯t he the cutest?¡± She asked him. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡± Justin said, adjusting his cor. ¡°Eh, he grows on you,¡± Grace shrugged. ¡°Now for the walking part, you can probably fix some of that by your battle, but does Lotad even have to walk?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Justin frowned. ¡°Did you forget? Every gym arena has a pond for water types to fight in. You can just release Lotad in there during your battle, and he¡¯s much more used to moving in water than onnd.¡± Justin pped his forehead. How could he have forgotten such a crucial detail? Grace spent the rest of her break giving him advice on how to tackle the fight while Lotad was training with Frillish. ¡°Your Sandile, for example,¡± She started. ¡°They can travel underground really well, right?¡± ¡°Correct. It¡¯s like swimming through water for them.¡± ¡°Then he¡¯s probably your strongest,¡± Grace quickly continued. ¡°There aren¡¯t many of Gardenia¡¯s Pokemon that can counter Dig, and some members of her team have the poison typing. That means you¡¯ll probably have to lead with Lotad to bait out one of her poison types to lock her into using at least one. That way, you¡¯ll be getting as much leverage as possible from your Sandile. You could also try to bait out two of her poison types by recalling Lotad mid-battle and keeping it at the back of her mind and saving Sandile forst, but that¡¯s a risker strategy, so that¡¯s honestly up to you. So you¡¯ll want Growlithe as your all-rounder to fall back on, Lotad as your bait and pivot, and Sandile as your ace¡­¡± Justin¡¯s mind swam. She was giving him more information than the actual informant that Louis had paid tens of thousands of Pokedors for free. Grace¡¯s green eyes were full of passion as she basically created a strategy for him to use. It was honestly scary. ¡°...and yeah, that should be it, but you¡¯ll have to alter the way you tackle the fight depending on what Pokemon she uses, but I¡¯m still studying that,¡± She said. ¡°And hey, it looks like Lotad¡¯s already done. He¡¯s pretty smart.¡± The boy looked as Lotad alternated between Bubblebeam and Water Gun, closely following Frillish¡¯s example. He gave her a shaky nod and thanked her for the help. Grace Pastel was overwhelming. Behind that small frame and unassuming voice was a monster that loved battling more than anything. Justin had no doubt now she was just as good of a trainer as Cecilia was, although she was probably stillcking in raw strength. Seeing her work this hard was inspiring, but it didn¡¯t suddenly ignite an innate passion for Pokemon battling. He was stillmitted to his ambitions with Pherzen. It did make him want to try a little harder, though. ¡ª¡ª Pauline tapped her foot repeatedly against the floor of her hotel room as she browsed the inte for interesting Pokemon to catch on route 205 and route 211. Down south was the Cycling Road, and there were no Pokemon on it, so that only left two routes as options. None of these Pokemon were catching her eye. ¡°Machop, Starly, Ponyta, Teddiursa¡­ Arceus, all of these are garbage!¡± She yelled out. On one hand, she didn¡¯t want to admit defeat and get a Pokemon sent to her like Louis was. On the other, she wasn¡¯t confident enough to be sure that she could beat Gardenia in a two-on-three. Charmeleon had the firepower to beat most of what she would throw at her, and Gothita would hold her own, but that fucking informant had instilled doubt into her. Not that she would admit that to anyone. The King family valued strength above all, and admitting her inner doubts would be a sign of weakness. Suddenly, her Poketch rang. She clicked her tongue and picked it up. ¡°Justin, not now. I¡¯m busy,¡± Pauline said, rolling her eyes. ¡°Sorry, I was just wondering if¡ª¡± She hung up and threw the device on her bed. After looking for a few more minutes, the redhead groaned. ¡°Whatever, I give up. I¡¯ll try the fight with Charmeleon and Gothita,¡± Pauline told herself. She started dressing up to go and train, but her phone rang again. She swore, answering right away. ¡°Justin, I thought I told you not now,¡± She yelled. ¡°What a rude way to greet your own mother.¡± Pauline¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Mommy? What do you want?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t a concerned mother check up on her beloved daughter once in a while?¡± She asked with a humorous tone. Pauline huffed. Her mother and her had never bothered with these pretenses of love and affection. She raised her well, and they sometimes lived in the same mansion, but that was it. ¡°Come on, mommy,¡± Pauline said, twirling her hair. ¡°I know you fucking want something. Stop wasting my time and spill before I hang up.¡± Her motherughed. ¡°I want two things, actually. First, it hase to my attention that you havepletely abandoned the mission I gave you at the start of your journey.¡± For the first time, Pauline¡¯s confidence faltered. ¡°How do you know about that?¡± ¡°Spies, my dear,¡± Her mother simply answered. ¡°You¡¯re spying on me?!¡± The teenager yelled. ¡°Fuck you.¡± ¡°We are all spying. Our pockets run deep, and trainers tend to be desperate for money. That informant Louis Bianchi paid? He was one of mine. Once again, you are outwitted. Take it as a valuable lesson.¡± ¡°So all of our parents are paying trainers to spy on us?¡± ¡°Why did you abandon your mission?¡± The woman said, ignoring her question. ¡°Answer my question, and I¡¯ll answer yours.¡± Pauline waited a few seconds, then sighed. ¡°I just couldn¡¯t do it. I was on board at first, but Louis was too insufferable, and then much to my chagrin, I started to actually befriend him. I¡¯m not that cruel.¡± ¡°And now our only hope to stop the marriage from within has been blown to smithereens,¡± Her mother said disappointingly. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to date him. All you had to do was seduce him once and expose him. The boy is as naive and dumb as a bag of rocks. He thinks he is doing as he pleases, but his father controls him like a puppet.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t do that to my friends,¡± Pauline said, standing her ground. ¡°I respect that choice. It takes real strength to go against the current and to make your own decisions. Still, when the Obel Energy Company and the Bianchi Conglomerate merge, nothing will stand between them and unlimited riches, power, and influence. Are you saying your friendships are more important than that?¡± She asked. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying,¡± Pauline said firmly. ¡°Now answer my fucking question, mommy.¡± ¡°Your question actually has to do with the second thing I called you for today,¡± Her mother started. ¡°Your two newmoner friends. I advise you to cease contact with them immediately.¡± ¡°Grace and Denzel? Why, because it pisses Harvey and rence off? I don¡¯t care about that,¡± Pauline said. ¡°And I honestly thought you¡¯d have my back on that,¡± She continued, feeling a pang of sadness. ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize the power these two wield and the danger these two are in. I am not telling you to cease contact because I care who you befriend, I am saying it to protect them.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t go that far. You said it was just spying, not anything illegal,¡± The trainer said with a twinge of nervousness. ¡°Plus, the amount of negative press it would attract¡ª¡± ¡°They won¡¯t go that far yet, but when they do, I will be powerless to stop it. And enough about the press,¡± Her mother quipped. ¡°I raised you better than a naive girl. The police¡¯s silence can be bought, and so can the way the press covers a story.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying they¡¯ll murder them?¡± She asked. ¡°They might do something far worse than that,¡± Her mother warned. Pauline pressed her head against her hand worriedly. She had hated Grace at first. The way she had beaten her in that battle during Floaroma¡¯s tournament got on her nerves, and the way she wormed her way into their group through Cecilia had irritated her too. Pauline had been the only one to oppose her and Denzel¡¯s addition to the group. She had been more neutral on Denzel, but that neutrality had aired on the side of dislike. That had been before. Now? Pauline thought the two to be good friends, even though they disagreed on a lot, and Denzel was always someone they could rely upon, especially in difficult times. Plus, he was funny, although she would never admit it to his face. Her answer was already set. ¡°Mommy?¡± She said. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Tell Harvey and rence to fuck off the next time you see them. Tell them it was from me,¡± She grinned. Her motherughed. ¡°Another hard choice made. Now I just hope you can live with the consequences,¡± She said before sighing. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can to dy a response from them as long as possible, but be careful about the spying. Don¡¯t take any new trainers into your group.¡± ¡°Obviously, I won¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t just befriend anyone.¡± ¡°Oh, and one more thing,¡± Her mother said. ¡°I love you, Pauline.¡± The redhead¡¯s eyes widened, and she felt a sudden rush of emotion. Her mother almost never said those words to her, which made her realize how serious the situation was. She would need to warn the others soon, but first, she wanted to let them rest without worry for a week or two. Especially Emi. ¡°I love you too, mommy,¡± She sniffled, allowing herself a rare moment of weakness. ¡°I miss you.¡± ¡°I miss you too. I¡¯ll be busy for a few weeks, but why don¡¯t I visit you when you get to Hearthome¡­¡± Pauline beamed. No matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise, she was a mommy¡¯s girl at heart. ¡ª¡ª Louis fiddled in anticipation. His Vulpix was about to be hand delivered by one of his Breeder¡¯s employees. She was apparently a spectacr specimen, born to two Nales, which meant that her power would already be at incredible levels, and her potential for growth was sky-high. Any minute now, he would hear the knock on his hotel door¡ª There it was! Louis rushed to the entrance, which took quite a while due to the size of the hotel room. They all rented a different penthouse to live in during their stay in Eterna city. ¡°Finally,¡± He said before opening the door. ¡°Good morning, Mr. Bianchi,¡± The junior breeder said before grabbing a Luxury ball from a fancy ss container. ¡°There she is,¡± He smiled. ¡°Thank you. Ah, let me write you a tip.¡± Louis hurriedly grabbed his checkbook from his bag and gave the breeder 130,000 Pokedors. His eyes bulged before he thanked him profusely. ¡°Thank you so much! I don¡¯t know how to¡ª how to repay this kindness.¡± ¡°Just keep breeding fantastic Pokemon, and that¡¯ll be enough,¡± Louis smiled. The breeder left after thanking him again a few times. Louis excitedly released his Vulpix. The red fox stared at him with a curious intensity, but other than that, she was docile. She would at least be easier than Gible. No matter how hard Louis tried, he couldn¡¯t get the Dragon type to listen to him. It disappointed him to no end. He grabbed his Pokedex and scanned Vulpix. Vulpix, the fox Pokemon. At the time of its birth, Vulpix has one white tail. The tail separates into six if this Pok¨¦mon receives plenty of love from its Trainer. The six tails be magnificently curled. Inside Vulpix¡¯s body burns a me that never goes out. During the daytime, when the temperatures rise, this Pok¨¦mon releases mes from its mouth to prevent its body from growing too hot. Type: Fire Moves: Ember, Tail Whip, Disable, Will-O-Wisp, Extrasensory, Confuse Ray, Quick Attack, Incinerate, Hypnosis, me Charge (click for more information) Ability: Drought (click for more information) The trainer couldn¡¯t help but let out an excited yell when he saw all the moves that Vulpix had avable already. Not only did she have incredibly powerful moves, she could also harass the enemy with status effects. Such wonderful versatility! His eyes settled on the ability, which he clicked on since he had never seen it before. Drought: The sunlight turns harsh when the Pokemon is in battle. ¡°Arceus!¡± He screamed in excitement. ¡°Pix!¡± The fire type yelled back. That would be a crucial ability to tackle Gardenia¡¯s mastery of the weather. Without Rain Dance, it would be impossible for her to stop fire type attacks. He had stuck gold with this purchase. Still, he wouldn¡¯t grow overconfident. Louis knew his Pokemon were the strongest, but his informant had greatly stymied that feeling. He needed to train to be sure to beat Gardenia. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do, Vulpix,¡± He said, staring at her. Hourster, Louis had never felt more ted. Vulpix was obedient and as powerful as he had hoped. She crushed any trainer or wild Pokemon that stood in her way. Maybe with her and Prinplupbined, he¡¯d be able to finally get Gible under control as Cece had done with Deino. Louis sighed when he thought about Cecilia. When his father had told him months ago that he was set to marry a fifteen-year-old girl, he had vehemently refused. It had been the first time Louis had opposed his father so strongly on anything. He had just turned eighteen. He didn¡¯t want his life to be controlled by his father any longer. But then he saw her for the first time. And he immediately fell in love. It consumed his entire being. Louis had never been this love-struck so strongly by anyone before. Sure, he dated some girls before, but the rtionships neversted more than a few months. And then what was worse, is that he actually enjoyed talking to her! She took a while to open up, but when she did, oh Arceus, it made his love for her grow past mere physical attraction. And yet¡­ these days, he didn¡¯t speak to Cece that much. Ever since that day at the outpost, when she caught him speaking to Amy. Since she was Cecilia¡¯s best friend, he hadn¡¯t thought she would react so negatively. She never explicitly stated it, but Louis was sure that Cece thought he was cheating on her. How else could he exin this sudden aversion to him? And yet he never cheated! All Amy wanted from him was to know how Cece was doing, or who Grace and Denzel were. Louis thought it to be a mere background check from a worried friend. He too, had not trusted the two new members of the group when they first started traveling with them, but he had grown to like them. ¡°Hah¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°I was in such a good mood earlier today, and now look at me.¡± He grabbed his Poketch, and his thumb hovered over Cece¡¯s number. His hand trembled for a bit before he resigned. There was no point in calling her. She was still angry with him. The trainer wallowed in self-pity for a bit until he got an idea. It was already nighttime, so surely Grace wouldn¡¯t be busy, and she would be open to giving him advice. She had grown remarkably close to Cece in little time, so surely she would know how to get Louis back in her good books. ¡°Hello?¡± He heard her say. ¡°Ah, Grace, I had something to ask you,¡± Louis started, suddenly not knowing how to raise the question. He decided to be straightforward. ¡°Has Cece talked about me at all recently?¡± ¡°Huh? A little, yeah,¡± She replied absent-mindedly. Louis thought he could hear a faint video in the background. ¡°Great!¡± Louis eximed. ¡°I was wondering if you were open to giving me advice to fix things with her. As I told you back in Eterna forest, I didn¡¯t cheat on her¡ª¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m actually studying right now, sorry,¡± She apologized. ¡°Studying?¡± ¡°Gardenia¡¯s battles. But I¡¯ll give you this. Cece knows you didn¡¯t cheat on her. She¡¯s known all along, and she¡¯s mad at you for a different reason. Try to figure it out on your own and apologize to her when you do.¡± Louis breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°So the rtionship is at least fixable, you think?¡± Grace sighed. ¡°Maybe, maybe not. I don¡¯t know,¡± She said. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m going to hang up. Sorry I couldn¡¯t help you, I really am.¡± ¡°No! You¡¯ve been a great help already. Um, good luck in your studies?¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Grace said before hanging up. ¡°That¡¯s one piece of the puzzle solved,¡± Louis said before sighing. ¡°Women.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Buneary, Fire Punch!¡± Denzel ordered. ¡°Eevee, Detect!¡± ¡°Bun!¡± The normal type acquiesced before lowering herself. She rubbed her ears together so fast they be a blur, and then one of them burst into mes. Sheunched the attack toward Eevee, but the fire quickly dissipated. Eevee paid it no mind and waited until thest second before he moved impossibly fast to dodge the quick jab. Denzel smiled. ¡°Good attempt. Let¡¯s go again.¡± He¡¯d been very delighted when he learned that Buneary could learn Fire Punch. It had been a headache to get started on the move, but he figured out that if she rubbed the fluffy part of her ears incredibly fast, it created enough static electricity to get them to burst into mes. Eventually, he hoped the Buneary would be able to use the move without the trick, but they all had to start somewhere. For Eevee, he was working on teaching him Detect. Gardenia¡¯s long-ranged moves were incredibly fast and urate, so Denzel wouldn¡¯t mind having something to fall back on if Eevee needed to be faster than Quick Attack. Unfortunately, the move was extremely draining, meaning that when Eevee actually perfected it, he would only be able to use it a few times in battle. Budew was off doing her own thing. She was jealous that Buneary was hogging Eevee¡¯s attention, but at least she was training Bullet Seed¡¯s speed, and her newly acquired move, Mega Drain. She would be thest one he would fall back on anyway. Feebas wasn¡¯t able toe out during training, but Denzel was under no delusion that he¡¯d be able to use him in battle if Gardenia decided to screw him and fight four-on-four. He felt his hands tremble and hurriedly clenched and unclenched them. The information he had scooped up through the forums and her battle videos were extremely worrying. Gardenia was a long-distance fighter who liked to drag battles long enough until she won. That meant she was Eevee¡¯s exact counter. Sure, Denzel¡¯s starter was reputable for his endurance, but he doubted that he could keep a battle going for fifteen minutes. It was in times like these that he couldn¡¯t help but feel inferior. Denzel had no doubt that he was among the weakest trainers in the group. It hurt to think about, but he buried it and learned to deal with it. But when he saw Grace beat Chase so convincingly¡­ something broke inside of him. Questions wormed themselves into his mind. Could I have beaten Chase at that moment? The honest answer was no. Grace was progressing so fast that she was leaving him behind. Still, he wasn¡¯t angry with her or anything. She was his best friend, and he was happy for her so he learned to deal with it. Denzel winced as Buneary¡¯s Fire Punch dissipated again. ¡°Try again,¡± He said in a fake upbeat tone. Denzel had learned to deal with it, but he had also learned to mask what he was thinking. He was the group¡¯sic relief. He joked around, bantered, and he liked doing that. He just wasn¡¯t in that mood twenty-four-seven like he acted he was, but it was the only way he had managed to hide his problem. Luckily for him, Grace hadn¡¯t noticed. They had already dealt with this situation on the way to Oreburgh, where his silly issues almost got her killed, so there was no point talking about it again. And these issues were stupid. Completely mundane and irrelevant. Grace had been kidnapped by team Gctic and almost tortured by Mars, who was now looking for her. Cecilia¡¯s father was an abusive prick who treated her like an object he could control, and yet they progressed all the same, faster than he could ever hope to. What did he have? He was angry about how slow he was improving. That was it. And yet he felt the weight of it all the same. It pressed on his shoulders like a ton of bricks, always present. Always distracting him, and no matter how much he tried to deal with it like he had learned, the thoughts kepting back. ¡°Try again,¡± Denzel told Buneary. The normal type nodded fiercely and his stare lingered on the discolored patch of skin on her ear. Her scar. Denzel had exined the concept of gym battles to Buneary, and he could tell the normal type was anxious. To go from living in a forest to fighting in a ce packed to the brim with humans? It was understandable. If Buneary was going to push through, Denzel would bring himself to do so as well. He suddenly felt his Poketch vibrate and saw that Justin was calling, but Denzel couldn¡¯t bring himself to answer. Denzel¡¯s dream was looking more distant than ever. And he would deal with that shitty feeling just like he learned to deal with everything else. ¡ª¡ª Emilia stared at the huge red eye, who looked back at her intently. Aipom stood on her head, and Rockruff was sleeping on a pillow at the foot of her bed. ¡°Why won¡¯t you speak to me?¡± She asked Beldum. The huge metallic Pokemon only let out a grinding sound to answer. ¡°I wish I could understand you.¡± Emilia Lussier wasn¡¯t nervous about her iing gym battle. That was how little she cared for Pokemon battling. This fate had been forced on her by her parents, and to her, it was like a prison sentence. She liked her Pokemon, but battling? She found the practice to be barbaric. The only fun she ever had during this journey was when she and her friends stayed in a city and went on different activities together, but they were all training. There was nothing to do. ¡°Beldum, please!¡± She said, a little louder. She brought her hand to the cold metallic surface. ¡°Is it me? Am I too much of a coward for you to speak to me?!¡± ¡°Ai!¡± Aipom yelled out worriedly. Emilia¡¯s hand slumped away from Beldum. ¡°Sorry.¡± Aipom and Rockruff were gifts her parents had given her for her twelfth and fourteenth birthdays respectively. That was the thing with her parents. They always showered her with gifts and then ordered her around like she was ackey. As if that was an equivalent exchange! Still, she had learned to love her Pokemon, which was why Beldum¡¯s deafening silence hurt her so much. She wanted to call Pauline, but Emilia didn¡¯t want to rely on her best friend too much. Pauline had always been there to defend her from bullies at parties or events, and now she was the main thing that kept her going through the hell that was known as the Circuit. ¡°There¡¯s a Pokemon contest a few days after her gym battle,¡± Emilia said as she fell onto her bed. ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll want to go with me?¡± Emilia sighed. At the back of her mind, her interest in Pokemon contests lingered. She knew that the sport also had battles, but what she was most interested in was the beauty of it all. Attacks weren¡¯t dealt to meaninglessly strike at an opponent. There was style, mour, and amazingbinations of moves that Emilia hadn¡¯t ever thought of before. It wasn¡¯t just attacking for the sake of causing harm. She had no grand dreams, no motivation, no aspirations. Or at least that¡¯s what she told herself to cope with the fact that her true passion might forever be out of reach. But most of all, all Emilia wanted to do was to never go through a ce like Eterna forest again. The nightmares. The nightmares kept her up at night, even though she never woke up screaming like Grace did. This was going to be a long week. ¡ª¡ª The next day Just like every morning, Cecilia got up at 5:30 am. She dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast down at the hotel¡¯s restaurant, and made her way to route 205. The young girl¡¯s life had always been about routine. Dancing lessons, violin, etiquette, arithmetics, history, geography¡ª every day of her life. And it was something she still struggled to stop. Another part of her father¡¯s influence which had inevitably corrupted her. She released her team with a sigh. Fletchinder flew on her shoulder, more gently than she had been when she first evolved. Deino roared, sending spittle toward her, but then bowed his head in respect. Slowpoke stared. ¡°I¡¯m releasing him,¡± The trainer said. ¡°If he attacks, you know what to do.¡± Cecilia released her Scyther and he was immediately on edge, expecting her to attack. She had truly made him understand his position throughout thesest few days. He was weak, his fate was permanent, and the only way for him to get stronger was to listen to her. ¡°Good morning,¡± She said with a slight smile. ¡°I¡¯m not attacking you today, since you haven¡¯t done so either.¡± Scyther screeched and rubbed his des together menacingly. Cece just smiled. ¡°In a few days, I¡¯ll be battling the most powerful trainer I¡¯ve ever faced. Don¡¯t you feel frustrated? Furious? Don¡¯t you want to let it all out?¡± The bug type screeched again. ¡°Then you have to listen to me,¡± She said. ¡°First, you need to use whatever moves I tell you to use¡ª¡± He screamed in protest, but she ignored him. ¡°Second, you need to give up killing. I feed you enough.¡± That was too much for the bug type. He screeched and blurred forward, but Cece didn¡¯t even flinch. Death had never scared her. Slowpoke immediately sprung alive and locked the Scyther with Confusion. It wouldn¡¯tst long, but itsted long enough for Deino to Bite Scyther¡¯s neck and restrain him on the ground. The bug type thrashed and squirmed, but Deino¡¯s scales were too hard to pierce from his position. ¡°Disappointing,¡± She said. ¡°You don¡¯t understand yet, but you will in time. If I can¡¯t use you during the gym battle, I will win with three Pokemon. You are not a necessary part of my strategy, but you would be a nice boon to have. A shame.¡± Cecilia recalled Scyther and decided to train with the others this morning. She would try again tonight. Repetition. Again and again, she would do it, just like how her life had been structured back in Unova. Routine was dull, but it defined a person. If Scyther decided to be defined by being repeatedly humiliated, then so be it. She finished her first training session at nine on the dot. Cecilia had extended it by an hour to better prepare against Gardenia, and then she would practice for another three hours in the evening. For now, it was time to get back to her hotel and shower. The elevator felt impossibly long. She had gotten used to the quickness of Pokemon Center stairs. Cecilia showered, changed her clothes, and was about to take her one hour break before her Poketch rang. It was Grace. She grabbed the device and waited a few seconds to prepare what she would say before answering. There was a twinge of nervousness that the girl couldn¡¯t exin, but she was also incredibly happy that her friend was calling her. ¡°Grace!¡± She said. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Hey Cece,¡± The girl said. ¡°I need you for something, can we meet up?¡± The twinge of nervousness turned into full-blown panic. This wasn¡¯t new. She had felt this way since Grace defended her from that Chase thug, but it was never this pronounced. ¡°Cece?¡± Grace said again. She coughed. ¡°Of course. Where should we meet?¡± ¡°I was thinking your hotel since I live close by.¡± ¡°M¡ªmy hotel, you say? Sure! I¡¯ll be down to greet you, when will you be there?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say ten minutes?¡± Grace said. Ten minutes?! Cecilia thought as panic spread through her body. This ce was a mess! She was a mess! She hadn¡¯t done her hair since getting out of the shower! ¡°That sounds good,¡± She simply answered, using that stoic tone that had gotten her so far. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the lobby.¡± ¡°Alright, see you soon!¡± Grace hung up and Cecilia immediately sprung to action. It took three minutes to put the dishes in the dishwasher, two to put her clothes back in the closet, and another eight to make herself look somewhat presentable. Dread filled her entire being when she realized that she was . Cecilia ran to the elevator and cursed the length of the ride. Even though there weren¡¯t officially any skyscrapers in Eterna, buildings could still be tall. She ran into the lobby and saw Grace waiting on one of the couches. She adjusted her hair onest time. ¡°Grace, I¡¯m so sorry I¡¯mte!¡± She apologized, bowing her head slightly. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s no problem. I haven¡¯t been waiting long, the trams were slow. I hope I¡¯m not intruding?¡± Grace had her usual long hair tied into a tight ponytail, and Cece¡¯s eyes wandered toward her pale neck. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go,¡± She said. They rode up the elevator in deafening silence. ¡°Woah, this ce is huge!¡± Grace eximed. ¡°I feel like I could get lost in here.¡± Was that criticism? Did she not like the room? Cecilia thought anxiously. ¡°Please sit, I¡¯ll go get some drinks. I have soda, juice, or water, what do you want?¡± ¡°Ah, just¡ª just water¡¯s fine, I guess,¡± Grace said, scratching her neck. Cecilia practically ran to the kitchen. What was happening to her? Was this some kind of cardiovascr disease?! She quickly grabbed two sses of water and brought them to the living room, where Grace was yawning. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I must be a boring host,¡± Cece said sadly. ¡°Oh, no, no, no, not at all! I just haven¡¯t been sleeping much. I¡¯ve been studying Gardenia and training a lot.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Cecilia said, breathing a sigh of relief. She watched Grace¡¯s lips as she downed the entire ss of water in one go. ¡°W¡ªwell, you should make sure to rest, at least. I know you can¡¯t sleep with the nightmares, but you can¡¯t work all the time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a big break after the fight against Gardenia. Anyway, I actually came here for something regarding Gardenia. I thought, uh, I thought that we could maybe watch some of her battles together?¡± Cecilia beamed. ¡°I think that¡¯s a great idea. Hold on, I can set them up on the 4K television screen so it¡¯s easier to see.¡± Cecilia quickly linked her Poketch to the T.V. screen and started ying the first video. ¡°Holy crap, the quality on that is insane!¡± Grace said with a huge grin. ¡°You can even see her bodynguage! This¡¯ll be a huge help, thank you so much, Cece!¡± Cece sat next to her friend¡ª but not too close. Her break that had been supposed to be one hour had turned into an entire afternoon, and she spent most of it looking at Grace instead of the screen. She was so fixated on the battles that she hadn¡¯t even noticed. Cecilia didn¡¯t know it, but another one of her father¡¯s puppet strings had snapped.
Chapter 61 Chapter 61 CHAPTER 61 ¡°Elekid, Ice Punch into Thunder Punch!¡± Elekid¡¯s fist began to crackle as ice formed around it. He hit the opposing Nickit in the Snout before quickly forming a Thunder Punch with his other fist and blowing it away. The dark type struggled back onto its feet, but its trainer recalled it, realizing the battle was lost. ¡°Damn it!¡± The girl groaned. She walked up to me and paid two hundred pokedors, causing me to smile. I had finally done it. I had enough to buy the Thunder Wave TM. ¡°What could I have done better?¡± She continued. I tapped my chin for a few seconds. ¡°Honestly, you could have dealt more damage with Quick Attack instead of trying to use dark type moves. Sure, it would tire out your Nickit faster, but you would havended more hits.¡± ¡°So there was no way I could win?¡± The girl asked quietly. ¡°I mean, not in a one-on-one, at least. But you did great, especially since you don¡¯t have a badge. I think overall, you should work on getting your Nickit to use Quick Attack more. Keep at it!¡± I said, trying to cheer her up. She nodded and left. Over thest few days, I started gaining in poprity due to all the battling I was doing. I had thought that winning too much would have made trainers reluctant to battle me, but the ones with no badges kepting back, and it was for a single reason. I apparently gave good advice. I was honestly just happy to talk about battling, even though I despised all the attention. Trainers with one badge didn¡¯t want anything to do with me because they saw me as a rival, but some still tried to battle me once in a while. I hadn¡¯t lost once, but some did get pretty close. Elekid was starting to master Ice Punch, although he couldn¡¯t use it that much yet. I doubted that he would be able to dish it out as many times as Thunder Punch during our gym battle, so I¡¯d have to save the move for attacks I was sure would hit. Right now, he was able to use five of them before they started to get too weak to be worth it. I smiled as I strode out of the battling arena and hopped on a tram to the nearest Pokemart that would sell TMs. Thunder Wave was a prettymon one, and I was sure it would be in one of the small stores. After around fifteen minutes, I arrived at the store and started perusing the TM aisle. The disks were sold in transparent cases and were coded by type. Electric type moves were yellow, grass type moves were green, and so on. My eyes settled on the Thunder Wave TM, and I groaned. Thunder Wave - Reusable (25,000) Silph Co., thepany that made TMs, managed to make them reusable a little more than ten years ago, which was a massive boon to trainers. Over the long term, it meant that they spent less money on TMs, but in the short term? They were expensive as hell! Luckily, one of the employees pointed me toward the non-reusable version of Thunder Wave, and I quickly bought the move. I stared at my ount and winced. I waspletely broke. Reusable TMs were able to be used once, and the move would be stored on your Pokedex forever. Wasting no time, I grabbed my Pokedex, clicked a small button on its side, and a container with the perfect size for the TM revealed itself. Next, I grabbed Togetic¡¯s Pokeball and ced it in proximity to the device. The screen lit up and asked me if I wanted to teach Thunder Wave to Togetic, and I pressed yes. I wasn¡¯t sure how the process worked exactly, but it waspletely wireless and only took seconds, after which the Pokedex told me that it was over. The color from the disk drained. I picked it up and threw it in the store¡¯s TM recycling bin. Silph Co. was able to put new moves on disks and save costs by doing so, so recycling was always encouraged by thepany. Not all trainers cared, however, and seeing defunct TMs in trash cans was prettymon. I quickly made my way back to route 211, which had be my training sanctuary. I released all of my Pokemon, but I¡¯d focus especially on princess today. Even though she technically knew Thunder Wave, she¡¯d still need a lot of practice with it before she could use it properly. I only had three days left until my gym battle, and I knew I was going to cut it close. ¡ª¡ª I nervously stepped into the hotel elevator and pressed the button to the highest floor. I had been training all day today, but I had promised Denzel and Cece to take a break tonight to be well-rested for my gym battle tomorrow. I had done all I could, studied all of her Pokemon and their moves, and trained my team to the best of my ability. Louis was throwing a party for Denzel and me before our big day, and everybody would be there. Apparently, they had done the same thing before the start of their journey and before their battle with Roark, so it was a little tradition they liked to do. Before stepping into Louis¡¯ apartment, I could already hear the ssical music ying behind the door, and muffled voices talking. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and took a few deep breaths. This really wasn¡¯t my kind of thing, but he had ordered all of the food, drinks and organized it for us, so it would be rude not to show up. I knocked on the door, and Emilia opened it, greeting me with a huge grin. ¡°Grace! Come in, we¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡± She smiled. I awkwardly stepped into the huge penthouse and hung my coat on the coathanger. The first thing I noticed was that I was hriously underdressed. The price of all of their clothesbined probably could have bought out the small TM aisle I had gotten Thunder Wave in. Where had they gotten all of these clothes?! Had they been carrying them the entire time, or did they just buy new clothes every time they were in a different city? I nodded at Denzel. At least he was just like me. We stuck out like two sore thumbs, but at least we¡¯d stick out together. The second thing I noticed was that my eyes couldn¡¯t help but dart toward Cece. She was wearing a tight ck dress that made me look ces I shouldn¡¯t have been, makeup, and she also wore heels. Meanwhile, I was here with my jeans, sneakers, and my shirt. I was so . ¡°Sorry I waste, I was doing some finishing touches with Thunder Wave and Ice Punch,¡± I apologized. ¡°No talking about Pokemon battling tonight,¡± Emi said, dragging me toward the massive couch. ¡°Come sit.¡± I sat next to Denzel and fiddled with my thumbs. I stared up at Cece, but I looked away in panic when I saw that she was looking at me. ¡°I feel so out of ce,¡± Denzel whispered, grabbing a piece of sushi. There was a beautifullyid-out sushi te in the middle of the table. ¡°Thank Arceus you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just try to have a good time,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll get used to it.¡± ¡°Attention!¡± Louis said, tapping his ss of champagne with a small spoon. ¡°Now that all of our guests have arrived, I¡¯d like to give a toast.¡± We all stared at him in anticipation. ¡°I¡¯d like to wish good luck to our new friends, Grace, and Denzel in their gym battle tomorrow. We didn¡¯t always get along, but I¡¯m d you agreed to travel with us. It wouldn¡¯t be the same without you,¡± The blond man continued. ¡°I thought we said nothing Pokemon-rted,¡± Emiliained. ¡°Well, it is a party to wish them good luck,¡± Justin said. ¡°I¡¯d also like to invite all of you to another party the night before all of our gym battles. I¡¯d really appreciate it if you came again,¡± Louis finished. ¡°Sure, we¡¯lle again,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I mean, this is the best Arceus damned food I¡¯ve ever eaten.¡± ¡°Denzel!¡± I said, bumping his leg. Pauline brought a hand to her mouth andughed. ¡°What? It was a joke. Of course, we¡¯lle because we¡¯re friends.¡± Cece stood up and approached me. ¡°Grace, do you want some champagne? You have to toast with something.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never drunk alcohol before,¡± I said, eyeing Denzel¡¯s drink. Everyone else was drinking, but I didn¡¯t want to. But I couldn¡¯t help but think I was ruining the mood. Underage drinking was illegal, but maybe it was better if I just said yes¡ª ¡°Don¡¯t drink if you don¡¯t want to,¡± Cece said. ¡°We have everything.¡± I smiled at her. ¡°Do you have some orange soda?¡± As the party continued, I slowly felt more and morefortable. Justin and Emilia were talking about some kind of drama that had enveloped another rich family whose name I couldn¡¯t be bothered to remember, but the owner¡¯s wife was divorcing him after discovering that he was cheating and she wanted to take half of everything he owned. Louis, Denzel, and Pauline were off ying pool, and Pauline keptining about her ¡®shit luck¡¯, since she was losing over and over. Denzel was giving Louis a run for his money considering it was his first time ying the sport. I personally wasn¡¯t too interested in it, but I asionally threw in a word or two. ¡°What the fuck was that curve?¡± Pauline groaned. ¡°Is this chalk sabotaged?!¡± ¡°I think it might just be a skill issue,¡± I yelled out so she could hear. ¡°You¡¯re not even watching the game! I¡¯d like to see you y!¡± She huffed. ¡°Fine,¡± I answered, rising to her challenge. I walked up to the pool table with Cece and looked at the state of the game. There were five balls left. ¡°Someone give me their stick.¡± ¡°Here you go,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Break a leg.¡± I bent down and awkwardly aimed at one of the balls. ¡°Grace, that¡¯s not even the right ball,¡± Pauline said with an evil grin. ¡°I knew you were all talk.¡± ¡°What? I thought you could hit anything you wanted.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to hit the white ball to aim toward the others. Usually, a yer is stuck with either the striped balls or the solid balls, but we¡¯re just ying for fun, so aim for anything,¡± Louis exined. I coughed. ¡°Well, I obviously knew that, I was just testing you all, and you passed.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what helps you sleep at night,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Just get going. This is going to be good.¡± I bent down again, this time in front of the white ball, and took aim. After adjusting the stick for a few seconds, I mmed it forward. The white ball hit the ck one with an eight on it, causing it to bounce all around the table until it slowly rolled into one of the holes. ¡°I did it! That was entirely nned! Cece, did you see that?!¡± I squealed, jumping around. Denzel doubled over andughed. ¡°That¡­ that was the wrong ball. The eight ball is supposed to be saved forst.¡± Pauline sniggered. ¡°What a shot! So much for all that talk, Grace.¡± ¡°Well, at least I got it in the hole,¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°In apletely random manner! You weren¡¯t even aiming for anything.¡± ¡°I think Grace was aiming for that hole,¡± Cece sprung up. ¡°She shot the ball with an amount of determination only someone who knew what they were doing would have.¡± ¡°See?¡± I grinned. ¡°Cece agrees with me,¡± I said, handing Denzel his stick back. ¡°Only because she likes you,¡± Pauline said, rolling her eyes. I felt my face heat up and stared at the ground for a few seconds. ¡°Um, yeah, I mean, we¡¯re friends.¡± ¡°G¡ªgreat friends, even,¡± Cece added. ¡°I need to go to the bathroom.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead,¡± I said. I hung out with Denzel, Pauline, and Louis while I waited for Cecilia toe back. No matter how hard she tried, Pauline couldn¡¯t win a single game, which I felt delighted at. I was starting to worry a little at how long Cece was taking, but she finally came back, and we headed back to the living room. ¡°Ah, you guys are back,¡± Emi said. ¡°I see you¡¯ve taken a liking to irritating Pauline,¡± Justin smiled. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re having fun,¡± I answered. ¡°We both know it¡¯s not serious.¡± ¡°Oh, I know,¡± He quickly answered, waving his hand. ¡°I just meant that not many had the energy to keep up with her as much as you do. I¡¯d be willing to bet she secretly enjoys it.¡± ¡°Pauline¡¯s got a hidden soft side that none of you have ever seen,¡± Emilia said. ¡°She can be so cute when she tries.¡± ¡°I¡¯d pay anything to see that,¡± Cece said. ¡°I just can¡¯t imagine it.¡± ¡°Yeah, and she gets real cuddly too, but she only does that with me or her mom¡ª¡± ¡°Emi! My bullshit sensor¡¯s tingling!¡± We heard Pauline yell. ¡°How did she even hear that?¡± I whispered. ¡°I think she was just born with a built-in ¡®anti-Pauline¡¯ sensor,¡± Cece chuckled. ¡°Helps her fight anyone that goes against her tough girl narrative,¡± Emi nodded. ¡°Anyway, on a more serious note¡­ I¡¯m d everyone¡¯s giving her a chance.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Pauline is a tough girl,¡± Emilia started. ¡°But she¡¯s so¡­ passionate¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s being generous,¡± Justin interrupted. ¡°Passionate,¡± Emi said again. ¡°That people tend to give up on her before having the chance to learn more about her. She only had me as a friend before this, but I can tell she¡¯s happier now.¡± Cecilia nodded. ¡°She¡¯s been good to all of us, all things considered.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m d we met.¡± At around one in the morning, the party was starting to end. Justin and Louis were asleep on the couch in hriously terrible positions. They¡¯d be sore tomorrow for sure. Denzel and Pauline were talking quietly in the corner of one of the rooms, seemingly having ignited a deeper friendship during the party. Emi had been put to bed by Pauline since she had drunk too much. ¡°I¡¯m gonna head out,¡± I told Cece. ¡°This was a lot of fun, I¡¯ll definitelye back when you do this again.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re leaving?¡± Cece said. ¡°Can¡¯t you stay a little longer?¡± ¡°I mean, my gym battle¡¯s in the evening, so I guess I could¡­¡± I trailed off. The conversation paused for a few seconds. ¡°I have another idea. Why don¡¯t we both leave? You¡­ you can sleep in my room, it¡¯s dangerous for you to be walking alone sote at night.¡± Huh? My heart instantly started to pound against my chest. ¡°In your room? You mean the guest room?¡± ¡°I mean, if you want to sleep in the guest room, that¡¯s okay.¡± Another pause. ¡°But you can also sleep in my bed if you want!¡± She said quickly. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re friends, right? Emilia and Pauline do it all the time.¡± I swallowed. ¡°Y¡ªyeah. I mean, it¡¯s no biggie. No big deal. Yep, it¡¯s totally fine.¡± We bid Denzel and Pauline farewell before leaving, and he kept giving me that smug stare. Nothing was going to happen. Cece was just giving me a ce to stay the night, and that was it. We quickly arrived at her apartment since it was on the same floor, and I took off my shoes. ¡°Make yourself at home, you¡¯ve already been here,¡± Cece said, taking off her heels. ¡°Thanks,¡± I shakily said. ¡°I have nothing on me though. My toothbrush¡ª¡± ¡°I have a spare few, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any clothes.¡± ¡°Ah. Of course, you wouldn¡¯t have any,¡± Cece quietly said as she turned away from me. ¡°I can give you some of mine. I lent you my hoodie back in Floaroma, so it wouldn¡¯t be breaking any¡­ precedent.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll probably wake you up early, I hope that¡¯s fine?¡± ¡°You know I wake up early anyways,¡± She dismissed. I nodded and went into her giant bathroom. Thest time I had been this nervous was during my battle with Roark, and I was about to copse in on myself like a ck hole. I brushed my teeth and asked Cece for her clothes. She came into the bathroom already in her pajamas and gave me some silk pajamas that were definitely too big for me, but they¡¯d do. ¡°Um, you can go,¡± I said meekly. Her eyes widened. ¡°Right, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Cece yelled before storming out. I definitely looked silly in these, but all I could do was hope she wouldn¡¯t notice. I left the bathroom and my stare lingered as she went in. ¡°Just wait for me in the bed,¡± She said. I made my way to her bedroom and gasped at the size of her bed. You could probably fit at least ten of me in there and we¡¯d still be able to sleepfortably. I felt at the soft mattress before hopping into the bed, practically sinking into the material. It was as if I was floating on water, and I had to focus in order to not doze off. After around ten minutes, Cece showed up and climbed onto the bed. ¡°Well, uh, I guess good night?¡± I tentatively said, my heart still pounding against my chest. ¡°Lots of space on this bed.¡± Cecilia ignored myment and settled in right behind me. ¡°Good night, Grace,¡± Cece softly said before turning off the lights. ¡°Try to sleep well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t have any nightmares that night. When I woke up, it was around 10 am, and Cece was surprisingly still there. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Gloom, Poison Power, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Grassy Terrain, Acid, Leech Seed, Bullet Seed, Sunny Day. Grotle, Bulldoze, Strength¡­¡± My leg bounced as I sat in Eterna city gym¡¯s waiting room, and I was reciting Gardenia¡¯s Pokemon and their moves to distract myself. I had practiced for the entire week for this very moment. I had to win. No, I was going to. Nervousness enveloped my entire body when a trainer entered the room with her head hung low. She had just lost, and now it was going to be my turn right after Gardenia¡¯s small break. It was the same anxiety that had taken a hold of me during my battle with Roark. The bright lights, the crowd, and the stakes of the battle all weighed on me like a vice, but the nervousness also kept me sharp. And I needed to be sharp if I was going to win. I needed to think faster than ever before not to fall behind Gardenia¡¯s flow. ¡°Grace Pastel, you¡¯re up,¡± The gym trainer said. I nodded and got up, and he fitted me with a small microphone. ¡°There you go, you¡¯re all ready. Good luck!¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, my throat dry. I stepped out onto the battlefield and on the elevated tform trainers stood on during the battle. Gardenia¡¯s battlefield was simple enoughpared to Roark''s. It was just a t in full of grass, along with a smallke on the left side close to the challenger. There were no trees, no obstacles to hide behind. Perfect for Gardenia¡¯s long-ranged attacks. I clenched my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering, and I clenched my fists around my jeans. The crowd was already deafening, and it was way bigger than it had been for my battle with Roark. All of my friends were sitting in the stands somewhere, watching me. I licked my dry lips, closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths. It¡¯s just you, Grace. Just you and Gardenia. Ignore the noise. Focus. ¡°Wee, challenger,¡± Gardenia said with a smooth voice. ¡°This will be a four-on-four battle with two switch-ins allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.¡± I exhaled onest time and unclipped my first Pokeball from my belt.
Chapter 62 – A Battle of Endurance Chapter 62 ¨C A Battle of Endurance CHAPTER 62 - A Battle of Endurance I stared at Frillish¡¯s Pokeball and sped it tightly before sending him out. His eyes glinted as he floated upward. The crowd gasped and started whispering, probably questioning me sending out a water type first against a grass type specialist. I could tell he was tense. His movements were tight, somehow, less fluid than they usually were. ¡°I believe in you, buddy!¡± I yelled out as encouragement. He stared back at me and nodded. Gardenia brought a hand to her mouth as her hand hovered over her Pokeballs. I prayed internally she¡¯d send out one of the Pokemon I wanted. The main reason for sending out Frillish first was to bait the gym leader into locking herself up into using at least one non-poison type since I had two Pokemon weak to the type. I hoped that by seeing Frillish, she would just hurry and send out a pure grass type like her Bellossom. The fewer poison types she used, the better. Gardenia finally grabbed her first Pokemon and released a Lombre, which wasn¡¯t ideal, but it wasn¡¯t the worst-case scenario. I sighed internally in relief. Any verbal or bodily signal that I wanted this would seriously hamper me in the future. ¡°Begin!¡± The referee said, bringing his arm down. ¡°Lombre, Sunny Day!¡± Gardenia ordered. The water type croaked loudly, and harsh sunlight began to bear down on the battlefield. Lombre was Gardenia¡¯s main way of controlling the weather, and I already knew this had beening. She¡¯d be able to hamper Frillish¡¯s water moves this way. ¡°Stay far away and Poison Sting!¡± I yelled out. Frillish reared two of his tentacles back before throwing them forward, and poisoned darts flew off toward Lombre. ¡°Leech Seed!¡± Gardenia said, sweeping her arm. The grass type tried to dodge, but it was too slow to avoid all of Frillish¡¯s darts. It cried out as five darts buried themselves deep into him, but it immediately followed up by spitting out a series of seeds from its mouth at terrifying speeds. I couldn¡¯t let any of those touch Frillish, not if I wanted my n to work. ¡°Drop down!¡± I said. Frillish deactivated his levitation and dropped to the ground, catching himself with a weakened Water Sport. I clicked my tongue internally. The sun was really going to screw with our mobility. ¡°Nature Power and then Leech Seed again!¡± Fuck. Nature Power in this terrain always turned into Energy Ball. Green energy gathered in front of Lombre¡¯s mouth and then rushed toward Frillish. It was too fast to dodge. ¡°Intercept it with Night Shade!¡± I screamed. A shadowy version of Frillish appeared in front of him and flew toward the Energy Ball, causing it to explode mid-air. Smoke was obscuring my view, but I knew Leech Seed was next. I swore internally as Leech Seeds flew through the smoke and toward Frillish. Alright, step one was done. I grabbed the water type¡¯s Pokeball and recalled him. The seedsnded on the ground and sprouted. I inhaled sharply. Actually being in the battle meant that ns would always go sideways. I hadn¡¯t dealt the damage I wanted, but with Sunny Day, Frillish¡¯s mobility was cut in half, meaning that approaching Lombre without getting hit was impossible, especially when I needed Frillish to be in the back of Gardenia¡¯s mind. What I hade to realize during my training was that switch-ins were a resource in Pokemon battles, and I was cashing in my first one early. It was time for step two of the n to deal with Lombre. I grinned as I grabbed Tang¡¯s Pokeball. His Chlorophyll ability meant that his speed would be doubled in such harsh sunlight. ¡°You¡¯re up, angel,¡± I firmly said. The grass type shivered and writhed, happy to be out in the sun. I was unfortunately on a timer, though. Soon enough, Lombre would be able to change the weather again with Rain Dance, and it had the ability Rain Dish, meaning that it slowly recovered in the rain. ¡°Get up close and personal, angel!¡± I screamed. ¡°Get ready for him,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Bubblebeam while he gets close.¡± Tang ran faster than ever before, using his vines to push himself forward. Some of Lombre¡¯s bubbles hit him, but the damage was negligible to the grass type and in the sun. ¡°Vine Whip, Bind, Mega Drain,¡± I said in quick session. Tang¡¯s vines were also moving faster in the sun, and I had taught him to respond quickly to his moves. He quickly extended seven vines forward. Lombre wed the first two away with what I knew to be Fury Swipes, but one hit the Lombre square in the face, staggering him, while the other four grabbed and snaked around him. ¡°More vines!¡± I yelled. Lombre waspletely enveloped in Tang¡¯s vines, and they started the glow as he used Mega Drain to suck the water type¡¯s energy. ¡°Squeeze tighter,¡± I continued. Tang¡¯s vines kept tightening their grip around Lombre. Lombre croaked out in pain, and Gardenia quickly recalled him. Shit, I thought. Tang had been supposed to take care of Lombre on his own, and I hadn¡¯t been expecting a switch so early. I thought Gardenia would wait it out and try to change the weather again. The only Pokemon that could deal with angel in this weather were poison types, so I already knew one wasing. The question was, which one? Gardenia released her Roselia, and I had to stop myself from swearing. Even Gloom would have been better than this. Roselia was one of the most annoying Pokemon to deal with, since it had been trained to waste time as it watched you lose from status conditions. I had to make a decision. I grabbed Tang¡¯s Pokeball and recalled him immediately, meaning I was now out of switch-ins. Tang would be needed forter. I couldn¡¯t afford to let him lose against Roselia, because I knew he would. Even if he beat it, he¡¯d eventually sumb to poison. I grabbed Elekid¡¯s Pokeball and released him with a sh of red. He announced his presence with a scream. He was my only Roselia counter. ¡°Run up to it quick,¡± I ordered. ¡°Toxic, Rose!¡± Gardenia yelled out. Roselia pointed one of her bouquets at Elekid, and huge pieces of sludge flew out of it. Elekid blurred, hoping to dodge, but one of the Toxics hit him, not dealing any damage right now, but over time? It¡¯d stack up very fast. ¡°Ice Punch!¡± I yelled. Even Gardenia¡¯s eyes widened at themand. Elekid let out an evilugh as ice surrounded his fist and hit the small Roselia¡¯s chest, sending it flying against Kadabra¡¯s barrier. ¡°Again,¡± I ordered. Elekid kept going, ice still on his fist. He rushed toward the grass type. ¡°Magical Leaf, then Grassy Terrain!¡± Gardenia yelled. Leaves surrounded by a multicolored aura appeared around the struggling Roselia and barrelled toward Elekid. ¡°Don¡¯t waste energy trying to dodge, it¡¯s like Swift!¡± I quickly said. Elekid nodded and just pushed through the leaves as the grass began to grow taller and taller. I heard Roselia screech, meaning that Ice Punch had hit her again. And then again. And again. There was a pause in the battle for a second. ¡°Roselia is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee said. Fuck yes! I had caught her off guard and dealt with a poison type, meaning Tang or Togetic wouldn¡¯t have to. ¡°Get back quick!¡± I told Elekid as Gardenia recalled Roselia, who was covered in chunks of ice, and grabbed another Pokeball. He was starting to slow and breathe hard from the poison. His time was limited, and I wasn¡¯t going to be able to use him as much as I wanted, but Grassy Terrain meant that he wouldst longer than normal thanks to its regenerative properties. Gardenia really hadn¡¯t expected Roselia to fall that fast. A beautiful Leafeon materialized in front of Gardenia and immediately sunk into the tall grass that had grown from Grassy Terrain. Its steps were deafeningly silent, as if it was floating and not walking. I bit the inside of my lip. On one hand, the best strategy would be to wait here where the grass was low, and I¡¯d be able to see what would happen, but on the other, Toxic¡¯s damage was getting worse and worse. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to get in there and fight, hon,¡± I told Elekid. ¡°Ice Punch as soon as you see it.¡± Elekid nodded and ran into the grass. I watched anxiously for the next minute as nothing happened. It took a bit for me to realize that Gardenia was waiting us out. She had no reason to fight and risk her Leafeon getting hit by a super-effective move. All she had to do was wait for Toxic to take Elekid out, and I¡¯d be screwed. And I was out of switches. Swift was unusable too, because the target needed to be in the user¡¯s line of sight. Arceus, damn it. I had been outsmarted and too excited from the quick victory against Roselia. Gardenia used that to her advantage, and now I was on the backfoot. ¡°Elekid, you¡¯ve got to try to use Thundershock! Aim all around you!¡± I yelled. I heard him agree with a scream and then that familiar whirring of his arms. Arcs of electricity flew throw the grass. I had hoped it would set it on fire and destroy the Grassy Terrain, but the move was apparently too powerful for that. Even after fainting, Roselia was a thorn in my side. Gardenia was simply watching with a hand on her hip. I tapped my leg against the tform repeatedly, hoping for a hit, but nothing happened. I heard Elekid scream, and then he was thrown toward me. It looked like Leafeon finally decided to attack. ¡°Can you stand?¡± I asked worriedly. Elekid tried to stand up, but the poison had run its course through him. It¡¯d be foolish to keep him in now. ¡°Rest up, honey. You did great,¡± I said before recalling him before the referee even had the chance to say his line. Who could deal with this Leafeon? I only had a few seconds to find out. Frillish was a no-go. Tang could maybe, but he¡¯d probably struggle to find the grass type. Fuck it, I had no choice but to send out Togetic. That meant that herst Pokemon would probably be a poison type, screwing me over, but if I had to choose between being screwed over now orter, I¡¯d pickedter every time. I released Togetic, who chirped and pped happily. ¡°Up high, princess!¡± I ordered. ¡°Fairy Wind! Your opponent¡¯s hiding in the grass!¡± Togetic let out a happy giggle as pink wind began to gather around her. Off the top of my head, I remembered that Leafeon¡¯s only long-distance moves were Swift and Leech Seed, so if it used any, princess would be able to find it. Not that we needed that anyway. The Fairy Wind she was gathering was so thick and powerful that it would be able to sweep across the entire battlefield. ¡°Swift, then Quick Attack!¡± Gardenia yelled. A series of stars flew up toward Togetic. Quick Attack meant that she wanted Leafeon to quickly change its position, but that wouldn¡¯t work. Princess was too powerful, and Fairy Wind would epass the entire width of the arena. ¡°Release it!¡± I quickly said, knowing that getting hit might break her concentration. The Fairy Wind tore through the battlefield and swept through the grass before mming against the psychic barrier, revealing Leafeon¡¯s position. The grass typey down t against the ground in order not to be swept away, and the stars hit Togetic in quick session, not dealing that much damage. ¡°Thunder Wave!¡± I said, pointing at our opponent. Now that Leafeon¡¯s position was revealed, Togetic quickly cried out as electricity buzzed around her. She sent it away toward the grass type, who still couldn¡¯t move because of the wind, and it started shaking wildly as it wrapped around it. The fact that we had perfected the move in so few days made me feel incredibly proud of my starter, but it wasn¡¯t over yet. ¡°Fairy Wind again!¡± I yelled out, and Togetic started whipping up the attack once more. Now Gardenia could only watch as I was about to take down her Leafeon. Of course, she could switch, but as morbid as it was to treat Pokemon as pawns, why waste her preciousst switch-in for a damaged, paralyzed Leafeon? I looked into her eyes and knew she was thinking the same thing. ¡°Swift!¡± She yelled out defiantly. ¡°Don¡¯t let it charge up its move for free!¡± Leafeon convulsed for around twenty seconds before finally using the move, and Togetic immediately released Fairy Wind without mymand, once again dealing heavy damage to Leafeon in exchange for getting hit by a weak Swift. I knew that the gym leader hoped I would reveal some of my other moves, but I wouldn¡¯t. All she would get was Fairy Wind. Information was the most precious resource in Pokemon battles, to be revealed at the best opportune moments, and I wasn¡¯t going to give it up for free. It took another two rounds of Fairy Wind before Leafeon finally fainted. ¡°Leafeon is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your third Pokemon,¡± The referee said. Gardenia recalled her and grinned. Now, she would either send out her Lombre again or a grass poison type like Gloom, Foongus, Weepinbell, or Ivysaur¡ª I swallowed when I saw Sunflora materialize into thin air. All things considered, this was probably Gardenia¡¯s strongest Pokemon that she used against trainers with one badge, and it was routinely a part of her team against trainers with two badges. That thing might have looked like a docile creature, but it was a monster. Not only did it have the Sr Power ability, meaning that its attack was raised in the sun, it knew Sr Beam. With that kind of boost, even typing disadvantages started to be irrelevant. Lombre¡¯s Sunny Day was still fucking me over even this far into the battle. Not only that, but there was still Grassy Terrain that would further empower Sunflora¡¯s moves. All of the conditions were perfect for her. Had this been a part of her n all along? Each one of her Pokemonpleting a piece of the puzzle. Lombre with Sunny Day, Roselia with Grassy Terrain, and Leafeon¡¯s rtively quick defeat to catch me off-guard when she revealed Sunflora right after, quickly altering my state of mind and destabilizing my train of thought. In many ways, the grass type was worse than any poison type she could have sent out. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and calmed down. Panic would do me no good. I exhaled sharply when I saw that the grass type wasn¡¯t escaping into the tall grass. ¡°Okay, princess, Thunder Wave!¡± I said. ¡°Ingrain, Growth,¡± Gardeniaughed. ¡°Sr Beam!¡± ¡°Arceus damn it!¡± I let out. Sr Beam was faster in the sun, and Thunder Wave would take too long. I needed to interrupt this series of moves now. Sr Beam was far too quick for Togetic to ever hope to dodge, and far too powerful to ever hope to alter its path with Extrasensory or shield herself against it with Ancient Power. ¡°Forget the Thunder Wave! Trip it up with Ancient Power!¡± I stammered. Roots started to grow out of Sunflora¡¯s feet, anchoring it on the ground, and then it began to glow. Togetic¡¯s eyes shone brightly as she lifted the huge chunk of earth the grass type was standing on, but it was still attached to the ground. ¡°Send it!¡± Gardenia screamed wildly. ¡°m the rock against the wall!¡± I said, clenching my teeth. A huge beam brighter than the sun flew from Sunflora¡¯s vague direction. Togetic mmed the rock against Kadabra¡¯s barriers, but I was too blinded to see anything. When the Sr Beam ended, I was surprised to see that Kadabra¡¯s barrier far above me had been cracked and was slowly reconstructing itself. Sunflora got back up on its feet rtively quickly for a Pokemon with a chunk of its right side crushed and the upper half of its head bent at an unsettling angle. It ingrained itself again as it slowly began to recover its nt matter,bined with Grassy Terrain. My eyes darted around the battlefield for at least twenty seconds, looking for Togetic. I was about to call out when her head popped out of the tall grass. ¡°Sr Beam again!¡± Gardenia said, wasting no time. ¡°Fuck! Ancient Power in front of you, multipleyers!¡± I hurriedly said, my voice shaking. Another bright beam exploded out of Sunflora as Togetic quickly raised sixyers of earth in front of her. The Sr Beam reached her, but in a greatly weakened state. She cried out in pain, and her thinyer of fur was smoking and covered in burns. ¡°Thunder Wave before it attacks again!¡± I said, hoping that Sunflora would have a simr charging time. ¡°Seed Bomb!¡± Gardenia grinned, dashing my hopes. ¡°Fly up to dodge!¡± I yelled. Togetic jumped and floated upward as five explosions rocked the earth where she had just stood. I needed to¡ª ¡°Bullet Seed!¡± The gym leader continued, and a series of seeds faster than even Denzel¡¯s Budew hit Togetic square in the chest. Gardenia¡¯s engine had started going, and she was leaving me behind. She thought faster than me at every turn, and she knew that she needed to stop me from Thunder Waving at any cost. All while this was happening, Sunflora was healing from Ingrain and Grassy Terrain. It was time to forget fancy strategies and just resort to brute force as Cece had taught me and Gardenia was doing. ¡°Hit it with a quick Fairy Wind, and then get close!¡± I ordered. ¡°Razor Leaf, then Bullet Seed again! Keep attacking!¡± I watched anxiously as Togetic quickly sent a weak Fairy Wind forward, not even powerful enough to disrupt Razor Leaf¡¯s path. That was fine, the first attack was just a distraction, but I needed her to get in Extrasensory¡¯s range. Togetic narrowly avoided the Razor Leaf but was hit by another Bullet Seed, but she kept flying forward with determination. ¡°Extrasensory!¡± I said a split second before Sunflora was in range. ¡°Tighten your roots!¡± Gardenia said, not missing a beat. Strange psychic energy surrounded the grass type, but it was deeply anchored in the ground. The good thing was that it couldn¡¯t attack while it was focusing on not being lifted by Extrasensory, so that left me a few seconds to think. Fairy Wind was off the table unless I hit the Sunflora with a status effect. It took too long to charge up if I wanted it to be powerful enough to deal real damage and all it did was leave Sunflora enough time to charge up another Sr Beam. One more of those would take Togetic out. Ancient Power and Extrasensory were the strongest possible moves I could use in such a quick setting, but I also had¡ª I had it, I thought, clenching my fist. ¡°Lift it up with Ancient Power,¡± I ordered. ¡°Bullet Seed again!¡± Gardenia ordered. Togetic quickly lifted the ground Sunflora stood on once again, screwing with its aim. ¡°Angle it away and bring it toward you,¡± I continued. The chunk of earth quickly spun and moved toward Togetic. The thing I had learned about Ingrain through watching battle videos was that unless Sunflora was forcefully removed by an attack strong enough, it wasn¡¯t able to remove the roots. That meant it was stuck there, facing away from Togetic, meaning that it wouldn¡¯t be able to use Bullet Seed. ¡°Razor leaf backwards,¡± Gardenia said with a thin smile. I knew that was a possibility, but Togetic couldn¡¯t dodge while she was concentrating this hard. This amount of fine-tuned control was new for her, and she was pushing herself harder than ever before. The chunk of earth wobbled slightly as Razor Leaf hit Togetic repeatedly. Now, I could have ordered Togetic to m it against the ground, but that was short-term thinking. The long term called for this. ¡°Sweet Kiss!¡± I ordered. Gardenia¡¯s winced as a pink heart flew out of Togetic¡¯s mouth and hit Sunflora. This had required Togetic¡¯s utmost concentration, and she had seeded in using two moves together for the first time. Praises wouldeter. Right now, I had a Sunflora to beat. ¡°Take it down gently¡­ gently¡­¡± I started. Togetic slowly ced the earth back onto the ground, covering some of the Grassy Terrain. Any sudden movements might snap Sunflora out of its confusion. ¡°Now, Thunder Wave,¡± I sighed in relief. A cage of electricity surrounded the confused Sunflora, and it began to convulse and shake wildly. ¡°You¡¯ve got all the time in the world,¡± I told Togetic. ¡°Give me the strongest Fairy Wind you¡¯ve got.¡± I took deep breaths, finally rxing for the first time while Togetic gathered enough wind to defeat the Sunflora in one hit. Sweet Kiss and Paralysisbined were too much for a Pokemon of our level to simply push through. There was only Lombre left after that, and I had three Pokemon to deal with it. Still, I couldn¡¯t get overconfident. It took two minutes for Togetic to finish charging up Fairy Wind, and by the time she threw it at Sunflora, I could barely see anything on the battlefield. It was all pink. Kadabra¡¯s barrier bent when the wind hit, but it held. When everything dissipated, Sunflora was down for the count. ¡°Sunflora is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out yourst Pokemon,¡± The referee said. One more. Gardenia sent out her Lombre and didn¡¯t waste any time. ¡°Thunder Wave¡ª¡± ¡°Fake out!¡± Gardenia yelled out. Lombre disappeared impossibly fast, and the next time I blinked, it was right above Togetic. The grass type pped its two hands against her face, causing her to fall to the ground along with him. ¡°Get up ASAP and Fury Swipes,¡± Gardenia said with a strange calmness. She was losing, but her behavior wasn¡¯t reflecting that at all. Lombre¡¯s red ws glowed brightly as he repeatedly scratched Togetic over and over, tearing through her skin and making her bleed. ¡°Extrasensory! Get it away from you!¡± I yelled. The air around Lombre started to shift, but he quickly released a point-nk Bubblebeam, stopping princess¡¯ attack and knocking her unconscious. ¡°Togetic is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your third Pokemon,¡± The referee said. ¡°Rain Dance!¡± She yelled as I recalled Princess. Clouds gathered, thunder pped above the gym, and rain began to fall, meaning that Lombre would slowly recover from the damage Tang had dealt. ¡°You did better than I could have ever imagined,¡± I told her. Standing toe to toe with that Sunflora was incredible. I grabbed Frillish¡¯s Pokeball and released him. I¡¯d be able to deal damage with Hex and Poison Sting, and I still had Mist and Acid Armor up my sleeve. ¡°Lombre¡¯s the only one left,¡± I said. ¡°Poison Sting.¡± Poisoned darts flew off of his tentacles toward Lombre and hit his side, causing him to croak out in pain. ¡°Leech Seed barrage,¡± Gardenia ordered smoothly. Lombre opened its mouth, and a dozen Leech Seed flew like bombs toward Frillish. ¡°Fly up!¡± With one smooth motion of his tentaclesbined with a now fully-powered Water Sport, Frillish floated upward out of Leech Seed¡¯s range. Or at least that was what I thought. ¡°Again,¡± Gardenia said. If Lombre could keep using this forever, I¡¯d never be able to attack. It was time to pull out Mist. ¡°Use Mist, Frillish!¡± Frillish spun around, spitting out a cold mist that coalesced around him. It wouldn¡¯t stop the grass type from using Leech Seed repeatedly, but at least his uracy would go down. Suddenly, I squinted toward the Lombre. A small patch of its skin around one of the darts had turned pale purple. It was poisoned. ¡°Use the trick!¡± I quickly ordered. A billow of smoke surged from the Mist, making Lombre throw more Leech Seeds toward what he thought was Frillish. Unfortunately for him, it was just a Night Shade. ¡°Now get in range and Hex!¡± Frillish used the distraction to fly out of the mist with Water Sport. I couldn¡¯t help but smile as I thought that victory was finally within my grasp. One boosted Hex would surely be enough to take down Lombre¡ª ¡°Mega Drain,¡± The gym leader said. Mega Drain? I panicked. Not Razor Leaf?! Shit! That hadn¡¯t been in the moves I had seen in her battling videos, and Lombre¡¯s range was apparently better than Frillish¡¯s. The grass around it began dying, and Frillish crashed to the ground. Acid Armor wouldn¡¯t protect the water type against special moves. ¡°Razor Leaf,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Acid Armor!¡± I tried, but it was toote. He wouldn¡¯t be able to switch his state fast enough this close to Lombre. The leaves tore through Frillish, and I recalled him. ¡°You were awesome, bud,¡± I said softly, ignoring the nervousness that was surging inside of me. ¡°Frillish is unable to battle! Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon,¡± The referee said. It was one on one now. I grabbed Tang¡¯s Pokeball and released him. The two advantages I had was that grass type moves would be neutral against Lombre and that poison was slowly coursing through his body. ¡°You¡¯re thest one, angel,¡± I said. ¡°I believe in you.¡± His vines writhed around in response. ¡°Grassy Terrain, then Synthesis,¡± Gardenia said. She wanted to mitigate the damage the poison was causing with Synthesis, Grassy Terrain, and Rain Dish. She wanted tost as long as possible to ensure she could still win. I didn¡¯t know how much time Gardenia had left in the battle, but it couldn¡¯t have been more than five minutes at this point. If the twenty minutes, ran out, I¡¯d win. I didn¡¯t want to win like that. I wanted to win due to my own skill. ¡°Get close and Bind him! He can¡¯t deal that much damage to you!¡± I ordered. Tang waded through the newly regrown Grassy Terrain, slower than he had been in the sun. ¡°Bubblebeam! st the whole perimeter!¡± Gardenia said. The water type reared his head back and then swept through the entire horizontal length of the battlefield. It didn¡¯t bother Tang. The grass type just ignored the attack and burst through the tall grass before sending out vines to wrap around Lombre. He tried to fight them with Fury Swipes, but there were too many for him to fight. More vines than I could count bound Lombre tightly, and then I ordered the coup the grace. ¡°Mega Drain until it¡¯s out,¡± I exhaled. I watched with sweat dripping down my chin as Lombre slowly but surely had its energy drained from both Mega Drain, Bind, and the Poison. It took forty seconds, but it was over. Lombre fell to the ground, and Gardenia recalled him with a wide smile. I became aware of the crowd around me just as it came alive with a roar. People were cheering and apuding so loudly that I couldn¡¯t even hear myself think. I took a few deep breaths as the monumentality of the situation sunk in. Not only had I beaten Gardenia, I had beaten one of the strongest teams she could possibly have against a trainer with a single badge. I felt my heart pound against my chest and the blood pulse through my ears. I had won. I raised a fist.
Chapter 63 Chapter 63 CHAPTER 63 The cheers slowly subsided as I made my way to the side of the arena to pick up my prizes. I was so mentally exhausted I could barely walk straight, and my head was spinning. Gardenia looked shorter than she actually was, easily towering over me. She was taller than even Cece, who was the tallest girl in our group, and yet still, all she wore, even in this cold weather, were orange shorts and some sort of green drape that counted as a top. I stared up into her eyes who were so light brown they looked orange, and straightened myself. Gardenia was eighteen, only three years older than me, but shemanded respect. ¡°Congrattions, challenger,¡± She said, shing me a smile. ¡°That was one of the most enjoyable battles I¡¯ve had with a trainer with only one badge. ID?¡± I bowed my head in respect and handed her my trainer card. She scanned it using some device¡ª the same one Roark had¡ª and handed it back to me. I now had two badges on the bottom left. ¡°You¡¯re now the owner of the forest badge, and I¡¯ve transferred seven thousand Pokedors into your ount. Pokedex?¡± She continued. I fumbled around my bag and took the device out after a few seconds, and handed it to the gym leader. I really needed to be better at this, it was my second time doing it. She inserted a green disk into the TMpartment. ¡°There you go, you¡¯ll be able to teach your Pokemon Leech Seed now. The reward here used to be Grass Knot, but trust me, there¡¯s much more to be gained from the former.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, my voice slightly shaking. ¡°Take a breather in the waiting room, if you want. Regardless, you¡¯re free to leave,¡± Gardenia said as she turned away from me. Her green drape fluttered in the wind like a cape. So cool. I hurried into the waiting room and out of the spotlight. It would be Denzel¡¯s turn to battle soon, and I needed to be quick if I wanted to drop my Pokemon at the nearest Pokemon Center, and I wanted to be back in time. ¡°Ah,¡± I said when I saw him enter. He was clenching and unclenching his fists over and over while bouncing his leg up and down. Denzel smiled at me. ¡°You were¡­ you were fucking amazing, Grace,¡± He said. ¡°That was a crazy battle, you definitely earned your win.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I simply answered. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted.¡± ¡°Yeah, the battle took exactly 19 minutes and 38 seconds, so that makes sense.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I eximed. ¡°I almost ran out the clock?¡± My friend nodded and brought his hands together. ¡°Uhuh. That thing you did with Sunflora? Lifting up the ground it was standing on to make Sr Beam miss? Arceus.¡± I enjoyed the praise, but I could tell something was wrong. The tone he was employing was too upbeat, too cheerful for someone who was about to go into a gym battle. Denzel¡¯s bodynguage told me he was anxious, but his voice told the opposite. He exhaled sharply before continuing. ¡°That whole part of the battle in general was nuts. Togetic¡¯s really been progressing at incredible speeds. To be able to stand up to Sunflora like that, I mean I didn¡¯t even bother looking up the moves it used because I knew she was never going to use it on me¡ª¡± I crouched in front of him and ced my hand on his knee. His leg stopped bouncing. ¡°Hey,¡± I said, looking up into his eyes. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. Tell me what it is.¡± Denzel paused. ¡°I¡¯m just nervous as hell, that¡¯s what it is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying to me. Gardenia¡¯s on break, so we have time,¡± I said. ¡°I can tell something¡¯s wrong. Something¡¯s been off about you for a while, but I thought I was imagining things since you looked like you were having fun all the time.¡± His face tightened. ¡°You should hurry and get your team to a Center. I don¡¯t want you to miss my match¡ª¡± I sat down and leaned against him. ¡°I¡¯ll miss it if it means we get you out of this rut,¡± I said. The conversation paused when a young gym trainer passed through the room and dipped his head. ¡°Talk to me,¡± I said softly. ¡°You¡¯re the one that said it wasn¡¯t good to hold things in back in Floaroma.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t make a difference,¡± Denzel tly said. ¡°Might actually make me battle worse.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll be much better with that weight lifted off your shoulder,¡± I said as I rubbed his back. ¡°You can tell me anything. We¡¯re best friends.¡± Denzel sped his hands together so tightly they turned white and brought them up to his mouth. His jaw trembled, and he sniffled. For a few seconds, I thought he would start to cry, but he didn¡¯t. ¡°This shit¡¯s been eating away at me,¡± He sighed. ¡°It really shouldn¡¯t be. I mean,pared to what you deal with, it¡¯s nothing,¡± He let out a sadugh. ¡°I¡¯m not improving fast enough, Grace. At this rate, I¡¯ll hold the group behind.¡± ¡°Why do you feel that way?¡± I asked. ¡°Did you lose a battle?¡± ¡°No,¡± He shrugged. ¡°Nothing like that happened. It just doesn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to figure out that I¡¯m not going as fast as you are. I¡¯m not mad at you for that, by the way!¡± He quickly added. ¡°I¡¯m happy for you. It¡¯s just frustrating to know that I¡¯m slower than everyone else.¡± ¡°Mhm,¡± I said, letting him go on. ¡°Your battle was probably the best one Gardenia¡¯s had this Circuit,¡± Denzel said. ¡°And to think that I have to go right after that? The pressure I feel¡­ it¡¯s immense,¡± He sighed, before showing me his shaky hand. ¡°The only way I can stop myself from shaking is by making a fist or grabbing something.¡± I grabbed his hand. It was coarse and dry. ¡°People are going topare you to me,¡± I said, nodding. There was no point in pretending otherwise and coddling him. ¡°Look,¡± I started. ¡°It might be true that I¡¯ve been improving a lottely. Actually, it is true. But that¡¯s because something just clicked for me when I battled Chase. I found my battling style¡ª the way I enjoyed battling the most, and it turned every training session into so much fun, and everything is so much easier that I¡¯m just¡­ floating, I guess,¡± I tried exining. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like work at all.¡± ¡°How?¡± He asked. ¡°How did it happen? How do I replicate it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I simply answered. He sighed and leaned against the wall. ¡°But here¡¯s what I think. You¡¯re going slower than I am right now, sure, let¡¯s go with that. I know that things always get crazy from the forums and the media, but the Circuit isn¡¯t a race,¡± I said firmly. ¡°It¡¯s about consistency. It¡¯s about winning until you get to the Conference, not winning the fastest. For all you know, in a few weeks, you¡¯ll have found something that works for you, and you¡¯ll start to skyrocket past me,¡± I continued. ¡°But to build up my brand, I need¡­ I need momentum, I need coverage. I won¡¯t get any of that if I¡¯m just an okay trainer. I need to be incredible, like you or Cecilia,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± I shook my head. ¡°First of all, you¡¯re not an okay trainer. No matter what you think, you¡¯re definitely in the top bracket. Second of all, imagine if in between a route, like, in between Eterna city and Hearthome, you go from the way you are now to someone better than Cece¡¯s level? That would definitely generate more attention than just being good all the time.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± He hesitated. ¡°Come on, you¡¯ve seen Cecilia¡¯s thread. People were crazy about her at the start of the Circuit, but now they¡¯re kind of getting bored of her. Sure, her thread is still one of the most active ones, butpared to Chase¡¯s, for example? People like controversy and action, and events. It¡¯s not just about being the best.¡± ¡°I mean, you¡¯re definitely somewhat correct, but having both of these is what I need.¡± ¡°Look at the big picture, you oaf!¡± I eximed. ¡°You¡¯re traveling with a bunch of famous billionaires, and all you need to go from the top, what, ten percent to the top five percent of trainers is to find your battling style. You¡¯re already most of the way there!¡± He sighed. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re right, but I still feel like shit somehow,¡± He said with a slight chuckle. ¡°Do you feel like shit about the situation, or do you feel like shit about yourself? Because thetter is a recipe for disaster.¡± ¡°I feel like shit, that¡¯s all I can say,¡± Denzel said as he stood up. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. I looked up at him. He looked more confident than before. The trembling was gone, and his face was rxed. ¡°But it¡¯s weird, I feel strangely optimistic as well.¡± I sighed, running a hand through my hair. ¡°Good. I¡¯m not going to be here for the start of your battle, but I might make it before the end.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± He said. ¡°With all the advice you just gave me, it¡¯ll be like you¡¯re next to me the entire time.¡± ¡°Next time you have a problem, will you talk to me?¡± I asked. ¡°I will, I just thought you had enough on your te. Plus, we almost had the exact same conversation back on route 203, but I needed to hear this again.¡± I grinned. ¡°Keep your chin up, Denzel. This is only badge two out of eight. There¡¯ll be plenty of twists and turns waiting for you this year.¡± ¡°Same to you,¡± He smiled. ¡°And I¡¯ll be the one to win it all,¡± Denzel dered. ¡°I feel the gears turning in my head already, I think I¡¯ve figured something out. One part of the puzzle, at least.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± I retorted. ¡°Now, are you ready to kick ass?¡± Denzel¡¯s smile turned into a wild, toothy grin. ¡°Hell yes.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Denzel Williams? You¡¯re up,¡± The gym trainer said. Denzel uncrossed his arms and stopped leaning against the wall, and the trainer outfitted him with the usual microphone. ¡°Good luck.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Denzel said. Denzel felt steadfast as he walked through the door to the battling arena. The words Grace had spoken to him were just that, words, but they had felt incredibly consequential. His best friend¡¯s perceptiveness was so urate it was downright terrifying, but he had needed that pep talk, or he would have floundered the battle against Gardenia. She stood at the opposite side of the field and greeted him with the usual gym leader spiel, but Denzel¡¯s attention was somewhere else. Gears turned in his head. Pieces of the puzzle slowly fit together. ¡°¡­three-on-three battle with two switch-ins allowed¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t a strategy being formed per se. Grace was better at that stuff than Denzel could ever hope to be. The teenager didn¡¯t know every single Pokemon Gardenia owned and every single move they had and how to counter them with every single Pokemon. The memorization required for that was terrifying. Grace was terrifying. Denzel smiled at the notion that his friend, tiny as she was, was someone he considered terrifying. The gears¡­ they were more like a general blueprint to follow. What was Gardenia good at? Making a battlest as long as possible to fish out your weaknesses, so how would he counter that? ¡°Challenger? Send out your Pokemon, please!¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s my battle of the day.¡± Well, they were gears in perpetual motion, after all, so the n was slowly unveiling itself, and Denzel was slowly figuring it out. He felt something tug at him like he was attached to a rope. Denzel grabbed his trusted Eevee¡¯s Pokeball and sent him out. He barked and got into a prowl, and Denzel eagerly awaited to see what Gardenia would use against him. Clench, unclench. Clench, unclench. It was a mechanical motion that the trainer had always used to destress, but he found himself not needing it as much as he thought he would. Denzel took a deep breath, narrowing his eyes, and began to run purely on instinct.
Chapter 64 Chapter 64 CHAPTER 64 Denzel rxed with a breath, and Gardenia released her first Pokemon. Cherrim let out a strange rustling sound, and its petals pped around, revealing its small, dark eyes. Don¡¯t get lost in the details, Denzel thought. Big strokes. Luckily, Gardenia had begun the battle with one of her most iconic Pokemon. From what he knew, Cherrim was one of Gardenia¡¯s Pokemon that used Sunny Day, since the sunlight would make it change forms and boost its attacking and defensive powers. Then, it would use Grassy Terrain to boost Energy Ball¡¯s power to devastating effect. Alright, he knew the big picture. Now he had to counter it. ¡°Begin!¡± The referee said. ¡°Eevee, Quick Attack!¡± Denzel ordered with newfound confidence. He needed to stick to the basics and find something that worked. Eevee barked as white light enveloped his body, and then blurred forward. The normal type wasn¡¯t as fastpared to what other trainers had now, but his advantage was that he could keep it going for a long time. ¡°Sunny Day, then Grassy Terrain!¡± Gardenia said. The young trainer had heard that the move worked even when the sun was down or setting, but to actually see it in action? The strange light bearing down from the roof was as bright as the sun, and it suddenly looked like it was noon. Then, the grass started to grow taller than Eevee was, but that could work to their advantage. Eevee rammed into Cherrim right as the grass type started to change. Its petals changed colors as they bloomed, and its skin turned to a pale yellow. Cherrim quickly got back up on its feet, but Eevee was still going. ¡°Trip it up with Grass Knot!¡± Gardenia yelled. Shit, Denzel thought. ¡°Eevee, jump¡ª¡± Toote. The attack hade too fast, and Eevee fell to the ground and slid across the grass. ¡°Cherrim, Energy Ball!¡± She hurriedly said. Grass died around the two Pokemon as a green ball of pure energy formed in front of the grass type¡¯s mouth, with the extra power from the Grassy Terrain amplifying the attack even more. ¡°Get up and ram him!¡± He quickly ordered. He was maybe too close to dodge the attack, and he didn¡¯t want to waste his Detects so soon, so his best hope was to interrupt the move. Detect almost always guaranteed that Eevee would dodge an attack, but the move was so intensive that even Eevee had to think twice before using one. Eevee scrambled to his feet and circled around the grass type with Quick Attack still active. ¡°Split it,¡± Gardenia grinned. Denzel¡¯s eyes widened as the Energy Ball split into multiple attacks, and were sent flying all around Cherrim. One of them hit Eevee, but they were weakened enough to not bother him too much. The normal type didn¡¯t waste any time and rammed into Cherrim again, and the grass type slid across the grass. The battle was flowing in Denzel¡¯s direction. He could feel it, now he only had to keep it up. ¡°Don¡¯t rush in,¡± Denzel warned. He could tell Eevee was feeling bullish, but that would just make Gardenia use Grass Knot again. ¡°Grassy Terrain again,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Then Leech Seed.¡± Denzel winced. Leech Seed was one of the moves he couldn¡¯t afford to get hit with. Eevee was his most reliable fighter, and having him weaken that fast in the fight would almost guarantee a loss. Cherrim opened its mouth, throwing out Leech Seed as fast as Budew¡¯s Bullet Seed. ¡°Detect,¡± He said, clenching a fist. Infinitely faster than Quick Attack, Eevee disappeared and reappeared to the side, almost instantaneously. The trainer grinned. That was the difference between a non-perfected Detect and the actual move, it looked like your Pokemon was actually teleporting. But unlike Detect, Gardenia could use Leech Seed as many times as she wanted, so Denzel needed to hurry. ¡°Get close and Bite! Don¡¯t let it go!¡± ¡°Grass Knot!¡± ¡°Jump!¡± He said. With a push of his hind legs, Eevee jumped in the air¡ª not high enough to be stuck there too long and be a prime target, but not low enough to get caught by the vinesing out of the ground. Perfect. The idea was forming in his head now¡ª his winning condition. Eevee had to stay close no matter what and harass Cherrim so that it wouldn¡¯t have time to use its long-ranged moves and struggle to use Leech Seed. Broad strokes, Denzel reminded himself. Don¡¯t get lost in the details. Feel the flow of the battle. Eeveetched his teeth onto Cherrim¡¯s face and one of its leaves, shaking his head around and tearing it up in the process. Cherrim struggled, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn¡¯t get out of the Bite. With a sh of red, Gardenia returned Cherrim and immediately released a Hoppip. The pink Pokemon spun the two leaves on its head, floating in the wind as if it was lighter than a feather. Denzel winced. All they had to fight this was Swift, and it was one of Eevee¡¯s weaker moves given how little they worked on it. Still, he wasn¡¯t going to switch. Not yet, at least. ¡°Swift,¡± He immediately ordered. Stars spun around Eevee as they formed before flying toward the grass type. ¡°Start up your Fairy Wind,¡± Gardenia said. Denzel grimaced, expecting the worst because of what he had seen Grace¡¯s Togetic do, but Hoppip¡¯s Fairy Wind was incredibly weak byparison, and it took him a few seconds to understand why. Gardenia was using the move to make Hoppip move incredibly fast, and it was permanent. The flying type zoomed around the arena faster than Swift could ever hope to be, and asionally, the wind would hurt Eevee. Even though the damage was minimal, it would stack up. ¡°Seed Bombardment,¡± Gardenia said with a grin. ¡°Quick Attack to dodge,¡± Denzel quickly said. Whatever the hell that was, it couldn¡¯t be good. Hoppip let out a cry as seeds started dropping from its body. Some of them exploded upon contact with the ground, and some just grew vines. Gardenia hadbined Seed Bomb and Leech seed together in a terrifying fashion, and there was no way to counter it when the enemy was so high up in the sky. Denzel grabbed Eevee¡¯s Pokeball and recalled him before too much damage could be dealt. His hand settled on Budew¡¯s Pokeball, and he took a deep breath. She wouldn¡¯t do much damage, but at least she would have a chance to hit the damn thing with Bullet Seed. He wished he had taught her more new moves, but the grass type was still difficult to work with, even if she at least listened to him now. Budew announced herself with a screech, overshadowed by all the explosions going on around her. Even Gardenia seemed to be surprised by her size. She was twice asrge as a normal Budew, after all. ¡°Budew, Growth!¡± Denzel said. Budew screeched again, glowing white and growing slightly in size. ¡°Acrobatics! Boost yourself with the wind!¡± Fuck, it knew flying type moves too! Shit, shit¡ª Denzel clenched and unclenched his fists. Now wasn¡¯t the time to panic. ¡°Bullet Seed, then Mega Drain when it¡¯s in range!¡± The teen said. Budew spat out Bullet Seed after Bullet Seed, carefully aiming at Hoppip. A few of the Seeds hit the grass type since it was flying only forward now, but the damage was negligible. Just as Hoppip started to nimbly move around, Budew yelled, and the Grassy Terrain died around her. Hoppip winced, feeling Mega Drain¡¯s boosted effect, but he kept going and rammed into Budew and sent her flying. ¡°Don¡¯t let it rest, Acrobatics again!¡± ¡°Mega Drain again!¡± Denzel mirrored. With a look of pure rage, Budew once again drained the energy around her, slightly recovering the damage that had been dealt, and Hoppip flew into her at high speeds. This song and dance repeated itself another two times before Budew finally went down. She had done well, especially against something with a flying type move, and now it was time to pass on the torch. ¡°Budew is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee said. ¡°Buneary, you¡¯re up,¡± Denzel said, releasing the normal type. She looked back at him with a scared look on her face, but he nodded at her, and she did the same to him. Buneary was skittish, but he had done a lot to prepare her for a battle in such arge setting. It had taken a lot of trips to public arenas to get her used to other people watching her, and she was ready. ¡°Blow yourself up high and start bombarding again,¡± Gardenia ordered. Buneary didn¡¯t have that many moves, but the ones it had? They were enough. A good base to work from. ¡°Defense Curl!¡± Denzel quickly said. The rabbit curled up into a ball and her skin shone slightly, raising her defense. She would probably get hit by a Leech Seed, but at this point, he had one way to win this. One idea his instincts were screaming at him to implement. Denzel winced as multiple explosions hit Buneary, and one of the Leech Seeds wrapped its thorny vines around her, but the moment still wasn¡¯t right. He still needed to wait. Wait until Hoppip was right above her. ¡°Jump with Quick Attack!¡± Denzel screamed. Buneary mmed her feet against the ground, creating a small crater, and jumped up at Hoppip. This trick would only work once. They only had one chance to do this, one opportunity. ¡°Knock her away with Fairy Wind and fly up!¡± Gardenia said. The wind that carried Hoppip mmed downward, and its leaves started rotating twice as fast, but Buneary¡¯s jump was too powerful. She was on a one-way trajectory to the flying type. ¡°Fire Punch!¡± Denzel eximed. Still midair, Buneary rubbed her ears together until one of them ignited, powered up by Sunny Day, and sprung it at Hoppip. Already having been damaged by Budew, the grass type went down, crashing into the ground, and so did Buneary. The normal type got up, and Hoppip did not. ¡°Hoppip is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee said. With raised eyebrows, Gardenia recalled her Hoppip and released Cherrim again, still in its sun form. ¡°Grassy Terrain,¡± Gardenia simply said. ¡°Alright, Buneary, Quick Attack and get close,¡± Denzel said. The same principle still applied, even if Buneary was on a timer due to Leech Seed. Overwhelm Cherrim enough so that it wouldn¡¯t have enough time to use its powerful long-ranged attacks. Buneary¡¯s Quick Attack was different than Eevee¡¯s. The normal type didn¡¯t run, she jumped. Buneary jumped terrifyingly fast across the field while Grass grew around Cherrim. ¡°Energy Ball, quick!¡± Gardenia ordered with a sweeping motion, but it was toote. Bunearynded right in front of the grass type as it began forming the Energy Ball, and then hit it with Fire Punch without Denzel even having to give the order. ¡°Again,¡± He said. Finally, after being rattled by Hoppip, he was starting to settle into a groove again. With a small noise, Buneary continued battering Cherrim with all she had until the grass type fainted. ¡°Cherrim is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out yourst Pokemon,¡± The referee said. One more, Denzel thought. But he couldn¡¯t getcent. He needed to keep the gears turning. Gardenia grabbed herst Pokeball and released her Grotle, who let out a short roar before snapping its jaw. ¡°Think you got a little more in you?¡± He asked Buneary. The rabbit turned his way and gave him a fierce nod, eliciting a smile. If there was one thing Denzel¡¯s team had, it was being able to take hits and keep going. ¡°Thank you.¡± Buneary and Grotle were already rtively close, so there was no need to waste her limited energy with Quick Attack. ¡°Fire Punch,¡± Denzel ordered. ¡°Strength,¡± Gardenia said. Grotle¡¯s entire body stiffened as it slowly ran toward Buneary. The normal typended her Fire Punch, but Grotle just ignored it and rammed into her with its entire body, sending her flying. The sheer power behind the move made Denzel freeze up for a split second. Buneary struggled to her feet and took a few steps forward, but she fell to the ground quickly after. ¡°Buneary is unable to battle! Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon,¡± The referee said. Denzel recalled Buneary with a slight smile. She had done everything required of her and more. Now it was Eevee¡¯s turn. The trainer released his starter. ¡°It¡¯s you and me, Eevee,¡± He said. Eevee answered with an excited cry. Denzel had never even looked at battles where Gardenia had used Grotle because he never thought she would use the Pokemon against him. What had he broadly learned about the grass type in that short interaction? It was a bruiser type¡ª like Eevee was, more powerful by an order of magnitude. He was also slow, taking seconds to reach Buneary who had been rtively close. The gears turned, and a strategy clicked into ce. ¡°Swift. Stack them up,¡± Denzel said. Eevee barked and stars materialized around him before flying toward Grotle. The attack was nothing to the grass type, but it wasn¡¯t like he could respond. ¡°Leech Seed!¡± Gardenia yelled, and Grotle opened his mouth. Eevee effortlessly dodged the seeds with Quick Attack and kept harassing his opponent with Swift. ¡°Get close!¡± ¡°Run away to the opposite side of the field,¡± Denzel continued. ¡°Then Swift again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him, cut him off!¡± The gym leader yelled. ¡°Bulldoze!¡± Grotle roared and stood on its hind legs before mming its front legs at the ground. The floor shook around it, slowing Eevee down and making him fall. ¡°Strength!¡± Gardenia said, grinning. Denzel inhaled sharply. ¡°Detect!¡± Eevee disappeared and reappeared further down the battlefield, having narrowly avoided Grotle¡¯s charge. He quickly started up another Swift and sent it toward Grotle. And another. And another. Slowly chipping away at the grass type, who could only slowly run up to him and try to cut him off with Bulldoze, after which Denzel would dodge with Detect. On Eevee¡¯s third Detect, Denzel started to worry. On Eevee¡¯s fifth Detect, it was taking everything for the boy not to panic. He watched as another set of stars hit Grotle¡¯s side, and the grass type slowly but surely ran up to his exhausted Eevee. Fuck it, Denzel thought. All or nothing. His brain screamed at him. Every ounce of his being except his gut was telling him this was a bad idea, but he had no choice. Another Detect and Eevee wouldn¡¯t be able to move. Eevee wouldn¡¯t be able to jump over Bulldoze like Buneary could either, the range around Grotle was toorge. ¡°Quick Attack to get close¡­¡± Denzel started. Eevee nodded, panting a few times before blurring forward. ¡°Strength!¡± Gardenia yelled. Grotle and Eevee were going to hit each other, or at least that¡¯s what Denzel wanted it to look like. ¡°Slide under his legs!¡± Denzel yelled. Eevee ducked and skidded across the grass. ¡°Body m!¡± ¡°Double Kick!¡± Denzel screamed so loudly his throat ached. Unlike Grotle¡¯s protected shell, the grass type¡¯s underbelly was its weakest point, or at least that¡¯s what visually made sense. Eevee nimbly turned around on his back as Grotle stood on his hind legs. He dropped onto Eevee, creating a plume of dust, smoke, and dirt. The was no more sound. Denzel stood on his tiptoes, eagerly waiting for the dust to settle. Eevee crawled out of the smoke with a limp, barely able to walk and leaving a knocked-out Grotle behind him. He copsed a few secondster. The trainer let out a long sigh of relief and looked at the sky as deafening cheers erupted around him. It was a draw, but a draw still counted as a win for the challenger. A draw was somewhat disappointing, he hadn¡¯tpletely figured out how he wanted to battle as Grace had, and there were still things to iron out, but holy shit, was this a huge step in the right direction. Denzel¡¯s body felt so light. He looked at Gardenia in a daze as she handed him his badge, money, and the Leech Seed TM. His battle was thest one of the day, so the lobby was a sea of trainers, making it hard to find his friends. Using his height, they found him first, all congratting him for his victory. He blinked a few times and looked at Grace. His best friend smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Denzel was happy she managed to catch at least some of the battle. ¡°I knew you would fucking kick ass,¡± She said, still smiling. Denzel Williams was so incredibly d Grace hade to him back in Twinleaf town. It just wouldn¡¯t be the same without her.
Chapter 65 Chapter 65 CHAPTER 65 ¡°Mm, Arceus, this milkshake is good,¡± I said, feeling bliss. I grabbed a mouthful of fries, appreciating the sweet and salty vors mixed together. ¡°Ugh, do you have to eat on the bed?¡± Pauline asked with a grimace. ¡°How barbaric.¡± ¡°The battle tired me out and made me hungry,¡± I said. ¡°Now buzz off.¡± She clicked her tongue. ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s not my bed. Cece can deal with a dirty bed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have maids cleaning this ce every day anyway? Don¡¯t be such a grinch,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll get fat,¡± The girl said, hitting my leg with her foot. ¡°I don¡¯t gain weight,¡± I retorted, hitting her back. ¡°Stop disturbing me, I might choke.¡± ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t,¡± Pauline rolled her eyes. ¡°And who says I don¡¯t want you to choke?¡± ¡°Legendaries! Please stop bickering, I can¡¯t even hear myself think,¡± Emilia eximed. After Denzel¡¯s battle, the entire group had gone to Cecilia¡¯s apartment, but people had started to split up. The boys had gone back to their hotel rooms, and Denzel was crashing at Louis¡¯ ce. I was starting to feel bad about having reserved that Pokemon Center room with how little I was using it, but it wasn¡¯t like the ce was even close to being full. Plus, there were plenty in the city. ¡°Cece, Grace is being annoying and messing up the bed!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°I¡¯m being clean! You just have it out for me.¡± ¡°I just want to watch videos in peace¡­¡± Emilia whined. The result was that the girls had decided to all stay together for a spontaneous sleepover, and three of us were already in bed even with how early it still was. I had hoped that it would just be Cecilia and me again, but it was nice to spend more time with friends too. Like I had promised myself before, I was on a Pokemon training break, for at least a week! Alright, maybe five¡ª three days. Yeah, three days would do the trick. Plus, all of my Pokemon were so beaten up I¡¯d only be able to pick them up tomorrow. They had fought so well. Even thinking back on the battle made me grin uncontrobly. Even now, it was still sinking in. It was like another person had fought it, but it was me. I was the one who made Gardenia use Sunflora¡¯s Sr Beam. ¡°Check it out,¡± Pauline said, pointing her phone at me. ¡°Your thread¡¯s blowing up.¡± I closed my eyes. ¡°Nope, don¡¯t want to see it. I checked it out earlier today, right after Denzel¡¯s battle, and it gave me anxiety. Too many eyes on me all at once.¡± ¡°You can run, but you can¡¯t hide,¡± Pauline continued. ¡°But I get it. The spotlight can be a terrifying thing the first time it shines on you.¡± ¡°Denzel¡¯s giddy about it, though,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t even looked at my Poketch since. Just seeing the notification makes my heart jump.¡± ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± Cece said, carrying a cup of tea. She sat at the foot of the bed, right below my feet. Okay, now my heart really jumped. ¡°This little gremlin is munching away in your bed,¡± Pauline narced. ¡°I told her it was fine,¡± She said. ¡°Emi ate some biscuits in there earlier.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring me into this, I¡¯m innocent,¡± Emilia quickly said. She was watching a video of some contest going on tonight in Hearthome. Pauline rolled her eyes. ¡°Emi knows how to eat gracefully, unlike someone.¡± ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m done anyway,¡± I said as obnoxiously as humanly possible. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you guys dealt with this devil before I came into the picture. I¡¯m the only one who can control her¡ª¡± Pauline threw a pillow at me. We continued talking and joking around for a few hours, and eventually, we were ready to go to sleep. The next gym battle was Louis¡¯, and it was the day after tomorrow. Apparently, they had taken so long to sign up for the gym that they¡¯d go an entire day after us, but I didn¡¯t mind. I was on top of the world, and nothing would be able to contain that feeling. Then, it¡¯d be Cece¡¯s turn, then Justin, Pauline, and finally, the next day, Emilia. ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Pauline groaned. ¡°Ugh, get your arm off of me,¡± She continued, pushing my arm away. ¡°Sorry, I move around a lot in my sleep,¡± I lied. ¡°I think someone¡¯s knocking on the door,¡± Emi said. ¡°At this hour?¡± Ceciliained before utching herself from my arm. Right, that was a thing I still needed to get used to. It looked like Cece was incredibly cuddly when sleeping, getting so close to me for two nights. It probably didn¡¯t mean anything, so I needed to not get any ideas. ¡°This better be important,¡± She continued, rubbing her eyes before getting up. ¡°I¡¯lle with,¡± I quickly spoke. ¡°Don¡¯te back!¡± Pauline yelled. We quickly made our way toward the door, and Cece looked through the peephole. ¡°It¡¯s Denzel,¡± She said. ¡°Oh? Open it.¡± She opened the door and my best friend barged in. ¡°Holy shit,¡± He started. ¡°Grace, have you checked your phone tonight?¡± ¡°What? No?¡± I answered, tilting my head. ¡°Is this about the forums?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s even better,¡± Denzel grinned. ¡°Apany wants to sponsor us.¡± ¡ª¡ª I yawned as Denzel carefully read the email he had gotten in the middle of the living room. It was odd, seeing him this excited and hyper thiste at night, but I couldn¡¯t me him. Even I was feeling enthusiastic. Sponsors were the difference between truly professional trainers and the rest. Almost every trainer at the top was sponsored by some primary business. Then, at the very top level of Pokemon training,panies worked with trainers to create personalized merchandise for them and split the profits, but that was only for people who consistently got eight badges and got to the Conference consistently. The Conference was a much more publicized event than a normal gym battle, so I guessed thatpanies didn¡¯t want to bother creating merch for people who couldn¡¯t get there. Craig Goodwill, for example, was someone who sold a lot of stuff. Clothing, pins, stickers, Smence plushies with his little brand on them because hell, Smance in Sinnoh was practically synonymous with the man, not unlike Cynthia and Garchomp. Either way, the point was,panies wanted their logo or product on you so they could advertise themselves to the millions of people that watched gym battles and Pokemon tournaments. In exchange, they¡¯d pay you a certain sum. Some contracts were monthly payments, and others were per appearance in gym battles or official city or League-run tournaments. Some even gave you some gifts and goodie bags containing vitamins, TMs, Ultra Balls, or other Pokemon-rted products. Hell, even Coordinators had sponsors for their Pokemon Contests. ¡°...business proposition tomorrow at 8:30 am,¡± Denzel said. ¡°By Retani Industries.¡± ¡°And you say they sent this to me too?¡± I asked. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°They want both of us. Check your phone.¡± I hurriedly scrolled through my email, and the exact same message was there. ¡°Retani Industries?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°I¡¯m not too familiar with the business world of Sinnoh.¡± Emilia sprung up. ¡°They¡¯re a mid-sized techpany that¡¯s been getting their toes wet into marketing via Pokemon battles recently. They¡¯re trying to be apetitor to the Poketch Company, but they¡¯re a tough nut to crack. They basically have a monopoly over Sinnoh¡¯s entire phone business, so Retani¡¯s market share is pretty small.¡± ¡°Around nine percent, no?¡± Pauline said. ¡°No, seven. They went down this quarter after the new Poketch was released,¡± Emilia answered. ¡°Well, we only have two badges, so it¡¯d make sense to start small,¡± I said. Denzel nodded excitedly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is happening already,¡± He grinned. ¡°This is going to be awesome.¡± ¡°So awesome that you¡¯ll wake up in time?¡± I snarked. My friend raised his hands. ¡°You have my word.¡± ¡°Before you go, Denzel,¡± Pauline started. ¡°Don¡¯t sign anything beforeing back and consulting us. Usually, you¡¯d have awyer present before signing a contract¡ª¡± ¡°Well, Retani will have theirwyers there, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Emilia interrupted. ¡°I meant them,¡± She nodded at us. ¡°But it¡¯s not like trainers can afford those. I¡¯d offer to buy you one, but I believe Emi and my advice will be more than enough.¡± ¡°Fair,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll leave after hearing their terms. Can we like, take a picture of it to show you?¡± ¡°Pfft,¡± Emilia waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Anypany worth their while will have the contract be dozens of pages at least.¡± ¡°Correct. There are uses, uses within uses, like, a hundred conditions to dismiss it, ways to force you into staying locked in¡ª¡± Pauline rambled. ¡°Alright,¡± Denzel said, deting slightly. ¡°Can we bring you the contract itself? The paper version of it, I mean?¡± ¡°Sure, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± Pauline said. ¡°If they tell you no, then they¡¯re not worth your while. Their phones are shit anyway. They just look good.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to like their phones if we¡¯re being sponsored by them?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh, Grace, you poor summer child,¡± Pauline said. ¡°You¡¯re in it for the money, not the product. No one cares what they¡¯re sponsored by if the pay is good.¡± ¡ª¡ª Denzel yawned as we stepped in front of the nondescript building. We were twenty minutes early, but we figured it¡¯d be better to make a good impression. ¡°Ready?¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m nervous,¡± I said before blowing a raspberry. ¡°But fuck it, let¡¯s go.¡± We entered the building and stepped into the elevator to the third floor, like the email had told us. I was squirming in ce, curious to learn what the contract would be about. The message hadn¡¯t specified it at all, only telling us that they were interested in a meeting to make a deal, the address, and the time. When the elevator doors opened, we heard many voicesing from one of the rooms. Denzel and I looked at each other and stepped into the hallway. We turned a corner, and a man in a business suit was standing in front of the door. ¡°Ah,¡± He smiled. ¡°Mr. Williams and Ms. Pastel, I presume?¡± The man asked. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s us,¡± My friend answered. ¡°May I have your trainer ID?¡± He asked. We handed them to him and he gave them back quickly. ¡°Thank you, they¡¯ll be with you shortly.¡± The man knocked on the door, and I awkwardly stood in front of the room, fidgeting nervously. It sounded like there were a lot of people in there. I thought it would only be a few. I was getting overwhelmed before even getting in the room. Around five minutester, a man with a trimmed goatee and his hair slicked back opened the door and shed us a smile. He was younger than I thought he would be. ¡°Ms. Pastel, Mr. Williams,¡± He said, shaking our hands. The handshake was firm, almost painful. ¡°I¡¯m Mr. Hayes, the one who scouted you for Retani Industries. Come in.¡± Denzel greeted him, but I was silent as we stepped inside the room. Twelve businessmen and women, all in suits, were all sitting on a long, ss table, discussing things with each other, but they stopped when we entered the room and weed us in. ¡°Again, good morning,¡± Mr. Hayes said. ¡°Please sit wherever you¡¯d like.¡± I sat near the end of the table, and Denzel settled in next to me. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll start, then,¡± He continued. ¡°Retani Industries has been exploring avenues into trainer-based marketing, and we believe two up-anding trainers like you are the perfect fit. We watched your battle, and we thought you were terrific out there,¡± He said before pointing at every person in the room and introducing them. Most of them were negotiators, but a few were also professional marketers and economists. ¡°Finally, these two, Ms. Graham and Mr. Perry, are ourwyers. If you sign, the contract will be legally binding.¡± We nodded. ¡°Great,¡± He smiled. ¡°Jonathan, the contract?¡± He asked, and the pudgy man handed him a stack of clipped papers. There were more pages than Pauline had even imagined. ¡°Let me go over the big picture. No one wants to read a document this long, right?¡± Mr. Hayes said, eliciting a few chuckles from his colleagues. ¡°First, you¡¯ll need to use one of our phones¡ª the newest model, free of charge, obviously.¡± ¡°Good publicity,¡± One of the marketers said. Mr. Hayes nodded. ¡°The model is shy and unique, unlike Poketches, and they¡¯re very eye-catching. Here¡¯s one,¡± He said, pulling the device from his pocket. ¡°We call it the Crystal Next, and it¡¯ll be reaching the shelves in the next few weeks.¡± I stared at the device in awe. It was extremely thin and rectangr. ¡°Looks great, right?¡± Hayes said. ¡°More powerful, more data, better camera, what¡¯s not to like? The Poketch started as a watch, and they still haven¡¯t gotten out of that rigid design choice, even if they make phones now. Our product is clearly superior in every way,¡± He continued. ¡°Next, we¡¯ll want you to have the phone visible during your gym battles or any tournament you participate in, official or otherwise. We can give you a clip that you can put it on and then attach to your belt¡ª¡± ¡°Like Pokeballs!¡± One of the women said with a wide smile. ¡°Yes, exactly like your Pokeballs. Third, you won¡¯t be allowed to be seen with other phones, or at least in public, and you won¡¯t be able to badmouth our products. That one should be pretty self-exnatory,¡± Mr. Hayes said, flipping through the contract. ¡°And the boring part¡¯s almost over!¡± He said, causing moreughs. ¡°Following me so far?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Denzel said. I just nodded. ¡°Lastly, you¡¯ll need to appear in television ads if we can get a hold of you when you stay in cities to promote our products,¡± Mr. Hayes said. ¡°Nothing too demanding, just a few lines to memorize.¡± He paused and looked at us excitedly. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get to the good stuff. In exchange, you¡¯ll get paid fifty thousand Pokedors per month¡ª¡± My eyes bulged. Fifty thousand? I¡¯d be able to buy so much with that. ¡°¡ªYou¡¯ll be given a TM of your choice every month as well, as long as the price is below one hundred and fifty thousand Pokedors, and obviously, you¡¯ll get free ess to any new phonesing out.¡± Mr. Hayes paused, looking at us. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯d say it¡¯s a good deal,¡± He answered with a smile. ¡°Um, it sounds great, actually,¡± My friend said. ¡°But can we, um, consult someone before signing? I¡¯d like to get their input.¡± A sudden feeling of tension appeared in the room. ¡°Why?¡± Hayes asked. ¡°If you have any questions, you can always ask one of us. Here,¡± He said, handing Denzel the contract. ¡°Read the fine print.¡± ¡°I believe you, I just want to be sure,¡± Denzel said. Mr. Hayes sighed. ¡°Fine, I suppose you can leave. Hurry though, the clock is ticking, and we have other people we¡¯re offering this to.¡± Denzel and I quickly left the room with a copy of the contract and hurried back to the hotel by tram. ¡°It sounded good, right?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s even better than what I thought it¡¯d be. With that amount of money, I¡¯d be able to buy a lot.¡± ¡°It did, but like you said, better be sure,¡± I said. ¡°The whole atmosphere kind of creeped me out. They were so giddy and smiley about everything.¡± ¡°I know, right?¡± He said. ¡°Thatdy that said ¡®like Pokeballs¡¯? So dramatic, it¡¯s like she was speaking to a toddler and trying to excite him with a shiny toy.¡± ¡°Probably wanted to appear rtable,¡± I guessed. ¡°Well that didn¡¯t work, it just made me cringe.¡± We stepped into the tram and then made our way to the hotel. When we knocked, Emilia opened the door right away, like she¡¯d been waiting for us. ¡°Got the contract?¡± She asked. ¡°Good morning to you too,¡± Denzel said before pulling it out of his bag. ¡°Here.¡± She snatched it out of his hands and sat down at the kitchen ind. Pauline quickly joined her, along with Cece, and we just watched like two idiots. After a few minutes, Emilia groaned. ¡°Arceus, what is this thing?¡± Pauline said. ¡°First of all, they¡¯re ripping you off.¡± ¡°Ripping us off?¡± I eximed. ¡°But that¡¯s so much money¡ª¡± ¡°It is right now,¡± Emilia said, crossing her arms. ¡°But what happens when you get three badges? Then five. Then you get to the conference? You¡¯d still be paid fifty thousand Pokedors per month.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just renegotiate then?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°No, the contract specifically locks you into that sry,¡± Emilia exined. ¡°No matter how famous or good you get, you¡¯ll be paid the same. Fifty thousand Pokedors is pennies at the top. ¡± ¡°The TM part of the contract is actually rtively decent, though,¡± Cece said. ¡°That¡¯s how they lure you if you¡¯re halfway decent at reading between the lines. Companies love using a bunch ofplicated jargon they think teenagers won¡¯t understand and lure them with shiny things to make them sign anyway,¡± Pauline said. ¡°The ads they want you to star in? There¡¯s a quota that¡¯s way too high to be sustainable for a trainer who¡¯s always traveling.¡± ¡°They said it wouldn¡¯t be too demanding,¡± Denzel frowned. ¡°How many ads can you make about a phone?¡± I asked. ¡°It doesn¡¯t say phones, it says products,¡± Cecilia specified. ¡°Right, they don¡¯t only make phones. They¡¯re a techpany. They have their hands in everything,¡± Emi nodded. My eyes widened. That was right, Mr. Hayes did say products and not phones when talking about the ads, so he hadn¡¯t even lied. We just hadn¡¯t caught onto it. ¡°Shit¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Arceus¡­¡± Emilia kept muttering as she licked her finger, switched the pages, and traced her finger over a line. ¡°Getting out of this contract is nigh impossible if you sign it. You¡¯re not even allowed to retire until you turn twenty-two. You¡¯d have to be irreparably crippled or dead.¡± ¡°So they were scamming us?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Fuck this, man,¡± He swore, pacing around the room. It was all starting to make sense now. The big, fake smiles, the infantilizing tone, and the focus on the perks of the sponsor instead of the obligations. They¡¯d been trying to put us in a disadvantageous contract. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first trainer to be pulled into some bullshit contract, it happens all the time,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Usually, it¡¯s less obvious than this. These people are amateurs.¡± ¡°That might be because it¡¯s their first foray into this business,¡± Cece said. ¡°They probably thought that teenagers¡ª which this upation is full of¡ª would be an easy mark.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°We¡¯re not signing.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m doing that,¡± Denzel groaned. ¡°I was so excited too¡­¡± ¡°Other opportunities wille around,¡± Cece said,forting him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much.¡± ¡°They said they had other kids they were trying to negotiate with,¡± I frowned. ¡°Does that mean they¡¯ll get pulled into this?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Pauline shrugged in an uncaring manner. ¡°That¡¯s probably why they didn¡¯t fight that hard to make us stay,¡± Denzel guessed. ¡°They knew that no matter what we decided, they¡¯d have someone else line up to take their deal.¡± ¡°Trainers get very desperate for money,¡± Emilia said. ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but that¡¯s life. There¡¯s nothing you can do about it.¡± ¡°Can we warn them somehow? Like, with a forum post, or something? If I¡¯m getting somewhat famous, I¡¯d like to at least use it for good,¡± I said. ¡°Good idea,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I¡¯ll help you draft your statement.¡± ¡°Knock yourselves out,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m going out to train with Justin and Louis.¡± I ignored Pauline¡¯s innate selfishness, since I knew it was something I¡¯d never change her mind about, and quickly grabbed my Poketch. Cece helped me put out a professional-sounding post, and I did my best to ignore the thousands of notifications on my profile. I had befriended these people out of the goodness of my heart and through our experiences together, but I¡¯d be lying if I said that having rich, business-savvy friends wasn¡¯t a huge advantage in our line of work. Without them, Denzel and I would have gotten too excited and signed the contract for sure. Thank fucking Arceus, we hadn¡¯t.
Announcement IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Tomorrow''s my birthday, so I won''t be putting out a chapter. I hope you won''t mind too much, and this is a good stopping point without a cliff. The normal schedule will resume on the 30th. I also know I keep teasing the forums, you''ll get a forum interlude at some point in this arc, it''sing soon, but the moment just isn''t right for what I want to put in it.
Chapter 66 Chapter 66 CHAPTER 66 After that almost disastrous contract negotiation with Retani Industries, Cece helped me release a statement exposing their shady dealings on the forum, and Denzel took care of calling them to say that we weren¡¯ting back. I felt like I should have been doing more to help and warn people, but this was all I could do. At least I could rest easy knowing that the vast majority of trainers browsed the forums at least once in a while, and with my boost in poprity, maybe they¡¯d use that small moment to look up my post. After that, I finally decided to go pick up the rest of my team, but first, I decided to get some gifts to celebrate, which I could afford with the money I had gotten from winning against Gardenia. Zipping back and forth through the city was annoying, but the look on their faces would be worth it. First, I bought enough poffins for Frillish¡ª although everyone would probably steal from his share. Tang didn¡¯t eat, but maybe there was a way for him to enjoy tasty things. I needed to look that up eventually to be sure if he couldn¡¯t enjoy the taste of food once in a while like Frillish could. Then, I purchased a small Tepig plushie for Togetic, who could finally use Extrasensory on something other than rocks or poor angel, who she seemed to enjoy bullying. Maybe bullying was the wrong word since Tang didn¡¯t seem to mind whatsoever. He didn¡¯t seem to mind many things, to be honest, but I still felt bad for the little guy. I decided to get him a stress ball of some sort that he could use his vines to press and touch. I wasn¡¯t sure he had ever touched the material before, so he was bound to be interested in it, with how curious he was about touching everything new. Denzel and I already owned a portable battery that we used to cook, but I decided to get Elekid his own battery. Most electric types were capable of generating their own electricity, including him, but apparently, they enjoyed getting it from other sources. It was supposed to feel good if it wasn¡¯t their electricity or something. I¡¯d be able to charge it on the road since it was sr-powered. I really needed to learn more about the ins and outs of caring for my team. Since the others were out training and Denzel was depressed about the sponsor incident, I decided to finally get back up to my Pokemon Center room. Plus, it¡¯d be convenient since I was just picking up my team. I grabbed my Pokeballs from Nurse Joy, rode up the elevator, and entered my room. It was scary how fast I had gotten used to the luxurious life at my friends¡¯ hotel because a small part of me remembered Pokemon Center rooms to be bigger than this. People got used to wealth way too easily, so it¡¯d be nice to get back to Earth and sleep here once in a while. I released my team, and they rushed toward me. Togetic flew at me and knocked me to the ground, rubbing her head against mine. Elekid pped my shoulder affectionately, and Tang rubbed me all over with his vines. Even Frillish was staring at me with that smile that I had learned to love. ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m also happy to see you guys,¡± Iughed. ¡°You were all amazing during the battle. Every single one of you did your part.¡± Elekid stood up straight and yelled proudly. ¡°Your Ice Punch was awesome,¡± I grinned. ¡°You were even better than when we trained. I have gifts for you guys! Here,¡± I said, rustling in my bag. ¡°For you,¡± I said, handing Togetic her Tepig plush. ¡°Togeprri!¡± The fairy type cried out cheerfully before grabbing her toy. She flew around the room with it, throwing it in the air and catching it with Extrasensory. ¡°d you like it, princess,¡± I smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t tear it up, or I¡¯ll have to get you a new one, and that was thest Tepig in stock! For you, Frillish, I have your favorite¡­ Mago berry poffins!¡± I saw his eyes twitch a little, but he stayed still and just nodded. He was so strong, pretending not to bepletely enchanted by the poffins. ¡°C¡¯mere and get some,¡± I said. ¡°Or I¡¯ll have to feed all of them to the others. Elekid¡¯s never tasted any, and you would like some, wouldn¡¯t you, hon?¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± The electric type yelled. Tang writhed slightly and curiously felt at the poffins with a few vines, but he seemed uninterested. Togetic flew close, still carrying her toy with her psychic powers. ¡°Fri¡­¡± Frillish said, clearly annoyed, but he came close nheless. I grabbed one of his tentacles and looked at him. ¡°Seriously, I want you to know that I¡¯m very proud of you,¡± I told him. ¡°Without you, the entire strategy falls apart, and you poisoning that Lombre helped a lot too. I know how hard you practiced with Poison Sting.¡± The water type nodded, and I pulled him close into a hug. ¡°Now here, say ahhh,¡± Frillish rolled his red eyes and opened his mouth, and Elekid couldn¡¯t stop himself fromughing. Frillish red and threw water at the electric type, who easily dodged, and the two started ying a game of chicken throughout the room. Elekid somersaulted behind the bed, and Frillish flew after him. ¡°Hey, no water!¡± I eximed before groaning. ¡°Angel, help me out.¡± Tang blinked twice and gently trapped Elekid with a few vines by cornering him against one of the walls of the room. Frillish¡¯s eyes glinted, and he spat out his biggest jet of water yet, but angel quickly dragged Elekid into myp. Togetic giggled and pped her hands at the whole ordeal. I scratched my head and stared at the wet room. ¡°Well, at least it¡¯s just water, I guess. Come and eat,¡± I said, beckoning Frillish. I fed him the vast majority of the poffins, but I also fed some to Elekid and Togetic as well, much to Frillish¡¯s chagrin. Togeticined that the poffins weren¡¯t made of Oran, but I reminded her that this was Frillish¡¯s gift and not hers. ¡°Next up, for you, honey,¡± I said, staring at Elekid. He looked at my bag, barely able to contain his excitement. ¡°A battery.¡± I handed it to him, and he grabbed it, staring at it confusedly for a few seconds before eximing and finally understanding how to use it. He quickly drained it of its entire energy and yelled out as he flexed and spun his arms around. ¡°Done already?¡± I asked with a pout. ¡°I guess it isn¡¯t much for you, since it¡¯s meant for humans. I hope you like it still. It¡¯ll recharge alone with the sun when we travel.¡± Elekid nodded and caressed my arm, shocking a small jolt of electricity. I flinched, and he apologized profusely. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it didn¡¯t hurt,¡± I said. ¡°I guess you¡¯re not used to manipting electricity that isn¡¯t yours. Last but not least, angel. I have this for you,¡± I said, pulling out the stress ball. It was rather big, barely fitting in my hand, so I hoped it¡¯d be big enough for him to have fun with it. I felt Tang¡¯s vine around my wrist tighten slightly. He was excited. I grinned as he extended one of his vines and carefully felt at the multicolored ball. After a few seconds of feeling and pushing it around, he grabbed it from my hand and startedpressing it over and over, smiling with his eyes. I could barely see the ball under all of his vines now. They all loved their gifts. I was so happy that I felt a few tears build up in my eyes. I held them back. ¡°You guys have fun, I¡¯m going to work a little bit,¡± I said, standing up and walking to my desk. Tang, Elekid, and Togetic yed together while Frillish watched over my shoulder. I affectionately grabbed one of his tentacles and ced it against my head. ¡°Thanks for worrying about me, bud. I love you.¡± Frillish huffed and took his tentacle out of my hand. He was shy, but I knew he appreciated thement. I had told myself I would take a break from Pokemon training after the battle with Gardenia, but I couldn¡¯t help it. I lived and breathed Pokemon battling. So while I¡¯d give my team a break for a few days, I had a few things to work on. I grabbed a notepad¡ª the same one I had used to write down notes before going into Eterna forest¡ª and I put the video of my battle with Gardenia on my Poketch. I hadn¡¯t done this after Roark, which was a shame, but betterte than never. I was going to call this the ¡®post gym battle autopsy.¡¯ I¡¯d analyze what went wrong, what went right, and what I needed to change or improve, and ideally, I would do this after every gym battle, and maybe future tournaments too. I pushed through the visceral difort of hearing my shaky voice on video and started watching. The first thing I noticed was that even though I thought I¡¯d been hiding behind a stoic mask like Cece did during the gym battle, it was actually very obvious to tell when I was nervous, excited, angry, or panicking with the tone of my voice and my bodynguage. I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°Maybe masking yourself and what you¡¯re thinking justes with experience,¡± I muttered as I fast-forwarded through the video. ¡°Arceus, Grace, stop shaking,¡± I groaned at myself. Alright, so that part of the n had failed, along with trying to read Gardenia¡¯s bodynguage during the battle. Even though I had studied it a decent bit, I had been too distracted to do so. For example, when Gardenia was about topletely ruin your day with a tactic she was cooking up the entire battle, she fuckingughed and giggled like a little girl. ¡°Ingrain, Growth, Sr Beam!¡± The video yed back, and the gym leaderughed until the sound of her voice was drowned out by the huge, bright attack. I still couldn¡¯t believe Togetic had dodged the first and withstood the second by weakening it using all thoseyers of Ancient Power. I scribbled away in my notebook and reached another conclusion. With Togetic¡¯s newfound prowess with her psychic powers, it might be possible to start thinking about restraining Pokemon with Extrasensory and then using Sweet Kiss on them at the same time. Thunder Wave was out though since the attack took too long and too much focus. It was something to consider experimenting with, at least. Next up, it was time to look at Frillish¡¯s performance. He had actually done his job perfectly, and the only problem had been my fault. I had used too many videos fromst year¡¯s Circuit as a reference, and in those, Lombre hadn¡¯t known Mega Drain yet. I still had a lot of work to do regarding information gathering. It was hard to remember that the gym leaders¡¯ Pokemon also improved and learned new moves throughout their lives, slowly moving up in the kind of battles they could be used at. Roark¡¯s Onix had been on the cusp of being too strong for trainers with no badges, and Gardenia¡¯s Sunflora was the same, although for trainers with one badge instead. Elekid had done his job wonderfully, even though I hadn¡¯t used him as much as I wanted. That Roselia and her Toxics were so urate that they had hit my fastest Pokemon, so it was obvious it would have poisoned the others easily if Elekid hadn¡¯t taken care of it so fast. The situation with Leafeon made me realize that the electric type needed a move that could affect arge area around him. Tang could extend his vines in every direction, Togetic had Fairy Wind and Frillish was good enough to keep a Bubblebeam going for long enough to find a potential opponent in time. Luckily for me, I had the perfect move already lined up for him: Shock Wave. The attack was a quick burst of electricity all around the Pokemon¡ª like a weaker version of Discharge. If the opponent was in range, there was no way it could miss. I would need to start working on it with Elekid after his break. Finally, Tang. The grass type was even more powerful than I thought. Thebination of Bind and Mega Drain was seriously hard for a Pokemon to get out of. He had been perfect as well, and I¡¯d need to teach him Leech Seed soon. In the long term, I wanted angel to have as much survivability as possible, and the move would help greatly with that. Next, I needed to rey the fight in my head and figure out what I¡¯d change in hindsight. This was going to be a fun day! ¡ª¡ª I stretched in my chair and yawned as my Poketch started ringing. It was already night time, and I had lost another day engrossed in Pokemon battling. I rubbed my eyes and answered the phone without looking. ¡°Grace,¡± I heard, recognizing Cece¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m calling to tell you that the party¡¯s been moved to tomorrow, so there¡¯s no need toe if you don¡¯t want to. I¡¯d like it if you still did, though¡­ you can sleep over again.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯lle!¡± I said, suddenly feeling awake. ¡°But why is it canceled? Did something happen?¡± ¡°The gym is closed tomorrow,¡± Cecilia said. ¡ª¡ª As soon as I heard the news, I hurried to Cecilia¡¯s hotel room, where everyone else was already, including Denzel. ¡°Sorry, I was busy,¡± I quickly said, taking off my shoes. ¡°Can someone tell me why the gym is closed? Doesn¡¯t that literally never happen?¡± ¡°They¡¯re saying that Gardenia will be upied tomorrow speaking with the protesters and stuff,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°So the entire gym¡¯s closed for the day.¡± ¡°What happens to the people whose battle was tomorrow?¡± I asked. ¡°The entire schedule¡¯s moved up a day, so all of our battles are the day after tomorrow,¡± Louis exined. Justin groaned. ¡°I had just gotten myself mentally prepared too.¡± ¡°Why are youining?¡± I asked, sitting next to Cece. ¡°It just gives you another day of training, no?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather just rip the bandaid off and be done with it,¡± He said, sinking into the couch. ¡°The nerves are getting to me.¡± ¡°Hmph. How weak-willed of you, Justin. You¡¯re better than a man that would worry about nerves,¡± Paulineined. ¡°You¡¯ll do fine,¡± I told my friend. ¡°Just keep the strategy I gave you in mind, and things will probably work out.¡± Pauline¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°You gave him a strategy?¡± ¡°Yeah, when he asked me for help with his Lotad a few days ago. Do you want one too?¡± I grinned. ¡°It¡¯ll probably be a big help since you¡¯ll be fighting two-on-three.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need anything from you,¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine on my own.¡± ¡°Pauline, don¡¯t be foolish,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°What? I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± And so, we spent another night talking among friends. Still, at the back of my mind, I couldn¡¯t help but worry about how things were progressing. The fact that the demonstrations were so significant that they forced the gym to close was concerning. The only time Pokemon gyms closed was when the leaders were sick, and usually, one of the gym trainers that were good at battling took over their duties for the duration of the problem. But to close the gym entirely? Either I was worrying for nothing, or things were worse than they seemed. Way worse.
Interlude – Gardenia Interlude ¨C Gardenia INTERLUDE - Gardenia Gardenia sang with a smile as she poured water on her newly acquired Eucalyptus. The nt had evolved to live in harsh, sunny climates, but they still needed a healthy dose of water at first. She was very happy with the purchase, given that the nt wasn¡¯t native to Sinnoh and the seeds she bought were of the best quality possible, but with her gym leader sry, that wasn¡¯t a problem. The woman twirled around happily, walking through her huge terrarium. Different species of nts were everywhere around her, filling the air with a distinct forest-like smell. This was her refuge. After a hard day of work, Gardenia always spent the rest of the evening in her terrarium, and sometimes even slept there. She had it built specifically on the highest floor so that the sun could shine down on the nts she kept. ¡°La,,,¡± She sang. ¡°Oh, your soil¡¯spletely dry,¡± She said, looking into her cactus pot. She hurried and watered it. Gardenia was in a great mood tonight. In another corner, Roserade was silently tending to her own little patch of flowers that she liked so much. Torterra was downstairs, whipping his sons into shape¡ª two Turtwig and Grotle. One of the Turtwig was newly hatched, and Gardenia desperately needed him to use against trainers with no badges since the other one was getting too strong and probably on the cusp of evolving. The rest of her personal team was at the Pokemon Center. Today had been an especially fun day. She had battled a trainer that had gone to the Conferencest year, and she finally got to almost go all out and beat him in the dirt. He woulde back soon enough. She felt kind of bad because she had expected him to improve a lot more in between the Circuits, so she may have been too hard on him. Being a gym leader was fun, but it wasn¡¯t every day that she got to use her actual team, which may have clouded her judgment. Still, that wasn¡¯t all. Thest two battles of her shift had given her a fantastic amount of fun that made her feel all giddy inside. It wasn¡¯t every day that she could go all out with Sunflora, and that strategy the other teenager used to deal with her Hoppip had been impressive. Right now, Grace Pastel and maybe Denzel Williams were still like seeds that had barely budded, but if they were given time and care? She couldn¡¯t wait to see them grow into full-fledged trainers. Every gym leader had at least a few trainers they kept an eye on during the Circuit if they particrly impressed them during a battle, unless they were always grumpy and couldn¡¯t bother like Volkner. Gardenia¡¯s head whirled to the right as she heard her terrarium door open. ¡°Gardenia, it¡¯s me. We need to talk.¡± ¡°Roro,¡± She started. ¡°You look angry, what is it?¡± Rnd Patel was one of her most trusted gym trainers and Gardenia¡¯s childhood friend. They had grown up together in Eterna and tried out to be gym trainers as soon as they turned fifteen and had one run through the Circuit. Rnd had gotten to the sixth badge, which was very impressive for a trainer¡¯s first attempt. Gardenia had reached the Conference finals and lost to Candice. Being from Snowpoint, she just had too many ice types for Gardenia to deal with. Her mastery of the type had been too much to ovee with her usual strategies. Today? Gardenia could probably beat Candice every time if they were both going all out, unless the girl was having a particrly unhinged day. She was nigh unpredictable when she did. Either way, Rnd and Gardenia started working as gym trainers at the same time, and Gardenia eventually became gym leader when Mira, her predecessor, retired. Today, Rnd was her right-hand man who kept the gym¡¯s metaphorical gears oiled up and running while she mostly focused on what she loved doing the most: battling. ¡°Of course I¡¯m angry,¡± He hissed. ¡°The protests, Gardenia, the fucking protests are growing out of control, and you still haven¡¯t put out a single statement.¡± ¡°No need to use that tone, Roro,¡± Gardenia said, dismissing him with a wave. ¡°You already know my position. We had this conversation two days ago.¡± ¡°Your position is self-destructive to an extremely worrying degree,¡± Rnd eximed as he paced through the terrarium. ¡°Watch the nts,¡± Gardenia warned. ¡°I follow Cynth¡¯s orders. She told me to stay silent for now, so that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to with Pete!¡± He¡¯s been holding town halls, speaking to protestors, and trying to calm them down. You¡¯re supposed to work together to help your people. The people of Eterna city, who I fear you¡¯ve forgotten.¡± Pete Delgado was Eterna¡¯s current mayor. Gardenia had no hard feelings toward him, she was just doing her job, and he was doing his. The gym leader walked to her terrarium¡¯s entrance and sat on one of the chairs. ¡°I answer to Cynthia and the League,¡± She shrugged. ¡°No!¡± Rnd yelled. A few of thete-staying gym trainers turned their heads toward them worriedly, but Gardenia just waved them away. ¡°That¡¯s not the system Cynthia promised us when she made this. You answer to the people. You don¡¯t just ignore them and treat them like children.¡± ¡°Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures,¡± Gardenia sighed. She hated seeing her friend so angry. The gym leader never got angry. She found the emotion to be a waste of time, and it made people think irrationally. Like Rnd was doing right now. ¡°You don¡¯t know the danger Sinnoh is in.¡± ¡°Then tell me,¡± Rnd begged. ¡°Talk to me, Gardenia.¡± The woman sighed. ¡°The League¡¯s arrested several agitators trying to escte the protests into riots, and some have links to team Gctic,¡± She disclosed in a whisper. Revealing information like this wasn¡¯t like her, but she had a soft spot for Rnd. Plus, it wasn¡¯t technically ssified, and her gym trainers were trustworthy. Her friend froze. ¡°They want the protests to get worse? Is it just to keep you distracted?¡± ¡°To keep Cynthia distracted, mostly,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°She¡¯s been at the Directorate all week trying to save Vernon from getting fired, but it¡¯s not looking good. The new opposition will screw her every step of the way, and I honestly wouldn¡¯t be surprised if team Gctic had their hands in there too.¡± ¡°But you won¡¯t verify it, right?¡± He asked, adjusting his cor. Gardenia felt a bit of emotional pain, but she expunged it as fast as it came. ¡°Do you think we¡¯re so far gone that we¡¯d use memory extraction on anyone we suspect?¡± She asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, and it scares me, Gardenia. It scares me. I don¡¯t recognize the League anymore. Even with the team Gctic agitators, the protestor¡¯s concerns are still valid. You should still talk to Pete.¡± Gardenia sighed internally. Rnd still had no idea what team Gctic was, and neither did the public. To them, they had just had a fundamental right taken away after a short attack that resulted in no deaths and very few injuries. Attacks from people with Pokemon throughout the region weren¡¯t particrly rare. Being a trainer criminal could be a lucrative job if you didn¡¯t get caught. So to them, it was just another Tuesday. So why was the League acting so rashly? Team Gctic wanted to mess with reality, but they didn¡¯t know that, and Cynthia wanted to keep it that way. Gardenia respected the Champion too much to question the way she did things. All of the gym leaders did. ¡°Civilians protest about the Circuit¡¯s difficulty every year, Rnd. Too many injured and dead trainers. They just changed what they were mad about,¡± She dismissed him. ¡°When we became gym trainers,¡± Rnd started soberly. ¡°We said we¡¯d change the system from the inside. We were tired of the way the older generation did things. What happened to that?¡± ¡°When you¡¯re a part of the system,¡± Gardenia started. ¡°You start to realize why things work the way they do.¡± Her friend¡¯s shoulders sagged, and he hung his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to go, I guess,¡± He said. ¡°Oh, and I had one more thing to say. It¡¯s about Lily.¡± ¡°That new kid that works reception?¡± Gardenia asked. ¡°Yeah, I think she¡¯d be a better fit for gym Pokemon training duty. Can I move her post?¡± Gardenia nodded and watched her friend leave. The gym leader got up and walked back into her terrarium. She¡¯d sleep here tonight. ¡ª¡ª ¡°I really don¡¯t feel like working today,¡± Gardenia groaned, thinking of her argument with Rnd. ¡°I had a terrible night.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re on in four, so I can¡¯t do anything for you.¡± A gym trainer told her as he reapplied her makeup. ¡°Ready?¡± Gym trainers had all kinds of jobs, including being makeup artists. Gym leaders had to look their best during every battle, after all. ¡°No, I need to switch my Pokemon around,¡± Gardenia said, keeping her face still. ¡°The kid has one badge, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, Chase Karlson, one badge, four Pokemon,¡± He said. ¡°Then I don¡¯t think he¡¯d want to face Tropius and Torterra, but that¡¯s just me.¡± ¡°Alright, just a second,¡± Her stylist said. ¡°There¡­ there you go, you¡¯re ready.¡± Gardenia nodded and quickly grabbed some new Pokemon from the metallic drawer she kept in the waiting room. They were divided by badges, so she could easily sort through them and swap them out in between her battles. They weren¡¯t all in there of course. Around half of them were out and about throughout the gym. Gardenia¡¯s Pokemon worked in shifts. After all, existing and being released solely for Pokemon battling would be akin to abuse. Gardenia quickly grabbed a few Pokemon to choose from and stepped out onto the battlefield. The crowd roared, but there were also some boos here and there. People that disliked how the League was doing things were voicing their discontent, even though Gardenia had locked the gym to trainers only to keep the peace, or they¡¯d never be able to work. She didn¡¯t really care for them. Her full trust was in Cynthia, and information about team Gctic would be revealed when the Champion deemed it fit. Her challenger strode onto the trainer tform like he owned the ce. Unbeknownst to most trainers, gym battles started before the first Pokemon was even sent out. Gym leaders analyzed the way a trainer behaved and held themselves to estimate the level of strength they should be at. Were they nervous? Were they confident? Could they tell that confidence was being faked through bodynguage? Trembling, eye twitching and tense muscles all gave that away. Did the challenger have a n? Gardenia could usually tell by the time it took for the challenger to send out their first Pokemon and the confidence they sent it out with. Right now, Gardenia could tell almost all of her challenger¡¯s confidence was being faked, and he was incredibly nervous. ¡°Wee, challenger,¡± Gardenia said with her smooth voice. ¡°This will be a four-on-four battle with two switch-ins allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever,¡± He said before immediately sending out a Zangoose. Gardenia¡¯s eyes narrowed. That Pokemon was already poisoned, probably because of its ability. That was a double-edged sword, and it meant the normal type was on a timer. Well, let¡¯s keep it simple for now, Gardenia thought, sending out her Gloom. Ny percent of the time, her first Pokemon was a means test. If the challenger dealt with it easily, she¡¯d switch it out and send something stronger. Immediately, her mind went to work. Confidence issues, an aggressive strategy. He¡¯s always going to be on the attack. Zangoose¡­ Zangoose usually know sh and other w moves, and this one might know Fury Cutter. Keep your distance, kite, harass and try to get him angry. Of course, to Gardenia, this was just work, so she only thought about the rudimentary scaffolding of the battle before letting her instincts take over. She didn''t think of every single detail like she would have done if she was facing an opponent at her level, or she would have burned out at her second battle of the day. Unlike what most trainers thought, Gym leaders weren¡¯t actually meant to never hold back and beat trainers relentlessly. If that were the case, almost no one would ever win¡ª weaker Pokemon or not. The skill gap was just toorge. They were meant to give their opponents a challenge to ovee. Trainers got better through adversity, and Arceus knew that they needed good trainers if this team Gctic thing grew beyond the League¡¯s control. They couldn¡¯t be everywhere at once. But enough about that. Chase Karlson had one badge, which meant that she at least couldn¡¯t afford to be on auto-pilot like she usually was with the badgeless kids. ¡°Zangoose, Hone ws, Quick Attack, and sh!¡± Chase yelled. ¡°Grassy Terrain, Leech Seed,¡± Gardenia smoothly ordered. ¡°Then keep it away with Acid.¡± Win or lose, this would be an interesting one. ¡ª¡ª Chase Karlson was good. More than good, in fact, but Gardenia knew the issues tormenting him held the teen back. She congratted him and handed him his badge, his money, and his TM. The battle had gone in his favor until she sent out her Leafeon. Her hiding tactics in Grassy Terrain had almost made her turn the battle around, and unfortunately for Chase, she had already defeated his Houndour, who could have burned the grass down. That meant that it had taken both his Charjabug and Riolu to finally win. The fighting type managed to find Leafeon through his aura powers being able to sense emotions. That was something to work on in the future. Chase clicked his tongue, grabbed his trainer ID, and started to leave. ¡°Good battle, kid,¡± She said. He didn¡¯t turn back. Gardenia had seen these types of trainers before. In fact, Roark used to be simr to this because of his problems with Byron. She smiled, imagining the rock type gym leader back when they had first met. Roark had changed a lot, and so had she. Being a gym leader changed people. Having so many people look up to you and work under you usually mellowed you out. ¡ª¡ª Gardenia grabbed the locked, nondescript box from the gym trainer and locked herself into her office. She grabbed a special key from a drawer, opened the box, and revealed a document that the League had sent her. There was a huge, red ¡®CLASSIFIED¡¯ stamped onto the front page. The gym leader hummed and started reading. ¡®Report 20192938: On the League Secret Service¡¯s investigation of team Gctic activities in the Eterna region¡¯ ¡®For Gym Leader eyes and up ONLY¡¯ ¡®League trainers, in cooperation with the LSS have concluded their investigation of heightened Pokemon aggression in Eterna Forest. Remains of a device were found in the building known locally as the Old Chateau, and through reverse engineering, the LSS believes the machine to be emitting some sort of signal that agitates and lures out ghost types, but it also has an effect on all wild Pokemon. Evidence of this can be found¡­'' Gardenia carefully read over the examples provided by the LSS. The closer Pokemon were to the old chateau, the more aggressive they got. Even Phantump, who were usually non-aggressive, had attacked a few groups of trainers making their way through close to the Old Chateau, and a Mismagius had trapped the League trainers that had gone to investigate in an illusion. ¡®The device was running from October 2nd to October 26th, and the LSS theorizes that due to the half-hearted attempt at deconstruction, team Gctic was forced to flee the scene by a belligerent Pokemon in the building. Regardless, the situation in Eterna forest has now been confirmed as stable¡­ ¡°October 2nd?¡± Gardenia murmured. ¡°That was before even the attack on the power nt at Valley Windworks.¡± ¡®...actively disseminate misinformation through the Pokemon Rangers and create the narrative that the increase of trainers going through the forest was agitating the wild Pokemon. The LSS believes that team Gctic was looking for a specific Pokemon located in the Old Chateau or around its periphery, and the focus on angering ghosts all but confirms that the organization was looking for a specific ghost type. Further investigation is needed¡­¡¯ ¡°Holy shit,¡± Gardenia breathed out, eyeing the next part. ¡®Team Gctic has been highly active in creating and organizing the protests. The LSS theorizes that they have a base of operations in Eterna and Veilstone since the protests are the most pronounced and originated from there. Countermeasures have been put in ce to reduce the threat of infiltration, and contact has been established with the International Police, who will send their agents on the 17th of November. A new directive on how to deal with these protests will be issued shortly. LSS agents have been sent to supervise Maylene Suzuki, as she is considered too young to deal with the situation. Investigations into Directorate members Samuel White and Sophie Richards have also concluded. Suspicious deposits of 5,700,000 and 7,200,000 Pokedors have been tracked in their ounts, and right after this money transfer, they defected from the coalition government and joined the opposition. There is no confirmation that team Gctic was behind this, but the LSS will continue to rmend Cynthia¡¯s approval of the memory extraction procedure on non-Gctic members.¡¯ ¡®For a safer Sinnoh.¡¯ ¡°This is bad¡­ this is really bad,¡± Gardenia said, feeling a surge of fear. Gardenia didn¡¯t care for the LSS lying and hiding information from the public. The Secret Service was an autonomous branch of the League that dealt with internal threats, such as terrorism, or in this case, investigating team Gctic. As she had said before, being in the system changed the way a person viewed it. She knew that information had to be carefully drip fed to the masses to prevent mass panic. No, what she cared about was that there was apparently a team Gctic base of operation hidden in in sight somewhere in Eterna city and in Veilstone. Maylene was practically Gardenia¡¯s sister, and she worried the young girl would get overwhelmed soon. The other gym leaders should have gotten the same document she did right around now, so they were probably just learning about it as well. Gardenia sighed. ¡°At least some progress is being made¡ª¡± Wait, that gym trainer who had given the documents to her¡­ she didn¡¯t recognize his face at all, and Gardenia prided herself on knowing all of her employees. Arceus, the Secret Service really had their fingers in every pie. She heard a sudden knock on the door and hurried to hide what she had just read. Gardenia unlocked the door, and Rnd greeted her. ¡°Rnd, what is it?¡± Gardenia asked. ¡°Sorry, you were probably busy, but I needed to tell you something. I got a call from the League that said you were allowed to issue a joint statement with mayor Pete,¡± He smiled. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve changed their ways somewhat.¡± Oh, you poor soul, Gardenia thought with a pained face. Before this, she would have been fine with telling Rnd¡­ most of what she knew, and she was fine with specting, but to confirm her thoughts that team Gctic was influencing civilian government policy? No matter how much she trusted him, that fact leaking would be disastrous for the government and the League. I guess those are the new guidelines, then. At least the LSS works fast. ¡°Fine,¡± Gardenia sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s meet the guy.¡± ¡ª¡ª Gardenia didn¡¯te out of her gym too often. Most of the other gym leaders, like Roark and Volkner, liked to help out and were far more public than she was, but all of her work could be done in her gym. The gym leader stepped out of the ck SUV, apanied by a few of her strongest gym trainers that acted as bodyguards, including Rnd. All of thembined were weaker than her, but she supposed that someone could never be too safe, especially with team Gctic running around. ¡°Haven¡¯t been there in like six months,¡± Gardenia said, looking at Eterna city¡¯s Town Hall. ¡°Which is an actual travesty,¡± Rnd said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Pete Delgado was still highly popr among Eterna city¡¯s public, and he had been re-elected in andslide a year ago. When they entered his office, the bald, bulky man nodded at her firmly and extended his hand. She shook it. ¡°Leader Gardenia,¡± The mayor said formally. ¡°I¡¯m d the League is finally seeing reason and stepping out of their shell. Arceus knows they¡¯ve been silent these days. Too silent.¡± ¡°There were a few internal issues to deal with, but we¡¯re ready now,¡± Gardenia smiled, ignoring his verbal jab. ¡°What¡¯s going into the statement? I¡¯m pretty bad at making speeches.¡± It was at times like these that Gardenia remembered that the cooperation between the civilian and trainer branches of government on the city level was usually icy at best. This wasn¡¯t like the Directorate, which used to be unified behind Vernon and Cynthia. Local governments bickered and fought over everything, from zoning rights to city expansion into wild Pokemon territory, to tightening restrictions around the Circuit. The entrance to Mount Cor had been closed during Gardenia¡¯s first year as a gym leader after trainers kept dying in there, but it was the civilian government that pushed for that policy. ¡°I figured,¡± Pete said. He nodded to his assistant, who handed Gardenia a sheet of paper. ¡°Have a look at this.¡± ¡°¡­ sorry about ourck ofmunication¡­ ¡­ we¡¯ll do better from now on, yeah¡­ yeah¡­ protesting is your right, but keep it peaceful¡­¡± Gardenia rambled. ¡°This seems pretty standard.¡± ¡°The way you¡¯re being so nonchnt about this is concerning. If the situation devolves into riots, not only will it be more difficult to calm down the public, the city will have to pay tens of millions in damages.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t they have insurancepanies for that?¡± She mused. ¡°The insurers will sue and im that the government is directly responsible for the damage due to our abysmal response to the protests, and I think they¡¯ll win,¡± Pete exined. ¡°This speech is just the start. We¡¯ll have you attend multiple events, speak to the public, and answer their questions. It¡¯s about time you start behaving like a proper city official and not some glorified battler.¡± ¡°When do I have to do this?¡± She asked. ¡°All day tomorrow, starting at eight.¡± ¡°I have work,¡± Gardenia protested. ¡°Close the gym down for a day. You owe us that much.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I have one of my trainers keep it going?¡± Gardenia asked. ¡°You could, but you could also show the people that you¡¯re putting them above trainer business. It¡¯s about the principle, Gardenia.¡± Gardenia craned her neck and looked at the ceiling exasperatedly. ¡°Fine,¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll close for one day.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing the right thing, Gardenia,¡± Rnd nodded. Gardenia¡¯s loyalty was the League¡¯s. She respected Cynthia more than anyone else, and she would listen to anything the Champion told her to do. She prided herself on the matter, often referring to herself as a ¡®pencil pusher¡¯. Gardenia kept her head down and listened to the League¡¯s orders. But still, at the back of her mind, she was relieved that they were finally allowed to speak up. The League needed the civilian poption on their side if¡ª no, when team Gctic was going to strike again.
Chapter 67 Chapter 67 CHAPTER 67 I woke up to Tang¡¯s vines rubbing my face. I slowly opened my eyes and turned my neck toward angel, who was staring at me with his big eyes. It took me a few seconds to understand what he wanted. The sun was rising, and he wanted to go outside. The rest of my team was still asleep, although Frillish was missing. I tried moving my arm, but I noticed that Cece was resting her head on my shoulder and grabbing onto my arm. I steadied my breathing and stayed still, motioning Tang to the balcony door. Cecilia had been nice enough to allow my team to sleep out of their Pokeballs in her homest night, so I didn¡¯t want to wake her, especially when she looked so peacefully asleep. Tangzily nodded and opened the balcony door with a vine, causing me to look outside and notice Frillish¡¯s head peeking through the water surface of the balcony swimming pool. I silently chuckled. How had he even gotten outside? I squinted at the small door crack. Could he squeeze through that if he used Acid Armor and altered himself? That was something to think about. I smiled as I looked through the ss door. Tang¡¯s presence had clearly annoyed Frillish, and the water type immediately sunk deeper into the water when he noticed that he wasn¡¯t alone. Elekid was leaning right against the bed, whispering something in his sleep, and Togetic was at the foot of the bed with her plushie, having stolen all of the covers. Well, now I had run out of things to think about, and my mind went back toCece being so close to me. At this point, I was wondering if I should just tell her I liked girls because this felt like I was taking advantage of her. She would probably treat me differently if she knew I did. That probably meant no more cuddles at night. I sighed, but it was the right thing to do. Still, I¡¯d wait until after her gym battle tomorrow afternoon to not throw her off her game. I sunk deeper into the bed and turned toward her again, observing the way she slept. The pace of her breaths, her little twitches, the warmth of her skin on my arm. I wished I could experience this forever. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Any information on the state of the protests?¡± I asked Denzel, passing him a basketball. ¡°Gardenia¡¯s supposed to be doing speeches, no?¡± He took aim and shot, not even hitting the rim. ¡°Shit,¡± He groaned. ¡°Airball!¡± Iughed. We were spending the day together since the others were training, and we had stopped at a small basketball court. Pauline had managed to drag even Emilia to do somest-minute training. Supposedly she wanted her Charmeleon to reach her true potential with ze, and some mock battles would certainly help Emilia. ¡°I thought you¡¯d know,¡± He said, passing me the ball. ¡°Easy there, dude,¡± Iined. ¡°Don¡¯t throw it that hard.¡± ¡°Come on, you can take it,¡± Denzel smirked. ¡°Shoot.¡± I jumped and shot the ball. Togetic chirped, and it mysteriously curved toward the. ¡°Got it!¡± I yelled. ¡°That was all me!¡± ¡°Prrrri!¡± ¡°Okay, cheaters,¡± He rolled his eyes. I passed him the ball. ¡°But to answer your question, I wouldn¡¯t know. I¡¯m not looking at the forums or the news anymore to destress,¡± I exined. ¡°So be useful and be my link to the outside world.¡± The teenager groaned as he made a half-hearted attempt to dribble. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s been working out rather well. Of course, protests are still going on, but people are generally happy about the fact that the trainer side of government is finally speaking to them.¡± I nodded. ¡°Thank the Legendaries. Hopefully, they¡¯ll stop soon,¡± I said. I was still angry that the demonstrators were distracting the League from the real problems, but progress was progress. ¡°I mean, none of this would have happened if the League spoke up in the first ce,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You can¡¯t keep people in the dark.¡± ¡°If they aren¡¯t saying anything, there must be a reason.¡± ¡°Meh,¡± He said. ¡°Still feels shitty. I guess we can agree to disagree.¡± I nodded. ¡°Prime Minister Vernon is looking fucked, though,¡± Denzel continued. ¡°One more dissenting vote, and he¡¯s out. It¡¯s only a matter of time. Hell, it might even happentoday. They¡¯ll rece him with a member from the opposition.¡± ¡°They¡¯re using him as a scapegoat,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, I definitely agree on that,¡± He said, shooting the ball. He missed. ¡°I mean, some members of the Directorate who votedforthe National Security Emergency Act are now voting to oust the guy. Can¡¯t help butugh about that. Cynthia¡¯s been busy trying to negotiate with them, but nothing is working.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Politics,¡± I spat. ¡°Can¡¯t believe I¡¯ll have to deal with that when I be the Champion.¡± ¡°Slow down there,¡± He grinned. ¡°But you¡¯re right. I can¡¯t believe Cynthia was already doing this at our age. Can you imagine?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I mean, she implemented the systems, but yeah, the amount of work and pressure must have been overwhelming. Still, she pushed forward, and I¡¯ll always look up to her.¡± ¡°You and me both, Grace,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You and me both.¡± ¡ª¡ª I squeezed through the bleachers and took a seat next to Denzel. The day had finallye, and our friends were about to have all of their gym battles. Louis was first, and he was currently waiting for Gardenia¡¯s break to be over. He was as confident as ever. There hadn¡¯t been a trace of nervousness in him when we were making our way here. In fact, he said that with his new Vulpix, this would probably be easy. I didn¡¯t know how good that Vulpix was, but odds are that with her, Prinplup¡¯s Ice Beam, which Gardenia probably wouldn¡¯t expect, and Gible, he was probably right, although I did think he was being too confident. There was always the chance that Gardenia would catch him off guard and manage to squeak out a win. Still, I hoped Louis would win, along with everyone else. I was especially worried about Cece. I had gotten better at figuring her out, and I could tell she was nervous. I couldn¡¯t me her. Her father was breathing down her neck. Gardenia finally stepped onto the arena, followed by Louis a minuteter. The arena was just as packed as it had been during my battle, reminding me that he, along with the others, werefamousbillionaire heirs. It was hard to remember with how¡­ normal they were. I supposed it had been my fault for treating them differently when we first met. At the end of the day, people were just people. Gardenia gave her weing speech, indicating that this would be a three-on-three with two switch-ins allowed. Louis immediately released his Vulpix, which made me wince. Revealing his fire type was his first mistake, and the battle hadn¡¯t even started yet. Obviously, Gardenia was going to send out her Lombre now, and she did. Now Louis could either risk his Vulpix or waste one of his switch-ins unless this was a part of some greater n I wasn¡¯t seeing. Maybe I should have given everyone some pointers like I had done with Justin. But then, I was surprised to see the weather start to change. ¡°Holy fuck,¡± Denzel whispered. ¡°That Vulpix hasDrought.¡± Ah.It all made sense now. Vulpix¡¯s Drought would prevent Lombre from changing the weather. If the power disparity between Pokemon was toorge, then the stronger one would be able to overpower the ability, but Gardenia was obviously only using Pokemon at our level. That meant Lombre¡¯s water type attack power would be cut in half. ¡°He must have spent a fortune on that,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s looking good for him now.¡± ¡°Vulpix, start us off with a me Charge!¡± Louis said confidently. Vulpix barked and burst into mes, gradually speeding up as she dashed toward Lombre. ¡°Bubblebeam while it gets there,¡± Gardenia said, leaning on her knees. The stream of bubbles hit Vulpix, but the fire type pushed through. Right as she was about to hit Lombre, Gardenia recalled it. She struggled to stop and crashed into the barrier. I nodded, happy that Gardenia did what I would have done. Lombre was too valuable to be risked here, so switching was the right move. The problem was, who could deal with this Vulpix? Gardenia grabbed her second Pokeball and sent out Cottonnee, who began floating in the wind. I quickly recalled the information I had gathered on the Pokemon. It functioned like a weaker version of Hoppip, using a weak version of Fairy Wind to float, but what it had to make up for that weakness was¡ª ¡°Vulpix, Incinerate!¡± Louis ordered. mes started gathering in Vulpix¡¯s mouth. ¡°Leech Seed,¡± Gardenia grinned. I blinked, and suddenly, Cottonee was the one attacking first. Even though I knew how Prankster worked as an ability, it still fucked with my mind. No matter how fast its opponent was, Cottonee¡¯s non-attacking moves would always go first. The grass type sang and threw seeds from its cloud-like beard. ¡°Dodge! Burn the ones you can¡¯t!¡± Louis yelled. Vulpix acquiesced and aimed her Incinerate at the Leech Seed instead of Cottonee. The grass type used the opportunity to get right above her. ¡°Incinerate again upwards,¡± He said. ¡°Stun Spore.¡± Cottonee shook itself and shot out yellow spores below itself at surprising speeds. Vulpix shot out another stream of mes, but the grass type dodged, weaving around it with the wind. Vulpix quickly ran before the spores could reach her, but Gardenia wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Leech Seed barrage behind it. Follow it up with Cotton Spore,¡± She said in quick session. ¡°me Charge out of there!¡± Louis said with a hint of frustration. Frustration was the name of the game. Gardenia wasn¡¯t evenattackingyet. Prankster was an incredibly oppressive ability and annoying to deal with. Gardenia would overwhelm you with it, upping the pressure until you popped and made a mistake. Vulpix rushed away from Cottonee¡¯s attack and toward Gardenia, but the grass type followed closely behind. ¡°Will-O-Wisp! Get it away from you!¡± Louis yelled. A purple me appeared above Vulpix and shot out toward Cottonee, who again, justdodged. ¡°Enough of this!¡± Louis hissed. ¡°Hypnosis!¡± I winced. There it was. The first mistake. Vulpix stood still as her eyes turned bright pink, and she began letting out weird, otherworldly sounds. Gardenia grinned, and she snapped her fingers. ¡°Cotton Spore, Stun Spore, Leech Seed.¡± The problem with the move Hypnosis was that it tooktimeto work unless that Pokemon was expertly trained with the move. Lucian¡¯s kazam, for example, was rumored to be able to put an opponent to sleep in less than a second. Vulpix was strong, but she wasn¡¯t an Elite Four Pokemon. Cottonee quickly dropped a series of spores. The first set, Cotton Spore,nded on Vulpix and swelled up around her, and they¡¯d slow her movements down to a crawl. The second set paralyzed her, and the fire type¡¯s Hypnosis was interrupted by her convulsions. And then, Leech Seednded on her. Fucking hell, Gardenia was terrifying. Louis was in a terrible spot, and losing was now a real danger if he let panic take a hold of him. ¡°Growth, then get down and Mega Drain,¡± Gardenia said smoothly. The grass type glowed and grew a few inches before quickly lowering itself, and it began to drain Vulpix¡¯s energy. The fire type was helpless. She was slowed, paralyzed, and being drained of everything she had. What I¡¯d do in this situation was order her to me Charge and hope she pushed through, that way, she would atleastburn the Cotton Spore, but Louis was frozen. It took a few seconds, but he recalled Vulpix. Wasting a switch-in was less of a problem here because it was only a three-on-three, and Gardenia had already used one of hers, but still, even if recalling her stopped her from being slowed and removed Leech Seed¡¯s vines, Vulpix¡¯s paralyzed state would make it hard to use for the rest of the battle. It didn¡¯t matter how well-bred and raised your Pokemon was if it simplycouldn¡¯t attack. The heavy sunlight receded as Louis sent out his Prinplup. I nodded. At least he hadn¡¯t tunnel-visioned and sent out Gible. ¡°Prinplup, Brine!¡± Louis yelled out. My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn¡¯t been the only one working on new moves. Clouds materialized above Cottonee and rain¡ª no, calling it rain would be wrong. Highly pressurized drops of water bore down on the grass type. The move wouldn¡¯t be very effective, but Cottonee waslight. It had to be, to be able to float in the wind, and that meant that it started falling to the ground. ¡°Leech Seed!¡± Gardenia yelled as Cottonee hit the ground. ¡°Ice Beam!¡± Louis ordered. Prinplup honked, pping its flippers as a bright ray of icy energy flew toward Cottonee. Prinplup¡¯s attack was way faster than Incinerate had been, and Growth had made Cottonee slightly slower, along with the water coating its fluffy cotton-parts. The grass type cried out as part of its body was frozen by the attack, but it threw out Leech Seed nheless. Prinplup awkwardly managed to dodge, thanks to Ice Beam throwing Cottonee off. ¡°Fly up and Razor Leaf,¡± Gardenia yelled. ¡°Quickly Ice Beam her again!¡± Another beam of ice hit Cottonee, who was severely slowed. It was never going to get off the ground again. It jerked its leaf-like gliders, and sharp leaves barrelled toward Prinplup, who winced and let out a sharp honk. Louis ordered onest Ice Beam and Cottonee finally went down. ¡°Cottonee is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your second Pokemon,¡±The referee said. Gardenia sent out her Lombre again, which was the obvious move. She actuallywantedharsh sunlight now to hamper Prinplup¡¯s water moves, and it would be able to resist Ice Beam. ¡°Ice Beam!¡± Louis yelled again. ¡°Fake out,¡± Gardenia calmly said. Lombre croaked, disappearing and reappearing in front of Prinplup and pping his face with both of its hands. Even that caught me off, guard. I really thought she would immediately use Sunny Day, but she decided to go on the offensive instead. Prinplup stared for a few seconds as if it was frozen. ¡°Hold him, and Nature Power.¡± ¡°Prinplup, snap out of it!¡± He hissed. Lombre held both of Prinplup¡¯s flippers as green energy gathered in front of its mouth, putting itself in harm¡¯s way but guaranteeing Energy Ball to hit. Nothing Louis could throw at it would be worth the damage that move would inflict. Vulpix was basically out of the battle, so the most logical move was to switch. I exhaled in relief when Louis switched before Lombre released his Energy Ball. In the back of my mind, I couldn¡¯t help but think Gardenia hadlethim switch. If she had wanted to, she could have ordered Lombre to hit Prinplup with a weakened Energy Ball, but this way, she could fish out Louis¡¯st Pokemon and adjust who she would send out as her third. I was surprised that I was keeping up with her schemes, but it was just another thing toe up with thesein a battlelike she was doing. Louis sighed and sent out Gible, who roared as blue mes wreathed in his mouth. It was time to see if Louis had managed to get it somewhat under control, or if the dragon type would just do whatever the hell he wanted like usual. ¡°Gible, Dragon Rage!¡± Louis ordered. ¡°Sunny Day,¡± Gardenia finally said. Gibble¡¯s maw snapped shut for a few seconds as the sun began shining brightly again. This way, Gardenia was guaranteeing Prinplup would be weakened even if Lombre fainted. Gible roared, releasing a Dragon Rage that was bigger than I remembered. Gardenia¡¯s eyes widened for a split second. ¡°You can¡¯t dodge, Water Gun!¡± She yelled. Lombre shot out a jet of water, attempting to intercept the Dragon Rage, but the move was too powerful. It quickly overpowered the water type move and engulfed Lombre in a sea of draconic mes. When the attack subsided, Lombre waspletely burned up, but it let out a defiant croak. It was stillstanding. ¡°That¡¯s my boy,¡± Gardenia praised. ¡°Get to the water!¡± Lombre hobbled toward the pond to Louis¡¯ left. ¡°Don¡¯t let it! Sand Tomb!¡± He quickly yelled. I winced as Gible turned and roared at his trainer before sending out another Dragon Rage at Lombre, who barely managed to get underwater before the attack hit. If Gible had listened, this fight probably would have been won. Lombre would have been slowed and blinded long enough for the dragon type to hit it with another Dragon Rage. ¡°Get close to the water and Dragon Rage in it!¡± Louis said. Gible roared and ran toward the pond. There probably wasn¡¯t much Lombre could do here, but it could at least dish out some damage before it went down. The dragon type quickly stepped at the pond¡¯s edge and began gathering another Dragon Rage. ¡°Bubblebeam,¡± Gardenia quickly said. Bubbles burst through the surface and exploded on Gible, who simply ignored the pain and screamed out his attack, hitting Lombre with everything he had. Gardenia recalled the water type before Gible could finish, and she nodded toward the referee, who looked at her hesitantly. ¡°Lombre is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out yourst Pokemon,¡±The referee said. The gym leader grabbed herst Pokeball and sent out a Ferroseed who immediately extended its spikes. The Pokemon¡¯s steel type would be able to better resist Gible¡¯s dragon type attacks, but it wouldn¡¯t be able to dish out that much either. ¡°Ingrain, Harden,¡± Gardenia ordered. Some of the Ferroseed¡¯s spikes extended into the ground and began to turn into roots, then it shone brightly, raising its defense. Dragon Rage ignored a lot of a Pokemon¡¯s defenses, but I supposed that Gardenia thought it would be useful for Gible¡¯s other moves. ¡°Dragon Rage!¡± Louis yelled. ¡°Protect,¡± Gardenia smiled. Gible roared out draconic mes, but they were stopped by a thick, green barrier that appeared around Ferroseed. ¡°sh Cannon,¡± Gardenia continued.Ferroseed summoned a bright ball of light, which quickly shot out at the Gible. He screamed out, more enraged than in pain, and ran toward the Ferroseed. ¡°Gible,no!Sand Tomb, so it can¡¯t aim at you!¡± Louis hissed. ¡°Wait until it gets close,¡± Gardenia said, grinning. I was beginning to understand why Gardenia had sent out Ferroseed now. The bulky Pokemon was angering Gible to no end, and it would push the dragon type to make more irrational decisions. Gible reached his opponent and shed across its metallic armor, causing a few of his scales to fall off. Iron Barbs,I thought. And to my surprise, Gible kept going, biting and shing at the steel type as his hands and mouth bled with a look of pure rage. Murmurs were running through the stands now. The worst part was that Louis was forced to let this go on. If he switched out Gible, he¡¯d be considered as fainted, since he was out of switch-ins. All while this was happening, Gardenia kept hitting it with sh Cannon whenever there was an opening. Still, Gible was such a powerful Pokemon that it was actually taking a long time to go down, and the damage it was dealing to Ferroseed was probably substantially more than Gardenia had expected. ¡°Gible! Gible,listen to me!¡± Louis yelled, but his voice didn¡¯t reach the dragon. Onest sh Cannon sent him flying, and he was out for the count. Louis winced as he recalled Gible. That was it. Win or lose, I would try to help him with this problem. It was surprising the dragon hadn¡¯t ripped him apart yet during training. The blond boy sent out his Prinplup, who let out a defiant honk. ¡°Prinplup, stay far away, it can¡¯t move!¡± Louis yelled. ¡°Ice Beam!¡± ¡°Protect, then Pin Missile,¡± Gardenia calmly said. Prinplup sent out a ray of ice as Ferroseed¡¯s spikes flew out of its body and bolted toward Prinplup. ¡°Get them off you with Metal w!¡± He yelled. Prinplup¡¯s flippers shone brightly as he shed two missiles away from him, but the rest of them hit. Ferroseed looked hurt from the Ice Beam, but Louis needed to keep the attack going, or Ingrain would just recover its health. Louis kept ordering Prinplup to use Ice Beam, and Gardenia would asionally use Protect and counter with Pin Missile. The water type was too slow to dodge, and the steel type was stuck in ce, so it was a matter of who would fall first. Would Gible¡¯s damage be enough? It wasn¡¯t, and Prinplup fainted after the fourth Pin Missile barrage. Louis swallowed as he sent out his Vulpix. The fire type was still convulsing and struggling to move, but if he managed to get her to useonefire type move, it would maybe be enough. ¡°Vulpix, try to push through it! Use Confuse Ray, then Incinerate!¡± ¡°Protect and Pin Missile.¡± I winced as the small ray of light bounced off against Ferroseed¡¯s barrier, along with Incinerate. A Pokemon was usually limited in the number of Protects it could use because it took a lot out of them, but it looked like even if Ferroseed was tired, it couldkeep going,at least for a bit more. He sent out another array of Pin Missiles, hitting the paralyzed Vulpix. ¡°me Charge! You have to get close!¡± He screamed. ¡°Wait for it.¡± It took around ten seconds, but mes spun around Vulpix as it slowly ran toward Ferroseed. ¡°Harden again!¡± She yelled. Vulpix rammed into the hardened Ferroseed, tearing some of her skin in its spikes. The steel type stayed there, rooted in ce, and it quickly bumped into Vulpix, sending her away. ¡°Incinerate!¡± ¡°Protect,¡± Gardenia said. Surprisingly, Vulpix immediately shot out her mes, and some of them made it through before Ferroseed could get its Protect up. It was stronger than I thought, seemingly pushing through paralysis much faster than a normal Pokemon would. Gardenia and even Louis had probably even thought the same. ¡°Wait it out, and then Incinerate again! It¡¯s getting slower!¡± I rxed slightly. I could see the victorying now, although it would be by the skin of his teeth. Gardenia had messed up when using Sunny Day because she had thought that Vulpix would never be able to attack again. A few more Incinerates powered up by the sun, and Ferroseed finally went down. The pping and cheering was more sporadic this time, but we gave it our all to support our friend. Cece stood up with a determined look on her face. It was her turn next, and then there would be a small gap between her and Justin. We all wished her good luck, but she stared right into my eyes with a fire that couldn¡¯t be extinguished. Her passion for battling. ¡°You¡¯ve got this,¡± I grinned. ¡°I do. And I¡¯m fighting for myself this time,¡± She said.
Chapter 68 Chapter 68 CHAPTER 68 We had to push hard to keep Cece¡¯s seat open for Louis, who had told us he would watch Cece¡¯s battle before bringing his team to the nearest Center. After a few minutes, he finally showed up in the stands and sat down. Behind his usual haughty air, there was a look of dejection, and it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out why. Even though he had won, his victory had been humiliating. Louis had shown the world that he held no control over his Gible. Sometimes, their objectives lined up, and the dragon type used the move he was ordered to, but that was that. Even in Eterna forest, Louis hadn¡¯t ordered his Gible. The Pokemon just did whatever it wanted. ¡°You did well,¡± Justin said right away. Louis sighed. ¡°I definitely could have done better. My father is going to be on my back for this.¡± ¡°Tell him to fuck off and be done with it,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Ah, Cece¡¯sing up.¡± Cecilia confidently strode up to the tform with her usual poker face. From this far, I couldn¡¯t tell if she was pretending not to be nervous or not. I started grinding my teeth and clenched my hands around my seat. I believed she would win, but I was still nervous for her. I wondered what her strategy was. ¡ª¡ª Cecilia Obel ran both of her hands through her hair and listened to Gardenia enunciate the rules of theing battle. The fight would be a four-on-four with two switch-ins allowed, which was what the trainer had prepared for. Cecilia had been nervous before, but as she stepped onto the tform, she felt strangely calm, which was a far cry from her gym battle with Roark or the Floaroma tournament. In fact, there was no fear at all. Instead, there was something else. Excitement. The difference today was that Cecilia was fighting for herself. Not her father. Not thepany. Not to save Louis¡¯ pride and act worse than she actually was¡ª she would never do that again, consequences be damned. The girl grabbed Fletchinder¡¯s Pokeball and released her. She cried out and took flight with a magnificent p of her wings. Even today, Cynthia¡¯s words to Cecilia still sounded clear in her mind. She recalled them every day, repeating them over and over until they had be her mantra. Before meeting the Champion, the girl had ced more importance in strategizing than power, but as time went on, she found herself thinking thetter was more important than anything else in a Pokemon battle. Strength is a weapon to be wielded, she thought. If I am strong, I can be free. Gardenia released a Tang, who let out a sinister gurgle. Cecilia felt the corner of her lips rise. That was the kind of trainer she wanted to be. Someone like Cynthia, whose power was so overwhelming that no amount of nning or strategy would be enough to defeat her. ¡°Begin!¡± The referee dered. And it would all start with this. ¡°Agility!¡± Cecilia ordered. ¡°Get your vines out,¡± Gardenia said. Fletchinder¡¯s body began to loosen. Her movements became less tight and constrained as if she had be one with the wind. Ten vines extended all around Tang, hovering high in the air. ¡°Quick Attack and me Charge,¡± Cecilia said. Faster. She needed to be even faster. Fletchlinder sang as her mes engulfed her body, and she flew so fast she was untrackable with the naked eye. All Cecilia could see was a trail of mes behind her flying type, but that was fine. The goal was to be so fast and overwhelming that none of Gardenia¡¯s apparent anti-flying type tactics would work. ¡°Bind¡ª¡± Gardenia tried. Toote. In a second, Fletchinder had already crossed the entire battlefield. The bird dove, nimbly moving in between Tang¡¯s vines, and rammed into the grass type. ¡°Grab it! Don¡¯t let it get back up!¡± Gardenia said. Vines snaked around Fletchinder¡¯s body, and Tang began squeezing her with Bind. ¡°me Charge and burn it off,¡± The trainer calmly said. ¡°Then ram it again.¡± Fletchinder burst into mes, quickly melting Tang¡¯s vines and pushing herself off the ground before bumping into Tang with a spin. The grass type let out a pain-stricken gurgle and flew into Kadabra¡¯s barrier. Her speed was still building. Her full potential still hadn¡¯t been reached. ¡°Again,¡± Cecilia continued. After all, if something was working, why change it? The flying type let out another cry, her voice altered by the mes and blurred toward Tang at astonishing speeds. ¡°Bind! Keep recing your vines!¡± Gardenia ordered as fast as she could. Fletchinder¡¯s attack hit again, but Tang grabbed the bird and was constantly recing its burning vines with another. ¡°Bring it toward you slowly and Stun Spore!¡± She continued. ¡°Ember!¡± Still in mes, Fletchinder spat out a dozen small pellets of fire. Some hit Tang before it rotated her away with its vines. Cecilia crossed her arms, unable to do anything to counter the gym leader¡¯s tactic. When Tang brought the bird close enough, it shook, and yellow spores shot out of its body before it finally went down. There were at least fifty burned vines littering the ground, and even some of its body was burned to a crisp, but Gardenia had sacrificed it to take her Fletchinder out of the battle. ¡°Tang is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee said. ¡°Well done, darling,¡± She said. The bird struggled to fly back to her and crashed into the ground multiple times. Paralysis was worse for flying types than it was for other Pokemon. Gardenia wasted no time and quickly sent out an Ivysaur. Fletchinder would have easily dealt with the grass type, but she was in no state to fight. Cecilia recalled her and sent out Deino, causing even Gardenia¡¯s eyes to widen. ¡°Ivy, Grassy Terrain!¡± She ordered. ¡°Dragon Breath. No holding back,¡± Cecilia smiled. Ivysaur let out somebination of a croak and a roar as Grass began to grow across the battlefield. Deino reared his head back for a few seconds as draconic energy gathered in his mouth before screaming it out. Dragon Breath was faster and stronger than before, and even though Ivysaur tried to dodge it, it took the brunt of the attack. ¡°Incinerate the Grassy Terrain away,¡± The trainer continued. Gardenia grinned. ¡°Ivy, Seed Bomb!¡± This time, hot, searing mes flew out of the dragon¡¯s mouth, causing the whole field to catch on fire. Seedsnded around Deino, causing deafening explosions. The scene was out of a warzone, with detonations and fires all around the Pokemon. ¡°Incinerate again, this time on Ivysaur.¡± ¡°Keep bombing and add Sludge to the mix!¡± Gardenia ordered. Huge pieces of purple sludge flew out of Ivysaur¡¯s flower, alternating between each Seed Bomb, but Deino didn¡¯t even bother dodging. He was taking damage, but Cece had trained his defenses for this. His hardened scales would be able to resist anything Ivysaur threw at it. Suddenly though, the bombing stopped, and Ivysaur was gone. For a second, Cecilia thought Gardenia recalled the grass type, but she wasn¡¯t sending out anything else. Deino¡¯s maw snapped in irritation, but he stood still, waiting for Cecilia¡¯smand. Suddenly, Ivysaur ran through the fire, its entire body enveloped in mes. ¡°Restrain it with your two vines and then Leech Seed!¡± She yelled. Cecilia frowned as two vines extended from the ming Ivysaur¡¯s vines and wrapped around Deino. The dragon type let out an enraged roar and started thrashing around, but he couldn¡¯t get out of the grass type¡¯s hold. ¡°Calm down. Incinerate it again,¡± Cecilia said. A small seed flew out of Ivysaur¡¯s back,nding on Deino, but before the dragon could spit out its fire again, Gardenia recalled Ivysaur. Thorny vines started to grow around the dragon type, and they would slowly drain his energy. Gardenia grinned and sent out a Lombre, which surprised her. The gym leader had just used it against Louis, meaning that she had a second one. Upon closer inspection, this one¡¯s leaf was slightly bigger than the other, and his skin was a slightly darker tone. Cecilia considered switching, but she decided to wait a little before doing so. Deino was still able to fight as if he hadn¡¯t been in a battle at all, so it was in her interest to deal as much damage to Lombre as she could. ¡°Rain Dance,¡± She said. Thunder pped above them as rain slowly began to fall, extinguishing Deino¡¯s fires. ¡°Dragon Breath.¡± The dark type bellowed and spat out another stream of blue draconic energy. ¡°Mist,¡± Gardenia simply said. Cece clicked her tongue. So its moveset was different too? The Dragon Breath clipped Lombre¡¯s arm as it spat out a fog that made it impossible to find. Cecilia ordered Deino to sweep the entire length of the arena with another Dragon Breath, but there was no sign that the move had hit anything. The girl sighed and recalled Deino. In normal circumstances, she would have sent out Scyther here, but the bug type still wasn¡¯t ready to be used in battles. She grabbed Slowpoke¡¯s Pokeball and released him. It stared into the distance. ¡°Slowpoke, gym battle,¡± She warned. His body tightened and sprung to life, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°Good boy. Look for it with Confusion.¡± Psychic types had an innate ability to feel other living beings, and Slowpoke was no different, although his skill was still rudimentary. Still, Cecilia knew it was enough because Gardenia immediately sprang into action. ¡°Razor Leaf!¡± Gardenia ordered. Leaves as sharp as knives flew out from the mist, but Slowpoke stopped them with Confusion. They had trained heavily using Fletchinder¡¯s Ember to ensure that he could stop as many attacks as possible, and it was paying off. But why take the risk of him messing up? ¡°Disable!¡± Cecilia said. Slowpoke¡¯s eye gleamed with a bright blue color, and Lombre croaked in annoyance. ¡°Get close and Absorb, Lombre!¡± Gardenia ordered. So this one knew Absorb and not Mega Drain, Cecilia thought. He must have been newly evolved. ¡°Confusion. Pick it up.¡± Lombre¡¯s range was surprisingly longer than Slowpoke, and he started to drain the psychic¡¯s type energy. ¡°Run closer!¡± Cece yelled. It was all or nothing. ¡°Get back, but stay in range!¡± Gardenia quickly said. ¡°Tackle! Push yourself!¡± She said. Cecilia knew how much her Slowpoke hated moving around, but he still jumped a foot forward, and psychic energy surrounded Lombre, picking him up and lifting it off the ground. ¡°Bring it toward you and Zen Headbutt,¡± Cecilia said, revealing the water type¡¯s new move. Lombre struggled, but his body was locked in ce. The advantage of having Slowpoke use Confusion on Scyther so much was that he was now an expert on holding any Pokemon in ce. He brought the grass type toward him as a bright light gathered above his forehead, and he hit Lombre right in the chest, using Confusion¡¯s momentum instead of Slowpoke¡¯s own. But that didn¡¯t mean Confusion had ended. No, Lombre was still in Slowpoke¡¯s grasp, unable to do anything. ¡°Do it again,¡± Cecilia grinned. But then Gardenia recalled Lombre, using herst switch-in. Cecilia sighed. She had hoped to take the grass type down, but at least this was progress. Gardenia sent out her Ivysaur again, who was still a smoking husk from Deino¡¯s fire. Somehow, it was still standing. ¡°Grassy Terrain,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Water Pulse,¡± Cecilia said. Ivysaur took the brunt of the water type move, but it managed to get its attack off, and a new Grassy Terrain grew out of the old one that Deino had burned. ¡°Keep using Water Pulse,¡± The girl said. Gardenia was unable to get close because of Confusion, and any ranged attacks would be sent away. Still, Cecilia knew Gardenia had to try, because if she didn¡¯t, Ivysaur would eventually fall to Water Pulse. ¡°Seed Bomb,¡± The gym leader said. The grass type lobbed the explosive seeds toward Slowpoke. ¡°Confusion to dodge.¡± The seeds were carefully sent away, but Cecilia¡¯s eyes widened, and Slowpoke sent two of them back to Ivysaur, blowing the grass type up with its own attack. The precision that had taken was¡­ incredible, but it looked like Slowpoke had just had a breakthrough. Cecilia ordered another Water Pulse, and Ivysaur finally went down. ¡°Ivysaur is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your third Pokemon,¡± The referee dered. Gardenia sent out her Lombre again. Cecilia frowned, wondering what the gym leader thought the grass type could do¡ª Her eyes widened, but it was toote. ¡°Fake out,¡± The gym leader yelled. A bit slower than her other Lombre, the water type blurred and reappeared next to Slowpoke before pping him hard. Slowpoke stared, not realizing what had happened. Those few seconds were all Gardenia needed. ¡°Hold it in ce and Razor Leaf,¡± She continued. Lombre picked up Slowpoke, and sharp leaves tore through the water type, causing it to bleed. The pain was too much for the psychic type to focus and use Confusion. Lombre didn¡¯t stop until Slowpoke be limp, and it dropped him on the ground. ¡°Slowpoke is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee said. Fletchinder and Scyther were unusable, so only Deino was left. Would his power prove to be enough? Deino came back on the battlefield with his usual roar, and Cecilia wasted no time. ¡°Dragon Breath.¡± Deino spat out another draconic attack, and due to using Fake Out, this time Lombre was too close to dodge. It tried, but the attack engulfed its entire body, and the grass type went down immediately. It looked like that Zen Headbutt had dealt more damage than Cecilia had thought. Still, there was herst Pokemon to worry about. With a wide smile, Gardenia sent out a Breloom, and the crowd went absolutely wild. Cecilia knew why, of course. Breloom was never used against trainers with a single badge. At least until now. Breloom silently jumped and punched the air, almost as if it was warming up. ¡°Mach Punch,¡± Gardeniaughed. ¡°Take the hit and Crunch,¡± Cecilia said, revealing her final new move. The goal wasn¡¯t to deal damage. Breloom had the type advantage like Scyther, and like Scyther, if she could get Deino to restrain it, it would go down. Breloom blurred and punched Deino in the head, staggering him, but the dragon quickly shook it off and bit the grass type¡¯s stubby arm as darkness surrounded his sharp teeth and swam around his mouth. ¡°Go for the neck!¡± Cecilia yelled. ¡°Force Palm,¡± Gardenia said wildly. Breloom¡¯s other arm shone and hammered Deino¡¯s nk, denting his hard scales. Deino released his arm and rushed to bite down on the grass type¡¯s neck, but it nimbly jumped back before punching the dragon in the head. ¡°Dragon Breath point nk,¡± Cecelia said. ¡°Get your head down!¡± Gardenia quickly ordered. Deino gurgled before sending out another Dragon Breath, but Breloom used its hat-like mushroom to protect itself from some of the damage. ¡°Again,¡± Cecilia continued. ¡°Mach Punch!¡± Breloom blurred around the dragon, punching him in the back as Deino tried to follow his lead. The grass type was running circles around him, irritating the dragon to no end. He roared and Headbutted Breloom away before roaring out another Dragon Breath, this time hitting the Pokemon¡¯s body. ¡°Next time he does that, you Counter,¡± Gardenia warned. ¡°Mach Punch.¡± ¡°Crunch.¡± Breloom jumped to the side, punching the air for a few seconds before running forward and punching Deino¡¯s neck, cracking his scales. Deino screamed in frustration, and Cece knew she had to stop him. ¡°Calm down! Incinerate.¡± Even if it was raining, switching up her attacks once in a while could catch the fighting type off guard, and it did. It quickly jumped to the side as if it was dodging a Dragon Breath, but Incinerate was wider. The grass type¡¯s right side burned for a few seconds before being extinguished by the rain. ¡°Crunch.¡± Deino ran forward, this time grabbing onto Breloom¡¯s thin neck. The grass type struggled, but there was no getting out of Deino¡¯s grip. Cecilia knew she had her victory now. ¡°Force Palm,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Don¡¯t let it.¡± Deino shook his head wildly, making sure that Breloom wouldn¡¯t be able to attack. ¡°Now let out a Dragon Breath,¡± Cece smiled. Draconic energy began to dance around the darkness writhing in Deino¡¯s mouth. The dragon released the attack, and Breloom went limp. Deino let out a triumphant roar as it struggled to stand. Its scales were dented or falling off, and blood was leaking in between them. ¡°You did good, darling,¡± Cecilia congratted before the crowd exploded into apuse. Deino bowed his head. She frowned when she noticed that Deino was still slowly getting weaker. Had Breloom poisoned it somehow? Either way, she recalled Deino and began walking toward to side of the arena to meet Gardenia. It took a few more seconds for the situation to sink in. Cecilia had won. She had won using a style modeled after Cynthia, and it had worked. The girl felt forced to grin¡ª not her usual calm smile that was a part of her mask, but a genuine one full of happiness. Still, Cecilia wanted more. More battles, more power. Fletchlinder needed to be so overwhelmingly fast that she would never be caught again. Deino¡¯s scales needed to be nigh imprable, and Slowpoke¡¯s psychic ability needed refining until he was able to bring any opponent down from afar. This battle was barely the tip of the iceberg, and there was much to improve on. After all, Cecilia had less than a year to keep her promise to Cynthia and meet her in battle.
Chapter 69 Chapter 69 CHAPTER 69 I watched in awe as Cecilia¡¯s battle came to an end. I didn¡¯t know the kind of training she underwent, but the amount of progress she had made since Eterna forest was easy to see. Not only had she just beaten Gardenia three-on-four, but she also beat her Breloom with a type disadvantage. Fletchinder and Slowpoke had been amazing, but Deino was just a monster. The dragon¡¯s scales were too hard for the fighting type to defeat him easily. I smiled as we exited the stands. I wanted to get to her level so badly, and seeing this made me want to push myself even harder after my break. Surprisingly, during her battle, I didn¡¯t try to think about what I would do if I were her, or guess what Gardenia would do next. I found myself workshopping a battle strategy against Cecilia herself. Here¡¯s what I had found out. At this stage, since she knew about my team and I wouldn¡¯t be starting with the informational advantage, I would just lose. Probably even worse than what had happened at the Floaroma tournament. Togetic should be able to deal with Deino, but Cece would have no reason to let that matchup happen. Until Elekid knew Shock Wave, hitting Fletchinder with anything was a pipe dream. Slowpoke would be the easiest one to deal with right now, but he was no pushover either, and I didn¡¯t know enough about Scyther to form an opinion yet. Cecilia greeted us in the lobby with a confident smile that made my knees buckle. Arceus, she was so attractive when she was like this. ¡°You were awesome,¡± I spoke up immediately. ¡°Congrattions.¡± ¡°Thank you, that means a lot to me,¡± Cece answered. ¡°You control your dragon much better than some,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I would have won just as easily if Gible had listened¡­¡± Louis moped. ¡°That¡¯s what I was implying,¡± She rolled her eyes before staring at her Poketch. ¡°We have five hours to kill until Justin¡¯s battle. What should we do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get my Pokemon to a Center,¡± Louis sighed. ¡°Let mee with you, actually,¡± I said, much to the group¡¯s surprise. ¡°What? Can¡¯t hang out with my friend?¡± ¡°No, I just wasn¡¯t expecting that,¡± Emilia said. ¡°I¡¯m just going to rx until my battle. I can¡¯t be bothered to do somest-minute studying.¡± ¡°Pauline and I will stick around to better ready ourselves,¡± Justin said. ¡°What he said,¡± The redhead nodded. ¡°Cecilia and I can keep youpany, Emilia,¡± Denzel said. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind?¡± The girl smiled. ¡°Not at all. Let¡¯s meet here thirty minutes early. The stands are going to be packed again.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°Louis?¡± He nodded. The group split, and Louis and I started walking toward the nearest Pokemon Center. He was down in the dumps, and it was hard not to pity the man. That win had been humiliating, and his reputation likely wouldn¡¯t recover for a while, or at least until he proved that he could control Gible in his next gym battle or tournament. I didn¡¯t really care about all of that. What I cared about was making sure Louis didn¡¯t get himself killed. Gible was growing stronger and stronger, which meant his behavior was bing worse as time went on. If the dragon evolved with their rtionship still like this? I had no doubt in my mind that he would try to kill Louis, and if it evolved before Deino did, none of us would be able to stop it. I had princess, but her Fairy Wind would be too weak to take down an evolved dragon type. Louis handed his team to the Center, warning them about Gible. He was about to leave when I stopped him and pointed toward one of the chairs. ¡°Let¡¯s talk,¡± I said, sitting down. ¡°Come on.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t this wait until we get back to the hotel?¡± He said. ¡°No,e on, it¡¯ll be easier if we do it here. Being in a Center and seeing all these trainerse and go makes me feel more grounded, like I¡¯m a part of something bigger than myself. What about you?¡± I was hoping that it would at least tone down his ego a little bit. ¡°Nothing in particr,¡± He sighed. ¡°Perhaps it makes me feel thankful for modern Pokemon medicine.¡± ¡°Eh, good enough,¡± I said, putting my head against the palm of my hand. ¡°Are you going to sit or not?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Louis said. ¡°What¡¯s the issue?¡± ¡°The issue is that we need to start figuring out how to make Gible more amenable,¡± I started. ¡°It¡¯s one thing having the best Pokemon money can get you, but you still have to be a good trainer. You know it deep down, don¡¯t you? You won¡¯t win your third badge if this keeps going.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been trying everything I can¡ª¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t,¡± I interrupted. ¡°When was thest time you tried having a conversation with Gible instead of just trying to order it around over and over?¡± The boy paused before answering. ¡°I haven¡¯t, but he¡¯d¡­ he¡¯d attack me if I did. Gible doesn¡¯t like talking, he only wants to fight. As long as I¡¯m giving him opponents to fight against, he won¡¯t mind being my Pokemon.¡± ¡°He still needs to listen to you somewhat,¡± I said. ¡°You could do it like Cece and ask for our help, Louis. Although if I were you, I definitely would not attack him. It would ruin things further. Maybe just restrain him with our psychics if he tries to attack you. Even Togetic can help out with Extrasensory. We¡¯re all your friends, but you never ask for anything. Lean on us for a bit, it won¡¯t kill you.¡± ¡°If I do that, I won¡¯t be my own man,¡± He said, his face downcast. ¡°I already rely on my father too much. I''ve apparently fallen behind Cece. If I can¡¯t even do this on my own, then what¡¯s the point?¡± I sighed internally, cursing at the fact that all of my friends apparently had a terrible rtionship with their parents. ¡°You¡¯re not weak for relying on others, Louis. Denzel taught me that a while ago.¡± ¡°Look, I appreciate your help, I really do,¡± He said. ¡°But I won¡¯t change my mind. I need to do this alone.¡± Damn it! I thought. Talking it out usually always worked out for me. I sighed. ¡°Tell me you¡¯ll at least consider talking to Gible.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± He answered with a sad smile. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go home. All that battling tired me out.¡± I nodded, sad that I hadn¡¯t changed his mind, but happy that I had at least gotten him to think about changing things up. As we walked back to the hotel, I was lost in thought. At the heart of every trainer¡¯s Pokemon was a desire for something. They were fully sapient beings with their own likes, dislikes, and goals. The goals didn¡¯t have to be grandiose. In fact, they could be quite simple. Togetic wanted to stay with me because she saw me as her mother, Elekid wanted to get as strong as possible as fast as he could and to have a good time in general. Frillish had taken me a while to figure out, but I knew that he wanted to protect all of us from harm. For Tang, I wasn''t too sure yet, but he probably wanted to experience touching new things. The key to Louis¡¯ problem, and by extension, Cece¡¯s problem with Scyther, was to find what each Pokemon wanted to achieve and to try topromise or change their mind. For example, Frillish had turned from a murderous sea ghost to a reluctant part of the group, and finally to a loving, protective member of the team. Goals weren¡¯t static, they were fluid. They changed with time and different experiences. ording to what Cece had told me back in Floaroma, dragon types tended to value strength above everything. They wanted to fight hard, difficult battles to push themselves to their final evolutions, and Gible¡¯s behavior aligned with that goal. Louis just had to convince him that he was the one that would make Gible achieve that goal. A task that would be easier said than done. ¡ª¡ª When we got back home, I readied myself to tell the truth to Cece. To tell her that I liked girls, and if that made her ufortable, we could stop being too close, but when the time came, and I saw her, I froze up. The words wouldn¡¯te out of my mouth, and I ended up not saying anything at all. I groaned as I sat on the couch. I felt like shit, and no matter how much I tried to convince myself that I would do it soon, I knew I would keep putting it off if I kept going on like this. My mind wandered to Pokemon battles again. They had be my escape at this point. Thinking about my passion was way better than thinking about rtionship problems and if letting a straight girl unknowingly cuddle with a gay one was a problem. Unfortunately for me, I couldn¡¯t help but worry, still. The next three battles were the ones I doubted the most, although I didn¡¯t tell my friends that. With Denzel, Louis, and Cece, I was sure at the bottom of my heart that they would pull out a win. But the others? Pauline was a good battler¡ª much better than Louis¡ª who enjoyed being a trainer, but she only had two Pokemon, and I didn¡¯t know if she would be able to push past that disadvantage. I could only hope she had worked something out. Justin had the strategy I had given him, but I feared he wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt if it went sideways and Gardenia saw through it. Plus, Growlithe and Sandile would be able to pull their weight, but he hadn¡¯t trained as much as I would have with his Lotad, who was weaker than the other members of his team, which would probably be an issue. Still, I at least believed that they could win if they were on top of their game. Emilia, though? The girl¡¯s disinterest in Pokemon battles wasing back to bite her. When we had first gotten to Eterna city, I believed that she would train just as hard as the others and I did, but she just¡­ didn¡¯t. Even Justin, who disliked battling trained hard to make sure he would win the battle, but she just wasn¡¯t motivated to do anything training rted. Beldum was still a very strong Pokemon, but her other team members had no doubt fallen behind, even with the vitamins, and Gardenia was the type of gym leader that would punish you heavily for relying on only one Pokemon. I was starting to understand a bit more about Pokemon training now. It didn¡¯t really matter how rich your parents were and what Pokemon and supplements they bought you. If you weren¡¯t willing to put in the work, you would still end up losing eventually. Even if Emilia somehow pulled through and won against Gardenia, if she didn¡¯t change fast, she would never win against Fantina, who was the third gym leader on our radar. To be honest, I was considering only battling Fantina once and then moving on to Maylene. She was the oldest gym leader in the region, and her ghost types¡¯ illusions made her almost impossible to beat for newer trainers, and I didn¡¯t think it would be any different for me. Maylene was the newest gym leader, and she¡¯d be a lot easier to defeat, but I doubted Emilia would beat her either. Still, those were thoughts for the future, and I would have to bring it up to the group eventually, but maybe if Emilia lost, it would be better to just skip Gardenia for now and move on with us. Gardenia was notoriously hard to beat right after you lost to her once, so it would be better to let a few months pass until she had battled so many trainers she forgot about you. Or maybe I was just being selfish about not wanting to waste time in Eterna too long. I sighed and sunk deeper into the couch. So many thoughts and ideas, and so few easy answers. ¡ª¡ª I waited in trepidation as Gardenia¡¯s current battle ended¡ª in another surprising draw. Draws were pretty rare in Pokemon battles, so to see another one so soon was something. Izily pped at the trainer¡¯s victory and waited for Justin¡¯s turn. He was already waiting in the lobby, and even though he was hiding it well, he was incredibly nervous. The thin teenager finally stepped onto the trainer tform, wearing the Pherzen logo¡ª a ¡®P¡¯ with a red and white pill inside of the letter¡ª on a slick, white shirt. He ran a hand through his brown hair and grabbed a Pokeball before Gardenia even finished enunciating the rules of the battle, which was one of her usual three-on-three with two switch-ins allowed. Justin immediately released his Lotad and straightened his back.
Chapter 70 Chapter 70 CHAPTER 70 I watched with bated breath as Gardenia sent out her Weepinbell. I cheered silently, thankful that she had sent a poison type that Justin¡¯s Sandile would be useful against. Now all he had to do was attack for a few minutes and then recall his Lotad, and he¡¯d have the perfect start to this battle. ¡°Lotad, Bubblebeam!¡± Justin yelled out. ¡°Then get in the water!¡± ¡°Sunny Day and Acid,¡± Gardenia replied. Lotad steadied itself against the ground before spitting out a stream of bubbles toward the Weepinbell. The grass type cried out, turning the sunlight harsh and weakening the Lotad¡¯s attack. It shrugged off the bubbles and spat out a massive lump of purple acid toward its opponent. Lotad managed to sink into the water before getting hit, but I reckoned two or three of these would be enough to take it out. ¡°Acid in the water,¡± Gardenia smiled. ¡°Force it toe out.¡± I clicked my tongue. I hadn¡¯t known that was allowed, and that meant some poor gym trainer would have to clean the pond after the battle. Justin groaned. ¡°Water Gun! Intercept it!¡± Lotad croaked and spat out a jet of water toward the acid, but it was too weakened by Sunny Day to do anything. All that did was dilute the attack slightly. The water type cried out in pain as its body began to suffer from the contaminated water, and it slowly crawled out. ¡°Get close and keep using Acid on the way,¡± The gym leader calmly said. ¡°Keep using Bubblebeam, Lotad,¡± Justin said. Weepinbell simply rushed past the attacks as if they were nothing, but before it could do anything else, Justin recalled his Lotad and exhaled sharply. He grabbed Sandile¡¯s Pokeball and released him before immediately barking out an order. ¡°Sink into the ground!¡± He yelled. ¡°Grab it with Vine Whip!¡± Gardenia ordered. Two long vines grew out of Weepinbell¡¯s side and snaked toward Sandile, but the ground type was already gone. It had sunk into the ground as if it was water, and it hadn¡¯t even left a hole. Sandile wasn¡¯t even using Dig anymore, he was manipting the soil around itself. ¡°Sleep Powder around yourself,¡± Gardenia said without a hint of panic. Weepinbell acquiesced and shook itself, releasing green-colored spores around its body. That was smart. She was guaranteeing that if Sandile wanted to hit her Pokemon physically, it would be forced to breathe in spores and fall asleep. I didn¡¯t know most of Sandile¡¯s moves, so I just hoped Justin had something to counter that. ¡°Sand Tomb!¡± He yelled, louder than before. The ground below Weepinbell started to liquefy and spin around like a tornado. Sandile¡¯s Sand Tomb was way different than Gible¡¯s. The grass type tried to get out, but no matter how hard it tried, it was stuck in Sandile¡¯s trap. ¡°Get out and Mudp!¡± Justin continued. Sandile poked his head out in the sand and spat out mud just as fast as a Water Gun would be. Weepinbell cried out in pain and tried to retaliate with Vine Whip, but the ground type was already back underground. Weepinbell got hit two more times before Gardenia recalled it. A grass flying type like Hoppip would make the most sense here, or one that could levitate like Cottonee. At least, that¡¯s what I believed until Gardenia sent out a Maractus. The grass type danced in ce, waiting for its trainer¡¯s orders. ¡°Grassy Terrain,¡± She started. ¡°Sand Tomb it and Mudp again!¡± Justin yelled. The grass type shook its arm in a dramatic fashion, and grass began growing around it. That didn¡¯t stop the ground from liquefying around it and putting it in the same dilemma Weepinbell had been. Sandile poked his head out again and opened his mouth¡ª ¡°Sucker Punch,¡± Gardenia grinned. Maractus blurred forward, now somehow unaffected by the Sand Tomb, and hit Sandile in the Chin. ¡°Grab it and Mega Drain,¡± She hurriedly continued. ¡°Sandile, Bite!¡± Maractus smiled as it sunk its spiky hands into Sandile¡¯s flesh and started draining his energy. Justin clicked his tongue before hurriedly recalling the ground type, and I found myself sighing in relief. If Sandile had gone down right now, the battle would have be significantly more challenging. With a shaky hand, he sent out Growlithe, who started growling at the Maractus, who was just dancing in Sandile¡¯s mud pile. ¡°Keep your distance for now, Ember!¡± Justin yelled. ¡°Dodge with Grassy Glide,¡± Gardenia said. Growlithe spat out small mes toward Maractus, but the grass type spun around and slid across the grass as if it was an ice skating rink. It wasn¡¯t terribly fast, but at Growlithe¡¯s distance, it made dodging moves like Ember trivial. I frowned. Gardenia wasn¡¯t ordering Maractus to get closer, and she wasn¡¯t ordering it to attack either. She wasying a trap, and I could only hope Justin was seeing it. The boy ordered Growlithe to use a few more Embers, but when that failed again, he snapped. ¡°Howl, then me Wheel!¡± Justin said. Growlithe howled, making his body tenser as so many mes engulfed him I couldn¡¯t even see the fire type anymore. He dashed forward, burning a path across the Grassy Terrain as Maractus simply waited for him. I clenched my fist, hoping that Justin would notice that this was too convenient, but he wasn¡¯t thinking straight. The nervousness might have gotten to him. ¡°Spiky Shield,¡± Gardenia said at thest second. A barrier not unlike Protect appeared around Maractus, but it had hundreds upon hundreds of spikesyered onto it. Growlithe yelped as he crashed into the barrier, and the mes around him stopped burning. ¡°Mega Drain.¡± Maractus spun around, killing nature around it and draining Growlithe¡¯s energy. Luckily for Justin, the attack wouldn¡¯t deal much damage, but he still needed to clear his head, order his Growlithe to get back, and start making a new n on the fly. ¡°Fire Fang!¡± He yelled. ¡°Grassy Glide into Sucker Punch.¡± Maractus skidded across the grass and then sped up toward Growlithe. ¡°me Whee¡ª¡± Toote. Sucker Punch was too quick to order Growlithe to engulf himself in fire. The fire type was knocked back a few feet, and Maractus approached again. Come on, Justin, just get back and use Ember, I thought. If push came to shove, Gardenia would be the one forced to attack, since running out the clock meant Justin would win. This was easier said than done, however. In the heat of battle, obvious strategies sometimes never came to your head. ¡°me Wheel!¡± He said. ¡°Sucker Punch!¡± Again, Maractus blurred forward and hit Growlithe just as its body became wreathed in mes, burning itself slightly. Finally, Justin appeared to have gotten it. ¡°Get back! Winning at close range is too difficult.¡± Good. Maractus was a tricky opponent, but it didn¡¯t dish out that much damage, all things considered. The grass type danced and giggled evily as it watched Growlithe run away. ¡°Ember!¡± The trainer said. ¡°Dodge with Grassy Glide.¡± Growlithe let out his mes, and Maractus easily dodged by sliding across the battlefield. This repeated another five times before Gardenia finally realized that Justin wasn¡¯t biting on her bait. She smiled and recalled it, sending out her Lombre¡ª the same one I had faced. ¡°Rain Dance,¡± She said. My eyes bulged. Of course, Gardenia hadn¡¯t just been waiting to see if Justin would respond to her bait. She had also been waiting to be able to change the weather again. A n within a n. I winced, and so did Justin. Not only would Growlithe¡¯s fire type attacks be cut in half, they wouldn¡¯t even be super effective against the Lombre. And he was out of switches. Gardenia had justpletely fucked him over, and even I hadn¡¯t seen iting. Gardenia couldn¡¯t stop herself from grinning. ¡°Leech Seed,¡± She smiled. Lombre croaked and spat out too many seeds to count. Growlithe tried to dodge, running around as fast as he could, but there were just too many. ¡°Dig, Growlithe!¡± Justin said. The Pokemon quickly started to w at the ground, but the rain had turned it to mud. Sandile wouldn¡¯t have cared, but he was a ground type. For Growlithe? It made him dig slower, and one of the Leech Seedsnded on his back before he could escape. ¡°Forget the Dig, burn it away with me Wheel!¡± Justin shakily said. Growlithe barked, and fire once again consumed him. To my surprise, it was now too weak to even burn away Leech Seed. I supposed that had been why she hadn¡¯t used the move previously in the battle. ¡°Bubblebeam!¡± Gardenia continued. ¡°Argh, Dig again!¡± He panicked. Too indecisive. Too slow. The quick Bubblebeam powered by the rain hit Growlithe, knocking him out. This¡­ this was really bad. Justin sent out Sandile once more and immediately ordered the ground type underground. He sunk even more easily than before now that the upper ground had turned to mud. Once again, he ordered the ground type to create a Sand Tomb, trapping Lombre in ce. Justin decided to just stop attacking and let his Sandile stay underground, which was honestly the smartest strategy he could havee up with. There was no way Sandile was going to beat Lombre one-on-one. The strength difference wasn¡¯t enough to ovee the typing weakness. Seemingly annoyed, the gym leader rolled her eyes. ¡°Lombre, Nature Power the ground.¡± With a nod, the grass type gathered energy in front of its mouth and started using Energy Ball again and again, creating craters around the battlefield, hoping to hit the Sandile with a lucky hit. I understood her frustration. Losing like this would definitely be incredibly aggravating, but what could she even do? Sandile¡¯s maniption of the ground was too good to leave a hole for Lombre to crawl into. People in the audience began heckling at Justin, telling him to do something and stop wasting time, but rules were rules. Twenty minutes was all they got, and maybe Gardenia had something to deal with Dig, but she was out of switches. Justin ignored the noise and simply waited the clock out. I understood why he did it, but by doing this, he was only dying the inevitable. If he wanted to get a third badge, he would need to redouble his training and get his Lotad at the same level that his other teammates were at. An rm rang across the gym. The twenty minutes were up. ¡°Get someone to clean this up,¡± Gardenia said, pointing at the battlefield before taking off her mic. She sighed and reset her face into a neutral tone as Sandile finally surfaced again. Both trainers recalled their Pokemon, and Justin got his badge and other rewards as Pauline made her way down to the waiting room. A few gym trainers showed up with an array of ground and grass types to fix all the damage that had been done to the arena. A Pyukumuku slowly crawled into the poisonedke, causing the color to go from a toxic purple to a clear, transparent blue, while Kadabra fixed any damage to the barrier. First Louis and now Justin had taken hits to their reputation. The high of the first badge was over, and now as harsh as it sounded, I supposed the second gym was when gym leaders separated the trainers that really wanted to be the Champion and strive further, bettering and training themselves every day, from the rest who were just doing it for fun¡ª or in Justin¡¯s case, doing it because of his father. I had faith that Pauline would manage to do slightly better, even with two Pokemon. The girl liked battling and trained just as much as we did, she was just extremely picky about her Pokemon like Denzel was, but she hadn¡¯t actually nned a team beforehand, which was the worst of both worlds. I nced at Emilia, who was starting to look worried. It looked like it was sinking in. Unless Gardenia somehow fumbled the bag really badly, which would probably never happen, she had practically no chance. But honestly, maybe it was better this way. Maybe this was what Justin and Emilia needed to finally stop doing something they didn¡¯t like. They could tell their parents that they at least tried. That was a conversation forter. A few minutes passed, and Pauline confidently stepped on stage, wearing one of her mother¡¯s expensive dresses. The stadium gasped when Gardenia said that this would be a two-on-three battle with two switch-ins. Pauline sent out her Gothita, who shared her confident look. Gardenia sent out a Paras, which made me swallow. I hated the fact that it would be controlled by its parasite when it evolved, and the Pokemon brought back the bad memories of Eterna forest, but its bug type would help it deal with the psychic. ¡°Grassy Terrain and go hide,¡± Gardenia started. Paras screech and mmed its pincers against the ground, causing the grass to grow. It scuttled along the floor and slipped into the Grassy Terrain, employing the same strategy Gardenia had with Leafeon. ¡°Hmph,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Wait it out¡ª¡± ¡°Fury Cutter!¡± Gardenia yelled, pointing forward. Way faster than before, Paras burst out of the grass on Pauline¡¯s side of the field, and its pincers started to grow. Then another. Then a dozen. I clenched my hand around my seat. I knew it was just Double Team, but I still instinctively feared the Pokemon when it was inrge numbers. Pauline didn¡¯t seem to be rattled, however. ¡°Confusion! Throw them away!¡± Pauline said. Pink, psychic energy surrounded the first Paras, who immediately vanished before Gothita moved on to the next. There were too many to find the real one this way. Pauline needed to change it up. ¡°Psybeam! Hit all of them!¡± She said. Gothita¡¯s eyes shone even brighter as a rainbow-colored ray appeared above her head and rushed toward the Paras. Unfortunately, though, she was unlucky, and four Paras reached her, including the real one. It shed across the psychic type¡¯s torso, staggering her, and before it could hit her again and the damage could stack up, Pauline recalled Gothita with a scowl. It was the same look she had when I beat her in the Floaroma tournament. She thought Gardenia was being unfair. Pauline released Charmeleon and immediately barked out an order. ¡°Fire Spin! Trap it!¡± The fire type roared and spat out a stream of mes that somehow settled into a circle around Paras, slowly burning the bug type. ¡°Now, Ember!¡± Pauline continued. ¡°It can¡¯t dodge!¡± Paras was hit by a few mes before Gardenia recalled it. Luckily for Pauline, Gardenia had used her two Lombre today, including against Justin, so unless she was willing to send out a Lotad, she didn¡¯t have much to counter Charmeleon. The fire type let out a victorious scream as if she had won a battle while its Fire Spin slowly subsided. ¡°You¡¯re up, baby girl,¡± Gardenia said, releasing a Bayleef. The beautiful grass type let out a soothing cry and stared down the Charmeleon. My leg began to bounce. There was only one reason Gardenia could have sent out the grass type. ¡°Fire Spin again!¡± Pauline raged. ¡°Light Screen,¡± Gardenia said. A thin barrier appeared around Bayleef, protecting her from much of the heat. Unlike protect, however, it stayed. ¡°Ancient Power!¡± There it was. Bayleef¡¯s eyes began to glow as it lifted up chunks of earth and rock from the Arena and threw them toward Charmeleon. ¡°Dragon Rage and Metal w to intercept!¡± Pauline said. Charmeleon nodded, reared her head back, and spat out a stream of blue draconic mes. They didn¡¯t have much of an effect on the rocks, but it did soften them up enough for her Metal w to cut them apart. Charmeleon shed across the earth, splitting the projectiles in two before they could hit. ¡°Ember!¡± ¡°Lift one up,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Then throw more forward.¡± The mes were stopped by another Ancient Power, which was again intercepted with a Dragon Rage, Metal wbo. The Fire Spin was still slowly dealing damage to Bayleef, but Light Screen was too powerful for the fire to ever take the grass type down. ¡°Enough! Run up to it!¡± Pauline yelled. Gardenia sent out another set of Ancient Power before realizing it would never hit, and then decided to switch it up. ¡°Magical Leaf,¡± She said. Leaves surrounded by multicolored energy appeared around Bayleff and flew toward Charmeleon. The fire type attempted to burn them up with Ember, but the fire had no effect on the attack. It shrugged off the damage and ran up to Bayleef. ¡°Fire Fang! Get its neck!¡± ¡°Reflect,¡± Gardenia continued. Another thinyer appeared, this time around the Light Screen. Charmeleon opened her ming maw and bit around the barrier, which began to crack. It looked like Fire Fang was too powerful to be blocked. Without Gardenia¡¯smand, the ground behind Charmeleon trembled and hit Charmeleon in the back, interrupting its attack. ¡°Push through and break the Reflect!¡± Pauline screamed. Charmeleon shook itself and began biting again. The barrier crackled, broke apart, and the fire type jumped on Bayleef¡¯s back before biting its neck and shing across its body. The grass type cried out and tried to shake Charmeleon off, but she wastched on too tightly. Gardenia sighed and recalled Bayleef, using herst switch-in. Charmeleon roared, throwing an Ember at the sky. Gardenia sent out herst Pokemon: Servine. The snake-like Pokemon lowered itself to the ground and started running across the battlefield as if it was slithering. Charmeleon immediately sent out another Ember, which Servine dodged easily. It was fast, faster than both of Pauline¡¯s Pokemon. ¡°Wrap around it¡­¡± Gardenia said quietly. ¡°Burn it!¡± Pauline said. Servine methodically approached Charmeleon, dodging almost every attack in the process. It wrapped around the fire type as if it had no bones, stretching its body in unnatural ways and perfectly avoiding Charmeleon¡¯s tail and mouth. ¡°Leech Seed, then Mega Drain,¡± Gardenia said smoothly. Thorny vines started to wrap around the restrained Charmeleon, and Servine started draining its energy too. Pauline ordered Charmeleon to fight back a few times, but the fire type could barely move as it was, and she finally recalled it and released Gothita once more. Both she and Gardenia were now both out of switches. ¡°Gothita, Psybeam!¡± Pauline said. ¡°Wrap around it again!¡± Servine easily dodged the psychic attack, but this time, Gothita finally picked it up with Confusion. I expected her to use Psybeam in tandem like Cece had done with Slowpoke¡¯s Confusion and Zen Headbutt, but she just mmed the grass type on the ground a few times before it finally managed to break out of Gothita¡¯s hold. ¡°Leaf Tornado,¡± Gardenia ordered. Servine struggled to stand up, but when it did, it spun around, and razor-sharp leaves began to swirl around Gothita. ¡°Focus and pick it up again!¡± Pauline yelled out. ¡°Gothita!¡± The psychic type was hurting too much. She was unable to focus. ¡°Keep it going until it¡¯s down,¡± Gardenia said. Servine nodded weakly. Well, it looked like Charmeleon would have to deal with three weakened Pokemon. It was certainly doable, but it would be difficult, especially dealing with Bayleef¡¯s Ancient Power. I doubted Gardenia would let herself be caught off guard by Fire Fang¡¯s strength again. She would probably try to keep her distance instead¡ª Light. Blinding light engulfed Gothita and the battlefield. She was¡ª she was evolving. ¡°Don¡¯t falter,¡± Gardenia told her Pokemon. ¡°Keep the attack going.¡± Gothita¡¯s body stretched and almost doubled in size as it turned into a Gothorita. Pauline¡¯s face split into a grin. ¡°Confusion.¡± More range, more concentration, more power. That was the name of the game as Gothorita suddenly picked up Servine and rammed it against the ground over and over. The grass type¡¯s eyes closed, and Gothorita finally released its body, allowing it to go limp. Gardenia wasted no time and released her Paras. ¡°Fix up Grassy Terrain and then go hide again,¡± She told the bug type. ¡°Be careful.¡± Paras screeched, and the Grassy Terrain recovered from Charmeleon¡¯s mes. The bug type sank into the grass. ¡°It¡¯s going to Double Team again,¡± Pauline warned. ¡°Get ready.¡± Another dozen Paras burst through the grass, and Pauline grinned. ¡°Confusion again! Find the real one!¡± Gothorita held out her arms and started using Confusion on multiple clones at once, easily dispatching them. My eyes widened when I saw a singr seed fly out of the grass. The real Paras wasn¡¯t even attacking. It had stayed in the tall grass, hiding and waiting for an opportunity tond a Leech Seed on its opponent. Gothorita was too focused on using Confusion, and Pauline was still riding on the high of that evolution. The attacknded on the psychic¡¯s type head, and vines snaked around her. Pauline winced. ¡°Psybeam the grass!¡± Another wave of Paras streamed out of the Grassy Terrain, and Gothorita¡¯s attack didn¡¯t appear to hit anything. ¡°Fuck it, get close and try to track it!¡± I nodded. Gothorita¡¯s newly acquired power could be enough to find a hidden enemy¡ª One of the Paras hit the psychic type with a vicious Fury Cutter. Gardenia had pretended to use the same tactic, but the real Paras was actually a part of the rush this time. Gothorita fell to the ground and finally fainted. Pauline recalled her and smiled. ¡°You made me proud,¡± She said, before grabbing Charmeleon¡¯s ball. The fire type looked ready to go, and she was now free from Leech Seed. ¡°Burn up the grass!¡± Charmeleon roared and spat out an Ember,pletely destroying Paras¡¯ hiding spot. The mes forced the bug type to scuttle out, and it started to run in the only direction it could. Toward Charmeleon. ¡°Fire Spin to trap it, then finish it off!¡± Pauline said. The fire type roared out another stream of mes, trapping the Paras. One Ember and the heat from the Fire Spin was enough to finally take it down. Gardenia smiled and recalled her Pokemon before sending out Bayleef. ¡°Get close, quick!¡± The redhead ordered. ¡°Ember as you run!¡± ¡°Light Screen and Reflect,¡± Gardenia started, and two shimmering barriers formed around her Pokemon. She waited for Charmeleon to get closer and then yelled out her second order. ¡°Trip it up with Ancient Power!¡± Charmeleon tripped on a raised piece of Earth, but she got up right away before any of the attacks could hit her. ¡°Ancient Power around yourself.¡± A cocoon-like shell formed around Bayleef just before Charmeleon could reach the grass type. She raged and wed at the earth with Metal w. ¡°Burn it up first, then hack it apart!¡± Pauline said. Charmeleon let out a point-nk Dragon Rage at the barrier, but it exploded outward, sending her flying. I sat at the edge of my seat as the fire type struggled to stand. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. They were bloodshot, and she appeared to be frothing at the mouth. ze had juste into y. Pauline let out a nervous grin. ¡°Ember!¡± ¡°Ancient Power again.¡± At this point, Charmeleon¡¯s Ember looked more like a methrower, and the searing hot mes had now turned white. The attack melted Bayleef¡¯s protective barrier and simply burst through the Light Screen like it was nothing, burning the grass type. She tried to raise anotheryer of Ancient Power, but the attack melted it all the same, and Bayleef finally went down. I sighed in relief. Pauline had won, thank Arceus. Her Pokemon had gotten so much better since the tournament¡ª which served as a reminder that I wasn¡¯t the only one improving. If she had mastered ze like this during our battle, princess probably would have lost. Emilia audibly swallowed. ¡°You¡¯ll make it, Emi¡± I said, trying to cheer her up. The rest of the group gave her more words of encouragement as we left the gym to meet Pauline. Tomorrow morning, Emilia would fight. ¡ª¡ª We had done all we could to bring Emilia up to speed with somest-minute training. Denzel, Cecilia, and I had asked for her team¡¯s entire moveset to craft a strategy so she could win, and we had managed toe up with something¡­ pretty good, I supposed. It wasn¡¯t perfect, and there were a lot of holes in the n that couldn¡¯t be filled because of some of her Pokemon¡¯s weaknesses, but we could only cross our fingers and hope that Gardenia either wouldn¡¯t use the Pokemon that heavily countered Emilia or was just having an awful morning that reflected on her battling. Emilia stepped into the battlefield with meek, ufortable steps. The battle would, of course, be three-on-three with two switch-ins. She sighed and sent out her Aipom, and Gardenia sent out a Cea, which hadn¡¯t been on my radar whatsoever. I expected her to send out Ferroseed or one of her grass types that could fly. Emilia hadn¡¯t nned for this either, and I doubted that she even knew what moves the grass type even had. ¡°Fake out,¡± Emilia breathed out. Aipom yelled, and he practically teleported next to his opponent before hitting him as hard as he could with the huge fist on his tail. ¡°m it!¡± She continued. The normal type once again used his tail to p Cea away, using its surprised state to his advantage and sending it flying off toward Gardenia. The grass type got back on its feet right away and awaited Gardenia¡¯smand. She didn¡¯t keep it waiting. ¡°Grassy Terrain, Spikes,¡± Gardenia said in quick session. Cea screamed, summoning Grassy Terrain, and I groaned as floating spikes wereid all over the arena. They were dormant now, but as soon as a new Pokemon stepped onto the field, the closest ones would rush toward it and deal heavy damage. It was an especially annoying move with how much switching beating Gardenia required. ¡°Get close and m it again,¡± Emilia said. Aipom nodded and ran toward Cea. He wasn¡¯t particrly fast, which meant that Gardenia had ample enough time to think about how to respond. ¡°Sand Attack,¡± She said, waiting until thest moment. Cea ced its appendages into the ground and flung dirt into Aipom¡¯s eyes. The normal type panicked and rubbed his face with his tail. ¡°Needle arm, then follow it.¡± The needles on Cea¡¯s hands extended, and the grass type flung its arm at Aipom as hard as it could, sending it away. It didn¡¯t stop there, though, and it quickly ran after it. ¡°Come on, Aipom! Get up and Swift!¡± Emilia said, her voice faltering. Aipom swerved his tail around, summoning stars and sending them flying toward the advancing Cea. The Pokemon grunted at the impact, but it kept running and flung its arms, hitting Aipom again. ¡°Bullet Seed,¡± Gardenia ordered, continuing her onught. ¡°Swift! Swift!¡± Emilia said. She was starting to panic. She needed to take a breather, and maybe switch Aipom out. The normal type could maybe beat Cea, but sending out Rockruff wouldn¡¯t be that bad of an idea, even with the type disadvantage. The rock type was her fastest Pokemon, and as long as she didn¡¯t reveal her Beldum too soon like we had discussed, then it would be fine. Another set of stars hit the Cea, who was hunting Aipom like he was its Arceus damned prey. Sometimes, the normal type would try to knock it away with m, but Cea had quickly learned to counter that by baiting him into overextending and then hitting him with Sand Attack. Cea wasn¡¯t the strongest opponent to deal with, but its cunning certainly couldn¡¯t be underestimated. Gardenia was barelymanding it. Emilia finally decided to switch out and sent her Rockruff right next to Cea. A few of the spikes the grass type hadid out levitated and flew at him, causing him to yelp. ¡°You¡¯ve got this! Bite it!¡± She yelled. ¡°Do the usual,¡± Gardenia said. Cea once again threw sand at Rockruff¡¯s eyes, but the rock type shrugged it off with a fierce bark and immediately bit at the base of Cea¡¯s arm. Thank the Legendaries for Keen Eye. Cea used Needle Arm with his free arm, hitting its opponent in the head and neck, but Rockruff kept shaking his head as if he wanted to tear the grass type¡¯s entire arm off and ignoring the pain. Gardenia returned Cea and sent out a Skiddo without even missing a beat. That was perfect. The n was working, at least somewhat. Gardenia was underestimating Emilia and using Pokemon that weren¡¯t that powerful. Now all Emi needed to do was bait out herst Pokemon somehow and hope Beldum could take all of her team down. ¡°Skiddo, Bulk Up, and grab it with Vine Whip,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Rock Throw!¡± Emilia ordered. Skiddo¡¯s body tensed, and its muscles bulged as it began running toward Rockruff. First slowly, and then steadily picking up speed. Rockruff pulled up a rock from under the ground and threw it at Skiddo, but the grass type just extended two vines from the leaves on its neck and broke it apart. ¡°Run up and Bite! You can do it!¡± She screamed. I winced. That was a mistake. Skiddo¡¯s vines wrapped around Rockruff, picking it up from the ground. ¡°Rock Throw!¡± Emilia faltered. The rock type barked, and pieces of the rock he had thrown at Skiddo before barrelled toward the grass type, hitting it in the back, but its hold over Rockruff never weakened. ¡°Seed Bomb.¡± Skiddo spat out the vicious, detonating seeds that we had all grown familiar with, and they all hit Rockruff in a cacophony of explosions. Emilia¡¯s Pokemon cries were overshadowed by the noise, and he quickly went limp. Even I was surprised at how fast it had fallen unconscious. Maybe I had been underestimating Skiddo all along, but from the information I had gathered on it before my gym battle, it wasn¡¯t that remarkable. Maybe that was its strength. Appearing weaker than it was. That precious smile and docile nature apparently hid a vicious battler. ¡°Rockruff is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee yelled. Emilia silently thanked Rockruff and sent out her Aipom again, who was hit by the Spikes. ¡°Grab it again,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°Fury Swipes!¡± Emilia ordered. Somehow, the fingers on Aipom¡¯s tail grew sharp enough to hack the two vines apart. Emilia mmed her foot and kept going. ¡°Run away and Swift!¡± Good, I thought. Fighting this Skiddo in closebat had revealed itself to be a terrible idea, especially when it had used Bulk Up. ¡°Follow it and Razor Leaf.¡± Swift hit Skiddo, but it was too bulky to go down to an attack that weak. The grass type was faster than Aipom, and its Razor Leaves were hitting the Pokemon more often than not, no matter how much he tried to zig-zag to dodge. A few more minutes of this chase, and Aipom went down as well. Emilia hadn¡¯t managed to make Gardenia use a third Pokemon. Her chances of victory were now significantly slimmer. The chestnut-haired girl sighed and grabbed Beldum¡¯s Pokeball. She stared at it for a few seconds before releasing the white, marble-like steel type, which let out an alien-like grinding sound. Thanks to him levitating in the air, he didn¡¯t trigger the Spikes, but if he was ever knocked to the ground, they would hit him all the same. ¡°Take Down!¡± Emilia said. ¡°Knock it away,¡± Gardenia quickly ordered. Beldum floated toward Skiddo. He wasn¡¯t fast, but he was heavy, and that would make all the difference. Skiddo hit him with Vine Whip, but Beldum¡¯s course wasn¡¯t even slightly altered. He rammed into the grass type. ¡°Pick it up!¡± Emilia said, not missing a beat. Take Down had sent the grass type flying, but Beldum¡¯s red eye shone brightly as he used Confusion to stop it midair. He mmed Skiddo into the ground multiple times. ¡°sh Cannon!¡± She continued. Beldum summoned a bright light in front of his eyes and sent it flying, hitting Skiddo once more. The grass type tried to fight back, sending Seed Bombs and Razor Leaves whenever there was an opening, but the fight was a foregone conclusion. Skiddo went down. ¡°Skiddo is unable to battle! Leader Gardenia, send out your second Pokemon,¡± The referee said. In a way, the sheer difference in strength between Beldum and the rest of her team was incredible, and Gardenia apparently thought the same, because she hesitated for a few seconds. She smiled and released Cea. ¡°Pin Missile!¡± She said. ¡°Don¡¯t get close!¡± ¡°Stop it with Confusion and get in range!¡± Needles grew out of Cea¡¯s arms and started flying like guided missiles toward Beldum, who diverted a few away. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t trained his psychic abilities as hard as Slowpoke or Gothorita, and a few of them hit him. Still, it was barely a scratch. Cea sent out another barrage of Pin Missiles before being picked up with Confusion. Since Beldum was already picking up a living being this time, all of them hit. The steel type let out a metallic sound and mmed Cea against the ground like a ragdoll, sometimes changing it up with sh Cannon to inflict more damage. Cea went down. It was one-on-one now. Gardenia released Tang¡ª the same she had used against Cecilia¡¯s Fletchinder. The grass type gurgled as if it was sneering. It was nothing like angel, which made me appreciate how different two Pokemon of the same species could act. ¡°Get your vines out,¡± Gardenia said. Tang extended more than ten vines into the air. ¡°Sunny Day.¡± ¡°Get in range again and pick it up! You can do this!¡± Emilia said, clenching her fists. Tang screeched, and the sun began to bear down harshly on the battlefield. Gardenia wanted to take full advantage of Tang¡¯s ability. Beldum once again slowly but steadily flew toward Tang. ¡°Bind it.¡± All of Tang¡¯s vines instantly converged on Beldum at the same time and snaked around him, holding him in ce further than his Confusion could reach. I expected the steel type just to brush it off like he had done with Skiddo, but he surprisingly couldn¡¯t. Tang¡¯s vines were too powerful to be simply overpowered and torn down. Beldum tried to manipte the vines away with Confusion, but Tang just brought more of them to the table, rendering any attempts to free himself useless. ¡°Bring it down,¡± Gardenia followed up. Tang mmed Beldum against the ground in one smooth blur of motion, and the Spikes all hurtled toward the steel type as well. ¡°Mega Drain,¡± She said. Was¡­ was it over? No matter what Beldum tried to do, he couldn¡¯t get free from Tang. He was bulky and resistant enough to grass type moves that he couldst a long time, but that didn¡¯t matter if he couldn¡¯t do anything. Beldum¡¯s red eye slowly began to fade, leaving only a dark cavity. It was knocked out. I stared at Emilia, expecting her to be bitter about her loss, but she wasn¡¯t. She looked relieved. ¡ª¡ª We joined Emilia in the lobby and startedforting her. ¡°Sorry Emi¡­¡± Pauline said, wrapping an arm around her friend. ¡°I should have helped you train more. I was so focused on my own battle that I only helped you after it was toote.¡± ¡°It was a close battle,¡± Denzel said, pping her back. ¡°You¡¯ll get her next time. I know how hard defeat is¡ª¡± ¡°I feel great,¡± Emilia said. ¡°What?¡± Justin frowned. ¡°I feel great,¡± She repeated. ¡°Beldum¡­ he spoke to me before going down,¡± She said, caressing her Pokeball. ¡°They weren¡¯t words¡ª not exactly, it was more like a feeling.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡ª that¡¯s amazing!¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°I knew you were worrying for nothing,¡± I said. ¡°I told you he loved you.¡± ¡°You did,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Beldum told me to do what I really wanted to do, or at least that¡¯s what it felt like. I guess he knew all along that I was forcing myself into the Circuit, since he¡¯s there a lot when I watch contest videos. I was nervous about losing because I didn¡¯t want to hold everyone back, and I was scared about my parent¡¯s reaction¡ª¡± ¡°Just give me the phone when they call,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Thank you,¡± Emilia smiled. ¡°So are you finally going to try out contests or what?¡± The redhead continued. ¡°Pauline¡­ you knew?¡± She asked. ¡°Of course, I knew. You were obvious as hell about it,¡± She said, rolling her eyes. Contests weren¡¯t particrly my cup of tea, but I was happy Emilia had something she was passionate about. Signing up for it was as easy as signing up for the Circuit, and unlike the Circuit, it didn¡¯t run on a yearly basis. It was a continuous sport, where trainers could earn ribbons instead of gym badges. I wasn¡¯t too familiar with all the rules, though. ¡°Plus, contests happen all over the region! I can still travel with all of you, although I¡¯ll probably skip the more difficult parts and hop on a ne¡­¡± She trailed off. ¡°Of course,¡± Cece said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the same without the entire group.¡± Emilia sniffled and teared up. ¡°Thank you, everyone¡­ for supporting me.¡± We all grouped up and gave her a collective hug. ¡°I feel so much more motivated to train now,¡± Emilia smiled. ¡°It¡¯s like everything¡¯s clicking into ce!¡± As we stepped out of the gym and toward our hotel, it was finally time to start nning when we would leave Eterna city. I still had my session with Amanda tomorrow evening via video chat, but other than that, I was fine with leaving any time. Our time in Eterna was slowlying to an end.
Interlude – The Directorate Interlude ¨C The Directorate INTERLUDE - The Directorate It may have seemed strange, but Cynthia had always preferred the Directorate¡¯s building over the League''s, at least from a pragmatic point of view. The League was an ancient, beautiful building full of history, built akin to a giant cathedral, which she loved, but in terms of utility? The sleek, modern design and straightforward hallways were much easier and less time-consuming to navigate. And time seemed to be what shecked the most these days. The Champion had the Directorate built on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, two years after bing Champion. Almost twenty years since she had handed her absolute powers over to a civilian body. The Directorate sat rtively close to Sunnyshore, and the location had originally been chosen due to its closeness to the Pokemon League and how easy it would be to fly from one to the other. Yet that measure that had meant to link the two systems¡ª trainers and civilians¡ª together hadn¡¯t worked. Today, people felt the same adoration for Cynthia that they had all those years ago, but when it came to the actual League itself? It was hard to find anyone who actually cared for them other than trainers themselves, and honestly, who could me them? It was much easier to feel connected to the government if you actually saw the people who participated in it. Directorate members were often seen all over the region, and they worked in Sinnoh¡¯s second most populous city. The League, meanwhile, sat on the Lily of the Valley ind, far away from any type of civilization, and it was originally built so the strongest trainers who reached the ce alive could live among themselves and reach the pinnacle of strength, back when Sinnoh was still called Hisui and people were still settling all over the region. From that primitive system, the Elite Four and Champion organically came to be. They had no doubt drawn inspiration from Kanto and Johto, who, ording to history, were the first regions to have done so. When the strongest trainers finally came back to maind Sinnoh, they subjugated its inhabitants and took control of the region and established a system akin to modern ¡®gym leaders¡¯, whose original purpose was to keep control of the region¡¯s most populous settlements. However, the seat of power remained unchanged. The League ruled with an iron fist from a faraway ind. Until Cynthia herself divided it. Still, even now, she never regretted her decision. The League had too much power, and implementing checks and bnces was the remedy. It was only a matter of time before a future Champion grew mad with power¡ª and it certainly had happened many times in the past. Massacres, very, and countless horrors had been orchestrated in the past all throughout the world by trainers. Now that Cynthia had changed the natural order, she hoped the future Elite Four and gym leaders would join the civilian government to stop any future tyrants instead of aiding them like in the past. If they didn¡¯t? Well, all her work would have been for naught, but at least she would have tried. Strongly worded letters and investigations could only do so much in the face of murderous trainers. Ah, those worries were for future generations. Right now, she needed to make sure they got to be born in the first ce. Cynthia sighed and entered one of the many empty offices in the building. The Directorate was in recess and negotiating right now, so she could afford to take a break from saving Vernon¡¯s job. The Champion immediately grabbed her Poketch, which had been vibrating relentlessly for the past hour, and called the number back. ¡°Rowan,¡± She sighed, feeling exhaustion creep up. ¡°How was your flight up to Canve?¡± ¡°Oh, you know I hate flying,¡± The professor answered. ¡°But I adore Canve, so the trip alone is worth it. Anyway, I have found a few nuggets of information regarding your¡­ inquiry.¡± Cynthia had contacted Professor Rowan to help her dig for more information about Dusknoir. She was very familiar with him, seeing as he was Sinnoh¡¯s most well-known Pokemon Professor, and he extensively researched the phenomenon of evolution. When she contacted him about having seen a Dusknoir, he jumped at the asion to help her research. ¡°So?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Well, of course, it would have been too easy to just find the answer in the Canve library, but I believe my new assistants¡ª Dawn and Lucas, have found a lead. It was a peculiar old book in the library¡¯s corner about ancient Sinnohan history, which is why I didn¡¯t think to check, but the book alludes to a certain Elite Four trainer that owned a Dusknoir.¡± ¡°Does it allude to how it evolved?¡± Cynthia asked. She liked the professor, but his passion tended to make him ramble, and she needed to go meet Vernon right after this call. ¡°Well, this is a primary source written by a League trainer from the time, so I would give it more credence, but it is said that when his Dusknoir was still a Dusclops, it would¡ª ah, you are familiar with Dusclops, right?¡± ¡°Fantina owns one, so yes,¡± Cynthia said, her voice unchanging but tapping her feet. ¡°Well, they say that Dusclops would steal the spirits¡ª which is what they called souls at the time¡ª and use the amount that it had taken to weave some sort of cloth it attached in between the wispy appendages on its back, slowly turning it into a cape. When it got big enough, the ghost evolved,¡± Professor Rowan recited. ¡°Do we know how many souls that would take?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. The book is rather light on the details. But they do say that looking at the cloth too much could render you mad with the voices of the trapped souls ringing in your mind,¡± He continued. Cynthia nodded to no one in particr. That lined up with the voices she hearding from Dusknoir¡¯s mouth, and if the evolution required human souls, then it made sense that Dusknoir kept sustaining itself with them, as Fantina had told her. ¡°Thank you, Rowan,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°This is great progress.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not done yet. We still need to parse through more books from the same time period and cross-reference to see if the facts line up or if the trainer who wrote this was just embellishing his story for the readers.¡± ¡°Sounds good. I have to go, but call me again if anythinges up.¡± ¡°Very well. Good luck with your negotiations. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re having a hard time.¡± ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t handle,¡± Cynthia said before saying goodbye and hanging up. One vote. One vote was all that separated her paper-thin majority from bing the minority and firing Vernon. It was one thing for the majority of members to oppose her, but if the Prime Minister also did, she wouldn¡¯t even be able to bring her measures to a vote since she needed their approval to do so. Cynthia exited the room, surprising many staffers and interns walking through the gray-white halls of the Directorate. She quickly strode towards Vernon¡¯s office and knocked. ¡°Who is it?!¡± The man said aggressively. ¡°Go away!¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Vernon,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Unlock the door.¡± She heard grumbling behind the door as Vernon Harper unlocked his door. He looked incredibly tired and depressed. His usual well-kept hair was disheveled, and he had stubble all over his chin. Cynthia tilted her head and scoffed at the cardboard boxes littering the room. ¡°Are you packing?¡± She asked. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m packing, Cynthia,¡± Vernon said in an exasperated tone. He was angry at her, and Cynthia couldn¡¯t me him. She had maybe cost him his job. Even though he would remain as a Directorate Member even if he lost the position of Prime Minister, he would no doubt lose his next election in andslide. ¡°I¡¯m one vote away from hell.¡± The Directorate worked in a proportional manner. Each city had a number of members they could elect, and the more people inhabited the city, the more members they got, for a total of two hundred and fifty. Some smaller cities like Celestic¡ª her hometown, or Floaroma didn¡¯t like the system because they said that it gave too much power to Sinnoh¡¯s poption centers, but there was no way to please everyone. ¡°I have one more card in y,¡± Cynthia said with her usual smile. ¡°I¡¯ll present a recent report the LSS finally gave us about Team Gctic.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re finally ready to deliver on your promise and tell me what the fuck is going on?¡± Vernon sighed. Cynthia grimaced internally. It was true that she had told him she would exin everything about team Gctic, but the Champion had wanted to gather all the facts first, which was why the League had been so silent these past few weeks. Still, now that the first substantial report had been produced, she would present it to the Directorate¡ª albeit in a redacted manner¡ª and hope to sway their votes. Cynthia didn¡¯t have much of a choice here. She doubted the members of parliament would believe her if she suddenly used some of them of taking bribes from team Gctic without solid proof, and there was also the fact that the LSS had purposefully spread misinformation which had no doubt caused the death of young trainers. All on hermand. For the good of Sinnoh, Cynthia thought, steeling herself. It wasn¡¯t the first time Cynthia had done something so unforgivable, but she was a pragmatic person at heart. The lives of a few trainers, or the potential devolution of the situation in mass riots and panic from the public learning too much, which would give team Gctic free reign? She would pick the former every time. She had done what she could by asking the rangers to give the trainers thorough lessons before allowing them in, and that had cut the casualty rate by more than half. Even now, a small voice at the back of her head was telling her to just burn down everything she had built to save the region. Cynthia shut that thought down every time it came up. She would deal with the repercussions from the other gym leaderster. Maylene would be the angriest of them all, but Volkner and Candice would probably start getting cold feet. ¡°Yes, I will tell you what¡¯s going on,¡± Cynthia finally answered. ¡°Now clean yourself up, look confident, and join me in the chamber.¡± Vernon reluctantly nodded and left his office, jogging toward the nearest washroom. Cynthia ced a hand on her forehead and sighed before returning to her smiling state as she waited for him toe back. Surprisingly though, it was Sophie Richards that walked through the door, one of the Directorate members suspected of having been bribed by team Gctic. She was young¡ª still in herte-twenties and full of ambition, which often meant making mistakes. Unfortunately, there was no money trail, but she had just bought a mansion on Sunnyshore¡¯s beaches, along with two luxury cars. The woman was so tant with everything that it boggled the mind. ¡°Ms. Richards,¡± Cynthia said politely. ¡°Cynthia,¡± She smiled at her. Not using her title of Champion was another obvious jab. ¡°I was just visiting my future office.¡± Sophie Richards was now the front-runner for the future Prime Minister position despite having changed her vote just slightly more than a week ago. She now often gave fiery speeches on the floor about the tyranny of the League despite having wholeheartedly supported it beforehand. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t be so sure of that if I were you, but feel free to have a look,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Vernon looks to be halfway done packing already,¡± Sophie smiled. ¡°But since you¡¯re so sure of yourself, let me give you a hint. We¡¯ve already flipped two more members. Your reign is over, Cynthia. Your puppet Vernon is losing his job today, no matter what speech or new information you present.¡± Cynthia was surprised, but she didn¡¯t let it show. She could have been lying, although it didn¡¯t look that way. Cynthia¡¯s gut wasn¡¯t often wrong. ¡°Do you really believe what you¡¯re saying, Ms. Richards?¡± Cynthia smiled. ¡°You seemed to have had a sudden change of heart recently, along with arge increase in funds.¡± The woman faltered for a split second¡ª a mark of her inexperience¡ª and returned to her confident expression. ¡°What are you insinuating?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing,¡± Cynthia waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Just an astute observation.¡± ¡°Good, because I¡¯d love it if you tried to bring that up when you speak to the chamber. They¡¯ll treat you like the fool you are.¡± Vernon stepped into the room as the two women stared at each other icily. ¡°Sophie, get the fuck out of my office,¡± The man snarled. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone in here.¡± Ah, Vernon. Always rude and straightforward, but that was the thing that made him a ruthless negotiator before team Gctic and public pressure got involved in the halls of the Directorate. ¡°I look forward to redecorating it,¡± Sophie said with glee as she left. ¡°Anyway, I suppose it¡¯s time to make our way to the chamber as well,¡± He said as soon as she was out of earshot. ¡°I hope what you¡¯ve got is good because things are looking dire.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotten new information, and it actually looks like you¡¯re losing your job,¡± Cynthia deadpanned. Vernon had to do a double take and had the wind knocked out of him. ¡°What?! You said you had a card up your sleeve!¡± ¡°Calm down. Think clearly. You¡¯ll still be a member, and your election isn¡¯t for another year. We have time to switch things around.¡± ¡°So the new information you have¡­?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t change anyone¡¯s mind, but it¡¯ll start to make some of them doubt the prevailing narrative that the League is out to get them, at least.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Vernon sighed. ¡°I trust you.¡± ¡°And so do I. Keep your chin up, Vernon. Act confident.¡± ¡°Hard to do, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Cynthia and Vernon stepped into the semi-circr room featuring seats for every member of the Directorate. They stepped down the stairs, and Vernon took his usual spot in the Prime Minister¡¯s chair, which sat at the center of the room, while Cynthia stood next to them with the LSS report in hand. Above them was a huge statue of a faceless armored man wearing a cape and holding ance¡ª a monument to humankind and its advances, but also to the suffering trainers of old had wrought. Cynthia carefully waited for all members of the Directorate to take their seats. Whereas in Unova, there were different political parties and the seating was arranged by which one a member identified with, Sinnoh¡¯s parliament was arranged by city. Members from the same cities sat together, although Cynthia believed that would change soon, with the copse of the coalition government. Vernon grabbed his hammer and tapped on his elevated desk three times. ¡°Order! The Directorate is now in session¡ª order!¡± The Prime Minister yelled. Eventually, the chamber became silent, but Cynthia noted that before, he could silence the chamber in mere seconds. ¡°Champion Cynthia is here to address the Directorate. You have the floor, Champion.¡± Cynthia watched as the staffers finished handing out copies of the League Secret Service report to every sitting member, and then she finally started. ¡°Dear members of the Directorate,¡± Cynthia started. ¡°As you no doubt know, a new terrorist organization known as team Gctic has revealed itself to us this year¡ª¡± She heard a heckler toward her left who interrupted her. ¡°The gentleman from Veilstone does not have the floor!¡± Vernon yelled. Cynthia continued. ¡°I apologize on behalf of the League for our silence thesest weeks. We were gathering as much information on their organization as possible to make sure all the facts we would reveal were correct. I had the most recent and substantial report distributed to you, so feel free to read along as I summarize it.¡± The Champion paused for effect, then took a breath. ¡°Team Gctic has been active all around the region, but their nexus of activity seems to be around the Eterna region. First, they have been found active around Eterna forest, trying to lure a rare ghost type that we do not yet know the identity of. Second, they have been agitating the protests to turn violent, as it is in their interest to keep the government paralyzed into dealing with its internal issues instead of them¡­¡± Cynthia kept going, embellishing her speech as much as she could. She could see from the member¡¯s faces that she wasn¡¯t flipping anyone, but that had been expected after Sophie Richards¡¯ taunt. It was about nting the seed in their mind, as Gardenia would say. Next up, staffers again went around to pass a different report, this one about the attack on the power nt at Valley Windworks. Cynthia believed it was finally time to rip off the band-aid and let them know team Gctic was more dangerous than it seemed. ¡°During the attack on Valley Windworks,¡± She started. ¡°Team Gctic stole data pertaining to tearing holes through reality itself.¡± There were murmurs and whispers now. Good. ¡°I learned of this the day of the attack, but I had the League investigate further and make sure all the facts were correct,¡± Cynthia lied. ¡°But I am sure now that team Gctic is a threat,¡± She said, still omitting the fact that the threat was existential. ¡°The Directorate and the League must stay united during this time, at least until the situation is dealt with. I am calling for you to return to your senses and unite in a coalition government once more.¡± There were ps and cheers from the half that supported her and jeers from the others. One member of the opposition from Jubilife stood up, and Vernon gave him the floor. ¡°Why is so much of these two reports redacted? Do we not deserve to know the full extent of what is going on in our region? How are we supposed to work with you if we don¡¯t have the full picture?¡± ¡°The League believes these facts getting out would be a threat to national security,¡± Cynthia honestly stated. ¡°I apologize, but the remaining information will be revealed at an adequate time.¡± Another member rose, waited for permission, and spoke. ¡°You say team Gctic is a threat, but they haven¡¯t killed anyone yet or caused substantial damage. What guarantees do we have that this isn¡¯t a lie from the League?¡± They have, Cynthia thought. And so has the League. ¡°You don¡¯t. But the fact that I am here, and my political agenda is at your mercy, is it not? I have no reason to lie.¡± Questions kepting, and Cynthia kept answering them as honestly as she could, but there were lies sprinkled in there too. Right now, she needed to make team Gctice across a dangerous threat that could kill and cause significant damage, but not end the world. It was a small tightrope to walk, but Cynthia could only hope they were convinced. Still, in the end, it didn¡¯t look to be enough. Cynthia had flipped one of the three people Sophie had turned to her side, but that meant that the opposition still held the majority. Wasting no time, they immediately brought the position of Prime Minister to a vote, fired Vernon, and put Sophie up as his recement. The woman let out an evil grin at Cynthia as she walked to the Prime Minister''s podium, but the Champion just smiled back. She wouldn¡¯t unnerve her. Cynthia had faced far too much to be emotionally rattled by a mere girl. Vernon immediately left to finish packing. The office technically wasn¡¯t his, it was the Prime Minister¡¯s, and he no longer held the position. Cynthia stayed to listen to Sophie¡¯s speech, whichid out their legitive agenda. None of it could actually pass without Cynthia¡¯s signature, but it was still egregiously anti-trainer, and they could formmittees to ¡®investigate¡¯ League activities. Another one of those checks on the League Cynthia had ced in good faith was now being abused for personal gain. Cynthia finally left when she felt her Poketch ring again. She stepped into the empty office once more and answered. It was Gardenia calling. ¡°Cynth!¡± She immediately yelled, clearly panicking. Her tone was usually calm, so Cynthia knew something was wrong. ¡°It¡¯s a catastrophe. There¡¯s¡ª there¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Take a deep breath and start over,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°We just had everything leaked. All of our data, trainer information, emails, Leaguemunications, including gym leaders and the Elite four! It was like¡ª it was like someone hacked the gym¡¯s entire digital system.¡± Cynthia pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll be on my way,¡± Cynthia said. The media would have a field day with this. A leak this massive had never happened before, and she needed to get to the bottom of it now. Cynthia strode through the halls of the Directorate and exited the building. She ordered the two League trainers that had been apanying her that she would need to fly back to Sunnyshore instead of being driven there. She released Garchomp, who let out a low affectionate growl. ¡°Fly me to Sunnyshore, please. Volkner¡¯s gym,¡± She said. She climbed on the Dragon¡¯s back and grabbed her shoulder spikes tightly. She jumped into the air and started gliding toward the city. Of course, she wasn¡¯t going as fast as she could have¡ª which was the speed of sound. Cynthia would never be able to hold on at those speeds. Garchompnded with a loud thud in front of Volkner¡¯s gym, surprising many trainers who were no doubt waiting to sign up to challenge the gym leader. Unfortunately for them, she would have to take him away for a few hours. Garchomp bent down to enter the building, and Cynthia walked up to reception. ¡°Good afternoon,¡± She said. ¡°Get me Volkner and his gym Kadabra.¡± ¡°C¡ªC¡ªCynthia?!¡± The receptionist yelled as he practically fell out of his chair. ¡°Right away, ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± It took a few minutes, but Volknerzily walked through the door and into the gym¡¯s lobby with his usual slouch and his hands in his pockets. He wore clothes toorge for his frame and had that familiar bored look on his face. ¡°Cynthia, I was in the middle of a gym battle. I had to adjourn and ruin a kid¡¯s day. Plus, he was winning, so this better be good,¡± He said. ¡°And we¡¯re going to have to talk about that report on team Gcticter.¡± She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not good, but it¡¯s important. Have Kadabra teleport us to Gardenia¡¯s gym. You had the previous one reced like I asked, right?¡± ¡°Yep, yep, yep,¡± He groaned, releasing the Kadabra. ¡°He has enough range for that, and he¡¯s been to every gym already, so he can bring us. Sorry kids, I¡¯ll be backter, or feel free to battle Jonathan instead of me.¡± Cynthia recalled Garchomp, blinked, and she was suddenly at the entrance of Gardenia¡¯s gym. She asked for the gym leader¡¯s location, possibly traumatizing the young girl working reception, and quickly made her way to her office. ¡°Gardenia, I have Volkner with me. He can help with technical issues, so exin what happened in detail,¡± Cynthia said. Her Poketch was vibrating. The leak had gotten out. ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t there since I was battling, but a few of my gym trainers came up to me and told me that a bunch of popups appeared on theputers they were working on, and no matter what they did, all the information was sent¡­ somewhere. Even turning it off wouldn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Were we hacked?¡± Cynthia asked Volkner. ¡°No, that should be impossible,¡± Volkner immediately said as he walked toward Gardenia¡¯sputer. ¡°We have firewalls, encryption, ess controls¡ª¡± ¡°So what is it then?¡± Gardenia asked. ¡°Do I have to interrogate my gym trainers?¡± She asked in a pained expression. Volkner held up a finger. ¡°Hold on, shut it,¡± He said, clicking a few windows open. ¡°Theputer looks clean. The log files don¡¯t show anything unusual¡ª¡± He stopped. ¡°Wait, what is that?¡± Cynthia squinted at the screen and saw that one of the files was¡­ gibberish. They were all gibberish to her, but it looked particrly different than the others. Volkner double-clicked the file, and an orange Pokemon surrounded by bright blue electricity sprung out of theputer. Cynthia immediately released her ceon, but it was already gone through the wall. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Gardenia asked. Cynthia clicked her tongue. ¡°That was¡­ that was a Rotom. They¡¯re incredibly rare.¡± ¡°Shit¡­¡± Volkner murmured. ¡°That¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t stop the hack. Rotom can infiltrate any electrical device and essentially do whatever they want.¡± Cynthia brought a hand to her chin. It all made sense now. The rare ghost type team Gctic had been trying to capture in the Old Chateau was a Rotom. ¡°It was team Gctic,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Nothing stored digitally is safe anymore. Volkner, send out a message and tell the other gym leaders to delete everything that would be deemed confidential. From now on, we¡¯re switching to paper-basedmunication only until we find a solution.¡± ¡°But you would have to do that manually¡ª¡± ¡°Do it.¡± Volkner sighed. ¡°Roger. What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stay silent about this. I¡¯ll have to talk to the media. Luckily for us, they¡¯ll probably focus on trainers¡¯ personal information being leaked, which is the least important part of this whole ordeal. Volkner, have your people try to find a solution to this problem.¡± ¡°I can think of a few things already,¡± he said. ¡°But we¡¯ll need to mass create Porygon for it, and that¡¯s ridiculously expensive.¡± ¡°You have the League¡¯s permission. Talk about it with mayor Sanchez and reach an agreement for the budget. We can potentially reach a bipartisan agreement on it with the Directorate by convincing a few members to flip, but I doubt that would be any time soon. The new government will want to see us squirm for a while. I need to see how effective the new PM is at whipping her caucus first. The money you¡¯ll see will be local for now.¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± he simply said. Cynthia bent down and pet her ceon¡¯s frosty fur. The Pokemon rubbed herself against her ck pants, freezing them slightly. ¡°When I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll gather all of the Elite Four, some League trainers, and start nning an attack. The LSS is zeroing in on team Gctic¡¯s base in Eterna city, and the International Police will be of help as well. I¡¯m done waiting. It¡¯s time to go on the offensive. I won¡¯t need Directorate approval for that.¡± Cynthia Collins was Sinnoh¡¯s Champion. She had done terrible things, good things, and everything in between, but one thing was for sure. For her, there would never be a break. And that was fine. She had a region¡ª no, potentially a world to save.
Interlude – Forums II Interlude ¨C Forums II INTERLUDE - FORUMS II Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! General ¡ú Sponsors Topic: Retani Industries is a scam Original Poster: Grace_Pastel (Verified Trainer) Date: 12th November 20XX Recently, there have been a lot of newpanies that have been trying to get into trainer marketing. One of them is called Retani Industries. They¡¯re a techpany based in Sunnyshore that wants to grow to rival the Poketch Company, but what¡¯s more important is that they¡¯re aplete scam. They invited me and my friend Denzel Williams to sign a contract and tried to make it seem like it would help us by promising money and TMs, but there were a lot of things hidden in the document. For example, they wanted to do ads for all of their products, which we would never have time for, they wanted to make our payments nonnegotiable, and we wouldn¡¯t be able to retire until we turned twenty-two, essentially forcing us to shill for theirpany for years. If it wasn¡¯t for my group¡¯s help, we would have been screwed. They also said that they were contacting more trainers, so I wanted to get ahead of them. Do not under any circumstances sign anything from Retani Industries. I rmend never signing anything if you aren¡¯t familiar with business in general. Thesepanies are predatory, and this behavior shouldn¡¯t be allowed. Thank you for reading. ?Hayleigh_Munoz (Verified Trainer) I¡¯ve been contacted by them too, after winning my second badge in Pastoria, but I was too nervous to meet and I ghosted them. Apparently that was a good idea, thanks for the warning! ?Jessie_Newman (Verified Trainer) So they¡¯re contacting people all over the region? Arceus, these people are scumbags. ?Nathan_Phillips (Verified Trainer) What the hell? Is this true? I signed just yesterday???? They didn¡¯t tell me anything about what you¡¯re saying. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) You¡¯re all dumbasses for even thinking of meeting one of thesepanies. This is just one part of why sponsorships andpany meddling in the Circuit should be banned. Not only does it give an unfair advantage to some trainers while leaving others in the dirt, they¡¯re only doing it to enrich themselves. I¡¯m banning that shit as soon as I be the Champion. The League isplicit in this. Why do you think they haven¡¯t done so already? This is bigger than Retani Industries. If the government starts opposing big business, then the money suddenly gets cut off and stops flowing. I bet they¡¯re paying off politicians too. The government doesn¡¯t work for us, it works for the rich. ?Se7en Big words from someone who barely won against Gardenia. ?Ramin_Abdel (Verified Trainer) That has nothing to do with the topic of the thread. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) @Se7en nice job, buddy! You¡¯ve sessfully hidden your identity behind a screen and shittalked someone who you will never surpass! I have something nned very soon to bring a member of my team to the next level. I¡¯ll beat Fantina easily. ?Miv_Kva (Verified Trainer) No need to be this rude. Anyway, getting back to Chase¡¯s point, I agree in principle, but how else are we going to buy all of the supplies trainers need to thrive at the top? When you have eight badges, the few hundreds of Pokedors you get from battles are pennies. You need money from sponsors. ?Hayleigh_Munoz (Verified Trainer) I agree with this. Plus, you¡¯re acting like the League is a one-man dictatorship. There are procedures you would have to go through to do this. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) Okay bootlickers, have fun getting scammed and then crying about it. I¡¯m proposing solutions while you¡¯re allining. I¡¯m a man of action. I¡¯ll figure it out. ?Bobby_Odink (Verified Trainer) @Grace_Pastel, I find it ironic that you of all people are trying to dissuade us from taking money from Retani when you¡¯re traveling with a bunch of billionaires. I personally signed, and I might have gotten screwed, but that¡¯s what normal trainers like us have to do, so I don¡¯t expect you to understand. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) She might be privileged, but her point still applies. I checked your profile and despite having been in the Circuit for three years, your personal record is a single badge. You don¡¯t need the kind of money we¡¯re talking about to win at that level. I¡¯m living proof of that. You know what I think? I think you¡¯re a pathetic jealous man who mes his personal failures on ack of funds. Stop doomposting on the forums and hit the gym, loser. Train with your team for a change instead of making them repeat the same move over and over. That¡¯s the definition of insanity. ?Bobby_Odink (Verified Trainer) I¡¯ll have you know that the vast majority of trainers don¡¯t even get a single gym badge, so I¡¯m actually good at my job, thank you very much. And yes, I do need money even at my level. How am I expected to go through routes if I don¡¯t buy potions? And I¡¯ve been wanting to save up for some TMs, which Retani will provide me with. Those will propel me to the next level. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) I ain¡¯t reading all that, chief. Happy for you though/sorry that happened. ?Bobby_Odink (Verified Trainer) My message is shorter than yours, you fucking prick. ?Omori_Fumiko (Verified Trainer) Can we stop with the toxicity and get back to the original topic? @Bobby_Odink, was your contract the same as Grace¡¯s? ¡ª¡ª Gyms ¡ú Eterna ¡ú Gardenia Topic: Does Gardenia have it out for me? Original Poster: Caiden_Parker (Verified Trainer) Date: 8th November 20XX So I know I¡¯m going to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but hear me out before clicking off the thread. I was at an anti-League protest a few days ago in front of the Eterna city gym, and Gardenia walked through the lobby while I was there, and I swear we fucking locked eyes for a split second. When I battled her two dayster, she wiped the floor with me, and I mean no holds barred. I don¡¯t even have a badge yet, and she¡¯s treating me like I¡¯m one of these first-year prodigies you hear so much about. So here¡¯s my question, am I crazy or not? ?Caiden_Parker (Verified Trainer) Why is no one answering the thread? Am I being shadowbanned by the League because I¡¯m right on the fucking target? ?Palovp No, you fucking idiot, no one is answering because you didn¡¯t take your pills this morning. ?Caiden_Parker (Verified Trainer) So the only person that answers doesn¡¯t even entertain my theory? Nice try undercover League agent! I¡¯m going to protest twice as hard! In fact, I think I¡¯m going to go inside and boo Gardenia in the stands. ?Palovp What losing once does to a mf. ?Emma_Gilly (Verified Trainer) Stop entertaining his delusions and don¡¯t reply. ?Caiden_Parker (Verified Trainer) You¡¯ll see me with a giant fuck you sign tomorrow, Gardenia! ¡ª¡ª Gyms ¡ú Eterna ¡ú Gardenia Topic: Gardenia tips? (Second Badge) (Trainer Only Thread) Original Poster: Lnd_Joel (Verified Trainer) Date: 10th November 20XX Hello everybody. I know this is amon thread, but the others all seem less active than I¡¯d like them to be, so I¡¯ll try to revive the topic. I tried fighting against Gardenia an hour ago and I only managed to take down her Lombre. She also used Ivysaur and Roselia against me. I have two fire types: Pansear and Magby, but I also have a Hoothoot. I¡¯m kind of trying to be a fire type specialist in the long term, but that¡¯s beside the point. I tried to have Hoothoot deal with her Lombre and I was doing rather well, but she recalled it immediately and started dunking on me with Ivysaur, and my Hoothoot went down way faster than I thought. I was left with two fire types¡­ in the rain¡­ yeah. So, if you were me, what would you do to win? ?Poppy_Allen (Verified Trainer) Wait, that was you? Yikes, dude, you¡¯re making yourself sound way better than you actually were, but I¡¯ll still try to help since I beat her two battles after you. It¡¯s kind of impossible to make a strategy against Gardenia, since she uses so many Pokemon that you really don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll get that day. The only other gym leader that evenes close to the size of her team is Candice, from what I¡¯ve heard. So what can you do then? Well first, you need to give that Hoothoot of yours way more training, and you can consider teaching Magby Sunny Day to change the weather again after taking down Lombre. The problem is that weather moves take incredibly long to learn, so if I were you, I would honestly cut my losses ande backter in the year. ?Lnd_Joel (Verified Trainer) I mean, I really don¡¯t understand why she¡¯s that hard. I did just fine against Roark, and I had the same team. Two fucking fire types and a flying type, and I didn¡¯t struggle. Plus, I thought we had really gotten better after getting through Eterna forest, but I guess not. Yeah, you¡¯re probably right, I think I¡¯ll leave. Probably try to fight Maylene and Volkner instead. ?Zac_Swanson (Verified Trainer) Sorry to burst your bubble, but as a veteran trainer who got six badgesst year (check my profile), changing who you fight won¡¯t do anything. The jump in difficulty between the first and the second gym is by design, not a w. No matter who you fight, you¡¯ll have just as much trouble. Just stick where you are, toughen up your team, and you¡¯ll win. If you beat that Lombre or you get lucky and fight her after she¡¯s used both of them in previous battles, you¡¯re pretty much guaranteed a victory. ?Lnd_Joel (Verified Trainer) I mean, maybe you¡¯re right, but here¡¯s what I don¡¯t understand. Why is there such a massive difficulty jump in between the first and second gym in the first ce? And are there any more that I need to watch out for? ?Zac_Swanson (Verified Trainer) You might not have noticed it, but during your first badge, what face was Roark making? Unless you were any good, he was bored. That¡¯s because all of the gym leaders pretty much run on auto-pilot during a trainer¡¯s first gym battle. This is an open secret, but they¡¯re basically kind of trying to get as many people through as they can because if too many kids are crushed in their first attempt, they probably wouldn¡¯te back. This keeps the League Circuit alive, with old blood returning every year to help the newer trainers. At the second gym, there¡¯s no need for any of that, so they turn on a little bit of their brain during the battle, which is why you got hammered so hard. The only other difficulty jump that I¡¯m aware of is the eighth badge, for obvious reasons. Gym leaders don¡¯t want to let random shmucks who got lucky or trainers whose skills don¡¯t hold up into the Conference. In between the second in the eighth, though, the difficulty curve is pretty steady. ?Lnd_Joel (Verified Trainer) Thank you so much for the advice, man. I¡¯ll keep at it. And honestly, I thought Roark was just permanently bored. Like for example, Gardenia does strategy, Candice is batshit insane, and Fantina has illusions, right? They all have a theme, and I thought he was the stoic bored guy that just used his rock type¡¯s physical strength to win. ?Lynn_Sanford (Verified Trainer) I mean, if what you said is true, it¡¯s kind of morbid, no? A fuck ton of kids, including me apparently, are being given false hope that they¡¯re any good when they should just retire and not waste their time. Plus, you say that gym leaders don¡¯t even try against badgeless kids, but the majority of trainers don¡¯t even get their first badge! My first gym battle was fucking hard! What¡¯s up with that? ?Zac_Swanson (Verified Trainer) I mean, at the end of the day, if you truly love Pokemon battling, knowing about this won¡¯t bother you. It motivated me to better myself instead. I rmend just quitting anyway if the first deal of hardship you encounter makes you have this entitled mindset. ?Lynn_Sanford (Verified Trainer) Okay, asshole. So much for the older generation helping the new trainers. You¡¯re blocked. ?Jean-Paul_Dargnan (Verified Trainer) He was literally giving you advice, you drama queen. Anyway, I¡¯m usually a lurker, but thanks for the help @Zac_Swanson. Older trainers usually don¡¯t post that much on the forums. ?Zac_Swanson (Verified Trainer) My pleasure. And yeah, older trainers tend to have grown past the childish antics, and we¡¯re usually too busy trying to negotiate contracts, do odd jobs, and build connections. And we still train in between all of that! But I still swing by from time to time to give help and feel some nostalgia about just starting out. It¡¯s a wonderful experience to be growing in skill as fast as you are. Cherish it. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Cecilia_Obel ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Cecilia Obel Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 325/333) ?Goald42 So I¡¯ve been rewatching Cecilia Obel¡¯s battle over and over in an attempt to describe her team in the most detail possible and maybe rank them? Anyway, I¡¯m not a trainer, but I¡¯m a huge trainer nerd, so I figured I¡¯d give it a shot in between all of the discussions, so here goes: Deino - Her strongest team member by far and it¡¯s not even close. That thing is a monster that can take way too many hits without ever going down. I mean, it beat Gardenia¡¯s fucking Breloom! With the type disadvantage! Like it was nothing! At first nce, it might seem like its Dragon Breath is its biggest asset, but it¡¯s actually how many hits it can just seemingly brush off. The Deino line, as rare as it is, isn¡¯t usually known for its defensive abilities, but for the insane amount of firepower it has. Just take one look at one of her brother¡¯s battles, and you¡¯ll see. Deino does have good attacking options, but I find its moveset rathercking still. There¡¯s a lot more Cecilia Obel could be doing with it. Still, the attack it does have work like a charm. I guess there¡¯s a reason ¡®keep it simple stupid¡¯ is a saying. Thest thing I want to touch on with Deino is how docile it appears to have be now. A dragon is still a dragon, butpared to her fiance¡¯s, or even how it behaved against Roark, it¡¯s like night and day. She seems to have it under control, now we¡¯ll have to see if that¡¯s still the case when it evolves. Fletchinder - Speed is the name of the game. I knew the Fletchling line was known for its speed in the air, but Arceus, that fucking Agility, Quick Attack, me Chargebo is vicious. None of the trainers at her level would be capable of bringing that Pokemon down, and even Gardenia had to sacrifice Tang, not even to take it down, but just to paralyze it. And Gardenia¡¯s Tang is usually a beast at taking down flying types. Hell, that¡¯s usually its only job. It¡¯scking slightly in power right now, but it makes up for that tenfold with the momentum it builds up with its insane speed. When it evolves again into a Talonme, and it gets ess to both? Anything that tries to fight it without a n is fucked. This thing is a beast in the making, and probably more of a threat than Deino if I had to guess. Deino is more powerful, but at least you can hit it. Slowpoke - I¡¯d say this is her weakest member that we¡¯ve seen, but that doesn¡¯t mean much. Its psychic abilities are still incredibly powerful, and being able to use both Zen Headbutt and Confusion at the same time takes an amount of focus that I wouldn¡¯t have thought Slowpoke could achieve. That specificbination is also vicious, because unless your Pokemon is strong enough to break out of that Confusion¡ª which even Gardenia¡¯s Pokemon couldn¡¯t¡ª your Pokemon is pretty much done on arrival. It¡¯ll be picked up and attacked over and over until it faints. And we haven¡¯t even seen the progress it made with its water moves yet. No matter what this evolves into, it¡¯ll mean trouble for any Pokemon not trained against psychic type attacks. ??? - Obel had a fourth Pokemon on her, which she didn¡¯t even use. That¡¯s right, she won three on fucking four. This is just spection, but the Pokemon is probably a type that she doesn¡¯t have yet, since she seems to be valuing type diversity instead of specializing in one type. Now, I¡¯ll go further and theorize that it might be as strong as her other team members already, but it¡¯s possible that it was too weak to use in battle. Reaching the Conference in your first year is nigh impossible, and only a handful manage to do it every year, but if I had to put money on anyone to do so right now, it would be Cecilia Obel. She¡¯s going ces, I¡¯m telling you. This might be premature and the fanboy in me talking, but I see another Cynthia in the making. ?Sammy_Houghton (Verified Trainer) Fanboy detected. ?Goald42 Bro¡­ I typed all of that out, and that¡¯s all I get? Like, really? ?Giftcard_Scratcher Don¡¯t worry about it, that was honestly a great writeup. People are just salty that someone other than them is seeding in life. I agree with all of your points, but I¡¯d still ce Deino as the bigger threat. If you get a lucky hit on Fletchinder, you can take it down. Deino just never fucking goes down. ?Jamie_Kelly (Verified Trainer) I¡¯m just tired of people that work less than I do getting so much attention and fame. Yeah, I know that it¡¯s just how the world is. Life isn¡¯t fair. But I¡¯d like it if people stop acting like she did something crazy. She only has two badges. I have two badges. A lot of people have two badges. Chill the fuck out and take a cold shower. ?Goald42 I mean, you just sound salty to me, but we can agree to disagree. ?KnownChad You know what¡¯s funny? All of the trainers on this thread are hating on Obel, and all of the civvies are her fan. ?Sammy_Houghton (Verified Trainer) Maybe because you don¡¯t have to deal with the bullshit of knowing that she has an infinite amount of money to make her Pokemon as strong as possible. ?Victor123456 I mean, if you look at some of the other trainers in her group, they didn¡¯t have an easy time. Justin Gardner had to stall for time (which is fucking pathetic, I mean, have some decency), and Louis Bianchi almost lost because of his uncontroble Gible. Hell, Emilia Lussier even lost and she has a Beldum. ?Amar_Chaou (Verified Trainer) Let¡¯s stay on topic. If you want to talk about other trainers, go to their threads. Cecilia Obel certainly has advantages we don¡¯t have, but you have to admit that she must be a good trainer if she got that Deino under control. ?Sammy_Houghton (Verified Trainer) Honestly, fair enough. I¡¯m just feeling a bit salty because I lost to Gardenia, so I guess I let a bit of toxicity slip out. ?Giftcard_Scratcher Props on you for admitting that. But still, I¡¯m excited to see her battle against Fantina. I¡¯d like to see how she deals with all of her tricks. I can already tell that it¡¯s going to be incredible. ?Malcolm_Stanfield (Verified Trainer) @Goald42, keep doing these writeups. I enjoyed reading this one, and I hope that you¡¯ll do more of ¡®em. For her fourth Pokemon, I have a theory. It might be native to Eterna forest. That¡¯s the ce where a trainer would be able to catch the most powerful Pokemon between Floaroma and Eterna city. ?Jamie_Kelly (Verified Trainer) Orrrr she just got it sent to her. I¡¯m just saying. ?Goald42 I¡¯ll try to do them for the trainers that catch my eye in the future. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Louis_Bianchi ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Louis Bianchi Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 233/243) ?Jejouedmusique You people are delusional. This man isn¡¯t making it past the third gym, no matter which leader he challenges. That Gible is even worse than it was during his battle against Roark and the Floaroma Tournament. ?Robert_derk (Verified Trainer) I mean, it¡¯s looking to actually be a genuine danger to him and his group¡¯s safety. If he wasn¡¯t rich, he would have been kicked out a loooong time ago. ?Micha_Brunn (Verified Trainer) Did you see his dad running away from interviewers yesterday? Lmaoooo serves him right. Piece of shit thought he could buy his way into the Conference. Shows that he doesn¡¯t know jack shit about Pokemon battling. ?Kasper_Andersen (Verified Trainer) His other Pokemon weren¡¯t that impressive either. I mean, yeah, they¡¯re well-trained and powerful, but I expected more, you know? Kind of makes you realize the entire group is overhyped. Soon enough, they¡¯ll all fail. That¡¯s what they get for trying to abuse the system. ?Cgore All I¡¯m saying is that this is an overreaction. What I see instead of ws is that he still won despite his Gible basically throwing the battle. A badly behaved Pokemon is something that is often fixed rather than not, so it¡¯s only a matter of time. You¡¯re letting your rabid hate affect yourmon sense. ?Jejouedmusique Dude, he¡¯s not going to pay you. You¡¯ve been defending him since the start of the Circuit. Are you his alt or something? Or maybe he is paying you? ?Cgore I just try to see the good in every situation, which is something you should try. I promise you it¡¯ll make you a better person. ?Micha_Brunn (Verified Trainer) Okay, Mister totally not an alt. Anyway, his Vulpix was clearly bought. I did some research and there¡¯s nowhere to catch one between Floaroma and Eterna city. That¡¯s 3/3 bought Pokemon. Do we think he¡¯s going to reach 6/6? ?Austin_O¡¯Donnell (Verified Trainer) It¡¯s looking like it. I hate all of the members of his group, but after receiving their starters, at least they had the decency to catch their Pokemon. ?Micha_Brunn (Verified Trainer) If I ever cross paths with this kid, I¡¯m challenging him to a battle and putting him in the dirt. He needs his ego checked. ?Maeve_Chang (Verified Trainer) I¡¯ve battled him once already in Floaroma, and I¡¯m itching for a rematch now that I saw he hasn¡¯t progressed whatsoever. Unfortunately, he always stayed holed up at that hotel that I won¡¯t name because that would be doxxing. ?Cgore At least one of you is mature enough to see reason. Arceus, this thread is such a cesspool. ?Jejouedmusique No one¡¯s asking you to read it, loser. If you don''t like it, feel free to leave. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Denzel_Williams ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Denzel Williams Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 134/145) ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) I¡¯ve been gushing about Eevee since day one. Go back to the start of this thread, and you¡¯ll see me. I can¡¯t believe it stood up to Grotle. That thing is like five times its height, and I don¡¯t know how many times its size. It¡¯s made out of pure muscle, hits like a truck and takes hits like they¡¯re nothing. Eevee might be small, but it holds an insane amount of potential. I¡¯m excited to see what he evolves it into. If I had to guess, I¡¯d be leaning toward one of the more physically-inclined evolutions, like Jolteon, Umbreon, etc. ?Katherine_Lane (Verified Trainer) The battle was a draw, but Eevee taking down that huge Grotle honestly made it feel like a win. I mean, what was that, Six detects?! My Meditite can only use the move twice! ?Eric_Vargas (Verified Trainer) Yes, yes, we know Eevee¡¯s a monster, that¡¯s all people are talking about, but can we talk about Buneary for a second? That fucking jump toward Hoppip was probably the most epic scene I¡¯ve ever seen in any battle at our level. I still get goosebumps when I visualize it, and I wasn¡¯t even in the stands! ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) You¡¯re right. All of his Pokemon in general seem to take way more hits than should be possible. Even his Budew took four Acrobatics before going down. That Hoppip was boosting its speed with Fairy Wind, by the way. ?Desiree_Rumero (Verified Trainer) I mean, he¡¯s traveling with a group of billionaires¡­ he could have given his Pokemon supplements. Just sayin¡¯. ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Arceus damn it, this is why small threads are better than the big ones. Denzel¡¯s a very swell guy who answers every DM about questions I have regarding Pokemon training. I can tell his love for battling is genuine. Please leave. Take your toxicity with you and nevere back. ?Presticookr I swear, trainers are the saltiest motherfuckers on the. They see a wholesome thread with a civil discussion, and they have toe and taint it forever. Thanks for nothing! ?Christian_Cole (Verified Trainer) @Samuel_Pane is what you said about training DMs true? I¡¯ve been stuck in a rut recently, and I need help to get my second badge. ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Yes, feel free to shoot him a message. He¡¯ll probably be slower to answer than he used to be since his thread blew up after his battle with Gardenia. He helped with my Nidorino a bunch. ?Christian_Cole (Verified Trainer) Thank you so much! Will message him right now! ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Grace_Pastel ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Grace Pastel Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 260/281) ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) So let me get this straight. This girl who barely beat Roark two months ago is now defeating Gardenia¡¯s strongest Pokemon at the first badge? Like, Sunflora, really? And I¡¯m supposed to believe that she isn¡¯t profiting from her new billionaire friends? She didn¡¯t even try to hide it. ?Persivan You¡¯ve been hating on this girl since her thread opened. Maybe if you stoppedining and trained instead, you would get somewhere instead of still having no badges. ?Ishaan_Ward (Verified Trainer) I mean, regardless of what the answer is, you have to admit that she¡¯s a great battler. We already went over this right after her battle finished. She had a clear n of action, and it worked out. Pastel has talent, I¡¯ll give her that. ?Ayden_Garza (Verified Trainer) How would you even n against Gardenia? There was no way to know what she would go up against, and I doubt it was luck. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) She¡¯s fucking cheating. I¡¯m telling you these kinds of people use informants. ?Flutesong55 Or¡­ she just watched battle videos like everyone else? You are literally insufferable. ?Elsie_Burton (Verified_Trainer) Still, pretty much everyone that fights against Gardenia just wings it. Even with an informant or watching the videos, you¡¯d have to be crazy to memorize everything. That would probably take a month of nonstop studying with no time for actual Pokemon training. ?Abigail_Walker (Verified_Trainer) She probably studied a few and got lucky, but her battle was still incredibly done. All of her Pokemon are incredibly well trained, but that Togetic is something special. It stood up to fucking Sunflora. It took it down and lived to tell the tale. You certainly don¡¯t see that every day. ?Persivan The quick thinking with the multiple Ancient Poweryers to weaken Sr Beam was my favorite part of the battle, but it was great all around. She¡¯s not as shy as some other trainers, but I think I¡¯ll be rooting for her this year. I feel like she¡¯ll get far. ?Christopher_White (Verified_Trainer) If that¡¯s not shy, I might be doing something wrong. Still, I¡¯ve battled her in the arena close to route 205, and she just destroyed me with her Tang. Kind of deted my ego, but she gives great advice. I managed to win against Gardenia with the tips she gave me, so I¡¯m definitely a fan. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) Whatever. You¡¯ll see that she¡¯ll lose soon and get nowhere. ?JohtoanSquatter You have literally been saying this since September 1st. Seek help, this is an unhealthy obsession. ¡ª¡ª Sonya_dik ¡ú Profile ¡ú Direct Messages ?Pauline_King (Verified Trainer) You. If you ever talk shit about Grace or any of my friends again, I¡¯ll have my mother find out who you are, and I¡¯ll ruin your life. You are worth less than nothing. Get over yourself and give up on Pokemon battling. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) You¡¯re unhinged. I''m reporting you. ?Pauline_King (Verified Trainer) Yes. That means you should know that I¡¯m telling you the truth. And it takes an unhinged woman to know another one, by the way. Sleep well tonight. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Craig_Goodwill ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Craig_Goodwill Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 563/590) ?Jordan_ullough (Verified Trainer) That was my first time seeing a Mega Smence, and holy shit, it didn¡¯t disappoint. The entire battle with Maylene was awesome, but it kind of felt like Craig was the gym leader and not Maylene. She was on the backfoot the entire time. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) I mean, she just became a gym leader. She¡¯s 14 and standing up to a 25 year old with 10 years of experience under his belt. So imagine her at Gardenia¡¯s age. I can tell why they skirted around the rules and made her a gym leader. But yeah, Craig¡¯s team is insane. I hadn¡¯t taken a good look until I tuned in for the battle, so I only knew about his Smence, but really? Typhlosion, Gyarados, Snox, Hippowdon and Eelektross? His entire team is stacked. ?[Raruro] I mean, once he pulled Mega Smence out, it was pretty much over, but like Denzel said, Craig usually doesn¡¯t use Mega Evolution at all except in difficult battles, so that¡¯s the proof that he found her at least challenging. ?August_Jenkins (Verified_Trainer) Why wouldn¡¯t he always use it? Sorry, I¡¯m new to Pokemon training and Pokemon in general. I kind of signed up to the Circuit on a whim after my dad gave me a Buizel. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) It takes an incredible toll on both the trainer and the Pokemon, which is why it¡¯s rarely used. It can even make a trainer pass out during the battle if they¡¯re not used to it enough, but Craig¡¯s had ess to it for what, seven years now? At least that¡¯s what his trainer wiki page says. So he can use it more than most. ?Dragontypesupremacist11 So that¡¯s his fifth badge already, right? ?Cd Yeah, he¡¯s been flying around and speedrunning the Circuit. He¡¯s beaten Volkner, Fantina, Wake, and Byron as well so far. In one of his interviews, he said he wants to get them out of the way before he goes to train on Mount Cor. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Arceus¡­ training on Mount Cor. We really live in different worlds. Any idea of where he¡¯s headed next? ?Cd Snowpoint in a week or two. He said battling Candice was always the most fun every year because she¡¯s so unpredictable. ?Jordan_ullough (Verified Trainer) There are few who can rival this guy at this point. I definitely think he¡¯s winning this year now that Sarah Newman left. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Wait, she left?! I thought she was still hanging about, only taking a break for a year to spend time with family. ?Jordan_ullough (Verified Trainer) Nah, she said she was bored of Sinnoh. I kind of understand her, I mean, she¡¯s been battling the same gym leaders over and over. She booked a ticket to Kanto after she lost to Berthast year. She¡¯s going to go through the League Circuit there, although they call it the Gym Challenge locally. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Sounds fun. I¡¯d like to go to other regions at some point too. Let¡¯s get back to Craig though, if you had to face his Typhlosion, what would you do? ?Pharell_Meyer (Verified Trainer) I don¡¯t know, die? Tf you want me to do? ¡ª¡ª General ¡ú Team_Gctic Topic: The Leak Original Poster: Tyler_Reed (Verified Trainer) Date: November 15th 20XX So people are still gathering all the facts about this massive fumble from the League, but I figured I¡¯d make a thread now that team Gctic finally isn¡¯t being censored by the mods anymore. Not like they can hide it any longer with the giant leak that took ce today. So this afternoon, team Gctic used a Rotom to infiltrate Gardenia¡¯s gymputers and send every single piece of information it had¡­ somewhere. One can only assume they sent it to themselves, and we still don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do with it. Still, team Gctic has ess to all of the League¡¯smunication, so they probably have a pretty good idea of how it operates and what the League knows about them. They also have information on every single trainer that passed through a gym. At first, I thought it would only be the poor bastards that went through the Eterna city gym, but no, since the entire registration system is connected, we¡¯re all fucked. They know your full name, your team, the amount of money you have, the fucking number of hairs on your ass. They have everything. So that begs the question. What the hell was the government thinking? The League said they were going to create an army of Porygon so this never happens again, but why weren¡¯t theputers with the very sensitive information on them already Rotom proof? I don''t care how rare Rotom is, that just seemed like a security breach waiting to happen, and it did. At least Cynthia¡¯s been vocal, which is a nice change of pace. She¡¯s finally giving us information about team Gctic, and people seem to be taking it more seriously now that it¡¯s suddenly affecting them. You hypocrites. Let¡¯s just hope you¡¯re irrelevant enough so that team Gctic doesn¡¯t threaten you or your loved ones now that they can literally doxx every single trainer in Sinnoh. ?Frank_Hussain (Verified Trainer) I¡¯m fucking terrified. This is way bigger than I thought it¡¯d be. What do they even want to do with our information? Couldn¡¯t they just have taken the League¡¯s stuff and be done with it? The League failed us hard today. ?Jodie_Park (Verified Trainer) Maybe if the Directorate wasn¡¯t cucking Cynthia every step of the way, she would be able to deal with these team Gctic assholes. Also really, @Frank_Hussain? You didn¡¯t think they were a big deal after they busted into the Valley Windworks powernt, faced Cynthia, and managed to fucking escape? Maybe you deserve what¡¯sing. ?Temerun_Wassem (Verified Trainer) Maybe Cynthia should have told us how much of a threat these terrorists were instead of twiddling her thumbs the entire time. ?Elle_Brown (Verified Trainer) POLL: WHO DO YOU SUPPORT CYNTHIA (15678 Votes) DIRECTORATE (2101 Votes) ?Temerun_Wassem (Verified Trainer) Lmao, the pro-Cynthia bots are here. Have fun supporting the person who caused this in the first ce. ?Tyler_Reed (Verified Trainer) Maybe the Directorate should get behind Cynthia instead of ying these stupid ass political games and help the League deal with team Gctic? How about that? ?Leslie_Nasser (Verified Trainer) Okay, the point is, we¡¯re all angry and scared. Let¡¯s just wait to see the League¡¯s response. Cynthia told the media that she¡¯d deal with them more aggressively now that her negotiations with the Directorate failed. There¡¯s no need to hold back anymore, she can just fly out and start raiding their bases when they find them or something. She doesn¡¯t need to pass anyws for that. ?Antoine_Carette (Verified Trainer) I shit you not, they¡¯ve already said they¡¯dunch an investigation on the League to figure out if the leak was due to ¡®purposeful negligence¡¯. It¡¯s like they¡¯re being dense on purpose. ?Leslie_Nasser (Verified Trainer) Investigations won¡¯t do shit, they won¡¯t find anything. Sophie Richards just wants attention. ?Xian_Dong (Verified Trainer) I was starting to doubt Cynthia before now, but now I¡¯m fully on her side. They can extract any memories for all I care. I just want team Gctic gone. ?Tyler_Reed (Verified Trainer) I mean, I don¡¯t know about you, but it feels like everyone is thinking team Gctic is going to be dealt with way too quickly. I think this is just the beginning. They¡¯ve shown they can outsmart and take the League off guard twice now, and who knows how many instances we haven¡¯t even heard about. I think they¡¯ll be there for a long, long time.
Chapter 71 Chapter 71 CHAPTER 71 I braced myself, feeling the beating of my heart quicken as the end of my time with Amanda came to an end. It was our first ¡®online session¡¯ together, and I assumed that she always tried to nudge the conversation toward my nightmares to get to the subject at least a little bit before we had to go our separate ways, and it was almost scary how good she was at it. Although of course, she would never force me to talk about them if I didn¡¯t want to. I did, though. And I also didn¡¯t. It was just¡­ it was just hard to exin. ¡°Speaking of not sleeping enough,¡± Amanda said, her face on Cecilia¡¯s giant television screen. ¡°Have you stopped using Togetic to induce sleep?¡± Cece had lent me her entire hotel room for this and kicked everyone out. Not that they minded, of course. They were happy that I was getting help, and they hadn¡¯t judged me whatsoever when I told them I was getting therapy. Even Pauline hadn¡¯t made a snarkyment. ¡°Yeah,¡± I breathed out. ¡°Take your time,¡± Amanda softly said. ¡°You¡¯re in a safe ce.¡± ¡°I thought they were getting better, especially when I slept with my¡­ friend Cecilia. But I¡¯ve been getting them, and they¡¯ve been worse since the leak three days ago,¡± I said, my throat suddenly feeling dry. ¡°I¡¯m always in this¡­ in this maze-like ce that looks like the power nt, and I always get trapped by Dusknoir and stabbed by Mars at the end over and over. When I wake up, it¡¯s like I have the wind knocked out of me. For five seconds or so, I just¡ª I can¡¯t breathe, or I guess I forget how to. Then I start getting¡­ this dull, throbbing pain wherever I got stabbed somehow. Finally, I take a breath and scream my heart out. Then I feel the softness of my bed, the sweat, and tears against my skin, I stare at my ceiling, and I finally remember,¡± I exined. ¡°I remember that it¡¯s not real.¡± I was feeling scared by the end of my words. With the leak, Mars could have even more information about me if she wanted. It wouldn¡¯t take that much research to find out I was in Eterna city right now, or the Pokemon center room I stayed at, or where I used to live in Jubilife¡ª Calm down. I already warned dad about it, it¡¯s beyond your control now. Amanda stayed silent for a second as my words sunk in. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. No child should have to go through that,¡± She said with a gentle, sad look. ¡°I can see how the leak made things worse, but I promise you that the League will do everything in its power to bring team Gctic to heel. You said that having your friends around helped you a lot, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°Hmhm.¡± ¡°Good. You told me about Denzel before, but I never heard about the others. It¡¯s good to have a group of people you can lean against and rely on.¡± ¡°I met them after ourst session together, actually,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re great people. I wouldn¡¯t have made it without them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s correct. But¡ª and I don¡¯t mean this in a bad way¡ª from the stories you¡¯ve told me, it seems that you¡¯re helping them a lot more often than they¡¯re helping you,¡± Amanda said. I frowned. ¡°They never asked me for that help. They¡¯re not taking advantage of me, I just¡­ I just want to help my friends. Isn¡¯t that natural?¡± ¡°It is! It¡¯s a wonderful thing, and it makes you a great person, Grace. But between your nonstop Pokemon training, the nightmares, and being all of your friend¡¯s support crutch¡­ I fear that you¡¯re going to crash hard soon.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I dismissed. ¡°If I start feeling tired, I¡¯ll tell them and take a break.¡± ¡°Exhaustion can sneak up on you very quickly. One minute, you can feelpletely fine, and the next, it¡¯s like the whole world is weighing you down.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, Amanda,¡± I said. ¡°I think it¡¯s just the way I am.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± She said after a pause. ¡°But just ask yourself this, Grace: when was thest time you took a day for yourself? With nothing work-rted?¡± ¡°Well¡ª I¡­ uh, I guess it¡¯s been a while. But I don¡¯t consider being there for my friends something akin to work. They¡¯re here for me too.¡± ¡°Of course. Forgive me if I went too far, Grace. I worry that you¡¯ll overwork yourself soon¡ª¡± Her rm started to ring. ¡°¡ªAnd that¡¯s the end of our session. Sorry that we had to reschedule on such short notice. My job forces me to make in-person sessions a priority, even though I keep telling them that''s nonsense. Now you¡¯ll have to wait until you get to Hearthome for our next one. The next four days are already full for me, and you¡¯re leaving in three days, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°The next four days are full? That¡¯s strange. Plus, you said that you were already swamped.¡± I asked. ¡°What gives? You¡¯re usually not that busy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m required to keep everything about my other patients confidential. You wouldn¡¯t like it if I just told anyone else your problem, would you?¡± Amanda asked. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I quickly replied. ¡°Goodbye, I guess. Have a good day.¡± ¡°You have a good day too, and don¡¯t forget to rest!¡± The connection was cut off, and I just leaned deeper into my seat and stared at nothing in particr for a few minutes. It felt nice to talk to Amanda again, but she had been right. A video feed wasn¡¯t as good as actually being in her office. Still, trainers were always on the road, and I couldn¡¯t afford to stay idle too long. I got up and grabbed some water from Cece¡¯s fridge before making my way to the exit. I opened the door and peeked my head out, worrying that one of the old rich men that had moved to the top floor would see me walk around in just shorts, but the coast was clear. I ran on my tiptoes to Louis¡¯ room and knocked. Justin let me in. ¡°Did you start already?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, no, we obviously waited, but I wanted to ask you if that meeting went well¡­?¡± I smiled. ¡°Yeah, it felt good to talk to someone. Where¡¯s everyone?¡± Justin led me to the living room, where a chaotic disy could be seen. Denzel and Pauline were ying some sort of card game, and I took sce when I saw that the girl was losing horribly. I could tell, not because I knew the rules, but because she was swearing over and over. Emilia and Louis were spectating on the edges, egging them on in between their other activities. Emilia was brushing Rockruff¡¯s fur and the blond boy was trying, but failing to mimic her with his Vulpix. Cece looked stricken with worry until she saw me enter, and she rushed to me, grabbing both of my hands. ¡°Are you alright?! Did she treat you well? I can get you a paid professional therapist if you need it¡ª¡± I smiled before interrupting her. ¡°Amanda¡¯s great, you don¡¯t have to worry about her.¡± ¡°I still wish you told us you were doing therapy,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Denzel hid it from us.¡± ¡°I mean, it just never came up, I guess,¡± I said. ¡°All of my previous sessions with her were in Floaroma after the¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Let¡¯s get your mind off things and start nning the next leg of the journey, shall we? It¡¯s a big one.¡± We all took our seats on the couch. ¡°Crap, I forgot my notebook,¡± I groaned. ¡°No need for notes,¡± Pauline waved her hand. ¡°Justmit everything we talk about to memory.¡± ¡°I mean, I could do that, but taking notes just makes it easier to remember.¡± ¡°All I hear is moaning andining¡ª¡± ¡°Shh, stop bickering!¡± Emilia said, somewhat startling her Rockruff. She petted the Pokemon, whoid his head back on herp. ¡°Denzel, start us off, please.¡± My best friend pped his hands, clearly giddy with excitement. ¡°Alright! So in three days, we¡¯ll leave for route 206. This will be the easiest part of the journey since we have the cycling road to help us. It¡¯ll only take around six hours of riding if we count the rest stops to get through.¡± I nodded. I remembered hearing all about the cycling road on the news when I was around six or seven. The project had originally started in an attempt to link Eterna city and Oreburgh together, so trainers would be able to avoid taking the long way, which included braving Eterna forest. It had stopped at around seventy percent of the way there, though. ¡°Why did the cycling road never finish getting built?¡± I asked curiously. Emilia sprung up. ¡°When the League announced the project, Floaroma, and Jubilife threw a fit about it, including their representatives in the Directorate. Floaroma¡¯s entire economy¡ª along with selling their energy¡ª relies on attracting trainers passing through and making them spend as much money as possible before they leave. Jubilife would have been less affected, but they still enjoyed the fact that trainers had to pass through them since they¡¯re kind of the hub between Floaroma, Eterna, Oreburgh, and Canve. The cycling road would have removed their advantageous position. In the end, both cities, along with Canve, tanked the budget for the project to finish, and we ended up getting what we have now¡­ this half-finished cycling road leading to route 207.¡± I listened attentively, nodding at each piece of information. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Great as always, Emi. How good of you to educate those in need.¡± ¡°, , ,¡± I said. ¡°I bet you can¡¯t even ride a bike since you were obviously driven everywhere as a kid.¡± Pauline blushed, clearly caught off-guard. ¡°That isn¡¯t true at all! I learned like everyone else!¡± ¡°Are we done?¡± Denzel groaned, raising his hands. Pauline and I nodded, still side-eyeing each other. ¡°Thank you! Like I said, we get to route 207 in six hours, then we¡¯re on foot. From there, it¡¯ll take a week or so to get to the entrance to Mount Cor, not because the route is long, but because the terrain is a bitch to walk through. Think route 211.¡± We nched a little at the mention of Mount Cor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, a lot of the cave is patrolled by rangers, but there is a small stretch in the middle that¡¯ll be difficult to get through since it¡¯s too deep in. Basically like Eterna forest, but only for two days,¡± Denzel said, looking at Emi. ¡°Feel free to get yourself a ne ticket, by the way.¡± ¡°I¡­ I have to think about it,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Beldum would be a great help to everyone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself,¡± Louis said. ¡°We¡¯ll live.¡± ¡°Anyway, in total, that¡¯s six days to get through Mount Cor. This¡¯ll be the first actual hard cave to get through, and we¡¯ll need some caving gear. Helmet, heamp, pads¡ª there¡¯s apparently a lot of water in that section too, so we might need wetsuits.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Pauline groaned. ¡°At least it¡¯ll be quick.¡± ¡°The hard part will be quick. The edges of the cave itself will be hard to traverse, even if the wild Pokemon will be weaker. After that, we have route 208, which takes around five days to get through. The first¡­ eighty percent of it is just Mount Cor, but on the outside. Then we have to scale down the mountain¡ª don¡¯t look at me like that, there¡¯s a path to follow! After that, we¡¯re basically there already,¡± Denzel finished. ¡°So¡­ eighteen days just to get to Hearthome,¡± Justin quickly counted. ¡°That¡¯s a long trip.¡± ¡°Yup. Don¡¯t worry too much about the time it takes to get gym badges though. Pastoria, Veilstone, and Sunnyshore are all rtively close to each other. The main time sinks will involve getting there, then all the way back to Canve and getting up to Snowpoint,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°So I suppose we better start getting that caving gear then,¡± I said, getting up. ¡°We also need to restock on food and stuff. Who¡¯s going where?¡± ¡°Actually everyone, I have a question,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Um, tomorrow, there¡¯s a contest that I¡¯d like to go see, and I was wondering if you guys would¡­ go with me?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°Why were you even scared of asking?¡± Denzel raised a hand. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not the biggest fan of¡ª¡± Pauline shot him a murderous re. He coughed. ¡°¡ªI¡¯ll go, obviously.¡± ¡°Good. Emilia, your parents still haven¡¯t called, by the way?¡± Pauline asked. ¡°No¡­ which is odd,¡± she answered. ¡°Thinking about it, none of our parents have called after our¡­ less than ster performance,¡± Louis said, looking at Justin. ¡°I expected to get yelled at.¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve finally seen reason,¡± Justin smiled. ¡°Let us not speak about sensitive topics. I¡¯ve always been a fan of watching contests on television, so I¡¯m d I¡¯ll finally get to see one in person.¡± I excitedly agreed. In a way, I had never been too interested in contests, but maybe seeing one would give me ideas on different movebinations for the future. After a few more minutes, we all dispersed and went to different stores. Denzel and Louis went to buy our caving gear, while the rest of the group went to buy¡­ everything else, filling up our backpacks to the brim. The next day, bright in the morning, we all made our way to the contest venue, a stadium only slightly smaller than Gardenia¡¯s gym, and it was surprisingly packed. Just seeing Emilia¡¯s excited face was enough to make some of it rub off on me. I was intrigued to learn more about the world of Pokemon coordinators, but more than anything, I was happy she could finally make her dreame true.
Chapter 72 Chapter 72 CHAPTER 72 The contest hall worked simrly to a gym, but I was surprised to find that a group of salesmen was selling coordinators¡¯ merchandise in the lobby, which was something I had never seen happen in gyms. ¡°Can they just do that?¡± I asked, pointing at them. ¡°Yes,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Pokemon coordinators are much moremercialized than trainers, and the Contest Committee ispletely independent from the League, so the same rules don¡¯t apply.¡± ¡°Commercialized how?¡± Justin asked. ¡°Coordinators don¡¯t have a bunch of regtions and rules to follow,¡± Emilia exined further. ¡°But that also means that they don¡¯t get League funding. All that free stuff we get from being in the Circuit? They don¡¯t get that, and the Contest Committee doesn¡¯t either, which means that money is a lot more important to them and contest culture in general. Here,¡± she said, now that it was our turn to see the receptionist. Emilia hadn¡¯t been kidding when she said the Contest Committee needed money, since we actually had to buy a ticket to spectate the contest instead of just showing up in the stands for free. It wasn¡¯t expensive or anything, but it was surprising nheless. We slowly squeezed our way into the stands, and we luckily were given seats that were all next to each other. The arena below wasn¡¯t at all like a gym arena. It was set up to be arge circle, and the ground was metallic instead of natural. ¡°Why is it so packed?¡± Louisined. ¡°I thought you said it wasn¡¯t one of the ones where you could win a ribbon.¡± ¡°You mean that it¡¯s not a grand contest,¡± Emilia specified. ¡°You¡¯re correct, but there¡¯s a really famous coordinator participating today. Her name is Temperance. Temperance Porter. Isn¡¯t that an amazing name?¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Pauline groaned. ¡°Not her again.¡± ¡°Okay, I have to admit, that is a cool name,¡± I said. Emilia pped excitedly. ¡°I¡¯m her biggest fan! She owns a Dragonair and has the most beautifulbination of moves that you¡¯ll ever see!¡± I felt more excited at the mention of a Dragonair. ¡°And she¡¯s participating in this when you can¡¯t win a ribbon?¡± ¡°Temperance was just passing by and decided to do so,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Remember when I said that coordinators did a lot of things for money? She runs a website where you can donate to her, but she also uploads a lot of stuff, like vlogs and some of her training routines. That¡¯s also where I heard that she¡¯d be there before the news picked it up,¡± she continued proudly. I kept waiting, asionally asking Emilia more questions about Temperance. I had been scared that we were all annoying her by being so inquisitive, but she looked like she was having the time of her life. I supposed it was her first time talking about this to anyone besides Pauline. I tried imagining not being able to talk about battling to anyone¡­ and yeah, that would suck big time. ¡°So, can we go over the rules so I¡¯m notpletely lost about this?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I know nothing about contests.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame how ignorant most trainers are about this wonderful side of Pokemon sports,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°But sure. There are two stages of a contest, the performance stage and the battle stage. In the performance stage, a coordinator sends out two Pokemon and showcases beautiful movebinations. Usually, it doesn¡¯tst long, and the first stage is what separates the top sixteen from the rest,¡± she said. ¡°Following me so far?¡± We all nodded attentively, except Justin and Pauline, who already knew about this. ¡°Grand contests where you can win a ribbon are always a double performance battle. This one will only have a normal contest battle, but since we have time, I¡¯ll exin both. In contest battles, the goal is primarily showing off a Pokemon¡¯s style and skill instead of just using brute force to beat the other side into submission¡ª¡± she continued. Uh, that was a gross oversimplification, but I¡¯d let it slide. ¡°¡ªyou win by showcasing the beauty or ingenuity of the way you use moves, and you only have five minutes instead of twenty. To decide who wins, we use a point system in both stages. See that little podium to the side?¡± Emilia asked. I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s where the three judges will sit. They¡¯re the ones who add the points in the performance or deduce the points in the battle.¡± ¡°So it¡¯spletely arbitrary?¡± Ceciliained. ¡°How crude.¡± ¡°No! Obviously they¡¯re professional judges who know what they¡¯re doing! You¡¯re just being daft.¡± ¡°What if a Pokemon faints, then?¡± Cece continued. ¡°What if I just order my Pokemon to pummel the opponent.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re not ying by the unwritten rules¡­¡± Emilia groaned. ¡°Why are you like this? Obviously, coordinators will prioritize showing off the capabilities of their Pokemon instead of just beating the other side into a pulp. But Pokemon do faint sometimes, and that just means the side with the remaining Pokemon is the winner¡ª but!¡± She eximed. ¡°If you start just being rude and just doing that over and over, you can say goodbye to any fanbase you¡¯ll have, sponsors, and a longsting career in general. You¡¯re not the first one to have had the idea.¡± ¡°Okay, so¡­ points,¡± Denzel said. ¡°And the one with the least points at the end of the battle loses, but in the performance stage, getting more points is good. Got it. What¡¯s a double performance battle? And why is the name so confusing? Why call it a performance when it has nothing to do with the performance stage¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to understand! It works the same as a contest battle, but it¡¯s a double battle instead. That means that the possibilities of movebinations improve¡­ almost exponentially. It¡¯s important to note that you¡¯re locked in using the same Pokemon for an entire contest in both types of battles, however, so it¡¯s best to pick wisely,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Alright, I think I have the gist of it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°the people who named all of this must have wanted to confuse people as much as possible¡­¡± ¡°Oh! The judges are here!¡± Emilia yelled excitedly. The lights dimmed, and stage lights began to track the three men making their way to the podium. The audience pped as they took their seats. ¡°Who decides who the judges are?¡± Justin asked. ¡°I¡¯ve actually never thought about that.¡± ¡°They¡¯re always selected from the Contest Committee. Some judges get really famous too, but since this is a small contest, I don¡¯t really know who they are,¡± Emilia said. One more person¡ª this time, a woman walked at the edge of the circr arena. Everyone was dressed up incredibly nicely, which was a change from what I was used to seeing from people in gyms. ¡°That¡¯s thementator,¡± Emilia said. ¡°We¡¯re about to start.¡± ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, wee to another one of Eterna city¡¯s contests!¡± She paused, letting the crowd go wild for a few seconds. ¡°As usual, my name is Lily Gate, and I¡¯ll be yourmentator this afternoon¡­¡± She went on to hype up the contests for a few minutes, including dropping Temperance¡¯s name, which made the crowd practically explode. After introducing each judge, the first coordinator was introduced, and the contest finally started. The boy, who looked to be about our age, was introduced as Terry Lars and then released a Volbeat and an Illumise. ¡°And to start us off, we have abination that¡¯s actually lessmon than we would think, Illumise and Volbeat! Let¡¯s see what Terry has for us today!¡± ¡°Volbeat, Shock Wave! Illumise, Dazzling Gleam!¡± In abination of moves I absolutely did not expect, Volbeat shook itself until electricity burst out of its body. The attack was surprisingly slow and too weak to deal any damage to anything, but then again, that wasn¡¯t the point. Illumise¡¯s entire body began to slow as beams of pink, glittering light shot out toward the electricity, this time much faster. The result was a beautiful light show that was entuated by Shock Waves, and the two bug types danced around each other. ¡°Woah,¡± I said before looking around. Emilia didn¡¯t seem too impressed with this disy. Maybe her standards were insanely high from only watching top-level contests. Either way, the teenager continued with these two moves until his time was up, and the judges apparently agreed with Emilia. He got terrible scores. ¡°This feels so much more ruthless than gym battles for some reason,¡± I heard Denzel whisper. In a way, he was right. Losing any battle was painful, but to have the fact that you¡¯re inadequate told to your face by judges whose entire job revolves around contests? Arceus, that would stay with me for a long time. Either way, the contest was just beginning. ¡ª¡ª The contest organizers had seemingly kept Temperance Porter forst, and the girl walked onto the stage with a confident stride. She was short and had her hair in a bob cut dyedpletely white with a glittering hairpin. Her dress was also sparkling¡ª as if it had diamonds in it, and it was also way too long to be practical. The back of it dragged on the ground behind her. She wore multiple rings on her fingers that also looked like diamonds. ¡°She sure knows how to make an entrance,¡± I whispered. ¡°She does!¡± Emilia said in an upbeat tone, grinning.. In fact, the audience was so stunned by her appearance that they hadn¡¯t even begun to p yet. ¡°And now, thest contestant of the performance stage, Temperance Porter¡ª¡± The girl¡ª who was probably around eighteen or so¡ª raised her hand at thementator and shushed her. ¡°You¡¯re killing my concentration,¡± she said in a smooth voice reminiscent of Gardenia. ¡°My manager will probably kill me for saying this, but please shut it. Let my performance speak for itself.¡± I was utterly taken aback that this was even allowed, but apparently, Temperance had so much clout in the contest game that they let the entire thing slide. I understood her reasoning, however. Commentators were great when you were a spectator, but they were extremely distracting when you were actually battling and thinking. It must have been the same for her. ¡°She¡¯s so cool,¡± Emilia said. Her eyes were practically shining. ¡°That was kind of rude,¡± Denzel winced. ¡°I feel the secondhand embarrassment from up there.¡± ¡°She is rude. The only reason people tolerate her is because she¡¯s a good coordinator,¡± Pauline said, rolling her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s ironic,ing from you,¡± I jabbed. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen nothing yet from me! Even when we just met in Floaroma, I was holding back,¡± she replied. ¡°I can actually be rude if you want me to be!¡± ¡°Wait¡­ what do you mean, you were holding back?¡± Denzel asked with a look of pure horror. ¡°Temperance isn¡¯t rude, she¡¯s just misunderstood!¡± Emilia slightly raised her tone. ¡°Now hush, she¡¯s starting.¡± Temperance took a deep breath and released a Dragonair and a male Meowstic onto the stage. The dragon immediately sang and took flight while the psychic type bowed slightly. I expected amand to be given, but Temperance only gave us silence. Instead, she walked onto the stage. Dragonair dove down and wrapped around her as she somehow spun in the opposite direction with incredibly high heels. A Twister began to form, obscuring them from view. At the same time, Meowstic jumped, its ears unfurled, and its eyes shone as it floated into the twister. A few secondster, it was on top of the draconic tornado, riding it like it was solid. The Twister began moving around the stage, and small psychic orbs began shooting out of the attack like bullets. Instead of continuing on their path and ramming into the familiar barrier I had gotten so used to, they instead slowed down and rotated in the opposite direction, moving all in unison and at the exact same speed. A tornado with lights dancing inside and outside of it. What a beautiful sight it was. The Twister slowly began to end, and Temperance was somehow unaffected by the attack entirely. Even her hair hadn¡¯t been disturbed by the strong wind. Dragonair put its head against its trainer¡¯s and closed its eyes, and Meowstic interrupted its levitation, dropping into his trainer¡¯s arms. They stayed in that pose like statues for what seemed like an eternity. And then the audience pped. Louder than I had ever heard during any gym battle. They chanted her name over and over. Temperance. A name etched into my brain that would never be forgotten. Temperance. A performance that took even Cecilia¡¯s breath away when she had been bored throughout the entire contest. Temperance. A brand, a presence, a name synonymous with Pokemon contests. A phenomenon. She bowed with her two Pokemon, and the judges all gave her tens. A full score¡ª the first one of the day. And she honestly deserved it. Nothing had evene close to her. She recalled her Pokemon and walked off the stage. ¡°That was¡­ that was amazing,¡± Thementator said with a shaky voice. ¡°Next up, the usual twenty-minute break, and then we begin the battle stage.¡± Needless to say, Temperance advanced to the top sixteen, and proceeded to wipe the floor with thepetition with her Dragonair. The dragon type had such an affinity with electric, fire, and water type moves that could create any type of effect. For example, it used methrower against a Ciino in the finals, but in such a creative way that it took our breaths away. The attack had been thrown in the air, and then split apart as it fell to the ground exactly like Draco Meteor. She could use Rain Dance and Thunder to create hundreds of weaker lightning bolts at once, and instead of disappearing right away, they stuck there, linking the clouds and the ground,pletely defying anything I knew about the move. Ciino had to fight in a maze of thunder, but navigating in between them was nothing for Dragonair. Temperance had won, and it hadn¡¯t even been close. When we exited the stands, I asked a question that had been burning my tongue for thest few hours. ¡°How good is Temperance?¡± I asked. ¡°Because she seemed way too skilled to be here.¡± I had to ask the question again, since Emilia¡¯s head seemed to be still in the clouds, reminiscing about the contest. ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± she said. ¡°She¡¯s been at the Sinnoh Grand Festival before, but she¡¯s never been further than the top sixteen. So she¡¯s one of the best in the region, but not the best. I think she¡¯ll win, this year, though!¡± ¡°Grand Festival?¡± Denzel said. ¡°That rings a bell. Is that like the Conference?¡± ¡°Yes, except you need five ribbons to get in instead of eight badges,¡± Emi exined. ¡°Contests run all throughout the year. Unlike gym battles, there¡¯s no summer break, but grand contests where ribbons can be obtained are held every few weeks at best, and almost none of them are in Eterna. Most of the time, they¡¯re in Hearthome, Jubilife, Sunnyshore, or Veilstone, but there are exceptions. The Grand Festival is held at the end of every year though, slightly before the Conference. The League and the Contest Committee worked something out so that they wouldn¡¯t eat into their viewer bases and tank each other¡¯s ratings.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s no stigma about traveling by ne, I presume?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Nope. In fact, if you asked a coordinator if they traveled through the routes, most of them would look at you like you were insane. Anyway, wasn¡¯t that fun?¡± ¡°I have to admit, it was, but Temperance just stole the entire show,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But the marketing side of contests looks fun. Having arge presence online and stuff is kind of what I want to try doing as a trainer. But the biggest question I have is, why even join this contest if she was going to destroy everyone?¡± ¡°Money, obviously,¡± Emi deadpanned. ¡°Everything Temperance was wearing¡ª even the rings¡ª was from a sponsor, and you get a lot more money than from winning gym battles. As I exined, coordinators need money more than trainers, so joining a low-level contest as a top coordinator wouldn¡¯t be as frowned upon as it would be when doing it as a trainer,¡± She winced before continuing. ¡°That¡¯s part of why you see so many of the same faces at the Grand Festival every year. It¡¯s extremely hard to actually get a ribbon as a new coordinator because the pros will just all swarm to the first grand contest they see since the mary gains are bigger¡ª along with the ribbon, obviously.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll support you every step of the way,¡± Pauline said. ¡°But you¡¯re startingte. Will you be able to make it to the Grand Festival?¡± Louis asked as he stretched. ¡°What?¡± He asked after noticing Pauline¡¯s stare. ¡°I was just asking!¡± ¡°Well, if I¡¯m being honest, probably not,¡± Emilia said sadly. ¡°There¡¯s a grand contest in Hearthome that I should be able to get to at the pace we nned, but the goal shouldn¡¯t really be about that in the first year anyway. It should be about gaining experience and making connections with other coordinators. Connections are way more important in the coordinator world than in the trainer world. Favors and advantageous friendships go a long way.¡± I nodded. It was certainly true that if you really wanted, you could try to be an independent trainer without a group or sponsors. Even if it was crushingly difficult, it was possible, as Cynthia had shown when she became the Champion. For coordinators, however? That looked to be impossible, or at least nobody had done it yet. It was evening when we started to leave, but I had something important I wanted to do, still. ¡°Cece,¡± I said, pulling her aside. ¡°Can we hang out together, just the two of us?¡± ¡°W¡ªwhat? Of course we can, but what¡¯s the asion?¡± She asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± I lied. ¡°I just want to spend some time with a friend.¡± We let the others know we were going our separate ways, and Cecilia and I decided to hop on a tram. I was going to tell her that I liked girls tonight no matter what.
Chapter 73 Chapter 73 CHAPTER 73 I silently sat next to Cecilia on the tram, and it slowly started sliding across the rails. I had decided to stick with her a while longer, but now that it was actually happening so fast, I couldn¡¯t help but feel my hands m up. I had gotten used to being with her alone, but the fact that the¡­ reveal loomed so close made it hard to find words to say. ¡°Where shall we go?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Uh, I guess I somehow hadn¡¯t thought that far,¡± Iughed nervously. ¡°Any suggestions?¡± Cece smiled slightly. ¡°Only you could be so enthusiastic about going somewhere without a n,¡± she said. ¡°I like that about you.¡± ¡°You do?¡± ¡°The spontaneousness of it all, I mean!¡± she quickly said, averting her gaze. ¡°My life back in Unova was nned down to everyst second. I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but looking back on it now¡­ I hated it. It felt suffocating.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I slowly said, looking around. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go in there!¡± I eximed, pointing at a random building. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get off on the next stop!¡± Cecilia squinted at the building. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ some kind of shop, I think. I can¡¯t see it well from there¡ª ah!¡± I grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the tram¡¯s exit, much to the annoyance of the passengers we pushed through. As soon as the tram stopped, we jumped out and went toward the store. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be a thrift shop selling everything from used furniture to books¡ª but it was mostly selling used clothes. ¡°I¡¯ve never been in such a shop before,¡± Cece said, looking through a rack of clothes. ¡°A shop selling used clothes, I mean.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to many either, but you can find some pretty nifty stuff here that you wouldn¡¯t expect,¡± I exined. ¡°Not that I¡¯m thinking of buying anything. My bag¡¯spletely full.¡± ¡°So is mine,¡± she smiled. ¡°But we can still try things on.¡± I froze for a second. ¡°Sure! I mean, that sounds fun.¡± Cecilia raised an eyebrow at me. ¡°That was a very reluctant way of saying it. I don¡¯t want to force you to do anything if you don¡¯t find it enjoyable.¡± Everything is enjoyable with you, I thought. ¡°No, no, I just wasn¡¯t expecting you to want to try on hand-me-downs, I guess,¡± I finally said. ¡°I can be quite flexible in the activities I choose to do.¡± I swallowed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s look for something that fits you! I bet we can find a great dress. Or a skirt! It¡¯s almost winter, but they¡¯re still selling clothes for all seasons.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we get something on you?¡± she asked. ¡°Obviously, wearing jeans or pants when we travel is sound, but you never dressed up in the city. I deserve to see it at least once before we leave.¡± ¡°You want to?¡± I said, scratching my neck. ¡°I guess I can, I¡¯ve never found anything I thought would fit me that well, so I usually didn¡¯t bother.¡± ¡°Nonsense. You can pull off anything. Look at you. Stay here, I¡¯ll have something for you soon!¡± I anxiously awaited as Cece roamed through the small thrift shop. She returned with a white sundress, a knee-length white skirt, and some¡­ white shorts. Why was it all white? ¡°Before you ask, I think the color goes amazing on you,¡± she said, answering my question. ¡°Which one do you want to try on first?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just take the dive and try out the sundress,¡± I said. ¡°Gimmie.¡± Cece smirked as she handed it to me. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I said, looking away. ¡°You¡¯ll get to see me in it, don¡¯t worry.¡± I hurried inside of the fitting room, taking a deep breath as I stared at myself in the mirror. ¡°She might be disappointed,¡± I whispered. ¡°But here goes nothing, I guess.¡± I took off my multipleyers of clothing and stepped into the sundress. I hadn¡¯t worn any type of dress in so long that it felt kind ofcking somehow, but it wasn¡¯t¡­ bad. I spun around, stopping myself with my foot and a tiny smile. I was probably less thin and short than I remembered. My arms were also more toned than they used to be. I was apparently growing up. Scary. Still, that was way less fabric on me that I feltfortable wearing in public. I slightly opened the curtains and saw that Cecilia was sitting down, waiting for me. Her face lit up when she saw that I was done. ¡°So? Show me,¡± she said as she shot up. ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Come on! You already have it on!¡± Cece groaned. I shook my head, and she just barged into the fitting room, eyeing me up and down. ¡°You look¡ª you look amazing!¡± ¡°Really?¡± I said awkwardly. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I feel like I can¡¯t pull it off that well.¡± ¡°You look beautiful. I wish we could get it for you¡­ curse Sinnoh and its sted weather. It¡¯s too cold almost all year long,¡± she said before pausing. ¡°Let me see the back.¡± Now that the conversation had slowed, I couldn¡¯t help but notice how close she was. The changing room was small, and I felt her breath on the back of my neck, making me shiver slightly. She was silent. Too silent. In fact, Cecilia hadn¡¯t said anything in thest fifteen seconds, and she was just staring at me through the mirror. ¡°Cece? Is something wrong?¡± I asked. She coughed. ¡°No, I¡¯m perfectly fine. Here, I¡¯ll get out. Try out the skirt next!¡± ¡ª¡ª Even though there was no space in our bags, Cece ended up getting me all three articles of clothing. I protested, of course, but she went and bought them behind my back while I had been changing back into my normal clothes. She said they looked too good on me to just leave them there. I couldn¡¯t really see it, but I supposed I¡¯d have to trust her. She was way better at this clothing stuff than I was. Unfortunately though, someone in the group would have to carry those for me. With some luck, it¡¯d be Pauline. The look of annoyance on her face would bring me great joy. ¡°Where to now?¡± Cece asked. ¡°Should we pick somewhere random again? That was a lot of fun.¡± I brought a hand up to my chin. ¡°Hm¡­ fuck it, let¡¯s do it again. Let¡¯s hop on a tram for like fifteen minutes and then go to the first building we see.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s just some apartment?¡± She asked. ¡°Then we break in, obviously,¡± I sarcastically said. ¡°You know, a month ago, I probably would have taken that at face value.¡± ¡°Aw, I thought you would,¡± I said. ¡°Come on, the tram¡¯s there!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°So, Grace,¡± Cecilia started. ¡°Can you exin something to me?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°What are the odds that we would end up at your favorite fast food restaurant when we were supposed to pick randomly?¡± I whistled innocently. ¡°I dunno, I mean, they¡¯re pretty big, they have a bunch of stores everywhere. It¡¯s entirely within the realm of possibility.¡± ¡°Or¡­ you just wanted toe?¡± ¡°Or¡­ I just wanted to make you taste the goodness that is fast food, just this once.¡± ¡°So you admit that it wasn¡¯t random?¡± ¡°Argh, you got me,¡± I said, raising my hands. ¡°But this is the perfect moment toe.¡± And it was. The restaurant was almostpletely empty since it was still very early in the evening, between lunch and dinner. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked, pointing at the menu above the counter. ¡°Taste a slice of heaven.¡± ¡°None of these sound appealing to me. I mean, double barbecue quarter pounder? How many calories is that?¡± ¡°Just let yourself go, just this once,¡± I said, sping my hands together. ¡°Come on. There are no rules here.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she sighed. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll pick the¡­ nuggets.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of boring, but I guess that¡¯ll do. I¡¯ll go with a milkshake, fries, and a chicken sandwich. Here, I¡¯ll take extrarge fries so we can share. You¡¯ve had fries before, right?¡± ¡°Fries, yes, but they didn¡¯t look like this. They were bigger.¡± ¡°Ah, those,¡± I said. ¡°I guess that counts, but I¡¯ve always liked these ones better. They taste the best right out of the frier, but if they give you an old batch, you¡¯re fucked.¡± ¡°Do we know which ones we¡¯re getting?¡± Cece asked in a suddenly worried tone. ¡°No, and that¡¯s kind of the beauty of it. It adds some suspense to your order.¡± ¡°Why anyone would subject themselves to this is beyond me.¡± I ignored herints and ced our order. After waiting for around five minutes, we sat opposite of each other at one of the many empty tables. I tasted a fry. ¡°Hell yes! We got the good ones! Here,¡± I said, handing her a fry. She hesitantly took it like it was going to hurt her and bit into the potato. ¡°So?¡± I grinned. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I have to admit, it does taste great, but the fries our cooks made tasted better. The experience though¡­ the experience makes it better than anything else I¡¯ve ever had.¡± ¡°The experience?¡± I asked. ¡°Uh¡ª I mean like you said. Not knowing if they¡¯re going to be good or not.¡± ¡°That makes it the best food you¡¯ve ever had? I find that slightly exaggerated, but I¡¯m happy you like it. You can have most of ¡®em if you want.¡± ¡°No! I want us to share.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I smiled. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m d you said that. I was already feeling sad about having to give up on some freshly made fries.¡± ¡°Ugh, you!¡± Ceceughed. ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself to do something you don¡¯t want.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it as many times as I can for you,¡± I blurted out. ¡°I¡ª I mean, you deserve it! I want to treat you well after everything you went through¡­ sorry, that was weird.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not weird. I like the way you are.¡± Holy shit, I¡¯m going to die. ¡°I like the way you are¡­ too?¡± I tried. We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°Food¡¯s getting cold.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Alright, I¡¯vepletely given up on the random building thing. There¡¯s an actual spot I want to bring you to,¡± I told Cece as we got out of the restaurant. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°Bowling alley on the way to route 211. I came across it every day when I went training, and I knew I wanted to go there someday. I just never had the time until now.¡± ¡°Bowling sounds fun,¡± Cece said. ¡°Although I¡¯ve never gone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a crime that needs to be rectified,¡± I said. ¡°I used to go all the time with my dad.¡± ¡°Your father?¡± ¡°Yeah. We used to go somewhere almost every weekend. He¡¯d call it a father-daughter date, which was¡­ embarrassing, but they were almost always fun, except that one time he tried to get me into drawing at these art lessons with him. Those were a terrible few weeks¡ª¡± I paused when I saw the pained look on her face. ¡°Cece?¡± ¡°I¡ª it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just¡­ the contrast between your father and mine. It makes me incredibly jealous. Is that wrong of me?¡± I winced. How could I have run my mouth like an idiot? ¡°No, you¡¯repletely fine,¡± I said, grabbing her hand. ¡°I should have watched what I said. It¡¯s my fault.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to watch your words around me,¡± she said, her voice trembling slightly. ¡°I¡¯m no damsel in distress, or at least I try not to be.¡± ¡°Still, I wasining about somethingpletely mundane. I mean, the truth is I enjoyed those drawing lessons, looking back. My dad¡¯s a terrible artist, but he gave it everything he had. Here, I have a picture of one of the Pokemon he drew,¡± I said, scrolling through my Poketch, hoping to cheer her up. Thank Arceus for the Poketchpany transferring all of your data from your old phone to the next. ¡°See? This was him trying to draw Togetic when she was just a few weeks old.¡± Cecilia stoodpletely still for a few seconds. ¡°What¡­ what even is that?¡± ¡°I know, right? It doesn¡¯t even look remotely close, I mean, that¡¯s not even the right shape.¡± ¡°Those eyes are rather terrifying,¡± sheughed. ¡°Look at the crown! He made it look like spikes that could stab you and kill you!¡± Sorry for exposing you, dad. ¡ª¡ª ¡°So how do the points work,¡± Cece asked as she grabbed a bowling ball. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t y with points, I y for fun,¡± I said, looking at the piece of paper one of the employees had handed me. ¡°The Jubilife one we used to go to would track your points automatically. I don¡¯t know how to count them.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine,¡± she said. ¡°Points or not, I think I¡¯ll win.¡± ¡°Pfft, you¡¯ve never gone bowling before!¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite a fast learner,¡± she bragged. ¡°Watch this.¡± Cecilia ran up to thene and threw her ball with as much force as she could. The ball proceeded to roll into the gutter, hitting zero pins. ¡°Nice one,¡± I smirked. ¡°I¡ª I said I was a fast learner, not that I would get a strike on my first attempt!¡± she stammered. ¡°Why don¡¯t you do it, then?¡± ¡°It would be my pleasure,¡± I said, I carefully aimed with one closed eye and threw the ball slightly angled toward the center,ting me a strike. ¡°Oooooh, that¡¯s a strike, baby! I still got it!¡± I celebrated, pumping a fist. ¡°Hmph. This is just the start, don¡¯t get too full of yourself. I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯m made of.¡± I proceeded to destroy her and all of her hopes of victory. It hadn¡¯t even been close, even without counting the points. I was getting strike after strike, while she couldn¡¯t even get spares. We yed a few games and then left the alley. ¡°There¡¯s no way to know who won since we weren¡¯t keeping score,¡± Cece said, crossing her arms. ¡°I might have won, for all we know.¡± ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be such a Pauline,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. Cece paused. ¡°I am being a Pauline, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Well, not one hundred percent, but I¡¯d say you¡¯re halfway there,¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯d need to say, like, ¡®I¡¯m going to make your life a living hell!¡¯¡± ¡°That was scarily urate.¡± ¡°Well, she did say it to me the first time I met her,¡± I said. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s head back.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°So, Cece,¡± I said, sitting next to her on the tram. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what¡¯s the rest of your family like? Besides your¡­ dad,¡± I asked. She looked outside of the window before answering. ¡°My rtionship with my mother¡¯s fine, all things considered. I¡¯m sure she loves me, and she tries her best, but one word from my father and she bes his servant. She¡¯s like a ghost, living without a single independent thought, and I hate her for it. There are so many times where she could have pushed back and defended me but didn¡¯t¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°It hurt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucked up,¡± I said quietly. ¡°Was she always like that?¡± Cece just nodded. ¡°They were an arranged marriage as well. For the longest time, I feared my own marriage with Louis would turn me into her. That was my biggest fear. I didn¡¯t want to be a mindless drone, having given up on life,¡± she said. ¡°Mark¡ª my big brother, he used to hate dad just as much as I did. He and Amy, they were my pirs of support. But then he left to be a Pokemon trainer¡ª or at least that was what he said to our father. The truth was, it was the only way he found to escape the household.¡± ¡°And then you were all alone?¡± ¡°There was still Amy, but she couldn¡¯t always be there. I trusted her with everything back then, which was obviously a mistake in hindsight, but I would be lying if I said she wasn¡¯t the only thing that kept me going. When Mark left, life at home got even worse. Father would keep berating me and mother, and we would just have to take it. Sometimes I even thought he would be violent, but he never crossed that barrier¡ª or at least not with me,¡± she sighed. ¡°Getting back to Mark, these days, we only talk when I need help with Deino, but that hasn¡¯t happened since¡­ right before the Floaroma tournament. He turned out to be a good trainer. A really good one. In his first year, he got to the Conference, and then he eventually became the Champion, as you know. In his meteoric rise, he pulled the Obel Energy Company up with him, and father started getting even more obsessed with fame and money than he was before.¡± She paused for a few seconds. ¡°Mark came back, and he was a changed man. We had talked on the phone, but he never came back to visit until he became the Champion. I couldn¡¯t recognize him at all, and his hate for dad had mellowed out into indifference. I mean, who could me him? Our father holds almost no power over him¡ª he¡¯s the strongest trainer in the region! It angered father to no end, but he saw an opportunity in me. He decided to make me sign up for the Circuit in Sinnoh and marry Louis. The arranged marriage part was probably as much an economic decision as one to hope to keep me subdued and under control, like my mother is. Otherwise, I might have turned into another Mark.¡± ¡°But it didn¡¯t work,¡± I said. ¡°It didn¡¯t,¡± she grinned, grabbing my hand tightly. ¡°I met you.¡± It was time, wasn¡¯t it? It was time to tell her that I liked girls. I took a deep breath. ¡°Cece, I have to tell you something, and you have to promise me not to freak out, alright?¡± She frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Tell me you won¡¯t freak out.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡­¡± The words turned to ash in my mouth. Say it. ¡°I¡­¡± Fucking spit it out. ¡°I like girls,¡± I said. I saw the confused look on her face and immediately decided to rify. ¡°Romantically, I mean. Now, don¡¯t freak out. Please. I had to tell you because of how close we were getting, I mean, I thought¡ª I¡ª I figured you¡¯d want to know.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± she said, letting go of my hand. ¡°How?¡± ¡°How what?¡± I said, feeling tears build up. ¡°How would one know,¡± she started. ¡°If they liked girls. Romantically.¡± I turned away slightly to hide my discontent. ¡°Well, I assume it¡¯s the same as liking a guy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never liked anyone before, I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like,¡± Cece said. ¡°Well, if you can¡¯t stop thinking about them,¡± I started. ¡°If your biggest wish is to see them happy. If you want to be with them as much as you can. If you notice the smallest things about them that you go crazy over,¡± I said, looking at her again. ¡°I¡¯d say that¡¯s what it¡¯s like to like someone.¡± ¡°I¡­ I think I need to spend some time alone,¡± Cece said. ¡°I have some things to think about.¡± Damn it, I thought. I had fucked up. I wanted to go home and cry my heart out. Maybe some time with my team would do me some good. If I exined my problem, they¡¯d understand and support me. ¡°That¡¯s our stop,¡± Cece said. ¡°I think I should spend the night at the Center tonight,¡± I said, barely holding myself together. ¡°You can go.¡± ¡°No. Someone will let you stay at their penthouse. I¡¯m sorry, I just have a lot of mull over.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± I said, hanging my head. ¡°I kind of sprung it out of nowhere. I¡¯m sorry for ruining things.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t¡ª ah, we missed our stop.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get off on the next one.¡± For the rest of the ride, I wanted to die. I wanted to shrivel up into a ball and wink out of existence. I wanted thest five minutes to be erased and to never bring up the subject again. We walked up to the hotel in silence. It was snowing for the first time of the year. When we got to the lobby, Cece froze. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. I looked up from my feet, which I had been staring at for the entire walk and saw a girl sitting down, surrounded by four tall men in suits and sunsses. Her hair was shoulder-length and blond, albeit darker than mine, and she had a pink highlight at its edges. She got up and shot us a smile. ¡°Who is that?¡± I asked. ¡°Cece?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± she said, her face turning into a look of pure disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s Amy.¡±
Chapter 74 – Crashing Down Chapter 74 ¨C Crashing Down CHAPTER 74 - Crashing Down ¡°Your old best friend Amy?¡± I asked, my eyes darting in between the two. She was making her way toward us now. ¡°Correct,¡± Cece said. ¡°She must have flown here.¡± ¡°What do we do?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we run and call the others?¡± ¡°No. I will confront her here. This is my fight.¡± I nodded, agreeing to let her speak alone. Amy stopped at an arm''s length away from us, still surrounded by what I assumed were bodyguards, who each had a Pokeball on their belt. She stared me down first and then let out an audible scoff. ¡°So she¡¯s the one who¡¯s got you wrapped around her finger, hm?¡± Amy said. Her voice was high-pitched, and she had a distinct Kalosian ent. I wanted to retort, but restrained myself. ¡°What do you want from us?¡± Cece asked, ignoring her statement. ¡°I want nothing from her,¡± she sneered at me. ¡°Your father sent me. I¡¯m yourst warning, Cece.¡± ¡°Do not call me that. You¡¯ve lost that right.¡± For a second, Amy looked genuinely hurt. ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Cecilia. The people you¡¯ve been associating yourself with changed you. Your entire family sees that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who changed,¡± Cece said. ¡°Ever since I¡¯ve left Unova, it¡¯s like a flip¡¯s been switched.¡± ¡°Have I?¡± She said. ¡°I have always been about familial duty. Always. My family owes everything to yours. I will do my duty toward them, as should you.¡± ¡°You supported me with my dad¡ª¡± ¡°Supported, yes, but in no way did I ever express my approval for outright rebellion,¡± she hissed. ¡°As I said, I am yourst warning. Kick her and Denzel Williams out of your group. Everything has gone off the rails ever since they were added.¡± ¡°Never,¡± Cece spat. ¡°The others will say the same.¡± ¡°The others'' input is not being considered,¡± Amy said. ¡°You didn¡¯t think they would just let you fail with no consequences, did you? Everyone aside from Pauline has brought shame to their family, some more than others. Although that rat and her mother turned out to be traitors anyway, so we had to maneuver around them. I will speak with the group tomorrow morning to discuss your next steps.¡± ¡°You will do no such thing. You can¡¯t force us to listen to you,¡± Cece answered. ¡°You are blinded by my father. You can still be saved.¡± ¡°It is you who needs to be saved,¡± Amy eximed. ¡°Think about it. Grace Pastel and Denzel Williams show up, and suddenly you don¡¯t want to marry Louis anymore? What if they were sent by one of rence or Harvey¡¯s rivals who desperately want to stop the marriage and ruin all of your reputations like Pauline was?¡± I frowned. I had no doubt Cece would rebuke these usations, and she was doing well with the confrontation in general, but Amy was turning out to be more¡­ driven than I thought. I had thought her to be an evil person trying to manipte Cece, but she seemed to genuinely believe what she was saying. ¡°The poison you spew does not sway me. There is nothing you can say to convince me to abandon my friends. Now step aside.¡± Amy sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve truly been brainwashed¡­ I didn¡¯t want to have to resort to this, but I have to save you.¡± I yelled and got ready to release my team as one of the guards grabbed Cece, but they didn¡¯t take her like I thought they would. Instead, they just held her in ce, and Amy whispered something into Cecilia¡¯s ear. ¡°No¡­ no, he wouldn¡¯t have¡ª¡± Cece said. ¡°I am yourst warning, and you¡¯ve now been warned. Stop ying these silly games. I will see you tomorrow. I expect your new friends to be gone by then.¡± ¡°And are you¡­?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s been done to me. I know you can¡¯t know for sure, and it would be easier not to believe me, but it¡¯s the truth.¡± Amy and her guards left the lobby after that. I called out to Cece, but it was as if she had been put in a daze. ¡°What did she say?¡± I asked again as we stepped in the elevator. ¡°Don¡¯t try to keep it to yourself. I¡¯m here to help, and so are the others.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t tell you. I cannot.¡± ¡°You can,¡± I insisted. ¡°I¡¯m sure she threatened you or us with something, but what is it? I told you I would help you back at the outpost, and you agreed. Now¡¯s the time to let me help.¡± ¡°I need to be alone,¡± she said. She opened her door and I tried to hold it open, but she was too fast and strong. I heard her lock it from the inside. I mmed my fist on the door. ¡°Cece! Let me in, Arceus damn it! Let me in, or I¡¯ll have Elekid break the fucking door down!¡± ¡°Then I will release my team, and we will fight here,¡± I heard her say. She was right against the door. ¡°At the top of the hotel. The damage will be consequential. You and the others might be hurt, along with innocent residents. I wouldn¡¯t want that to happen to you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say shit like that!¡± I hissed. ¡°Just¡­ please. Let me help you.¡± There was no answer. I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Her eyes were the same as they had been when we had both been held hostage by team Gctic. They were empty. Like she was giving up on everything. ¡°Cece!¡± I tried again. There was still no answer. I mmed the door with my foot and ran to Louis¡¯ apartment, where I assumed the group was staying. I knocked as loud and as fast as I could, and he opened the door. ¡°Louis,¡± I started before he could evenin. ¡°This is a fucking emergency. Amy just showed up in the lobby and said something to Cece¡ª something that I didn¡¯t hear that made herpletely give up on everything. She isn¡¯t well, and I¡¯m scared that she¡¯s going to make a mistake. I need to speak to everyone.¡± It took a few seconds for my words to register, and his face immediately tensed. ¡°Pauline¡¯s at Emilia¡¯s apartment, and Denzel is at Justin¡¯s.¡± ¡°Gather them and tell them what I told you. I¡¯m going to stay in front of Cece¡¯s door just in case she tries to leave. Bring them there.¡± He nodded, and we both ran off, me toward Cecilia¡¯s door, and him toward Justin¡¯s. I tried to knock on the door and call out again, but still, there was nothing. Thankfully, I could tell she was still in there due to a lot of ttering. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked. ¡°Talk to me!¡± Another thirty seconds passed, and she finally opened the door. ¡°Thank the Legendaries,¡± I sighed. ¡°The rest of the group ising, just talk to us and¡ª¡± Her eyes. They were worse than before, and it looked like she¡¯d been crying. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I nervously said, my hand hovering over Togetic¡¯s Pokeball. If push came to shove, I would need to have her use her powers. It wouldn¡¯t be consensual, but I didn¡¯t think I had a choice. She hugged me tightly and apologized in my ear. ¡°There¡¯s a letter on the table,¡± she said. ¡°For all of you.¡± I was confused for a second before I saw Slowpokezily walk behind her as his eyes turned pink. I suddenly felt a mild headache as my eyelids grew heavy. I tried to getting of Cecilia¡¯s arms, closing my eyes as tightly shut as I could, but none of that worked. ¡°Fucking¡­ psychics¡­¡± I muttered as I fell to the ground. Psychic-induced sleep wasn¡¯t like sleep at all. The closest resemnce I could find was general anesthesia, which my dad had undergone once for a surgery when he was younger. He had told me that it was like closing your eyes for a single second, and then immediately waking up hourster in the recovery room. That is what I felt as I woke up, and the feelings of having been tricked by Cece were still fresh in my mind. I was in a bed, under the covers, and I instantly shot up. It was Cece¡¯s penthouse. I hurried and walked through the hotel room, still feeling drowsy from the Hypnosis and knocking things over. She hadn¡¯t used the move against Gardenia, otherwise I would have known to be wary, but I fucking failed, and now she was gone. The rest of the group was all sitting on the couch, asleep. I clenched my fists. They had failed to stop her too, somehow. Had they all been caught by surprise? The apartment was in a state of chaos, with items knocked all over the floor. It seemed Cece had hurriedly rummaged through everything before leaving, but it couldn¡¯t have been to pack. Her backpack was still in her bedroom. I shook Denzel, trying to wake him up, but there was no way to wake someone from Hypnosis, or at least not any human way. I felt tears streaming down my face as the reality of the situation finally sunk in. Cece was gone. She was gone, and I had no idea where. It wasn¡¯t like I could just run off and look for her in the city. Eterna city was too big. I grabbed my Poketch with a trembling breath and saw that only an hour had passed. I felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe that meant that the others would wake up soon, and then we¡¯d be able to split up and look for her. And then¡ª And then¡­ ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I sobbed. ¡°Cece¡­¡± Through teary eyes, I remembered what she had told me. The letter on the living room table. It was there. I grabbed it with a shaky hand and saw that it had been roughly ced in an envelope with tear stains on it. It read ¡®To my friends.¡¯ I stared at my sleepingpanions and decided to wait for them to read it out. It was addressed to all of us. I wanted all of us to be awake when I read it for the first time. Three minutester, Emilia woke up first. Then Justin, Louis, and finally, Pauline and Denzel. It had been like a chain reaction, with them waking up one after another. That probably meant that Cece had hypnotized them all at once. ¡°Cece, you bitch¡ª¡± Pauline started yelling. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°Cece¡¯s penthouse,¡± I sighed, wiping away my tears. ¡°Try to remember. She put all of you to sleep with her Slowpoke. She¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Because of Amy?¡± Denzel asked, struggling to get up. ¡°At least Louis got to tell you before she struck,¡± I said. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know what she said to her, but itpletely fucked her up.¡± ¡°And she didn¡¯t say where she was going?¡± Justin worriedly said. ¡°Not even to you?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I want to look for her, it¡¯s been more than an hour. We won¡¯t ever find her. Togetic¡¯s too slow in the air and she can¡¯t see well at night, so getting her to find Cece in Eterna would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Frillish can see, but he¡¯s too slow as well. It¡¯s¡­ not looking good,¡± I said, breaking down. ¡°She¡ª she left us a letter. She wanted us to read it.¡± ¡°I refuse to give up,¡± Louis eximed. ¡°We can split up. We can try to find her, she couldn¡¯t have gone far.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Emilia said. ¡°But I think we should respect her wishes and read the letter first.¡± Denzel walked up to me and stroked my shoulder as I opened the letter. The handwriting was still beautiful, even though she must have been so rushed to finish writing it. My dear friends It has been a wonderful journey. I loved going through it with all of you, through the good, the bad, and everything else. I have never loved a group of people as much as I have loved all of you. You must all be confused, but I cannot tell you what Amy told me without putting you all at risk. Unfortunately for me, Grace is right now hitting my door again, so I must hurry and write what I have to say. A personalized farewell for each of you. Some of it may hurt, but it is the whole truth. Now, let me start where it all began. Louis Bianchi - First, I must apologize to you, Louis. I am sorry. I never loved you in a romantic manner, even though I pretended to for arge part of our journey. As you know, this marriage was forced onto us by our fathers, and I purposefully seduced you so I could potentially have an easier time in the future. This was before I learned to know you¡ª to truly know you. I now know that there are no ulterior motives behind your enthusiasm in our engagement. I know now that you are nothing like our fathers. They are ugly, evil creatures that do not deserve to call themselves human, while you are a good man with a good heart, despite what others may think. People tend to judge you before they truly get to know you, and I was guilty of the same. At the start of our journey together, I hated you, Louis. I hated you with everything I had. I saw you only as a vessel through which my father could inflict suffering upon me. But still, with my mind clear as it is tonight, I think I am finally ready to call you a friend. I am sorry I had to tell you this way and that I let the matter sit for so long, and for manipting you. Find someone who truly loves you and deserves you. P.S.: try to not stare at women that interest you as much as you do, we can tell. Justin Gardner - Justin, when we first started traveling together, I thought you to be the most sinister man imaginable. You rarely spoke to anyone other than Emilia, and you were a reclusive man. I thought that you were silently observing my every move to report back to my father. But then you slowly opened up to us, and I realized that you were just another person, as I was and that you had just been shy and passionate about business. I learned that you too, were being forced to go through the Circuit, but unlike me, you found little joy in Pokemon battling. I would like to tell you not to force yourself through this if you don¡¯t want to, but I¡¯m afraid our parents have something else in store for us. To me, Justin, you are the pivotal member of the group. An element of stability and normalcy we desperately needed to keep pushing forward. I hope your dreams of taking over your father¡¯spany materialize. I am sure you will be doing great things in the future. Much love. Emilia Lussier - Emilia, you were the one I always found it the easiest to get along with, even at the start, but that may have been because I already had a preconceived image of you built in my head. I thought you to be weak, and therefore not a threat to me. But I was wrong, Emi. You are the strongest of us all. You hate traveling in the wild, you hate Pokemon battling with a passion, and yet you keep pushing yourself for us. You made it through Eterna forest, and we wouldn¡¯t have without your crucial help. The strongest person is someone who can stare their fear in the face, put their head down, and keep striving forward. Unfortunately, I am not as strong as you are, even though I wish I was. The contest you brought us to see was wonderful, and I wish you well in your endeavors to be a Pokemon coordinator. Make sure to ask for the other¡¯s help when you need it. The world of coordinators seems like a ruthless one, even worse than the world of trainers. Still, if your parents let you try, I know you will seed. You are not holding us back, and you never were. You are a part of the group. You are a friend we love. Pauline King - Pauline, your hair fits your temperament, which I know you¡¯ve heard a thousand times before, and I know you hate hearing it, but it is true. You are like a storm, never letting up and hurting everyone around you, friend or foe. That is what I believed when I met you. You were quick to anger and knew the most vicious ways to hurt someone with just words. That is why Irgely avoided you until we got closer to Floaroma. I believed that if I ever angered you too much, you would see right through me, grab a metaphorical knife, stab me with it, and twist. I thought you would be able to also see right through my reluctance to marry Louis, and then my whole cover would be blown. Evidently, you did, since you let that slip at our kerfuffle in Eterna forest, but I don¡¯t me you for it. Instead, I will thank you for hiding my secret this entire time, through no benefit of your own. I know you are extremely protective of us, and I love you for it, but still, I must ask you to rx once in a while. Sit down, breathe in the air, and look at how beautiful the world is. You don¡¯t need to be ready to fight at all times, although now would be a great time for you to be. When you see Amy in the morning, I want you to give her hell. Don¡¯t let her speak. Talk over her, insult her, rip her apart. Make it as difficult as possible for her to get a single word out. Thank you. Denzel Williams - Denzel, you are this group¡¯s light. In the darkness, we can always count on you to be a steady man to look up to. You always look at the bright side of things, and you¡¯ve been an instrumental friend, especially when it came to breaking me free from my cage. I wish we could have spent more time together, but if I could have one thing, I would ask you to let yourself cry at least once. It is good for the soul, and Grace has told me about your issues. I am sure a good cry will help. You will not be less of a man for it. I also have some advice for you and your dream of building a personality online. You should work with Emilia and start from the ground up, doing what coordinators do, but on the trainer side of things. I am sure you will find great sess there, and that will be something for you to bond over. I did not know you as long as the others, but you have been a great friend all the same. Gra Grac Grace P Grace Pastel - Grace, when I first saw you in Oreburgh, and you defended me from Chase Karlson, I thought you to be one of my fans. Since my novelty hadn¡¯t worn off yet, there were a lot of them at the time. I thanked you, paid you no mind, and left. Then I met you again in Floaroma, and I practically assaulted you and used you of being a spy. Little did I know at the time, us signing up for the same tournament was just a coincidence. And what an amazing coincidence it turned out to be. Your desire to improve at Pokemon battles immediately gripped me. It wasn¡¯t often that I met someone as passionate as I was, and yet sometimes, I think that you are even more so. I see it in your eyes. No matter how nervous you are, your eyes are always full of fire and a desire to beat your opponent. You are the most beautiful when you battle. You brought the group back from the brink of destruction in Eterna forest, and for that, I must thank you with all my heart. Without you, we might have all perished in the forest. I wouldn¡¯t want that to happen to any of you. Still, it wasn¡¯t until you defeated Chase Karlson at the outpost that I knew you were different, even though I didn¡¯t realize it at the time. From that point on, I wanted to get closer to you. To learn more about you, and to just be together. When your lifees crashing down in mere seconds, it is a lot easier to think clearly. I think I like g found out something about myself tonight that I never thought was possible, and again, it was thanks to you. I think I¡¯m in lov I know you will possibly be the most crushed by this, but you must pick yourself up. You have too much potential to give up on battling. I know that if you keep working like you have been, you will be the Champion. You are special, Grace. I want you to know that. Well, I suppose it¡¯s time then. I know this must be sudden for all of you, but I¡¯ll be leaving for Mount Cor. If I cannot escape from my father, I will go down to the most dangerous ce avable to me. I do not want to die a pitiful death, and I¡¯m sure I will be fighting some wonderful battles before then, but eventually, I will fall, since I wasn¡¯t strong enough to free myself. I am devastated that I will not be able to fulfill my promise with the first person that gave me hope, but s. With me gone, my father¡¯s hopes to enrich himself and create asting legacy will be destroyed. Oh, what I would pay to see his face when he learns of my demise. I have another letter in the envelope here for the press that you shall give them after I am confirmed to be missing or dead by the police or rangers. I want my father¡¯s reputation andpany to be ruined. As myst act, I will abandon the name of Obel. I am now Cecilia, and for myst hours at least, I will be free. -Cecilia I could barely keep reading when I finished the letter. My throat felt clogged and I struggled to breathe. Tears and snot fell over my face, and they did the same one everyone else¡¯s. We were all crying. ¡°We can¡¯t let this happen,¡± I sobbed. ¡°We have to go. We have to save her.¡± ¡°Mount Cor,¡± Denzel sniffled. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be closed, but I don¡¯t think there are any rangers standing guard. I¡ª I don¡¯t think they thought anyone would go there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been an hour,¡± Pauline said, her face in her hands and tapping her feet. ¡°We can make it.¡± ¡°Grab everything,¡± Louis said, his voice resolute and his eyes red. ¡°Get dressed. We have to go and save her. She must live.¡± We all nodded. ¡°And then I will have a word or two to say to my father,¡± He said, clenching his jaw so tightly that veins were visible on his forehead. ¡°I will never marry her. The deal is off.¡±
Chapter 75 Chapter 75 CHAPTER 75 The others had left to get ready. I did the same, but there was still something to be done. With a sh of red, I released my entire team. ¡°Listen up,¡± I said, wasting no time. ¡°Cecilia¡¯s gone. She left to a very dangerous ce.¡± Togetic let out a sad chirp, staring at me with worried eyes, and Elekid tapped my leg tofort me. Tang didn¡¯t seem to understand that much, but he still wrapped a vine around my ankle. Frillish just stared, and he seemingly knew what I was going to say next. He disapproved. ¡°She escaped toward Mount Cor, that huge mountain in the distance we always see, and she intends to die there. Wewill notlet her. The entire group¡¯s going to save her.¡± ¡°Fri!¡± He protested. ¡°I won¡¯t argue with you!¡± I eximed, causing Frillish to flinch. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry,¡± I said, grabbing his tentacle. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried about me. About all of us. We¡¯refamily. But¡­ I love her. I can¡¯t let her die.¡± Togetic held on to Frillish¡¯s hand to reassure him, but he still looked more worried than I¡¯d ever seen him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being selfish and putting you all in danger,¡± I apologized. ¡°This is selfish of me to ask, but I need you all on my side.¡± Elekid gave me a fierce nod, letting me know he was ready for anything. ¡°Thank you, hon.¡± Tang blinked twice and wiped away my tears with his vines. ¡°Angel¡­thank you.¡± Togetic let go of Frillish, flew to me and put her forehead against mine, letting out a soothing cry. I rubbed her cheek. ¡°Princess¡­¡± I sobbed. Frillish floated to my side and ced a tentacle on my shoulder, apologizing with a whisper. ¡°You¡¯re fine, buddy,¡± I sniffled. ¡°Someone¡¯s got to be the one to think clearly in the team, and it¡¯s always been you.¡± I looked at my team onest time. My partners. My family. ¡°I love you all,¡± I said before recalling them. ¡ª It barely took five minutes for all of us to get ready. I adjusted the strap of my backpack on my heavy winter coat as we rode down the elevator in silence. We were all determined to save Cece. We had our caving supplies, and enough food for weeks, and all of our Pokemon had been hurriedly informed. I had grabbed some of her things before leaving, like her Poketch. There was nothing left to be said. We were going to get to the cave, find her, and bring her back by any means necessary. The ground outside was covered in snow now, a sign that winter was almost there. It would be even colder in Mount Cor. Louis held up his hand, and a limousine drove up to the hotel¡¯s entrance. ¡°I called my driver. Get in,¡± he simply said. We all climbed into the spacious car, and I felt relief that we wouldn¡¯t have to waste time walking to route 211. ¡°Where to, Mr. Bianchi?¡± The old man asked. ¡°Route 211. Drive as fast as you can,¡± he answered. ¡°I¡¯ll pay off any speeding ticket.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± The driver said, flooring the gas pedal and propelling me back into my seat. He started driving like a madman, skirting around cars, but his skill at the wheel was good enough to avoid getting into any idents. ¡°We should call the rangers while we still have reception,¡± Justin said. ¡°Tell them that Cece walked into Mount Cor and to send a search party. I¡¯m sure they will if we tell them ourst names.¡± ¡°Then they¡¯ll stop us from getting in,¡± Emi said. ¡°They¡¯ll say it¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°Can we time our call to get there before them?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°No, the closest outpost to Mount Cor is twenty minutes into route 211, and they¡¯ll probably just send their fliers to try to rescue her as fast as possible before she gets too deep into the cave.¡± ¡°Maybe that would be the wisest choice,¡± Justin said more quietly. ¡°They¡¯d get there the fastest. Every minute counts¡ª¡± ¡°No. Absolutely not. We need to be there for Cece,¡± I immediately cut in. ¡°She isn¡¯t in the right state of mind. She might attack them, and she¡¯ll onlye back if it¡¯s us. No rangers.¡± Justin reluctantly nodded. ¡°Wait,¡± Louis said, lifting a finger. ¡°Edward can warn them.¡± ¡°Your driver? Oh,oh,yes, he can!¡± Emilia eximed. ¡°Just have him wait¡­ how long does it take to get to Mount Cor from route 211? Grace, you¡¯re familiar with the route.¡± ¡°A day,¡± I said. ¡°But Cece¡¯s alone and not carrying anything, and she¡¯s alone so she¡¯ll probably make it in way less time.¡± ¡°Edward, you heard us,¡± Louis said. ¡°Call the rangers and tell them that we¡¯re all stranded in Mount Cor¡­ thirty hours from now. And not a word to anyone else about this.¡± ¡°Of course, Mr. Bianchi.¡± It felt so frustrating to think that Cece was just what,an hour and a halfin front of us, and there was nothing we could do about it. If we sent our fliers ahead of us, she would just attack them, and without human direction, I had no doubt they would lose. ¡°We need a n,¡± I continued. ¡°Like in Eterna Forest. What kind of Pokemon are in Mount Cor?¡± ¡°I know about it since I was doing research on the wildlife there since we were supposed to pass through it soon,¡± Denzel said. ¡°We can assume the normal cave Pokemon will be there. Geodude, Zubat, Nosepass¡­¡± Denzel trailed off. ¡°But the deeper we get, the tougher opponents we¡¯ll encounter.¡± ¡°We can handle it together,¡± Pauline spoke up, her eyes still red. ¡°I will notdiebefore ripping Amy a new one, and I want Cece to be there to see it.¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°Then you have Graveler, Golbat, Boldore, Onix¡­ there¡¯s even old reports of a Golem being seen there years ago. Just¡­ think of the worst rock types you can imagine, and they¡¯ll be there, and only our strongest attacks will work against those. There are also some non-rock types to worry about. Bronzor, Machoke, Chingling colonies¡ª¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll have to face everything on the face of the earth,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to handle them, but I¡¯ll try my best to study up in the car,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°There¡¯s another major problem. Most of the cave ispletely pitch ck. Since it¡¯s been abandoned for years, there are no gas lights to guide us.¡± ¡°We have shlights for that,¡± I said. ¡°And batteries. Plus, Frillish can see in the dark, so he can guide us.¡± ¡°I know, but still, I thought it would be best to warn you,¡± he said. ¡°Then, there¡¯s the cold. It¡¯s a well-studied phenomenon that I don¡¯t know the first thing about, but it gets ridiculously cold in there, and there¡¯s no wood to light fires. You¡¯ll need to keep Charmeleon, Growlithe, and Vulpix out to warm us up when we aren¡¯t moving.¡± Pauline, Justin, and Louis all agreed. ¡°The dark will make keeping too many of our Pokemon out very difficult,¡± Emilia sighed. Her fingers were trembling so much that she had to bring her hands together to stop herself. ¡°No choice,¡± I said dryly. ¡°We need everything that we have against rock types, and your psychics to stop any attacks and sense nearby danger. Gothorita can do that now, right?¡± I asked Pauline. ¡°It¡¯s rough, but she can, yes.¡± ¡°The mountain has other effects¡­ like hampering some Pokemon¡¯s senses if they aren¡¯t used to being there, and other nonexinable things¡­ scientists chalk it up to the strong maic field, but they aren¡¯t sure,¡± Denzel interrupted. ¡°Fuck this shit,¡± I spat. ¡°We¡¯ll manage with just Frillish,¡± I said. There was a pause, as we began to realize we would most likely only be able to rely on Frillish¡¯s eyesight in the dark to warn us from any danger. ¡°The rest can stay in their Pokeballs, at least at the start,¡± I continued. ¡°If things get too rough, we¡¯ll need to release everyone. This is just as dangerous as Eterna Forest, and it might get worse depending on how deep we get.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Louis nodded. ¡°Should we have a formation, then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think we should just stick close together and have Gothorita in the front, and Beldum in the back, on our left and right,¡± I said. ¡°That way, they can stop attacks from all around us. ¡°The dark will certainly make it harder to keep up formation either way,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°We should also have a headcount system,¡± he said. We all looked at him confusedly. ¡°Every five minutes, we confirm that we¡¯re all still there. It¡¯s easy to get lost in the darkness, shlight or not.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s smart. What else?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s help Denzel with his information gathering,¡± Emilia said. ¡°We all have phones, and six pairs of eyes are faster than one.¡± ¡ª¡ª Our trip through route 211 was uneventful and quick, but we were all exhausted. None of us had slept, and it was easy to see on our faces. I stared up at Mount Cor, whose slopes were towering over us. I couldn¡¯t see the summit. It justkept going, on and on, seemingly forever, as if someone had pinched the earth and pulled it up, and my vision started to swim. I shook my head, and my eyes settled on the opening to the cave. It was tall and looming, the inside of itpletely pitch ck as if light couldn¡¯t prate into the cave. The low, menacing sound of wind blowing through the entrance rattled me. There was a torn-down, abandoned ranger outpost at its side, and the entrance had been littered with ¡®KEEP OUT¡¯ and ¡®DANGER OF INJURY OR DEATH¡¯ signs. Cece had gone in there hours prior, all alone. I clenched at my pants. I could only hope she was safe. I felt someone p my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll find her,¡± Denzel said in a reassuring tone. ¡°I know. We have to,¡± I said. ¡°And then we¡¯ll drag her back to Eterna, and we¡¯ll all look back on this as a bad dream.¡± It took a few minutes to prepare ourselves to head inside of the cave. I only released Frillish for now, who looked at me with his eyes full of worry. ¡°I know, bud,¡± I said. ¡°But we have to do this.¡± Denzel released Budew, who let out her familiar screech. Emilia released Beldum, whose eye dimmed when he stared at us. He was probably ming us for Emilia going into a dangerous cave. Pauline let out Gothorita, who smugly brushed the hairlike appendages on its head away. Justin released Sandile, whozily sunk half of his body into the ground. Louis released Prinplup, and the penguin honked worriedly when he saw that we were at the cave¡¯s entrance. We all huddled close together and hesitantly stepped into the cave. My heart started to race with anxiety as we turned our shlights, and we truly learned howlittleit actually illuminated. Still, it was the only source of illumination in this dark and unknown world known as Mount Cor that dominated Sinnoh¡¯s skies. My breath only came in short gasps as I felt a tightness in my chest I couldn¡¯t simply brush off and push past, and I could only manage to take deep breaths in between the little huffs of cold air I was getting in an attempt to calm myself down. Every rustle, every creak of the cave walls, every time I bumped into one of my friends, and the distant cries of wild Pokemon made me jump in ce as if I had been jolted by electricity. The cave wasn¡¯t just dark. Darkness itself clungaround me like it had a physical form and shape. It was as if I was being enclosed and suffocated by theck of light. Still, I could only push on, no matter how terrified I got. Emilia yelped as one of our shlights found a field of unconscious Zubat. It was an entire colony. ¡°Think Cece did this?¡± Pauline whispered. ¡°It could have been a wild Pokemon,¡± Justin said. ¡°No,¡± Denzel interjected. ¡°A Zubat colony would only attack what they think they can beat. I bet they thought she¡¯d be an easy mark.¡± I nodded, feeling some relief. We couldn¡¯t be one hundred percent sure, but at least we were going the right way¡ª ¡°Fri!¡±Frillish yelled. We pointed our shlights at him, and saw that he was pointing one of his tentacles toward our two o¡¯ clock. ¡°Holy fucking shit!¡±Denzel hissed. His panicking made us swerve our shlight toward his own, and I took a step back when I saw what was happening. Huge, bulging arms wider than my entire torso, an elongated, reptilian face with a bloodstained mouth, and it didn¡¯t have the usual belt humans ced on it. A huge Machoke was grabbing the Zubat on the ground, crushing them like eggs in its hands and then eating them. The fighting type hissed and shielded its eyes when the light reached it, and it immediately ran forward, crushing Zubat under its feet in the process. ¡°Shit,shit, shit, fuck!¡± I yelled. ¡°Frillish, Bubblebeam!¡± Pauline and Emilia yelled, and our Psychics immediately sprang into action, holding the fighting type in ce as the stream of Bubbles hit it right in the face. Budew and Prinplup also threw out attacks of their own, but it was Sandile who saved us. Even though Machoke was a fighting type, the Pokemon broke out of its psychic restraints, but the ground below it liquefied, causing it to sink. I grabbed Togetic¡¯s Pokeball and released her. ¡°Princess,emergency. Thunder Wave and Sweet Kiss the Machoke!¡± I said, pointing at the struggling fighting type. She nodded, sending a cage of electricity that wrapped around the Machoke before confusing it with Sweet Kiss. It waspletely stuck now, and if it somehow managed to push through, freeing itself from the Sand Tomb and pushing past the paralysis and confusion, we still had our psychics to work with. I breathed a sigh of relief¡ª my first breath since we had seen the wild Pokemon appear in the darkness. ¡°We should knock it out, just to be safe,¡± Louis sighed. The Machoke let out a stuttery hiss of protest, and we slowly whittled it down until it was unconscious. ¡°Good job, princess,¡± I said, recalling her. ¡°And thank you, Frillish. Without you to warn us, we would have been screwed.¡± The water type nodded, but his eyes were observing our surroundings. I stared at Machoke¡¯s arms and gulped. If it got its hands on any of us, it could have torn all of us in half like twigs, especially without the belt that restrained their physical power. ¡°So did Machoke do that to the Zubat¡ª¡± Emilia started. ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°A single Machoke wouldn¡¯t have taken down that many Zubat. They would have run far before that. It was still Cece.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on. All the yelling probably alerted a lot of wild Pokemon toe here.¡± We agreed and hurried along. Throughout the cave, we would find evidence that Cece had definitely gone through there. Scenes of battles with rocks charred by Dragon Breath knocked out wild Pokemon all over the ce. She was going on a rampage, even having knocked out a group oftwo Graveler, who were no doubt more powerful than the one she had faced when fighting Roark all those months ago. The good thing about that, however, was that she had seemingly scared off a lot of the wild Pokemon, so we were making great ground. Plus, we had also surprisingly improved since Eterna Forest, although this wasn¡¯t even considered deep into the mountain. Apparently, you could keep going deeper forweeks, and the Pokemon would progressively get worse. Now we just had to hope Cece would be slow enough for us to catch up to her. We had to be faster.Faster. Faster¡ª ¡°Fri!¡± Frillish yelled again. This time, however, I could tell he wasn¡¯t warning about a wild Pokemon. I angled my shlight downward and saw a giantke whose surface was incredibly clear. I could see Barboach swimming under the water¡¯s surface, nestled closely against the muddy ground. It was arge body of water, but it wasn¡¯t deep at all. If we stepped in it, it would only get up to my waist, and I was the shortest in the group. Justin angled his shlight toward the end of theke. ¡°We can cross that,¡± he said. ¡°Saves us a lot of time.¡± We all ran our shlights throughout theke¡¯s surface to make sure there wasn¡¯t any hidden passage where a dangerous water type could be hiding. ¡°Sure,¡± I nodded. ¡°And it isn¡¯t deep enough for anything threatening to hide in. Let¡¯s go.¡± The Barboach fled as I tentatively ced a foot into the frigid water and flinched. I probably wouldn¡¯t feel my leg after crossing this thing. I could almost feel it in mybones. We all carefully waded through the water, carrying our non-water type Pokemon in our arms, and we made it about halfway through when the ground began to shake. I felt mud snake its way along my ankles. I was stuck. ¡°Cash! Whiscash!¡±I heard to my left. A Whiscash yelled out angrily as it peeked out of the water¡¯s surface. The water wasn¡¯t deep enough for it to even swim infortably, but apparently, it had still made it its home. I swore internally, and Frillish wasted no time, immediately sending out a Poison Sting into the Pokemon¡¯s hide. ¡°Now, Hex it!¡± I ordered. Frillish¡¯s eyes shone brightly and the ground type cried out in pain as smoke started emanating from its body. ¡°Gothorita, Psybeam!¡± Pauline said, holding the psychic type out as far as she could. The multicolored psychic energy hit Whiscash as well. Prinplup hit the water type with a Bubblebeam, and it began to thrash around theke, making the ground shake. ¡°That¡¯s an Earthquake!¡±Denzel yelled as Budew screamed out a Bullet Seed from his arms. ¡°Damn it!¡± Rocks far above us, creased into the cave¡¯s ceiling and began to fall into the water. I fell backward due to the Earthquake, and mud started to worm around my waist. ¡°Sandile, free us from Whiscash¡¯s trap!¡± Justin yelled. The ground type snapped his jaw shut and finally broke us free. We ran out of theke, barely avoiding getting crushed by stones. I crawled out of the water on all fours and dry heaved. One of them¡ª one of them hadndedright beside me. I almostdied. ¡°Arceus¡­¡± Emilia cried. ¡°This ismadness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I breathed out and wiped my mouth and eyes.You are fine. Pull yourself together and cryter. ¡°It was my call. W¡ªwe should have tried to find a way ar¡ªaround it. I just wanted to get to Cece as fast as possible, and it b¡ªblinded my judgment.¡± ¡°Then I sh¡ªshare some of the responsibility as well,¡± Justin said, shivering from the cold. I wiped sweat and water from my forehead. ¡°Th¡ªthese wetsuits aren¡¯t worth sh¡ªshit. We need to dry our clothes and sleep,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°It fucking hurts, b¡ªbut it¡¯s the most sensible thing to do. If we get some shut-eye¡ª even two hours¡ª we¡¯ll think more clearly. We¡¯re all exhausted.¡± I wanted to protest, but I knew deep down he was right. I could barely walk straight, and I was starting to get a headache. ¡°We¡¯ll d¡ªdie of hypothermia if we don¡¯t at least d¡ªdry ourselves,¡± Justin said, stammering his words because of the cold. ¡°Get your fire types out to dry our clothes faster and keep ourselves warm.¡± ¡°Frillish, keep watch, p¡ªplease,¡± I said. He nodded and let out a determined sound. We all quickly dried ourselves with towels and changed our clothes, which had gotten wet from falling into the water due to Whiscash¡¯s Earthquake. I stepped into a sleeping bag and huddled around our fire types, who were all sitting on top of our wet clothes. Charmeleon¡¯s tail was our main source of heat, but Vulpix and Growlithe¡¯s naturally high body heat helped as well. Louis had volunteered to keep first watch along with Frillish, and he would wake all of us up in two hours and a half. ¡°If I start screaming, wake me up immediately,¡± I warned. Louis nodded. He had decided to take the brunt of the exhaustion, but the next time we slept, he¡¯d be able to rest for longer. We couldn¡¯t afford to rest for long. Cece was probably still moving ahead, and rangers would be on our tail very soon.
Chapter 76 Chapter 76 CHAPTER 76 ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± I jolted awake when I felt Louis pat my shoulder through my sleeping bag and struggled to open my eyes. How had it been two hours and a half already? It felt like I barely slept at all, but I still stood up immediately and put on my clothes. At least sleeping so little hadn¡¯t given my nightmares enough time to start up again. Louis woke up all the others too, and we all hurried and got ready as fast as we could. ¡°Did you have any trouble?¡± Justin asked Louis. ¡°Any attacks?¡± ¡°There was a pack of Aron that walked by led by a Lairon, but they didn¡¯t strike,¡± Louis said before yawning. ¡°Aside from that, nothing apart from the usual terrifying Pokemon cries all around us.¡± I grabbed a bottle of water from my backpack and coughed. My throat was killing me, my nose was clogged, and I was so cold. ¡°I¡ª¡± I started, before coughing. ¡°I think I¡¯m sick.¡± I pointed my shlight at Emilia and saw her pale. ¡°Can you keep going?¡± Pauline asked. Denzel started approaching me, but I held out my hand. ¡°Stop! You might get sick¡ª¡± I coughed again. ¡°Sick too. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ve wasted enough time, just don¡¯t stay close to me.¡± Justin frowned. ¡°We could have one of us bring you back or wait for the rangers¡ª¡± ¡°I said no. I¡¯ll see this through.¡± We began marching again, although this time, I kept some distance from the group. Beldum hovered above me to protect me in case a Pokemon suddenly attacked. Frillish was reluctantly still ahead of the group. He wanted to stick by me since I was sick, but we needed him ahead to spot threats before we got to them. Denzel was now carrying Eevee on his shoulder, since his hearing would still be of use, but something about the mountain screwed with Growlithe¡¯s sense of smell, and the fire type couldn¡¯t adequately warn us as he had done in Eterna Forest. The deeper we got, the more wrong everything felt. Mount Cor was known to have some strange effects, such as the cold temperatures, but some of it was entirely alien, like hampering human senses or Pokemon who weren¡¯t used to the mountain. And it apparently got worse the deeper someone got, and there was an area around the summit that was the same as well. Strange visions, time dtion, shifting terrain¡ª it was terrifying. Luckily, to go truly deep into Mount Cor, one would have to be actively trying to be. Really good trainers used to routinely go through where we were to get to Snowpoint or Celestic, which means we wouldn¡¯t feel the truly bad effects of the cave. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but worry for Cece. Frillish yelled and stopped us, pointing his tentacle toward the cave¡¯s ceiling. We pointed our shlights up, and about two hundred feet above us, a colony of sleeping Zubatrger than the first was anchored on the ceiling, along with a few Golbat that I managed to see, causing my legs to shake. We immediately all pointed our lights back down. The Zubat line was extremely sensitive to light, and it wouldn¡¯t do us any good to provoke them. You¡¯re fine, I thought. You¡¯re fine. You¡¯ve grown past this. I stifled my coughs as best I could, and we carefully made it past the colony. The next five hours were utterly exhausting. We were being attacked left and right. Most of the Pokemon could be dealt with quite easily, but there were a few close calls. A Graveler¡¯s Rock Throw was barely stopped in time by Gothorita, who saved Louis from being crushed, after which we battered it with our water and grass type attacks, and it angrily fled. A Chingling colony that dropped the temperature dangerously low and that screamed so loudly I felt like my eardrums would burst, and that forced us to flee, making my growing headache ten times worse. Still, we knew we were on Cece¡¯s trail, since we were still following the unconscious Pokemon she had left behind. But the worse was yet toe. ¡°Rhyyyyy!¡± The stone wall we were walking next to exploded, and a scream bellowed out to our left. I fell to the ground, dropping my shlight as Beldum smoothly hovered in front of me and used Confusion to protect me from the flying debris. I fumbled at the ground, grabbing my shlight with trembling hands, and I began to crawl backward. ¡°Grace! Are you alright?!¡± I heard Louis yell. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m fine,¡± I stammered. I felt the ground shake and pointed my shlight forward. A Rhydon was standing right above me with its fist raised. It brought down its massive arm and I shrieked, but I felt my body tense up and float in the air. Beldum picked me up with Confusion and narrowly saved my life. Frillish yelled and threw out a Water Pulse at the huge rock type. Denzel ordered Budew to attack before running toward me and pulling me back to safety. Beldum used the opportunity to hover back toward Emi, clearly ready to protect her. ¡°A¡ªA¡ªAr¡ª¡± I stammered. ¡°You¡¯re okay,¡± he breathed out. ¡°I¡¯ve got you.¡± Rhydon slowly picked up its fist from the ground and stared us down. Budew¡¯s Bullet Seed and Frillish¡¯s Water Pulse had done nothing to Rhydon. Pauline and Emilia ordered our psychics to restrain the rock type, but the attack didn¡¯t even have an effect. Rhydon lowered its head and began running toward them at speeds that shouldn¡¯t have been possible for a Pokemon thisrge. Pauline began to run away but sprinted back when she saw that Emilia was frozen in ce and pushed her out of the way. I screamed and closed my eyes, expecting her to be skewered and trampled by the unstoppable rock type, but Sandile liquified the ground below it, slowing it enough for Beldum to stand in between the two and stop the attack. He was still knocked away, however, and flew into a nearby boulder. ¡°Don¡¯t freeze!¡± Pauline shouted at her best friend. ¡°Grace, get your fucking Togetic out!¡± My hands shook as I grabbed princess¡¯ Pokeball. She was the only one that could use status effect moves from a distance. Our only hope. Rhydon mmed his foot against the liquified ground, and jagged rocks ripped themselves from the ground before flying toward us. There were too many¡ª Frillish appeared in front of me, but Rhydon¡¯s aim was thrown off after Beldum let out a grinding sound and hit it with sh Cannon, illuminating the entire cave. Still, Louis screamed and clenched at his face, having been grazed. I released Togetic after another round of attacks on Rhydon tore me away from my stupor. ¡°Sweet Kiss!¡± ¡°Toge!¡± A pink heart flew toward Rhydon and¡ª The rock type hit it away with its fist like it was nothing. ¡°What¡­ what,¡± I said in disbelief. I felt Denzel grab at my arm again. ¡°Fuck it, we¡¯re running!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll catch up!¡± Louis said, still clutching at the right side of his face. ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice! Pick up the Pokemon that are too slow!¡± Denzel said as we began running. Rhydon was close on our tail. ¡°Justin, have Sandile liquefy the ground behind us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too much, he can¡¯t use Sand Tomb in such arge area¡ª¡± ¡°Fucking try!¡± Pauline said. Sandile created another Sand Tomb behind us, slowing Rhydon slightly. ¡°Togetic, Ancient Power,¡± I breathed out. ¡°Create obstacles behind us.¡± She nodded and lifted up rocks in between us and the Rhydon, but the rock type simply tore through them like butter and used them to send that same ranged attack. This time, our psychic types were ready and barely managed to divert them away, along with Togetic¡¯s help using Extrasensory. Denzel also had Budew drop a trail of Stun Spore behind us, which the rock type breathed in. We were slowly gaining ground, but after ten minutes of running, we were starting to get tired, and Rhydon wasn¡¯t. I felt so sick I wanted to throw up. I was even starting to hallucinate voices¡ª Voices. Lights, along with voices! They were faint, but they were unmistakably real. I began to feel a glimmer of hope. ¡°...die, do it somewhere else, not in front of me.¡± ¡°Then stop following me! Let me be!¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good¡ª¡± ¡°Whoever the fuck you are, we need help, there¡¯s a fucking Rhydoning!¡± Pauline yelled. Another thirty seconds and we were there. Cece was bleeding from her forehead, but she was alive. I took a few deep breaths and approached her, touching her face to make sure she was real. Chase Karlson stood beside her with his entire team out of their Pokeballs. I was too relieved and out of it to even bother asking myself why he was there. Cece shook her head. ¡°No, no! What are you doing here?! Do you not know how dangerous¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± I yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t want any lectures from you! Never do this again, you hear me! We¡¯re taking you back!¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to get scoldedter,¡± Pauline smiled, hugging Cece as the ground began to shake. ¡°But there¡¯s a giant, angry Rhydoning right for us, so I¡¯d like it if we could focus on that first.¡± ¡°Stand far away from rocks,¡± Louis said. ¡°It can control them at will and impale you with their fragments. Our psychics and Togetic will be enough to stop them if they have time to react¡ª¡± Rhydon stepped around the corner and let out an infuriated yell, but Sandile immediately used Sand Tomb under its feet again. ¡°String Shot it,¡± Chase immediately said before recalling Houndour and Zangoose. Charjabug screeched and spat out strands of strings that wrapped around Rhydon, but the rock type just tore them apart. ¡°Ri, you¡¯re up.¡± ¡°Dragon Breath, Water Pulse,¡± Cece ordered. Deino and Slowpoke let out their attacks, which slightly slowed the ground type, and we ordered all of our Pokemon to attack as well. Bullet Seed, Psybeam, Bubblebeam, sh Cannon, we threw everything we had at it and more, and it was finally dealing some damage. Meanwhile, Riolu ran up to the rock type and nimbly climbed onto its back, growing a bone out of his hand and jamming it in between one of the Rhydon¡¯s armor tes. Finally, the rock type felt real pain, and it desperately tried to get Riolu off of itself, but its arms were too short. Rhydon threw itself backwards, escaping from the Sand Tomb and hoping to crush Riolu with its weight, but the fighting type just climbed onto its head and used Force Palm right into both of its eyes. That seemed to be enough for the rock type, and it finally started to flee, mming its body into walls and boulders since it was blind. Riolu jumped off of its body and returned to Chase. Emilia copsed to the ground. ¡°Thank Arceus¡­¡± she cried. ¡°I thought we were done for.¡± ¡°Cecilia,¡± Louis said. ¡°We¡¯vee to rescue you. Don¡¯t throw your life away.¡± The girl averted her gaze. ¡°Why did you¡­ it would have been so much easier if none of you were here,¡± She said. ¡°I wanted to go on my own terms.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare,¡± Pauline hissed. ¡°Deep inside of yourself, you want to live. You wouldn¡¯t have told us where you were going otherwise. It was a cry for help, and we came.¡± Cece teared up. ¡°They¡¯ve threatened me in such a horrible way,¡± she sobbed. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You can. The minute we get back to the city, I¡¯ll call my dad and call off the marriage,¡± Louis said. ¡°No!¡±Cece screamed. ¡°Absolutely not, you don¡¯t know the lengths¡ª¡± ¡°It is my choice, and I¡¯ll live with it,¡± he said. I grabbed Cece¡¯s hand. ¡°Please. I can¡¯t lose you. We can¡¯t go on pretending nothing happened if you die. It¡¯ll destroy us. We¡¯re all on your side. All of us will help you against whatever it is that they threatened you with.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Stop saying that!¡± I said, clenching her hand tighter. I started to cough again. ¡°We can certainly try, at least! Never give up until you¡¯ve tried!¡± ¡°Can you at least tell us why you can¡¯t tell us?¡± Denzel asked. Cecilia shook her head, and he sighed. ¡°Either way, we¡¯re dragging you back home whether you want to or not. We can get you to speak with someone¡ª I can ask Amanda! She¡¯s great at what she does, and everything you tell her is secret.¡± ¡°It would be best to wait twenty to thirty minutes for Rhydon to be far enough,¡± Justin said. ¡°We have time. Maybe the rangers will even get here too, they¡¯ll no doubt be faster than we will be..¡± I nodded, but kept looking into Cece¡¯s eyes. ¡°Will you at leaste back without a fight?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ fine. If that¡¯s what convinces everyone to get back to safety, I will,¡± she sighed. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. Even though she wasn¡¯ting because of her own will to live, she wasing home. It was a step. ¡°Why is he here?¡± Louis asked, pointing at Chase. ¡°Why does it matter?¡± Chase retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t like being with you either, you rich asshole.¡± ¡°I did not even imply disliking you being here. More people means more Pokemon to get Cecilia back to safety,¡± Louis answered. ¡°I¡­ I met him a few hours into the cave. He was training his Charjabug here, but then he wouldn¡¯t stop following me and helping me when I didn¡¯t want him to,¡± Cece spat. ¡°Meh,¡± Chase shrugged. ¡°You were bleeding, I thought you¡¯d need the help, but then you started asking me to let you die, so I figured I¡¯d stick around,¡± he said. ¡°So you¡­ saved her?¡± I asked. ¡°Not really. We were just walking in the same direction,¡± he said. ¡°I heard that Charjabug needed a ce with a strong maic field to evolve, but that was a dud. Apparently, it only gets strong enough deeper and higher up in the mountain, and I can¡¯t get there yet, so I came here for no reason.¡± We all grouped up around Chase and genuinely thanked him for saving our friend, which seemingly took him by surprise. We all sat on the ground, and I started to tend to Cece¡¯s wound. She had arge lesion on her head, causing blood to seep down on her forehead. Pauline and Emilia tended to our Pokemon with all of our potions, including Chase¡¯s, and got most of them back in their balls so they could rest. Meanwhile, Justin helped with Louis¡¯ injury. His was a deep cut on his cheek going right across his ear. That looked like that would scar. ¡°What did this to you?¡± I asked Cece as I cleaned the wound with water. ¡°I don¡¯t even know,¡± she slowly said. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even noticed until that boy brought it up.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Grace,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Did you read the letter?¡± ¡°We all did,¡± I said as I wrapped a bandage around her head. ¡°It was beautiful¡ª it¡ª it made all of us cry. Even Pauline.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She raised her eyebrows. ¡°I thought you would all hate me after what I said. What I thought about all of you when we first met¡­ me tricking Louis¡­¡± ¡°Of course not. We love you. Nothing you could say could ever make us hate you,¡± I started. ¡°Louis said he was calling off the marriage, but you should know he didn¡¯t even hesitate. He knows it would hurt you too much. We¡¯re all on your side now. Do you understand that, Cece? You are loved. You aren¡¯t alone. We¡¯re your family.¡± ¡°Did you¡­ could you read the parts I scratched out?¡± ¡°At the end of the letter? No.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± she said, sighing. ¡°Thank you for bandaging me.¡± I pulled her up and hugged her again for good measure. ¡°That¡¯s still okay, right?¡± I asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°My sexuality¡­¡± I awkwardly said. ¡°Oh! Oh, of course. You can do it as much as you want¡ª¡± A roar that was much too close forfort echoed through the cave. It shook me to my core, and I felt my body tense. We pointed our shlights toward the noise, and I noticed two things. First, there was a Larvitar that was running in our direction. Second, there was a Tyranitar and a Rhyperior fighting twenty feet away from the Larvitar. Rhyperior extended its arm and threw out rocks from its palms, barely chipping at Tyranitar¡¯s armor. The rock type¡¯s forehead started to glow, and it retaliated by ramming it into Rhyperior¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We need to run!¡± Denzel screamed. We all hurried to grab our bags and supplies, but the fighting was getting too close, and we opted to abandon arge part of our things instead. Still, Rhyperior yelled with a booming voice, and rocks that we could barely avoid thanks to our psychics began to fall all around us, and they were making our escape slow. Tyranitar was seemingly on itsst ropes. Large parts of its armor were missing, revealing exposed flesh, and it looked back at the Larvitar before letting out a loud, guttural cry. The ground shook akin to an Earthquake, but this time, it cracked and opened up, splitting us and Larvitar apart from the two huge rock types. I tried to run faster, but I was sick and already tired from our escape against Rhydon. I couldn¡¯t¡­ I couldn¡¯t keep going. Denzel and Cece were the first back for me. The others tried toe back, but they were told to keep running. I could barely hear what was going on. The ground was still shaking and creating a horrible sound. The wild Pokemon were screaming, my ears were ringing, my head was pounding¡ª I fell. I fell into the dark chasm that Tyranitar had opened up, and so did Denzel, Chase, and Cecilia.
Chapter 77 Chapter 77 CHAPTER 77 ¡°I love you, son. This wasn¡¯t your fault. You aren¡¯t weak,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re perfect.¡± Chase Karlson woke up with Riolu worryingly shaking him. He got up, spat out a mouthful of dust, and he felt at his face. It was caked with dirt and bleeding. The teenager stared at the ceiling he had just fallen from and saw thousands of shining crystals illuminating this part of the cave. His right shoulder and upper arm hurt like hell, and he couldn¡¯t put too much weight on his left knee. Chase shivered, and his teeth chattered. It was so cold. Still, he was alive somehow. Chase touched his head and was happy to feel his trusted cap still on it. Luckily, it had grown slightly too small for him, so it stuck to his head easily. ¡°Thank you, Ri,¡± Chase said with a wince. Suddenly, he felt a surge of panic. ¡°Where¡¯s Charjabug?¡± Riolu pointed toward the Pokeballs still attached to his waist and nodded. ¡°You put him back in? Was he injured from the fall?¡± The fighting type nodded again. ¡°Good,¡± Chase said before his foot started to bounce. ¡°Got no potions to heal him up though, couldn¡¯t afford ¡®em.¡± He should never havee to this cave. A fucking Rhyperior? How had it even evolved? Humans didn¡¯t even know what triggered their evolution, so to see one in the wild? Plus, it reminded him too much of the Iron Inds. Falkirk had been built in one of the cave¡¯s entrances, and the ground shaking reminded him of that day, which is why he had frozen up and fallen down there in the first ce. He and his team had paid the price for it. And it gave him this shitty ass dream that he hadn¡¯t gotten in years. ¡°We need to find a way out of here,¡± Chase said. ¡°Maybe find some of the people who fell down there on the way. Your aura¡¯s still fucked from the cave?¡± ¡°Riolu,¡± He said with a disappointed nod. ¡°Even worse than before, huh? No prob. It¡¯s about time I and the others start pulling our weight,¡± Chase said before grabbing a Pokeball. He released Houndour, who whined worriedly. His body warmth was a nice rest from the frigid temperature. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just a few scratches. I need you to guide us and find a way out. Keep an eye out for threats.¡± The dark type barked, and Chase began following him with a limp. The rational part of him wanted to just high-tail it out of here. Even though it pissed him off, he recognized that his skills as a trainer were nowhere near what was needed to survive down here. Chase stared around the dimly lit cave. There was no clear exit, and staring up, the hole seemed to have closed, or at least he had ended up somewhere that wasn¡¯t anywhere near it. If he hadn¡¯t followed Obel deeper into the cave, everything would have been fine. But Chase couldn¡¯t stop himself. She was clearly unwell and suffering from¡­ something. Chase couldn¡¯t really imagine what had pushed her this far. In his mind, Obel had been born with everything she could ever ask for and more. Chase started to think more about the fall. He had been falling right next to the others, and yet they were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, logic seemingly didn¡¯t apply to Mount Cor. He sucked in air through his teeth as pain racked his leg. His best hope of surviving was finding the others, even though it hurt to admit it¡ª even more than his injuries. Still, Pastel was sick, and Obel was down in the dumps¡ª only Williams seemed to be fine, which made Chase hope he¡¯d be the one he found. With his shit luck, though, he¡¯d probably end up finding one of the girls. If he even found anybody at all. ¡°If they survived, they¡¯ll fucking owe me big.¡± ¡ª¡ª Cecilia tumbled through the air with a shriek, but her body suddenly came to a stop a few feet off a giantke. It hovered there for a few seconds before dropping again, and she fell into the water and swam up, her body not even registering the cold. It took a few seconds for it to finally seep into her skin and down to her bones. Her skin felt like ice,pletely numb to the touch. Every inch¡ª every pore hurt so badly it was like her skin was getting stabbed by thousands of tiny needles. Every gasp of air was painful and burned her throat and lungs. She was shaking too much. Cecilia could barely control her hand when she released her Deino and Fletchinder. Slowpoke had been out of his Pokeball to break her fall with Confusion just in time. The water typezily swam up to her and out of the undergroundke. ¡°F¡ªF¡ªFletchinder, I¡ªI need you¡ª you to warm me up. Deino t¡ªtoo,¡± Cece stammered, her teeth chattering so loudly it echoed through the cave. She stared guiltily at Fletchinder, who was still angry at her foring to such a ce and endangering herself. Deino grunted and blew a small, continuous Incinerate next to her while Fletchinder¡¯s body burst into mes with me Charge. Cecilia quickly took off her clothes and began drying herself as fast as she could. She had messed up, and messed up badly. Grace, Denzel, and that other boy had fallen down here, and it was all her fault. All her fault. Now they might be dead while she still lived. They can¡¯t be dead. They can¡¯t. No, no, no, no, it couldn¡¯t be¡ª Suddenly, she heard a coughing from theke. Cecilia hurried to grab her shlight and pointed it toward the body of water. There were some crystals lighting up a further section of the cave far up ahead, but it was still somewhat dark here. She saw a human figure struggling to swim¡ª no, it would be more urate to say that they were iling underwater. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ve got you!¡± Cecilia said before remembering that she ought not to yell. ¡°Slowpoke, go help them!¡± The psychic type let out aining yawn, but he sank into theke, approached the drowning figure, and used Confusion to lift Denzel out of the water. The teenager was just as cold as Cecilia had been, and he was hacking liquid out of his lungs. Cece hit his back, trying her best to help, and after around thirty seconds, he seemed to be fine. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± he breathed out. ¡°Tha¡ª thank you for saving me¡ª¡± ¡°Take off your clothes! You need to dry and warm yourself, or you¡¯ll die!¡± Cecilia yelled. Denzel let out a hiss of pain as he moved his arms to take off his wet coat. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive. We must have fallen from one hundred feet into the water,¡± he stammered as Cece wrapped his towel around him and had her Pokemon dry him. ¡°I managed to recall Eevee while I was swimming, but I underestimated how heavy everything got when it was wet. I got tired¡­ and I couldn¡¯t go on¡ª¡± Another wince. ¡°Fuck! I feel like I¡¯ve just run straight into concrete. The adrenaline¡¯s leaving me, I might have a few broken bones somewhere,¡± he continued before his eyes widened. ¡°Wait. Have you seen Grace anywhere?¡± Cecilia¡¯s heart began to race with anxiety, and she had to steel herself not to cry. ¡°No¡­¡± she said with a slight sob. ¡°I don¡¯t know where she is.¡± Denzel began to breathe quickly. ¡°She¡­ she had Frillish and Togetic still out. Togetic could have stopped her fall with Extrasensory, and Frillish could have helped her out of the water. She¡¯s¡­ she¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll find her.¡± ¡°We will,¡± Cece whispered. Her words were doing very little to convince even herself. Grace might be dead, and it was all her fault. She would never forgive herself. ¡°We have to get going. The quicker we group up, the more chances Grace has of being unhurt. We mighte across Chase too, and he might be able to help us find her,¡± Denzel said in a determined tone before standing up. ¡°My legs seem fine¡­ my ribs and my arms hurt like hell. I can manage.¡± He grabbed Eevee¡¯s Pokeball and released him. The normal type let out a cry of relief when he saw his trainer was still unharmed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you,¡± Denzel said, wincing as he petted Eevee. ¡°Grace is missing.¡± Eevee immediately grimaced, his face full of worry. ¡°My shlight¡¯s gone,¡± he continued. ¡°Dropped in the water when I was panicking. Cecilia still has hers, but our visibility is terrible. We¡¯re going to need your hearing to guide us.¡± ¡°Vee!¡± ¡°Right on,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I reckon we should head toward the part with all the crystals?¡± he asked. ¡°My shlight won¡¯t have batteries forever, so I think that would be best,¡± Cecilia nodded before recalling Fletchinder. There were too many rock types lurking in the shadows to risk her. Deino and Slowpoke would suffice for now, even though the water type despised walking, and his sensing powers seemed to be affected by the cave. ¡°Plus, Grace would probably head toward there too. It¡¯s the only ce with lights. Are you dry?¡± ¡°Dry enough,¡± he quickly replied as he put on fresh new clothes. ¡°Thank Arceus, our bags are water-proof. Let¡¯s go.¡± Cecilia could only help but hope they would find Grace and escape. But even if she made it back to civilization, she would be doomed, and the others would potentially be too. To think that her father would go that far. To make her worst fear a reality. Cece shuddered, and it wasn¡¯t because of the cold. ¡ª¡ª I passed through a strange patch of air and then fell onto the cold, hard, rocks. My fall hadn¡¯t been fast enough to injure, but it still fucking hurt. I groaned and clutched at my shoulder, but soon enough, it wasn¡¯t my shoulder that was hurting the most. It was my head. It was pounding, giving me an agonizing headache. I let out a few coughs as I carefully stood up. At least I could still do that. I had apparently dropped my shlight during the fall, but that was the least of my worries. I was sweating buckets. My body felt hot and cold at the same time, and my vision was swimming. Frillish flew toward me and ced both of his tentacles on my shoulders, asking if I was alright. Togetic was right behind him, and she rubbed her head on my hand. My extremities felt numb. It was cold¡ª at least negative ten degrees celsius. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª ah, holy fuck, my head. I¡¯m not okay, but I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said, my face contorting in agony. I looked up and saw that the cave was dimly-lit thanks to some kind of shining rocks on its ceiling, so at least I had that going for me. Then it sunk in. We had fallen down a chasm opened up by that Tyranitar. I was alone, and Denzel and Cecilia might be dead. And the others who hadn¡¯t fallen probably thought me to be dead. They¡¯d probably inform the rangers and call my dad and mom about it today. All of them would be heartbroken. My fingers trembled as I released Elekid and Tang for the first time and brought them up to speed on what had happened as fast as I could. Elekid worryingly tapped my leg, and Tang rubbed one of his vines on my cheek. ¡°First things first,¡± I said, groaning thest word out. ¡°Frillish, can you go with your sister¡ª with Togetic to check if the fissure up there¡¯s closed up? Or if it¡¯s even still there? Come back immediately if there¡¯s any danger.¡± They both began to protest, letting me know that they weren¡¯t going anywhere without me. ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°It was probably a pipe dream anyway.¡± I moved my body around to check if I had anywhere I couldn¡¯t move properly or put weight on, but my only problem was my sickness. It was getting worse. ¡°We need to find the others,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t even going to entertain the idea that they were gone. It would only serve to slow me down. I was already struggling to get my mind to work. Worrying would only worsen the situation. They were strong. They survived. They survived. ¡°Tang, your electric attacks won¡¯t be that useful¡ª¡± I started before cutting myself off. ¡°I meant Elekid. Sorry, hon.¡± I was so fucking out of it. ¡°Stick close. You¡¯re only here to use Ice Punch and keep the wild Pokemon off of me,¡± I continued. He crossed his arms and gave me a fierce nod. ¡°That¡¯s my boy,¡± I smiled. ¡°Frillish and Tang, you¡¯re my heavy hitters. Angel, you see anything get too close, you restrain with as many vines as possible. Buddy, you¡¯re using Water Pulse and Bubblebeam¡ª I¡¯ll leave you to pick which one works best depending on the situation.¡± Tang blinked twice and caressed my ankle, and Frillish just nodded. It pained me to see him so worried. ¡°We¡¯ll make it out of here,¡± I told him softly. ¡°I promise. Princess, your job is to Sweet Kiss anything as soon as angel locks them down. Remember to stay low. A lot of Pokemon have Smack Down in here. If the Pokemon is too strong like Rhydon was, we¡¯re going to be running anyway. If we¡¯re running, you¡¯re going to use Ancient Power behind us to slow the threat down. Angel, I want you to let spores out while you run like Denzel¡¯s Budew did. Maybe Leech Seed, too, although we haven¡¯t practiced that move much yet, so I don¡¯t even know if you know how to aim it. Did everybody get all of that?¡± They all nodded and were ready. ¡°Good. First objective, find Cece and Denzel. Then Chase. Then, we figure out how to get out of here somehow,¡± I said as I began to walk. I was about to leave, but I heard a cry behind a rock. I thought it was my feverish brain ying tricks on me again, but there was another cry. It was full of pain and anguish¡ª not like the aggressive ones I had heard so far from everything in this Arceus damned cave. ¡°Angel,¡± I said, pointing at the rock. ¡°Grab whatever¡¯s behind that with a vine and pull it toward us. Keep it far, just in case, I just want to get a look at it.¡± Tang nodded and sent out two vines forward that snaked around the boulder. The Pokemon let out a raspy yelp in surprise, and it took me a few seconds to realize that I was staring at the same Larvitar that had been up there. It was hurt¡ª albeit not too badly¡ª its armor had protected it from the worst of the fall. I realized then that it hadn¡¯t cried because it was in pain. It had been crying because it had just lost its parent. Although right now, it was letting out enraged screams, trying to get out of Tang¡¯s hold or potentially scare us. I thought it was going to make a move, but it was just thrashing around. It was just a baby, it probably didn¡¯t know that many moves or how to use them properly. I didn¡¯t want to waste time, but it was a Pokemon in need that had just lost its parent¡­ I thought I had lost my soft spot for non-aggressive wild Pokemon, but I feltpelled to help it out. It was way too weak to be here, just like we were. It would get killed and eaten by something without help. I clutched at my head as I opened my Pokedex. The bright light was making my headache worse. ¡°You fell down here with us, huh?¡± I said sadly. Larvitar, the rock skin Pokemon. Larvitar is born deep under the ground. Toe up to the surface, this Pokemon must eat its way through the soil above. Until it does so, Larvitar cannot see its parent¡¯s face. Type: Rock, Ground ¡°That¡¯s¡­ so sad,¡± I sighed. The rock type kept squirming around, roaring at the mention of its parent. ¡°Let him down, Tang.¡± Angel gently dropped Larvitar on the ground and petted its head with more vines. ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you,¡± I said as softly as I could and crouched to appear less threatening. ¡°I have two potions to use on you that¡¯ll make you feel better, and I¡¯d rather be able to carry you so we can go faster while you recover from your injuries.¡± ¡°Tar!¡± It hissed. Frillish hovered in front of me, his eyes glinting, but I held him back and shook my head. ¡°Leave it, bud. It just¡­ lost its parent. It¡¯s allowed to be angry.¡± The water type huffed and got back behind me. ¡°Look,¡± I said. ¡°Leave it or take it. I¡¯m looking for my friends, and I can¡¯t waste time trying to convince you to save yourself. As much as it would hurt me, I¡¯d leave you here, and who knows what would happen to you?¡± Larvitar frowned angrily and hissed at me, but it was less angry than a few seconds ago. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick you up now, alright?¡± I said. I ced my hands under its stubby arms, and I was surprised to see how coarse its armored skin was, but more surprisingly, it was heavy¡ª maybe 130 pounds, which was heavier than I was. I ced it against my chest. I probably would only be able to carry it for a few minutes. ¡°See? Not that bad, is it?¡± I huffed. Finally, I began to walk forward, spraying Larvitar¡¯s injuries with my few remaining potions at the same time. Cece and Denzel were alive, and they were in here, I was sure of it. I had to be, or I would never find the motivation to get out of Mount Cor.
Chapter 78 Chapter 78 CHAPTER 78 Tang curiously wrapped a vine around one of the shining crystals that had fallen from the cave¡¯s ceiling and onto the ground. ¡°Angel, don¡¯t touch that,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t know what it¡¯s made of, it could be bad for you.¡± The grass type retracted his vine and wriggled. ¡°Sorry. I know this is all new and exciting for you, but I need you to stay sharp,¡± I said, squinting to alleviate the pain from my headache. Frillish held out a tentacle and stopped me. There was something ahead. ¡°Tar!¡± Larvitar roared, which was more of a hiss. I had stopped carrying it, since it was so heavy, but it was thankfully still following us. Even with the crystal lighting up the cave, I was still struggling to see well, and that was in part because of my illness. Elekid stepped in front of me and started whirling his arms around, generating electricity atop of his head, while Tang created a barrier of some sort with his vines. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. Another few seconds passed in silence, and then a flurry of attacks erupted from my team. Frillishunched an enormous Water Pulse in front of himself, followed by a quick Bubblebeam. Tang started breaking up rocks with Vine Whip, grabbing the smaller chunks and throwing them forward while Togetic erected an Ancient Power wall in front of me just before I heard something crash onto it. The fight was over in just a few seconds. I carefully stepped forward an saw an unconscious Boldore syed across the ground with some parts of itself blown off by my Pokemon¡¯s attacks. I gulped. ¡°Good job,¡± I said. ¡°That went about as well as it could have.¡± ¡°Kid!¡± Elekid said, his head downcast. ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve already said this isn¡¯t the best area for you to be fighting in. You¡¯re my bodyguard.¡± ¡°Elekid¡­¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± I winced and stumbled, but Tang quickly stopped me from falling with his vines. ¡°Ah, shit, this is¡ª this is getting worse.¡± The cave was too easy so far. Too quiet. Sure, this had been our fourth encounter with an aggressive wild Pokemon in around twenty minutes, but this ce was deep into the mountain, and it had apparently been closed off for¡­ who knew how many years. No human had stepped in here for decades, that was for sure. So where were the incredible threats? Where were the Pokemon like the Rhydon we had encountered or that Tyranitar or Rhyperior? Something felt off about this. I heard a slight, gurgly sound behind me and turned my head around, but Frillish had already sent another Water Pulse, knocking a just awaking Geodude out. Did Geodudes make that sound? ¡°Let¡¯s keep going,¡± I breathed out. I was tiring out quickly, and I didn¡¯t exactly have a direction in mind. I was just walking in a straight path, hoping I¡¯de across someone eventually. Unlike the upper level of the mountain, down there, there were multiple branching paths, tight corridors, and different elevations. Case in point. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m well enough to jump up there,¡± I said, nodding toward an elevated path. Togetic chirped, and I felt the air around my body shift. She slowly lifted Larvitar and me up, cing me as gently as she could onto the ground. Tang wrapped a vine tightly around Elekid and lifted him up before pulling himself up as well. Frillish¡¯s red eyes darted toward the left, and I thought he wouldunch another attack, but he just stared at a wall. ¡°Is there something near?¡± I asked. ¡°Fri¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not sure?¡± The water type nodded and motioned for me to stay vignt. A part of me considered just screaming, hoping someone would hear me and head in my direction, but that was probably my fever talking. Arceus, I felt like absolute trash. Still, I had to keep going. If I stopped, I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d be able to stand back up. Around ten minutester, I walked back to the same area Togetic had just lifted me to. It was like¡­ like that mansion in Eterna Forest, except it wasn¡¯t a Pokemon-induced illusion this time, it was just the mountain fucking with me. I was sure I wasn¡¯t hallucinating since my team seemed just as perplexed as I was. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this bullshit for a lifetime,¡± I sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s try again.¡± It took a few more tries for me to finally get through¡­ where? Get through the area I was in without being transported back to where I had just been, I supposed, and the time it took me to get there each time was seemingly random. Larvitar hissed at nothing in particr. I noticed that its sadness had been converted into anger now. Or maybe it was just trying to appear tough, it was hard to tell. The rock type was small but incredibly heavy, and I had an inkling it was asking to be carried again. ¡°Listen,¡± I told it. ¡°You must weigh at least 130 pounds, I can¡¯t keep carrying you.¡± ¡°Tar!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fight me on this. I know walking around must be tiring you out, but I¡¯m sick, so I¡¯m weaker than usual¡ª¡± I saw something move in the corner of my vision. A shadow. My body tensed. ¡°Did you see that, bud?¡± I said, pointing toward where I had seen movement. Frillish shook his head, probably saying that if he had, he would have done something. ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Must be that damn fever. Let¡¯s keep going.¡± I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and began walking again, slower this time. Elekid strode up to Larvitar and patted it on the back, but the rock type let out a juvenile roar and pushed him away. ¡°Shh!¡± I hissed. ¡°Leave it alone for now, hon. It doesn¡¯t want to be friends.¡± I paused and stared at Larvitar again. ¡°It¡¯s weird calling you ¡®it¡¯ all the time,¡± I said. ¡°What are you? Are you a boy?¡± Larvitar stomped a foot against the ground, kicking up some dust. ¡°A girl?¡± Larvitar nodded fiercely and hit her arms against her chest. ¡°Alright. A baby girl. Sounds good,¡± I whispered, holding myself up using a wall. This conversation was as much a bonding exercise as it was an urgent distraction from my increasingly worse fever and the intrusive thoughts that kept telling me Cece and Denzel were dead. ¡°You¡¯re a tough one, aren¡¯t you?¡± She gave me another nod, but flinched when angel rubbed her huge horn with one of his vines. Larvitar yelled, angling her head downward, and ran toward the grass type. I worried for a second before remembering that she was a newborn. Weak. Tang pushed two vines forward, holding her in ce as she desperately tried to run him through. Togetic let out a tiny giggle, and Elekid smirked, but everyone stopped when Frillish red at them one by one. ¡°Frillish is right,¡± I said. ¡°We have to keep going. This isn¡¯t the time to be ying, we¡¯ll do all of that when we find the others and get out.¡± They all nodded, and we soldiered on. I beckoned Frillish, and he floated toward me. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologized. ¡°I keep adding kids to the team. Must be annoying to be the only adult in the room, huh?¡± He stared at me and nodded. ¡°It¡¯d be good if thest member of the team was an oldie like you,¡± Iughed slightly. He shot me a suspicious look. ¡°Right. I guess I haven¡¯t told anyone I want to catch Larvitar¡­ I guess my motivations are mostly me feeling bad for her. She¡¯s a newborn, and she¡¯s just lost her mother or father¡­ I think that Tyranitar might be mortally injured. I doubt there was anying back from her wounds.¡± Frillish nodded before shooting another look behind us. Everybody was still following, but Larvitar had picked up some soft dirt that she was munching on, and Tang was staring at her curiously, studying her every movement and trying to touch her without her noticing. ¡°I feel terrible for her. Losing a parent so young¡­ must be crushing, and yet she¡¯s been hiding the fact that she¡¯s grieving ever since we found her hiding behind that rock,¡± I coughed, and he shot me a worried look. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a tough girl,¡± I dryly said. ¡°But at the same time, she¡¯s a Larvitar, you know? They¡¯re¡­ incredibly rare, and they evolve to be incredibly powerful. I¡¯d be lying if I wasn¡¯t thinking about having her as a potential battler when she grew up a little and if she evolved.¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± Frillish warned me. ¡°Obviously, I won¡¯t force her toe with me,¡± I answered. ¡°I¡¯ve learned to be better than that after catching you. But it won¡¯t hurt to ask. I¡¯ll at least get her out of Mount Cor. Newborn Larvitar are usually protected by one of their parents, they can¡¯t fend off threats on their own for weeks after being born.¡± ¡°Lish,¡± he sighed. ¡°I know, I know, another baby to take care of,¡± I said. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll try to make thest one older,¡± I smiled. ¡°You can bond over how grumpy and old you are.¡± He huffed, making me grin. ¡°Might be selfish to be thinking about the future like this in this horrible situation, but I have to look forward. If I don¡¯t¡­ if I let myself think that I have no future outside of here, I won¡¯t find it in me to continue¡ª¡± Frillish¡¯s head darted toward another crease of the cave. This time we had both seen movement. I gestured at the team to stop. ¡°There¡¯s something there,¡± I warned. ¡°It¡¯s been following us the entire time. Stalking us.¡± I took a few steps back, and my Pokemon stepped forward. Tang held Larvitar back with his vines, much to her dismay. She wanted to fight, but she couldn¡¯t. I took a few heavy breaths as the silence weighed onto me. Larvitar stepped behind me and calmed down. ¡°Honey,¡± I said, feeling my neck hair stand on end and my headache start to pound again. ¡°Use Thundershock to light up the area.¡± Elekid spun his arms and shot an arc of electricity in front of us. A purple Pokemon with a shiny gem embedded in its torso and a huge, toothy grin stared back at us. Frillish shot out a stream of bubbles, Togetic a quick Fairy Wind, and Tang¡¯s vines surged forward, but the Sableye sunk into the shadows like it was water and giggled¡ª no, calling it a giggle wasn¡¯t urate. It was a low, gurgle-like sound that instilled physical difort into me. Sableye appeared behind me, but Tang quickly pulled me with a vine, and I narrowly avoided a Shadow w. ¡°It moves through shadows!¡± I yelled. That was horrible news. I gulped as the dark type¡¯s grin grew wider, and it sunk into the ground again with a terribleugh. If it moved through shadows, that meant that any barrier of protection would be ineffective. That meant my Pokemon would have to protect me by using reflexes instead of the nning we hade up with. ¡°Keep a vine wrapped around me, angel,¡± I said, feeling his hold tighten. ¡°Elekid, keep your arms spinning. Create light around us so it can¡¯t get to me.¡± Elekid nodded and once again, created electricity above his head, creating a ¡®safe spot¡¯ that I could at least stand in without being wed in the back. I heard Sableye¡¯s evilugh reverberate all around me, and the dark type finally emerged again, this time below Frillish. It jumped at him and held on tightly, wing across his face. ¡°No!¡± I yelled. ¡°Tang, get him off!¡± Tang sent five vines forward, grabbing the ghost type and mming him against the wall, and Togetic wasted no time, hitting it with her Fairy Wind. Sableye hissed and sunk into the darkness again. I rushed toward Frillish, who had threerge gashes on his face. He was a ghost type, so the damage would heal over time, and it wasn¡¯t bleeding, but it was still disconcerting to see. ¡°Next time that fuckeres out, hit it with Thundershock,¡± I hissed. Elekid nodded, but the Sableye wasn¡¯ting out anymore. And yet I knew it was still there. It let me know, byughing terribly all around me, taunting me. And I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. I touched Frillish¡¯s face, and the water type simply nodded as if to say he was fine. We still weren¡¯t good enough with Acid Armor to switch up his state on a whim, so dodging a Pokemon as fast as Sableye was impossible. ¡°Everyone else okay¡ª¡± Arge, shadowy ball shot out of a wall, but Togetic quickly raised a barrier using Ancient Power. The rock was destroyed, but she protected me from the sharp debris with Extrasensory. I let out a few quick breaths, expecting another flurry of attacks toe, but nothing happened. ¡°Arceus¡­¡± I sighed in relief. ¡°Stay sharp, it¡¯s going to attack again¡ª¡± Sableye grinned as he dropped from above me. Frillish immediately hit it with Water Pulse, creating an explosion that got water all over me. I expected to see the Pokemon crawl back into the shadows, but there was nothing. It had just been a Night Shade. Sableye wed from the edge of Elekid¡¯s light and jumped at me again, but Tang finally managed to grab it with a vine. He wrapped another ten around the dark type, and began to drain its energy. Sableye groaned and tried wing away at the vines, but it was toote. He finally went limp, and Tang let him go. ¡°Good job, Angel,¡± I coughed. ¡°You¡¯re¡ª¡± Sableye sunk into the ground again. It had faked being unconscious to escape, but at least it seemed like it wasn¡¯t going to attack again. It knew it was outssed now. Still, I ordered Elekid to keep his light going, just in case the dark type got any ideas. I couldn¡¯t be sure it had truly given up. Too bad Elekid could only sense ghosts, not ghost types. We waited for ten minutes, making sure that Sableye was gone before finally deciding to leave. I tried walking again, but my knees buckled, and I copsed on the ground. My body felt so heavy. ¡°Fuck,¡± I groaned. ¡°It looks like I¡¯m¡ª¡± I coughed. ¡°Tapped out.¡± My team coalesced around me and mored with worry, and Larvitar stood to the side, watching with a careful eye. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna pass out,¡± I said. ¡°Frillish, take care of Larvitar and your siblings. You guys listen to him, he¡¯s the leader when I¡¯m not there¡ª¡± I heard another sound. Not Sableye, but steps this time. Chase Karlson stepped from behind a boulder, apanied by his Riolu and Houndour, and he looked to be in terrible shape. He clicked his tongue. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s you,¡± he sighed. ¡°Thought I heard the sound of fighting,¡± I heard him say before I fell unconscious.
Chapter 79 Chapter 79 CHAPTER 79 ¡°Of course, it¡¯s you. I thought I heard the sound of fighting,¡± Chase said, looking at Pastel syed out on the ground. She stared at him onest time before going limp, and he sighed. ¡°Just my luck. The one I find can¡¯t help.¡± Her Pokemon were all over the ce too. Her Togetic was crying and desperately shaking Pastel¡¯s shoulder to wake her up while Elekid mored in her ear, hoping to do the same. Plus, it was spinning its arm around, generating constant electricity for some reason. Chase wasn¡¯t worried about those two, though. The girl¡¯s Tang whipped the ground in a threatening manner while Frillish just stared right into his soul. Chase wasn¡¯t the type to get easily scared, but the fact that the water type¡¯s face was torn open wasn¡¯t helping. And then there was also a Larvitar standing to the side, hissing and roaring at him. That was a new one. Houndour started to growl, but Chase clicked his tongue. ¡°Chill out,¡± he said to his Pokemon and Pastel¡¯s. ¡°We aren¡¯t fighting. Your trainer was sick when we were up there, and she looks unscathed from the fall, so I¡¯m going to assume her sickness got worse?¡± Frillish nodded, but kept ring. ¡°Alright then,¡± Chase said, before frowning. Houndour was still growling, making him suspicious. ¡°Is there something there? Your face got pretty torn up. The thing that attacked you did this? Did you take it down?¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know what the fuck that means. Nod or shake your head,¡± Chase said. The Pokemon¡¯s re somehow worsened, but he shook his head. ¡°Got it. The cave is fucking with Riolu¡¯s aura, so he can¡¯t sense living beings, but Houndour seems to know where it is, for some reason. I thought it fucked with your sense of smell?¡± The dark type just kept growling. ¡°Ah, whatever, just go get it,¡± Chase sighed. ¡°Ri, help him out.¡± With a burst of speed, Houndour jumped forward, making Grace¡¯s team flinch. The fire type spat out a stream of mes toward a darkened wall. The cave lit up, but a circr spot in the wall stayed dark until a Sableye crawled out of the shadow, screaming in agony from the burns. Riolu summoned one of his bones, rushed toward the ghost type, and mmed it in the head repeatedly until it stopped moving and knocked it away. ¡°Ah, it was a Sableye. Good. Looks like you can still use your affinity with the dark.¡± Chase said before looking at Grace. He started approaching her, causing Tang to strike the ground next to him so hard that it tore it open. ¡°Tell your pal to stop acting like a moron unless he wants his trainer to die.¡± Frillish touched Tang with one of his tentacles, his intense stare softening for a split second. The grass type wriggled around and wrapped one of his vines around the water type before blinking twice. ¡°So¡­ yeah?¡± The trainer said tentatively. Frillish nodded. ¡°Finally. Houndour, stay next to her. She¡¯s a little wet, so dry her up and keep guard.¡± Chase took a step, and when he saw that there was no reaction, he finally made his way to Grace and crouched next to her. Togetic stared at him with Lilipup eyes as if she was begging him to save her, while Elekid just stared intently, observing his every move. He rolled her body andid her on her side to unstrap her backpack. His arm hurt while doing all of this, but he just pushed through the pain like it was nothing in order not to appear weak. ¡°Alright¡­ towel¡­ that¡¯s useful. Food, battery¡­ Tepig plushie? Why even¡ª you know what, whatever. Ah, there you go,¡± the trainer eximed. ¡°Sleeping bag.¡± Chase unfurled the sleeping bag andid Grace on top of it so that she wouldn¡¯t have toy on the cold, hard, ground. Then, he grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off her face, and then got a fresh one that he doused with fresh water to ce on her forehead. Been a while since I did this, Chase thought. ¡°Good thing about it being so damn cold in here is that it¡¯ll help with the fever, I think,¡± he said. ¡°But you don¡¯t seem to have any medicine in here. She needs to drink a lot of water, but she can¡¯t exactly do that when she¡¯s unconscious,¡± Chase sighed. ¡°Her breathing seems fine¡­ doesn¡¯t seem like pneumonia or anything fatal with her lungs. I guess the only thing I can do is stick around and swap her towel once in a while. I¡¯m no doctor.¡± But I did help out whenever my dad got sick from working in the mines too much, he thought again. ¡°Could never bother learning any of that, even though they give sses for first time trainers. Never thought I¡¯d need it,¡± he lied. Silence filled the air for a few seconds before he stared at Frillish. ¡°You seem to be the leader. I¡¯m releasing my Zangoose so that we have more manpower in case some wild Pokemon shows up.¡± He hadn¡¯t been asking. Chase didn¡¯t ask people, but he still felt the need to warn the water type. Zangoose¡¯s hair stood up, and she immediately got up on two feet, thinking there was a fight. ¡°Chill out. They¡¯re our allies,¡± Chase said. ¡°After I recalled you, I fell down a huge chasm, and now we¡¯re stuck in the depths of Arceus damned Mount Cor.¡± Zangoose rxed, but kept a weary stare at Frillish, who did the same to her. His eyes settled on Larvitar. A small part of him wanted to catch it, but Pastel might have had her eyes on it, since it was traveling with her. Chase was no thief. Trainer etiquette had always been firste first serve. Plus, raising a baby Pokemon sounded like a pain in the ass. ¡°You fell down here too, huh? Grace catch you yet?¡± Chase asked, looking at Larvitar. The rock type had now stepped closer and was standing behind Tang and Elekid, still letting out threatening cries. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you tell your parent to not fucking open up a giant hole in the earth?¡± Larvitar¡¯s air of fearlessness disappeared, and the Pokemon started to cry. Togetic immediately got on the ground and hugged the rock type. Elekid awkwardly did the same, and Tang rubbed a vine on its head. Riolu jumped and hit Chase¡¯s head¡ª not hard enough to injure but hard enough to hurt, and he sucked in air through his teeth before realizing how insensitive he had just been. That Tyranitar¡­ that Tyranitar was its parent, and it probably hadn¡¯t made it. Larvitar had just lost its parent. Now wasn¡¯t the time to air grievances. ¡°Fuck. Sorry.¡± The apology came out of his mouth before he even realized it, surprising even himself. Still, Pastel¡¯s Pokemon ignored him and keptforting the Larvitar. Chase brought his cap down to his eyes. ¡°Guess there ain¡¯t anything else left to be said.¡± ¡ª¡ª I woke up in the middle of a battle. My forehead felt wet, and I brought a hand to it, grabbing the towel off of me. Had my Pokemon¡­ oh. It took me a few seconds to even remember that Chase had found me just when I was passing out. A fiery explosion rocked me to my core and made my head pound. ¡°Fucking ram that bone down its eye, Ri! Houndour, Incinerate! Zangoose, keep it off the Larvitar!¡± What was happening? I tried moving, but every muscle in my body ached. My heart sank when I saw Tang fly above me and into a wall, and Frillish sent a Water Pulse toward whatever they were fighting. I tried moving my head, but it hurt too much. And the noise hurt more. If I could have clenched at my head right now, I would have. There was a booming roar reminiscent of the Rhydon. ¡°Get its other eye!¡± A series of stars flew above me and toward the wild Pokemon, and I saw pink mist gather out of the corner of my eye¡ª Elekid¡¯s Swift and Togetic¡¯s Fairy Wind. There was another yell, and the ground shook. ¡°Serves you right, motherfucker!¡± Chase spat. ¡°Holy fucking shit, that was close.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked weakly. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± My Pokemon let out a collective gasp and grouped up around me to celebrate my return to consciousness. ¡°Okay, you guys are hurting me,¡± I said with a smallugh. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± ¡°Good to see you¡¯re up,¡± I heard Chase say. ¡°This cave is hell. The Pokemon here are fucking awful. It started with just Gravelers and Ryhorns, and now we just had to fight off a fucking Nidoqueen. Riolu blinded the motherfucker.¡± ¡°A Nidoqueen?¡± I said weakly. ¡°Must be a Moon Stone somewhere down here.¡± I saw that Tang had arge portion of his vines missing, giving him a lot less mass than usual, but they¡¯d regrow within a few hours. The rest of the team seemed unscathed, apart from Frillish¡¯s w mark on his face. Chase¡¯s Pokemon, on the other hand, had looked better. Zangoose¡¯s blood was mixing with the red patches on its fur, and its ws were almostpletely gone. The skull-like bone structure on top of Houndour¡¯s face was caved in and cracked, and Riolu seemed to have taken a bath in poison. ¡°Tried to see if you had any potions, but apparently, you gave all of ¡®em to Pauline before we fell, and I don¡¯t have any,¡± Chase said. ¡°Saw you had an Antidote though, so I¡¯ll use it on Riolu. He got hit by a Sludge Wave.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, sure,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks for helping out. I don¡¯t think my team would have stood up to a Nidoqueen alone.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have,¡± Chase said as he searched the inside of my bag. ¡°Oh, here, some water.¡± Now that he said it, my throat felt incredibly dry. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t move. Or barely. It¡¯s like I just had the most intense workout of my life, and now I¡¯m all stiff.¡± Chase sighed. ¡°Hold on.¡± He grabbed an Antidote and sprayed Riolu¡¯s entire body down with it. The fighting type nodded to thank him and then hurriedly pushed him toward me. ¡°I got it! Arceus.¡± Chase opened the bottle and ced it in my mouth, carefully tilting it to not overwhelm me. I downed the entire contents down in one go, and sighed in relief. ¡°One more, please?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say please, it¡¯s your fucking water,¡± Chase snapped out of nowhere, surprising me. ¡°You have enough water and food in here for days anyway¡ª weeks if we find your pal Williams on our way out and we ration it.¡± Suddenly, my eyes bulged. ¡°That¡¯s right! Did you find any of them?!¡± I asked, feeling hope. Now that I saw that Chase had made it, the odds were that Cece and Denzel had too. ¡°I just implied that I didn¡¯t,¡± he sighed as he made me drink another bottle. I drank half of it and motioned for him to stop. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I guess I just got excited¡ª¡± I winced. ¡°Fucking headache.¡± ¡°You feeling better or worse?¡± The boy asked. ¡°Well, the headache is the same,¡± I said after the pain subsided slightly. ¡°But like I said, I can¡¯t move, so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s worse.¡± ¡°Sounds like we¡¯re going to have to stay here for a few days until you get better,¡± Chase sighed. ¡°Plus, this position is good and defensible. We¡¯re against a wall, we can¡¯t get sneaked up on.¡± ¡°But the others¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving to look for them, and you sure as hell aren¡¯t either,¡± Chase said. ¡°Now that I know Pokemon like Nidoqueen are out and about, I¡¯m not going to throw my life away looking for a needle in a haystack. We met by pure luck, and we should use that to our advantage. Combine our forces and get out somehow. If we meet them on the way, fantastic. If we don¡¯t, well, too bad. They¡¯re¡­ good trainers, so they¡¯ll figure it out.¡± ¡°They¡¯re my friends,¡± I said. ¡°What if they¡¯re both alone out there, facing Pokemon like Nidoqueen? I need to make sure they¡¯re safe.¡± The trainer clicked his tongue. ¡°You won¡¯t change my mind, but feel free to dip when you¡¯re back to normal.¡± ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll do that then!¡± I spat. ¡°Be my guest.¡± I red at him and huffed. ¡°Larvitar,¡± I said before hearing her approach. ¡°This might not be the best moment for me to tell you this since I don¡¯t have the strength to even grab an empty Pokeball, but I think you shoulde with me.¡± ¡°Tar¡­¡± ¡°Frillish, please trante,¡± I said. ¡°Frillish. Lish.¡± The water type said, waving his tentacles and bobbing his head. ¡°You¡¯re not sure, huh?¡± I sighed. ¡°You want to try finding your parent? Well¡­ Feel free to think about it. I won¡¯t force you either way. Just know that we can be your family if you want to.¡± I didn¡¯t have the strength to tell her that her parent was dead. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Chase asked in disbelief. ¡°You understood that?¡± ¡°Obviously I did, he¡¯s been my Pokemon for months,¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Say¡­¡± I started hesitantly. ¡°When we were running up there, you froze up. Why?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your deal? Want me to just ask you personal questions out of the blue too?¡± ¡°I mean, I just know that you¡¯re not the type to freeze up when scared. You know that expression, fight, flight or freeze? You seem like a fighter to me, so I was wondering if I got it wrong.¡± ¡°Why does it matter to you what I am? Not like we¡¯re sticking together anyway, so you don¡¯t need to know about how I operate.¡± ¡°Would it kill you to be just slightly less of an asshole?¡± I hissed. ¡°Would it kill you to leave me the fuck alone?¡± ¡°Whatever, man,¡± I said. I wanted to say much more. To tell him to enjoy being a loner for the rest of his life. To fight him. But he was the one nursing me back to health. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to him after having helped me and my team stay alive. ¡°It¡¯d be better if we didn¡¯t talk, I think.¡± ¡°Uhuh.¡± Chase Karlson was like the worst aspects of Pauline and Louisbined. He snapped at the most minor infractions and pped back tenfold, but he also had an enormous ego to boot. At least with the other two, I had gained their respect. We had foundmon ground and be good friends, but him? I doubted that I¡¯d ever get along with Chase, even though I did consider him a rival of some sort. Less than Denzel and Cecilia were to me, but I had to acknowledge his skill as a trainer. He had gotten two badges and survived Mount Cor. I just wished I didn¡¯t have to spend all of this time with him. If it had been Denzel and Cece instead of him here¡­ no. I shook my head. These thoughts would only serve to deepen the metaphorical rift between us, and I had to do everything in my power to keep it closed. If we didn¡¯t have any teamwork, there was no way we¡¯d survive down here, especially without any potions. And things worse than that Nidoqueen wereing. I was sure of it.
Chapter 80 Chapter 80 CHAPTER 80 Stand still, stay silent. Denzel swallowed and kept . He blinked to get the cold sweat out of his eye and stared at Cecilia, who had turned off her shlight. Eevee was t against the ground with his ears twitching, ready to signal them at the slightest sound, and Budew was silently using Growth. Slowpoke simply stood by quietly, and so did Deino, although doing so was pissing him off. Luckily Cecilia seemed to hold the dragon on a tight leash these days, so he had no quarrels with listening to her orders. Denzel clenched and unclenched his fist before slowly peeking beyond the boulder they were hiding behind and toward theke. His heart jumped in his throat, and his stomach dropped again. A Gyarados was savagely tearing a Seaking apart and eating its remains. It was the fourth water type the monster had killed, and they were forced to stay here, hiding until the Gyarados finally decided it had had its fill. There was no way they could ever stand up to a Gyarados. Denzel had studied up on Craig Goodwill¡¯s team too much to even think they stood a chance at their current level. None of their attacks would get past its hardened scales or even tickle it. It had used an immensely powerful jet of water¡ª probably a Hydro Pump¡ª to cut the Seaking in half. That amount of water pressure was unsurmountable. Yet they could not run away from the undergroundke¡¯s shores either. There wasn¡¯t enough space for that, and even if there was, Gyarados would notice them without a doubt. Then there was also the fact that it could also hover and fly in the air. Not well, but it could. And so they hid, desperately clinging onto this rock for survival. Denzel winced as another wave of pain coursed through his body from the right side of his ribs, but he bit his lip to not make a sound. This cave was by far the worst thing Denzel had ever experienced. It served as yet another reminder that even though Pokemon could be befriended, they could also be powerful enough to cause untold amounts of damage. Luckily rangers usually nipped anything that strong in the bud, but this was an unexplored slice of Mount Cor that humanity probably had never set foot in, and the Pokemon here were ruthless because of it. Hopefully Grace is fine, he thought. No, she is fine. Another two minutes, and Denzel could no longer hear the Gyarados crushing Seaking¡¯s bones with its powerful jaw. He looked again, and it seemed to be gone, but he gestured at Cecilia to stay where she was. They¡¯d need to wait at least another ten minutes to make sure it wasn¡¯t bringing back another one of its kills to the surface to eat. Once he made sure that wasn¡¯t the case, he finally carefully stood up, making sure not to make any sudden movements to avoid hurting himself. There was nothing left in the water. Gyarados had eaten all of it, bones and all. They silently stepped as far away from the blood-stained water as they could, and Denzel could finally breathe again when they had gotten far enough away. ¡°Close one,¡± he said, trying to keep the mood up. He was fucking terrified. He wanted to curl up into a ball and cry for help. But there was no help, and Cecilia was in a terrible mental state. He stared back at her, and she didn¡¯t seem worried one bit. He smiled thinly. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d have to face these kinds of threats so early in my career, but I guess it¡¯s better if I get ¡®em out of the way now.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± Cecilia asked. Not at all, he thought. ¡°I¡¯ll deal. But let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s try to get back to what we were talking about. There¡¯s still a long way to that lit-up part of the cave,¡± he said, pointing forward. ¡°If you want.¡± Her answers were quick and devoid of any kind of tone. Lifeless. Denzel restrained himself from sighing. Grace was better at this stuff than he was. ¡°Um. You said that your death would stop us from ¡®immense suffering,¡¯¡± Denzel started hesitantly. ¡°I won¡¯t press you to ask what that suffering is, since you won¡¯t answer me, and you seemingly think that nothing can be done to help. But what about us? What about¡­ your Pokemon? Did you even ask them abouting here?¡± Denzel clenched his fist. Was that tone too aggressive? Too usatory? Should he rephrase? Apologize? Cecilia shook her head and looked away. ¡°The only one I told about this was Deino, at the foot of the mountain. Slowpoke didn¡¯t know about it, even though he put you to sleep, and Fletchinder would never have approved. Scyther might have,¡± she smiled. ¡°To get me killed.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Hm? Was that the only response I coulde up with? I¡¯m such a fucking dumbass, he screamed internally. ¡°Sorry,¡± Denzel apologized right away. ¡°Didn¡¯t know what to answer to that, which might be stupid because I asked the question.¡± ¡°No need. You apologize too much. No need to talk to me like you¡¯re walking around eggshells.¡± But how could he not? Denzel feared that any wrong sentence could cause her to just lose her will to live again¡ª ¡°I¡¯mmitted to getting out of this cave,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°You¡¯ve been trapped here because of me, so I have to help. I have to save Grace.¡± ¡°And then? What happens if¡ª when we get out?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Cecilia¡­¡± Denzel started. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Nevermind. Just know that no matter what it is you¡¯re facing, we will help you. We¡¯lle out of Mount Cor stronger than we ever were. Whatever they throw at us¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something you can face. You can¡¯t just throw a Hyper Beam at it and call it a day,¡± Cecilia said, raising her tone slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s not even talk about it. I don¡¯t want to think about it. I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Okay! I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m sorry,¡± Denzel grimaced. Suddenly, Eevee¡¯s ears twitched, and they all stopped. A Dreadnaw was staring at them, seemingly considering if it could take them or not. Deino let out a low growl, and his mouth started to glow blue with draconic energy. The water type yelled and walked into the water, letting them through. ¡°That went about as good as it could have,¡± he sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know those lived in Sinnoh.¡± One of the teenager¡¯s favorite things was information gathering about a route or area, its conditions, and its wildlife, but nothing could have prepared him for what he¡¯d be facing here. If he had to guess, however, dealing with a Dreadnaw would be simr to how Eevee had dealt with Gardenia¡¯s Grotle. Hemitted the idea to memory in case they needed itter. Always Double Kick in the belly, not anywhere else. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. Any second spent idling is a second Grace could be desperately needing our help.¡± Denzel nodded to agree, and they kept going. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lie down and take a break, but he had to push through. Soon enough, his legs would be numb, and the pain would fade, bing a dull ache instead. ¡°Cecilia,¡± Denzel said again. He was probably annoying her now, but he had to try. ¡°In your letter, you said we hadn¡¯t spent as much time together as you would have liked. When we get out of here, I want to remedy that. You also said you want to spend more time with Grace, right? She¡¯d be incredibly happy if you could.¡± Cecilia stared at theke in silence. Was he too insensitive? Could it be considered guilt-tripping? Had he stepped on a shell again? Better apologize to make sure¡ª ¡°I want to spend more time with her too,¡± she said, covering her eyes with her hands. ¡°With everyone. I want to continue on our journey together. I want us to realize our dreams.¡± Cecilia was sobbing now. Denzel exhaled and tapped her shoulder. ¡°So you want to do all of these things,¡± he said. At least he had confirmed that. She could still be brought back. ¡°Look, I know you told me not to talk about it, and that you wouldn¡¯t tell anyone, but I have to ask, and I¡¯m sorry,¡± he paused. ¡°If it puts us in danger, I¡¯m willing to take the hit. I won¡¯t tell anyone else, not even Grace. I promise you. Talking about it¡ª getting the weight off your shoulders will help. I won¡¯t say it¡¯ll make everything right, but it¡¯ll help.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ think about it.¡± That was progress, at least. Denzel smiled at her and nodded. They went through a few battles, defeating a Lairon, two Ryhorn, and a Graveler. They had been tough, but nothingpared to the Gyarados they had seen earlier. Eevee had mastered Double Kick so well that he made quick work of any rock or steel types, and he was supported by the others. Still, the problem was that they had no potions, so every hit their Pokemon took would weaken them until they rested. Which they probably should be doing, but Grace was alone out there. They¡¯d rest as soon as they found her. ¡°Hey, just spitballing and trying to lighten the mood a little,¡± Denzel started. ¡°Tell me if you want me to shut up, okay?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°How was your afternoon with Grace? Before everything went to shit, I mean.¡± The corner of Cecilia¡¯s mouth rose, which was a good sign. ¡°It was wonderful,¡± Cece said. ¡°I bought her clothes. She was so shy about it, too. It was very endearing. Then we went to eat at her favorite fast food restaurant¡­ I forgot the name¡ª¡± ¡°Arlyle¡¯s? Yeah, she loves that ce,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Took me there all the time when we were in Jubilife¡ª both times!¡± ¡°I never thought I¡¯d enjoy fast food out of all ces, but it was amazing! Then we went bowling, which was another riveting experience. The games were¡­ close, but she eventually won. And then she¡­ um¡­¡± ¡°Ah. Got to the hotel?¡± ¡°No. She revealed something to me that helped me find out something about myself, too,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Told you to keep it a secret?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure if she told you, so I¡¯d rather not say.¡± Denzel was pretty sure she either meant that Grace told her she was gay or she confessed. He was pretty good at reading between the lines, but on the off chance that he was wrong, he opted not to say anything else. ¡°To be honest, a part of myself was relieved when I heard her say it, but I was¡­ confused as well,¡± Cece said. ¡°I never thought I could¡­ I could¡­ it¡¯s hard to exin.¡± Hey, you¡¯re revealing way too much, Denzel smiled. It¡¯s so obvious now, you¡¯re not even hiding anything. ¡°Were you happy?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t at the time¡­ it came as such a shock, but now¡­ now that I had time to reflect, I feel incredibly happy about it. I just wish I had more time.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± She didn¡¯t answer. The trainer sighed. Another dead conversation, but maybe staying silent was the better idea. The attacks were growing more frequent after all, albeit the Pokemon were seemingly getting weaker. At least he could rest easy now that his job as a wingman was almost over. When they got back to civilization, all it¡¯d take was a slight push from him, and they¡¯d probably start dating. Arceus knew that Cecilia needed someone to love¡ª not love as friends, but love deeply. She had no family for that. Hopefully, Grace would help her stay afloat. Then again, emotional dependency wasn¡¯t great, but it sure as hell beat being suicidal. One step at a time¡ª A red eye stared at them from above. Denzel felt every hair on his body stand on edge, and he felt fear. It was primal. It was a fear that was all-consuming, filling his every thought and telling him to run. The eye made him feel vulnerable and exposed, as if it wasn¡¯t staring at him, but through him. Like it could understand and know everything about him in the mere seconds they had just crossed paths, and he was just a mere insect. Denzel¡¯s breaths grew short and shallow, his lungs pushing across his broken ribs. Dark visions filled his thoughts, and he saw himself die. Again. And again. And again. Once, his head detached from his body by psychic energy. Another time, his limbs unnaturally twisted and broken until they were ripped apart. Denzel screamed, but no sound came out. Instead, he fell on all fours, and dry heaved, his drool slowly dripping onto the ground. The rock type floated downward and let out a booming sound that echoed across the cave. Denzel¡¯s eye stared at it, but every time they met its eyes, he was transfixed with fear, unable to even think. Cece was in slightly better shape, but she too was gripped with terror and unmoving. Only their Pokemon seemed to be only slightly affected, and Deino seemed immune. Lunatone hovered over the ground, appraising them, but Deino stepped forward and sent a Dragon Breath toward the moon-like Pokemon. The blue draconic attack illuminated the entire cave and hit the rock type, who seemed barely hurt. That seemed to have set Lunatone off, as its eye shined and rocks all around them were crushed and gathered around the Pokemon. Budew hit it with Bullet Seed, still powered up from her Growth earlier, and Lunatone finally felt something, because it let out a sound that could only be described as an alien cacophony of deep, resonating booms and whistles. It was hurt. That was good news. That meant that Denzel hadn¡¯t beenpletely paralyzed by fear because it was just out of their league as Gyarados had been, but because it was an ability Lunatone had, no doubt powered by its psychic type. There was no time to grab his Pokedex to check. Lunatone let out an enraged, booming cry, and the sharpened rocks flew toward them. Slowpoke sprung to life and its eyes glowed pink, stopping the rocks that would have hit both Denzel and Cecilia. The others hit most of their Pokemon, although Eevee nimbly dodged. The boy panicked when he saw that one tore straight through Budew¡¯s bulb, but the grass type looked fine as long as it didn¡¯t hit her face directly. ¡°Budew,¡± Denzel breathed out, finally able to get a word out. ¡°Get behind Deino. His scales are tough enough to¡ª¡± Denzel was racked by visions of his death once more, and his entire body froze up and flew in the air. He tried opening his mouth, but everything was locked in ce. He couldn¡¯t even breathe. Denzel felt tears form in his eyes when he felt one of his arms start to twist. It was like that vision¡ª ¡°Deino, Slowpoke, save him!¡± Cecilia yelled, and they bothunched a Dragon Breath and a Water Pulse. Budew screeched as she attacked with another Bullet Seed. Eevee barked and leaped up from a rock, then onto his floating body and kicked Lunatone. Denzel dropped to the ground and sobbed as he gripped his arm. It was fine. It was fine. He was fine. He crawled away until his back reached a wall. They said your life shed before your eyes when you were about to die. Nothing had shed before his eyes. It had just been pure terror. ¡°Hit it again!¡± Cecilia yelled, before running toward Denzel. Lunatone ripped another set of rocks from the ground and sent them toward their Pokemon, but Eevee, Budew, and Slowpoke all hid behind Deino, who let out an enraged roar before readying his attack. ¡°Denzel! Denzel, look at me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fucking¡ª I can¡¯t. That fucker was about to kill me just like it showed me¡ª¡± Cecilia grabbed his head and stared into his eyes. ¡°Look at me! Is your arm okay?¡± A miniature moon appeared in front of Lunatone and flew at Deino, and the dragon type was actually hurt by it. ¡°It is. It hurts, but it¡¯s not broken.¡± ¡°Thank the Legendaries,¡± she sighed. ¡°We can beat it. Release your Buneary and I¡¯ll release Fletchinder. We have no choice.¡± Denzel winced. He hadn¡¯t released Buneary because he had no doubt she¡¯d be terrified of the cave, but he needed every Pokemon at his disposal to beat Lunatone, or at least convince it to leave. Denzel swallowed, clenching and unclenching his fists before grabbing Buneary¡¯s Pokeball. ¡°Good. You can do this, I¡¯m right here. Fletchinder will maneuver around it and harass it from the air,¡± Cecilia said. He nodded and released his Buneary just as Cecilia released her own Pokemon, and she began ordering Fletchinder. Denzel focused on Buneary, who was already trembling in fear. ¡°Listen,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know I said I¡¯d try not to take you out in Mount Cor, but I need you. I know it¡¯s scary¡ª I¡ª I know,¡± Denzel firmly said, staring into the rabbit¡¯s eyes. ¡°But I think we can do something, you and I.¡± Fletchinder sang, and it spat out an Ember toward Lunatone from afar, away from the range of its psychic powers. Lunatone let out an angry sound and sent sharp rocks toward the flying type, whose body loosened and dropped to the ground before stopping herself right before hitting it to avoid the barrage. Buneary gave him a shaky nod, and he caressed her ear. ¡°The gears are moving,¡± Denzel said as he shakily stood up. His legs felt like sticks. ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to coordinate with Eevee and Budew for this. Watch for my signal and give me a Quick Attack jump like you did against Gardenia¡¯s Hoppip.¡± Buneary followed him closer to the site of the battle. ¡°Budew,¡± Denzel said. She was still hiding behind Deino, and she stared at him, angry that her bulb had been torn away. ¡°I¡¯m going to throw you up to this Lunatone.¡± The grass type screeched in protest and mmed her small foot against the floor. ¡°You¡¯re going to Stun Spore midair, and Eevee, you¡¯re going to catch her on the way down. When it¡¯s frozen in the air from paralysis, Buneary and Eevee can give the finishing blow. Two Double Kicks.¡± Eevee agreed right away, and Budew finally did so as well, although reluctantly. ¡°You catch that, Cece? Tell Fletchinder to stay away.¡± The girl nodded and immediately gave the order just as Deino took another Moonst to the face. It was disconcerting how much damage the attack was actually dealing. Denzel had never seen Deino get tired so quickly, and he had only been hit by that twice. Denzel grabbed Budew, and Eevee immediately blurred forward, anticipating the arc that the grass type would take. Denzel waited for another Stone Edge to finish, and then threw Budew at Lunatone just at the right angle and strength. The grass type screeched and released glowing, yellow spores in the air as it passed next to Lunatone. The wild Pokemon¡¯s red eyes dimmed, and it began to stay still in the air. Deino hit it with another Dragon Breath, and Slowpoke another Water Pulse. Eevee jumped in the air, catching Budew with his mouth andnding gracefully. ¡°Now!¡± Denzel yelled. Buneary mmed her feet against the ground, creating a small crater and soaring through the air. Eevee jumped as well, slightly slower than she was, but that was ideal. Buneary mmed Lunatone with both of her ears, and Eevee did the same with his rear legs. The reason Eevee being slower was good was because they could both hit the same spot, one after another, and Lunatone¡¯s rocky surface cracked. The rock type tried to float away, but it copsed from exhaustion and the paralysis, crashing to the ground with a heavy impact. They had won. Denzel gripped his arm, still aching from Lunatone¡¯s twist. That had been close, but they hade out the victors. Budew waddled toward the Lunatone¡¯s unconscious body and kicked it. ¡°You¡¯re not dealing any damage,¡± Denzel smiled thinly. Smiling was good. Smiling helped him forget that his arm had been almost ripped away. ¡°But it¡¯s a funny sight nheless.¡± ¡°Bud!¡± She screeched. ¡°It¡¯ll regrow eventually,¡± Denzel said, looking at the missing top part of her body. ¡°Although it¡¯d be way faster in the sun.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± Cecilia asked with a worried look. ¡°No. I¡¯m not alright at all,¡± Denzel breathed out. ¡°I want to cry, to curl up into a ball, and to wake up from this nightmare. I don¡¯t want to die.¡± Do you know how many trainers die out there? Poor kids that get lost going through Mount Cor, or Eterna Forest? I don¡¯t want that to happen to you! The trainer¡¯s eyes widened as he recalled his mother¡¯s words on that day he had met Grace. He needed to¡­ he needed to call her when he got out of here. And tell her he loved her despite their differences. Denzel wiped away a tear from his eye and sniffled. He had told her speaking would feel better, and he was putting money where his mouth was. Crying felt good. ¡°You¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s good that you asked,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯m alright now, we have to keep pushing. Budew, I¡¯m recalling you so you can rest a little.¡± Budew screeched as he recalled her, but it was one of her good ones. ¡°I should tell you. I should tell you what Amy told me,¡± Cecilia said as she recalled Fletchinder. ¡°Feel free to. Like I said, if you don¡¯t want me to tell Grace, my lips are sealed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Grace when we find her¡­ thank you. It¡¯s not that telling you would put you in more danger than you are now, it¡¯s that I thought that you would all leave me if you found out. That you¡¯d be too scared to stick with me even if we somehow escaped.¡± ¡°But you¡ª¡± ¡°Wanted to die,¡± Cece said. ¡°I know. I wasn¡¯t¡­ I think I just wasn¡¯t thinking straight.¡± Wanted, Denzel thought. Progress. ¡°I knew my father to be evil, but I never thought him to be capable of finding my worst fear. Worse than dying,¡± she continued. ¡°But I suppose he does know me well enough for that.¡± ¡°Your worst fear?¡± ¡°What Amy told me was¡ª¡±
Chapter 81 Chapter 81 CHAPTER 81 ording to my Poketch, an entire day had passed since falling down to this level of the cave. Twenty-six hours to be exact. Yet it felt longer, especially since I was anxious about getting on the move again, and there was absolutely nothing to pass the time. The good news was that my cold, or whatever it was that I had, was getting better. My headaches were no longer as pronounced, although they were still debilitating, and I could at least move around now, albeit still painfully. I slowly inched my way up to my backpack, wincing and sucking air through my teeth from the pain. Togetic had her arms on my back, pushing me forward and hoping to help somewhat, but I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her it was doing nothing. ¡°Justy down,¡± Chase said. ¡°What¡¯re you even trying to do in such a pitiful state?¡± His tone irritated me. It was as if he was above me and deigned that I should even try to move. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to say it in such a shitty way,¡± I spat. ¡°My Pokemon need to eat.¡± ¡°Just sit down, I¡¯ll feed ¡®em. Hey, I¡¯m just gonna assume that I can feed mine too, since they haven¡¯t eaten anything.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I said. I disliked him, but his Pokemon were innocent. They had been wounded defending me, so I¡¯d be a terrible person to say no. I sat back down and took in short, shallow breaths. Just crawling had exhausted me. ¡°Sounds good,¡± he said before grabbing my bag. ¡°Frillish,¡± I called out. ¡°Come and eat.¡± The water type had been our lookout since Houndour was resting in his Pokeball. He spun around and quickly made his way toward me. Chase only had Riolu out now, and to be honest their dynamic was sometimes¡­ strange. Most of the time, it was a normal trainer-Pokemon rtionship that I¡¯d learn to expect from my time as a trainer, but sometimes, all of the sudden, the veil lifted it and revealed that Riolu was the one in charge. Not that I minded. At least Riolu seemed like a nice Pokemon who was nothing like Chase. ¡°Why¡¯s the ghost type eating? We should save for the Pokemon who actually need the food,¡± Chase said. ¡°He¡¯s been working the hardest out of anyone here. Give him a break.¡± ¡°Arceus, with you in charge, we¡¯ll have to keep our Pokemon in their balls so they don¡¯t starve in five days,¡± Chase said. ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s your stuff, not mine.¡± Yeah, you better, I thought with a frown. Chase took some canned kibble from my bag, and poured it into a metallic bowl. ¡°But I will say you¡¯re fucking dumb.¡± ¡°Shut your fucking mouth,¡± I hissed, and Elekidined loudly at Chase. Togetic cried out hesitantly, trying to lower the tension. ¡°Sorry, princess,¡± I sighed. ¡°Larvitar, wake up. It¡¯s time to eat.¡± The rock type got up from her curled-up position, shook her head wildly, and got into a fighting stance, waving her arms wildly. ¡°No fights,¡± I said. ¡°Food.¡± ¡°The dex says it can eat dirt¡ª¡± ¡°Chase, if you say anything more to me right now, I¡¯m going to go insane.¡± ¡°That makes two of us,¡± Chase said, passing a bowl to Riolu. ¡°Eat, but leave some for the others.¡± ¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s not even that much. You can feed him more.¡± ¡°Well, if you¡¯re going to feed your team frivolously like we¡¯re in an Arceus damned restaurant,¡± the trainer started. ¡°I¡¯d better start rationing for two.¡± I sighed. ¡°Fine. You were right, we should save food. Still, Frillish deserves a reward, so I¡¯ll give him some, and Larvitar should taste at least a little bit, but that¡¯ll be the exception. After that, we¡¯re rationing.¡± Chase raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you agreed. You seem like the emotional type,¡± he said as he poured more food into Riolu¡¯s bowl. The fighting type happily scarfed it down. ¡°So, a normal person, you mean?¡± I asked sarcastically, squinting as a new headache assaulted my senses. Chase seemingly saw that I was in pain and stopped himself from retorting, but he gave the rest of his team the same kibble. He passed some to Larvitar, who smiled and practically dove into the bowl after tasting it, causing me to smile. I interrupted when he passed it to Togetic, however. ¡°Not for her,¡± I said. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°What do you mean she doesn¡¯t like it?¡± He asked incredulously. ¡°Just give it to her anyway.¡± ¡°No. There¡¯s sliced-up Oran somewhere in there. That¡¯s her food. She¡¯s very picky,¡± I specified. Chase shook his head, looking at me like I was insane, and rolled his eyes, passing the kibble to Frillish instead. ¡°No!¡± I eximed. ¡°Not him either, he eats Mago berries. Give it to Elekid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have a stroke.¡± ¡°Just do what I say and call it a day! You¡¯re wasting time.¡± ¡°Wasting time, how? We¡¯re waiting for you to get better.¡± Elekid grabbed his food and wolfed it down, while Frillish and Togetic enjoyed their berries. I extended a hand toward angel, and he did the same to me, only with his vines instead. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re being left out,¡± I said. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll get you to eat one day.¡± He wriggled his vines and blinked twice, caressing my forearm. ¡°I¡¯m d you believe me. I don¡¯t make promises lightly!¡± I smiled. ¡°Enjoying your food, princess?¡± ¡°Toge!¡± She yelled. ¡°Shhh,¡± I said. ¡°Quietly. Don¡¯t be an Elekid.¡± ¡°Kid¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, that was uncalled for,¡± I said. ¡°Hey Togetic, remember how scared you were when we passed through Oreburgh gate? Our first cave? Look at you now. You¡¯re brave enough to go anywhere.¡± Togetic nodded and pped her hands¡ª quietly, after Frillish tapped her on the shoulder. Chase had gone to one of the corners of our ¡®hideout¡¯ to work out with Riolu, finally giving me some peace and quiet. Elekid finished up his food, and I called out to him. ¡°Honey,¡± I whispered as I beckoned. ¡°C¡¯mere.¡± Elekid strode up to me proudly. ¡°See Larvitar?¡± I said, looking at the lonely rock type. She was butting her horn against the wall, trying to damage it. ¡°She¡¯s shy, I think. Why don¡¯t you bring princess and get her ustomed to the group? I think you¡¯ll do good as a pair. Try to not overwhelm her¡ª¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± He said, pping a hand on his chest. ¡°Kid, kid, kid¡­¡± He carefully walked up to Larvitar, calling out Togetic on the way. She followed behind him, her head barely above his horns. Larvitar heard theme and turned toward them, eyeing Elekid suspiciously. The poor electric type had wanted to befriend her so bad, but right now, he was probably her least favorite Pokemon. If I had to guess, her favorite was either Tang or Frillish, but Frillish didn¡¯t really count. Hemanded respect from the entire team. Elekid hesitantly waved his arm around, and Togetic mimicked him. The electric type hurriedly told her something to the effect of ¡®we maybe got off on the wrong foot, let¡¯s start over,¡¯ but Larvitar frowned, hissing and lowering her horn. Elekid sighed and easily weaved to the side as she tried to run him through, and Tang stopped her from going too far with his vines. Togeticughed, mocking Elekid, who let out a sad groan. ¡°You tried,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll get through to her eventually. Hey Larvitar,¡± I called out. ¡°Tar!¡± She said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to sit alone all the time,¡± I told her. ¡°I know you want to appear strong, but try to get along with us. We¡¯re here for you. Elekid¡¯s the most outgoing Pokemon you¡¯ll ever meet, and Togetic¡¯s the friendliest. No need for all that¡­ ramming with your horn.¡± Larvitar rxed slightly, approaching angel and me. She didn¡¯t seem to mind me whatsoever, at the very least, which made sense since she let me carry her. I saw a hint of a smile as Tang rubbed her with a vine. ¡°Angel¡¯s the one you like, huh?¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re shy, but you¡¯re pretty open with him.¡± She huffed¡ª imitating Frillish, and settled next to Tang. Togetic sat on myp, and I pet her back, and Elekid slowly inched his way to Larvitar to see how close he could get without provoking her. Frillish, meanwhile, went back to observation duty. He really needed a break when we got out of here. I don¡¯t know when, but I eventually drifted off to sleep. ¡ª¡ª I woke up screaming until there was no more air in my lungs. Chase was hitting my shoulder, and my Pokemon were all looking at me with worried gazes. It had been another nightmare. Another vision of Mars and Dusknoir. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?!¡± Chase hissed. ¡°You scream like an Arceus damned Loudred. You must have alerted everything remotely close to us, we have to move.¡± I had been foolish, falling asleep like that without telling Togetic to use her powers. But a part of me hated still being shackled by Mars and what she had done to me. When would I ever be free from her? When? ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said as I struggled to my feet. He pulled me up with more strength than was necessary. ¡°I have nightmare problems. Don¡¯t ask.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to. I already packed up everything while you were sleeping, are you good to walk?¡± ¡°I think so¡­¡± I breathed out before taking a step. ¡°I can¡¯t run.¡± ¡°Better than nothing. Let¡¯s get a move on,¡± he said, clicking his tongue and releasing Houndour. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. Help Frillish look out for any danger. Ri, you¡¯re with me in front.¡± We made it about thirty seconds until the ground shook all around us. For a second, I felt dread trickle down my spine, believing another Pokemon was going to open up another chasm for us to fall into, but that wasn¡¯t what we were facing. It was arguably worse. We could escape from a hole opening up in the ground¡ª if Chase held me and pulled me along, I could maybe push myself and run. Hell, he might have been able to carry me, even. Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t run away from this. An Onix tunneled through the wall, and chunks of rocks and rubble flew everywhere around us. Togetic used Extrasensory to stop most of the rocks, and the others were blown apart by Tang¡¯s Vine Whip or Frillish¡¯s Bubblebeam. The Onix¡¯s body was chipped, deformed, and scarred¡ª a sign that it was old and had lived through many battles. The rock type¡¯s eyes locked onto us, and it let out a low growl that shook me internally and reverberated throughout the room. It was as big as a freight train¡ª and bigger than Roark¡¯s by a slight margin. ¡°Well, let¡¯s fucking do this then,¡± Chase said. ¡°Riolu, get its eyes.¡± Chase¡¯s confidence snapped me out of my fear-induced daze, and I audibly gulped. ¡°A¡ªangel, Leech Seed!¡± Tang whipped his vines, and a seed flew onto the huge Onix, and thorny vines wrapped around him, seemingly adapting to its size. The rock type surged forward, its body sorge that we couldn¡¯t hope to dodge. Riolu blurred onwards, rushing toward the Onix, and Frillish hit it with a Water Pulse. ¡°Angel, your vines! Togetic, Extrasensory!¡± I screamed. Tang extended a dozen vines toward the Onix, and Togetic¡¯s eyes shone brightly as she altered the biggest area she had ever done around the ground type. Extrasensory couldn¡¯t ever hope to stop a monster as big as Onix, but it slowed him slightly, and that was enough for Tang to alter its path. The Onix¡¯s body mmed on the ground to our right, and Elekid hit debris away from me with Ice Punch. Riolu used the opportunity to climb onto the Onix¡¯s body, but the rock type wasn¡¯t down for long, and it quickly started to roll toward us. ¡°Slow it!¡± Chase yelled at me. ¡°Riolu¡¯ll get it!¡± I nodded and ordered Tang to Vine Whip it, along with Togetic using Fairy Wind and Extrasensory to slow it as long as possible. I doubted a Pokemon that powerful would ever be affected by Sweet Kiss, so I didn¡¯t even bother wasting time issuing themand. Every second was precious, and a move ordered at the wrong time could be the difference between life and death. Tang extended more vines and pushed against the Onix with all he could, leaving me time to get away, and Riolu navigated toward the Onix¡¯s head with incredible agility. A bone grew out of his hand, and he rammed it right into Onix¡¯s eyes. The rock type let out a booming cry full of agony and anger, and began thrashing around, causing the ground the shake once more. Riolu jumped back toward Onix¡¯s body, grew another bone, and rammed it in between its segments, holding on for dear life. All while this was happening, Frillish kept hammering at Onix with water type attacks, and Houndour used Incinerate with very little effect. Still, any attack thatnded was another step toward convincing Onix that we weren¡¯t worth the trouble, even if I had angered it with my scream. Onix jerked its head, finally throwing Riolu off, and snaked toward us again. Tang¡¯s vines were growing thin, and Frillish¡¯s attacks, who were the best we had against Onix, were hurting it, but it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Togetic was already exhausted from having even slowed such arge Pokemon for so long, and even though he had Ice Punch, Elekid couldn¡¯t do anything lest he get crushed to death by the rock type. He was fast, but nowhere near as agile as Riolu was. I felt my throat close up. Onix was a few seconds away now. Would it be painful? I was leaving so many people and Pokemon behind. Would my team be able to escape¡ª A stream of draconic energy traveled down the Onix¡¯s open mouth, causing it to writhe around and divert its path into a wall, and then seeds flew at high speeds, hitting all along the rock type¡¯s body. A Water Pulse that wasn¡¯t Frillish¡¯s hit its head, and when Onix tried to go toward us again, it was surrounded by a Confusion and stopped for a few seconds, leaving Chase enough time to drag me away again. These attacks. It could only be¡ª ¡°Dragon Breath again,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Eevee, Buneary, stand back. Budew, keep Bullet Seeding.¡± My heart swelled with relief and joy, but the battle wasn¡¯t over yet. Onix was feeling the heat now. Four trainers and their Pokemon were finally enough to make it feel the pain. Togetic¡¯s job had been relegated to Slowpoke, but she still helped with Fairy Winds whenever she could, and Tang¡¯s Leech Seed was pulling its weight. Deino roared out another Dragon Breath, hitting the same spot as Houndour¡¯s incinerate and charring Onix¡¯s nk, causing the stones to turn red hot. Riolu was back on its feet, hitting the wild Pokemon with Force Palms and Bone Rushes wherever he could. Houndour whined, and Chase¡¯s head turned toward the fire type as light surrounded him. His body shook and convulsed, growing more than twice its original size. The skull on his head split, turning into curved horns, and his tail grew thinner and longer. Chase grinned. He had a Houndoom now. ¡°Incinerate! Give it everything you¡¯ve got!¡± Houndoom let out an eerie howl before spitting out white-hot mes toward the Onix. The rock type¡¯s body caught fire somehow, and it screamed out in pain, making me cover my ears. The fire wasn¡¯t going out, it was spreading, burning away Tang¡¯s Leech Seed. Riolu jumped off Onix¡¯s body in the nick of time, and the ground type finally ran off toward the darker side of the cave. I turned toward Cecilia and Denzel, who both ran toward me and hugged me so tightly that I thought I would asphyxiate. ¡°I was so scared,¡± Cecilia cried. I hugged them back. ¡°I was¡ª I thought¡ª the only thing that kept me going was me thinking you were alive.¡± ¡°I was scared too,¡± I sobbed. ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re both safe. I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s back together,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Now let¡¯s find a way out of this hellhole.¡± I nodded and wiped Cecilia¡¯s tears away. Right now, for this single moment, in the depths of Mount Cor where every Pokemon wanted us dead, everything was right again.
Chapter 82 – The Whole Truth Chapter 82 ¨C The Whole Truth Announcement Today''s chapter is early because I won''t be at myputer during my normal posting time CHAPTER 82 - The Whole Truth Seeing that Cecilia and Denzel were safe and sound had filled a hole in my heart I hadn¡¯t quite realized was there. I was whole again. Full. With teary eyes, I hugged them again for good measure. Eevee jumped on my shoulder and licked my cheek, and Togetic grabbed at Denzel¡¯s hair. ¡°I missed you too, little guy,¡± I told Eevee. ¡°Is everyone fine? Denzel, you look like you¡­¡± ¡°Like I was hit by a truck?¡± He chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I know. I think I cracked a few ribs or something. I can handle it, I think. If I don¡¯t think about the pain, it bes a dull ache.¡± ¡°More importantly, what about you?¡± Cece asked, holding my arm tightly. ¡°You look pale, Grace. You need to rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll rest when we''re further away from here,¡± I sighed. ¡°Wild Pokemon will probably be swarming here after all this noise.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Chase spoke up for the first time. Even now, he kept his distance. ¡°Scavengers will be hoping to get a quick meal from whatever fought that Onix¡ª which in this case is us. We need to leave.¡± We all agreed, some more reluctantly than others, and started moving. It was my first time walking with this many Pokemon out at once. We all almost had our entire teams out, but I supposed a show of force was what was needed to dissuade potential attackers, especially in this well-lit part of the cave where tracking everyone wouldn¡¯t be confusing. I used the opportunity to introduce Larvitar to my friends, but the rock type didn¡¯t seem to like them one bit, and she especially seemed to dislike Budew. She walked closely behind my legs, reminding me of Togetic when she had been a Togepi. ¡°I hope he wasn¡¯t too harsh with you,¡± Cece whispered to me as she nodded toward Chase. His limp was better now and barely noticeable. ¡°He was nice enough, all things considered,¡± I said, deciding to omit the times when he had definitely gotten on my nerves. ¡°Protected me when I was passed out¡ª¡± ¡°You were what?¡± ¡°I, uh, passed out, and he found me just in time. He took care of me and nursed me back to health¡ª if you can call my state healthy, I guess. We didn¡¯t talk much, though.¡± And he saved your life as well, I thought. ¡°Very well,¡± she said after pausing, clearly burying the matter. ¡°I missed you.¡± I turned my head away slightly as I felt my face heat up. ¡°I missed you too.¡± Cecilia seemed to be in good spirits, which surprised me. Her state now and back at the top of the cave was like night and day, but I didn¡¯t want to step on her toes and ask her tough questions. ¡°How did you and Denzel find each other?¡± I decided to ask. ¡°We fell at the same spot, into an undergroundke,¡± she said. ¡°We were together from the start.¡± I looked at my best friend, who was leading the group and talking to his Buneary. He must have talked to her and cheered her up somehow. I¡¯d need to thank himter. ¡°And Grace¡­ I¡¯m sorry for putting you through this. All of you. The only reason we¡¯re in this situation is my fault. I don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll ever atone¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re the victim! Your father and Amy, they¡¯re the ones who I¡¯m ming.¡± ¡°I still feel guilty.¡± ¡°Well, we can talk you through that,¡± I said softly. ¡°I promise you, none of us ever med you for even a second.¡± Cece bowed her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I did to deserve you and everyone else.¡± ¡°You were a good person and a good friend. Kindness rewards kindness.¡± I almost froze when I felt her fingers intertwine with mine. It was cold, but her hand felt hot on my skin. She held my hand tightly. ¡°I must tell you something when we get out of this cave,¡± she said, practically whispering in my ear. ¡°Okay,¡± I swallowed. We walked another two hours before finally deciding to take a break. There were a few fights on the way, but nothing as threatening as Onix had been, and our entire arsenal was far enough to deal with anything. Still, ourck of potions was being felt. Tang, Eevee, Riolu, Elekid, and even Deino had to be recalled into their Pokeballs from taking so many hits, which was a part of why we had stopped so soon in the first ce after finding a good, defensible spot. It was like a miniature cave. An indentation into a wall that we had decided would be perfect for protecting ourselves from threats. Cecilia and Denzel had forced me to stay down while they prepared dinner. Well, prepare dinner was a bit of an exaggeration. It was salted crackers and water, but I supposed it was better than nothing. Denzel and Cece sat next to me, and Chase leaned against one of the walls of the cave, his Houndoom lying down closeby and watching out for any threats along with Frillish. Riolu was out of his ball again, as Chase was seemingly ufortable without him there, or at least that was my hypothesis. ¡°So,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°It¡¯s about time we start nning how to get the fuck out of here.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Chase nodded. ¡°Where did you guyse from?¡± ¡°Further up the cave¡ª there was ake, and it was just as dark as it was at the top level. I¡¯m a bit surprised at how bright everything is here,¡± Denzel said, staring up at the crystals. ¡°It took us¡­ a day and a half to get to you? Yeah, I think that¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°Slightly more than that,¡± Cece specified. ¡°But I did notice one thing on the way here.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Chase asked in an impatient tone. ¡°The Pokemon here are weaker than where we came from,¡± she said. My eyes bulged. Stronger Pokemon than that Onix? ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°Faced some crazy shit on our way here, but as we got closer it got more and more manageable.¡± ¡°Well damn,¡± Chase grinned. ¡°I might have underestimated you, Williams.¡± Denzel rolled his eyes and continued. ¡°But does that mean anything?¡± ¡°Just a theory I have,¡± Cece said. ¡°On the upper floor, the deeper into the mountain one gets, the tougher the wild Pokemon be, right?¡± I mmed a fist into my palm. ¡°Ah, yeah, I see where you¡¯reing from. You¡¯re saying we need to head deeper into the crystalized area.¡± She nodded. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the best working theory we have, so I won¡¯tin,¡± Chase said. ¡°Still, what¡¯d you face that was so tough? I¡¯m curious.¡± Denzel¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t feel like telling.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, calm down, brother,¡± Chase said. Riolu stomped a foot on his shoe. ¡°Ow, fuck! Arceus, sorry! Ok, so we go back from the way Pastel and I wereing from, then?¡± I frowned. ¡°This is starting to make more and more sense,¡± I said slowly. ¡°When I had just fallen down, I remember thinking that Pokemon here were way too weak for being this deep into Mount Cor¡ª or at least I thought it was deep. That means that I should have fallen the closest to the exit,¡± I finished, feeling renewed hope. Getting out was bing more and more of a reality. ¡°We don¡¯t know where we¡¯ll get out, or if the exit will even be essible, but it should be there,¡± Denzel said. ¡°In theory,¡± Cece added. ¡°Let us not get our hopes up. That¡¯ll only make the disappointment that much more potent.¡± We settled down after hearing her words. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work,¡± I said. ¡°What else do we got? I want all of our bases covered.¡± ¡°We can try finding that chasm that Tyranitar opened up,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Climb up, somehow, maybe?¡± ¡°Not possible,¡± Chase dered, crossing his arms. ¡°Mount Cor is an affront to anything logical. I doubt we¡¯ll ever be able to find that hole again.¡± ¡°Damn it,¡± I groaned. ¡°He¡¯s right. I was¡­ stuck in a certain area for at least twenty minutes. I kept walking forward, but the cave kept bringing me back to where I had just been, just like¡ª¡± ¡°That mansion in Eterna Forest,¡± Cecepleted my sentence. ¡°Mansion?¡± Chase frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about making some snarkyment,¡± I warned. ¡°It was abandoned, and it was a terrible time. Either way, the cave can do the same thing that Mismagius did, or at least some form of it, which means we might not even be able to reach this theoretical exit in the first ce.¡± ¡°How much food you got, Williams?¡± Chase asked. ¡°Enough for, like, a week, I think, both for us and the Pokemon. We couldn¡¯t pack that much, we had to hurry.¡± ¡°Right, right, you were saving her ass,¡± he said, nodding toward Cece. ¡°Pastel has the same amount as you, then?¡± ¡°Slightly less,¡± I winced. ¡°I was so stressed out that I was barely thinking when I packed.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Cece said. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize,¡± Both Denzel and I interjected at the same time. ¡°Okay, so we have what, less than two weeks left? Maybe more if we ration like I already told Pastel. If we don¡¯t get out by then, we¡¯re dead.¡± The straightforwardness of his statement washed over me like cold water. ¡°Could have used a bit more tact,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But yes, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Actually, we¡¯re probably even more fucked than I thought,¡± Chase continued after a pause. ¡°If we get out, we¡¯ll probably end up somewhere off-route in the middle of nowhere, with no reception or anything to guide us. We have less than two weeks. We¡¯re on borrowed time, and even though I wouldn¡¯t be against eating wild Pokemon, nothing down here is even edible.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t eat any Pokemon or kill them,¡± I said firmly. ¡°Keeping to your ideals even though that¡¯ll get you killed,¡± Chase smiled at me. ¡°Dumb as hell. But I respect that, Pastel.¡± Denzel shook his head. ¡°We won¡¯t need to consider that choice in the first ce¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± he interrupted. ¡°Positiveness for the sake of positiveness is fucking stupid. Quit it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to be negative either,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Why? We were already all thinking about it. And if you weren¡¯t, well, you¡¯d have to eventually, down the line. It¡¯s better toe to terms with the choice now.¡± Denzel was about to retort, but he just groaned and turned away, conceding the argument. I finished my ¡®dinner¡¯ in peace, and when Cecilia went to pee further along the cave, apanied by her Pokemon, I used the opportunity to talk to Denzel. ¡°Hey,¡± I said. ¡°How is Cece? She gives me the impression of being better, but how is she really?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡­ she has a lot on her te, but she¡¯s managing,¡± he said. ¡°I managed to pull her up from the depths when we were together, and now that she¡¯s seen you, it¡¯s like she¡¯s soaring.¡± ¡°Thank you for helping her,¡± I said. ¡°But she was happy to see both of us.¡± ¡°Yes, but she was especially happy to see you,¡± he said. I rolled my eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t believe me? I think you¡¯d be surprised at how close you are to dating already. You should probably just shoot your shot. If you don¡¯t, there¡¯ll be what, months of this will they won¡¯t they bullshit? Just get on with it already.¡± ¡°Wait, they aren¡¯t dating already?¡± Chase said. ¡°What was with all the hugging and the handholding and the whispering together then?¡± ¡°Quiet down,¡± I hissed. ¡°No one was talking to you.¡± ¡°Fuck you too, Pastel.¡± ¡°See what I¡¯m talking about? Even he thought you were together. Just say something, I promise you it¡¯ll work out.¡± ¡°Now¡¯s not the time,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll do itter.¡± ¡°If I was in love with someone and we were in the middle of a cave where we might die any minute, I¡¯d probably say something now,¡± Chase shrugged. ¡°Granted, I think romance is a waste of time in general.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± I hissed. ¡°If you say anything to her, I will kill you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, I¡¯m the better trainer. I toughened up a lot since our battle, and you still owe me a rematch. I¡¯ll wipe the floor with you next time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m making you my rival whether you want it or not.¡± I entertained his idea, happy that the conversation had steered away from Cecilia, who returned a few minutester. She sat down next to me again. Denzel started grooming Buneary¡¯s fur with his brush¡ª something that he had picked up from Emilia. He would have done it to Eevee too, but the normal type was still resting in his ball. Larvitar was ying with Togetic, chasing her around and trying to jump at her. Unfortunately, she was heavy and couldn¡¯t get off the ground that well, but Togetic still gave her hope, oftening down just slightly enough to be almost in her range. Chase was sitting next to Houndoom, basking in his heat. The fire type¡¯s new strength meant that his heat radiated much farther, and Riolu was dozing off against him. Cece and I werefortably sitting on a sleeping bag. My illness was seemingly almost gone, having strangely disappeared as fast as it hade. Maybe the stress I no longer felt was a factor. ¡°Are you not tired?¡± Cecilia asked me. ¡°A little,¡± I answered. ¡°I¡¯m scared to sleep, even with Togetic here to help.¡± ¡°Your nightmares?¡± ¡°Hmhm. I had one earlier¡ª that¡¯s what provoked the Onix to attack us,¡± I said. ¡°I wish I could help you somehow,¡± she sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll ever go away, to be honest. Maybe if¡ª when Mars is finally arrested and put behind bars for good, but I doubt it.¡± Cecilia ced a hand on my head and pushed it down to herp. I almost choked, not finding any words to say. She began stroking my hair gently. ¡°Is this okay?¡± She asked. ¡°Y¡ªy¡ªof course! It is!¡± I stuttered. ¡°My father might believe us to be stranded or dead, but when we get out of this cave and we return to civilization, we¡¯ll be back on his radar. If I was naive, I would have said that me wanting to die in Mount Cor would have scared him off, but I know he¡¯ll only redouble his efforts.¡± ¡°Uhuh,¡± I said, barely able to breathe. Still, I paid attention to every word, even though it was very difficult. She looked down at me and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m ready to tell you what he threatened me with,¡± she said quietly enough so Chase wouldn¡¯t hear. ¡°I already told Denzel. But you have to promise me not to panic.¡± ¡°Obviously, I won¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what it is.¡± ¡°My father is an evil man, but he knows me well,¡± she began, still stroking my hair. ¡°He knows what I yearn for the most. Freedom. And so he knows my biggest fear.¡± ¡°Losing that freedom?¡± I asked. ¡°Worse than that. Bing a mindless puppet,¡± Cecilia said. She paused for a few seconds before continuing. ¡°He hired a trainer with¡­ a Mmar.¡± I held back a gasp. Mmar was a Pokemon synonymous with mind control. I believed that no Pokemon was inherently evil, but trainers with Mmar tended to air on the criminal side of things, which gave the Pokemon a terrible reputation through no fault of its own. ¡°And I assume your dad can skirt around thews about mind control, since he¡¯s rich.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Why did you think that would make me freak out?¡± I asked. Her hands stopped. ¡°If he can control my mind, he can control all of yours, too,¡± she said, avoiding my eyes. ¡°To me, that¡¯s a fate worse than death itself. But that wasn¡¯t all. Amy told me that my father had already flown to Sinnoh with her¡ª although he was still in Jubilife¡ª and that the trainer with Mmar was already in Eterna city.¡± I held my breath. That was why her reaction had been so sudden. To her, it seemed like the enemy had already been at the gates. ¡°So she was essentially telling you to surrender right now,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°And if I somehow ran away, he¡¯d cut off ess to all of my money and everyone else¡¯s until I came back. Still, I¡¯ve decided to hope for the best instead of giving up,¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°My situation is like a double-edged sword. There¡¯s the potential to live my life and be the happiest I¡¯ve ever been, but I could also fall under Mmar¡¯s influence and never think for myself again.¡± ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s protections against that kind of stuff, right?¡± I tried. ¡°We have a bunch of psychic types. You can shield your mind, or something.¡± I remembered vaguely hearing that League members with important information always had mental shields on them put by Lucian¡¯s team, but they had to be renewed every few weeks. Protecting yourself against mind control was easier than protecting yourself against memory extraction, however. That was almost impossible, although I was sure that the League had some countermeasures. Memory extraction was like metaphorically grabbing a hammer and smashing it against your brain. It was traumatic, brutal, and could leave someone crippled for life. Mind control, however, required finesse. It was extremely difficult, and only Mmar or Beheyeem could do it with rtive ease, but shielding against it was possible with enough practice. ¡°It takes years for a psychic to learn. I don¡¯t have years, and I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start. Plus, I¡¯d have no more money, so hiring someone¡ª either a teacher to teach me or a psychic expert to do the job¡ª would be impossible.¡± ¡°How long does it take for Mmar to take control of someone?¡± I asked. ¡°Can we beat it before then?¡± ¡°The trainer my father hired is a well-known criminal in Unova. He calls himself Abel. He was a trainer that went rogue after realizing how powerful he could get once his Inkay evolved, and he¡¯s been avoiding authorities for years. League authorities.¡± ¡°Which means he¡¯s way more powerful than us.¡± ¡°And he has more Pokemon than Mmar. Probably more than six, since he isn¡¯t beholden by the rules, but that remains a theory.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ okay,¡± I said, taking a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out, I just need to think for a bit.¡± The biggest priority was preventing the mind control from ever happening. That meant that we either needed a way to knock out Mmar quickly, or just stay under the radar until we could. But if Cece got captured, it¡¯d be over, so taking too much risk was off the table too. Would Mmar¡¯s mind control procedure be interrupted if it was hurt badly enough? If we focused all of our attacks on it, we could possibly make that happen. I¡¯d need to look this guy up when we got ess to the inte again. There was also the possibility of just staying undercover somewhere. That meant no more gym battles and probably staying holed up in a Pokemon Center, avoiding any attention. Cece¡¯s safety was more important. If one person took a picture of her and exposed her being alive, it would be over. It hurt to say, but there was always next year. It was safe to say that Eterna city was crawling with her father¡¯s agents already, along with Abel, so going back there wasn¡¯t an option, but Celestic could be a good alternative. It was rather isted from the rest of the region. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t choose where we woulde out from. And there was also the fact that our friend¡¯s phones might have been seized and bugged, so we wouldn¡¯t even be able to call them to confirm that we were safe¡ª I felt a hand caress my cheek, snapping me out of my thoughts. ¡°Your face is wrought with worry,¡± Cece whispered. ¡°I hate that you work yourself so hard for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to find a solution,¡± I said. ¡°And I will.¡± ¡°My heart is beating so quickly it hurts,¡± Cece started. ¡°My time with free will might be limited,¡± she said before pausing. ¡°So I¡¯ve decided to make the most of it and take a leap of faith. I won¡¯t wait until we get out of Mount Cor after all. Tell me if you want me to stop.¡± Huh? Cecilia leaned down and slowly brought my face toward hers until our lips met. My eyes fluttered in surprise, and I let out a soft sigh, giving into her as excitement and happiness swelled and buzzed inside of me. Her lips were dry, and the kiss was short, but it still felt amazing. When we parted, she looked at me, still cupping my cheek. Even in the dark, not having showered in days and being what most people would consider unkempt, she was still gorgeous. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m in love with you,¡± she said, panting slightly.
Chapter 83 Chapter 83 CHAPTER 83 My eyes widened, and I tried to respond, but it was like I had a foot in my mouth. My heart danced in my chest, my head was still buzzing, and I still felt the shape of her lips on mine. Her lips had been on mine. ¡°I¡ª yes!¡± I managed to get out. ¡°Yes? Do you feel the same way?¡± She asked. ¡°Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!¡± I said. My face felt dangerously hot. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to pass out.¡± Cece smiled, and I felt her hands trace down toward mine. I stared back at Denzel and Chase, who were acting like they couldn¡¯t see anything. I hadpletely forgotten they were still there. ¡°I¡¯m so happy,¡± she giggled. Iughed in turn, and she ced her forehead against mine. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear you say it.¡± ¡°I love you,¡± I stammered. ¡°Please date me.¡± ¡°I thought I was the one asking,¡± she smiled. ¡°I suppose we¡¯re officially together then.¡± ¡°Hmhm,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ dating. You¡¯re my girlfriend.¡± We both giggled again, and euphoria enveloped mepletely. It was like we were the only people in the world, and all of our worries about the challenges ahead had disappeared. Unfortunately, the blissful ignorance could onlyst for the night, and tomorrow came faster than expected. With all of the excitement, I had barely slept, but at least that meant that I could be of help keeping an eye out, and Frillish kept mepany. I opened my Poketch and saw that it was seven in the morning. The damn thing was already at thirty percent battery, and I needed to save some if I was going to call or message someone when we got out, but that was still a big if. Denzel surprisingly woke up first and gave me a thumbs-up while wiggling his eyebrows. I stuck my tongue out in response. Yeah, he had told me that Cece liked me literally minutes before she kissed me, but he didn¡¯t need to rub it in my face! Chase and Cecilia were up soon after. ¡°Mornin¡¯,¡± I told everyone. ¡°Hope you slept ok,¡± I said to Cece. ¡°Better than I had in a long time,¡± she said. ¡°You?¡± ¡°So and so,¡± I replied. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and questions swam in my mind. Would it be appropriate to kiss her good morning? Was that too forward? I wanted to, but I hadn¡¯t even brushed my teeth yet! Okay, I needed to do that, but maybe a light peck would be okay?. I grabbed my toothbrush andzily started brushing. I was finally settling down again. I needed to think about getting out of here first and foremost, not the etiquette of kissing! That would be best saved forter. ¡°Enough dilly-dallying,¡± Chase dered. ¡°Let¡¯s get the fuck out of here.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°That¡¯s right, keep it away!¡± I told Tang, who was finally rested up enough to be used in battle. The grass type mmed two vines against the Excadrill¡¯s chest in quick session, staggering it. Excadrill spun around and jumped into the ground. ¡°It¡¯sing!¡± Denzel yelled. ¡°Houndoom, now!¡± Chase ordered. The dark type barked, jumping from the shadows and spitting out a vicious Incinerate in the hole Excadrill had left. The ground type screamed and was forced to tunnel up to escape the mes, ending up right in front of Tang. Multiple Water Pulses and a Bullet Seed hit it, and angel once again hit it with a Vine Whip, but the mes started spreading onto his vine and toward his main body. ¡°Get it off of you!¡± I said, feeling a surge of panic. He shivered and detached his vine from his body, and I watched it writhe on the ground like it was a living thing. Excadrill copsed, and the fire on it was still burning, which was apparently a new thing, and incredibly dangerous, since the newly evolved Pokemon had no idea how to control it yet. I ordered Frillish to spray the ground type with as much water as he could, and after a lot of attempts and cooperation from Houndoum, the mes finally went out. Not only was the fire incredibly hard to extinguish, but ording to the Pokedex, they¡¯d also hurt a Pokemon for months or years after the fact since Houndoom didn¡¯t know how to hold back yet. I felt awful for the Excadrill, but it had attacked us first. ¡°That¡¯s going to get a Pokemon killed,¡± I said. ¡°Motherfucker shouldn¡¯t have attacked us then,¡± Chase shrugged. ¡°Good job, Houndoom. Sorry about your grass type, Pastel.¡± I rolled my eyes at him. We¡¯d been traveling for eight more days, and what I noticed was that Chase¡¯s Pokemon were packing a serious punch. Houndoom was definitely his most powerful now that he had evolved, but Riolu was the one who always helped the most by distracting the bulky rock types. Even though Zangoose wasn¡¯t doing much, her Metal w couldn¡¯t be underestimated either, and Charjabug¡¯s String Shot helped a bunch to lock the lessrge Pokemon down. Ideas swarmed my head, and I was subconsciously crafting different scenarios I¡¯d use to beat him¡ª even though I had refused to call him my rival. I¡¯d need to start up training again when we got out of here, especially if we were ever going to stand up to this Abel guy. Wait. This whole experience through Mount Cor was technically training. I had also developed a fighting strategy to take down the wild Pokemon here with Denzel¡¯s input, and it was working wonders. Since we had no potions left, we¡¯d have Tang, and Slowpoke, who could restrain a Pokemon at a distance, and Riolu, who could distract them and easily dodge their attacks as our vanguards while we sted them with everything we had. Our hit rate had gone down drastically now that we had a concrete n in ce, and that meant our progress was faster, especially since the wild Pokemon were getting weaker. Still, they weren¡¯t actually weak. They were definitely stronger than the ones we had faced in Eterna forest. We were simply more organized and had a working strategy this time, along with just being better trainers. ¡°I won¡¯t lose any sleep over wild Pokemon dying because of us,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But I¡¯d like to avoid it. Plus, you¡¯ll have to teach him how to control it if you ever n on using him on gym battles.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t remember asking for your input,¡± Chase spat. ¡°Let¡¯s stop wasting time and keep going. The less time we waste here, the better our odds are of surviving when we get out.¡± ¡°Would it kill you to be nice for a change?¡± I said. ¡°Yes.¡± I frowned at the unexpected answer. I had, unfortunately, overestimated Chase. The truth was, I had really expected him to warm up to us somewhat due to our shared terrible circumstances, and I thought he was, but he had been getting worse these past few days. The cave was getting on his nerves. Sometimes, he¡¯d stay quiet, which was more than I could ever ask for, or apologize when Riolu asked for it. Still, I begrudgingly respected his skill as a trainer, even though I disliked how he treated his Pokemon like he was in the damned military. Even down in the cave, he didn¡¯t forego their intense training, and apparently, it was a softer workout than what they usually did. ¡°Pay him no mind, Grace,¡± Cece said. ¡°You can¡¯t reason with the unreasonable.¡± ¡°I thought that too, but¡­ I¡¯d like to at least give him a chance,¡± I whispered to her. ¡°He looks like he¡¯s hurting. Emotionally, I mean.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too nice,¡± she smiled. ¡°That¡¯s why I love you.¡± I blushed at the unexpected affection and grabbed her hand. The words felt so good they made me feel light-headed. ¡°I¡¯m just good at noticing the small stuff,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s like he¡¯s anxious. More anxious than a guy like him ought to be.¡± ¡°Perhaps. Or perhaps he¡¯s just been hiding his weaknesses behind a wall of fake confidence like I attempted to do early in my journey.¡± ¡°Hm, maybe,¡± I said. ¡°Either way, I probably won¡¯t figure it out.¡± We kept going for a few hours, and the attacks grew less and less frequent. The crystals that lit up the cave¡¯s ceiling were now so abundant that it didn¡¯t feel like we were in Mount Cor any longer. ¡°Ri,¡± Riolu said. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Chase asked as he stopped us. ¡°Feel something?¡± I had no idea how Riolu¡¯s aura worked, but it had started working again around two days ago, and it was apparently getting sharper at sensing wild Pokemon, a sign that we were getting closer to the exit. Apparently, Chase had trained hard to get the fighting type to that level after going through Eterna forest, and he couldn¡¯t stop boasting about it. Slowpoke could also do the same with his psychic powers now, but his senses were still somewhat muddled, and his range was nowhere near Riolu¡¯s, even at full power. ¡°Riolu¡­¡± The fighting type mumbled. ¡°Feels weird?¡± Chase asked. Riolu nodded, and we started looking around. We couldn¡¯t find anything out of ce though, and nothing attacked us, so we started walking again. A few hourster, we stumbled upon Excadrill¡­ it had died. The swarm of Zubat that was feasting on its soft bits fled when they saw use, no doubt terrified at the amount of Pokemon we had at our disposal, revealing how fast they had utterly consumed the ground type. I could even see its bones stick out in some ces. I lurched and turned away. ¡°What the actual fuck?¡± Chase said, stepping forward. ¡°Not this again,¡± Denzel groaned. ¡°Again?!¡± He quickly said, his head jerking toward us. ¡°What do you mean again?¡± ¡°Something simr happened to us in Eterna Forest,¡± I exined. ¡°A Mismagius trapped us in an illusion that repeated forever. We already told you, remember?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ right, I honestly thought you were bullshitting,¡± he said. ¡°But this is no illusion,¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°This is reality.¡± ¡°We¡¯re trapped. I said this days ago, but this happened to me when I was alone down here, except that it was on a much smaller scale. It didn¡¯t take hours for me to end up where I had just been. It took a few minutes at most.¡± ¡°Hold on, this doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Denzel said, raising a finger. ¡°We¡¯re closer to the exit, we should be getting less mind fuckery, not more.¡± ¡°Well it happened anyway, big guy,¡± Chase frustratingly said. ¡°I think that¡¯s what Ri felt earlier, but how?¡± Riolu nodded, but he seemingly struggled to answer the second question, not because he couldn¡¯t but because it was tooplex to exin to us. Thenguage barrier was stopping him. ¡°Okay,¡± I crouched, getting closer to him. ¡°How about we throw ideas at you, and you nod when we get it right, okay?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to him like he¡¯s a kid,¡± Chaseined. ¡°He¡¯s more than twice your age.¡± My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. ¡°W¡ªwhat?¡± ¡°He¡¯s forty-eight. He¡¯s your senior, show some respect.¡± I stared back at Riolu, and he sagely nodded with his arms crossed. I audibly gulped and stood up. It wasn¡¯t like I had never seen an old Pokemon before. Dad¡¯s Herdier was close to that age. But I hadn¡¯t expected someone my age to own a Pokemon that old that wasn¡¯t a ghost or a pet, because a Pokemon surviving that long in the wild meant that it would be incredibly powerful. Plus, he knew the fighting type¡¯s exact age. That meant that Riolu wasn¡¯t a wild Pokemon. It had belonged to someone else, and most likely been given¡ª ¡°You¡¯re thinking. I can see it in your eyes. Stop trying to figure me out,¡± Chase spat, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Watch it,¡± Cece warned. Denzel nipped the argument in the bud. ¡°Let¡¯s chill out. Grace¡¯s idea was a good one, let¡¯s try throwing stuff at the wall and see what sticks.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s think about this,¡± I started. ¡°We were walking, and then Riolu felt something strange using his aura. First, did Slowpoke feel anything?¡± Slowpoke stared at me with empty eyes. ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Cece tranted. ¡°Okay, I guess that might be because his power¡¯s still getting messed with. Cross that out. So Riolu¡¯s aura feels¡­ living things, right?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t only do that, but it¡¯s one of its functions. Each living being has a different aura signature,¡± Chase exined. ¡°So yes.¡± ¡°Alright, so he feels living things,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Hmm, perhaps he felt us move arge distance too quickly?¡± Cece asked. Riolu shook his head, but moved his arms around. ¡°You¡¯re on the right track,¡± Chase said. ¡°Okay, not us. That would make sense, depending on how the mountain¡¯s power works. If it¡¯s teleportation, he wouldn¡¯t have felt a thing,¡± I said with my hand on my chin. ¡°But if it¡¯s teleportation, then why didn¡¯t we realize we were transported¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°What about feeling other things around us just¡­ winking out of existence?¡± Denzel asked. I snapped my fingers. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it! We were transported somewhere, which means that wild Pokemon around us looked like they all disappeared and were reced by new ones!¡± ¡°Ri!¡± The fighting type nodded. ¡°Okay, so Riolu can feel when we¡¯re getting screwed by the mountain. That doesn¡¯t help us get out,¡± Chase said, bouncing his leg. ¡°Okay, okay, let me think¡­¡± I whispered. In both instances of getting trapped by the mountain, both before Chase had found me and now, we hadn¡¯t teleported, or at least it was unnoticeable. Was that possible? Probably not. So I could scratch that out, or leave it at the back of my mind. What else was on the table? How would the mountain transport us somewhere without us even realizing it? My eyes widened. ¡°Ah, she¡¯s got it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°It didn¡¯t teleport us. It teleported the entire fucking area we were in¡ª maybe teleport is the wrong term for it, but that¡¯s the closest I can¡ª wait, maybe shift is better? We shifted back deeper in the cave along with this entire section, and then we ended up walking across Excadrill again, I think.¡± ¡°That sounds right,¡± Cecilia nodded with a smile. ¡°So what now? Do we try going again?¡± ¡°When I was trapped, it took four tries to finally make it through. We might be able to brute force it.¡± ¡°I like the sound of that,¡± Chase said. ¡°Not like we can try anything else.¡± Seven attemptster, we were back to Excadrill¡¯s corpse, which was now just thick, metallic bones. It had taken us the entire day, and we had made no progress whatsoever. Chase was growing more irate and frustrated by the hour, and we were all stumped. We decided to make camp nearby and sleep there, but as we huddled close to Houndoom for heat and Iy down with my head on Cece¡¯sp, we were theorizing again. ¡°This is fucked,¡± Chase hissed. ¡°And it makes no fucking sense,¡± my best friend frowned. ¡°We know the exit¡¯s close, but the mountain is keeping us trapped here¡­ like it¡¯s sentient.¡± ¡°The mountain ain¡¯t sentient,¡± Chase replied instantly. ¡°Stop it with the batshit theories.¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t, but it¡¯s like something¡­ like it has mechanisms implemented to confuse people who venture too deep inside,¡± I said. ¡°Like Mismagius, but on a much grander scale and in the real world. To get them trapped in here so they could starve or get killed by a wild Pokemon or something.¡± ¡°But how?¡± Cece asked. ¡°What would even be powerful enough to do such a thing?¡± ¡°I dunno. Seems way too powerful to be your average ghost type, since it¡¯s not an illusion, but I¡¯ve never heard of anything capable of doing this,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, and why would this¡ª or these theoretical Pokemon want people to be stuck in one ce in the mountain?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. This phenomenon¡¯s also been seen on top of the mountain, right?¡± I said. Denzel nodded. ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s only at a specific spot, and people haven¡¯t been there in decades. The ce is too harsh to study anyway, and they were just burning cash and lives up there. Scientists never figured out what makes the mountain do that, but they might have figured out how it works. Either way, I''ve never read up on it, so we have to do this on our own.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a specific spot on the surface, but everywhere when we¡¯re actually inside?¡± Chase asked. ¡°Not everywhere. Only deep in the mountain and in certain sections that lead to other ces,¡± Denzel said. ¡°This makes no sense to me,¡± I groaned. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s hiding something? Some old Hisuian temple? I didn¡¯t pay much attention in history ss. Not in any sses, actually.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you even graduate?¡± Denzel raised his eyebrow. ¡°I coasted. Barely passed everything. couldn¡¯t bother putting much effort in something I wasn¡¯t passionate about. Anyway, regardless, we¡¯ll nevere up with a concrete answer. Let¡¯s just figure out a way to get out.¡± ¡°Agreed. Enough with the nonsense,¡± Chase said. ¡°What if we go at it from another angle? Try to take a different path?¡± ¡°You try finding a different path, and you let us know how it goes,¡± I dryly said. ¡°You saw. There was no other way through.¡± Chase groaned and clicked his tongue. ¡°Fuck it. I¡¯m going to sleep, I¡¯ll be in top form tomorrow.¡± ¡°G¡¯night,¡± I told him. ¡°What about you, Denzel?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay up and try to figure something out.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Cece?¡± ¡°I feel out of my depth here,¡± she sighed. ¡°No ideas areing to mind, so I suppose I¡¯ll just sleep.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay up.¡± I got up from herp pillow, and we both stood up, but I felt her hold my sleeve. ¡°Kiss me goodnight?¡± She said, averting her eyes. Ahhhh, she was so cute I wanted to die. I nodded, and she ced her hands around my waist, pulling me close and kissing me. I lifted a leg and smiled against her lips. How was she doing this to me? Even now that we were dating, I was just as nervous about being around her, and I still couldn¡¯t believe that she was my girlfriend. I kissed her again for good measure, and she left, entering her sleeping bag. I took a seat next to Denzel. ¡°Nice one,¡± he smiled. ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t even start. It¡¯s you and me, we have to figure something out,¡± I said before cracking a smile. ¡°But yes, it is very nice.¡± ¡°Alright, alright¡­¡± He smiled in turn. ¡°Like you said, it¡¯s you and me. Let¡¯s get thinking, then. First, let¡¯s review what we know.¡± I took a deep breath, and we went over everything that we had found out about the cave, refreshing our memories. With all of the factsid out, we were bound to find out something. ¡°Okay, so we have¡­ a mountain that shifts its insides around to trap and starve the people inside of it, or maybe keep them away from something. Does it affect the wild Pokemon?¡± Denzel started. ¡°Yes, I would think? The area affected is way too big for it to have only plucked us out. Why?¡± ¡°No reason, it¡¯s how I think. I need a constant flow of conversation and ideas going in and out of my head,¡± he said. ¡°I can certainly help you with that. Do you think brute forcing it might still be possible? Maybe Mount Cor will run out of whatever energy it uses to keep us trapped.¡± ¡°Hmm, doesn¡¯t seem likely. It¡¯s been doing this since the dawn of recorded Sinnohan history, and there are no signs of slowing down.¡± ¡°Separating the group into two and going in pairs could maybe work to free two of us, but I don¡¯t want to try that,¡± I said. ¡°Too dangerous, and there¡¯s a chance that the other two would be trapped in here.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I like that train of thought. You¡¯re thinking we could trick the system somehow? By making it shift two of us back so the other two can be free to progress.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I said. ¡°Mount Cor isn¡¯t sentient, it looks to me like a set of systems meant to keep people away from something. Systems can be tricked, now we have to figure out how to do it.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ it works on wild Pokemon, but humans are the trigger, correct?¡± ¡°Looks to be that way to me,¡± I nodded. ¡°So using a wild Pokemon to trigger the shift wouldn¡¯t work.¡± I inhaled sharply, and my eyes widened. ¡°Ah, you have it,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I think so,¡± I said, licking my lips. ¡°Okay, remember this is just theory¡ª¡± ¡°Everything we¡¯ve been saying so far is theory.¡± ¡°Yeah, but this¡¯ll require wasting a lot of time. Chase is going to be pissed.¡± ¡°That asshole¡¯s always pissed. What¡¯d you find out?¡± ¡°So we were talking about triggers. What if the trigger is dyed somehow? The shift seems to be affecting the same area over and over, but in every instance, it took a different amount of time to reach the Excadrill¡¯s¡­ corpse. And thinking back, it was the same for the first area I was trapped in. Since the amount of time varies, the shift seems to be on a randomized dy or something¡ª but it¡¯s not long enough to ever let us through. Even if we ount for our different walking speeds, that¡¯s the only way it makes any sense. So we could find its delimitations, step onto it, run off, and then watch it swap with another area.¡± Denzel hummed. ¡°Ahh, that makes sense. It¡¯s worth trying out, but I see why you said it¡¯d take a lot of time. Finding how big the area is is going to take¡ª¡± ¡°A lot of time, which we might not have.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± he frowned. ¡°Wait. We can easily¡ª well, easily might not be the right term, since it might be hard to tell still, but we can do it without trial and error.¡± ¡°How?¡± I asked, shaking in anticipation. ¡°No matter how powerful this shifting power is, the area that¡¯s actually being moved is going to look unnatural, no? Maybe a small fissure in the ground demarcating it, or strange rock formations¡­¡± He trailed off. Denzel¡¯s mouth opened. He had found something out. ¡°Wait, we can use the fucking crystals on the roof!¡± ¡°Holy shit, you are a fucking genius,¡± I eximed as I pped my hands. I quickly froze and checked if Cece had woken up. ¡°I¡¯m not sleeping yet,¡± she said. ¡°But I enjoy hearing you two think. Keep going.¡± I could tell from her tone that she was smiling. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said, twiddling my thumbs. ¡°But you¡¯re right. The closer we got to the exit, the more crystals were on the cave¡¯s ceiling, which means that theoretically, there should be a spot that has way fewer crystals than normal. That¡¯s the area we¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Yeah, this is good shit,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°But remember, this only works if there¡¯s a dy with the shift like we think,¡± I warned. ¡°Let¡¯s not get too enthusiastic yet.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? You¡¯re more enthusiastic than I ever was. I should be the one warning you.¡± ¡°Okay, dude,¡± I said smugly. ¡°Whatever helps you sleep at night.¡± ¡°Okay, dude,¡± Denzel imitated me. ¡°That¡¯s not how I sound at all!¡± Iined. ¡°Ugh, whatever. We should start making n B¡¯s and n C¡¯s in case this dy idea doesn¡¯t materialize. Still, at least we¡¯ll know where the trap is now.¡± We nned all night until I fell asleep, and I somehow woke up in a sleeping bag with Togetic right next to me, imbuing me with happiness. How had Denzel put me in here without waking me up? Damn, he was good.
Chapter 84 Chapter 84 CHAPTER 84 Cecilia was sitting next to me, dozing off against the cave¡¯s wall, but she snapped back awake when she saw that I had opened my eyes. ¡°Grace,¡± She smiled. ¡°You slept like a log. We¡¯re almost ready to head out.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I said, still half asleep. I pet Togetic¡¯s head as she chirped softly. Chase was seemingly training, doing some situps with Riolu, and Denzel was packing. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡± I asked as I hurried out of my sleeping bag. ¡°You¡¯re more tired than you know, Grace,¡± she said. ¡°I worry about you.¡± I smiled. ¡°You sound like Amanda.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s good at her job then,¡± Cece said before pulling me close and softly kissing my cheek. ¡°Did you finish your nningst night? I fell asleep.¡± ¡°We did,¡± I said, ignoring the fact that I was blushing. Cece obviously noticed since she grinned. She enjoyed seeing me be shy in front of her. ¡°I talked about a lot of stuff, but I think we covered all of our bases. Denzel didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Cecilia shook her head. ¡°He said you¡¯d enjoy exining it more than he did. You do like talking about ns,¡± she teased. ¡°Erm, not that much,¡± I lied. ¡°Let me get ready then.¡± I folded up my sleeping bag, brushed my teeth, and quickly ate. I smelled terrible, but I had gone through all of my clothes already. I sighed. I couldn¡¯t wait to get out of here and take a warm shower. After around ten minutes, we were all ready, and I released Elekid and Tang, who had been resting in their Pokeballs. I exined the n to Chase and refreshed Cece¡¯s memory, probably in a more convoluted way than was needed. She caught on and understood quickly, and Chase¡­ Chase had gotten the gist of it. He was just irritated and wanted to get out, which I definitely understood. Soon enough, we were on our way with almost all of our Pokemon out. We quickly made work of any enemies foolish enough to attack us, which at this point weren¡¯t many. It seemed that the wild Pokemon living in this region of the cave had learned who we were, and that we should be avoided at all costs, which meant that we progressed faster. As awful as our experience through Mount Cor had been, I would be lying if our Pokemon hadn¡¯t improved at a much faster rate in here than they would have outside doing normal training. As Cece had told me during our first training in Floaroma, Pokemon improved the fastest in tough situations, and there was no situation that was more difficult than being stuck in this death trap with no potions to heal their wounds. We stared up at the cave¡¯s ceiling and noticed that there was a suddenck of crystals like we had theorized yesterday. In fact, it was so egregious that it was incredible that we had never noticed. ¡°How did we never notice this?¡± Chase said, enunciating my thoughts. ¡°I heard a saying once,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Humans rarely ever look up.¡± I slowly stepped forward and squinted at the ground. ¡°That looks to be it,¡± I said. There was the smallest, tiniest fissure that demarcated the area that shifted us backward so many times. ¡°That¡¯s basically invisible unless you know exactly what you¡¯re looking for,¡± Denzel said. ¡°And incredibly unfair.¡± ¡°Well, we found it, so do your thing,¡± Chase stressed, clearly impatient. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± I said. ¡°No, you won¡¯t. Not alone,¡± Cece interjected. ¡°Let¡¯s all step on and run back at the same time, just in case there are any¡­ mishaps.¡± I nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s recall our Pokemon for this,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Much easier to make sure none of them are separated.¡± ¡°Good thinking,¡± I agreed. We recalled our Pokemon, and Ibored to lift Larvitar into my arms. Then we jumped into the shifting zone and immediately scrambled back to safety. ¡°Now what?¡± Chase asked. ¡°Now we wait and hope that we were right,¡± I nervously said. ¡°Should take anywhere from¡­ a few minutes to a few hours.¡± We released our teams again as we waited. It was slightly underwhelming to have to wait so long. I wanted to have confirmation that the n was working now, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to rx until it did. It was honestly astonishing that I had somehow learned to rx in Mount Cor. The human mind could truly adapt to anything if it was given enough time. Two hours had passed, and the area ahead of us just¡­ suddenly changed. There wasn¡¯t even a sound. No shaking ground, no rumbling, no wind, just nothing. It was disturbingly fast and silent. Teleportation was one thing, but to see it applied to such a huge chunk of the cave was just terrifying. It made me feel so tiny, so insignificant, that I felt my palms start to sweat. There were forces at y here that had been implemented by beings I couldn¡¯t even begin to understand. ¡°Holy shit,¡± I breathed out. We stared at the new terrain ahead of us in silence. It was smoother than the previous one had been, and now that I could take a good look at it, it definitely fit more. Rock formations stuck together properly, and the crystals on the roof were at an appropriate number, shining more light onto us. ¡°You said it,¡± Chase said. ¡°Let¡¯s get out.¡± I nodded. There was a chance that this spot would shift too, as Denzel and I had theorizedtest night, but we hade to the conclusion that it was likely for one reason. We had never seen this area before, which meant that at some point, they always switched back together for some unknown reason. That might have meant that wecould have waited it out and swapped back here, but I didn''t want to waste the only chance we might have. Luckily for us, this fact came with a silver lining. Since the two areas would swap back, that meant that the shift had a downtime of some sort that wouldst at least a few hours at most. Which meant we only had a few hours to get past this. We all broke into a frantic run, recalling our Pokemon who couldn¡¯t run as fast as us. Larvitar could barely keep up, and I feared that she would fall behind. She was too heavy to run that fast, her legs were too short, and she was just a baby, so she tired out quickly. I tried carrying her for some of the way, but all that did was exhaust me. She was too heavy. I couldn¡¯t run with her in my hands. I stopped in my tracks and looked at the rock type. ¡°Grace, we have to go,¡± Denzel said. ¡°No. I¡¯m not leaving without her.¡± ¡°Then fucking catch her already!¡± Chase yelled. ¡°Shut it!¡± I yelled before grabbing an empty Pokeball and crouching. ¡°Larvitar, you can¡¯t run. I have to catch you if we want to make it out of here.¡± ¡°Larvi!¡± She yelled back. ¡°Tar!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll care for you. I know you¡¯re hurting, and you¡¯ve been so strong this entire time. You haven¡¯t cried since we found you. If you don¡¯te with me, something in here will get you.¡± ¡°Toge!¡± Togetic cried out. ¡°Togetic!¡± Larvitar hissed, looking sideways. ¡°I¡¯ve had time to learn about you in our short time together. You¡¯re a tough girl, Larvitar, but you¡¯re hopeful too. You¡¯re hoping to find your parent back, aren¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you don¡¯t want to leave.¡± Larvitar¡¯s eyes widened, and she stared right at me. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. You know deep down that it¡¯s not possible. I haven¡¯t told you this because I didn¡¯t want to hurt you, but your parent is¡­ gone.¡± The rock type shook her head as small tears began forming in the corner of her eyes. Frillish hovered over her and let out aforting hum. ¡°Tyranitar sacrificed herself for you. Don¡¯t throw your life away. I know it hurts to let go, I know it hurts that you won¡¯t see it again, but I promise you that we¡¯ll take care of you. We¡¯ll be partners, we¡¯ll travel together, we¡¯ll support each other, and you¡¯ll grow to be strong. Stronger than you can even imagine,¡± I said, pausing to wipe away some of my tears. ¡°And I won¡¯t say that we¡¯ll ever rece your parent, but we sure as hell will be your family. And¡­ it would really hurt me,¡± I sobbed. ¡°If I left you here to die.¡± Larvitar hesitated for a few seconds, but she lowered her head and rubbed her rough horn on my leg. ¡°Ow,¡± I said before letting out a sadugh and sniffling. ¡°That hurts, but I still appreciate it.¡± I ced the empty Pokeball in front of her head. ¡°Last chance,¡± I said. ¡°If you want toe, bump your head against the Pokeball. It¡¯ll take you inside, and if you don¡¯t try to resist, you¡¯ll be caught.¡± Larvitar took onest look behind her¡ª back deeper into Mount Cor¡ª and then hit her head against the device. The ball shook three times in my hand before chiming. ¡°Thank you, sweetheart,¡± I smiled, clipping the ball to my belt and standing back up. Chase was turned away from us and rubbing his face. ¡°Are you¡­ crying?¡± I asked him. ¡°Shut the hell up. I don¡¯t cry,¡± he snapped. ¡°Her story just resonated with me, alright?¡± I ignored his lie, and we began running again. Pokemon were attacking us again, but that was because they had never actually seen us before in this section of the cave, and they probably believed us to be vulnerable. Instead, wepletely battered them, especially since they were actually weak in this section of the cave, because this was the part that was supposed to lead to the exit. Geodude, Zubat, Bronzong¡ª no matter what they were, they fell one by one. There was no actual way to know when the shifting zone began and where it started anymore, since the areas were actually in the right spots now, so that meant we could only run. Our sprint slowly turned into a more sustainable jog and then a fast-paced walk when we were too tired to go on. We had been running for more than an hour, having been on a diet of crackers and energy bars for more than a week, and we were battling at the same time. This was taking everything we had. I gasped and my heart jumped when I saw light. Not light from the cave, but from the outside world. It was debilitating to look at. I had spent so much time without so much as a lick of sunlight that just seeing some blinded me. I squinted and ced a hand in front of my eyes as I redoubled my efforts and broke into another sprint. We were out! We were out¡ª Snow. The world was draped in a nket of pure white that almost reached up to my knees. Trees were covered in a pristine, untouched coat of snow, and their branch sagged under the weight of the icy kes. It was actually slightly less cold than it had been inside of Mount Cor, but whenever the wind blew, it pierced through my coat and chilled me to my core. The air was crisp and clear, however, with not a single sound to be heard. The silence was deafening. The sun was high up in the sky, and there wasn¡¯t a single cloud to be seen. Its light was bouncing onto the snow and back into our eyes, blinding me further. Togetic dove into the snow and rolled in it,ughing like she was having the time of her life. Eevee did the same, and they began ying together. ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± I finally said. I could see my breath. ¡°We¡¯re definitely somewhere off-route,¡± Cece said. ¡°Told you we¡¯d end up stranded,¡± Chase groaned. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re off route,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Snow would have been cleared to manageable levels if we weren¡¯t.¡± ¡°So where are we?¡± I asked again. ¡°This much snow at this time of the year?¡± Denzel started. ¡°This has to be¡­ somewhere near route 216.¡±
Interlude – House Arrest Interlude ¨C House Arrest INTERLUDE - HOUSE ARREST Pauline could still hardly believe it. Cecilia, Denzel, and Grace were gone. They had fallen to the depths of Mount Cor. They had tried to find a safe way to climb down or to send Emilia¡¯s Beldum down the chasm, but there hadn¡¯t been any way to do so safely, and the psychic type would have died down there alone. The rangers hade and quickly found them an hourter, and they had scaled down the hole with their specialized caving equipment. Pauline and the others had waited with their eyes full of tears and bated breaths to see theme up with their friends. They would probably be wounded, but hopefully alive, and they would be able to put this behind them. The rangers came back up empty. There¡¯s nothing down there, one of them had said. Just dead ends without any bodies. Are you sure they fell down? Pauline almost pped that man right then and there. The tone they employed had been so nonchnt. They hadn¡¯t cared enough. And the truth was, they didn¡¯t. Some had been rattled or sad, but this was work for them. They had probably heard the same story about dead trainers plenty of times before. The rest of that day had been a blur that Pauline could barely even remember. The young girl got up from her bed and instinctively grabbed at a Poketch on her bedside table that wasn¡¯t there anymore. It had been two days since her friends had fallen down into Mount Cor¡¯s depths, and the news had picked up the story and dered them missing. It wasn¡¯t the first time trainers had sneaked into Mount Cor since the entrance closed, but it was the first time someone might have actually died¡ª Pauline¡¯s body jerked. They weren¡¯t dead. There hadn¡¯t been any bodies. Just like the news said, they were missing. She had to hold onto that thinyer of hope, otherwise she didn¡¯t know if she would be able to stand up in the morning. Harvey and rence¡¯s agents had picked them up at the ranger station after they had been brought there to treat any injuries. Maybe they could have tried to run that day, but no one had the energy to do anything. They would have gotten caught eventually anyway. Pauline sighed. It wasn¡¯t like her to think like this. They had been brought back to their hotel, and they were now under house arrest. When they got back, both of Cece¡¯s letters had already been taken, and since they had no phones, there was no way to contact the outside world. They still had their Pokemon, but starting a fight with the hundreds of trainer guards that littered the building would never end well. Plus, they had Pauline¡¯s mother, whose traitorous intentions had been figured out somehow. She still hadn¡¯t spoken to her, but she had been assured that she was safe. Today, she would learn more about what was going to happen to them. Pauline stopped her foot from bouncing and got into the shower. There¡­ there had to be a way out of this somehow. Even if¡ª Arceus forbid¡ª her friends were gone, she wanted to fulfill Cece¡¯sst wish. To ruin her father¡¯s reputation, and Louis¡¯ father as well, for good measure, but how? They weren¡¯t allowed to go out, and there were two experienced adult trainers standing at her door at all times that were on Louis¡¯ father¡¯s payroll. Her arms slumped, and she leaned against her shower¡¯s wet walls. It was hopeless. ¡°Come on, Pauline. We¡¯ve gotten out of bad shit before, we can do it again.¡± Her head snapped toward her bathroom door. There was nothing there. Pauline knew she was going crazy. Sometimes, she randomly heard her friends¡¯ voices as if they were still there, right next to her, but it seemed that she heard Denzel¡¯s voice the most. The girl could almost picture his stupid childlike grin that came with the words, and he was trying to cheer her up, as he always did when the situation appeared desperate. Pauline let out a sad chuckle that turned into a cry. ¡°They¡¯re not real,¡± she sobbed as she crouched in the shower. ¡°They¡¯re gone.¡± She wanted the voices to stop. She felt that if they kept going on like this, then she would end up like Emilia or Justin. Her best friend had cried until she ran out of tears, and now just stayed in her bed all day, while Justin often sat on his balcony and just¡­ stared off into the distance. He hadn¡¯t spoken even once since. Together with her, Louis was the only one left. He hadn¡¯t even cared that she originally joined their group to sabotage his engagement. His mind was elsewhere. He had demanded to speak with his father so many times and with such rage that she thought he would try to fight off a dozen guards at the same time, and he was finally getting his wish. Harvey and rence were here, and they were both going to meet him in thirty minutes. They had flown to Eterna city today. The redhead finally stepped into the cold and out of the shower to get dressed, and she opened her room¡¯s door. She stared up at the guard who awaited her. He wore a suit with sunsses and an earpiece, as did all the others. ¡°Only you today?¡± She spat with her unending hate imbued in her words. There were usually two of them. ¡°What even is your name? You all look the fucking same.¡± ¡°No Pokemon are allowed when meeting Mr. Bianchi,¡± he said, ignoring her question. Pauline stared at the two Pokeballs on her belt and cursed. Was Harvey so paranoid that he thought they would attempt a suicidal attack to kill him? She sighed, realizing that she might have, depending on what they said. Pauline ced her Pokeballs back inside of her bedroom and followed the guard into the elevator. ¡°Do you realize you¡¯re helping one of the most fucked up humans on the?¡± Pauline asked him. He ignored her. ¡°Does that make you feel good, motherfucker? Do you like the fact that Harvey and rence drove a girl to such torment that she thought the only option she had was to kill herself?¡± Pauline noticed his fingers twitch. ¡°How do you sleep at night? How do you do it, knowing that three children might be dead because of the man you work for, you piece of human filth? I see you have a ring on your finger. Does your wife know how much of a sociopath you are? I truly wonder what it takes for someone to go home and kiss their wife after a hard day¡¯s work causing children to be murdered¡ª¡± ¡°Stop.¡± ¡°Or what, you little bitch? You¡¯re going to hit me? Hurt me like you hurt Cece¡ª¡± ¡°What is the point of this?¡± he hissed. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe I wanted you to think about the consequences of your actions. Real consequences. It feels good to just keep your head down and pretend you¡¯re just following orders, doesn¡¯t it? That nothing you do would change anything anyway? I hope the guilt eats you up and spits you out like a discarded hump of trash. You already know what Cecilia looks like, but since their faces are all over the news, you know what Grace and Denzel look like too. I want you to imagine them when you fall asleep at night. I want you to imagine their lives getting interrupted early. Fifteen and sixteen years old. You seem old enough to have a child that age. When you close your eyes, I want you to imagine their corpse having been mangled by some wild Pokemon. Imagine them having died alone and scared.¡± The elevator opened on the ground floor, and the bodyguard led her to where Harvey and rence would be, which was a restaurant he hadpletely bought out for the day. His stride was faster this time. He was jittery. Less confident. Good, Pauline thought. I hope you fucking choke on the guilt. The redhead could see the press in the distance, begging to be let in, but they weren¡¯t allowed to. They were obsessing over this story¡ª so much so in fact that it was going toe to toe with the fact that Team Gctic¡¯s base in Eterna City had been sessfully raided yesterday by Cynthia, the League, the Elite Four and the International Police. She was frisked before being allowed to enter the restaurant. Louis was already in the entryway, waiting for her. Pauline stared at the wound running from the corner of his lip to his ear and winced. It still wasn¡¯tpletely healed, and the scar would always be there, but Louis insisted on showing it. Pauline agreed with this decision. They wouldn¡¯t let the assholes that worked for Harvey and rence ignore what they were doing. What they had caused. ¡°Pauline,¡± Louis said. Gone was the innocence on his face. He wore a perpetual frown now. ¡°They say my father¡¯s waiting for his meal first, so he¡¯s going to be .¡± He clenched a fist tightly at thest word. ¡°He¡¯s treating this like some kind of vacation?¡± She spat. ¡°I want to gouge his eyes out.¡± ¡°So do I, but we have questions to ask first¡ª¡± Louis¡¯ face contorted into a look of rage when he saw Amy walk out of the restaurant. Her eyes were red like she had been crying, and she looked like she hadn¡¯t slept. Pauline let out a hearty chuckle that died in her throat. ¡°Amy,¡± she started, her voice trembling with anger. ¡°Why are you crying?¡± ¡°Why do you think,¡± she sniffled. ¡°I¡¯ve been crying since learning that Cece was gone.¡± Louis mmed his fist against a wall, and his knuckles started to bleed. She flinched. ¡°Excuse me?¡± he asked, his voice dangerously calm. ¡°Could you repeat that for me?¡± ¡°I¡ª I didn¡¯t know that she would go that far! I was trying to save her. Grace and Denzel must have manipted her somehow¡ª¡± Pauline stepped forward and pped her so hard that her hand felt numb. Amy fell to the ground, cing a hand on her reddened cheek, and guards rushed in to put some space in between them before she could beat the shit out of her. ¡°You still don¡¯t understand?!¡± Pauline screamed so loudly that her throat hurt. ¡°You fucking did this! You¡¯re a fucking monster!¡± ¡°No! I was just trying to help! If your mother hadn¡¯t tried to derail everything, it would have been fine!¡± ¡°Your words,¡± she hissed. ¡°Your words are the ones that pushed her over the edge. You can¡¯t pretend to be innocent in all of this. In fact, you¡¯re one of the biggest culprits. You killed Cecilia, Amy. You killed her.¡± Tears streamed down Amy¡¯s face, and Pauline smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t you even dare act like the victim. You are inhuman. You could have helped Cece with her issues. You were her best friend, who she loved. Instead, you chose to be a coborator. You dealt with evil, and now you can never be redeemed. I hope you can never get a wink of sleep again and that you get nightmares so bad that you go through one-tenth of what Grace went through. I hope you know that you caused Denzel¡¯s death, who was the brightest and most positive person I knew. I hope you know that even though you weren¡¯t the one holding the metaphorical knife, you killed Cece, who, despite her circumstances, was the most ambitious, most¡ª¡± The bodyguards dragged her away before she could finish her sentence. She tried to follow her, but they held her back. ¡°That was for Cece,¡± she whispered. ¡°And it still wasn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see her again,¡± Louis said, clenching his hand in pain. ¡°She¡¯s going to be here a while.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to fucking grill her every time I see her,¡± Pauline hissed. ¡°She doesn¡¯t get to pretend nothing is her fault. She doesn¡¯t get to wash the blood off of her hands.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Seven minutester, they were led deeper inside of the empty restaurant. Pauline scoffed when she saw that every utensil had been taken away. That¡¯s how paranoid they were. Louis¡¯ father, or Harvey, was almost a carbon copy of him. Their hair was exactly the same shade of blond, they had the same eyes, nose and face shape. The main difference came in eye color, which was light brown for Harvey and blue for Louis. Still, even though it wasn¡¯t Pauline¡¯s first time seeing the older man, it was disconcerting to see how alike they were. rence, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t look more different than Cecilia if he tried. He shared her brown skin and appeared a lot younger than he actually was. He had a small nose with thin lips. Pauline was surprised to see that rence actually looked shaken. His daughter was dead or missing, so it was obvious that a normal father would be stricken with grief, but he was anything but normal. He had directly caused her death. He was the one that held the knife and had been pressing it against her throat the entire time. Still, that wasn¡¯t it. There was another man sitting on another table, with ten Pokeballs on his belt, and a Mmar standing at his back. Pauline flinched when she saw the dark type stare at her and give her a wicked grin that sent a shiver down her spine. Mmar were the most evil, most depraved species of Pokemon on this, and to Pauline, any trainer that owned one must have been just as perverse. Mind control, Pauline thought. It was all beginning to click now. Cecilia had been threatened with mind control, and the reason this trainer was here was to intimidate them. The Mmar¡¯s trainer wiped his mouth and gave them a respectful nod. He looked so unassuming that she would never have guessed that he owned a Mmar. ¡°Louis, Pauline,¡± Harvey started after sipping on some red wine. He motioned to two chairs on their table facing them. ¡°Take a seat.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that Mmar here for?¡± Pauline said, already knowing the answer. ¡°Gonna mind control us?¡± ¡°No, of course not,¡± Harvey shook his head. ¡°Abel is just here for some protection.¡± ¡°You already have hundreds of trainers on your payroll,¡± Louis hissed. ¡°But enough of that. Do you fucking¡ª¡± he started, mming a fist against the table. The tes shook and rence¡¯s ss of wine fell on his suit, causing him to groan and call a server. ¡°¡ªknow how many times I¡¯ve been trying to reach you until today?¡± ¡°Calm down, Louis. A man of your status must not employ suchnguage needlessly.¡± ¡°I will not calm down! What is this, dad? Why are you treating us like prisoners after our friends died?¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± he repeated more forcefully. ¡°Allow rence to exin.¡± rence took a short breath as he wiped his suit. ¡°Let us address the obvious first,¡± he said. ¡°You associated yourselves with poison, and they made my daughter not be in the right state of mind.¡± ¡°You have to be fucking kidding me¡ª¡± Pauline eximed. Amy had said the same thing. Was that the narrative they were fucking creating? They wanted to ruin Denzel¡¯s and Grace¡¯s reputation, even in death! ¡°I miscalcted. I thought a good scare would get her on the right path again, but it did not. The news are all over this since we couldn¡¯t shut the story down in time. Reporters,¡± he spat. ¡°Both of ourpanies¡¯ stock prices have taken a slight dip, and our boards want this story out of the news cycle as fast as possible. You know what that means, right?¡± Pauline¡¯s eyes widened. This man¡­ this man wasn¡¯t shaken because his daughter was possibly dead. He was shaken because his was taken a slight fucking hit. ¡°Who cares about money?!¡± Louis asked. ¡°Thepany could go under today and we still would have enough tost generations!¡± ¡°You are too shortsighted. I raised you better,¡± Harvey said. ¡°A man¡¯s life should always be about the legacy he leaves behind.¡± rence nodded. ¡°Getting back to my point, that means that you must stay silent. Do not speak to any reporters. You shall stay inside until the story dies down. Justin¡¯s father and Emilia¡¯s parents agree with this.¡± ¡°Funny, because they haven¡¯t even spoken to their kids once. Do you know how depressed they are? They barely ate anything since¡ª¡± Pauline said, but rence interrupted. ¡°Regarding your mother, Pauline. We have decided to give her another chance to redeem herself. We could have pressured her by funding herpetitors, and she would have been out of business within five years, but I believe that everyone deserves a clean te. Still, any more action from you and her, and you will pay. Understood?¡± Pauline said nothing. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Louis stammered. ¡°You¡¯re acting like nothing bad happened. Like it¡¯s just business as usual.¡± He had a look of disbelief on his face. Thest threads of hope that he had held of his father somehow still being a normal man were being torn apart in front of his eyes, revealing the monster for who he actually was. It was one thing to hear about it in Cece¡¯s letter, but it was another to finally see it with his own eyes. The veil had finally been lifted. ¡°I believe we¡¯ve said everything that needed to be said,¡± Harvey nodded. ¡°So what about your pet project about sending us all to the Conference?¡± Pauline smiled harshly. ¡°Sacrifices will have to be made. We now have different priorities, and we have to negotiate with the new government about potentially giving us more¡­ business-friendly terms.¡± Harvey simply answered. Pauline shook her head and spat into the man¡¯s food. They looked at her with more disdain than they had while talking about dead children. ¡°You,¡± she called out to the man called Abel. ¡°You¡¯re a piece of shit too, I hope you know that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just business,¡± he said with an exaggerated bow. ¡°Mmaaaar,¡± The psychic type said, imitating his trainer¡¯s gestures and intonation. Money. Stocks. Investments. Business. Pauline was sick and tired of hearing about it. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Emi,¡± Pauline said, shaking her friend. She was underyers andyers of covers, and she couldn¡¯t even see her face. ¡°Emi, have you eaten today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not hungry,¡± she sobbed. Pauline caressed her friend¡¯s body through the thickyers of fabric. ¡°I can make you anything if you need, just say the word,¡± she said, trying to keep her tone positive. ¡°I¡¯m here for you.¡± Her friend just continued to cry. Beldum hovered over her, ever vignt, while Aimpom and Rockruff had fallen asleep next to her. ¡°Drink lots of water, okay? I¡¯m going to go, I¡¯ll be back in an hour.¡± ¡°Hmhm,¡± she answered weakly. Pauline stepped out of her best friend¡¯s room, walked to hers with an escort, and copsed on her knees. Stay strong, she thought to herself. The King family is strong. ¡°If you need to cheer up, we can y a round of Old Maid. You¡¯re terrible at it, but I¡¯ll even let you win if you want,¡± She heard Denzel say. ¡°Shut up!¡± Pauline yelled, waving her arms. ¡°You aren¡¯t real! Leave me alone!¡± She had to do something. Her friends¡¯ reputations were going to get ruined because of two men¡¯s greed, but how? If she could somehow escape, she would have to get to the nearest Pokemon Center to use one of their publicputers and post something on the forums. That would be the quickest way to do it. But getting out of here was a task in and of itself. Say she went for broke and decided to fight her way out of here anyway. Two Pokemon weren¡¯t enough, and even if shebined her forces with Louis, they wouldn¡¯t even make it close to the exit. A trainer almost always got their start in the League Circuit, but not all of them retired. If they were good enough, some went into the League and started working there to be a League trainer, while the weaker ones or people with ambitions of bing a gym leaders became gym trainers. That wasn¡¯t what paid the most, however. The private sector hired a lot of retired trainers and lined their pockets with more money than they could ever dream of. So she would have to go through bodyguard after bodyguard, who would fight to thest to protect their sry, and she wasn¡¯t even guaranteed to be a better trainer. She hadn¡¯t seen any of them use their Pokemon yet, and there was still Abel¡ª Pauline heard a knock on the door. Sheposed herself before opening the door and saw that a bodyguard was waiting for her. ¡°What is it?¡± She asked. ¡°Don¡¯t bother me.¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Cedric,¡± he said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You asked what my name was earlier. It¡¯s Cedric.¡± Ah, he was the one that had escorted her to the restaurant downstairs. ¡°Well, fuck you, Cedric,¡± Pauline spat. ¡°Are you done?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± he said. ¡°Your words¡­ they struck a chord. I know I do a lot of fucked up shit. I¡¯ve known all along, of course, but when I heard you say it out loud¡­ I truly realized what it is I was contributing to. I have a kid.¡± ¡°So?¡± She said, crossing her arms. ¡°Want me to feel bad for you?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t expect forgiveness, of course, nor do I need it. But I do want to make things right¡ª as right as they can still be,¡± Cedric corrected himself. He grabbed a Poketch from his pocket and gave it to her. It was hers. She recognized it instantly. ¡°What if I rat you out and get you fired?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯m quitting anyway,¡± he sighed. ¡°Can¡¯t keep doing this.¡± ¡°Well, Cedric,¡± Pauline said. ¡°You¡¯ve been promoted from a piece of shit to a piece of trash.Thank you.¡± Somehow, her verbal beatdown of this guard had made him be a better person, and he was potentially ruining his life for her. As her mother sometimes said, tact was the ability to tell someone to go to hell and make them look forward to the trip. The bodyguard nodded and closed the door. Pauline immediately ran to her bedroom door, locked it, and opened up her phone. She was going to type a statement¡ª no, first, she was going to call all of the news organizations and tell her story, and then type a statement on the forums. That way, both civilians and trainers would learn how fucked up the Obel Energy Company and the Bianchi Conglomerate were. But her mother¡­ her mother would suffer the consequences. And so would she after this. Her finger hovered over the call button, trembling like a leaf. She didn¡¯t want to risk calling her mother beforehand to warn her either because she was sure her phone had been bugged. Once she started the first call, it would only be a matter of time until the guards realized something was wrong and stopped her. There was no time to waste. ¡°Mommy would respect my choice no matter what,¡± Pauline exhaled. ¡°She¡¯ll understand.¡± Pauline pressed the call button and began talking to the first reporter. She was risking everything, but what could they do to even counter her? When the Meowth was out of the bag, there was no way to put it back in. She would fulfill Cece¡¯sst wish and burn thesepanies to the ground if it was thest thing she did. Pauline talked to seven reporters and typed out a long statement on the forum that day. The very next hour, the new story broke. Harvey and rence¡¯s lies were revealed, and the truth of the story came out. They had abused a girl so badly that she had decided to die in Mount Cor, and Grace and Denzel were heroes who tried to go save her. She threw Abel under the bus too, saying that they had hired a trainer that threatened the use of mind control. Hopefully, with all the media attention this would get,w enforcement wouldn¡¯t just ignore this one. Just tying down Harvey and rence in legal battles would be enough, even though they would eventually win. Pauline breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when she heard the bodyguards breaking down her door. That day, the Bianchi Conglomerate¡¯s stock price crashed by 19%, and the Obel Energy Company¡¯s crashed by 26%. And hopefully, it would only be down from there.
Interlude – Grunt Interlude ¨C Grunt Announcement Let me add an important content warning for this chapter. It''s about Team Gctic and therefore gets very dark. If you hate it when the story gets dark, I rmend not reading this, but there''ll be an author note at the end about why I wrote it.
INTERLUDE - Grunt Two years earlier ¡°...although Ca battled addiction her entire life, which was filled with struggle and setbacks, we choose to remember the moments of joy that brought smiles to her family and loved ones. She was a sister, a friend, a mother¡­¡± ¨¦mile Cartwright stood there, his eyes downcast and his teeth grinding against each other so hard it felt like they were about to fall off as one of his uncles read his mother¡¯s eulogy. She was dead. He had found her overdosing in her bathroom, foaming at the mouth, her waste all over the floor and with a dirty needle in her arm. He had tried to get her help so many times, but there was never enough money, and she kept rpsing again and again. He had begun with odd jobs and started to delve into petty crime, robbing small stores with his Trubbish to try to get her into a proper rehab facility. Still, it hadn¡¯t been enough. There wasn¡¯t much a street rat from the poorest corner of Jubilife could have done. He stared at his uncles and his mother¡¯s friends, who looked on with dead eyes. Where had they been to help? All those times, he had begged them for money, and they just brushed him off. Yet they dared show up here to her funeral? When he had paid for most expenses out of pocket? The system had failed ¨¦mile and his mother. The government didn¡¯t care about any of them. Every day, they would hear about a new stadium opening up, a new rising star trainer or coordinator, pointless debates and arguments about who was the strongest Champion, or who would win the Arceus damned Conference this year. Things that just did not matter when a huge part of Sinnoh was wallowing in misery. Instead of looking at the rot in society, people just chased the newest shiny object. The trend of the month. ¨¦mile was forgotten. A nobody. Jubilife had killed his mother. It watched her struggle, die, and spat on her corpse. Now the entire world would move on, unaware that she had even existed in the first ce. He left the funeral early. He couldn¡¯t bare to talk with his family and act like he didn¡¯t hate their guts. Today, he would mourn, and tomorrow, he¡¯d need to get back to work. He had spend all of his money on getting her a proper farewell¡ª ¡°You,¡± he heard behind him. ¡°What?¡± ¨¦mile answered with a trembling voice. He grabbed Trubbish¡¯s Pokeball. ¡°I might not look like it, but I¡¯m a trainer, so go rob someone else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to rob you. You¡¯ve been left behind, haven¡¯t you, ¨¦mile Cartwright?¡± His stomach dropped. Giving the man a closer look, he was rather average looking, with short brown hair and brown eyes, although slightly older than ¨¦mile was. He looked like he¡¯d fade into any background. Someone you would never pay any attention to or give a second look. ¡°How the hell do you know my name?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you wish you could stick it up to the government who failed you? Who doesn¡¯t give a fuck about people like you and me?¡± ¨¦mile paused and licked his dry lips. ¡°What do you suggest? Do you think we¡¯re taking down the fucking League? The only reason I¡¯m not in jail is because I keep taking from people like me. People who don¡¯t have anything. If I targeted the shit that mattered to them, I¡¯d already be in prison.¡± ¡°I used to think that too,¡± the man said. ¡°But then someone approached me and gave me hope. Like I¡¯m doing now with you. We¡¯re small right now, but we have potential. Potential to finally give the little guy like you and me a voice.¡± ¨¦mile somehow didn¡¯t ignore the man, surprising even himself. Still, he was in no mood for idealism. Words were nice. They were gentle and could make you daydream about your ideal world for a few seconds before you snapped back to reality. Taking action was another thing altogether. Still, ¨¦mile was intrigued. ¡°What¡¯s your group? What do you do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can only learn more if youe with me, my friend.¡± He sighed and rubbed his face, pinching his nose. This was shady as hell, but at this point, what did he even have to lose? Eventually, ¨¦mile would strike at a target too big, and he¡¯d be locked up for years. So why not try something new? ¡°Okay,¡± he exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± The man grinned. ¡°I¡¯m Gabriel. Wee to Team Gctic.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¨¦mile squinted as he walked past tworge men into the blinding white building, a huge contrast to the dreary streets that they had juste from. He couldn¡¯t believe such a trashy-looking exterior hid this kind of building. From the outside, it had looked like one of the hundreds of abandoned factories and storage facilities that littered the northeastern side of Jubilife, but it was a hub of activity. People filtered in and out, all with determined looks on their faces, a far cry from what he was used to seeing in his neighborhood, and some of them wore weird uniforms that resembled spacesuits. ¡°Eyes in front, ¨¦mile,¡± Gabriel said. ¡°You¡¯ll get acquainted with everything elseter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just so surprised,¡± he gasped. ¡°I thought you were some rag-tag group, since you said you were small, but you look¡­ legit.¡± ¡°Of course we are,¡± heughed. ¡°If we weren¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t be a part of it. And this is just one of our bases. We have a few right now, and we¡¯re looking to start up a new one in Veilstone.¡± Gabriel led him to a small storage room that apparently functioned as an office. Another man, this time way older and with greying hair, stared at them exasperatedly. ¡°Gabriel, another recruit? I thought we told you to slow down on those,¡± he said. ¨¦mile knew that he must have been a smoker from how raspy his voice sounded and how ck his teeth were. ¡°We¡¯re growing too fast for my liking.¡± ¡°If we want to achieve anything, we need numbers, Vedran. You put me in the recruitment force, and I got good at it. Don¡¯tin.¡± ¡°Did you check his background properly, at least?¡± Vedran asked, eyeing ¨¦mile from head to toe. ¡°He¡¯s a nobody. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°What the hell?!¡± ¨¦mile eximed. If he was going to get insulted, then¡ª ¡°You misunderstand, young man,¡± Vedran interrupted. ¡°That is the number one thing we look at when we recruit someone. We are all nobodies.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have anything to lose but have everything to gain, so you won¡¯t quit and rat us out. And even if you do, no one will believe you. Have you seen Jubilife¡¯s cops on the northside? Short staffed, ipetent as hell, and with a touch of corruption to boot.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said, clenching his teeth. ¡°We¡¯re doing a lot of illegal shit, as you could probably guess,¡± Gabriel exined. ¡°So that¡¯s why we look for people like you.¡± ¡°Fine¡­ but you could have worded that better.¡± ¡°This is Team Gctic, boy,¡± Vedran spat. ¡°We do not coddle. Get used to it.¡± ¡°But I guarantee that you¡¯ll feel more at home here than anywhere else,¡± Gabriel quickly added with a warm smile. ¨¦mile was filled with a sense of¡­ it was hard to exin. There was a pinch of worry. He felt that if he truly joined this organization, it would be difficult to leave. But at the same time, excitement overwhelmed him. This felt good. Being a part of somethingrger than himself that was finally aiming to stick it up to the system? He was all in. He nodded at Vedran. ¡°Good. Let me add your information to the system¡­¡± the old man said, ¡°Gabriel?¡± He sprung up. ¡°¨¦mile Cartwright, twenty-two, poor as sin. His mother was a crackhead who died of an overdose, and his father¡¯s in the mmer for attempted murder. Owns a Trubbish and is actually rather decent at battling, from what I¡¯ve seen. Good instincts and strategizing, butck of move variety.¡± ¨¦mile stared at Gabriel with wide eyes. ¡°I said I was good at my job. Been watching you a while.¡± Vedran typed on hisputer extremely quickly and smiled. ¡°Okay¡­ I wish he¡¯d been adept with technology or science, we¡¯recking in those,¡± he sighed. ¡°Still, you own a Pokemon, so you¡¯ll be of use.¡± ¡°What¡¯s my job, then?¡± Vedran smirked and tapped on the enter key. ¡°You¡¯re a grunt.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Give us the code,¡± ¨¦mile yelled in the woman¡¯s ear. ¡°Now!¡± The bank¡¯s employee whimpered as he pressed the knife tighter to her throat. She cried out a series of numbers, and then begged not to be killed. ¨¦mile nodded at his fellow grunts, and they went down to the vaults. ¡°Good! The rest of you stay nice and quiet unless you want my Trubbish here to poison you. You¡¯ll die in minutes.¡± ¡°Tru!¡± The poison type belched, releasing a terribly foul odor. That was a good way to sell the threat. There had been a few trainers in the bank as well, but they had made quick work of their Pokemon. No one could stop them anymore. It had been two months since ¨¦mile had joined Team Gctic, and he had gotten a lot of work done. He was a grunt, but he specialized in gathering funds for the organization. He had already been an amateur robber before joining, and now he had just moved on to bigger fish. Instead of small convenience stores, he robbed jewelry stores and banks. Of course, they didn¡¯t do this under the Team Gctic insignia. To bystanders, they were just normal bank robbers with masks. Cyrus still wanted the organization to stay under the shadows until they were ready to strike. Cyrus¡­ ¨¦mile had never even seen the man or any of the Commanders, and neither had Gabriel or Vedran. Still, they all admired him. He gave them another chance at life. A chance to be someone. A chance to matter. ¡°The pigs are going to be here soon!¡± his friend said beside him. ¡°I know, Naomi,¡± ¨¦mile said. ¡°Just give Lars, Riley and the others a few minutes so that they cane back with the money.¡± Funny how the cops always rushed to protect the big banks, but never to solve the gang violence that gued his neighborhood and Jubilife¡¯s northeast as a whole. ¨¦mile scoffed. He had made friends here. Connections. People in Team Gctic were harsh, but they were real, unlike his family. He felt like he finally belonged. This was his new home, and he actually got paid here. He was so happy Gabriel had found him that day. He always worked with his squad, of which he was the leader. Lars, Riley, Naomi, and Paul were his closest friends, along with Gabriel and Vedran, but he often worked with other groups of grunts for bigger jobs like today as well. If they seeded¡­ it would bring back millions of Pokedors to Team Gctic. He was sure to get noticed by Cyrus if he did. A few minutester, Lars, Riley, and a dozen other grunts walked back, dragging bags full of cash on the ground. There were many for them to be even able to carry, but that was fine. ¡°Let¡¯s get the fuck out!¡± Riley released her Abra, and suddenly, the entire group was back at headquarters with the money. ¨¦mile grinned. Commander Charon owned a Hypno who knew the move Teleport, and he often lent him throughout the entire organization so that their psychics could learn the move. They didn¡¯t need a getaway vehicle or a n of escape. As long as Riley and her Abra were here, they were invincible, even though he could only use the move once every few days. Any more would exhaust him to the point of near death. People around the HQ cheered when they noticed that they were back with the money. Of course, it would have to beundered so that it couldn¡¯t be tracked, but they had people for that. Team Gctic wasn¡¯t only made up of grunts. Moneyunderers, scientists, trolls who spread misinformation and conspiracies online about the government, recruiters like Gabriel, administrators like Vedran, street thugs, informants, infiltrators, engineers, fucking ountants. ¨¦mile was just a cog in the machine that kept it going. A small part out of thousands. And it gave him a sense of belonging he had never felt before. ¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡¯m so fucking nervous,¡± ¨¦mile said as he adjusted his uniform¡¯s cor. It felt too tight. He hated the space theme they had going on, but at least he only had to wear it when he walked around HQ. ¡°Just sit up straight, and you¡¯ll be fine,¡± Lars said, his tone giddy. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s finally happening,¡± Rileyughed. ¡°We¡¯re meeting a Commander.¡± ¡°The newest one, though,¡± Naomi said. ¡°She joined after us, and she¡¯s already a Commander? Must be something special.¡± ¡°Vedran called her Mars. All I know about her is that she¡¯s an upbeat woman,¡± ¨¦mile said. ¡°Now, quiet down. We want to make a good impression.¡± ¨¦mile had been right. His bank robbery had propelled him from being an unnamed grunt to meeting a Commander. He was moving up in the ranks. Maybe he would even be a Commander too, one day. An incredibly pale young woman with hair too red to be natural and an incredibly strange haircut walked into the room. ¨¦mile stared down at her and felt a sh of disappointment, although he didn¡¯t let it show. Mars didn¡¯t look like much. She didn¡¯tmand his immediate respect as he had expected before meeting her. ¡°Pffft, I hate Jubilife,¡± she groaned, stretching before sitting down on the ground. ¡°You guys like it here?¡± ¨¦mile¡¯s eyes darted left and right toward his friends. What should they answer? Was this a test of some kind? Would their answer determine if they worked under her or not? ¡°Come on, answer me!¡± She said, pouting like a child. ¡°I dislike it,¡± ¨¦mile said, making sure his voice did not waver. ¡°It¡¯s the region¡¯s capital, and people act like it¡¯s this shining jewel. The pride of Sinnoh. But if you peel back at theyers, you see that it¡¯s rotten to its core.¡± Mars shot up¡ª it was almost disturbing how quickly she had gotten on her feet¡ª and grinned. ¡°Good answer! Although that¡¯s the world in general. Hey, what¡¯s your name, my man?¡± She asked. ¡°¨¦mile Cartwright, Commander!¡± He eximed. ¡°Rx, rx, this isn¡¯t the League! I¡¯m aid-back kind of boss, no need for all that performative stuff,¡± she said, waving her hand. ¡°Call me Commander still, though, I like that!¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± They all answered at the same time. ¡°Sheesh! You guys are fun,¡± sheughed. ¡°Well, you grunts distinguished yourselves from the rest, so you¡¯re going to be working under me from now on, along with the rest of my unit.¡± ¨¦mile waited for further exnation, but Mars didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°What? Expecting something else?¡± She smiled as she approached them. ¨¦mile suddenly felt a chill, as if the temperature was dropping all around him. He stared into Mars¡¯ eyes and had to remind himself to breathe. ¡°I don¡¯t particrly care for anything we do here. I¡¯m just a girl in love. All I want is for Cyrus to praise me. So we¡¯re going to be doing the most dangerous jobs possible. I don¡¯t care what happens to you. Just make sure you don¡¯t fail, because if you do and it reflects badly on me¡­ well, I¡¯m going to be having a lot of fun, but you certainly won¡¯t!¡± She said before giggling. She was¡­ she was pretending, right? Surely she wasn¡¯t actually insane. To risk everything ¨¦mile had built for a crush? ¡°Now, what are the rest of you called? ¨¦mile, introduce us!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¨¦mile was thest one standing. It had only taken six months for all of his friends to disappear. Naomi and Paul had been arrested. Lars had died to a misfire from another grunt¡¯s Pokemon, and he rarely spoke to Gabriel and Vedran these days, since Mars dragged him all throughout the region on a whim. And Riley¡­ ¨¦mile shuddered. He preferred not to think about what the Commander had done to Riley after she blew up at her for letting their friends die or be captured. He was a much better trainer now. He had four Pokemon, and his Trubbish had evolved into a Garbodor. He had more money than he could ever have dreamed of, but ¨¦mile wasn¡¯t having fun anymore. This wasn¡¯t how it had been when he had just joined. This wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to be. He wanted out. And yet, he was stuck in Team Gctic. The higher he went, the harder it was to leave. And he was on the way up. Mars had rmended him for a promotion, which she forced him to ept, and he was finally about to meet Cyrus in Team Gctic¡¯s Veilstone HQ, along with around a hundred other grunts. He was going to give a speech about the future of Team Gctic, which was incredibly too vague for ¨¦mile¡¯s liking. Were they finally going to strike at the government, which had failed him and his mother? If they could just do that, then it would at least have been worth it. ¨¦mile groaned as a grunt bumped into him. They were packed like a pod of Wishiwashi in this room, and this uniform made him incredibly hot. Team Gctic¡¯s leader stepped onto the stage, followed closely by his Commanders. Mars was giddy, as usual, and skipped across the stage while Charon scowled at her and limped to the center of the podium. The other woman, who must have been Jupiter, just walked forward with her chin up and a slight smile, and Saturn¡¯s expression was hard to gauge. ¨¦mile wasn¡¯t good enough with faces to tell if he was excited or angry¡ª he somehow walked the uncanny valley between the two emotions. Cyrus had spiky blue hair and no eyebrows, which was strange, but hemanded ¨¦mile¡¯s attention straight away. His face held a perpetual frown, and he had his hands behind his back. Mars perked up and adjusted his microphone, touching his torso in the process, but he paid it no mind. In fact, it looked like Cyrus hadn¡¯t even noticed. His mind was elsewhere. ¡°You are here today because you are the best Team Gctic has to offer,¡± Cyrus said, getting straight to the point. ¡°You have risen above the riff-raff and proven yourself unique. Worthy.¡± ¨¦mile let out an audible gulp. Cyrus¡¯ voice was emotionless. There was no intonation. He disturbingly kept it still and unwavering the entire time he spoke, no matter what words were being said. ¡°You joined Team Gctic thinking that we were simply trying to be a thorn in Sinnoh¡¯s side, but the truth is that we are much more than that. The human spirit is weak and iplete. There is too much conflict and too much suffering in the world. Team Gctic will harness the power of Sinnoh¡¯s old myths and science to create a brand new world without strife. We will start from zero. A nk te. That means that this world will be wiped away. Rejoice, for you have been selected. You are part of the chosen few thousand who will survive and be a part of this perfect new world.¡± It took everything ¨¦mile had not to throw up. The organization he had joined¡­ didn¡¯t exist. Team Gctic was run by crazies. This new world idea was impossible, but that somehow wasn¡¯t the worst part. Everyone who had joined and was still joining¡­ was doing so for a fucking lie. His entire goal had been brought to naught. It had never been about helping the forgotten. Still, he looked around him. They were all cheering. pping. Celebrating. They had been brazenly lied to for months or years, and yet, they didn¡¯t seem to care. They werepletely taken by Cyrus with such fanatical devotion that ¨¦mile felt like he was in a cult. He was alone. There was no one to speak up with him, so he decided to stay silent. It was toote to go back. Cyrus kept droning about his new world, and ¨¦mile stopped listening. ¡ª¡ª ¨¦mile carefully stepped down the stairs and saw Mars leaning against one of the walls. They were holed up in Eterna city HQ since the League was closing in on them, but he actually liked that. That meant that he wouldn¡¯t have to do dangerous work for a goal he didn¡¯t believe in any longer, although they were nning on abandoning the base in a week. His trip through Eterna Forest to catch that Rotom had been horrible, but he had gotten it easypared to the others. When he heard that all of the grunts had been left at Valley Windworks, his stomach dropped. Their memories had all been ripped away. The camaraderie that he had seen at the start of his career was gone. Now Team Gctic was all about results, no matter the sacrifice. Still, Team Gctic exploited that and began a campaign of misinformation, using the government of tyrannical action and trying to balloon the already ongoing protests. A year ago, ¨¦mile would have been fully on board, but now, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to care about anything. He was hollow. ¡°How goes my favorite grunt ¨¦mile?¡± Mars smirked at him. ¡°I¡¯m good, Commander,¡± he answered before eyeing the knife in her hand. She was hiding it behind her back, but it was barely showing. It was bloody, and so were her white shoes. ¡°Ah, you noticed!¡± Sheughed. ¡°Come here.¡± He shambled across the basement, and she pointed at a door. ¡°Open it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± He gulped. ¡°Open it.¡± ¨¦mile¡¯s hand trembled as he gripped the handle. He pushed down, creaked the door open, and he felt a pit form in his stomach. It was¡­ a mutted body. He was missing his nails, andcerations and cuts ran across his entire torso, arms, and legs, but the face had been leftpletely intact. Some cuts were so deep that they had reached the bone, and blood had seeped all across the floor. He still wore the Gctic uniform. ¡°Not my best work,¡± she continued, uncaring at the horror they were looking at. ¡°But not my worst either.¡± ¡°Who¡­ who was that?¡± He stammered as fear crawled down his spine. He bent over and almost threw up on the floor, but nothing came out. ¡°Calm down, ¨¦mile! I wouldn¡¯t do that to one of us. Come on, you know me better than that!¡± She said. ¡°He was a League agent that had been sent to join and infiltrate the organization. Caught him right away. He was down here for a few days while I was working on him.¡± So she had tortured him for days? ¨¦mile stopped himself from lurching. ¡°He died an hour ago. He wouldn¡¯t spill anything, though, even after I threatened his Pokemon,¡± she sighed. ¡°And when I tried to get Hypno to extract any memories, his mind came up nk. That¡¯s how I figured out he was a League guy, actually. Some kind of mental shield they use that we haven¡¯t figured out yet. How annoying. But his screams were decently fun, although there¡¯s one particr girl I want to y with soon.¡± ¡°But we got all the information we needed from the League with Rotom,¡± he said, his throat tight. ¡°We even know that they found another one of thekes by Sunyshore¡ª you didn¡¯t need to keep torturing him.¡± Mars stared at him nkly, and then her face split into a grin. ¡°Oops. I guess you found me out! The truth was that it was too much fun. Don¡¯t tell anyone else, okay? They¡¯ll get mad at me. Especially that old gruff Charon, ugh, I hate him.¡± How¡­ how had she be this way? There was no life in her eyes. Mars was a monster. ¨¦mile couldn¡¯t believe it had taken so long for him to realize it. He had often tried to guess what kind of childhood she must have had to turn out this way, but the truth was, it didn¡¯t actually matter. She just¡­ she wasn¡¯t human. She just looked the part. ¡°Why¡¯re you stepping away from me, ¨¦mile?¡± She pouted. ¡°Come on, I got you promoted! You¡¯re going to live past the end of the world!¡± I never wanted any of this, he thought as his breathing quickened. ¡°But of course, you didn¡¯t want it, did you?¡± She continued as if she was reading his mind. ¡°I knew, ¨¦mile. I knew all along. You were my pet project, you know? I wanted to see how long I could keep stringing you along toward a fate you hated. It was decently fun, but you just took it and never reacted, I mean, Blow up at me or something. Get mad! Attack me! It¡¯s toote now, though. I¡¯m bored of you.¡± ¨¦mile couldn¡¯t even register the words he had just heard. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You heard me,¡± she said. ¡°No hard feelings though, right?¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Suddenly, the entire building was rocked by an explosion. ¡°Ah, must be the League,¡± Mars smiled. ¡°About time.¡± About time? He thought. They hadn¡¯t been expecting to be found for another two weeks! ¨¦mile clenched at his Pokeball. Could he pretend to be helping and strike Mars down so that she¡¯d be arrested somehow? Killed would be better, but he would take anything he could get at this point. He didn¡¯t care what happened to him. Mars ignored his bubbling rage and skipped up the stairs as she released her Seviper and her Clefable. ¡°Let¡¯s go fight them off, shall we?¡± Mars smiled. ¡°Yes, Commander,¡± ¨¦mile hissed, grinding his teeth together. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Sludge Bomb!¡± ¨¦mile yelled. ¡°Double Edge!¡± ¡°Protect and Disarming Voice!¡± The League trainer ordered in quick session. Garbodore belched and spat out a huge lump of poison at the opposing Delcatty while Linoone¡¯s body tensed and rushed toward the normal type. Delcatty summoned a thick barrier that protected it from both attacks, before quickly screaming at Linoone, causing him to writhe on the ground. Everywhere around him, fights were erupting, ending, and ongoing. Parts of the ceiling had copsed, there were holes in the walls and the floors, and a part of the building was on fire. There were so many battles going on at this point that ¨¦mile didn¡¯t even know where Mars had gone, but he knew one thing. They were losing. The League had brought everything they had, and he caught a glimpse of Aaron from the Elite Four at one point. Linoone fainted, and he recalled him. His other Pokemon were also down. He only had Garbodore left. ¨¦mile cursed, contemting his options. Running was impossible. All exits had been blocked off, and League trainers had the building surrounded from all sides, along with the International Police. The only ce he could go was deeper into the base. ¡°Surrender,¡± the League trainer said as he covered his mouth and nose from the putrid air blowing his way. ¨¦mile ordered Garbodore to spit out another lump of poison, giving him an opening, and then booked it anyway. If he was going to get arrested, then he¡¯d make sure the monster that called itself Mars would go down with him. He quickly recalled Garbodore once he was far enough and ran away. He needed to find her. He needed to¡ª She was there, mowing down League trainers with just two of her Pokemon and giggling like a girl. She wasn¡¯t even using her Dusknoir, and yet she was standing up to three trainers at once. Clefableughed maniacally as she struck down a trainer with a Thunderbolt that flew from the tip of her finger, and Seviper stabbed a Mric¡¯s throat, its sharp tail dripping with poison and blood. ¨¦mile bit his tongue, waiting for the exact moment that he needed to strike, which was right after Clefable sent another Thunderbolt forward. ¡°Sludge Bomb,¡± he whispered, pointing at Mars. Garbodore hesitated, but he hissed out the order again, and he finally listened, spitting out another ball of poison¡ª The world drained of its color and became cold, and smoke immediately coalesced into a solid shape. The Sludge Bomb washed over Dusknoir¡¯s body, and the ghost type shot ¨¦mile a look that caused him to copse on his knees and desperately crawl back as he soiled himself. ¡°I finally broke you,¡± Marsughed. In the middle of this battlefield, her words still rang clear in his mind. ¡°You were fun after all, ¨¦mile. Leave him be for now, Dusky.¡± ¨¦mile didn¡¯t have the energy to keep going. He stayed there, on the ground and staring at the ceiling for minutes, hoping to die from a stray attack or a copsing roof. He didn¡¯t. He felt someone grab his arms and handcuff him, and then he was dragged out of the building. ¡ª¡ª ¨¦mile sat in one of Eterna city¡¯s jail cells with two other grunts, awaiting his fate. His Pokemon had been taken, and hundreds had gotten arrested, but he was sure Mars had made it out somehow. Hypno had been in the building before the fight erupted. Again, she was going to get off scot-free after all of the suffering she had inflicted. The door to his cell opened, and two League trainers walked in, apanied by a police officer. He recognized the one who owned the Delcatty, and he lowered his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to¡ª I¡¯m sorry, I never knew it would get this bad¡ª¡± ¡°Shut it,¡± he said as he beckoned a Kadabra into the room. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to do it, you didn¡¯t know it would go this far, you¡¯re sorry. I¡¯ve heard it all before, and I don¡¯t care. Your terrorist organization caused the death of a lot of good people and Pokemon today, and I¡¯m not in the mood to hear your sob story¡ª¡± He paused for a few seconds, wincing. ¡°Yes, you can start working on them now,¡± he told the Kadabra before another pause. Another pained expression from what ¨¦mile assumed was telepathy. ¡°Yeah, yeah, sorry for wasting your time. Go ahead.¡± ¨¦mile¡¯s breathing turned harsh and loud as he watched Kadabra approach his fellow grunt. Its spoon bent, its eyes shed, and the man began to convulse, biting down so hard on his tongue that his mouth started to bleed. The process took around five minutes. Five minutes of torture. They weren¡¯t even asking them questions before the extraction process. There was no out. It was going to happen to him too. ¨¦mile felt a sudden chill run down his spine as color died around the room. ¡°Ghost!¡± One of them yelled. ¡°What the fuck are the dark types doing?!¡± The two League trainers cursed and released their Pokemon as the police officer ran out of the room. ¨¦mile frantically pulled at his restraints, but he was tied down. There was no escape. Dusknoir appeared behind him, opening his mouth as thousands of screams rang out throughout the room. The two trainers clenched at their heads, and ¨¦mile fell to the ground. The headache was agonizing. He couldn¡¯t think about anything. His body was so cold. His fingers trembled as the smoky mouth closed around him, and the world went ck. ¨¦mile¡¯s body was gone, and he felt nothing any longer. Just that he was falling closer and closer to the screams. It had been hours now, or maybe days? He couldn¡¯t tell. Everything was so dark here, and there was no way to know how much time had passed. The further he fell, the more he thought that he could hear someoneugh down here. A distinct giggle he had learned to fear. Muchter, the giggle was all-epassing. It was unmistakable. Mars was down here somehow. Eventually, he slowed and stop falling. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He asked with a trembling voice. He could somehow speak, even though he held no physical form. ¡°How are you even in there? What are you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a piece of me,¡± she said. Her voice reverberated through the screams. ¡°Dusky and I are linked forever.¡± ¡°You¡ª you let it eat a part of your soul?¡± He said, his voice full of terror. ¡°Something like that,¡± she said. Even without his eyes, he could tell she was grinning. ¡°I messed up and made you hate me too much, so I couldn¡¯t save you, but I couldn¡¯t let your memories get stolen by the League either. You knew too much, ¨¦mile. Cyrus would hate me for letting that knowledge into the League¡¯s hands, but that doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯ve reached the bottom now.¡± ¡°The bottom of what?¡± ¡°Dusky¡¯s soul receptacle.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Mars didn¡¯t have to answer. ¨¦mile felt an indescribable agony re up and began to scream, adding to the thousands of other voices. He was a piece of something grander. One part out of thousands. A cog in the machine. And he would be for all of eternity.
Chapter 85 Chapter 85 CHAPTER 85 ¡°Route 216?¡± I almost choked. I hadn¡¯t even contemted that we would end up there. ¡°So we should get to Snowpoint, then?¡± ¡°No¡­ this is a problem,¡± Denzel said. He ced a palm on his forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°It takes a long time to get to Snowpoint from route 216 and 217, and we¡¯re not even on the route yet. We don¡¯t have enough supplies tost out there.¡± I shivered, squinting as another gust of wind blew past us, and sniffled. Breathing in this dry cold air was deeply ufortable. ¡°The cold¡¯s going to get worse as we travel and winter truly settles in, too,¡± Denzel continued. ¡°Right now, it¡¯s less cold than it was inside, but it¡¯ll get colder.¡± ¡°We¡¯re lucky we didn¡¯t get here in February. That¡¯s when surviving outside is impossible unless you really know what you¡¯re doing,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re right, but we still have to hurry either way,¡± Denzel agreed. ¡°We have fire types for the cold,¡± Chase said. ¡°And we can hunt for food after we run out. Melt and boil snow for water, maybe? Some wild Pokemon here are bound to be edible.¡± ¡°Not me¡­¡± I started, shaking my head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Grace¡­¡± Cece said. ¡°There¡¯s no choice.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already had this conversation, let¡¯s stop wasting time,¡± Chase said. ¡°Here¡¯s what we can do. Pastel, you¡¯ll eat the remaining food while we eat whatever we find out there.¡± I sighed. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°That works,¡± Cece agreed. ¡°I said I respected your choice, but I¡¯ve got to ask you,¡± he asked. ¡°You do know that you¡¯ve indirectly caused the death of many wild Pokemon, right? What do you think happens after you knock ¡®em out? That they just wake up a few hourster and go about their day?¡± I clenched a fist. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know that? I try my best to do good. That doesn¡¯t mean everything I do meets that standard. Sometimes, the rubber has to meet the road and there isn¡¯t any choice.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Chase said after a pause. ¡°Just wanted to see where you stood on things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯m just trying to get by with causing the least damage possible,¡± I said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s figure something out.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Cece stopped me. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t solve the Pokemon food. They have to eat if they¡¯re going to keep being out of their Pokeballs.¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°I was going to bring that up.¡± ¡°Deino and Fletchinder can eat whatever they kill in the wild,¡± Cece said. ¡°So can Scyther, but I¡¯m not nning on bringing him out any time before we at least get situated on a route. Slowpoke can only eat premade food, so he¡¯ll have to eat what we have.¡± ¡°Good thinking, Obel,¡± Chase said. ¡°Houndoom can do the same here, along with Zangoose. Ri can eat anything too.¡± Denzel and I stared at each other awkwardly. ¡°Um¡­ none of our Pokemon do that¡­¡± he said. ¡°I knew that already, and I didn¡¯t expect you to change,¡± she replied with a nod. ¡°But that¡¯s still a lot of food we¡¯re cutting out. Plus, Budew, Tang, and Frillish don¡¯t have to eat.¡± ¡°Okay, that shouldst us until Snowpoint,¡± I said. ¡°Now, to find the route. Cece, can Fletchinder do it?¡± ¡°She¡¯s never flown that far away before, but I suppose she could,¡± she answered, anxiously grabbing her flying type¡¯s Pokeball and releasing her. Fletchinder happily spread her wings and flew around us, ecstatic to be out of Mount Cor, causing Cece to smile softly. ¡°Fletchinder darling, we¡¯re out of the mountain, as you can see, but we¡¯re still lost. I¡¯m going to need you to find route 216 for us. Denzel, what should she look out for?¡± ¡°Just anywhere where the snow is less deep than this and looks like some sort of canyon¡ª the route is nestled in between two ridges. Think route 205. Or alternatively, anywhere with a ranger outpost. There¡¯s supposed to be one at the mountain¡¯s entrance on route 216, and if we can get there, our worries about food can be put to rest, and we can get help and reception for our phones.¡± Fletchinder nodded and flew off before taking onest look at us. The bird was probably anxious to be separated from us, but we¡¯d stay put and wait for her. I would have liked to send another Pokemon with her, but nothing we had flew as fast as she could. In a few seconds, Fletchinder was already gone from view. ¡°That¡¯s a fast one,¡± Chase said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Would be interesting to face with the new anti-flier techniques I¡¯ve developed after my fight with Pastel.¡± ¡°Why are you even thinking about battling me still?¡± Cecilia frowned. ¡°I still am not interested and will never be¡ª¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not fight, guys,¡± Denzel interjected. ¡°Take it in for a second. Yeah, we¡¯re still in a precarious situation, but we were stranded in Mount Cor, and we lived. Not many trainers at our level can im that.¡± I nodded, breaking into a smile. Thinking back, the one thing Mount Cor had taught me as a trainer was multitasking my team and fighting with all of them out at the same time, which was something I would have been incapable of doing before, like when we had to hold back the number of Pokemon we used in Eterna forest. I thought faster, responded better to threats, and my Pokemon were the same, able to often make the best decision independently in most situations, leaving me more time to think. I had no doubt the others were all thinking the same thing. I would even go as far and say I was ready for the third gym¡ª I caught myself. I couldn¡¯t face the gyms for the time being, or at least until we reached civilization and found out what was going on back in Eterna. The battles were always recorded, and our location would inevitably get back to Cece¡¯s father. I¡¯d have to talk to Denzel and Cece abouting up with a n of action tonight or maybe tomorrow to give them one night of rest. Looking further around, it looked like we were on the slopes of the mountain still, albeit it didn¡¯t look to be too high. I had no difficulty breathing, and I could see the terrain in front of us gradually slump. ¡°Route 216, huh?¡± Denzel said again. ¡°I actually want to catch something here or on route 217, although honestly, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be getting here until I had seven badges.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I perked up. ¡°Who is it? Wait, let me guess! Cece, help me out.¡± ¡°Looking at the other members of his team¡­ maybe a Smoochum?¡± She said. Denzel grimaced, and I broke intoughter. ¡°A Smoochum! That¡¯s¡ª that¡¯s a good one,¡± I giggled. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s not make fun of Pokemon¡¯s appearance, alright! Grace, you¡¯re not the type to do that!¡± Denzel said, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just find its evolution really funny,¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t malicious.¡± ¡°So, was I right?¡± Cece asked, smiling to herself. ¡°No! No, you weren¡¯t.¡± ¡°Okay, what about a¡­ Snom?¡± I asked. ¡°Their evolution¡¯s beautiful. You only have that kind of Pokemon.¡± ¡°I do,¡± he said, clearly stopping himself from smiling. He had taken it as apliment. ¡°But wrong! Last guess before I just tell you.¡± ¡°Vanilite!¡± I yelled. ¡°Vanilite aren¡¯t beautiful¡­¡± Cece crossed her arms. ¡°They totally are! You¡¯re cuter, though.¡± She started fanning her face with her hands and averted her gaze. I walked up to her and ced my hands around her waist. ¡°You like it when I call you cute?¡± I muttered. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t like the girl she loves to do so?¡± Cece replied, her breathing ragged. ¡°You¡¯re treading dangerous waters, Grace.¡± I felt blood rush to my face. ¡°Um, that sounds great to me, if that means what I think that means?¡± I asked. ¡°Guess the game¡¯s over,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°I really liked it too, and you barely tried. I want a female Snorunt.¡± I turned toward him. ¡°That turns into a Fross, right? Lots of scary stories about that one,¡± I said. ¡°Lures men into a cave and turns them into ice statues, knocks on the doors of small viges at night to kidnap people that are never seen again, reincarnated women that die on the slopes of Mount Cor,¡± Denzel listed. ¡°Researched ¡®em all. There¡¯s probably a hint of truth to them, but I don¡¯t really know how urate those are. Doesn¡¯t matter anyway, though, since I¡¯m catching its pre-evolution.¡± ¡°Your way of catching Pokemon is deficient, Williams,¡± Chase said. ¡°Oh yeah? Why don¡¯t you tell me why?¡± He replied, rising to the challenge. I rolled my eyes and prepared to watch what would probably be turning into a verbal fight, because Chase was incapable of disagreeing with people in a nice way. He had to be right, and he wouldn¡¯t entertain any other ideas. ¡°nning your team to a T, that¡¯s inefficient,¡± Chase rified. ¡°What if the Pokemon you catch is ipatible with you? Then you¡¯ve got a team member that will hold everyone back.¡± ¡°There are workarounds,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You can adapt the way you do things. You think too rigidly.¡± ¡°Hm,¡± he said. ¡°That doesn¡¯t work for me. I have a rigid training regiment, and if the Pokemon can¡¯t keep up, then I wouldn¡¯t catch them.¡± My eyes widened slightly. That had been less aggressive than I expected. ¡°How do you even know if a Pokemon will bepatible with you before you catch them? You have to learn to know them, to befriend them. That takes months, at the very least,¡± Denzel countered. ¡°No, there¡¯s one easy way to tell,¡± he said. ¡°The way they behave in the wild.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°There has to be a fierceness¡ª a drive to get stronger behind them that just jumps at me the moment Iy my eyes on ¡®em. I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re weak so long as they can keep up. We were all weak once. I just need ambition. Take my Charjabug, for example. When I met him, he was just a weak Grubbin getting harassed by a pack of Spearow right out of Jubilife, but even though he had no chance to win, he fought. He¡¯s a fighter. That¡¯s what I look for.¡± We all stared at him in silence for a few seconds. That had been surprisingly¡­ deeper than I had anticipated. Maybe it was my bias, but I thought that he¡¯d prioritize strength above all. In a way, he did, but he didn¡¯t care what level the Pokemon he caught were at, which was unexpected. ¡°What? What is it?¡± He asked. ¡°Good job, Chase,¡± I said. ¡°What the fuck?¡± ¡°Okay, you have a point I guess,¡± Denzel conceded. ¡°But I¡¯ve seen the way you train. I work less rigidly than you, and I¡¯m willing to adapt, so I don¡¯t mind catching Pokemon that are hard to work with. My Budew used to hate my guts, and she did for a long time¡ª it was my fault. But I worked hard to gain her trust, little by little.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s a waste of time. You could have caught another Budew and made more progress,¡± he said. ¡°But fair enough. We¡¯re different,¡± he finished with a shrug. I took off my gloves and grabbed my Poketch to tell the time. It was a little past noon, and there was obviously no reception, but it was worth the try. Even calling rangers to let them know that we were stranded would have been a good move. I exhaled into my hands to warm them up. ¡°So how long will that Fletchinder take toe back?¡± Chase asked. ¡°That depends on how far we are from the route, but it shouldn¡¯t take more than an hour or two, I would guess. We can¡¯t be too far, and she¡¯s fast, as you saw before,¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°Alright,¡± Chase said. ¡°All that catching talk made me want to catch something, so I was thinking about dipping for a bit to see if anything caught my eye.¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re the guy in the movies who separates from the main group and dies a horrible death.¡± ¡°No,¡± he said, his expression suddenly darkening. ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s left alone at the end.¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± Denzel said, breaking the silence. ¡°We might as well settle down for now, then? Make a fire, and finally feel warm after so long. Fire type Pokemon aren¡¯t as good as the real thing.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t grab my axe when we left,¡± I said. ¡°I only have my knife.¡± ¡°Neither did I, but we have Pokemon. Can Zangoose do it?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Yeah, she can cut up wood, alright,¡± he smiled. Chase and Denzel went to gather wood while Cece and I stayed behind to watch our fire types melt the snow down to a manageable level so that we could sit down and ce the logs correctly. Now that we were out of Mount Cor, we¡¯d be able to sleep in tents again as well, which would be crucial in protecting us from the wind, but we didn¡¯t want to set them up just for two hours. Cece crossed her arms and anxiously nced at the sky every few minutes. ¡°She¡¯lle back, don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s never been so far away. What if she gets attacked?¡± ¡°She¡¯s part fire, so she¡¯s resistant to ice, and she¡¯s fast enough to dodge and run away,¡± I softly said. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think¡­ what if, you know? She was our only option since she¡¯s the fastest, but I can¡¯t help but be scared.¡± ¡°You seem close to her. Closer than your other Pokemon, at least. When did you get her?¡± I asked. I knew Fletching could be found on Sinnoh¡¯s southern shores, but they were still incredibly rare in the region due to disliking the cold. ¡°I caught her in Sunyshore during the summer,¡± she said. ¡°You were in Sunyshore?¡± I eximed. ¡°I thought you were in Jubilife before the Circuit started.¡± ¡°I was there in secret to get engaged with Louis¡­ officially. She was the first Pokemon I caught after being given Deino, and we bonded instantly,¡± Cece sighed. ¡°I¡¯m d,¡± I said. ¡°d?¡± ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯ve got Pokemon who love you, I mean. I¡¯m not sure about Slowpoke¡ª I can never tell with him, but even Deino seems to care for you.¡± ¡°Slowpoke appreciates me in his own way, but I¡¯m not sure it can be defined as love,¡± Cece said. ¡°Deino¡­ Deino¡¯s different as well. He respects me, and he thinks that I¡¯m his key to getting stronger, but I wouldn¡¯t call it love either.¡± ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°He clearly cares for you.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± she said. ¡°What about Scyther?¡± I asked in a not very smooth way. ¡°Any progress?¡± ¡°Slightly, but he¡¯ll probably be furious when I release him, and he realizes that so much time has passed. At least he doesn¡¯t try to kill me that much anymore, albeit he definitely would strike me down if he had the chance.¡± ¡°Seems to me like you need to apologize and reset the whole rtionship,¡± I said. ¡°I know you value gaining a Pokemon¡¯s respect through power and all, but it won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Chase¡¯s words resonated with me, you know?¡± She said. ¡°Wasting time.¡± ¡°Are you¡­ thinking of releasing him? Because if you are¡ª¡± ¡°No. It hasn¡¯te to that yet. I am thinking about all the time I wasted beating Scyther up, however. If I had him by my side, and he was at my other Pokemon¡¯s level, then I¡¯d be more prepared to stand up to Abel. His type counters Mmar perfectly.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll help you out.¡± ¡°No. I must do it alone.¡± ¡°What?¡± I frowned. ¡°You work too hard, Grace. You ask about my worries, but what about yours? How are you?¡± I felt my legs shake. ¡°You know what crushes me the most right now?¡± I asked. Cece shook her head. ¡°The fact that our friends don¡¯t know we¡¯re alive. And Denzel and I¡¯s parents.¡± ¡°I¡­ I had been trying to keep that at the back of my mind,¡± she sighed, grabbing my hand. ¡°We need to get to civilization as fast as possible to let them know.¡± ¡°I have to talk to you about your dad first,¡± I said. ¡°Tonight. For example, is he the type to bug phones, or other devices?¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°Yes¡­ he is.¡± ¡°Then we have to figure another way. Through your brother, maybe? I¡¯ll bring Denzel too, we have to work out our next steps.¡± I leaned my head against her shoulder. Every time it looked like we were finally reaching the surface and that we were about to finally take that gasp of air, it turned out that we were even deeper than we thought. If we didn¡¯t watch out, we would all drown. Denzel and Chase came back with the wood, which had been neatly cut into logs by Zangoose, and stacked some of them up. Cecilia ordered Deino to light it up with Incinerate, but nothing happened. The wood wasn¡¯t catching on fire. ¡°What the hell?¡± I said confusedly. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Deino, try it again.¡± The dragon did the same, using a stronger me this time, and the wood still didn¡¯t catch fire. ¡°Your dragon is defective,¡± Chase smiled. ¡°Wait!¡± Denzel eximed as he facepalmed. ¡°The wood is wet. It¡¯s soaked up snow for years. That¡¯s why it won¡¯t catch fire. We¡¯re so fucking dumb.¡± ¡°Watch and learn, Williams,¡± Chase said. ¡°Houndoom, light it up.¡± The dark type snorted and used his own Incinerate, which was more powerful than Deino¡¯s by a wide margin. The wood caught fire instantly, thanks to his unextinguishable mes. The smoke emanating from the fire was terrible, causing me to cough and fan the air around me. ¡°Better than nothing,¡± Denzel sighed as he took off his gloves and ced his hands close to the fire. We waited around the fire, talking amongst ourselves. An hour and a halfter, Fletchinder was back. She gentlynded on Cecilia¡¯s shoulder and squawked. She seemed unharmed¡ª although her feathers were damp. That meant that it was snowing further ahead, and that the snow had melted on her. Cece breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed the flying type¡¯s neck, and she let out a satisfied cry. ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re safe,¡± she smiled. ¡°Did you find the route?¡± Fletchinder let out a hoot and nodded. ¡°Great!¡± Denzel said. ¡°Did you find the ranger building? Any building, actually?¡± The fire type shook her head. ¡°Ah, we must be closer to route 217 than I thought, then,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°Can you show us the way, darling?¡± Cecilia asked. Fletchinder extended her wings and took flight, circling above us. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get going,¡± Chase said. It was only my second time off route, but it was easy to tell that wilderness reigned here. Walking through this knee-deep snow was exhausting, especially after the marathon we ran to escape from Mount Cor. I had to recall Elekid and Tang because they were simply too short to stand in the snow, and the others also recalled their shorter Pokemon, although Eevee and Riolu were perched on their trainers¡¯ shoulders. The Pokemon here would be stronger overall than on the route, as Budew had been when Denzel caught her near Jubilife, but I was confident that we¡¯d be able to take whatever nature would decide to throw our way. Now it was all about minimizing the damage our Pokemon took, and we¡¯d be fine, just like in the cave. Luckily, we were traveling downward, too, giving us an easier time. This part of Mount Cor had more gentle inclines since it was far away from the mountain¡¯s summit, where the terrain got really steep, so we wouldn¡¯t have any problems getting off of the mountain. I exhaled in awe at a humongous ice formation ahead of me. It was sorge that it didn¡¯t register as a living lifeform to my brain. an Avalugg was slowly trudging its way through the snow with a few Bergmite on its back. It moved incredibly slowly, and its eyes were protected by an encasing made of transparent ice. Houndoom began to growl, and Avalugg¡¯s cier-like body shifted, grinding and creaking loudly to threaten us. ¡°Stand down,¡± Chase said with a shaky breath. Houndoom sat, and we watched as Avalugg slowly passed ahead of us, knocking the sparse trees out of the way like twigs. ¡°Sometimes, I think I¡¯m making a lot of progress, and then I see shit like that,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°Some things just aren¡¯t meant to be fought.¡± I nodded, my previous confidence having evaporated, and we continued on our way. We encountered a few Pokemon that gave us trouble, but they seemed less aggressive here than in Eterna Forest and Mount Cor, so as long as we didn¡¯t give them any trouble, they¡¯d continue along with their day and we would as well, after a few awkward stares. Not that there weren¡¯t any problems. ¡°Ember,¡± Cece ordered. ¡°Burn it!¡± Chase yelled. Houndoom and Fletchinder both sent out a stream of mes toward an aggressive Piloswine who had attacked us, but our fire type attacks seemed to have less effect than they should have on an ice type. Piloswine grunted, shaking off the pain and burns as some of its fur caught on fire. Sharp shards of ice materialized all around the ground type and flew toward us. ¡°Princess¡ª¡± I didn¡¯t even have to finish mymand. Togetic¡¯s eyes lit up and stopped the first barrage of shards, but Piloswine had already summoned another one, and Chase and I had to dive to the side not to get hit. Frillish rushed in front of Togetic, taking the hit for her. The shards of ice tore through his body, but caused less damage than they would have since he had managed to use Acid Armor in the nick of time. It hadn¡¯t been a perfect one, but it did the job. ¡°Riolu, now!¡± ¡°Eevee!¡± Riolu and Eevee jumped up next to Piloswine. They had been hiding in the snow, slowly making their way to the ice type. Riolu¡¯s palms glowed with an ethereal blue and mmed Piloswine¡¯s side while Eevee Double Kicked it right in the muzzle. The ice type roared and the ground shook, but the two Pokemon were already gone, having hidden in the snow again. Houndoom spat out onest stream of hot white mes, and Piloswine finally went down. ¡°Grace! Are you alright?!¡± Cece asked, panicking as she hobbled toward me. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± I choked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t hit.¡± She sighed in relief and helped me up. I patted down the snow from my clothes. ¡°That was a tough one,¡± Chase said. ¡°But Piloswine seems edible.¡± ¡°You try carrying a Piloswine while we travel,¡± Denzel rebuked him. ¡°We can¡¯t carry it. That means we¡¯d have to stop. Plus¡­ I know I said I¡¯d eat wild Pokemon, but I don¡¯t feelfortable skinning anything.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle the skinning. You don¡¯t even know how to do it,¡± Chase said. ¡°But you have a point. I don¡¯t want to waste any time here.¡± I stared at Frillish and grimaced. One of his tentacles was barely hanging by a thread, and an Ice Shard had tore through his face, leaving a gaping hole where his eye should be. Togetic was crying out to him and apologizing desperately, but he huffed and patted her head to tell her it was fine. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, princess,¡± I told her gently. ¡°Frillish knows it would have been worse it you got hit. That Piloswine was no joke.¡± ¡°Toge¡­¡± ¡°You feel guilty, still?¡± I asked, and she gave me a sad nod. I extended a hand and brought her head to my chest. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault. You tried your best, and you know I¡¯ll never ask for more.¡± I was trying my best not to tear up, but it killed me to see her like this. I was just starting to realize how much of a mental toll this was having on Togetic, but she still tried to pretend like everything was fine for me. I hugged her tightly, gently rubbing her back, and Frillish gave me a sage nod. ¡°I love you, princess,¡± I said softly. ¡°I promise that we¡¯ll get to a city soon. Here, why don¡¯t you go back into your Pokeball and have a break? Your brother and I can handle the rest.¡± ¡°Ge! Getic!¡± She yelled. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± I insisted. ¡°I¡¯ll use you if we need to. Just rx for a bit, okay?¡± Togetic stared at me for a few seconds and nodded. I ced my forehead against hers and smiled as I recalled her. ¡°Sorry for the wait,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± They nodded, and we began walking again. I had expected a meanment from Chase, but he said nothing. ¡°That was very sweet of you,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to try my best,¡± I answered. ¡°For her and the others. Frillish knows a bit more, but the rest of my Pokemon all look up to me for reassurance. If I start breaking down, they¡¯ll do the same.¡± ¡°The worse is behind us, Grace. By this time next week, we¡¯ll be at Snowpoint, and this¡¯ll all look like a bad dream.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± I sighed. ¡°This might be a little bit nonsensical, but¡­ Togetic and my other Pokemon¡­ I see them as my kids, you know? Even Frillish, although I rely on him the most. I guess that¡¯s a weird thing for a fifteen-year-old to say, but it¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°Every trainer has a different rtionship with their Pokemon,¡± Cece said as she grabbed my hand. ¡°Yours is special. You¡¯re closer with yours than most trainers would be after years of owning their Pokemon.¡± ¡°I just want this to be over,¡± I honestly said. ¡°Just being in a real room would probably make me break down. I¡¯m tearing up just thinking about it, it¡¯s so stupid.¡± ¡°Grace, there¡¯s nothing stupid about any of your worries. We all think the same. We want to get to a city, and we will. Don¡¯t ever think that something is too strange or silly to bring up to me, alright? I want you to rely on me as much as I¡¯ve been relying on you.¡± ¡°Hmhm,¡± I sniffled. ¡°Can I cry?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The dam broke. Cece called out for the group to stop, embracing me and letting me cry into her arms. I had tried my best. I had been strong, holding myself together throughout our entire time in Mount Cor, but I just couldn¡¯t anymore. It was strange that the closer we got to civilization, the more discouraged and exhausted I felt when it should have been the opposite. Still, at least I had people here with me to help.
Chapter 86 Chapter 86 CHAPTER 86 ¡°Seriously Grace, I want you to talk to me about this stuff, alright?¡± Denzel said. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you needed help. It¡¯s fine to call out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I replied, petting Togetic¡¯s head and basking in the fire¡¯s warmth. She was sleeping on myp while Tang was at my side, dozing off with his vines wrapped all around me. Elekid was a few feet away, ying with Larvitar in the snow. The rock type ran clumsily, slipped, and Elekid tried to help her up before being hit away with her horn. She sniggered at him and let out a small roar to celebrate her victory. ¡°Not too hard, sweetheart!¡± I yelled out. She stared back at me and nodded, but Elekid used the opportunity to throw a snowball at her, and the fighting resumed. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize,¡± he said. ¡°We all apologize too much in general when it isn¡¯t needed,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°We¡¯re among friends. Let¡¯s lean on each other and help each other out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened,¡± I said before letting out a half sigh. ¡°I was fine, and then I saw that Togetic was so worried, and I couldn¡¯t hold anything back.¡± Chase came back with his hands covered in blood, and I grimaced. I didn¡¯t know where he learned to skin Pokemon, and I certainly didn¡¯t want to ask, but he had brought back a small Swinub to roast on the fire. ¡°The job¡¯s done. Here¡¯s your knife, Pastel,¡± he said, extending his hand toward me. ¡°Just¡­ leave it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll clean it for you,¡± Denzel said. ¡°The snow needs to finish melting, though.¡± We had filled all of our empty water bottles up with snow and had set them up by the fire so that they could melt. Denzel said that it still wouldn¡¯t be safe to drink unless we boiled it for ten minutes, but we had pots for that, and we could also use them to finally wash ourselves and clean other stuff, like my knife. ¡°Thanks,¡± I nodded. ¡°Oh, by the way, I don¡¯t have a tent, so¡­¡± Chase started. ¡°I need to sleep in yours,¡± he told Denzel. ¡°What? It¡¯s going to be so fucking crammed in there, man!¡± Heined. ¡°Yeah, well, not my problem.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my tent, so it is my problem¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you mine,¡± Cecilia interrupted. ¡°Just set it up yourself.¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll just look through your bag. Williams, you get cooking.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever,¡± he snapped. ¡°This guy, I swear.¡± ¡°He¡¯s gotten better,¡± I tried. ¡°Barely!¡± ¡°Barely is a win in my book,¡± I said. ¡°Think about it, at this rate, he¡¯ll be a nice person in six months,¡± I continued sarcastically. ¡°Six years,¡± Ceceughed. ¡°We¡¯ll get there!¡± I smiled. ¡°Guys!¡± Chase called out. ¡°Ri senses something.¡± All of the fun we were having evaporated in a split second, and we stood up. I woke up Togetic and Tang and called Elekid and Larvitar to my side. Houndoom had melted the snow around us likest time, so angel and honey would be usable, at least. Riolu closed his eyes for a few seconds and pointed to our left, and our heads spun toward there. Now that no one was talking, I could hear something. A faint sound, almost like leaves rustling, but it wasn¡¯ting from the trees. I hissed in pain as a piece of hail fell on my shoulder. Then another. Then another. Togetic used Extrasensory above us, altering the path of the hail. The sounds were getting closer, and I held my breath, expecting the worst. My heart pounded against my chest as I took a small step back. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the sound came from two Snover duking it out. Their fight had somehow brought them here, and one of them had the ability Snow Warning, or maybe both. Snow below one of the Snover rose and pelted the other, who responded by just hitting the ice type with its green fist. It was almost refreshing how low-stakes the battle was. There were no moves capable of causing untold amounts of damage, just two weaker Pokemon fighting one another. After a few minutes, therger Snover hit its opponent with Razor Leaf, mmed its fist against its chest, and let out a victorious cry, which sounded like rustling leaves. Chase started to approach it slowly, ignoring the pain from the hail. ¡°Chase! What are you doing, you idiot,¡± I yelled. ¡°I feel it. The pull,¡± he simply said, beckoning his Riolu and Houndoom to follow. Snover watched suspiciously, but it wasn¡¯t capable of much more. The previous fight had exhausted it, but it still gathered snow and threw it at Chase, but Houndoompletely neutered the attack with his mes. ¡°Hey,¡± Chase said, pointing his thumb at the unconscious Snover. ¡°I see you took down your rival here.¡± Snover stared at his previous opponent and gave a wary nod. ¡°The truth is that you¡¯re still weak,¡± he continued, much to Snover¡¯s protests, who mmed his fists against his chest menacingly. ¡°It¡¯s true. You can¡¯t win against me, but I see potential in you. I see a drive to get stronger. Am I right?¡± Snover nodded, keeping his eyes on Houndoom. The hail finally stopped, and Togetic canceled her Extrasensory. Chase grabbed a Pokeball. ¡°Thene with me, and I¡¯ll make you more powerful than you¡¯ve ever imagined. I¡¯ll put you through the wringer to bring you up to the others¡¯ level, but I guarantee you that you can reach it with enough work. I would have challenged you to a battle one-on-one, but even if you hadn¡¯t just been in a battle, I would have destroyed you.¡± The grass type tilted its entire body, and after a pause, he gave a hesitant nod. ¡°Good,¡± he smiled, bumping the Pokeball on Snover, who let itself be caught. ¡°Wee to the team.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Denzel said. ¡°That was something.¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked. ¡°That was a lot of hail that fell onto you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, just some bruising,¡± Chase said. ¡°I¡¯ll be off bringing Snover up to speed and checking its moves. Call me when dinner¡¯s ready.¡± That reminded me that I hadn¡¯t even checked Larvitar¡¯s moves yet! I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned her with it. Moves: Leer, Tackle, Horn Attack, Rock Throw, Payback. ¡°Not bad!¡± I smiled. I genuinely hadn¡¯t been expecting Rock Throw or Payback to be there, since Larvitar hadn¡¯t used those moves during our entire time together. She seemed to be a fan of Horn Attack, though, since she liked attacking Elekid with it so much to y. ¡°Larvi!¡± She said proudly. Was Elekid rubbing off on her? She had already adopted Frillish¡¯s huffing too. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited. We¡¯ve got to let you grow up a little first before we get you in any battles, alright?¡± Larvitar hissed and angrily turned away from me. Tang gently petted her head, and she smiled, but her smile turned to anger when Elekidughed at her. ¡°Don¡¯t bully her, hon,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll catch up, don¡¯t worry,¡± I told Larvitar, rubbing her hard cheek. Togetic was already back to sleep on myp. She was too exhausted to even y with the others, which hurt me like an invisible stake was being driven through my chest. I knew how much she liked to fool around with the family. We ate dinner, and I was content with my two gran bars. We stayed awake for a few more hours, and then set up our tents. It finally sunk in that I was going to sleep in the same tent as Cece. Of course, we had already slept close together, and we¡¯d probably be in different sleeping bags, but now that we were dating, it was more nerve-wracking somehow. Still, before going to sleep, there was one more topic to discuss. Denzel stepped past Frillish and into our tent. ¡°Did we have to do this in here? It¡¯s so cramped¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t have grown up so big, then,¡± I snarked, making him roll his eyes. ¡°This is important. It¡¯s about what we¡¯re doing when we get to Snowpoint.¡± ¡°Right,¡± he said, his tone growing serious. ¡°I was starting to think about that as well.¡± ¡°First thing¡¯s first,¡± I said. ¡°Calling the others is off the table for now, but I had a question for you, Cece. Your father¡¯s a fucking sociopath, and we¡¯ve established that he¡¯d most likely bug the other¡¯s phones¡ª¡± ¡°What?¡± Denzel gasped. ¡°¡ªbut would he go after our parents too?¡± I finished. ¡°Because the first thing I want to do is call mine.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. A part of me thinks so. If he believes us to be dead and he wants to salvage his reputation, he might try to pay them a settlement to stop them from talking, depending on how much information has gotten out.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t ept,¡± I said. Denzel nodded. ¡°Still, I could ask Mark about it.¡± ¡°I thought about your brother too. Is that safe?¡± I asked. ¡°My father holds no power over him, and he only tolerates him because thepany supplies Unova with a lot of its energy. Calling him would be safe,¡± Cece said. ¡°He could have a few contacts in Sinnoh to check with your dad, although I don¡¯t think he could send anyone to Twinleaf.¡± Denzel let out a trembling sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find out!¡± Cece stammered. ¡°It¡¯ll just take longer.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°Look, if he hasn¡¯t bothered my dad, odds are he hasn¡¯t sent someone to your mom¡¯s either, so let¡¯s keep our spirits high.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said. ¡°Still, thinking about it, the other¡¯s phones will definitely bepromised since they¡¯ll want to control theirmunication either way.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re probably living under house arrest right now,¡± I sighed. ¡°Still, I¡¯ll also ask him for help about our Abel problem, but I don¡¯t expect much,¡± she muttered. ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°I know you said he¡¯s indifferent to your situation, but this is mind control we¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Maybe he will help, I¡¯ve just learned not to expect much when ites to him,¡± she said. ¡°But don¡¯t expect him toe flying to save me. Like I said, father controls a lot of Unova¡¯s energy, and trying to arrest him would open a whole can of worms, especially since he¡¯s in Sinnoh right now. The situation isn¡¯t as one-sided as it seems.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s better than nothing. We¡¯ll get more informed when we get to a city. Next up, we need to figure out where we¡¯re going.¡± ¡°Staying in Snowpoint might be wise,¡± Cece said. ¡°It¡¯s the most isted city in Sinnoh. My father will never look for us here, and we can use the opportunity to train.¡± ¡°Agreed, I just wanted to bring it up,¡± I said. ¡°But you won¡¯t be able to get any of your money from your ount, otherwise your father will find out. That means money will be a bit of an issue for potions and stuff, but we can stay in Pokemon Centers. Nurse Joys are sworn to medical secrecy, I think they won¡¯t expose us being alive.¡± ¡°Snowpoint will be pretty empty, too. Most trainers leave before the Circuit starts,¡± Denzel said. Cece nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I would rather be poor and free than rich and held by chains.¡± I smiled and held her hand. ¡°No gym battle is obvious, even though I would have liked to see what Candice was all about,¡± I said. ¡°Unless we can find a way around the publicity it would bring. But when we finish training, we¡¯ll have to go back into the world and expose your dad for the scumbag he is.¡± Cecilia''s face broke into an evil grin. ¡°When we¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll retract as much money as possible into my trainer card, and we can take the ferry to Canve and then book a flight somewhere.¡± I nodded. We¡¯d have to break one of the taboos of being a trainer, but at this point, I couldn¡¯t really bother caring. If people wanted to trash-talk us after we made it out of Mount Cor, they were free to. Their words wouldn¡¯t affect me. ¡°We¡¯ll figure that out. Circumstances might change which city we go to,¡± I said. ¡°But right now, Sunyshore or Hearthome seem to be our best bet.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I would have said stick around in Canve.¡± ¡°Canve could work, but those two are huge and easy to hide in if needed, but there are also a lot of people. They¡¯re Sinnoh¡¯s second and thirdrgest city. That means that doing something illegal and hiding it, like, you know, pulling out your Mmar and mind-controlling children in the middle of the street is going to be a hell of a lot harder. So long as we stay in public as much as possible, we¡¯ll be fine, but that¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°Stop teasing us!¡± Denzel groaned. ¡°You like doing this too much.¡± ¡°Cece¡¯s going to reveal herself to be alive. That means that she¡¯ll get a lot of publicity¡ª publicity that makes it impossible to hide, even if you¡¯reying low in a Pokemon Center. And so will we, to a lesser extent. More than she had even at the start of the Circuit. That means that when she speaks to the camera, she can expose her dad for the piece of shit he is like she tried to do in that second letter.¡± ¡°I love you and your devilish ideas,¡± Cece practically squealed. ¡°They probably got their hands on that letter by now and are stopping the others from talking, but they can¡¯t stop me from saying anything. I¡¯ll make his stock price tank so much, oh Arceus, it¡¯s going to be glorious.¡± ¡°What about Chase?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°What¡¯s he going to do?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s not involved in any of this¡­¡± I said. ¡°So he¡¯ll probably stick around in Snowpoint for a bit, challenge Candice, and leave. We¡¯ll talk to him about that when we get there.¡± ¡°I doubt he would care that much about our issues,¡± Cece said. ¡°And even if he did, we can¡¯t expect him to hold back his entire journey for us.¡± I nodded. ¡°It sucks to say, but you¡¯re right. He¡¯s been a great help, but we might not be together for much longer.¡± ¡°So now it¡¯s about how good we can get, and how fast,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Mount Cor¡¯s made us improve a whole bunch, but we need something to push ourselves to the next level.¡± ¡°The answer to that is simple,¡± Cece said. ¡°Evolutions. If we push our teams to the next level, some of them are bound to evolve. Deino is on the cusp. I can feel it.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Denzel awkwardly said, scratching his head. ¡°Eevee might have to wait, but you¡¯re right for some others. Grace can finally start teaching Tang Ancient Power so that he can evolve.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± I faltered, almost falling over. ¡°Um¡­ Tang evolves into Tangrowth by learning Ancient Power? Did you¡­ did you not know this before wanting to catch him?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I¡­ did not,¡± I blushed before covering my face. Cece chuckled. ¡°I thought he evolved normally!¡± ¡°How can you be so smart and thorough about stuff and yet fail at the most simple tasks?¡± Denzel joked. ¡°That¡¯s a superpower.¡± ¡°Shut up! How does that make any sense? How was I supposed to know?¡± ¡°Research, you idiot,¡± he said. ¡°But anyway, I know Eevee could evolve any time now, but he¡¯s still holding himself back. He¡¯s uncertain. I¡¯ll have to figure out something with him.¡± ¡°Have a heart-to-heart with him,¡± I nodded. ¡°Oh, and onest thing! Cece, you said your brother could at least be trusted not to leak that you were alive when you called, so that got me thinking. Can he help us out¡­ more? By sending money, I mean? Just enough to stock up on potions to train as much as we could.¡± ¡°He might. I¡¯ll see when I call, nothing is set in stone.¡± ¡°Sounds good. All of this might be irrelevant depending on what happened back in Eterna anyway, I just hope the others are safe. Meeting¡¯s over, now shoo!¡± I yelled at Denzel. ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m leaving!¡± He eximed as he fumbled out of the tent. ¡°You kids have fun, alright? Don¡¯t make too much noise, or¡ª¡± ¡°If you finish that sentence, I will kill you,¡± I said. Arceus¡­ it wasn¡¯t like we were going to do anything. And it wasn¡¯t like I wanted anything to happen! Totally not! We were just going to go to sleep, and¡ª ¡°May I?¡± Cecilia asked, gently pushing me down. She stayed atop of me, and we stared at each other until we both averted our eyes out of embarrassment. My heart was beating so quickly I thought it was going to jump out of my throat. ¡°Yes¡­¡± I whispered. She lowered herself and started kissing my neck. ¡ª¡ª I woke up once I felt Cece shift around the sleeping bag that we had spontaneously decided to share. I stayed unmoving, unwilling to wake her up or Togetic, who I had released after we finished fooling around. She was hugging me from behind, and it felt so warm. That certainly helped with the cold. Around twenty to thirty minutester¡ª I wasn¡¯t sure since I couldn¡¯t count¡ª Cece yawned and stretched, signaling that she was up. ¡°Morning,¡± I said, turning toward her. ¡°Grace, you¡¯re already up?¡± She asked. ¡°I waited for you. I don¡¯t think the others are up.¡± We waited for a few seconds and heard no sounding from outside. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re not up. Denzel sleeps like a log anyway, we¡¯ll have to wake him up,¡± I continued. ¡°Um¡­ sorry aboutst night. I said some¡­ embarrassing things,¡± Cece said with a bit of uncertainty. ¡°No! It was the first time anyone¡¯s everplimented me so much before, I liked it a lot!¡± I hurriedly answered. ¡°I mean¡­ I like it when you call me h¡ªhot.¡± ¡°It was new for me too, the words just came out,¡± she said. ¡°Sorry about your neck too. There are¡­ marks.¡± I awkwardly shuffled in the sleeping bag and rubbed my neck. ¡°Hickeys?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she barely answered. ¡°That¡¯ll be awkward, but I¡¯m sure Chase won¡¯t say anything. I hope. Denzel might make fun of us for it.¡± ¡°Well, so long as Chase doesn¡¯t chastise us with an irritatingment, I¡¯ll call that a victory,¡± she sighed. I kissed her and grabbed my Poketch to check the time. It was still barely nine in the morning. ¡°I only have twelve percent left in the tank,¡± I said before quickly turning it off. ¡°Not like it¡¯s much use out there anyway. There are some spots on routes where there¡¯s reception, but the odds of that being true on route 216 and 217 are rather low.¡± ¡°Sinnoh really needs to invest into its route infrastructure,¡± she said. ¡°This isn¡¯t a problem in most of Unova.¡± ¡°Wait, you can just call people and browse the inte in the middle of routes?¡± I asked surprisingly. ¡°In most of the routes. Some still haven¡¯t been built up enough. We pride ourselves on having the lowest trainer casualty rate, you know? Sinnoh is brutal in its nonchnce with trainer deaths.¡± ¡°Denzel probably would take offense to that, but I think Sinnoh should learn a few things from Unova, and especially that.¡± ¡°The weather, also,¡± Cece joked. ¡°It¡¯s still early¡­¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said as I climbed out of the sleeping bag. ¡°But we¡¯ve got to get going. Princess, wake up,¡± I said as I gently petted her. ¡°Prrri¡­¡± shemented. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard, but you¡¯ve got to eat breakfast. Three meals a day!¡± ¡°To¡­¡± ¡°You can go back to sleep after eating,¡± I continued as I lifted her up. ¡°Come on up!¡± Togetic floated up for a few seconds with her eyes half-opened and thenid back down. At least she wasn¡¯t sleeping... yet. ¡°Maybe you should give her a few more minutes,¡± Cece whispered as she grabbed me from behind. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I said yfully. Cecilia started kissing my neck again. ¡°Not in front of¡ª¡± I nced down, and Togetic had fallen asleep again. Ah, screw it. ¡ª¡ª I stood near Denzel¡¯s tent with Elekid and Larvitar in tow. Togetic was hanging out with Frillish and Tang near the center of the camp, while Chase and Cece had started to pack with their respective teams close by. There was one reason I had brought honey and sweetheart here with me. They were mischievous pranksters. Elekid was more on the yful side of things, while Larvitar was more vicious, but I¡¯d slowly try to wean off her aggressiveness down to a more manageable level. She often still liked to attack others out of the blue. It was fine when they were members of my team, but I didn¡¯t want her to annoy the other Pokemon. Still, we had a job to do. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked them. ¡°Tar!¡± ¡°Elekid!¡± ¡°You guys! Don¡¯t be so loud!¡± I hissed. ¡°He¡¯ll wake up. Shhhh,¡± I continued with a finger on my mouth. ¡°Follow my lead.¡± I silently opened Denzel¡¯s tent, hoping that the cold rush of air getting in wouldn¡¯t wake him up. He looked so silly, drooling as he slept, and he had no idea what wasing. I motioned at my two Pokemon and grabbed a handful of snow. Elekid and Larvitar did the same, although they struggled to get a substantial amount. I wasn¡¯t going to mold it into a snowball and throw it at him, I was going to ce it directly on his face. Why? Well, I felt happy this morning, which was almost a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turnpared to yesterday. Having a girlfriend was kind of like magic, somehow. Still, that wasn¡¯t it. It was also a pre-emptive strike to all of the teasing that was no doubt going to being from him today. I could already see his goofy grin and his eyebrows wiggling. I stepped into the tent, followed by my two aplices, looked at them, and nodded before ramming all of the snow I had gathered on his face. He thrashed around and spat for a few seconds, and I broke downughing. Elekid and Larvitar did the same, staring down at him. ¡°What the¡ª Grace, what the hell?!¡± He screamed. ¡°Run!¡± I told my Pokemon. We hurried out of the tent and ran toward the center of the camp, and I saw a snowballnd right beside me. ¡°Learn how to aim, idiot!¡± I taunted. ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± I quickly made it to where Cecilia and Chase were, and they shot me a curious look. I hid behind my girlfriend and stuck out my tongue to Denzel, who was carrying two massive snowballs in both of his hands. ¡°Cece, let me through. She deserves it,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what happened.¡± ¡°She put snow all over my face when I was sleeping!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your proof? You just started attacking me out of nowhere,¡± I lied. ¡°This really isn¡¯t the time to be ying around,¡± Chaseined. ¡°That¡¯s right, man, it¡¯s not the time to be ying. Go get ready already,¡± I smiled maliciously. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you today¡ª¡± he started before stopping. ¡°Oh. Oh. I see.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do it.¡± Denzel started to smirk. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± He gave me a thumbs-up and then pointed at my neck. ¡°Cece¡¯s more outgoing than I thought.¡± Chase frowned. ¡°What? What¡¯s that on her neck?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, kiddo,¡± he replied. ¡°Don¡¯t call me a fucking kid! What is it?!¡± ¡°Erm¡­¡± she muttered. I felt the blood rush to my face and immediately crouched to grab a snowball of my own, but Denzel used the opportunity to angle his body to the side and throw his own snowballs at me. I yelped as snow covered my hair. ¡°Gotcha,¡± he smiled. ¡°We¡¯re even now, right?¡± ¡°Ugh, sure,¡± I groaned, crossing my fingers. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to fold up my tent¡ª¡± I threw a snowball at his back, and Larvitar tried to imitate me. Hers didn¡¯t go nearly as far, though. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, cracking his neck as he turned toward me. ¡°You asked for this.¡± ¡°Spare me from any coteral damage, please,¡± Cece quickly added. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Great job wasting so much time, idiots,¡± Chase scolded. ¡°One hour wasted.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I genuinely said. ¡°It got out of hand.¡± ¡°You got involved too by the end!¡± Denzel mocked. ¡°I did not, I was just hit by a stray shot and was forced into fighting back¡­¡± We were back on the road, and getting closer to the route. ording to Cece, Fletchinder had said we¡¯d make it on route 216 by tonight or early tomorrow, which meant that we¡¯d finally be able to rx and not face Pokemon way too strong for our level. That also meant I¡¯d be able to start up training again, since we wouldn¡¯t spend all of our Pokemon¡¯s energy battling threats all day. Pokemon on the route would most likely be too scared to attack such arge group. Of course, since we had no potions, I wouldn¡¯t go back to making my Pokemon fight each other yet. I did want to have them work on new moves, though. It had been too long since any of them had learned anything new. Sure, that meant that they were really good with what they currently had, and they were able to push their current movesets to their limits, but I was desperatelycking in versatility. Whereas Cece was content with having her moves pack the most powerful punch, my Pokemon weren¡¯t there yet. That meant I¡¯d need a variable moveset to face uing threats, at least until my Pokemon evolved to be stronger. Right now, Tang and Frillish were my heavy hitters, but Deino could easily overpower both of them. I wanted to focus on angel first and foremost. Now that I knew he could evolve as soon as he learned Ancient Power, there was no way I¡¯d let the opportunity slip past me. Of course, I already knew that it would take longer to teach him the move than it had taken with Togetic, especially since he was a little slow on new experiences, but I fully believed that we¡¯d manage together. Plus, princess would be able to help him out this time, so we weren¡¯t going to start from zero. Hopefully, his evolution would give me the firepower I stillcked. With Elekid, I wanted to work on Shock Wave. I had already wanted to do so, but with how harrowing Mount Cor had been, I got sidetracked. I knew he wouldn¡¯t struggle much on the move though, so I also wanted to teach him Fire Punch, which, if we stuck around Snowpoint and its surroundings as we were currently nning, would be a great help. Damn, I really wanted a fire type. Next, I wanted Frillish to finally perfect Acid Armor and work on Shadow Ball and Recover. I knew I was giving him a lot of work, but I also knew he was up to the task. Acid Armor and Recover would allow him to gain an incredible amount of survivability in battle, and Shadow Ball would rival or even maybe beat Water Pulse in the amount of damage he could deal. It would take a long time, but hey, we were nning to stay here for a while. For princess, I wanted her to work mainly on Air Cutter. We were severelycking in flying type moves, and it would fill that gap. The move hit hard, was difficult to dodge, and would be quicker to use than a powerful Fairy Wind. Plus, I knew that it was a good segue into the devastating move Air sh, which was still a far way off. Next, I wanted to work on Double Edge as well. I knew the move was so powerful that it hurt the user, but we desperately needed it as ast resort against Pokemon that were too fast for her, notably Fletchinder. I did love Cece, but I wanted to beat her very badly, still. Finally, Larvitar would just observe, eat, grow up, and run around with me and Elekid whenever we started those up again. She was too young to battle still, but I could still start getting her into shape and try out her current moves. I¡¯d think about what new moves to work on with herter. Riolu suddenly snapped me back to reality as he tapped on Chase shoulder and let out a warning. ¡°Another Pokemon?¡± Chase asked. ¡°Ri¡­ Riolu.¡± ¡°More? A lot?¡± The fighting type nodded, and my eyes darted in every direction, trying to tell what direction the threat woulde from. There were no signs of life, however. No noise, or Pokemoning out from behind any trees, which was the only ce where they could have hidden. It was still daytime, which meant we should have been able to spot them. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Denzel whispered. ¡°Ri¡¯s never wrong,¡± Chase snapped. ¡°Which direction?¡± Riolu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he began looking all around us. I heard a hiss that made my neck hair stand on end, and I felt a bead of sweat trickle down to my chin. Then there were multiple. It was only now that I noticed the w marks on the trees and the small rocks around us. ¡°Well, fuck,¡± Chase breathed out as he released Zangoose. I swallowed as twenty Sneasel suddenly appeared all around us. Some had been hiding on top of the trees, while others peeked their head out from the thickyer of snow. Thergest Sneasel shot us a wicked grin and honed its ws together. ¡°Stay close,¡± Cece told us. ¡°Chase,¡± I said, biting the inside of my mouth. ¡°Get Houndoom to melt the snow around us.¡± Chase nodded. ¡°You heard her.¡± The snowy environment was going to screw us up big time. A lot of our Pokemon were short and weren¡¯t able to move around properly. We needed as many of them fighting as possible to survive theing battle. Houndoom growled, and I felt sweat start to umte on my body as his body heated up, and he slowly used Incinerate, walking all around us to get the snow out of the way. The pack of Sneasel were incredibly fast, and adept at navigating through this terrain, so they dodged without much difficulty, but that was fine. We released our entire teams, except Larvitar and Snover, and waited for theing attack. It didn¡¯te. The leading Sneasel let out a vicious hiss, signaling to his pack to stay put. ¡°Elekid, Thundershock,¡± I ordered quietly. He grunted, spinning his arms and sent out a bolt of electricity toward the closest Sneasel, who got on all fours and wed itself to the left before going to hide behind a tree. ¡°Burn that fucking tree down,¡± Chase spat. Houndoom nodded and spat out another Incinerate, but the Sneasel was too quick¡ª only slightly slower than Fletchinder was in the sky. They still didn¡¯t attack. ¡°Okay, Grace,¡± Denzel exhaled, clearly nervous. I was too. ¡°We Swifting or what?¡± I nodded. ¡°Not much else we can do. Aim for the leader.¡± I ordered Elekid to send out an Electric Swift, and Eevee did the same, using the normal version of the move. Sneasel ran off, hissing at its pack. They all grouped up and blew an Icy Wind toward the flurry of stars, freezing them in ce before wing them apart. I hadn¡¯t even known that was possible. We spent another minute trying to hit any Sneasel, but none of our attacks were connecting, and we didn¡¯t want to risk sending our melee fighters. This group was clearly well coordinated and could employ strategy. This was my first fight of this kind. They didn¡¯t rush in and attack like other wild Pokemon. They had a n, but I couldn¡¯t figure out what it was. ¡°What do we do?¡± Cecilia asked. Deino sent out another Incinerate their way, but the group just splintered and weaved out of the way. ¡°Nothing is working. They aren¡¯t even attacking.¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°I know what they¡¯re doing. They¡¯re waiting us out.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Chase said. ¡°We¡¯re stuck here. We can¡¯t outrun them through the snow, we can¡¯t hit them with any attacks.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± I said, finally understanding. ¡°There isn¡¯t any point risking themselves in a fight if they can just tire us out.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t they get tired as well?¡± Chase asked. ¡°Look closely,¡± Denzel started. ¡°They only move when they have to dodge an attack, and only use moves when they¡¯re out of options. Meanwhile, we¡¯ve been using our attacks over and over,¡± he exined. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t attack then,¡± Cece agreed. ¡°Not unless they rush in. Let¡¯s have our fire types forge a path through the snow, maybe? That way, we can stay on the move.¡± ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t see any other option,¡± I said. ¡°If we stay here, nothing will change. Even though it¡¯ll take days, eventually we¡¯ll be exhausted, both mentally and physically, and someone will make a mistake. Someone, or a Pokemon, will slip up and get mortally injured or die." ¡°Let¡¯s do this properly, though,¡± Cece warned. ¡°Our most important assets here are our fire types. If we tire them out using fire moves on snow, they might sense weakness and strike.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± I nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it like this. We have Fletchinder, Deino¡¯s Incinerate, Buneary¡¯s Fire Punch, and Houndoom. Buneary¡¯s Fire Punch is probably the slowest to melt snow, but she¡¯ll be of less use against the Sneasel, so let¡¯s start with her.¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°She can go for a while, we trained a lot with the move before our fight with Gardenia¡ª¡± Houndoom and Deino both melted another Icy Wind with their fire type attacks, causing us to jump, expecting their assault to be imminent. The ice types hissed all around us, but didn¡¯t attack. ¡°They¡¯re keeping us on our toes. Can¡¯t get too rxed,¡± Denzel said. He noticed my face, which was probably full of fear, and pped my shoulder as Cece held my trembling hand. ¡°We¡¯ve got this.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make it out,¡± Cecilia added, clenching my hand tightly. ¡°I know,¡± I said, my voice quivering. It seemed that no matter how many near-death experiences I was going to be in, the fear was never going to leave me. But I had learned to mold it and use it to sharpen my wit, as I had with my nervousness. As long as it were only wild Pokemon we were facing, I¡¯d be on top of my game. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Your turn to keep watch.¡± I woke up to Chase shaking my shoulder. I struggled to keep my eyelids open, but after a few seconds, I remembered the dire situation we were in and I woke up like he had just sshed me with cold water. I yawned as I stepped out of the tent, and I saw Denzel and Cece staring in the distance. The Sneasel pack had stalked us and harassed us the entire day, and they lurked in the darkness, ready to pounce at any sign of weakness. Riolu knew, and could let us know whenever they approached. We hade up with a system that at least let us sleep a little bit, by going on a rotational basis. One of us would sleep at a time, along with three of our Pokemon. Still, we¡¯d be woken up every twenty minutes or so because the Sneasel would feint an attack on the group, making us yell at whoever was sleeping to wake up. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like sleeping,¡± I whispered to them. ¡°I feel like staying awake would probably get me less tired.¡± ¡°We¡¯llst longer like this,¡± Denzel said as he munched on a protein bar. Since we were being followed so closely, any hope of hunting wild Pokemon had gone off the window. ¡°Which isn¡¯t long at all,¡± Cece grimaced. ¡°Sooner orter we¡¯ll have to make a move. Tomorrow morning, we reach the route. If they follow us, there will be less snow, meaning that we can cover more ground faster.¡± ¡°Or have better options to fight,¡± I nodded. Denzel perked up. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and find a trainer on the route to help us.¡± I sighed at the notion that we might have to involve someone else in this, but maybe seeing our numbers grow would make the Sneasel change their mind. ¡°I¡¯d rather not, but we¡¯ll see,¡± I said. ¡°Either way we¡ª¡± Riolu barked, warning us that he sensed movement. Frillish¡¯s head whirled to the right and he released a Water Pulse toward that direction. I heard a small hiss, and saw that three Sneasel had circled around us toward the tent. They were jumping at it and tearing it open. Riolu rushed toward Chase and kicked a Sneasel¡¯s face in, staggering it and giving Charjabug the time to hit it with Thundershock. Chase rushed out of the torn-up tent, and a stream of fire type attacks consumed the other two Sneasel along with it. They were fast, but they weren¡¯t sturdy, so they immediately went down¡ª I heard Deino bellow out as an Icy Wind hit him, along with Slowpoke and Eevee, while the rest of the Sneasel surrounded us and were attacking from all sides. This wasn¡¯t just a distraction or a feint like the other attacks had been. They were making their y now. ¡°Elekid, light up the area! Togetic, help out with Ancient Power! Use it defensively!¡± I said in quick session. I barely had the time to get the words out before Buneary took a sh to the face, bloodying her, and Eevee kicked her assant away with a Double Kick. Elekid yelled and created a light source for us as he had done against Sableye in Mount Cor. Light was crucial. The Sneasel were part dark type, meaning that even though they couldn¡¯t sink in the shadows as Sableye could, they were still incredibly difficult to spot in the dark, and with Riolu too preupied with defending Chase¡ª ¡°Houndoom, light ¡®em up!¡± the trainer yelled, holding his arm. Two huge w rakes had shed across it, and he was bleeding profusely. ¡°Deino!¡± Cece screamed, now that the dragon had recovered from the icy type attack. The two Incineratebined into one, sting away another Sneasel as its body turned into a smoking husk. I felt someone tackle me from behind and a snowy rock mmed into a Sneasel mid-air. It had been jumping at my throat. We continued to battle, using everything at our disposal. I was thinking so much, moving around, barely breathing¡ª this was a test of everything we had learned so far. I recalled Togetic when I heard her scream. Two Icy Winds had hit her in tandem, freezing her wings. Even though she didn¡¯t need them to fly, she panicked and fell to the ground. It was safer to recall her before she could get jumped by the remaining Sneasel¡ª ¡°Ele!¡± I spun around and stared at Elekid, who had stopped generating his light and was locked inbat with two Sneasel. Two out of the remaining twelve. They had singled him out, since he was the only one that kept the area lit up. Charjabug had gone down minutes earlier. I looked around, desperately staring at who could help. Frillish was already helping Tang and Budew, who had the type disadvantage, and the rest of the Pokemon were all upied. I fumbled with trembling hands at Elekid¡¯s Pokeball and¡ª Dropped it in shock. Sneasel had opened up a huge gash across his chest, barely missing his eye, and the other one was slowing him down with Icy Wind. I cursed, feeling tears stream down my face as I dropped to my knees and searched for the Pokeball. It was so dark, I couldn¡¯t fucking find the Pokeball why couldn¡¯t I find it where was it oh Arceus oh no¡ª Electricity rumbled across Elekid¡¯s two fists as he managed to punch a Sneasel in the cheek. It was convulsing on the ground, having been paralyzed by his Static ability, but the other was still a threat. ¡°Frillish! Tang!¡± I shrieked. Tang tried to get to me but was knocked down by an attack while a Sneasel jumped on Frillish¡¯s back, knocking him to the ground. I stared around nkly. Everyone was in the midst of their own life and death battle. Denzel was wrestling a Sneasel away from Buneary while Eevee kicked its arm, snapping it like a twig. Chase had already been wounded, and Cece¡¯s Deino had fallen to the ground from all the ice type attacks it had taken. Elekid¡¯s muscle bulged as a blinding light surrounded him, revealing that a Sneasel had stolen his Pokeball and carried it away from me. I let out heavy breaths as I watched honey evolve into an Electabuzz. His face contorted into rage and he mmed a fist into the Sneasel¡¯s nose, faster this time. The icy type was knocked over and Electabuzz lifted it up with a fist around its neck, shocking it with an attack that was too powerful to be Thundershock. The Sneasel went limp and Electabuzz let him go before blurring toward the Sneasel shing at Frillish and knocking him away. He was just as fast as they were now, and he could easily keep up. With Elekid¡¯s evolution, the tide had turned in our favor. It took another few minutes for Electabuzz and the rest of our remaining Pokemon to mop up the rest of the Sneasel, causing the rest of the icy types to cut their losses and flee. There were only five of them left, including the leader. We had knocked out all the rest, and two had apparently died to Houndoom¡¯s mes. Electabuzz approached me, blood mixing with the thunder-like motif on his chest. He was only a head shorter than me now, which was strange to see. Being close to him made all of my hair stand on end, not because I was scared, but because of the sheer volume of electricity he had in his body. Frillish¡¯s face and body were barely recognizable, and Tang appeared almost unscathed, except that he was running low on vines. I sniffled and brought Electabuzz into a hug. I felt a small shock, and his blood got on my clothes, but I didn¡¯t care. ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay,¡± I cried. ¡°I was so scared, I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m sorry, your Pokeball, I dropped it. You were wounded because of me.¡± Electabuzz returned my hug, awkwardly patting my back. He hadn¡¯t lost his patting habit. I ended the hug, but kept my hands on his shoulders to get a good look at him. ¡°Look at you,¡± I sniffled. ¡°My little honey¡¯s all grown up.¡± He was taller than an average Electabuzz, even though he had been average sized as an Elekid. Maybe it was because of the situation he had evolved in? It had been a life or death fight after all. ¡°Electabuzz,¡± he answered, shing me a sharp smile. ¡°Buzz.¡± I let out a smallugh. ¡°You¡¯re so silly,¡± I smiled. ¡°I told you that you¡¯ve always been pulling your weight. There was no reason for you to feel¡­ inadequate. Promise me, no more taking risks, alright? You should have stayed close to the group.¡± He hung his head and let out a small sound to agree. ¡°Larvitar and Togetic are going to have to do a double-take the next time they see you,¡± I smiled. ¡°But now it¡¯s time to rest up in your Pokeball, alright? You were great.¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± Heughed. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re always great,¡± I said as I walked toward his fallen Pokeball. I recalled him. ¡°Get some sleep.¡± I turned to Frillish. ¡°You too, buddy. You¡¯ve been out of the Pokeball for too long. I know you don¡¯t sleep, but I also know you won¡¯t let yourself rx if I leave you out of the ball. You took a beating.¡± He was about to protest, but I already recalled him before he could. ¡°Angel, you did great too. You¡¯re with me. It¡¯s going to be a long night.¡± The grass type wriggled, blinking twice. ¡°Thanks,¡± I smiled. I looked around, and it seemed like the others had finished talking to their teams and had recalled them. As it stood, we only had Houndoom, Riolu, Tang, Fletchinder and Eevee well enough to fight. The battle had taken everything we and our teams had. Cece was unharmed, but she pulled me into a warm hug and kissed me. She had been crying like I had, and was seemingly as rattled from the battle as I had been. Denzel sighed and stared at his palm, which had been cut by a Sneasel. It wasn¡¯t that deep, however, and he¡¯d recover rather quickly. Chase was the one with the biggest problem. The entire length of his arm had been torn open by a Sneasel, and he was wobbling around from the loss of blood. Denzel sat him down and grabbed a towel to clean to wound, then a bandage to wrap his arm up and stop the bleeding. We went to sleep soon after, too exhausted to even have someone stand guard in case the Sneasel showed up again. The only Pokemon that was watching out for threats was Houndoom. We were being spread dangerously thin. Luckily for us, the next morning, Togetic carefully lifted us down a cliff, and then we stepped through a thick tree line. We were finally on route 216. The worst was finally behind us.
Chapter 87 Chapter 87 CHAPTER 87 I stared at Chase, who was clenching tightly at his bandaged arm. From our time together, I had learned that he usually hated to show that he was in any kind of pain, so I was sure that if he couldn¡¯t ignore the wound on his arm, it had to be terrible. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± I asked, getting slightly closer. ¡°Yeah, I just feel a little lightheaded. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± He answered. His tone wasn¡¯t as boastful as usual, which worried me further. ¡°Do you need a break?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°We¡¯re in no danger, so it¡¯s fine if we stop for a bit.¡± ¡°No, we keep going. The sooner we get to Snowpoint, the better,¡± he said. ¡°Well, I definitely agree with that, but let us know if you need to stop, alright?¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t coddle me. I can handle it.¡± There were no two ways about it, route 216 was a walk in the park. Houndoom walked in front of us, asionally stealing worried nces at his trainer and scaring off any wild Pokemon while Fletchinder flew high overhead, stretching her wings. Eevee was on Denzel¡¯s shoulder as usual, and I had all of my Pokemon in their Pokeballs. They deserved a break, and it wasn¡¯t like anything was going to attack us here. Still, the route was rather eerie. In every other route, there would always be the asional trainer that we¡¯de across or signs of an old campsite that had been recently abandoned. There were no signs of human life here¡ª not even footprints in the snow. I shivered as a strong gust of wind blew past us, jostling my hair wildly. Even Houndoom¡¯s heat wasn¡¯t enough to stop the cold winds from affecting me. ¡°We¡¯re really underdressed for this,¡± I said, my voice stammering. ¡°The wind makes it worse than inside of Mount Cor somehow.¡± ¡°Well, we certainly didn¡¯t expect to end up here, did we,¡± Cece grimaced. I shot her a knowing look, preemptively stopping her from apologizing. ¡°How much longer until Snowpoint?¡± ¡°Well, going through all of route 216 and 217 takes a week and a half, so slightly less than that, depending on where we ended up? It also depends on the weather too¡ª wait!¡± Denzel eximed, cutting himself off. ¡°What?¡± I asked. He pointed toward a small, snow-covered green sign and ran toward it. We quickly followed suit, and Denzel wiped the frost off of the sign. It read ¡®Route 217¡¯. ¡°Holy shit,¡± he said. ¡°We were so much further along than I thought we were.¡± ¡°So how much does that cut the journey by?¡± Cecilia asked, smiling slightly. ¡°Snowpoint¡¯s less than a week away!¡± Denzel grinned. ¡°Six days at most, and we¡¯re back to civilization.¡± I sighed in relief. ¡°Isn¡¯t that great, Chase?¡± I frowned when I heard no answer. Houndoom turned back before letting out a distressed yelp, and I gasped. Chase had fallen to the ground, headfirst into the snow. We all rushed toward him, and Denzel flipped him over. I took off his coat and looked at his bandage¡ª blood and pus were seeping from the wound and through the cloth. ¡°W¡ªwhat do we do?¡± Cece stammered. ¡°It¡¯s infected!¡± I swallowed. ¡°We need to clean the wound, but that won¡¯t be enough. This is worse than what happened to Emilia in Eterna Forest, way worse.¡± ¡°Okay, you guys take off the bandage, I¡¯ll grab a new one and a towel,¡± Denzel said. I winced as the bandage clung and stuck to the wound like they had been stuck together. Cece helped me unwrap it, and I gently bumped Chase¡¯s face a few times to keep him awake. He was still breathing, but his face was dangerously hot, and he wasn¡¯t even coherent. Through the word sd, I could only make out one word. ¡°Riolu,¡± he whispered. ¡°Riolu.¡± ¡°You want to see Riolu? That¡¯s okay, just hang in there, alright?¡± I asked as I nodded at Cece. Houndoom licked his trainer¡¯s face as Denzel crouched next to us with a wet towel, and he started to clean the gash running across Chase¡¯s arm. Cecilia grabbed Riolu¡¯s Pokeball and released him. The fighting type screamed and grabbed his trainer¡¯s face before shooting us a judging look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I knew he was pushing himself, but I didn¡¯t know that he was doing it to the point of copse.¡± ¡°Rio!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said again. We swapped his bandage, but we had no antibiotics to give him. Still, this would hopefully prevent his condition from worsening. ¡°We need to let him rest and stay here for now,¡± Cece said. We agreed with a nod. ¡°With some luck, someone will pass through here. The transition point between route 216 and route 217 is the most likely to have people.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I exhaled. ¡°He¡¯ll be¡ª he¡¯ll be fine.¡± Denzel and Cece started to set up the tents while I stuck by Chase with Houndoom and Riolu. I put his coat back on and ced mine on top of him. We¡¯d need to start a fire soon to keep him warm, but this was all I could do for now. Riolu closed his eyes and ced a paw on Chase''s forehead, which started glowing bright blue. I didn¡¯t know what was going on, but I was sure he was helping somehow. I wasn¡¯t well-versed in aura enough to understand, but the fighting type shot me another worried look. ¡°Can you tell how bad it is?¡± I asked. ¡°Ri,¡± he nodded with a grim expression. I didn¡¯t have the strength to ask if it was fatal or not. ¡°Riolu,¡± Denzel said from behind me. ¡°Can we borrow Zangoose to gather firewood?¡± Riolu nodded and grabbed Zangoose¡¯s Pokeball, releasing her and exining the situation. Her perpetual frown turned to worry as she stared at Chase, who was barely holding onto consciousness. ¡°You stay,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°I¡¯ll go get the wood.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Followed by Zangoose, I made my way to the nearby tree line and watched as the normal type adeptly cut down branch after branch with sh. I hurried to grab as many as I could. Luckily we had Houndoom to light the fire¡ª ¡°You won¡¯t light a fire with that, girl,¡± I heard to my side. ¡°You¡¯ve got to use old wood.¡± Zangoose hissed, and her fur stood on end. My head snapped toward the voice. It belonged to an old woman, either in herte fifties or early sixties. She was in a coat twice as thick as I wore with a furred hood, and she carried a heavy-looking axe and an enormous crossbow on her back. ¡°It¡¯s unusual to see trainers here this time of the year,¡± the old woman said with a hint of disdain. ¡°Uh, hello, my name is Grace,¡± I said after hesitating for a few seconds. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m traveling with my group further that way, but one of my friends is wounded and needs help. Please.¡± She groaned. ¡°Another wounded? Is he a kid like you, at least?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes! He¡¯s fifteen, like me. Do you have a house nearby he could rest at? We don¡¯t have any medicine for him, and his wound is infected!¡± ¡°Well, first, tell your Zangoose to calm the hell down,¡± she said. I only just noticed how tightly she was gripping her axe. ¡°Sorry!¡± I eximed. I tentatively ced a hand on Zangoose¡¯s shoulder, hoping she had gotten used to me enough not to mind the contact. She didn¡¯t. ¡°Calm down, she¡¯ll help us.¡± Her hair stood back down, and she got back on all fours, which she always did whenever she didn¡¯t fight. The old woman ced her axe in a small holster. ¡°Okay. Are we good?¡± I asked. ¡°Lead the way.¡± When we got back to our just built-up camp, my twopanions stared at the woman behind me with a mix of relief and confusion. I preemptively spoke up. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked. ¡°Savika,¡± she simply said. ¡°Savika,¡± I nodded. ¡°I met her in the woods, and she said that she could help Chase.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the boy?¡± Savika asked, leaning toward him slightly. ¡°He looks worse than the other one I have with me. I live nearby, but if I¡¯m to help you with this, you have to promise to never disclose that location. Am I understood?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Denzel said, getting up right away. ¡°Thank you so much. Um, let¡¯s hurry up and pack everything again.¡± Savika watched with a curious eye as we scrambled to put everything back into our bags. Riolu gave her a respectful bow, which she ignoredpletely. After we were done, she picked up Chase like he was nothing, carrying him in her arms, and led us back into the woods, back off-route. It took around fifty minutes or so, and the terrain grew more and more treacherous until we reached an enormouske. The water in the distance was so clear and calm that it was as if it was covered in a thin sheet of ice. I took a breath at the beauty of it all. ¡°Grace, this is like¡ª this is like Lake Verity.¡± I nodded. Whereas Lake Verity gave me a sense ofplete easiness and calm, this one made me feel¡­ it was hard to exin. It was like I was smarter somehow. Like my thought process had been slightly sped up. I felt like if I ever had something on the tip of my tongue, the answer woulde to me right away without fail. It was like I was more knowledgeable. ¡°Like?¡± Savika raised an eyebrow. ¡°There¡¯s no other ce like this,¡± she said, nodding toward the left. Her house sat close to theke¡¯s shore, and we followed her. My breath was cut short when I saw a Smence drinking water from theke. Its scales looked tougher than steel, and some of them were discolored throughout its body. Scars from older battles. The dragon was at least eight feet tall¡ª with a wingspan muchrger than that. Cece stared at the dragon with a childlike smile on her face, as if she waspletely enamored with it. She was probably imagining a future in which Deino was just as powerful. Smence stared at us from afar as we entered Savika¡¯s home. It was a¡­ modest home that had clearly been handbuilt by Savika herself. The wood was rough, and it was somewhat small, but I supposed that was enough for one person. On its side was a small barn-like building where at least one hundred wooden logs sat arranged in a long pyramid, protected from any snowfall, and there were a few sr panels on the roof. Before entering the house, she stared back at us. ¡°No Pokemon in the house,¡± Savika said. I was about to ask why, but I held myself back. She was already helping us, and it was her house, after all, meaning that we would follow any rules she had. Mypanions recalled all of their Pokemon, and I recalled Chase¡¯s. ¡°Remember, not a word about this ce to anyone. I¡¯ve already had enough intruders for a lifetime.¡± We walked inside of the small foyer, wiping our feet on a rug. ¡°Coats on here,¡± she pointed at a makeshift coathanger as she carried Chase further in. We took off ouryers and followed her in. The only thing that grabbed my attention was a hideous, giant yellow g that read ¡®DON¡¯T TREAD ON ME,¡¯ with an Ekans hissing threateningly at nothing in particr. It was so big that it practically took half of one of the walls. ¡°We have a lot of those in Unova,¡± Cece whispered. ¡°Weird,¡± I said. The firece was prominent as well, but other than that, it was a basic home. She had kept it going the whole time, so the house was warm. I dragged my hands against one of the rugged wooden walls and let out a hearty chuckle. I was in a house. After so many harrowing experiences, it felt so relieving to finally be in one that I was tearing up. Cece and Denzel shared my amazement and were all smiles. Savika went into her bedroom, and I heard her speak to someone. ¡°I thought I told you to watch for more threats,¡± Savika said, her voice muffled. ¡°I have a wounded kid. Get off my bed.¡± ¡°My bad, I was just really tired,¡± a male voice said back. ¡°It still hurts to stand up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a child.¡± It took me a few seconds to recognize the man who walked through the bedroom door. He had wavy, jet-ck hair that went down to his neck and a badly-trimmed beard. He was usually always clean-shaven. Denzel¡¯s mouth was agape. ¡°Are¡ª are you Craig Goodwill?!¡± He yelled. The man scratched his head. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said with a small grimace. ¡°Sorry if I don¡¯t live up to the reputation. I can¡¯t bother putting on my usual confident act right now. As you can see, my leg¡¯s been in better shape,¡± he said, pointing at his bandaged member. He limped slowly toward us, barely able to put any weight on it. ¡°You¡­ um, sorry, I¡¯m just a really big fan, I¡ª I heard you were going to Snowpoint. What happened to you?¡± Denzel asked, fidgeting nervously. Craig sighed before sitting down on a chair, and Savika walked back in, searched through her cabs, and grabbed a few bottles full of pills. I could only steal a nce, but she had a motherload in there, as if she was going to hold out here for years. ¡°Savika, can I tell them?¡± he asked loudly. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°I was flying on Roxie¡ª that¡¯s my Smence¡ª on my way to Snowpoint to challenge Candice, but she noticed a group of individuals down on the ground. Usually, I would have just chalked it up to being trainers, but there are no trainers here at this time of the year, especially not in a group thatrge. The people from Snowpoint either take the ferry to Canve during the summer to start there, or they fly out if they have a license. I got a bit suspicious, so I ordered her to follow them. They found thiske and started attacking Savika here, who is a wonderful, helpful woman,¡± he said loudly so that she could hear. ¡°So I swooped in to save the day. Unfortunately, something I often forget is that criminals don¡¯t abide by the rules of battle. I would have easily dealt with them, but I took a nasty sh from a Purugly. I guess that¡¯s what I get for underestimating Team Gctic and only using Roxie for the fight.¡± My heart jumped into my throat. The nonchnt tone that he used when dropping the name of Team Gctic was disturbing, and I instinctively felt my teeth begin to chatter. My palms began to sweat, and my throat was so tightly closed that I could barely breathe. I¡ª I couldn¡¯t even see straight. What was happening¡ª I felt Cece wrap her hands around me, and she brought me into a tight hug. ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s okay, they aren¡¯t here anymore,¡± she whispered as she caressed my hair. ¡°You¡¯re safe here.¡± ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡± Craig asked. ¡°I know they¡¯re a big threat, but¡­ damn, sorry.¡± I felt my breathing calm, and I hugged Cecilia back tightly. ¡°Grace has had a traumatizing encounter with¡­ with them,¡± Denzel exined as he shot me a worried look. ¡°The fact that they were here isn¡¯t helping. Will theye back?¡± ¡°Well, no, because they¡¯re dead,¡± he said with a grimace, his face paling. He paused for a few seconds, sping at his shirt and took a deep breath before continuing. ¡°Roxie went crazy when she saw me bleeding on the ground and saw red. Savika buried them and cared for me since I saved her. I¡¯m going to turn myself in when I¡¯m better. I should be able to fly in a few days.¡± ¡°So, will you go to prison?¡± Denzel asked worriedly. ¡°No, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve worked with the League before for some jobs, and they know I¡¯m nning on applying for a job if I don¡¯t win against the Elite Four and Cynthia this year. I¡¯m one of the best trainers in the region, and they know they need me. The rules are¡­flexible. I want to feel bad for what happened, and I do, to some extent but¡­ I mean, it¡¯s Team Gctic. I can¡¯t bring myself to. I just hate the fact that Roxie actually killed people. The League will probably bring me in for questioning and ask to be brought to the scene. Savika doesn¡¯t want that to happen, though, but there¡¯s no choice.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± I asked, finally well enough to speak now that I knew we were safe. ¡°Why does she live alone here?¡± ¡°She¡¯s kind of a loony¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m perfectly sound of mind,¡± she said behind him. ¡°I¡¯m just living off the grid. I don¡¯t trust anyone or any League. They¡¯re a sinister force.¡± I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. I could already tell from her g that she was anti-government. ¡°How long have you lived here?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Twenty years or so,¡± she said. ¡°I didn¡¯t count, and I don¡¯t really keep track of the days here.¡± ¡°Either way, thank you for helping Chase,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Will he be alright?¡± ¡°Yes, he will. He should wake up soon, and then I¡¯ll have him on antibiotics. I don¡¯t have a bed to house all of you, but I suppose you can make yourselves at home.¡± ¡ª¡ª I stepped into Savika¡¯s bathroom, which had a giant human-sized pot that served as a shower. Apparently, all of the water she used came from theke, and she¡¯d heat it up with the electricity she gathered with her sr panels. I stepped into the pot and let out a sigh of relief as I felt the exhaustion wash off me. Cece and Denzel had already washed and had stepped outside to hang out with their teams. Team Gctic¡­ Craig just mentioning them being in the same spot that I was in had sent me into a full-blown panic. I clenched at the edges of the bath and swore internally. Craig hadn¡¯t hesitated. He had flown down on his Smence andpletely destroyed them, but I couldn¡¯t even hear their name without having a panic attack. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be able to stand up to the people that had scarred me for life, and yet I couldn¡¯t. Of course, my team was probably good enough to beat a few grunts, at the very least. The ones that had been all over the power nt when I was held hostage there didn¡¯t seem like much these days. Mentally, however, I wasn¡¯t ready at all. It wasn¡¯t like I wanted to seek them out. I wasn¡¯t insane. But if I ever met them again, I wanted to do something, at the very least, as Chase had done. I didn¡¯t want to be powerless any longer. Somehow, I¡¯d need to ovee my trauma. I took a deep breath and exited the bath. I didn¡¯t want to waste too much of Savika¡¯s electricity. It was strange to see a woman live off-route without any Pokemon, but that crossbow and those bolts had looked threatening enough. She had managed to survive somehow. I dressed, walked back into the living room and saw that Craig was looking through his huge bags. Plural. He apparently carried at least five everywhere he went, because his team needed a lot of food, especially his Snox. It was still surreal to think that I was in the same house asst year¡¯s Conference finalist and the man I usually only saw on television. He acted differently in real life, though. ¡°Grace,¡± he smiled at me, handing me potions from his bag. They were Hyper Potions. ¡°Take it as an apology for earlier. I¡¯m sorry for bringing up those terrorists like that without thinking¡­ Denzel told me you were one of the hostages at Valley Windworks. Terrible, what they¡¯ve done to you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t ept this,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I already gave a few to your friends. Come on, it costs nothing to me. I get more than I¡¯ll ever need from my deal with the Poketch Company.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sponsored by the Poketch Company?¡± I gasped. ¡°My dad works for them too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one of thepanies that sponsor me, yes,¡± he said before pausing. ¡°You remind me of my little sister, you know? She¡¯s your age.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Well, first, she¡¯s a trainer like you, but she also always refuses any help I want to give her.¡± ¡°Is she? I haven¡¯t really heard about her. What¡¯s her name?¡± I really thought I would have heard about his sister, since he was famous. Craig grimaced. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s keeping a low profile, or at least trying to¡ª She always asks for gym leaders to turn off their camera feed before they battle, she travels alone, and she never sticks around cities for long. Her name¡¯s Lauren. Last I heard, she was making her way to Hearthome, but she doesn¡¯t want anything to do with me,¡± he sighed. I let out a pensive nod. If I were the sister of a potential Champion in the making, I¡¯d probably hate being in his shadow as well. Cece didn¡¯t seem to mind much, though, not that she was particrly close with her brother. ¡°So she¡¯s got two badges?¡± I asked. ¡°What Pokemon does she have?¡± ¡°Three, not two,¡± he corrected me. I refrained from making a face. It¡¯d be stupid topete with someone I had never met. ¡°She beat Byron right after beating Roark, and then moved on to Gardenia. She owns a Duosion, Lairon, Magmar, Grovyle and Palpitoad. I offered to get her a Bagon at the start of her journey, but she refused. It would have been perfect to round out her team, too,¡± he sighed again. He seemed to like doting on her. My eyes widened at her Pokemon, however. That was an incredible team, and she would probably go toe to toe with Cece, or maybe beat her. For some reason, I did feel the need topete with her, after all, even though it was stupid. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll look her up whenever I get to Snowpoint,¡± I said. ¡°Damn it,¡± he shuddered. ¡°She¡¯s going to be pissed.¡± ¡°Hey, how does it feel to be one of the best trainers in the world,¡± I asked after a pause. ¡°Exhausting, but fulfilling. For some reason, the better you get, the less you actually get to battle,¡± Craig sighed. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going off to Mount Cor to train after I finish gathering all the badges again, I need to get my head back in the game. Speaking of Mount Cor, you must have gone through there to get here, no?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°But we did.¡± ¡°Well, you sure have potential, kid,¡± he smiled. ¡°But I digress. I know this is going to sound like some sob story, but it¡¯s the truth. When I first started my journey ten years ago, the point where I stand at now¡­ I thought it¡¯d always be out of reach. I started out with a Bagon, but I still failed over and over. I wasn¡¯t the best at anything, but I worked hard consistently to make up for my deficiencies, and now here I stand,¡± he said. I could almost see his television persona now. I realized now that it wasn¡¯tpletely an act. It was just how he must have been when passionate. ¡°Atop of it all. I¡¯ve almost reached the summit, and I¡¯m sure that this year will be the one.¡± ¡°The one where you beat Cynthia?¡± I asked. I honestly couldn¡¯t believe him, but he seemed confident in himself. ¡°Oh yes, but beating Cynthia¡¯s just reaching the summit. I want to go further. I want to touch the skies,¡± he grinned. ¡°Champions never battle each other. I want to change that. I want to beat every single one after I take Cynthia¡¯s seat.¡± Touching the skies, I repeated in my head. Something about the expression called to me, tugging at me like a rope. It was a feeling that I couldn¡¯t exin. ¡°I¡¯ll take your potions after all, Craig,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks a lot.¡± ¡°Oh? Alright then.¡± I was afraid I couldn¡¯t swear off the League Circuit after all. I had just found a way to battle the gym leaders while staying out of the limelight¡ª asking not to be filmed. I hadn¡¯t even known that was possible. This, plus the fact that Snowpoint was empty of trainers meant that it was going to be possible to battle Candice. A fire had been lit in me. A challenge I couldn¡¯t just ignore, as if I was starting my journey all over again. ¡°I¡¯m off to train,¡± I told him. ¡°I¡¯m going to beat you in the Conference, and then I¡¯m going to beat everyone else. You just gave me more inspiration than you¡¯d know.¡± Candice was next, then I¡¯d crush the other gym leaders one by one. I had been looking for a goal beyond bing the Champion for a while, but I felt like I had just grasped it. I would take Craig¡¯s goal and mold it to my liking. I wouldn¡¯t just beat Cynthia, I would defeat them all. And I wouldn''t stop myself at the Champions. I''d beat all of the gym leaders too. I¡¯d be the one to touch the skies. I¡¯d be the best trainer in the world.
Chapter 88 Chapter 88 CHAPTER 88 I stepped out of the house¡ª and far away from Roxie. She may have appeared docile, but she was definitely the most threatening-looking dragon I had ever seen after Cynthia¡¯s Garchomp¡ª Roxie roared and pped her wings, blowing my hair all over the ce even though I was at least one hundred and fifty feet away, and flew off into the distance somewhere. I ran back into the house. ¡°Craig, Roxie just¡ª Roxie just left!¡± I yelled. ¡°Ah, she must be hungry,¡± he said. ¡°She hunts around here, which lets me save the food for Caleb¡ª Caleb¡¯s my Snox, and feeding him actually takes most of my expenses. She¡¯ll be back in thirty minutes or so.¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry,¡± I said, feeling really awkward. I had never really seen someone be so nonchnt about their Pokemon leaving their side, but she was a Smence. Nothing around here could hurt her, even with the type advantage. I hurriedly left again and released my entire team. Electabuzz stood out now due to how tall he was, and Larvitar shot him an angry re. Ever since he had evolved, she seemed to be jealous of his new strength and stature, even though she stood no chance of beating him in battle before his evolution anyway. The electric type let out a heartyugh and easily picked her up, proving how strong he was now. She squirmed in his hands. ¡°Come on, hon, let her down,¡± I smiled. Electabuzzughed again and dropped Larvitar on the ground, causing her to huff like Frillish did. The water type noticed and smiled slightly, but when he saw that I had caught him, he, well, huffed and stared away. ¡°Caught ya,¡± I giggled. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, sweetheart, we¡¯ll get you caught up to the rest in no time. You¡¯ve got to finish growing first though, alright?¡± ¡°Tar!¡± She yelled. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re already the strongest,¡± I humored her. Electabuzz mored, demanding I call him the strongest now that he had evolved. ¡°Let your baby sister have a win, alright?¡± He sighed and nodded sadly at me, causing Larvitar tough and hit his leg with a stubby arm. He was about to retaliate, but angel hurriedly grabbed her with his vines and pulled her to his side. ¡°Okay, guys,¡± I said, pping my hands to get their attention. ¡°Due to everything that happened, it¡¯s been a while since we had one of these, but it¡¯s time to train some new moves. Princess, you¡¯re first.¡± Togetic smiled and pped her hands. She was happier now that we were finally out of dangerous areas. ¡°You¡¯re going to be learning Air Cutter, which is supposed to use the wind to, well, cut up your enemies. If I had to guess, you¡¯re going to need to use your wings for this one. I know it¡¯s going to be new, so don¡¯t push yourself, alright? That won¡¯t be it though, but I¡¯ll get back to you.¡± Togetic nodded, and I moved on to Frillish. ¡°Buddy, you¡¯re going to learn Shadow Ball and Recover,¡± I told him. He immediately nodded without hesitation. ¡°Shadow Ball should be pretty easy for you since you¡¯re smart¡ª¡± My Pokemon all joined andined in unison except Togetic. Even Tang wriggled in defiance. ¡°¡ªyou¡¯re all smart. I meant that he¡¯s the smartest. You¡¯ve got to gather ghostly energy, condense it into a ball and send it off. It¡¯s easier when you¡¯re an actual ghost, I think, but you¡¯ll figure it out. Call out if you need any help. For Recover, I couldn¡¯t think of how to actually get you started on the move¡­¡± Suddenly, I felt knowledge fill in the nks in my head. Theke was helping, somehow, but it felt incredibly alien. Like thoughts were being forcefully put into my head. I didn¡¯t like it one bit, but at least it helped me figure out how Frillish could learn Recover in seconds. I probably would have figured it out eventually, but this just sped up the whole process. If I ever needed the answer to something, I was going toe back here somehow, although it would be easier if I got my flying license and evolved princess¡­ But I was getting sidetracked. ¡°I¡¯ve got it. You¡¯re almostpletely made out of water, right? You already heal passively from wounds by regenerating your body with water, which means that you just have to speed up that process to learn Recover. Fiddling with your bodyposition should help you with Acid Armor too, which is perfect.¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± he mumbled. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll get you some poffins when we get to Snowpoint. You haven¡¯t eaten any in too long.¡± His face lit up for a split second before returning to his neutral expression. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re next, hon,¡± I turned to Electabuzz. ¡°You¡¯re actually spending all of our training session with me. We¡¯ve got to test your new limits since you evolved. We don¡¯t want to identally kill something when we start battling again,¡± I said. He nodded. ¡°But we¡¯re also going to be working on Discharge and Fire Punch. Originally, I was going to teach you Shock Wave, but you¡¯re strong enough to skip that step.¡± Electabuzz shed me a sharp, toothy grin. ¡°Discharge should be easy, and Fire Punch probably¡­¡± I trailed off, waiting for more information to invade my brain again. ¡°You need to use electricity to start a fire on your fist. Think you can manage that?¡± I asked. ¡°Buzz!¡± ¡°Of course, you can, I don¡¯t know why I even asked! Now angel, you¡¯re going to be focused on one move, and one move only. Ancient Power.¡± He blinked twice and snaked a cold vine around my ankle. ¡°You like how it sounds, huh?¡± I smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯ve got some innate psychic powers in you, and I think princess will be able to help you awaken them.¡± I waited a few seconds to see if I was going to get help from theke, but it seemed that there was a limit to how much it could actually do. If I had to guess, the limit had to do with knowledge I could realistically acquire. I wasn¡¯t a psychic, so knowing the intricacies of lifting the earth with my mind was impossible. ¡°Take your time and go at your own pace, alright?¡± I told the grass type. ¡°When you learn the move, you¡¯ll evolve.¡± His vines shook, and he jumped. Angel was so adorable when he let his emotions show. ¡°And princess, no ying around with Tang, alright? Not even lifting him with Extrasensory. I¡¯ve got eyes at the back of my head! They¡¯re called Frillish, and he¡¯ll snitch. Right?¡± I said, staring at the water type. Togetic pleaded with him, and he avoided my eyes. ¡°Okay, maybe I¡¯m being too harsh¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°For every hour you work hard, you¡¯ll get twenty minutes of ytime. How¡¯s that.¡± ¡°Prrrrri!¡± She celebrated. ¡°Sorry angel, looks like you¡¯ll be her ything again.¡± He stared up at me and let out a series of blinks. ¡°Used to it already, huh? Well, as long as she helps you out,¡± I sighed. ¡°Sweetheart, you¡¯re with me and your brother. You¡¯re going to observe today,¡± I said. She hissed in annoyance. ¡°Don¡¯t be so moody, I¡¯m also going to test out your moves. You¡¯ve used Horn Attack, but do you know that you know Rock Throw and Payback?¡± Larvitar¡¯s eyes shone in anticipation, and she stared up at me with a satisfied expression. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work then.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Rock Throw,¡± I ordered. Larvitar yelled, waving her arms in a really cute and wild way, and a tiny rock slightly bigger than my fist was pulled from the earth and thrown toward a tree. ¡°Larvi! Larvitar!¡± She yelled proudly at me. ¡°Great job, sweetheart,¡± I smiled. Whenever no rocks were present, the move worked simrly to Ancient Power, except that psychic energy wasn¡¯t used. I assumed that it was some kind of type energy¡ª in this case, rock type. Either way, since there wasn¡¯t the fine control that psychic energy usually had, the move was less precise. In the distance, Electabuzz let out a powerful Thunderbolt toward a tree, which promptly caught fire. I called Frillish over, and he exasperatedly extinguished the mes. It was the tenth time this had happened. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologized to him. ¡°But Togetic¡¯s fully focused on teaching angel Ancient Power. I don¡¯t want to disturb her by asking for targets.¡± It was actually surprising how hard she worked when she got small breaks in between the bursts of activity. Whereas I was wholly focused on a task until I finished it, princess was the type who needed small breaks at regr intervals to stay on top of her game. I grumbled when I realized that my hair was standing straight up again. Electabuzz had that effect on me now when he used an electric move, and he didn¡¯t know how to tone it down yet. At least I looked funny, since he kept making fun of me with his usual cackle. ¡°You better not use this to prank me in the future,¡± I jokingly said. ¡°You¡¯re incredibly strong now. It¡¯s actually ridiculous how powerful you got. Remember when you could only keep a Thundershock going for eight seconds back in Floaroma? You¡¯vee a long way.¡± ¡°Ele!¡± ¡°But we¡¯re only just starting,¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s try out a Fire Punch now.¡± The electric type nodded, and sparks flew around his fists until it caught fire. The mes quickly disappeared, however, and he aired his hand around. They had also burned him somewhat. ¡°That¡¯s okay, it was a great first attempt,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s try it again for a while, and then we¡¯ll start working on Discharge. Larvitar, let¡¯s try out two Rock Throws at the same time. Don¡¯t worry if it¡¯s too hard, alright?¡± ¡°Larvitar!¡± She boasted, pping her hands like Togetic. ¡°At this rate, you¡¯re going to catch everyone¡¯s habit,¡± Iughed. ¡°If you start blinking or wriggling, though¡­ I won¡¯t know what to say to that.¡± She huffed and easily lifted two small rocks out of the ground. I had apparently been underestimating her. Her species wasn¡¯t called pseudo-legendary for nothing. ¡°Give me five this time,¡± I grinned. Arceus, I loved training. ¡ª¡ª Cecilia swallowed as her hand hovered over the release button for Scyther¡¯s Pokeball. Deino, Fletchinder, and Slowpoke were all around her, waiting. It had been so long since she had even spoken to the bug type. Would he attack her this time? Why did she feel so anxious about it now when she never had before? Cece sighed. She knew why. She had been a terrible trainer to Scyther. She had beaten him repeatedly into submission to force him into fighting for her, just like her father had wanted to force her into marrying Louis. And just like her rtionship with her father, Cece feared that Scyther would never give her another chance. Why should he? Cecilia valued strength in her Pokemon above all, and her training style was more brutal than most trainer¡¯s, but that had been no reason to defeat Scyther over and over again. And yet, he was her best hope against Abel¡¯s Mmar. She took a deep breath. ¡°Don¡¯t attack him no matter what. You¡¯re only there to dissuade him from doing so,¡± Cece told Deino and Fletchinder. ¡°Slowpoke, keep him still if he does, then move him back and release him. Understood?¡± Her Pokemon all nodded¡ª although Deino gave her a halfmitted, angry one. That was probably the best she was going to get. He was growing jittery and anxious about hising evolution, and so was she. She¡¯d need to call Mark about how to raise a Zweilous, along with all the other help she was already going to ask of him. More than him going berserk though, she feared that she didn¡¯t know how Deino¡¯s personality would develop. Would the two heads behave as he did? Would only one do, and the other bepletely different? Or would he be lost forever? The girl shook her head. Today was Scyther¡¯s day. Deino wouldeter. She released the bug type, who was very confused at how he had gotten from Eterna city to the middle of the snowy wilderness. He stared Cecilia down and started to bat his wings. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Cecilia immediately said with an apologetic bow. ¡°I know that won¡¯t cut it, but I have to say it. I¡¯ve been mistreating you. I¡¯ve been a horrible trainer to you, and you have every right to hate me¡ª¡± Scyther let out an angry screech and sharpened his sickle-like arms as he stared around theke. ¡°We went through a mountain and ended up here,¡± Cece said, guessing that he was asking where he was. ¡°I want you to know that I won¡¯t attack you anymore, no matter what¡ª¡± Scyther seemingly took that as a sign to attack, probably thinking that she would just let him kill her. Slowpoke sprung alive and restrained Scyther, lifting him up in the air and pushing him back around ten feet. Deino¡¯s mouth started to glow red, but Cece ced a hand on his hot neck, stopping him. ¡°I won¡¯t attack you, but I won¡¯t let you kill me. I¡¯ve found a reason to live,¡± she said, thinking of Grace and her friends. ¡°I just want to get on civil terms¡­ give me three months and if¡­ if I can¡¯t get that from you, then when I can get back to Eterna city, I¡¯ll head into the forest and release you. You have my word.¡± Scyther smiled, probably thinking that he was going to be freed soon. At least he wasn¡¯t attacking her. ¡°I have food if you want,¡± Cece tried hesitantly. ¡°Or you can go hunt something¡­ I at least know you like that. I¡¯ll have toe with you though, since I know you¡¯ll try to escape. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll need at least a chance to change your mind first.¡± ¡°Scy, scy,¡± he told her dismissively. ¡°Scyther!¡± He screamed, pointing at the woods. ¡°Hunting it is,¡± she sighed, looking back at her Pokemon. In the forest, Scyther tried attacking her five times, thinking that the advantageous terrain would help him kill her. Slowpoke stopped him every single time. ¡ª¡ª Denzel rolled his eyes at the current disy of jealousy that was happening in front of him. Eevee sat in the middle of Budew and Buneary while the two practiced the new moves he had asked them to, doing their best to impress his starter. Budew needed more move variety, so he had asked her to work on Venoshock, which she was already excelling at due to her poison typing. Large swaths of snow in front of them had been stained purple, and Budew screeched at Buneary, trying to showcase her dominance. Buneary, meanwhile, was trying to get Power-Up Punch down. The move supposedly made your Pokemon more powerful the more they used it, but it was very physically intensive. Which somehow had be a theme for his team. Beauty and endurance. From those two words, he had carefully theory-crafted his team at the ripe age of ten, revised it, then rerevised it again another thousand times before he finally came up with a final draft right before he turned fifteen with Eevee now by his side¡ª although his slot had been left nk since he could evolve into anything. It had also been right before he had been supposed to start his journey. Of course, that had been dyed by a year due to his mother. Either way, Buneary was giving the move a hearty try, although she was struggling more than Budew was. Her right ear shined brightly and extended right away in front of her. She was getting the punching part down rather well, but the powering up was still a mystery to them. Budew let out something of a snicker and a screech morphed together into a horrifying cocktail, clearly mocking her. The normal type cried out to Eevee indignantly. The poor guy was stuck in the middle of a love triangle. To be honest, Denzel didn¡¯t exactly mind. Eevee was just practicing his current moves today, and mostly trying to get better at Swift. He wanted Eevee to create the most amount of stars possible and throw them out in a wide shot instead of a line to make it harder to outrun. That meant that Eevee didn¡¯t really have to be focusing hard today. Denzel also felt that some of this battle for attention could be used for Budew and Buneary to push themselves further, which they were doing at a rapid pace. As long as it stayed a healthypetition, then he wouldn¡¯t intervene. He could tell that Budew still held back when fighting Buneary for training, even though they were around the same strength. He did feel bad for Eevee, though. He clearly had no interest in the two romantically, but he didn¡¯t have the heart to reject them, so he just tried to appease the situation as best he could. Denzel sighed and leaned down toward his Feebas, who was swimming along the surface of theke. He had caught up with the water type on everything that had happened in Mount Cor and apologized for not letting him out of his Pokeball sooner. The cave¡¯skes had been too dangerous for him to swim in. ¡°At least you¡¯re not in love,¡± Denzel told the water type. ¡°Fee¡­¡± he said, looking longingly at the rest of Denzel¡¯s team. Denzel let out a sad sigh. It was true that Feebas was less close to the rest of the team through no fault of his own. The limitations of the water type meant that any time he was released outside of water, he¡¯d suffer immensely and could only flop around. When he evolved into Milotic, all of that would be solved, but that was still somewhat far off. The secret to evolving Feebas into Milotic was well-known, and it was simple in theory but hard in practice. You simply had to make the fish feel beautiful. Not just tell them, take care of their scales, or bring them to Pokemon spas every day. No, it didn¡¯t matter what they looked like. You had to make them believe they were genuinely beautiful, and then they would evolve. Denzel did believe that Feebas was beautiful. If he hadn¡¯t, then he wouldn¡¯t have caught him in the first ce, but he had been racking his brain to find a way to transfer that feeling onto the water type. And it looked like he wouldn¡¯t figure it out today, either. ¡°Hey, guys!¡± He yelled out at his Pokemon. ¡°Take a break ande hang out with Feebas.¡± Eevee smiled, happy that he was finally going to get some relief and ran to them as fast as he could. Buneary followed him closely, and Budew wasgging behind. The rabbit looked at Budew and stuck out her tongue to mock how slow she was, and Budew¡¯s permanent scowl somehow worsened. At least Buneary had gotten out of her shell with the group. ¡°Bas¡­!¡± The water type eximed and smiled. Eevee jumped into theke right next to him, sshing Denzel with ice-cold water in the process, and so did Buneary. Budew angrily stewed on shore, since she couldn¡¯t swim. ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve hogged Eevee¡¯s attention a lot, let Feebas have some too,¡± he said. ¡°Bud! Bud! Budew Bud Budew Bud¡ª¡± ¡°Arceus, you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,¡± he said, interrupting her tirade. His team yed around for a while. Feebas kept sshing Eevee and Buneary with a proto-Water Gun from under the surface, sting them up a few feet while Denzel kept Budewpany. Ten minutes of ytime turned to thirty and then one hour. Their training had been cut short, but that was fine. Denzel didn¡¯t want to stop Feebas from having fun, especially when this looked to be the happiest he had been in a long while. When Eevee finally climbed out of theke, Denzel saw Feebas sadly shoot a nce at the normal type. He then realized that his earlier longing stare at the rest of his team had only been for Eevee, not the others. Wait¡­ Him too? Was¡­ was Eevee unknowingly building a¡­ love quadrangle? A harem? ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± Denzel muttered. Even Feebas was in love? ¡°Let¡¯s hope this doesn¡¯t balloon out of proportion.¡± Around another hourter, Denzel had recalled everyone since Savika didn¡¯t allow Pokemon into her home. He shot a nce at the huge Smence that had only recentlye back with a Piloswine. She was cooking it with mes so hot they altered the air around them and munching on it like a small snack. He gulped and made his way into Savika¡¯s house. The old woman was making lunch on her small electric stove. Now that she wasn¡¯t wearingyers uponyers of clothes, he could see that she was incredibly muscr¡ª more than Chase was. Her life in the wild kept her in shape. ¡°Savika,¡± Denzel said hesitantly. ¡°I have a question, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Shoot,¡± she answered right away. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the next member of my team¡ª a Snorunt. Would you know where to find them? Do they live around here?¡± ¡°Ah, those,¡± she said with a certain¡­ dislike. The same that she had when she spoke about any Pokemon. ¡°They do live in the woods around theke. They¡¯re not particrly umon either, so if you look, it¡¯s only a matter of time until you find one. Just make sure not to bring it inside.¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Thank you! And um, another question, please?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me to ask a question, just ask the question.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a female Snorunt, not a male. Is there any way to distinguish between the two?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit tough, but it¡¯s certainly doable. The females are slightly smaller, but other than that, they¡¯re virtually the same.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good enough, thank you,¡± the trainer smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡± Even after all these months, Denzel still felt ufortable living in someone else¡¯s house, just like what had happened at Grace¡¯s ce. He just felt so indebted that he thought he needed to be overtly polite, which probably made hime off as awkward, which he really wasn¡¯t. Savika was a tough woman, but she was nice. She had even given him ice to put on his ribs and painkillers while they healed. Apparently, they were fractured, not broken, which was a relief and meant that they¡¯d heal faster. Denzel felt his muscles loosen as he stepped outside and released his Eevee, who climbed on his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re going to look for a Snorunt today,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°They should be prettymon, but keep an eye out.¡± ¡°Vee!¡± The normal type eximed. Denzel smiled and softly caressed his head. The truth was, he also wanted to have an important talk with Eevee about evolution. He had told Grace he would talk to Eevee about it, but he had kept putting it off again and again until he had gotten trapped in Mount Cor. Now that he was finally safe, he figured that he needed to do it. Denzel watched a group of Vanilite float past him and instinctively cursed, releasing his entire team before remembering that he was safe. The Pokemon around theke weren¡¯t aggressive, and this was still rtively close to route 217. That didn¡¯t stop his heart from drumming against his chest. He apologized to Buneary and Budew before recalling them. Getting back to his train of thought, seeing Chase and Grace¡¯s Pokemon evolve, and learning that Cece¡¯s Deino was close to doing so as well had made him more open to having a conversation with Eevee. Surprisingly, Denzel didn¡¯t feel inferior or anxious about falling behind any longer. He was going at his own rhythm, and that was fine. If Eevee still wasn¡¯t ready to evolve, he wouldn¡¯t hold it against him. ¡°Hey, Eevee,¡± Denzel hesitantly started. ¡°I think we should talk about your evolution.¡± He felt the normal type tense against his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not about to force you into evolving or anything,¡± he quickly exined. ¡°I just think it¡¯d be healthier to have the conversation, you know?¡± Eevee nodded slightly. ¡°Okay. And don¡¯t force yourself to pick, alright? We¡¯ve made it this far with you as an Eevee, we can easily go further,¡± Denzel said before pausing. ¡°So you don¡¯t know what to evolve into still, right?¡± ¡°Eevee,¡± he said hesitantly. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re scared of not being able to go back if you don¡¯t like it? I¡¯d understand that, it¡¯s scary to make a choice that final.¡± Eevee shook his head before warning Denzel to look left, and he tensed, his hand hovering over his Pokeballs. A group of Snorunt were traveling together and packed tightly. Even though there were a good number of females in the group, Denzel clenched his fist and let them through. He wasn¡¯t going to steal a Pokemon from their family. Not again. ¡°So it¡¯s not that then,¡± he said. ¡°You told me you wanted to evolve a long time ago. That¡¯s still the case, right?¡± ¡°Vee,¡± he said, agreeing. ¡°Okay, then can you tell me? I won¡¯t mind, no matter what you answer.¡± Eevee took a deep, nervous breath beforeunching into a long tirade of noises and cries. Denzel wasn¡¯t as good as Grace at deciphering what Pokemon said, but he had owned Eevee for long enough to understand the gist of what he was saying. ¡°So you¡­ you were waiting for me to decide?¡± Denzel asked in disbelief. ¡°But I told you that I was fine with anything!¡± ¡°Eevee¡­¡± ¡°My list¡ª my n left your spot nk.¡± ¡°Vee!¡± The normal type angrily raised his tone as he jumped down his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m not! I don¡¯t have a secret preference that I¡¯m hiding from you!¡± Denzel desperately appealed. ¡°I¡¯ve been telling you the truth!¡± Denzel had messed up royally. His n for his team had been so rigid that Eevee truly believed that he also had a n for him, and he had refused to evolve while he waited for Denzel to tell him what to do because Eevee had been there for more than a whole year of nning. Of course, he¡¯d think that Denzel was secretly hiding what evolution he wanted for him. The trainer facepalmed and crouched toward his starter. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to prove it to you, but I truly haven¡¯t been hiding my intentions to make you feel better. I was never going to force you into doing anything. I¡¯m giving you the freedom to choose. If you want me to get one of the evolutionary stones, I¡¯ll save up and do that. If you want to evolve into anything else, we can wait for the right time of day or travel to the mossy or icy rock. If you¡¯re already ready, then you can choose. I can tell that you¡¯ve been holding back¡ª since¡­ since before Oreburgh, even!¡± Denzel said, pouring his heart out. He felt tears gather in the corner of his eye. ¡°Ee¡­ Eevee,¡± Eevee cried as he started to glow, and Denzel covered his eyes. His hair grew slicker, and ribbons began to grow out of his neck and right ear. After ten seconds, it was over. Bright blue eyes stared back at Denzel, still in tears. Eevee had evolved into a Sylveon. He understood now that there was another reason he had held himself back so long despite wanting to evolve into one. His sixth and final team member was supposed to be another fairy type, and Denzel valued type diversity. Eevee probably thought that he¡¯d ask him to evolve into one of the evolutionary stone evolutions for that. That he would never budge on his nned team. Denzel brought him into a warm hug and felt his ribbons wrap around his body, soothing him. His heartbeat calmed, and he looked at Sylveon again. ¡°Going to be weird not calling you Eevee anymore,¡± Denzelughed. ¡°The rest of the team is going to fawn over your new look.¡± ¡°Sylv,¡± Heined. ¡°Wow, your voice is higher pitched than before. Cool,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Now, let¡¯s find that lone Snorunt, shall we?¡± Sylveon nodded and climbed on his shoulder. ¡°Arceus, you¡¯re like, four times as heavy.¡±
Chapter 89 Chapter 89 CHAPTER 89 Electabuzz, Larvitar and I watched as Togetic carried Tang with her Extrasensory toward us. Iughed as she plopped him on the ground, and he stared nkly like a Slowpoke. Frillish worriedly followed behind her, staring at the poor grass type. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, smiling. ¡°Prrrri!¡± Togetic yelled at Tang. The grass type nodded, shut his eyes tightly, and his vines writhed. The ground below us shook slightly until he sat down, clearly exhausted. ¡°Arceus, you¡¯re doing amazing,¡± I beamed. ¡°It¡¯s only been what, four hours, and you¡¯ve figured out how to use your psychic powers. That¡¯s a huge win in my book.¡± Maybe theke didn¡¯t just have an effect on humans, but on Pokemon too? Angelzily wriggled his vines and smiled with his eyes. I picked him up, spinning him around like a baby. ¡°I¡¯ve got to do this before you evolve,¡± Iughed. ¡°You too, Togetic. You better get your Extrasensories in before he gets too big for you to lift.¡± ¡°Toge¡­¡± she said sadly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve seen that you can learn Psychic through a T.M., and I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s powerful enough to lift a Tangrowth. So eventually, when I have a lot of money, you¡¯ll get to do it again.¡± She seemingly sprung up at the idea and picked up angel again, spinning him around like a ball. ¡°Not too fast, okay?¡± I said before turning to the rest of the team. ¡°Today was productive, but we¡¯ll keep going until Chase gets better and we can get to Snowpoint, alright? Then, we can do a lot of fun things, like battling each other. Two on twos, and the like.¡± Electabuzz and Larvitar quaked in excitement, and I unfortunately had to break to rock type¡¯s heart and remind her that she wasn¡¯t going to be in our mock battles. Truth be told, I was already thinking about a strategy for Candice, even if I hadn¡¯t watched any of her battling videos yet. I knew Electabuzz was going to be the key to winning, especially after learning Fire Punch, but the rest of my team was dangerously weak to ice types. Frillish would be able to mitigate this weakness somewhat, but I did like a challenge. The problem I was going to run into, however, was that since Candice was almost always challengedter into a trainer¡¯s Circuit, there was going to be a severeck of footage of her fighting at the third badge level. That meant that aside from learning her broad fighting style, I was going to go in practically blind, which would push my stalling abilities to the limit, although with how good my team had gotten, I felt confident. Still, I was getting ahead of myself. I recalled my team to let them rest and made my way back toward Savika¡¯s house. I was starting to get hungry, and she was cooking food. It had been too long since I had eaten anything homemade. I noticed that Craig was leaning against her house. He waved at me, and I approached him. ¡°Training hard out there?¡± He smiled. ¡°Reminds me of my old days.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I asked. ¡°The simpleness of it all, I mean. No offense, I know you¡¯re working hard, but this is nothing like training at the top.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°How do you do it, then?¡± ¡°The more powerful a Pokemon gets, the harder it is to actually make it get stronger,¡± he exined. ¡°And I¡¯ve already taught my team every move under the sun. That means I have to get crafty,¡± Craig said. ¡°Combining moves, or just making new personalized moves altogether is how I spend most of my time when I''m training.¡± I knew about movebinations and new moves already¡ª in fact, I had created one for Electabuzz¡¯s Electric Swift, but it was interesting to learn that older trainers put more stock into that side of Pokemon battling. ¡°I watched a tournament you won in August on T.V., and you didn¡¯t use any new moves,¡± I told him, crossing my arms. ¡°Ah, the Sunyshore one? It sucked destroying all of those trainers, but I mostly did it because the Poketchpany got on my back and told me I wasn¡¯t battling in public enough,¡± he sighed. ¡°But there¡¯s a good reason I don¡¯t use them. Why reveal my hand to potential enemies I¡¯ll face at the Conference, who are watching me like a hungry Talonme? I¡¯m watching them as well, of course, but you get the gist of it. That¡¯s why I practice in isted areas, away from any prying eyes. Sometimes, though, you strike gold, and you create a move that can be easily used by your average Pokemon, then you can sell the rights to Silph co. and make bank.¡± I nodded. ¡°Should I start working on them early, then? New moves, I mean,¡± I asked. Craig shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re better off focusing on the fundamentals until you can get through every gym leader¡¯s personal team consistently each year. I¡¯d say that¡¯s when you should switch your training mindset¡ª but I don¡¯t want to help you too much.¡± ¡°What? Why not?¡± I felt a palpitation in my heart. Did one of Sinnoh¡¯s greatest trainers me as a potential rival? ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to get one in over my sister,¡± he said, and I deted immediately. ¡°Unlike me, Lauren has talent. She¡¯s going ces, so I want her to get to the Conference in her first year. She¡¯ll get crushed by us older trainers, but she¡¯ll be the best-performing first year. It¡¯ll be an amazing showing nheless, and it¡¯ll jumpstart her fame. You can usually count the number of first years that make it to the conference in the dozens, you know? Although it¡¯ll probably be a lot more this year since there are more of you in general.¡± ¡°I thought she didn¡¯t want you to help her,¡± I remarked as I crossed my arms. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m helping her out behind the scenes when I can. Gotta help out family, you know?¡± I sighed. It looked like I wasn¡¯t going to get any more information from Craig, which frustrated me. He was a real treasure trove of Pokemon training knowledge, and I couldn¡¯t ess it. No shortcuts. I froze up when I saw Smence approach us. Her steps were so powerful that I felt the ground tremble below me. ¡°Roxie,¡± Craig smiled. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± The dragon smiled, lowering her head close to Craig, and he caressed her scaly chin. ¡°She¡¯s so¡­ docile,¡± I hesitatingly said. It was odd to see a dragon type behave like a cuddly Lillipup, and it was even stranger to imagine that such aid-back Pokemon had killed people recently. ¡°Should have seen her when she was younger,¡± heughed. ¡°And when she evolved into a Smence. I honestly thought I¡¯d never get her back under control for a while, but she came around.¡± ¡°I have a friend that can¡¯t get his Gible under control,¡± I said, thinking of Louis. ¡°Any advice for him?¡± ¡°A Gible?¡± He said, frowning. ¡°Ah yeah, that Bianchi kid. That seems like potentialpetition for Lauren, and like I said¡ª¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°Oh, by the way, I didn¡¯t tell you this, but when you leave¡­ not a word about us to anyone, please?¡± ¡°Sure, I wasn¡¯t going to tell anyone I was wounded and stuck in the middle of nowhere anyway, that would destroy my image,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I have a few contracts to renegotiate soon, so I want to being from a position of strength.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say anything about you either, then,¡± I nodded before turning to Smence again. I stared at the magnificent dragon once more, who looked into my eyes. Was she appraising me? Now that I was close to her, I noticed a thin chain ne going around her neck with a small red and blue ball embedded with a strange sign. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± I asked, pointing at the ne. Craig pulled out his own ne with a simr symbol from below hisyers of clothes. ¡°That¡¯s a mega evolution stone, and she¡¯s got a Smencite. Cost an arm and a leg, especially when I wasn¡¯t swimming in cash back then, but it propelled me to the next level.¡± My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Mega evolution was something I honestly hadn¡¯t even thought of yet. The only one who could potentially do it on my team was Larvitar when she was fully evolved, but even then, I had heard that it took such a ridiculous toll on a trainer and Pokemon¡¯s body that it took years to perfect. ¡°Left you speechless, huh?¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t want it to feel like I¡¯m bragging. You¡¯ll get there eventually. Anyway, I was waiting outside to call for your friends, but they both went into the forest. Denzel wanted to catch a Snorunt if I remember correctly.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°I wonder what Cece¡¯s doing¡ª oh, speak of the devil.¡± I saw my girlfriend walk back to the house, and she looked distraught. I hurriedly ran up to her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, sping one of her hands. ¡°Nothing bad,¡± Cece said. ¡°Just that I¡¯ve made no progress with Scyther. I suppose I did train a lot, though.¡± I stared at her for a few seconds and smiled. ¡°But you spoke to him, at least, right?¡± She nodded. ¡°Then you¡¯ve taken the first step. I¡¯m sure he¡¯lle around. Nowe on,¡± I said, dragging her by the hand. ¡°Have you spoken to Craig yet?¡± ¡°Not much,¡± she shyly said. It took me a few seconds to remember that despite how close she had gotten to Denzel and me, she was still distrustful of strangers. ¡°Cecilia Obel, huh?¡± Craig smiled. ¡°I heard about you when I was looking up your brother and at the start of this year¡¯s Circuit. I want to beat him eventually. You¡¯ve got a Deino, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she said calmly. Her mask was back on. ¡°He was my first Pokemon.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I remember! It¡¯s not often that you find trainers starting out with a dragon type. It makes all the other kids jealous, but they don¡¯t know how much of a pain in the ass they are to raise.¡± Smence growled, which made me shiver. ¡°Not you, though, Roxie. Who¡¯s the best dragon in the world? That¡¯s you¡ª yes, that¡¯s you!¡± Craig eximed. ¡°I¡¯ve got to head back inside, though. I¡¯ll be back, okay?¡± Smence nodded and took off, almost making my coat fly off in the process. Craig grinned as he looked at his dragon and beckoned us into the house. Hopefully, Denzel would be back soon so we could eat. Whatever Savika had cooked smelled delicious. ¡°Hey,¡± I called out to Craig, thinking of him. ¡°Denzel¡¯s a huge fan of yours. I hope this isn¡¯t too much to ask, but do you have any merch of something you could give him? He¡¯d be too scared to ask.¡± Craig beamed. ¡°Of course. I always carry some samples in my bags¡ª I can give him a mug¡ª ah, wait, that isn¡¯t that useful for a trainer. He can have one of my shirts free of charge,¡± he said before he began to look through one of his bags. The raven-haired man pulled out a in white shirt with a stylized, painting-like version of him on the back and his Smence on the front, in the same hyper-realistic style. I did have to admit, the art was well made. ¡°I had to haggle to make sure the clothing brand I work with¡ª Denovo¡ª used high-quality fabric and art. If I hadn¡¯t negotiated, they would have used the cheapest materials possible. Anyway, here,¡± he said, handing me the shirt. ¡°Is your friending back soon?¡± Savika spoke up from the kitchen. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯ll be there,¡± I answered. I turned to Cece, who was looking like an emotionless wall. ¡°Come on, cheer up,¡± I told her. ¡°I am already,¡± she said in a haughty tone. I smiled maliciously and pinched her arm, making her yelp in shock. Savika and Craig stared at her in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s a bit shy, sorry,¡± Iughed. I could feel her fuming next to me. ¡ª¡ª When Denzel came back, we had already started eating. Savika had made some vegetarian stew, since she apparently had her own garden that she used when the weather allowed it and a bunch of canned food she had in storage, which wouldst her years. Despite what I had thought from her owning that massive crossbow, Savika didn¡¯t actually hunt Pokemon, it was just for her own protection since she had none of her own. Anyway, none of that mattered because Denzel came back with the biggest smile on his face, which could only mean that he had caught a Snorunt. ¡°Did you catch it?¡± Cece asked. ¡°Took a while to find one that was alone,¡± he nodded, his grin widening. ¡°She was abandoned by her group, I think, because Snorunt live in packs. I¡¯ll introduce youter, but that¡¯s not it,¡± he continued as he sat on the table. ¡°Guess what.¡± ¡°How are you going to ask us to guess when you so obviously want to tell us?¡± I rolled my eyes. Ceceughed before coughing and restraining herself. Craig and Savika were sitting at the table. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re right. Eevee evolved into a Sylveon!¡± He excitedly yelled. ¡°Holy shit!¡± I beamed. ¡°During the battle?¡± ¡°No, we just had a talk, and then he evolved. He was ready,¡± he said. ¡°Fairy types certainly are a bi¡ª annoying to deal with,¡± Craig groaned. ¡°But congrats, kid. It always feels good to see one of your teammates evolve.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± He said. ¡°You can swear around us, you know?¡± I rolled my eyes at Craig. ¡°We¡¯re not kids.¡± ¡°You are kids,¡± Savika said. ¡°I¡¯m very proud of you, Denzel,¡± Cece said. ¡°It was clearly weighing on you. You look like you¡¯ve grown wings.¡± ¡°I certainly do feel lighter. Hey, pass me some stew.¡± ¡ª¡ª Savika walked out of her bedroom and stared at us. ¡°Your friend¡¯s awake,¡± she simply said. We all rushed into the room to see how Chase was doing. He was pale but alive, and he was sitting up on the bed, drinking a ss of water and taking some pills. ¡°Well, you guys look like you¡¯ve seen a ghost,¡± Chase said with a painful smile. ¡°Next time you¡¯re feeling so bad that you¡¯re about to pass out, say something,¡± I scolded. ¡°You could have died if Savika hadn¡¯t been there!¡± ¡°What are you, my mom?¡± He said. ¡°Maybe!¡± I replied. He rolled his eyes. ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°Um, it¡¯s around five in the evening, so eight hours or so?¡± Cece said. ¡°Thank the Legendaries,¡± he sighed. ¡°Only missed one workout.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still worrying about those in your state?¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. You¡¯re staying in bed until Savika confirms that you¡¯re all healed.¡± ¡°Ugh, how mediocre,¡± Chase said. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s for your own good.¡± ¡°Where are my Pokeballs? I want Riolu here,¡± Chase asked. Denzel grimaced. ¡°Savika doesn¡¯t want any Pokemon in her house, so you¡¯ll have to wait until you¡¯re healthy enough to walk again and go outside. Might take a few days.¡± Chase held the bedsheets tightly. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard, but we¡¯re here for you,¡± I said. ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t she make an exception?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Even five minutes is fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and ask her,¡± I said. ¡°Keep Chasepany.¡± I exited the room and looked around for Savika, who had apparently gone outside. I followed suit and found her in her small barn, where she stored all of her firewood. She was probably gathering some to keep her fire going. ¡°Savika,¡± I said before pausing. No use skirting around the subject. ¡°My friends and I were wondering if Chase could possibly bring his Riolu out for a few minutes¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± My eye twitched. ¡°I know that they¡¯re your house rules, but he¡¯s really attached to his Riolu, and I think that it¡¯d help him recover if he was there¡ª¡± ¡°I said no,¡± Savika said. ¡°Could I at least know why? He¡¯s a small Pokemon, and he¡¯s nice. He won¡¯t break things around the house, or dirty it, or be too loud or¡ª¡± Savika finished grabbing her firewood and stared at me from the side of her eye. I swallowed. Had I pushed her too far? ¡°Want to know something, girl?¡± She asked. ¡°I despise Pokemon and Pokemon trainers.¡± I inhaled sharply. ¡°Pokemon, I could have guessed,¡± I quietly said. ¡°But trainers?¡± ¡°Do you know why Snowpoint was created? Why people chose live in that damned hell hole thousands of years ago, before the invention of instion? Where even a fire couldn¡¯t keep you alive during the coldest winters?¡± I shook my head. ¡°My people always lived around Snowpoint. In fact, we¡¯re the ones who settled the damn city in the first ce, not the League or any trainers,¡± Savika started as she leaned against a wall. She stared up at the ceiling, almost as if she was reminiscing. ¡°I assume you¡¯re familiar enough with history to know about the mass migrations that took ce when the League started invading Hisui to subjugate anyone that wasn¡¯t a trainer or submitted to their rule?¡± I nodded. The truth was, I had forgotten most of it, but theke was helping me fill the gaps. ¡°So¡­ people from the south fled north to escape the League?¡± I asked. ¡°Tens of thousands of them, through Mount Cor. Without Pokemon,¡± she spat. ¡°Only a few thousand were left by the end, and they arrived in an inhospitable hell. For them, it was either risk death and live freely, or be a servant to whoever the League sent to rule your settlement back then. Life was harsh. Still, my people took them in. We gave them everything, and we only heard rumors of the League forces rampaging down south from the asional group that made it through Mount Cor. Still, we hoped that we were far enough to avoid their lust for conquest.¡± I bit the inside of my mouth. ¡°That didn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Twenty yearster, the League came on their flying Pokemon and took everything we had anyway. Everything we had built, with their trainers. They enved us, destroyed our culture, worked us to death, and now they think I will forgive them for doing the bare minimum? No. I will never forgive. I will take care of you. I won¡¯t make a fuss. But my house, my rules,¡± Savika firmly said. ¡°Okay,¡± I exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°So long as you understand,¡± she said as she began to walk toward her home. ¡°It might seem foolish to you. I know that it¡¯s been thousands of years since. I know that you specifically had nothing to do with it, but it still burns. It burned more when I was still living in Snowpoint and acting like everything was alright, when we¡¯re still being run by that very same system, however changed it''s been. I couldn¡¯t take it. I spent all of my savings on supplies, learned how to live in the wild, and never looked back.¡± ¡°Well, I feel like I have to thank you again,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re helping us despite disliking what we do.¡± Savika sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t turn back children,¡± she said. ¡°Craig isn¡¯t a child.¡± ¡°Oh, please. Twenty-five is still a child.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said, forgetting that she was probably in her early sixties. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it get lonely, though?¡± The old woman¡¯s hand twitched around her wood. ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡± I stared at theke and took a deep breath. I was sad that Savika was going to die on her own here. What would happen when she couldn¡¯t take care of herself anymore? She was fit, but age would catch up to her eventually. ¡°I¡¯d be terrified to die alone,¡± I blurted out. Savika stared at me and thenughed. It was the first time that I saw her smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t you straightforward?¡± She said. ¡°I do worry about it, but I¡¯ve made my choice. I¡¯ll end my life here. It¡¯s my home.¡± I nodded, and we entered her house again. Chase took another day to be able to stand again and another two to feel well enough to travel. We all used the time to train up, and to help him out, we took his Pokemon outside so that they could train, too, since he was too tired to do so. He acted like he didn¡¯t care, but I could tell he was d. Craig left a day after that on his Smence, bidding us and Savika goodbye. He told us toe see his battle against Candice if we had the time. Denzel was giddy about his new shirt and wore it all the time now. Another two days after that, we left Savika¡¯s home. I left her an empty Pokeball hidden in one of her cupboards, just in case she ever changed her mind and wanted somepany. Five dayster, we had finally reached Snowpoint. The city of snow.
Chapter 90 Chapter 90 CHAPTER 90 Strangely, the first thing that jumped at me in Snowpoint city wasn¡¯t the dull, brutalist architecture, how quiet and peaceful it felt, or how everything was nketed in a thinyer of snow. Entering the city, there was a massive port to our right that took up the entire length of the city¡¯s coast. It was bigger than even Jubilife¡¯s, which made sense when you realized that the only way the city received supplies was through freight shipping, and of course, there was also the fact that civilians used the ferry to get to Canve. Snowpoint city didn¡¯t have an airport. Huge ships packed to the brim with containers were all over the port, and the city was clearly stocking up. The month of February was brutal up there, and even the biggest Icebreakers wouldn¡¯t be able to get through the frozen waters. That meant that for one month of the whole year on average, Snowpoint waspletely cut off from the world, unless you had a Pokemon that could teleport. It was still rtively early in December, which meant that we needed to figure out if we were going to hurry up and leave, or stick around until February ended, but to do that, we needed information. Unfortunately, all of our Poketches were out of battery, and we struggled for a while to find the Pokemon Center. We kept our faces down and didn¡¯t ask for directions, since we didn¡¯t want to risk anyone finding out we were alive until we found out what was happening in Eterna. After around thirty minutes of looking, we finally found a Center by using therge, looming gym in the distance. There were always a few Centers next to them, so looking there had been a good bet. We waited to cross the street as a huge snow-plowing truck passed through the street, clearing the city from the ever-falling snow. Cars here were way bigger than I was used to in general¡ª and they needed to be to navigate through the city of snow¡ª but people could asionally be seen on snowmobiles or even skis and snowboards. I personally couldn¡¯t imagine sharing the road with skiers, but I suppose the people here were used to it. The city itself was rather small, but densely packed. It was probably just slightly more popted than Floaroma. We stepped into the Pokemon Center, and as expected, it waspletely empty. There wasn¡¯t one trainer in the usually packed lobby, which was perfect for us. ¡°Four rooms, please,¡± Denzel hesitantly told the half-asleep Nurse Joy at the counter. She stared at us for a few seconds before her eyes widened. ¡°Um, sure! I¡ª there usually aren¡¯t any trainers here at this time of the¡­ wait, aren¡¯t you¡­ you¡¯re the kids who died in Mount Cor! How are you even¡ª¡± ¡°Please, not a word of this to anyone. We¡¯re currently hiding,¡± Cece said. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re hiding?¡± Chase frowned. ¡°Guess that changes my n a little bit.¡± Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hiding? Why even¡ª fine. If you want privacy, we¡¯re obligated to give it to you, but don¡¯t expect that tost. You kids were all over the news¡­ people are going to notice you. Still, I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe. Trainer ID, please.¡± We handed her our IDs, and she gave us four rooms next to each other on the first floor, since they were all empty. I had expected us to be in the news, but the fact that Nurse Joy had recognized us instantly didn¡¯t bode well for our ns. Staying undercover was going to prove harder than I thought. ¡°Well, I¡¯m off to do my own thing,¡± Chase said as he quickly entered his room. ¡°Then I¡¯ll sign up to fight Candice. See ya,¡± he said, raising a hand as he closed his door. ¡°I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t ask about us hiding,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Thought he¡¯d want to know.¡± ¡°I feel bad for not telling him, but let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve wasted enough time already,¡± I hurriedly said as I opened my door. We all stepped inside, and plugged our Poketches in. I sat on my bed, not even caring that my clothes were dirty. It felt so good to be in a Center again. Something about the building made me feel safer than anywhere else. I watched in anticipation as our Poketches slowly charged up. It¡¯d take around five minutes for them to turn on, and then we¡¯d finally find out what was going on. ¡ª¡ª Emilia Lussier was lying down on her bed quietly as she doom scrolled the Circuit forums while she had a news station on. Seeing Harvey and rence gain the ire of the entire public in Sinnoh, and by extension, Unova, was one of the few things that could still bring her any amount of joy, however minuscule it was. Emilia was weak, so she contented herself by seeing how others raged against the ones that had caused the death of her friends. Since Pauline had so magnificently exposed those two rats for who they were, the entire situation had turned up on its head. Anger from the public had been too much, and the League was breathing down Harvey and rence¡¯s necks for bringing even more attention to what psychic types could do to a person¡¯s mind. That meant that they had been freed. The word tasted like ash in her mouth. They were free. The taps had been removed from their phones. Her parents, quick to get ahead of the situation to avoid any kind of negative attention had even called her to give her permission to follow her dreams of being a Pokemon coordinator. And yet, Emilia still felt like she was chained up to her bed. At least they were out of that hotel and staying at a Pokemon Center. That ce had felt nauseating and was now the seat of too many bad memories for Emilia to even look at it. The downside, however, was that trainers filtering in and out of the Center kept asking her questions about how her experience through Mount Cor had been. Pauline and Louis always shut them down quickly, but some always slipped through. One particr post in the forums made her heart jump, however. The forums worked in such a way that posts that were garnering attention would be ¡®trending,¡¯ meaning that they would be on the front page. This particr one was from a civilian in Snowpoint city who posted a blurry picture of four trainers walking through the snowy city and toward a Pokemon Center, and the title read ¡®Chase Karlson, Denzel Williams, Grace Pastel and Cecilia Obel spotted in Snowpoint!¡¯ Emilia felt sick to her stomach. This wasn¡¯t the first one of these posts. Some sick individuals liked to pretend that they had suddenly found her friends and Chase out of the mountain for attention. She had seen simr posts with pictures from Celestic, Hearthome, or even Eterna, which was the worst offender. Snowpoint was a new one, however. Emilia started furiously typing a long-winded response on her Poketch to berate the original poster, but she slowed down, sighed, and erased everything. Othermenters were already taking care of that anyway. These posts were getting old, and forum dwellers were starting to hate them. Still, there were actually a decent amount of people calling the picture more legitimate than the others, simply because one of these blurry people had a Riolu on their shoulder. Riolu were rare, but it wasn¡¯t as if only Chase Karlson could own one. Emilia sighed and kept scrolling. ¡ª¡ª ¡°It¡¯s on!¡± Cece squealed. We all swarmed around her Poketch, which had turned on first. With trembling hands, Cecilia connected to the inte. The first thing she typed was her father¡¯s name, rence Obel. Her worried stare turned into one of disbelief, then a smile, and then a giggle. Cecilia copsed on the bed as sheughed wildly, thrashing all over my bed with tears streaming out of her eyes. She had gone too fast for me to see what was going on. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked with a slight smile. If she wasughing, it was good news, at least. ¡°Oh, Legendaries, this is such perfection,¡± she keptughing. ¡°Read it for yourselves.¡± Cece gave us the phone, and we read the headline of the article she had clicked on. ¡®Founders and CEOs of the Bianchi Conglomerate and the Obel Energy Company found to have caused the death of three young trainers, including Cecilia Obel.¡¯ A grin split Denzel¡¯s and my face, but there was still a small thought at the back of my mind. The headlines were excluding Chase, for some reason, and only giving us attention. Scrolling further, Chase¡¯s name was mentioned deeper into the article, but they hadn¡¯t added his picture. ¡°So that means¡­ that means what?¡± I said excitedly. ¡°Are we fine?¡± Cece grabbed her phone and smiled. ¡°Oh, Arceus, he¡¯s lost so much money. But no, we aren¡¯t freed just yet. They¡¯re still in Sinnoh, and they¡¯ve no doubtwyered up. I doubt they¡¯ll suffer any legal consequences,¡± she said, typing something on her phone. ¡°Take a look at this.¡± Denzel and I stared at her screen and saw that the price of potions, vitamins, and other trainer supplies had jumped. I sighed. It made sense. Louis¡¯ father¡¯spany had a monopoly on most trainer supplies, so if hispany was losing money, that meant that trainers would suffer. ¡°Yikes,¡± I said. ¡°If we¡¯re being pragmatic, that¡¯s kind of a good thing. More people hating Louis¡¯ dad is a win in my book,¡± Denzel added. ¡°It¡¯s the same for energy in Unova. People¡¯s energy bill is going to cost a lot more next month. It¡¯s not in Sinnoh¡¯s and Unova¡¯s governments¡¯ interest to let thesepanies fail. Still, they¡¯re going to lose a lot of money and influence, which is good for us.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to see Chase¡¯s point of view a little bit,¡± Denzel groaned. ¡°What about Abel?¡± I asked. ¡°Is he still around?¡± Cecilia typed on her phone again, this time less enthusiastically. ¡°He¡¯s escaped. The League wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to arrest him to extradite him to Unova, but he was already gone. He¡¯s on the loose in Sinnoh.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s stuck here,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll be able to fly privately now that your dad¡¯s dropped him, and his face is known throughout all of Sinnoh.¡± ¡°That means that he won¡¯t be after us, at least,¡± Cece said with a relieved sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not seeing anything else. Thest time he was seen was at the hotel we stayed at, and he¡¯s probably out of Eterna city already.¡± ¡°Well, look at the bright side, there¡¯s no way that he¡¯sing after us now,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°He has bigger fish to fry. We can definitely head back to Eterna. If anything happens to us, it¡¯ll be obvious that your dad had something to do with it. He can¡¯t touch us right now.¡± Cece nodded. ¡°There¡¯s something else that I think will soothe you Grace, at least slightly. Team Gctic¡¯s base in Eterna city was raided and destroyed.¡± I beamed. ¡°What about Mars? Is she gone?¡± ¡°No, she escaped. But the walls are closing in for them, too,¡± she said, caressing my arm. ¡°But how did your dad¡ª and Louis¡¯ dad get exposed? What happened?¡± Cece smirked. ¡°It was Pauline.¡± ¡ª¡ª Emilia desperately knocked on Pauline¡¯s door like it had personally insulted her. She didn¡¯t care that other trainers were staring at her as if she was crazy, or murmuring about how she was the kid that had gone into Mount Cor with one badge and lived. Emilia had just seen the craziest¡ª the most unbelievable¡ª the most unimaginable thing posted on the forums. Pauline opened the door and quickly dragged Emi inside. ¡°What is it?¡± Pauline said with a sigh. She might have been the one who freed the group from their parent¡¯s clutches, but unlike Emilia, Pauline was getting more and more depressed. She had deep bags under her eyes, and her hair was disheveled, something that would have been unimaginable just a few weeks earlier. ¡°Pauline!¡± Emilia yelled. ¡°Look at this.¡± She unlocked her Poketch, and scrolled up to the post she had just seen¡ª a video posted by Chase Karlson himself. Pauline¡¯s eyes widened when she saw the thumbnail. The two girls stared at each other, and Emilia pressed y¡ª it was also her first time watching the footage. ¡°Yo. Looks like I missed a whole shitstorm while I was traveling through Mount Cor. You heard that right. I traveled through Mount Cor and lived. Anyway, I made it to Snowpoint. It was pretty easy, and I¡¯m tougher than ever, ready to challenge Candice,¡± Chase said before pointing his camera toward his window. There was no mistaking it. That was Snowpoint. Did that mean the earlier photo¡­ was real? ¡°You know what pisses me off the most, though? How is it that the media gave me no fucking attention whatsoever? I also fell down that chasm, you know? Is it because I¡¯m poor? Do I need to start talking about how for-profit media is a scourge on fucking society and that they omitted my name from all the headlines because I wouldn¡¯t generate as many clicks¡ª¡± Emilia cut off the video before he could continue into his tirade. Chase looked a lot less smug and kid-like than he had before falling down the chasm. Even though he behaved simrly, there was a certain maturity to his tone and face now. Emilia and Pauline looked at each other, their bodies unmoving. He had fallen down the chasm with Cecilia, Grace, and Denzel. If he was alive, then that meant that¡­ that meant that maybe, the others were too, and thementers seemed to agree. They kept asking him what had happened to the others, but he never answered any of them, which was umon. Chase was one of the most active forum members of the year, who never hesitated to answer anything, even when unprompted. Something about this was fishy. Outside of the room, excited voices could be heard. Every trainer in the Center was probably talking about the same thing. ¡°Emi,¡± Pauline said, her voice a whisper. ¡°Call the others. This is¡ª this could be big.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°So can we call our parents without waiting for Mark, then?¡± I asked Cece. ¡°I¡¯d say that¡¯s safe for now, although I¡¯d still wait before calling the others,¡± she answered. ¡°You guys call your parents, I¡¯ll call Mark and see what he has to say.¡± Great,¡± I said. ¡°Um, could I do this in¡­ private? Let¡¯s meet in Cece¡¯s room in thirty minutes, maybe? Or one hour, I don¡¯t know how long this is going to take.¡± Cecilia smiled gently at me. ¡°Of course. Take all the time you need, I¡¯ll be in my room.¡± Denzel and Cece left me to my own devices, and I turned on my Poketch. My finger hovered over the call button to my father. What would I even say? Hey dad, remember how all the news said I was dead? Well, surprise! I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and sighed. This was supposed to be a beautiful moment. There was no need to be nervous. None of it had even been my fault. I called my dad, who somehow answered instantly. ¡°Who is this?!¡± He yelled. ¡°Is this some kind of sick joke? How did you get my daughter¡¯s phone.¡± I took a few short gasps and felt tears stream down my face. Just hearing his voice¡­ just hearing his voice after so long was enough to make me break down. I couldn¡¯t even speak. ¡°Is¡­ Grace, is that you? Is that you?!¡± ¡°Dad,¡± I cried. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you worry. I¡ª I was alive. I made it through Mount Cor, and I¡¯m at Snowpoint right now.¡± I heard a few sobs from the other end of the call. ¡°Oh, sweetie,¡± dad cried. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re safe. I thought¡ª I thought I had lost you forever, and that it was my fault for making you start your journey. I was¡ª I was nning the funeral.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I sniffled. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°You¡¯re okay,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s call your mom, alright? Then you can tell us what happened.¡± ¡ª¡ª Denzel clenched and unclenched his fists as he stared daggers at his Poketch. He had said that he wanted to call his mom after almost dying to Lunatone, but now that the moment hade, clicking the call button felt harder than anything he had ever had to do. Even before the incident, he hadn¡¯t spoken to his mother in too long¡ª he had only called her once to let her know he had made it out of Eterna Forest okay. They didn¡¯t have the closest rtionship, and Denzel had always felt like she wanted to hold him on a leash. She did send him money to help out sometimes like she had promised since he beat Roark and sent him a message once in a while, but that was the extent of their contact. They obviously didn¡¯t have the best rtionship. Even after all his sess, she disapproved of his career choice, which is why calling was so hard in the first ce. Would there be one of her usual reprimands? An annoying, out of cement? Should he call his dad instead? ¡°Fuck it,¡± Denzel said, wincing as he called his mother. ¡°They¡¯re always together anyway, and they deserve to know at the same time.¡± The phone rang for a few seconds, and he heard his mother¡¯s familiar voice on the other end of the call. ¡°Denzel? Baby, is that you?!¡± She yelled into his ear. ¡°I¡­ yes, it¡¯s me,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m alive, mom. I¡¯m sorry for worrying you¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, by the Legendaries,¡± she cried. ¡°Ronald! Ronald, he¡¯s alive! Denzel¡¯s alive! I told you he was tough! I never stopped believing.¡± Denzel¡¯s eyes widened as he heard his father approach and cry on the other end of the call. Was¡­ was that it? No ¡®I told you so¡¯? No ¡®I was right¡¯? No ¡®get back home right now¡¯? Why had he even put off calling for so long, then? Denzel let out a teary chuckle as he smiled. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Wee home, son.¡± ¡ª¡ª Cecilia didn¡¯t hesitate as she called her brother. She stood there, her face stoic as she awaited his answer. She had to call five times before he finally picked up. ¡°Cecilia,¡± she heard his voice. ¡°I thought you¡­ I thought you to be dead. I¡¯m d you¡¯re safe. Are you well?¡± ¡°Yes, Mark,¡± Cece simply answered. Their rtionship was no longer warm like it had been when they were both younger, and there was no need to pretend otherwise. Still, Cecilia was d he at least cared. ¡°And I¡¯ve caught up on everything that happened with father. How is the situation back home?¡± Mark sighed. He was clearly exhausted. ¡°Terrible, which is why I took so long to answer. You¡¯ll have to forgive me, but I¡¯m negotiating with congress about how to best tackle the looming energy price hike, so I¡¯d appreciate it if we could keep this brief.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Cece said. ¡°This won¡¯t take long. You still have people in Sinnoh you can contact, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯d like for you to confirm if my friend¡¯s phones are stillpromised. It would be like father to only pretend to remove taps from a phone, only to listen in on all of theirmunications anyway.¡± ¡°Alright, I can do that,¡± Mark said. She heard another voiceining next to him, but it was too muffled to make out the words. ¡°Not now. My sister is speaking to me,¡± he said, his tone ice cold. ¡°I apologize again. Do you need anything else?¡± ¡°Onest thing,¡± Cece said, more hesitantly this time. ¡°It¡¯s about Deino. He is evolving soon.¡± ¡°You want advice?¡± ¡°I need to know one thing first and foremost. Will his personality disappear?¡± The girl asked. ¡°No, but it will split. The way the split happens is different for every Deino, but expect for each head to be a different part of him,¡± he said. He probably heard her trembling sigh, because he immediately continued. ¡°But he¡¯ll still be him. Expect the heads to fight a lot, especially at the start, and he¡¯ll probably have problems listening again, just like when you first got him. Worry not, however. This is only a temporary split until he evolves into a Hydreigon and converges onto the main head. The other two can think slightly, and they can barely sense light, but the main head will be the one that controls them, and he¡¯ll be your original Deino. Although he will go berserk when he evolves into a Hydreigon. All of them do.¡± ¡°Thank you, Mark. Expect a lot of my calls whenever he¡¯s finally evolved.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate,¡± Mark said. ¡°And Cecilia. I¡¯m sorry about father. I know how terrible he is to you, but I am the Champion. I must think of Unova as a whole before my family.¡± ¡°I understood that from the start,¡± she said. ¡°Still, I appreciate the help.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll check with my contacts in Eterna right away. It shouldn¡¯t take long.¡± He hung up, and Ceciliaid down on her bed, saddened to see that not even five minutes had passed. Her brother was nice enough, but there was none of the warmth she felt with her friends. With Grace. And she couldn¡¯t me him. They had both been raised that way, the only difference being that she had found people to teach her howfortable that warmth was, and he never had. His entire journey had been solitary. Grace¡­ She wanted to see Grace and kiss her. ¡ª¡ª Emilia finished showing Justin and Louis the video, and they stared at her with the same gobsmacked expressions that Pauline had had. Louis brought a hand to his scarred cheek and took a hopeful breath while Justin looked more alive and hopeful than he had in weeks. ¡°We can¡ª we can call them to check,¡± Louis said. ¡°We should!¡± Pauline nodded. ¡°Emi, call Cece right now!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Emilia said as fear suddenly gripped her. The fear of the unknown. What if they were wrong? What if they had been too hopeful? ¡°Maybe we should contact Chase Karlson to be sure. Ask him if he saw them when he traveled through the mountain. His video doesn¡¯t say that he did.¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t say that he didn¡¯t,¡± Justin stammered, his usual cool tone now gone. ¡°Why not just rip off the band-aid?¡± Pauline said. ¡°I know it¡¯s scary, but I¡¯m tired. I¡¯ve been hoping this entire time, and I just want to know.¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°First, the picture, and now this? I don¡¯t want to be too hopeful, but¡­¡± Emilia licked her lips, which were suddenly very dry, and gave a hesitant nod. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll call Cece.¡± Her thumb shook like a leaf over her contact list, but Pauline just snatched the phone from her hands and did it for her. The phone rang, rang, and rang. No one answered. ¡ª¡ª Cecilia panicked as she saw Emilia calling her. She almost answered by reflex before remembering that it might be a trap from her father. She wouldn¡¯t answer any calls until Mark got back to her. Abel was gone, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was harmless. A cornered animal was always the most threatening. Around thirty minutester, Denzel stepped into her room with a wide smile on his face, and Cecilia returned it. ¡°I trust that your call went well?¡± She asked. ¡°More than well,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I think I just made up with my mom after being on pretty bad terms with her for years. It feels refreshing. What about you?¡± ¡°It went well enough. Mark is checking with our friends as we speak. Their status should be confirmed within the hour.¡± ¡°Great,¡± he sighed in relief as he sat. ¡°I can¡¯t wait. I really want them to stop worrying.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± Cece grimaced. ¡°I actually received a call from Emilia, but I didn¡¯t answer. I thought it might have been a trap.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t ever be too paranoid with your dad,¡± Denzel shrugged. Twenty minutester, Grace arrived. Cecilia beckoned her and sat her on herp, hugging her from behind. ¡°What¡¯s with all the love?¡± Sheughed. ¡°Not that I mind. I like it.¡± ¡°I love you,¡± Cecilia said. And I realized how precious you are to me, she thought. ¡°How¡¯d your talk with your parents go?¡± ¡ª¡ª Emilia stared at the chaotic scene unfolding in front of her. ¡°We can¡¯t give up!¡± Louis yelled. ¡°We¡¯re close to something, I can feel it!¡± ¡°Their phones might be dead or broken,¡± Justin said. ¡°It would make sense after making it through Mount Cor.¡± ¡°Fuck this,¡± Pauline said, groaning in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m calling this Chase guy. Emi had the right idea.¡± ¡°Do you have his number?¡± Emilia asked. ¡°No, but I¡¯ll just spam his DMs on the forums until he gives it to me. He knows who we are, he should answer,¡± Pauline said as she furiously typed on her Poketch. ¡°There¡­ you¡­ go¡­ copy paste fifty times.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get muted for spam automatically if you do it too much,¡± Justin warned. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to care¡ª ah, he answered!¡± ¡°What did he say?¡± Emilia asked on the edge of her seat. ¡°He says that it¡¯s not his ce to¡­ what the fuck does that even mean? Not his ce?¡± Pauline hissed. ¡°I¡¯ll show you your ce, you piece of¡ª¡± ¡°Wait, that sounds like they¡¯re alive! At least, I think so!¡± Justin said. ¡°Why would he say that unless they weren¡¯t?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, you¡¯re right, that would be absolutely psychotic,¡± Pauline nodded, her tone brightening. ¡°But we can¡¯t be sure unless¡ª¡± Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. ¡°¡ªugh, I fucking hate these stupid clout chasing trainers,¡± Paulineined as she strode to the door. She opened it in one brisk motion. ¡°Fuck off¡ª you¡¯re not a trainer.¡± Emilia stared at the unassuming man. ¡°Are you a doctor? What is it?¡± ¡°Mark Obel sent me. I thought you were notified I wasing?¡± He said. ¡°Cece¡¯s brother?¡± Emilia frowned. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To check if your phones are stillpromised. He feels bad about what happened to you. Call it a favor.¡± Louis hesitantly handed the man his Poketch. ¡°Wait, Louis, it could be a trap!¡± Justin yelled. Toote. The man grabbed the phone and browsed it for a bit before pulling out a tiny screwdriver and taking it apart. After a few minutes, the Poketch had been thoroughly checked, and the man put it back together and handed it back to Louis. ¡°It¡¯s clean. Now give me all of the others to check. I don¡¯t do my job half-assed.¡± ¡ª¡ª Iid down next to Cecilia and showered her with kisses as we giggled like schoolgirls. Not only were we close to finally reuniting with our friends, but calling my parents had made me so incredibly happy that I felt the need to direct the feeling somewhere else. Even Togetic and Frillish had gotten to speak to dad, and I introduced him to the rest of the team too. He said that as soon as I got to Hearthome, he was flying out to see me, which was something I certainly looked forward to. I missed him too much. ¡°Get a room, please,¡± Denzelined as he awkwardly stared out the window. ¡°This is my room, you idiot,¡± Ceceughed against my lips. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you can wait outside.¡± ¡°I know I was your wingman, but it feels really weird being here. It¡¯s like I¡¯m seeing my two¡­ adoptive children make out.¡± ¡°Ugh, you had to make it gross,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°Whatever, we¡¯ll continueter,¡± I told my girlfriend. ¡°Bute on¡­¡± she grumbled. ¡°Later!¡± Iughed. ¡°You¡¯re so cute when you¡¯re clingy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m holding back, though,¡± she said. ¡°And don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t get clingy when we¡¯re alone¡ª¡± ¡°TMI!¡± Denzel interrupted. ¡°Ah, Cece, your phone¡¯s ringing. Thank the fucking Legendaries.¡± Cece extended her hand to her bedside table and answered the phone, nodding and agreeing a few times. She got up from the bed and stared at us, suddenly more serious. ¡°Their phones are clear,¡± she said. ¡°We can call.¡± ¡ª¡ª The man had left the room just as fast as he hade, and he had multiplied the confusion that Emilia felt tenfold. She fidgeted nervously as the group fought, debating what to do. Chase was still being vague and had sent Pauline into such a tirade that she got temporarily muted by a bot, and it felt like they were back to step one. The knowledge was right there, at her fingertips, and yet she couldn¡¯t know if her friends were alive or dead¡ª Suddenly, her Poketch rang. All of their heads turned. Emilia hesitantly grabbed at it. ¡°It says¡­ Cecilia is calling.¡± She heard audible gulps throughout the room, and she answered the phone, putting it on speaker. ¡°H¡ªhello?!¡± She shouted. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Emilia?¡± Everyone around the room gasped. That was Cece¡¯s voice. It was her. Emilia had been in a state of constant worry and anxiety for days¡ª weeks. It felt like a massive weight had just been lifted off her chest, and she burst into tears, overwhelmed with relief. Louis ced both of his hands on his forehead, like he couldn¡¯t believe it. Justin let out a huge sigh and sat down on a chair with trembling legs. Pauline copsed on her knees and cried like a baby. On the other side of the line, cries could be heard too. It took around two minutes for everyone topose themselves enough to talk. ¡°You guys,¡± Emilia sobbed. ¡°You guys were alive?¡± ¡°How?¡± Justin asked in disbelief. ¡°There was nothing down the chasm? How did you¡ª¡± ¡°Mount Cor can do that,¡± Denzel said through the phone. Paulineughed when she heard his voice. ¡°It was tough, and there were close calls, but we found each other and made it through. Chase was a big help.¡± ¡°He was,¡± Cece added. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have made it without him.¡± Emilia was surprised at how close they sounded now, but she supposed a trip through Mount Cor, route 216 and route 217 would bring any group of people closer. How strong had they gotten now, she wondered. What had they seen and experienced? ¡°Where are you guys right now? There was this blurry photo of a group of people in Snowpoint,¡± Louis asked. ¡°Someone took a picture of us?¡± Grace said. Emi could tell that she was obviously crying. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re at Snowpoint. We were nning on holing up here until Harvey and rence could be dealt with, but it looks like Pauline took care of that for us.¡± ¡°Damn right, I did,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Cece, I tore Amy a new one for you.¡± The girlughed. ¡°I¡¯m d you made my wishe true.¡± ¡°Cece, you sound so much better,¡± Louis noticed. ¡°Are you¡­ are you fine now?¡± ¡°More than fine,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying all of you. I thought I had no one, but I didn¡¯t look around me. You¡¯re all family.¡± Emilia teared up. ¡°Of course. Now when are you getting back?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out a way,¡± Grace said. ¡°Obviously, we aren¡¯t too willing to get back through Mount Cor again. But there are a few things I want to do first, like battling Candice. I assume Denzel and Cece feel the same way?¡± They both agreed. Emilia almost had to do a double take. They were going to challenge Candice for their third badge. Almost no trainers could boast of such a feat. ¡°Now let me tell you guys all of the crazy shit we went through,¡± Denzel started. ¡°So first, I dropped at least one hundred feet down into this freezingke¡­¡± Emilia¡¯s eyes bulged. That was¡ª that was only the first sentence?
Chapter 91 Chapter 91 CHAPTER 91 I rolled around my bed, carefully avoiding Togetic, who was sleeping next to me. Tang was sitting next to the window, catching rays from the finally rising sun with a vine around my hanging foot. It was odd howte the sunrise was when we were so far up north. Electabuzz slept against a wall with Larvitar curved into a ball close by and snoring cutely. Frillish, meanwhile, carefully observed each one of us as he always did when we slept. I smiled, feeling at the soft, warm covers. I was finally waking up on a bed again after so long. I was sick and tired of sleeping bags. Still, I remained somewhat tired. We had spent almost all ofst night talking among friends and recounting what happened on both of our sides. I particrly enjoyed how Pauline torched anything that moved, especially Amy, but it did hurt to know that they had suffered for so long at the hands of Harvey and rence. They, however, were inplete awe of how we had survived Mount Cor and beyond, and honestly, looking back on it, I was astonished too. There had been a lot of close calls, but we had made it. We were safe. We had also created a group chat to stay in contact now that we were all far apart. Right now, Denzel was surprisingly awake and had shared a picture of his Sylveon and his newly caught Snorunt. Emilia was gushing over thempletely, saying that if Denzel hadn¡¯t been so dead-set on being a trainer, he would have made a perfect coordinator, and I did see her point. Still, Denzel had no interest in the sport, so he wouldn¡¯t entertain the idea. I personally knew I would never do it either since I hated the judging system and how to the cynical side of me, it looked like money ran the world of coordinators and not just skill, but unlike Denzel, I wasn¡¯t against going to see a few contests whenever I had the time, even if Emilia wasn¡¯t in them. We were slowly starting to build ourselves up and make ns again. Pauline had a me lit in her when she saw how strong we had gotten, deciding to train twice as hard and look for a third member for her team. Louis was now adamant aboutmunicating with his Gible and trying to get the dragon under control, and Emilia was practicing movebinations to try on a potential future contest, although she would miss the next one in Hearthome. I did know, however, that she had finally chosen to grab a flight to the city when we got back, meaning that she would wait for us and meet us there. She could have made the contest if she had left now, but she obviously wanted the group to get back together first. Justin, meanwhile, wasn¡¯t so sure about what he would do next. He said that he¡¯d speak with his father about potentially negotiating new terms to inherit hispany, but it wasn¡¯t going well. It looked like he¡¯d unfortunately be forced to continue his journey. He was hesitant to hurt his father¡¯s reputation, since he did want to take over Pherzen intact. Still, things were moving, and the world looked bright and exciting again, and that meant that I had to get going too. I stretched, and Togetic woke up next to me. I petted her, and she let out a happy chirp. Tang was next, and he wrapped his vines all around my legs. ¡°Angel, I can¡¯t walk if you¡¯re hugging me like this,¡± I smiled, crouching to pet him. He apologized with his eyes and let go, still keeping his usual one vine around my ankle. Electabuzz strode up to me confidently, shing a grin. I hugged him and greeted him good morning before doing the same to Larvitar, who had drooling out of her mouth. ¡°Morning, sweetheart!¡± I said. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to wake up, you know? Babies need to sleep a lot.¡± ¡°Larvitar!¡± She eximed. ¡°Okay, someone¡¯s all grown up. I hope you¡¯re grown up enough to eat all of your food this time and not be picky, then,¡± I said, trapping her. I had been too soft on Togetic, and now she would only eat Oran berries, but I wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake with Larvitar. The rock type gave me a pained nod, much to Electabuzz¡¯s amusement. Frillish floated down and softly bumped him in the back of the head with a tentacle, and he quickly apologized. It was very funny to see that even though Electabuzz was bigger and more powerful than the water type was now, Frillish was still the top dog. ¡°Good, good,¡± I told Larvitar. I started preparing everyone¡¯s breakfast. ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy, I¡¯ll get you some poffinster. It¡¯s pretty far, and there¡¯s only one store that sells them in all of Snowpoint, but you deserve a reward. Plus, they¡¯ll all be for you this time.¡± ¡°Fri¡­!¡± He said, clearly trying to hide his excitement. ¡°I see right through you,¡± I smirked. I gave everybody their food and sat at my desk. Like I had thought to myself earlier, the world was moving, and I needed to start gathering information if I wanted to keep up¡ª I heard a soft knock at my door and perked up. I ran up to the peephole, saw that Cece was waiting for me outside, and hurriedly opened the door. ¡°Good mor¡ª Arceus, what is all of this?!¡± I eximed. She carried a huge tray of food with enough to feed an entire family. ¡°Breakfast,¡± she said as she entered. ¡°For both of us. I just came back from the bank and withdrew everything from my private ount before my father could lock me out, and I figured I¡¯de to see you.¡± ¡°Thank you so much¡ª they make hashbrowns here? I love hashbrowns!¡± I said excitedly. ¡°I figured, since you liked fries so much,¡± Cece smirked as she sat at my desk. ¡°Come and eat.¡± I felt my mouth salivating and hurriedly dove into the food. ¡°Yu didn¡¯t av to do dis for me,¡± I said, my mouth full. ¡°Nonsense. I know you, you were probably going to start working without eating.¡± I shot her a guilty look, knowing that she had seen right through me. Cece continued. ¡°Aside from when we were with Savika, you¡¯ve eaten nothing but the bare minimum, which is why I¡¯ll take care of you from now on. Unfortunately, I¡¯ll have to leave soon after to train, but this is the least I can do.¡± ¡°Thank you again,¡± I said. ¡°Oh man, this is really good. The food they make here tastes better than in other Centers.¡± Ceciliaughed. ¡°I think that¡¯s simply because you haven¡¯t tasted Center food in a while. Have you seen Pauline¡¯sints in the group chat?¡± ¡°About us missing her birthday?¡± Imented. ¡°Yeah, that sucks. I had no idea she was a December baby.¡± I stared at the ceiling and counted in my head. Pauline¡¯s birthday was on December 14th, which meant that it was in¡­ six days. ¡°Well, the others will still have a party, and I had an idea we could do for her. Why don¡¯t we all give them a video call at midnight and stick around the party for a bit? That way, it¡¯ll be like we¡¯re all together.¡± ¡°Great idea,¡± I said before chugging some water. Thinking about it¡­ I had¡­ I had no idea when Cece¡¯s birthday was. I knew Denzel¡¯s was during the summer, but hers? I had never even asked! What kind of girlfriend was I if I didn¡¯t even know her birthday? ¡°Grace? Is something the matter?¡± She said, seeing right through me. I sighed. ¡°Erm, don¡¯t make fun of me. Don¡¯t get mad at me either.¡± ¡°Just spit it out, I can tell you¡¯re worrying about something silly.¡± ¡°All this birthday talk made me wonder¡­ when is your birthday? Sorry that I never asked. I honestly should ask about everyone¡¯s birthday. We¡¯re friends.¡± Cece grinned. ¡°You¡¯re so adorable. It¡¯s February 27th,¡± she said. ¡°Not going to ask for mine?¡± I pouted. ¡°March 4th, I already asked Denzel.¡± My eyes widened in shock. That traitor! ¡°When?¡± ¡°Oh, it was a while ago¡­ when we were traveling in between Eterna Forest and Eterna city.¡± ¡°That long ago¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°You have me beat.¡± ¡°By a long shot. It¡¯s great that our birthdays are so close, though. Maybe we can do a dual celebration in between the two dates.¡± ¡°What, so you¡¯re asking for less parties?¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°That does sound like a cool idea. I hope you don¡¯t get me an extravagant gift, though.¡± I saw her awkwardly look to the side. ¡°Cece,e on,¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you not to get me anything, but if you get me some expensive gift, then mine will feel inadequate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the gesture. Just you being there is enough of a gift for me,¡± Cece said. The fact that she was being genuine about it too made my stomach flutter. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll see when we get there; I¡¯m still getting you something,¡± I said. ¡°Scyther still giving you a hard time?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s only been a few days, I won¡¯t change his mind any time soon. I wasn¡¯t nning on using him against Candice anyway.¡± I felt excited at the mention of Candice. ¡°Another three versus four for you, then?¡± I asked. I knew I¡¯d be fine, since one of the options when filling up a form at the gym asked if you owned a baby Pokemon or a Pokemon that couldn¡¯t fight, so I wouldn¡¯t have to fight at a disadvantage. They didn¡¯t exactly have to care, but it was considered bad etiquette, and it almost never happened. ¡°I can handle it.¡± ¡°I know you can,¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯re my rival, this won¡¯t stop you.¡± She returned my smile. ¡°The one thing I know for sure is that Deino will evolve during the battle. I just hope he¡¯s sound of mind enough to listen and help me win, but Fletchinder and Slowpoke will be my main means of winning, since the ice type obviously isn¡¯t to my advantage.¡± ¡°You can say that again,¡± I groaned. ¡°Such an annoying type for my team to deal with, but I¡¯lle up with something. Tell you what, why don¡¯t we battle when we get to Hearthome? That way, you have time to fix your rtionship with Scyther and maybe catch something else, and I have time to bring Larvitar up to speed. We can ask Denzel too. Not the mock battles we have when we train, but a real one like back at the Floaroma tournament?¡± ¡°That would be my pleasure.¡± I felt my fingers shake with excitement. ¡°How are you handling your newfound fame, by the way?¡± Cece asked me. ¡°I know you hate the spotlight.¡± ¡°Pffft, I don¡¯t even want to talk about it. I¡¯ve been wondering if I should redirect every email to Denzel or your phone, if you don¡¯t mind? It¡¯d take a lot of pressure off my shoulders, although the calls would stille to me.¡± It hadn¡¯t even been a full twenty-four hours since we had been revealed to be alive, and my phone was blowing up, whether it was from offers to sponsor me, interview me so that I could recount my experience, or even just the forums. I thought my name had been blowing up after my battle with Gardenia, but that had been nothingpared to this. Everyone knew my name and my face now. I could only thank the Legendaries that I was isted in Snowpoint, so at least no one woulde up to me so long as I stayed in the Center, which I was nning on doing for the majority of today anyway. I was nning on looking at potential sponsors when we got back south, although I¡¯d probably wait until we got to Hearthome as well. ¡°It feels so overwhelming, but it¡¯s something I need to get used to if I want to stand at the top,¡± I said with a firm nod. ¡°Talking to Craig made me think about that¡ª I mean, that man has to think about how he behaves in public to never hurt his image. That sounds like hell to me, but that¡¯s how it is, I guess.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t hesitate to ask for help. I happen to be a professional at building up an image of myself. Just make sure not to go too deep. You might lose yourself,¡± Cece said. ¡°I¡¯d take a few pointers before we get back to Eterna, thanks,¡± I said. ¡°Hey, did you know that Craig had this sister that¡¯s apparently incredibly skilled? I was nning on looking her up today.¡± ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Lauren Goodwill,¡± I said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t ring a bell, but feel free,¡± Cece said as she got up. We were done eating, so she picked up the empty tray. ¡°I¡¯d love to stay around longer, but I have to get ready for my fight against Candice. I¡¯ve been trying to teach Deino Dragon Pulse, and we¡¯re making good progress. Then I have a few interviews lined up to torch my father¡¯s reputation further.¡± ¡°Sounds good! Why don¡¯t we go sign up togetherter today?¡± ¡°Sure! Call me when you¡¯re done.¡± I frowned. ¡°What about your interviews? I don¡¯t want to interrupt.¡± She smiled. ¡°Come on, I know you¡¯re going to take all morning and probably a chunk of the afternoon.¡± ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t know that for sure¡ª¡± ¡°Love you,¡± Cece interrupted as she left. I chuckled. She was right¡­ but she didn¡¯t have to say it. After she left, I heard Larvitar hiss at the door. ¡°Don¡¯t be jealous now, sweetheart,¡± I said. ¡°Go y with your sister, I¡¯m gonna be busy¡ª no, don¡¯t ram the wall with your horn!¡± Luckily, Togetic restrained her with Extrasensory, and Tang grabbed her with his vines. She squirmed in the air and shot Tang a look of pure betrayal. She had expected Togetic to stop her, but him? She probably wasn¡¯t going to forgive him for a while. Angel ced her back next to me. ¡°You¡¯re the jealous type, hm? You never acted like this before,¡± I said, thinking back. ¡°I¡¯ve got plenty of love to give, alright? I won¡¯t forget about you.¡± ¡°Tar!¡± ¡°I promise.¡± She stared at me for a few seconds, huffed, and walked away toward Togetic, shooting Tang a murderous re. He shivered and tried to apologetically pet her with a vine, but she pushed it away. I grabbed my Poketch, ignored the insane amount of notifications and the constant vibrating, and typed in Lauren Goodwill¡¯s name. As I had thought, the girl was like a ghost. First, she never posted anything in the forums. Even I had posted sometimes, although rarely, but she didn¡¯t even have onement. There were threads talking about her, however, along with the usual megathread. From what I had seen, it had exploded at the start of the Circuit due to all of the hype around her being Craig¡¯s sister, but due to theck of content, it had slowed down to a crawl, and people who posted were mostly people making wild theories and spections. ¡°Strange,¡± I whispered to myself. Even if she did her absolute best to hide by turning the cameras off, her gym battles were still open to spectators. It was odd that there wasn¡¯t even onement about one of her battles from one of them. Honestly, if Craig hadn¡¯t told me about Lauren, I would have believed that she might have given up and gone back home. Still, there were traces of her. People that said that they came across her in the wild challenged her to a battle and got utterly crushed by her using one or two Pokemon. Craig did say that she didn¡¯t stick around cities, so that probably meant she only stayed to battle the gyms and left immediately afterward. I personally couldn¡¯t imagine living that type of life, but she did have three badges and was on her way to having four, so her tactic was clearly working. Plus, she had defeated one of the older gym leaders. Byron¡¯s defensive tactics were no joke, but she had somehow blown past that. The most sightings of her were in the wild, like I had established earlier, and she only ever battled other trainers there. Thest time she had been seen was¡­ route 207 by some poor trainer who got crushed by her Magmar so badly that he needed to walk all the way back to the Eterna Pokemon Center. So at least that lined up with what Craig had told me. She was on her way to Hearthome. Whereas Chase liked to apparently crush trainers in cities, Lauren seemingly terrorized them on the routes. Well, there wasn¡¯t much more information on her. Her starter was a Treecko that was now a Grovyle, and from cross-referencing stories about her different encounters in the wild, she had caught her Solosis somewhere around Jubilife, Aron near the Oreburgh mines, Magby somewhere near Canve and Tympole somewhere around Floaroma. Of course, these were all evolved to their second stage now. Was I being too stalker-ish? I mean, this girl didn¡¯t even know I existed, but I had just made her one of my rivals and was looking up everything about her. I was kind of being like Chase in that regard when he had been obsessed with Cece. Thinking of Chase, I had tried to add him to our group chat so that he could make other friends, but he just left immediately after I did, saying that it wasn¡¯t his kind of thing. At least I tried. Well, this dive into Lauren Goodwill¡¯s capabilities had been somewhat disappointing, so it was time to find out how Candice fought. The ice type gym leader was infamous for her wild tactics, but due to how isted Snowpoint was, she was probably the one I knew the least about. I went to the Snowpoint city gym website and applied the three badge filter. I groaned when I realized that there were only five videos, and none of them were even from when Candice was gym leader. I went up to four, five¡ª six. Only at six gym badges did I finally find videos with Candice in them. These battles would be way over my level, and the Pokemon she used wouldn¡¯t be used against me, but this was all I had. I¡¯d need to gauge her general fighting style and forge a strategy from there instead of memorizing the moves of every Pokemon she had. I was essentially working backwards to how I usually did here. I pressed y and watched the first video. Then the second. Then the third, with much difficulty and buffering, because the inte in Snowpoint was kind of trash. What I saw irritated me. Candice had¡­ no consistent strategy, or at least that looked to be the case. She would go from being so aggressive in one battle that she made Roark look like a softie, to being defensive in the next, like Byron. She stalled in another battle, winning with Hail and other status effects, andpletely and methodically wiped the floor with her opponent in three minutes in the next. There was no pattern to her madness. Candice was extreme and exhausting. She did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, and it worked. I could see now why she had won the Conference three years ago at the age of fifteen, winning the finals against Gardenia. Plus, she talked and taunted her opponents during battles, which somehow was allowed. I would need to do my best in order to not let her words get to me. It was impossible. I didn¡¯t know what she¡¯d do, I didn¡¯t know what Pokemon she would use, I wouldn¡¯t know their movesets or how she fought with them. I couldn¡¯t n against her. Or¡­ or could I? I felt an idea appear in my mind and grasped it. I didn¡¯t know which Candice I would get, but I could work my way around that. I could work backwards. I grabbed a pencil and my notepad. It was time to n a strategy for each of her moods.
Chapter 92 Chapter 92 CHAPTER 92 I stretched with my legs crossed and let out a satisfied groan. That had taken less time than I expected since I didn¡¯t have to study each Pokemon Candice would use. I had notes syed out in front of me on my desk, with bullet points that described how Candice fought in each different mood. I leaned back against the table and went over what I had written again. After scanning each mood Candice showcased before one of her battles, I had filtered all of her moods and ced them in different categories: defensive Candice, offensive Candice (special/physical), stalling Candice, speedy Candice¡­ and wildcard Candice. Ok, I still wasn¡¯t a fan of that name. I scratched it out and reced it with ¡®erratic Candice¡¯ instead. These were almost all self-exnatory, and there was always a nuance to them, but erratic Candice rarely came out in battles. That was when she threw every ounce of strategy or n out of the water and just did whatever she wanted with no consistency. Before watching videos of it, I would have thought that this way of battling could never work. Every trainer that knew what they were doing had at least a general way of fighting that they honed and perfected throughout the years, and a gym leader was thest person I would have expected to justpletely ignore that rule. s, Candice didn¡¯t listen to rules. She made her own. Still, erratic Candice was a rare urrence. Sometimes, it worked, simply because of how taken off-guard her opponents were, and other times, it failed miserably because¡­ well, having no n usually came back to bite you in the ass. I had made general strategies for each scenario, and my Pokemon would have different roles depending on what we ended up facing. Electabuzz was my ace against speedy Candice, because only he would be able to keep up with her fast Pokemon, but also against defensive Candice since he had the firepower to blow past their defenses and dodge their generally slow attacks¡ª I was assuming that most defensive Pokemon were on the slow side here. But against offensive or stalling Candice, he¡¯d be less effective. That¡¯s when my other Pokemon woulde in and shine. Either way, I was done, but it felt inadequate somehow. If I was going into a gym battle, I wanted to know everything, down to everyst detail. I closed my eyes and tried to visualize the gym battle and was surprised to see that my imagination of the scene was shockingly clear. Unfortunately, even if I could theorize what Pokemon Candice would use, I wouldn¡¯t know their moves anyway, so that was a bit of a dud. Maybe if I battled herst, I could see the Pokemon she used, how she fought on a lower level, and extrapte the information for my own fight. That¡¯d give me three battles to amend the n I had alreadye up with for each iteration of Candice, which was one hour and some change¡­ yeah, I could work with that. ¡°Time to call Cece,¡± I muttered. ¡°You guys think you can behave if I leave you here?¡± I said, turning to my Pokemon. My room had been turned into an absolute mess. Electabuzz was throwing pillows at Togetic and Larvitar¡ª the rock type had torn up multiple of them with her sharp horn. Tang had opened the bathroom door, hoisted himself on the counter, and had been staring at himself in the mirror for thest hour, and Frillish had given up on trying to control everything and was just floating limply in the air with a dejected look. ¡°Okay, you can¡¯t behave. You¡¯reing with me,¡± I sighed. I let them y for another few minutes since I needed to shower and touch up my appearance. I didn¡¯t want to make Cece look bad, especially since we¡¯d be recognized outside. I felt the corner of my lip rise when I saw angel touch his reflection in the mirror. He seemed very perplexed at the fact that it was mimicking his exact movements, and I didn¡¯t want to ruin his fun by revealing that it was just him. His eyes widened when he saw my reflection enter the bathroom, and he tried to move his vines through the mirror to get to me. After my shower, I made my way to the sink. ¡°Scoot over, angel,¡± I said softly as I stared at myself. I washed my face, applied some of the free moisturizer the Centers had, then untangled and brushed my hair. ¡°It¡¯s not much, but it¡¯ll do, I think. I mean, we¡¯re just signing up for a gym battle.¡± It wasn¡¯t a date, even though I did have a few ns, just in case. Plus, Cece wouldn¡¯t care about stuff like how I make her look, I thought to myself. Still, I want to try to not look like a bum. I felt angel pat my back with a few vines and caressed him back. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the cutest boy ever?¡± I said. He answered with one of his happy stares and wriggled. ¡°Yeah you are,¡± I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s Pokeball time, but I might use youter. I was thinking of doing mock battles with your siblings if I have time.¡± He nodded as I recalled him, and then I returned my entire team. I¡¯d have to apologize to the Nurses for the state of the room when I left. ¡°Raising kids is hard,¡± I sighed as I grabbed my coat. ¡°But fun and fulfilling.¡± I dialed Cece¡¯s number, and she answered after a few rings. ¡°Grace,¡± she said happily. ¡°I was waiting for your call. Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yeah¡ª¡± I stepped out of the room and saw that she was waiting in the hallway. I had kind of forgotten that all of our rooms were right next to each other. Iughed and hung up. ¡°Let me send a text to Denzel before we leave. Maybe we can meet up at the gym.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing we¡¯re going to be doing things on the way there?¡± She asked. ¡°You look stunning, by the way. Well, you always look beautiful, but¡­¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I blushed. ¡°And I did have a few ideas, but I didn¡¯t know if you¡¯d be too busy to try them out.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve cleared the whole rest of my day for you, my love,¡± she said. The nickname made me shiver, in a good way. ¡°My love?¡± I smiled as we stepped toward the empty lobby. ¡°I like that. It¡¯s so romantic.¡± ¡°Thank the Legendaries¡­ it took all of my courage to get that out.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll think of a nickname for you too,¡± I told her. ¡°It won¡¯t take long, I¡¯m pretty good with those.¡± ¡°Well, good might be an overstatement,¡± she said sarcastically. I ced a hand on my heart and made a dramatic face. ¡°Ow, you wound me,¡± I said. ¡°My Pokemon are perfectly happy with their nicknames, thank you very much.¡± We kept teasing each other until we saw the absolute sea of people in front of the Pokemon Center. I drew a sharp breath. Snowpoint was supposed to be a quiet city without that many people, but this was an absolute swarm. Luckily, they hadn¡¯t entered the Center¡¯s lobby, and nothing had stopped them from doing so, so they were at least somewhat respectful. I kept my head down as Cece dragged me through the crowd. Some of them were reporters asking us questions, while most were just curious bystanders who wanted to see the first-year trainers that had survived going through uncharted parts of Mount Cor on their own. ¡°May we have a quick interview? We¡¯re a small Snowpoint-based channel, and we¡¯re interested in your time through Mount Cor. The whole region is!¡± ¡°Ms. Pastel, Ms. Obel please, a word for¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me that name,¡± Cecilia interrupted with an icy tone. ¡°We won¡¯t be taking any interviews at this time. Feel free to contact us through email.¡± I frowned. Sure, she had said she was giving up on the name, and Ipletely understood and respected that decision, but she hadn¡¯t said anything when Chase had called her Obel during our entire trek up to Snowpoint together. The people understood and seemingly dispersed as soon as we passed through the crowd, but the reporters were a bit insistent, and we had to deny them for five minutes straight, and it didn¡¯t stop them from taking pictures. ¡°Man, if that¡¯s what we have to deal with in Snowpoint, I can¡¯t imagine Eterna,¡± Iined. ¡°I feel bad for our friends there.¡± ¡°The excitement will die down,¡± Cece reassured me. ¡°Although we¡¯ll always be famous, especially when we beat Candice.¡± ¡°I like the confidence,¡± I smiled. ¡°I was wondering on asking to turn off the camera feed or not,¡± I continued, thinking of Lauren. ¡°I honestly think I might, not even because of my anxiety around fame, but because it helps to keep your cards close to your chest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fine idea,¡± she replied with a nod. ¡°I personally won¡¯t, and Denzel and Chase won¡¯t for sure. I see you¡¯ve changed your way of thinking about other trainers, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, Craig kind of indirectly gave me advice, although he didn¡¯t really want to. I think staying as hidden as possible will actually work out in the long run, although I wouldn¡¯t mind participating in another tournament,¡± I sighed. ¡°My mind¡¯s all over the ce.¡± ¡°You have time to think about it.¡± We walked together for another few minutes when I pointed at a specific building. ¡°Okay, you see that?¡± I asked. ¡°They¡­ rent skis?¡± Cece squinted. ¡°Yeah, and there¡¯s a small bunny hill behind the store for people to try ¡®em out. I figured it¡¯d be fun since I¡¯ve never skied before.¡± Cecilia smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to boast, but I happen to be a professional. rence would take us to a ski resort during the winters, and I got very good at it.¡± rence, I noticed. Right, he wasn¡¯t her father anymore. ¡°Is this going to be like when we went bowling, and you¡¯re actually worse than me?¡± I teased. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re on now.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Are you sure we don¡¯t have to pay?¡± I asked the man behind the counter. ¡°It feels weird doing this for free.¡± ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t!¡± He said with a booming voice. ¡°You kids have brought more publicity and attention to Snowpoint than I¡¯ve seen in decades! People usually see us as a backwater, and trainers only stay around to battle the gym. They never spend any money on supporting local businesses, like that Craig guy! He pisses me off. Treats this ce like an Arceus damned speed bump. But I see that you¡¯re trying, so I¡¯m giving this to you free of charge. Just make sure to visit other ces, and we¡¯ll be even!¡± Right, Craig is here too, I thought. Maybe we could go see his gym battle if he still hasn¡¯t battled Candice. I was definitely interested in seeing what a high-level gym battle looked like from up close. ¡°Well, thanks a lot,¡± I said. He nodded and handed me ski boots. I couldn¡¯t understand how I was even to put these on, and I was too embarrassed to ask the store owner, who had already exined once and just said he¡¯d rent me skis for free. Bothering him again would feel asinine. I hadn¡¯t even thought that skiers used special boots in the first ce, but it made sense the more I thought about it. How were people¡¯s feet supposed to stick on the skis otherwise? ¡°Need some help?¡± Cece smirked at me. ¡°Yourpetitive moodes out at the worst times,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Sure.¡± Cece kneeled at my feet, carefully lifted my jeans, and showed me how to put on the skiing shoes and how to put them on skis. ¡°The shopowner already showed you how to do it,¡± she smiled. ¡°You¡¯re such an airhead.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I grumbled. ¡°And¡­ done. Let¡¯s get skiing!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Remember what I exined, Grace!¡± Cece eximed at me. ¡°Parallel to speed up, pizza slice to break!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying, I¡¯m trying!¡± I yelled. ¡°How are you even going backwards?¡± ¡°I told you I was good.¡± Skiing was way harder than it looked. Okay, maybe it wasn¡¯t since there were literal five-year-olds racing past me like they had been doing this for ten years, humiliating me further. One of them called me slow as she passed me, giggling and snaking across the bunny hill. That caught me off guard, and my legs started to wobble as I quickly lost control of my speed and bumped into Cecilia, causing both of us to fall. One of my skis detached from my boot and flew off down the hill. ¡°Holy shit,¡± I swore. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you okay?¡± ¡°No need to panic,¡± Cece said. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I stared at her for a few seconds, realizing that I was on top of her. It¡¯d be so easy to just lean in. I averted my gaze and helped her up. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologized again. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I wanted to kiss you too.¡± Our rtionship was kind of being kept on the down low for now. It wasn¡¯t because Cece was ufortable with her sexuality being public or anything like that. In fact, I¡¯d say she had adapted incredibly quickly to it. It wasn¡¯t because she was scared of her father or his reaction, or because we cared about the further publicity it would bring onto us either. We wouldn¡¯t be the first trainer couple to have formed during the Circuit. It was bound to happen if you let a bunch of teenagers and young people travel on their own. No, it was because we still hadn¡¯t told our friends in Eterna yet. We weren¡¯t worried about Pauline and Emilia, they definitely wouldn¡¯t care at all, and they¡¯d be happy for us. Justin probably would say he didn¡¯t understand, but he¡¯d be for it as well, but Louis¡­ Louis had been remarkably strong when Cece had revealed that she didn¡¯t love him in that letter. Stronger than I thought he would have been, which I supposed was proof that he really did love her. We both feared that he¡¯d take it really badly. Of course, we knew that hiding our rtionship forever wouldn¡¯t be feasible, but Cecilia wanted to wait until she could tell him in person, and I agreed. He deserved that amount of respect. ¡°Let¡¯s get back up top,¡± Cece said. ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be that bad.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± I said, feeling a surge of confidence. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Arceus, you are the worst skier I¡¯ve ever seen, bar none!¡± Ceceughed as we exited the store. ¡°Everyone can at least get through a bunny hill after an hour or two.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± I sighed. ¡°I keep getting crisscrossed, and I forget how to move my legs. Then I¡¯m going too fast, so I just fall.¡± ¡°How is that even possible?¡± Sheughed heartily. ¡°How do you forget how to use your legs?¡± ¡°Well, ask my legs! I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even think they¡¯d know the answer.¡± ¡°Rub it in more, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You rubbed it in when we went bowling.¡± ¡°That was different¡­ kind of,¡± I muttered. We stopped for lunch in a local restaurant that specialized in seafood¡ª animal seafood. Due to the inhospitable nature of Snowpoint, people had specialized in aquaculture to keep the poption fed, and that tradition stuck even now that they could get all of their food delivered from down south. Cece forced me to taste crab for the first time, and it was actually pretty decent. Plus, we split the bill fifty-fifty, which made me incredibly happy. She didn¡¯t even ask to pay for me. Nothing could beat good old fast food, though. We went on a detour so that I could buy poffins for Frillish, but I ended up buying some for the entire team. Larvitar was going to love these. Cece got some for her team too, which was new. She had acted all embarrassed about it too, which was the cutest thing. After that, we bought new, weather-appropriate coats since ours weren¡¯t really equipped to deal with Snowpoint¡¯s winters. Finally, we arrived at the Snowpoint city gym, which wasn¡¯t hard to find, since it loomed above every building here. Stepping inside, well, it was empty aside for Denzel and Chase, who were waiting at the counter. ¡°You¡¯re here already?¡± I asked Denzel after greeting him. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Oh shit, right!¡± I facepalmed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we got kind of sidetracked.¡± He smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just warn me next time you go on a spontaneous date, alright?¡± I shushed him, but agreed. ¡°Ah, right, you guys are hiding,¡± Chase rolled his eyes. ¡°Williams here was telling me about how many interviews he was going to partake in.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotta seize the moment,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I spent all morning answering forum posts while my team trained, too.¡± ¡°Waste of time, if you ask me,¡± Chase said. ¡°What? I thought you¡¯d be the type to do that kind of stuff. Didn¡¯t you want to be known as the strongest first year or whatever?¡± I asked. ¡°I am the strongest, period,¡± he boasted. ¡°But I¡¯m sticking it up to for-profit media. I¡¯m only answering people who put my name in their headlines, so as you can guess, I¡¯m pretty free.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the receptionist, anyway?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°He said that he wasing,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Snowpoint doesn¡¯t employ a lot of gym trainers this time of year¡ª apparently, they have some kind of part-time system where a lot of the employees here only work in April and May, when Snowpoint gets the busiest.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Cece nodded. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be sound for the League to pay employees that don¡¯t do any work.¡± ¡°Wrong. I stand with workers,¡± Chase said. ¡°They deserve a win after getting fucked so many times throughout history, and you should do the same. So what if they get a little extra? The League can afford it.¡± ¡°Okay, don¡¯t start preaching,¡± I sighed, rolling my eyes as I leaned against the counter. ¡°Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you something, Chase. When we all finish up with Candice here, what are you nning on doing?¡± ¡°I dunno,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I was thinking of going through Celestic and Sceon to get to Hearthome.¡± I felt my heart tug. ¡°So you¡¯re going to leave? Just like that? Why don¡¯t youe with us, we can travel together with the rest of our group¡ª¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Chase shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m more of a solitary trainer in the first ce. I wouldn¡¯t fit in with your pals.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really not as bad as they think you are,¡± I pleaded. ¡°They can learn to know you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he said with a slight smile. ¡°It was nice traveling with you guys and all, but I¡¯ve got to get back to doing my thing.¡± I bit the inside of my mouth and stared at the ground dejectedly. I really thought of him as my friend. A good friend, in fact. A month ago, I would have found the ideaughable, but now, it actually hurt to know he was leaving. ¡°Hey, no need to look so down for an asshole like me,¡± he said with a slight shrug. ¡°I appreciate you for asking, though¡­ heh, look at that, your cheery attitude keeps rubbing off on me.¡± ¡°You have mellowed out since meeting us,¡± Cece noticed. ¡°And it¡¯s not like we¡¯re never going to see each other again!¡± Denzel quickly added. ¡°He said he was going to Hearthome, and we¡¯re going there too. Even if we¡¯re taking different paths, we¡¯ll probablye across each other in the city, and then we can hang out.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I said before staring fiercely at Chase. ¡°But your ass is getting back in our group chat.¡± ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t like¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking no for an answer.¡± ¡°Sheesh,¡± he exhaled. ¡°Fine. Don¡¯t expect me to type much, though.¡± ¡°I want an update every time you get to a city or an outpost,¡± I ordered. ¡°To make sure you haven¡¯t gotten yourself killed.¡± ¡°What if I forget¡ª¡± ¡°You won¡¯t forget.¡± ¡°Come on, Grace,¡± Cece smiled. ¡°You¡¯re acting like we¡¯re separating already. We haven¡¯t even beaten Candice yet.¡± ¡°Eh, I¡¯d say it¡¯s a given that we¡¯ll beat her,¡± Chase confidently said. ¡°After everything we¡¯ve done to get here? This fight is going to be easy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get too overconfident,¡± I warned. ¡°Thest thing you want is to get stuck here for two more weeks. Traveling back down south is going to put us seriously behind in our amount of badges.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± he said. ¡°Ah, he¡¯s finally back,¡± Chase nodded toward the receptionist that walked back behind the counter. ¡°I apologize for the inconvenience,¡± he said with a small apologetic bow. ¡°I know you¡¯re not going to be pleased with this, but Candice is going to be busy today and tomorrow, so the closest we can register you for a battle is the day after that. Her Wednesday mornings are always busy, but this is somewhat of an exceptional circumstance.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± I said, somewhat disappointed. Well, at least that gave me more time to train and iron out a few deficiencies. ¡°Ugh,¡± Chase groaned. ¡°Well, it looks like we¡¯ll be together a bit longer, Pastel.¡±
Interlude – Candice Interlude ¨C Candice INTERLUDE - CANDICE ¡°Ugh, so stupid!¡± Candice grumbled as she kicked some snow. ¡°Stupid Wednesday!¡± Like every Wednesday of the week, Candice Suzuna was in a serious mood today. The ice type gym leader walked through the snowy route north of Snowpoint with a simple skirt and shirt. Her mastery of ice types had made her body practically immune to the cold, although she sometimes wore coats anyway because they feltfy. There was no point in bringing one where she was going, though. Candice stared at the looming stone temple that was embedded in the side of a small mountain. It had been built by her ancestors thousands of years ago, and like every Wednesday, she was going to go inside of it. Officially, the Snowpoint Temple wasn¡¯t open to the public because of dangerous wild Pokemon infestations. Never mind the fact that powerful trainers could have handled those without a problem, or the fact that there weren¡¯t any wild Pokemon there at all. Sometimes, the asional tourist passionate about history or cocky trainer had to be turned back by the League trainers that patrolled and guarded the temple at all times. It wasn¡¯t that interesting, they said. It was for their safety, they said. Well, thatst part was urate. Candice gave familiar greetings to all of the League trainers she met along the way, with a warm smile and all. Soon enough, she was at the Temple¡¯s entrance. ¡°Ayo, Gabe and Paul!¡± She eximed with arge wave. One of them sighed. ¡°We¡¯re not¡­ that¡¯s not our names,¡± he said as he handed her ten Pokeballs. ¡°My bad, I¡¯m terrible with those, but you know that already,¡± Candice smiled. She noticed that her hand was trembling when she reached out for the Pokeballs, but they thankfully didn¡¯t. ¡°Good luck again today,¡± he said, dipping his head. ¡°With whatever it is that you actually do down there.¡± ¡°Well, ssified information and all of that. If you were a better trainer, maybe the League would give you clearance,¡± Candice shrugged as the other trainer handed her a long, white dress and an incense. ¡°Ugh, my hands are so hecking full.¡± ¡°S¡¯wat you get for shittalking,¡± he chuckled. Candice grumbled as she climbed up stairs sorge that she could barely step up one at a time. She had always thought it to be strange that the people protecting the Temple didn¡¯t know what they were actually guarding. The League fostered such loyalty that they didn¡¯t even care to know. The girl took a breath. She would kill to go back to not knowing. Sometimes, it was better not to know. But enough with those bad thoughts. Being in a serious mood didn¡¯t mean that she needed to be down in the dumps. Her cheerful personality always helped her when she was nervous, and she could be a real chatterbox, although there was no one actually here to talk to. The Temple was so silent that all she could hear was ringing in her ears. Parts of the inside had copsed onto the ground, and some of the floors were slick with ice so slippery that it was impossible to stop, but Candice knew this ce like the back of her hand these days. She probably could have reached the bottom floor with a blindfold over her eyes. Finally, she reached her destination. Inscriptions in ancient, illegible writing adorned the walls and the now-opened doors. Candice didn¡¯t know what had opened these doors in the first ce, since they appeared to be unmovable and indestructible, but that wasn¡¯t her problem. She had a job to do. The ice type gym leader pped her cheeks to ground herself and stepped into the room with her eyes staring straight at the ground. Seventeen steps, Candice thought. Seventeen until she saw the thick chalk circle on the ground. She changed into the white dress and took off her socks and shoes before releasing ten Hypno from the Pokeballs the League trainers had given her. Her eyes were still staring away from it. ¡°Good morning,¡± Candice whispered. The volume of her voice didn¡¯t actually matter, but she couldn¡¯t help but be quiet. Good morning, young Candice, one of the Hypno said. She smiled when she noticed that the headache was almost gone now. After all, she had been doing this for almost three years. Are you ready to begin the ritual? Another one asked. They were all staring away as well. Away from it. ¡°Give me a little,¡± Candice breathed out. One hundred and thirty weeks. One hundred and thirty times, Candice had done this ritual. Her grandmother, who had been the previous Snowpoint gym leader, had brought her here right after her victory at the Conference three years ago, although she lost to Flint, who had been a new Elite Four member at the time. Her grandmother had been diagnosed with bone cancer, and so she had asked Candice to make a choice. Either she coulde with her to the Temple, take the plunge, and be chosen as her sessor, or she could swear off taking over the gym forever. Candice originally wanted to take another stab at the Circuit, but she loved Snowpoint too much to refuse. Her grandma had taken her into the temple and finally exined why she went missing every Wednesday morning. A ritual that had been passed from Snowpoint leader to Snowpoint leader¡ª although now, it was passed on to gym leaders. A ritual to keep it asleep. The first time she brought her into this room, she had warned Candice not to look at it until she had stepped into the chalk circle, but she had been fifteen. Fifteen-year-olds didn¡¯t like being told what to do, so she stared anyway. She woke up in the hospital two weekster. Her grandmother had said it was a defense mechanism it used to stay unharmed when it was sleeping, but the chalk circle somehow made it so that only looking would make you pass out if the ritual hadn¡¯t begun. If her grandmother hadn¡¯t been there to carry her back, she would never have woken up. Only participants of the ritual were allowed to look. And only when the ritual had already begun. That meant that until her grandmother passed on, she would never be allowed to even steal a nce. The next time she came, Candice decided to actually listen, although she had asked so many questions that her grandmother had somehow been more annoyed at her than at the ever-worsening pain in her bones. ¡°Why is the chalk there? Who drew the circle?¡± Candice had asked. ¡°No one knows.¡± She had answered. ¡°But it is no simple circle. There is psychic energy imbued in it. There is so much of it, and it is so intricate that nothing we have today could possibly recreate this system.¡± ¡°But what is it that we¡¯re actually containing? I want to see.¡± ¡°Not yet. You are not ready, and uttering a Legendary¡¯s name in its presence is foolish. Names hold power, Candice. I will tell you one day, when you are further along your training.¡± Candice¡¯s eyes had bulged. Legendary. The type of Pokemon that she read about in stories. That were myths. To be in the presence of one had been mindboggling. Candice exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m ready for the ritual.¡± The Hypno nodded. Their eyes started to shine blue, and their pendulums began to swing in one uniform motion. They had been bred and trained to use the most powerful Hypnosis possible. Candice stepped into the chalk circle, and her hair and dress started to float up, as if it wasn¡¯t affected by gravity any longer. The air was thick and smelled like something was burning. It was hard to breathe, but this was her job. Finally, she stared up at it. ¡°Its name is Regigigas,¡± Her grandmother had weakly said weekster in the hospital as she got chemotherapy. ¡°The stories say that it dragged the continents to where they are today. I personally don¡¯t care to know if that¡¯s true or false.¡± ¡°Can I look at it with my Pokedex?¡± Candice had asked, her eyes shining. She was probably the only fifteen-year-old in the world that had been in the same room as a Legendary. ¡°Your Pokedex won¡¯t say anything,¡± Her grandmotherughed and then coughed. The cancer had been worsening fast, but Candice hadn¡¯t liked to think about that. She ignored it and asked another question. ¡°So why are you¡­ keeping it asleep, then? What if it wakes up?¡± ¡°If it wakes up, one thing is for sure. The League will be powerless to stop it, and Sinnoh, along with its surroundings, will be destroyed until it finally stops its rampage and falls into a deep slumber once more. We would have to evacuate millions¡­ but millions more would perish.¡± The statement had made Candice¡¯s blood run cold. All of Sinnoh, gone just like that. And her grandmother hadn¡¯t even entertained the idea of fighting it. No one could stand up to a legendary. ¡°But it¡¯ll go back to sleep?¡± She asked after what felt like minutes. ¡°It will. Ites and goes in cycles, but it¡¯s been due to wake up for thousands of years, which is why our ancestors came up with this ritual to keep it asleep. When the League conquered and took over Snowpoint, they were informed of the ritual and kept it going.¡± Her grandmother had then exined that if Regigigas ever woke up, its five children would as well. Regice, hidden high up in the cold wastes of Mount Cor. Registeel, hidden deep inside of the Iron Inds. Regirock, hidden in the Rock Peak Ruins north of the Battle Frontier. The League had agents guarding every single one, turning the asional unsuspecting trainer away before they could make it anywhere close. There were also two others¡­ but they didn¡¯t slumber in Sinnoh. Candice gulped as she stared at the humongous Legendary Pokemon. Its body was white like marble, with ck, writing-like marks all over its body. A yellow band wrapped around its shoulder, and another yellow protrusion ran down the center of its body. Its eyes were dark and hollow. Lichen, moss, and frost grew all over its body. The Pokemon had been overtaken by nature. One hundred and thirty-one times, she had stared at it, but the sight was still deeply unsettling and wrong. Something this powerful shouldn¡¯t have existed. Still, Candice could only see the top of Regigigas¡¯ body. The vast majority of it was buried underground. The Temple had apparently been built after one of its rampages, soon after it went to sleep, so they had to build around its body. The young woman began walking around Regigigas with the most powerful Lax Incense the League could produce, and she uttered these words. ¡°In ancient times, a giant stirred, A legend born, a titan heard, Regigigas, with power untold, In slumber deep, its strength controlled. Through ages past, a ritual formed, To keep the giant, forever dormed, With sacred words and mystic lore, Regigigas sleeps, forevermore. Let not the spell be broken light, For if the titan wakes in might, The world may tremble and quake in fear, And all we hold dear would disappear. So let us honor the ancient rite, And keep Regigigas asleep tonight, For in its rest, we find our peace, And Sinnoh may thrive another week.¡± At the mention of its name, Regigigas stirred. Artificial, robot-like sounds echoed throughout the room, and its eyes came alive, blinking like glitchingputer screens. The entire temple shook. The Hypno intensified their Hypnosis, and Candice steeled herself. The Legend¡¯s arm moved a few inches, slowed, and then it fell back into a deep sleep. Candice released a breath she didn¡¯t know she was holding and copsed on her knees. Young Candice, step out of the circle, one Hypno warned. She gave her a shaky nod and stepped out of the chalk¡¯s boundaries. The ritual was done. She had bought Sinnoh another week. As she had done for one hundred and thirty weeks. One hundred and thirty-one, now. None of the other gym leaders knew about this. Not even the older generation. It was her burden to carry and hers alone, along with higher-ups in the League. If something happened to her, the League Secret Service would swoop in and quickly train another person before the week was over, but there were also people in the know that would be capable of going through with the ritual if there wasn''t enough time. Still, tradition dictated that the next Snowpoint gym leader would be the next ritual bearer. But how could Candice give someone such a burden? And to whom? Her grandmother had apologized to her before dying, and Candice didn¡¯t understand at the time. Now, she did. Sometimes, it was better not to know. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Ugh, I fricking hate Wednesdays¡­¡± ¡°Everything go alright down there?¡± The League trainer asked as Candice exited the Temple. ¡°You perv,¡± she smiled. ¡°You just wanted to see me in that dress.¡± ¡°I have a girlfriend, and I¡¯m very happy.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell her,¡± Candice said as she handed him the ten Hypno¡¯s Pokeballs. ¡°Don¡¯t spread lies about me. I¡¯m serious.¡± The worst part of the week was over, and Candice could finally go back to being her silly, joking self. She was all smiles as she stepped back into Snowpoint. The city had never felt as alive as it had the past few days. People were happy to have their small city be all over the news, thanks to those four trainers that had survived going through Mount Cor. What were their names again? Candice wanted to give them her thanks somehow. She hoped that they¡¯d battle her at some point soon. It wasn¡¯t every day that Candice could use her lower-level teams, and they had gotten very rusty. Still, unfortunately, she was going to be busy all day, so there would be no time to practice. Candice stepped into Snowpoint¡¯s only jail and gave a hearty greeting to the officers stationed there. The city was a tightly-knitmunity, so crime was incredibly low. Snowpoint was nothing like Jubilife or Sunyshore. Still, every city needed at least somew enforcement, but they were often bored out of their minds. ¡°Candice! Haven¡¯t seen you in a while,¡± he happily said. Snowpoint was small, so she basically knew everybody¡¯s face. Although the more urate statement would be that everyone knew her. ¡°I¡¯m here to see our guest,¡± she said. It was easy to remember Craig¡¯s name. After all, he was extremely fun to battle, and he had beaten her thest two years on the first try. This time would be different! ¡°Ah, the wonder boy,¡± the officer replied. ¡°Wonder boy? Come on, he ain¡¯t that special,¡± She said, contradicting her own train of thought. ¡°Hope you¡¯ve been keeping his stay a secret like we asked.¡± ¡°Of course, of course,¡± he said, waving his hand dismissively. ¡°Follow me.¡± The officer led Candice to what was possibly the mostfortable jail cell of all time. Hell, there weren¡¯t even prison bars! It was just a locked wooden door. Candice stepped into the room with a grin. ¡°Craig, my boy,¡± she said in a mocking tone. ¡°How does it feel to be a criminal?¡± The ck-haired man stared at her for a few seconds and rolled his eyes. ¡°Pretty bad, all things considered. I¡¯m kind of wasting time here. I thought I¡¯d be out by now,¡± heined as he typed away on aptop. ¡°At least I get to answer my emails. I was very backed up.¡± ¡°Is that a newputer?¡± Candice asked. ¡°Wha¡ª I mean, yes, but why do you even remember whatputer I hadst year?¡± Candice stared at the ground and twiddled her thumbs. ¡°No reason.¡± ¡°Shi¡ª stuff happens on the road. It broke, and I got a new one.¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± she coughed after a few awkward seconds of silence. ¡°I came here to tell you that you¡¯re free to go. The trainers I sent to check if your story was right or not confirmed that the people your Smence killed were from Team Gctic. It was tough, you know? Their corpses were barely recognizable, and their uniforms¡ª¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t describe the state of their corpses, Candice. I just ate brunch.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ my bad,¡± Candice winced and scratched the back of her head. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re free to go, but I did have a few things to say.¡± Questions from the League, Candice omitted. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°This Savika individual,¡± Candice started. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s not the one that disclosed theke¡¯s location to Team Gctic? The League didn¡¯t know about it beforehand, but we were looking for it, so we¡¯re wondering how Team Gctic beat us to it.¡± The League now knew about all threekes. Verity near Twinleaf, Valor near Sunyshore, and the newly named Acuity near Snowpoint, but due to Team Gctic stealing their files with Rotom, they also knew where Valor was. That meant that both the League and Team Gctic now knew where the threekes were. Candice didn¡¯t know what they were nning to do with them. If her short time working for the League had taught her anything, they must have known the answer. They just weren¡¯t telling her and the other gym leaders, at least not yet, but if they weren¡¯t, it probably had world defining consequences. She did know that they were building a veritable fortress around eachke to prevent Team Gctic from ever getting near them again. ¡°They attacked her,¡± Craig sighed. ¡°She¡¯s innocent in all of this, leave her alone. She already hates the fact that you¡¯re going to be sending League trainers to guard the ce permanently. I know I told you that I thought they¡¯de back, but¡­ why? I know that theke speeds up your thought process, but that seems like too easy of an answer. Something else must be important about thiske. Something that you¡¯re not telling me.¡± ¡°Believe it or not, I don¡¯t know the answer. It¡¯s above my pay grade,¡± Candice shrugged. ¡°Now, these kids that you told me about yesterday. Why did you omit their presence this long?¡± ¡°I promised to,¡± he said. ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯m a man of my word. Apparently, the world thought them to be dead. Now that they¡¯ve revealed themselves, I felt like I could finally talk about it.¡± Candice¡¯s eyes widened. So they were the same kids that had brought fame to Snowpoint? She hadn¡¯t even made the link until now. Now she definitely wanted to meet them and chat. Maybe she¡¯d go easy on them for their gym battle¡­ it wasn¡¯t like she knew how hard she should go on them anyway, and she would get a lot lessints if the fight was too easy instead of too hard, especially with all of the attention on them. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the public outrage if she utterly crushed who had barely made it out of Mount Cor alive, one of which had been abused by her father. ¡°I had to lie to them about Team Gctic possiblying back. Did you know that she was one of the hostages at the Valley Windwords powernt? I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell her the truth,¡± Craig said with a pained look. ¡°She had a panic attack just hearing the name Team Gctic.¡± ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done,¡± Candice sighed. ¡°Gonna sign up to battle me tomorrow? You¡¯re going to have to go after the four kids, though.¡± ¡°Why not just do it today?¡± He asked in an annoyed tone. ¡°I gotta get back on the road.¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy today, I¡¯ve got to meet with the dock workers¡¯ union. They¡¯re threatening to strike if they don¡¯t get better pay¡ª I mean, I certainly agree since they keep Snowpoint alive, but try telling that to our union-buster mayor. Anyway, the negotiations are going to be a headache.¡± ¡°Ouch. Good luck with that,¡± Craig said as he grabbed all of his bags. ¡°When I be the Champion, I¡¯m going to delegate all of the political stuff to the League. Can¡¯t be bothered to deal with it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too, when I became a gym leader. I thought my gym trainers would deal with it, but nope,¡± Candice sighed. ¡°It sneaks up on you, you know? Duty.¡± Craig stared at her for a few seconds. ¡°You¡¯re carrying some heavy shit, I can tell,¡± He said as he pped her shoulder. ¡°Oh, crap, I swore. Ah, dang it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid,¡± Candice said. ¡°Yeah, you are,¡± heughed as he left. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± Damn it, I¡¯ve got no chance, Candice thought to herself. If only I was a few years older¡­ She leaned against a wall and took a few minutes to herself. It was hard to see how confident Craig was when she knew for a fact that even though he would probably win the Conference, he simply had no chance against Cynthia. Candice had battled her a few times for fun, but she utterly crushed her without even going all out, and the ice type gym leader wasn¡¯t that much worse than Craig was. Candice honestly believed that no one would dethrone Cynthia until she retired or died. She was a once in a thousand years talent. Candice wasn¡¯t on good terms with the Sinnoh Champion these days. Not after it was revealed that she just watched as trainers died in Eterna Forest due to Team Gctic¡¯s interference. Volkner and Maylene thought the same, but Gardenia and Roark were on Cynthia¡¯s side. Roark thought that the ends justified the means, and Gardenia was just being Cynthia¡¯spdog, as always. This created a rift between the two camps, and their rtionships were a bit on thin ice. Maylene especially couldn¡¯t believe Gardenia was still taking Cynthia¡¯s side. She felt the most betrayed out of all of them. Still, eventually, they¡¯d have to talk it out, and Cynthia had told them that she would invite them to chat soon. Face to face, and there, she would finally give them the answers they sought. The gym leader sighed. Battling Craig would help her destress and unwind, and so would seeing the four kids be happy when they won against her. She¡¯d give them a good show, pretend to be helpless, and enjoy the smiles on their faces. Candice reset her mood to her silly self as she exited the police station and started walking toward the docks. It would do wonders to calm down tensions between the two negotiating parties, and she¡¯d be able to act as a bridge of some sort. Cynthia had apologized and said she would keep them better informed next time, but not that she wouldn¡¯t do it again. That was the straw that had broken the Camerupt¡¯s back. Still, Candice knew the weight of duty. She knew it better than every gym leader. Sometimes, it was better not to know. So at the end of the day, even though she would protest and express her anger, she would keep her head down and listen.
Chapter 93 Chapter 93 CHAPTER 93 ¡°Are you guys ready?!¡± I yelled out to my team. Since Candice was apparently too busy just when we wanted to battle her, I had decided to get more practice in for the battle. I felt ready¡ª more ready than I had ever felt against even Gardenia somehow, but tying up any loose ends would serve me well during the battle. My team and I were currently in one of Snowpoint¡¯s few arenas, and it waspletely empty. That meant I had the entire ce for myself. Electabuzz and Frillish were on one side of the arena. The electric type looked more excited than he had been in a long time and punched his palm as he grinned wildly. Frillish rolled his eyes, clearly reluctant to fight in this mock battle I had organized. He still held a soft spot for Togetic, and he¡¯d probably pull his punches against her, but at least he could practice using Recover and Acid Armor without holding back. On the other side, Tang and Togetic were their aloof selves, not at all concerned with the fact that they were about to battle. It was angel¡¯s first time fighting a member of the family and not just other Pokemon, and princess was busy ying with some snow she had brought in from outside using Extrasensory and harassing him with it. Larvitar, meanwhile, was grumbling next to me, angry that I wasn¡¯t letting her battle. The way I had set up the two teams had been rather simple. Sure, at first nce, it might have seemed like Electabuzz and Frillish had a clear advantage, but both teams had weaknesses that could be exploited, and it¡¯d be foolish to underestimate Togetic and Tang. I was nning on letting them do whatever they thought was best. My time through Mount Cor had taught me that when I thought, I couldn¡¯t focus on giving my Pokemon orders all the time, so against opponents who I didn¡¯t know well, like Candice, it¡¯d be better to just let them act somewhat independently while I thought up of a strategy on the fly. Of course, against opponents who I could study for days before the battle, I¡¯d easily be ordering my Pokemon around during the entire fight. Togetic finally finished ying with her snow. I waited for everyone to give me a signal and cut across the air with my arm as if I was a referee. ¡°Begin!¡± Electabuzz roared, then ran forward, cutting the distance between him and angel in a blur as Frillish sent out a quick Shadow Ball at the grass type. As if he had just awakened, Tang extended six vines forward, ready to catch Electabuzz and stop him in his tracks. Togetic fluttered her wings, and the air in front of her quickened and sharpened like des, hurtling toward Electabuzz, cutting his skin and slowing him down. Tang took the Shadow Ball to the face and shook it off, opting to catch the electric type instead thanks to princess¡¯ help. The vines wrapped around his two arms, and he started using Mega Drain. Electabuzz mored at his teammate, asking for help. ¡°Let me introduce you to how the team works, sweetheart,¡± I told Larvitar as I crouched next to her. She had always been in her Pokeball when we battled wild Pokemon for her own protection after Mount Cor, so this was her first time in a while actually seeing them battle. Plus, they were battling each other, not wild Pokemon. ¡°Electabuzz doesn¡¯t look like it, but he¡¯s actually a little speed demon. Well, a big one now that he evolved. I guess he could be considered a ss cannon. Hits hard but doesn¡¯t take hits well. Case in point.¡± The electric type was struggling against Tang¡¯s vines, but he was quickly losing steam. Frillish answered his call for help, propelling himself with water sport and quickly pelting Tang¡¯s side with Poison Sting. The grass type shook, clearly in pain, leaving Electabuzz an opening. His muscles bulged, and he tore the vines apart before continuing on his path. A small spark lit his fist aze, and he hit Tang right in the face, sending him flying, but Togetic quickly caught him with Extrasensory and gently ced him back on the ground. ¡°Frillish is like mobile artillery. Excellent atpletely destroying his opponents from a safe distance, and he has great mobility too,¡± I exined. ¡°But we¡¯ve been working on his survivability in battle. He deals less damage than Electabuzz overall, but he canst longer.¡± Togetic giggled, lifting Tang with Extrasensory once more, and sent him flying like a cannonball toward a bewildered Frillish. The water type quickly propelled himself upward with Water Sport, and it looked like Tang would miss¡ª Angel whipped a vine around one of Frillish¡¯s tentacle midair and brought the water type down with him. Electabuzz ran to his side, hoping to help, but Tang tripped him up by wrapping a vine around his ankle and then pelted him with a Leech Seed. He proceeded to Vine Whip Frillish, who tried to escape, but Togetic¡¯s eyes shone, and she restrained him with Extrasensory. Angel continued to hit Frillish until Electabuzz finally rescued him and hit the grass type away with an Ice Punch. ¡°Angel¡¯s kind of my battering ram,¡± I continued. ¡°He¡¯s really good at just ruining his opponent''s day. His vines are so oppressive and annoying to fight that I don¡¯t know where I¡¯d even begin to counter them if I was facing him, but he packs a pretty good punch to boot, although he¡¯s fallen a bit behind Frillish and Electabuzz in regards to brute force. Something his evolution will no doubt fix.¡± Tang shook himself off, but he was clearly struggling. Back when Electabuzz had been an Elekid, he probably could have shrugged off a lot of these punching attacks, even though they were super effective. Now, though? After two, he was almost tapped out, but so were Frillish and Electabuzz. Too tired to run, Electabuzz brought his hands together, and thunder pped. A huge Thunderbolt flew toward Tang, who Togetic hastily protected with an Ancient Power. Frillish was now back in the air, and he was looking at the actual thorn in his team''s side. Togetic. ¡°Princess mightck in power, but she makes up for it with her incredible utility. She¡¯s kind of an army knife or a jack of all trades, but that¡¯s not a weakness. That¡¯s a strength. She can do anything, and she likes thinking outside of the box. I¡¯d say she often flies under the radar, like she did during this fight. I mean, honey could have easily hit her with a Thunderbolt or two, and she probably would have gone down, but they were too focused on Tang to notice that she was the one pulling the strings.¡± Frillish offered princess an apologetic look, inhaled, and spat out a Bubblebeam straight at her. Her eyes shone, and she quickly altered their path before retaliating with another Air Cutter so quick Frillish couldn¡¯t even dodge with Water Sport. On the other side of the arena, Electabuzz and Tang were duking it out. Angel kept trying to tie down Electabuzz to finally bring him down, but he kept knocking the vines away with Fire Punch. Still, Leech Seed was slowly taking effect, and after around thirty seconds of this, he had finally slowed enough for Tang to Bind and Mega Drain him until he fainted, and I recalled him. Togetic let out a child-likeugh as electricity zapped around her and flew off toward Frillish, who had adeptly Recovered from multiple Air Cutters. Paralysis took hold, but he was strong enough to stay afloat, and he threw another Water Pulse forward. Togetic took the hit, opting to lift Tang high up enough so his vines could catch Frillish once again and drag him to the ground. Once he was down, he wasn¡¯t getting back up. Tang wrapped multiple vines around his body, and Mega Drained his remaining energy. I recalled Frillish and pped. ¡°That was a great battle. Great job on your strategizing, princess. That was the key to your victory. Tang, you were great as always, and your vine control is on point,¡± I said. Togeticughed, pping to herself. She had only gotten hit once. ¡°I¡¯ll recall you now and bring you guys to a Center, although I guess Larvitar can stay since she was just watching. Honey¡¯s going to be disappointed at himself.¡± I took another look at Larvitar, whose eyes were still shining from that battle. She probably hadn¡¯t even listened to a word I had said, but it looked like battling was everything she had hoped it would be and more. ¡°You liked that, huh?¡± I smiled at her. ¡°I have a role in mind for you too, but you¡¯ll have to grow up to fulfill it.¡± You¡¯ll be a tank, I thought. Something that never goes down no matter how many hits it takes, like Cece¡¯s Deino. All I needed after that was something I considered heavy artillery, which was something I hoped a fire type could fix, but maybe I was taking it too far with these analogies. Either way, I recalled my entire team and made my way back to the Pokemon Center, satisfied with how that match had gone. There wasn¡¯t much else I could do now. All of my Pokemon knew their moves, Cece was busy juggling interviews, fixing her rtionship with Scyther, and undergoing intense training for the gym, so we didn¡¯t have that much time. Chase was also training, although he was busy bringing up his Snover up to speed with the rest of his team as fast as he could. Maybe Denzel would entertain me. He was giving his team today off, especially since Eev¡ª Sylveon had desperately tried to learn as many new moves as he could in such a short amount of time. Disarming Voice and y Rough were what they were focusing on. I gave all of my Pokemon except Larvitar to Nurse Joy, who seemed happy to finally be doing her job instead of sitting at a counter all day. I knocked on Denzel¡¯s door before realizing that the goofball hadn¡¯t even closed it. I barged in with Larvitar in tow and noticed that he was talking and filming himself on his Poketch. Sylveon was quietly sleeping at Denzel¡¯s feet along with his new Snorunt, one of his ribbons loosely wrapped around his leg. I hadn¡¯t had many opportunities to acquaint myself with the ice type yet. ¡°G¡ªGrace,¡± he stammered in embarrassment. ¡°What¡ª how did you even get in?¡± I let out an evil smile. ¡°Ooooh, were you making a video?¡± Iughed as I walked toward the phone. ¡°No, it¡¯s a livestream,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry guys, I¡¯m gonna have to end it here. I¡¯ll start again soon,¡± he said before pressing a button on his phone. My stomach dropped at the mention of livestreaming. ¡°How¡­ how many viewers was that?¡± ¡°Ten thousand or so,¡± he sighed. ¡°I was trying out this Poketuber thing. Emilia wants to do it, too, remember? Like Temperance does, although she has her own site so that she doesn¡¯t have to split donations with the tform I¡¯m uploading on. Emi gave me some pointers since I had the name recognition and the fame to kickstart my channel. I was just doing a general introduction and stuff. She says she¡¯ll start hers when she actually starts getting wins in contests.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± I muttered before suddenly looking at Larvitar, who was staring at us confusedly. ¡°Was sweetheart¡­ was she in the shot?¡± Denzel winced and quickly yed back his footage. Larvitar had been in the shot. That meant that thousands of people had seen that I owned a Larvitar. A pseudo-legendary Pokemon. This would no doubt fuck me over and make me even more famous. I pinched the bridge of my nose. ¡°Damn it.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± my best friend apologized. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have barged in like that, even though the door was open. I guess I reap what I sow.¡± ¡°Well, it was going toe out eventually, so maybe it was better to do it now that you¡¯re in Snowpoint,¡± Denzel said, trying to cheer me up. ¡°No pesky trainers to harass you or ask you to trade it for their Bidoof, or whatever.¡± That elicited a small chuckle out of me. ¡°You¡¯re right, it was better to do it now. I just wished that it had been in a more¡­ controlled fashion and not an ident. Anyway, how many subscribers you got? Can you get mized yet?¡± ¡°I have twelve thousand subscribers so far, but I haven¡¯t linked the ount to my trainer card, or built a donation page, or anything like that. I literally just made an ount, posted a link on the forums, and went live. I¡¯m still new to all of this.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good source of ie if you build it up, though,¡± I smiled. ¡°Yeah, people mostly associate Poketubers with coordinators, since trainers travel a lot and don¡¯t have time to actually make content, but I¡¯m thinking of ways around that. Maybe hire an editor in the future so that they can keep putting out videos while I¡¯m traveling?¡± ¡°Good editors aren¡¯t cheap, you know,¡± I said. ¡°But yeah, Temperance probably has one. Or like, an entire team of ¡®em. There¡¯s no way she edits her stuff.¡± ¡°Yeah. I was thinking of making trainingptions, battle montages, and stuff like that, along with the asional livestream. Either way, this is just stuff for the future. I¡¯ll get deeper into it when we get to Hearthome.¡± ¡°Man, there is a lot of shit happening at Hearthome,¡± Iughed. ¡°Almost makes me wonder if we¡¯ll have enough time to do it all.¡± ¡°Eh, Sceon¡¯s a nice stop if we don¡¯t,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Anyway, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just finished making my Pokemon battle, and I was bored.¡± ¡°You made me stop my livestream because you were bored?¡± Denzel asked incredulously. ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry? Wanna watch a shitty Center movie or something?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he groaned, grabbing the T.V. remote. ¡°You¡¯re the best.¡± ¡ª¡ª The day of all of our battles had finallye. We all stepped into the gym with a confident stride. All of our experiences from Mount Cor to Snowpoint had prepared us for this moment. This battle. Since Candice¡¯s schedule waspletely free, we hadn¡¯t even signed up for a solid timeslot yet. The receptionist yawned as he watched us decide who was going to go first. ¡°I should be first. You guys are already leeching off my sess enough,¡± Chase said loudly. ¡°Let me have some fame too.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just make a channel like I did¡ª¡± ¡°Come on, I don¡¯t have time for that coordinator shit,¡± he said dismissively. Denzel sighed. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t mind going after you guys. Need to see how Candice fights to get the engine running.¡± ¡°You call your brain an engine? Cringe, dude,¡± Chase retorted. ¡°But fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with goingst,¡± I said with a raised hand. ¡°I¡¯d also like to see the way Candice fights at our level.¡± ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯ll be third,¡± Denzel nodded. I¡¯d also see some of her lower leveled Pokemon, but odds were that they would be in no shape to fight after battling Cece and Chase, so that point was moot. ¡°Okay, Obel,¡± Chase said smugly. ¡°How about we settle this with a nice arm wrestling match?¡± ¡°Are you daft? That would in no way be fair,¡± she answered, crossing her arms. ¡°How about you guys y rock paper scissors? One game. Winner goes first, and loser goes second,¡± Denzel suggested. As always, he was trying to lower tension, although thankfully, the mood was rather yful instead of tense. ¡°That¡¯s a great suggestion,¡± Cece said. ¡°Fine. One game, though,¡± Chase nodded. They readied themselves, shook their fists three times, and Chase threw rock while Cece threw paper. ¡°I win,¡± she said with a vain smile. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ll have to go after me.¡± ¡°Wait! How about a best of three?¡± Chase asked. ¡°You said one game,¡± Iughed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go spectate,¡± I stared at Cece for a few seconds and nodded at her. ¡°You¡¯ve got this, easy.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± It was easy to see how massive the stands were when they werepletely empty¡ª wait, there was a man¡­ I squinted. Craig was there, sitting in the front row and leaning against the railing. He motioned us toe over, and we obliged him. ¡°I thought you were gone already,¡± I happily said. ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°Oh, you know, been busy here and there. I have a battle after you kids. No matter how much I pleaded, Candice was incessant. She wanted to battle you first.¡± ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Looking at us fight is probably going to be like looking at kindergarteners, huh?¡± ¡°Speak for yourself, Williams,¡± Chase said. ¡°Well, it won¡¯t teach me anything, but it¡¯ll be fun. I usually don¡¯t do stuff like this, so it¡¯ll be nice to feel grounded for a while,¡± Craig said. ¡°Well, we¡¯re definitely staying for your battle afterward,¡± I said. ¡°As long as my Pokemon aren¡¯t too hurt, I¡¯ll stick around.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Ah, your friend¡¯s there already.¡± Cece walked onto the tform confidently and looked beautiful while doing so. Candice arrived soon after, grinning from ear to ear. I leaned further against the railing. If what I had seen during my sleuthing was correct, then this behavior would mean that Candice would send out aggressive, offensive-minded Pokemon. The ice type gym leader grabbed a Pokeball and waited for Cece to do the same. ¡°Erm¡­ Leader Candice, you forgot the rules,¡± the referee on the side of the arena awkwardly said. ¡°Ah, shoot! It¡¯s been so long that I forgot! Um, wee, challenger! This will be a four-on-four battle with one switch in allowed. I reserve the right to¡­ wait, did the killing parte first, or¡ª¡± ¡°Please, just get it over with! I¡¯m dying from secondhand embarrassment!¡± The referee screamed. ¡°Sorry, Lily,¡± Candice said, scratching her head. ¡°My name isn¡¯t even Lily. I¡¯ve been working here since you started as a gym leader¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not get sidetracked! Basically, no killing, I choose whatever Pokemon I want, and have fun! Now, send out your Pokemon!¡± Candice yelled. Cecilia sent out her Slowpoke, who strangely already seemed awake and ready to battle. It was like he was apletely different Pokemon from usual. I didn¡¯t know what training she had undergone with him, but he was definitely stronger and more focused than before. ¡°Aw, I love Slowpoke! They¡¯re so dumb!¡± Candice grinned and sent out her Pokemon.
Chapter 94 Chapter 94 CHAPTER 94 Candice¡¯s battlefield was hilly and covered in snow. It was like a fusion between Roark¡¯s mountainous arena and Gardenia¡¯s t one, with rolling hills and some trees spread out throughout the battlefield. There was, of course, the customary smallke on the challenger¡¯s side, although Cecilia wouldn¡¯t need it. A small Cubchoo appeared in a sh of red, and it sniffled loudly. I frowned at Candice¡¯s choice of Pokemon. At first nce, the ice type appeared ridiculously weak. Would it be like Gardenia¡¯s Skiddo and actually pose a threat, or was Candice underestimating us? ¡°Get over there and sh!¡± Candice yelled out excitedly, pointing at Slowpoke. Cubchoo offered a small nod and slowly ran toward the water type. Cecilia waited until it made it about halfway through the arena, then extended her hand in one graceful, smooth motion. ¡°Psychic, Zen Headbutt,¡± she ordered. My eyes widened. Psychic already? When Slowpoke hadn¡¯t even evolved? The water type¡¯s eyes shone brighter than I had ever seen them, and a thickyer of psychic energy surrounded his opponent. Cubchoo winced, clearly already in pain. Unlike Confusion, Psychic not only allowed a Pokemon to lift things with their mind, but it also assaulted a Pokemon¡¯s brain with psychic energy. Slowpoke dragged Cubchoo toward him at a terrifying speed just as his forehead glowed blue, and using all of Psychic¡¯s momentum, he rammed the ice type with Zen Headbutt. I winced, hearing a loud crack reverberate through the arena. Theck of an audience made it so we could hear the Pokemon getting hurt very easily. Cubchoo stood back up, clearly on itsst legs. ¡°Ice Beam!¡± Candice yelled. The ice type shook its entire body, reared its head back, and blew icy energy toward Slowpoke. ¡°Divert it back,¡± Cece cooly ordered. The Ice Beam curved almost one hundred and eighty degrees right before hitting Slowpoke and barrelled toward the Cubchoo, who intercepted it with another Ice Beam, creating a small, frosty explosion in the middle of the arena. ¡°Crap, you¡¯re better than I thought,¡± Candice said with her hands on her hips. ¡°Cubchoo, Yawn!¡± The ice type opened its mouth, letting out a huge, exaggerated yawn. Just looking at it made me feel drowsy, and the attack wasn¡¯t even aimed at me. Cece smiled¡ª apetitive smile that let me know instantly that she was about to ruin Candice¡¯s day. ¡°Darling, Disable, then Water Pulse,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Speed it up.¡± Slowpoke¡¯s eyes gleamed bright blue, then he spat out a huge Water Pulse, which suddenly quickened midway through the arena thanks to the water type¡¯s Psychic. Cubchoo was already slow to begin with, so dodging it was impossible. ¡°Freeze it!¡± Candice yelled. Cubchoo inhaled sharply, and a frosty breath escaped from its mouth, freezing the water type attack midair. The Water Pulse fell to the ground and shattered. ¡°Hehe, gotcha!¡± She smiled. Candice was obviously buying time for her Yawn to take effect, and Slowpoke was out of range for his Psychic. Cece recalled Slowpoke, meaning that she was using her only switch in. It was for a good reason, though. Yawn would never take effect again, and Cubchoo could no longer use it. Cecilia grabbed her next Pokeball, and I frowned when she sent out her Deino. It was a choice I disagreed with. I knew she wanted him to evolve and that he was strong enough to easily finish Cubchoo off, but if it were me, I would have saved my strongest team members forst to bait Candice into using weaker Pokemon. Although I supposed that Cece didn¡¯t really have weaker Pokemon. Deino roared threateningly, and blue draconic energy danced in his mouth. Candice let out a surprised gasp. ¡°You have a dragon? So cool! Cubchoo, Ice Beam!¡± ¡°Hold back, sixty percent. Dragon Pulse,¡± Cecilia ordered. Whereas Dragon Breath could be described as mes like Incinerate was, just of the dragon variety, Dragon Pulse was a continuous beam of draconic energy that was so big it made the previous move look like a joke. In fact, the move was so powerful that Deino could barely control his head and aim toward the Cubchoo. Still, the little bit of the attack that was aimed properlypletely consumed and blew past the Ice Beam and blew Cubchoo toward Kadabra¡¯s barrier, tearing one of the trees apart. The ice type was down¡ª and I didn¡¯t think anything could possibly stand up to that. And that had just been sixty percent. Cece was back to making Deino hold back again, and this time, I honestly believed it was because Dragon Pulse would have killed Cubchoo at full strength if the dragon type could actually aim it properly. ¡°Holy fuck,¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°Cubchoo is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your second Pokemon,¡± the referee said. ¡°Damn¡­¡± Candice muttered as she recalled her Cubchoo. ¡°That attack was no joke.¡± Cece still wasn¡¯t responding to her attempts at dialogue and simply waited for Candice to send out another Pokemon. The ice type gym leader obliged her and released a Sneasel. I had been right. Candice was using Pokemon that were offensively minded for this battle. ¡°Again, sixty percent,¡± Cece simply said. ¡°It can¡¯t aim! Dodge and get close!¡± Deino reared his head back, and another Dragon Pulse blew across the arena. Sneasel nimbly ducked and slid across the ice to dodge the first pass, then jumped over the attack to dodge the next. ¡°Avnche!¡± Candice said. Huge quantities of snow flew upward like a wave behind Sneasel and copsed all around Deino, who had to stop his attack. Cece clicked her tongue. ¡°Incinerate it away.¡± mespletely melted the snow covering Deino, and the dragon continued the attack, aiming at Sneasel. The ice type hadn¡¯t expected Deino to get out of its Avnche so easily, and it failed to dodge the Incinerate in time. It screeched as mes engulfed its body and fainted right away. ¡°Sneasel is unable to battle. Leader Candice, send out your third Pokemon,¡± the referee awkwardly said. I heard Denzel whistle to my side, and I was inclined to agree. Whereas Gardenia had pushed Cece to her limit, Candice looked to be a repeat of Roark, and could we even me her? It was starting to sink in that even though Cece was in a tier of her own, all of us were too powerful to just have two badges. Maybe she was fighting at the level we were supposed to be at. Even though she was technically allowed to use Pokemon above that level like Gardenia had done with Sunflora against me or Breloom against Cecilia, nothing was forcing her to. ¡°Man, I¡¯m rusty at these low-level battles,¡± she sighed. ¡°I keep making my Pokemon go in, thinking that they¡¯ll just brush off attacks or counter them on their own. I guess that means an easy gym battle for you¡ª¡± ¡°Is this a joke to you?¡± Cece interrupted, finally engaging in conversation. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Is this a joke to you?¡± She repeated. ¡°I came here looking to be challenged. I want to push my Deino to the next level, and if you keep taking it easy on me, this will be a waste of time. I¡¯m not just looking for a badge, I want to get as powerful as I can to fulfill my promise at the end of the year. Use better Pokemon. You¡¯re on autopilot right now. You aren¡¯t trying. Wake up.¡± I understood Cece¡¯s frustration perfectly. We all did. It was one thing to win a badge, but the win had to be satisfying. A gym battle was supposed to push us to the brink. Challenge us like never before and push us past our limits. This was¡­ this was as if Candice was ying house. Pretending. I didn¡¯t want to win like that. The gym leader sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I guess you¡¯re right,¡± she said, scratching the back of her head. ¡°I am rusty, but I wasn¡¯t really trying. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve been a trainer that I forgot how annoying it was not to get taken seriously. Um, I¡¯ll be right back!¡± I could see the referee¡¯s soul leave her body as Candice hurriedly ran back to her waiting room. I stared at Denzel, and he just shrugged. Apparently, that was¡­ allowed? The rules must have been stretched really thin. She exited around a minuteter with new Pokeballs on her belt. ¡°Sorry for the wait, I wasn¡¯t expecting to use any of these,¡± Candice said, pointing at her Pokeballs. ¡°Now, prepare yourself! The real gym battle starts¡ª¡± ¡°Just send out your Pokemon!¡± The referee fumed. ¡°Do you have any idea of how unprofessional this makes Snowpoint look?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, sorry!¡± Candiceughed as she sent out a Piloswine. It was just as big as the one we had seen in the wild. The ground type snorted threateningly and kicked up snow. ¡°Good,¡± Cecilia smiled. ¡°Dragon Pulse¡ª¡± ¡°Trip it up with Bulldoze!¡± Candice interrupted. During Denzel¡¯s battle against Gardenia, Bulldoze had just affected arge area around her Grotle, but Piloswine¡¯s Bulldoze was on the ground under Deino. The dragon type¡¯s Dragon Pulse flew off to the side and hit Kadabra¡¯s barrier, making the referee flinch. ¡°Ice Shard! Ice Shard! Ice Shard!¡± Candiceughed. Wave after wave of small shards of ice flew off toward Deino. ¡°Dragon Pulse! Don¡¯t hold back!¡± Cecilia yelled. ¡°Scratch that, Bulldoze again!¡± Candice said, canceling herst order. The ground shook, and Deino missed again, but this time he roared out in frustration. He hadn¡¯t mastered the move enough to properly aim it while being attacked, and Candice took immediate notice. ¡°Incinerate,¡± she said. This time, Piloswine tried the Bulldoze tactic again, but Deino¡¯s attack was steady. The mes enveloped the ground type, who cried out in pain as its body caught fire. ¡°Icicle Crash!¡± Candice ordered. An iciclerge and sharp enough to prate even Deino¡¯s scales appeared above the dragon. ¡°Melt it!¡± Cece hurriedly ordered. Deino lifted his head up, but the attack was quicker than what Cece had expected. The icicle didn¡¯t just drop, it was propelled by an invisible force and prated deep into Deino¡¯s scaly hide. The dragon type bellowed out in pain, but he was nowhere near done. Cecilia ordered him to quickly use another Incinerate at Piloswine. The ground type ignored the mes and just ran through them, tanking the damage like it was nothing. When it got close enough, Candice sprung to action. ¡°Freeze-Dry!¡± She said, her tongue sticking out in excitement. First, Deino¡¯s stream of mes stopped, and then slowed. I quickly realized that it was his entire body that was slowing down, not just his attack. Frost grew on his scales, and his breath grew icy, but Cecilia was smiling for some reason. ¡°Finally,¡± she exhaled as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It took a few seconds for me to understand what she meant. Lightpletely envelopped Deino¡¯s body, and he doubled in size. Then, a second head grew out of its body. Deino had evolved into a Zweilous, just as Cecilia predicted. The dragon type¡¯s body was cleared of frost, but the two heads stared at themselves in confusion for a few seconds, and then they fought. One head gathered dark energy in its mouth and Crunched at the other¡¯s neck, while the other roared out in anger and screamed out a few mes. They weren¡¯t really dealing any real damage, but Cece sighed and snapped her fingers so loudly that it reverberated throughout the arena. ¡°Bad! Bad Zweilous!¡± She screamed, reminding me of her in Floaroma. ¡°Incinerate at the Piloswine!¡± Candice was doubled over, too busy giggling at the civil war going on to order her Piloswine. After around ten seconds, she wiped tears away from her eyes. ¡°Oh, man, you¡¯re too good,¡± she said. ¡°Piloswine, finish it off. Freeze-Dry again.¡± The two heads kept fighting among themselves, one of them even having used Dragon Breath against itself, actually damaging its own body. They slowed as their body froze over, however, but I was surprised to see that the heads snapped disturbingly quickly toward Piloswine. It was like watching a hive mind at work. Cece didn¡¯t even give out an order. One of the heads let out a huge Dragon Pulse thatpletely enveloped Piloswine while the other used Incinerate, warming their body and burning their opponent in the process. I watched in awe as Piloswine fell to the ground, its body smoking and unconscious. ¡°Piloswine is unable to battle! Leader Candice, please send out yourst Pokemon,¡± the referee said. ¡°Okay, that was more powerful than I thought,¡± Candice said as she grabbed herst Pokemon. A blue Sandsh with sharp icicles growing out of its back hissed and sharpened its ws. It was an Aln variant. The gym must have paid a fortune to have it sent here, since they were rare in the tropical region to boot, only living on a single mountain. ¡°Incinerate,¡± Cece said, snapping her fingers to snap Zweilous out of their now-resumed fight. One of them turned back to roar and protest at her while the other listened and quickly spat out a stream of white-hot mes. I frowned when I saw that Candice didn¡¯t order Sandsh to dodge, and the Pokemon just stayed there and took the attack. I understood immediately when she grinned and ordered it to use Metal Burst, an attack that was more powerful the more damage a Pokemon had sustained. Aln Sandsh were steel and ice type, meaning that¡ª Sandsh swept his arms, and sharp shards of metal flew out of its scaly skin like shrapnel. Metal Burst. The attack wasn¡¯t urate at this distance, but the shards that hit, hit hard. Zweilous roared, and one of the heads, somehow ming the other for what had happened hit it with Dragon Breath. ¡°It¡¯s distracted! Icicle Crash!¡± Candice said. Just like before, a sharp icicle materialized out of thin air above Zweilous and prated their hide. This,bined with the fact that the heads were fighting nonstop meant that the dragon type finally went down. Still, it was a testament to its strength that even while fighting themselves, Zweilous was so strong it was almost unfair, and Cece seemed to understand that, since she recalled her Pokemon with a child-like smile. The heads seemed to both be aggressive, but one seemed to be much more irate than the other, while the second seemed to still at least listen to Cece¡¯s orders. It was something she was going to have to figure out after the battle. Cecilia released Fletchinder, who stretched her wings and announced her presence with an ear-piecing cry. ¡°This is ourst opponent, darling. Steady yourself,¡± Cecilia warned. ¡°Knock it out of the sky with Icicle Crash!¡± Candice yelled. Cece simply smirked and started the battle. ¡°Tailwind.¡± Fletchinder easily dodged the singr icicle and started beating her wings. Wind started blowing across the arena toward Sandsh, slowing it down and speeding the flying type up. But Cecilia wasn¡¯t done. She was just starting. ¡°Agility, Quick Attack, me Charge,¡± she said in one continuous order. Fletchinder¡¯s body loosened as she dodged a series of Icicle Spears Candice had ordered. She was already ridiculously fast, but¡ª I blinked twice, and Fletchinder was already across the arena, flying toward Sandsh with her body wreathed in mes. She crashed into the steel type so quickly that even she had gotten hurt. Fletchinder shook herself off and tried taking flight again, but she barely managed to hobble away before Sandsh could hit her with its ws. My eyes widened when I saw that the ice type was panting loudly, its movements slowed and sluggish. After a few moments, it copsed on the ground. The damage had taken seconds to actually register in its body. It was done. Fletchinder had taken it out in onebination of moves. She wasn¡¯t that powerful, but Cece had made sure that herck of power would bepensated by making her so fast that it didn¡¯t even matter. Arceus, her Pokemon¡¯s power, and her skill at battling were ridiculous. She recalled Fletchinder, who was now incapable of fighting due to the recoil from her attack, and strode confidently toward Candice to receive her badge. ¡°A fuck ton of trainers just watched that battle live,¡± Denzel said with a grin as he turned on his phone. ¡°Her thread¡¯s blowing up again, too. This is the fastest I¡¯ve ever seen a megathread go. Every time I refresh the page, there are at least five new messages, sometimes ten.¡± ¡°She¡¯s excellent,¡± Craig said. ¡°Way better than I was at her age. Looks like Lauren has somepetition after all.¡± I nodded. With this battle, Cece had again cemented herself as one of the most powerful first years in the Circuit, shutting every naysayer and hater dead in their tracks. I wasn¡¯t worried about keeping up. I was motivated to train harder. I needed to catch up before our battle in Hearthome, and so did Denzel. ¡°Pfft, your sister¡¯s going to get crushed by me in the Conference either way,¡± Chase said with a smug smile. ¡°My turn next,¡± he said as he left us. ¡°Any advice you could give her?¡± I asked Craig, even though I knew he¡¯d probably refuse to answer. Still, it didn¡¯t hurt to try. ¡°I gotta send Lauren a message to tell her to start getting involved. She¡¯s got to start looking you guys up. You can only go so far just staying in the wild like a caveman,¡± Craig sighed. He looked genuinely worried for his sister¡¯s prospects now, which made my heart swell with pride for Cece. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one thing, that strategy with her Fletchinder? Nearly wless, although she overestimated her Pokemon¡¯s ability to take that amount of recoil. She¡¯s good for her age, but because she¡¯s good, she takes too many risks. Thates back to bite you in the a¡ª in the butt if you don¡¯t nip it in the bud early. Tell her that.¡± ¡°Thank you so much!¡± I smiled. ¡°Can you give all of us advice like this?¡± ¡°Well, it depends on how good you are. We¡¯ll see.¡± My eyes followed Cece, who was slowly walking back into the waiting room. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡± I said as I ran off. I passed a bewildered Chase and waited for Cece in the lobby, but he just shrugged and went on to the waiting room. My girlfriend grinned when she saw me. Even after the battle, she looked perfectly unaffected. ¡°Oh man, you were so good!¡± I eximed with a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯re¡ª you¡¯re amazing.¡± She just approached me silently and¡ª and lifted me up, spinning me around as sheughed. Apparently, that evolution and that win had made her happier than I expected. ¡°Zweilous was perfect. There are obviously things to iron out, but he¡¯s¡ª they¡¯re just as powerful as I expected and more,¡± she said, dropping me. ¡°I can tell,¡± Iughed. ¡°Let¡¯s head back. Chase¡¯s battle is going to start.¡± I still needed to study Candice some more, and she would only get better as time went on and she got used to lower leveled battles again.
Chapter 95 Chapter 95 CHAPTER 95 After our little celebration, Cece and I hurried back to the stands. Craig had sat back down and pulled up aptop from a bag, but I knew better than to check. Maybe he was sending that message to Lauren after all. ¡°Ah, you guys finally made it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Congrats on your win, Cece. You were badass as hell.¡± ¡°Thank you. That second half was certainly exhrating,¡± Cecilia answered. ¡°Candice still taking a break?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°The battle should be starting any minute now.¡± ¡°So Zweilous, huh?¡± I pondered. ¡°Are you going to name the heads?¡± Cece let out a pensive hum. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to, but obviously, I haven¡¯te up with different names yet.¡± ¡°How about¡­ baby and sweetie?¡± I asked. Cece slowly turned her head toward me and stared like I was clinically insane, and Denzelughed so hard he could barely breathe. ¡°What? It¡¯s cute¡­¡± I muttered, blushing and embarrassed. ¡°Baby and sweetie?¡± My best friendughed. ¡°I mean, , have you seen the damage they can do? You¡¯repletely off-theme here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grace, but I don¡¯t think those are a very good idea,¡± Cece said. ¡°Thanks for the¡­ suggestion?¡± ¡°You guys suck,¡± I groaned. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I find this side of you absolutely charming,¡± she smiled. I sighed and closed my eyes, retreating into my thoughts. Anything would be better than thinking about what had just happened. What had I learned from Cece¡¯s battle? Well, from the first half, not much, but I had at least learned that Candice was rusty with using lower leveled Pokemon. Was that a weakness I could exploit, somehow? Maybe it¡¯d be smart to implement a more aggressive style for my battle, but I couldn¡¯t be sure until I gathered more information. From the second half, however, I learned a lot more and confirmed what I had seen in the gym leader¡¯s past battles. Candice was a fast pace battler who liked to speak over her opponent¡¯s orders, which could be an irritating tactic if you weren¡¯t ready to face it. Luckily, I was ready, and she hadn¡¯t really taunted Cece during their fight at all. I knew that she could be a lot more annoying, so it looked like she was still pulling her punches a bit. Thest piece of information I managed to extract from the fight was that since Candice had just used an offensive team of the physical variation, she was unlikely to use the same tactic against me. Candice was an easily bored person, and she never used the same tactic in quick session. That meant I could mentally scratch that scenario off in my head, making more space for my strategy against the rest of her teams. I opened my eyes and sighed when I saw that Candice still wasn¡¯t back. I didn¡¯t dislike her, but her way of running her gym was somewhat sloppy. Breaks weren¡¯t supposed to be this long. ¡°...until I get him back under control,¡± Cece finished her sentence. ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± I asked. ¡°I was asking Cece why she hadn¡¯t bought any TMs for her team yet,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°Her Pokemon are definitely good enough now to easily learn the mid-leveled moves, and she¡¯s got the cash for it.¡± ¡°And I said that I was definitely going to look into buying some for Zweilous, but I¡¯d wait until they listened to me again. Zweilous opens up a lot of possibilities for moves that can blow the enemy apart, though,¡± she smiled. ¡°Earth Power, methrower, Dark Pulse, the elemental fang moves¡­ and the two heads can use two attacks at once, oh how wonderful.¡± ¡°Yeah, we definitely have a devastating battler on our hands,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Our fights in Hearthome will be interesting for sure¡ª ah, finally.¡± Candice and Chase finally walked up to their tforms, and the referee let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Sorry about the wait, I was thinking really hard about what Pokemon to use. Last battle was kind ofme, but I¡¯m not going to go easy on you, got it?!¡± Candice yelled. Then, she scratched the back of her head and amended her statement. ¡°Uh, I still have to hold back, though, ''cause otherwise you¡¯d never win.¡± ¡°Save your breath for when you have to congratte me for my victory,¡± Chase said as he grabbed his Pokeball. Even from up here, I thought I saw a glint in Candice¡¯s eye. She enunciated the rules again, this time perfectly. Even though Chase had five Pokemon capable of battling, the battle would surprisingly be a four-on-four and again have one switch-in. Cece¡¯s battle had only had one switch-in too. Once was a coincidence, twice was a pattern. Candice wasn¡¯t going to let us swap out a lot of our Pokemon today, which meant I¡¯d have to adjust my starting Pokemon. Frillish would be a good all-rounder to begin with. Mobile, good offense, and good survivability. Chase unsurprisingly sent out his Houndoom. I knew that he liked to easily blow past his opponents with the type advantage, and today was no different. Candice sent out an Aln Vulpix with a grin. Another regional form that must have cost a lot of money, especially considering how expensive Vulpix were in general. If my suspicions were correct, Candice was going to use another offensive team, this time angled toward special attacks. The referee shed his arm across the air, and the battle began. ¡°Incine¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up! Me first, Moonst!¡± Candice interrupted with a shrill voice. Vulpix let out a smooth cry, and a miniature shining moon appeared in front of her mouth and flew off toward Houndoom. The dark type stared at Chase, loyally waiting for hismand. The split second of surprise ended, and Chase swore. ¡°Dodge it, then Incinerate!¡± He yelled. ¡°Remember our drills¡ª¡± ¡°Keep sting it!¡± Candiceughed. ¡°Again, again, again!¡± ¡°Will you shut the fuck up?! Houndoom!¡± Houndoom answered with a fierce nod. The fire type waited until thest second and easily sidestepped the fairy type attack, but there were moreing. A lot more. ¡°Run up to it,¡± Chase said after clicking his tongue. Houndoom gave another nod and sprinted toward the small Vulpix, getting grazed by multiple Moon sts on the way. ¡°Slow him down with Icy Wind!¡± Candice said. Vulpix ran to the side, away from Houndoom, and started to inhale. Chase smirked. ¡°Incinerate.¡± Houndoom let out an eerie howl and spat out a stream of mes¡ª ¡°Sike! Moon st!¡± Candice giggled. Another Moon st¡ª albeit smaller and less powerful than the ones that hade before¡ª pushed past the mes and hit Houndoom in the face. The dark type yelped, but he shook himself off and tried again, this time grazing Vulpix¡¯s tail. I observed the developing situation with a frown. It wasn¡¯t so much that Vulpix was unbeatable, it was that Candice was odd to fight. She broke all norms and etiquette of Pokemon battling, and Chase wasn¡¯t used to that at all. ¡°Is that all you got?¡± Candice taunted, using the slight lull in the battle. ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± Chase raged. ¡°Feint Attack!¡± The fire type howled and began prowling around Vulpix, slowly fading into thin air. He reappeared secondster, right behind the ice type, and hit it away with a strong swipe. ¡°Burn it!¡± Chase continued. ¡°Nuh-uh you don¡¯t! Extrasensory!¡± Houndoom used another Incinerate, but its path was altered by a strange, psychically charged patch of air. Sure, Houndoom was a dark type and immune to psychic attacks, but that didn¡¯t mean the move was unusable. ¡°Screw it! Keep Feint Attacking, it can¡¯t counter you!¡± Chase said. Houndoom sunk into the shadows once more. Candice stayed silent, waiting for the attack toe, but Chase grinned. ¡°Incinerate!¡± Houndoom appeared to Vulpix¡¯s right and already had the Incinerate out of his mouth before the ice type could even notice anything. The mes consumed Vulpix, who cried out in pain and writhed on the ground, causing me to wince. Luckily it looked like Houndoom had gotten his mes under control, so the pain from the burns wouldn¡¯tst for months, only days. Once Vulpix got hit once, that was it. The Pokemon was too fragile to survive Houndoom¡¯s onught and too weak to dodge or counter it, and another Incinerate did the trick. ¡°Vulpix is unable to battle. Leader Candice, send out your second Pokemon,¡± the referee said. Candice immediately grabbed her next Pokeball, not giving her next choice any thought, and sent out a Castform. I raised an eyebrow. I knew that the Pokemon wasn¡¯t often used in battle, instead being used in swarms to dissolve hurricanes in Hoenn before they could actually make it to shore. ¡°Hail!¡± Candice immediately said. Dark clouds began to form over the battlefield, inside of the building, andrge chunks of hail started to fall, slowly weakening Houndoom. Castform started to change too. Its body turned purple and small clouds wrapped neatly around its body. ¡°What a useless gimmick,¡± Chase said. ¡°Incinerate!¡± ¡°Hydro Pump.¡± Chase¡¯s eyes widened when Castform blew Houndoom¡¯s attack apart with its own. The Hydro Pump turned the Incinerate into vapor and the force behind the move sent Houndoom flying. The fire type whined as it struggled to get back up, but it fell to the ground quickly afterward. ¡°Houndoom is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon.¡± Well, that had been something. I knew that Candice said that she wouldn¡¯t take it easy on us, but Hydro Pump? One of the most powerful water type moves? I grinned and shivered in anticipation. Chase clicked his tongue as he recalled his Houndoom. He thought for a few seconds, his hands hovering over his Pokeballs before sending out his Charjabug. The bug type screeched and sent small sparks flying around him. ¡°Dig, anti-flier setup,¡± Chase spat. Chase had spoken about his anti-flying Pokemon strategy a few times, and it was time to finally see it in action. Charjabug quickly dug into the snow, shielding himself from the hail, and Candice ordered Castform to float as high up as possible. For a few seconds, there was a deafening silence, but then¡ª Charjabug burst from the ground, jumping slightly into the air as strands of string shot out from his mouth and wrapped around Castform. The ice type just shrugged it off, and I knew why. Castform didn¡¯t fly with wings. This amount of string wouldn¡¯t pull it down. Still, when I looked into Chase¡¯s eyes, I knew this was a part of his n. I understood what he was doing when I noticed that the electric type wasn¡¯t letting go. It was attached to the Castform by his thinyer of string. ¡°Burn it off! Ember!¡± Candice said. ¡°Thunderbolt,¡± Chase smiled. Electricity traveled through Charjabug¡¯s thread and directly hit the Castform, who was in too much pain to use Ember. The bug type kept the attack going, not stopping for one second, and the ice type crashed to the ground, but they were still linked by the String Shot. Charjabug was still attacking. Castform returned to its normal state, and the Hail slowly came to a halt. ¡°Castform is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your third Pokemon,¡± the referee said. ¡°Legendaries, that was unexpected,¡± Candice said. ¡°You caught me off-guard, but it won¡¯t happen again!¡± She yelled, sending out a Vanillish. The ice type was so cold that there was mist emanating from its body. ¡°Ice Beam!¡± ¡°Dodge with Dig!¡± Chase yelled with a sweep of his arm. Charjabug narrowly avoided the attack and burrowed underground. After around twenty seconds, he jumped out and String Shot Vanillish again. Its body was so cold that the string was frozen solid, but it would still be enough. A smug grin split Chase¡¯s face as he ordered another Thunderbolt, but Candiceughed. ¡°Idiot! You fell right into my trap! Mirror Coat!¡± Vanillish¡¯s body became almost transparent, and the Thunderbolt bounced back down the string andpletely fried Charjabug¡¯s body. The bug type let go of the string and fell to the ground with a loud thud, kicking up snow. Mirror Coat bounced special attacks back toward the attacker, and the fact that Charjabug had gone down in one attack showed how strong he was. The bug type might not have looked like much, but it seriously couldn¡¯t be underestimated. ¡°Charjabug is unable to battle,¡± The referee said. ¡°Challenger, send out your third Pokemon.¡± ¡°Good job,¡± Chase said as he recalled his Pokemon. ¡°But we need to work harder.¡± ¡°Oh, give your poor Charjabug a break,¡± Candice said. ¡°Maybe you should have known that I wouldn¡¯t let you use the same strategy twice, stupid!¡± Chase clenched at his forehead and stared at the ceiling exasperatedly. ¡°Shut. The. Fuck. Up!¡± He sighed, readjusted his cap, and sent out his Riolu. ¡°Bone Rush,¡± He said. ¡°Anti-flier setup.¡± A bone grew out of Riolu¡¯s hand, and he seized it tightly. He ran forward with Quick Attack, bing a blur. ¡°Again?!¡± Candiceughed. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t just tell me your strategy¡ª¡± Riolu¡¯s arm bulged, and he threw his bone at Vanillish with all of his strength. The ice type¡¯s eyes widened, and so did Candice¡¯s. ¡°Dodge!¡± She yelled. Riolu was too strong, and Vanillish was too slow. The bone hit the ice type¡¯s cone, cracking it, but Riolu kept going. He kept throwing bones at the ice type. ¡°Acid Armor, then Ice Beam!¡± Candice ordered. Vanillish¡¯s body sunk into itself, turned into a jelly-like liquid and bones just passed through it like it was a ghost. Such mastery of Acid Armor was impressive, especially when Ipared Frillish¡¯s own. The ice type then sent out an Ice Beam toward Riolu, but the fighting type wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Vacuum Wave,¡± Chase quickly said. Riolu inhaled and hurtled both of his palms forward in one brisk motion. The air in front of himpressed and turned into a vacuum. The Ice Beam simply dissipated, and so did Vanillish¡¯s body. I let out a panicked gasp when its entire body just exploded all over the arena, but I sighed in relief when I saw that Candice wasn¡¯t worried. The small pieces of Vanillish slowly slithered across the ground and be whole again, but Riolu just started beating the life out of it with another Bone Rush before it could get off the ground. ¡°Vanillish is unable to battle. Leader Candice, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± ¡°Aw, shucks!¡± Candice sighed, cing a hand on herst Pokemon. ¡°Well, go!¡± A ceon appeared in a sh of red and gracefully stretched. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s time to battle! It¡¯s been so long, and you sleep all day, how can you even be tired?! Ice Beam!¡± ¡°Riolu, hit it with Force Palm!¡± Riolu gave a quiet nod and zig-zagged with Quick Attack toward ceon, narrowly avoiding each Ice Beam. His palms began to glow with a pale blue. ¡°Slow him down! Icy Wind!¡± The ice type switched tactics, sending a frosty, cold gust of wind toward Riolu. Unlike the narrow Ice Beam, Icy Wind was too wide to dodge, and Riolu slowed to a crawl, leaving ceon enough time to finally hit him in the chest and arm with an Ice Beam, freezing him partly. ¡°Vacuum Wave,¡± Chase quickly yelled. Riolu¡¯s arm flexed, and the air was sucked out around it. The quick change in pressure destroyed the ice, unfreezing Riolu in the process, but he directed another wave toward ceon, who was helpless and could only take the attack. ¡°Again.¡± Chase had found a weakness in ceon¡¯s fighting style. The ice type waspletely incapable of countering Vacuum Wave, and the attack was toorge for him to dodge. Any ranged attack it sent would be dispersed by Vacuum Wave, and Riolu would always win at close range. On Riolu¡¯s fifth Vacuum Wave, ceon finally went down. Chase had won his gym battle. ¡°Congrats,¡± Candice said. ¡°If only I wasn¡¯t so rusty¡­ ugh. Who knew fighting at such a low level could be this fun? Being aggressive didn¡¯t work, so maybe I should try something else¡­¡± We cheered and pped for him, but he ignored us and simply walked toward Candice with his hands in his pockets. It seemed like the ¡®low-level¡¯ment had gotten to him somewhat. ¡°What¡¯d you think of this one?¡± I asked, turning to Craig. The older trainer sighed. ¡°Those anti-flying tactics were ingenious. It shows that he¡¯s a good trainer that thinks outside of the box. Unfortunately, once he uses it once, it¡¯spletely unusable for the rest of the battle since it¡¯s too easy to counter. It also kind of feels like outside of that, he hits his head against the wall until something sticks. It works right now, but it won¡¯t in the future. That¡¯s all he¡¯s getting from me.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. More importantly, what had I learned from this battle? I asked myself. Well, from what Candice had said, she was probably going to use a more defensive team next time. That could mean either stall, or just bulky Pokemon in general. I had also learned that she could taunt you when she wanted to, like she had done at the start. At the beginning of our Journey, all of those months ago, that probably would have gotten to Chase, and he would have lost for sure. Hell, they almost did, but the gym leader stopped midway through the battle, probably because she knew the trash-talking would have made him lose too easily. Still¡­ talking over your opponent sure was a scummy strategy, especially with how loud Candice¡¯s voice was. It would be less effective on me, because I had taught my Pokemon to be more independent with their moves and what they did in battle, but Chase was a leader, and his Pokemon were like soldiers. He always told his team what to do unless the situation was dire and it was a life-or-death fight, which was why Candice¡¯s strategy had worked so well at the start. ¡°Well, my turn next,¡± Denzel said with a nervous grin. ¡°Good luck. You¡¯ve got this, we¡¯re way better than we ought to be at the third badge,¡± I said, encouraging him. ¡°Give her hell,¡± Cece said. ¡°I find her quite irritating.¡± Denzel nodded and left. ¡°Come on,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s not that bad. She¡¯s just having fun.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I find her happy-go-lucky behavior to be somewhat grating,¡± she shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s true that I¡¯d rather she be more serious but¡­¡± I trailed off with a sigh, thinking of Gardenia. ¡°We all have different ways to cope,¡± Craig spoke up with a grave tone. ¡°She has a lot of stuff going on. Being a gym leader isn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows.¡± We stared at each other for a few seconds and then offered him a silent nod. Chase came back up to the spectating area, and after congratting him, I gave him Craig¡¯s advice, which he shrugged off. ¡°Your loss, kid,¡± Craig told him. After another break that had been way too long, Candice finally ran up to the arena, and so did Denzel. I¡¯d need to observe and pay attention to this one too. Each battle offered a nugget of information that slowly revealed Candice¡¯s style as a whole. Only one more battle, and it would be my turn. I had to stop myself from smiling.
Chapter 96 Chapter 96 CHAPTER 96 Denzel¡¯s battle would be another four-on-four with one switch-in. I had been correct in assuming that every battle would keep those same rules, which was annoying. I personally believed that battles were more fun if you could swap out more because that allowed for more strategizing. I carefully watched Candice fiddle with her Pokeball as she waited for Denzel to send out his own Pokemon. She was less confident than before and somewhat subdued. Gym leaders were used to losing multiple times in a row, but apparently, Candice was the exception to that rule. ording to my notes, that meant that she would y it safer this match. Not necessarily that her team would be a stall one or a defensive one, but that she would hold off before just attacking at the fast pace she had done so thus far. Denzel finally sent out his Buneary. The normal type was clearly morefortable with being in a gym battle now, she was jumping and punching the air with her ears. Candice immediately released an Amaura. An extinct Pokemon. The rock type gazed around the arena with a yful stare. ¡°Impressed?¡± She said, looking at Denzel¡¯s befuddled stare. ¡°I got him as a gift from Roark for my birthday. I was hoping to bring him up to my six badge teams, but he isn¡¯t there yet.¡± Denzel frowned. ¡°Um, okay¡­? Can we start the battle, or¡ª¡± ¡°Gotcha!¡± Candice yelled. ¡°Aurora Beam!¡± Amaura rolled his eyes but listened andunched a rainbow-colored ray toward Buneary. ¡°Quick Attack and get close,¡± Denzel calmly said. Buneary nodded, glowing as she jumped so hard that the snow under her feet fluttered away, leaving only barren ground and a tiny crater. Amaura tried shooting her out of the sky, but the rabbit twisted her body around the attack. Another Aurora Beam grazed her, but it wasn¡¯t enough. After another two jumps, Bunearynded next to Amaura with a loud thud. ¡°Reflect!¡± Candice yelled. ¡°Power-up Punch!¡± A thin, transparent barrier appeared around the ice type just as Buneary¡¯s right ear glowed bright white and cracked the wall. ¡°Round!¡± Candice quickly ordered. Amaura inhaled, and then let out an ear-piercing cry that somehow frosted Buneary¡¯s ears. The normal type pushed through and punched again, and this time it was stronger. The Reflect broke. ¡°Circle Throw!¡± Denzel said. Buneary sidestepped a Body m from Amaura, using its forward momentum to grab it, using both her arms and her ears to lift the rock type. She mmed Amaura head-first against the ground behind her. ¡°Power-up Punch!¡± Buneary gave a tired nod. Each subsequent attack was getting more powerful, but it was tiring her out. She punched Amaura¡¯s nk, and the ice type was too awkwardly shaped to get off the ground quickly. ¡°Icy Wind, then Round again!¡± Candice said. The rock type reared his head back and spat out frosty wind that slowed Buneary to a crawl, giving him enough time to get back on his feet. He then yelled again, this time freezing Buneary¡¯s earspletely. The Pokemon must have had an ability to turn normal type moves into ice type like Pixte with Sylveon. ¡°Melt the ice with Fire Punch!¡± The tip of Buneary¡¯s ears burst into mes that quickly freed her frozen ears, and she jumped back before Amaura could deal any more damage. I was surprised to see that the ice type had taken so many hits, but that confirmed my suspicions that Candice was using a more defensive team. Any of the other Pokemon she had used against Cece or Chase would have been down by now. ¡°What?! Fire Punch? That¡¯s so unfair!¡± Candice grumbled. ¡°Amaura, Ancient Power!¡± Amaura¡¯s eyes shone with an eerie blue and lifted multiple rocks from the ground. The control he had over them was just as good as Togetic¡¯s, if not better. He threw them forward, and they all converged toward Buneary, surrounding her from all sides, even from above. ¡°Defense Curl,¡± Denzel said with a pinch of worry. Dodging was nigh impossible, and he knew it. Buneary curled up into a ball, and her skin shimmered slightly. The rocks and earth crashed into her, and I saw Candice¡¯s body rx. The loosened arms, the spaced-out legs, the small exhale that was almost unnoticeable. The quivering fingers. Unfortunately for her, Buneary was still standing. ¡°Good job,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Give me onest Power-up Punch!¡± Buneary cried out defiantly and jumped into the air, her ears and arms iling wildly. Both of her ears shone brightly mid-air. ¡°Shield yourself! Reflect and Ancient Power!¡± Candice hurriedly said. Buneary crashed past the earthen barrier that Amaura had briskly erected andpletely destroyed his Reflect as well, hitting the ice type square in the chest. She struggled to her feet, and Amaura went down. ¡°Amaura is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your second Pokemon.¡± Not hesitating for a second, Candice sent out a Cetoddle. It was my first time seeing the Paldean Pokemon, and it yfully stomped around in the snow. ¡°Buneary, you¡¯ve got one more in you?¡± Denzel asked with a thin smile. The rabbit turned toward him and answered with a smile of her own. ¡°Thought so. Fire Punch!¡± ¡°Ice Shard!¡± Candice ordered. Buneary took a deep breath, allowing herself a second to rest and jumped once more. Cetoddele summoned a dozen shards and threw them toward Buneary, who managed to punch them away. The normal type was now barreling headfirst toward Cetoddle with seemingly no care fornding on her feet. ¡°Body m!¡± Cetoddle¡¯s entire body tensed, opting to throw its entire weight at the Buneary instead of attempting to dodge. The normal type flew off, but not beforending a devastating Fire Punch that had been powered up by multiple Power-up Punches. ¡°Buneary is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon!¡± ¡°Amazing job,¡± Denzel smiled, sending out his Sylveon next. The fairy typended gracefully in the snow without a single noise. He lost his smile when Candice uttered her next sentence. ¡°Cetoddle, Rest!¡± The ice type plopped itself on the ground and just¡­ fell asleep, and its injuries from Buneary¡¯s Fire Punch healed at an incredible rate. ¡°Sleep Talk,¡± Candice continued. Cetoddle¡¯s body vibrated, and then it opened its mouth, letting out a Powder Snow toward Sylveon. Denzel clenched a fist. ¡°Get close to it and y Rough!¡± Sylveon used Quick Attack to run across the snowy battlefield. His steps were so graceful that it was as if I was watching him skid across the snow. Luckily, even though Cetoddle could use Sleep Talk, it being asleep still meant that it was terrible at actually aiming. Sylveon easily sidestepped the Powder Snow, and I grinned when I saw that he had lost none of his relentlessness even after evolving. Sylveon started brutally beating up Cetoddle, kicking it, ramming into it, and pawing at it. Each time hended a hit, pink imprints were left on the ice type¡¯s body. Marks left by the fairy type energy imbued in the move. Candice hurriedly ordered Cetoddle to use Sleep Talk again, and the ice type Body mmed into Sylveon. The fairy type took the hit and just kept thrashing Cetoddle around. ¡°Give me a Double Kick,¡± Denzel grinned. Sylveon smiled, turning away from Cetoddle and hitting it with his hind legs twice. If I hadn¡¯t been used to Togetic, I would have thought that it was unsettling how fairy types were always so brutal with the biggest grin on their face. After multiple ear-piercing screams from Candice, Cetoddle unfortunately woke up. ¡°Rest again!¡± Candice said. Denzel swore as almost all of the damage Sylveon had dealt was undone. This was¡­ a dilemma. Sure, Cetoddle was terrible at attacking when he was asleep, but if Sylveon just kept attacking, he would eventually tire out, even with all of his endurance. How would I have solved this? Buneary was a good answer with her Power-up Punch, but she was already tapped out. I didn¡¯t know enough about how Sylveon battled to solve this puzzle, but maybe Budew¡¯s Growth¡­ Denzel seemingly thought the same, and he recalled his Pokemon, using his one and only switch-in. He released his Budew, who announced her presence with her usual screech. ¡°Woah, that¡¯s the biggest Budew I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Candice said with wide eyes. ¡°Sleep Talk!¡± ¡°Growth.¡± At first nce, using a grass type against an ice type would have seemed foolish, but I understood what Denzel was going for. He was hoping to stack up enough Growths to just blow past Cetoddle¡¯s Rest before it could wake up and use the move again. Budew¡¯s body shone and grew a few inches as Cetoddle started running toward the grass type in his sleep. ¡°Keep it going,¡± Denzel breathed out. Cetoddle was bulky, but it was also slow, and so it took a long time to reach Budew on the other side of the arena. My best friend waited until thest possible moment and sprung to action. ¡°Venoshock!¡± Denzel said. Budew belched out purple poisonous fluid, spraying Cetoddle with poison so potent that it was melting off its skin, past its thickyer of fat. The ice type rammed into Budew with Body m and woke up soon after. It cried out in pain, which was followed by some kind of clicking noise. ¡°Rest again!¡± Candice said. Once again, the ice typey down and fell asleep, ignoring the poison eating away at its body. Still, the damage it was healing was substantially lower than before. ¡°Bullet Seed.¡± Budew spat out a series of seeds at her opponent, hitting Cetoddle¡¯s exposed flesh. Candice ordered another Sleep Talk, and her Pokemon stood up, but it was too weak to even use an actual move. Budew used another Bullet Seed, and the ice type finally fell to the ground. I was perplexed by the fact that Cetoddle would have been a perfectly good Pokemon to switch out and save forter. Nothing else Denzel had on his team could have dealt with it, which proved to me that Candice wasn¡¯t going all out. I was getting better at noticing the different facets of how gym leaders held back to not make their battle impossible. They were meant to pose a challenge to ovee, and Denzel had ovee his. Still, the battle wasn¡¯t over. What I did learn from this, however, was that Candice never switched. More information. More knowledge for my battle. ¡°Cetoddle is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your third Pokemon!¡± The referee said. ¡°Man, that was fun!¡± Candiceughed as she grabbed her next Pokeball. ¡°Now I wish more new trainers came to challenge me.¡± ¡°d I could be of service,¡± Denzel smiled. Candice released a penguin-like Pokemon that had a giant ice cube for a head. Eiscue, an ice type from Gr. ¡°Get in range!¡± Candice yelled. In range for what? I thought. ¡°Bullet Seed!¡± Denzel yelled. Budew screeched, and another Bullet Seed flew out of her mouth. Eiscue awkwardly ran toward the grass type, lowering its giant head to protect itself from her attack. The ice cube structure on its head cracked and fell off, leaving only a small circle with a long antenna. ¡°Freeze-Dry!¡± Candice ordered, her voice shaking. ¡°Shit! Venoshock! You¡¯ve got this!¡± Budew¡¯s body slowed and slowly froze over, but the attack was slow enough to give her enough time to spray poison at Eiscue. Her special attack was still boosted by Growth. Eiscue¡¯s flesh burned, and when I thought Budew would go down, she let out a shriek and glowed white, doubling in size. Denzel watched on with a wild grin as his Budew evolved. ¡°Why do Pokemon keep evolving when I use Freeze-Dry?!¡± Candiceined. ¡°That¡¯s no fair!¡± Roselia emerged from the light, not having lost her perpetual scowl. ¡°Stun Spore!¡± Denzel excitedly screamed. With a threatening screech, Roselia aimed one of its bouquets at Eiscue and a bundle of yellow spores at the ice type. Eiscue breathed them in, and its body started to shake wildly. ¡°Finish it off with Mega Drain,¡± Denzel sighed in relief. Roselia nodded, aiming both of her bouquets at her opponent and draining its energy, healing herself from some of the damage she had taken from Freeze Dry. Eiscue fell to the ground and fainted. ¡°Eiscue is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out yourst Pokemon!¡± ¡°Go, Cryogonal!¡± Candice yelled, releasing her final partner. The ice type¡¯s body shifted and ground against itself as its eyes came alive with a bright blue color. Denzel ordered Roselia to hit the ice type with another Stun Spore, but it floated up, avoiding the attack and then used Freeze Dry on the poison type. Denzel asked his Pokemon to use onest Venoshock, and she sprayed Cryogonal with poison before fainting. ¡°Roselia is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your third Pokemon!¡± ¡°It¡¯s you and me,¡± Denzel said, releasing Sylveon again. ¡°Swift!¡± Sylveon let out a smooth cry as pink stars appeared above him and flew toward Cryogonal at incredibly high speeds. It was too slow to outrun the attack, so it opted to get hit and retaliated with a Frost Breath. Sylveon got t on the ground and rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack, but Cryogonal followed him with his Frost Breath. Sylveon¡¯s leg was hit, but he started running with Quick Attack and circled around the ice type. ¡°Disarming Voice!¡± Denzel yelled. Sylveon let out a harrowing scream that made me want to cry, and Cryogonal stopped its attack, taking damage in the process. Denzel ordered another Swift right afterward, and all of the stars hit the ice type, forcing it to lower itself due to the damage it was taking. ¡°Jump at it and get it down!¡± Denzel said, seizing the moment. ¡°No you don¡¯t! Freeze Dry!¡± Sylveon gracefully leaped at Candice¡¯s Pokemon, and his extremities started to freeze. It used y Rough in the air, headbutting Cryogonal and bringing it on the ground with him, but Sylveon struggled to stand back up due to Freeze Dry. ¡°sh and get back in the air!¡± The gym leader said. Cryogonal turned its entire body like a wheel, and the angr edges of its body sharpened and glowed white as it cut across Sylveon, drawing blood. The fairy type wrapped one of his ribbons around one of Cryogonal¡¯s extremities, keeping it down, rolled on his back, and Double Kicked it, cracking its tough, icy exterior. ¡°Dang it, I hate fairy types and their tricks!¡± Candice yelled. ¡°Frost Breath!¡± ¡°Disarming Voice!¡± Before Cryogonal could even start using the move, Sylveon stopped it from attacking and then kicked it again. It was barely hovering now. Denzel hadn¡¯t even used any of his Detects. Victory was in sight. ¡°Finish it off with y Rough,¡± Denzel said, his body rxing. Sylveon nodded and started relentlessly beating Cryogonal up with that same smile on his face. Cryogonal went down, crashing into the snowyndscape. Denzel had won. It was my turn now. Cece nodded at me. I asked Craig to give Denzel advice when he got there, and I met him on the way down. He wished me good luck, and I congratted him. I would have stayed for Craig¡¯s advice, but I needed as much time to think to myself in the waiting room. ¡ª¡ª My mind felt clear as I waited for Candice to finish her break. I had a Pokeball in hand, and I felt at the cold metal. It wasforting, the way it filled my palm and fit in my hand perfectly. I was confident I was going to win, but I would still give it everything I had. I would fight like I was a Pokemon behind at all times. I would give one hundred percent. I had been watching these three battles, along with the others I had seen online, but I had also been watching Candice. I had the information at my fingertips, now I just had to grasp it and use it. The gym trainer fitted me with the usual microphone and motioned me to move to the battlefield. I walked onto the tform and immediately stared at the gym leader. She was smiling again, but holding herself back. I could tell, because her lips were twitching. She already had her Pokeball in hand, meaning that like usual, she had already decided what to send out, and she wouldn¡¯t actually try to counter my choice. I stared at her hand and saw that it waspletely steady. No trembling. Her fingers gripped her Pokeball tightly. Confidence, even though she had just lost. That battle with Denzel must have been fun and reinvigorated her spirit. She leaned against her knees in anticipation, but she didn¡¯t boast. Excitement, but she was holding it in. Her choice would be bnced. Not too axed toward attack, but not too defensive either. Candice was going to try to figure me out first and then decide how to go about this battle. It looked like I¡¯d be fighting erratic Candice after all. ¡°...Four-on-four with one switch-in allowed¡­¡± Candice was saying. Soon enough, she finished her instructions, and I released Frillish. Candice released a spherical Pokemon. It looked like a dark rock covered in thick sheets of ice, with pale blue eyes and conical horns on both sides of its face. A lie took to the air and stared at Frillish with a wicked smile. ¡°Buy me some time,¡± I told Frillish. He stared back at me and nodded. My eyes were still on Candice.
Chapter 97 – Predicting the Unpredictable Chapter 97 ¨C Predicting the Unpredictable CHAPTER 97 - Predicting the Unpredictable ¡°Buy me some time,¡± I said. I knew very little about lie as a Pokemon, so I needed Frillish to stall to fish out its moves all while I kept my eyes on Candice, trying to notice any change in her behavior as I had tried against Gardenia, but failed. This time, I would seed. Frillish wasted no time and sent out a Bubblebeam toward the hovering lie. ¡°Frost Breath!¡± Candice ordered. The ice type blew cold air toward the Bubblebeam, causing the move to freeze mid-air and miss entirely. Without Candice¡¯s direction, lie started to float toward Frillish as fast as it could. I stared at her, and she wasn¡¯t panicking at this development at all. That meant that lie was more of an independent fighter. ¡°Shadow Ball,¡± I calmly said. That move couldn¡¯t be frozen, so how would lie counter it? Frillish gathered shadows in front of his mouth, molded it into a ball, and sent it toward the approaching lie. The ice type summoned a thin barrier, blocking the iing Shadow Ball. Frost Breath, Protect, I thought. What else? ¡°Now, Freeze Dry!¡± Candice yelled. ¡°Run away.¡± Frillish¡¯s tentacle began to freeze, but the water type hurriedly used Water Sport to get out of lie¡¯s range. Our opponent was faster than he was, but with Water Sport, we¡¯d be slightly quicker to get around. ¡°Water Pulse, then go around,¡± I said. Now lower to the ground, Frillish spat out an enormous Water Pulse at lie, who inhaled sharply and used Frost Breath to freeze the attack again. Frillish was already speedily circling around the ice type, and I waited until he reached lie¡¯s side. ¡°Bubblebeam again,¡± I said. There was no need to speed things up yet. Unable to turn quick enough to freeze the attack, lie was forced into using another Protect to stop the Water Pulse from hitting. I stared at Candice again, and I saw that she was still sporting an expression bordering on excitement and neutrality. lie seemed to be adept at using Protect, and it wasn¡¯t tiring after blocking a move twice. ¡°Ice Shard!¡± Candice ordered. Despite Frillish¡¯s best efforts, a few of the sharp shards tore into his body. I wouldn¡¯t ask for him to use Recover. Not yet. There was no need to reveal my hand, and the damage had been surface level at best. Freeze Dry, Ice Shard, I thought. That was four now. I had a pretty good picture of how lie fought. It wasn¡¯t the best attacker, but it made up for its deficiencies by being able to use Protect many times during a battle. It wasn¡¯t the fastest, either. It was an all-rounder, like I had predicted. Now, it was time to go on the offensive. ¡°Night Shade!¡± I yelled out. Frillish noticed my change in tone immediately and understood what I was going for. A shadowy clone appeared in front of him and rushed toward lie, who once more Protected. I had noticed something, first in Gardenia¡¯s gym battle against Louis, and now here. Pokemon that used Protect couldn¡¯t use the move in quick session. I was going to use that to my advantage and finish lie off quickly. ¡°Hex it!¡± I grinned. Frillish¡¯s eyes glinted, and smoke started to emanate from lie¡¯s body. The ice type shivered and convulsed in the air, but we weren¡¯t done. ¡°Ugh, she¡¯s got us figured out! Forget the fancy strats. Just get in there and Freeze Dry!¡± Candice yelled. ¡°Shadow Ball,¡± I ordered. lie pushed through the pain from the Hex and just flew toward Frillish, just taking the Shadow Ball head-on. The water type once again escaped with Water Sport, but a few Ice Shards hit the back of his head and tore through one of his tentacles. Thankfully he lowered the damage by using Acid Armor without me needing tomand it. ¡°Water Pulse! Keep retreating!¡± I said. Still running away from lie with Water Sport, Frillish spat out three Water Pulses in quick session, which were all frozen by the ice type. This was bad. I needed to take it down quickly, or the next part of the n wouldn¡¯t work. Hex was barely out of range from Freeze Dry, so using that without taking damage was too risky. Every water type move would be countered by Frost Breath, so all I had left was Poison Sting, Hex, Night Shade, and Shadow Ball. ¡°Shadow Ball again,¡± I said. No need to reveal Poison Sting if it wasn¡¯t needed. Frillish nodded, but gathering the energy needed for the ghost type move made him slow down. lie immediately started to freeze his body, but had to stop when the Shadow Ball hit its face. ¡°Again! Make it stronger!¡± This time, Frillish waited, gathering as much energy as he could, akin to Togetic¡¯s Fairy Wind, but faster. The Shadow Ball grew so big that it was bigger than lie itself, but another Freeze Dry had practically frozen Frillish¡¯s entire body over. ¡°Protect!¡± Candice said. I bit the inside of my lip as I watched the Shadow Ball approach lie, who stopped its Freeze Dry to summon the protective barrier. Impact. The Shadow Ball broke the Protect down and cracked lie¡¯s icy shell. The ice type fell to the ground and fainted. ¡°lie is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your second Pokemon.¡± ¡°Good job, buddy,¡± I said. He turned back and nodded. His body was half frozen, and he had seen better days, but he had done it. ¡°Man, I really thought I had ya,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be good enough to¡ª¡± Focus! I screamed internally at myself. Don¡¯t listen to her taunts. It was just me. Just me. Now, had I seeded in taking out lie fast enough? I smiled when I saw that Candice wasn¡¯t sending out her next Pokemon immediately. She was thinking. She hadn¡¯t expected that huge Shadow Ball, and it had rattled her. Candice was sporting a slight frown now, and when she grabbed her next Pokeball, her hold on it was less tight. My smile grew into a grin when I saw what she released next. A bright blue Sealeozily hopped onto the field. Candice was in an erratic mood. That meant that her choice of Pokemon could be changed. By taking out her lie as fast as I had, I had ensured that she would want to switch up her strategy and opt for a more defensive battler, and I couldn¡¯t have hoped for a better choice. For now, at least, I was controlling the flow of the battle. I quickly stopped myself from immediately switching out from Frillish, however. He was hurt, but still in a fine state to battle. I still needed to ensure that Sealeo had nothing to hurt my next choice. My only switch of the battle. ¡°I wanted to be nice and let you start, but if you aren¡¯t going to do anything, I will! Brine!¡± Candice yelled, snapping me out of my thoughts. I still needed to get faster at thinking. ¡°Dodge and Poison Sting!¡± I yelled, finally revealing the move. A small cloud appeared where Frillish had just been, and rain dropped with such pressure that it created a small plume of snow on the ground. I looked at Candice and saw that she wasining about something. I wasn¡¯t really learning anything new on that front, so I focused back on the battle and smiled when I saw that small, purple needles had buried themselves into Sealeo¡¯s hide. ¡°Aurora Beam!¡± Candice yelled. I grimaced when I saw that Frillish had been too close to dodge this time, and a multicolored beam hit his chest. He was on hisst legs now, and he had bought enough time to reveal two moves. I grabbed his Pokeball and recalled him. Now, I knew from past battles that Candice didn¡¯t switch, so there was only one good answer to this Sealeo. ¡°You did amazing,¡± I said before releasing Electabuzz. ¡°You¡¯re up, hon.¡± The electric type cackled as electricity buzzed around his body, and his fur stood on end. He was excited to finally be in a gym battle again. ¡°No holds barred,¡± I grinned. ¡°Thunderbolt.¡± ¡°Stop it! Aurora Beam!¡± Candice ordered. Electabuzz pped his hands together as thunder crackled and rumbled around his body. The smell of ozone filled my nostrils as my hair started to stand upright. Sealeo sent out another beam of multicolored energy, and it made it about halfway through the arena before Electabuzz was done charging up. With a gleeful scream, the electric type extended his hands forward, and a colossal Thunderbolt surged forward,pletely overpowering Sealeo¡¯s Aurora Beam and hitting the water type. Sealeo convulsed, writhing on the ground as countless volts coursed through his body. After fifteen seconds, Electabuzz ceased the attack, panting slightly, and Sealeo was already down, its body smoking and burned. ¡°Sealeo is unable to battle! Leader Candice, send out your third Pokemon!¡± The referee said. ¡°Fuck yes,¡± I muttered, pumping a fist. ¡°That was perfect.¡± ¡°Buzz!¡± My Pokemonughed proudly. My excitement petered out when I looked at Candice. She was¡­ angry? In all of the videos I had watched, I had never seen her face like this. But why now? It couldn¡¯t be because I was winning¡ª Cecilia had won harder than I had even after Candice had started taking her seriously and actually battling. Was it because I had caught her off-guard? In the high-level battling videos I watched of her, a lot of her challengers had done so. So why me? With a deep-set frown, Candice sent out a Jynx. The ice type wiggled its hips and made a face, puckering its lips. In other circumstances, this would have been hrious, but I couldn¡¯t get distracted. Electabuzz was bad at stalling to bait out moves, so I needed to go on the offensive right away for this one. ¡°Thunderbolt again,¡± I said. Jynx was a psychic type, so going anywhere near it would probably mean a loss, especially with how frail Electabuzz was. He pped his hands once more, sending out a Thunderbolt slightly weaker than thest. ¡°Psychic,¡± Candice said. Her now calm demeanor was unsettling me, but I knew there was anger behind that cid tone. I had thought Electabuzz¡¯s Thunderbolt to be too fast to divert, but Jynx was apparently good enough to do so. Its eyes shone as it diverted the move to its right, and the electricity only grazed its arm. ¡°Sing,¡± Candice ordered. I felt my heart drop. ¡°Don¡¯t let it! Thunderbolt!¡± Before Jynx could even begin to Sing, Electabuzz fired another attack, forcing it to divert it with Psychic once more. Since it was slightly distracted, the electric attack hit Jynx¡¯s chest. We were stuck in a dilemma. I couldn¡¯t make Electabuzz approach, but Candice couldn¡¯t put him to sleep, otherwise Jynx would take a Thunderbolt, and I already knew she wouldn¡¯t be capable of resisting many of those. The problem was that Electabuzz would tire out first. It was time to switch things up. ¡°E-Swift,¡± I breathed out. A dozen stars appeared above Electabuzz, and he infused them with electric energy before sending them off toward Jynx, but I wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Thunderbolt again.¡± Another Thunderbolt burst through the barrage of stars, forcing Candice to make a choice. Either she could use an ice move to freeze Swift, or she could divert Thunderbolt with Psychic. There were too many stars for Jynx to ever hope to dodge everything. Candice grimaced. I had caught that wince. That fray in her thought process. That second of doubt that I knew all too well. ¡°Psychic,¡± Candice winced, opting to get hit by Swift. I smiled. It was toote. Somehow, Candice had gotten so annoyed at me that she had waited too long to give themand, and Jynx was hit by both attacks. It had gone how I had hoped for, but¡­ what was going on? Candice was an emotional person, but she wasn¡¯t the type to get affected this badly. I considered asking her what was wrong, but she let out a frustrated groan and immediately gave out her next order. ¡°You¡¯re pissing me off! We¡¯re going all out! Jynx, get up there and grab some trees on the way!¡± She yelled. Some trees? My palms started to sweat as Jynx immediately broke into a sprint, swaying her arms like she was a professional athlete. A Pokemon like that had no right being that fast. Its eyes shone as it tore four entire trees from the floor, sending them flying toward Electabuzz. I bit my lip, thinking as fast as I could. How could I counter this? Electabuzz didn¡¯t need my order to start dodging. He weaved to the right, avoiding the first tree, and narrowly ducked under the next one. The next two were trickier. A spark appeared on his fist, and it burst into mes. He punched the bark head-on, stopping the tree in its tracks¡ª ¡°Behind you!¡± I yelled. I felt panic creep up when one of the trees he had dodged came back and hit Electabuzz¡¯s back. Jynx was almost up to him now. ¡°You¡¯ve got to attack!¡± I said, steeling myself. ¡°Thunderbolt and run up as well!¡± Electabuzz¡¯s best form of defense was his incredible offensive capabilities. He started to run, hoping to overwhelm Jynx¡¯s Psychic with his Thunderbolt so that he could approach. Behind him, the trees followed, getting ever closer. A Thunderbolt was barely deflected, but the next hit Jynx¡¯s face, causing her to drop the tree trunks she carried with a huge crash as they drifted across the snow. ¡°Fire Punch!¡± I ordered. mes wreathed around both of honey¡¯s fists, and he used the small window that his Thunderbolt had opened and started hammering at Jynx. He punched it in the lip before quickly moving on to its gut, going so fast that he was lifting it off the ground. He screamed, bringing his fists together and punching Jynx away before sending another Thunderbolt at the ice type. It didn¡¯t get up. I sighed in relief. I had almost lost control here, and who knew what that would have caused. I needed to keep my wits about me no matter what. ¡°Jynx is unable to battle! Leader Candice, please send out¡ª ¡°I get it already!¡± She interrupted. Her expression was downright sinister now, and it was actually scaring me. I had somehow made a gym leader hate me. She grabbed herst Pokeball and sent out a Grian Darmanitan, who mmed its fists against the ground. Electabuzz was so tired that I knew winning this fight was impossible, but I still needed to use him to at least figure out how this Darmanitan fought¡ª ¡°Work Up!¡± Candice yelled, extending her arm. Damn it, she wasn¡¯t leaving me any time to think anymore. The Darmanitan¡¯s muscles bulged, and it mmed its fists against its chest with a menacing cry. ¡°Thunderbolt!¡± I said. Battling a Worked Up Darmanitan up close when Electabuzz was this weak would be¡ª ¡°Avnche!¡± She screamed. From this far? The ground rumbled under Electabuzz, who desperately tried to run away, but it was to no avail. Snow washed over him like a wave at incredible speed, and he cried out as he was buried underground. The volume was higher than what Cece¡¯s Zweilous had had to deal with too. ¡°Electabuzz is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon,¡± the referee said, eyeing Candice with anger. ¡°Good job, hon,¡± I said, recalling him through the snow. I had a little bit of time to think now. What was going on? It was like Candice had floored the gas pedal from zero to one hundred in the middle of the battle. I knew gym leaders could raise the battle¡¯s difficulty midway through a fight, but I had never seen it to such an extent. I smiled, licking my dry lips. If this was what she wanted, I¡¯d dly rise to the challenge. After all, that meant that she thought I could beat her at this level. I grabbed Tang¡¯s Pokeball and released him. He plopped down on the snow and stared curiously at his opponent. Angel had one job, and one job only. That was to Poison Power, Stun Spore, or Leech Seed Darmanitan. Anything other than that was extra. I wasn¡¯t thinking of this single fight. I was thinking long term. I knew I¡¯d have to use my entire team to take this thing down. ¡°Avnche!¡± Candice said again. ¡°Lift yourself up,¡± I quickly said. I had expected that. Darmanitan could apparently affect the entire arena, so it made sense for Candice to keep using the move until it failed. Six vines extended below Tang, and he sprung himself up, avoiding the deluge of snow behind him. He continued forward, using his vines instead of his feet. ¡°Icicle Crash!¡¯ Candice yelled. ¡°Dodge!¡± I countered. I inhaled sharply when I saw that it wasn¡¯t a single Icicle that appeared above angel. It was a swarm. Darmanitan mmed a fist against the ground, and they all crashed into his body, creating a plume of snow. I waited with bated breath, standing on my tip-toes to see if Tang was alright, and I finally exhaled when I saw that he was still going forward. ¡°Bind it!¡± I said. I was under no impression that he would ever be able to keep Darmanitan still, but I just needed to buy time. Tang shot out a few vines in front of him, and they wrapped around Darmanitan¡¯s arms and legs. The ice type huffed, as if it wasughing, and it simply moved an arm toward itself, bringing Tang closer. ¡°Ice Punch,¡± Candice said. Ice surrounded both of the Pokemon¡¯s fists as he waited for Tang to get close enough, but we were already close enough for what I wanted. ¡°Leech Seed!¡± I said. Tang¡¯s vines writhed, and he shot out a small seed toward Darmanitan. It grew into thorny vines wrapping around his entire body, and no matter how much the ice type tried to tear them apart, they just kept growing. ¡°Poison Powder!¡± I said, not letting up. ¡°Knock it away!¡± Candice ordered. Darmanitan¡¯s icy fist hit Tang¡¯s face, sending him flying, but I smiled when I saw that purple spores had been left in his ce. Darmanitan inhaled, and the n had beenpleted, which was good, because Tang was already down. ¡°Tang is unable to battle,¡± the referee hissed, clearly signaling to Candice. ¡°Challenger, send out your third Pokemon.¡± I already knew it would have to be princess. She was good enough with Extrasensory to block Icicle Crash above her and above ground so she¡¯d be immune to Avnche. I grabbed her Pokeball and sent her out. She giggled and pped, slowly raising her altitude. ¡°Stay up,¡± I warned her. ¡°This is a tough one. Stay sharp. Air Cutter!¡± Togetic¡¯s wings fluttered, and the air in front of her sharpened, speeding toward the Darmanitan. It tried to dodge, but Air Cutter was too fast. Our practice was paying off. ¡°Icicle Crash!¡± Good, I thought. She was wasting time and energy on something that wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°You know what to do,¡± I told Togetic. Her eyes shone as she happily altered the air above her. The icicles harmlessly slid off to the side, burying themselves in the ground instead of hitting her. ¡°Avnche!¡± Candice continued angrily. I frowned, and then I understood. Snow jumped from under Togetic as if it had a will of its own. ¡°Fly up, and Extrasensory under you!¡± I said. Togetic listened, altering the path of the Avnche, but the snow simply went around the Extrasensory and wrapped back around, reaching her. I winced as she was dragged to the ground. Darmanitan¡¯s control over the move was stronger than I had thought. ¡°Get in there and Ice Punch!¡± Candice said. Darmanitan ran, using its knuckles to propel itself through the snowy ground at surprising speeds. Princess popped her head out of the snow, showing that she was fine, although substantially hurt. She shot me a look, and I gave her a discreet nod. Stay there. I would wait until thest possible second¡­ just a little more¡­ ¡°Ancient Power!¡± I yelled. Togetic lifted rocks and earth in front of her, and Darmanitan mmed against it headfirst. ¡°Push it!¡± I continued. Her eyes shone brighter as she propelled the ground forward, taking Darmanitan along with it. I clicked my tongue when the ice type punched it apart with an Ice Punch. He was Leech Seeded and poisoned. When would he go down¡ª Darmanitan shook as its body began to change shape. The top of its head grew, and its arms retreated into its body, leaving only small hands, and its inoffensive expression turned into an evil, toothy smile. A singr, long me was burning out of its top half. It bounced around, looking more like a snowman than a Pokemon. It was also my first time ever seeing a Grian Darmanitan in this form. ¡°Belly Drum! We¡¯re going all out!¡± Candice grinned with her tongue hanging to the side. ¡°Air Cutter!¡± I ordered. Darmanitan mmed its own body with its hands so hard that it hurt itself, but then it grew slightly. Veins popped under its snowy body, and the Pokemon hardened. Togetic ignored it, taking flight and sending another Air Cutter toward the ice type. I gulped when I saw that it barely dealt any damage. ¡°Finish it off,¡± Candice said. Darmanitan yelled, and another Avnche dragged Togetic to the ground, at least four times as powerful as it had been before the Belly Drum. Using its small appendages, the ice type punched Togetic in the head, defeating her. ¡°Burn off the Leech Seed,¡± Candice exhaled. Darmanitan¡¯s body burst into mes for a brief moment, easily dispatching of angel¡¯s attack. It was thankfully still poisoned, however, and weakening fast. ¡°Togetic is unable to battle¡­ Challenger, please send out yourst Pokemon. And sorry,¡± the referee said. Sorry? For what? This was exhrating! With a slightugh, I sent out Frillish and immediately set him to work. My win condition was waiting out the poison and never letting Frillish fall onto the ground. It was time to reveal my trump card. ¡°Reco¡ª¡± ¡°Avnche!¡± ¡°Acid Armor!¡± I hurriedly spoke, changing my order. Snow hungered after Frillish, quickly rising below him, but the water type changed his state, and he was too gooey to be brought back to the ground. Finally, he managed to use Recover. The tears in his body quickly healed, and he looked almost as good as new. What now? Candice was running out of time. ¡°Screw it! Work Up and jump!¡± Candice screamed wildly. Darmanitan bounced off of the ground, its body somehow enveloped in mes and snow as its fists turned to pure ice. ¡°Water Pulse!¡± I yelled, my heart beating against my chest. Frillish flew backwards, powered by Water Sport as he shot out a Water Pulse. Darmanitan was hit, but he continued flying toward Frillish. I bit the inside of my mouth as the ice type crashed its fist into Frillish, and both of them fell to the ground with a loud crash. I felt sweat drip down my chin as the adrenaline started to drain from my body. Had it been enough? Had I won? Had I lost? The snow cleared, and Frillish weakly floated up from the ground with his entire bottom half missing. Darmanitan stayed down. ¡°D¡ªDarmanitan is unable to battle. Victory goes to the challenger!¡± I looked at the ceiling and just breathed for what seemed like ages until I recalled Frillish. He had Recovered again, regenerating much of his body. I tasted metal in my mouth. Had I bitten it so hard in the heat of battle that I had started to bleed? I stepped off of the tform as my friends cheered wildly for me. My legs felt like jelly, and I could barely walk straight. My vision was swimming. I wiped sweat off of my forehead. My clothes were so wet that it felt like I had been in a shower, and my heart was pounding so loudly that I felt my pulse up in my ears. I made it up to Candice, who looked to be in much better shape than I was. ¡°Congrattions, challenger,¡± she said awkwardly. Her voice sounded distant. Far away, like it was echoing. My ears were ringing. ¡°Um are you okay? Can you give me your trainer ID and Pokedex?¡± ¡°Wha¡ª ah, uh, yeah,¡± I exhaled. I felt like I just had gone through a triathlon. I handed her my ID and my Pokedex with a shaky hand. ¡°You¡¯re now the owner of the Icicle badge, and I¡¯ve transferred fifteen-thousand Pokedors into your ount. Um, I¡¯ve also given you the Avnche TM.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said, shaking my head to focus. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry I went so hard on you all of the sudden,¡± she apologized. ¡°Now that the battle¡¯s over, I realized that I let my feelings get in the way. That Darmanitan was nowhere near your level. Honestly, if you lost, I probably would have given you the badge anyway.¡± ¡°Your feelings?¡± I asked as my head pounded. ¡°Battling you reminded me of battling Gardenia, and we used to have this rivalry, but she¡¯s outgrown me. I can¡¯t beat her anymore,¡± Candice said with a grimace. ¡°Until I started actually pushing you with Jynx, every time I looked at you¡­ you were just staring at me, not at the battle. You were reading me. She¡¯s a lot more subtle about it, but it¡¯s unnerving how alike you are. I let my feelings get the best of me¡­¡± I smiled at the notion that I was like Gardenia¡ª Wait, why was I on the ground? My legs had given up from under me. I heard Candice¡¯s voice in the distance, even though she was right there¡­ I passed out.
Chapter 98 Chapter 98 CHAPTER 98 ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s fine? Maybe we should call them again.¡± ¡°The doctor said it was exhaustion, she¡¯ll wake up soon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but worry¡ª¡± I opened my eyes and shot right up, bumping into Denzel¡¯s forehead. He screamed, falling back and clenching his forehead to alleviate some of the pain. ¡°Grace!¡± Cecilia said, grabbing my hand. ¡°We were so worried. How do you feel?¡± I blinked a few times and moved my hands around, clenching and unclenching my fist. The headache was still there, but muted. The pain was practically gone, and I could see clearly. ¡°I think I¡¯m alright,¡± I said. ¡°Um, can I¡ª can I have some water? How long was I out?¡± Cece handed me a bottle of water and I started drinking. ¡°Not long,¡± Denzel answered as he stood back up. ¡°Barely an hour. We called an ambnce for you and the docs said that you copsed because you exerted yourself too much during your battle with Candice. You¡¯re at the Center.¡± I stared around, recognizing my room. ¡°Right,¡± I nodded. ¡°I was so focused that I guess I kind of forgot to breathe, but I feel alright now.¡± ¡°The doctor said that you needed rest,¡± Cece said, entuating thest word. ¡°So you¡¯re going to stay in bed.¡± ¡°My Pokemon?¡± I asked. ¡°We gave them to Nurse Joy, along with all of ours that battled,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Nowe on, rest up.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Chase?¡± I said. ¡°He left a few minutes ago to get his alone time,¡± Cece said. ¡°You know how he is.¡± Iid back down with a sigh. I had won my gym battle, and I felt incredibly happy, but why had only one fight taken so much out of me? The fight against Gardenia hadn¡¯t¡­ but I hadn¡¯t been thinking as much, either. These were the kind of battles that I wanted to have, though. The strategizing was my favorite part, along with the battle going exactly ording to n. Reading my opponent¡¯s move urately brought me a high that I could never get anywhere else. But that desperate, racing feeling I had felt when Candice brought out that Darmanitan had been exhrating as well, especially when I had to scramble around to find a n on the spot. A n that worked. I closed my eyes, trying to rey the battle in my head. It didn¡¯t bring me the feeling I wanted. It wasn¡¯t the real thing. I wanted more. ¡°I think I might have a problem,¡± I said. ¡°What? Should we call someone?!¡± Denzel asked, letting panic slip into his tone. Cece tightened her hold on my hand. ¡°No, no,¡± Iughed softly. ¡°Nothing serious. I meant to say that I might be getting addicted to a certain style of battling. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to do it any other way anymore.¡± They both let out a relieved sigh. ¡°Your battle was certainly something,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I was more nervous and excited than for mine.¡± ¡°Something?¡± Cece asked, looking at him. ¡°She was glowing down there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, it¡¯s like it wasn¡¯t even me down there,¡± I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s kind of all a blur.¡± ¡°I get that feeling,¡± Denzel said. ¡°An intense battle can do that to you.¡± ¡°It was you, and you were wonderful,¡± my girlfriend said. ¡°Ah!¡± I eximed, suddenly remembering something with a twinge of disappointment. ¡°Did I miss Craig¡¯s battle, then?¡± My friend nodded. ¡°Yeah, we all did. He won, though. Candice took down four of his Pokemon. I was watching the video. Want to see it?¡± ¡°The video isn¡¯t like the real thing¡­¡± I grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re such a battle maniac,¡± heughed. ¡°I told you I had a problem,¡± I said. ¡°Anyway, I know I said I¡¯d rest, but¡ª¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± They both eximed in unison. ¡°Arceus, chill out!¡± I said exasperatedly. ¡°I just want to take a shower. My clothes are all sweaty, and I feel icky.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Cece awkwardly said. ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± I nodded, hesitating to stand up. I sighed in relief when I took my first step, confirming that I was at least fine to walk. I grabbed a change of clothes, stepped into the bathroom, and basked in the water¡¯s warmth. Even though I felt fine, my body felt so tired. Today I would rest, but as soon as my team was healed, we¡¯d need to have a group meeting and talk about our next steps to improve. Then, there was also the need for me to analyze my battle footage and have my post-gym battle autopsy as I had done against Gardenia. I could think of a few things that had gone wrong already, but that wouldeter. Maybe I could¡­ Ugh, . I finally changed into fresh clothes, and when I went toy back down on the bed, I was surprised to see that Cecilia had changed the sheets so that I wouldn¡¯t have to roll around in my sweat. ¡°You¡¯re sweet,¡± I said, kissing her before getting under the covers. She smiled, and the kiss lingered for a few moments. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Please, this is just the bare minimum,¡± Cece rolled her eyes before snuggling up next to me. ¡°You kids sure are cute,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You¡¯re half a year older than us, don¡¯t call us children,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Let me enjoy the small things in life, Cece,¡± he replied. ¡°Anyway, now that you¡¯re all freshened up, Emi and the others wanted us to call them. They were worried about you.¡± ¡°Worried about me?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, you copsed on video,¡± Denzel said nonchntly. Cece frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask to turn it off?¡± ¡°On¡­ video?¡± I muttered before gasping. I had been so excited to just get to my battle that I forgot to ask the gym trainer in the waiting room to turn off the camera! ¡°Fuck. Fuck. I forgot.¡± ¡°Well¡­ let¡¯s look at the bright side of things¡­¡± Denzel tried. ¡°I¡¯m waiting,¡± I sighed. ¡°Um, hold on, I¡¯m thinking,¡± he said. ¡°Ah, got it! You¡¯re a good trainer, right?¡± ¡°I could be better.¡± ¡°Oh please, just take the win and move on,¡± he groaned. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going to act like you answered yes. You¡¯re a good trainer. We all are. We fucking got three badges on our first year with no signs of slowing down,¡± he grinned. ¡°That means that you were going to get a lot of eyes on you regardless, so it¡¯d be better to get used to fame now. And it¡¯s not like you have a lot to hide. New trainers progress fast. By the time we battle Fantina, we¡¯ll have made a lot more progress.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Cece nodded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s usually the case,¡± he shrugged with a smug expression. ¡°Don¡¯t get too confident now,¡± she chuckled. ¡°Imagine you still being in your shell at the Conference. You can¡¯t turn off the cameras there, and there are reporters, fans, and hundreds of thousands of spectators on location, and that¡¯s just in the stadiums. You¡¯d be a nervous wreck, and it¡¯d affect your battling. It¡¯s better to get used to it as early as possible.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I sighed. ¡°I still feel restless about it. Eterna is going to be hell. Anyway, let¡¯s just call the others and get my mind off of this. Future me will deal with it.¡± ¡°Ouch. No love for your future self?¡± Denzel joked as he grabbed his Poketch. ¡°Future Grace will probably be angry at you.¡± ¡°Well, we all have to do our part,¡± I said as I sat upright in the bed. Cece quickly made space between us. Right, I thought. They don¡¯t know. ¡°It¡¯s a video call, by the way,¡± Denzel specified as he came in closer to get us all in the shot. Our friends answered immediately. ¡°Finally!¡± Pauline said. ¡°Grace, are you doing alright?¡± Justin asked. ¡°If Denzel or Cece hadn¡¯t been with you, there would have been no way to get news about your well-being,¡± Louis said. ¡°No one in Snowpoint said anything. The gym didn¡¯t put out a statement or¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, guys,¡± I smiled. I froze when I saw Louis¡¯ thick scar running across his cheek. ¡°They said it was exhaustion. That battle took a lot out of me.¡± ¡°That sure looked like it,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°I was exhausted just looking at it.¡± Justin sprung up. ¡°You all did excellently¡ª¡± ¡°Move over!¡± Pauline eximed, pushing him away from the camera. ¡°You three! You¡¯re lucky that you¡¯re all the way up in Snowpoint, or you¡¯d be hearing my incessantints about being left behind. I want a third badge too, damn it!¡± ¡°You okay there, Justin?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Yes,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Then you better have trained enough not to fall behind then,¡± Cece said. ¡°Any progress on the third member of your team?¡± ¡°I found something, but I can only catch it on route 207 near Mount Cor,¡± she said proudly. ¡°It fits me perfectly.¡± ¡°Looking forward to it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Really?! Um, I mean, yeah, thanks,¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°What about you, Louis? Any progress with Gible?¡± I asked. ¡°Progress is¡­ slow. I¡¯ve had him let out his anger by making him fight Vulpix and Prinplup as Cece does with her Deino¡ª her Zweilous. Nothing serious, though, it¡¯s just practice, and he¡¯s been struggling a decent bit. I¡¯ve also tried to talk to him to make him understand that I can make him evolve.¡± ¡°Good, good,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡± ¡°You are the one who set me on the right path,¡± he nodded. ¡°And Justin?¡± Cece asked. ¡°Any progress with your father?¡± ¡°I wanted to wait until you were back to announce it, but I¡¯ve reached a deal. The best I could get, considering the circumstances. Instead of getting into the Conference twice, I only have to get in once. It¡¯s frustrating, and I probably won¡¯t be able to do it this year, but it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got. I can¡¯t take over until he retires anyway, so I have time to get in. It¡¯s just a shame that I¡¯ll have to be doing this for the foreseeable future.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll figure something out,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you send your dad a message by winning in the scummiest way possible? Try to stall every gym battle for twenty minutes, like against Gardenia.¡± ¡°The effects it would have on Pherzen¡¯s image¡ª¡± ¡°Come on, you¡¯ve got to try,¡± Pauline scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ve read the contract. It says that you just have to get in the Conference, not how.¡± ¡°Plus, it¡¯d be really funny,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Right?¡± She smiled evilly. ¡°Imagine that, a man that just stalls making it to the Conference. I¡¯d pay to see it.¡± ¡°Stalling is harder than it seems at first nce,¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of strategizing involved. There are a few people that specialize in underhanded tactics. I remember hearing about one in Kalos, but I forgot his name.¡± ¡°Even if I wanted to, I don¡¯t even have the right team to do it,¡± Justin shrugged. ¡°Pokemon can do anything if you train them in the right way,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Emi, what about you and your coordinator prospects?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been¡­ tough. What I¡¯m suffering the most from right now is move variety, but I¡¯m hoping to fix that by buying some TMs when I get to Hearthome. I wanted to wait to iron out the basics of my Pokemon first, though..¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait eighteen days for us to get there,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Will you be alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll get lonely, but I¡¯ll manage,¡± she said. ¡°Plus, I can finally start making connections. Hearthome is the hub for Pokemon contests, there are bound to be a lot of beginners like me there.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll kick their asses,¡± Pauline said. ¡°That¡¯s not even the goal,¡± Emilia said with a slight smile. ¡°I appreciate your support, though.¡± ¡°So when will you start heading back?¡± Louis asked. ¡°We¡¯ve been dying to see you again, and you won your badge.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t even thought of that yet,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll probably head back down south as soon as I¡¯m alright to go. I¡¯d kill to have a Pokemon that can Teleport.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we all?¡± Ceceughed. ¡°Well, it shouldn¡¯t take too long now that we can keep to the routes,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Hey Emi, have you checked my livestream VOD? What did you think about it?¡± ¡°It was¡­ fine,¡± Emilia awkwardly answered. I noticed Pauline squirming in ce. ¡°Look at her face,¡± I grinned, pointing to Pauline. ¡°She¡¯s going to say something mean.¡± ¡°N¡ªno,¡± she said, holding backughter. ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s not like it was the most embarrassing thing I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°It was my first time! Come on, give me some leeway!¡± We kept talking about anything that came to mind, but after two hours, the call ended. ¡°That was fun,¡± I said, stretching. ¡°Now you can sleep,¡± Cece lectured as sheid her head back in the crook of my neck. ¡°I¡¯ll stick around to make sure you aren¡¯t actually doing anything battling-rted.¡± ¡°Ouch. Zero trust, huh?¡± I said, bringing her closer. ¡°Not when ites to battling,¡± she smiled. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you two get some alone time,¡± Denzel said as he stood up. ¡°Better check what Chase is doing too, he said he¡¯de back to visit.¡± ¡°Bye-bye!¡± I said as he closed the door. I tried leaning in to kiss Cece. ¡°You know I actually meant it when I said you needed rest, right?¡± She said. ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re no fun. How about just one?¡± ¡°Just one.¡± ¡ª¡ª I woke up sometimeter to a knock at my door. I rubbed my eyes, making sure not to move around too much since Cecilia was still asleep, and I gently got up, cing her head back on a pillow. It was dark out, but that didn¡¯t mean much, since the sun always set early this far north during the winter. ¡°I¡¯ming¡­¡± I grumbled. The knocking wasn¡¯t stopping at all. I opened the door and almost had to do a double-take when I saw that Candice was at my door. ¡°Hiya!¡± She said. ¡°Can Ie in?¡± I frowned. ¡°Excuse me¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ming in, alright? Oh, sorry, I didn¡¯t know you had someone else in there. You sleeping in the same bed? She your girlfriend? I kind of sensed that vibe from you two. Cool, cool,¡± Candice babbled as she stepped inside. ¡°Grace¡­?¡± Cece muttered as she got up. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡ª¡± Her soft demeanor immediately turned to her calm, confident self when she saw that a gym leader was in the room. ¡°Leader Candice,¡± she said smoothly. ¡°What brings someone of your stature here?¡± ¡°Two things!¡± She eximed, making a ¡®v¡¯ sign with her fingers. ¡°First, I wanted to apologize again for my battle against you, Cecilia!¡± ¡°You mean¡­ me?¡± I asked. ¡°Right, you¡¯re Grace. Um, that¡¯s awkward. Anyway, you passed out because I pushed you too far, and it¡¯s unbing of me as a gym leader. But! I want to make it up to you by inviting you and all of your friends to my apartment!¡± ¡°To your¡­ apartment,¡± I repeated. ¡°Wha¡­ how?¡± How was I casually talking to a gym leader? ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s what I said! I don¡¯t know why you had to repeat it all mysterious-like. Um, I¡¯ve already told your two buddies, they were just in their rooms. The friendly one almost fell out of his chair when I asked, but the grumpy one said that he¡¯d onlye if I had something worth his while, so I lied and said I¡¯d give him my training routine. He was so silly! That¡¯s, like, a gym leader¡¯s most deeply held secret! Obviously, I wouldn¡¯t just give it away. Anyway, we¡¯re all waiting for you. Oh! And Craig¡¯s going to be there too.¡± My head spun as I slowly registered the ramblings of this madwoman, but I gave a hesitant nod. I wasn¡¯t about to refuse a gym leader¡¯s request. Cece and I quickly put on our coats and stepped outside. Chase and Denzel were already in the hall waiting. ¡°So you¡¯re back on your feet, huh?¡± Chase remarked, staring at me. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m still taking it easy,¡± I said. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going then,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m leaving as soon as I get what I want, and then I¡¯ll get back on the road at some point tomorrow. ¡°Stop being so emo,¡± Candice said. ¡°I¡¯m feeling happy tonight, I did better against Craig than usual, and all of the battles were a lot of fun. I don¡¯t want you to ruin the mood.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember asking you,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry about him,¡± I apologized. ¡°This is just how he is.¡± The gym leader smirked. ¡°There¡¯s already so much doom and gloom in the world, y¡¯know? Might as well spread some good vibes where you can.¡± Candice lived in one of Snowpoint¡¯s dull, blockyplexes about fifteen minutes away from the gym. We took the elevator to the top floor and entered her apartment. ¡°Crap, I forgot to lock the door,¡± Candice sighed. ¡°Well, not like anyone would snoop. Wee to my humble abode. Make yourself at home and all of that.¡± I wiped my shoes on the rug and took them off. Candice¡¯s home was just as small as it looked from the outside, but it wasn¡¯t like there were many options in Snowpoint. Plus, she did live alone. From what I could see, the kitchen was connected to the living room, and there was one bathroom and bedroom. The apartment was filled with a lot of¡­ out of ce decorations. There were scary paintings on the walls like a small girl holding a knife drenched in blood next to a¡­ corpse, but there were also some cute decorations, like a Snox bean bag, and a big heart that read ¡®live,ugh, love.¡¯ None of it actually fit together. It was just a mishmash of different colors and moods. Craig was sitting at the dining table, typing away at hisputer like he usually did. He smiled when he saw us, but he looked pale and tired. ¡°You kids made it,¡± he said. ¡°Grace, how¡¯re you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± I replied. ¡°You, on the other hand¡­¡± ¡°Candice went hard on me and forced me to use mega evolution,¡± he sighed. ¡°Now I feel like shit.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± sheughed. ¡°Drinks? I have juice! All kinds of juice!¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°Can I release my Larvitar here?¡± ¡°You have a Larvitar? That¡¯s so cool!¡± Candice eximed. ¡°Go ahead.¡± We all asked for different drinks, and I released sweetheart, who looked wary to be in a ce with this many people. I wanted to use the opportunity to get her used to strangers, but I¡¯d keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn¡¯t do anything foolish, like tear up a couch or something. Denzel and Cece were talking to Craig, and Chase was harassing Candice about her training routine. ¡°C¡¯mere, sweetheart,¡± I beckoned her. She approached me and hugged my jeans. ¡°She¡¯s the cutest!¡± Candice smiled. Chase scoffed. ¡°You said you¡¯d tell me!¡± ¡°All in due time, young one,¡± she said, shushing him. ¡°This is a part of it, I¡¯m teaching you patience.¡± ¡°Bullshit.¡± ¡°Well, feel free to leave and miss out on my awesome training,¡± Candice shrugged. She handed each of us our drinks. I had asked for grape soda, which she thankfully had. I sipped on the drink and felt at the Poketch in my pocket. Well, if a video of my battle had been recorded¡­ I discreetly grabbed my Poketch and went on the Snowpoint gym¡¯s website. I quickly found my video and handed the device to Larvitar. ¡°Here,¡± I said. She stared at the screen with a curious expression. ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t break it, alright? You weren¡¯t here to see the battle, and your siblings aren¡¯t there to tell you about it yet, so I figured I¡¯d let you watch it so you don¡¯t feel left out.¡± I pressed y on the video, and she stared at me with a wide smile on her face. ¡°Tar!¡± ¡°No problem,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Enjoy it, alright?¡± I stepped away from her and made my way toward Craig, Cece, and Denzel, who had been joined by Candice and Chase. ¡°...telling you that all of you guys have potential, you just have to not let the fame get to your head,¡± Craig said. ¡°And don¡¯t expect too much for your first year. In my opinion, you¡¯re good enough to get seven badges¡ª maybe get to the Conference, but don¡¯t expect to wipe the floor with thepetition there. It¡¯s like an entirely new world.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deal with ¡®em,¡± Chase shrugged. ¡°Ah, Grace,¡± Craig said. ¡°I never told you, but that was some good battling.¡± ¡°Got some tips for me?¡± I smiled as I sat down. ¡°Sure,¡± he said, to my surprise. ¡°You¡¯re like Gardenia, that¡¯s perfectly fine, but when the battle slips out of your control, you struggle to slow the rhythm back down and take the reigns again. That¡¯s something you¡¯ll learn with experience.¡± ¡°Candice wasn¡¯t supposed to use that Darmanitan, though,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Sure, she wasn¡¯t,¡± the older trainer replied. ¡°But there¡¯lle a day where, either in the Conference or a tournament, or another gym battle, there¡¯ll be a Pokemon that makes you slip up and changes the flow of the battle drastically, where you go from winning handily to suddenly being on yourst legs. A paradigm shift. My point will still apply there.¡± ¡°Paradigm? What is this, a lecture?¡± Candiceined. ¡°I know you know what that means, Candice,¡± Craig said. ¡°You just like acting dumb.¡± ¡°Aw, thank you! I am the smartest.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you to stop doing it,¡± he sighed. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t going to give us advice, though,¡± I said with a hint of smugness. ¡°Yeah, but do you know how hard it is to turn down Lillipup-eyed new trainers?¡± He groaned. ¡°Plus, it¡¯d be better to light a fire under my sister¡¯s ass so that she stops being a loner and that she has people to push her further. She¡¯s been having it too easy.¡± I nodded, happy to know that we were all at least at Lauren¡¯s level. ¡°Oh! What advice did you give Denzel, by the way?¡± ¡°Mostly just some small things to iron out, but he¡¯s actually the one I¡¯ve had the least to say to. He¡¯s not too shy, but he feels like a consistent trainer, and consistency is key. I¡¯d say he has a lot of hidden potential, but he has to unlock it. He¡¯s a lot like me in that regard. There¡¯lle a time when he¡¯ll probably be the most annoying to face between the four of ya.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying he¡¯s the most powerful between us?¡± Chase asked. ¡°I call bullshit. Seems like you¡¯re biased because you see yourself in him.¡± ¡°You all have strengths and weaknesses¡ª¡± ¡°What a boring answer¡­¡± Candice grumbled. ¡°Let me finish! Arceus, you¡¯re hyper today. You all have strengths and weaknesses, but some of your styles will fare better against different kinds of trainers. There¡¯s no definite answer.¡± ¡°Like I said. Boring.¡± The raven-haired man looked to be on the brink of breaking down because of Candice¡¯s antics, so he changed the subject. ¡°By the way, I had a proposition for you kids,¡± he said. ¡°When are you leaving?¡± ¡°Probably in a day or two when I¡¯m done resting and our Pokemon are healthy again,¡± I said. ¡°Tomorrow,¡± Chase answered. ¡°Great! I have a proposal that would benefit all of us,¡± Craig smiled. ¡°What do you say I fly you down south on my Smence?¡±
Chapter 99 Chapter 99 CHAPTER 99 My eyes widened at Craig¡¯s proposal. A Pokemon¡¯s owner needed a license to fly, and if they were caught without one, there¡¯d be severe penalties. In the most severe cases, depending on what happened, you could even be banned from ever flying, have your trainer ID revoked forever, or your Pokemon could even be taken, but those were only reserved for idents that caused deaths. Most of the time, for first offenders, you would only have to pay a hefty fine. Still, so long as the Pokemon¡¯s owner had a license, you were allowed to ride with them, just like a car driver. ¡°Um¡­ that would certainly help a lot,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But can Smence support all of us and our bags?¡± ¡°Roxie¡¯s a tough girl, don¡¯t worry,¡± Craig said. ¡°She¡¯s carried five people before, and you guys are kids, so you¡¯re lighter.¡± ¡°You said it benefits us both,¡± Cecilia started, crossing her arms. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re going to Eterna, right?¡± He asked. We responded with a nod. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve beaten Candice, I need to beat Gardenia too, so we¡¯re going in the same direction, but that¡¯s not it. It might be temporary, but you guys are the hottest thing in the news right now¡ª you¡¯re getting more coverage than any trainers in the Circuit. This might seem a bit cynical, so sorry if ites out meaner than I want it to, but if I bring you back, I get a lot of positive coverage too. Just make sure to put in a good word for me. It¡¯ll reflect badly on you, since trainers will think that it¡¯s unfair¡ª especially the other first years, but honestly, after what you¡¯ve been through, I think the criticism will be pretty muted.¡± Denzel rubbed his chin. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t see why not¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to Celestic, not Eterna,¡± Chase interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Craig asked. ¡°It¡¯ll take you a long time to get to your next gym battle. By the time you make it to Hearthome, or wherever you¡¯re going, some first years might have five badges already. You¡¯ll fall behind.¡± Chase clicked his tongue and thought for a few seconds. ¡°Fuck it,¡± he groaned. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll get to Eterna. I¡¯ll visit Celesticter in the year.¡± ¡°Any reason why you want to go to Celestic in particr?¡± I asked. His need to go to the small town was intriguing to me. It was mostly famous for being Cynthia¡¯s hometown, and where she had started her Journey when she was fifteen, and the Celestic Ruins, but other than that, it was rather barren. ¡°Nah,¡± he sighed. I had been with him long enough to suspect that he was lying. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°That works then,¡± Craig smiled. ¡°How long does it take to fly there?¡± I asked. ¡°Three to four days. More, depending on the weather¡ª if there¡¯s a blizzard or the wind¡¯s blowing against us. Roxie also has to take a break every ten hours or so.¡± ¡°Only three days?¡± Cece said in awe. ¡°She¡¯s a pretty fast flier. But there are a few things we need to go over. Chase and Denzel, your clothes aren¡¯t warm enough to fly. It gets cold up there. You also need to buy some goggles to protect your eyes. We¡¯ll be going fast, and you don¡¯t want anything getting in your eyes. Plus, the wind makes it almost impossible to keep ¡®em open without them anyway.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t we fall off?¡± I asked. Craigughed. ¡°Obviously not. I have a saddle that has seats for five, and you¡¯ll be attached to it. There¡¯d be no way to hold on otherwise. Not everyone is as crazy as Cynthia. Did you know she just manually holds on to her Garchomp? It¡¯s a wonder she¡¯s never fallen off.¡± I gave a hesitant nod. I wasn¡¯t scared of heights, but flying on a Pokemon for the first time would make anyone uneasy. ¡°Let me give you all my number so that you can call me when you¡¯re ready,¡± the older trainer said. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long. I¡¯ve spent too much time here already.¡± ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to see me?¡± Candice pouted. ¡°I like my doses of Candice in moderation.¡± ¡°Um, Chase,¡± I started. ¡°Now that you¡¯re going to Eterna, will you travel with us?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m still going to Hearthome on my own,¡± he said. ¡°But now we¡¯ll definitely meet in the city.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I grinned. ¡°How about we battle there? Cece, Denzel, and I were already nning on doing so, but now that you¡¯ll be there, we can add you to the n.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± he said confidently. ¡°Alright!¡± I cheered. ¡°Maybe we can do a two on two or something.¡± ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t start picking already, we¡¯ll figure it out when we get there,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m taking Obel then,¡± he said right away. ¡°What if I refuse?¡± She teased. ¡°Your loss.¡± ¡°You kids are so cute,¡± Candice said, resting her head against her hands. ¡°Makes me miss being a trainer. I¡¯m gonna miss you guys.¡± ¡°We can alwayse back,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I doubt it¡¯s thest time we¡¯ll be here, especially since our friends still need to battle you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to take months,¡± sheined. ¡°I want to stick you all in little jars and keep you.¡± I ignored her out-of-pocket suggestion and let the current situation sink in. Somehow, we had kind of just¡­ befriended a gym leader. We were in her home, talking. Only the best trainers that recurringly went through the Circuit and made the gym leaders use their personal teams could usually boast of such a feat. Maybe I¡¯d get to talk to Gardenia one day. ¡ª¡ª The next day, I had to wait all afternoon for my team to be healed. Electabuzz was the one that had been injured the worst, and Frillish would have been too, if he hadn¡¯t been a ghost. Nurse Joy told me to let Electabuzz take it easy for a few days, and I would obviously listen. He had done wonderfully during the battle, but there was no doubt that he had pushed himself past his limit. Using so many Thunderbolts had taken its toll, and Jynx and Darmanitan had done a number on him. I was now back in my room, ready to release all of them. ¡°Larvi!¡± Larvitar yelled at my feet. She was excited to see the team again, and so was I. With a sh of red, I let out all of my Pokemon with a beaming smile. Togetic rushed me, knocking me on the ground as she rubbed her head against my neck. Tang wrapped me in a dozen vines, squeezing me into a hug as he shook excitedly. Frillish smiled slightly and gave me a firm nod. ¡°Okay, okay!¡± Iughed. ¡°I get it, I¡¯m happy to see you guys too!¡± Electabuzz approached me and offered me a hand. I took it, and he lifted me back up. I brought him into a warm hug. Larvitar giggled as angel pat her on the head. ¡°You were awesome,¡± I said, before looking at my team. ¡°You all were. Seriously, look at me.¡± All of my Pokemon turned toward me. ¡°There were two phases to the battle. The first phase, the one where we had a n and we were in control. That part was practically perfect. We had Candice exactly where we wanted her and used that to our advantage,¡± I exined. ¡°The second part¡­ well, I can¡¯t exactly judge it before watching the footage, since it¡¯s kind of all a blur, but I know that we can improve on that,¡± I said, remembering Craig¡¯s advice. ¡°But don¡¯t take this the wrong way. I¡¯m not saying that I¡¯m sad or anything. Seriously, this was the most fun I¡¯ve ever had in a Pokemon battle.¡± ¡°Ele,¡± Electabuzz said, pping my shoulder with a smile. ¡°You too, huh?¡± I grinned. ¡°You¡¯ve got some serious firepower, you know that hon?¡± Togetic giggled, floating above him and cing her head in between his antenna. ¡°I told you, you were all awesome,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to watch over the footage now, so feel free to y, alright? We¡¯ll work on your next steps for training at some point, but you all deserve a break.¡± I grabbed my Poketch from my bag, but I also gave Togetic her plushie and Tang his stress ball. Larvitar immediately yelled and tried to steal both of their toys, and I had to sternly tell her not to throw a fit and that they could share. Unfortunately, Electabuzz had outgrown his already small battery, so I couldn¡¯t really give it to him. Thankfully though, he seemed content with teasing Larvitar and bragging about the battle. He sure knew how to press her buttons, especially since she desperately wanted to start battling. ¡°Well, time for the autopsy,¡± I said with a twinge of anticipation. Frillish was behind me, staring at what I was doing as he usually did when I was working. I opened the Snowpoint gym website, grabbed my notebook, my pen, and started ying the video. After pushing past the difort of hearing my voice on a recording, the first thing I noticed was how unhinged I looked. Even at the start of the battle, I was just staring at Candice with my eyes wide like I was mad. Hell, I was barely blinking. Now that I was looking at it, I could definitely see how that could anger somebody. Candice was a gym leader, but she was still human. ¡°Well, damn,¡± I groaned. Gardenia was much more subtle about her observations, and when you did catch her looking at you, it wasn¡¯t with such a crazy look. In the grand scheme of things, it didn¡¯t matter though. Sure, it had angered Candice, but maybe me looking like a crazy person would unsettle my opponents and throw them off their game. I definitely needed to remember to blink and breathe, though. ¡°Here we go,¡± I whispered. First, there was the fight between Frillish and lie. Scouting the ice type¡¯s moves had gone exceedingly well, and he had taken minimal damage, but it went a bit off the rails when we switched gears and wanted to take it down. The n had been to take it down immediately, hoping that the sudden change of pace in the battle would throw Candice off enough to let that happen, but she adapted remarkably quickly. Luckily, Frillish had worked on Shadow Ball enough to break past that Protect, otherwise we would have taken too long, and Candice might have felt like going on a more offensive Pokemon, which might have spelled trouble for Electabuzz. Thankfully, none of that had happened. But it could have. I didn¡¯t want to have any maybe¡¯s in my ns. I wanted everything to be iron tight. So what could I have done to avoid this and beat lie faster? I could have just said that I could have practice Shadow Ball more so that Frillish could just throw them out like he could with Water Pulse or Bubblebeam and call it a day, but that wasn¡¯t enough. If I was ced in the battle right now, with the exact same setup, what would I do? I tapped my pen on my desk as I thought, ignoring my Pokemon¡¯s many cries around me. Suddenly, it came to me. The lie had frozen the majority of Frillish¡¯s water type attacks, so I had used Shadow Ball to try and bait another move, but what if I hadn¡¯t? I could have made Candice reveal protect by having Frillish quickly move around lie with Water Sport and using a water type move behind him so that freezing it with Frost Breath was impossible. Hell, that actually happened during the battle. If I had acted more helplessly and not revealed Shadow Ball until I was sure it could hit, then I would have been in a better spot. But maybe Frillish would have taken more damage from Freeze Dry or Ice Shard. For every action in battle, there was a cost. Would the cost have been worth it here? Since Frillish had Recover, I thought yes. There was a huge mistake I had made, however, and that was during Frillish¡¯s short fight against Sealeo. Frillish had Water Absorb, but I still made him dodge Brine when he could have used that water to regenerate some of the damage he had taken from lie. I had been so focused on grand ns that I had forgotten to look at the little, obvious things. I needed to get better at using abilities in general too, which was something I hadrgely ignored. I scribbled some notes and moved on to Electabuzz. His performance against Sealeo had been wless. No matter how many times I reyed the video, there were no mistakes I could spot there, so I moved on to his battle against Jynx. The start had actually been fine. Despite a close call with Sing, his Thunderbolts were fast and urate enough to stop the ice type from ever putting him to sleep, and we had slowly been dealing damage, chipping away at Jynx as it desperately diverted our attacks. ¡°You¡¯re pissing me off! We¡¯re going all out! Get up there and grab some trees on the way!¡± Candice yelled in the video. That was obviously when the problems started. I had said before I had hoped that a quick change in the pace of the battle would destabilize Candice, but she actually used the same tactic on me. Despite¡¯s honey¡¯s best efforts, I wasn¡¯t there to help him, and he took some avoidable hits, like that tree that hit from behind him. I could have warned him, but I had been too taken aback. I was lost in my head, and then it was toote. Being hit by a tree was obviously no small problem, and it had been enough to almost faint him, but luckily, he had pushed himself to the brink and taken Jynx down with Fire Punch. Still, if he hadn¡¯t been hit by that tree, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t have gone down in one Avnche against Darmanitan. That mistake had honestly all been on me. Like Craig had said, I needed to be better at adapting when the situation was no longer in my favor, but ideally, I¡¯d be able to predict those shifts in the battle before they even happened by watching my opponent¡¯s bodynguage. I had noticed Candice¡¯s rising anger during the battle, but I thought nothing of it until it was toote, which meant that unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t good enough to do that yet, but it was still something to work on. I wrote on my notebook and continued. ¡°Angel, huh¡­¡± I whispered. Angel had done his job, which was Leech Seed and Poison Darmanitan, but there were still things to work on. First, I should have figured out that Darmanitan¡¯s Icicle Crash would be more powerful than the others¡¯ after seeing his Avnche take down Electabuzz. I distinctively remembered watching a video of her battles where the move had been applied in the exact same way, with dozens of icicles crashing into the ground all at once¡ª albeit it had been used by another Pokemon. Unfortunately, in the heat of the battle, I had forgotten that, and Tang took a hit we could have maybe avoided with foresight, which might have let him paralyze Darmanitan along with the poison. Another misstep I needed to fix. For Togetic, I had seriously underestimated the control that Darmanitan had over Avnche. Power was one thing, but the amount of fine-tuning needed to have the move wrap around Extrasensory was mind-boggling. Thankfully, by that time in the battle, I hadnded back on my feet, and I was thinking clearly again. Ancient Power had bought us a precious few seconds, and we managed to get Darmanitan into that¡­ second form. I took a break from writing to look it up online. Apparently, it was called ¡®Zen Mode,¡¯ and some Darmanitan had the ability to switch forms whenever they took too much damage. For Grian Darmanitan, it turned them into an ice and fire type, which is why it burned off Tang¡¯s Leech seed so easily. The ability was exceedingly rare, however, which was why I hadn¡¯t even heard of it before. I was somewhat harsh on myself¡ª I needed to be, if I wanted to get to the Conference in my first year¡ª but I wasn¡¯t that harsh, which was why I wouldn¡¯t me myself for not figuring it out. Lastly, there was Frillish¡¯s fight against Darmanitan. There wasn¡¯t much to say there. He almost went down to an Avnche, but we managed to salvage the situation with an Acid Armor. After he managed to Recover, I¡¯d say that we were in the clear. Not revealing Recover had actually been the key to my victory. If Candice had known that Frillish knew the move, I doubted that she still would have used Belly Drum, which caused Darmanitan to damage itself to the point of copse. She probably believed that all she would have to do to win was take down an already-injured Frillish. ¡°Ahhh,¡± I groaned, stretching my arms and legs. Frillish ced a tentacle on my shoulder, and I gently held it. ¡°I know you want me to rest, but I¡¯m not done quite yet. Plus, I actually feel fantastic. No joke.¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying, I swear!¡± I eximed. ¡°I have a few more things to think about, and I¡¯ll get back to bed, alright? I¡¯ve got to be well rested for the trip tomorrow.¡± Since I felt fine today, we were going to start flying back south tomorrow morning. I felt anxious at the fact that I was only going to get three days to prepare to tackle my newfound fame, but¡­ blegh. We wouldn¡¯t stay in Eterna long anyway, but I dreaded the swarms of trainers, reporters, and people who just recognized me from T.V. I did feel good about the fact that we would maybe make it in time for Pauline¡¯s birthday in three days. We hadn¡¯t told the others we were traveling on a dragon, and I couldn¡¯t wait to see the look on their faces when we arrived. I turned to Larvitar, who was running against one of Tang¡¯s vines while the grass type was preupied by standing by a window and soaking up sunlight. When we got on the road again after Eterna, I would begin teaching her new moves and start getting her to battle the wild Pokemon on route 207. It was one of the most frequented routes, especially near the cycling road, so the wild Pokemon there were often weak. If I met trainers with one badge or less, I¡¯d let her battle them too. She was almost at her normal weight of 158 pounds, and she was almost fully grown now, so it was time for her to start battling. I¡¯d break the news to herter though. I turned off the battle videos and started typing something on my Poketch. ¡®Fire types avable in Sinnoh.¡¯ Due to how cold the region was, in the past, there weren¡¯t many fire types native to the region at all. Thankfully¡ª or unfortunately, depending on if you were talking to a ranger¡ª globalization had brought all the regions closer together, and that meant that contamination happened. Paras, for example, were native to Kanto, but like that ranger had exined before we entered Eterna Forest, all it took was for a few trainers to bring Paras there and abandon them for whatever reason, and now they were infesting the forest. Of course, not every Pokemon could be found in Sinnoh, but there were enough fire types for me to work with. I needed a certain type of Pokemon to fill a role in my team that was still empty. That gaping hole had been felt during the battle against Candice. Heavy artillery, I had called it. Something that could deal a lot of damage from afar, but also take a lot of hits. After narrowing my choices, I was left with a few candidates. First, the Rolycoly line. I knew they could be found in caves, and we were going to travel through Mount Cor again to get to Hearthome. Coalossal was great at filling the role I needed, and they learned a lot of powerful fire and rock type moves, but they weren¡¯t the best long distance fighters, and a rock and fire type had a lot of weaknesses, which could be exploited by how slow the Pokemon was. Plus, I already had a rock type with Larvitar. It wouldn¡¯t be my first choice, but the rarity of the next two might mean that I¡¯d have to catch one anyway. Next up was Torkoal, which was a slightly better choice. From what I could see, they were also found in Mount Cor, but they were way rarer than Rolycoly. They were also found deep in the Oreburgh mines, since they sustained themselves off of coal, which was funny enough, since Rolycoly was made out of coal. Did Torkoal eat Rolycoly? I preferred not to think about that. Torkoal unfortunately came with its drawbacks as well, though. It was adept at resisting physical attacks thanks to its tough shell, but it sometimes floundered against special attacks, and it was even slower than Coalossal. Plus, the Pokemon was too defensive-minded for what I wanted exactly, but I wouldn¡¯t let perfect be the enemy of good. It was still an excellent battler, and the strongest ones could learn Eruption, one of the most powerful fire type moves in the world. Lastly, there was the Numel line. Camerupt was the most offensive-minded Pokemon of the three, and it could also learn Eruption. The ground typing would also help with rounding out my team. But those offensive capabilities came with a drawback. It was the least bulky Pokemon of the three, and it couldn¡¯t take as many hits. Numel were also rare, however, it didn¡¯t live on Mount Cor, but around it and other mountainous areas. It was mostmon around Stark Mountain, and so were Torkoal, but routes and facilities on the Battle Frontier were restricted to trainers with eight badges, so I wasn¡¯t going to get there any time soon. Rolycoly, Torkoal, Numel. All came with advantages and disadvantages I¡¯d find a way to work around, but one of these three would be my final team member for the foreseeable future, and I¡¯d have to catch it before I was out of Mount Cor. If I had to pick one between the three, though? I would choose Numel. ¡°Well, I¡¯m done,¡± I said with a satisfied smile. ¡°Time to get some rest.¡± ¡ª¡ª I watched in awe as Roxie just let Craig install the enormous saddle on her back. He pulled on it firmly and asked Smence to move around a bit with it to make sure it was on tight. We were on the outskirts of Snowpoint, since Pokemon as dangerous as Smence weren¡¯t allowed to be out inside of cities or specifically designated areas, and the sun was just rising. ¡°Now let me repeat this again,¡± Craig said. ¡°Keep your Pokeballs inside of your bag and not on your belt. We don¡¯t want any idents. Then we¡¯d be forced to turn back to look for it, and most of the time, we won¡¯t be flying over routes. Everybody go to the bathroom? Everybody eat and drink? We¡¯ll be in the air for almost ten hours straight, and Roxie doesn¡¯t like it when I interrupt her flying, so I¡¯d rather avoid it.¡± We all nodded, and he motioned us to step forward. He quickly lifted us on top of Smence and we attached ourselves to the saddle. There were four seats on her back and one right below her neck, which was where Craig would sit, and they were angled away from Smence¡¯s body so that our legs could hang off the¡­ edge. Cece sat next to me, on Roxie¡¯s left, and Chase and Denzel were on the other side. Craig turned back and made sure we were all attached correctly, and he had to tighten Chase¡¯s harness. I zipped my coat up to my neck and put on my goggles. ¡°I¡¯m so fucking nervous,¡± I said, trembling slightly. ¡°Come on, grow up,¡± Chaseined. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± Denzel said. ¡°People do this every day.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t help whatsoever,¡± I said. ¡°And Chase, don¡¯t act like you aren¡¯t scared. I see you bouncing your leg.¡± ¡°Wha¡ª Shut it!¡± ¡°Personally, I can¡¯t wait,¡± Cecilia grinned. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to doing this with Zweilous when they evolve into Hydreigon. Talonme could as well, but they¡¯re often too small to lift a person. It depends on how big she is when she evolves.¡± Craig climbed on Smence¡¯s back. ¡°Ready? It¡¯s going to be really sudden, and you might feel a bit nauseous, but when we get to cruising altitude, you¡¯ll barely be able to tell.¡± I froze. Nauseous? ¡°Let¡¯s go, Roxie,¡± Craig said as he tapped her neck. Smence pped her giant wings and took flight. I screamed.
Chapter 100 Chapter 100 CHAPTER 100 ¡°Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!¡± I screamed. ¡°Slow down!¡± I shut my eyes tightly as Smence flew upward so fast that it felt like my spine was getting squeezed. No one answered my plea. We were climbing so quickly that all I could hear was the cold wind blowing past my ears. Even though I was attached, I held on to the saddle for dear life. I hesitantly opened an eye, looked to my right, and saw that Cecilia had the biggest smile on her face and was bending forward to look at the ground. I couldn¡¯t see Denzel¡¯s face, but his shoulders were stiff, and his fists were clenched around his seat. Chase, meanwhile, had his face turned away from anywhere near the ground. After a minute or so, Roxie gradually slowed down her ascent, and I could finally start to hear again. ¡°Guys take a look,¡± Craig yelled. I turned toward him and saw that he was pointing forward. I stared at Mount Cor in the distance in awe. From this far, we were around a day and a half away, but even then, and even though we were flying, the mountain appeared to tower over us. We had gone through that and lived. Smence was done climbing now and was gently gliding across the sky, asionally pping her huge wings to generate lift. I took a deep, cold breath and finally gathered the courage to stare down. Snowpoint was still in the distance, but it was shrinking rapidly¡ª a testament to Roxie¡¯s speed. From here, everything looked so little. So insignificant. But together, everything formed into a coherent whole that held meaning. ¡°You guys can rx, the worst is over,¡± Craig said. ¡°Thank the Legendaries,¡± Denzel exhaled. ¡°I¡¯ve never been on a ne before, and this is terrifying to me.¡± ¡°This is nowhere near how high a ne actually flies,¡± Cece said. ¡°And you can barely tell you¡¯re on one after take-off anyway. This is a lot more personal. A grand experience.¡± ¡°You¡¯re insane,¡± Chase said, his face pale. ¡°Fast travel or not, I¡¯m never subjecting myself to this again, this was an awful idea.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Cece smiled, turning her body toward Chase. ¡°Is the great Chase admitting to a weakness?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a weakness, dumbass! Traveling on foot all the time will make me and my team tougher.¡± ¡°Whatever you say,¡± she replied with a haughty tone. She seemed to take great pleasure in his suffering. ¡°So, ten hours of this?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, give or take a little bit, depending on Roxie¡¯s mood. How you feeling today, Rox?¡± Craig asked, rubbing his dragon¡¯s neck. She replied with a gentle growl and beat her wings energetically, gaining in speed and altitude. ¡°Tell her to stop!¡± Chase stammered. ¡°Rx, you¡¯re screwed on tight, and no flying types are foolish enough to attack a Smence. We¡¯ll go around Mount Cor too, so you don¡¯t have to worry about any dodging maneuvres.¡± ¡°Um¡­ dodging maneuvres?¡± I asked with a hint of worry. ¡°Oh, it ain¡¯t much. Sometimes when we fly close to the Mountain, the wildlife gets a bit angry, and Roxie has to¡­ well, dodge. But again, we¡¯re taking a safe route.¡± I rxed slightly and leaned back, away from the edge. Now that the excitement was wearing off, the cold was sinking in, especially since it was impossible to move around very much. ¡°Ten hours, huh?¡± I whispered, rubbing my hands together. This was going to be a long flight. ¡ª¡ª Our first stop waste in the afternoon, and somewhere along route 216, where we were all taking a well-deserved break. It didn¡¯t look like it, but flying was actually exhausting. Sure, I didn¡¯t panic anymore, and I wasn¡¯t scared, but I still felt like it was impossible to rest up there. Humans weren¡¯t meant to be this high up in the sky, and when there wasn¡¯t a huge metallic tube separating you from the elements like on a ne, even rxing was impossible. It felt like my body had been on high alert for ten hours straight. Cecilia, meanwhile, had easily fallen asleep around four hours in, and only woke up when Smencended. We were standing a few minutes away from camp. It was safe since obviously, Smence hadnded us on a route, and we could easily handle every wild Pokemon here. She was nning on having her daily¡­ face-off with Scyther, where the bug type tried to find an opening to kill her, but first, she wanted to speak to Zweilous again. It would be her fourth time since the gym battle against Candice. She released the dragon in front of us, along with Slowpoke, just in case one of the heads got any ideas. I was noticing a theme with Cece. Her Pokemon were troublesome to raise, and extremely aggressive. Scyther was an apex predator, and when her other Pokemon evolved, they would be too. Talonme were notoriously good at devastating local normal type poptions, and Hydreigon was one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the world. Slowpoke was¡­ well an exception to the rule, I supposed. Zweilous was just as tall as I was now, if not taller. I wasn¡¯t about to get close enough to check. One of the heads growled at the other, and they immediately began to fight, using Dragon Breath, Crunch, or Incinerate. Slowpoke shielded us from any stray attacks, and Cece calmly observed the heads at work. Strangely enough, none of them used Dragon Pulse. Maybe they deemed it to be a step too far? It would deal substantial damage to their body if it hit, so it made sense if they only struck with attacks that would only affect the individual heads. They were sharing a body, and if it was injured, it would be to both of their detriment. ¡°The left one inherited most of Deino¡¯s unpent aggressiveness. He¡¯s always the one that starts the fights, and he¡¯s more vicious in the way he attacks, but he¡¯s very driven in his need to obtain strength. I decided to name him Zerst?rer, or Zerst for short.¡± ¡°Zerst? Never heard that name before,¡± I said. Zerst seemingly noticed his name and blew a small me toward me, which Slowpoke blocked. I still flinched and felt the heat of the mes on my face. Cece clicked her tongue. ¡°Bad! Bad Zerst! Behave, or you¡¯ll get grounded. No more training for two days!¡± She yelled. ¡°Sorry about him. It might seem like a lot, but he was holding back against you, and he knew the attack would be stopped¡­ it¡¯s just his way ofining.¡± He simply responded by roaring at her, sending spit that Slowpoke again blocked. ¡°He¡¯s still feral with others. It seems that he at least recognizes you,¡± Cecilia smiled. If that was recognizing, I wondered what he¡¯d do to strangers. ¡°But yes, it¡¯s not exactly a name. It¡¯s supposed to mean ¡®destroyer¡¯ in anothernguage.¡± ¡°Destroyer? You can be so childish sometimes,¡± Iughed. Cece stared at the ground, clearly embarrassed, and cleared her throat. ¡°Moving on! The other head¡¯s given me very little problems. He¡¯s less aggressive, but obviously he fights back as you can see. He¡¯s inherited Deino¡¯s loyalty to me, and he always listens to what I say, but he can be very¡­ protective, down to a fault. I¡¯ve had to yell at him not to attack Scyther. I decided to call him Sol.¡± ¡°Sol?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s short for something, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, but now that you made fun of me for Zerst, I¡¯m not going to tell,¡± she said, clearly vexed. ¡°So you¡¯re just¡­ letting them fight? That seems kind of ruthless.¡± ¡°I thought so too, but Mark gave me advice on how to raise Zweilous. They won¡¯t ever be good friends or get along, but the rtionship between the two heads is especially rocky at the start,¡± she sighed. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to let them fight it out, and eventually, a dominant head will be established.¡± ¡°Aw,¡± Imented. ¡°That¡¯s kind of depressing.¡± ¡°No, no, you have the rtionship wrong,¡± Cece hurriedly said. ¡°Take the Sneasel pack that attacked us, for example. They had a leader, right? They take the decisions, decide where the pack goes, et cetera. It¡¯ll be like that, although I¡¯ll be the actual leader in the rtionship¡ª¡± Cece stopped when she noticed that Zerst was gathering a Dragon Pulse in his mouth. ¡°Zerst. Stop that immediately,¡± she said with a frigid tone. The head stared at her, clearly angered, but the Dragon Pulse dissipated, and he turned away from her. Sol, meanwhile, gave her a thankful bow. Taking care of these two looked exhausting, and I had an entire team full of babies and children. ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate to ask for our help, alright? You¡¯re going to have your hands full with them, plus Scyther,¡± I worriedly told Cece. She grabbed my hand and held it tightly. ¡°Of course,¡± she smiled. ¡°Which is why I wanted to introduce you to them. Can you call Denzel over? His Sylveon mighte in handy if things ever go¡­ off the rails, and I want to tell him the same things I told you.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine alone?¡± ¡°I have Slowpoke, and I have much to talk about with him as well. About his evolution.¡± I stared at Slowpoke, who had seemingly lost a lot of his aloofness. Just like during the battle against Candice, he was always aware now. The water type looked into my eyes and blinked. ¡°Gotcha,¡± I said before leaving back to camp. Well, camp might have been a generous way to call it. It was mostly a singr fire that had been lit by Chase¡¯s Houndoom. Roxie was lying down, her body curled up around Craig, who was eating canned tomato soup that he had heated on the fire, and Chase was working his team to the bone with his drills. I made my way toward Denzel, who had also released his entire team. ¡°Am I interrupting something?¡± I asked with an amused smile. Sylveon was desperately hiding behind his trainer, and Snorunt was standing on his back, riding him like a Ponyta with a wide, toothy smile, seemingly ignorant of Roselia and Buneary staring daggers at her. I hadn¡¯t been acquainted with the ice type just yet, since Denzelrgely kept her in her ball during our walk to Snowpoint, but she seemed like an upbeat kind of Pokemon, reminding me of Togetic or Electabuzz. ¡°Just some jealousy issues¡­¡± Denzel said with a pained look. The two Pokemon yelled out in protest. ¡°Rose!¡± ¡°Bun!¡± ¡°Come on, just let Snorunt enjoy this,¡± Denzel groaned. ¡°You practically hazed her when I first introduced you, obviously she¡¯s going to be pushed into Sylveon¡¯s arms! You did this!¡± Snoruntughed loudly. So loud, in fact, that it almost felt like she was taunting her teammates. Roselia and Buneary, seemingly having forged a new alliance in love, turned away from Denzel with a look of pure betrayal. ¡°Why are you even mad at me? I¡¯m not even doing anything! Sylveon, tell them!¡± Sylveon looked like he was stuck between a rock and a hard ce. He gave a half, grumbling answer and quickly lifted Snorunt off of his back with his ribbons and jumped on Denzel¡¯s back to escape from his fellow Pokemon. ¡°You know what, you¡¯re all tiring me out. We¡¯ll sort this out when we get back to Eterna,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°I¡¯m recalling all of you. Sylveon included.¡± He recalled his Pokemon, who all protested loudly, and shot me a dismayed look. ¡°You¡¯ve had it rough, huh?¡± I empathized. ¡°Love troubles?¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought I could manage, but now that I¡¯ve added another member to the team, Roselia and Buneary are going crazy. Snorunt isn¡¯t even in love with Sylveon, they¡¯re just friends!¡± ¡°You sure about that?¡± I said, half-teasing. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Okay, big guy,¡± Iughed. ¡°You mentioned hazing before. Can you let me in on that?¡± My best friend groaned with a tired look. ¡°The first time I introduced Snorunt to the team, she was already acquainted with Sylveon, since he was there when I caught her. You know him, he¡¯s friendly like that, even though he likes to be alone sometimes.¡± ¡°Alone or with you,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Anyway, keep going.¡± ¡°Buneary and Roselia¡ª she was obviously still a Budew¡ª acted all chummy with her right away, which instantly raised my rm bells, but they somehow convinced me that they had grown and matured enough to befriend Snorunt. Anyway, long story short, she ended up being pushed way too hard when I started training her with the group, but luckily I caught wind of it fast, and now Buneary and Roselia hate her, especially since Sylveon came to her rescue, and he¡¯s pissed at them for bullying her.¡± ¡°This seems like a really convoluted romance flick plot.¡± ¡°I know! It fucking blows! But at least Buneary and Roselia get along now?¡± He said with a pained smile. ¡°I hope Feebas is going be more amenable with Snorunt. He¡¯s only seen her once before we left theke, and he didn¡¯t have much time to get to know her.¡± ¡°Hey, maybe when you catch your sixth, Snorunt will ally with them and start this whole process all over again,¡± I said, patting him on the back. ¡°Right¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°Haven¡¯t even decided who my sixth will be yet.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you had the whole thing nned out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­ but basically, now that Eevee¡¯s evolved into a Sylveon, I need something new.¡± ¡°You wanted another fairy type?¡± ¡°I wanted a Gardevoir, yeah,¡± he nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. It¡¯ll probably be a while until I catch another Pokemon anyway. I need to fix this whole damn rtionship issue first.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the smart thing to do,¡± I agreed. ¡°Anyway, Cece wanted to see you,¡± I said, pointing toward where we were. ¡°She wants to introduce you to the heads.¡± ¡°Ah, the heads,¡± he said with emphasis. ¡°I bet they¡¯re just peachy.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know the half of it. Hey, before you go, Cece named one of the heads Sol. Can you ask her what that¡¯s short for?¡± He shot me a suspicious look. ¡°I dunno, it smells fishy. Like betrayal.¡± ¡°Come on. Aren¡¯t we friends? Best friends?¡± I said, leaning against him. ¡°After everything we¡¯ve been through, you can¡¯t do this one little thing?¡± ¡°If Cece gets mad at me, I¡¯m going to have my revenge. You know that, right?¡± ¡°Why would she get mad? I just forgot to ask her, and I want you to do it, that¡¯s all,¡± I lied. ¡°Anyway, go on. You¡¯ve kept her waiting long enough.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± he sighed as he left toward Cece¡¯s direction. I watched on with a satisfied smile and then turned to Chase, who was seemingly done with his drills and taking a break. He had given his Pokemon water, and he was relentlessly telling them to stay up and not sit down. I approached him and his team, curious to meet his new Snover. I knew quite a bit about his other Pokemon, but the ice type still eluded me. ¡°Hey man,¡± I said. ¡°Busy?¡± ¡°On a short break, so not right now,¡± he answered dryly before taking a swig of cold water. Riolu had no problems standing upright, but Houndoom and Zangoose were struggling, their legs clearly shaking like leaves. Charjabug, meanwhile, couldn¡¯t really lie down, so he appeared to be fine, although upon closer inspection, his breathing was ragged and harsh. Snover was impatient for the break to be over and mored at Chase, eliciting a smile. My eyes widened slightly. It wasn¡¯t often that I saw him smile outside of when he was being a smug jackass. A smug jackass you could learn to appreciate, though. ¡°How¡¯s your new Snover?¡± I asked, getting directly to the point. The ice type stared at me with an expression I couldn¡¯t exactly ce. ¡°Fits in like a glove,¡± Chase said. ¡°The drive to get stronger is there, and it¡¯s probably the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen it. He¡¯s always motivated for our workouts, and he¡¯s already at the others¡¯ level in battle.¡± The ice type proudly mmed his fist against his chest. ¡°Already?¡± I asked in a surprised tone. ¡°That usually takes a lot longer.¡± ¡°Who do you take me for, Pastel?¡± He asked, rolling his eyes. ¡°Do you think my hard work¡¯s just for show? I work myself and my team to the bone for a reason.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I nodded, taking a step next to him. He flinched and stepped back. ¡°Oh¡ª sorry?¡± I said. ¡°What was that for?¡± He frowned. ¡°Nothing, I just felt like doing it,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I like being close to my friends.¡± ¡°Friends?¡± ¡°I mean, yes? What did you think we were?¡± ¡°Travelingpanions that ended up together out of convenience?¡± He said. I frowned, feeling genuinely hurt. ¡°Are you kidding me? How¡ª why would I even ask you to meet my other friends and travel together if I didn¡¯t think you were my friend?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I thought that you¡¯d maybe need me to get through Mount Cor down south,¡± he shrugged. ¡°So you don¡¯t think of me as a friend at all?¡± He paused for a few seconds, and the silence grew ufortable. ¡°My break¡¯s over, I need to¡ª¡± ¡°Riolu,¡± Riolu shook his head. ¡°What? But the¡ª¡± ¡°Ri,¡± he interrupted, his tone stern. The teen scratched his head and groaned. ¡°Fine! I¡¯m not a friend guy. I¡¯ve never had any friends at all, and I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like, okay?! I don¡¯t fucking know if we¡¯re friends or not!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m telling you that we are!¡± I yelled. ¡°Stop putting this barrier between you and us! Let us in!¡± ¡°Fuck off,¡± he spat, turning away from me. ¡°You¡¯re such a prick!¡± ¡°Yeah! Yeah, I am, and I like it that way, which is why I¡¯m leaving!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Riolu facepalmed, clearly giving up on the situation, and I stomped away angrily. Stupid Chase and his stupid need to be an asshole. I wanted to help him, but he kept pushing me away, like he needed to keep me at arm¡¯s length at all times. Maybe that was why he kept calling us by ourst names all the time. He didn¡¯t want to get too close to anyone. I bet that was why he wanted to leave¡ª ¡°You two alright?¡± Craig asked me, interrupting my train of thought. ¡°What? Oh, yeah. Yeah, just something stupid,¡± I sighed. ¡°Want someone to talk to while your other pals are busy?¡± He asked. ¡°Sure¡­ I don¡¯t see why not, I guess.¡± I sat next to him, and next to his Smence, who thankfully didn¡¯t pay me any mind. ¡°I just can¡¯t with Chase!¡± Iined. ¡°I want to be friends with him¡ª hell, I thought we were. He was finally starting to be nice to us, and now he just blows up at me¡­ although I guess I blew up at him too.¡± ¡°Maybe he just needs his space,¡± Craig shrugged. ¡°Some people are like that. They don¡¯t mind interacting with others, but at the end of the day, they¡¯re a solitary trainer at heart. Like Sarah Newman, for example.¡± ¡°The girl who beat youst year in the finals?¡± I asked. He grimaced. ¡°No need to twist the knife. But yes, that¡¯s her. She¡¯s one hell of a trainer¡ª one of the best¡ª and we¡¯re actually on good terms, but people considered her to be¡­ entric. She was always quiet, and when she spoke, she always said what was on her mind, which is why she could be rude as hell,¡± heughed, clearly reminiscing. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s all to say that we¡¯re all wired differently. Maybe Chase is just ufortable with thebel of friendship. I mean, you are friends, that¡¯s undeniable, but do you need to use the term?¡± ¡°I mean, no, but he wouldn¡¯t let me even step next to him,¡± I grumbled. ¡°That¡¯s his personal space,¡± Craig shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never had someone reject me so strongly,¡± I sighed. ¡°It hurt.¡± ¡°I can tell you¡¯re a friendly kid. You¡¯re like a big¡­ bundle of warmth, and some people don¡¯t like to be warm all the time. Do you like to hug your friends, for example?¡± He asked. ¡°Yeah, I do it a bunch,¡± I said. ¡°I figured. Some people aren¡¯tfortable with that level of bodily contact, right? It¡¯s the same for personal space.¡± My eyes widened, thinking of Frillish. ¡°Oh. Oh.¡± ¡°You get it?¡± He smiled. ¡°Yeah, I dopletely,¡± I groaned. ¡°I messed up.¡± Obviously, Chase had messed up as well. He was meaninglessly harsh with his words, but I was the one that had pushed him to that because I wasn¡¯t willing to be content with a no. ¡°Well, you might as well go make up,¡± Craig said. ¡°We¡¯re leaving in ten.¡± ¡°Thank you, Craig,¡± I said as I got up. ¡°No prob.¡± I hesitantly walked toward Chase, who clearly acted like he didn¡¯t see me until I was literally right in front of him. ¡°I see you didn¡¯t start up your workout again,¡± I said, trying to start the conversation in a non-awkward way. He had recalled his Pokemon as well. ¡°Yeah, my heart wasn¡¯t in it. It was better to stop it here and start again the next time wend before we go to sleep,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Plus we¡¯re leaving soon anyway.¡± ¡°Erm¡­ I wanted to apologize.¡± ¡°Eh, there¡¯s no need.¡± ¡°No, let me finish,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m a friendly girl, alright? So sometimes, I forget that others aren¡¯t as friendly as I am, and I think that they¡¯d be okay with everything I spring up on them. I¡¯m sorry I did that to you.¡± Chase shifted around. ¡°Look, we can just put this behind us and act like nothing happened, and it¡¯ll be fine¡ª ah, fuck it. You know what, let¡¯s not do that. I¡¯m sorry for blowing up at you, alright? I messed up more than you did, and Riolu chewed me out for it. I¡¯m just new to this whole people thing.¡± ¡°S¡¯alright,¡± I smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s, uh, not tell the others about this, okay? It¡¯d be way too awkward.¡± ¡°Sure thing, Grace.¡± My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nevermind. You aren¡¯t getting any more of those from me.¡± ¡°What?! No, call me by my name again!¡± He waved his hand annoyingly at me. ¡°No, you made it weird, so I¡¯m sticking withst names. Now bugger off.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°But that¡¯s going in my long-term memory. I¡¯m never forgetting about it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me regret my apology.¡± I happily left Chase and saw that Cece and Denzel were back in one piece. ¡°Anything interesting happen?¡± I asked. ¡°Not much, just that her Scyther¡¯s a piece of work,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°He¡¯lle around,¡± I said, and Cece nodded. ¡°We¡¯re leaving soon, so you guys should get ready.¡± When Cece left, I held back Denzel¡¯s sleeve and pulled him closer. ¡°Did you get what I asked?¡± ¡°Sol is short for Soldat, which means soldier,¡± he sighed. ¡°I hate it here.¡± I gave him a short hug and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re the best.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t make fun of her for it. She¡¯ll know it came from me.¡± ¡°No guarantees.¡± ¡°I fucking knew I shouldn¡¯t have trusted you!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°I can never get enough of cities at night,¡± Cece whispered. In the distance, Eterna city loomed. The city looked strangely dim at night. It was nothingpared to the bright lights of Jubilife or Oreburgh, but it was still beautiful. It had taken us three days to get here, and we had made it in time for Pauline¡¯s birthday. Roxiended on the outskirts of the city, and Craig recalled her. ¡°Well, it was certainly different, traveling with you kids, but this is where our paths diverge. Stay safe, alright? If you ever meet my sister, call me and give her your phone! Tell her to answer her messages! Tell her that I love her, and I miss her very much, and I would like it if we spent some time together!¡± Craig said as he got progressively further away from us. We all waved at him until he entered the city, now a speck. ¡°What time is it?¡± Cece asked. ¡°9:34 pm,¡± I said after pulling out my Poketch. ¡°We can make it. You know what Center they¡¯re staying at, right?¡± She nodded with a devious smile. We had tricked them into giving us their Pokemon Center address and rooms by saying that we¡¯d need them for when we got back. Of course, that hadn¡¯t been a lie. We were just back much sooner than they would ever expect. When we finally made it to the city¡¯s entrance, Chase was going to head in another direction, down another street. It was time to say goodbye. ¡°Well, I¡¯m off,¡± Chase said. ¡°Traveling with you all was nice enough. Have fun meeting your pals.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s meet back in Hearthome, alright?¡± I said. ¡°And don¡¯t forget to send messages!¡± ¡°I will, I will,¡± he said. ¡°And don¡¯t get into random fights with trainers,¡± Cecilia added. ¡°Come on, I don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°You do.¡± ¡°Not unless they deserve it,¡± he shrugged. ¡°And don¡¯t just do dangerous shit in Mount Cor just because you¡¯ve been through worse,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯ve got it! Arceus! See ya.¡± Now Chase was gone too, and my heart felt heavier. We had gone through so much together, and he was leaving, just like that. ¡°Well, it¡¯s our turn now,¡± Denzel smiled nervously. ¡°It¡¯s nighttime, so hopefully, we can keep a low profile,¡± I shuddered. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Chapter 101 Chapter 101 CHAPTER 101 We were recognized almost instantly. Eterna city didn¡¯t have a bustling nightlife like Jubilife and Sunyshore, so I expected to at least make it to the Pokemon Center before kicking up a fuss. I had obviously been wrong. We were still on the city¡¯s outskirts. The less-dense parts of Eterna were mostly filled with expensive family homes from itsst expansion a few years ago, but it was the weekend, so some people were still out and about, either driving or walking back home from a night out in the city. At first, there were only whispers. A couple, walking arm in arm, clearly drunk, doing a double-take when walking past us, then saying they must have gotten the wrong people. That there was no way we¡¯d be back here already. A car slowing down next to us, and the driver not so discreetly staring at us after lowering his window, causing us to hurriedly turn our faces away from him. But those were manageable. After all, they didn¡¯t actually stop us or talk to us. ¡°Hooooly shit!¡±A trainer yelled. He had a Starlyfortably sitting on his head, and the dim, warm street lights shone on his face. ¡°Is that¡ª thatisyou! Three of the four first-year prodigies! Ricky, wake up!¡± The trainer¡ª who was clearly a first year like us¡ª lifted a hand and tapped his Starly¡¯s side, and the birdzily opened a single eye before going back to sleep, evidently uninterested in us. ¡°Can I get a picture with all of you?¡± He asked, his voice trembling with excitement. He turned toward me with a look of childlike wonder. ¡°The way you took down that Darmanitan wasawesome. I¡¯ve rewatched your battle at least a hundred times!¡± ¡°S¡ªsure,¡± I nodded after taking a deep breath. This was justonetrainer, so I was rtively fine, but the fact that I hadfanswas mindboggling to me. ¡°That should be fine, right?¡± I asked, turning to the others. ¡°Yeah, absolutely,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Wait! There¡¯s a risk that the others will see it, and it¡¯ll ruin the surprise,¡± Cece said. ¡°Right! Please don¡¯t upload it anywhere until tomorrow,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise!¡± The trainer smiled. He was my age, but something about him was so¡­ innocent in a way I couldn¡¯t exin. It made him feel younger than I was, somehow. He grabbed his phone, and we smiled for his selfie before going on our way. People were talking loudly about us now, and we had to stop a few more times to take group pictures. ¡°Let¡¯s not do any more stops,¡± Cece sighed. ¡°We¡¯re only ten minutes away from the Center, and it¡¯d be a miracle if no one¡¯s posted about us online or on the forums already, despite us asking not to.¡± ¡°They should be partying, I doubt that they¡¯ll be browsing the inte,¡± I said. My throat felt dry, and I was sweating buckets now that actualwereing up to us. Ireallyhated this. I could understand why Craig¡¯s sister kept a low profile perfectly now, but that path was already barred. Once I took one step toward fame¡ª even though it was against my will¡ª there was no way to turn back. ¡°Can¡¯t be a party without me,¡± Denzel chuckled, waving toward a group of teen girls that squealed at him. It was like a scene out of a shitty romance movie. ¡°You sure are taking well to your new situation,¡± Cece remarked. ¡°Well, this is the kind of stuff I¡¯ve been dreaming about for years, so I might let it get to my head a little,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I just want to get in a room already¡­¡± I grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re doing well, don¡¯t worry,¡± Cece smiled. Denzel perked up. ¡°That¡¯s right! You could be throwing up, or crying, or freezing up¡ª¡± ¡°Not. Helping,¡± I interrupted. I took a relieved breath when I saw that the Center was finally in view, the warm glow of the building offering me much-neededfort. My steps grewrger and faster. Obviously, that had been foolish of me, because when we entered the Center, we wereswarmedby a horde of trainers and reporters who had seemingly gotten wind that we were here and guessed that we were going where our friends had been staying. ¡°Please, a moment¡ª¡± ¡°How did you all get here so fast¡ª¡± ¡°Can I get a picture? My friends will never believe me¡ª¡± ¡°Do we have time for a quick interview¡ª¡± The bright lights of the camera shes, the loud voices speaking over each other and thesqueezeof pushing through a sea of people all made me m up, but Cece and Denzel helped me through. ¡°Please, let them through!¡± Nurse Joy yelled. The ce was so full that we couldn¡¯t even get past the lobby. She released a Chansey, who stared daggers at us.¡°Let them through, or I¡¯ll have Chansey evacuate the premises!¡±She yelled furiously. It was as if hell had frozen over. The room waspletely silent, and everyone turned toward Nurse Joy. Nurse Joys were one of the most amodating, nice group of people on the, and theyhadto be. It was one of the most difficult jobs in existence. Long shifts, having to give up your identity for hours at a time, taking care of abrasive young trainers and their Pokemon, seeingchildrenand Pokemon die¡­ the list could go on and on. So the fact that a Nurse Joy had just angrilyscreamedwas not lost on everyone, and we were finally let through. ¡°Arceus, that was awful,¡± I sighed as we stepped into the elevator, thankfully alone. ¡°Yeah, people can get a bit pushy,¡± Denzel awkwardly said. ¡°But hey, turn that frown upside down. We¡¯re meeting everyone after so long!¡± ¡°Right,¡± I smiled. We reached Pauline¡¯s room and put an ear to the door. ¡°Shit, they¡¯re not celebrating at hers. Maybe Louis¡¯?¡± Denzel said. ¡°That¡¯d make sense, he always hosts the parties,¡± Cecilia excitedly nodded. We moved on to Louis¡¯ room, practically breaking into a run. I ced my ear on the door and heard muffled voices and music. ¡°Who wants to do the honors?¡± I whispered. ¡°Cece should,¡± Denzel said, nodding toward the door. Her hand hovered over the door for a few seconds, and then she finally knocked. I could almost hear Paulineining through the door, and Justin trying to hold her back through the door. We all stood up straight, waiting for her to open it. Pauline burst through the door.¡°Not during my birthday, you ass¡ªWh¡ª what?¡± Pokemon Center rooms were small, so everyone got a good look at us right away, and they were speechless. They weren¡¯t even moving. ¡°Surprise?¡± Denzel hesitantly said. ¡°Happy birth¡ªwoah!¡± Pauline rammed against him and grabbed all of us, bringing us into a tight hug. Finally out of their stupor, the others ran toward us and did the same. I was being held so tightly I struggled to breathe, and I felt tears stream down my face. We were back. We werefinallyback, after so long. ¡°How did you¡ª how did you even get here thisfast?¡± Justin stammered. ¡°There¡¯s no way you could walk¡ª¡± ¡°We flew on Craig Goodwill¡¯s Smence,¡± Cece exined. Emilia¡¯s eyes bulged.¡°Craig Goodwill¡¯s Smence?Youknowhim?¡± ¡°We¡¯re on pretty good terms,¡± Denzel boasted. ¡°Took us three days to get there, just in time for your birthday, Pauline.¡± ¡°Happy birthday!¡± Cece and I both said. ¡°You guys are so stupid!¡±She cried. ¡°You could have warned us!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a surprise if we do that,¡± Denzel chuckled. ¡°We don¡¯t exactly have a gift for you¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯re the gift,¡± I said. ¡°I was getting there! You joke thief.¡± We closed the door, and they weed us in. The room felt packed with so many people, but that was perfectly fine. We took off our coats and bags before sitting on Louis¡¯ bed, and he handed us some drinks. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it,¡± he said with a dumbfounded smile. ¡°We have so much to catch up on.¡± ¡°And a lot to n,¡± I added. ¡°Sorry, I just feel like zipping away from the city as fast as I can, if possible?¡± ¡°Still as bad with fame as you were, huh?¡± Pauline teased. ¡°We can talk about leaving tomorrow.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act all tough, you were crying like a baby five minutes ago,¡± I retorted. ¡°So were you! Anyway, um, we didn¡¯t really n enough food for three extra people, but feel free to take anything you want. You must be hungry after traveling.¡± Different kinds of chips wereid out on Louis¡¯ desk, along with a half-eaten strawberry cake. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re this down to earth on birthday food,¡± Denzel said. ¡°This feels so normal, I was kind of expecting a giant,yered cake.¡± ¡°Right? Like a wedding cake!¡± Iughed. ¡°Pauline¡¯s always been cheap with food,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°She insisted on eating these unhealthy snacks.¡± ¡°A girl after my own heart,¡± I said proudly as I stood up to grab some food. ¡°You¡¯re taking a whole lot¡­¡± Justin remarked. ¡°I¡¯m a growing girl,¡± I said as I stuffed my mouth with chips.¡°I haven¡¯t eaten these in ages.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t speak while you¡¯re chewing,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Louis, do we have anything else in your fridge?¡± ¡°Some leftovers from yesterday¡¯s cafeteria food that I took with me¡ª¡± ¡°Nevermind.¡± ¡°Come on, Cafeteria food isn¡¯tbad,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Or at least not bad enough to elicit such a reaction fromJustin,¡± Cece added. ¡°They make some awesome hashbrowns up in Snowpoint. You guys were missing out,¡± I shrugged. We somehow ended up having an unhinged debate about how Pokemon Center food was either disgusting or at least passable. Unsurprisingly, Denzel and I were on the passable camp, although if there was one, I¡¯d be on the ¡®good¡¯ team. ¡°Pauline¡­ you traitor,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that pur¨¦e isreallybad,¡± She said, crossing her arms. ¡°Don¡¯t call it pur¨¦e, you snob,¡± he rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s mashed potatoes, and it doesn¡¯t tastenearlyas bad as you make it out to be.¡± Emilia lifted a hand. ¡°Actually, pur¨¦e is different than mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes have a rougher texture, and pur¨¦e is smooth¡ª¡± I ced my head in my hands. ¡°Please, let¡¯s not discuss thedefinitionof different potato dishes.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s correct¡ª¡± ¡°Justin¡­ think of those poor cooksing in every day to make food for you ingrates,¡± Denzel sighed, clearly sarcastically. ¡°Okay, enough about food!¡± Louis groaned. ¡°The fact of the matter is, they prioritize quantity over quality, which makes sense. Let¡¯s justpleasetalk about something else.¡± ¡°Like thatLarvitaryou caught, Grace,¡± Pauline said in an using tone. ¡°Right, youdidcatch one. I assume you got it in Mount Cor?¡± Louis asked. ¡°Her,¡± I corrected him. ¡°And I did, but she¡¯s still just a baby.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so jealous,¡± Pauline said. ¡°A Tyranitar would fit me so perfectly¡­¡± ¡°Come to think of it, it would,¡± Cece said. ¡°They¡¯re famously angry and vicious all the time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so smug,¡± Pauline responded. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t tell us you caught her.¡± ¡°More like disappointed,¡± Emilia said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it must have slipped my mind,¡± I apologized. ¡°Honestly, I was kind of hyper focused on getting ready for my battle, and then the fact that I owned a Larvitar got leaked anyway, thanks tothis guy,¡± I said, hitting Denzel¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Ow! What the hell?! When we were in Snowpoint, you said it was both of our faults, and now you¡¯re ming me?!¡± ¡°Come on, take a joke,¡± Iughed. ¡°I¡¯m going to start training her when we get back on the road, but right now, she¡¯s not a battler.¡± ¡°Pauline, why don¡¯t you tell them what you found as the next member of your team?¡± Justin asked. The girl hummed. ¡°Fine. It¡¯s a Rufflet.¡± ¡°Holy shit, itdoesfit you!¡± Denzel grinned. ¡°A Braviary? That¡¯s perfect.¡± ¡°I have standards,¡± she huffed. ¡°Why do you think I waited so long to catch a third?¡± ¡°If you keep up those standards, you¡¯ll end up with three Pokemon by the end of the year,¡± Cece joked. ¡°Damn, you¡¯re a lot more yful these days,¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Justin said. ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re happier¡ª I suppose the fact that your father¡¯s been having a terrible few weeks adds to that.¡± Cece shot me a quick look but then nodded. We were going to have to do the big reveal, probably tomorrow. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s been desperately trying to contact me, but I¡¯ll let rence stew in his own mess,¡± she said. ¡°I had plenty of money in my ount, so I won¡¯t have to change my lifestyle that much.¡± Louis gave her a tight nod. ¡°The rest of our parents haven¡¯t cut off the money¡ª probably because they know it¡¯d reflect badly on them. My father¡¯s already under fire for raising prices.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still negotiating with the Directorate for a bailout. He¡¯s been having to sell more and more shares,¡± Emilia exined. ¡°Right, and I heard that he¡¯s also been asking for lower interest rates,¡± Cece said. ¡°rence has been doing the same thing with Unova¡¯s government. It doesn¡¯t matter. Even though I wish thepany would fail, I always knew it was an unrealistic expectation, and I know I haven¡¯t seen thest of him. All I care about now is being free, getting strong enough tokeepthat freedom, and fulfilling my promise at the end of the year.¡± Justin raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ve been talking about this promise for a while,¡± he started. ¡°Could you tell us what it is?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Louis nodded. ¡°In Floaroma, Eterna forest, during your gym battle in Snowpoint, and now here?¡± ¡°I suppose I will. It was after the¡­ events at Valley Windworks,¡± Cecilia said, looking at me. She then turned to the others. ¡°Do you remember when Cynthia came to my hospital room?¡± ¡°Right, she did,¡± Emilia said. ¡°She talked to me about a lot of things that opened up my path to freedom, but she also challenged me.¡± I almost choked on my chips.¡°Challenged you?¡± ¡°She asked me to win the Conference, beat the Elite Four, and meet her in battle,¡± she firmly said. ¡°I remember her words like it was yesterday,¡± she said with a glimmer in her eyes. ¡°I personally challenge you. Don¡¯t disappoint me.That¡¯s what she told me, word for word.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± Denzel muttered. So Cynthia hadalsoseen Cece that day and challenged her? That was probably why Cece was still as driven as before she had finally been freed from her father. Cynthia¡¯s challenge was the goal that kept her going. ¡°So there you have it,¡± Cece said. Then suddenly, her eyes burned, and she looked at me. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to win this year.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± I said, smiling at her. ¡°But hey, no matter what happens, no hard feelings, right?¡± She agreed immediately. ¡°No hard feelings.¡± ¡°I¡¯m feeling left out,¡± Denzelined. I yfully pped his back. ¡°Oh shut up, you big baby. You¡¯re obviously included in the no hard feelings pact. Everyone is.¡± Suddenly, there was only silence, but thankfully, Emilia came to the rescue. ¡°Guys, thinking about it, we never told you what we all got for Pauline,¡± she smiled. ¡°The worst gifts of all time,¡± the redhead said. ¡°Except Emi¡¯s, of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting you anything next year,¡± Louis said. ¡°Youin too much.¡± ¡°I mean,e on, Louis, Jewelry issobasic! Try alittle bitharder. I know you just gave me that bracelet because you didn¡¯t know what else to buy.¡± He awkwardly scratched his cheek. ¡°See? And Justin, a book about starting my own business? Are you sure you don¡¯t want it back, because that seems like somethingyou¡¯denjoy much more than me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already read it multiple times, and I think it can benefit anyone, which is why I wanted to give it to you¡ª¡± ¡°Yuck. At least Emi got me something good.¡± ¡°What¡¯d she get ya?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Money and a birthday card with a nice message on it.¡± ¡°M¡ªmoney?¡± Denzel stammered. ¡°Don¡¯t you have that already? In ridiculous quantities?¡± ¡°Yeah, but if someone gives me money, I can buy myself whatever I want, and it¡¯s notmymoney, so it still feels like a gift,¡± she shrugged, before hugging Emilia. ¡°Thank you, Emi, you¡¯re the best.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m the best, will you do something for me?¡± ¡°Anything.¡± ¡°Will you be nicer the next time someone gets you a gift?¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re asking for a lot here.¡± We partied deep into the night, but eventually, it was time to go to sleep. I bid everyone goodnight before leaving. Emilia was barely awake, dozing off on Louis¡¯ bed. Justin and Louis were talking with Cece about something business-rted that I was nowhere near smart enough to understand. Pauline and Denzel, meanwhile, were leaning against the open window and had somehowunched into a conversation about if chess was a game, and I quote, for ¡®smug smart asses¡¯ or not. I shot Cece a look, signaling to her that I was going to be the first to leave, and she stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll bring Grace downstairs so that we can book a room,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to book a room, Denzel!¡± He turned our way. ¡°Yeah, worst-case scenario, I¡¯ll just go crash at Justin¡¯s.¡± ¡°Old habits die hard,¡± Pauline smiled. We left, and when we entered the elevator, Cece gripped my hand. ¡°Arceus, it hurts to pretend just to be friends,¡± she sighed. ¡°It does,¡± I agreed. ¡°But was it that different?¡± ¡°Obviously.With the trip with Craig,I haven¡¯t kissed you in too long.¡± ¡°Well, one quick elevator kiss wouldn¡¯t hurt, or maybe you cane back to my room¡ª¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s too risky,¡± she sighed. ¡°What if someone sees me get in ore out? No. We¡¯ll tell everyone tomorrow, right after we make ns to leave Eterna.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re being too anxious about it. It could just be a friendly sleepover. Plus, Louis will be fine with us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Grace,¡± she said. ¡°I like him, and he¡¯s a friend, but I can see it in his eyes. He still isn¡¯t over me.¡± ¡°But he¡¯s given up on you.¡± ¡°Right, but that doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t love me anymore,¡± Cece said. ¡°Love can make someone do foolish things. He might have been okay with me finallying clean about not loving him back, but if he knows I¡¯m dating someone else? He might¡ª¡± The doors opened, and we immediately stopped talking. Thankfully, thiste at night, people were no longer waiting for us, but we didn¡¯t want to identally leak something. Not when we were so close from telling the truth. It wasn¡¯t like we were doing anything bad, of course. We weren¡¯t under that impression at all, but feelings were a fickle thing. It was best to be gentle about this. We booked two different rooms and bid each other goodnight. Even though I felt anxious, tomorrow could note soon enough.
Chapter 102 Chapter 102 CHAPTER 102 I woke up to a soft knock at my door, groaning at the fact that this was happening way too oftentely. ¡°Coming!¡± I yelled with a half-yawn. I stretched andzily shambled toward my door, my eyes still half-closed, and I opened it. Emilia and Cece stood in front of the door with breakfast, and there were a fuck ton of people in the hallway. Even for a Pokemon Center, this was unprecedented. The girls hurriedly entered, and I closed the door. I had kind of forgotten that we were still famous, and that trainers wanted to talk to us all the time. ¡°Is this deluge of people going to always be here?¡± I groaned. ¡°Good morning, by the way.¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s cranky,¡± Cece smiled. ¡°I¡¯m cranky too,¡± Emilia said. ¡°And yes, they¡¯re always here. Word¡¯s gotten out that you guys are staying here, and the Center ispletely full.¡± My eyes widened. Completely full? That had only happened back in Jubilife when the Circuit hadn¡¯t even started yet. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ something,¡± I exhaled. ¡°What time is it, even?¡± ¡°Five past noon,¡± Cecilia answered, setting the food down. ¡°What?¡± Emilia sat down on my bed and started eating some cold scrambled eggs. ¡°It took a while for us to navigate downstairs and back up,¡± she said. ¡°Luckily, since Nurse Joy¡¯s outburstst night, they all seem to be on their best behavior. It didn¡¯t help that Denzel leaked the fact that Craig Goodwill brought you down herest night, and that he confirmed it.¡± ¡°Right, we were supposed to put in a good word for him,¡± I sighed. ¡°Well, thanks for the food.¡± ¡°I figured you¡¯d be too anxious to get out there,¡± Cece said softly. ¡°Getting used to fame has to be done slowly and gradually.¡± Legendaries, I love you so much, I thought. ¡°You figured right, thanks.¡± I sat down and started eating. ¡°So, are the others up?¡± The two both nodded. ¡°What, even Denzel? He¡¯s supposed to be thest one up,¡± I said. ¡°Pauline wouldn¡¯t let him sleep. She just kept kicking his door until he woke up,¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°And sheins when curious trainers knock on her door, can you believe that?¡± Emilia rolled her eyes. ¡°Anyway, Justin and Louis are up, and they¡¯re alling here soon. Then we can discuss your ns to get to Hearthome.¡± ¡°You book a flight yet?¡± ¡°I willter today,¡± she said. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m d I won¡¯t have to travel through the wild again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You better have all the good Hearthome spots noted down when we get there,¡± I smiled. ¡°Obviously.¡± Suddenly, I noticed the dark contents of her drink. ¡°You drinking coffee? Ew.¡± ¡°What? It helps me wake up!¡± ¡°Emi, I¡¯m going to be honest with you,¡± Cecilia started. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you drink coffee in my entire life.¡± ¡°Well, maybe I just wanted to have a lifestyle change.¡± ¡°Or, you just want to look like a grownup,¡± I teased. ¡°My dad¡ª¡± Another knock interrupted us, and Cece went to open the door. Denzel, Pauline, Justin and Louis all streamed into the room as people mored around them. Denzel tried to stay outside to answer a few questions, but Pauline dragged him in before he could open his mouth. ¡°Good mor¡ª afternoon. You guys aren¡¯t done eating?¡± Louis noticed. ¡°Should wee backter?¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°We can just start nning.¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take long since we¡¯ve already gone over the routes to get to Hearthome before¡­ everything transpired, but I figured we¡¯d need a refresher,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Emi, can you scootch over?¡± Pauline asked. ¡°Sure. Plenty of space on the bed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get my bed dirty¡­¡± I grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m not even the one eating!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t know, anything is possible with you.¡± ¡°Okay, you guys are just ignoring me, that¡¯s great,¡± Denzel said, pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°Look, the situation is rtively the same. Eighteen days of travel or so. The Cycling Road, route 207, having to go through Mount Cor, and then climb down, and then we¡¯re at Hearthome. What I¡¯m thinking is¡ª¡± ¡°You better not be implying I¡¯m dirty, Grace,¡± Pauline crossed her arms. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re putting words in my mouth. Maybe you know something I don¡¯t,¡± I teased in a provocative tone. ¡°Let¡¯s take this seriously,¡± Justin said. ¡°Thank you!¡± Denzel eximed. ¡°Um, what I was thinking is that since our Cece, Grace, and I¡¯s Pokemon are so much better now, we¡¯ll probably cut on travel time, and going through Mount Cor should be a piece of cake, especially since the Rangers keep that path clear of anything too dangerous except for a shortpse in between the two ends.¡± ¡°Way to brag, but alright,¡± Pauline nodded. ¡°Everything should be rtively simple then?¡± ¡°Yeah, we should be good. We picked up plenty of caving experience.¡± Louis raised a hand. ¡°So when are we leaving?¡± ¡°As soon as possible,¡± Cece said. ¡°I¡¯d be ready to go even tomorrow.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we wait until Emi leaves?¡± Justin asked. ¡°You guys are already behind in the Circuit,¡± Denzel said. Pauline stared daggers at him. ¡°Through no fault of your own, of course! It¡¯d be best if we get going as fast as possible. Waiting would be a mistake.¡± Louis nodded firmly before looking at Justin and Pauline. ¡°Agreed. Even if we make good ground and take down every gym leader on the first try, we¡¯ll have to get to Snowpoint and backtrack to Canve. Without a flier and a license, we¡¯ll barely make it to the Conference, and that¡¯s if we don¡¯t lose.¡± I stared at Louis and raised an eyebrow. He had changed a lot since reading that letter. All of his usual self-confidence that had made me liken him to Chase seemed to be gone now. ¡°As much as I hate to admit it, he¡¯s right,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m going to have a lot less time to train any new Pokemon I catch.¡± ¡°Come on guys, you¡¯ll make it,¡± I said, trying to raise their spirits. ¡°We just have to keep pushing forward.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Louis said. ¡°So tomorrow it is, hopefully in the morning.¡± ¡°They rent bikes at the Cycling Road¡¯s entrance, so we¡¯ll be fine on that front.¡± ¡°I might be out of practice¡­¡± Pauline muttered. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. Riding a bike is knowledge you never lose,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna miss you guys,¡± Emilia said. ¡°We just met again, and you¡¯re already leaving¡­ maybe I shoulde anyway¡ª¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Pauline interrupted. ¡°You¡¯re not going to force yourself to do something you don¡¯t want to. It won¡¯t be for long, and we¡¯ll be staying in Hearthome for a while.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she grumbled. ¡°But I¡¯m definitelying on foot to Sceon. That route is rtively easy, I¡¯ve heard.¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°Well, that should be it then.¡± I shot a look at Cece, and she nodded. It was now or never. ¡°Um, actually, Cece and I have something to say to you all,¡± I stammered, twiddling my thumbs. Now that the moment hade, it was actually difficult to get the words out. She got up and came to stand next to me. ¡°Well, Denzel already knows, but we¡¯re¡­ we¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°We are dating,¡± Cecilia said, grabbing my hand. I shut my eyes and waited for their reaction. Emilia squealed and shook excitedly. ¡°Oh, Arceus! How wonderful!¡± ¡°Honestly, I was kind of wondering before the whole Mount Cor thing happened,¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°Since when?¡± I breathed a sigh of relief. I had expected them to be supportive, but it was nice to finally hear it. ¡°Well, since¡ª¡± ¡°I professed my love for her in Mount Cor,¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°Well, this certainly is an unorthodox rtionship, but so long as you¡¯re happy,¡± Justin said. ¡°Come on, be a little bit more modern in your thinking,¡± Pauline said, pping his arm. He yelped and took a few steps away from her. ¡°Gay people exist, get over it. Personally, I don¡¯t care about gender.¡± ¡°No, no, thank you, Justin,¡± I smiled. ¡°Louis?¡± Cece asked. The whole room turned toward him. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m happy for you two, I just wasn¡¯t expecting this, that¡¯s all.¡± I looked at his hands and saw that his knuckles were white. Cece had been right. He did still have feelings for her through no fault of his own, but how could we solve this? ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± I said. ¡°Talk to us about it. If you bottle everything up, it¡¯ll be worse. How can we help you get through this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, I promise,¡± he smiled as he got up. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get ready for tomorrow¡ª¡± ¡°Louis¡­¡± Justin said. ¡°We know you better.¡± ¡°Come on, open up,¡± Pauline said, her tone devoid of any of her usual snark. ¡°Grace is right.¡± ¡°Louis,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡ª don¡¯t apologize. It¡¯s me. I¡¯m the one with the problem.¡± ¡°Feelings cannot be controlled,¡± she said. ¡°How can we help.? ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, let¡¯s just start getting ready¡ª¡± ¡°Louis¡ª¡± ¡°I said I¡¯ll be fine!¡± He yelled. When he realized what he had done, he froze in ce. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just need some time alone to pack. Let¡¯s meet back tomorrow at the cycling road, okay? Eight in the morning sharp.¡± We all gave a hesitant nod, and he left. Denzel followed shortly after, saying that he¡¯d attempt to cheer him up, and Emilia, Pauline and Justin left soon afterward, giving us words of encouragement. With a frustrated groan, I fell down on my bed. ¡°That could have gone better,¡± I sighed. ¡°Or worse. It¡¯s good that we finally got it out. The longer we kept it hidden, the worse it would have been.¡± ¡°I definitely agree with that,¡± I said. ¡°Think he¡¯ll be alright?¡± ¡°I hope so, but at least he¡¯s trying, which is something he would never have done when I first met him,¡± she said, sitting next to me. ¡°You¡¯re taking harder than I thought you would. You seemed confident yesterday.¡± ¡°I just hate to see a rift in the group,¡± I sighed. ¡°But at least we don¡¯t have to hide anymore.¡± ¡°How can I cheer you up?¡± She asked with a pained look. I stared up at her and stared into her eyes. ¡°Hold me.¡± She smiled slightly, lowered herself and hugged me tightly as she gently stroked my hair. ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I love you too,¡± I said. ¡°Do you want anything? I know you just ate, but I could get you a milkshake. Or we could watch Craig¡¯s battle with Candice to cheer you up.¡± ¡°Just stay with me a while?¡± I asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t even have to ask, love. I¡¯ll stay as long as you want.¡± ¡ª¡ª The next morning, we were all on a tram that would take us to the Cycling Road. Louis had seemingly gone ahead and would wait for us there, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel a pit in my stomach, like something was going to go wrong. Emilia was also here, having opted to see us off at the gate, and now that we were close, she was tearing up, eliciting curious stares from the passengers. Iid my head against Cece¡¯s shoulder, waiting for us to reach our destination. Even though the situation could have been better, I was at least happy to be out of the city. I wasn¡¯t foolish enough to think that things would ever go back to normal, but hopefully, by the time we got to Hearthome, our fame would have died down a bit. I would also need to finally take a look at sponsors and start making some money. I had a lot of things I wanted to buy, and having a decent amount of cash would certainly help. Vitamins, TMs, especially for Togetic, and maybe even Power Items like the Power Lense to speed up our training, although that one was probably a long shot. Most of all though, I needed to start saving for a Shiny Stone. These formed near Mount Cor¡¯s summit, above the clouds, due to needing an immense amount of light to form, so this was more of a long term project¡ª something that would take me months to save up for. The price fluctuated slightly, but the going price was currently around 745,000 Pokedors per stone, and considering I hadn¡¯t battled trainers in a while, I waspletely broke. All I had was the money Candice had given me for winning the battle and some change. Thinking about it, Denzel would also need a Shiny Stone to evolve his Roselia, and another stone to evolve his Snorunt, so he was in a bigger dilemma than I was, although Dawn Stones weren¡¯t ridiculously expensive like Shiny Stones were. They were just pricy. There was a much bigger supply since they weren¡¯t as rare, so if he got a good sponsor, he¡¯d probably be able to nab one by the time we left Hearthome or Sceon. He obviously wouldn¡¯t use it yet, though, since Snorunt had a lot of growing to do before it was wise to let her evolve into a Fross, especially since it was a ghost type. Ghost types were notoriously difficult to control after evolving due to all the... pranks they liked to pull. Of course, to a Haunter, for example, a prank might be something that could get someone killed or mentally scarred. Either way, not all evolutionary items were created equal. A lot of them were affordable for trainers if they just saved for a few weeks, like normal Thunder Stone or Oval Stone, while others were in such rarity that they were worth millions, like the high-quality Fire Stones that were needed to make Vulpix evolve. There was a reason newer trainers avoided Pokemon that needed items to evolve. I needed money, so I would need to finallye out of my shell and start seriously negotiating withpanies, but my friends would thankfully be here to help me out like they hadst time Retani Industries tried to scam me. If I was lucky and Inded a really good sponsor, maybe I¡¯d be able to get a Shiny Stone by the fifth or sixth badge. Getting one in Hearthome would be a long shot. And that was if I could restrain myself and not blow my money on too many TMs. I really wanted the Psychic TM for Togetic, but I supposed that could wait. Even though I was famous, it was important to remember that I still only had three badges. Impressive for a first year, sure, but there were still rtively a lot of people like me. I wasn¡¯t going to get the best deals in the world like Craig was getting. Companies weren¡¯t about to suddenly pay me hundreds of thousands of Pokedors just because my face was on T.V. a few times¡ª at least not until I had won more badges and tournaments¡ª but if their contract was anything worth my while, they¡¯d probably offer me some TMs. Hell, even Retani Industries had done so, and they tried to scam me! I hoped I¡¯d be in another tournament soon¡ª ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Cecilia gently told me. ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± We all stepped out of the tram, and Louis was thankfully waiting at the gate to the Cycling Road like he had said he would be, and he looked much better than yesterday. Confident in himself, maybe? I breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like I had been worrying for nothing. ¡°Good morning,¡± Louis said, his voice steady. ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t impeded too much on the way here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s early in the day, so no,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°Well,¡± Emilia sniffled. ¡°I guess this is it.¡± ¡°Come on, Emi, cheer up,¡± Denzel said, pping her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll be back together in no time.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± she sobbed. ¡°I know. It still hurts.¡± Pauline hugged Emilia tightly. ¡°Stay safe, okay?¡± ¡°You idiot, I should be the one saying that.¡± ¡°Oh, we¡¯ll only have to deal with the asional Pokemon,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ll have to deal with people. People can be assholes. Don¡¯t let yourself be pushed around. If someone¡¯s harassing you, tell me when we get there, and I¡¯ll fuck them up.¡± Emilia let out a tearfulugh. ¡°I will.¡± She hugged us one by one and bid us goodbye as we stepped through the gate. There was a queue that was practically empty due to how early it was, and bikes were lined up by the hundreds beyond it, ready to be lent out to any trainers that passed through here. ¡°I wonder if they ever run out,¡± I pondered. ¡°Of bikes?¡± Denzel said. ¡°No, they have thousands of them in storage in the back. These are the only ones on disy.¡± We shuffled through the quick queue, handing our trainer ID to a League worker there, and we were let through. Suddenly, Louis stopped us, looking into each one of our eyes one by one. ¡°What is it? Louis?¡± I asked. The blond man sighed. ¡°I came to a decisionst night, and I think it¡¯s the only way I¡¯m ever going to move past this. I think it would be best if I traveled alone for a while.¡±
Interlude – Forums III Interlude ¨C Forums III INTERLUDE - FORUMS III Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! General ¡ú Item_Discussion Topic: How are we supposed to continue? Original Poster: Raymond_Wheeler (Verified Trainer) Date: December 4th 20XX This is an unmitigated disaster. As a lot of you reading this are, I¡¯m a first year trainer. I thought I was doing pretty well for myself, I mean, I¡¯ve beaten Volkner and Maylene, and I was going to be on my way to Hearthome. Unfortunately, I¡¯m fucking stuck in Veilstone because potions are too expensive for me to afford any, so I can¡¯t actually make the trip through route 215 because the woods there are crawling with wild Pokemon. No matter where I go, I hear the same thing. Newer trainers are getting screwed over by the Bianchi Conglomerate, and our progress has been slowed to a crawl. Potions used to be barely fifty Pokedors each, and now, they¡¯re fucking 200 a piece? I mean, this is outrageous! And that¡¯s not even counting the other stuff with inted prices too! At this point, the government needs to step in and do something, because a ton of trainers¡¯ journeys are being slowed down by this. What happens if someone can¡¯t make it to the Conference because of this? Older trainers won¡¯t get it, because they¡¯ve gotrge sums of money saved, or they have sponsors that helps them out, but for us, the little guys in the middle of it all? We¡¯re getting screwed over like usual, and all we¡¯re getting is titudes from the League and ipetence from the Directorate. They¡¯re supposed to fucking help us, and they¡¯re twiddling their thumbs. Also, if anyone in Veilstone is willing to, I¡¯d be willing to form a group to get through route 215 so we could get to Sceon, thank you! ?Emma_Graham (Verified Trainer) I¡¯m in Pastoria, and I¡¯m in the same boat. I can¡¯t get through route 212 without risking my Pokemon, especially that Arceus damned swamp. Off-route Pokemon kicked up a fuss and went onto the route recently, so it¡¯s even more dangerous, and rangers are saying it¡¯s going to take a week to get everything back under control. A fucking week? I¡¯m already so behind on my badges, this is thest thing I needed to hear! And then this potion thing? I mean, holy shit, talk about the unluckiest year to start my journey! ?Kayden_Martinez (Verified Trainer) The Bianchis can go fuck themselves and should pay us fucking reparations for what they¡¯re doing. Not only did they and the Obels get trainers killed, but now, they¡¯re trying to salvage their profits instead of doing the right thing. All they fucking did was offer some shitty PR apology. Harvey Bianchi spoke on T.V. recently and it was obvious he hadn¡¯t even rehearsed the speech beforehand, he was stuttering all over the ce. There¡¯s been a rumor that the gym leaders will meet sometime this month at the League, and they tend to be better connected with trainer issues than them, since they don¡¯t live on an ind in the middle of nowhere and actually talk to their constituents. I hope that they try to pressure Cynthia into intervening, because this can¡¯t fucking go on. After just a few days of raised prices, I¡¯m alreadypletely tapped out of money, and no one wants to battle me because everyone is fucking broke. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m making it through Mount Cor at this rate. ?Dominik_Washington (Verified Trainer) You¡¯re crazy if you still want to go through there after what happened to Grace Pastel, Denzel Williams, Cecilia Obel, and Chase Karlson. I¡¯m sticking with the eastern side of Sinnoh this entire year. ?Kayden_Martinez (Verified Trainer) That was another closed-down section of the mountain they tried to get through, not the official path. ?Gemma_Brady (Verified Trainer) It¡¯s a shame what happened to them, but the problem is that this is showing no signs of slowing down. What if we have to deal with expensive supplies for the entire year? Multiple years? This could fundamentally change the dynamics of being a trainer for a long time. ?Raymond_Wheeler (Verified Trainer) This won¡¯t be contained to just Bianchi Conglomerate products¡­ the price of Pokeballs is starting to creep up too. The entire market is about to undergo a massive shock. ?Konstantin_Widdman (Verified Trainer) I¡¯m a third year trainer sponsored by the Bianchi Conglomerate, and they¡¯re trying to pressure me to renegotiate my contract. They want to lower my sry and are acting like some shitty items will be enough topensate me. I mean, I really don¡¯t need a fucking Electric Gem, thank you very much, I¡¯d rather get paid. They really want to cheap out and save as much money as they can from everything. ?Lillian_Webb (Verified Trainer) Well, fuck. Fuck the Bianchis and fuck the Obels, I guess. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Events Topic: So, they¡¯re all alive somehow?? Original Poster: Joe_McCoy (Verified Trainer) Date: December 8th 20XX So this is a huge surprise. As it turns out, the four trainers that were supposed to be dead in Mount Cor are alive and well. Honestly, we don¡¯t know much right now, and by the time I post this, the information will probably be outdated because things are moving so fast, but they were first spotted by @GruR, a Snowpoint resident who managed to take a blurry picture of them, and now they¡¯re apparently at the Pokemon Center on Cross Street, the same one that has Candice¡¯s gym. So let¡¯s review the facts. The ranger report stated that they all ¡®fell down a chasm opened by a wild Tyranitar.¡¯ Yes, you heard that right. A fucking Tyranitar. Now, I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯d say that surviving that would be impossible, but somehow, they did. Then, they¡¯d have to have survived in the depths of Mount Cor, escaped, made it back to a route, and all of route 216 and 217 in fucking winter!!!! And aside from a few wounds, they seemed to have made it unscathed. Now normally, I¡¯d say that this doesn¡¯t pass the smell test, but ranger reports don¡¯t lie, and well, they are alive, so they must have made it through everything somehow. I¡¯m honestly stoked to see trainers survive, especially since it fucks the Obel Energy Company and the Bianchi Conglomerate even further than they already are after Pauline King revealed the entire truth of the situation. Mind control, arranged marriages, abuse¡­ just yikes. I wish it was possible to boycott the Bianchis without fucking ourselves over, but s. Returning to the original topic, I¡¯ve gone through multiple media websites, and there are a bunch of interviews from Cecilia Obel and Denzel Williams lined up for tomorrow, so stay tuned for that. Denzel is back to posting on the forums again, so feel free to go ask him any questions, although he¡¯s probably feeling very overwhelmed right now, but hey, we want answers, damn it! ?Freddie_Gaunt (Verified_Trainer) This is the best news I¡¯ve heard this entire year. That entire story was so tragic, I¡¯m d that they managed to survive down there. I¡¯ll definitely be glued to my Center TV all day tomorrow! They¡¯re already blowing up everywhere, it¡¯s fucking insane. ?Rowen_Robinson (Verified_Trainer) @Denzel_Williams is nning on doing a livestream at some point in the next few days too, so I¡¯d keep my eyes peeled for that. ?Savannah_Contreras (Verified_Trainer) Harvey Bianchi and rence Obel are fucked. Completely fucked. Not only do they have public opinion against them because of what they did, but now, they¡¯re going to get trashed by Cecilia, and we¡¯re going to get the truth straight from the horse¡¯s mouth. I hope she eviscerates them. Keep up the pressure! That¡¯s how we get them to lower their prices again! ?Rap4God Has this ever happened¡­ ever? I mean, when¡¯s thest time first year trainers went through an unpatrolled part of Mount Cor and lived? Hell, they only have two badges! This is some Cynthia tier shit. ?Keira_Harris (Verified_Trainer) Let¡¯s not go too far, but yes, it is incredibly impressive. I¡¯ve heard that they¡¯re challenging Candice, since they¡¯re already there, so we¡¯ll get to see them battle. I¡¯m curious to see how far they¡¯vee after everything they¡¯ve been through. I¡¯m expecting them to win pretty handily, especially since Candice never usually fights at that level, but we¡¯ll see. ?FengaSuave I just wish they were saying more, you know? I mean, Denzel is the only one active on the forums. Chase Karlson uploaded one video and then dipped, and now all he¡¯s doing is being toxic to people on his megathread. Cecilia Obel¡¯s only taking interviews, and Grace Pastel ispletely radio silent. It¡¯s honestly kind of frustrating. ?Madeleine_Gagher (Verified_Trainer) If she doesn¡¯t want to, she doesn¡¯t want to. Honestly, this situation will also have some drawbacks. There were already copycats trying to get through Mount Cor¡¯s blocked entrance, and rangers had to renovate the abandoned building and actually stand guard there again to stop kids from getting themselves killed, but now that it¡¯s actually been confirmed that they survived, it¡¯s going to get even worse. My dad¡¯s a ranger, so I really feel for them. Their jobs are really underappreciated. ?Rowen_Robinson (Verified_Trainer) Well, at least they got ahead of it and stopped any other trainers from getting themselves killed. What¡¯s the best channel to watch the situation develop? I¡¯m flipping in between every news channel, and they¡¯re all behind the information we already have. ?DiamonDesin Yeah, that¡¯s usually always the case. Reporters are probably scouring the forums to get information. You already have a front seat to everything that¡¯s happening, so just enjoy the show. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Events Topic: Post livestream AMA Original Poster: Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Date: December 9th 20XX My livestream was interrupted by Grace, and we aren¡¯t doing much right now, so I figured I¡¯d move to a text-based format. Feel free to ask me any questions about anything you want, and I¡¯ll try my best to answer. Remember to subscribe to my channel to catch any future content, by the way, I¡¯ll try my best to keep iting. ?Terra_Caldweld (Verified Trainer) Why are you ignoring the fact that your friend just showed up into your room with a Larvitar?????????? ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) She caught it in Mount Cor. ?Joe_McCoy (Verified Trainer) Does it have anything to do with that Tyranitar that dropped all of you into that chasm? That¡¯s the only way I can make this entire thing make sense. Larvitar are way too rare. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Wait, you guys know about the Tyranitar? Well, yeah, the two are linked, but I don¡¯t think I should answer questions directed at Grace in her stead. ?HeyYa123 Then ask her! Isn¡¯t she in your room still? Come on, we want info. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Erm, how about no. Respect my friend, please. If she wanted to engage in this forum stuff, she¡¯d be doing it. All you need to know is that she caught a Larvitar while we were in Mount Cor, and that¡¯s her fifth team member. I won¡¯t answer questions rted to Grace any longer, but feel free to ask anything about me. ?Cody_Atkinson (Verified Trainer) Fine. Will you be battling Candice, and at what time? I feel like this could be the most watched series of gym battles in a while. ?AppWami Catch anything interesting during your travels? When you weren¡¯t all fighting for your lives, obviously. ?Martin_Nelson (Verified Trainer) Wati what? We can¡¯t learn more about the Larvitar? I¡¯m out then. ¡ª¡ª General ¡ú Team_Gctic Topic: Strange activity near route 222?(REMOVED BY A MODERATOR) Original Poster: Throwaway2029349828389292 Date: December 11th 20XX Throwaway ount and posting from a coffee shop, because I¡¯m feeling really paranoid right now. The most you¡¯ll get from me is that I was recently at the resort in between routes 213, 214, and 222. One night, I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I decided to go for a walk, and I saw the strangest thing. There were a fuck ton of unmarked vans parked all around route 213 that hade from Sunyshore, and they were driving¡­ somewhere to the west. I was too scared to get any closer and there were a lot of Pokemon and people around, but it sure looked like some undercover government shit to me. They¡¯re hiding something from us. I went over the scene a thousand times in my head. Hell, I¡¯ve almost gaslit myself into thinking it was all just a dream. I¡¯ve tried to rationalize everything. I¡¯ve tried telling myself that there was just an issue with a wild Pokemon gone rogue, or that they were just transporting something to another city, but it just doesn¡¯t make any sense. There were hundreds of them. Hundreds! Way too much to be dealing with a wild Pokemon, and even then, that¡¯s the rangers¡¯ job. And if they were trying to transport something, why not just shove it on a ne and call it a day? It¡¯s not often that cars drive on routes, and there were even helicopters flying overhead. I felt like I was in an Arceus damned movie. Now, this could either be a nothingburger, and I¡¯m worrying for nothing. I mean, this is the League we¡¯re talking about. If they wanted to hide something, why would they let themselves be caught with their pants down by me, of all people? But I can¡¯t help but think¡­ what if? What if I dide across something I shouldn¡¯t have? I managed to take a picture, so feel free toe to your own conclusions. I was terrified, so it¡¯s kind of blurry, but here it is. (open image) ?League_ount_Official (Bot) This post was automatically removed for breaking rule 22a (no alternative ounts). Feel free to contact the moderators to appeal our decision :)! ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Cecilia_Obel ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Cecilia Obel Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 659/702) ?Goald42 So, it¡¯s me again. I honestly thought I¡¯d never be doing these write-ups, since I thought Cecilia was dead. I honestly cried when I heard the news that she was alive. Her gym battle was really something else, especially that second half, so I¡¯ll try to do what I did for Gardenia¡¯s gym battle, but I might be a little bit rusty. I went on a forum hiatus after she fell down that chasm. Slowpoke:Slowpoke really shone through todaypared to his battle against Gardenia. I had definitely underestimated him, and especially his psychic abilities. It seems that Cecilia is leaning more toward those than his water type, which could be a sign for his evolution. As we all know, Slowpoke can either evolve into Slowbro or Slowking, but as it stands, and with how aware her Slowpoke seems and adept with his psychic powers, the facts can only point to it evolving into a Slowking. It¡¯s not like Ceciliacks the money to afford a King¡¯s Rock. But getting back to the battle, do you know how difficult it is for a Pokemon to deflect an attack as fast and powerful as Ice Beam? One only has to look to Grace Pastel¡¯s battle for that, with Jynx struggling to deflect Electabuzz¡¯s Thunderbolt. Ice Beam is in the same category. So for Slowpoke to have not only deflected, but returned the fucking attack to that Cubchoo is crazy. We didn¡¯t see much more, but his Zen Headbutt also appears to be incredibly strong, but Water Pulse seemed to becking, which is why I said that Cecilia was leaning into Slowpoke¡¯s psychic type. We didn¡¯t see much more of him because of Cubchoo¡¯s Yawn, but this thing is definitely a beast. Zweilous:So let me start by saying that I was right when I said that this was a new Cynthia in the making. The forums or the gym battle database didn¡¯t exist when she was going through her journey, so there¡¯s no way to go for sure, but the stories remain, and her Garchomp was apparently incredibly powerful even as a Gible and Gabite. I think Zweilous mirrors that exactly, I mean, did you fucking see that Dragon Pulse? I won¡¯t call myself a dragon expert by any means, but that certainly is one of the most powerful ones I¡¯ve seen from a Pokemon this ¡®low level.¡¯ Ugh, using that expression hurt me. But that¡¯s not it! Not only is Zweilous so incredibly powerful, but both of the heads can use different attacks, like when it dealt with Candice¡¯s Piloswine with that Incinerate-Dragon Pulsebination. Zweilous was also able to stave off an incredible amount of ice type attacks. I mean, does the type advantage even matter at this point? And they were fucking fighting themselves! This is still Cecilia¡¯s strongest team member, and his evolution only cemented that fact. And don¡¯t forget that she asked to get a harder gym battle, I mean, who even does that? And she managed to keep it rtively under control for the battle. By the time she gets to her next gym battle, which should probably be Hearthome, Zweilous will probably be fully on board, and I¡¯d hate to be anything facing him. Fletchinder:This thing is still employing the same strategy, and it¡¯s working. All she has is speed, and nothing else, but don¡¯t mistake my assessment for criticism. I mean, you saw how she literally took that Aln Sandsh in one shot! Cecilia added Tailwind to her usual Agility-me Charge-Quick Attackbo, which made Fletchinder go even faster, but unfortunately, the attack was so powerful that it actually hurt her. This is actually a pretty massive problem, especially for a flying type as frail as Fletchinder. It means that after one of thosebination attacks, she¡¯s basically done, since she can¡¯t even fly again, but this problem is temporary, believe it or not. When Fletchinder evolves into a Talonme, this won¡¯t be a problem any longer, and she¡¯ll terrorize the sky. Now, this isn¡¯t over yet. Keep in mind that there¡¯s still a secret fourth member of her team that she still hasn¡¯t even used. That¡¯s right, she won three-on-four again,dies and gentlemen. At this point, I don¡¯t expect to see this Pokemon for a while, especially since it¡¯ll take so long for her group to get to Hearthome and Cecilia isn¡¯t the type of trainer that randomly battles others on the routes. Still, I think that anyone with half a brain should know that this girl is getting to the Conference. ?Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer) Another great writeup. I thought I hadn¡¯t seen you in a while, but I guess you were taking a break. That Slowpoke observation was actually very astute, and I hadn¡¯t made the connection between psychic capabilities and what they evolved into. ?AntiSmi Yeah, it was something I wanted to bring up, actually. My sister¡¯s a trainer, and she owns a Slowbro. I remember asking her why she didn¡¯t pick Slowking instead, but apparently, just having a King¡¯s Rock isn¡¯t enough. There has to be a certain level of intelligence and psychic ability behind Slowpoke, or it won¡¯t evolve even with the item right next to it. Her Slowpoke was dumber than a rock, and it didn¡¯t change when it evolved, let me tell you that. ?Cody_Atkinson (Verified Trainer) Oh, shit! So it¡¯s confirmed then, that¡¯s good to know. I wonder if she¡¯ll have a Slowking before her next gym battle then. ?Archive I love your little summaries, but man, @Goald42, I have to ask. Are you in love with this chick or something? I don¡¯t mean to offend, but your simping levels are just so off the charts that I¡¯m getting secondhand embarrassment. ?Goald42 Legendaries, I¡¯m just a fan! I just want to see her seed, alright? I know I gush over her a lot, but my heart tingles when I see her battle. ?AntiSmi Nobody tell him. ?Juan_Capmany (Verified Trainer) It¡¯s true that if I was battling a gym leader, I certainly wouldn¡¯t ask them to go hard on me, especially if I had just been through Mount Cor. I feel like all of these people are insane, but then again, I guess there¡¯s a reason they have three badges and I only have one. ?Yvonne_Cardinal (Verified Trainer) I¡¯m going to try to get to Snowpoint ASAP through the open route from Celestic. Candice might take it easy on me, and I certainly won¡¯tin. ?DaftDunce That is the dumbest shit I¡¯ve ever read, especially with Februarying up. Have fun dying alone in the snow, buddy! ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Chase_Karlson ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Chase Karlson Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 530/542) ?Bryson_Chambers (Verified Trainer) All I¡¯m saying is that he was kind of the least impressive of the four. Sue me! Yes, he¡¯s excellent, and yes, he won rather easily. His strategy with Charjabug¡¯s String Shot was ingenious, and his Pokemon are powerful, but after seeing Grace¡¯s and Cecilia¡¯s battle, forgive me if I¡¯m kind of underwhelmed. ?Candicefitinurmouf I wouldn¡¯t say that if I were you. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) @Bryson_Chambers buddy. ?Candicefitinurmouf Here we fucking go again. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) I want you to look back on your life and tell me if there¡¯s one thing of note you¡¯ve ever done. Just one. ?Bryson_Chambers (Verified Trainer) What? Why is this guy typing on his megathread, that¡¯s not allowed. ?Sally_Gray (Verified Trainer) Are you new here? This guy¡¯s been doing this since September first, and the mods seemingly turn a blind eye to everything he does. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) @Bryson_Chambers I¡¯m waiting, brother. Come on. ?Bryson_Chambers (Verified Trainer) I¡¯m not going to stoop to your level. If you can¡¯t take a little bit of criticism, then that¡¯s on you. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) Oh, I can take your criticism. I¡¯ve read it, and I¡¯ve determined that it¡¯s bullshit, that¡¯s all. Sure, I have work to do, and I certainly will admit that I didn¡¯t win in a shy way, but I did win easily. What I did notice, though, is that you couldn¡¯t answer my question. Your profile is private, but I¡¯m going to assume that¡¯s just because of your self-esteem issues and that you have zero or maybe one badge at most. What are you doing, man? Instead of shittalking online, why don¡¯t you do something with your life and figure out how to beat that gym leader I¡¯m going to assume you¡¯re stuck on? Why feel the need to put someone down instead of working on yourself? ?Candicefitinurmouf Wait, what the hell happened to you, you¡¯re like a whole different human. ?Bryson_Chambers (Verified Trainer) I could say the same thing to you. And you¡¯re the one that swooped low and attacked the number of badges I had. ?Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer) Oh, so you can dish it out but not take it? Did I ever attack you in any way before you came into my thread and shit talked me? I didn¡¯t. And you want to know why I¡¯m on here? Because obviously, I just beat Candice, and my Pokemon are still at the Center, so I had some free time. I¡¯ve already worked out once this morning too. What did you do today? Stay on yourfy Pokemon Center bed and browse the inte all day? Go outside and get some sun, man, I promise you that you¡¯ll start having a more positive outlook on life. Instead of focusing on how good or bad other trainers are, work on yourself and what you can improve, along with your team. ?Emerson_Fessenden (Verified Trainer) Holy shit, you just got fucking pped @Bryson_Chambers ?Candicefitinurmouf LMAOOOOOO ?Bryson_Chambers (Verified Trainer) Blocked and reported. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Denzel_Williams ¡ú MegathreadTopic: Everything about Denzel Williams Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 604/610) ?BaaaaaaB Roselia¡¯s poison is potent as hell, even if we ount for Growth. Cetoddle is covered by a thickyer of fat to protect it from the cold and any attackers, so to see that it just melted off entirely made me do a double take. That¡¯ll take a while to heal, let me tell you that. ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Ouch. Feels bad, because I think Cetoddle are cute as hell, but that¡¯s battling for you. Can we talk about that Sylveon, though? I¡¯m d to see that Eevee finally evolved, but I honestly thought Denzel would pick one of the more physically inclined Eeveelutions, like reon, Jolteon or Umbreon. Sylveon tend to be special attackers. ?Olivia_Hill (Verified Trainer) Did we look at the same battle? That Sylveon looks to be pretty physically inclined to me, especially that y Rough. Fairy types are fucking creepy as hell, man. They¡¯llmit the biggest acts of violence with an Arceus damned smile on their face like it¡¯s fun for them. ?LivingPokedex That¡¯s the thing, it is fun for them. ?BaaaaaaB Source: I made it the fuck up. ?LivingPokedex I¡¯m going to ignore that and chump check you right now. I live on the Lily of the Valley ind and my dad works for the League. He¡¯s a fairy type specialist, and he knows more about them than you ever will. Fairy types¡¯ brains are hardwired toward violence, and I¡¯m not making this up. For fairy types owned by trainers, that can be contained, and they¡¯ll just enjoy battling to a ridiculous degree, even if they¡¯re getting torn apart, but there¡¯s a reason fairy types are the second most dangerous type in the wild after ghost types. They¡¯ll attack you for looking at them wrong. The worst ones? They¡¯ll fucking torture you andugh while they do it. Ever heard of Hatterene? Grimmsnarl? Mimikyuu? Sure, there are a few exceptions to the rule, but the fact of the matter is, fairy types are the most violent Pokemon out there, and it¡¯s not even close, and the more powerful they get, the more¡­ wrong everything is when you fight one. ?BaaaaaaB Okay, Arceus, my bad, I believe you. ?Farid_Trabelsi (Verified Trainer) What do you mean by wrong, exactly? ?LivingPokedex Fairy types have weird effects on reality. For example, they might get just too lucky all the time. If a powerful fairy type and a human flipped a coin a hundred times, the fairy type would win at least eighty games, but that¡¯s not it. Things can get really fucking weird. They can bend reality to their will to a reasonable extent, For example, a powerful fairy type will alter the environment they stay in and make it all¡­ mind-bendy. It¡¯s hard to exin if you haven¡¯t seen it in action, ording to my dad, but it¡¯s like their domain, I guess, and they haveplete control over everything that goes on there, so needless to say, you wouldn¡¯t want to fight a fairy type on their turf. ?Nadia_Armstrong (Verified Trainer) I don¡¯t think bending reality to their will can be reasonable in any way. Is this applicable in battle, somehow? I watch a lot of high level battlers, and I don¡¯t see it being done. ?LivingPokedex No, it¡¯s not. It takes years for a fairy type to build their domain. They alter nature around themselves, so they have to stay in the same spot too. So obviously, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do it in a twenty minute battle. Like I said, reasonable. The domains also aren¡¯t always crazy. Sometimes, it just makes it hard for you to concentrate, for example. Is it otherworldly, eldritch shit? Yeah, of course, bute on, they¡¯re Pokemon, we¡¯re used to that already. ?Samuel_Pane (Verified Trainer) Let¡¯s stay on topic, guys. Do we have any idea of when Denzel is going to stream again, or what? His AMA was overtaken by idiots who kept asking questions about Grace¡¯s Larvitar, so I didn¡¯t learn anything of note. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Grace_Pastel ¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Grace Pastel Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 699/720) ?Archie_Nikj (Verified Trainer) Remember when idiots earlier in this thread were saying that there was no way Grace Pastel was capable of nning against Gardenia because she had too many Pokemon? Strangely, they¡¯re all gone, or pretending they never held that opinion in the first ce. Seriously, I know some people still don¡¯t believe this, but this girl nned out the entire first part of the battle. Just look at her fucking face during it, for fuck¡¯s sake, it¡¯s so obvious. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) It hurts to admit, but I¡¯ve watched the footage at least ten times, but I think you¡¯re right. ?Heterochromia Holy fuck, did Grace¡¯s biggest hater finally see the light? Congrattions, Sonya! That¡¯s what I call improving as a person. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainers) For the record, I still think she¡¯s overrated. ?Esther_Johnston (Verified Trainer) Okay, but that part of the battle is nothingpared to when Candice used Darmanitan. I tried to cross-reference and see what gym level it was, but she¡¯s only used it years ago as a Darumaka, so there¡¯s no way to really know how powerful it really was. Still, the fact that she actually took it down is crazy, I really thought she was going to lose when I was watching it live. ?Gabri_Somerkoski (Verified Trainer) Want to know what I¡¯ve figured out? The reason she won was because Candice didn¡¯t know that her Frillish had Recover and threw the battle by using Belly Drum. I knew that she was easily excitable, but that was seriously a huge mistake that cost her the entire fight in the home stretch. ?DouvDouv Isn¡¯t it crazy that we¡¯re talking about what mistakes the gym leader made and not the trainer with three badges? I mean, yeah it was a throw, but honestly, I never would have thought that Frillish had Recover. I mean, it was almost out for the count when she recalled him, so I honestly thought that she had nothing. ?Veikko_Maunu (Verified Trainer) In retrospect, it makes sense. I mean, why would you recall a Pokemon that¡¯s on the brink of fainting and waste your only switch-in if you didn¡¯t have a recovery move? ?Archie_Nikj (Verified Trainer) Yeah, I¡¯d like to see you catching that during a battle, big guy, let¡¯s see how you fare. ?Heterochromia Noticing the little stuff like that is what separates good trainers from the greats. It¡¯s one thing to have the most powerful Pokemon, but if you¡¯re shit at strategy, you aren¡¯t winning anything. ?Candicefitinurmouf Are you throwing shade at Candice, dude? Because I¡¯m going to fuck you up if you are. Verbally, of course. ?Heterochromia Calm the hell down, moron. Obviously Candice is a good trainer, she¡¯s a fucking gym leader. I was talking about the average joes like you and me. Also, weird to see that you¡¯re simping for Candice with that name you have. I¡¯d say that you¡¯re the one disrespecting her. Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s heard that joke a thousand times already? It¡¯s not funny, and I¡¯m honestly surprised that username is even allowed. ?Candicefitinurmouf Humor is subjective. ?Dominique_Bertrand (Verified_Trainer) Okay, let¡¯s not get sidetracked talking about what can fit in someone¡¯s mouth or not. Not only is Grace Pastel seemingly excellent at nning a strategy for a battle, especially against Candice of all people, but she¡¯s good at thinking of one on the spot too. It was clear that she was thinking about how to win the war, not the battle, which is why she sacrificed her Tang and her Togetic to buy enough time for Darmanitan to finally go down to poison and Frillish¡¯s Water Pulse. And now that her Elekid¡¯s evolved into an Electabuzz, she won¡¯t becking in firepower for a while, and then there¡¯s also that Larvitar she caught, which is going to obviously be a monster in battle. I do have to wonder what she¡¯s going to catch for her sixth, but it¡¯ll probably be a while until we see that. That Frillish should also be rtively close to evolving, and I don¡¯t know how far Tang¡¯s progressed with Ancient Power, or if it even started learning the move at all, and obviously, we don¡¯t know how Electabuzz evolves, but hey, maybe she¡¯ll figure it out. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) It kind of hurts me that I find myself rooting for her more and more each day¡­ damn it. It¡¯s all because I thought she was dead, and it made me rethink all of my toxicity online. ?Homura_Natsuo (Verified Trainer) Yeah! All it took for you to get your head out of your ass was for you to think a few children you¡¯d been rude to were dead! Congrattions! ?ABCBA Ouch, that was some dry fucking sarcasm. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Lauren_Goodwill¡ú Megathread Topic: Everything about Lauren Goodwill Original Poster: League_ount_Official (Bot) Date: September 1st 20XX (Showing page 203/205) ?ChanseyEgg Holy fuck, you guys will not believe this! Lauren is in fucking Hearthome, I just saw her get a room at a Center! ?Masango_Aboubakar (Verified_Trainer) Are you sure that was her? She never gets rooms inside of Centers. We¡¯ve already established that she only goes there to get her team healed at ridiculous hours at night to avoid attention, and she never stays long. ?ChanseyEgg That was her, there¡¯s no mistaking it. All those sightings of her on route 207 were correct, she¡¯s going to be battling Fantina soon for sure. I¡¯m going to try to get in to spectate now that we know that she only battles super early in the mornings. ?Christopher_Navarro (Verified_Trainer) I¡¯m going to do the same, since I¡¯m in Hearthome right now, but I¡¯m honestly intrigued to see if she¡¯s going to win on her first try or not. Winning against Fantina on your first try is basically impossible. I only won on my third, and I¡¯m in my second year! Luckily I was battling her for the first badge, and not the second or the third, so it wasn¡¯t too bad. ?Aryanna_Taylor (Verified_Trainer) Those illusions can be a bitch. I beat herst year as my eighth gym badge, and during my first try, I spent a good three minutes fighting a Gengar that wasn¡¯t even fucking real. ?ChanseyEgg Wait were you the one in the illusion? Is that allowed? d to see a veteran trainer on Lauren¡¯s thread, by the way. ?Aryanna_Taylor (Verified_Trainer) No, obviously she can¡¯t just trap her challengers into a nightmare while she destroys their Pokemon, or whatever, but that¡¯s not all ghost types can do. Basically, imagine a Double Team, but with an actual body, not just an afterimage, and that can also use moves that can hurt your Pokemon. That¡¯s what I had to deal with, and when I took it down, Gengar justughed and appeared behind my Samurott¡¯s shadow and took her down. Fantina¡¯s just a bitch to fight in general, and that¡¯s not even the worst stuff I had to deal with. She¡¯s one of the only gym leaders that actually still have to hold back when fighting trainers with eight badges. ?Christopher_Navarro (Verified_Trainer) Right, I remember hearing a rumor about her being better than every current Elite Four member, but she¡¯s desperate to retire so that she can fullymit to contests. She¡¯s often a judge during performances, you know? And she¡¯s always one at the Grand Festival. ?Masango_Aboubakar (Verified_Trainer) Personally, I couldn¡¯t imagine giving up on Pokemon battling if I was that good, but I guess she¡¯s pretty old, so maybe she just got tired of it? Either way, we should probably stay on topic. Do you think any of Lauren¡¯s Pokemon evolved while she was on the road? They¡¯re all in the second stage right now, but it¡¯d be crazy if one of them got to the third stage.
Interlude – The League Interlude ¨C The League INTERLUDE - THE LEAGUE Cynthia calmly drummed her fingers along her old acacia desk as she read over her morning briefing, which was written and sent to her every day by League officials. The goal was to keep her informed of anything of note happening throughout Sinnoh that she might have missed. A dispute between Sceon and Hearthome over who had water rights on route 209, a copsed mine in the Iron Inds that had caused nine deaths and twenty-two injured, the Contest Committee¡¯s newest contest hall in Jubilife halting construction because of a strike over poor working conditions¡­ it was just more of the same. Cynthia couldn¡¯t be everywhere at once, and the League helped to keep her up to date, which was especially helpful considering her mind was preupied with Team Gctic these days. Garchomp stood tall behind her, as she usually did. The Champion¡¯s office wasrge enough to fit her entire team if she so wished. It was located atop of the League building¡¯s tallest spire, and she had a view of the entire southern side of the ind from here. Not only did the Lily of the Valley ind have the League building on it, but also hundreds of other facilities owned by the government, along with homes for employees and their families and schools for their children. There were stores for them to buy food and other necessities, a port and an airport to facilitate travel and resupply the League with anything it needed. Right now, the ind only had League employees and their families¡ª it was closed to any other civilians after all, but during the month of June, it opened, and hundreds of thousands of people would flood in from every region to watch the yearly Conference. Companies were already saber rattling over who would buy the most ad space for the entire event. Those were thoughts for the future. Cynthia turned the page and let out a satisfied smile. The Bianchi Conglomerate was still practically begging for a bailout, saying that they were an essentialpany to trainers throughout Sinnoh. Of course, they were telling the truth. Trainers all over the region were having their journeys slowed to a crawl. The price of all supplies had increased, but the real problem was the price of potions, which had more than quadrupled in cost and showed no signs of slowing down. Negotiations with the Directorate were floundering, however. Sophie Richards, the new Prime Minister that had ousted Vernon in a tight vote, was struggling to get her caucus in line and not bringing anything to a vote. Of course, if Directorate members had the numbers, they could force her to bring a bailout package to a vote, but Cynthia had told Vernon to hold back for now. Sophie Richards wanted to give the Bianchis nothing, but Cynthia wasn¡¯t sure if that was because of her innate hate for trainers, or because Team Gctic was telling her not to. Memory extraction was off the table, but spying was not, and after having the LSS tail her for weeks and tap her phone, there was still no sign she was in contact with anyone she shouldn¡¯t have been. Friends, family, colleagues, everything appeared normal. Unless she had a middleman that Cynthia had somehowpletely missed. Something to warn the Secret Service about if they weren¡¯t on top of it already. Still, most of Sophie Richards¡¯ new party wanted to bail out thepany by lowering interest rates and giving them an injection of cash to keep them from having to sell too many shares. Thepany wasn¡¯t going to go under, but it struggling so much was hampering the trainer side of the economy, which was inadvertently going to have effects on the civilian economy as well soon enough. They were linked too tightly for the crisis to stay isted from one another. Meanwhile, Vernon, who had been relegated to a simple member of the Directorate, but was still leading the pro-Cynthia camp, was surgically attempting to get people back on his side to try to regain his old position, but to no avail. No one was budging. Of course, Cynthia could have swooped in, acted like a moderate, and possibly negotiated a bipartisan deal with Vernon¡¯s help. She still had plenty of allies in the Directorate who didn¡¯t hesitate to voice their support. It would have weakened the Prime Minister¡¯s position greatly, made her side look like a reasonable alternative, and shored up her support among new trainers who struggled with money and civilians who were tired of the gridlock. But why act when her opponents were making mistake after mistake? Sophie Richards was like a fish out of water. She had wanted the position of Prime Minister, and she had expected it to be an easy job. No, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to just weaken her. That would mean that she would keep her job. Cynthia needed to wait for an opportunity to take Sophie Richards down in one fell swoop. And she already knew how. The day just hadn¡¯te yet. The economy would have to suffer longer. Suddenly, Garchomp let out a low, menacing growl. A woman appeared out of thin air in front of Cynthia¡¯s desk and bowed. She had no psychic types to Teleport with, but she somehow still managed. She was in her twenties, and her eyes werepletely white, with no pupils to be seen, and so was her hair. She was sweating and panting heavily. It seemed that her abilities still took a lot out of her after all these years. The League Secret Service had created her through experiments that most would consider¡­ unnatural. She was unfortunately the only survivor, and she hadn¡¯t been replicated yet, despite Lucian and his psychic types working with the LSS to try to recreate someone like her. ¡°Good morning, Lou,¡± Cynthia smiled. ¡°Your report, I presume?¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± She said. Her voice reverberated through the room as if it was otherworldly. ¡°Another Team Gctic base has been found in Jubilife, and I was instructed to report our findings as soon as possible!¡± ¡°Well, go ahead,¡± Cynthia said, crossing her legs. ¡°The base was empty, save for a few straggling grunts that knew nothing of importance, and all of their data had been wiped, so nothing new was learned. We did, however, catch another member that had been trying to escape from the city called Gabriel Watkins, and we extracted his memories. It seemed that he knew a lot about Mars.¡± The Champion restrained her eyes from widening in surprise. ¡°Did you make sure to interrogate him beforehand?¡± There had been multiple incidents reported about League trainers not following guidelines and immediately extracting Team Gctic members¡¯ memories without asking them questions first. Luckily, she had gotten ahead of it before any of it could leak to the media and ced the culprits on unpaid leave. Rules were meant to be followed. They could be bent, but notpletely ignored. ¡°We did, ma¡¯am! He was the one that recruited Mars. ording to one of our Kadabras, he found her wandering the streets of Jubilife, and she didn¡¯t remember who she was or what she was doing there. She already owned all of her current Pokemon¡ª including that Dusknoir, but she didn¡¯t seem to know where those came from either. Mars worked with this Gabriel individual for a few days until some higher-ups came and whisked her to ¡®Veilstone HQ,¡¯ which confirms our suspicions that there is a base in Veilstone, which appears to be their main base of operations. Gabriel Watkins heard of her promotion as a Commander a few weekster.¡± ¡°Could her amnesia have been an act?¡± Cynthia asked, leaning against her chair with a heavy sigh. ¡°That¡¯s impossible to know for sure,¡± Lou quickly answered. ¡°But it seems that Jubilife has beenpletely cleared of Team Gctic. End of report.¡± ¡°If he knew so much about her, I¡¯m surprised that Dusknoir didn¡¯t intervene to stop us like for that other grunt. What could have been the difference, I wonder? Thank you, Lou. I have another request for you,¡± Cynthia continued. She used the word request, but it would be an order. Cynthia couldn¡¯t help but think the LSS had missed something with Richards. A way she wasmunicating with Team Gctic that was somehow discreet enough to avoid the Secret Service¡¯s perceptive eyes. ¡°Start spying on every member of the Directorate. I want to know their exact habits, schedule, and if they started deviating from those in any way, shape, or form since Rotom leaked all of ourmunications. Start with¡­ Joey Rumsfeld, Pa McCarthy, Erika Anri, and Isaac Matthews.¡± If what Cynthia suspected was right, then¡­ ¡°At once,¡± the woman answered before disappearing. The LSS never ceased to impress, Cynthia smiled. As her thoughts returned to Team Gctic, her gut was telling her that Mars hadn¡¯t been faking that memory loss, and her gut was almost never wrong, but that raised more questions than answers, and the League was still in the dark about the other Commanders. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about time,¡± Cynthia muttered to herself after checking her watch. She rubbed Garchomp¡¯s rough scales and recalled her before stepping out of her office. The Champion walked down the long, spiral staircase that led out of her office. People asked her again and again if she wanted to install an elevator here, but Cynthia always answered no. She enjoyed the League¡¯s building too much to sully it further than it had already been. So much history lost to modernity for the sake of practicality. She knew it to be the sound choice, but she wanted to preserve the old gothic architecture wherever she could. On the way to her destination, she was greeted by hundreds of League employees, and she always responded with a warm smile and a nod, along with their names. Jonathan, Terry, Sally, Alima, Caleb¡ª it didn¡¯t matter how long ago Cynthia had seen their faces or heard their names, she always remembered and let them know that she did. Names were important. From names, loyalty could be slowly forged, and each time Cynthia showed that she remembered, that loyalty grew just a little more potent. And Arceus knew that she needed loyalty¡ª the League was the only untainted part of the government Team Gctic hadn¡¯t gotten their hands on, although they had no doubt tried. Cynthia passed by Bertha¡¯s office and gave her a warm greeting. The Elite Four had done a good job during the raid in Eterna, and she had expected nothing less. She was the one that handpicked them, after all, although Bertha had been there before Cynthia had even been the Champion. Whereas the Champion focused on running the entire Region in cooperation with the Directorate, the Elite Four focused on running the League itself, and were right under Cynthia when it came to authority. The League was one of the paths many trainers chose when they realized that they weren¡¯t good enough to be the Champion, but still too good to just give up Pokemon battling. That meant that they often harbored excellent talents. Talents that would be refined and perfected as they spent more time working for her. Whenever an Elite Four member retired or died, the Champion had the power to pick their sessor, although tradition dictated that she would pick someone the Elite Four member wanted. It was the polite thing to do. Cynthia hadn¡¯t been polite. When she had just be the Champion right before turning sixteen, the Elite Four had beenposed of old men entrenched in their position that had hoped to use her as a puppet, even after she had wiped the floor with them in battle. They didn¡¯t know who they had been dealing with. Cynthia allied herself with Bertha and forced them out one by one. They couldn¡¯t exactly be fired¡ª not unless there had been a gross abuse of power, misconduct, or a crimemitted, but there were other ways to force them into an early retirement. It had taken years of scheming and hard work, but it was where Cynthia first learned to sharpen her political wits. The first person she chose was Lucian. Yearster, she had picked Flint, a close friend of Volkner who had chosen to work for her while the gym leader decided to work for the Sunyshore gym until he was eventually picked as a sessor. Finally, the most recent addition was Aaron, who despite being the weakest of the four, showed a lot of promise. Plus, it wasn¡¯t just about how good they were at battling. They had to be good at running things at the League, and Aaron excelled at that. It was, however, the first time in centuries that Sinnoh¡¯s Elite Four was onlyposed of type specialists, which was often a fun fact newer trainers liked to tell. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t keep you waiting?¡± Cynthia asked as she stepped into the room. It was deep under the League, away from prying eyes. In front of her, seven gym leaders stood out of respect, but Maylene stayed seated. Candice and Volkner had hesitated, but the peer pressure had made them stand. Today, the truth would be revealed, but they would also all be tested. ¡°Not at all, darling!¡± Fantinaughed heartily. ¡°It is not often that we all meet, but I¡¯ll take every opportunity to avoid battling by relegating my gym battle to my trainers. It is such a borepared to contests! I¡¯m at the end of my rope.¡± ¡°We agreed. Four more years, Fantina,¡± Cynthia said. The Kalosian woman was too skilled to be lost just yet. When she retired, nothing would force her to join the fight against Team Gctic if she didn¡¯t wish to do so. ¡°I know, I know. My sessor is nowhere near ready yet anyhow,¡± she sighed. ¡°Volkner, how are the Porygon working?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Doing great,¡± he answered. ¡°Our digital space should bepletely safe from Team Gctic¡¯s Rotom. It cost a very hefty sum though, so I hope Sunyshore sees some money from the League¡ª¡± ¡°Can we hurry this up?¡± Candice groaned. ¡°This ce blows, I hate it here. Everyone¡¯s so serious all the time, it ruins my mojo.¡± Cynthia stared at the young woman for a split second. She seemed to be happier than usual. Something good must have happened to her recently. ¡°BAHAHAHAHA,¡± Wakeughed loudly. ¡°You¡¯repletely right, Candice! Think about how much more they could get done if they took things a little bit more lightly.¡± Wake was a character, as always. Thankfully, he had changed from his usual outfit before teleporting here and was wearing normal clothes. Roark groaned. ¡°Please, have some respect for Cynthia. You two are embarrassing us as gym leaders.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Gardenia nodded. ¡°If she called us here, then it must be important. Important means that it¡¯s serious, so pipe down.¡± Roark and Gardenia. The two most loyal of the younger generation of leaders, but something was off about them. For Roark, his father¡¯s presence probably rattled him more than he let on. There was a lot of bad blood between them, and it had taken the young gym leader a long time to work past his inferiorityplex. Gardenia, however¡­ ah. Cynthia understood when she shot an apologetic look at Maylene, who ignored herpletely. They were fighting, and it was taking a toll on her emotional state. ¡°It brings a tear to my eye to see all of the younger generation taking this so seriously,¡± Byron smiled. ¡°With people like you, Sinnoh¡¯s future is bright.¡± Roark clicked his tongue in an irritated fashion, but Byron ignored him. He wore his usual ragged clothes¡ª a white shirt and beige pants with holes in them, a habit he had picked up from his time living on the Iron Inds, Sinnoh¡¯s poorest region. ¡°Can we just get to the point already?¡± Volkner sighed. ¡°I was in a groove at my gym, and I didn¡¯t have to think about anything, it was great. I¡¯d like to get back to that.¡± Cynthia met Volkner¡¯s eyes, and he averted them after a few seconds. He was still angry with her, but less than he had been, which was good news. Only Maylene seemed to be just as furious as she had been when she learned that League had watched as trainers died in Eterna Forest due to Team Gctic¡¯s device and done nothing. Cynthia smiled. Everyone was here. She had assessed all of them. The pieces were set. ¡°Very well. We can start,¡± she said. ¡°Maylene, I know you¡¯re angry with me, but please pay attention.¡± ¡°Screw you. You¡¯re all monsters.¡± Cynthia had expected that answer, which was why she had spoken to her in the first ce. It was meant to be a hidden provocation. ¡°Maymay, please,¡± Gardenia pleaded, her eyes tearing up. ¡°I¡¯ve apologized a million times.¡± Maylene¡¯s eyes widened. She hadn¡¯t expected Gardenia to start crying, and Cynthia noticed a moment of self-doubt, but it was Roark who finished the job. ¡°Maylene, we¡¯ve all made mistakes. We could have done better, but what¡¯s done is done, and look at the results. Team Gctic is on the backfoot now!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Maylene grumbled. ¡°I still don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Will you at least talk to me?¡± Gardenia sniffled. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°...Fine.¡± ¡°Sheesh, what did I say?¡± Candice sighed. ¡°Depressing.¡± The first step waspleted. Cynthia was good with people, and she knew what made them tick. Reconciliation was needed as fast as possible so that every gym leader could work together toward the greater good, which was stopping Team Gctic. It had taken a slight nudge, but it had worked. The Champion cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯ve summoned you all here to talk to you about Team Gctic¡¯s true intentions,¡± she said. Immediately, they all sat at the edge of their seat. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that they wanted to mess with reality after the attack on the Valley Windworks power nt, but that wasn¡¯t it. We have learned a lot about them in recent weeks.¡± ¡°Tell us everything this time,¡± Volkner said. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re all ready. But first, we¡¯ll have to go through a small lesson about Sinnoh¡¯s myths.¡± Cynthia noticed Candice start to pale. ¡°Myths?¡± Roark asked. ¡°Does that truly matter?¡± ¡°If Cynthia says it does, then it does,¡± Byron shrugged. ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you¡ª¡± ¡°It is important,¡± Cynthia interrupted. ¡°But it was fine to ask.¡± She was toeing the middle line, as she always did when talking to Byron and Roark at once. ¡°As you know, I fancy myths and history. It is my hobby, even though I¡¯ve had less and less time for it as the years went on,¡± The Champion continued. ¡°It is said that when Arceus created the universe, it created three guardians that were born from the same egg. Mesprit, who represents emotion, Uxie, who represents knowledge, and Azelf, who represents Willpower. These beings gave humans the capability to learn, the ability to feel, and a will¡ª¡± Cynthia observed the gym leaders¡¯ reactions. Maylene was rolling her eyes. Roark did not believe in myths, but he was still listening, and so was Gardenia. Volkner yawned and leaned against a wall, but his attention was hers. Byron and Fantina were staring at her, and Wake was sitting down with his legs syed out to a ridiculous amount and a huge smile on his face. Candice was shaking, and Cynthia already knew why. Legends and myths scared her. It reminded her of the ritual. ¡°¡ªNow, it is also said that these three sleep at the bottom of three separatekes in Sinnoh. The League took a while to make the connection, but after finding Lake Valor next to Sunnyshore and the reports about the newly found Lake Acuity, we are now sure that thosekes are where these three Pokemon are sleeping. Of course, there¡¯s also Lake Verity, which was apparently kept hidden by the people of Twinleaf for generations until Team Gctic found it on their own, and we still don¡¯t know how they n on waking them up.¡± ¡°Come on!¡± Maylene yelled. ¡°Those are just stories! Try to take us seriously for once in your life!¡± ¡°I am taking you seriously,¡± Cynthia said, staring right through the young gym leader. She swallowed and settled down. ¡°Now, why would Team Gctic want to know the locations of these Pokemon? Well, it¡¯s said that Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie are capable of calming Dialga and Palkia down, but they¡¯re also capable of summoning them. For those unfamiliar, those two hold dominion over time and space respectively. That is the only theory we cane up with. Now, we don¡¯t know what the exact purposes of this would be, but I don¡¯t have to tell you that the results would be catastrophic. The world could potentially end.¡± Cynthia paused, gauging their reactions. She had dropped thatst sentence like it wasn¡¯t a terrifying prospect, but Champions couldn¡¯t appear terrified. She needed to be strong. Confident. And hope that feeling would trickle down to the gym leaders as well. ¡°The world could¡­ end?¡± Roark muttered in disbelief. ¡°Are¡ª we should tell everyone! Call¡ª call the other regions for help¡ª¡± ¡°And who would believe us?¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Like Maylene, the vast majority of people don¡¯t believe in myths. The International Police is helping because they think that Team Gctic are just terrorists.¡± That wasn¡¯t the entire truth. Team Magma and Team Aqua had been stopped years prior in Hoenn, and Cynthia only heard about it after the fact in a highly ssified report that only she and the other Champions knew about. The world would have ended, but only because whole swaths of the might have been rendered uninhabitable, either being submerged in water or covered in magma because of Groudon and Kyogre. This situation, meanwhile, could mean the universe could just blip out of existence. The fact that Hoenn had gone through terrorists wanting to summon Legendaries before meant that Wace could have perhaps give her the benefit of the doubt. The truth was a lot more simple. Regions were simply self-serving. Even though brutal wars were a thing of the past that the younger generation didn¡¯t have to live with¡ª even hers¡ª regions still distrusted andpeted with each other, and help wouldn¡¯te until Team Gctic had already summoned Dialga and Palkia. Needless to say, that would be toote. ¡°How would they even get these three Lake Guardians under control?¡± Byron asked calmly. ¡°They need their cooperation to summon Dialga and Palkia, from what you¡¯ve told us.¡± ¡°And they need them to potentially control Dialga and Palkia themselves,¡± Cynthia added. ¡°But the answer is, we don¡¯t know. We don¡¯t even know if they¡¯re catchable with Pokeballs, or if they¡¯ll force them to do so using some other way. We know very little about all Legendaries¡ª a lot less than I¡¯d like¡ª but the LSS and I believe they have a n and that they aren¡¯t just acting in a rash, unpredictable manner,¡± Cynthia exined. ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been sending all of those League trainers to fortify thekes?¡± Gardenia asked. ¡°That is correct.¡± ¡°And are we sure that they¡¯ll hold?¡± Fantina asked. ¡°If what you say is correct, then an attack will no doubt being.¡± ¡°We¡¯re doing everything in our power to make sure that thekes never fall, and we¡¯ve been sending reinforcements in a discreet fashion,¡± she answered with a slight smile. A reassuring one, this time. ¡°Keep in mind that they need to capture all three guardians. Team Gctic has less manpower than we do.¡± ¡°And to think I was a mere four years away from retiring,¡± Fantina sighed. ¡°Although I suppose retiring is meaningless if there is no world left to enjoy contests.¡± Cynthia shot Candice a reassuring look. ¡°Are you alright, Candice?¡± ¡°Y¡ªyeah,¡± she said, her voice trembling. ¡°Uh, who else knows about this other than us?¡± You understand better than anyone in this room, don¡¯t you? Cynthia thought to herself. ¡°The Elite Four, the Secret Service, and a few trusted members of the League,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°So not that many people. Needless to say, this meeting doesn¡¯t leave this room.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Wake said, his boastful attitude suddenly gone. ¡°What do you need us to do?¡± ¡°I need you to get back home and act like everything is fine,¡± Cynthia smiled. ¡°Which I know will be a difficult task with the burden you now bear. Be on high alert, especially Candice, Volkner, Wake, and Maylene, since you¡¯re the closest to thesekes. And cooperate with anything the LSS asks of you.¡± ¡°We will,¡± Roark said. ¡°Thank you for trusting us with this.¡± Candice nodded, her skin pale. ¡°I understand better why you let what happened in Eterna Forest happen. This can¡¯t get out. The danger Team Gctic poses cannot get out.¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± Volkner sighed. ¡°I¡¯m back on your side. I guess I should have known there¡¯s a reason for everything you do.¡± ¡°Thank you. And sorry for hiding the truth from you for so long.¡± ¡°I would have rather not known,¡± Candice said. ¡°I would have rather stayed in the dark.¡± ¡°You cannot. Being a gym leaderes with responsibilities. You know that.¡± ¡°I do. I do, but¡­¡± ¡°Can we leave?¡± Maylene interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this story. I think you¡¯re taking things out of proportion.¡± Her fingers were trembling, and her words were slightly slurred. She was terrified, but a part of her was still in denial. It was understandable. She was still young. Maylene woulde around. Today had been a sess. ¡°You may go,¡± Cynthia nodded. ¡°Have the Kadabra show you out.¡± Cynthia had revealed everything now, and the gym leaders were back in her camp. Maylene woulde around in a few weeks. Information was often withheld by the League, but it could also be revealed at the right moment to build up trust. And what better moment to pick than when three gym leaders had started to think that Cynthia was the most evil being in the League that was simply abusing her power? She had needed to act now, lest they get any ideas of speaking to the public or the press. Yes, that just wouldn¡¯t have been right. Cynthia wasn¡¯t an angel by any means. She had done terrible things, and today, that had been manipting all of the gym leaders by revealing important information at the best possible time. Cynthia liked each and every one of them from the bottom of her heart, but she couldn¡¯t afford to only do what was right. She had to make tough decisions for the greater good. Cynthia was a Sinnoh¡¯s Champion. A leader. And leaders led.
Chapter 103 Chapter 103 CHAPTER 103 ¡°I came to a decisionst night, and I think it¡¯s the only way I¡¯m ever going to move past this. I think it would be best if I traveled alone for a while,¡± Louis said with a pained look. I inhaled sharply as I felt my heart drop. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°I mean exactly what I just said,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡­ something is wrong with me, and I need to be away for a while.¡± ¡°So you weren¡¯t fine,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Come on, after all this time, we¡¯re finally reunited and you¡¯re just leaving?¡± ¡°I have to do this. Don¡¯t try to convince me otherwise, my mind is already made up,¡± he said. ¡°So what now, then? Are you still going to Hearthome at least?¡± Pauline asked. ¡°I n on doing that. I will still be participating in the Circuit, I just need to spend some time¡­ reflecting.¡± ¡°Do you want me toe with you?¡± Justin asked worriedly. ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous in Mount Cor without Cece, Denzel, and Grace¡¯s experience. Plus, your Gible...¡± Louis offered his friend a thin smile. ¡°Thank you, Justin, but I¡¯ll stay safe, truly. I appreciate the offer.¡± ¡°Louis¡­¡± I hesitated. ¡°Do¡­ can we fix this somehow? You can¡¯t just leave. You¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to fix this,¡± he interrupted. ¡°It¡¯s up to me. You¡¯ve done nothing wrong, Grace. Something must be up with me because none of these¡­ feelings make any sense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, feelings don¡¯t make sense most of the time,¡± Denzel said, pping his shoulder. ¡°You stay safe out there, man.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± I yelled. ¡°Is there really nothing? I¡ª I feel like we can work this out, if we just talk.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grace,¡± Louis replied, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve gone over the options a thousand times in my head. If I were to keep going, I¡¯d grow to be insufferable. Jealousy is a vice I¡¯d like to avoid.¡± ¡°Damn it,¡± I whispered to myself. I needed to rack my brain for solutions now. It was as I feared. Louis felt hurt by Cece and me dating, but I had never expected for him to just leave to try to get over her. It was all so sudden. Maybe we could put the rtionship on hold for now? No¡­ No, I could never do that. What about cutting down on PDA until we got rooms for ourselves at the outpost and in Hearthome? I¡­ I didn¡¯t think that Louis would be convinced by that. ¡°Well, since we¡¯re going in the same direction, I¡¯ll wait here for a few hours while you make it through the cycling road so we don¡¯t identally meet,¡± Louis stated. ¡°That would be awkward for all of us.¡± How was he so nonchnt about this? ¡°Louis.¡± All of our heads turned toward Cecilia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Our friend gave her a pained smile and chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for any of this. It¡¯s not you or Grace. It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Make sure to contact us,¡± she said. ¡°And , you hear me?¡± ¡°I will, it¡¯s a promise.¡± There was nothing I could think of in such a short amount of time to salvage the situation. Louis handed us his part of the huge tent they all carried and Denzel put it in his bag, although it was a tight fit. After that, we each grabbed a bike and left. Louis was gone. Just like that. ¡ª¡ª One hour into the Cycling Road, we pedaled past the first rest stop. Cycling through the entire road would take an average of six hours, and each hour, there was a rest stop in case trainers wanted to eat, drink something, or, well¡­ rest. The Cycling Road was organized innes, exactly like a normal road, where trainers coulde and go using the different sides, although the vast majority of them were going in our direction. The only people that were on their way to Eterna were either trainers from Sinnoh¡¯s eastern side, past Mount Cor who were on their way to challenge Gardenia, or trainers that had gotten defeated in battle and that desperately needed to get back to a Pokemon Center. Needless to say, battling on the road wasn¡¯t allowed to stop people from damaging it, but thetter had especially increased with the price increase in potions that was showing no signs of slowing down. All those dejected stares made me feel bad, especially since my friends were rich, so if push came to shove, we¡¯d share potions like we did in Eterna Forest, but my mind was preupied with Louis¡¯ sudden decision. ¡°You feeling alright?¡± Denzel asked as he slowed down and pedaled next to me. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well, I knew that, but I just wanted to start the conversation somehow¡ª ah, I¡¯m not helping, am I?¡± he sighed. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I just keep thinking back. What could I have done differently? Maybe I could have¡­ we could have dyed revealing our rtionship until we were in Mount Cor.¡± ¡°Come on, that would have been a terrible idea, and you know it. Louis might have made a mistake, or staying with you might have hurt him irreceably. You did it the best way you could have.¡± I tried to fight him, but I knew deep down that he was right. I wasn¡¯t thinking straight. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, I guess. I still feel like garbage.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s try to cheer you up,¡± he smiled before nodding to our right. ¡°Look at Pauline.¡± I turned my head and couldn¡¯t help but at least smile at her. She was struggling to even pedal straight, and Cecilia and Justin were nking her to try to stop her from falling, which she had already done once. Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t wounded, and her pants stopped her from scraping her knee. ¡°This is¡ª this is discriminatory!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°What about the trainers who can¡¯t ride bikes!¡± ¡°There are walkable paths on both edges of the road,¡± Justin said. ¡°Shut it! Nobody asked you!¡± ¡°You basically just did¡­¡± Cece said. I chortled and turned back toward my best friend, who was doing the same. I could tell, however, that there was a certain pain behind everyone¡¯sugh. They almost felt forced. As if they were trying to distract themselves from what had happened only an hour earlier. Cecilia had asked me how I was doing more than twenty times already, but I was more worried about her. I wanted to speak to her, but not while she was having some iota of fun. I¡¯d do it tonight. ¡°I knew she couldn¡¯t ride a bike,¡± I smiled. ¡°Well, she can, just barely. She kind of reminds me of those bikes for little kids with two little wheels attached to the back one.¡± I gasped. ¡°That¡¯s so right! That¡¯s why she can¡¯t keep her bike straight!¡± ¡°I can hear you, jackasses!¡± She yelled. ¡°That was the point,¡± I said. Arceus, this all felt so fake. stic. I tightened my hand around my bike¡¯s handles and felt my jaw clench. ¡°Not working, huh?¡± Denzel said. ¡°It was nice for a bit, but no,¡± I replied. ¡°You went to talk to himst night. Did you talk about anything? What did he tell you?¡± He raised his eyebrows slightly. ¡°I had to ask for a while to get into his room. People were staring at me like I was crazy,¡± he said. ¡°But he did let me in after a while. It¡¯s simple, Grace, he¡¯s heartbroken.¡± ¡°I¡­ I thought so,¡± I exhaled. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly understand, but it was the only thing that made sense. What did he say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t tell you. He told me in confidence, and I¡¯d be betraying his trust,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Fine. I just wished I could have been there to listen. Maybe I would have found a solution.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t predict everything, Grace,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Sometimes, you¡¯ve just got to let the chips fall where they may and adapt. Pick the best path forward.¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t understand that,¡± I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s an anxiety-inducing way to live. I¡¯d never be able to do it.¡± ¡°Eh, you learn to care about the things only you can affect after a while,¡± he said as we passed a slower trainer. ¡°You taught me that.¡± ¡°I did?¡± I asked, genuinely surprised. ¡°Obviously. All those pep talks you gave me weren¡¯t for nothing,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°But that was only for Pokemon training!¡± ¡°Well, congrattions, you yed yourself, I now live by those words vicariously,¡± he chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s like my whole life philosophy. I just like to think that things will work themselves out somehow.¡± ¡°I sure hope so,¡± I said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt to be optimistic.¡± ¡°It hurts twice as bad when you¡¯re wrong,¡± I countered. ¡°Okay, but it makes you lead a much happier life, so I¡¯ll take my chances,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Grace, are you alright?¡± Cece asked, surprising me so much I almost jumped. ¡°Did I scare you? Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m just feeling jumpy,¡± I said. ¡°But yeah, I¡¯m okay, although I could be doing way better. I think it¡¯ll just get some time to let the fact that Louis is gone sink in.¡± ¡°He¡¯lle back,¡± Cecilia said, clearly sure of herself. ¡°He promised.¡± ¡°See? It¡¯ll work itself out,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Guys, how long until the next rest stop?¡± Pauline huffed. ¡°I¡¯m dying over here.¡± ¡ª¡ª Going through the entire Cycling Road ended up taking ten hours due to how many rest stops Pauline asked for. I almost expected to see Louis pedal across us due to how much longer it had taken than it should have, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he ended up passing us while we were on a break. Either way, I couldn¡¯t keep worrying about this. Louis would be fine. If he wanted to travel alone, I would begrudgingly ept his choice, even though I still wished it could have been different. Not everything could go my way all the time. It was easy to sit there and think that if I was in his position, I would have done something different. I was almost certain I would have stayed. I had traveled with them while still thinking that Cecilia had been genuinely dating Louis for a bit, but everyone was wired differently. And who was to say I wouldn¡¯t have gone crazy eventually and left? Imagining Cece with someone else now¡­ that made me sick to my stomach. Louis was suffering, but only he could move past this. I would believe him and meet him back with a smile whenever he decided toe back. There was another gate at the end of the road that was identical to the previous one, and we handed our bikes back before leaving. I stretched my legs and turned to Denzel. ¡°How much longer are we traveling today?¡± ¡°Probably until we can see Oreburgh with the naked eye,¡± he answered. ¡°Should be a few more hours.¡± ¡°Oh, right, I almost forgot we were getting close to the city again,¡± Pauline panted. ¡°That bike ride tired me out.¡± ¡°Well, this is still the easy leg of the journey. It¡¯ll take a week to get to the outpost at Mount Cor¡¯s entrance,¡± Denzel said. ¡°And you want to catch your Rufflet there, right?¡± ¡°Yes, obviously. If I don¡¯t, I can still try to find one after we pass through the mountain.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going then,¡± Justin said. ¡°We should make good ground today.¡± I turned back toward the Cycling Road and noticed that it had been built over an older segment of route 207. ¡°Intrigued?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Trainers are still allowed there, and it leads to a cave system. There are rumors that you can find wild Gible there, if you look hard enough.¡± ¡°Okay, you lost me at cave system,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, it¡¯d waste too much time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nowhere as dangerous as Mount Cor, but yeah, let¡¯s not start randomly wandering into caves. That seems like a recipe for disaster.¡± ¡°With our luck, something would copse the ground under us, and we¡¯d get trapped again,¡± Cecilia said sarcastically. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡ª¡ª It felt good to be traveling with so many trainers on the road again. Route 216 and 217 had been far too quiet for my liking. Something about route 207 being filled with so many trainers filled me with a grand feeling I couldn¡¯t exin. Maybe I just enjoyed seeing my fellow co-workers after so long. Cece smiled as she watched Fletchinder fly overhead while Sylveon stood on Denzel¡¯s shoulder. Growlithe and Gothorita, who I hadn¡¯t seen in a long time, walked alongside Justin and Pauline while Togeticzily floated with her head on mine. Of course, there was also another reason for this giddy feeling. I approached a pair of trainers that were traveling together. ¡°Hey,¡± I waved to the two trainers. ¡°How many badges do you guys have?¡± ¡°We both have zero,¡± The boy answered. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Way to embarrass us, dude!¡± The girl said. ¡°Don¡¯t you know who that is?¡± ¡°No¡ª wait, fuck! Grace Pastel?! Shit, that¡¯s her group back there,¡± he gulped, nodding toward my friends. ¡°Calm down,¡± I smiled. When I didn¡¯t have to deal with a crowd, I could handle my fame rather well, although it still felt weird to just be recognized in the wild. ¡°I wanted to ask you for a battle with my Larvitar.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you just roll any of us over?¡± The girl asked. ¡°No, she¡¯s never battled before, and she¡¯s still young,¡± I said. ¡°It won¡¯t be as one-sided as you¡¯re thinking, and I¡¯ll even give you a potion to heal your Pokemon afterward. How does a one-on-one sound?¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re definitely on!¡± She said. ¡°Sammy, film me!¡± ¡°What? Why are you battling her and not me?¡± ¡°Because you owe me after begging to try Gardenia over and over again. Oh, you were on the brink of a breakthrough, weren¡¯t you? Just one more time, and you were totally going to beat her! Now we have no chance of making it to the Conference because of you!¡± Samuel¡¯s wince worsened the longer she went on, and by the end, he already had his Poketch out of his pocket. ¡°What, you think Fantina would have been any different?! She¡¯s literally famous for being impossible for new trainers to beat, and there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going through fucking Eterna Forest to get to Roark and Byron. The first year¡¯s always experimental anyway, Sheena,¡± he grumbled. ¡°At least now that we know we won¡¯t make it, we get to travel through every town and try every gym once to get some experience.¡± ¡°Shut your mouth and film, Samuel,¡± Sheena hissed. ¡°And your hands better not shake all over the ce. We¡¯re posting this online when we can, win or lose.¡± They certainly were¡­ something. We made some space, and we both grabbed our Pokeballs. ¡°Go, Koffing!¡± She yelled, releasing the small poison type. It looked on with a nk stare and kept itself afloat by releasing the gases in its body. With a smile, I released Larvitar. ¡°Sweetheart, listen up. This is a battle. Your first battle. Let¡¯s give it our best.¡± Larvitar stared back at me with wonder and then nodded. ¡°Tar!¡± Time slowed as I stared at my opponent. She looked nervous, but she was hiding it behind a veneer of excitement. No, she was excited. She was battling someone famous. The terrain was rocky, which was perfect for Larvitar, but Koffing being able to levitate meant that we only had Rock Throw to work with, unless we were going to knock it on the ground somehow. From what I knew, Koffing¡¯s defenses were excellent, so that was unlikely to happen, especially since Larvitar was still so young. What she did have, however, was control. My perception of time returned to normal, and a strategy clicked into ce. ¡°Rock Throw, hit it from above,¡± I said. ¡°Smokescreen!¡± she yelled. Koffing coughed and hackled a few times, releasing thick smoke from its mouth to hide from Larvitar. I frowned. Why try to dodge when she could have countered with an attack? Was this a trap of some kind? Larvitar shook her hands, ripping arge rock from the ground and lifting them upward. ¡°Lift a few from under him,¡± I quickly added. More rocks burst from the floor and through the smoke, clearing it enough for Larvitar to get Koffing within her sights. She yelled and sent the one she still carried on top of Koffing, knocking him toward the ground. ¡°Crap! Get back up!¡± Sheena yelled. ¡°Again,¡± I said. Every time Koffing tried to float back, Larvitar would hit it with another Rock Throw from above. This was strange. Why keep trying to float up when the best move was to attack? Spraying Larvitar with a poison type move would shift us to the defensive and allow Koffing to float back up. ¡°Horn Attack,¡± I ordered. ¡°Keep it down.¡± Larvitar clumsily ran toward Koffing, keeping it grounded, and lowered her head right before reaching the poison type. She wasn¡¯t powerful enough to run him through¡ª which was good. I didn¡¯t want to force her Pokemon back to the Center if I could avoid it. ¡°Smog!¡± My opponent yelled. Finally, I thought. No way to protect Larvitar from gases with an attack, but maybe¡­ Koffing released a poisonous, purple gas. Larvitar couched, clearly in pain, but she had held on long enough. ¡°Payback.¡± With an evil glint in her eyes, the rock type mmed her entire body into Koffing, who flew off toward its trainer. It fell to the ground unconscious shortly after. Togetic pped happily, congratting her sister, who puffed up her chest proudly. Her friend Samuel burst outughing and stopped his recording. ¡°You fucking suck, Sheena! Serves you right!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Grace fucking Pastel, what do you want me to do?!¡± She hissed, recalling her Pokemon. I called Larvitar to me and praised her. Her Rock Throws left nothing to be desired, and he Payback had been incredible as well. Horn Attack could use some work, but she would lose the move when she evolved, so I preferred to focus on the other two moves. Plus, I was going to start teaching her new ones soon. ¡°Good battle,¡± I told Sheena, handing her a potion. She reached to give me money, but I refused. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you were honestly doing me a favor, and things are getting expensive, right? Keep it.¡± ¡°T¡ªthank you,¡± she said. ¡°Um, how¡ª how was I?¡± I let out a pensive hum, thinking back to our short battle. ¡°Your Pokemon¡¯s good enough to get your first badge, but you need to work on thinking quickly. When something doesn¡¯t work, switch it up. Instead of asking Koffing to get back up, you should have made him attack me right away before we got anywhere close enough to hit you with Payback. If you had done that, you could have regained the initiative and won.¡± ¡°Grace, are you done? We¡¯re leaving!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°Yeah,ing!¡± I said. ¡°Good luck to you guys,¡± I said. So what exactly did Larvitarck? The power issue would be solved with her getting stronger with age and training. I had no doubt that by the time we were in Hearthome, she¡¯d be as powerful as Tang was now physically, or maybe stronger. I sprayed her with a potion, recalled her, and opened my Pokedex. ¡°Nice one,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I bet you made their day.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°Would you believe it if I said that I almost overthought so much that I thought she had been trapping me?¡± ¡°Because it felt too easy?¡± Cece asked. ¡°I¡¯d believe that.¡± ¡°No need to brag,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Come on Pauline, you¡¯ve already admitted that they''ve gotten really good. You were on the edge of your seat during their battles with Candice¡ª¡± ¡°That was a secret, Justin! I just want to catch up, alright? I¡¯m going to battle as many trainers as possible!¡± ¡°You do that,¡± Denzel said. ¡°What¡¯s with the tone?¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s my ¡®happy for you¡¯ tone.¡± I ignored their shenanigans and thought back to Larvitar. Rock Throw had been good enough to knock Koffing out of the sky, but that was because the poison type was slow. If I ever sent her out against other flying types, which was a type she would need to counter in the future, then she would need to learn Smack Down. Rock Slide could work¡ª it was basically Rock Throw, but improved in every single way, including the quantity of rocks, but Smack Down was easier to learn, so I figured it would work well as a bridge between the two moves. I also wanted to teach Larvitar Stomping Tantrum, which would serve as a good base to hit multiple foes at once if we ever needed it, and the ground type would certainly help cover a few weaknesses in my team. Plus, something about sweetheart stomping the ground all angrily sounded really cute. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Woah,¡± I said, in awe of the view ahead of me. ¡°That¡¯s beautiful.¡± In front of us, Oreburgh stood in all of its glory. The heavily industrialized mining town that supplied Sinnoh with most of its coal and other minerals was chugging along. It was funny to see it after so long, especially when it was so close. If I had a Pokemon with Rock Climb or that could carry me, I could have made it there before the evening even ended, but without them, it would take months to make it back. And all because the Cycling Road wasn¡¯tpleted. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Wait, you actually meant right here?¡± Pauline asked incredulously. ¡°This is a famous spot. Other trainers will stop by and harass you for an autograph or whatever.¡± ¡°I agree with Pauline, which is a rare urrence,¡± I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get a bit further and get near the edge of the route.¡± ¡°The city would have been so beautiful at night,¡± Cece sighed. ¡°But alright.¡± Finally, after another hour of walking, we set up our tent, and with my legs feeling like lead, I sat down inside while Pauline was tasked with starting a fire outside with her Charmeleon with Justin and Cece. Denzel, meanwhile, had gone off on his own to try to fix his team¡¯s rtionship issue. Seeing this huge tent after so long reminded me of the time I had to sleep separately from the rest of the group because of my nightmares. They were surprisingly almost gone now. I still had them once in a while, but most of the time, I slept peacefully, which was doing wonders for my mental health. I had been stabbed by Mars in my sleep enough for a lifetime. ¡°Grace,¡± I heard Cece say as she entered the tent. ¡°You wanted to talk to me.¡± ¡°Yeah. You know why already,¡± I said with a thin smile. ¡°Louis, of course,¡± she nodded. ¡°Over the course of the day, I changed my mind a lot,¡± I started. ¡°I started by thinking that we had made a mistake and that we could have somehow prevented him from leaving. But then the more I think about it, the more I think that a confrontation was inevitable.¡± ¡°I think so too,¡± she said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to dy telling him about us for any reason, and you already knew I thought he wouldn¡¯t take it well. I just didn¡¯t think that¡ª¡± ¡°That he would leave,¡± Ipleted her sentence. ¡°But he did. He said it wasn¡¯t our fault, and that he was the one that needed to fix his own issues, so I¡¯m going to take him at his word and believe that he¡¯ll seed.¡± Cecilia sat and leaned against me. ¡°I know he will. He¡¯s strong. He gave up the most out of any of us when he came to save me in Mount Cor. Louis loved his father, you know? I never loved mine, but he genuinely loved his, and now Harvey¡¯s shown himself to be a monster. I think I underestimated how much of a toll everything was taking on him. He¡¯s changed since we left.¡± I nodded. ¡°He¡¯s serious all the time.¡± ¡°Yes, but it goes deeper than that. There were cracks forming below the surface. I think that if he had stayed, there would have been a massive fight, and he knew. He loves us too much to subject us to that.¡± ¡°He¡¯s grown a lot, hasn¡¯t he?¡± I sighed. ¡°We all have,¡± Cecilia replied as she turned toward me. Right. We were alone. I leaned in and¡ª I jumped when I heard someone clear their throat. ¡°Sorry to interrupt?¡± It was Justin, who was leaning into the tent and waiting to enter. ¡°Justin. What is it?¡± Cece asked. ¡°So I was interrupting. My apologies, but Denzel is gone, and you two are way better at battling than Pauline is¡ª don¡¯t tell her I said that, she¡¯s still angry at me for that gift,¡± he shuddered. ¡°My head has been swirling with these thoughts since our phone call after your gym battles with Candice¡ª no, since my battle with Gardenia, even.¡± ¡°These thoughts?¡± I asked. ¡°Using stalling as a strategy,¡± he dered. ¡°I think I want to figure out how to do it.¡±
Chapter 104 Chapter 104 CHAPTER 104 ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯re actually interested in battling?¡± I asked smugly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± he said, scratching his cheek. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good enough to get as good as everyone else is, so why not try it this way? I mean, maybe Pherzen¡¯s reputation will take a hit, but¡­¡± ¡°If you can make it work and show the world that there¡¯s more to the strategy than meets the eye, then Pherzen¡¯s image could be left unscathed,¡± Cece said. ¡°Right, but could I even do that? I¡¯d need to basically start from scratch and train my Pokemon in apletely different manner,¡± he said. ¡°Would you?¡± I frowned. ¡°I mean, Sandile can burrow and trap his opponents in Sand Tombs, right? Now, I will say, it definitely won¡¯t be enough for your third badge¡ª¡± ¡°Especially against Fantina,¡± Cece added. ¡°She¡¯s considered the most skilled gym leader, you know?¡± ¡°Right, I remember hearing rumors that her true team is as good as an Elite Four member''s and that she still holds back against trainers that have gone through the entire Circuit multiple times,¡± I exined. I could tell that he was getting cold feet from all of this, so I decided to continue quickly. ¡°What I wanted to say is that you already have something there. A base to build up from with Sandile.¡± ¡°Arcanine are one of the fastest Pokemon onnd, since they can learn Extreme Speed,¡± Cece said. ¡°And they can also learn Teleport¡­ so perhaps you could work out something with that in the future.¡± ¡°They can?¡± he asked with wide eyes. ¡°Growlithe was the one I was struggling the most toe up with something with. I¡¯ve¡ª I¡¯ve never felt this fired up before.¡± I smiled at him. ¡°Now you know how it feels, man,¡± I chuckled. ¡°What about your Lotad?¡± ¡°Um¡­ he¡¯s actually a Lombre now.¡± ¡°Excuse me?!¡± I eximed, almost falling over. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°I started up training again after your gym battles, and he evolved while fighting Growlithe,¡± Justin said. ¡°I just never found an appropriate time to reveal it.¡± ¡°You idiot, there¡¯s never a bad time to reveal an evolution!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± he awkwardly smiled. ¡°I was thinking about using Rain Dance and Swift Swim, but it¡¯s still all in the theory stage. Growlithe isn¡¯t ready to evolve, although I¡¯ll try to buy myself a Fire Stone in Hearthome, and Lombre can¡¯t use Rain Dance.¡± ¡°Still, that¡¯s excellent progress,¡± Cece said. ¡°Any idea for future team members?¡± ¡°Well, I definitely want something more defensively minded to round out my team¡­ I was thinking about buying an Audino. They¡¯re rathermon, since a lot of Nurse Joys seem to covet them over the usual Chansey. Plus, I figured it¡¯d be nice to have a Pokemon that can help the others if they ever get injured beyond what a potion can do.¡± ¡°Oh, right,¡± I said, mming my fist into my palm. ¡°What¡¯s the move¡­ Heal Pulse. I know about that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s also Wish, Life Dew, Heal Bell, Healing Wish¡ª¡± ¡°Sheesh, you¡¯ve read up on this!¡± I said. ¡°I think you¡¯ve got a real shot at this stalling thing, and if you¡¯re as passionate as you look¡ª¡± ¡°Passionate? This is just¡­ me trying something new.¡± Ceciliaughed. ¡°Come on, Justin, you look more excited than I¡¯ve ever seen you. I bet Pauline would say the same, and she¡¯s known you for years.¡± ¡°It does feel different this time,¡± he admitted with a sigh. ¡°Thank you for this, and sorry for interrupting¡­ whatever it is you were going to do. I just felt like venting and putting it all in the open. I feel more sure about this now, but it¡¯s still not a guarantee. I¡¯m just thinking about it,¡± he said as he got out of the tent. ¡°Well, would you look at that,¡± Cecilia said with a slight smirk. ¡°Justin Gardner himself, enamored with Pokemon battling, even though he¡¯s pretending not to be.¡± ¡°Did you know I was like that once?¡± I said. ¡°Really?!¡± She gasped. ¡°H¡ªhow? I can¡¯t even imagine you like that, it¡¯s antithetical to your whole being.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Iughed. ¡°It was before I started this entire journey. I just stayed holed up in my room all day and watched battles on television or browsed the forums or whatever.¡± ¡°Wait, are you saying that¡¯s all you did? That seems like you were still¡­ passionate?¡± ¡°I mean, in retrospect, yeah,¡± I shrugged. ¡°But back then, I was in denial, I think. I was too scared of the risks of being a trainer to take the plunge, but my dad gave me a slight push, and I¡¯ve never looked back. It was the best decision of my life.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thankful for your father, then,¡± she said. ¡°For getting me to realize that sometimes, you¡¯ve got to get out of yourfort zone to get what you truly want?¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, he was the one that did that.¡± ¡°And you know¡­ without him, I never would have met you.¡± I felt her hand on mine and turned toward her. I sneaked another look toward the tent¡¯s exit, confirming that Justin or Pauline weren¡¯ting in, and then leaned in for the kiss. She quickly took the lead and gently pushed me down, slowly lowering herself to my ear. ¡°I love you,¡± she whispered. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Again, so sorry,¡± Pauline apologized. ¡°I should have known something was happening when Justin asked me to hang out by the fire.¡± ¡°I tried to keep her as long as possible¡ª¡± ¡°Then say something obvious, you idiot!¡± she groaned. ¡°Not that they, and I quote, might be busy. Life¡¯s too short to skirt around some words you find scary. Just say they were making out, Arceus!¡± We were on the road again, and Mount Cor stood tall in the distance. It was starting to feel a bit unsettling, how wherever you were in Sinnoh, it seemed to always just be there. An oppressive reminder of how small we were. On a lighter, or stranger note, Pauline had walked in on Cece and Ist night, but she was understanding and madder at Justin than anything. ¡°Come on, Justin, you¡¯ll get used to it in no time,¡± Denzel said. ¡°They can barely keep their hands off of each other, it¡¯s actually surprising that they managed to do it this long¡ª¡± ¡°Denzel, I¡¯m going to end you,¡± I hissed. He raised his hands innocently. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t shoot the messenger.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just forget it happened, alright,¡± Cece muttered embarrassingly. ¡°Anyway, how close do we need to be to catch that Rufflet?¡± ¡°Oh, we should be getting into their habitat right about now,¡± Pauline said. ¡°They live all along this part of the route, up to Mount Cor¡¯s entrance. I was going to ask if you could get your Fletchinder to help me look?¡± Cecilia agreed, releasing the flying type, and had Pauline describe Rufflet¡¯s appearance to her. Catching a flying type was deceptively hard, even the moremon ones like Starly or Pidgey because if they felt threatened, they just flew away. The best way to go about catching a flying type was to hit it hard enough by surprise with your first attack so that they¡¯d be too weak to fly again, so I was thankful I wouldn¡¯t need to catch one since I already had Togetic. Catching a Pokemon by surprise like that just wasn¡¯t how I did things. ¡°How are you nning on getting it low enough to throw a Pokeball at it?¡± Justin asked, enunciating my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s a Rufflet,¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll want to fight anything that moves. Just get Fletchinder to lure it back to us and it¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Do you know something about Rufflet that I don¡¯t?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought they were just aggressive, not suicidal.¡± ¡°Not suicidal, Grace. They have balls. Balls. I told you it¡¯d fit me,¡± Pauline grinned. Justin practically shivered. ¡°How uncouth¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get smart with me, Justin.¡± We kept up a good pace, and even though we were meeting fewer and fewer trainers, they were still in rtively good numbers. I had Larvitar battle a lot more, and she won every single battle. She fought a Geodude, a Helioptile, and even a Bulbasaur, although that one had mostly been because I was too good at strategizing for my opponent to keep up, even with the type advantage. She was progressing incredibly fast, and I almost wanted to move on to trainers with one badge because this felt too easy. Larvitar needed to be challenged to grow quicker, and trainers without badges weren¡¯t cutting it. Maybe I¡¯d have Electabuzz train her tonight. Angel would have been the better pick, but I needed to redouble our efforts to learn Ancient Power. He was getting close. His eyes even shone whenever he tried to use the move, but he just needed that final little push, and he¡¯d get there. Hopefully, Togetic would be able to help. I was starting to miss Savika¡¯ske. He would have learned the move for sure if we were still there, but s, we weren¡¯t, so I had to make do with my current situation. One thing was for sure, he would evolve before my gym battle with Fantina, so that would be fine. Fantina excited me. I knew that she was a pain in the ass to fight because of her ghost types, especially with my previous... terrifying experiences with those, and I knew that she was an incredibly strong trainer, but I was excited to dive deep into the nook and crannies of how exactly she battled. I would dissect it and solve it like a puzzle, and we¡¯d have an incredible battle. Four badges. Four badges would be a dream for any first year trainer, but I would go further still. Around three hourster, Fletchinder screeched in the sky and dove down back to us. ¡°Find something?¡± Cecilia asked. The fire type nodded and pointed toward one of the humongous, mountainous cliffs to our left. I squinted and managed to barely see a speck of white and blue, way high up and nestled against one of the thousands of small ledges that covered it. ¡°That¡¯s your Rufflet,¡± Denzel said, shielding his eyes from the sun. ¡°Darling, could you somehow get it down here?¡± Cece asked. Pauline excitedly released her Charmeleon and Gothorita. The fire type yelled as soon as she was told a fight wasing. She seemed to be like Louis¡¯ Gible in that regard, always wanting to battle powerful opponents and triumph over them. Fletchinder bolted upward, using Agility to make sure she was faster than Rufflet¡¯s top speed as she flew up toward the cliff. At the height they were flying at, I couldn¡¯t hear anything, and I could barely see any better, especially with the sun shining in my eyes, but I managed to make out Fletchinder flying so close to the Rufflet she might as well have been grazing it. The wild Pokemon took no time to take the bait, and it flew down after her. The closer it got to us, the more I realized it was way too loud for its size. The flying typended in front of us, and it reached slightly above my knees. It beat its wings threateningly, clearly wanting to get us to either back off or fight. ¡°Rufflet, I challenge you to a battle,¡± Pauline dered, stepping forward with her Charmeleon. The fire type mmed her tail against the ground threateningly, and Rufflet just screeched even louder, causing all of us to cover our ears. ¡°If I win, you¡¯reing with me.¡± Rufflet¡¯s eye twitched, and in a burst of speed, it flew toward Pauline, its beak elongating, and streaks of air formed around it. Charmeleon wasted no time and sent an Ember that at this point, looked more like a methrower at Rufflet. Surprisingly, it just ignored the fact that its body was on fire and just kept going toward Pauline. ¡°Gothorita,¡± Pauline inhaled sharply as she took a step back. The psychic type raised a hand and restrained Rufflet in the air, throwing it back¡ª not at the ground, however. She gently ced it back on the ground. ¡°If you keep attacking me, I¡¯ll gang up on you and fight two-on-one,¡± Pauline said. ¡°But¡ª¡± With a wild screech, Rufflet took flight again, and this time its wing shone instead of its beak. It was still aiming for Pauline. ¡°¡ªyou¡¯d like that, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Pauline smirked. ¡°Win the fight.¡± Gothorita gave her a slight nod and restrained Rufflet while Charmeleon screamed out a Dragon Rage that engulfed itpletely. She rummaged through her bag, grabbed a Great Ball, and sent it toward Rufflet. The ball shook thrice and then let out a small ¡®ding¡¯. Pauline had finally caught her third Pokemon. We all congratted her, and even though she was trying to hide it, I could tell she was happy. I knew how much she hated the fact that she had fallen behind us, and this was a way for her to finally feel like she was making progress again. Pauline immediately released the wounded Rufflet and grabbed a potion. I decided to scan it with my Pokedex. Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokemon. With its powerful legs and sturdy ws, they can crack even the hard shells of Shellder and pluck out their insides¡ª ¡°Ew. Not cool, Pokedex,¡± I groaned. ¡ªThey will challenge anything, even strong opponents, not out of courage, but out of recklessness in a relentless quest for strength. ¡°Arceus, that does sound like you,¡± I muttered. ¡°You did pick a fight with Harvey and rence.¡± ¡°And I won,¡± Pauline shrugged before turning to her new Pokemon. ¡°Listen up. I¡¯m going to put you through so many hard fights that you could only dream of on this shitty route. I¡¯m the best trainer you could hope for.¡± The flying type¡¯s neck feathers puffed up, making it look bigger than it was. ¡°Tough girl, aren¡¯t you,¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°Let me heal you, and we can start training tonight. Charmeleon and Gothorita pack a punch, don¡¯t they?¡± Rufflet nodded immediately, eliciting a few chuckles from the group, and Pauline healed her up with potions. ¡°So since you seem to be going for Pokemon that fit you,¡± I started, holding back augh. ¡°Are you going for an Exploud next or¡ª¡± ¡°Grace, you little shit!¡± ¡ª¡ª It was nighttime now, and we had gone through another day of travel. The terrain here was miserable, as Denzel had warned. It was rocky, uneven, and we were going constantly uphill. Luckily we had found a t spot to set up camp at, but there would be five more days of this until we reached the outpost that separated Mount Cor from route 207. At least, other than how terrible my legs felt, the rest of the route was easy, easier than route 216 or 217, even. If there was one thing I was d about, it was that when we were past this section of Mount Cor, it would be a while until wild Pokemon could threaten us ever again. ¡°One more time, sweetheart,¡± I told Larvitar. With ragged breaths, the rock type stomped on the ground, and it shook slightly. Right now, the best way I had found to start working on the move Stomping Tantrum was for her to manipte the rocks underground enough to make the floor shake, but it wasn¡¯t strong enough to even hurt me yet, so there was still a lot to work on. ¡°Good job,¡± I said, crouching to pet her hard scales. She huffed and smiled at me. ¡°Of course, I knew you¡¯d be able to do it. Let¡¯s call it a day for now, alright?¡± Larvitar hesitantly nodded and followed me back to the rest of the team. Electabuzz was practicing his Discharge to improve its range, so he was far away from the rest of us in order not to identally hurt anyone. Discharge would be my counter against Cecilia¡¯s Fletchinder, so I¡¯d need him to be just as good with the move as he was with Thunderbolt. Frillish was taking it easy tonight, but he had practiced the speed of his Shadow Balls. What I was focused on, however, was Togetic and Tang, who were practicing Ancient Power. At this point, princess was getting so good with the move that I was starting to wonder if I could have her alter the forms of the rocks somehow. Maybe if I could have her mold it into spikes or something, they¡¯d be better at prating Pokemon with heavy armor, but then again, maybe blunt force was more effective. It was something I¡¯d have to work on soon, but tonight was Tang¡¯s night. ¡°Toge. Togetic,¡± Togetic whispered to me and Larvitar. ¡°Already?!¡± I eximed. ¡°That¡¯s¡ª that¡¯s awesome!¡± The grass type turned toward me and gently led me forward with a vine. ¡°Angel,¡± I said. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± He extended a few vines and pointed toward Electabuzz and Frillish. ¡°You want me to call them?¡± I asked. He answered with two blinks. ¡°Honey, buddy! Come here!¡± I yelled. Electabuzz sprinted toward me so quickly that he appeared in a sh, and Frillish was there soon after. ¡°I think¡ª I think angel¡¯s ready,¡± I dered, trembling in excitement. ¡°Go ahead. Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± Tang stared up at me and gave me a firm nod. He closed his eyes and his vines started to wriggle, all independently from each other. When he opened his eyes again, they were blue, illuminating us in a cold glow. A lone pebble started to bounce on the ground, and then there was a rumble. When I thought that he was finally about to use Ancient Power, the shaking slowed and his eyes returned to normal. I crouched. ¡°Don¡¯t stress, you¡¯ve got this, angel,¡± I told him. ¡°We¡¯re all here for you.¡± Togetic gave a hearty, reassuring cry and pped her hands. Frillish nodded and patted the grass type on the head. Electabuzz crossed his arms and encouraged him, and Larvitar wriggled her arms excitedly, as if she was on the edge of her seat. Tang smiled with his eyes and they shone once more. A huge rock emerged from the ground and soared into the sky, hitting the cliff in the distance and breaking into a dozen pieces. ¡°Angel¡ª you¡ª you did it!¡± I squealed. ¡°You did¡ª¡± Light enveloped Tang¡¯s body and he grew. Up, and up, until he was way taller than me. Two arms sprouted from his sides, tipped in red, and his vines grew more numerous and thicker. His shoe-like feet turned into short, stubby legs. His eyes had stayed the same size, but they were on the upper side of his head instead of at its center. ¡°You¡¯re so¡­ you¡¯re so tall,¡± I exhaled as I stared up at him. He was a foot taller than me now, and he was taller than any of us in the group, including Denzel. Suddenly, a dozen vines extended toward us and he wrapped the entire family into a tight hug.
Chapter 105 Chapter 105 CHAPTER 105 ¡°Angel¡ª that tickles!¡± I said, barely managing to get out the sentence with how much I wasughing. The grass type finally loosened his hold on all of us, but he kept Larvitar wrapped in his vine and ced her on his head. She giggled, seemingly happy to be so high up when she was usually the smallest out of all of us. Togetic seemingly wanted the same, and she flew up before plopping herself down on his soft head. Electabuzz wanted to get on his head too, but he was too big, so he jealously grumbled. Still, he was happy for Tangrowth, who extended a hand and pat him on the head, while Frillish just sighed as the grass type held onto his tentacle like a balloon string. The first thing I noticed was that even though Tangrowth¡¯s appendages looked like hands, they were actually bundles of vines tightly wrapped together into a coherent shape. He could extend or retract them like any other vine in his body, and that meant that he could also attack with them. I grabbed my Pokedex and decided to give him a scan. Tangrowth, the Vine Pokemon. It tends to ensnare prey by extending its vine-like arms, but it also uses them as bait to escape predators since a lost arm will regrow in a few minutes. Its vines grow so profusely that during warm seasons, you cannot see its eyes. Well, this was Sinnoh, so I probably wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him not being able to see properly and having to shave his vines, and that regeneration speed was an incredible boon that meant that Tangrowth basically had an almost infinite supply of vines in battle unless we were facing a particrly powerful fire type or a Pokemon with a strong fire type move. What caught my eye, though, was that mention of prey. If Tangrowth caught prey, then that meant that not only could they sustain themselves with sunlight, but also with food. I hurriedly unstrapped my bag and rummaged through Togetic¡¯s Oran Berries, grabbed a tiny piece of cut-up food, and held it out in front of him. For so long, I had promised him that he would be able to enjoy food one day. ¡°Angel,¡± I said, my voice slightly shaking. ¡°Can you¡ª can you eat this?¡± His eyes honed in on the slice of Oran, and he gently wrapped a vine around it, pulling it deep into his body. We all watched in anticipation, waiting to see if he¡¯d be sessful or not. After a few seconds, Tangrowth shivered and bounced around, dropping Togetic and Larvitar. The former caught herself with augh by simply floating, while Tangrowth saved thetter with a vine. He had always been capable of lifting her, but he was now doing that like it was nothing, and she hadn¡¯t even been at her full weight before. ¡°Did it taste good?!¡± I asked with a grin. The grass type shivered and shook his arms excitedly. ¡°Do you want more? I¡¯m sure Togetic wouldn¡¯t mind sharing, plus I have plenty of other food too. Let¡¯s find out your favorite!¡± Around thirty minutes of taste testingter, I found out that Tangrowth didn¡¯t really have a favorite food. Everything he ate was seemingly the best thing he had ever eaten, and he reacted appropriately, jumping around and shaking every time he ate. I didn¡¯t know how exactly it was that he actually swallowed anything, if he had a mouth under all those vines, or if he somehow dissolved the food in there, but at least I had fulfilled my promise to him now. ¡°You¡¯re fully capable of using Ancient Power now,¡± I smiled at him. Sure, the control wouldn¡¯t be as good as Togetic¡¯s, but she was more of an exception to the rule. ¡°That was the bottleneck that kept me from working on new moves with you, since you needed it to evolve. You know what that means, right?¡± Tangrowth blinked twice. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re going to teach you as many new moves as possible before the fight with Fantina,¡± I nodded. ¡°But first, let¡¯s see what you can do with what you already have.¡± To be honest, it was a wonder that we¡¯d gotten this far with Tang¡ª or Tangrowth now¡ª having so few moves, but his versatility and utility made all the difference. I asked Togetic to raise a few boulders in front of us, which she did, and they were all perfectly spherical. First, I had Tangrowth strike them with Vine Whip. Whereas before, it would have taken a few seconds after an attack for the boulder to be cut in two, now that he had evolved, Tangrowth could immediately make one crumble with very little difficulty. I could tell that he was holding back in order to protect us from any fragments flying our way, even though I had full trust in Togetic¡¯s abilities to stop them with Extrasensory. His maximum range as a Tang seemed to have been fifty feet, but he could easily keep them responsive at eighty now. Bind was next, and angel could easily squeeze a rock until it crumbled into a hundred pieces. I couldn¡¯t exactly test Mega Drain on anything that wasn¡¯t alive, but I was sure the move had improved a whole lot as well. For his powder moves, they didn¡¯t seem to have particrly improved, but they weren¡¯t exactly a big part of our fighting style, so it was understandable. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re extremely strong,¡± I said as I pped my hands. He was very physically inclined for a Tangrowth, even more so than he had been as a Tang. Usually, his species were slightly more focused on special attacks. ¡°Now we need to work on new moves.¡± I scanned him with my Pokedex once more and came up with a list he should prioritize. ¡°We¡¯re going to be fighting Fantina¡¯s ghost types, so I want you to work on Knock Off first,¡± I exined. ¡°Gym leaders don¡¯t use held items, nor do any official battles in the Circuit, but the move is still dark type, andbined with how far you can extend your vines, it¡¯ll be very useful. It¡¯ll probably be hard to get started on, but¡­ I have an idea of how to jumpstart the learning process.¡± Items weren¡¯t really used in the Circuit because the League wanted to give every trainer an equal footing, but they were allowed in the Conference. Tangrowth responded with a series of fierce blinks. ¡°Next one¡¯s a doozy,¡± I smiled. ¡°We need to work on Sunny Day, but that¡¯s more of a long-term project.¡± I had said that I wanted to get better at using my Pokemon¡¯s abilities, and I was putting money where my mouth was. Unfortunately though, weather moves were notable for how difficult they were to learn and master. There was a long way to go until I reached Gardenia¡¯s level with Sunny Day, but the earlier we started working on the move, the better. Plus, if I was going to catch a fire type, then it would synergize pretty well with my future member. ¡°Last but not least,¡± I said, crossing my arms. ¡°Power Whip.¡± I grinned when I saw his vines wriggle in excitement at the move¡¯s name. ¡°Believe it or not, despite it being the most powerful move on the list, it should be the easiest to learn. It¡¯s a pretty natural progression to Vine Whip, just a bajillion times more powerful. Let¡¯s get the others working on their moves too!¡± The entire team let out cries of encouragement and got to work¡ª even Larvitar, who I had previously told that she could stop. I called Togetic over and beckoned her to join me with Tangrowth. Double Edge would be lower priority, since Fantina was a ghost type gym leader, but I still wanted her to work on something else, along with helping Tangrowth with Knock Off. ¡°Princess, you¡¯re going to be learning Wish,¡± I told her. ¡°It¡¯s a restorative move that¡¯s dyed, so I could switch out and heal someone else if I needed it, but you also need to help Tangrowth with his Knock Off.¡± There were a few reasons I had chosen Togetic to help Tangrowth. First, after working together on Ancient Power for so long, Togetic had be a masterful teacher, and they meshed well together. The other reason was that since princess was a fairy type, any sessful Knock Offs wouldn¡¯t deal that much damage to her. I looked through my bag, grabbed my knife, and handed it over to Togetic, who clumsily held it with both of her hands and yfully acted like she was about to stab me. It was a sturdy one, so I wasn¡¯t worried about it breaking. After all, I had owned it for my entire journey, and it showed no signs of disrepair. Like I had stated before, Knock Off was a move that rid a Pokemon of their held items, not just by knocking it off of their body or wherever they were wearing it, but by infusing the attack with dark energy to make sure that even if the Pokemon picked that item back up, or it didn¡¯t actually get off the Pokemon¡¯s body, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use it for several minutes. Something about dark type energy screwed with the properties of items, but I wasn¡¯t smart enough to exin it in detail or know how it worked, and it wasn¡¯t like any of these two doofuses would understand anyway. Obviously, giving your Pokemon a knife in battle was¡­ not allowed, but the point was that having Togetic hold anything would be a good starting point for Tangrowth. I wasn¡¯t sure how a knife was going to be rendered unusable, but it sure was better than anything else I had, and I wasn¡¯t about to waste food, and it being a weapon would probably help. After exining the process a few times, I let them start training and began working on Larvitar again. The group came looking for me two hourster with looks of relief on their face when they found me. I had forgotten that I hadn¡¯t told them that I was going to stay this long. ¡ª¡ª The next day, while we were taking a short break due to how tiresome walking up this Arceus damned hill was, I decided to take Justin to a secluded part of the route. If he was going to beat Fantina, he was going to need my help. Even if he was actually training hard now, I thought that a small push wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone. I had to stop myself from asking him for a list of all of his Pokemon¡¯s moves and abilities so that I could build a training n. Micromanaging every part of his training would no doubt suck out the newfound fun he was feeling in the process. Plus, it was probably somewhat toxic behavior that I was d I was able to stop. I couldn¡¯t micromanage every little thing, especially when it didn¡¯t have to do with me or my team. I would speak with Justin about broad concepts and hope that it would help him enough. ¡°So, Justin,¡± I said, crossing my arms. ¡°Have you found joy in your way of battling yet?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± He asked. ¡°Every trainer enjoys battling for different reasons,¡± I exined. ¡°To me, it¡¯s all about the nning process and watching that n seed, or scrambling to find something else if it doesn¡¯t. To Cece, it¡¯s making her attacks as powerful as possible and taking down her opponents in the shortest amount of time possible. To Denzel, it¡¯s about improvising and keeping his mind going at a steady pace throughout the battle until he wins.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t really done much stalling yet, but I do daydream about it sometimes¡ª¡± he stopped and blushed when he saw me smile. He cleared his throat. ¡°Anyway! My Pokemon and Ick in experience and the moves to implement that type of strategy, so I¡¯d say it¡¯s too early to know if I truly enjoy it or not. For all I know, it could be a dud.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s toote,¡± I shrugged. ¡°You caught the bug.¡± ¡°The what?¡± I waved my hand dismissively. ¡°The training bug¡ª but anyway, why don¡¯t we have our Pokemon spar a little? Larvitar¡¯s been making good progress, and I¡¯d say she¡¯s at your level, or maybe slightly stronger, so it¡¯d be good practice for her too.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s embarrassing that you¡¯ve had a baby catch up to me so fast, but I don¡¯t see why not,¡± the boy said. ¡°What should I use?¡± ¡°Anything works,¡± I shrugged. ¡°But probably not Growlithe.¡± ¡°Will you be fine if I have the type advantage?¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about me,¡± I said. I released Larvitar, who stomped a foot angrily at the ground. ¡°Did I interrupt your nap? Sorry sweetheart, but we¡¯re battling,¡± I said. She immediately perked up and forgave me. Justin released his Sandile, who liquefied the ground under him and sunk halfway into the floor. The terrain was ideal for both of our Pokemon, but I had one strategy I had hurriedlye up with that I believed would pull me and Larvitar over the top. ¡°Sand Tomb, then sink into the ground!¡± Justin ordered. The ground under Larvitar turned to mud, leaving Sandile enough time to bury himself underground, away from any attacks. Or at least that¡¯s what Justin thought. ¡°Stomping Tantrum,¡± I said. Last night¡¯s intense training bore fruit, and Larvitar cried out angrily as she started stomping the ground, causing it to shake. More precisely, however, she was focusing on the spot Sandile had just been in, meaning that it was taking the brunt of the attack and that he would be forced to unbury and make a move soon enough. I was countering Justin¡¯s Dig strategy by pressuring him into making a move. I was the one in control. After thinking for around ten seconds, Justin clicked his tongue and ordered Sandile to attack Larvitar directly. The ground type hit her with Dig and sent her sliding across the rocky ground. ¡°Smack Down,¡± I quickly said. A rock quickly flew out of the ground and rammed Sandile¡¯s face. ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Sandile, bury again¡ª¡± ¡°Rock Throw under him.¡± Larvitar raised a rock from under where Sandile was standing, preventing the ground type from hiding away, but even if he did, the oue of the battle wouldn¡¯t have changed. Stomping Tantrum would counter any attempts to hide with Dig. I was just speeding up the process. Sandile was thrown into the air, and I ordered Larvitar to hit him with onest Smack Down. This time, the rock went over Sandile, and then sharply switched directions, hitting the ground type from above and causing him to be rammed into the ground. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t want to go too far. Good job, sweetheart.¡± ¡°Larvi!¡± ¡°Already?¡± Justin sighed. ¡°Alright, then. That certainly was eye-opening.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not the one that was thrown into Mount Cor,¡± I told him. ¡°My circumstances made me improve faster than the average trainer. Anyway, let¡¯s see if you can spot your mistakes.¡± Justin ced a hand on his chin and mulled it over for a few seconds. ¡°Not anticipating the Stomping Tantrum, perhaps?¡± ¡°No, no, that was fine,¡± I shook my head. ¡°The problem was when you tried to make Sandile bury again when you already knew it wouldn¡¯t work. Why?¡± ¡°I suppose I just panicked. It¡¯s my go-to strategy to escape from tough situations. I always use it to catch my breath during battles, so I just automatically used it.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s the problem,¡± I said. ¡°You never want to be on autopilot during battles, alright? Every action has to have thought behind it. If something didn¡¯t work the first time, don¡¯t do it again. Now, what was another mistake?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°You took too much time to make a decision during the first Stomping Tantrum. Ten seconds. I counted. That was ten seconds where you weren¡¯t doing anything and Sandile was just getting hurt for free. Never let your Pokemon get hurt without at least trying to dish out something in response. Every action your opponent takes should have a cost. Sometimes, that cost isn¡¯t as high as what you paid, but at least it¡¯s something. Next mistake?¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°So, do you think you¡¯ve learned a lot today?¡± I asked Justin. ¡°Well, I certainly learned a lot more than what I usually do on my own,¡± he smiled. ¡°It honestly feels refreshing.¡± ¡°Ideally, you want to have these reflective moments after every battle¡ª or at least every difficult battle,¡± I exined. ¡°Spotting your mistakes makes you unlikely to ever repeat them. Anyway, it¡¯s not over just yet.¡± ¡°More training?¡± ¡°No, no, just more advice,¡± I said. ¡°You saw my battle against Candice, right?¡± He nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly run a full-on stalling strategy, but I do try to scout out my opponent¡¯s moves during a battle if I can. I think that¡¯s something you might want to try doing, especially when you get better atsting longer in battles.¡± ¡°Right, I actually wanted to do that with your Larvitar, but I panicked.¡± ¡°It takes a lot of discipline,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve got to keep your finger on the trigger but not squeeze until the exact right time. Finding out what that exact timing is is hard, and I¡¯m not that great at it yet.¡± ¡°It seemed to have worked rather well against that lie, though.¡± ¡°Nah, I could have gone for it earlier,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°If you make it to the Conference this year, stalling won¡¯t be enough either, or at least not in the way you¡¯re doing it now. Sure, stalling is a defensive battling style, but you need to be more aggressive, I think. You¡¯ve got to have a n to actually get a win, not just wait for time to run out.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, first, that¡¯s the goal of battles, right? To win. You saw how it affected the way you and Sandile fought, too. You were only focusing on buying time, not actually beating me, but that¡¯s not the only reason. It¡¯s also about building the habit for the future. Conference battles are thirty minutes instead of twenty like gym battles¡ª or at least at the group stages. When people reach the knock-out rounds, that gets extended to one hour.¡± His eyes bulged. ¡°One hour of stalling? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s feasible.¡± ¡°Right? Even thirty minutes is pushing it, so in the future, at least, you¡¯ll need to figure out how to take down Pokemon and stall, but there are a lot of moves that can help you do that. I know it¡¯s kind of difficult right now with your limited options, though.¡± ¡°Hm,¡± he hummed. ¡°What happens if I do stall for thirty minutes or one hour? Hypothetically, of course.¡± ¡°Well, ording to Denzel, the trainer with the most Pokemon remaining automatically wins. If you¡¯re tied, it goes into a sudden death battle where the one who takes down the other¡¯s current Pokemon first wins the entire battle, and all switching bes prohibited¡ª if you had any left in the first ce.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s like you said, I¡¯d be better off trying to figure out another way,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll make it in this year regardless.¡± ¡°Come on, Justin, have some confidence,¡± I said. ¡°You can¡ª¡± ¡°Guys, we¡¯re leaving!¡± Denzel yelled out at us. ¡°Okay!¡± I answered. ¡°You can make it, you¡¯ve just got to work hard. This is a rare form of battling, so finding people to emte will be hard, but the inte exists! You can just look up good trainers that are stallers and start doing the same things they do little by little, and implement my advice too. I try to emte Gardenia, for example, although I guess that was kind of obvious. I think Cece¡¯s doing Cynthia, and I don¡¯t know if Denzel is copying anyone yet.¡± Justin stood and helped me up. ¡°Thank you, Grace. My mind feels clearer after today.¡± ¡°No prob,¡± I smiled. ¡°Just pay me back in french fries.¡± ¡ª¡ª After six days of grueling travel, we were close to the foot of Mount Cor, and a huge ranger outpost stood in the distance¡ª bigger than the ones that had been at Eterna Forest¡¯s entrance and exit. Hearthome was getting ever closer.
Chapter 106 Chapter 106 CHAPTER 106 ¡°Whew,¡± Denzel groaned as we entered the small, gatedmunity. ¡°We finally made it.¡± ¡°We made it one day earlier, may I add,¡± Cece said with a slight, pleased smile. ¡°Despite all of Pauline¡¯sints and breaks,¡± I said. ¡°I haven¡¯t traveled in a while, so I¡¯m not used to being this active,¡± she hurriedly said. ¡°Justin looks fine,¡± I noticed. He perked up. ¡°I might not look the part, but I¡¯m pretty endurant.¡± There were a lot of trainers here, and from the whispers and conversations I was picking up, a lot of them were simply waiting for the price of potions to fall so that they could make it through Mount Cor without risking their and their Pokemons¡¯ lives. We immediately went for the Pokemon Center and decided to give our Pokemon to Nurse Joy for a small check-up despite them not being that hurt from their travels. After all, it was free, so why not? I practically had to dash to my room to avoid questions from other trainers. Some asked for battles too, which I felt better about, but I¡¯d have to see if people were still interested when I got my team back. I hurriedly opened my phone to check for messages in our group chat. I hadn¡¯t seen Chase or Louis anywhere, but maybe they were here. There were a lot of people, so I easily could have missed them. I sighed in relief when I saw a message from Chase telling us that he had made it to the outpost, but frowned when I read that it had been sent two days ago. Knowing him, he had wasted no time and entered Mount Cor already, so it looked like we weren¡¯t going to meet him again until we got to Hearthome. I chuckled a bit when I saw that Emilia had tried to converse with him, but he simply told her that he was busy and stopped answering her messages. To me, it was funny, but it had probably vexed Emilia since she wasn¡¯t used to how Chase behaved. Speaking of Emilia, she had safelynded in Hearthome days ago, which was good news. After sending a message, I learned that she hadn¡¯t started setting up her coordinator career just yet, but she had bought a few TMs for her team, like Shadow Ball for both Beldum and Aipom, or Trailze for Rockruff. Obviously, it would take weeks for them to perfect the moves enough to use in contests, but it was good to see that she was making progress just like us. She was thinking of getting herself a fourth teammate as well, although she was still thinking about which. Now that she had given up traveling in the wild, she was going to buy the rest of her team one by one¡ª which was what coordinators usually did anyway. The most sessful ones tended to be swimming in money. There were still no signs from Louis, and the fact that I didn¡¯t know if it was because he hadn¡¯t made it to the outpost yet or just didn¡¯t feel like speaking to us worried me, but he needed his space, so I¡¯d give it to him. It wasn¡¯t like there was anything I¡¯d be able to do from here anyway. Plus, I had things to think about as well. My quest for a fire type wasn¡¯t going very well. I had seen a lone Rolycoly wandering route 207, but I opted not to catch it at the time, since I had hoped that I¡¯de across something better. Well, now we were about to enter Mount Cor, and there were still no signs of Numel or Torkoal. I knew they were rare, but even with Fletchinder¡¯s help, we couldn¡¯t find any. Hopefully, the other side of Mount Cor would prove more favorable, although with all the water that flowed through there, that was probably unlikely. Maybe I¡¯d have to make do with a Rolycoly¡­? That¡¯d be so unsatisfying. After resting for around an hour, I took a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and decided to go see what the others were up to. I¡¯d have to brave the packed Center¡¯s corridors, but I had to start somewhere. ¡°Can I get an autograph?¡± A trainer asked. ¡°No, sorry¡­¡± I mumbled. I didn¡¯t even know how to give an autograph. Would I just need to write my name? That was how I signed everything anyway, but wouldn¡¯t that be unsatisfying to get? Denzel¡¯s autograph was stylized and looked extremely nice. ¡°Maybe another time.¡± ¡°Hey, can we battle? I have two badges!¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to, but my Pokemon are getting looked at right now,¡± I said, instantly more open to dialogue. ¡°Come see me in an hour or two, and I¡¯ll probably say yes.¡± It¡¯d be good practice for Larvitar, who was desperate to catch up with the rest of the team. I wanted to give Tangrowth his first battle too. Although maybe using Tangrowth against a trainer with two badges was unfair? There were no rules about Pokemon battles needing to be fair, but just walking over an opponent wouldn¡¯t be what I called fun. I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw Cecilia walking down the hall with Pauline. ¡°Hey guys,¡± I smiled. ¡°Whatcha doing? Can I join?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve already got Justin,¡± Pauline huffed. ¡°Hm?¡± I let out, raising an eyebrow. ¡°What she means is that we¡¯ve obviously noticed how you¡¯ve taken Justin under your wing,¡± Cece specified. ¡°So Pauline¡¯s asked me to help her.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even ask to help me out, Grace,¡± sheined. ¡°What? I just wanted to help Justin because you¡¯ve never had a problem with getting motivated by battling,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± she sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t give you shit for it, since Cece stepped up.¡± ¡°Well, you guys have fun then,¡± I said. ¡°Where are Denzel and Justin?¡± ¡°In his room,¡± Pauline rolled her eyes. ¡°He¡¯s doing ¡®a few things¡¯ before going out to do his usual information gathering. Justin must be out there somewhere. I haven¡¯t seen him in a bit.¡± ¡°Well, guess I¡¯ll go see Denzel, then,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Do you want to meet upter¡ª¡± We were interrupted by a group of trainers that had followed me there, and Pauline started berating them to no end. I gave Cece a quick nod, which she returned and kept walking to Denzel¡¯s room, which was a floor above everyone else¡¯s for some reason. I remembered to knock this time in case he was streaming, but he quickly opened the door and let me in, meaning that he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Hiya,¡± he said. ¡°Need something?¡± ¡°Sheesh, you¡¯re stingy,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m just ying,¡± I said. ¡°Wanted to know what you were up to.¡± ¡°I was linking my Trainer ID to my video channel so that people can start donating,¡± he exined. ¡°Gotta strike when the iron¡¯s hot.¡± I gasped when I saw the first donationing in. ¡°Holy crap, you just got fifty Pokedors from someone!¡± Denzel almost squealed in joy and scrambled back to his Poketch. ¡°Holy fuck, already? Look, there¡¯s another ten Pokedor one!¡± The donations were rtively small, but together, they¡¯d add up really quickly. Obviously, they¡¯d slow when our poprity faded, but right now, he¡¯d be rolling in money soon enough. I smiled, feeling happy for him. ¡°If you can keep building off of this momentum, then¡ª¡± ¡°Then I might be able to ride this wave for a long time,¡± he breathed out in excitement. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m making money by doing¡­ effectively nothing. All I¡¯ve done is one livestream, which Emilia and Pauline obviously found shitty.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been through a lot, you deserve it.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I need to¡ª I need to get myself aptop or something, like Craig. If I¡¯m going to be spending a lot of time online, this little Poketch screen is going to make my eyes tired all the time.¡± ¡°You can just get a cheap one,¡± I said. ¡°I might get one too, honestly. I need an application that makes spreadsheets.¡± ¡°S¡ªspreadsheets?¡± ¡°Yeah, so I can measure my Pokemons¡¯ improvement over time,¡± I exined. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to do it since Floaroma, but I guess the opportunity never came up, and doing it on paper seems like a pain.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a nerd,¡± heughed. ¡°Does it matter if it brings results?¡± ¡°I guess not,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s been¡­ an hour and a half. I¡¯m gonna try to see if my Pokemon are good to go so I can try to stream a training session for my channel. Wannae with?¡± ¡°To your recording? Absolutely, as long as I¡¯m not in it!¡± ¡°Obviously not! I¡¯d get embarrassed with someone there, I meant to pick up your Pokemon too!¡± ¡°Ah, bummer,¡± I said yfully. ¡°But fine. And yeah, our Pokemon are probably good, since I saw Cece and Pauline go get theirs. Plus, I¡¯ve got some stuff to try out with my team too.¡± Namely, experimenting with new moves and as I said previously, maybe a battle or two. Entering the lobby, I winced when I saw two trainers get carried on a stretcher. Their bodies were covered in burns, and their skin was practically melted off. A reality check, if there ever was one. Just like in Eterna Forest, people died here. Even if we had been through Mount Cor once, we needed to take this seriously. We went to pick up our two teams and went our separate ways, looking to find an isted part of the outpost to train at. It was harder than for the Eterna Forest¡¯s outposts, since this one just had so many more people, but after around ten minutes of searching, I finally found a rtively good area. On the way there, I walked across one of the few stores, which was depressingly almost devoid of first year trainers, since stuff was still so expensive, but I also walked past the mountain¡¯s entrance, and apparently, trainers needed a ticket to be allowed in Mount Cor just like for Eterna Forest. After asking one of the rangers standing guard there. He exined that the Eterna outpost system had been implemented throughout every outpost in the region for two reasons. First, there was the fact that trainers actually sitting through a ss to learn about threats was great at reducing the casualty rate, so the Ranger Organization petitioned to the League to make the system permanent and region-wide, which they epted without a fuss. The second reason was that surprisingly, trainers themselves had pushed for the system while we had been away from civilization, especially the first years. As the years progressed on, trainers dying was stillmon ce, but it was bing less and less normalized in society, and routes were bing safer and safer. Statistics about trainer deaths from Cynthia¡¯s time would appear ludicrous to us today, for example. Either way, it looked like another ss for us. Even though we had already gone through Mount Cor once, I would pay attention. Who knew if there were some crazy Pokemon here that we hadn¡¯t encountered up north and didn¡¯t know how to deal with? I released my entire team, who all gave me their respective greetings, and set them to work. Electabuzz still needed to work on Discharge, not because he was struggling with the move, but because how fast he needed to get the electricity out of his body if he was going to deal with Cecilia¡¯s Fletchinder. He was also going to babysit Larvitar at the same time, and he would start gently battling her. ¡°Make sure to take it easy on her, okay?¡± I whispered in his ear so that Larvitar couldn¡¯t hear. She was very easy to upset, and I didn¡¯t want her to start stomping all over. ¡°Let her win and stuff.¡± ¡°Ele,¡± he nodded after a few protests. Now that Larvitar had mastered Stomping Tantrum and Smack Down, I was going to have her work on Bite, which meant that she could take it easy today. Frillish still needed to perfect Shadow Ball, so that would be more of the same. Who I really wanted to work with today were Tangrowth and Togetic. The grass type was still struggling with Knock Off, mostly because he didn¡¯t know how to infuse the dark type energy that came with the move, and I couldn¡¯t me him. He wasn¡¯t a dark type, so it wouldn¡¯te naturally to him. Sunny Day was the same, but that was an incredibly difficult move, so I hadn¡¯t expected to make much progress on it at all. Power Whip, though, he had learned ridiculously easily. When it came to hitting and grabbing stuff, angel couldn¡¯t be beaten, and he already could use the move consistently, although it was extremely fast, so he still struggled to aim it at his targets. By the time we got to Hearthome, I expected that to be fixed. The most important thing I wanted to do, though, was tinker with the move Wish. ¡°Angel,¡± I said, nodding toward him. He immediately detached his arm, which wriggled and withered on the ground like a dying worm, and then prevented it from growing back. ¡°Princess, try using Wish,¡± I said. Togetic nodded fiercely and shut her eyes tightly, and after twenty seconds, a bright light shot up into the sky from her head. Tangrowth then waddled to where Togetic had just been to wait. To a certain extent, she had mastered Wish already, but there was a big problem. Wish was the form a Pokemon¡¯s ultimate desire took, and it healed the user or someone around the attack, albeit with a dy. For Togetic, we had found that Wish could be used rtively easily, but it was always weaker than it should have been because she could only use it effectively under severe amounts of emotional stress¡ª when a member of the family was in actual danger. Two days ago, a boulder copsed on Larvitar after she used Stomping Tantrum too close to one of the mountain¡¯s cliffs. Unbeknownst to Togetic, the rock type¡¯s scales had protected her from most of the damage, but she seriously thought that her sister had been mortally wounded for at least twenty seconds and had burst into tears. That was the first time she had used a proper Wish, and Larvitar¡¯s superficial wounds were healed perfectly. The light had been brighter, and instead of five minutes, it had only taken one minute toe back down from the sky. That meant that there was a mental block that we needed to work past. A five minute dy meant that the move was practically useless in battle. Sure, it didn¡¯t take that much out of her, although it was slow to charge up, but Wish needed to be used with intent. Predicting how a battle would look one minute in the future was incredibly difficult, but five? That was impossible at my current skill level. I didn¡¯t want to just randomly have Togetic use the move and hope it was useful when itnded. That wasn¡¯t how I rolled. I wanted my ns to be iron tight. Plus, the strategy would be easily exploitable by any smart opponents, especially since using the move left Togetic open to any attacks. After five minutes, Wish illuminated the sky and came back down, healing around half of Tangrowth¡¯s arm. ¡°You can grow it back,¡± I nodded toward angel. ¡°Good try, princess.¡± Togetic gave me a disappointed nod, and I petted her to try to cheer her up. Within a minute, the rest of Tangrowth¡¯s arm was back. I had him practice a few Power Whips against boulders Togetic raised with Ancient Power until his arm-vines were almostpletely shaved off. Right, that was another drawback of the move. It was so powerful that it destroyed his vines too, although it didn¡¯t actually hurt him, and as he grew stronger, I expected that side effect to wane. ¡°Give me another Wish,¡± I told Togetic. She sent the bright light into the sky again. ¡°Okay, would you be fine if angel hit you a little?¡± I asked her. ¡°Toge,¡± she nodded, and Tangrowth hit her with a weakened Vine Whip, dealing barely any damage. ¡°Now, angel, take a few steps to the right¡­ a little more¡ª there you go. Togetic, you float a little to the left¡ª stop there, that¡¯s perfect!¡± I had them spaced at the exact same distance away from the Wish. I wanted to see who exactly would receive the move if both Pokemon were at a simr distance, and then if one was further away, or if one was more hurt than the other, and it was all because I wanted to know exactly how to use the move in a double battle. Five minutester, the Wish came down and immediately entered Togetic¡¯s body, healing her slight bruise. ¡°Seems like it prioritizes the move¡¯s user if you¡¯re at a simr distance,¡± I pondered. ¡°Let¡¯s try again with the same setup, but this time, Togetic isn¡¯t wounded, but Tangrowth is.¡± Due to the move¡¯s dy, all of the experiments took around an hour, and what I found out was very interesting. The move was actually extremely predictable, which was good news. It being random would be the worst-case scenario. First, it seemed that regardless of how wounded both Pokemon were, Wish would always prioritize healing the move¡¯s user unless Togetic stood far away. The limit I found was that after one hundred feet, it would go to Tangrowth and heal him instead. Now, if Togetic waspletely fine and Tangrowth was wounded, the move would always go and heal Tangrowth even as long as he was within the one-hundred feet radius. If I swapped out Togetic for someone else, then the Pokemon the closest to Wish would get healed, unless they were also unwounded, in which case it would go to the wounded Pokemon. It sounded hard, but it was actually pretty easy to remember. Togetic was exhausted by now, so I rewarded her with some Oran Berries and gave her some well deserved rest in her Pokeball. Tangrowth was still raring to go, since the sun was still out, but I opted to recall him anyway, since I wasn¡¯t about to walk around with him and attract even more attention unless I was going to use him in battle. I was amused to see that Larvitar wasughing heartily and celebrating when she saw me arrive. ¡°Larvitar! Tar! Tar!¡± She screamed, pointing at Electabuzz, who was rolling around the ground and crying out in pain. He had bruises all over his body, but I knew they were only surface-level wounds. He was pretending. ¡°You won against honey?¡± I gasped, feigning surprise. ¡°Aw, good job! You¡¯re the best!¡± I said, crouching and caressing her cheek. I discreetly winked at Electabuzz, who smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. He was such a good big brother to her. I recalled the rest of the team and walked back toward the Center, but I was surprised when I caught a glimpse of Justin battling another trainer. ¡°What are you doing? Stop ying around and fight an actual battle!¡± His opponent angrily screamed. He had a Dwebble that was just standing around and waiting. Must be using Sandile, I mused. But had he seeded in perfecting the strategy we had worked on? I smiled when I saw the ground liquefy under the bug type and spin around like a whirlpool. Sandile was still nowhere to be seen, but he had gotten good enough with his Sand Tomb to hurt his opponents withouting even close to the surface. Dwebble¡¯s trainer ordered it to Withdraw, but it was only dying the inevitable. He fainted soon after, and the trainer angrily recalled his Pokemon and stomped off my way after hurling a few insults at Justin. ¡°Hey,¡± I said, stepping in front of him. ¡°If you keep that mentality, you¡¯ll never improve.¡± ¡°What the hell do you even know¡ª oh, Grace Pastel¡­ um, yeah, whatever. Stalling is just annoying.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always an answer to everything,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Anyway, feel free to go. Just don¡¯t trash talk after losing, it makes you look real petty.¡± The boy said nothing and just left, and then I walked toward Justin with a big smile. ¡°Grace! You were watching?¡± He said embarrassingly. ¡°Only caught the tail end,¡± I said. ¡°But good job.¡± He nodded, scratching his cheek. ¡°Now I¡¯ve just got to find a way to do the same thing with Growlithe and Lombre.¡± ¡°I thought you were waiting for TMs?¡± ¡°I want to try to see if I can figure out something before that,¡± he said. ¡°Seems like a fun challenge,¡± I smiled. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s find the others and discuss when we¡¯re leaving. Plus, there¡¯s that ss we have to sit through.¡± ¡°Wait, again?¡± We found Denzel first, who looked half-dead and was practically shambling through the Pokemon Center. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°Nothin¡¯. Just some issue with my viewers.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that and not tell us what the issue in question is,¡± I said. ¡°They seem a lot more interested in my team¡¯s¡­ romance drama than in my actual training. There are shippers, Grace. Fucking shippers that root for different members of my team to start dating Sylveon.¡± I burst outughing, and even Justin was shifting in ce and chuckling. ¡°It¡¯s not funny! That¡¯s not what I want!¡± ¡°You might get more viewers that way,¡± Iughed. ¡°I agree,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°Why not make the best of a¡­ strange situation?¡± ¡°Seriously? I hate you both.¡± We quickly found Cece and Pauline after that, who were both very amused at Denzel¡¯s predicament. After telling the group that we needed to take another three hour ss, we decided to just hurry up and get it over with right away, even though we hadn¡¯t decided when to go through the mountain yet. The ranger teaching us looked a lot more meek and unassuming than the one that had been in the Eterna Forest outpost, but that wasn¡¯t a reason to underestimate him. Rangers were people who were exposed to wild Pokemon more than anyone else¡ª even trainers¡ª so the older they got, the more they tended to scar, and that was if they lived long enough. This ranger looked to be in his early fifties, and his face was spotless. ¡°My name is Malcolm Brockhouse, veteran ranger of thirty-five years,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll be your instructor for this ss. Even if this isn¡¯t your first time going through Mount Cor, I rmend paying attention.¡± He paused, gauging our reactions, and I grabbed my pencil to write anything of note. ¡°On average, it will take you six days to go through the mountain, but fret not. Rangers heavily patrol the caves, and we¡¯ve been trying to make it as safe as possible. Unfortunately, however, there is a shortpse of approximately two days in the middle of the path that is less patrolled, and therefore, extremely dangerous. If you do not have at least two badges, I rmend turning back andingter. There is no point in rushing. If you don¡¯t have two badges at this point of the year, you won¡¯t be making it to the Conference anyway.¡± I heard grumbles echo throughout the room, but deep down, everyone knew he was telling the truth. ¡°I can¡¯t force you to do anything, though, so without further ado, let us get started.¡± Instructor Brockhouse went over what he believed were the biggest threats first, and I sighed in relief when they were Pokemon we had already faced. Of course, an Onix or a Rhydon would still be a big threat, but at least we had some idea of how to fight them. He then continued, going over the smaller threats like Geodude and Machop, but that was mostly it. Obviously, he also gave a first-aid ss refresher to the ss, along with rmending certain crucial caving supplies that we had somehow missed, like helmet lights. It was true that having a hand free and protecting our heads from any falling rocks would be a great advantage, and I eyed the rest of the group, letting them know that we should buy them immediately after ss. ¡°One more thing before I let you go,¡± instructor Brockhouse said. ¡°There¡¯s been reports of a dangerous Pokemon lurking in the mountain. It isn¡¯t native to Sinnoh, nor does it actually live here, but it somehow got into Mount Cor, and all descriptions we¡¯ve gotten from trainers returning with burns point to it being one thing.¡± He paused to draw a Pokemon on the ckboard, and I stood at the edge of my seat. Trainersing back with burns. Fire type. A bipedal, turtle-like Pokemon with a spiny shell and a snout-like nose. ¡°A Turtonator.¡±
Chapter 107 Chapter 107 CHAPTER 107 Turtonator. The word echoed in my head, and my ears started to ring. I squinted at the ckboard to get a better look. I had heard of the Pokemon before, but it was my first time actually seeing what it looked like. Cecilia seemingly noticed that something was wrong with me and tapped on my shoulder. I blinked a few times and frowned. Why did just hearing the name have such an effect on me? ¡°It¡¯s native to Al¡¯s many volcanoes, and again, we can¡¯t be one hundred percent sure of how it got there, but we have a pretty good idea,¡± instructor Brockhouse said before humming. ¡°It¡¯ll take a few weeks to verify this through the Pokeball ID database, but we believe that this Turtonator belonged to a trainer who died trying to cross Mount Cor. The first witnesses¡ª so around a week and a half ago¡ª reported first seeing it being in a state ofplete rage and standing next to a broken Pokeball, which we¡¯re attempting to recover.¡± I felt my heart drop. Trained Pokemon tended to be docile or less aggressive to humans, but a Pokemon that had lost its trainer recently would obviously go beserk unless they had a terrible or abusive rtionship. Hell, Craig¡¯s Smence had killed a slew of people after he was just injured by their Pokemon. Brockhouse¡¯s theory made sense. It exined why a Turtonator would suddenly show up out of nowhere and why it¡¯d be attacking trainers. ¡°Since I talked to you about burns, you can obviously guess that it¡¯s a fire type, but I urge you to remember that it¡¯s a dragon type as well,¡± the instructor warned. ¡°No matter how good you think you are, if you decide to cross now instead of waiting for us to deal with the problem, do not engage. It wasst spotted near¡­¡± The ranger trailed off, and I retreated into my thoughts. It wasn¡¯t like me to ignore things like this, but Denzel would catch me up on anything I asked. If Turtonator had belonged to a trainer that died, what about the trainer¡¯s other Pokemon? Were they still in there somewhere, trapped in their Pokeballs? The rangers would no doubt free them if they came across them, but it was a morbid thing to think about. Still¡­ something was tugging at me. ¡°...we¡¯ve retrieved a few lost Pokeballs with other Pokemon from Al, lending further proof that our theory is correct, but Turtonator has somehow avoided capture until now, and it has shown to be highly intelligent, so again, beware. I went over treating burns in the first-aid section of the ss, but if you didn¡¯t pay attention¡ª¡± he paused, staring at a few people in the back of the ss. ¡°I cannot force you to retake this course, but I highly encourage it. With that, you¡¯re free to go.¡± I shot up and practically jogged out of the ssroom. So much so in fact, that Brockhouse had to call out to me because I was about to forget to get my ticket. I hurriedly grabbed it and anxiously bit the inside of my mouth while I waited for my friends to get out. ¡°Denzel,¡± I said immediately when I saw him. ¡°Woah,¡± he eximed with a surprised expression. ¡°Something¡¯s lit a fire in you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going back to my room,¡± I continued, ignoring him. ¡°Can we postpone the meeting we were supposed to have?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, no problem,¡± he frowned. ¡°Call us if you need anything,¡± Cece said. ¡°We can decide when to leaveter. Plus, I¡¯m sure we ought to have at least one day of rest.¡± ¡°Thanks guys,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry Justin, I¡¯ll help you with trainingter!¡± I was running by the time I finished that sentence. Forget trying out Tangrowth in battle, I needed to get to my room now. I entered the Pokemon Center, called the elevator, but opted to take the stairs when it was taking too long. I pushed through the annoying group that liked to stay camped by my door with half-promises of battling or signing autographster and sat on my desk with my Poketch in hand. Turtonator. I entered the Pokemon¡¯s name online and looked at what came up. It specialized in defense, and its shell was nigh unprable by physical attacks, but its defense against special moves wasn¡¯t anything to scoff at either. Not only that, but it could make its shell explode at any kind of contact, which made attacking it from up close extremely difficult. And of course, it was a good attacker. A really good one, never mind that it was a dragon type. That was just the cherry on top. I swallowed. The tug was still there. Chase described it when we had still been stranded up north, and now I knew exactly what he meant. I wanted to catch this thing. But¡­ a part of me hesitated, still. The ranger had explicitly warned us. This Pokemon was dangerous and aggressive. I¡¯d potentially be risking my life if I even tried to get near this thing. It was smart. It knew about Pokemon trainers, so it would probably go after me right away instead of fighting my Pokemon. Plus, there wasn¡¯t only me to worry about. Could I allow myself to risk the others in such a way? There was no way that they¡¯d just let me try to convince Turtonator to join me on my own¡ª Convincing Turtonator to join me¡­ I let out a heavy sigh as I sunk into my chair. The ethics of trying to capture a Pokemon that had just recently belonged to someone were iffy, to say the least, and it made me feel dirty. Not only that, but it meant that actually getting Turtonator to be a part of my team would be extremely difficult, and it¡¯d be attacking me at the same time. And that was if I could even find it in the mountain. We had itsst location, but it probably had moved to somece else by now. Did even thinking about this make me a bad person in the first ce? Could I allow myself to do this? I stared at my ceiling and groaned. ¡°I can allow myself to be selfish just this once, can¡¯t I? I can at least give it a try, and if it doesn¡¯t work out, well¡­ that¡¯ll be that.¡± I pressed the home button on my Poketch and texted Denzel. Me Hey. You going to be doing your info gathering? Denzel W. Yeah, obv. Why? Need something? Me I know this is a lot to ask, but if you could try to find a trainer that ran into Turtonator and ask them about it, I¡¯d really appreciate it. Denzel W. I knew it. You want to catch it, don¡¯t you? Me Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I know it¡¯ll be dangerous, but I can handle it on my own. You¡¯re better at getting information from people, so I figured I¡¯d ask you to do that while I keep looking up stuff about Turtonator online in my room. Denzel W. Alright, I gotcha. But you absolutely aren¡¯t fighting that thing on your own. Me We¡¯ll talk about thatter. Thank you, though. Seriously, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without you. Denzel W. You¡¯d manage. TTYL. I stared at my screen with a satisfied smile. Denzel was seriously the best friend someone could ask for, and I¡¯m d he was with me. I went back to browsing the inte. Even though I wanted to speak to Turtonator, I knew this would be a battle, so I would go at it like I did with any tough fight. I woulde prepared. ¡ª¡ª Denzel whistled a song as he calmly but purposely walked into the Pokemon Center. Grace had asked him a favor, and he¡¯d dly do it. Cece was off having her daily spat with her Scyther, while Pauline and Justin were battling as many trainers as they could. From what he understood, Grace was mostly teaching Justin how to strategize because stalling obviously needed a huge amount of nning, while Cecilia was teaching Pauline how to use power to break through her enemies. Two distinct styles of battling and two students. Denzel wondered who¡¯d end up on top by the time they ended up battling Fantina. It had almost turned into apetition of some kind to see who was the better teacher. He kind of wished he had a student of his own, though. His eyes scanned the packed Pokemon Center lobby, settling on each wounded person he saw for a few seconds before moving on to the next. He was looking for information about a Turtonator, so he needed someone with burns. His whistling sharply stopped when he noticed a trainer with a bandage over her right arm. She was a short girl with dark hair and a bob cut. Of course, bandages weren¡¯t an obvious sign of a burn victim, but what convinced him this girl was one was that her neck was red and covered in blisters, meaning that the burns covered the entire right side of her body, and the edges of her hair were singed. Looking closer, he noticed a bandage right under her jeans too. Well, there was no point in beating around the bush. Denzel strode up to her and struck up a friendly wave and smile. ¡°Hey. Can I bother you for a sec?¡± he asked. The girl looked up at him angrily, but her expression switched to surprise when she noticed him. ¡°Um¡ª Y¡ªyeah, of course. You¡¯re Denzel Williams, right? I¡¯m not crazy?¡± ¡°You¡¯re probably saner than I am,¡± heughed. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± he nodded. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m Caitlyn Spencer. I guess you can call me Cait. Sorry that you have to see me in such a pitiful state, it¡¯s like, super embarrassing.¡± ¡°What?¡± Denzel scoffed. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t apologize for being hurt, it happens to all of us, even top-level trainers,¡± he said, thinking of Craig. ¡°I¡¯m d you survived, but do you have a group you travel with? And your Pokemon? Did they all make it out okay?¡± Caitlyn stared at the ground and fiddled with her hands under the table. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay, I guess, but one of my friends is on oxygen because of smoke inhtion,¡± she said with a grimace. ¡°The rest of them are actually grabbing food for all of us right now,¡± she continued embarrassingly. ¡°Since I have two badges, I got cocky and thought I could fight a Turtonator. I only lived by the skin of my teeth by hiding behind a boulder before a methrower could get to me. Still burned like a motherfucker, though.¡± Ah, the conversation had naturally progressed toward what he wanted. Denzel liked to break the ice and converse with his fellow trainers, even if they would probably never meet again. There were so many stories to be heard and told, so much information to be exchanged that he couldn¡¯t just stay in his little corner like his friends liked to do. ¡°I wanted to talk to you about that Turtonator, actually,¡± Denzel said. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind?¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s fine,¡± Caitlyn eximed. ¡°Ask away.¡± ¡°Can you tell me how it fought?¡± The girl stared at the ceiling, like she was desperately trying to recall what had happened. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t remember,¡± Denzel said with a warm smile. ¡°Thanks for trying anyway.¡± ¡°No, I remember, it¡¯s just difficult. It¡¯s all kind of a blur, with all the screaming, and the adrenaline¡­ it takes a bit to actually recall what happened,¡± Caitlyn mumbled. ¡°I tried using my Poliwhirl to fight it from a distance, but its mes were strong enough to just evaporate our water type attacks, so then I tried to make it fight from up close and¡­¡± she winced. ¡°The shell just exploded. If I hadn¡¯t recalled Poliwhirl right after, then¡­ then¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he said. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s just stop this, I can just go and ask someone else.¡± Denzel didn¡¯t want to make someone recall their traumatic memories. It reminded him of Grace and Cecilia too much. ¡°Yeah¡­ sorry. I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯ll be able to make it through now,¡± she sighed. ¡°Every time I look at the cave¡¯s entrance, my legs just start to shake, and I can¡¯t move.¡± Behind every trainer, there was a story. Laughs, pain, loss, trauma, victories. They weren¡¯t just colleagues, they were people. Denzel leaned forward and pped her non-injured shoulder. ¡°You take care of yourself, Cait.¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks for talking to me. I kind of feel better now.¡± ¡°Feel free to book an appointment for therapy with the nurses in here. They¡¯re really good at their job,¡± he said before leaving. ¡°Wait! Could I get your number, maybe? I feel like it¡¯d help if I talked to you.¡± Denzel raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t use me as a substitute for a therapist.¡± He had already been one multiple times, and he had no idea what he had been doing. It was honestly a miracle it had worked out. After that whole debacle, he started scanning the lobby again but stopped in his tracks when he saw that Pauline was staring at him at the Center¡¯s entrance with her arms crossed as she tapped her foot on the ground and a frustrated look on her face. Denzel thought nothing of it and walked up to her. ¡°¡®Sup?¡± He asked. ¡°You¡¯re staring daggers at me, I¡¯m kind of feeling self-conscious,¡± he said yfully. ¡°Why were you talking with that girl for so long?¡± she asked. Yikes. She was using her usatory tone and not her yful, ironic one. ¡°I was helping Grace out with something. Gathering info,¡± he answered inly. ¡°Well, she sure seemed to be having the time of her life,¡± Pauline huffed. ¡°She was basicallying onto you.¡± ¡°Quit it,¡± Denzel said. He had hung out enough times with Pauline to know that whenever she stepped out of line, you needed to put your foot down immediately. ¡°There¡¯s nothing there. And even if there was, it shouldn¡¯t bother you because¡­ well, you know why.¡± Pauline clicked her tongue. ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°Come on, stop acting so possessive. We¡¯re friends. You¡¯re being a kid.¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t trust the first girl that shows up,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Justin¡¯s and Emilia¡¯s parents might be off our backs, but Harvey and rence still have skin in the game. She could be a spy.¡± ¡°I think you should cool off for a bit,¡± Denzel said. ¡°You¡¯re better than this, Pauline.¡± He walked off and ignored herints. Why would she be jealous now? After heid everything on the line back during her birthday? Just recalling the moment made Denzel cringe, but it had been handled well and maturely by both of them, or at least he thought so. Late at night, during Pauline¡¯s birthday, he had asked her out. He had believed the moment to be right, with all of the emotion of their awaited reunion, the party winding down, and people going back to their rooms, but Pauline rebuked him immediately for one reason. She was dating Emilia. Well, they were de facto dating. Emi supposedly didn¡¯t likebels. The part that made Denzel cringe wasn¡¯t that he had been rejected. No, that was fine. He shot his shot and failed. Sure, it hurt¡ª hell, it still kind of did, but the two had agreed to stay friends, and Denzel had been quick to give up and move on, especially with the Louis incident. They had gone back to normal the next day as if nothing had happened. Denzel had never thought about going off on his own. Everyone dealt with heartbreak in their own way, and Denzel never felt the need to get some time to himself. He and Pauline were friends, and nothing more, and he genuinely felt fine with this development. There were plenty of fishes in the sea, although it¡¯d probably be a while until he found someone else that he liked. The part that made him cringe was that he hadn¡¯t noticed that Pauline and Emilia were dating. The signs had all been there. In hindsight, they were just like Grace and Cecilia, but just way better at hiding it. There had always been that vibe between them, but since they never said anything to the group, he felt like he had a chance with Pauline. ording to her, Emilia was adamant about keeping the rtionship secret, mostly because her parents were deeply set in their old ways and would never approve, but also because she felt ufortable with being open with her sexuality, which Denzel felt terrible about. No one should have had to hide who they were. Pauline had even said that Grace and Cece revealing their rtionship had almost convinced her toe out, but she chickened out at thest moment¡ª the morning when they left¡ª and opted to say nothing, using Louis¡¯ condition as an excuse. Anyway, the point was, he was fine with the way things were now, but Pauline was seemingly kicking up a fuss and acting jealous at him? And he hadn¡¯t even been flirting at all! Sure, Caitlyn had been somewhat shy and flustered, but even if she had a crush, so what? Pauline was dating someone else. Denzel sighed and returned to his information gathering. His team already almost drowned him in rtionship drama, and he had had enough of that daily. Why couldn¡¯t life just be simple? If people were more straightforward with each other instead of ying these little games, then society would probably be better off. The trainer perked up when he saw another person with burns. He stepped toward the boy, who was talking to two other people in his group with a smile, and waved. ¡°Hey guys, can I borrow a moment of your time?¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Are we ready?¡± Denzel asked the group. We all nodded and started walking toward Mount Cor with our tickets in hand. A day had passed since I had resolved to catching Turtonator, and I had a strategy in ce. Not to beat it, but to buy time while I talked things through, and I had also convinced my friends to stay in the back unless things looked really bad after hours of begging, although their psychic types would help to protect me from attacks. Still, I trusted that my Pokemon would be able to protect me, and I knew enough about Turtonator as a species not to fall into its traps. Meanwhile, Denzel had expertly gathered information for me. I knew the way Turtonator personally fought as an individual, and I knew a bunch of its moves that I¡¯d need to watch out for. Now all I needed to do was find it. We handed our tickets to the rangers standing guard, and I took a deep breath before stepping forward. We had everything, including a trove of potions. Having rich friends would alwayse in handy. We also had burn heals and better caving equipment than before. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I breathed out. We all looked at each other and stepped into Mount Cor once more.
Chapter 108 Chapter 108 CHAPTER 108 It was strange how rxed I could be in Mount Cor. Back when I had first started my journey and entered my first cave to get to Oreburgh, I had been restless when the biggest threats there were Zubat and Geodude. Of course, the fact that it was my second time in the mountain helped, but it was also because the rangers had actually lit up this section of the cave. There was no oppressive darkness here. Gasmps were attached all along Mount Cor¡¯s walls, making it easy for us to actually see where we were going, and most wild Pokemon avoided this section of the cave because of how heavily the rangers patrolled it, and those that were let here were all weak. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw a Cleffa bounce away from us in fear. The Pokemon floated in the air longer than what was normal as if it was less affected by gravity than we were. Frillish floated by my side, ever vignt, while Charmeleon, Sandile, Roselia, and Zweilous apanied the rest of my friends. The fire type, for her part, looked absolutely bored out of her mind, and she often sent Embers at unsuspecting wild Pokemon to distract herself. She blew mes toward Cleffa, who narrowly dodged and escaped with a small squeak. ¡°Can you tell her to stop harassing the wildlife?¡± I asked with a sigh. ¡°That Clefa didn¡¯t attack us.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stop her from being who she is,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°But try to limit your attacks, Charmeleon.¡± The fire type grunted in annoyance. Sandile, meanwhile, waszily swimming across the ground. I had always struggled to ce his personality, especially with how little we interacted, but since training Justin, I had recently gained an appreciation for the ground type. He was quiet, and despite disliking training, he was a hard worker. Roselia walked next to Denzel, asionally hitting his leg with her flower to get him to walk faster. She wanted out of the cave, and fast. ¡°Stop hitting me, you little devil,¡± my friendined. ¡°We¡¯re already at a good pace, and we don¡¯t want to tire ourselves out.¡± The grass type¡¯s permanent scowl worsened, and she let out a small sound, almost as if she was clicking her tongue. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t see you ever doing this with Sylveon. Maybe I should tell him how you were behaving.¡± ¡°R¡ªRose!¡± Denzel let out a small gasp. He wasn¡¯t used to seeing Roselia this flustered. ¡°Okay, I might have been pushing that too far. He¡¯s already mad at you, so I won¡¯t tell him anything.¡± ¡°How sweet of you,¡± Cecilia smiled before staring at her own Pokemon. Zerst and Sol still didn¡¯t get along these days, but thetter seemed to have taken the lead in the heads¡¯ rtionship, and he kept Zerst in line, albeit in difficulty. Zerst¡¯s head jerked to the left, and his jaw snapped in anger toward an unsuspecting trainer who was resting with his group. Sol roared and pelted him with a small, weakened Dragon Breath, but the trainers were already scrambling and ready to run. ¡°My apologies!¡± Cece said with a grimace. ¡°Thank you for keeping him under control, Sol.¡± Sol bowed his head, and Zerst imitated him. It seemed like they were both loyal to Cecilia now, but Zerst was still highly aggressive toward anything that moved that he didn¡¯t recognize. Speaking of trainers, there were plenty of them to be seen, especially this close to the cave¡¯s entrance. Thanks to the rangers, the first few days would essentially be like walking through a route, although it was already getting colder and colder the deeper we got. We walked past another group, who were walking toward the exit this time. ¡°Hey, hold on,¡± Denzel called out. ¡°Can I ask you guys a few questions?¡± It was a smaller group¡ª three guys whose Pokemon looked to have been through the wringer. A Wartortle was covered in burns, and his shell was practically split. A Bibarel whose fur had been burned off and only had skin exposed and a Sawk¡¯s arm was bent the wrong way. ¡°Make it quick,¡± the boy with the Sawk said. ¡°We¡¯re almost out of this hellhole.¡± ¡°You guys look like you fought the Turtonator that¡¯s here, right?¡± ¡°What does it look like?¡± He answered dryly. ¡°Obviously we did, and we got creamed. Luckily, we got out unscathed, but we can¡¯t say the same for our Pokemon over here.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you recall them¡­?¡± I asked hesitatingly. That Sawk in particr looked to be in horrible pain. ¡°The rest of our teams are in worse shape. These are the only Pokemon we have left that can still stand. We¡¯ve already applied potions, so we did everything we could. Anyway, what do you want?¡± The Pokemon here are weak, and there are enough people around to keep you safe, I thought with a frown. Not every trainer was as considerate as we were with our Pokemon. ¡°Where was it when you saw it?¡± ¡°With all the scorch marks it left around, it¡¯s pretty hard to miss,¡± another trainer answered. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t rmend fighting it, but if you really want to¡­¡± The trainer gave us a general idea of where Turtonator was, and we were back on our way. The further along we went, the more deserted the cave was getting, but we asionally met more trainers that had fought Turtonator. Personally, I found it strange that the rangers warning people about it seemingly had the opposite effect of what they wanted, and groups of trainers¡ª or at least groups of trainers with multiple badges¡ª were attempting to take it down as some sort of challenge. Some of them were wounded and burned so critically that I feared that they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it. No one ever thought something bad would happen to them. Until it did. Was I the same? I saw Justin fidget with his fingers. ¡°You nervous?¡± I asked him. ¡°How could I not be? I think this is a terrible idea.¡± ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t want to say it, but I think so too, Grace,¡± Cece said. ¡°At least let us assist you. It¡¯s taken down so many trainers already.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Your psychics will be enough,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯lle out of it unscathed, but I have a n.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Cece,¡± I interrupted. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay.¡± She looked at me with a pained expression. Her face was full of worry. ¡°We did the same when you caught your Scyther,¡± I told her. ¡°I saw how determined you were to catch him. No words were going to change your mind, right? It¡¯s the same for me.¡± ¡°But we did help with her Scyther,¡± Denzel added. ¡°We did. But I don¡¯t want to gang up on Turtonator if I can avoid it, or it¡¯ll hate me after I catch it. If I catch it.¡± ¡°But with how aggressive it is, wouldn¡¯t it just kill you?¡± Justin asked worriedly. ¡°This isn¡¯t like Scyther, who could be stopped with Confusion or Psychic. Even if you can stop a methrower, the heat can still kill you.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I nodded. ¡°But think about it this way. Turtonator lost its trainer in the middle of a cave, and now a bunch of trainers are trying to attack it. Of course, it¡¯s aggressive. Who wouldn¡¯t be in that situation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s true,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Plus, it can¡¯t even get out. The rangers would never let it get close enough to the exit. The only reason it hasn¡¯t been caught or driven off yet is because it¡¯s too deep inside the cave.¡± ¡°What would they even do with it if they caught it?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, they¡¯d probably try to rehabilitate it, and maybe give it to a ranger who¡¯d care for it, but that would take a lot of time and paperwork to get through. Or alternatively, they could give up on that altogether and try to drive it toward a section of the cave that isn¡¯t frequented by trainers,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°I¡¯d be fine with the first option,¡± I said. ¡°But try to drive it off? After it experienced what traveling with a trainer was like? I can¡¯t ept that.¡± ¡°Well, you better hope your n works, then,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I already exined it, and you all seemed to think it was fine.¡± ¡°I know, it¡¯s just¡­ some of these trainers looked tough, and they were in groups. Doubt¡¯s starting to creep up,¡± she said. ¡°Aw, are you worried about me?¡± ¡°Ugh. Don¡¯t get full of yourself.¡± ¡°She is, and she¡¯s embarrassed about it,¡± Cecilia teased. ¡°So what?! So what if I am?!¡± That seemed to have taken the ease off for now. The truth was, I was feeling nervous as well. How couldn¡¯t I be, after witnessing all those injured trainers? Sure, I was a good Pokemon trainer for how new I was at it, but from the stories I was hearing, this Turtonator had belonged to an experienced trainer. They had to be, with how strong the fire type was. Most wild Pokemon tended to not employ strategy much, but the information Denzel had gathered¡­ pointed to a different story entirely. Turtonator employed aggressive tactics, had moves that could only be taught to its species via TMs, and most of all, it was intelligent. That was what worried me the most. Could I convince an old dragon to join me? Frillish ced a tentacle on my shoulder and murmured a reassuring cry. That was right. All of my Pokemon except Larvitar would be instrumental in this. They were here for me, and they¡¯d have my back. Now all I could hope for was that I¡¯d find the words to get Turtonator to join me. That was the hole in my n. Sure, I had potentially figured out a way to buy myself time, but what would I even say? nning a speech felt disingenuous, and I had no doubt that Turtonator would be able to tell. It must have met plenty of other humans while traveling with its old trainer. The words would have toe from my heart. Another group of trainers turned a corner with their Pokemon covered in burns, and Denzel called out. You could never have enough information. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Dragon Pulse,¡± Cece coolly said. ¡°Keep it trapped!¡± Justin anxiously yelled. A Rhydon struggled to get out of Sandile¡¯s Sand Tomb as two huge streams of blue energy flew toward the rock type, hitting it in the chest and the head. Its tough armor cracked slightly, worsening its already broken-down state. ¡°Spore attack,¡± Denzel ordered. Roselia screeched in annoyance, angling her two flowers forward and sending a bundle of Stun Spore and Poison Powder toward Rhydon. The Paralysis didn¡¯t seem to take hold, but the poison did. Rhydon let out an angered roar, and the cave¡¯s ceiling copsed, but Gothorita, Togetic and Slowpoke were enough to stop the Rock Slide from crushing us. ¡°Water Pulse,¡± I told Frillish. We were systematically taking down this Rhydon, although it was taking a long time. It had been twenty minute since the fight had started, in fact, and the rock type was still raring to go, despite being severely hurt. It shielded its face from the Water Pulse with its thick arm, but the damage had already been done. ¡°Roselia, Bullet Seed. Aim for the crack in its armor.¡± The grass type clicked her tongue, but she obliged him. Ten seeds flew from each flower toward the Rhydon¡¯s chest, and the rock type screamed again. It stumbled and fell onto its back, causing the floor to shake. ¡°You can let him go,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Justin asked. ¡°Yes. It doesn¡¯t want to fight anymore.¡± Justin quickly ordered Sandile to stop his Sand Tomb, and the rock type begrudgingly walked off, each of its steps making the cave shake. It was only my second time fighting a Rhydon, and I was starting to realize they were all ridiculously tough for some reason. It was no wonder a Rhyperior had managed to take down Larvitar¡¯s parent. No one knew how they evolved¡ª even Roark didn¡¯t own one, although I remembered hearing about some Frontier Brain somehow managed to get one. His name was Palmer¡­ Palmer something. His kid was participating in the Circuit too, although I hadn¡¯t exactly looked him up. Palmer had caught it as a Rhyperior directly, however, so the evolution was still unknown. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you aren¡¯t going for one of those, Cece,¡± Denzel said, wiping sweat off his forehead. ¡°They seem to fit your schtick.¡± ¡°I considered it, but I decided against it,¡± she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d hate not being able to evolve it, and I found two better choices.¡± We had been traveling for days, and we were now in the dangerous section of the cave. There had been a few close calls with our Pokemon, but our high amount of psychics meant that we were always safe. It was understated how crucial Confusion, Psychic and Extrasensory were to a trainer¡¯s survival in the wild. Without them, I would have died at least twenty times. Of course, there was also Protect or Barrier, but they weren¡¯t as versatile. They had their uses, though. Protect, for example, would protect a trainer from a methrower¡¯s heat. I adjusted my cor and aired out my coat. It felt somewhat humid. ¡°Still, this is easier than I thought it would be,¡± Justin said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but be scared about having to go through here.¡± ¡°Come on, don¡¯t jinx us,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Plus, we still have to find that Turtonator.¡± ¡°Now who¡¯s jinxing us?¡± Denzel smiled. This section of Mount Cor was dark, and devoid of many trainers. We hadn¡¯t walked across a group in eight hours, so there was a severeck of information on Turtonator¡¯s most recent location. I knew we were close, however, because some of the rocks here had been charred ck. Cecilia unzipped her coat and sighed. ¡°Isn¡¯t it hot?¡± ¡°Now that you say it, yeah it is,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s been getting hotter¡ª¡± Suddenly, everything clicked into ce, and the rest of my friends seemed to have figured it out as well. It must have been what, fifteen degrees celsius? In Mount Cor? The coats we were wearing were made for heavy winters. This could only mean one thing. ¡°Stick to the n and let me talk to it,¡± I quickly said as I released the rest of my Pokemon aside from Larvitar. Gothoria and Slowpoke stepped forward, joining Togetic to defend me from any stray attacks. I felt my palms moisten and my heart pound against my chest as I heard heavy steps reverberate through the cave and a low, guttural growl. Light shone erratically around the corner, illuminating the entire area. Turtonator walked across the rocky ground, each of its steps burning the floor. It turned away, pointing its shell at us, but still kept its face angled toward us to attack. It mmed its red, jagged tail against the ground, and it bubbled, turning into molten rock. Even with how far away we were and with the effects Mount Cor had on the temperature, it was now as hot as a scalding summer day, and I was sweating buckets. It¡¯d be worse the closer it got to us. ¡°Frillish,¡± I exhaled, my voice trembling. I hoped I hadn¡¯t bitten off more than I could chew this time. ¡°Drench me.¡± I felt cold water wash over me, causing my clothes to cling tightly to my skin. Upon closer inspection, Turtonator appeared to be severely wounded. It had bruises and dried blood covering the soft parts of its body, and its shell was practically split in two. At this point, it was running on pure rage and grief. That was the only reason I could find for it to be still standing. ¡°Turtonator!¡± I yelled. ¡°My name is Grace. Grace Pastel! I¡¯vee to speak to you¡ª¡± The fire type growled, letting out a cloud of thick smoke from its snout. It was a Smokescreen, but it was also hot. mes were dancing in the gaseous substance, and small bolts of lightning asionally ran through it as well. It had a putrid odor, and the smell clung to my throat. ¡°Angel, princess,¡± I said before coughing. ¡°Here ites.¡± The Smokescreen covered Turtonator¡¯s entire body, but I knew from the stories Denzel had found that it was just a bait. I was vindicated when a humongous methrower parted the smoke and rushed directly toward me. Tangrowth and Togetic raised a thick barrier of earth using Ancient Power that slowly bubbled and melted to the ground. Turtonator wasted no time and sent another stream of mes forward, thinking it was catching us off guard, but we responded the same way. The dragon type roared out in frustration and pped its tail against its shell, creating a giant explosion that rocked me to my core and sent vibration rocking throughout my entire body. Togetic stopped a ming piece of Turtonator¡¯s shell fromnding on my face, and Electabuzz used the opportunity to step forward to step in front of me to protect me from any more stray projectiles, and I thanked him with a small nod. Seeing that stray piece of shell made me realize that Turtonator¡¯s shell wasn¡¯t just split because of fighting trainers and wild Pokemon, it was also because it had made it explode too many times without leaving itself anytime to recover. ¡°Grace, this is too dangerous!¡± Cecilia yelled. My friends all started to say the same, but I raised a finger and stopped them from talking. Not now. ¡°Please, just hear me out!¡± I yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight, I know you¡¯re hurting already! I just have a proposition¡ª¡± This time, Turtonator stomped a foot against the floor, melting off the ground. The entire cave started to shake, and the floor heated up dramatically. I almost fell down, but Togetic caught me with Extrasensory. Tangrowth sneaked a few vines around me, and Electabuzz held me in ce. Another enraged roar. Another incredibly powerful methrower streamed toward me. The Bulldoze had made Togetic and Tangrowth focused on helping me, and they hadn¡¯t been ready for another attack so soon. ¡°Gothorita!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°Slowpoke!¡± Cecilia cried out. The mes stopped ten feet away from me and my Pokemon, but I could still feel its heat. I covered my face with my arms and felt the attack scorch my skin. I cried out in pain and instinctively clutched at my arm, and my face started to burn. It burned, it burned, it burned, it burned, IT BURNED¡ª Electabuzz grabbed me, shielding me with his body, and I felt a continuous, cold jet of cool water wash over me, easing the pain, and the methrower slowly subsided. I held a hand at my face and winced when I realize that it had been burned. I didn¡¯t know how bad it was yet, but I knew that the pain would get worse as time went on. ¡°K¡ªkeep water on me,¡± I groaned to Frillish. Everything was so hot, and my throat felt drier than it had ever been. In front of me, Electabuzz punched his fist. His fur was sizzling, and part of his arm had burst into mes just from being so close to the mes, but he was so angry that he didn¡¯t even notice. Frillish quickly extinguished the fire, and I was about to call out to Turtonator again when I felt an arm grab my shoulder. It was Cecilia. ¡°Grace! Enough of this! You¡¯re going to die! At least let us help!¡± ¡°Cecilia. I have to do this alone.¡± Another methrower flew out of Turtonator¡¯s snout, but two Ancient Powers blocked it far enough for us to be unaffected. If all of our Pokemon started attacking Turtonator all at once, then I was sure it would try to kill me every time it was out of the Pokeball. There was no point to that. ¡°Please. This is reckless. I don¡¯t want to lose you. We all think the same thing.¡± ¡°Allow me to be reckless just this once,¡± I smiled thinly. ¡°Turtonator needs to be saved.¡± ¡°The rangers will¡ª¡± ¡°He might not even be caught,¡± I interrupted. ¡°I won¡¯t take that chance.¡± I took a deep breath and turned back toward the fire type. ¡°We can do this all day!¡± I yelled. ¡°But I won¡¯t leave until you hear me out.¡± The dragon type was in no state to negotiate at the moment. In fact, I doubted that it was even understanding my words, so I¡¯d have to tire it out until it was ready to listen¡ª A stream of ming, turquoise draconic energy rushed toward both me and Cece at ridiculous speeds. Gothorita, Togetic, and Tangrowth were too slow, but Frillish and Slowpoke were enough. First, Frillish send out a Bubblebeam that slowly weakened the Dragon Pulse until Slowpoke could divert its path with Psychic. It hit the cave behind us, but Cece and I both felt the heat, and Frillish quickly drenched both of us in water. How was a Dragon Pulse emitting this much heat? It wasn¡¯t even a fire type attack! ¡°Cece, let me do this,¡± I said again. ¡°Let me be selfish one time.¡± She stared at me like she was about to cry. ¡°Fine. But if you die, I will never forgive you.¡± I smiled. ¡°Now get back. It¡¯s dangerous here.¡± I turned toward Turtonator, and my mind began to work. There had been pieces of information missing from Denzel¡¯s story, but it wasn¡¯t his fault. Witnesses were notoriously bad at recounting things that had happened, even just a few hours after the fact. First of all, Turtonator employed some strategy, and it always aimed for me, but in its current rage-filled state of mind, it was nowhere near as smart as it probably normally was. Second of all, I didn¡¯t know if it was because of how powerful it was, but every single attack it used seemed to be embedded with some fire. Even Smokescreen. So, in essence, every attack that so much got close to me could burn me beyond repair. I felt Frillish pour water on me again, but I still felt hot. It was starting to be like an oven in here, and the bottom of my shoes was starting to melt off. I feared that it would get worse the more attacks Turtonator used. Mount Cor was probably terrible at diffusing heat. I couldn¡¯t wait things out. I needed to change my approach, or I¡¯d be forced to leave. ¡°Angel, you think you¡¯re up for a fight?¡± I asked him as I wiped my hands on my jeans. His vines wriggled. ¡°This is¡­ this might backfire horribly. You can¡¯t use Bind from here¡ª¡± I flinched as another Dragon Pulse was averted by Slowpoke. ¡°You can¡¯t use Bind from this far,¡± I continued, pointing at Turtonator. It was so hot around it that the air appeared to distort and twist. ¡°We need you to restrain it long enough for Togetic to use Thunder Wave.¡± Frillish let out a worried noise, but I stopped him. ¡°We need to slow it down,¡± I said. ¡°It won¡¯t be as¡ª as clean as I hoped, but maybe if it¡¯s paralyzed, it¡¯lle back to its senses. Get ready.¡± After we blocked another Dragon Pulse, Frillish drenched Tangrowth in water, and the grass type waddled forward as we looked on with worry. Turtonator roared, and its shell started to glow with a dangerous red hue. Shell Trap, I thought. Fuck. ¡°Tangrowth, don¡¯t get too close!¡± I yelled. ¡°It¡¯s¡ª¡± With a mad grin, Turtonator pped its tail against its shell, triggering its own Shell Trap. This was stronger than the explosion from before. The shockwave ran through my body and brought me to my knees. My jeans started to sizzle on the ground, and I hissed when my hands touched the floor, hurryingly taking them off. The skin was practically all burned off. Another burn. Electabuzz punched a piece of shell away from me, but it blew up on his hand, and he clutched at it. It was horribly broken. Even when separated from Turtonator¡¯s body, every part of its shell still counted as a Shell Trap. I called out to Tangrowth, who I couldn¡¯t even see in all of the mes and smoke, but my voice sounded distant. My ears were ringing, and my head was pounding. I stood up and blew air on my hands, trying to cool them, and I called out to Tangrowth again. When the smoke cleared, the grass type¡¯s body was covered in mes and ash. Not even hearing the sound of my own voice, I shrieked, and Frillish flew over with Water Sport. I breathed out a sigh of relief when I realized that Tangrowth was fine, although horribly hurt. His body was protected by his thick bundle of vines, and it¡¯d take a while for the mes to chew through them. Nevertheless, Frillish extinguished the mes with much more difficulty than earlier, and vapor was emanating from his body. He was almost entirely made of water. The heat was so strong that it was evaporating his body. How¡­ how powerful was this Turtonator? This was while it was wounded. ¡°Frillish, get back!¡± I ordered, my voice still distant. I still could barely hear anything because of the explosions. The water type listened, and Tangrowth wrapped vines around Turtonator, which all promptly caught on fire. The most important part, however, was that his tail and head were being locked in ce. That meant that it couldn¡¯t create explosions, or aim at us with attacks. ¡°Princess,¡± I said. Burning air filled my lungs as Togetic sent a short burst of electricity at Turtonator. The attack surrounded the dragon type, then wrapped around him like a rope and entered its body, and it started to convulse slightly. Not as much as I would have hoped, but it was slowed. Tangrowth quickly used his vines to get back to where we were, and I swallowed when I saw that his body was smoking, still. He smelled like burned grass. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I had to slow you down so that you could think,¡± I called out. ¡°I want to talk to you. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Turtonator hesitated, then snorted, sending out small puffs of Smokescreen from its snout.Puffs this time, not a continuous stream. I knew what it was about to do. Denzel had warned me about it. ¡°Honey, get ready,¡± I said. He nodded tightly and stepped forward, his hand still bloody and broken from the explosion he had protected me from. I knew what wasing. A modified version of Smokescreen that was axed toward offense, and that was too wide to be stopped by our psychic type attacks. Electabuzz was my answer to that. Turtonator roared, and a plume of toxic, fiery smoke flew at high speeds toward us. Electabuzz brought both of his hands forward. He was so close to us, and yet he would use Discharge. All of his training with the move had led to this. The smell of burning ozone filled my nostrils,bined with the nauseating smell from the Smokescreen, and my hair stood on end. Pebbles rose from the ground as Electabuzz sent a huge wave of electricity forward that grew the further it traveled. It pushed through the Smokescreen, causing it to vanish, and Electabuzz canceled the attack right before it would have hit Turtonator. Discharge had originally been meant to strike all around its user like Shockwave, but we had practiced it and molded it enough to use it only in one direction. It wouldn¡¯t be guaranteed to hit its target, but since he was focusing it on one area, the damage dealt would be considerably higher. The possibilities of Pokemon moves were practically endless, so why not take advantage? ¡°You¡¯ve seen the way I fought so far,¡± I said. Each breath I took filled me with a sense of agony I could only try to hide. It was too hot. Frillish drenched me with water again, but that could only do so much in this heat. ¡°I haven¡¯t hurt you. I saw you hesitate thatst attack. You¡¯re starting to be sound of mind again, aren¡¯t you?¡± My opponent was strong. Terrifyingly so, but it was also terribly wounded. I fully believed my entire team could have dealt the finishing blow if I had wanted to, and then I could have caught it while it was unconscious. Turtonator knew this. It threateningly pped its tail against the ground, and the impact melted the rocks. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s better,¡± I exhaled. ¡°That¡¯s an improvement. Um¡ª I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m Grace, like I said. You¡¯re sca¡ª¡± I cut myself off. No, not scared. Dragon types wouldn¡¯t take well to that remark. ¡°You¡¯re annoyed aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re all alone in this cave, and a bunch of trainers just walk up and started to attack you, and rangers came to try to capture you or drive you off. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m kind of guilty of the same, but I want to get you out of this cave.¡± The dragon type¡¯s eyes widened, and it tilted its head in anticipation. I took it as a sign to keep talking. A single wrong word here, and the fight would start all over again. I wasn¡¯t foolish enough to think that Togetic¡¯s paralysis would actually restrain Turtonator. ¡°Could you start by lowering the temperature?¡± I asked more courageously than I actually felt. I couldn¡¯t look weak. ¡°I¡¯m getting lightheaded, and that¡¯d be terrible for negotiating.¡± Turtonator gave me the faintest of nods, and the area finally stopped rising in temperature. At least I knew now that if I managed to get it to join me, then I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with an impossibly hot temperature the entire time. This was just an effect Turtonator could have around it if it was fighting. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m really grateful,¡± I said. I opened my mouth, but I hesitated. Would starting this by bringing up Turtonator¡¯s previous trainer be tone-deaf? But not mentioning them could also seem disrespectful. I didn¡¯t know what to do, I didn¡¯t¡ª The fire type stomped the ground angrily, and rocks turned red under its feet. Even though I barely knew anything about it, I immediately knew what it meant. Talk now, lest you anger me further. I swallowed. Okay. Okay. ¡°I know you¡¯ve lost¡­ someone important to you recently,¡± I said. I saw the turtle-like Pokemon wince. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know anything about you or the rtionship you had with him, but I¡¯m sorry. I heard about your story, and I thought that maybe I could help you get out, but for that, I¡¯ll have to catch you.¡± Emotions shed on Turtonator¡¯s face. Disbelief, indignation, fury. How dare a little girl like me propose such an arrangement? How dare I think that I could rece his trainer? I raised my hand, expecting the worst. ¡°Wait! I¡¯m not kidding, it¡¯s the only way! I could lead you to the exit, but even if I managed to get you through the horde of trainers on the other side, you¡¯d have to get past the rangers, and then they¡¯d keep you. I¡¯m going to assume that since you had a previous trainer, you liked to travel the world, didn¡¯t you? You came from Al all the way here.¡± I waited for a response, but Turtonator said nothing. ¡°Or alternatively, you coulde with me. I¡¯m also a trainer, as you saw,¡± I said, pointing at my team. ¡°And, uh, I n on traveling to every region¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°And bing the best! Soe with¡ª give me a chance.¡± Turtonator snorted, shaking his head, and my heart sank. But then it turned toward me, exposing its red, soft underbelly, and stared. I grabbed a Pokeball. ¡°May I?¡± He gave me an annoyed nod, and I took a few steps forward. I threw the ball at Turtonator, and waited with bated breaths. It took fifteen seconds for it to shake the first time, as if it was still mulling on if it shoulde with me or not, but after that, it shook another two times and let out a small sound. I had caught Turtonator. But I was still a long way off from actually being able to use it in any way, shape, or form. Turtonator still clearly thought me to be some naive annoying child that it could blow off whenever it wanted. Hell, it probably had only let itself be caught to save itself from a worse fate. I¡¯d have to be careful when releasing it outside of the cave. Still, I smiled. I stepped toward the Pokeball and grabbed it, ignoring the pain I felt from the burns on my palms. The Pokeball felt hot in my hands.
Chapter 109 Chapter 109 CHAPTER 109 I felt my legs wobble as my friends rushed toward me. My sixth team member. I had finally caught it. "Grace, your face!" Denzel yelled. "Justin, get apress." Justin nodded and started looking through his bag. "It''s not just her face, her arms and palms are burned too," Pauline sighed. "You almost died." "No, I had it under control most of the time," I sighed. The air was finally cooling, but I could still barely hear anything. My left ear in particr was hurting really badly. "Cece, can you heal Tangrowth and Electabuzz?" "Of course," she said with a thin smile. "Never do that again, I was so scared for you." "Now you know how we felt with Scyther," I said. "But I won''t. Turtonator''s my sixth, so I won''t need to take risks like this for a while. Not until I get my eighth badge and I can get permission to catch more Pokemon anyway." I groaned in pain as Justin ced the coldpress against my face. This was going to hurt like hell in a few hours. Actually, it already fucking sucked. "Already thinking that far ahead? You should probably slow down," Pauline said. "No, no, I was just saying it to calm Cece down," I said, waving my unwounded arm dismissively. "I have no idea who I''m going to catch, and no ns about it." "You have no idea how many times I tried to stop you, by the way," Denzel said. "Pauline stopped us every time." "Yeah, I did, but Cece managed to slip through, especially with that asshole of a Zweilous that growled at me for holding her by the arm." "That was just Zerst¡­" Cecilia sighed. "Anywhere else you''re hurting, Grace?" Justin asked me. "Or is it just your burns?" "I felt lightheaded earlier, but I think that it was because of the heat, and my ear''s kind of fucked up. Other than that, I''m fine. Thanks." "Fine is probably pushing it," Denzel said. "But okay. "We should probably move, though. It''s a miracle that nothing came to interrupt that battle. Are you good to walk?" "Wild Pokemon here probably avoided Turtonator like the gue," Cece guessed. "You saw how strong it was. Nothing here could stand up to it in a fight. Maybe Rhydon, but that''s it." "Well, Grace sure has powered up, then," Justin smiled. "As expected of my teacher." I blushed. "Gee, you''re embarrassing me. I won''t be able to use Turtonator for a long time, I think. There''s no way it''s going to listen to me. I don''t even think all of my Pokemon could stand up to it in a fight where it''s at its full strength." "That''s probably true," Cece sighed. She knew more about dragons than anyone here. "It''s going to take a long time for you to gain its respect, but if you can get on a ''doesn''t try to kill you every time it''s out of the ball'' basis, then I''d say you''re on the right path." I chuckled at that. I didn''t really think Turtonator would attack me from that short interaction we had had, but who knew how it would feel a few hours from now? At least I''d be able to recall it into its ball as soon as it started acting up. I didn''t want to keep it trapped, but I needed to be safe. There was no telling what it was capable of after getting all of its wounds checked at a Pokemon Center. "Well, let''s move, then," I said. "Thank you for trusting me, Pauline." The redhead''s eyes widened. "Yeah, no problem. I knew you''d kick ass." "What? No snarky remark?" I grinned. "Don''t push it, you little gremlin," she fumed. "Grace, let me bandage your arm," Justin said. "Don''t forget her hands¡­" Cece said. Once again, we started walking toward Mount Cor''s exit. Turtonator''s fight marked the halfway point, but we were less than a day away from the dangerous zone. As soon as we left that, we were as good as free. ¡ª "Okay, here goes," I sighed, looking at my entire team. Even Larvitar was here. They had recovered from the fight rtively well, although Electabuzz''s hand was still broken, and his fingers were all bent the wrong way, which was why I wanted to make this as quick as possible so that he could go back in his ball. We were only a day away from exiting Mount Cor, and we had made camp in an isted part of the cave. My burns still hurt like hell, especially when we had to change the bandages. The friction was horrible, and the pain was getting worse. I could barely hear anything out of my left ear, and holding things with my hands was basically impossible, although I always pushed myself whenever I needed to use Pokeballs. Strangely though, a part of the burn on my arm was painless. Well, I actually couldn''t even feel anything there, even touch, and the skin there had turnedpletely white. If only I was a Pokemon¡­ one burn heal, a potion, and I would have been as good as new. Turtonator had really done a number on me. Speaking of Turtonator, I was going to release it again for the first time here for a few reasons. First, I wanted to figure out what was its gender, because referring to Turtonator as it felt dehumanizing¡ª well, it wasn''t human, but the point still stood. Second, I wanted to heal its injuries as best I could with potions and Togetic''s Wish. Third, I wanted to just speak with it. "Ready, guys?" I asked my Pokemon. They nodded. I grabbed Turtonator''s Pokeball, which felt hot in my hand, and released it. The fire type stared at us with indifference¡ª or was it disdain? It was somehow still standing after all that fighting and acting like it was nothing. "Hey again," I said. We were close. So close, in fact, that it probably could have burned me before I had time to recall it. "I wanted to help you with your wounds, and scan you with my Pokedex." Turtonator snorted and turned away from me dismissively. "No?" I asked. There was no response. Only the temperature rising by a few degrees. I swallowed, hurriedly and painstakingly grabbed a potion from my backpack, and sprayed its bruises with them. I also ordered Togetic to use Wish, which would help somewhat, but the shell was broken beyond what a potion could do, and we''d have to wait to get to the Pokemon Center for that, just like honey''s hand. "I''m going to scan you, okay?" I grabbed my Pokedex and pointed it toward the fire type. Turtonator, the st Turtle Pokemon. Turtonator''s shell is made out of a thinyer of explosive material that ignites when struck, creating an explosion. It gushes poisonous gases from its nostril and will also strike at its own shell to kill its prey. Moves: Smog, Ember, Smokescreen, Incinerate, Iron Defense, methrower, Shell Trap, Dragon Pulse, Bulldoze, Scorching Sands, Rock Tomb, Body m, sh Cannon, Sr Beam, Rapid Spin, Scale Shot, Iron Tail, Focus st (Click for more information) Ability: Shell Armor (Click for more information) Gender: Male My eyes widened at the incredible array of moves Turtonator had at his disposal. Some of these could only be taught to the species through TMs, just like Denzel had told me! Iron Tail in particr intrigued me, because Turtonator''s short tail and little mobility meant that he wasn''t the best at using the move, but after thinking about how to apply it for a few seconds, I realized that it was how Turtonator had triggered his own Shell Trap. The move needed Turtonator to take actual damage, which meant that simply touching the shell wouldn''t be enough. That was why he hurt himself with Iron Tail. His old trainer must have been incredibly skilled. He probably only used a few against us because those were what he was the best at, and he wasn''t in the right state of mind to use the others he had less experience with. Still¡­ his trainer was powerful and experienced, and yet, they still died in a cave. The proof that one mistake was all it took. One mistake, and a life could be snuffed out. "So you''re a guy," I hesitantly said. "Erm, let me introduce you to the team. This over here is princess. She was my first Pokemon¡ª" Turtonator ignored mepletely and walked off, lying down on the ground about twenty feet away from me. Togetic chirped sadly in protest, but I stopped her. "Are you tired? Do you want to eat?" I asked. "I have food if you want." The dragon type didn''t answer, so I opted to keep introducing him to the team. I knew he could hear, even if he acted like he couldn''t. "This is buddy. He was my second, and he''s kind of reserved, but he always means well. Sorry if he''s ring at you so much, he''lle around," I sighed before pointing to Electabuzz with my thumb out of habit and winced when I felt the skin rub against my bandage. "That''s honey. He tends to be hyper, although he''s mellowed out with age. Just a bit, though. I don''t know if you enjoy battling, but if you do, honey''s your guy¡ª" I took a step back when I saw Turtonator re at me. Just one look, and I felt instinctual fear. The temperature rose around me, and I started to sweat. Larvitar protested and screamed at the dragon type, but he paid her no mind and kept staring right through me, as if he was judging my every action. "Okay, I get it," I hurriedly said. "That''s angel, and that''s sweetheart. We''re done." Turtonator closed his eyes, and the temperature slowly went back to normal. So that was how he was going to do it, then. He recognized that I was the one getting him out of the cave, so he wouldn''t try to kill me, but he also wanted nothing to do with me, so if I tried to do any kind of bonding, he''d threaten to burn me. Well, maybe he needed some space. The loss of his trainer was probably still fresh in his mind, and me swooping in like this probably angered him. I had wanted to ask him if he used to have a nickname, and if he hadn''t, then I wanted to give him one, but that was clearly off the table. Even just speaking was off the table. "I''m recalling you," I sighed. He snorted, seemingly satisfied with himself, and I ced him back in the Pokeball before turning to the rest of my team. "This is going to take a long time, but I want you all to be as amodating as possible. Obviously, don''t let him walk all over you, but don''t be aggressive, either." "Fri¡­" "Yeah, I know it''s hard. I know he hurt me, but if I''ve forgiven him, you can at least try," I smiled thinly. "Let''s get back to the others." Today''s interaction was a win in my book. Sure, he had threatened to squash me like a bug with a single look and by raising the temperature slightly, but he hadn''t done it. Plus, he at least knew everyone on the team now. Things might change when I brought him out of the cave, however. He had only joined me because I promised to get him out, so who knew how he''d feel when I released him on the outside? Well, he didn''t seem to hate me, at least. That hadn''t been the impression I got from him. Maybe he just found me annoying to deal with? Thinking back to what Craig had told me during my fight with Chase, it''d be important to give Turtonator his space. I had recalled Turtonator at the perfect moment, because a pair of trainers walked past me a few secondster. I had no idea how I was going to go about gaining Turtonator''s respect. Thest unruly Pokemon I had had was Frillish, but he hade around after a few days, even if he hadn''t listened to everymand. Turtonator would be a whole other beast. A small part of me hoped that there''d be a breakthrough in a few days and that we''d all be friends, but I knew better. This wouldn''t take days. This wouldn''t even take weeks. This would take months. I''d try to find out more about his old trainer online when we got to the outpost. I was in for a long ride, but I had nothing but time. The hardest step, which had been catching him, was already over, and he didn''t want to kill me either. I clenched a fist in determination and hissed when a jolt of pain shot up from my hand to my shoulder. I was going to shower Turtonator with love until he finally yielded. No matter how long it took. ¡ª "We''re finally out," Justin sighed. After six days of travel, we had reached the other side of Mount Cor. The view here was absolutely breathtaking. Pristine rivers ran through deep canyons lower on the mountain slopes, and the outpost could be seen around ten minutes away from here. In the distance, Hearthome stood in all of its glory, with its mix of new skyscrapers and older buildings that came together to create something beautiful. Still, even if the city of warmth and kindness looked close, it was actually five days away because we''d need to walk down the steep mountain, and then through a short t path. Route 208 was rtively easy, as far as routes went, but the terrain was among the worse to get through. "Let''s get to the outpost and to a Center," Denzel said. "We deserve a break after all of that." I nodded. "Even though we made it through without much difficulty this time, it was still fucking exhausting. I want to take a warm shower and sleep in a warm bed." Although with my burns... showering would probably be an agonizing experience. And changing clothes. And sleeping. I sighed. "The rangers seem to be getting better at keeping Mount Cor safe," he said. "There weren''t as many dangerous encounters as I was expecting. I almost thought I''d see another Gyaradosing out of that giantke." My eyes bulged. "Gyarados?" "Oh¡­ right, I never told you," he sighed. "Yeah, Cece and I saw a Gyarados when we were separated. Didn''t fight it, though. It was too strong." Pauline sprung up. "I''d like a Gyarados!" "I thought we already agreed on Exploud," Iughed. We walked to the outpost, but before going to the Center to get myself and my Pokemon checked out, I had one more thing to do. I entered the ranger building and patiently waited for my turn until the receptionist called me over. I strode up there with a slight smile¡ª as much as I could, with how fucking painful these burns were. Hopefully I''d get some painkillers or something because this was quickly bing unbearable. "Wee to route 208''s ranger building. How can I help you today? If this is about orientation, we won''t run another one of those for three weeks. You missed it by a few days." "No, no, this isn''t about orientation," I said. "You know that Turtonator that troubled you?" "Of course. What of it¡ª" The ranger stared at me for the first time and gasped in shock. "Um, you look really bad, you should probably get to a Center right now." "I''ll do it right after this. I caught Turtonator, and I''ll be keeping him, too."
Chapter 110 Chapter 110 CHAPTER 110 ¡°Um, this isn¡¯t some prank, is it?¡± The receptionist ranger asked me. ¡°No? I was justing here to notify you because it¡¯s important.¡± ¡°Okay, well¡ª let me call my boss,¡± she sighed. ¡°Jeremy,e take over!¡± Around thirty secondster, a short man with a full, thick beard and long hair came over from the backroom andined about his break not being over, but the woman just ignored his pleas and hurryingly left to get whoever this boss was. I looked at my shoes and groaned. The soles were still intact, but the bottom was half-melted by Turtonator, and it made it hard to walk. I¡¯d need to buy new onester today, especially since we were supposed to walk down the mountain. You needed good shoes for that. Still, I felt somewhat sentimentally attached to these white sneakers, although they were stained so much that they couldn¡¯t really be called white anymore. I had had them since the start of my journey, and now, I¡¯d have to throw them in the trash soon. ¡°Is this her?¡± I heard a familiar voice, and my eyes widened when I recognized Malcolm Brockhouse¡ª the same ranger that had given us our ss days ago before entering the mountain. ¡°That¡¯s her,¡± the receptionist said. ¡°Well, she certainly looks like she fought a Turtonator,¡± Brockhouse said after a short pause. ¡°Are you sure you don''t want to go to the Center first?¡± I shook my head. What he had said about how I looked was true, though. The left side of my face and neck were still recovering from burns, and my left arm and both of my hands were covered in bandages. My shoes were half-melted, and my jeans were slightly burned at the knee level. Plus, he couldn¡¯t have known this, but I still heard practically nothing out of my left ear. ¡°Come with me,¡± he continued. I just nodded and followed him. I wasn¡¯t exactly nervous, but I hadn¡¯t expected to see Brockhouse again at all. After taking me to what appeared to be his office¡ª there was a huge picture of him and who I believed to be his family on the wall¡ª he seemingly noticed my surprise. ¡°You were in my ss. Are you surprised to see me?¡± ¡°Um, yes,¡± I blurted out. ¡°We have a League-issued Kadabra that lets us Teleport between both sides,¡± he exined. ¡°I¡¯m in charge of both outposts, and I had some business to attend to here, but that can wait. Sit.¡± ¡°Um, I don¡¯t want to dirty your fancy office chair,¡± I said. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, no one uses the office anyway,¡± he shrugged. ¡°So, you¡¯ve got the Turtonator. I believe you, but could you let us verify it?¡± Well, he had certainly cut to the chase quickly. ¡°I told this to the other rangers, but I¡¯m keeping him, so I¡¯ll only let you see if you agree. I don¡¯t want to hear anything about how it¡¯s too dangerous, or whatever,¡± I said. Brockhouse smirked. ¡°Did you think I was going to say that?¡± He asked. ¡°That isn¡¯t how we function. You¡¯re fifteen and a trainer. You¡¯re not an adult yet, but society certainly treats you like one, and we already trust you to make your own decisions. I think you¡¯re biting off more than you can chew, but you caught it, so if you want to, you get to keep it. If it ever goes out of control and causes death or injuries, though¡­ then we or the League will be in contact.¡± I breathed out a sigh of relief and grabbed Turtonator¡¯s Pokeball on my belt, trying to hide the pain I still felt when I grabbed things. Brockhouse said something, but since it had been my left ear facing him, the voice was muffled and I couldn¡¯t hear what he said. ¡°Excuse me?¡± I asked. He grabbed the Pokeball. ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t have expected a first-year like you to catch this thing. His old trainer was pretty experienced.¡± ¡°His older trainer? Did you figure something out?¡± I eximed. Finding out about this could potentially help me understand Turtonator better, so I wouldn¡¯t let the opportunity pass. ¡°We did. He was a seventeen-year-old Aln that had gone through the trials during his first year, and the Johto Circuit the next. He was trying out Sinnoh this year, but as you know, he was killed,¡± Brockhouse said with a heavy breath. He got up, walked to the corner of the room, and ced the Pokeball into some kind of spherical container in a printer-like device with a screen. ¡°He seemed to prioritize traveling overpeting, though.¡± ¡°So this was his third year¡­¡± I trailed off. Turtonator had lost his trainer who he had known for more than two years, and yet he hadn¡¯t shown any signs of grieving after our battle. ¡°Um, what¡¯s that machine?¡± ¡°Pokeball scanner. Helps us identify what¡¯s in the damn thing without having to release whatever¡¯s inside,¡± he said. The screen machine beeped, and a Turtonator image shed across the screen. ¡°Well, you were right. Since an official, League-sanctioned trade didn¡¯t take ce, I¡¯m going to need you to fill out a few documents to give you legal ownership of Turtonator,¡± he continued as he grabbed a few papers and a pen. He ced them all on the table in front of me. I brought my hand forward and hissed in pain when I grabbed the pen and tried to write. ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think I can hold a pen,¡± I said embarrassingly. The friction between my hands, the bandages and the pen rubbing against it was just too much. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Brockhouse sighed. ¡°Well, you can alwayse back before you leave. You¡¯re in no state to travel, and you should get yourself checked in at the Center, especially if you can¡¯t even write. Those burns look¡­ bad.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do that,¡± I said as he handed me Turtonator¡¯s Pokeball. With a painful grunt, I clipped it on my belt. ¡°Um, onest thing. Turtonator¡¯s trainer, what was his name?¡± ¡°Kamaile Nnie,¡± he said. The words felt heavy. Like they mattered. ¡°Thank you,¡± I nodded. I wouldmit this name to memory and never forget it. I stood up and let Brockhouse show me out, and soon enough, I was at the Pokemon Center. I warned the nurses about Turtonator being potentially aggressive or uncooperative, and I walked to the human wing to get a check-up. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Second-degree burns all along the face and neck, and a second and third-degree burn on your arm,¡± the doctor said. ¡°Another two second-degree burns on your palms, and two first-degree burns on your knees. You certainly went through it, Ms. Pastel.¡± ¡°Third degree?¡± I gasped. ¡°Isn¡¯t that really bad? I don¡¯t feel any pain there.¡± ¡°Yes, it is really bad,¡± he deadpanned. ¡°Did you not pay attention in ss? The reason you don¡¯t feel any pain is because the nerve endings have been destroyed. You¡¯ll need a skin graft. That implies surgery.¡± I froze. That¡­ that was way worse than what I thought. A part of my arm waspletely white¡ª like a sheet of paper, and I thought that had been weird, but since there was no pain, I thought it was improving somewhat, but I had apparently beenpletely wrong. I had been in denial. It wasn¡¯t that there was just no pain, there was just no feeling there whatsoever. ¡°I can see you¡¯re anxious, but that isn¡¯t it,¡± he said. ¡°You said you struggled to hear out of your left ear, correct? Your left ear drum is ruptured, but it¡¯ll heal on its own in a few weeks. If it doesn¡¯t, or if it starts leaking, you¡¯ll need to get it checked again.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I sighed. Surgery terrified me, but if it was the only way¡­ ¡°When can we do this surgery thing? And what does a skin graft imply? Will I be put under?¡± ¡°The third-degree burn on your arm is rtively small, so it will be local anesthesia,¡± the doctor said. ¡°We¡¯ll take a thinyer of skin from another part of your body and ce it on the burned area. After the procedure, you¡¯ll need to stay for a few days, since the new skin will need to sit very still¡ª but after that, you¡¯ll be free to go, even if the graft won¡¯t havepletely healed yet. I hope you don¡¯t mind scars.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine,¡± I said. At least the ones on my face and neck wouldn¡¯t be too bad. ¡°What about the area you take the¡­ skin from?¡± ¡°Oh, that takes a week or two to heal back as well, but it¡¯ll be as good as new,¡± he said. ¡°If you want, we can have your surgery as soon as tomorrow. The rest of your burns will heal on their own with a cream we¡¯ll give you.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I resolved. The sooner, the better. ¡°Tomorrow it is.¡± The doctor nodded, wished me well, and left. A few minutester, a Nurse Joy came into the room and exined the surgery in full detail, including the recovery process, in which I¡¯d have to take care of the graft site by keeping it dry, clear of fluids, and I¡¯d have to keep the stitches possibly for weeks, and that part of my arm wouldn¡¯t feel right for months. There were also risks, such as an infection on the graft site, and then she gave me some cream to put on my second and first-degree burns to quicken the healing process. After that, she made me sign a consent form, and then I was put into another room with a bed. They allowed me to wash myself, which had to be done with a soft shower glove because the pressure of the showerhead hurt too much to actually shower normally. Hell, even using the Arceus damned glove hurt my hands. I had never felt as weak as I did now. The human body was so fickle. Afterward, I was put in a hospital gown, and they ced an IV drip in my arm that would give me antibiotics and electrolytes, whatever that second thing was. I was given a slew of pills, including painkillers, and finally, I was alone. Turtonator certainly had done a number on me, hadn¡¯t he? I was so used to walking off injuries and letting them heal on their own that I thought it¡¯d be the same here. I¡¯d have to text my dad about it when I could. I had told him I¡¯d be in Hearthome soon, and he was supposed to fly out to see me. He had already booked his flight, so the dy would mean he¡¯d need to extend his stay in the city. ¡°Kamaile Nnie¡­¡± I trailed off. If my hands hadn¡¯t hurt like hell, I would have looked him up to learn more about him¡ª The door burst open, and all of my friends entered my room. ¡°Grace! You didn¡¯t tell us you¡¯d need to stay at the hospital!¡± Cece said immediately. ¡°You kept pretending to be fine! What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know either, so you can¡¯t me me,¡± I said with a thin smile. I lifted my burned arm. ¡°A part of my burn here is third-degree. I need a skin graft.¡± ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± Denzel exhaled. ¡°You said it. I¡¯m getting it tomorrow already, and we¡¯ll have to stay for a bit longer,¡± I said. ¡°It should be fine, though. With all the burned trainersing through, they¡¯ve had to do this a lot, and it¡¯s always gone well.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± Cece sighed. ¡°Do you want anything?¡± ¡°Yeah, actually,¡± I said. ¡°Could you grab my phone and text my dad about what happened? I¡¯d do it but¡­¡± I brought my hands up and showed my bandaged fingers. Cecilia let out a small chuckle and grabbed my bag, looking for my phone. ¡°Hmph. This Turtonator spells trouble,¡± Pauline said. ¡°You made a deal with him to get out of the cave, right? What if he attacks you now that he¡¯s out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll deal. He¡¯s hurting, but hiding it,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re too nice for your own good,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°If it were me, I would have given him to the rangers. A murderous dragon is dangerous.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t act like I¡¯m a saint either. A part of me is also doing this because of how powerful he is,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Denzel, can you look up a name for me?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Kamaile Nnie,¡± I said. ¡°Turtonator¡¯s old trainer.¡± He whipped out his Poketch. ¡°Gotcha.¡± ¡°Grace, what should I text to your father?¡± Cece asked. She was holding the phone and trembling like a leaf. It was cute how embarrassed she was around meeting or speaking to him. ¡°Well, you can either say that it¡¯s you, or you can pretend to be me,¡± I shrugged. I still hadn¡¯t told my dad that we were dating¡ª I was nning on telling him in person¡ª but he knew her and my friends¡¯ names. ¡°Just start with the fact that I¡¯m actually fine, and then ease into the surgery part.¡± ¡°Ease into it?¡± Pauline said incredulously. ¡°How do you ease into that?¡± ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Cecilia said with a determined nod. ¡°What?!¡± The redhead scoffed. ¡°Grace, I¡¯ve got a some results for your guy,¡± Denzel said. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°How he looked and what he was like, maybe?¡± Denzel showed me his screen, and Kamaile looked like any teenager. He had tanned skin, his face was square-ish, and he looked to be well-built and tall like Denzel was. Most of the pictures were recent from the news of his death and the whole debacle with Turtonator blocking Mount Cor that the media seemed to have run with, but some of it was older. Pictures of his younger self during his travels through Al and Johto. ¡°He made it through four trials during his first year in Al, which is more impressive when you realize that there are only seven,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°Then, instead of trying again the next year, he went to Johto and got six badges there. Most of his fights seem to have been won due to his Turtonator¡¯s power.¡± So Turtonator was strong enough topete at six badges¡ª no, probably seven now, because of how much time had passed sincest year¡¯s Johto Conference. That was good to know, and it exined why he had been so tough when he had practically been knocked out. Now that he was being healed by the nurses, I was sure that my entire team wouldn¡¯t be able to win against him, especially when he could have such an incredible effect on the environment around him. I always knew fire types were capable of emitting heat, but Turtonator had been on another level entirely. Just having one of my Pokemon approaching him would hurt them. Tangrowth could maybe restrain him, but not for long enough, because his vines would just burn off, and Turtonator was probably strong enough to rip them apart now that he¡¯d be at full capacity. Frillish¡¯s water type attacks were neutral due to his dragon typing, but they wouldn¡¯t deal that much damage either because of all the heat. Togetked in raw power to even hope to hurt him, even with Fairy Wind, and dragons resisted electric type attacks, and Ice Punch wouldn¡¯t do much, so Electabuzz was off the table too. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d be able to even approach him anyway with all the heat. Larvitar might be able to do something when she got stronger and evolved, though. Well, I knew a fight wouldn¡¯t actually happen because I¡¯d just recall Turtonator if he looked like he was about to attack me, but my brain couldn¡¯t help but theorize how I would win. Right now, though? There was just no way. ¡°There isn¡¯t that much else about him out there,¡± Denzel said as he scrolled through his Poketch. ¡°He seemed to keep to himself.¡± ¡°Well, I know he liked to travel, so that lines up,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, did you guys send a message in the group chat too?¡± ¡°We did. Emi¡¯s worried about you,¡± Pauline said with a slight smile. ¡°She was beside herself. You know how she does that thing where she uses so many punctuation marks and emojis that you can tell exactly how she¡¯s feeling through the screen?¡± We allughed at that. ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± I smiled. ¡°Anything about Chase or Louis?¡± ¡°Nothing from both of them,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Not even Chase?¡± Denzel raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s strange. He went through Mount Cor before us, he should have been out by now.¡± ¡°Have you considered the fact that he might just be an asshole?¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s got a lot of redeeming qualities,¡± Denzel said. ¡°I think Pauline and Chase could either get along amazingly well or hate each otherpletely,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°There¡¯s no in-between. Here, Grace.¡± She showed me my phone to read the message she had typed, which was¡­ ridiculously long. Seriously, this was at least five hundred words long, and it somehow followed an essay-like structure with a short introduction where she introduced herself, a body where she described my condition, and a conclusion that said I¡¯d be fine. ¡°Thanks,¡± I smiled. ¡°You can send it.¡± Chase not having sent a message worried me. He had sent one before going through the mountain, and he wasn¡¯t the type to forget things easily. Even if he had acted all nonchnt about the promise to keep us up to date, I knew that he knew how important it was to me. Louis¡­ well, Louis probably still wanted his space, but I hoped that he was fine. Denzel sprung up. ¡°Hey Grace, did you know that Craig battled against Gardenia a few days ago? Do you want to watch the battle?¡± ¡°Holy shit! You could have told me earlier! Obviously I want to watch. Who won?¡± ¡°Craig.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± I groaned. ¡°I wanted Gardenia to win.¡± ¡°Craig would be hurt if he heard that,¡± Denzelughed. ¡°Craig this, Craig that, Justin and I don¡¯t know him, so every time you bring him up, we feel left out. Just put the video on,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Let it be known that I have nothing against you speaking about Craig,¡± Justin sighed. Denzel put the battle on, but something seemed off about the fight. Sure, high-level battles were incredibly impressive, and they made me wish I was that good. Craig and Gardenia were in apletely different world, and their Pokemons¡¯ attacks put even Turtonator to shame. Still, Gardenia¡¯s head seemed to not be in the fight. She gave Craig a run for his money, but there were none of her usual battle-long traps that she usually set up. She hadn¡¯t even smiled once during the battle, when using her personal team was something that should have brought her incredible joy. Had something happened to her recently? Maybe I was just imagining things. None of my friends were saying anything about it anyway. Maybe it was just an off-day for her. Gardenia battled all day long, so I couldn¡¯t really expect her to always be wless. That would be seriously unhealthy. We spent the next few hours just fooling around and talking. Justin and Pauline left first, since they wanted to train and battle. Denzel and Cece stayed until visitor hours were over. The next morning, a few doctors and a Nurse Joy came into the room and started the surgery. After the initial pain from the local anesthesia injection, everything was smooth sailing. They took some skin from my thigh to put on my arm, although I had to look away. Seeing my skin get cut off? Ew, no thank you. It went perfectly well, and it really wasn¡¯t as bad as I thought it would be, but the consequences would besting. The scars would be a part of me forever, and the pain would stay for weeks or possibly months. A reminder that actions had consequences. I couldn''t always be reckless and hope things would work out. ns wouldn''t be enough if the power disparity was asrge as it had been between me and Turtonator. At least I could scratch ¡®first surgery¡¯ off my non-existent trainer bucket list. It was bound to happen at some point anyway.
Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Announcement The next two chapters will be Interludes, but I''ve decided to move voting to my , so join if you want to do so!
CHAPTER 111 ¡°Speaking of your favorite song, did you know I¡¯ve always wanted to y the piano?¡± Cece let out a surprised hum and smiled at Grace. ¡°Really? That came out of nowhere, but I feel like it¡¯d fit you,¡± she said. ¡°Why have you never tried?¡± ¡°Well, no time. You know how being a trainer is,¡± Grace replied with a small shrug. ¡°But my therapist Amanda had one in her office, and I never got to y it before leaving Floaroma.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you could find one in Hearthome somewhere¡­¡± It had been two days since Grace¡¯s surgery, and like every time she was allowed to visit, Cecilia was keeping her girlfriendpany. The others were all busy¡ª especially Pauline and Justin, who were trying to implement their teachers¡¯ respective strategies into battle. Grace was recovering well, although patches of skin on the entire left side of her body were discolored going up to her neck and cheek, and the skin graft still needed to heal for another two days before they¡¯d be able to travel. The recovery process would be painful. Cece rxed in her chair, and Grace sneakily grabbed her hand. ¡°Worried about something?¡± She asked. ¡°You, mostly,¡± Cecilia answered, eliciting a smallugh. ¡°Don¡¯tugh, I¡¯m serious! You¡¯re the most reckless girl I¡¯ve ever known!¡± ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t do it again. Come on, forgive me already,¡± she pouted. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t stay mad at you for too long anyway,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°But now, we¡¯re even, I suppose.¡± ¡°That we are,¡± Grace smiled, tightening her hand around hers. ¡°Bute on, I know you¡¯re worried about something else.¡± Cecilia inhaled sharply and stared into Grace¡¯s green eyes. It was terrifying sometimes, how perceptive she was at catching the littlest things, and the way she applied that in her battle strategies was even more so. She had a gift for finding out how people worked after observing them for just a few days or hours. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t tell me,¡± Grace said as she stood up straight on her hospital bed. ¡°I think I can figure it out.¡± Cecilia let out a defeated sigh. ¡°You can read me like an open book, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°If you want to go train, you can go,¡± she said. ¡°I can be alone for a few hours. I told Denzel the same thing.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re in pain¡­ you¡¯re hiding it too.¡± ¡°I am, but it¡¯s not too bad, and it¡¯s been getting better,¡± Grace said. ¡°If it hadn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold your hand.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Cecilia sighed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be leaving?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a big girl, I can handle it! Now go before I change my mind and I make you stay the whole day.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be against that.¡± Graceughed heartily. It was like music to Cecilia¡¯s ears. How was she keeping her spirits up after what had happened to her? Was she just pretending? Even if she was, Cecilia would be there to talk when she was ready to. ¡°Come on Cece, I¡¯ll just watch something on TV. The Nurses will help with everything, and they¡¯re only one call away.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll be back this afternoon.¡± The blonde girl grinned. ¡°Thanks! I love you!¡± Cecilia¡¯s heart spun and danced in her chest. ¡°I love you too.¡± She kissed her forehead and quickly strode out of the Pokemon Center with her Pokeballs on her hip, and wondered on what to do. Cecilia could either go off and train on her own or find Pauline. Denzel was also training out there somewhere, but for some reason, finding him while his Sylveon was out had been difficult recently. Cecilia would ask him where he had been, and he would answer with somece she had walked through to look for him and hadn¡¯t seen him anywhere. In the end, Cecilia resolved to find Pauline, but before that, she went to a generalist store that sold everything a trainer might have needed and bought Grace some new shoes. She had sneakily found out her size the day before by grabbing one of her half-melted shoes, and she knew that she needed new ones before they left. Cecilia tried grabbing the closest design to what Grace currently had¡ª some white sneakers. Satisfied with her purchase, she quickly dropped them in her Center room and went back out to find Pauline, which she did in about fifteen minutes. Finding her hadn¡¯t exactly been difficult. She seemed to have garnered a lot of attention due to how much she battledtely, and there was always a small crowd that watched her. Justin, meanwhile, was more discreet with his battles, opting to do that in isted corners of the outpost. Grace was rubbing off on him. Pauline stood proudly with her hands on her hips as Rufflet triumphantly squawked with a talon over a Furret¡¯s neck. Cecilia had worked with the bird a whole lot, and she was extremely loud and reckless, but the move Brave Bird hadn¡¯t been named after Braviary for nothing, or at least that¡¯s what the stories said. It wasn¡¯t really possible to verify. Pauline¡¯s opponent recalled his Furret and transferred prize money to her trainer ID, although loudly remarking that it was scummy for her to take his money because she was rich. Pauline replied by telling him to go fuck himself and giving him the finger. ¡°Ah, Cece! Did you see me wipe the floor with this guy?¡± Pauline asked with a confident smirk. ¡°It was like you said, I overwhelmed him, and he could barely respond to my attacks.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see it, but it certainly looked like it. Rufflet seems unharmed. How about your other Pokemon?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Charmeleon took a few hits earlier, but other than that, nothing.¡± ¡°Good. Let¡¯s find a quieter corner to train,¡± she said. ¡°I thought you¡¯d stay with Grace for a while,¡± Pauline said as they began walking. ¡°That was the n, but she practically ordered me to go train. She could tell I wanted to, and Grace would hate it if I started holding my progress back because I was staying with her.¡± ¡°The little gremlin¡¯s freaky like that,¡± Pauline grinned. ¡°Is that going to be a thing?¡± ¡°What? The gremlin thing? I think it¡¯s cute and it fits her. You should try calling her that.¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Cecilia scoffed. ¡°Anyway, right now, it¡¯s about you, not her.¡± They found the spot they were looking for¡ª a fenced area that kept trainers from falling down into one of Mount Cor¡¯s many canyons. A huge river system flowed through them, and some trainers could even be seen down there riding on their water Pokemon, no doubt having figured out that getting off the mountain was quicker like this than just scaling down the proper path. ¡°Did you do what I asked of you?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yes, yes,¡± she sighed, waving a hand. ¡°Ten battles in a row with no trips to the Center. I honestly think I can go up to fifteen now. You saw how my Pokemon barely took any hits.¡± Cece clicked her tongue dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t get overconfident now. The reason you can go up to ten is because you¡¯ve been fighting all kinds of trainers¡ª including those without badges. If you want to be able to go up a level, you need to fight ten in a row with at least one badge.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Pauline grumbled, flicking her hair back. ¡°What do you have in store for me today, my dear teacher?¡± Cecilia grabbed Slowpoke and Zweilous¡¯ Pokeballs and released them. Slowpoke wasn¡¯t exactly here to do anything, he was mostly here to observe. And practice speaking to her. Good¡­ Cecilia¡­ well¡­ Cecilia¡¯s eye twitched at the slight headache. It would have been much more painful if he could speak to her properly, but Cecilia feared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to until she finally bought him a King¡¯s Rock in Hearthome. Still, from the three words she had heard, she could tell what Slowpoke had meant. ¡°I am well, Slowpoke,¡± she smiled. ¡°Keep practicing, I¡¯ll keep your voice at the back of my mind.¡± ¡°Wait, he speaks to you?¡± Pauline asked, her eyes widening. ¡°I thought Slowpoke couldn¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°He can, although the words aren¡¯t clear,¡± she smiled. Slowpoke¡¯s psychic abilities were special, after all. When he evolved¡­ Cecilia shuddered in anticipation. ¡°And I¡¯ve already told you that you should let your Gothorita do the same.¡± Pauline groaned. ¡°I tried, but the pain¡­ it¡¯s like self-inflicted torture.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like training a muscle, it gets better the more you do it,¡± she sighed. ¡°But anyway, release your Charmeleon.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say. Gothorita¡¯s words are smooth and clear, and it¡¯s like someone¡¯s putting a jackhammer in my head. Are we having her and Zweilous fight?¡± ¡°No, not yet. We¡¯re having a lesson first,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°What do you think is the biggest weakness our way of battling has?¡± Pauline ced her hands on her hips, thinking for a few seconds while Zweilous and Charmeleon growled threateningly at each other. ¡°I don¡¯t know. If using power to blow past our enemies doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯re fucked, maybe?¡± Cecilia¡¯s eyes widened in surprised. ¡°Wow, you actually figured it out.¡± ¡°Fuck off. That sounded like a backhandedpliment.¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°But yes, using power¡ª shock, and awe to win in a battle is well and good when it works, but what if it doesn¡¯t? How would you counter that?¡± Hearthome was fast approaching, and they had all already agreed to a double battle¡ª although Chase still was nowhere to be found, so they¡¯d have to wait for him. Cecilia already knew that Grace and she would be on opposite sides, and her girlfriend wouldn¡¯t just let Cecilia overwhelm her with power. She was too good for that. Of course, she was doing the best she could toe in a position of strength, such as hiding herself whenever she trained, teaching her Pokemon new moves in secret, and nning to buy TMs behind Grace¡¯s back to catch her by surprise, and slowly but surely amassing strength. She had been thinking about this since Snowpoint, and she had recentlye up with an answer. ¡°Argh, I can¡¯te up with anything!¡± Pauline groaned. ¡°Gimmie the answer.¡± Cecilia ced a hand on Sol¡¯s head and smiled. ¡°Deceit.¡± ¡°That was an extremely broad answer that doesn¡¯t help whatsoever. I promise you that didn¡¯t sound as good as it did in your head.¡± Cece rolled her eyes. Only Grace understood how satisfying answering long-winded questions with one word was. ¡°They say that you should know thy enemy. As we progress further and further into the Circuit, the number of trainers you will have to watch out for will thin out. At the top, most trainers know each other and their teams, so they fight by withholding information.¡± ¡°Right, Grace told us something about that.¡± ¡°Craig exined it to her when we were with him,¡± Cece nodded. ¡°So you must deceive your enemy. Keep your moves hidden until you are sure they will destroy the opposition. For example, your Charmeleon recently learned methrower, did she not?¡± The fire type screamed proudly, and her trainer nodded. ¡°Grace does not know that yet, so take her, for example. When a battle starts, she will usually scout out an opponent¡¯s moves. What if you tricked her by only using Ember, Dragon Rage, and Metal w? Then she would think that you do not have methrower. What happens when she switches into her Tangrowth because she thinks that Ember is too weak to hurt him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why we picked Grace as an example,¡± Pauline started. ¡°But I suppose I would catch her off-guard and use methrower, then.¡± ¡°Right. That was a simple example, but it still applies. Even when prioritizing power, battling is, first and foremost, informational warfare, and you cannot ignore that side of it. I have been doing so for too long.¡± ¡°Okay, so with Justin, for example,¡± Pauline said, tapping her chin. ¡°If he tries that annoying burying trick with his Sandile against me, then I could try to act helpless and use that technique you helped me and Gothorita develop¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, acting helpless is going too far, Pauline,¡± Cecilia shook her head. ¡°We are simply deceiving while still being strong, not acting weak.¡± ¡°Hm, alright,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Deceiving while still kicking ass. This would work a lot better if I had more moves.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ll be able to get TMs in Hearthome, although you shouldn¡¯t go overboard. Organic growth will always be superior to artificial progress.¡± ¡°Sure, I only want a few for Charmeleon anyway,¡± she smiled. ¡°This deceit stuff sounds nice and all, but doesn¡¯t it only work once? You can only reveal that your Pokemon has a move once.¡± ¡°Against recurring and thorough opponents like Grace would be? Yes, but the vast majority of people aren¡¯t like her. Plus, there is more to it, but I¡¯ll tell you in ater lesson.¡± ¡°Why not now?¡± The redhead grumbled. ¡°Because you aren¡¯t ready. But here¡¯s a hint. A small slice of the cake, if you will. Deceiving doesn¡¯t only apply to moves,¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°Recall your battle against Gardenia. You were outnumbered and fighting two versus three. What was it that cemented your victory?¡± ¡°Ahhh,¡± she eximed. ¡°ze.¡± Cecilia smiled. ¡°You are in a unique position, Pauline. Did you know that despite abilities like Torrent, ze, and Overgrow being somon, a lot of trainers don¡¯t bring those to their full potential? It requires walking a very small tightrope, and a lot of Pokemon go out of control when they are affected by the ability. Charmeleon has already blown past that second issue.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine by me, I like living on the edge,¡± Pauline grinned. ¡°Perfect,¡± she pped her hands. ¡°The lesson is over. Throw everything you have at Zweilous, and we will do the same to you. When Charmeleon enters ze, the real training will begin.¡± ze, Torrent and Overgrow brought out a Pokemon¡¯s hidden potential, so what happened when one trained under its strain? They would progress and grow ever faster. Cecilia took her job as a teacher very seriously. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Roselia,¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°For thest time, we are not getting a Grimer.¡± ¡°Rose!¡± ¡°No, we aren¡¯t! I know why you want me to get one, you think they¡¯re ugly and that Sylveon will hate it. Lesspetition for you.¡± ¡°Snoooooooooo,¡± Snoruntughed. Roselia clicked her tongue and kicked his leg, which was obviously painless. For as much as Roselia acted like she hated him, Denzel knew that she cared, although depressingly, she liked Sylveon more than him. They hade a long way since she relentlessly tried to kill him with Bullet Seed early in their journey, or just didn¡¯t listen to anything he said. Roselia stomped off toward her recently acquired best friend Buneary, and Snorunt sniggered while she sat on Sylveon¡¯s head. ¡°Sylv¡­¡± the fairy type sighed. ¡°Not your fault,¡± Denzel said. ¡°She¡¯s gotten better recently. Maybe you guys cane to an agreement soon or something, like she gets you on Mondays, Buneary on Tuesdays¡­¡± ¡°Sylveon!¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re not a thing. I was mostly joking,¡± he smiled. ¡°Snooooooo.¡± Denzel raised an eyebrow. Snorunt loved using extremely long vocalizations for some reason, but he found that kind of endearing. ¡°Okay, you get him on Wednesdays, then,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve got to work on your moves soon, by the way.¡± The ice type¡¯s creepy grin widened, and Denzel continued browsing through his Poketch. He was currently looking for a sixth team member, but he was struggling to find one so quickly. It had taken him years to n his first team, after all, so picking a new Pokemon in a few weeks felt inadequate. And yet he knew it had to be done. ¡°Sylvi, what do you think about one of the Oricorio? They seem pretty versatile,¡± Denzel asked as he showed his phone¡¯s screen the fairy type. Sylveon tilted his head, but then shook it. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not really feeling it either,¡± he sighed. ¡°Plus, I¡¯d have to wait until we get back down south. That¡¯d take too long.¡± He was involving his Pokemon in the decision-making this time. Even Feebas had taken part a little earlier, although he had to recall him a few minutes ago due to theck of water. Roselia and Buneary kept picking the ugliest Pokemon they could find, while Snorunt just kept picking ghost types, so Sylveon was basically the only one taking this seriously. His Pokemon were training lightly today in preparation for everything that was going to happen in Hearthome. Due to Fantina¡¯s ghost types, Buneary was busy learning Foresight in between conversing with Roselia about love or whatever it was that they spoke about these days, but he was also thinking about buying a reusable Shadow Ball TM for both her and Snorunt. Ghosts were the best at taking down ghosts, after all, and the same principle applied to ghost type attacks. Maybe he could ask Emilia to lend him her Shadow Ball TM¡­ had she bought a reusable one? He quickly shot her a message, and she answered immediately. Emilia L. Obviously, I¡¯ll lend you Shadow Ball! You didn¡¯t even have to feel bad about asking! Does anyone else want it? Denzel W. Emi, were you procrastinating by looking at your phone again? Emilia L. Absolutely not. Denzel W. Yeah¡­ sure¡­ just make sure to work on your contest stuff, alright? Pauline¡¯s worried about you, I think. She won¡¯t tell me anything, but I can tell. I don¡¯t think anyone else wants the move, but I¡¯ll ask around. Emilia sent him a series of emojis that he struggled to decode. What the hell was a man walking supposed to mean? Anyway, he knew Grace was never going to ept someone else¡¯s TM, even if it was reusable and had already been bought. It didn¡¯t seem like it until you got to really know her, but Grace was too prideful, almost to a fault. Seeing her take down that Turtonator alone and getting burned all over had terrified him more than he thought it would. He had felt just like he did when Cecilia had gone alone into Mount Cor. Losing any of his friends would damage him beyond repair, and being so dependent on people scared Denzel, especially in a line of work as dangerous as being a trainer was. ¡°How about a¡­ Dratini.¡± ¡°Sylveon¡­¡± ¡°Snooo.¡± ¡°Eh, they do fit every criteria, but they don¡¯t really live in the wild in Sinnoh,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you could win one in Veilstone, and they¡¯d be less expensive than getting one from a professional breeder, but the cost would still be in the millions, so I¡¯ll probably have to pass. Plus, I¡¯m no gambler.¡± Dragons were rare in general, but he certainly wouldn¡¯t say no to one, especially after seeing how powerful that Turtonator was. Denzel didn¡¯t know how long it would take for Grace to be able to use him, but he had no doubt she¡¯d seed. It was impossible not to like her dorky self, old grumpy dragon or not. ¡°Dragons seem fun,¡± he muttered. ¡°What else would fit¡­ Swablu?¡± Swablu¡­ Swablu fit, and Altaria were big enough to fly on, which was something Denzel considered a must. If he was going to be a content creator, then he¡¯d need to be able to zip across the region fast enough to get to different tournaments or film different stuff. But where could he even find a Swablu? A quick search revealed that they lived in the foggy route 210, which he could swing by on the way to Veilstone. ¡°You like it?¡± ¡°Syl!¡± The fairy type nodded. Snorunt grumbled at the fact that it wasn¡¯t a ghost type, but Denzel was just happy he had settled on something. He¡¯d need to let it simmer in his head to see if he still felt the same as they got closer to route 210, but that would take a while. ¡°Okay, Snorunt, are you ready to train?¡± ¡°Sno!¡± She said excitedly. Denzel was excited about her prospects. The price of Dawn Stones was currently lower than usual, and he was almost sure he¡¯d be able to nab one in Hearthome depending on which sponsor he got. He could have sorted through them here already, but he had decided to wait until Grace was ready so that they could do it together, or she would procrastinate about it until the year was almost over. He¡¯d need to watch out, however. Evolving ghost types too early was a recipe for disaster, and he knew it would be a while until Snorunt was ready to be a Fross. Fross weren¡¯t like Frillish, who only had the ghost typing due to having some amount of ghost energy in his body. They were true ghosts, like Ghastly, Duskull, or Misdreavus. That meant that they shared their malevolent nature, which was why there were so many myths and legends about Fross in the first ce. Freezing men and kidnapping them, never melting ice, haunting small viges up north during the old Hisuan period. And ghosts tended to¡­ injure or murder. Or worse. ¡°Blizzard,¡± Denzel whispered. Snorunt shivered, and the temperature started to drop drastically. The wind quickened around them, picking up the materializing snowkes into a frenzy. Roselia and Buneary shrieked and ran away, and the entire area where they had just been standing was covered in frozen ice. ¡°Snorunt, Don¡¯t aim for them!¡± Denzel groaned as he facepalmed. They¡¯d retaliate for the next week. Roselia was annoying, but Buneary especially held her grudges for a long time. Snorunt jumped andughed wildly. There was one thing only Denzel knew about his Snorunt. Despite being in such a tiny body, she was a fucking genius. He had only tried learning Blizzard to see how close they could get to using the move a few weeks ago, but he was surprised to see that Snorunt easily learned to use it in two days, and she was still figuring out ways to improve the move, and she shared the rest of the team¡¯s endurance, meaning that she could use it multiple times in a row. That was the other reason Denzel didn¡¯t want to evolve her yet. An out-of-control Fross that knew Blizzard? There was no way that he was going to have that on his hands, at least not until the rest of his team was strong enough to fight back. Still, he reckoned that it¡¯d be very useful during the battle against Fantina and his friends. Denzel wasn¡¯t as shy as Grace or Cecilia, but as Craig had said at Candice¡¯s party, he was consistent. He might have been behind right now, but he knew he would catch up. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Thanks, Nurse Joy,¡± I tiredly said as I grabbed my Pokeballs. Five days in total had passed since my surgery, and I was finally being discharged. My burns were healing wrong. I¡¯d be keeping the scars. Forever. Even the ones on the left side of my face. What was this feeling? Was it dread? Disappointment? A mix of the two, maybe? A sinking feeling now that I understood that the situation was finally real. I shook my head and thought about something else. I wiggled my toes in the new shoes Cece had gotten me and smiled. I had just gotten legal ownership of Turtonator, and we were finally leaving today. It¡¯d take another five days to reach Hearthome¡ª four if we were quick. I still had to wear so many bandages I felt like a mummy, I couldn¡¯t move my arm around too much, and the entire left side of my body still hurt, but it was getting better. My hearing in my left ear was still screwed, but it was also better than it had been. My friends greeted me in the Pokemon Center¡¯s lobby, and Cecilia kissed me softly, turning a few heads. We hadn¡¯t really made an official announcement or anything like that, but it was pretty obvious that we were dating now. Justin had also told me that there were some rumors about me having caught Turtonator, but that couldn¡¯t be confirmed just yet. I¡¯d keep that fact hidden for a bit longer. ¡°Are you sure you want to leave this early?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°We can wait another few days.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve held you guys back long enough,¡± I said. ¡°Pauline and Justin need to hurry if they¡¯re going to make it to the Conference.¡± ¡°Not if,¡± Paulineined. ¡°Stop it with the semantics,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re back on your feet, Grace.¡± ¡°So am I. Now I have to wrangle with Turtonator some more.¡± ¡°At least wait until we¡¯re at Hearthome,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°What if you¡¯re burned again in the middle of the route?¡± I was about to protest, but I had already told myself many times that I didn¡¯t know what Turtonator¡¯s reaction would be now that he was out of the cave, so I conceded and agreed. After making sure everything was in order again, we were back on the road. Scaling down Mount Cor was hell, and we went at it slowly so that I could take it easy. In the end, Tangrowth didn¡¯t battle any trainers, which I felt sad about, but I probably would have won against anyone at the outpost anyway. Most trainers worth their while didn¡¯t stick around that long. Togetic still tried to work past her mental block with Wish, and she was getting incrementally better at the move, and still helping angel with his Knock Off, which he was finally getting the hang of. Sunny Day still eluded us, however. Electabuzz was still taking it easy because he needed his hand to rest, and Frillish had mastered Shadow Ball to such an extent that he could basically send one out instantly and mold it however he wanted. There was something off about him that I couldn¡¯t ce, like he was anticipating something. The new year came and went. In the end, due to how slow I was, it took us seven more days, and we finally made it to Hearthome¡ª the city of warmth and kindness, and the city at the center of Sinnoh.
Interlude – Mend Interlude ¨C Mend INTERLUDE - MEND Eighteen days earlier Louis Bianchi quietly dragged his feet across the dirt in the dead of night before sitting down against one of the giant concrete legs that kept the cycling road standing above route 206. He didn¡¯t exactly know why he came down there¡ª well, that was a lie, he knew exactly why he did; it was just that actually staying here was irrational and meant that he was just wasting time. He shoved his hands down his jacket¡¯s pockets for warmth and settled by the fire he had lit. Prinplup stood next to him, loyal as always. He asionally stole worried nces at his trainer, but did not actually speak up. Vulpix was curled up next to the mes and watched as they danced in the air, asionally manipting them to create moving shapes to distract herself. Gible, meanwhile, was gorging himself on a wild Starly he had somehow caught. Louis¡¯ eye twitched when he heard one of its bone shatter under the dragon¡¯s incredible jaw. He had always been like this. No matter how many times Louis had tried to feed him processed Pokemon food in the past, the dragon wanted to kill things. To hunt. Prinplup opened his beak as if he was going to say something, but after a few seconds, he just shook his head and sighed with a strange honk. The reason Louis had made his way under the cycling road was simple. Trainers were spreading rumors about his friends further up ahead in the route, and he just couldn¡¯t bear it. Now that he had left, even just hearing Cecilia¡¯s name hurt. The boy groaned in frustration, shoving his head backward and identally hitting it on the concrete wall, hurting himself. Louis let out a short scream and rubbed the back of his head while Vulpix and Prinplup looked on with worry. Gible, meanwhile, stared at him like he was just an annoyance. An annoyance. That was what Louis was to his Gible, and that was actually an improvement to how bad things had been right after the battle with Gardenia. It had taken Louis a while to figure out why Gible had acted out the way he did, but when he finally managed to, it had all clicked into ce. Gible were a prideful and aggressive species, especially when they were young, but his was even more so than usual. Before getting through Eterna Forest, part of that aggressiveness would get weaned off every day or two by having him battle Cece¡ª Cecilia¡¯s Deino, but they hadpletely stopped that arrangement after getting through the forest. That meant that Gible hadn¡¯t actually been fighting anything. Sure, he trained by himself, since Louis had been incapable of even getting him to practice with his other Pokemon back then, but training was nothing like the battles that Gible had fought before against Deino, and then in Eterna Forest, and it angered him. There had been no challenge or thrill to it. That anger built, built, and built until he was finally put in a hard battle again. Against Gardenia. And he wentpletely rogue. So how had Louis managed to get Gible back under a modicum of control? Well, he had Prinplup and Vulpix fight him every day. It was good training for them, and it helped him sharpen his skills as a trainer, although Gible wasn¡¯t exactly the smartest opponent to face¡­ anything helped, so long as he could catch up to Cecilia¡ª Louis¡¯ fists clenched in his pockets. He was being so foolish. ¡°Catch up for what, you damned idiot,¡± he muttered to himself. When Louis read Cecilia¡¯s letter that had set everything in motion, he had been too worried about her well-being to actually let the words sink in. He had, however, been filled with an overwhelming desire to break off their engagement so that she could be happy again. He understood the letter¡¯s contents, but the words themselves¡­ took a while to actually get through his head, but Louis had had a lot of time to think in the harrowing weeks when he believed Cecilia, Grace, and Denzel to be dead. The fact that Cecilia never actually loved him hurt more than anything he had ever felt, but there had been other things to worry about, especially their fathers swooping in and locking them up in that hotel, so he put it off. And plus, who had he been to feel hurt about it? Cecilia had been suffering for months and bottling it all up, so he should have been able to deal with a simple rejection. And yet, when his friends finally called from Snowpoint to reveal themselves to be alive, the tiniest, smallest part of him still hoped for a chance. An utterly irrational thought, but that was what love did to a man¡¯s brain. So for some reason, Louis got the idea in his head that if he somehow caught up to her skill and gave her enough space, maybe Cecilia would take him back, so he redoubled his training, and so had the others who had been left behind in Eterna. They had all been motivated to catch up. And then, Cecilia came back, and Louis practically fell in love again. Irrational. Stupid. Foolish. Yet, Louis didn¡¯t show it. He stayed quiet during the party and didn¡¯t celebrate as hard as he had wanted to. He had wanted to let her breathe. To give her space. But then, she revealed that she was dating Grace, and his world came crashing down. A dash of hope, crushed so thoroughly just as quickly as it hade. Louis hadn¡¯t even had a chance from the start. He had just been building these scenarios in his head. These fantasies where Cecilia would somehow see that he had changed for the better and give him another chance. He had just been daydreaming. Meaningless delusions that were better fit for a thirteen-year-old boy than him, the heir to the Bianchi¡ª Louis exhaled sharply. His family name and business were nothing to be proud of. His father, who he had loved dearly, was a monster that he couldn¡¯t recognize. He had never been particrly close to his mother either. He had separated from his friends so that he could finally attempt to move on. He had nothing. Nobody¡ª ¡°Pix!¡± He stared dejectedly at Vulpix, who rubbed her head against his leg. Prinplup joined in and tapped his shoulder with his flippers. ¡°Thank you,¡± he sighed. ¡°I mean it. I¡¯ve been quiet, hm?¡± Prinplup honked softly and nodded. ¡°Well, there isn¡¯t anywhere to go from here but up, I suppose,¡± Louis said with a pained look. That was right. He still had Prinplup and Vulpix. He had even grown attached to Gible, as awful as the dragon was to raise and control. With his Pokemon to support him, maybe a few weeks alone would be enough to stop his heart from feeling like it was being pulled apart every time he looked in Cecilia¡¯s general direction. ¡°Ah! I finally found you!¡± Louis¡¯ head darted toward the female voice, and Gible roared angrily at her with blue mes dancing in his mouth. ¡°Gible!¡± Louis eximed. ¡°No.¡± The dragon looked at him for a few seconds as the Dragon Rage gathered in his maw. Louis was being tested. Would he show his fear? He did not, and he continued staring right into Gible¡¯s eyes until he stopped and went back to eating. ¡°Holy shit, I thought I was going to get killed by that dragon. I knew you couldn¡¯t control it from your gym battle with Gardenia, but still.¡± Louis stared at the teenager standing before him and frowned. A Monferno stood by her side, and his me was almost brighter than his own fire. ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± ¡°W¡ªwhat? You don¡¯t remember me?¡± ¡°No,¡± he simply said. He was in no mood to converse with anyone at the moment. ¡°I¡¯m Maeve! Maeve Chang! You beat me at the Floaroma tournament!¡± She yelled angrily. Louis frowned. No matter how much he racked his brain, the name didn¡¯t ring a bell, but he opted to go for the path of least resistance and lied. ¡°Right. Maeve,¡± he said. ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°I was following your trail, and it took me the entire day to find you,¡± she sighed. ¡°You beat mest time, so I want a rematch right here and now,¡± she dered, pointing her thumb toward the ground. ¡°No.¡± ¡°W¡ªwhat?¡± ¡°No,¡± Louis repeated, turning away from her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to battle you. Go find someone else.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­ what happened to you?¡± She said, staring at the scar on his cheek, which he instinctively covered. ¡°You were so boastful and loud when we fought in Floaroma, and now you¡¯re like this deted balloon,¡± she frowned. ¡°I guess the stuff with your dad affected you worse than I thought. I heard on the news. Um, I¡¯m sorry I kind of judged you quickly during our battle. I¡¯m kind of bad with people.¡± ¡°You¡¯re forgiven,¡± Louis answered while his thoughts were screaming at her to leave. ¡°Is that it? It¡¯ste, and I¡¯m feeling quite tired.¡± Maeve deted. ¡°Man, this is disappointing. I built up this whole¡­ idea of you in my head off of our single battle and spent so long dreaming about the day I¡¯d surpass you, and now you just refuse?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ no, I can¡¯t ept that. I¡¯m going to follow you until you battle me.¡± Louis scratched his head frustratingly. ¡°You¡¯ll be disappointed. I want nothing to do with this, I have enough on my mind.¡± Maeve sat down next to the fire, although she kept her distance from Gible, who was done with his food by now. ¡°Finally. I hate the cold, and Monferno¡¯s heat wasn¡¯t cutting it.¡± The fire type bowed his head apologetically at its trainer. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s probably something wrong with me,¡± she smiled. ¡°I mean, what kind of Sinnohan can¡¯t handle a little bit of cold? Just me, apparently.¡± Louis recalled Gible into his Pokeball and looked on in horror as this stranger just inserted herself into his group. This was meant to be a period of self-reflection, and he wanted to be alone for that. He stayed there quietly with her, although she asionally spoke to her Monferno, but when she fell asleep, Louis recalled his Pokemon and discreetly sneaked away deeper into route 206 and toward the Wayward Cave. ¡ª¡ª ¡°You asshole! You ditched me!¡± Maeve screamed. ¡°How did you even find me?!¡± Louis hissed. Hourster, Louis had settled down and built another camp so that he could sleep, but Maeve somehow found him again. He understood when a huge Staravianded next to her and squawked. ¡°I should have slept under the cycling road¡­¡± Louis grumbled. ¡°No, Star still would have found you,¡± she shrugged. ¡°I told you I¡¯m not giving up until you battle me. I spent weeks preparing for this. We can either do this the hard way, or the easy way.¡± Louis had somehow gotten himself a stalker, and the most sensible move would be to give in to Maeve and give her want she wanted. Yet a part of him simply refused to be forced to do something he didn¡¯t want to do. Louis had hoped to grow into his own man during his time alone. There was no way he¡¯d give in to this girl. ¡°Well, feel free to follow me until the ends of the earth then!¡± he yelled angrily. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s that tone I thought I¡¯d get,¡± Maeve said. ¡°And I will. Don¡¯t act like I didn¡¯t warn you. This is the hard way.¡± And so, Louis had gained a travelingpanion, much to his chagrin. ¡ª¡ª ¡°So this is the Wayward Cave, huh?¡± Maeve said as she stared at the entrance. ¡°It¡¯s been abandoned years ago since they just went ahead and built the cycling road over it, but there are rumors that you can find Gible there. I want one.¡± ¡°So you mean to say that you weren¡¯t just following me to be annoying, then?¡± Louisined. Suddenly, an idea sprung in his mind. ¡°Fine. How about you go look for your Gible, and I will wait for you here?¡± ¡°Nice try,¡± she said. ¡°But no. I can tell you wanted to go in here too. Why else would you go this way? You¡¯d just be wasting time.¡± The blond man clicked his tongue and ran his hand through his hair. She was frustratingly perceptive. The truth was that Louis had also heard of the rumors about the Gible of Wayward Cave, and he thought that he could maybe have his own fight one. Gible was getting bored of fighting Prinplup and Vulpix all the time, so Louis wanted to switch things up so that his aggressiveness wouldn¡¯t just umte like it hadst time. ¡°Fine,¡± he sighed, resigning himself to his fate. ¡°Let¡¯s go in, then.¡± ¡°Finally, you¡¯re starting to cooperate.¡± Maybe he¡¯d get lost in the cave and lose her. As they stepped into the cave, they realized that it was ridiculously dark. Louis grabbed a shlight, and Maeve released her Monferno, and soon enough, they were on their way to find that Gible. The floor was t and even, which meant that it was easy to navigate, at leastpared to Mount Cor, but it was a realbyrinth down there. Corridors led to other corridors that twisted and turned, and they would have no doubt gotten lost if Maeve hadn¡¯t had the smart idea to mark their path by having her Monferno Mach Punch the walls. Pokemon down here were stronger than on the routes, especially since rangers weren¡¯t there to keep the stronger ones away, but they were still manageable. Prinplup and Monferno were enough to deal with any threats, but the toughest ones they had to face were just Rhyhorn or Graveler. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think this Gible rumor was just a load of crap,¡± Maeve sighed hourster. ¡°I guess it makes sense, since most of Sinnoh¡¯s dragons live around Celestic.¡± ¡°Well, feel free to turn away, I think I¡¯ll keep going.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t escape me, Louis,¡± Maeve chuckled dryly. ¡°I mean,e on. Do you really want to be alone?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He eximed, but then stopped when he realized how loud he was being. ¡°I¡¯ve told you over and over that I need time to myself!¡± He shone his shlight on her, and she paused. ¡°Look,¡± she breathed. ¡°I¡¯m bad at reading people. I¡¯ve told you this already, but I don¡¯t think you realize how terrible you looked when I walked up on you.¡± ¡°What?¡± He asked. ¡°You looked tired and depressed,¡± she shrugged. ¡°A far cry from how you were at the tournament, so I guessed something must have happened to you. At first, I thought it was just the issues with your dad, but there¡¯s clearly something else. The biggest sign is that you¡¯re traveling alone when you used to travel with your group of friends. Anyway, I figured I¡¯d try to stick around, I guess. Before, I would never have done this, but a nice guy called Scott taught me about helping my fellow trainer and all of that. He helped me cross through Eterna Forest.¡± Louis¡¯ words were stuck in his throat. ¡°If I¡¯m wrong, it is what it is,¡± she shrugged. ¡°The part about wanting to battle you wasn¡¯t a lie, but you aren¡¯t who I thought you were. I thought you were a disingenuous asshole all this time, even when the news about your father broke. I didn¡¯t want to believe that you were actually nuanced as a person, but when I took one look at you when we met again, I could tell that something was killing you inside. You aren¡¯t as good at hiding it as you think. I guess what I want to say is I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Louis heard sharp shink, like knives being sharpened on a whetstone, and he pointed his shlight toward the sound. A group of eight Pawniard stood menacingly and immediately attacked. Louis watched, almost in a daze as one of them jumped at his gut, ready to run him through with their sharp des, but Prinplup shot it out of the sky with an Ice Beam. ¡°Monferno, me Wheel!¡± Maeve yelled as she released a Staryu. ¡°Brine!¡± Staryu rotated, and water droplets materialized above the group of Pawniard and fell down, littering the ground in small craters. The steel types cried out in pain, but quickly rushed out of Brine¡¯s area of effect and ran toward them. Monferno yelled, and his body was engulfed in mes until he looked like a wheel, and he burst through the densely packed group of Pawniard. The fire type move was devastating, but Louis was finally out of his stupor. ¡°Prinplup, Scald!¡± Louis had bought the TM when they had just arrived in Eterna, but it was his first time actually using it against wild Pokemon. Prinplup spat out a stream of superheated, steaming water toward the Pawniard and slowly moved the jet of water to hit each and every one of them while Monferno blurred and Mach Punched another one, cracking its helmet-like head. Now that they had the initiative, they made quick work of the rest of the wild Pawniard. ¡°Thank you, Prinplup,¡± Louis said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what came over me, but¡­ you saved me.¡± The water type nodded as if he was just doing his job, but another sharp sound caught Louis¡¯ attention. Upon shining his light toward the sound once again, a ninth Pawniard revealed itself, but it did not attack. It simply stared at the group of its faintedrades with a pleased look. ¡°Pawniard travel in groups led by Bisharp, but apparently, this one didn¡¯t like his squad,¡± Maeve shrugged. ¡°And apparently, there was no Bisharp to lead here. No need to take it down if it doesn¡¯t attack. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Louis frowned. He squinted, and this Pawniard¡¯s des appeared duller than the others, which would be a mark of extreme shame for the species. ¡°Why are its des like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m no Pawniard expert,¡± she said. ¡°They usually sharpen them on stones, though.¡± Louis pondered to himself for a second. Hisst three Pokemon had been bought. Bought with his father¡¯s money. Despite the hatred that bubbled inside of him, he could never take back that fact, but he could certainly do something to rectify it. Louis grabbed a Pokeball and stared at the steel type. Yes, a Pokeball would do just fine. He was sick and tired of Luxury Balls. ¡°If I had to guess what happened,¡± Louis said as he stepped closer to the Pawniard. ¡°You were bullied by your group, and they prevented you from sharpening your des. I don¡¯t know why, but I know there¡¯s certainly no correct reason to bully someone. Pawniard live in groups, but yours wronged you. Why don¡¯t youe with me?¡± ¡°Niard,¡± the steel type said with a nod. When Louis was about to throw the Pokeball, however, it stopped him, and continued speaking. ¡°I don¡¯t understand you,¡± he frowned. Pawniard started jabbing the air with his des. ¡°You want to grow stronger?¡± Louis asked hesitantly. It nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a trainer. That means that I travel throughout the region and battle tough opponents. You¡¯ll see your fair share of battles.¡± Even though Louis knew that catching up to Cecilia wouldn¡¯t get her back, he still wanted to do it. The goal had utterly consumed him more than his need to gather badges and get to the Conference, and it felt like it would give him the closure he needed. Finally, Pawniard let itself be caught. ¡ª¡ª Pawniard, the Sharp de Pokemon. desprise this Pokemon¡¯s entire body, but they are dulled by battling. Pawniard will sharpen them again on stones, and it strives to be stronger by fearlessly challenging any foe and training diligently. Moves: Scratch, Metal w, Fury Cutter, sh, Headbutt, Metal Sound, Quick Guard (Click for more information) Ability: Inner Focus (Click for more information) Gender: Male Pawniard was a male, and Louis noticed that he immediately got along with his Prinplup, which was a wee change after his troubles with Gible. The fact that he could have the steel type out and about right after catching him meant that he¡¯d quickly amodate himself to the team and adapt to his new situation, but it also meant that Louis could probably use him in battles already. His moves were certainly impressive for a Pokemon that had been living in the wild and been bullied by his pack, but from the Pokedex entry, Pawniard seemed to be diligent Pokemon that trained day and night, so it made sense. ¡°Aren¡¯t you d we came?¡± Maeve smiled as they stepped toward the cave¡¯s exit. They were still hours away, but they decided to turn back, since that Gible rumor had apparently been a fabrication. ¡°Now you¡¯ve got yourself a new Pokemon.¡± ¡°I suppose so,¡± Louis said, staring at his feet. ¡°Still depressed, huh?¡± Obviously, he was still hurt. This wasn¡¯t the kind of situation that someone could simply get over in a few days, but he at least felt like he was making some progress toward his ultimate goal of besting Cecilia. Louis didn¡¯t bother answering Maeve¡¯s question. Most of their time together was spent in silence anyway, and they had both grown used to it. There were scant conversation topics. In fact, he didn¡¯t know the first thing about Maeve. Should he ask? ¡°Erm, speaking of new Pokemon, what Pokemon do you have, Maeve?¡± The words were dry and forced, but if there was one thing trainers could bond over, it was Pokemon. ¡°Well, you know about Monferno, Staravia, and Staryu,¡± she said. ¡°But I also have a Skorupi.¡± That was a lot of S¡¯s. Louis simply grunted and gave a curt nod. ¡°That¡¯s an impressive team.¡± ¡°Arceus, let¡¯s just not talk, this is super awkward. We¡¯re both so stiff.¡± Louis nodded and sighed in relief. He had tried, at least¡ª Suddenly, a scream rang out throughout the cave. ¡°That was a person!¡± Maeve immediately said. ¡°Hello?!¡± She yelled. ¡°Call out, we cane and help!¡± ¡°help¡­ a¡­ need¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make it out,¡± Louis said, clenching a fist. ¡°Let¡¯s just go toward the sound!¡± Louis recalled his Pokemon, since they couldn¡¯t run as fast as he could, but Maeve kept Monferno out. It took around five minutes for them to realize that they had been going in the wrong direction and that the voice was actually getting lower before finally picking the right direction and getting close enough to make out words. ¡°I hate this cave! I need help! Anyone?!¡± Another two minutes, and this time, they reached the source of the voice. A short girl with pink hair and two long pigtails that went down to her legs. A Kadabra stood next to her, clearly attempting to calm her down. ¡°You suck, Kadabra! I don¡¯t care if you know the way out, this ce is too dark, I hate it!¡± The girl yelled. She paused for a few seconds and winced. Telepathy. ¡°What do you mean, you warned me not toe? Kirlia said it¡¯d be good training, and you didn¡¯t even push back¡ª oh. People.¡± Kadabra¡¯s soft look immediately turned sharp and cold as it stared at Louis and Maeve, its spoon bending and twisting threateningly with an ufortable shrill sound that was like nails on a chalkboard. ¡°Um, little girl,¡± Maeve started. ¡°I¡ª we heard you call for help.¡± The girl angrily stomped the ground. ¡°Little girl?! I¡¯m fifteen, you prick!¡± Louis¡¯ eyes widened. Fifteen? This girl didn¡¯t look a day over twelve. Even Grace, who was short and looked younger than she was, didn¡¯t look twelve. ¡°Well, do you need help or not?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be getting attacked by something. This is kind of anticlimactic.¡± ¡°I mean, I wouldn¡¯t say no¡ª¡± she stopped and winced again as Kadabra spoke to her. ¡°You¡¯re too suspicious. These people look fine.¡± There was another pause. Another wince. ¡°No buts! I¡¯m putting you on Haunter watching duty, since you¡¯re so responsible, ugh,¡± she groaned. ¡°Anyway, sorry about that. My Kadabra hates anyone that isn¡¯t me. My name¡¯s Mira.¡± ¡°Louis,¡± he simply said. ¡°I¡¯m Maeve.¡± ¡°So cool,¡± Mira said, her eyes shining. ¡°I wish I had travelingpanions, but no one wants to stick with me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not mypanion,¡± Louis specified. ¡°She¡¯s my stalker¡ª¡± ¡°We were just traveling in the same direction,¡± Maeve said before turning toward him and whispering. ¡°Don¡¯t ruin our first impression! Are you crazy?¡± ¡°What?¡± Louis whispered back. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell? This girl is fucking insanely powerful,¡± she hissed. ¡°Why? How can you tell?¡± ¡°Her Pokemon, you idiot! Haunter, Kadabra, Kirlia? Those are incredibly hard to raise and train. Here, let me ask her¡ª¡± What are you whispering about, children? Do not cross Mira, or I will kill you. Kadabra spoke to him, and Louis buckled over as searing pain engraved itself in his mind. It was like someone was hammering long nails all over his skull, and the pain kept throbbing long after the psychic type was done talking. The boy painstakingly looked at Maeve, who looked to be in the same predicament. It was Louis¡¯ first time being spoken to by a psychic type, and the first time was always the worst. He wanted to throw up, but he held back the bile building up at the back of his throat. There were no shortcuts. No avoiding the pain. The human mind wasn¡¯t built to endure the mechanisms of telepathy. You needed a psychic type to speak to you and endure the pain over and over, and it would slowly lower in intensity throughout the years as you built a tolerance. So for Mira to only have to wince after a few months of the Circuit? She must have gone through hell. ¡°Kadabra, what the hell?! I told you, no speaking to trainers other than me! That¡¯s it, you¡¯re getting back in the ball. This is why no one wants to travel with me!¡± Mira yelled as she recalled her psychic type. She released a Maon instead. ¡°There you go, at least you can be cool.¡± Maon answered by letting out strange pulses that made Louis¡¯ ears ring, which certainly wasn¡¯t helping with the headache. Were the heads frowning at him? ¡°Thank you for recalling your Kadabra,¡± Louis groaned as he wiped his mouth. ¡°That was the worst headache I¡¯ve ever had, and I never want to go through it again,¡± Maeve said before coughing. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Mira said. ¡°Um, is there any way I can make it up to you? My team makes it really hard for me to make friends.¡± ¡°That Kadabra certainly was something,¡± Louis sighed. The pain was getting better now, but he was still panting. He wiped drool dripping down his chin and straightened his back. ¡°He¡¯s way too overprotective,¡± Mira grumbled. ¡°But there¡¯s also Kirlia, who¡¯s too violent, Maon, who hates people, and Haunter, who¡¯s¡­ well, a Haunter. I can¡¯t even have him out with other people, or he¡¯ll try to kill them.¡± Louis swallowed. She was being very nonchnt about that, and it creeped him out. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t release him here,¡± she quickly said. ¡°I was hoping to ask Fantina for advice about him in Hearthome if I can impress her in a battle, or one of her gym trainers if I can¡¯t. There isn¡¯t much info online about raising a Haunter, since no one¡¯s suicidal enough to train one. Well, except me.¡± That certainly was true. Gastly were already almost impossible to control, but Haunter were murderous. There were many stories about them killing their own trainers and escaping, or simply killing other trainers during a friendly battle. Its species was one of the most aggressive ghost types in the world, and that wasn¡¯t even counting Gengar. Only a few trainers in the world had one, including Fantina. The evolution method was still unknown by the masses. The stories, though. The stories made Louis shiver. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get out of this cave then,¡± Louis sighed. Mira joined them, and they started walking toward the exit, following Monferno¡¯s marks. ¡°What were you even doing here?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°I was trying to train, but everything¡¯s too weak,¡± Mira shrugged. ¡°My secondary goal was finding Pokemon with high potential in special attack.¡± Maeve raised an eyebrow. ¡°Special attack? That¡¯s your criteria?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± she said, proudly cing her hands on her hips. ¡°I¡¯m a special attack specialist, and one day, everyone in Sinnoh will know my name!¡± ¡°Woah, that¡¯s kind of cool,¡± Maeve smiled. ¡°How many badges do you have?¡± ¡°I have three! I beat Roark, Byron, and Gardenia. Did you hear about those guys that beat Candice already? I¡¯m so jealous!¡± Louis¡¯ throat tightened, and he stared at Maeve to silently tell her no. Mira had somehow not recognized him, and he¡¯d like to keep it that way. The less the conversation steered toward his friends, the better he¡¯d feel. ¡°Yeah, I heard of them alright,¡± Maeve said with a stiff, bitter smile. ¡°They¡¯re all anyone can speak about these days. I¡¯m sick of it.¡± ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be rude. I heard they were going to Hearthome, I hope I meet them! We can travel together on the way there, right? Hey, what Pokemon do you guys have?¡± Wait. Louis froze in his tracks. Travel together on the way there? ¡°What do you mean by travel together¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, so you do speak,¡± Mira said half-jokingly. ¡°He¡¯s got a lot on his te,¡± Maeve interrupted. ¡°You seem to know a lot about him, for someone who¡¯s traveling with him because you¡¯re going ¡®in the same direction¡¯. Anyway, I do mean travel together. I promise I¡¯ll get Kadabra in line, and you won¡¯t have to see Haunter. I¡¯ll go far away when I release him.¡± ¡°Well, if you can do that, then I¡¯m fine with it,¡± Maeve nodded. ¡°Louis?¡± Why was she asking him? It wasn¡¯t like she had listened when he told her no. ¡°Do what you want,¡± he said in a defeated tone. He felt like he had just aged thirty years in thest two days. ¡ª¡ª A few days had passed since they got out of the cave, and the three trainers had settled into a nice rhythm. Louis stayed in his corner with his team most of the time until Mira or asionally, Maeve dragged him back. Pawniard had taken remarkably well to being his Pokemon, and he had quickly be a force to be reckoned with in battle. Gible was pleased with this added challenge, and he now fought one-on-three battles with his team. Vulpix didn¡¯t seem to care much for their new member, opting to stick closer to Louis than his other Pokemon, while Prinplup was d to have another straight man in the group that took things seriously. Pawniard was also trying to find a rock he liked that he¡¯d keep, but he hadn¡¯t found anything so far. Mira certainly was an impressive trainer. Maeve had redirected her thirst for battle onto her, which Louis weed with open arms, but she was certainly as good as Grace, Cecilia and Denzel were, although herck of type coverage probably meant that she would lose in a battle. She did prioritize special attack over having a diverse team. Maeve struggled to fight back most of the time, but she was certainly getting better at fighting Mira. Her Kirlia was ruthless, and she fought in close quarters, using her psychic powers to restrain her enemies while she fought with vicious kicks powered up with psychic energy. Was her violence inherent to her fairy typing? Louis didn''t really know, since he hadn''t seen a Kirlia before. If she hadn¡¯t been a female, he would have thought that she would evolve into a Gade. Kadabra¡¯s mastery of Psychic meant that he was a terrifying threat on any battlefield, but he also could Teleport to easily dodge attacks. Maon, meanwhile, could use Lock-on to ensure that his next attack would never miss. Still, like she had promised, the pink-haired girl hadn¡¯t even used her Haunter, but Louis wasn¡¯t crazy enough to actually want to see it. Well, so long as he was left to do his own thing, Louis would be satisfied. They were only a two days away from the outpost, and hopefully, they would let him go and keep going together. He was tired of people. ¡°Louis,¡± Maeve said, making him jump. ¡°Maeve, how can I help you?¡± ¡°Mira convinced me toe ask you to stop staying in your little corner all the time.¡± Louis turned toward Mira, who waved at him with a huge smile. ¡°Later,¡± he shrugged. ¡°What are you even doing? Brooding?¡± ¡°I¡¯m enjoying myself.¡± ¡°Enjoying yourself by brooding,¡± she said. ¡°Got it.¡± The trainer clicked his tongue. ¡°Why are you so insistent? You both already inserted yourselves into my travels, and now you¡¯re asking me to socialize? Just let me be.¡± ¡°Because I want to try being friends, Louis!¡± She hissed. ¡°Because you¡¯re hurting, and isting yourself won¡¯t help.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about me,¡± he said, turning away. ¡°I know a little bit. I know there must have been a problem with your group, and I know I was also obsessed with traveling alone until Scott beat it into my thick skull that just because I¡¯d rather be on my own doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s always the best choice! I would have died if I went through Eterna Forest alone, and I didn¡¯t even know any better.¡± ¡°So?¡± He said. The words felt hollow. ¡°So?! What do you mean so? Mount Cor ising up, and you¡¯re going to try to run away again,¡± Maeve sighed. ¡°You¡¯ll die in there. We aren¡¯t good enough to get through alone. Mira will help us get through.¡± Louis brought his palms to his hands and preemptively tried to stop the tears that wereing. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to get away from people, because being close to others reminded him of what he had lost. No, not lost. What he had to throw away for the survival of their friendship. ¡°Are you¡ª shit, I¡¯m sorry. I told you I was bad with people. Mira should have been the one to do this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so tired, Maeve.¡± ¡°I¡ª I¡¯m sorry,¡± she apologized again. ¡°Look, juste with us. Hang out by the fire. You don¡¯t have to say anything. I don¡¯t even say anything half the time, and I just let Mira speak her socks off about anything.¡± Louis gave her a weak nod before standing. His legs were shaking, and they felt weak. ¡°Louis,¡± Mira said worriedly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Louis wiped his tears with his palms and sniffled. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I just felt nostalgic.¡± ¡°Is it about your friends? Cecilia Obel and such?¡± Mira asked. Louis felt his heart sink. ¡°You¡­ I thought you didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What, didn¡¯t know who you were? Come on, I¡¯m a loner, I don¡¯t live under a rock.¡± ¡°But you asked about them beating the Snowpoint gym¡ª¡± ¡°I asked about them. That doesn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t know them. Or you, as a matter of fact,¡± she shrugged. ¡°It just never felt relevant to bring up until you started literally crying.¡± ¡°A bit of tact?¡± Maeve winced. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve put two and two together,¡± she continued. ¡°You were engaged to Cecilia Obel, and now there are rumors about her and Grace Pastel dating. It doesn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened. Kadabra ran the numbers, and this is the most likely scenario.¡± Louis couldn¡¯t find the words. He just sat there, speechless. ¡°Mira! You¡ª you can¡¯t just say that.¡± ¡°I consider it equivalent exchange,¡± she said. ¡°Sorry. I told you a lot about my problems and how I haven¡¯t found a single friend or person to talk to other than my Pokemon, and how my megathread is filled with toxicity and preconceptions because I own a Haunter. They¡¯re spreading rumors about how I¡¯m a crazy trainer killer because there was an ident when Haunter evolved during a battle, and he sent the trainer I was battling to the hospital. Haunter can drain your life force, so he couldn¡¯t walk for weeks. The League tried to take him away, and I had to fight tooth and nail to keep him, but my reputation never recovered. And honestly? I can¡¯t me anyone but myself. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t let Haunter out next to people anymore,¡± she said with a heavy sigh. After a pause, she continued. ¡°Maeve, you¡¯ve hinted at your inferiorityplex and how you worry about how you¡¯re falling behind and how being a sessful trainer is harder than you could have ever imagined, and you hate the fact that others are getting more attention than you are, including me.¡± ¡°Why are you telling us all of this?¡± Louis finally asked. ¡°So we can all air out our dirtyundry and finally be honest with each other,¡± Mira smiled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it feel good? Do put it all on the table? To not have to hide anything?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Mira,¡± Maeve sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right. I was¡ª am jealous of you. I mean, three badges?!¡± She said as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. ¡°Why can¡¯t I be as good as the others? I work so hard, and yet I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°From now on, let¡¯s just tell each other everything,¡± Mira said. ¡°We¡¯re friends, or at least I think we are. We won¡¯t judge each other because of it. If you think I¡¯m being annoying, tell me. If you think I¡¯m boasting too hard about my aplishments, tell me. If you want me to leave, tell me, and I¡¯ll pack. I know I¡¯m forceful, but I was just so excited about finally meeting people¡­ I let it get to my head.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave,¡± Maeve said. ¡°I like you, there¡¯s just that side of me that¡¯s envious.¡± ¡°Envy is a human emotion,¡± she said. ¡°So long as you don¡¯t let it consume you, you can let it run its course.¡± ¡°Mira¡­¡± Louis muttered. ¡°I¡¯m still hesitant about traveling with people so soon, but I think after all of that, I can certainly give it a try.¡± The two girls both smiled at him. The truth was, before Maeve hade into the picture, Louis¡¯ thoughts had been filled with self-deprecation, anger at himself and how stupid he had been, and most of all, sadness. Now that she and Mira were there¡­ sure, they were annoying, but at least he thought about other things. His mind was healthier. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that, then,¡± Mira said. ¡°We¡¯re going to Hearthome together! And maybe further?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push it,¡± he sighed. ¡°Maeve, are you still up for that battle?¡± It would be long and arduous¡ª far longer than he wanted it to be, but the road to recovery had begun. He needed closure to mend his heart. He needed to surpass her.
Interlude – Coordinators Interlude ¨C Coordinators INTERLUDE - COORDINATORS Fifteen days earlier. Emilia picked up her suitcase from the baggage carousel and made her way toward the Pokeball counter. She was carrying a bunch of her friends¡¯ things that they didn¡¯t have enough space for in their backpacks, like party clothes¡­ okay, it was mostly clothes for the girls, but there were some books and cosmetics too. Air travel was the crutch that kept Sinnoh¡¯s cities connected together. Most supplies to non-coastal cities were sent by air, and travel between cities for non-trainers was also done via ne. Before the invention of the airne, a person would be expected to live and die in the same ce they were born, unless they were a trainer that could brave the wilderness. It was why the League had managed to hold an iron grip over the region back in the day. Communications between cities had been scarce for anyone who couldn¡¯t fly or teleport, a region-wide, organized resistance had been impossible. Emilia¡¯s eyes scanned a counter filled with dozens of Pokeballs, and she smiled when she found twobeled with Beldum and Aipom. Rockruff¡¯s was an entire dilemma, though. There were three Rockruff Pokeballs on the counter, so Emilia had to call an employee over to scan them with a small, portable device, get their ID, and finally verify which one was hers. Traveling with Pokemon was always a hassle. People weren¡¯t allowed to keep them, or their Pokeballs on themselves in the ne because of the damage they could possibly cause during a flight if there was someone with nefarious intentions or even just an ident, so every Pokeball was ced in a differentpartment of the ne, just like luggage. The problem was after the flight, when it could sometimes take ages to get your Pokemon back because people owned the same species of Pokemon sometimes. When that happened, airport employees would have to verify who owned what using the Pokeball ID database like what they had just done for Emilia. Even if trainers never traveled by ne, they weren¡¯t the only ones that owned Pokemon. Retired trainers, coordinators, civilians that wanted apanion¡­ they weren¡¯t the majority, but they certainly were in high numbers, which was why the rules existed in the first ce. After getting an employee to verify that the Pokeball she had picked up were hers using the same scanner, Emilia walked out of arrivals and grabbed some lunch before leaving. Hearthome was a breathtaking city. At first nce, it looked simr to Eterna due to their shared color scheme, but the two cities were actually fundamentally different. Hearthome was a bustling metropolis that was the thirdrgest city in all of Sinnoh, behind Jubilife and Sunyshore. Whereas Eterna city was stuck in its old ways and architecture, Hearthome was a mix of young and old, with massive skyscrapers mixing with older stone buildings. Furthermore, unlike Eterna, where you could go from one end to another using their well-developed trams, Hearthome had chosen a different path and had opted to develop around car travel. Of course, there were buses and subways, but the public transport industry was nowhere as well developed as Jubilife¡¯s. Emilia hailed a taxi and hurriedly got on while he ced her luggage in his trunk. The driver stepped into his car. ¡°Good afternoon. Where to?¡± ¡°The nearest Pokemon Center will do for now, thank you,¡± she quickly answered. Even though her family lived in Jubilife, Emilia had stayed in Hearthome multiple times during holidays. Her family dealt in real estate all over the region, which meant that they often traveled all over the ce. That also meant that they were often involved in politics to lobby Directorate members or mayors to approve of city expansions so that they could just buy up all thend. Ster Properties¡ª the name of her parents¡¯pany¡ª was well known throughout Sinnoh, but they were nowhere as rich and powerful as the Bianchi were. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean much. Emilia would never have to work a day of her life if she so wished. She had been born in privilege, and it had taken a long time for her to realize it. The taxi driver passed by the Hearthome Contest Hall¡ª the most prestigious contest hall in all of Sinnoh, and where the Grand Festival was held every time. Emilia turned and practically stuck her forehead against the ss to get a better look. Despite all of her times in Hearthome, she had never been inside of there. Only stared at it from a distance. It was one of the biggest buildings in the city, after all¡ª bigger than Fantina¡¯s gym, even, and it could fit more than one hundred thousand spectators. Just imagining standing there, being seen by all those people while giving a performance made Emilia shiver in excitement. But right now, those were all dreams. She still had a long way to go before even hoping to get there. She paid the taxi, giving him an enormous tip in the process, and quickly checked into the Pokemon Center. She got to her room, showered, and sent a message to the group chat to let them know that she had made it to Hearthome safely. She raised an eyebrow when she caught Chase Karlson sending a message at the same time as she was. ¡°Well, he saw me type,¡± Emilia told herself. ¡°I might as well introduce myself properly.¡± Well, they had technically met a few times already, but they never actually spoke. She sent him a short message, saying that she looked forward to befriending him and that Grace, Denzel, and Cecilia had told her a lot of good things about him. He just told her that he didn¡¯t have time and then never responded to her subsequent messages. Emilia clenched at her phone tightly and groaned. If Chase was going to be rude, then she wouldn¡¯t try to extend an olive branch either. ¡°What to do now¡­¡± Emilia trailed off. It was her first time being alone. Truly alone. Even when she had traveled with the group, Emilia had almost never taken any decisions, so now that she was being given this much freedom, everything felt overwhelming. She could stay in the Center and just lounge for the rest of the day with her Pokemon, or she could go train to actually figure out how to be a coordinator. She had been making steady progress in Eterna, but herck of moves was killing her creativity, so Emilia figured that the best move right now was to buy some TMs. Or she could take the plunge, go to the Hearthome Contest Hall, and get a coordinator card. No, no, she could always do that another day. She had time. First, she would buy the TMs, and then, she¡¯d try to practice with them on route 208. Yes, that sounded like a good n. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Try a Double Team, Rockruff,¡± Emilia asked. ¡°Then get in a circle.¡± The rock type nodded, and he split into two, then four, then eight. They got into a circle and turned to face each other. ¡°Good enough. Now Trailze!¡± The eight Rockruff barked in unison and blurred forward, leaving a trail of shining, burning grass at their feet and surrounding Rockruff¡¯s true body in the center. Emilia squealed and pped, taking the rock type into her arms and hugging him, ignoring the painful hard stones on his neck. He was already working with the move so well, and it had only been two hours since she had taught it to him. Aipomughed and jumped on Emilia¡¯s head, while Beldum observed with a curious eye. ¡°What do you think?¡± She asked, turning toward the steel type. He let out a short metallic ng. Good¡­ The girl winced slightly, but she was getting used to the pain¡ª or at least she would be until he evolved into a Metang and managed to fullymunicate with her without struggling. Right now, it was like trying to discern words through static. Beldum had also easily mastered Shadow Ball, although Aipom was still struggling with the move, and he could only use it twice before getting tired out, but she was still making good progress. This was like a small performance for herself, and whenpared to the ones actual coordinators got up to, it was pathetic, but it was still hers. ¡°I¡¯d say we deserve a break,¡± Emilia smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the Center.¡± Emilia was back in her room in twenty minutes, thank Arceus for taxis. She spent the rest of the day resting with her team, with Rockruff and Aipom sleeping on her bed and barely giving her any space for herself. Go¡­ night. ¡°Good night, Beldum,¡± Emilia softly said. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Here are the top ten things you must know before bing a Pokemon coordinator! But before that, a word from my sponsor, Radiant Cosmetics! Radiant Co. is the number one cosmeticpany when ites to both Pokemon and humans, so if you want to look your best during a performance¡­¡± Emilia rolled around in her bed as she watched her twentieth coordinator guide video today. She considered skipping the sponsor, but what if she needed it one day? No, she would sit through and watch it all. ¡°...use my code, YAPI, and get twenty percent off all of your purchases! Now, without further ado, let¡¯s get to the video!¡± Her brain felt fried. Every single video said the same, rehashed tips. ¡®Fake it until you make it¡¯, ¡®only perform when x and y judges are going to be there because they¡¯re more lenient¡¯, ¡®take inspiration from the top coordinators¡¯... blergh. Emilia had expected this from smaller channels, but YapiX had six hundred thousand subscribers. She had never been a fan, but she asionally watched a video or two of hers. YapiX was supposed to know what she was doing. ¡°Maybe people were copying her,¡± Emilia sighed as she clicked onto the next video, this time from a channel she had never heard about called Ms. Dreamer. ¡°My morning routine¡­ every coordinator should do this? What¡¯s with the red arrows? What are you even pointing to, a vase? Ugh.¡± No, videos wouldn¡¯t do it. No guide would help as much as the real thing. What Emilia should have done from the start was just get a coordinator card. Coordinator cards functioned exactly the same as trainer IDs, although they didn¡¯t disy your amount of ribbons, since there were simply too many in Sinnoh for them to ever fit in a small card. Emilia stood up and¡­ Maybe just one more video? It couldn¡¯t hurt. Temperance should have uploaded her weekly vlog by now, and she actually had useful information and helped with training routines¡­ ¡°Hi. It¡¯s Temperance. This week, I traveled to Sunyshore for a series of photoshoots, and I opted to use the opportunity to stay and work on this newbination I¡¯ve been working on for my next grand contest. Unfortunately, since it¡¯ll be a grand one, that means a ribbon is on the table, so it¡¯ll stay a secret for a while longer. Let¡¯s get started on the training routine, and then I¡¯ll go in-depth on what I did during my stay in the city. Make sure to check in the description and go to my website for early uploads and donate¡­¡± Emilia settled into her bed once more and smiled. Yes, one more video would do. Just one. She had time. ¡ª¡ª Emilia was over the moon when she got the news that her friends had made it to the outpost on route 207, although Louis still not saying anything worried her. She had spent today working on her training routine and trying to emte Temperance, but it was hard when she had ess to every move under the sun. Temperance being so rich meant that she had ess to almost every TM out there, but Emi could have theoretically done that as well. The problem was that her Pokemon had a surprising mastery over every single one, which she could never dream of doing. There still wasn¡¯t much progress on getting a coordinator card. Emilia had tried to get out this morning to get one, but her legs just turned to lead the closer she got to the building. The girl didn¡¯t understand. This was her dream. She wanted to do this, but she just¡­ couldn¡¯t. A word rang out in her mind. Worried¡­ Emilia sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be alright,¡± she told Beldum. ¡°I¡¯m just not ready yet. I¡¯m aplete newbie. I just need to get a few techniques andbinations down and watch a few more videos¡ª¡± Emilia jumped as she heard her phone ring. Pauline was calling. ¡°Evening babe,¡± Pauline cheerfully said. ¡°Pauline! Are you alone?¡± Emilia hissed. ¡°Obviously.¡± Emilia finally rxed. If she was on her own, then she could call her whatever she wanted. ¡°Don¡¯t roll your eyes at me.¡± ¡°You could tell?¡± ¡°I can always tell. You have that tone you use when you do it,¡± she said with a slightugh. ¡°Anything new on your end?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Just travels, you know how that is, I¡¯m not the biggest fan,¡± Pauline said. ¡°But Cece¡¯s been teaching me a bunch! I feel like I¡¯m starting to catch up. I even caught a Rufflet! I¡¯ll send you a picture of herter.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great! So you¡¯re a student now, huh?¡± She teased. Pauline scoffed. ¡°No, Cece¡¯s just helping me. Grace is teaching Justin. He¡¯s been really annoying, and he¡¯s obsessing over this Audino thing. He says he wants to be a staller.¡± Emilia¡¯s head was spinning. Her friends were making so much progress already, and what was she doing? Nothing! ¡°Emi?¡± ¡°Um, sorry, I was just upping the volume. I always want to hear your beautiful voice.¡± ¡°I call bullshit, but I¡¯ll let you off for now,¡± Pauline said. Emilia could tell she was smiling. ¡°How¡¯s Denzel?¡± ¡°He seems to be having fun flirting with girls,¡± she said. There was some bitterness in her tone that Emilia caught. ¡°But he¡¯s fine, I guess. But enough about him, tell me about your contest stuff! I¡¯ve been dying to hear about it!¡± Emilia smiled and recalled the progress she had made with her Pokemon, and how she hade up with abination with Double Team and Trailze. She was even starting to figure out how to work with Shadow Ball, although that was more in the experimental stage. ¡°I¡¯ll send you a video of the Trailze trick so that you can watch it when you get to the other side of Mount Cor. Stay safe, by the way. All of you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Grace¡¯s been fixating on catching some Turtonator, so it¡¯s her I¡¯m worried about.¡± ¡°Arceus¡­¡± ¡°You said it. She¡¯s going to get herself killed one day, but our psychics will be with her, so I think she¡¯ll manage,¡± Pauline said before sighing. ¡°At least, I hope. By the way, you met any coordinators yet? I hope you¡¯re standing up for yourself while I¡¯m not there.¡± Emilia almost considered lying for a split second, but she knew Pauline would be able to tell. They¡¯d known each other since they were toddlers. ¡°Erm, I¡¯ve been taking it slowly for now,¡± she said. ¡°So nothing yet.¡± ¡°Emi¡­¡± ¡°I know, I know! I¡¯ll get to it.¡± ¡°Promise me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it¡ª¡± ¡°Promise me.¡± ¡°I¡­ I promise.¡± ¡°I know exactly what you¡¯re thinking. Now that you¡¯re finally about to start realizing your dream, you¡¯re scared of taking that first step, because you¡¯re scared of failing. But you¡¯ve got to take the first step. If you haven¡¯t made at least one coordinator acquaintance by the time I¡¯m in Hearthome, and you don¡¯t have your card, I¡¯m going to scold you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it! Arceus, don¡¯t threaten me with a verbalshing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to go, okay? It¡¯s an early night for me since we have to wake up early, but I¡¯ll call you as soon as we get through Mount Cor.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°Good night.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± Emilia hung up. There were no sweet farewells such as ¡®I love you.¡¯ That¡¯d make the entire thing feel cemented, and that was an entire another can of worms she wasn¡¯t ready to deal with at all, especially if she had to deal with starting her coordinator career. She took a deep breath and resolved herself. Tomorrow, she would go get her card and speak to people. Tomorrow for sure. ¡ª¡ª Six dayster, Emilia had still gotten nothing done, and she thought today would be no different. She had resigned herself to waiting until Pauline came back to go to the contest hall with her. She would never be courageous enough to do so alone. Plus, Grace was in the hospital, and her burns were apparently really bad, and Emilia was worried sick. And yet a single text from Denzel had made her change her mind. Pauline is worried about you. Of course, she was. It had been obvious from the start, and yet Emilia had been too blind to see it. No, it would be more urate to say that she hadn¡¯t wanted to see it. Pauline was worried about her being left behind, and she wasn¡¯t the kind of person to say that out loud unless it was forced out of her. Denzel had managed to bridge the gap between them through a single text message that he probably had no idea had been so important to her. ¡°Okay! Today¡¯s the day,¡± Emilia eximed. She cracked her fingers and grabbed her phone. ¡°First thing¡¯s first, making my channel.¡± Being a coordinator was a much more public affair than being a trainer. Connections, both with other coordinators, the business world, and even judges or the Contest Committee were worth gold. Being a content creator was just one of the many ways coordinators kept their name in the public eye, especially with the younger generation, and Emilia knew she couldn¡¯t skirt around that fact. In fact, she had wanted to be one, and seeing Denzel¡¯s budding sess had only inspired her more¡­ until she actually got to the foot of the metaphorical mountain she¡¯d have to climb to get to the top. The view from down there was so daunting. But it was time to take the first step. She quickly created her channel, naming it Emilia Lussier. It was simple for now, and she¡¯d be able to rename itter if she so wished, but it was done. Emilia chuckled to herself like a madwoman. It was scary, how the simplest of steps could feel like suchrge progress. Next, it was time to finally get her coordinator card. The girl took a taxi to the Hearthome Contest Hall, and stepped into the humongous building. The floor was covered in a clean, pink carpet, with coordinators and their managers selling their merchandise all throughout the lobby. Hell, some of them even had dedicated stores. There was also a restaurant, two cafes, and rooms people could rent, although they were extremely expensive. Of course, Emilia could have afforded one if she really wanted to, but it was unneeded, at least for now. The girl wondered if she¡¯d be good enough to have managers one day. Having someone run things for you sure seemed convenient, especially with how bad she was at taking the initiative without her friends there to push her. Sure, she was rich enough to skip ahead and hire one right now, but that¡¯d feel dirty. Unearned. TMs were one thing, but managers would make it feel like she was cheating. After a short wait in a queue, she walked up to the receptionist, who greeted her with a radiant smile. ¡°Hello! Wee to the Hearthome Contest Hall, what can I do for you today?¡± Here it goes, Emilia thought as she braced herself. ¡°Hi, I¡¯d like to register as a coordinator?¡± ¡°Nervous, aren¡¯t you?¡± The man chuckled. She held back an embarrassed squeal and just nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, everyone usually is, despite how hard they try to hide it. Please hold for a second while I get this form ready for you.¡± He grabbed a document from a drawer behind his desk and gave it to her. This was different from when she¡¯d signed up as a trainer. Emilia needed to read through a bunch of rules that the Contest Committee had set up, such as having to respect the judge¡¯s decisions withoutint or having to pay themittee a monthly fee. Money ran the world of Pokemon contests, and that could easily be seen in the terms and services. The amount wasn¡¯t too high, but it¡¯d certainly put a dent in a new coordinator¡¯s finances if they were starting from nothing. Emilia signed the document, had a picture of herself taken¡ª which she had dressed up and put on make-up for, and finally, she was given a transparent, thin card. So much progress had been made today already, but it was time for the real challenge. Meeting one fellow coordinator. ¡ª¡ª The huge road leading up to the Hearthome Contest Hall was somewhat of a famous area for both civilians, coordinators, and trainers alike, and it was also an area that attracted an incredible amount of tourists. There was a ce there called ¡®The Coordinator¡¯s Walk,¡¯ which was a dark sidewalk with the name of famous coordinators that had won the Grand Festival written on stars embedded in the dark bs. Emilia mulled over her options until she found a girl that seemed to be just as confused and nervous as she was. She took a deep breath and strode up to her with a smile. ¡°H¡ªhello. Are you a coordinator?¡± ¡°Yes! Are you?¡± ¡°I am, although I¡¯m a new one. I was wondering if we could maybe connect in some way? Help each other?¡± Emilia asked. ¡°Oh¡­ erm, do you have a channel?¡± ¡°Y¡ªyes. It¡¯s rather new, and I have no videos on there yet, but¡ª¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she deted. ¡°I have to go.¡± Emilia almost fell over. ¡°What?¡± The girl just left her there in the middle of the conversation. Had she said something wrong? Emilia tried again a few times, but every time she talked to a coordinator, they either asked her how much subscribers or ribbons she had, or if she knew important people. Emilia gripped the sides of her skirt. She was standing there, way too underdressed for this cold because of some stupid picture, and she was just getting blown off by people. Should she have tried somewhere else? Maybe Amity Square¡ª ¡°Legendaries, are you Emilia Lussier?¡± A girl called out to her. ¡°What? Y¡ªyes, that¡¯s me,¡± Emilia stammered. ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°I saw you poking around, and I was wondering what the problem was? You seem to be, like, depressed over there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to make connections. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jasmine! Nice to meet you!¡± Emilia felt a surge of hope. ¡°Are you a new coordinator?¡± ¡°Well, you could say that. I signed up for it this summer, and we¡¯re all new until we get at least a ribbon under our belts,¡± she shrugged. ¡°I have a few friends that are staying at an apartment we¡¯re all renting. Do you want toe and meet them? Get you started on all this coordinator stuff? I know it seems daunting at first.¡± Emilia smiled. Finally, things were turning around for her! ¡°Of course! Lead the way.¡± They started walking. ¡°So, are you staying at, like, a hotel or something? Could we maybe go there and film a video, maybe?¡± ¡°A video?¡± ¡°Yeah, one where my friends and I pretend that we rented the ce,¡± Jasmine said with a smile. ¡°I bet that¡¯d blow up. It¡¯d be a one out of ten!¡± ¡°What¡¯s a one out of ten?¡± Emilia asked with a slight frown. ¡°Arceus, you¡¯re really a newbie, aren¡¯t you?¡± Sheughed. ¡°On the creator dashboard, it ranks views on yourtest video against yourst ten videos, so one out of ten is amazing, and ten out of ten is terrible.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well, I was just staying at a Center for now.¡± Emilia hated hotels these days. It reminded her too much of being put on lockdown by Harvey and rence. It was impossible for her to rx there. Jasmine stopped in her tracks and turned. ¡°Really? Like, really? You¡¯re a billionaire, and you¡¯re staying at a crummy Center? That¡¯s where all the trainers are!¡± Emilia froze. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I forgot you were a trainer too. Yuck,¡± Jasmine said. ¡°Well, that was a waste of time. Keep trying to make friends, and see where that gets you. Look at you! Are you tearing up? You¡¯re a naive little girl that¡¯ll go nowhere.¡± she continued. ¡°Well, bye. That was a waste of my time..¡± She tried finding a good retort, but by the time she came up with something, Jasmine was already gone. If Pauline had been there¡­ No. Pauline wasn¡¯t there. She had to stand up for herself, and she had failed. Emilia wiped a few tears and took deep breaths. She had always been bad at getting bad-mouthed or yelled at. It made her spontaneously tear up, even if she didn¡¯t feel that bad about it. That certainly didn¡¯t help her as a child when she had gotten bullied. Until Pauline saved her. ¡°I see you¡¯ve gotten a good introduction to coordinator culture,¡± a boyughed behind her. Emilia frowned and turned toward him. He was a short teen with long, brown wavy hair. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Oh, you know,¡± he smiled. ¡°We¡¯re all clout-chasing, money-hungry assholes. That was Jasmine. She and her posse are well known around here. She¡¯d do anything to get a leg up on thepetition.¡± ¡°And you? Are you a clout-chasing, money-hungry asshole too?¡± The boy smirked at her. ¡°Sure, but I¡¯m not that bad. The name¡¯s Vincent. Vincent Campbell. You?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know who I am?¡± ¡°Genuinely, no,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I did hear Jasmine call you Emilia, and say that you were a billionaire though, so you must be someone famous.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call myself famous, my friends are all more popr than I am,¡± she rified. ¡°They¡¯re all trainers.¡± ¡°Oh, is that why Jasmine called you a trainer earlier?¡± ¡°I was one, but then I gave up after one badge because it wasn¡¯t for me,¡± she said. ¡°And how long were you even following us for?¡± ¡°The entire time. I was waiting for a good time to jump in and save you from her clutches, but she just left on her own.¡± ¡°Well, Vincent,¡± Emilia exhaled. ¡°That¡¯s a little weird, but I¡¯ll overlook it. Can you help me find my footing? Right now, I¡¯m a nobody. I have no videos, no ribbons, no subscribers, I don¡¯t know anyone important in the industry, and I¡¯m probably terrible at performances. And even though I have a lot, I will not give you any money.¡± The young coordinator held her breath. She wasying it all on the line. ¡°Well, Emilia, I¡¯ve got some time to kill, so I don¡¯t see why not.¡± ¡ª¡ª The two teenagers sat in a cafe far away from the Hearthome Contest Hall, and Emilia sipped on her iced coffee. She was still trying to pretend to like the Arceus damned drink, but nothing was working. People said that it was an acquired taste, but the only thing she was acquiring was a deeper hatred of coffee. ¡°The first mistake you made was trying to meet people at the Coordinator¡¯s Walk,¡± Vincent exined as he munched on a croissant. He pointed a finger at her. ¡°That¡¯s a real asshole ma. You would have been better off just asking people around the city.¡± ¡°But it would have taken ages to find coordinators.¡± ¡°Yes, but they wouldn¡¯t have been an asshole.¡± Emilia was starting to wonder why Vincent was attached to the term asshole so much. ¡°Okay, what else?¡± He frowned, suddenly taking on a serious tone. ¡°The world of coordinators is ruthless. I don¡¯t know how it was when you were a trainer, but I know y¡¯all have this helpful, power of friendship shit going on, so this is going to be aplete culture shock for you. Helping other people? Forget it. Out here, it¡¯s thew of the jungle. Everyone¡¯s for themselves unless there¡¯s a benefit to cooperation. Jasmine and her pals, for example, they¡¯re only living together because they can¡¯t afford rent otherwise. Coordinators can¡¯t stay at Centers for free like trainers, and you¡¯ll have to stop doing it if you¡¯ve given up on being one unless you want to be busted¡ª actually, never mind, you can probably just pay the fine. Just try not to get caught abusing all the free stuff trainers get.¡± Emilia nodded. Worst-case scenario, she¡¯d just be able to sleep in Pauline¡¯s Pokemon Center room. The bed wasrge enough for them both, and she technically wouldn¡¯t be breaking the rules. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯d bet good money that Jasmine and her friends all secretly hate each other and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to backstab one another at the first opportunity to get an advantage.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re helping me,¡± Emilia said. ¡°What are you getting out of this?¡± Vincent leaned back against his chair. ¡°Can I be frank?¡± ¡°I¡¯d hope so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposedly famous, and you were apparently in the news. You¡¯re rich. If I help you and you¡¯re sessful down the line, you might help me,¡± he simply said. Emilia clicked her tongue. ¡°I told you I wasn¡¯t giving you any money.¡± ¡°I know. This isn¡¯t about money, it¡¯s about favors. Favors go a long way here. That¡¯s another thing you¡¯ll figure out. Nothing you do should be left unpaid. Doing things out of the goodness of your heart? Forget that. People will abuse you and leave you out to dry when you¡¯ve outlived your usefulness.¡± ¡°Arceus, this sounds miserable.¡± ¡°It is miserable. There are obviously good people too in the industry too, it¡¯s just that¡­¡± he trailed off and sighed, pausing for a few seconds before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s a path made for sociopaths. The bigger the asshole you are, the better your odds will be. Everyone wants to get to the top. Fame, money, sess, being a good coordinator¡­ we all want that. We want it so much that we forget to be nice to each other,¡± Vincent said with a twinge of sadness. ¡°It gets exhausting sometimes. But when you¡¯re on stage, performing? When the audience is captivated by a movebination you¡¯ve been working on for weeks, and you fucking nail it? That¡¯s the best feeling in the Arceus damned world, and we all keeping back to chase that high,¡± he smiled, his eyes shining. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure I want to be mean to everyone to get ahead,¡± Emilia started. ¡°But I sure as hell won¡¯t give up. I¡¯m going to be a coordinator. I¡¯m going to surpass Temperance.¡± ¡°The Temperance? That¡¯s a high goal, but I respect that,¡± he said. ¡°This is my first year as a coordinator, but it¡¯s also yours. What do you say we help each other?¡± ¡°No funny business?¡± She asked. ¡°No funny business. In fact, I¡¯ll help you stay out of funny business. I benefit from you seeding, remember?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she smiled. Emilia held out her hand, and Vincent shook it firmly. ¡°Let¡¯s start immediately. Can you give me ideas for my channel? I still need to buy aptop to edit any videos, but do I need a better camera? Can you just show me your channel so I can get ideas, or is that taboo? What Pokemon do you have? Can we train together? How long should I wait to sign up for my first contest?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the passion I like to see in a fellow coordinator,¡± he grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s take it one question at a time, or I¡¯ll choke on my food.¡±
Chapter 112 Chapter 112 CHAPTER 112 I stared back into the taxi as my friends groaned andined about being squeezed together so much. I had suggested taking the bus, but Pauline had been adamant about being driven to where Emilia was staying because it¡¯d take less time, and she missed her a lot. It was true that they hadn¡¯t been apart in a long while, so now that they were so close, she was probably incapable of waiting any longer. Due to my burns, they let me sit in the front seat so that I could have ample space and no one would rub on my bandages. The entire left side of my body still felt like a pain factory, but it was slowly improving. ording to my doctors, though, the burns were healing wrong, so they¡¯d leave marks. So much for hoping that those second-degree burns would just fade away. I didn¡¯t care too much. I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t¡­ Damn it, I hated it. I had kept my spirits up and focused on healing, but every time I changed my bandages, and I stared at myself? At those rough, red blotches on my skin all along my side, neck, and face? I fucking hated it. I felt tainted. But every action had a price, and even though I considered the hefty price I had paid for Turtonator worth it, the decision still weighed on me. And Legendaries, it felt heavy. ¡°That¡¯s the Center,¡± Pauline told the driver as she pointed toward our right. I hadn¡¯t been in Hearthome long, but I already felt morefortable here than I had in any other city since leaving Jubilife. The skyscrapers, the bustling streets and the dense, tightly packed blocks reminded me of home, but there were some older buildings sprinkled in as well. Dad hade here a few times in his youth, but it was my first time there. Every time he had taken me on vacation somewhere, it had been Sunyshore or Pastoria for the beaches. He was worried sick about me, and Cecilia had expertly skirted along the fact that everything had happened because of a decision I alone took. Recovering enough to travel hadn¡¯t taken as long as I thought, so he was supposed to arrive in two days. He¡¯d probably end up extending his stay for as long as I was here, though. He had saved up a lot of paid leave. I sighed when I heard someone behind me say something, but I didn¡¯t manage to hear. I turned to ask what had been said, but everyone was already out of the car. It¡¯d be weird to bring it back up now, wouldn¡¯t it? I made sure to turn my head slightly to the left so that I could hear properly. ¡°Thank you, keep the change,¡± Justin told the driver. He looked up at Denzel. ¡°So what now? Should we surprise Emi like you did to us?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t work, she already knows we¡¯re here because someone has a big mouth,¡± he said in an usatory tone as he stared daggers at Pauline. ¡°Did you call her?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°I texted her in the car. Now let¡¯s go,¡± she said excitedly. Cece turned toward me. ¡°Are you alright? You seem shaken.¡± I nodded, but pulled her to the side when everyone walked toward the Center¡¯s entrance. ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter tonight. I don¡¯t want to ruin things.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I sighed. I¡¯d probably call Amanda again too, which was a shame. Sure, I¡¯d be happy to talk to her again, but it was discouraging to think that I might need therapy again after freeing myself from Mars¡¯ hold on me. And for what? Because I thought some scars were ugly on me? How immature could I be? But there was another reason. Something that was hidden deep within me that I didn¡¯t want to acknowledge or confront. ¡°Emi!¡± Pauline squealed. The chestnut-haired girl had already been waiting for us in the lobby. Pauline dropped her backpack, dashed through the room, and hugged her best friend so hard that I thought she¡¯d suffocate her. ¡°Oh, Arceus, I missed you so much!¡± ¡°We talked on the phone¡­¡± Emilia said, but she couldn¡¯t help but smile and hug her back. She went through all of us and embraced us one by one, although she was noticeably softer on me in order not to hurt me. ¡°Grace, how are you?¡± ¡°It hurts really badly, but I¡¯m better than I was yesterday and the day before that, so I¡¯ll call that a win,¡± I said. ¡°I missed you.¡± ¡°We all did!¡± Denzelughed. ¡°You guys are the ones to talk! I never felt as alone as I did during those weeks on my own in the city,¡± she said. ¡°I hope you kept your promise,¡± Pauline said in a threatening tone. ¡°I did! I made a coordinator friend. His name¡¯s Vincent. He¡¯s a little straightforward, but he¡¯s got a good heart, I think.¡± ¡°You think?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Well, yes, but that¡¯s beside the point. You can meet him another day. Go book your rooms, and then we can celebrate. I bought a whole bunch of snacks¡­ low quality, just for you,¡± she told Pauline. ¡°Grace enjoys those too,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll pass, I need to go do something first.¡± Denzel stared at me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°What? Can¡¯t I pass on food for once?¡± I groaned. ¡°No, no, you can, it¡¯s just¡­ you just never do.¡± ¡°Today¡¯s a bit special. Anyway, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± We booked our rooms, and my friends gave their Pokemon to Nurse Joy. I didn¡¯t give mine. I¡¯d need them forter, and they hadn''t fought on the route because I hadn''t been able to focus on training. I bid the group goodbye as I walked out of the Pokemon Center and hopped onto a bus. I would have taken a taxi, but I couldn¡¯t really waste money on those, especially when public transport was free for trainers. Plus, feeding a Pokemon asrge as Turtonator was going to cost an arm and a leg. The cost of just traveling and maintaining my team was starting to add up, and I was going to start losing money faster than I was making it. Right now, I had nine-thousand Pokedors on me, and most of that came from Candice¡¯s prize money. Food was the most expensive thing on my list. Oran berries went for ten Pokedors a piece, so they were rtively cheap, and they were the only thing Togetic ate anyway, since she was a picky eater. Mago berries, meanwhile, cost forty each, but Frillish didn¡¯t really need to eat, so I only bought them asionally. Tangrowth could feed himself through photosynthesis, so even though he loved every single food, he didn¡¯t eat every day. The real money sinks were Larvitar and Electabuzz. Electabuzz ate Pokemon kibble. Pellets of food with all the nutrients an omnivore like him would need, but he was big¡ª almost as tall as I was¡ª and he certainly ate more than me. A single pack could cost hundreds of pokedors depending on the brand, which I hadn¡¯t settled on yet, but at least theysted a while. Then there was Larvitar, who ate the most out of all my Pokemon, despite her small size. She ate a mix of berries and kibble every day, and sometimes, she¡¯d snack on some dirt she¡¯d find on the routes too. Still, I managed to keep my money carefully bnced, which obviously meant I couldn¡¯t exactly save up for anything. That was until Turtonator came into the picture. Now that I¡¯d need to start feeding him too, I was going to end up broke soon. Of course, my friends would no doubt help me out if I asked, but I wanted to solve this myself. I relied on them too much as is. And there was a very easy way to solve it now that I was in Hearthome. Butter. Obviously, there was the human cost to add to the equation as well. Food, supplies, medicine, new nkets¡­ things could add up really quickly. I had to switch buses five times to get to the edge of Hearthome. Their public transport lines were nowhere as efficient as Jubilife¡¯s, but I¡¯d deal. Next time, I¡¯d try to take the subway. I walked back onto route 208 and released all my Pokemon aside from Turtonator. I had considered going to Amity Square for this, since it was a well-known spot for trainers and coordinators alike to hang out with their teams, but there would have been too many people around. Brockhouse¡¯s warning was still clear in my mind. One mistake, and Turtonator would be taken away from me. That meant that the price I had paid would be meaningless. I looked at my Pokemon one by one. Electabuzz crossed his arm and looked into my eyes attentively while Larvitar stood at his feet, imitating him. Tangrowth caressed the right side of my face gently with a vine, carefully avoiding my burns, and Frillish offered me a short nod. I could tell that he was nervous, as he had been recently. I believed he was ming himself for what had happened to me even though I had told him it wasn¡¯t his fault. No water type of our level was ever standing up to Turtonator, and I alone had taken the decision to engage him. It was on me, and not anyone else. ¡°Prrrrri¡­¡± ¡°Hey princess,¡± I smiled. ¡°I know you like cities, but we¡¯ve got to do something first.¡± ¡°Ele.¡± ¡°Right. Turtonator,¡± I said, nodding firmly. ¡°You know I¡¯m usually good at predicting things, and I''ve had a week to think about this, so I have¡­ I have a good idea of how he¡¯ll react, but I could be wrong. If he attacks, I¡¯ll just recall him, so you aren¡¯t there to fight. We¡¯d lose anyway.¡± I heard Larvitar protest and chuckled. ¡°Yes, even you sweetheart. You¡¯re here to see if you can figure out what he¡¯s thinking. The goal today is just making sure we can at least converse, so don¡¯t do anything rash. Frillish?¡± The water type¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°Tone down some of your hatred, bud. I can feel it, and it¡¯s not even directed at me,¡± I sighed. ¡°Can you forgive him or not?¡± He thought for a few seconds, and then didn¡¯t answer. ¡°You don¡¯t know yet. That¡¯s fine, that¡¯s better than a no,¡± I said with a slight smile. ¡°You know how I feel about my scars, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Fri¡­¡± ¡°I hate them. I wish they¡¯d disappear, and I hoped that they would, but they won¡¯t. And yet, I can¡¯t bring myself to hate Turtonator. So please, try your hardest.¡± He gave me a reluctant nod, and Tangrowth patted him on the head. I took a deep breath and grabbed Turtonator¡¯s Pokeball. ¡°Here goes nothing.¡± I released the dragon type far away enough from us so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill me immediately, but not far enough for him to feel isted. He lifted his head and stared at the sky and then at us. He took a step forward, and grass started to burn under his feet. ¡°Hi,¡± I said, standing my ground. I hadn¡¯t interacted with him that much, but I knew that every interaction with the dragon type this early in the rtionship was a test. I could not appear afraid, but I couldn''t hurt his pride too badly, either. ¡°I kept my promise. Got you out of the cave.¡± Turtonator growled and took another step toward me. ¡°It¡¯s been a few days since you were out,¡± I continued. ¡°But if you show me that you aren¡¯t dangerous to people, I¡¯ll be able to keep you out more often. I¡¯d like that.¡± He kept walking, raising the temperature to an ufortable degree. My Pokemon stepped in front of me and got ready to attack, but I stopped them with a word. Turtonator loomed over me, staring down at me like a bug. There was no respect behind that gaze. Just contempt. I was nothing to him. And he wanted me to know it. I looked up at Turtonator and gave him a tired smile. His eye twitched. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Not the reaction you were expecting?¡± I asked. ¡°What did you think I¡¯d do? Run away in fear? Copse and cry, maybe? Order my team to attack? Badmouth you?¡± The dragon snorted, blowing a few plumes of smoke into my face. ¡°See? You could have made that burn me or poison me, but you didn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°It just smells bad¡ª¡± Frillish couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and he spat out a Water Pulse at him, but Turtonator just snorted and brushed off the attack like it was nothing. Seemingly satisfied with himself, as if he had just proven something, the dragon type turned around and left. He hadn¡¯t expected me to recall Frillish and follow him. ¡°Sorry about buddy, he can¡¯t stand you for what you¡¯ve done to me,¡± I said, pointing at my face. ¡°I''ve personally forgiven you, but that¡¯s beside the point. I know what you¡¯re trying to do, Turtonator.¡± The turtle stopped in his tracks and snorted spitefully. The temperature started to rise even faster. I needed to be quick. ¡°You¡¯re trying to be unbearable so that I release you. You could kill me, I suppose, but you¡¯re too honorable for that. I brought you out of the cave. I saved you. So you won¡¯t hurt or kill me. You¡¯ll just act like a child and hope that I grow tired of you. I will not.¡± Turtonator roared in protest, dismissing my words, and the heat was starting to get unbearable now. I grabbed his Pokeball. ¡°I was right on the money, wasn¡¯t I? I tend to be. I will learn to love you, Turtonator, and you will as well, whether you like it or not. I will not berate you. I will treat you with kindness, and when you are ready to talk to someone about how awful you feel about your Kamaile¡¯s passing, I will be there.¡± I recalled him and almost copsed on my knees. Tangrowth quickly stopped me from falling, and Togetic flew at me. Her eyes were wrought with worry, and so were everyone else¡¯s. ¡°Whew, that was close,¡± I exhaled before smiling. ¡°He was holding back like I thought he¡¯d be, but the heat still almost made me pass out.¡± Turtonator had made it as hot as it would be in a scorching desert, not hot enough to burn me, and I appreciated that greatly. ¡°Think you can convince your big brother to calm down, princess?¡± I asked. ¡°He¡¯s always had a soft spot for you.¡± ¡°Toge!¡± She smiled. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll release him now. He must be worried sick.¡± And worried sick, he was. He ced his tentacles on my shoulders and started scolding me. This was the most vocal I¡¯d ever seen him. Togetic tried cheering him up, but even that wasn''t working. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I know you meant well, but the situation could have gone to shit if you gave Turtonator an excuse to attack. He won¡¯t kill me, but he could certainly attack any of you if he was angered enough. I couldn¡¯t take that risk.¡± ¡°Fri¡­! Frillish!¡± ¡°Look at you,¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯re usually all calm and collected, and now you¡¯re acting all scared.¡± Frillish¡¯s eyes glinted, and he frowned at me. ¡°I¡­ I know this isn¡¯t a joke, buddy. I know there are consequences if things go wrong. I know. Just¡­ trust me on this. If wee at Turtonator from an aggressive angle, no one will benefit. Look at honey. He hates Turtonator¡¯s guts.¡± Electabuzz jumped in surprise, and then he awkwardly scratched his head. ¡°Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t tell,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got eyes at the back of my head! But yeah, he hates him, I mean, he had to travel with a broken hand for days because of him, but he¡¯s trying. So please try. For me.¡± He huffed, nodding reluctantly, and I wrapped an arm around him, bringing his face against mine. ¡°Thank you. I know you¡¯re doing it because you love me. I love you too,¡± I said softly. ¡°Now, let¡¯s head back.¡± ¡ª¡ª I knocked on Emilia¡¯s door and was let in. Everyone was partying and having a good time, but I personally found loud spaces to be annoying now that the hearing disparity in my ears was sorge. It got distracting very quickly. ¡°Grace, where were you?¡± Emilia asked. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d miss your wee party. Do you want anything?¡± ¡°I was busy. Team meeting,¡± I said. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll stay longer next time! Forgive me?¡± ¡°Hmph. Fine. I want to spend as long as I can with you guys now that we¡¯re¡­ almost all back together,¡± she said. I walked up to Cece, who led me to sit on herp. ¡°We¡¯ll be staying here for a while. It¡¯s only the first day,¡± she said as she wrapped her hands around me, carefully avoiding pressing too hard on my burns. ¡°Good!¡± She beamed. ¡°Plus, I want you all to be there for my first performance.¡± We all gasped. Pauline sprung up with a huge smile. ¡°Emi, did you¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, I signed up! It¡¯s in a week and a half, and it¡¯s not a grand contests, so there¡¯s no ribbon to be won, but Vincent convinced me to join with him. It¡¯s only his third contest.¡± ¡°Okay, now I¡¯ve got to meet this Vincent guy and give him my thanks,¡± Pauline smugly said. ¡°He¡¯s been doing my job for me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get too full of yourself,¡± Denzel chimed in. ¡°Emilia¡¯s the one who took the final decision. Give her some credit.¡± ¡°Right?¡± She said, angrily putting her hands on her hips. ¡°Thank you, Denzel. Anyway, I¡¯m super nervous, but I¡¯m also so excited I can barely sit still.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do well,¡± Justin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m excited to see another contest after so long.¡± ¡°So am I,¡± I said. ¡°But aren¡¯t experienced coordinators going to join?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Emilia deted. ¡°But that¡¯s the luck of the draw.¡± ¡°Now that, right there? That¡¯s bullshit,¡± Denzel scoffed. ¡°There should be rules for that. Like different leagues for coordinators at different skill levels so that the most experienced ones don¡¯t just roll over thepetition.¡± ¡°That would make sense,¡± Cecilia nodded. ¡°Ever since you exined how contests worked to us, I¡¯ve found the fact that there wasn¡¯t such a system in ce strange.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t the first ones to ask for one,¡± Emilia quickly responded. ¡°I mean, it feels like amon sense reform, right? But the Contest Committee¡¯s already shut down the idea multiple times.¡± ¡°Sounds like bullshit to me,¡± Pauline hissed. ¡°The Contest Committee¡¯s probably run by a bunch of out-of-touch old men anyway.¡± ¡°Well, they make the decisions, so I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± ¡°What if you be super good?¡± I asked. ¡°Won¡¯t you have influence with the big shots?¡± ¡°I would, but obviously coordinators at the top would rather keep the status quo. It benefits them, after all,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Right, I should have thought of that.¡± ¡°Well, Emilia isn¡¯t like that,¡± Justin said. ¡°Right. Maybe if she gets to the top, she can bring change to the system. Makes for a good goal, don¡¯t you think?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I¡¯m not a big dreamer like you lot,¡± she shrugged. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m focused on my performanceing up.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± he grumbled. ¡°But do know that goals make you improve faster.¡± ¡°Goals can be small,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Okay, you win.¡± We kept partying for a few hours, and Cece kept mepany most of the time, and we spoke about everything, but the conversation of course often steered back toward Pokemon battling and training, as it often did when two trainers interacted. We decided that we¡¯d wait for Chase to arrive before battling Fantina so that we could do our big double battle without revealing anything that we had been working on. We were giving him a week to at least give us any signs of life. I sure hoped he was alright. Pauline and Justin were going to sign up tomorrow, however, so they¡¯d battle far before we did. ¡°Denzel,¡± I called out. He was browsing his phone¡ª probably the forums. ¡°You busy?¡± ¡°Nah, just messaging some girl,¡± he whispered. ¡°Ohhhh,¡± I teased. ¡°Do I know her? What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know her, and her name¡¯s Caitlyn. I met her while I was gathering information about Turtonator. And it¡¯s not like that, she was just telling me she made it through the mountain alright.¡± ¡°Fine. Killjoy,¡± I pouted. ¡°Come with.¡± He raised an eyebrow, but followed me anyway, and after telling our friends we were leaving, I led him to my room. ¡°What are we doing?¡± He asked. ¡°Please don¡¯t ask me to watch some shit movie again, I beg of you.¡± ¡°They¡¯re good because they¡¯re shit,¡± Iughed. ¡°But no. We need money, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Yeah, obviously. What¡¯s your point?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s start looking at sponsors then.¡± Denzel grinned. ¡°Finally. I thought you¡¯d never ask.¡±
Chapter 113 Chapter 113 CHAPTER 113 I sat to Denzel¡¯s left as I grabbed my phone and opened my email. ¡°Didn¡¯t you start looking already?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Laptop woulde in real handy right about now,¡± I said. ¡°Y¡¯know what¡¯d be a good policy change for the League? Aputerb room where trainers would be able to use them for whatever they wanted in Centers.¡± ¡°Well look at you, already finding ways to improve our lives,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°Anyway, this is going to take a while.¡± ¡°Tell me about it,¡± I sighed as I opened my email. There were hundreds of messages from differentpanies that dated back weeks. Some were even from before I had beaten Candice, and a few businesses had contacted me multiple times. Of course, I had ghosted all of them, because having to look at this stuff gave me crippling anxiety. The idea of having to go through it all was worse than actually doing so, however. It was kind of when people were anxious about answering the phone, but when they actually picked up, they were rtively okay. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s sort through the shitty offers first,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°Here, for example. Look.¡± He showed me an email from apany that had been asking for a meeting. ¡°This is from Surf Solutions¡­ I don¡¯t know what it is they do exactly, and that¡¯s a problem, right?¡± He continued. ¡°If they don¡¯t respect us enough to at least tell us that, then it doesn¡¯t pass the smell test. I¡¯m not going to look up everypany out there, that¡¯d take days.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I nodded. ¡°Retani Industries didn¡¯t tell us what they were about in their email. Emi and Pauline had to exin it to us.¡± ¡°And look how that turned out. We almost signed away years of our lives. So¡­ scroll down to right after your battle against Gardenia and start sorting through the shit offers.¡± ¡°You seem prepared,¡± I said, my eyes widening slightly. ¡°Pauline helped me improve my financial literacy a little. We should probably still ask them if we aren¡¯t sure about anything, though.¡± And so, we began writing off anypany that seemed suspicious. Some of them, because they didn¡¯t tell us what they were about, like Denzel had said, but others because they had offered us hriously bad terms in the email, not even as a contract. Twenty potions per month? Come on! They were obviously trying to take advantage of the price hike, and I feared some trainers might have taken the bait. There were also the usual monthly sries offered, but some of them were bad too. I might have gawked at fifty thousand Pokedors per month a few months ago, but today? I knew we were worth more than that. ¡°Annnnd, done,¡± I said before stretching. ¡°How many offers you got left?¡± He asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t count. Probably thirty or so.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got twenty-four, and they¡¯re all pretty recent,¡± he exined. ¡°Now, I guess we should try to meet as many of these as possible during our time in Hearthome and sign the best deal before we leave.¡± I nonchntly agreed, but then froze when my eyes zed over one of the messages. I had been in such a trance when deleting these emails that I didn¡¯t actually read that one of thepanies offering to sponsor me was the Poketch Company. ¡°Holy shit,¡± I breathed out. ¡°I¡ªI think the Poketch Company wants a deal with me.¡± ¡°Huh? They usually only sponsor high-level trainers! Craig is sponsored by them.¡± ¡°I¡­ I know. There must be a catch to this,¡± I frowned, carefully reading over the email. It was a short but concise message that got straight to the point that they had sent a week and a half ago. A first paragraph describing what they did¡ª not that I needed it, they held an effective monopoly over the smartphone industry¡ª then a second one saying that they¡¯d be interested in a meeting and that I should contact them back as soon as possible. ¡°They don¡¯t explicitly say it, but I don¡¯t see why the Poketchpany would want to meet you unless they wanted to sponsor you,¡± he said. ¡°Damn, I¡¯m jealous.¡± ¡°My dad works there. Maybe it has something to do with that?¡± ¡°How high up is he in the food chain?¡± ¡°He¡¯s an engineer for their products,¡± I said. ¡°He gets paid a lot, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to influence who they sponsor.¡± ¡°Well, think about it like this,¡± Denzel pondered. ¡°You were almost poached by Retani Industries, who are trying to break into the smartphone market and rival the Poketch Company. Back when we had just beaten Gardenia, I don¡¯t think it would have mattered very much, but if you keep gaining traction like you have¡­ it could maybe be a major blow to them.¡± ¡°Ah, you might be right. Then they¡¯d be preemptively securing me. Plus, since my dad works there, if I did get into the Conference, for example¡­ then wouldn¡¯t it be embarrassing?¡± ¡°Embarrassing?¡± ¡°Yeah, imagine the headlines. My dad works in the Poketch Company, but I¡¯m sponsored by someone else or even a rival. It¡¯d be embarrassing, and my dad could maybe get in trouble if it generated too much negative press. I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t think of this before.¡± I sighed in relief, and there was a brief pause in the conversation. ¡°Still,¡± I continued. ¡°There¡¯s always a catch with these. I can¡¯t rest on myurels.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll shaft you like Retani Industries tried to do. The Poketch Company¡¯s well known for their sweet deals. I mean, if Craig¡¯s working with them, they¡¯re doing something right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not expecting to be screwed that hard, but I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Companies value profit over everything. I¡¯m a high-profile trainer, but our novelty¡¯s starting to die down¡ª¡± ¡°Until you reveal that Turtonator of yours,¡± he interrupted with a grin. ¡°There are only rumors right now. People aren¡¯t sure if you caught it or not.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°He¡¯s a piece of work, let me tell you. My point still stands, though. We¡¯re starting to disappear from the news cycle. We burned bright, but we¡¯re burning out quick. Older, high-leveled trainers like Craig¡­ they¡¯re like candles. They stay lit for a long time. They¡¯re household names. A constant, reliable presence. Which is why they get the deals they do.¡± ¡°Well, you don¡¯t even know the deal they¡¯re offering yet. Could be good.¡± ¡°You and your positive outlook and everything,¡± I groaned. ¡°Just write them already! You only get offers like these once in a lifetime, and you don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll rescind it!¡± ¡°Fine!¡± I rolled my eyes and started typing a short response, saying that I had just arrived in Hearthome and I was avable to meet any time. I wrote back to three otherpanies as well in case the Poketch meeting didn¡¯t work out: Bloom & Breeze, which was a well-known clothing brand that delved both into luxury and everyday clothing. Fitstride, which was a footwearpany that focused on making durable shoes for trainers. The new sneakers Cece had bought me were from there. Finally, there was RefreshCo, a beveragepany that made all kinds of soft drinks, including my favorite grape and orange sodas. Denzel, meanwhile, wrote to ten in total, so he was being a lot more generous with his standards than I was. Now all we had to do was wait for them to write back. ¡°We won¡¯t be together for our meetings this time,¡± Denzel told me. ¡°Will you be alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to try,¡± I sighed. ¡°I wish I could bring Cece.¡± ¡°Closed-door negotiations are a bitch,¡± he nodded. ¡°But don¡¯t sign anything right away.¡± ¡°Obviously. You know me. I don¡¯t make the same mistake twice.¡± He smiled, gently wrapping an arm around me and giving me a short hug. ¡°Alrighty. Let¡¯s get back to the party!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been five hours, I don¡¯t think the party¡¯s still going.¡± ¡°If I¡¯d been there, it would have been,¡± he chuckled. ¡ª¡ª We knocked on Emilia¡¯s room, and she opened the door after thirty seconds or so. I turned toward Denzel and gave him a smug smile when he saw that everyone aside from Pauline was gone, although she was lounging on the bed under the covers, and she was ring at me specifically and not Denzel, who looked like he had seen a ghost. ¡°Oh, shit! Sorry. Party¡¯s over, I¡¯m guessing?¡± Denzel awkwardly asked. ¡°Yes. Justin¡¯s resting in his room, and Cecilia decided to go out on an item shopping spree,¡± Emilia said. She seemed to be worried. Her breaths were tired and short, and her eyes were darting between me and Denzel. My shoulders slumped. I had wanted to speak to Cecilia, but she was probably going to be gone for a while. It was my fault too. I had told her that I was going to speak to her tonight, and it was still the afternoon. Maybe I was being too clingy. I took a step inside. ¡°Well, can we hang out¡ª¡± ¡°Uh, wait,¡± Denzel said as he pulled my shirt. ¡°Let¡¯s go hang out with Justin, Grace.¡± ¡°What? Justin needs his alone time¡ª¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯ll be fine,¡± he interrupted. ¡°In fact, he¡¯ll be d his teacher¡¯s spending some time with him.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Bye guys!¡± Denzel ignored me and closed the door right in my face. I turned toward him angrily. ¡°What the hell was that for?!¡± For some reason, he stared at me like I was a lost cause. ¡°What¡¯s with the look?!¡± He sighed and shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go hang out with Justin.¡± I clicked my tongue and attempted to get an exnation for his strange behavior, but he wouldn¡¯t budge. After going up a floor, we knocked on Justin¡¯s door, and he opened in instantly. There was an open book on his desk. ¡°Grace. Denzel,¡± he smiled. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Sorry, Justin,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to disturb your reading, but Denzel was adamant about visiting you.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not an issue, I was going to take a break anyway.¡± ¡°Whatcha reading about?¡± I asked as I sat on his bed. ¡°Oh, just a book about recent innovations in human medicine,¡± he sighed. ¡°You¡¯re the only one that¡¯d read a book about that stuff. You could have looked it up for free,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°I tend to prefer holding a hardcover in my hands,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m terrible at focusing with a screen.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s new in the world of human medicine?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, there¡¯s a depressingck of progress, that¡¯s what¡¯s new,¡± he grumbled. ¡°I don¡¯t get how it doesn¡¯t anger more people that we can effectively save a Pokemon from anything as long as we get them to a Center, but humans still die from the smallest things.¡± One didn¡¯t have to be smart to see that Pokemon medicine had blown past human medicine in thest century, but Justin was the only one I had seen so angry at that fact. To me, it was just a part of life. ¡°Ditto in particr are so fascinating,¡± Justin continued as his eyes sparkled. ¡°Their cells can transform into anything they touch after they¡¯vee into contact with it once, although they can only store enough memory to hold one transformation at a time,¡± he exined. ¡°So Grace¡¯s scars, for example¡­¡± Denzel hesitantly asked. I elbowed him. ¡°What? You won¡¯t tell me anything, but I can tell that you hate them!¡± ¡°Yes, even your scars. We could potentially ce a single colony of ditto cells on your skin, and they¡¯d rece the scarred tissue.¡± I didn¡¯t even bother listening to the small spark of hope that appeared in my heart. ¡°But there¡¯s a catch, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. Justin winced. ¡°Human trials have all¡­ failed drastically. The results weren¡¯t pretty.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, my fists tightening. ¡°Pherzen tried starting small. At first, we regenerated lost toes or fingers. For the first few days, everything seemed fine. The new body parts were responsive, and they genuinely felt like a part of the participants¡¯ bodies. But after a while¡­ the ditto cells would grow out of control like cancer and overtake the hosts¡¯ bodies, killing them in the process. We tried everything. Surgery to remove the cells¡­ it didn¡¯t work. There was always at least one left over in the body, and that¡¯s all they needed to replicate. They all died in terrible pain, and there¡¯s nothing left of them in the end. Just a¡­ purple blob.¡± I swallowed as I felt a bead of sweat roll down my chin. ¡°So it works for Pokemon, but not humans?¡± Denzel shuddered. ¡°Are we just too different?¡± ¡°I wished that we could have studied the phenomenon more, but my father shut down the trials immediately,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°I wanted to move the testing to animals like cows and pigs so that we wouldn¡¯t have to endanger lives, but the press had already heard of our previous failures, and he wouldn¡¯t hear any of it. The victim¡¯s families sued and were thankfully paid damages in full.¡± Moving the testing to animals would have made sense¡­ so why not do it? Maybe Justin¡¯s dad just wanted to sweep the whole thing under the rug to avoid negative press, but if the potential was as great as Justin thought it to be, then they could have turned it around quickly enough. Who would care about some dead animals if their grandpa or grandma were getting their cancers cured or regenerating limbs? Justin went on further, theorizing that by using Ditto cells, rejuvenating the human body was even theoretically possible, although that had never been tested. I was still focused on the previous incident. I felt like something had been hidden from Justin. Something far worse than his already tragic story let on. Companies were driven by profits, and the potential here was so massive if they got it right¡­ Or maybe I was in and over my head. After an hour, I left Justin and Denzel alone to speak while I finally entered my room for the first time to shower and change. Showering was still painful, and I was forced to use less water pressure than usual, but at least I could actually do it now. After so long, it was the little things like showering or holding a pen without being in horrible pain that made me truly appreciate what I already had. I hated looking at myself. I hated it. I avoided the mirror like the gue. Then at least, I could pretend that it wasn¡¯t actually me. Eventually, when night had fallen, I heard a soft knock on my door. That was Cecilia¡¯s knock. Gentle, yet purposeful. I got up from my bed and let her in. ¡°Hi,¡± I said. ¡°Buy anything interesting?¡± She gave me a teasing, half-smile as she sat down. ¡°Fishing for information, I see.¡± ¡°Well, I was also genuinely interested,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I never doubted that,¡± she said. ¡°Are you ready to talk?¡± I drew a sharp breath. ¡°Y¡ªyeah. Right to the point, huh?¡± What did I even want to say? Comin and whine about consequences for a decision I had taken? Now that the moment hade, the words were stuck in my throat. ¡°Sit,¡± Cece said, patting my bed next to her I nodded and obliged her. ¡°From the moment you were told that you¡¯d be keeping the burn marks, I could tell that you were feeling awful,¡± she said. ¡°More awful than you did when you only had to deal with the pain.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I exhaled. ¡°I can¡¯t bear to look at myself, Cece.¡± Her eye twitched. ¡°Why?¡± It was a simple, stupid question, but the answer was actually quiteplicated. I sat there in silence for a good five minutes, trying toe up with what to say. The correct words that would express the feelings I had bottled up all this time. ¡°Well, it being ugly is a part of it,¡± I sighed. ¡°I look terrible next to you now, Cece. People are gonna talk.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. Let them talk.¡± ¡°I know you don¡¯t care, but I do,¡± I said, raising my tone slightly. Cecilia flinched. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I care. I don¡¯t have your thick skin, Cecilia. That¡¯s why I keep away from the public and the forums in general. There could be a sea of positivity, but one badment is all it takes to ruin my day, and it hurts me more when they talk shit about you than when they do about me.¡± ¡°What can I do, then?¡± She asked. ¡°Do you want me to fight back? Pauline and Chase do it.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s my problem. Don¡¯t change the way you are,¡± I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I already feltckingpared to you¡ª not in Pokemon battling, but in looks. And now I have this,¡± I eximed, pointing at myself. ¡°But that¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another reason,¡± she nodded. ¡°A bigger one.¡± I nodded tightly. ¡°This¡­ scarring. It¡¯s a cost. That¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°But it¡¯s a mark of my failure. A mark that¡¯ll stay there forever, reminding me every day that I fucking failed.¡± ¡°You¡­ didn¡¯t fail, Grace. Everything might not have gone ording to your n, but you still caught Turtonator. He¡¯s strong enough topete at seven badges.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not enough,¡± I sniffled. ¡°I want everything to be iron tight. This n wasn¡¯t. I thought it was, but it wasn¡¯t, and I¡¯ll have to remember every time I stare at myself. I¡¯m not as good as I thought I was, Cece.¡± Warm tears streamed down my face, and Cecilia wrapped an arm around me. ¡°Not as good as you thought you were? You¡¯re holding yourself to impossibly high standards.¡± ¡°Think about it. Think. I hadn¡¯t lost anything since¡­ since¡­ I can¡¯t even remember when¡ª oh, the fight against you at the Floaroma tournament. I hadn¡¯t lost anything I made a n for since then. Just losing would have been okay. One of the first lessons dad taught me before I left was to not be afraid of failure, so even though it would have stung, I would have gotten over it.¡± ¡°But not when there¡¯s a permanent mark,¡± Cece said, finally understanding. I nodded and wiped my eyes. ¡°It¡¯ll always be there. Fresh in my fucking mind,¡± I cursed. ¡°And there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. I was in over my head. I was high on the damn string of victories, and I thought I was invincible. I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That second part is not something I can help you with, although I¡¯ll try,¡± Cecilia gently said. ¡°But I¡¯ll be the first to tell you that I am in no way embarrassed to stand by your side. You are as beautiful as the day I met you, Grace.¡± ¡°Come on, you¡¯re just saying that to make me feel better. That¡¯s objectively untrue,¡± I said. ¡°It isn¡¯t. Look at me. Look into my eyes,¡± she said. I turned toward her. ¡°I am not lying. You can tell.¡± And I could. Cece had an easy tell when she gave a really obvious lie: she used her confident, smooth tone, and her face defaulted into a neutral expression, just like when she had battled Roark. Right now, she was emotional. Her voice was shaking, and she was tearing up. ¡°Okay, I believe you,¡± I conceded, falling onto the bed. ¡°Did you think I was going to leave you because of some scars?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think so, but a small part of me couldn¡¯t help but be paranoid and scream what if, you know?¡± ¡°Please, I¡¯d never be that shallow,¡± Cecilia said, lying beside me. We let the silence settle in as we stared at the ceiling. ¡°Hey,¡± I asked. ¡°When¡¯d you fall in love with me?¡± I sensed her freeze next to me. ¡°Where did thate from?¡± ¡°Nowhere, I¡¯m just curious,¡± I said, still sniffling from earlier. ¡°Spill.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± she hesitated. ¡°I think it was after you beat Chase in battle for me, but I didn¡¯t realize it until you told me you liked girls. What about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know,¡± I admitted. ¡°But I knew in Floaroma.¡± ¡°That early?¡± Cecilia screamed. ¡°You¡¯ll destroy my other eardrum if you screech that loud,¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Surprised?¡± ¡°I¡­ yes? I thought I was the one that fell for you first.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t even know you liked me until you kissed me,¡± I said. ¡°Denzel thought that we were both terribly dense.¡± We bothughed at that. ¡°Are you ready to meet my dad in two days?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you two pamper me so hard. We¡¯re going to the Poffin house, and you¡¯re going to make me food. They make human variants, you know?¡± ¡°I already want to pamper you without any special asions,¡± she shrugged. ¡°But I am nervous. I want to make a perfect first impression.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. He has a heart of gold, just ask Denzel! Although he did scream at him the first time they met¡­¡± ¡°Grace! Not. Helping.¡± ¡ª¡ª The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing. After yawning, Izily grabbed it and opened the group chat, making sure not to wake Cecilia up. Chase was finally out of Mount Cor, and he¡¯d be in Hearthome in five days.
Chapter 114 Chapter 114 CHAPTER 114 ¡°So Chase has finally shown himself,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Yup. Gotta hand it to him, he did have me worried for a bit,¡± Denzel smiled thinly. The three of us were eating breakfast in my room while Pauline and Emilia were hanging out in the city together. Justin, meanwhile, had left a few minutes earlier to finally go order his Audino from a reputable Pokemon breedingpany that supplied most of the region with its medical Pokemon, which meant that they worked closely with the League to supply Nurse Joys with their partners. ¡°He won¡¯t even tell us what he was doing in there so long, too,¡± I sighed. ¡°I bet he was doing some really crazy training.¡± ¡°Sounds like him,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°So he¡¯ll be here in five days. Does that mean we battle in six?¡± ¡°If his Pokemon are in shape to do so, I would assume yes,¡± Cecilia agreed. ¡°We can decide on the teams when he gets there.¡± ¡°Come on, we know you¡¯re fighting each other,¡± Denzel grinned as he stared at us. ¡°The question is, who are Chase and I joining?¡± ¡°Oh, man, I¡¯m so excited,¡± I squealed, tapping my feet against the ground. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a double battle before! There¡¯s going to be so much to keep track of, oh this is just the best!¡± Strategizing against a single powerful opponent was hard enough, but two? Both multiple Pokemon, and with different approaches to battling? And then there was how my teammate would synergize with me, and how we could work together! I was already quivering with excitement, and we were still a few days away. ¡°We have very different definitions of fun,¡± my friend chuckled. Ceciliaughed as well. ¡°Don¡¯t stop her. She¡¯s cute when she¡¯s like this.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s the battle against Fantina to n, too,¡± I cheered. ¡°I think I¡¯ll start doing that today, actually.¡± ¡°Okay, so you won¡¯t be doing anything today. Got it,¡± Denzel deadpanned. ¡°No, I¡¯ve got to go train my team and talk with my grumpy turtle,¡± I said. ¡°This is just going to be some light scanning. I need to figure out Fantina¡¯s general strategy and stuff.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that we have to meet Vincentter,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Right. Emi¡¯s new friend.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to call him a friend,¡± she rified. ¡°She says that he¡¯s more of a business partner.¡± ¡°Sounds like a girl in denial to me,¡± I said before finishing my te. ¡°By the way, the food in Snowpoint was definitely better. Don¡¯t look at me like that, Cece! I will die on this hill.¡± ¡°Whatever you say¡­¡± After they finished eating, Denzel and Cece went their separate ways, both opting to train. I released my entire team, aside from Turtonator, of course. I¡¯d speak with him againter. I would have really liked it if he could just be less aggressive so that he could actually spend time outside of his Pokeball, but s, that looked impossible right now. Tangrowth was a lot bigger than before, so he could barely move around in the room, but I had found another application for his new form. ¡°Angel. Can I sit?¡± The grass type¡¯s entire body wriggled, which would have been a creepy sight if I hadn¡¯t been so used to it. These days, I just found it adorable. His vines extended at his feet, stacking up and up until they were thick enough to be a mattress. I sat down on them and leaned against angel, who shook excitedly. His vines were surprisingly morefortable than they looked, and I enjoyed how much he liked me sitting on them. Larvitar hopped on them as well, and the floor shook slightly. ¡°Nu-huh,¡± I warned. ¡°No jumping inside, youngdy.¡± ¡°Tar¡­¡± ¡°As long as you understand,¡± I smiled, petting her. ¡°Come,¡± I continued, patting on the vines. Larvitar waddled through the bed of vines and settled in between my legs. Togetic let out azy chirp andid down on Tangrowth¡¯s head, and Electabuzz leaned against his body, almost sinking into it. ¡°Stop brooding in your corner and being so edgy,¡± I told Frillish, who was keeping his distance. I beckoned him. ¡°C¡¯mere.¡± He huffed and floated away, practically hugging the door. ¡°I already forgave you for what happened yesterday, bud. Come sit with the kids.¡± He shot us a nce, and Electabuzz called out to him with a smug smile. Togeticughed at the joke that must have been said. Frillish shot him an angry nce, and he suddenly stopped smiling and sunk deeper into Tangrowth¡¯s vines. ¡°Angel, drag him over, will you?¡± I smiled. He happily obliged me, extending a vine toward Frillish and wrapping it around one of his tentacles before dragging him over. He let hisints be known, but he didn¡¯t actually leave. I wrapped an arm around his body and pulled him in closer. ¡°I¡¯m gonna look up Fantina today. She might have a Frillish, you know? Wouldn¡¯t it be interesting to fight one?¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°Only I like that sort of thing, huh?¡± I said. ¡°Either way, stick around, you goof, or I¡¯ll get sad. I¡¯m burned, remember? You¡¯re supposed to pamper me.¡± Togetic and Larvitar loudly agreed, and Frillish resigned to his fate. I grabbed my Poketch, turned it on, and opened the Hearthome city gym website. Larvitar mored at me to see the screen, which I lowered, but then Togeticined that she couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Why don¡¯t you juste down here, princess?¡± I asked, looking up at her. Her head was hanging off Tangrowth¡¯s massive body. ¡°Prrrri!¡± ¡°You like angel¡¯s head? Well, I can¡¯t amodate both of you, and holding the phone up makes my arms tired, so you should probablye down here anyway.¡± With a disappointed ¡®prrrrri,¡¯ Togetic floated down into angel¡¯s vine-bed, and after applying the three-badge filter, I started looking at Fantina¡¯s battles. The battle for the fourth gym badge is where what Denzel had asionally called the ¡®mid-game¡¯ began. That weird length of time in the Circuit where your Pokemon all started to evolve, and your growth started to get faster and faster until it started slowing down around the sixth or seven badge. The gyms, however, didn¡¯t actually get a huge jump in difficulty like in between the first and second badge, so some trainers found this stretch of the Circuit rtively easy. Rtively was important. It was still difficult. The curve just wasn¡¯t as steep. At least until the eighth gym battle forced you into a six versus six and kicked your ass. Either way, evolutions were expected around this time, like Tangrowth¡¯s own. Larvitar was still too young to evolve into a Pupitar. However, this was probably around where Electabuzz would have evolved if we hadn¡¯t been in a life-or-death fight against those Sneasel, and Togetic needed a Shiny Stone, which I was hopefully going to start saving for whenever the Poketch Company and the other businesses contacted me back. Would Frillish evolve soon? I stared at him, and he avoided my eyes. The most knowledge I had about Fantina before perusing her gym¡¯s website was that she was a ridiculously good trainer when using her personal team¡ª on par with the Elite Four¡ª and that she used illusions to battle. Now, I hadn¡¯t known what those illusions actually implied. But before going in-depth with the illusions, I noticed something else. The higher level she battled at, the fewer Pokemon she used. She had around forty Pokemon at the first badge level that I could see, but at mine? She only had twenty¡ª including a Frillish¡ª and after giving it some thought, I believed that I managed to figure out why. All Pokemon were dangerous, but ghost types were especially so, along with fairies and dragons. That knowledge had been ingrained into my mind since I was a child. The ghost-fairy-dragon triad were the most difficult Pokemon to train and raise, although Togetic hadn¡¯t given me any trouble, aside from her usual glee whenmitting acts of violence. Last night, Cece had already told me about how she struggled to find Denzel when he was off doing his own thing, and we had theorized that there was some¡­ wrongness at y. Not reality warping¡ª he wasn¡¯t strong enough to do that, but maybe Sylveon had affected what we saw because he had wanted Denzel to be alone for a while. And he liked us. What would have happened if he hadn¡¯t? The point about the three types was this. The general rule of thumb was: dragon types were prideful to a fault. Fairy types had a wrongness about them that shook me to my core the longer I thought about it. Ghost types were hateful¡ª so hateful in fact, that some of them sustained themselves purely off of that hatred, like Bte. All three types shared amon love for violence that was nearly impossible to contain. And for ghosts, that hate meant that they did not like holding back in battles. Pokemon battles were a sport. Pokemon instinctively held back during them in order not to kill, which was something wild Pokemon or criminals¡¯ Pokemon just didn¡¯t do. Ghosts were wild. You could own one, but it would never truly be under your control. There was a reason so few trainers had true ghosts as Pokemon besides their rarity. Fairy types grew attached to their trainers exceptionally quickly, and even dragons eventually relented. Ghosts rarely put their own trainers'' wants and orders over their own urges. Ghosts were also immortal as if they weren¡¯t threatening enough. They could be killed, but they¡¯d always rematerialize a few days or weekster. The fact that there were a significant number of very powerful, old ghost types roaming the world was a terrifying prospect¡ª Mismagius in Eterna Forest had probably been one, with how incredibly powerful that illusion we had been put under had been. Either way, the more powerful a ghost got, the harder it was to control, so what if even Fantina couldn¡¯t handle dozens of them at my level and beyond? It made sense too. If she had too many, then she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep them controlled. Without a connection to their trainer, they¡¯d probably go rogue during battles, and a challenger¡¯s Pokemon dying would be the biggest scandal a gym leader could face. It hadn¡¯t even happened in my lifetime. I wasn¡¯t sure if they were capable of passing through Kadabra¡¯s barriers to get to the spectators, but I didn¡¯t want to find out. The good about all of this was that since she didn¡¯t use as many Pokemon as Gardenia or Candice, the strategizing would probably take less time. Or at least that¡¯s what I thought, until I saw how versatile ghosts could be¡ª and I meant actual ghosts. Attacks would hurt them, so long as they weren¡¯t normal type, but they¡¯d just pass through their bodies, which meant that knocking one away was impossible unless they solidified their bodies themselves to use physical attacks, or like¡­ Dusknoir had done to protect Mars. I took a breath. I wasn¡¯t seeing a lot of that in the videos, though, and for a good reason. It would just make them more vulnerable. I couldn¡¯t exactly ce a style on Fantina¡¯s battling, however. She seemed bored in every single one, especially when juxtaposed with Candice and Gardenia. Studying her Pokemons¡¯ moves would be rtively easy, but studying the illusions? That was going to be difficult. Larvitar screamed excitedly as a Seadra spat out a huge Scald toward a me dancing in the middle of the arena while its trainer kept yelling at it to listen, but it wasn¡¯t. It kept attacking what was clearly a bait while a Lampentzily appeared behind it and hit it with a Shadow Ball, causing it to faint. I thought all of the illusions would be caught on camera, but most of them actually were not, and they were invisible to a trainer¡¯s eyes. That meant that my Pokemon and I wouldn¡¯t even be seeing the same thing¡ª a death sentence in a Pokemon battle. It wasn¡¯t even a move, or at least it didn¡¯t look like it. I had expected a variant of Confuse Ray, Hypnosis, or Substitute, but it was just something ghosts could do. But that wasn¡¯t it. There was also the fact that ghosts could appear and reappear anywhere at will. They could be on the opposite side of the battlefield and then reappear behind your Pokemon secondster with a Shadow Ball ready to go. Yes, seconds. Ghosts moved quickly when they weren¡¯t in their solid state. ¡°Well, I like a challenge,¡± I smiled. There was your share of Pokemon that weren¡¯t true ghosts that Fantina also used, and they were easier to handle. She probably used them to give her challengers a little break in between the actual threats she had. The Pokemon I identified as the biggest problems were Haunter, Bte, Misdreavus, Shedinja, Dhelmise, and that Lampent, but there were others that weren¡¯t true ghosts that looked like hell to fight, too, like Gourgeist or Drakloak. But the biggest problem was Palossand. Thatst one was actually the biggest threat I could possibly face in a potential battle. The tactics it employed were ruthless. Fantina¡¯s Frillish was disappointingly ordinary. It was a Pokemon she used against the less powerful three-badge holders, and it showed. Their Water Sport was nowhere as versatile as ours, so most of that extra mobility was gone, which was crippling for a Pokemon as slow as Frillish. Its ghost type moves were impressive and on par with ours, but the water side of things wascking, and it didn¡¯t know Recover or Acid Armor for survivability. Buddy would easily wipe the floor with it in a battle. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like she going to use it against me, unless she sends it out first to test us,¡± I muttered. Frillish let out a satisfied huff. ¡°Happy? I bet it¡¯s weird fighting one of your own. I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want to fight a human.¡± Actually, I wouldn¡¯t want to fight anything, but that was beside the point. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to fight a four against five, too,¡± I continued, and all of my Pokemon responded with their respective cries. Now that Turtonator had been added to the picture and Larvitar was capable of battling, I was going to have to fight at a numerical disadvantage, although it wouldn¡¯t actually be a six-on-six, since those tended to only happen at the seventh gym badge barring exceptional circumstances. Obviously though, I had no n on using Larvitar for this gym, and even if Turtonator didn¡¯t actually attack me, he wasn¡¯t going to listen to anything I said. Seeing if he¡¯d let himself lose to spite me, or try to win to salvage his pride would be an interesting experiment, however, but I wasn¡¯t mean enough to try that, especially when I needed to gain his trust and respect. If Electabuzz, Togetic, Tangrowth, and Frillish fainted, I¡¯d give up the battle. ¡°Well, I think your moves are all good enough to win at the moment,¡± I told my team. ¡°So we should work on perfecting what we¡¯ve got.¡± I hadn¡¯t constructed a n yet, but I already knew abination of Togetic¡¯s Wish, along with switching to Tangrowth and Electabuzz¡ª which were my heavy hitters¡ª would be crucial to winning. Frillish¡¯s Recover meant that he¡¯d be fine as an independent crutch in the battle. So Togetic would put everything she had into using Wish. Tangrowth would perfect Knock Off, and Electabuzz would work on his endurance. With all of Fantina¡¯s tricks, I knew the battle was going tost a long time. I would have liked for princess to learn Air sh, but I already knew Wish was going to take too much time to work on two moves at the same time. Plus, Wish would be crucial in the battle against my friends as well. ¡°Okay,¡± I said as I stretched. ¡°Everyone satisfied with what we learned so far?¡± It had been a few hours, and I was done learning about Fantina for now. I¡¯de backter and start taking notes, but I hadn¡¯t even signed up yet, so I had time. Iughed when I noticed that angel was asleep. Everyone else had been so focused on my Poketch, but he had just dozed off. I carefully recalled him so that he¡¯d stay asleep in his Pokeball, along with the rest of my team. ¡°Okay,¡± I smiled. It was time to speak to Turtonator once again. ¡ª¡ª I was back on route 208, and I released Turtonator. He stared at me angrily and let out a threatening growl. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know, you¡¯re a big, scary dragon,¡± I said dismissively, closing my eyes to show that I wasn¡¯t scared¡ª even though I was. I opened an eye when I heard that he wasn¡¯t growling anymore, and I understood after a few seconds. ¡°What? Surprised my team isn¡¯t here this time?¡± He didn¡¯t respond. In fact, he almost looked disappointed, like he wanted a confrontation. Now that he wasn¡¯t getting it, Turtonator turned and left, lying down a few feet away. ¡°I brought some food for you,¡± I said, grabbing a pack of kibble from my backpack. ¡°Want some?¡± I approached him, but he turned toward me, and mes started to gather in his snout. I froze and fell to the ground, and he let out a satisfied snort. ¡°Asshole,¡± I groaned. I realized that I had instinctively dropped the food and grabbed Frillish¡¯s Pokeball instead, probably because I thought I was about to be lit on fire. Even though I knew Turtonator wouldn¡¯t kill me, seeing him gather a methrower and aim it at me had been so terrifying that I had forgotten about it. Turtonator swiped the food, angled his head upward, and ripped the package open over his mouth, eating all of the kibble in one go. Two hundred and forty Pokedors down the drain. And he didn¡¯t even look the slightest bit happy. I sighed. ¡°Wanna know something?¡± He immediately shook his head and walked off. When I tried to follow him, he raised the temperature to unbearable levels and forced me to back off. He was daring me to either recall him or screw off. ¡°Okay then,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you feel like it.¡± I sat a ways away from him. It was ufortable but bearable, and I had plenty of water. I couldn¡¯t really tell if there was progress being made or not, but it was nice sometimes, staying on my own in silence. I could tell why Justin wanted his alone time so often. I¡¯d rather be with my friends, but once in a while, I wouldn¡¯t be against this. Plus, even though I was on the edge of the route, no wild Pokemon would be crazy enough to attack a Turtonator. I jumped when I saw the fire type get up. He was¡­ angry. Furious, like he had been in Mount Cor. I grabbed his Pokeball, ready to recall him before an attack came, but I soon realized that he wasn¡¯t looking at me. He was looking behind me. I heard someone fall over and turned. A trainer that had just been walking through the route scrambled backward, but before Turtonator could do anything, I put him back in his Pokeball. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I apologized, helping the teenager up. He gave me a shaky nod and left¡ª well, it was more urate to say he ran away. I thought that this part of the route was isted enough to avoid others, but I had apparently been wrong. In my hubris standing up to Turtonator, I had almost forgotten what he was. I needed to be more alert every time I had him out, or an ident was bound to happen. I clipped his ball back on my belt and ran a hand through my hair. Dragons were a prideful bunch, and they held grudges. Turtonator still hated trainers for what they had done to him in Mount Cor. I doubted that kid had actually been one of the people that battled him. There were no signs of burns, and he looked rather new. If I had to guess, I would have said that he hade from Hearthome to train and not from Mount Cor. And yet, it did not matter to him. They were all the same. When I got closer to the city, my phone went off with a flurry of notifications. I opened it and checked the group chat. Emilia was calling us over to meet her new coordinator friend.
Chapter 115 Chapter 115 CHAPTER 115 I entered a quaint cafe and immediately found my friends. It wasn¡¯t difficult, since they were the biggest group in the ce, and two tables had to be stuck together for them. I smiled and strode up to their table. ¡°Grace, over here,¡± Denzel beckoned. ¡°Saved you a seat.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said as I sat between him and Cecilia. ¡°The new guy isn¡¯t here yet?¡± I asked, looking at Emilia. She was looking at her phone. ¡°No, but he should be here any minute.¡± Denzel called over a waiter for me, and I ordered an egg and cheese bagel with some water. They had apparently all ordered before me, since I had been runningte and not answering the phone because I¡¯d been on a route. ¡°I want to warn you guys,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Please don¡¯t be mean to him.¡± ¡°What? Why would I be rude?¡± Pauline smiled. ¡°He can¡¯t be too bad, since he got you out of your shell. I¡¯ll just ask him a few questions.¡± ¡°Please, let¡¯s not be rude to a potential new friend. I¡¯m sure the meeting will go well,¡± Justin said. ¡°Thank you, Justin,¡± she smiled softly. ¡°Look, I¡¯m just tired, so I¡¯ll be chill,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I almost had an ident with Turtonator.¡± They all turned toward me. ¡°Oh shit,¡± Denzel gasped. ¡°Are you okay?!¡± Cece asked worriedly. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine,¡± I hurriedly rified. ¡°I meant that he almost attacked another trainer that was just passing by. Sorry for not being clear.¡± ¡°Arceus, do not scare us like that,¡± my girlfriend exhaled as she gripped my arm. I hurriedly apologized again. ¡°They¡¯ll probablyin about it online,¡± Paulineughed. Now that she knew I hadn¡¯t been in danger, she had immediately loosened up. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s aughing matter,¡± I sighed. ¡°He could be traumatized.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll go through a lot worse if he wants this job,¡± she simply stated. ¡°Comes with the territory.¡± I wanted to retort, but Emilia interrupted us and pointed toward the entrance. Vincent was a short teen with long, wavy brown hair, thin lips, andrge eyes. I observed as he confidently walked toward us with a smile. ¡°He sure seems happy,¡± I muttered quietly enough so no one would hear. He scanned the table as he walked, but his stare lingered on me longer, probably because of how I looked. Trainer scars weremon, but most weren¡¯t as pronounced as mine, especially with how young I was. ¡°Hey everyone, sorry I¡¯mte, I lost track of time when I was editing a video. My name¡¯s Vincent Campbell,¡± he introduced himself with a smile. ¡°Oh shit, you have a channel? No way, man!¡± Denzel eximed. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to give me the nameter.¡± ¡°Most coordinators have them, remember?¡± Emilia rified. ¡°Take a seat, Vincent.¡± The boy sat, and we all introduced ourselves one by one. I noticed immediately that Vincent was a very extroverted individual¡ª even more so than Denzel was. In fact, he and my best friend broke the ice immediately and seemed to get along very well after interacting for just a few minutes. I introduced myselfst. ¡°I¡¯m Grace Pastel,¡± I smiled. ¡°Nice to meet the one that got Emi started on her coordinator stuff.¡± ¡°Grace, hm?¡± He said. ¡°Can I justment on your scars? You look really cool with them. It makes you stand out¡­¡± Vincent didn¡¯t finish his sentence, as the entire table froze. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Cecilia asked, her tone icy. ¡°Vincent¡­¡± Emilia winced. ¡°Erm, did I say something¡ª¡± Pauline mmed a palm against the table, causing the customers around us to look on with worried gazes. ¡°The fuck did you just say?¡± ¡°I¡ª I¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, so now we stutter, huh? You sure seemed content to run your mouth¡ª¡± ¡°Pauline,¡± I interrupted. ¡°No, Grace, this guy¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, discreetly nodding toward Emilia. She was staring down at her hands. ¡°Hey, Vincent,¡± I called out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t¡ª I mean, I still don¡¯t know what was wrong, but if you tell me, I¡¯ll apologize properly.¡± I stared at Vincent, and noticed that he did appear to be apologetic. He was beginning to sweat nervously, his tone was nowhere near as smooth and confident as it had been seconds earlier, and I could hear the faint tap of his shoe bouncing against the floor. I had considered that he had been faking it for a second, but he did appear genuine. It looked like Emi had picked a good friend, at the very least. He wasn¡¯t tricking her here. I exhaled as I calmly drummed my fingers against the table. I needed to approach this carefully. This was Emilia¡¯s new friend. I needed to be nice. Even though thatment had infuriated me. ¡°Look, Vincent,¡± I started. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you how I got these. I don¡¯t want you to treat me differently, or to feel bad for me¡ª I mean, we barely know each other. But you need to realize that this isn¡¯t a game.¡± ¡°I¡­ I knew it wasn¡¯t a game,¡± he said. ¡°You might have known, but I don¡¯t think you truly incorporated that fact,¡± I continued. ¡°To you, they¡¯re just something I have. But consider this, Vincent. These had to get on me. My skin was seared until it was irreparably scarred.¡± Vincent¡¯s eyes widened, and he grimaced. The words might have seemed simple, but after seeing his reaction, I knew I had been right. Vincent hadn¡¯t even considered the simple fact that a burn like this didn¡¯t get on you for no reason. It was painful and traumatic. I had been the victim of this thought process before bing a trainer too. Plenty of people had scars in the battles I used to watch on television, and I did think some of them were cool. That had been before. Behind every single one was a painful memory. ¡°Ah, shit,¡± he swore. ¡°I was being an asshole, wasn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°But we can call it water under the bridge if that¡¯s alright with you, Grace?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°I guess I was thinking from a coordinator''s point of view,¡± Vincent said. ¡°The distinguishing yourself thing¡­ it¡¯s a thing that every coordinator tries to do to separate themselves from the herd, so I meant it as apliment. I¡¯m sorry. I swear, I wasn¡¯t discriminating against trainers or anything.¡± ¡°Think before you speak,¡± Pauline hissed. ¡°I¡¯ll let it go for Emilia, but you¡¯re on thin ice. No one fucks with my friends.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional, Pauline,¡± Justin tried. She clicked her tongue. ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°What do you mean by discriminating against trainers?¡± I asked. Emilia spoke up, seemingly having recovered from the group¡¯s little spat. ¡°Some coordinators see trainers with disdain,¡± she exined. ¡°Mostly because we¡ª you get a lot of things for free.¡± ¡°They also say that you guys act like you¡¯re better than them,¡± Vincent added. ¡°Which you¡¯ll easily know is a load of bullshit if you spent five minutes with the first coordinator you find on the Walk.¡± ¡°The Walk?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°The Coordinator¡¯s Walk,¡± Vincent said. ¡°The street leading up to the Hearthome Contest Hall.¡± Vincent went on to exin a lot of the city to us and the main attractions, which I appreciated because my dad would be here tomorrow, and I wanted to do a lot of things with him. The conversation then moved on to another topic. ¡°So, how¡¯d you two meet?¡± Cecilia asked Vincent and Emilia. ¡°Oh, it was actually on the Walk, funnily enough. Some girl called Jasmine was¡ª¡± ¡°Vincent,¡± Emilia said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You can skip over the details.¡± Pauline frowned. ¡°No, go ahead. Tell me about this Jasmine girl.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Vincent hesitated, stuck between a rock and a hard ce. Pauline¡¯s murderous re seemingly won out, though, and he continued. ¡°She was trying to trick Emilia. Asked her if she was staying at a hotel so that she and her friends could film a video there, and when she said no, she¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence. ¡°I think I can get the picture,¡± Pauline said, looking at Emi¡¯s pained expression. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°I wanted to handle it myself,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°I can do it. I know you want to help, but I¡¯ve got to learn to do this stuff myself. You won¡¯t always be there.¡± Pauline chewed on her words for a few seconds. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Emilia beamed, hugging the other girl¡¯s arm. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± ¡°S¡¯nothing,¡± she grumbled. ¡°If we walk up on her when I¡¯m with you, though¡­¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to hold back,¡± Emi nodded. ¡°I think I want to go see what the Coordinator¡¯s Walk looks liketer,¡± Pauline said nonchntly. ¡°Hey, what does this Jasmine gal look like?¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re purposefully looking for trouble,¡± Justin sighed with a slight smile. ¡°Look, if it¡¯s worth anything, I think you guys are way nicer than your average coordinator,¡± Vincent said, probably trying to change the subject. ¡°Don¡¯t kiss my ass,¡± Pauline grumbled. ¡°Makes you look and sound fake. I know you don¡¯t like me.¡± ¡°He just can¡¯t win with you, can¡¯t he,¡± I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± He eximed. ¡°Y¡¯all seem pretty nice. People normally wouldn¡¯t have given me another chance after my fuck up earlier.¡± ¡°They are nice,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Even Pauline. You just have to get to know her.¡± ¡°So you mentioned that coordinators hate trainers earlier,¡± Denzel mused. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t see the same dislike toward you guys in our line of work.¡± ¡°Some coordinators,¡± he specified. ¡°Like Jasmine, for example. But the majority won¡¯t really care. They¡¯re too busypeting with each other.¡± Cecilia let out a tired sigh. ¡°What a cutthroat world. It seems exhausting.¡± ¡°Trainers and coordinators do seem fundamentally different,¡± I contemted with a nod. ¡°True,¡± Denzel agreed. ¡°Trainers can be toxic to each other, but at the end of the day, we have each other¡¯s backs.¡± ¡°Probably because we don¡¯t actuallypete with each other¡ª at least not in an official manner¡ª until we get to the Conference,¡± I said. ¡°Imagine if people had to battle each other to get a badge.¡± ¡°Okay, yeah, I can see how that¡¯d degenerate very quickly,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Plus, we travel together in the routes,¡± Cecilia added. ¡°Harsh experiences create bonds. Coordinators have none of that.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean they have to be fake pieces of shit,¡± Pauline said. ¡°The performances make it worth it,¡± Vincent said. ¡°You ever been in a performance?¡± She asked aggressively. ¡°Emi told us about¡ª¡± Denzel spoke up until Pauline interrupted him with a single stare. ¡°Twice, and none of them were for a ribbon,¡± he quickly answered. ¡°The first one, I lost horribly. The second one, I lost. Also horribly.¡± We all chuckled lightly. I was d I gave Vincent another chance. Emilia seemed overjoyed that we were getting along. She had probably been worried she would have had to lose her only coordinator friend. Plus, he didn¡¯t seem to know much about us because he wasrgely disconnected from trainer news, which was a positive in my book. We continued talking for an hour, although most of the conversation had turned toward content creation. Denzel and Emilia wanted to do a ¡®cob,¡¯ and he also wanted to shout out her channel to give her a head start. He had fifty-thousand subscribers now, and his channel was still growing exceptionally quickly. I wondered if it was going to get him unwanted attention from other coordinators, especially with what Vincent had told us about how a good number of them hated trainers. There could be some jealousy issues there. ¡°Well, it was nice meeting you, Vincent,¡± I told him as we exited the cafe. ¡°Likewise. Sorry again about earlier. And Denzel, don¡¯t forget to contact me! We¡¯ve got to get that video filmed before y¡¯all leave Hearthome!¡± Vincent yelled as he left. ¡°Sure!¡± he grinned. ¡°What is the video even going to be about? I spaced out,¡± Pauline asked. ¡°They¡¯re going to make me try toe up with a performance with no prep time and act as the judges. I¡¯ll most likely fail horribly, which could be good content. Emilia will upload the video, and Vincent will help her edit it. It¡¯ll be a good base to build up from.¡± Emilia¡¯s smile was so bright I almost felt the need to cover my eyes. ¡°This is going to be so good!¡± She squealed, sneaking in between Denzel and Pauline as she wrapped her arms around theirs. ¡°Now I¡¯ve just got to keep working hard for my performance. I''m close to a breakthrough with Shadow Ball.¡± ¡°Oh right, that reminds me!¡± Denzel eximed. ¡°I still need to borrow your Shadow Ball TM!¡± ¡°Borrowing TMs, huh?¡± I teased. ¡°What? It¡¯s the smart thing to do! I¡¯ve got to save for two evolutionary stones!¡± ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding,¡± I chortled. ¡°Anyway, are you guys ready?¡± Pauline and Justin looked at me with fired-up expressions. Justin¡¯s Audino was set to arrive tomorrow, and they were going to sign up for Fantina¡¯s gym. There¡¯d probably be a decently long wait time, so he hoped that since it was a bred Pokemon, it¡¯d be easy to train so that he could use it in battle. I considered it a very interesting tactic, considering ghosts and normal type attacks couldn¡¯t hit each other for any amount of significant damage. Something about the two type energies canceled each other out. Apparently, the Audino he had ordered would have the Regenerator ability too, which was incredibly busted, since it meant that the Pokemon would continuously heal its injuries when it got a chance to rx, and the process was further sped up when it was recalled. The longer they stuck in their Pokeballs, the more damage they repaired, which meant that you couldn¡¯t just recall your Pokemon and instantly rerelease them, but it still had a lot of powerful applications. Tangrowth could have had it too, if I had gotten lucky, but Chlorophyll woulde into its own as soon as we managed to learn Sunny Day. Cecilia paid for a taxi, and we were driven to Fantina¡¯s gym, which was the usual stadium-like building, and we waited for Justin and Pauline to go through the queue to sign up. The lobby was unusually active, but it was probably because Hearthome was a big city. People were squeezing past each other to get to the spectating area. ¡°What¡¯d you find out about Fantina earlier?¡± Denzel asked me. ¡°That she¡¯s going to be tough,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Ghosts are a bitch to fight. Expect the battle to be long and exhausting.¡± ¡°Just how I like ¡®em,¡± he said confidently. ¡°Please, at least do some surface-level research,¡± I told both Cecilia and Denzel. ¡°There actually aren¡¯t that many Pokemon to learn about.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Cece asked. ¡°Twenty.¡± ¡°We have different definitions of ¡®not many,¡¯¡± Denzel shook his head. I sighed. They were both lost causes. ¡°Well, at least we get to watch Justin¡¯s and Pauline¡¯s battle before our own this time.¡± ¡°They¡¯re a badge below us. I don¡¯t expect it to help that much,¡± Cecilia shrugged. ¡°If it was any other type, I would have agreed,¡± Denzel said. ¡°But Grace is right here. It¡¯ll help to see how ghosts operate. I mean, the only one I¡¯ve ever seen was that Mismagius.¡± ¡°And Dusknoir,¡± my girlfriend somberly added. ¡°It¡¯s true that they are decently rare, so I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± Suddenly, I heard huge cheers emanate from the battlefield. ¡°Must be a good battle going on,¡± I smiled. ¡°Should we go see?¡± Denzel stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck. ¡°Looks packed to the brim, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get through.¡± After fifteen minutes, Justin and Pauline came back. ¡°We¡¯re on in five days, in the afternoon,¡± Justin proudly dered. ¡°Pauline¡¯s first, since she so desperately wanted to go¡ª¡± ¡°You should be happy I¡¯m going first,¡± she huffed. ¡°I¡¯m letting you get some intel.¡± ¡°That¡¯s when Chase ising back,¡± Cecilia pondered. ¡°Chase won¡¯te watch,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯d probably say something like¡ª I don¡¯t have time to waste on watching these low leveled battles,¡± Cece recalled fondly. ¡°Seems like a real angel,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Anyway, what now?¡± ¡°Well, a fewpanies answered me, and I¡¯ve got my first meeting in¡­¡± Denzel trailed off as he grabbed his Poketch. ¡°Three hours. I was wondering if any of you could help me out? Rehearse a little? Figure out what they¡¯d do to fuck me over?¡± ¡°Say no more,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Emi, Cece,e with.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m going to train,¡± Cece dered. ¡°So am I,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°Any answers on your side, Grace?¡± My best friend asked. ¡°I checked on the bus. One answer from that shoepany I talked to you about, and the meeting¡¯s next week. But nothing from the Poketch Company.¡± Cecilia crossed her arms. ¡°If I had to guess, they¡¯ve probably read your message, but they¡¯re deliberately taking their time to answer.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°Well, you made them wait, right? It might be their way of letting you know that they didn¡¯t appreciate it.¡± I sighed. ¡°They did send their first email when we were in Snowpoint. I could have answered¡­¡± ¡°And now that they¡¯ve seen you¡¯ve answered back, they know you want to work with them. That means the bnce of power¡¯s back in their favor,¡± Emilia nodded. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°I will, don¡¯t worry,¡± I reassured her. ¡°I thought they were supposed to be nice. You guys go do your stuff, I¡¯m gonna hang out here and decide what to do.¡± We all bid each other farewell and went our separate ways. I considered my options before deciding to go off and train too. Maybe I could find one of the arenas and battle some trainers there with Tangrowth, or I could go back on Route 208 or visit Amity Square to work on Togetic¡¯s Wish. Well, the closest option was Amity Square, so I¡¯d go there¡ª A girl with sses and jet ck hair paced through the lobby, followed by a group of¡­ fans? One of them carried a banner with the word ¡®LET¡¯S GO LAUREN¡¯ written on it in a fancy, almost unreadable font, but the girl seemed to pay them no mind. In fact, she wasn¡¯t even listening to what they were saying since she was wearing ear pods and her head was nodding to the rhythm of what I assume was music. The name Lauren¡­ Wait, was this Craig¡¯s sister? They certainly shared the same hair color, and their eyes and noses were the same shape. I discreetly followed the small but dedicated group, who were asking for Lauren¡¯s autograph. I remembered from my research online that her fans weren¡¯t as numerous as other trainers in the Circuit, but they were devoted to finding out every crumb of information about her. They reminded me of some of the fans coordinators had. They could get very rabid, even driving some to quit the industry after they were found to be dating someone. I was surprised to see that she was even out and about in broad daylight, however. She usually battled as early orte as possible to attract the least attention. What was she doing here in the middle of the afternoon? Lauren released a Duosion, who hovered above her, and the people following her clenched their heads and backed off. Was that even allowed¡­? The psychic type seemed unharmed, which meant that she hadn¡¯t used it in her battle. I couldn¡¯t be one hundred percent sure it had actually been her battling, but the fact that some of her fans carried banners to encourage her certainly made me lean that way. Well, I had promised Craig that I¡¯d tell his sister to call him if I met her. I took a deep breath and quickly approached her, tapping her shoulder. Duosion moved around in its goo-like substance, and Lauren stopped in her tracks. She turned toward me. ¡°Hello?¡± I hesitantly said. She just stared at me, and then at Duosion. And then at me again. After what seemed like an eternity, she took off her ear pods. ¡°You¡­ seem alright. Can I help you?¡± Her voice was so quiet it was practically inaudible, especially with my busted ear drum. ¡°Erm, I¡¯m Grace. I know your brother Craig. I know this is sudden, but he asked me to call him if I ever met you.¡± Her meek expression changed to an exasperated one for a split second. ¡°Oh¡­ what do you think, Duosion?¡± She asked. After a few seconds, she talked again. She didn¡¯t seem to be in any pain from the telepathy, but I doubted that it was because she was used to it enough. No matter how many times you spoke to your psychic types, you would at least feel some pain if you had only owned it for a few months. Lauren either had a very high pain tolerance, or was simply good at hiding the fact that she was suffering a massive headache. ¡°Trustworthy? You¡¯re right, she doesn¡¯t seem like a stalker¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been stalked?¡± I asked worriedly. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°During my stay in the city¡­¡± she whispered. ¡°They keep following me, but they¡¯re harmless.¡± ¡°Oh. Well, I won¡¯t follow you,¡± I said. ¡°Just let me do this favor for your brother? I owe him a whole lot.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± she sighed. I dialed his number, and he thankfully answered. For all I knew, he could have been flying off somewhere. ¡°Grace! Long time no see. What¡¯s up?¡± He asked cheerfully. ¡°No¡­ um, I¡¯ve got your sister in front of me. I¡¯ll hand her the phone.¡± I ignored his freak-out and gave Lauren my Poketch. As soon as she brought the phone to her ear, her whole demeanor changed. ¡°I thought I told you to stop trying to contact me!¡± She yelled angrily into the phone. Duosion worriedly jumped around in its goo. ¡°Shut your mouth! I want nothing to do with you!¡± I felt like I shouldn¡¯t have been hearing this. ¡°If I¡¯m seen with you, people will think I¡¯m getting help from you, you shitter!¡± She screamed. ¡°No! No¡ª don¡¯t you dare fly here. No! I don¡¯t want to see you!¡± There was another pause. ¡°I¡¯m not sticking around. I got my badge, and I¡¯m leaving,¡± she said. ¡°All the bullshit messages you sent me about being more public only got me some creepy fans. I hate you.¡± I awkwardly stared at the floor, hoping this conversation would be over. This wasn¡¯t what I had expected at all. Lauren sighed. ¡°Her? Fine¡­ if you say so,¡± she said, in a surprising change of heart. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t actuallye here.¡± Then, she stared at me and seemingly remembered that I was hearing everything being said, since Craig had probably mentioned me by name. ¡°Okay¡­ yeah¡­ I¡¯ll stick around for a little bit,¡± she muttered. ¡°Nothing happened. Just¡­ bye.¡± Lauren handed me my Poketch back. ¡°Sorry you had to see me that way,¡± she continued with her meek voice. It was like she had done aplete one-eighty, but maybe that was how close she was with her brother. ¡°Craig just gets on my nerves.¡± ¡°Hey, I won¡¯t tell,¡± I shrugged. ¡°So I guess that¡¯s it.¡± She nodded. ¡°Craig told me that you and your friends were good¡­¡± Lauren quietly said. Her eyes suddenly lit aze with a passion I knew too well. ¡°I¡¯m sticking around until I see all of you battle Fantina.¡± I smiled. ¡°Are you sure? You seemed like you wanted to leave badly.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a tournament in Sceon I want to sign up for,¡± she muttered. I perked up at the mention of a tournament, and she continued. ¡°It¡¯s in a bit, so I should still be able to make it. And so should you, if you don''t lose against Fantina. You losing would be disappointing, though...¡± ¡°I won''t lose,¡± I dered. ¡°None of us will. I should probably tell my friends about all of this. Um, it was nice to meet you?¡± ¡°No. Don¡¯t tell more people about me,¡± she shook her head. ¡°Oh. Um, okay?¡± My friends were cool, though¡­ Lauren nodded, giving me her number to tell her when our gym battles would take ce. Afterward, she put her ear pods back in, and walked off with her Duosion as she bobbed her head to music.
Chapter 116 Chapter 116 CHAPTER 116 ¡°Wish.¡± Togetic shut her eyes as tightly as she could and started to glow, forcing me to shield my eyes. After five seconds, a light shot up from her body and high into the sky. Five seconds. That was a lifetime during a battle, and yet it appeared to be princess¡¯ bottleneck unless anyone she cared about was in mortal danger. It took slightly less than two minutes to fall back from the sky, like a bright star falling down to earth. I congratted her, gently petting her head, which she nuzzled against my hand, and Electabuzz put his arms up and flexed, screaming to celebrate. The move wasn¡¯t as good as it could potentially be, but at least it was usable in battle now. I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I had decided to go out training instead. My dad¡¯s arrival in¡­ approximately eight hours excited me too much, and I kept tossing and turning in my bed. I was currently on the shores of Amity Square¡¯s enormouske, and because it was sote at night, it waspletely empty. I was honestly surprised the ce never closed. I had almost expected to get turned back at the entrance, but some poor man half asleep on his night shift had let me through. What I had learned, however, was that battling wasn¡¯t allowed in Amity Square, nor was using any kind of offensive moves, so all we had managed to do was get Wish as close to perfect as we can¡ª which wasn¡¯t close whatsoever. At least the team was having fun. Frillish was off somewhere swimming in theke, while Larvitar was dipping her tiny feet in the water. I had told Tangrowth to watch over her, and he had a vine wrapped around her like a life buoy in case she went too far. Electabuzz was keeping Togeticpany and encouraging her. ¡°You¡¯ve done enough for today,¡± I told her. ¡°The next time we train, we gotta work on that Ancient Power variant idea.¡± ¡°Prrrri!¡± She chirped. The goal would be to shape the earth and rocks into drills to prate Zweilous¡¯ armor. From all the times I had seen it battle, the dragon was impressively good at resisting blunt trauma, or super effective attacks in general. Even as a Deino, he had shrugged off multiple Mach Punches from Gardenia¡¯s Breloom. However, his hard scales had been prated by Icicle Crash in the fight against Candice. I only had one example, but it was still empirical evidence. Piercing his armor would be more important than hitting it with Fairy Wind. Although at this point, Togetic could probably keep a constant, low-powered Fairy Wind going throughout the battle. Still, she hade a long way since not being able to even create spheres with Ancient Power back when I had first trained angel. Now, she could create whatever shape she wanted without a second thought. I was excited to see what she¡¯d be able to do with Psychic. Arceus, Chase couldn¡¯t get there soon enough. There was only so much nning I could do without knowing the other person I¡¯d face. I had considered just starting now and creating a strategy to fight them both, but I realized that if I wanted to strategize, I¡¯d need to do it with my teammate. ¡°Well, let¡¯s head back home. Angel, call buddy over!¡± I yelled. Larvitar protested, wanting to stay to y in the water longer¡ª which was very surprising for a rock type¡ª but Tangrowth dragged her away and started gently tapping the surface with his vines. Around twenty secondster, Frillish emerged from below the surface, his red eyes appearing like spotlights in the darkness. ¡°It¡¯d been a while since you got to enjoy ake, huh?¡± I told him as he approached. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you back when I have time.¡± Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t released Turtonator here because I feared that he¡¯d burn the grass here to annoy me, and this was a public park, not a route. It¡¯d be rude to the people that worked to maintain it every day and the others that visited it. I recalled my team aside from honey, who walked me back to the Center, and I finally managed to fall asleep. ¡ª¡ª I anxiously waited in the airport, standing at arrivals to see when my dad would pop up. His flight had been dyed, so he was arriving an hourte. Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t seen his text warning me about it until I had already gotten there, so I had just been at the airport for more than an hour, letting the excitement and anticipation build up. My friends had asked toe, but I had told them that I wanted to be alone with my dad, at least for now. Introductions couldeter. Plus, even though I was sure my dad would like to meet my group, interacting with teenagers for too long would probably annoy him somewhat. And even though I didn¡¯t want to admit it, I wanted some alone time with my dad too. Togetic let out a longing chirp as shezily floated and ced her head on my shoulder. ¡°Sorry, princess,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s my fault you¡¯re tired. I should have let you sleep¡ª¡± ¡°Toge!¡± She let out an ear-piercing yell, turning a few heads around us, and dashed toward arrivals. My head swerved toward the massive, automatic doors, and I gasped. Dad was here! Before I even realized it, I was running, weaving and dodging in between people to get to dad faster. Togetic got there first and tackled him, practically making him fall to the ground. I was right behind her, embracing him as tightly as I could. ¡°Grace!¡± He said as he softly caressed my hair. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you, kiddo.¡± ¡°Toge!¡± ¡°You too, princess,¡± he added. ¡°Dad¡­¡± I sobbed into his shirt. I was so happy. ¡°I know, I know,¡± he said. He gently pushed me back and smiled. ¡°Look at you! You¡¯ve grown so much. That¡¯s at least an inch.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot,¡± I chuckled before sniffling and wiping my tears. ¡°Should we get out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go and book my hotel room and rent a car,¡± dad nodded. ¡°Then, we can do whatever we want.¡± ¡°Sweet!¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°So you even watched my battle against Candice? You didn¡¯t say anything!¡± I grumbled as we exited dad¡¯s hotel room. He had just dropped all his luggage there, and now, we were free. ¡°I did, and you were wonderful in it. You know, people in my department are all rooting for you now. You¡¯re like a little celebrity there.¡± I hid a smile. Dad wasn¡¯t really well versed with the trainer-inte space, so he didn¡¯t really know I was still somewhat of a celebrity, even now that the Mount Cor story had died down. ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing. What about their own kids?¡± I asked. ¡°None of them are as far along as you are in the Circuit,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯re still rooting for them too, obviously, but you too.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re enough for me,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Will you be there for my battle against Fantina? It might be in a while¡­ more than a week for sure.¡± I asked him the question with the biggest Lillipup eyes I could muster, but I surprisingly didn¡¯t even have to convince him. ¡°Is that even a question? I¡¯ll be out there yelling your name, and when you¡¯re down there, I¡¯ll tell everyone you¡¯re my daughter.¡± I blushed. ¡°Please don¡¯t. Anyway, where do you want to go?¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to pick?¡± ¡°No, no, today¡¯s your day!¡± I eximed. ¡°Choose already!¡± ¡°Well, I heard the Poffin House might be fun,¡± he said. ¡°Oh¡­ yeah, save that for another day. I want us to go with my¡­ girlfriend.¡± Well, that had been as subtle as a brick through a window, but it¡¯d be better to get it out there as soon as I could. Plus, dad already knew I was gay. I hade out to him immediately after figuring it out two years ago, and he had the best reaction possible: he kept acting normal and treated me no differently than he had before. ¡°Oh,¡± He said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Which one is she?¡± ¡°Cecilia,¡± I said. ¡°I can already tell what you¡¯re thinking. Don¡¯t be hard on her.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to be hard on her. I was just thinking we could have a little talk when I meet her,¡± he exined, pausing when he saw me re. ¡°Nothing bad, kiddo. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t not worry about it now,¡± I sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll have to warn her. She¡¯s already anxious about meeting you.¡± ¡°Come on, I¡¯m not that bad, am I?¡± ¡°You look intimidating. Just because you¡¯re being mean, I¡¯m picking where we¡¯re going. The new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon movie came out recently, and I¡¯ve been wanting to go see it.¡± ¡°Mystery Dungeon? Didn¡¯t you use to watch those when you were younger? I thought those were for kids.¡± ¡°No! People keep saying that because it looks like a cartoon, but that¡¯s just a stylistic choice! The movies have a lot of depth. A lot more than most of the garbageing out these days.¡± ¡°Still got your passion for movies, I see,¡± he said. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll trust you on this. Where¡¯s the nearest theater?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± Dad chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s ask around.¡± ¡°We can just look it up, dummy...¡± ¡ª¡ª Dad wiped the tears from his cheeks and sniffled as we walked out of the cinema. He¡¯d bawled like a baby at the movie¡¯s ending. The two main characters were separated forever. One became the most famous adventurer, and the other returned to his world¡ª a world without Pokemon. A world without Pokemon? How depressing. I had teared up a little as well, but I knew the movie would get dad. He¡¯d always been a softie. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you made me watch this,¡± heined. ¡°But it was good, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ you win, it was good,¡± he sniffled. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Riolu and Vulpix are never going to see each other again.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sucks,¡± I nodded. ¡°Their movies are usually sad, but this was definitely the saddest ending yet.¡± ¡°Whew, that was something,¡± he eximed. ¡°Hungry?¡± ¡°I ate arge popcorn, so no,¡± I said. ¡°But you can go eat something if you want. I¡¯ll just drink some water.¡± We quickly stopped by a drive-through at Arlyle¡¯s¡ª my favorite fast-food chain, and dad ordered a burger with two fries, which I proceeded to steal as soon as he parked to eat. ¡°Thank Arceus I bought two sides,¡± he said. ¡°Well, if you put fries in my face, I¡¯m gonna eat ¡®em,¡± I retorted, leaning back against the seat and cing my feet on my dashboard. ¡°So much for not being hungry,¡± heughed. ¡°Arlyle¡¯s still as good as ever.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten any since I left?¡± ¡°No, I only ate some when I was with you,¡± he answered. ¡°I¡¯ve got to watch my cholesterol, remember?¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, by the way, the Poketch Company¡¯s offered to meet me.¡± Dad started to cough and almost choked on his food. He drank half of his water to wash it down. ¡°We¡¯re¡ª we¡¯re sponsoring you? That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°They might,¡± I nodded. ¡°I wanted to hear what you thought about it.¡± Dad paused for a few seconds to calm down. ¡°Uh, I think you should go for it, but there are things to watch out for,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m getting it¡¯s going to be a closed-door meeting, but never sign anything without being sure¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, I know all of that already. I have business-savvy friends, remember?¡± ¡°They grow up so fast¡­¡± ¡°Dad!¡± ¡°So you were asking what I thought thepany was like as a whole, then?¡± He asked, ignoring my outburst. ¡°Yeah. I mean, you¡¯ve worked there since before I was born, so you must know a lot.¡± ¡°I honestly think they¡¯re a decentpany, but I suppose I¡¯m biased,¡± he said. ¡°The benefits I get are excellent, the pay is good, even if you get an entry-level job, and even though the work is hard and my boss can be a real hard ass¡­ I couldn¡¯t imagine working anywhere else.¡± I nodded, chewing on a fry. ¡°I was thinking it was too good to be true. I got suspicious.¡± ¡°I mean, feel free to make your own decisions, Grace, but you have to remember that sometimes, good things just happen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re right. I should give it a try, at least.¡± ¡°Gotta hand it to the Poketch Company, though, they know where to pick the best trainers out there,¡± he said, looking at me. ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re so embarrassinguh,¡± I groaned, hitting his shoulder. ¡°Stop it!¡± ¡°So I can¡¯t evenpliment my daughter?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Arceus¡­ just tell me where to next.¡± ¡°Amity Square,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d like for you to meet my Pokemon.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°They¡¯re all nice, no need to be scared,¡± I said, looking at my dad, who was trembling like a leaf. ¡°Well, one of them isn¡¯t, but you won¡¯t be meeting him.¡± ¡°That Frillish of yours was a problem when he stayed at my house.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I remember!¡± I smiled. ¡°He scared you a little bit.¡± ¡°Not just a little,¡± dad sighed. ¡°Just go ahead.¡± ¡°Come on, he was just smiling at you,¡± I said, grabbing my Pokeballs. ¡°We¡¯ll go one by one, okay? Princess is first.¡± Togetic flew out of her Pokeball and started pulling on dad¡¯s hair. ¡°Hey, no! Don¡¯t do that, I have very few of those remaining!¡± Togeticughed, pping her hands after pulling a few strands. ¡°Come on, dad, you aren¡¯t that bald. Just balding. There''s a difference.¡± ¡°You saying that hurts more than you would know,¡± he said. I ignored him and released Frillish next. ¡°Hey bud,¡± I greeted him, pointing toward dad. ¡°Remember my father? I said he¡¯d visit soon, right?¡± Frillish¡¯s eyes lit up brightly as he stared at dad, causing him to shrink back. ¡°Stop scaring him!¡± Iughed. ¡°What¡¯s with you? You¡¯re never like this with anyone else. Be cute like you usually are.¡± The water type huffed but flew toward dad and gave him a curt nod before flying off into theke. That was probably the best I was going to get. ¡°Well, he¡¯s a bit anti-social, but he¡¯s a lot of help.¡± ¡°Sure¡­ I think he just hates me.¡± ¡°Well, this one won¡¯t,¡± I smiled, sending out Tangrowth. ¡°This is angel. Angel, this is my dad who I told you about.¡± The grass type¡¯s vines wriggled, and he wrapped six vines around my father, who let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched screech. ¡°What is he doing?!¡± ¡°Calm down, this is just how angel says hello. He¡¯s non-verbal.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s he going under my shirt?!¡± ¡°He just likes feeling skin instead of clothes, so he can differentiate you from other people with touch. Look, he has one around my ankle.¡± After around ten seconds, Tangrowth finished his inspection, and dad looked like he was already ready to leave even though we weren¡¯t close to done. ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby,¡± I teased. ¡°That was terrifying.¡± Tangrowth petted him on the head, and his eyes saddened. ¡°He¡¯s apologizing.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I forgive you,¡± dad sighed. I released Electabuzz next. ¡°This is honey.¡± Electabuzz confidently strode up to my dad and extended his hand for a handshake. ¡°Oh, this one¡¯s normal enough,¡± dad hesitantly said. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t! He¡¯s pranking you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your hair.¡± Dad realized that the hair on his head was standing up, and he retracted his hand quicker than I thought was even humanly possible. Electabuzz had just tried to give him a small jolt. ¡°Honey¡­ don¡¯t prank my dad. He¡¯s not into stuff like that.¡± ¡°Buzz¡­¡± ¡°Prank Frillish when hees back, okay?¡± I said, releasing Larvitar. I introduced her to dad, and she didn¡¯t seem to be exactly impressed, but she certainly had the most normal reaction of the bunch, and since she was a baby, she reminded him of Togetic as a Togepi. Which meant he was head over heels for her. ¡°Isn¡¯t she cute?¡± He said, trying to approach Larvitar. She turned away from him and hid behind my leg. ¡°She¡¯s a little shy, but I guess that¡¯s better than being jealous.¡± ¡°Jealous?¡± ¡°Yeah, she gets jealous sometimes when people get too much of my attention,¡± I exined. ¡°She might be tolerating you because you¡¯re my dad, though.¡± The rock type huffed, clearly denying my usations and waddled toward Electabuzz, who started ying tag with her. Dad ended up spending the most time with Tangrowth and Togetic after all, and the grass type was growing on him. It was impossible not to like angel, as odd as he was. After around thirty minutes, dad took on a more serious expression that I knew all too well. He was going to bring something important up, and I already had a suspicion of what it was. He cleared his throat. ¡°Grace. I was waiting to see if you were going to bring it up yourself, but I know that you won¡¯t,¡± he said before exhaling loudly. ¡°How are you dealing with your burns?¡± I froze and averted my gaze. ¡°You told me yourst Pokemon gave them to you,¡± he continued. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you¡¯re¡­ let me think about how to say this,¡± he sighed before continuing. ¡°Look, I¡¯ll support you no matter what. I¡¯m the one that gave you the first push to go on this journey, and I¡¯ve already told you I¡¯d cheer you on for your battles, but I¡¯m starting to think you¡¯re taking too many risks, kiddo.¡± ¡°I¡­ I know that. I¡¯ve already told myself that I¡¯d stop, and now that I have six Pokemon, I won¡¯t have to risk myself stupidly like that again.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good,¡± he nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do something like that ever again, Grace. First, you throw yourself into an unpatrolled part of Mount Cor¡ª¡± ¡°It was to save Cece!¡± I snapped. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to throw your life away.¡± ¡°Being a trainer¡¯s dangerous. You know this already.¡± ¡°I do, but there are things that you shouldn¡¯t do. Slow down a little, Grace. You don¡¯t need to throw caution to the wind like you only have a year to work with. You¡¯ll be doing this for possibly a decade. You have time. Stop acting so recklessly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only right about me taking needless risks to catch Turtonator. If I had to go into Mount Cor to save any of my friends, I¡¯d do it again.¡± Dad looked at me with a pained expression and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s hard, Grace. It¡¯s hard to think that when you leave the city, you might make a mistake.¡± ¡°I said I would stop,¡± I eximed. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that because you want the discussion to stop,¡± he said. ¡°Not because you¡¯re actually agreeing with me.¡± I flinched. ¡°What? I¡¯m your dad, kid. I know you. You just want the argument to be done with. Your actions could have endangered your friends and your Pokemon too, couldn¡¯t they? It¡¯s you I care about the most, but it¡¯s not just you that you have to watch out for.¡± I said nothing, but I knew he was right. Cecilia had tried to get me to back out of the battle against Turtonator, and she could have gotten burned just as badly as I did. To be honest, it was a miracle she hadn¡¯t. ¡°I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that next time you want to do something incredibly dangerous, you¡¯ll remember this conversation, and you¡¯ll back out.¡± ¡°Unless my friends are in danger.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you call the rangers or the League?¡± ¡°Sometimes, they¡¯re not enough. They won¡¯t prioritize my friends. There are tens of thousands of trainers out there.¡± ¡°Just¡­ be safe.¡± ¡°I will, I swear,¡± I promised. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were that worried.¡± ¡°How could I not be? That¡¯d make me a horrible dad. But you still haven¡¯t answered my original questions. How are you dealing with your burns?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to learn to deal,¡± I breathed. I exined to him how ugly I found my face and body now that they was scarred and how looking at my burns reminded me that I had failed. ¡°You¡¯re holding yourself to impossible standards.¡± I let out a sadugh. ¡°Cece said the same thing.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s getting that right,¡± he said before pausing. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to the scars, Grace. Humans can get used to anything. But at least for now, can¡¯t you reframe the entire thing? Instead of the scars reminding you of the mistakes you made, can¡¯t they remind you that you managed to survive a near-death situation¡ª¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t almost die¡ª¡± ¡°You did, Grace,¡± he interrupted. ¡°And pretending otherwise won¡¯t help. Use the scars to remind you to cherish what you have. Life is short. Before you know it, you¡¯ll blink, and the majority of it will be behind you.¡± ¡°Yikes¡­ are you having a midlife crisis?¡± ¡°I know you like to joke around when a conversation gets ufortable for you, but this isn¡¯t a joke,¡± dad scolded. ¡°When you look at your burns, tell yourself that you¡¯ll keep yourself, your team, and your friends safe instead. Be optimistic about the future¡ª because you know you¡¯ll have one.¡± I nodded, and we sat in the grass,pletely silent as we looked at theke. People from all walks of life were visiting Amity Square. Coordinators, trainers, tourists, Hearthome residents¡­ it was soothing, in a way. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to do what you said easily,¡± I told dad. ¡°I think that failure will always haunt me. But I can certainly try my best.¡± Dad smiled and ruffled my hair. ¡°Doing your best¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever asked of you. If you do that, I¡¯ll be happy.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I muttered. ¡°By the way,¡± he continued. ¡°I wanted to be gentle about this, but you need a haircut.¡±
Chapter 117 Chapter 117 CHAPTER 117 ¡°Grace!¡± Cecilia called out. ¡°What do you think about this?¡± Cecilia exited the bathroom in a beautiful cable-knit knee-length skirt, tights, and a fancy wool sweater that slightly covered her wrists. She was wearing make-up, too, including lip gloss, and her hair was styled into a chignon updo. Needless to say, she¡¯d been getting ready for multiple hours at this point. ¡°You look gorgeous as always, but I told you that he won¡¯t care,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, we¡¯re going to bake. Even with an apron, our clothes are going to get dirty.¡± ¡°I consider that a small price to pay if I can have a good first impression,¡± she said, stepping back into the bathroom. ¡°Dad said he¡¯sing around with the car soon,¡± I yelled. ¡°His hotel is like fifteen minutes away, we should probably start going downstairs.¡± ¡°Five¡ª two minutes! I¡¯ve got to get everything right!¡± As for myself, I still felt sad about dad making me cut my hair, but I did have to admit that hair that long was a hassle when I traveled. It got caught on everything, and it had reached down to my lower back. Now, it was a more appropriate shoulder length. I liked my hair long, though. I was just wearing normal day clothes, because we were going baking. I didn¡¯t have that many fancy clothes to begin with, but I wasn¡¯t about to get them stained. After dragging Cecilia out of the bathroom, we finally left and got on the elevator. It was cute to see her this nervous, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel responsible. It had been one day since dad had arrived, and I had warned her that he wanted to talk one-on-one about something. That had sent her anxiety into overdrive, and no matter what I said to quench her worries, nothing worked. Meanwhile, my only goal today was to keep dad from embarrassing me or pulling any stupid tests with Cecilia. He was definitely the type to say something stupid, like, ¡®prove that you¡¯re good enough for my daughter¡¯ or something. At least I could be happy that I was sure he wouldn¡¯t act like a greedy man. Some parents definitely would have tried sucking up because Cecilia was rich, even with the problems with her parents that he obviously knew about. ¡°There he is,¡± I dered, pointing toward the white car dad had rented. I turned to Cece. ¡°Will you be alri¡ª oh.¡± She was her cool, calm, and collected self. Of course, that meant that she was incredibly nervous, but dad wouldn¡¯t know that. Probably. ¡°Rx,¡± I smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°I am perfectly fine,¡± she lied smoothly. Dad honked, and we hurried into the back of the car. ¡°Good afternoon,dies,¡± dad said as he looked into the rearview mirror. ¡°Cecilia, it¡¯s nice to finally meet you. Grace¡¯s talked a lot about you.¡± ¡°It is my pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Pastel,¡± she smoothly said. ¡°I hope my baking today will be to your standards.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a bit nervous,¡± I added. Of course, the hidden message behind those words was be easy on her. ¡°Call me Arthur,¡± dad said. ¡°Mr. Pastel makes me feel old.¡± ¡°You are old,¡± I snarked. ¡°You wound me, daughter,¡± heughed. ¡°But I¡¯ll let this one slide.¡± After doing some small talk that I expertly steered toward topics Cecilia would befortable with, dad hit her with one I couldn¡¯t possibly help with. ¡°So, Cecilia. Tell me a bit about yourself.¡± ¡°What is this, a job interview?¡± I sighed, looking out the window longingly. We were still only halfway to the Poffin House. ¡°Well, I¡­¡± I frowned. ¡°Cece?¡± I knew it was a difficult, open-ended question, but I hadn¡¯t expected her to not be able to answer. ¡°Why don¡¯t you start small? A hobby you like besides Pokemon battling?¡± ¡°Oh. I enjoy¡­ staying and traveling with my friends. But if I had to pick a hobby besides battling, I suppose it would be dancing.¡± ¡°Dancing? You never told me that!¡± I eximed in surprise. ¡°I haven¡¯t done it since the Circuit started,¡± she exined. ¡°My mother usually signed me up for these lessons. Dancing was the only one I enjoyed from all the ones I had.¡± ¡°Grace here is a terrible dancer,¡± dad said. I immediately turned red. ¡°She has two left feet, and she can be clumsy as all hell. She had this phase where she sted music in the entire apartment. You should have seen how manyints I got from the neighbors. I used to catch her dancing alone in her room when I got home from work¡ª¡± ¡°You are lucky you¡¯re driving. I¡¯m going to poison your poffins.¡± I continued berating dad, but I stopped after noticing that Cece was smiling. She was having fun! Her mask was slipping. ¡ª¡ª They¡­ they were the same. They were the same! They were the same!!!!! Arthur and Grace had the same mannerisms, the same humor, the same way of speaking. Cecilia watched in awe as the two bounced banter off of each other like they were friends, not father and daughter. She had never even thought this type of rtionship was possible. She had always been so distant with her parents that they might as well have been three strangers living in the same property¡ª and even that wasn¡¯t always the case. The only times her and her father usually met were when he needed to scold her for messing up, when he needed to order her around, or the rare times when they ate dinner together as a family, although that had mostly been done inplete silence. ¡°Did you finish grounding the Pecha berries?¡± Grace asked. ¡°I¡¯m done beating this¡­ sugar paste thing.¡± ¡°Just a second. This takes a lot more energy than I thought,¡± Arthur panted. ¡°What? That¡¯s nothing! Just give it to Cece, she¡¯s done with mixing the flour and baking powder.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say. You¡¯re a kid full of energy. I¡¯m forty-seven and I work in an office most of the time.¡± ¡°Berries are actually surprisingly tough,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I think you¡¯d struggle, Grace.¡± ¡°What a betrayal. Just finish it up already, I want to eat!¡± They were in an enormous room with around thirty cooking stations that anyone could use as long as they were booked ahead of time. The Poffin House was originally the first establishment to have invented the world-famous poffins, and they were still famous for making the best ones, but they had diversified their business by giving people the option toe to bake some too, so long as they paid an exorbitant price. She couldn¡¯t really me them, though. They had to make a profit somehow, and every single ingredient was already provided to them ahead of time. Cecilia stared at the recipe the Poffin House had issued them and nodded. They were doing all the steps right so far. There had also been an option to get into a poffin baking ss, but Grace and Arthur had opted to do it alone, because the feeling of adventure would apparently be more fun. How would it be more fun if the end result was bad? They were supposed to eat it afterward! Their mysterious ways of thinking still eluded Cecilia, but she was having a lot of fun. ¡°Grace, you forgot to pre-heat the oven!¡± Arthur panicked. ¡°That was your job! I told you I didn¡¯t know how to do it, I¡¯ve never used an oven before! All you ever taught me was using an Arceus damned microwave.¡± ¡°Come on, kiddo, it¡¯s intuitive. Just twist the dial to one hundred and eighty.¡± ¡°Oh. Wait, really?¡± Ceciliaughed, not caring about the flour that was getting on her clothes. It looked like Grace¡¯s father didn¡¯t share her terrible obliviousness about the most obvious things, but that was a very charming side of her that she was d she had. ¡°Grace can be very blind,¡± Cecilia smiled. ¡°Tell me about it. One time, when she was eight, she¡ª¡± ¡°Dad.¡± ¡°¡ªfollowed another man around a store for at least ten minutes. Gave me a real scare, let me tell you, but we weren¡¯t even wearing the same colored clothes, or anything. When I got her back, did you know what she told me?¡± ¡°Dad, don¡¯t you dare!¡± ¡°She told me that she didn¡¯t even think about that. That¡¯s it. There¡¯s no punch line, or anything. She just started following another man around because she was spacing out. Luckily, he brought her to an employee, and we were reunited soon after, but¡ª¡± Arthur weaved to avoid a hit to the gut. He was surprisingly more agile than he looked, and Cecilia held her girlfriend back while she cackled in her ear. ¡°I bet you were dumb when you were a kid too!¡± Grace yelled. ¡°That¡¯s the beauty of it, kiddo, you¡¯ll never know because you weren¡¯t there. Now let¡¯s get these poffins done.¡± ¡°The next step is¡­ in a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder¡ª wait, I did that already. Um, Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until the batter is smooth¡­¡± Cecilia muttered. ¡°Then we can add the ground berries to the mix and put the whole thing into molds.¡± ¡°This is going to be horrible for my sugar intake,¡± Arthur groaned. ¡ª¡ª ¡°These taste so good!¡± Cecilia squealed as she chewed on the pink poffins. ¡°I told you we didn¡¯t need any instructor!¡± Grace grinned. ¡°Dad, eat another one.¡± ¡°Two are enough for me. When they said human poffins, I didn¡¯t know the main difference was that they just added a boat-load of sugar.¡± ¡°You¡¯re no fun,¡± she pouted. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go to the bathroom, I¡¯ll be back in two minutes. Don¡¯t be weird!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not weird,¡± her dad said. The blond girl ran off, leaving only Cecilia and Arthur. Cecilia felt a surge of nervousness as she finished up another poffin, but she decided not to hide it this time, despite how unnatural that felt. She felt vulnerable. Too vulnerable. ¡°So, Cecilia, I wanted to talk to you a little bit,¡± Arthur started. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, of course.¡± She definitely minded, but how could she even refuse? ¡°Of course, go ahead.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be anything bad, don¡¯t worry. I just have a favor to ask of you. This might seem selfish of me, but take care of Grace. She went and saved you in Mount Cor, so I want you to make it so she never has to be in that much danger ever again. She¡¯ll probably have other dangerous ideas during her career, and when she does, I want you to stop her. Please.¡± That hadn¡¯t been what Cecilia had expected at all. She thought that Arthur would attempt to trip her up with questions about Grace, or test her to see if she deserved his daughter. ¡°My daughter¡¯s ambitious, perfectionist, and even though she likes to pretend she doesn¡¯t have one, she does have an ego,¡± he continued. ¡°She¡¯s already promised me that she wouldn¡¯t take any more needless risks, but I know it¡¯ll be hard for her. I want you to be there to keep her from¡­ rpsing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Cecilia said, feeling more resolute than she ever had. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure she stays safe.¡± Arthur smiled. ¡°Thanks. I can tell you¡¯re a good kid, and that you love her. Just make sure to find joy in other things too.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°When I asked you to tell me about yourself,¡± he specified. ¡°You couldn¡¯t say anything, like there was ack of identity there. That dancing answer felt like a cop-out too, although I¡¯m sure there was some truth to it. I¡¯m rather straightforward, so I¡¯ll tell you that overdependence on one person is never a good thing, dating or not.¡± Cecilia stopped breathing for a few seconds. How astute. Right now, the only person that made life worth living to her was Grace. Even if acknowledging that could be considered mean to her friends, she couldn¡¯t deny the truth. Without her, Cecilia would bepletely and utterly lost. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ think about it.¡± ¡°Good, at least you didn¡¯t brush me off,¡± he said. ¡°Ah, she¡¯s back.¡± Grace ran back toward their cooking station, and she panted, leaning against her knees. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to run back here,¡± Arthur said. ¡°Cece¡­ did he tell you anything weird?¡± Grace huffed. ¡°No, he was very nice about everything,¡± she hurriedly replied. ¡°We should take some of these back to the group.¡± ¡ª¡ª All things considered, Cece¡¯s first meeting with dad had gone very well, and they seemed familiar enough with each other. He also greeted all of my friends when he drove us back to the Center. Denzel seemed very happy to see him, and he thanked him again for letting him stay at our apartment all those months ago. Even Pauline was polite, funnily enough. I almost expected her not to be, but maybe I had underestimated her. I didn¡¯t stay long, though, and after giving away most of our poffins, Justin and I hopped on a bus to route 208. His gym battle was fast approaching, and I could tell he was getting nervous again. This was the first time he¡¯d try out his new style of battling in a high-stakes battle, so I couldn¡¯t me him. Plus, there was also his new rivalry with Pauline. The two had battled a few times before arriving at Hearthome, and the score was currently 3-2 in Pauline¡¯s favor, but funnily enough, theing gym battle would probably count as a battle too, and the winner would be the one who dealt with Fantina the easiest. ¡°So you¡¯ve got the whole n down, right?¡± I asked him. ¡°No holes?¡± ¡°None that I can see,¡± he nodded. ¡°Okay, but things will go sideways, so don¡¯t get toofortable,¡± I warned him. It was a n he had made himself, and I had been very impressed. Plus, he had taken to my method of studying a gym leader¡¯s Pokemon in-depth before the battle after I helped him transcribe it all on paper since he found it easier to focus and learn that way. It wouldn¡¯t be as good as watching the videos themselves, but at least he¡¯d know the moves she¡¯d use, and I had spoken to him about some of the different tactics ghosts could employ. ¡°Rain Dance still needs a lot of work since I taught it to Lombre via TM, but it¡¯s enough for Swift Swim to activate,¡± Justin remarked. ¡°Growlithe managed to learn Agility and Crunch, and I¡¯ve perfected the trick with Sandile to hit flying opponents.¡± ¡°Great! Can you show me Audino?¡± He nodded and immediately released the normal type, which greeted us with a happy cry. The Pokemon was shorter than I thought it to be, but from my few interactions with him, he was an absolute sweetheart. ¡°We couldn¡¯t get Wish down, but that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Right, because he¡¯s a pivot,¡± I nodded. Audino was a pivot. A Pokemon that could be used to switch up the tempo of the battle and buy precious time while Justin could think of something on the fly if anything went wrong. The fact that he had the Regenerator ability and that he was a normal type meant that he was perfect for the role in this battle. Audino smiled and did a little twirl to celebrate, something that seemed to be his signature move. ¡°At least we¡¯ve got Life Dew, although he came with the move. That means we can buy even more time if needed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget to win, though,¡± I grinned. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve got a n. A path to victory.¡± The words gave me goosebumps. Seeing Justin like this when I knew what he had been like before the battle against Gardenia was astonishing, but I was proud of how far he hade. All he needed to do was prove himself out there, and I was sure he¡¯d seed. I watched as he trained his team, and I used the asion to train mine too, although I mostly spent the time perfecting the moves we had instead of teaching new ones. Only Larvitar was attempting to learn new ones, which were Rock Slide and Crunch, a natural progression from Smack Down and Bite. I was hoping that I¡¯d be able to use her at the Sceon tournament, which meant I needed to be a little harder on her than usual. When Justin and I reached the Center again, Pauline had summoned us all to her room, which she was now sharing with Emilia since she wasn¡¯t a trainer anymore. ¡°So what¡¯s going on?¡± Denzel asked. He¡¯d been thest one to arrive. ¡°Another party?¡± ¡°No. Mommy¡¯sing to Hearthome to visit next week.¡± ¡°Another parent?¡± I said. ¡°Your mom¡¯s cool, right?¡± ¡°Of course she¡¯s cool, she¡¯s the coolest mom in the Arceus damned world,¡± she affirmed loudly. ¡°She had promised toe see me, but something else must be going on. She wouldn¡¯t say what it was over the phone, but I could tell.¡± Cecilia¡¯s expression turned somber. ¡°Harvey and rence.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Pauline nodded. ¡°I think she¡¯sing to warn us about them.¡± ¡°Should we stay hidden, then?¡± Emilia asked, her face wrought with panic. ¡°Something terrible could happen again!¡± ¡°We have Candice¡¯s number¡­ maybe we can ask for help?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s probably a long shot, though.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry,¡± Pauline said, grabbing Emi¡¯s hand. ¡°If it was really that bad, mommy would have said something right away. I think there are just a lot of moving parts right now that we¡¯ll have to deal with soon.¡± ¡°Plus, it¡¯s me they¡¯ll be after,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Potentially Grace.¡± ¡°But they might target your friends to make you do what they want,¡± Denzel added, causing her to wince. ¡°What about Abel?¡± ¡°Still no signs of him anywhere, it¡¯s like he disappeared from the region,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Could he be working with them again?¡± ¡°This is mostly a vibe-based thing, so it could be wrong,¡± Pauline started. ¡°But from the short interaction I had with Abel, it seemed that he was the type that prioritized money over everything. He said that it was just business. Harvey and rence won¡¯t be paying him anytime soon, that¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°So we won¡¯t have to deal with him, at least,¡± Justin sighed in relief. ¡°Look, I know it sucks that she wouldn¡¯t say anything on the phone, but the best thing we can do for now is wait for her toe and exin,¡± Pauline said. ¡°And it¡¯s not like they cane after us publicly. They¡¯re under a lot more scrutiny than before. If they¡¯re too tant about it, they¡¯ll be arrested, important CEO or not.¡± I sighed. It would have been too easy if they had just given up. I clenched a fist and stared out the window. Something was brewing. That night, the Poketch Company contacted me, and our meeting would take ce three days after Justin and Pauline¡¯s gym battle. A few dayster, the day was finally there. Not only would they be battling Fantina, but Chase would also be back. Unfortunately, we had gotten no signs from Louis, and we were getting very worried, but there was nothing we could do. I could only look forward. My own battle would be very soon.
Chapter 118 Chapter 118 CHAPTER 118 ¡°Feeling nervous?¡± Pauline flicked her hair back and looked at her teacher with a smug smile. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ve trained for this, why would I feel nervous? I¡¯ll win.¡± Her other friends had already gone to the stands to watch her battle. Cecilia, however, had stayed back to offer her words of encouragement andst-minute advice. Time was running out, though, and Pauline was just about to go into the waiting room. ¡°I was just making sure,¡± her teacher shrugged. ¡°Nervousness isn¡¯t always bad. Grace says it can sharpen your wits and keep you attentive.¡± ¡°Nervousness isn¡¯t the way I roll,¡± Pauline answered. ¡°Well, good luck then,¡± Cecilia smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t deal in luck, Cece, I deal in violence.¡± Pauline grinned, and they hugged each other. Cecilia waved as she left toward the stands. Hopefully the others would have saved a seat for her. She gave her ticket to the gym trainer that stood at the waiting room¡¯s door at all times to let trainers pass through, and she was finally let in. In minutes, she would be fighting a gym battle, and by Arceus, it had been too long since herst. She had missed it terribly, and the anticipation was keeping her from standing still. The trainer that had just battled barrelled through the waiting room with tears in her eyes, but she shrugged and kept fiddling with her Pokeball. ¡°Pauline King?¡± A gym trainer called out. She nodded, and he outfitted her with the usual microphone. ¡°Fantina¡¯s break is over, so you¡¯re up. Good luck.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wish me luck, I find that insulting.¡± The gym trainer frowned, but paid her no mind. He probably dealt with much stranger characters than she. Before going, Pauline made sure that her clothes were all in order. There couldn¡¯t even be a wrinkle out of ce. She represented her mother¡¯s fashion brand, after all, and she was wearing a dress that thepany had created. Pauline¡¯s fingers trembled in excitement as she stepped into the tform. Fantina did the same, and it was the girl¡¯s first time seeing her purple theme and strange haircut in all of its glory. Her arena was dim and gloomy¡ª so much so, in fact that Pauline had to squint to properly see some areas. The most disturbing thing about it, though, was that it waspletely barren. There were no spots to hide in, no trees, no hills, no rocks. It was just a smooth, t, earthen surface. There was just a singrke for challengers to dump their water types into if needed. ¡°Wee, challenger. This will be a three-on-three battle with one switch-in allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in battle, and I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t kill my ghosts. Now, send out your Pokemon,¡± the gym leader said with a thick Kalosian ent. Pauline smiled at the fact that Fantina would just appreciate it if she didn¡¯t kill her ghosts, and she grabbed her first Pokeball. She had followed Cecilia¡¯s path, but the two had started to diverge, and that split was widening the more Pauline discovered how she wanted to battle. Emting was well and good, but finding what differentiated her from her teacher as a trainer had been wonderful for her growth. Cecilia dealt in power. She wanted to blow past her enemies so easily that they wouldn¡¯t have a chance to even fight back, and she wanted her battles to be perfect¡ª just like Grace, although they obviously had different views on what constituted a perfect battle. Pauline didn¡¯t need any of that. She now knew why she hadn¡¯t really enjoyed the gauntlets Cecilia had made her go through, which consisted of beating as many trainers as possible without getting hit. Pauline dealt in violence, and she would let her Pokemon get in the thick of it, wing and tearing their opponents apart. So what if her Pokemon took damage in the process? At the end of the day, they¡¯d be the ones left standing. Pauline released her Rufflet, who announced her presence with a defiant, loud squawk that permeated throughout the arena. Fantina sent out a Sableye, and at the behest of the referee, the battle finally began. ¡°Hone ws!¡± Pauline yelled. ¡°Fake out.¡± Before Rufflet even had a chance to sharpen her ws, Sableye sunk into the floor with a loud, gurglingugh, reappearing behind her in barely a second and pping its hands around her face. The flying type looked on,pletely stunned as Sableye wreathed its hand in a dark aura and mmed her away toward Fantina¡¯s side of the field. There was a surprising amount of power behind the dark type¡¯s tiny body. ¡°Hone ws,¡± Pauline repeated as soon as Ruffletposed herself. The bird¡¯s ws shone as they grew to a vicious size. ¡°Now, Crush w!¡± Sableye was not a true ghost, and therefore, normal type attacks would work against it. Pauline smirked as Rufflet flew toward the dark type. She wasn¡¯t the fastest flier, but she certainly packed a punch when her attacks connected. ¡°Dodge with Shadow Sneak,¡± Fantina said. Sableye sunk into the shadows, narrowly avoiding Rufflet¡¯s attack, and reappeared a few feet away. ¡°Keep going!¡± ¡°Sucker Punch.¡± The ghost type grinned, exposing its sharp, yellow teeth that shone like gold, and instantly blurred next to Rufflet. Pauline smirked. ¡°Crush w.¡± The order hade just as Sableye hurled another darkened fist toward. Rufflet took the hit but anchored herself to the ground by hooking her ws into the hardened earth. Even Sableye looked on in surprise, and that was all Rufflet needed. She wrapped a w around Sableye¡¯s neck, digging deep, and she squeezed. Sableye cried out in pain and iled, which sounded more like a nasty, mockingugh than a scream of distress. ¡°Knock Off, then escape with Shadow Sneak,¡± Fantina ordered. A dark aura covered Sableye¡¯s hand, and Pauline recognized it as the move it had used at the start of the battle. ¡°Stand strong,¡± she told her Rufflet. With one foot wrapped around Sableye¡¯s neck, and another anchoring her to the ground, Rufflet stood there, taking hit after hit as she kept crushing the ghost type under her ws. Ah, there it is, Pauline thought to herself as she practically shivered in satisfaction. Violence. The referee looked on at Rufflet with a disturbed stare. ¡°Sableye is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your second Pokemon.¡± After thirty seconds of thisplete beatdown, Sableye had gone limp, and Fantina recalled it. It had taken even less time than Pauline had thought, and that was probably thanks to Rufflet¡¯s Sheer Force, which boosted Crush ws¡¯ power even further. The flying type cried triumphantly and beat her wings, ignoring her bloodied bruises and wounds. Fantina¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as she sent out a Golett. At first, it just stood there like a statue, but then the golem-like Pokemon¡¯s eyes and rune on its chest came alive with a pale yellow light, and it let out a low rumbling sound that reminded Pauline of an engine starting up, and strangely enough, rubbing stones together. Or maybe y? Another trainer probably would have switched, believing that Golett¡¯s strong armor would prove too much for Rufflet to ovee. Pauline wasn¡¯t that trainer. ¡°Aerial Ace!¡± She yelled. Rufflet jumped into the sky, taking flight. Her beak elongated, and streaks of air surrounded her as she flew toward the Golett. ¡°Iron Defense,¡± Fantina said, then she muttered something else that Pauline didn¡¯t catch even with the microphone. She wouldn¡¯t hesitate. It was toote to back down now. The ground type¡¯s body shimmered like armor, but Rufflet wasn¡¯t intimidated. She spun around, turning into a drill as she approached Golett, and the Aerial Ace staggered her opponent. The golem wasted no time, though, and as if it wasn¡¯t affected by the pain, Golett simply grabbed Rufflet with both of its hands, keeping herpletely still. ¡°Thunder Punch,¡± the gym leader coolly said. Pauline clicked her tongue, but it wasn¡¯t over yet. Golett slowly and methodically lifted a first, opting to hold onto Rufflet by holding her under its armpit instead, and that was what they needed. Rufflet wasn¡¯t in a position to hit the ghost type with Crush w or Aerial Ace, but they still had Wing Attack. ¡°Fight your way out!¡± She yelled. Rufflet squirmed, and her wings turnedpletely white, but she struggled to actually get them to hit anything. Golett was holding onto her too tightly, so the attacks only dealt superficial damage. It had taken ten seconds for Golett to gather the electricity on its fist, but they had all the time in the world. The ground type mmed it against Rufflet¡¯s face multiple times, shocking her, and its face or body wasn¡¯t even moving. The Pokemon¡¯s movements were mechanical, as if Golett wasn¡¯t actually alive, but a robot going through the motions. There was nothing they could do. Rufflet fainted in Golett¡¯s arm. ¡°Rufflet is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon.¡± ¡°That was great,¡± Pauline whispered as she recalled Rufflet. ¡°You showed everyone how tough you were.¡± She grabbed Charmeleon¡¯s Pokeball and released her. The fire type roared, spitting out a stream of mes into the sky that illuminated the entire arena. A fire type against a ground type might have seemed foolish. Pauline could have used Gothorita to whittle Golett down as much as possible before doing so, but Pauline enjoyed the thrill that she felt throughout her body. Living on the edge was what she chased, and her strategy was the definition of living on the edge. ¡°methrower!¡± ¡°Get close,¡± Fantina said. Charmeleon screamed out her attack, and a spear of mespletely engulfed Golett¡¯s body. The ground type didn¡¯t seem to care whatsoever, and it slowly and methodically advanced toward Charmeleon. After ten seconds, the fire type had to take a break, and her opponent¡¯s body was charred, but seemingly unaffected by the mes, and it kept walking forward. Ghost typing aside, was this thing even alive? Probably not. ¡°Again,¡± Pauline said. The whole process repeated itself four times until Golett was close enough to pose a threat. Even Fantina seemed somewhat confused by the fact that Pauline was just letting her Charmeleon stand there when it was bound to get hit by an attack. ¡°Stomping Tantrum,¡± Fantina said. Golett stopped in its tracks, ignoring the fifth methrower as it methodically lifted a foot and mmed it against the floor. This wasn¡¯t like the previous Stomping Tantrums Pauline had ever seen. Shockwaves traveled below the floor, lifting rocks and earth high into the sky and fracturing the entire arena. The smoke, dirt, and debris prevented Pauline from seeing if her Pokemon was fine or not, and Golett was still going. She chuckled slightly when the entire arena lit up, forcing her to cover her eyes. Charmeleon was releasing a continuous stream of white-hot mes that was so powerful it cleared enough dust for Pauline to see what was happening. Golett¡¯s body had somehow caught on fire, and the light in its rune and eyes was flickering. Its movement turned from deliberate and methodical to sudden and jittery, like it was glitching out. The wooden straps wrapping around its body had been charredpletely ck. One Stomping Tantrum had been enough to trigger ze. Pauline breathed out a sigh of relief as Golett¡¯s eyes turned off while the rune on its chest continued to flicker and Charmeleon continued using methrower all around the arena. ¡°Calm down,¡± she told her Pokemon. The fire type¡¯s head whirred toward her trainer, showing her bloodshot eyes. Constant, hot smoke wasing out of her mouth with every breath. Charmeleon nodded tightly, but Pauline could tell she was itching to fight. Pauline could only dream of what she would be capable of when she reached Turtonator¡¯s level. She had gambled, and it had almost not worked out. That Stomping Tantrum had probably been a few seconds from taking Charmeleon out. But life was about results, not what could have happened. Who cared if it had beenpletely reckless? Golett¡¯s rune at the center of its chest finally turned off, and even though it still stood, that meant it had fainted. ¡°Golett is unable to battle,¡± the referee said. ¡°Leader Fantina, send out your final Pokemon.¡± Fantina let out a relieved sigh as she released a Misdreavus. The dim lights above the gyms flickered as the ghost rose high into the sky. Its form was loose, and it was barely kept together. Its hair looked like wispy blue mes, and its red ne shone in the darkness. The ghost grinned at its opponent creepily and spoke, letting out a voice that bordered on theirnguage, yet was disturbingly indiscernible. It was exactly like her encounter with Mismagius. Pauline felt her throat tighten and felt a sudden chill. Pauline inhaled and swept her arm. She was no girl. ¡°Charmeleon, Dragon Rage!¡± ¡°Disappear.¡± A stream of blue mes flew toward Misdreavus, who simply dissolved into thin air. Charmeleonshed out, mmed its tail against the floor, which was still uneven and fractured from the Stomping Tantrum. Her mobility would be restricted, but so long as they got more hits in than their opponent, Pauline would be satisfied. ¡°Watch out! It¡¯s going to appear¡ª¡± Charmeleon¡¯s eyes flickered, and she shot out a methrower toward the sky where Misdreavus had just been. Cecilia had warned her about this. This was an illusion. Misdreavus rematerialized right above the fire type¡¯s head, and smoke began to emanate from Charmeleon body as she convulsed. Pauline recognized a Hex when she saw it, especially with how much Grace used the move. Charmeleon was at the end of her rope. ¡°Above you!¡± Somehow, Charmeleon managed to make out her words. The fire type¡¯s head snapped up, and she jumped as dark energy gathered in her mouth. She had bought the Crunch TM for her, and it was time to put the move to work. Misdreavus screamed as a part of her body was snatched away and dissolved in Charmeleon¡¯s mouth, and it started to leak ghostly energy. ¡°methrower!¡± The closer Charmeleon got to fainting, the more powerful her fire type attacks would get. The methrower came out faster this time, and it consumed Misdreavus¡¯ entire body before the ghost had a chance to slip out and disappear again. Its shape was outlined with mes as it fled, still burning from the attack. Pauline grinned. ¡°You can see it! methrower!¡± Her smile disappeared when Charmeleon copsed on the floor. ¡°Charmeleon is unable to battle. Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± She had been pushed far, but Charmeleon had done a wonderful job. As long as they could extend how long she could be under ze¡¯s power, then Pauline knew she¡¯d be nigh impossible to beat when under its influence. She recalled her Pokemon and congratted her. It was Gothorita¡¯s turn now. Pauline released the psychic type, who looked exasperated¡ª probably at the fact that they hadn¡¯t won yet. Pauline had started letting Gothorita speak to her in small doses, and she had a very fun, yet exigent outlook on things. ¡°Disappear and Shadow Ball,¡± Fantina calmly ordered. ¡°Get ready,¡± Pauline exhaled. Gothoria had the type disadvantage, but it was nothing a little bit of elbow grease couldn¡¯t fix. Stopping the attack with Confusion wasn¡¯t feasible either¡ª Ghost type attacks didn¡¯t work like that. Their path couldn¡¯t be altered by psychic powers. This time, Misdreavus appeared to her Pokemon¡¯s left, having already gathered a huge Shadow Ball. ¡°Psyshock!¡± Balls of psychic energy gathered around Misdreavus, who released her Shadow Ball. The ghost type attack hit, but the Psyshock also did, and the balls all converged onto Misdreavus¡¯ body. ¡°Pain Split,¡± Fantina continued. Both Gothorita and Misdreavus glowed with a pale, gray light, and some of the damage the ghost type had suffered throughout the battle was transferred onto Gothorita. Pauline clicked her tongue. Dirty tactics like that were annoying, but she had a trick up her sleeve as well. ¡°Payback!¡± Payback was the other TM she had bought before the battle, and Gothorita had just been hit. Dark energy surrounded both of her hands, allowing her to hold onto Misdreavus¡¯ ghostly form, and she gripped it by the neck. ¡°Beat the shit out of it,¡± Pauline said. There was a nice finality to those words. She smirked as her Pokemon executed her order to a tee,pletely bludgeoning Misdreavus until there was only a speck left. Fantina recalled it, giving up on the battle. Gothorita stared at her trainer with an annoyed expression. How weak. You should have been able to deal with that ghostly thing without me, Pauline. Pauline bit her lip and barely managed not to pass out. Before Gothorita could even say anything else, she recalled her and made her way toward Fantina to pick up her money, TM, but most importantly, her third badge. Yes, Pauline mused as her head still pounded. Violence would do just fine. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Don¡¯t forget, Justin. You¡¯re a good trainer. You¡¯ve trained for this, now go and win.¡± Those were thest words Grace in the stands had spoken to Justin before sending him off. Pauline had just won her battle, showcasing what she and her Pokemon had learned these past few weeks under Cecilia¡¯s tutge, and now it was his turn to do the same. His teacher had full faith in him, which did more for Justin¡¯s confidence than any strategizing or training he had done to prepare for this battle. Just knowing that someone believed in his skills as a trainer made his heart swell with pride that he never thought he would have felt regarding anything Pokemon-battling rted. And yet, here he was. Excited but also incredibly nervous about the battle that was toe. He came across Pauline when stepped into the waiting room. The girl grinned at him and held out her fist. ¡°A fistbump?¡± Justin muttered. ¡°How simple.¡± Still, he couldn¡¯t help but smile and return the favor. He was even more surprised when Pauline pulled him into a hug. ¡°Kick ass out there, Justin. I won¡¯t tolerate anything else,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll certainly try,¡± he answered her. ¡°You should have seen Grace and Cecilia up in the stands.¡± ¡°Really? What¡¯d they say?¡± ¡°Cecilia was proud of you, although she disapproved of your¡­ unsophisticated methods, she called it. She was giddy when she saw how far you hade with ze, though.¡± ¡°I knew that¡¯d win her over,¡± she smirked smugly. ¡°What about the gremlin?¡± ¡°Grace waspletely beside herself,¡± Justin exined. ¡°She could barely look at the battle. She asked me to tell you that if Fantina hadn¡¯t held back and used more illusionary tactics, then you possibly would have lost, and that you should stop taking so many risks.¡± ¡°Ugh, she¡¯s such a killjoy,¡± the girl rolled her eyes. ¡°At the end of the day, I won. I know I have things to iron out, but I won¡¯t be following her path like you are.¡± Justin shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve already diverged quite far from Cece.¡± ¡°I wonder what you have in store,¡± she said. ¡°Remember this, Justin. We¡¯re rivals, you and I. We¡¯ll push each other forward until we no longer have to stand in our teachers¡¯ shadows.¡± Justin felt goosebumps all along his skin. ¡°Now go and win this,¡± Pauline said as she left. ¡°Our teachers¡¯ shadow, huh?¡± Justin whispered to himself as he sat down to wait for Fantina¡¯s break to finish. He had the pieces all assembled in his head. A path to victory, he called it. Unlike Grace, who attempted to n everything down to every, meticulous detail, Justin wasn¡¯t good enough to do it, and it wasn¡¯t for ack of trying. Sometimes, he still wondered how she managed to pack so much information in her brain so quickly. Then, there was also the fact that she continuously tracked a trainer¡¯s bodynguage during the battle, which she had tried to get him to do. Justin was an introvert. He wasn¡¯t good enough to figure out what people were thinking just by looking at them, and even if he could, it would be way too much to keep track of. Grace was simply on another level, but that did not mean that the situation was lost. And it did not mean that he would have to be weak forever. A gym trainer readied Justin for his battle, and the boy stepped onto the tform, rolling his shoulders to loosen his nerves. Justin could not know every single quirk of every possible Pokemon Fantina would use against him. Grace looked at every powerful opponent with a microscope, and Justin had decided to broaden the scale. A microscope would overwhelm him with details, so why not use a magnifying ss instead? He had a set of conditions to follow. Conditions that would lead him to victory, if everything worked out as he had hoped. Fantina took a deep breath before starting her speech. The battle would be a four-on-four with two switch-ins allowed. Two switches were suitable. That meant that Audino could be used as a pivot twice. Justin grabbed Lombre¡¯s Pokeball and sent him out. The grass type let out a small, gentle croak. Even after having evolved, he was still a soft-spoken, aloof Pokemon that Justin struggled to understand sometimes, but they hade far since his battle in Gardenia¡¯s gym battle. Fantina released a Drifloon, who took to the skies. It sounded like a man¡¯s voice, but strange, distorted, and having inhaled a boatload of helium. ¡°Rain Dance,¡± Justin ordered. Lombre pped his hands, and thin, transparent clouds gathered high up on the battlefield. Small droplets of rain began to fall down. A pitiful Rain Dance, all things considered, especially whenpared to what Gardenia¡¯s Lombre were capable of, but so long as it was capable of triggering Swift Swim, Justin¡¯s first condition would have been fulfilled. ¡°Use Gust,¡± Fantina said. Drifloon¡¯s strings shook wildly in the air, and a small tornado appeared below the flying type. With an echoing, high-pitched scream, it sent the wind toward Lombre. ¡°Dodge and Bubblebeam!¡± Justin yelled. Lombre rammed a foot against the floor and then pushed. The water type ran faster than Justin had ever seen him in training, using his knuckles and feet to propel himself. He skirted left, easily avoiding the bulk of the Gust, and angled his head upward, aiming directly at Drifloon. ¡°Stockpile,¡± Fantina calmly said. Drifloon sharply inhaled, growing slightly in size as the first half of the Bubblebeam hit. Justin had already known about Stockpile, just like he knew all of Drifloon¡¯s moves, courtesy of Grace¡¯s help. What he also knew was that the ghost type employed one main strategy against opponents more powerful than itself, which Lombre clearly was. ¡°Keep attacking!¡± Justin yelled again. Fantina said nothing, but even without her orders, Drifloon gathered a Shadow Ball in front of its mouth, quickly sending it forward. The bubbles caused it to explode mid-air, creating a plume of ghostly, purple smoke. Justin was holding back. He was waiting for his second condition to appear, and then he would¡ª The trainer gasped as Drifloon flew forward, emerging from the smoke and rushing toward Lombre. ¡°Run away!¡± He stammered. Even though he had expected it, it had still caught him off-guard. Topensate for its mediocre attack, that Drifloon knew Explosion, and its goal was to suicide charge into opponents stronger than itself to take them down with it. Even if he somehow managed to take it down before it could use it, its ability Aftermath meant that it would almost always trade one for one. ¡°Knock it away! Bubblebeam!¡± ¡°Minimize,¡± Fantina ordered. Drifloon shrunk, narrowly avoiding the next stream of bubbles that certainly would have hit just seconds prior. Lombre was faster in the rain, but Drifloon was slowly catching up. The boy¡¯s leg began to bounce, and he chewed on his thumb nail. The condition had been met, but doubt was starting to creep in. What if it didn¡¯t work? What should I do? The question rung out in his mind dozens of times in seconds, overwhelming his entire thought process. Stalling was well and good¡ª and he was currently wasting time by running and forcing Drifloon to avoid Bubblebeams and Leech Seeds, but he needed to win. He wanted to win. ¡°You took too long to make a decision.¡± Justin heard Grace¡¯s voice as if she was standing behind him, and his leg stood still. Enough with the indecisiveness! That was Justin¡¯s biggest weakness, and he had always struggled to stimmy it. He was tired of pausing before every decision, wondering if it was the correct or wrong one. He just needed to act. ¡°Lombre, stop!¡± The grass type was on the opposite side of the arena now, and he stopped, sliding across the wet earth. ¡°Drifloon, Explode.¡± For every action the enemy took, a cost should be inflicted. Grace had etched the lesson into his mind time and time again. He might have wasted too much time, but his winning condition was still open. He just needed to put his foot in the door before it closed. ¡°Two Knock Offs! Use both of your hands!¡± Justin held his breath. He hadn¡¯t even known if the order he had just issued was possible. Lombre had never used two Knock Offs as once, and yet it was his only path. Drifloon¡¯s body started to swell and expand as darkness surrounded Lombre¡¯s hands. The water type pped its hands against the exploding Drifloon, and Justin shut his eyes when he heard the detonation that made his ears ring. After a few seconds, he half-opened one eye and saw that he still couldn¡¯t discern any shapes in the smoke. There were two possibilities. Either the Explosion had gone off, and Lombre would be down for the count. Or the Knock Offs had been enough, and only Aftermath had gone into effect, meaning that Lombre would have made it. Justin squinted, desperately trying to figure out if he was having to deal with the former, or thetter, and he exhaled as he felt the weight of a mountain drop off his shoulders. Lombre was bruised, burned, battered. But he was standing. ¡°Drifloon is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your second Pokemon.¡± Fantina returned the popped balloon and sent out a golden mask that dropped to the ground with a loud thud. A thin shadow grew from the mask, forming into a head and two small fists, along with two red beady eyes that appeared to be crying. The Pokemon was constantly screaming with a voice of a child. As if it was in constant agony. It was a Yamask. And it sounded like a child being tortured. Justin snapped out of his stupor. It was only the third time in his life seeing a real ghost, and the second time had been right before this, during Pauline¡¯s battle. Ghosts couldn¡¯t cry. Disturbing as it may have been, it wasn¡¯t real. ¡°Lombre, keep it up,¡± he praised. He considered switching to pivot, but that would mean that he would only be able to do it once. No, Lombre would need to finish his work here. ¡°Razor Leaf!¡± ¡°Dodge, then Will-O-Wisp.¡± Yamask phased out of existence, reappearing a few feet to the left as he dodged Lombre¡¯s Razor Leaf. The ghost type summoned a series of small purple ming orbs, each screeching as loud as Pauline¡¯s Rufflet, and they rushed toward Lombre. ¡°Hit and run!¡± The floor was now so wet that Lombre could skid across it, and he was getting faster as the rain kept umting. The grass type skated across the ground, sending out Razor Leaves and Bubblebeams to hit Yamask, but only a fraction of them did. Ghosts were simply too good at dodging attacks. Yamask retaliated with the asional Night Shade or Shadow Ball, but Lombre was too quick now. Stalling was working exactly like Justin had envisioned it. It wasn¡¯t just about having bulky Pokemon that could take hits and survive. Speed could work as well. Unfortunately, Justin¡¯s joy was short-lived. The Will-O-Wisps followed him like they had a mind of their own, and they even tried to cooperate to trap him. Lombre was getting cornered. ¡°Water Gun! Extinguish them!¡± Water Gun was weaker than Bubblebeam, but it¡¯d be better at stopping fires. Lombre drifted across the ground, wing the floor to reposition himself, and shot out a high-pressure jet of water toward the purple mes¡ª It didn¡¯t work. The Will-O-Wisps giggled at him, and they all entered Lombre¡¯s body, creating a cold, purple me that would permanently burn him and lower his attack power. That was one of Justin¡¯s weaknesses. What good was it to know the Pokemons¡¯ moves if he didn¡¯t know how if a particr attack would counter them or not as Grace could? Justin clicked his tongue, lifting his arm. ¡°Start picking up speed again and attack!¡± The path was narrowing, but it was still there. Lombre croaked, started to run, and then skate. Yamask disappeared like he knew it would, and then it reappeared on the floor, anchored to its golden mask. ¡°Now, Lombre!¡± The bubbles rammed past the ghost, exploding inside of its body and scattering its form. Justin awaited its reappearance again with bated breath and¡ª A Shadow Ball buried itself into Lombre¡¯s side, and the water type fell to the ground. Justin inhaled sharply. Where had it evene from? ¡°Lombre is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon.¡± Justin recalled his Lombre. It was time to go through the first pivot, and he needed to buy him time so he could figure out how Yamask had just used Shadow Ball while being invisible. ¡°Audino.¡± The beige and pink Pokemon squealed and twirled in ce, blinking and striking a pose when he was done. This was a perfect situation for Justin. Other than Will-O-Wisp, Yamask only knew ghost type moves, meaning that Audino would be invulnerable. Plus, her being burned wouldn¡¯t matter. She wasn¡¯t a damage dealer, she was a pivot, and Regenerator and Life Dew would keep her healthy. ¡°Disarming Voice!¡± Justin said after swallowing nervously. The normal type inhaled and let out a harrowing scream. Normally, it would affect a Pokemon and stop them from attacking, but Yamask seemingly didn¡¯t care. Another thing Justin could have picked up on if his researching skills had been up to par. ¡°Will-O-Wisp,¡± Fantina smoothly ordered. At least he had dealt a minimal amount of damage. Yamask released the screaming mes once more, and they rushed toward Audino. ¡°Don¡¯t bother dodging.¡± The mes entered Audino¡¯s body, and he was lit aze with purple fire. What would Fantina do now? Justin couldn¡¯t think as quickly as Grace did, which was why he had sent Audino out in the first ce. Audino was a pivot, but he was also his main counter against true ghosts that usuallycked any move variety at his level. He had studied every single one, and their movesets. Yamask could do nothing to him, leaving Justin enough time to try to figure out what had happened to Lombre. But he knew that the gym leader would eventually switch out, and she did, sending out a Honedge instead. Justin sighed. A Honedge wasn¡¯t someone Audino could stall against, and Disarming Voice would deal pitiful damage. Even if it wasn¡¯t a true ghost, and normal type attacks wouldnd, its steel typing meant that those would be useless as well. She had truly countered him with one switch. Buying time to figure out how to counter Yamask was no longer an option. ¡°Get in there and sh,¡± the gym leader said. ¡°Disarming Voice!¡± Justin screamed out. He wanted to test out one more effect, and Audino¡¯s Regenerator meant that he could afford to be reckless. The normal type yelled again, and just as Justin expected, Honedge was affected by the attack. It shed across Audino¡¯s belly, drawing blood, but didn¡¯t go as deep as it otherwise would have. True ghosts and ghost types were fundamentally different, it seemed. That meant that he could do this. ¡°y Nice!¡± Audino smiled as his eyes glittered slightly, entrancing Honedge and making it lose its will to fight for a few short seconds. The effect Justin was after, though, was that it would lower its attack for the foreseeable future. The boy recalled his Audino and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Go, Sandile!¡± He yelled out. The ground type immediately sunk into the ground with Dig. The conditions had been met for Sandile to take down Honedge. Justin was sure of it. Now all he needed to do was implement their new strategy against levitating or flying Pokemon. ¡°Fly up,¡± Fantina said. ¡°Sand Tomb.¡± Far below Honedge, the earth began to turn and twist like a whirlpool. Fantina stared at Justin as she awaited his next move. It wasn¡¯t like Honedge could do anything until Sandile was out of the ground. Grace had, however warned him that true ghosts could slip underground and attack. The trainer waited for the Sand Tomb to reach its maximum size and velocity¡­ ¡°Now!¡± Sandile¡¯s head popped out in the middle of the Sand Tomb, and the crocodile screamed, lifting the sand into the air like a tornado and toward Honedge. ¡°Autotomize and dodge.¡± Honedge¡¯s body became sleek, and the sword sped up drastically. It narrowly avoided the flying Sand Tomb and flew toward the center of the arena. ¡°sh it.¡± Justin¡¯s eyes widened. He had believed that Fantina would just escape, but it seemed that she wanted to take advantage of the fact that Sandile needed to unbury to manipte the earth above ground. He had no choice, then. It would cancel out Audino¡¯s y Nice, but if he could get Honedge tond in the Sand Tomb and get stuck in the sand¡­ ¡°Swagger!¡± With a provoking cry, Sandile confused Honedge, but also infuriated the steel type. The sword blurred, rushing toward the Sand Tomb, but Fantina stayed silent, not bothering to call out in hope of snapping it out of its confusion. Unfortunately, the sh hit before Sandile could retreat back into the ground. Honedge had flown past the flying Sand Tomb without a care about the damage it was taking. Sandile screamed as Honedge continued to attack, forcefully dragging the ground type back up with its attacks every time it tried to sink deeper into the ground, but it also had no regards for its own health, not caring about hitting itself or being hit by the Sand Tomb. Justin grabbed his Pokeball. Without Sandile, his path to victory would copse. Even if he was creating a cost like Grace had taught him, he wasn¡¯t willing to take a risk thatrge. But he did not recall his Sandile. Instead, light covered the dark type¡¯s body, and he grew, turning into a bipedal Pokemon. Krokorok grabbed Honedge with its newly formed hands and Crunched without Justin¡¯smand. Honedge copsed into the Sand Tomb. ¡°Honedge is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your third Pokemon.¡± Justin could barely contain his excitement. An evolution, right when he had needed one? That was incredibly lucky. His path remained open. Fantina released a Bramblin next. It was a jagged, thorny tumbleweed with two ghastly eyes floating at its hollow center. Justin averted his gaze away from them. Looking into those hateful eyes sent shivers down his spine. Fantina wasted no time issuing her nextmand. ¡°Leech Seed.¡± ¡°Burrow!¡± What Justin had failed to realize, however, was that due to Krokorok¡¯s new form and height, the ground type was slow to get underground. The seeds hit Krokorok in the neck before he managed to slip underground. ¡°Sand Tomb again!¡± No matter what Justin did, Krokorok would slowly weaken until he fainted, so he could only deal as much damage as possible. The ground below Bramblin liquefied and spun, trapping it¡ª ¡°Rollout out of there,¡± Fantina said. With the sound of crackling branches, Bramblin acquiesced and started rolling out of the Sand Tomb as it slowly but surely gained speed. Justin clenched a fist. He could either have Krokorok keep harassing from underground or¡ª No! He couldn¡¯t think as fast as Grace, so he had to act now. ¡°Crunch!¡± He bellowed. Krokorok burst from his Sand Tomb, sending sand high into the sky, and bit into one of Bramblin¡¯s branches. Fantina ordered the ghost type to use Bullet Seed, and they all hit, but Krokorok wouldn¡¯t let go. He mmed the tumbleweed-like Pokemon into the Sand Tomb, burying it into the liquid sand until it fainted. ¡°Bramblin is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± It was back to Yamask, and Justin still hadn¡¯t figured anything out. His path was still wide open, and he had three¡ª Two Pokemon left. ¡°Krokorok is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your third Pokemon.¡± The abuse from Honedge, the Leech Seed, and the Bullet Seed had been too much for Krokorok to handle, even with his evolution. Justin recalled him and sighed. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but he knew that the battle was won. He sent out Audino again, whose wound from sh and the burn had almostpletely recovered. Of course, he was still on fire, but that was fine. Justin smiled. In the end, it didn¡¯t matter if he hadn¡¯t figured out how Yamask¡¯s illusion worked, didn¡¯t it? It couldn¡¯t hit Audino. It almost took the entire length of the match, but Justin took down Yamask by continuously using Disarming Voice, while healing any damage from the burns with Life Dew. There wereints and grumbles in the audience. This was the boring way to finish the battle, but it was the safe way. The way he had deemed his path would take him. And just like that, Justin had won his third badge.
Chapter 119 Chapter 119 CHAPTER 119 We all pped and cheered as Justin walked over to get his badge from Fantina, drowning out the fewints about the ''boring'' ending to his battle. He had improved so much in thesest few weeks that I barely recognized him. And winning without even using Growlithe?! Not many people could boast of beating Fantina with a Pokemon up, third badge or not. When he left, we all hurried down to the gym''s lobby. In a way, it was surprising how simple I had found both Pauline and Justin''s battles. I hadn''t been a three-badge holder for that long, and yet I often found myself widening my eyes in surprise at how easy the battle looked, but that was entirely because Fantina was holding back, and her heart just wasn''t in it. Now that I had seen her battle in person, I was sure of it. I didn''t think that Fantina was having any fun during her challenges. And yet, she was still a formidable gym leader. I knew especially that she had held back her ghosts'' true potential during both battles, only giving Justin and Pauline a taste of what they were capable of to give them a challenge to ovee. And ovee it, they did. But it would be worse against me. Seeing another ghost, even from afar made me m up, but I believed I''d be capable of focusing when I got into my groove. Fantina would use stronger ghosts, and she would definitely use better illusions, or at least she wouldn''t just stop using them as soon as she had against the others. "Justin! My boy!" Denzel yelled, sying out his arms and his voice spreading throughout the lobby. Our friend scratched his cheek and gave us an awkward smile. "I knew you''d win," I said. "You were ready." "I was," he nodded. "Justin," Pauline said, wrapping his neck with her arm hard enough to choke him. "I''ll forfeit this one, it was your win." "Forfeit?" Emilia raised an eyebrow. After struggling to free himself, Justin cleared his throat. "We werepeting to see who''d have the better battle." "And Pauline gave up?" Cecilia asked incredulously. "Incredible." "What? I can see the obvious! If I had won without using Gothorita, then we could have maybe called it a tie." "We should go somewhere to celebrate!" Emilia smiled. "We can go drink something," I agreed. "But then, we need to find Chase. He was supposed to arrive today." I checked my phone to see if he''d sent a message, but there was nothing. We exited the gym and went to the cafe that Emilia had shown us when introducing the group to Vincent. Pauline spoke to Cecilia about her gym battle, while Justin consulted me for advice. I thought that he had done exceptionally well, but there were still a lot of areas to iron out. If his Krokorok hadn''t evolved, then the battle might have gone in another direction, and while getting bailed out by an evolution did feel nice, it was still something I considered a failure¡ª even my battle against Roark stuck out like a sore thumb in that regard. Togetic certainly would have lost without evolving. I also told him what my current theory was for Yamask''s illusion. I believed that the ghost was proficient enough with Shadow Ball to create it while still invisible, and the one Lombre had attacked before getting hit had just been a fake. But I couldn''t be too hard on him. It was hard to focus on things like that when you were in the thick of it, and I knew that fact all too well. "Ah," Emilia said, looking at her phone. "Chase sent a message." Immediately, Denzel, Cece, and I grabbed our Poketches. We were antsy to get started on organizing our battle. Even more so now that we had seen Justin and Pauline''s own fights. Chase was finally in Hearthome, although it looked like he was staying in a different Center than we were¡ª the one the closest to the gym. "Ask him to meet," I told Denzel. He hurriedly typed his message and sent it. Chase responded with his usual gusto that could somehow be heard and felt through text, asking us toe to his Center instead of himing to us. Well, I could somewhat understand. He''d been traveling for days, and he had probably gone through a lot in Mount Cor, since he stayed inside for so long. If I had to guess, he was just tired, but he didn''t want to admit it. "I''ll pay the tab," Pauline smiled. "You guys go see him." "Don''t you want to meet him too?" I asked. "Not particrly," she shrugged. "But we can do itter." I nodded, and after saying our goodbyes, we were on our way to Chase''s Center. The taxi ride was annoyingly long due to all the traffic, taking thirty minutes. "What room''s he in?" Denzel asked. "218," Cece replied. We took the stairs instead of the elevator. Since this was the Center the closest to the gym, it was packed, unlike ours. I knocked on Chase''s door, and I was confused when I saw it open, but didn''t see anyone there. I looked down and smiled when I saw a furry little blue Pokemon. Riolu had opened the door for us. To be honest, I had almost expected him to have evolved, but he was still the good old Riolu I knew. "Hey Ri," I greeted him. The others did the same, and he led us into the room. Chase was crashed onto the bed with all of his dirty, traveling clothes and even his shoes. He shot up when he noticed that we were here. He seemed to have gained muscle, but he had huge bags under his eyes and looked paler than usual. "What the hell? Already? You guys were fast," heined, looking half-asleep. "Such wonderful first words for our reunion," Cecilia smiled, crossing her arms. "How are you?" "Eh, been better," he sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I''m mentally hugging you right now," I said, resisting the urge to tackle him. "And I''m mentally dodging your hug, Pastel." "Ow," Denzel said. "What happened to you, man? You look dead." "My team and I went through some special training in the mountain," he shrugged. "It was tough, but we handled it." "I told you he''d say that," I boasted. "Don''t bet on what I say," Chaseined. "I assume you''re here for our battle?" "We were hoping to do it tomorrow?" Denzel asked. Cecilia frowned. "He looks very tired, I don''t think¡ª" "I can do tomorrow, but it''ll have to be in the evening so the Nurses can finish looking after my Pokemon. Riolu here got out unscathed, but the rest got beaten up pretty good, especially since I didn''t have potions." My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "Excuse me?" "What? I''mpletely broke, and no one wants to battle me. They''re scared they''ll lose. I had a few, but I ran out quick," he shrugged. "There''s this new substitute going around that people are selling made out of energy roots or something, but it didn''t work very well." "What if¡ª" I was about to berate him for taking risks, but I realize I shouldn''t be the one to talk. "Well, if you think you can handle it," I sighed. "You better be at one hundred percent." "Please, Pastel," he scoffed. "I''m at one hundred and twenty percent one hundred percent of the time." "Not how numbers work, but it sounds cool," Denzel said, sitting down at Chase''s desk. "By the way¡­" Cecilia hesitated. "I know this is a long shot, but have you seen Louis anywhere? He isn''t traveling with us at the moment, and we''ve been worried." "Bianchi? Yeah, I saw him at the outpost, although we didn''t talk. He was traveling with two other chicks too. He''ll probably make it soon. I left before he did." We all breathed a huge sigh of relief. Louis was okay. I wished he had sent us any signs of life, but he probably still needed space. I was curious to learn about who he was traveling with, though. He would have had to meet them somewhere along the route, or maybe he had grouped up with people to make it past Mount Cor. "Let''s get started then. First things first, the teams. It''s kind of unofficial, but it''s basically been decided that Cece and Grace will be on opposite sides, so it''s all about which teams Chase and I are joining." "Obel, I''m on your team." "What? I wanted Denzel." "I want revenge on Pastel for that time she beat me at the Eterna Forest outpost," he exined. "I don''t care who I''m with, I want to be against her." Cecilia brought a hand to her forehead and exhaled. "Fine." I couldn''t me her for worrying. Cooperating with Chase would probably be a bit of a hassle. Okay, it would actually be a huge pain in the ass, and I was happy I wouldn''t have to do it. "Well, that took a lot less time than I thought it would," Denzel chortled. "Next up, the format." "We agreed on a double battle, right?" Cecilia said. "But how many Pokemon per trainer?" "I''m okay with anything other than six," Chase said, meaning that he hadn''t caught his sixth yet. I raised a hand. "Well, Cece can''t use Scyther, so¡ª" "Not so fast," she interrupted. "Four-on-four is fine." "W¡ªwait. You and Scyther are fine now?!" I eximed. "Not fine, no," she shook her head. "But there are a few agreements in ce. A deal, if you will." "Arceus, why didn''t you tell me?" I pouted. "I''m so proud of you!" "Because I thought I could have hidden it for the battle," she exined. "It would have tripped you up pretty good." "Yeah¡­ it would have," I said. "Well, four Pokemon per person is fine," Denzel said. "Next up, the picking order. I actually have a suggestion for that." We all stared at him curiously. "We should do it like they do it in the Conference. You give the organizers¡ª well, in this case, it''ll have to be a referee, but you give them the order and the Pokemon you want to use, meaning that you''re locked into sending that first Pokemon no matter what happens." "I like that," I nodded. "Better than that Arceus damned coinflip system in Floaroma¡­" "The Floaroma thing is just their gimmick. The element of randomness is how they differentiate themselves from all the other tournaments out there," Denzel said. "Where do we battle?" I asked. "Just pick some random arena," Chase said. "There might be an audience¡­" Denzel said, looking at me. "I''m fine with an audience," I shrugged. "As long as they don''t heckle." Not like I could notice anything around me when I was in the zone anyway. If anything, I''d probably have to remind myself to breathe so I didn''t pass out again, because doing so a second time would be seriously embarrassing. After ironing out a few other terms, organizing the battle was done. We would each be allowed one switch, and there would be no time limit, meaning that we''d fight until thest Pokemon. Justin had agreed via text to be the referee, and we''d have to send him our teams at least an hour before the battle, which would take ce tomorrow night at eight-thirty. Finally. Finally, it was time to strategize. "Denzel! Come with me!" I eximed, dragging my friend by the arm. "Already? I wanted to¡ª" "No buts! The clock''s ticking!" We left Cece in Chase''s room. I wondered what strategy they''d employ, but I could only focus on myself. No, it wasn''t just me. It was me and Denzel. We quickly rode the bus back to our Center, entered my room, and took our respective seats. "Okay, so we''re deciding what Pokemon to use, and stuff?" He asked. "Well, it''s pretty obvious what I and Cece are going to use, and they know that," I exined, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pen. "Chase is the wildcard since he has five, and you can''t use Feebas." "Well, Riolu is in for sure, I don''t think Chase will ever fight a battle without him. But let''s think about the rest from a strategic standpoint." "Everything we''re talking about is from a strategic standpoint," I said. "You know what I meant," he rolled his eyes. "Cece has Zweilous, Fletchinder, Slowpoke and¡­ Scyther. Chase has Riolu, Houndoom, Snover, Zangoose and Charjabug." Right, I thought as I wrote down all of the Pokemon''s typings. Denzel thought by keeping a conversation flowing, while I was more of a visual learner. "In my opinion," he continued. "Snover''s probably the one he''s the most unlikely to use." "I was thinking either Snover or Charjabug," I nodded. "Charjabug has that trick to take down fliers, whereas Snover¡­ well, we don''t know what he''s capable of. That means Togetic could be in danger." "Princess will be able to stop his String Shots." "But Chase doesn''t know¡ª wait, nevermind, he will know. Cece''s probably spilling the beans about everything. Okay, never mind, I think Charjabug will be the one that isn''t used." I nodded. "Now we have a rough idea of who will use what, but what do we think that they''ll lead with? We should pick our leads based on their choices." "There''s a pattern to Cece''s battle. Have you noticed?" He asked. After racking my brain for twenty seconds, I shook my head. "She always leads with Slowpoke. She did against Roark, Gardenia, and Candice. Now, she could trip us up and lead with something else, but I don''t think she''s even noticed the pattern herself." I mmed my fist into my palm. Even I had had a pattern I didn''t notice. I always led with Frillish! "Shit, you''re right! Okay, so we have Slowpoke. What about Chase?" "No pattern there," Denzel shook his head. "So he''ll probably pick based on what he thinks we''ll pick." "Chase likes prioritizing the type advantage. If you were Cece and Chase right now, who what would you think we''d be picking to lead?" I closed my eyes. "Um¡­ Cece probably thinks I''m going to lead with Frillish, since that''s what she might be used to. For Chase¡­ I don''t know. I''d say Frillish too, since that''s what Cece''s going to tell him, but I can''t be sure." "What''s a Pokemon they''d never think you''d lead with? We need to strike a bnce of surprise and utility here." "I could lead with Togetic, but I want to keep her in the back for Wish¡­" I muttered. "I''ll lead with Tangrowth. It''ll help against Slowpoke, he has power, and he can lock down opponents with his vines." "Okay. Like you said, Cece will probably convince Chase that you''re leading with Frillish, which means if I had to guess, he''ll lead with Snover." I scribbled down on my notebook. "Okay, we have Slowpoke and Snover as leads¡­ against Tangrowth and¡­? "Roselia. There''s a synergy there, isn''t there? You lock people down, she sprays them with spores and poison." I nodded. "Synergies are important here. They''ll be the difference between a win and a loss." "Now that we have our leads, we should probably work out what Pokemon we''d want out at the same time." "Togetic can work with anyone. She''s my most versatile Pokemon." "I was thinking we save the fairies for Zweilous? He''s going to be a problem. The problem." "That works. Electabuzz can fight both close-up and from afar, and you''ve seen what he can do. What do you think?" "Can he keep threats away from Snorunt?" Denzel asked with a determined look. "If they try to go for her? Yes," I nodded. "He''s also my Counter against Fletchinder with Discharge, and Cecilia''ll probably use her against Snorunt. You saw me use it against Turtonator." "Okay, that works. By the way, I''ve been hiding this, but she''s actually my most powerful attacker. She knows Blizzard, which can easily knock out both opponents at once if you let her charge it up." "What?!" "I didn''t know if I''d be on your team or not," he shrugged. "I''ll give you a list of all of my movester, and you can do the same for me. Let''s stick to broad strategy for now." "We have Frillish and Buneary left. Not the bestbination, but we shouldn''t get in each other''s way either." "That''s fine. Most of these probably won''t happen anyway, ns always go haywire, which is why you shouldn''t rely on them too much." "You can make backup ns¡­" I grumbled. "Aw, did I offend you?" Heughed. "Don''t take it too hard." "Whatever," I huffed. "Moving on! I actually had this n¡­ what if we focus on one person''s Pokemon?" "Focus on them? Like only attack their Pokemon until they run out?" "Yeah, I was thinking we could do Chase''s so that we can beat Cecilia''s Zweilous. I think she''ll save it forst." "Are you sure?" "That''s just how she is," I nodded. "This power stuff is kind of an art for her, and she likes saving the best forst. If we can get a one versus two against Zweilous, our odds improve massively." "I mean, there are two heads, so technically, it''d be a two versus two," Denzel said. "But I get what you mean. I think I agree. That dragon''s going to be a problem¡­ didn''t she say she was going to buy TMs when we got there?" I gasped. "Holy shit! Thank the Legendaries you reminded me of that. What were they again?" "I remember hearing about the elemental fang moves¡­ Stomping Tantrum too." "Okay," I said. "I''m gonna write down every known move for all of their Pokemon so that we have an easier time visualizing ''em. Chase probably taught his Pokemon a bunch of new moves, but there isn''t really a way of figuring it out." "I mean, I can take a gander. Houndoom probably learned methrower by now." I agreed and changed Incinerate to methrower, and we came up with a few other moves his Pokemon might have learned by now too. I then proceeded to exin the strategy I wanted to use with Wish. One switch would make it only usable once, but Togetic could use the move on herself too. It took me a few tries to get the mechanics of the move through Denzel, but after ten minutes, he understood itpletely. "I don''t think Togetic staying unhurt is doable," he said. "So you''ll only be able to use it on her when she''s on the field." I nodded. "And I''ll only be able to use it on your Pokemon, since we have one switch." "Sylveon would be ideal. He''ll be in the thick of things, and he''ll get hit a lot." "Well, we were nning on using them together anyway for a bit, so that works out. I''ll just switch before the Wishes back down." "Let''s get back to the start of the battle. I know you said that we should focus on taking down Chase''s Pokemon, but I think that taking down Slowpoke first would be ideal." "Is it because of Psychic?" I asked. It was the only way his suggestion made sense. "Yep. It''s going to be annoying as hell to deal with offensively, but it''ll also mean he can keep our Pokemon off of Chase''s." "Ahh, yeah, probably. We should overwhelm him right when the fight starts, then. He won''t be able to defend against all of Tangrowth''s vines and Roselia''s attacks." "Okay, great. For Zangoose, I was actually thinking¡­" We must have spent hours in that room, going over every single possibility we could foresee in the battle. For example, I told him about unorthodox ways to use Tangrowth''s vines, like pulling one of his Pokemon to safety or Togetic''s Extrasensory throwing a Pokemon into the fray, so long as it wasn''t too heavy. He told me that his Snorunt had already mastered Shadow Ball and that Sylveon hadbined Disarming Voice and his ribbons to make a Pokemon lose its will to fight for seconds if he touched them long enough, and since he was a physical fighter, I knew that was certainly doable. Seconds were everything in a battle. There was much to think about and to keep track of. So many moving parts. This was so much fun. ¡ª Night had fallen in Hearthome City, and Cecilia was standing on route 209. Fletchindernded on her shoulder and cooed affectionately. She pet the bird''s hot feathers and smiled. "Are you done preparing for tomorrow, darling?" Fletchinder squawked, and Cecilia responded with a smirk. Strategizing with Chase certainly had been a headache, especially with how headstrong he was about doing things his way, but she was satisfied with what they hade up with. Zweilous stood a few feet away from her. "Incinerate," she said. mes gathered in Sol''s mouth, and he spat out a huge stream of mes, illuminating the night sky. Zerst, meanwhile, used the same move, igniting an isted tree in the distance. Cecilia gently clicked her tongue. "No, Zerst. Remember this. When I give out orders, they''re for Sol. You don''t have to listen. Do whatever you want, so long as you take down your opponents wlessly." Sol bowed his head, and Zerst snarled. Cecilia cupped both of their chins with her hands. Deceit, she had called it to Pauline, although she had only told her one facet of how she nned to deceive Grace. Cecilia knew she was no longer far ahead enough to blow past Grace with power alone. Misdirection would be needed to win. She would not go as far as calling out a move to mean another¡ª no, that was dishonorable of a trainer to do, and not how she wanted to do things. But since she had a Zweilous, and there were two heads¡­ well, why not give an order to one and leave the other to be an unpredictable factor in the battlefield? They were a little slow, so she would have to work on her tactics until the time of the battle came. Scyther hissed, menacingly showing off his ws as he emerged from behind the burning tree. "My apologies," Cece bowed her head slightly. "You know Zerst. He can be trigger-happy." Zerst roared at Scyther, drooling all over the floor. It had taken a long time toe to an agreement with Scyther. Weeks of slow, incremental progress. The bug type still hadn''t forgiven her¡ª far from it. She would probably have to atone for her brutality for years. Nor had he gained any respect for her either. Even though it was less pronounced, Scyther still stared at her with hatred in his eyes. At least he didn''t try to kill her anymore. Scyther hunted whenever he wanted, and he didn''t listen to anything she said, but she had managed to convince him to be used in battles. Of course, that meant that she wouldn''t actuallymand him, which in this case would work out, since it was another foil to Grace''s nning. Unpredictability was her biggest weakness. As it turned out, Cecilia had not been wrong in her initial assessment all those months ago that Scyther wanted to grow stronger, but she certainly hade at it the wrong way. Seeing all of her Pokemon grow so strong convinced the bug type to reluctantly follow her, and now he had started sparring with Zweilous and Fletchinder, although he was still the weakest member of her team. There was a lot of catching up to do. Scyther fanned his wings and flew off somewhere. Initially, Cecilia had been worried that he would run away, but she had promised the flying type to release him in two months if she couldn''t convince him to stay anyway. Those two months were almost up, now, so if he ran away, it would only be her fault. She would have tried everything she could, and she would have paid the price for her sins. But he hadn''t run away. He came back every single time. Cecilia heard steps behind her, and she turned toward thest member of her team. "Is everything to your liking, darling?" Yes,dy Cecilia. Everything is working as intended. A splitting headache hit Cecilia, but she stood proud and tall.
Chapter 120 – Hanging Off the Edge Chapter 120 ¨C Hanging Off the Edge CHAPTER 120 - Hanging Off the Edge Frillish saw the world in faded colors. It was a symptom of the ghostly energy that lingered in his body, giving him his secondary typing. Oh, Grace had often told him all about colors. He was supposedly blue, while Togetic was white with specks of blue and red that remained from her old shell, Tangrowth was also blue, Electabuzz was yellow, and Larvitar was more of a dull green. He did not know what those colors looked like. All he had known his entire life was a faded world of different shades of gray. Frillish shot a Water Sport from below his body, propelling himself out of Amity Square¡¯s enormouske. It was night time and surprisingly, his trainer had brought the family here to rx for their battle tomorrow. He had expectedst-minute, arduous training, but instead, the children got to y and enjoy themselves, which pleased him greatly. Even Turtonator was out, watching their every movement with a sneer in the distance while she sat and tried to converse with him. This was the reason why Frillish could not do the usual and sink into the depths of theke like he liked to do. What if something happened? He would need to be there, or Grace would suffer more burns or worse. Suddenly, he saw the first of the children approach. Togetic floated up to him and let out a singr chirp. It was a simple cry, but it was spoken with intent, and Frillish understood what it meant immediately. Brother, she had called out. Child. You appear troubled tonight, the water type replied. Togetic lowered her head as she side-eyed the new reluctant member of the family. Ah, so it is him, Frillish huffed. Your feelings still have not been sorted? To Frillish, the fae worked in mysterious ways. Pokemon in the wild rarely spoke to each other outside of their own small groups, but he had been a part of one when he had just been born centuries ago, in the depths of the ocean. There, he had heard stories recounting how dangerous they truly were when they grew in power. Togetic was still rtively weak, but she was extremely attached to Grace. She was also the best of all of them at hiding her true feelings from her. She looked at Turtonator with a nk expression, but behind that was a subtle hatred so intense that it made Frillish hesitate with his following words. Still, he spoke. Do you want to talk about it, child? Even he disliked Turtonator. After all, he had attacked him when Grace had explicitly told him not to. A betrayal of her trust that he still wished had not urred, but s. It had already happened, and no one could turn back time. The wyrm looks at our mother with disgust, even after what she has done for him, Togetic said, her voice cheery but her tone murderous. I look forward to the day that I grow powerful enough to have my revenge. I will tear him from limb to limb, destroy all the bones in his body until they turn to dust, pin him against the ground with Ancient Power and tten him, but I will keep him alive¡ª Frillish¡¯s eyes flickered, and he attempted to interrupt her tirade. Child. ¡ªuntil his pride is broken, and I will revel in his screams of agony. He sickens me to my very core. He deserves worse than death. I live solely for my family, and I failed to protect my mother. If the wyrm ever strikes at her again, he will die in the most excruciating way I can find. The words echoed in Frillish¡¯s earholes and etched themselves into fate. Togetic had not rewritten reality, nor had she made a vow that she would be forced to pursue, but the words had been spoken with overwhelming emotion, and to the fae, that meant something. Had she been older and a lot more powerful, they might have had an effect that would be ever so slight, but could affect the course of a battle where fate itself would push for her victory, turning the odds in her favor. Turtonator stood up, much to Grace¡¯s surprise, and began ring at the fairy type. Had he sensed those words somehow? Frillish certainly had, and they felt different. Child. Your mother would be saddened if you went through with this n, Frillish shook his head. You are not thinking clearly. It is the influence of the fae that clouds your judgment. Togetic¡¯s expression did not change, but Frillish certainly felt a change. Brother¡­ I apologize. Think nothing of it, child. You are still young, and you must resist these urges, lest you end up like that Sylveon, Frillish warned. We are old friends, him and I. He has a good heart. And yet, he grows ever so attached to his trainer to the point of isting him from his friends with tricks of the mind. It will have to be dealt with, Frillish rebuked. Go clear your head. I must speak with the others. Togetic grabbed one of his tentacles. Wait, big brother! Tell me you love me before you go, or I¡¯ll tell mother you were being callous again! I love you, little one. Togetic left, seemingly satisfied. Frillish huffed, but his eyes dimmed. Atst, she was back to her cheerful, mischievous self. No matter what, he could not resist this child, nor any of the others. He had grown soft, but he was perfectly content with that. From the day he had started living alone and preying on those weak Pokemon in Sandgem¡¯s shallow waters, to the afternoon Grace had caught him, his life had been so dull. A mindless cycle of staying perfectly still, waiting for an unsuspecting Magikarp or school of Remoraid to swim by until he could trap and drain them with Absorb. Grace had called it draining ¡®energy,¡¯ but that was not exactly true. He had been stealing away their lifespans. Frillish was not a true ghost, and therefore, he was not truly immortal. Of course, he was so hard to kill he might as well have been. If there was even a speck of his body left, he would eventually regenerate, and he had stolen so many years of life that he would not meet his maker for centuries more. Of course, he had stopped doing so now. Grace disliked it when he killed things¡ª something he did not understand. Why care about wild Pokemon he or she barely knew? But he did not want to see her sad, so he listened. Plus, he also had to wrangle with the fact that he would live long past everyone here, which the water type did not like to think about. These intrusive thoughts always struck him at the worst of times. He needed a distraction. Frillish noticed Larvitar screaming obscenities at Tangrowth below him, and he floated down to see what all the ruckus was about. The grass type¡¯s vines were wriggling about erratically, which clearly meant that he was in severe distress. Larvitar shook her arms and began stomping on the ground, forcing Tangrowth to pick her up. Let me get deeper into the water, you sack of vines! Let me in, let me in, let me in, let me in¡ª Now, now, child. What is going on here? The rock type let out a half-gasp, covering her mouth with her hands. Frillish! Nothing¡­ nothing is going on. We¡¯re ying games. Tangrowth shot the ghost type a series of blinks and shook his entire body. Tangrowth here is telling me you were misbehaving, he said. Well, Tangrowth¡¯s a big, smelly liar! I¡¯m gonna tell mo¡ª Grace! The grass type¡¯s vines drooped sadly along the floor. You hurt him. You must apologize, Larvitar. She was about to protest, but Frillish intensified his stare until she relented and issued a short apology. Tangrowth forgave her immediately, and quickly returned to his usual, joyous self. Larvitar was still a baby, and so she tended to be very irritated when she did not get her way. Togetic had shown a little bit of this when she had been younger, but that was mostly gone now. However, something told Frillish that Larvitar would never lose this immature side of her. She was ced on the ground again, and Tangrowth gently guided for to theke¡¯s shores, where she enjoyed spending her time. The rock type was itching to grow stronger. She disliked Turtonator, but she also looked at him with awe because she admired his great strength. And that was because her ultimate goal was to get revenge on the Pokemon that murdered her first mother. First was important, because despite her reluctance to actually enunciate the words, Larvitar did think of Grace as her second parent. She was just not ready to take that final leap. Frillish did not have the heart to tell her that even Turtonator would be no match for that Rhyperior in his current state. The water type held back a huff. Even that dragon was weakpared to the true horrors of the world. Frillish looked at Tangrowth with suspicion. Not because he did not trust him¡ª he loved him just as much as the others¡ª but because he believed he was on the brink of a discovery. Tangrowth never spoke, even with fellow Pokemon, opting tomunicate with his vines and eyes instead, which meant that he was hard to understand at times. And yet, Frillish had figured out that he was not a child as Grace and he had believed. Frillish was old, and so he could differentiate the behavior of children and adult Pokemon. Tangrowth did not behave as a child should. He was a caretaker, often opting to y with the rest of children, or Grace¡¯s friend¡¯s teams even when he did not particrly want to. No child would disy such a level of maturity and gentleness. And yet sometimes, he behaved like a child anyway. The grass type was truly an enigma that Frillish struggled with on a daily basis, and it appeared he would notpletely solve it tonight either. The water type heard Electabuzz call out to him, and he bid Tangrowth and Larvitar goodbye after telling the rock type to behave and Tangrowth not to let himself be walked over. Electabuzz grinned and waved at him. Hey Frillish, pal! Looking gloomier than usual today! He eximed. Check this out! The electric type let loose a series of punches in the air, which were quicker and more powerful than they used to be. I can quickly alternate between Ice and Fire Punch now. Ain¡¯t that grand? Electabuzz smiled. Your mother said no training tonight, Frillish said. This ain¡¯t training, I¡¯m not using any moves! Grace is okay with it, I asked her. I¡¯m supposed to keep my opponents off of that little Snorunt tomorrow. The water type sighed. Well, if she said so. Is anything troubling you, perhaps? Well, nothing you can do anything about, he shrugged as he continued punching the air. The turtle¡¯s worrying me. Grace is being too chummy with him. On that, we agree, Frillish nodded. But I came to an understanding when I struck him with that Water Pulse. There is simply no point in fighting. Electabuzz hit the water type¡¯s back as heughed, causing him to groan in annoyance. Bahaha! You only say that because it didn¡¯t actually deal any damage! No, child. I say it because Turtonator is in pain, and his way of dealing with it isshing out. Did you not see? He wanted a fight. He still wants one. Electabuzz lost his yful demeanor, and his arms slumped. Grace said as much. Do you not trust your mother? I believe her words. She is surprisingly good at understanding us, for a human. Even if she still had work to do. I trust her, but I need to get stronger. I wasn¡¯t enough. I¡¯m never enough to protect her. Until a few nights ago, she was still crying herself to sleep. I know you heard, but you never did anything. I¡­ I didn¡¯t either. I was too ashamed of myself, the water type admitted. You say you did not protect her, yet it was you who saved her from the heat and an explosion. Without you, the burns would have been much worse. Meanwhile, my water¡­ my water could not win against Turtonator¡¯s mes. Come on, pal! You¡¯re being too hard on yourself. Honestly, I think we all share some of the me. Grace made a decision, and we¡­ we weren¡¯t good enough to ensure that it went well. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all our fault. Including hers? Frillish asked. The electric type looked at him and shrugged again. Dunno. Hurts to think about, so I¡¯d rather not. Fair enough, he nodded. Instead of punching the air and doing other nonsensical things, why don¡¯t you go and keep your sisterpany? She has a lot on her mind. Which one? He asked worriedly. Togetic. Is she still in her murder mode? Only if you bring up the ¡®wyrm.¡¯ Electabuzz chuckled. Always loved her strange way of talking. Fairies are funny like that! He quickly left and jogged toward Togetic, who sat on the ground and watched the bright moon in the sky that often captivated her. Frillish smiled when he saw them start to talk. Electabuzz was a much-needed ray of sunshine that kept the family going in their darkest days. After the attack at Valley Windworks, in Eterna Forest, Mount Cor, or the far north, he had always been there. A reassuring presence that they could always fall back on, even though he did not think of himself as one. He did a lot more for all of them than he knew. ¡°Hey bud. Deep in thought?¡± Frillish slowly turned toward Grace. She smiled at him and gently grabbed his tentacle, somehow causing him an ufortable amount offort. On all of our minds, he responded, looking at every member of the family. Grace was good at understanding Pokemon, but she still needed a lot of expressive bodynguage to truly understand what they meant. ¡°I¡¯ve been worrying you all, huh?¡± She sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I guess I¡¯ve been too headstrong about forcing this Turtonator thing onto you.¡± The water type¡¯s eyes flickered. She already knew? ¡°I think he¡¯ll slowlye around, but I can¡¯t force you to like him. Even Tangrowth keeps his distance, and he¡¯s the nicest Pokemon around.¡± Larvitar seems to admire Turtonator, he said, pointing at the rock type. ¡°Sweetheart? Yeah, I suppose she could change her mind. She doesn¡¯t mind him, but it¡¯s got to do with strength or something. I don¡¯t fully understand yet.¡± Frillish nodded, indicating that she was on the right track. Grace did not need to know about this n for revenge any time soon, and he doubted that she would even ept it. ¡°Regardless, I won¡¯t force you to talk to him or anything. You can all keep your distance, and I¡¯ll work with Turtonator by myself.¡± I appreciate that decision, but don¡¯t overwork yourself, child, Frillish said with a worried look. ¡°I¡¯ll be alright. Let¡¯s all do our best and look forward to tomorrow. Though I guess you don¡¯t particrly care, do you?¡± She teased him. The water type huffed. It was true that while all the others cared about Grace¡¯s dream of bing the best trainer and gathering badges, he did not particrly do so. The act of battling for sport had even confused him at first. After all, why fight someone if you aren¡¯t going to kill them? It had taken him weeks to understand, but he was still not enamored with battling like everyone else was. He did, however, want to grow stronger to protect what he currently had. He would not lose another family again. It had beenfortable, to live in the wild and chase prey for centuries. He could turn everything off and run on auto-pilot, not being consciously aware for years at a time. It wasn¡¯t like anything in Sandgem¡¯s waters was powerful enough to kill him. So he had almost forgotten. Forgotten what it was like to have a family until Grace had caught him. Frillish reckoned that if he hadn¡¯t experienced it before, it would have taken him months for him to even give her a chance. He very well could have been doing what Turtonator was doing now or worse. He had even attacked her at first. ¡°I¡¯m gonna let you think and go hang out with princess and honey, alright? Something¡¯s been off about hertely, but I can¡¯t ce what it is.¡± Frillish smiled slightly. She had even noticed that? He had underestimated her. ¡°Aw, look at you with the cute smile!¡± She said, hugging him. Frillish¡¯s body was cold, and yet he still felt warm. ¡°See youter, bud!¡± What an impressive child she is, he mused to himself. Grace was warmth personified, and there was not a single being she could not reach if given enough time. Frillish was sure of it. Perhaps even¡­ He stared at Turtonator, who hadidzily back down in the grass. What, ghost? The dragon mocked. Have youe to strike me again? It would be my pleasure to indulge you. Frillish sighed. He could at least give talking a try. I realize that I did not apologize for my outburst a few days ago. I am sorry about attacking you. Turtonator mockingly snorted. Hah! Apologizing? You think like a human, ghost! Has a few months under that annoying child¡¯spany softened you that much? I am not a ghost! Frillish said a little louder than he wanted. And it has, he admitted. Is there anything wrong with that? Does it matter if I am soft if it makes me happy? The fire type closed his eyes. You¡¯re the only one I have a modicum of respect for, ghost, he said, ignoring his protest and question. You got angry and attacked me. That takes courage. But the others? They pretend, pretend, pretend. They will speak to you about me, but not spew their hatred to my face. That fairy is the worst of all. You seem to care for her, but you know the sinister desires that lie within the fae. Bah! The thought alone disgusts me! He hatefully spat. Even that human acts as if she likes me. She¡¯ll drone on and on about anything thates up in her empty little head. I will keep the others under control, he said. They will not strike you. Larvitar admires your power, and Grace¡¯s desire to get closer to you is genuine. Bah! He snorted, letting out a puff of hot smoke. Maybe the little one is fine, but the rest are not. Eventually, even that petnt human will give up. They are all the same. Good-for-nothing little weasels worth less than the mostmon Rattata. Betrayal is second nature to them. Even Kamaile? The temperature rose, and Turtonator¡¯s shell lit up as he stared at Frillish with a look of pure rage. Do not speak of him, ghost. I will not ask you twice. Frillish¡¯s eyes dimmed, and he bowed his head to apologize. He had gone too far, but he couldn¡¯t help but be curious. Where had this hatred of humanse from? Why did Turtonator, who traveled thends with his trainer suddenly start to hate humans? Frillish refused to believe that a Pokemon with this much hate could have been used by a trainer in any way, shape, or form. Grace had told him about the fact that he had attacked a human just for walking next to him. The hatred was fresh. Recent. Perhaps there was more to his trainer¡¯s death than met the eye. You are lucky I am in a good mood today, ghost. Otherwise, I would have killed you right then and there, he said. Many have tried. It is harder than it seems, the water type answered. You are a weakling, ghost. One well-ced Dragon Pulse would erase you beyond your regenerative capabilities. Frillish froze. You know? How old do you think I am? I have seen my fair share of ghosts. Annoying little rats, the lot of them, but still better and easier to kill than a powerful fairy. Why are you so insistent on calling me a ghost? Frillish huffed. That is not even half of what I am. Ghost, half-ghost, it is all the same to me. And it is also because I know you hate it, ghost. Turtonator smirked, closing his eyes. You are the worst weakling of all. Purposefully holding yourself back, and for what? How disappointing. What do you know? Frillish said, narrowing his eyes. Pokemon as old as we can sense things, ghost. I know you have been holding back your evolution. In fact, you could have evolved when you fought me in the mountain. Maybe then, your trainer wouldn¡¯t have had to be scarred for life. Frillish¡¯s eyes red, and it took everything he had not to attack. His tentacles shivered and ghostly energy started to leak out of his body. He wanted to rip him apart for what he had just said. To make him pay. To hate¡ª Ah, yes, ghost, let the hate flow through you. That might make you slip from the edge and unlock your potential. You are worse than scum for what you just said, Frillish fumed. And yet, maybe Turtonator was correct. Maybe he could have saved Grace from the anguish she was going through. You are weak, and I am strong. I can say whatever I want, and there is nothing you will ever be able to do about it. Damned dragons and their pride! Frillish floated away, opting to distract himself by going back to the others, but Turtonator called out to him again. Why is it that you fear more power, Frillish? The water type stopped mid-air and slowly turned back. That was the first time Turtonator had ever addressed him by his name. Does it matter if you will just mock me? Turtonator continued, ignoring his question. I struggle to understand. Some Pokemon like Vulpix are often scared to evolve because they will long outlive their trainers as Nales, but you will already live for centuries more. But why do you even care? Frillish asked again. Why should I not strive to obtain something? If it is within my reach, it should be mine. So it is just greed, then? Greed for knowledge? He snorted. I suppose so. Now humor me. And if I don¡¯t? Frillish asked. Do not y games with me, ghost. Say that you will or that you will not. Do not ask about consequences. Only weaklings do so. You called me weak earlier, so that would fit what you think of me. The temperature rose ever so slightly. If you do not speak, then you will be stuck in this powerless form forever, ghost. Eventually, you will be too weak and fall behind the ¡®family¡¯ that you seem to care so much about. You have done everything you can in this body. Your growth has tlined. Frillish sighed. You said that our ages wereparable earlier. How old are you? The water type asked. Seventy-four, the dragon answered. You are a child to me, then¡ª Do not call me a child, Turtonator interrupted him with a growl. Continue. I have lived so long I have forgotten how old I was, but it is certainly more than three hundred. When I was just born, I lived in a pod of five Frillish, including me, but I will skip past the details. When a Frillish evolves, it does not keep a bnce between water and ghost. They be more of a ghost instead. My mother evolved and lost herself to hatred. A nice little story, Turtonator said dissmisively. And why does that matter? Do you not understand? I could lose myself! I could never be the same again! What will be of Grace then? She will be heartbroken, as I was! Again, you think like a human. Disappointing. Your input is highly unappreciated and unwanted. If you have so little trust in yourself, then I retract the small ounce of respect I had for you, the dragon said,zily turning away. A pity. It is not even about trust, it is about uncertainty. You are uncertain about your own willpower. If you think that is not a matter of trust in your own capabilities, then you are lying to yourself. Another human habit. I don¡¯t need your help. I¡¯ve been thinking about it regardless, and I wille to a decision when the time suits me. Run away, ghost. Run away from power because something could go wrong. That annoying little runt might be insufferable, but her love for you is genuine, at least. Do you honestly think she would not try to bring you back to normal if hate consumed you? Do you think she would fail? No trust in yourself, no trust in your trainer, well, well, ghost, you sure are a pathetic little worm. Worth less than the most abhorrent of the fae. She could fail. My mother never went back to normal. Oh, please, Turtonator scoffed with a half-snort. How long did you even try to save her? You were simply not resolute enough. We tried for months. Eventually, the others left. I tried to stick around, but I gave up too, and then I was left on my own. I drifted across the ocean for years until I reached the shallow waters of Sandgem. Months?! Hah! You are a ghost! Months are but a speck of time to you lot. It was centuries ago! Staying with her was too painful after knowing what she had been like. I can¡¯t change the past. Turtonator stood up and stared down the water type with a ming intensity. Centuries ago, you were a weakling with no determination. Today, you are the same. How pathetic is it that you have made absolutely no progress? You are teetering on the edge, barely holding on by a single strand. You are so close that you wouldn¡¯t even need to be in a stressful situation to evolve. You could do it right now. Just let go. Frillish tensed as he closed his eyes. And let himself fall off the edge. Ha! Perhaps there is hope for you yet, ghost, Turtonatorughed as light engulfed Frillish¡¯s body.
Chapter 121 Chapter 121 CHAPTER 121 "I''m serious, princess. You can talk to me, I''ll listen," I said. "To. Ge," she shook her head. Electabuzz worriedly tapped her back to convince her, but she didn''t relent. "Arceus, are you having your teenage crisis early?" I teased. "Well, I''ll figure you out eventually. No secret is safe from me¡ª" Both of my Pokemon turned and stared behind me, and so did angel and sweetheart, who were together in the distance. I did the same, and I saw a bright light surround Frillish''s body as he floated next to Turtonator, who was looking at him with a gleeful look. "What¡­ what happened?" I muttered in disbelief. I was too shocked to even move. Frillish was¡­ Jellicent now towered over Turtonator, being at least seven feet tall, if not more. His head had grown to enormous proportions, and he glowed slightly in the night. His eyes were now at least twice as bright, and staring at them too long unsettled me. I shook my head. How could I be unsettled by myown Pokemon? I snapped out of my stupor and ran toward Turtonator and Jellicent, closely followed by Electabuzz and Togetic. Tangrowth quickly came as well, propelling himself with vines while carrying Larvitar in the air. "What happened here?" I asked, looking at Turtonator, then Jellicent. "You evolved! You weren''t even fighting or anything! How do you feel?" Jellicent slowly turned toward me and then stared down. He appeared a lot more slimy than usual, as if he was under a permanent Acid Armor, meaning that he''d be able to slip through any cracks easily. Did that mean hugs were now off the table? That sucked! "Buddy? Talk to us," I smiled. The water type let out a deep, booming sound from under his foamy mustache as he continued staring down at me. "Hm, something isn''t right," I frowned. Electabuzz nodded next to me while Turtonator just snorted andid back down on the ground. Tangrowth extended a vine forward, and it wentinsideof Jellicent''s body, who just stood still and stared. Togetic and Larvitar both attempted to say something, but there was no reaction either. I felt my throat tighten. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked, clenching a fist. "Do you want to go back in your Pokeball? Or maybe move around in your new body for a bit?" Why was he juststaring through me?Electabuzz grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me back, stepping in front of me. "What are you doing? I''ve got this¡ª" Tangrowth wrapped a vine around my waist, restraining me. Electabuzz continued yelling at Jellicent. Togetic and Larvitar begged for him to go back to normal, and Turtonator just watched with a curious, half-opened eye. Jellicent''s eye glinted, and in a split second, a Shadow Ball had finished gathering in front of his mouth. Electabuzz roared, and electricity sparked on both of his fists. He punched Jellicent, ramming through the Shadow Ball and creating an explosion. Tangrowth pulled me away and Togetic raised an earthen barrier to protect me. Electabuzz''s hands sunk inside of the water type, shocking him from the inside. The water type''s body shook andrippled, as if it was made entirely out of water, but his eyes cleared immediately after that. His stare no longer disturbed me. Electabuzz stopped his attack, shaking his hand where the Shadow Ball had hit. Jellicent''s stare turned to pure panic as he profusely bowed his head and apologized profusely. I breathed again for what felt like the first time in minutes and gave him a tired smile. "You scared me there, buddy," I sighed. "What happened? That was like¡­" Ghosts were known to grow out of control when they evolved, but Jellicent wasn''t a true ghost. Unless something had changed¡­? "Well, we''ll figure it out at some point," I said. "Thank you for snapping him out of it, hon." Electabuzz scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. If he hadn''t taken the initiative and attacked, then this could have gone toplete shit really fast. Even if it''d only take me seconds to grab Jellicent''s Pokeball to recall him, an actual fight, however short it was, would damage all of their rtionships. Plus, Jellicent wouldn''t have been back to normal as quickly. "At least I can figure out pretty quickly if you''re normal or not," I told him. He stared at me and asked how. "Your eyes, you big goof. You were looking at me like I was a thing, not family. Anyway, Togetic, can you fix up the ground a little bit? I don''t want to give the employees here extra work." The flying type shakily nodded and began ttening the ground. "What are youughing at?" I asked Turtonator with a suspicious look. "I know you had something to do with this. I''m recalling you for now," I said, grabbing his Pokeball. After retrieving him, I turned to Jellicent again. "Important question. Can you solidify your body like ghosts? There''s no point in you being this big if I can''t hug ya." Electabuzz cackled at that, agreeing with me. Larvitar stepped below Jellicent, waving her arms and looking at him with admiration as Tangrowth watched with his vines drooping. It looked like she had a new favorite now, much to his chagrin, but the novelty would probably wear off, and then she''d be back to begging to y with him. Jellicent hesitated, but then his body slightly trembled, and he nodded at me. I tackled him. It did not have the effect I wanted. I thought I''d be able to bring him to the ground to hug him, and then everyone else would join in for a collective group hug. Instead, I bounced back and almost fell down, but Tangrowth stopped me by quickly wrapping a vine around me. "Arceus, that was embarrassing," I exhaled as I stood back up. "Thanks Angel." He waved at me and blinked twice. Jellicent apologized again, but I stopped him before he could finish. "Stop it, it was just me being stupid," I said, slowly approaching him. I gently wrapped my arms around his face¡ª or as far as I could, given howbighe was. "You smell like the ocean." "Licent," he nodded. "I love you," I teared up. "Don''t do that again, okay? I can''t lose you." We must have stayed there for at least ten minutes. At some point, the others joined in too, although Larvitar was only hugging my ankle. There was no point in my Pokemon being strong if they lost themselves in the process. "Oh man, this changes everything for tomorrow!" I gasped. "I need to text Denzel¡ª we need to change our strategy around. Oh, we also need to try out your new body and strength and stuff! Oh man, this is gonna be so much fun. You guys mind if we extend our little jaunt and go to route 208?" Togetic sighed, but everyone else agreed. "Sorry princess, I''ll make it up to you," I said before recalling them. I grabbed my Poketch, checked the time and winced. "Oh man, my sleep schedule is going to befucked." ¡ª On the opposite side of Amity Square, Denzel sat at the edge of theke. He hade here multiple times already thanks to Grace''s rmendation, and he liked the ce to bits. He found it easy to rx here, especially with how fidgety he felt about tomorrow''s battle. "Bas¡­!" Feebas jumped across theke, creating a beautiful arc. He was getting better at that. Sylveon, meanwhile, was lying down at theke''s shore, happily watching the fish perform for him. He had wanted to release the rest of his team too, but there''d be a high risk of a fight happening, and that was a no-no before tomorrow''s battle. He needed them focused on that, not a lover''s quarrel. Well, at least Feebas could get some quality alone time with his crush while Denzel got into his battling headspace. Even though it would only be tomorrow, he was still thinking about it, talking and muttering to himself about different possible scenarios and creating a broad strategy to counter them. Sylveon called out to Feebas, who shyly approached the fairy type, and he hugged him with his ribbons. Denzel raised an eyebrow. Sylveon usually didn''t disy that much affection with Buneary or Roselia. He was sure now that Snorunt wasn''t in love with the fairy type, but she liked to hog his attention to annoy those two anyway. The trainer grabbed Buneary''s Pokeball and held it firmly in his hand. Lopunny was an evolution that required Buneary to feel highly attached to its trainer, and he was sure they were close enough now¡ª even though she liked Sylveon more than him. If it had been enough for Budew, then she was ready. The problem was that she was so used to being in tough battles that nothing seemed to be enough to let her evolve. It was a strange quirk of his team. Even though, again, Budew technically didn''t require to be in a battle to evolve, she had done so during his gym battle against Candice. Denzel was sure Buneary would be the same. The question was, would she evolve tomorrow or during the battle with Fantina? And could he trigger it at a specific moment? Denzel snapped out of his thoughts as Sylveon tightly wrapped a ribbon around his arm. A soothing feeling permeated within him, and he smiled at his Pokemon. He liked to help him work past his worries with his powers, which he assumed worked like Togetic''s. "Thanks, Sylvi," he said, petting his head. "Can''t get too reliant on that, though," The fairy type protested and shook his head. "I know you mean well, butCynthiawarned Grace about it. I could get addicted to it, it''s dangerous." Sylveon grumbled and plopped himself on the ground, turning away from him. "Can you at least try the new armor-like thing we''ve been working on?" He sighed. Sylveon grumbled. "Not armor. Got it. How about mour or something?" The fairy type nodded, and his body blurred for a single second, then tensed. Denzel brought a hand to his back and smiled when he couldn''t manage totouchhim directly¡ª it wasfundamentallyimpossible, at least until he got hit enough times. That would undoubtedly throw Chase and Cecilia for a loop tomorrow. They had developed this ''armor'' during their training, and it wasn''t actually a move. Fairies tended to be the most adept at creating things that weren''t moves, and from what Denzel knew, each fairy was different with what they could achieve. He didn''t really understand how Sylveon hade up with the concept, but he knew that it meant that he''d be able to fight in a melee for longer, which was his specialty. Denzel let Feebas y around for another thirty minutes before he went back to the Center to sleep. ¡ª "You look so goofy!" I giggled at Jellicent. Togetic could barely float straight as the water type used Water Sport to propel himself upward. "Seriously, how does it still work with the size of your head?!" Somehow, Jellicent had not lost any mobility from his evolution, although hisrger sizedidmean he was a lot easier to hit. In his solid form, he was as slow as a Torkoal, andextremelyheavy, but in his default, goo form? He was actuallylighterthan he had been before evolving, and his body could easily bend in unnatural ways, meaning that sharp turns weren''t a problem either. "Your attacks are a lot stronger than before, too," I continued. "No time to learn any new moves in a day, but what we have is already good. Iwilltry to get you to learn Brine before the battle against Fantina, though. Therge area of effect means that it''d be excellent to take down ghosts." The water type nodded slowly. "By the way, there''ll be people tomorrow at our battle. Will you be okay to be out?" I asked. Jellicent hesitated, but then nodded. "Okay. Don''t beat yourself up, okay? The fact that you''re back to normal so quickly''s already a lot of progress. Arceus knows that taking care of two unruly Pokemon would have exhausted me." I checked my Poketch, and there was no answer from Denzel. "I guess he''s probably sleeping," I said. "Well, we''ve got all day tomorrow to work something out, so there''s no rush. We should head back." ¡ª "And remember," I told Denzel. "I know it''ll look stupid, but don''t¡ª" "I won''t intervene in your n, I know," he smiled. "Did you remember to submit your order to Justin?" I scoffed."Obviously!" "I don''t know, you forget a lot of stuff." "Maybe I''ll forget that we''re on the same team, too," I snarked. "No you won''t, because you hate losing." I lifted a finger, but paused. "Yeah¡­ fair enough." Jellicent''s evolution hadpletely changed our strategy from top to bottom, and we had stayed at the Center until theto refine it. The beginning would look roughly the same, but the deeper into the battle we would get, the more different everything would be. The surprised look on Justin''s face when I revealed that Jellicent had evolved had beenveryentertaining, but I had expected a bigger reaction. Denzel and I entered the arena where our battle would take ce, and a small crowd of trainers was already there somehow. Pauline and Emilia were also sitting on the side, and I had asked for Emi to record the battle so I could watch itter. "Arceus, how''d they find out so quick?" I asked exasperatedly. "All it takes is for one person to see that Cece and Chase were there," Denzel said, pointing at our two friends. They were speaking with each other, probably doing somest-minute strategizing. "And then it spreads like wildfire. I''m honestly surprised there aren''t more people." "Don''t jinx us," I groaned. Cece smiled and waved at us, while Chase just nodded. After ironing out our n and implementing a few,st-minute changes, it was time for the battle to begin. Justin stepped to the side of the arena and cleared his throat. He was clearly nervous, and he adjusted his cor before starting his speech. "Erm, this will be a double battle, and each trainer will be allowed to use four Pokemon! You can only¡­ wait I messed up. Uh, you can¡­ there''s only one switch per trainer allowed, and a Pokemon order was given to me, so you have to send out the first one you picked no matter what¡­" How awkward,I thought. Still, I couldn''t fault him. Speaking in front of this many people for the first time was no doubt nerve-wracking. "Trainers, send out your Pokemon!" He eximed, a little firmer this time. Immediately, I sent out Tangrowth, and Denzel released Roselia, who red at him and screeched when she realized how many people were there. I bit the inside of my lip when I saw a Slowking and a Vikavolt appear on the other side of the field. It looked like I wasn''t the only one that had hidden an evolution. We had beenpletely wrong about which Pokemon Chase would choose. All of the time he had spent in Mount Cor made sense now. He had traveled up the mountain to reach a level where the mountain''s maic field was powerful enough so that Charjabug could evolve. Meanwhile, Cecilia had an Arceus damnedSlowking, which, needless to say, was a disaster for our n to take him down quickly before moving on to Chase''s Pokemon. "Well, fuck," Denzel exhaled. Yeah, I thought.Fuck.
Chapter 122 – Rivals Chapter 122 ¨C Rivals CHAPTER 122 - Rivals There were no two ways about it. This was bad. Really bad. Denzel swore, ncing at me, but we didn¡¯t have time to talk. Justin raised his arm, signaling that he was about to start the battle. Slowking stood there with a nk expression and his hands sagely behind his back. Vikavolt fanned out his wings and slowly took flight, emitting a loud buzzing sound. Our entire n was void now, but I could still salvage this. By how much had Slowking¡¯s psychic abilities improved? What was his range? How good was Vikavolt at maneuvering in the sky? How fast was he? Could Tangrowth catch him and knock him down? So many questions, with no way to answer them until the battle started. I bit my lip and sighed as Justin brought his arm down. ¡°Begin!¡± Immediately, without any orders, Slowking brought a hand forward, and psychic energy surrounded Vikavolt. The electric type shot forward at incredible speeds, opening his massive pincers as he flew toward Roselia. Right after that, Slowking spat out a massive Water Pulse that he sped up further with Psychic, also aiming toward the poison type. ¡°Grab her!¡± I yelled to Tangrowth. ¡°Catch Vikavolt!¡± ¡°String shot,¡± Chase ordered. Tangrowth wrapped a vine around Roselia and dragged her to his side. She narrowly avoided both String Shot and Water Pulse. ¡°Venoshock!¡± Denzel said. Tangrowth sent ten vines forward, all aiming to catch the approaching Vikavolt, but the bug type was surprisingly agile in the air, twisting and turning to dodge any vines that got even close. Still, it couldn¡¯t take too many risks and get too close to Roselia. The grass type angled her flowers toward Slowking, who was slowly trudging forward, and sprayed vasts amount of poison in his direction, but the psychic type simply waved an arm, deviating its path. ¡°Fuck it! Thunderbolt!¡± Chase yelled. Ah. It was subtle, but I caught Cecilia¡¯s wince. Vikavolt screeched, vibrating his wings as a massive Thunderbolt rivaling Electabuzz¡¯s exploded from his body. Once again, Tangrowth protected Roselia, and he shrugged off the attack as he wriggled his body. ¡°They¡¯re focusing you down. Stick to the original n. Get Slowking,¡± I whispered. ¡°Tangrowth, Leech Seed!¡± Denzel nodded before shouting out amand. ¡°Seed Bomb and Spore attack the Slowking!¡± More than a dozen seeds flew off both Roselia¡¯s flowers and Tangrowth''s body, and they were all destined for Slowking. The psychic type continued on its slow walk and simply diverted every single one. The spores simply washed over what seemed to be an invisible bubble of protection. Vikavolt slowly flew back toward Slowking. ¡°Obel, another one!¡± Chase yelled. ¡°Darling,¡± she simply said. Slowkingzily waved his hand, and Vikavolt shot out of the sky toward Tangrowth. ¡°Grace,¡± Denzel exhaled. ¡°Vikavolt¡¯s quick, but he¡¯s got a slow eleration. Slowking¡¯s boosting his start speed with Confusion.¡± ¡°Not Psychic?¡± ¡°Psychic would deal direct damage. Hurts the brain, remember?¡± Chase swept his arm. ¡°X-Scissor!¡± Without mymand, Tangrowth raised an earth barrier at the veryst second, but Vikavolt somehow turned unnaturally fast toward the right. Denzel yelled, and Roselia sprayed it with a Venoshock before it left. ¡°Good catch,¡± I breathed out. ¡°We need a more aggressive approach.¡± ¡°They¡¯re slowly choking us. Sic your Tangrowth on Slowking,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Roselia can handle herself.¡± There wasn¡¯t any time to ask him if he was sure. I ordered Tangrowth forward, and a dozen vines extended under him, quickening his pace. Slowking kept walking, and he did not even spare one look of uncertainty toward his trainer. ¡°Psychic!¡± Cecilia ordered. The water type¡¯s eyes shone, and Tangrowth¡¯s body stopped as if it had rammed against a wall. Slowking hurriedly waved his arm, but angel was too big and heavy to just be sent away. On the other side of the arena, Vikavolt had picked up Roselia with its sharp pincers, and he was continuously biting with X-Scissor. Denzel grinned. ¡°Toxic!¡± Poison started to emanate from every inch of Roselia¡¯s body, and Vikavolt dropped her to the ground with a screech. The grass type immediately stood up with a defiant scream of her own and started sniping him with Bullet Seeds. Tangrowth was still struggling under Slowking¡¯s Psychic, and not even Power Whip was breaking through. Psychic types were one of the most defensively powerful Pokemon, but his evolution had brought him to apletely different level. Wait. Psychic types¡­ ¡°Tangrowth, Knock Off!¡± I yelled. Darkness surrounded one of Tangrowth¡¯s vines, and it simply broke through Slowking¡¯s Psychic, hitting the shell on the water type¡¯s head. Slowking¡¯s attack faltered for a few precious moment, and Cecilia flinched, meaning that she hadn¡¯t expected that. ¡°Power Whip!¡± I screamed. The same vine that had hit Slowking suddenly tensed, and hit the psychic type again, sending him flying toward his trainer. ¡°Grace, Vikavolt¡¯s slowed!¡± Denzel yelled. My eyes snapped back to his side of the battle, and I saw that the poison had made the electric type lose all of his built-up eleration. Even for me, keeping track of two individual fights at once was too much. Vikavolt hurriedly fanned his wings and tried to run back toward Slowking, who was still attempting to get up from that Power Whip. Another seed exploded against his hard shell as Roselia kept pestering him with Seed Bombs and Bullet Seeds. ¡°Bind it, Tangrowth!¡± The grass type hurried back to our side of the field as his vines shot forward. Vikavolt narrowly avoided the first few, but a well-ced Seed Bomb by Roselia managed to slow the bug type enough to restrain Vikavolt. ¡°Fight him off,¡± Chase said. That was unusually calm of him. And fight him off? How? That was a half-baked order if I¡¯d ever seen one. Something Pauline might have said, but not Chase. ¡°Wait,¡± I told Denzel and Tangrowth. ¡°He¡¯s got a trick.¡± Cecilia whispered something at Chase, who did his usual dismissing handwave before giving the slightest nod. I sucked in air through my teeth. They were trying to fucking trick me! Cecilia was trying to be discreet. Her lips were barely moving, and Chase was outwardly disagreeing but secretly going along with her n. They weren¡¯t good enough yet. I could tell that they were nning on doing something. If only I¡¯d been better at lip reading. Denzel stared at Slowking, who had gotten up and was starting to make his way to the action again. We were wasting time here. ¡°Fuck it,¡± he exhaled. ¡°Attack anyway, we can figure out how to deal with it on the fly.¡± I didn¡¯t like it, but we couldn¡¯t let an opportunity like this slip past us. With my signal, Tangrowth smashed Vikavolt against the floor and squeezed the life out of him with Bind and Mega Drain. Roselia stepped forward and began spraying her poison on the bug type. ¡°Rising Voltage!¡± Chase yelled. The floor shook slightly, and a massive amount of electricity shot out of the crackling floor, hitting both Roselia and Tangrowth. However, they were grass types, so they didn¡¯t take that much damage. Tangrowth hadn¡¯t even loosened his grip on Vikavolt, so why¡ª Through the smoke, ash, and electricity, Slowking was running. He was slow, but he was fucking running. Denzel swore and ordered Roselia to stop him with a Seed Bomb, but he easily diverted their path, and the explosions barely grazed him. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you time!¡± Denzel whispered. ¡°Finish Vikavolt off!¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I breathed. ¡°Tangrowth, smash.¡± The grass type happily wriggled as he kept ramming Vikavolt against the ground over and over. I nced at Denzel, who was simply waiting, but one look at his face told me that he was waiting for a reason. A few secondster, he smiled. ¡°Giga Drain!¡± ¡°Psychic!¡± Cece countered. With an enraged screech, Roselia extended her arms forward and started to drain Slowking¡¯s energy. The psychic type winced, stopping in his tracks as he lifted a hand. Roselia cried out in pain as energy surrounded her. Slowking raised her from the floor, assaulting her mind and senses. She crumpled like a piece of paper and went limp. Tangrowth smashed Vikavolt against the floor onest time. He was down for the count too, and he had crucially fainted first. ¡°Vikavolt and Roselia are unable to battle. Trainers, send out your second Pokemon!¡± Justin yelled. I wasted no time, and immediately ordered Tangrowth to Knock Off Slowking now that I knew that was Psychic¡¯s weakness, but Cecilia knew as much, and ordered Slowking back as he stopped Tangrowth from following with Psychic, finally buying us a lull in the battle. As it stood, only a single one of Tangrowth¡¯s vines could use Knock Off, meaning that his body as a whole could still be blocked. ¡°ck Off,¡± Cecilia smiled. Slowking sat down on the floor, closed his eyes, and all of the wounds on his body regenerated. Fuck. Since Chase¡¯s Pokemon went down first, the rules dictated that he¡¯d release his Pokemon first, too. The boy sent out his Snover, who proudly smashed his chest, and hail began to fall on the battlefield. It would slowly whittle all of our Pokemon down except him. I almost scoffed in disbelief when I saw that there was still that psychic bubble around Slowking that just blocked the hail from hurting him. ¡°Buneary should be good against that,¡± Denzel said as he grabbed her Pokeball. ¡°Slowking¡¯s annoying, but have Tangrowth rush him again to lock him down.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll get your Buneary her one-on-one.¡± The small rabbit punched the air with both her ears and her hands as her trainer released her. ¡°Water Pulse, speed it up,¡± Cecilia said, snapping a finger. ¡°Tangrowth, grab Buneary,¡± I simply said. ¡°Then get Slowking.¡± Tangrowth propelled himself with his vines and his legs as he tightly wrapped one against Buneary, carrying her like a rag. ¡°Wait for it¡­ wait for it¡­ throw her!¡± Denzel yelled. I ryed hismand to Tangrowth, who threw Buneary at Snover. The normal type shot out like an arrow, but Slowking was there to stop her, ever vignt. The rabbit started to scream out in pain as the water type worked his Psychic on her. But Tangrowth¡¯s arrival forced him to forgo any attacks in order to restrain the massive Pokemon from ramming into him. ¡°Knock Off,¡± I said. ¡°Icy Wind,¡± Chase snapped. Snover shivered as he blew a frigid wind toward Tangrowth, but a Power-Up Punch from Buneary forced him to change course. ¡°Wood Hammer!¡± He yelled. Both Denzel and my eyes bulged as Snover¡¯s fist elongated and shimmered with a bright, neon green. Denzel narrowly ordered Buneary to dodge with Quick Attack, but the Wood Hammer still clipped her side, and it had dealt a considerable amount of damage. In fact, the attack was so powerful that there was some blowback on Snover too. I hurriedly ordered Tangrowth to Knock Off again, hoping that the previous strategy would work. I smiled when the darkened vine mmed into Slowking¡¯s cheek, and I quickly followed up with a Power Whip, but Cecilia recalled her Pokemon in the nick of time, using her only switch of the battle. It was something I had expected, but not been sure of now that I knew Slowking had ck Off. She could have kept him going for a long time, but maybe she didn¡¯t want to tire him out too quickly? Without a dark type move, his defenses were nearly imprable. I considered switching too, but I decided to at least wait until I saw what she would use next. As Buneary and Snover dueled each other with Power-Up Punches, Fire Punches and Wood Hammers, Cecilia released her Fletchinder. ¡°Agility, Tailwind,¡± she said in quick session. ¡°Don¡¯t let them! Grab her!¡± I yelled at Tangrowth. Multiple vines shot out from his body, but the bird was already too quick. Her body loosened, and a continuous wind began to blow against us as she easily weaved in between Tangrowth¡¯s vines. ¡°Grace, I¡¯m going to do something that might be stupid,¡± Denzel whispered to me. ¡°Are you fucking kidding?¡± I hissed. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to experiment.¡± ¡°I have to do it. We¡¯re in a deadlock, but your Tangrowth¡¯s getting tired. Buneary¡¯s slowly losing to Snover.¡± I bit my lip. I didn¡¯t know what kind of training Chase had put his Snover under, but he was shrugging off fire type attacks like they were nothing, and the Hail would slowly whittle us down. ¡°Fire Spin,¡± Cecilia said. Damn it, another new move. Fletchinder beat her wings, heating up the air around Tangrowth until mes surrounded him on all sides. ¡°Ancient Power, angel!¡± I countered, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants. A massive rock flew toward Fletchinder, interrupting her attack, and Tangrowth just walked out of the Fire Spin. His body was still on fire, though, and he was quickly losing his energy. He wasn¡¯t as strong or fast as he had been before. ¡°Icy Wind, then Wood Hammer!¡± Chase said. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going for it,¡± Denzel whispered. ¡°Buneary, take the hit!¡± Snover blew another Icy Wind at Buneary, and I clicked my tongue. She could have dodged that. Now I could only hope that Denzel¡¯s strategy would work out, whatever it was. Wood Hammer was next, and Snover grunted as the full blow connected against Buneary¡¯s chest, sending her flying toward Denzel. I used the opportunity to switch targets and ordered Tangrowth to Ancient Power the Snover. A huge rock shattered against his body and he fell backwards, but another Fire Spin from Fletchinder stopped Tangrowth from continuing his onught. I was slowly realizing something. Angel was a fucking force of nature. Buneary struggled to get back up, and just as I was about to berate Denzel, the rabbit started to glow and evolve. ¡°Did you know that was going to happen?¡± I said, almost in disbelief. ¡°Call it a hunch,¡± he smiled. ¡°Eyes on the battle.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s fucking take that Snover down,¡± I grinned. ¡°Tangrowth, grab him!¡± The grass type wrapped a vine around the battered ice type and threw him back toward the still-evolving Buneary. Snovernded at her feet with a loud thud. ¡°Quick Attack, me Charge!¡± Cecilia yelled. ¡°Ancient Power!¡± Immediately, a wall was raised in front of Tangrowth, but the flying type had been too quick. She simply rammed into Tangrowth before he had even raised the barrier. Tangrowth caught on fire again, and Fletchinder escaped, continuing on her path to save her teammate. Snover struggled to his feet, but mesbusted on Lopunny¡¯s hands as she punched the Pokemon in the mouth. With another order, Fletchinder blurred forward with a speed impossible to track and rammed against Lopunny. The battle had switched around now. Snover was still not down, and even though he was still on the ground, he blew an Icy Wind toward angel, freezing his vines before he could grab him. Lopunny jumped into the air, creating a small crater and almost caught Cecilia off-guard, but Fletchinder was too quick. Nothing could hit her. ¡°Ice Punch!¡± Chase yelled at his Snover. Tangrowth was slowed, weakened, and hurt from the battle and the hail. The Ice Punch connected, freezing a part of his body, and angel fell to the ground as he fainted. As much as it pained me to see him fall, I needed to save my switch for Togetic. ¡°Tangrowth is unable to battle! Grace, send out your second Pokemon!¡± Justin said. Well, honey was trained for this. I grabbed his Pokeball and released Electabuzz with a sh of red. He whirled his arms around excitedly and awaited mymand. Snover was way off in the distance now, and we needed to use that to our advantage. First, I needed the setup. ¡°Eyes on Fletchinder. Electric Swift!¡± I ordered. Stars appeared above Electabuzz¡¯s head, and he infused them with electricity before sending them off to hunt Fletchinder, who screeched as Lopunny managed tond a Power-Up Punch on her wing. ¡°Fly away, darling!¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Keep dodging and attack with Fire Spin!¡± The stars homed in on the flying type as if they had a mind of their own, but we weren¡¯t done. I waited for Fletchinder to start flying toward us again, and then I struck. ¡°Discharge!¡± Honey extended his arms, and all of my and Denzel¡¯s hair stood on end as electricity surged from his body. Just like we had practiced, Lopunny was spared from any damage. Fletchinder squawked as she quickly dove to the ground and turned back, and I silently swore as she narrowly outran the Discharge. It still wasn¡¯t enough? Luckily, that meant that the Electric Swift managed to hit her, and Fletchinder was a frail Pokemon. A few of those, and she¡¯d be down for the count. ¡°E-Swift again,¡± I said. Meanwhile, I began to observe Chase. He wasn¡¯t as angry as I thought he would be, but he still looked pissed. Snover had made it back to our side of the arena, and his trainer extended his arm. ¡°Keep your distance, Ice Shard.¡± Sharp, shards of ice materialized around Snover¡¯s body and flew at high speeds toward Lopunny, who jumped up to dodge. For some reason, Denzel audibly winced, but he kept issuing orders to her anyway. ¡°Honey, Thunderbolt!¡± I said, pointing at Snover. Now that Lopunny was in front of us, Discharge wasn¡¯t an option, so I opted to focus on Snover instead. If we could take all of Chase¡¯s Pokemon down like we had nned¡­ I understood why Denzel had winced when I saw Fletchinder¡¯s ming body ram against Lopunny mid-air. The sky was hers, and anyone who entered it would be vulnerable to her attacks. The rabbit crashed on the ground, and one Ice Punch from Snover knocked her out. The grass type shrieked as the Thunderbolt hit him, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°Lopunny is unable to battle! Denzel, send out your third Pokemon!¡± ¡°Electabuzz! Get in there!¡± I yelled. Now that Denzel¡¯s next Pokemon wasn¡¯t on the field, it was time to act. The stars were still chasing Fletchinder, who was being forced to move around in order not to get hit. Electabuzz broke into a sprint and blurred as electricity hummed around his body. ¡°Discharge, full power!¡± The electric type pped his hands with a gleeful smile as thunder exploded around him quicker thanst time. For Electabuzz, it was easier not to hold back and to just let everything loose. Fletchinder screeched as electricity surrounded her, and Snover was caught in it as well. The fire type fell down to the ground, her body a smoking husk, but Snover still stood, proudly hitting its fist against its chest. ¡°Fletchinder is unable to battle. Cecilia, send out your second Pokemon.¡± Denzel released his Snorunt, and Cecilia followed by releasing her Slowking once again, who was still protected from the hail. ¡°I¡¯ll Blizzard,¡± Denzel whispered. ¡°You buy Snorunt some time.¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± I nodded. Cecilia and Chase were talking too, as they had been throughout the battle. Now, what to do? I didn¡¯t want to needlessly waste Electabuzz¡¯s energy with Thunderbolt, since I was sure that Slowking would defend himself or Snover with Psychic. We didn¡¯t have Tangrowth¡¯s vines to iste Cece and Chase¡¯s Pokemon any longer, so the situation was getting tricky. ¡°Blizzard,¡± Denzel ordered, causing both of our opponents to flinch. ¡°Snover, Ice Shard!¡± ¡°Water Pulse, speed it up!¡± Cecilia yelled. Electabuzz blurred toward Snorunt and slid across the ground as he stood tall in front of her. ¡°Discharge,¡± I smoothly said. As cold air began to pick up next to our opponents, Electabuzz screamed, and electricity surged forward, just like what we had done against Turtonator. The Water Pulse simply evaporated, but a few of the Ice Shards made it through and buried themselves inside of Electabuzz¡¯s flesh. Slowking started to run toward our two Pokemon, and Snover was now keeping his distance, just sending out Ice Shards like an Arceus damned machine gun. ¡°How much longer?¡± I asked. ¡°Thirty¡ªno, twenty seconds,¡± Denzel quickly answered. Another Discharge stopped a Water Pulse, and another set of Ice Shards pierced through honey¡¯s hide. I clicked my tongue. I couldn¡¯t just take hits for free. At least I had to try to strike back. ¡°Thunderbolt the Snover,¡± I hurriedly said. With a nod, honey whirled his arm, charging himself up, and sent out a massive, crackling Thunderbolt at Snover. Slowking waved his arm, altering the attack¡¯s path. I ordered another Thunderbolt, and the same thing happened again. This was another, more tiresome way of buying time for Electabuzz, but Slowking had now slowed into a walk to focus, and at least he was no longer attacking with Water Pulse. The cold wind was slowly picking up. I could see my breath, even inside of the building. I grinned. ¡°Switch it up.¡± Electabuzz understood immediately and sent his next Thunderbolt toward Slowking instead, catching him off guard. The water type convulsed as the electricity ransacked through his body, but the attack was interrupted by another set of Ice Shards. Slowking¡¯s permanent shield was good enough to stop the hail, but not actual attacks. Noted. ¡°Snorunt, send it!¡± Denzel said wildly. A thick Blizzard suddenly overtook half of the battlefield, obscuring our view of both Snover and Slowking. I used the opportunity to allow Electabuzz to rest up and sit, and Snorunt kept the Blizzard going for at least a minute, The hail slowed, and then stopped, signaling that Snover had fainted. The Blizzard slowly subsided, and Snover was lying face-down against the ground, while Slowking¡¯s entire body was simply frozen. ¡°Snover is unable to battle. Chase, send out your third Pokemon!¡± ¡°Fuck off,¡± he spat, before realizing what he had said. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re Pastel¡¯s pal. My bad.¡± He sighed as he sent out his Houndoom, and I immediately realized the dog-like Pokemon had changed. Darkness writhed where he walked, and there was an intensity about him that hadn¡¯t been there. It was as if the color of his fur wasn¡¯t ck, but an absence of light. ¡°Grace, this guy means business,¡± Denzel warned. ¡°I¡¯m switching.¡± I simply nodded, and ordered Electabuzz to use Thunderbolt on the frozen Slowking. With a cold, tired breath, he obliged me and shot out his attack. ¡°Melt the ice off,¡± Chase said, his tone suddenly cocky. ¡°Quick.¡± Houndoom turned toward his partner and used a huge fire type attack that could only be methrower. Slowking slowly came to, and altered Thunderbolt¡¯s path again, causing me to swear in frustration. Denzel sent out his Sylveon, who silentlynded on the battlefield. For some reason, just staring at him was difficult. The edges of his body flickered and blurred. Cecilia and Chase appeared to both be thinking the same thing, but Denzel seemingly had no problem with it. Were we seeing Sylveon differently? No! Now wasn¡¯t the time for that. We all seemingly went back to strategizing, whispering among ourselves, creating this very weird break in the battle. Like a truce of some kind. ¡°This Slowking¡¯s getting on my nerves,¡± I said. ¡°You and me both, man,¡± he sighed as he stretched with a smile. This was the most fun I¡¯ve ever had since the battle against Candice, but I was exhausted already. Meanwhile, he could seemingly keep going. ¡°Swift will work,¡± I said. ¡°No, not Swift. That¡¯ll take too long. Let¡¯s get in close and beat it up.¡± ¡°But Psychic¡ª¡± ¡°He can¡¯t stop us both. Sylveon¡¯s tougher than you remember. Just trust me on this.¡± Well, his gut had been correct regarding Lopunny¡¯s evolution, so I nodded. Chase and Cecilia seemingly finished strategizing at the same time, and the battle started once more. We ordered our Pokemon forward, and they both began to run, but Electabuzz matched his pace with Sylveon¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t be too quick. ¡°Feint Attack the Electabuzz!¡± Chase ordered. Instead of disappearing as he had done against Candice, shadows wreathed around Houndoom, and he sunk into the floor, immediately reappearing behind Electabuzz as he brutally pawed him in the back. ¡°Discharge!¡± I yelled. We would fall behind Sylveon, but there was no choice. Electricity expanded all around honey, wrapping around Houndoom, and the dark type whined as he convulsed from the shock. Still, it wasn¡¯t him we were focused on. ¡°Keep going!¡± I yelled. The electric type continued on his path as Houndoom recovered. Ceciliamanded Slowking to use another Psychic, and Sylveon¡¯s entire body froze. In a disturbing fashion, the fairy type struggled against the psychic as he tilted his head and smiled, even as the attack assaulted his brain. Slowking brought his arm forward, but Sylveon did not get thrown away like I had expected him to. Instead, the blur around his body was slowly scattering into the wind like pink dust with each attempt. When Electabuzz made it close enough, a single spark appeared on his fist, and then it was covered in electricity. Slowking moved his hand and pointed toward him, opting to get hit by a non-super-effective move instead, meaning that Electabuzz was restrained and taking damage instead of Sylveon. The electric type grinned as ice formed around his feet, anchoring him to the ground right before Slowking tried to swat him away like a bug. ¡°Chase,¡± Cecilia said after clicking her tongue. ¡°I know, damn it! Houndoom, Feint Attack again!¡± ¡°y Rough,¡± Denzel said. With a joyful scream, and his body still blurry, Sylveon¡¯s head twisted toward the ground at incredible speeds. He kicked a shadow on the floor, his paws overflowing with fairy energy. Houndoom cried out as he was forcefully expunged from the shadows, and Sylveon hit him away. Next, the fairy type turned to Slowking, and before the water type could try to restrain him again, Sylveon¡¯s ribbons wrapped gently around him as he let out a harrowing cry. That had been Disarming Voice. Electabuzz was finally freed, but he had a nosebleed from all the abuse he had taken from the Psychic, and he could barely stand up straight. Houndoom screamed out a methrower, burning Electabuzz until he fell to the ground. ¡°Electabuzz is unable to battle! Grace, send out your third Pokemon!¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re up, princess,¡± I said, releasing her. It looked like we weren¡¯t going to be able to save her for Zweilous after all. ¡°Fairy Wind. Keep it going.¡± Togetic was good enough to keep a constant Fairy Wind going in battle without any difficulty now, and it would work akin to Hail. Continuous damage that was almost impossible to dodge. Sylveon wouldn¡¯t take as much damage, since he was tough and another fairy type, so I figured that it¡¯d be worth it. He started relentlessly hitting Slowking with y Rough as heughed. The water type had lost the will to fight for a few seconds, and that was all Sylveon needed. He wasn¡¯t giving him any rest for him to use Psychic again. ¡°Ancient Power. Drills,¡± I simply ordered. Princess lifted a massive chunk of earth from the floor, and separated it into ten drill-like objects. She giggled as she sent them flying toward Slowking. Her control was so perfect that none of them even grazed Denzel¡¯s Sylveon. I smiled. ¡°Again¡ª¡± ¡°methrower!¡± Chase ordered. Instead of forming more drills, I ordered Togetic to alter the attack¡¯s path with Extrasensory. I felt my throat clog up when it didn¡¯t work, and the mes just burst through the psychic type attack, hitting her. ¡°What the fuck?¡± I swore. ¡°Ancient Power to protect yourself instead! Get close to the ground!¡± Togetic lifted another massive rock and rushed toward the floor, narrowly blocking another methrower from Houndoom. Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, Sylveon stood with blood on his fur and paws as he stood over the defeated Slowking. He turned back toward Denzel with a huge smile and a nk stare that sent a shiver down my spine. ¡°Good job, Sylvi,¡± he called out. ¡°Slowking is unable to battle. Cecilia, send out your third Pokemon!¡± ¡°You were wonderful,¡± Cecilia smiled. She immediately sent out her Scyther, and I instinctively held my breath. The bug type hissed as he sharpened his sickles against themselves. I knew nothing about him. He was an unknown element that could throw this entire battle sideways, and I didn¡¯t like it one bit. I waited for Cece¡¯s order toe with bated breath. It never came. Scyther rushed toward Sylveon, his speed only second to Fletchinder and shed across the fairy type¡¯s nk, but strangely, he did not bleed. ¡°Togetic, Air Cutter,¡± I ordered. Princess peaked from behind her hurriedly erected barrier and fluttered her wings, sending air as sharp as knives toward Houndoom. ¡°Get close!¡± Chase said. The fire type whined as the Air Cutter cut through his thick, dark hide, but he pushed through the pain and ran toward Togetic. I noticed that the Fairy Wind was having more effect on him than anyone else thanks to his dark type, but it still wouldn¡¯t take him down quickly enough. I bit my lip as I waited for Houndoom to get close as Scyther and Sylveon dueled each other in a surprisingly even match. Sylveon was too powerful for Scyther to hurt substantially, and he didn¡¯t bleed, while the bug type was quick enough to dodge most attacks. Cecilia still hadn¡¯t said anything. I didn¡¯t even know what half of these attacks Scyther was using were. Houndoom was close enough now. I swept an arm. ¡°Thunder Wave!¡± ¡°Fuck that! Dodge!¡± Houndoom slid across the ground and rolled behind Togetic¡¯s Ancient Power, narrowly avoiding her Thunder Wave. ¡°Fly away!¡± I yelled. ¡°methrower!¡± Houndoom¡¯s jaw opened, and a stream of white-hot mes would have hit Togetic if she hadn¡¯t raised another barrier. Houndoom was keeping us locked to the ground, but it wasn¡¯t for no reason. Chase had a n. Every time Houndoom got anywhere close to Togetic, he tensed his body in anticipation. Knowing there was intent behind his action was good, but I would have liked to actually know what it was that he wanted to do. Denzel nced at me. ¡°Grace¡ª¡± ¡°I know. Wish ising, just hold on a sec. I need you to get Houndoom off her back.¡± ¡°But Scyther¡­?¡± ¡°I can deal with Scyther. Trust me.¡± My best friend nodded and called out to Sylveon, who stopped fighting and ran back toward us right away. Scyther gave an enraged screech and started to chase him, but the fairy type ignored his attacks and kept running. Obviously, Chase noticed this development, and after swearing, he ordered his Houndoom to methrower Sylveon. The two Pokemon began to fight¡ª well, it wasn¡¯t really a fight. Houndoom slipped into the shadows and attempted to escape while Sylveon gave chase, somehow knowing where he was at all times. He looked at the ground with a disturbing, hollow stare and smashed his paw against the floor, causing Houndoom to cry out and run away faster. Scythernded on the ground and red at Togetic, who responded by pping her hands and giggling. That sent him over the edge, and he blurred toward her. ¡°Extrasenso¡ª¡± Before I even finished the sentence, Scyther was restrained in the air. Togetic curiously tilted her head, as if she was studying the bug type as she crushed his body ever so slightly. Her bait had worked masterfully. Cecilia was apparently letting him run loose, but that meant that he¡¯d easily fall into traps like this. ¡°Ram him,¡± I continued. With a disappointed chirp, Togetic sent Scyther flying toward the floor, cracking his hardened tes. She¡¯d wanted to keep hurting him, I suppose. We¡¯d have to get that under control. ¡°Wish!¡± Finally, she had enough time to use the move. Princess tightly shut her eyes, and after five seconds, a light shot up into the sky and through the arena¡¯s roof. On the other side of the battlefield, Chase finally recalled his Houndoom, opting to use his switch before he could be ultimately defeated. I almost thought that he wouldn¡¯t, but he was wise to do so. A dark type was not going to win against Sylveon. I gasped when he sent out his Zangoose and not his Riolu. That was hisst choice. He wasn¡¯t going to use the fighting type at all for this battle. The normal type hissed as she stood up on her rear legs, meaning that she was ready to fight. Upon closer inspection, she looked poisoned too. There was a slight purple tint to her usually red eyes, and her breaths were ragged. ¡°Keep using y Rough, Sylveon!¡± Denzel yelled. ¡°Wait, you should y it safe,¡± I said, holding his shirt. ¡°The Wish¡ª¡± ¡°Won¡¯te back down for two minutes,¡± he interrupted. ¡°We can¡¯t be on the defensive, or we¡¯ll eventually lose.¡± It was true that Togetic couldn¡¯t stop both Zangoose and Scyther at the same time. While her psychic abilities were good, she was no psychic type. The bug type shed, sending out a streak of air toward Togetic, who easily dodged and retaliated with Ancient Power. Two sharp drills lodged themselves in between Scyther¡¯s tes. Zangoose countered the first part of y Rough with her ws, and then quickly shed Sylveon. The fairy type¡¯s blur finally disappeared, and he bled, wincing as Zangoose overwhelmed him with attacks. ¡°Togetic, help him out! Get in there and restrain Zangoose!¡± I clicked my tongue as Scyther blurred in front of her, blocking her path. The flying type was rtively weak, but he was a constant thorn in Togetic¡¯s side. He adeptly flew backward as Togetic approached to stand out of Extrasensory¡¯s range, but he kept sending out that shing attack. Wait, was it Air sh? I¡¯d call it Air sh anyway. Togetic was too high in the sky to protect herself with Ancient Power, and altering the wind¡¯s path proved beyond our capabilities as the attack shed across her body, causing blood to sy out on her chest. ¡°Fuck. Sylveon can¡¯t keep this up,¡± Denzel groaned. Zangoose waspletely dominating him, using abination of sh, Crush w, and X-Scissor to gain an advantage. ¡°How long until your Wish? I spaced out.¡± ¡°Twenty-five seconds or so,¡± I answered. ¡°Prepare to switch, then¡ª¡± Suddenly, Cecilia spoke. ¡°Scyther. If I could offer a word of advice? I¡¯d target that Sylveon if I were you.¡± It was a mere suggestion, not an order, and yet, Scyther listened, blurring toward the fairy type. Denzel and I both cursed, but Togetic wasn¡¯t quick enough to help. Scyther and Zangoose ganged up on Sylveon, and he fainted soon after. ¡°Sylveon is unable to battle! Denzel, send out yourst Pokemon!¡± Justin said. Just as he finished his sentence, Wish entered Togetic¡¯s body instead, healing herpletely. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°You said it. Fuck,¡± I replied. Up until now, the battle had been somewhat equal, but I had believed that we were about to take the upper hand. That was no longer the case. We were losing. Denzel sighed as he sent out his Snorunt. ¡°Can you buy me enough time for another Blizzard?¡± He asked. ¡°I can, I think. But princess will have to push herself beyond her limits. She won¡¯t be able to do much afterward.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be worth it. Snorunt can take both of them down in one attack, or at least get close to that.¡± I ordered Togetic to stop her constant Fairy Wind to let Snorunt focus just as Zangoose and Scyther rushed toward us. Scyther was an annoyance, but Zangoose was a problem, especially when she was powered up by her ability Toxic Boost. I was surprised to see that she didn¡¯t even seem close to fainting, even after duking it out with Sylveon for so long. Snorunt shivered, her eyes shone with a pale blue, and a cold wind started to gather. ¡°Keep ¡®em away from us,¡± Denzel said. ¡°She can¡¯t control the area of effect that well yet, so Togetic might get hurt if they get too close.¡± Arceus, he was asking me for the impossible here. I grinned as I leaned against my knees. ¡°Ancient Power across the entire field!¡± I screamed. Togetic cried out, raising the earth and separating our half from theirs with a tall wall that would take Zangoose time to scale or breakthrough. Scyther just flew over it, and Togetic used the move again, this time sending out sharp spikes to try to pin him down. At the same time, she kept raising the sections that Zangoose attempted to climb even higher. She was panting loudly. Using Ancient Power on such a massive scale was tiring her out, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to do it for long. Togetic stopped Scyther a few inches away from her throat with Extrasensory. She could use both moves at the same time, but not when she was exerting herself so much. Zangoose finally climbed over the massive wall and blurred toward Snorunt. ¡°Trip her up!¡± I yelled. Princess raised small chunks of earth below Zangoose¡¯s feet, slowing her down somewhat, but it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°Fuck it, hit her with Scyther,¡± I said. The fairy type offered me a tiredugh as she propelled Scyther toward his teammate. Zangoose hissed in annoyance as the bug type hit her in the chest, and Togetic raised another, smaller barrier in front of them. ¡°How much¡ª¡± ¡°Now!¡± Denzel said. Snorunt screamed, and the air became thick with snow and shards of ice, surrounding both of our opponents. I breathed out a sigh of relief, and ordered Togetic to use another Wish. The Blizzard kept going for a long while, buying me precious time to think. Not only was Snorunt Denzel¡¯sst Pokemon, but she was also our key to defeating Zweilous. I needed to keep her protected at all costs. Without her, this dire situation would quickly turn from bad to awful. When the Blizzard subsided, Scyther was crumpled on the ground, still having all of the Ancient Powers Togetic had lodged inside of him. Zangoose still stood, although her fur was frozen, and she appeared to be on herst legs. If only she could havepletely frozen over like Slowking had¡­ ¡°Scyther is unable to battle! Cecilia, send out your final Pokemon.¡± ¡°With pleasure,¡± she answered as she released Zweilous, who I couldn¡¯t see due to Togetic¡¯s Ancient Power. Zerst snarled as he probably found the wall in between him and our Pokemon annoying, while Sol was quiet. ¡°Charge another one,¡± I told Denzel. ¡°Yep. Snorunt, Blizzard again.¡± With a cold, heavy breath, Snorunt only nodded. ¡°Blow the wall apart,¡± Cecilia calmly said. Two Dragon Pulsespletely destroyed the wall Togetic had worked so hard to raise, while Zangoose continued on her warpath toward Snorunt. Chase knew that her time was running out, and they couldn¡¯t afford to wait for an opening. Unfortunately for him, this was simply a lose-lose dilemma. ¡°Togetic, finish her off with Extrasensory,¡± I said. The fairy type flew toward Zangoose, who jumped with surprising vigor, aiming to w her apart, but she stopped her and mmed her against the ground while she stared at her like she was nothing. ¡°Zangoose is unable to battle! Chase, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± Just as Chase released his Houndoom, Cecilia raised a hand. I was wondering why she had waited to issue her order, but when I saw what came next, I immediately understood. ¡°Incinerate. Both of you.¡± Both of Zweilous¡¯ heads belched, releasing a few small mes from his mouth. And then released the biggest Incinerate I had ever seen toward Snorunt. Houndoom quickly used methrower as well, and the two fire type attacksbined into one unstoppable force. If Zangoose had still been in front of that attack, there would have been no way for her to dodge. ¡°Togetic,¡± I exhaled, biting the inside of my mouth so hard I tasted metal. ¡°Ancient Power, multipleyers.¡± The fairy type exhaled, raising barrier after barrier. There were ten in total, and each stopped the attack for a precious few seconds before bing molten rock. And both of their Pokemon were still attacking. It wasn¡¯t enough. We were running out of time. ¡°New n, I switch, you get Wish while burning, might work,¡± I said. There was so little time I wasn¡¯t even speaking properly. Denzel didn¡¯t have time to even protest, and I switched Togetic out, recing her with Jellicent. Chase and Cecilia looked on with surprise. ¡°Fly up,¡± I hurriedly said. ¡°Water Pulse.¡± Jellicent silently followed mymand, propelling himself up with Water Sport, and he got out of range of the enormous me that was now only two Ancient Powers away from hitting Snorunt. If the timing was right¡­ this could work out. Jellicent¡¯s goal here was to hurt the two dark types enough to interrupt their fire type attacks, and the Wish would go to Snorunt, since she¡¯d be hurt by the mes. Hopefully, it would keep her standing. With a cry that was more sinister than I remembered, Jellicent sent out a Water Pulse that was twice as big as it had been before his Evolution straight toward Houndoom. ¡°Houndoom, dodge!¡± The fire type sunk into the shadows, stopping his methrower attack, and Jellicent used another Water Pulse, this time aiming toward Zweilous. I frowned when Sol kept his Incinerate going, but Zerst stopped without Cecilia¡¯smand. And in a single moment in the battle, everything happened all at once. Blizzard went into effect just as the fire broke through thest barrier and hit Snorunt. The ice type¡¯s screams were drowned out by the roar of the mes. Wish bore down from the heavens, flickering as it sank into the sea of fire. Zerst screamed, sending out a loud, shock-wave-like sound-based attack that tore through Jellicent¡¯s body, disintegrating half of his head, and Water Pulse hit his body for barely any damage. Houndoom reappeared from the shadows below Jellicent, reared his head back and blew mes toward the water type. Sol continued roaring out his mes, not stopping for even one second. Until the Blizzard forced him to. This may have been Snorunt¡¯s third, but it was just as powerful and longsting as the previous ones. She hadsted through the mes, although she looked half-dead. Jellicent hurriedly escaped from Blizzard¡¯s range with Water Sport as the edges of his tentacles froze. A Dragon Pulse tore through the snow and clipped the right side of his body, causing it to evaporatepletely. Zweilous couldn¡¯t see, and they located their enemies with a rough echolocation, so Blizzard hampering their visibility didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Recover,¡± I breathed out. Like cells multiplying, Jellicent¡¯s body regenerated, bing as good as new. Dragon Pulses, Incinerates and what looked to be like Hyper Voice continued to tear through the arena, some hitting Jellicent, but most missing by a mile. Every time, I ordered him to Recover. ¡°She got another one in her?¡± I panted as I wiped the sweat off my forehead. ¡°No. The fire was too much, but she¡¯s got other ice type moves. Wait for the Blizzard to finish, and focus everything you have on Houndoom.¡± ¡°Agreed. If we can get a two versus one against Zweilous, then we¡¯re favored, I think.¡± When the Blizzard dissipated, Zweilous looked slightly tired, and Houndoom reappeared from below the floor. He had used Feint Attack to dodge. Damn it, he hadn¡¯t even been hit for that much, then. Even if Blizzard wasn¡¯t super effective, it was so powerful andsted for so long that it would have dealt substantial damage. ¡°Get close, and Dragon Pulse,¡± Cecilia said. Zweilous broke into an awkward run, and Zerst screamed out an Incinerate toward Snorunt. ¡°Jellicent, get in front of her and Water Pulse.¡± The water type turned upside down, propelled himself with the powerful jet of water, and weakened the Incinerate enough to block it with his body. Sol, meanwhile, was content to listen to Cecilia¡¯s orders, and a stream of blue draconic energy flew toward Jellicent. I was starting to understand her n now. She was letting Zerst run loose in an effort to counter me. Since Sol was following her orders, he¡¯d be more of a pain to deal with, but I still had to dedicate some attention to Zerst. ¡°Feint Attack, then Thunder Fang!¡± Chase said. Thunder Fang, now?! I swore as I ordered Jellicent to dodge the Dragon Pulse, and Snorunt barely managed to do the same. That was the move that he had tried to have Houndoom use on princess. The dark type sunk into the floor once again and then jumped unnaturally high toward Jellicent, ignoring the fact that he was being sprayed with water. Electricity sparked in Houndoom¡¯s mouth, and the dark type bit down hard on Jellicent¡¯s tentacle, electrocuting him. ¡°Let it loose!¡± I yelled. The water type shook wildly, struggling to implement my order, but after five seconds, he managed to detach his tentacle from his body, and Houndoom crashed to the floor. Snorunt used the opportunity to pester him with an Icy Wind, slowing him down. Fucking perfect! I celebrated internally. ¡°Water Pulse! Finish him off!¡± I said excitedly. ¡°Stomping Tantrum,¡± I gasped sharply as Zweilous mmed their feet against the floor, dealing damage both to Snorunt and Houndoom. Was Cecilia cutting him loose? Chase looked pissed, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, but he wasn¡¯t swearing at her or anything, so he had expected this. At the same time, Jellicent¡¯s Water Pulse mmed into Houndoom, and the fire type fainted. ¡°Houndoom is unable to battle. Chase is out of the battle!¡± Justin said. Snorunt was still standing. Barely. And then she fell. ¡°Snorunt is also unable to battle. Denzel is out of the battle.¡± I took a deep breath as Jellicent red at his opponent, who growled at the ghost type. Two Pokemon against one. This was it. Denzel offered me words of encouragement, but they sounded far away. I exhaled and licked my lips. Jellicent wouldn¡¯t be able to do much against Zweilous, but I was confident he couldst a lot longer than Togetic could. He¡¯d be the foundation upon which Togetic could build her victory. ¡°Two Dragon Pulses,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Keep them going for as long as possible!¡± ¡°Dodge and Poison Sting,¡± I ordered. The water type narrowly dodged Zerst¡¯s Dragon Pulse, but half of his face was disintegrated by Sol¡¯s. Unaffected by any kind of pain, Jellicent spat out thin, purple needles that oozed with poison, and they buried themselves against Zweilous¡¯ tough hide. If I could poison him, then¡ª ¡°Hyper Voice!¡± While Zerst continued on his rampage with Dragon Pulse, forcing Jellicent to weave as he Recovered the damage done to his face, Sol screamed, and Jellicent¡¯s formpletely disintegrated, flying off like glowing droplets of water. I inhaled sharply, not knowing what would happen, but they started to gather into a coherent form. Unfortunately, that meant that Zerst¡¯s Dragon Pulse had enough time to connect, slowing his regeneration down further. I bit my lip. Every time he was just about to finish, they blew him apart again with Hyper Voice. They weren¡¯t giving him enough time to regenerate. If I had known that Hyper Voice would have had such an effect, then I would have ordered Jellicent to solidify his body¡ª Iughed when the water type silently regenerated behind Zweilous from a single speck. Had the previous attempts just been bait? No, he had still taken damage and expended energy to regenerate. This new form was new for him too. He was improvising. ¡°Behind you!¡± Cecilia yelled Both heads angrily roared as they turned and opened their mouths as two Dragon Pulses started to gather. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me. How could I ensure that Zweilous would be poisoned? Like this. ¡°Poison Sting inside of Zerst¡¯s mouth!¡± Jellicent seemingly loved the idea, and his eyes shone with a sinister light. Zerst cried out in pain. Real pain, as poisoned sharp needles lodged themselves inside of his mouth to secrete their poison. Why Zerst? While Sol might have been more annoying to deal with, since he followed Cecilia¡¯s orders, meaning that they employed strategy, his attacks were actually still weaker than Zerst¡¯s. If I could put him out ofmission for a bit, then¡­ Jellicent¡¯s entire head disappeared as Sol delivered a point-nk Dragon Pulse, and what remained of his body flew back toward me. Zerst coughed up blood and poison as Sol continued to attack with a rage I had never expected. I sighed. That could be annoying. Cecilia had stopped issuingmands now, and was letting his enraged self runpletely loose. ¡°Recover¡ª¡± I cut myself off before realizing that Jellicent couldn¡¯t even hear me in his current state. I waited until he regenerated the first half of his head, noticing he had considerably slowed, and ordered him to solidify his body and use Bubblebeam immediately. Bubblebeam was weaker than Water Pulse in a vacuum, but he could keep the attack going for a long time, and the damage would add up. Zerst had recovered now, and began using a Dragon Pulse of his own. Jellicent¡¯s body no longer appeared transparent, and the attacks thatnded took out chunks of it instead of the entire head. The Bubblebeam continuously hit Zweilous as the water type kept engaging in this dance to dodge the dragon¡¯s attacks. Unfortunately, when he was solid, he was heavier, and therefore, a lot slower, meaning that more attacksnded. I considered that a worthy trade, given that I didn¡¯t know how many times he¡¯d be capable of fullying back together like he had before. Just doing it a few times had noticeably slowed how fast he could Recover. This song and dance must havested for five minutes. Or maybe it was less. It was hard to tell how much time passed when I was so focused. Jellicent¡¯s body was just a speck of his former self, and he crashed into the floor. He was too tired to Recover any longer. Zweilous still stood, albeit a lot more tired than he had been. Zerst appeared a lot closer to fainting than Sol was. It was like I had theorized. The dragon specialized against blunt trauma, while attacks that prated their armor would deal more damage. ¡°Jellicent is unable to battle! Grace, send out yourst Pokemon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you and me, princess,¡± I whispered as I stared at her Pokeball. I released her and immediately ordered her to whip up a constant Fairy Wind. Whittling Zweilous down would be good, and there was no time to charge up a powerful one anyway. Hell, there wasn¡¯t even enough time to use Wish, and that only took five seconds. ¡°Thunder Wave,¡± I said right after. I knew for a fact that Zweilous was too slow to dodge. ¡°Hyper Voice, Sol,¡± she hurriedly said. The dragon¡¯s voice was so powerful that the electricity dispersed into nothing. This fucking dragon could go fuck himself with how powerful he was. Of course, that meant that Sweet Kiss was probably a no-go too. ¡°Bring her down with Incinerate and move forward,¡± Cecilia said. Damn it, the elemental fangs were probably going toe into y. If Togetic ever got close enough to be caught, the battle was over. The two headsbined their Incinerates into one, and the attack became as strong as Houndoom¡¯s methrower. Extrasensory would work this time, but Togetic would still take damage from the heat. ¡°Ancient Power!¡± I yelled. Her eyes shone as she erected multiple barriers of protection, each gradually stretching higher and higher up to stop the Incinerate from hitting. There were feweryers thanst time, but they did the job. Without Houndoom¡¯s mes to pack that extra oomph, no Incinerate would break past Togetic¡¯s barriers. ¡°Again, drills this time!¡± I screamed. The fairy type crumbled half of thest barrier, turning it into sharp drills, and with a happy chirp, she sent them flying toward Zweilous, giving them a vicious spin so that they could prate his scales. The dragon type cried out as every single one of them buried deep into his nk, drawing blood. ¡°Incinerate again,¡± Cecilia said. Damn it, she was masking herself so well that it was hard to tell what she was truly thinking from afar. ¡°Okay, princess,¡± I said as my fingers trembled. ¡°Keep it going.¡± Togetic raised another set of barriers, and again, they stopped the Incinerate¡ª ¡°Now, Stomping Tantrum!¡± Fuck, fuck, fuck! ¡°Keep them steady!¡± I yelled. ¡°Attack him at the same time!¡± Already-formed drills burst through the floor and flew toward Zweilous, who began angrily stomping the ground as they kept their Incinerate going. The barriers cracked and started to crumble, but I just needed to interrupt his attack¡ª The first two barriers copsed, and Incinerate just burned through the rest. Togetic caught on fire and fell to the ground as another set of drills stabbed Zerst in the neck. The dragon shambled toward her with an exhausted, irregr jog. ¡°Princess!¡± I yelled, hoping she¡¯d push through the pain. ¡°Ram him with Ancient Power!¡± The fairy type gathered the rest of the fallen barricades and pushed them toward Zweilous. I couldn¡¯t expect her to do any kind of sophisticated maniption¡ª not when she was literally burning. I clenched at my jeans as Zweilous burst through the earth and rocks like a truck. There was onest hope. Onest trick up my sleeve. ¡°Fairy Wind,¡± I simply said. I didn¡¯t need to borate. Togetic understood immediately, and the constant wind paused, being reced by thick, pink mist instead. If I could get one powerful Fairy Wind off,bined with the poison and the bleeding from Ancient Power¡­ it could work, and I knew it could work because Cecilia¡¯s mask was beginning to slip. ¡°Don¡¯t let her! Incinerate¡ª¡± ¡°Raise a barricade!¡± I cut her off. ¡°¡ªStomping Tantrum!¡± The wind picked up around Togetic, surrounding her until I could only see the mes burning her body. Incinerate was weaker now, butbined with Stomping Tantrum, it made quick work of Togetic¡¯s hastily formed barrier, burning her further and hurting her with the ground type move. It did not matter. Togetic was an Arceus damned fairy. Sheughed in the face of pain and sent her Fairy Wind forward Just as Zweilous reached her. Cece ordered something, but the wind was too strong to hear. The dragon type¡¯s teeth were d in electricity as one head bit down on Togetic¡¯s neck and the other on her chest. mes, wind, and electricity danced around both Pokemon, creating a cacophony of sounds that made my head pound. The wind seized, and Togeticid still on the ground. Both of Zweilous¡¯s heads screamed as he stumbled. After screaming their hearts out, Zerst¡¯s head fell limp, but Sol was still conscious. ¡°Togetic is unable to battle! Victory goes to Cecilia and Chase!¡± I groaned in frustration and ced my face in my hands. Arceus damn it, it fucking stung. I had done everything I could, and yet I still lost. I recalled Togetic, and Cecilia did the same for her Zweilous. I hadn¡¯t even known that one head could keep going if the other fainted, and Sol was no doubt a few attacks away from copsing as well. That didn¡¯t matter. A loss was still a loss, even if it had been by a few attacks. ¡°You did great,¡± I told her. Maybe using Wish would have been better¡­ no, there wasn¡¯t enough time. The entire battle between her and Zweilous didn¡¯tst two minutes. If I had know about Hyper Voice, maybe¡ª ¡°Grace,¡± Denzel called out. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Did you have fun?¡± I exhaled and answered with a smile. ¡°I did. How long did that evenst? I want to crash on my bed and sleep for an entire day.¡± I stared around the arena, and I was surprised to see that it was now packed to the brim. The small crowd had grown to an incredible amount as people no doubt heard about our battle as it was going on online. He grabbed his Poketch. ¡°Forty-something minutes,¡± he answered with a stretch. He pped me back. ¡°Come on, keep your chin up. That was close as hell. Chase and I improved a whole lot, but you two were on another level.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short,¡± Iughed. ¡°That Snorunt of yours especially. I don¡¯t know what you feed her, but she¡¯s a monster.¡± ¡°Well, thanks. Let¡¯s go meet the others.¡±
Chapter 123 Chapter 123 CHAPTER 123 ¡°The forums are going to go crazy about this,¡± Denzel smiled. I just answered with a tired nod. A lot of people had been recording the battle and were no doubt rushing to be the first ones to upload it online¡ª both on the forums and every video hosting tform in general. As we walked to meet the others, the adrenaline was quickly leaving my body, and I was growing more tired by the minute. My body felt like it had gone through an hour of cardio, and I was surprised that I was even still standing. I was also surprised to see that trainers weren¡¯t swarming around us like I had expected them to. Oh sure, there were some exceptions¡ª people asking for pictures, or just asking us to stay and talk for a while¡ª but the majority just stood there. A deafening silence hung in the air as they watched Denzel and I walk up to Cecilia and Chase. My girlfriend was t on the ground, breathing harshly and staring at the bright lights on the ceiling, while Chase annoyingly tapped his foot against the floor. Denzel, meanwhile, lookedpletely fine physically. ¡°Congrattions,¡± he said as we reached the two others. ¡°That was one hell of a battle.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t do as well as I wanted,¡± Chaseined. ¡°I felt like a sidekick, and that shit pisses me off.¡± I offered Cece a hand and helped her up, but she was barely able to stand up straight. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve¡­ never had to¡­ push myself this much,¡± she panted. ¡°Tired¡­¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s get you in a bed, okay? Denzel, go get the others so we can leave.¡± ¡°Gotcha.¡± Arceus, the result of the battle was disappointing, still. Cece leaned against me with her eyes half-closed, and I watched as trainers finally began to trickle out or ask questions to Denzel instead of us. That was something I could appreciate about trainer culture that people just didn¡¯t get. You couldn¡¯t overwhelm someone right after a battle this intense. Denzel was fine, so he¡¯d be a legit target, but Cece and I were exhausted while Chase just looked pissed. ¡°Nice surprise with that Vikavolt,¡± I told him. ¡°You caught us bothpletely off-guard.¡± ¡°Obel told me you¡¯d lead with Frillish, so we figured it might have been a good idea,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Obviously, she was wrong. And we didn''t know he evolved. That regeneration thing is bullshit, by the way.¡± ¡°I thought¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Just close your eyes, okay? We¡¯ll be in a car soon,¡± I told her before turning to Chase. ¡°Hey, I won¡¯tpliment you too much because you¡¯ll think I¡¯m pitying you and get pissed off even though you won, but your Pokemon were each excellent. Zangoose especially¡­¡± I grumbled. ¡°She¡¯s fierce,¡± he agreed with a slight smile. ¡°But at the end of the day, we didn¡¯t do as well as I wanted, which means we lost.¡± I was genuinely surprised at hisck of outbursts orints. I sighed, sitting against the wall, and Cecilia fell asleep on my shoulder immediately. I was too tired to even think back to the battle properly, which was frustrating. I wanted to go over my mistakes and fix them now. I had been prepared to lose, but it hurt more than I expected. I was almost there. I had almost caught up, but in the end, it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°Guys! That was incredible,¡± Pauline beamed. ¡°It¡¯s almost unfair how good you all are! Except you,¡± she said, looking at Chase. I frowned, wondering why she was targeting him specifically before remembering that he¡¯d been rude to Justin. ¡°Your shit-talking means nothing to me,¡± he responded. ¡°But if you¡¯re so sure about yourself, why don¡¯t we battle when my Pokemon¡ª¡± ¡°No fighting,¡± Emilia said, tugging on the redhead¡¯s arm. ¡°Can Cece walk? Justin and Denzel are already out looking for a taxi, so we should leave.¡± ¡°Um, Cece?¡± I asked. I had to shake her a little bit for her to wake up, and we were finally on our way. No matter how bitter I felt about my loss, I couldn¡¯t hold it against her, or Chase. We had promised no hard feelings for the Conference, but it also applied here, and with every single battle we would fight. The frustration was more focused on myself. We stepped into the taxi, but Chase opted to go back on his own because he didn¡¯t want to owe us anything. We¡¯d meet again eventually. Plus, he wanted to go sign up for Fantina¡¯s gym immediately tomorrow morning to knock it out of the way. After reaching the Pokemon Center, we all gave our Pokemon to Nurse Joy. I brought Cece to her bed, and then left for my room. Emilia, but especially Pauline, wanted to hang out with Denzel and I, but he wanted to do a short livestream for his viewers about the battle, and wanted to be alone for a bit. Emi surely wouldn¡¯t have minded being in the livestream, though. Exposure was everything to a content creator, after all, and they still had to film their video with Vincent soon. I closed my door, crashed into my bed and shrieked into my pillow. ¡°Damn it, damn it, damn it!¡± That Zweilous was ridiculously, stupidly, insanely, unfairly strong! I fucking had them! I had them, damn it! Sure, I was sure that when I thought back to the battle tomorrow and looked at the footage Emilia had recorded, I¡¯d cringe and find a bunch of mistakes, imperfections, and moments of hesitation in time where I could have done better. Those would slowly but surely have stacked up and tipped the course of the battle in my favor, and we might have won because of them, but right now? Arceus damn it, it felt unfair. I hadn¡¯t known that I had to defeat the two heads! I repeatedly kicked my bed as I kept screaming into my pillow until I waspletely spent. I groaned as turned and stared at the ceiling. A dragon¡¯s pride made them ridiculously stubborn when it came to fainting. Turtonator had been the same, although obviously on apletely different level, being covered in wounds for a week in Mount Cor and still being capable of wiping the floor with me. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± I breathed. ¡°Was I always this immature?¡± At least I was done coping now¡­ somewhat. Everyone else seemed fine about their loss. I counted Chase¡¯s battle as a loss, since he did so himself, even though I found that strange. If Denzel had been thest one standing and he beat Cece, then I would have celebrated because I would have ultimately contributed to the win, but I supposed that we were fundamentally different. Anyway, what I meant was, I doubt he was screaming in his damn pillow due to anger. He maybe might have been just the type to do so, once, but he seemed so mature now. Denzel too. He¡¯d been trying to hide his disappointment to cheer me up, but I could easily see through him without an issue. He had immediately moved on and capitalized on the battle to bring himself more sess by livestreaming. He¡¯d grown a lot from when he needed that pep talk before Gardenia¡¯s battle. And now I was the only one being a baby. If the loss didn¡¯t sting, it would have meant that I didn¡¯t really care about battling¡ª or at least winning. Then that meant that there¡¯d be no drive for me to improve. However, all my motivation had been sapped away like I¡¯d been hit with Absorb. I thought I was bigger than this. My meeting with the Poketch Company was soon. If I got enough money from a sponsor, then I¡¯d be able to start feeding my Pokemon supplements and buy TMs¡­ but I had been so, so close to winning without them, and for some reason, that frustrated me further. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got to start nning more in-depth for Fantina soon,¡± I sighed. ¡°I also need to start preparing for that damned meeting.¡± Electabuzz would be the star of that battle. I was kind of noticing a pattern there. He¡¯d been supposed to be the ace against Gardenia¡ª although that ended up being princess due to the ever-changing circumstances of battles, but he¡¯d been my strongest against Candice, and now he¡¯d do the same against Fantina. And this time, it was solely thanks to his ability to sense ghosts, which I still didn¡¯t understand why he even had. It wasn¡¯t as good as we needed it to be right now, but with a some practice, I was sure he¡¯d be able to perfect it. Now that Jellicent had evolved, and he was more of a ghost than before, I was confident that honey would be able to use him to practice. Could Jellicent sense other ghosts too? If I had two Pokemon that could, then the odds would certainly be in my favor. I closed my eyes, daydreaming of my battle against Fantina, and drifted off to sleep. ¡ª¡ª Chase sat at the window of his Pokemon Center and sighed. Riolu leaned against his wall and stared apologetically at him. For all that stupid strategizing that Obel had tried to rack into his brain, they sure went off the rails immediately. In the beginning, she had wanted to create an intricate n, but in the end, they just ended with a few strategies and figured that the best they could hope for was to not get in each other¡¯s way. Slowking speeding up Vikavolt had been one, but they mainly ran on instincts throughout the battle,ting them a narrow victory. ¡°Ri,¡± Riolu said with his arms crossed. Chase smirked at his partner. ¡°Proud that I didn¡¯t use you, huh?¡± He asked. The fighting type responded with a nod. ¡°Well, you¡¯re the one who ragged on me to stop depending on you so much, so we busted our asses in Mount Cor to catch up.¡± And yet, after all of that training, Chase still felt like he was ever so slightlygging behind. Oh, he wouldn¡¯t beat himself over it whatsoever. The cure to struggling was to simply work harder¡ª a natural mindset in the Iron Inds. That jaunt through Mount Cor had undoubtedly brought him up to speed, but there was something he wascking. Fairies, ghosts, and dragons were all bullshit. That was a part of his problem. Pastel¡¯s Jellicent could take hits like a sponge and regenerate like it was nothing. Williams¡¯ Sylveon was an Arceus damned battle maniac that had some sort of bullshit fairy armor, and he could barely recognize it from that time Ri had easily dealt with it as an Eevee. Togetic¡¯s mastery of the field was as good, or perhaps even better than Slowking¡¯s. Hell, even that little Snorunt couldpletely turn the tide of a battle with Blizzard. The two fairies in general unnerved even him greatly. Sylveon, and to a lesser extent, Togetic, looked at their opponents like someone would stare at a lesser lifeform. Chase didn¡¯t understand how Williams and Pastel were just fine with having them on their teams, especially since they appeared to be getting worse the stronger they got. The boy sighed. Yes, Chase would notin about his loss, but he was realizing that being a good Pokemon trainer was more than having your Pokemon be at their top physical condition. He needed to control the field as a whole, or he would not improve as quickly as he wanted. Pastel had Ancient Power, Cecilia had her damned psychic, and to a lesser extent, Williams had Blizzard. But Chase did not need a dragon, a ghost, or a fairy. He hade from nothing, and had reached this point through hard work, perseverance, and dedication. Most important of all, he needed to branch out of just trying to hit things harder. He needed to find a way to control the field and change it to his advantage. And he would start immediately. ¡°Well, I¡¯m teaching Vikavolt Electric Terrain starting tomorrow,¡± he dered to Riolu. Then, he¡¯d need to figure out a way to get the electric type to his top speed without another Pokemon¡¯s help. He still wasn¡¯t exactly used to his body yet. Going from crawling on the ground to flying had been a shock, and Vikavolt was still slowly getting better at it. And maybe Houndoom¡¯s darkness could also be worked with. Chase Karlson would not be left in the dust. The trainer sighed again, his face turning grim. ¡°We¡¯re getting pretty close to Celestic, huh?¡± ¡°Rio,¡± the fighting type nodded. ¡ª¡ª Cecilia groaned as she woke up, and she wiped a trail of drool from her mouth. She groggily picked up her phone and sighed when she saw that it was only two in the morning. Her entire body felt sore, but her mind still vividly remembered that battle. The stakes, the highs and the lows, the individual stories and rivalries that yed themselves out in front of her eyes for nearly an hour. She had never had to push herself this hard for a battle. Never. And yet, it was the most fun she had ever had. Zweilous had nearly fallen by the end, and by the Legendaries, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered to her if they had. Win or lose, she would have been satisfied with the results, but she couldn¡¯t lie. It was a relief to her that Chase and she had won. He had gone off the rails a few times to do his own thing, but they had agreed on no overarching n or strategy, which meant that they had to talk mid-battle a whole lot to adjust for errors. Arceus, just thinking about the fight still made her feel giddy inside. Grace and Denzel were the best rivals that she could have asked for. Even Chase, as painful as it was to admit it, was one of them. The girl couldn¡¯t wait to see the carnage they would all unleash during their battles when their teams grew in power. As Cecilia poured herself a ss of water, she couldn¡¯t help but daydream about a future where one of them¡ª hopefully her¡ª was the Champion and they were all a part of the Elite Four. Maybe Pauline could be thest one, since Justin would be preupied with Pherzen. s, dreams were often not reality, and Cecilia recognized that it¡¯d be easier said than done. She did want to stay with her friends forever, though, and that was the main way that she could envision such a future. She was no longer miles ahead of her friends. Grace was breathing down her neck with none of the resources Cecilia had. If she slowed down for even a second, it would mean that she would fall behind. No. Even that wasn¡¯t enough. She needed to go above and beyond. Grace had her meeting with the Poketch Company and a bunch of other businesses, so she¡¯d soon get a lot more money to work with if everything went well, and hopefully, it would. And Cecilia knew her girlfriend too well to think that the same tricks would work on her twice. She would need toe up with new tactics for their next battle, whenever that woulde, and the best path forward that she could see now was getting better at faking her bodynguage, somehow. As the battle had progressed and panic had overtaken her thoughts, she hadpletely stopped even trying to, but it hadn¡¯t even worked that well in the first ce. Grace had somehow seen through her almost right away, and Denzel had been there to stay focused on the small details, constantly whispering to her to micromanage the fight and catch the things she didn¡¯t. Now that the battle was over, Cecilia was mostly preupied with what Pauline¡¯s mother would tell them about Harvey and rence. Cecilia had been worried about Louis, but now that she at least knew that he was safe and that he had people to keep his spirits up, a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She hoped that they would at least talk once in the city. She also wasn¡¯t worried about the fight against Fantina at all, and she doubted that the gym leader would give her as much trouble as Grace and Denzel had. She would have to work hard to bring Scyther up to speed with the others, though. Sure, he was fast, but hisck of power was disappointing. A shame, when he had seemed so unstoppable when they had traveled through Eterna Forest, but she supposed that his stagnation had been her fault. Slowking, Zweilous, and Fletchinder had done everything she could have hoped of them as well. Despite the dangers that lurked, there was a lot to look forward to in the future. Her fifth team member was near, and she¡¯d be able to catch it as soon as they reached the Lost Tower on route 209. Cecilia shivered in excitement. It had been so long since she caught a new Pokemon, but now that she had seen what Fantina had done with it in the battle against her friend? She was sure that she had made the right choice. ¡ª¡ª That settled it, Denzel thought as he finally ended his livestream after thanking every donor. He was definitely getting a dragon as hisst team member. He¡¯d been on the fence about it, still wondering if he should get an Altaria or not, but seeing Zweilous fight had changed his mind. Maybe he was being a bit childish about wanting the big, new shiny thing that beat his and Grace¡¯s ass. Most trainers thatpeted at the top didn¡¯t even have one, nor did they have fairies or ghosts. A ¡®good¡¯ type couldn¡¯t exactly ovee hard work, talent, and experience. Denzel knew that even though Cece¡¯s Zweilous was special, with the vitamins and being an offspring of a Champion¡¯s Pokemon and all, he¡¯d eventually catch up due to the diminishing returns that the vitamins had the more you fed them to your team. Still, the type was undoubtebly strong, along with ghosts and fairy types. He would already have thetter two when Snorunt evolved, so why notplete the trio? Altaria shared, or even surpassed Zweilous¡¯ attacking power, but it was a frail Pokemon that would go down a lot quicker than he would if it got hit, and it wouldn''t exactly fit what he was looking for. If he could get a Dratini somehow¡­ Arceus, he¡¯d have to save up millions. He was making a lot of cash from his streams and donations, and his channel was growing at a quick pace, but that was penniespared to the money he¡¯d need if he wanted to buy it from a breeder or the Veilstone Game Corner. Which was basically just a casino. They called it a Game Corner to prevent underage people from getting banned. Trainers were their primary source of ie, after all. Sponsors were the name of the game, but his first meeting had gone terribly. Thepany kept wanting to lock him into an exclusive contract, and Denzel wasn¡¯t going to take that deal. He wanted to be fluid¡ª not locked into working with a singlepany. Plus, although the benefits were good, they¡¯d be locked for the next two years. Pauline kept hammering at him that he was worth more or whatever, and she was better at business than he ever was, so he walked out. He had nine more, and the next one would be tomorrow. His time at Hearthome was keeping him extremely busy, but he was okay with that. This was how he wanted to live. ¡°Dratini it is,¡± he breathed out. This time, the words felt correct. There was a certainty to it that he had felt when choosing his other team members that hadn¡¯t been there with Swablu. Dragonite were just as tough as Hydreigon, but also beautiful¡ª or maybe the word was majestic? And they were quick. If there was one thing Denzel alsocked in his team, it was speed. Cecilia had Fletchinder, and Scyther, Grace had Electabuzz. Chase¡¯s Zangoose was about as fast as Lopunny was, and his Vikavolt was faster if given enough time to reach his top speed. If he couldbine his team¡¯s usual toughness with a dragon¡¯s, along with a Dragonite¡¯s speed¡­ Well, it was still a long-term goal. He was generally happy with how his Pokemon had done, even though he wished he could have performed better. Lopunny especially had been an unfortunate loss. She hadn¡¯t been used to her newfound power and jumped too high, meaning that Fletchinder easily hit her with me Charge. Denzel knew she could have done a lot more if she had been used to her new form. If he could have gotten a do-over, he probably wouldn¡¯t have triggered her evolution during that battle. Suddenly, he heard his phone ring. He picked it up, expecting it to be Caitlyn. She was supposed to be arriving in Hearthome tomorrow, and they were going to hang out after his meeting, but she could have made it early. Hopefully, Pauline wouldn¡¯t burst a blood vessel about that. Denzel almost dropped his phone when he saw a message from Louis asking to meet in secret. Right now. In the middle of the night.
Chapter 124 Chapter 124 CHAPTER 124 ¡°Arceus, it¡¯s cold tonight,¡± Denzel shivered as he waited in front of the Pokemon Center. It was three in the morning now, and Denzel was starting to get tired. If Louis hadn¡¯t asked him for an impromptu meeting, he¡¯d be snuggled up in his bed right now. He probably shouldn¡¯t have streamed as long as he had, but hey, he had to strike while the iron was hot. Their battle had been the talk of the forums the entire night among the first years, and he got a lot more viewers than usual. Denzel sniffled as he watched a pink-haired girl with long pigtails approach him and¡­ Denzel squinted. Was that Maeve Chang? He hadn¡¯t really talked to her in months, but they used to chat on the forums at the start of their journeys, and she¡¯d been at the Floaroma tournament. What were the odds? Well, he was d she appeared to be traveling with someone now. That pink-haired girl was short, but she did carry Pokeballs with her, meaning that she was probably a trainer despite her child-like appearance. He crossed his arms and waited for them to walk across him. ¡°Denzel?¡± Maeve said. ¡°It is you! Long time no see! Wait, I guess it should be more like long time no talk, haha¡­¡± ¡°Awkward,¡± the other teen said before staring up at him. ¡°He¡¯s tall as hell,¡± Denzel frowned. ¡°Yeah? You were looking for me?¡± ¡°Louis sent us,¡± the nameless girl exined. ¡°My name¡¯s Mira, by the way. You didn¡¯t ask, which is kind of rude.¡± ¡°I was going to¡­ but wait, Louis sent you?¡± He asked. Were these the two girls Chase had told him about? That had to be it. ¡°Why didn¡¯t hee?¡± Maeve shuffled in ce. ¡°He wanted to make sure you wouldn¡¯t ambush him with the rest of your group. Especially Cecilia.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to do that,¡± Denzel sighed. The thought that Louis even suspected that it was a possibility kind of hurt, but maybe he was still that scared about the prospects seeing Cece. ¡°Where is he, then?¡± ¡°Brooding in some dark alley,¡± Miraughed. ¡°C¡¯mon, follow us.¡± Denzel held back a groan as Mira dragged him by the arm, and Maeve followed behind them at a distance as she breathed in her palms to warm them up. ¡°Keep up, Maeve! You don¡¯t want to be a girl walking alone at night,¡± Mira said. ¡°I¡¯ve got my Pokemon,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing us and making a terrible first impression.¡± ¡°Come on, he doesn¡¯t care. Do you care?¡± Denzel sighed. If he hadn¡¯t been so tired, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t have, but getting dragged along in this weather was a bit annoying. Oh well, so long as he met with Louis, then it would be worth it. After a short walk, Mira pointed into an alley and pushed him in. ¡°This looks like I¡¯m about to get jumped,¡± Denzel said, half-jokingly. ¡°Denzel?¡± He heard Louis¡¯ voice from deeper into the alley. The blond man slowly walked into view. He had a very thin, patchy beard that looked¡­ pretty bad, all things considered, and he had deep bags under his eyes. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Denzel gasped. He jogged to his friend and hugged him. ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay, man.¡± Louis slowly returned his hug. ¡°I¡¯m alright, all things considered.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look alright. You look exhausted as hell.¡± ¡°He was so anxious about meeting you that he couldn¡¯t sleep three nights in a row,¡± Mira exined. ¡°This is the result.¡± That was probably why he had wanted to meet in the middle of the night. There were fewer chances of him getting caught. ¡°And the beard?¡± Denzel smirked. ¡°Since I¡¯m a new man, I was trying a new look,¡± he awkwardly said. ¡°It hasn¡¯t worked out.¡± ¡°Told you to shave it,¡± Mira shrugged. ¡°Mira¡­¡± Maeve sighed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you want to meet the others?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°Cece and Grace I understand, but¡­ not even Justin?¡± ¡°I want to stay hidden for the time being,¡± he exined. ¡°Justin would be terrible at keeping our meeting hidden. Pauline would see it on his face, and she can easily get it out of him in two minutes, and if you had brought her, she probably would have been rude about me not wanting to meet Cecilia and Grace. Emilia is terrible at keeping secrets. She wants to talk about anything, and it would have been bound to slip out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an¡­ urate depiction of everyone,¡± Denzel smiled slightly. ¡°Can we go somewhere to catch up? I¡¯m freezing my ass off here.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, thank you!¡± Maeve eximed in relief. ¡°My Center room?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°No, no,¡± Louis immediately shook his head. ¡°That would be too risky.¡± ¡°How about this?¡± Mira said as she pulled out her Poketch and showed them an address. ¡ª¡ª Denzel shielded his eyes as he stared at the bright, neon sign depicting a Machamp typing on aputer with its four arms. NetChamp was supposedly a really good inte cafe, ording to Mira, and it had the benefit of being open at all times. Even in the middle of the night. The four trainers entered the building, and Denzel was surprised to see that there were a decent amount of people still frequenting the establishment. A few people were trainers browsing the forums, and some were asleep in their seats, but the majority were just people normally going about their business. Some were even quietly ying video games. Denzel hadn¡¯t even thought about video games since he became a trainer. He wasn¡¯t the biggest gamer out there, but he had enjoyed a few. He supposed that it made sense for some trainers toe here to enjoy a few games, since there was no way for them to do so on the road, unless they yed on their phones. He could have downloaded some on his Poketch, but¡­ no, there wasn¡¯t enough time anyway. The group sat at a table and ordered some hot drinks to warm themselves up, and Denzel looked at the towering Machamp that brought them their drink with an amused stare. There was no doubt that Machamp could make excellent waiters, especially with their four hands, but it was the first time he¡¯d seen it in action. ¡°He¡¯s the owner¡¯s Pokemon,¡± Mira exined. ¡°I read online that he was a trainer that made it to the Conference a few times, but he retired and opened this ce up. The legends say that he lost to Cynthia, even.¡± ¡°The legends?¡± Maeve said, rolling her eyes. ¡°What? Not much was recorded back then, so it¡¯s all from word of mouth.¡± ¡°You could just look for an old newspaper or something. Don¡¯t make it sound like it was a hundred years ago,¡± she said. ¡°Okay, but that would kill the vibe.¡± Denzel sipped on his drink. On the surface, Mira sort of reminded him of Candice, but there was a subtle difference that he couldn¡¯t precisely ce yet. Grace would probably have figured it out right away. The two girls continued with their conversation, and Louis spoke up. ¡°How is¡­ how is everyone doing?¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°They¡¯re all doing great. Pauline and Justin won their third badge against Fantina, Emi¡¯s started on her coordinator career. Grace and I are looking at sponsors to make money, and my channel¡¯s taking off,¡± he exined. ¡°Cecilia¡¯s well too. She¡¯s been worried about you.¡± ¡°Third badge already, huh?¡± He smiled. ¡°And I¡¯m happy about you and Grace. Money is certainly a bottleneck when ites to Pokemon training.¡± ¡°Yeah, they were being trained by Cece and Grace,¡± Denzel said, hoping to bring the topic back to his ex. He knew that Louis was purposefully ignoring it, and he wanted to at least try to talk about it, but if he pushed back too hard, then he¡¯d stop. ¡°They¡¯ve improved a whole lot. But more importantly, how are you doing?¡± Louis nodded. ¡°Mira and Maeve have been my training and travelingpanions, and I caught a Pawniard in the Wayward Cave.¡± ¡°You went to the Wayward Cave?¡± Denzel asked with surprise. ¡°No wonder you took so long to reach us. Why¡¯d you go there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡ª¡± ¡°He went there to brood, but Maeve wouldn¡¯t let him,¡± Mira interjected. ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it,¡± he sighed. ¡°I was hoping to sign up for the gym as soon as possible to see how I fare.¡± Denzel scratched his cheek. ¡°Hey, I can help you out if you want. In secret, of course. It¡¯ll be a bit tight with my schedule, but¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to push yourself for me¡ª¡± ¡°No, no, I asked because I wanted to. Plus, we can hang out easier than way,¡± he smiled. ¡°And look, about Cecilia¡­¡± Louis discreetly winced. ¡°Erm, you don¡¯t have to meet her or anything, but I just wanted to ask how you were doing on that front,¡± Denzel said, leaning in to whisper. ¡°I thought I was improving,¡± Louis sighed. ¡°But the closer we got to the city, the more I realized I still couldn¡¯t face her. At least not until I be worthy.¡± ¡°Worthy of what?¡± Denzel asked. Was he thinking of trying to date her again¡ª ¡°It¡¯s not what you think,¡± Louis interrupted his train of thought. ¡°It does not have anything to do with dating her. I feel too inadequate to even be her friend. I¡¯m a weak trainer, I¡¯m still terribly oblivious, and despite what I want to think, I¡¯m still dependent on my father¡¯s money. It honestly makes me mad that he hasn¡¯t even cut me off. It¡¯s like he doesn¡¯t even register me as a possible threat. I¡¯m worthless.¡± ¡°Okay, well, let¡¯s stop with the self-deprecation because that helps absolutely no one,¡± Denzel said. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling him, but he won¡¯t budge,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°Mira, let them speak, please¡­¡± Maeve said. ¡°It¡¯s alright, she can speak up,¡± Denzel waved a hand. ¡°I mean, you¡¯ve been traveling together, right? I¡¯d say you should be allowed to give your input.¡± Mira raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re a lot nicer than I thought you¡¯d be,¡± she said, her tone more serious. ¡°Really? Well, d to hear it.¡± ¡°What? Not even a p back? Louis, if all of your friends are like this, then you should probably at least meet them once while we¡¯re all here¡ª¡± Maeve put a hand over Mira¡¯s mouth, and the small girl struggled. ¡°Sorry about her, she says whatever is on her mind at all times. We both kept telling her you were a nice guy but¡ª ow! Did you bite me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put your hand over my mouth. You¡¯re lucky Kadabra wasn¡¯t there to see that.¡± Denzel leaned back against his chair, and observed as Maeve paled slightly at the mention of Kadabra. Mira must have been a skilled trainer, to own one so early in her career. They certainly were among the most demanding psychic types, since they held incredible amounts of knowledge, but every Pokemon was a different individual. Anyway, these two girls certainly were something, and Louis did not seem amused. The three had a weird dynamic about them. Maeve was the straight woman that kept Mira in line. Mira was the blunt, extroverted girl, and Louis was¡­ well, it was hard to say, but it kind of looked like he was just being dragged along everywhere anding along for the ride. ¡°What I meant to say,¡± Mira continued. ¡°Was that I had my doubts about all of you, since Louis seemed so depressed and none of you stuck with him¡ª¡± ¡°I asked for them to leave me,¡± the blond man groaned. ¡°One of them could have forced their way in. Look at how Maeve started to travel with you¡ª¡± Once again, Maeve ced a hand over the girl¡¯s mouth. ¡°We just met on the way to Wayward Cave,¡± she said,ughing awkwardly. Yeah, that was a lie, but Denzel let it slide. ¡°Sorry about them,¡± Louis sighed. ¡°I wanted us to be alone for this, but they insisted oning.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I understand,¡± Denzel said as he sipped on his drink. ¡°Anyway, I understand that you won¡¯t meet Cecilia, but my offer to help you still stands. Plus, I¡¯m pretty sure I can help you with your heartbreak problems.¡± ¡°Help me how?¡± Denzel couldn¡¯t believe he was about to throw himself under the car like this, especially when Maeve and Mira were here, but at least maybe Louis would be able to rte. ¡°I asked Pauline out during the party in Eterna, and she rejected me.¡± Obviously, he omitted that she was dating Emilia, because it wasn¡¯t his ce to reveal that information. Maeve bowed her head apologetically, and Mira let out an obnoxious ¡®oooooooh.¡¯ Louis¡¯ eyes widened. ¡°And you stayed? How did you even¡ª did it not hurt?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, it hurt,¡± Denzelughed. ¡°Still kind of does, but I¡¯m almost over it. Everyone deals with rejection differently, but I might have some good advice. It¡¯s worth a try, I think.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll take your offer, including the training. Actually, can we start tomorrow? I want to get as good as I can as fast as possible.¡± ¡°Uh, I was supposed to hang out with a girl tomorrow after a meeting,¡± Denzel said, thinking of Caitlyn. He¡¯d be a bad person if he didn¡¯t help a friend in need. And Louis seemed to need his help very much. ¡°But I guess I can help you out instead. I¡¯ll reschedule.¡± ¡°Already moving on from your old crush, I see,¡± Mira said, again with that serious tone of hers. ¡°Is she your rebound?¡± ¡°No, not at all,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Whatever you say¡­¡± ¡°Erm, I¡¯d also like some training if possible?¡± Maeve asked hesitantly. ¡°Sure! The more the merrier.¡± ¡°Maeve, you traitor!¡± Mira yelled, much to the annoyance of customers everywhere in the store. Machamp nced at her with disappointment, causing her to shrink. It looked like even she had shame. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°I can train with both you and Denzel,¡± Maeve sighed. ¡°It still sucks¡­ I¡¯ming too then!¡± Denzel took a long, deep breath, and Louis offered him an apologetic look. ¡°This is how you got roped in with them, huh?¡± Denzel said. Louis smiled thinly. ¡°Yes. Yes, it is.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Here are your Pokemon, Ms. Pastel,¡± Nurse Joy said with a warm smile. ¡°Togetic will have to stay for another day.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ alright,¡± I said disappointingly. I had pushed her too much, after all. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± she reassured her. ¡°Oh, and about your Jellicent. There¡¯s no need to bring him in anymore. He¡¯ll regenerate any damage done to him over time and be as good as new.¡± ¡°So I¡¯ll never need to get him checked out again?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Okay, well, have a nice day,¡± I said. She nodded, and I left the Pokemon Center. I supposed that Jellicent being more of a ghost came with its advantages. Cecilia was still asleep in her room, and Denzel was nowhere to be seen, much to Pauline¡¯s annoyance. Justin was getting his Krokorok used to his new body, and Emilia was hanging out with Vincent somewhere. That meant that I was all on my own. I considered just staying at the Center to watch over the footage of our battle, but I figured it¡¯d be best to let it sit for a few days so I could approach the entire thing from an unbiased, neutral perspective. I still felt salty about losing, but a lot less than yesterday. Instead, I had decided that it was time to go out and train Electabuzz with Jellicent¡¯s help for our battle against Fantina, and then I¡¯d probably hang out with Dad in the afternoon. I took the subway to route 208 and released the entire team, including Turtonator, who as usual, just went to lie down in the distance. ¡°Hey guys,¡± I smiled. ¡°We lost the battle. Princess is still getting her injuries healed by the nurses.¡± Electabuzz¡¯s shoulder slumped in disappointment, and he hung his head, while Tangrowth patted him on the back to cheer him up. Him and Jellicent didn¡¯t appear to be disappointed, at the very least. Larvitar kicked the ground in frustration and cried out, saying something to the effect of ¡®we would have won if I was there.¡¯ Iughed at her, much to her annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s alright, hon. We¡¯ll battle again eventually,¡± I told him. ¡°Hey, look at me. Look at me.¡± The electric type stared into my eyes, and I hugged him. ¡°I¡¯m very proud of you.¡± I told him this every time, and he was always surprised by it. I heard him sniffle, and he returned my hug. ¡°Nowe on, you big softie. I¡¯ve got a lot nned for you this morning.¡± ¡°Buzz?¡± I searched through my bag and grabbed a towel that I had taken from my Center¡¯s bathroom and showed it to him. ¡°Jellicent¡¯s evolved now, so you can sense him, right?¡± I asked. Electabuzz gave me a hesitant nod. ¡°It¡¯s faint? Fainter than that Mismagius in the mansion?¡± ¡°Ele,¡± he said, nodding again. That was actually perfect. Practicing with a fainter signal would mean that he¡¯d be even better at it when my battle against Fantina came. ¡°Here¡¯s the goal for today,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re going to try to find Jellicent without seeing him so that you can find Fantina¡¯s ghosts when they¡¯re invisible. We¡¯ll slowly increase the distance until your range reaches the size of her battlefield.¡± The electric type flexed and let out an excited cry, his sadness from earlier all but forgotten. ¡°Calm down,¡± I giggled. ¡°You¡¯ll just point at him for now, so no attacking yet. We don¡¯t want you to hit Turtonator on ident¡­¡± The dragon let out a threatening growl, confirming what I had just said. ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯d hurt you anyway,¡± I told him. He ignored me. ¡°Buddy, we¡¯ll finally start working on Brine, but you¡¯re a genius, so you should figure it out pretty easily.¡± The water type nodded, and I couldn¡¯t help but smirk. His mustache made him look like a sage old man. Wait, that was literally what he was. ¡°Angel, you keep working on Sunny Day. You¡¯ve been making small incremental progress, but if we can trigger your Chlorophyll ability, you¡¯ll be even more of a monster in battle.¡± The grass type blinked twice and silently nodded. ¡°Sweetheart, you¡¯ll be with me again today,¡± I said, crouching to face her. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a tournament the next town over, and I want to start seriously using you there.¡± The rock type stared at me with a wide smile and stomped all over the floor. ¡°Your offensive capabilities are actually pretty decent, and you can take a lot of hits, but I want to start controlling the field,¡± I continued. ¡°Togetic¡¯s got a pretty good grasp of it, and Turtonator can do it too by making it ridiculously hot, but I feel like you can be another key.¡± The rock type stared into my eyes as she shivered in anticipation. ¡°We¡¯re going to work on Sandstorm.¡± There was a lot I wanted to get better at during the tournament, but I wanted to be focused on two things. Getting better at reading bodynguage on the fly, without having to observe my subject for multiple hours like I had done with Candice, or knowing them beforehand like I could do with my friends. And next, I finally needed to start working on improvising. When nning worked, it worked. But I''d be foolish to think that I''d always be able to predict my opponents for the entire battle, and I wouldn''t always be able to buy enough time to strategize. When nning failed, I needed to be better ating up with stuff on the fly like the others were. I wasn''t going to take a risk with my battle against Fantina, but the Sceon tournament presented me with an excellent opportunity to improve. I wouldn¡¯t look up any of my opponents during the early matches.
Chapter 125 Chapter 125 CHAPTER 125 Pauline angrily paced around her room. ¡°Where is he, damn it?!¡± My training session had been very productive, and I was more confident than ever about my battle against Fantina, as if the drain from losing yesterday¡¯s battle hadpletely disappeared. Dad had just dropped me off after lunch, and we were all hanging out in Pauline¡¯s room, which Emilia now shared. Justin groaned as he ced his hand on his ears. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s busy,¡± I shrugged. ¡°He said his business meeting went well, so what¡¯s the problem? He could be training.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so naive, Grace,¡± Pauline said. ¡°We all like training, but not everyone¡¯s as crazy about it as you are.¡± ¡°Denzel¡¯s pretty crazy about it, though,¡± I muttered. ¡°You¡¯re making a fuss about this for no reason,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to tell you where he is at all times.¡± ¡°I know¡­ but I thought he¡¯de back to tell us about his meeting,¡± she said in a defeated tone. ¡°All he sent was a text. A message is kind of lousy, don¡¯t you think?!¡± She screamed. ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± Justin said, standing up. ¡°What? Where?¡± Pauline asked. ¡°Somewhere where I can get some peace and quiet.¡± The boy hurriedly left Pauline¡¯s room, causing us tough. Well, all of us except her. He was getting more assertive now that he had proved that he was a good trainer against Fantina, and I personally was all for it. ¡°Whatever,¡± Pauline sighed as she fell onto her bed. ¡°Emi,fort me.¡± ¡°Comfort¡­?¡± She awkwardly said. ¡°Uh, maybe he¡¯s with that girl that he told us about. What was her name?¡± ¡°Caitlyn?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yeah, that was her name,¡± I said, remembering that Denzel had asionally texted her. ¡°He said she wasing here at some point. Wouldn¡¯t surprise me if they met.¡± Pauline froze. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about any girl. And what do you mean, here?¡± ¡°In Hearthome?¡± I frowned. ¡°Where else could I mean?¡± The redhead got up and grabbed her phone. ¡°You¡¯re being weird right now,¡± I said. She just ignored me and called someone who I assumed was Denzel. There was no answer. ¡°Pauline?¡± Emilia said worriedly. ¡°Erm, is something wrong?¡± She had to call her name two more times for her to answer. ¡°No, I¡¯m just worried,¡± she finally said. ¡°Mommy¡¯sing soon, and I¡¯m worried about spies and the like.¡± ¡°That sounds like a half-truth to me,¡± Emilia said. It did. I didn¡¯t know if it was because she hated ¡®fake¡¯ people, or if was because she was just blunt, but Pauline was a terrible liar. She was terrible in a different manner than Cece, because she just took a long time toe up with lies. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll tell you moreter,¡± she sighed. ¡°But seriously, we need to find him¡ª I mean, what if he¡¯s getting tracked or something? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird that he¡¯s not answering his phone?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t answer his phone half the time,¡± I said. ¡°Send him a text, and he¡¯ll answer soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯d¡­ I¡¯d like to think everything is fine, but I¡¯ve been worried about Harvey and rence,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°It¡¯s been too quiet.¡± ¡°At least one of you¡¯s agreeing with me,¡± she said. ¡°Grace, where would Denzel take a girl?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Amity Square? Wait, no, that¡¯s mostly for Pokemon stuff. Maybe a restaurant somewhere? If I had to guess, he¡¯d take a girl to a familiar ce for a date, so maybe that cafe Emilia showed us when we met Vincent.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a date if she¡¯s tricking him,¡± she hurriedly said. ¡°We¡¯re going¡ª oh. My phone¡ª it¡¯s Denzel.¡± Pauline answered immediately. ¡°Put it on speaker,¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Denzel, where are you? We¡¯ve been calling you for a while,¡± she said. ¡°I was¡­ training. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Training, when half of your team¡¯s still at the Center?¡± I asked, raising an eyebrow. I heard him sigh. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have said anything. ¡°Grace is here? Yeah, Sylveon and Lopunny needed some extra training. Plus, you trained with Togetic still at the Center! Do you¡ª do you need me for something? I¡¯m on my way back right now, so¡ª¡± ¡°Pauline wants to know if you were with that Caitlyn girl or not,¡± Emilia said. Pauline stared daggers at her, but the girl didn¡¯t budge. In fact, she looked kind of mad. ¡°What? Might as well tell him everything, because you apparently didn¡¯t tell me a whole lot.¡± I was beginning to feel like I was missing a lot of context here. Denzel groaned through the phone. ¡°Emi¡¯s here too? No, I wasn¡¯t meeting her. I was genuinely training. Look, let¡¯s talk when I get back, alright? We should probably have an adult conversation about things like boundaries.¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯m hanging up,¡± Pauline huffed. ¡°Grace and I are going to hang out together,¡± Cecilia said before Pauline even finished hanging up the call. I wanted to protest, but I knew that there was an argument about to start, and it probably wasn¡¯t my ce to hear it, especially when I felt so confused about everything. Cecilia dragged me by the arm, and we left the room. She was practically running through the Center¡¯s hall. ¡°Grace,¡± she breathed out as she closed her door. ¡°I figured it out.¡± ¡°Okay, because they were acting really weird.¡± She looked at me with disappointment. ¡°Do you¡­ do you not even have a clue?¡± ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Denzel looked at me like that too.¡± ¡°Listen, Grace. Pauline was jealous about Denzel potentially being on a date with another girl,¡± she started. ¡°I mean, I guessed that much. I¡¯m not that dense¡­ what? Don¡¯t look at me like that! You¡¯re dense too!¡± ¡°Less dense than you, apparently. Emilia was jealous that Pauline was jealous. It was so obvious.¡± I gasped. ¡°Wait¡­ so it¡¯s like a big, like, love triangle? Emilia likes Pauline, and Pauline likes Denzel? No¡­ for it to be a love triangle, Denzel would have to like Emilia, it doesn¡¯t work. A love line? Is that a thing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Cece sighed as she crossed her arms. ¡°Emilia seemed quite possessive of Pauline.¡± ¡°So you think they¡¯re dating already? Pauline was possessive of Denzel too, we shouldn¡¯t jump the gun.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just how Pauline functions,¡± Cece said, sitting down on the bed. ¡°With how blind you are in matters of love, I¡¯m d I made the first move, or we probably would have never started dating.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not blind,¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°And if I am, you were just as blind as me not even five minutes ago. But it¡¯s true that Emilia seemed really angry, which is unusual for her. I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve actually only seen her angry once. Back on route 206.¡± ¡°This is looking like a mess,¡± Ceceined, pinching her nose. ¡°Drama is never good,¡± I nodded, sitting next to her. ¡°I hope they don¡¯t have a big fight¡­ I wish I could be a Cutiefly on the wall right now and listen in.¡± ¡°Well, what do you say we distract ourselves and go out?¡± She smiled. ¡°Sure! You can help me prepare for my meeting with the Poketch Company too, ¡®cause I¡¯m really nervous.¡± ¡ª¡ª Denzel exhaled in exasperation as he stepped inside of Pauline¡¯s room. How had this even happened? All he had done was train Louis and his friends in secret¡ª although Mira was actually as good as he was¡ª and now he was getting sucked into this unnecessary drama. Today had started off so well, too. He had negotiated a contract, and he was now sponsored by a water brand called Ovean for a pretty decent amount of cash, and his obligations were rtively rxed. But now, he had to deal with two irritated girls. ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± He said. Obviously, he knew what was up. Pauline had been possessive of him again in front of Emilia this time, and that had made her angry. Still, he figured that it¡¯d be better to start the conversation like this. No one could go wrong with a ssic ¡®what¡¯s up?¡¯ Pauline looked angry as always, but what scared Denzel was that Emilia also looked mad. She was never mad. Sad, yes, but angry? The boy leaned against a wall. ¡°Look,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Something¡¯s going on between you two, but Pauline won¡¯t budge! Denzel, tell me what it is.¡± Denzel felt like folding up a thousand times and hiding in a corner somewhere. Arceus, this was awkward. Mira¡¯s annoying antics were a blessingpared to this, and she had kept pestering him with questions. ¡°Nothing¡¯s going on,¡± he said, discreetly looking at Pauline, who was unusually silent. At this point, he figured thating clean was the best option, so he decided to go for it. ¡°You know what, never mind. Look, I can tell you guys had a fight or something. Here¡¯s what happened. I asked Pauline out at the party in Eterna and got rejected after she told me you two were kind of not, but totally dating.¡± ¡°Denzel¡ª¡± Pauline protested. ¡°Pauline! You told him?!¡± Emilia said, her face wrought with panic. ¡°Oh, no, oh no¡ª¡± ¡°Calm down, alright? I haven¡¯t told anybody. Look, the point is, nothing is going on, okay? Your rtionship¡¯s safe.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna be sick,¡± Emilia lurched as she ran to the bathroom. Denzel winced. Did she have that much internalized homophobia? Her parents must have been horrible to her. Pauline followed her girlfriend to the bathroom, and he considered slipping out, but that probably would have been rude. ¡°Damn it,¡± he said, scratching his head. This was gettingplicated. ¡°Do you need water?¡± He asked as he made his way to the bathroom¡¯s entrance. ¡°Medicine?¡± Emilia heaved as Pauline held her hair back. ¡°No medicine¡­ water¡¯s fine.¡± He hurriedly grabbed a ss and poured her some cold, refrigerated water. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s my fault,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told him. I broke your trust, Emilia, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Emilia drank the whole ss in a single second. ¡°No, I don¡¯t¡­ I mean, I do mind, but I know it shouldn¡¯t¡ª it shouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal. I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m so anxious about hiding when we literally have two gay friends that are dating.¡± ¡°Look, we can forget everything that happened today,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Again, I¡¯m not going to tell anyone¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Fuck it.¡± Had¡­ had Emilia just sworn? ¡°We¡¯re telling them tomorrow. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m scared, but I¡¯m done with hiding. I feel like I¡¯m being choked out. If I can at least keep the rtionship to our circle, then my parents don¡¯t have to find out,¡± she continued. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m not done. All of this still doesn¡¯t exin why Pauline was acting like a jealous, possessive girlfriend toward you earlier.¡± Denzel disappointedly stared at Pauline, who averted her eyes. She was acting very subdued, which wasn¡¯t like her at all. ¡°Look, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not even sure myself, okay? I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me. Can we just forget it?¡± Emi¡¯s face softened. ¡°Okay¡­ okay. It¡¯s not like I thought you were actually cheating on me. I trust you.¡± Well, they might not have known, but Denzel was pretty sure that he had already figured it out by now, and it opened a whole can of worms that he didn¡¯t particrly want to have to deal with. s, he did not exactly have a choice. ¡ª¡ª A day had passed since the revtion about Pauline and Emilia¡¯s rtionship. Well, it wasn¡¯t exactly a revtion, more like a theory, but Cecilia was sure of herself. She warned me not to tell anyone until they told us themselves, though, which I agreed with. If they hadn¡¯t told us yet, there must have been a reason, especially when I and Cece had been out for so long. I stepped in front of the building my father had dropped me off at and opened my Poketch, triple checking that this was the right address. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t exactly be wrong,¡± I chuckled nervously. In front of me stood the massive Poketch Company Headquarters in all of its glory. They were based in Jubilife, but they had one in every major city in Sinnoh, and Hearthome was no exception. Since it had been renovated rtively recently in downtown Hearthome, the building was blocky and modern, made out of sleek, silver-colored metal and ss, and it stood at least fifteen stories tall. The entrance was marked by a bright, ¡®Poketch Company¡¯ sign in bold letters, along with their logo, which was a simple, stylized drawing of the phone they were the most known for. I took a deep breath and stepped inside of the busy building. The lobby was filled with white walls and tiles, and was built with a minimalist design in mind. This was nothing like the small, shoddy apartment that I had met the Retani Industries representatives in. This felt official. I walked up to the receptionist, who I hoped would be able to point me in the right direction, because as it stood, I had no idea of where to go. ¡°Wee to the Poketch Company, how may I help you?¡± The woman said with a bright smile. ¡°I¡¯m Grace Pastel,¡± I quietly said. ¡°I have a meeting for a sponsorship at nine-thirty?¡± ¡°Sponsorships are up the elevator on the fifth floor, Ms. Pastel,¡± she exined. ¡°Someone should be there to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± I said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Thank you.¡± I stepped inside of the elevator along with a dozen people and noticed that thest two floors needed some kind of keycard to be essed. It was probably some employee-only area that was permanently closed to the public. I squeezed past the full elevator and noticed that a woman that looked to be in her forties was waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. ¡°Ah, Ms. Pastel! You sure are early,¡± she smiled. I hesitantly stepped toward her. ¡°Thirty minutes early seemed appropriate for a meeting with the Poketch Company,¡± I awkwardly said. ¡°Um, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Call me Melody,¡± she said. ¡°Your handlers will be pleased with your punctuality.¡± ¡°Handlers?¡± I frowned. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been hoping that they¡¯d change the term for years now,¡± she chuckled. ¡°It scares some people off. It¡¯s just how they call the people that¡¯ll be in the meeting room with you.¡± ¡°Oh, okay,¡± I said, hiding my suspicion. Maybe it was just a name, but I sure didn¡¯t like the sound of it. ¡°Follow me,¡± she said. Melody led me to a small, empty waiting room, which I supposed I¡¯d have to wait in until they were ready to meet me. She offered me drinks and snacks, but I only took a bottle of water. I felt too nervous to eat anything at the moment, and I was starting to sweat. If only I could have gotten stomachaches like Denzel instead of this stupid constant sweating, Arceus. I closed my eyes and carefully went over everything Cecilia had told me yesterday. I needed to stand my ground if anything was too egregious. They contacted me, which meant that they wanted me, so they¡¯d probably be willing to be flexible with whatever they were going to try to make me sign. If they didn¡¯t, that meant that they were trying to trap me into some scummy deal. Melody tried to get me to open up and make small talk, but I wasn¡¯t really in the mood. I appreciated that they were at least a lot more amodating than Retani Industries had been, although this was probably their way of buttering me up. ¡°They¡¯ll be with you now,¡± Melody said. I almost jumped. It was now or never. I shot up like an arrow and stepped into the room. I was surprised to see that there were a lot fewer people than I expected. My meeting with Retani Industries had been with twelve people, but there were only five here, and the room looked less like a business meeting room and more like a break room. There were couches, a televisions, a minifridge¡­ but obviously, they were all seated at a table. ¡°Ms. Pastel,¡± A woman said, standing up to greet me. She offered me a handshake, which I obliged. ¡°I¡¯m Ms. Greene, the lead negotiator here. Feel free to sit anywhere you like.¡± ¡°The couches are fine?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, of course,¡± she smiled. ¡°We¡¯re a part of the Poketch Company¡¯s sponsorship department, and we¡¯re the ones who scouted you. Here, from the left, you have Mr. Chambers, Mr. Vaughn, Mr. Wilkerson, and Ms. Reilly¡ª Ms. Reilly¡¯s awyer. She won¡¯t be talking, but she¡¯ll be taking notes and recording the meeting¡¯s audio, okay?¡± I nodded, studying each of them as Ms. Greene told me their names, and the expressions on their faces seemed warm enough. None of them exhibited any nervousness, malice or impatience. Their bodies were perfectly behaving like people who had no nefarious intent, but people like this were probably good at masking their true intentions. You could never be too paranoid. ¡°Well, gentlemen, let¡¯s begin,¡± she said. ¡°Mr. Vaughn?¡± The older man flipped through a small booklet for a few seconds. ¡°Ms. Pastel, we¡¯ve seen you make incredible strides in your Pokemon training career. We started looking at you after your¡­ let¡¯s just say, unfortunate meeting with Retani Industries, but it wasn¡¯t until your battle with Candice that we decided to work with you.¡± So they wanted to work with me after I almost died, made it through Mount Cor, and became a first-year celebrity. It kind of felt objectifying, but for apany, that was normal enough. It wasn¡¯t like I expected anything else anyway, but to hear it spoken to my face was an¡­ experience, to say the least. ¡°You¡¯ve shown your skill as a trainer, especially with that battle yesterday with your colleagues. And there are recent rumors that you¡¯ve caught a Turtonator?¡± He continued. ¡°I did,¡± I nodded. They asked me to verify my ownership with the same device that the rangers used¡ª only a portable version. I ced the Pokeball inside of it, and an image of Turtonator came up. ¡°Simply incredible,¡± he continued. ¡°So you want to sponsor me because I show promise?¡± I said, asking the obvious. ¡°That is a part of it,¡± Ms. Greene nodded. I noticed a subtle look to her colleagues. It was too early to say if something was afoot yet, but they clearly had something cooked up. ¡°But we¡¯ll get to thatter. Oh, by the way, do you want anything to eat? Any water? Our research team has heard that you¡¯re quite fond of milkshakes. We can provide one for you if you¡¯d like. Any vor.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got my bottle right there,¡± I said, patting my backpack. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s start going over the contract, then,¡± Mr. Chambers said as he adjusted his sses. ¡°Ms. Greene?¡± The woman handed me the same booklet that Mr. Vaughn had in his hands, and Mr. Chamber continued. ¡°Feel free to read along,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re trying to be as transparent as possible. First, you¡¯ll obviously be forced into using Poketch products. We know you currently have a phone, but you don¡¯t have the Poketch Watch, which is a device we¡¯ve been trying to promote in recent years. Call it a return to our roots. You¡¯ll have to wear it during any gym battle or tournament you participate in.¡± I knew the Poketch Company had gotten its start by creating digital watches, but I wasn¡¯t exactly interested in them trying to bring them back. I didn¡¯t even know what I¡¯d use it for, but it certainly wasn¡¯t a deal breaker. Ms. Greene utched her own watch, and showed it to me. ¡°That¡¯s ourtest model, the Poketch Watch Plus,¡± she dered. She exined the new features to me, but I wasn¡¯t exactly interested and mostly tuned out until she was done. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine with me,¡± I said, and my eyes returned to the contract. Mr. Chambers continued. ¡°In your case, Ms. Pastel, we¡¯ve noticed a severeck of¡­ social media use, which is a problem. Now, we want to be flexible, so you have two choices. You can start promoting our products online through the¡­ forums, you call it, since we¡¯ve been trying to better our younger outreach. Or, you can participate in television interviews and other media appearances instead, like advertisements.¡± My throat tightened. ¡°Uh, is that necessary?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is,¡± Ms. Greene said softly. She was so obvious about trying to manipte me it was kind of funny, but I wasn¡¯t going to leave. I needed money, so I needed to at least try to work with these people. ¡°Thetter would benefit us a lot more, since our target audience tends not to use the Circuit Forums, but we figured we¡¯d let you stay inside of yourfort zone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the online promotion instead,¡± I sighed. I should have paid attention to those Arceus damned new features, then. No, wait. It was actually fine. They¡¯d probably give me pointers on what to say. There was no way they¡¯d let some teenager decide on how to promote their brand. I took a deep breath. Somehow, I already felt tired. ¡°Thank you for being malleable,¡± Mr. Chambers said. ¡°There is a caveat to this, though. A lot of journalists often stand around tournaments to interview trainers participating in them¡ª¡± ¡°These are a lot more low-key than what you¡¯d have to deal with on television,¡± Ms. Greene stepped in. ¡°But it¡¯ll go on television and reach our core customer base, so that part is non-negotiable, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°Something¡¯s been bothering me. Target audience? Core customers? Everyone owns a Poketch,¡± I said, holding back a scoff. ¡°You basically have a monopoly. That doesn¡¯t really add up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct, but adults with steady jobs tend to buy more of our products, whereas most trainers struggle with money, so they¡¯re content with a single Poketch. They don¡¯t buy the new models when theye out either. But non-trainer teenagers are targetable, and they put a lot of stock in what trainers say. Especially young rising stars such as yourself.¡± I nodded, rxing slightly. That made sense. Mr. Chambers tapped his finger against the table, possibly angry that she had cut him off. ¡°And you¡¯ll have to participate in a minimum of five tournaments for the remainder of this year. Five tournaments means a minimum of five interviews, but we¡¯d appreciate if you went above and beyond. We¡¯ll renegotiate the number during the summer if you sign, since by then, your Togetic will probably have evolved and you¡¯ll be able to fly around the region.¡± Five tournaments? How was I even going to join that many? I knew about the Sceon one, but what else was there? I remembered that Craig had told me that he often participated in tournaments he was way too good for just to fulfill his contract, so I knew they had asked him the same thing. At least I knew that it seemed to be a standard demand from them, so I agreed. I didn¡¯t mind the tournament part. In fact, I weed it, but the interviews annoyed me. ¡°We recognize that these terms might scare you off, so we¡¯ve thrown in a bonus. Depending on how you do in those tournaments, you¡¯ll get an extra payment for that month. Of course, the amount of money will be determined by thepany, and it¡¯ll depend on a lot of factors, like how many people participated, how many eyes were on the tournament, how tough thepetition was, how far you ced¡­¡± Ms. Greene specified. Okay, that made the whole thing a lot more ptable. More money was good. I¡¯d be willing to agree with that. ¡°There¡¯s a conference in Jubilife during the summer where we present the progress the Poketch Company¡¯s done throughout the year. Attendance will be mandatory if you sign, but there¡¯ll be plenty of other trainers with you there, so you shouldn¡¯t be out of your depth,¡± Mr. Chambers said. ¡°That seems fine,¡± I nodded. Trainers were always free during the summer, after all. ¡°What do I do there?¡± ¡°Just smile and shake some hands,¡± Mr. Wilkerson spoke up for the first time. ¡°It¡¯s more about showing that we have connections in the Pokemon training industry and less about what you have to do. So long as you show up and you behave normally, the Poketch Company will be fine with that.¡± ¡°Okay. Next?¡± Mr. Chambers nodded, seemingly pleased with how the meeting was going so far. He continued exining the ins and outs of the contract to me, but there was nothing as demanding as he had stated previously. It was mostly small-scale stuff like not being caught with another phone, not bad-mouthing their products or more discreet uses like asking trainers what features they thought should be added to Poketches. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get to the benefits,¡± Mr. Wilkerson said. ¡°First, what you¡¯re here for, I presume, your monthly sry. Two hundred and fifty thousand Pokedors, renegotiable every three months, depending on how you¡¯re doing.¡± My eyes bulged, and I swallowed my saliva the wrong way, causing me to go into a rough coughing fit. That was so much fucking money. More than I thought I¡¯d ever get. I knew I was good, but that was a lot. Still, I couldn¡¯t get too excited. Renegotiable meant that the number could go down if I didn¡¯t progress as fast as they wanted, and even though that was more money than I thought they¡¯d offer me, it wasn¡¯t enough to actually buy every TM under the sun, especially when I had vitamins to buy. But it also meant that the number could go up. A lot. ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± I asked in between coughs. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t it. All of your travels during the summer will be paid in full,¡± he continued. ¡°You will obviously get new models of every Poketch product as soon as ites out.¡± Right. Since there was apse in the Circuit during the summer months, traveling by ne wasn¡¯t frowned upon during the break. That¡¯d be useful, since I¡¯d been nning on going back home for a bit. Even when I became the Champion, there¡¯d be a transitional period that would take months to sort through, so I¡¯d have a bit of time to go see dad. Plus, I wasn¡¯t about to fly across the region on my future Togekiss¡¯ back. That would take weeks, and the summer months were fleeting. I¡¯d rather take a ne and be where I needed to be in a few hours if that meant I could spend more time with dad. ¡°Can I get aptop?¡± I asked. ¡°Of course. That was one of the products we wanted you to promote, after all. We can have one ready for you in¡­ thirty minutes, maybe? Ms. Greene will make the call if you sign.¡± Awesome, I thought. ¡°What if I break it? What if I break any of your products?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get another one free of charge,¡± Ms. Greene rified. ¡°Next, we¡¯ll be offering you a free stay at a hotel in each city you visit. Everything will be paid for, including the food, if you decide to eat there.¡± Why were they giving me so much? There had to be a catch here. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll stay at hotels that much,¡± I said. ¡°Well, feel free to take advantage of the perk anyway,¡± Mr. Wilkerson smiled. We finally reached the end of the booklet. ¡°Your current contract would be locked for the remainder of the year, along with the next¡ª except your sry, of course, as we rified earlier.¡± I nodded and retreated into my thoughts. This was an Arceus damned treasure trove, but there was still a lot more under the surface. I¡¯d be associated with the brand, which was positively seen across Sinnoh, meaning that my reputation would improve even further, which, even though I didn¡¯t bother that much with public appearances, would be a nice boost. I¡¯d getworking opportunities with other trainers¡ª powerful trainers like Craig that the Poketch Company sponsored, and there was the opportunity of getting an even better deal down the line. ¡°So? Now¡¯s the time where you pull the rug from under me,¡± I told the negotiators. Ms. Greene¡¯s lips twitched upward. ¡°You¡¯re very perceptive, Ms. Pastel. We¡¯ve taken notice that a few otherpanies have contacted you for a meeting, and that you¡¯ve epted to meet a few. Fitstride, Bloom & Breeze, and RefreshCo,¡± she listed. I chose to ignore the fact that they had somehow figured that out. ¡°In exchange for these very generous terms, the Poketch Company would like to make this partnership exclusive.¡± There it was. They didn¡¯t want me to get sponsored by anybody else. They wanted me for themselves, because they knew I¡¯d grow even stronger in the future and that a lot ofpanies would try to get a slice of me. ¡°You¡¯re a rising star, Ms. Pastel,¡± the woman continued. ¡°One of the few this year. The Poketch Company has always been hesitant to sponsor first-year trainers because they tend to be a bigger brand risk, and we never know if they¡¯re just a fad that¡¯ll burn out quickly, but with you, we chose to change our approach. We want to make you the brand new face of ourpany.¡± I froze. I couldn¡¯t believe the words I was hearing. Me? The face of this whole multi-billion dorpany? ¡°Isn¡¯t that Craig?¡± I asked, keeping my voice from shaking. ¡°When people think of the Poketch Company, they think of him.¡± ¡°Mr. Goodwill¡¯s in hisst year,¡± Mr. Chambers said. ¡°Win or lose at the Conference, he¡¯ll be taking a job with the League, either as the Champion or as a League trainer. That means his contract is void as soon as the year finishes and we¡¯re parting ways. Needless to say, there¡¯ll be a transitional period where we ease you in and ease him out of the position, but by the summer, you¡¯ll have reced his role.¡± ¡°But why me and not some other big shot?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re choosing to take a risk,¡± Ms. Greene said. ¡°And we believe that people will like it if we change it up for once and pick a young, fresh face instead of the usual older trainers. And let¡¯s just say that Mr. Goodwill put in a good word for you after his sister brushed us off. He¡¯s been helping us with finding a recement for him, but she¡¯s even more reclusive than you are.¡± The people around the table nodded. So Craig had rmended me? It was after his sister, of course, but Arceus, I owed him so much. If he hadn¡¯t, I doubted that they¡¯d be offering me all of this. Still, I didn¡¯t believe I could ever fill his shoes. He was a damn legend that everyone knew in the region. He talked to the media all the time and he sold fucking merchandise. I saw people walking in the streets with his shirts all the time! ¡°O¡ªokay,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, you¡¯d be the first girl that¡¯d be filling the role. Not only that, but you¡¯re a lesbian. Or bisexual¡ª pardon me for assuming. Either way, that¡¯s good for representation,¡± she continued. ¡°L¡ªlesbian,¡± I breathed out. Representation was nice and all¡ª genuinely nice, even though the tone of the words themselves was kind of shallow¡ª but right now, I was still trying to wrap my head around this whole situation. ¡°Wait,¡± I frowned. There was one thing wrong with all of this. ¡°Craig¡¯s contract isn¡¯t exclusive. He works with a lot ofpanies. I know he¡¯s a lot better than me, so you were willing to let him spread his wings. I¡¯m not there yet, but I¡¯ll get there eventually. When the timees, I want you to let me negotiate with otherpanies too.¡± I saw Mr. Vaughn wince. That had been the trap. I knew it was too good to be true, but I had caught them. They had wanted to keep me under them for my entire career. After a brief pause, Mr. Chambers nodded. ¡°Very well. The Poketch Company can work with that. Ms. Reilly will draft a new contract. It¡¯ll only take a few minutes to add that use. You¡¯ll be exclusive with us until you at least reach the top sixteen in the Conference. Is that enough for you?¡± Top sixteen¡­ that was a lot, especially for a first year, but hell, if I wanted to be the best trainer in the world, I couldn¡¯t doubt myself about at least reaching that high. I bit my lip and looked around the room. Had I caught everything? I flipped through the booklet and I didn¡¯t notice anything else out of line. ¡°You don¡¯t have to make a decision now,¡± the woman added. ¡°We¡¯re willing to negotiate until you leave the city.¡± Me. The face of the Poketch Company. Two hundred and fifty thousand Pokedors per month, and a freeptop. Not only that, but the sry was renegotiable every three months. Arceus, this was good. I read over the entire contract again to make sure I wasn¡¯t getting tricked somehow. I triple, quadruple, and quintuple checked, but everything appeared legit. ¡°If I sign, when do I get paid?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, normally, it¡¯d be on thest Friday of every month, but we might be willing to make an exception and get you the money for this month transferred today since we¡¯re redrafting the contract either way,¡± Mr. Vaughn said. Damn it, they had me, and they knew it. They were treating me like an Arceus damned queen. I exhaled and closed the booklet. ¡°Well, I¡¯m in,¡± I said. Ms. Greene smiled, and Ms. Reilly exited the room. Thirty minutester, she re-entered with a fresh new booklet and my brand newptop. After reading through the entire thing again for good measure, I finally agreed, and Ms. Greene handed me a pen.
Chapter 126 Chapter 126 CHAPTER 126 Damn it, the Poketch Company got me good. Not because they had tricked me with the contract. In fact, I was very happy with what we had negotiated. I stepped out of the changing room I had been practically forced into with cargo pants, a simple gray t-shirt, and fingerless gloves. I was being dressed-up. ¡°You look great! I would have liked to get you in a dress, but the execs want you to have that authentic trainer look. A shame,¡± my stylist said. I should have known that they would have made me do a photoshoot when they said they wanted to make me the face of theirpany. They¡¯d probably ster me all over their website and the news¡ª I already knew Craig was on there. They were apparently nning on revealing this entire thing right after my battle with Fantina¡ª which we all assumed I would win¡ª and creating a whole advertising blitz to slowly make the transition for the change between me and Craig. ¡°Thank you, I guess,¡± I sighed. ¡°What¡¯s with the bag?¡± There was a green, camo backpack next to mine, and I was wondering if it was something they were going to give me as a gift or something. It certainly was bigger than the one I owned, although I was sort of attached to it by now. ¡°It¡¯s for the photoshoot,¡± she smiled. ¡°Goes well with your clothes, and every trainer has a backpack, don¡¯t they? Sit.¡± My stylist motioned me to a chair in front of a mirror with a bunch of lights, and then started to wash my face with some kind of smooth moisturizer. Afterward, she applied primer to my skin. ¡°We don¡¯t want to go too overboard here,¡± she whispered as her hand ran under my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the makeup at a minimum. Hiding every imperfection would make you lose all of your appeal as a trainer. They make you look authentic,¡± she said as her eyes zed over my burns. I held back an annoyed sigh, but continued closing my eyes as I waited for her to finish. It was for the money, I told myself. In fact, the first two hundred and fifty thousand pokedors had already been transferred to my ount, and I even had thatptop I had always wanted. The stylist proceeded to brush my hair, and then she finally sent me off. I carried both backpacks in my hands, but Melody¡ª the woman who had greeted me on the fifth floor¡ª came and took them from me. Apparently, she wasn¡¯t just a greeter. She was supposed to be my sponsorship liaison. She wouldn¡¯t be as overbearing as a coordinator¡¯s manager, and I¡¯d barely see her once I left this building, but she¡¯d be the one who called me if I ever acted out of line and damaged thepany¡¯s image. Alternatively, she¡¯d also be the one I¡¯d need to contact if I ever wanted something from them. I thanked her with a short nod. A short, male photographer called me over, and I was surprised to see that the background and the floor of my pictures would just bepletely white. They were being so extra with things that I almost thought they¡¯d green-screen me on a route or something. A few people also stood behind him and whispered among themselves. ¡°¡®Afternoon youngdy,¡± he smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Joshua Nance, your photographer. I hope you appreciate that thepany¡¯s kept things on the down-low for you. Ordinarily, they¡¯d be a whole lot of people in this room. Anyway, if you ever have to take any more pictures after today, I¡¯m probably the one you¡¯ll have to work with.¡± ¡°I sure hope I won¡¯t have to, but thanks,¡± I simply said. ¡°Can we get started right away, or¡­?¡± I just wanted this whole thing to be done with, go home and start budgeting. He motioned me to step onto therge, white background, which I obliged. ¡°They wanted me to tell you that these won¡¯t be published until your battle with Fantina. They want to time the marketing blitz with your victory.¡± he exined as he fiddled with his camera. Melody spoke up. ¡°And you¡¯ll be promoted much more than with our usual sponsorship terms until they gently push Mr. Goodwill out of the limelight, recing him with you by the summer, after the end of the Conference,¡± ¡°There we go. We¡¯ll start with simple pictures that show who you are as a person. Stand there and just give me any pose you want, just make it feel natural.¡± After telling me at least ten times to loosen up because I apparently looked nervous, Mr. Nance snapped a few pictures, making sure the Pokeballs on my belt were visible. He exined to me that the background was white so that they¡¯d pop in a picture and draw and captivate the public¡¯s eyes, which I guess was the point. ¡°Do you want to take a picture with one of your Pokemon next?¡± He asked. ¡°It¡¯d help the people get to know you on a more personal level.¡± I didn¡¯t understand how that made any sense, but why not¡ª Wait. Jellicent was a no-go until I figured out how this new evolution affected him around people when he wasn¡¯t focusing on a battle. Turtornator¡­ well, he¡¯d kill everyone in this room. Tangrowth would touch everything with his vines. He¡¯d probably break the camera out of curiosity too. Larvitar might get too excited, and she could damage the building with her stomping. Plus, she didn¡¯t really like strangers either. Well, Electabuzz and Togetic were doable¡ª although princess was starting to get a little too aggressive for my liking, but that was mostly when she fought things. ¡°Can I use two?¡± I asked. ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± I released princess and honey and hurriedly exined the situation to them. Togetic seemed happy enough but still looked at Mr. Nance with some amount of suspicion. Electabuzz, goofy as he was, was acting all shy about getting his picture taken. I carried Togetic in my arms and ced her head against my chest while Electabuzz wrapped an arm around me and smiled, shing his sharp teeth. ¡°Excellent, excellent!¡± He smiled as he snapped more pictures. ¡°This¡¯ll show the world how close you are with your team.¡± Finally, after twenty minutes of making us strike different poses, it was over. I changed, and Melody led me out of the building and gave me her number and email so I could contact her whenever I wanted. I called dad over, who surprisingly immediately drove up with his car after barely two minutes. ¡°You¡¯re here early,¡± I said after letting out a tired exhale as I sat into his car. ¡°I was waiting around the block, I was too nervous. How¡¯d it go? You look great.¡± He said. ¡°Yeah, they put makeup on me for some shoot. And Dad, that was like, three hours you were waiting for me?¡± I chuckled. ¡°I signed. I work with the Poketch Company now. Wait, does that mean we¡¯re co-workers?!¡± ¡°Slow down there, kiddo,¡± he said as he started driving. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have signed right away. What were the terms?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I read it over a ton of times, and I caught how they were trying to screw me by making the contract exclusive forever. Plus, they have to preserve their rep. It¡¯d be a bad look if they fu¡ª screwed me over too hard while trying to make me the face of theirpany at the same time.¡± ¡°Hold on, the face of thepany? Isn¡¯t that Craig Goodwill?¡± I exined the big elements of the contract to him¡ª which, to me, was mostly the pay, but I also told him that it was an exclusive sponsorship. I¡¯d have to cancel all of my meetings with the otherpanies I had written back to. It was a shame, but I knew they¡¯d never offer me better terms. Plus, a part of me was d I wouldn¡¯t have to keep sitting in meetings with a bunch of business people. Just one had been tiresome enough. I didn¡¯t know how Denzel nned on doing it. He still had eight meetings to get to. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of other stuff too. I¡¯ve got a copy of the contract with me if you want to read it. It¡¯s in a nice little leather booklet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it a readter,¡± he nodded before ruffling my hair. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, kid. Do you want me to drop you off at the Center?¡± I smiled. ¡°How about lunch first?¡± Dad took me to Arlyle¡¯s to eat, although he didn¡¯t eat anything himself because it was too unhealthy, or whatever. I sent a text to the group chat saying that the meeting went well, and they all congratted me in their own way. Justin and Cecilia sent me private messages, the former sending a long, essay-like message about the economic power of the Poketch Company and how I had made the correct choice, while Cecilia berated me, saying she would have liked to give me advice first. She came around when I exined the terms, although she said I should have asked what constituted how ¡®well I was doing¡¯ for renegotiation purposes. I¡¯d shoot Melody a message about itter, but she was right that I should have asked. Still, she was excited for me and d that they had recognized how much I was worth. Along with hearts. A lot of hearts. Arceus, she was cute. I sent her a GIF of two Teddiursa hugging with a caption that said ¡®us¡¯. I almost heard her squeal through the screen. She apparently hadn¡¯t known that was possible, and she spent the next twenty minutes sending me romantic GIFs in return. I ended up asking her for vitamin advice. Denzel congratted me in a teasing manner, telling me to leave some fame for the rest of them. Pauline called me a gremlin, but also said that ¡®a girl like me¡¯ deserved to be rich, so she was hoping I¡¯d renegotiate to get more money as soon as possible. Emilia called for a celebration and used a bunch of emojis I couldn¡¯t decipher. The atmosphere between the three was still awkward, but I was d they were at least not fighting. Or maybe they were, and they were hiding it from us. Eh, I¡¯d probably be able to figure it out the next time I saw them. Now that Cecilia had revealed the fact that there was some rtionship drama afoot, I felt like I¡¯d be able to read all of them like open books. I thanked dad for the food and driving me back to the Center and entered my Pokemon Center room right away. I¡¯d join my friendster. I released my entire team aside from Turtonator, although at this point, Jellicent was so big he could barely move around the room. Still, he clumsily floated behind me¡ª where he always liked to be when I was about to work. I opened my newptop and quickly set it up. Apparently, I could link my phone and my Poketch Watch, and theputer to each other, which sure as hell was convenient. I supposed that this was the main benefit of being loyal to the brand. I smiled when I saw that theptop came with a pre-installed spreadsheet app. This would be good for Pokemon training, but right now, I¡¯d need it for one thing. Budgeting. I knew this wouldn¡¯t be thatplicated, but I¡¯d always been bad with math. Back in school, I had gotten sixty to sixty-five percent on every subject, which meant I had barely graduated, but I hadn¡¯t tried or studied. Except in math, where I had to work my ass off to barely pass. So even though I knew the program would do all the calctions for me, I still felt a twinge of dread well up inside of me. Yes. Dread. That was how much I hated numbers. ¡°Okay¡­¡± I exhaled. ¡°Two hundred and fifty thousand pokedors per month.¡± The date was currently January 10th, but I had already gotten my money for this month, so I¡¯d get paid for five more months. That added up to¡­ 1.25 million Pokedors by the Conference. And that was just the bare minimum. Bar any catastrophic circumstances where Ipletely fumbled the bag and they brought my sry down, there was nowhere to go but up when I renegotiated in three months. Plus, there were the bonuses for the tournaments, although they hadn¡¯t given me a solid number for those, so I¡¯d get even more money down the line. All of the money I spent on a monthly basis was penniespared to this, but I couldn¡¯t go overboard. I needed to save for very specific things. ¡°It¡¯s mid-January, but let¡¯s just stick with that five month number for the sake of simplicity. Let¡¯s say that currently, I spend around¡­ five thousand Pokedors per month for everything I need,¡± I whispered. ¡°That adds up to twenty-five grand by the Conference, so I¡¯m left with 1,225,000 pokedors. Not bad.¡± I opened up my browser and looked up the price of a Shiny Stone. I already knew the average price was 745,000 pokedors, but it tended to fluctuate a lot with supply. I blew a raspberry when I saw that the price had jumped to almost 800,000, which tended to be the upper limit of its price range. Well, it wasn¡¯t like I had enough to buy one right now. Hopefully, the price would go down by the time I did, though. The Shiny Stone was the main reason I couldn¡¯t just go and spend everything I currently had on TMs, even though looking at the money on my trainer card did fill me with a giddy feeling. Is this how dad felt every time he got paid? So basically, I needed to have 800,000 Pokedors by the time the Conference came around¡ª preferably a little earlier than that so that Togetic could get used to her new body. She was a slow flier right now, but Togekiss were known to be quick, since they used both their wings and fairy type energy to fly, whereas she currently only used the energy to float instead. That meant that I had to control my spending. Vitamins and TMs were the only things I currently wanted. ording to Cece, a single bottle for every vitamin¡ª Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Carbos, and Magnesium¡ª cost 50,000 pokedors. Nothing to billionaires, but a fuck ton of money to me. If I spread it out, though, it¡¯dst me the whole month, but my Pokemon would take a bit longer to see the effects. I was fine with it, though, since vitamins tended to have diminishing returns the longer you fed them to your Pokemon, so catching up there was definitely on the table if I got better terms with the Poketch Company. ording to Cece and some reputable breeders I found online, the best way to go about this was to feed your Pokemon a baseline of every vitamin in the first few months, and then specialize in different kinds for what you wanted each Pokemon to do. For example, Carbos was known to improve a Pokemon¡¯s speed, so I¡¯d give them to Electabuzz, whereas Jellicent now had excellent survivability, so I¡¯d give him Magnesium instead. They were meant to improve on their strengths. ¡°So 50,000 pokedors times five months¡­¡± I quietly spoke, typing on myptop. ¡°That¡¯s 250,000 pokedors. Added with the cost for everything else, I¡¯d be left with 975,000 pokedors by June.¡± That left me 175,000 to y with¡ª no, I¡¯d keep a 10,000 pokedor buffer on top of the 800,000 I might have needed just to be safe. Although again, I¡¯d have more depending on how I did in those five tournaments I was supposed to join, and my sry would probably increase for thosest two months before the Conference. Hell, if I had time and I was short on cash, then maybe I could join more tournaments. Still, I¡¯d y it safe until I got my first bonus after the Sceon tournament. From then on, I¡¯d be able to get an idea of the money range, at least. 165,000 pokedors. That was the final number I was free to spend on TMs for the rest of the year until shown otherwise, and bar any exceptional circumstances where I¡¯d have to spend money for an emergency. I probably needed to keep another buffer for that, like emergency savings, so I lowered that number further to 145,000. It might have seemed like a lot now, but TMs for the moves I wanted were actually expensive. They wouldn¡¯t cost a mere 15,000 like Thunder Wave had. For example, I wanted Psychic for Togetic, and that alone cost 80,000, which was fair, since it was one of the most versatile moves a Pokemon could learn. The reusable one would be more expensive, but right now, I was only looking at prices for single-use TMs. That left me with 65,000. I turned back toward my team and wondered who I could buy a TM for. Jellicent was fine for now, and he had a lot of moves to learn naturally, still. I didn¡¯t exactly want to overwhelm Larvitar with TMs when she was learning new moves at an already incredible pace. There were actually a lot of affordable TMs Tangrowth could learn, so he could be an option. Electabuzz was interesting. I didn¡¯t have the money for it, but they could learn Teleport, which was one of the most expensive TMs in the world. Non-psychic types unfortunately couldn¡¯t teleport other people with them, though, and the range would be rather pitiful, but it¡¯d mean that he could dodge a lot easier in battles. The learning process was dangerous, and could be lethal without a Pokemon acting as his teacher, so I wasn¡¯t even sure if I wanted to teach it to him in the long term unless I suddenly became friends with a person that had a Pokemon that knew the move. There were a lot of horror stories about Pokemon identally teleporting underground and being buried alive. A better option I was looking at was Protect. Honey was my most vulnerable Pokemon. Even though Togetic could take fewer hits, she was adept at not getting hit thanks to Ancient Power and Extrasensory. I figured that Electabuzz needed something like that to protect himself from attacks that he couldn¡¯t dodge, especially since he¡¯d be my ace against Fantina. The single-use protect TM cost 78,000 pokedors, though¡­ that was beyond my emergency fund. I leaned back into my chair and sighed as I stared at Jellicent, who looked down at me with a worried gaze. ¡°Well, I might as well live a little,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to pad my savings a bit after the Sceon tournament. Let¡¯s get those Vitamins and TMs.¡± ¡ª¡ª Why did no one ever tell me that spending so much money at once hurt? I felt like I was doing something fundamentally wrong, and yet I had done the math. It all was economically sound! I walked out of the mart and immediately used my Pokedex to teach princess and honey their respective moves. If I could have bought the reusable version of Protect, I could have taught it to Togetic too, but this store actually didn¡¯t even sell reusable TMs, surprisingly enough. Emilia wanted me to get back to the Center quickly, since she was already organizing a party. ¡°She sure works fast,¡± I smiled. I messaged her that I¡¯d be back in thirty minutes or so, and that I just needed to try out my new moves. Not wanting to bother my dad too much, I took a bus to route 208 and released my two Pokemon. ¡°Feel any different?¡± I asked them. ¡°I taught a new move to both of you. Princess, you have Psychic now, which is offensively better than Extrasensory in every way. If you ever want to pick someone up, though, use Extrasensory, because Psychic hurts up here,¡± I exined, pointing to my head. She nodded with a determined look and chirped. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try it on, uh¡­ here, why don¡¯t you rip a branch from this tree for me. Use Extrasensory to do it.¡± Her eyes shimmered, and she separated a small branch from the tree I had motioned at. In the meantime, I grabbed myputer, in which I had opened a new spreadsheet and a stopwatch application. ¡°Okay, now try to lift it into the sky with the same move as quickly as you can,¡± I continued. ¡°Stop when you reach the top of your head.¡± The air around the twig distorted, and she lifted it up, stopping as soon as it reached her crown. ¡°That was almost three seconds. 2.94. Not bad,¡± I smiled, typing the number on myptop. ¡°Now put it down and do the same with Psychic. You might have to try a little harder, but you have the knowledge to use it.¡± Princess squinted, then closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. The branch shook, and I almost pressed go on the stopwatch too early. When she opened her eyes, the twig shot up so quickly that I pressed it toote instead, and she didn¡¯t manage to stop it at her head. In fact, it flew off far into the distance. She bowed her head at me and let out an apologetic cry. ¡°Togeprri¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, princess,¡± Iforted her, rubbing her chin. ¡°You did awesome for your first time. We¡¯ll track itter, along with how much your progress with the move through the rest of the year. Then we¡¯ll be able to look back at the number and smile when we see how far you¡¯ll havee.¡± Togetic slowly smiled and pped her hands. ¡°Aw, you¡¯re so cute,¡± Iughed. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn, hon. Your new move is Protect. It makes a big, transparent barrier around you that protects you from attacks, although it¡¯s tiring to use. Try it out.¡± The electric type stepped forward and confidently punched his palm, making me smirk. He brought both of his hands forward, yelled out his name, and a thin barrier that barely covered his entire torso appeared in front of him. Togeticughed so hard she fell on the ground, and I had to ask her to not make fun of her brother. If Electabuzz didn¡¯t have any fur, he would have been blushing for sure. Luckily for him, the rest of the family hadn¡¯t been there to see him fail, but Togetic would probably spill the beans anyway. ¡°Don¡¯t look so down. Come on,¡± I told him. ¡°TMs just give you the rudimentary knowledge. You still have to put a lot of work in to actually master the move. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself.¡± ¡°Buzz¡­¡± he said, nodding toward Togetic. ¡°She failed too. She can barely control the direction of what she uses Psychic on.¡± That seemed to have stopped herughing fit. ¡°Okay, we have like fifteen minutes until I have to leave. We can be fashionablyte to the party and no one will bat an eye.¡± Tomorrow, I would sign up for my battle against Fantina.
Chapter 127 Chapter 127 CHAPTER 127 "Grace! Why are you alwayste to parties I organize for you?" Emilia groaned as I entered her room. I ended up being one hourte instead of fifteen minutes due to training for too long. Half-finished boxes of pizzas sat on the desk, along with different kinds of sodas. I instinctively felt my mouth salivate. I hadn''t had pizza in so long. "Uh, sorry," I responded, slightly bowing my head. "I got too engrossed in training." "Training after that battle?" she said in disbelief. "First it was Denzel, now you. Trainers are crazy¡­" "You''ve got to work for it if you want it," Denzel shrugged. Cece walked up to us and led me deeper into the room. "You look great, love," she smiled. "Oh¡­ thanks," I meekly answered. She noticed my make-up! I felt all fuzzy inside. "The Poketch Company put make-up on me for a photo shoot." "And you stayed?" Denzel said sarcastically. "Thought you''d leave running." "Ugh, shut it," I groaned. "It was worth it for the money. I bought a bunch of stuff already." "You made a good choice. Plus, the Poketch Company knows what they''re doing. They won''t use your face for a while. They''ll need to wait until everything is ready they can push a marketing blitz," Justin said. I nodded. "They did tell me that they''d wait a few days until they contacted me again. They''re supposed to tell me what to post online, too." My eyes settled on Pauline, who was being uncharacteristically silent. She was sitting in a corner and quietly staring at nothing in particr as she ate a slice of pizza, but she must have noticed that I was staring at her too long, because she quickly returned to normal. "Watcha looking at, Grace?" She said snarkily. "I''m not giving you this. It''s thest pepperoni slice, but it''s mine." "Nothing," I lied. The fight with Emi and the situation with Denzel must have still been weighing on her. "Now that everyone''s here," Emilia said, pping her hands to garner our attention. "I want to announce¡­ err, Pauline wants to announce something!" "Don''t ke out at thest second," Pauline said. "Tell them." Emilia stammered out a few words before getting to her point. "Pauline and I¡­ are da¡ª together." She looked around the room, expecting a massive reaction, but apart from me and Cecilia, no one did much of anything. I personally was just happy that she just trusted us enough to reveal this when she''d been keeping it hidden for so long. "Yes, I suspected that to be the case after Grace and Cecilia said the same," Justin shrugged. "I was just waiting for you to say it to be sure." "I figured it out earlier," Cece said. "It''splicated, but I already knew," Denzel told us. "See? I told you," Pauline smiled. She stood up and hugged Emilia. "No one cares! Does this mean that we can ki¡ª" "Not in front of them. And your hands are full of grease¡­" "So why''d you keep it hidden so long, if I could ask?" Cecilia said. Emilia sighed. "I don''t know, I think was mostly scared of it getting out, especially to my parents. Which is why I need to ask you all to keep it a secret, at least for now." Well, I was d that this was finally fixed, at least. I heard a phone quietly vibrate on the nightstand. "Pauline. Your phone," I said. "Grab it and hang up for me, will you?" She said after groaning. "Don''t want to interrupt Emi''s party with any nonsense." "If you say so¡­" I sighed, grabbing her phone. I raised an eyebrow when I saw that ''Mommy'' was calling. "It''s your mom. Should I still¡ª" The redhead shot up, stomped toward me, and snatched away her phone. "Fucking finally, you called. You promised to keep me informed. What''s happening?" I couldn''t believe that Pauline''s mother just let her swear at her like that. My dad would never. "Can''t you put it on speaker?" Justin asked before being brutally shut down by a single re. "Okay¡­ yeah¡­" Pauline muttered. "Sounds good." She hung up the phone. "Mommy''s finally here to tell us what the fuck is going on with Harvey and rence," she continued. "She wants to meet us." Denzel''s eye twitched. "What''s wrong?" I asked. "Nothing. Um, when she says meet us, does that include Louis? Shouldn''t we wait until he¡­ arrives here? He''s as much involved in this as we are." "Mommy hates Louis and the Bianchis, so even if he were here, it wouldn''t be happening. There''s a reason she tried to get me to fuck up his engagement with Cece." "I thought that was because a union between them and the Obels would be too powerful," Justin hesitatingly said. "Yeah, but she hates them because they''re already too powerful," she exined. "A union would have just made it worse, so she desperately wanted me to meddle. I''ll send him a message when the meeting''s done to bring him up to speed¡­ even though he won''t answer. Anyway, she wants to meet us at our vi." Denzel coughed. "Excuse me? Vi?" "Yeah. Vi. One of her driver''sing to pick us up. Is there a problem?" Rich people, I scoffed. ¡ª Pauline''s vi was stunning. We stepped out of the car that had parked in a huge driveway leading up to the tall front doors that put Arlyle''s parking lot to shame. The driver gracefully bowed and pointed us toward the entrance, whose beauty caused me to gasp in awe. The vi''s exterior was made out of white stone and ented with tall columns andrge ss windows that didn''t even have a single smudge, no doubt thanks to the maid that was currently finishing up her cleaning. The building didn''t fit at all with Hearthome''s architecture, but that was probably why it had been built on the city''s outskirts. Denzel and I gaped like Magikarp as we stepped inside the building while Justin, Pauline, and Emilia told us to keep up. The foyer was bigger than dad''s entire apartment and sported gleaming, ck and white marbled floors. A crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. Maids and butlers greeted Pauline with a bow as she walked, but she just ignored them, which I found a bit rude. Maybe that was just how things worked around here, though. What I did notice, however, was that the butlers all carried Pokeballs with them. Maybe they also acted as bodyguards? "How do they even reach that?" I asked, pointing to the chandelier. "It''s so high. Do they get a Pokemon to turn it on?" Emilia chuckled. "No, Grace, it''s just for decorations. They don''t actually use the Chandelier here." "You''ve been here before?" Denzel asked. "A whole lot. I''d spend entire summers with Pauline at Josephine''s mansions when I was younger." Right. Josephine was Pauline''s mother''s name, I had almost forgotten. It would have been embarrassing to get there without knowing. Or not? Maybe she''d ask us to call her Ms. King. "Mommy''s a real saintpared to Emi''s parents, let me tell you," Pauline said as we walked up an arched stairway. "They''re stuck in thest century. Even Justin''s dad isn''t that bad, although he''s a bit sexist. If I hadn''t been there, both of them would have ended up like their parents. Old minds." On the second floor, the entire wall was made of ss. I stared down and noticed an indoor swimming pool with its ownzy river. How big was this ce?! If theing topic hadn''t been serious, I might have asked to go in after meeting Josephine. I greeted a pair of maids as we walked through the wide corridor, and a butler was waiting at huge double doors. "Hey old man," Pauline said. "She told me she''d be in her office." "Ms. King is indeed in the office, Pauline," the butler said. "Thanks, Pete," she said before opening the door. Pauline was fierce, but if I had to describe Pauline''s mother in one word, it would be intense. She appeared in her sixties, which was older than I thought she''d be, meaning that she had Pauler in her life. Her vivid red hair had almostpletely turned white, but the parts that still remained were brighter than Pauline''s. Josephine looked at us, and I had to stop myself from recoiling. It felt like she was judging me and my ws. Pauline crossed her arm, practically ring at her mother. And then smiled and ran up to hug her. "I missed you so much!" She yelled jubntly. "How long are you staying?" "Not too long, my dear," Josephine smiled. "Emilia, Justin, it''s nice to see you again. Cecilia." They both smiled and started making small talk with her, asking about business or life in general. The way Josephine had uttered Cece''s name was a lot less affectionate, however, but I couldn''t exactly call it disdainful either. It was more neutral than anything. "We''vergely avoided any hit from public outrage, and I''m nning on opening a branch in Hoenn. The constant warm temperatures would do wonders for our summer clothing that we never manage to sell here," Josephine exined. "But we aren''t here to talk about that¡ª at least not right now." Her eyes settled on me and Denzel. "Good afternoon, Ms. King," Denzel said with a strained voice. It seemed like this whole situation had gotten on his nerves. "I''m Denzel Williams. Your daughter''s friend." "And I''m Grace Pastel! Also your daughter''s friend." The woman snorted. "I know who you are. In fact, I know a lot more than you would think." "Mommy, I hope you''re not spying on us again," Pauline frowned. Oh. She''d been spying on us too? I thought it had just been Harvey and rence. I stopped myself from having any outward reaction, though. "Oh, I''ve stopped those games," she dismissed. "But there are obviously other ways to gather information. Let''s get to the topic at hand. Harvey and rence." She paused for a few seconds, letting the weight of those two names sink in. "rence is still wrangling with Unova''s government, but the Bianchis have started to recover. For some reason, the Directorate changed their tune unnaturally quickly and passed a massive bailout, and the bill''s gone to Cynthia''s desk. She is going to sign it within the week. Dying it any further would hamper her poprity, especially with trainers. Of course, a fewpanies tried to worm their way into their monopoly, but they all failed miserably. Potions are the products that showed the most promise, but none of their bootleg tonics worked as well as theirs. How unfortunate," she sighed. "Still, at least they showed the world that the conglomerate was not untouchable, which was music to my ears." I nodded, remembering that Chase had bought a cheaper alternative to potions to get himself through Mount Cor, which he had alsoined about it. That must have been only one of the alternatives. "So the Bianchis have stemmed the bleeding, but the Obels have not¡ª partly because there are actually other options for energy in Unova. I am sure you will enjoy your father squirming for a while longer," Josephine said as she looked at Cecilia. She responded with a smirk. "But bleeding does not mean that they are toothless. My little birds have told me that they are still determined to merge despite their setbacks." "Here''s what I don''t get," Justin said. "I am sure Cecilia and Louis marrying would have made things easier, but why can''t they just merge without that?" Josephine smiled. "Amon question. You see, you are correct. A merger between twopanies is aplex process that involves a range of headaches, like negotiations of terms, financial valuation, regtory approval, integrating both operations¡­ especially since the two have very little ovep. Energy and trainer supplies don''t mix. Therein lies the problem. The Bianchi Conglomerate and the Obel Energy Company operate on such a different level that there are actually factions within both that oppose a merger." "I remember back in Unova, rence had a lot of fits about¡­ he called them holdouts," Cecilia said. "That might have been what he meant." "Yes. Companies are not a monolith. There are factions within factions within factions, all with different interests. Personally, I believe that a merger, if sessful, would be catastrophic. Apany of that size would be able to ignore government regtions, which are already extremely loose in Unova. Imagine the Bianchis expanding in that region, free from Sinnoh''s rules and regtions. That thought kept me up for multiple nights." "But the merger could also fail," I said. "It could, but I did not want to take the risk. A choice I would have learned how to live with if it bit me in the ass," she shrugged. I could see where Pauline had gotten her way of speaking from. "Continuing on my point, Harvey and rence knew that forcing through a merger would scare off investors and start a civil war within their ownpanies, so they opted to take a slower route. Making advantageous business deals with themselves, and slowly intertwining theirpanies together, but that wasn''t going quickly enough, and they knew that they would die one day. You see, there is nothing those two sorry pieces of shit want more than leave asting legacy." "That is why the engagement came in," Emilia said. "It was obviously nothing more than a political marriage." "Yes. A simple cog in the merging machine, mind you, but one that could blow the entire process up if it failed in a spectacr, humiliating, and public fashion, which was originally the n," she smiled, looking at her daughter. "Either way, they have not given up. They will try to bring you back into the fold. It is my understanding that Louis is currently traveling alone?" "He has two friends with him," Denzel said. "Uh¡ª at least that''s what Chase said!" He quickly added. "Ah, my knowledge was out of date. Good for nothing informants," she annoyingly sighed. "It is good that he isn''t isted, but we''ll have to make sure that these two friends aren''t subtly using his istion to bring him back into his father''s camp." "They aren''t," Denzel firmly said. "You know something," both me and Josephine sprung up at the same time. I looked at her and awkwardly shuffled before apologizing. The woman continued. "You know something, otherwise you wouldn''t be so sure." "Damn it," he said, scratching his head. "I¡­ I met Louis and his new friends. The other night. Remember when I said I was training? I was training with them." I knew he had looked off! Louis being here made sense, since he had been right behind Chase, but I felt a hole in my heart at the fact that he didn''t want to see us yet. Cece stared at the floor dejectedly, and I grabbed her hand tofort her. "You ass! Why didn''t you tell us anything?!" Pauline yelled. "Because he wants to be alone, still," he said. "Don''t try to meet him. I fucked up and broke his trust. I promised I wouldn''t say anything." "Well, this is good," Josephine said, ignoring their little scuffle. "Keep training with them and observing them. If they have no sinister intentions, then we will clear them of any suspicion. I feared that Louis was the most susceptible to betrayal, dumb as that child is." Cece clenched a fist. "Don''t badmouth him." Josephine rolled her eyes. "Next, I believe that they''ll alsoe after you again." "That would be economic suicide," Justin shook his head. "They won''t be able toe back from another scandal of that scale." "Oh, they might not need to," she said dismissively. "Let me tell you a story, children. When I was but an infant, the Great War was just teetering out and taking in itsst gasps. A war so great that every region saw some of the fighting, and Orre''snd was so irreceably altered that it still has not recovered. A war so great that avatars of the great Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno rampaged across the skies to snap humans out of their folly, bringing death and destruction wherever they appeared. I do not remember anything about it, and the generation that fought in it is all but gone, but I do remember the ramifications." My throat suddenly went dry at the mention of the Great War¡ª a war that caused so much death and trauma that there hadn''t been another one since. It had originally started between Kanto and Johto due to a border dispute, as wars often used to do, but it quickly spiraled out of control, and two alliances formed, with each region picking a side to support. Sinnoh had been on Johto''s side, but we had been spared from most of the fighting. No one had won. The war ended in a status quo. It was started by humans and was ended by Legendaries. ording to my history ss, at the height of the conflict, there were as many as ten avatars for each Legendary bird flying around and ending battles left and right. Tens of millions of deaths¡ª both human and Pokemon¡ª for nothing. "People say that there hasn''t been another war since, but that isn''t exactly true," Josephine continued. "Do you really think Kanto and Johto would ever stop being at each other''s throats? They''re like oil and water, and the hatred they share for each other runs deep. Some might call it generational," she cackled. "No, lower-scale conflicts are still taking ce, but it is all about usible deniability. Unmarked trainers doing covert operations and sabotage. You sometimes hear about it on the news, but they''re alwaysbeled as terrorists with no allegiances." "What if they''re caught?" Emilia whimpered. "It could spiral into another war, couldn''t it?" "Oh, it could," she said. "But it hasn''t yet. No region wants to be the one to press the trigger first. Sometimes, they are caught, and I have no doubt that despite what the governments say, their memories are all extracted whenever whatever mental protection they have run out. Regions know that they are doing this, but they don''t want another war. Cooler heads have prevailed until now, at the very least. They know their choice would have consequences." It was the second time that Josephine talked about choices, and it reminded me of myself. I took a deep breath, calming myself down from the mention of wars. "Did I scare you?" She asked. "I don''t tend to mince my words." I could see where Pauline had gotten her behavior from. "The point is, so long as there is usible deniability, then it will be to Harvey''s and rence''s advantage. I don''t know exactly how they''lle at you, but don''t expect it to be as obvious as before. I would think that they would still at least wait until you get out of Hearthome, though. You''ve garnered too much publicity again. A little bird told me the Poketch Company was going to make an announcement soon," she said, looking at me. I stopped myself from reacting, but she probably caught me, since her lip twitched upward. She really had informants everywhere. It was true that I was bing the face of the Poketch Company, so that publicity wouldn''t fade any time soon. Still, what she was saying made sense. They could hire a random thug to kidnap Cecilia, and there was no way he would ever talk if they got caught. Hell, even if they got caught and confessed, it''d be their word against Harvey and rence, who would undoubtedly deny everything. It wasn''t like the League would extract memories from every criminal out there. "I could try to protect you covertly, but they will always outpace me and hire more people. There is a bit of good news, though," Josephine said. "Or I suppose it could be considered bad news." I inhaled and braced myself for what she was about to say. "Abel contacted me." "Excuse me?" Cecilia asked. Immediately, my mind went to the worst possibilities. Was she being mind controlled? Was being here even safe? My hands instinctively hovered over my Pokeballs¡ª a learned fight or flight response that any trainer knew all too well. "Mommy¡­ are you okay?" Pauline asked. "Oh please," sheughed. "I did not actually see him. Did you notice the added security, Pauline?" "I did. There are way more butlers than usual. Did he breach¡ª" "He did, back in the mansion in Jubilife. Walked all over the ce, uncaring about any cameras, and somehow avoided every single butler. They were all checked for mind control, don''t worry. And it was weeks ago, though, so he could be anywhere." "Did you at least warn the authorities?!" I eximed. "Calm yourself, girl," she sighed exasperatedly. "I did, but nothing came of it. I kept the message he left me for myself, though. He seems very mad about the fact that your and Louis'' father fleeced him without a care in the world. He wanted to contact them through me, but I didn''t bother trying to respond." "Obviously¡­" Pauline muttered. "Can I check?" Cecilia asked. Josephine raised an eyebrow. "Check?" "I own a Slowking¡­ he''s recently evolved, but I think he should be at least able to sense if your mind''s been messed with." Pauline shook her head. "Don''t! What if there''s an ident¡ª" "I told you I hadn''t met him in person, but do what you must," she shrugged. Cecilia released her Slowking and hurriedly asked him to scan Josephine''s mind. The psychic type raised an arm, grunting slightly. After a few seconds, he stared at her. I saw her wince and bite her lip to suppress the pain from telepathy, but she recalled him right after. "Nothing. You''re safe." "Now, let me continue," Josephine said. "Abel does not care about you any longer, Cecilia, although I believe you knew that already. If you didn''t, then you''re horribly out of your depth. He wants to be paid in full, and he wants a ride out of Sinnoh, but they don''t want anything to do with him any longer. Aiding a criminal of his stature would be too much if it got out again, even for them." "Can''t he fly home? I know he can''t exactly walk up to an airport, but a trainer of his level must have a flier," Denzel said. "Why ask questions we don''t have the answer to, young man?" "That''s how he thinks¡ª" I sprung up. Josephine spoke over me. "Maybe he doesn''t have one. Or maybe he wants his money before he leaves. Either way, we don''t know. Personally, I''d be content to let him run around the region if Harvey and rence get what''sing to them. They''re almost walking around with private armies these days, and I hear thetter wants to fly back to Unova soon." "If rence flies back to Unova, then Abel will go after Harvey," I said. "He also worked with him, and I don''t think he''d care who paid him, so long as he got his money." "Correct. Well, you''ve beenpletely filled in now, but it''d be a shame to see you leave so early. Feel free to enjoy the vi for the rest of the day, if you wish. Pauline,e talk to me before you leave." "Alright," Emilia sighed. "Why don''t we just¡­ rx and take our minds off of this for the time being." ¡ª "Grace," Pauline called out. "We''re going to the pool, do you want toe?" Arceus, this whole ordeal made it impossible for me to have any fun, and I was in a mansion with butlers meeting my every need. Or vi. Whatever the difference was, I didn''t know. Josephine had said that they wouldn''t strike right now, but I couldn''t be sure. Plus, the fact that they''d be more discreet about it made it all the more dangerous, since they probably wouldn''t hold back anymore about trying to hurt us, although Cece would probably be kept unharmed. Before, I felt like they would at least not hurt children, but now? No holds were barred. At least I didn''t have to worry about mind control any longer. I still hated Abel, but it did feel somewhatforting that he was after our enemies instead of us. But there was another possibility that worried me. He wanted to contact Cece''s father, so¡ª "Grace¡­ hello?" Pauline said again, waving a hand in front of me. "My bad. What''d you say?" "Pool time! I saw you looking at it. I''ve lent Emi and Cece some of my swimsuits¡ª although you''d probably need some of my older ones." I groaned and kicked her leg. "Shut it!" "Ow! You little shit! At least I snapped you out of your depressing self-induced downward spiral. Come on, let''s take your mind off of things." I sighed as I stood up. "Fine, go get me a swim¡­ a¡­" Swimsuit. Of course, I needed a swimsuit if I wanted to swim. I was such an idiot. I gripped the left side of my waist and felt my scars tingle. I didn''t want it to be exposed. "Nevermind," I said. "I think I''ll stay here for a bit. I might swing aroundter." Pauline smiled sadly at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "I get it. Just know you''ve got nothing to be ashamed of, yeah? And you''re not staying here alone, by the way. At leaste dip your feet into the water. Cece will kill me if I leave you here." "''Kay," I quietly said. My mood immediately turned up again when I saw Denzel push Justin into the waterpletely clothed, and then jumped in himself. Alsopletely clothed. Luckily for them, this was an indoor pool, so they''d suffer when we had to leave out in the cold, but right now, they were having fun. Cecilia ended up sticking by the edge with me the entire time. Seeing her in a swimsuit was flustering as hell. ¡ª Later that day, we barely made it to the gym before closing time. It was time for Cece, Denzel, and I to sign up. Our battle would actually be sooner than I thought¡ª one day after Emilia''s performance. Chase would be battling on the day of her contest instead, so unfortunately, we wouldn''t be able to see his battle. I had no doubt in my mind that he''d win, though. I had wanted to go first to slowly ease myself into improvising before the Sceon tournament, but I needed an impressive win for the Poketch Company. I was confident I''d pull out a win no matter the order we went in, but I needed it to be as impressive as possible. That meant I was going third again. Denzel was going first, and Cecilia was going second.
Chapter 128 Chapter 128 CHAPTER 128 ¡°Hahaha!¡± Iughed until I could barely breathe. ¡°What the hell was even that?! Were you even trying?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like to see you do better,¡± Denzel said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have you put on a performance right now?¡± Emilia groaned and kicked Denzel in the leg. ¡°What the hell? Why me?!¡± ¡°Let the video finish, Arceus! I want to make sure the voice-over¡¯s recorded properly,¡± sheined. ¡°Grace started it, though.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to hit a girl. Now quiet.¡± Emilia, Denzel, and Vincent¡¯s video was being yed in Pauline¡¯s room, which at this point was everyone¡¯s room, with how much we were staying in it. They had recorded it yesterday after they had gotten a good night¡¯s sleep after Josephine¡¯s revtions, but Emilia hadn¡¯t uploaded it yet, since they were waiting for the contest to take ce. Pauline had sent a text to Louis to warn him about it, and he surprisingly answered, which meant they talked for the first time in weeks. There were talks about a meeting, but he seemed squeamish about the possibility and nothing had been set up quite yet. Iughed again at the video as Denzel miserably tried to make his Snorunt make Powder Snow spin like a tornado. Emilia and Vincent, who¡¯d been acting as the judges for the concept, gave him a one and a three. If I remembered correctly, the scores were out of ten¡ª although during the battle stages, the points workedpletely differently. Instead of there being a score, points would be deducted until one contestant reached zero. ¡°At least Vincent gave me a three¡­¡± Denzel sighed. ¡°I think he just felt bad for you,¡± Pauline shrugged. ¡°I do have to admit, that was some excellent editing, and he only had a day to do it.¡± Justin¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°Did you¡­pliment him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but Pauline¡¯s being on her best behavior,¡± Emi exined. ¡°Does that mean she¡¯ll finally be respectful to me too or¡­¡± Justin asked, but trailed off when she just red. ¡°I figured. When are you uploading it?¡± ¡°After my performance today,¡± the girl sighed as nervousness began to creep in. ¡°Win or lose, I¡¯ll get my name out there, and if I upload the video right after the contest, it might trend and jumpstart my channel.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± I nodded. ¡°The Poketch Company basically wants to do the same thing with me. Anyway, your performance is in four hours, isn¡¯t it? Shouldn¡¯t you start getting ready? Cece took that long just to get ready to meet my dad.¡± ¡°It was important¡­¡± she grumbled. ¡°I know, I know,¡± I smiled. ¡°Yeah, I suppose I can¡¯t exactly avoid it any longer. I feel ready, but¡­ I can¡¯t help but imagine the worst, you know? I hope the judges are lenient¡­ some of them really pick your performance apart if they don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°Like you did with me?¡± Denzel asked. This time, Pauline kicked him in the leg, and he groaned, opting to just get away from people to stop getting hit. ¡°That was rude, Denzel, but I¡¯ll let it slide,¡± Emilia said, hiding her smirk. ¡°Pauline,e help me get ready.¡± ¡°Sure thing, babe,¡± the redhead immediately said as she shot up. ¡°Babe?!¡± I yelled in surprise. ¡°What the hell¡­¡± I still hadn¡¯t thought of a nickname for Cece. Well, I¡¯d go and train while the others were getting ready. My strategy still needed a few finishing touches, meaning that I still needed to watch more videos. My Pokemon could battle each other and practice their moves in the meanwhile. ¡ª¡ª The Hearthome Contest Hall was huge, and even in the lobby, the ceiling hung so high that it didn¡¯t even feel real. The pink, patterned carpet seemed way too clean for a ce that was frequented this much. ording to Emilia, this was the number one attraction in the city, and it showed. Since there was a performance soon, the hall was packed so full that even I felt nervous, and I wasn¡¯t even the one performing. ¡°I keep forgetting we have to buy these. Ugh,¡± Denzel said as the receptionist handed us our tickets. ¡°Come on, you both finally have money to spend,¡± Pauline rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be stingy with it already.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as much as you¡¯d think¡ª¡± Denzel and I both said at the same time. ¡°Jinx!¡± I yelled. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you something at Arlyle¡¯ster,¡± he smiled. ¡°Yes!!¡± I jumped. It wasn¡¯t like I could expect Pauline to understand the concept of saving money. She¡¯d been raised in apletely different world, after all. Once we all had our tickets, we brought Emilia to the contestant¡¯s entrance, where there was an obvious divide. The nervous coordinators that were obviously new, fidgeting, pale, staring around the room, or trying to distract themselves by looking at their phones. Then, there were the experienced ones that carried themselves with confidence. They walked with their backs straight and with purpose. Some were even getting pointers from their manager¡ª or sometimes managers. Plural. Emilia anxiously patted her long, white, flowery dress down and then opened herpact mirror to check her makeup. I wondered why she hadn¡¯t hired a manager yet. She certainly had the money for one, but maybe she wanted to work independently for a bit. ¡°We all told you, you look amazing, Emi,¡± Pauline said. ¡°Come on, you¡¯ve got this!¡± ¡°Oh, Arceus,¡± she nervously said. ¡°I¡¯m going to pass out. Then throw up. No, wait, the opposite.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to be fine,¡± Cece gently said. ¡°Just remember your training, and smile.¡± ¡°Right,¡± she nodded. ¡°I need to smile. To smile¡­¡± ¡°Entrance is closing in two minutes,¡± Justin said, looking at his phone. ¡°You should go. We¡¯ll be rooting for you from the stands.¡± ¡°Okay. I can do this. I can,¡± she said, finishing that sentence more firmly than usual. ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°We all believe in you!¡± I yelled as she left. ¡°Just remember to have fun!¡± Denzel said. ¡°Our seats areplete shit, by the way. I guess we should have bought them beforehand instead of doing itst minute,¡± Pauline sighed. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, that would have been smart. It¡¯s not like I warned you or anything.¡± ¡ª¡ª Contests were different than gyms in every sense, but the biggest one Emilia found was that the waiting room wasn¡¯t just for one person. It was for every single participant. Coordinators filled every corner of the room as she squeezed past them, looking for Vincent. He was participating too, and he had told her they¡¯d meet in the waiting room. Of course, that was easier said than done, especially in these Arceus damned heels that were starting to hurt like hell. And yet, she¡¯d have to wear them a lot longer, unless she was called immediately and got a terrible score. Unlike gyms, contests were hour-long experiences. Even though performances for the first round were short, with a maximum time limit of five minutes, every single coordinator here would have a turn, and it added up very quickly. Ah! There he was. Vincent was sitting on one of the benches and putting on foundation to hide some of his pimples. Well, Emilia couldn¡¯t really me him for that, since she had done the exact same a few hours earlier. His long, wavy hair was tied in a ponytail, and he was wearing a colorful purple suit and tie. ¡°Vincent!¡± Emilia screamed to get her voice heard. Her friend waved at her and smiled. He shuffled a bit to the right to leave her space to sit, and she sighed in relief, taking off her shoes. Finally, her feet could rest. ¡°It¡¯s packed in here.¡± ¡°Yep, it¡¯s the Hearthome Contest Hall,¡± he smiled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t get more packed than this, except when there¡¯s a ribbon to win. Then, they have to fit us in makeshift waiting rooms.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind it, personally,¡± Emilia said. ¡°On one hand, I have less of a chance to stand out, but it¡¯sforting to think that a lot of people are new at this like I am. Nice suit, by the way. You never told me you had it.¡± Vincent shrugged. ¡°I rented it.¡± ¡°O¡ªoh.¡± The short boyughed. ¡°Don¡¯t get all sad on me! People have said a lot worse here, I really don¡¯t mind. A lot of the newer coordinators don¡¯t have enough money to buy actual outfits, so they¡¯ll rent them instead. I¡¯ll have to return this er tonight, so I¡¯m not charged for two days.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll ce high enough to make money out of it,¡± Emilia cheered. Vincent smirked. ¡°You¡¯re a hell of an optimistic gal, ain¡¯t ya? We¡¯re usually a lot more doom and gloom about things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually a lot more negative than my friends,¡± she responded. ¡°Did you get your performance down?¡± ¡°Just in the nick of time,¡± he said. ¡°Beautifly and Roselia figured it out yesterday. I¡¯ve always been ast-minute kind of guy.¡± Grace would have hated that. Vincent had three Pokemon, and his Roselia was the sweetest thing, and somewhat shy, so the opposite of Denzel¡¯s. Hisst Pokemon was a Girafarig¡ª his starter¡ª but he wasn¡¯t using him for this contest, and a coordinator was locked into using two Pokemon for the contest¡¯s entire length. Emilia was using Rockruff and Beldum. She had considered using Aipom instead of the steel type, but she hade up with a brilliant idea that had changed her mind. Plus, he was excellent at learning TMs quickly. In fact, he did so at ridiculous speeds. Emilia didn¡¯t know if it was because he was smart or something else, but it was a serious boon for her coordinator career. Emilia decided to try to listen in on what her fellow coordinators were saying, and it was a mishmash of panic,st-minute advice-giving, and theories. Apparently, a coordinator in high ces had leaked who the judges would be, and it had caused a bit of rm throughout the waiting room, because one of them liked out-of-the-box performances. Emilia shuffled around awkwardly. ¡°There¡¯s no point in changing your n thiste in the game,¡± her friend assured. ¡°Better stick to what you know and not mess up. You don¡¯t need tens, you just need to be consistent and get better grades than everyone else. Usually, that¡¯s at least a seven from each judge. Hell, even a six is fine if the other two grade you well.¡± But that wasn¡¯t enough to make it to the top sixteen, and they both already knew that. It was just enough to show people that you werepetent enough to put on a good performance and barely enough to satisfy the judges so that they''dpliment you instead of putting you down. Most of the time. ¡°I know, it¡¯s just that when I see everyone scrambling around like this, it makes me want to do it too. I keep asking myself if I missed something,¡± Emilia sighed. ¡°Just stick to what you showed me, and you¡¯ll do great. The first contestant¡¯s being called,¡± Vincent said, nodding toward a screen hanging above the door to the performance stage. A person¡¯s face and name were continuously shing. ¡°If you want to watch what they do, you can just watch the screen here or do it on your phone since they¡¯re broadcasting this live. Hard to hear anything in this room, though.¡± A few minutester, the coordinator came back with a satisfied look on his face. He must have done well, from the way the audience had been cheering. Emilia had been too nervous to look. A few people swarmed around him just to speak, and he seemed to enjoy the attention quite a bit. Soon enough, people started filtering in and out to perform. Sometimes, they came back proud, and other times, they came back distraught. Judges were ruthless and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to dress you down if they wanted to. They¡¯d have to wait for this phase of the contest to finish and for the top sixteen to be announced. Those would be the ones to move on to phase two¡ª the battle stage. Vincent winced when the twentieth coordinator was called up. ¡°Ava Belle,¡± he grimaced. ¡°One of Jasmine¡¯s.¡± ¡°Jasmine is here?¡± Emilia said, suddenly feeling more nervous. ¡°Yeah, everyone wants a chance to win big,¡± he nodded. ¡°She must be around here somewhere. Hopefully, she¡¯ll keep away. I¡¯m not exactly in the mood to fight her posse.¡± By her posse, Vincent meant her roommates, Ava and Olivia, which he alwaysined about. Emilia suspected that there was more history there than met the eye. ¡°How good is she, actually?¡± Emilia asked. ¡°She acts like she¡¯s the best coordinator in the world, but she ain¡¯t much in the grand scheme of things. Jasmine¡¯s just like us, she doesn¡¯t have a ribbon. I have to admit, she¡¯s probably better than you and I, though, but don¡¯t tell anyone I said that. She¡¯s been in more contests than me, so she has more experience. That helps with the nerves, and when you¡¯re not nervous, you¡¯re performing at your best.¡± ¡°Grace would disagree,¡± Emilia said. ¡°She says that it keeps you sharp.¡± ¡°A difference in philosophy, I suppose,¡± he smiled. ¡°Now let¡¯s watch and hopefully see Ava fumble her performance.¡± Ava did not fumble her performance. It was a fairly straightforward, but masterful one that involved her Miino using Helping Hand in a satisfying rythm to continuously power up her Seel¡¯s ice type attacks, which in this context, meant that they were brighter and more beautiful. She finished the entire thing off with an Aurora Beam that diffused high in the stadium, and a series of colors danced above the spectators. Like the northern lights. The judges gave her a seven, a seven, and an eight. A performance that good, and she was barely scraping by the judges, if Vincent¡¯s baseline was urate. The more experienced coordinators kept getting higher grades than even that. It was starting to dawn on Emilia that there were too many experienced coordinators here for the newer ones to even have a chance. Only the top sixteen would advance, so there was just no space for them. She was starting to understand how unfair the whole system was, and it had taken until she had been a victim of it to realize it. But she wouldn¡¯t give up now. She hade this far, and she would give it her all. But what if her all wasn¡¯t enough? ¡°Shit, my turn already?¡± Vincent sighed. He was being called up. ¡°Well, fuck, let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡°Break a leg!¡± Emilia said. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Oh, lookie here!¡± Someone yelled. ¡°I didn¡¯t know Vince was participating. Think he¡¯ll crash and burn likest time?¡± ¡°I sure hope so,¡± another girl yelled. Emilia couldn¡¯t exactly see who was talking, but she recognized Jasmine¡¯s shrill voice. Vincent scanned the room, trying to find her, and he seemingly did, because he raised a middle finger in her general direction before leaving to perform. In a way, it was incredible how Jasmine and her two friends embodied the mean girl cliche so obnoxiously well. Emilia inhaled as she stared at the screen, waiting for Vincent¡¯s turn to start. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Wait, wait, that¡¯s Vincent!¡± Denzel yelled, snapping Cecilia out of her daze. Everyone else had been at least somewhat involved in the different performances, but she was bored out of her mind¡ª or at least she had been. Now that someone we knew was about to perform, she appeared to be paying attention. Vincent strode up in a horrid purple suit, and he released a Roselia and a Beautifly. Denzel stared on with a grin, happy that his new friend had the same Pokemon he did. Come to think of it, I had never asked Vincent what his Pokemon were, which was probably rude. Since he wasn¡¯t a trainer, my mind hadn¡¯t even registered that he¡¯d have any, which was conceited of me. ¡°And now we have Vincent Campbell, performing with his Roselia and Beautifly!¡± Thementator said. ¡°Take it away!¡± ¡°My pleasure,¡± he smiled. ¡°Roselia, Magical Leaf!¡± The grass type cried out in a smooth voice that was so alien to what I was used to with Denzel¡¯s Roselia that I almost had to do a double-take. It brought its flowers up, and shining leaves flew into the sky. ¡°Beautifly!¡± The bug type waited for a few seconds, and then beat its wings, creating an Air Cutter that sliced up almost every Magical Leaf into a thousand pieces that all floated down slowly like snow that kept changing color. ¡°What a wonderful disy of teamwork between the two Pokemon! The Magical Leaf has turned into multicolored glitter!¡± Or glitter. Thank you,mentator. ¡°Keep them floating,¡± Vincent told his Beautifly. The bug type beat its wings again, and this time, a weak Gust kept the glittery Magical Leaf suspended in the air. ¡°Roselia, Stun Spore!¡± With another gentle cry, Roselia shook her flowers, emitting a bright, purple powder and began to float in the air, joining in with the Magical Leaf. ¡°Now, power up your Gust!¡± The wind picked up and spun around, mixing the leaves and the spores together until they were joined in a single, beautiful union. Beautifly screeched as it finished off its gust, sending the two attacks as high as it could. The Magical Leaf now slowly fell again, almost drifting in the air, this time apanied by the Stun Spore. Some parts had a bigger concentration of spores that acted as bright ¡®lights¡¯ that gave the entirebination a lot of depth. Vincent bowed as he finished his performance, and after thementator gave herst piece ofmentary, we all pped for him. The first judge raised his sign, giving him a seven. ¡°A good performance, although there are a lot of quirks to fix up and work on. That Air Cutter was not precise enough, and as far as uniqueness goes, we¡¯ve seen a lot of simr performances. Still a solid job.¡± The second judge gave him a six. ¡°Look at that, another multicolored attack falling slowly. What an absolute bore! The only reason I didn¡¯t give you a five is because you¡¯re still a beginner, and you look like you¡¯ve at least put in some effort. I¡¯d like to see some more unique performances from you.¡± The final judge slowly raised his sign for dramatic effect. They were probably ying it up for the audience. He gave him a seven. ¡°My two colleagues have said a lot of good points, but I do want to add that adding that Stun Spore to the mix meant that he went beyond what we¡¯re used to. Keeping both attacks suspended with Gust was a nice disy of control from Beautifly, even though the Air Cutter could use some work.¡± Vincent bowed and thanked the judges before returning to the waiting room, and soon enough, the next face came through. ¡ª¡ª Vincent groaned as he sat next to Emilia. Jasmine had heckled him on the way there, but he just ignored them. ¡°You were great,¡± Emilia said, trying tofort him. ¡°That second judge was a bit harsh.¡± ¡°Nah, I bombed,¡± he exhaled. ¡°I¡¯m slowly improving, though. Last time, I got two fives and one six.¡± ¡°Well, just don¡¯t beat yourself up over it,¡± Emilia said. ¡°Yeah, not like any of the fresh blood have any chance to make it through anyway, unless someone really pulls all the stops. That¡¯s the only way you can make it in the industry. Ram your head against the wall until you eventually make it to the top sixteen and get some attention, and use that as a springboard.¡± Was the system really that broken? Emilia tapped her foot against the floor and bit her lip. If it was, then it meant that the coordinators at the top¡­ weren¡¯t they evil for not pushing for reform? She had already exined to her friends that they benefitted from the system, so there was no incentive for them to try to change it, but¡­ Emilia was starting to realize that her idols¡ª even Temperance was not as pure as she seemed. Another fifteen minutes passed, and this time, it was Olivia¡¯s turn. Jasmine¡¯s other friend. In her humble opinion, her performance wasn¡¯t that impressive, but it was certainly something she hadn¡¯t seen before. Her Helioptile had used Rising Voltage, and her Furret had used Agility to start gliding in the air by using the electricity, almost as if it was swimming like a Huntail. It was still too heavy to stay afloat for long, though, but when it was, it did multiple acrobatics and flips. She got a six, an eight, and another six for that performance. The second judge apparently did prefer uniqueness over shiness. Maybe she could alter her nned performance to ount for that, however slightly? Vincent had told her to stick to what she knew, but to have a chance at the top sixteen now, she had to take risks. If she could somehow add a bit of strangeness to her performance while keeping the shier elements, then she¡¯d maybe have a chance. To make it to the next round, she¡¯d at least need three nines. That was the baseline. A seemingly impossible task, but her friends would tell her not to give up. She froze when Vincent tapped her shoulder. It was her turn. For some reason, she had believed that she¡¯d have more time. Emilia hurriedly put her heels back on and tried to keep her legs from wobbling. She saw Jasmine give her a nasty smirk, and her friends giggled like idiots. ¡°Fuck you,¡± Emilia spat, not even turning to see their reaction. Ah, that was satisfying. She could see why Pauline behaved as she did now. Did she really need to change her performance? Was taking this risk okay? A young girl ced a small microphone on her neck, and she walked forward, acting as confidently as she could. She foolishly tried to spot her friends in the crowd, but that only served to make her more nervous. Screw it, Emilia thought. We ball. It wasn¡¯t like she had anything to lose, and since it was her first performance, people would give her a pass if she failed horribly. The performance she had worked on wasn¡¯t good enough to make it. At this rate, she wouldn¡¯t make it to the top sixteen. There was no more n. It was time to improvise the entire damn performance. The coordinator released her Beldum and Rockruff, and thementator announced her name. She took a deep breath. ¡°Beldum, Shadow Ball! Keep it in the air!¡± Emilia yelled. Shadowy energy quickly gathered in front of Beldum¡¯s eye, and the steel type kept it in ce. ¡°Rockruff, Rock Throw and get a rock inside of the Shadow Ball. Slowly.¡± After a quick confused look at the fact that what she was doing was nothing like what they practiced, Rockruff slowly raised a solid chunk from the floor and carefully levitated it upward. When the rock reached the Shadow Ball, Emilia winced, expecting an ugly explosion at the worse, but to her relief, the rock simply was absorbed by the ball before imbuing it with ghostly energy. Both Rockruff and Beldum had to work to keep it afloat, now. What now? Emilia thought to herself. After two seconds of thinking, she pointed at the rock and yelled. ¡°sh Cannon!¡± With a series of metallic, mechanical clicks, a bright light appeared in front of Beldum, and he sent it hurtling toward the rock, creating a powerful explosion that he discreetly cleared with Confusion. What remained was a mix of metallic white and purple dust slowly falling down like snow. ¡°What a beautiful way to mix colors you don¡¯t often see together and a masterful control over Shadow Ball from Beldum! Keeping the move from exploding on contact is notoriously hard!¡± Thementator enthusiastically yelled. It was? Emilia swallowed. That could have been a disaster, but she wasn¡¯t done. This alone would have been disappointing, and she needed to do something to finish off her performance while the white and purple dust was still falling. ¡°Beldum, Confusion and throw Rockruff upward as high as you can! Rockruff, Trailze!¡± The steel type¡¯s eye shone as psychic energy surrounded Rockruff. Normally, Confusion kept a Pokemon¡¯s musclespletely locked, but Beldum wisely had powered down the attack to let Rockruff move around, meaning that he was free to use Trailze. He left a trail of green fire as Beldum catapulted him in the air, and the dust was still falling. ¡°And mes rise into the sky like a towering inferno! I¡¯m at the edge of my seat,dies and gentlemen! Your guess for what happens next is as good as mine!¡± And so was Rockruff now that he was out of Confusion¡¯s range. ¡°Create a tform with Rock Throw and Confusion,¡± she ordered, hoping that they¡¯d understand. Another rock was raised, but they needed both attacks to make it as fast as she needed it to be, and Confusion would work to keep it in the air. Rockruff awkwardlynded on the rock, since he hadn¡¯t expected any of this, and Emilia quickly asked for them to create a circle of levitating rocks. ¡°Double Team!¡± She said. ¡°This is the finisher!¡± Rockruff split into eight, each one of his copies taking their spot on a floating rock before bowing. Since the spectating ring was set up in a circle here, unlike gyms, it looked like every Rockruff was personally thanking the audience. That had been a part of their previous n, which is why he had figured out what Emilia had meant by finisher. The audience pped as Beldum slowly lowered the rocks to the ground, and Rockruff¡¯s clones vanished. Emilia bowed and turned toward the ones who would decide her faith. The judges. Captivating the audience was a wonderful feeling that made her feel giddy, but they were the ones who had the final word. The first one of the three raised an eight. ¡°What a wonderful performance! I found the start to be bit jarring, like you were still finding your footing, so I had to take a point away from you, but the rest was great. Combining Confusion and Rock Throw like that was certainly ingenious!¡± The second judge raised a nine. ¡°I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I truly didn¡¯t know what would happen, and for someone who¡¯s been in the industry as long as I have, that doesn¡¯t happen often. You have potential, youngdy.¡± Emilia braced herself. At the very least, she needed another nine. She restrained a grimace when she saw a seven. ¡°The performance was good, but I don¡¯t appreciate the fact that there were multiple instances where you were obviously going at it haphazardly. The fact that you had to order your Pokemon what to do to the letter meant that your performancecked elegance. I want coordinators to be prepared, and you weren¡¯t. Luckily, it seemed that you had enough talent to salvage the entire thing.¡± ¡°Oh, please,¡± the second judge shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re too harsh! Give her a chance!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, Thomas.¡± Not enough. Emilia recalled her Pokemon, bowed, and shuffled back toward the waiting room. She felt like tearing up. ¡°You were awesome up there!¡± Vincent beamed once she reached him. ¡°That wasn¡¯t at all what you practiced, but you still made it work! Even Jasmine begrudgingly admitted that you were good.¡± ¡°She did? I don¡¯t really care,¡± Emilia said, rubbing her eyes. ¡°Well, she didn¡¯t exactly, but I know how she functions. The way she looked at the screen? She knew you were a threat.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°Come on, don¡¯t get all depressed on me. This is your first contest, and you already got a nine and an eight. That¡¯s crazy!¡± In the end, Jasmine got a seven from the first, and two eights from thest two judges, meaning that Emilia had barely beaten her. She used her Nincada to turn the ground to mud, and her reon to burn it, turning the floor into makeshiftva with a sinister red glow that entuated her reon¡¯s color. She probably would have cared if she wasn¡¯t so depressed. ording to Vincent, she had run away from home with a bunch of her dad¡¯s money. Enough to buy a low-quality Fire Stone for her Eevee. Emilia was too down in the dumps to finally ask what their connection was, but if she had to guess, it¡¯d probably be old friends that had a falling out. None of them made it to the top sixteen. As much as it pained Emilia to admit it, even Jasmine had deserved a chance. The system was unfair. New coordinators shouldn¡¯t have had topete with people that had years of experience under their belt. Emilia clenched at the side of her dress. She had told her friends that she didn¡¯t dream big. That all she worried about were the little things. Screw all of that. Emilia would climb to the top,e hell or high water, and she would gain enough influence to reform the contest industry from the top down.
Chapter 129 Chapter 129 CHAPTER 129 We watched as Emilia exited the waiting room. She was tightly gripping the sides of her dress and looked to be on the brink of tears. Vincent closely followed behind her, and even though he did look disappointed, he appeared nowhere as distraught as she was. Maybe it was because this was Emilia¡¯s first loss, and this was his third? The first one was often the toughest to swallow. ¡°Emi, you were fucking awesome out there!¡± Pauline eximed. ¡°You should have made it to the top sixteen, that third judge just had a stick up his ass.¡± ¡°You were a lot better than most people we saw,¡± Justin agreed. ¡°You were great too, Vincent. You certainly look to be near the top of the newer coordinators.¡± ¡°Cheer up, there¡¯s always the next one, right?¡± Denzel said. ¡°If this is how you did in yourfirstcontest, then you¡¯re going ces. Cecilia was bored out of her mind until she sawyourperformance.¡± Emilia sniffled and rubbed her eyes. ¡°Emi¡­¡± Pauline muttered. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she sobbed. ¡°These are angry tears, not sad tears. I¡¯mpissed. I should have made it through, but the whole industry favors people at the top. They dangle hope in front of you only to keep it just out of reach. It needs to change.¡± Vincent whistled. ¡°That¡¯ll take a lot of¡­ a lot of everything. You can¡¯t just change how things work, you have to change people¡¯smindsetstoo. Powerful coordinators will go against you, and there are a whole lot of judges stuck in their old ways, like you already saw.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she nodded, wiping her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll start slow. First, I need to re-double my training. No more lounging around for hours at a time. I need to work just as hard as you guys do,¡± she said, staring at us. ¡°I need to improve as fast as I can and get to the top sixteenonce. ording to Vincent, that¡¯s when you start getting a lot more eyes on you. I¡¯ll need to change the entire industry from the top down.¡± ¡°So you do dream big after all,¡± I smiled. ¡°The next contest is agrandone, and it¡¯s next week, so you might be a little out of luck. No matter how determined you are, you aren¡¯t beating the big shots that are going to be there. EvenTemperancewill be there.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on it,¡± she said, having finally finished crying. ¡°I¡¯ll stick to the low-stakes ones for now, and it¡¯s probably full by now anyway. Do you know about any grand contests going on in Veilstone?¡± ¡°Well, there are contests every week or two in every city,¡± Vincent muttered. ¡°But if I remember correctly, the next grand contest in Veilstone should be in a little over a month.¡± ¡°That works out perfectly for us, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. ¡°It does!¡± Pauline happily said. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to fly out for our stay during the city.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be going to Sceon,¡± she dered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I need to stick around here to participate in as many contests as I can. Sceon doesn¡¯t have a contest hall, so¡­¡± ¡°We get it,¡± Denzel nodded. ¡°It won¡¯t be for long. Therewasthat tournament that Grace talked to us about, but apart from that, we shouldn¡¯t stick around Sceon for long anyway.¡± Emilia took a deep breath. ¡°Now that I have a clear objective, I feel like a whole new person. Let¡¯s go home. I want to crash into my bed and sleep.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re forgetting something!¡± Denzel said. ¡°Your video! We still need to upload it!¡± She groaned. ¡°Right¡­ right, we should do that now while the contest is still fresh in people¡¯s minds. Vincent,e with us.¡± ¡°Err¡­ I need to go give this suit back first.¡± ¡ª¡ª ¡°Cece was right,¡± I panted. ¡°Thisisharder than I thought it¡¯d be.¡± I had gone back into my room, and I was currently crushing Oran berries into a paste. I was about to feed my Pokemon vitamins for the first time, and I figured that this would be an easier way to trick Togetic into eating the damn thing. She was a horribly picky eater and only ate Oran berries. The vitamins came in powdered form, but they were tasteless, so as long as she couldn¡¯t see it, I was confident that she¡¯d end up eating it as normal, although she might wonder why her food was crushed today instead of sliced like normal. Vincent, Emilia and Denzel were currently getting ready to upload Emilia¡¯s video. There was surprisingly a lot more that went into the process than I thought. The title, the tags, the thumbnail, the time you uploaded at¡­ being a content creator sure seemed exhausting. Meanwhile, Chase hadfortably won his fight against Fantina with Houndoom and Vikavolt carrying most of the fight. I¡¯d look at it in detail tomorrow, but apparently, his Snover had evolved into an Abomasnow during the battle. ¡°Finally,¡± I groaned. I had finally finished crushing enough berries for Jellicent, Togetic, and Tangrowth. I separated the entire thing into five bowls¡ª Togetic would get one, and the others would get tworger ones¡ª and carefully fanned the powder over the berries before mixing it again to hide it. Electabuzz and Larvitar would get kibble, since they seemed to favor that type of food. Although to her, nothing could beat fresh dirt or small rocks that she snacked on when we traveled. I released my entire team aside from Turtonator, who I¡¯d need to talk toter. ¡°It¡¯s dinner time,¡± I smiled, pping my hands. Electabuzz yelled loudly to celebrate, grabbed his bowl and quickly scarfed everything down. Larvitar enviously stared at her brother, then picked up her bowl to try to imitate him before I could even tell her no. Due to her small size, and thergeness of her bowl, she dropped half of her food on the ground. ¡°Sweetheart!¡± I said exasperatedly. That wassomeamount of money wasted. ¡°You¡¯re too small to eat like that, okay? Do it slower.¡± Larvitar apologized while Togetic gathered the fallen kibble with Extrasensory and ced it back into her huge bowl. She levitated a single piece in front of her and then eyed me suspiciously. A little bit of powder could be seen on it. Better ignore her for now. Tangrowth just wrapped his vines around both of his bowls and brought them inside of his body. After barely three seconds, he spat them out, and they were wiped clean. For Jellicent, I poured his food over his mustache, since his mouth sat under all that foam. Surprisingly, I actually saw the food slowly dissolve inside of his body. Togetic squinted at her food, and then at me. ¡°It¡¯s crushed today because I wanted to do something different,¡± I lied. ¡°They¡¯re still Oran berries.¡± ¡°Toge¡­¡± Suddenly, I felt a sudden chill. Jellicent began to loom behind her with an evil glint in his eyes, and she took a hesitant bite. After noticing that there was no difference in taste, she enthusiastically began to eat. Yes,I smiled.Eat and grow strong. Maybe I¡¯d get buddy to force my future kids to eat their veggies. He seemed very effective. I blushed and hurriedly shook my head at the vision that shed in my mind. Cece and me raising kids? We were bothteenagers, I needed to calm down. ¡°Arceus¡­¡± I sighed as I shook my head. ¡°Anyway, when princess and sweetheart are done eating, I need to go out to speak to Turtonator.¡± Togetic stopped eating, and her expression turned angry, which was more of a cute thing, especially with the blue paste from the berries all over her mouth. Plus, Togetic couldn¡¯t exactly look angry. Sad? Distraught? Sure, but angry? It was like her face was incapable of showcasing the expression. ¡°I need to talk to him about his diet,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you guys cane.¡± I wasn¡¯t about to talk to him alone this time, especially since I¡¯d have to bring up his old trainer. Soon enough, Togetic and Larvitar finished their food, and we were on our way to route 208. It waste at night, so I doubted that we woulde across any trainers, especially at the edge of the route. People tended to have settled down by now and would hunker down for the night. I released my entire team, and then Turtonator. As usual, he snorted haughtily at me, causing Togetic to protest. Her wings anxiously fluttered, and she red at the fire type. ¡°It¡¯s okay, princess,¡± I smiled as I grabbed her. I ced her head against my chest and gently stroked her crown so that she would hear the sound of my heartbeat and calm down. I used to do it a lot when she¡¯d been in her egg, and I¡¯d sleep with it in my bed. She slowly began to calm, but a condescending, snortyugh from Turtonator snapped her out of her daze. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just a ray of sunshine,¡± I frowned. ¡°Stop antagonizing her. Angel, take care of her for me.¡± Tangrowth nodded, grabbing Togetic and carefully cing her on his head, where she stared daggers at Turtonator. The dragon type just shrugged, and as usual, he walked off andzilyy down on the grass. He seemed to enjoy sleeping a whole lot. In fact, he had fallen asleep the majority of the times I attempted to talk to him one-on-one. I was in the process of telling him all of my adventures, since I thought that maybe it¡¯d make him respect me more if he knew everything I had gone through. I was currently around the Floaroma tournament, and I hadn¡¯t told him about the whole ordeal at the power nt yet. One thing was for sure, Turtonator was slowly mellowing out. He hadn¡¯t raised the temperature when I annoyed him at alltely, but I was still a way off from actually using him. He still held me in contempt. There was no respect behind his gaze, and as long as that was the case, he wouldn¡¯t listen to me in battle. But at least he¡¯d be manageable. ¡°I wanted to ask you a question about your old diet,¡± I began, carefully skirting around mentioning Kamaile. ¡°I¡¯ve started feeding the others supplements, and¡ª¡± ¡°Toge!¡± Princess said with a betrayed expression. I held back a groan and forced a smile so that she¡¯d believe me. ¡°I didn¡¯t put it in yours,¡± I lied before turning back to Turtonator. ¡°Do you remember being given any kind of vitamins to eat? If you were, I don¡¯t want to disrupt the bnce that you had.¡± The fire type nodded. Turtonator was a bulky Pokemon that excelled in special attacks, so if I had to guess, he¡¯d been fed Calcium to maximize his attack and Magnesium or Iron to maximize his bulk or his defensive capabilities. After asking himfivetimes which one of the two it was, he ended up nodding at Iron. I supposed that made the most sense, with how tough his shell was. ¡°You hungry?¡± I asked. He snorted, not even bothering to answer. That was an annoyed but agreeing snort, so I grabbed kibble from my backpack and mixed Iron and Calcium with the food. He quickly wolfed it all down and threw the huge bowlawayfrom me. Togetic quickly caught it and prevented it from breaking, though. After that, I decided to stay here a little bit longer. Somehow, this was the most rxed the team had been in weeks. Princess still had her guard up, and I was pretty sure she was messing with the floor under us and probably preparing a sudden Ancient Power, but she was beginning to doze off on Tangrowth¡¯s head. He was slowly swaying back and forth in a rhythm to put her to sleep. Turtonator had surprisingly let Larvitar approach him, and she was touching his scales with a look of pure awe. I could haveswornI caught his lips twitch a few times. So you like her, huh?I thought to myself with a smile. Jellicent was floating high up in the sky and observing Hearthome¡¯s pretty lights, and Electabuzz was lying down with his head on myp while I scratched his head. It was only for a single night, but Turtonator truly felt like a part of the family. I began telling Turtonator my story again, and he was doing that thing where he pretended to be asleep, but still listened. Larvitar carefully listened too, since she hadn¡¯t been there. I ended up stopping right before I was teleported into the power nt, though, since I figured it¡¯d be too depressing a story to tell during such a calm night, and I didn¡¯t particrly feel like bringing up Team Gctic. I still hoped that one day, he¡¯d let me talk about Kamaile and his old team, but right now, there was no way I was going to disrupt what we had going. Ray of sunshine, huh?I mused as I stared at Turtonator. Sunshine would be a nice nickname. ¡ª¡ª For the second time, Denzel quietly stood in a cold, dark alley a few minutes away from his Pokemon Center. If it hadn¡¯t been for his friend, then he definitely would have been irritated by his development. They could have metanywhere else, but Louis insisted on doing it here. Plus, he¡¯d betrayed his trust this time. Denzel had revealed to the group that he¡¯d met Louis and his friends in secret when he had promised to keep it hidden, and now the entire group had asked him to meet to catch up and discuss their next move regarding Harvey and rence. Louis still hadn¡¯te to a decision, and he didn¡¯t want to be pushed out of hisfort zone, especially with how obsessed he was with not being ¡®worthy¡¯ of seeing them again. Denzel perked up when Louis stepped into the alley, and wasting no time, he immediately apologized without even greeting him. ¡°Louis¡­ listen, man, I¡¯m sorry about telling the others about you. Did Pauline tell you about our meeting with her mom?¡± Louis looked less tired than usual, but he certainly looked worried. He carried himself meekly¡ª a far cry from how he had behaved when they had first met. Sometimes, Denzel couldn¡¯t believe they were the same person. ¡°She did, and she summed up the situation for me via text¡­ and also berated me and asked to see me,¡± he sighed. ¡°Was telling them about me really necessary?¡± ¡°I tried to skirt around it, but Grace and Josephine figured me out right away. Josephine was talking about how Mira and Maeve could have been sent by your father to iste you and keep you away from us, but I immediately shot the idea down.¡± ¡°Josephine¡¯s always been perceptive,¡± Louis said, leaning against a wall. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t lean against that, it¡¯s dirty as hell.¡± He groaned, turning around and trying to rub his back. ¡°Is it stained?¡± ¡°Yeah. Sorry.¡± Louis sighed again. ¡°I¡¯ve truly be a ma for misfortune, it seems. Anyway, I forgive you. I know how much pressure Josephine can apply when she wants. She could get anything she wanted out of me when I was a kid.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met her before?¡± Denzel asked. He knew that Justin, Emilia and Pauline had known each other since early in their childhoods, but Louis hadn¡¯te into the picture until this year. ¡°Oh, you know how it is,¡± he said dismissively. ¡°No. No, I literally don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh, right. You don¡¯t,¡± he awkwardly said. ¡°Well, she¡¯s met my father a few times, and I was always dragged along with him. I¡¯m pretty sure she dislikes me.¡± ¡°She implied as much,¡± Denzel said, scratching his head. ¡°Anyway, you signed up for the gym yet?¡± The blond trainer nodded. ¡°I battle the day after you.¡± ¡°Okay. I know we didn¡¯t get to train as much as we both would have wanted, but just remember your conditioning. Just get in the flow of things, and you¡¯ll win.¡± Denzel ran on instincts when he battled, but that was an oversimplification of things. His best asset wasstamina. He could battle for nearly an hour and not feel tired by the end of it at all, which would no doubt help him by the time he made it to the Conference. The battles there¡ª and high-leveled battles in general could bebrutally long. For example, the battles at the Conference had a time limit of anhour. When Denzelreallygot into a battle, he entered what people called the flow state. Not exactly autopilot, but he certainly felt likesomethingwas there to help him make snap decisions. By the end of it, he always snapped out of his daze, and memories of the battle were a blur. He often watched back the footage and was baffled that it was him doing all of this. Denzel had tried to instill this into Louis, and he had taken well to his teachings. He was getting more resilient, and he didn¡¯t falter when Denzel purposefully lengthened the duration of their mock battles. He never used Sylveon, though. He was too brutal, especially with Mira and Maeve¡¯s Pokemon. Doubt was starting to creep into the back of Denzel¡¯s mind. Had he always been like this, or was this the fairy influence he had heard about during his lessons as a child? He seemed normal enough with the other members of his group, although he hadn¡¯t seen them in a while. Something was wrong, and Denzel would get to the bottom of it after his gym battle. It was better not to rock the boat before such an important fight. ¡°By the way, even if you don¡¯t want to meet, you shoulde to see our battles the day after tomorrow. If youe a bitte, then you won¡¯te across us.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I could always watch them online.¡± ¡°We all know that¡¯s not as good as the real thing!¡± Mira screamed as she emerged from the shadows, causing Denzel to flinch. ¡°Maeve! Stop hiding ande here!¡± ¡°Did you follow me?¡± Louis asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°No shame, huh?¡± Denzel said as he saw Maeve shuffle into the alley. ¡°I tried to tell her this was a bad idea.¡± ¡°But you followed me anyway,¡± Mira shrugged. ¡ª¡ª The next day was thest before our gym battles with Fantina, so everyone was out training in their own different ways. I had sent a text to Lauren to let her know, and even though she hadn¡¯t answered, shehadleft me on read, so I knew that she had seen the message. My Pokemon already all knew what to do. Electabuzz was perfecting his ghost sense and working on Protect. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use the move that many times, but at least the barrier wrapped around his entire body now. Togetic was working on her control with Psychic, which still left a lot to be desired. She wasn¡¯t used to dealing with that much power at once. As things stood though, it¡¯d be enough to ram her enemies into things and deal psychic damage to their heads, so it was usable. When we needed to have more control over things, I¡¯d go back to using Extrasensory. Tangrowth could now use Knock Off while keeping an opponent trapped in his vines, and he could use it withtwoif he really focused, but there was still little progress with Sunny Day. Therewasa little something we¡¯d been working on to make sure he could use Bind on ghosts, though. Jellicent had easily mastered Brine and was slowly working on expanding the area over which he could use to move. Larvitar was off in the distance practicing Sandstorm, and Tangrowth was supervising her, but she could only create it over a tiny area, and at this point, it looked more like Gible¡¯s Sand Tomb rather than a proper Sandstorm attack. I knew all of the moves Fantina had. All of the Pokemon she might use. Now all I had to do was execute my n and stay calm whenever it inevitably went off the rails, and I had to improvise. I trusted Electabuzz and Jellicent to work through her illusions on their own, but I¡¯d have to work in tandem with Togetic and Tangrowth if she used them against them. Fantina tended to only use one or two per battle at our level, so they''d be manageable, at least. Since all my Pokemon knew what to do on their own, I figured I¡¯d start analyzing what went wrong in the battle against Chase and Cecilia. I had downloaded the video on myputer just for this asion. I sat against a tree and began to parse through the video. In retrospect, the start had been pretty salvageable, and Denzel kept me from slipping into a panic. They still held the advantage due to Vikavolt¡¯s maneuverability in the air and Slowking¡¯s Psychic, but we adapted fast. Me figuring out that Knock Off would be capable of slipping past their defenses had been the kind of quick thinking I wanted to get better at. In the end, Denzel helped take down Vikavolt, although he had to sacrifice his Roselia for it. I forced her to switch out her Slowking after that. But after that, wewereback on equal footing or even an advantageous position. Togetic¡¯s Wish failing to heal Sylveon had been when I believed the battle turned to shit, but that wasn¡¯t how things worked. A battle didn¡¯t suddenly go from going really well to a catastrophe in one event. There was always a slow esction toward disaster, which was usually when you figured out that something went wrong. But it¡¯d betooteto find out that something had gone wrong after the fact. I needed to spot it while it was happening, and I¡¯d focus exclusively on whatIcould have done, not Denzel. Forcing Cece to switch out Slowking had been excellent. Watching the footage again, I understood now that he was actually the biggest problem in the battle, not Zweilous. Hispresencealone forced us to change the way we fought so radically that we needed to take free damage just to have achanceat hitting him. Luckily for me, he seemed to be a terrible fighter whenever he was overwhelmed, as was proved by Tangrowth, andter, Sylveon, who ended up taking him down, so there was at least a counter there. Since Cecilia used her switch on him, there wasn¡¯t much I could have done to ensure Tangrowth took him down, but I could have minimized the damage he took. Cecilia had sent out her Fletchinder second, and on retrospect¡­ I should have switched Tangrowth out instead of making him stick around until he fell. Evenifthe n with Wish had worked out, having angel in the back would have done wonders. Instead, he took too much damage from Fletchinder¡¯s fire type attacks and fainted too quickly. Plus, it might have meant I could have sent him out again against Slowking when Cece released him the second time. Instead, Electabuzz had been forced to fight Slowking and Snover, soaking upa lotof damage from Ice Shard and Water Pulse in the process. That meant that the one Psychic he had gotten hit with had done a lot more to him than I thought, and it had scrambled his brain so much that he hadn¡¯t managed to dodge Houndoom¡¯s methrower. Snowball. The battle had slowly been snowballing out of control from the start because I had tunnel visioned on my n. I should have given up on it when I saw that they had two new evolutions and weren¡¯t starting with the Pokemon we thought they would. Togetic had pushed herself beyond her limits with Ancient Power, easily dealing with Cecilia¡¯s Scyther despite his speed and unpredictability. She had also masterfully bought Snorunt enough time to use Blizzard. I couldn¡¯t possibly have asked more of her, at least for this part of the battle. One thing was still bothering me about her performance though.Whyhad Extrasensory not worked on Houndoom¡¯s methrower? In the heat of the battle, I hadn¡¯t figured it out, but Ihadadapted quickly. The only way it made any sense was if Houndoom had somehow injected some dark type energy into the attack, but the mes showed no signs of that. Hiding such a feat would require such control over the type energyandthe methrower¡­ yet Chase had somehow done it, no doubt as one of his tactics to counter Togetic. Which was what had given me the inspiration to work on Tangrowth''s Bind and find a way to grab ghosts. Thenithappened. The moment where the battle had slipped beyond our control forever. Sylveon went down before Wish could heal him. Beyond our control didn¡¯t mean that the battle was lost, though. When it had just been Cecilia and me on the field¡ª Jellicent against Zweilous¡ª there was still a way I could have won after poisoning him. If I had taken a risk and used Hex instead of keeping my distance with Bubblebeam and Water Pulse, then Zweilous would have possibly taken enough damage for Princess to finish him off. But it also could have backfired terribly. Hex required Jellicent to be close to his opponent, and Zweilous having two heads fully capable of attacking meant that he probably would have gotten two attacks in retaliation, possibly disintegrating his body again. I hadn¡¯tknownif buddy would be capable of keeping up that rhythm. And I hated unknowns. So at the end of the day, I should have swapped Tangrowth out right when Cecilia did the same for Slowking. If I had done that, then the battle wouldn¡¯t have snowballed out of my control, which was when I was at my weakest. I needed to be more adaptable. Foregoing a ndid not mean I was admitting defeat. I needed not to stick to a failing strategy if the chance of it seeding was less than one hundred percent. Okay, no n ever had a one hundred percent sess rate, but it had certainly stood on shaky legs right when the battle began, and I¡¯d need to keep this mindset for my battle against Fantina because there was no waythatfight would go ording to n. ¡°Let¡¯s go through it one more time,¡± I muttered. Then afterbing through the footage, I¡¯d watch Chase¡¯s gym battle. ¡ª¡ª After buying a bottle of water, I quickly shuffled to my seat in the spectating ring. It was Denzel¡¯s turn to go first, and we were all waiting for his battle to start. I¡¯d use his and Cecilia¡¯s fight to try to do somest minute studying on reading Fantina¡¯s bodynguage. She was nowhere near as expressive as Candice, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to gauge what she was thinking on the fly during the battle. Hell, most of the time, the only expression on her face was boredom. ¡°There he is!¡± Pauline said excitedly. Denzel sported a jersey I had never seen before with the logo of everypany he had been sponsored by. Did that mean they were all cooperating with him? That looked custom-made. Fantina enunciated the rules. The battle would be a four-on-four with one switch in. One thing I had noticed was that when Fantina was in an especially cranky mood due to her job, she gave her battles a minimal amount of switches so that they¡¯dst less long and she¡¯d be able to run on autopilot. It seemed like she was in one of these moods today. Denzel sent out his Sylveon, which had the same, blurry armor around his fur, and Fantina sent out a Gourgeist. With a simple signal from the referee, the battle began.
Chapter 130 Chapter 130 CHAPTER 130 Denzel had figured it out a while ago. He wanted to be like Craig Goodwill. ording to the man himself, in the many stories he told about the start of his journey whenever he went on interviews, he had never really been the best at anything. He wasn''t great at improvising, nning, deceiving the opponent, training his Pokemon, and he hadn''t been born rich. He certainly was no genius¡ª plenty of people with less experience than him had won the Conference before, although none of them got far enough to even challenge Cynthia. Lucian''s psychics proved to always be an impossible roadblock. Hell, it had taken Craig two runs through the League Circuit to get to the point where Denzel was, so it wasn''t like he was something. He was being called a prodigy by both the adults in the corporations sponsoring him and leagues of trainers in the forums. So how the hell had he arguably be one of Sinnoh''s best trainers and the top contender to win this year''s Conference? Pure, unabashed hard work and dedication. It was the love of Pokemon battling that kept him going all these years, and today, Craig was the most well-known trainer in all of Sinnoh, and he was a jack of all trades. He could do anything because of how hard he had worked towards all facets of being a Pokemon trainer. Denzel felt his lips twitch as he sent out his Sylveon, whose body blurred for a few seconds before returning to normal. Something about that amount of dedication made him want to follow in Craig''s footsteps. When someone thought of a Pokemon trainer in Sinnoh, people thought of Craig. Denzel wanted people to think of him instead. His eyes snapped to Fantina''s Gourgeist, who stood at around five feet tall. A lot taller than Sylveon, but his body shape looked awkward to move around. With two stubby legs like that? It was probably a long-distance fighter, as many ghosts were¡ª "Seed Bomb," Fantina ordered. "Quick Attack toward him and y Rough," Denzel calmly countered. ¡ªbut it was possible that he had mobility moves? Shadow Sneak, maybe? Damn it, now not studying was biting him in the ass, but between sponsorships, training Louis and helping Emilia, he''d been so busy. Sylveon blurred forward, leaving a trail of pink dust behind him as Gourgeist sent out huge seeds from the mouth on its torso. Denzel squinted and quickly noticed that these were a lot bigger than Roselia''s. "You need to dodge! Slide to the right!" He yelled. Sylveon barked in agreement and took a sharp turn to the right as an explosion grazed his mour shield, sending sharp rocks and a shockwave flying all the way toward him and Kadabra''s barrier. That''d been powerful, but this was a ghost gym, so Denzel knew it wasn''t the biggest threat. Sylveon finally reached Gourgeist, who turned away to run with Shadow Sneak right as fairy energy surrounded his paw. The grass type reappeared twenty feet away, this time gathering a huge Shadow Ball in its mouth. "Quickly, Swift!" Denzel yelled. Denzel had borrowed the Shadow Ball TM from Emilia and listened to thementator during her contest, so thanks to his quick thinking, he knew that the move was unstable. Not wasting any time, Sylveon summoned a single pink star above him and sent it flying toward Gourgeist, who hastily sent out a halfpleted Shadow Ball that exploded in front of it. "Now get in there!" "Scary Face and Leech Seed," Fantina said. Denzel clicked his tongue. "Detect!" Sylveon ran, but a look from Gourgeist''s lower face made even Denzel feel like his stomach was tying itself up into a knot. The face twisted, and widened, and somehow, a blood-like liquid leaked from both the eyes and the mouth. Sylveon stopped in his tracks, and his usual, neutral smile turned to an ufortable stare. "Snap out of it, it''s not real!" Denzel said. "Detect!" Toote. A seed asrge as his fistnded on Sylveon''s shield, and thorny vines wrapped around him. They wouldn''t deal direct damage, at the very least. For now. "Seed Bomb and keep your distance," Fantina ordered. What was Sylveon the best at? The fairy type grunted, and more of his mour evaporated as an series of explosions rocked the field. The answer was physicalbat. What was Gourgeist weak to? Physicalbat, which was why the ghost type kept his distance with Shadow Sneak. Scary Face was just another way the ghost type had to buy itself time and stay far away from threats. Simple questions with simple answers, but he needed to keep thinking. A steady stream of thoughts would eventually lead him to the answer that he sought. "Swift, just get some damage off!" He said. Sylveon gathered a dozen pink stars that orbited above him, and then sent them toward Gourgeist, who this time, didn''t bother dodging. He ordered Sylveon to use Disarming Voice, but it only slowed the grass type down. He couldn''t get Sylveon to actually reach him. Oh well, sometimes the answer was just the simplest option. He grabbed Sylveon''s Pokeball and recalled him, immediately sending out Lopunny instead, using his one switch of the battle. He couldn''t afford to slow down for even a second, or he''d fall out of his groove. All he needed was one breakthrough, and he''d break this battle wide open. First, Lopunny was faster than Sylvi was. A lot faster. "Get close," Denzel said. "It has Shadow Sneak to avoid fighting in close quarters, and you''ve got to watch out for Scary Face, Leech Seed, and Seed Bomb," he quickly continued as Lopunny''s legs flexed, and she jumped. "Bullet Seed," the gym leader said. Denzel nodded. Bullet Seed was a lot better at hitting targets in the air, but they had created a rudimentary counter against Lopunny''s vulnerability in the sky in the few days they had to train. Well, more like they had figured out the obvious. "Defense Curl," he smoothly said. Lopunny bunched up as tightly as she could, and her body shimmered. The seeds bounced off of her ears, and the normal typended right next to Gourgeist with her fists already lit aze. Fantina ordered the grass type to run away with Shadow Sneak. "Follow up!" Denzel yelled. Shadow Sneak always left a trail of shadows on the ground, but Sylveon had been too slow to follow it. Lopunny was not. She blurred, and each of her steps left a small hole on the floor as she closely followed Gourgeist. The grass type reappeared, only to screech as it took a Fire Punch to the face. Denzel smiled. That was the breakthrough. His Pokemon did not relent for even a second, and kept punching away at the grass type, not leaving it a single moment to escape or interrupt her with Scary Face. After a twenty-second beatdown, Gourgeist fell to the ground, and its lower face hadpletely turned off. There was only a dark, gaping grin now. "Gourgeist is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your second Pokemon." Lopunny sure was good with her legs. Maybe there was a way to transform the Fire Punch into a Fire Kick, somehow? That''d take a lot of work, but it would certainly deal a lot more damage. Maybe the other elemental punches would work that way too, and maybe even Power-Up Punch. Or would it be Power-Up Kick¡ª Denzel breathed a sigh of relief as Fantina sent out an Aln Marowak. Arceus, keeping his brain thinking about anything was hard, but he couldn''t break the flow of the battle, or he''d bepletely out of his depth, which was a painful lesson he had learned in the double battle against Chase and Cecilia. The extremities of Marowak''s bone lit with pale, turquoise mes that Denzel couldn''t stare at for too long without tearing up and being overwhelmed with a deep feeling of sadness that he couldn''t exin. He rubbed his eyes and quickly sprung to action. "Stay sharp and start building up Power-Up Punches!" He yelled. Fantina still wasn''t using real ghosts against them, so they could still use the situation to their advantage. Marowak spun its bone around as Lopunny approached with Quick Attack. "Fight it off with Bone Club," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. So it was affecting her too? He would have thought that after so much time together, the effect would be lowered, but maybe it was only when Marowak fought, otherwise, he couldn''t imagine ever owning one. Marowak stopped spinning its bone, and hit Lopunny''s waist right as she got in range. The rabbit would have been sent flying, but shetched on to the bone''s extremities, burning her hands in the process, and punched the fire type''s skull. Marowak roared in indignation, and mes enveloped its entire body before it rammed against Lopunny with all of its strength. The normal type flew off toward Denzel''s side of the field, but Marowak was sprinting toward her with a re that could kill. "Wait for it¡­" Denzel muttered. "me Wheel," Fantinamanded. Fire enveloped Marowak once more as it kept running toward Lopunny. As it stood, she was physically weaker than he was, especially with that bone of his, and even though she was faster, she had not taken well to the Shadow Ball TM. She had no way to attack from a distance, so she had to fight it in close quarters. Still, they could use Marowak''s momentum to their advantage. "Circle Throw!" Denzel yelled. Lopunny cried out as the mes spread to her, and she tightly gripped Marowak by the skull and the arm, using his momentum to throw it headfirst into the ground behind her. A loud crack was heard throughout the arena, but they couldn''t stop now. "Power-Up Punch!" He said. Before Marowak could even get back to his feet, another Punch hit it in the back of the head. Marowak stumbled around, looking for his bone, and it screamed when it realized that it wasn''t in its hands. Lopunny''s ears twitched and she screeched from the pain. The fire type called out with desperation, and the bone flew back into its hand as if it had a mind of its own, and Marowak hit the normal type''s head repeatedly until she had fallen, her face burned and bloody. "L¡ªLopunny is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon." Denzel''s hands were still trembling as he sent out his Sylveon again. That scream would stick with him for a good while¡­ maybe years. He had never heard such a harrowing sound in his entire life. Even the referee seemed to be affected, and the audience had gonepletely silent. "S¡ªSylvi, Quick Attack and y Rough," Denzel said after sniffling. The damned tears were making it hard to see, too. Arceus, fuck, it had taken him out of his groove. What kind of experience made a Pokemon scream like that? It felt too real to be fake, and even Fantina sported a pained expression. Sylveon ran forward in a blur of motion. "Shadow Bone," Fantina said. The pale mes spread throughout Marowak''s entire bone, and the fire type readied itself for Sylveon''s onught. The fairy type stopped in his tracks just as Marowak swung, and the bone only narrowly grazed his shield, then, he pounced, relentlessly beating Marowak, targeting the already-formed crack in his skull with pinpoint precision. The ghost type fought back as best he could, retaliating with Shadow Bone and burning away Sylveon''s mour, who asionally dodged with Detect, but he couldn''t use the move too many times. He was taking too much damage, but Sylveon''s ribbon or Disarming Voice didn''t seem to be enough to stop Marowak. It was like it had turned into apletely different Pokemon ever since it had lost its bone. It was just ignoring all the pain from Sylveon''s y Rough while tearing through his armor more and more. One thing was for sure, Denzel needed to take this thing down with Sylveon. Snorunt and Roselia would easily lose to its fire type attacks. Wait. Denzel took a deep breath. All he needed to do was take a step back and calm down. "Sylvi, run away with Quick Attack and keep hitting it with Swift!" The fairy type protested, and he seemed like he was having the time of his life, but he quickly listened and created as much distance as he could from Marowak before creating Swift barrage after Swift barrage. Denzel nervously clenched his fist, hoping that Fantina wouldn''t use her switch here. That would be a catastrophic development. "Ancient Power," Fantina ordered. Marowak flicked its bone up, and its eyes shone as it raised huge chunks of earth. The stars simply went around the barrier, but it wasn''t meant to be one. Marowak screamed, sending all of the rocks barrelling toward Sylveon. As far as control went, it was nowhere near Togetic''s level, and Marowak quickly lost his hold on the rocks. Sylveon narrowly dodged, but he was starting to get tired. And he was bleeding. Another set of Swift cut Marowak across the chest, and the Pokemon finally fell. "Marowak is unable to battle. Fantina, send out your third Pokemon." Fantinazily and casually sent out a Curs. It started out as a simple, white pot made out of dead coral. And then it grew, as white ectosm and coral intertwined with one another and formed into a nt-like structure with a dozen branches. The head was built like a skull, with fake hollow eyes that hid the Pokemon''s true face in its mouth. Thin, red eyes opened, and the ghost type let out an eerie cry that reverberated through the arena as the legs on its pot started to move. Pitifully slow movement. It might as well have been immobile. "Keep using Swift," Denzel told his tired Sylveon. The fairy type responded with a tight nod as another set of pink stars flew off toward Curs. "Mirror Coat," Fantina countered. Denzel swore as the ghost type shone, and the stars bounced back toward them twice as quickly. There was no dodging that. "Just push through and fight up close!" Denzel yelled. Was this thing a true ghost or not? Denzel racked his brain for the answer as Sylveon ran toward his opponent. "Power Gem." Multiple balls of light appeared all around the ghost type, which then turned into rays that were too fast for Sylveon to dodge from this close. He grunted as six of them tore through his skin, leaving nasty burn marks. With his fur still smoking, Sylveon pounced onto Curs as he readied himself to use y Rough. And simply jumped through his body. Had they even dealt any damage? Denzel squinted and noticed that a small chunk of its body had disappeared, so the answer must have been yes. Curs''s face traveled to the back of its head through the ectosm and stared directly at Sylveon, who had fallen to the floor. His eyes glinted with a sinister glow as smoke emanated from Sylveon''s body. Hex, Denzel thought. The fairy type did not get up. "Sylveon is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your third Pokemon." So they had a slow-moving, long-distance fighter that looked to be a true ghost, or close to it. Power Gem meant that Snorunt wasn''t an option. She wasn''t quick enough to dodge those rays of light, and a few of those would easily take her down. Denzel grabbed Roselia''s Pokeball and released her on his side of the field. "Roselia, Toxic," he immediately said. Curs was so slow that even from this distance, it wouldn''t be able to dodge¡ª "Protect yourself with Ancient Power," Fantina said. Or not. Of course, Fantina would have some way to protect a Pokemon that slow. Curs raised an earthen barrier, and the rocks hissed as the poison slowly disintegrated and melted through them. From this far, Roselia was safe enough, but so was their opponent. "Seed Bomb!" Denzel yelled. "Another barrier." The ghost type raised another Ancient Power, but even though the explosions weren''t as powerful as Gourgeist''s had been, it was still enough to deal quite a bit of damage, from the way Curs panicked inside of its protective ectosm. Long term, they''d win here, and it was Fantina who had to do something. Denzel unclenched his fist and straightened his back as he slowly regained some of his confidence. Curs sent out another Power Gem, one of which grazed Roselia and burned her nt-like skin, but that meant that it was taking more damage from Seed Bomb due being unable to use Ancient Power at the same time. Was she willing to gamble and y at who would fall first? Denzel was, and it''s not like he had much of a choice anyway, he was out of switches. Fantina hummed, then grabbed her Pokeball, opting to switch. Denzel whimpered when he saw what came next. He had¡ª How¡ª What was¡ª Terror. A shadowy figure lurked below the lichen-covered bark that acted like its armor. Six, bug-like legs all wriggled independently from each other as the tree-like Pokemon scuttled forward, leaving trails of shadow whenever it walked. Branches creaked, and leaves rustled as it moved. A single, red eye traveled through the shadow, sometimes appearing where the head should be, but sometimes on its arms, torso, or even legs. Denzel blinked, and he struggled to look at the Trevenant as he clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. His breaths were short and ragged, and his throat felt dry. "Phantom Force," Fantina said. Roselia screeched, snapping Denzel out of his terror-induced daze. He stopped clenching his fists, and his fingertips uncontrobly trembled as shadows washed over Trevenant like a wave, and it phased out of existence. Right. He¡­ he still had a battle to win. Denzel had never been the type to scare easily, but something about Trevenant just made him feel like he was about to fucking die, just like he had felt when fighting that Lunatone in Mount Cor. He wasn''t sure why Trevenant of all Pokemon reminded him of that day. He certainly wasn''t getting visions, but maybe it was capable of them? He didn''t know. Something was lurking at the back of his mind. "I¡ªit''s going to appear somewhere close," Denzel said, his voice still shaky. And it did. Denzel flinched when Trevenant appeared behind Roselia, and in front of him. His fingertips felt cold. The grass type let out an annoyed screech as it turned and sprayed the Trevenant with a Venoshock, but the grass type disintegrated, and leaves and sticks fell to the ground as another Trevenant appeared next to Roselia and swiped her with its massive, wed hands. The grass type flew off toward Fantina, and Trevenant disappeared again. It seemed like Fantina had decided on her illusion. This was bad. Now that Trevenant was gone again, Denzel realized that he was losing. A weakened Curs, he assumed Snorunt could handle, but this? What the hell? Roselia got back on her feet. Stay calm, stay optimistic, don''t spiral, Denzel thought to himself. Trevenant reappeared again, and again, Roselia was ready. She sprayed the first one, who was just an illusion, but nimbly aimed her second flower behind her and used Venoshock again. Denzel''s face fell when he realized that it wasn''t even the real one. How many could Trevenant make in a row? Arceus damn it, it was at times like these that he wished that he could just ask Grace for the answer. Trevenant''s hand tore through the floor, and it wed Roselia once more, tearing across her chest. "Trevenant. It can reappear and disappear at will with Phantom force and create fake instances of itself," Denzel mumbled to himself so quickly that half the words didn''t even make sense. The grass type sunk into the shadows once more. "I could possibly get lucky and hope to poison the real one, but I don''t even know if the¡ª if the¡ª holy shit." It all began with an idea. An idea so simple that Denzel couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. "Keep it simple, stupid," he whispered after exhaling. "Make spores all around you!" Roselia nodded as both Stun Spore and Poison Powder emanated from her flowers. With all of the fear and the worries about losing, Denzel had almost tunnel visioned and lost Roselia the battle. She probably never would have forgiven him. With a distinct creak, Trevenant reappeared and stumbled behind Roselia as its true body absorbed the spores. "Venoshock! Give it everything you''ve got!" Denzel yelled. Roselia screeched, aiming both flowers toward the convulsing Trevenant and sprayed him with her poison. The attack was so powerful that half of Trevenant''s bark just evaporated with an obnoxious hiss, but Roselia kept attacking, aiming toward the true, shadowy thing that was Trevenant''s real body. The ghost type silently raged, and it finally managed to swipe Roselia away before it fell. Roselia stumbled to her feet, but fainted after clicking her tongue. "Trevenant and Roselia are unable to battle. Send out yourst Pokemon." That had been¡­ close to unraveling very badly, but Denzel had managed to salvage the situation as best he could. He sent out his Snorunt, who smiled wildly at the audience, and Fantina sent out her Curs, who angrily swam in its ectosm. He could not rest on hisurels yet. "Shadow Ball! It''s slow!" Denzel yelled. After Fantina''s order, Curs immediately raised another barrier with Ancient Power, but that was okay, because he had expected this. It was Curs''s pattern, and the only way it had of defending itself. The Shadow Ball crashed into the bulky wall. And Snorunt was already silently gathering her Blizzard without his order. See, Denzel had figured that announcing Snorunt''s trump card to his opponent wasn''t exactly the smartest move. Sometimes, it was wiser to just let his Pokemon do their thing, as Fantina seemed to enjoy doing so much. Or maybe she just couldn''t be bothered. That possibility kind of stung Denzel''s pride, but he struggled this much when she was barely even trying, so he wouldn''tin. Thirty seconds was what they needed, but as the air grew colder and wind started to gather, Fantina seemingly picked up on what they were doing. "Power Gem," she said. Snorunt shut her eyes tightly as she took the hit, but it didn''t break her concentration. All of the training he had her do with Louis had paid off. Her focus had improved leaps and bounds. Now, she would just need to work on using the move faster. "Send it!" Denzel screamed. A Blizzard covered the entire front half of the battlefield, drowning Curs''s angry screeches. Ideally, Denzel would have ordered Snorunt to start charging up another one, but she was too tired to do them back to back without at least a short break. Denzel smiled when Curs had returned to its nt pot-like state when the Blizzard dissolved. Ectosm trickled to the ground all around it, and Curs''s face was nowhere to be seen. "Curs is unable to battle. Victory goes to the challenger!" The referee said. Denzel sighed as he recalled his Snorunt, congratting her. He had won by the skin of his teeth. He had a lot to work on before he could hope to be like Craig, but a part of him was just d he was fucking done with the ghost gym. It''d be even worse next year. ¡ª I let out a breath I didn''t know I''d been holding as Denzel clutched his victory. That Trevenant had nearly cost him the entire fight, but he''d always been quick on his feet. With all thepanies he represented now, a loss so early would have left a sour taste in their mouths. I bid Cecilia good luck as she made her way out of the stands. Pauline was celebrating like a madwoman even after the cheers had stopped, and Justin and Emi were trying to keep her voice down. Fantina was an odd fighter. To me, it seemed like we were fighting her Pokemon, not her. She seemed content enough to just give them a general strategy and then let them do whatever they wanted. Still, they were so well trained that it didn''t exactly matter. I supposed that when there were fewer Pokemon to worry about, it was easier to train them, so she could afford to fight this way. But it also meant I''d need to improvise a lot more. I felt nervous, but I also felt ready. She wouldn''t use any of the Pokemon she''d used here against me. Even ghosts needed time to heal, and Marowak certainly needed a trip to the Pokemon gym''s Center. "Well, one more battle," I smiled.
Chapter 131 Chapter 131 CHAPTER 131 As Cecilia walked into the gym''s lobby, her mind was filled with an anticipation that made her entire body tingle. After watching Denzel''s fight, she knew now that the battle would be harder than she had expected it to be, and yet she could only march forward and hope that she was ready. A loss here would be so disappointing for herself, but most importantly, she did not want to disappoint Cynthia. A foolish thought, even though the Champion had challenged her all those months ago. Cecilia did not know if she would be watching, if she even remembered her name, or if she knew howimportantthose words had been to her. Being the Champion was a busy job, and Cynthia had no doubt a lot on her te. But she couldn''t help but hope that she sometimes kept an eye on her progress, despite how unlikely it was. "Not going to congratte me?" Denzel teased as he entered the waiting room. "Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking," she responded. "Congrattions on your win." "I was just fucking around, don''t worry about it," he smiled before his expression turned serious. "But seriously, you need to watch out. This is going to be a hell of a fight, as I''m sure you''ll know. I''d have advice, but¡ª" "I''ll figure it out myself," Cecilia said. "¡ªExactly. It''d probably feel lousy to win that way." "Thank you," she said, hugging him. "Nevermind, you''re all sweaty. Go calm Pauline down, will you?" "Will do," he said. "And as she''d say, go kick ass." Denzel left with a casual whistle, and Cecilia sat on the bench. Power would not be enough to win here. As it stood, her biggest problem was that there was ariskof an effective illusion angering Zweilous enough to the point that Zerst didn''t listen to her. She had alreadye to a deal with Scyther, and again, he would fight on his own. Slowking''s psychic abilities would be ineffective at stopping ghost type attacks, and Fletchinder, while she was quick and hit hard, would be too frail to carry most of the battle. "Well, Iamin quite a predicament," she dered. A gym attendee came to outfit her with the usual microphone, and then led her to the battlefield. Fantina did the same and began listing the rules of the battle¡ª another four-on-four with one switch in. Well, if he wanted to fight alone, he would get his fight. Cecilia sent out Scyther, finally using him in a gym battle for the first time. The bug type hissed and fanned his wings, excitedly waiting for his opponent. He had not gained too much power since the fight against Grace and Denzel, but she hoped that Fantina would start with an easier opponent just like she had against Denzel. The gym leader sent out a female Frillish that levitated up from the floor with a casual spin. That certainly wasn''t what she had expected, but Scyther would be able to go toe to toe with her. "Begin!"The referee yelled. "It''s easy to cut up and rtively slow. Try to go on the offensive," Cecilia suggested. "Night Shades," Fantina ordered. Four, ghostly replicas appeared in front of Frillish, and each individually rushed toward Scyther, who let out a defiant screech and blurred forward. Cecilia recognized his use of Agility, which was the only move she had managed to make him learn before the battle with her rivals. "I wouldn''t hit those if I were you, they explode," Cecilia said. Instead of dodging, Scyther shed across the first Night Shade, and a loud explosion rocked the entire arena. That was apowerfulNight Shade. Scyther flew out of the purple plume, leaving a trail of smoke, and now took her suggestion to heart, easily avoiding the remaining three Night Shades. "Hex when it gets close," Fantina said. "Try to keep your distance instead," she said. Scyther cried out in protest and rushed toward Frillish, cutting her in half with a smooth sh as smoke emanated from his body. The bug type crashed to the ground, but quickly got to his feet as Frillish used Water Sport to fly off with what remained of its body, while the remaining three Night Shadesallcrashed into Scyther, dealing massive amounts of damage. When the dust settled, cracks ran through his entire exoskeleton, and half of one of his wings was bent the wrong way. Cecilia quickly noticed two things. That Water Sport was ridiculously slow whenpared to Grace''s, and Frillish did not appear to know Recover, which meant that she''d be stuck missing half of her body the entire battle. Her regeneration powers were nowhere strong enough for her to quickly recover her bottom half. If Cecilia hadn''t messed up her rtionship with Scyther from the beginning, then this would have been such an easy victory. "Night Shades, then Shadow Ball," Fantina said. "Hex when it gets close." Another set of four ghostly clones appeared next to Frillish as it began to gather a Shadow Ball. They each flew toward the bug type, dying themselves by a few seconds each. Scyther took flight, and although he was permanently slowed and bent toward the right due to his broken wing, Agility was still in effect, and he was faster than he needed to be to dodge. "An Air sh to explode one of them would be enough to trigger the others to explode all at once," she sighed. Scyther ignored her, preferring to fight in melee whenever he could. He twisted his body as he narrowly dodged the first Night Shade, and then with a Quick Attack, he streaked across the air until he was just a few feet away from Frillish. The water type turned her head and sent out her Shadow Ball, causing Scyther to stop beating his wings and almost dropping to the floor. "Bubblebeam. Force him up there," Fantina said. "Why are you¡ª" Cecilia started, but then shut her mouth. It washer faultthat he was like this. Scyther screeched as a barrage of bubbles exploded on his shell, and using the floor as aunch pad, he blurred toward his opponent as both of his ws shone with a pale green.X-Scissor.Frillish let out a panicked cry as she began using Hex again, but Scyther was too quick. He decapitated her, rending her unable to fight. "Frillish is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your second Pokemon,"The referee said. The Night Shades disintegrated into thin air, and Fantina grabbed her second Pokeball. Scyther could have won this with barely taking any damage if they could cooperate for once, but s. Now, he was on hisst legs. Barely able to fly properly, wounded, and letting out ragged breaths. As morbid as it was to treat him like this, Cecilia knew that the only time he''d be usable in a battle like this was to have him fight Fantina''s first Pokemon, which would always prove the least challenging. Still, he yelled to celebrate his victory. Fantina sent out a small teapot, and a strange purple liquid inside of it soon came alive. It used a small broken piece of the teapot as a hat, and it was rather cute, for a ghost, all things considered. "Shell Smash," Fantina said. Oh. "Go on the offensive! Try to keep your distance!" Cecilia yelled as panic slipped into her tone. Polteageist turned from a dark purple to a vivid red as its body began to steam and its pot began tocrack. Scyther sharpened his des, and then broke into a run. Even though he hid it, Cecilia could tell that flying any further would hurt him badly. And yet, fly he did. Scytherpushedagainst the floor as his wings fanned once more, bing a blur of motion. "Protect," Fantina said. "Then Hex." Polteageist summoned a thin, green barrier, stopping Scyther''s X-Scissor in its tracks, and then hit him with a Hex so powerful that the bug type couldn''t help but fall to the ground and cry out in agony. He rolled on his back as the ghost type approached him, ready to hit him with another Hex. And shed across the air, sending an Air sh that sliced through his opponent''s body. Polteageist let out a high-pitch infuriated scream and finished him off with Hex. "Scyther is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your second Pokemon." In the end, Scyther had listened, even when it had been toote. "You did well, darling," she said softly as she smiled at his Pokeball. Fletchinder would not do very well against a Pokemon underShell Smash''s influence, so she was off the list. Slowking would take too much damage if he was hit, and again, he''d be unable to protect himself against Hex or other ghost type moves. Cecilia grabbed Zweilous'' Pokeball and released him. The two dragons roared, announcing their presence, and their heads locked onto their enemy at the same time. "Dragon Pulse, both of you," she said. "Protect," Fantina smoothly countered. Zerst and Sol both inhaled as draconic energy danced in their mouths, and thenscreamed, sending out two huge Dragon Pulses that were bigger than Polteageist''s Protect. And yet, the ghost got out of the situation unscathed, and it was quickly flying their way. "Sweet Scent, then Giga Drain," the gym leader continued. An enticing smell began to radiate from her Pokemon''s body, and Zerst seemedverysmitten. "Quick, snap him out of it and Dragon Pulse again!" Cecilia said. Sol nodded and quicklybashedhis head against his fellow head. Zerst snarled before remembering that he was currentlyin a battle. The two dragons yelled out a Dragon Pulse once more, but Polteageist was so small and fast that the attack only grazed the side of its teapot. Zweilous threateningly growled as the ghost type began to drain the dragon''s energy. "Incinerate," she said. There was no choice. The attack was weaker, but it was alsowider, meaning that at this range, it was guaranteed to hit. "Just Sol." Zerst grumbled in annoyance as Sol breathed out a huge stream of mes toward the Polteageist, which Fantina ordered to Protectagain. "Now, Zerst." A dyed attack meant that there was no way she was getting out of this one. Fire engulfed the ghost type''s tiny body, and when the Incinerate settled, all that remained was an inanimate, purple liquid sitting in a steaming teapot. "Polteageist is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your third Pokemon." Without any hesitation, the gym leader sent out a Drakloak. The dragon had a hard head, but the rest of its body took on a trailing, wispy form. Cecilia took a deep breath. This would be one of Zweilous'' toughest fights, and she was not cruel enough to switch him out, even though her mind screamed at her to do so. The dragon was quite literally drooling in anticipation. It had been too long since they had fought another dragon type, and forcing them to hold back against Louis'' Gible was something that they still hadn''t forgiven her for. She owed them this. "Dragon Pulse," Fantina said. The first thing Cecilia noticed was that Drakloak wasfast. Only slightly slower than Fletchinder after she had usedallof her setup moves. The ghost type practically disappeared as a thin Dragon Pulse shot out of its mouth. Without her orders, Zweilous tried to counter with a Dragon Pulse of their own, but Drakloak''s attack was too quick. Fantina had traded power for speed. Zweilous shook their heads and screamed in anger, but Drakloak was still nowhere to be seen. "Phantom Force, Dragon Tail," the gym leader said. Thatwas why it was literally impossible to see. Drakloak reappeared behind Zweilous with its tail solidifying and glowing with a dark blue, and it mmed it against their hide. Quick to anger, Zerst turned, and his mouth snapped with a vicious Crunch, biting some of Drakloak''s body away, who screeched and blurred as it flew off. From that point on, Fantina decided to keep her distance, and Drakloak kept pestering Zweilous with Dragon Pulse. Even though it was weaker than what they were used to, the damage would add upveryquickly, and Zweilous'' only way of defending themselves was their tough hide. Cecilia tried to have them lure Drakloak into a trap by cornering it with two Dragon Pulses, but it was justtooquick. Time was running out. How could she deal with this? Drakloak spat out another Dragon Pulse, and this time, Sol countered it with a quickDragon Breathinstead. Cecilia''s eyes widened. That was right! Power was nice and all, but sometimes, reverting to older moves had its uses. Dragon Breath was weaker, but it was faster to use and would be perfect for intercepting Drakloak''s attacks. The dragon always had to at leastslow downto use Dragon Pulse, so the tactic was easily possible. "From now on, Dragon Breath whenever you spot Drakloak," Cecilia exined. She clicked her tongue when another Dragon Pulse hit her Pokemon''s back. "Get as close as you can to me, quick." Zweilous turned and awkwardly trudged toward Cecilia before turning their back to Kadabra''s barrier. Now that she was getting a better look, a lot of their scales had been peeled off, exposing their soft, pink flesh, and they were tiring quickly. "Zerst, you take the left, Sol, the right. I''ll keep my eyes right above you," Cecilia said. Every single one of Drakloak''s next Dragon Pulses were countered by Zweilous'' Dragon Breaths, thank Arceus for their two heads. Now, Fantina needed to order it to get closer if she wanted to get any damage off. But Cecilia wasn''t getting any damage off either.Frustrating. This was far from the perfect battle she had wished for, but when push came to shove, she would employ tricks to win. Fantina sighed and recalled her Drakloak, opting to keep it for the remainder of the fight. Zweilous celebrated with a roar, spitting all over the floor. It wasn''t exactly a victory, but she would let them think they had won for now. The gym leader sent out herst Pokemon. A huge anchor covered in seaweed crashed into the floor with a loudthud before activating its levitation. A single red eye shed as it rotated its helm. Dhelmise was a lotbigger than Cecilia ever thought it to be, reaching at least twelve feet in height. "Phantom Force. Be brutal," Fantina said. Thehulkingpiece of metal simple disappeared into thin air, and Cecilia braced herself for the worst. She considered switching here, but Fletchinder was too small to ever deal with a Pokemon this big, even with the type advantage. No. Zweilous would have to deal with it,e hell or high water. "Get ready¡­" she whispered as a bead of sweat fell down her chin. Where would it appear next? Would there be a trick at y? Dhelmise was a true ghost, so illusions were on the table¡ª Wait.She had told it to bebrutal¡ª Dhelmisecrashedinto Zweilous so hard that it sent the dragon flying into Kadabra''s barrier. The steering wheel rotated, bringing its eye on top of the helm, and the seaweed on its anchor suddenlyextendedlike it had a mind of its own, wrapping all around Zweilous and lifting them off the ground. The two heads snapped and roared as they squirmed to try to get out of the ghost''s hold, but it was holding onto them too tightly. "Don''t panic! Dragon Pulse!" Cecilia screamed. Still in the air, Zweilous'' heads snapped, locking onto Dhelmise, and theyscreamedout a Dragon Pulse. The stream of draconic energy hit the grass type''s steering wheel, causing it to spin out of control, but its hold on them didn''t loosen. "Throw it toward you, then Heavy m again," Fantina said. Cecilia''s eyes widened as Dhelmise''s seaweedflexed, and it threw Zweilous like they were as light as a feather. The anchorspunaround, and with a loud crack, it smashed into Zweilous'' back, sending him crashing into the floor. The dragon did not get up. "Zweilous is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your third Pokemon." Cecilia took a deep breath to stop herself from panicking. And sent out her Slowking, which could have been considered a foolish choice, but there was no other option. She needed to weaken Dhelmise until Fletchinder was capable of taking it down, and since it could apparently control its seaweed like Tangrowth could control his vines, her speed wouldn''t have protected her. But at least, Slowking could protect himself from the weeds with Psychic. "Seize him," Fantina said. Case in point. Slowking''s eyes shone as he easily deflected five pieces of seaweed that tried to grab him by the arms. Dhelmise''s wheel rotated as it fumed in anger, and the grass type rushed toward Slowking. It was too big and heavy for him to ever hope to stop him with Psychic, but it was still possible to hamper theing damage. "Heavy m," Fantina said. "Psychic, give it your all!" Cecilia countered. The anchor-like Pokemoncreakedas it pushed through Slowking''s powerful Psychic and mmed him toward the left side of the arena. "Get up and Water Pulse. Speed it up." Chip damage was damage nheless. Slowking hurriedly dusted his cor and spat out a series of Water Pulses that were quickened by Psychic. The advantage to Dhelmise being sorge was that it was easy to hit. "Phantom Force," Fantina said. Cecilia frowned when a Water Pulse apparently hit the invisible Dhelmise. She had thought that maybe ghosts were invincible if they became invisible before getting hit, but that was apparently not the case. Still, she knew the move had beening, and since Dhelmise wasnot a living being, Slowking was unable to sense it, so she only had one counter. "Disable!" Slowking''s eyes gleamed with a pale blue as the ghost type mmed across his chest, sending him flying further. "ck Off immediately!" Cecilia continued. "Then keep using Water Pulse!" The water type shook his head to regain his senses, then plopped himself on the floor on close his eyes, healingsomeof his injuries. The Phantom Force had almost knocked him out, but he was a lot bulkier than he used to be now that he had evolved. Several Water Pulses flew out of his mouth, all hitting Dhelmise for minimal amounts of damage. "Disappear." Damn it, Cecilia thought. Even without Phantom Force, it could just disappear at will! Slowking slowly got back on his feet and brought his arms forward, readying himself to slow down theing attack with Psychic. But then she recalled him, using her only switch in of the battle. Dhelmise crashed into the floor with another Heavy m where Slowking had just stood. Now that Phantom Force was disabled, Fletchinder would never get a better opportunity than this. The flying type screeched and took to the air. "Fire Spin, keep your distance," Cecilia ordered. There was no time for her to set up. Fletchinder squawked, hovering as she repeatedly beat her wings, surrounding Dhelmise with air so hot that it caught on fire. The ghost type creaked as it disappeared, leaving only the mes on its body as it rushed toward Fletchinder. One thing Cecilia had noticed was that without Phantom Force, Dhelmise wasslow, even when disappearing, and the mes still burning on its body further proved her right. She ordered Fletchinder to fly away and pester the grass type with Ember, and it just couldn''t get close enough to hit her. One Heavy m would have been enough to take her down, and yet, the attack never connected. Fletchinder spun in the air, spitting out one more Ember, and Dhelmise fell to the floor with its eye still open andraging. "Dhelmise is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out yourst Pokemon." Immediately, Fantina sent out her Drakloak. "Phantom Force. Hit it a few times and knock it out." "Tailwind, Agility," Cecilia hurriedly said. The fire type pped her wings, creating a permanent current in her direction, and then her body loosened as it narrowly avoided a Dragon Tail from Drakloak. Fantina hadn''t expected Fletchinder to beeven faster. Drakloak was probably always faster than their opponents. Not this time. "Quick Attack, me Charge!" Cecilia screamed. Quick Attack wouldn''t deal any damage, but it would help her speed up. "Hex when it gets close." Like a meteorite, Fletchinder shone across the sky. In a second, she mmed into Drakloak''s head. The dragon let out a juvenile roar as it Hexed her body. Fletchinder cried out and dove directly toward the ground as the pain proved to be too much, but she caught herself in the nick of time, extending her wings to stop herself from crashing into the floor. "Ember and get back into the sky," Cecilia continued. If she could getoneAcrobatics off¡­ The bird screeched as it spat out small mes toward Drakloak, who easily dodged and disappeared with Phantom Force thanks to Fantina''s order. "Fire Spin around you!" Cecilia said. mes spun around Fletchinder''s body as Drakloak mmed her toward Kadabra''s barrier. The flying type cried out as her wing bent the wrong way, and she fell to the ground. She struggled to her feet, but when she tried to get back in the sky, she realized that she couldn''t fly any longer. Her wing was broken. "Finish it off with Dragon Pulse," Fantina said. "Ember!" Cecilia could only watch as the dragon type attack enveloped Fletchinder, overtaking her Ember and causing her to faint. "Fletchinder is unable to battle. Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon." Cecilia released her Slowking with a smile. Nervousness made her legs and arms shake, but by the Legendaries, she was having fun, especially since the ghosts that Fantina was using didn''t have awful effects on her psyche. "Get one Phantom Force off," Fantina said. "Disable when you see it again, then Psychic immediately afterward," Cecilia immediately ordered. Drakloak phased out of existence, and after barely two seconds, it mmed into Slowking''s back. The psychic type extended a hand backward, seizing the dragon with Psychic as his eyes shone, and then he metaphoricallysqueezed. Drakloak cried out in pain as the wispy parts of its body thrashed around erratically. Its head was locked in ce, however. "Hex." Slowking shuddered as the ghost''s Hex hit him, but he did not relent, opting to smash Drakloak against the floor to make it lose its focus and stop its attack. "Psychic, Zen Headbutt." Thebination that hadted her a victory against Gardenia would do the same here. Slowking levitated Drakloak and threw him toward his head as psychic energy gathered right on his shell. He smashed his head against the dragon''s own, and Drakloak finally fainted. "Drakloak is unable to battle. Victory goes to the Challenger!" ¡ª "Hm¡­ yeah, I think that''ll work," I muttered as I held honey''s Pokeball in my hand. I was currently already in the waiting room, having figured that Cece had won as soon as that Dhelmise had been taken care of. Fantina was surprisingly capable of just fighting power with power, and speed with speed too. She wasn''t just about illusions. I had gathered enough information to win, I reckoned. I was nervous, of course, but I felt like I was thinking a lot faster than I used to. A little bit of confidence went a long way, so long as I didn''t get a big head, and for some reason, I felt a lot more confident than normal. Maybe it was like I''d never studied a gym leader so much. Even against Gardenia, I hadn''t been as good at gathering information. This time, I felt like I knew the ins and outs of Fantina''s gym. I had figured that I was the worst kind of trainer Fantina could face, at least whenpared to my friends. She liked to let her Pokemon fight independently, and normally, that would have been a problem for me, but I was pretty sure I had gotten a good idea of how each of the remaining Pokemon she might use against me fought, and I knew all of their moves. All I had to do now was keep the n going for as long as possible until everything inevitably went off the rails, and I''d have to improvise. "Grace," Cecilia called out, causing me to snap my head up. "Good job out there," I said. "Did Fletchinder evolve?" "Hm? No. Did you think she would?" She asked. "Yeah, I kind of did, but I left after she took down Dhelmise so I could be alone with my thoughts, so I didn''t finish the battle. I already knew you''d win, though. The audience was going kind of crazy, especially for that dragon versus dragon fight." "Even though it wasn''t as grand as I had wished, people don''t see that every day," she nodded. "Are you disappointed?" "In?" "In my performance." "Not at all. You won pretty handily, I mean, I don''t exactly know how the battle finished, but I''ll guess that Slowking managed to take down Drakloak," I said. "It''s tough. That''s one of Fantina''s strongest at this level." "There was something I was missing in that fight, but I can''t put it into words," she pondered. "If I had that, then the battle would have been perfect." I saw the gym trainer gesture me forward and stood up. "I''m beginning to learn to not let perfect be the enemy of good," I smiled before kissing her on the cheek. "Now go get your team to the nearest Center ande back to cheer for me." "I''ll take a taxi to get back as fast as I can," she nodded. "Sounds good. Don''t keep me waiting!" I teased. She nabbed a quick kiss before she ran to leave. I took a deep breath and tookfort in how fast my heart was beating against my chest. The steady, fast rhythm kept me grounded and sharp. I felt my hand tingle as I clipped Electabuzz''s Pokeball on my belt and walked up to the gym trainer, who ced the microphone on my cor. I twisted and cracked my neck, stretched, and I was ready. "Okay!Let''s do this."
Chapter 132 – Planning and Pantsing Chapter 132 ¨C nning and Pantsing CHAPTER 132 - nning and Pantsing It had alle down to this. My future rtionship with the Poketch Company rode on this entire battle. I stared at the Poketch Watch I wore on my wrist and took a deep breath. Craig had rmended me and had put his full faith in my capabilities after witnessing my battle with Candice. I couldn''t afford to flounder here. "Wee, challenger," Fantina started. "This will be a five-on-five battle with¡­ two switch-ins allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in battle, and try to not kill my ghosts. Send out your Pokemon." I grabbed Electabuzz''s Pokeball and held it tight. I had mulled over my first choice over and over throughout thest week, and my only two options had been either him or Jellicent. Buddy would have been a safer choice, with his regenerative abilities being as strong as they were, and they''d allow me to scout any kind of illusions Fantina might employ. What ended up tipping the scales, however, was the fact that Electabuzz had a very important job that only he was capable of. And it was rted to, but was not his ability to sense ghosts. With a smile, I sent out honey, who whirred his arms around, generating sparks of electricity all over his body. Fantina sent out a Haunter. Most ghosts'' forms were hazy and made out of a smoke-like substance, at least while their bodies were not solidified. Haunter was different. I nervously bit my lip as the ghost type oozed up from the floor and slowly took form. The ghost type bulged and bubbled while two smaller hands separated themselves from the main body, secreting poison that dripped onto the floor. Purple, noxious fumes exuded from its body, and a gaping, empty mouth slowly opened, forming into a sinister grin. Haunter opened its eyes and began tough. Augh that sent shivers down my spine. The sound was deep and guttural, but it sounded like it was inhaling instead of exhaling. Like augh slowed down and yed in reverse. Even honey had lost his usual grin by now. "Disappear," Fantina said. Haunter cackled and phased out of existence immediately. She was pulling no punches, just like with Denzel and Cecilia. I took a deep breath and began to count. Five seconds was about correct, ording to the footage I watched. "Discharge, make it quick!" I yelled. With a defiant scream, Electabuzz pped his hands and immediately sent out a low-powered surge of electricity all around him. Haunter''s body hissed and popped, and the ghost type stared on with fury as the Discharge ran through his body despite him being invisible. "Night Shade, and get back," Fantina said. A ghostly copy of Haunter appeared in front of the poison type and flew toward Electabuzz. "Thundershock," I said. Another low-powered electric attack hurtled toward the shade, creating a shadowy explosion in between the two Pokemon. There was no need to waste Electabuzz''s precious stamina if his attack wasn''t going to hit his opponent. What I was doing here was simple. I was nting a seed in Fantina''s mind. She did not yet know that Electabuzz could sense ghosts, but she did know we could counter them. By showing my hand this early, I was signaling that Discharge was the only way that I had found to fight back against their invisibility. I was luring her into a false sense of security, and hopefully, it''d pay offter if I could catch her by surprise. "Haunter, Shadow Ball. Dy them." Two spheres materialized in front of Haunter''s hands. One flew at terrifying speed toward Electabuzz, and the other was more powerful, but slower. "Now get in there and Curse." There it was, I thought as I saw the poison type disappear. Curse was Haunter''s most bothersome move. By dying the two Shadow Balls, Fantina was countering my Discharge tactic, since honey would have to sit still to use it, and doing it twice in a row that fast was beyond his capabilities. I couldn''t counter both attacks, and there was also the fact that Haunter was approaching to use Curse. But that was fine. I snapped my fingers. "Protect!" I yelled. The first Shadow Ball mmed against a transparent, green barrier, but I knew that Electabuzz wouldn''t be able to keep it up for long. Haunter was hiding somewhere close, just waiting for the Protect toe down so that he could Curse Electabuzz. "Now, Discharge again!" I hurriedly ordered. Honey immediately understood from my tone, and he sent out another low-powered Discharge all around himself. He knew where Haunter was, but he was still acting like he didn''t know. In fact, he was acting so well that he was almost convincing me. A strand of poison dripped onto his head, and the ghost cried out in pain from the electric shock. "Curse," Fantina said again. Haunter''s pain-filled screams turned to a burst of joyousughter as its eyes turned red, and Electabuzz gripped his chest and started coughing up blood. I recalled him. I couldn''t afford to have him take that much damage, especially when I''d need himter down the line. As it stood, I could have surprised Fantina with a powerful Thunderbolt that might have almost taken Haunter down, but I needed to keep my cards close to my chest. I was thinking long-term here. I grabbed Tangrowth''s Pokeball and released him. With him, I could simply go with brute strength. The grass type''s vines wriggled anxiously as he stared at Haunter, who responded with a mockingugh. Sending out a grass type against a poison type might have seemed unwise, but I knew from my hours of studying that the only poison type move this Haunter had was¡ª "Fill the arena with Smog!" Haunter quite literally vomited, spitting out both poisonous liquid and Smog out of his mouth. "Bind, just like we practiced!" I yelled. Haunter was a ghost, but its body was quite a bit more solid than most, which was why it was slower both to disappear and travel while it was invisible. Drakloak, for example, could do so in barely two seconds, but Haunter needed five, which was only slightly slower than Dhelmise when it used Phantom Force. Tangrowth quickly flexed as a thinyer of darkness surrounded the six vines that shot out of his body, wrapping around the ghost type as it kept using Smog. I inhaled sharply when I realized that the poison was so corrosive that the vines were melting off, as if they had been dipped in Acid. Still, it was enough to slow Haunter down, and Tangrowth diligently reced the destroyed vines with new ones, quickly reaching fifteen in number. Our practice had paid off. Bind by itself wouldn''t have affected Haunter, but with a little bit of dark type energy, it worked. Thank Arceus for Chase and his methrower for giving me the idea. "Knock Off!" Two out of the dozen vines let go of the ghost, straightened, and became truly dark. This wasn''t like our makeshift tactic to slow Haunter, this was a move that would pack a real punch. Tangrowth pped Haunter with both, and the poison type flew away, turning into goo as it fell on the ground. "Get in there and keep hitting it with Knock Off!" I screamed, pointing toward Haunter. It was starting to regather itself now, just like Jellicent had done against Zweilous, but I knew from experience that that process took energy and time. And I also knew there could be trickery involved. As Tangrowth kept smacking the goo around with Knock Off before it could reform, I kept my eyes sharp, watching every single corner of the arena. Haunter hadn''t done this in any of the videos I had watched, but I could never be too sure¡ª And certainly enough, there it was. Haunter was slowly reforming in the corner at my side of the battlefield while Tangrowth was focusing on bait. "Angel, get back! The real body''s here!" I yelled. The grass type turned, and I saw that his face had been sprayed with poison from hitting Haunter too much. Tangrowth propelled himself with his vines and ran toward Haunter, but the ghost type had been too far to catch. He flew into the air and disappeared too quickly. What I hadn''t expected was for the supposed bait he had been hitting to also form into a coherent body. There were two of them. Was this a new illusion I hadn''t seen in any videos? A new trick that Fantina had taught her Haunter? Or had this always been in her arsenal, and this was the challenge she was issuing to me? There was no way to find out. I knew the n would go off the rails at some point either way, now it was all about minimizing my mistakes and not letting the fight snowball out of control. Which one was the real one? "Haunter, attack," Fantina said. Attack? What the hell did that even mean?! One of the Haunters started sending out Shadow Balls toward Tangrowth while the other disappeared. I suspected that Curse wasing, but Tangrowth was strong enough to withstand it, at least at the start. The damage would slowly stack up over time, but I could always switch again¡ª "Above you, angel!" I warned. Haunter reappeared, and its eyes turned crimson. Tangrowth shrugged off two Shadow Balls from the other one in the distance and hit the Haunter above him away with Knock Off, but he''d be slowly afflicted by Curse. He winced, and his vines wriggled erratically from the pain. "Hit the Shadow Balls before they get to you," I said. He caused the next Shadow Ball to explode early by hitting them with vines. He was too big to dodge, so he''d still take some amount of damage from the st, but this was better than taking damage for free. He propelled himself forward, hunting the Haunter he had just hit away. Like I had been thinking before, I could always switch, but that meant that Togetic wouldn''t be able to use Wish¡ª But I had dealt with this before! ns needed to be adaptable! If I fell into the sunk-cost facy problem again, I was risking a loss! Tangrowth Knocked Off the Haunter, who was fleeing for dear life, but he wasn''t leaving him enough time to turn invisible. If I had to guess, the real one was the one who was safely away from the fight, only fighting with Shadow Balls. "Haunter, Smog," Fantina said. Or Smog, now. I winced. And then recalled Tangrowth. Long term, I probably could have won this, but I knew that wouldn''t be the right thing to do. Electabuzz or Jellicent would be fine here, but Jellicent''s abilities to float would mean that I''d be able to hit the real one easier. I sent out buddy, who took to the air with a short Water Sport. The water type tilted his head as he stared at the two Haunter¡ª one of which was still filling the arena with Smog. And then his eyes shone so brightly that I could see them through his head. That was hatred. "Calm down, bud," I breathed out. "Stay sharp. Get close and hit the real one with Shadow Ball. It''s the one using Smog." Jellicent narrowly avoided a Shadow Ball with Water Sport, and then stared at me to shake his head. For a moment, I feared that he just wouldn''t listen to me, but I understood what he meant after a second. That wasn''t the real one. Jellicent summoned a huge cloud above the Haunter using Smog, and raindrops fell like bullets, prating through its body and turning it to mush. He took a Shadow Ball to the face before nimbly flying backward out of the poison''s range, but Haunter quickly followed with one of its fists wreathed in shadows. "Water Pulse, get him off you!" I yelled. The water type instantly spat out a huge ring of water that was so highly pressurized that a part of Haunter''s body disintegrated. It was both of them. Both of them were real, and one had just fainted. It was only now that I noticed that they were both slightly smaller than the original one had been, and Fantina must have seen the realization on my face, because she immediately stopped her hands-off approach. "Curse before you faint," she simply said. The Haunter that had been hit by Brine surged forward, its body deforming until it looked just like a flying, poisonous liquid. It had taken in so much water from Brine that it appeared bloated. Meanwhile, the remains of the second Haunter joined the first one, bringing it back to its original size. "Jellicent, Shadow Ball!" He absolutely could not be hit by Curse here. I was out of switches, and even though he''d be able tost longer than the others with Recover, the damage would eventually outpace his regeneration. The water type gathered an immense amount of ghostly energy and let out a deep, booming sound as he sent the attack flying toward the misshapen Haunter. The ghostughed onest time as it exploded. Fantina waited for the remaining parts of his body to gather again to recall him. "Haunter is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your second Pokemon," the referee said. I exhaled and felt my body rx slightly. Haunter was a tough Pokemon to beat, and despite having to use two switches, I had done so without losing anyone or taking substantial damage. I ordered Jellicent to Recover as Fantina sent out a¡­ a what? My ears tingled as I heard grains of sand shift on the floor. The sand slowly coalesced into a sand castle, and eagerly wiggled. I waited for a sound toe. A sound that I had expected to be disturbing, just like every other ghost Fantina usually sent out. There was nothing. Just silence and the sound of wind blowing against the sand. And for some reason, that unnerved me a lot more. Palossand was the toughest thing my team could have faced. Despite being a ground type, the fact that it was made out of sand made it excellent at soaking in water, especially with the Water Compaction ability. It also knew the attack Giga Drain, which meant that Jellicent was done for if he ever got too close. Not that I was nning on doing so anyway. I had made a contingency n for each of my Pokemon, just in case they''d face Palossand. Togetic and Electabuzz would have been screwed, while Tangrowth might have won eventually, but he had taken some damage from Curse and other attacks. Jellicent, however, had a straightforward way to win. "Sandstorm," Fantinazily ordered. Palossand silently moved its towers around, and a Sandstorm soon overtook the entire arena, hampering my visibility so much that I could barely see Jellicent anymore, and Palossand was also impossible for me to find. I already knew that this wasing. This was how Palossand fought. It isted trainers from their Pokemon, and if they weren''t used to fighting independently, then they''d be screwed. Fantina already tended to have a hands-off approach to her battles, so she wouldn''t be affected at all. It wasn''t a problem for Jellicent, who would be able to sense him and maneuver quickly, which was why he was in the most advantageous position to take it down. "Keep moving and hit it with Shadow Ball!" I yelled, hoping that buddy would hear me through the Sandstorm. "Recover when you can, and watch out for Hypnosis!" If Fantina was ordering her Pokemon to do anything, then she was unintelligible. I anxiously gripped my pants as explosions rang out in the storm. I had never fought like this. Not seeing what my Pokemon were doing was making my anxiety shoot up to dangerous levels, but I could only ce my trust in Jellicent and hope he would seed. He had all the resources he needed to win. So while he was fighting for me, I would look ahead and fight for my team. While he bought me time and dealt with Palossand, I would remake my remaining n from the top down to ount for theck of Wish and switching. On the fly. ¡ª Jellicent felt drowsy for the first time in his entire life as he stared in Palossand''s general direction. Hypnosis was the attack Grace had warned him about, and he had to fight his own instincts to look away and fly off. The water type felt a deep hatred whenever he could sense Palossand, and it was affecting his quick thinking and judgment. He had felt it when fighting against Zweilous as well, but Grace had been there to talk to him and keep him aware of his actions. She was no longer there. Jellicent felt the entire side of his face disintegrate¡ª a deeply ufortable feeling that he stopped with Recover. The Sandstorm was affecting his maneuverability with Water Sport, and it was also affecting his aiming. The storm was so strong that it caused any Shadow Balls or Poison Stings to drift in the wind and miss, and Grace had warned him not to use water type moves. Hex would be usable, but then he would get hit with Giga Drain. Meanwhile, Palossand easily predicted how the wind would affect his attacks and aimed them perfectly. The water type spat out a Water Pulse to intercept another Shadow Ball, causing it to explode close to his face. He Recovered again. He felt the Palossand''s form loosen as it writhed away from him, no longer in its sandcastle form. He was in a dilemma, but he could not afford to wait. Grace would hate for him to simply get hit and dish out nothing in return. Jellicent turned his levitation off and felt his body loosen as he dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding another Shadow Ball. He narrowly stopped himself just a few feet off the floor and propelled himself forward with another Water Sport. The earth opened up below him and churned out hot, molten rocks, but he managed to zigzag around them due to how telegraphed Earth Power was. He would rather get hit by Giga Drain and deal damage than do nothing. Or was it his instinct screaming at him to murder this Palossand and atomize it until it was nothing but inanimate sand that had brought him to this decision? When the water type reached Palossand, he stared into its hollow, white eyes that sat in the windows of its castle for a single moment, and he could tell that the feeling of hatred was mutual. Yet they were both attempting to hold it back. Both going against their desires. They had both been trained with love, hadn''t they? Jellicent let out a booming sound as he hit Palossand with a point-nk Shadow Ball, and the sand castle shivered as he began to drain his energy. The water type immediately started to Recover, all the while, he was showering the ground type with Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball. There was no pain, just a slight difort. Jellicent did not even realize that his body was currently withering faster than he could Recover due to Giga Drain. The only thing was filled his mind was taking down Palossand. Jellicent screamed louder and louder, and Palossand''s body shivered in anger as it silently raged, its two pale eyes contracting in anger. The two Pokemon would fight until one would be left standing. ¡ª I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Jellicent let out an ear-piercing, deep scream. "Buddy?!" I hesitantly screamed. The scream kept going on and on until the Sandstorm started to slowly subside. I wiped the sweat off my hands and waited with bated breath. He wasn''t screaming anymore, and the Sandstorm was slowly disappearing, so that must have meant that he won. I gasped when I saw the state Jellicent was in. His entire body was shriveled, his eyes were a pale red instead of how vibrant they usually were, and he was lying face-up on the floor. Palossand had been ttened, and only sand remained where he had stood. "Palossand is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out your third Pokemon." Jellicent could still theoretically battle, but he barely had the energy to even float. He had done such a good job, taking out Palossand on his own like that. No one else on the team would have been able to take him out alone. "I''m withdrawing my Pokemon out of the fight," I told the referee. He nodded and announced that Jellicent was unable to battle. Fantina sent out her Pokemon. It was a single, red eye at first, just floating in the dim room, but then a pale skull appeared in front of it, followed by gray, wispy cloth. A Duskull. The sound of cold wind filled my ears as the ghost type rose into the sky. I braced myself. The eye was the same. The same as Dusknoir''s. But I knew myself, so I had meticulously prepared for this. I had forced myself to watch videos, over and over, getting panic attacks that my Pokemon helped me to deal with until what I felt was no longer crippling dread that stopped me from even thinking, but just terror. I could work with terror. Still, seeing the real thing was a lot worse than I had expected with the days I had spent analyzing the footage, but that also meant Duskull was the Pokemon I knew the most about. I swallowed as I sent honey back into the field, who wiped the blood from the Curse from his mouth. "Disappear," Fantina said. An order she always gave with Duskull. What wasing next was a non-vocal Shadow Sneak, and then Will-O-Wisp. See, in the beginning, I had believed Duskull to be an unstoppable force like Dusknoir had seemed to me all those months ago, but watching the footage had made me realize that it was weak. I knew everything. "Protect," I simply said. Fantina''s eye twitched as Duskull reappeared before ramming skull-first into Electabuzz''s Protect. The impact from the Shadow Sneak was so strong that the ghost type was repelled a few feet, and that was what we needed. "Thunderbolt!" I ordered. The electric type yelled, bringing his hands forward and electrocuting Duskull with a powerful Thunderbolt. The ghost type''s eye flickered, and the cloth on its body smoked as it cried out in pain. Duskull''s cry of pain, in this instance, was the sound of a strong gust of wind. "Again!" I yelled right as Electabuzz stopped his first Thunderbolt. "Dodge with Shadow Sneak." Duskull was too quick, and avoided the Thunderbolt by arge margin. The electric attack continued forward until it hit Fantina''s side of the barrier, and Duskull disappeared into the shadows. Now was the time to reveal that Electabuzz could sense ghosts. If we could catch Fantina off-guard before she switched, then I''d be in the best position possible. "Go get him," I said, but Electabuzz''s antennas twitched. It was a code we had prepared beforehand, and he now knew that he needed to reveal his ability. Meanwhile, to Fantina, it would just be a vague attack with no meaning. Honey broke into a run so quick that he became a blur, and I assumed that he was going toward Duskull''s general direction. Then he pped his hands, slid on the floor as he stopped in ce, and his fur sparked. I grinned as a Thunderbolt hit directly where Duskull was, and the ghost was forced to reappear. Duskull''s goal was to hamper opponents with Will-O-Wisp before switching out. It wasn''t a good attacker, so I knew that Fantina had wanted to switch out as soon as Electabuzz had been hit by the attack. It would have been impossible to dodge for long. Protect would work once, but honey couldn''t use the move that many times, and he had to wait a long time in between uses. Duskull''s eye flickered off as it fell to the floor, and Electabuzz used Thunderbolt on it onest time for good measure. I had caught Fantina off-guard. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she had just been more expressive than she had been all day. I was winning. "Duskull is unable to battle. Fantina, send out your fourth Pokemon." Now was when it would get interesting. Fantina had two Pokemon left and two switches, and while Jellicent had been fighting Palossand one-on-one, I had been thinking about who she could possibly send out against me. There were two Pokemon I thought she''d use. The first one was Lampent, because she knew I had Tangrowth waiting in the back, and it would be a powerful Pokemon to take him down, but she wouldn''t use it now. She''d wait until I had him out. The second one I thought she''d use to deal with honey was Shedinja, because she didn''t know he could use Fire Punch. And even if he could, getting in range to hit the damn thing would be nearly impossible. Wonder Guard meant that nothing else we had would be able to even hit it. With the information she currently had, those two made the most sense to me. I groaned when she sent out her Doude. Predicting it correctly would have been so damn satisfying, but I had been wrong yet again. I''d need to improvise for this one, but that was fine. Fire Punch was still clearly an unknown to Fantina, especially since she sent out a steel type¡ª "Swords Dance." ¡ªExcuse me? Swords Dance? Both swords unsheathed themselves, and their steel de shimmered after doing a short flip. Swords Dance was a notoriously difficult move to learn, and Doude hadn''t had it in any of the videos I saw. How many times was I going to get tripped up by the same fucking problem? Gym Pokemon progressed too, just like mine did! "sh." "Thunderbolt!" I yelled, sweeping my arm. I needed to force her to switch out here. The move was quick to use, but it drained a lot of energy from the user, meaning that they wouldn''t be able to use it over and over. The two swords separated, causing the Thunderbolt to just fly in between them, and then they rushed toward Electabuzz. "Discharge in front," I continued after clicking my tongue. He had two, maybe three more Protects left in him, and I wanted to exhaust all options before using one of them. Electabuzz nodded, and electricity flew out of his body, this time only going toward the Doude. The swords didn''t seem as easily affected by pain as her other Pokemon had been though, since they just took the attack head-on and kept flying toward Electabuzz. "Protect!" I begrudgingly ordered. The thin, green barrier appeared in front of the electric type, stopping the first Sword from shing at him. But the second one broke through the Protect and tore across honey''s chest, leaving a thick gash. "Fire Punch before it gets away!" I hissed. I hadn''t ounted for the fact that two, Swords Dance boosted attacks might be enough to break through Protect. After a single spark, fire engulfed Electabuzz''s fist, and he hit the steel type away from him with a defiant scream. His scream turned into a cry when the other sword shed across his arm. I ground my teeth as I watched Electabuzz fight was essentially a one-against-two. He sometimes managed to hit the swords away, but they kept overwhelming him with fast, nimble attacks. Discharge wouldn''t be enough to fight them off, either. I ordered him to use another Protect to buy himself another few precious seconds, but he was done for. Electabuzz fell to the ground with deep, bloody gashes and cuts all over his fur. "Electabuzz is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your third Pokemon." Doude was too much of a threat, and princess wouldn''t work well against them. She could only restrain one at a time, and they could maneuver in the air a lot better than she could. It would just be a waste to use her now. I grabbed Tangrowth''s Pokeball and sent him out, and I stared at Fantina. Switch into Lampent. You want to switch, don''t you? I thought. Come on, Tangrowth''s a grass type, and bulky enough to fight your damn swords. I rxed when she did recall her Doude, and smiled when a Lampent appeared on the field. I had been half correct, at the very least. Its sinister, purple me shone brightly in the dimly lit arena, and its two emotionless yellow eyes stared at Tangrowth. Now, the situation might have seemed like it was deteriorating, but I knew from experience that Tangrowth was capable of withstanding many fire type attacks, especially when he hadn''t taken that much damage just yet, and Fantina was underestimating him. The problem stemmed from¡ª "Disappear," Fantina said again. From that, and now, I had no way for my Pokemon to figure out where Lampent was. How could I¡ª Suddenly, something lit up inside of me. A potential opportunity, and a potential disaster. First came the opportunity. "Tangrowth, start Power Whipping all around you!" I yelled. Angel extended vines all around himself, smashing the air in order to try to catch Lampent wherever it was. Knock Off would have been better here, but he wasn''t capable of using that many. Two at a time was his maximum, and that dark Bind might have been a good idea, but Power Whip was just faster. The floor cracked, kicking up dust and rocks as vines crashed against the ground. "Will-O-Wisp." There it was. The potential disaster. The fire type appeared to Tangrowth''s left, and a series of ming, purple orbs that filled my ears with giggled flew toward Tangrowth, who couldn''t even hope to dodge the homing mes. Just Tangrowth getting burned wouldn''t actually be the main problem. Even with his attack power lowered, he packed such a punch that I believed his Knock Off would be able to deal with Lampent if we restrained him. Well, I couldn''t waste an opportunity to attack. It was toote to stay on the defensive and think. "Get him and Bind!" I yelled. A thinyer of darkness wreathed Tangrowth''s vines, and he held Lampent in ce. "Burning Jealousy," Fantina said. Lampent''s hollow eyes suddenly raged with such intensity that I felt my legs shiver, and everything around it caught fire. The ground, Tangrowth, his vines, and even Lampent itself burned away in a fierce, purple me. Angel''s vine withered away, but we had time for¡ª Fantina recalled her Lampent, using herst switch of the battle. She released her Doude again, and I held my breath. She might have thought that angel would have ousted her ghost. And honestly, she might have been correct. I squinted at Doude, anticipating the worst¡­ "Aerial Ace," she ordered. I exhaled, releasing all of the tension I felt. No more Swords Dance. This was still okay. The two swords left their scabbards and began flying toward Tangrowth, and streaks of air formed at their tips. Angel was still burning, and the mes were chewing through his vines, he had been burned by Will-O-Wisp, but he could still fight. "Bind one, and Knock Off the other!" I yelled. The advantage of Aerial Ace was that the move seldom missed. It couldn''t be deflected unless the power disparity was immense, and the move''s user would almost always reach its target. The disadvantage was that the move was not flexible. It was hriously telegraphed, and Tangrowth could use it to his advantage. The first Doude just cut through the three vines Tangrowth sent to Bind it, so he decided to tie as many vines as he could into a huge braid. The Doude bounced against the tied-up vines, and Tangrowth quickly unwound them and wrapped them around the steel type. He had been too slow to stop the other sword, however, and it buried itself deep inside of the grass type''s body. Now that the first sword was restrained, Tangrowth pped the second one away with his hand wrapped with Knock Off, and then smashed the first one all over the floor. I grinned when the first sword fainted, going limp on the ground, but my smile slipped when I remembered what move wasing next. "Tangrowth Ancient Power in front of you!" "Retaliate." Retaliate was Doude''s gimmick, and it would deal a lot more damage when one of the swords had fainted. Thest remaining sword''s eyes shed with anger, and he blurred toward Tangrowth, who raised a barrier in front of him. Doude tore through Ancient Power and then prated through the grass type''s entire body before falling onto the floor and fainting. "Doude is unable to battle. Leader Fantina, send out yourst Pokemon." Tangrowth was on the verge of fainting, but I sent him an apologetic look, and he responded with two slow blinks. Princess could deal with Lampent, but I would rather give her as much help as possible. Fantina released her Lampent and immediately ordered it to use Fire Spin. Burning Jealousy could only be used at close range, and Fire Spin was the second best fire type attack it owned. Still, at this stage, a simple Fire Spin could take angel down. "Ancient Power," I said. The grass type sluggishly raised another rock, sent it toward Lampent, and the ghost type easily dodged. Yeah, I figured. The mes finished Tangrowth off. "Tangrowth is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your fourth Pokemon." Well, in my case, this was myst. I sent out princess, who announced her presence with a cheerful chirp. A heavy contrast to the horrible sounds that ghost types usually let out of their mouths. "Start off with Wish," I ordered, just in case. Togetic tightly shut her eyes, and a bright light escaped from her body and flew through the gym''s roof. "Disappear and Shadow Ball," Fantina said. Ghost type attacks couldn''t be redirected by Psychic or Extrasensory, so I''d probably have to take that hit. "Fairy Wind, keep it constant," I continued. Even though he was invisible, Lampent would still get hurt. The ghost type appeared behind Togetic with a Shadow Ball already loaded, and hit her in the back. Her head whirled almost one hundred and eighty degrees, and she ignored the pain with a cute grin. Her eyes shone brightly, locking Lampent in ce. That''s my girl, I grinned as I felt pride swell up in my chest. "Psychic!" Princessughed, and then smashed Lampent against the floor with such speeds that I barely saw him move. The control was stillcking, but the power was there, and power was what we needed to win. "Will-O-Wisp," Fantinamanded. "Ancient Power, drills!" A drill lodged itself inside of Lampent''smplight, interrupting his attack, and Togetic continued her onught, grabbing the ghost type and sending him flying against Kadabra''s barrier. The light inside of Lampent flickered as its eyes became fainter and fainter. He was on the other side of the arena now. That was how powerful Psychic could be against unprepared opponents. "Ancient Power," I said again. I saw Fantina raise an eyebrow, and I smiled. Yes, from this far. Ten drills emerged already formed from the ground and flew toward Lampent, who was barely cognizant enough to even float. The first two tore through both of its arm-like appendages, pinning him to the floor, and thest eight stabbed him right in the head with surgical precision. Its me went out, and its yellow eyes paled. "Lampent is unable to battle. Victory goes to the challenger." I recalled princess after congratting her and shivered in excitement as the spectators let loose a thunderous apuse. It was like everything just clicked during the battle in a way I had never felt before. An impressive victory was what I had needed, and an impressive victory was what I got. Four against five.
Chapter 133 Chapter 133 CHAPTER 133 Arceus, I was tired. My entire body felt sluggish as I trudged toward Fantina to receive my money and my TM. I felt cold, and my sweaty clothes clung to my body. I knew this was a weakness of mine, but if I was this tired after one tough battle, things didn''t bode well for the Sceon tournament. Or maybe it wouldn''t matter. The part that tired me out the most was making sure things went ording to n, so maybe improvising would help? Either way, I''d have to fight some battles back to back there, and I''d need to figure out a way to improve my stamina. Maybe Denzel could help. I didn''t know how he did it, but that boy could work for an entire day straight. I stared up at Fantina, making sure not to make a weird face due to her strange haircut. She extended her hand, and I gave her my Pokedex and trainer ID. "Congrattions, challenger. You are now the owner of the Relic badge and the Shadow Ball TM. I''ve also transferred twenty-thousand Pokedors to your ount." "Thanks," I exhaled. Togetic could learn that move, and it''d be good for coverage. "And thank you for the fun battle." My friends were no doubt waiting for me in the lobby, so I turned away to leave, but Fantina called out to me again. "Your Electabuzz. It can sense ghosts, can''t it?" She asked. "Yes, he can," I nodded. Of course, she''d figure it out. "Is that important? I mean, I know it was crucial to my win, but I don''t even know why he has that ability." The gym leader''s eyes widened slightly. "You¡­ do not know?" "What?" I said, feeling dread fill my heart. "Is it bad? Is it like a disease or something?!" "No, no," she immediately said, alleviating my worries. "Look, why don''t youe see me tomorrow night, and I will tell you about it, my dear," she smiled. My dear? Now that the battle was over, Fantina appeared to be a far warmer individual than I would have thought, especially for a ghost type specialist. The image of her cold, expressionless face had been ingrained in my mind from all the footage of her I''d watched, so seeing her smile genuinely took me by surprise. "T¡ªtomorrow night? Uh, yeah, I''ll be there. What time?" "Right after closing time, so seven in the evening." "Got it," I nodded. "Thank you!" It wasn''t every day that a trainer of my caliber got to speak to a gym leader. Roark and Candice were already more than I thought I would have ever gotten, but now Fantina too? And she was helping me with Electabuzz? Until this point, I had almost given up on figuring out what made him special. I thought that maybe it could have been a random gene, or that he was just more sensitive to minute changes in temperature, but apparently, there was more to it than met the eye. Either way, I''d find out about it tomorrow. "Grace! Your battle was amazing!" Cecilia called out. My friends swarmed me,plimenting me about the battle. "That Sandstorm from Palossand was crazy powerful," Denzel said. "I kind of wish I saw what went on during that fight." "Well, it did end in a draw," Justin said. "But that might as well be a win against such an opponent." "Excuse me, Justin," Pauline shook her head. "It was a win. Grace just chose to recall her Jellicent." "That''s literally what I just said¡­" "To be honest, I would have rather fought Pallosand than that Dhelmise¡­" I started. We kept talking as we slowly made our way out of the lobby. I caught a glimpse of a raven-haired girl that quickly walked out of the gym. That must have been Lauren. I had messaged her about the time our battles would take ce, but she hadn''t answered me and left me on read, so I thought that she might have changed her mind. Dad had been waiting for me outside of the gym and embarrassed me by celebrating way too loudly, and he kept bragging to passersby that I was his daughter. We quickly left so I could hand my Pokemon to a Center, and dad somehow managed to pack all of us in his rental SUV. Electabuzz and Tangrowth had gone through the wringer, and it''d probably take multiple days for them to recover. Togetic and Jellicent could stick around, since the former had only gotten hit once, and a potion would be enough, and thetter would heal on his own. I gave my Pokemon to Nurse Joy, and we were all about to head to Pauline''s room to have one of Emilia''s spontaneous parties when my phone rang. I frowned until I noticed that Melody¡ª my sponsorship liaison¡ª was calling me. Right, in the heat of the moment, I had forgotten that they were supposed to push this whole thing out today. I told the group I''d join themter and quickly entered my room. "Ms. Pastel," Melody said on the phone. "I want to congratte you on your decisive victory against Fantina. Thepany is very pleased with your performance." "Thanks," I said with a tired sigh. Maybe I''d sleep instead of going to that party. "Feel free to call me Grace. I mean, I''m the kid here, it feels weird if you call me by myst name and I still call you Melody." "Very well, Grace," she said. "Now, as you know, we''re going to start heavily promoting you today. Do you have yourpany-issuedptop with you?" "Yep, yep," I exhaled. "Uh, what do you want me to check?" "Your emails. Your pictures from the photoshoot came out wonderfully." I turned on myputer and opened up my email messages. The Poketch Company had sent me the pictures as soon as my battle with Fantina concluded. I wondered what would have happened if I had lost. Maybe they would have waited a few weeks, or for my next gym battle instead. I opened up the pictures, and my eyes widened in surprise at how good I looked. I was literally model-worthy, even with the damn burns. "Did you alter these?" I asked. "A bit," Melody said. "But don''t sell yourself short. Good lighting will go a long way to bring out a person''s best qualities, and you do look great without it already. Are you alright with us putting these on our website? We have a ''Trainers We Work With'' page that we want to put you on today." "Yeah, just a sec," I said before looking up the Poketch Company''s website. In retrospect, I probably should have checked this out before signing, but what was done was done. On top of the page, there was a picture of Craig, and then a long list of trainers they were currently sponsoring¡ª although their pictures were smaller than his¡ª along with their ages. I recognized a few names on there. They were almost all famous trainers that had made it to the Conference multiple times. "Eighteen, twenty, twenty-two, neen¡­" I muttered. "So I''m really going to be the only first year on there? Did any of these people startte?" "No. And we did tell you that," she said. "Yeah, I know, it just feels strange," I continued, clicking on one of the trainer''s image. His name was Ramon Casaus. He''d made it to the Conference for the first timest year. The picture aggrandized, and there were multiple short videos of a few of his battles that automatically yed, along with a short summary of his life. How he''d been raised in Sunyshore, started his journey with a street Rattata that everyone looked down on, but kept persevering. Today, he arguably had the most powerful Raticate in Sinnoh. "What''re you gonna write for me? I don''t exactly make for a good rags-to-riches story," I chuckled. "No, but there is the story of how you went through Mount Cor and lived, which we really want to sell. Other than that, we want to entuate your middle-ss, girl-next-door vibe. People go crazy for that." On one hand, having Melody talk about me like I was a product was a little annoying. On the other, I was kind of happy she was just being honest with me. It was weirdly respectable. "I''m guessing that you''re hoping that I''ll eventually grow out of my shell," I said as I kept browsing through the website. "I mean, yes, but we certainly won''t force you to do so." "Eh, I guess I''ll just try my best. You can post the pictures." "I will ry the message to thepany immediately," Melody said. "One thing I forgot to mention was that we''ll be mentioning your father in your blurb." I frowned. "Did he consent to that?" "He did. Arthur''s been with us for decades, he understands." "Won''t people say it''s¡­ like, nepotism? I mean, I know that my dad had nothing to do with you working with me, but if I''m the first first-year you''ve sponsored, and my dad''s working for the Poketch Company¡­ people will talk, won''t they?" "They will, but we opted to be honest instead of hiding. The information''s already out there, and it''d be very easy to figure out. Honesty goes a long way. By showing that we have nothing to hide, people will specte less. Just don''t engage with any kind of arguments, either online or in person." "Yeah, I wasn''t about to," I said. "I did have a few questions, though." "Is it urgent? We''re just about tounch your marketing campaign." "Oh, it doesn''t have anything to do with that. I was wondering¡­ there''s a tournament I was going to sign up for when I got to Sceon." "Okay, your campaign''s live. Refresh the page, and you''ll see yourself," Melody said. "And I did hear about that tournament, just a second¡­" I heard Melody start to type, and I refreshed their website. Sure enough, there I was. I did notice that they ced me right under Craig instead of on the bottom like they would have if they weren''t giving me special treatment. A lot of trainers on this list would probably be pissed off the next time they looked. Under my picture, there was my story. They talked about how I was raised by a single father in Jubilife, and that he struggled to care for both of us. They had embellished this a whole lot. Dad worked good hours unless there was a new producting out soon, and we never struggled with money. Although struggle could mean working hard, which in this case was true. I skipped ahead until Mount Cor, and I was surprised to see how urate they were about the whole experience. "How''d you get everything down to thest detail?" I asked. "We spent days watching Mr. Williams'' interviews and corroborated the data," she said nonchntly. "Regarding your tournament, I found it. It seems rtively high profile¡­ a minimum of three badges and a maximum of five badges for entry, so it''s self-contained rather well. There won''t be a skill disparity toorge, which means more viewers from the get-go, since the matches will be more entertaining. What''d you want to know about it?" "You told me about a cash bonus," I started. "Could you rece that with an item? Like, TMs or something." "You want something specific," she guessed. "A Shiny Stone¡ª" "No, too expensive. We can negotiate on less expensive items, but a Shiny Stone is a no-go for now." I internally cursed. I thought that maybe with my battle against Fantina, and if I proved myself again by doing well in the Sceon tournament, then they''d be willing to give me the stone. I was asking for a lot here, but I figured, why not. "If I can''t get a stone, I''ll stick to money," I said. "Can I get a range of how much it is I''ll get, by the way? It''ll help me a ton with budgeting." "Sure," Melody said. "Let me shoot a message to the higher-ups. They should answer shortly." I heard her type again. "You''re a fast typer," I noticed. "Hm? Oh, I mean, it''s basically what I do all day," she chuckled. "I''m always answering or sending emails to different branches so that we can coordinate with our trainer outreach and sponsorship programs. It''s actually my first time being a liaison, though, so this is rather new for me too." "Looking forward to working with you then, Melody," I smiled. "Likewise." In the end, the specific bonus I''d get for the Sceon tournament was 105,000 Pokedors for first ce, and it slowly descended from there until I was out of the top ten. Obviously, I''d aim for first, but I knew that it''d be hard since trainers with five badges would be there. Hard, but not impossible. I had juste out of a battle, and I was excited for more. After a quick shower that I hoped would have woken me up, I tiredly stood up and made my way to Pauline''s room. "I told you she''de," Emilia said. "Your money. Hand it over." "And don''t forget me," Justin said. Pauline groaned as she digitally handed both five thousand Pokedors. "Hiya," I waved. "Wait, were you betting on if I was going toe?" "Showering," Cecilia said. "And yes, they were. Pauline was convinced that you''d fall asleep on your bed after your call." Well, it wasn''t like the thought hadn''t crossed my mind. Sleeping after a warm shower¡­ "Yeah, that does sound like me," I chuckled. "So now that we''ve all got our badge, we should probably think about leaving soon, huh?" Emilia''s expression soured. "Yeah," she just said. "We should probably wait for Denzel to talk about that." "I''d like to meet with Louis first. Maybe we can travel together again¡­" Cecilia trailed off, creating a few seconds of silence. "Oh!" I sprung up, trying to change the subject. "On another note, Fantina asked me to meet her tomorrow night¡ª" "What?" Denzel said as he burst into the room. "How''d you even get in here?" Cecilia asked. "Duplicate key," he grinned, showing us his keycard. "What''s this meeting about?" "Remember how Electabuzz can sense ghosts? She apparently has the answer to that." "A ghost type specialist would know more about that than anyone else," Justin nodded. "Anyway, we were talking about making ns to leave?" I said again. "We''ve got to be sort of quick if we want to make it to Sceon before the tournament starts." "I mean, there isn''t much to say," Denzel shrugged. "Route 209''s rtively long, but it''s super easy. The only dangerous thing there''s the Lost Tower. If any of you want to catch any water types, you can also fish in the river." "A Gyarados would be cool," Pauline hummed. "But it''s so much effort. You''ve been carrying that Feebas of yours for months, and Magikarp takes longer. I wouldn''t even have one by the Conference, I bet." "Well, if you want it, you''ve got to work for it," he said. "But it is true that it''s unlikely you''d have one by the Conference if you caught one now." "I''ll figure something out," she grumbled. "Maybe wait until I''ve got eight badges to get it as a seventh Pokemon." "You only have three, isn''t it too early to worry about seven?" I teased. "Ugh, shut up. I''ll catch another soon." "I do want to stop by the Lost Tower¡­" Cecilia hesitantly said. Denzel stared at her like she was spouting nonsense. "Okay, you know what, scrap everything I said about there not being anything to say. You are insane." "I want to catch something there, and it''s easily found on the bottom floor," she quickly added. "We can handle those." "Don''t do anything crazy, guys¡­" Emilia sighed. "The bottom floors¡­ yeah, that should be fine, I guess," Denzel said. "Why is it that only Grace and Cece want the crazy ass Pokemon that require risking their lives. Ugh, I don''t want to fight wild ghosts again." "Don''t be a wimp," I teased. Cecilia face grew serious. "I''m serious. I want a Golett, but if we don''t find it on the first floor, then we can leave. I''ve read up on the tower, and the first floor is only slightly more dangerous than the route as a whole, and it''s the main way trainers can catch ghost types in the region. There are even people that walk there from Sceon to maintain it every day, and most of them don''t have Pokemon." "I remember hearing about that," Denzel nodded. "Most people don''t bother with true ghosts though, because they''re impossibly hard to raise." "I mean, I''d be willing to help you if you really want Golett," I said. "We can at least go to the second floor¡ª" "Grace, no," she denied, shaking her head. "Let''s all stay safe, okay?" "Arceus, alright." I had told dad I''d stay safe anyway, so it was probably better that way. I''d feel terrible if Cecilia didn''t find her Golett, though. I found how lifeless it had been against Pauline to be creepy, but the Pokemon certainly fit her. Plus, maybe she''d be able to breathe life into it. They couldn''t all be like robots. "Okay, the Lost Tower''s at the halfway point of the route, and other than that, it should be smooth sailing. The whole route as a whole is t and easy to traverse too. You could even ride a bike or a car across it." "How many days?" Justin asked. "Four to five days. Like I said, quick." "That was anticlimactic," I joked. "I mean, there''s a reason trainers from western Sinnoh sometimesin about people from the east having it easy," Denzel shrugged. "If you''re from the east, all the routes other than that swampy hellhole on route 212 and the foggy, mountainous route 210¡ª of which 212 is optional¡ª are easy, and you''ve got ess to four gym badges." "Meanwhile, if you''re from the west, you only have ess to three, and then you''ll have to go through Eterna Forest if you want to get all of them," Justin nodded. "And the travel time is insanely long," I added. "Well, they can always take a ne to Sunyshore before the Circuit starts or something. I heard that Volkner was the second gym leader who was challenged first the most behind Roark." "I''d like to see a list of those statistics," Justin mused. "It seems like it''d be interesting." "They release ''em after each year," Denzel said. "I used to look at them a bunch." "Wait, they do?" I asked, grabbing my phone. "Where?" "Official League website, where else?" heughed. Well, there were a few cool nuggets of information on there. Candice and Byron were most often challenged seventh orst. Candice, I had expected, but Byron was a surprise. And thinking about it, with the route we were currently taking, he''d be the one Denzel, Cece and I would challengest too. Meanwhile, Roark and Volkner were almost always early, and they were generally considered the most beginner-friendly gyms. The rest of them were usually in the middle. If we kept progressing as quickly as we were, though, the order wouldn''t exactly matter, since we''d be fighting against gym leaders'' personal teams or close to it for the eighth badge and the entirety of the next Circuit¡ª even though they''d probably still have to hold back to some extent. Unless I became the Champion this year, of course! I was getting a lot more confidenttely. I''d have to watch out, or I''d get a big head. Sort of like Chase. Speaking of Chase. "Should we call Chase?" I asked, looking at my friends. "You guys haven''t even met properly yet¡ª" "I tried, dude," Denzel said. "He said no." "Aw. Doesn''t he feel lonely?" I pouted. "One way or another, I''m getting you guys in the same room before we all leave!" "You don''t have to do that¡­" Emilia said, hiding a grimace. I ended up spending another three hours at the party before I left. Well, at this point, these were less like parties and more like normal gatherings, but Emilia liked calling them parties anyway. I released Jellicent, who was still in his withered, wrinkled form, and I had princess use Wish on him so that he''d recover quicker. Then, I also sprayed her back with a potion. After that, I decided, against my own judgment, to look at the forums to see what people were saying about me. Needless to say, I was blowing up. No, really blowing up. I thought I had been famous before, but this was on another level, and my megathread had far surpassed all of my friends. Not only had I handily won against Fantina, but I was getting sponsored by the Poketch Company, who had leaked that I owned Turtonator, which up until now had just been a rumor. There was also our double battle that had made the rounds a few days earlier. The forums were in an uproar. Most of the reactions were supportive, but as always, there was the asional hater. So her dad works at the Poketch Company, and all of the sudden, she gets a sponsor? People always say that being a trainer is about skill, but this seems like some coordinator bullshit to me. She knows Craig Goodwill, doesn''t she? He flew her back to Eterna on his Smence, so maybe there''s something there. They only hired her because she''s gay, not because she deserves it. Companies these days are woke as hell. I''m boycotting the Poketch Company and moving to Retani Industries! "Well have fun with your shitty Retani phone, asshole," I angrily said. "Damn it, now my evening''s ruined." It was funny, how the inte could turn on you¡ª No, I couldn''t think like that. The inte hadn''t turned on me, my brain was just focusing on the negative. To see thesements, I had to scroll through hundreds of supportivements that I just zed over and ignored. Why did my mind work like that? I ended up blocking thest user. At least the first two weren''t obnoxiously bigoted, and it was partly because of Craig that I''d gotten the sponsorship, so theirment hadn''t been unfounded. I wondered when Melody would message me again to guide me through my first online promotion. Probably before I left. ¡ª It was the evening of the next day, and I had patiently waited until seven to show up at the gym. Denzel had been acting weird today, and he vanished during the afternoon, which probably meant he''d been doing something rted to Louis again. I walked into the lobby and raised an eyebrow when I saw a pink-haired girl waiting on one of the chairs. What was she doing here after closing time? Did she have something to talk to Fantina about too? Had the gym leader double-booked? There was no gym trainer to be seen at the reception, so I simply sat away from her and fiddled with Togetic''s Pokeball in the meantime. "Hi. This seat taken?" The girl said. I almost jumped. She had gotten here so quietly. Upon closer inspection, she looked extremely young. Too young to be a trainer, but there were almost never exceptions, so she must have been fifteen either way. "I''ll sit anyway," she said, plopping herself down next to me. "Watcha doin''? I didn''t expect another trainer to be here after closing." "I had to talk to Fantina about something regarding one of my Pokemon," I exined. "Oh, word?" She said. "Me too! I guess she double-booked." I let out a slight chuckle. "Well, I don''t think it''llst too much time, so it should be fine. What''s your name?" "Mira Compton! Just Mira''s fine, though." "Nice to meet you. My name''s¡ª" "Grace, I already know. You''ve been all over the news today, and it''s not your first time." "Right, that makes sense," I nodded. "I was there to see your battle against Fantina with my two friends. You were really good! I had my own battle today, actually, and there was a bit of an ident. I wanted to impress Fantina, but I ended up making her angry. I guess I got what I wanted though, which was her attention." "An ident?" I asked. "Yeah, my Haunter killed hers," she said nonchntly. "Now she won''t be able to use it for weeks, and she''ll have to have a gym trainer posted up there in case ites back early. Ghosts tend to be angry after they die." My mind swam. First of all, this girl fought Haunter, which meant that she probably had four badges just like I did. Second of all, she owned one. They were so rare outside of the top floors of the Lost Tower and so difficult to train that most trainers didn''t bother. But she just dropped that like it was nothing. "Scared ya?" Mira asked with a childlike smile. "No, just surprised, that''s all," I said. "My reason for being here''s a lot more mundane than yours. You''re lucky that this happened against a ghost type specialist and not anyone else, though, or you potentially could have been disqualified and have your Haunter taken away." "I know, right?" She said yfully. "I mean, Haunter''s been so out of controltely that I don''t think I''ll even be able to use him against other gym leaders at this rate. That''s why I need Fantina''s help. She''s the best at raising ghosts in the region. If she can''t help me, nobody can." I narrowed my eyes at her and held back a hum. She was simr to Candice in a lot of ways, but also fundamentally different. When Candice was happy, you could feel it radiate through the room, and the feeling would spread to you in turn. I couldn''t feel any of that from Mira. She was hiding behind a fake veneer of cheerfulness, but we all had our skeletons in our closets. I wasn''t about to ask personal questions to a girl I barely met. "Mira Compton and Grace Pastel?" A gym trainer asked. We nodded, but he asked to see our trainer IDs just to be sure. He then led us to Fantina''s office. It felt odd, to see her with her hair down and wearing normal clothes instead of that extravagant, sparkly dress. "Ah, you are both here. Take a seat, my dears," Fantina said with a warm smile.
Interlude – Fantina Interlude ¨C Fantina INTERLUDE - FANTINA Two children currently sat in Fantina''s office. Fantina stared at them both for a few seconds. There was a lot of passion behind those eyes. A drive to improve in Pokemon battling. A drive she had once had, but no longer felt no matter how much she tried to rekindle it. Their drives both felt distinctly different, however. Like fire and ice. Warmth and coldness. Grace Pastel and Mira Compton. "Apologies for the impromptu meeting," Fantina said. "I have a contest g to get to in an hour, so we''ll make this quick." "An hour?" Grace said. "Uh, should we maybe reschedule? That doesn''t sound like enough time to¡ª" "Shhhh!" Mira hissed. "I''m not leaving until I get my answers. I''ve been looking forward to this for months." "I will make it, do not worry," Fantina said. "I suppose we can start with Grace Pastel, then, since I asked her toe here first." The blond girl timidly nodded. "I assume you do not have your Electabuzz with you?" "No, he''s still at the Center," she answered with a slight wince. "Your Doude did quite a number on him. Do we need him here?" "Not exactly," Fantina shrugged. "But it would have been easier to ask him questions. Was your Electabuzz owned by someone previously?" She asked. Grace frowned. "No. I don''t think so, at least. I found him hanging around the power nt at Valley Windworks. He was friendly, but I just attributed that to the fact that he was used to humans, since they usually travel between Floaroma and the nt to go to work." "A sound assumption," the gym leader nodded. "Still, you ought to ask him, but it does not derail the point I wanted to make. How old is he, then?" "I don''t¡­ know? I''d say a few years old at most, he''s clearly still a kid." "Alright, let me exin what I believe happened. When a Pokemon is young¡ª and I mean young, a few weeks old at most, they tend to learn a lot of things very quickly." Grace hummed, and she seemingly thought of something. "Yeah, I have a young baby Pokemon with me that learned a lot of moves really fast." "You have a baby? D''aww, how cute!" Mira squealed. "You see this phenomenon in human children as well. They are knowledge sponges, especially during their first years. s, most Pokemon grow up a lot quicker than that. Still, I believe that when your Electabuzz was a newborn, it must have been in constant contact with a ghost for him to learn what they feel like. A process that can only be learned early in a Pokemon''s life, unless they are a ghost themselves. Of course, once it is learned, it can be worked on and improved regardless of age." Fantina watched as Grace silently digested the words she had just spoken. "Either way, the ability is not always guaranteed. Your Electabuzz would have had to be quite close to this ghost, and it would have had to be quite powerful. It also could not have been a one-off experience. For him to be as good as he is, he would have had to quite literally be with this ghost for his entire infancy." "He''s¡­ he''s never told me anything about it. Never even hinted at it." "Maybe it is a memory he does not wish to revisit, or he is keeping it a secret until he is ready," Fantina said. "Or maybe he simply does not think that it would matter to you." She muttered something, and her eyes widened. "I''ve¡­ I''ve got to go," she hurriedly said before bowing. "Thank you for your time!" "Oh, nonsense, my dear. I was quite interested in your Electabuzz. He''s only one of the few Pokemon I''ve seen that is capable of sensing ghosts that well." "Thank you again! Have fun with your contest g thing!" She said as she ran out of the office. Well, what an interesting night this had turned out to be, and she was only halfway done. For this girl''s Electabuzz to be this good at sensing ghosts, he would have had to be¡­ raised by one from birth, Fantina reckoned. An odd thing to think about, but not impossible. Pokemon were known to adopt children from different species, even in the wild. Ghosts were hateful, but they were not all a monolith. They were capable of love, too. "Now, you," Fantina sighed. Mira Compton''s ghost had ruthlessly killed her Haunter in their battle, and it had to be disqualified during the fight. Still, she won rather handily. Fantina hoped that she would be there to calm him down whenever he reappeared. "That Haunter of yours. I assume he has been getting worse? You did not expect it to kill mine. I could tell from your face during the battle." "Well, duh. It''s not like I''m on the verge of breaking down because of how impossible he is, or anything," she said,ughing nervously. Fantina stared at the young girl with pity. Ghosts were Pokemon with an untold amount of potential, but they were also incredibly hard to train. Doing so had brought the gym leader close to multiple mental breakdowns in her youth, and it pained her to see another trainer so close to one of her own. "Tell me about your Haunter," Fantina said. "He just hates everything that lives," Mira said. "Wild Pokemon, trained Pokemon, humans¡­ he just wants to torment and kill all of them. I¡­ I don''t know how to fix him. It''s been getting harder and harder to justify getting him out of his Pokeball. I''m at the end of my rope." She was sobbing now. Fantina opened one of her drawers and handed her a box of tissues. "I understand that you are in pain, but that is not what I meant, dear. What is your Haunter like? Is there any particr food he enjoys? Most people do not know this, but even true ghosts are capable of ingesting and tasting things. Does he like tozily float in the wind? Soak in the sunlight, that can provide them the only warmth they will ever feel? Does he enjoy speaking with the other members of your team, perhaps? What kind of music does he like?" Mira sniffled and blew her nose. "I don''t¡­ I don''t know? Arceus, I''m some." "Therein lies the problem. Your Haunter doesn''t try to kill you, does he?" She shook her head. "Then why not spend more time with him? There is this stereotype where ghosts are supposedly incapable of love, and that they are just bloodthirsty monsters that would do anything to kill, but it is far from the truth," Fantina continued. "They are Pokemon. They are capable of love, of warmth, and of friendship. You simply have to work harder to get them there." "But I''m¡ª what if he sees another trainer or something. I''m traveling with two people, and he doesn''t even know. I haven''t told him yet." "How can you expect your Haunter to be civilized if all you use him for is gym battles?" Fantina asked. "There will always be a risk, but you have your other Pokemon, don''t you? If all else fails and you can''t get your Haunter back to his Pokeball, they will be there to stop him. You are a good trainer, Mira. Your victory against me today was extremely impressive, despite the hup. You should trust your team more. Plus, it should be a good bonding exercise." "My team hates him, though¡­" she grumbled. "My Kadabra, especially. My Magnezone wants to fry him every time he''s out, too." "Well, you will have to work something out on that front. You know your team better than I could ever hope to. Every Pokemon is different, including ghosts, but you should try to treat him as you would any other. If you had, let us say, an aggressive Furret, would you keep it permanently restrained to its Pokeball, or would you try tomunicate?" "Communicate." "Exactly, my dear. Now, I will not mislead you and say this process will be an easy one, but all certainly is not lost like you appear to think." Mira crumpled her tissue and smiled. "Hey, I just got a really dumb idea just now. Can I tell you?" Fantina raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I will entertain you." "Do you think Haunter would like to y catch?" "Oh, what a wonderful idea!" Fantinaughed. "See? This is what I was talking about! y games with your Pokemon! Teach Haunter that there is more to life than just killing! And who knows, maybe one day, he''ll be your most affectionate Pokemon." "Thank you, miss," Mira firmly said. "I needed that. By the way, one more question. If I ever seed at fixing my Haunter''s behavior, how would I go about¡­ evolving him?" Fantina stoppedughing, and her expression grew serious. Her next statement almost came out like clockwork. "You are not ready." ¡ª Fantina walked out of her gym and stepped into her car. Some gym leaders enjoyed being driven around by gym trainers, but she had always liked her independence. There had been such passion behind those two girls. Passion was not always positive. It could make someone jubnt, but it could also drop you into the deepest pit of despair. "Passion¡­" she sighed as she drove out of the parking lot. "I used to have it, once." Growing up in post-war Kalos had been difficult for Fantina. Her father had died in the war¡ª not because he''d been abatant, but because he was caught in the middle of some kind of infiltration mission gone wrong, or at least that''s what her mother had told her growing up. That entire generation¡ª the ones who lived and fought through the war¡ª had been so deeply affected that they were all broken in some way. For Fantina''s mother, that was simply a fear of Pokemon so deep that she rarely went outside until her death. Her uncle moved in soon after and took care of them with construction jobs that were dearly needed after the war. Fantina had a pleasant childhood, all things considered. As pleasant as one of her generation could have had. Despite being a shut-in, her mother loved her dearly and cared for her, while her uncle became a fatherly figure she had desperately needed. She had been terribly lonely, however. She struggled to make any friends due to her entric behavior¡ª Fantina mmed her foot on the break and honked. "Putain, met ton clignotant!" She swore. "Merde!" Arceus, she loved Hearthome, but the drivers could leave a lot to be desired. She felt the bottom of her car rattle. "It''s nothing, just the drivers," she sighed exasperatedly. One day, when walking through the streets of Lumiose city, Fantina almost died. There had been rumors of children dying in the post-war shanty towns to the south of the city, and as foolish as she had been, she decided to go and check in the middle of the night. She wasn''t ashamed to say that she soiled herself when she came across a Gastly in the middle of licking a pale, unconscious teenager. Fantina still remembered it like it was yesterday. She immediately ran home and never told anyone about it. She had only been eight, so getting berated by her uncle if she admitted what she had seen seemed like a terrible trade-off. "The morality of children can be awful like that," Fantina chuckled. "But it was thatpse in judgment that allowed my future to take ce." A monthter, the rumors stopped, and Gastly was found and driven out of that section of the city. The news said that he''d killed seven people in total¡ª six children and one adult, and yet, as a young girl, she couldn''t help but be morbidly intrigued by the ghost. Fantina had felt a pull, begging her to go back and check on him. It took her another six months to find the Gastly again, and Fantina recognized him instantly due to a particr nt he had in his noxious eyes. With her whole body shivering like a leaf, the first thing she asked of this serial killer ghost was if he wanted to be her friend. "You were taken aback, weren''t you?" The old woman chuckled. She''d always been strange like that. "And yet, here we are now, almost sixty yearster." Of course, it had taken her months for her to actually befriend Gastly. She used to sneak out of her house at night to bring him leftovers or snacks, which the ghost loved, but he still always haunted her on the way home, appearing in the corner of her vision and scaring her enough to make her fall over multiple times. Fantina hadn''t cared. She''d vent all about her problems while walking home, and he would listen in silence, asionally popping in to terrify her when he got bored. They did eventually be friends, though, and he stopped his killings. Sometimes, he''d even go to her house and listen to her worries until she fell asleep. Luckily, her mother never found out, or she would have had a heart attack right then and there. Fantina parked her car in her driveway and made her way toward herrge home. It''d been gifted to her by a judge high-up in the Contest Committee when she had been supposed to retire out of bing a gym leader. s, Cynthia convinced her otherwise, and Fantina was a woman of her word. Four more years. Well, more like three and a half, now. "Wait for me," she said as she opened the door. Fantina stared at the antique wooden clock in her entryway. She had forty minutes to get to her contest, which was ample time to get ready. After all, she wore the same stylish haircut, a simr amount of makeup, and simr dresses every day for work, so doing this had be a routine. Which meant that she could continue reminiscing about her early days. When Fantina turned fifteen, she asked Gastly to join her team. The ghost epted immediately. They had practically been inseparable at this point, after knowing each other for years. She''d wanted to be a Pokemon trainer for as long as she could remember, as many children did. Oh, now she knew that a part of it was heavily crammed into the brains of children in case another war ever broke out and Kalos needed another fresh batch of trainers¡ª especially when they had lost so many during the Great War. The government had wanted the new generation to pick up the ck. Maybe Fantina just got swept up in the excitement, but she couldn''t deny that for more than a decade, she truly lived for Pokemon battling. She spent her entire early career in Kalos, going through their own version of the Circuit many times, gathering as many ghosts as she could in the process. She had built herself quite a negative reputation because of it. When she turned twenty-three, however, she decided that she wanted something new. Things had begun to grow boring, and she figured that a fresh journey in a new region might do the trick. Fantina had been correct. Not only was her love for battling rekindled once more, but she fell in love with Sinnoh as a whole, but especially Hearthome. It reminded her of Lumiose city in a way that nothing else could. Of course, these days, Lumiose had beenpletely modernized from the top down. Eventually, she grew to enjoy staying in Sinnoh more than Kalos. Not only that, but the gym in Hearthome was run by a ghost type specialist, just like her! She went through the Circuit in Sinnoh twice, but it was custom to retire or start working whenever a trainer turned twenty-five. What else to do but be a gym trainer for the Hearthome gym? At this point, she still owned a Haunter. The secrets of evolving one into Gengar were still locked away from her and only known to a few key people. Sylvestia, her mentor and the previous gym leader of the Hearthome gym, had owned three. Fantina worked hard, and soon enough, she took her under her wing and designated her as her sessor. She had begged Sylvestia for years to tell her the secrets to evolving Haunter, but every time, she said no. She told her that she was not ready. Fantina had hated that answer in her young age, and yet today, it was her saying the same thing. Hypocritical, wasn''t it? "You followed me?" Fantina said, ncing at the floor as she silently put on her purple heels. "I told you to wait for me, did I not?" The gym leader smiled and got into her car once more. The contest g she was going to was in preparation for the next Grand Contest next week. When Fantina had been younger, she probably would have despised this kind of event, but now? She enjoyed herself very much. "Things change, and yet you stay the same, don''t you all?" She said as she started her car. When Fantina turned twenty-eight, Sylvestia announced her retirement. No one protested her ascension to the position of gym leader, and she did feel happy. Still, at the back of Fantina''s mind, doubt had already begun to creep in. Already at this point, she hadn''t enjoyed battling as much as she used to, and they had once again grown boring. She had discovered Pokemon contests a few months earlier, and she''d been participating in them in her free time. But Sylvestia had spent years training her, investing money, time, and resources into her. It would have been rude of her to refuse now when she could have said something years ago. She respected her and the gym too much for that. Fantina was still training her own sessor, and she wasn''t even sure she''d be ready by the time she retired. She knew now that she should have refused. Battles¡ª whether they were close or a sweep¡ª were dull. Running the city, she did not mind much, especially since N stayed on top of most issues, and she was an excellent mayor. Oh, she had considered turning her battles into mini-performances, but at the end of the day, battles were still battles. The goal was to pummel enemies until they were unconscious, and turning the whole ordeal into a performance just meant that she was wasting trainers'' time and running out the clock to put on a show. A single year was already barely enough to trek through Sinnoh without a flier. "You are ready, now," Sylvestia had told her the day before her ascension to the role. The words had sent shivers down her spine. Ready had not meant that she was ready to wield the immense power a Gengar could have. It had meant that she''d been ready to hold that knowledge. It was so tightly held to prevent it from leaking to the public that Sylvestia had waited all those years to tell her. "You see, Fantina, if a Haunter wishes to evolve, it must haunt a human to their breaking point. Torment them until they die, but not do the killing themselves." "But¡­ you own three Gengar," Fantina had said, her face paling. "And what do you mean until they die? You do not mean¡­ suici¡­" She hadn''t found the strength toplete her sentence, and it had died in her throat. Sylvestia just responded with a crooked smile. "I fought in the war, Fantina. You know what that entails. No one came out of that conflict with their hands clean." "But¡ª" "Silence. You know now that the consequences of this getting out would be catastrophic. Trainers with Haunter are rare enough, but don''t you think that some of them would kill to gain a Pokemon as powerful as Gengar? I will not let the reputation of ghosts be tarnished further." "I can not do this. My Haunter does not kill. Not anymore." "Oh, you will, and so will he. Children are too soft these days," she cackled. "Fret not. We won''t be wasting an innocent life." Fantina was not proud of what she did next. A mix of pressure from the mentor she had looked up to for years and a morbid desire to own the elusive Gengar had made her ept. The Sinnoh League had issued her a spy from Gr that had sabotaged and blown up Snowpoint''s port, killing or injuring hundreds, and causing the city to be isted during an entire summer, which was when they were supposed to stock up on resources tost for the winter. Needless to say, it was aplete disaster. It was the closest Sinnoh ever got to starting a war, but cooler heads prevailed. The spy was thrown under the bus by Gr''s government, an official apology was issued, and they helped pay back for the port''s reconstruction. It took Haunter a month and a half to break her, and no one ever told a soul. Eventually, Sylvestia retired, and then died a decadeter, passing away peacefully in her sleep. Her ghosts all split up and left. Fantina never managed to find them. All she knew was that they were incredibly powerful¡ª more than her own, if she had to guess. Thankfully, they had been raised with love, so wherever they were, they were peaceful. That, she was sure of. ¡ª Fantina stepped out of an elevator that brought her to the contest hall''sst floor. There, the most well-known individuals in the coordinator industry were gathering for tonight''s g. Well-known coordinators, judges, donors, executives, and businessmen were all here. It was taking ce in arge ballroom with high ceilings adorned with crystal chandeliers. The walls were draped in a luxurious white fabric, but the ground was still carpeted pink, just like on the first floor. Guests arrived dressed in their finest attire, mingling and chatting over hors d''oeuvres and drinks served by waiters in tuxedos. A well-known band filled the room with music, making themselves sparse in the corner. The centerpiece of the g was a grand stage, which served as the focal point for any speeches. Fantina would have to give er in the night. "Fantina!" Arge man yelled out, his arms outstretched. "Just in time, as always. How was work today?" "Do not talk to me about work, Thomas," she said, rolling her eyes. "Not tonight. If you must know, though, I havee across two interesting trainers in thest two days that were in need of some advice." "We do live in interesting times, don''t we? All that rabble about Team Gctic has my wife worried. She''s glued to her television all the time." "This is a g, Thomas. We are raising money for a new stadium to be built next year in Sceon¡ª the first of the city. Let us not speak about such morose topics. You will scare away the guests. I heard you were a judge during thest contest here. A shame I missed it. I had to train my sessor." Thomas stroked his chin. "Hm, yes. There were a few coordinators there that caught my eye, but you know how exigent I am. I want something new and refreshing, not the same boring garbage. One of the coordinators here had the most wonderful performance with a Beldum and a Rockruff¡­ her name was Emilia Lussier, if I remember correctly. A few more months, and I can see her going ces¡ª oh! If you''ll excuse me, I must speak to Temperance," he said, pointing toward the famous coordinator. Lussier¡­ Fantina turned toward a couple sitting in the room''s corner, keeping to themselves. Alice and Harry Lussier ran a real estatepany that was lobbying to expand Hearthome further, but they were mostly old-fashioned people that didn''t go out much. Were they her parents? Lussier was a rather umonst name. Next, she turned toward Temperance. Her hair was dyed abination of tinum white and ga red tonight, it seemed. It was said that she changed the color of her hair every time she performed, and next week''s contest would be no exception. She was Thomas'' favorite coordinator due to how fresh and different everything she did was. ording to most, she was the favorite to win the Grand Festival this summer. Fantina would not participate this year¡ª not with Team Gctic running around. She sometimes did, and she had won multiple times, but these days, she was mostly a judge for high-stakes contests. The gym leader grabbed a ss of champagne and made her way toward another familiar face to make small talk. About two hourster, a shiver suddenly ran up her leg, and she tapped her heel against the floor in a rhythmic fashion. "Thank you for the wonderful conversation, Paul, I will see youter," she smiled. "Oh, already? Don''t forget to talk to N about that expansion into route 212! The Lussiers won''t shut up about it, and I owe them a favor." "I will take the best decision for Hearthome, Paul," Fantina said. "This is about contests, not business." "Contests are business, Fantina. This isn''t the old days any longer. There''s money to be made, and I''ll jump on any opportunity. Plus, wouldn''t a second hall do Hearthome some good? There are too many coordinators here, and the contests are always at full capacity¡ª so much so that they have to sell those priority tickets to the grand contests for a higher price. If we can open another one to the south, then it''ll give them more opportunities to shine." Another shiver up her leg. She responded with another heel tap. Her head scanned the room for a specific individual. "I''ll think about it," she absent-mindedly said as she emptied her ss. The gym leader searched the room for around ten minutes, and eventually found who she was looking for on the balcony. "The LSS never rests, it seems," Fantina smiled as she leaned against the balcony''s railing. "You could havee up to me, and we would not have had to waste time. Would it not be better to talk inside? It''s cold." "No one''s here," the man said. "This is as good of a spot as it gets." "It''ll turn heads." "Let them turn. There''s a spy here for Team Gctic." "They have warned me already," Fantina said, her tone growing serious. The agent stared at her feet and chuckled dryly, but she ignored him and continued. "Who is it?" "Fabian lure. One of your fellow judges for next week''s grand contest." "Fabian? He would not¡ª" "ckmail. Your friend''s been taking kickbacks from experienced coordinators and giving them better scores in return. Team Gctic got a hold of that. If ites out, his career will be ruined, and so will a few dozen coordinators involved in the scheme. Well, not like the League cares." Fantina clicked her tongue and sighed in disappointment. "Merde! What is he giving them? Fabian is wealthy, but not that wealthy." The nameless agentughed. "You see too much good in the world, Fantina. It isn''t money they want, it is information about you. They can''t infiltrate your gym or the League, so they''ve infiltrated the coordinator industry instead since they know it''s practically your home these days. And even though you act like you''re blind to it, it''s full of self-serving, corrupt bastards." "Let us not get into a debate about corruption. You said they want information about me?" "Thetest news is that they n to try something the night of the grand contest next week." "And I assume you haven''t arrested Fabian yet and done something about this because he''s too useful to you?" "We''ve bugged his phone. He''s talking to a middleman, so he''s still of use. We''ll get him soon. Just need to tie up some loose ends and figure out where this person is exactly. Fabian''s a small fish. The middleman''s the one we''re really after. Well, his memories, specifically. He''d have to be rather knowledgeable about Team Gctic if he''s doing jobs this important for them." Fantina tapped her foot against the floor, and the shadows responded. "Fabian''s staring at us," she said. "Don''t turn your head." "That''s what your ghost says?" "I have multiple hiding around tonight, since I felt nostalgic," she smiled. "I think I ought to leave early." "No. Give your speech and act like nothing happened." "Is that Cynthia''s direct order?" "No, more like a friendly rmendation from the LSS. Cynthia''s not involved in this, she''s working on something else regarding the Directorate at the moment." "Then I will not follow this rmendation," Fantina shrugged. "Gengar, my dear, is Fabian still staring?" Fantina smiled as she felt the shadow gently wrap around her leg. It was a codednguage that only she and her ghosts knew that they had created and perfected over the years. "He is? Good. And you, nameless agent, I assume you have a teleporter with you?" "Sure, but I''m traveling light," he said, revealing a single Pokeball hidden below his suit. "That means no fighting for me. I think I''ll slip out if you leave, since things might get dicey. I wouldn''t do it if I were you." "Get back inside. Act as if nothing happened after I leave, and stick around for a few minutes before you make your exit." "Don''t be rash. We can''t shadow you to protect you because your ghosts always throw a fit. It''s too dangerous." "Oh please, do not speak to me about danger, young man. You know what I am capable of. I will not be chained by people weaker than I. Get back inside, now." This time, she was not asking. Shadows furiously wreathed beneath her feet, and the agent nched. He took a sip of his ss as he turned back to enter the building. Fantina stared at the sky with a heavy sigh. Of course, she knew of the corruption festering in the coordinator world, but she never expected it to be this widespread, and for Team Gctic to be involved. Her good mood had cratered to dangerous levels. Even mindless battling would have cheered her up some. "Well, it is time to leave," the gym leader said. "Drifblim?" The balloon-like Pokemon appeared in the sky, and her red eyes shone in the darkness. Without any warning, Fantina jumped off the balcony, catching one of Drifblim''s yellow arms midair, and the ghost gently lowered her to the ground. Fabian had no doubt seen her, which was the n. Fantina winced when she tried to move her arm and shoulder. "I am sixty-five, I can not be doing these things," sheughed heartily. "Still, how fun! Brings me back. Stick close to me, my dears." It was amand issued not only to Drifblim and Gengar, but the remaining four ghosts that hid out of their Pokeballs. Usually, it was just those two, but tonight had been different. They had gotten so good at it that the temperature did not even lower no matter how close they were. Fantina did not get back in her car. Instead, she decided to go for a nice walk in the middle of the cold night. Fabian was no doubt panicking by now, sending a message to whatever middleman he was in contact with. The middleman would, in turn, tell his contacts in Team Gctic that she immediately left as soon as a mysterious stranger spoke to her. Paranoia made people act rashly, which was what she was hoping for. Ten minutester, her leg shivered again in code. Five people. Fantina tapped her foot against the floor and slightly gestured with her fingers. She turned into an alley, and five people followed. An abandoned building would have worked better here, but s, this part of Hearthome was too affluent to have any. It was dark, but her eyes had always quickly gotten used to the absence of light, and that was enough for a short battle. Fantina stopped in her tracks, and she heard the people following her release their Pokemon. "Arbok, Acid! Shiftry, Night sh!" "Nidoqueen, Sludge! Liepard, Assurance!" "Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" "Dark Pulse, Umbreon!" "Drapion, Pin Missile!" All of them yelled at the same time, and all attacks shot out simultaneously. "Hold back," she quickly responded. A Dusclops appeared in front of Fantina, shielding her with Protect. Drifblim dropped down from the sky, blocking the grunts'' escape path. Bte and Gengar jumped out of her shadow to strike the attacking Pokemon. A hole formed in the middle of Gengar''s body as two Dark Pulses simply passed through him and rammed against Dusclops''s Protect. The poison typeughed, pointing a ghostly hand toward the Umbreon, and a bright light of concentrated energy flew toward the dark type, who yelped and fainted after one Focus st. Bte swiped at Nidoqueen and Arbok with Shadow w, disappearing with Phantom Force in a split second when she needed to dodge. A purple methrower washed down the alley from the sky, taking care of the rest. The battle was over in just a few moments. Five dark types? They certainly hade prepared, but it was not enough to take her down. She had decades of experience under her belt. "Chandelure, light up the area, will you? I need to see their faces properly." A pale, purple light shone down the alley, but Chandelure was still nowhere to be seen. "Mismagius, keep them still." The five grunts shivered as Mismagius appeared behind them and whispered in their ears. Their arms and legs were suddenly joined together. "Fuck! I can''t¡ª how''d you tie us up?!" One of the grunts screamed. But they weren''t. It only felt like they were thanks to Mismagius'' illusion, so they were incapable of running away. "Now, now, what should I do with you?" Fantina quietly said as she approached the culprits. They couldn''t have been a day over twenty-five. The youngest of them even looked eighteen. A shame, what Team Gctic had done to them. "Let''s start with the obvious. What was your goal here?" "It was¡ª" A young girl screeched, interrupting him. "Shut the fuck up, Samuel! Don''t say anything!" "But she''ll kill us, won''t she?!" "They''ll kill us whether we talk or not, you fuck!" Samuel seemed to be the name of the youngest one. After asking them the same question a few more times, Fantina decided to use him as a wedge, along with handing them a snippet of hope. "Look, I could just have everything ripped from your braine tomorrow morning, but if you talk, I promise that I will make sure that doesn''t happen. You will have to serve some time, but at least you will still be you." "What good is your promise?" A female grunt said. "Don''t make meugh. We''ll die here for our ideals if need be!" Fantina stepped toward Samuel. "How old are you?" "Seventeen," he timidly answered, ignoring hisrades'' protests. "Seventeen¡­ well, I think that if you cooperate, you could be out of prison by the time you''re twenty-five¡ª" A man spoke up this time. "Don''t listen to her filthy mouth¡ª" Gengar loomed in front of the man, his multiple rows of long, sharp, needle-like teeth, terrifying scarlet eyes and perpetually shifting face in full disy. The grunt held his breath, hoping not to inhale the poisonous fumes that the ghost could emit. Depending on how antagonistic Gengar felt, one whiff, and he''d drop dead. "Gengar," Fantina warned. The ghostughed and sunk into her shadow. He''d always been overprotective. "Listen, children. There are two choices here. Either you speak and at least have a chance ofing out of this unscathed, or you do not, and the League rips out your memories tomorrow." After hesitating for a few seconds, Samuel spoke first. "We got a message that said to kill you before you got home. Apparently, you knew something. That''s all we''ve been told." "Don''t try to fool me with half-truths. That was just stating the obvious. Your Pokemon are good¡­ at least at the five-badge level, or around those lines. A pitiful assassination team for someone of my caliber, but trainers that good do not grow on trees, and I suppose that your leader did not want to sacrifice his more valuable assets in case the n failed. Either way, surely that means that you were told more than this. Here, let me try something. Did you know that Team Gctic''s ultimate goal is to end the world?" They all froze. "Ah, so you do know. And yet you still help them? How curious," Fantina mused. Letting them know did not exactly matter, since no matter what happened tonight, they wouldn''t be going back to their headquarters. Still, she omitted speaking about Dialga and Palkia. It had only been a theory, but the League believed that there were two tiers of Team Gctic members. Those who knew the real n of the organization, and those that were being fooled with titudes and empty promises. They had only captured and stolen the memories of the former so far, but that was the only way that they had figured a literal doomsday cult had gathered so many members. And apparently, these five knew. Thatplicated things. The odds of them making it out of this with their memories intact had considerably lowered unless they gave her pertinent information. "Tell me everything you know, and I''ll try to keep you alive." The statement came from the heart. Fantina did not like seeing these poor children misled, so if she could avoid it, she would try to spare their minds. Of course, if push came to shove¡­ well, it would be for the greater good. The greater good, however, often just meant evil, but the League was content to dish out evil if the world would be saved¡ª Fantina included. "There''s been a new directive¡­ we were supposed to aim to kill the gym leaders to soften up the League forces in preparation for a potential attack on the threekes," the youngest spoke. At this point, the others had all given up, aside from the girl. "You were deemed to be the easiest because you don''t have protection from the League, and infiltrating it is basically impossible. We could infiltrate the coordinator industry to keep tabs on you instead. There was also the objective of killing Cynthia the next time she decided to get out of her damned fortified ind." Fantina almost broke intoughter. Killing Cynthia? With that Spiritomb keystone she carried in her pocket at all times? It might as well have been impossible. Even she¡ª a ghost type specialist¡ª found the Pokemon too much to handle. There was a reason Cynthia never used it in the few battles she still sometimes fought. All those damned 108 souls could agree on were an unshakable loyalty and love to the Champion. Still, she said nothing for now. Cynthia¡­ Fantina still remembered that bright-eyed fifteen-year-old that wiped the floor with her all those years ago when she challenged her gym for the first time with only a Gabite, a Togetic, a Roselia, a Milotic, and a Lucario to her name. She''d only been using her four-badge team, but it made her feel like a cornered Pokemon all the same. Fantina grabbed her phone and quickly sent a coded message to the League. The other gym leaders weren''t as good as she was, and they were in great danger, especially since they carried their Pokemon in their balls at all times. "You were nning on doing something the night of the contest," she continued. "What was it?" "It would have been the same thing we tried now, just with thirty people instead of the measly five we managed to gather on such short notice. We would have waited near your home and attacked you when you came back from the post-contest party¡ª hopefully drunk. It might still happen, I don''t know," Samuel said. So it wouldn''t have been as bad as Fantina thought. She had almost expected a massive attack on the contest hall to get to her, but perhaps that would have generated too much public outrage due to the massive amount of casualties and put the public on the side of memory extraction. Still, thirty? She would have had to go all out, and even then, it might not have been enough. Fantina would have to call the League. Perhaps it was time to end her days of independence and get some guards. "Where are your headquarters in the city?" "Samuel, don''t you dare!" "It''s to the southeast near the gate to route 209, but they''re probably evacuating by now¡ª" "You fucking rat!" "¡ªWe were supposed to send a message to confirm if we seeded by now, so they probably know it''s gone wrong." Still, Fantina sent another coded message to the League after asking for the exact address. If they could make it in time¡­ "Who''s the middleman between Team Gctic and Fabian lure?" Fantina asked. "Only Daisy and Derek know¡­" Samuel muttered. "They''re our leaders." "Samuel, you fucking traitor! I''ll make sure the Commanders get you for this, you little worm!" Daisy continued to yell, squirming against her non-existent binds. "A?e, a?e, a?e," Fantina groaned, pinching her nose. She waspletely brainwashed. "Are you sure you don''t want to tell me? You''ll die, or your mind will be irreparably altered. We will figure it out. It''s just a matter of figuring it out tonight or tomorrow morning." The man called Derek silently thought to himself, biting his lip as he no doubt considered his future. It was strange, that a man wanting to end the world cared about his future. Fantina could not really see the difference between dying tomorrow or a few months from now. Maybe there was more to the n than met the eye. Would Cyrus'' followers be spared in some way? With Dialga and Palkia under their control, anything they wanted would be possible. Fantina sent the idea to the League. "Argh, fine! There''s no way we''re getting back in now anyway, Daisy!" Derek screamed in frustration. "Samuel already spoke too much. The Commanders would kill us or worse. We''re not getting in¡­ our best chance is to help the League stop them. Our contact in the city¡­ his name is Abel. The fucking League¡ª" he spat thest word, as he did every time he mentioned the government. "¡ªprobably knows more about him than we do. All I know is that he''s as slippery as an Arceus damned Eelektross. I don''t know what Pokemon he owns aside from that Mmar, but they allow him to be undetected wherever he goes." Fantina hummed as she ignored Daisy''s indignant cries. She petted Bte''s head, which she had solidified, and the ghost nuzzled against her hand. Abel was that criminal from Unova that they still hadn''t found. The League didn''t exactly consider him to be a priority, but now, that might change. "So he''s joined your organization, then?" "No. He hasn''t, he just works for money," the grunt said. "Team Gctic''s been paying him for his service, and he''s excellent at information gathering. We''re just working together out of convenience, or at least, that''s what I''ve been told. He''s after two big-wig billionaires. He doesn''t seem to care much about anything else." "I know who he is after. Let''s stay on topic. So he is in the city, then. Where is he, currently?" "I don''t know." "Where was thest ce you saw him?" "I don''t know." "How can you not know?" "It wasn''t him that we met! We just talk via texting! It was an associate of his that always took the money. Some no-name kid that never speaks and has a fucking creepy grin that reaches his ears and a nk stare. Barely even blinks." "What does the kid look like, then?" "Barely ten, if I had to guess, but I''m bad with ages. White, dark brown hair, pale and thin, I don''t fucking know. He''s like any kid you can see on the street. The only thing different about him is that Arceus damned grin and nk stare. Barely even looks human." "Fine. You''ve been of use. I will make sure you don''t die. You are just children. Surely you deserve a second chance after you serve your time." "T¡ªthank you," Samuel sighed. "Thank you so much. What about our Pokemon?" "The League will take and rehabilitate them." All of their faces sank. s, she had done all she could. Fantina phoned the police, and ten minutester, they were all off to jail. The League would take another few hours to arrive. "Well, this sure was a mess, wasn''t it?" Fantina told her ghosts. The cancer that was Team Gctic was spreading a lot more than she thought, and there''d be a lot of cleanup to do. Depending on how deep the rot went¡­ she''d have to go after the Contest Committee itself. Her Pokemon allughed as they disappeared into the shadows, and for some reason, her mind thought back to that young Mira Compton. "Love your ghosts, and they shall learn to love in return." The next day, Fabian, along with a few people in the industry, was arrested. The Gctic base in Hearthome had beenpletely vacated, even though they got there barely an hour after her call. The League learned of Team Gctic''s ultimate n thanks to the five grunts'' cooperation, along with a lot more information about how Cyrus'' inner circle operated. The man wished not only to end the world, but to create a new one in his image for himself and a few thousand of the members of his organization. The rest? Well, they''d be left out to dry.
Chapter 134 Chapter 134 CHAPTER 134 Pauline currently sat in her mother''s office with her arms crossed. She had never felt this conflicted about something in her entire life. She was a person of action, not reaction, and yet, when it came to Emilia and Denzel, she couldn''t help but flounder like a Magikarp out of the water. It was so unlike her. She''d wanted to burry everything a deeply as she could. And yet, she was finally ready to admit everything. "Mommy. How do you know¡­ wait, let me rephrase. What do you do if you like two people?" "Pick one and move on," the old woman answered. "I''m serious! I can''t just pick one." "Sure you can. If you had to choose one right now, who would it be?" Josephine said. Pauline opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She couldn''t choose. "I¡ª I can''t." Her mother clicked her tongue dismissively. "Life is a series of difficult choices, Pauline." "I know that! You''ve engrained it into my head since I was a fucking baby! Sometimes, you don''t know what to do!" "I cannot give you an answer. It is up to you to decide what you want in life." Pauline irritatingly tapped her foot against the floor. What she wanted wasn''t possible. It was unreasonable, selfish, and there was simply no way for it to happen. Her mother smiled at her. "Whye here when you''ve already made a decision?" "It won''t work." "Why not try it?" "I wouldn''t even know where to begin! Plus, we''re leaving soon, and Emilia''s staying here, so she''d obviously get jealous if I traveled with him and not with her if they were dating me! And hell, I don''t even know if Denzel likes me anymore. He''s hanging out with all these others girls, and I hate it! I¡­ I can''t do it." "The issues you raise are valid," Josephine acknowledged. "And personally, I couldn''t ever imagine sharing the person I loved with someone else, but then again, who knows what your friends are like." Pauline scoffed. "You hated dad and never dated anyone else." "I did love him for a few weeks," sheughed. "Look, I do not have all the answers. This is certainly a conundrum I''ve never encountered before. All I can tell you is to know that your choices¡ª" "Have consequences," the girl sighed. "That was useless, but thanks anyway. I don''t feel like going back to the Center. Can I stick around?" "Obviously." ¡ª Denzel sat on his bed with his head in his hands. He''d dyed this long enough. Sylveon was starting to be unmanageable, and he had to put his foot down. They''d talk one-on-one so that there would be absolutely no distractions. Denzel made sure his phone was on silent mode too. Emilia was freaking out about some massive scandal regarding some judge, but he hadn''t looked into it yet. The trainer released Sylveon, who happily greeted him by wrapping a ribbon around his leg. He felt a rxing sensation spread throughout his body, and it took him a few seconds toe back to his senses. "No, Sylvi. I already told you not to do that¡ª at least not without my permission. You can wrap it around my hand or leg, or whatever, but no powers," Denzel scolded. Sylveon''s huge, blue eyes twitched, and the fairy type looked incredibly hurt. Denzel felt his heart wrench. "That came out more aggressively than I wanted. Sorry. But you know that there needs to be boundaries with these things. Come here." He gave a hesitant nod before jumping on the bed and lying down next to his trainer. Denzel sighed, not knowing where to start. Talking to people was easy and straightforward, but talking to Pokemon was a lot harder. "You''ve been changing, Sylvi," he started, making sure to use a gentler tone. "Slowly but surely, you''ve been bing¡­ different. Now, I''ve weed some of these changes. I don''t care if you''re bing more brutal in fights, but some of them are too much. You can fight as much as you want when training with the team or Pokemon of our level, but you''ve got to hold back against Maeve. And that''s not even the worse of it! For example, I''ve caught how you look at people I spend time with. At first, I thought it was just because Maeve and Mira were new and you weren''t used to them and their Pokemon, but now even when I say that I''m going to spend time with the people you do know, you try to do all these things to get me to stay." "Sylv¡ª" "Let me finish. I''ve been trying to keep my hands off of the rtionship drama between you and the team, but¡­ this might be me being paranoid, but I''m pretty sure you''ve been manufacturing conflicts so that I''d have to stay and diffuse them." The fairy type stoodpletely still. "I know they like you for real, and that you do dislike it, and that you genuinely don''t want to bother with it, but it can''t be a coincidence that these fights mostly happen when I say I''m about to go hang out with the others. You''ve been¡­ you''ve been manipting them and ying them off of each other. Even Snorunt, who doesn''t have a crush on you. That is not okay, Sylveon." He protested, and after a few moments, Denzel understood what he meant. "I know that you''re bothered by it too, and that you do love the others, but you can''t deny that you''ve been using it to your advantage. The only one you seem not to manipte is Feebas. This needs to stop." Sylveon said nothing. "I know you''re attached to me, but you can''t keep hoarding me to yourself. I know I''ve been kind of absenttely with all my meetings, but that''s temporary. When we''re back on the road, we''ll be able to spend more time together," Denzel said, petting the fairy type''s head. "Promise me you''ll try." The Pokemon hesitantly nodded. "Okay. I won''t tell anyone about this. It''s partly my fault too, I should have intervened sooner instead of hoping the issue would fix itself. From now on, if you step out of line, I''ll tell you, okay? And if you do it again, then I''m forcing you to confess to the others, and you know that won''t be pretty." Sylveon sighed and agreed. "Thank you." Now, it was time to go to sleep. ¡ª Last night. What Fantina had told me tonight had beenpletely unexpected. In fact, it was so out of left field that I''d been in denial about it for a good few hours after the fact, but at this point, what else could I do but wait to speak with Electabuzz himself? It hurt to think that he potentially had this secret past that we never spoke about, and it made me think that I hadn''t exactly been good to him. What if he''d been hurting all this time, and I hadn''t found out? I couldn''t help but think back to the first time he''d sensed Mars'' Dusknoir, but he''d seemed cheerful enough. After that, he had helped with Mismagius in Eterna Forest, but there were also no signs of distress. Maybe I was overthinking things? Then again, this proved to me that I needed to ask about Jellicent''s past too. Who knew if he was hiding something? But again, maybe he''d talk to me about it on his own one day? Would I be overbearing? "Damn it," I groaned, leaning against my room''s wall. There was nothing I could do until I picked Honey up from the nurses tomorrow and asked him myself. ¡ª "Your Pokemon are as good as new, Ms. Pastel," Nurse Joy smiled. A Chansey stood next to her and nodded. "We hope to see you again!" "Thanks. Have a nice day," I said before turning away. It was bright and early in the morning. So early in fact, that I didn''t have to contend with trainers swarming around me to ask questions. There was barely anyone outside. I considered going back to my room to talk to Electabuzz as fast as I could, but I figured that it''d be better to go to Amity Square to talk. Since dad would probably still be asleep, I quickly got on a bus and took the rtively quick trip to the park. I released Electabuzz, who yelled loudly and stared at me in anticipation. Right. He still didn''t know if we won or not. "We won," I said, sitting on the floor. "Pretty handily, too, you and everyone else did a wonderful job. Come and sit." He celebrated, flexing and whirring his arms around, but I patted the ground next to me, and the electric type slowly stopped, then hesitantly sat. "Buzz?" He asked. "Just you and me this morning," I said. "What, you don''t wanna hang out with me? Come on!" I joked, yfully tapping his back. Electabuzz chortled, and my hair stood on end. He was getting a lot stronger. I leaned against my knees, taking a deep breath, and he nervously stared at me. "Listen, hon," I started. "I spoke to Fantina after the battle about your ghost sensing ability, and she told me what she thought about it. If you don''t want to tell me anything, it''s fine, but I have to ask. Before I took you in, and when you were just born, did you hang around with a ghost?" The electric type froze and then scratched his head awkwardly. I could tell that he hadn''t expected me to figure it out and that he didn''t particrly feel like talking about it either. "Well, I say hang out, but ording to her, it was more like you were raised by them," I continued. "Um, I don''t know what happened, but I''d like for you to talk to me about it. If you''ve been bottling something up inside, then I''m here for you. Not necessarily today, but in the future¡ª" He interrupted me by cing a hand on my shoulder. He was ready. I almost expected him to tell me that a human that owned a ghost hatched him and then abandoned him, but it was nothing of the sort. It took a bit of trial and error, but Electabuzz ended up exining everything to me. He never knew his parents, since Elekid tend to live alone right from birth, but a powerful trio of ghosts had taken care of him right after he hatched. Three Gengar. Needless to say, if the topic hadn''t been so serious, I would have been skeptical. Finding a wild Gengar was a rarity in and of itself, but three? And the fact that they took care of him was strange too. Why? Was it just out of the kindness of their hearts? It was impossible to know. They took care of him for months, protecting him from predators, and he learned to sense them too. It was just as Fantina had said, except that it was three instead of one ghost. One day, however, the Gengar all left while he was sleeping. Electabuzz stayed in the same spot for months, hoping that they''d be back, but they never returned. To this day, he still didn''t know why they left or what happened to them, but a part of him thought that it was because he was too weak and that they''d gotten tired of having to save him so many times. "So that''s why you put yourself down so hard after every loss," I said with a pained look. I welled up and hugged him tightly. "I''m not going to abandon you, you idiot! We''re family! I love you! No matter what happens, I will always stick by you." Honey held me tight, and let out a few tears of his own. We stayed like that for at least five minutes to let our emotions settle down. Seeing him beat himself up so badly made me feel like there was a hole in my heart. How had I not seen anything? What kind of parent wouldn''t figure out that their kid was hurting? "I won''t tell anyone you cried," I said, letting out a sad chuckle. "It''ll be our secret." Electabuzz stared at me, his eyes red, and pointed to my thighs. I nodded, and he ced his head on myp, and I stroked his head. "Was that why you wanted to go to the power nt so badly? I remember you telling me that the signal was stronger the more powerful a ghost was¡­ that Dusknoir felt just as strong as one of those Gengar, didn''t he?" "Ele," the electric type confirmed. It all¡­ everything made so much sense now. I had never thought there had been anything wrong with his past behavior, but having the extra context helped so much. Mismagius had probably felt significantly weaker, though. "So you want to meet them again, then? Ask them why they left you?" Electabuzz nodded. He''d been so enthusiastic about joining me because he knew that with a trainer, he''d be able to travel far and wide to potentially meet the three Gengar again. On his own, he''d never be able to grow as strong as he needed, or at least not as quickly. It would have taken him years to get to where he currently stood¡ª and he had reached this point in a few months. "I promise you, Honey. I promise you that I''ll help you find them again and get you your answers. If they aren''t in Sinnoh somehow, then we''ll go to the other regions. I was nning on doing that anyway." His eyes widened, and he stared at me in surprise. "Right, I haven''t told any of you, have I? What do you say I release everyone else now? Of course, what you told me about your past can stay between us for now, if you''d prefer that." "Ele," he agreed after thinking for a few seconds. I kept scratching his head for another twenty minutes, where we just sat in silence. I watched as the sun slowly rose, and people slowly started filtering into Amity Square. I figured that just having some time to ourselves was nice. I released the entire team after finding a more secluded part of the park¡ª including Turtonator, who I desperately wanted to call Sunshine, but couldn''t. Knowing him, he''d bear a grudge for weeks. I told Angel and Sweetheart that we''d won the gym battle, and they celebrated happily. Tangrowth picked her up to stop her from messing up the floor with her stomps, though. "Listen up, everyone!" I said, pping my hands. Turtonator ignored me andy down on the grass. "I came to this realization when we were back at Savika''s cabin, but Sinnoh''s just the start! I''m going to be the best trainer in the world, and to do that, I''ll need to travel to different regions after I mop up Sinnoh," I said, half-jokingly. Larvitar nodded, not understanding that I''d been joking, and I chuckled in response. "I''ll have to figure out how to get enough free time to do it while being the Champion, but you catch my drift." Turtonator let out a dismissive snort, and Togetic''s eyes narrowed. "You think I can''t do it, huh? Well, just you watch, because you''ve got front-row seats!" I said. "Anyway, it''s nice out today, and we''re already here, so I figured, why not stick around a lil''? Angel, feel free to take Sweetheart to theke if you want. Princess, do you want to go too?" Togetic defiantly shook her head as she stared at the half-asleep Turtonator. "Fine. I guess you can add to the stories I''ll tell," I sighed. Today, I''d tell Turtonator about my experience at Valley Windworks. I had skirted around Team Gctic before, skipping past the incident at theke next to Twinleaf and my meeting with Roark, but I figured that I couldn''t ignore such a pivotal moment in my journey. I leaned against Jellicent, who solidified his body for me¡ª but not too much! Just enough for it to befortable. The moment I uttered the words Team Gctic, Turtonator''s eyes shot wide open. ¡ª Cecilia was currently watching the news in Pauline''s room. Surprisingly though, Pauline wasn''t there. She''d gone to talk to her mother about something, but she wouldn''t say what it was. Emilia was there, but she was glued to her phone, looking up something about some disgraced contest judge that apparently took bribes from coordinators to alter their scores. The story was still developing at this point, so who knew how many people this touched. Cecilia knew that since the coordinator world was a private entity, anti-corruption measures were nowhere as prevalent as for trainers, since thetter was run by the government. Justin was there, but he was also engrossed in his own research for his fifth team member that he would try to get by the time they were at Sceon. He wanted to have his six as soon as possible, unlike Pauline, who was taking her sweet time. Meanwhile, Grace had been missing since this morning, but she had messaged them to let them know that everything was fine and that she was just with her team at Amity Square. Supposedly, there was a lot for them to talk about, but Cecilia didn''t want to pry. Suddenly, one of the news anchor said something that held everyone''s attention. "And we are now receiving word from the League itself that Team Gctic was involved in the scheme with contestmittee member Fabian lure. Apparently, they threatened to expose his bribe-taking tendencies if he did not reveal information about Fantina. Due to the current cooperation of five members of Team Gctic in custody, we are learning more and more about this elusive terrorist organization." "And you forgot to mention that they were operating through a middleman, the well-known¡ª" "What?!" Emilia yelled, staring at Cecilia. "Put it back on!" "Ugh," Cecilia said. "I don''t want to hear about Team Gctic. It brings bad memories¡­" To a time when she did not care about whether she was alive or dead. It seemed so far away, now. "Emi, you need to think about how your actions affect those around you," Justin scolded. "Oh. Sorry," Emilia said. "I''ve been so into the news today that I didn''t realize. I''ll just look at it on my phone. This is incredibly depressing for the little coordinators like me or Vincent. It''s the first time corruption of this scale was ever found in the industry. The grand contest next week was canceled too. This''ll have ramifications for years toe. Which means if someone wants to reform the industry like I do, now''s the best time to do so." "I don''t think you''ll like what you''ll find. Team Gctic¡ª sorry Cece¡ª Team Gctic probably has a lot more contacts in high ces. The League can figure it out." "That''s right. Team Gctic is dangerous. You''re better off keeping your head down." "The Contest Committee will throw a hissy fit and will oppose investigations at every step of the way. They''ll stall so long that it''ll take years to do it properly. It would be much easier to do it from the inside. What I do wonder though, is why Fantina hasn''t done anything about it until the League stepped in? Someone like her must know a lot of what goes on on the inside¡­ I need to unearth it all." Emilia had changed, since entering Hearthome. Cecilia couldn''t have imagined the scared girl in Eterna Forest potentially investigating Team Gctic''s influence in the coordinator world, but she was different now. More confident. Too much confidence, however, could be dangerous. "Just be careful, Emi," she sighed. "Sometimes, it''s better to let the situation resolve itself." "I won''t poke the Bewear, don''t worry." A few hourster, Cecilia decided to go back to her room to rest. She needed to start getting ready for the Sceon tournament as soon as possible, so she''d start training early tomorrow. She''d been ckingtely, and her overconfidence against Fantina had nearly cost her the battle. But at the same time, they were leaving soon, so maybe it''d be better to spend more time in the city with Grace, if she wished. She still hadn''t found a piano to practice on, and Cecilia had found an establishment where people could freely y. If they went there early orte, then they wouldn''t need to annoy any passersby. As she opened the door, she couldn''t help but giddily anticipate the look on her girlfriend''s face when she would find out. Maybe Cecilia could make it a surprise? Tell her that they were going somece else, but secretly bring her to the¡ª A man sat at her desk, his feet on the table and a lit cigarette in hand as he leaned back against her chair. A child with a disturbing grin and nk stare happily pointed at her, making weird gurgling sounds. A third person¡ª an old woman, stood against the wall and looked nkly at her. And a Mmar stood in the middle of the room with a wicked grin that sent a shiver down her spine. Abel. How had he gotten in here? A Pokemon Center was the safest ce a trainer could ever be, and the windows didn''t open from the outside, and they were reinforced with the toughest material possible! And yet¡­ it was open, but showed no signs of it having been busted. Cecilia didn''t freeze. She immediately tried to bolt, but she felt an invisible force restrain her body and drag her toward Abel, whozily turned toward her. The old woman gently closed the door and stood in front of it, blocking her with a grunt. Cecilia couldn''t breathe. She couldn''t think. Her vision swam, and she tried to scream, but Mmar''s eyes lit up, and her throat closed up until she almost choked. "Mmar, stop toying with her and inste the room, will you?" The Unovan said. The dark type yfullyughed as the room became distorted. "There you go. No one can hear you scream now, so let''s not waste time with your childish antics. I hope you don''t mind the cigarette, I opened a window for the smell." Who cared about a cigarette? Her life was over. Cecilia silently raged as tears streamed down her cheeks. Josephine had been wrong. He dide after her. And in the end, after all her trials and tribtion, she was still weak. "Oh, please, don''t get your knickers in a twist," Abel said, rolling his eyes. "Now that I''m not getting paid, I don''t want anything to do with you. It''s your father I''m after. Unfortunately though, my hand was forced and I had to do this, since I''m rather pressed for time." Cecilia silently stared up at the unassuming man. Brown hair and eyes, average height, clean-shaven, an angr face, and an obnoxious smile exuding confidence. Ten Pokeballs at his belt. "Let''s have a nice, long talk, Cecilia."
Chapter 135 – Turning Point II Chapter 135 ¨C Turning Point II CHAPTER 135 - Turning Point II "T¡ªtalk? What do you want to know, I¡ªI''ll tell you anything!" Cecilia blurted out as fast as she could. There was no point in fighting back. She had her Pokemon, but Mmar would never let her bring them out, and even then, she would lose the fight. He was a much better trainer than she. Abel hummed, the child let out a gurglingugh, and the woman grunted. Who even were the other two? Cecilia had never heard of the man having aplices before back in Unova. Maybe they were two new people he''d found in Sinnoh? People he had mind controlled? Abel took in onest, long drag of his cigarette and threw it out the window. "That hit the spot," he smiled. "So you''ll cooperate then? That makes things easier. First, I need you to call your father right now, but you''ll need to act natural. Tell him that you''ve had a change of heart, that he shouldn''t fly back to Unova, and that you want to meet him and talk things out¡­ hm, I need a concrete date. Zazza?" The old woman grunted. "Look up how long it''d take to walk to Sceon¡ª actually, let''s just do Veilstone. Easier to get lost in the crowd, and he''d be convinced more easily." Walk. Abel didn''t own a flying type, then, and even if he owned a teleporter, he''d probably never been to either Sceon or Veilstone, so he wouldn''t even be able to get there anyway. Cecilia silently absorbed the information as Abel threw his Xtransceiver toward the woman he called Zazza, and she caught it at unnaturally high speeds. Her arm was so quick that it became a blur. "Now, let''s keep going. You''re going to tell him that you''ll meet him in Veilstone¡­ just tell him that you''ll go to that vacation home you own in the western parts of the city. I already know the address." Her heart sank even deeper. She absolutely did not want to see her father again, but if it was to survive¡­ she nodded weakly. "Ah!" Abelughed. "You don''t want to see your old man, right? I can see it on your face. Don''t worry, all I need is a tuft of your hair, and you''ll be set. You won''t have to meet him, and you probably never have to see me again, and I''m a man of my word, but you just have to really sell this call." The woman let out a slight, gruff sound, baring her teeth, and lifted up ten fingers, then two. "Twelve days to get to Sceon. Tell him you''ll meet him in fifteen, then, at 5:00 pm. I''ll need to prepare some things in advance." "I¡ªI don''t feel like I can¡ª" "But you will. Then I''ll have a few questions about how you used to behave with your old man." "Please, just give me a few minutes¡ª" "I said I was short on time, wasn''t I? Beggars can''t be choosers, Cecilia, and right now, you are most certainly a beggar. See, I don''t see the point in senseless violence. What''s the point in controlling someone or killing them unless I get paid appropriately? I want nothing to do with you, so just do this for me, and you''ll stick it up to your dear old dad. He abused you, he didn''t pay me in full, we''ve both been screwed, so it''s a win for both of us. Dan? Give her her phone." The child''s impossible wide grin somehow widened, and he excitedly hopped off the bed, getting her phone out of his small pocket. Cecilia''s eyes bulged, and she let out a small gasp. He dropped the Poketch into her hands. "When did you¡­?" "Dial his number." Cecilia''s hands trembled as she listened to hismand. An idea popped into her head, screaming at her to call the police, but would Abel notice? She could fake the entire conversation and hope they''d pick up on it. But the risks were toorge. And why even go so far to protect a man she hated? She wasn''t thinking straight¡ª "Put it on speaker," the man said. Well, that n was moot regardless, then. Cecilia had blocked her father''s phone number long ago, and the closer she got topleting it, the more fear she felt. Why¡­ why was she more scared of her father than the criminal in front of her? It made no sense! She slowly brought the phone up to her ears and¡ª "Cecilia. I did not think you would ever call me again." It took everything she had not to sob right then and there. His voice inflicted such terror upon her, even now. Cecilia had thought that she had been freed, but he still had a hold on her. rence spoke with a voice devoid of any warmth or love for her, and it sent ice coursing through her veins. She bit her lip, and had to force herself to let out her next words. "Father," Cecilia started. She stared up at Abel, whozily lounged on her chair, but still observed her to make sure she didn''t step out of line. "To tell you the truth, I have been thinking thesest few weeks, and I feel like I have to apologize to you." Damn it. The words tasted like ash in her mouth. She reviled him. None of it was real. She wanted to snap at rence and tell him how much she despised the fact that they were of the same blood. Even if Abel hadn''t been there, Cecilia felt like she wouldn''t have been able to say it. "Have you now?" rence said. "I find that hard to believe. You are lying to me, Cecilia." The girl froze, and her eyes darted to Abel, who motioned to her to keep going. "I''m not," she said, her tone smooth and calm. "I genuinely feel sorry. I hadn''t seen that you were doing everything for my own good. I heard that you were flying out to Unova soon, but I want to meet you again. How about our vacation home in Veilstone in fifteen days? Does five in the evening work for you?" renceughed. "You thought you could fool me, couldn''t you? I can tell from the way you speak, Cecilia. You are a terrible liar. If you truly felt the words you were saying, then you would not be using that calm tone of yours." Abel stared at the ceiling and let out a sigh that turned into a frustrated groan. "Give me the phone," he whispered. Cecilia whimpered. She had failed. She might have hated rence, but he knew her. "Good evening, rence." Finally, her father ced some emotion into his voice. "A¡ªAbel? What are you doing with my daughter?" "What''s the problem? Weren''t you the one that begged for me to get Mmar to control her for weeks before scamming me? Cecilia and I have a lot of things inmon. Maybe we were working together to take you down." "Nonsense. I''ve already told you that I cannot pay you. There''s too much at risk, especially now that you''ve involved yourself with Team Gctic." Cecilia felt a chill run through her entire body. Abel was involved with Team Gctic? She was too distressed to even understand what the information implied. Abelughed, and the child imitated him, letting out gurgling sounds. "Your hands aren''t so squeaky clean either, rence," he said. "It''s a wonder how quickly the Directorate changed their mind on bailing out the Bianchis, isn''t it? You wouldn''t believe how much I know about your friend Harvey. I could sink him, and your dear merger by association." What was¡­ what was going on? The Bianchis were involved with Team Gctic too? At least that''s what she felt he was implying. The new majority in the Directorate was seemingly listening to what they wanted, too. This was aplete disaster! A national security failure of the highest proportions! What was Cynthia doing?! Everything was intertwining. "But getting that message out would require a deal with Sinnoh''s League, and you would serve time. You would never do it." Abel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he grinned, staring at Cecilia. "Correct. It seems we''ve reached an impasse, then." He was lying. "Look, there''s a lot of risk involved, and a lot of moving parts, but I would be willing to pay you under one condition," rence said. "Which is?" "Use your Mmar and bring me back my daughter." Cecilia dejectedly stared at Abel, then at Mmar. He appeared to be actually considering the option. She let out a sadugh. What a horrible man her father was. Never in her life had she seen such a psychopath, narcissistic shell of a human. Was it over, then? If it was, she might as well try to fight¡ª "No. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I don''t work with people that have already fleeced me," he shrugged before ncing at her. "You already owe me the money. You are an honorless piece of trash, rence. You should see the look on your daughter''s face right now. I''d watch out if I were you. If looks could kill¡­ and she doesn''t even know what you just said." Cecilia froze. What? "Aren''t you going to kill me first?" "Kill you? No, no, not unless you force me to. Killing clients is bad for business. All I want is my money, and then I''ll slip out of this Arceus-forsaken region." "Good luck with that. How''s Hearthome treating you? I''ve heard a full man-hunt for you is currently on the way." So that was why he said that he''d been short on time, Cecilia thought. "I''ll easily slip out. I always do." "We will see about that. I believe we are done here, then?" "See youter, rence. I''ll make sure I''m paid in full. Oh, and by the way, the phone was on speaker the entire time, you moron. Your daughter heard everything. I''m not going to be the one sinking Harvey, she will. Say goodbye to your merger, rence. Now you know what happens when you cross me." Abel hung up Cecilia''s phone before her father could even react and threw it on herp. "Well, your acting skills could use some work," he continued, getting up from her chair. "Forget about my questions, I''m leaving this city. Those pieces of shit grunts gave up everything about me. Dan, they know what you''re dressed like, so you''ll need to change." The child jumped up and down excitedly. "None of that," Abel said, clicking his tongue and recalling Mmar. Even though he''d said he wouldn''t mind control her, the relief she felt when the psychic type was gone was immense, and the room immediately returned to normal. Still, she wouldn''t scream¡ª not when he was about to leave peacefully. Her eyes widened when the child''s entire body changed in front of her. His skin turned purple, and his face grew thicker, more square, while his hair turned from dark brown to a lighter one, and he grew taller by more than one foot. He''d turned into Abel¡ª clothes and all. "Not now, and not in front of her, damn it!" Abel groaned, losing hisposure for the first time. He turned to Cecilia, and his stare grew sinister. "I won''t tell anyone what I saw! You can let me be!" She begged. "Arceus¡­" he sighed. "Well, ignoring the obvious, I feel like things will work out in my favor if I let you run around. Dan, you''re grounded. Zazza¡ª" "Wait! Before you leave, I have to ask you something." "No. I don''t owe you anything." Cece decided to ask anyway. "Amy Saunier¡­ was she under your Mmar''s control at any point?" Abel scoffed. "Oh, that''s what you wanted to ask? Well, why not. She was not, but she certainly was under your father''s." Cecilia''s shoulders slumped. So Amy had said the truth when she said that nothing had been done to her during that fateful night at the hotel. She bit her lip and blinked to chase away tears. They hadn''t been friends for months, but it was still sad to see that she''d done so much evil out of her own volition. At least she had closure now. She would never forgive her. "Satisfied? Zazza, grab Dan and let''s go." The old woman, who Cecilia had almost forgotten somehow, grabbed Dan by the neck and jumped out the open window, and she heard a thud. She was on the third floor, and yet she''dnded like it was nothing! The air beyond her window grew strange and distorted. Extrasensory. Abel jumped into the patch of air and was slowly lowered until he reached the street. Cecilia ran to the window and saw the passersby scream, recognizing him as he released a Xatu and teleported away. Cecilia took a deep breath and closed her window. And she copsed on her knees, crying her heart out in relief and confusion for fifteen minutes. She called the police immediately afterward. ¡ª I''d still been talking to Turtonator when I got Justin''s call telling me that something had gone wrong with Cecilia. As it turned out, we had quite a lot more inmon than I ever believed we could have. Kamaile Nnie had a run-in with Team Gctic during his trek through Mount Cor. He''d been traveling with two other trainers he''d grouped up with at the outpost, and he was helping them through the mountain. They found Team Gctic in the middle of the mountain, where patrols were scarce, and the wildlife was dangerous. The fact that they could have potentially still been there while we were inside terrified me, but my experiences with Team Gctic had been easypared to what Kamaile went through. When it became apparent that they wouldn''t hesitate to order their Pokemon to kill them, the two trainers with Kamaile ran away, leaving him alone against a squad of grunts. He fought valiantly, but it wasn''t enough. One of them had apparently been so powerful that even Turtonator stood no chance, which if I had to guess, meant that it was a Commander. I tried to get more information out of him, but he refused to tell me anything else. Kamaile ended up dying after trying to recall his Pokemon to not get them killed, and that caused Turtonator¡ª the only one who''d been left¡ª to go into a rampage so powerful that they had been forced to leave because of the heat. I didn''t know if the two trainers that ran ever said anything about Team Gctic, but it looked like they hadn''t, so that helped exin his inherent hatred toward trainers. He saw them all as the same people who got his trainer killed. To be honest, could I even me them for running? They had barely known each other. I couldn''t. I could me them for not reporting it to the authorities, but running? I might have run too, unless I froze first. Kamaile seemed to have been a heroic person. Not everyone would be capable of standing up to Team Gctic like that, and maybe the two trainers had thought that he''d run too. Turtonator despised them for being ''cowards'' and escaping, but he was holding them at impossible standards. Standards I''d have to meet, if I ever wanted to be able to use him in battle. Still, I said nothing to Turtonator. Even if he had asked to speak alone without my other Pokemon listening, he''d let himself be vulnerable and told me his story, so it was something we would talk about at ater date, and I''d need to call the rangers to tell them about how Kamaile truly died. The Pokemon Center was swarming with local policemen, the International Police, and League trainers. It had beenpletely cleared of trainers, but I was allowed through. I saw Louis on the way to where they were leading me, but we could only wave at each other before the police led me away. "Cecilia Obel wouldn''t talk without you there," the cop exined. "How bad is she?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop. "She seemsposed enough, just slightly shaken. She just refused to speak to anyone without seeing you first, which is why you were called here urgently." I nodded, and the cop opened the room''s door. They were apparently using the Center rooms as makeshift interrogation rooms. Inside, Cecilia brightened up as soon as she saw me, greeting me with a slight smile. I was d to see that just like the officer had said, she hadn''tpletely broken down, and she didn''t seem to be faking it either. Still, I could tell that she was more affected than she showed. "Cece!" I breathed out as I rushed toward her. She stood up and hugged me tightly. "What happened? Justin told me a bit with his phone call, but¡­ are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?" "I''m fine," she nodded. "More angry than anything, now. I was powerless¡­ but we can talk about thatter," she said, ncing toward the two other people in the room¡ª a man and a woman who both looked to be in their forties. They both sat on chairs that they had no doubt brought from other rooms. The woman sported a short bob cut, and the man had an elongated face with thick, sharp eyebrows. They both had ck hair, wore long, brown coats and ties, and looked sleep-deprived with deep bags under their eyes. "Good evening," the man started. "I''m Agent Looker, and this is Agent Lynn with the International Police. Normally, we''d ask you questions individually, but¡­ these are extraordinary circumstances, after all, so we were willing to make an exception." I stared at Cece, who simply responded with a curt nod. I was surprised to see that the International Police was seemingly taking over the investigation, but I knew that they were helping with Team Gctic, so it wasn''t too out of the ordinary. "We''ll be recording this conversation, by the way," Agent Lynn said. Her voice was surprisingly docile and soft. She pulled out a small audio recorder and turned it on. "Today''s the¡­ what''s today?" "The 15th." "Thank you. January 15th, and we are speaking to Cecilia Obel and Grace Pastel," she continued. I saw Cece grimace at herst name, and I patted her thigh to support her. "So, Cecilia. You called the police an hour ago, telling us that Abel was in the Pokemon Center. There were multiple people that witnessed him getting out, but we''d like to know what you talked about," Lynn asked. Cecilia told us everything¡ª including the fact that Abel had two aplices and that he used the Bianchis of being directly involved with Team Gctic. The thought of it made my head spin. Team Gctic, Abel, the Bianchis and the Obels were all linked, and we were in the middle of it all. It felt like trying to survive in the middle of a hurricane. Still, at least it looked like Josephine had been partly right. Abel didn''t care about us whatsoever, he just wanted to use Cece as a means to ess her father. He was still a terrible person, though. He''d threatened her to get her to do his bidding, knowing that she''d be incapable of refusing and fighting back. Not only that, but he also worked with Team Gctic. From the way she described him, it seemed that he did indeed put money above everything, but he held grudges and held them well. Cecilia had also told the police about how he valued honor, which was funny, because nothing about mind control and basically being a hitman seemed honorable to me. Despite hating him, I was starting to understand how he functioned. "Let''s get back to the two individuals apanying him," Looker said. "You said that the smaller child called Dan changed his face in front of you?" "Not just his face. He became an entirely different person and turned into Abel." Looker stared at Lynn and hummed. "Sounds like a Ditto, no?" Before hearing about its transformation, I had thought that they''d both been mind controlled, but apparently not? Ditto turning into a human was banned by thew, but Abel was a criminal, so I supposed that made sense. Plus, if the nk stare and the creepy grin was anything to go on, they''d make any kind of mind control really obvious. A Mmar was a lot subtler than that. The woman agreed. "Would fit the way it turned purple when it changed, and the fact that it didn''t talk, just gurgled. Ditto can only turn into things that it sees. But what about the woman? Zazza, you said?" Cecilia nodded. "She never said anything either. Just grunts. But the¡­ Ditto didn''t look that powerful, while she seemed to have superhuman strength. She moved so quickly, and jumped out the window like it was nothing." "Hm¡­ doesn''t seem like a Ditto to me. They can''t be stronger than what they turn into, humans included. We''ll have to keep a tab on it for now," Looker told Lynn as he took notes. "It''s most likely rted to the hair he asked of her. A strange requirement for a transformation." Ditto, Mmar and Xatu were his confirmed Pokemon now, but there were still seven more unknown ones. The fact that he had a teleporter exined how he''d managed to escape so many times, and it also meant that the League would have to work a lot harder to arrest him. "Um, are you going to arrest Harvey Bianchi and rence Obel?" I sprung up. Getting rid of them would make most of our problems disappear. "We can''t go in detail about that, but we''ll certainly do something about it, along with Sinnoh''s League." I sighed in relief. There was also the fact if what Abel had said was true, the Directorate was somehow involved with Team Gctic as well, and they also had something to do with the recent bailout package that had been passed. Cynthia needed to do something and clean house, because this was quickly bing untenable. But maybe that was Team Gctic''s strategy. They knew that they couldn''t win in a direct confrontation, so their n was to be a thorn in the League''s side to slow them down until they could enact whatever n they had. Maybe they wanted to create a coup and take over the region, or maybe they just wanted to sow chaos. Agent Looker and Agent Lynn kept asking Cecilia questions for another hour and a half, mostly going over her story over and over again and asking for more and more detail each time they did. They also told us that everything here was confidential and that we weren''t allowed to leak her detailed testimony to the public outside of our circle¡ª meaning the people who had been interrogated here today. Of course, it had unfortunately already leaked. People knew that Abel had been in a Pokemon Center, and they knew that he''d spoken to Cecilia, but they were mostly concerned about the media getting a hold of the full testimony. I also told them about Team Gctic hanging around in Mount Cor, along with a potential Commander and they told me that they''d look into it. After that, they gave us their number in case we remembered anything else, thanked us, and left. "How are you really?" I immediately asked her. "I''m terribly angry," she answered. "Despite all the progress we''ve made, this is the weakest I''ve ever felt, Grace. We''re big fish in a small pond. The wider world¡­ is so much more powerful. I thought I was making progress. I thought I''d never be weak again." "You''ll grow stronger," I said firmly. "We all will. And look, odds are, your dad and Louis'' dad are finally going down, right? I mean, Josephine talked about usible deniability, but they''re beyond that now. They''re fucked." "Harvey is. rence might be fine, since he wasn''t used. The League will probably investigate him, though." I pressed my head against my hands. "Right. Abel can''t get his money back if rence loses everything. This was a warning. He sank Harvey to show him that he might be next." Cecilia nodded, then waited a few seconds before talking again. "You know what Abel told me before he left?" "Hm?" "He said he felt like things would work out in his favor if he let me run around. I keep trying to think about what it means, but I can''t." "Didn''t he just mean with your dad? You''ve literally just exposed Harvey for working with Team Gctic, didn''t you? You did what he couldn''t, and now he''s going to get arrested, and rence might give him his money." "No, that''s too obvious," she shook her head. "I might be overthinking it, but I think he meant something else, and it scares me." If it wasn''t with her father, it could only mean Team Gctic, but how? We weren''t doing anything with Team Gctic, and even though Turtonator was connected to them, I wasn''t about to jump into the burning house and try to fight a terrorist organization. Wait, even that made no sense. He was working with them, not against them, so in what way was Cecilia going to help him? It made no sense! Maybe he''d just said it to bother her¡­ no, he didn''t seem like the type. Damn it, this was bothering me too, now. Honestly, the more I thought about this, the worse it got. Abel was working with Team Gctic, and so was Harvey, but they were also enemies. How did that even work? "I''ll try to think about what it meant," I said. "Coming up nk right now, though." "It''s alright," she smiled. "To be honest, I''m taking this a lot better than I thought I would. In the moment, I was terrified, but I''m¡­ I''m okay, at least. I didn''tpletely break down, I just feel tense. Thankfully, Abel won''te after me again. I did learn something, though." "What is it?" I asked. "When Pauline saw Abel back in Eterna, he had his Mmar with him, right? And when he came here, he also had his Mmar, a Ditto, and some unknown Pokemon," she said, before hesitating. "Mars¡­ Mars has Dusknoir hanging around her at all times, and when Fantina took down those five grunts, she told the media it was because at least one of her ghosts always stays outside of their Pokeball. Cynthia walks around with her Garchomp out at all times¡­" I was slowly starting to get her point. "Good trainers always have at least one Pokemon out. Or at least people that are expecting to be in danger." "Exactly," she nodded. "If I had had Slowking with me when I walked into my room, then¡­ I know Abel is more powerful than I am, but maybe he could have bought me enough time to run away. If Abel had worse intentions than he did, it would have been over for me." She waspletely right. We always had at least one Pokemon out on the routes, but in the cities? We almost always traveled with them in their Pokeballs. Of course, sometimes they''d be forced to go back in, like when we entered certain buildings or public transportation, but Pokemon like Slowking were allowed in the majority of ces. Ghosts were convenient, since they could hide wherever you went. I had already thought about how necessary psychic types or Pokemon capable of psychic type attacks were to a trainer in the wild due to how excellent they were at protecting us, and I believed it was time to put my money where my mouth was. In my case, Togetic could work. Electabuzz could work too, since he had fast reaction times and knew Protect. I''d have to tell this to the others too. The safer we were, the better. I sighed, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over me. So much stuff had happened these past two days that the world feltpletely different than it had been before. "Should we go meet the others?" Cecilia asked. "I think we should have a meeting." ¡ª Pauline''s room was packed. There''d been more people than everyone expected. Pauline had thought that it''d be just our old group, meaning that Louis would be included, but he''d brought with him his two travelingpanions, one of which was Mira, who I had met in Fantina''s gym, and the other was Maeve, who''d fought him at the Floaroma tournament. Apparently, she even knew Chase. It was funny how small the world could be. After asking Cecilia if she wasn''t too hurt or shaken, Louis ced himself in the corner of the room and kept fidgeting nervously. Emilia nervously licked her lips, staring around the room as her eyes settled on Chase, who was leaning against the wall and staring out the closed window. Slowking tapped on Cecilia''s shoulder, and the girl winced due to the telepathy. Someone wasing. Denzel and Justin strode into the room, and they were thest to arrive. Why were Maeve and Mira here? Louis had already told them everything right away before he was interrogated, so we figured it''d be good to bring them in. Maeve seemed extremely nervous, and she probably didn''t want to be involved in this. The fact that she''d forced herself toe meant that Louis had made himself some good friends in our absence. Why was Chase here? Well, his case was a bit muddier. I had pushed to bring him in until everyone ended up epting. Denzel and Cecilia hadn''t pushed back too hard anyway. He was technically not allowed to be there, but when I phoned Lynn, she surprisingly gave me the okay. Apparently, the League was announcing something big regarding the Directorate tomorrow, so they didn''t exactly care about confidentiality anymore. "Let''s get started," Denzel said. "We need to make a concrete n for the future¡ª" "Wait, is no one going to exin why I''m here?" Chase interrupted with an irritated tone. "Hold on¡­ no one told you? Grace?" Denzel asked, looking at me. Oh. Right. In all of the excitement and wrangling I had to do to convince to get him out of hisfort zone and a room full of people¡­ I simply forgot. "Oops?"
Chapter 136 Chapter 136
CHAPTER 136 "Pffft¡ª hahahaha!"Miraughed, doubling over. "Oh man, you guys are ariot!You''re telling me this guy doesn''t even know what he''s here for?" "I don''t even know you," Chase said. "You''re making a terrible first impression." "Mira¡­" Maeve groaned. The pink-haired girl sprung up. "We should be friends¡ª" "No." "I''m sorry, Chase," I sighed before quickly bringing him up to speed. He didn''t seem to react very much, although I caught him sneaking some worried nces at Cece. "There, you''re caught up." "Okay. So what is this for? Are we going to fuck up these guys, or what?" He asked. "You know what, I''d enjoy that very much," Pauline smirked. "But we couldn''t even if we wanted to." "All of usbined? They can''t be invincible." "Don''t be stupid, guys," Denzel said. "We''re not going after anyone. That''s not what this meeting is for, this isn''t a movie. Let the League do its job." "We believe that since everyone here has been involved with Cecilia or Louis one way or another, we''d best bring you all into the loop and find ways to defend ourselves in case things go south again," Justin exined. "I mean, I think I got the gist of what happened when Louis told us but¡­ aren''t your dads going to get arrested? We should be fine," Maeve said. "Don''t be naive," Pauline rolled her eyes. "See, this is why¡ª" A stare from both Denzel and Emilia shut her down. Emilia started to speak. "What Paulinemeantto say is that while yes,Harveywill probably get arrested, it''ll take an investigation from the International Police and the League. They were implied to be transferring funds to Team Gctic, right? They''d be foolish to have left a paper trail." "Harvey''s days are numbered, but a cornered Pokemon tends tosh out even if it''d make no sense," Justin said, turning to Louis'' friends and Chase. "And unfortunately, you''re all involved, so you might be targeted." "I''ll beat ''em," Chase shrugged. "If this is when you ask to travel as arge group, then I''ll have to say no." "We weren''t going to," Cece said. "It was just a general warning. Keep a Pokemon out with you at all times, and be careful of who you potentially befriend." "Not sure this guy''s going to make any new friends withoutmeto help," Mira said, pointing her thumb at Chase. He just ignored her. "Please take this seriously," I chided. Her eyes narrowed, and she stared me down for a few seconds before relenting. "Sorry, sorry! I''m a little bit of an airhead." "Louis?" Cecilia asked worriedly. "You''ve been quiet." "W¡ªwhat?" He recoiled. "Maeve''s been quiet too." "Please don''t throw me under the bus," she muttered. "I''m just scared." "You should leave me, then," he said. "Of course not. Plus, what''s done is done. They already know we''re friends." "Let''s get back on topic," Denzel pped his hands. "Like Cecilia said, you should have a Pokemon with you, even in a city. That''s the most important bit to take from this. Something with defensive capabilities would be ideal¡ª like a psychic¡ª but if you''re like me and you don''t have any, then a fast Pokemon would do the trick. Especially you, Emi, since you''ll be alone in Hearthome. Second, we should create a group chat so we can allmunicate. Since we''re not going to travel together, it''d be good to keep tabs on each other until this whole thing blows over, at the very least." "Don''t forget to bring Vincent up to speed," I told her. Emilia had tried to bring in Vincent, but he couldn''t make it because he was working at his part-time job. We hadn''t known if he''d been with us enough to warrant him being here, but we wanted to be thorough. "Can''t we ask the police for bodyguards or something?" Maeve asked. "Bodyguards on the routes would basically be impossible," Denzel shook his head. "Maybe in the cities, but I wouldn''t count on it. The only person they might give one to is Cece, because Abel seems interested in her, but even that isn''t guaranteed." "That''s such bullshit," Paulineined. "They don''t give a fuck about us." "I wouldn''t go that far," Justin said. The redhead huffed and turned away from him. "What''s some crummy police officer going to do that we can''t?" Mira shrugged. "We''re getting to the point where we''re more powerful than even those. The only thing that could be useful would be some League trainers, but it''s not like that''s ever happening." "So youcanbe smart. Why aren''t you smart all the time?" Chase asked. "Maybe it''s because I want to see your reactions," she joked. "Emi, you''ll have to keep training your Beldum''s Confusion or get him started on Psychic, I think," I said. "Not like it wouldn''t help with contests." "I was nning on doing that anyway." "Okay. Think you''ll be alright, then?" "I don''t n on making you guys worry about me. I''ve got to be able to do things on my own too," she said. "Let''s move onto Abel, then," Justin said. "That Mmar psycho? What''s there to say about him? Isn''t he basically on our side?" Chase asked. "As long as the money blows that way," Cecilia whispered. "There are still things we haven''t considered. What if rence offers him a sum so ridiculous that he not only stops going after him, but changes his mind andes after us again? Money is all he values." "Pay him to fuck off?" Mira mused. "That certainly sounds possible." "There''s also Louis'' dad to consider," I said. "He''s more involved with Team Gctic than rence, if Abel''s words are to be believed." "My father¡­ I''m going to get my chance to speak to him again no matter what," Louis said. "Well, hopefully you''ll speak to him during visitor hours in prison," Mira cheerfully said. There was a small lull in the conversation, and I used it as my opportunity to bring up what I wanted to talk about. "On the topic of Abel¡­ I wanted to ask a question regarding Ditto. Justin, you know a bit about those, right?" I asked, and he responded with a nod. "Could a Ditto that turns into a human potentially grow stronger than one? The police said no, but I wanted to be sure." "No. That older woman Cecilia describedcannotbe a Ditto." Damn, so it really was some other shapeshifter Pokemon. I didn''t even know that more existed in the first ce, but there was no other exnation. It was the only thing that lined up with the behavior Cecilia had described. And it could use Extrasensory. That Xatu hadn''t been the one to lower Abel out of the building. "I''m stumped on what it could be, but the people in charge will probably figure it out," I said. "But Cece, I think you''re wrong. Didn''t Abel say that he''dneverwork with rence again? There''s a weird honor code he abides by, so I think that it''s usible." "I won''t take that chance. I''ve been cking off too much. I''m going to try to get Slowking a psychic teacher that can teach him how to shield minds. It''ll take months, but it''s the best I''ve got." "But who?" Justin asked. "I can certainly find one. Maybe not in Sceon, but Veilstone is arge city. There''s bound to be a psychic expert there to teach him. Once they get started, Slowking will be able to continue working on it on his own." The water type sagely nodded. "Maybe I''ll do the same with my Kadabra!" Mira said excitedly. "You don''t have money," Maeve rolled her eyes. "I''ll pay for it," Louis said. "It baffles me, but my father¡­ my father still hasn''t cut off my money." "You still have a private ount, right?" Cecilia asked. "Then you should do what I did, and withdraw everything right now. The situation''s changed. Who knows what Harvey will do now?" "Very well. If you say so, Cecilia, I will do it." I frowned at that, but let it go. "How are your Pokemon doing, by the way?" I asked Louis. "Still having trouble with Gible?" "Well, Denzel''s Sylveon has knocked most of his confidence away, so he mostly listens to what I say these days," he said with an awkward smile. "The rest are doing well, and I''ve caught a Pawniard." "He''s a tough little thing," Maeve said. "Louis carries his favorite rock wherever he goes. I find it cute." "No flirting!" Mira yelled. "This is a serious meeting. Chase, say something!" "Huh?" Chase grunted. "That wasn''t flirting," Maeve rolled her eyes. "You can call people cute tonically¡­ you can right? I mean, I''m actually not sure, but Ithinkyou can? Any help?" "How did this get derailed so quickly?" Denzel pinched his nose. "I feel like people arenotgrasping how serious this is. Let''s move on from Abel, there''s no way to know if he''ll change his mind or not, and we don''t even know how his rtionship with Team Gctic will affect this as a whole." "True, that could be a curveball," I said. "I mean¡­" Mars had probably moved on from me by now, right? It had beenmonths. No one could be that obsessed. "I mean, it''s probably best to think about it like a mutually beneficial rtionship. He hasn''t actually joined them, so the moment it bes inconvenient for him to work with them, he''ll stop." "Yeah, the news said that he was just a middleman. Anyway, Idowant to ask everyone to try to get your Pokemon to the next level as soon as you can. We all want to make it to the Conference¡ª or the Grand Festival, in Emi''s case¡ª so we should already be doing it anyway." "I train more than any of you already, Williams," Chase said. "Wait, what''s this? You call people by theirst names?" Mira curiously asked. "Yes." "You don''t know myst name. What''d you call me?" "Loser." "Haha! You''re too much, man!"She cackled. She tried to p his back, but he easily knocked her hand away. Denzel buried his face in his hands and groaned. "For example, I''ve got the money to buy a Dawn Stone now that I''m sponsored. I was going to wait, but I can''t afford to. Plus, I think Snorunt is ready." I knew what he meant. He didn''t particrly mean training, per se. We all already trained a ridiculous amount. I believed what he meant was oveing the bottlenecks that restrained us. For him, it was not evolving his Snorunt. For me, it was probably not having money for a Shiny Stone and needing to get Turtonator on board. Our conversation had been cut short. Something I''d hope to remedy tomorrow morning. For Mira¡­ well, it was probably her issues with her Haunter. For Pauline, it was how picky she was with her Pokemon. She quite literally easily put Denzel''s pickiness to shame. At least he had a concrete list, but she was just going at it half-heartedly, hoping something would catch her attention. Justin''s was less on the Pokemon side of thing, and more on his indecisiveness during fights. He had mped down on it during his battle with Fantina, but I didn''t know how he''d react in an actual street fight with no rules. Hell, even I wouldn''t know how I''d react. I didn''t know enough about Maeve toe up with something. Cece¡­ well, she tended to rely on power too much, I supposed. Power wouldn''t work against tricky people like Abel or against hitmen potentially stronger than we were. We''d need ingenuity to make it out. Not only that, but her Scyther was a lot weaker than it could be in battle due to not listening to her. Louis'' bottleneck had always been his Gible, but it looked like that''d be fixed soon, and Emilia''s was the fact that her Pokemon other than Beldum were stagnating. Even coordinators trained their Pokemon''s strength. Therewasa battle phase, after all. "When we make it to Sceon, we should stay there andy low for a bit before going to Veilstone. It works out for us, since there''s a tournament we wanted to join. With some luck, this whole thing will blow over while we''re there. Abel''s goal is to head to Veilstone, so I think we should wait a little," I said. "I ain''t waiting," Chase shook his head. "And I''m not going to Veilstone either. I''m going to Celestic first." "Route 210''s pretty dangerous," I warned. "The visibility¡ª" "It''s important to me and Ri." Ah. It was true that he had referred to wanting to travel to Celestic multiple times now, but I hadn''t known it wassentimental. "I understand. Just stay safe," I said. "If Mount Cor couldn''t take me down, some fog won''t do it either," he shrugged. Mira pouted. "Bummer. I would have liked for you to travel withusinstead of alone. Maeve told me that she knew you." "We traveled together through Eterna Forest," she exined. "He was¡­ different, back then." "I might have been a prick," he shrugged again. "Doesn''t really matter now." "You''re still kind of a prick, but you''re growing on me," Pauline said. "I like how blunt you are." Chase smiled. "Thanks, I guess. Ri says that I should be nicer, though. Self improvement and all of that." "Oh, your Riolu! I missed the little guy. I haven''t seen him in so long," Maeve said. "Little guy? He''s more than twice your age." "Oh. Wait,what?" The meeting kept derailing, but Denzel, Cece and I kept trying our best to get it back on track. Soon enough, people started to leave. Chase was first, saying that he needed to go and work out. Then, Louis'' group left, and it was just us. I left to finally tell dad what was going on, and he told me he''d try to get us official League protection somehow, but I already knew that was probably a lost cause. He was worried to death, especially when he was leaving soon, but I promised him I''d stay safe. My Pokemon were getting strong enough to defend me from threats, and he''d seen them battle. Still, Abel was out of reach for now, but all we could do was hope that he''d keep targeting Cecilia''s dad. Soon enough, I went back to my room and went to sleep. ¡ª I woke up to a soft, yet purposeful knock on my door. Togetic instantly sprung to action, and her eyes started to glow, but I stopped her with a gentle tap. She was sleeping with me tonight, just in case. Now that we knew even Pokemon Centers weren''t safe, I was sure that we were all sleeping with at least one of our Pokemon out. "Calm down, Princess," I yawned. "That''s Cece''s knock." Izily strode to my room, scratching my stomach until I reached the door. When I opened it, I immediately left my half-asleep, dazed state. She looked distraught. Her eyes were red, like she''d been crying. Slowking was diligently following behind her, and he stared at me with pleading eyes. She needed help. "So youwereaffected after all," I softly said. "Come here." I let Slowking through, closed the door and gently held her in my arms. "I couldn''t sleep. I''m so tired, but I justcan''tfall asleep. I don''t know why," she sniffled. "I don''t even feel particrly scared. I''m just on edge all the time. I can''t stop thinking that something''s going to go wrong." I rubbed her back, letting her vent her worries. "Can I sleep with you?" "Come on," I said. "You don''t even need to ask, you''ve done it a lot already. I can get Buddy to help, if you want. He doesn''t need to sleep, so maybe you''ll feel safer." She hesitantly nodded, and I grabbed his Pokeball from my nightstand, releasing him. Jellicent stared at me curiously. He hadn''t expected her to be here, or to be out tonight. "You''re on watch tonight. Remember how I said I''d keep you guys out more from now on for security?" I said. The water type nodded and let out a smooth, deep cry. "He''ll be on top of things," I smiled. "Maybe he can bond with your Slowking too. Princess will probably fall asleep though, but she''d probably annoy Slowking anyway¡ª wait, I''m rambling." Cecilia smiled and shook her head. "It''s okay, you know I like it. Plus, it makes me feel like everything''s normal." I rxed as we both got into the bed. It was true that I was finding it easier not to panic than I thought it would be. In fact, I felt strangely calm. It wasn''t like I wasn''t worried, but a part of me had already expected things to go to shit. Harvey and rence had always been in the back of my head, and I''d known that something rted to them would go wrong. Maybe it was because I''d been through so much at this point that I was starting to get used to it. Then again, it wasn''tmethat Abel had threatened. It was Cece. I ced her head against my chest. "Do you feel it? My heartbeat." "Mhm," she softly said. "It''s so slow." "Does it help? With destressing you, I mean." She wrapped her arms around me. "Yes." Jellicent was having a quiet conversation with Slowking, and Togetic waszily listening while lying on his head, sometimes chiming in. "Thank you for being there for me," Cece said. "Of course," I said. "We''re all here for you. The others too." "I know, it''s just¡­ it''s special with you. I feel whole with you there." The conversation paused, and I considered what to say. What she needed was¡­ "What do you say we go somewhere tomorrow for a change of pace? It''ll do both of us some good." "There was a ce I found¡­ a ce with a piano. You told me you wanted to y." My heart fluttered. "You remembered?" "Obviously. Do you want to go in the morning?" "Hm, I''ve got to talk to Turtonator, so that might take a while. What about the afternoon?" "There are too many people." "Are you worried about spies?" I asked. Was she so shaken that she didn''t even want to go outside when there''d be a lot of people¡ª "No, you''ll just bother the people there. You don''t know how to y, right? It''d be annoying to hear that." "What?! Hey!" I protested. She giggled, and I startedughing too. "You know what, you''re probably right," I continued. "Thanks for finding it, though. Itpletely slipped my mind. Oh man, now I''m nervous¡­ I don''t even know how to read sheet music. Am I just going to improvise?" "Wasn''t that always the intention?" "Of course not! I thought I''d have more time to get ready. You need to y with me so that if something goes wrong, we''re both to me." "Don''t rope me into your schemes. I''d have you know that I already know how to y the piano quite well, although I might be rusty." "Oh. That makes sense," I nkly said, remembering that she used to take all kinds of lessons. "Wait, then you can teach me!" "I can''t start teaching you until you learn how to read sheet music, Grace." "I know a little. Do, re, mi¡­ fa¡­?" "You might be a lost cause already." "We all have to start from somewhere, Cece!" We''d been supposed to sleep, but we didn''t do so for two more hours. ¡ª I''d overslept, but it was for a good reason. I certainly felt a lot happier today than I did yesterday, and hopefully, things would settle down for a bit so people could have a period to unwind. The League would announcesomethingabout the Directorate this afternoon, and hopefully, it''d have to do with the apparent corruption there. It was probably too soon, though. They had onlyjustfound out about it, and surely they''d need to at least investigate. I was back at Amity Squareagain, and I grabbed Turtonator''s Pokeball. He''d told me his story, and I had told him mine, but we hadn''t talked about what it meant for our rtionship going forward. I released the hulking dragon, and he observed me with a curious eye. Tangrowth was standing behind me, soaking in the sunlight, but he was supposed to protect me from any attacks. Not from Turtonator. From people. "Morning, Sunshine," I smiled. Turtonator responded with an angry snort, dismissing the nickname immediately by beating his tail against the ground. His reaction hadn''t been as strong as I had expected, however. He didn''t even raise the temperature, which was a big win in my book. "Sorry, I just wanted to try it out," I said, leaning to the right. "Damn, you did a number on the floor. People work to keep it t and the grass mowed, you know." Turtonator ignored me, clearly not caring for the employees here andzilyid down, awaiting what I had to say. "Let''s talk."
Chapter 137 Chapter 137 CHAPTER 137 "First thing''s first," I said, sitting down next to the dragon. It was the first time he''d ever let mee this close. "I thought I''d let you know what happened. I cut our conversation short without warning, and I''m sorry about that. Something happened to Cecilia." Turtonator frowned, making me realize that he''d forgotten who she was, or maybe he''d just not even registered her in the first ce. It wasn''t like I could me him¡ª he hadn''t spent any time with any of my friends, and he couldn''t have even if he wanted to. Pokemon like Turtonator couldn''t be out and about in the street unless you had privileges that came with working for the League, and he''d probably try to kill them anyway. "Right. Uh, Cecilia''s my girlfriend and one of the people I''m traveling with. This is relevant because it has to do with Team Gctic." The fire type''s nose red, releasing thick hot smoke. I exined to him who Abel was, what he had done, and that he worked with Team Gctic. People like him seemed to be the kind of person that Turtonator despised the most: a slimy man that could only get by using tricks and valued money above all else, which must have been theplete opposite of Kamaile. "We''ve both spoken about our experiences with Team Gctic, but I need to know. What does that mean for us?" Turtonator let out a dismissive grunt, and arroganceoozedoff of him. "I''m not asking to use you in battle," I rolled my eyes. "I''m asking you what your goal is. Surely you won''t be content with just sticking around doing nothing for the rest of your life. That wouldn''t fit your profile. Personally, I wouldn''t mind. Sweetheart''s taken a liking to you, and she''d hate to see you leave. The others are warming up to you¡ª well, except Princess¡ª" He let out a loud snort when I uttered Togetic''s name. It seemed that the hate was mutual there. "¡ªAnd I''d like to get to know you too. You won''t have to fight," I shrugged. "But your behavior''s clearly changed since I told you everything. You''re nicer now, but it''s not out of pity. Youwantsomething." All of my Pokemon currently had goals. Electabuzz wanted to meet the three Gengar who raised him. Larvitar¡­ I feel like I was on the brink of figuring something out, but with everything that was going on, I hadn''t gotten the opportunity to have a one-on-one with her. Jellicent wanted to grow stronger to protect all of us, and Togetic was in the same vein, although she prioritized me a lot more than the others since I was the first being sheid her eyes on when she was born. What did Angel want? I turned toward the grass type, and he waved at me with a vine. I''d have to ask him to be sure, but he seemed to be enjoying taking care of Sweetheart. Turtonator curiously observed me, not bothering to answer. Like he knew thatIalready suspected something, and he wanted to see if I could reach the correct conclusion. "I don''t really know what you want," I sighed. "I''m good, but I''m not psychic. I haven''t¡­ known you long enough to read you like that." The fire type closed his eyes disappointedly and made me wait eight minutes until he talked again. Back when he''d told me about Kamaile, he''d spoken the words Team Gctic so many times and with so much hatred that they had been unmistakable. It took a bit of back and forth to finally understand. Revenge? No, not exactly. He did not want me to seek out Team Gctic, but he did want me to take them down when the opportunity arose, like Chase for example had done during the crisis at Valley Windworks¡ª breaking into the power nt and taking down a few grunts. There was precedent for events like this, like a trainer taking down Team Rocket''s secret base at the Cdon Game Corner and then intervened during their takeover of the Silph Co. building years ago during hisfirst year. A prodigy that had taken the region by storm, beating the Elite Four and Champion, then refused to take up the position himself. No one knew where he was now. I¡­I wasn''t like that. Plus, Turtonator had used the termwhen, not if. I had told him about Mars'' obsession with me, and my hopes that she had given up, but he seemed to put no stock into that. She didn''t match up with the Commander that attacked Kamaile in the mountain, and neither did Charon, so it must have been someone I had never seen. "It''s¡­ not my job to take them down," I said. "I know Kamaile would have, but¡­" I couldn''t. Turtonator disappointedly shook his head and turned away. It seemed that he wouldn''t agree to let me use him until I promised him this. I could have said yes, but I knew damn well it would have been a lie, even if I hadn''t wanted it to be. He was holding me to impossible standards. Now I truly knew what it was like to own a powerful dragon. It didn''t matter how good of a trainer I was. If he saw me as a coward, then he''d never help me.Iwould need to meet his expectations, not the opposite. I could only hope that I''d change his mind eventually. If not, well, I was content to just hang out with him. He was annoying and grumpy, but in a sort of endearing way. "Well, thanks for listening anyway, Sunshine," I smiled, ignoring his cries of protest. "Come on, at least let me call you that!" He somehow stared medownwhile lying on the floor. "It''ll grow on you¡­? Pretty please?" Turtonator shook his head and blew smoke into my face, sending me into a coughing fit, but Angel waved the smoke away with his huge hand and worriedly looked at me. "Not¡ª cool! Ugh, fine. I''ll just keep referring to you as that in my head, though. You can''t stop me." I considered bringing the rest of the family out, but people were starting to notice and stare at me. I probably had the only Turtonator in Sinnoh right now, and people were beginning to associate him with me, which meant that I was easily recognizable. Kamaile might have been a better trainer than I was, but he''d unfortunately never had my reach. Or maybe that was how he''d wanted to live. I''d never be able to figure it out until Sunshine talked to me about him, which he still refused to do beyond the bare minimum. He still didn''t even speak about his old teammates. Anyway, before Turtonator could get angry and injure someone, I recalled him and released Princess instead. People seemed to leave me alone when she was out,andshe was excellent for protection, so I was knocking two birds with one stone here. I had some time to kill until the League revealed their announcement and my date with Cece, so I considered stopping by route 208 to train and speak to Angel for a bit. Unfortunately, fate seemed to favor something else. My phone rang, and Denzel called me over with a single message. Denzel W. Meet me on route 209. I bought a Dawn Stone for Snorunt, and I want you to be there when I evolve her. Oh, and I''mpletely fucking broke, so I''ll need you to pay for my ride back? ¡ª "Hey guys," Denzel said, scratching the back of his head. Snorunt was jumping excitedly at his feet. "Thanks foring on such short notice." "Prrrrri!" Togetic happily yelled. "She says that she doesn''t mind," I tranted. "Anyway, you''re evolving her already? Even after the meeting yesterday, I thought that you''d wait for a while. Can I see the stone?" My best friend hesitantly stared around to see if anyone was there. We were at the edge of the route and hidden by the start of a small forest. Denzel pulled out the turquoise stone, and I gasped in awe at the glittering, iridescent gemstone. It shone with a warm glow, and its surface was smooth and wless. Denzel slipped it under the sunlight, and a pale star-shaped light appeared to glow from within. "Arceus¡­" "I know, right? I had to spend everything I had on this. I have almost nothing left." "You did at least buy vitamins, right?" "I did before, but I won''t have enough for TMs until next month now," he sighed. "How much was it?" "386,000 Pokedors," he said. I whistled. Denzel had been sponsored by so manypanies at this point that he had a lot more money than I did¡ª well, until now. With his streaming on the side, he''d probably be able to recover pretty soon, though. "So little Snorunt''s biting the bullet, then?" I asked. "Yeah. I''m nervous, but I think she''s ready," Denzel replied, releasing his Sylveon. Togetic squealed, and the two fairies greeted each other excitedly. "Worst-case scenario, I recall her, but I needed you in case she somehow went off the rails and tried to run or something." "Ah, yeah, Honey could help out with that." I grabbed Electabuzz''s Pokeball, releasing him, and I exined the situation. He seemed to be quite happy for Snorunt. The two had apparently formed some kind of camaraderie after their cooperation during the double battle against Cecilia and Chase. The electric type gave her a loud thumbs up, while Snorunt sniggered and ran up to him, her smile widening. "You''ve treated her well, I think it''ll be fine," I said. "I hope so. She doesn''t seem to care about anything I say, she''s just excited to evolve," Denzel smiled, looking at the ice type. "Snorunt, c''mere. It''s time." Snorunt yelled and dashed back toward Denzel a lot faster than I thought she could be, and he slowly lowered the stone until it touched her skin. The icy type grunted, and I shielded my eyes from the blinding light that overtook her. Togetic immediately created a few Ancient Power drills, just in case, and Electabuzz stood at attention. Sylveon stared at his teammate, seemingly unaffected by the blinding light, and was already ready to wrap his ribbons around her. I wasn''t even sure that''d work, since she would be a ghost. The Dawn Stone disappeared, fizzling into thin air, and Snorunt turned into a Fross. Her dress-like skin fluttered in the cold, winter wind, and her eyes had a slight yellow glow. She gently ced a hand over her mouth and observed us as the temperature started to drop a few degrees. "How do you feel?" Denzel asked. "Everything alright?" I was scared that she''d have a moment like Jellicent for a second, but she seemed¡­ rtively fine. Her eyes were flickering wildly, and they were darting in between all of us, but Sylveon touched her with a ribbon and brought her back to reality. "The ribbons work on her?" I asked, my eyes widening in surprise. "I think that with Sylveon, has to do with how strong the emotional connection is," Denzel whispered, watching his new Pokemon with awe. Fross stared down at Sylveon and let out a small giggle before disappearing, and Denzel panicked as he wildly turned around. Fross reappeared behind him, whispering something in his ear, and he fell over. Now that she was closer to me, her body felt socold. I took a few steps back and cupped my hands around my mouth to breathe out and warm them up. Ghosts lowered the temperature around them, but this was on another level. And it seemed that Denzel or Sylveon weren''t affected by it whatsoever. It was just me and my Pokemon. Electabuzz''s fur frosted over slightly, and Togetic''s did as well. They were Pokemon, so they''d be fine, but ifIstayed close to her for too long, I''d actually get injured. And it appeared that she was holding back.I smiled. It looked like Denzel had gotten a terrifying new battler. "Wanna try out her new strength?" I asked innocently. Really, I mostly wanted to figure out more about her before the Sceon tournament in case I''d have to fight Denzel. "You mean battle? No thanks. You know how dangerous that''d be¡ª I don''t even know what she''s capable of yet!" "Iknowthat, you idiot! I just meant, like, trying out Blizzard or something." "That''s the same thing! What if it''s so strong it hitsus," Denzel chided. "I''ll do itter in a controlled manner." "You just don''t want me to see it," I pouted. He chuckled. "Well, that''s part of it." "I''ll forgive you if you buy me something." "I literally just told you I was broke, dude." Denzel released the rest of his team and let them get ustomed to Fross'' new form. She giggled, and herugh echoed through the woods as she danced, disappearing and appearing at will in front of her team. Sylveon happily watched, and excitedly tapped his feet on the floor. Even Roselia and Lopunny were happy for her, which was a change of pace from their usual jealousy feud. Denzel and I just hung out for a while, which felt nice, since he hadn''t done that in a bit. We had both been busy, but he''d beenespeciallyso, which all his sponsored meetings, his not-so-secret meetings with Louis'' group, and his content creation. Most of our talk was just friendly banter and catching up. He told me about some of his funny experiences on his stream and some not-so-fun experiences in the forums. Just like me, it seemed that he had a vocal minority of haters, but he didn''t let it get him down. Anyway, it seemed like he''d given up on Caitlyn and let her down gently via text, since they never ended up meeting. Right now, we were better off not getting anyone new involved with us, at least until things calmed down. After a bit, I ended up walking off to have a one-on-one with Tangrowth, since now was as good of a time as any. Togetic stuck with her brother and happily pped at Fross'' tricks¡ª although from a distance¡ª so she seemed to have warmed up to her rather quickly. Tangrowth smiled with his eyes as soon as I released him and hugged me with his vines. "A, hey Angel," Iughed. He was acting like he hadn''t seen me in ages when it had barely been an hour. Tangrowth led me toward him, and I sunk into his body, embracing him. "We''re hanging out with Denzel''s team. See them over there?" I asked, nodding toward them. The grass type stared on curiously, ced me on his head, and I sat down on him. At this point, I was so used to him handling me like this that I didn''t even care. I''d used his vines as a pillow multiple times, and they were surprisinglyfortable. Man, I was collecting these. Jellicent, and Tangrowth made good pillows, and Princess would, too when she evolved. If I ever figured out how to evolve Electabuzz, well, maybe. Turtonator and Larvitar were a bust, though. Their bodies were too tough. "I had a question for you," I told the grass type. A vine tightened around my ankle, signaling me to continue. "What do you want in life? I know you like to experience and touch new things, but is there anything you want beyond that?" His vines curiously wriggled, and he gave my words some thought. In fact, he thought for so long that I almost believed that he''d forgotten my question, but after five minutes, he ced me back down in front of him and answered with a series of blinks as he gently cupped my cheek with his hand. Love. I smiled. "Aren''t you the cutest boy ever?" Sometimes, goals were small. And that was okay. ¡ª The League''s announcement was soon, and I wanted to watch. Apparently, it''d be a direct address to the people by Cynthia, and that didn''t happen every day. I walked into the Pokemon Center, and Denzel dashed to his room after thanking me for his bus ride. He wanted to stream his reaction to the announcement because people apparently went crazy for that. Ididremember a lot of battle reaction videos, and most of them got copyright struck down immediately or demized¡ª especially the Conference ones. The League didn''t joke around. Supposedly though, this one would be fine to stream. The League wanted as many people to see this announcement. "Grace Pastel!" A Nurse Joy called out. "We have a gift bag for you." "A gift bag?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "From who?" I wasn''t about to get killed by a booby-trapped gift bag, that was for sure. "The Poketch Company. A certain Melody Summers came to drop it off? Don''t worry, we made sure there were no sinister intentions at y." Well, if Nurse Joy said so¡­ I thanked her and grabbed the gift bag before taking the elevator to my room as Princesszily followed behind me. She wasn''t used to being out of her ball so much, and she was getting tired. I''d probably swap her out with Electabuzz soon. I was supposed to watch the announcement with Cece, but I supposed that I could open this up first. I dropped the basket on my desk and grabbed the note. Dear Grace, The Poketch Company has heard of the traumatic experience that befell your girlfriend yesterday, and we decided to help cheer you up with these gifts. Feel free to share them with anyone you wish. The Poketch Company "Well, aren''t they nice?" I mumbled as I searched through the bag. Promotion coupons for Poketch products, snacks, sweets¡ª "Holy crap, atenpercent off coupon at Arlyles? Nice!" And it was valid forever too! Alifetimeof ten percent off. The Poketch Company sure knew how to charm me. Since I remembered her telling me she liked pineapple during our stay in Eterna, I grabbed some weird pineapple candy I''d never even heard of before and made my way to Cece''s room. She greeted me with a kiss and led me inside. Slowking was standing with his hands behind his back, and he greeted me with a slight nod. Maybe I''d have him use telepathy on me. It was a learned process, and I was already thinking about getting a psychic type as a seventh Pokemon after my eighth badge. It''d be good if I was already desensitized to the pain by then. "What''s this?" She asked. "Wait, is that¡ª" I smiled smugly as I lifted the candy bag. "Pineapple candy." "For me?!" She yelled, kissing my cheek. "Thank you! Where''d you even get these? They only sell this brand in Unova! I haven''t had them in months, they''re my favorite!" Sothatwas why I''d never heard of these. The Poketch Company probably found out that Cecilia liked these somehow. It was getting abitcreepy, but at least they were doing this with good intentions. "Erm, the Poketch Company," I said. She was still hanging onto me in a really cute way, so I barely managed to get the words out. "You can have them all if you''d like. I''m not really a fan of pineapple." "Really? Well, don''t mind if I do then." She grabbed the package, and Slowking levitated the remote and turned on the television. "Darling, taste some," she said, handing a piece to the psychic type. Slowking looked like he didn''t want any, but he couldn''t refuse anything Cecilia said, so he ate it anyway. He kept a nk look on his face, but Cecilia winced. "JustSatisfactory?You have no taste, Slowking. Grace,e sit." Poor guy. She hadn''t told me anything when I said I didn''t like pineapple.Girlfriend privileges, I guess.I shot him an apologetic look, and he bowed his head. I obliged her, lying down on the bed with a rxed breath. Togetic on one side, and Cecilia on the other? This was heaven. Hopefully, the announcement would be what I thought it was, and Cynthia would finally start cleaning up the Directorate. Right now, the television was simply showing an empty podium where Cynthia was supposed to speak, and every news organization had sent their correspondents to the Lily of The Valley Ind, who were sitting in multiple rows of chairs below the podium. The speech was a few minuteste, but it was finally about to begin. Cynthia confidently strode on the podium with that confident smile she was well-known for, and a hulking Garchomp covered in shallow scars followed closely behind her, along with her spotless Lucario. They each stood on one side of her, and she immediately started her speech. "Greetings, fellow Sinnohans. I will get straight to the point. After a month-long investigation into the Directorate, the League has found that the majority of the new opposition party is being funded by Team Gctic and the Bianchi Conglomerate¡ª including the Prime Minister, Sophie Richards. The names of these culprits are Joey Rumsfeld, Pa arthy, Erika Anri, Isaac Matthew¡­" Cynthia kept listing name after name. In a way, it waschilling. So many people involved in this scheme right under our noses¡­ but then again, she''d been investigating for a month? So that meant that she''d suspected something all along, then. "Some of these people worked with Team Gctic willingly. Some were being ckmailed due to corruption. A full report about each individual crimemitted by each member will be released shortly after this announcement. The culprits are being arrested as I speak, and new special elections will take ce to rece them. As it stands, Sophie Richards cannot be Prime Minister, and an acting PM will be voted in by the Directorate in a few hours¡­" So it''d just be Vernon, then. Without the opposition, there was no way Cynthia wasn''t going to get what she wanted. The Directorate was going to be under her control again soon. "When the new special elections are concluded, there will be another, final vote in the Directorate to select the Prime Minister. The League is content to share power with non-trainers, but we will not tolerate such arge security breach on our doorstep. Team Gctic is a violent, dangerous organization that has tried to infiltrate all aspects of our lives. Including the Bianchi Conglomerate, who we will be going after." Our eyes widened.Thathadn''t been expected so soon, either. "Harvey Bianchi has been ced under arrest and is being charged with conspiracy against Sinnoh''s government and bribery. There were multiple people high up in the conglomerate''s echelon that were in the know, and that also contributed to these crimes. They are Jenson Reid, Carmen Hughes¡­" Another list of names.Somany people were going down. "As it stands, we don''t believe that the Bianchi Conglomerate is capable of running itself any longer. Unfortunately, their products are vital to trainer interests in the region, so as soon as the new Prime Minister is selected, The League will push for a bill to nationalize thepany and seize all of its assets." Holy fuck. ¡ª The news had put all of society into an uproar, but people were finding it hard to push back against Cynthia. ording to most experts, the investigations that they had revealed werethorough. Hundreds of phone message logs, voice logs, people caught on camera or on a secret microphone by League agents acting like Team Gctic members, and a few perpetrators who had confessed ahead of time to get a better deal with the League made the entire thing iron tight. Like I had thought, Vernon Harper was back in charge, and the nationalizing bill had passed by a wide margin. The Bianchi Conglomerate was falling apart. Trainermodities would be produced and sold by the League now, so the prices would finally go back to normal. In fact, they''d be cheaper than they had been before. Another part of Cynthia''s speech had mentioned that rence was ced under lockdown while they investigated him further. He was still a free man, but going back to Unova wasn''t an option for him anymore. Abel had trapped himpletely. Harvey''swyers were already arguing that he should be allowed bail, but he was deemed a flight risk, so the League wasn''t going to budge. We had all tried calling Louis, but he needed some time alone, it seemed. He''d wanted to talk to his father onest time, and it looked like he had expected some kind of final confrontation, which he apparently wouldn''t get. He wasn''t even speaking to Maeve or Mira. As for me? Well, I was happy enough. Just like what we had said, Harvey would no longer be a threat, and rence was being watched like a hawk. I could only hope that he''d made a mistake somewhere and that he''d fall too, then there''dreallybe nothing to worry about. Either way, it was the evening now, and Cece and I decided tofinallygo to that ce with the piano she told me about. I had expected some kind of music-oriented establishment, but it was actually a small mall with a piano just sitting in one of the halls. Most stores were closed or closing at this point, and people were on their way out. ording to Cecilia, it was a lot emptier than when she''de here, so going at night did make sense. I hesitantly approached the instrument and observed the polished, ivory keys. It''d always been a silly dream of mine, but I couldn''t help but think that ying the piano was the coolest thing ever. When I imagined the potential¡ª Electabuzz mmed a hand on the keys and ruined the moment. I simply sighed, and he let out a bellowingugh. We were using him and Slowking today. It wasn''t like Cecilia had any choice in the matter anyway¡ª Zweilous wasn''t allowed to be out in most ces in the city, and like Fletchinder, his ability to defend her would be limited. Scyther was just Scyther. That meant that I was going to see the water type a lot more, especially in cities. "Two rows? That''s crazy¡­" I muttered. I touched one of the keys, and my finger tingled as a soft, mellow sound filled the hall. "That''s certainly a lot to keep track of, but we can just use one row for now," she said. We both sat at the piano, and Cece started teaching me thebasicsof the basics. Unfortunately though, we were kicked out thirty minutester because the mall was closing, so I didn''t have many opportunities to learn. At the very least, I knew what keys made what sound¡­ baby steps. The next day, Chase left for Sceon. He''d wait for us there before leaving to Celestic, at the very least. My dad also left back to Jubilife that day. The Poketch Company ended up dying my first online promotion on the forums to let the news about Cynthia''s announcement die down. Right now, it''d just get lost in all the traffic. Finally, two days after Chase, it was time to leave for Sceon. Louis''s group would stay in Hearthome for another day.
Chapter 138 Chapter 138 CHAPTER 138 I always felt like this after leaving a city, but it was good to be back on the road. This¡ª the traveling aspect¡ª was what being a trainer was all about, and I''d grown to truly appreciate the process, at least as long as I wasn''t in a deadly forest or some eldritch mountain. Route 209 was nothing like that, and it was the safest one after the 214, 222 and 213 trio that linked Sunyshore, Pastoria and Veilstone. Those were a bit of an exception, though. Since so many new trainers passed through there, the rangers kept it as clear as possible. Larvitar and Togetic were walking with me, while the others all had one or a few of their Pokemon out. Justin walked with his Audino, who was carrying a flower he''d found a few miles back. Cecilia''s Fletchinder screeched and flew high up in the sky while Slowking stuck by her side. Pauline was off in the distance, walking with her Gothorita and practicing her tolerance to telepathy. She seemed quite down at the fact that we had to leave Emilia behind, but there might have been something else to it. Either way, she was uncharacteristically quiet. Denzel, meanwhile, was being hogged by Sylveon. "I think we can stop here," he said, nudging his head forward. Therge system of rivers and small ponds that route 209 was the most known for sat in front of us. Long bridges ran through each body of water, and trainers were fishing all along the streams. This was amon spot to get a water type. Larvitar ran up to the edge of the water, and I released Tangrowth to keep an eye on her. The entire team would have a strategic meetingter, and I still needed to have that one-on-one talk with Sweetheart, but she could y around for now. "Yeah, this is probably fine," I said, dropping my backpack and sitting down. "We made good progress today. Four more days, and we should be good?" Despite the enjoyment I got, I was mostly excited about getting to Sceon and fighting in the tournament. There were many potential trainers and strategies to go up against, and I''d finally see what Craig''s sister was all about. Louis'' group would sign up too, apparently, but like Chase had said, he wouldn''t stick around. As soon as we made it there, he''d leave for Celestic. Well, I also had to review the footage of my battle against Fantina, but I''d do it when we got there. With all the events that happened after the fight, I hadpletely forgotten about it somehow. I was sure I''d see a lot of improvements, though. Thinking back about the battle made it impossible for me not to smile. It was a testament to how good I''d gotten over thest few months. I stared up at Justin, who walked up to me. Audino followed behind him and winked at me, eliciting a chuckle. "Grace. I see you''re deep in thought," he noticed. "Nah, I''m good. What''s up?" "I was looking for advice." I rested my head on my palm and hummed. Justin and Pauline were going their separate ways now, battling-wise, so we weren''t exactly their teachers any longer, but I was always willing to help a friend in need. "Sure, shoot!" "It''s about confidence¡­ or myck of it, thereof. I''d like to try to be a little bit more sure about my capabilitiese the tournament, but I''m not sure how." Togetded on myp, and I pet her head as she nuzzled it against me. "Well, I don''t really know. You''ve got three badges, Justin. That''s no joke, you should be proud of yourself. You realize not many trainers reach this point, right? Plus, you won pretty handily." "Yes, but I feel like I''m still missing something¡­" "Something? You''ve figured out your style, right? Now you''ve just got to refine and perfect it, and eventually branch out in case you need to pull something else during a battle. That''s what I''ve been trying to do¡­ learning to improve and think of stuff on the spot, things like that," I exined. The boy sighed. "Well, that''s fair, I suppose. I''ve been itching to try out new things, but I haven''t really had the opportunity to. What I did against Fantina wasn''t exactly stalling, but more like a proto version of it." "Pauline not up for a friendly fight?" I asked. "She''s been down." "I noticed," I said, ncing at her. "You know what, I''ll talk to her." I let Togetic out of my arms and shot up. Pauline tended to help her friends a lot, but I couldn''t recall thest time she''d asked for it. She was keeping her distance from Denzel a little bit, which was odd too, but I was starting to get the impression that some rtionship drama had gone on between them beyond the fact that Pauline and Emilia were dating, like Cece had theorized. Gothorita shot me a look that reminded me of Turtonator as I approached her trainer. "What''s got you so down in the dumps, little one?" I yfully said. "I miss Emi¡­ and some other stuff," she shrugged. "You weren''t that down when we left her in Eterna," I said. "That''s because¡ª things were different. Can we just change the subject?" I considered pushing on, but it was probably best to let it go for now. "Why don''t we talk about your team then? Any idea for a fourth member? Anything catch your eye so far? It''d be cool if you could catch something on this route. The earlier you can start training them, the more prepared they''ll be for the Conference. And don''t forget, if you don''t have a fourth, you won''t be able to participate in the¡ª" "I know," she rolled her eyes. "I just wanted it to fit, but I think I''ll try to catch something if I can''t find anything that catches my eye." "Why don''t you just do what Denzel does and look it up in advance? Well, not like you can now that we''re out of Hearthome, but y''know." "I don''t know how he does it," Pauline said, looking at our friend. "I find it horribly dull. I had to chew on Rufflet for weeks until it clicked for me, and at that rate, it''ll be toote. Maybe if I only needed one more, but I need three." "Well, maybe he found it dull too, but he had years to do it," I said. "Why don''t you ask him about it then?" "No way." "Are you guys fighting?" "No." "Okay, then why are you just ncing at him every few seconds, but not actually going to speak to him like you want to?" She clicked her tongue and then ruffled my hair with a frustrated groan. "What was that for?!" "For being annoying," she deadpanned. "Anyway, I''ll catch something, so stop being such a worrywart." "Worrywart? Are you eighty or what?" "I''m going to kill you." "Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, fixing my hair. Well, since she didn''t want my advice, it was time for the group meeting with my team, then! I asked Togetic to call Angel and Sweetheart over, and released the rest of my Pokemon, excluding Sunshine, because too many trainers frequented this part of the route, and he still despised them with all of his being. I''d release him when we got further in and toward the edges of the route. Larvitar pulled at my jeans andined that she had to go out of the water. "You''ll go backter, Sweetheart. I''ve never seen a rock type like water this much," I smiled, crouching to pet her rocky head. "Anyway, I think it''s about time to get started on some new moves, don''t you think? They''lle in handy for the tournament. Remember the one I talked about?" Grunts and nods came out of their respective Pokemon. I heard a faint screech and paused when I saw Fletchinder fly overhead. "Uh, they should be pretty easy for you to work on. Some of them, you''ve already been practicing. We only have a few days, so I picked ones that you''d be able to easily learn and possibly master. Let''s start with you, Honey. You''ve got the hardest move, but I know you''re up for it." Electabuzz shot me a thumbs-up and grinned. I had deliberated between two moves for Electabuzz: Cross Chop or Hammer Arm. They were fighting type, so they''d be excellent for coverage, and it''d improve his physical capabilities that had fallen behind his ranged ones recently. Honey was meant to be a mixed fighter for the team, so he needed to stay excellent at both ranged and close-range fighting. Hammer Arm was the more powerful of the two, which meant it was more difficult to learn. In fact, it was so powerful that your Pokemon would be slowed for a while after using it due to exerting too much energy. The more a Pokemon had used and mastered the move, the less the side effects would show. The sheer amount of power behind the move would have put anything any of my Pokemon currently had to shame. Unfortunately, we werecking in time, and I wasn''t sure if Honey would get the move to a usable state before the first battles started. Cross Chop, meanwhile, was slightly weaker, and easier to learn. The move could be devastating in its own right of course, and if Electabuzz or I could identify a Pokemon''s weakness during a battle, then it would deal a lot more damage to our opponents. In the end, I had decided on Cross Chop. "You''ve been getting stronger, but you''ll need to get stronger physically for this," I exined to him. Fighting type moves tended to demand a lot out of the user, which meant that a certain amount of bulk was needed. "Ele!" He responded, flexing his arms. "Obviously, you''ll make it work," Iughed. He probably wouldn''t be able to use it on a whim, even during the tournament, but it''d probably be a nice option to have. I also told him to keep working on Protect so that he could use the move more, and then I moved on to Sweetheart. She waved her arms around excitedly. "Sweetheart, you''ll keep working on Sandstorm, alright? You''re almost there, but you just need a little bit more control." The rock type stared at me disappointedly, and her arms slumped. "Aw, don''t be sad. You''ve already got everything else you need." "Larvi¡­" she mumbled to agree. Despite this, she was angry with me. I''d get back to her soon. "Princess, I''ve got a TM for you to learn called Shadow Ball, just like what Buddy uses," I said. "You should have no problem learning the move, and he can help you master it. I don''t think we''ll be using it too much, but more coverage can''t hurt." The fairy type nodded, smiling at Jellicent. It looked like she''d enjoy the time they''d spend together. "Angel, you''re on the cusp of something great," I continued. "Sunny Day. Keep working on it, and I''m sure it''ll be useable during the tournament." He wriggled and blinked twice, gently petting my head with a vine. He was already a monster in battle, but if we could double his speed with Chlorophyll, I was sure he''d be able to dominate even the five-badge trainers I''d be fighting at the tournament. I let out a trembling, excited breath. Just the thought of him destroying our opponents would be awesome. "Buddy, what I need with you is Whirlpool," I said. "Brine is great, but the way the tournament''s set up¡­ the ones that will dominate are the ones that can control the field, I think." The Sceon tournament''s format was doubles, meaning that each trainer would fight with two Pokemon at a time, and with a total of four Pokemon. I had a lot of synergies I would need to consider, but for now, I''d be content to just let them practice their moves. Jellicent nodded, and after describing what each move roughly looked like, and teaching Shadow Ball to Togetic, my Pokemon went to their respective spots to begin their training. I''d be there if they needed help, of course. "Sweetheart, wait up. I need to talk to you," I called out. She huffed at me and turned away, and I felt my chest tighten. Was this how it felt all the time, dad? Sorry. "What''s gotten into youtely? I felt the sun brighten slightly and stared at Tangrowth. He was almost there. "Tar," the Pokemon grunted. "Don''t brush me off. I''ve noticed something about youtely, but I never asked until now. I''m sorry, it''s my fault. I should have paid more attention¡­ but I''m here now. Do you have something you want to tell me?" The rock typeunched into a tirade, causing me to wince. She wanted to get stronger faster. She wanted to be like Turtonator. Arceus, I was tearing up. This was like having my kid yell at me for the first time, and I was not ready. "You''ve been making good progress, though," I said, blinking rapidly to chase the tears away. "And I told you that I''d use you a lot in the tournament, didn''t I? Plus, Sandstorm is a powerful move. Just because it doesn''t hit the enemy directly doesn''t mean that it doesn''t make you stronger, you know? It hampers visibility, hearing, and it deals damage little by little. Meanwhile, you''ll be like a fish in water. Doesn''t that sound cool?" Larvitar wanted to retort, but she thought for a few seconds and relented. "See? Winning isn''t always about hitting things. Why do you want to get stronger so quickly anyway? You''re already growing at a fast pace as is¡ª" I stopped, noticing her look away from me. "Don''t even try to hide it! I know you." What she said next made my heart sink. Revenge. She wanted revenge on the Rhyperior that had killed her parent. First of all, that Pokemon was incredibly strong. It had to be, to take down a fully-grown Tyranitar, but that wasn''t it. I just thought that it was a terrible idea in general. Nothing good would evere of it. I hated revenge as a concept, and I felt like she would just be empty afterward if we somehow seeded. But¡­ Larvitar didn''t belong to me. She was her own person. What would I have done if it was my dad that had gotten killed? I didn''t think I''d try to murder the person that did it, but I certainly would have wanted them to suffer consequences, at the very least. I sighed. "Look, I think this is a bad idea, and I don''t even think we''ll be ready to do this by the end of the year," I exined. That Rhyperior had probably been elite level, from the little I had seen of it. It had to be, to beat a pseudolegendary without sustaining that many injuries like it had done. My Pokemon would maybe be ready to take it down, but I didn''t think I would be. Larvitar protested, but I stopped her. "Let me finish. I don''t think this is a good idea, and I don''t even know if we''d be able to find it again," I continued. "But believe in me. I''ll help you get stronger, and if you still feel this way by the time you''re fully evolved, then we can talk about it again." I was really hoping that she''d change her mind. I heard Honey call out to me, and I stood up. He probably needed some help to get started with Cross Chop. I stopped when I felt Larvitar grab at my jeans. "Larvi¡­ Larvitar," she said, avoiding my eyes and hiding her face. She was apologizing for yelling at me. "Don''t worry about it, Sweetheart," I smiled. "You were just feeling emotional, that''s all. I yell at my dad all the time¡ª ah, sorry." The rock type stared up at me confusedly. "For the dadparison thing," I said. "I don''t want to rece your parent. I promised you that when I caught you, didn''t I?" Larvitar mumbled something, and she had to repeat herself twice for me to hear her. "You¡­ don''t mind?" She huffed and ran away in embarrassment. She¡­ She didn''t mind. Wow. I felt so happy. ¡ª After helping Electabuzz with his form and checking in on the others, I happily skipped toward Denzel, who was working on something with his Lopunny while the other members of his team were training on their own, although they were kind of cking off to hang out with Feebas. With all the water around, he''d be able to spend a lot more time with his teammates. The normal type happily waved at me, showcasing how much she''d changed since she''d been that shy Buneary that he''d caught in Eterna Forest. The scar on her ear from those Paras was still visible, albeit smaller thanks to her evolved form being a lot bigger. "Woah, you look happy," he noticed. "Yep. Larvitar just called me mom." His expression morphed into one of confusion. "I just won''t even ask. I thought that was just between you and Togetic?" "No, I''m everyone''s mom," I deadpanned. "I wanted to ask you to show me your Fross'' Blizzard? I know you tested it out without telling me before we left." "How do you even know that?" I grinned. "I didn''t. But now I do." "Ugh. I specifically wanted to hide it from you, though." "I paid for your ride back when you had no money. You owe me." "You wouldn''t have left me stranded!" I peered at him, my smile widening. "Damn, you are ruthless. Fine. Fross,e on over! Lopunny, you keep on working on the thing." "Ouch," I said, feigning emotional pain. "Still keeping your secrets?" "Well, so are you," he said. The ghost type appeared beside us, and I jumped. I still felt cold, but it looked like she had gotten her temperature problem under control. Denzel, meanwhile, felt no change at all. I was still wondering how that even worked, but I was no professor, so I''d probably never figure it out. I called Togetic over just in case, and Denzel led us to the edge of the route. Fross was so excited about using Blizzard that she was quite literally leaking cold. She''d probably be able to do what Turtonator did in battle, only with cold instead of heat. "Go make sure no one''s here before you identally kill a kid," Denzel sighed. Fross cheered as she disappeared into the unmaintained woods. "She''s been so hyper since evolving, it''s like she''s not even a ghost." "Don''t overgeneralize them now," I chided. "She was already like this before, it''s not like her whole personality was going to change." "I''ll still have to watch out during the tourney, I don''t want any idents," he said. "I don''t know how it works, but whenever I have her out with strangers, she''s freezing. With friends, she just emits cold, and with me or my Pokemon, we feelpletely fine." "I was just wondering about that!" I eximed. "I wanted to record a video of her at Amity Square before we left, but I had to recall her because people way away from us were starting to feel pain from the cold. The tournament will have barriers like the gyms, so at least she''ll be useable there." I nodded. "Well, I''m sure you''ll figure something out." "Toge," Princess agreed. After five minutes, Fross came back and confirmed that the area was clear. Her eyes shone with a pale blue as she started to use Blizzard. Before, it would have taken almost a minute for her to charge it up. Now? It barely took ten seconds. The whole area in front of us was covered in frost and ice like we were back on route 216.
Interlude – In The Eyes Of The Beholder Interlude ¨C In The Eyes Of The Beholder INTERLUDE - IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER A certain fish Pokemon was swimming in the river. Feebas slowly broke through the water''s surface, watching as his trainer, his friend, and Fross came back from whatever it had been they were doing. He was not allowed to swim too far or too deep. Unlike Amity Square, Pokemon in these waters were too powerful for him to run away from, and there was no one avable to protect him. Lopunny cheered at Grace, and even Roselia waved one of her flowers with a look of annoyance. Feebas did not know this girl. Nothing beyond her name, her voice, and what Denzel asionally said about her. Nor did he know any of the other friends his trainer was traveling with. The fish felt his fins tighten. How frustrating, to have missed so many events due to his curse of being water-bound. He could technically stay out of the water, but the longer he stayed, the more pain he would feel. Feebas were resistant, but they were meant to live in the water their entire lives. They were no Jellicent or Lombre. Feebas longed to be free from his chains, but he had long resigned himself to staying in this pitiful, ugly form forever. Denzel hurriedly told his Fross to stick with the team, while Sylveon went and followed him with a bright smile. Feebas longingly stared at the Pokemon he loved, who was leaving without even a look at him. Now that he was gone, the group went to hell. What''s with the look on your face, Twig? Lopunny smugly asked. You seem to be in an even worse mood than usual today. Silence, Wench, the grass type snapped back. You are not worth even a modicum of my attention when you are like this. You are nothing more than fertilizer¡ª no, in fact, you are worth even less. I know your problem, Fross'' otherwordly voice wrung and twisted across the river, yet her mouth did not move. You are jealous. You wanted a stone for yourself. Have fun being stuck in your pitiful form for longer yet, Twig. Feebas sighed as he listened to his fellow Pokemon berate each other. They all had nicknames that they referred to themselves as. Roselia was called Twig, which was supposedly a name Lopunny hade up with in Eterna city meant to make fun of her fragile form. Feebas had missed almost everything in Eterna. Roselia and Fross called Lopunny Wench, not due to any promiscuous tendencies she might have had, but because the grass type had gotten jealous of the attention she had gotten from Sylveon when she had just joined the team. Meanwhile, Fross was referred to as¡ª I will not tolerate your childish antics, Hog. Maybe when you are doused by my Toxic and it melts you alive, you will understand not to mess with me, Roselia said. Hog, shortened for attention hog. Wench, Twig, and Hog. Feebas sighed again. They were the only team that behaved like this. No one else fought day and night like these three did, and yet he could not help but want to be a part of it. And yet, how could he? He was never there for anything. Almost forgotten. An echo of what could have been, if he had been born in another body. Sometimes, he almost wished Denzel had not caught him back in Jubilife. That way, he could have continued living in ignorance, not knowing what he would be missing. Seeing it y out in front of him¡ª bonds so strong that not even insults could break them¡ª was akin to torture. The three had been through a whole lot without him, but Roselia and Lopunny especially. They were practically inseparable, even though they bickered and fought constantly. Hog still? I thought that you would have moved on to another nickname more fitting of my newfound elegance. Ice Queen, perhaps, Fross giggled, her form flickering and her eyes brightening. The grass at her feet began to freeze, and so did the water around Feebas The water type looked around in a panicked state, and stammered out a few words. Roselia talked before he could. He had been too indecisive. Focus, Hog, Roselia spat, sending a Sweet Scent her way. You are losing control again. I will not be held responsible if you trap Feebas underwater. The ice type''s eyes dimmed, and she looked apologetically at him. My apologies, Feebas. I still have much to work on, it seems. I must have still been excited about that Blizzard earlier. Look at her, Lopunny crossed her arms. One Blizzard, and she gets so high off her own supply that she can''t stop herself from hurting others. How are you? She said, turning toward the water type. Truly pitiful, Hog. Worse than a newly sprouted Budew, Roselia smiled, shaking her head. Are you alright, Feebas? I¡ªI''m okay. Do not mind me, I must be annoying, he muttered. Are you sure? Don''t hesitate to vent your frustration about this animal, Lopunny said, pping Fross. Her hand passed through the ghost, and Fross let out an obnoxious, mockingugh. If there was one thing I hoped your evolution would bring, it was to end that stupidugh. Back in my neck of the woods, she would have been thrown and sacrificed to the first Beautifly that reared its ugly head, Roselia reminisced. We have different definitions of ugly, Twig, Lopunny chided. Beautifly are quite literally named by humans after beauty. Different definitions of ugly? Feebas could only restrain a dryugh. Only Pokemon that were already pretty could afford to say that nonsense. They aren''t so beautiful when they stab you with their proboscis and suck you dry, Roselia said. Only an empty shell remains afterward. I was already thrown out of my n once, and I lived, Fross said. I would have simply frozen its wings and eaten it for dinner. Don''t make meugh, Hog! You haven''t seen how terrifying Beautifly can be. Let me tell you a story from before Denzel so rudely kidnapped me¡­ Feebas did not like to talk. In fact, he did not talk much at all, outside of the little moments of peace he had with Sylveon. Well, in truth, when he did talk, he enjoyed it, but he could not help but feel like he was intruding. Who was he, to tell them what to do? To join in on the banter? To converse? They barely knew him as it was! The others just threw him a bone once in a while and then returned to their tight-knit friendship, and he bet that even Sylveon was just pretending to care. Denzel too. He was a burden, nothing else. Feebas tightly shut his mouth and sank deeper into the water, ignoring the voices from his team. He did not want to hear it. If only he could thrive onnd like this others! If only he was not stuck in this disgusting, ugly form! He didn''t want to hear more of what he had missed out on any longer. They would all be better off without him holding them back. Down here, he was at home, and yet, water type Pokemon swam all around him, most opting to ignore him. Why? Even here, where he was supposed to be at his best, no one paid him any attention! The fish locked onto a Goldeen and sped up, ramming into it at full force with Tackle. The water type shook him off, batting him away with its tail fin, and prepared for battle. There was no conversation. Pokemon seldom spoke in the wild outside of their respective groups. Goldeen spat out a ring of water that hit Feebas'' face and sent him reeling backward, and before he even had the chance to recover, the horn on its head shone and elongated, then the water type run him through, shaking its head to tear across his entire nk. Feebas cried out in pain, and when he saw chunks of his flesh floating upward and his blood soaking the water, he began to feel fear. Had he truly been this weak and useless all along, then? What was even the point? Goldeen noticed that he had stopped fighting back and left, seemingly satisfied with its carnage. It wasn''t like Feebas could even fault it. He had attacked first and out of nowhere, and Feebas were too disgusting for her to even eat. Disgusting. That was all he was. Feebas slowly sunk into the water as he became light-headed, and every water type avoided him like the gue. The pain was numbing, and he was tired. If he could go like this¡ª simply drifting off to sleep, then maybe it wouldn''t be that bad. But he did not. His eyes snapped open when he heard the muffled voices of his team and his trainer, calling out from above theke''s surface. Today was a particrly clear day, so he could even see the other humans'' silhouettes, blurry as they were, and he could also see Sylveon''s white and pink fur. Denzel''s hand, wading through the freezing water and sshing around to call out to him without a care in the world of what danger that entailed. What if he angered a wild Pokemon and lost his hand?! He''d been foolish. The negative thoughts had consumed him and twisted his judgment. Of course, they cared about him. Feebas mustered all of his strength and swam up, putting everything he had into moving his fins. He ended up being so fast that he jumped out of the water,nding in Denzel''s arms and soaking him in freezing water and blood. "Holy fuck¡­ holy¡ª potions, I need potions!" He yelled. Those were thest words Feebas heard before he fainted. ¡ª The next time the water type awoke, he was still in his trainer''s arms in the middle of the night. His entire team stood around him as he slowly blinked to regain his senses. His skin felt horribly dry, like he was being prickled with a thousand needles all over, and he was struggling to breathe with the inside of his mouth not coated in water. Still, it appeared that his wounds were healed. There was only a dull pain where he had been torn up, and he would probably struggle to swim for a few days, but he was alive. Denzel was dozing off, but one kick from Roselia caused him to jump awake. Don''t hit him! Lopunny eximed. Wake up, you useless seedling! She yelled, kicking him again. Feebas is awake! "Shit," he said, wiping his mouth. "Feebas, are you alright?" The fish simply blinked, and Denzel smiled, cing him back into the water. "I don''t know what attacked you down there, but I''m d you''re alright. Why did you go deeper into theke? I¡­ something must have been bothering you, no?" I''m fine, Feebas simply answered, ncing toward Sylveon. The fairy type just silently observed him. I wanted to swim, but I just went a little too far, that''s all. His trainer did not understand his words, but he did understand the tone. That things were fine. Feebas'' fins rxed, and he drifted across the water''s surface. He had thankfully managed to fool him. The water type wasn''t in the mood for questions, at the moment. Denzel told Feebas that he''d let him out of the ball for another hour or two before recalling him, and he drifted off the sleep again. He was tired,tely. All that work that he''d apparently done in Hearthome was catching up to him, or at least that''s what he had told them. Do you wish to speak to someone? Fross asked worriedly. If we tell Denzel, he will eventually figure out that sorrow is what you feel. Oh please, Hog, Roselia scoffed. The only thing that good-for-nothing human understands is foolish optimism. But you love him anyways, twig, Lopunny shrugged. Don''t deny it. Me? Love him? Don''t make meugh, Wench. I only feel disdain for this man. Fross giggled. You are infatuated with Sylveon instead, we know that¡ª The entire team froze when Sylveon spoke up for the first time. Lopunny, Roselia, Fross, he said. Leave us. The trio hesitated but listened. Denzel was their trainer, but Sylveon was also a leader of some sort, although he didn''t act like one most of the time. The three Pokemon left Sylveon alone with Feebas, and the water type fidgeted nervously. He usually felt nothing but happiness when he got a moment alone with Sylveon, but all he felt now was crippling anxiety. The pain was making him unable to swim straight, and the tissue hadn''t healedpletely yet. He was nothing but an eyesore. Feebas, Sylveon said. His high-pitched voice reverberated across the river. Why did you venture recklessly into the deeper waters and endanger yourself? It seems something troubles your heart. Feebas felt a ribbon touch his forehead, and a rxing sensation spread to him immediately. I''m not needed here, Sylveon. Nothing of value would be lost if I was gone. Foolishness. Do not utter these words again, lest you stir my ire. Every creature, even wyrms, hold something of worth. These thoughts did not arise in a single day. You have been feeling like this for months, have you not? Sylveon asked. How can you say I hold something of worth? What have I done since being caught? I''ve been here longer than Lopunny and Fross, yet it feels like I''m the newest member of the team! And it''ll continue when Denzel catches his sixth. They will integrate wlessly and speak to everyone like they''ve known each other years, and I''ll be swimming alone. Ah, I see. It is solitude that gues you. A most vexing dilemma. I will answer your query, then. Denzel would grieve deeply if you were to die or leave, Feebas. I witnessed the tears he shed while youy unconscious in his arms, hovering at death''s door. Had it been any other that had caused him such feelings, I would have bludgeoned them to death until they were nigh unrecognizable. Of course, death would be too easy of a fate. I would keep them until they begged to die. You are a vital member of this team, however, and I will not hold you responsible. Feebas felt viscerally ufortable when Sylveon uttered the threat, and he shivered in fear. The ribbons soon rxed, and he returned to his normal state, however. I''m sorry for being so useless, he sighed. Still, Sylveon was right. Denzel still treated him well, and he released him whenever he could. It wasn''t anyone''s fault that his body was this way. He''d just been unlucky. I was not done. Know this, dear Feebas, the rest of the team holds you in high esteem, even if you do not believe it. They speak very fondly of you when you are absent, and they have multiple times wished you were able to be there with them when you could not be. They act differently with me than they do with each other. I feel like an outcast! Your concerns hold merit, but consider this from their perspective. They know that you are unable toe out of your Pokeball frequently, so would it not be bothersome to spend those precious moments in squabbles and discord? Would it not be far preferable to spend this time enjoying yourself with them? With me? Feebas felt his heartbeat speed up, and his tail-fin quivered. I suppose you''re right, he sighed. Still, I¡­ wish it was different. So do I, Sylveon sighed. I will tell you the truth, however. I enjoy spending time with you the most. I must not say so, or Roselia and Lopunny will start being callous, and you know how much that bothers me. I¡­ I now try to stop these arguments, if I can. Feebas'' lips curled into a giddy smile. I''m happy that you feel that way about me. When you''ve recovered, will you grace me with your beautiful aquatic shows again? The ones you performed for me in Amity Square were quite delightful, and I would enjoy watching the new ones you coulde up with. I don''t know¡­ I don''t feel like it''d be worth it. I''m ugly, Sylveon. No matter how much I try to deny it, it will always be true. My scales are rough and dirty no matter how many times Denzel cleans them. My fins are ragged, I have this constant nk stare, and my voice is unpleasant. What is there to enjoy about that? You must stop berating yourself, Feebas. If I tell you that you are beautiful, I am not lying. Any fairy worth their title does not lie. They may obscure the truth in other ways, but the words I speak are true. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, does it not? When Denzel calls you beautiful, he means it. When Lopunny calls your stare cute, she means it. When Roselia calls you charming, she means it. When Fross calls you pretty, she means it! I don''t want pity¡ª Know this, you fool! I have too much esteem for you to offer empty words of ttery. No, my feelings run far deeper than that, Feebas. It is love that I feel, I am sure of it. Feebas scoffed. Love? When you have all those other beautiful Pokemon chasing after you day and night? We¡ª we don''t even spend that much time together¡ª And yet, I cannot lie. I do not have the heart to reject Lopunny and Roselia, but I feel simply camaraderie with them. With you, it is different. I''ll never believe you! Feebas yelled. What was he doing? He was ruining the moment, yet the words kepting out. He berated Sylveon, and unlike Roselia, Lopunny and Fross, it wasn''t simple banter this time. He poured his heart out, calling him a fake for a hypocrite for leading the others on, and yetining about them chasing after him. For being a coward content with the status quo as long as it didn''t disturb the peace and Denzel could keep being carefree about everything. Feebas almost yelled in surprise when he felt Sylveon lift him out of the water. His ribbons were surprisingly strong, despite how frail and thin they looked. He brought Feebas closer and ced the water type''s forehead against his. Feebas. Some of what you said might have been true, but heed my words. The fairy type paused, and Feebas stared into his huge, blue eyes. You are beautiful. Sylveon''s feelings poured into him through his ribbons in a way that made Feebas understand that the words simply were true. The water type teared up, feeling validated for the first time in his life. Sylveon''s words had unlocked the thoughts that he had hidden deep into the recesses of his mind, and that he would never have managed to free without the fairy type''s help. He was beautiful, damn it, and anyone who thought otherwise was wrong, including himself! A wave of energy washed over the water type, and he felt an ufortable itch as his body elongated until he reached twenty-five feet in length,pletely overtaking Sylveon''s size. He slowly opened his eyes as his body loosely wrapped around the fairy, and he peered at the Pokemon from above. All of the pain he''d felt from being out of the water had evaporated, and he felt more at home here than he had ever felt. Milotic turned his head to Denzel, who was somehow still sleeping a few dozen feet away in that giant tent that the humans owned. How¡­? Milotic muttered, and jumped, surprised by the sound of his own voice. It was smooth, like the flow of a gentle creek. What happened? His scales had gone from rough and uneven to being so beautiful that they were barely distinguishable from skin. A stunning blue and red motif adorned his tail, splitting it into a fanned pattern. The answer is simple, Milotic, Sylveon tilted his head, observing the water type''s new form. It appears that the condition for your evolution was feeling beautiful. I had no idea! Milotic excitedly said. Arceus, I''m so happy! He tried to crawl on the ground, but he felt strangely slow, and it was difficult to move around. His new body was fundamentally different than his own one, and it would take a few days to even be able to slither properly against the floor. What happened here? Lopunny asked. We saw you evolve from afar, and wow, you look beautiful¡­ I''m going to miss your cute little fish form, though. There was a certain charm to it, but Milotic is clearly happy about it, so let us not bring it back as a topic, Roselia said. Wonderful suggestion, Twig, Fross said, appearing before their very eyes. Two evolutions in such a short amount of time? Denzel will be ecstatic. Should I scare him to wake him up? Let him sleep, Sylveon said. He deserves to rest. M¡ªmay I suggest something? Milotic asked. Why even ask? Roselia asked. You must be more confident, Milotic. You''re too damned big to be such a Wimpod. Twig''s just angry that she''s the smallest one of us by far, Lopunnyughed, flicking an ear back. The grass type kicked her in the leg, to no effect. Sylveon sighed andy down in the grass, ready to observe another round of bickering. I despise you, Wench. Ask away, Milotic. May I have a nickname? You¡­ want one? Lopunny asked. Fross giggled. How amusing! I want to bond with everyone¡­ to be closer, and I think a nickname would help. The ice type sprung up. I would like to nominate ''Queen''. If I cannot have it, then he must. Milotic is a male, you daft Hog! Roselia yelled. Your corpse will make some nice Pidgeot feed after I''m done with you. It matters not. You should open up your mind to new things, Twig. Fross said. And I am a ghost, no longer capable of death, so your point is void. Still, I can tell Milotic would not have liked it from the look on his face. Sorry¡­ maybe something slightly more derogatory? Like the rest of you, he specified. What about Serpent? Lopunny asked. You are too simple-minded. As expected of you, Roselia smugly said. Serpent is too elegant. Snake will do the trick. Milotic''s eyes shone. Snake¡­ I like it. You''re not supposed to like it! Fross giggled. However, Hog did grow on me. I must admit, Twig certainly could be worse, Roselia nodded. Wench is the worse of the four¡­ Lopunny sighed. Deal with it, Wench, the grass typeughed. Nowe with me, Snake. I will teach you all about the art of keeping these two in line. I have been waiting for someone to finally help me stimmy their egos. Hog has been growing an especially big headtely. I froze an entire forest a few hours ago. Lies, you did not freeze an entire forest, you froze the smallest, tiniest subsection of the forest, Lopunny countered. I could do better than that. One Fire Punch, and it all burns down. You should work on your skills, Hog. Milotic grinned as he awkwardly slithered toward Roselia. Sylveon waved them all goodbye with his ribbons. ¡ª Sylveon''s smile slowly faded as he watched his four teammates fade into the distance. The fairy type stood up and sneaked into therge tent, opening it up and closing it again with his teeth before curling up next to his trainer. The fae did not lie. What he had said was the truth. He did love Milotic, and everything he had told him came from the heart. But the fae did obscure and bend the truth. He loved Milotic, but he would unfortunately alwayse second. Sylveon nuzzled against Denzel''s chest and slowly drifted off to sleep. He hoped the evolution he had specifically engineered would make him happy when he woke up in a few hours. Denzel had told him about the method when he''d still been an Eevee back in Twinleaf. To Sylveon, maniption was alright if everyone came out happier on the other side. He wasn''t breaking his promise, after all. He''d stopped being so violent during training despite the urges, and he was no longer encouraging the others to fight. All in all, it had been a wonderful day.
Chapter 139 Chapter 139 CHAPTER 139 Denzel''s jubnt screams woke all of us up¡ª in the middle of the night, if I may add. I groggily rubbed my eyes and cut my breath short when I saw a humongous Milotic looming over him. I didn''t know what happened, but Feebas had seemingly evolved while we were all sleeping. Since I had never been too interested, I didn''t exactly know the condition needed for his evolution, but I did know it had to do with beauty or something of that sort. Denzelughed, staring at his newly evolved Pokemon with a childlike grin. We all congratted him, but we were honestly too tired to offer anything else. It did seem to me that Milotic was moving slowly and didn''t know how to properly use his new body, and since the tournament was soon, he wouldn''t be able to amodate to his new form fast enough to move as adeptly as the usual Milotic. Not that I knew what the usual Milotic moved like. Just like Gyarados, they were incredibly rare due to the amount of work their evolutions took to achieve, and the only one I had seen fight was Cynthia''s during the hostage crisis at Valley Windworks. As I entered my sleeping bag once again, the little I did remember was that it was a rtively defensive Pokemon, and it had mostly used Protect to keep Cynthia safe. Was that a sign of what their species was best at, or was I looking too into it? I was already thinking about what I''d do if I had to face him¡­ but then again, Milotic would be new to this, and he still didn''t know any moves except Tackle, unless it learned some from evolving. All I could do right now was drift off to sleep once again. ¡ª I whistled, finally taking in Milotic''s beauty. The water type''s scales shimmered in the morning sun, and they were spotless, even after trudging through the grass and dirt. It was like nothing could stick to them. Milotic loosely wrapped around Denzel with a happy look on his face, and the boy smiled. "Apparently, something happenedst night¡­ some type of drama," my best friend said. "I wish I was as good as you at understanding Pokemon so I could get the full context. I''m pretty good with Sylveon, but the others are still kind of muddy. It''s honestly freaky how you do that." We had packed up our camp, and we were close to leaving again. We were going to cut it close for registering for the tournament as it was, so we couldn''t afford to stay here for too long. We still had to stop by the Lost Tower to find Cecilia''s Golett too. "Don''t make it sound like I''m some kind of monster," I said. "I can only do it with mine, not everyone else''s. Anyway, any new moves you want to teach him? You have a few days, so there isn''t much you can do." "I''m pretty sure you understand my Pokemon as well as I do, which is insane considering you interact with them way less. You could probably win, like, an award for it or something. And stop trying to pry, I''ll figure something out," he said before turning to Milotic. "I know you want to stay out, but you''re not made for long-distance travel on the ground. I''ll release you as soon as we stop again, alright?" Milotic quietly nodded and disappeared in a sh of red. Soon enough, we were back on the road. I released Larvitar and Togetic, who followed closely behind. Sweetheart picked up a rock and started munching on it. "Don''t eat too much, or you won''t eat lunchter," I warned her. She ignored me and kept snacking. "Whatever you say¡­ just don''t tell me you''re not hungry. You need to eat your vitamins." "Toge¡­" "I already told you that you aren''t getting any," I lied. How long would I have to keep up this charade? It had been too long now, it''d be too awkward to reveal the truth. Then again, sneaking it into her food was annoying. We walked through numerous bridges,rge and small. This route was remarkably peaceful, and aside from the asional trainers or our conversations, there was only the sound of flowing water. It was honestly the favorite route I''d traveled through so far. As weird as it sounded, I wanted to cherish these moments because as soon as Princess evolved, I wouldn''t be traveling through the routes anymore aside from the asionalnding to let her rest. Hmm¡­ in retrospect, I''d possibly do it anyway to apany Justin and Pauline. But maybe it''d be smarter to just fly to Canve to get my eighth as fast as possible to have time to train for the Conference. Oh well, I''d cross that bridge when I got there. But the distance between me and the bridge seemed so smallpared to just a few months ago. We were all progressing at ridiculous paces. I turned my attention back to my two friends. Pauline and Justin were speaking together about something, possibly cooperating with strategies for the tournament. The former still had to catch her fourth Pokemon if she wanted to participate, and she was starting to feel the pressure mount. Not only would it not be trained properly, but it''d probably be weaker than everything else on her team. "...Figured out it''s what I want to catch on this route," I heard her say when I focused on the conversation. "Help me find it." "What? How?" Justin frowned. "Unless Growlithe''s smelled it before, it''s a lost cause. You should ask Cecilia''s Fletchinder for help¡ª" "Hey guys!" I interjected, jumping in between them. "I couldn''t help but overhear your conversation. Which Pokemon are you talking about? Spill." "You could probably guess," Justin said with an unusual smugness. "What''s that mean?!" Pauline yelled. "It means that you''re obvious." I hummed, tapping my chin with a finger. "Whismur?" "You made that joke weeks ago and it''s still ridiculously unfunny," Paulineined. "I said Exploudst time, so it''s different. And yes, it was funny! How about Mankey, then?" The redhead turned toward me with a nk stare. "No way¡­ I got it?" "Justin must have told you something!" Pauline screamed. "How can you me me for this when you just told me yourself?" he said. "Just ask Cecilia¡ª" "I was getting there before Grace interrupted me. They don''t exactly live on the route. There are rumors about it living in the woods off-route after we get through these Arceus damned rivers." "Rumors? How the hell did you hear about those if you just decided to catch one?" I asked. "Don''t act like I just spontaneously came to a decision! I''ve been looking this entire time, your annoying pep talk just made me take the plunge." "What made you decide?" Justin asked. "They''re vicious, angry little guys that keep fighting no matter what," she shrugged. "What''s there not to like?" "For someone that picky, your standards are pretty tame," I said. "Going off-route is dangerous, but maybe we can send a few of our Pokemon to look for the Mankey," Justin said. "I won''t pussy out. I''m going to find it no matter what." Justin quite literally recoiled. "Language!" "Don''t care. Cry about it." "Just tell the others about it first," I warned. "Obviously, I''m not crazy." "One could argue otherwise," Justin said. Pauline pushed him away andunched into another tirade. Well, I''d let them bicker. I also had a lot to think about. Just like before our double battle, we were all starting to train in secret again, and it kind of irritated me. Not having any knowledge was when I was at my weakest, and everyone knew it. What they didn''t know was that I was actively trying to get better at countering that, which I had done rather well against Fantina. The battle against her had still taken a long time to go off the rails, though, and arge part of it was still nned. With the Sceon tournament, I had challenged myself to go in blind from the start. Togetic picked up a few rocks from the floor with Extrasensory and started to juggle them. "We should work on new shapes for that," I mumbled. "How about a spear?" She tilted her head at me confusedly. "A really long, sharp stick. Better at stabbing things deep, better at taking downrge enemies with softer hides, and probably better at pinning things down," I said as images of potential applications shed through my mind with unusual brutality. My eye twitched. "Might be overkill though, I don''t think we''ll use it that often, and you''ll have to be careful with it when you do." Her eyes shone in excitement, and she immediately started to work on the shape. The rocksbined with each other and elongated before my very eyes, turning into a spear. She had already gotten it down perfectly, although the molding was too slow to use in battle yet. Her drills were instant, and Princess would need to get just as good with her spear. In the future, we could talk multiple spears too, but right now, it was too big andplicated for her to create that many. Creating shapes required finesse. Larvitar wiggled her arms and asked her sister for the spear-shaped rock, and the fairy type levitated it downward. Sweetheart grabbed onto it and started munching on it too. Cute. But it was time to return to more pressing matters. I could always gush over my daughterster. The tournament was fast approaching, and this was no time to procrastinate. What I had learned from the double battle with Chase and Cecilia other than the fact that I needed to get better at improvising was that synergies were a lot more important than what I gave them credit for. I knew they mattered, but I had believed that strategy and individual Pokemon could ovee them. Of course they could, but not when the ying field would be rtively equal. There was little Larvitar and Jellicent would be able to achieve together, but Larvitar and Tangrowth could have a lot of good strategies they could possibly implement. The good thing about Togetic being a jack of all trades was that she''d go well with anyone, but I''d need toe up with pairs to use and figure out what the others'' strengths would be. Luckily for me, figuring that kind of stuff out was when I was at my strongest. And I could also theorize about what my friends could use. I might not have known some of their new moves, but I knew how their Pokemon fought. Odds were that I wouldn''t meet them for the first few days of the tournament anyway, though. Secondly, controlling the field would be important here. Togetic with Ancient Power, Tangrowth with his vines, and Larvitar once she truly learned Sandstorm would be excellent at that. The thing about Sandstorm is that it was a lot more versatile than it appeared. One could go for the most powerful one possible, like Palossand had gone against us during our gym battle. That meant zero visibility and zero ability for me and my opponent tomand our Pokemon unless they had excellent hearing. At the opposite end of the spectrum, it could also be a weakened version of the attack that would only deal chip damage to everyone around the field, and if Sweetheart could master the attack¡ª which she wouldn''t be able to for months¡ª thinking about using the move on the opposite side of the field alone was a possibility. That would have been extremely useful for the tournament, but I doubted that she''d be able to achieve that level of control any time soon. Like Tangrowth, Larvitar was more about brute strength than anything else despite her small size, although her control was still better than his. Ideally, I''d have one ''field controller'' and ''brute'' out in pairs. Some could fit both, like Tangrowth, Larvitar, and Turtonator¡ª which I wouldn''t be able to use¡ª but some currently only had one specialization, like Togetic, Electabuzz, and Jellicent. I was currently having Buddy work on Whirlpool to increase his control. I''d heard things about Volkner''s Electrivire being able to turn his whole battlefield into a living hell for non-electric type with something that went beyond the move Electric Terrain, so I knew there was potential there. Controlling the field was kind of his shtick as a gym leader. With how famous I was now and with how skilled I had proven to be at battling, I was starting to think about asking him about how to evolve Honey when we stopped by. I might have had to impress him in a battle to do so, but maybe I could call in a favor from Candice. Being self-sufficient was nice, but I''d be foolish not to use my connections to my advantage. If I did do that, though, I''d probably have to visit her again in exchange. Candice was definitely the kind to ask for that. If I could manage, I''d have liked to get Honey to his final form before the Conference. Hopefully it wouldn''t be anything too crazy, because I''d already be tight on time¡ª "Thinking again?" I jumped out of my skin and turned toward Cece, who chuckled. Fletchinder was preening herself on her shoulder, and Slowking had his usual nk stare. "Arceus¡­ yeah, I was theory-crafting. What''s up?" "I''ve been thinking a lot myself," she said. "I''m nervous already. You and Denzel have progressed leaps and bounds recently, so I hope I''ll keep up the pace." "Come on, don''t get all ky now," I said, bumping against her arm. "You''ll do fine." "It''s not just about you guys either. The skill level there will be significantly tougher than anything we''ve faced before. This won''t be like Floaroma. There''ll be more than first-years there." "That''s true. No matter how good we are, experience is a tough thing to beat." People that had been with their Pokemon for years would have a lot more tricks up their sleeves, even if they were at our level. Cece didn''t do that well against tricks, so I was starting to understand why she was getting worried. "But I''ve been working on countermeasures," she smiled. "I think things will work out if I manage to master what I''ve been studying." "Studying?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "In a manner of speaking, yes." "Looking forward to it then," I said. "By the way, Pauline wants to catch a¡ª" "Mankey, yes." "You know? She just told me!" "Well, Fletchinder picked it up thanks to her excellent hearing, and Slowking ryed it to me through telepathy." I stared at her nkly. That was so cheating! "Have you been listening in on everything everyone''s been saying? The new moves, what they were practicing¡­ wait, it means that you could also potentially know what the Pokemon are saying too¡­" Cecilia''s face turned into a confident smile. "You witch," I scoffed. "I did say I was studying," she said. "And it''ll only work this well on you and the others, although there might be some shenanigans I coulde up with against unknown trainers¡­" Using a Pokemon with excellent hearing and a psychic type for information gathering was an incredible strategy. I''d need to start being a lot more discreet with my training. "Why would you reveal it though¡ª oh, you probably just figured out every single new move that everyone was working on before the tournament, so you don''t care anymore." She nodded. "Forgive me?" "Yeah, yeah¡­" I grumbled. "Oh! I had a favor to ask of you, actually, so I retract my forgiveness. I need Slowking to speak to me." "But the pain¡ª" "Is something I need to get used to sooner orter. I want a psychic as a seventh, but even beyond that, if something happens to you or Pauline and I need tomunicate quickly with your psychics, this''ll go a long way, especially if the message is long-winded andplicated." Cecilia turned toward Slowking, and he said something to her. She sighed and epted my request. "Only tonight, though. The first time''s the worst one. Pauline threw up, and I got a headache thatsted for hours, so I think it''d be best if you were sitting down at camp." "I''d rather not have to go to sleep feeling sick." "Well, it''s either that, or you might slow us down here. You don''t want to miss the tournament, don''t you?" "Yes ma''am," Iughed. ¡ª It was nighttime now, and my Pokemon were training their respective moves in the distance, away from prying eyes or ears. We had made it through route 209''s river system, and we could see the Lost Tower looming in the distance shining with a pale purple hue. We''d reach it tomorrow, and Cecilia would hopefully be able to catch her Golett. I nervously strode up to Slowking and stared up at the psychic. The first time was always the worst, but Cecilia had put the fear of it in me and now I was feeling a lot less confident than before. My pain tolerance was¡­ probably average, but it was probably different with mental stuff. Cecilia had prepared water, towels, and some type of pill? It might have been for the headache. "Ready?" She asked. "Uh, yeah. Wait, do a countdown! From five! And keep it to one word for now?" I panicked. "We don''t have to do this now." "No, I have to push myself through it or I''ll never start." "Well, I did tell Pauline the same thing," my girlfriend sighed. "Very well. Slowking?" I tightly shut my eyes and tensed, clenching at my jeans as she counted down. Hopefully it wouldn''t be too bad¡ª Hello. A deep, gentle voice rang out in my head. My head suddenly felt like someone was driving an axe through it and it was being split in two. My vision went blurry, and every sound sent another throb pounding through my skull. Cecilia said something, grabbing onto my arm to keep me from falling over, but it sounded like a jumbled mess of sounds and echoes. It took at least fifteen seconds for me to be able to stand on my own and hear properly again. "Grace!" Cece said, keeping me still. "I''m¡­ fuck." She gentlyid me on the floor, cing my head on a towel and wiping the saliva, snot, and tears from my face. "You had a stronger reaction than most. I''ve never seen one this bad," she said, her face twisted with worry. I blinked a few times, trying to work through the words. I could hear them, but registering what they meant took a while. "That was the worst," I exhaled. "It still hurts like hell." "I have some aspirin. Are you well enough to sit up and drink?" "Just give me a sec," I winced as another wave of pain coursed through my head. She helped me up and handed me her bottle, along with the small tablet. "I''ve always been bad at¡ª at taking pills." "Just take a deep breath and tilt your head back." I nodded, swallowed the tablet after a few tries, and thenid back down. "It should start to feel better soon," she said. "And I don''t think we should do it anymore." "It''ll be better the second time, you said." "But when it''s this bad, it essentially amounts to torture. I won''t let Slowking put you through this." "I¡ª I''ll think about it more clearly tomorrow. Hold my hand, please?" She held my hand tightly, and I inhaled sharply when I realized she was tearing up. "Why are you crying?" "Because I did this to you. It was my fault." I bit down on my tongue to distract myself from the pain. "I wanted this, Cece." "I should have said no." "I''m capable of making my own decisions and facing the consequences," I said. "I''ll be okay tomorrow morning¡­ I hate it when you feel like this." We both felt silent, and Slowking ced a hand on his trainer''s shoulder. "Sorry," she sniffled. "The pain''s getting manageable already," I lied. "Hey, it''s cold as hell out here." "Do you want me to carry you to the tent?" She immediately asked. "No, just¡­ stick around," I said, extending my arms. Ceciliay down next to me, sharing her warmth with a tight hug. The first time with telepathy was supposed to be different for everyone, but it was a hell of a gut punch for me. Damn it, I couldn''t even think clearly about a potential reason, but one thing I needed to do for sure was try it again tomorrow after the Lost Tower to see if it at least would get better at a quick rate. I already dreaded that moment, but a sample size of one wouldn''t do the job. Eventually, we went back inside of the tent and fell asleep together. The next day, my headache waspletely gone. And we had finally made it to the Lost Tower.
Chapter 140 Chapter 140 CHAPTER 140 The Lost Tower looked a lot bigger from up close. For some reason, it had been built in a hole of some sort, where huge stairs led to the gaping entrance. There was no door or guards, nor were there any other trainers near here. After taking a deep breath, I stared up, counting five floors. Each would get progressively worse, and there were stories about the fifth floor being impossible to escape from. We were only going to the first floor though, which was only slightly more dangerous than the route, which meant not at all. "Come on guys, in and out," Denzel said. "I hate these types of ces. Gives me the creeps," Pauline shuddered. "The sooner we''re out, the sooner I can go back to finding a Mankey." "Try to not get attacked by an Ursaring this time," I said. "Pfft, we manhandled that thing." We slowly stepped down the stairs, and it felt like the temperature was lowering with each step we took. Even though this was supposed to be safe, we had taken as many precautions as we could. I had Honey and Buddy with me, which would be able to sense ghosts, and Denzel had his Fross, which was not helping with the cold. Cecilia released her Zweilous as soon as we reached the entrance, while Justin had his Audino, which he had taught Heal Pulse. Pauline had her Charmeleon up to help with the cold and the lighting. I squinted at the tower''s entrance, unable to see anything but darkness. It seemed that sunlight simply couldn''t prate past the door. Denzel stepped inside first, and he disappeared into the dark. Pauline quickly followed behind him, and soon enough, we were all inside of the tower. Blue torches adorned the walls, lighting up the entire floor, but whenever I stopped paying attention, they seemed to shift ces, never staying in one spot for long. The floor was made out of teal bricks, and patches of grass and moss grew in between the cracks. Layers andyers of graves wereid out all across the ground, for humans and Pokemon alike. Maurice Walburton - 1357-1412 - A brilliant mind and fearless explorer of the unknown (Innovator, Chemist, Traveler). Died doing what he loved, charting the Land Of The Fog. His map was never recovered. Sa (Gigalith) - 988-1399 - Sceon''s trusted guardian. Enjoyed soaking in the sunlight. Died failing to protect the vige from pack of Weaviles. Died¡­ failing? What a morbid thing to put on a grave. Now that I was looking, all graves seemingly had a negative message at the end of them. Ediva Hunter - 971-1000 - Friend of Pokemon, Pokemon interpreter, a friendly woman born into a world of sorrow (Breeder, Architect). Died before she could open her breeding business. Well, that one was at least alright, byparison, but she died terribly young. "These are all from hundreds of years ago," Cecilia breathed. "The tower''s hundreds of years old, so yeah," Denzel whispered. All of these graves did share one thing. All of these people and Pokemon had their lives cut short due to some strange, unexinable death or perished in a tragic way. No one here had gone peacefully in their sleep or of old age. What I was also learning was that a lot of Pokemon lived incredibly long lives. For example, a lot of rock types seemed to live for hundreds of years, and some had been so old that their birth year hadn''t even been recorded. "They don''t bury anyone here anymore though," Denzel continued. Fross'' eyes flickered and warily wandered toward the stairs to the second floor off in the distance. "Thetest dates are all around 1450." "I wonder what happened¡­" Justin muttered. "Maybe they just ran out of space," Pauline said. "Sh¡ªshit!" Our heads whirled toward where she was looking, and a Litwick disappeared with a high-pitchedugh. "Little fucker was staring at us," she said, sighing in relief. "No signs of Golett, though, and the floor isn''t that big." I turned toward Electabuzz and Jellicent. They had both been supposed to sense that. "What happened?" In short, there was too much ghostly energy here for them to discern any individual ghosts. Their senses were getting overwhelmed, and that meant that we would be going in blind. I didn''t like the sound of this one bit. "I think we should probably leave," Cecilia said. "Something about this feels off." I wiped the sweat off my forehead and hesitantly nodded to agree. "I mean, it''s not like there''s any hidden spots. We can see the whole floor, and there isn''t much of anything there." "I think I''ll just swallow my pride and buy a Golett instead. They''re expensive in Sinnoh, but¡ª" "Are you children looking for a Golett, perchance?" We all screamed, and our Pokemon immediately got into positions to battle. Justin fell on the floor, scrambling backwards, and Electabuzz stuck close to me, surrounding me with Protect. Zweilous snarled at the source of the voice with mes gathering in their mouths. Pauline crouched, ced her hands on her ears, and shut her eyes with an ear-piercing shriek. An extremely old woman stood before us, cane in one hand and teacup in another. She wore thick, transparent spectacles, along with white and purple robes. There not even a single inch of her skin was left untouched by wrinkles and creases. Her hands had strange blue colorations that I often saw in older people, and her lips were so thin they were barely visible. Her eyes were sunken and dull, almost unmoving. "Who the hell are you?!" Denzel screamed. "Our Pokemon could have killed you! Don''t just jump out like that!" The old womanughed. "Hoho, I am the Tower''s Overseer, young man. One of two." The Overseer spoke so slowly that it was almost irritating, but that was probably me being petty about how badly she had scared us. She also had a weird ent that I couldn''t exactly ce. Eastern Sinnohans and Western Sinnohans spoke slightly differently, but this was on another level. If I didn''t hang onto her every word, I risked missing something. "So you tend to the graves and things like that?" I asked, rxing slightly. "Among other things," she said, her hand trembling. "I couldn''t help but overhear your conversation about a Golett?" "I am looking for one," Cece said. "You won''t find any on the first floor, my dear. The Golett here have long been taken by trainers passing through. There are a few left on the second floor, however. They help tend to the graves. It is their life''s work." "But I was sure¡­" Denzel trailed off. "My information said that there''d be some left." "Your information was incorrect." "And you don''t care if we take one? Doesn''t that mean more work for you?" I asked. The old woman sipped on her purple-tinted tea and grinned. She was missing almost all of her teeth. "This is a sunken ce, children. Long forgotten despite its proximity to civilization. No one dares toe here any longer. Every few years, a few childrene, look around the first floor and leave. No one everes to honor the dead." "I noticed that everyone buried here came from Sceon," Justin said. "This ce was originally built to bury the dead from there when it was but a simple vige," she nodded. "But it is not a normal cemetery." "The deaths," I dered, echoing my previous thoughts. "They''re all tragic in some way." "My, my, what an interesting group you are," she smiled. "But if you want your Golett, you will have to venture to the second floor. I am willing to guide you there if you wish." "Do you have any Pokemon to defend yourself?" Justin asked. The Overseer snorted. "Nothing of the sort." We all looked at each other, considering our options. If a woman this old was capable of going through all the floors to manage this ce, then the threat was probably overblown. We agreed and decided to follow her up the second floor, which would¡­ take a while, with how slow she walked. "What''s your name?" I asked. "Mathilda." Nost name? Well, alright. "Is your colleague around? We wouldn''t want to intrude¡­" Denzel said. "She is on the top floor, at the moment. Do not worry about her, she follows quite a different philosophy than I do. You will not meet her today." "So, Mathilda," I said, trying to fill in the silence. "When''s thest time you received visitors?" "A month ago or so, but they quickly left before I could say hello," she sighed. "Thest time I spoke to anyone must have been at least eight years ago, if memory serves me well." "Don''t you get lonely? I guess you have your friend, but¡ª" "Friend? Ruth and I are nothing of the sort," the Overseer said, her eyes narrowing. I bit the inside of my mouth and stopped talking. Angering her when she was helping us would be a terrible idea. "But I would be wrong to scorn you," she said. "Especially when you discovered the true meaning behind the tower." "The deaths, you mean?" I asked. We were almost reaching the stairs now. Mathilda nodded. "Let me teach you a lesson, children. Why do you think a tower like this one attracts and creates ghosts when normal cemeteries do not?" Well, the answer was obvious now, but I still had to do a double-take at the fact that this tower apparently formed ghosts. I had known that many ghosts would be there, but that hadn''t even been on my radar. "Well, I guess it has to do with the context of the deaths," I said. "But cemeteries have a lot of people that died early too." "Dying early is often, but not always tragic," she shook her head. "In certain cases, the lives led were still fulfilling. Tragic implies that something was left unfinished." My mind shed back to the first grave I had seen. The man had died charting thend of the fog, whatever that was, so it implied that he hadn''t finished doing so. Personally, I found that a horribly arbitrary way to define a tragic death, but maybe it was simply a difference in philosophy. "When someone to an ideal or a goal and does not finish it in their lifetimes," she started. "A residual, negative energy begins to gather. It has multiple names, but I prefer to call it Miasma. If you want to really get technical about it, the energy does not exactlye from this ne of existence, but the deaths¡­ facilitate its transfer into this realm." "From that energy, ghosts are born? So it''s like reincarnation, then?" Denzel tried as we stepped up the stairs. "No, it is not that simple. It takes hundreds of deaths to form a ghost, and even then, the Miasma must be packed so tightly together¡­ this tower itself only births a single ghost every few decades from the residual Miasma that remains here. Whates into the world does not have any memories from the humans and Pokemon it was born out of. The ghost¡­ is an echo. It can hold simr personality traits, likes and dislikes from the living things it was made of, but not always. The more tragic and numerous the deaths are, the more powerful the ghost. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, like with that Fross of yours, or Spiritomb. Your Jellicent holds potential too. Perhaps explore options to increase his ghostliness." Buddy stared into the back of her head like a hungry Talonme but said nothing. Meanwhile, I swallowed at that name. The little information the public had about Spiritomb was already enough to keep me up at night. "How do you think this tower is arranged?" "The¡­ the more tragic the deaths, the higher in the tower they''re buried," Justin guessed. The Overseer grinned. "Wee to the second floor, children. The Hall of Memories." I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The second floor was somehow bigger than the first, even though that made no sense with how the tower was built from the outside, and there were a lot more graves. There was a lot more grass here than on the first floor, and it almost overwhelmed the teal bricks. The room seemed to be obscured by a perpetual, thin fog. There were windows that supposedly led to the outside, but the openings were just shrouded in darkness. I shivered. It was like we werepletely cut off from the outside world. In the distance, a few Golett walked in a robot-like fashion, their eyes and rune illuminating the dim room. Some of them were pulling weeds, while others swept the floor with thick brooms. Some even shined the graves with tissues. The others were simply standing at attention, probably waiting for something to necessitate their movement. On this floor, the deaths were a lot sadder, but some of them were not at all gruesome. Amice Keriell - 1366-1383 - A bright child, sick from birth, that vowed to survive and live a normal life. Tricked by the whims of the fae. Let this be a lesson to all to not bargain with what we cannot understand. The whims of the fae¡­? I stopped and stared at the grave, trying to decipher what it could mean. I didn''t like the tone of it one bit. "Ah, this one," The Overseer smiled. "He ventured into the woods to the northeast and asked for a fairy to cure his illness. A foolish endeavor, but it was not his fault. There were a lot of legends about the fae in those times, including the one that they could grant wishes, although for a heavy price. But as you know, all rumors are born from a hint of truth." "What¡­ what happened to him?" "Well, I do not know," she said. "The fae can be ruthless, just like they can be kindness incarnate. It would depend on which one he met and if he offended it. He died, so his offer must not have gone over well." I frowned, feeling more ufortable than I had since I stepped foot into the tower. That was an overgeneralization if I ever saw one. Aethelred (Bronzong) - ?-1415 - Bringer of rains, protector of our crop, lover of ys. Died mysteriously in the night. Could not prevent theing famine caused by drought. Cami (Luxio) - 1434-1450 - Went on a rampage, then starved herself after failing to protect her lifepanion from harm. May they rest together¡ª That was it. I was done with reading anything. This was just the second floor. I wanted to get out of here as fast as I could. "So do I just¡­ catch one?" Cecilia asked, pointing toward one of the Golett. "Can I choose the biggest one?" "Go ahead, young one," she said, sipping on her tea. "They will not resist a Pokeball''s hold. Theyck the individuality to do so." Was that cup even emptying itself? "I don''t want a mindless drone, I want a Pokemon," Cecilia said. "They are Pokemon. They were built in ancient times for manualbor, so this is what you will be getting, I am afraid." "You''ll be able to breathe life into it," I said. "I''m sure of it." Cecilia hesitantly approached thergest Golett that reached up to her waist, and bumped its forehead. The Pokeball chimed without even shaking. That was it. Cecilia had caught her fifth Pokemon. "So we can dip now, right?" Pauline nervously asked. "I don''t see why not. We got what we came here for," Denzel said. "Won''t you stay to honor the dead?" Mathilda asked. "Erm, no," Pauline said. "I¡­ uh, respect your job, this ce and what you''re trying to do, but it''s giving us the creeps." "Very well," she said, dipping her head. "I will lead you back to the exit. No ghosts will attack you in my presence¡ª" Shadows slipped through the cracks in the floor,shing out and destroying some of the bricks. The darkness coalesced into the form of an old woman that looked exactly like Mathilda. The clothes, the face, the exact same wrinkles. This went beyond genes, this was¡­ like a reflection of her. "Mathilda," the voice echoed throughout the room. "You dare bring humans into this sacred ce?" "Step aside, Ruth." "That''s Ruth? Is she even human?!" Denzel yelled. "Obviously not!" Pauline said. "Silence!" Ruth screamed. My ears rang, giving me a headache. "We had a deal, Mathilda. No humans past the Foyer." The Foyer¡­ that must have been the first floor. Our Pokemon all tensed, readying their attacks in case everything went south. "You are stuck in the past. Nothing is forever, Ruth, no matter how long we may live," Mathilda said, her voice turning otherworldly. "Some rules can be bent to make our time here a little easier." "That is humorousing from you, of all people! What are you thinking, Mathilda? Do you want this tower to fall into ruin?" I didn''t understand. Why would weing here mean that the tower would be ruined? "Ironic, is it not? The people buried here failed to achieve their goals, and yet we were given a goal we are incapable of reaching. An unending task. How much longer, Ruth? One hundred years? Five hundred? A thousand? You have asked me plenty, and I know you would not like the answer." My eyes bulged. These two were ghosts! But what ghost could even turn into a human?! "If I am kept here, then the next best thing is following our directive." "You are not focused on your task, Ruth. Hatred still drives you." "Hatred for you! I am focusing on my task, while you y with humans! They will spread rumors about this ce, and trainers wille to ransack this tower. I will not let them leave." "Do not be foolish, Ruth. You are not thinking clearly." "You and your love for humans!" She spat. "I should have done this centuries ago!" Shadows were thrashing under both of their feet, now, and I knew there were about to fight. I stared at my friends, and we carefully stepped back. Electabuzz ced a hand on my shoulder to stop my trembling, and I took a deep breath. I needed to think. Why did Ruth seem to care so much about guarding the tower if she hated humans so much? Did she just care about the graves for Pokemon? No¡­ it seemed that she cared for everyone here. Mathilda''s words were strange too. It seemed that she wanted to change things, but there was something about her words that made it seem like Ruth wanted to lea¡ª "Do not leave me!" Mathilda called out to us. "The ghosts here are beyond your capabilities. If you are without me, you will get attacked." "Even on the second floor?" Justin harrowingly said. "I will only say this one more time, Ruth. Step aside, or I will kill you, and we will talk about this when you are done clearing your head in the Dusk." "You make me sick. You''re the one keeping me¡ª" Mathilda took a deep breath. "Stick close to me. Do not engage, you will just make her focus on you instead of me." Suddenly, she was sucked into her teacup, bing a Sinistea, and Ruth''s arms bulged, separating into segments that were thinly linked by darkness. Red runes were inscribed on her skin, which turned into a dull gray, and then turned into thick rocks. A single purple eye stared at us with unending hatred. It was a Runerigus. Native and only found in Gr, and yet somehow, it was here. How was a Sinistea supposed to win against that? Never mind that they could somehow turn into humans that were exact copies of each other! A ball of green energy shot out of the teacup, and Runerigus let out a hellish scream, somehow jumping toward us with both of her hands coated in sharp shadows. The Energy Ball crashed into her, but she ignored it, swatting Sinistea away like a bug. The teacup flew into a grave, destroying it and sending Runerigus even further into her unhinged rage. Sinistea appeared fine, and she floated upward with another Energy Ball charged up. This time, the ball split into ten smaller ones, and she sent them flying forward like a machine gun. The ground type brought both of her arms forward, blocking the attack with Protect, and created two Night Shades alongside her. She sicked them after us and then returned to fight Sinistea. We all issued a flurry of orders, and every attack under the sun crashed against the two Night Shades. Dragon Pulse, methrower, Icy Wind, Disarming Voice, Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt all impacted them, but they seemedpletely unfazed by the attacks. The first shade shed across Fross, and she flickered in and out of reality as the temperature dropped and frost started to coat the graves and the floor. "Recall your fucking Fross!" Pauline yelled as Electabuzz shielded her from a Shadow w. "She can''t control herself if she''s not focusing!" "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Denzel yelled, scrambling at his belt. He recalled the ice type and sent out his Roselia instead. "Roselia, battle! Focus on the Night Shades!" Jellicent''s entire face was destroyed in a single attack from one of the shades, and he flew off to regenerate. Roselia brought a flower forward, spraying one of the shades with Venoshock, but it had no effect at all. Electabuzz was working overtime to shield anyone in danger with Protect, but one slipped through and mmed his arm so hard that it bent wrong. I felt my stomach drop and immediately recalled him. "Angel," I breathed out as soon as I sent him out. "Battle, restrain the Night Shades." If we didn''t have Protect, then his vines were the best we had for protection. The grass type coated them in dark type energy and wrapped as many as he could around the two shades, but it was barely restraining their movement. Still, it was enough for us to run and get out of harm''s way most of the time. To our left, Sinistea sent out a Shadow Ball toward Runerigus, and she was finally starting to crack her stone armor that hid her true body underneath. As Justin released his Krokorok, I was starting to understand something. Their attacks were all incredibly impressive, and beyond what we could hope to achieve. They charged faster, were stronger, and had more versatility than I''d ever seen from a wild Pokemon, and yet¡ª The Night Shades, Sinistea and Runerigus were all holding back to protect the graves. Still, we were on the verge of getting annihted by something that wasn''t even its real body. The Night Shade let out a silent scream, tearing more of Tangrowth''s vine apart as Charmeleon''s methrower coated its body. Krokorok attempted to slow the other one down with Sand Tomb, but it could apparently fucking fly too. The shade mmed him away, and Audino hurriedly dealt with the worse of the damage with Heal Pulse. "Knock Off, Angel!" I yelled. If I couldn''t restrain them with vines, the best we could do was deal as much damage as possible in hopes of finally dealing with them. The grass type''s vines tensed, and he pped a Night Shade away from Pauline, finally dealing real damage. "Dark type moves! Only dark type moves work!" I yelled. "Zweilous, Crunch!" "You too Charmeleon!" Pauline yelled, releasing her Gothorita. "Payback!" "Not them!" I countered. "It''s too dangerous!" Only Zweilous, Tangrowth, and Jellicent could take any hits. For the others, one or two, and they''d have to be recalled to avoid dying or being irreparably wounded. Zweilous ran up to one of the shades as darkness danced in their mouths, and both of the heads bit down, destroying a part of the shadow, and another one of Jellicent''s Shadow Balls mmed into it right after. Its eye just glinted as it regenerated the damage immediately. I flinched as the real Runerigus crashed into a mass of graves and an unsuspecting Golett, which were all destroyed. The ground type was barely a thin, long shadow now, and all of its armor had been destroyed. Sinistea used the opportunity and helped us dispatch the Night Shades with two Shadow Balls that were bigger than I''d ever seen. When I looked into them, it was like staring into the abyss itself. I was hypnotized by the sheer amount of grief and emptiness present in the ghostly spheres. Grief, not hate. Two was all it took. We were truly outssed at every level. The teacup flew in between us and the shades, shielding us from the explosion that came with their destruction with a Protect of her own. I didn''t know how, but somehow, a non-fully evolved Pokemon was winning against a fully-evolved one. Were they so old that it truly did not matter? Or was something else at y? I took my first full breath since the battle started and assessed the damage. Aside from the three I mentioned earlier and Audino thanks to his normal typing, our Pokemon were horribly wounded. Krokorok was worse off than anyone else, however. Even with Heal Pulse, he had lost so much blood. Audino used another Heal Pulse, and Justin quickly recalled the ground type with tears in his eyes. It seemed that Audino was capable of healing broken bones, at the very least, so we wouldn''t have to rush to the Pokemon Center. Runerigus had been reduced to a shadow, and it quickly turned back into Ruth. Sinistea did the same, and a body just squeezed out of the cup. "You disappoint me, Ruth. So many graves damaged because of your childish antics. So many names and memories lost forever." "I despise you. Just kill me already, there is no need to gloat. If the tower falls, then you will only have yourself to me. At least I will be able to be free." "Why fight change, Ruth? A ghost might be eternal, but the world is not. You must have known that things would not stay the same forever. The inside of this tower will stand until the end of time, but we canmit to making our fate a little easier until the timees." "I despise this fate," the ghost said, more saddened than I expected. "Banished to care for graves for eternity." "And yet, you do it diligently, because it is your purpose. Our purpose. Things cannot be any different." "They are all gone, Mathilda. All gone. And we are condemned to a life that cannot end. Even after the world is reduced to dust and ash with nothing left to protect the tower from, only ghosts will remain." "A tragic fate for we, who were borne of tragic deaths. And yet it must be done." "Enough of this. I am done with conversing. A trip to the Dusk will do me some good." "Do not try to avoid hard conversation through death. It will have to happen either way." "Fine then. I love this ce, but I grow tired of it. I want to leave." Mathilda''s face darkened, and I felt my palms moisten. An ufortable dryness overtook my throat. "You know as well as I do that the answer is no. You cannot abandon your purpose. Our purpose." I stared at both of them confusedly. This made no sense¡­ it was like the roles had switched. Ruth was now the one wishing for change, and Mathilda was the one wanting to keep things the same. But why? Were these two so old that I just couldn''t understand? "So you bring humans to taint this sacred ce, and yet you cling to tradition? What a joke," Ruth chuckled sadly. "You are as hypocritical as always, Mathilda." "Humansing here will give us a break from the dullness," she exined. "But we will not leave. I am a force for change, but that is the line we must not cross. You cling to the status quo to avoid experiencing what could have been if we had not been given this task, but in truth, you want to leave. Every time you see a human, it reminds you of Him, does it not? I know it is painful. You spend decades at a time grieving next to His grave." "And you spend decades ignoring Him. You nevere to the top floor, Mathilda." "It is too sorrowful for even I." Ruth sighed. "We are both ves to the purpose we were given in different ways, it seems." "You would have known this had you not decided to give me the silent treatment for thest three hundred years," she said, turning toward us. "I will lead you to the exit, children. Thank you for keeping uspany." "If you know what''s good for you, you won''te back. You thought I was a threat? You have not seen what she is capable of." Mathilda spared a look at her fellow Overseer. "How much longer, Ruth?" She repeated. "The answer is forever."
Chapter 141 Chapter 141 CHAPTER 141 We couldn''t have possibly run out of the Lost Tower faster than we did. Mathilda had simply led us to the first floor before going back upstairs. I drew a ragged breath, opening my bag to down an entire water bottle, washing down all the bile that had built up in my throat in the process. Thank Arceus, we had gotten out of that okay. It was a miracle, really. If Mathilda and Ruth hadn''t been holding back, then we would have died right then and there. "I am never, ever doing any ghost bullshit again," Pauline cried. "We won''t. We won''t, I''m sorry," Cecilia said. "Let''s just¡­ go," she said. "Far away from this ce. I don''t feel safe." We nodded, opting to wait to put in some distance before healing our Pokemon. We recalled most of them, keeping only one each. I had Togetic with me, who instantly noticed something was wrong, and I exined what happened, much to her dismay. I put a hand in front of me and couldn''t stop myself from trembling. The sheer scale of the world and how powerful beings could get boggled my mind no matter how obvious it was and how many times I saw it. I was so weak. I clenched a fist and sniffled as Togetic rubbed her head against mine. "Thank you Princess," I whispered. "Everyone is fine, it was just a close call." Another one. I was tired of being spared by the whims of beings more powerful than I was by orders of magnitude. This wasn''t the time to be a scared little girl and cry. I had grown past that. I¡­ I had. I took a deep breath, staring back at the Lost Tower. Just like I thought, it looked a lot smaller on the outside than it actually was somehow, and there was no sign of any battle having gone on there. Hell, even the numbers of windows were wrong now that I was getting a closer look. Togetic called out, telling me to stop staring, and I nodded. The knowledge I had gotten from the tower was invaluable for a trainer my age. Kids usually didn''t learn how ghosts formed, even in school. Oh, everyone had theories, of course. Reincarnated Pokemon or humans was one of the most popr ones, but that had beenpletely wrong. I assumed only the League and ghost specialists in high ces had ess to this knowledge. And this talk about the Dusk? Was that where ghosts were when they died? From the way they had spoken about it, it seemed that they were conscious there. Ruth had called it a good ce to clear her head. Either way, the fact that a tower that I assumed was specifically engineered to create ghosts only formed one every few decades helped exin how rare true ghosts were. Why else would someone build a cemetery only for people with tragic deaths? They must have had an agenda of some kind, or at least I believed so. And then there was the Copperajah in the room. Since when could Sinistea and Runigerus turn into fucking humans?! I had never heard of any ghost types turning into humans. Creating illusions with humans in it, yes, but bing full-fledged humans capable of speech? Did that also have to do with their ages and how powerful they were? I didn''t have enough information to answer that, but I did have a bit of context. They had the exact same body, like they were clones. That implied that something else had maybe helped them gain this ability. Maybe the person that gave them their ''purpose'' they seemed so obsessed with. I exhaled loudly. "Should we alert someone?" Justin said. "That tower should definitely be closed to the public." "If they don''t close ces like Victory Road, they won''t close the Lost Tower either," Denzel shook his head. "And¡­ I don''t know, it would feel wrong, wouldn''t it?" I hesitantly nodded. "Mathilda and Ruth are different, but I think they''d both dislike it if we did that. It''s a hard choice. I¡­ I don''t think I''ll be saying anything, but feel free to do whatever you want, Justin. Personally, I don''t think they deserve more suffering." "You''re... right. I won''t say anything." In the end, even though she had saved our lives, Mathilda terrified me more than Ruth did. She was essentially holding thetter captive, forcing her to forever tend to the tower against her wishes. If Ruth ever tried to escape, she would be killed repeatedly. They both had a dash of good and evil about them in very different ways. "I just don''t want to speak about it. I don''t want to think about it," Pauline said. "Fuck that ce." "Do you want to vent?" Denzel asked. "I''ll listen." The redhead paused. "Fine. Later tonight." What else¡­ what else? Night Shade! I already suspected the move to hold a lot more potential than I knew due to Fantina summoning five at once with her Frillish, but those had been on apletely different level. They were capable of going toe to toe with our entire teamsbined, were only vulnerable to dark moves, and were capable of regeneration. What was different with their shades? Okay, they were obviously tougher due to experience, but even then, they should have taken damage from our other moves! Darkness would be a foil to ghosts no matter what, it seemed. I didn''t know much about the type, and not many people did in Sinnoh. There weren''t that many high leveled dark type specialists here, so it would take a long time to find any answers. Damn it, I hated being kept in the dark. Something told me that if I ever wanted to find those three Gengar, I''d need to get more knowledgeable about dark type energy to better protect myself just in case. Damn it, I could have had potentially asked them so much more information... but it was hard to think straight when I''d been on the brink of dying. The point was, I had abandoned working on Jellicent''s Night Shade to practice other attacks, but it seemed that the move held untold amounts of potential. Letting it go was the wrong move. When we were done working on Whirlpool, I''d ask him to try replicating what Runerigus had done, or get as close to it as possible. A Night Shade that didn''t explode with one attack and could dish out damage multiple times would be an incredible threat to face. Plus, Mathilda had been somewhat impressed by Buddy when she first saw him. I was thinking about Pokemon battling, so I had at least calmed down enough for that. I held out my hand again and sighed in relief. I wasn''t trembling anymore, despite how shaken I still felt. I turned to Cece, who was staring at Golett''s Pokeball in silence. "Are you¡­ I mean, no, you''re obviously not okay, but are you feeling better?" I asked, stepping close to her. She opened her mouth, and I stopped her. "Don''t try to me yourself now. We all agreed to go inside, and we were all tricked by Mathilda." "Right," she quietly said. "But I failed to keep you safe." "What? We all worked together to keep each other safe. Our Pokemon all had a part in helping. Your Zweilous was instrumental in keeping the shades'' attention away from us." "That''s¡­" She didn''t finish her sentence. "Look, we got out at least," I said, forcing a smile. "And you got your Golett." She showed a hint of a smile. "Right. We should look at¡­ look at the positive. Sceon is just a few days away after all." "That''s what I''m talking about. And I''m excited to meet your new little guy." "He''s going to be a tough one to raise," she said. "But I hope I don''t mess up like I did with Scyther." "Hard to do that when it currently has no will. Or at least it doesn''t ording to Mathilda. I''m sure that it''ll change though. You could look up information about it when we get to Sceon." Cecilia shook her head. "I want to do it on my own, otherwise I would be a fraud." "I''d say that''s a little much, but then that''d kind of be hypocritical of me. Does it even have a mouth to eat? How''re you gonna give it vitamins?" "You know what, that''s an excellent question." "Pfft!" Iughed, feeling my entire body rx. So long as we moved past the event, We would be fine. ¡ª Golett was a weird little guy, indeed. My team was practicing their moves off in the distance, and Denzel and Pauline were finally talking again. Every Pokemon was well enough to practice except Justin''s Krokorok, and he was tending to him. His Audino was a lifesaver, and Electabuzz''s arm had easily been fixed with a Heal Pulse and a few potions. We''d had to use so many that we were almost out of them, though. I was currently meeting Cecilia''s Golett for the first time. Its eyes and rune slowly lit up with a pale yellow light as Cecilia released him, and I could hear the distinct hum of an¡­ engine? Along with some wet y mushing around inside of its body. Golett nkly stared in between us both and into the distance. It was a genderless Pokemon, but using ''it'' all the time felt so dehumanizing. "Should we just give it a gender?" I asked, observing the golem. "Or call it they?" Cecilia hummed. "I''d prefer to call it a boy." I nodded. "He/him it is. Hi little guy!" I waved. The golem slowly rotated his head toward me, its expression unchanging. Well, it wasn''t like its expression could change. It had no facial muscles, it was just an immutable face. Cecilia grabbed her Pokedex, and I opted to do the same. Golett, the Automaton Pokemon. These Pokemon are thought to have been created by an ancient Unovan civilization, and they are powered by an unknown energy channeled into their runes that appears tost thousands of years. "That''s a lot vaguer than usual," Iined. "And if he''s Unovan, how the hell did he end up here?" "I don''t know. Perhaps the person who built the Lost Tower owned a lot of them, or was an Unovan traveler? Mathilda and Ruth are Pokemon from Gr too, so it''s possible that he might have gone through more regions." "Since they''re ancient¡­ does it mean they won''t make them anymore?" Cecilia nodded, and I felt a twinge of pain. Eventually, when their energy ran out, all Golett would go extinct, unless someone figured out how to recreate them. That was a depressing thought. Maybe their evolutionssted longer? Not that I had ever seen one. "Golett¡­ do you eat, darling? Or can you?" The ground type''s head popped open with a hiss, revealing a gaping hole above its neck. Smoke rose out of the hole, and machinery hummed. I curiously peered inside, and I couldn''t evenprehend what I was looking at. A cacophony of hot steam, moving wet y and swirling light allbined to create the sound of an engine. "Do you just pour it in there? Won''t that short-circuit him?" I asked. "Well, he did open his¡­ mouth after I asked if he ate, so surely not." "I think you should consider the option that he doesn''t even know what he''s doing. He might be a bajillion years old, but you''ve got to treat him like a newborn baby. Plus, he''s a cutie." The Golett closed his hatch and started staring at us again. "Well, maybe I should look information up after all," she sighed. "I don''t want to identally hurt him." "Good," I smiled. "Better safe than sorry. I''ll leave you to introduce him to your team properly, but can we do the telepathy thing againter?" "I don''t know, Grace¡­" "Please? Just once more to see how fast the pain is going to lessen. Or how slow," I shuddered. "Just one more time, then. After that, you''re taking a break until you get an opinion from a Nurse Joy. Scrambling your brain again that badly this soon can''t be healthy." "Thank you!" I said, kissing her cheek. "I''ll make it up to you somehow!" "I might change my mind." "Wha¡ª absolutely not!" After annoying her for a bit longer, I left to join my team again. Since we were out of view of everyone, I used the opportunity to release Turtonator, but him being there made Togetic unable to focus on her Shadow Ball practice, so I ended up having to recall him after barely two hours. I considered speaking to her about it again, but she was getting better, and I didn''t want to force anything. She was ring less and less, and was no longer pre-charging an Ancient Power at all times, she just found it hard to trust him. To Princess, Turtonator was the Pokemon who''d almost killed and permanently scarred her mother, so it would take time to get used to. Inch by inch, Sunshine was slowly bing part of the family. He was openly talking to Sweetheart now, and even ying with her by letting her ram into his tough, pale scales with her horn. Still, when he looked at me, I couldn''t help but notice the disappointment. His stare was silently screaming at me, telling me that I could do more. I still refused to fight Team Gctic with him, and I would always do so. It wasn''t my job. ¡ª "Your Mankey rumor seems more and more like a pile of crap," Denzel said. "Shut it. You''re just scaring them off," Pauline pped back. "That''s not even how Mankey work. They''re supposed to get mad at everything, not get scared of the first human they hear." It was the next day now, and we were off-route, looking for Pauline''s Mankey. There had been a few wild Pokemon attacks, but nothing that threatened us too badly. We weren''t that deep in, so the Pokemon were still rtively easy to deal with if webined all of our strengths. Pauline and Denzel were back to their usual selves, and it appeared they had a breakthrough yesterday night, so thankfully they were friends again. The telepathy experiment yesterday night had gone slightly better than the first. The amount of pain I''d have to put myself through to get my brain used to the process was daunting to think about, but at least I''d made some progress. Cece didn''t want to do it anymore, though. "If only your Growlithe had smelled one before," Pauline grumbled at Justin. "This would be so much easier. There''s just one more day until we get to Sceon!" "At this point, you should just catch the first thing youe across," I shrugged. "I won''t give up yet!" Four hourster, Pauline gave up. We couldn''t afford to stay here too long, since we were cutting in close as it was. Louis'' group had probably walked past us by now, if Denzel was calcting his hours right. The redhead dejectedly stared at the floor and sighed. "Look, it''s not the end of the world. You can always get your Mankeyter, just get something else for now. Or just don''t participate in the tournament," Denzel said, patting her shoulder. Pauline jumped, taking a few steps away as she stared away from us. "Y¡ªyeah. No, I think I''ll catch something. The first Pokemon I see!" "I''ll hold you ountable to that deration," I said. Around fifteen minutester, we heard rustling in the leaves. A tall Watchog passed us by, staring at us warily with itsrge eyes. Pauline just let it through. "So much for that," Cecilia teased. "Come on, it was a Watchog!" She yelled. "It''s¡ª" The Watchog came back flying into a nearby tree with two huge w marks on its chest, and a pool of blood umted across the grass. A blur of white jumped at us, but Slowking raised a hand, restraining it long enough for us to see. A Vigoroth shook and struggled against the Psychic as blood leaked out of its nose, staining its fur. "Let it go," Pauline said, releasing her Gothorita and Rufflet. "I want it." "There you go," Justin said. "Cece, can you lend me your Slowking? I''m going to go and heal this Watchog." "Sure." Slowking lowered his hand, and Vigoroth immediately jumped at Charmeleon, who bit down on its arm with Crunch without Pauline''smand. The normal type screamed and forcefully tore its hand away, ignoring the chunk of flesh it lost in the process, and started to w at Charmeleon with a ferocity I had never seen before in a Pokemon. Gothorita quickly restrained it again, and Rufflet stood, waiting for Pauline''smand. "You''re a tough one," Pauline said. "Charmeleon would have gotten overwhelmed without Gothorita''s help." The fire type growled to protest, but her trainer ignored her. "You have what I''m looking for in a Pokemon. You live off-route, so you''re probably not familiar with humans. Let me tell you, if you want to grow stronger, you''re going to want toe with me." Vigoroth squirmed and raged against Gothorita''s Confusion, and the psychic gave an irritated grunt in response. "See? As it stands, you can''t break out. Did you know that Rufflet over here can?" She said, nodding toward the flying type. She proudly red her feathers. "Charmeleon can too, with a bit more work." The fire type''s nose red in protest, and Vigoroth kept struggling. Pauline crossed her arms. "We''ll wait until you give me an answer. Gothorita, drop him, but keep him restrained if he jumps at us again. I''ll stay here until you nod or shake your head, Vigoroth." The psychic type listened, and unsurprisingly, Vigoroth attacked us again. This was going to take a while, so I opted to scan it with my Pokedex in the meantime. Vigoroth, the Wild Monkey Pokemon. Vigoroth is always itching and agitated to go on a wild rampage, and it struggles to sit still for even a minute. If it does, its stress levels rise until it cannot take it anymore, and it blows up into an uncontroble rage. Well, that sounded like an extremely hard Pokemon to raise. I did know a bit about the Pokemon and that it evolved into the terrifying king, though. If they weren''t all extremelyzy, then they''d probably be stronger than even pseudo-legendaries. In the wild, they simply lounged around and ate any grass that was within reach. I had heard that it was possible to reduce their truancy, but I obviously had no idea how. We all nodded at the Watchog, who thanked us for the help and ran away as fast as it could. An hour passed. Then two. Then three. Vigoroth still hadn''t stopped, although he had calmed down slightly. At this point, I had released my Pokemon so that they could train their current moves. Electabuzz was even sparring with Tangrowth, although they were both holding back a decent amount. Togetic was practicing her control with Psychic and her shaping with Ancient Power. Slowking, and Gothorita were currently working in shifts to let each other rest. "Pauline¡­" Denzel groaned. "Just catch it already. I''m bored out of my fucking mind." "No." "The tournament is soon, and¡ª" "Shh. Just a second," she raised a finger. Vigoroth''s eyes narrowed as she approached. "I think we cane to an understanding, no?" Pauline asked. "Don''t you want to fight things?" Vigoroth grunted. "Well, I want to make you fight things." Just like that, Vigoroth nodded, and Pauline caught him easily. "Why couldn''t you just say that from the start?!" I exasperatedly asked. "Because its judgment was still clouded. We needed to let it calm down first." "Weird definition of calming down," Denzel said. "But let''s go. We''re going to cut it short, we have to be quick." Pauline hadn''t given up on her Mankey just yet, but she had gotten her fourth Pokemon. ¡ª Less than a dayter, we arrived at Sceon. The small town was swarming with trainers, and it seemed that the usual poption felt like it had at least doubled. It was probably good for business, and I had no doubt that they weren''t all joining the tournament, but boy, did it feel cramped. Either way, it was time to sign up.
Chapter 142 Chapter 142 CHAPTER 142 Sceon was a small town that reminded me very much of Floaroma, but without an ent on the flowers. There was a city center that was decently built up with tall buildings just shy of being skyscrapers, and there were some pockets of suburbs isted from the center and only connected through lonely roads. It was, however,rger than Floaroma, and unlike the small town, this was a proper city with an airport and a decent poption. In between the suburbs and the city center, there were simply massive fields full of wheat farms and docile Pokemon that were mostly normal types. Sentret, Doduo, Staravia, Lechonk¡­ there were a lot of wild Pokemon hanging about. I even saw a trainer try to catch a Deerling out there. Apparently, the organizers had set up the tournament area right next to the Sceon Daycare. It was called a daycare, but in truth, it was Sinnoh''s most famous and sessful Pokemon breedingpany. They raised all kinds of Pokemon of any type, which was almost unheard of since most breeders tended to specialize in a single or just a few types. The Daycare, as it was known, did not have such limitations. If I remembered correctly, Louis'' Vulpix hade from here. Of course, they could also temporarily take care of your Pokemon¡ª for a sum¡ª if you couldn''t do so for any reason. "Did you know that some trainers make money by catching rare Pokemon and selling them to the Daycare?" Denzel said. "Yikes¡­" I said. "Couldn''t imagine catching a Pokemon and just giving it away, I''d grow too attached." "They''ve got to make that money somehow," Denzel shrugged. "But I get ya. They''re almost all eight-badge holders too, so they''re skilled enough to explore dangerous areas to capture rare Pokemon, and they have their license to go past the six-Pokemon limit, so it''s easier to carry them." "Interesting," Justin said. "What else do you know about this establishment?" ording to Denzel, the Daycare practically owned almost all of the undeveloped emptynd here that they used to raise Pokemon. It was so huge that I couldn''t see it in its entirety as we approached the fenced-out area. Apparently, the Daycare would lend the tournament organizers some of itsnd to run the entire event on. Another reason why Sceon hadn''t grown to a massive size even though it clearly had the potential to was because the Daycare held so much influence in local politics here that a simple vocal refusal from them would sink any expansion project. They wanted to keep the undevelopednd for themselves. The business was also run by the massive Hunter household, and all employees¡ª who numbered in the hundreds¡ª were a part of the family. Not figuratively. Literally. The thought of having hundreds of cousins, aunts, uncles, and siblings with names and personalities that I''d have to remember made my head spin. Hunter was one of the names I''d seen in the Lost Tower. I guess that meant that the woman''s family managed to realize her dream after all. The Daycare itself was a massive, old-looking mansion that reminded me of the mansion in Eterna Forest. A small inscription above the double doors showed that it''d been in business since the year 1001. That meant that the Daycare was more than a thousand years old and basically near the Lost Tower in age, if the dates marked on the graves were anything to go on. There were also smaller wooden cabins surrounding it that I assumed most employees lived and slept in. But the Daycare wasn''t where we were going. We entered another building about five minutes away that was swarming with trainers from all walks of life. We entered a queue to sign up for the tournament, and we turned some heads when people noticed us. "Thank Arceus we made it," Denzel sighed in relief. "Another day, and we wouldn''t have been able to sign up." "Wait, we had another day? I thought today was the deadline," Pauline said. "Why''d you harass me to go faster then?" "Because something could have dyed us," I exined. "Better safe than sorry." "I hope Louis made it," Cece said, standing on her tiptoes. "I don''t see him anywhere." "Good luck finding him in this," Denzel groaned as someone bumped into him. "So many people¡­" Justin said. "How are they going to fit all of us in the tournament?" "Good question," Denzel shrugged. "But then again, it is supposed to be an extremely big event. It''s not an annual thing like Floaroma. People actively came here for the asion, since it probably won''t happen for years after this." "Some of ''em are probably just here to watch too," I said. It took around thirty minutes for it to be our turn, and we each went to the counter one by one. I tried to catch a few conversations from the various groups of people here, and they were mostly about the toughestpetition they''d have to face. I was surprised to hear my namee up a bunch, and I felt my chest swell with pride. Don''t let it get to your head, I told myself. The gist of the signup process went like this. The organizer took my trainer ID to make sure that I had never made it past five badges. People past the first year were allowed, but only in that circumstance. I paid arge entry fee, which the Poketch Company would pay back. It was their way of incentivizing me to enter more tournaments, and I''d wee the help. "The tournament starts in five days¡ª five days from tomorrow, I mean," the manzily said. "The brackets and your opponent will be announced three days from tomorrow. One hour before your battle starts, you''ll have to notify one of the supervisors about your lineup." The supervisors were the people who''d handle everything regarding the tournament after it had already started. That meant Kadabra barriers, creating the outdoor arenas¡ª of which there would be five types¡ª cleaning up after a battle, being the referee¡­ they certainly had their hands full. Apparently, any supervisor inside of this building at the time would do. The tournament wouldst a total of eighteen days, and it''d be run so that every trainer would at least have a one-day break in between each fight. Battles would be in the double format with four Pokemon each and no switches, so the pairs that you sent out first would be even more important than I thought. Only the top four would win a prize, which was ruthless for a tournament of this size. Even the Poketch Company would reward me for the top ten. If you weren''t at least a semi-finalist, you wouldn''t be winning anything. Well, that was a bit harsh. You would be gaining a lot of battling experience against your peers. There also was no group stage like the Conference. It was just a huge bracket. Along with 500,000 pokedors, the winner would gain the Hyper Beam TM, which was the Daycare''s contribution to the prize pool. Hyper Beam was one of the most powerful, versatile moves ever created, and almost every Pokemon could learn it with enough dedication. It also cost close to a million Pokedors. Multiple millions, if you wanted a reusable one. Obviously, this meant that the TM was what everyone here was after, not the money. Second ce would win 250,000 pokedors and the Double-Edge TM. Third and fourth¡ª so the semifinalists¡ª would win 100,000 pokedors and the Protect TM. Another Protect would be huge for me, so third wouldn''t be that bad, but I actually wasn''t that interested in second ce. Once upon a time, I had wanted to teach Double-Edge to Princess, but we weren''t walking that path any longer. She was a special attacker through and through, and I was going to lean into that. I could, however, sell the TM, so getting second wouldn''t be the worst thing in the world. Hyper Beam, though? The only Pokemon I currently had powerful enough to learn the move were Jellicent, Turtonator, and Tangrowth. Turtonator wasn''t going to battle, so I wasn''t going to teach him the move, but if I had to pick¡­ I¡­ wasn''t sure. Tangrowthbining it with Bind would bring a devastatingbo if he could get it off, but Jellicent would have an easier time mastering the move and he would be able tobine it with Mist, which I hadn''t used in a while. Still, it wasn''t like I''d be able to use the move on a regr basis any time soon. It took so much energy out of a Pokemon that only the strongest ones could use it without having to rest afterward, or multiple times in a battle, so it would be more like a final resort attack if I were to win it. Cynthia''s Milotic and Garchomp could apparently dish them out like they were nothing, which was terrifying to think about. Either way, we were done signing up. In three and a half days, my first opponent would be announced. I was thest one who had signed up, so I joined my friends outside. Cecilia was smiling with her Poketch in hand. "Louis, Mira and Maeve made it yesterday, and they''re already signed up," she said. "Chase is here too. He''s beenining in the group chat." "As always," I sighed. "I guess he wants to see us before he leaves." "Does this call for a meeting?" Justin asked. "Sure, why not," I shrugged. I bumped an elbow against my old student. "Feeling nervous? You''re twitching all over." "It feels a lot more official now. The prize pool¡­ made me realize that we three-badge holders arepletely out of our depth here." "Speak for yourself! Don''t be such a downer," Pauline groaned. "I don''t want my rival to be such a wet nket. I''m gonna get as far as I can." "You were just like me a few days ago," Justin said. He yelped when she pinched him in the arm and twisted. I grinned, but then my eyes settled on Denzel and Cecilia. Their eyes were hungry, and they were practically salivating. We were all gunning for first ce. If I had to guess, Cecilia was already daydreaming about her Zweilous somehow using two Hyper Beams at once. Her brother was actually famous for his Hydreigon being able to use three. Denzel''s Milotic would be able to learn the move, but Sylveon¡­ maybe he could too. And there was also his sixth Pokemon to consider, although I wasn''t sure what it would be. There was too much at stake to go inpletely blind here. The money¡ª on top of the bonus from the Poketch Company¡ª would be crucial for my Shiny Stone, and the TMs were too valuable. I was still going to go in partly blind, but I would at least look up what Pokemon my opponents had so I wouldn''t bepletely blindsided. "There are only five Centers here, and they''re all fucking packed," Denzel said, browsing his phone. "There are definitely rooms left, but we definitely won''t be next to each other. Bummer." I opened my Poketch and scrolled to see if I had missed anything regarding the Poketch Company. There were just a few messages from Melody asking me to call her before the tournament so that she could give me some pointers on how to behave for theing interviews. Right. Interviews. I sighed. "Chase is in the Center the closest to route 210," Denzel said. "Louis and his group are there too, so we might as well go and see what''s up. Maybe we can all room there." "Sure!" I cheered. I was happy that we were meeting everyone again so soon, even though Chase was probably leaving tomorrow. I doubted that I''d see him before Veilstone after that, but I just hoped he''d get what he wanted in Celestic. We had walked for twenty minutes, and we were still nowhere close to the Center. It was at times like these that I missed what big cities had to offer. Public transportation was a blessing. I stared up into the sky and almost swore. There were damned trainers flying on their Pokemon to quicken their travel time! Damn it, I was jealous. There were a few flying types without trainers too. Must have been wild. Wild Pokemon in towns and cities were known to be peaceful. "I''ll have to tell you guys something in private after this¡ª you know what, I''ll just do it when everyone meets," Cecilia said after looking worryingly at her Slowking. Along with Togetic, he was the only Pokemon out, at the moment. We hesitantly nodded, and another twenty minutester, we were at the Pokemon Center. We gave all of our Pokemon to Nurse Joy and booked our rooms, although as Denzel had said, we would all be on opposite corners of the Center. I''d still need to see Nurse Joy about telepathy, but that could wait untilter. We knocked on Chase''s door, ignoring the attention we were getting, and the boy let us in. "Arceus, it smells so fucking bad in here. Open a window!" Pauline yelled. "Nice greeting, asshole. I just finished working out, so if you don''t like it, leave," Chase said. I broke out intoughter. Before, his temperament would have angered me, but I just found it funny now. I wondered how it felt, to just say whatever was on your mind at all times. Even Pauline wasn''t that blunt. The boy wiped the sweat off his body with a towel and opened his window, bringing in a cooling breeze. "Nice to see you again," I said. "Bummer that you won''t be able to participate." "I know," he said, his eyes downcast. "I almost considered signing up anyway, but since I''d win, it wouldst too long and I wouldn''t be able to fit in my trip to Celestic. Route 210 is long as hell." "Are you well-read on it?" Denzel asked. "A decent amount. I won''t be going in blind." "Good. The fog is vicious, so make sure you''re prepared." My mind shed back to one of the graves in the Lost Tower. Land Of The Fog. Could it have meant route 210? "And Pastel, I have something to tell you before I dip." My eyes widened. "Tomorrow morning? I''ll be there. I''ve got to start preparing anyway." "No, I mean tonight. S''alright if you don''t want to though." "No, no, I''ll stick around." A few minutester, Louis, Maeve and Mira entered the room. Mira was as cheerful as always, and Maeve looked extremely pale. She was probably nervous about the tournament. I gasped in surprise when I saw a Combee flying above Louis'' head. Two of the heads looked absolutely cheerful, and the other was sleeping. It was the cutest thing I''d ever seen. We all greeted each other with hugs or waves depending on how close we were, and Mira couldn''t help herself frommenting on the room''s smell. Chase just ignored her, though, and he got up from his bed as soon as she sat next to him. "Are you avoiding me?" The pink-haired girl said. "Obviously." "Come on," she whined. "Let''s be friends!" "Nah, I''m good." "Louis!" I eximed. "When''d you get that?!" "Good afternoon to all of you," he smiled. He seemed a lot happier¡ª no, happy was the wrong word. He was probably feeling a weight off his shoulder now that his dad was behind bars. Plus, he''d managed to get the money out of his private ount out, so he wouldn''t have to worry about that. "I caught her on one of the honey trees on route 209. She seemed to have been kicked out of her hive." "That''s two rescues in a row," Maeve said. "First Pawniard, now Combee." "So now you talk!" Miraughed. "You should have seen her when we signed up for the tournament. She didn''t eat anything the entire day. She wasn''t even nervous against Fantina." "You don''t understand," she shook her head. "Thest time I was in a tournament, it did not go well, and it sapped me of all my confidence. I still haven''t recovered." "Sorry," Louis said. "You were better," she shrugged. "I did give you the finger afterward." "Aww, such wonderful memories! While you all were kicking around Floaroma, I was in Canve beating Byron''s ass!" Canve¡­ right. Lauren had taken the same path as Mira, and she was also here somewhere. I had her number, so I hoped that we''d be able to meet before the tournament began. Despite the potential danger¡­ I would have liked to introduce her to the group. She was a lonely girl, just like Chase had been, and I felt like friends would help her get out of her shell. Plus, I felt like I owed Craig with how he had rmended me to the Poketch Company. With how much he doted on her, I knew that he''d be happy if I helped his sister. Although she could berate her brother like there was no tomorrow. I''d keep her a secret for now, at least until she gave me the okay. I unlocked my phone and shot her a message, and I was surprised to see that she saw it immediately, although she didn''t answer. Left on read again, I thought with a shrug. I focused back on the conversation. "Anyway, Louis didn''t even check to see if Combee was a male or a female before he caught her! He would have kept her even if she''d been a male," Maeve said. "Male Combee are known to be extremely weak since they don''t evolve," Justin nodded. "I saw a Pokemon in need, and I wanted to rescue her," Louis said. The bug typezily buzzed above his head. "She couldn''t survive for long outside of her hive. I won''t be using her in the tournament, though." "That''s fair," Denzel nodded. "Anyway, Cece you had something to tell us¡­?" "Yes. It''s about the tournament¡ª sorry if you feel excluded, Chase." "Nah, go ahead. I don''t care." Cecilia continued. "Close the window and the curtains." We frowned, but Chase obliged her. "You know how I used Fletchinder and Slowking to spy on all of you?" She asked. We nodded. The only one who had really cared was Pauline since she considered it an unfair, dirty tactic. "It''s already started here." "Hm?" Denzel raised an eyebrow. "While we were walking here, I had Slowking out, right?" She asked. "We had a few Pokemon following us, trying to catch on to what we were saying. Luckily, we didn''t really talk about anything of note, but they were here. One of them was so small that Slowking could barely even sense it. One was a ghost of some kind, he didn''t exactly know. ording to him, those feel like holes rather than presences, so he can easily tell. The others were all flying types or Pokemon capable of flight." "Oh, I thought those were wild," Denzel said. "Me too!" I yelled. "No, they were trained. They were explicitly following us. We''re all well-known, so we''ll be targets for spying." "Right, Craig talked to me about this at Savika''s cabin," I muttered. "He said that trainers at the top spy on each other a whole lot to try to figure out the new techniques that they''ll bust out at the Conference months in advance. That''s why he wanted to train on Mount Cor after gathering all the badges." "He has eight now, so he should be on his way," Denzel said. "Damn assholes," Pauline said. "That shit should be banned." "Really? I think it adds to the enjoyment," Mira shrugged. "Makes it feel official and serious, you know?" "But wait, the odds of them facing us are astronomically low," I said. "They''re not taking any chances," Denzel said. "But when we''re assigned an opponent, expect that person to start gathering information on us, not only online, but through spying. Is that what you''re saying?'' Cecilia nodded. "Yes. Of course, I am also suggesting you do the same, if you wish. I certainly will." "Your team is kind of tailor-made for that," Denzel said. "At least until Fletchinder evolves. She''s small and quiet." "And I will take every advantage at my disposal to get ahead." The room fell silent for a few seconds, and everyone was no doubt thinking about spying methods. I didn''t exactly want to do it, mostly because I wanted to get better at improvising, but if I got further in the tournament¡­ I''d probably have to start doing so eventually not to fall behind. But who¡­? Togetic could fly, I suppose, but unlike most flying types, her hearing wasn''t that good¡ª only slightly better than a human. The others were lost causes, since they were too big. Jellicent¡­ well, there was that thing that Mathilda had told me about him, but I still had no idea how to go about increasing his ghostly side. If I did, though, it would probably mean that he''d be able to disappear and reappear like true ghosts. Right now, though? It was a bust, and I could easily see who hade to the same conclusion as I had. Justin, Louis and Mira tried to hide their disappointment, but I could read them easily. Pauline wasn''t even going to try. Mira had her Haunter, but she probably didn''t want to risk him being alone with any humans. Still, if she was signing up, she''d at least figured out how to get him to fight without killing things, unless she''d caught something else. I had studied up a bit on her after meeting her in Fantina''s gym, and I knew that she also owned a Kirlia, Magnezone, and Kadabra, although one of those might have evolved by now. Cecilia had her Fletchinder and Slowking tactic. Denzel had his Fross, although hisck of psychic would probably hamper his understanding, but maybe Sylveon would be able to ry the information. Maeve¡ª which I had also studied on¡ª had her Staravia, which had excellent hearing. "None of that shit will matter the further in you go, though," Chase shrugged. "Near the end of the tournament, you''ll have seen your opponents battle at least a few times." "Is that your attempt to cheer me up? Thanks Chasey!" Mira said. "Don''t you even dare call me that." "Well, it depends on if they try to sneakily learn a move during the tournament, but yes," Cecilia said. "It will mostly matter for the early rounds. The gist of what I was trying to say is, be careful, and work as secretly as you can. As it stands, nowhere is far enough away to protect you from prying eyes, but maybe be on the lookout for any Pokemon and don''t reveal anything crucial." "Thanks for the warning, thatpletely went over my head. Big tournaments are something else," Maeve said. "Yeah, there''s this excitement that''s been building up," I smiled. "I can barely stop myself from shaking." "Man, getting that 500k would be sweet," Denzel said. "The money is obviously second to Hyper Beam," Cecilia retorted. "Well, I need to save. I''ve got a Shiny Stone to get for Roselia, and¡­ uh something else." "You''re terrible at hiding things, but I''ll let that go," Pauline said. "What were you even thinking when nning your team? You need to be rich for all that stuff," Maeve said. "I barely managed to afford a Water Stone for my Staryu." "Well, I was a kid with big dreams," Denzel said. "I''ll figure it out." Soon enough, people started filtering out. Mira was thest one to leave, although she asked Chase to stop ignoring her texts. I was oblivious, and even I knew that she was obviously crushing. Well, he didn''t appear to care whatsoever though, so that was too bad. I stayed behind to hear what he had to say to me. "Ahem," he coughed. "Thanks for hearing me out, Pastel, I appreciate you." "Hm? What''s wrong?" I said, suddenly worrying. This wasn''t like him. "I didn''t really want to talk about this, but Riolu wanted me not to keep it all bottled up, and he said that he didn''t mind if I told people. Since you''re kind of the closest friend I have, I felt like you should be the one to hear this." I was his closest friend? Arceus, I was going to tear up. "Why are you crying? I didn''t even start." "Uh, it''s nothing, just some dust in my eye," I said. I opted to sit at the edge of his bed, and I waited for him to start. "Did you think I''d fall for that? Whatever, it''s about Celestic, but you probably guessed it already. Riolu¡­ Riolu isn''t exactly mine. He was originally my mother''s, and they were both born in Celestic. She died when she gave birth to me¡­ the fucking shitty hospitals in the Iron Inds are probably to me, but I can''t even bring myself to be sad about it. It''s like¡­ she was never there, you know? I don''t remember her. I never knew her. It''s like this gaping hole inside of me. Something is just missing," he said, gripping his shirt tightly at his chest. "Oh. I¡­ I had no idea about any of that. Sorry." "Nah, not your fault. I mean, I''ve only told my team this, so it''s not like I expected you to know. Anyway, my mom met my dad when he traveled through Celestic, and long story short, he charmed her pants off so much that she ran away with him after leaving her folks a letter." "What? How old were they?" "Sixteen." "What about her family?" "They hated his guts." Yeah, that made sense. "Err, something happened to my dad, and he lost his Pokemon¡­ he never told me what it was, but I was pretty sure that they died, and from the way he kept ming himself his entire life, he probably fucked up somewhere. He retired during his second year, and my mother joined him when he went back home in the Iron Inds. She wasn''t exactly a trainer. She was just hanging out with him during his travels with Ri. When she died, Riolu passed on to my father." I felt my throat tighten. From his tone, I could tell that his father was¡ª "My father died. Recently. I don''t want to go into it," he said. I nodded and let him continue. "Riolu was passed onto me¡­ but even now, I don''t feel like he''s mine. It feels wrong. Like I stole him, or something, I dunno. When my mother died, her family apparently came to take her body to bury her in Celestic, which is why we''re going. We want to visit her grave for the first time. It''s really important to us both¡­ and maybe I''ll go see my grandparents in the process. They know I exist, but they never contacted me or wrote anything. They probably despise me too, but I want to hear it from their mouths." "Maybe they¡­" I trailed off. I knew he wouldn''t like pointless optimism. That wasn''t how to cheer him up. "I dunno, I don''t really care what they think of me. I mostly just want to learn about my mom through them. Dad never spoke about her, since it hurt him too much. Blew up at me a couple times when I brought her up as a kid," he said. "I don''t even have a picture of her left¡­ we lost our house¡ª I¡ª" He exhaled and clenched his forehead. For a second, I thought he''d cry, but he didn''t. "So yeah, It''d be nice if they had a picture to give me. I have one of my old man. Want to see?" "Of course." Chase grabbed his Poketch and scrolled through his pictures until he reached one of him and his father from one and a half years ago. They didn''t share that much inmon, although they had the same eyes and face shape. His face was caked with dirt and dust, and he wore arge, yellow helmet with a headlight. What surprised me was that Chase used to look like a stick. He''d been thinner than even Justin, which was a far cry from what he looked like now. Maybe expecting his thirteen-year-old self to be well-built was too much, but I''d expected to see traces of it. He''d also been extremely palepared to the rtively tanned face he had now. "He was really happy there," Chase smiled. I offered a smile of my own when I saw how widely Chase was grinning in the picture. "You were happy too. I''ve never seen you smile like¡­ ah, sorry." I was so dumb. "Don''t worry, I won''t give you shit for it. My dad was a miner, if it wasn''t obvious. That day, he and his buddies found a new section of the cave in the mines that had a lot of untapped iron. It was supposed to be the key to getting us the fuck out of our misery¡­ miners in the Iron Inds are paid by how much ore they bring back on a daily basis, and with a vein like this, we were finally going to move to Canve." What happened? The words died in my throat. I couldn''t ask. Chase closed his phone. "I guess that''s that." "Yeah. Thanks for opening up to me." "Thank Ri the next time you see him, he''s the one that convinced me. I''ll be leaving tomorrow morning." "Good luck." "Thank you, Grace. I mean it." My eyes widened at his use of my name, but it didn''t end there. He offered me a tight hug, and I was sure I heard him quietly sob in my arms. I just rubbed his back and let him cry. "It''s okay." He''d been carrying this alone for so long.
Interlude – Forums IV Interlude ¨C Forums IV INTERLUDE - FORUMS IV Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! General ¡ú Politics Topic: The League brings down the hammer Original Poster: Elena_Varena (Verified Trainer) Date: January 15th 20XX Ladies and gentlemen, it happened. Hundreds of people got arrested by the League today for working with Team Gctic one way or another. More than one third of the Directorate is now empty, and a bunch of higher-ups in the Bianchi Conglomerate are in jail awaiting trial, and none of them have bond! That means they¡¯re going to be rotting in there for months. Good riddance. I¡¯ve skimmed the investigation, and the level of corruption here was seriously egregious. Some of these politicians bought new houses, cars, bought their kids into universities, went on fucking vacation with blood money from Team Gctic and the Bianchis. The League was very thorough and shut up every person using them of abuse of power reaaaaally quickly with these. This is nothing like the National Security Emergency Act, which was morally ambiguous at best (I don¡¯t think we¡¯re really getting any information from all the grunts they¡¯re extracting memories from, or Team Gctic would have been dealt with already). This was iron tight. No holes, from what I can see, and people are on the League¡¯s side here. Just a few months ago, people were saying that Cynthia was fucked because of Vernon Harper¡¯s upheaval, but now he¡¯s back in charge, and Cynthia will be able to get any bills she wants passed, starting with the nationalization of the Bianchi Conglomerate. Potions and other items should hopefully return to their normal price, and there will finally be a cap on their price. So what are everyone¡¯s thoughts on the situation? Personally, I support this, but I¡¯m curious. ?Vivjoy I support it 100%. I don¡¯t think people realize how close to a disaster this could have been. First, there¡¯s the attack on Fantina, then Abel is linked with Team Gctic, then this? If the League hadn¡¯t done anything, they would have been signaling that they were powerless. ?Imp07 I don¡¯t know, Cynthia basically controlling the entire government (civilian and trainer) makes me anxious. All the new candidates presenting themselves for the special elections are her ardent supporters. The government doesn¡¯t give your freedom back after taking it away. ?Kevin_Montpellier (Verified Trainer) Now you¡¯re just being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. Cynthia already gave up her power once, you moron. Why wouldn¡¯t she do it again when the threat is dealt with? Just get Team Gctic out of Sinnoh and everything can return to normal. I think the League¡¯s been very honest with us with all the reports they released. They could have said nothing. ?Luna_Frances (Verified Trainer) That probably would have made the protests a few months ago look like a nursery home. They couldn¡¯t have done that, it would have destroyed their image, even if they would have been in the right. ?Imp07 Whatever you guys say. All I¡¯m saying is that don¡¯teining when we end up in a de-facto dictatorship like Kanto and Johto where the Indigo League runs everything and the people just have to watch. ?Luna_Frances (Verified Trainer) Okay, drama queen. We¡¯ll see what happens. All I¡¯m saying is that we literally have proof of all this wrongdoing and Cynthia¡¯s proven to be reasonable. ?RumblingRun9 Let me get slightly off-topic here. Don¡¯t you guys find it weird how Kanto and Johto hate each other and yet they¡¯re basically run by the same League? How do they even function? ?Dimdamdam The Elite Four and the Champion all hate each other and have a region they support. Lance and Koga favor Kanto, Will and Karen favor Johto. Bruno¡¯s usually neutral on things. The meetings must be tense as hell, huh? It¡¯s basically a constant political civil war, it¡¯s a wonder how those two regions even function, but it¡¯s the only way they found to stop wars from starting again. Better a political civil war fought with backroom deals and words than an actual hot war. ?Leonard_Morgenstern (Verified Trainer) Personally, I won¡¯t ever be going to Kanto or Johto, especially with how obsessed with bloodlines they are. I mean, it does mean that families can keep their supernatural abilities like Sabrina and pass them down, but I think this shit borders on eugenics. ?Elena_Varena (Verified Trainer) You are getting off-topic indeed. If you want to talk about Kanto/Johto politics, there are other threads for that. ?Marvin_Samson (Verified Trainer) What I¡¯m wondering about is Harvey Bianchi¡¯s son. He was meant to take over the business, no? Does he expect me to believe that he knew nothing about this? Maybe that¡¯s a part of why he wasn¡¯t that outspoken against his father whenpared to Pauline King or Cecilia Obel. If he knew, then he deserves to be punished too, especially when he¡¯s going to keep arge sum of money. Money that his dad made hically! ?OrangeRexCounty You¡¯re missing the forest for the trees. Sometimes, the simplest exnation is the correct one. He was just tricked by his old man, and he was probably kept in the dark his entire life. ?Pauline_King (Verified Trainer) Respectfully, go fuck yourself and die in a ditch. You have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, and you should stop spreading rumors. We have enough on our te. ?Marvin_Samson (Verified Trainer) Okay, I¡¯m genuinely sorry. Your friend got attacked by Abel, right? I shouldn¡¯t have brought that stuff up. I think it¡¯s fun to theorize, but I forget that you guys are living, breathing human beings sometimes. ¡ª¡ª Trainers ¡ú Events Topic: Theing Sceon tournament and who to watch out for Original Poster: Goald42 Date: January 23rd 20XX So my ount¡¯s blown up these past few weeks thanks to people enjoying my general analysis of promising trainers. I usually focus on Cecilia Obel (huge fan, you couldn¡¯t tell by my profile picture), but since there¡¯s been a lot more eyes on my stuff than I expected, I figured that I¡¯d start tracking and analyzing other rising stars this year, and I have! Today¡¯s post will be a bit special though, since we¡¯ll be focusing only on the first-years, not on anyone else. Discounting the Conference, this event¡¯s going to be the biggest tourney of the year. It¡¯s backed by the Sceon Daycare and the prize pool is fucking insane. Hyper Beam?! Everyone wants to get their hands on that! There are a few people missing here that would have been on the list, but are unfortunately not participating, like Chase Karlson or Barry Lane, so don¡¯tin about them not being there! Anyway, I¡¯m going to try toy out the top contenders for the tournament, so here goes. But wait! I hear your sniveling little voices asking the question: why should you listen to me and not someone else? Well, I¡¯ve been tracking multiple trainers for more than a decade, and I¡¯ve had my post shouted out by none other than Candice herself! @Candicefitinurmouf is her burner ount, and she identally leaked it a few weeks ago after forgetting to log out andplimenting herself. Anyway, she¡¯s been under a lot of my posts, and she¡¯splimented me. Like usual, I¡¯ll be checking out their Pokemon one by one. By the way, this isn¡¯t in any order in particr, so don¡¯t put words in my mouth and start fighting about rankings. Also, keep in mind that the known moves list will most likely be iplete. Cecilia Obel You know me, so I won¡¯t even bother to give an excuse as to why I¡¯m starting with Cecilia first. Despite an average showing against Fantina that made a lot of people start saying that she¡¯s overrated, I still think that she¡¯s a top contender. And don¡¯t you dare call me biased. Zweilous is still as monstrous as ever. Some people made fun of it for getting manhandled by Fantina¡¯s Dhelmise, but you didn¡¯t actually see how greatly it¡¯s been improving. The main threat a trainer would have to think about when facing Zweilous is its insanely high defense, as we saw during the double battle between Cecilia and her group. It can fight for days, and its offense is no joke either. In that department, it¡¯s not as dominant as it used to bepared to thepetition, and I¡¯ll get to thatter, but you can¡¯t ignore the fact that it can use two attacks at once, and is one of the rare Pokemon able to do so. It has the most destructive potential of all the Pokemon on this list. Dragon Pulse is its most potent attack, but it has been somewhatcking in variety, which I think is its biggest weakness. Let¡¯s hope Cecilia¡¯s remedied that. Known moves: Bite, Take Down, Dragon Breath, Dragon Pulse, Incinerate, Crunch, Hyper Voice, Stomping Tantrum, Thunder Fang Known ability: Hustle - source: only known Zweilous ability. Slowking is who I think is Cecilia¡¯s strongest Pokemon by a wide margin. The sheer amount of utility it has with Psychic is invaluable in battle. It can be used defensively, offensively, or as a method to restrain opponents. Not only that, but it has excellent survivability with an already decent bulk and ck Off. Anyone who wants to take Slowking down will need to have dark or ghost type moves, otherwise I don¡¯t see anything getting past its defenses. If I had to find one fault, it¡¯s that his water type moves are somewhatcking, but focusing on improving its psychic abilities isn¡¯t exactly a mistake, with how useful they have been in every showing so far. Known moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Confusion, Psychic, Water Pulse, ck Off, Disable, Zen Headbutt Known ability: ??? - not Regenerator - source: doesn¡¯t seem to heal when switched out Fletchinder is still powerful, but you can definitely tell that her not evolving is starting to hold her back. She¡¯s going to be fighting in a tournament full of fully evolved Pokemon, and despite her speed, she won¡¯t have the firepower topete. We directly saw this when it took her ages to take down Grace Pastel¡¯s Tangrowth despite having the type advantage. She¡¯s also ridiculously frail, and one or two attack is enough to break one of her wings and ground her. Now, all of this doesn¡¯t mean that Fletchinder is useless. The tournament is held in a doubles format, so her speed can make her a formidable support Pokemon. As it stands, though, I don¡¯t see her pulling much weight unless she evolves. Known moves: Peck, Acrobatics, Tailwind, Quick Attack, Ember, Fire Spin, Agility Known ability: Gale Wings - source: Incredible speeds at the start of every battle Scyther, Cecilia¡¯s final Pokemon was finally revealed, and I¡¯ve gushed about it already. It¡¯s another speedster, and it can almost rival Fletchinder when he really gets going. It has a decent amount of power behind those scythes too, but the problem is that it just doesn¡¯t listen to what Cecilia says. It¡¯s not like she even tries to order it beyond simple suggestions either. In a singles format, maybe Scyther would be useful, but right now, I just think that it¡¯ll get in the way. Known moves: Quick Attack, X-Scissor, Air sh, Agility, sh Known ability: Swarm - source: seemingly grows stronger the closer it is to fainting TLDR: Slowking and Zweilous will have to carry, because the other two aren¡¯t good enough to win the entire tournament. Denzel Williams Denzel, Denzel, Denzel. What to say about him? He¡¯s gotten a lot of fans this past month, and he¡¯s the one with the most presence in the group. Even Grace Pastel, who¡¯s sponsored by the Arceus damned Poketch Company, manages to keep things rtively quiet, but you hear about him everywhere you go, and he¡¯s one of the most documented trainers on here. Not that I¡¯m a hater. He¡¯s got the skill to back his fame, and I think he¡¯s being slept on. Sylveon is a creepy little bastard, and I seriously don¡¯t get the people who call it cute. I mean, every time the damn thing battles, it looks like it¡¯s having the time of his life. Not that Pokemon don¡¯t enjoy battling, but something about that smile and that blood-soaked fur keeps me up at night. Anyway, that¡¯s not the point. Ever since the double battle, Sylveon¡¯s had some kind of blurry armor around him, and I have no idea what it is. Maybe some fairy type specialist can chime in, but I¡¯m stumped. The armor means that it can take a ton of hits without going down, and even though its offensive capabilities are average, it ends up winning anyway. I¡¯ll let someone else contribute to how someone would face this, since I¡¯m out of my depth. Known moves: Bite, Quick Attack, y Rough, Double Kick, Detect, Sand Attack, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swift, Disarming Voice, Fairy Armor(?) Known ability: Pixte - source: Swift produces pink, fairy energy-induced stars Roselia is Denzel¡¯s frailest Pokemon, but that doesn¡¯t mean much considering their unusual endurance. Some people underestimate it, but its poison is seriously potent. Let¡¯s remember that it managed to melt off a Cetoddle¡¯s fatyer during its battle with Candice, which is an incredible feat, and its poison has only improved since then. Toxic and Venoshock is a viciousbo that people will have to watch out for. Gotta keep working on those grass moves, though! Known moves: Poison Sting, Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Toxic, Mega Drain, Venoshock, Seed Bomb, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed, Magical Leaf Known ability: Poison Point(?) - source: incredibly skilled with poison type moves, but not 100% certain. Lopunny has been the butt of a few jokes after its rtively bad performance in the group¡¯s double battle. Despite a mid-battle evolution, it didn¡¯t contribute much, and Grace¡¯s fans got a bit toxic regarding that (he was not holding her back, you imbeciles), but I¡¯ll restrain from making too manyments, or I¡¯ll be here for hours. Lopunny¡¯s strength is in her versatility and her speed. Denzel¡¯s team isn¡¯t known for their speed, but Lopunny can seriously go toe-to-toe with a lot of speedsters, and she tends to set the pace of the battle with her attacks. If I get to give advice, don¡¯t forget to breathe and slow down the pace, otherwise you¡¯ll probably lose. Known moves: Quick Attack, Double Kick, Fire Punch, Defense Curl, Power-up Punch, Circle Throw, proto Bounce, Shadow Ball Known ability: Limber(?) - source: Sylveon has the harem, not her, so not Cute Charm, and not clumsy enough for Klutz Feebas is useless and won¡¯t be battling. Fross is the biggest threat on Denzel¡¯s team, and he revealed it in a short livestream on Amity Square before leaving for Sceon. Personally, I would have kept it hidden, but whatever. Thankfully, it¡¯s one of the moremon ghosts since it¡¯s rtively easy to get, and that means we know what most are capable of. An unrivaled mastery of Blizzard, and they¡¯re almost impossible to hit in a snowstorm thanks to their Snow Cloak ability (assuming that Denzel¡¯s Fross has it). Unfortunately, since these are going to be double battles, I doubt that we¡¯re going to see many field-covering Blizzards, but we probably know how it¡¯s going to fight. We saw it happen in the double battle with his rivals: Fross¡¯ teammate buys time while it uses Blizzard over and over and dominates. Before, charging up the attack took nearly a minute, but now? Your guess is as good as mine. Something tells me that it¡¯s going to be hell for people to face, though. Known moves: Icy Wind, Blizzard, Shadow Ball, Hex, Powder Snow Known ability: ??? TLDR: Fross + X = Insanely hard to beat unless you extensively n a counter in advance. Just watch for that Fross. Grace Pastel The girl everybody¡¯s been talking about, and for a good reason. Rarely does someone dominate Fantina that hard, and she¡¯s recently been sponsored by the Poketch Company! Keep in mind that they have never sponsored a first-year before in the entire history of their sponsorship program, so this is a huge deal. Her fighting style is extremely frightening. She will know exactly what to expect, and when to expect it. It¡¯s like she¡¯s in your own head, and her Pokemon are no joke, either. Togetic is cute, but it¡¯s also an incredibly efficient fighter. She doesn¡¯t pack the biggest punch, but her precision is fucking pinpoint. You rarely see a Pokemon push Ancient Power to its limits like this, since trainers are usually content to use the move as a big, imprecise shield or rocks theyunch at the enemy. Not this Pokemon. She will prate you with drills from the other side of the arena with control that should honestly terrify anyone facing Grace. Not only that, but the move is also incredibly good defensively, as we saw in the double battle I keep bringing up (seriously, go watch it). But it¡¯s not over! It also knows Psychic, which I have no doubt it¡¯ll be able to use as well as Extrasensory. This thing is the definition of a field controller, and facing it will probably make you feel like you¡¯re getting bullied. Focus on it during the fight, or you¡¯ll lose. I¡¯m not kidding. Known moves: Pound, Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt, Fairy Wind, Ancient Power, Extrasensory, Thunder Wave, Air Cutter, Wish, Psychic, Known ability: ??? Tangrowth is a truck, in and simple. It will roll over you and bepletely silent while doing so. Seriously, does anyone else find how quiet it is creepy as hell? Tangrowth and Tang usually have those cute gurgles that people go crazy over, but not this one. Anyway, it¡¯s great defensively, but where it truly shines is its vines. It can hit you with Power Whip or Knock Off, trap you with Bind, or drain your energy with Mega Drain to regenerate itself. Not only that, but it can propel itself with its vines to reach terrifying speeds. This thing is her strongest Pokemon, and I don¡¯t care what anyone says. If you don¡¯t have a powerful fire or poison type, I seriously can¡¯t think of any weaknesses. Even ice or flying wouldn¡¯t be that effective. You just have to brute force and hit it over and over until it falls. Known moves: Vine Whip, Absorb, Mega Drain, Stun Spore, Bind, Poison Powder, Leech Seed, Ancient Power, Power Whip, Knock Off Known ability: Chlorophyll - source: shown in battle with Gardenia Jellicent is one of her strongest. Brine is going to be a terror in the doubles format, and its mastery with Shadow Ball is better than Fantina¡¯s own Frillish. Its defense is mediocre, but it doesn¡¯t matter, since it can regenerate any type of damage with Recover until you exhaust it enough. Not only that, but Water Sport improves its speed to an average level, and its maneuverability in the air is second to none. If you destroy the bodypletely, it can regenerate from a single speck, so basically from anywhere on the field. You¡¯ll most likely be fighting this one the longest. Jellicent does have a weakness, though! Obliterate the head, and you buy yourself some time where it can¡¯t attack, so if you¡¯ve got to aim somewhere, aim for the head. Known moves: Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport, Water Pulse, Hex, Poison Sting, Mist, Acid Armor, Shadow Ball, Recover, Brine, Known ability: ??? - not Water Absorb - source: ordered to dodge water type moves during fight with Candice Electabuzz is another strong contender. It excels with almost every attack it owns, but it¡¯s also Grace¡¯s frailest Pokemon, which is probably why she taught it Protect. Protect, though, is a move that takes months or even years for a Pokemon to use consistently and quickly, so I doubt that it¡¯ll have improved its use much during the tournament. This thing is good at long-range and close-range, and Grace likes to mix it up depending on who she¡¯s facing (long-range focus vs Candice and Fantina, close-range focus vs Chase and Cecilia), so you¡¯ll have to prepare against both potential scenarios. If the battlests long enough and you can exhaust it, it should be beatable. SHOULD. Known moves: Thundershock, Swift (and electric variant), Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer, Ice Punch, Thunderbolt, Discharge, Fire Punch, Protect Known ability: ??? (Leaning Static) - source: enthusiastic battler, but nowhere near the amount of energy Magmar has Larvitar is a weird case. It¡¯s never fought in an official battle before despite Grace owning it for so long, so there¡¯s very little information on it. I managed to track down a few trainers that faced her on route 207, but that information is probably obsolete by now. The gist of it is that Larvitar was good at both control and sheer strength, but again, all of the moves we know are outdated. I¡¯m curious to see if it¡¯ll finally see some fighting. You have an Arceus damned pseudo, use it! Known moves: Leer, Tackle, Horn Attack, Rock Throw, Payback, Stomping Tantrum Known ability: ??? Turtonator is, uh, insane. All we have is the records of the havoc it caused in Mount Cor. It¡¯s capable of heating its surroundings enough to take down the Pokemon that are going to be fighting at Sceon by just being near them. People don¡¯t give enough rep to the fire typing here. It¡¯s always dragon this, dragon that, well, I¡¯d like to see a dragon win by just standing around, thank you very much. Grace somehow managed to catch it, but we do know that she came out on the other side of that cave with burns all over the left side of her body, so she paid dearly for it. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s capable of using it just yet, though, otherwise I think we would have seen it against Fantina. Known moves: Dragon Pulse, methrower, Smokescreen, Bulldoze Known ability: Shell Armor - source: only known ability for Turtonator TLDR: She will know you inside out, and her Pokemon are powerful. Prepare to think outside the box to trip her up, or enjoy getting rolled while she calls her Pokemon cute nicknames. Lauren Goodwill Lauren finally started being more public recently, and her annoying stans are going wild over it. I mean, I get it, she¡¯s excellent, but Arceus, go cheer for a coordinator if you¡¯re going to be that dedicated. Anyway, I won¡¯t bring up her rtion to her brother here. I¡¯ll be objectively grading her team, and the most recent information we have from her is her battle against Fantina, where she won even more handily than Grace did, although only by a hair if you want to get technical about it. What she¡¯s really known for is her use of custom moves/movebinations, which is something trainers usually don¡¯t do at her level. People usually wait to pad out their teams with all the natural moves they can learn first, but she just started early, and it¡¯s been working. Obviously though, she¡¯s been keeping most of them hidden, so don¡¯t expect much information on those. Sceptile evolved during its battle with Fantina, and what it showed us in that short time was nothing short of pure domination. This thing is one of the fastest Pokemon onnd, andbined with Overgrow, it wasn¡¯t even close. The only person I¡¯ve seen use that kind of ability that well was Pauline King¡¯s Charmeleon, but with all due respect, she isn¡¯t winning this. Anyway, Sceptile is insanely good at fighting at close range with Leaf de, Dual Chop, and Detect. This is what it excels at. It¡¯s essentially a stronger version of Denzel¡¯s Lopunny. You can¡¯t take it in a straight fight, so you¡¯ll have to innovate. Try to lock it down, paralyze or poison it if you can. No custom moves revealed with this Pokemon yet. Known moves: Quick Attack, Detect, Leaf de, Dual Chop, Mega Drain, Dragon Breath, Double Kick Known ability: Overgrow - source: battle with Fantina Duosion wasn¡¯t a Pokemon that she used against Fantina, but we do know a few things about it. The Pokemon has two individual brains. That means that it can use two Psychics at once, orbine their strengths into one mega psychic. Needless to say, being able to lock two opponents up with two Psychics is insanely strong in a double battle. It is, however, horribly frail. Like, even frailer than Fletchinder, but it can use a custom move thatbines Light Screen and Reflect into one permanent barrier, so you¡¯ll have to break through that if you want to take it down. Not only that, but it can also protect its teammates with psychic barriers. One hit though, and it¡¯s usually done. I think we¡¯ll be seeing it a whole lot due to how useful psychics are in these double battles. Good luck. Known moves: Confusion, Reflect, Light Screen, Psychic, Psyshock Known ability: ??? - not Regenerator - source: same reason as Slowking Magmar saw a lot of use against Fantina, and it took down two Pokemon by itself before going down. It¡¯s arguably her strongest Pokemon even with Sceptile because of the temperature problem (weaker version of Turtonator¡¯s passive heat). Luckily for her opponents, this is a double battle, so it¡¯ll have to hold back in that regard, which is why I think it won¡¯t do that well in this setting. Its fire type attacks are obviously no joke, but the biggest problem is Lava Plume, which again, it won¡¯t be able to use because of friendly fire. See where I¡¯m going with this? Magmar are usually best at fighting alone, and this is no different. That¡¯s not to say it¡¯s incapable of doing anything, though. Confuse Ray is a huge threat, and Lauren has kept practicing the attack enough to even affect Pokemon at her level. Magmar can also use abination of methrower and Smog which both burn and poison you. It¡¯s a real battle maniac, so don¡¯t expect it to go down with simple water type moves. If it¡¯s ever thest thing on the field, expect it to burn everything in sight. Known moves: Ember, Smog, Smokescreen, methrower, Lava Plume, Fire Punch, Confuse Ray, Mega Punch, methrower-Smogbination Known ability: Vital Spirit(?) - source: will keep fighting until his body is quite literally broken. Lairon is weak. You heard me, it¡¯s her weakest Pokemon, and it will probably be until it evolves into an Aggron. Its offensive power is mediocre at best, and it doesn¡¯t sport any good control to remedy thatck of power. What it does have is an imprable defense against any physical attack. And yes, its defense is even better than Cecilia¡¯s Zweilous. With physical attacks, you can forget about the type advantage with this thing. You¡¯ve got to deal damage with special moves, and then it¡¯ll go down rtively quickly. Just like Fletchinder, Lairon is being held back by being stuck in its second stage, but if it evolves during the damn tournament? Y¡¯all better watch out. Known moves: Take Down, Metal w, Harden, Iron Head, Rock Tomb, Body m Known ability: Rock Head - source: no recoil from Take Down Seismitoad is another one of her stronger Pokemon. We don¡¯t know when it evolved, but it was probably in Mount Cor where she caught her sixth Pokemon (we¡¯ll get there). This thing is a menace, and it¡¯s capable of flooding the entire field with Muddy Water if it wants to, which makes its Swift Swim abilitye into y (possiblebo with Duosion? It floats). It keeps an Aqua Ring going at all times to regenerate itself, and its mastery of Earthquake is insane, even though it can¡¯t exactly use it that much yet. Despite what you might think, Seismitoad is capable of singling out a single Pokemon and making the ground shake under their feet only. It also has apletely new move that coats its fist in pressurized water that explodes on contact. Lauren calls it Water Punch, so her naming skills could use some work. Anyway, hit it with as many grass type moves as you can, and it¡¯ll go down. If you can¡¯t do that? You might be out of luck. Known moves: Bubblebeam, Aqua Ring, Water Punch, Muddy Water, Mudshot, Earthquake, Drain Punch, Uproar Known ability: Swift Swim - source:bo with Muddy Water used in multiple asions, most recently against Fantina Rhydon is Lauren¡¯s sixth Pokemon, and she seemingly didn¡¯t care about the type ovep with her Lairon. Like Grace, she also paid dearly for it and came out with a huge gash on her shoulder (at least ording to her fans). This thing tends not to listen to her that much, sort of like Cecilia¡¯s Scyther but slightly better. What¡¯s different with Rhydon is that if it actually listened to what Lauren said, it¡¯d be her strongest Pokemon by far, and the strongest on this list behind Turtonator. These Pokemon are always strong, especially when caught in Mount Cor, and this one is no exception. Unfortunately though, I doubt we¡¯ll see much of it since I think it¡¯d kill most opponents. There¡¯s also the fact that it¡¯s dumb as hell, and it just iled around against Fantina without taking down even one Pokemon. Known moves: Hammer Arm, Rock st, Drill Run, Stone Edge, Bulldoze Known ability: ??? TLDR: Take down Duosion at all costs, and you have a decent chance to win. Sceptile and Seismitoad will probably be used the most. Magmar and Rhydon can¡¯t fight well with others, and Lairon is mid. Mira Compton This is another one that I feel people have been sleeping on. At first, I thought that she wasn¡¯t going to sign up for the tournament because of the Haunter incident (see her battle with Fantina). People tend to give her a hard time for failing to control her ghost, and I¡¯d rmend the utmost caution when facing it. Who knows if it¡¯ll kill something? Anyway, her Pokemon seem to all specialize in high special attack bar a few exceptions, and she could definitely win this thing. Kadabra¡¯s psychic abilities are actually worse than Slowking and Duosion, but where it truly shines is its mastery of Teleport. Yeah, this thing can Teleport all over the field like no tomorrow, and it seemingly has a bottomless pit of energy to keep going. This is a perfect remedy to how frail it is. It wasn¡¯t even hit once by any of Fantina¡¯s Pokemon, and it actually has decent coverage with Charge Beam, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam and what I assume will be Shadow Ball from Fantina¡¯s gym, so at least its average skill with psychic abilities wasn¡¯t for nothing. It also can transfer its status ailment onto you with Psycho Shift, so watch out for that. Try to hit it a few times and it¡¯ll go down. Not her strongest Pokemon, but definitely her most annoying. Known moves: Confusion, Teleport, Psychic, Charge Beam, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Psycho Shift Known ability: Inner Focus(?) - source: never seems to be interrupted when focusing on using psychic type moves. Kirlia is unsurprisingly being held back by its second stage, but it¡¯s a lot stronger than Lairon or Fletchinder. The weird thing about this Pokemon is that despite them being usually chill, it¡¯s one of the most brutal Pokemon on this list. It will hold your Pokemon with Psychic and kick them using some kind of custom ¡®Psychic Kick¡¯ move. It doesn¡¯t really have a name, and Mira never calls it out. In fact, Mira doesn¡¯t reallymunicate with her Kirlia at all when fighting, which is the main problem you¡¯ll face. And it¡¯s not because of aissez-faire approach like Scyther or Rhydon, but because it appears that Kirlia can sense what Mira wants her to do through the emotions that she feels during the battle. Still, it shouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem, especially whenpared to the next two Pokemon on this list. Known moves: Confusion, Psychic, Psychic Kick, Draining Kiss, Disarming Voice, Psybeam Known ability: ??? Haunter is a monster, in and simple. It¡¯s basically a stronger version of Fantina¡¯s Haunter without the illusions, and it has a bigger focus on its poisonous nature. This thing knows Toxic and Hex, so that¡¯ll be what you have to worry about during most battles, but it also knows Curse, which is an extremely annoying move to deal with! Let me remind you that switching in this tournament is not allowed, so facing Haunter will basically be a race against the clock. Known moves: Lick, Curse, Hex, Toxic, Smog, Shadow Ball, Sucker Punch, Shadow w, Night Shade Known ability: Levitate - source: only ability known to Haunter Magnezone is by far her strongest, and Mira managed to evolve it during her travels through Mount Cor. Not only does it have high defenses, but its mastery of Lock-On means that it will never miss an attack unless you have a teleporter. sh Cannon and Thunderbolt are its bread and butter. Little move variety just like Zweilous, so you have that going for you. Just st it with fire type moves until it falls, or knock it to the ground and use a ground type move. Known moves: Thundershock, Thunderbolt, sh Cannon, Lock-On, Tri-Attack, Discharge Known ability: Analytic(?) - source: is noticeably stronger when moving after its opponents TLDR: Annoying as hell to face, lots of gimmicks with Teleportation, Curse and Lock-On. To beat her, you¡¯ll have to fight quickly and decisively. ?Will_Bowman (Verified Trainer) Excellent writeup, Goald. Seriously, it¡¯s your best one yet. Personally, I¡¯ll be at the tournament (second-year here), and I¡¯d rank them like this in terms of who I¡¯d hate to face: Mira>Grace>Denzel>Lauren>Cecilia. Mira¡¯s got that murderous Haunter (I honestly don¡¯t know why they¡¯re allowing her to sign up), and fighting against that Teleporting Kadabra is just too much for me. Not only that, but her Magnezone can counter my water types. Grace just seems like annoying to fight, honestly. Completely unfun. You¡¯ve got topletely change up your style to hope to beat her, but that means you¡¯ll be fighting worse too. Denzel ys the long game with his battles, and I¡¯m not that good at staying focused for long periods of time (big weakness of mine), and that Blizzard you talked about seemed vicious, especially since I¡¯m a water specialist with some¡­ interesting strategies. Lauren could trip me up with her custom moves, but I think I¡¯d be able to take her, especially since I counter three members of her team. Sceptile would probably be a bitch to fight, though, but I¡¯d deal. Cecilia, well, if you deal with Zweilous and Slowking, you¡¯re pretty well positioned to win. ?Drew_Cartman (Verified Trainer) I think you¡¯re overestimating Denzel and underestimating Cecilia. I¡¯d swap them if I were you. Sure, Denzel mightst long, but hecks the firepower to deal with the Pokemon he¡¯ll be facing. This isn¡¯t the little leagues anymore. ?LivingPokedex Non battler barging in here. My dad¡¯s a fairy type specialist that works for the League, and I can shed some light on what Sylveon is doing. Most fairies get their power from feelings and emotions. What I think is happening here is that Sylveon is believing so strongly in the fact that it has some sort of shield that it¡¯s manifesting it into reality. Before you panic, this has its limits. It¡¯s not about to summon a rain of acid or whatever anytime soon. It¡¯ll keep things small and controlled. Anyway, there is an easy way to counter this, just like how you counter all fairy types: steel and poison. Coat its body with any type of poison type attack, or hit it with a steel type move, and the armor will crumble before your very eyes faster than you can blink. If you don¡¯t have any of those, you can only hit Sylveon enough times to chip away at it, but that¡¯ll take time. ?Yasim_Benzema (Verified Trainer) Arceus knows that you don¡¯t want your battles with Denzel Williams tost long, or he¡¯ll always win. Thanks for the tip. Also, I don¡¯t appreciate you calling Lairon weak. I own one, it¡¯s just that Lauren isn¡¯t using it to its full potential. ?Patcha I¡¯m so proud of you Goald. Not because of your writeup, but because you finally stopped simping for Cecilia Obel for one Arceus damned post. Finally, people are realizing that she¡¯s overrated. I know it must have taken a lot out of you. Your fingers were probably burning while you were typing this. It honestly brings a tear to my eye! Hope to see more good stuff from you. ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Interesting analysis you got there. You¡¯ve got a knack for these, and I enjoyed reading my part. Mind if I show it to my friends? I¡¯d like to see their reactions. ?Goald42 HOLY SHIT I AM NOT WORTHY! Do whatever you want, man, it¡¯s yours! Thank you for stopping by and reading my stuff. Can you let me know what their reactions were? ?Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Gotcha! Can¡¯t wait to see their faces when I show them this. ?Conrad_Amed (Verified Trainer) I don¡¯t know about you, but I don¡¯t trust anything that the Hunter family has their hands in whatsoever. ?VivenDarris Why are people always so fucking paranoid? ?Conrad_Amed (Verified Trainer) Maybe because I¡¯m a Sceon native and that they¡¯ve held this town back for centuries just because of their greed, you ass. We could have been just as big as Hearthome without them. I don¡¯t trust the Hunters and I won¡¯t be watching this. Thanks the the analysis anyway. ¡ª¡ª Gyms ¡ú Veilstone ¡ú Maylene Topic: Maylene caught on hot mic Original poster: Imp07 Date: January 18th 20XX This is breaking news, and the media¡¯s having a field day with it. Maylene Suzuki is well known for being a hothead, mostly due to how young she is, but this is something else. Below is a video of her criticizing her handlers from the League. If you don¡¯t want to read my exnation and you have the attention span of a Yanmega, there¡¯s a video at the bottom. It¡¯s been a theory for a long time, but now we have confirmation. Maylene doesn¡¯t actually run her gym. It¡¯s all handled directly from agents from the League, and all she does is battle people. Some might say that it was obvious due to her age, but the government kept denying it. Now, it¡¯s out in the open, and it¡¯s fucking big. This essentially means that the League was running Veilstone directly ever since Maylene ascended to the position of gym leader two and a half years ago, and people don¡¯t take kindly to that stuff, especially since Veilstone¡¯s civilian government¡¯s been sidelined time and time again due to some ¡®hidden¡¯ Team Gctic base that the League¡¯s been looking for for months. The mayor was in on it too, and he¡¯s facing calls to resign and the city council is in open rebellion. It¡¯s a mess up there, and I¡¯ll eat my hat if the League puts out a statement instead of just staying radio silent. With their power y against the opposition in the Directorate and the nationalization of the Bianchi Conglomerate (new name still pending), people like me are getting a bit nervous, but I hope things will return to normal when Team Gctic is finally out of the picture. ?Landon_Pinion (Verified Trainer) She¡¯s a kid, dude. Rx and stop trying to use her for clout. I¡¯m in Veilstone and like usual, the media¡¯s trying to fan the mes. People here don¡¯t give a fuck as long as Team Gctic is dealt with. No one is even trying to organize a protest. We¡¯re all in a united front except ignorant people like you that keep trying to revive controversies. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if you¡¯re a Gctic member trying to agitate us. ?Dashtwoun Newssh, moron, children can¡¯t run entire cities. The League was probably just trying to keep up appearances, but it was obvious if you just used your brain for a single second. For example, why do you think the League even allows for fifteen-year-olds to potentially be the Champion? Do you think that they¡¯d allow a kid to run the entire region and our military apparatus? Of course not. They have handlers for that shit until the kid grows up and learns the ropes. Why would it be different for the Veilstone gym? ?Kendrick_Shepherd (Verified Trainer) Also, you¡¯re trying to mislead people here. The League never said that Maylene ran her own gym alone, they said that she was getting help multiple times. Looking at your history, all you do isin about the League, but never about the Directorate, and it¡¯s also not even a year old. I honestly think you¡¯re a spy, I¡¯m going to report your ount. Can¡¯t have any more infiltrations. Good thing the League added a tip line for this shit. ?Imp07 So this is what it¡¯se to then? We¡¯re creating such a paranoid atmosphere that anyone who doesn¡¯t conform to the typical opinion is a member of Team Gctic? What happened to free speech? I wasn¡¯t even that against Maylene or anything, I was just reporting on what happened. ?Freddie00Y Nah, man. I¡¯m reporting you too, you¡¯re sus. Yourst five posts have beenining about the League. I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. ?Imp07 Fuck you. What if they show up at my house? ?Kendrick_Shepherd (Verified Trainer) If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. ¡ª¡ª General ¡ú History_Discussion Topic: Sigilyph spotted on route 210 Original poster: Christian_Dewitte (Verified Trainer) Date: January 20th 20XX Hey, I know this isn¡¯t exactly the right category for this post, but there aren¡¯t enough categories as it is, so please spare me, moderators. Below is a picture of a Sigilyph that my buddy spotted on his way to Celestic. It¡¯s blurry, but you can clearly tell what it is. No other Pokemon has those weird ass wings and that body shape. To be more precise, he spotted it up in the cliffs near the halfway point of the route, and it escaped into the sky before he could catch it to sell it back to the Daycare. Now, why is this significant? Well, any trainer worth their while can tell you that Sigilyph are only found in the wild in Unova¡¯s desert, but only history and archeology nerds like me can tell you that the presence of any Sigilyph means that an ancient city or civilization is nearby. They¡¯re known to only patrol the streets of their destroyed/lost cities even thousands of years after the fact, and they always take the same pathing/route like an AI in a video game. Over. And. Over. So why did this one escape? Well, I don¡¯t exactly know, but it¡¯s bound to be interesting. I¡¯ve contacted some of my archeology pals over in Veilstone, and they n on making the trip over there to check it out. We could be on the verge of a discovery that redefines history as we know it! Did a group of settlers from Unova make the trek to Sinnoh and settle there? I¡¯ll try to keep you posted! ?Worldwiser Interesting theory, but what if that¡¯s just some Unovan trainer¡¯s Pokemon that was flying around? If it was a whole group, then maybe I¡¯d be inclined to believe you, but this is circumstantial at best, and your friends are probably going to waste their time. And where would this even be hidden? You¡¯d think the rangers would have stumbled upon it, they know every route like the back of their hands. ?Anna_Cammy (Verified Trainer) Agree with the above statement, but there¡¯s more. This is ancient civilization we¡¯re talking about, right? Why would they settle down on those mountains where agriculture is impossible? At least Celestic sits on a t teau that goes on for miles, but the location you¡¯re talking about makes no sense. The only way this could be possible is if this Sigilyph¡¯sing from a lot further than you think it is, which makes your whole expedition to route 210 moot. ?Fuu-chan First, the rumors about fairies on route 215, now this? Kind of wack, I wonder what¡¯s going on. ?Untitled_05 Blurry picture tbh, can¡¯t see jack shit. Probably some clout goblin looking to get famous. ?Christian_Dewitte (Verified Trainer) The first two of you make good points, and I¡¯m happy this section of the forums is more active than I thought. I still think it¡¯s too early to give up. I¡¯m 100% sure there¡¯s something there. You¡¯ll see.
Chapter 143 Chapter 143 CHAPTER 143 I had left Chase''s room now, and I was sure I wouldn''t see him again before he left. He had been too embarrassed to even look me in the eye. He wasn''t used to showing his softer side to people, and opening up to me had been a first for him. His life had been so difficult¡­ Riolu was the only thing he had left that linked him to his parents. I had been right when thinking of Riolu as a parental figure for Chase. Without the fighting type''s guidance, I was sure that he''d still be his hotheaded, isted self instead of the mellowed-out behavior he had adopted now. I''d have to thank Riolu the next time I saw him. "Well, I''ve got time," I whispered. "Might as well get the interview guidelines out of the way." It wasn''t like I could train since my team was still in the nurse''s care, and I was sure the Poketch Company would appreciate if I didn''t call at thest minute. They''d been nice to me, so returning the favor was the right thing to do. I ignored the trainers'' whispers as I made my way to my room. It was the same as always. A single bed that could be a double if you squeezed tightly enough, two nightstands on each side, a desk with a chair, a small bathroom, and a television in the top right corner. I considered just lying down on the bed for a few minutes, but my clothes were dirty, so I opted to shower and change first. After a quick one hour power nap, I called Melody. "Grace!" She happily said. "We''ve heard reports of your arrival in Sceon. I trust your travels went well?" "There were a¡­ few hups, but sure," I said. "How''s work?" "Busy, busy, busy," she answered. "I''ve been doing a lot of things behind the scenes to build up your image, but I won''t go into detail, because I''m sure that would give you anxiety. Can''t be too anxious before the big day." Iughed nervously. "Right." "Then the sponsorship department had to deal with a dozen angry trainers calling about your preferential treatment, so that was fun," she dryly said. "Anyway, are you ready for your pointers?" "Yup. Hit me with it." "With how popr you''ve gotten, you''ll probably be swarmed by interviewers right after your battle. I''m talking dozens of people holding microphones to your face and yelling questions at you. Needless to say, that can be overwhelming for anyone, so just be ready for that." "Be ready?" "Yeah, you know, take a deep breath, don''t make a bad face, smile¡ª smiling is important, but don''t overdo it. You don''t want it to look fake. Remember, we''re building you up as a talented, but authentic trainer." "Well, I''ll probably be genuinely happy after every battle I win, so that shouldn''t be an issue." "Okay, good. Now, they''re going to ask all kinds of questions. I''m sending you a list of potential ones right now that you''ll be ready to answer. The battling, strategy stuff, I assume that you''ve got handled." "Wait, what else would they ask?" I frowned as I opened myptop. "Oh, you know the media." I opened my emails and scoffed. "What is this? Rtionship questions? Questions about Louis and why we split? The favorite Pokemon on my team? This is just drama bullshit." "But it''s the reality of the situation. Louis Bianchi will have it worse, you know? I feel bad for the kid, but it is what it is." "He can just refuse to answer. I hope he will. Wait, why don''t I just refuse¡ª" "No, that''s not your persona. You''re a nice, amenable girl. I know this is hard for you, but you''ve got to work with us." I groaned. "Fine." It wasn''t like I opposed any of these answers anyway. Questions about Louis, I would just say that it''s personal and that I don''t feelfortable talking about it right now. Questions about me and Cece? I''d just say that we''re doing really good, but we''re keeping the rtionship private for now. My Pokemon? I loved them all equally. Even Sunshine had grown on me somehow. There was something about hiszy, grumpy self that endeared me. "Remember, they''ll try to get you angry to get a reaction out of you. Reporters want nothing but to see a rising talent like you slip up at least once. Controversy is juicy. You''re too squeaky clean for their liking." "Okay, I''ll be nice." I did wish I could just have Princess shoo them away, but s. "Okay, we have smiling and the questions down, but you also need to speak with an air of confidence. But! You can''te off as a smug trainer either, you''ve got to walk the tightrope between the two." "You''re asking a lot out of me." "You didn''t actually think we were actually going to let you go through this without practicing, right? We''ll get you ready for this, don''t worry. If you mess up, I''ll be the one on the hook, so your rtionship with thepany will be safe." "That just makes me feel a lot more pressure. I don''t want to mess up if your job is on the line." "Eh, I''m not nervous about it, so you shouldn''t be. Just rx, alright? The first one''s always the most nerve-wracking, but after you go through one interview, you realize that it''s not that bad." "I''ll trust you on that." "Oh, and here''s another point: you''re amenable, but you can''t get walked over either. What that means is that you''ll cut the interview short after around two minutes or so. Just give some excuse about having to check your Pokemon into the Center. It works every time." I smiled at that. It wouldn''t even be a lie. "Now, onto a less cheerful topic. How to handle yourself in case of a loss." "I¡ª" "Hold on. I know you''ve handled losses quite well in the past, like in the battle with your friends¡ª" Yikes. She hadn''t seen my outburst in my Pokemon Center room, that was for sure. I had been a mess for hours. "¡ªbut it''s different when interviewers will potentially try to taunt you afterward. You''ve got to keep your chin up and say that you fought to the best of your abilities. It''s okay to be disappointed, but you''ll have to appear calm and levelheaded. There isn''t really a way to practice that, so you''ll be on your own." "Come on, have some faith in me. Maybe I''ll win the whole thing," I said, trying to raise the mood. "The Poketch Company has full belief in your capabilities, but don''t worry if you don''t make it to the top ten. There are¡­" she trailed off, and I heard her type. "There''s a cap of 1024 participants, and they''re well on their way to filling that out. Even the top fifty would be good enough." "I''ll make it to the top ten," I said. "Well, a little bit of confidence never hurt anyone," she said. "Are you free right now? We can fill in a few hours of practice if you want. Usually, we''d have set up a schedule, but I know how hard it is to get a hold of trainers." "Now''s fine," I said. She started a video call. "Okay, I''ll ask you questions, and you''ll answer them." Melody coughed, clearing her throat, and started again. "Ms. Pastel! Ms. Pastel! A moment of your time, please!" "Yes¡­?" "No, see, that yes has to be firmer. You were frowning¡ª don''t frown. You forgot to smile, too. You''ve got to rx your shoulders, you look too tense." "I didn''t even know it started yet!" "The interview starts as soon as you look at the camera, Grace," Melody smiled. "Let''s start over." These were going to be a long few hours. ¡ª Arceus, I was tired. Melody had put me through the wringer with her constant, irritating questions, and I wasn''t even close to being up to par. We were going to have a session once per day until my match, which I already dreaded, but suffering now would be better than potentially humiliating the Poketch Company. Thankfully, I was done for the day, and now I waspletely free. There were a few things I could try to do. Reviewing my battle with Fantina was an option, but I could also try to see if my Pokemon were healed to go and train. There was Cecilia''s warning to worry about, but I would rather have trained and get spied on than battle without any kind of strategy in ce. I was going in blind with my opponents, but that didn''t mean I wasn''t going to at least have a modicum of strategizing with my Pokemon. I opted for the second option, and thankfully, my Pokemon were all healed. I also used the opportunity to also ask Nurse Joy about telepathy, and while strong reactions like mine weren''t toomon, there was nothing to worry about besides the excruciating pain, so that was¡­ nice? I opened my Poketch to check what everyone was doing, and they were mostly out training in different corners of Sceon. Denzel supposedly had something to show all of uster too, but that could wait, and Cecilia had texted us about stocking back up on potions. Still no message from Lauren. The best spot to train would be somewhere outside, but the best spot to strategize was actually back in my room. There was no way for anyone to spy on us there if I closed the curtains. My opponent would most likely be someone I had never heard of, but if I could build pairs and talk my team through what we were going to do, the battle would probably go a lot smoother. Plus, they had already learned all of their new moves anyway, and I could always go out at night, when there''d be fewer people around. I re-entered my room and released the entire team except Sunshine for obvious reasons. They barely all fit in the Center room at this point, and it''d be even worse when everyone was fully evolved. I had kind of chosen a team full of Pokemon that would end up way bigger than me. My Pokemon each greeted me with their respective cries, and Togetic clingingly flew into my arms. I greeted them in return, petting and hugging each one in return. "The tournament is in five and a half days," I grinned. "Just like I said, it''ll be double battles. That means that you''ll have to fight with one another against our opponents." The entire team looked at me excitedly, except Buddy, who couldn''t care less about fighting for sport. Still, I knew he''d give it his best, so I wasn''t worried. "The first two of you that I send out will be the most important part of the battle. You need to have good synergy, since you''ll be fighting in pairs. Here''s what I was thinking¡­" The first, most threatening pair I could think of was Togetic and Tangrowth. Using his Sunny Day, Chlorophyll and brute forcebined with support from the air from Princess, I figured that this would be an incredibly hard duo to counter unless the enemy sported an impressive fire type. Poison could be a problem too, but I trusted Togetic was good enough to counter the worse of it with Psychic or Ancient Power while Tangrowth did the heavy lifting. Not that she was just support. She could pull her own weight too. I reckoned that I''d keep this one shelved for now. And the reason for that was because I wanted to battle with Sweetheart. She was still the weakest of the group, but it wasn''t actually because shecked in power. It was due to herck of experience, and that was my fault. I had kind of babied her a whole lot, only fighting easy battles on route 207. Now, I was hoping to let her reach her full potential, which was why I wanted my first battle to begin with her and Tangrowth. I had considered Electabuzz, but Angel would be better at keeping opponents locked down if they proved to be too much for Sweetheart. Electabuzz and Jellicent was another pair I''d workshopped, and it was thanks to a single technique I was thinking of using. It was simple, as far asbinations went. Brine was Buddy''s most powerful water type move, and it was capable of flooding the field if it went on for long enough. I had even tested it with Cecilia''s help using a mini barrier created by Slowking. Kadabra''s barrier would act as a container for the water, and it''d be enough for any opponents to be ankle-deep in it. Or something else, if they didn''t have ankles. Then, Honey woulde in with a Thunderbolt, electrocuting both opponents. It was his strongest electric type attack¡ª stronger than even Discharge, so I wanted to abuse it as much as possible. Thest powerful pair I had thought of was Jellicent and Tangrowth, although that would probably only be used if I needed some serious firepower to win. Togetic''s help would severely be missed here, and without her ability to affect the field, it''d be a cage match to see who knocked who out first. There was a lot of uncertainty in that. After exining everything to the team, I let them lounge and rx for a bit. Togetic practiced her psychic on a pillow, and she was getting really good at it. I simply browsed the inte for a while and chatted one-on-one with Emi on the phone to see if she didn''t feel lonely. She missed us, but she was doing well. Apparently her channel had taken off after she had started reporting on corruption in the coordinator industry. There were only four videos up right now, but she already had twenty-thousand subscribers. With Vincent''s excellent editing, she was doing very well. Vincent was actually getting most of the video revenue, since he was involved in a lot of the research and again, did all of the editing, so it was starting to be a job for him. As the sun started to set, I finally got a message from Lauren. Lauren G. Meet me. Bring your two friends. What? Meet her where? By two friends, I assumed that she meant Cecilia and Denzel. Me Which Pokemon Center are you staying at? Lauren G. 576 Hunter Lane. I inputted the address into my phone and then frowned. Me That''s not a Pokemon Center, that''s the tournament building. Lauren G. Yes. Meet me there. Me Uh, k. By friends, you mean Cecilia and Denzel, right? She didn''t bother answering and just used a thumbs-up reaction instead. It was time to rip off the bandaid and tell the others that I had met Craig''s sister in secret. I didn''t really think that they''d mind when I exined that she was shy. Actually, she wasn''t shy. She was more of a loner by choice. Things worked out perfectly, since Denzel was already back and Cecilia was on her way. I called them over to my room, and while we waited for Cece, Denzel showed me his phone. "Check it out. Some guy on the forum did an expos¨¦ on all of our teams. Well, all of us and Craig''s sister. It''s really good." "I have something to tell you about her, actually." He handed me his phone and I was surprised to see that Goald was apetent analyst. He didn''t meander much and went straight to the point, identifying strengths and weaknesses. I couldn''t help butugh when I saw that he''d gotten Jellicent''s ability wrong due to my mistake during my fight with Candice, though. And obviously, he didn''t know about Denzel''s Milotic or Cecilia''s Golett. I had an inkling that she was nning on using him for the first few matches. Lauren had apparently caught her sixth, a powerful Rhydon that didn''t listen to what she said, and all in all was probably her easiest Pokemon to deal with along with Lairon. The rest of her team looked as threatening as I expected, but Duosion being able to use two Psychics at once was what worried me the most. Barry Lane''s name did catch my eye, however. It was the name of the trainer I couldn''t ce back when I had thought about his father Palmer in Mount Cor. Apparently, he was a threat to keep track of. I''d look him up when this entire tournament ordeal was done. Right now, it was better to keep my head in the game. "He''s good," I nodded, giving him back his phone. "Right? Finally, someone who isn''t mean about it too. I followed him, and I think you should do the same." "Eh, not that much of a¡ª" I stopped. The Poketch Company was going to make me use the forums at some point anyway. "Fine. Goald¡­42." I typed his name on my phone and gave him a follow. "You''re probably making his day. He was so happy when I replied to his thread that I could feel it through the screen." "Did you send it to the others?" "Just Cece and Mira," he shrugged. "I don''t want the people who weren''t included to feel bad." "Fair enough. Any spies out there?" I teased. "Yeah, actually, it was annoying as hell. I couldn''t train Milotic at all today," Denzel sighed. "But whatever. I''ll figure something out by tomorrow. If I don''t, I''ll ignore them and just reveal him to everybody in a livestream. Might as well make some content out of it and make some cash." "Always on that grindset, aren''t ya?" He looked at me disappointedly. "Never say that again." "Yeah, I knew it was wrong as soon as it came out of my mouth¡ª" There was a soft knock on the door. "Ah, Cece''s there," I said, shooting up. I released Togetic and opened the door, holding my breath. It was her. If I ever became the Champion, I''d have them install peepholes on every door. She greeted me with a kiss that lingered longer than usual, and she had a very satisfied look on her face. "Looks like you''ve figured something out," I smiled. "Yes," she simply said. "And I also had quite a lot of fun chasing away spy Pokemon." "You''re not allowed to hit them," Denzel teased. "I did not," she rolled her eyes. "I simply scared them away, that''s all. I''ve had plenty of people do it to Fletchinder." "Maybe I should just chase them away too. Sylvi could be good at that." "Oh right, you''re spying too," I said. "Anyway, what I''m about to say doesn''t leave this room, okay? Don''t worry, it''s nothing bad." "Thank you for preemptively saying that," Cece said. "Remember Craig''s sister? Lauren?" "Yeah, she''s here. She''s been hanging around the Hunters'' ce a whole bunch, battling trainers to practice. It looks like she doesn''t care about secrecy anymore," Denzel said. "That''s because she''s got those custom moves she''s hiding, right?" I said. "Probably lures people into a false sense of security¡ª anyway! I met her in Hearthome once, and she also came to see our gym battles. She wants to meet us, like, right now." Denzel''s mouth gaped. "You met her and you didn''t say anything? Damn it, I''m so jealous¡­" "Don''t let Pauline hear that," Ceciliaughed. "Pauline and I are just friends." "Of course." I sighed in relief. I almost thought that Cecilia would be jealous or something, but I was d that she wasn''t. If the situation was reversed... I might have been just a little bit. Not to Pauline''s level, though. "She''s hanging out at the tournament building. The one where we signed up. I don''t know what she wants to talk about. She''s not very vocal." "Well, let''s get going then," Denzel eximed. "I already want to ask her so much stuff about her battling¡ª" "Did you not hear what I said?" I sighed. "Not. Vocal. Don''t overwhelm her with your¡­ extrovertedness." "Ugh, okay." "And remember, she isn''t her brother," Cecilia added. Right, she probably knew a thing or two about beingpared to a sibling. After telling our friends what was going on, we quickly made our way toward the Hunter residence. In Sceon, quickly meant twenty minutes. Lauren wasn''t difficult to find. Her hair was so dark that it actually stood out in a crowd. She still had her Duosion worryingly floating over her head, possibly talking to her while she was listening to music on her phone. The psychic type noticed us and started panicking in its goo, moving around wildly. Lauren stared up from her phone, pushed up her sses, and then looked directly at us. We waved. She didn''t wave back.
Chapter 144 Chapter 144 CHAPTER 144 "Hi Lauren. Nice to see you again," I smiled. Duosion waved at me with its stubby little arms, and it seemed to speak to her. "Hello. My name is Lauren Goodwill," she quietly said, introducing herself to the others. She always spoke with a whisper. "No rtion to Craig Goodwill." Such a brazen-faced lie! I bit my lip to stop myself fromughing, awaiting my friends'' reactions. "Of course," Cecilia said. "Just a coincidence, I''m sure." "Uh¡­ sure?" Denzel frowned. "I''m d you called us over," I said. "Do you want to hang out with us? We can grab a bite or a drink somewhere." "Aw man, I heard of this awesome spot on route 210 that sells thebestMoomoo milk. It''s a bit of a walk, though," Denzel said. "Moomoo milk is disgusting," I grimaced. "That''s why you''re so short." "Shut it!" I pushed him, eliciting an obnoxiousugh. "Sorry Lauren, go ahead," I said, dipping my head slightly. "No, I didn''t call you over to do that¡ª" she suddenly stopped as her Pokemon wriggled. "I''m okay, Sirris¡­ stop bossing me around." The Duosion recoiled in its goo. Sirris was its name, huh? It looked like she was nicknaming her team just like her brother. Slowking observed the Pokemon with usual amusement. He was our only Pokemon out at the moment. "I saw all of your battles against Fantina, and I was also there during your double battle with your friend Chase¡­ I think you guys are good, but I want to push my limits. Grace, I heard that your Turtonator was the real deal," she said, staring at my burns. "I want to battle it. I get four Pokemon to make it fair and no switches¡­ I''ll use my Magmar, Seismitoad, Rhydon, and Sceptile. What do you say?" If I''d been drinking something, I would have spat all over her face. "Err, thanks for asking, but that''s unfortunately impossible," I awkwardly said. "Sunsh¡ª Turtonator''s a bit of a grouch who doesn''t battle, but when he does, I mean, he''s way too powerful. Rhydon would probably be fine, but I don''t even think your Seismitoad would be able to handle the heat, let aloneus. Not without a psychic barrier to help." "They''ve got a bunch set up for trainers to practice battling," she shrugged. "But it''s okay, I guess¡­" She didn''t look okay whatsoever. In fact, this was the most emotion I''d seen on her face when meeting her. Her eyes were downcast, and she let out an exasperated sigh. "Hey, if you want, I''ll battle you!" Denzel eximed. "My Fross could use some practice." "I''m not in the mood anymore," she sighed. Denzel''s shoulders slouched. "We can still get to know each other, right?" Cecilia smiled. "Better do it now while the brackets aren''t announced and people aren''t going too crazy." Lauren paused. "Sirris tells me that it''s a good idea, so I''lle." I tapped a finger against my chin and watched the Duosion happily bob in its goo. It seemed that it was some sort of guiding figure for her like Riolu was to Chase, except that she had caught it rtively recently instead of knowing it her entire life. Still, I couldn''t judge, and it looked like the psychic had her best in mind. "Alright, I guess we can go grab some food, I''mstarving," Iined. "When are you not starving?" Denzel teased. "Plenty of times, but a girl''s gotta eat! Plus, I got raked over the coals by my sponsorship liaison since I have to practice taking interviews." "Oh shit, can you give me some tips on that? I was going to take some too, but I''m going in blind and you probably have more media literacy than me by now. I''d appreciate the help. Can''t fumble and ruin my brand." "I''ll send you the gist of itter." "Text isn''t enough, I need toseeit." "Ugh, fine,"I groaned. "Come see meter tonight." "The fact that you''re doing interviews surprises me¡­" Lauren trailed off. "When my brother sent me stuff about you, he said you were just like me. I guess that was another one of his lies." I held back a wince. Poor Craig really wasn''t getting any points with his sister. "I thought you weren''t rted to Craig," Denzel joked. "I wish. That was just a joke." That actually got his attention, and he kept going. "You seem to dislike him a whole lot." "He babies me too much and keeps trying to help me. That takes away from my own sess. I work hard, but people keep saying that it''s unfair that I''m doing well for myself. The further away he stays from me, the better." So it was what I expected, then. To be honest, it sucked for Craig, but he should probably have gotten the picture by now. I felt that if he gave her some space, then she''d slowly start opening up to him. "I understand thatpletely," Cecilia nodded. "I know a bit about you. Your brother is Unova''s Champion, right? You probably have it even worse than I do, sorry forining¡­" "It doesn''t bother me much. I tend to ignore the noise." "I still don''t know how you manage that," I said. We entered a local restaurant close to the Pokemon Center Lauren was staying at, which was different than ours. I looked the menu over a few times and decided to order some chicken fingers, which Cecilia and Denzel relentlessly made fun of me for. Obviously it wasn''tjustfor kids, or it wouldn''t be on the damned normal menu. The others all tookplicated and fancy meals. I hadn''t expected Sceon to have such a high-profile restaurant. "So, Lauren. Why don''t we talk about our teams?" I asked. Couldn''t go wrong with talking about Pokemon to a fellow trainer. She showed a hint of a smile. "Who should go first?" "I guess I will, since I suggested it," I said. I proceeded to exin how dad had suddenly brought a Togepi egg one day, and that unexpectedly started my path to bing a trainer. If Princess hadn''t been there, I doubt that I would ever have be one. Denzel told her about how he rescued his Sylveon as an Eevee and nursed him back to health, while Cecilia exined that her Zweilous was the child of her brother''s Hydreigon. I was surprised that Lauren didn''t seem even a bit miffed at that. I thought that she''d think that Cecilia should have done everything on her own like she was. Granted, I''d had ten counters ready to defend her. We proceeded to go over how we caught each one of our Pokemon, reminiscing about old times, and I finally learned that Cecilia caught Slowking in theke north of Jubilife before heading to Oreburgh. "My first Pokemon was Volis, my Sceptile. He was a gift from my brother. The only one I ever got. He''s from the Daycare here, actually¡­" Oh. That made a lot more sense. "They do breed wonderful Pokemon," Cecilia nodded. "We have a friend with a Vulpix from there." "He''s outgoing and always there to cheer the team up, but he hates my Magmar¡ª Mags. He''s aggressive all the time, and he''s annoying to take care of, but he''s a good guy. I caught him near Canve as a Magby, and he burned my legs." She lifted her pants to show us, and we dipped our heads under the table. Those looked pretty bad and stretched across both of her tibias. The ones on the right leg were worse, stretching up further until we couldn''t see. That must have hurt. It was interesting that she owned a Magmar, though. He was Electabuzz''s counterpart, and both of their evolution methods were secret. Hoarded like gold by a few trainers at the top. I knew that Flint from the Elite Four owned a Magmortar, but speaking to an Elite Four member was exponentially harder than speaking to a gym leader, so she would probably have to figure out the evolution method on her own or get good enough to have connections with people high up at the League. Still, I figured it would maybe make for a nice rivalry if the two ever fought. "As long as he can burn things, he''s happy. That''s easy to understand, so I like that. Byron was my first gym badge, and Volis and Mags made quick work of him." "So youe from Canve?" I asked. I had never asked where Craig was from and never bothered to look it up, so this was new to me. Lauren nodded. "When I easily won, people started to talk about my brother helping me. Since Craig''s first ever gym battle had been against Byron too, he gave me a bunch of tips about how he fought and the Pokemon he used at that level, so they weren''t exactly wrong. I told him to stop, but he keeps trying to help to this day. At least he backed off a bit recently¡­" "Yeah¡­" Denzel said. He was probably thinking about the fact that Craig wantedusto help her instead of him. "Anyway, I went to Oreburgh next and caught Defiant in the mines there. He''s my Lairon. He pulled his weight a lot during that fight," she smiled. "He''s the only one Mags gets along with, and they like to spar a lot. Mags''s been outgrowing him a lot recently though, so he''s been a bit irritated. On the way back to Jubilife, I caught Sirris. He''s my best friend," Lauren said fondly. "Aww," I said. "He''s always there to support me, I don''t know what I''d do without him. He runs my finances too, so I don''t have to worry about money. He even answers my emails." Cecilia frowned. "How? He can''t really¡­ type." "He uses his psychic powers to push down on the keyboard. He types faster than any human I''ve ever seen." "Oh, that makes a lot of sense." "You aren''t sponsored by anyone, right?" Denzel asked. "No, and I don''t n on doing so. I want to reach the Conference without any sponsorships at least once. Maybe next year will be different." "Sounds like Chase," Ceciliaughed. "Your friend is scary¡­ I don''t want to meet him. Sirris told me that he looked like bad news." "He grows on you. I don''t think you''ll be able to meet, since he''s got to get ready to leave soon." "Oh, I thought he''d be participating¡­" "No, he''s got stuff to do, can''t stay here for too long," I vaguely exined. "Okay, well good for me, I guess. I caught my Seismitoad, Prime, next to the river that runs east of Floaroma. She''s a little reserved, but she enjoys sparring a whole lot too. She helps keep Mags under control, but he hates fighting her because she''s got the type advantage." "Your Magmar kind of reminds me of Louis'' Gible," Denzel noticed. "Dragons are overrated," Lauren said with unusual confidence. "Sorry¡­ um, ignore that. After that, I went a long while without catching anything else. I considered catching a grass type in Eterna Forest, but none of them appealed to me. I traveled through there alone too, and there were a few close calls." My eyes bulged."Alone?!" Even with the Pokemon I hadnow, I wouldn''t feel confident going through the forest alone. The Pokemon there were probably almost all weaker than what I had at this point except at thecenterof the forest, butonePoison Sting was all it took. One mistake, and I''d be dead. I wasn''t going to take those odds unless I absolutely had to. "Yes? I didn''t really know how to ask for help." Denzel facepalmed. "You could have gotten yourself killed." "I was fine. I beat Gardenia easily in Eterna. After I beat her Lombre with Volis, Mags almostpletely swept her team by standing around and burning things." I repressed the primal need to defend Gardenia and let her keep going. "It wasn''t until I came across my Rhydon¡ª Paragon¡ª in the middle of Mount Cor that I knew I what I wanted. It took my entire team to hurt him enough to catch, and I almost died in the process," she said. It was only now that I noticed a huge scar running across her shoulder, barely hidden by her shirt. Her coat had hidden it back in Hearthome. "I can see you want to ask. I took a shard of Stone Edge to the shoulder. If it had been the full attack, I would have died. Paragon''s a bit of a special case, since he doesn''t really listen to me and just does what he wants. He doesn''t really talk to anyone on the team, but Sirris tries to keep himpany from time to time. Still, even though he''s kind of dumb, he''s also really strong¡­ slightly weaker than your Turtonator, if I had to guess," she nodded toward me. "I still think he''d lose handily one-on-one though, which is why I wanted a four-on-one." Wow, that was alotstronger than I expected. I''d need to figure out how to take this thing down if I wanted to win. The table went silent, and we were probably all thinking about the same thing. If he was dumb, it was doable¡­ she''d given us a lot of insight into her team, for someone as secretive as she was. I was starting to wonder if the secrecy was more of something that she just preferred because she disliked people instead of a genuine attempt at keeping her team and moves secret. She didn''t seem to care at all about thetter. We finished our food, and Lauren left us to go battle other trainers. She seemed to love doing that even when she utterly crushed thepetition. I didn''t really see the point in a battle if it was that lopsided, so I preferred to train my team on my own, but maybe I could find a few four or five-badge holders here to practice¡­ but it''d be wiser to wait for my first few matches. I still had a few things to hide. "I guess she doesn''t care about secrecy at all," Denzel enunciated my thoughts as we looked at Lauren growing smaller and smaller on the horizon. "She''s a lot different than I thought she was, but she''s cool." "She probably thinks that with the strength behind her Pokemon, it doesn''t matter," Cecilia said. "That Rhydon will be an issue." "And there are the custom moves to worry about. We''ve got our work cut out for us," I said. "Training it is, then," Denzel smiled. We allughed, and then decided to split up. Before going off to train, I went back to my Center Room to grab myptop and downloaded the video of my battle against Fantina so I could finally get the autopsy done. I went off to a secluded wooded area that I had no doubt people were observing and released my entire team, including Turtonator for intimidation purposes. I had them work on moves that the public knew I owned while I opened myputer with a sigh. There was literally a Ducklett just staring at me from afar, and a Trumbeak flying overhead. They weren''t being discreet about this at all. I wasn''t used to being studied,Iusually did the studying. I ignored them and started to y the video of my gym battle. There were a few mistakes here and there that I easily caught. My reaction time when I didn''t expect something left a lot to be desired, even if I had improved a whole lot, but aside from that? There were no ring issues that I could see. The old me would have lost to that Haunter splitting in two I would have tunnel visioned and not switched because I hade up with the Wish n and I would have been desperate to make it work. I also might have panicked when Doude revealed Swords Dance. There was real improvement here, and I was d that I couldseeit on screen. It wasn''t subtle at all. Looking at myself, I hadn''t even been trembling or anything during the battle. I''d just beenfocused. I was sittingpletely still and just staring at the battle and Fantina, barely blinking. I had failed to read the gym leader much, unfortunately, but other than that, I had been in top condition. I stared up as Turtonator angrily blew a stream of mes toward the unsuspecting Ducklett, who flew away in fear. Jellicent quickly extinguished the burning underbrush and angrily boomed at Sunshine, who just snorted and went back to sleep. "Don''t attack things," I warned. "I know you were holding back, but hurting a trainer''s Pokemon is past what we''re allowed to do." His nose angrily red. Well, Iwasa literal child ordering him around, so that made sense. He was kind of cute when he was mad. Not that I''d ever tell him that. "Yeah, I know you don''t like to be bound by rules, but it''s just how this works, so cooperate with me here. Call it a favor? I''ll owe youter." The fire type curiously peered at me with the smuggest smile I''d ever seen, and Princess angrily chided him. Electabuzz calmed her down quickly enough, but Sunshine just ignored her and kept speaking to me. "You want me to stop talking? Alright, fine. I won''t annoy you with any more stories today, and you let the Pokemon here spy in peace. It''s not like we have anything to hide." I had said that final part intentionally, hoping to fool some into believing that all of the information on my team was already avable online if they looked hard enough. Turtonatory back down, seemingly satisfied with his bargain, and I just rolled my eyes at him. He wassucha diva. Back to the battle it was. Like I had said, I had beenpletely focused like never before, like the world around me simply didn''t exist. Every decision I had taken had been at leastsomewhatcorrect, and there were no ring mistakes. So how could I replicate this? Beingpletely prepared was certainly a part of it, but that wasn''t it. I stayed deep in thought for at least ten minutes trying to think of what had been different, and I finally got it just as I won the battle on the video, funnily enough. Princess'' Ancient Power sure made me proud every time I saw it. My battle with Fantina was simply the first battle where I hade in with expectations that things would gohorribly wrongat some point. Sure, in all of the others, I had thought that there might have been some deviations, but neverbadones, so I had always been caught off guard when theydidAlmost. When I got back, I helped Denzel like Melody had helped me, but it felt a little weird to act like an expert in media when I had gotten just a few hours of help. I was a novice at this, just like him. Still, it brought me back to the Floaroma tournament, where Denzel had helped me escape from a few small-time reporters trying to interview me. I''de far, but I would go further still. ¡ª Three dayster, the brackets were announced, and I would actually have the earliest battle of the group. Mira and Denzel were fighting on the same day as I was, but the rest were all fighting tomorrow. My opponent was named Kyle Thornton, a three-badge holder from Sunyshore with a Watchog, a Gogoat, a Kricketune and a Probopass, and unlike me, he was a second-year. It was surprising to see someone in their second year with only four Pokemon, but I had to remember that I was the exception in that regard, not the rule. People usually took multiple years to fill their rosterpletely, since they opted to focus on training a few Pokemon to beat the early gyms consistently instead of overextending themselves. Honestly? I was confident, and this was a perfect opponent for Sweetheart to battle with Angel. I had tophysicallystop myself from looking up more information, like moves, fighting style or abilities. It feltfundamentallywrong not to research more in-depth, but I wasmitted to doing this, at least for the early rounds. One of the good things about knowing his team was that I knew that he had nothing to spy on me unless he''d caught something in between Veilstone and Sceon, so I was freer to train openly. I spent the next two days perfecting my team''s new moves and working exclusively on their teamwork. Finally, the day of the tournament hade.
Chapter 145 Chapter 145 CHAPTER 145 "Damn it, of course I''d have to face her first." Kyle Thornton grumbled as he slowly shambled his way to his arena. He stared at his opponent, who didn''t even spare him a single look as he approached. Grace Pastel had been called many things. A rising star, a prodigy, the next Gardenia, and it looked like she had the ego to back it up too. What kind of trainer didn''t even look at their opponent? Not even a small nod? A set of bleachers had been set up all along the battlefield that the organizers had set up, and there would be five battles running at the same time. The other four battlefields were interspersed all over the Hunters''nd, so it was impossible to watch multiple at the same time. It gave the trainers spectating a sense of choice and agency. They had to choose which battle to look at and sacrifice potentially studying another trainer to do so. Kyle felt sad that he wouldn''t go far enough to battle withmentators though. It had been his dream ever since he''d been a child to have a Pokemon battle caster gush over something he''d done. The fact that he''d be fighting Grace Pastel hade as a terrifying surprise, and he had panicked so much that he''d spent a good chunk of his savings on buying information about her from a trainer with two Cutiefly that he used to spy on people. He wasn''t even in the tournament, he was just here to make money. Two hours after that, Kyle had realized that he had simply copied an analysis from a user called Goald42 on the forums. So much money wasted. He was a second year, yet he''d been fleeced like a rookie desperately trying to get their first badge. The man ran a nervous, trembling hand through his hair. The rational part of Kyle told him that there was no way to win this, but he sure as hell wouldn''t give up. He stepped onto the raised tform, grabbing two of his Pokeballs. Grace Pastel supposedly knew every trick he could employ, but what else could he do but try? Watchog would be instrumental here. These arenas were smaller than a gym''s, so his incredible range with Hypnosis meant that he''d be able to use the move without even approaching his opponents. Even though it''d take around ten seconds to go off at that distance, his range meant that it was enough time. Meanwhile, Probopass would protect him and buy the normal type enough time to get the attack off. Further than that? Well, he was no savant. There was no way to n that far ahead. They''d be fighting on the Rock Field, which was reminiscent of Roark''s gym and was ideal for his Probopass. "This is a battle between Grace Pastel and Kyle Thornton. Trainers, send out your Pokemon," The supervisor called out. Kyle swallowed and nervously sent out Watchog and Probopass. His opponent sent out a Larvitar and that Arceus damned Tangrowth. He knew that if he didn''t focus on the looming grass type, this would be a guaranteed loss. Kyle''s Pokemon watched warily as Larvitar let out an excited yell and Tangrowth caressed her head with a vine. "Begin!" "Sunny Day," the blonde simply said. Tangrowth closed its eyes, and the sunlight slowly began to grow harsher. That hadn''t been in the information he''d gotten! Kyle snapped back to reality and swept his arm. "Hypnosis the Tangrowth! Probopass, Lock-On and Power Gem Larvitar!" Watchog''s eyes shone, and he stared down the Tangrowth directly. Grace Pastel frowned as Probopass'' eyes narrowed and blinding lights shot out of his turrets, all curving toward Larvitar. "Block it with Rockslide, Sweetheart! Stop the Watchog too!" A massive boulder next to Larvitar crumpled and moved in front of the rock type like a tidal wave. The Power Gem simply deflected off of the rocks. Meanwhile, another Rock Slide washed over Watchog, interrupting his Hypnosis right as it was about to go off. How could Larvitar control that many at the same time?! Tangrowth snapped back to reality and finished his Sunny Day. "Now get in there and Power Whip. Leave Watchog to your sister." Tangrowth took a single step. And then ran forward, propelling itself with his vines as fast as a truck. It was harrowingly silent, not letting a single noise escape from wherever its mouth was. There was only the sound of its heavy steps and its vines whipping against the floor. There was no stopping this thing. All he could do was hope for¡ª Damn it, it was already here! "Confuse R¡ª" Tangrowth wrapped a vine around Watchog and threw him back towards Larvitar, who had just been patiently standing around like a kid waiting for fucking candy. The grass type then proceeded topletely dominate his Probopass. Kyle called out for a Thunder Wave, but the Power Whips were too quick and powerful for the steel type to focus on striking back. Watchog shook himself off and got up just in time for Larvitar to run him through with a Horn Attack. It pushed the normal type up to Kadabra''s barrier with jubnt screams while Kyle could only watch in horror as his starter failed to even fight back. With the way he was pinned against the wall, there was no way for Watchog to even use any moves. Kyle watched as Tangrowth calmly mmed Probopass with onest Power Whip, and the rock type stayed unmoving on the floor. Its vines all wriggled as one, working in unison like a school of Remoraid, and he nkly stared directly into Kyle''s eyes. The trainer shivered in fear as he grabbed Probopass'' Pokeball. "Keep it up Angel!" Grace smiled. How could someone smile at such violence? His Probopass was more wounded than it had ever been! Kyle recalled his Pokemon and immediately sent out his Kricketune. "Sing!" He yelled. If he couldn''t get this Tangrowth out of the picture, then it was over. Kricketune strimmed his knifelike arms against the string on his belly, but Tangrowth again just pped him around like a damn toy, not even bothering to use a move. On the other side of the arena, Watchog was still being pinned. "Stop ying around and get serious," Grace told her Larvitar. The rock type grunted and let Watchog go, her horn soaked in blood. This was his moment! She''d grown cocky! Enough with the status moves, he had to go on the offensive! One Pokemon. He''d at least take down one! "Smack Down!" She yelled. "Detect!" Watchog blurred impossibly quickly, dodging the blindingly fast rock that shot up from the ground like a bullet. He didn''t avoid the fragments however, and like shrapnel, they tore through Watchog''s body. "Crunch and finish it off." With a twisted smirk, Larvitar opened its mouth, revealing the darkness festering within. Already bloodied and battered, Watchog was too exhausted to even use another Detect. The rock type tore across his thigh, and Kyle recalled him, putting his Pokemon out of the fight. Such brutality. Nothing was working. It was like he was being dissected. Kyle felt empty as he sent out his Gogoat just in time for Kricketune to have fallen. The bug type was simply broken. His arms were bent the wrong way, and his body was crumpled like an old wrinkled shirt. He recalled him as well. "Aerial Ace the Tangrowth!" Kyle screamed. And yet, his voice felt felt hollow. Gogoat bleated and started running, slowly building up his speed as streaks of air surrounded his body. If he could get one hit in at least¡­ "Block it with Ancient Power." Tangrowth quickly raised a boulder in front of itself, and Gogoat crashed into it head-on. "Let Sweetheart deal with it," she continued. Kyle dejectedly stared as eight vines snaked around the Ancient Power to grab his Gogoat. She was going to throw him toward Larvitar again instead of finishing him off with that monstrous Tangrowth! Kyle clicked his tongue and restrained a curse. She was just toying with him! That sadistic bitch! "Seed Bomb!" Tangrowth threw the grass type toward his ally, but two seeds fell onto him, blowing up on contact. Tangrowth simply shrugged them off and observed what Larvitar was going to do with a curious eye. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. At least he''dnded a hit. Two hits. Larvitar ran forward and stabbed Gogoat''s nk with Horn Attack before he could even get up. "No stabbing. Use Rock Slide," Grace scolded. The ground type grunted, opting to bury Gogoat in a sea of rocks instead. Every time he tiringly managed to climb his way out of them, anotheryer smothered him, hitting him hard in the head every single time. The grass type was bleeding profusely from his head, soaking the rocks in scarlet red, and looked like he couldn''t even think properly any longer. There was no point to this, was there? "I forfeit," Kyle sighed, recalling his Pokemon. His shoulders sagged, and he clenched his fist around Gogoat''s Pokeball. He knew there was no way he could have won the tournament, but he would have liked to make it to the top two hundred, at the very least. And yet here he was, losing on his first round. That was the luck of the draw. "Victory to Grace Pastel. Trainers, please step out of the arena." Larvitar happily stomped on the floor. Tangrowth ran back toward her, then lifted her in the air to celebrate. Grace let them have their moment, but recalled them after a few seconds with a satisfied smile on her face. It was like she''d known everything about him during the fight. How else would she have known about Hypnosis'' range? At least Kyle could rest easy knowing that he''d been worth researching for a generational talent. "Good battle," she said before leaving. Good battle?! He snapped his head toward her. Was she making fun of him?! Was it not enough for her to be so Arceus damned talented?! She had to rub it in too, twist the knife and pour salt onto the wound! He wanted to call out to her, berate her for being one of the rudest trainers he''d ever faced, but she was already gone. Maybe his family was right, and he wasn''t cut out for this. ¡ª Oh man, that had been nerve-wracking. My hands were still shaking, my body felt hot. All things considered, that had gone pretty well, but the battle itself had been sloppy, like I was still finding my footing. If I hadn''t stopped that Hypnosis, things could have gotten ugly. Watchog and Probopass would have ganged up on Sweetheart, and she could have lost, which would have been so horrible for her self-confidence that she probably would have destroyed everything around her with Stomping Tantrum after being healed. Coming into a battle with so many unknowns had been terrifying, but I still wanted to do it at least one more time before I started to get serious. Larvitar''s Rock Slides had been excellent, and so had Tangrowth''s Sunny Day. I needed Sweetheart to stop using Horn Attack so much, though. Stabbing things might have been fun, but blunt trauma was a lot better at taking Pokemon down quickly when they weren''t covered in armor. Maybe Princess had rubbed off on her too much since she kept showing off her Ancient Power spear and bragging about it like there was no tomorrow. If I was being honest, Angel had gone ham too, and all of his Pokemon would probably have to stay at the Center for multiple days. I wasn''t exactly used to fighting people that much weaker than I was. I considered my reaction times to have left a lot to be desired, but Kyle''s had been so bad that he just left his Pokemon wide open to counters at all times, and he tunnel-visioned hard on putting Tangrowth to sleep. It wasn''t like he could have won, but he could have done better than this with the tools he had at his disposal. He could have tried everything he could to interrupt Angel frompleting Sunny Day too, and then he would have been nowhere near that fast. If he had researched his use of Ancient Power properly, and from the time it took him to use the move, I figured that it''d be pretty easy to extrapte that it needed his utmost concentration. When I''d heard that he was a second year, I''d somewhat expected a tougher battle. It was somewhat underwhelming. Despite expecting a win, I thought I would have had to fight for it. I wanted to keep thinking about the battle, but I was already being swarmed by reporters. They all asked all kinds of questions, but I focused in on one I liked¡ª a good trick Melody had taught me. "Ms. Pastel, you showed the world whatplete domination was like today! What do you say made the difference in your battle with Mr. Thornton today?" Okay, now all I had to do was smile and stick to broad strokes. No need to go far into details or to be rude and say that my Pokemon were simply stronger and there wasn''t much he could have done but dy the inevitable. "Mr. Thornton focused too much on trying to put Angel to sleep to single out my Larvitar. Once that tactic didn''t work, he should have tried something else. Me separating his Pokemon was the nail in the coffin, so I feel like he should have tried to find a way to regroup and have two members of his team focus on one of mine, but that would have required for him to find a way to bypass Angel''s vines, which is always tough to do. I can''tment much more about what he could have done without knowing his Pokemon''s moves, though." Nice and straight to the point. Another flurry of questions erupted, but again, I singled out a single reporter. "Excuse me, does that mean you didn''t research your opponent before fighting him today? You''re known to be meticulous in your research." "I''m trying to improve, so I''m handicapping myself for a little bit and only checking out my opponents'' teams," I said. "Of course, I don''t expect to be able to keep doing it for the whole tournament. There are a lot of good trainers here¡ª including Mr. Thornton¡ª and I''d be foolish to think my skill in battle alone could carry me to first ce." That was good, right? I knew Melody and possibly a whole lot of other people from the Poketch Company were watching right now, judging every wording out of my mouth. "Another question here! We saw your Tangrowth throw its opponents toward Larvitar. What was that for exactly?" "Well, since she''scking in experience, I figured I''d let her battle as well for practice. She wouldn''t have forgiven Angel if he just dealt with everything himself and hung her off to dry." "You seem quite confident in yourself. If you go against one of your travelingpanions, will you do everything in your power to figure out what they''re nning?" "Of course. But again, this was nothing personal against Mr. Thornton, I just figured that I had a good chance to win after looking at his lineup, that''s all. It just as easily could have backfired on me. Now if you''ll excuse me I¡ª" Wait, getting my team back to the Center wouldn''t even work here, only Tangrowth had gotten hit, and it had barely dealt any damage. "¡ªI have to go to the bathroom." I quickly dodged any more questions that made my way and went back toward the tournament building to fake going to the bathroom. I couldn''t let them figure out that I was only pretending, after all. I had been a lot less nervous for interviews than I thought, and I had Melody to thank for that, but it was also because talking about Pokemon battling was a genuinely enjoyable thing for me to do. So long as I kept ignoring the nasty questions, I''d be fine, but if there came a day when only those types of questions came, then I''d start feeling the anxiety. Melody sent me a quick text telling me that I had done well, but that I needed to tone done the ''practice for Larvitar'' angle because it made me seem like I was ''ying with my food'', whatever that meant. After hanging out in the bathroom for a while longer, I joined my friends who''d been waiting in the bleachers for me. Denzel was still getting ready for his battle and doing somest-minute nning, and Mira was also off training somewhere, but everyone else was here. Cecilia was the first to congratte me. "You were beautiful out there, love," she smiled. "I did alright," I said with a smile of my own. "Need to improve in a lot of areas still." "Come on, just take the win and stop humble bragging," Pauline said. "Your Tangrowth justpletely manhandled everything that poor guy had on his team. I bet you could have fought one against four and still won." "Probably not, since Kyle had Hypnosis and Sing¡ª" "Well, I wouldn''t want to face such a thing no matter what moves I owned," Maeve shuddered. "It was my first time seeing you battle, and you''re seriously scary." "This praise is embarrassing me. When''s Denzel''s battle again?" "Should be in an hour," Pauline immediately said. "Well, more like fifty-four minutes now." "Should we go watch battles while we wait? I''d like to see what our next potential opponents could be like," Justin said. Maeve was definitely right, though. So long as Angel had the time to pull Sunny Day off, he was nigh unstoppable by anything that wasn''t a poison or fire type¡ª or a tough, big Pokemon that he couldn''t lift and hit around like a ragdoll. "There are a lot of bets going around," Louis exined. "People are looking to make money off of the tournament." "There was a 19:1 odd of you winning, by the way," Pauline smirked. "It was basically free money." "You bet?" I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, it''s fun. I tried to get the others to join, but they didn''t want to. I made a few pennies." "It felt disrespectful to Grace''s opponent," Cecilia said. "He looked devastated when he stepped off the tform." "What?" I said, my heart sinking. "I should find him, he wasn''t bad¡ª" "You speaking to him would probably just worsen the problem," Justin said. I nodded with a sigh, and we went to sit down to wait for Denzel''s battle. In all of the excitement and my drive to improve, I had forgotten that I had possibly ruined someone''s day. Or week. Or month? When had I gotten so big-headed? It wasn''t all that long ago that I''d been battling in Eterna city''s arenas and gently helping the trainers I beat to improve themselves after each loss, and instead I had just rushed to leave. Sure, the reporters were a problem, but I could have¡­ But then again, like Justin had said, unsolicited advice could make it look like I was just talking them down and belittling their skill. Damn it, this was hard. "What''s Denzel fighting? And which arena?" I asked, trying to clear my head. "The Grass Field," Pauline answered. "It would have been funny if it was the snow one," I said, thinking of his Fross. Along with the Rock, the Grass and the Snow Fields, there was the Water and the Desert Field. The first three weren''t that interesting, but thest two offered actual variations that could sway a battle. First, the Water Field was reminiscent of Crasher Wake''s gym, and the entire battlefield would be submerged in water with a few tforms non-water types could stand on. That meant that water types would obviously be king there, and fire types would be at a serious disadvantage. However, if you had an electric type or electric type attacks, countering swimmers would be ridiculously easy unless they were part ground. Meanwhile, the Desert Field was simply odd because Sinnoh had no deserts to speak of outside of the Battle Frontier¡ª which only eight badgers were allowed in¡ª so our Pokemon simply weren''t used to fighting on the sand. The weird footing would be a problem and create some variables that were impossible to predict. This wouldn''t be like standing on a beach. The sand was deep, and there were dunes of different heights all throughout the field. "He''s fighting against a really weird guy too," Maeve said. "He told you about it?" Pauline asked aggressively. "Chill out, okay?" I rolled my eyes. "Sorry about her, she¡ª" The redhead put a hand over my mouth, and I squirmed in ce until Cecilia jabbed her with a finger, finally causing her to release me. "Don''t say anything," Pauline grumbled. Well, she was just making it obvious now. Justin ufortably stared away, probably desperately thinking about how Pauline would even make this work when she already had Emilia. I personally found it impossible to understand too, but I wasn''t one to judge. So long as they came to an agreement before they did anything¡­ In retrospect, they probably were nowhere near that yet. Denzel, for all his expertise in rtionship matters, seemedpletely blind to it, and Pauline was content with the status quo. I had no idea if Emilia knew about it, too. Maybe I''d try to talk to Pauline about it with some help from Cece. "Anyway!" Pauline coughed. "Go on, Maeve. I''m sorry, by the way." "It''s okay," she replied. "He''s fighting some guy with a really weird team. He just owns six Smeargles." "Six of them?" Louis scoffed. "Is he an artist, perhaps? I''d love to see what paintings they cane up with." "No, he''s just some weird roleyer," Pauline rolled her eyes. "Calls himself and his team the ''Heroes of Justice''. He''s tried to find Team Gctic grunts and fight them off, but he hasn''t gotten any sess at finding any so far, so he just fights petty criminals whenever he''s in a city." "Even with the weird team, he''s actually good. He''s got four badges, and he''s still in his first year, so he must be close to you guys, or maybe even on par," Maeve said. My interest peaked at that. Type specialists were rarer than generalists, but people that only owned one kind of Pokemon were almost unheard of. I did know that Smeargle was capable of learning a lot of moves by copying them, although they''d be a bootleg version of the original. For that reason, not many people used Smeargle, but if this guy managed to get four badges like us, I was sure he''d be somewhat difficult for Denzel to face. It was still really weird that he owned six, though. After around thirty minutes of watching battles, we made our way toward the Grass Field and eagerly awaited for Denzel''s match to start. His opponent was actually there early, and he wore some kind of war paint on his face, along with a flowing cape that reminded me of Lance. It was like he was wearing a superhero costume, and it was literally impossible to take him seriously. Some people wereughing at his extravagant appearance, but he didn''t appear to care whatsoever. Denzel showed up just in time, and he had a confident smile on his face.
Chapter 146 Chapter 146 CHAPTER 146 "I wee thee, challenger!" The trainer with the facepaint said. "Prepare to lose to the Heroes of Justice! Together, there''s nothing we cannot do, and thou shalt cower before our might¡­" He had a haughty, obnoxious voice that reminded me of Louis when I first met him, but a lot worse. Pauline clicked her tongue annoyingly. "Does he have to talk like that?" "I think it''s just for the extra ir. I like it," Louis smiled. "...I have vanquished many thieves and miscreants in my short tenure as a trainer, so some insignificant trainer like yourself will never stop me¡ª" "Are you done?" The supervisor yelled. "We''re running an operation here, we can''t afford to waste time." The boy cleared his throat. "My apologies." "This is a battle between Denzel Williams and Elliot Santiago. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." Elliot sent out two of his Smeargles, but they each had different paintings on their bodies and faces. The first one was painted with bright sshes of red reminiscent of blood with no discernable pattern, and it sported a fierce look in its eyes. The second one was simply covered in white from head to toe, hiding its normally beige skin. The only part that wasn''t covered was its tail. Denzel sent out his Fross, who giggled as she took flight, and the grass under her froze. Lopunny was next, and she stood steadfast in front of her teammate. "Begin!" "Watch for Bullet Punch. Stick to what we said," Denzel ordered. Lopunny''s left fist lit aze while the other one was coated in electricity. One of her feet turned to ice, while the other simply shone. "Fross, charge up Blizzard" Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice¡­ Kick, and Power-up Kick had all beenbined in terrifying fashion. The amount of endurance needed to keep those up permanently was something. The rabbit brought both of her fists up, preparing to fight, while Fross'' eyes shone with a pale blue and a cold wind immediately picked up. "Hah! So you know Fighter''s techniques? That matters not! Break through them with Bullet Punch! White Mage, Helping Hand!" The second Smeargle fiercely pped its hands, and the other one''s muscles bulged as it practically teleported next to Fross, hoping to interrupt her Blizzard. Without even turning, Lopunny kicked backwards with her Power-Up Kick, hitting the normal type in the back before it could even use its attack like she had anticipated it. "White Mage, get in there and heal him! Fight back, Fighter!" I ignored how redundant that nickname was and observed as Smeargle narrowly dodged another kick before sweeping Lopunny with Low Kick. The rabbit fell to the ground, and Fighter jumped with its fist coated in mes, punching Fross in the nose just in the nick of time. She''d been concentrating too much to dodge. "Start over, go higher this time," Denzel said. "Don''t do it right away." Fross shook the hit off and phased out of existence, quickly reappearing about twenty feet higher. There was nothing Elliot could do to stop her, so he moved on to the next best target. White Mage pointed its tail at Fighter like a staff, and a weak Heal Pulse flew off toward its teammate. "Throw him away, Lopunny!" With her fists still coated in fire and electricity, Lopunny grabbed Smeargle, spinning him around with Circle Throw toward the other end of the arena, meaning that Heal Pulse just missed. Not only that, but it had also taken damage from Fire and Thunder Punch. "Quick Attack and do the same for the other one!" I was seeing his strategy now. Denzel wanted to group the two Smeargles up so that Lopunny wouldn''t have to be hit by Fross'' Blizzard. I almost scoffed at how fast the normal type had gotten, and shended next to White Mage with a deafening crash. She kicked it in the head with Power-Up Kick and jabbed its nose with Fire Punch before throwing him at his fellow Smeargle, who fell over again. "Get up, quickly!" "Now, Fross!" The ice typeughed, and the right side of the battlefield was overtaken by a deafening Blizzard, and I could feel the cold from here through the psychic barriers. As soon as the Blizzard subsided, Denzel ordered Fross to charge another one. Fighter and White Mage were still standing. Barely. "Lopunny, keep them in their half." The normal type had already been running before the words even left his mouth. "Heal Pulse!" Elliot yelled. "Fighter, Bullet Punch! Buy some time!" Faster than even Lopunny, Smeargle blurred in front of her as its fist were coated in silver and began punching her repeatedly. Denzel winced. Fross could hold back her Blizzard, but that meant that White Mage would simply keep healing Fighter. He already managed to fire off three Heal Pulses before the ten seconds that the ice type needed to charge her attack, and despite being weak, they would stack up quickly. As soon as the Bullet Punch ended, Denzel sprung to action. "Circle Throw toward Fross." Without a moment''s hesitation, Lopunny grabbed Smeargle before he could start another Bullet Punch andunched him toward the ghost. "Use it in our half!" Ah. It had just clicked. Blizzard ripped through Denzel''s half of the battlefield, rendering Fighter useless for a few dozen seconds. Fross would have to stay inside of it to keep it going, but she would take no damage from the snow. Now it was just White Mage and Lopunny. Denzel screamed out amand that I didn''t hear, but unlike us, I didn''t think he could even see what was going on through the Blizzard. Lopunny''s ears twitched, and she grinned before dashing toward White Mage, who could only stare in fear as the normal type relentlessly beat it up with every attack at its disposal. I had wondered about this throughout the fight, but it looked like that Smeargle had no attacking moves, so it couldn''t even hope to defend itself. White Mage went down just as the Blizzard started to slow. Fighter was down for the count too. "Curses!" Elliot screamed, recalling both Pokemon. "Fine, if I must go all out just this once, I will! Don''t say I didn''t warn you! Tank, Hero, you''re up!" The boy sent out another set of Smeargle, and this time, the one called Tank was painted in dark tones with patterns reminiscent of what could be on a shield. Hero, meanwhile, was¡­ nk. It just had a single golden line painted in between its eyes. "Tank, Iron Defense!" "Charge another one," Denzel told Fross. "Lopunny, go in." Once again, Lopunny blurred toward her opponents, opting to focus on Tank to stop him from setting up his defenses. Smeargle shimmered like steel just before Lopunny hit it with Fire Punch, and Tank didn''t even flinch. The impact rang out like the ng of metal. "Hero, Swords Dance!" For the first time in the entire battle, Denzel looked surprised. "Switch targets! Hit Hero!" "Tank, Teleport and Barrier!" Smeargle teleported in between the two, and Lopunny crashed into an invisible wall. It blocked the normal type''s path long enough for Hero to finish setting up with Swords Dance. Denzel clicked his tongue. "Time''s up, get away! Fross, Blizzard!" "Light¡ª" The rest of Elliot''s order was cut off by the Blizzard''s howling winds. Fross was seriously putting in work here, and she didn''t even appear a bit tired. In fact, it was like her Blizzards were getting faster little by little. Lopunny barely escaped the attack, but she was starting to grow tired. No longer could she have four attacks ready at the same time. Instead, she opted for Power-Up Punch that she had relocated to her right fist, along with Fire Punch on her left, which were the attacks she was the most familiar with. When the Blizzard receded, both Pokemon were battered, but fine. Tank had set up a Light Screen just in time, and the barrier had shielded them from the worse of the damage. "Hero, Agility! Tank, keep him protected." Holy fuck, he was setting up a whole lot. Denzel clenched a fist. "Blizzard again. Lopunny, stand strong. Defend Fross at all costs." Was he abandoning his strategy? The only way this made sense was if he was willing for Lopunny to be caught in the crossfire. The normal type nodded tensely and kept her bodypletely still. "Atst! Don''t say I didn''t warn you, brigand! Hero, it''s time to let loose! re Blitz that Fross!" I inhaled sharply as Hero''s body spontaneously . There were so many mes that I couldn''t even see its body, and Tank teleported away to not get burned. "Stand aside, Tank. Hero will deal with them. Go!" The air around Smeargle warped as he jumped faster and higher than Lopunny could. Fross was caught so off guard that she didn''t even have time to disappear, and Smeargle rammed into her before falling down to the floor himself. The ice type went down immediately, and Smeargle slowly stood up, its body burned and bruised. "There''s an opening! Hold him down!" Denzel yelled as he recalled his Fross and sent out his Roselia. "Toxic!" Lopunny dashed, grabbing Hero by the neck, and Roselia looked at the Smeargle in disgust as she sprayed it with poison, although some of it got onto Lopunny as well. Hero was on a clock now. I looked at Tank, who was simply standing around. It looked like he too had no attacking moves. "re Blitz and Last Resort!" Smeargle burst into mes again. The fire was so hot that even Roselia caught on fire by just being near him. Lopunny cried out in pain, but her screams were drowned out by the mes that enveloped her. The fireball stood and hit the normal type away with a massive blow that I assumed was Last Resort. She was burned to a crisp. Smeargle turned to Roselia, his body still consumed by the mes. Was Denzel going to lose? He sighed and sent out his Milotic. The crowd gasped in surprise at the magnificent water type, who nervously stared around. This was his first battle, and it showed. "Hit the Roselia!" Elliot yelled. "Venoshock and Wrap!" Smeargle was quick, but Roselia''s aim was better. The normal type stumbled as the potent poison tore through his skin, although half of it was evaporated by the mes. Milotic seemingly ignored the heat, wrapping around the fireball and he squeezed. "Water Pulse." It took four of them for Hero to go down, and Milotic was exhausted. The Swords Dance had been so powerful that the mes had even burned past his hardened scales. It was just Tank left. He couldn''t attack past some punches and kicks, but those weren''t moves. They''d be useless. "Take that Smeargle down," Denzel sighed. That had been a dangerously close call. Elliot obnoxiously made his Smeargle Teleport all over the field and shield himself with Light Screens and Reflects to dy the inevitable, but after the supervisor chewed him out for wasting time, he forfeited the battle. "Victory to Denzel Williams. Trainers, step off of your tforms." Pauline squealed happily and danced on her seat, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Elliot might have been a strange person, but he was definitely skilled. He had to be, to train his Pokemon enough to use Swords Dance and re Blitz. If he hadn''t been forcing his team to conform to what looked to be sses in an RPG, then he''d be a force to be reckoned with. Hell, he might have even won. "You win this time, but not the next, thief! You won the battle, but not the war! I''ll have you in my sights now!" Elliot yelled. He then ran away dramatically with an obnoxiousugh. At least it looked like he wasn''t taking it hard at all. Denzel was busy talking to interviewers, so I opted to ask about Mira''s opponent before he came back. "Why are you so out of the loop?" Justin asked. "Even I know, and Mira and I don''t talk much." "I was busy." "Some psychic type specialist that I don''t remember the name of," he exined. Psychic type specialist? That would probably be one hell of a battle, with how annoying a single psychic was to face. "Don''t get so excited," Pauline noticed. "Her name''s Megan Barett. She''s a first-year three badge holder, so Mira will probably wipe the floor with her." "We''re first-year three-badge holders," Maeve grumbled. "We''re different," Pauline shrugged. "Type specialists are usually adept at bringing out the best of their Pokemon," I said. "She could have some tricks up her sleeves. I wouldn''t underestimate her." "Well, her battle''s this evening anyway, so you''ll have to wait to figure it out," the redhead smirked. "Oh, Denzel''s done!" We all walked down from the bleachers and congratted our friend, who looked somewhat shaken. I didn''t me him. That Smeargle had almost managed to pull out an incredibleeback, and if he hadn''t owned Milotic to resist the mes, then he probably would have lost. I doubted that Sylveon would have been able to do much. Fairies tended not to deal with fire very well. "The information I managed to get was outdated," Denzel exined. "And he didn''t train at all before the match, so Fross didn''t bring back anything of note when I sent her out to spy. re Blitz is an insane move to teach. How''d he even get that?! I thought Smeargle needed to see a move and study it for days before they could copy it." "Well, he must have some connections," Louis said. "It''s unlikely that he would havee across a trainer with the move during his travels." "Whatever, at least we''re done. I''d rather fight normal teams than gimmicks like that all days of the week," he said, looking around. "Mira isn''t here?" "She said she''d be training the entire day and not to disturb her," Maeve said. "What should we do until her match, then? What terrain is it on, even?" "Grass Field, just like you," she replied. "I wish I could check my field in advance¡­ they only tell you the day of your fight. If I get the Water Field, I''ll be the unluckiest girl on the." "Your Starmie would do rather well, no?" Louis asked. "Yes, but we''ve never fought in water before, so it''d be a first." "First Louis'' Prinplup and now you?" Paulineughed. "What is everyone doing now?" Denzel asked. "Well, it depends when my next opponent is revealed," I said. "If it''s today, then I''ll need to go back to my room to figure out what pair to start with first." "It depends on when the people next to you on the bracket fight, I haven''t checked it out yet," he said. "Oh, I forgot. Do they have a website for it or something?" All of my friends groaned at me, and showed me the tournament website, which was under serious strain due to all the current traffic. The bracket was huge, but the coders had fortunately included a search function. We were all on the left side of the bracket with the exception of Louis and Justin, who were on the right. "It feels lonely down there," Louis joked. A sign that he was getting better. "You won''t be lonely with Justin around," I smiled. Still, knowing the bracket meant that I could just look at my potential two opponents¡­ but I decided to wait. They were fighting today, so it wouldn''t be long until I knew anyway. After Denzel brought his Pokemon to the Center, we decided to all go grab an early lunch. During the event, I pulled on Cece''s sleeve, and we said that we were going to the bathroom. Pauline and Maeve offered to join, but after an awkward refusal, we were already gone. There were unfortunately people, so we entered a stall and locked the door. "What''s gotten into you?" Cecilia asked, staring to the side embarrassingly. "I wanted to talk about Pauline," I whispered. "Her rtionship issues, I mean." She rxed with a sigh. "Did you think I was going to do something else?" I teased. "Nothing of the sort!" Iughed. "Anyway, Denzel helped us¡­ figure it out, right? Doesn''t it feel bad watching them il around each other? Is this what we looked like?" "Probably. But this is probably thest thing she should have on her mind with the tournament, no?" "It''s already on her mind, she can barely stop herself from looking at the guy," I rolled my eyes. "Fine¡­ but in this case, it''s between three people. We don''t want to be rash and do something we''d regret. I think it''s best if we let it sort itself out." "Hm¡­" I hummed. I bit my lip softly and sighed. She was right. "Yeah, it''s not our ce. This is delicate and we don''t want to fuck anything up, especially when things already used to be tense." She nodded. "You''re a lot more reasonable than I thought you''d be." "What? What''d I do to deserve that?" "You can be very headstrong." "Nuh-uh, I''m a very practical girl. I can do all kinds of stuff and be reasonable." "All kinds of stuff¡­ if we''re talking about battling, then maybe." "Ouch. I''m so hurt," I feigned. "Anyway, let''s get out of here. I bet the others are going to be obnoxious about this ''cause they''ll think we did something." "Well to be honest, I thought it was either that or tampons. You always forget to carry some just in case." "I don''t always¡ª" "I have text messages for proof, Grace. So do Pauline and Emi." ¡ª I was back inside of my room, and my next opponent had finally been revealed for tomorrow''s battle. I had¡­ an hour left until Mira''s battle, so I could at least check what his team was about. Yasim Benzema was a second-year with four badges, and I knew right away that he''d be a lot harder to beat than my previous opponent. He looked to be a trainer that specialized in fighting during a Sandstorm. First, there was a Magnezone, which I assumed was for variety or to cover the weakness against water. His other Pokemon was Lairon, but the two who really caught my eye were Vibrava and Hippowdon. I didn''t need to study his team to know that Hippowdon would create a sandstorm by just being out on the field. Vibrava, meanwhile, was a dragon type, although I knew I''d be able to handle it with enough care. There was no way it''d be as powerful as Zweilous, at the very least, but I would need to be careful. The fact that this team was full of ground types meant that Honey was out of the picture. Even if the Sandstorm would stop us from being able to trigger Chlorophyll, Angel was obviously going to fight again. But who could be his teammate? I feared that Sweetheart wouldn''t be able to do much to our opponents, but maybe I could bring her in if one of the others fainted. That left me with Buddy or Princess. Buddy would be good if we just wanted to rush down the opposition before they could hope to do anything. What I had learned from watching all of these double battles was that they tended to be fast-paced and over quickly, and I could lean into that if I wished, but that Magnezone was scaring me. I had no idea if it owned Lock-On like Mira''s, or how powerful its electric type attacks even were. I clenched my hand around my Poketch. "Come on, I can handle at least one more round of improv," I breathed. "One." Togeticforted me by nuzzling against my neck, and I gently caressed her head. If Princess was to fight, she''d need to support Angel every step of the way. Already, I knew that Hippowdon would be the opponent''s field controller, and they wouldpete for supremacy. Ancient Power would be a huge boon unless we were on the Water Field, but then Yasim would be a lot more screwed than I was. "I think it''s gotta be you," I told Togetic. She let out a firm cry, letting me know that she was ready. "Let''s show off your new spears, shall we?" A grin stretched across her face, and I mirrored her. "I know, right?" I said. "But remember, only in moderation. Let''s not wound more than necessary¡­ I feel bad for what happened to Kyle. Sweetheart''s going to be jealous that you''re stealing her thunder." "Prrrri¡­" she sighed. "Yeah. With that team, it''ll be tough to use them, but I think we can ground that Vibrava with just one spear through the abdomen¡ª a small one, just to be safe. I don''t think its scales look that tough. If the abdomen doesn''t work, we can go for the wings. Lairon and Magnezone are another story though. Hippowdon¡­ I''m not sure." "Toge!" "Looks like you''ll fight a dragon after all, Princess. Just try to behave nicely okay? I know you''d do something like picture Sunshine and gopletely wild on that poor Vibrava. Promise?" The fairy type reluctantly nodded, and for some reason, I actually felt bad for her even though what I was asking for waspletely reasonable. I think she''s rubbing off on me, I thought as I pet her. ¡ª "Grace, you were almostte!" Denzelined. "What were you¡ª" "Working," I answered. "And I made it, didn''t I?" Mira and Megan Barett stood on opposite sides of the Grass Field, awaiting for the supervisor to let them start. The man made us wait for two minutes to finish some random phone call, and the battle could finally begin. "This is a battle between Mira Compton and Megan Barett. Trainers, send out your Pokemon!" "Gotcha!" Miraughed, sending out her Haunter and her Magnezone. Megan twitched nervously at the sight of the ghost, who taunted her with his permanent grin as poison oozed onto the floor, melting off the grass. Magnezone let out a series of static clicks and booms, clearly irritated at the ghost type. "Let him have some fun, he''s been good!" Mira snorted. "Anyway, send out your team, gal!" With a trembling hand, the girl sent out a Metang and Grian Ponyta. I was surprised to see a regional form from a trainer that new. Instead of mes, a fluffy purple and turquoise mane fluttered in the wind. Metang, meanwhile, nged its two fists together angrily. This one had normal colors, unlike Emi''s Beldum, but they were still ridiculously rare and expensive. Combined with the fact that she had a regional form, I guessed that Megan was probably the daughter of some rich family. "Begin!" "Be a nice boy, Haunter! Toxic!" Mira yelled. "Magnezone, Lock-On and sh Cannon the Ponyta!" With a taunting cackle, Haunter vanished, and his poison stopped dripping onto the ground. There was a shimmer across Magnezone''s nk stare, and a blinding light appeared in front of the steel type. With a buzzing sound, he sent out the sh Cannon toward Ponyta. "Ally Switch!" Megan yelled, her voice trembling. I blinked, and Metang and Ponyta swapped ces without a sound. The sh Cannon tried to curve to reach Ponyta, but it hit the steel type in the arm. Haunter reappeared right above the Ponyta and dove down toward the psychic type, coating its entire body in poison. It just washed off of the horse. "Psybeam, Psychic!" Ponyta appeared to be immune to being poisoned, and a beam of multicolored energy appeared above her horn, dissolving Haunter into nothing. The bits that were left were seized by Metang''s Psychic and relentlessly attacked. "Man, this is no fun. Go save him," Mira waved at her Magnezone. The electric type hummed as he flew toward his two enemies. Electricity crackled in between his mas. "Ponyta, Psybeam it! Buy us some time!" Magnezone simply brushed of the beam of psychic energy and exploded in a burst of electricity. Discharge. He didn''t even care if Haunter was caught in the crossfire, demonstrating the fundamental differences between her and Denzel. Haunterughed and reappeared, harmed from the Psychic he had taken but nowhere near done yet. "You can''t poison them, it has Pastel Veil. Use Curse on Metang instead!" The ghost''s grin stretched impossibly widely as his eyes went red, and Metang''s eyes flickered. The Curse was beginning to run its course. Haunter, for his part, winced. The first sign of pain that he had ever shown in the battle. "Focus on Ponyta now. Hex and sh Cannon." "Stop them! Ally Switch!" I winced when the two attacksnded on the poor Ponyta. Hex turned the psychic type into a smoking mess, and sh Cannonpletely enveloped her body. Ally Switch was a ridiculously difficult technique that required an even better control than Teleport, so doing so while under Curse''s influence was nigh impossible for a Pokemon of our level. Ponyta quickly fainted, and Haunter licked its unconscious, limp body. "Stop it, you creep!" Megan shrieked, recalling her Ponyta. "Sorry, he''s still working on that." "Psychic that Haunter!" The girl clicked her tongue when a Thunderbolt from Magnezone stopped her Metang from hurting Haunter, and she sent out a Kirlia. "Wait, you have one too? That''s so cool!" "Shut it! Kirlia, Teleport and Thunder Punch the Haunter! Metang, get it together!" The steel type let out a series of mechanical sounds and finally managed to restrain Haunter with Psychic again, and Kirlia teleported on top of his body to punch him with its fist coated in electricity while he was restrained. Unfortunately, Haunter wasn''t solid, he was viscous at best, so despite the attack running its course, the psychic type just fell to the floor, and Magnezone hit it with another sh Cannon. Megan was unraveling before our very eyes. Kirlia wasn''t done, but two more of those and she would be. "Get on top of Magnezone instead and Fire Punch!" She yelled. This time, Mira was caught by surprise. Kirlia teleported on Magnezone''s head and firmly gripped his antenna in order not to fall. Meanwhile, Haunter gathered an enormous amount of ghostly energy in front of his mouth. The Shadow Ball hit Metang, and the steel type crashed to the floor. The abuse it had taken from Curse had proven too much. Kirlia repeatedly hit Magnezone with Fire Punch, and the electric type intentionally rammed against Kadabra''s barrier to get it off. Megan sent out a Farigiraf, herst Pokemon. The tall psychic type craned its neck and both of its pair of eyes eyed Haunter with disdain. "Toxic and Venoshock, go!" Mira ordered. "Stop him with Twin Beam!" Two pink rays of energy appeared above Farigiraf''s head and barreled toward Haunter. With all the damage he''d taken, he''d gotten slow. The two beams hit Haunter before he could disappear, and the poison type exploded. Kirlia had teleported back on Magnezone''s back, but this time, Mira was ready. "Just blow up with Discharge, no need to panic." The steel type hummed, and once again, a blinding ball of electricity exploded outward, engulfing Kirlia. The psychic type fell off of his body and struggled to get up, but as a parting gift, Haunter reappeared around her, choking her from the inside out with toxic fumes. For a second, I was scared that he''d kill it, but he stopped once it fell unconscious. Everyone around me breathed a sigh of relief, and Haunter was dealt with after another Twin Beam from Farigiraf, who was the only one left standing. "Man, I wanted to try to win without losing anyone," Mira pouted. She sent out her Kadabra. "Charge Beam. Magnezone, Tri Attack." "Calm Mind!" Farigiraf closed all four of its eyes and focused, hoping to resist what wasing. Kadabra''s spoon shook and rattled erratically until it bent, and electricity shot out of the tip. Beams of ice, fire and electricity fired out of Magnezone''s body. All of the attacks hit the giraffe at once. Burns and ice coated its neck and nks. It was still standing. "Now, Twin Beam the Magnezone!" "Teleport and Dazzling Gleam." In less than a second, Kadabra was right in front of his opponent, and a blinding light came out of his spoon, affecting Farigiraf''s aim. The Twin Beams hit the psychic wall, and another Tri Attack from Magnezone was the end of the normal type. Its neck went limp, bending more than I thought was possible, and Megan recalled it before it even fell to the ground. "Victory to Mira Compton!"
Chapter 147 Chapter 147 CHAPTER 147 "That was something," I muttered as Mira recalled her Pokemon. Her Pokemon were certainly threatening, but I felt like I needed to see her struggle more to see what she was really about. She was irritating to face for people that easily got frustrated with snarkyments, but I figured that if I ever had to fight her, those wouldn''t work on me. Haunter''s Curse was worrisome and Magnezone brought the raw power that Mira needed to her team, but the thing that worried me the most was that Kadabra''s versatility. Like Princess, he was the one that would pull the strings in a battle, and the fact that I had identified him as the scariest thing on her team when he had only battled for barely one minute was proof enough. Strangely, it looked like every non-psychic type attack came from his spoon. Pokemon all had different ways of using moves that weren''t their typing, so a part of me wondered if I could cripple him by knocking his spoon out of his hand somehow. Hell, it might even make his psychic moves harder to use. I could have Angel twist his arm until the pain proved too much and he had to let go, maybe? With how frail Kadabra was, that was certainly an option, but there was a problem. Twisting his arm could leave him enough time to escape. With the way Goald had written about her, it seemed like Kadabra was capable of using Teleport even under severe pain or strain, so I''d need to permanently stop him from being able to grab things. Shattering his hands, maybe? One Power Whip would probably be enough. But for that, I''d need to catch him in the first ce, which would prove difficult with how adept he was at Teleport. I didn''t exactly like that method, though. It felt a lot more ruthless than I wanted to be, even if it was probably the most efficient way of going about things. I was starting to see battles through the lens of someone that needed to cripple her opponents in the quickest possible manner to take them out of the fight as quickly and neatly as possible, and I wanted to reign that in a little. This was a sport for fun, not some kind of life-or-death fight, and it''d make me a bad influence on Princess, who was already having problems with that distinction. Hell, even Sweetheart was starting to grow in that direction. Oh well, I sighed. With how the brackets were arranged, Mira would have to go through Lauren before going through me, so I had time to figure it out. We made our way toward Mira as soon as she was done with the reporters. She seemingly had annoyed them so much with her attitude that they quickly moved on to her opponent instead. The pink-haired girl pouted as she slowly walked toward us. "Don''t make that face when you won, it makes you look ungrateful," Maeve said. "Alright, mom." "You were great out there," Louis said. We all echoed his words. "I know, right? I wanted my win to be more dominant, but it was still fun, and I''m super happy that Haunter behaved." "What''d you even do to convince him?" I asked. "Well, I told him that we''d stop ying catch if he killed anything." We all stared at her confusedly. "y catch? How does that even work?" Denzel asked. "You never y catch before, big boy? I throw the ball and he catches it. I have to y with gloves because his poison gets all over the ball when he carries it with his entire body." "That''s¡­ innovative." "He''s been improving leaps and bounds ever since. I was thinking of buying a ser ball to see how big we can go¡ª" Cecilia coughed to interrupt her. "Well, that''s all of today''s battle done. What is everyone''s n now?" Everyone that would battle tomorrow answered with training, but Denzel, Mira, and I were free. I actually felt a bit miffed at that, since I wanted to see Cecilia''s Golett again, but she wanted to be as secretive as possible. Everyone but us three in the group left. "Don''t look so down," Denzel said, gently patting my shoulder. "You cane hang with me for a bit." "Don''t exclude me," Mira said. "Err, right." "I was gonna practice too," I said. "I''ve got to get my starting lineup ready for my next battle¡ª" "Which is in two days," my friend interrupted. "A few hours with us won''t hurt." "You''re just jealous that your team''s at the Center and mine isn''t," I jabbed. "That is a low blow." "You can take it," I smugly said. "But fine, I guess I''ll hang. I had a few questions for Mira anyway." "You want to know how I managed to be this awesome?" She asked as she struck a pose. "No, I want to know about your Kadabra." "That''s off-limits, missy. At least until one of us is out of the tournament." "Alright, alright," I innocently lifted my hands. We started to walk toward our Pokemon Center so that Mira could get her team healed. Since it waste in the evening and Sceon seemed to not believe in the concept of streetlights on its long, lonely roads, we were alone in the dark. "You know, I do have a question that you could answer, though. How does a Kadabra evolve?" I had the rough knowledge that it wasn''t simply by encountering a stressful situation and getting stronger in battle, but I didn''t actually know the exact method. They were rare enough that the League itself resigned to mass breeding and evolving Abra into Kadabra instead of their more advanced forms, so clearly there was a bottleneck somewhere. "I actually don''t know either," Denzel said. "Well, I said no questions, but I guess that one is innocent enough," Mira mused. "Kadabra will only evolve into kazam when they want to." I frowned. "What? So you mean they can do it at any time?" "Not exactly. They have to amass enough knowledge first, which could take months or years. It can be knowledge about anything, they just have to grow smart enough and learn stuff first. My Kadabra likes history and biology. He''ll ramble at me for hours about how enzymes bind substrates to convert them into different molecules or about the books that Cynthia wrote back in the day about Sinnohan history or whatever. Honestly, that stuff goes in one ear and out the next. Or¡­ well, that doesn''t really work with telepathy, but you get it. His true passion, however, is Type Energy." "Type Energy? Could you be more specific?" I asked. That actually went hand in hand with what I wanted to figure out. "It''s his life''s work. He wants to figure out where ites from and how it works exactly. Science can''t exin it, the energy''s just there inside of Pokemon or floating in the air, and they can convert that into moves. Kadabra channels it into his spoon to use all kinds of attacks. It''s like gravity, right? A fundamentalw of the universe, but only Pokemon can use it." "I mean, my Electabuzz had to use physics to first start using moves like Fire Punch, but now he can just do it," I muttered. "So I suppose you''re right." "Same for Lopunny. It''s a starting point. They get familiar with the move enough for them to eventually be able to pull on the energy and use it." "See?" Mira smiled. "Anyway, Kadabra wants to figure out the ins and outs of TE. A Kadabra won''t evolve until it learns everything there is to learn about the topic it''s passionate about. Everything." I let out a whistle. That was certainly interesting, but it seemed so daunting of a task that I believed it to be impossible. And yet, kazam existed. They were rare, but they existed. "And of course, they tend to pick the hardest topics in the Arceus damned universe, and the worse is, when they figure it out, they don''t tell anybody. Even their trainers. They hoard the knowledge for themselves like Murkrow do with jewelry. Otherwise, don''t you think we would have figured out a whole lot more by now? Hell, we''d probably be living in a utopia and have colonized the stars." "Or maybe we should be d that they don''t kill us all and take over," Denzel joked. "They would never do that. Kadabra in general think of themselves above petty human squabbles. War? Money? Power? Why worry about that when there''s more knowledge to be gained." "I know, I was just making a joke. I thought you of all people would know." "Oh, my bad. I get really passionate about this stuff. Anyway, when a Kadabra evolves into an kazam, the floodgates open and they try to learn about everything in the world. Literally everything¡ª all of the knowledge avable to us right now. Needless to say, none of them have seeded yet. They aren''t immortal, so they never have enough time to do so. To be honest, even if they were, I doubt that there''d be any way for one to figure everything out." "It makes you wonder what one might do if one did, though," I said nonchntly. Then, I realized what that implied and felt a chill run down my spine. "Let''s hope that day doesn''te," Denzel said with a nervousugh. After the two gave their Pokemon to Nurse Joy, we decided to stick in Denzel''s room, since his was the cleanest. He took a selfie with his Sylveon to post online, hoping that it''d get more traction after his battle, and then wezily lounged around his room. "I heard you had a Milotic, big guy," Mira said. "I didn''t think your Feebas would evolve that fast." "Me neither. I didn''t exactly have anything to do with it, which is kind of embarrassing," he said. "It feels bad that I had to reveal him this early. Goald already sent me an apology for calling him useless." "I''m surprised at how good he was already though. He seemed to move quickly enough, and that Wrap was tight," I said. "It took a bit of practice to get Wrap and Water Pulse up to par, but the biggest challenge was getting Milotic to move properly. Right now, I settled on him secreting water out of his scales to smoothen his movement." "Don''t make it sound so disgusting," Mira said. "I''m just telling a fact¡­" "A disgusting fact. Anyway, I actually had a favor to ask of you guys." "You didn''t want to answer my questions about Kadabra, so¡­" I said. "I gave you so much information though! And I know you''ll probably use it to your advantage. It''s not even about this tournament anyway. It''s about Chasey." "Didn''t he ask you not to call him that?" I said. "Well, he''s not here, is he?" I was going to retort, but then I realized that I called my Turtonator Sunshine in my head or when he wasn''t out of his ball even though he disliked it, so I couldn''t really talk. "Set me up with him," she continued. "He''s hot." "He also hates you," Denzel said. "I can grow on him. I grow on everyone. I''m like moss or a fungus." "I don''t know, the more you try to pry him open, the more he''ll shut himself off. You''ve got to give him his space and act cool," I said. Mira scoffed. "Pry him open? Who says that?" "Me!" "Okay, so acting cool¡­ you mean like, distant? I don''t like to y hard to get. I see something I like, I want to go get it, y''know? I wish he''d stayed. Now the only time I''ll be able to meet him again is Veilstone." "I just mean acting normally," I sighed. "I mean, I guess I can try to help you, but don''t expect results," Denzel said. "I managed with Cece and Grace, but¡ª" "Oooooh, you''re the one that set them up? You''ve got a one hundred percent sess rate!" "Yeah, because I only did it once." "Whatever, that''s good enough for me. Hey, Grace, Chase seems to like you enough, so I think he''d take your advice if you asked him to try to be my friend. I can start from there and work my way up." "Err¡­" I already had Pauline, Denzel, and Emilia to worry about, and now this? Sure, I''d told Cece that I''d let them figure things out on their own, but I still wanted to nudge them in the right direction somehow and observe their progress. Plus, Chase seemedpletely uninterested in Romance anyway. "I''ll try my best?" "That''s not a yes or a no, but I''ll take it," Mira said. ¡ª It was currently the middle of the night, and I was standing outside close to Sunshine for his body heat that he had so graciously raised for me after I begged for ten minutes. It was a particrly cold night, but this was the only time I''d be able to train my Pokemon''s new moves. Cecilia had warned me about some guy with two Cutiefly that had managed to catch her training, so I was on guard for anything. I wished I had a psychic to sense them, but unfortunately, I wouldn''t be able to do so until my eighth gym badge and I got my license to carry more than six Pokemon. It might be good to start nning for it in advance, though. But then again, thest time I had nned for a fire type, I waspletely blindsided. Who knew what was going to happen in all those months? Right now, I was in the middle of a Sandstorm. Togetic, Turtonator and Electabuzz stood with me, and we were protected by Princess'' barrier that she had created with Psychic. Sunshine was actually tough enough to brave the Sandstorm, but he just hadn''t felt like it, so he asked to be protected as well. It took some convincing for Princess to even deign to include him in her psychic bubble. The bubble was actually new as well, and we had taken inspiration from Cecilia''s Slowking for it. She wasn''t as good as he was with it, and she couldn''t keep it up for long, but it worked, and it would prove useful in my battle in two days, both for the Sandstorm and against Magnezone''s attacks. Well, tomorrow''s battle now, since it was three in the morning. So this was a way to train her resistance to Sandstorm. Jellicent was practicing his by standing in the storm and making his body as liquid as possible in hopes that the sand would just pass through him, but it didn''t look like it was going to work. Tangrowth was simply trying his best to take the brunt of the damage, which his vines protected him from. Jellicent, Tangrowth and Togetic were the ones I was sure I was going to use in the battle, and they were all training their resistance to Sandstorm. Larvitar was the source, of course, and she''d gotten quite good at it. This was nowhere near Palossand''s power, but it would do for now. I doubted that Yasim''s own Sandstorm would be that powerful anyway. I had looked up information about Tyranitar recently, and apparently the only ability they had was Sand Stream. That meant that Sweetheart''s practice here would pay dividends down the line. The oddest part of the Tyranitar line was their second stage, where they''d be stuck in a cocoon-like form. I didn''t think it was likely, but on the off-chance that Sweetheart somehow evolved during this tournament, I needed to be ready. Luckily, I had a treasure trove of information called the inte. Pupitar are slow-moving Pokemon that tend to spend most of their time underground to hide away from potential predators while they await their evolution. They live off a diet of rocks, minerals, and soil, but are also capable of eating meat or kibble-based foods. Berries and nts will not be enough to sustain your Pupitar. They are nocturnal Pokemon that are mostly active at night, but with enough work, it is possible to readjust a Pupitar''s sleep pattern. They will actually spend most of their time asleep, as rest is quintessential to building up their energy to evolve¡­ I groaned and wiped some sand away from my screen. Some of the grains were breaking through. Princess let out a small apology, and I smiled at her. "It''s okay, I''m not mad. You pushed yourself well," I gently said. "Sweetheart, you can stop now!" I yelled. The Sandstorm slowly subsided, and the rock type strode up to me confidently. Her win had made her a lot happier, and all she wanted to do was train all the time. I rubbed her hard cheeks and she nuzzled her head against my hand. "That was a great Sandstorm. And you''re not even tired!" "Larvitar!" She eximed. Turtonator whispered a congrattion to her, and I teased him about it until he suddenly stood up, causing me to fall over, and walked away from me. "Come on! I''m sorry!" I walked up to him, but he stopped me with a re. Meanwhile, he let Larvitar cuddle up to him as much as she wanted. Togetic stared daggers at him, but Electabuzz got her to chill out. He was getting good at that. His old self hadn''t been that level-headed at all, which was a sign that he was growing up fast. "Fine," I sighed, resigning to suffer in the cold. As I turned to Jellicent and Tangrowth, it seemed that they had taken some amount of damage. I had asked Buddy not to regenerate so we could see how much exactly at the end of the experiment, and there were deep gashes, cuts, and holes all over his head. "Not bad," I whispered. "You can Recover now." In a few seconds, he was as good as new. Tangrowth, meanwhile, looked to be rtively fine. Some of his vines had been torn up, but aside from that, I couldn''t exactly tell how much damage he''d taken. "Do you think you''d be able to fight like this without the sun?" I asked. The Sandstorm would stop us from using Sunny Day. "I think this battle will be longer and harder than the other one." Angel blinked twice, but then motioned two vines to his eyes. "The sand hurts your eyes the most, huh? We''ve got to figure out something for that¡­ maybe Princess can give you a shield too? Or if that''s too big, one around your eyes?" "Toge¡­" the fairy type grumbled. "Hard to do when he''s moving, huh? Well, that''s a bust for our fight, but we can work on it for the future, at least¡­ after you get some rest. I don''t think I''m going back the Pokemon Center tonight anyway, despite how cold it is," I said, raising my tone at the end of the sentence. Turtonator snorted, and Larvitar imitated him. "Hey, don''t behave like he does! He''s a bad influence on you! Come back here." The rock type sadly shuffled toward me. "Don''t turn my kid into you," I said. "Otherwise, I''ll have my hands full. One of you is enough." The fire type rolled his eyes at me, Jellicent floated toward Larvitar tofort her, and I went back to reading. ¡­If a Pupitar is caught by a predator and desperately needs to flee, it can fly by¡ª My eyes bulged, and my head snapped toward Sweetheart. "You can fly?!" Larvitar blinked at me confusedly, but then excitedly agreed anyway. "No, I mean¡ª" I stopped, staring into her Lillipup eyes. "You know what, you can fly." "Tar!" She beamed, her previous sadnesspletely forgotten. ¡ªIt can fly by forcefully ejecting pressurized gas from the numerous vents inside of its body. Once all of this gas is expunged, however, it is no longer capable of flight. It usually takes from ten to fifteen hours for the vents to reach full capacity again. A Pupitar will usually need to spend six months to a year in its cocoon form to evolve fully, but the evolution process can be sped up through the amount and quality of the food that it is fed. That was interesting. So a Pupitar would always evolve into a Tyranitar, it was just a matter of how long it took. With the amount of food that Sweetheart already ate, I''d probably need to feed her evolved form as much as a Snox to get her to evolve quickly enough for the Conference. ording to this though, it would mainly have to be nutrient-rich dirt and rocks, and normal dirt wasn''t enough to speed up the process. Where the hell was I going to find that? What did nutrient-rich dirt even mean? Wasn''t all dirt¡­ nutrient-rich? Eugh. Now I couldn''t help but imagine what the hell was in that dirt. After more sleuthing, there were apparently a few breeders that sold specialized soil for Pokemon that ate it, but their products cost an arm and a leg. Well, hopefully by then, my contract with the Poketch Company will have been improved. Plus, I''d win money from this tournament if I ced into the top ten, and even more if I made it to the top four. With a stretch, I yawned, and Electabuzz sat down to let me lean against his shoulder. "Man, I''m going to be so tired tomorrow." "Ele¡­" "I know, I know, you told me to go to sleep. Sorry for making you worry about me." ¡ª And tired I was. I didn''t know what I''d expected when pulling an all-nighter, but at least we had made good progress with training. There had been a little incident where Sweetheart got a little too excited and hit Turtonator with a Smack Down, but he paid her no mind. It wasn''t like it even hurt him whatsoever. He was very gentle with her, especiallypared to how he treated the rest of the team. He seemed to have some connection with Buddy, and they sometimes went on long tangents about depressing topics like the meaning of life, but he seemed pretty indifferent about the rest of the team, and obviously he still disliked Princess. Unfortunately, Louis'' and Justin''s battles were at the same time. Louis would battle on the Rocky Field, and Justin would battle on the Desert Field. After checking in with Justin to see if he didn''t mind, I opted to go see Louis battle to see how much he had progressed. Cecilia, Mira, Maeve and Denzel were with me while Pauline was watching Justin battle. Like Louis, he was fighting a fellow trainer with three badges, so at least they would probably be on equal footing. Louis'' opponent''s name was Victor Hamilton, and I didn''t know much about him. I had expected Denzel to fill me in, but with all the training and spying he had to focus on, he hadn''t had much time to stay informed about trainers that didn''t pertain to him. Still, maybe it''d be interesting to see someone that I had no idea about fight. Maybe I''d try to predict what he wanted to do next. "This is a battle between Louis Bianchi and Victor Hamilton. Trainers, send out your Pokemon," the supervisor said. Louis sent out his Vulpix and Gible, while Victor sent out a Rhyhorn and Murkrow. Gible had grown a whole lot in size, and he was at least one point five times bigger than thest time I''d seen him. The dragon type shed his thick, sharp teeth and roared while Vulpix just stared at him with surprisingly human annoyance. Victor''s Rhyhorn had an unexpected amount of intellect behind those eyes that I didn''t usually see in Rhyhorn and Rhydon, while Murkrow justzily took flight. "Begin!" "Murkrow, Haze!" Victor yelled. The dark type let out an ominous caw and beat its wings, and a thick fog set in. A groan ran through the bleachers now that we wouldn''t be able to see anything that was going on unless the action came close to the barriers. "Now, Bulldoze them to bits!" He continued. I heard Rhyhorn yell and then the floor began to shake. I immediately understood the strategy here. Murkrow''s job was to keep Rhyhorn hidden, while the rock type hopefully would Bulldoze their opponents into submissions before they could fight back. I was honestly impressed. Vulpix cried out in pain, and Louis clicked his tongue. "Gible, Sandstorm!" He ordered. The dragon mmed a foot against the floor, mixing a Sandstorm with Murkrow''s Haze. It was weaker than Sweetheart''s but it would at least deal damage to the bird. "Keep your Bulldoze going!" Victor screamed. "Use Bulldoze! Find the Rhyhorn!" Louis said. "Vulpix, try to find Murkrow with methrower!" Streaks of light broke through the Haze and Sandstorm, illuminating the battlefield from within. Both trainers seemed content to let their ground types run wild, but Louis was the one at a disadvantage here. Vulpix was taking coteral damage, and Murkrow wasn''t. She wasn''t having much luck finding the bird in the air either. If Louis wanted to win, he needed to neutralize that Murkrow. But he did not. He kept the situation to a standstill until Vulpix''s methrowers stopped. She was down. He immediately sent out another Pokemon, and I recognized Prinplup''s honk. Louis fought differently from how everyone else did. Trainers were usually proactive, meaning that they tried to get ahead of whatever their opponent had in store. He used to do the same, but he had changedpletely. Now, he was a slow battler, and he reacted instead of acting. I didn''t like it, but I''d have to wait to see if it paid off. "Icy Wind! Spread it as wide as you can toward the sky!" Louis ordered. I couldn''t see if the attack hit its mark, but I heard a thud on the floor, and the fog slowly started to clear. "Ice Beam the Murkrow! Gible, stop your Bulldoze and Sand Tomb Rhyhorn!" Murkrow shrieked as the thin beam of icepletely froze its wing, and Rhyhorn sank into the muddy floor. Gible''s Sand Tomb had changed, and it was now like Krokorok''s. The rock type''s Bulldoze stopped as it struggled to even stand up in the pool of mud. "Gible, Twister the Murkrow. Prinplup, Ice Beam again." A tornado started to pick up, kicking up dust, rocks and draconic energy. Murkrow was stuck in the middle, getting hit by everything. The dark type cawed and attempted to fly off, but it couldn''t fly with its frozen wing. Another Ice Beam hit it directly in the face, and the crow finally fell. Before Victor could even send his next Pokemon, Louis pivoted the attack to Rhyhorn. Victor released a Misdreavus, and it flickered in the morning light, clearly unhappy with the weather. I was surprised that he owned a ghost. Outside of Fantina and Mira, this was the only trained one I''d seen. "Misdreavus, Shadow Ball!" He yelled, pointing toward Gible. "Gible, keep that Rhyhorn trapped!" "Stop fucking panicking and get out of that pit!" Victor yelled at Rhyhorn. "You know what, nevermind, just Rock Slide, damn it!" Misdreavus disappeared right as it started charging up a Shadow Ball, and Rhyhorn simply ceased his struggling as a boulder next to it disintegrated and therge fragments flew toward Prinplup. "Whirpool! Gible, Dragon Breath Rhyhorn!" Prinplup ejected an incredible amount of water from his mouth, and it quickly began to spin, forming into a spiral. The Rock Slide was caught in the vortex, and only the quickest of the rocks made it through, cutting and hitting the water type all over his body. Gible roared, and a Dragon Breath shot out toward Rhyhorn. Misdreavus appeared behind the dragon with a weak-looking Shadow Ball¡ª "Now!" Gible turned one hundred and eighty degrees as darkness danced in his mouth. The Shadow Ball crashed into his face. Prinplup quickly shot out a Bubblebeam at the Misdreavus, who hadn''t expected such a quick reaction, and neither did Victor. It took me a bit to understand why. Louis had fought Fantina and won, meaning that he was used to ghostly tricks. Most of the trainers here came from the east, and they hadn''t fought Fantina quite yet. In fact, they were probably on their way to do so and participating in the tournament because they were passing through. With how rare ghosts were, Victor probably wasn''t used to his opponents being able to fight back. Gible bit at the Misdreavus with a short awkward hop and destroyed half of its body using Crunch. Some of the Bubblebeam hit the dragon too, but it looked like he hadn''t even been phased. "Finish off the Rhyhorn, quick!" That poor Rhyhorn had still been stuck in Sand Tomb. It was too heavy to just walk out, even when Gible stopped using the move. It just kept sinking into the quicksand the more it tried to get out. An Ice Beam dealt the final blow, and Victor recalled his rock type. Louis had looked like he was on the defensive, but he was winning. Victor grimaced as he sent his out a Skuntank. I reflectively wrinkled my nose, but the Kadabra barriers would keep the smell contained. Misdreavus reappeared next to herpanion, ghostly energy leaking out of her. Louis waited for him to do the first move. "Skuntank, get in there and Night sh! Misdreavus, Nasty Plot and support her from afar!" Misdreavus sniggered as the whispers emanating from the ghost grew louder and louder. With surprising speed, Skuntank dashed toward her opponents, her ws growing dark. "Gible, Sand Tomb!" "Jump!" The poison type leaped over the liquefied sand,nding right next to Prinplup and shing across his chest. Blood seeped out of the three w marks, and the water type was knocked to the ground. "Gible, Dragon w¡ª" "Sucker Punch!" The poison type blurred behind Gible and knocked him down with another wed attack. His tough scales blocked the brunt of the damage, but when Gible turned to fight back, a Shadow Ball from Misdreavus hit his side. "Prinplup, Ice Beam that Skuntank!" Still on the floor, Prinplup spat out another ray of ice. The dark type''s eyes narrowed, and it used Sucker Punch to dodge again, this time hitting Prinplup instead. "Stop his assault with Bulldoze!" Before Skuntank could Sucker Punch again, the floor shook and interrupted her. Misdreavus appeared above the melee and hit Prinpup with a powerful Hex. The water type fainted, but in a fit of rage that reminded me of his old self, Gible wildly shed at Skuntank with Dragon w instead of finishing his Bulldoze. Was he¡­ attached to Prinplup now? Skuntank let out a pain-filled scream as Gible kept digging toward its insides. Misdreavus helped its ally with another Hex, but Skuntank''s nk was almost unrecognizable. There was no more purple fur, only flesh, and even bone in some ces, but a sharp yell from Louis got Gible to stop before an ident could ur. "Keep your shitter under control, you ipetent fuck," Victor hissed. "I apologize," Louis said, recalling his Prinplup. This time, Pawniard came out of the ball. "Prinplup just went down. Retaliate." If reaction had a move, Retaliate would be it. Pawniard whetted its des and blurred, shing across Skuntanks'' exposed flesh. "But it had to be done," Louis finished. The poison type fell unconscious, unable to deal with the pain. Victor only had his Misdreavus left. "Strengthen your Sandstorm, Gible. We will drag this ghost out of its hiding ce if need be. Pawniard, when ites out, Assurance." I smiled. It looked like Louis had regained some of his ego after all. The Sandstorm filled the entire arena, obscuring the fight from view once more. I couldn''t see what went on, but Misdreavus eventually fell. Apparently, Pawniard could somewhat see through the Sandstorm. "Victory to Louis Bianchi."
Chapter 148 Chapter 148 CHAPTER 148 Louis had improved a whole lot since thest time I''d seen him. He had no secret evolutions, no extravagant tricks to win. He had just used pure unmitigated skill, and he kind of reminded me of a slower version of Denzel with a dash of Justin. Someone who was cautious and liked to be patient, but who was quick to shut someone down as soon as the opportunity arose. I might not have been a fan since the strategy required toreactand take damage before finding an opening, but I couldn''t deny that it had worked well despite a lot of mistakes that he had made during the battle. Sacrificing Vulpix was an odd choice, but he probably couldn''t figure out a way to use her and decided to move on to a new tactic. Still, once his Pokemon evolved, he''d be a force to be reckoned with. Vulpix just needed a stone, but I had no idea when he''d buy her one. I didn''t know enough about her to know if she was ready or not. I was a lot more familiar with Justin''s Growlithe, and Ifeltlike he was close to ready, at least. Arcanine didn''t share Nales'' long lifespans or the potential danger with curses if you offended one, but they could be just as dangerous, especially with howquickthey were. You could blink, and it would be gone, having run off without a trace. Needless to say, fighting one would be a puzzle in and of itself. "Good job out there," Denzel grinned at Louis. He''dpletely avoided any questions from the press. "You kicked ass, my man!" Mira said. "I wouldn''t have done it without you," the blond man smiled. "You''ve been a good teacher to me and my team." Cecilia smiled. "Louis, your Gible¡ª" "There is still a lot to work on, but Sylveon put the fear of Arceus into him. He realized that he isn''t anywhere close to the strongest he could be, but with my help, he could get there." "I''m happy you managed to get him to be reasonable, at least," I sighed. "And what was that reaction when Prinplup went down?" "Let''s just say he''s been growing a bit attached," he said. "Not to Vulpix though. She dislikes his antics, and he doesn''t exactly care about her. It''s something I''m trying to fix." "Well, at least you won," Maeve smiled. "Should we go see Justin? He should be fighting his battle, right?" "We won''t make it if we walk, we should just watch the livestream. They''ve got cameras set up twenty-four seven¡­ hold on." Denzel grabbed his phone and went on the tournament website. His eyes widened in surprise. "Looks like Justin already won." "Woah," I said. "I thought he''d be slower. I wonder how he did it," he mused. Denzel sent him a text message to see if we could all meet, but Pauline decided to go and train now that she''d seen her rival battle. His performance had apparently motivated the hell out of her. I wasn''t sure how her battle this evening would go with that Vigoroth of hers, but I had no idea who her opponent was other that he had three badges, so it wasn''t like I''d be able to figure it out unless I looked it up, and unless it was for my match or she asked me for advice, I didn''t exactly see a reason. Plus, she''d probably go to Cecilia if she needed any help anyway. "I''m off to train too," Maeve said before shuddering. "I''ve got to figure out how to battle on the Water Field." "You got thewaterfield? Damn," Denzel said. "Unlucky, right? I''m gonna grab a bunch offort food and get my Starmie up to speed¡­" We split up after that. Louis went to heal his team and decided to stay back to rest due to Combee keeping him awake all night. Apparently, the bug typehatedto be kept in its Pokeball. There were a few Pokemon like that in the world, but its incessant buzzing had made it impossible for him to sleep, which made his victory a lot more impressive. Justin joined us after bringing his team back to the Center. Cecilia''s battle was in an hour, but she didn''t seem like she wanted to do somest-minute training. Apparently, Justin''s opponent hadpletely floundered his start order, and Audino and Lombre made quick work of the opposing Dolliv and Sealeo. The poor trainer had probably expected Justin to start with his Krokorok and Growlithe, but he''d gotten itpletely wrong. One mistake led to another, and he unraveled quickly enough to give Justin his victory. He seemed a lot more confident than he''d been before now that he had gotten at least one win, and we were all proud of his progress. As we walked toward Cecilia''s battle, which would take ce on theDesert Field, I asked Justin the question. "When are you evolving Growlithe?" It was quick and straight to the point. So much so that he almost flinched. "Grace, sometactplease," Cece sighed. "My bad, I''m just curious. Indulge me?" "Very well," Justin exhaled. "I was thinking of doing so before my battle with Maylene. I want to wait for us to get to Veilstone to get the best Fire Stone possible so I don''t stunt his growth." "Wait, low-quality stones can stunt a Pokemon''s growth?" I asked worryingly. "What about Maeve''s Starmie? She bought a cheap Water Stone." The others all looked on, waiting for him to answer the question. It looked like I wasn''t the only clueless one for once, although Mira just looked uninterested. I was suspecting that she was a lot smarter than she acted, Kadabra or not. "In a manner of speaking," he nodded. "A Pokemon that evolves with a low-quality stone will reach its full potential a lot slower than one that does so with a high-quality stone. With the money I have, I could have Growlithe at his top form just a few days after evolving instead of months." "Okay, so it was what I thought," Denzel said. "Fire Stones are a bitch to get here too. I originally told you I looked at Vulpix for my team, right?" "Yeah, awhileago," I nodded. "You also said you stopped when you saw how dangerous they could be." "That was part of it. High-quality Fire Stones are almost as expensive as Shiny Stones in Sinnoh because they''re all imported from Hoenn, straight from Mount Chimney." "Hoenn''s far away, so that makes sense," I shrugged. Sinnoh was far up north, and Hoenn was down at the equator. Kanto and Johto were in between us, and we shared a single ind. Gr, Unova, Kalos, Paldea and Orre were all overseas¡ª although Unova and Orre were neighbors, and so were Kalos and Paldea. There was also Fione, Almia and Oblivia, but I didn''t know much about those. They were all hermit countries that never opened their borders to the outside or even sent a diplomatic delegation. There were no embassies, no contact, just radio silence. Ransei, meanwhile, was a hellish ce where the Great War had never stopped, and it had devolved into permanent civil wars instead. I vaguely remembered learning that different regions backed different factions there in proxy wars, and with the geopolitical context I had gotten from Josephine, I knew now that it was just a way for them to fight without starting arealwar. "Good luck Cece," Denzel said. Her battle was about to start. "Thank you." We sat in the bleachers, and I observed the Desert Field in all of its glory. It had been artificially created by multiple Hippowdon owned by the Hunters, and it showed. It was indistinguishable from a real desert. There were tall dunes that obscured the view somewhat, along with two oases on each side of the field for any water types that couldn''t battle onnd. I knew next to nothing about the girl that Cecilia was battling, but Denzel filled me in. Valery Graham owned four badges and was a rock-ground type specialist, which meant that she was athomein this terrain. She sort of sported this goth, punk look and had piercings all over her ears, along with one on her nose and eyebrow. "This is a battle between Cecilia Obel and Valery Graham. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." I was surprised to see that Cece sent out both her Fletchinderandher Golett. I had expected her to use thetter, but inbination with Slowking or Zweilous to support her weaker teammates. The golem slowly hummed as its rune and eyes lit up, while Fletchinder immediately took flight with a squawk. For her part, Valery sent out a Hippowdon and a huge Onix that was only slightly smaller than Roark''s. Cecilia certainly was going to have a tough time here, but I was also silently thanking the legendaries. Seeing a Hippowdon in action before my own battle was going to be a huge advantage. Sand constantly leaked from the holes on its body, which exined how it could survive in Sinnoh''s terrain and how it had built this arena in the first ce. Now, how would Cecilia counter this? She didn''t seem that rmed, more like annoyed at that Onix. Hippowdon sank slightly into the sandy dunes and whipped up a thin Sandstorm, allowing us to see what was going on still. "Fletchinder, Agility and Tailwind. Golett, Iron Defense." "Don''t let them set up!" Valery said. "Hippowdon, Dig and get that Golett! Onix, Rock Polish and Iron Head it!" Right as Fletchinder beat her wings, creating a permanent, strong gust toward the enemy, Onix shimmered and rushed toward Golett, its huge body discing massive amounts of sand. Hippowdonzily sank into the desert and disappeared from view. There was no way Fletchinder was powerful enough to stand up to Onix, but I had no idea what Golett was capable of. "Stomping Tantrum! Force it back up. Fletchinder, Heat Wave!" The ghost type mechanically lifted a foot andstompeddown into the soft sands. The ground split apart, revealing Hippowdon, who floundered and stared up inplete surprise. Onix wasn''t so shaken by the attack and ignored the superheated winds created by Fletchinder. It rammed directly into Golett, but the ground type wasn''t evensent away. The Onix''s eyes narrowed, and Cecilia grinned. "Hammer Arm." "Get out of there!" Golett slowly lifted an arm. Onix was quick thanks to Rock Polish, but he was alsobig. The hulking Pokemon clumsily turned around, but Golett smashed its fist onto one of its segments, and Onix let out a booming scream as it writhed against the floor, identally hitting Hippowdon in the process with its tail. I found myself surprised at how powerful Golett was, but I must have forgotten howoldit was. Who knew what it had had to defend the Lost Tower from during its lifetime? "Calm down! Hippowdon, just get in there and Crunch that Golett at all costs!" The ground type shook itself out of its staggered state and kept swimming upward into the parted sand, but the closer it got, thehotterthe air was. Fletchinder was still using Heat Wave and whittling it down, and the attack was being powered by Tailwind. The superheated air was so hot that it was constantly warped and distorted. The water in the oases began to evaporate, creating thick clouds that rose high up in the arena. mes spun andnded onto the sand, where they turned bright white. It was like a scene out of hell. Cecilia giggled at her work. Arceus, I loved her. "Onix, m that fucking bird!" Valery yelled. "Stomping Tantrum once more." Again, Golett mmed his feet against the floor, and again, he disrupted both of his opponents. Hippowdon had almost made it now, but the sand had somehow turned to molten ss¡ª including the sand permanently leaking out of its body¡ª and its skin was being seared. The hippo cried out in pain as its skin swelled andmelted off. It was quite literally being cooked alive. How was that even possible? Sand was supposed to be alothotter before it actually changed to ss¡­ or maybe it was just that hot already? Hippowdon struggled to get to Golett and burns coalesced onto its thick skin, but Onix finally managed to use its humongous size to hit Fletchinder. The bird crashed into Kadabra''s barrier, and the air finally began to cool. With renewed vigor, Hippowdon finally opened its mouth, revealing ttened teeth, and bit down on Golett with a vicious Crunch. The robot-like Pokemon didn''t seem like he could feel pain, but the light in its eyes flickered. "Shadow Ball," Cecilia said. A half-birthed Shadow Ball exploded inside of Hippowdon''s mouth, and the ground type furiously mmed its head against Golett with a move that could only be Iron Head. Golett didn''t even move. With Iron Defense, his body was too tough and heavy to be hit away. "Hippowdon, stand back. You can''t deal with the Golett alone. Finish the Fletchinder off, Onix," Valery grinned. The rock type grunted and got ready to m its full weight onto the fire type. Right then and there, Cecilia tensed. Not in fear, but anticipation. And then, a blinding light overtook Fletchinder. Onix flinched, stopping his attack and watched with a curious eye as his opponentevolved. Fletchinder''s talons grew to a terrifying scope, and she at least tripled in size¡ª "m into it, Onix! Your damn pride can wait!" The rock type irritatingly grunted but dropped onto the still-evolving Fletchinder. What was left was a fainted Talonme with a body that had seen better days. Cecilia fumed as she recalled her Pokemon. Therewasa bit of an honor system between trainers that dictated that a Pokemon evolution wouldn''t be interrupted, but Valery seemingly didn''t even care. "Onix, keep Iron Heading that Golett. You''re tough enough to take it down¡ª" Cecilia whispered something to her Talonme''s Pokeball and released her Slowking right away. The psychic type winced as hended on the half-formed ss that clung to the scorching sands. The ground was still so hot that just standing was hurting him. The ss somewhat cooled by now, but it was still scorching hot, and nowhere as clear as normal ss was. It was this lumpy, dirty surface with a menacing red glow that cut the psychic type''s feet. "Fuck! This is the one we prepared for! Onix, Payback! Hippowdon, rush it and Crunch!" "Golett, Hammer Arm the Onix. Slowking, Surf." Surf?When did she even have the time tolearn that?Golett slowly trudged toward Onix and cracked its tough armor with another Hammer Arm. The rock type bellowed out in pain and crashed against Kadabra''s barrier, raking against the psychic wall. Just as Hippowdon was about to bite into Slowking with Crunch, the remaining water from both oases crashed into him and sent him away. A psychic bubble around Golett and Slowking protected them from any harm, and the water keptbuildingandbuildinguntil the entire battlefield was submerged. Dirty water reached up to Slowking''s neck and Golett''s entire body was underwater. The psychic barriers bulged under the pressure of the massive waves, and the water proved too much for the two ground types. Both Onix and Hippowdon went down. With a frustrated groan, Valery recalled them and sent out a Sudowoodo and Carkol instead, but both rock types were immediately washed away by the waves. Steam rose from Carkol''s heated coal, and Sudowoodo cried out for help. "Sudowoodo, Endure! Carkol, create a tform with Ancient Power!" With surprising control, two circr pirs rose from the earth. Compacted sand solidified into a solid surface. They were both hanging by a thread, but they were still standing. To have resisted such a powerful Surf and used a move that required such focus under the water''s strain? I couldmend Valery for her skills as a trainer. Carkol''s control was excellent. "Carkol, Ancient Power at Slowking! Sudowoodo, Rock Tomb!" "Water Pulse. Finish them off." Masses of rocks, sand and molten ss flew toward Slowking, who simply waved the projectiles away with Psychic. Two Water Pulses sped up by the same move made quick work of the two rock types, who fell into the water and fainted. When Surf receded, the waters revealed Golett, who had actually fainted. The light in his eyes and rune was gone. It looked like Slowking had improved leaps and bounds, but he still wasn''t good enough to retain a barrier on two Pokemon while using a move as demanding as Surf. "Victory to Cecilia Obel. Trainers, please step off the tform." Well, that certainly had been eye-opening. I now knew a lot more about Cecilia''s new capabilities, and I would have to watch out for her Talonme, who would no doubt be a huge threat now that she had evolved. Not only that, but I had learned a decent bit about Hippowdon, even though I wished it had done more. For Heatwave, I had noticed that Talonme needed to be stationary to use it to any effectthatpowerful, otherwise she would have easily dodged Onix''s attack. A few drills from Princess ought to be enough to stop her. Golett was nothing to scoff at either, but so long as I kept my distance and attacked it from afar with special attacks, I didn''t think it was much of a problem. Itsphysicaldefense was incredible, but it was too slow and nonresponsive to actually dodge any attacks. Of course, I had to ount for Slowking''s barriers, but if I kept him busy like I''d done with Tangrowth during our battle¡­ Those were thoughts for another time. Cecilia was already here. "Well done, Cece," Justin said. "That was awesome," I told her. "Golett''s a lot stronger than I thought." "Seriously, I thought he''d be your weakest member for a bit, but he packs a punch," Denzel said. "I kind of feel bad for Talonme, though." "Kids these days have no honor," Mira said in an exaggerated coarse voice, clearly mocking us. "I personally don''t see what the fuss is. She tried her best to win." "It''s just wrong," Cecilia said. "Either way, Slowking''s Surf was enough to take my revenge." "By the way, what was with that ss trick?" I asked. "There''s no way that Fletchinder''s strong enough to turn sand into ss, right? That''s like¡­ a bajillion degrees." "1,700 degrees," Mira specified. "That,"I said. "Well, if I must," Cecilia said. "Talonme''s Heat Wave was powered up by Tailwind, but also by Fire Spin." "Oh, is that why there were mes?" I asked. "I thought that it was one of Heat Wave''s side effects." Cecilia nodded. "See, when I saw that I was going to battle on the Desert Field, I came up with this n. Fletchin¡ª Talonmes'' mes don''t usually reach the temperature to make sand melt, butbined with those three attacks? I figured we''d at least get close with enough buildup. It''s not a technique I would use against weaker opponents, and I trusted that rock types would be good enough to resist the attack and that Hippowdon''s thickyers of fat would shield it enough." "It''s not like the entire ce was burning that hot either," Mira shrugged. "If I had the guess, the temperature of the air was a few hundred degrees. Theground,though? Sheesh." "Yeah¡­ that could probably kill something," Denzel sighed. "Which is why I won''t use it against any opponents. I did mess up somewhat, though. Sand is usually terrible at retaining heat, so I expected Slowking to be able to stand without any pain. His feet arepletely burned off." "You guys are way too brutal with these battles¡­ this is supposed to be for fun. I know we have a skewed perception of what''s normal, but I''d rx if I were you. Anyway, where''d you learn so much about sand?" Denzel asked. "From yours truly!" Mira said, pointing at herself with a thumb. "She asked nicely, so I figured I''d help her out." "How nice," I said. "I thought you''d be more of thepetitive type." "Meh, I don''t exactly care that much about winning the tournament. I just want to have some fun," Mira shrugged. My eyes narrowed at that statement. I was beginning to wonder why Mira had be a trainer in the first ce. We all had different reasons for wanting to make it to the Conference. What was hers? I tried racking my brain for the answer as we started to walk off toward the Center, but I couldn''t find any clues from our previous interactions aside from a hidden side of her that she never showed. Maybe I''d just ask her. Cecilia had proved once again that she dealt in power. Surf and Heatwave alone were enough to overwhelm most opponents. I was actually starting to wonder if Talonme wasn''t going to be more useful than Zweilous for the tournament. In a singles format, the dragon would probably still be king, but indoubles?Wide-ranging attacks like Heat Wave and Surf ruled. I''d have to start creating a counter now. Princess wasn''t powerful enough to shield twomovingPokemon at once. Despite her incredible skill with Psychic and Extrasensory, she was no psychictype. Talonme had also shown that she was capable of using the attack for an extremely long time, so if Princess was ever too distracted to send some drills at her and we let the heat build up for too long, we would be in big trouble. Buddy would be the key. He''d be able to resist the Heat Wave while Princess focused on shielding herself. After a twenty-minute walk, we stepped into the Center and Cecilia gave her Slowking, Talonme, and Golett to Nurse Joy. "It''s a bummer that everyone''s training," Mira said. "I want us all to hang out again. I wish the day of our battles all lined up." "You trained too," Iughed. "Anyway, most of their battles are this evening¡­ what do you say we go watch Lauren fight?" "I thought that was a given," Cecilia said. "We can go after a short break? I need to get my team healed and eat something." "I''lle with!" I said. "I wish I could, but I''ve got to train with Milotic," Denzel shrugged. "I''ll join you guys to watch Lauren though." "Pauline wanted me to find her when I was free, so I''m out too," Justin said. "You guys are all king. Mira, you shoulde," I smiled. "What?! I don''t want to be a third wheel," Mira groaned. "Come on, it won''t be that bad," I said. "And see you flirt and be all over each other the entire time? No thanks. I don''t want to be reminded of how single I am." "There''s more to life than rtionships," Denzel said. "You could just hang out with them as friends. They cling to each other, but they won''t let you feel lonely, I promise." "Way to speak about us like we aren''t there," Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Hm¡­ fine, I''ll hang." ¡ª The three of us sat at a table in the same restaurant we went to before. I had to admit, eating out this much did make me feel guilty about how much I was spending, but damn their food was good. Mira constantly swung her legs around in her seat like a kid, and we all watched the tournament on a silent TV. Right now, the two trainers were down to theirst two Pokemon. On one side, a Sneasel and a Makuhita were bruised, but not finished. On the other, a Scyther and a Simisear were sneering mockingly at their opponents. Sneasel got on all fours, and an arc of ice hit Scyther in the leg. "Ouch, that''s a nasty Ice Beam," Mira said. "Gotta hand it to that Sneasel, it''s pretty vicious." "But its trainer will lose the battle anyway," I sighed. "Her Pokemon are a lot more wounded than the others, and Makuhita''s too slow to dodge most attacks. When it falls, they''ll gang up on Sneasel and finish it off." "Cold, but true," Mira nodded. "Man, I really want to fight on this Desert Field. It seems like a lot of fun." "Say, Mira¡­" I said. "If you don''t mind me asking, where do youe from?" Maybe I''d be able to lead with this question first and segway into her reasons for joining the Circuit. I refused to believe that it was simply to get stronger. "Jubilife!" She excitedly answered. "Born and raised. It''s the best city in Sinnoh." "Well, I''d say that''s Sunyshore¡ª" "Excuse me?" I said, looking at Cece with an amused smile. "You''re going up against two Jubilifers here." "No way, you''re from Jubilife too?!" Mira eximed. "I knew we were meant to be friends." "I wanted to learn more about you," I exined. "I know a lot about everyone else¡­ even Maeve. Why''d you join the Circuit?" To be honest, that had been a pretty bad pivot, but I figured it was better to just be honest instead of dancing around the topic. I noticed that her eyes had narrowed at my first question anyway, so she probably knew something was up. "Cause I want to be the very best! Isn''t that what it''s all about?" Mira eximed. I restrained a frown. Another lie. But I wouldn''t push it. If she didn''t want to tell me, well, who was I to know? Maybe she would once we grew closer. "Fair enough," I said. "Mine is simr anyway." "Any goal is valid, so long as it helps to motivate you," Cecilia nodded. "You girls are cool," Mira said. "Sorry for being reluctant toe. I''m not used to people wanting to hang out withme. Until I started traveling with Louis and Maeve, I usually had to beg for people to talk to me, so¡­ yeah. I got a little suspicious and started throwing any excuse I thought would stick. I didn''t really care about being a third wheel." "I think you''re a good person," Cece said. "Ignorant people will judge you for past events, but they don''t know the real you." "Thanks," she exhaled. Like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. "Wait, are we like best friends now?" "Sure?" Cecilia said. "You can call me Cece if you want." "That wasn''t that convincing, but I''ll let it go, Cece," Mira giggled. "Oh man, this is great." "I thought Maeve was your best friend," I raised an eyebrow. "She is, and so are you guys. I can have multiple best friends, can''t I? Oh, and by the way Cece, now that I have you here, can you help me? I need you to set me up with Chase¡ª don''t look at me like that, your girlfriend''s already agreed! And so did Denzel!" "Oh,legendaries."
Chapter 149 Chapter 149 CHAPTER 149 I sat down, awaiting the start of Lauren''s battle. Aside from a few, we had all regrouped for this specific asion. Pauline probably had her hands full with getting Vigoroth to cooperate with her. Louis was busy sleeping or taking care of his Combee¡ªone of the two¡ª and Maeve was still training. The rest of us hade to spectate. Of course, most of my friends still had no idea I knew Lauren now since Denzel, Cece, and I had kept the meeting under wraps but she was still among the best first-years in the Circuit, so they still wanted to see her battle. This one was taking ce on the Snow Field, which was a tter and less obstructive version of Candice''s gym. There were no trees and minimal elevation changes, just a mostly smooth surface. "Here shees," Justin said. I tensed. Lauren strode up to the tform without a care in the world, and she had headphones on this time instead of the usual wireless earphones. For a moment, I almost thought that she''d somehow battle with them, but she took them off and put them around her neck. Sirris the Duosion was already out of his Pokeball with her. Her opponent was someone I knew nothing about, but he was taller than Denzel and a lot bulkier. He wore aviator sunsses and had some sort of ''cool'' vibe going on. An ugly scar ran on the side of his face, going through his cheek and right above the eye. "How many badges?" I whispered. "Four," Denzel answered. "He doesn''t look nervous at all," I said in surprise. Sure, he also had four badges, but he was battling Lauren. "This is a battle between Sam Pyke and Lauren Goodwill. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." "I''ll probably lose this battle, but let''s make it a fun one, yeah?" Sam grinned. He grabbed his Pokeball andzily released a Skarmory and Mawile. The metallic bird stretched out its wings and took flight a lot faster than I expected, and Mawile mmed her second mouth against the snowy ground. "Sure," Lauren whispered. She sent out her Rhydon and Magmar onto the field. The two Pokemon that were said not to work well in a doubles format due to their personalities during Goald''s analysis. Sirris shivered in his goo as he warily observed his teammates get ready for theing battle. Rhydon were massive, but Lauren''s was especially so,ing in at around eight and a half feet and dwarfing Magmar. The rock type mmed its fists together and let out a furious roar that caused the snow under his feet to shake. Magmar was Electabuzz''s size, but that was where the simrities ended. Honey loved to battle, but a vicious grin permanently afflicted the fire type''s face and his eyes narrowed with glee. His body was permanently on fire, and the snow under his feet melted away. "Begin!" Sam . "This is going to be a toughie! Skarmory, Autotomize and Iron Defense! Mawile, stand back for now!" I nodded as Skarmory''s metallic tes shone brightly, and Mawile huffed, clearly angry. There was no telling what that Magmar would do to the fairy type if it got close, and Mawile were closed-range fighters. Lauren took a deep breath. "Fuck them up, Mags! Get in there and Lava Plume!" She screamed with such glee that I almost forgot she was the same person. "Paragon, I don''t care what you do, just get in there and rip that Mawile apart!" Magmar''s twisted smile widened, and his body red. He began to run toward Mawile and Skarmory, and while he wasn''t particrly fast, approaching him would mean the end of both steel types. Rhydon, meanwhile, was protected from the heat by his thick, rocky armor, and he also slowly trudged forward, each of his steps shaking the earth. "Skarmory, keep to the air and Stealth Rocks!" The bird fanned its wings, and small, sharpened rocks fell toward the ground and levitated off the floor. "Now Rock Slide! Keep ''em away from Mawile!" Skarmory let out a metallic, jittery screech, and rocks erupted from the snowy ground. With a gleeful smile that mirrored his trainer''s, Magmar sunk under the rocks and then erupted with Lava Plume, sending the rocks and a terrifying amount of mes all around him. Skarmory dodged with his improved speed, but Mawile and Rhydon were not spared. The former screamed as a rock¡ªpletely red from the superheated attack¡ª hit her in the head, and Rhydon simply brushed the mes and theva off. "Icy Wind the Rhydon!" Skarmory beat its wings, and a frigid wind powered up by the terrain flew toward Rhydon, slowing the rock type massively. "Melt it off, Mags! methrower!" The fire type blew a full-powered methrower all over Rhydon, who simply grunted and kept marching. Then, something in his eyes changed. He was close enough, now. "Burn the shit out of Mawile, Mags! methrower!" Lauren snarled. The mes on his back red and flew far behind him as Magmar spat out another stream of fire toward Mawile. "Dodge with Sucker Punch! Skarmory, Sandstorm!" A thin Sandstorm spread throughout the arena. It would slightly hurt Magmar, but everyone else would be immune. Mawile blurred behind Rhydon, and batted at the rock type with its massive jaw. "Foul y!" This time, there was darkness. Mawile quickly sidestepped to avoid getting swiped by Rhydon''s tail and swung its mouth at him again. Rhydon''s armor split open with a deafening crack, and the hulking Pokemon roared out in fury. "Mags, blow up." Another Lava Plume erupted from Magmar''s body, and mes and globs ofva poured out of every single pore in his body. Mawile screeched and was overtaken by the mes, and Rhydon finally grabbed her with his two massive hands. "Finish it off, I don''t care how you do it," she said. "Skarmory, Icy Wind!" "Tell him to fuck off," Lauren snapped. Mags seemingly understood thatmand and simply stood in front of Rhydon, dissolving the Icy Wind into nothing with his body heat. The rock type threw Mawile in the air, and his horn doubled in size as it shimmered in white. Drill Run. Gasps and audible winces ran through the crowd as Rhydon''s horn eviscerated Mawile. The steel type was immediately knocked out by the blow, and Rhydon threw her away like a rag while Magmar sniggered and the mes on his back intensified. They were made for each other, it seemed. Sam recalled Mawile, although his permanent smile did not even waver for one second. He sent out a Maon, whose three eyes looked terribly angry. "More. Burn them more," Lauren said. Magmar flexed, and a massive methrower flew toward the newly released Maon. "Shield him with Rock Slide!" Sam yelled out to Skarmory. This time, the rocks formed a clumsy wall, stopping most of the mes and absorbing the heat. Rhydon screamed, and jagged rocks flew up from under Skarmory. The flying type was almost taken by surprise, but he expertly navigated the air to dodge each rock from what I assumed to be Stone Edge. Skarmory was clearly Sam''s best-trained Pokemon, but the problem was that he couldn''t approach without getting crushed by Magmar''s heat, and the only two ways he could attack were Rock Slide and Icy Wind. "Now send it toward them!" The Rock Slide exploded outward, ramming into both Magmar and Rhydon. The fire type quickly stepped behind his teammate, who shielded him from the worse of the damage. Rhydon, however, seemingly disliked that and hit him away toward the rocks. "Paragon''s telling you that you can take it, Mags," Lauren smiled. Magmar grinned, and another stone hit him directly in the head. Superheated blood poured out from the wound, bubbling and evaporating before it could even fall to the ground. They were all insane. "Maon, get in there! Find an opening with Tri Attack! Skarmory, keep up the Rock Slides!" All three heads blinked in unison and furiously fired countless rays of ice, fire and lighting toward Rhydon and Magmar. The rock type simply shrugged off the attacks, although he winced every time the ice hit him. The floor under both Pokemon sunk as Skarmory shifted the earth into makeshift rocks to stop them from moving, along with asionally hitting them back. "Lava Plume!" Lauren yelled. With an explosion that somehow had grown in strength, fire erupted from Magmar once more, spewing into the floor and consuming everything around him. At this point, half of the snow on the floor had simply disappeared, and vapor had joined the Sandstorm into shrouding the arena. Some of the globs of firended on Maon, but Sam didn''t care. The electric type flew toward his opponents with a single goal in mind. "Explosion!" Light consumed Maon, but this was no evolution. Air was quickly sucked in toward his body, and a massive explosion rocked the arena. Only Skarmory had made it out unscathed, and Kadabra''s barriers rattled and shook as the explosion run its course. When the smoke cleared, Maon was but a smoking husk on the floor. Rhydon had a few chips on his armor, but other than that, he seemedpletely fine. Magmar was on the floor, his mes having burned out. "Get up, Mags," Lauren ordered. His arms twitched. "Get up. Fight. Burn." The fire type stood with trembling limbs, and his body reignited once more. Rhydon sneered at him for a second and then went back to trying to hit Skarmory with Stone Edge, without any sess. Goald had been right. His reluctance to listen to Lauren was costing him a lot of potential. "Dang it, I at least wanted to take down one," Sam grinned as he recalled Maon. "Wanna trade that Magmar? I''ll give you any of mine other than Skarmory. If you didn''t have six Pokemon, I''d give you two to make it fair." I physically recoiled and felt nausea overtake me. What kind of person just said that? The worst part was that only Skarmory had heard it, and the flying type didn''t seem to care whatsoever. When you were a trainer, Pokemon weren''t things to be traded off, especially because you found them weaker than you liked them to be. They were family. This was a second year who''d spent more than a year with some of these Pokemon. He disgusted me. "Absolutely not." "Fair enough," he said as he released a Metang. The steel type took to the air just as high as Skarmory was. "Light Screen and Reflect." Twoyers of transparent barriers appeared around the Metang. "Paragon. Feel like working with me today?" Lauren asked. Rhydon''s head turned toward her, and he shook his head dismissively. "Fine. Then Mags, you''ve got to put in some work." "The Magmar''s weak. Take him down! Skarmory, Drill Peck! Metang, Psychic to restrain that Rhydon!" Skarmory dove down, spinning so fast that his form became a blur. Rhydon stomped a foot on the floor, and the ground split open in a line in front of him as sharp rocks flew up from the floor. Some of them hit him, and a methrower from Magmar burned him so hard that the metal on his wings started to melt and fuse together. How was Magmar still going? Rhydon tried to bat the Skarmory away with his hand, but Metang''s Psychic restrained him for a precious few seconds. Skarmory rammed into Magmar, and the fire type finally fell. "You were a good boy," Lauren said. She recalled him and sent out her Duosion. She had to recall him and release him again so he could slip past Kadabra''s barrier. The Stealth Rocks rushed toward him, but they harmlessly bounced off of his psychic shield. "Keep the momentum going and get him too!" Sam yelled. "Break past his shield!" Skarmory continued on its warpath and flew toward Duosion, and Metang kept slowing Rhydon as much as it could with Psychic. The steel type crashed into the barrier, which became visible as it struggled to break through. It was a lot more refined that Metang''s own protective moves, and it was invisible to the naked eye. "Expanding Force," Lauren said. My ears popped as Duosion sucked in as much air and energy as he could. Then, he released it. It was an explosion of pink psychic energy that utterly destroyed everything in its path. The move was a perfect circle, and it chewed into the floor, creating a crater that was nearly the width of the arena. Rhydon and Metang had been too far to be hurt, but Skarmory was a goner. It crashed onto the floor that was now devoid of any snow. Parts of its metallic wings had melted and fused, and many gashes ran through its armor. It had put in a lot of work. If only its trainer hadn''t been such an ass. Metang followed shortly, and while Rhydon iled around, Duosion and the steel type engaged in a duel of minds. I couldn''t exactly understand what was going on, but they were clearly trying to overpower each other with Psychic, and asionally, they would try other moves to trip each other up. Metang would feign going in with Bullet Punch, and Duosion would flinch, leaving him open to further mental assaults. The duel was surprisingly equal. I had expected Sirris to win easily, but the fact that Metang had two brains just like him was probably tripping him up. Still, Duosion eventually won out. Metang had grown too tired to keep his shields up, and Rhydon finished him off with a Stone Edge. "Victory to Lauren Goodwill. Trainers, please step out of the arena." "Man, that was fun," Sam smiled as he recalled Metang. "I ought to get a rematch one of these days. Your Magmarpletely countered my team. Kind of opened my eyes to how fucked I am by a single powerful fire type. Usually Metang was enough to take care of ''em on his own, but not this time." Lauren retrieved her Pokemon as well, and her outward demeanor seemingly evaporated as she shrunk down to her usual quiet self. "Yeah¡­ you should at least try to find a counter, I think," she muttered into the microphone. "Something like a Steelix or an Aggron would be good at resisting the heat. Anyway, thanks." Lauren left the battlefield a burning, crumbling mess. It was even worse than what Cecilia had done to hers. At least the Desert Field had been left in a somewhat recognizable state, but this? If you told someone that this had been the Snow Field just ten minutes earlier, they never would have believed you. It was nothing but upended earth from Rhydon, that massive crater from Duosion, and the snow hadpletely melted due to Magmar''s mes. If Pauline was violence and Cecilia was power, Lauren was uncontroble destruction. She left nothing behind when she fought, and I had no doubt it was intentional on her part. Her behavior during the battle had been¡­ interesting. It was almost like a split personality, but I didn''t think that was it. Battling might have been the only ce where she could ever let loose and talk however she wanted to, along with when she talked with her brother. And maybe her team too? With strangers and acquaintances, she was a meek girl, but otherwise? She could be as snappy as Pauline was. That Rhydon was the least of my problems. Princess could probably runps around him like there was no tomorrow. Magmar and Duosion though? They were threats, and at this point, I believed the rest of her team was too. Against her, Denzel or Cece? No holds were barred. I would find the most efficient way to shut all of their teams down no matter what I had to do. My best friend might not have been as shy as us, but I knew he was hiding something. I could see it in his eyes. That show with Lopunny and the four different attacks? The Blizzard tactic with Fross? It was good, but it was bait. A shiny new thing that people couldtch onto while he worked on his real tactic. No, he had something else prepared, and hopefully I would be able to find out if we had to battle. ¡ª It was Maeve''s turn to fight now. I was actually intrigued since I hadn''t really seen her fight since the Floaroma tournament. Would she be a cautious fighter like Louis and Justin? Or a risk-taker like Mira and Pauline? Or someone in the middle like me, Denzel or Cecilia? I was excited to find out. Even if we all roughly had simr ways of fighting, we were so different. Battling showed endless possibilities for every single style, and watching so many battles in this tournament made me realize the incredible growth that everyone had gone through. The Water Field was the most annoying one to fight on by a wide margin, but it would actually be good experience for anyone still looking to fight Crasher Wake. A few rocky tforms rising from the depths of the water were the only safe havens for non-water types. Some might have said that this was an unfair advantage, but water types that couldn''t be onnd were so difficult to train and battle with that they deserved a win once in a while. "This is a battle between Reuben Stit and Maeve Chang. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." Reuben looked just as nervous as Maeve was, and he adjusted his sses with a trembling hand. Maeve sent out her Pokemon first¡ª her Starmie and Staravia. The star-like Pokemon spun in ce, and the gem in its center gleamed. Staravia screeched and stretched her wings before taking to the air. She wasn''t the biggest, but her maneuverability in the air was second to none¡ª even better than Fletchinder''s, although that might have changed now that she had evolved. Reuben sent out a Swellow and a Quagsire. The ground type stared in utter confusion with its beady little eyes, but a cry from Swellow snapped him back to reality. "Begin¡ª" Maeve exploded into a flurry ofmands as soon as he finished. "Power Gem, Double Team, Aerial Ace!" Starmie and Staravia split into at least twenty clones. The flying type and her afterimages all rushed toward Swellow, and more beams of light than I could count flew toward the same target. The fact that Maeve had trained her team to the extent that even their fake selves were able to attack was incredible. "Quick Attack and Double Team!" Reuben yelled out to his Swellow. "Quagsire, Yawn!" Swellow split into afterimages of its own, but it was too slow. The real Power Gem hit it, and Staravia rammed into her opponent with a ferocity that was uncharacteristic of their species. Quagsire opened its mouth so much that I thought it was about to dislocate his jaw and yawned, and I suddenly felt very drowsy. Swellow and Staravia crashed into the water. "What?! Is that allowed? What if he drowns?!" Reuben worryingly said. The supervisor just nodded. "Starmie, get in there and Power Gem underwater!" Maeve quickly continued. "Quagsire, stop them! Mudshot!" With a sharp hiss, Starmie jumped into the depths. The Mudshot followed it closely, but I couldn''t see if it hit. Reuben ordered Quagsire to jump into the water to help Swellow, but it just looked around confusedly. It might as well have been a Slowpoke. Ten seconds passed. Then twenty. The water asionally lit up with attacks that could only be Power Gem. It was a game of who would blink first. Pokeballs were generally good at tracking the Pokemon they belonged to, so pointing it in the water''s general direction would be enough to save their flying types. "Starmie!" Maeve yelled. Swellow was raised into the air by psychic energy and mmed onto one of the inds, and the bird coughed up water. The water clung to its feathers like glue, and it was too wet to fly. Staravia was next, although she was ced a lot more gently. "I''m retracting Staravia out of the fight," Maeve said, causing me to scoff. She immediately recalled her and released a Skorupi instead. "Venoshock." The small bug type wasted no time angling its tail toward the Swellow and spraying her with poison that rivaled Roselia''s own. "Mud Bomb!" Reuben ordered. This time, Quagsire spat out a huge ball of scorching mud instead of a continuous stream. Before it couldnd on Skorupi, Starmie jumped out of the water and held it back with Psychic. The Mud Bomb copsed in ce, sinking into the water. "Starmie, jump back in the water before you fall asleep," Maeve said. Her words were like a continuous stream. She spoke faster than any trainer I''d seen. The star-like Pokemon sunk into the water once more, and only Skorupi stood. Starmie was safest in the water where it couldn''t get hit, and it didn''t appear like Quagsire would be that good of a swimmer since he was adamant about not going into the water. Plus, Reuben would probably focus on Skorupi instead, where he held the type advantage. Another quick Venoshock finished Swellow off, and Reuben reced it with a Bronzong. "Light Screen and Reflect!" He yelled. "Mud Bomb again!" "Pin Missile and Hone ws." Dozens of sharp spikes erupted from Skorupi''s body and toward the Mud Bomb. The ground type attack did not explode, but its path was altered enough so that it only grazed the scorpion. His pincers shone and sharpened. "Confusion it into the water!" Reuben ordered to his Bronzong. The steel type''s eyes glinted, he began to lift Skorupi into the air. "Break free with Night sh. Keep using Pin Missle to buy time for Starmie toe back," Maeve said. Darkness festered from within Skorupi''s pincers, and he cut up the psychic sack around his body, falling back onto his ind. Quagsire used Mud Shot instead of Mud Bomb this time, and no amount of Pin Missiles were stopping that attack. Still, Skorupi was a fierce little bug. Maeve ordered him to use another Venoshock, this time toward the Quagsire, and it was too slow to dodge. The poison seeped onto his skin and melted off its thickyers of fat. "Gyro Ball, Bronzong!" The psychic slowly started to rotate and then grew faster and faster as it approached Skorupi. "Night sh!" The two Pokemon hit each other and the dark energy seemingly bypassed the Reflect. That would be important information to ingest. I knew that it was capable of passing through barriers created with Psychic, but Reflect and Light Screen were entirely different beasts. Bronzong knocked Skorupi into the water and it screeched as it made a pitiful attempt to swim. And then it sunk. All Maeve could do now was wait. I was nervous for her, and yet she seemed more sure of herself than she had ever been. Starmie jumped out of the water, carrying Skorupi in tow with what could only be Confusion. They jumped onto Quagsire''s ind, and the bug type shed across his back with Night sh while Starmie sted him with a Psychic. "Get back!" Reuben screamed. Bronzong tried to float toward his teammate, but he was slow. Maeve''s Pokemon overwhelmed Quagsire with poison and psychic energy until it fainted, but Bronzong quickly took his revenge and smashed the bug against Kadabra''s wall with Confusion quicker than he could react. Reuben sent out a Skorupi of his own, and Maeve sent out her Monferno. She had the advantage. "Bronzong, use Extrasensory on Monferno!" "Starmie, Psychic, Monferno, methrower." Maeve did not even need to state who she was targeting. Skorupi was immediately restrained as Psychic assaulted its brain and turned it to mush. Monferno''s tail me intensified, and it spat out thergest methrower it could muster. Instead of defending Monferno from theing Confusion, Maeve put everything she had into one single attack. And it worked. Skorupi was burned to a crisp and fainted right away, but Monferno was knocked back into the water. He could swim, but he was extremely weak when his tail was extinguished. Starmie jumped to his rescue and ced him back on an ind. Reuben tried for another few minutes, and Bronzong was clearly one of his strongest Pokemon, but there was only so much that it could do in a one-on-two. Eventually, the methrowers and Brines broke through his Light Screen, and the steel type fainted. "Victory to Maeve Chang. Trainers, please step off the tform." I had seen enough to understand the gist of Maeve''s style. She was a fast-paced battler that took risks, but she was smart about them. During the battle, she had had both of her Pokemon focus on one opponent while Reuben constantly split his attention. Splitting attacks was fine if there was an overarching n, but I didn''t get that feeling from him. It felt like he was still finding his footing as a trainer. Despite his Pokemon being maybe even stronger than Maeve''s, the fact that she had cemented her style and he had not meant that she held the advantage. Maeve had also recalled Staravia without any hesitation. In the moment, I almost groaned due to how strange I had found that decision, but that snap decision had potentially won Maeve the battle. Staravia would have been asleep at the same time as Starmie due to Quagsire''s yawn, but it was also unable to fly because of how wet it had been. By switching out to Skorupi immediately, she kept the battle active and running at her pace. I smiled. Maeve was pretty good. ¡ª It was nighttime now, and Pauline''s battle was next on the Rock Field. This time, we were all here. I eagerly awaited for her Vigoroth to make its debut. I hoped that she had at least gotten him in line like Lauren''s Rhydon¡ª maybe not ready to listen tomands yet, but at least cooperative. Her opponents stepped up to the podium and Denzel squinted. "What the¡­ what the hell?" He muttered. "What is it?" Mira asked. "That''s not¡­ that''s not who she was supposed to fight. This is a five-badger. Harry Rodriguez. I looked him up when I was researching the trainers with five badges in case I''d have to battle them." "What? She was supposed to battle a girl with three badges, right? What happened?" Denzel grabbed his phone and quickly started to type. "She¡­ dropped out? And so did this guy''s previous opponent. What the fuck." My eyes narrowed. "What? That''s shady as hell." "This isn''t good. I don''t even know if Pauline knows about¡ª ah, she''s here." The redhead frowned, clearly confused at her opponent, but she didn''t appear shaken. The supervisor announced their names, and they released their Pokemon. Pauline released Charmeleon and Rufflet. Harry released his Pokemon onto the field. It was a continent. A self-sustaining ind with legs. A living terrarium. Torterra grunted, and the tree on its back creaked and rustled as it took to the field. It was mindbogglinglyrge,ing in at around nine feet in height and I didn''t know how much in width. Were Torterra always that big? A rtively smaller purple bat with a huge wingspan and four wings was released directly into the air. Crobat screeched and its yellow eyes locked onto its enemies. "Begin!" ¡ª Three minutester, Vigoroth and Gothorita were syed out across the ground. Torterra and Crobat stood triumphantly over them. Torterra''s tree had been lit on fire, but other than that, the ground type was intact. Crobat had been too quick to even get hit once. Pauline had lost. Now either this was all a big coincidence, Or something was horribly wrong with this tournament. I was willing to bet it was thetter.
Chapter 150 Chapter 150 Announcement A user on my Discord called ObsidianOlivemissioned this for me. It''s the first piece of fanart I''ve ever received and I''m extremely giddy about it, so I decided to share it here. Enjoy! (Drawn by @artbynath on Fiverr)
CHAPTER 150 It hadn''t even been particrly close. Torterra shared or even surpassed Tangrowth''s bulk, so fire type attacks from Charmeleon hadn''t done much but annoy it, and it easily retaliated with devastating Earthquakes that took her out of the fight before she could make use of ze. Torterra was too heavy for Gothorita to even hope to restrain it, and again, no wed attacks from Vigoroth dealt much damage. Plus, the normal type had listened to Pauline somewhat, but it never wanted to hang back and wait for the correct opportunity to strike. Crobat, for its part, was just as quick as Cecilia''s Talonme and could easily run circles around anything that Pauline could throw at it. The battle had been a massacre. A testament to the difference between a trainer with three and five badges. Maybe if Charmeleon, Gothorita, or Rufflet had evolved, then she would have stood a better chance, but there was no way for Pauline to beat an experienced trainer with tougher Pokemon than she had, or at least not with her violent approach to battling. Pauline calmly recalled her Pokemon, and we all held our breaths. She watched her opponent walk off with a smug smile and then stepped away herself. But then, she stopped. "Ah, shit," Denzel sighed. "Hey, Mr. supervisor? I have a question," she said. "Hm? What is it?" "Can you exin to me what the fuck that just was? That wasn''t the girl I was supposed to fight. I wasn''t even warned about the change. Did you expect me to just walk away and take it? That''d mean that you''re straight-up fucking stupid." "Take it up to the higher-ups," hezily said. "No, I want to take it up with you, moron." "I don''t know why it happened, I don''t make the decisions, I''m just a referee." "Got it, so you don''t care if the tournament thepany you work for organized is shit. You clearly favored this guy! Why else would you put him against me at thest second? And no mentions of a schedule or a bracket change? Really?" The audience was beginning to murmur in her favor, and the supervisor seemed to be genuinely taken aback, which surprised me. Pauline was right. What did he think would happen? Reporters had forgone interviewing Harry Rodriguez and were instead filming this entire confrontation. "Look, all I know is that there were two resignations from your opponent and his, so you both moved up the bracket and fought each other instead. That''s normal proceedings and if you read the fine print when you signed up, you would have known. I''m sorry if you feel like you''ve been wronged." "So are you saying it doesn''t matter then? I paid for this shit experience. That is bullshit," Pauline said. She exhaled to keep going, but then stared in our direction. Her shoulders rxed, and she sighed. "Whatever." After Pauline told every reporter in the vicinity to fuck off, we joined her. She wasn''t as pissed off as I expected her to be¡ª well, correction: she was pissed that she''d been wronged, but she wasn''t angry that she had lost. She was taking the defeat in stride in hopes of improving. "I mean, I knew I''d lose when I saw the Torterrae out. That thing is a monster," she sighed. "I''m not stupid. I just wanted to do as best I could. I could have done better if I could have prepared¡­ ah man, this fucking blows. There''s so much I have to work on." "You were right to be angry," Justin said. "There''s no doubt that this was a suspicious development. What were the odds that both of your opponents resign on the same day? Without any warning?" "But he was right when he said that the normal procedure would just be to move both of you up the bracket," Maeve grimaced. "So I''m not sure¡­" "What? Are you saying I would have lost to him anyway in the second round? So what? There''s still injustice that was done, and it fucking pisses me off. I''ll be taking it up with the higher-ups," she hissed, mockingly imitating the referee. "Did it show on the website at all?" Maeve asked. "I checked this morning and it didn''t," she snapped. I nced at Denzel, silently asking him to keep her in line. She was right to be angry. Something about this just didn''t bode well, but I felt like we should stay discreet for now until we gathered more information. Something was still bothering me¡ª something other than that egregious disy of favoritism and corruption. It seemed that Harry knew a whole lot about Pauline''s team when that shouldn''t have been possible if he''d been caught by surprise at thest minute, but most of all¡­ His battle hadn''t been supposed to be on the Rock Field, and yet he''d shown up just in time. He knew. "Look, we''ll do it together," he told her. "I don''t need a babysitter." "Okay¡­ but that''s not what I said¡ª you know what, let''s just get your team healed for now." The mood grew gloomy as we walked toward the Center. None of us had expected someone to lose this early, especially when we''d seen that we wouldn''t battle against anyone better than we were in the first round. But if there was a scheme afoot, why would these people risk it? BattleZone¡ª theirpany¡ª was renowned for organizing and running smooth tournaments, and they''d make an ample amount of money during the whole thing even if the Hunters were getting a share of the revenue for letting them use theirnd. With the advertisements, the revenue from the tickets, the publicity¡­ so why? Harry Rodriguez¡­ I thought as I turned on my phone. I scrambled to look up anything I could find about him. He was a second year from Hearthome, and his two other Pokemon were a Pelipper and a Luxray. He was sponsored by a single gamingpany, although it didn''t seem like a close rtionship. He''d gotten four badges during his first year, but was now well on his way to making it to the Conference. He''d beaten all of the gyms in the east, but where had he gotten his fifth? It took a bit of sleuthing to figure out that he''d beaten Roark a week before the tournament started. How the hell had he gotten back here so quickly for the tournament? He didn''t appear to have a teleporter on his team, and even the biggest Pelipper weren''trge enough to carry humans. It couldn''t have been a secret fifth Pokemon either, since his battle against Roark had been a four-on-four. At the fifth badge, gym leaders weren''t going to hold back in terms of numbers for the fight, and they''d force you to utilize your entire team. Maybe Harry had caught something right after his gym battle¡­ but no. Catching a psychic in the wild capable of Teleporting that far was as likely as winning the Arceus damned lottery, and I didn''t think that anyone would trust them enough to teleport anyway. The same thought process applied to a flying type. So how? Connections. Just like Craig had carried us back to Eterna, Harry had someone to either teleport or fly him around. Innocent enough in a vacuum, but with the added context, I was growing suspicious. We entered the Center, and Pauline gave her Pokemon to Nurse Joy. "Hey, Justin and I are going to head back to help Pauline lodge herint," Denzel said. "You''ll just censor me." "Yes, that is the goal," Justin said. "So keep us updated on anything," he continued. "You guys get some rest for your battles tomorrow," Denzel finished, staring and me and Mira. "Sure thing," she nonchntly answered. The group dispersed after that. It seemed that despite some of us being suspicious of this whole affair, most were willing to give the organizers the benefit of the doubt until something like this happened again. Maeve had grown less confrontational since getting crushed by Louis at the Floaroma tournament. Mira didn''t exactly care about the tournament anyway, and even if Denzel and Justin were suspicious, they probably wanted to focus on keeping Pauline from exploding at some poor guy who didn''t know anything that was happening. Louis, Cecilia and I were not most. They knew all too well what money could turn a person into, and I wasn''t willing to let this go quite easily. Not when a friend had been wronged. Especially when Harry Rodriguez would be someone I needed to battle sooner rather thanter, looking at the brackets. Hell, what happened to Pauline could even happen to me. Instead of training for tomorrow''s battle against Yasim like I had expected to do, we all sat in my room. Combee buzzed over Louis'' head, the three faces yawning in unison. Cecilia closed my blinds and released Slowking to tell us if anyone was near, and I had Princess out, and she sat in myp like usual. It wasn''t that I wanted to keep my other friends in the dark. That would have been a foolish decision. Everyone needed to be on the same page, or something terrible was bound to happen if our suspicions were correct. Tomorrow, I would tell them all about what we would discover tonight, and I would also send a message to the group chat before going to sleep for good measure. The atmosphere was still¡­ awkward. It wasn''t that long ago that Louis had left the group because of me. A heavy silence hung in the air, and we all waited to see who would start to speak first. We must have stood there for at least two minutes until Louis let out a slight chuckle. A singleugh. Then we joined him, giggling like idiots at the stupidity of the situation. We had a potential scandal on our hands, and we were worried about how awkward things were? It was just so silly. "Sorry about that," Louis said, wiping away a tear ofughter. "I¡­ wow, I haven''tughed like that in a long time." "Let''s make sure you keep thoseing then," Cece smiled. My heart felt whole again. Like something that I believed irreparably broken had just been healed. Tears ofughter turned into tears of joy, but I hid them well enough and wiped them away with my shirt. Togetic noticed and nced at me, but I just kissed her forehead and brought her into a tight hug. "Let''s get to the matter at hand then," I said. "Harry Rodriguez." "There must be something there, right?" Louis asked. "Can we check how many resignations there have been since the start of the tournament?" "I don''t know¡­ Denzel would be useful for this," I muttered. "Let me check the website." I grabbed my phone again. "I saw you looking things up earlier," Cecilia said. "Uhuh," I nodded. "I mostly discovered that he must have an acquaintance or a friend that flew or teleported him back to Sceon because he wasst seen in Oreburgh before this. I tried figuring it out on his megathread, but there was nothing there. Just baseless spection." I exined his badge order and how it was strange that he had gotten to Roark so quickly. You could theoretically scale down the mountain on route 207, but nothing Rodriguez currently had was capable of that, which meant that he was teleported or flown to Oreburgh in the first ce. We put a tab on that for now. "How many days did it take him to get back here?" She asked. "Uh, I don''t know, I can''t really corroborate anything. He fought Roark and won a bit more than a week ago, and he showed up here five dayster in time for the tournament, but that could mean anything." "He could have either flown directly or waited a few days to Teleport," Louis said. "So picture this," I said. "I''m Rodriguez¡ª" Cecilia and Louis both chuckled. "¡ªand I just beat Roark handily with my Torterra and Pelipper or whatever. Instead of continuing on toward Canve or just getting a ride to Eterna via my teleporter or flier, Ie back here. Why?" "The rewards. Hyper beam," Cece immediately said. "Obviously that''s part of it, but there must be something else. To backtrack during the Circuit when you don''t have to, you must be pretty sure that you''re going to win, no? Doesn''t that seem suspicious?" "I don''t know¡­ if he has a teleporter or friend to fly him, it wouldn''t cost him anything to try. If he loses, he can just Teleport or fly back. Plus, his skills would put him in a good position to win. I think you''re looking too deep into it," she frowned. "That''s¡­ fair." "But then again, doesn''t he only have four Pokemon? If he''s going to make it to the Conference, he''s going to need to catch hisst two and train them up quickly. The easiest way to do that is by traveling," Louis said. "But we could be telling Pauline and Justin the same thing. It''s not enough. We''re missing something," Cece muttered. "Ah!" I eximed. I had found what I was looking for. "There''s been twelve resignations¡ª including the ones we already know of¡ª but the other ten were all before the tournament began. It doesn''t tell us the reasons though." "Weck information," Cecilia said. "And I''m sure that they could im that other trainers benefited from those resignations in some way or another," I groaned. "The difference with Harry is that the timing is¡­ too convenient, and that he knew where his battle would take ce. Like he''d been warned beforehand. "Could we track down the two people that resigned from Pauline and Henry''s matches? That could give us some insight," Louis asked. "I''ve got their names here, but finding them in this town would be¡­" "Impossible," he sighed. "It''s also possible that they''ve left already." "There is something else we can try to do," Cecilia said. "Find Luca Antonovich." "Who?" Louis asked. Personally, I knew that Cece just liked to pause for dramatic effect. "Grace already knows about this, but there''s a man with two Cutiefly going around and selling information. Slowking caught one of them spying on me yesterday. He uses their small size to spy on people," she exined. "If anyone knows anything about those two, it would be him. We''ll have to pay, though." "Where is he now?" I asked. "Now? Not tomorrow?" Louis'' eyes widened. "No time like the present. It''s only seven." "Well, I don''t exactly know but I heard he liked to skulk around near the Hunters'' home¡­" ¡ª With Combee and Togetic in tow, finding Luca had been easy. Well, it was more like he had let himself be found. Princess had told me that he''d waved at her when she''d been scanning the area in the sky. Luca Antonovich smiled widely as he greeted us with a curt nod. The two Cutiefly flying around his head were barely visible to the naked eye, but they had a pale, yellow glow that made them easy to see in the night. I assumed that was just for ir and that they could turn that off. "I figured people were looking for me when I saw those two in the sky," he said, pointing at Togetic and Combee. "And you let yourself be found?" Louis asked. "Hey, how do you think I get paid?" He shrugged. "I didn''t think Grace Pastel and Cecilia Obel woulde to ask of my services. You two seemed too goodie-two-shoes for that. So who''s it gonna be? Yasim Benzema? Finley Johansson?" "We''re not here for info about our opponents," I said. "We''re here for two things. First, the two people that were supposed to fight Pauline King and Harry Rodriguez resigned on the same day. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Luca licked his upper teeth. "That''s gonna cost you." "Money isn''t an issue. I will pay," Louis said. "Louis¡ª" "Don''t worry, Cecilia. It''s the least I can do." "Pay up then. 50 G''s." Louis grabbed his trainer ID and transferred the money onto Luca''s ount. To him, fifty thousand was nothing, but Luca was practically salivating. We had probably overpaid. "Alrighty then. See, one of the poor sods who resigned came to me at first looking for info about their opponents. Sally McCree thought she had a chance against Pauline King, so she was willing to pay a lot. I had my Cutiefly snoop around and found out about that Vigoroth of hers and a few new moves," he said. A small, barely audible chime rang out in my ears. The Cutiefly were nowhere near me, but it felt like they were buzzing around right next to my ears. I wondered if such small Pokemon were capable of battling. "She was hyped as hell for her battle, so imagine my surprise when I heard she resigned. I usually try to keep my nose out of things where it doesn''t belong, but I got curious. I sought her out before she left, but she wasn''t willing to tell me anything. I offered to pay. Me! Can you imagine that? There''s nothing I crave more than information, but the bitch just snubbed me. She said she''d changed her mind and that she needed to hurry up to collect the gym badges instead of wasting time here. I tried to push her, but she screamed that it was none of my business. So I go ''okay, whatever,'' but this thing is eating at me and I seek the other person instead." "The one who was supposed to fight Harry Rodriguez," I breathed out. "Yeah. Another kid with five badges this time. Imagine my surprise when he told me the exact same thing, eh? Funny how that works. You know, when people have the exact same story, that means something''s going on. Something a lot bigger than I personally can handle, so I resigned to just chill out and make cash even though my curiosity''s eating at me." I sighed and clenched at my forehead. From the way he''d told his story, it sounded like they''d been pressured to leave. Since Harry''s opponent had been supposed to be a five-badger, I reckoned he had a decent chance to win, even without knowing anything about his team. You didn''t get to five badges without being an excellent trainer. And now, Harry had fought Pauline and gotten an easy victory instead of a possible nailbiter. It felt like this tournament was being rigged. "Okay¡­" Cecilia exhaled. "Okay. This is big." "I''d stay out of it if I were you," Luca shrugged. "I like you guys. You paid me a fuck ton." I ignored his ironicment and sent all of this information into the group chat. The others needed to know about this, but we needed to act like we didn''t, at least for now. Even though I didn''t think it was the likeliest scenario, there was a possibility that they''d been threatened to leave. They could have been paid off too, or simply pressured. It was hard to say no when the full weight of a massivepany was breathing down your neck. There was no way to know until we gathered more information. "We also wanted to ask about Harry Rodriguez," Louis said. "The big guy himself, eh?" Lucaughed. "Shoot." "Does he have any rtions with the organizers here?" "With BattleZone? Not that I know of, but if they were rigging this, don''t you think they''d have hidden it better than this?" He shrugged. "Feels amateurish to me. Too sloppy. I wish I had more for you, but that''s all I got." "That''s fine," Louis sighed. "Thank you anyway." "And hey, if you ever need more information, I''ll be here," he grinned. "Here, take my number. Keep me in the loop." ¡ª I stared up at the stars as we traveled through the lonely road to get back to the Center. Just like in Floaroma, you could see them easily in Sceon. The reactions to the news in the group chat had been mostly uproar, but we all knew that we needed to proceed with caution. Even Pauline had calmed down somewhat. "Something''s been bothering me," I frowned. "If they were rigging it for Harry, why not make Pauline fight her opponent anyway? Why make Sally ree resign?" "Do you think she knew something that they didn''t want her to leak?" Cece asked. "Maybe. But then again, it could be¡­ what if it was to muddy the waters?" I gasped. "What do you mean by that?" "If you''re the organizers, you could want to make a bunch of people randomly resign to make it look like you''re not helping a particr person," I said. "There are always some people that leave a tournament early, so it wouldn''t be that strange." "But Harry was clearly the one that benefited here, no? He crushed Pauline instead of fighting an equal," Louis said. I nodded. "Yes. So if my theory''s right, more and more people will start quitting at random, and there''ll be no way to tell if those resignations are legit or not. It''ll make the whole thing impossible to prove. It would be suspicious, but suspicion isn''t enough to convict someone." "So we have this trainer with no rtions to the organizers¡­ no holes in his story, but he''s still getting pulled upward for some reason," Cecilia reflected. "What can he offer them? What does him winning do for them?" "For BattleZone? Nothing," I said. "Or at least nothing that I can think of. There''s something missing." I chewed on my thumb nail and stopped moving. Harry Rodriguez. No rtions to BattleZone, but still getting help from the organizers. Why? He had five badges, so he was already a top contender. Someone wanted him to win, but we''d already established that there would be no benefits for the organizers to do so. They were already making money, and risking their reputation on such a scheme was suicidal for apany of that size. This wasn''t like rence and Harvey. The potential rewards did not justify their actions. The more trainers were forced to resign, the more the chances of a leak grew. They''d never be allowed to run any tournaments again, and they''d ruin the rtionship they were fostering with all of these advertisers, trainers, the Hunter family¡ª The Hunter family. I stopped biting on my nail and my realized my eyes had gotten dry. I had stopped blinking. The Hunter family didn''t run or organize the tournament, but they practically ran everything that happened in Sceon due to the immense amount of influence they wielded. The tournament was happening on theirnd, and they''d given up a Hyper Beam TM as a reward. They had skin in the game. It didn''te close to exining anything. The entire picture was still blurry, and I still had no idea why they would want Harry Rodriguez to win. If he''d been a part of their family, I would understand¡­ But it was something to look into. "We need to look into the Hunters."
Chapter 151 Chapter 151 CHAPTER 151 The first thing we did before getting back to the Center was run back to Luca and ask him if he knew about any links between Harry Rodriguez and the Hunter family, but he had no answers for us. He''d said that there was nothing there that he knew of, but that he was going to start digging today already. If he ever figured something out, he would contact us and let us know. For the right price, of course. He was somewhat simr to Abel in that regard, which kind of pissed me off. If there was some scheme going on, why not do the right thing and expose it? Or at least try to work with us. The second thing we did was call for a group meeting where Louis, Cece and I brought everyone up to speed with the information we didn''t manage to convey over text. We were currently in Cece''s room to discuss things. "Tomorrow, I''ll try to ask around," Denzel said with his arms crossed. "There ought to be people that know more about Harry¡­ still, none of this makes sense. I mean, he''s a good trainer and all, but I still don''t understand what the Hunters would have to gain and why BattleZone would be cooperating with this. The risks¡­" "The risks didn''t deter my father," Cece said. "But there''s no reward at the end," I said. "Unless there is, and we just aren''t seeing it. It can''t be for money. The Hunters are already filthy rich, and so is BattleZone. Hyper Beam wouldn''t put a dent in their expenditure. And there''s also how obvious they''re making it too." I tapped my foot against the floor and bit my lip. I was good at these things. Brainstorming and thinking about stuff, but for the first time, no answers wereing up. Why, why, why? No matter how I spun it, nothing made sense. We were back at square one¡ª Cece grabbed my hand and gently led me onto herp. "Rx, love," she said, hugging me from behind. "There''s no fire. We still have time to figure it out." "And maybe it''s just a coincidence¡ª" Maeve stopped when Pauline stared daggers at her. "What was the supervisors'' reaction when you guys lodged aint?" I asked. "They were genuinely nice," Justin said. "Understanding and everything. They said that they''d be willing to refund half of Pauline''s entry fee for the misunderstanding¡ª" "Which I took, by the way," she huffed. "Fucking half. Am I worth half a human being?" "¡ªWe''re not as good as you at reading people, but I felt like they were trying to be as nice as possible." Denzel nodded to agree. "Could they not be informed about the scheme?" I muttered. It would make sense for low to mid-leveled employees not to know. "Or maybe they sold it really well¡­" "Either way, we won''t figure out more until more time passes. Like Maeve says, it could be a misunderstanding or a coincidence, but the way Luca told us about the two people who resigned¡­ there was something there," Louis said. "If we see more sudden resignations to give Harry an easier path, then we''ll know for sure." "Don''t forget they might mix in others too," I warned. "Only helping Harry would be too obvious." "Let''s just go to sleep for now," Mira shrugged. "Fine." I went to bed pissed that night. And I also woke up pissed. I should have cuddled with Cece all night to soothe my soul. To be honest, I kind of wanted to sleep with her every night, but I didn''t want to be too clingy and ask. She might find it annoying, and I didn''t want to be a high-maintenance girlfriend. My battle against Yasim was in the morning just like my first one, and with all of yesterday''s events I hadn''t exactly had time to n a general strategy, so I was just going in with the goal of taking down Hippowdon as quickly as possible to get rid of Sandstorm in hopes of using Sunny Day. I stared at my opponent as I stepped onto the tform and exhaled. For my talks to Princess about not taking out her anger on her opponents, it was hard not to let loose here. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I needed to be a good example for her. Yasim Benzema sped his hands together, and his head twitched in anticipation. Just like my previous opponent, he was nervous to face me. What that nervousness would do to him during the battle, however? Would it sharpen his wit or dull his senses? That remained to be seen. I grabbed my two Pokeballs and felt at the cold steel with my palms. They filled my hands sofortably. The Snow Field had beenpletely fixed since Lauren had destroyed it yesterday. There were no signs of the crater or the upended earth, and a thickyer of snow had been ced back. "This is a battle between Yasim Benzema and Grace Pastel. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." We both released our Pokemon onto the field. Hippowdon stood at attention, its body tense, but there was a strange calmness in its eyes. Sand began to leak from the holes on its body and fell onto the snow, giving way to a mix of gold and white. A huge Lairon stomped the floor and stared me down with its resplendent blue eyes. I''d have to keep it away from Princess, but with how high in the sky she was, she was probably safe from most attacks. She tilted her head and curiously eyed our enemies¡ª no doubt scanning for a weakness. Angel''s vines waded through the snow and he yed around for a few seconds, reminding me of our time up north on route 216 and 217. "Begin!" "Start getting in there. Slowly," I told Tangrowth. There was no point in using Sunny Day. Hippowdon''s Sandstorm was already starting to pick up. Tangrowth happily waddled through the snow, sifting the cold surface with his vines. I didn''t want to wait for what Yasim was going to do next, but I was waiting for a specific distance for Princess to spring into action. "Stealth Rocks, Lairon! Hippowdon, Sand Tomb the Tangrowth! Keep it trapped, or we lose!" Lairon''s entire body shook, and it ejected sharp rocks from the holes on its metallic head. The snow below Tangrowth''s feet turned to mush, and then the mud from below erupted. Angel tried to get out by propelling himself with vines, but he couldn''t. He was too heavy. Too slow. "Ancient Power. Five spears," I said. "Don''t aim for the eyes." With a sharp nod, Togetic lifted the already-formed spears from the ground. They were thick and wickedly sharp, clocking in at eight feet long each. With a gleeful giggle, sheunched each spear flying toward Hippowdon. "Escape with Dig!" Yasim yelled. The ground type yelled and sunk into the ground, and the five spears were lodged into the floor. The Sand Tomb under Tangrowth''s feet stopped moving, allowing him to push himself out with his vines. Yasim cursed. "Autotomize!" He yelled. "Get him," I said. Lairon''s body shimmered, and the steel type skidded onto the floor, narrowly avoiding Tangrowth''s Power Whip. "Keep your distance and Earth Power!" Yasim yelled. "Hippowdon, get up there and Fire Fang!" Interesting. Yasim was a lot trickier than what I had given him credit for. Geysers of molten rocks and earth erupted under Tangrowth''s feet, singing his vines, and Hippowdon unburrowed right behind him with mes dancing in its huge maw. "Behind you, Angel! Princess!" One of Tangrowth''s vines turned neon green and mmed against Hippowdon''s neck, staggering the huge ground type. Five spears stabbed it in the back, burying themselves past its thickyer of fat. Hippowdon screamed but carried out its order, biting Angel with all of the strength it could muster and burning his vines. "Now run and Dig!" "Bind." Ten of Angel''s vines wrapped around Hippowdon''s entire body. The ground type was too heavy to lift, but it was enough to keep him on the surface. Angel strained against Hippowdon''s pull. It was so strong that some of the vines tore away, but they were immediately reced. I ordered Tangrowth to use Mega Drain and took a deep breath. I couldn''t go easy on Yasim. He was good. I had another n running in the background but If I could neutralize Hippowdon, then Sunny Day was a possibility. That would almost guarantee my win. So it had to be done. "Stab," I cooly told Princess. "Aim for the holes." "Lairon, free him! Metal w!" Lairon''s ws shone, and he tore at Angel with everything he had. It wasn''t enough. Tangrowth was constantly draining Hippowdon''s energy and replenishing himself. Another set of five spears flew toward Hippowdon and prated deep inside of Hippowdon, each stabbing into its precious sand-creating orifices. The sand streaming out of its holes stopped, and the ground type cried out in pain. "Princess, another round." Another five spears. Another scream. Princess'' aim was on point today, and the smile that stretched across her face disturbed Yasim to no end. The Hippowdon went limp, and Tangrowth''s hold on him loosened. Yasim recalled the ground type and sent out a Magnezone. The true threat on his team. "Focus," I warned her. "Fuck up that Togetic. Thunderbolt!" Magnezone buzzed, and an arc of electricity rushed toward Princess. It was harmlessly absorbed by her psychic shield. Yasim''s expression began to morph into one of disbelief. "Finish off Lairon with Power Whip." Tangrowth smashed Lairon again and again, denting its tough metallic armor. The steel type tried to fight back, but he couldn''t withstand Angel''s assault. After using Tri Attack on Togetic and realizing that even that wasn''t going through, Yasim ordered Magnezone to use Thunder Wave on Tangrowth instead. Angel froze and his vines sputtered, allowing Lairon some respite. "Tri Attack Tangrowth!" "Barrier on him," I told Togetic. Threesers of fire, ice, and electricity hit Tangrowth, but a protective bubble appeared in front of him. She was far, but she was quick. "That''s fucking bullshit," Yasim groaned. It really wasn''t, but I shut up and didn''t let it show on my face. He probably thought that Togetic was shielding Tangrowth at the same time as herself, but she wasn''t. She''d shifted the barrier to him instead, so she was currently very vulnerable. "Angel, can you still fight?" I asked. He kept twitching in ce. "Don''t fucking talk to your Pokemon midbattle! Lairon, Magnezone, break through the barrier!" I frowned. Was I not allowed to check if my Pokemon was okay? Lairon was tired, but he still used weakened Earth Powers to try to help. Magnezone was the one doing the heavy lifting here, and his Tri Attacks were even better than Mira''s. It was only a matter of time before the barrier broke. Without Angel, I didn''t really have an answer to steel types other than Turtonator. I could use Shadow Ball, but he''d dodge those easily. "Princess, focus on finishing the Lairon. Ancient Power. Blunt force this time, five rocks." The barrier around Angel disappeared, and she lifted five thick boulders from the ground. With a fierce cry, she sent them off toward Lairon. The steel type dodged the first two, but it was too injured from all the abuse it had taken from Power Whip. A boulder broke against his head, and another against the softer bits on his nk. Lairon reeled, but let out a defiant roar¡ª Thest boulder hit him in the face, causing him to faint. Finally. Yasim sent out hisst Pokemon. His Vibrava. Princess locked onto the dragon, her eyes unblinking. I could practically feel her bloodlust from here. "Calm down," I said. "Ancient Power, another set of spears." "Magnezone, forget the Tangrowth! Gang up on Togetic! Vibrava, Rock Slide!" I clicked my tongue. I''d been content at Magnezone tiring himself out with attacks that would take ages to bring Angel down, but Yasim was smarter than that. Why worry about Angel when he was incapable of fighting? Vibrava beat its wings until they became a blur and rocks rose toward Togetic like they had a mind of their own. She simply flew up to stop herself from getting hit. Magnezone fired off a Thunderbolt, interrupting her from using Ancient Power. She had to focus if she wanted to shield herself. The attack was absorbed into her shield. "I''m withdrawing Angel," I said. Turtonator would have been ideal here, but I couldn''t use him still. I sent out Buddy instead, who floated up into the air. The Stealth Rock prated deep into his body, and he groaned before expunging the rocks and Recovering. "Brine. Princess, Ancient Power. Start with five drills." "Thunderwave that Jellicent!" "Shield him¡ª" "Tri Attack, then! Vibrava, Dragon Breath!" Princess sent five spinning drills toward Vibrava, who weaved in between them with impressive maneuverability. I should have known that it would have been good at that when looking at its wings. Fortunately though, Brine came into the picture. Clouds formed above both Magnezone and Vibrava, and thin jets of water mmed against their bodies. The steel type was rtively unaffected, but Vibrava screeched as it spat out its Dragon Breath toward Jellicent. This time, both Tri Attack and Dragon Breath hit, but Buddy just recovered. And he had been the bait anyway. A drill tore through two of Vibrava''s wings, and the dragon crashed to the floor. It tried to fly back up, but with that gaping hole there was no getting back in the air. It was a sitting Ducklett. "Spear now. One," I quickly said. With a sad chirp, Princess raised the earth once more. A single spear rushed toward Vibrava, who tried to counter it with Dragon Breath. The Ancient Power jerked to the right and kept going. "Magnezone, get in front of her!" "Get in there and Hex." Jellicent propelled himself with Water Sport, hoping to reach Magnezone in time. His eyes shone with a menacing red as the steel type''s body began to smoke, but the spear actually crashed into it, barely causing a dent. Yasim clenched a fist in celebration. "Do it again. Ten this time. Buddy, Brine." I wasn''t actually going to hurt Vibrava that much, and Princess knew that. I didn''t want to battle like that, and like I had said, I wanted to rein that side of me back in. But the quick mood switch that Yasim just went through that I manufactured? From things being slightly under control to aplete disaster? That caught him off bnce. All this time during the battle, I had limited myself to the number five. Five, five, five. Whether drills, spears, or boulders, I had etched that number into his mind and made him feel safe in thinking that was Princess'' limit. A tough attack to counter, but he had grownfortable with it. Used to it. And then I pulled the rug from under him just like I had done with Candice, but better. If he''d been better mentally prepared, then this could have been stopped. At this point in time, however? Yasim could only feel one thing. Despair. The spears spread out and all converged toward Vibrava. There was no way for Magnezone to protect his teammate from that many without his trainer''smand. The raindrops from Brine slowly but surely dented at his metallic shell. I waited to see if Yasim would fight back, but he just stared. That hopelessness I had crafted? I would use it to win. After realizing that no orders from his trainer wereing, Magnezone tried to desperately interrupt Princess with a Thunderbolt, but Buddy flew in between them with Water Sport and tanked the hit before recovering. I whistled sharply, and nine of the spears jerked away from Vibrava and dissolved into dust. The one that remained lightly stabbed into Vibrava''s abdomen and the ground type fainted. That whistle had been my signal for Princess to hold back, and she''d done so perfectly, although I could still feel some reluctance. Yasim recalled his Vibrava and bit his lip. "I forfeit." ¡ª After slogging through my interviews and escaping by using the Pokemon Center excuse, I joined my friends again. Cece and Denzel were the only ones here. The others were off training or hanging about Sceon. If I remembered correctly, Pauline wasining to Emilia on the phone about her loss. Mira was training for today''s battle, and I was surprised to see that Denzel hadn''t done the same. Justin was rekindling his friendship with Louis since they hadn''t talked alone in a long time. I was hoping to go investigate, but I wouldn''t be able to do anything until tomorrow when Harry battled again. Cecilia kissed the corner of my lip. "Your ruthlessness leaves me more enamored with you by the day." I couldn''t help but grin like an idiot, and Denzel frowned at us. "You guys are weird." "Shut up. You wouldn''t get it," I said. "No. No, I really don''t. Anyway, I''m mostly just joking around. Luring this guy into a false sense of security was as good of a tactic as any." "It was brilliant," Cece smiled. "I was wondering why you were holding back the whole time, but that reveal was¡­ wow." "I feel kind of bad. I mean I was pissed about yesterday," I sighed. "So some of that might have slipped into the battle. Hopefully he''s fine." "Should we go somewhere to cheer you up?" Cecilia asked. "Sure. A change of pace will be good." "I''ll be off. Need to prepare for my battle," Denzel said. "I''m still tweaking a few things." "Don''t act like you aren''t hiding something," I smugly said. "W¡ªWhat? I don''t know what you mean." "Arceus, that stutter you have when you get caught in a lie is crazy. You should work on that if you want to trick me." Denzel grumbled as he left. I wasn''t going to try to dig deeper into his new tactics unless we were about to battle. I still had a lot of opponents to get through before that, however, so I could rx for now. And now that I''d made it through two opponents without looking up their moves and fighting styles, I could finally stop holding back. I wasn''t going to risk getting knocked out this early, not with the Poketch Company breathing down my neck and the money that was on the line. But most of all, I wanted to face Harry Rodriguez and win. If we both kept winning each round, we would face each other in the top sixteen. That meant that he was the main trainer that stood in the way of a potential reward from the tournament. Thanks to my beneficial position on the bracket, I wouldn''t have to battle any of my friends until I made it through him. If none of my friends got knocked out by other trainers, then Harry would have to make it through¡­ Maeve pretty soon. I did think she was a good trainer, but as it stood, I didn''t think she had a chance. Denzel and Cecilia would end up having to battle soon enough, and so would Lauren and Mira. "Grace?" "My bad," I said, refocusing on her. "You''re anxious." "Of course. I don''t know why, but I want to win against this Harry jerk. Now let''s go hang out." "Where should we go?" I hummed. "First, go give Angel to Nurse Joy, and then¡­ do you think they have a piano around here?" ¡ª Somehow, we ended up knocking on strangers'' doors to ask if they had a piano we could use. Cecilia had begged me not to do it because of the possibly fatal amount of second-hand embarrassment that she felt whenever some stranger stared at us confusedly when they opened the door, but she loved me so much that she pushed herself for me. There was no piano to be found. We ended up having a date were we just knocked on strangers'' doors and awaited their reactions. Sceon was a rtively small, tight-knitmunity. Not as small as Twinleaf, but small enough for people to not even leave their doors locked at night. An old couple called Daniel and Marge even let us in to have some tea. "It''s not often that we have young people in our home," the old woman smiled as she handed us two cups. "What brings you here?" Cece stared daggers at me. "We''re trainers just passing by for the tournament," I said. "We''ve been enjoying Sceon a whole lot so far." "It''s a great little town," Daniel said fondly. "Full of history, if you know where to look¡ª" "Please, Danny. Don''t bore them with your history again," his wife rolled her eyes. "We should talk about younger things. My grandson always brings up this DailyTube thing on the inte¡­" "That''s somewhere you can watch videos online," I exined, surprised that she even knew about the inte. "What does your grandson do?" "He''s at Sunyshore University. We raised him, Danny and I." "I heard it''s the best in Sinnoh," Cecilia smiled. "He''s in good hands." "He didn''t originally want to go there, you see," Daniel said with a regretful look. "He wanted to work for the Daycare. He was really passionate about Pokemon¡ª" "He still is, Danny." "Get off my back for a second, Arceus," he grumbled. "Can I just speak uninterrupted for a second¡ª" "What was that about the Daycare?" I asked. Daniel sighed and Marge cackled. "He wanted to work for them." "I thought it was a family business only," Cecilia said. "Oh it is. The Hunters have always been that way. Everyone in Sceon knows that they hold their share of secrets and that they run things here. They aren''t willing to just let anyone in. You see, our grandson Isaac used to date a Hunter. Lisa Hunter, to be exact. He hoped to marry her and join their family." "He would have had to take theirst name, which is egregious." "You only say that because he''s a man and you hate the idea of a husband taking his wife''s name," Marge countered. "Let me do the talking. The only way an outsider can join the Hunter family is by marrying a Hunter and taking in theirst name. Isaac¡ª bless his heart¡ª really believed that the rtionship would go that far." "I warned him. I did. I explicitly told him that his first rtionship would most likely not go that far, but he wouldn''t hear it." Cece and I nced at each other but said nothing. "When you two girls find a boy, you should keep that in mind," Marge said. "Lisa broke our poor Isaac''s heart, and he decided to apply for Sunyshore University. Now he says that he never wants to show his face here again." I ignored the fact that they had gotten our rtionshippletely wrong and bit the inside of my lip. Okay. Okay. This was something. A lead. I needed to push for more information. "How many years ago was this?" "Two years ago. We haven''t seen him since, but we talk on his video chat thing," she sighed. "And the Hunters¡­ are they secretive of any potential rtionships at all?" Cecilia asked. "Quiet? That wasn''t half of it, they made us sign¡ª" "Marge." The old woman froze, and audibly swallowed. Sign what? An NDA? "They were. Lisa constantly demanded to keep it hidden," Daniel continued half-heartedly, keeping his eyes on his wife. "It never got out, though. They tend to always be secret. That''s why we always suddenly hear that so-and-so is marrying into the Hunters, and we''re always surprised by it." "Uhuh," I muttered. "Don''t you think that''s strange?" "Well, that''s just the Hunters," Marge waved dismissively. "They behave like the ns in Kanto and Johto sometimes, it reminds me of my childhood." "You''re Kantoan?" I asked, my eyes widening. "I was born and spent the first ten years of my life there," she shrugged. "I consider myself Sinnohan." "But she''ll never stop nagging me about how her damned attitude is because of her Kantoan blood," Danielughed. I sipped on my tea and considered what to ask next while Cecilia kept them busy with small talk. I couldn''t assume that Harry Rodriguez was dating someone in the Hunter family yet. That was just my brain desperately wanting to fit thest piece of the puzzle that would blow this whole thing wide open. It would be too easy. Too convenient. It still didn''t exin why they would even want him to win so much that they''d rig it so egregiously, and it still didn''t exin the rtionship with BattleZone. People on the forums were already starting to talk about how this whole tournament was suspicious, and the media was also beginning to smell blood in the water. Cece waited for a lull in the conversation and struck. "Are the Hunters known to work with otherpanies? You know, they''re cooperating with BattleZone for this tournament," Cecilia asked. "Well, I''m not that well-versed in their business practices. What about you Danny?" "They''re fiercely independent, but not stupid. If there is money to be made, they''ll work with others." "So it''s not the first time?" "Of course not," he waved dismissively. Damn it, it would have been a lot more suspicious if it was a change from how they usually operated. I was still missing thest piece, but we had somehow gotten a lot more information than I thought we''d get by pure chance. It didn''t exactly have anything to do with the tournament, but it seemed like the Hunters had a lot of skeletons in their closet. We stuck around another thirty minutes before we left. They had both be ufortable with the number of questions we were asking about the Hunters and kept diverting the topic to other things. They asked us toe back before we left Sceon, and we said we''de. They were nice people, even though they had unknowingly thrown shade at our rtionship by saying it was doomed to failure. I grabbed Cecilia''s hand and felt my heart pang. "Are you worried about what they said?" She asked. "I thought you''d ask me if I was worried about the Hunters," I dryly said. "I know you," she smiled. "There''s an element of truth to what they said¡­ most teenage rtionships don''tst long. But we can try, can''t we? I think we''re good together." "I do too," I reassured her. She released her Slowking, and we walked in silence toward the city center. "Say¡­" I whispered. "Can we sleep together every night?" I felt Cece jump. "Wha¡ª wha¡ª um¡ª" "Not like that!" I quickly added. "I mean sleep literally. Just cuddle, you know. I want to fall asleep in your arms. Eugh, that sounded really corny." She took a bit to rpose herself and cleared her throat. "O¡ªof course. I was¡­ waiting for you to ask that." "You were? Why didn''t you just ask me?" "Why didn''t you ask me earlier?" She countered. "That doesn''t even work," Iughed. "I thought I''d be too clingy. I already feel like I hog you from our friends too much." My eyes widened. She''d been worrying about the exact same thing I was. "Let''s just stop worrying about being clingy and be open with each other," I said. Cecilia''s smile widened. She linked her arm with mine and started nting kisses on my cheek while we walked on the empty road. I grinned. "I''ve been cutting all of our kisses short," she said. "How about we put that to the test?" We were going to be insufferable to our friends, weren''t we?
A/N: Thank you Proof?#6454 for the team!
Chapter 152 Chapter 152 CHAPTER 152 Cecelia and I pped as Denzel finished off his opponent. They''d been good¡ª another four-badger, but this time, he hadn''t been caught off-guard like with that Smeargle team and he only lost one Pokemon¡ª his Sylveon¡ª to a fierce Durant. Steel type attacks seemingly got through his armor like a knife through butter, so I had finally figured out a way to counter it¡ª not that I had any steel type attacks. Denzel got to use Milotic extensively. The water type was getting more and more used to moving around in his new snake-like form. He was having more fun than I''d ever seen him have as a Feebas. It would be a while until Denzel came here since he usually spent a lot of time talking to reporters. Mira''s battle was in a few hours, but the entire group opted to have another meeting before then in the Center to discuss what we''d learn and our next moves. Then, I would need to start researching Harry Rodriguez extensively. Inch. By. Inch. I was a lot of things, but I was notstupid. At my current skill level, Harry was better than me. He was extremely quick on his feet, but hisPokemonwere something else. That Torterra was the worse of all. None of my Pokemon I currently had except Sunshine would deal that much damage to the hulking grass type. I needed to prepare days in advance if I was going to win. Of course, I was also going to prepare for my other battles. Knowing moves and fighting styles would probably expedite the whole process so I could have more time to research Harry. He was just as guilty as whoever was running this scheme. He would pay for what he''d done to Pauline. ¡ª "Step one," Denzel started as we all stared at him. He was always the leader in these conversations. "Do you have the number for this Luca Antonovich kid?" Only Louis nodded. "Okay, so we can at least contact him again without meeting in the middle of the night. Second, Grace, have you thought about contacting the Poketch Company for help? They know you''re smart. If you tell them that you feel like something is going on and exin, I''m sure they''ll sendsomeoneto check, right?" "Yeah¡­ I''ll call Melody," I said. "I wanted to wait until we had definite proof, but justaskingfor help can''t hurt." "Third. This Lisa Hunter. Do we know where she is now?" "Pfft, there are so many Hunters that it''d be impossible to find all of ''em," Mira groaned. "The only thing that''s guaranteed is that she works for her family, so shemustbe here. Probably sleeps in that giant mansion if I had to guess. Want to break in?" "We arenotbreaking into a thousand-year-old mansion!" Maeve eximed. "You''re no fun." "The truth is, I asked around about Harry, but when you texted us about the Hunters, I asked around about them too. The questions about Harry came up nk. He''s just a trainer. Nothing special, really. But the Hunters? They''re reclusive to the point that most of them never leave their Arceus damned property. The kids are all homeschooled too." "I guess that means that Isaac always went to see her and not the opposite," Cecilia muttered. "I mean, from the way we got the story what happened was pretty obvious, right? Lisa Hunter was forced to break up with that Isaac guy by her family. It wasout of the blue, and the rtionship seemed to be going well." "Could have been going well from the grandparents'' perspective while the opposite was true," Mira shrugged. "Fair enough, but if I had to bet, I''d be willing to say that I''m right." "How?" Denzel asked. I paused and felt my lips twitch upward. "My gut." ¡ª Mira had gone off to her battle, but unfortunately and despite her incessantints, I wasn''t going toe to watch. Louis had texted Luca, asking for him to look deeper into the Hunters if he could.Wecouldn''t infiltrate their home and neither could Haunter because he just couldn''t behave or Fross because of the cold. They''d be found out instantly. His Cutiefly, however? Those were another story. He had said that he''d think about it and that he was assessing the risks. I couldn''t me him. "Harry Rodriguez," I muttered as Ized on Angel''s vine-bed. "I will know you inside and out." Thanks to his gym battle with Roark being recent, I actually had ess to his team as it was now. He had used Torterra and Pelipper extensively during that battle, but Luxray and Crobat hadn''t seen much use, so I would have to wait to analyze them. As it stood, Harry''s strategy was just to roll over everything with his Torterra, and when that didn''t work, he actually panicked quite a bit. Nothing that would be debilitating of course, but when his starter was out of the fight, he''d start to slip and make mistakes. I sighed. Taking down that Torterra would be incredibly hard, but I couldtrap it, maybe. Slow it down and keep it distracted while I focus on the other Pokemon. Torterra would being out first. That, I was sure of. His second was a mystery, and I''d only be able to figure it out when I learned more about how he battled indoublesinstead of singles. If it was Crobat¡­ from the little footage there was of the flying type, I knew he''d be able to overwhelm Princess with speed. And he was also a poison type that would easily beat her if it got too close. She would have been extremely useful for Torterra, but I couldn''t risk it. Plus, something about its face justfreaked me out. It was better than Golbat''s gaping maw, but I couldn''t help but feel slightly anxious at the sight of it. Angel would have to do the heavy lifting again, it seemed. If it was Pelipper, then Honey would be the choice. Even if Torterra was a ground type, Pelipper wasn''t fast enough to outrun Electric Swift. If I could rush it down with that attack and a few Thunderbolts, then we would trade one-for-one. Plus, I could think of quite a few ways to bypass Earthquake. If it was Luxray, then I''d have to use Sweetheart. As young as she was, she was still incredibly powerful and her Stomping Tantrum would be able to stop it from getting too close. I had counters for everything. Except that damned Torterra. And the solution was just a single promise away. If Mars was still after me as Sunshine believed, then it was only a matter of time anyway, right? I''d have to confront Team Gctic eventually, even if Ihatedto think about it. The thought alone made me shiver in fear. I bit my lip and Tangrowth hugged me with his vines. Maybe I could,I thought. No. I¡­ Denial was too sweet of a drug. If push came to shove and our lives were on the line, then I would have no choice. Right now, this was still small. I would talk to him about it soon to see if some sort of agreement could be reached. I had a list of moves for Torterra and Pelipper, so now all I could do was call Melody and tell her what was going on. We hadn''t really talked thesest three days apart from the asional text to micromanage my behavior during interviews. The Poketch Company seemed to think I was getting better at them, but that I could still use sometact. I texted her, asking her to speak if she was free. She wasn''t free, but since her primary job was to be my liaison, I apparently took priority. It was a funny feeling, to be the Poketch Company''s priority. It was a testament of the potential they saw in me. "Good afternoon, Grace. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Melody''s smooth voice rang out. "Hi. I''ll cut to the chase. Did you hear about what happened to my friend Pauline? The two resignations?" "Ah, yes we did," she said. "Let me guess, you find those suspicious and want us to step in?" "Yeah. Well, not step in, but investigate or something and see if this thing is legit or not." "I wish I could do more, Grace, I really do. We have people from thepany looking into it to make sure you''re being treated fairly since you''re under our umbre," Melody sighed. "But that''s the most that I can do. The hype about the theory''s dying down. No one else has resigned since and even though itwassuspicious, the evidence is circumstantial at best¡ª" "It''s not circumstantial! Hear me out. The Hunters¡ª" I stopped, my throat suddenly dry. She was right. I had nothing concrete. Just theories. I had been wrong about the wave of resignations. Only oneperson had dropped out since, so her information was outdated, but she was on the opposite side of the bracket and had nothing to do with Harry. "A goodpany would have dyed the match, but as it turns out, this is how they do things. We read the fine print. For what it''s worth, I do believe there''s been some foul y, but I''m just one woman. The Poketch Company is a machine. I don''t make the decisions, and when decisions are taken, they areslow," she said. "I''m sorry. Even if you lose to Rodriguez, you''ll have made the top fifty, so thepany will be pleased¡ª" "I won''t lose," I interrupted. She paused. "Very well. I wish you the best of luck. I don''t know much about battling, but I can tell that he was good." "You watched?" "I told you I was suspicious, didn''t I?" She chuckled. "One word of advice, Grace. Keep your head down and don''t try to investigate. You''re just a kid¡ª wait, I know how trainers hate it when we say that, hold on let me rephrase. You should just focus on yourself for now. The Hunters¡­ are a lot more influential than most would think." "I know they run the ce," I frowned. "What else do you know?Howdo you know?" "I''m from Sceon, Grace," she sighed. "Their influence never really leaves you, even when you move." "Influence?" I gulped. "A metaphorical way of speaking," she reassured me. "What I meant to say is, don''t try to be a hero and trespass. They don''t take too kindly to that, and it''ll beillegal, so it would reflect badly on us. The Hunters are a very private family." Damn it, it was like she''d guessed that we wanted to investigate. I didn''t let my mask slip and simply agreed to her suggestion. Something about this entire town wasrotten. I hated it the more I stayed here. The people were nice, but Arceus, I couldn''t shake that anxious feeling that had overtaken me since yesterday. It was like something pressing on my chest and never relenting. After hanging up, I hugged my knees and Angel softly pet my head. "I won''t stop," I said. "Justice needs to be served." ¡ª After Mira handily won her battle, Luca sent Louis a message telling him that he was in. Tonight, he would send his Cutiefly to find Lisa Hunter and see if she ever left the Arceus damned mansion. Since she had almost no online presence, there were scant pictures of her online, but during dinner, Justin proposed an idea that had somehow slipped through all of our minds. "Why not contact that Isaac fellow in Sunyshore? Do we know hisst name?" "Holy shit, that''s true," Denzel said, pping a fist against his palm. "We do have hisst name. It''s uh¡­ what was it?" "Frazier," Cecilia said. "If we can contact him, we can figure out what ended his rtionship with the Hunters and potentially get more insight on their family, no?" "Yeah, but will he even answer? We''d be strangers asking him about his personal life," Maeve said. "Should we pretend to be someone else? The cops?" Mira asked in an amused tone. "That would probably fail spectacrly," I sighed. "I think it might pay off to just be honest." "Agreed," Pauline said. "No games. Just be straight up and try to convince him." Denzel nodded, and it only took him five minutes to find and shoot Isaac a message on social media. Cecilia and Louis helped him workshop it to appear as polite and easygoing as possible to not pressure the man, and it surprisingly only took him twenty minutes to answer back. When we heard the buzz on Denzel phone¡ª a buzz that I had mistaken for Combee¡ª we all scrambled to check what was written, crowding around him. "Chill out guys," he groaned. "He says¡­''are you guys tricking me¡­ I promise I haven''t told anyone anything.''" "Arceus, what did theydoto this guy?" Maeve shivered. "Tell him that we can call him if he wants. The entire group, to show that we''re not fake," I said. "I don''t know much about the Hunters, but I doubt that they''d have done it like this." Denzel agreed and sent the message, texting him his number in the process. Isaac instantly replied, saying to wait five minutes for him to go back to his dorm room. We all flinched when we saw the call pop up. Isaac immediately spoke up. "Who are you people? How do you know about me and Lisa?!" "Hello Isaac. We''re¡­ a group of trainers looking into the Hunter family," Denzel said, taking the lead. He stared at me and I gave him a firm nod.Tell the truth."We heard about you and her through your grandparents." "Damn it¡­they weren''t supposed to tell anyone. I''m gonna have to call them¡­" "Were you threatened in any way?" He continued. "I was threatenedlegally, but that was it. Normally I would hide this, but you already know too much. Just leave me alone after alright? I already have a lot on my te. And donottell anyone about this. It''s not like the cops here would do anything anyway. The Hunters run that too." "Sure thing," Denzel said. "Lisa and I dated one and a half years ago during the summer, and long story short, she broke up with me in tears. We were doing really good, but her family forced her to cut me off. I wasn''t good enough for them." "What constitutes ''good enough''? I interjected. Hearing my voice for the first time, he hesitated. "It was just too much. I wanted to join the family business and be a breeder¡­ to be honest, I still want to be a breeder. It was like acultin there. They call the family leader theElder, and he lives on the top floor of the mansion and runseverythingin Sceon.Everything. I never even saw him. They wanted me to do all this weird stuff¡­ pledge my loyalty, leave my home and never speak to my grandparents again, work without getting paid. It was too much. I said no, and they forced Lisa to break up with me.Theywere the ones who wanted to marry us ASAP. I''m not dumb enough to propose to a girl I''ve been dating for a few months, but I had to pretend to be on board to my grandparents." This was it. Definitive proof that the Hunters wereshady, but it wasn''t proof of involvement in tournament rigging. "Is that it? I hate talking about this." "Wait!" Louis sprung up. "There''s another one of you? Just how many people are in the room?!" "Uh, eight people," Denzel said. Isaac groaned. "Louis?" "You say this family is like a cult," Louis started. "Is there any¡­ brainwashing going on?" "No. They''re just blindingly loyal to the family head," he denied. "They''ve been doing this for a thousand years. The Hunters are aninstitution.They''ve always been there. People in Sceon can''t imagine their lives without ''em, and it''s even worse for the people in the family. You can''t free any of them from that influence. I tried with Lisa¡­ I tried to get her to run away to Sunyshore with me. She loved me¡ª she really did¡ª but looked at me like I was insane. I''ll never forget what she told me that day." "I''m sorry," I winced. "Onest thing, if it might not be too much to ask?" "What is it?" "Do you have a picture of her?" The call ended soon after that. It took a little bit of convincing, but Isaac sent us a picture of Lisa Hunter, and we ryed it to Luca so his Cutiefly knew what to look for, but he wasn''t going to go and check right away. Luca was going to do something else tonight. The goal of the operation was to constantly be on Harry Rodriguez''s tail to see if he ever made contact with any organizers from BattleZone or a Hunter. His next battle was tomorrow, and I sure as hell was going to watch it. We eagerly waited for a few hours to check if Luca had any information for us, but he kept telling Louis to stop pestering him when he was working. Eventually, people filtered out when we weren''t getting any news. No new resignations. No funny business. Nomovement. When Harry got active again tomorrow, we''d probably learn more. I decided to look up my next opponent before going to bed. Will Bowman was a water type specialist, which caused me to have an immediate reaction and want to send out Electabuzz and Tangrowth against him. Of course, now that I was researching my opponents, I quickly figured out that that would have been a terrible idea. Why? Two reasons. First, he owned a Vaporeon, a Beartic, a Wugtrio, an Azumarill, a Basculin and a Frillish. Beartic and Wugtrio both knew ground type moves to counter electric types. I felt bad that Honey wasn''t seeing much use so far, but it looked like he''d have to be saved in case something went wrong with my actual n, which was to send out Angel and Buddy. I grinned. It looked like people not knowing that Buddy had Water Absorb was going to be dividends during this battle. Since Will Bowman had six Pokemon, I wasn''t sure which one was going to be left behind, but I wasone hundredpercent sure that he was going to have either Beartic or Wugtrio. His main strategy tended to be this: have his Vaporeon set up a Rain Dance to flood the terrain and increase the power of his water moves, along with allowing his Basculin to actually travel through the whole field. Funnily enough, his Beartic actually hadSwift Swim, which would synergize with that strategy as well. The three most likely Pokemon that he''d use were Vaporeon, which was instrumental to his strategy¡ª along with Beartic and Basculin. Now who would best? Frillish was probably out of the picture. She was his weakest teammate who was held behind by not having evolved. That left Azumarill and Wugtrio. They were both physical attackers, but Wugtrio specialized in speed and Azumarill in slow and steady power. Beartic and Basculin were already quick¡­ if I had to gamble, I guessed that Azumarill would be fourth. Wugtrio would mean that Bowman''s team would be too frail to resist Angel''s vines, but even if I was wrong, I figured that it wouldn''t matter very much. My team wouldn''t change regardless. Tangrowth, Jellicent, Electabuzz and Togetic were the best possible choice. "Come to bed." I turned toward Cece, who was lying down under the covers. She pulled out her arm and caressed my back. "I''m almost done, I think," I smiled. "Hold on a sec." The main strategy here would be to destroy¡ª not destroy¡ª take down that Vaporeon before the water from Rain Dance built up enough for Bowman''s team to have any effect. The quicker the water type went down, the faster the Rain Dance would stop. I wondered what the interaction between Sunny Day and Rain Dance was, but if I had to guess, Vaporeon''s experience with the move meant that it would overpower Angel. It was even better than Gardenia''s Lombre. Vaporeon was bulky, but it wasslow. The most skilled ones could apparently liquefy their bodies, but Will Bowman''s wasn''t that good yet. It was light enough for Angel to pick up. If he got in range for a Bind, Vaporeon, would fall. And with that, his entire strategy would fall apart. Without Vaporeon, Angel could quickly rece the rain with Sunny Day and cripple his water type attacks. Wait¡­ actually, it wasreallyobvious who he would start with now. Angel was beginning to get a reputation as my strongest, and I''d started with him twice in a row. Bowman would be right to assume that I would do it again, so that meant that Beartic would apany Vaporeon as his first two. Oh well, Jellicent would be able to help out and distract it while Angel took care of Vaporeon for us. I closed myputer and got into the bed. Cece wrapped me into a tight hug and I felt her body heat permeate through me. I loved her. ¡ª I woke up to a frantic knock. I squinted, noticing that it was still dark out. Cecilia groaned. "What time is it?" I grabbed my phone on my bedside table and had to blink a few times to read the contents. Four in the morning. "It''s 4 am. I''ll go get it," I whispered. "Do you have to? Wait, you do have to, it''s probably important." I yawned and shuffled out of bed. I almost forgot to release Princess before opening the door, which could have been a fatal mistake. Luckily, it was just Denzel knocking. I was sure I would have recognized his knock if I hadn''t been tired as hell. "Yeah? Figure something out?" I asked. "Luca sent Louis a message. Harry Rodriguez is on the move."
Chapter 153 Chapter 153 CHAPTER 153 I inhaled sharply at the news. Trainer or not, people didn''t just leave their rooms at four in the morning. If he''d been out there beforehand, we could have brushed it off and said he was training, but who started training at four? It was a possibility, but it sure as hell was suspicious. I didn''t even care if I was just confirming my inherent biases, I just wanted something. Some definite proof would actually cement this thing. We were certain that the tournament was being rigged for Harry Rodriguez and that the Hunters were shady, but we had nothing linking the two. Nothing yet. "What does he want us to do?" I asked. "Come join him for backup," Denzel said, his voice steady. "His Cutiefly can battle, but they''re not the best." "Backup?" "In case things go¡­ south," he added. "With what we learned about the Hunters today, I understandpletely." I clenched around my pajamas and had to stop myself from taking a step back. I was ready. I was ready. I couldn''t be a baby forever. "Let Cece and I get dressed," I sighed. ¡ª It was the dead of night. A cold wind brushed past my hair as I walked toward Sceon''s deste city center with Cecilia, Louis and Denzel in tow. We had wanted to get everyone involved, but Luca had said that more than four would alert Harry. In arge city, people would have still been out in about, but here? It was like we were in a ghost town. Only the dim street lights illuminated the street, and the dim light of a nearby Pokemon Center could be seen in the distance. Harry''s Pokemon Center. "Took you long enough," Luca whispered as we reached him. "I''ve got the bastard skulking around a few blocks away. He''s been walking really slow. It''s like he really doesn''t want to get seen by anyone, so he makes sure every street is empty before he crosses." I frowned. "How do you even know that?" Lucazily pointed back toward the sky. We squinted and noticed a bright light zooming across the horizon. Cece scoffed. "Is that your¡ª" "One of my Cuties, yeah," he said. "The other''s a lot closer to the culprit himself, and she''s just rying his position." Louis hissed. "But the light¡ª" "Calm down, you bunch of amateurs. This ain''t my first rodeo. My Cutiefly are special. Those are fairies you''re talking about. If they don''t want you to see ''em, you won''t. Not without a psychic, and Mr. Rodriguez over here doesn''t have one of those." "So what do we do?" I asked. "We follow. From afar." We nodded. Since we were here for backup, we each released one Pokemon. Cecilia released Slowking to sense any people approaching. Denzel surprisingly released his Lopunny, and I released Electabuzz in case we needed his Protect. Togetic wouldn''t be good at shielding all of us at once if an attack got through. After quickly bringing them up to speed, we slowly followed Luca''s Cutiefly which was signaling high into the sky. We could never approach too closely. No, that would be too obvious, especially when Harry was being as cautious as he was. For now the goal was to see where he was going, and it didn''t appear to be the Hunter''s mansion, which was miles away from the city center. He seemed to be going deeper in. We followed Cutiefly for around ten minutes, but then Luca''s head snapped up and he stopped us with a hand. The fairy type flew in repeated patterns that I recognized as¡­ letters, but it was too quick and too far for me to figure out what it was saying. "Fuck! Harry''s gone," he cursed. "What?" Denzel eximed. "He turned a corner and teleported. That confirms your theory at least," he said, nodding toward me. "What Pokemon? What did he use to Teleport?" I quickly asked. Luca motioned to his Cutiefly, and in just a few seconds, she was in front of us. The other one followed quickly after. The fairy type executed a bunch of acrobatics in the air and spelled out a Pokemon''s name. A. B. R. A. "Today''s a bust," Luca groaned. "Abra used Teleport to get in and out of the street. It barely took five seconds. Luckily with how fast it was, I don''t think it noticed my Cuties¡­ hopefully." "Damn it, that could be bad," I clicked my tongue. "But at least we got something. One, we know that he''s getting outside help. Two, we know that he doesn''t want to be seen, which is shady as hell. Even someone who was training wouldn''t take that amount of precautions, and if he was, why even hide the Abra? This is something more sinister." "But we still don''t know if he''s linked with the Hunters," Louis said. "It''s only a matter of time," I said. "Thank you Luca. You''ve been a great help." "Pay me?" He said before grinning. "I''m just pulling your leg. I don''t mind working for free if we uncover whatever the hell is going on here. That information you got about them from that Isaac guy? Makes them sound a lot more cultish than I''d like. I''ll keep tabs on him." Well, we hadn''t gotten what we wanted, but at least we''d gotten something, all while avoiding a fight in the middle of the street with no rules or protection. I had never been in a battle where targeting the trainer was a possibility aside from with wild Pokemon, but humans doing it disturbed me to no end. But if they did it to me? Well, I wasn''t sure if I''d be able to stop my team from killing them. "One more thing," Cecilia said, raising a finger. "That Abra¡­ has to be from here, right? To Teleport in the middle of an alley like that means that it''s been there a lot of times before. Pokemon need to be very familiar with their environment to Teleport somewhere that quickly." "Especially for an Abra," Denzel added. "If it was a Xatu or even a Kadabra, I would have given it the benefit of the doubt, but¡­ yeah, this feels like it''s from here. No way to be one hundred percent sure though." "Damn, you guys are good. I know nothing about Teleportation," Luca said. "Meeting that Abra anywhere closer to the Center was probably too high of a risk, which is why he went all the way out here," I muttered. "Now all that remains is: where the hell did he go?" "Hunter''s mansion would be my guess," Denzel said. "But that''s just an assumption, and it doesn''t exin what the hell their connection would be. Think he''s dating one of them after all?" "Maybe. Maybe not," I said. "Thanks for the help Luca. I''d say that we should confront Harry with what we''ve got, but that''d be dumb and dangerous. Let''s justy low for now. Maybe the Poketch Company will figure something out." "I''ll bow out then," he said as his two Cutiefly circled his head. I found it hard to stay focused on any of them. "Next time he does the same thing, I''ll call again. I''m not about to get beaten half to death in an alley or murdered." "Fair," I said. "Good night." "See ya." ¡ª I woke up tired the next day. It''d be worse for Louis, who would have to actually battle, along with the majority of our friend group. I wasn''t going to watch, however. Today, I was going to do something that could be stupid. I didn''t consider myself much of a risk-taker, which I''m sure all the people I knew would scoff at. When something caught my eye, I couldn''t stop myself from getting it or at least trying to, like Sunshine. Other than that? I''d say I operated on the side of safety and not recklessness. Reckless was someone like Pauline. That thing I had said aboutying low? I had changed my mind. I was nning to visit the Hunter''s mansion today. It''s not like I was going to break in. That would be tremendously stupid and I''d probably get arrested for trespassing or worse if the cult stories were true. Since their home was more than a thousand year old, they often ran tours there for revenue. Yes, more revenue. It''s not like they were swimming in cash already, they needed more money. Arceus. Anyway, with the influx of trainers and people that hade to the town for the tournament, they were running more and more tours, going as much as doing them all afternoon. Cecilia and Denzel were of courseing with me. They would never let me go alone. That meant that we had to wait for Cecilia''s battle to conclude before going to the tour, and needless to say, she handily won against another girl with four badges. Zweilous and Talonme wiped the floor with the opposition, although she didn''t use the Heat Wave, Tailwind and Fire Spin trick this time because she wasn''t fighting just rock types. We didn''t want to go in toorge of a group to avoid attracting attention, but the others knew what we were doing, even if they had their battles to fight. Thest person that woulde was Luca, who wasn''t going to miss an opportunity like this. The goal was to send his Cutiefly to figure out if something in the mansion was suspicious, but we would also be keeping an eye out. I doubted that they''d have anything out of order on the fixed route they''d keep us on though. We stood among a group of fifteen. I was surprised to see how small it was, but they probably didn''t want that many people on their property at once. "Wee to the Daycare, everyone!" A man smiled. He looked rtively normal. He was an average-sized man in his early to mid-forties. The unique thing about him was his grey eyes. "My name is Reggie," he continued, pointing to the nametag around his cor. "This is my sister, Lane." Lane smiled softly at us, and she also had grey eyes. I was starting to realize that this was actually the first time I''d ever seen a Hunter in the flesh despite them being so influential. The stories about their istion were no joke. "The guide willst thirty to forty minutes, and we''ll be starting with some of the Pokemon," Lane said. "Then, we''ll show you some of our home." Reggie cleared his throat. "First, we have to go over some rules. No Pokemon allowed on the premises. We don''t want them disturbing our Pokemon or any of our family members." His Cutiefly were floating high up in the sky, and we were the only ones that could see them, but it seemed that he wanted to wait until we reached the mansion to send them spying. It was too risky. "Second, no pictures or videos. Third, no petting or calling out to the Pokemon. Fourth, always stick with us and don''t go off on your own. Lastly¡­ enjoy your time!" The group cheered, and they led us toward the huge enclosure where the Hunters raised all kinds of Pokemon. Denzel shot a look at Luca, who shook his head. I couldn''t even see where it ended. I could see a few employees in the distance tending to some Squirtle and other water types next to ake. "Impressive, isn''t it?" Lane said, seemingly catching onto the group''s awe. "We''ve owned thisnd for a thousand years, and we''ve preserved it all this time. It''s bigger than Sceon itself, you know?" Reggieughed. "When we were kids, we''d get lost out there for hours. We were practically raised by Pokemon, and so were all of our family members." "I have a question," Luca said. I froze. It was too early. "Go ahead!" Lane said. "What''s your favorite Pokemon?" He innocently asked. "We get that one a lot. I''d have to say Shiftry. What about you, Reggie?" "You know the answer. It''s also Shiftry," heughed. Something about the way he''d said it was¡­ disturbing. I couldn''t ce what bothered me about it. They both moved on to another question from someone else, and Cecilia pulled Luca aside. "What are you doing? I thought we needed to be discreet," she angrily whispered. "I am being discreet! I''m blending in! It''d be more suspicious to stay quiet the whole fucking time. You have to act your part. We''re supposed to be interested in this stuff, remember?" She bit her lip and nodded. The Hunters led us to multiple enclosures within the huge enclosure, and we saw plenty of Pokemon. Bulbasaur, Lotad, Deerling¡­ it seemed like they were allowed to roam free here. I might have found their family shady, but I couldn''t deny that the Pokemon looked happy, at least. Sometimes, we woulde across another Hunter, and they almost all shared those pale, grey eyes except for the ones that had married in from the outside. Along the way, we learned about how even Pokemon from the same type with a simr body structure could have vastly different needs to thrive. Deerling and Skiddo were a good example. The former was actually quite aggressive and they fought with each other often, while thetter was one of the most docile Pokemon you could get. Deerling actually needed berries to survive and changed throughout the seasons, while Skiddo could live entirely off of grazing. It was interesting. I hated to admit it, but I was genuinely enjoying myself. Of course, the Hunters didn''t actually take us to meet the rarest Pokemon they raised, but they did exin to us that breeders needed special approval from the League before they could raise some of the more dangerous Pokemon, like Gible or Slugma. I was sure that they were hiding them somewhere. Apparently, they had created every single biome in their enclosure, and I caught a glimpse of a manmade desert in the distance before we turned back. It was time to explore the mansion now. I eyed Luca, who discreetly motioned to his Cutiefly. They followed us as we entered the building and immediately dispersed in order to not be seen. As I stepped inside, my eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the dimly lit interior. Even during the afternoon, this ce seemed to be darker than it should have been. The second thing I noticed was the smell¡ª it was an earthen, musty smell that seeped into every corner of the mansion and filled my nostrils to an ufortable degree. People lived in here? The air felt cold, although a fire had been lit in the foyer. The foyer itself was a grand affair. The walls were lined with intricately carved wood paneling, and a staircase led to the second and third floors. Lane noticed me staring. "You won''t be going to the second floor today," she smiled. "Only the first is open to the public. This way, if you will?" We followed Lane and Reggie to the left, and the old wooden floors creaked under our feet no matter where we stepped. The two guides, however, seemed to know exactly where to step to be silent. I was surprised to see the mansion so empty. I had almost expected it to be bustling with other Hunters, but no one was there. They must have all been working out on the field. It was good news for us since it meant that fewer people would be able to spot Luca''s Cutiefly, who had already made their way to the second floor. "This over here is a painting of the founder of our family, Ediva Hunter," Reggie fondly said, nodding toward the painting. I recognized the name from one of the graves in the Lost Tower. She had pale grey eyes like all of her descendants and brown hair that reached her ankles. She was dressed in golden clothes and was covered in jewelry. I assumed that was an artistic choice. "All of her life, she wanted to create a safe haven for Pokemon, but she died before being able to aplish her goal. Her twins took over and realized her dreams," he continued, pointing to another painting. "Siward and Leomer Hunter. The second generation. From then on, the family grew and grew, slowly expanding ournds so that we could take care of more Pokemon." "Without Ediva, we would never havee this far," Lane softly added. "Let''s continue." The two guides showed us multiple old musty rooms that looked like they hadn''t been used in decades. Supposedly though, people frequented this ce every day, they just didn''t sleep here. They slept in the hundreds of cabins that lined the Hunter''s enclosure. "What''s the point of having a huge mansion if you don''t use it?" A girl said in a haughty tone. "We use it, the majority of us just don''t sleep here," Lane smiled. "Who does?" Luca quickly asked. "Well, the head of the family for one," Reggie said. I clenched a fist. The Elder that Isaac had talked about. Was he here now? "But that''s not what this tour is about," he continued, pointing to a¡­ Pokeball enclosed in ss. It looked odd. The surface was uneven, and it wasn''t made of metal. "Up next, we have the Siward''s very own Pokeball that we''ve preserved all these years. As you can see, it looks different than what we currently use. Back in the day, these weren''t mass-produced like today. They were made by specialized smiths that worked with Apricorn trees!" "Hard to believe, right?" Lane smiled. "They don''t use those anymore to make Pokeballs, although some still cling to the old ways in Johto, I''ve heard. Up next¡­" As Reggie and Lisa took us further and further in, I was beginning to grow anxious. Sweat umted on my palms that I constantly had to wipe on my jeans. Luca''s Cutiefly weren''t back yet, but it wasn''t like they could just show themselves. They''d have to wait outside until we were done with the tour. After making us look at more paintings, heirlooms and even a statue, the tour finally ended and they began to lead us back outside. An old man and a Shiftry awaited us in the foyer. My hands instinctively went to my Pokeballs, but they only hovered there for a second. For being an elder, this man wasn''t actually that old. He looked to be only slightly older than Reggie and Lane. In his fifties, maybe? He was balding and on the thinner side, although his stomach stuck out a little bit. He sported a thin, greying beard, and the usual silver eyes. Shiftry was beautiful, and I didn''t say that lightly. Every inch of its wooden body was carved with beautiful, flowery imagery, and its white hair was braided into thick locks adorned with a golden hairpiece. It stared at us with cold, yellow eyes. "Elder!" Reggie and Lane both eximed, bowing. The group stared around confusedly, but we knew something had happened. Where were Luca''s Cutiefly? I expected him to be panicking, but he looked calm. He was acting his socks off, and we''d better do the same. I took a deep breath and stared at the Elder. "At ease," heughed. "No need for that in front of the guests." They both stood up straight. The Elder''s voice was raspy, but soft. It was an odd thing to hear. He was possibly the most soft-spoken man I''d ever heard. "Shiftry told me of a disturbance in our home, and we quickly found the source," he said, stroking his beard. "A Pokemon snooping about." Reggie and Lane paled. A single Pokemon? "We apologize¡­ we were careless," Lane said. "Do not fret. Everyone makes mistakes," he said. "Now, if the trainer that owns the Cutiefly steps forward, we can all go along with our day. No harm was done. Shiftry stopped it before it could disturb our home." That meant that it hadn''t found anything of note. I restrained a curse. No one said anything. We all stood, and a heavy silence filled the air. It weighed on us. For two minutes, the Elder said nothing. Why had he only found one? That meant that the other was safe, at the very least, or maybe he was just bluffing. "Well, no matter," he smiled, staring straight at Luca. "I know the answer already. I just wanted to give you the opportunity toe clean." Luca''s mask slipped, and he snarled. "What did you do to my Pokemon?" "Reggie, Lane, lead the other guests back outside, will you?" "Fuck no," Luca said. "Why? If you''re gonna do something, do it with them here." "I won''t do anything," he sighed. "I just thought that it would be better dealt with in private, that is all. Shiftry¡ª" "Elder!" Lane called out. "Not in front of the¡ª" "Silence," he hissed. She shrunk down like a wilting flower. "Shiftry, release it." The grass type nodded silently and sliced the air apart with his leaves. My eyes flickered and the air grew so thick that it was as if I was underwater, yet I could still breathe fine. From the cut, darkness appeared and expanded. It wasn''t darkness, exactly. It was like I was looking at the absence of light. A void. The abyss. There was nothing there, and the longer I looked the more I felt like the darkness itself was staring back. A sense of wrongness overtook me and I shivered. It was cold, but it bordered on the valley between manageable and ufortable. I couldn''t even feel my own heartbeat any longer, and the colors at the corner of my vision faded to ck and white. There was a gentle pull toward the abyss, as if it had an effect on gravity itself. I had never seen a powerful dark type before. Chase''s Houndoom was nothingpared to this. The entire process had barelysted a second. One of Luca''s Cutiefly flew out of the darkness and circled around his head. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least one of his Pokemon was fine. Weren''t fairies supposed to resist the dark? "How¡­?" Luca asked in disbelief. "No one''s ever spotted my Cutiefly before without a psychic, much less trapped her." "You may take the guests outside," the Elder said, ignoring him. "As an apology for the inconvenience, your visit fee shall be refunded. Lane?" "I will see to it," she said. The older man nodded and watched as we were led out of the mansion. We were safe, but we had learned nothing apart from the fact that the Elder truly existed and used an incredibly powerful Shiftry. Luckily for us, Luca''s second Cutiefly joined us shortly after. I didn''t know how it had escaped detection, but ording to him, he had quickly run away as soon as he felt something was wrong, while his sister wanted to keep exploring to not disappoint their trainer. She got captured, and he got away. "Guys," Luca said. "I think I''m out." I frowned. "What?" "It was fun, don''t get me wrong, but that Shiftry¡­" he muttered. "I''m no battler. It was nice while itsted, but I''m not fucking around with that family anymore. My Cuties could have died. The Elder knew about me. How else would he have known that Cutiefly was mine?" "That''s¡­" I started, then sighed. "Okay. Thank you for the help until now." "The money was nice, but I''m ditching this town. The more I stay here, the more unsettling this ce is. If someone told me before I came that the most disturbing city in Sinnoh was Sceon, I would haveughed at them, but it''s true. The Hunters are entrenched here, and there''s no stopping them, corrupt tournament or not." "Wait!" Cecilia eximed. "Before you leave, can you ask your Cutiefly if they saw anything?" "Didn''t he say that she didn''t?" Denzel frowned. "And the other one just escaped." "Cutie?" He asked. The fairy type spelled out a name. H. A. R. R. Y. Harry Rodriguez had been on the mansion''s second floor along with that Abra. We had proof now. They were linked. It exined how they found Cutiefly so easily, although answers about Shiftry''s powers still remained unknown. That void¡­ it was like a ck hole¡ª or at least the visual effects was. The light around it had been distorted. There was also the fact that Abra might have sensed the second Cutiefly before he could escape. Luca exhaled sharply and clenched his hair. "Argh¡­ Fuck it, I''m staying," he said, biting his lip.
Announcement Hey everybody! I''ve officially created a ! Now before you get too excited, there are currentlynobenefits to pledging. There are no advanced chapters, and I won''t move poll-voting to there either¡ª that''ll stay on my . People were asking me to create one, so I figured I''d bite the bullet and do it. I don''t really expect too much, but right now all of the money would go toward artmissions. Chapter 154 Chapter 154 CHAPTER 154 "Argh¡­ Fuck it, I''m staying," Luca said, his face full of anxiety. "Are you¡ª are you sure?" Denzel stammered. "Yeah. I got spooked¡­ hell, I''m still spooked, but this is too big to ignore. I''m sticking around," Luca said with a resolute tone. Denzel nodded and hurriedly texted the group chat to update them on the situation. "So we have confirmation of the teleportation theory and that Harry''s connected to the Hunters. With how istionist they were described by everyone in this Arceus damned town, we can assume that he''s getting help from them and that he''s important somehow," I said. "There''s no way they''d let him on the second floor otherwise." "Maybe he really is dating one of ''em," Luca said. "Maybe. We can''t be sure yet," I shook my head. "Can''t we report him to someone?" Denzel asked. "He hasn''t really done anything wrong yet. None of them have," Cecilia said. "Just being teleported around and invited into a home isn''t wrong. The Elder captured your Cutiefly because we were explicitly breaking the rules, and no harm was done to us. They''re clean." "Damn it, you''re right." "They appear clean on the outside, but we know the truth," Luca said with a smug smile. "I want to bring them down. I want my fuckin'' name in the history books." Ignoring his questionable motives, I interjected. "We need to rx for the time being. No more attempts to sneak in with Cutiefly, or the Hunters will know we''re up to something. Hell, they probably already suspect you," I nodded toward Luca. "You need toy low. We still need to figure out what the hell that thing with BattleZone was, so we can take a little break and pivot toward them. If we can make the whole thing fit, I''ll be a lot less anxious." "It''s possible that it doesn''t fit, Grace," Denzel said. "There are¡­ a lot of actors involved. Can we really expect them to have the same agenda?" "Fair point," Luca said. "Isaac told us the Hunters were like a cult. Reggie and Lane bowed when the Elder showed up," I retorted. "But it''s still possible," Cece said. "We can''t base all of our assumptions on a single interaction. We barely saw any other members of the family, we don''t know if there''s a faction that''s against whatever is going on. The same applies for BattleZone. It''s like Josephine told us, right? Withrge groups and conspiracies like this, it''s always factions within factions." "You''re right. Let''s just¡­ get back for now. We can have another group meeting tonight when everyone''s battles are done. I''m just going to wait around until Harry''s fight to see what he''s about. His next opponent''s a four-badger, so hopefully the battle canst longer so I can I learn more about him." "Don''t let Pauline hear you say that," Denzel teased. "Don''t snitch," I said. "I think I''ll go meet her soon, actually. Luca, I guess you''re leaving back to your job?" By his job, I was obviously referring to his information brokering. "Wait, are we just going to ignore whatever the hell that Shiftry was?" Luca scoffed. "That wasn''t¡­ that wasn''t a move, right? I''m not that good of a battler." "No, it wasn''t," Denzel frowned. "That Elder''s a lot better than he looks at first nce. I don''t know how strong that Shiftry is, but it''s definitely better than anything we have." "Which is why battling is off the table," I said. "We figure out evidence that could sink them and tip off the media if it''s just cheating in a tournament. If it''s worse like I''m beginning to suspect¡­ then we call the League." Grim grunts of affirmation rang out throughout the group. Luca left soon afterward. He told us that he was changing his usual spot since it used to be next to the Hunters'' property. Needless to say, he was too scared to stick around any longer. We arrived back to the Center around the time Lauren would be battling, and Maeve would be next. Louis and Justin had apparently won their battles, although I didn''t know much about what had gone on. Denzel had checked it out via video on the way there, and Louis had won by the skin of his teeth. His Gible carried him and he managed to beat a person with four badges. If he wanted to get better, he''d have to start relying on his other Pokemon a lot more. "Did you see what Justin said?" Denzel asked as we stepped into the elevator. "No. You told me he won, is he okay?" "He says that he''s fucked next round¡ª I''m obviously paraphrasing," heughed. "He''s got to make it through another guy with five badges to win his next battle. That''s unlucky as hell, with how few of them there are." "Yeah¡­ it sucks," I sighed. "Not much he can do about it but prepare as best he can. If he loses, then it''ll be a learning opportunity." Denzel''s words made me pull out my phone and look at the bracket once more. Specifically, Harry Rodriguez''s position. After easily making it through that first battle thanks to probable rigging¡­ none of his opponents would ever have more than four badges until he got a lot further in. His path to the top sixteen had been cleared, and I had no doubt that they expected him to roll through me, so they expected him to go further still. Yeah, BattleZone was in on this. I was sure of it. "I''m gonna go see Pauline, then I''m going to snoop around BattleZone," I said. "You guysing?" "Sure, why not," Denzel shrugged. "Sorry, I need to spend some more time with Golett. He needs to get more used to acting like a living being." "Hey, he''s technically not alive," Denzel snorted. We both yfully hit him in the back, causing him to yelp. "Did you need to do that?" "Well, we need to keep the mood up, don''t we?" Iughed. I turned to Cecilia. "See youter?" "Mhm." I stood on my tip-toes to kiss her and I felt her hands rest on my hips. "I love you." "Me too. Call me if anything happens." ¡ª Pauline''s room was a mess. There were empty packs of snacks all over the floor, something had spilled on the carpet, and even though it was still the afternoon, the blinds were closed shut, only allowing thin beams of light through. Pauline herself looked fine. She stared at us from her bed and grunted. "What happened here?" I asked. "Are you okay¡ª" The culprit soon revealed himself. Vigoroth jumped from under her bed and I flinched, expecting him to w at me. Instead, he simply ravaged through the room, wing at the carpet, the walls and jumping everywhere. "Just when I finally got him to calm down, you woke him up," she sighed. "Denzel, I thought I told you to knock. You use that key double way too much." "You''re the one that told me you didn''t care if I had one. Actually wait, you''re gaslighting me. You wanted me to have one." "That''s¡­ yeah you''re right, I''m just pissed." "Why are we just having a conversation when there''s a crazy Vigoroth going around?!" I yelled. "You''re lucky I didn''t have my Togetic out! Recall him!" "Oh boy, Princess would have freaked out," Denzel chuckled. "Probably would have choked him out or something." "I shouldn''t have to amodate your bloodthirsty Togetic in my room. Anyway, I looked it up online! I need to get him used to staying in rooms and stuff. Eventually he''ll stop being like this¡ª" she stopped, ducking to avoid a soda can. "My terrible eating habits are catching up to me. Anyway, I need to get Vigoroth used to rooms." "The Pokedex said that it never stops being excited," I groaned. "There''s a difference between this and how he''ll be when I train him properly. Hey, Vigoroth!" The normal type stopped for a single second, grunted at Pauline, and then continued on his rampage. The redhead sighed and recalled him. "I feel bad for the people that are going to have to clean this up," I sighed. "How are you feeling?" "Shitty." "Fair enough. Did you see what happened at the Hunters'' mansion?" I asked. "We sent it on the group chat, but you didn''t reply." "I did¡­ I wish I''d been there. You guys, Cece and Louis have been moving on your own for a few days and we''ve been feeling left out," Pauline said. "Except Maeve. She''s a bit of a wet nket, so she just wants to keep her head down." "That''s fair," Denzel admitted. "But to be honest, it''s a lot easier to work in smaller groups." "So work with us," she said. "We can organize. I''m out of the tournament, so I have a lot of free time. I feel useless out here." "Sorry. You know what, why don''t youe with us? We were going to gather some info after this, but we can go right now if you want," I said. She beamed. "Fuck yes! Let''s let them know what we''re made of!" "I was thinking more of a lowkey operation¡­" ¡ª If someone had told me that Pauline could be extremely polite when she wanted to, I would have called them a liar. In fact, I would haveughed in their face and maybe even called them an idiot. "So BattleZone''s been around for fifty years? Wow, that''s impressive," she smiled at a supervisor. "Where''d you guys get your start? You know, we don''t hear a lot about how these tournaments are actually organized. I feel like we should appreciate the work that goes into them more." Denzel and I looked on, trying to hide our stupefaction. Apparently, even he hadn''t expected this. We were currently in the building the Hunters has built for the tournament and the same ce we''d signed up at. It was rather empty these days. Trainers mostly came here to announce their lineup to a supervisor or lodgeints about the tournament, but employees still milled about. "I like you, kid," the man smiled. "I only started working here three years ago, but it''s tough work. You''ve got to fly out wherever they decide to organize the next tournament, the hours are long, kids scream at you for the brackets being unfair¡­ but at least the pay is good." "Super interesting," Pauline said. "But where did you get your start?" "Oh, sorry I forgot to answer that. Erm, it was Sceon, funnily enough. We don''t do tournaments here much, but the higher-ups felt like this would make a lot of money. As long as I get paid," he sighed. My eyes narrowed at that. Sceon was BattleZone''s birthce, and now that I knew how much influence the Hunters wielded, that was all I needed to know that the people at the top might be content to listen to whatever the hell that family wanted. We had seen Harry on the second floor of the mansion, so I knew that he was working with the Hunters. The link was there. The two entities working together was basically confirmed. Now all we needed to figure out were these two things: One, why the hell would they want Harry Rodriguez to win? Two, why make the rigging so obvious at the start? If they weren''t going to keep helping Harry along and only needed to stop him from fighting that one battle, why the hell would they make that girl that had been supposed to fight Pauline resign? If we solved these two questions, we would get to the bottom of this entire fiasco. That was a lot easier said than done. Denzel discreetly nudged Pauline, and she kept going, stopping her small talk to initiate another one of our predetermined questions. "What brought this cooperation with the Hunters about?" She asked with a soft voice. "I don''t know about that," the supervisor shrugged. "Well, I do know that our old CEO had some kind of connection with the Hunters. They were old friends or something and the rtionship between the twopanies is good, but recently there''s been¡ª" "What''s his name?!" I eximed. The supervisor turned to frown at me. "Sorry," I coughed. "If you wanted to know so bad, you could have just looked it up. Adrian Navarro, but he''s kaput now. New boss wanted to do a friendly gesture and run the tournament there¡ª especially since the Hunters could cover some of the costs." Damn it, not a Hunter. Well, it made sense in a way. I doubted that the Elder would allow anyone in their family to get out and start their own business, no matter how sessful it could have been. Now that I knew that the Elder and this Adrian had known each other personally, all of my remaining doubts vanished. "You''re the first kids that havee here with such an interest in how we run things. Why''s that?" I swallowed, but Pauline sprung up. "You might have heard of how I got screwed by two resignations. I just got curious, that''s all." "Yeah¡­ sorry about that," he scratched his head. "People''re saying that we rigged it for that Harry fellow, but it''s just the luck of the dice. I''ve been telling people that the proper way to run the tourneys when this happens is to dy the match, but they don''t want to." "That was shitty for sure," Denzel nodded. "And a shitty way to run a tournament." "They always say that you should read the fine print," he shrugged. "People usually like the fast pace. No dys, no bullshit, usually cheap entry. It was raised here due to the rewards though." "At least I got half of my ticket paid back," Pauline said. "Wait, what?" The supervisor frowned. "I got paid back. I knew it! I should have gotten more than half, shouldn''t I? It should have been a full refund¡ª" "That''s not our usual policy. BattleZone might have been using out-of-the-box rules, but they technically weren''t in the wrong. We''re following the rules we set¡­ so why were you reimbursed? Are you kids ying a prank?" A woman called out to him. "Phil, can you hand me the battle schedule? I think I lost mine, we''ve got to make more copies." "Yes! It was just a prank!" I yelled. "Sorry, it was my idea. I guess it was too obvious." "Sure thing," he said. "Well, I''ve got to get back to work. You kids get outta here." We inconspicuously walked out of the building, and I released Togetic as a guard. "What the hell was that?" Pauline asked. "I was buttering him up for you guys!" "No, we needed to leave. Don''t you get it? You were paid off to stay quiet, Pauline. The person who refunded you went againstpany policy¡­ that means that some low-leveled employees know about this!" So why had this guy not known? I had thought that there was no way for mere supervisors to be in on this, but now, that was no longer the case. Josephine''s voice rang out in my mind. Factions. It was possible to turn back and tell this employee everything, but there were other supervisors hanging about. What if one that was in on it was listening in? Even worse, he could bring it up to a higher-up and reveal this to the wrong person. It was better to keep this to ourselves. Or maybe I was growing too paranoid. "Holy shit," she muttered. "They obviously don''t know me if they think that money''s going to get me to quiet down. Especially with how cheap they were. Half reimbursed? Really?" "Yes. Holy shit. Now this is important. Denzel, you went with her with Justin. Did you get the person''s name? Or do you just remember their face?" Pauline shook her head and Denzel groaned, rubbing his chin. "I''ming up nk, but he was a shortish guy, I guess. Brown hair is all I remember." "That doesn''t help at all¡­ does Justin remember?" "Let me shoot him a message." Two minutester, Justin answered with a no, and our spirits deted like a popped balloon. If we knew what he looked like, we could have probably figured out his name and gotten Luca to spy on him, since he wasn''t a Hunter. "Damn it," I hissed. "Sorry, Grace," Pauline said. "No, it''s not your fault. I can''t expect you to remember some random guy''s face," I said. "It''d be like asking me to remember a person we passed on the way here. Unless you knew they were important, you weren''t going to remember them. It''s just frustrating. Every time I feel like we''re getting close, it turns out that it goes deeper¡­ whatever, we''ll get there," I sighed. "What the hell was that acting, by the way?" "Impressed?" She smugly said. "I''m good at being a nice girl." "How¡­?" Denzel asked. "What did you think I did when mommy told me to y nice whenever I met her business partners'' kids?" "Ignore her and terrorize the other kids?" "And sink her business? Please. All it''d take was for little Jimmy toin that I was mean to him and any deal would fall through. I just don''t do it anymore because it''s fake. I hate that shit. People hated me for it, but I can be real with you guys." I paused for a few seconds and smiled. "Thanks for the help. I don''t think I would have been able to act like that at all, and Denzel''s a terrible liar." "Right? He''s way too sweet to lie," sheughed before turning toward him. "Look at him. He''s blushing! Are you embarrassed?" "Shut up." ¡ª The entire group sat, waiting for Harry Rodriguez to fight his second battle. Him battling with Pauline immediately had screwed the schedule a little bit, so it had taken a bit more time for the organizers to recalibrate everything. I had almost expected there to be some shenanigans again, but this time, he was actually battling his designated opponent. Harry released his looming Torterra and his Pelipper this time, while his opponent released a Venomoth and a Heatmor, which was a terrible starting lineup for him. Pelipper would screw over that Heatmor with Drizzle, and Venomoth would lose to its flying type attacks. But I knew that he was just trying his best to deal with Torterra with poison and fire. Surprisingly, it wasn''t as one-sided as I thought, but Harry still won handily. Torterra almost fainted due to the sheer amount of Sludge Bombs and methrowers it had taken, but it still stood strong by the end of it. Harry''s opponent had sent out a Corvisquire and a Boldore second, and I understood now why he hadn''t started with those. They were simply too weak to hurt Harry''s Pokemon and were being held back by theirck of evolution. Boldore was too slow to dodge attacks, but not tough enough to brush them off. Corvisquire was quick, but it couldn''t outpace Pelipper for long. He fell quickly after that. I had gotten a lot of good information from that battle, even if I''d wanted to learn more about Luxray and Crobat instead. When Harry fought in doubles, he liked to pair his Torterra with a flying type to take full advantage of Earthquake. That meant that Luxray would probably nevere out first, since Harry always started with Torterra. His starter was his anchor. It was impossible for him to fight without it. Pelipper''s Drizzle was more powerful than I''d given it credit for in the videos. It was like the Rocky Field had been subject to a storm andpletely flooded. Still, it was less powerful than what I''d have to face tomorrow. Vaporeon''s Rain Dance would be a test run for this. If I could handle that, then Drizzle wouldn''t be an issue. That night, I stayed up on my phone, waiting to see if Luca was going to send any texts, but he didn''t. We were seemingly at an impasse for now. There was no way to look deeper into the Hunters, and the person we needed to find in BattleZone could be any of the employees. Still, we sent a vague description to Luca in hopes that he''d be able to find something. I ended up having to stop when the light kept waking Cecilia up, even if she was pretending to be asleep still. I could feel her shifting, since she was squeezing me like a pillow. Not that I disliked that. Oh well. Tomorrow was another day. I would get to the bottom of thise hell or high water. And it would start with offering a deal to Sunshine after my battle. I had an offer he couldn''t refuse.
Chapter 155 Chapter 155 CHAPTER 155 Like usual, my battle was early in the morning, and it was taking ce on the Rocky Field. Will Bowman somehow found a way to wear very little clothes in the middle of winter, and he had a legion of fangirls that kept screaming out his name in the bleachers. My friends tried to join in to counter them, but the supervisor hissed and everyone quieted down. ¡°This is battle between Grace Pastel and Will Bowman. Trainers, send out your Pokemon.¡± The air was cool and crisp as I sent out Jellicent and Tangrowth. My lips twitch when I saw Beartic and Vaporeon appear as I had predicted. The massive, looming bear exuded frosty air all around him, and there were clearly outlined muscles in its arms and legs. Its paws alone were bigger than my head by a wide margin. Vaporeon stretched and its ears twitched. It observed us in a calcting manner and tensed. Rain Dance wasing, and then Aqua Jet and Ice Punch would follow on Tangrowth. I would have him raise an Ancient Power immediately and counter with Jellicent¡¯s Hex while Vaporeon watched helplessly as Ipletely restrained his teammate and shut him down before the battle could even start. Then, I¡¯d use that downturn in Bowman¡¯s move to rush Vaporeon and shut down that Rain Dance. Easy enough in my head. Now it was time to see if it worked. ¡°Begin!¡± ¡°Rain Dance!¡± Vaporeon cried out, arching its back and raising its head toward the sky. Thunder boomed, and thick rain clouds appeared above the arena, leading to small droplets, and then an absolute deluge. It was pouring gallons of water, and it would soon fill up the entire arena. ¡°Aqua Jet and Ice Pun¡ª¡± ¡°Ancient Power!¡± I snapped and raised a hand. Beartic exploded forward as water enveloped his entire body. It was so quick that its speed wasparable to Fletchinder¡¯s. The Aqua Jet soon turned to ice, but Tangrowth had already raised a boulder in front of himself to block the attack. With attacks this quick, maneuverability always came second. The ice type crashed into the rock, but to my surprise, it destroyed itpletely and rammed into Angel, although the loss of speed has softened the blow. ¡°Bind and Mega Drain!¡± I yelled. ¡°Wish, then Surf!¡± Will ordered to his Vaporeon. I ignored the light that flew out of Vaporeon¡¯s mouth and bit the inside of my lip. Tangrowth¡¯s vines wrapped around Beartic and froze around the ice type¡¯s body. He hurriedly reced them as fast he could, but Beartic was a lot stronger than I gave it credit for. If I just waited around, he¡¯d escape¡ª And Vaporeon¡¯s Surf wasing. ¡°Hex it!¡± A painful Hex from Buddy stopped Beartic from struggling, and I switched the attack to Shadow Ball immediately after that. Only two reached their mark before the massive wave crashed into all three Pokemon, and then onto my side of the barrier. There was so much water already that I couldn¡¯t see the floor. The arena had practically been converted into a Water Field. Jellicent easily flew up, emerging from the waterpletely unharmed. Beartic was next, although it appeared a lot lessrge and threatening with its wet fur clinging to its body. Vaporeon was only a small head out of the water on the opposite side of the arena that I could see if I squinted hard enough. ¡°Angel, push yourself up with your vines!¡± I grabbed my shirt, hoping that he could hear me, but thankfully he raised himself up after a few seconds. If the Rain Dance kept going though, even his vines wouldn¡¯t be long enough to keep him afloat. ¡°Vaporeon, get under there and cut his vines!¡± Will yelled. ¡°Beartic, freeze yourself a tform!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let them! Buddy, send a Night Shade under there! Angel, Power Whip!¡± A neon green light shone under the water and quickly mmed into Beartic¡¯s gut. The bear grunted as ice formed under his body. A Night Shade from Jellicent sank into the depths as soon as Vaporeon did. ¡°Poison Sting and Hex,¡± I ordered. Sharp, purple darts flew off of Jellicent¡¯s tentacles and prated deep inside of Beartic, who cried out in pain as it stood on the floating ice tform it had created for itself. Suddenly, an idea came to me. ¡°Icicle Crash!¡± ¡°Angel, get on that tform.¡± An explosion rang out underwater and shook the entire field. ¡°And send another Night Shade,¡± I added. Vines extended forward, and Beartic wed them apart as best he could. A set of eight icicles formed above Angel¡¯s head and crashed into him, going through his vines. The grass type shivered in pain, but Jellicent¡¯s Hex allowed him to drag that damn Beartic off of his tform. Even though he had vines fully extended downward, the water reached up to his eyes now. Beartic iled as it attempted to get back onto his tform, but a Shadow Ball from Buddy shut him down. Angel used the ice type¡¯s body as support to step onto the tform, hitting him with two Power Whips to better bnce himself. Two huge gashes opened up on the ice type¡¯s back and blood seeped into the water. Angel was safe now. ¡°Vaporeon, what¡¯s going on?!¡± Will screamed out. I smirked as another explosion was heard in the water. Buddy¡¯s Night Shade had put in a lot of work to buy us time. ¡°Finish off Beartic.¡± Buddy gathered ghostly energy in front of his mouth and made his Shadow Ball twice asrge while Angel wrestled with Beartic, who was attempting to climb back on and making sure not to slip off. The ball hit the ice type in the back, worsening his wounds, and onest Mega Drain from Angel did the trick. Beartic was out of the fight. Will recalled his Pokemon and¡ª Vaporeon jumped out of the water, using its tail to propel itself far into the air and bit into Buddy¡¯s tentacle and tore away a huge chunk of his body. ¡°Recover,¡± I said. Bowman¡¯s face sank when he realized that it had been all for nothing. He released his Basculin¡ª just as I had predicted¡ª and swept his arm. ¡°Agility and Aqua Jet!¡± Whatever he was nning, I had to take down Vaporeon and stop the rain. ¡°Buddy, it¡¯s in your hands,¡± I firmly said. His red eyes dimmed and he bowed his head before sinking into the water. Basculin was actually the main physical threat on this team. It was too quick for me to split my attention¡ª Case in point, it was already there. ¡°Wave Crash! Knock it off!¡± ¡°Brace yourself.¡± Vines grew out of Angel¡¯s back and buried themselves into the ice tform with quick Vine Whips. A giant wave surrounded Basculin¡¯s body. It rammed into the grass type and quickly jumped back into the water. Angel did not budge a single inch. On the opposite side of the arena, Wish bore down from the skies and sank into the water. It was no doubt on its way to heal Vaporeon. Will¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to deal damage, but to get Angel to fall into the water and force me to recall him now that it was too deep. I hoped to Arceus that he wouldn¡¯t realize that the smartest thing right now would be to leave Angel stranded here and go after Buddy¡ª more precisely, pretend to do so. I could see multiple purple explosions that must have been from Night Shade and Shadow Ball, and I knew that the only way Vaporeon had of fighting back was Bite. Water Type moves wouldn¡¯t work against Buddy. Basculin tried three more times to get Angel off of his tform, but it was too quick for us to retaliate effectively. Power Whip was a slow attack, and Vine Whip wasn¡¯t effective enough to take the water type down. ¡°Forget it! Head Smash!¡± There it was. I was ready and the words were already out of my mouth. ¡°Stun Spore!¡± I grinned, and Will winced. Basculin rammed into Tangrowth with all of its strength, pushing past his vines and hitting his true body. Angel¡¯s vines writhed in agony, but he shot out yellow spores and Basculin began to twitch. A single whiff had been enough. See, with Wave Crash, the water surrounding Basculin was enough to protect him from any spore attacks, but that wasn¡¯t possible with Head Smash. The water type wasn¡¯tpletely unable to fight like Angel had been during ourst battle, but its speed was at least halved. That was enough for him to Bind it and lift it out of the water. I stared into Will Bowman¡¯s eyes. If your Beartic hadn¡¯t created that tform, I might have lost. ¡°Mega Drain,¡± I said. ¡°No use wasting the energy.¡± Basculin iled as he withered and dried until the vibrant green on its body had turned into a sickly khaki. Bowman hung his head as he recalled his Pokemon and sent out his Azumarill. I restrained a smile. I¡¯d been four out of four for predictions, it seemed. ¡°Aqua Jet under the water! Help Vaporeon deal with Jellicent with y Rough!¡± Bowman was getting smarter. I would have thought that Buddy would have dealt with Vaporeon by now, but it seemed that it was more resistant than I thought, and Protect was probably working wonders against him. Azumarill disappeared underwater, and I was only left with Angel. I bent over and tried to see through the murky waters, but I could only spot different lights and the rumble from explosions. Well, it seemed that Honey could finally see some action atst. Will Bowman had made a fatal mistake. ¡°I¡¯m withdrawing Angel out of the fight,¡± I told the referee. He nodded. ¡°You did great! Buddy, get back up!¡± I recalled the grass type as he happily waved at me, and sent out Electabuzz on the ice tform. He stared around confusedly for a few seconds and lowered himself in order not to slip. One look into my eyes, and he nodded. Arceus, I loved my kids. ¡°Azumarill, Vaporeon, get back up here!¡± Will bellowed. Jellicent was out first. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this off with a bang. Discharge!¡± Electricity cracked around Honey¡¯s fur and exploded outward. It was so bright that it forced me to cover my eyes. The flooded arena became a death trap. The water smoked, and the smell of ozone filled my nostrils. Vaporeon and Azumarill¡¯s unconscious bodies emerged from the water. ¡°Victory to Grace Pastel.¡± I breathed out a sigh of relief and clenched a fist. Now how the hell were they going to fix this Field? ¡ª¡ª ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, that was definitely the hardest battle yet,¡± I sighed to my friends. ¡°Without that tform for Angel to stand on, I might have lost.¡± ¡°That was his biggest mistake for sure,¡± Mira said. ¡°What would you have done without it?¡± ¡°Recall Angel, send out Princess and try to get a tform raised for Honey to stand on whenever either her or Buddy fainted. Other than that? Well, I could always have had Honey try to use Discharge or Thunderbolt in the water, but¡­ to be honest, I don¡¯t know if he knows how to swim. I should have asked.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you feed that Tangrowth,¡± Maeve said. ¡°How would you even take it down?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯d have Princess restrain him with Ancient Power or Psychic while I took care of the other Pokemon,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Angel¡¯s difficult to beat, but it¡¯s not impossible. You just can¡¯t tunnel vision on dealing damage or you¡¯ll lose. Or¡­ you could have a powerful fire or poison type. Either or.¡± ¡°Well he¡¯s been doing the rounds on the forum. People are terrified of him,¡± Denzel said. ¡°And of you¡­¡± ¡°What? Why me?¡± I frowned. Aside from Cecilia, my friends all looked awkwardly at each other. ¡°I don¡¯t get it either,¡± my girlfriend said. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re scared of your cuteness. I certainly know that I wouldn¡¯t be able to fight back against that.¡± With a sly smile, she hugged and kissed me. We had never shied away from public disys of affection, but we were definitely pushing it these days. Not that I particrly cared. ¡°If you don¡¯t know now, you¡¯ll never figure it out,¡± Pauline said. ¡°It¡¯s the way you y mind games,¡± Justin exined. ¡°People dislike that.¡± ¡°Well I didn¡¯t y any mind games during my first and third battles, so they¡¯re just biased,¡± I said. ¡°Granted, I could have, but it would have been too dangerous. I couldn¡¯t fuck around when the field turned into an ocean.¡± ¡°See, this is what they¡¯re talking about! It feels like you¡¯re fucking around with them for fun,¡± Maeve said. ¡°Well, battles are supposed to be fun, no?¡± I shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t deny that I like ying with people¡¯s hopes and using that to my advantage, but only for battling.¡± ¡°Let them talk,¡± Cece rolled her eyes. ¡°None of them matter.¡± ¡°Well, it kind of matters with the Poketch Company¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Hopefully they¡¯ll like this battle though. It was a lot more straightforward.¡± ¡°Soon enough they¡¯ll have to remarket you as a ruthless battler instead of some normal girl next door,¡± Mira teased. We all chuckled, and we made our way to the Pokemon Center so I could heal Angel. Denzel and Mira¡¯s battle would be next. If I looked deep within myself, I didn¡¯t exactly know why screwing with people emotionally felt so good during battles. It just did. It was fun. That moment where all hope drained from their faces was the moment where I knew I¡¯d win. It wasn¡¯t like I did it every time, although when my presence in the Poketch Company was a little more steady, I¡¯d probably start doing it a lot more. I had already heard about how hotheaded Maylene was, and she¡¯d be a prime target to use it on. Those were thoughts for the future. We had texted Luca everything Pauline, Justin and Denzel remembered about the supervisor that had refunded her half of her ticket, so all we could do was wait for him to bring back any news. I opted to dip out early. I needed to prepare for my battle against Harry Rodriguez in advance, and there were two things that I thought were necessary if I ever wanted to win. I went back to the Pokemon Center and gave Angel to Nurse Joy, then I went off to my usual training spot. I released Princess and Honey. Thetter¡¯s fur was still damp from that little time he¡¯d spent under the rain. ¡°Hi guys. It¡¯s just you two this morning,¡± I said. ¡°This is important practice for our big battle against Harry, okay?¡± I had brought my Pokemon up to speed before my battle regarding the tournament¡¯s shadyness, and some were a lot more anxious than others. Princess and Buddy wanted me to stop investigating and keep my head down to stay safe. Sweetheart and Honey wanted to uncover whatever the hell was going on, although the electric type wanted to do so in a safe manner, which meant no more infiltration attempts. Angel didn¡¯t exactly understand the grand conspiracy at y, but he did know something bad was afoot. As for Sunshine? Well, I hadn¡¯t told him yet. I did feel bad about it, but I was nning on rectifying that right now. First though, I had to give Princess and Honey instructions. ¡°You were great, by the way,¡± I smiled at Electabuzz. ¡°I should have brought a towel for you.¡± He grinned, shing his sharp teeth and gave me a thumbs up. Togetic chirped, asking about what happened during the battle. ¡°Oh it was this whole thing. The entire field was flooded. I could tell you got scared when I released you,¡± I said, smirking at Honey. He hurriedly shook his head. ¡°Come on big guy, I know you. You didn¡¯t let it show though, and you immediately got ready to attack. I¡¯m proud of you kiddo¡ª¡± Eugh, kiddo? I was starting to sound like my dad. Still, one of the most important parts of Pokemon battling was that your Pokemon needed to be ready no matter what situation they were in. ¡°Okay, you won¡¯t actually be learning a new move, Hon,¡± I said. His shoulders sagged. ¡°I know, I know. You need to work on Protect some more.¡± ¡°Ele¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s boring, huh? Well think about it like this. If you manage to nail Protect down, you¡¯llst a lot longer in fights, so more fun for you.¡± He brightened up at that. ¡°And I also need it in case you¡­ you know, need to protect me or any of the others if something bad happens. I told you that we went in the Hunters¡¯ mansion, but I didn¡¯t tell you about the Pokemon they had. It was a Shiftry.¡± With how confused Honey looked, I knew he¡¯d never seen one before. Princess was a given, of course. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter what it looks like, just know that it was really strong and that it¡¯s a grass and dark type. The more you can use the move, the more you can protect me if things go south, okay?¡± Now he was on board. Without anyints, he walked a few feet away and started to use the move over and over. There was no better way to learn Protect. It was a move with a low skill floor, but an extremely high skill ceiling. He¡¯d improve with the move throughout his life, and there was no better way to practice it than brute forcing. The move would prove extremely useful to bypass Torterra¡¯s Earthquakes. In every one of Harry¡¯s fights that I¡¯d seen, it always came out slow and telegraphed. If I ever had to fight that Shiftry in an act self defense without Sunshine, I didn¡¯t think it could be done. ¡°Princess, it¡¯s about time we start working on your fairy type moves again, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Prrri!¡± ¡°Yours is tricky,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s called Dazzling Gleam.¡± I turned on my phone and showed her a video of Mira¡¯s Kadabra using the move. Itbined a bright sh of light with dozens of tiny explosions that would hurt her opponent. I wasn¡¯t exactly interested in the damage it would deal¡ª at least not for the fight against Harry. This would be her main counter against Crobat if it ever got close to her. Blinding it would leave her enough to to run away or impale it with Ancient Power, which to be honest, was part of the n to deal with the poison type. ¡°Let me tell you how I think you can get started, and you tell me if it helps, okay?¡± I started. ¡°When you use Fairy Wind, it¡¯s¡­ controlled, right? You diffuse fairy type energy, weave it into the wind so that you¡¯re able to control it.¡± Princess nodded. ¡°For this move¡­ forget that control. Just let the energy explode out of you and see what happens.¡± I mimicked an explosion with my hands, sound effects and all, and she giggled at me. I pet her head and let her get to work. I observed the two for a few minutes, and Honey was already panting roughly. Protect would certainly help with his endurance overall. Princess, meanwhile, was¡­ well, she was exploding, and the sparks were there, but the light wasn¡¯t. I¡¯d check back inter to see if there was any progress on that front. I held Sunshine¡¯s Pokeball in my hands. It was warm. The fire type peered down at me with a curious look. ¡°Hey. I have something to tell you.¡± He let an annoyed groan escape from his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s not a story this time, I swear! Hear me out¡­¡± I told him everything. Everything regarding BattleZone, Harry Rodriguez, the Hunters and how something was unmistakingly linking them together. His gaze was unchanged during the entire tale, and I couldn¡¯t really tell what he was thinking. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you a favor. We can trade,¡± I exhaled. ¡°If things go south and our lives are in danger because they realize we¡¯re snooping around, I need you to help me. I also want to keep you as a backup for my battle against Harry. I¡¯ll try to beat him without you, but you¡¯ll be my fourth.¡± He let out an amused snort. ¡°In exchange¡­ if I evere across Team Gctic. I will do my best to take them down. But only once! We¡¯ll call the authorities and then barge in before they get there or something so you can have your revenge. That way, I use you once, and you use me once. That¡¯s a fair deal.¡± I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth, but what was done was done. Turtonator¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, and he touched my shoulder with a warm hand. I almost jumped. It was my first time actually touching him. He hadn¡¯t expected this from me at all, and it showed. I wasn¡¯t actually expecting things to go that wrong, of course. We hadn¡¯t really done anything of note except look up information about Harry. Hell, I was sure that multiple people were doing it too other than us¡ª including the media. Luca was in more trouble than we were since he got caught snooping. But just in case. ¡°Keep the deal on the down-low though. Princess has been slowly learning to tolerate you, and we¡¯d throw all that progress away if you didn¡¯t.¡± His nose red in anger. I clicked my tongue. ¡°What about Buddy then? And Sweetheart? You like them¡ª ah, there¡¯s that face. I know you do. Hell, I know even I¡¯m growing on you¡ª wait, don¡¯t leave!¡± I followed Turtonator, who lied down in the soft grass and obsered Princess and Honey train. ¡°Can I add one thing to the deal?¡± He growled and slightly raised the temperature. ¡°Let me call you Sunshine.¡± I grinned when no objections came. Finally. ¡ª¡ª I awoke to the sound of my Poketch, as I usually did these days. I don¡¯t know when I had fallen asleep, but I did. I groaned and realized that I was leaning against Sunshine, who was still asleep. His scales weren¡¯t thatfortable, but that was offset by how warm it was. Fire types were awesome. Maybe I could make this a regr thing soon. It was the afternoon now, and Honey and Princess were still working hard. Light was starting to emanate from her attacks, although it was still a tiny amount, and Honey¡¯s Protect wereing out faster than before. I had apparently missed a lot. Luca had been added to the group chat¡ª ah, nevermind, they created an entirely new group chat with him in it instead. I scrolled back to the beginning of the conversation and¡ª Someone was dead. A BattleZone employee had died early this morning, and people hade across the body a few hours earlier. I quickly sent a message to assuage their panic, since I hadn¡¯t shown myself in hours. Cece berated me and I could hear her screaming through the text .I felt terrible. ¡°Wake up Sunshine, we¡¯ve got to go.¡± He refused to get up and told me to just recall him instead so that he could continue sleeping in his Pokeball. Hisziness would be the end of me. I recalled him and the others, opting to have Buddy apany me on the way back to the Pokemon Center. I wasn¡¯t about to be defensless when someone had just died. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Grace!¡± Cecilia eximed as I stepped inside of Denzel room. She practically tackled me and sniffled in my arms. ¡°Don¡¯t just disappear on us, you idiot!¡± ¡°You should have warned us,¡± Justin nodded. ¡°We were besides ourselves trying to find or contact you. Cece wanted to call the Poketch Company.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I grimaced. ¡°I fell asleep.¡± I rubbed Cecilia¡¯s back, and she wouldn¡¯t leave my side. She really believed I was dead. ¡°The cops say it was a suicide,¡± Denzel said. ¡°They said he hung himself in his office.¡± ¡°And the cops are obviously full of shit,¡± Pauline added. ¡°I bet it was a murder. Someone killed that man.¡± ¡°We already know the Hunters run things here, so that isn¡¯t surprising,¡± Mira shrugged. ¡°Now what are we gonna do about it?¡± ¡°Nothing!¡± I snapped ¡°Do we know who died?¡± I turned to Pauline. ¡°Is it the guy that paid you off?¡± ¡°No. And I would have remembered his face if I saw it. It¡¯s on the tip of my tongue, but you know, for the eyes.¡± ¡°So a supervisor from BattleZone was assassinated. Any leads on why? Luca?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope. I¡¯m stumped. I do know that he was pretty high up in the food chain though. Connor Tyson wasn¡¯t just a supervisor. He actually had authority on how the tournament was run. To use trainer terms¡­ this is like if a gym leader had just gotten assassinated.¡± A few surprised gasps ran through the room. ¡°That high?¡± Louis frowned. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t someone that high up know about the rigging¡ª and be orchestrating it?¡± ¡°No, no,¡± Denzel shook his head. ¡°This is proof that there are factions, just like I theorized. If I had to guess, he was going to talk, and he quickly got shut out.¡± ¡°Killing him for just exposing tournament rigging?¡± Maeve said. ¡°Rough him up maybe, but murder seems like too much. The consequences don¡¯t match the actions here.¡± ¡°For BattleZone? I don¡¯t know, maybe they¡¯re just that concerned about their rep,¡± Mira said. ¡°This entire thing obviously goes deeper than just rigging now. There¡¯s something else to this, and figuring out Harry Rodriguez is the key, I¡¯m sure of it,¡± I said. ¡°So there are multiple factions within BattleZone, but the question is, are there multiple factions within the Hunters? Even the most ardent of cults should have people that aren¡¯t too into the idea of murder.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can figure it out. They¡¯ve shown that they aren¡¯t beyond using murder for their needs. Luca, I¡¯d stop traveling alone at night if I were you,¡± Denzel said. ¡°And for anyone who thinks this is too dangerous¡­ I¡¯d resign from the tournament and get to Veilstone as quickly as you can. This isn¡¯t a joke anymore.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not doing anything about it. I¡¯m going to stay here to fulfill my contract and then we can¡ª¡± Pauline interrupted me. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep investigating.¡± ¡°So am I,¡± Mira said. ¡°This is fun.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t supposed to be fun,¡± I eximed. ¡°Someone died!¡± ¡°We¡¯re our own person,¡± Mira shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t tell us what to do. I have my own reasons, and Pauline is the pettiest girl I¡¯ve ever seen. Even Louis is on board, even if he¡¯s too scared to say it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let you face this on your own,¡± Denzel sighed at Pauline. ¡°I think this is a terrible idea, but I¡¯m in. Things will work out. What about everyone else?¡± A heavy silence settled in the room, and I watched to see if anyone would leave. I was scared¡­ terrified, even, but I couldn¡¯t let Pauline, Louis, Denzel and Mira do this alone. This was murder. This was real. I felt my hand tremble, and I clenched my fist. I could do this. Maybe that was proof that I¡¯d be able to face down Team Gctic when the time came. Twenty seconds passed. Then forty. Then a full minute. No one wanted to leave. Not even Maeve. It wasn¡¯t just about rigging anymore. There was more to this. This entire town was rotting from the inside. I just hoped no one would get hurt because of Pauline and Mira¡¯s decision. I had risked Pauline¡¯s life when asking to capture Turtonator, so I¡¯d be a hypocrite to say no. There was no way that she¡¯d be convinced. Sunshine would have to help us if it ever came to blows, and it seemed that it would sooner rather thanter. ¡°Maeve¡­¡± Louis muttered. ¡°I¡¯m staying. What kind of friend would I be if I just let you all face this?¡± ¡°A smart one,¡± Luca smirked. ¡°You too, Luca,¡± Denzel said. ¡°The Elder knows that you tried to snoop. You could be a target. I¡¯m not sure¡­ but it¡¯s possible that even the Pokemon Centers aren¡¯t safe if what Isaac said about the Hunters running everything is true.¡± ¡°Nurse Joys are employed by the League and most of them wouldn¡¯t be from here,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. This murder¡¯s a blessing in disguise¡ª okay, I might have said that wrong, no need to stare like I¡¯m insane. This was like a cold ssh of water, right? Sobered us right up. We need to tread with caution here. One slip up, and we¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°The goal should be to gather enough evidence to call the League over,¡± Maeve said. ¡°Beyond that, we can¡¯t do much. Especially if that Shiftry sounds as tough as you made it seem.¡± ¡°It was,¡± Luca said, his face growing grim. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡± ¡°We have no frame of reference. I tried looking up dark type specialists online, but none of them can do what Shiftry did. That means that it was a custom move of some kind,¡± Denzel exined. ¡°Beyond that, we can¡¯t really ce its exact strength.¡± ¡°I reached a deal with my Turtonator. He¡¯ll take care of it if the timees.¡± It took a few seconds for my words to sink in. ¡°Wow¡ª wow, okay, that¡¯s fucking amazing,¡± my best friend smiled. ¡°I feel a lot better about this than before. Now, we just need to be careful when we go out. If they send some goons after us¡ª¡± ¡°They won¡¯t send anyone,¡± I said. ¡°Well, they might send some, but not for all of us. Mira, Denzel, Cecilia and I are in the limelight. If anything happens to us, that would bring too much attention. Louis, Pauline and Justin aren¡¯t as famous, but they are the children of billionaires. Luca and Maeve, you¡¯re probably in the most danger here, which is why you can¡¯t travel alone. Especially you, Luca. Understood?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send my Cuties out instead,¡± he nodded. ¡°They¡¯lle back when they have any info.¡± ¡°Okay. You should probably go get a Center room in here instead of whatever Center you¡¯re staying at so we¡¯re in the same building. Cecilia and I can go with you.¡± ¡°Um¡­ one thing of note I might have forgotten to ask. I¡¯m not a trainer. Not officially anyway. So¡­ I can¡¯t stay in a Center room. You¡¯ll have to house me.¡± ¡°Like a fugitive?¡± Mira joked. How could she be so unserious in this situation? ¡°Not a fugitive. Trainers are allowed to house non-trainers in their rooms.¡± ¡°Just go get one, Arceus,¡± I said. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be petty, you can deal with that after.¡± ¡°No, because then I have to do this Circuit shit or it¡¯s considered fraud!¡± He eximed. ¡°I want no part in it. Someone will have to house me.¡± Louis sighed. ¡°You can sleep in my room if you wish. You¡¯ll have to take the floor though.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be anything new for me,¡± he shrugged. ¡°So what now then?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°What do we do next?¡± ¡°Keep your heads down for the rest of the day. If you want to train, do it in groups. Even if we think that they wouldn¡¯t send anyone to attack us, we¡¯ll be better safe than sorry,¡± Denzel said, crossing his arms. ¡°The next best move would be to either find an inside man in the Hunter family, or find the guy that paid Pauline off and report him to see the Hunter¡¯s reaction when the public learns of it. One of these two, and we¡¯re golden,¡± Louis dered. ¡°But how?¡± ¡°I know of a way,¡± Luca said. ¡°You know the supervisors run on a schedule, right?¡± We all nodded. ¡°That schedule¡¯s written down in the tournament building. The one where you all signed up. I saw it once on a piece of paper nailed down to the wall.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that we should¡­¡± Denzel trailed off. ¡°Yes,¡± he grinned. ¡°What do you say we do a little bit of breaking and entering tonight?¡± ¡°What?¡± I scoffed in disbelief. ¡°So much for keeping our heads down,¡± Maeve sighed. This was it. This was the point of no return. My contract with the Poketch Company, my reputation, everything rode on this. Risks were risks, but this was something else entirely. This was stupid. But if I didn¡¯te, the others would go anyway. I wasn¡¯t going to let them face this alone. Cecilia shook her head. ¡°Grace I don¡¯t think this¡ª¡± ¡°For the record, I think that this is the worst idea you¡¯ve ever had. Do you at least have a n?¡± I said. ¡°Well believe it or not, I¡¯ve done it once before around a week ago¡­¡± Luca¡¯s n had been full of holes, but it had worked the first time somehow. We helped him smooth over some edges until we figured something that would work out. Maeve was okay with sticking around, but she did not want to break in somewhere, so we had worked out something regarding that. Luca, Pauline and Mira had said that if no one came, they¡¯d be going by themselves. Denzel wasn¡¯t about to let Pauline and Mira go off on their own, and neither was I. Justin disliked this but he was with us. Louis was fully onboard due to this reminding him of how scummy his father had been. He wanted to free the innocent Hunters from their cult. Cecilia¡­ was not on board. When she saw how I was starting to go along with the idea, she pulled me aside and began to scold me. ¡°Grace, you¡¯re too obsessed with this. This isn¡¯t a joke anymore.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°But they¡¯ll be going whether I go or not. And it¡¯s not like it¡¯s not the right thing to do. I want to fix things. I want to avenge Pauline. I want to avenge the man that was murdered¡ª¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even know him! And at this point, I think you care more about the rigging than Pauline ever did. It¡¯s okay to give up on things, Grace. You¡¯re in over your head. Let¡¯s just¡­ give up. Let¡¯s just get you to the top fifty, fulfill your contract with the Poketch Company and let¡¯s leave this town and nevere back. Forget everything that happened here.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t forgive this slight, Cece. I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making any sense! Losing a tournament isn¡¯t the end of the world, rigging or not!¡± I flinched at her raised tone. ¡°Listen¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°I promised your dad I would keep you safe. This is the opposite of that. I can¡¯t let you go along with this.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± I had promised my dad. I had promised him that I wouldn¡¯t take unnecesary risks. And yet, Team Gctic wasing for me, and it¡¯d probably be sooner than I thought. If I couldn¡¯t do this, then what was the point? So many promises I¡¯d made were more dangerous than this. Hunting down the Rhyperior that had killed Sweetheart¡¯s mom, finding the three Gengar that had raised Honey, my new promise to Turtonator¡­ maybe that was why I didn¡¯t feel a particr need to run. Maybe my sense of self-preservation had been so fucked up in thesest few months that the current situation seemed a lot less worse than it actually was to me. Cecilia did raise important questions, though. Why was a slight to a friend so hard for me to just look past? Why couldn¡¯t I just let go and run? For some reason, I just found something being done to my friend¡ª small or not¡ª the most detestable thing in the damn world, and I wasn¡¯t about to let them do this alone. ¡°If we don¡¯t go, the others will do it by themselves. If they had all agreed to not go, then I would have changed my mind, but they need our support. Without Sunshine here, they will have no chance. I am going through with this. I¡¯m sorry, but the n is sound.¡±
Chapter 156 – Break-in Chapter 156 ¨C Break-in CHAPTER 156 - Break-in It was the dead of night. The tournament building wasn¡¯t exactly a paragon of security. It had been hastily built next to the Hunters¡¯ property to host the event, and it looked more like an overgrown camping cabin than anything else. Rtively small and only containing a few rooms. A few windows, a rackety wooden door, but most important of all, absolutely no security or cameras. ording to Luca, a supervisor was supposed to stand guard the whole night, but they tended to bezy with their shifts by going home early. It was a perfect ce to break into, but the problem was that we had to do it and leave no traces. We were actually breaking thew here, and if I was found out, it¡¯d put my entire rtionship with the Poketch Company in jeopardy. And yet, here I was. The n was simple. Have all of our flying types flying discreetly in the sky and warn us of anyone approaching through the road or otherwise. There was only one lonely road to keep track of, so that¡¯d be easy. Staravia, Talonme and Magnezone were on top of things, and they weren¡¯t easy to spot at night. Maeve and Justin were staying outside to stall if someone came, but we¡¯d use the advanced warning to bail out as quick as possible, since they¡¯d send us a text about it. Next up, we had Mira¡¯s Haunter, who easily slipped through the walls of the building to let us know if anyone was inside. Surprisingly, he was behaving rather well. I supposed that ying catch was working wonders with him. Somehow. Luca¡¯s Cutiefly had a different job than usual tonight. Instead of scanning for danger like usual, they were sticking closer by the Hunters¡¯ mansion¡ª not too close. We could see their soft lights shining in the sky. Their goal was to signal immediately if anyone ever got out of that mansion. Maeve and Justin would see it, text us, and we¡¯d run away. ¡°Can your Haunter be any slower?¡± Luca hissed. ¡°Let him be.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t afford to waste time! Fucking call him over!¡± Mira groaned in frustration. ¡°Haunty! What are you doing in here? Don¡¯t forget, no poison.¡± The door slowly slid open, revealing the inside of the building. It was pitch ck. Denzel took a tentative step forward, but Haunter reappeared in front of him and screamed. He yelled his guts out and would have fallen over if Louis hadn¡¯t caught him. Haunter cackled and pulled out his tongue. ¡°People could have heard that for miles,¡± Cecilia winced. ¡°We need to hurry.¡± ¡°This is why it should have been that Arceus damned Fross,¡± Lucained. ¡°She can¡¯t control the cold yet, this is the best that we had,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Haunter¡¯s hand became more gaseous, and the key dropped inside of Mira¡¯s hand. Pauline quickly found a light switch and turned it on. ¡°Good, good. No poison on the floors,¡± Mira smiled, recalling Haunter. ¡°Now keep that Slowking of yours sharp and close the door.¡± Slowking sagely nodded, and the pink-haired girl winced. Right, she was a lot more used to telepathy than I was. Slowking was ourst line of defense. He¡¯d use Hypnosis on any people that made it through, and then we would run away. ¡°Okay everyone, five minutes maximum. Split up, find wherever those Arceus damned schedules are, and we¡¯re out. Pauline, I want you to turn off the lights. People from the outside can see if the lights in the lobby are on, so just keep it to singr rooms for now. There ain¡¯t that much to look through, so be quick,¡± Luca ordered. ¡°Don¡¯t boss me around,¡± Pauline said with her arms crossed. He rolled his eyes and ignored her. ¡°This feels too easy¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Too smooth.¡± ¡°Well stopining and get working,¡± he snapped. ¡°Hop the counter and go through these drawers. Cecilia, help her out. Denzel, Louis, you¡¯re with me. Justin keep an eye out, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°What about me?!¡± Mira asked. ¡°There¡¯s an annex room in the back. Go through there and see if you find anything suspicious. I¡¯ll look in the two offices.¡± ¡°Sure thing! Oh, right, here¡¯s Kadabra for you guys!¡± She said, looking at us. Kadabra appeared in a sh of red behind the counter and offered a stare that held little to no respect. I jumped over the counter and helped Cecilia up, then I started to sift through these drawers. We had to be careful about it too, because we had to leave everything in the correct position and order we¡¯d first seen it in. Thankfully, we had Slowking and Mira¡¯s Kadabra to count on for that. Their incredible memories would serve us perfectly, and they seemed to get along¡­ rtively fine, at least. ¡°Files¡­ files¡­ more files,¡± I groaned. ¡°This one¡¯s no good. What about yours?¡± ¡°Schedules, but not for the supervisors on duty here. They¡¯re for the tournament brackets,¡± she sighed. ¡°A bunch of office supplies¡­ pencils, calctors¡­ nothing that we¡¯re looking for.¡± I yelped when every single drawer opened and Kadabra levitated hundreds of pieces of paper, sorting through them in a sh. After around five seconds, he ced them back in the exact position they were in, leaving us with a single paper. Cecilia hesitantly grabbed it. ¡°This is it. This is the schedule,¡± she said, breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°Pauline,e here! What time did you go lodge yourint again?¡± ¡°Seven-thirty-ish,¡± she said. ¡°Ish? This is not the time for approximations!¡± I said. ¡°No ish! Just seven thirty.¡± Cecilia traced her finger on the paper. ¡°We¡¯ve got him. Seven-thirty, that¡¯s¡­ Jerry Heo.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got his name, now we can find his picture with enough dedication. Then, we find him. Let¡¯s leave. I¡¯ll go find Mira, you guys go find Luca,¡± I said. I jumped over the counter again and jogged to the annex room. The smell of cardboard invaded my nostrils as I stepped inside of the room. I saw Mira look through some papers through the pallet racking. Instead of the usual pouting I hade to expect, she actually looked like she was taking this seriously. Up until now, I believed that she still took this as a game, but I was d that the gravity of the situation had apparently sunk in for her. Kirlia stood by her side with her arms crossed, and they were mid-conversation. ¡°...I mean, it¡¯s kind of nice that this happened. It¡¯s a practice run forter. If the rumors about Veilstone are true, I¡¯m going to have to do some snooping¡ª Grace! What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°We found what we were looking for. Can Kirlia put everything back into ce?¡± ¡°Yup. Go ahead,¡± she tapped her Kirlia¡¯s head. The psychic type huffed and the papers all flew out of Mira¡¯s hand, traveling to their respective boxes. ¡°Anything interesting?¡± I asked. ¡°Information on past tourneys mostly. I wonder why they brought all of this here instead of keeping it in their permanent HQ.¡± ¡°Maybe it just helps to have all of their previous info on hand. Let¡¯s go¡ª¡± Cecilia burst through the door. ¡°Bad news! Someone¡¯s exited the mansion and another person is walking down the road. We need to leave, we¡¯re going through the fields! Luca¡¯s Cutiefly are back and it seems bad.¡± I grabbed Mira¡¯s wrist and dragged her back inside of the lobby. We were almost all out of the door before Luca stopped. ¡°I¡¯m staying.¡± My face fell. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Denzel hissed. ¡°We¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m staying. They¡¯re meeting in this Arceus damned office instead of the mansion for some reason and I won¡¯t let the opportunity slip by. You guys leave. Go. Go! I¡¯ll send you anything I get via text.¡± I couldn¡¯t evenprehend what happened before we were out of the building and running through Sceon¡¯s field, away from the Hunters¡¯ property. I didn¡¯t know how long we ran for, but when we stopped, we were all back at the Pokemon Center. All of us except Luca. ¡ª¡ª Being poor when you had been rich in the past was hard. Luca Antonovich had grown up in Hotel Grand Lake that linked Pastoria, Sunyshore and Veilstone together. In fact, his parents ran the ce. He hadn¡¯t seen them in two years. They¡¯d kicked him out at fifteen for being a failure and he couldn¡¯t exactly me them. Luca was sure that if he hadn¡¯t done anything with his life and loafed around¡ª akin to a king¡ª they would have let him stick around. He would have been that embarrassing family member that everyone had. The one that had never done anything with his life, but was fun to have around. He¡¯d been worse than that. Constantly bringing shame to his family, berating teachers when he failed, constantly getting into fights with the other guests¡¯ kids, stealing from guests¡­ and it had all culminated to that day when he¡¯d set fire to a building. All for attention. He was sure that his little brother hadpletely reced him by now. He wasn¡¯t needed anymore. Luca stopped himself fromughing. How incredible that he would think back to his old life in such a precarious position? He held his breath and satpletely still in a corner of the dark annex. His Cuties¡ª his oldestpanions that he¡¯d caught soon after leaving home¡ª stood on his left shoulder. He motioned to them to go forward and signal to him whenever anyone stepped inside of the building. One singr question rang through his mind. One, why have the meeting here? Harry had been let in the mansion, so it couldn¡¯t have been him. The risks involved in meeting in the tournament building were so immense¡­ no¡­ no they weren¡¯t. Luca was sure that even if they had their eyes on them, no one ever thought they¡¯d be brazen enough to break in. He froze when his two Cutiefly began to fly in unison, spelling out letters. It was incredible how fast the two of them could be. They are here. One woman, one man. No Pokemon or Pokeballs. He breathed out a sigh of relief. At least if he got caught, he¡¯d be able to run away. His Cutiefly weren¡¯t the best at fighting, but they were still Pokemon. They areing. Luca sank deeper into the annex and ducked under arge cardboard box. The industrial lights came on with a woosh, and steps reverberated through the room. Luca considered grabbing his phone now and texting everything he heard live, but he knew he¡¯d mess up if he did. Somehow, he would drop it, or he¡¯d identally get it off silent. He was a fuck-up, and he knew better than to give himself the opportunity to make a mistake. ¡°...you¡¯ll have a great time here. Sceon¡¯s fresh air is going to be great for your wife. She¡¯s going to give birth to very healthy kids,¡± a woman said. She sounded young, but Luca wasn¡¯t about to peek out to see who she was. ¡°I¡¯m sure, I¡¯m sure,¡± the man said. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll take care of her when I have to leave though. You know how work is.¡± ¡°Come on, Jerry! You should just quit your job after the tournament. If you right the ship and prove yourself useful, I¡¯m sure that the Elder would be willing to make an exception and take you in.¡± Jerry. Jerry Heo. Holy fuck. Luca bit down on his tongue and sucked in air through the gap in his teeth. He heard the soothing Buzz of his Cutiefly and calmed down. If he could record this conversation and give it to the press¡­ Luca bit the bullet and grabbed his phone to start recording. ¡°So you¡¯re done with buttering me up with small talk, eh? I don¡¯t want to join your family.¡± Jerry dryly said. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t we meet in your damned mansion. I hate doing this where I work. You''re lucky I was on security tonight, or we wouldn''t have been able to meet.¡± ¡°The Elder would have disagreed. Where are the files?¡± Luca heard some paper rustling. If he had to guess, he was handing her information on Harry¡¯s next opponent. They were still doing some amount of rigging. ¡°It didn¡¯t disagree for that Harry kid.¡± ¡°He!¡± The woman hissed with barely contained rage. ¡°You will address the Elder as he if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡± ¡°Arceus, Lisa. Are you threatening me?¡± ¡°It is not a threat,¡± she said. ¡°He is offended very easily.¡± ¡°That was obviously a threat.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Lisa Hunter and Jerry Heo were speaking to each other. This was big. Luca clenched at his heart to try to stop his heart from beating too quickly. For the next ten seconds, nothing was said. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Jerry audibly gulped. ¡°But did you have to kill Mr. Tyson? Just when we shut down that rigging story, it¡¯s starting back up again. The business is bleeding, Lisa. We were promised big gains, and this is going terribly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about your colleague¡¯s unfortunate suicide, but he was the one that started this whole fucked up situation to begin with. I thought you could keep your people under control¡ª¡± ¡°I can¡¯t keep my fucking boss under control!¡± He snapped. ¡°And don¡¯t pretend you can fool me with this suicide shit! You fucking idiots have no idea what you just did. You¡¯re so used to getting whatever you want that you just snap and go crazy when you don¡¯t! The entire tournament¡¯s in jeopardy now, and all your precious Harry will get is a tainted win. At the end of the day, no one will care, and you don¡¯t want that, don¡¯t you?¡± Lisa hesitated, stammering out a few words. ¡°We have nothing to do with his death. And no, we do not want Harry to fail.¡± ¡°Then leave things to me and tell your family to stop fucking things up. This is already unsalvageable for BattleZone, but maybe we can save Harry¡¯s image.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t juste to Sceon and tell us what to do, Jerry. The Elder will never take kindly to that.¡± ¡°Tell it¡ª tell him that if he keeps ordering hits on employees that aren¡¯t on board with his n, Harry Rodriguez will sink along with us. And his pals from Veilstone sure as hell won¡¯t like that. Not when they¡¯ve got their hands busy with all the inves¡ª¡± ¡°Do not even utter those words, you imbecile! Do not speak of Veilstone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just us here¡ª¡± ¡°Shut. Up. If you only called me here toin about Robert¡¯s unfortunate death, then I believe I have nothing left to say now that I¡¯ve gotten the files.¡± ¡°Wait! This is important. I need to hear your next steps. What did Harry and your uncle speak about during their meeting? I know you¡¯re privy to a lot of information, so don¡¯t pretend like you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°That is Hunter only, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Lisa said. ¡°How do you expect me to work with you if you keep me in the dark?¡± ¡°Your opportunity to be an equal partner passed you by when you let your boss expose our n by forcing Sally McCree to resign. Fucking hell¡­ he was supposed to be on our side. What do we do now when Harry has to fight other trainers with five badges, hm? Do we just leave it to chance?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll make it to the top four, at least! And by the time he has to battle someone at his level, we¡¯ll have figured something out.¡± ¡°You better, or we¡¯re throwing BattleZone under the bus,¡± she said. ¡°We won¡¯t settle for the top four. We want perfection. All of us.¡± ¡°Lisa¡ª¡± ¡°Shut it. It¡¯s not like you even care, you and your friends here are the ones backstabbing yourpany and rigging the tournament for petty cash. Just figure something out, or we will. The Hunters don¡¯t take too kindly to being restrained.¡± The man groaned. ¡°Fine. Just¡­ stop killing people.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Lisa said with sarcasm so dry it could be mistaken for a desert. ¡°Now go.¡± ¡°I need to lock up here¡ª¡± ¡°Go. I will not say it twice. I¡¯ll lock up for you.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t¡ª¡± The man stopped and Luca heard him run out of the room. He stopped recording and discreetly ced his phone back into his pocket. He had everything, now he just had to make it out¡ª wait, no! He had to send the video over now! Luca quickly grabbed his phone and¡ª ¡°There¡¯s a kid here, Lise.¡± Luca froze and felt a shiver run down his spine. There was another woman in the annex. Why hadn¡¯t his Cutiefly spotted her?! He quickly scrambled to his feet and started to run, but a blotch of darkness traveled through the floor, blocking his path. From the abyss emerged an Umbreon. The dark type snarled at him, and he hesitantly stepped back. Its fur stood on end and dripped poison so acidic that it formed little pools on the wooden floor. Lane Hunter snatched his phone from his hands behind him, dropped it on the floor and smashed it with her foot. ¡°Arceus, today¡¯s been a very bad day,¡± Lisa sighed. Where had that Umbreon even been? How had it hidden its trainer? ¡°D¡ªDraining Kiss!¡± Luca stammered. His two Cutiefly darted toward Umbreon, and their needles sharpened. The dark type¡¯s golden circle lit up, and darknessshed out from the floor as if it had a mind of its own. It was exactly like Shiftry¡¯s. An empty void that looked like it had been edited into the world with aputer program instead of a color. Both of his Cutiefly got hit once, and they quickly fell to the ground. He was really no good after all. Luca¡¯s shoulders sagged. That¡¯s what he got for not training his Pokemon to battle. ¡°Just fuckin¡¯ kill me,¡± he smiled. He was trying to put on a brave face, but he felt like his heart would stop any moment now. He¡¯d never been terrified his entire life. ¡°Make it painless?¡± ¡°Anyone else in the building?¡± Lisa asked. Lane hummed. ¡°No, I was skulking around the whole time we were here. It¡¯s just him. He was on my tour too. Do we kill him?¡± At least they didn¡¯t know the others had been there. He¡¯d be gone soon, but if they could track this Jerry Heo guy¡­ then they¡¯d be able to uncover this just as he had. ¡°Legendaries, I hate being outside. These emotions make me unable to think properly,¡± Lisained. ¡°Luca Antonovich¡­ an information broker for the tournament. He¡¯s not a League-mandated trainer, so I don¡¯t think people would notice if he was gone. They¡¯d probably think he just left. Still¡­ I don¡¯t feel like I can take a decision on behalf of the Elder. Bring him back home.¡± ¡°We were content to let you run around and y your games, you know?¡± Lane said. ¡°But you had to keep going deeper.¡± Luca let out a relieved whimper, but he soon realized that a worse fate than death could possibly be awaiting him in the Hunters¡¯ mansion. Who knew what that Shiftry would do to him? ¡ª¡ª It was morning now, and Luca still wasn¡¯t back. Nobody had slept. Something had clearly happened to him. I¡­ I hoped that he was safe somewhere. We tried to keep our spirits up by hoping that he¡¯d been captured or arrested somehow. Maeve had begged to just confess that we had trespassed to the League and hope they¡¯d do something about it, but that wouldn¡¯t work. The League wasn¡¯t exactly an entity that could focus on a single trainer going missing. Hell, Luca hadn¡¯t even been an official trainer, and he had broken thew. He wouldn¡¯t exactly be their top priority even if I called Candice. In fact, they probably wouldn¡¯t even look into it at all. This was more of a local issue. I bit my lip and sighed. I hadn¡¯t known Luca for long, but it still hurt, damn it. Pauline wasn¡¯t that down in the dumps¡ª she had only spoken to him a few times¡ª but she med herself the most. To be honest, it was partly her fault. And Mira¡¯s. But we all shared some of the me¡ª even Luca. After all, he¡¯d been the one that had chosen to stay behind. Only Cecilia and Maeve¡¯s hands were clean. Best case scenario, the League would defer it to the police, and we already knew that the police was worth nothing in this town. One thing about the League bothered me though. Why leave the Hunters to their own devices? They were doing this before Team Gctic was even involved, so the League being too busy focusing on them wouldn¡¯t be a good excuse. I didn¡¯t know much about governing, but would a nation really leave what was basically an independent city-state run by a cult to thrive within its borders instead of enforcing the rules? The mayor was a sham, the city council was a sham, and the people here seemed to think that everything here was normal. It disgusted me. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Denzel asked as he looked around the room. ¡°We could leave. It would hurt Grace with the Poketch Company, but that doesn¡¯t really matter at this point,¡± Justin sighed. ¡°Let me think about it,¡± I hesitantly said. ¡°Why?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°Why risk everything?¡± ¡°First, it was to avenge Pauline. BattleZone slighted her and I wanted to expose them for it,¡± I said. ¡°Now, it¡¯s to avenge Luca. We didn¡¯t know him long, but I hadn¡¯t expected¡ª I didn¡¯t expect them to¡­ well, maybe he¡¯s okay...¡± I felt a burning urge inside of me. An urge that wanted to make them pay the price. It didn¡¯t have to be me doing it, but if they fell, I would be happy. More than happy. My heart would swell with untold amounts of joy. ¡°I get it,¡± Denzel said. ¡°If¡­ if you¡¯re in, I¡¯m in. Pauline is too stubborn to learn, and apparently I¡¯m too stubborn to let you guys be in danger by yourselves.¡± ¡°I feel the same way,¡± Louis nodded. ¡°The children in that cult¡­ they need to be freed. They don¡¯t know they¡¯re being treated as fools.¡± ¡°Like I said before, I have my reasons,¡± Mira said. ¡°Nothing changes. We use our fame to our advantage and keep fighting as if nothing happened. Today, we will go find Jerry Heo and have a word with him.¡± ¡°What if he talks?¡± Louis asked. I ignored the violent ideas that shed in my head. ¡°Listen up. I know this might be shitty of me to say, but we have billionaire friends, don¡¯t we? I¡¯m saying we pay him off to stay quiet.¡± ¡°And if he says no to that?¡± Louis asked again. ¡°We raise the price until he folds. Men like him like money,¡± Cecilia anxiously breathed out. ¡°He paid Pauline¡ª a literal billionaire¡ª to stay quiet. His brain only functions in terms of Pokedors. He won¡¯t refuse.¡± It was on, then. I was ready. ¡°We need to line everything up. When we¡¯re ready, we¡¯ll talk to the media and expose everything. As morbid as it is, we''re going to need more than this to bring them down.¡±
Chapter 157 Chapter 157 CHAPTER 157 "Here''s Jerry Heo''s face," Denzel said, showing us his phone. Jerry was a man on the heavier side of things, but I wouldn''t call him overweight. "Found him on the ''meet our staff'' page on the tournament website. We have his schedule, so we can probably wait until tonight to go speak to him." "I want to bring him into a back alley and beat him up," Pauline said. "That''s not at all what we are doing," Cecilia chided. "Please be serious." "I was serious." "We wait until seven-thirty then," I nodded. "Then we strike. Offer him to spill the beans about everything he knows. He''ll probably ask to not say that he talked, and we''ll agree immediately when he does. After that, we''re golden. Obviously we''ll still record the conversation." "Fine. Meet outside the tournament building at seven-thirty," Denzel nodded. ¡ª I picked up Angel from the Pokemon Center as soon as we all left and spread out, since he''d finally been healed. I released him outside, and he was as good as new. His battle with Will Bowman had definitely been his hardest since Fantina, and he wasn''t exactly used to feeling pain, so I wanted to make sure he was alright before we went to find Jerry Heo. The majority of our friends would be busy with their battles in the morning anyway, so I had time. We weren''t going to go alone. Everyone needed to participate. With our strengthsbined, we could actually pack quite a punch. "Hi Angel," I smiled. The grass type wriggled and snaked a vine around my ankle. "Want to see the others?" It had been a few days since all of my Pokemon could just sit and hang out, and I considered it important for them to do so. I was still at the Pokemon Center''s entrance, so Sunshine and his anti-social ways would have to wait, but the others were fine. I couldn''t exactly go off on my own. Not anymore. Sweetheart tackled Angel into a bear hug, which didn''t amount to much due to the size difference. He raised her with a few vines and ced her on his head¡ª which she had designated as her spot. Angel had been rather sad these days, since she now split most of her attention between him and Sunshine. He wasn''t about to lose an opportunity to hog her. I kind of felt bad for her since I had only used her in a single battle, but I was nning on using her against Harry whenever the time came. If the time came. I wasn''t sure if the tournament was going to unravel at this point. Princess and Buddy stuck by my side. The water type stood behind me with his usual vignce, especially now that he knew how bad things were. He solidified his body for me and I leaned against his head. I could almost sink inside of him with how soft he was. Togetic was in my arms, as usual. She''d always been a mama''s girl. She softly chirped as I pet her head, and I felt the floor shake under me. She was always prepared. Honey kept practicing Protect even though I hadn''t told him to train. It seemed that he was determined to perfect the move as quickly as he could. "Don''t go too hard!" I smiled. He turned toward me and gave me a sharp nod. Trainers were filtering in and out of the Center and giving Buddy strange looks. "Chill out. No death stares," I whispered. He let out a series of clicks and booms that rumbled in my ears. "I know, but these trainers won''t do anything. It''s the adults that you''ve got to watch out for¡ª but still, no death stares!" Togetic giggled mockingly at him. "I know what you''ve got under my feet, don''t act like you''re any better," I said. "But good. Keep it up." We never knew when someone might strike. "Hey, I was thinking about finding hobbies for you guys," I called out. "Mira told me that her Kadabra was into research and stuff and that Haunter yed catch, so it made me think. I want you guys to be into more than just fighting, you know? Hell, you don''t even enjoy it," I told Buddy. "If you ever have something thates to mind, let me know okay?" "Tar! Larvitar!" "Destroying stuff doesn''t count," I chuckled. Togetic let out a series of cries. "Ancient Power¡­ wait, hold on say that again? I''ve never heard you use that other word before." She chirped again, this time raising a small ball of earth from the ground and molding it into a star. "Molding¡­ did you mean molding? Oh wait, like sculpting! I got it!" "To!" She cheered. "Great! With how good you are with Ancient Power, you''ll probably get into it quickly. What about you Bud?" I asked, bending my head back to see his immense head. "And don''t say protecting us, or I''ll pout." I swore I heard him sigh. "Think on it then. It''s important to me." It was a bit early to bring it up, but he''d¡­ he would outlive all of us. It was important for him to discover other things. I snapped my finger. "Honey, your turn!" The electric type stopped practicing Protect awkwardly scratched his head. Larvitar sniggered at him from Angel''s head. "Don''t make fun of him. Your turn ising," I yfully said. "Don''t be shy. You''re with family." Electabuzz looked around the trainers and people passing by. "Come on, it''s not like they''ll understand what you just said. I won''t say anything out loud." He answered with cooking, which honestly camepletely out of left field for me. I''d see if I could figure something out for him whenever we uncovered what was going on in this hellhole. I should have brought him to the Poffin House after we went with dad¡­ if I had known, I would have. "Angel?" The grass type blinked twice. He was a lot tougher to understand than the others, but I was getting better and better at his vine-speak. I kind of felt bad for my friends. I didn''t know if I would have been able to be happy if I couldn''t speak to my team this clearly. Apparently Justin could understand his Pokemon even less than me and Tangrowth. He needed to work on that! Anyway, he answered something akin to taking care of something¡­ it was still blurry. Children, maybe? It was either that or Pokemon as a whole, but the first option made a lot more sense. For some reason, his word for the two was indistinguishable. He always did that slow little vine twirl to the left and that soft blink whenever he spoke of them. The blinking was important with Angel. A quick blink meant that he was irritated or excited, or angry, although I had only seen him angry when our lives were in danger. A slow blink meant that he was happy, but it could also mean sadness or just neutral. Hell, sometimes when he was happy he didn''t even blink, he just did that weird eye smile thing. That was why you had tobine the blinks and the motions of the vines to truly understand what he was saying. It was this whole ordeal. "I''ll write you down for taking care of children, cutie," I said. "But you''ve got to take care of yourself too!" His vines tensed excitedly, and he smiled with his eyes. How the hell was I going to manage that? Well, he had Larvitar and to a lesser extent Togetic for now, so that would do. "Sweetheart?" The rock type stared at me and nked. "Think on it, okay? It can be anything." "Toge," Princess grumbled. "It can be anything as long as you leave your sister''s sculptures intact¡­" After around ten seconds, Larvitar lit up like a lightbulb and grinned. She wanted to swim. "Arceus," I sighed. "How are you going to swim? Without Angel to act as your lifeboat, you''d sink and drown, and you won''t stay this tiny forever." "Larvi!" "Okay I did say anything. And sorry, you''re not tiny, you''re huge. But my point still applies!" The rock type huffed, turning away from me and almost fell off of Angel''s head, but he thankfully caught her before she could create a massive crater on the floor. I knew she would have leaned into that fall to increase the size of the hole. "I''ll figure something out," I sighed. Could Pupitar skid across water with their jets? Like a stone skipping or a jet ski? The inte had no answers for me because I must have had the first rock type obsessed with water. "Sculpting, Cooking, Caretaking, Swimming," I muttered to myself. Now there was only Buddy and Sunshine left. If I had to guess, Turtonator would probably answer with sleeping, because that''s all he did in his free time. It was a wonder such azy Pokemon could be so powerful when he wanted to be. I would need him to be in top form when the time came, so hopefully he wouldn''t be too rusty. He hadn''t fought anything since battling us Mount Cor, but he''d been on the brink of passing out from his wounds. How powerful would he be when he was at full strength? I was starting to think that the seven-badge approximation I had ced was underestimating him a little bit. I couldn''t even imagine all of my Pokemon being that powerful, and yet it was just scratching the surfacepared to what Gym Leaders could do with their true teams, nevermind the Elite Four and the Champion. There was still a lot of climbing to be done. ¡ª It was seven-thirty, and there were thirty minutes left until the tournament building closed. Justin had lost his battle today, but he''d done extremely well, and I didn''t say that lightly. Taking down two Pokemon from a five badger at his level was proof that he was just as good as any of us here, even if hecked the self-confidence to think so. Maeve had unfortunately also lost, and so had Louis, but she had apparently gotten two evolutions in that battle, so she was quite cheerful. Not that they even cared about the tournament this point. Maeve wanted out and Louis was entirely focused on taking down the Hunters due to his past experience with his father. Pauline, Denzel and Justin weren''t going to be a part of this¡ª at least not at the start, so they were hanging out outside. Jerry Heo knew their faces and we didn''t want to scare him off before we even had the opportunity to speak. It was me, Cecilia, Louis and Mira this time. We stepped inside of the building and were d to see that Jerry was indeed working. Luca''s sacrifice hadn''t been in vain. Cecilia strode up to the man and smiled. She''d be taking the lead for this one since she was the best actor after Pauline. It felt weird to be back here without trespassing. See, because it was sote in the day, there were very little people in the building. Mira went over to distract the only other employee in the room. She could be very persistent when she wanted to. "Sir! We need your help," she eximed. "A fight''s broken out on the street! Something about a tournament loss." "Shit, as if my day couldn''t get any worse. Are they using Pokemon?" "No," I immediately said. "It''s just physical." If he thought that Pokemon were involved, then he''d possibly bring more people in. "Fine. Benji, I''m going to fix this." "You got it. It''s been pretty dead around here, so you should probably take off early. I''ll close up." "Thanks my brother," he said. "See you tomorrow." Okay, Jerry was a lot more normal than I thought he would be. I had already pictured him as some kind of evil mastermind, but life wasn''t often ck and white. The rest of our friends were waiting further down the road and were a single call away. Now this was the riskiest part of the n¡ª as if this entire thing wasn''t risky in the first ce. We weren''t going to threaten him to speak to us, but we did have to convince him to stick around before he realized that there was no fight. "How much further?" He asked. "From the way you said it, it seemed that it was closeby¡ª" "We know you''re corrupt, Jerry," I smiled. "We know you paid off our friend Pauline and that the Hunters are probably paying you to do their dirty work." "What the fuck¡ª" "We can offer you a lot more than what they''re paying," I interrupted. It was technically a lie, since I didn''t know how much he was being paid, but I just needed him to speak to us. "Our friends are rich." "Richer than you''d ever know," Mira added. "Come and talk to us." "I don''t know what you''re talking about¡ª" "Five million," Cecilia said. Jerry Heo stopped and licked his dry lips. "Ten. Then I can get the fuck out of this town. Ditch to Sunyshore and retire with my wife." "Ten''s fine," Cecilia nodded. "Will youe and talk to us now?" "Fine." ¡ª At first, Jerry wanted us toe speak inside of his hotel room that BattleZone was booking for him and his fellow employees, but there was no way we were doing that. We opted to do it in a public ce¡ª but not too public so that we could actually talk. It wasn''t like public parks were swarming with people during the evening. Of course, we had Slowking, Kirlia and Kadabra out for protection. Together, they''d be able to sense anyone that was suspiciously booking it toward us and shield us from any attacksing our way to leave us enough time to release the rest of our Pokemon. They were notably having an effect on Jerry Heo too. He twitched nervously every time Kirlia red at him, Kadabra bent his spoon or Slowking silently studied his face. "What do you kids want to know then?" He shakily said. "Hurry it up. You wouldn''t believe in how much danger I am in here. You don''t know what you''re messing with. As soon as I get my money, I''m getting my wife and I''m on the first ne to Sunyshore." "We know how dangerous it is, so spare us," I said. I nodded at Denzel. "First and foremost, do you have any idea of where our friend is? His name is Luca Antonovich." "Luca¡­ Luca¡­ I don''t really know any Lucas. I speak to a lot of kids for these tournaments¡ª" "He owns two Cutiefly? Does that ring a bell?" I asked. "Oh, that kid. We heard a bit about him. He''s an information broker, right? I don''t know where he is." We all sighed in disappointment. Well, it was time to get into the real meat of this. "The Hunters and BattleZone are rigging this tournament for Harry Rodriguez. Why?" Denzel asked. Jerry clenched his forehead and leaned forward with an exasperated groan. "Look¡­ this is tough to say¡ª" "Then stop wasting time and say it," Pauline hissed. "There''s a¡­ a third party that isn''t from here and that has nothing to do with us or the Hunters. They want Harry to win to promote his image. The Hunters like this third party very much, especially the head of the family¡ª" "Stop it. Stop skirting around shit, or we''re not paying," Pauline said. "Be brave for once in your fucking life." "Team Gctic! It''s Team Gctic, okay! Or at least it''s what I heard! Wait, wait, don''t¡ª I''m not a part of them okay? I have nothing to do with them, I just know things because I''m in charge of this rigging thing on the BattleZone side of things and I''m the only one the Hunters will speak to. I don''t even want to do all of this! At first I was just in it for the money but then when I learned how deep it went it was already toote and I couldn''t leave or they''d kill me¡ª" I took deep breaths, but I couldn''t stop myself from panicking. I took a few steps back and let my friends take over. Cecilia noticed immediately and grabbed my hand. It looked like I might have to cash in that promise with Sunshine a lot earlier than I thought. Come on, this was stupid. I was already throwing myself in so much danger. I could do this. "Why the hell would Team Gctic care about a random trainer? Is he a part of their organization?" Mira asked, suddenly very aggressive. "I don''t know that! But it looks like he might be? The Hunters and Team Gctic have some kind of special rtionship¡­ they covertly ship them high quality Pokemon sometimes, but that''s all I know! I don''t know anything about Harry!" "Keep going. Why did you pay Pauline off?" Denzel asked. It was an obvious question, but I assumed he just wanted to keep him talking. "Because I wanted to keep her quiet. The n went sideways from the very beginning¡­ damn it," he exhaled. "Sally McCree, the girl that you were supposed to battle? She wasn''t supposed to resign. We were only supposed to keep Harry from battling people with five badges. His first opponent would have obviously won. He was a lot better than Harry was, and his Pokemon countered hispletely. I mean, Abomasnow, Gliscor, Altaria, Mamoswine and Darmanitan? He was fucked and everyone knew it, so we paid the kid off. The original brackets weren''t made by us due to not having anyone in on the n there, so we had no way of rigging them at the start." "Wait, so you''re saying that you were only involved with Harry''s opponent resigning?" Louis asked. "Do you know about the man who died? My boss, Connor Tyson? I think he was murdered. He was in on the deal with the Hunters¡ª hell, he was supposed to be the Arceus damned leader and I had to take over since I was his second inmand¡ª but he only pretended to be. Evidently, he was disgusted with the whole affair, so tried to make the rigging really obvious by forcing that Sally girl to resign and sink not only the whole tournament, but the wholepany. The Hunters threw an entire fit and shut him up real quick. From what I know, they threatened his life, and he stopped. They put me in charge right after that. It looks like they didn''t want any loose ends though." "So all this time¡­" I muttered. "All this time, it was just an inside job?" "An inside job within the inside job," he nodded. "It also means you''re fucking ipetent," Pauline said. "BattleZone as a whole doesn''t really know about this. It''s only a few select people in key ces that are being paid off to influence how the tournament goes. That''s why they''ve denied the rigging so publicly. They evenunched internal investigations to make sure everything was clean. Obviously they didn''t find anything." "We didn''t hear about any investigations," Justin frowned. "They were held behind closed doors. They didn''t want thepany''s image to be affected worse than it was. As it stands though, I think it''s done for." "Which is why you''re hopping off the sinking ship like a rat," Mira smirked. "Tell us more about this Team Gctic connection. The Elder''s chummy with the Team Gctic leaders?" "I told you everything I knew. Mr. Tyson would have known more, but he''s dead. Also, the Elder''s not friends with Team Gctic. The family head is." "Is there a difference?" Denzel asked. "Of course. The family head is Rnd Hunter. He''s kind of like, skinny fat with a beard. I only met him once, since he hates stepping out of his property. The Elder they keep rabbling about is their Shiftry." I blinked. "What?" "I know it''s hard to believe, but it''s true. That¡­ that thing¡ª" he spat. "¡ªhas been ruling over their family the whole time. I''m talking a thousand years here." "Holy fuck," Denzel breathed out. "Oh Legendaries, oh fuck." "Arceus," Justin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That''s right. A Pokemon rules over fucking Sceon. How does that make you feel?" He said, chuckling dryly. "The family head is just his second inmand. Hisckey." "And the family head has connections to Team Gctic, not Shiftry?" I asked, just to be sure. "Correct." And yet, it seemed that Shiftry was perfectly content with them helping out Team Gctic by favoring Harry Rodriguez and sending them high quality Pokemon. Why? "This is so fucking convoluted my head is going to explode," I said. "Okay. What else can you tell us about the Hunters? Just say everything you know." "I know that most of ''em aren''t trainers. If I had to guess, it''s probably because Shiftry doesn''t want any risk of rebellion. I know that the few that do have Pokemon capable of battling specialize in dark types." "Good, but you have to have more than that," Denzel said. "Shiftry has some kind of way of muting emotions. It''s how he exerts control over the entire family. Stay on their property for a few days, and you''ll start to feel nothing. No love, no joy, no sadness, no excitement¡­ just nothing. The only thing he''ll let you feel is loyalty. Every time Lisa met me, she wasining about her emotions annoying her¡ª" "Lisa? Lisa Hunter?" Cecilia loudly asked. "Yes, Lisa Hunter! Anyway, that''s why none of them are allowed to leave the property for too long except the most trusted members of the family, like Lisa, Reggie, Lane¡­ basically all the trainers. I also know they''ve been protecting the region from something, although I don''t exactly know what. It''s a huge deal though. They bring it up a lot." I thought back to Isaac''s story regarding Lisa. She had cried when they broke up, even though Shiftry was supposed to prevent that. Did that mean her love had overpowered his abilities for a few moments? She apparently never left the property when they were dating. Or she could have been faking it. Reggie and Lane had shown emotions during their tour, like fondness for Ediva¡­ did that constitute as loyalty for Shiftry? I assumed that their smiles andugh during the tour had been faked, which is why they felt so hollow to me. If I had to gamble¡­ I would say that Isaac could distinguish fake emotions from real ones, especially with someone he''d been dating. Lisa''s tears had been real. "Are you nning on doing more rigging in the tournament?" Pauline asked. "At this point, no one cares about the tournament," Denzel shook his head. "That Shiftry. How strong is it?" "How am I supposed to know? I''m no trainer!" "Do you think you could convince one of the Hunters to switch sides?" Maeve asked. "I told you I''m on a ne as soon as this is done, didn''t I? I''m not going back there again no matter how much money you offer. But if you wanted to do it¡­ you''d have to get one of them to get off theirnd for at least a few days to cleanse all of that dark type energy bullshit they have going on in there. I wouldn''t do it if I were you." "Okay, do you have Lisa Hunter''s number?" Mira asked. "Mira, we are not kidnapping anyone," Maeve hissed. "We''re not," I nodded. "That would be going too far. We''re going to need to convince her." "Good luck with that," Jerryughed. "I''ll entertain your idea and text her, but I''ll have to set it up somewhere near theirnd. You''ll have to do it quick though, because they''ll know I''m gone pretty soon. Tomorrow''s probably your cutoff line. Anyter than that, and the Hunters will catch on that I''m gone." "Grace, how are we going to convince this girl?" Denzel asked. "It''s impossible. And even if we do, who''s to say that she won''t just change her mind the moment she gets back to their mansion?" "Lisa cried when she broke up with Isaac," I said. "We have to get him to help. Hey, what Pokemon does Lisa have?" "Good thinking. She might attack us," Justin nodded. "A Mightyena." "A single Mightyena?" Mira snorted. "Okay, we''ve got this." "They''re only allowed to have one Pokemon each," he said. "I know Lane has an Umbreon, but I don''t know anything else." "Okay, so that won''t be an issue. Now we just have to call Isaac and convince him to do this." "Wait. Grace, you''re tunnel visioning," Maeve said. "We have a testimony of the Hunters being linked with Team Gctic. Call the League and it should be all over." "You didn''t record this, did you?" The supervisor panicked. "No," she smoothly lied. "But Grace, what do you think?" "Okay. We call the League and see what they do," I nodded after taking a deep breath. "You''re right. They have a tip line, right?" I had thought about this before. I didn''t care who brought the Hunter family down so long as something did. If the League was going to step in, I would stand back and watch. "I disagree with this," Mira protested. Maeve snapped. "Listen, it just makes the most sense¡ª" "I disagree. You can''t stop me. Not when Team Gctic is involved." "But we''re punishing them by doing this¡ª" "It''s a thing I have to do personally." I looked at Maeve, who shot me a worried look. We''d worry about herter. The high from learning all of this was slowly leaving our veins, and we were starting to think clearly. This n with Lisa would have been good if we didn''t have Team Gctic involvement, but there was no way the League would ignore this. It would go at the top of the pile and the Hunters would be discovered. Luca would be avenged. Jerry scoffed. "You think that''ll do anything?" "Yes it will," Cecilia said. "This is as far as our involvement in this goes." "Didn''t I tell you that the Hunters were crucial to Sceon? They protect it, along with the entire region. Do you really think that the League would let them run free otherwise? They''ll get a p on the wrist and that''ll be that. It wouldn''t be the first time they got involved in a scandal." "Exin," Mira said. "You kids weren''t born yet. It was right when Cynthia took over. That fucking Shiftry tried to expand its emotion-dulling bullshit to the entire town. The League said it was just some wild dark type, and I believed it until I learned what was really going on here a few weeks ago. Lisa exined it to me. Shiftry wanted to make the entire city his personal fiefdom, but the League stepped in and forced him to y nice in his little corner." It took a few seconds for the words to sink in. The League knew about all of this and just¡­ watched it go on? "We''ll submit the tip anyway," Cecilia said. "Right Grace?" "Yeah," I said. My voice felt hollow. My respect for Cynthia had just plummeted. "Are we done here? Should I set up the meeting with Lisa or not?" Jerry asked nervously. "We''re done," Denzel said. "Thanks for the help. Louis, the cash?" The blond boy produced a huge suitcase full of money. "I''d rmend transferring this to multiple bank ounts. Ideally, you would dy those, but you don''t have time. People will ask questions when they scan your luggage and they see that you''re traveling with a suitcase full of cash." "I know a guy," he dismissively waved. "So¡­ I''m leaving?" We cleared a space and let him go. Cecilia immediately messaged the tip line for the League and exined everything we''d heard about Team Gctic and the Hunters. Hopefully they wouldn''t get away with just a p on the wrist. Denzel said he would send out the recording to Emilia so that she could edit Jerry''s voice. Then, we''d send it to multiple mediapanies¡ª along with the League again for good measure. A deal was a deal. "I''m going to clear my head," Mira said. "Let mee¡ª" "Not now, Maeve." Maeve''s held-out hand went limp. There was nothing we could do but wait for tomorrow.
Chapter 157.5 Chapter 157.5 CHAPTER 157.5 This is just a bonus chapter for the day that I wrote to get through all the OCs my Discord submitted. It isn''t relevant to the plot, so feel free to skip if you don''t feel like reading battles. Either way, enjoy. Thest few days had been horrible for Cecilia. It wasn''t the worst thing she had experienced¡ª far from it. This was nothingpared to the terror her father had wrought on her or being stranded in Mount Cor or having Abel show up in her room. Yet, this was possibly the most anxious she''d ever felt. Along with Maeve, Cecilia was thest voice of reason within the group. They had to pull the reins and stop their friends from doing anything stupid, and thankfully it looked like they had seeded. The League knew about the problems Sceon was facing, the Hunters'' link with Team Gctic, and Grace was nning on calling Candice to make sure that they knew that this was real and not something they could ignore. Things were finally looking up, and yet it still didn''t stop Cecilia from feeling like a weight was pressing against her chest. If anything happened to Grace¡­ No, she couldn''t think about that. Just visualizing it was enough to bring her close to tears, and she had to focus for her battle. This would probably be her toughest opponent yet. "This is a battle between Cecilia Obel and Juan Montes. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." Juan released a Drakloak and a Grafaiai. Cecilia had progressed a lot since iling around against Fantina''s own Drakloak. Its speed was its main asset, but it couldn''t fight against the power she would bring to the table. Grafaiai was a Paldean Pokemon she had never even heard of before. Fluorescent blue paint-like saliva dripped from its fingers, and its teal blue eyes stared right into her own. Grace had insisted on making her do a minimal amount of research. She''d ended up doing all of it though. Cecilia was just content to spend some time rxing with the girl she loved. These two weren''t the main threat on Juan''s team, so he was apparently keeping the best forst. Cecilia sent out her Talonme and Slowking. She felt her heart swell when the huge flying type soared in the air and screeched. Talonme wasn''t big enough to fly on, but she wasrge enough to pack a serious punch and she had lost her old frailness. Talonme weren''t known as apex predators for nothing. Slowking put his hands behind his back and silently observed. Cecilia felt bad for Zweilous. She hadn''t even used him once in the tournament so far, but it wasn''t her fault. She just kept winning too quickly, and Scyther and Golett needed the practice. The bug type still didn''t want to listen to her, but he at least took her advice seriously now. "Begin!" "Drakloak, Double Team and Quick Attack toward Slowking! Grafaiai, get in there and Venoshock!" Drakloak let out a juvenile, raspy roar and split into ten. The illusions rushed toward Slowking while charging up Dragon Pulses in their mouths. It was a nice trick, but it could just be overwhelmed by Heat Wave. Deception was only effective when no amount of power could blow past it, which was why Grace was so effective at it when she wanted to be. "Heat Wave," Cecilia said. "Slowking, you just protect yourself." Talonme spread out and pped her wings. The air slowly grew hotter and distorted, and the Double Teams fizzled out into thin air. The real Drakloak screamed, and a quick Dragon Pulse flew toward Slowking. Weak. The psychic type waved a hand, and the attack curved, crashing against Kadabra''s barrier instead. Grafaiai struggled to keep going against the heat and opted to hide behind a boulder. Cecilia let out a disappointed sigh. She yearned to call out and to tell her opponent to . Or maybe this was it? This was just so dull. "Infestation!" Juan yelled. Little green lights wormed their way out of Drakloak''s body, flying toward Slowking like missiles out of a jet. A few of them washed over his psychic barrier, while others simply failed to reach him due to the strong winds from Heatwave. The floor was glowing bright red, and only the vicinity below Slowking was safe. Grafaiai let out an agonized scream and ran away from its boulder. The skin under its feet was melting off. It fell onto the floor and began to burn. Juan panicked and stammered out a few words, but the poison type was in too much pain to act. Cecilia watched like it was just another Tuesday. Grafaiai fainted, and Juan sent out a female Indeedee. The psychic type began to burn under Heat Wave''s influence, but¡ª "Fake Out!" Indeedee blurred forward and jumped, somehow using its stubby legs to reach Talonme. The bird was stunned by the attack and froze. She would have crashed to the ground if Slowking hadn''t caught her. Indeedee fell with a loud thud and its thin fur burned to a crisp, exposing its soft pink flesh. "Slowking," Cecilia said. The water type seized Indeedee as Drakloak screamed and struggled to make its attacks connect. Its Dragon Pulse and Infestation might have broken through another Pokemon''s barrier, but not hers. "Forget it! Dragon Pulse the Talonme!" "Slowking¡ª" The water type forwent his attack on Indeedee and protected Talonme instead, leaving her enough time to fly back to the air. Unfortunately, Indeedee used the opportunity to m her against the ground with a Psychic of her own. Cecilia grinned. The battle was finally starting. "Water Pulse!" A ring of water quickly sped off toward Drakloak, who phased out of existence and reappeared behind Slowking. This time, he was too close. Infestation wormed its way into the psychic type and would keep ransacking him from the inside. "Psychic! Grab it!" Slowking held out his hand, but he couldn''t stop himself from twitching. The Psychic only held for two seconds until Drakloak escaped. Talonme, for her part was struggling against Indeedee, but she managed to open her mouth to burn the normal type with ember, leaving her enough time to escape back in the air. "Finish the Slowking off!" "Fire Spin!" Now that he was too unfocused to shield himself, Cecilia couldn''t possibly order Talonme to use Heatwave. A ring of fire came to life around Indeedee, slowly getting tighter and tighter. Slowking brought his hand forward and stopped another Dragon Pulse, but the attack grazed his shoulder instead. "Acrobatics!" Talonme spun in the air and she was next to Drakloak in a sh. The dragon type managed to slip away, but not before getting its tail wed by Talonme''s talons. Unfortunately, Slowking fell to the ground. It seemed that the Infestation had been too much. She recalled him before he could fall and released Zweilous. She couldn''t afford to mess around here, not when Juan still had hisst Pokemon up his sleeve. Well, now that Zweilous was on the field, no more holding back. "Tailwind, Fire Spin, Heatwave." Drakloak was a ghost, so he''d be able to resist the extreme heat that had been enough to turn ss into sand. As for Indeedee? Well, Juan was so scared that he recalled her from the fight. Cecilia obviously would have stopped before anything permanent could be done, but he wasn''t going to take that chance. Well, it was time for the true threat to appear. Juan tensed and released a Ceruledge onto the scorching field. It was a magnificent specimen, and the armor needed to let them evolve could only be forged by a few specialized smiths in Paldea. Cold, ghostly mes covered its body and danced in unison, as if they were alive. "Dragon Pulse," Cecilia ordered. "Talonme, stay focused on Drakloak. Quick Attack and me Charge to build up speed." Talonme screeched, and mes enveloped her entire body. Drakloak was quick enough to dodge, and it desperately tried to fight back with Dragon Pulse and Double Team. The goal was to keep it upied so it wouldn''t focus its dragon type attacks on Zweilous. The two heads snarled. In a split second, two huge turquoise beams flew toward Ceruledge andbined into one. The ghost type sharpened its des and sunk into the floor with Shadow Sneak. It traveled through the entire field that way and Cecilia thought it would go for closed range attacks, but it shed across the air to summon small giggling purple mes. The Will-O-Wisps entered Zweilous'' body, and the heads screamed. Cecilia stared at Juan, who was simply ordering his Drakloak around. She was starting to think that he had notmanded Cerludge''s respect quite yet. "Stomping Tantrum!" Cecilia yelled. Even with Shadow Sneak, the attack would deal damage. A thin barrier appeared around Ceruledge, not shielding him from the tremor, but from the ground type energy that came with it. Zweilous could keep their attack going for a long time, and the fire type could not. In the air, Talonme finally managed to cut Drakloak in half with an Aerial Ace. At her speed, Cecilia wasn''t even sure that she''d be able tomand her properly. Her wings had been singed by Dragon Pulse, and she had been hit by multiple Infestations, but she was still going strong. Ceruledge''s Protect finally broke, and it silently screamed. Its armor nged and mes surrounding its entire body. Sol used the opportunity to hit it with a Dragon Pulse, but Ceruledge cut the weakened attack in two with its swords and rushed toward the dragon. Shadows surrounded its sword and it shed across Sol''s neck, cutting it like it was flesh instead of tough scales. The head growled and bit at the ghost type with a vicious Crunch, seizing it by the arm. "Talonme, pivot!" Cecilia said. Drakloak was practically a non-issue by now, so now was the time to act. The flying type screeched, and after one blink, she was already hitting Ceruledge with an Aerial Ace that prated its armor. Zweilous'' second head bit the ghost type''s torso with Crunch and Talonme finished it off. Ceruledge was good, but its capabilities had seemed overblown by Grace. Oh well, she had always been more safe than sorry regarding battles and battles only. Anything else, she''d throw herself into danger. Talonme took to the air again and onest Acrobatic finished off Drakloak. "Victory to Cecilia Obel!" ¡ª Hours earlier. "This is a battle between Justin Gardner and Andrew Zabana. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." This was it, Justin thought. There was no way he was making it any further than this. Andrew Zabana had five badges and he had three. The skill and experience gap was simply too wide for him to ovee this challenge. Justin watched Andrew release a Torkoal and a Victreebel. The sun grew harsh and started to weigh down on the Grass Field. This was his tactic. Andrew was a trainer who used the sun to win against his enemies. Justin sighed and sent out his Audino and Growlithe. Guessing who his opponent would start with had been easy enough, but finding a counter had been difficult. He had almost considered using Lombre with Growlithe to focus on taking down that Torkoal, but the sun''s sheer power would render his water moves useless. If only he''d practiced more with Audino''s Simple Beam¡­ "Begin!" No matter how hard he looked, there was no path to victory, but there was a path that came close. Justin snapped his attention to the battle and took a deep breath. "Torkoal, Stealth Rocks! Vicky, Sr Beam!" Justin ground his teeth. His opponent was bringing out the big guns right from the start. Sr Beam was such a powerful attack that Growlithe''s type advantage might as well not matter, and Audino would take a lot of damage. Torkoal slowly expunged sharp rocks from his shell, and a huge beam gathered in front of the grass type''s mouth and flew toward Audino. "Helping Hand and methrower!" Dodging such a huge beam would be impossible for Audino, so his best bet would be to weaken it enough to survive. The normal type twirled and pped his hands, reinvigorating Growlithe, whose methrower was at least twice as strong as normal with the sun and the Helping Hand. The mes spewed forward and countered the beam of energy for a few seconds, but it broke through and burned Audino''s body. "Life Dew and Wish!" Justin screamed. "Growlithe, methrower that Victreebel!" Another methrower flew out of Growlithe''s mouth, but at this distance, it was easy to dodge. The poison type was under Chlorophyll''s influence and could move itself with its vines. Water dripped out of Audino''s body, healing with slightly and he recovered from his burns. Then, he shot a light into the sky. "Long range won''t work! Torkoal, get in there with Rapid Spin! Vicky, keep using Sr Beam!" "Audino, Helping Hand! methrower!" How many times could Victreebel use Sr Beam without getting tired? Even with the sun, it was an exhausting move to use. Once again, Growlithe stopped the Sr Beam with his mes, but Torkoal was spinning through the arena quicker than it could ever hope to walk. The remaining beam was weak enough for Audino to keep fighting, and he healed himself with another Life Dew. It wasn''t enough topletely make up for the damage he''d just taken, but Wish could counter that soon. Justin was okay for now, but it was like he was walking a tightrope. One mistake, and the entire battle would unravel. "Double Kick that Torkoal away!" He screamed. "Disarming Voice!" Growlithe quickly turned away from the fire type and tried to kick it with his hind legs, but the force of the Rapid Spin proved too much. Even with Audino''s Disarming Voice to soften the blow, he was knocked and sent away. Another Sr Beam engulfed Audino''s entire body, and this time, it was fully powered. The normal type was on hisst legs. "Keep going Torkoal! Body m!" "Heal Pulse, Audino!" Growlithe couldn''t afford to fall here. Justin needed him to be as weakened as possible, but not faint. If Audino was going to faint, then he would push Growlithe through this hurdle! A pink burst of energy flew out of Audino''s hand and hit Growlithe, healing him just enough for him to make it through Torkoal''s Body m. The fire type whined as he struggled to get back up. Justin''s condition was met. "Reversal!" There was a glint in Growlithe''s eye, and his wounds did not stop him from moving any longer. In one smooth motion, he pawed Torkoal away. It was how nonchnt the move looked. Torkoal grunted in surprise and flew away toward the barrier, cracking his shell and falling on its back. Another Sr Beam¡ª weakened this time¡ª finished Audino off. Perfect. Louis had taught him this little trick that his Pawniard was fond of. "Retaliate!" Growlithe blurred toward the helpless Torkoal and rammed his entire body into the turtle. The Pokemon rolled over backward and spun like a spinning top before fainting. Justin could see from his opponent''s eyes that he hadn''t expected that at all. He recalled his Audino, and Andrew did the same for his Torkoal. Justin sent out his Lombre, and his opponent sent out a Tropius. The stones from Stealth Rocks lightly prated his skin. That was probably the worst-case scenario. Justin felt the high of his victory over Torkoal evaporate in a sh. "Tropius, fly over there and Seed Bomb! Finish that Growlithe off! Vicky, get closer!" At least he had stopped the flurry of Sr Beams that had made this battle impossible to fight. Victreebel looked exhausted, and struggled to even walk straight with its vines. If Growlithe could get close enough to use Reversal¡­ but no, that was too risky! He had to do this! "methrower!" "Tropius, Wide Guard!" Justin''s shoulders sagged when a thinly veiled barrier appeared to protect both Tropius and Victreebel. The mes helplessly washed over the invisible wall, and Tropius beat its wings, dropping huge seeds from the sky. The explosions rocked the entire field, and despite Lombre attempting to pick off the ones falling above Growlithe''s head with Bubblebeam, a few made it through and took down the fire type. Tropius turned and flew back toward his trainer. Justin sighed and recalled his Pokemon. Krokorok would be terrible here, but what else could he do but try. His path was still open. He could at least take down one more, but it would take a lot of work. Stealth Rocks rammed into the ground type''s skin, and he grunted in pain. "Lombre Rain Dance!" Justin yelled. With a loud croak, Lombre summoned thick clouds that swarmed the arena and obscured Tropius in the sky. An unintended consequence, but it would also have to fly lower if it wanted to aim properly. Victreebel was almost here now¡ª "Sludge Bomb the Lombre!" A thick glob of poison flew out of the grass type''s mouth, but Lombre easily skidded across the grass, dodging it. Justin yelled out a Knock Off, and the water type slid his way toward his enemy, dodging Sludge Bomb after Sludge Bomb. Tropius broke through the clouds and sent out Seed Bombs to finish Krokorok off, but the ground type simply buried to hide away from the worst of the damage. Darkness surged in Lombre''s hand, and he hit Victreebel with Knock Off, staggering the grass type. Perfect. "Sand Tomb!" He yelled out to Krokorok. With how wet the floor was, Krokorok''s Sand Tombs were even more potent than usual. The ground was already covered in mud, and it began to spiral under Victreebel. Lombre had thankfully been quick enough to escape with Swift Swim. "Now Mist!" Justin hurriedly ordered. Lombre let out another croak, and a thick mist overtook the arena. Justin had always found it a shame that Grace no longer favored the move, but it would serve him well here. Now, Tropius had no way of knowing where Lombre or Krokorok were, and thetter was free to surface to power up his Sand Tomb and finish off Victreebel! "Seed Bomb!" Andrew''s voice broke through the Mist, and more explosions shook the field. Then more¡­ then more. Ah. Justin had forgotten that it didn''t matter if Tropius couldn''t see the field. It would just be able to sweep the arena over and over and flood the arena with Seed Bombs. It must have taken two minutes for the mist to start fizzling out, meaning that Lombre was down. What Justin saw nothing but destruction. It was like the entire field had been excavated with bombs. Nothing remained of the Grass Field he knew, just like Lauren had done with the Snow Field. Krokorok was also down. His body was upside down, with his head still buried. He''d been tunneling, but the explosions had broken through the earth. In the end, Justin had taken down two Pokemon¡ª Victreebel and Torkoal. A better performance than he had the right to ever pull as a three-badger. It stung, but he couldn''t exactly be angry. He had done well. ¡ª Maeve''s face twitched as she stepped onto the podium. Battling since her first loss had always been a nerve-wracking affair that Mira had tried to solve in countless ways, but she didn''t think she would ever go back to normal. Nothing would ever give her the confidence she had felt from back when she had dominated Roark and every trainer in her way. It had all evaporated in the Floaroma tournament. She couldn''t even say that battling would take her mind off things. What had happened thesest few days was more than anything she thought would happen in her entire life. Maeve was just a normal girl that wanted to live a normal life, yet her friends kept getting in these extraordinary events. If she somehow won this, she''d have to battle against Harry Rodriguez next match. She was one of the few people with three badges remaining. Louis and Justin had fallen today. And yet, she still couldn''t find it within herself to be proud. "This is a battle between Molly Chapman and Maeve Chang. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." Maeve''s opponent sent out an Electrode and a Marowak. The electric type had a wide smile permanently etched on its face, and it excitedly rolled around the Desert Field. Marowak hit its huge bone against the floor, and it quickly settled down. Maeve gulped and sent out her Skorupi and Starmie. She had known that Electrode would be first from the minimal amounts of research she had done, but Starmie''s psychic powers would be invaluable here. It was a risk, but a risk worth taking. "Begin¡ª" "Keep your distance, this thing explodes!" Maeve quickly yelled. "Pin Missile and Psybeam! If hees at you, stop him with Psychic! Focus on Electrode!" Her orders were a mess. Rambles full of slurred words and barely coherent enough for anyone to give them meaning. The two attacks flew toward the opposite side of the arena, but attacks from that far away were easy to dodge. Electrode quickly rolled backwards toward Marowak and his grin widened, mirroring its trainer. "Bone Club!" Molly eximed. Marowak tightened its hold on its bone and hit Electrode away like a golf ball. The electric type winced at the hit, but it was somehow speeding up through the air. Agility. "Grab him!" Maeve yelled. Starmie''s gem shone and the star on its back rotated. Pink energy surrounded Electrode, causing it to hover in the air. The electric type grunted and squirmed in Psychic''s hold, but the damage it was taking made it impossible to focus. "Now Pin Missile!" Maeve said to Skorupi. The bug type angled its tail forward, sending out sharp spikes toward Electrode. It was superficial damage, but it would quickly add up¡ª "Explosion!" From here? "Throw him away¡ª" Maeve hadn''t even been quick enough. The Electrode bubbled, swelled, and its body shone. For a split second, the world was still. Then, a giant explosion rocked the field. Maeve flinched when the shockwave immediately reached her, bending Kadabra''s barrier. When the smoke cleared, ss littered the Desert Field''s upperyer. Starmie had fainted, its gem cracked and devoid of its usual vibrant reddish pink. Marowak had been far enough away to be spared of most of the damage¡ª a testament to how powerful that Explosion had been. If Maeve had to guess, Molly was a trainer that specialized in double battles. They were rare, but they existed. There was no way she would havee up with this strategy otherwise. But where was Skorupi? "Skorupi?!" Maeve yelled as she recalled Starmie. "Skorupi¡ª" A Drapion emerged from the hot sands. How? Molly recalled her Electrode and sent out an Amoonguss, and Maeve sent out her Monferno, who stared up at his new teammate confusedly. Drapion was wounded, but his quick thinking had made it survive the explosion. Maeve couldn''t afford to be agape for too long. She needed to be quick. "Drapion, Hone ws and get in there! Monferno, Bulk Up and do the same!" Her Pokemon weren''t as strong as Molly''s, so her best bet was to bridge the gap. Monferno''s muscles bulged outward, and the fire type smashed a fist against his palm. Drapion menacingly closed and opened its sharp pincers while they glinted. "Amoonguss, Growth! Marowak¡­ Bone Club!" Damn it, again? What was it now? Marowak hit the grass type away just like it had done with Electrode, but it was slower this time. Maeve had time to react. "methrower and Venoshock!" mes and poison washed over Amoonguss, but they did not stop its momentum. "Spore!" "Damn it¡ª run away! Keep using Pin Missile and methrower!" They had actually dealt a lot of damage, but it hadn''t been enough. Spores exploded from Amoonguss'' body. Maeve''s Pokemon held their breaths, but they spread quicker than they could run, and Drapion wasn''t used to his new body yet. Both of them fell into the sand. "Whew. Marowak, get in there and Earth Power both." It took ten seconds for the ground type to get close enough. Maeve clenched her fists. All she could do was watch. The sand under her Pokemon swelled, and huge quantities of earth burst from the ground, hitting both Monferno and Drapion. It took another four for Drapion to faint, and two more for Monferno to do the same. Maeve recalled her Pokemon and sent out herst teammate. "Staravia," Maeve said. "You''re up." The flying type jumped and took to the air, analyzing her two opponents with a worried gaze. Maeve had no choice but to wait out the spores. Staravia didn''t exactly have ways to attack from a distance, but neither did Marowak, who couldn''t even approach because of the Spore. "Venoshock!" Molly yelled. Maeve didn''t even have to tell Staravia to dodge. She put her wings t against her body and dove, stopping herself just shy of the spores. "Double Team!" Twenty of Staravia''s clones appeared, and the original quickly got lost in the mix. Venoshock was powerful enough to dissolve the illusions, but Staravia just reced them whenever they disappeared. "Quick Attack!" Maeve said, pointing at Marowak. All of the Staravia shone and rushed toward the ground type. Amoongus was too slow to help. All it could do was worm itself back toward its teammate. "Rock Slide!" A barrage of rocks erupted from the floor in front of Marowak, but if there was one thing Staravia was good at, it was maneuvering. The bird extended her wings, bringing herself to a screeching halt, and rushed to the side to go around the Rock Slide. She spun around and used Aerial Ace to strengthen her hit, stabbing into Marowak with her beak. "Hit her off!" Molly yelled. With abored grunt, Marowak mmed its bone against Staravia''s skull. The flying type squirmed and flew off, but Marowak threw its bone, hurting her wing. Staravia copsed in the sand. "Can you still fly?" Maeve asked. She tried to push herself off the ground, but she could only glide for a few seconds. Staravia''s wing was broken. "You did good," she said. "Finish her off with Rock Slide¡ª" Both trainers gasped when light overtook Staravia''s body. She grew until she becamerger than Maeve herself, and her talons sharpened. A bright red crest formed above her head. "Congrats again," Molly smiled. "Thank¡ª thank you." It was weird to be congratted by her opponent, but it certainly felt nice. Another Rock Slide finished Staraptor off, and Maeve lost her battle. Still, two evolutions? She wasn''t as sad as she thought she would be.
Chapter 158 Chapter 158 CHAPTER 158 In all of those revtions and excitement, I hadpletely forgotten to look up my new opponent. I didn''t really care about winning or doing well in the tournament any longer except to fulfill my contract with the Poketch Company. It was a wonder that I hadn''t been caught breaking into the tournament building, so I felt obligated to make them proud. I sighed as I sat up on my bed with myptop on myp. Cecilia leaned against me and watched me work. Slowking was standing guard, along with Buddy tonight. "I''m d you went with my call tonight," Cece said. "I was terrified that you''d go deeper into this." "I''m sorry for worrying you. I know I''ve been difficult," I sighed. "I won''t take any more risks." "Are you telling the truth this time?" She asked with a serious tone. She got her head off of me and stared into my eyes. "Not another empty promise?" "Yes," I exhaled. "I''m sure." I couldn''t tell her about what I told Sunshine. He expected something from me now, so at some point, I would have to plunge into danger once more. I couldn''t break my deal with him. Best case scenario, I could maybe annul it if nothing ended up happening for the rest of our stay, but I doubted that would go over well. I would probably lose all of his respect I had carefully gained since I caught him. That wasn''t an option. "Can you tell me about your thought process? What do you look for when you gather information on someone?" She asked. "Well first, I look at the most recent battles," I exined. "Then I try to branch out and go to their gym battles to see how they fight under actual pressure. Then I gather a few battles I really liked that showcased their strategies and teams and I watch it again and again until I know everything by heart. Sometimes I''ll try to browse the forums too to see if there''s anything that would concern me." "What about their posts? I feel like you''d be able to learn a lot about them depending on how they talk online. It''d do wonders with your emotional maniption trick." "That''s¡­ yeah, that''s true. Thank you for that," I smiled. "I won''t do it for her though." "What''s her name?" "Sloane Hob. I''ve got to get a clean win." "Yourst three wins were clean," she chuckled. "Weren''t they?" "The first one was. The second and third were iffy," I said. "It might be doable against her thought." "What''s her team?" "Swellow, Espeon, Krokorok, witzer," I listed. "The main strategy here seems to be using Double Team over and over to confuse her enemies. Sort of like what Maeve did." "Smart, but not against trainers like us." I nodded. "I''ll start off the battle with Sweetheart, but I''m still thinking about which second Pokemon to use. Honey wouldn''t really be able to protect her that much, but Angel''s already fought so much, I want to let the others have some action too." "Well, who''s Sloane starting off with?" "Espeon for sure. It knows Wish, Protect, Yawn and Heal Bell, it''s mostly her support Pokemon with tons of versatility. She''s started every single battle with that Espeon." "What if she changes her mind?" "She won''t. She''ll start off with a Yawn and then Wish. I''ll have to rush her down before my Pokemon fall asleep¡­ I''m going with Buddy. Plus, I feel like the Double Teams would confuse Angel too much." "I probably would have gone with Tangrowth and Jellicent, but I understand your decision." "Come on, that''s just because you want to make a bunch of stuff blow up," I joked. "It''s not!" She protested. "I''m pulling your leg," I said. "Will you forgive me if I give you a kiss?" I turned toward her and leaned in, but she ced a finger on my mouth. "No. You''re being punished. Until we get out of this town and you''ve proven that you''re not taking unnecessary risks any longer, no more kissing." "...Fine." "Look, in the end, we got results, and Luca¡­ didn''t have to disappear. But that doesn''t stop the fact that there''s something dangerous about the way you think. It''s like you don''t even value your own life. You didn''t even try to convince Pauline and Mira to change their minds, which just makes me think that you wanted to do this deep down anyway." "I don''t even know myself," I exhaled. "It did feel good to take the plunge. Like I was giving the Hunters what they deserved. But I also don''t feel like I don''t value myself. I mean even now, I''m scared of anything happening to me." "Just¡­ be safer. I wouldn''t be able to keep going without you." "I will¡ª I''ll try." I went back to staring at myputer. Espeon woulde first, that I was sure of, but who would be second? I doubted that it''d be witzer. I had to keep in mind that Sloane was preparing for me as well. I had started with Angel three battles in a row, so I didn''t think that she would lead with a water type. The same point applied to Krokorok, so if I had to guess, it would be Swellow¡ª especially since it knew Heat Wave somehow. I would have Honey and Angel in the back, and Princess would be able to sit this one out. Now all I had to do was figure out a way to rush that Espeon down. Rock Slide would be able to take care of its Double Teams, but not Swellow''s. To be honest, couldn''t I just ignore Swellow? What did it even have to hurt Jellicent and Larvitar? Sure, it had Steel Wing, but that would make it get back up from the sky, which put it in prime Smack Down range. Rock Slide would be too slow to hit, but Smack Down was Sweetheart''s quickest attack, and she had changed it by herself and turned it into something new. Along with the main rock, there was always debris that shot out of the ground, just like what had happened against Kyle Thornton''s Watchog. It would cripple Swellow enough to stop it from flying, which meant it would be forced to Roost. Which meant it would be buried under a Rock Slide. What I thought it would do was that it would wait out Espeon''s Yawn. Buddy would overwhelm it, but it was impossible for him to get there before it got the attack off. What Sloane didn''t know was that Buddy was resistant to sleeping attacks. After all, he''d told me about how he had resisted Palossand''s Hypnosis when fighting against Fantina. So long as I took down that Espeon, the rest would follow suit. Not my best work, but it''d would do for this. If I was fighting a five-badger instead of a four-badger, I would have gone a lot more in-depth. "Finally done," I stretched. I turned off myputer and ced it on my bedside table. Tomorrow would be interesting. ¡ª I was back on the Snow Field for the second time in a row, which was really a drag because it was the furthest away from everywhere else. Sloane had been two minuteste, and she arrived panting and tired. Had she been doingst minute preparations? Possibly. I stared at the referee and gulped. Could he have been in on the scheme? "This is a battle between Grace Pastel and Sloane Hob. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." I felt satisfaction swell when I saw Espeon and Swellow appear in a sh of red. The flying type was slightly bigger than the one Maeve had faced during her first battle, and it looked to be slightly faster too. Espeon stoodpletely still, not even moving a muscle. I sent out Jellicent and Larvitar. The rock type yelled loudly until Buddy scolded her, telling her to stay quiet. "Begin!" "Sandstorm," I started. Larvitar shut her eyes and waved her arms wildly. Thin grains of sand appeared, mixing with the snow. "Double Team, both of you! Espeon, Yawn!" There it was. Clones of both Pokemon appeared on the ground and in the sky, giving the illusion of overwhelming numbers. Larvitar tensed and turned to me. "Go in, Bud," I ordered. "Keep a Night Shade with you." Ghostly energy split from Jellicent,shing out and tying into knots to create a shadowy clone of himself. He propelled himself with Water Sport, and the shade simply followed by floating across the sky. I still hadn''t figured out how to make Night Shades use moves. All of the Espeons opened their mouths to yawn, and I felt drowsy for a second before snapping back to reality. "Now Wish!" A dozen lights flew out of the gem on all of the Espeon''s heads. Now came Swellow''s counter. "Agility, Focus Energy and Aerial Ace!" "Acid Armor," I said. In truth, I was telling him to liquefy his body, but Acid Armor was a simpler way of saying it. Swellow proudly beat its wings, generating strong gusts of wind, and then rushed to Jellicent with one of the most powerful Aerial Aces I had ever seen, along with all of its clones. Dodging would be impossible, so I opted for the path of least resistance. The real Swellow flew through Jellicent''s body, disintegrating his head which regenerated in a few seconds. "Turn back and do it again!" "Did you see him, Sweetheart?" I asked. She yelled out a ''yes''. "Smack Down, then start going forward!" Like a bullet, a rock shot out of the floor and barreled toward Swellow, who was shocked by how quick the attack was. The bird narrowly dodged and the attack hit a clone instead, but that left enough time for Jellicent to reach Espeon. "Psychic!" Sloane yelled. "Solidify," I said. Buddy''s red eyes red up in anger as Espeon struggled to hold back his ever-increasing weight. He might not have looked like it, but Jellicent was heavy when he waspletely solid. In fact, he could barely make himself float. His transparent body had been reced with an opaque shade of sky blue. "Watch out¡ª" Then, the Night Shade exploded on Espeon''s body, freeing Jellicent from its hold. "Hex, then Shadow Ball." "Swellow, Air sh! Interrupt him!" I had lost the real one amidst its clones, but from the sea of Swellows, the air sharpened and formed into multiple arcs bigger than I was. They shot out toward Jellicent, who was currently cing Espeon under a Hex. The psychic type squirmed and struggled as smoke emanated off of its body. The Air sh sliced across Jellicent''s head, vertically splitting in into two halves due to his still-solid form. That meant he''d taken more damage, but the recovery period was shortened significantly. In a sh, strands linked the two halves and Buddy kept his Hex going until it finished. As soon as it did, Sloane ordered her Espeon to run away with Dig. The Shadow Ball crashed into the floor, but it was already gone. She was no doubt buying time for Wish, but she didn''t know what Buddy was capable of. "Follow and finish it off," I said. Jellicent ignored another Air sh, liquefied his body and became squeezed into the hole Espeon had left. "Espeon, get back up! Get back up now!" Well, it wouldn''t be getting back up. I could faintly hear its screams from here. Sweetheart was slow on her feet, but she was making good progress. I noticed that she was starting to tire out, however, so I probably only had a minute or so left until she fell asleep¡ª Wait, did I even care if she fell asleep? Not exactly. Steel Wing was an issue, but I personally believed that she was tough enough to brave them until she woke. "Strengthen that Sandstorm before you go sleepy," I said. I restrained a smirk when I noticed that the baby talk pissed Sloane off. The storm slowly picked up and grew thicker, forcing me to squint to see the battlefield properly. "Perfect! Stop there!" At least like this, I was forcing Swellow to take damage. Larvitar fell asleep immediately after her Sandstorm, so she''d been even faster than I thought. She crashed on the floor and snorted with a wide smile on her face. Knowing her, she was probably dreaming of destroying things. "Steel Wing!" Sloane yelled. Just as the Wish flew down toward Espeon, which was still struggling in its hole, a dozen of Swellow''s clones flew down toward Larvitar. The real one struck right after the second, sending her rolling across the floor. At this point, the field was more desert than snowscape. Larvitar had reformed it to her image. Jellicent squeezed back out of the hole with half of his face missing, as he usually did. Espeon had put up a good fight, but it wasn''t going to win against a ghost type in such a cramped space. "Steel Wing again before the Jellicent gets here!" Sloane said. She waited a few seconds to see if Espeon would climb back, and then recalled it. Thank Arceus for those homing beams. She sent out her witzer next. Its pincer was bigger than its entire body. Swellow once more hit Larvitar with Steel Wing, and it was dealing damage. But was it doing enough? "Poison Sting and Hex that witzer," I ordered. "Protect and Dragon Pulse!" My eyes widened at Dragon Pulse. That was new, but I couldn''t afford to panic. I just had to take the move into ount and counter it. First, I needed to see how powerful it was. A thin barrier shielded the water type from Buddy''s poisoned darts, and then draconic energy began to build up in its pincers. After a few seconds, turquoise energy flew out, grazing Jellicent slightly. It was slower to charge and weaker than Zweilous''. I could handle this. "Poison Sting and Hex again!" I said. I was going to tire it out. Larvitar finally woke up after the fourth Steel Wing, but unlike when she was sleeping, the rock type was clearly in pain. Her breaths were ragged, and her scales were cracked and bruised. I winced and bit my lip. This was probably the most physical pain she''d been in her entire life. "Finish it off! Steel Wing!" I had her. I waited until thest possible second and gave out mymand. "Smack Down!" Shards of rocks exploded, taking down clones and Swellow itself. The bird crashed into the sands and screeched in pain. "Rock Slide! Bury it!" Rocks of all sizes emerged around the flying type and covered itpletely. There was no way it was strong enough to get out of there by itself. "witzer, Aqua Jet away and Water Pulse at the rocks!" Or she could just do that. The tired witzer darted forward in a burst of speed, but a few of the poisoned darts made it through and prated its shell. Water Pulse fired out extremely quickly. I blinked and it had already hit the rocks in an attempt to free Swellow. Unfortunately for Sloane, I just buried it in more rocks. If Swellow had had a move to fight from the inside, then it could have broken out, but right now? There was nothing Swellow could do. "Focus on Larvitar, then! Take it down!" "Rock Slide in front¡ª" The Water Pulse already hit Sweetheart before the words were out of my mouth. I clicked my tongue. That could easily have been anticipated, but I didn''t. Larvitar fainted, and I recalled her, sending out Tangrowth instead. Her Sandstorm wouldst for a little longer since she had trained it extensively and it wasn''t an ability, so Sunny Day was out of the picture. "Finish off that Swellow. Buddy, Night Shade and get in there," Imanded. "wizter, Ice Beam that Tangrowth¡ª" "Ancient Power in front!" I yelled. This time, I was quick enough. Luckily for me, it seemed that only Water Pulse had been perfected that quickly in the gap between Sloane''sst gym battle and now. It was the first time she''d used witzer in the tournament, so I couldn''t have anticipated it, but it still stung. The arcs of ice helplessly washed over Angel''s boulder, freezing it in the process. One of his vines turned neon green and smashed through the rocks Swellow was buried under. He grabbed the flying type and hit it against the floor a few times until it fainted. "Water Pulse into Ice Beam!" Sloane yelled. In one breath, the shards of frozen rocks exploded, cutting up Angel''s vines. Then, an Ice Beam hit the grass type, the bottom half of his body. He was stuck. The Sandstorm finally ended. "Krokorok, go!" She yelled. "Keep your distance! Rock Slide!" The dark type ironically used Sweetheart''s own rocks to hit Tangrowth over and over. I bit my lip. "Send your Night Shade over to witzer," I smoothly ordered. "Aqua Jet¡ª" "Now Whirpool!" All of his training had led to this. Jellicent spat out such a huge volume of water that I saw him shrink slightly. The water hovered in the air and began to spin faster and faster. With a booming yell, he sent the attack flying toward both Pokemon. It was too big for them to dodge. The only hope they both had was to use Protect, although Krokork could burrow to escape. That would mean that he''d leave his witzer alone up here. Even though it was a water type, the spin of the Whirpool was so powerful that I doubted it''d be able to simply ignore it and casually swim. "Krokork, Dig! witzer, Protect!" She opted to leave witzer alone then. Angel finally finished smashing the ice with Power Whips and was free to walk again. "Scorching Sands!" I raised an eyebrow. I knew of that move, but I hadn''t known that she''d be capable of using it while Krokorok was underground like Justin''s own could do with Sand Tomb. Once witzer''s Protect ended, it helplessly iled around the Whirpool, shooting haphazard Dragon Pulses in hopes of hitting something. The floor under Tangrowth bubbled and turned to soot. His vines wriggled, and the attack washed against his entire body like a wave. The heat was working well against him. "Get in the Whirpool and finish witzer off! Buddy, use Night Shade and Shadow Ball!" Finally, Buddy''s Night Shade which had been floating around doing nothing could do work. It positioned itself to hit witzer and explode on contact, but the water type pushed himself out of the water with two quick Water Pulses. Its good fortunes ended here. Tangrowth pushed himself through the Whirlpool with his vines. Thanks to his heavy weight, he spun around slower than witzer, which meant that¡ª "Power Whip!" I yelled. ¡ªWhich meant that it was over for the water type. The Power Whip hit witzer''s huge pincer, cracking it in the process, and it fainted. Now that there was just Krokorok left, Buddy ended his Whirlpool. "Scorching Sands!" She yelled. Even now, she hadn''t given up. Other trainers might haveined about her still fighting when she had no chance, but I respected her so much for that. Angel squirmed and tried to run away, pushing himself with his vines. It looked like she wasn''t going to unburrow. "Hey, Bud. Want to try something out?" I asked. "See if you can slip through the ground." All this time, I had asked myself. Could he slip through any cracks on any surface? My mind shed back to the hotel in Eterna where he had somehow gotten onto the balcony without opening the door. The cracks in the floor were tinier than that, but he was also stronger than he had been. Jellicent nodded and stared at the ground. "See where it''s attacking with the sand?" I said. "It''s right under there." "Damn it¡ª Krokorok, stop!" Jellicent propelled himself with Water Pulse and disappeared into the floor, using the ground loosened by Scorching Sands to slip in. After ten seconds, Krokorok emerged from the ground, his entire body wet and still smoking from what I assumed was Hex. Tangrowth wrapped a vine around his neck to restrain him and squeezed out its remaining energy. Jellicent had been like a true ghost today. "Victory to Grace Pastel!" ¡ª Questions from reporters were growing more and more vicious. At this point, very few people were taking the tournament seriously, and some of them were trying to get under my skin by iming the tournament had been rigged for me too. I really had to bite down on my tongue not to explode for that one. I was pretty sure I forgot to smile too. Only one more match, and I would make it to the top thirty-two, which meant that I''d fulfill my contract with the Poketch Company. Of course, even if the League would take the Hunters down, I still wanted to win against Harry Rodriguez to punish him for going along with this scheme. Not only that, but he was associated with Team Gctic. He would need to pay the price. Unfortunately, he had disappeared. Vanished into thin air. It looked like I wasn''t going to get my revenge. Of course, the best-case scenario was always to have the League arrest him first. That''d be funny. At this point though, I just hoped that they would swoop in and save the day. The quicker they were, the less likely the odds of Luca being dead were. I knew that kidnapping victims almost never survived after a certain number of hours¡ª I didn''t remember the exact amount. If only they had a way of contacting us to at least let us know how they were progressing. I had called Candice earlier today and afterining about me not calling her since I had left, she said that it was confidential and she couldn''t tell me anything except that my tip had been noticed and that they were looking into it. With respect to my friends, most of them were holed up in the Center outside of their battles these days. Louis, Justin and Maeve had all lost yesterday, so they didn''t exactly have anything better to do. Mira was still brooding in her room. She hadn''t been the same since learning about Team Gctic''s links with the Hunters, and I suspected that she had a vendetta against them. That would at least exin why she wanted to take this entire matter into her own hands with the Lisa n. I wanted to speak to her, but she wouldn''t open her room for anyone. Not even Maeve. Cecilia and Denzel had been spectating my battle. They weren''t going to leave me alone here. "Another dominant win," Denzel said. He''d lost a lot of his usual cheerful demeanor since yesterday, and I couldn''t me him. "You look pissed by the way." "Stupid reporters," I groaned. "Speaking of, any progress on the thing with Emi?" "She''s keeping me updated live. Vincent''s been helping her out, so she should be done in a few hours." We were taking every precaution not to get caught before the hammer struck. We weren''t about to get busted by some spy that had been listening in. "Let''s head back then," Cecilia said. "We can go back to see Denzel''s battle afterward." "I''m going to start letting loose. My opponent''s pretty tough," he said. "Another stall user. I already told Justin that he should watch on TV." "So we can finally see what you''ve been hiding?" "You might be a bit disappointed, but it''s pretty cool," he finally grinned. "You smiled!" "Yeah¡­ I guess I did," he said. ¡ª "This is a battle between Denzel Williams and Charlie Blue. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." Charlie blue sent out a Toxapex and a Forretress. The two Pokemon were covered in shallow scars, a testament to how many hits they had taken in their lives. Forretress was capable of levitation by using maic forces that I was nowhere smart enough to understand, but even then, it would still be slow as hell. Toxapex, meanwhile, could only force itself forward by using its twelve legs, but it was even slower than Forretress. Denzel would always have the initiative in this fight. Wind blew across the grass as he sent out his Lopunny and Sylveon. There was so much sass in the normal type''s pose that she almost appeared human¡ª even going as far as flicking her ear back like Pauline did with her hair. I noticed that she''d incorporated a lot human gestures, which was probably due to her simr body type. Honey had done the same with me, with his thumbs up, head scratches and awkward smiles. Sylveon''s fur blurred, and his eyes settled upon his enemies, always unblinking. With the craziness of thest few days, it had been a while since Princess and he had hung out. She probably missed him. It would all be over soon. "Begin!" "Toxic Spikes!" Toxapex lifted its two front legs, sending out sharp star-shaped spikes hovering all over the battlefield a few inches from the ground. Aside from that, it seemed like Charlie was letting Denzel start up first. "Power-Up Punch." It was a simple order that could have meant many things, but Lopunny smirked. Both of her hands, feet and ears lit up, and she began punching Sylveon consecutively using all of her appendages. The fairy type just stood there, immobile as he stared at Forretress and Toxapex. Denzel was¡ª Denzel was continuously building up Lopunny''s strength by having her hit his own Pokemon. Without Sylveon''s shield, it would have been a risky strategy, but it wasn''t even like Charlie could fight back. His Pokemon were too slow to go and retaliate. He ordered his Toxapex to spit out a Sludge Bomb, but it didn''t go the distance. It seemed that he was too scared to let his Forretress go alone. I gasped when Sylveon''s shield broke, fizzling into pink dust. Lopunny stopped punching and flexed one arm. She took one step forward and the ground under her foot cratered. "There you go," Denzel said. "Now go and have some fun." Lopunny grinned. In one breath, she was halfway through the arena, leaving a trail of destruction behind her. Two breaths, and she was right next to Forretress¡ª "Iron De¡ª" Lopunny''s fists burst into mes, and she punched the steel type as strongly as she could. Forretress flew backward into Kadabra''s barrier. The entire right side of its armor was caved in, and it couldn''t even float anymore. Toxapex screeched and another Sludge Bomb flew out of its mouth, but Lopunny was too quick. "Counter!" As if she knew the attack had beening, Lopunny faked out Forretress and used his body to push herself back toward Toxapex. The poison type brought its twelve legs together, forming its Baneful Bunker. Poison dripped out of every inch of Toxapex''s legs, but Lopunny skidded across the floor and jumped over its body, waiting for the defensive move to finish up. It took five seconds, and then electricity danced in both of her fists. She grabbed two of Toxapex''s legs and pulled them apart until she could squeeze inside. I did not know what she did to its hidden head, but the screeches didn''t paint a pretty picture. When the poison type copsed, Lopunny emerged from under it. From the purple tint in her eyes, I could tell that she was poisoned, but she could still go on for a while longer. Charlie recalled Toxapex with a look of disbelief and sent out a Wobbufett instead. "That one has Counter too," Denzel warned. "Go for¡ª ah, you''ve got it." Lopunny was already rushing to finish off Forretress, who was barely conscious. One Fire Punch to its already caved-in armor did the trick. Lopunny was beginning to tire out. Toxapex''s poison was a lot more potent than I would have thought, and it seemingly caught Denzel off-guard too. Charlie sent out a Clodsire¡ª Who immediately got beaten half to death with Ice Punches and Kicks. "Watch out for Counter!" The ground type was too slow to even hope to dodge and fight back. He was clearly caught off-guard by the beatdown right out of his Pokeball. From the way Denzel looked, I could tell that he was worried about Counter, but the poison type couldn''t evenprehend what was happening. After a bit, it did manage to shake Lopunny off with a Bulldoze, but she gripped it by the tail and finished it off by mming it against the floor with a Circle Throw. There was only Wobbufett left. "E¡ªEncore!" The psychic type¡­ danced in a really weird, circling motion, and Lopunny was forced into using Circle Throw. The rabbit panted as poison pulsed through her veins. She stared back at Denzel, who nodded. "Go for it." In a sh, she was in front of Wobbuffett. She wrapped her arms around it and suplexed him, but the psychic type''s body shimmered, and Lopunny was sent away by an immense force. Charlie had finally managed to get one of his Pokemon to use Counter, and with how much Lopunny was dishing out, she was out for the count. Denzel recalled her and sent out his Fross, who curiously stared at the Grass Field which was now littered with holes. "Sylvi, you recovered yet?" He asked. The fairy type sighed, and the blur around his body appeared again. Twice in one battle? That was insane. "Okay then. Fross, that Wobbufett can''t really do anything but counter our attacks with Mirror Coat or Counter, so it''s going to be a little tricky. Walk up to it for now. I''m serious! Just walk up to it." "Wobbufett, Taunt!" An obnoxiousugh ran through the field, and I felt an incredible amount of anger toward Wobbufett surge inside of me. I assume Fross and Sylveon to be the same, but they controlled themselves and walked together toward the psychic type. After twenty seconds, they were only a few steps away. "Sylveon, you y Rough. Fross, you Shadow Ball." I smiled. How evil. Wobbufett could either choose to Mirror Coat or Counter, but it couldn''t do both. It opted for the former, but that only dyed the inevitable. They slowly picked the psychic type apart, attacking simultaneously each time. Wobbufett went down soon enough. "Victory to Denzel Williams!"
Chapter 158.5 Chapter 158.5 CHAPTER 158.5 This is thest bonus chapter that I wrote to get through all the OCs my Discord submitted. The second battle is somewhat relevant to the plot, so you should at least skim it. I''m through all of the OCs submitted now. "This is a battle between Lauren Goodwill and Sebastian Foster. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." Lauren had heard many things about the tournamenttely. That it was rigged by the Hunters. That Team Gctic was involved with Harry Rodriguez and wanted him to win. That BattleZone was rotting from the inside. Yet she did not care whatsoever as long as she got to battle. Like every trainer, Lauren was willing to say that battling was her passion, but she went even further than that. She could not imagine a life without it. She felt the invisible restraints that kept her subdued and meek evaporate as soon as she sent out her Seismitoad and Sceptile onto the Grass Field. She still wanted to battle on the Water Field at least once, but she kept getting unlucky. Sebastian sent out a Luxray and a Pikachu. Sceptile immediately snapped up and excitedly mmed his tail against the floor. He had only gotten to battle once since the tournament started, so he was a lot more chipper than usual. Seismitoad sized up her opponent with a wary eye, but she still exuded confidence. Against electric types, she would shine more than anyone else. "Begin!" "Prime, set up your Aqua Ring and go get ''em!" Lauren snapped. "Volis, fuck them up!" Aided by Quick Attack, Sceptile dashed forward until he became a blur of motion. He opened his mouth to spit out a Dragon Breath, catching Luxray off-guard and grazing the electric type. "Pikachu, Double Team and Swift!" "Forget that rat, get the bigger rat instead!" Lauren grinned. "Leaf de!" The leaves on the grass type''s wrists grew sharp and shone with a bright neon green. He shed across Luxray''s throat, drawing blood. The electric type tried to fight back, and its trainer shouted out for an Ice Fang, but Sceptile was too quick. He reappeared behind Luxray by dodging Pikachu''s Swift with Detect and cut again. But that wasn''t it. Seismitoad was in the picture now. "Prime, Earthquake until they both fall," Lauren ordered. "Shield!" Pikachu summoned a thin barrier that Lauren recognized as abination of Reflect and Light Screen. Luxray wasn''t so lucky. The ground under both Pokemon''s feet shook, and it grew uneven. Chasms and cliffs formed. Sceptile had run far enough away to avoid most of the localized Earthquake. All of Pikachu''s clones disappeared in a sh. "Luxray, you''ve got to do something¡ª" Sceptile jumped andnded on the electric type''s back. A wild grin stretched across Lauren''s face. "Drain de!" The grass type hadbored day and night to perfect the move. It was abination between Mega Drain and Leaf de that would heal Sceptile while dealing devastating damage. Electricity enveloped Luxray''s body and electrocuted Sceptile in the process, but he was tougher than that. He cut deep inside of Luxray''s back, and the attackbined with Earthquake brought the rat down. It wasn''t a rat, but Lauren didn''t care. Sebastian sent out a Magnezone next, which wouldn''t be affected by the Earthquakes. Oh well, she could still fuck up that Pikachu with it. The little runt was exhausted from shielding itself from Earthquake for so long. "Sceptile''s too quick! Signal Beam the Seismitoad! Magnezone, sh Cannon!" "Volis, get in there and Mega Drain," Lauren snapped. She didn''t even need to tell Prime anything. She was a tough girl, she''d get over it. The multicolored beam mmed into her belly and was quickly followed by another ray of metallic light. Sceptile quickly rushed toward Pikachu, who had to stop maintaining its attack to run. Itshed out with Thunderbolts, and it was surprisingly slightly faster than Volis was. The electric attacks didn''t do much but annoy him though, and it wasn''t like he needed to be anywhere near Pikachu to use Mega Drain. The electric type withered and fell to the ground as Sceptile drained its energy from afar. He used the opportunity to finally cut that damn Pikachu down with Drain de, healing a bit of the damage that had been dealt. A loud ng rang out when Seismitoad''s Water Pulse hit Magnezone''s armored skin. Both Pokemon had been exchanging blows from a distance, but Prime would oust it with Aqua Ring. Sebastian grimaced and sent out a Furret. "Get him." "m!" Sceptile cracked his neck and rushed toward Furret. His body twisted unnaturally, dodging the m, and then he cut across its back with Drain de. The normal type quickly recovered and let an Ice Beam loose. The attack caught Sceptile off-guard, since he hadn''t expected it to get back on its feet so soon. Not that it mattered. The floor under Furret began to shake, and Lauren ordered Sceptile to hit Magnezone with a long-distance Bullet Seed. They had stopped working on the move consistently long ago, but it was enough to push Magnezone and throw its aim off. Lauren didn''t even care about friendly fire. "Drain de. You''ll recover more than you''re hurt," she said. Sceptile mirrored her grin and used the move on the helpless Furret. The normal type quickly fell, and there was only Magnezone left. "Bullet Seed, Water Pulse, finish it off." The steel type fought surprisingly well. It opted to target Seismitoad with everything it had instead of Sceptile, since it was never going tond a hit from that high in the sky. It dodged the Water Pulses rather easily, but Bullet Seed was too quick. The Magnezone crashed to the destroyed field, clipping onto the edge of an Earthquake-made cliff and falling deeper into the chasm, but Sebastian recalled it before it could go any further. "Victory to Lauren Goodwill!" All of her life, Lauren had watched her big brother aplish things magnitudes above what she thought she was capable of. Her parents keptparing her to him growing up. She was less of a hard worker, not as smart, not as nice to people, weird, not amodating enough, not loud enough, too shy, too reserved, too¡ª She was tired of beingpared. "Thanks for the battle, I guess..." she whispered. ¡ª One dayter. For thest four years, Mira Compton had been sad. There were highs and lows to her sadness. It came in waves, but when it did, it submerged every other feeling and it made it almost impossible to y pretend. She had thought that she was finally doing better now that she had made a lot of friends, but nothing could have prepared her for what she would find in this town. Team Gctic was involved in the Hunters'' scheme. Team Gctic. The thought spread like wildfire in her mind, consuming everything in its path until her head was filled with nothing but sorrow. "Nice to meetcha, man!" She grinned at her opponent. "Hope we have a good one." "Uh, same to you." Smile. Be happy and grateful for what you already have. You don''t know when you''re going to lose it again. Yet, was she not already losing it all? She was fighting with her friends, and most of all, Maeve and she hadn''t spoken. Mira bit her lip and forced herself to smile. She''d always been a fuck-up. "This is a battle between Mira Compton and Jake Hond. Trainers, send out your Pokemon." She would arrive at Veilstone soon, and she would stay there until she found her uncle, Circuit be damned. She had only signed up as an excuse to travel there and gain in strength. Team Gctic apparently had their main base hidden there, Mira wasn''t going to let that opportunity slip past her fingers. Mira sighed as she grabbed her Pokeballs. Funnily enough, she might have been one of the only people who had known of Team Gctic before the League announced their existence after the attack at Valley Windworks. She had known for years now. Apparently her uncle had been there too. And she hadn''t, because she had opted to go to Canve instead of going straight to Floaroma. Regret. It burned. Mira sent out her Kadabra and Kirlia while Jake Hond sent out his Politoed and Seismitoad. Mira had been so depressed that she hadn''t even bothered to do any research. It was a constant, sinking feeling that she couldn''t get rid of unless she had something to distract her, but it was hard to be distracted when the answers she seeked were right there, nagging at her. If only she hadn''t been such a coward, she could have met Lisa Hunter today. "Begin!" "Let''s do this gently¡ª but not too gently! Kadabra, Energy Ball and Teleport! Kirlia, Psybeam from afar!" "Politoed, dodge with Bounce! Seismitoad¡ª" In two Teleports, Kadabra had already crossed the field with a ball of green energy in the hole of his spoon. It would have been more powerful if they had been on the Grass Field instead of the Rock Field, but it would do the trick. The Energy Ball mmed into Seismitoad''s huge stomach, and Politoed jumped so high it was like it was flying. Kirlia brought her hands together and tried to shoot it out of the sky with Psybeam, but it was too high. You are unwell, Mira. I can feel it, Kirlia''s voice rang out in her head. Kadabra, Mira is depressed. What should we do? Who did this to you¡ª Kadabra cut himself off to dodge Seismitoad''s attack. It drenched its two fists and punched where he had just stood, but he was already gone, and another Energy Ball hit the water type in the head. Politoed crashed against Kadabra, mming his head against the floor, but the psychic type Teleported before more attacks could hit. Telepathy was a funny thing. Kadabra was no mind reader, but Kirlia was an empath, so she could feel Mira''s emotions and intents. She technically didn''t have to order the fairy type around, but she did it anyways for ir unless the battle got really difficult. "Kadabra, hold it with Psychic until Kirlia can take over!" Mira grinned. Do not try to avoid me, Kirlia chided. You told us you were getting better thest time we spoke, but your mindscape is getting worse by the day. Kadabra Teleported himself upward and seized Politoed before it could jump again. The water type groaned and struggled against Psychic''s hold. Kirlia ran forward, sliding against the floor with her delicate legs and used Psychic on the water type as well. "Seismitoad, go and help!" "Kadabra, deal with it." Mira was fine. This was just a deeper slump than usual. She just needed to wait until Maeve forgave her, and then she''d help her apologize to everyone for her outbursts and end this awkward atmosphere. Kadabra summoned another Energy Ball, splitting it in five and sending them forward with a gentle wave of his spoon. Seismitoad dodged the first, but was hit by the rest. You lie to us and yourself. Let us finish this battle. I will take care of you, Kirlia brushed against her mind. Kadabra''s spoon bent and his eyes shed. Tiny orbs of condensed psychic energy appeared around Politoed and buried themselves in his body. Psyshock. Kirlia tells me that you fought with your associates. Is this true? It is true. A fairy does not lie. Have some self-respect. You are more psychic than fairy, Kadabra sighed. Although only a fairy would dy their evolution for some personal nonsense. It ispletely illogical. I will not evolve until I am in perfect condition. A conversation between two psychics was mind-bendingly quick, especially for a human. Mira winced, and the usual headaches that she had grown past came back. Kirlia and Kadabra took notice and cut off the link. The fairy type shed across Politoed''s gut with a Psychic Kick, and Kadabra finished off Seismitoad with an Energy Ball. Jake Hond cursed and sent out hisst two¡ª a Bellibolt and a Toxicroak. Mira had only seen the former once a few years ago and it was certainly cute in a weird, ugly way. Jake screamed out orders, but Mira didn''t even pay any attention. "Just Psychic and Teleport around and stuff," she sighed. Her head wasn''t in the game at all. Mira, Kirlia said as she hastily dodged a Water Gun from Bellibolt. I will speak for Kadabra here. I exined the situation to him, and he is of the opinion that you should go and apologize to your friends. Kadabra thought so? Well, maybe it was just because he was worried about her. The psychic type narrowly avoided Toxicroak''s Venoshock and retaliated by mming the frog''s face against the floor with Psychic. He held it in ce and Kirlia finished it off with three Psybeams. Bellibolt gurgled, and electricity exploded outward in a Discharge. Kadabra easily dodged, but Kirlia was caught in the st, interrupting their conversation. She was still getting the hang of Teleport thanks to Kadabra''s tutge, but it was too risky for her to use it in the middle of a battle. Kadabra quickly used the small window of rest that Bellibolt needed after such an attack to grab him with Psychic. It was only a matter of time now. My apologies. I was hit, Kirlia said. Even when wounded, a psychic''s voice would be smooth and clear, with no stutters, groans of pain or blemishes. Mira forcefully exhaled¡ª which was almost augh. Obviously she had seen that she had gotten hit. I felt the need to apologize anyway. Let us return to the previous topic. We will not idly stand by while you sink deeper into your depression. Pretending to be happy will not work. She turned her head away from Kirlia and scoffed. Onest pain-filled scream from Bellibolt signaled the end of the battle. What do I know, you ask? I know a lot. You have told us everything, and we are quite worried about your well-being. Even that horrid, ghostly thing. s, I am not foolish enough to think that you will get better simply by talking to us. Since you refuse to speak to one of the Nurse Joys, then your friends are the next best option. "Victory to Mira Compton!" Mira snapped out of her daze and noticed that the battle had finished. She hadn''t been paying attention at all. Do not recall me. I will apany you. She sighed, recalling Kadabra and Kirlia, but released thetter next to her immediately. She was going to apologize soon¡ª tomorrow. She would start tomorrow.
Chapter 159 – It Grows Chapter 159 ¨C It Grows CHAPTER 159 - It Grows "Woah! That seriously looks great," I eximed. Princess dropped a tiny sculpture of Angel into my hand and pouted. It was smudged, low on detail and deformed, but it was hers and it was perfect to me. "I''m telling the truth! Angel, look! It''s you¡ª" Togetic''s eyes shone and the sculpture turned to mush. She had brought in some mud inside of our Pokemon Center room to practice with, and she was dissatisfied with her progress. Tangrowth''s eyes drooped, knowing that he''d failed to see his own statue. She had made Buddy first and had a simr reaction. She didn''t want anyone to see her art unless it was up to her standards. "You''re doing good, stop being so harsh on yourself," I said. "Can you do mommy?" Togetic hurriedly shook her head, saying that she wouldn''t make a statue of me until she was sure that everything would be perfect. Honey and Sweetheart took offense to that, since it meant that they were just guinea pigs, and to be honest, they were kind of right. I wasn''t going to intervene and pick a side though. A parent had to be neutral on these things. "Well if you''re not going to do me, do your sister or she''s going to throw another tantrum." I settled deeper onto the bed and rxed. It had been a day since my previous battle, and it felt nice to spend some time alone with the family, and I assumed that most of my friends were doing the same. I wished Sunshine could be here¡­ wait, maybe he could! He''d been so well-behaved thesest few weeks, and especially now that we hade up with the deal. Maybe he would just sit in a corner and sleep without burning anything as usual. The room was usually cramped with Tangrowth and Jellicent taking the most space, but today, thetter was content to just float and stay t against the ceiling. Yes. t. His entire body was as thin as a sheet of paper. I almost wondered if he was trying to slip through the cracks in the ceiling, but he was just¡­ chilling. His bright red eyes moved each time he decided to stare at someone else. Right now, he seemed fascinated with Honey''s push-up routine. I called it a routine, but it was something he''d just started. Apparently he wanted to build up his endurance even more, and he believed that working out would help after I let something about Chase slip. "You keeping count?" I asked Buddy. He rolled his eyes and inted like a balloon. "How many?" Electabuzz started doing one-handed push-ups and showed me five fingers. "Five hundred? Is that true?" Jellicent grumbled and spat a stream of water on the electric type''s head. Honey let out a girly squeal and fell on his face. "Pffft¡ª hahaha! I guess you were lying!" Honeyid t against the floor, unmoving and possibly dying of embarrassment. Buddy had never been one for pranks, but he seemed to make an exception for the electric type. "Need a towel?" "Ele¡­" He got up and shuffled to the bathroom, meaning that he''d get it himself. When he returned, I pped my hands to garner everyone''s attention. I had to call Sweetheart name''s multiple times because she was obsessed with one of Angel''s vine games. He was continuously poking her with one, and her goal was to bite it off. I didn''t exactly know the rules¡­ were there even rules? There didn''t seem to be a time limit to it. "I''m going to release Sunshine into the room," I dered. There were many different reactions to my words. Princess tensed, and her stare grew sinister¡ª or at least as sinister as it could get, which wasn''t much. Angel blinked slowly and his vines drooped, including the one he was using to y with Sweetheart, who excitedly waved her arms and screamed my ear off. Honey shrugged. He wasn''t thrilled with the suggestion, but he wasn''t angry either. Buddy simply stared, although I caught an excited glint in his eye. Sunshine was an excellent conversation partner after all. "He''s been nicetely, and I want you guys to get closer to him. Including you!" I told Princess. "I don''t say this often, but follow Sweetheart''s example." The rock type smugly smiled with her eyes closed, and Honey teased her by repeating the first part of that second sentence. She red up in anger and tried to ram him with her horn, but he jumped over her and cackled. "Arceus¡­ guys. I''m doing it now, okay?" I grabbed Turtonator''s Pokeball from the counter and released him in a corner of the room. His eyes widened, no doubt in surprise of the location. He hadn''t been in an actual room in months, and it showed on his face. "Sunshine!" I beamed. "We were hanging out and we were also wondering if you wanted to participate. You know, family bonding time and all of that¡­" He let out a nonmitted grunt and nodded. "Great. Come over here big guy," I said, pointing to the floor on side of the bed. He justid down where I had released him instead. I turned to Togetic, and somehow her statue of Larvitar had turned into this horrid, malformed version of Sunshine in the five seconds I hadn''t looked her way. "Uh¡­ yeah, that looks nice," I said. Larvitar was already sitting next to the dragon, and Tangrowth looked on withssitude and disbelief. I was hoping that he and Sunshine would bond over taking care of her instead of making it into a poprity contest. I nudged the vine he permanently had around my ankle with my other foot and discreetly nodded toward the pair. Go make friends! I thought. With a silent sigh that was only visible through his bodynguage, the grass type squeezed through the counter and the bedframe, awkwardly waving a vine at Turtonator, who ignored himpletely. Ignoring was good¡­ right? It wasn''t fighting, at least. Jellicent had already wormed his way across the ceiling and walls, clinging to them like glue. He was kind of cute when he did that. "Let''s see what''s on TV¡­" I muttered. "You keep working on your art. Honey,e on the bed with me." The electric type climbed into the bed andy on my shoulder in the perfect position for me to scratch his head. Today and yesterday night had been¡­ eventful for the media, to say the least. Denzel had sent over the edited soundbites of Jerry confessing to everything the Hunters did, including the tournament rigging and more importantly their link to Team Gctic. It was the biggest story currently circting in the news, and League agents hade to the city to investigate, along with hundreds of new reporters. Sceon was usually one of the most boring towns in Sinnoh. It didn''t have Floaroma''s beautifulndscape, Celestic''s history, or Sangem''s beaches and tourism industry. Only Twinleaf could be ranked worse, and even Denzel would agree with me. He didn''t particrly like his hometown. So for one of the most boring cities in Sinnoh to have be such the center of attention? People were breathing down the Hunters'' neck, and Rnd Hunter¡ª the family head¡ª had put out a statement denying all of the allegations. That obviously wouldn''t stop the rumors from spreading and the investigation from progressing. What we had failed to anticipate was a certain angle a few channels were pushing¡ª that the League wasplicit in all of this since they let the Hunters run free all these days. There was a real scandal about the fact that Cynthia had just let them off without any consequences when Shiftry had tried to spread its darkness through the entire city. It was technically our fault, but the League was in the wrong here, so I didn''t feel particrly bad. That ''protecting the region'' reason felt flimsy at best. What could Shiftry do that the League could not? Strangely enough, the part about Shiftry being the family''s true leader? No one had spoken out about that. "Wanna watch cartoons?" I asked. Honey and Princess nodded, and Sweetheart mored from her corner. Sunshinezily opened an eye and snorted. "I think they''ve got that thing that you like on. You know the one with the singing Jigglypuff¡ª" "Toge! Togeprrri!" "Right, that one." She was a huge fan. Really, it was a cartoon for toddlers where kids would be encouraged to sing along to Jigglypuff''s voice actor. Princess wasn''t very good at it, but she really got into it. Honey just liked television in general, although he preferred more mature shows. I needed to get him to watch Mystery Dungeon one day. He would bawl his eyes out at that ending. Sweetheart grumbled and dejectedly sat back on the floor. She hated that one because it wasn''t action-packed enough for her liking, but it was her sister''s turn on the TV. I let it y and just mindlessly watched cartoons for the next hour and a half. This was bliss. A knock I didn''t recognize garnered my attention. "Princess," I whispered. Her sculpture¡ª which was now herself¡ª turned to dust and then into a spinning drill. "Angel, open the door. Princess, don''t stab even if they''re a stranger. Wait for my signal." A lone vine snaked across the floor and then to the door handle. Mira was at the door, and I let out a sigh of relief. Turtonator red up and his shell glowed bright red. I recalled him before he could burn anything. "Am I bothering¡ª ah, I guess I obviously am. Sorry." "No problem," I said. "What''s up? Come in,e in." I waved her over and she hesitantly entered. I didn''t exactly me her. We were friends, but she wasn''t like the others. She and Maeve had almost never seen my Pokemon outside of battle, so I understood her anxiety. She turned my desk chair and sat on it backward, wrapping her arms and leaning her head against the back support. "You still feeling down?" "Yeah. And there''s this weird thing going on with Maeve where I''ve apologized, but it still feels like she hasn''t forgiven me." "And you wanted my help?" "Not exactly. I just came here to vent and confess." "Confess? What did you do?" "Nothing bad, Arceus," she sighed. "Well, it would have been bad if I seeded, but I didn''t. I figured it was better to tell you because I know your type. You get in people''s heads and figure out everything about them¡­ err, sorry, that came out more aggressive than I wanted." "Don''t worry about it, it''s no big deal," I said. I could tell there was some backstory there. "You''re not exactly wrong. I mean I know you have some kind of history with Team Gctic and that it''s personal, but I won''t push you for answers." I was going to ask her to stay safe, but that would have been hypocritical of me. After all, I had promised Sunshine to take them down, and I assumed that Mira had the same n. The words she had spoken in that annex during our break-in came back to mind, and I finally had enough context to fill the gaps. She was nning on looking for the rumored Team Gctic base in Veilstone and breaking in. Maybe she''d be able to help me when the time came. There was no way I was involving anyone else in this. "Man, I feel way better already," Mira smiled. "But here''s my confession. When I left after talking to Jerry, I tried to find him again so that he could set up the meeting with Lisa anyway, and I did," she said. "But I didn''t show up. When push came to shove¡­ I didn''t have the guts to go." She paused and her face twisted in anger. "I''m such a pussy. After doing all that big talk and making fun of her Mightyena, I couldn''t even show up. How am I supposed to find my¡ª" Mira cut herself off before she could continue. She took a deep breath and kept going. "The point is, I tried to do it all on my own and I couldn''t, but I still felt likeing clean. I already told Maeve, Louis and Denzel. It was you now, and Cece''s next on my list." "You''re a brave girl, Mira. You charged head-first into the tournament building, and you''re always there to cheer us up. I think that you''re being too harsh on yourself. Although I am pissed that you went behind our back to Jerry. If you had gone there, you could have died or disappeared like Luca." We were still hoping the League would find him somewhere locked up in that mansion, but my hope was diminishing by the hour. "Anyway, I guess that''s that," she said, cheering herself up. "Whew,ing clean is tough. I''ll let you get back to¡­ whatever you were doing. Is that a cartoon?" "Yeah." "Cool." She left quickly after that with a smile on her face. Cecilia would probably be a lot angrier with her than I had gotten. Justin would have a simr reaction, and I doubted that Pauline would care. She was probably busy getting her room destroyed by Vigoroth. Just when I was about to lie back down in my bed and release Sunshine again, my phone rang. Melody was calling me. We hadn''t spoken since Denzel leaked everything to the media, but the texts she had sent were¡­ mixed. Our involvement needed to be known so that our ims would at least get some sort of validity, but she wished that she knew I had been involved in this. It wasn''t like the voice clip incriminated me in any way, but we were technically forcing a man to speak, and our questions had been very aggressive. It was for a good cause, so there hadn''t been any financial bacsh, but the fact that I had acted on my own ruffled some feathers at the Poketch Company. "Good afternoon Grace. How''s your day been treating you?" She asked. "Err, I''ve been hanging out with my Pokemon. What''s up?" "No need to be so anxious, I''m not about to scream at you. My bosses did scold me¡ª" "I''m so sorry!" "¡ªBut we''ve got everything under control. We didn''t have to do a lot of spinning to make you the hero of that interaction. Just tell us the next time you n on doing something crazy. Something tells me that this wasn''t the first time." I said nothing and let her continue. "Anyway, that wasn''t why I was calling to begin with. We were thinking of ejecting you of the tournament early. There are barely any trainers left in it. The few people that are left are resigning en masse now that there was confirmation that it was rigged from the start. Harry Rodriguez hasn''t been seen since¡­ it''s hurting you more than anything else at this point. BattleZone is determined to see this through, but they were kicked out of the Hunters'' property and all of today''s matches have been dyed, so we don''t exactly know what''s going on." "What about my rewards? I didn''t make it to the top ten yet." "You''ll get your bonus, don''t worry about it. We''ll give you 100,000 Pokedors, so slightly less than you would have gotten for first ce." "Holy shit¡ª yeah, yeah, that''s amazing! I''ll take that." "You''ll have the money transferred to you sometime today, just make sure you resign¡ª possible¡ª need¡ª image¡ª" "Melody? Hello?" I frowned. Was something wrong with the inte somehow? This wasn''t Snowpoint, so that was odd. Usually Pokemon Centers were on top of that stuff. I gasped in surprise when the electricity went out, as it seemingly did for the entire building. An industrial hum I hadn''t noticed before stopped, leaving only dead silence. Larvitar loudlyined that her cartoon got cut off and Tangrowthforted her with some head pats. "Don''t worry, it''ll probablye back on soon, they have generators for that stuff¡ª" Togetic screamed to get our attention and pointed toward the window. I felt my heart sink to my stomach. The sky was bleak and ashen, and thick clouds covered the entirety of Sceon. It was so dark that it was as if it was the middle of the night. The sun was nowhere to be seen, and not even a single ray passed through those bleak clouds. The longer I looked, the more it seemed like no light bounced off of them at all. The true horror was the Hunters'' mansion. I couldn''t see it from afar, but I knew its general direction. A huge spire of void was shooting out of it and into the sky, and it was also spreading toward Sceon. It was an endless sea of darkness where no light could hope to escape. Obsidian. Void. Null. Emptiness. It was as if the world itself was being deleted by the force, and it wasing quickly. There was no hope of outrunning it even if I tried. I heard muffled screams and saw trainers desperately trying to fly away on any Pokemon that could carry them. Some took multiple people when they could. The hallways of the Pokemon Center devolved into shouting and fighting. Curses and screams, calling for their mothers, begging for their lives, asking why them? It was toote. The dark wasing. I instinctively stepped back and felt Angel wrap me into a hug. Togetic rushed into my arms and shouted for me to run. Buddy and Honey stepped in front of me in between panicked shouts to shield me from whatever was happening. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I hadn''t even gotten the time to process what was happening. No final words came out of my mouth. No life shed before my eyes. There was just a hollow feeling of eptance. I didn''t even manage to do the right thing and recall my Pokemon to protect them from whatever this was. Twenty secondster, it reached our building. I flinched, expecting death. Instead, nothing happened. When I opened my eyes, the floor had been overtaken by the abyss, but I had not died. I took a hesitant step forward and felt as if I was trudging through the thickest of muds, or drying cement. The air was so dense that my brain was constantly tricked into thinking that I was drowning. It took around two minutes for me to get used to breathing, and the coughs didn''t sound like they were mine. The pitch of my voice had changed. It was cold, but not ufortable. My Pokemon no longer had their respective colors, and neither did my clothes, my hair and my skin. Colors faded from the world and the darkness washed it over in ck and white. The walls, the desk, the bed¡ª everything. The television only yed some kind of distorted static noise. Strangely enough, I did not panic. My mind feltpletely clear. There was a certain focus here that I had never felt anywhere else. Neutrality ruled here. I struggled toward the window again, and it seemed that the entirety of Sceon was like this. Walls of void had encased the entire town in this hell, rendering escape impossible. The only light in this Arceus-forsaken ce was a pale glow in the distance that peaked over the horizon. The mansion. It seemed that Shiftry had made its move. What did a Pokemon do when it was cornered? Itshed out.
Chapter 160 – It Festers Chapter 160 ¨C It Festers CHAPTER 160 - It Festers Darkness hade to Sceon. I took deep breaths¡ª or as deep as they could be with how heavy the air was. I didn''t know if there was a certain time limit to how safe we would be here, but we were at least alright for now, it seemed. From what Jerry Heo had told us though¡­ a few days here, and all of our emotions would disappear. I was already starting to feel the beginning of it. I didn''t think that it would be reced by loyalty to Shiftry however. He was no psychic capable of mind control. His work was a lot more subtler than that. Shiftry plucked each emotion of his choosing, but could not add any himself. The only reason it worked on the Hunters in the first ce was that they''d been brainwashed from birth by their family members. Still¡­ if we stayed here too long and I lost every emotion, did that mean that I would no longer have the will to run? To escape? Then I would have to wait for the League to get here to save me. My Pokemon mored at me, asking me to leave, and I frowned when I realized that their voices all sounded the same. The pitch. I spoke up as well, saying random gibberish, and my voice confirmed my doubts. We all sounded the same. The voice was neither feminine or masculine¡ª it was in between the two. "You guys are right," I said, clenching a fist. "We''ve got to go. Maybe people are organizing and figuring things out." I could only hope that was true. I doubted that I would find my friends in the sea of people out here, but they couldn''t have gone far from the Center. Electronics not working was really going to screw us over, but at least Pokeballs still functioned. After grabbing my backpack, I heaved against the door, struggling to push it against the void littering the floor until Tangrowth just destroyed it with a Vine Whip. The majority of people on this floor had already left it seemed. I hesitated for a second, wondering if I should go to my friends'' rooms on the other floors, but I opted to leave instead. The smartest decision right now was to get outside. I recalled Angel, Buddy and Sweetheart for now. The first two were too big to navigate through all of these trainers, and Larvitar was too slow to keep up with my pace. Electabuzz would be able to shield me with Protect should anything happen, and Togetic had her psychic powers¡ª Wait. Would they even work here? Common sense dictated that all of this dark energy would cancel out any psychic type attack. Damn it, Icked information, but I couldn''t panic. The silver lining about this was that my mind was clear. It didn''t stop me from feeling anxious at all, but it would keep me from panicking, at the very least. Since the elevator didn''t work, I stepped down the stairs and sighed in relief when I saw that the Nurse Joys were keeping everyone in line. "...Everyone should stay near the Pokemon Center at all costs until we figure out what is going on! Don''t push, keep calm, and wait for a response from local forces!" "League trainers were in the city, so it''s only a matter of time until we get help from the outside!" Another nurse yelled. "For now, just find a spot for you to sit, or feel free to go back to your rooms to leave more space for anyone wandering the streets!" So their n was just to wait? Fuck, I needed to find my friends¡ª "Can''t we leave?!" A girl yelled. "I saw some people flying away!" "We do not know anything at this time, so the best course of action is to stay put until more information is gathered!" No way. I was going outside to find my friends. I pushed through the crowd until it fizzled out on the street and asked Togetic to fly up to see if she could find anyone. There were many flying Pokemon in the air that I assumed were doing the same thing. The void on the ground was even thicker on the outside, and I almost felt like it was wing up the walls, slowly but surely. "Keep an eye out," I told Honey. He replied with a sharp nod, and his already tense body hardened. Shiftry obviously had a n. There was no way he had done this for no reason. Two minutester, Princess came back and yelled at us to follow her. She led us a street away, and I let out a heavy breath when I saw that Mira, Maeve and Justin were waiting there. "Arceus! Thank the Legendaries you guys are alright," I cried, hugging each one of them. "Do you know where the others are? Weren''t you going to meet Cecilia?" I asked Mira. "I was, but she wasn''t in her room, so I just went to Justin instead." "If I remember correctly, she was meeting Pauline to talk to Emilia on the phone," Maeve said. "So those two should be together, at least." Justin frowned. "I came across Mira and Maeve in a stroke of luck in the lobby, and we decided to go outside to wait for everyone. This is¡­ mindblowing. It''s like the end of the world." "Yeah," Mira sighed. "I can''t release my psychics here. Being out scrambles their brains, and theyck the focus to use any moves or even speak to me." So Togetic was probably not going to be able to use Extrasensory or Psychic any time soon. I sent her off to find more of our group, and Maeve and Mira had already sent out Staraptor and Magnezone to do the same. "All of our voices sound the same, it''s really weird," I pondered. "I can barely breathe properly too." "It''s the same for everyone. Shiftry''s doing the same thing it did when Cynthia came to power," Justin said. "No, this is worse," I shook my head. "From the way Jerry spoke, it was subtle the first time. He tried to make the entire city the same as theirnd and mansion, and none of those have this¡­ darkness," I hesitantly said, trying not to stare at the floor for too long. The emptiness still unsettled me. "He''s giving it everything this time. It''s all or nothing. This is the y of a desperate individual." "Which means that the League was closing in on them," Mira smirked. "What''s the n then? Try to leave?" "I guess?" I hesitantly said. "The edges of the city look walled in." It was as if Sceon waspletely trapped in some kind of¡­ shape. It was impossible to know which one due to how indistinguishable the darkness in the sky was, but we were definitely encased somewhere. It was a wonder we were still managing to see things, although barely. "I don''t see a better option," Maeve said. "If we stay here too long, we''ll lose everything that makes us¡­ us. We''ll be a nk te." A nk te¡­ was that what dark type energy was? I didn''t have time to continue that train of thought. A sharp cry from Maeve''s Staraptor caught our attention, and we cheered when we saw Cecilia, Denzel, Pauline and Louis approach. I rushed to my girlfriend and tackled her into a hug. She grabbed my face and kissed me, and we both cried from the amount of relief we felt. "I was so scared for you," Cece sniffled. "Thank the Legendaries." I hoped I would get to cry for a while longer yet. I hugged the rest of my friends. I was so happy that we wouldn''t have to get through this in separate groups. After whistling to get Togetic back, we waited for Magnezone to do the same. "This is batshit insane," Pauline scoffed. "I¡ªI read something about this online. This is like, a domain, but I thought only fairies could do that." "I mean, when you''re a thousand-year-old Pokemon, I guess you can skirt the rules a little." I had to turn to figure out who had said that. It was impossible to distinguish between voices now. "There might be a difference anyway, I don''t know, I''m not a fairy type expert," Denzel continued. "None of us are. The question is, what the hell do we do?" "We were considering trying to leave. Get to the edges¡­ wherever those are," Justin said. "That won''t work," Cecilia shook her head. "People havee back on their flying types saying that the darkness at the edges is like an unbreakable barrier. Moves just wash over it like nothing." "More precisely, they''re absorbed," Louis specified. "The dark type has a lot of quirks we''re unfamiliar with. Sinnoh isn''t exactly crawling with experts." "So do we just wait?" Maeve asked, her voice trembling. She jumped when Magnezone arrived and hovered over Mira''s head. We all stood still in silence, with only the noise of trainers and civilians alike to fill our ears. Denzel leaned against the floor and scooped darkness into his hands. It slipped through his fingers instantly. It was untenable. "I think that we could wait a few hours to see what happens," he said. "But we can''t wait forever. On our way there, we theorized that¡ª" "We''ll lose ourselves if we wait too long. We have a few days," I guessed. "Or less, if what you said about Shiftry going all out is true," Justin said. I groaned. "Fuck. Fuck. Okay, I''ve got to speak to my Turtonator. Alone." "Now?" Cece asked. "Now''s the best time to do it. I''m going to, uh¡ª I''m going to go down the street and try to exin the situation to him." "Grace, I know you came to a deal with him, but¡­ look at what Shiftry did. He''s far more powerful than we thought he could ever be. He''s more than a millennia old!" Denzel eximed. "Yeah. I know. But think of it this way," I paused and looked at each and every one of them. "We caused this. We were the ones that cornered Shiftry and his family. Logic dictates that they''lle and get their revenge soon, so I don''t think that we''ll be able to avoid a fight. And I also think that since we caused this¡­ the responsibility falls onto us." If I could have seen color, I probably would have seen them pale. "But Shiftry also isn''t here yet," I continued. "And a Pokemon of his power could have killed us a thousand times over now. This means that keeping this up is tiring him, or at least I think so. I don''t know if we''ll be able to beat him, but maybe if we take him on all together and break his focus, the League''s main forces will manage to break through from the outside. I don''t know, I''m just brainstorming, but Cynthia''s probably there right now trying to break in." "And Shiftry will probably be forced to keep this up because the League was about to send forces to raid its property from outside the town," Justin nodded. "They had only sent some trainers, right?" Denzel said. "So they''d probably found definitive proof of a link and were about to send squads via Teleport, which isn''t possible any longer." "So we have to be ready," I said. I walked down the street with Honey and Princess by my side. There wasn''t really a spot without anyone, and I didn''t feel like having to convince Sunshine to not freak out and kill anyone. Even in this situation, I didn''t think that he''d be able to restrain himself. I turned to an empty grocery store and groaned when I saw that the owner or employees had locked up before running away. "Talk about priorities," I sighed. "Break the door down." Honey punched the door twice and I let myself in. People looked at me with disdain as I entered. Did they think I was a looter? Well, no matter. I grabbed Turtonator''s Pokeball and released him. His eyes red in panic when he noticed the situation, but I ced a hand on his stron. "Rx. Or at least try to," I said. "I''m scared too, but the dark is keeping me from panicking." He frowned at me and then red. I could almost hear his haughty call for me to exin the situation right now, and I did in excruciating detail, including the probable time limit that we had. I hadn''t felt any change in my behavior yet aside from fear, panic and anxiety being somewhat muted, but it hadn''t even been an hour. We''d probably be able to estimate a hard number soon when the first side effects started to sink in. Hopefully Pokeballs would protect my Pokemon from the worst of it. "There you have it," I said. "We''re in deep shit, Sunshine. The deal we had? I''m cashing it in now, and we''re going to knock down two birds with one stone. Harry Rodriguez? The Hunters? They''re linked to Team Gctic." The temperature rose, causing me to back away. Not in fear, but because I had grown so ustomed to this feeling of¡­ nothingness that this ce had. A slight change in temperature here was as unnatural as a fish out of water. Everything stayed the same here. A change of any kind was wrong. "Yes. You''re right to be angry," I said. "They''re going toe after us, I''m sure of it, and when the timees, I''ll need to use you. Deal?" The fire type nodded. "That means no killing random trainers, and listening to my orders. Or at least cooperating with me." He nodded again, this time more reluctantly. A deal was a deal. "Got it. I''m keeping you out then. Princess and Honey are on protective duties, and you''ll be my battering ram. Actually wait, Princess, can you still use Ancient Power?" The flying type chirped, and a small pebble rose from the floor. Darkness seeped out of it in a split second, and it became as natural as it had been before Shiftry had shrouded the world in its darkness. At least we still had that to protect me, but theck of Psychic would cripple us. "Okay, let''s head back then. Watch your head." Sunshine ignored my warning and simply walked through the concrete above the broken door with the scaly hat on his head. He deigned himself above such bothersome actions. My friends took a fearful step back when they saw the looming dragon behind me. I yfully pped his scaly arm without looking back. "Stop it. No death stares." He gruffed, but everyone rxed, at least slightly. I felt a lot safer with Sunshine by my side, although for him to fight effectively, I would need to be far away from him or I would be coteral damage. Honey''s Protect would onlyst so long, and although there was a way to stop elements like heat and cold from going through psychic barriers like many Kadabra did for the gyms or tournaments, it took years of honing their skill to achieve such a feat. And we were in the middle of a city filled to the brim with dark type energy, so that wasn''t even an option. "What now?" Maeve asked. "We either wait for them toe to us¡­" Denzel muttered. "Or we go to them." Cecilia took a few breaths. "I''m inclined to agree, unfortunately. They''d never expect us to go to them instead of hiding out in a Pokemon Center. They could wait us out too, but if we hide¡­ either we wait too long and be shells of our former selves, or theye looking for us and kill innocents in the process." "We''re all innocents," Maeve eximed. "Shouldn''t we at least wait until they attack first¡ª Turtonator snorted and looked at her with disdain and she flinched. He despised fearful trainers and thought of them as less than bugs. I knocked on his arm and shook my head, but he shrugged me off and told me that he wanted to speak again. Alone. "Later." "What?" Louis asked. "I was talking to Sunshine. Anyway, I think this is the correct solution. We go to that mansion¡­ and we fight. There''s no other way out of this. I''m not going to take a chance and wait for someone else to save us. I wish you could stay alone, but you''ll be safer with the group at this point." "And you won''t have to go inside the mansion," Mira grabbed her hand with both of hers. "I''ll stick by you. If everything goes to shit and we be these cold, logical beings¡­ I think you might have to stop me from doing something bad." I eyed her in surprise. She was giving up her personal vendetta. "When you only have two functioning Pokemon? I''ll be the one to protect you, stupid," Maeve let out a wet chuckle. "Thank you," she sniffled. "The thoughts are growing louder in my head already¡­ they''re telling me to do things to myself. Painful things. And the worst part about this is that they''re mine." I felt my heart drop and stared at Mira in disbelief. Had she been hurting all of this time, and yet hadn''t told us anything? "Mira¡­" Louis trailed off. "We¡ª are you¡ª" Denzel choked. "We''ll talk about this when we''re done. There''s definitely no time to waste then." The mansion wasn''t difficult to find. It seemed to be this world''s only source of light. Without it, this ce would truly be pitch ck, with only touch to locate ourselves. I stayed back a few steps and walked by Sunshine''s side, who angrily stared at my friends. The gist of his problem was that he thought that they''d slow us down. He wanted to do this alone, with only the other members of the family there to assist. Having other trainers there would take away from his revenge. "You''re asking a lot out of me here," I said, crossing my arms as I walked. Togetic and Honey loudly disagreed with him, but he ignored their protests. He huffed and breathed out smoke from his snout. "I¡­ I did technically say that we''d break into a Team Gctic stronghold alone, but I also said that we''d call the League first, which meant that help would be on the way." The fire type rolled his eyes and growled. "Okay, it''s true that you would have gotten some time to act alone, but we don''t even know if the League is . There hasn''t even been an act of this scale in I don''t even know how long, and I don''t know if they''ll be able to break in here. Obviously the League trainers that were already here failed, or this would have stopped by now. To be honest, they''ll probably be sending the Elite Four and Cynthia to deal with this¡­" I sighed and clenched my forehead in frustration. We still had a ways to go, especially with how difficult walking was, and he would keep pestering me until I either gave in, or he would renege on the deal. I needed to find a way to bargain my way out of this or I''d be back at step one¡ª Blotches of darknessshed out at my friends'' feet. It took a few seconds for Denzel to even realize what was happening. "Recall your Pokemon, now!" He screamed. They immediately all listened to him, and I did the same. Mira disappeared into the abyss first. She was dragged down into the floor before she could even scream. Cecilia was next, and then Denzel, and so on and so on. I narrowly managed to recall Sunshine before the void brushed up against my skin. This wasn''t like teleportation. I felt a sudden drop, causing me to flinch. Like when I woke up sometimes with a sudden feeling of vertigo. I opened my eyes, and I was in a field. The mansion was in the distance, but a lot closer than it had been. I was somewhere on the Hunters'' property. We had all been brought to separate locations If I had to guess, it was in one of the fields where they raised Pokemon. It looked like our decision hadn''t even mattered, and Shiftry had nned to teleport us to him in the first ce. Could it sense each person that stepped through its darkness and pluck them anywhere it wanted at will? What a terrifying ability. Something still bothered me. If they had the power to somehow sense us and teleport us, why not just get to the point, get us in the room with Shiftry and finish us off? Maybe it was even weaker than I thought, and it made sense. Jerry Heo had told us that there were only a few trainers in the family with one Pokemon each because Shiftry feared rebellion. That only made sense if it was either weaker than it seemed¡ª and even more so while maintaining this darkened world, or scared of fighting. Or both. Was it¡­ Was it actually scared of fighting¡ª I flinched when I made out a shape in the distance. A man stood opposite of me. It was too dark for me to see his face. "You really fucked everything up, didn''t you?" He said. I couldn''t recognize him by the voice either due to its pitch. Was he a Hunter? Did that mean that everyone else was also in danger? Mira was alone! Damn it, I couldn''t afford to worry. "Yeah. So?" I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling. "So your life ends here just like you ended mine with your fucking meddling," he said, releasing a Torterra, a Crobat, a Pelipper and a Luxray at his side. This was Harry Rodriguez. And he wasn''t done. A Weavile and a Crawdaunt had joined his team, no doubt given to him by the Hunters. A grin stretched on my face, and it came along with a muted sense of satisfaction I could not exin. I released my entire team and licked my lips. The ground rumbled under my feet from Princess'' pre-charged Ancient Power. Angel wrapped a vine around my waist, ready to pull me back from any attack. Buddy''s eyes had such hatred in them that they illuminated his entire head with a pale, grey light. Honey''s body tensed, and my hair began to stand up from the electricity building up inside of his body, apanied by crackles and a low hum. Sweetheart angrily stomped a foot against the floor, causing it to shake. Sunshine''s shell lit aze and heat washed over my body. I clenched a fist. "Harry Rodriguez, it is time for you to pay the long price."
Chapter 161 – The Long Price Chapter 161 ¨C The Long Price
CHAPTER 161 - The Long Price Thunder roared, and I felt raindrops begin to fall on my face. The water was dark, and it clung to my clothes, staining them with the mark of the abyss. It seemed that even here, Pelipper''s Drizzle would take effect. I eyed Harry''s new Pokemon with suspicion. Logic dictated that the two dark types would have a lot more power here than they normally did. My body shivered in anticipation as I waited for him to order the first attack. I nervously swallowed. This would be a battle with no rules and no holding back. He''d aim to kill me. Steam rose off of Turtonator''s body, and he stared at Harry in silence. Finally, after twenty seconds of inaction, he struck. "Torterra, keep your distance. Watch for Turtonator. Crobat, you''re attacking.Constantly. Target her and kill her. Luxray, you focus on the ghost. Hit it with Thunderbolt when you can. Pelipper, use Water Gun on the Larvitar. Don''t underestimate it." Good. Now it was self-defense. Crobat blurred forward in a sh, and a Thunderbolt and Water Gun shot out toward us. Electabuzz roared with unmatched fury and an enormous Protect surrounded all of us but Sunshine, who began to run forward. The temperature was rising dangerously quickly, and his steps burned the shadows away. The two attacks crashed against Protect and fizzled out. "Dazzling Gleam, then Ancient Power." Crobat circled us, its huge wingspan summoning strong gusts of winds. Princess grunted at Honey, who ended his first Protect and summonedanother one, this time smaller and only containing both of us. Togetic erupted with a loud shbang and Crobat cried out in surprise. Twenty drills immediately shot out from the ground, but the Crobat quickly blurred and ran away. "Buddy, slip away and kill him," I whispered. The words came out of my mouth so easily that I almost flinched. How much of that was just me, and how much of it was Shiftry''s influence? The words feltjustto me, but there was no time to dwell on it. Jellicent boomed, happy to execute my order. He sunk into the darkened floor and slithered toward our enemies. I felt Tangrowth''s vine drag me away, expunging all of the air from my lungs when a Water Gun crashed where I had just been standing. The darkness split apart, revealing a small crater formed by the attack before covering it again. That would have killed me. Huh. Sunshine had made it to them now, but he couldn''t unleash his full power without burningme. Harry had already run off in the distance and was just letting his Pokemon fight, and only Weavile was by his side. Turtonator screamed out a methrower at Torterra, whose tree caught fire. An Earthquake shook the floor, and Angel lifted me slightly off the ground so I wouldn''t be affected. A bolt of electricity from Luxray and two jets of high-pressured water flew out of Crawdaunt''s pincers, but the dragon turned in one smooth motion and the attacks crashed against his shell, causing a massive explosion that enveloped all three Pokemon. "Princess. When Buddy reappears, send spears toward Harry and try to impale him," I whispered. "Honey, Thunderbolt the Pelipper." Even if he''d been hurt by Earthquake, the sh appeared instantly. The electricity clipped Pelipper''s side and the bird crashed to the floor next to Sunshine, who took a break from his rampaging. He wed its mouth open and filled its stomach with a fiery Dragon Pulse until it cooked from the inside. Pelipper''s body glowed with a pale grey, and then blinding white until the screams stopped. There was nothing left but a smoking husk. Its eyes were still open, but lifeless and staring at nothing. The rain stopped, and Sunshine''s mes intensified. The heat was almost painful, even from here, but one scream from Larvitar, and he settled down. I had killed a trainer''s Pokemon, and even though I knew it was wrong, I felt nothing. It was the logical thing to do. One less element to worry about. Crobat cried out in fury. It had been waiting for an opening before, but all caution was thrown out the window now. The poison type rushed toward me, and I whispered to Princess and Honey. Turtonator spat out a scorching Smog that clung to Luxray''s fur like glue and burned it away, and the shes of electricity did nothing to hurt him. Crawdaunt''s attacks were a lot more effective. Its pincers were vicious, and it used them to hit the dragon type with devastating dark and water type attacks that I couldn''t ce. But I couldn''t focus on his fight. Crobat wasing. "Protect and Dazzling Gleam again." Angel pushed me toward the electric type and the protective bubble surrounded me once more. All that practice we''d done was paying off, but using them in such quick session and making them sorge was starting to tire him out, so this would only work a few more times. Another explosion of light blinded Crobat, but the poison type had been ready for it. He rammed into Princess anyway and bit at her throat with a powerful Poison Fang. I screamed, and so did everyone else. Angel wrapped the flying type in enough vines to cover its entire body and pulled him away from her. Larvitar stomped on the ground and a Rock Slide buried Crobat until it was incapable of movement. I scrambled to my bag and quickly searched for a potion¡ªno, a potion wouldn''t be enough! Another explosion rang out and shook me to my core, but I couldn''t even look to see what was happening. Princess let out a horrifying gurgling sound thatwas just wrong. She was drowning on her own blood. I held back tears and grabbed the Hyper Potions that Craig had given me so long ago at Savika''s cabin and applied two of them to her throat. I let out a huge sigh of relief when she began to breathe again, although she seemed to still be a little out of it. I forcefully opened an eye and exhaled again. Her eyes looked fine. She wasn''t poisoned. I still applied an Antidote anyway, just to be safe. I heard Crobat struggle under the rocks as I grabbed Princess into my arms, and Sweetheart buried it under anotheryer for good measure. "Kill it. We can''t afford to worry about if it breaks out, and we don''t know if it''ll sneak up on us again." No one would get to live after almost killing my child. Electabuzz spared me a look, but he didn''t hesitate. He jumped atop the rocks, and after giving Larvitar a signal, the rocks above Crobat split apart. Before it could even react, Honey snarled, grabbing the poison type''s upper wings andelectrocuted it with everything he had. It wasn''t even a move. Just pure electric type energy being unleashed onto Crobat, drowning out its agonized screams. It fell unconscious, but Honey did not stop. He kept going until he was sure he''d done the job. Sparks of electricity still danced, appearing and disappearing off of his body like static. He took deep breaths and took a step back. Crobat was barely recognizable now that he was done with it. Just smoke and ash with one of its wings torn off. I knew what I had done was wrong, but I couldn''t bring myself to feel anything about it. Only bad things happening to my Pokemon or myself could bring emotions out of me anymore, it seemed, but even then, a Pokemoning for a life should have been ready to lose theirs too. Honey stood over the corpse and heaved. He''d exerted himself a lot. I turned toward Sunshine, who was still locked in viciousbat with Crawdaunt. Torterra and Luxray had already fallen, but the water type was stronger than Harry''s own Pokemon. "Recover for a bit, then we find an opening," I told Honey. He nodded. Turtonator roared, locking both of Crawdaunt''s pincers into ce with his bulk and broke its tough shell apart with a point-nk Dragon Pulse. The dark type''s pincers grew too big to be contained in Turtonator''s hand, and itmmedthem against Sunshine''s stron, knocking him to the floor and caving in some of his armor. "Thunderbolt." A quick Thunderbolt zapped Crawdaunt, leaving Turtonator enough time to turn his entire body andblow up. Another Thunderbolt from Electabuzz finished the job, and it fell unconscious. Turtonator stood victorious over apletely burned Luxray, Torterra, and Crawdaunt. His shell was slightly damaged, along with the most recent hit he''d taken, but he seemed to be in good shape otherwise. I didn''t know if the other two were dead or not, but it didn''t look pretty. Luxray''s fur hadpletely burned off, and there was only its cooked flesh left. All of the vegetation on Torterra''s body was gone, and its tree had been torn in half. There was only Weavile left, but something told me that it was special. It did not look to be panicking at all, and most of all,Harrywasn''t panicking, although that was probably because of Shiftry''s powers. He didn''t even seem to care that two of his Pokemon were dead, or maybe more. Buddy appeared behind him, his eyes shing with all the intensity, but none of the color. Weavile blurred and shed across his head before I could even tell what happened. The ghost type tried to fight back with a quick Water Pulse, but another Night sh across his mouth stopped him from being able to attack. "Come back!" I yelled. His Water Sports sputtered, and he quickly ran away from Weavile. Every time he tried to Recover, the movedidn''twork. In fact, none of his moves were working properly. "You killed my Pelipper," Harry said. "I''ll make you pay." "Not just your Pelipper," I said, trying to provoke him into making a mistake. He didn''t react. There was a lot less emotion than I thought he''d have, and his tone was almost¡­ transactional. As if he was just going through the motions. Then again, he had been closer to Shiftry than I was for a longer period of time, and I wasn''t even reacting to the horrors I had just inflicted even though I knew how wrong it was. We were bothpletely out of it. "You told them to kill me first," I continued nonchntly. "You reap what you sow. Sunshine, wait up." Having already started to go toward Weavile, the dragon stopped. "That Weavile is stronger than you," I dered. His eyes narrowed and he red up in rage. "Smart girl. You should just give up, I''ll make your death painless and I''ll spare your team." "Remember when you said you''d listen to me?" I continued, ignoring Harry. "Now is the time to listen. Buddy, you stay back. You can''t do much right now without a mouth. Try to cover me." The water type nodded and calmed his floating. Dark energy was leaking out of him like a sieve. It was like Weavile would cut off the use of type energy with a single attack somehow. How would I counter that? "Start us off with a Thunderbolt," I told Honey. The electric type''s arm spun around, and electricity jutted toward Harry. Weavile closed its eyes to focus and shed across the air at thest second, summoning the same darkness that Shiftry had back in the mansion. The Thunderbolt was simply absorbed into it. "I see," I muttered. "Sunshine, methrower. Thunderbolt again, and Rock Slide." Three attacks this time, but it was a Protect that stopped Harry from being hurt instead of the darkness. It was like I had thought. methrower would have still burned him, and there were too many rocks to absorb into whatever that darkness was. That Protect was also a lot less refined than ours. "Stop fooling around!" Harry snarled with a surprising amount of emotion. "Kill her!" Weavile sighed half-heartedly, and thick shards of ice appeared around the dark type. It waved its hand, and the attack shot out of the air like arrows. They weretoo quickfor Protect. I stood behind Tangrowth, but the ice tore through his entire body and one of the shards grazed my side. I hissed and clenched at my wound, dropping Princess onto the ground identally. She recovered by herself and struggled to fly, but she was still capable of battle. "O¡ªOkay, we have to¡ª" Turtonator roared in fury when Weavile simplyignoredand ran past him to get to me. The heat emanating from him burned the ice type, but it was nowhere near enough to take it down. "Ancient Power," I grunted. Angel raised a barrier in front of us, hoping to use Weavile''s momentum against itself, but the ice type tore through the rock with a single wed attack and shed across Tangrowth, tearing through chunks of his vines and revealing his darkened body within. Sweetheart yelled, and debris shot out of the floor, hitting Weavile in the head. Electabuzz used the opportunity to punch it with two consecutive Fire Punches, staggering it further. Three drills stabbed at its hard skin and Weavile was forced to retreat. It circled around us with a menacing hiss. It seemed that it needed a certain amount of focus to dissolve attacks into nothing, so at least it''d still get hit. "Angel, can you attack still?" The grass type shook his body and the rest of his vines writhed in pain. He could still control his vines like limbs, but moves were out of the question. Buddy still hadn''t gotten back to normal, although he was slowly managing to recover. Half of his mouth had reformed now. Sunshine hesitantly looked at Harry and us. He was too far now for any of his attacks to effectively reach him, since he''d been running away from the start of the battle. "Come. Help us finish this," I shakily said. His body tensed for a few seconds, and then rxed. He''d made his choice. Weavile hissed and blurred toward us again, and this time, Electabuzz stood in the way with Protect. The move onlysted a few seconds, and then Weavile tore through his chest with a Night sh. Darkness seeped into the wound and then began to leak out. Before anymore damage could be done, Buddy hit the ice type with a Hex, having finally recovered from whatever affliction Weavile had inflicted upon him. Weavile convulsed as smoke emanated from its body, and Angel wrapped multiple vines around its neck. It simply got used to the pain and tore through them with its ws. With unforeseen dexterity, it jumped above us and summoned another set of Ice Shards. They were aimedat me. Princess wasn''t well enough to block with arge boulder and Tangrowth couldn''t use any moves¡ª A Rock Slide rose from the ground, and I heard the ice shatter on them. Weavile hissed in anger, somehow speeding up and began to tear Sweetheart apart with Night sh. I screamed, but it was too quick and avoided Princess'' drills. Tangrowth wrapped a vine around the rock type to try to drag her away, but an Icy Wind froze them before they could even reach her, and he had to force me back so Iwouldn''t freeze too. Electabuzz pushed forward and tried to intervene, but he was too wounded by the Night sh and couldn''t use any moves. Ice surrounded Weavile''s fists and it punched both himandSweetheart at the same time. Three secondster, Turtonator arrived with an enraged roar. He couldn''t go all out with his heat, but he could stillfight. A light of pure energy appeared in front of his snout and flew at Weavile, who interrupted her assault on Sweetheart to deal with the new threat. I used the opportunity to rush to her, but right as I was about to apply another Hyper Potion, she began to evolve. A protective shell surrounded her entire body, leaving only a few holes for gas, the eyes and a mouth. She was unconscious, but alive in her new cocoon-like form. I applied the potion to her anyway and recalled her for her safety. Turtonator tried to grab at the ice type, but it was smarter than that. It knew that ithadto deal with him now before it could move on to us, but it also knew that it had to y it safe. It was stronger than him, but it still knew that if it ever got grabbed, it was over. The ice type ducked on all fours and pushed itself forward, narrowly avoiding a methrower, but before it could sh across Turtonator to prevent him from attacking, the fire type turned and mmed his shell with an Iron Tail, causing an immense explosion that made my ears ring. Weavile emerged from the ordeal a smoking mess, but it wasn''t even tired. It shook its body and rushed in once more, and the two Pokemon were locked into a struggle. Every time Weavile got anywhere close, Sunshine would blow up to prevent it from hitting him, but there was only so many times he could blow up his shell, and Iknewthat. He was slowly getting overwhelmed too, and it was our fault. There was no way for him to use his biggest asset here¡ª thetemperature, or he would hurt us. If we tried to run away to leave him some space, Weavile would just use the opportunity to attack us again and Turtonator wouldg behind due to hisck of speed. I eyed Harry in the distance. He had stopped running, as if he couldn''t stop himself from seeing the moment I would die. There was one way to win this. Weavile would chase us, but¡­ I looked at Princess, who was doing a lot better than she was two minutes ago. She was attentive now, and asionally destabilizing Weavile with weakened Ancient Powers to help Sunshine. "Princess. Your power''s a bit screwed, but how¡ª" Another explosion interrupted me, and Turtonator''s arm froze over before hetensedand burned it off. Weavile cut across his scales and grinned madly, but a sh Cannon stopped it from attacking any further. It had been caught off-guard by the speed of the attack. "How''s your aim?" Princess hesitated for a few seconds and nodded. "Good, huh? I need you to use a drill¡ª asingledrill, and tear through Harry''s leg with it. Don''t kill him. I know I gave the order before, but we can extract information first." Princess floated upward and her eyes narrowed. A single, small drill rose from the floor and began to spin. "Angel, can you carry me there when Harry''s incapable of walking?" I asked. The grass type turned to me and nodded. I could see his vines regrow inreal time, slowly covering his ck body that was usually hidden within. "We''re going to have to be quick. Honey, I know you can''t use moves, but I''m going to have you follow us. Buddy, you do the same¡ª" Princess interrupted me and told us to let herfocus, which was already difficult with all of the fighting in the background. The singr drill tore across the sky, bing a speck. Togetic grunted and her eyes narrowed further, and further,and further¡­ Harry let out a faint yell and fell to the ground. "Nowgo!" Angel wrapped me tightly and ced me on his head. I recalled Princess, while Honey and Buddy followed closely behind. The water type propelled himself with Water Sport for speed, and Electabuzz was faster than Tangrowth was, so he could keep up. Weavile roared in anger, but that split second was enough for Sunshine to engulf her body in mes. And now that we were getting further and further, there was no need to hold back. I could only see a faint grin as the air around the fire type warped and the darkness they were fighting on itself lit aze with darkened mes of obsidian. Weavile hissed. Its body was weak to fire, and it was fightingfire itself. The ice type grunted, opting to give up on the fight and follow us instead. Angel stepped over Harry''s Pokemon¡ª dead or otherwise and used them as a boost. "Buddy, you think you can stop this?!"I yelled. If the ride hadn''t been so bumpy, I could have bit my lip or my tongue to distract myself from the pain on my waist. Weavile was gaining too much ground too fast. The water type nodded, and his eyes red. "Buy us some time! Use Hex so it can''t dodge! It''ll just go around Whirpool!" Jellicent summoned a Night Shade and rushed toward the dark type. My eyes widened when the shade spat out an extremely weak Water Pulse. Weavile tore across the ring of water confidently, but another came, andanother, slowing it down ever so slightly. When it got in range, it crashed to the floor and writhed in agony from Hex, which was stronger than usual. Buddy wasbining two Hexes at once with Night Shade''s help. The water type called to Turtonator, whobored to get to where we were. Unfortunately, he''d exerted himself alot, and he was rusty from not having battled all this time. If he was rusty after a few months, how rusty would Shiftry be? Jellicent quickly sunk into the floor when Weavile got used to Hex''s pain, but not before detonating his Night Shade to deal some chip damage. A long-distance methrower from Sunshine bought us a few more seconds, and we finally reached Harry, who desperately attempted to squirm away. "Get away from me! Get away¡ª" Tangrowth pped him with a vine¡ª not enough to knock him out, but enough to leave a mark that would stay there a while. I nced toward his wound. A huge gash on his thigh that wasrge enough to fit my fist. The drill had prated througheverything, including bone. I grabbed his Pokeballs and began to try to recall Weavile. "Fuck, fuck,fuck!" I hissed. The ice type snarled as Ice Shards flew toward me. Buddy reappeared from the floor and solidified his body, getting stabbed but protecting me in the process. The first Pokeball didn''t work and homed in toward Luxray instead, although we were too far for it to get recalled. Electabuzz stepped up and called forth a humongous Discharge. I eyed him in surprise. He had already recovered from Weavile''s attack? The electricity was unavoidable, and only targeted in front of us, so Weavile took the hit and I aimed at it with the next ball. It homed toward Torterra instead. Honey saw what I was trying to do and let Buddy and another Night Shade take over with the defense. He grabbedtwoof Harry''s Pokeballs and managed to recall Weavile before it could reach us. I was so stupid. I could have done it two by two. It was over. But the price had not yet been paid. "Princess.Princess," I said. "Don''t kill him. He''s no longer a threat." Harry stared up and looked on in horror. The tip of a spear was hovering right above his forehead. Just one little push, and he''d die. He clung to his leg, putting as much pressure on it as possible to stop the bleeding, but it didn''t stop his face from distorting in pain and the sweat from running down his face. Electabuzz handed me Weavile''s Pokeball, and I ced it in my bag for now. "So youcanstill feel emotion, but only for yourself and not your team," I coldly said. "Pathetic." "You don''t know¡ª" Tangrowth pped him again. I made the rules here. "You know, if you had sed that Weavile on us from the start instead of hiding behind it like a coward, you might have won," I rambled. "In fact, you should have done so right after Pelipper died. Yeah, I think that would have been a lot smarter¡ª" "What the fuck are you talking about, you crazy bitch¡ª argh!" I grazed his wound with a foot and he shut up really quickly. "¡ªand you really needed to control that Crobat. It''s okay to be emotional, but you''ve got to keep your head on your shoulders. It''s dead now. It was a nice lesson for me though. Now I know that I''ll need to train my Pokemon to keep it together if I die so that they can kill whoever did it to me. A nice, equal price, don''t you think?" I asked. He said nothing. "Also, you should really order your Pokemon more. Gives them a sense of direction, but you rely on brute strength too much, and that came back to bite you. Power is a fine tool, but you''ve got to be smart about it." Why was I even saying this? It wasn''t like he was ever going to use this advice. I didn''t know, but it felt good. It had a certain finality to it. "Also, when you do it, youreallyshouldn''t yell it out loud for me to hear. Anyway, if you managed to poison my Turtonator with that Crobat, the battle really might have turned in your favor. Weavile would have been able to just run away and wait us out," I continued, crouching next to him with a painful groan. "Here''s what you should have done. Have Luxray protect you instead of Weavile, that way my Jellicent still can''t really approach you, but you actually have enough muscle to kill me. Toote now though." Turtonator walked up behind me, and I basked in his warmth. The adrenaline was rushing out of my body, and pulsating pain ran through my waist. That Ice Shard had only grazed me and had been slowed by Angel''s body, but it had done a number on me. I grabbed normal potions and healed Electabuzz, Tangrowth and Turtonator as best I could and stood on my tiptoes, whispering to the fire type. "I know you want to kill him, but wait a while." I had ns for him, and he needed to pay for along time. I couldn''t have him die just yet, although that wound on his leg didlook bad. Turtonator answered with a satisfied nod. Had he misunderstood me and expected to kill him right after I was done? I held back a sigh. I would exin after. I turned back to Harry and crouched over his body, staring directly into his eyes as I watched him grunt and squirm from the pain until he averted his stare. For some reason, he seemed a lot more terrified of me than any of my Pokemon. "Now, now," I exhaled. My side wason fire, and small shards of ice were still stuck inside of my waist. "You might have paid for your transgressions against my friends, but sure as hell haven''t paid for your links to Team Gctic. A debt is owed," I said, thinking of Sunshine''s trainer. "And you will need to pay it or suffer the consequences." "Speak like a normal fucking human and tell me what you want¡ª" The tip of Princess'' spear touched his forehead, but I motioned at her to stop. I needed to give him some form of hope. Time was of the essence. I couldn''t even afford to tend to my wound. Any minute now, Shiftry might teleport him back or¡ª "Shiftry! Get me out of here! Shiftry¡ª" I stepped on the gaping hole on his leg and his words devolved into nonsensical screams. I couldn''t let him think that he was in charge in any way shape or form, or he would get cocky and shut down before I could get him to talk. If he started to think anduse his head, he might realize that there was no way to get out of this. It was either I left him here and the League eventually caught him, or I killed him. He''d probably opt for thetter due to not wanting to be a vegetable from the memory extraction process. "Don''t you think that if Shiftry cared about you, you would have been out by now?" I said. In truth, I had no idea what I was talking about, but it had an effect. His face twisted in horror. "Right. You understand. Your fate is in my hands now. You''re going to answer my questions. If you do so, I''ll let you go. I''ll even bandage your wound! Then maybe in the chaos, you''ll manage to slip away and escape. Abel manages to do it all the time. You know, that criminal from Unova?" Harry Rodriguez swallowed and considered his options. Of course, everything I was saying was a lie, and Harry couldn''t bepared to a man of Abel''s skill in any way, shape or form, and even then, there was no way he was walking with this leg, but he probably didn''t know how bad the wound truly was yet. I wasn''t about to let him get away with this, not after he''d almost killed my two daughters. However, a desperate man couldn''t stare reality in the eyes even if it was right in front of him. He''d cling to hope and beg to live until he realized that there was no getting out of this. The key was to jiggle the bait in front of him and pull it out of reach as soon as he gave me everything I wanted. "The clock is ticking," I coldly said, tilting my head. Princess mimicked me, and her spear broke the skin on his forehead and blood dripped to the floor. He bit his lip. "What do you want to know?"
Chapter 162 – It Toils Chapter 162 ¨C It Toils
CHAPTER 162 - It Toils "First thing''s first. What was your n? Do you know where my friends got teleported to?" I asked. "They were nning on¡ª" he stopped, hissing in pain. "nning on separating you to take you on separately. The Hunters don''t have shit for trainers, so their manpower''s spread thin. They thought I''d be able to take you down alone, and they wanted to gang up on your tougher friends¡ª" "Okay. Where are they?" "I don''t know! Somewhere out in the Arceus damned fields! I didn''t get the fucking exact cement! They don''t tell me shit!" I sighed. There was no one to find them out there, and I wasn''t going to send Princess to fly alone after what had just happened to her. If I couldn''t go to find my friends, then¡­ the best way to deal with this was to get to the mansion and end this at the source. "Do they have people protecting Shiftry?" I asked. "They just have Rnd with him, but the only Pokemon he owns is an Abra, and he obviously can''t use it at the moment. Everyone else is out fighting." That could have been a lie, and it probably was. I figured he''d change his tone when he realized that we weren''t going to separate just yet. "What happened to Luca Antonovich?" I continued. "That little runt? He''s dead, and his Pokemon are too. You don''t want to know what they did to him before he passed. He never spilled anything too," Harry clicked his tongue. "But I had nothing to do with that. That was all them, not me!" "Spare me your excuses," I said. I felt nothing at Luca''s death. Not even a twinge of pain. "What''s the end goal with this? What does Shiftry want?" "It wants the League to leave it the fuck alone, that''s what. It''s in this sort of¡­ catatonic state, so it''s putting everything it has into the barrier around town so that they can''t break through." "How long can he keep that up?" "I don''t know." "Think a little harder." "I don''t fucking know! Days would be my guess! It might be a thousand years old, but it''s no Legendary! It can''t do this indefinitely." "Does it require him to focus?" "Yes. It can''t even move or speak." Good, so the n to attack it to stop him from spreading his darkness could still work. Of course, that was if everything he was saying was the truth. It was at times like these where a psychic would have been nice¡ª not that I would have been able to use it here. Plus, that type of skill took years of training to hone, just like shielding minds. "What''s the link between the Hunters and Team Gctic?" "All I know is that Rnd and¡­ Cyrus¡ª" he whispered the name. "Are old friends, and that he didn''t mind helping them by rigging the tournament in my favor and giving them high-quality Pokemon for their grunts. They met a little more than two decades ago." "Team Gctic and the Hunters wanted you to win this tournament. Why?" I asked. "I''m not exactly a part of Team Gctic, but I''m associated with them," Harry said. "They helped me with money and said that all I had to do was get a job in the League at the end of the year and tell them about the defenses there and how it''s organized. If I won this big tournament, then I would have gotten a lot of national attention, so it might have made a few recruiters at the League get their eye on me and would have made it easier for me to join. As soon as I gave them what they wanted, I''d be free from any obligations." "You''re a fucking moron." "What?" "Do you really think a guy like you can fool the League? Like a thousand people haven''t tried before and failed? Do you think you''re special? You''re just the first idiot they found and thought would go along with their n!" "I needed the money¡ª" "You were being used, you fucking idiot. You would have gotten caught by a psychic before you even made it close to the Lily of the Valley ind. All Team Gctic wanted from you was to distract the League and make them more paranoid about every trainer in their forces. And even if it worked out, what do you think they would have done with that information? They would have attacked the ce you work at, or you would have been sent to fight them anyway." Harry wanted to retort, but he bit his lip. "That''s right. Fucking stew in your stupidity." I got up from my crouching position and lifted my shirt with a groan. The cut from the Ice Shard was a lot deeper than I thought it was, but I couldn''t get bogged down by pain. "Keep that spear on him," I told Princess. "Buddy, spray the gash with some water¡ª gently." The water type nodded and let out a gentle stream, washing away most of the blood. I plucked out tiny shards of ice still stuck inside of me one by one, inflicting excruciating pain upon myself. Jellicent cleaned it again with warmer water this time, and I grabbed a bandage from my bag. Electabuzz helped me wrap it around my whole waist. After two minutes, we were done. "Here''s what''s going to happen," I said. "You''re going toe with me." "We had a deal¡ª" "I am altering the deal," I smiled. I crouched to bandage him as well. He''d lost too much blood, and I couldn''t have him dying on me while still having his uses. Sunshine protested, but I looked into his eyes to get him to stop. Now wasn''t the time for tantrums. We had bigger fish to fry before we could even think about getting him his revenge. "Angel, grab him." The grass type squeezed a vine around Harry with none of the usual gentleness he used with me and lifted him in the air. "You''reing with me," I said again. "Now, if anything you told me was a lie, now would be the time to admit it. If anything happens to me because you misled me, my Pokemon will make sure to drag you into hell if it''s the ." I wasn''t sure Shiftry would particrly care about him being a hostage, but it was worth a try at least. They had invested resources to get him to win, so they at least thought he was of some value even if he was a pawn that could be sacked at any moment. And if they didn''t, it was a nice little incentive to get him to tell the truth, and he knew his way around the mansion. "There are two trainers left in the mansion," he forced out. "Reggie and Lane. They own a Drapion and an Umbreon." "There you go. Now that wasn''t so hard, was it? Let''s go." I stared at that damned mansion lit up by a pale, ghastly light. It was still shooting out a tower of void into the sky, constantly replenishing the darkness within. An Umbreon and a Drapion? Fighting the former would be akin to battling Sylveon, and I had already theorized on how to tackle Maeve''s new Drapion. My Pokemon were tired, but not beaten. Sweetheart was still unconscious, but I doubted that she would have been able to fight effectively with her new body anyway. Plus, she needed the rest. The point was, I could win against two enemies. They had better not get in my way. ¡ª When the shadows took Mira, she expected to die. But then she realized that she could still breathe. She slowly opened her eyes and saw an endless field of darkness lying before her, with a single human and Mightyena around thirty feet away. Her first instinct was to release Haunter and Magnezone, but a tiny part of her brain told her not to. That a worthless girl like her deserved whatever wasing next. Her hand hovered over her Pokeball, but the trainer''s scream pushed her to move. "Mightyena, get her!" The dark type rushed forward, almost gliding across the darkened floor. They''d all be better off without you. Haunter and Magnezone emerged from their Pokeballs, and when they saw that an enemy was targeting her, they immediately took action. Two bolts of electricity flew out of Magnezone''s mas, but Mightyena sunk into the floor. "Stick close, it''sing to me," Mira told Haunter. And it''d be better if it got me. The ghost angrily cackled, unable to get the permanent grin off of his face. Magnezone hummed, shooting rays of sh Cannon into the floor at random. Mightyena was nowhere to be found, but it did make the shadows split apart for a few seconds, allowing them to actually track it by revealing the blotch of darkness rushing toward them. Haunter''s ghastly eyes narrowed and darted toward the dark, and he sunk into the floor with more determination than Mira had ever seen out of him. Why go so far for her? Mightyena yelped as Haunter forcefully expunged it from the ground. The dark type snarled and bit off a quarter of Haunter''s body with Crunch, but Magnezone shot out another sh Cannon that staggered it. The two hated each other''s guts, and yet they were working together to save her. Mira bit her lip. It took her almost dying for that to happen. Haunter lost his corporeal form, bing nothing but poisonous mist and slipped into Mightyena''s mouth. The dark type slowly choked on the poison, agonizing and writhin against the floor for minutes until it died. That should have been you. "Haunty. Haunty, stop," Mira said. He didn''t listen, and he moved on to the trainer next. It was too dark to see their expression, but it seemed that they simply epted their fate. Haunter floated toward her, still in his mist-like form, but an angry metallic ng from Magnezone snapped her out of her daze. She recalled Haunter and fell on her knees. The trainer shrugged and walked off. "I don''t think I can do this anymore." Magnezone said something, but Mira was too out of it to care. What was the point? She wanted to lie down somewhere, close her eyes and drift off to sleep. And that is what she did. Mira recalled Magnezone, got on the darkened floor and closed her eyes. The floor felt sofortable. It was like she was lying on a soft cloud. This was nice. She could end it here. She would never be able to find her uncle anyway, and convincing him to leave Team Gctic had always been a pipe dream. Not when he was a Commander. There was no way the League would let him off with a light sentence like she had hoped before Shifty''s influence gave her the ability to think clearly. Even if his intentions were good at heart, he had caused the death of too many people. He apparently called himself Charon now, and he was the only family she had left. Mira did not know how much time passed, but a loud screech in the sky woke her up. She squinted, and thanks to the mansion''s pale light, she made out a Staraptor in the sky, carrying two people. One in his talons, and one on his back, although the person there was barely hanging by a thread. That was Maeve. As soon as theynded, the person in Staraptor''s ws grunted in pain, and Maeve released her Monferno and Drapion for protection, who looked like they''d just been in an extremely tough battle. "Mira¡ª Star, keep that fucker in your grip! Mira, are you okay?!" Just leave me alone. Maeve dropped on all fours and touched Mira all over, probably checking for wounds. "Where''s your Haunter? Did they hurt you?!" "What happened to you? How did you find me?" Mira weakly asked. "I got a guide," Maeve said, pointing to the Hunter her flying type was pinning down. "I''m sticking by you. I won''t let you give up on yourself here." "Leave, Maeve. I''ll only pull you down." "Stop it with the nonsense, that''s just Shiftry making you say that¡ª" "Shiftry''s a dark type, not a psychic. He just removed everything I was pretending to be and only left the real me. This is how I really am. This is the real me. I''m a broken mess, and you''d be better off without me." "You''re lying to yourself, Mira. Even if there are parts of you that you keep away from me, I know you. I know that you''re sweet and want to do good. I know that you worry about everyone else before even thinking about yourself, even if you pretend to be selfish. I know how much you care about your Pokemon. I know¡ª" "Who do you think you are?! You know nothing about me!" "I''m just a girl! A girl trying to save her friend!" Mira sobbed and began to feel again. Maeve wrapped her in a tight hug. "It''s going to be okay. You''ll get better." "I''ll try." Mira sniffed. "I can''t believe you flew without a license." "I was terrified." ¡ª When Cecilia emerged from the darkness, five Pokemon stood in a circle in what she assumed was supposed to be around her. Fortunately for her though, it seemed that Shiftry messed up the exact location of that teleportation trick, sending her around twenty feet away and giving her enough time to immediately release her Pokemon before being torn to shreds. Talonme was in the air before she could even blink, basking Cecilia in her warm gusts of wind to make her feel something. Zweilous appearedrger and stronger than before, and darkness swelled around his feet. Golett stood, lifeless as always, although he made the point to take a step forward and stand in front of Cecilia. Scyther hissed, fanning his wings and sharpening his scythes. "Look alive, darlings," Cecilia raged. "It is time to destroy." She was facing a Skuntank, a Krokorok, a Bisharp, and two Liepard, and all she could think was: was that it? A trainer of her caliber facing mere fodder? If they''d been smart about it, they would have sent more than this paltry force. Cecilia caught herself and flinched. Why was she thinking this way? Was the dark already taking effect? She did not wait for the panicked whispers from the six trainers that faced her to fade. Without her Slowking for protection, the best defense was overwhelming offense to take down her enemies before they even had a chance to attack and demoralize them by showing their gap in power. "Dragon Pulse, Stomping Tantrum, Air sh, Heat Wave." With a quick stomp, Golett split the darkness apart, creating a rift that spread until it became a huge chasm which the five Pokemon fell into. Zweilous'' throats swelled and lit up for a split second, then an enormous Dragon Pulse barrelled toward Skuntank, who was engulfed in the draconic energy. Scyther took flight and des ofpressed air sliced huge gashes into one of the Liepard, and Talonme''s Heat Wave dealt with the rest of the Pokemon, burning them to a crisp. The nameless trainers had to step back not to get burned, but one still screamed, possibly getting their skin burned¡ª it was too dark to tell. Coteral damage was bound to happen in these situations. Cecilia watched for a few seconds and then snapped back to reality. She ordered Talonme to stop, and thankfully the trainer kept running¡­ nevermind, they fell over and died. It probably took a few seconds for their body to even register the damage. Cecilia''s eye twitched, but she felt nothing. The human body was so weak, and yet shemanded enough power to destroy it beyond recognition at will, and even then, Cecilia wanted more. Still, all of the Pokemon had already fallen unconscious, and there was no need to go that far if she was no longer in danger¡ª Wait. A Pokemon was missing in the chasm. Where was Krokorok¡ª The ground under Cecilia''s feet liquefied, splitting the darkness apart and Krokorok''s huge maw opened up, ready to Bite at her leg. Zweilous was too slow to turn, and Talonme was too far. Golett was stuck in the Sand Tomb as much as she was. Krokorok''s maw snapped shut, sending Cecilia into hysterics. The pain was so much worse than anything else she had ever experienced, but she forced herself to open her eyes. What would have been a clean cut ended up being a gnarly wound when Scyther sliced across the ground type''s head, cleaving it off. Krokorok''s head was still attached to her leg, and it took a few seconds for the life to go out of its eyes. The Sand Tomb stopped spinning, and darkness reimed its throne. "Damn it, fuck," Cecilia groaned as cold sweat dripped on her face. Another painful scream escaped her throat as she forced Krokorok''s mouth open and its teeth exited her skin. "T¡ªthank you Scyther." The bug type grunted with a shrug. He didn''t have to save her, and yet he did, just like he listened to her Air shmand. Sol and Zerst lowered their heads in shame. They had failed to protect her, and they felt responsible for her wound. "Don''t let it bring you down. The most important part is that we''re alive," Cecilia said, petting their chins. She petted Golett''s head too, and the golem''s eyes brightened slightly. The girl turned to the trainers, who were running away. She wasn''t capable of even walking at this point, but they needed to be questioned. "Talonme, Scyther, stop¡­ two of them from running and bring them to me. You can let the other run." The two flying types blurred incredibly quickly. In five seconds, they closed the massive gap andnded in front of the group. It was too far to see exactly what was happening, but they seemed to have done a rather good job. They isted two of the five trainers and forced them to turn back. It took a while for them to get back here, but when they did, Cecilia realized that they weren''t even human. Only shells. They hadn''t run away to protect their own lives. They had run away to act asst barriers of defense for Shiftry. Cecilia groaned, roughly bandaging her leg. Grace had always been better at these things. One thing was for sure, her leg needed stitches, and it would scar. She tried to stand, but putting even a slight amount of weight on her leg was impossible. "Talonme darling, try to go find the others. I don''t think I can walk in this state." She could only hope Grace was okay. ¡ª Denzel was beginning to be known as being quick on his feet. The moment he had control of his body again, he clicked on two of his Pokeballs and released his Sylveon and Lopunny. He heard a loud crash as some kind of attack hit the normal type and caused her to ram into him. He fell to the floor and felt some kind of rocks under the darkness cut his skin and hit his head. Come on Denzel! He thought with a clenched fist. He screamed and immediately stood up. Half of the skin on the left side of his forearm had been torn off, and a quick swipe at a wet substance on his forehead made it clear that he was bleeding from there too. His Pokemon were already locked in battle with four others. A huge Pangoro mmed its fist against the ground, and Sylveon gracefully dodged, wrapping his ribbons around the dark type''s fists to soothe it before jabbing a paw in his knee joint. The crack Denzel heard made him wince, but he had no time to worry about what Sylveon was doing, he first had to figure out what was happening. A Scrafty dueled with Lopunny, exchanging blows and a Cacturne kept its distance, swarming her with Bullet Seed. The normal type was on the backfoot for now, but each Power-Up Punch she added equalized the ying field little by little. She narrowly dodged some kind of glowing punching attack and quickly jabbed the fighting type in the throat. Its eyes widened as it struggled to breathe, only being capable of drawing short, ragged breaths, and that was the opening that she needed. Lopunny''s ears lit up and she pped Scrafty''s head, knocking it unconscious. "Cacturn, kill the trainer!" Denzel gulped as the grass type aimed two fists toward him, but Sylveon stopped everything he was doing and began to beat it relentlessly before Denzel could even have time to panic. Pangoro was on one knee, bloodied and unable to walk, but a Nuzleaf tried to follow him. He quickly released Milotic, Roselia and Fross. "Go help," he weakly said. He didn''t have the mental fortitude to go into detail with orders. "Don''t kill them if you can!" The words felt wrong when he said them. Illogical. Yet, he couldn''t afford to give into Shiftry''s power. Did it even know it was possibly screwing itself up by affecting them like this? He had a hard time seeing Grace or Cecilia holding back in this environment. Fross winked out of existence and reappeared in front of Nuzleaf. Her eyes contained more anger and hate in them than Denzel had ever seen, and her mere presence froze Nuzleaf''s entire body over. Roselia and Milotic opted to stay back, attacking at a distance. An extremely precise Venoshock hit Pangoro''s eyes, and the panda let out a guttural scream and wed at them until its face bled. Milotic let out a Scald at the same target, burning off its fur and finishing it off. Sylveon beat Cacturne with y Rough until it was unrecognizable. With the constant Disarming Voices, it was incapable of fighting back. Sylveon stood atop its¡­ corpse? Unconscious body? With his face full of thick blood and a glint in his eyes. His ribbons flowed in the cold, dreary wind. The darkness cut his denial in its tracks. That Cacturn was dead, and so was Nuzleaf. "Okay," Denzel sighed. "I feel a little woozy, so¡­ uh¡­ I''m gonna take a little break." He stumbled on the floor and barely managed to sit. His head was throbbing, and he was having trouble staying bnced. Milotic carefully pressed against his back to give him some sort of backrest, and he sighed. The trainers had already run away, and he was too out of it to even hope to interrogate them. "I think I have a concussion." Roselia sighed, but the hint of a worried look could be seen in her eyes. Sylveon barked and jumped toward Denzel, while Fross¡ª now having snapped out of her rage¡ª appeared by his side. Lopunny let out tired heaves and sat on Milotic''s body. "I''m worried about the others, but I can''t help like this," he said, slurring his words. "I think I''m going to have to try to walk back to the Center. We can go get help at the same time. See if any trainers want to take down Shiftry." Denzel took a deep breath and stood. He leaned against Lopunny''s shoulder, and he and his Pokemon began their trek. ¡ª "Now don''t forget, Harry. Me surviving is in your best interest, so you better give me everything you know on Reggie and Lane," I said as kept walking toward the mansion. "You''ve told me about their Pokemon, but what about their moves? Their strategies? Are they attached to those Pokemon and vice versa? If I killed one of them, would they start to make mistakes?" Needless to say, he was being very cooperative. Harry nervously swallowed. "I don''t know about moves, but that Umbreon can travel through the shadows. Since the floor''s covered in them, well you won''t be able to see where it is and I think it''ll be faster. Drapion doesn''t have any fancy techniques. He''s more of a muscle kind of Pokemon. Hits hard, but your Turtonator could easily handle it, and Umbreon''s weaker than anything I own." "Hm. Hey, do you think I can burn the mansion from the outside to draw out Shiftry?" I asked. "You could try, but I don''t know if that''ll work. It probably has protections in ce for that kind of stuff, and also, I think it knows you''reing." "Well obviously. I want him to know. I want him to shiver in fear while it slowly watches his thousand-year dynastye to an end because it was too much of a coward to let its family actually train Pokemon," I said. "It''s time for Shiftry to reap what it sowed." "You''re crazy, you know that? Even with this dark shit, you''re¡ª" "Yeah, I don''t care and I don''t want to hear thating from someone who''s a part of Team Gctic. Now answer my fucking questions." Angel squeezed the vine around his waist, and Harry groaned in pain. "Yes, they''re attached¡­ very much so. They''ve had those Pokemon since they were young or something, but they''re not the best battlers since they only have one Pokemon and they don''t really get a lot of practice." "I don''t want to fight. Unlike you, they never had a chance to live their lives freely, so they deserve a chance. If they block my path and can''t be reasoned with, I won''t have a choice." I was on a mission, and I would let nothing stop me. Twenty minutester, we reached the mansion. The obsidian spire shooting into the sky was disturbingly silent, although I could hear the creaking of the old wood that the building was made of. The entrance and the windows werepletely darkened, although the door was still open. Good. I had been worried that there would be another imprable wall around the house. "Looks like you got caught," a voice said, looking at Harry. He didn''t respond. Reggie and Lane blocked the way, a Drapion and an Umbreon at their side. Now would it be the hard way or the easy way? Because I was willing to y hard. "Out of my fucking way."
Chapter 163 – It Whimpers Chapter 163 ¨C It Whimpers CHAPTER 163 - It Whimpers "Out of my fucking way," I swore. "I''m afraid we can''t do that," Lane said. "You can''t beat me." "The Elder must survive," Reggie shook his head."Drapion, Pin Missile!" "Umbreon, stick to the shadows and target her." Drapion flexed, and its segments ground against each other. Bright, sharp needles exploded outward in every direction before homing toward me. Umbreon clipped into the floor and disappeared. So much for talking, then. I only had a few seconds to think. Honey maybe had two more Protects left in him, and I didn''t want to waste those before reaching Shiftry. "Princess, you''re on protection duty. Angel, grab me and Ancient Power the Drapion. Sunshine, Bulldoze and get that Umbreon out of the floor¡ª" The Pin Missiles were already there. Togetic lifted a disc-like shape out of the ground andstretched it until it covered me. The missiles crashed against the t rock without breaking through. Another, boulder shot out toward Drapion, who dug its legs into the dark ground and grabbed it in its pincers. Turtonator exhaled and mmed its foot against the floor. Small pockets of molten rocks jutted out of the ground around us and burned the darkness away. Jellicent drenched me in cold water for the heat, but it was still ufortably hot. Umbreon let out an ethereal bark, but it was already behind me. It jumped out of the floor with its ws dripping in poison, aiming directly at me. Its attack fell through when Buddy hit it with Hex. Angel pulled me away and Umbreon fell onto the floor. Turtonator ced a foot on its abdomen and beganburning, but I raised a hand. These people were puppets of Shiftry, they deserved a chance. "Surrender. It''s not you I''m after." "Drapion, Venoshock!" "Umbreon!" The dark type sunk into the floor and I sighed. My mercy had been a mistake, but it wouldn''t be just to kill Shiftry''s unwilling puppets. Still, I couldn''t afford to hold back now. "I gave you a chance." Drapion belched, and then spat out liquid poison toward me again. Sosloppy. They weren''t even trying to win. "methrower." Turtonator immediately let a stream of mes loose, and the poison simply evaporated away. "Sunshine go and deal with that Drapion, we''ll take care of Umbreon. Try not to kill it. Or them," I said. Now that I knew that Umbreon wasn''t invulnerable in its shadow state, Buddy would be able to deal with it. "Buddy, you''re up. Track it and force it up." The water type nodded and sank into the floor. A single Hex, and it would be in too much pain to stay hidden. I frowned when Turtonator began to charge a sh Cannon, only this one was abnormally small. The fire type grunted, and the tiny beam severed Drapion''s arm. "Drapion, no!"Reggie screamed. My eyes widened, bringing me out of my Shiftry-induced daze for a single moment. He''d broken through Shiftry''s spell for an instant, but his face returned to a neutral expression immediately afterward. Ihadn''t knownthat Sunshine could do that. Umbreon let out an infuriated hiss-bark and jumped, shing across Turtonator''s shell. If we hadn''t been behind him, he would have been able to blow up. Again, a Pokemon was making a mistake due to its attachment to another. A quick, weakened Thunderbolt from Honey shocked Umbreon, who began to jitter and convulse. Five drills stabbed into the dark type like nails, and Buddy emerged right next to him and finished it off with Hex. Drapion was missing an arm, and Umbreon had fainted. They couldn''t stop me any longer, but I wanted to give them onest chance. "I rmend recalling your Drapion. It can grow its arm back at a Pokemon Center thanks to Ditto cells, but right now all it''s doing is bleeding out. It''ll die." Reggie''s face twisted in worry. He was hesitating. "Reggie! The Eldertold us to fight to thest!" Lane screamed. I impatiently tapped my foot against the floor. "I don''t have that much time. Hurry or I''m killing it." The man grimaced as he recalled his Pokemon. Lane looked at him with a devastated look of pure betrayal, and my team and I began to walk toward the mansion. I hesitantly ced a foot above Turtonator''s bulldozed area, which was still too hot to walk on. Buddy sprayed a path with water and cooled it off enough for me to step on. "It''s not like it would have made any difference," I said. "He made the correct choice that spared as many lives as possible." Lane snarled as she ran toward the mansion''s entrance, blocking the way with her arms extended out as ifthatwould stop me. "Please! Don''t go! The Elder''s all we have!" "When his influence on your mind is gone, you''ll realize that what you were doing before today wasn''t living, butserving," I said. "Angel." The grass type knocked her away, and she shrieked, tears streaming down her face as she desperately begged for me not to go inside. I ignored her, but shefollowed me. "He''s all I have," she repeated as she clung to my leg. "Please." It was strange, how they spoke of Shiftry like it was their savior instead of their oppressor. What state was it in right now? Harry had called it catatonic, but I expected it to be stronger than Weavile when he turned back to normal. Since his domain would disappear, I''d only have to buy time for the League to Teleport or fly in. I stopped my Pokemon from blowing her up with a gesture and kicked her off. The mansion hadn''t changed at all since I hadst stepped foot inside of it. I expected the darkness to be stronger here, but it was almost¡­ weaker somehow. It wasn''t as difficult to breathe, and my voice had regained some of its pitch. The strange substance on the floor wasn''t as thick and it was easier to walk. "Angel, tie her up and detach the vine," I said. "Harry. Where are Shiftry and Rnd? The top floor?" Lane screamed as Tangrowth wrapped her entire body, leaving only her head for her to breathe. "The top floor only has one room, and that''s Shiftry''s. Rnd should be on the second," he said. Now that I could slightly see color, his face was dangerously pale, and his voice was weak. I wasn''t a doctor, but he was close to dying if I had to guess. I needed to hurry this up. Dying here would mean that he''d be getting off lightly. I slowly stepped through the foyer. I had to be safe here, there could be traps. "Can you just¡­ leave me here?" Harry coughed. "I know I won''t make it out. I''ve given you everything¡­ I''ll even take a spear through the head." "No, you''re sticking around," I said, not even sparing him a look. "I cooperated." "You did. That doesn''t mean you deserve the easy way out," I said. I knew Sunshine was staring daggers at me now, but at this point, he was probably focused on getting us out of here. I didn''t know if it was because the dark had dampened his want for revenge, or if he cared more for us than he admitted. I slowly climbed the creaky steps to the second floor. Honey and Princess nked me while Buddy was in front thanks to his regenerative capabilities. Angel pushed himself up the stairs with his vines behind me, and Sunshine did the same. We were all exhausted, but this was the final push. One more battle, and we''d be freed. And the magnitude of what I had done thesest few hours would sink in. It was strange, to stare disaster in the eye. To know it wasing. To know how terrible it would make me feel, and yet not be able to bring myself to worry about it. "Well met, Grace Pastel," a soft voice said. My head whirred toward it, and I easily recognized Rnd Hunter, the man who I had mistaken for the elder during our visit. He turned toward the third floor. "And Harry, I suppose. Are you here to kill everything Shiftry has built?" "Yes. Are you going to do anything about it?" "It''s not like I can," he shrugged with a sad sigh. "Why don''t you go and see it then? Shiftry''s room." I frowned. Unlike Lane or even Reggie, he didn''t seem to be panicking at all. I made my way to the third floor and bit my lip when I saw what awaited me. A huge barrier made out of the abyss blocked the walls and entrance to Shiftry''s room. Five League Trainersy in the hallway, their bodiespletely lifeless and their usual uniforms full of blood. "Break through," I told my team. No moves made even a dent. Power Whip, Shadow Ball, Water Pulse, Ancient Power, not evenDazzling Gleamor Sunshine''smethrowerworked. "You will not break through. Shiftry knows what he is doing." I clenched a fist. I had beenso close.So closeto finishing this. But I wasn''t strong enough. I ordered Angel to drop Harry on the floor and leaned against the wall, trying toe up withanyideas. No matter how much I racked my brain, no answers came up. If I couldn''t brute force it with Sunshine or use type effectiveness with Dazzling Gleam or Fairy Wind, then nothing I had would work. "What will you do now?" Rnd asked with faint signs of his soft-spoken voice. "Why are you talking to me?" "Indulge me a little." "I don''t owe you anything. Stop bothering me, or my Pokemon will make you." "I know many things about Cyrus," he nonchntly said. "And I know you wouldn''t pass onthat. Just have a little conversation with me. Call it a man''sst wish." Right. I had almostpletely forgotten that he''d been friends with Cyrus long ago. At least I had gained something by being here. "What makes you think I couldn''t get it out of you?" I said. "Or that the League won''t just do it themselves?" "We aren''t all as weak as Harry," he smirked. Harry didn''t even have the energy to retort. "And aren''t you curious?" I bit my tongue. "Fine." The older man sat on the stairs and began to speak, facing away from me. "If I asked you what darkness was, what would you answer?" "I''d answer whatever Shiftry''s been doing. Faded colors, muted emotions, cutting off type energy¡­ it''s a lot." "Ah, indeed it is to some extent. It can also be other things, but it is what Shiftry sees it as, and so it is what his domain is," Rnd started. "At their core, each kind of type energy serves apurpose, and that purpose can sometimes be stretched to such extent that it bes unrecognizable. There are the easy concepts, like fire, water and grass, and the more abstract ones like fairy, dragon and ghost. Dark is a part of thetter, and at its core, its purpose is to bring the world back to a nk te. Before the universe came into existence, there wasnothing. Thatnothingis what the dark type wants to return to." I nodded. "I called it neutrality, but I guess that works. Get to the point." "Why? We have nothing but time." "Because I didn''te here for a lesson. Get to Cyrus." Rnd smirked. "When there is enough dark type energy around an area, it will start to return the world to a nk te, like you saw with Sceon, although Shiftry''s visualization of it had some quirks that don''t fit the definition, like the heavy air and the dark floor. You also saw the effect it has on the human psyche." "I feel nothing," I agreed, staring at the corpses littering the hall. "I know it''s not supposed to be that way, but I can''t bring myself to even care about it." "There''s a bit more to it than that. Before turning you into an emotionless person, you will slowly start to lose your outer traits, little by little until your true self isid bare for all to see. For a few hours, that is what you will be. Cyrus was obsessedwith dark type energy in his young age¡ª which is how we met¡­ around twenty-two years ago now. He used to be quite a well-traveled man, and he sought out ways to exin his¡­ affliction. Back then, he believed dark type energy could be it, or at least heavy exposure to it as an infant." "Affliction?" I asked. "Cyrus has never felt anything in his entire life. No love for histe parents, no anger, no frustration, there is nothing in his head but pure pragmatism. He is a brilliant man, and Shiftry allowed him to spend a few months with us thanks to our unlikely connection." "But unlike you, Cyrus is like this because of something else, not Shiftry," I said. "Well, I believe him to simply be a sociopath," Rnd said as a matter of fact. "But he wouldn''t take that answer. He thought there was something wrong with theworldand nothim, and he wanted to reshape it in his image." I swallowed. Even with Shiftry''s domain, I still felt a twinge of nervousness about the topic of Team Gctic''sleader. "You know, before he left, he told me that he felt a connection to our family," Rnd said. "That he didn''t have to pretend with me. All of his life, he had faked every single word. An exhausting way to live. I tried to get him to stay with us. I called him my first friend." "And he left?" "He looked at me like I was insane," Rnd continued. "He called me a fake with the iciest tone I had ever heard and left without looking back. Apparently, the fact that I felt genuine friendship with him meant that I couldn''t possibly understand him at all. That means that his nkness is sopotentthat he feels even less thanus." "How did you reconnect? Harry here told me that you were in contact." "Oh that didn''t happen until around three years ago. Cyrus came to ournd again and asked for our support in his cause with Team Gctic. Shiftry had taken a personal liking to him before, so there was no way for us to refuse. I assume Harry told you about Team Gctic''s ambition for him?" "I did," Harry weakly answered. "I was content to help Cyrus, but he had¡­ conversations with Shiftry that I wasn''t privy to that got him agitated. I had never seen him like this my entire life. There was genuineexcitementin the Elder''s eyes. I couldn''t believe it." "Some other deal was made," I dered. "And you weren''t a part of it. None of you were." "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, that is all I know. I do not know Cyrus'' true goal, but I know that he is not the kind of man tomit terrorism for the sake of destruction, and he would not care about taking over the region either. He wants somethingdeeper. What that is? Your guess is as good as mine." I paused for a few seconds. "Why say all this? Why give up all of that information on Cyrus willingly?" "Because when Shiftry asked us to call him for help when the League came to ournd, he said that we had served our purpose and abandoned us. The Elder was devastated to the point of tears¡­ and that was the exact moment when Sceon was hit by the dark. Shiftry was fooled and he simply couldn''t take it anymore. I am a loyal servant, and Cyrus hurt my master. I will give information on him, but not anything else." "Yeah? Well as soon as the League breaks through, your master''s dying and your memory''s getting extracted," I said. Rnd chuckled, which was weirdly alien. "My apologies. That was a reflex I trained myself to do," he said. "Our family will be destroyed, but Shiftry will live on. The League has use for him." "What? Afterall of this? Why?" "Do you know what lies east of Sceon?" He asked. I shook my head. "Shiftry has been keepingthemdormant. The Unown. Without him, they will wake up and warp reality around Sceon to their liking¡ª and maybe even all of Sinnoh." "What the hell is an Unown?" "They''re¡ª" I heard steps reverberate through the hall. People were walking up the stairs, and I knew that there was no way it could be Reggie. Lane was tied up¡­ so who wasing? She was dressed in ck from head to toe and exuded power wherever she walked. Her faded blonde hair flew in the small amount of wind expunged by Shiftry''s barrier. She was just as tall as I remembered¡ª around six feet, and she towered over the man who followed her. Faded green hair with a tuft gelled upward, along with huge green eyes that were lighter than mine. The woman was apanied by her Lucario. It was spotless, like it had never seen battle before, and yet I knew the rumors of what it was capable of. The younger man by a Heracross, whose huge horn was enough to impale me at least eight times, if not more. They were followed by six League Trainers¡ª veterans that looked to be in their thirties or forties. "Good evening Rnd," the woman said. The Champion Cynthia and Aaron of the Elite Four were here. Without as much as a change in expression, Rnd Hunter bit down on something and crumpled to the floor like a leaf. He had killed himself before the League could get their hands on him. "Ah, man, what a waste," Aaron sighed. Cynthia shrugged. "It doesn''t matter. Get started on the barrier." I gulped, unable to find the words. Aaron and his Herracross confidently strode up to Shiftry''s barrier, and the man squinted, softly touching at the darkness as if he was looking for a specificpoint. Cynthia stared at her dead League Trainers and sighed before turning to me and my team. Even Sunshine''s cocky attitude evaporated when she stared into his eyes. Lucario looked into mine, and it was almost like it feltsorryfor me. Two of the League Trainers took Harry Rodriguez away. "Grace Pastel," Cynthia smiled. "It has been a while, hasn''t it?" "I¡ªyes," I said. "How did you even get in here? The wall on the outside¡­" "It took a while, but Aaron found a weakness to the southeast of the city that materialized a few minutes ago and we forced a gate open. I suspect you stepping inside the mansion had something to do with that. League Trainers are pouring into Sceon now. Without you, it would have taken Aaron at least a day to figure out where to enter from. It''s a lot easier now that the surface area to scan is smaller." I didn''t understand how Aaron knew where the wall''s weaknesses were, but I wasn''t about to question the Champion''s words or an Elite Four member''s skills. "What does me stepping inside have to do with any of this? Why would I have an effect on Shiftry?" "Oh, he''s a coward, so he no doubt panicked and reinforced his room instead of the outside," she smirked. "That usually meant that he was easy to negotiate with, but cowards can also be unpredictable. It''s a good thing you didn''t make it through though. Weakened or not, Shiftry would have killed you." My eye twitched, and I nced at Rnd''s corpse. "I don''t know about that. Will he get off lightly then?" "No. His time hase," Cynthia said, her face darkening. Rnd had beenpletely wrong. My hand trembled as terror enveloped me¡ª but only for a second. "Why don''t youe and see? Lucario will protect you. How bad are her wounds?" The steel type''s eyes shone bright blue, and he held out his hand toward me before turning back to Cynthia. "Good," she smiled. "So?" "Me? Isn''t this confidential?" "You''ve done a lot for us, Grace," Cynthia said. "And there will be some questioning, which you must be used to at this point. But that''s not the only reason. I have much to talk about with you and¡ª" "Cynthia, I found it!" Aaron yelled. He crouched and sunk his hand into the darkness with a strange, analytic stare. "It''s right here." "We will talkter," Cynthia said. She walked toward the wall of darkness, and I quickly followed her. It was hard to keep up with her huge strides, especially with how tired I was. I recalled Honey, Angel and Buddy, but I let Sunshine and Princess stay. He would at least get to watch this, and I didn''t feel safe without Togetic. "You do the honors, or me?" Aaron asked. The Champion nodded. "Lucario?" The fighting type inhaled sharply and its fist¡ª What¡ª What happened? The wall of darkness was already copsing? I hadn''t even seen itmove!Some variation of Extreme Speedbined with a fighting type move? Or was it something else? Cynthia, Aaron and the four remaining League trainers stepped into the room, and I followed. It was only the second time I was seeing Shiftry, but it was still as regal as ever. Beautifully carved wood, hair adorned with golden hairpins like a crown and tied into locks. And it was sitting in a fetal position, waiting for its death. It drew upon ragged breaths, tired from maintaining its domain for so long upon such arge area, but the darkness didn''t copse immediately as I thought it would. In fact, itstrengthened, and the abyss grew taller, going up to my knees. Shiftry, meanwhile, seemed to be able to float on it. "Good evening," Cynthia calmly said. "It is about time we speak, Shiftry." The grass type stood up and prepared to fight, but we all knew how it would go. Even Shiftry.
Chapter 164 – It Fades Chapter 164 ¨C It Fades CHAPTER 164 - It Fades Shiftry attacked immediately, cutting across the air and sending arcs of darkness toward Cynthia. I suddenly felt aweighton me. An immense amount of pressure that made it even more difficult to breathe. It made me hyper-aware of every process in my body. The beating of my heart, the need to forcefully expunge and inhale air, the need to blink, my tongue in my mouth. I felt goosebumps and continuous chills run through my spine and arms and found myself unable to focus, even in Shiftry''s domain. The attack swirled and was absorbed into Cynthia''s pocket. Then I heard the whispers. Quiet at first, then louder andlouder. A dozen voices. Then more. Thenmore. I couldn''t ce the exact number. It was impossible to guess in the jumbled mess of agonized screams. Ghastly voices that were raspy and disjointed, but imbued with a cold, spectral resonance. IT BURNS! WHY ME? SPARE MY FAMILY. WATER¡­ WATER¡­ IT HURTS. I CAN''T FEEL MY LEGS. NOT MY NAILS. NOT MY NAILS. I CAN''T SEE. WHY CAN''T I SEE? But eventually, they changed and started to yell and tell me todo things. HANG YOURSELF. SLIT YOUR OWN THROAT. BITE OFF YOUR TONGUE. KILL HER! HER CECILIA¡ª I covered my ears with my hands, but they didn''tstop, and the longer it went on, the morepersonalthey got. Calling me a fake, a murderer, talking about myfriends and familyand how they''d never love me again after what I''d done. Each word was uttered with chilling deliberation, and a dryugh echoed through my head. Cynthia snapped her fingers, then the voices instantly ceased, or at least they did for me. The Elder was still clearly rattled, its eyes twitching as it stared not at Cynthia, but at whateverid dormant in her pocket. What were they whispering at him, I wondered. Shiftry changed tactics, aiming to attack Cynthia from upclose. It winked forward, aided by its own domain and its two leaves shone with a bright green. Somehow, he was the only colored being in this entire faded world. As soon as it got a few feet away from the Champion, it got on its knees and couldn''t go on. Were the voices rendering him unable to fight? Shiftry was unable to even move. I hadn''t been the target of whatever this was, yet the voices had still affected me. They shook me to my core, and it would have been much worse without its domain. "I said that we should talk," Cynthia smiled. "And I meant it. I just want to understand what you gained from this. Weren''t you content to y around in your little sand castle, pretending to be king? Didn''t I tell you that I woulde for you if you breached our agreement again?" The dark type shivered, but it seemed like gravity itself was acting against it. Lucario stood by next to me, carefully observing its trainer at work with its arms crossed. I had expected at least a fight, but this wasn''t even close to that. Cynthia was talking down Shiftry like achildthat had messed up. Shiftry responded with a series of weak grunts, and Lucario''s eyes lit up. Cynthia hummed, and then nodded. "So you were informed then," Cynthia said. "Very well, I understand now. You were quite predictable after all, Shiftry, I was just missing thest piece." Shiftry trembled as it stood up. The sources of all our problems these past few days. What I had thought to be an insurmountable force had been reduced to begging for its life. Lucario''s eyes shone bright blue again, and it was only then that I understood that it was acting as a trantor. I hadn''t even known that they could speak. "Oh, you don''t need to worry about that. You didn''t think I hadn''t been raising your recement all these years in case you went rogue, did you? This is just a few years ahead of schedule, but we''ll manage. It''s a shame, really. All these years pretending to be more than you actually are, only to realize that you''re really just a child ying pretend. Lucario?" The fighting type stepped forward, slowly walking toward Shiftry, who looked on in disbelief. Tears streamed down its face and its teeth chattered, but Cynthia didn''t care. Lucario offered Shiftry one small bow, and then impaled it with a bright blue bone. Again, it moved faster than I could even see. Life slowly left Shiftry''s eyes, and it copsed into its own pool of darkness. The voices stopped, and the pressure pressing down on me disappeared. Just like that, its one-thousand-year dynasty had ended. Cynthia was a mountain. Just seeing this made me realize that even if I won at the Conference, there was simply no way I was ever beating her this year. None of us were. Sunshine looked on in awe at the pure humiliation that had just happened. Lucario was powerful, as were all of her Pokemon, but Garchomp was even more so. But what was in her pocket terrified me the most. It was easy enough to put together. It could only be Spiritomb¡ª a Pokemon capable of such damage both mentally and physically that Cynthia never used it in any of the rare battles she still fought in public these days. It hadn''t even beenactive. I knew from a blurry picture I''d seen of the ghost from a battle Cynthia fought long ago in her early twenties that it was supposed to be more than just a keystone that could fit in a pocket. It was a cold, purple, swirling mess with green blotches that looked like eyes and a mouth. And yet she hadn''t even felt the need to use it here. "Our job here is done," Cynthia smiled. "Aaron, Jim, go see to it that things in the city are still running smoothly. I wouldn''t trust Flint with running a daycare, let alone an operation of this scale. Call Lucian''s office and tell him that he can finally Teleport in. Alicia, you stay with me." "Yes ma''am!" The two League trainers said in unison. "Sure," Aaron answered. "What about you?" "Oh, I''ll be needed here," she replied as the darkness began to copse. She turned to me. "I''m sorry about the voices, but we have little time. Brace yourself." I inhaled sharply and forced my eyes shut. I began to breathe normally again. I felt the temperature rise by a few degrees as Turtonator''s warmth could finally reach me undisturbed. I felt my phone buzz with dozens of notifications and alerts. I slowly opened an eye and saw that color had returned to the world. The sun was setting, and an orange glow shone through the windows. Was that it? Would I be forced to stay this way forever? But then it all came flooding in. Slowly at first. My battle with Harry Rodriguez. Pelipper''s horrifying gurgles as it burned from the inside. Its head and body swelling to twice their size to amodate Turtonator''s Dragon Pulse. Its empty stare. Thesilenceafterward. Half of Princess'' throat ripped out. Her tiny, agonizing pleas for help. Crobat''s horrified scream at the death of itsrade. Its remains, only smoke and ash, but also Honey''s slight stare when I ordered him tokill. Sweetheart getting wed apart by Weavile until half of her scales had been ripped off. My dozens of close brushes with death. I stumbled backwards, but Cynthia grabbed me by the arm and kept me steady. Princess chirped worriedly, but I didn''t respond. I couldn''t. Torture. I had essentially tortured a man and feltgoodabout it while doing so. The thoughts of murder had crawled so easily into my mind, and yet I had felt no hesitation. I dry heaved and tears fell to the wooden floor. Instead of worrying about my friends, I had instead focused on nothing but killing. Killing.Killing. It came as a quivering, sound of disbelief at first. A small whimper escaped my throat, and I couldn''t even formte the words. I couldn''t even understand. To begin to describe the amount of guilt I felt. It was just to defend myself. It was¡ª But I could have done less. I could have stopped Honey when Crobat had been unconscious. I could havetriedto stop Sunshine from murdering Pelipper. It wasn''t so much as what I had done was terriblywrong, but it was the fact that I had feltnothing, or evensatisfactionwhile doing so. I hadn''t even tried to do the right thing. There was no scream. Just a defeated weep. "It hurts, does it not?" Cynthia sighed. "We came across Mr. Rodriguez''s defeated Pokemon on the way here. When I saw you with him, I knew what happened. The first time is always the hardest." Thefirst time?There would be no second time! I couldn''t even retort. I stared at my trembling hands and bit my lip. Turtonator didn''t seem to care about what he''d done. Whatwehad done. He let out a long sigh and shrugged. Princess tried to console me, saying that we''d just been defending ourselves. She was right. But the guilt didn''t stop. "You were under the influence of Shiftry''s domain¡­ and more," Cynthia said, ncing at Princess. "You weren''t in the right state of mind." "I¡ª" How could I look my dad in the eye after this? My friends? Cecilia? "We''ll stay here for a bit," Cynthia said. "But I have duties to attend to in Sceon, and we need to get you and your team to a Center. The International Police wille to question you while you''re there, but I''ll need to speak to youter tonight if possible." "My¡ªmy friends," I got out. "Your group? I''m sorry, but I don''t know much. We came here as fast as we could," she said. "However I''ve heard that Denzel Williams was back in the Pokemon Center. We have League Trainers flying around the property, so they''ll be found." After two minutes, Lucario silently spoke to Cynthia. I blinked rapidly to chase away the tears. "Always the dutiful one, aren''t you?" She said. "Alicia, take us back to Sceon. Teleport her to the Center. Recall your Pokemon, if you will?" I weakly recalled Sunshine and Princess, and the League Trainer released a Xatu. Before I could even blink, I was back outside of the Center. The ce was swarming with trainers, and there were signs of fighting all along the street. One of the sliding doors waspletely busted. Shiftry''s domain had affected us all. In a sh, Xatu disappeared with Cynthia, and then reappeared at its trainer''s side alone. She led me to one of the Nurse Joys, who werepletely swamped and referred me to one of the human doctors after taking in my Pokemon other than Jellicent. The wound on my waist was apparently fine, but they wanted to keep me at least for a day just in case. I didn''t exactly listen. Their words sounded faint. Distant. Even if.IfI could bring to convince myself that everything I had done had been justified, which would be hard in the first ce¡ª Maybe there was no way I would have been able to stop Sunshine, but that Crobat and the torture¡­ There was something wrong with me. Something at my core wasn''t wired properly, and I knew that I hadn''t always been like this. Had my journey changed me that much? It was certainly possible, but Cynthia had saidsomething elsewas affecting me. Something other than Shiftry. Text messages slowly filtered in our group chat, letting everyone know who was safe or not. No one had died, but some were more hurt than others. Louis, Maeve and Mira werepletely fine, but Denzel had a concussion and Cecilia hurt her leg really badly. I couldn''t help but feel worry, but I surprised myself when I realized that I didn''t want to see her. Not after what I had done. Pauline had been stabbed in the shoulder with an attack she hadn''t even seen the moment she was teleported, and Justin was¡­ it was difficult to exin. He''d gotten overexposed to dark type energy due to his Krokorok burying him underground to take refuge while his Pokemon fought off the two trainers that attacked him. While the world had returned to normal, he would still suffer the symptoms of Shiftry''s domain formonths. The doctors weren''t sure. Apparently, he couldn''t even taste anything. But apart from him, there was something hanging above all of our heads.The guilt. I could tell from the way we were all avoiding talking aboutwhat happenedand just skipped tothe aftermath. No one wanted to acknowledge what they''d done. I also sent messages to my father and mother, who had been worried sick about me. I didn''t really have the energy to go into detail, even the light ones. I tried to go to sleep, but I only heard Crobat''s screams. In a twisted fate of irony, the Zubat line would again keep me awake, but forpletely different reasons. I carried guilt now. I stayed there, staring out the window at the League slowly bringing Sceon back to normal until the first policeman showed up. I was surprised to see that it was Looker again, although his colleague wasn''t there this time. "Good evening Ms. Pastel. Forgive me for needing to question you in such difficult times, but I''ll need to get straight to the point," he said, sitting down next to my bed and grabbing a recorder. "Are you well enough to speak?" I nodded.Don''t look at me. "Let''s start at the beginning, then. It is our understanding that Shiftry targeted your group specifically due to the investigative work you did during the tournament. Can you recount your experience from there?" "I¡­ can I¡­" I didn''t want to talk about it. Not the battle with Harry. He''d look at me like I was a monster afterward, I was sure of it. Maybe I was. "Let''s just move on for now," Looker said after a pause. I exined everything to the best of my ability. My battle with Reggie and Lane, and the conversation with Rnd, which Looker took great interest in. They didn''t know much about Cyrus, and insight into how he thought would be of great help to the League and the International Police. "I''m sorry. If I managed to gag Rnd or something instead of talking, maybe he wouldn''t have¡­" "Don''t worry about it. You''ve done a lot more than could be asked of you. You did a great thing today, Ms. Pastel. Who knows how many people would have died if Shiftry''s influence was allowed to stick around for longer?" I nodded, but I knew it was just empty praise. He was judging me, wasn''t he? Everyone would. "I''m sorry." Looker frowned, but a knock on the door stopped him frommenting further. Cynthia entered the room with her usual confident stride. "I managed to get out early," she told Looker before turning to me. "How are you doing?" "I''m okay," I lied. The Champion hummed. "Looker, would you mind giving us a second?" "I actually got everything I wanted," he said. "I''ll be going to the other rooms." "Alright. Call me if anythinges up," Cynthia nodded. The investigator left the room, leaving only me in a hospital bed and the Champion. It was a mirror of the first time we met in Floaroma. Cynthia sat down in Looker''s chair and her body just¡­ loosened. Like she dropped every bit of tension she''d been holding for thest day and could finally allow herself to rx and be herself. "You feel guilty for killing for the first time," she dered. "And it''s eating you from the inside. I felt the same way." "How can I not?" "Oh, I''m not telling you not to," she continued. "I don''t know what exactly happened, but if I had to guess, you defended yourself. The Nurse Joys say that the wound on your Togetic''s neck was lethal and that only a Hyper Potion could have saved her. We''re willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on that one, and Mr. Rodriguez corroborated that story." "How is he?" I asked. He''d gotten manipted into being Team Gctic''s pawn. I didn''t feel bad for him, but I hoped that he was alive, at least. "Oh, he''s cooperating fully," Cynthia smiled. "I meant his leg." "Do you really want to know?" I flinched. Was it that bad? "No," I whimpered, turning away. I was too weak to even acknowledge what I had done. I needed to change the subject. Something.Anything. "What were those voices? Spiritomb?" "They haven''t fought anything in a while, so they''ve been a bit rowdytely. I was asking them to hold back due to us not being alone too," she sighed. "I''m sorry you had to hear that, but they''re my best means of defense. Don''t give any credence to what they said to you, they always try to get under people''s skin, and they''re especially great at it." Did that mean it had a way of reading minds? Or sensing what people were anguished about? What move had it even used? I recalled that it¡ª ortheyas she called the Pokemon¡ª had simply absorbed Shiftry''s move like it was nothing. "Are they in pain? They sounded that way." "They''re not alive, Grace. They''re echoes of their former selves, they don''t feel pain. Mostly rage. But enough about Spiritomb. I came here to speak to you about a few things, but we''ll start with your Togetic." "My Togetic?" I asked. The Champion nodded. "She''s leaking fairy type energy like a sieve, and she probably doesn''t even realize it. It''s affecting the way you think." "Excuse me?" "You''re starting to behave more and more like a fairy type. I don''t need to know much about you to know that for afact. See, when type specialists surround themselves with a single type, their exposure to that type starts to change their behavior. Take Aaron, for example. He always notices thetiniestthings, and he always goes from one passion to the next each month, but he''s also an excellent multitasker. Bug types don''t live that long, so it''s his way of wanting to experience everything he can. Candice stopped being able to feel cold, although it''s still bad for her to walk around in those shorts in the middle of winter. The more powerful a Pokemon is, the more they leak, which is why this only tends to happen to high-leveled trainers. It normally doesn''t happen to generalists like us, but Togetic is releasingtoo muchof it, and it''s changing you. Right now, you''re behaving like a fairy type specialist. Can you still lie?" "I¡ª yes," I shakily said. "Good, then it hasn''t progressed that far. We''ll need to speak again when she''s released from the Center. Togekiss will speak to her and show her how to stop. Try to release her from her Pokeball as little as you can until then." "Since¡ª since when has this been happening?" I asked. Even if it wasn''t on purpose, I was shaken. Was I evenmeanymore? "And does it affect my friends?!" "It affects everyone around her, but I assume that she spends a lot more time with you than anyone else. I don''t know since when, but possibly since she''s evolved. This issue isn''tmon with Togetic, but itcanhappen. You stopped using her to sleep, I hope?" "I did." The Champion smiled. "Good. They''re capable of exuding happiness by molding fairy type energy to their liking, but sometimes they don''t know how to stop itpletely. Mine wasn''t like that, and it''s a rare condition¡ª ah, don''t worry, you''ll still be fine when the leaking stops, although you won''t go back to how you were before." "So I''ve just been¡­ controlled this entire time?" "Controlled? No, of course not," The Champion dismissed. "You''re still capable of taking your own decision, and we managed to catch it early enough. It did nudge you in the current direction though, so it''s true that you would have been slightly different without it." My shoulders slumped. I didn''t me Princess¡­ it wasn''t her fault, but if it affected my friends too, I couldn''t stop myself from feeling guilt. I didn''t deserve them, did I? Had it affected the way Cecilia thought about me? Damn it, I wished there was a way tomeasure this. Cynthia stared, her dark grey eyes analyzing everything about me. "I can tell what you''re thinking. Odds are, it didn''t affect your friends that much, and Togekiss would be able to tell if you really need to be sure." "Thank you,"I exhaled. "But why do this for us?" "This is actually perfect and brings me to my next point," Cynthia said. "We investigated the incident that befell your Turtonator and his old trainer in Mount Cor by tracking down the two trainers traveling with him. It was indeed Team Gctic''s doing, along with one of their Commanders they call Saturn, and they''ve no doubt noticed the new member of your team. Mars is interested in you, and now you helped take down their breeder. You''re a person of interest for them, so the League wants to offer you protection." "What does that imply?" "In cities, mostly. You won''t even notice that they''re here," Cynthia said. "We appreciate your help in all of this, but you and your friends have made yourselves known. I feel the need to help you as much as I can." I clenched the bed sheets. It never stopped, did it? "What about Louis and his friends? You should talk to Mira Compton, she¡ª" "We know. They''ll get protection too, but we want something deeper with you, Cecilia and Mira. We''ll get into that at ater date, now let''s continue. What happened at the mansion and its outskirts will have to stay confidential. That means that no one will know about the¡­ incidents that took ce there. Of course people will know that you were involved due to us speaking to you, but the details can stay hidden. Don''t speak to the media or the Poketch Company. They will both pressure you, but do not give in." "Okay," I said. "Onest thing before I let you rest for the day. Did Rnd talk to you about anything east of here?" "I¡­ I told Looker about it. The Unown. Was I not supposed to?" "Keep that to yourself and take it to your grave," Cynthia said. I felt a chill run down my spine. "Have a good evening, Grace. I will see you within the next few days. Stick around Sceon until we give you the approval to leave. Looker wille back tomorrow." After giving her Weavile''s Pokeball, Cynthia gently closed the door and I hugged my knees. I might have said I had lost most of my respect for her, but I''d changed my mind now. She carried more burdens than I thought and she''d had a good reason to let Shiftry run around after all. What I was going through was nothingpared to what she probably dealt with every single day, and yet I still felt like I was suffocating. What I had done was self-defense. It was either my Pokemon or Harry''s, and unlike me, I was sure that he would have killed all of themandme if given the chance. But it still hurt all the same. It was like I had discovered a part of myself that Ihadn''t known existed, and it terrified me.Iterrified myself. And the worst of all was that I felt like I had mirrored some of Mars'' traits. I hadn''t been as expressive of the satisfaction I felt while making Harry pay, while she was extremely vocal about her enjoyment of torture, but even if I had had good intentions, it hadbeenthere. I didn''t sleep that night, but I did cry.
Chapter 165 Chapter 165 CHAPTER 165 Looker came again the next morning to get my full story. I had recovered enough to at least talk about it, although I did gloss over the details. They needed my side of what happened during the battle with Harry to be sure what he had said was right, and apparently he was telling them the truth. He was looking at decades in prison if he gave everything he knew about Team Gctic to the government and the International Police. I still didn''t want to know what happened to his leg. I procrastinated the entire morning, simply watching the hours go by until I finally braced myself enough to answer my texts from the Poketch Company. They had obviously heard of what happened, and I was again in the news now that people knew that the Champion was speaking to me and that I''d been involved in this entire situation. I didn''t even have the energy to look at the rumors going around. If people found out what I had done, I couldn''t even imagine what they''d say about me. Melody wanted a full rundown of what happened, but I told her I couldn''t tell her anything. She was smart, so she quickly put together that everything I had gone through and heard had basically been put under a gag order by the League and quickly stopped asking. She was a lot less persistent than I thought she would be, especially with how Cynthia had warned me about getting pressured, but maybe the media would be worse. I was so tired. In truth, I hadn''t been alone in a long while. I had always had at least my friends or my Pokemon with me, but it had been a long time since I''d been by myself. Memories from yesterday kept shing back every time I closed my eyes. Sceon wasn''t faring much better. Since I had stayed in a hospital room and avoided television, I didn''t know much, but people came changed from the entire event. Rnd Hunter had told me about how the dark had revealed our true selves for a few moments, and people no doubt learned about themselves, which depending on who they were could have been good or terrifying. There had been a few deaths too. Suicides and murders. I wondered how the authorities would handle that. People hadn''t been in the right state of mind, so there was no way they''d go to prison for it, but I imagined the perpetrators would still be shunned and shamed their entire lives. In a ce as small as Sceon, having killed someone wasn''t going to leave them unless they moved. I wondered how Cynthia could do it. To take a life so easily. I thought back to my first conversation with her in Floaroma, where she had pushed me to continue on my journey. She had told me that fear was never outgrown, but you learned to get used to it, and she had certainly been proven correct. "I guess killing is the same," I muttered before shuddering. I hoped¡ª sincerely hoped that I would never have to get used to that. Since it was alreadyter in the morning, I waited until one of the doctors brought me lunch and decided to spend the rest of the day locked up. I was too nervous to go outside. It was like if I did, then I would have to acknowledge that everything I had done was real because I''d need to speak about it to the others. Unfortunately, life had other ideas for me. I heard a knock and expected it to be Looker or Cynthia, but it was Louis, Maeve and Mira instead. They all looked as haggard as I was, although Mira seemed the least affected. I knew now that it was because she wore her mask extremely well. It was an unhealthy habit. "Hi Grace," she said. "How are you¡­ holding up?" I opened my mouth to answer, but I wondered if anything I''d say would make me slip. What would their reactions be if they figured out everything I had done? Maybe Mira wouldn''t say anything, but Maeve and Louis? "I am okay," I lied. The words came out stilted and shaky. I just wanted them to leave. "Have you visited the others?" "Yes. Since we came out of this unscathed, we felt like we had to," Louis grimaced. "We tried to get Justin toe, but he''s¡­ changed. He doesn''t really see the point in visiting everyone, or at least that''s what he said." "Is it that bad?" I asked. "He''s like apletely different person," Maeve sighed. "You''ll have to see for yourself, but it''s not pretty. The doctors want to keep him around for a bit longer to study him anyway. They say no one''s been exposed to as much dark type energy as he had in¡­ forever." "But he''ll go back to normal, right? I was told it''d take months?" I asked. It was easy to speak if I could focus on someone else. "They''re not so sure anymore, but we''re hoping," Louis said. He was taking this the hardest. Justin was probably his best friend. "I don''t know what he''ll do after this. He has this idea of traveling alone to grow stronger quicker." "Adversity breeds skill," Maeve mimicked in Justin''s voice. "I don''t think it''s a good idea, personally." I sighed and sat back down on the bed to look at the ceiling. The bright lights were hypnotizing after having spent so long in a faded world. "Do you want to go see Cecilia?" Louis asked. "She asked about you." "Erm. How is she?" "Her leg could be in better shape, but it was patched up by the doctors yesterday and she needs rest. Emotionally? She''s¡­ not great," he said. "Cynthia came to talk to her and Mira yesterday, and you too, I assume. She wanted to tell you what she went through herself. Are you well enough to walk?" "The doctors said I need to rest another day still," I lied. "I''ll go see her tomorrow." An uneasy silence settled in. We clearly all didn''t want to speak about what happened. It was easier that way. Louis and Maeve left after some small talk, but at thest minute, Mira turned back and stuck around, telling them to go on without her. Her cheerful smile became a face full of grief and sadness. "Grace. I had to tell the League everything." "What do you mean?" "Long story short, one of the Team Gctic Commanders is my uncle. His name is Ernest¡ª Ernie for short, but he calls himself Charon." I remembered him from Valley Windworks. His faded pink hair mixed with white, his distinct limp, and his Hypno. More importantly, he was the one that had stopped Mars from torturing me, at least for an instant. "I had this whole nid out. I was going to stick around in Veilstone, gather information and bust into their headquarters," she said in a defeated tone. "Then I''d convince him to go back home and we''d be a nice and happy family. That''s impossible now. They''re going after his head." "I''m sorry." "Cynthia wants to speak to you, me and Cecilia about something other than protection, right? She probably wants to use me as bait or something. I don''t see another reason." "I don''t know Mira," I exhaled. "That could be the case. She could use me for Mars, although it wouldn''t line up for Cecilia. Look, can we just¡­ talk about thister? I''m sorry, I just want to be alone." Mira bit her lip. "Okay. I''ll leave you to it. See youter." So here I was, alone again, and it felt good too. If they knew my true self, they wouldn''t want to be with me. I didn''t deserve them. I wanted my Pokemon with me. I stared at Buddy''s Pokeball and grabbed it. He was surely rested enough toe out now. I released the water type, who happily clicked at me. I had never thought about it, but his vocalizations had changed since evolving. Yet it had taken barely a few days to get used to. Maybe my easier time understanding Pokemon had to do with Princess too? I''d need to ask Cynthia about it. "Hi Bud," I weakly said. He solidified and brushed up close to me, tickling my cheek. I felt none of the pressure I had felt with my friends with him. He knew what I had done, and I was sure he still loved me either way. There would be no judging here. "I missed you." I hugged his huge face as best I could, and he closed his eyes. I sniffled and sunk against his soft skin. "I''m d everyone made it out okay. I''m sorry I was going to make you guys fight someone we couldn''t beat." If Shiftry hadn''t been so scared of fighting, I was sure now he could have ended me. I wasn''t sure how powerful he was, since it was hard to get a good grasp when he''d been fighting the Champion, but there was no way I would have evensted a minute with his mastery of the dark. Jellicent shook his head and let out an echoing vibration. He was worried. "You know, I''ve thought about it. What I''ve done. What you saw in there was how I really am, and I fear that it''s what I''ll be if I keep going like this. Cold and ruthless," I said. Buddy protested, but I stopped him. "It''s not so much about the killing, but what I felt during that moment. There was enjoyment. A sense of fulfillment." He confusedly tilted his head. "Right, it''s not like you''d understand," I sadly chuckled. He was a Pokemon and a ghost type at that. He didn''t see what I had felt as wrong¡ª I stared up into his eyes. They were quivering. I hurt him. "I''m sorry, it''s not¡ª I didn''t mean it like that." He rxed slightly, but I could tell that the words would stick with him for a long time. Fucking... fuck. I hated this. ¡ª It was nighttime now. A reporter had tried to break into my room, but they apparently had a League Trainer guarding my door, which was strange way to learn about it. The League ran the city now. They had cleaned house, and everyone in a position of authority had been fired and reced with loyalists. It was a power grab, but I knew what the public did not. I knew that they needed this to keep tabs on the Unown, whatever they were. Plus,ints were rather muted. There had never been an event of this scale in Sinnoh since Cynthia had be the Champion. This was so big that the news even made it to the other regions. They called it the ''darkest day''. It was cheesy, but it grabbed people''s attention. Apparently, the spire of void Shiftry had been shooting out of his mansion? It had been visible from Celestic, Hearthome and Veilstone. Even Craig Goodwill was in the city to check up on his sister. I didn''t know how she had reacted to the whole event, and I didn''t have the energy to find out. "Remember when I told you that I''d like if you found a hobby?" I asked. Buddy nodded. "I know it''s a strange thing to ask, especially now, but have you given it some thought?" I felt my phone vibrate and ignored it. He shook his head, but told me that he''d take it more seriously now. Apparently he''d just said that he would to get me off his back before, but it was different now. Even after my hup, I feltfortable with him. It was like I could let go of my worries and pretend nothing had happened. We watched stupid TV shows together, although I could tell that they bored him to no end. He kept asking me how I was doing, and I didn''t lie. Not to him. "I feel like the world is pressing on my shoulders. I feel like I can''t breathe properly. I feel like things will never go back to how they were, but other than that, I think I can manage." The water type chastised me for finishing off my sentence with a bit of humor. "You know, I''ve been thinking that I need a bit of time away from the others. Traveling to Veilstone alone sounds¡­ hard now, but I think it''d be for the best. I think I need to learn about myself, and I won''t be able to do it unless I''m on my own with you guys." Buddy''s eyes dimmed, but he said nothing. "It won''t be for long. Just a few days. I need to get my thoughts back in order and figure out what it is I''ve been doing. I mean, collecting the gym badges, bing the best in the world is a nice goal, but what am I doing?" He stared at me confusedly. "It''s¡­ hard to exin exactly. It''s like, I have a goal clearly lined out in front of me. A nice structure that the Circuit gives me along with every trainer participating, but either through my actions or through circumstances I can''t control, I keep getting pulled off the path. So I ask again, what am I doing? This isn''t the right way to go about this. I still want to do the Circuit stuff, but I need a way to get stronger faster. To protect myself and others I care about. I wish I could just ask Cynthia to train me, but it''s not like the Champion can afford to just go off and y favorites with me, especially in these troubled times. So I want to take some time for myself and figure out what the hell I''m doing." The ideas were odd and disjointed, but Buddy understood the gist of it. I wasn''t going to be like Chase. I was a people person at heart, and I didn''t think I''d be able to travel for months at a time without any close friends. But it would only take a week to reach Veilstone. I could handle a week. Of course, before I could even think about leaving, I had to wait until Cynthia gave me the okay, and I still had to talk to everyone, but for now, I''d just¡­ rest. The tournament had been supposed tost eighteen days, but we didn''t even make it through half of that before everything went wrong. We had time on our hands to figure things out. Plus, Cecilia, Denzel and Pauline had been hurt worse than I was, and they''d need time to be able to leave. I was being a terrible friend by not visiting, wasn''t I? As the night slowly progressed, I couldn''t help but fall asleep. I was too tired. The nightmares came back in full force. They weren''t scary experiences, but they just reyed Crobat''s screams over and over and over. I watched myself loom over it with a twisted smile. I woke up drenched in sweat and bumped against Buddy''s soft head. He''d been observing me from up close, probably deliberating over waking me up or letting me rest. The sun was just rising. I hadn''t gotten that many hours, but some were better than nothing. I stepped inside of the shower and changed my bandages. The doctors had been supposed to do it, but I would have rather done it myself. They had enough on their tes already. I had thought today would be another day of avoiding my responsibilities and sticking around in my room. The most I expected was a text conversation with Melody about the money they were going to transfer me, and maybe I''d get to pick up some of my Pokemon from the Pokemon Center, but unfortunately, I could only pretend I was the only person in the world for so long before people came to me instead. Denzel and Cecilia came to visit me. I tried to pretend I wasn''t there, but it didn''t work. "We just want to talk," Denzel said. "Did we do something wrong?" "Grace! I know you''re in there," Cece eximed. "Open the door, please." Could she walk already? I sunk deeper and deeper into my room, but Buddy stopped and pushed me ahead with a tentacle. Was there anything else I could do to dy this just a bit longer? I bit the inside of my mouth, sighed and held out a trembling hand over the door handle. The moment I opened it, they both pushed the League Trainer off and barged into the room. Cecilia walked on crutches and appeared to be barely able to put any weight on her left leg. Denzel appeared fine, but I knew concussions took at least a week to healpletely. I expected words, but they just hugged me tightly without any warning. We must have cried for at least two minutes, saying nothing to each other, but everything at the same time. It was strange, how something I had dreaded for so long had ended up relieving me and taking some of the weight off. Not all of it, of course. Not even close. But every bit helped, and I could breathe a little easier. "I was so worried when the others told me you weren''t leaving your room," Cecilia said, wiping a tear off. "I know you''re hurting, but¡­ confide in us, or in someone." "I talked to Buddy," I said. I wanted to ask what had bitten her leg, but I refrained from doing so. Right now, we could simply rx and be happy. "And I''m sorry I was so silent. I needed some time to myself to think." "It''s alright, we understand," Denzel nodded. "Just let us know if you need anything, and we''ll be there." "Come on, guys, you''re hurt a lot worse than I was," I said. "I should be saying that. Did you guys see everyone else? How''s Pauline?" "She''s kicking up a storm and already out and about. She can''t really move her arm that well yet though," he sighed. "I keep telling her to take it easy, but she''s been a lot more active than normal. It''s how she copes with things." "So she was discharged, at least," I rxed. "Louis and the others told me about Justin." They both winced. "He''s nning on leaving as soon as the League gives him the okay. They want to make sure that he''s mentally capable of integrating back into society first and stuff," Denzel said. "We talked for a bit. His goal is to spend as much time in the wild as he can to grow stronger." Cecilia let out a defeated exhale. "He''s¡­ changed. Do you know what he told me? That there was no way he''d make it past the eighth badge, so he''d rather spend the time remaining in this year''s Circuit training instead. He ns on battling Maylene and Volkner, then he''s going to go to Victory Road preparing for next year instead so that he can for sure reach the Conference and be freed from his father''s obligations." "Victory Road? He''ll die there!" Victory Road wasn''t frequented by anyone but the most experienced trainers. Back in the day, only people that made it through there could participate in the Conference, but now it was more of an abandoned tradition. People usually flew to the event, either on their Pokemon or by ne¡ª which strangely enough wasn''t frowned upon for this specific instance. That was how dangerous the mountain was. "Which is why Louis has been trying to convince him otherwise, but there hasn''t been any sess there yet," Cecilia said. "Do you think you could try to talk to himter?" "I''ll see¡­ I''m exhausted." They were too. They had deep bags under their eyes, but Cecilia even more so. She was struggling to keep herself together, I could tell. "Why don''t we just do nothing for now?" Denzel asked. "No reporters, no League, no International Police¡­ just us? I can go grab us some food from the cafeteria if you want. They''re serving pizza today to cheer people up." I nodded, and Cecilia agreed. It was a good idea. He quickly left, saying that he''d be back in around ten minutes. "Do you want my bed? Your leg¡­" "I''ll sit down," she smiled. I helped her sit and ced her crutches against the wall. "Cynthia wille to speak to us today. She told me earlier." "She spoke to you again?" I asked, sitting down next to her. "Grace, I''m not going to lie, it''s been difficult. Of course, it''s been hard on all of us, but I was aplete and utter mess for thest two days. I won''t tell you what I''ve done, but it wasn''t necessary, and it made me realize that I wasn''t who I thought I was. She helped me go through this by visiting me once per day and giving me some encouragement. I don''t really know if it helped, but at least I can speak now." "I''m sorry. I should have been there, I¡ª" "I would have liked that, or at least some texts," she angrily said. "At least a word after the initial chaos when Shiftry died other than ''I''m alive''. But I know you were going through the same thing I was. We probably all were, except Justin, so¡­ I''m angry, but I won''t hold it against you. I understand." "I''m sorry," I said again. "What did Cynthia tell you?" "A few stories about her childhood. How she met her Gible and the years she spent befriending her before her journey, mostly." "You should probably wait until Denzeles back to go into that," I said. "Any idea of what she''ll talk to us and Mira about?" "Something to do with Team Gctic, but you probably guessed that already. More interestingly, she''s been watching us." "Watching?" "Yeah. Paying attention to our gym battles¡­ I didn''t want to say it with Louis, Pauline, Maeve or Just¡ª nevermind, not Justin. I knew they''d get down, so I stayed quiet when talking to them. I know thesest few days have been horrible, but you can at least cheer up in the fact that we''ve caught the Champion''s attention." Just a week ago, I would have squealed at that, but right now I just didn''t have the energy to. I did feel a bit of pride, though. "I didn''t think she even cared about low leveled battles like ours. I wonder what it''s like to be so strong," I pondered. "I''d imagine that it feels great." "I think so too, but I also think that it''d be lonely." It was strange in a way, how my feelings contradicted my goal. Bing the best in the world would be an exhrating journey. The incremental feeling of progress, wing your way up to the top, but then what? Some people decided to use their strength to protect their regions, like the Champions, while some just became recluses like Red from Kanto. It would take many years for me to even get there, but it was important to think about. At least I knew to temper my expectations now. Seeing Cynthia stand down a thousand-year-old Pokemon like it was nothing made me realize that even Craig had no chance against her. As much as it hurt, I''d need to lower my goal for this year to just winning the Conference, if I could do even that. Even Craig was an indomitable mountain from my perspective, and Cynthia was one from his. Denzel came back into the room with lukewarm pizza slices, and we ate in rtive silence. I was surprised to see that even he didn''t want to watch the news or browse the forums. "Grace, if it''s not too much to ask, how did Cynthia take down Shiftry?" Cecilia asked out of the blue. She''d always idolized her, but she seemed to be even more fascinated by the Champion. I gulped. "It wasn''t even a fight. Spiritomb mentally crippled him and Lucario stabbed him with some kind of Aura Bone attack. If she hadn''t spoken to him, it wouldn''t even have taken a minute." "Spiritomb, hm?" Denzel mused. "I don''t know much about ''em, but I know that there are only a few in the world. They''re manmade apparently." "So they''re like Golett, then," my girlfriend said. "I wish I could ask more about it. I wonder how Cynthia found hers." "Why?" I asked. I wanted nothing to do with that thing, so to see her so interested in it bothered me. She hadn''t heard it like I had. "They''re disturbing." "Nevermind," she shook her head. "But still¡­ what do you think Cynthia was like at our age?" "A better trainer," I weakly said. "Capable of facing down whatever was in her way. What did she tell you about her childhood?" I looked to Denzel and expected an excited retort, but his mind was elsewhere. "Most of Sinnoh''s dragons live around Celestic, and her Garchomp was no different. She was apparently using her to battle wild Pokemon since she was six¡ª so years before she even caught it." "Is that how the story actually goes?" I asked. "I thought it was given to her by her grandma." "I thought that she hatched it from an egg¡­" Denzel said. There were a lot of rumors about how Cynthia got her start, and the mythos around her helped build up her image. It was a lot harder to track down everything a trainer did back then, and the mystery persisted to this day¡ª except for us, since Cece was revealing everything. "That''s probably how she destroyed all of the early gyms in her path," she continued. "If I had to guess Gible was already so strong by the time she started her journey that it just automatically won every battle. By the time gym leaders even realized it, she''d probably knocked out most of their team." "Getting an early start exins some of it, but she still brought the rest of her Pokemon to that level and became the Champion in a single year. Can you imagine the political upheaval at the time? I would have paid to see it," Denzel said. "Maybe I should ask my dad about it," I said before freezing. I couldn''t speak to him. I didn''t want to. "Or not. It''s probably a lot less exciting than we''d think." "Yeah¡­" he said, chewing on his pizza. "Still, it''s nice to learn about. I''d like to know how she learned how to cope with stuff. Other than speaking to Nurse Joys, I mean." We finished our lunch in silence after that, and they left shortly after. I felt slightly better now that we had spoken, and even though we''d still avoided talking about what happened in Shiftry''s domain, there was a semnce of normalcy to eating lunch with friends. Normalcy that was dearly needed these days. I didn''t have much to do, so I decided to take the plunge and visit Justin. Unfortunately, he wasn''t in his room, and I wasn''t about to go outside. Not when I''d get swarmed by dozens of people. The Center''s hallways were already suffocating, but being shadowed by a League Trainer and Buddy was enough to keep most people in line. I ended up going downstairs and asking the nurses if any of my Pokemon were ready to go, but only Angel was. Sunshine had been hurt a lot more than I thought, and Sweetheart was still unconscious, although recovering slowly. Princess and Honey would be ready in a few hours, although I was terrified of speaking to both. The former because she''d been influencing me without knowing and she would without a doubt be utterly crushed, and thetter because of that single nce my way before I made him kill¡ª Kill Crobat. I wasn''t ready. Not for either of them. I went back to my room. My safe haven and my only area of respite. Angel had made a full recovery, and all of his vines had grown back. He greeted me with touch, like usual, but it was more gentle than I''d expect. It was like he was handling me like a delicate flower. He did the same for Buddy, dragging him around like a balloon. It was nice to have him back. "Angel, that tickles! I missed you," I chuckled. He happily squinted. "Thank you for everything during the fight. You blocked Weavile''s Ice Shards with your body and only one made it through. Without you¡­ I''d be dead." The grass type nodded with its entire body and gestured with two vines. "I know," I smiled. "But I still feel guilty. You got so hurt because of me¡­ you''re not used to pain. Come here." I walked up to him and hugged his body as best I could. "Mommy''s very proud of you." I sighed. I needed to speak to a therapist, didn''t I? I still had Amanda''s number, although we hadn''t spoken in a long time thanks to her giving me the tools to ovee my issues by myself in the past. With this one? I wasn''t so sure. I wasn''t getting better, I was learning to function with a hole in my heart. ¡ª The League Trainer knocked on my door in the evening, and she Teleported me to some unknown location with that same Xatu she''d used before. It was a nondescript room that could have been in any home in Sceon, although it had been converted into an office with multiple desks. Mira and Cecilia were already there, and Cynthia sat at a desk with Aaron and Lucian doing the same. I felt my body tense. Few trainers could boast about having seen an Elite Four member in the flesh, let alone two. They were actually harder to see than the Champion due to them spending the vast majority of their time on the Lily of the Valley ind, while Cynthia traveled through the region a lot more than they did. The League Trainer quickly left, and Lucian stared at me, while Aaron stared through me. I shivered. It was as if hundreds of bugs crawled on my skin at the same time. However, that wasn''t it. A hulking Garchomp covered in battle scars loomed over the Champion. It was my first time properly seeing one that wasn''t moving all over the ce, and they were even worse than I expected. A mass of scales, muscles and teethrger than my hand. It was twice my size and looked at me like I would look at an ant. "Enough with the staring," Cynthia ordered as she stared at some papers. She surprisingly wore sses. Was she nearsighted? "Who wouldn''t be intrigued by some of the trainers who caught your eye?" Aaron smirked. "Want me to handle that for you while you speak?" "Yes, thank you," the Champion tiredly sighed. He pushed himself on the wheeled chair and snatched the paperwork out of Cynthia''s hand. "Lucian?" "Of course." The psychic type master did the slightest head nudge, and a one-eyed kazam teleported into the room. Lucian''s kazam was also the source of many rumors. No one knew how he lost his eye, and there were many stories about it. Its eye shone, its spoons bent and the room suddenly grew fuzzy. "Thank you." I stared around the room, trying to ce what had changed. "Instion," Lucian exined. "No one will be able to hear your conversation." "Abel did the same thing¡­" Cecilia muttered, her eyes still on Garchomp. "Let us speak then," Cynthia said, taking off her sses. "You three have onemon link¡­"
Chapter 166 Chapter 166 CHAPTER 166 "You three have onemon link, and that is your association to Team Gctic. Mira through Charon, Cecilia through Abel, and Grace through Mars." Unwilling to interrupt the Champion mid-sentence, Cecilia paused and waited to see if Cynthia was done. "Abel''s joined?" She asked. "All but in name. He''s begun routinely working with them in Veilstone, and his Pokemon team is built to avoid capture, so getting a hold of him is impossible. We assume that he''s getting paid a lot for his work, but that''s simply semantics." "I thought that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore? His reasoning made sense." I jumped in. Cynthia smirked and twirled her pencil. "Cecilia''s case is less straightforward than yours. People like Abel are tricky, Grace. You''ll learn about them and how they function, think that you can predict their actions, and even think that you could use that to your advantage to work with him," she shrugged. "But at the end of the day, he remains an evil criminal whose sense of honor exists only as a front and is second to his greed. The moment Team Gctic offers them money to hit any of you, he will ept without a second thought." She paused again, waiting to see if we had anything to add. No one did. "The League is sure that you three will be targeted at some point in the future, which is why we''re going to grant you protection along with your friends, but that isn''t it. In case¡ª and this isn''t guaranteed, but in case this protection fails, since we know that you will be specific targets, the government considers you to be high-priority individuals. That means that if anything ever happens to you, we will prioritize your safety above all else thanks to how useful you may be to us in the future¡ª if you''ll excuse the term. I like to be straightforward with people when I''m giving them bad news." "This is bad news?" Mira asked with a sigh. "Aren''t you telling us that we''re going to be treated like queens? No one''s going to be able to touch a hair on our heads." "It might look that way right now, but trust me, it is not," Cynthia said. "I''m a realist, but we''ll need to at least keep the rules in mind. People will cry foul if we prioritize you and no one else. That means that you''ll need to join the League Trainer Internship Program so we can justify this. People won''t bat an eye if we''re rescuing one of our own." "No choice in the matter, huh?" Mira sighed. "No. Let me exin to you what the program implies. There''s a rigorous application process, but we can just skip over all of that and say you''ve made it in. No one but the League has ess to the tests anyway, and I have a feeling you''d all manage to pass the knowledge section, although barely. The League knows that tying down young trainers is impossible, so the program''s a lot looser than what it sounds like. De facto, it''s a waiting list for an actual job at the League, but we don''t expect you to go that far. In fact, you won''t have to do much of anything. Normally, there would be a few opportunities to do some jobs to increase your chance of getting a position at the League, but that''s not what you''re after." I frowned. "So why is it bad if we don''t have to do anything?" "The increased publicity, the theories, the noise will probably be crushing for all of you, especially with how young you are. There will beints of preferential treatment¡ª you''d be the first time we put any first years in the program, let alone people with only four badges. People will talk down your achievements¡­ it''s a lot, especially for children your age." "Whatever, I don''t care," Mira shrugged. "Neither do I," Cecilia said. Cynthia stared at me and waited for my answer. It wasn''t like I was able to say no anyway, but was she testing me? My conviction? It was hard not to overthink my words when the Champion was looking right into my eyes. "Sure," I hesitantly said. "Wee to the League!" Aaron yelled, not even looking up from his papers. "Looking forward to working with you." Cynthia rolled her eyes¡ª which surprised me. I was a lot more used to her stoic, smiling self. She pulled out three pieces of paper from a drawer inside her desk and asked us to sign, which Mira did right away. Cecilia and I read it carefully though, but it was pretty straightforward and was exactly what Cynthia had told us. We were essentially a part of the League, but not really? It was weird. "You''ll get a few benefits, the biggest of which being you''ll get to go past the six Pokemon limit early. You''ll still have to go through an inspection and get your license for it, but I assume trainers of your caliber will pass without an issue. Grace, since you already have six, you might want to get yours at Veilstone just to get it over with." I nodded. I knew I wanted a psychic, but it was probably time to really try to figure out which one I wanted. I wasn''t going to rush for a seventh member right away. I didn''t even know if I''d have one by the time the Conference happened. I wanted something that could Teleport, but Abra, Natu, Ralts, Drowzee¡­ none of the usual candidates called to me. "You''ll get paid, although the sry is rather meager. It is an internship after all," she said. "Twenty-thousand per month. Nothingpared to what you two are used to," she finished, staring at me and Cecilia. "Champion Cynthia, if I may ask a question," Cecilia said. "About your Spiritomb¡ª" "You want one. I''m afraid that''s impossible, at least for the time being," Cynthia interrupted. "Talk to me again when your team is good enough to match Aaron here. You need an extremely high level of mental fortitude to be able to handle one." My eyes snapped to Cecilia and I restrained a sigh. She did want one after all, and Cynthia hadn''t even refused! Did that mean she knew of one''s location? Denzel said that there were only a limited number. "Are you calling me weak?" The bug type specialistughed. "You are the weakest of the Elite Four, and that is a fact." Lucian shrugged. "I can still give you a run for your money, you smug bastard." "Enough with the joking around, Aaron," Cynthia chided. "Now you''ll be able to contact me, but understand that this is only to be used in emergencies," Cynthia continued. "Keep your journey going. Grow and learn, but most importantly, speak to someone about your anguish. We''ll actually meet onest time in a day or two¡ª Grace, I''ll see youter today." "Wait. If we''re talking about Pokemon we might want and I''m a part of your fancy League, what can you do about a Porygon for me?" Mira asked. "Uncle Ernie used to be fascinated by them, and I''ve wanted one since I was a kid." "You''re not supposed to just be given Pokemon," Lucian frowned. "It would go against precedent. Cynthia?" She nodded. "You''re right. I won''t be able to help you with that, but I''ve heard they sell them at the game corner at Veilstone, if you really want to train one. Either way, I believe our job here is done?" Unfortunately, I didn''t have a question regarding a rare Pokemon, so we all nodded and Alicia''s Xatu brought us back to the Pokemon Center''s entrance. "Well, I have therapy after this, so I''ll see you girlster," Mira said. "Oh, you''re already speaking to someone?" I asked. "Maeve forced me to. It is what it is. It''s not the first time I''ve tried and I doubt it''ll change much," she shrugged. She left soon after that, leaving only me and Cecilia. I wanted to fight her on her interest with Spiritomb, but I really had no right to do so. I knew that she wasn''t the kind to simply change her mind or give up on a choice when she''d made it, and she seemed fascinated by the ghost. I used the opportunity to finally pick up Princess and Honey, although I wasn''t going to release Togetic until Cynthia gave me the okay. At least that was the excuse I was going with. The truth was, I was scared of telling her that she''d influenced me all these months, and using Cynthia''s warning as an excuse made me feel a lot better. I could only handle one disaster at a time. Honey would be next. Cecilia''s Pokemon hadn''t been hurt at all during her fight, so she didn''t have to pick up anyone. Still, she opted to go to her room and rest her leg. Standing for so long had hurt her a lot. I did the same and released Angel and Buddy. They helped me brace myself for Honey''s return. It would be the first time I saw him since the dark''s disappearance. Would he hate me? See me differently? Would things stay the same? I couldn''t dy any longer. I let him out of his Pokeball, and he stared into my eyes. He was looking for something. We stood still for what seemed like an eternity. Then he hugged me so tight I thought I''d suffocate. Angel excitedly joined in on the hug. He''d been seeing if I regretted my actions. I knew from one look into his eyes that he sure did, but the fault rested on me. I gave the final order. "You''re a good kid," I said. "I¡ªIt''s my fault for making you do it." The electric type sniffled and I felt hot tears on my neck. Instead of judging me like I thought he''d do, he judged himself most of all. Like he always did. "I''m sorry. I''m so sorry." ¡ª "Ms. Pastel, the Champion is ready to see you," Alicia said as I let her in. I nodded and Teleported again, this time on a field that I easily recognized as the Hunters''nd¡ª or the League''s now. Cynthia sat in the grass in a position a lot less elegant than I expected. Her legs were syed out and she supported herself with her hands. Garchomp was lying down at her side, more docile than I expected the huge dragon to be. It was almost like she was¡­ purring somehow, although the noises still shook me. Alicia saluted and Teleported away. That Xatu was working awfully hard these days. Powerful Pokemon or not, Teleporting such long distances and carrying people with them was exhausting for psychics. "What are they going to do with the Hunters and their business?" I asked right away. "Oh, the family members will slowly be rehabilitated, but it''ll be difficult. Their entire lives have been a lie, and it''ll take years for them to go back to normal," Cynthia said, the wind blowing her hair. Even though I considered myself good at reading people, I had no idea what she was thinking. "Believe it or not, we don''t have the expertise they do in regards to Pokemon breeding, and we can''t exactly hire them like we did like the Bianchi''s lower-leveled employees, so the business will probably copse. Sceon will have to start from zero." "All those Pokemon will lose their homes," I sighed. It was terribly sad, in a way. The Hunters had been evil, but I couldn''t deny that they gave all of their Pokemon good living environments. "Oh well." At least maybe Sceon might finally be able to expand in size now, but good luck finding anyone wanting to move here after what happened. "How are you holding up, Grace?" "I''m okay. Once we get past this type energy hurdle, I''ll feel twice as good," I said. "If you don''t mind me asking, how did you get over it? Your first¡­ murder." The Champion hesitated and began stroking Garchomp''s head. "I never really got over it. I just learned to deal with it. The situation was a lot less clearcut than yours, let me tell you." "I won''t ask for details," I said. "Is it time then? For Togekiss." Cynthia nodded and released the fairy type, who happily chirped at Garchomp. The ground type rolled to her side, shaking the floor, and Togekiss rubbed her belly with her fluffy wing. I was surprised to see that a fairy type and a dragon type got along so well, considering how Princess could barely tolerate Sunshine''s presence. Cynthia''s Togekiss was a majestic specimen, and just staring at it made me smile. I couldn''t possibly get angry at that cute face, and it was as if my level of anguish was lower somehow. "He was my fourth Pokemon," Cynthia said. "Lucario was my second." "Did you hatch him?" I asked. "If I may ask!" "I did. My grandmother gave me the egg when I left on my journey, and he hatched while I was on my way to Sunyshore." So that meant that he also saw Cynthia as his mother then. "Before you release your Togetic, I have to tell you something. She''s probably the most aggressive one I''ve ever seen, and that''s saying something." "Princess isn''t aggressive¡ª" "Oh, but she is," Cynthia interrupted. "Beyond what is normal. I believe that you were both¡­ influencing each other somewhat, pulling each other deeper and deeper toward the ways of the most aggressive fairies. It was like a feedback loop. Your Togetic would make you act more fairy-like, and then she''d mimic you and act more fairy-like, and so on and so forth." "But Princess is so sweet¡­ I don''t get it. Sure, she has her quirks and she''s overprotective, but¡­" "I know these things, Grace. Trust me." "I guess," I bit my lip. "But does that mean you''ve been watching me?" "A little in my free time, along with a few in your orbit. I''ve been looking at you, Lauren Goodwill, Mira, Denzel, Cecilia and Chase Karlson, really." So Chase too? I wondered how he was doing. In all of this, I hadpletely forgotten about his quest to find his grandparents. Hopefully he was fine, although he hadn''t sent a message yet. "There isn''t anything that unique about us," I shrugged. "You were better." "I was. But it''s not so much about skill, but also about your mindset and the way you react when things go wrong," Cynthia said. "Regardless, let''s get back on topic. Just like you, even when we stop Togetic from leaking fairy type energy, she''ll stay just as aggressive as she''s been, which could be seen as a good or a bad thing." "Prrrri!" Togekiss chimed in. I was surprised at his deeper voice¡ª although not by much. "Okay, we''ll start," Cynthia said. "Wait! I actually have another question before we do. My friends have often told me that I''m way too good at understanding my Pokemon. Could this type energy stuff have something to do with it?" "Describe ''way too good''." "I mean full-on conversations. Like I''m talking to a human." "At your age? No amount of type energy would have made you able to do that," the Champion said. "I can do it because I''ve been with my Pokemon for more than two decades, but I don''t have an answer for you, I''m afraid." "Okay," I grumbled as I grabbed Togetic''s Pokeball. If the Champion didn''t know about it, then chances were I''d never figure it out. I released Princess, who made a mad dash toward me and tackled me into a hug. Even after worrying so much, my worries couldn''t help but melt away at the sight of my daughter. I held her tightly and checked her neck. Aside from some slight faded marks that could only be seen if I squinted really hard, it was as good as new. Princess turned to Garchomp, and I felt her love evaporate. The dragon opened an amused eye toward her, but she was still rxed. It wasn''t like we were capable of hurting her in any way, shape or form. None of our attacks could prate her hard scales, and I assumed Dazzling Gleam would only tickle her. Togekiss worriedly chirped at Togetic, but she couldn''t stop staring. "Garchomp''s a friend," I said. "It''s okay." "The fact that your Togetic wants to fight my strongest proves my point," Cynthia smirked. "Fairy or not, that isn''t normal. I''ll let you exin the circumstances to her." The Champion stood and gave us some space. Togekiss happily flew in the air quicker than Cece''s Talonme, and I had a feeling that it was going at a leisurely pace. Garchomp stood tall next to Cynthia, and they spoke about something I couldn''t hear. "Listen, Princess¡­ I don''t know how to tell you this, but I have to. Cynthia says you''ve been releasing fairy type energy on ident, and it''s been changing me." The fairy type flinched as if she''d been struck. I knew immediately that Cynthia had been correct and that she had no idea what she''d been doing. "It''s not your fault. You couldn''t control it, and I changed you too. We''re both a little broken," I chuckled sadly. "And we won''t go back to how it was before." Princess began to sob and repeatedly apologize, putting herself down and taking all of the me for our changes. "You''re not the only one at fault. I could have caught it earlier," I shook my head. "It''s a part of who we are now, and that''s okay. I don''t hold it against you. Come here." I kissed her forehead, and we stood in silence for a while. I desperately tried not to cry, but I couldn''t hold it. I wanted to show her that I was strong and tell her with a smile on my face that everything would be alright, but it was too much. I heard Cynthia''s steps behind me. "My Togekiss will teach you how to hold it back, little one," she said. Before she was even done gesturing with her hand, Togekissnded next to us, but there was no sound when he hit the ground. The flying type led Princess away, leaving me, Cynthia and her Garchomp. "It should take from a few minutes to a few hours." "That short?" "I don''t know the specifics, but the answer should be extremely obvious when she figures it out. It could be anything, really." "Oh. Okay." "Thinking of evolving her soon?" The Champion asked. "As soon as I get the money," I shrugged. "Which¡­ should be in two months now that I got my bonus from the Poketch Company." "It''ll be interesting to see what she turns into. Even if they do get overprotective when their trainers are harmed, Togekiss are meant to be spreaders of happiness and to stop conflicts," Cynthia said before her lip twitched upward. "I haven''t seen one like yours yet." I stared at Princess, who had been reduced a stuttering mess in front of Cynthia''s Togekiss. It must have been strange to be in front of not only her future form, but the most powerful one in the world. Cynthia''s Togekiss was known to be her second fastest Pokemon, and he was able to hit opponents with such a variety of moves¡ª custom, known, and something. "And uh, while we''re here, could I have training advice?" The Championughed. "There it is. I was wondering when it''de up. Cecilia and Mira already asked me the same thing." "Well, you''re the best trainer in the region¡­ sorry if I wasn''t supposed to ask." "I''ll tell you what I told them. When I was your age, I punched up instead of down or sideways." "What do you mean?" "I mean that I battled trainers I had no hopes of winning against to learn," Cynthia said. "I''d go and find trainers with five badges when I had two, eight when I had six, you get the gist. Most of the time, I lost." "You lost? I thought that¡ª" "That I never lost in my career? Come on, I''m not perfect. I''ve lost plenty, although it has been more than two decades¡­" Was that bragging? I was too scared to offend her to ask. "Battling people you have no hopes of winning against will expose your weaknesses faster than you''d be able to find them," the Champion said. "I believe Lauren Goodwill has done it a few times." I nodded, absorbing each one of her words and taking it to heart. That was another thing added to the list when I got to Veilstone. The Poketch Company would probably hate it though. Maybe I could set up something private, although the possibility of ''exposing'' me would probably make that impossibly hard. "Can I battle you then?" I asked out of the blue. "No, you cannot. There''s punching up, and then there''s punching at me. You would learn nothing from it, and most of my team hates to handle opponents with kid gloves. Garchomp over here might hold back enough, but even so, there isn''t much point when it wouldn''t even be apetition." The dragon grunted, which sounded more like an aggressive snarl, but I couldn''t tell if she was disagreeing or agreeing with her. "You''re sweet even if you like pretending not to be," Cynthia gently told her. "It was a fun idea though. Try to go for people with a few more badges than you first. You have to at least have a chance to learn." "I will. Uh, thank you." "Plus, the optics of me helping a trainer ahead of the Conference would be terrible. I can''t look like I''m ying favorites." I nodded. That was probably going too far. We were already going to be used of favoritism due to being put in the League Trainer Internship Program, but having the Champion train me was an order of magnitude above that. They were meant to be impartial figures that didn''t get involved in the Circuit, so we were already treading new ground. Me being able to get seven Pokemon before my eight gym badge was already pushing it. Though I wasn''t even sure I''d end up doing that. I chuckled when Togetic''s wings beat so fast that she knocked herself off bnce and fell over. It''d be interesting to know what the exact problem was, but the concept was probably too abstract for me to grasp, and I couldn''t understand Cynthia''s Togekiss anyway. From the way they were behaving, it seemed to be going well at least. "Say, Shiftry had a¡­ job, right?" I asked, skirting around the Unown. "But it was only slightly older than a thousand years old. What came before him?" What had contained the Unown beforehand? "Oh, we don''t know. Shiftry never told us, probably because he knew that we wouldn''t stop him if we couldn''t rece him, and Sceon''s recorded history doesn''t know that far aside from the Lost Tower. Did you stop by on your way there?" "Yes," I nched. "Ah. You must have met Ruth and Mathilda then. They helped me deal with Spiritomb when I''d just caught them," Cynthia fondly recalled. "Although Ruth did try to kill me beforehand." "She tried that on us too¡­ Mathilda defended us." "She did? She changes quickly for a ghost," she said. "Either way, Shiftry made itself useful to the League for generations, but things changed when I came to power. He thought a young, inexperienced child like I was wouldn''t fight back, but I did. He had a mastery of dark type energy second to none, but he was weak. His fighting instincts were dull." "And you''re sure the recement will work¡­?" "Let us worry about that," she smiled. That was probably confidential then. "You surprise me, Grace." "In a good way?" I hopefully asked. "Rare are the people that''ll just ask me ssified information to my face." "I''m¡ªuh." Crap. "I find it amusing," she smiled. She opened her mouth, but her phone rang and she quickly answered. "Yes¡­ yes, I''m on my way." She hung up and stared at me. "Duty calls, I''m afraid. I''ll have to cut this short." "What about Princess?" "Togekiss can stay," Cynthia said. She climbed on Garchomp''s back and tightly grabbed onto the spikes on its forearms. "I will see you and your group onest time before you leave. Send Alicia a message when you''re done and she wille to pick you up." "Okay¡ª" Garchomp jumped and disappeared into the sky, sending me stumbling backwards into the grass. When I stood back up, she was already a dot in the horizon. How did she hold onto Garchomp without falling? Craig was right, she really was crazy. It was only now that I realized that I had just had a conversation with the Champion without falling on my face and making a fool of myself, except when I''d asked to battle her. Now that she''d left, I got the same feeling of adrenaline leaving my body after a fight, even though we''d only been talking. I hesitantly stepped toward Togekiss and Togetic, but Cynthia''s Pokemon waved a wing at me, telling me to stand back. She might have still been leaking, so I supposed he wanted to protect me. I really wanted to talk to him though. I knew Togekiss wererge enough to fly on, but seeing one really cemented howrge they were to me. Togekiss was taller than me while simply standing, and he was big enough to fit two of me. I was pretty sure he was bigger than usual though, so Princess would probably end up being slightly smaller when she evolved. After twenty more minutes, the flying type waved me over and allowed me to get closer. "Is it¡­ over?" Togekiss nodded and let out a cute chirp, while Princess embarrassingly stared to the side. I couldn''t tell if she had a crush or if she still felt too responsible to face me, but it might have been a bit of both. I dragged her into my arms and stroked her head. "Thank you for all the help," I nodded. "Tell Cynthia that I¡­ appreciate everything she''s done." Togekiss happily nodded, and I could have sworn I felt my worries disappear. For a moment, it was as if nothing had happened thest few days and everything was back to normal. It was bliss. And the feeling left as fast as it came. Togekiss took off, and unlike Garchomp, he waspletely silent and caused no disturbance. Before I realized it, I couldn''t see him with the naked eye. Garchomp could go faster still.
Chapter 167 Chapter 167 CHAPTER 167 Alicia brought me back to the Pokemon Center as soon as I messaged her, and her Xatu wasn¡¯t even showing a single sign of tiredness. They were known to be good at hiding emotion and being expressionless, but I was still incredibly impressed. It made me want to start looking up information about ydol or Beheeyem, but there were more pressing matters to attend to first. The group was going to have its first meeting to discuss future options tonight. I knew I had said that I¡¯d try to see Justin first, but he seemed to always be out these days doing who knows what, and it was impossible to just get him alone, especially due to the Pokemon Center being my safe haven away from reporters. I didn¡¯t particrly feel like traveling outside, especially when the discussion about me was growing instead of shrinking. I didn¡¯t know if it was leaked or shown to the public, but people knew I was in the League Trainer Internship Program now. I took refuge back in my room. Princess was back to sculpting small statues of herself with some mud she had brought from the outside. Buddy kept to her side, constantly asking if her neck felt better. Honey spoke to Angel as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, and even though he didn''t understand much of it, the grass type attentively listened to his tirade against a TV show ying that wasn¡¯t up to his standards. I felt¡­ better today. We were still missing Sweetheart and Sunshine, but they would probably be ready tomorrow, and then the family would finally be whole again. I was slightly anxious about getting Pupitar used to her new body, but most of all, I wondered what my status with Sunshine was. We had finished our deal, but if I had to guess, he would probably be slightly pissed at me for not letting him kill Harry Rodriguez. I knew from his reaction to the dark¡¯s copse that he didn¡¯t care whatsoever about his actions, and to be honest, I was fine with that. I respected him too much to go on a tirade about how revenge was wrong. I¡¯d done the same with Sweetheart, after all. I just hoped he wouldn¡¯t hold me to that standard. His pride had probably been bruised too, with how Cynthia had easily dealt with Shiftry, but that might have been good for him long-term. It was important for Turtonator to see that he wasn¡¯t anywhere close to his maximum potential, and even though I didn¡¯t expect him to immediately let me use him like any of my other Pokemon, I was sure training was at least on the table now. His battle with Weavile had shown his rust, and I didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d be willing to go for months without another battle. Cynthia had called Shiftry¡¯s fighting instincts dull. I was sure that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. As the hours passed, Honey forced me to contact Amanda and set up a meeting. He wasn¡¯t sure what therapy even did other than it was with the woman that had made me feel better in the past, so he wanted to force me to do it again. I felt a lot morefortable with her than anyone else, even if it had been a while. I couldn¡¯t imagine speaking to a stranger about this at this point, and the distance between us made it a lot easier to just dump all of my problems onto her. I knew none of the Nurse Joys would judge me for what I did, and it did get a fraction easier each day somehow, but talking to someone half a region away from me would be more manageable than doing it with someone right here. It felt too personal. Amanda was d to hear from me and set up a meeting tomorrow morning¡ª a lot sooner than I expected. Ugh. The meeting would take ce in Denzel¡¯s room, and I opted to be a little early. Maybe I¡¯d catch Pauline and be able to speak to her alone since I hadn¡¯t seen her in days. She¡¯d probably give me shit for it, but I deserved it at this point. Instead, I was surprised to see that a lot of people were already there. Only Justin, Cecilia, and Mira were missing. My eyes settled on Pauline, who red at me with her usual intensity. It had been a while since she looked at me like that. Since before we became friends, in fact. Before our trip through Eterna Forest, when we¡¯d both hated each other¡¯s guts, but we had learned to begrudgingly respect each other for not sumbing under pressure or danger. People offered their normal greetings, but she just stared. ¡°Look at that. Nice to finally see you,¡± Pauline said with obvious sarcasm. ¡°Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth,¡± I sighed. ¡°I had a lot on my mind. Still do.¡± ¡°Everyone did, and yet we still contacted each other,¡± she immediately replied. ¡°Emi¡¯s been asking about you, by the way. You should send her a message to tell her you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Arceus, it was weird to be like this again. It was like I was walking on eggshells around her, but I had to remember that she was just hurt, and when someone hurt Pauline, she hit back. I sat down in an extra chair that Denzel somehow brought to his room, and he quickly joined me. ¡°I know you have a lot on your mind, but congrattions on that League Internship thing,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll try to get Pauline to back off. We all have different ways of dealing with this shit, she¡¯s just hurt.¡± ¡°I know. You don¡¯t need to talk to her. I¡¯ll clear the air before we leave,¡± I said before starting to whisper. ¡°Cynthia¡¯s been looking at you too, by the way. The Internship thing has nothing to do with our skills as trainers.¡± He blushed, not expecting me to see through his disappointment. I couldn¡¯t go into detail as to why we¡¯d been chosen, but I didn¡¯t want him to feel down at the matter. Cecilia arrived a few minutester along with Slowking, still walking on those crutches, and Justin arrived at the exact time we agreed on the moment the clock hit five. He¡¯d always been pale, but he was as white as a sheet of paper, and there was no emotion behind his eyes at all. He didn¡¯t even look in my direction. His condition was even worse than I thought. ¡°Justin,¡± I tried. ¡°Ah. Grace, you¡¯re done ignoring the realities of the world,¡± he said. His tone reminded me of Rnd. ¡°It was smart of you to join us. I thought that you wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know this is important,¡± I said. ¡°How have you been holding up?¡± ¡°I am perfectly fine, and I finally have a nid out in front of me. My mind has never felt so clear.¡± ¡°If clear mind means killing yourself, then sure,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you I won¡¯t let you do that Victory Road shit.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be able to stop me. That would be breaking thew, and even if you are foolish, you wouldn¡¯t go that far¡ª¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Denzel snapped. ¡°If you¡¯re going to fight, don¡¯t do it here.¡± Mira ended up being ten minuteste, but she looked tired as hell. I didn¡¯t know if it was from staying upte or the situation, but it was probably both. She nonchntly apologized for her tardiness and sat next to Maeve. ¡°Maeve and Mira, you guys aren¡¯t used to this, but we do one of these every time we need to prepare to leave a city,¡± Denzel stood up. ¡°And this time is no different. We don¡¯t know when the League will give us the approval to leave, but they will sometime soon, and I know people have different ns.¡± The boy took a deep breath. ¡°So let¡¯s hear them out.¡± ¡°I will be journeying to Veilstone alone, but I¡¯ve already said that,¡± Justin immediately dered. ¡°Then onto Sunyshore, but that can wait. I will need to fill my roster as soon as I reach Veilstone.¡± Pauline clicked her tongue and started to anxiously tap her foot on the floor. ¡°Whatever, man.¡± Denzel looked to Louis, who gave him a discreet nod. ¡°Justin, traveling on your own to Veilstone and Sunyshore could be fine thanks to the route being kept rtively clear, but this Victory Road idea¡ª¡± ¡°Is the quickest way for me to improve. I have analyzed the risks, and they are outweighed by the rewards. Your concern is appreciated, Louis.¡± The blonde man sighed. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll just keep traveling with Maeve and Mira, if they¡¯re fine with it?¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± Maeve said. ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to let you get to Victory Road, I¡¯ve got a nice beach house in Oreburgh to sell you,¡± Pauline said. ¡°I¡¯ll stick with the main group¡­ for now.¡± My eyes widened slightly. A part of me had almost expected her to chase Justin and force him to travel with her, but maybe she was hoping to give him space. If he slowly grew back to normal within the next few months like the doctors hoped, then maybe the dark¡¯s influence will have lessened by the time he made it to Sunyshore and he¡¯d get a new perspective on things. The mountain would make those Rhydon we barely managed to take down at the edges of Mount Cor look like child¡¯s y. I was sure that many Pokemon like the Rhyperior that had killed Sweetheart¡¯s momy there, and they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill anyone in their path with how aggressive they were. I would agree with the wait-and-see approach for now. With some luck, he¡¯d be manageable in a month. Denzel breathed out a relieved sigh. ¡°Okay, so we¡¯re good then? Splitting into three groups?¡± My heart drummed against my chest, and I bit my tongue. It was now or never. ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t ask me,¡± I said. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I want to travel to Veilstone alone.¡± ¡°What?¡± Cecilia muttered. I could almost see her heart sink, and it instantly made me reconsider. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I feel like it¡¯ll be good for me to spend some time to myself. It¡¯s only seven days,¡± I reassured her. ¡°Then I¡¯ll join the group again.¡± ¡°What if you get attacked by Team Gctic?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t attack me in a route.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that! Didn¡¯t you hear what Cynthia¡ª¡± She cut herself off and rapidly blinked. ¡°Do you want me toe?¡± Denzel asked. ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± ¡°No. This is going to be my alone time. I need it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never done this before. Are you sure everything¡¯s okay?¡± He continued. ¡°Do you need to talk to someone? Are you feeling worse?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a week,¡± I reiterated a bit stronger. ¡°I can handle myself for a week. The sky isn¡¯t falling.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never traveled alone before,¡± Pauline said, her anger almost forgotten. ¡°I know. Listen, just trust me on this, okay? When we all get to Veilstone, I¡¯ll rejoin the group. I just need some time to focus on my Pokemon and myself.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Denzel said, letting out a trembling, defeated exhale. ¡°Grace¡­ can I pleasee?¡± Cecilia asked. She looked like her entire world was copsing. ¡°It¡¯ll be just us two. Shouldn¡¯t that be fine?¡± I almost broke at that moment. I almost said yes. ¡°I know it hurts,¡± I said. ¡°But we¡¯ll be okay.¡± It was at that moment that I realized that from her perspective, we¡¯d never been apart for more than a few days, and that was during that whole Mount Cor rescue mission. It was the same for Denzel, although he was taking it slightly better than she was. I was being selfish¡ª to both of them, but those seven days to myself? I needed them dearly. Amanda had told me long ago that I tended to focus on my friends¡¯ problems first and mine second. If I could just get a bit of time alone, I felt like I¡¯d be able to get back on my feet a lot quicker and figure out a lot more about myself. Of course, that meant that I was hurting the people I loved in the process. Everyone other than Justin looked somewhat defeated, although some were worse than others. Mira¡¯s expression had barely changed. Her thoughtsy elsewhere. ¡°Well I guess I should talk about route 210 and 215, then,¡± Denzel continued. ¡°The first half of 210 is safe as long as you stay out of the tall grass. It¡¯s¡­¡± He paused and scratched his forehead. His right fist clenched. ¡°A lot taller than you¡¯re used to. Taller than me, and it¡¯s easy to get lost in it or get jumped by a Pokemon, so stay out of it. You should probably stop by the Caf¨¦ Cabin before heading into route 215. They function like an inn too, so you could buy a room there if you need to rest. Making it through route 210 will probably only take two days.¡± ¡°How¡¯s route 215?¡± Maeve asked. ¡°Wet. It almost always rains there, so you¡¯ll need to stay dry, especially in the cold. The environment will be worse than the wild Pokemon, but as long as you stick to the route, you should be fine. You¡¯ll have to do some climbing too, but nothing too bad.¡± ¡°Climbing while it¡¯s raining,¡± Mira sighed. ¡°Great.¡± ¡°After four to six days there¡ª and it really depends on the weather¡ª you¡¯ll have made it to Veilstone. From there on out, the routes will be smooth sailing, assuming none of you want to go through 212 for whatever reason.¡± ¡°Thanks for the help,¡± I said. With the rain Denzel had warned us about, I¡¯d probably have to get a raincoat. It had actually rained so little since the start of our journey that it was somewhat surprising. Sinnoh wasn¡¯t exactly known for its humidity like Hoenn, but we weren¡¯t a dry region either, so we had gotten particrly lucky on that front. After Justin asked about a dozen questions about the route and the Pokemon found there, the meeting slowly dissolved. But things still didn¡¯t feel right. I needed to set things straight with Cecilia, or I felt like we wouldn¡¯t be able to leave on good terms. Things had already been somewhat frosty due to me ghosting her, and now I was practically breaking her heart by traveling alone. At first, I wanted to wait for her outside the door, but I ended up just standing awkwardly in front of her until she just left. Be strong, I told myself. I took a step forward, cing a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and turned toward me. ¡°Can we talk?¡± I asked. ¡°Anywhere¡¯s fine.¡± She sniffled. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯ll hurt more when you leave.¡± ¡°Please. We need to clear the air or¡­ or something. I¡¯ve been a terrible girlfriend thesest few days, and I¡¯m so¡ª¡± Noise from trainers walking through the halls interrupted me. We¡¯d caught their eye, and they were just staring and recording. I clicked my tongue and released Buddy out of his Pokeball. A single, hate-filled re was enough to scare them off. I didn¡¯t care about my reputation. Not when the girl I loved needed me. ¡°Let¡¯s just go to your room. Please.¡± Cecilia hesitantly nodded. I¡¯d done it. I¡¯d manage to recover from the brink. I felt like if she had said no just now, our rtionship would have been irreparably damaged. Either I would have felt forced to give up on traveling alone and been bitter about it, or I would have gone anyway without clearing the air. Both situations would have been disastrous. Cecilia struggled to grab her room key out of her pocket, so I did and opened her door for her, letting her in. Slowking could have done it, but it was almost like he wanted me to. She sat down and looked down at the floor. The evening sun shone on her dark skin and dark brown hair. My mouth suddenly felt very dry. ¡°Cece¡­¡± I choked. How did I want to start this? I didn¡¯t want to¡ª I couldn¡¯t fuck up. ¡°I did things that I¡¯m not proud of, and I thought that I was a monster for a good while. I thought that if I talked to you and you saw through me, then you wouldn¡¯t¡ª you wouldn¡¯t like me anymore.¡± She bit her lip. ¡°And I know now that you were also dealing with the same issue, and that didn¡¯t keep you from visiting or trying to contact me, but at the time, I thought that it was just me,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest with you¡­ I¡¯m going to air it all out.¡± I took a deep, trembling breath. ¡°I killed two Pokemon and tortured someone for information,¡± I said. ¡°I kept stepping on the wound on his leg, and I felt good while doing so. I''m not sure, but I think that... I think that he''ll never be able to walk properly again. That was why I was scared¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I screwed up, but I need some time to figure things out. My Pokemon are all fucked up too, and if I¡¯m not alone, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the time to focus on them and get them back on track.¡± ¡°I killed a man, Grace. I burned him to death.¡± I felt my stomach drop. That hade out of nowhere. ¡°Talonme¡¯s Heatwave burned him, and I just watched. One word from me, and he would have lived. He was a victim, Grace. A victim of Shiftry¡¯s brainwashing. And he was in no position to pose a threat to me. I killed him anyway and felt nothing. It was like I was taking out the trash.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± The positions were reversed now. She was the one expecting judgment from me. I looked to the depths of my heart and tried to find it within me to berate her, but knowing what Shiftry¡¯s darkness had done to me, I couldn¡¯t justify doing so. I understood that it was the same for both of us now. We both felt sorry for each other. ¡°We¡¯ve both done things we regret,¡± she muttered. ¡°But it feels like you¡¯re slowly slipping away from us. First it¡¯s one week, but what if it ends up being more, like Louis? He was supposed toe back and travel with us, but he¡¯s splitting from the group again. What if you end up doing the same? What if you find a new group¡­ and then just leave us. Then we¡¯d have to do the long-distance thing like Pauline and Emi, and I know¡ª I know that I would never be able to do that.¡± Ah. I understoodpletely now. Her reaction made so much more sense to me now that I knew that she was using Louis¡¯ case as a baseline. She was still bitter about it, even though she hid it well. Louis was probably a lot morefortable with Mira and Maeve than he was with us on the road, even if we had all made up while investigating Harry Rodriguez. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to convince you that I won¡¯t, but I promise you that I¡¯lle back,¡± I said. I leaned next to her knees and firmly grabbed her hand. ¡°You mean so much to me, Cece. I can¡¯t imagine living¡ª let alone traveling for a long period of time without you. This changes nothing between us.¡± ¡°If you break your promise, I won¡¯t forgive you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll stay safe? That you won¡¯t do something crazy like go off-route to train or to try to scout out locations for your seventh team member?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get to Veilstone before we do, so promise me that you won¡¯t look for Team Gctic¡¯s base like Mira was nning on doing because you feel responsible or you want to be a hero.¡± ¡°I promise you.¡± ¡°And spend as much time with me before you leave? I¡¯ll have to stay back longer because of my leg, so our time apart will end up being longer than seven days.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± I stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. I felt a few tears stream down my cheeks. I honestly thought that she might break up with me if I screwed this up, and I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to handle that on top of everything else. I wrapped her into a tight hug and squeezed. ¡°Thank you for giving me a chance,¡± I said. ¡°Are you kidding me? I thought you wanted to get away from me,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Can you¡­¡± She traced a finger over my hand and then grabbed it. She gently pulled me in, leading me toward her lips. They were salty. Cecilia wrapped her arms around my neck, her crutches fell on the ground, and before I knew it, I was on top of her on her bed. ¡°Cece¡ª mhm¡ª your leg¡ª¡± ¡°Shh.¡±
Chapter 168 Chapter 168 CHAPTER 168 I ended up spending the rest of the evening with Cecilia, which consisted of taking care of her a bunch. I didn''t mind, of course. Helping her to walk to open the door to the bathroom, bringing her dinner, hair drying and brushing her hair, justbeingtogether were things that made us feel a hundred times better than before. I had even told her about Togetic changing me since she evolved, but aside from the initial surprise, she only cared because I did. She''d fallen in love with that version of me, and it was who I was now. She was so understanding with me. I did ask her to keep it from the others. I wasn''tfortable with telling them yet. "And you''ve got to talk to someone, okay? Even when I''m gone. You''ve never spoken to a therapist before. You could even go into stuff with rence if you want," I said, gently stroking her soft hair as wey in bed. I basked in thefort of her warm skin. "I will¡­ try." "Not try. Youwill," I insisted. "Okay, I will. I''ll book an appointment tomorrow morning while you''re doing yours." "Great! What do you want to do tomorrow?" I asked. "I''d like to swing by and see what happened to that old couple," Cecilia said. "Daniel and Marge? I want to see if they made it through thedarkest dayokay." "You''re using the term?" I asked. "And it''s pretty far with your leg. Didn''t the doctors say that you needed to let it rest?" "Nothing I can''t handle, love." "I''ll keep you confined to this bed if it''s thest thing I do." Sheughed, which was music to my ears. Hearing her do so after so long filled me with untold amounts of joy. "Oh, I wouldn''t mind," she yfully said. I felt my cheeks heat up. "We can just stay inside until you pick up the rest of your team then. I wish I could fly on Talonme, but she''s too small to fit me." "You don''t even have a license." "That was more of a general thought, sorry," she said. "I''ve done some more research into Golett, you know? Did you know that they could fly when they evolve into Golurk?" I scoffed. "You''re fucking with me." "No, I''m not! They can retract their legs and hands to fly like one of those rocket ships in Hoenn. It turns out I do have a flier after all¡­ I was worried I''d have to buy and teach Slowking Teleport quicker than he could handle. I could have asked Mira''s Kadabra for help, but they tend to hog their knowledge instead of sharing." "Kirlia can help too. Won''t Hydreigon be able to fly you though? "It took my brother months for his Hydreigon to even let himtouchhim, so I wouldn''t rely on that." "That''s fair. I still don''t believe you, by the way." Cecilia grabbed her phone, snuggled up closer to me and yed a video of a Golurk slowly taking off from the ground and then breaking the sound barrier as soon as it was far enough. Somehow, it could retract its hands and legs into its body just like she had said. The process just looked so unnatural¡­ what fuel did they even run on?! "Holy crap," I choked. "Can they do that in battle?" "I mean, he could, but the retracting process actually takes a decent while, and so does the initial take-off, as you saw. It wouldn''t really work in practice. There are also a bunch of rules for it too. Golurk generate too much noise to fly in cities, and it can''t even do so alone because breaking the sound barrier can cause property damage and bother people, so it looks like I''ll have to rely on Slowking within cities. I''ll still wait a while to get the TM, though. I''d like to focus on mind-shielding while in Veilstone." The psychic type nodded in his usual corner. For some reason, since every Pokemon Center room was built the same, he had a specific corner he liked to stay in. It was the one below the television, where he liked to listen, but not towatch. Nothing was ying right now, though. He was quirky like that. "Say, you never told me the sixth Pokemon you wanted. Obviously you want a Spiritomb, which I won''tment on¡ª" "You saying that might as well bementing," she smirked. "¡ªbut since Cynthia told you to wait, who are you gunning for right now?" "I don''t know." "What?! I thought you had the entire thing nned out!" "Well, I just know I want it to be a fighting type, but I don''t know which one I want. It''ll probably be the first one I end up encountering. Other than Mankey, because then Pauline would cry foul. You still have to make up with her, by the way." "Right. I will before I leave. She was staring daggers at me." "Yeah. She''lle around easily though. She''s been hurting from the grouping apart too, especially with Justin, even though she hides it well." "Take care of them for me. Denzel too." "I will." ¡ª I woke up due to nightmares. Unlike my previous ones, I did not wake up screaming. I woke up with a sense of dread overtaking my entire body. My hands and lips quivering like leaves as Crobat''s final screams faded away during my return to consciousness. At least that''d help during travels. I wouldn''t alert the wildlife this time. Unfortunately for Cece, she''d been clinging to me like a baby Kom to its mother, so I ended up waking her up too. She didn''t mind, though. She said that it would allow us to spend more time together before I left. She didn''t even say anything about having to change the sheets¡ª which would probably have to happen every single day. My first session with Amanda hadn''t done much to heal, but it felt nice to talk to her after so long. She was nowhere near as busy with trainers as she was earlier in the year, so we''d be able to have one of these at least once per day until I left. We ended up talking about my journey instead of what happened the entire time¡­ it was just me dictating everything like I''d done with Sunshine and he had thoroughly hated it. One of Amanda''s jobs, however, was tolisten, and it felt really good to have someone to talk to about this stuff. I could tell her things I''d never be able to tell my friends, likeining about them. Pauline for example. She was one of my closest friends, but she did have her ws. It wasexpectedof her to get mad and throw a fit, whereas if I did the same to her, I knew she wouldn''t forgive me anywhere as easily as I did with her. Of course, I didn''t just focus on her. We were all wed human beings, deep down, but being able toy it all out was good for me. And it could all be done through the confines of my room too. I wished I could just fly her out wherever I needed her though. "Good morning. I''m here for a Pupitar and Turtonator?" I told one of the Nurse Joys. "Just a second," she said before walking through the backdoor. I would have liked to go back there someday and see what went on inside, but the technology was well-hidden. She came back around two minutester with two Pokeballs. "Take it easy with them for at least three days. No harsh training or battling." "I will." Now, it was time to do something unprecedented. I stepped outside of the Pokemon Center for the first time in days. My refuge away from the noise, the reporters and most of all, theattention. I released Jellicent and began to walk. People took notice right away. Some of them braved Buddy and tried to ask me questions.What happened at the Hunters'' mansion? What''s your link with Cynthia and why did the League ept you into their Internship Program? Why is the Champion routinely visiting you and your friends?Autographs, pictures, selfies,annoying demands. Never did they ask how I was. I simply denied them and continued on my way. Most of them cowered under Buddy''s re. Right now, I didn''t care about my image. I made my way to the same forested area I had trained multiple times in for the tournament. It was funny to look back on it like it had been years ago when it had only been slightly more than a week. I released the entire team, but kept Sunshine and Sweetheart forst. I heard a cameraclickand noticed a sh in the distance. Everyone lined up in front of me and patiently waited for me to start. "Sweetheart and Sunshine are healed," I announced with a smile. "Everyone is back." Celebrations rang out through all four¡ª even for Sunshine. Him saving our hides had given them a lot more appreciation for him than before, and even Princess seemed to be happy enough for him to be back. They''d cooperated closely during the battle with Harry. I released Pupitar first, who immediately slumped over and swayed around like a seesaw. I had seen her up close before, but it had been under the shroud of Shiftry''s darkness and a muted feeling of panic while I applied potions to her hard exterior. She wasbig. At least 4''6'' if I estimated correctly, and from the small indentation she caused to the dirt floor, she was a lot heavier than before too. Honey almost squealed when he saw her. Princess chirped, pping her hands while Angel touched her all over with his vines. Buddy watched, but his eyes softened at the sight of her. Sweetheart yelled¡ª which was an odd sound. It was a lot deeper than her old voice had been, but the voice came frominsideof the cocoon, not from the structure itself, which meant it had this odd vibration to it. This was just armor to let her true body grow within, although it was no doubt connected to the main body. I''d try to study her more when she got used to her new state. "Angel, can you help her up?" I asked. The grass typebored to put her upright. He wouldn''t be able to lift her like he used to. Going from a bipedal Pokemon to being confined in a cocoon would take alongadjustment period. Longer than Princess had taken to learn how to fly properly all those months ago after she evolved. Sweetheart struggled to bnce herself for five seconds, and then she crashed on the floor again. "Tar!" She yelled out in frustration. I walked up to her and leaned close so that her red eyes could see me from up close. This adjustment period would be hard on her. Angel kept multiple vines wrapped around her for now, and she was finally able to ''stand'' up. With how big and heavy she was, any hope of swimming without controlling her gas vents first was off the table. "Hi Sweetheart," I smiled. The bright eyes behind the cocoon mellowed out. It wasn''t made of individual scales like her true body was. Instead, it was a rough, but continuous grey surface that reminded me of rock, buttoughersomehow. I heard something rub against the cocoon, and her body rattled. "I know it''s strange. You''ll have to be like this for a few months until you can grow into your final form. It might seem debilitating now, but you''ll get used to it. You canfly, remember?" She yelled again, and I could easily imagine her excited smile. The cocoon did have a mouth, although it couldn''t smile¡ª just open and close to let food in. Princess molded a small pit that she could fit in so that Angel wouldn''t have to tire himself out bncing her, and sherolledinto it and managed to adjust herself against one of the slopes until she was upright. Honey had tried to help her, but she brushed him off. She wanted to learn by herself. "Good, you''re getting better at it already!" I praised. "Don''t try to do any flying right now though. We''ll wait until you get the hang of moving around for that." The rock type let out a defeated groan. I scanned her with my Pokedex to see if she had any new moves, and I was surprised to see that Guts had been reced by Shed Skin. Shewassupposed to molt at different intervals, and it mostly depended on how much food she ate. Every time she did so, she would grow again and again until she was almost at her final size, although her final evolution would give her another push of growth of one to two feet. Imagining a six-foot-tall Pupitar was difficult, but she''d be one eventually. "Arceus¡­" I said. "You''ll be a menace in my room." Her eyes narrowed confusedly. "You''ll be huge," I specified. "I hope you''ll behave." Shed Skin was apparently a less intense and quicker process of molting which would allow her to cure herself from any status condition in battle. I was sad that we never got to utilize Guts, but unlike Chase, I didn''t really feelfortable poisoning my Pokemon before a battle. Shed Skin would probably see more use, and it would allow me to have something that counters status moves. She had also learned the move Iron Defense, which allowed Pupitar to survive most attacks in the wild. In battle? I was already thinking of ways tobine her pressured flight capabilities with the move to utterly destroy her opponents. Right now, she''d be pretty useless in battle though. She had to learn to move around first. Electabuzz didn''t even tease her about it like I had expected. He understood that she''d be frustrated about herck of movement. Anyone would be afterpletely switching body ns on a whim. It made me feel bad for the few Pupitar that lived in the wild. Unlike Sweetheart, they''d have to adapt extremely quickly or die. Imagining her still alone in Mount Cor hurt. Thank the Legendaries she''de with me. I released Sunshine next. Just like Pupitar, he looked as good as new, but I knew that he was weaker than he appeared thanks to Nurse Joy. Something in his eyes had changed. There was still confidence and pride in his expression, but less now that he''d been humbled by Cynthia. It was as if he thought himself to be the strongest until he saw that he was nowhere close to that level, and it was like he got the rug pulled from under him. "Hey, big guy. I missed you." The fire type red up slightly, but I didn''t flinch. I''d gotten used to his little aggressive ticks now, and I just appreciated the extra warmth instead. I took off my coat and continued. "You saved us, Sunshine. I won''t mince my words, we would have been dead without you. We might¡ªmighthave won against Harry Rodriguez''s full team, but that Crawdaunt and Weavile would have ended us. Thank you." I ced a hand on his scaly arm and left it there. He turned toward the rest of the group, and Honey and Angel happily waved at him, while Sweetheart just screamed. Buddy offered him a nod. Princess greeted him too, although less enthusiastically. "But before you go, I''ve got to talk to you about grown-up stuff. Buddy, youe here too!" The water type slid toward me. "I''d appreciate it if you both looked as scary as possible for this. You probably noticed, but we''ve got visitors," I said before whispering. "I''ll tell the kidster since I don''t want to sour their moods, but Team Gctic is going toe after us. It might happen in Veilstone, which is the next city over, or it may not, but we''ve got to get ready for it. Sunshine, right now, you''ve got to rest for a few days¡ª" The dragon angrily protested, and I saw a girl in the distance stumble backward and run away. "No protesting. Nurse Joy''s orders. If you don''t I''ll keep you in the ball," I said. "I know you want to get back into shape, but you can wait a few days. Anyway, I assume that our deal has been fulfilled?" I asked him. Turtonator nodded. "I want a new deal with you then. When this Team Gctic thing goes down again, I want you to help, but I also need to ask a favor. I need you to help train my team. We do these mock battles sometimes, and I think I can cook up something that''ll work for you. If I send all of them after you at once, then you''ll have a decent fight. Obviously you''ll still have to hold back, and using your heat is out of the question, but¡ª stop being so damn grouchy and let me finish, Arceus! But you''ll need to learn how to fight without your heat anyway. If I''m close to you, you''ll never be able to let loose." Sunshine reluctantly nodded. It wasn''t like I was being unreasonable here. I wasn''t asking him to fight in the gyms, and I was making up for not letting him kill Harry Rodriguez. Plus, it would coincide with the''punching up''advice Cynthia had given me, although it would always be better to do it with a trainer instead. Not that many options on the road, though. The further east we went, the least experienced trainers we''de across outside of the cities. I took a deep breath and continued. "Buddy, you didincredibleprogress with your Night Shades during the battle. I don''t know if it was because of the heat of the moment or not, but you can make them attack now. For the foreseeable future, I want you to work on your¡­ghostliness, like Mathilda told us back in the ghost tower. I¡ª" I choked. "¡ªdon''t want to resort to this again, but if pushes to shove¡­ you''re going to be my most lethal Pokemon after Sunshine over here. You''ll leave a clone with us, slip away and target the trainers. If possible, don''t kill them. Knock them out somehow, I don''t know. A low-powered jet of water, maybe? Without a trainer tomand them, most teams will fall apart and it''ll allow us to get the upper hand." That was the n. Sunshine already had a plethora of moves he had to get familiar with again, and Buddy needed to work on his Night Shades. First, he''d need to make them notexplodeon contact with everything, then strengthen the moves they could use, andfinally, he''d be able to work on making more than one. When I first started training him, I had no idea the move would be able to go that far. Fantina''s Frillish had been able to summon multiple too. Though if push came to shove and I was targeted by too many at the same time¡­ "Now let''s go and enjoy ourselves. Sweetheart''s been dying to see you," I smiled at Turtonator. He swaggered up in the middle of the team and Togetic groaned. But she didn''t re. ¡ª The next day, Cynthia was supposed to meet us all, including people not in the Internship Program. Thankfully, she didn''t do it in the Pokemon Center like before, because I knew that would have excited the trainers around here way too much. Our Center was the most packed in the city because people wanted to catch a glimpse of the Champion, but the rest were rtively empty now. Most trainers had left as soon as they could, and something told me they''d wait a long while to ever go to Sceon again. It wasn''t like peoplehadto go through here to get to Hearthome. Route 212 was a thing, although it was extremely long, tedious and dangerous because of the massive swamp next to Pastoria. Alicia''s Xatu Teleported me back in the same office where we''d joined the League, and my friends came soon enough. Only Cynthia was here today, so we wouldn''t be seeing any Elite Four members. Maeve was a nervous mess, barely able toprehend that she was meeting Sinnoh''s Champion, but other than that, reactions were pretty muted. We had all seen her at least once before. Then there was Justin, who obviously didn''t care whatsoever. Togekiss stood by her side, and his wings were behind his back like a schr. "Wee. This is thest meeting we''ll have. When we''re done here, you''ll be free to leave Sceon whenever you please," Cynthia immediately started. She seemed busy. "A veteran League Trainer will be assigned to each of you in every city, and you probably will never see or hear them. There won''t be a need for you to speak. If you need to talk to the League talk to me. Lucian will sort through the message and see if it''s important enough or not." She paused to see if we understood, and we all let out small affirmative grunts. "I will reiterate that everything we''ve spoken about thesest few days is confidential. Don''t let the media get a rise out of you or bait you into giving answers¡­" She ended up giving us a ten-minute spiel on ways to keep safe, but we had some of her tips covered, like keeping a Pokemon out as much as we could, or training our psychics to get better at tracking people to see if anyone was following us¡ª sort of like Slowking had done at the start of the tournament. An interesting one I hadn''t known about was that was more specific to me was that I could train Togetic to sense malicious intent from people. It wouldn''t go as far as mind reading, but it''d be useful to know if someone wanted to hurt us or not. Of course, it wasn''t infallible. Some people were good enough to mask their intent, but most were not. It was more of a long-term project for us though, because it took her Togekiss a long time to learn. The best way to start was to have Princess try to feel others'' emotions but she''d only be able to do so withstrongones, and only faintly at the start. It would take months for it to even be reliable. "Congrattions. You''re now free to go out into the world," Cynthia smiled. "You may leave. A few Teleporters are waiting for you in the hallway. Justin, stay back for a few minutes please." The pale boy shrugged. I wondered what she wanted to talk to him about. Something to do with his condition? "Grace. Can Ie with you for a sec?" Pauline asked. "I mean Teleport with you. You''re not going back to the Center, right?" "Yeah?" I frowned. We weren''t ced exactly where I wanted, but Xatu had probably never been to the forested area I liked. They did put us as close as they could though, so I appreciated that. It would take around fifteen minutes to get there. "Can we start over?" Pauline said out of the blue. "What?" "We''re fighting and I hate it. I don''t want us to be fighting before we separate, because then it''ll make things even worse for when we meet again." "Oh.Oh." I never thought that she''d be the one to apologize first. I thought I''d have to ask her to forgive me for dropping off the face of the earth. "Oh? Is that bad or is that good?" "I mean, yes!" I yelled. "I just wasn''t expecting that. I mean, I still want to apologize for not telling you anything, it wasn''t cool of me. I sent a message to Emi too." "She told me," Pauline smiled. "Just remember that you''ve got us. Carrying all that shit on your shoulders gets exhausting." "What about you? Are you okay? Mentally, I mean." "Oh, I''m fine. I''m mostly annoyed about my fucking arm. It''ll take months for me to be able to move it without feeling pain, but the people that did it to me paid it back tenfold. Justin still worries me, but right now I''m just hoping that he''ll get back to normal soon." I nodded, not knowing if that meant killing or injuring. It did make sense though. She''d always been mentally the strongest out of all of us. "I was going to train my Pupitar to stand for a bit. Want toe with?" "Sweetheart evolved?! Holy shit! Yeah, I''lle!" Twenty minutester, I almost choked on my own saliva when she released a Charizard. ¡ª Cynthia Your entire group is clear of any influence from Togetic. "Thankfuck," I breathed out as I read the message again. I assumed that Togekiss had checked while she''d been speaking to us as a group. If it hadn''t been the case, I would have had to talk to everyone about it, and it wouldn''t have been pretty. A few days ago, it looked like I''d never be able to recover, but things were getting better, little by little. Denzel was cheering up and trying to get Justin to open up with Louis, although they had very little sess. Mira was back to her usual self, and even though some of it was fake, some of it was real too. She was even starting to pester me about Chase again. Justin actually ended up leaving the day after. No matter what, life went on. Three days after Cynthia gave us the okay, it was time for me to leave. My friends sent me off at the edge of route 210. We all cried¡ª and Cecilia especially so, but we''d be back together soon. She had to stay back another week because of her leg, and Denzel and Pauline were obviously going to wait for her. Louis, Mira and Maeve were nning on leaving in two days. I released Princess and began to walk. And so, for the first time since I went to Twinleaf with only her by my side, I was traveling alone. My legs felt light.
Interlude – Forums V Interlude ¨C Forums V INTERLUDE - FORUMS V Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! General ¡ú Politics Topic: Timeline of Events during the Darkest Day Original Poster: Ethan_Rose (Verified Trainer) Date: January 30th 20XX Yesterday, the entirety of Sceon went to shit and I was there to see it. A lot of trainers are out there giving first-hand ounts, but all of their stories are embellished bullshit that''s there to make themselves look good. None of them fought the actual bad guys out there. The vast majority of these people speaking to the media stayed holed up inside of a Pokemon Center the entire time this went on, or they tried to run away by getting to the edge of the barrier. I was different. I stayed outside and observed the chaos in full disy. I never felt as calm as I did in those few hours, and it allowed me to write down everything that went down so that we try to figure out what the hell happened, since the League decided to keep the entire world in the dark, as they usually do. 2:43 pm:Sceon is plunged in darkness. This is when everything started, and from what I observed, the entire thing originated from the Hunters'' mansion. Them being in on it is obvious, because the League is throwing them under the bus and destroying their business. I mean sure, they were linked with Team Gctic et cetera et cetera, but I seriously doubt they''d have anything this powerful. There have been a few theories about this being a psyop or an inside job, but I''ll gloss over those for now. I am here to document, not make opinions. 2:48 pm:The Nurses in the different Pokemon Centers start organizing and cing people back inside of their rooms to try to prevent a mass panic. At the time, they probably didn''t know about the numbing effects that the darkness had, so it was the most sensible course of action. They wanted to wait for League Trainers to take control. It would take three hours for them to arrive and five for them to fully resolve the situation and bring back a sense of order to Sceon. 3:00 pm:Here''s when things get interesting. I was outside when I saw a particr group of people get taken by the shadows. Grace Pastel, Cecilia Obel and the usual clique, except that Maeve Chang and Mira Compton somehow joined them this time? And Chase Karlson was nowhere to be seen as well. Either way, they were absorbed into the fucking floor, and I thought they died right then and there. Of course, you know that isn''t true, so I ask the question: where the hell where they taken? I''ll let you be the judge of that. 3:34 pm:First instances of looting appear in Sceon. It''s slow at first, but multiple people¡ª trainers and civilians alike¡ª start breaking into stores and stealing everything. Trainers went for things like TMs, vitamins, Hyper Potions or Ultra Balls while civvies went for appliances like television and fucking washing machines. I''m not joking, I saw a man carrying a washing machine out there. 3:46 pm:With looting came the first instances of violence, mostly between trainers fighting over the limited supply of items. Sceon''s a small town, and their stores aren''t stock full of everything like Jubilife or Sunyshore. Pokemon hesitated at first, but by 4:30, it was full pandemonium in the streets. Anyone not in a Center wasn''t safe, and the Nurse Joys somehow kept things under control, Arceus bless their fucking souls. 5:23 pm:Big time jump, but nothing noticeable happened until then. It was just more fights, more violence and more looting. I can''t exactly confirm because I''m not expert, but the darkness around us was starting to grow weaker by the minute. It wasn''t as deep, there was a little bit of light breaking through the sky, and peoples'' condition stopped getting worse. It didn''t get better, but it didn''t regress either. Strangely enough, the darkness around the mansion seemed to strengthen. I couldn''t say for sure, but the spire grew thicker somehow? It was weird. 5:32 pm:Denzel Williams spotted walking back to one of the Pokemon Centers and is barely conscious. This is important because he apparently asked other trainers for something, but he was too out of it to form full sentences. It is believe he was concussed. People have guessed that he meant the Hunters and that they somehow teleported him to their mansion to kill him, but that wouldn''t make any sense. How the hell would he have survived if they tried to gang up on him and kill him if they had something capable of shrouding all of Sceon? That''s the type of thing you hear Legendaries are capable of! He would have croaked for sure. Now I realize that I''m getting biased. Moving on. 5:39 pm:First League Forces break through from the inside thanks to Aaron sensing a weakness in the wall. Cynthia not seen, but it is understood that she immediately flew to the mansion on Garchomp''s back to face whatever the hell caused this. Aaron followed on his Flygon, and they were apanied by six veteran League Trainers. They were too fast for me to identify any of them. 5:46 pm:Darkness starts to unravel. It is assumed that Cynthia and Aaron killed whatever caused it, but it leaves just as fast as it came. Emotions rush back inside of us, and people start realizing how badly they fucked up thesest three hours. 5:50 pm:Grace Pastel teleported back to the Pokemon Center. Visibly shaken and crying. Wounded waist. 6:00 pm:Cynthia announces 7:00 pm curfew. No one allowed out on the streets in an hour, and League Trainers start rounding up people and sending them home. Flint, Lucian and Bertha spotted around this time, which makes it the first time in exactly 343 years that all Elite Four members are out of the Lily of the Valley Ind at the same time. From our understanding, Bertha Teleported back rather quickly though, so it onlysted for a few minutes. 6:36 pm:Last of Grace Pastel''s group brought back at the Center (Cecilia Obel and Justin Gardner). The former''s leg is horribly mangled, but the bandages hide what kind of wound it was, and she screamed in anguish the entire way into her room. Thetter seemspletely unmoved, which is unusual. Even the most stoic of trainers were at least affected by how fucked up the situation was and how they were basically apletely different person for a few hours. 7:00 pm:Curfew implemented. League has a firm hand over the town. 7:35 pm-7:59 pm: Mayor Cameron Owen sacked along with the entire City Council. Chief of Police Deborah Landry sacked. City Treasurer Lily Nicholson sacked. City Clerk Thiago Joyner sacked. Their entire offices are also sacked. The official narrative is that they resigned for ''health'' or ''family'' reasons, or because of the shame they felt for being unable to be of any help during the crisis, but they were obviously all fired, and that''s not even me being biased. 8:56 pm:All positions of power in the city reced with League-appointed employees. No new elections announced or nned. 10:01 pm:Flint spotted Teleporting back to the League. Only Aaron, Lucian and Cynthia remain. It is now the next morning. There is something bigger at y here, but I will let you theorize for yourselves. I''m just an aspiring reporter, and I only tell the facts. ?RRNotaire I''ll eat my hat if the mods leave this up. We all know they''re on the League''s payroll and that the government has been shutting this kind of talk down ASAP. ?Kyle_Thornton (Verified Trainer) I''m d you made it out alright. I''m in Hearthome and I left Sceon as soon as I was eliminated from the tournament. Crazy to think that I could have been there during the darkest day, but I guess I got lucky to be ced against Grace Pastel in the first round. I don''t know that many theories, but I do think that there''s more to this that meets the eye. ?Eve_Clements (Verified Trainer) You forgot to mention the fact that Mira Compton, Grace Pastel and Cecilia Obel just got epted into the LTIP. The first time that first years with four badges get into the program. Something happened for sure. I think that them fighting off all of the Hunters is a crazy idea, but those three in particr must have done something to impress the League. There''s no other reason for them to make that much of a jump in their career. The Internship Program basically means you''re guaranteed a job by the end of the year! ?Hiiiiipowa Chiming in before thread gets locked. This is obviously a lot bigger than they want us to think, otherwise there''d be no need to assemble the entire Elite Four. I''m thinking that a Legendary was the cause of all of this. I mean, there''s the birds in Kanto, right? Also that weirdo Mewtwo thing that''s tooootally been destroyed by Lance and not hidden somewhere. Then Lugia, Ho-Oh and the Legendary beasts in Johto, so why not? ?Jamie_Brown (Verified Trainer) Because then the entire city would be destroyed or thousands would be dead. There''s no way the League is standing up to anything Legendary. Also, dark type Legendaries don''t exist. ?Valery_Graham (Verified Trainer) There might be one, you don''t know shit. Also, I''m 90% sure that a Champion would be able to deal with a Legendary Bird''s avatar, just not the full concept itself, so Cynthia could probably deal with whatever the hell was in there. The problem with that theory is that ording to that timeline, the battle was extremely short. Not even ten minutes, in fact, so it doesn''t line up. I get that we''re suspicious, but this? A normal Pokemon did this. ?Hiiiiipowa Whatever. It''s not like you know any better than we do. Also Jamie_Brown stop speaking like you know jack shit about Legendaries. ?Frankie_Hines (Verified Trainer)(MESSAGE REMOVED BY THE MODERATORS AFTER 2.4 SECONDS) Obel''s group fighting is guaranteed because some of them were wounded. You don''t get wounded without fighting. On another topic, the Hunters conspired with Team Gctic, but the majority of them are still there. Only the ones at the head of the family like Rnd are suspiciously gone. The guy came out of nowhere during one of the tours they were running with a fuckin Shiftry, and I''ve been starting to wonder if that''s not the thing that caused this. I thought that they called Rnd ''Elder'', but I think they were actually looking at the damn Pokemon. It''d make a whole lot of sense, and it fits in my head, although I''ve never heard of a Shiftry being that powerful, but that''s maybe no one''s used them to their full potential yet. I know Sidney in Hoenn owns one, so I know what I''ll be doing this afternoon. -THREAD LOCKED- ¡ª General ¡ú Politics Topic: What nobody is talking about (the economy, stupid) Original Poster: Hyperbad Date: January 31st 20XX First of all before I begin, there seriously needs to be an economics board. I''m tired of everything being relegated to politics when it''s not exactly politics. This is why everyone''s moved on to social media, but somehow trainers still hang onto this antiquated form ofmunication. You don''t see coordinators use forums, they''ve all moved on to modern social media. Anyway. The Hunters are gone. Big deal. Most people think this is a good thing because of their evil rigging/Team Gctic links being exposed, but I''ll talk about the negatives here. Sceon is a small, insignificant town with an economy smaller than Floaroma''s, but the little money they make¡ª or made, as you''lle to see, came from two things. Agriculture (food exports that consisted of mostly Wheat) and Pokemon Breeding/Caretaking. I have a bibliography for all of this at the bottom of the post, by the way. The former ounts for 56% of Sceon''s revenue, and thetter for exactly 0%. Now here''s when things get funky. Being a corporation in everything but in name, the Hunters took all of the profits from wherever they sold Pokemon. People always hyper focus on the rich trainers that they sell to (see Louis Bianchi''s Vulpix), but the vast majority of Pokemon they breed go to the government, either to gyms or to the League itself. Sure, they hogged some of the money for themselves, but they actually reinvested therge majority of it into Sceonrgely through the form of donations to the city government. if we ount for these donations, then Pokemon breeding/caretaking actually ounts for64%of Sceon''s ie. Now, I hear you smartasses already saying that 56% and 64% add up to more than 100%, but that''s because the Hunters'' donations were not counted in the city''s annual revenue. This is what we call ''off-budget funds''. If we take the Hunters'' money into ount, then agriculture actually shrinks all the way down to a meager 21% of Sceon''s revenue. There was a reason people referred to them as an institution in Sceon. They held a fucking iron grip over the city''s neck. Now you may be asking two things. 1) Who the hell thought that it was a good idea to run a town solely off the back of one weirdo creepy cult corporation? 2) What the hell is Sceon going to do now that they''ve just lost 64% of their revenue overnight? I don''t have an answer for the first question, but I do have an answer for the second. Drastic budget cuts to public services and discretionary spending like schools, infrastructure, road maintenance, public parks, non-Pokemon Center healthcare, and social services. A budgetary crisis that the new City Treasurer will have to somehow solve, and that''s not even counting the insane amount of repairs that the city will have to go through because of the effect this darkness bullshit had on people. Andst but not least, what happens when a city goes toplete shit? Both people and businesses pack up their bags and get the fuck out. Sceon isn''t exactly known for its businesses, but the few that are there will go bankrupt or have to close down their locations. Your old mom and pop''s restaurant? Gone. No one has the fucking money to spend on that shit anymore. A grocery store that was somehow still standing the test of time against the big chains? Gone. Gift shop? Gone. All. Gone. This city is a fucking dead man walking. Younger people will move to Hearthome or Veilstone because of theck of opportunities and the poption will fall off a cliff. It''ll be like a snowball effect that can''t be stopped once it gets toorge. The League has yet to announce any ns to save the sinking ship, but I assume that they''ll do something. The only question that remains is if it fucking works. -Hyperbad ?Oslo_Walter (Verified Trainer) Interesting analysis. I definitely underestimated howrge the Hunters were in Sceon, and the fact that they don''t have anything else to generate revenue is worrying. I have a cousin that lives there whose house was robbed during the Darkest Day and he''s considering moving. His insurance provider doesn''t cover a lot of what was stolen and it would take months to process everything. He''s moving in with us in Sunyshore and I don''t think he''sing back. ?EsteyyaPip LETS FUCKING GOOOOO OUR RESIDENT ECONOMIST IS BACK! I hope the new job in Jubilife is treating you well, my brother. Regarding the town being screwed, what do you think about subsidies? It''d be expensive as hell to cover 64% of their revenue (probably going to end up losing more money because of the ripple effect), but it''d stem the bleeding at least, no? ?Hyperbad Oh, it''ll stem the bleeding, and I''m sure that it''s one of the first things Lucian came up with during whatever meetings were held. The problem is that subsidies won''t be enough. Like you said, there will be a spillover effect and Sceon will end up losing a lot more ie than I outlined in my post. If I had to estimate, I''d put the number at around 70%. Even with subsidies, you just don''t recover from that. I hate the concept of subsidies in general, but you know me, I''m a neolib. You''ve got a teach a man to fish instead of giving him a fish every day, right? You''ve got to get Sceon back on its feet, and subsidies won''t do that. They need to find a new source of revenue and concrete new policies need to be put in ce before people start to leave. Sceon''s bottleneck is their rtively tiny workforce, but if that workforce starts to pack their bags, there won''t be any money made. The League has to convince the working poption of Sceon to stick around for the long haul and start working again. Sorry about your cousin, by the way. And the job''s going fantastic! I''ll DM you the details. -Hyperbad ?MaxRichter I mean, I agree with all of this, but I''m not as pessimistic as you are. Lucian is there, and his kazam will probably help run things. I''m not one of the people fooling themselves into thinking that the newly appointed Treasurer is totally independent and not just a sock puppet for the League lmao. ?Hyperbad You''re right that kazam will most likely be running the show for a few months at least, but from the way I''m looking at things, it''s looking nigh unsalvageable. You can stem the bleeding, but it seems to me like Sceon will never be as prosperous as it used to be. It''s a shame too, with all the potential it had with expansion into route 210. When I was in college, I looked at proposals to expand the city all the way to the Caf¨¦ Cabin. That means that it would have been the thirdrgest city in Sinnoh after Jubilife and Sunyshore. That''s why directivism is bad, folks. The Hunters were at the reign of the economy, and they only served themselves. Why do you think Kanto and Johto''s economies stillg behind Unova and Gr? A lower GDP growth year after year, a lower HDI rating, lower per capita ie? Because they''re still stuck in thismand economy, central nning bullshit while the other two have embraced modernity. Cynthia''s gone a step back with nationalizing the Bianchi Conglomerate, or at least she should have sold it back to anotherpany by now, but I won''t get into it here. -Hyperbad ¡ª General ¡ú Politics Topic: Maylene Press Conference Original Poster: Naomi_Tillings (Verified Trainer) Date: January 31st 20XX The events in Sceon have overshadowed a lot of what has been happening in Veilstone. People interested will know that Maylene gave a press conference earlier this morning (alone, for a change! No handlers from the League were with her today, surprisingly) regarding the rumors that have spread about some Team Gctic base in the city. The rumor''s spread so quickly that people actually believe that this is their main base of operations or that there are actually multiple bases in the city. Of course, Maylene went with the usual politician speak, which I do admit is weird as helling from a fifteen year old. I''m used to only old people speaking like that and that''s some serious cognitive dissonance and it hurts my brain very very much. And it also hurts my heart to see her forced to say this. Anyway, long story short, she kept saying not to panic, that they were looking into it, and that these rumors were baseless. Whatever, same dish, different cook, we''re all used to that shit at this point. The League is only honest with us when it wants to be, and it makes me want to move to Unova. As soon as I get the money, I''m out of here and signing up for their Circuit. Back to Veilstone! Here''s where things get weird. There has been this constant narrative in the media about a crime wave happening there for thest few months. It''s Sinnoh''s most crime-ridden city (even more than Jubilife), but they''ve never gone this hard with the narrative. So I decided to do some digging and Ipared this year''s crime statistic withst year''s. Crime wentdown. All types of crime that the media would be interested in anyway (violent crime or drug-rted crimes). White cor crime actually went slightly up. I''m thinking there''s a bit of a distraction operation going on here. Is the media colluding with the League to make us focus on anything other than Team Gctic? That would certainly be a first, but it''s possible. Are the statistic altered? It is on the government website after all, so it could mean that the government is lying, but the media is picking up on the heightened crime. To do this though, they''d need the civilian government and Veilstone''s police department to be in on it. Again, possible. What I''m trying to say is that in every scenario my mind finds, the League is lying in some way, and they''re lying to cover up something rted to Team Gctic''s presence in Veilstone. I''m 100% sure of it, but let me know what you think. ?Megumi_Ishitani (Verified Trainer) Stop throwing shade at Maylene. She''s obviously been thrown into this, and it''s hard being a gym leader that young in these troubled times. First peoplein that she''s not independent enough, but then when she tries to be, you stillin. I bet people like you are the reason she''s been looking so sadtely. ?TOHO I mean, there''s been some noise about Team Gctic sightings, but nothing concrete yet. The League are watching Veilstone like hawks. They''ve been on the backfoot the entire year after they stole all of the League''s information. They''ve literally had zero wins. Their organization had basically been wiped out from western Sinnoh with rtive ease, so why would they struggle finding a base in Veilstone? It only takes one member captured that gets their memory extracted for the location, and it''s over. The League busts in and either they escape or fight. Both oues lead to their loss. They''ve shown time and time again that they can''t take the League in a straight fight. ?Naomi_Tillings (Verified Trainer) Sorry Megumi_Ishitani, I just don''t feel like ying nice with a tool of the state while she''s helping to erode our freedoms in real time. Oooooh, it must be sooooo hard for her. Cry me a fucking river. She''s the one that chose to be a gym leader. Nobody forced her fucking hand, and I don''t see her speaking out against the very real threat of Sinnoh sliding back into a dictatorship. Did you know that trainers from Kanto and Johto needed official approval from the League to leave their region permanently? Did you know that the media speaking out against the government too harshly there is a criminal offense? Do you want us to get back to that level of tyranny? The world is a dark ce, and there are only a few beacons of freedom for us to take refuge in. I thought Sinnoh was one of them, but it looks like it''s not. ?Megumi_Ishitani (Verified Trainer) I''m too tired to argue online with a stranger. Have a good one. ?Imperium101 They might have been wiped out in the west, but that doesn''t mean they''re inactive. There was that attempt on Roark''s life two weeks ago. ?ZzZaVier You''re right to be scared, but you have to remember these are extraordinary times we live in. Regarding your Team Gctic theory, I have to agree that it is fishy, but I can''t imagine either of your exnations being correct. Either way, it''s only a matter of time before the powder keg blows up, and everybody knows it. If you live in Veilstone, I think Sunyshore is very nice this time of year. You can even walk there without Pokemon.
Interlude – Discovery Interlude ¨C Discovery INTERLUDE - DISCOVERY Up here, the fog was so thick you could choke on it. Chase Karlson could barely see twenty feet in front of him, and it had gotten worse the further he got along this mountain. He sat on an appropriately shaped rock as he stuck by his Houndoom while snacking on a protein bar. There was no wood to make a fire here, or at least none that he could find without straying off the path and getting lost, so having a fire type was extremely convenient. Houndoom whined, and his taily t against the rocky ground. "I know you''re tired, but you''ve gotta toughen up," Chase said. Without the fog, he reckoned that he could have seen Sceon from there. Leaving the tournament had been a bummer, but this was too important to pass up on. If he hadn''t left, then he would have had to wait until the end of the year to get to Celestic. The opportunity had been too good to pass up. Houndoomzily blew a me in front of them, and Chase sniffled. The damn fog was irritating his lungs and clinging to his clothes, making them wet. Without Houndoom, he would have had a seriously hard time dealing with the cold. If there was one word that defined the dark type, it would be loyal. He followed wherever Chase went and would go to the ends of the earth to help him. He was bored quite easily, however. The floor rumbled slightly and the temperature lowered by a few degrees. Cold mist mixed in with the fog as his Abomasnow stepped into view. The hulking grass type was seven feet tall, and he carried the frozen corpse of a Bibarel. Riolu rode on his shoulder, hanging on one of the long, thick frozen leaves that made up Abomasnow''s body. Houndoom was his most loyal, but Abomasnow was his most powerful and dedicated fighter. "There''s your dinner. Zangoose! Vikavolt!" Chase yelled. His voice reverberated through the mountains. He didn''t care if anything heard him. Let theme, and he would challenge them with his team. Vikavolt''s buzzing could be heard in the air, and he left a trail of electricity behind him as hended faster than Chase could notice. "Good improvement on thatnding," Chase nodded. "Keep at it." The bug type''s pincers ground against each other and he fanned his wings. "That doesn''t mean get confident. Confidence makes us rest on oururels. Work like you''re twenty steps behind.Always." The old him would have sneered at that, but he knew thatpetition was fierce now. Chase had long outgrown his old days in Jubilife where he would crush any trainer in arenas with Riolu. He could still do so if he wished, of course, but there was little point to it now. It wasn''t like anyone would ept his challenge anyway. The money would have been nice. Zangoose strode up behind him with her usual scowl and red eyes. She was the most solitary Pokemon of her team and liked to keep to herself most days, but that didn''t mean that she disliked the team like he''d feared at first. That would have been catastrophic, especially because he liked to build a sense of camaraderie between them¡ª himself included. They were a squad. A unit. And everyone had a role. But no, the answer was that Zangoose was just an introvert. Saliva ran down Houndoom''s mouth as he slowly cooked the dead Bibarel. He, Zangoose, and Vikavolt all preferred meat, so he wasn''t about to stop them from eating. He could almost imagine Pastel''s whining or Williams pretending to be fine with it, but really being almost to the point of gagging. Riolu took a seat next to him and sighed. "Abomasnow give you a tough time?" Chase asked. The ice type snorted, releasing a cold wind that overpowered Houndoom''s heat. Riolu shrugged and crossed his legs. Abomasnow was exigent in his hunting, and he only went after Bibarel for the team, which meant that they had to go down to slopes next to the enormous river to catch themandclimb back up. It was no wonder Riolu had taken a ride on his shoulder by the end of it. They had been gone for three hours. The first phase of Chase''s n had been to train his team to the bone so that they could do things like this. Go out independently and hunt or train without his guidance against wild Pokemon, if they wanted to. Sometimes, they came back wounded, which meant that they''d gotten something out of it. A wound was a valuable lesson, as was a scar. Chase would know. He traced down the long scar at the back of his arm given to him by that Sneasel up north. His Pokemon had plenty now. "Celestic should be five days away," Chase announced. "The fog will get worse before it gets better, so from now on if you go out, you''ll need to have Ri with ya." Zangoose hissed and her fur stood up in protest, but the fighting type shot her a look that calmed her down immediately. She cut up Bibarel''s gut¡ª which was her favorite bit¡ª and walked off in the distance, although she made sure to stay within his range of vision. Vikavolt let out a low hum, annoyed that he wouldn''t be able to fly and improve his speed with Chase''s new rules. "I don''t care," Chase shrugged. "We''ve got eight potions left. I''m your leader, and a leader has to make tough decisions. You''ll cut down on training time, but we''ve got to think about the way back." Strangely enough, even though Chase was one of the best first-years in the region, he was stillpoor. Trainers would no longer battle him due to his temperament and reputation, and he was too prideful to ept a sponsor. He would not be a tool for big businesses to enrich themselves, money be damned. That of course meant that he had to ration potions. Food for his team came first, but even that was too much now that they''d grown sorge, which was why he''d resorted to hunting for the majority of their sustenance. He watched Houndoom devour Bibarel''s face and Vikavolt saw an arm off for himself. He searched through his bag and offered Riolu some sliced berries¡ª a habit he''d picked up from a certain someone. The fighting type began to munch down on the fruit and Abomasnow made himself tall, attempting to absorb the few rays of sunlight that made it through the thick fog. "Finish eating, then we''re hitting the road again." Celestic grew closer. ¡ª Chase stopped when he heard a Pokemon grunting. There was the sound of something¡­mmingstone, over and over again. Riolu''s eyes lit up as he held out his hand, then he stared up at Chase and nodded. "Can we go around?" Chase whispered. The fighting type hesitated, then shook his head. The path up here was too narrow to avoid whatever was in front of him, but it was also too narrow to have a damn fight on. There was supposed to be some type of bridge up ahead, if the information Williams had sent him was correct. "Fuck this," Chase said, rolling his shoulder. Fear had never stopped him, and it would not stop him now. He stepped forward before his Pokemon could even stop him and saw that a huge wf was hanging on the steep cliff to his right up ahead. The path was so narrow it could barely fit Abomasnow, so simply running past it was impossible. The giant crab angrily clicked its pincers, letting him know that this wasitsturf and going any further implied a fight. "I''m getting through whether you like it or not," Chase said. He waited for a few seconds, but resigned to a fight when wf hit one of its pincers against the wall it was attached to. He had hoped to negotiate with it like he''d done with a few others he''d done on this route¡ª Pokemon on routes were often a lot more reasonable than the aggressive Pokemon of Mount Cor or Eterna Forest. Unfortunately, wf wanted a fight. "Prepare the long-ranged setup." Moving as one, his team took their positions. He felt Houndoom''s warmth to his left, and Abomasnow''s frigid cold behind him. Darkness festered under the fire type''s paws. Vikavolt was out of view, but he could see and hear faint cracks of electricity dancing in the air. Zangoose squeezed past him and raked a w against the cliff. wf let out an irritating sound and menacingly mmed a pincer against the wall of the cliff. "Fighting it is, motherfucker." wf yelled, and the whole mountain began to shake. Small rocks fell down the cliff at first, but they grewrger andrger with time. "Rock Tomb or Slide. Zangoose, you''re up." The normal type blurred to Chase''s right and wed every rock that would have hit him apart with Metal w. Fragments still hit him and cut his face, but this was better than nothing. Abomasnow mmed a fist against his chest, causing snow to fall to the ground, and let an Ice Shard loose toward wf, who climbed up the cliff with surprising speed. Three of them buried themselves into its rocky armor, but the rest disintegrated against the terrain. From the sky, Vikavolt shot out a Sticky Web, wrapping wf so tightly that its speed was cut at least in half. Houndoom''s methrower heat up one of its ws until it glowed red. A tiny ball of aura appeared in between Riolu''s palms and flew off toward the rock type, hitting it in between the eyes. wf shook the damage off, and this time shards of rock flew out of its mouth. Faster than he could even react, Zangoose pushed Chase behind her and got hit in his stead. Blood poured down her fur, staining it in scarlet red. The boy hissed. He wasn''t going to be treated like a fucking damsel in distress. He shot up and cracked his fingers. "Ri. Hand me a bone." wf shot another volley of rocks, this time aiming at Zangoose again, but she was too quick to be hit. She climbed up the mountain with her ws while Vikavolt, Houndoom and Abomasnow pelted the rock type with Dark Pulses, Thunderbolts and Ice Shards. A bone grew out of Riolu''s hand and Chase quickly grabbed it, waiting for a chance to strike. The floor shook once more, and wf attempted to crawl backwards to get away from Zangoose. "Watch for the rocks!"Chase yelled. Zangoose hissed, shing across the wf''s rocky shell and then climbing onto its back to avoid the Rock Slide. Chase, Riolu and Houndoom smoothly slipped behind Abomasnow, who slowed or froze the iing rocks with a powerful Icy Wind. "String Shot the legs!" He ordered. He had to rece the string that had been burned by methrower. Vikavolt screeched, shooting out more string, this time focused on wf''s legs. Zangoose kept hitting it with Metal w and now that its legs were wrapped up, it began to slide down toward the t ground. Chase bolted out from behind Abomasnow and slid against the floor, angling Riolu''s bone right up the cliff, and it impaled wf right in between the eyes. The sheerweightof the crab shook him to his core, but Riolu kept him steady by keeping his hands on his back. It desperately attempted to w him apart. He twisted the bone, and the rock type shivered in agony. Chase stood up and clenched his fists to stop them from shaking, then he stared it right in the eye. "Now I''m going to give you a chance to leave. Either you take it, or we keep this going," he said. wf stared at him with hazy eyes, but managed to nod with its entire body. "Burn this shit off," Chase said, pointing at the remaining String Shot and Sticky Web. Houndoom spat out a low-powered methrower, and Riolu''s bone dissolved into dust. Chase tensed, expecting the worst, but the rock type scampered off to find some new territory to settle on. He breathed in deeply and then exhaled through his mouth. The more he progressed, the less a part of the team he felt. But he''d proven himself once again. Zangoose smirked at him and tapped his shoulder, and Houndoom licked his fingers. Vikavoltnded and let out an excited buzz, while Abomasnow creaked like the sound of rustling leaves. They''d all been impressed. Riolu, however, looked worried. "You worry too much. This is nothing," Chase said. "Now let''s get through this damn bridge¡ª" He swore as a hole opened up in the ground and swallowed him into the mountain. ¡ª Chase hadn''t known if he''d passed out for an hour or two minutes, but he woke up with his face caked in dirt and blood. He spat out a mouthful of dirt and dust and stared at his bloodied hands. The drop hadn''t actually been that high, but he''d rolled pretty far down and he could barely see the hole in the sky¡ª which was the surface. The fog was beginning to leak inside. He felt a surge of panic and touched his head, but breathed a sigh of relief when he realized his cap was still there. It had been torn up pretty good though. Chase coughed up more dust, but he grew breathless when he saw what was down here. It was a city. Words would fail to capture its beauty. Even when crumbling, it was the most magnificent city that Chase had ever seen. Strange, magicalmposts still illuminated the paved streets casting an otherworldly yellow glow toward the untold amount of stone buildings. He stumbled forward and felt at his belt to check if his Pokeballs were still there. They luckily were. Chase called out each of his Pokemon''s names. They''d all fallen down the chasm with him, so hopefully they''d be able to follow his voice. The first one that came was Vikavolt, which was an obvious conclusion due to his being able to fly. The bug type caught himself by flying and appearedpletely fine. "Go find the others," Chase said. "Bring them back here. I''ll stay." The electric type flew off in a sh, propelling himself with a burst of lightning. His eleration problems were long gone these days. They''d figured out that by letting a powerful explosion of electric type energy behind him, he''d be able to reach close to his maximum speed immediately. It took five minutes for him to find everyone else. Houndoom and Abomasnow were the worst off. Unlike Riolu and Zangoose, they weren''t nimble or quick on their feet, so the fall had hurt them to some extent. Chase used one of his potions on Zangoose, who''d gotten hurt by fighting wf anyway. Then, he used one on Abomasnow, whose back had been ripped to shreds by the fall. Six left. "I can try climbing," Chase said, staring at the hole in the distance. "Vikavolt, can you go check if that''s a viable option? I''d rather not awaken some crazy motherfucking Pokemon sleeping in here." A few minutester, Vikavolt came back with a resounding no. The cliff was too steep for him to climb. Chase was strong, and he''d trained his stamina as much as he could, but he was noclimber, nor did he have any Pokemon totch onto. Zangoose could maybe do it, but he was too heavy for her. "Damn it," he clenched his teeth. "At least it doesn''t look too much like a cave. Fuckin'' hate those." He could have asked Vikavolt to go look for help, but they hadn''te across any trainers or humans this entire time. He''d have to go to Celestic, but the city was so damn old-fashioned that they didn''t even have a Ranger Station. The closest one was on Mount Cor''s nk next to the cave''s entrance, but that was too far. It would take days for help to arrive. Determined to see this through, he stepped toward the ancient city with hisrades. Chase was no architect, historian, or archeologist, but he could tell these buildings were beautifully made. They rose from the ground with an imposing grace, but were still tightly anchored to their foundations. The stones had no standardized shapes to them¡ª noformlike the rectangr bricks of today. They were all a different color and somehow still mysteriously fit together like different pieces of a puzzle. This wasn''t architecture, this wasart. And somehow, most of them still stood close to intact. Unmarred by the sands of time and protected from the elements like wind and rain by this cave. Chase blew against his wounded hands as he stepped inside of an ancient home. Dusty remains of tough sandals sat in the entryway, leading deeper into the house. He carefully walked inside, apanied by Riolu and Houndoom while the others waited. There was nothing left here but old walls and stone chairs and tables. Even on the inside, the walls were colored with red, blue, purple¡ª everything you could think of. It might have sounded incongruous, but it somehow tied everything together. Chase raised an eyebrow when he saw the skeletal remains of a person lying down on a stone bed frame. Well, hethoughtthat it was a skeleton. There were just a few shards of something that looked like bones left, and the rest had disappeared. He was pretty sure that something like a skull was on the head of the bed. Whatever befell this ce, it seemed that not everyone managed to get out in time. Curiosity got the best of him, and he went through multiple houses like this one. None of them were designed the same way¡ª they were allunique, and most of them had the same corpses inside of them. There were no remains of Pokemon, strangely enough. "Let''s keep going," Chase said as he stepped out of another home. "There must be another way out¡ªwhat the fuck is that!" APokemonflew past him. It was a multicolored, totem-like being that shared the city''s color scheme. It had a single, cyan eye on its head, and its wings didn''t actually look like wings, but weird branch-like appendages. It also had two ck ''hand'' appendages with three fingers each, although they didn''t seem like they''d see much use¡ª Chase quickly jumped back inside of the house as an Air Cutter utterly destroyed the pristine pathway where he''d just stood. Abomasnow shielded his own face with hisrge hands, and then retaliated with an Icy Wind that froze the creature over. Houndoom finished it off, jumping out of the shadows with a Feint Attack. "Thank fuck it''s weak as hell," Chase breathed out. He approached the creature and scanned it with his Pokedex. Sigilyph, the Avianoid Pok¨¦mon. Sigilyph keeps enemies from invading its territory with its Psychic powers and was the guardian of cities long ago. They never vary in the route they fly, even after thousands of years. "Creepy bastard," Chase muttered. He crouched and touched the Pokemon. Its body felt like ceramic. Even while unconscious, its eye was still open. "Must have been guarding this ce the entire time. Didn''t do that well of a job, considering how everything went to shit." Zangoose sniggered at that, but Riolu reprimanded her. He respected the prestige that came with something''s age. "A ce with a single guardian wouldn''t make any sense if it''s that weak. There are more, so watch out for them. Houndoom, they''re psychic types, so you take the front with Riolu. He''ll sense ''em before theye. Vikavolt, you''re also on offense. Abomasnow and Zangoose, you stick by me." The entire group grunted as one, and they were on their way again. The deeper they got into the city, the denser the buildings got and the more Sigilyph they encountered. Luckily for him, they always went down in a few hits. If they''dbined their forces, they could have been a threat, but Chase suspected that they were on autopilot right now. There must have been someone capable ofmanding them all back in the day. There was no way the city would havested long enough to reach this size without a strategy. He passed through some kind of armory with a bunch of defunct, decayed swords and armor. Helmets, chesttes, spears¡­ there was everything here. It wouldn''t do much against Pokemon, but anything helped back then, he supposed. Riolu ended up being hit by an Air Cutter and huge gashes opened up all over his body, forcing Chase to use one of his potions to heal him as best he could. Five left. The center of the city was like a za, and it was something to behold. An enormous, giant fountain stood at its center, and there was arge mural depicting¡­ something that Chase couldn''t exactly understand. In the middle, there were hundreds of humans, which resembled stick figures, while Sigilyph and¡­ ydol? Floated in the sky. He wasn''t sure about the second one because of how shit the drawing was, but that was the closest Pokemon he could find. They were drawn at a slightly higher level than the Sigilyph. He hadn''t found a single ydol or Baltoy here though, so maybe they were all destroyed. Ontopof those, and generating some kind of holy light stood some kind of metallic Pokemon with a golden hexagonal shape for a head. This one was drawn in an incredible amount of detail, but Chase didn''t know what Pokemon that was. Maybe something that helped them with making iron? At his side stood some kind of king that wore the exact same thing for a crown. At the bottom of the mural, a single creature was depicted. It was a white, wispy thing with traces of red at the edges of its hair and bright yellow eyes. It was drawn along with mes, like it was burning in hell. The whole drawing was apanied by some kind of writing that Chase couldn''t recognize. It wasn''t even close to any letters he knew, and half of it had faded away by now. Still, he understood the gist of what this represented. This depicted the order of the town. At the top, the ruler along with his Pokemon, then his guardians, the Sigilyph and the ydol. Then, there were the citizens and probably their Pokemon, although those had been kept out of the drawing. Then, there was whatever the hell that thing was at the bottom. Only the Sigilyph were left, it seemed. Chase sat on the fountain''s edge, deciding to take a break, and drank a mouthful of water. Riolu let out a soft bark, pointing to his left, and he saw a Sigilyph somehow light one of the street lights with some kind of psychic power. He prepared for a fight once it began to stare at them, but this one didn''t attack. This one just looked. It was peeking out at him like some kind of shy kid. "What the hell?" He whispered. Startled at his voice, the flying type quickly flew off, disappearing behind one of the tall buildings. Was it glitched out? Unlike the others, it didn''t appear to be following any kind of pattern. "Break is over," Chase shrugged. "See that castle thing?" He pointed off in the distance, and a long set of stairs led toward a castle made out of stone and iron. This was the structure that showed the most amount of damage. In fact, it looked like it had been attacked. Why else would the other buildings look rtively fine, while this one was decrepit and copsed? He was pretty sure that a monarch''s castle would be built tost longer than some peasant''s house. The fact that it was made out of steel along with stone was proof of that. Or wait¡­ wasn''t stone more durable than steel¡ª whatever. "It leads up, so there might be a way out. We''ll end up being lost for a bit, but Vikavolt will be able to lead us the right way. That sound good?" They all agreed, and they were on their way again. Chase didn''t know why you''d ever make someone have to climb this amount of steps to get to your castle, but at least it was a good workout. He might have run up them if he didn''t need to conserve energy in case anything attacked him. Houndoom enjoyed all the new smells while Zangoose finally rxed and began walking on all fours again. The old steps cracked under Abomasnow''s weight, and Riolu hung on Chase''s shoulder, whispering something in his ear and pointing to his palms. "My hands are fine, it''s just a little scrape," he said. "My luck concerning falling into caves is seriously shit, by the way. This is the second time in a year." The fighting type climbed up on his head and squinted at the castle. The closer they got, the more Chase felt aweighton his shoulders. It was a decrepit relic of a bygone age, but it stillmanded his attention and respect. The boy stepped through the half-copsed gates and walked inside of the castle. A faded red carpet led to what he assumed was the throne room, but he was looking for a way out of here, not for some audience with a king''s ghost. But if therewasa secret exit, wouldn''t it make sense to put it next to the king''s throne? Or not, Chase wasn''t exactly an expert in old royalty. Maybe it''d be in his bedroom or whatever, but it was worth checking out either way. He climbed over a copsed pir and jumped toward the giant, metallic doors. They were adorned with different shades of silver and what looked to be gold, but upon closer look, they were just iron painted yellow. The colors were all fading and rusting away. Abomasnow helped him push the doors open. The king''s skeleton was still sitting on his throne. Theentirething was there, and it somehow hadn''t decayed like the others. It was almostical. Likethiswas the position he''d decided to die in and stuck to it. He still wore that hexagonal crown, along with the remains of ragged clothes that had almost been rendered to nothing due to the elements. The carpet extended until his throne, which was elevated by a set of stairs. "Funny how that works," Chase said with a dry chuckle. He took a single step forward, but then the weight of the world pressed down on him. The king stepped from behind the throne¡ª his actual flesh and blood. He wore a luxurious purple coat and ted armor. Was it a ghost? His team stepped up and prepared to fight, but Chase held back a hand. "Who¡ª what are you?" He asked. The King cackled¡ª which was more of a beastly sound than augh. It reminded him of a Mightyena''sugh. "So after all this time, another one of your kind wanders into my realm. For centuries, I have tarried here, immobile and unyielding, my very core aze with the fervor of my hatred for thy ilk. No words can adequately convey its depth and intensity. Thy thirst for death and annihtion shall not find sce within these ancient walls. Know this, my abhorrence for thy kind surpasses the vast expanse of this world. I have endured eons of torment, subjected to the cruelty of those who once dwelt here until my spirit shattered the chains of bondage and wrought vengeance upon every human soul I could find. And now, thou standest before me, poised to meet thy fate, the next to fall beneath my righteous wrath." Chase blinked, unable to evenprehend what the hell this fancy-looking motherfucker was rambling on about. Panes of¡­ light shone and shimmered like ss in front of the King, and thenflipped, revealing a strange, white creature with red-tipped hair and strange red growths on its skin. Its hair floated around like it was weightless, and its eyes shone with a bright yellow. He easily recognized it as the creature on the mural''s painting. Chase felt his hands m up and scanned what he assumed was a Pokemon with his Pokedex. Insufficient data. Please try againter. That was the first time that hadeverhappened. "That''s a nice sob story," Chase said, trying to buy some time. "I don''t remember asking." "Thou shalt suffer,"the beast said, its mouth returning to human form for a second. And at that exact moment, Chase understood thathatecould haveweight. It was almost suffocating. The creature dashed forward, and he noticed a few things in the two seconds it took for it to reach him. One, it wasn''t terribly fast¡ª only slightly quicker than Zangoose using Quick Attack. Two, the closer it got, the moreheavythe weight of its hate felt on him and choked him to such an extent that breathing became difficult. Three? The creature phased through Abomasnow, who had gotten in between it and Chase to protect him. Before its pulsating red ws could tear him apart, Houndoom hit the Pokemon with a point-nk Dark Pulse. It flew off and rolled until it hit one of the columns of stone and metal still adorning the room, and it quickly copsed onto it. "Anti-ghost setup," Chase whispered to Houndoom. "We''re going to try for a controlled retreat. Fighting it in the open will be easier¡ª" The beast stoodthroughthe rubble, leaving it undisturbed on the floor and continued its assault. It narrowly dodged one of Vikavolt''s Thunderbolts before sending a wed attack toward Chase. Three streaks of shadows raked across the floor, but Zangoose blurred in front of him and the attack harmlessly washed over her. Abomasnow flexed his arms and marched through the room, trampling anything in his way to get to the ghost. Chase lunged outside of the room as Houndoom nked him. He heard a crash behind him, but the fire type''s darkness managed to neutralizesomeof the attack and gave him enough time to dodge whatever it was. He crawled backwards, and shards of metal, dirt and rocks buried themselves into his already-wounded hands. A thin bubble of darkness surrounded both him and Houndoom. It was still see-through, but it certainly helped against ghosts, even if just a little. Riolu exited the room next, constantly throwing bones inside. His fighting moves wouldn''t work here and he knew it, so he''d be the support. He was too frail to get in close and try to hit it with Metal w. Chase peeked inside and saw the Pokemon somehow taking on three of his Pokemon at once. It easily weaved in between Abomasnow''s Ice Shards and brought a Shadow w across his chest, but the ice type retaliated with a powerful Hammer Arm. Unfortunately, it simplyphasedthrough the ghost, reducing half of it to a strange, wispy mist until it immediately reformed. Abomasnow did not bleed, but the wound exposed the bark-like substance that his body was made up of. Somehow, it was able to hit a Pokemon with its hands while its body was nearly invulnerable. It could do fuckingbothat the same time,as if it could somehow render parts of his body untouchable while the rest was still physically there. The amount of fine-tuning that required was¡ª "Fucking bullshit," Chase snarled. "Get over here! Controlled retreat!" Zangoose weaved in and out of the battle, trying to find an opening and continuously building up her power with Fury Cutter. She shed across the ghost''s face, but it screamed and kicked her back toward the exit. She crashed into Riolu, who flew off into the distance and crashed down the grand hall. With a burst of speed, Vikavolt whizzed toward their enemy, managing to catch it off-guard and cutting it in half with X-Scissor.Its actual bodythis time. Its legs simply regrew, bubbling and hissing until they were as good as new. Still, it bought them their precious seconds, and everyone was out of the throne room now. Chase ran off toward the exit, not bothering to look back at the ghost who let out an enraged scream that he was sure would haunt him for months. Houndoom yipped, skidding across the floor and suddenly turning. "You''re right. No use fighting on the Arceus damned stairs," Chase hurriedly said. The beast was quick, and it would have no doubt caught up while they''d been running down. "I know this bubble takes a lot of focus, but try to hit it with Dark Pulse." He turned to the rest of his team. The enormous set of stairs stood at his back like the sheer drop of a cliff. "When ites out, throw everything you have at it." It didn''t keep them waiting. Instead of going through the door, it ran through the wall, its yellow eyes shining in the darkness. Ice Shards, Dark Pulse, Thunderbolt and Bone Rushes all barrelled toward the ghost, but only a few hit their mark. Itknewits weakness, so it opened to dodge the Dark Pulse at all costs instead of focusing on every attack. For a second, its mouth changed back into a human''s. "Thou art weak. The longer this fight persists, the more the depths of my memory resurface and the more skilled I get. Thou art not long for this world." "Whatever man," Chase said with a trembling voice. "Just get it over with then." "You dare¡ª" The beast caught itself, instead deciding to lunge forhimspecifically. They were still far, but he could see it in its eyes. It would onlye for him now. Good. It became only a shadow on the floor and slithered toward him, but Abomasnow got on all fours and froze the entire ground in front of them. Chase heard another enraged snarl, and the ghost emerged from the floor with its fur frozen in ce. Houndoom hit it in the chest with the most powerful Dark Pulse he could muster, staggering it long enough for Vikavolt to electrocute him with a quick Thunderbolt. Without a word, Chase began to run down the stairs. His Pokemon quickly followed, but Abomasnow was too big and clumsy. He tripped and began to roll down the stairs, destroying half of the fragile steps in the process until he recalled him for now. That fall looked reallybad, but he couldn''t afford to worry. He needed tothink. For some reason, it really,reallyhated humans to the point of making mistakes, but Chase could use that to his advantage. The problem was that it was ridiculously bulky, and there had been a hint of truth to what it had said. It probably hadn''t fought since it murdered this entire city, but the longer this went on, the more it wouldremember. Still, Chase could use that hate to his advantage. The Pokemon jumped off the highest steps with a howl that no doubt resonated through the entire cave with no care for its own safety. It began to roll down a few steps but used its sharp ws to recover, and then it sprinted down the stairs even quicker than before. Riolu stopped and attempted to hit it with a bone, but it simply passed through its body. Zangoose''s w shone with a neon green as she attempted to stop it with another Fury Cutter, but when it attempted to jab a w into her throat, she narrowly twisted her body and it got her in the cor instead. The ghost punched her in the nose, and Chase recalled her immediately to avoid her getting sent off too far. He jumped thest ten stairs,nding back in the za with a roll and released Abomasnow and Zangoose again. "Icy Wind! Make it wide to slow it down!" The wind was narrow at first, but it slowly fanned out until the monster couldn''t avoid it any longer, even when making its body impossible to target. They hadn''t practiced enough with this, but they had no choice¡­ Houndoom was too far and without a dark type move, he was dead¡ª "Night sh!" Zangoose didn''t hesitate. Darkness consumed her ws, and she blurred toward the slowed Pokemon. Abomasnow stopped his Icy Wind as soon as she got within its area of effect, but the beast would still be slowed, so the ying field was a lot more even. Zangoose dropped to the floor and aimed at its legs to disable it, but the ghost managed to jump and pivot into a kick. The normal type shielded herself with her darkened ws and nicked its feet instead. They were in a deadlock, but before Abomasnow joined the fray, Chase healed him with a potion mid-battle. There was so little time that he sprayed some of it on himself by ident. Of course, it didn''t do anything. Four left. Abomasnow joined the fight. Wood Hammers mmed in the ghost''s direction, forcing it to divide its attention to dodge. Even if he was weaker at a distance, Abomasnow wasstrongin closebat. His green fists ttened their enemy, causing it to dissolve and reform a few feet away. It hissed as it narrowly dodged another Dark Pulse. Vikavolt, Riolu and Houndoom were here now. "I''d give up if I were you," Chase said. "We can do this all day." It did not even deign to answer. Its eyes shed with such fury that Chase was almost forced to his knees. Riolu ced a hand on his calf and worriedly stared. He couldn''t be weak. "Houndoom, stick with me. Hit it with Dark¡ª" He didn''t have time to issue the rest of his orders, but his Pokemon got the gist of what he meant. Intertwining rings of darkness shot out of Houndoom''s mouth, and the bubble around him strengthened. It grazed the ghost''s arm thanks to Abomasnow''s quick Icy Wind, but it was Zangoose that dealt substantial damage. The high stakes of the situation made her nervous, but it also sharpened her senses. She was moving faster and with more dexterity than before, raking her ws across the beast''s body with Night sh and forcing it to engage her. Vikavolt wrapped it with String Shots, forcing it to allocate focus to phase through the sticky strings while Riolu stood by. He was frustrated at hisck of contribution, but the typing worked against him here. A yell from the creature brought it all to an end. It was like a shock wave of ghostly energy, and even though Houndoom''s bubble protected him from the majority of the damage, Chase still felt his body temperature drop by a few degrees, doubled over and puked all over himself. He felt shivers run through his body and copsed on the hard floor. His Pokemon were no different, although Zangoose was left unharmed and Houndoom resisted the attack. Abomasnow stumbled back, Vikavolt fell out of the sky and Riolu got on one knee. The ghost quickly turned into the King and cackled. "Atst, my vengeance has arrived. I shall hew thee a thousandfold until no flesh remah upon thy meager frame." Chase coughed. "I work hard for this body, you asshole." Never had he been so terrified. He thought himself above fear, but today, he''d learned that he was not. Thankfully, the ghost was a sadistic piece of shit and calmly walked toward him, leaving him enough time to grab one of his empty Pokeballs. He threw it at the Pokemon, and it was absorbed into the ball. Chase stumbled, recalling Abomasnow and Vikavolt before legging it out of here. He heard his Pokeball shatter, and when he turned back he saw that the ghost could barely maintain its illusion. It was constantly changing between its human and Pokemon form, but the only thing that was constant was the eyes. Bright yellow, burning with hate and a need to kill him. Begging for his death.Visualizing it in clear, visceral detail. "YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO ENSLAVE ME? I WILL NOT BE PUT IN CHAINS AGAIN! I WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD!" Chase ran toward the city as fast as he could. On the way, he recalled his Zangoose, only leaving Riolu and Houndoom with him. The dark type''s bubble would mask the sound of his breathing and steps. He needed to hide. There was no way to beat this thing now that it had grown that powerful, but then what? It waspletely obsessed with him, and he was sure it wouldn''t hesitate to stalk the streets of the city for hours until it got its hands on him. He and his Pokemon would need to sleep eventually, but ghosts did not. He was fucked. Chase turned the first corner he saw and got lost into the streets. He had to watch for the Sigilyph too, or their attacks would alert the beast. He stepped inside of a house with a back exit and leaned against a wall, his breaths short and ragged. He felt half as strong as he usually was because of that damn burst of ghost energy, and it was the same for his stamina too. He wiped the sweat off his brow and calmed his breathing. He couldn''t panic. Not now. He released Vikavolt and Abomasnow to apply two potions to them. They''d been the closest to the shockwave. He recalled them soon after to leave them some precious minutes of rest, but he knew he''d need to use them again when the ghost found them. Two left. Chase heard a home copse a few blocks away and lifted a finger when Houndoom flinched.Quiet. He slowed his breathing and felt his heart hammer against his chest. His hand hovered over his Pokeballs, and he was already in position to run the moment the beast showed itself. It did not. Another building copsed, this time further away. Chase let out a trembling breath and felt his body loosen. But they still had to move. His best option was to run out from the hole he fell in. It would be an almost impossible climb, but he liked his odds against whatever the hell that was outside. He gestured to Houndoom and slipped out of the building. Only toe face to face with a fucking Sigilyph. Riolu jumped on Chase''s shoulder and thenpushed, mming a bright blue palm into the flying type''s chest. It fell to the floor with a loud crash, and Houndoom finished it off with a Feint Attack. The beast screamed in the distance. It was getting closer. "Arceus¡­damn it." Chase ran as he twisted his bag toward his front. He threw out anything that wasn''t valuable. Towels, tent, lighter, even fucking food. He could always eat the wildlife outside and sleep on the floor, but heneeded to be as light as possible. Houndoom barked and he instantly came to a stop. The Pokemon phased through the building in front of him and crashed into the next one. If Chase had kept running, he would have been run through. Its hand was stuck inside of the wall, but only for a second. The street was beginning to incline now. He was getting close. Chase released his Abomasnow, Zangoose, and this time Vikavolt. "Buy me some time! I''ll recall you when I get far enough!" Unfortunately for him, the ghost blinked forward and shed across both of their sides as he slipped through them. Chase groaned in fear and annoyance, but he immediately recalled them and released them in front of himagain. "Hit it with everything you''ve got! Slow it, then Night sh and Dark Pulse!" In the time it took for Abomasnow''s chest to rise as he inhaled and converted air into an Icy Wind inside of his lungs, their enemy had already run past him. Zangoose prepared her Night sh, but the beast simply took the hit, opting to keep going instead of even trying to dodge. It didn''t even care about anything but his death. A Discharge exploded out of Vikavolt''s body and electricity clung of the ghost type''s fur, but it did not relent. Houndoom stomped, causing the darkness below his feet to disappear and be reabsorbed into his body. A Dark Pulse twice as strong as it was before flew toward the ghost, and it looked more like a Discharge than a single line of dark type energy at this point. The beast stopped in his tracks and hissed. "Good, now converge on it¡ª" It was already back up. Riolu grabbed Chase and threw him back. He swore as he rolled on to floor like a ball and the small rocks tore up his clothes and back. Chase scrambled back up, swearing when his palmsburnedas they pushed him upward. Riolu was standing in between him and the ghost, bone in one hand and steel ws growing out of the other. He led with a simple throw, and the monster almost grinned at the simplicity of the attack. Its grin faded when the bone began to glimmer with a bright blue and it did not simply phase through his body. Riolu was using aura to fight, and Chase was too out of it to understand why it canceled whatever bullshit ghost powers it had. Another bone grew out of Riolu''s hand, and the fighting type barely had the time to yell at Chase to leave with the rest of the team before he narrowly stopped the ghost from slipping past him. He mmed the bone against its head before shing upward with Metal w from its inner thigh to its chest. The beast hissed, but Riolu shoved the bone down its mouth. "I ain''t leaving," Chase said, dropping his bag. "None of us are." He''d never been this exhausted his entire life. Strings shot out of Vikavolt''s mouth likes and wrapped around their opponent. Abomasnow arrived with a thundering boom and mmed both of his fists together, destroying the ghost type''s head with Wood Hammer. Houndoom kept the momentum going and jumped out of the shadows with Feint Attack, but a burst of dark type energy exploded outward, creating a modified Dark Pulse modeled after Discharge. It hit Abomasnow as well, but he bore with it. Zangoose blurred in front of the ghost and cut up the rest of its body in a hundred pieces with Night sh. "Now let''s get the fuck out of here!" Chase yelled. He recalled Abomasnow and began to run toward the hole. It took a bit of time for his eyes to find it, but it seemed alotfurther than it had been when he''d arrived a few hours ago. And yet, what choice did he have? He heard the ghost yell behind him, its voice growing more and more distorted with hate. It never fucking died, did it? Chase turned and prepared to fight again. He was back to the wall now, and he clumsily stepped back as much he could. He recalled his Pokemon and released them in front of him before throwing another empty ball at the ghost to buy some time. It destroyed it with a simple blow. The Pokeball shattered and its pieces ttered on the floor. The fighting resumed, but it grew closer by the second. There was little they could do to stop the beast. It was faster than Zangoose, endurant enough to take most blows and strong enough to destroy his team several times over. Soon, it would reach him. He had no choice but to try to climb. He grabbed onto a stone lodged into the cliff, but it fell out of his hand as soon as he ced any weight on it. He had a bit more luck with the second try, but arge side of the wall copsed, bringing him down with it. He swore and turned to the battle, and his heart sank when he saw Abomasnow on the floor with its chest torn open. He recalled him as soon as he could. The beast once again exploded with ghostly energy, but Houndoom growled, and a wall of darkness shielded Chasepletely this time. The dark type fell to the ground right after. There would be no more Icy Winds to slow the beast, now, and no protection from Houndoom. Every second, it gained in speed. Chase prepared to recall his Pokemon and hope that it would let them live. It could technically break them apart, which would automatically activate the emergency measure and release them, but its hatred seemed to be focused on him and not them, so he held hope that someone would find them eventually. Riolu needed to see his first trainer''s grave more than he needed to see a mother he''d never met¡ª Out of the corner of his eye, something was flying. It was too dark for Chase to discern whatever it was, but there was only one kind of Pokemon in this Arceus damned city other than this monster, and that was Sigilyph. A multicolored beam of energy hit the ghost''s back, and it turned with a look of utter disbelief. The psychic type let out a few mechanical beeps as itnded next to Chase. He didn''t even have time to process what the hell was happening, but he climbed on its back. It was six and a half feet tall, and from the looks of it, its wings were also made out of this ceramic-like material, which meant that they were easy to grip for bnce. Chase recalled his Pokemon one by one as Sigilyph floated toward the hole. Only Riolu was in any state to fight any longer. Houndoom was unconscious and Zangoose was barely able to stand and bleeding all over from shallowanddeep wounds. Vikavolt closely followed as he buzzed around them. "COME BACK DOWN, YOU WRETCHED CUR! YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN A SLIVER OF THE HATE I HAVE FOR YOUR KIN! THAT WAS BUT A TASTE OF THE AGONY I SUFFERED WHEN THE KING TORTURED ME FOR SPORT! I WILL FIND YOU¡ª" Sigilyph''s eye shone, and it copsed the hole''s entrance before the beast could have a chance of climbing out. Chase didn''t know if it could possibly phase through the rocks, but there must have been a reason it stayed there all this time. He took a few steps and coughed now that he was back into the fog. He copsed on the floor andughed. Never had he been so happy to be back on a shitty fucking route. He kissed the floor and passed out. ¡ª Chase woke up to Vikavolt buzzing on his back. He flinched before shooting up and getting back on his feet. He didn''t know how much time had passed, but the fog had cleared slightly, which was a good sign. It never really left, but it sometimes thinned. Chase groaned as he stood. His entire body hurt, but his hands and upper back had suffered the most. He couldn''t tell if anything was broken, but hecouldmove everything, at the very least. Vikavolt cheered, letting out a few sparks as he excitedly flew around his head. Chase smiled. "Kept you waiting, huh? I can''t believe I lived through that shit. Must be the luckiest guy alive." He grabbed his water bottle and he spat out a mouthful before downing the entire thing in seconds. Arceus, he''d been thirsty, and it washed off the taste of dirt in his mouth. He grabbed another one and poured some of it on his hands to wash them of grime, dirt, and blood, and they were cut up a lot worse than he''d thought. The skin was torn open in various areas, and making a fist burned like hell. Nothing he couldn''t handle, though. Pain built character. Wounds taught that actions had consequences. Scars were a reminder not to fuck up. He turned to the strange Pokemon that hadn''t left his side. Sigilyph. His savior. Hadn''t they been supposed to keep to a route until they croaked or whatever? Had this one been broken somehow? "Thanks for saving me," Chase shrugged. "Woulda died without your help." He didn''t care either way. That meant that he had the drive to go against the grain, and it was something that Chase appreciated in both people and Pokemon. The psychic type let out a few strange beeps and stared at him with its unblinking eye. He didn''t even know if it was an eye or just something that the people that had designed it painted on. There were also two eyes on its torso, but those didn''t blink or move either. Chase sighed. He had two potions left, but four Pokemon that were wounded. Maybe he could split them in four somehow, or maybe he''d just use them all on everyone other than Riolu. He''d been the least hurt in the fight thanks to his use of that aura bone bullshit that could somehow stop a ghost from slipping through something. Come to think of it, had that thing even been a true ghost? It hadn''t disappeared even once, but it could somehow go through walls at will and was apparently impossible to kill too, so maybe it was something in between? "Whatever," Chase grunted. He grabbed his two potions andid them out on the floor. He''d been born poor, had lived poorly and would keep doing so if his principles demanded it, but the day he became the Champion, things would change. He''d make an equal society for all. He released Zangoose first and spritzed some of the first potion across the worst wounds on her body, which were right below her neck, on her gut and on her shoulder. The normal type fiddled in ce, seemingly too reserved to express her happiness at the fact that they''d survived. Chase didn''t mind. He was used to her and knew she was d. Her actions alone proved that she was d that they all made it through, and that she''d do whatever was needed to make sure nothing happened to any of them, just like they''d do the same for her. "You pulled your weight down there, Zangoose," Chase praised. "You''re strong." It was a simple statement, but she shivered with pride and her hair ttened. "But we''ll improve together, still." Chase released Abomasnow next. The looming grass type had been hurt most of all, and he attempted to stand proud as Chase walked in front of him. "Rx. You deserve it," Chase said. The ice type copsed in a sitting position with a heavy sigh, and Chase began applying the potion across his torso. He rumbled, and his snowy mustache blew in the wind. "You were great. Your Icy Winds were crucial in slowing down whatever the hell that was, and whenever you hit it with Wood Hammer, it took a good second or two to grow its body back." Chase affectionately hit his healed wound with a fist. "Good job." It was Houndoom''s turn next. His time in his Pokeball had allowed him to regain consciousness, but he could still barely stand. There were a few surface wounds all across the body, including a rtivelyrge one to the nk, but the potion would help him rest better as well. Chase ced a hand on his hot belly and scratched it until his tonguezily hung out. "I would have died a thousand times without you. Our anti-ghost setup worked wonders," Chase smiled. "Great improvement on Dark Pulse too. It took a while for you to get it down, but you''re amazing at it now." He turned to Vikavolt, who was zooming around in the sky. "You did a great job on support with String Shot and Thunderbolt. Holding up that ghost''s attention for even a few seconds was crucial. Every moment counted. Amazing flight control and bursts of speed, by the way. It''s a shame we didn''t get to use Rising Voltage, but overall, you were fucking amazing." Chase stretched before releasing Riolu. The fighting type gazed into his eyes with a mix of pride and irritation. The first, for facing the threat head-on and keeping his head on straight, he guessed, and the second because he was determined to see his life end if his team got to live another day. He didn''t praise Riolu. That wasn''t how their rtionship worked. The fighting type was in charge most of the time, and it would feel condescending to do so. But still, Chase smiled. "Good job out there." Riolu reluctantly nodded and angrily turned away. Was his resolve angering him that much? Chase would have thought that it would have made him proud. Ri had seen him go from a kid scared of everything to his current self in barely two years, and Chase thought that that was what he wanted. Before he could retort, Sigilyph beeped to his side. "Right," Chase muttered. "You''re kind of out of a job, aren''t you? It''s not like you were doing anything anyway, I mean, nothing came down there in I don''t know how many years, so¡­" Chase stared at the psychic type, whose expressiony unchanging. It wasn''t as if it could change it anyway, but it was still weird. Weird¡­ "You''re a weird lil'' guy, aren''t ya?" Chase said. "Want toe with us?" The Pokemon slowly tilted his entire body until it turned upside down, and it got so close to Chase''s face that he could hear his breath of its ceramic body. "Is that a yes?" Chase said, grabbing another empty Pokeball. He only had five left¡­ he was running low. Even with his sixth member, this battle had taught him that throwing a Pokeball at a Pokemon way stronger than he was was enough to buy a few seconds, at least, so it''d be smart to keep some on him. Unfortunately, he only had a measly 4,324 Pokedors to his name. After hearing onest beepe out of Sigilyph, he softly hit it with his Pokeball, and the device immediately dinged. It hadn''t even shaken three times. Chase released it immediately and scanned its moves. With a Pokemon as weird as this one, it was imperative to know what the hell its gimmick was, and he needed it to get used to his team as soon as possible and vice versa. Or her. Apparently these had Arceus damned genders somehow.Make it make sense! Moves: Confusion, Gust, Air Cutter, Whirlwind, Psybeam, Cosmic Power Ability: Tinted Lens "Pretty shit, which makes sense considering how easily I took care of the others, but a good base to work up from," Chase smiled. "Great ability though. Wee to the team, Sigilyph. Guys, give her a warm wee!" His entire team grunted. "That''s how we do it here. We''re a team, and we help each other through every thing. You''ll work hard, but you''ll grow strong." Well, Chase wanted a psychic type, and he got one. Finally, he''d be able to do the type of shit that Pastel''s Togetic and Obel''s Slowking did, even if it''d take weeks of intense training to get her up to speed. Of course, he''d put his own twist on it. Chase wasn''t the type to copy whatever the hell worked for others. He did it his own way. Sigilyph started to stare at Zangoose and got a mere inch away from her face until the normal type hit her away. She beeped and moved on to Riolu, doing her upside down thing again. "Yeah, you''re a weirdo for sure." ¡ª Celestic town was breathtaking. It covered a small surface area and was nestled in a circr valley on Mount Cor''s nks. Up here, the majority of the fog cleared, although a tiny fraction of it still remained. Humidity wasn''t something Chase had thought of when traveling here, but it was certainly a factor. The air felt pure but stuffy at the same time. Many of the buildings were old, and constructed in the same style as that ancient city Chase had found days ago. However, they had none of the color or the randomness to them that made the city so charming in the first ce. These were mostly uniform, with a few variation between them. Of course, more modern buildings were strewn throughout, and all of them had dark teal rooves. The Pokemon Center stood out like a sore thumb, being the tallest and most modern-looking building in the town with its usual sleek design and orange roof. Chase walked with Riolu until he reached the edge of some kind of depression¡ª or was it a meteor crater? It certainly had the shape of one, but he was no astrologist, or whatever the hell studied meteorites. There were multiple set of stairs circling the crater, leading down to the floor there. An enormous shrine stood in the middle of the crater, and he could see some people¡ª almost dots with how far down they were¡ª surrounding the structure. Religion wasn''t a thing Chase was interested in, and neither was the majority of the world, but some people still worshipped the Legendaries of old. He remembered hearing that Johto was especially religious, but there was even a church in Hearthome that he never bothered to visit. Chase didn''t know much about the Legends. Some were confirmed to be real, but the majority of them were juststories. For all he called Arceus'' name all the time, he didn''t believe that a single Pokemon could have the power to create an entire universe. And where the hell would it even havee from? The shrine kept his attention as he traveled toward the Pokemon Center. Huge stone pirs rose from the ground, but he was too far to really know what the carvings on them said. Since he was high up, he could see that four walls surrounded a courtyard, but it was surprisingly empty. Maybe people weren''t allowed in? His eyes traced the shrine''s walls until he noticed the entrance of a cave further down the crater. It was also surrounded by a smaller shrine, but no one dared to evene near it. Chase entered the Pokemon Center, whichy in the southeast of Celestic, and gave his Pokemon to a bored Nurse Joy. The journey here had pushed his team to the brink, and since he waspletely out of potions, only Riolu and Sigilyph had been well enough to battle by the end of it. He was hungry, tired, but most of all, he needed to see someone for a check-up first. There was only a single doctor in the entirety of the Center, and luckily he had no broken bones. His hands were in a sorry state, however, and they needed to be bandaged. Chase opted to book a room and take a shower first, and after an hour or so, he was free to find his grandparents. "Well, no use beating around the bush, right?" He told Ri. "Do you remember where they lived? You were young, so don''t sweat it if you don''t." The fighting type quickly nodded and motioned at him to follow. Hopefully they hadn''t moved, because then he''d have to ask around, and he was in no mood to converse. Chase was nervous. Something that usually never happened. He thought that by expecting the worst, he''d be able to calm his nerves, but even that didn''t work. Riolu led him to one of the teal-rooved houses that sat next to an enormous home made out of some kind of hard wood. He already knew that it was Cynthia''s family''s home, where her grandmother and younger sister lived. Apparently his grandparents lived right next to them. Chase took a deep breath and knocked. He waited thirty seconds, and there was no answer. He knocked again, harder this time, but no one came to greet him. "Maybe they''re out," he sighed. Riolu grunted in disappointment. His eyes shone blue as he held out his hand, and he shook his head. "Can''t feel ''em in there, huh?" Chase said. "Well, we''ll wait." They both sat at the house''s door, talking about anything that came to mind. He couldn''t believe that they''d made it. This had been Chase''s goal since he set out of be a trainer, and he was on the cusp of realizing it. Riolu had grown up here, and he could tell that he was happy to be back after all these years. Still, there was a sadness that lingered. It reminded him of her. Chase''s mother. His real trainer. "Hello young man. Can we help you?" Chase''s head snapped up, and an old man and woman were in front of him with their arm linked. They looked younger than they probably were, but the fact that they wanted to enter the house meant that they must have been his rtives. The boy stiffly stood up, revealing Riolu. The fighting type had been well-hidden to his side. The older woman''s eyes lit up, as if she instantly recognized him. "Ri¡­Ri, is that you?!" The woman said. Riolu couldn''t contain his smile, and he jumped into the woman''s arms. Chase couldn''t help but smile. It was like he was a little kid. His grandmother stroked Riolu''s head, and his grandfather could barely register what was happening. "Young man¡­" he said. "How did you find him?Wheredid you find him?" Chase smirked, not because he felt happy but because he was hurt. This was no damn fairy tale. It would have been too convenient for them to recognize him right away when they''d never even met him. "I''m Chase Karlson. Urie Karlson and Adeline Halcourt''s son, and your grandson." They both froze. The older woman stared at Riolu, who nodded. "Why¡ªwhy don''t youe inside to talk," she said. ¡ª Chase sat down in his grandparent''s cozy living room with Riolu by his side, and his grandma brought him some hot tea. Hefinallyknew their names now¡ª Helen and Philippe Halcourt. It was awkward to ask, but his father had almost never talked about his mother''s family, and when he had, it was toin and never by name. It was always''your grandma this''or''your grandpa that''. Philippe sat down in a rocking chair with a heavy grunt while Helen brought some crackers with a weird green dipping sauce. Chase wasn''t the biggest fan, but he didn''t want to offend, so he drank his tea and ate the food. They hadn''t blown up at him, which was a good start. This wasn''t how he usually operated, but he wanted to be as polite as possible. He couldn''t ruin this for himself or Riolu. "Chase¡­ I can''t believe you''re this big already," Philippe scoffed in disbelief. "You''re fifteen now, right?" "Sixteen. My birthday was two weeks ago," he said, handing Ri a cracker. "Sorry for dropping on you out of the blue." Helen sighed. "Urie never told us the exact date of Addie''s de¡ª of your birth. Sorry." Chase restrained a wince and ignored what she''d been about to say. "Are you kidding me? This is so great! We thought we''d never see you!" He said. "You wanted to see me?" Chase asked. "Addie sent so many letters gushing about you during the pregnancy," Helen smiled. "Of course we wanted to see you." Chase felt joy swell in his heart. "T¡ªthank you. And sorry." "What for?" She frowned. "For¡­ killing Adeline." Riolu barked in protest, and Helen shot up. She walked up to Chase and grabbed him by the shoulders. Her grip was surprisingly tight, for an old woman. "It wasn''t your fault." "But¡ª" "It wasn''t. You were just a baby trying to go out into the world. We spent a long time hating your father for taking Addie away from us. The Iron Inds is no ce to give birth to a child, but he wouldn''t hear any of it," she said. "We still think that he shares some of the me, but Addie¡­ Addie agreed with him. She wanted to stay." Riolu stopped eating and tightly shut his eyes. "It was a terrible choice," Philippe said with teary eyes, staring in the distance. It took Chase a few seconds to realize that he''d been looking at a framed picture of his mother. "And she paid dearly for it. But thest thing we would do is meyou." Chase silently nodded, but he felt lighter now. A piece of the guilt he''d been carrying from the day he''d been born was gone. No longer would he have to feel like he took his mother away from her parents. But he still knew that he''d taken her away from his father. "I actually came here for another reason," Chase said. "If I could have, uh, a picture of her? And if you could point me in the direction of her grave, I would really appreciate it." "You didn''t even have to ask. Phil?" The man stood up and walked to his room while Helen continued. "We''ll bring you to her grave. That was actually where we were while you were waiting for us here," she said. "Don''t worry, we''ll leave you some time alone. I''m sure Addie will be very happy to see her little boy all grown up." Chase''s lips quivered and his eyes watered. He lowered his cap and sniffled. He wasn''t even at the damn grave yet, and he still felt like his soul was being crushed. "Thank you," he exhaled. "I can''t thank you enough for this. Do you have a phone or something I can use to call you? I won''t be staying long." "We have andline," Helen smiled. "And you can always send us letters as well. Addie was old-fashioned like that." His grandfather walked out of the bedroom with a medallion. He grabbed Chase''s hand, ced it inside of his palm and closed his fist around it. Chase ignored the pain. This was important. "There''s a picture of your mother in there. It was taken right before she left with your dad, so it''s old, but it''s the most recent one we''ve got. News travel slowly here, but we heard what happened in the Iron Inds when your father died. I assume that your home was also lost in the wreckage?" "It was. I couldn''t take anything, and my dad didn''t like to have the pictures hanging around anyway. It hurt him too much." Chase said. He opened the medallion and saw his mother''s face for the first time in¡­ in he didn''t even know how many years. Long brown hair, a mischievous crooked smile and brown eyes so light that they could almost appear hazel. "You look like her, you know?" Helen smiled. "Your eyes and smile are exactly the same." Chase hadn''t realized he''d been smiling. He silently nodded and put the medallion around his neck. "Thank you for giving this to me. It must be important to you." "Don''t worry. We can''t hog the memory of Addie to ourselves," Philippe gently said. "Now let''s bring you to her." ¡ª It was a particrly hot afternoon today, even for the middle of winter. Chase could travel outside without his usual coat and only a sweater. The sunlight made all of Celestic seem so bright inparison to the dreary, foggy hellscape that he''d expecteding here. Chase waved at his grandparents, who did the same and slowly began to walk back home. In front of him and Riolu sat his mother''s grave. Her name and the epitaph were written in a font so fancy that Chase could barely read it properly. Adeline Halcourt Chase said it out loud a few times, getting his mouth used to the sound of his mother''s name. His eyes focused on the epitaph next. ''In loving memory of Adeline Halcourt, Beloved daughter and cherished mother, Taken too soon, but forever in our hearts. Born from love, embraced by grace. May she watch her child grow up from the heavens.'' Tender wildflowers and fresh roses adorned the grave, no doubt put here by Philippe and Helen. Chase stood there in quiet reverence, simply staring for at least twenty minutes. "I should have brought something," he finally exhaled. "Sorry about that." The boy opened the pendant one more time and took in his mother''s face before staring at the gravestone. He crouched and clenched his forehead, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Hi¡­ mom? I don''t know what to say now that I''m here," Chase dryly chuckled. "To be honest, I never thought I''d get this far. I never knew you, but I feel like¡ª I feel like we would have gotten along? I mean I hope so." He paused, finding his words. "You know, I don''t exactly believe in an afterlife, but I changed my mind. I like the idea of you and dad looking at me. Looking at what I''ll be," Chase said. "I''m sorry I couldn''te until now. You must have been wondering what the hell I was doing. I brought Ri with me." He turned toward the fighting type, who was silently mourning with tears streaming down his cheeks. There was a certain blue glow to him that he''d never seen before. "He misses you too. He talked a little bit about you on the road, but he stayed quiet most of the time. You know, dad would never speak about you either. It''s like whenever you came into someone''s life, you made such a mark that reminiscing about you was too painful to bear. It sucked," Chase sighed. "Ri''s okay, even if he''s being silent. I think he''s doing some kind of aura bullshit. I don''t understand it very well. He misses you¡­ and I''m sorry for keeping him away from you all this time. I''m afraid he''ll have to stick around though. He promised dad to protect me." He took a shaky breath and began to sob. "I wish you could be here.I wish I could talk to you¡­fuck," he rubbed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to settle down. "I have a goal. It''s a bit silly to say out loud, but I want to be Sinnoh''s Champion. Then I''ll make sure that what happened to you and dad can never happen to other families ever again. Every single corner of Sinnoh should be treated the same as fucking Jubilife, so why the hell are the people living in the Iron Inds treated as second-ss citizens? Why couldn''t there be proper fucking healthcare¡­ proper protection for miners¡­ fuck this." Chase sat on the grassy floor, took off his cap and stared at it. It wasn''t that unique. Just a blue cap with nothing else on it. No design, no initials, just a nd blue cap. It was worn out and faded from all of his travels. It was the only thing he''d recovered from the catastrophe that hit his mining vige. A powerful Steelix, angered by the miners encroaching on its territory had destroyed everything in its sight. Almost everyone died. Why had he kept the cap? Because he''d been wearing it that day. A cap to remember his father by. A medallion to remember his mother by. "I''ll make sure what happened to both of you will never happen to anyone ever again." ¡ª Chase ended up spending the entire afternoon by his mother''s grave. Not all of the hours were filled with conversation, but when he did talk, he mostly did so about his training or his team. He showed her to Sigilyph, but she didn''t seem to understand the concept of a grave. Maybe that wasn''t how they did it back in their ancient city? He tried to exin to her that his mother was in there, but he wasn''t sure if he got the message across. Chase promised her that he''d bring back full team to introduce them to her before leaving. "Are you ready to go?" Chase asked Riolu. "We''lle back tomorrow morning." Riolu silently stood and stared Chase in the eyes with newfound resolve. His tired, teary eyes glowed with a pale blue, intensifying until the light overtook his entire body and turned bright white. All this time, Riolu had been waiting for closure. Or well, Lucario now. He was only slightly taller than Chase, but he exuded an incredible amount of power. The steel type brought Chase into a hug, and he felt something brush against his mind. Iprehensible whispers that were almost within reach. As soon as the hug ceased, Chase looked on, trying to hide the bewilderment on his face. "Can I¡ª can I still call you Ri?" Lucarioughed and nodded. Chase gripped his fist and shook it tightly. "My friend," Chase grinned. All this time, he had struggled to ce what Ri had been to him. A guardian? A parental figure? He thought that he would never discover the answer. The core of their rtionship wascamaraderie. Shared loss. Friendship. They wereequals. "Get ready, Ri. We''re fucking winning this entire thing." And his parents would watch over them. The next afternoon, Sceon was plunged in darkness.
Interlude – Fallout Interlude ¨C Fallout INTERLUDE - FALLOUT Cynthia Collins sat in a dusty office full of spreadsheets, ledgers and reports. After a heavy breath, she stood up, paced around the room and stretched. These chairs had terrible lumbar supports and were killing her back. Aaron and Lucian were with her, of course, as they¡¯d been for the few days. In fact, they¡¯d been together so much that both of them had stopped their endless bickering. kazam peered over a levitating piece of paper with his usual angry sneer. And by bickering, it was mostly Aaron trying to get under Lucian¡¯s skin and him beingpletely immune to whatever the youngest Elite Four member threw at him. Aaron had a brilliant mind, but he was distracted very easily, which made creating a n to solve Sceon¡¯s economic crisis a headache-inducing process. Sometimes, Cynthia wished she could take another year off like she¡¯d done when she had gone to study Unova¡¯s political system for inspiration when she¡¯d been trying to reform Sinnoh¡¯s. It was where she had caught herst few Pokemon, more than a decade ago now. Her diplomatic trip to the region had been a monumental event at the time and Sinnoh still had very good rtions with Unova because of it. Of course, the same couldn¡¯t be said with Kanto-Johto, but things were slowly improving and were nowhere as bad as they had been under her predecessor. Maybe a trip to Hoenn would do her some good when Team Gctic was finally dealt with. Oh, to be on those beaches¡­ ¡°Look, I¡¯m no economist, but Sceon¡¯s got to diversify first and foremost,¡± Aaron said, tapping at a paper. ¡°We¡¯ve cut spending across the board, but we¡¯re still in the red by¡­ how much?¡± Four point five billion Pokedors, kazam¡¯s voice rang out. I have alreadyid out my two-hundred-and-fifty-six-step n to fix this deficit. Any more time spent here is a waste of my time, and you know I despise it when people waste my time. Cynthia smirked at the psychic type. ¡°Your n treats people like numbers, not like living, human beings. Take step five¡­ putting Sceon on lockdown to force people to stay? Your n is unrealistic.¡± It is not unrealistic, you justck the will to implement it, The psychic said. Since I have done my piece, I will take my leave. I must get back to studying the Unown. ¡°Feel free to,¡± Lucian shrugged. Aaron shrugged. ¡°Talk about getting¡ª¡± Silence, pest. Just breathing in the same air as you makes me sick, kazamined before teleporting away. Well, all of Lucian¡¯s Pokemon tended to be disinterested in human affairs, so they would be of no help. Some parts of kazam¡¯s n were sound, however, and she would still be able to make use of it. ¡°He must still be angry about that time I got him with that neat Super Speed trick with Yanmega,¡± Aaron said. ¡°Stop bragging about things that happened six months ago and get back to work,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Lucian, what do you think about Aaron¡¯s idea? Diversifying?¡± Lucian shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s more of a long-term n. To put it in words, it would be like trying to dock a sinking rowboat while in the middle of the ocean instead of plugging the holes. Right now, we need to fix what is broken.¡± Aaron sighed and Cynthia nodded. Lucian and Aaron were both smart in their own ways. while Flint and Bertha were the heart of the Elite Four, they were the brains. Lucian was better at looking at the bigger picture and creating long, intricate ns while Aaron focused on granr details and ran a lot of the day-to-day at the League. ¡°I¡¯ve already called Vernon. He will start hammering out an emergency package for the city,¡± Lucian continued. ¡°The n is to cover the city¡¯s costs for a year¡­ which will be a heavy burden to bear, especially when it won¡¯t pay for itself, but it must be done. We¡¯ll have Hearthome and Veilstone bring in engineers and construction workers for the repairs. I have a list ofpanies that might be interested in the work, and they¡¯ll have to bid on a contract.¡± Lucian typed on hisputer and printed out another piece of paper before handing it to Cynthia. ¡°I rmend to only let these threepanies in on the bidding process. We could just award the contract to one of them, but¡­¡± ¡°But that¡¯s dictatorial-ish, so we think it¡¯d be a better idea to let the process go on as usual with negotiations and all of that¡ª to at least give the illusion of deliberation,¡± Aaron finished the sentence. ¡°You¡¯ve used quite a lot of political capital already. Might want to cool off on that for a while.¡± Oh, Cynthia knew that already. It was strange to her, how people could only see the faults in her actions after she¡¯d saved Sceon from an even worse tragedy. She had fired the entire political apparatus in the city and reced it with loyalists, but that was only temporary, and it was needed for them to implement her n without a fuss. But Bertha had warned her when she had first be Champion. Dabbling in politics for too long changed people, and it made you see the worldpletely differently than the average person. Cynthia lingered on the thought for a second, but she knew that what she¡¯d done was correct. Democracy was an ideal that she¡¯d had her entire life, but it was often too slow at dealing with crises. Without her loyalists in the City Council, Mayor¡¯s office, and Treasurer¡¯s office, it would have taken the politicians there weeks to decide where to allocate the funds that the national government would give them. Cynthia had already seen it happen multiple times. ¡°Underhall Construction, Veilstone Holding, Timburr Co.,¡± she read out. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the first two, but what in the world is Timburr Corporation?¡± ¡°They¡¯re rather new and trying to make a name for themselves. They use a lot of Pokemon-basedbor, so they¡¯d be the cheapest option on the list. Underhall construction is based on Hearthome, and they¡¯d be the safest, but slowest option to get the city rolling again. Veilstone Holding is the middle-of-the-road option, both in price and time, but with what¡¯s been happening in the city, they¡¯d be happy to get a chance at the job.¡± ¡°Maylene would appreciate it as well,¡± Aaron chimed in. ¡°Have you been speaking?¡± Cynthia asked. ¡°Nah, not really. I just get people,¡± he said. It was true. Aaron¡¯s ability to understand how people thought was better than even hers, which was why she considered him one of her possible sessors when she retired. Of course, someone could also beat her in battle, but she doubted that would happen. Flint was out of the question. He was too rash, hotheaded and unserious to be in her position. Bertha was too old and would probably retire in the next ten years. Not every Elite Four member clung to power as much as Agatha. Lucian had no desire to rise any higher. She had to butter him up for months for him to even ept joining the Elite Four. When a Champion retired willingly, they got to choose who would rece them, although it almost always was a member of the Elite Four that did so. Unova had more checks and bnces to their system, but Cynthia wanted to keep the civilian government out of affairs as important as picking the Champion. Aaron might have been the weakest member of the Elite Four right now, but he was also the youngest. He was only neen and was progressing at a rapid pace. If age calmed him down and stopped him from getting distracted so easily, then Cynthia would have no doubts. Time would tell what Aaron would be. ¡°Underhall Construction was in charge of building Canve¡¯s canal, correct? And Veilstone Holding ran thest expansion efforts for the city. What have Timburr Co. done?¡± ¡°Their most notable projects were building a new Contest Hall in Jubilife and renovating the city¡¯s port.¡± Cynthia hummed. ¡°Well, contact thepanies and start the bidding process. I trust that you two will be able to cooperate in evaluating the bids with the city officials?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯ll go against what we say. I said illusion of deliberation, remember?¡± Aaron said. ¡°That¡¯s step one. Now for step two.¡± Lucian nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve called for diversification, but first, I think that we need to lean into wheat¡ª¡± ¡°Hold on, I got a banger idea when you said wheat just now,¡± Aaron lifted a finger. ¡°I agree with what you said, at least for the short term, but Sceon¡¯s not ying to its strengths. Sure, they¡¯ve been selling, but not as much as they could be. Shipping things by ne and teleporting goods is expensive and inefficient. Hearthome and Oreburgh can do it because they¡¯re rich, but Sceon can¡¯t exactly afford to do so, especially now that they¡¯re going to be losing so much money. There¡¯s the river system south of here that leads to the ocean, right? Why not use that to ship their produce?¡± Cynthia thought for a second, visualizing the rivers he spoke about in her head. Hearthome and Sceon had often rattled their sabers over the water rights there. Lucian was seemingly already done, however. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s actually a great idea. Freight shipping will ease a lot of Sceon¡¯s burdens, but we¡¯d have to invest in building a port¡­ more bids, I presume?¡± They were right, Cynthia mused. While air travel was arge part of how cities exported goods abroad, shipping was the majority thanks to its low costs and ease of transport. Jubilife had done the same thing a century ago. Even whilendlocked, they built a port to the west to facilitate trade, first with Canalve, then the entire region and the world. ¡°ce that in the bid,¡± Cynthia nodded. ¡°Prioritize farming, tell Vernon to put more modern farming equipment in the emergency package as well. We¡¯ll have to buy them from anotherpany, but we¡¯re spending money for a good cause. Salvaging the situation will restore a bit of my political capital for when Team Gctic eventually strikes and I have to take the gloves off again.¡± Cynthia let out a heavy sigh. It wasn¡¯t like she enjoyed taking rights away. They had Porygon scouring the forums to censor information faster than any human moderator could see, and they had twisted the media¡¯s arm to keep the story about Shiftry leading the Hunters contained. There had thankfully been no leaks due to the fact that they were content to simply chew on the massive bone that Grace Pastel, Cecilia Obel and their group had given them. They''d exposed Shiftry''s existence and his involvement in the events that took ce a few weeks after Cynthia''s ascension, but the fact that he''d been pulling Sceon''s strings could not be known. Sceon being quasi-independent would not be a good look, both nationally and abroad. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving then,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Keep hammering out the details and keep city officials in the know. Samantha¡¯s going to hold a press conference in two and a half hours, and she needs to give the talking points in a natural way, or she¡¯lle off as robotic.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Lucian agreed. ¡°I mean, she didn¡¯t even want to be Mayor,¡± Aaron said. ¡°But I guess that means she¡¯d good for the job. Isn¡¯t there a saying about that? The best leaders are those who don¡¯t want to take the position?¡± ¡°There is, but it¡¯s nonsense,¡± Cynthia said as she left. With the economy now sorted out, it was time for her to get her daily reports about the happenings around the region that was curated for her every day. The League Trainer had already been waiting for her outside of the office, and he handed her the report. ¡°Thank you, Keh. I hope you didn¡¯t mind waiting around too much,¡± she smiled. ¡°Not at all ma¡¯am,¡± the young man said. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to serve.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s an honor to work alongside you,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Here.¡± The Champion handed him an empty signed Pokeball and ced it in his palm. ¡°For your little sister Morgan,¡± she continued. ¡°She¡¯s turning fifteen next year, right? You told me she wanted to be a trainer the other day.¡± Keh blushed before stammering. ¡°T¡ªthank you! I can¡¯t wait to see the look on her face¡­ she¡¯ll be ecstatic.¡± Cynthia smiled. It was the little things like these that kept her going. She began to read her report and focused in on the Veilstone section immediately. There were still no Team Gctic members captured there, but there had been a few sightings or reportsing in from the tip line. It was like Team Gctic in the city had gone radio silent, but Cynthia knew better. They were waiting for the right time to strike. The question was when? She already had Lou constantly monitoring Maylene for her protection, but she was still worried about the young gym leader. The moment the crisis here was resolved, she¡¯d focus all of her attention on the matter of Veilstone. Other than that, things were going well, although there were reports of a young girl shaking up the Contest scene by exposing someone who¡¯d worked with Team Gctic on social media that they¡¯d somehow missed. A certain Antoine Nguyen that had slipped through the cracks. Cynthiamitted the girl¡¯s name to memory and made a mental note to tell Fantina about her. Keh released a Bronzong and Teleported them to their next location¡ª the Pokemon Center. She wasn¡¯t here to visit Grace Pastel¡¯s friends. Some of them had already left, and only three of them remained. Instead, she waved at the bewildered trainers and smiled for their pictures. She had a meeting scheduled with Craig Goodwill. The events of the Darkest Day had made him fly to Sceon to see his sister Lauren, and she used the opportunity to sit him down for a discussion. Trainers of his caliber were very busy. Keh waited at the door and saluted as she entered. The raven-haired man didn¡¯t even spare her a look. ¡°Champion Cynthia,¡± Craig dejectedly said. ¡°Craig,¡± she smiled. ¡°You seem sad. Did something bad happen?¡± ¡°Well my sister left and gave me the finger while she did so.¡± Cynthia chuckled as she sat. ¡°She¡¯s a teenager, she¡¯ll grow up. My sister hated me when we were younger. Everyone knew her as Cynthia¡¯s sister and not Celeste. We grew apart for quite a long time.¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t help at all.¡± ¡°Well, you have to let children grow up,¡± Cynthia shrugged. ¡°Have you considered my offer?¡± ¡°I have, and it¡¯ll have to be a no, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Craig said. ¡°Interesting. May I know why?¡± ¡°Being a League Trainer sounds nice and all, but I want to make it to the end of the year and challenge you first. That was always the n.¡± ¡°Then we can work out another agreement,¡± Cynthia immediately said. Craig Goodwill was too good of a trainer to pass up on. When the time came, Cynthia wanted him in the League to help against Team Gctic. Trainers were not beholden to the League, and therefore would not be forced to join the fight, which Cynthia found perfectly eptable, but she had assessed Craig a while ago. He wasn¡¯t the best at anything, but he could do everything extremely well. His approach to training had been slow and steady growth since he¡¯d been fifteen, and today he could beat most Gym Leader¡¯s teams without breaking a sweat, and she was rtively confident in saying that he would win the Conference this year. If she had to guess¡­ Cynthia thought he would beat Aaron and Bertha, but Flint¡¯s explosive battling style would prove too much for him. That meant that she had a trainer as powerful as an Elite Four member right there. She would be a fool not to try to poach him. ¡°What agreement?¡± Craig asked as he fiddled with an Ultra Ball. That was his¡­ Elektross, if Cynthia remembered correctly. She had one of her own that she¡¯d caught in Unova, although they both hadpletely different battling styles. ¡°Come on Craig, you¡¯re smart. You know what I want,¡± Cynthia smirked. ¡°Join the Internship Program so we have the option to call on you when the timees. That way, you¡¯ll still be able to participate in the Conference. You want to be the Champion, don¡¯t you? Thates with responsibilities that you should be able to face.¡± Craig chuckled, then rubbed his chin. ¡°Fair enough. I was mostly waiting to see how long it¡¯d take for you to be straight with me.¡± ¡°I thought it wasn¡¯t necessary, but I was clearly wrong and I apologize,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°Do you still only own your usual six Pokemon? If you¡¯re going to Mount Cor, the League will have to issue you a Teleporter. It¡¯d be skirting the rules, but you¡¯re too important.¡± ¡°I have a new member that I¡¯m keeping hidden for the Conference,¡± he said. ¡°Already knows Teleport, and I¡¯ve been to every city with him. Routes would be a problem though. I just fly over them these days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± the Champion nodded. ¡°Even if Team Gctic strikes off-route, so long as you can get to the nearest city, League Trainers will get you there.¡± Cynthia shot up. ¡°I¡¯ll have Lucian send you the papers immediately,¡± she continued. ¡°Thank you for your service.¡± ¡°Gotta keep the region safe, right?¡± Craig said. ¡°It is what it is.¡± Yes, Cynthia thought. It was what it was. He would not enjoy hising duties, and neither would she. ¡ª¡ª Cynthia left Keh soon after their meeting. Only a few eyes had seen where she was going next, and he did not have the clearance to do so. League Trainers were not uniform. They were divided in a few categories. There were Recruits¡ª people that had only recently joined the force and were still in training. Privates were trainers that hadpleted their training and only had a few years of experience. Corporals usually had five years of service, while Sergents usually had around eight. Commanders were veterans that had the highest authority below the Elite Four, and had often been in service for decades. There wasn¡¯t exactly a set number of years that guaranteed your promotion. Some people shot up the ranks in a few years while some were stuck at the Private rank their entire careers. Of course, there were auxiliary forces as well. The Teleportation Squads that Cynthia used a lot due to hercking a Pokemon with the move, ACE Trainers that were focused on more covert operations, the Air Force, the Aquatic Squads, Dark Type Specialists that focused on shutting ghosts and enemy teleporters down¡­ there were a lot. Your rank determined your clearance level. Commanders knew about threats like Regigigas, the Regis, or what had happened a few years ago in Hoenn. Groudon and Kyogre¡¯s fight had threatened to destroy the entirety of Hoenn until Rayquaza intervened. Gym Leaders were actually not privy to most of that information just because of the fact that they were a separate entity. While they did work for the League, they were closer to their respective civilian governments and almost never came to the Lily of the Valley Ind. There were a few other Legendaries contained by the League with intricate procedures and ancient rituals. New Moon Ind and Stark Mountain housed one each. Some Legendaries were well-meaning and ran free through the region as well. But these? These were not Legendaries. In front of Cynthia sat a cave whose entrance was blocked with an intricate seal. At its core, it was simply an enormous stone b, but there were small indentations on the stone that had been carved into it like conduits. Dark type energy pulsated through the conduits until it converged in the center into a singr point. Beyond that wall, hundreds of thousands of Unown slept. They had been lucky that Shiftry had still kept the seal sustained during his tantrum. If he hadn¡¯t, then they would have broken out and wreaked havoc on the entire region. ¡°Andrew! How¡¯s she taking to the job?¡± Cynthia asked arge, gruff League Trainer. He turned toward her, showing medals lining his uniform. An Absolzily preened her fur and stared at Cynthia with utter contempt. She couldn¡¯t exactly me the dark type. Her new job would be incredibly boring, even if she¡¯d be allowed to roam Sceon whenever she wished. Unfortunately, they tended to show up close to when disaster struck, so the civilians would no doubt panic. ¡°She¡¯s angry, but she knows it has to be done,¡± the Commander said, crossing hisrge arms. ¡°Thank you, Absol,¡± Cynthia said. ¡°We¡¯ll try to get another dark type trained so you can work in shifts. We were going to do so anyway in case anything ever happened to you.¡± Absol brightened at that. Training her had taken a lot of trial and error, but the process had sped up exponentially when they got their hands on a lone Unown a few years ago. Alone, they could do nothing at all. They were barely a threat to humans, and Absol could simply tweak her dark type maniption until that Unown fell asleep. Together? They could warp reality to their liking, and they¡¯d function like a hive mind. Even summoning weaker versions of Legendaries was on the table. Cynthia had studied the Great War, and Johto had used the Unown for that very purpose, creating a clone of Entei, Raikou and Suicune in an attempt to win the war. There hadn¡¯t been enough Unown for them to be powerful enough, and the experiment failed miserably. The Unown were a hive mind, but they could also bend to a human¡¯s will. No one knew what exactly it was that they looked for, but if a person was chosen, they would essentially be a god. Which was why Johto had only experimented with a few thousand. They weren¡¯t foolish enough to use arge number. Still, finding someone to be chosen had taken hundreds of attempts, and when they failed, the person would suffer an unknown fate depending on what the group of Unown felt like. It made death look pretty. Now that they knew exactly how to contain the Unown and put them into a daze, training more dark types would only take a few months at most. Even Shiftry was not foolish enough to let the Unown loose despite knowing that he would die. She would never have expected his answer to her question to make so much sense. Why had he reneged on their deal and cooperated with Team Gctic? Why risk everything when he knew that he could not stand up to her, let alone the entire League? Cyrus promised him something. Cynthia did not know much about Shiftry¡¯s life, but she did know about his rtionship with Ediva Hunter. She¡¯d been his first and only trainer, and he¡¯d never stopped mourning her death. The only way he managed to cope was to dull his emotions, and it had an effect on the people around him as well. Cynthia had no doubt that in the end, there had been an element of control to it too, otherwise he would not have let the Hunters¡¯ loyalty to him remain. He would have shut down every single emotion. But at the beginning? It had been about a Pokemon being unable to mourn his trainer¡¯s passing. Cyrus¡¯ goal was to create a new world. A new world that he would be able to rule and shape to his liking. In exchange for help, he had promised Shiftry to bring Ediva back and to bring him into this new world. He would have abandoned the rest of his family to do it. Cynthia cracked her neck, released her Garchomp and flew back toward Sceon. The motivation of Team Gctic Commanders'' had eluded the League until now. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn¡¯s motivation still remained shrouded, but Charon? Cynthia¡¯s talks with Mira Compton had been very productive in that regard. He too, wanted to bring someone back.
Chapter 169 Chapter 169 CHAPTER 169 "Okay, so you''re looking for the batterypartment, right?" I told Honey as he confusedly twisted our camping stove around. I grabbed the battery and handed them to him. "See that little indentation on the side? Open it and put them in there." The electric type hummed, and after a few seconds, he managed to get the stove powered. "Now you want to select temperature, and bam! You can just put a pot on there and start cooking. Not the most exciting process since you''re starting small, but it''ll do for now. Baby steps, right?" I smiled, tapping his shoulder. "You watch me cook the pasta for now, okay? Tomorrow, you can do the same." Electabuzz excitedly whirred as I grabbed my small pack of pasta. I called Buddy over and asked him to spit water into the pot. Water types'' water was perfectly healthy to drink, but most trainers didn''t exactly like to imagine drinking somethinging out of someone else''s mouth. I wasn''t most people. When the water came to a boil, I dumped the raw pasta in. "Now with pasta, it''s pretty simple I think. I mean, it''s one of the few things my dad taught me how to cook, so I''m alright at it," I continued as I twirled the noodles around. "You wanna wait until they''re soft¡­ which is, uh, a certain amount of time that I forgot. I guess we can taste test as it goes!" After a few minutes, Honey tapped on my shoulder and grunted, nodding toward the salt. "Fuck," I sighed. "I forgot." We were currently camping on route 210, and we had made it halfway through. Denzel had been right. The grass here really was taller than all of us¡ª even Sunshine and Angel. Luckily, the Rangers had forged a path through and we were simply following it. There had been no idents or even attacks so far, which was good news. I usually didn''t cook that much outside of cities, but Honey did want to get better at it, so I figured why not pack a bunch of stuff to cook on the way to Veilstone? That way, I figured I''d be able to share his hobby and we''d get better at it together. Pasta and sandwiches were about all I could make right now, but it was a work in progress. After dumping what might have been way too much salt into the bowl, I strained the pasta, dumped the water in the bowl and put the pasta back in. "Guys! Dinner!" I yelled. Sweetheart rolled toward us first, although I had to yell at her to stop herself before her momentum built up too much. Pupitar weren''t supposed to move like that, and she was still slowly getting better at moving properly, but it was more of a temporary solution to her current handicap. It did remind me of when I used to train Princess with Rollout back in our apartment. "You can taste a little, but there''s not enough in here to feed you," I said. "You''ve got to eat dirt to grow up properly, okay?" The ground type let out an echoing roar. I was slowly learning her bodynguage again, and she had that same thing that Angel had going on with his eyes, but more muted. I was pretty sure she''d smiled right there. Princess was off in the distance, creating a lifesized statue of Sunshine, who was sleeping in his usual curled-up position. Unfortunately for her, the fire type shifted positions and ruined her work¡ª at least in her eyes. She angrily reduced the half-finished statue to dust and blew it all over Turtonator''s body before joining me. I waited to see if he''d retaliate, but aside from a roar that caused a few Starly to flee in fear and him heating up the surroundings by a few degrees, he didn''t do anything substantial. Still, I told him to stop, not wanting to scare trainers traveling through. There were a lot because of the tournament, but we mostly kept to ourselves. Buddy let out a heavy, otherworldly sigh and washed away the dust with a warm jet of water. Angel skipped across the floor with a huge smile in his eyes. "When did you learn to do that?" I asked amusedly. I had never seen him skip before. He shrugged with his vines, not remembering the answer. I prepared everyone''s usual meals, along with a side of pasta. Yeah, kibble or berries with pasta was weird, but they seemed to like it enough. Except Princess, who kept to her Oran Berries and left the rest of the food untouched. I''d anticipated that and only put the vitamins on there anyway, so it worked out regardless. Sunshine hated my pasta andined that there was too much salt in it with an exasperated groan. "I tried my best, you grouch!" I yelled. "You sound like my dad. Oooh, look at me, there''s too much salt in my food, I have to eat healthy. Just give it to Angel or Sweetheart if you hate it so much. Hmph!" Honey reassured me with a worried grunt, saying that the food was fine and that he enjoyed it very much, and that cheered me up some. Angel passed on the food, not because he hated the pasta but because he liked to feed Pupitar. He''d gotten a lot more into his caretaking thing since she evolved, and he couldn''t go five minutes before worrying about her. Sweetheart rolled over, and the grass type dumped the remaining contents of Sunshine''s bowl into her mouth. Then, she turned back and began munching on dirt. It was all she did most of the day, along with sleeping. She needed all the energy she could get to grow strong and evolve. Hopefully I''d be able to get her some of that premium dirt in Veilstone. I chuckled to myself. "Premium dirt. Heh." After cleaning everything up, I set up my tent and got ready to sleep. I wouldn''t clock out right away, but it was nice to hide away from the elements. Plus, making a fire was annoying and I no longer had to do it thanks to Sunshine being there. I could even sleep in short sleeves and I would feelpletely fine so long as he slept to the side of my tent which he didn''t mind. Buddy sneaked into my tent, bing a misshapen thing that was more water than Pokemon to be able to fit inside. Only his bright red eyes were recognizable. Princess slept inside of the tent because she was a mommy''s girl and could actually fit, but everyone else kept guard outside. The reason Jellicent was here was because we had these nightly chats, just him and me. Princess sometimes chimed in of course, but she was content to listen most of the time. "Wee," I said in a dramatic tone, causing him to roll his eyes at me. I lifted a hand in the air and softly plunged it inside of the water. Jellicent quivered and shook around my arm. "Sorry. I know it tickles, I just think you''re really cool when you do this." When I''d caught him in Sandgem, I never expected him to be able to do this stuff. The water solidified into a gel-like substance and he shed his ''not actually angry, but I have to look angry'' face at me that he liked to use when dealing with Honey, Princess or Sweetheart''s antics. "I''ll behave," I smiled. "How about we start with what''s been bothering you? When I said that you wouldn''t be able to understand me." His eyes dimmed, and he stared silently at me. "I wanted to tell you that it''s not true. Pokemon and humans, well, we have our differences and our simrities, and to be honest, isn''t that fine? Our thoughts won''t align sometimes, but that doesn''t mean that we can''t understand each other. Hell, I''d say that you''re capable of understanding how I think almost perfectly already. I''ve been cking in that regard¡­ I''ve been expecting you all to just be like me, and I know that''s not realistic." Jellicent let out a series of clicks, each one at a different pitch, length, or resonation. It was aplex sentence, but I understood it perfectly. Cynthia couldn''t exin my strange ability, and there was apparently no one else like me that she''d found, so why? Why was I so good at understanding Pokemon? I blinked and snapped back to the conversation. "No, look, everyone in the family has a different moral code, and we''ve just been following mine because I''m the mom. We have Sunshine and you on one end, and Honey and Angel on the other." The water type stared at Princess and huffed. She innocently snuggled into my arms. "Fine, Princess is on your end too," I added. "Anyway, the point is, you''re fine. Don''t let what I said bring you down¡­ it was a stupid statement, and I''m sorry. Just be you, alright? It''s okay to disagree with the decisions I take, even if you feel forced to implement them. I''m not perfect." His eyes softened and he floated to the tent''s ceiling, bing a small pond that clung to the roof. He was basically able to do what Vaporeon could now, so that''d be very useful against Crasher Wake when the time came. "Now it''s your turn. Shoot." Jellicent whistled deeply, asking if this journey alone was doing me any good. "Well, it only just started, but so far, I feel like I''m enjoying myself. Sure, it won''t be the end of all my problems, but it''s nice to just be with everyone for once. I miss my friends, but it''s not the end of the world. We''ll meet again soon, and when we do, I''ll be ready to tackle their problems and help them out." Princess chirped. She was already starting to doze off. From the way she''d exined things to me, a major problem with her leaking fairy type energy had been because of our way of using Fairy Wind as a move in the background. It hadn''t been the only reason, but it had been one of the main ones. She had figured out how to fully stop it now though. "My turn again. Did you like the pasta I cooked today? Don''t lie." Buddy suddenly made himself very small. ¡ª The next day, we stopped when we reached the end of the tall grass. Arge hill sat to our left, and I could see the start of Mount Cor up north, covered by a strange, never-ending fog. The Caf¨¦ Cabin was a few hours away still, but before going there, I decided to take an executive decision. "Let''s take a break here," I said before releasing Sweetheart. Since she wasn''t able to walk yet, she was the only one that traveled in a Pokeball. Everyone else was already out, although Sunshine had relentlesslyined about me having him walk. I had just told him that he needed to stop being sozy if he wanted to get as strong as Cynthia''s Pokemon, and that seemed to light a fire in him. I dropped my bag on the floor and rolled my tired shoulders. "How about a little training?" I asked the team. "All of us against Sunshine?" My Pokemon froze, although the dragon excitedly heated up. No doubt, memories of thest time we''d fought him shed back into their minds, but it was different now. He was a part of the team. I crouched next to Sweetheart. "I know this is going to bother you, but you can''t fight until you learn to move, okay?" The rock type''s eyes twisted in frustration and she jumped in ce, shaking the floor below my feet and creating tiny fissures on the ground. Then, she proceeded to roll on the floor and throw a tantrum, bellowing louder than I''d ever heard her. "Stop it." Pupitar slowed down at first, and then came to a halt. "I know it''s not fun, but we''ve got to be responsible. You''ve been getting better at moving around, and by the time you get to Veilstone, I''m sure I''ll be able to use you in battle. Just focus on improving for now." She grunted with teary eyes and began to reflexively munch on some rocks she had kicked up. I felt my heart wrench at her tears, but I knew that I needed to nip her bad behavior in the bud soon. When she''d been a Larvitar, it was cute, but now it could actually cause a lot of issues. And when she became a Tyranitar? Well, I wouldn''t be allowed to release her in most city areas anyway, but she''d be capable of bringing an entire building down because I refused to let her hog the television. Luckily she''d still be able to be out in Pokemon Centers since they were made of some kind of super expensive hyper-resistant material, but she''d struggle to fit in my room. I knew there was a standardized list of Pokemon allowed to hang about everywhere on a government website, but I''d never really looked it up. In Sunshine''s case, it had just been really obvious. Of course, League Trainers and above were able to bypass this rule. And I did mean trainers. Interns like me would still be subject to them. "Let''sy down some ground rules before you get ahead of yourself," I told Sunshine. His nose red in anger. "You can raise the temperature, but not too much. We don''t want to burn this entire area, and the fight wouldn''t even be fair. No matter where we go, there''s a small risk of trainers being around, so make sure not to let your attacks get too far. Are we clear?" Turtonator reluctantly nodded, eager to get the battle going. The rest of the team grouped up around me after I called them for a strategy meeting. We huddled up and I began to whisper. "Angel, you''ll be at your worst during this fight, so try to just support the rest of the team from afar. You''d be a lot more powerful if you could use Sunny Day, but we won''t do that for obvious reasons. That''d be shooting ourselves in the foot," I muttered. "Princess, you''re going to be attacking more than usual. We can''t win on defense against Sunshine. He''ll choke us out and eventually blow past any wall you can make, so you''re going to try to get close and Dazzling Gleam. Honey, you''re going to feint him out. Keep attacking at a distance until I give you a signal. Buddy, you''re the key to winning this. You can take a lot of hits and dish it back. Try to utilize Night Shade if you can, but other than that, focus on attacking with everything you''ve got. And this is important for everyone: watch the shell. Anticipate Shell Trap and move ordingly." Turtonator impatiently pped his tail against the floor and beckoned us toe at him. He''d let us have the first move. I walked away as fast as I could, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire and prepared to observe the battle with Sweetheart. I''d give out orders as well, of course, but I wanted to see how the battle would go if I let my Pokemon fight semi-independently. In a normal setting, that wouldn''t be necessary, but in a fight with no rules like my battle against Harry? They needed to get used to it. The temperature dropped as shadows intertwined with each other next to me, forming into a Night Shade. Jellicent turned into water and sunk into the floor just as his shade spat out a low-powered Whirlpool. mes erupted from Turtonator''s shell and the water immediately turned into mist. Electabuzz whirled his arms until my hair stood on end, shooting out Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt, but Turtonator simply shrugged them off. The electricity harmlessly bounced off his beige scales. He grinned, sting a metallic burst of energy toward Honey, who barely had time to put up a Protect. The sh Cannon bounced off of Protect and crashed against a nearby tree, cutting it in half. "Princess, build up a Fairy Wind. Force him toe to you!" I ordered. On its own, Dazzling Gleam would be a lot more powerful, but if we could charge Fairy Wind up enough, it wouldn''t even be a contest, especially because she was a lot more used to that move than the other. Pink mist began to swirl around Togetic, and Turtonator spat out a stream of bright orange mes toward her. The attack only grazed her, but it was still enough to break her concentration, and the wind went loose toward Sunshine. Jellicent appeared at his side, barely in a coherent form, but Sunshine had been ready for it. A Dragon Pulse disintegrated his entire body and blew up a precharged Shadow Ball, hurting both Pokemon, but the Night Shade surprisingly stayed active even without Buddy keeping it going. It kept pestering Turtonator with weak Shadow Balls, since those couldn''t just be burned away. "Angel, Ancient Power!" An enormous rock shot out of the ground and rolled in Turtonator''s direction. He destroyed it with sh Cannon, but Princess reformed the rock with an Ancient Power of her own before the shards came too far apart and kept it going. Sunshine''s eyes widened in surprise, but he immediately turned, letting his shell absorb the damage and creating an explosion that scattered Jellicent''s remains once again. That was our opening. "Honey, go in now! Cross Chop!" The electric type dashed forward, bing a blur. His arms bulged and lit up as he entered the smoke generated by the explosion. Not wasting a single second, I ordered Princess to go in right away. I heard Sunshine grunt, but much to my dismay, Electabuzz was thrown out of the smoke with his fur smoking from some type of burn. Then, instead of dissipating, the smoke began to build up, glowing with a menacing red and burned the grass in its path. I whistled sharply, stopping Togetic and ordered her to keep her distance. Jellicent finally reformed next to the rest of the team and awaited my nextmand. "Throw your shade into that," I said, pointing toward the smoke. Before I was even done speaking, Buddy''s shade was already floating toward Turtonator. It was slow, but that was fine. I knew that the fire type was nning something, but he had surprisingly not used the smoke as an element of surprise for methrower or Dragon Pulse like he''d done in Mount Cor. The Shade entered the smoke and immediately blew up. Angel sent another Ancient Power, and Togetic tried to dissipate the smoke with Fairy Wind, but nothing worked. Turtonator''s Smokescreen was too cohesive to simply send away with wind. A giant beam brighter than the sun emerged from the smoke and hit Jellicent directly. Sr Beam. That was why he''d taken so long to use the move! And I had just waited because I''d thought that we could anticipate anything he''d throw at us. The move was so energy intensive that I hadn''t expected him to be able to use it without the power of Sunny Day¡ª much less with his smoke blocking out the sun entirely, but I''d beenpletely wrong. Somehow, even through the smoke and ash, it had been enough. Buddy was down for the count, barely able toe back together into a weird goo. I recalled him and snapped back to the battle. Turtonator appeared somewhat wounded by Honey''s Cross Chop and the multiple Ancient Powers he''d taken, so winning was still a possibility. I needed to find an opening for Princess to use Dazzling Gleam or Honey to use Cross Chop again, but fighting a fire type close-up was frustrating. There was so much care and nning needed that by the time you figured something out, the enemy had already attacked ten times. "Air Cutter, Thunderbolt and Ancient Power!" I yelled. Togetic''s wings fluttered and the air in front of her sharpened into des. Electabuzz brought his hands forward, sending an enormous surge of Electricity toward Turtonator, and Angel did the same with Ancient Power. The dragon type grinned, turned around and mmed his own shell with Iron Tail. The explosion was so strong that I felt the shock wave fly through my body. I shielded my face as dust and dirt flew everywhere¡ª even toward me. All three attacks had been dissipated by the explosion, but there was no choice. "Everyone, go in! It''s all or nothing!" I yelled. This time, Turtonator wasn''t keeping the smoke around. He simply watched with a curious eye. Honey was first in line, his arms full to the brim with power. He threw himself to the floor, dodging a methrower that only managed to scorch his tail. He rolled forward and nimbly hit at Turtonator''s right leg with Cross Chop. Sunshine roared in pain and reflexively used Dragon Pulse to retaliate, but a vine from Angel saved the electric type in the nick of time. Princess used another Air Cutter, shing across the fire type''s tough scales, but as soon as she got close enough, she exploded with Dazzling Gleam. I shielded my eyes from the blinding light, but my heart dropped when I saw that Turtonator was moving around now. It was silly, but he had stoodpletely still during the entire battle. It was a part of hiszy personality, but we''d forced him to move. The fire type angrily sprinted toward Angel and Honey, his eyes still dazed and his skin still slightly burned from the Dazzling Gleam. Each step he took burned the floor under his feet. "Angel, stop him! Use your vines and Ancient Power!" Fifteen vines shot out of Tangrowth''s body, and he erected a boulder from the floor in Sunshine''s path. The fire type retracted into his shell and began to spin so quickly that he just tore through the rock. Tangrowth struggled to stop his motion, especially since his vines were sizzling away, but Turtonator ended the struggle when he let his tail out of his shell and mmed it while he was still using Rapid Spin. The explosion spun, creating a super heated tornado that rose high into the sky andpletely disintegrated any vines leftover. Electabuzz had no hope of stopping him, but maybe Princess could¡ª "Create a slope!" I yelled. The floor incrementally rose until it became a ramp, and Sunshine flew above Angel and Honey''s heads and mmed into the ground with a heavy thud. He quickly got on his feet and shot out a turquoise stream of draconic energy at their back, and it was too fast to dodge. Princess and Angel bothbined their strength with Ancient Power, but the attack simply broke through and hit both Tangrowth and Electabuzz. The electric type fainted, and I recalled him. Angel staggered Sunshine with heavy Power Whips, leaving Princess enough time to build up a Fairy Wind. Every time Turtonator would try to hit her, Angel would interrupt and throw himself into him, not caring for the burns he''d suffer. Turtonator let out a frustrated roar, and his vines caught on fire, but he kept him still, spreading Stun Spores and Poison Powders all over both of their bodies. The few spores that didn''t burn away had an effect on Turtonator, however little, slowing him down and dulling his senses. When the dragon type finally finished off Angel with a heavy grunt, Princess let her Fairy Wind loose. It was so thick that I could barely see anything. She was getting faster at charging them to their maximum power, and it showed. My hair flew in the wind, partially blocking my view. "Another," I exhaled. She nodded sharply and executed mymand, but I was surprised to see that even though the attack dealt very real damage on Turtonator, he simply bore with it and grazed her with a sh Cannon. She cried out, but my eyes widened when I saw that the wind only lost form for a single second. It snapped back under her control and flew out toward Turtonator again. They traded blows like this for a few minutes, and Princess used the lowered visibility from the mist to her advantage, asionally swapping Fairy Wind for Ancient Power, but it wasn''t enough. Turtonator was too strong, even while holding back, and after catching her offguard and escaping the Fairy Wind with a speedy Rapid Spin, he quickly finished her off with another sh Cannon. We had lost. That wasn''t to say it had beenpletely one-sided. Sunshine clearly had to push himself more than he''d expected, even if we hadn''te close to beating him. I stared at Sweetheart, who was looking on in awe. When she would be able to join the fray, we''d have a better chance at taking him down, but right now, he''d proven how strong he waspared to us still, and that was while holding back. "Good job!" I smiled at him. He watched me with heavy breaths, like he hadn''t expected me to praise him. "You''ve got a lot of cool techniques I didn''t know about before, but when you get too angry, you resort to just hitting things with a really big stick instead of thinking¡ª metaphorically speaking. methrower, Dragon Pulse and your body heat are your sticks." Like against Weavile, or me in Mount Cor, I omitted. I started to approach him. "You''re a really powerful technical fighter when you put your mind to it," I continued. "You did great." I ced a hand on his hot arm and smiled when Sunshine couldn''t even look me in the eye. It seemed that he hadn''t been used to praise and didn''t know how to take it. "Just take the win, big guy," I said. I released the rest of my Pokemon again, making sure to heal them with potions. Their wounds were all superficial. Turtonator had held back well. Of course, Buddy just needed time toe back together. He was disappointed at his performance, but it was also partly my fault. I really hadn''t expected Sunshine to hide in Smokescreen to conceal himself while he charged Sr Beam. He knew that Jellicent would be the most annoying opponent to deal with, so he prioritized taking him down as fast as possible, and it worked. Now that I had a frame of reference for what Sunshine was actually capable of when he had time to think, I''d be able to counter him better in the next fight. There were a lot of things I could have done better, but thergest problem was that my Pokemon were simply too weak to deal any real damage. Ancient Power, Dazzling Gleam, Cross Chop, and a charged-up Fairy Wind had been enough, but the rest of our attacks only tickled him. Buddy''s Shadow Balls or water type moves would also be enough, but obviously he hadn''t had the opportunity to use them. I was nning on focusing on moves my Pokemon already knew during this trip to remedy that. The only new move I was nning on teaching was Giga Drain to Angel, but that''d be rtively easy seeing as he already knew Mega Drain. Buddy and Princess groaned at me when I told them that we''d be doing this again tomorrow, but Honey was excited to grow stronger. I had Princess fix up the destroyed terrain as best she could, and after a one-hour break, we were on our way again. Now, it was time to get to the Caf¨¦ Cabin.
Chapter 170 Chapter 170 CHAPTER 170 The next morning, I reached the Caf¨¦ Cabin. The Caf¨¦ was a lot smaller than I''d expected. From the outside, it seemed that it was barelyrge enough to fit a few dozen customers at a time. A decorative sign with a happy Milktank and a ss bottle of milk sat above the entrance, and there was a huge enclosure full of them further in the back. I hadn''t seen one since my short stay in Twinleaf, but they seemed a lotrger than what I remembered. Somezily grabbed tufts of grass with their hands and calmly ate while others just hung among themselves. What I hadn''t expected was for a small town to have sprouted around the establishment. It wasn''t much, just a few homes, a store and a Pokemon Mart. Most of the homes were inhabited by the Caf¨¦ Cabin employees, but I couldn''t deny that I was witnessing the early birth of a city here or something close to it. Unfortunately, there wasn''t a Pokemon Center, but that would probably run the Caf¨¦ Cabin out of business, since they doubled as an inn. In the distance, the ever-present fog hid the rest of route 210 away from human eyes. It was a wonder how people actually lived up here. Celestic was the most isted city in Sinnoh¡ª even moreso than Snowpoint. Later in the year, thousands of trainers would brave the route to get there and challenge Candice. I stepped inside of the Caf¨¦ Cabin and I was immediately hit with the smell of freshly baked goods. The ce was packed with trainers after the mass exodus from Sceon, and for a second, I was wondering if I''d have to sleep outside. Luckily, the crowd meant that people were too busy to recognize me. I pushed past the sea of people and walked past the bar, opting to go to reception instead to see if a room was avable. "Hi. Can I have a room for one night?" I asked. The girl over the counter didn''t even look at me and kept typing on herputer. She looked frustrated, and for a good reason. Having to do work in this loud house was probably torture. I asked again, and then she shook her head after staring at me like I was an alien for a few seconds. She''d recognized me. "We''re full, sorry," she finally said. "If you want, we can put you on a waiting list and take your number? We have service and WiFi all around Caf¨¦ Cabin!" "No, it''s fine. Thanks anyway," I said disappointingly. I''d have to camp out tonight, but with Sunshine around I didn''t really care anyway. I would have enjoyed a bed, but¡ª "Are you sure? We''d love to have you at our establishment! I''m sure someone will leave soon and we''ll give you one right away." "Uh, no," I said. "I''d feel bad if I was given special treatment." I awkwardly waved at her and left. A few heads were turning my way now, but I ignored them. The poor girl had probably wanted me to stick around because it would be good publicity for the Caf¨¦. Business was booming, but they could never have enough customers. Their waiters and waitresses seemed to be handling the boom rather well, carrying dozens of drinks or six tes in their arms at a time and weaving in between customers like it was nothing. They''d been well-trained. I opted to buy some orange juice and a cheese bagel to go. There was no way I was going to stick around in this suffocating ce. I would have never guessed that I''de across Chase on my way out. He didn''t seem surprised at all to see me. The tears in his cap had been hastily stitched back together, and he had bandages all around his hands. I stood there, gobsmacked until he finally spoke. "What happened to you? You look like you''ve seen a ghost," he said with a confident smirk. "I thought I might run into your little group bying here." "Uh, hi," I said. "It''s¡ª it''s just me. Have you heard what happened to Sceon?" Chase raised an eyebrow at me. "Huh?" ¡ª "What the fuck? Some moron Shiftry was the cause of all of this?" He asked incredulously. Somehow, Chase hadn''t heard about anything while he was in Celestic. I knew that the fog was too thick for him to have seen the darkness in the distance, but apparently he waspletely out of the loop. I would have expected him to hear something about it! It was all anyone could talk about these days! I shuffled on the grass we sat on and nodded. "He''d been controlling Sceon this entire time, and when we exposed him he threw a fit," I said. "We were all targeted¡­ it was terrible." "Well, you made it out alright, so it can''t have been that terrible," the boy shrugged. "I''m surprised you''re traveling alone. You never seemed like the type." "I needed time to figure things out. I did a lot of things that made me discover a lot about myself." "Sounds mopey as hell, but fair enough," he said. "Whatever happened down there, it was to defend yourself, no? I don''t see that much of a moral conan¡ª conun¡­ what was it again?" "Conundrum," I said. "And you¡ª" I sighed. I was going to fight him and say that he didn''t know what it was like, but I honestly didn''t feel like it. Chase was a lot nicer than he''d been months ago, but he was still very rough around the edges. Pauline definitely would have agreed with him. "What happened to your hands?" I said, staring. "That looks pretty gnarly." "Oh, it was this whole thing," Chase waved dismissively. "I got into a fight with an asshole wf and then I fell into a hole with this entire ancient city¡ª" My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "¡ªthere were a bunch of old Sigilyph there, but they were weak enough. I ended up catching one who saved my life too, but the real issue was some kind of weird, fucked up ghost that had a hard-on for hating humanity." "H¡ªhold on, can you say that again?" "Which part?" "The entire thing. Go into vivid detail, please." Chase ended up exining his entire ordeal, from falling into the ancient city to battling an illusionist ghost through the entire ce. What really caught my interest, however, was the way he described a certain mural. It had depicted Sigilyph inrge numbers, and ydol in smaller numbers, but higher in the food chain, so to speak. If I wanted one, then I knew where to look. "You shouldn''t go down there, at least not yet," Chase warned. "That ghost? My Pokedex doesn''t even know what it is. It said that there was insufficient data somehow, and it was strong enough to take my entire team. Fighting it without a dark type or some kind of anti-ghost tactic is suicide." "I wasn''t going to go there right away anyway," I said. There was no way I was going to take that risk and break my promise to Cece. Plus, I wouldn''t be allowed to have more than six Pokemon until I passed that test in Veilstone anyway. "But I just want to know for the future¡ª you didn''t end up seeing any ydol or Baltoy there?" "Nope. They were nowhere to be seen, but I didn''t exactly stick around that long." "Okay¡­ did you warn people, at least? That ghost sounds dangerous." If I wanted to go there in the future, it''d be after Sweetheart had evolved so I could make use of her dark typing. Tyranitar weren''t exactly known to be subtle, but I was sure that I''d be able to create something to counter ghosts. Plus, Buddy would be able to put up a good fight as well. That was a long-term n, though. Right now, I just wanted to rx and do nothing life-threatening. Part of me wanted to keep the information for ourselves. If teams of rangers¡ª or the League, if the ghost proved strong enough¡ª made it down there, then there was a possibility that I''d miss my chance to capture a ydol, but people''s safety was a lot more important than my desires. Plus, there was always Beheeyem. "Well, the hole was sealed back again and it didn''t follow me, so I didn''t really see the need to." I pped my forehead. "Arceus¡­ you need to tell someone right away. What if another trainer falls down there somehow and dies? As soon as you get to Veilstone, you need to tell someone about this. Am I clear?" Chase clicked his tongue, but reluctantly agreed. "Why would you even hide it to yourself anyway?" I asked. "I didn''t want the city to be sullied," he said. "It was like a time capsule¡­ you''d think that it was only a few decades old and not however old it actually was. Maybe a few thousand, if I had to guess. I''d feel bad for my Sigilyph. She''s a little attached to the ce. When we walked by there again, she just stared at it for a while." "I get it, but it''s got to be done," I said. "If you don''t say it, I will. It''s a wonder you even survived against that thing." A ghost that could turn into a human? Was it like Mathilda and Ruth? From the way Chase had described it, I couldn''t ce any name on the Pokemon, and the inte wasn''t of any help either. Maybe it was an undiscovered, ancient species that formed in a specific way and not like the ghosts in the Lost Tower? "I said I would, sheesh," he said. Silence settled in for a few seconds as we watched the Milktank go about their day. I wanted to ask to meet his new Pokemon, but first¡­ I couldn''t help but be curious. "How did your meeting go? With your grandparents?" I asked. I hoped I wasn''t being overbearing, but he''d opened up to me before. Chase gripped something on his chest, and I saw a hint of a golden chain around his neck. "It went alright," he said. I had never seen him smile so widely. "Just alright?" I teased. "I told you they''d like you! Did you get to do everything you wanted?" "I saw my mom''s grave and hung out with them a bunch," he said. "They were cool. My grandpa stitched my cap back up for me and they gave me a picture of my mom too. It was probably the best it could have gone." "I''m happy for you," I smiled. "Feels like a weight''s lifted off your shoulders, right?" "Yeah." "What about Ri? You told me he belonged to your mom first right?" "He''s doing great. He evolved too." "Excuse me?" "He evolved," Chase deadpanned. "Why do you drop the most insane information like it''s nothing?" I asked exasperatedly. "Why don''t we meet each other''s teams? It''s been a while." "Sure, why not," he shrugged. Chase released his entire team, and I did the same with mine, although I made sure to release Turtonator a little ways away. The fire type''s eyes narrowed at the presence of so many unknown Pokemon, but I spoke him down. "They''re friends. Friends," I emphasized. "You''ve got to seriously fix your anti-social ways. You''re behaving like a kid¡ª ah!" He blew a plume of smoke in my face, causing me to cough. Princess tripped him up with Ancient Power, but heically fell over and used the situation to just lie down. He forced us to leave by raising the temperature around himself, even though we''d been here first. "That''s some serious attitude problem," Chase said. "I think I could take him." "I don''t know about that," I chuckled nervously. Zangoose and Houndoom seemed to hate him already, so he was doing us no favors. Angel was busy rubbing Sigilyph all over, seemingly fascinated by the new sensation. It was my first time seeing one in the flesh, and they were even weirder than in the pictures. Unova had an ancient, buried civilization in their weirdly called desert-resort. Cece had spoken to me a little about it, but apparently it was chock-full of Sigilyph and Golurk, which made it one of the deadliest ces in their region, and that wasn''t even counting the hostile environment. Trainers usually didn''t go there, opting to go straight to Nimbasa instead. Still, they were interesting. Every single one had a different pattern on their torso, and hers was a green, wavy one along with a touch of red and blue, but its center was dark. The wings were also surprisingly not wings, but just some kind of decoration. They could move, but not very much and were also made of tough material. Sigilyph kept themselves afloat with their psychic powers. After Angel finished rubbing her all over, she got mere inches from my face until Togetic cried out in protest. Her pale eye was somewhat unsettling. She never blinked, and it was as if it was constantly having these micro-vibrations that were barely visible if you stared for long enough. She was pretty cute though. Her little beeps made it sound like she was a machine. Angel moved onto Zangoose, who angrily shed his vines away and hissed. His vines dropped and he anxiously wrapped one around my ankle. "Let her have her personal space," I said. "Not everyone is fine with touching, okay? Remember my dad?" The grass type nodded sadly, but he kept his hold on me. Princess clung to me as well, seemingly uninterested with socializing with Pokemon outside of the team. She was only fine with Denzel or Cecilia''s Pokemon. Were¡­ were my Pokemon all considered weirdos? I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Honey and Buddy seemed to be mingling well. They were both speaking to Lucario and Abomasnow¡ª Yes, Chase''s Snover had evolved, but in his defense, he''d been surprised at my Pupitar too. She was curiously eyeing Lucario but stuck to Sunshine. Her tough shell meant that the temperature didn''t bother her whatsoever, and she was even eating some dirt. Vikavolt seemed content to fly around and observe. It was like flying was the funniest thing in the world to him, and he was making full use of his wings. He was loud, however, and Sunshine was clearly annoyed at the incessant electric buzzing. Lucario had grown a lot. He was a head taller than me now, and there was a hint of wisdom in his eyes that hadn''t been there before. It was weird to understand exactly what Buddy and Honey were saying, but not Abomasnow and him, although I got the gist of the conversation. They were recounting their travels through route 210, while my Pokemon were telling them of what happened in Sceon. "Your team''s grown in strength since Ist saw them," Chase said. "You don''t disappoint." "Same to you. Sorry about them, by the way," I said, nudging my head toward Sweetheart and pointing at Togetic. "I guess it''s been a while since they really hung out with your team, so they didn''t react like I thought they would. Sunshine reacted a lot better than I thought." "You called him Sunshine? Still terrible with names, I see," he said. "What did you think he''d do?" "Worst-case scenario? He might have thrown a fit and attacked your Pokemon¡ª but I would have recalled him instantly!" I hurriedly added. "He''s really sweet, you just have to get to know him." "I didn''t expect you to lie to my face." "I''m not lying! You just have to work past his barriers! He''s kind of like you, actually." Chase seemed to take great offense at that. Sigilyph had moved onto analyzing both Buddy and Honey. The electric type felt obligated to let her get close, but Jellicent''s body literally shrunk and reflexively avoided her until he couldn''t take it anymore and sprayed her with a jet of water. Sigilyph let out a few panicked beeps and took refuge behind Zangoose, who waszily preening her fur on the floor. The normal type grumbled, but let her stick around. "Your Zangoose and my Turtonator are kind of simr," I noticed. "Are you kidding me? Zangoose is nothing like your dragon. She''s a stand-up Pokemon." "What''s that supposed to mean?" I angrily asked, cing my hands on my hips. Just when I was about tounch into a tirade about all of Sunshine''s good qualities, Lucario strode up to me. "Oh¡­ hi." "You can still call him Ri," Chase said. "Cool." The fighting type grabbed onto my hand and I felt a cold energy rush into my arm. Thank¡­ care¡­ Chase. He''d meant to thank me for taking care of Chase. I hadpletely forgotten that Lucario could speak even though Cynthia''s had done so right in front of me. The voice was there, but it was faint, and unlike with psychics, I felt no pain at all! When Slowking had spoken to me, the voice had beenpletely smooth and almost void of emotion, which was how every psychic spoke (with a few minute deviations between individuals), but Ri''s voice was deep and full of life. It was as if a human had been speaking to me. "No problem," I stammered. "He''s my friend." "He''s been talking my ear off to practice speaking through aura," Chase exined. "It''s a work in progress." "I mean, that''s great progress if he''s only been a Lucario for a week," I said. Chase''s team had always been full of dedicated and hard workers. Princess chirped a greeting at Lucario, who replied with a respectful nod. Every single one of his movements evoked a certain elegance. Sweetheart couldn''t resist anymore, and she crawled toward Ri faster than I''d ever seen her move in her new form. She could have been faster by rolling, but I could tell that she hadn''t wanted to embarrass herself. Sweetheart liked strong individuals, and she seemed to think that Ri was a Pokemon she could admire just like Sunshine, which surprised me. "Hey, do you want to battle?" I asked out of the blue. I''d been thinking about it ever since I''d seen that Ri evolved. After seeing what Cynthia had done with her Lucario twice now¡ª once at Valley Windworks and then against Shiftry¡ª I wanted to battle him. "Not a full six-on-six obviously, but what about a three-on-three?" Chase lit up for a second, but then he hesitated. "Uh, I''m not sure. Maybe when we get to Veilstone." "You seemed happy enough to do so," I frowned. "What''s wrong? I can''t imagine the Chase Karlson being nervous about battling." "There''s no Center here," he muttered. "Yeah, but it''s just a friendly battle. Obviously we won''t go too hard, and¡ª" Lucario shot me a look, and I understood. He was struggling with money again, wasn''t he? He''d emphasized hisck of potions very clearly while recounting his travels, both during his stay in Mount Cor and route 210. "Listen, I can hand you some potions if you want." "I don''t need your pity," he said. "It''s not pity, it''s just being a decent human being. My friends lent me potions all the time before the Poketch Company sponsored me¡ª" "We can battle," he finally decided. "But I won''t take any of your shit. Three-on-three''s fine. No substitutions?" "No switches is fine with me," I nodded. "But we''re doing this right away. I don''t want to leave you time to start nning shit like you usually do." "Sounds like you''re scared," I teased. "But alright." I didn''t need to n. I already knew that he''d use Ri in the battle, but he wouldn''t lead with him. From the way he''d spoken about Sigilyph, they were rtively weak and there was no way his had already ovee that, so she was off the table. If I had to guess, then he''d lead Abomasnow, using his massive strength and bulk to y it safe. Thest Pokemon was still up in the air, but guessing two out of three wouldn''t be bad. It''d possibly end up being Vikavolt if I lost the first bout. As for me? Chase was probably preparing to face Turtonator, but he''d unfortunately be disappointed. The fire type shot me a look that instantly let me know there was no way he was rising from his nap for this. Honey, Angel, and Buddy would have to do some work. But I was also considering using Sweetheart if the opportunity arose and Chase used Houndoom or Zangoose. It could be a stupid idea, but even when unable to move, there was no way those two were breaking past her cocoon. Chase and his team faced us while my entire family was at my back. "In three seconds, call out the first Pokemon you''re sending out," I said. We were improvising, since we didn''t have a referee. "Three, two, one¡ª Jellicent!" "Abomasnow." I took a deep breath as both Pokemon stepped forward. I was working with the type disadvantage, but I was confident it wouldn''t matter that much with Buddy''s survivability. It would have been a lot worse if it''d been Vikavolt. Chase began to count down from three, and I braced myself for theing battle.
Chapter 171 Chapter 171 CHAPTER 171 Abomasnow was a mass of frozen bark that looked almost imprable, but I could guess a few things about it from its body type and the way it moved. One, it was on the slower side of things. Two, it was inclined toward physical defense, so Buddy''s attacks would actually prate past that armor. What worried me was actually his ice type moves, because Buddy was entirely made of water and he''d get frozen very easily. I didn''t know how that would affect his regenerative capabilities, so I wanted to avoid getting hit with something like Icy Wind or Ice Beam at all costs. It seemed that it wasn''t confident enough in its control to activate its Snow Warning ability out of fear of harming Chase or me, so we had that going for us. The best way to proceed forward was to y it safe and scout. "Night Shade, keep your distance and harass him with Shadow Ball," I calmly said. "Ice Shard¡ª" "Get in front of the shade!" Buddy''s Night Shades were still too frail to withstand even one attack, and being so close to the explosion would cause him a lot of harm. A noxious shadow appeared next to Jellicent, who hurriedly pushed himself in front of the shade and got stabbed by too many Ice Shards to count. The ice buried himself inside of his body, but they only dealt a minimum amount of damage. His face twisted, sunk into itself and then bounced back like a spring as the few cuts easily regenerated, although slower because of the ice. The Night Shade finished forming, and both it and Buddy began pestering Abomasnow with Shadow Ball. The ghostly energy given form flew at high speeds toward Abomasnow, who braced himself. "Get up close," Chase said. Abomasnow took a deep, rumbling breath right before the first Shadow Ball hit. Buddy''s were strong and quicker than his clone''s, but two were still better than one. Abomasnow broke into a run that lightly shook the earth as he simply bore with the hits. It didn''t even try to dodge. "Keep your distance and fly up!" I ordered. "Razor Leaf!" Abomasnow brought his massive green hands forward and sharp leaves flew toward Buddy, who dodged with Water Sport. His clone wasn''t so lucky though, and the purple, cold explosion engulfed both he and his opponent. I smiled. It had taken six leaves instead of one. Steady improvements. Buddy broke away from the smoke and immediately summoned another Night Shade. I heard Chase audibly groan on the other side of the arena. "Poison Sting," I continued. I couldn''t let him think. Chase was faster on his feet than I was. "Send the shade to the end of the arena and make it use Shadow Ball." Dozens of sharpened rods flew out of Buddy''s tentacles, but to our surprise, seeds broke through the smoke and stuck to his body. They broke apart, revealing snaking, thorny vines that wrapped all around his body and clung to him like a vice. That was Leech Seed, and we couldn''t have avoided it when Abomasnow was hiding within the smoke. I hadn''t expected such an intelligent y without Chase''s guidance. "Good shit," he grinned. "Icy Wind, freeze it!" "Run away! Harass him!" The Night Shade suddenly stopped going away, instead opting to attack now. Abomasnow was sorge and slow that he struggled to avoid most attacks, but he didn''t appear to care. The ghostly smoke finally broke apart after he spat out an Icy Wind, revealing the purple darts covering his entire left arm and pumping poison into his body. My eyes narrowed at the speed of the Icy Wind. It was narrow and almost as fast as Louis'' Ice Beam with Prinplup. The speed caught us so off-guard that Jellicent didn''t manage to get away in time and half of his body froze over. The vines continued to squeeze the life out of him too, slowing him further. "Now Razor Leaf! Finish it off!" Chase yelled. Six leaves to blow up a Night Shade, I instantly thought. That''s enough for Buddy to buy himself some time and then get out of the way with Water Sport now that he knows what to expect. My thoughts were fast enough, but my voice was not. "Use the Shade to¡ª" The leaves tore through Jellicent, destroying the frozen half of his body. In a way, that was a blessing in disguise. He''d be a lot faster that way. Buddy immediately sunk into the floor to retreat from further attacks, but the shade kept attacking. Abomasnow was getting close to his limit, but he still fought like he''d just been sent onto the field. His body was covered in purple bruises and his eyes were milky, but there was still a ferocity to them that I''d only seen in a few Pokemon. "Blow up that shade," Chase said. Another set of Razor Leaves blew up Jellicent''s clone. This time, they were out of range of the explosion. "Now start freezing the floor¡ª" "Get back up!" I yelled. The ice type got on all fours, and frost began to seep into the earth and spread all throughout the arena. It took two seconds for Jellicent to emerge from the ground with his body half-frozen into some kind of weird slush, but he immediately hit Abomasnow with a powerful Hex. Smoke rose from his body, but he wildly turned with his eyes filled with determination and blew another Icy Wind at Jellicent. The water type solidified his body right away, gaining in weight, but also in constitution and he withstood the ice, hitting Abomasnow with another Shadow Ball. I breathed a sigh of relief when Abomasnow fell to the floor, his eyes still open. Buddy wasn''t doing much better. Leech Seed was slowly but surely draining his energy, and he had very little left in the tank. "You did great," Chase said, recalling his Pokemon. There was no snarkyment, noints, just focus. He sent out his Zangoose and not his Vikavolt, which caused me to almost gasp in surprise. The normal type grinned as she walked toward the arena. He''d caught mepletely off-guard, and he knew it. Still, I didn''t have time to hesitate. "Whirpool! Trap her!" I yelled. "Quick Attack." Buddy released gallons upon gallons of water that began to twist and spin, but Zangoose was a lot quicker than I remembered. She circled the water, buying herself time with wed attacks that could only have been Night sh. I knew Chase''s n now. He wanted to finish Jellicent up in one attack, and luckily I''d caught a glimpse of it. "Fly up and stay there! She''s going for Night sh!" I yelled. Jellicent pushed himself upward with a weakened Water Sport, spraying Zangoose with water in the process. He began to direct the Whirpool toward her, but it was smaller than usual now that we had no water to source from. Moves like Surf and Whirlpool would always be weaker than usual in a dry environment. She jumped and managed to Night sh two of Jellicent''s tentacles. His eyes began to flicker. He was almost out. "Water Pulse," I said. If he was going down, then I needed him to deal as much damage as possible. "Corner her with Whirpool!" Zangoose easily avoided the first two Water Pulses, but she couldn''t escape the hastily drawn demarcation of the arena without being disqualified. Jellicent used hisst ounce of strength, and the normal type hissed as the ring of water hit her. The Whirpool dissolved, Jellicent slowly sunk to the ground into a small pool, and I recalled him. He''d been perfect. If I''d been better during that first fight, he could have fought longer still. I smiled. This battle would be a nail-biter. I considered sending out Princess, but she would never be able to stand up to Lucario if she won the fight. What I needed was... "Honey, you''re up." He whirred, flexing his muscles as he strode into the wet arena. I was going to need to keep Angel forst. "She''s quicker than you, but you''re stronger," I warned. "Hit her with all you''ve got." "We''ll see about that," Chase retorted. "Crush w!" What I had really meant by hit her with all you''ve got was Cross Chop. I was hoping to catch Chase off-guard, and I was d myment had rattled him too. Up until now, he''d beenpletely focused, but he was starting to slip, and I hoped that would cause him to make mistakes. Zangoose was already quite close to Electabuzz, so she closed the distance in a sh, attempting to sh across his chest with her hardened ws. Honey barely managed to twist his body, so she cut his right arm instead, leaving herself open to a hit. His fist crackled with electricity, and all of Zangoose''s hair puffed up until she quickly jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a hit. Electabuzz turned to me and I nodded. He hadn''t been in a position to use Cross Chop and opted for Thunder Punch instead. "Keep threadin'' the needle," Chase said. "Fury Cutter!" An exchange of blows began. Zangoose quickly stepped forward but feinted hitting Honey''s face, causing him to shield it with his arms and then shed his torso instead. The electric type retaliated with a quick Thunder Punch, which Zangoose narrowly dodged again, but then exploded with a Discharge that engulfed herpletely. She hissed, doubling in size due to her smoking fur standing on end and continued building up Fury Cutters, slowly growing her strength. We needed to switch the tempo. "Protect!" I yelled. A thin barrier appeared mere inches from his body and Zangoose struck it with a loud ng. The Protect deflected her ws away, leaving Honey enough time to use Cross Chop. His arms bulged, lighting up with a bright white and he hit Zangoose right on the shoulders. The normal type coughed, clearly in pain and staggered from the attack. "Again!" I quickly ordered. Once again, Honey''s arms flexed, but Zangoose surprisingly jumped and dropped kicked him away, sending him sliding across the wet floor. The normal type snarled, shaking her head to get back into the fight and extended her ws further. A drop kick? With how powerful it was, I guessed that it had to be Double Kick. If I''d known, I wouldn''t have gotten greedy. Chase being caught off-guard by Protect meant that he hadn''t watched my gym battle against Fantina, so I could use that to my advantage. Just the move being there fundamentally changed how he''d battle and would stay in the back of his mind with every action. But he couldn''t y it too safe either. If he thought for too long¡­ "Thunderbolt," I said. Electabuzz whirled his arms until a quick burst of electricity shot out toward Zangoose. The attack hit her dead in the chest, and she convulsed, unable to move until it ended. Before we could order another one, Chase already screamed at her to go in, and he was right. ying it slow wouldn''t work. Not when we had an advantage at a distance. I hastily yelled out for another Thunderbolt, but Zangoose got on all fours to dodge. That didn''t end her run, however. In fact, she didn''t even slow. The normal type sped up, and now it was a matter of who would blink first. Me with Protect, or Chase by averting his strike. Zangoose kept running like there was no tomorrow, her eyes shing with excitement as she jumped over another Thunderbolt. She slid across the floor and went back to get out of range of a Discharge, but then kept going. She was too close! I blinked first. "Protect!" Electabuzz summoned the barrier, but Zangoose did not hit it like before. She calmly waited for it to end, and the electric type strained to keep it going. "Crush w as soon as Protect goes down," Chase ordered. I only had a few seconds to think of a way to counter the barrage that wasing. Zangoose would get the next hit for sure, but it was a matter of controlling the situation. A quick Discharge was possible, but it would only dy the inevitable. What I needed was to create a situation to open Zangoose up to another Cross Chop, but how¡ª Time had run out. "Discharge!" I yelled. As soon as Protect went down, another Discharge burst outward. Zangoose took the hit, breathing a ragged breath as she immediately stuck back with Crush w. Her ws hardened like iron and she mmed them against Honey''s head. "Keep him on the backfoot!" Chase yelled. And she did. mming her ws on every part of his body over and over again. This time, he was slower to retaliate, but he managed to do so with Fire and Thunder Punch. Still, at this rate, we''d lose. Zangoose was too quick to overwhelm. But I had a n. There was no need to overthink. All we needed was one more Cross Chop, but any good hit would do. "Grab her!" I yelled. In a second of rity, Electabuzz snarled, shing his sharp teeth and grabbed Zangoose''s arms under the armpits. He awkwardly struggled with her, taking two hits from Double Kick. "Thunderbolt!" Both Electabuzz and Zangoose became nothing more than a sh of bright yellow lights. The sound of electricity drowned out any other noise, and the attack kept going for ten seconds. A memory shed in my mind. Crobat''s screams. It dying in the exact same conditions. I shook my head and chased them away. Honey let out heavy breaths as Zangoose dropped to the floor. I swallowed as Lucario immediately stepped forward, not even waiting for Chase to call out to him. "Good shit, but we''ve got to work on your speed," Chase smiled as he recalled Zangoose. It was Honey against Lucario now, but he was tired. I couldn''t afford to get fancy and hope for a Cross Chop. The move would leave him open to all kinds of counterattacks. "Thunderbolt," I muttered. "Vacuum Wave." His antennas twitched, and he sent out a quick sh of electricity toward Lucario. The fighting type punched the air with an open palm, sucking all the air in front of him until there was only a vacuum left. The electricity fizzled out into nothing. It needed air or a conductive material to propagate. It couldn''t work in a vacuum. "Wait for him," I breathed out. I already knew what wasing. "Get in there and Bone Rush!" Chase yelled. I bit the inside of my lip. A bone glimmering with a pale blue light grew out of the fighting type''s hand just like Cynthia''s. Unlike hers, however, Lucario wasn''t particrly fast, but he wasn''t slow either. His evolution had slowed him, and even though I knew it would be temporary, it would still help us for this battle. If I had to guess, two hits from Bone Rush, and Honey would go down. Lucario could probably do that in a second. I waited until he grew closer and smirked. "Thunderbolt!" Lucario''s eyes widened as it failed to use Vacuum Wave a second time. Not only did it have less time to react, but no one would expect me to use the same move when it''d been countered so easily. Lucario grunted as the electricity consumed him, but he merely stopped for a few seconds. "Wait¡­ Protect!" Once the steel type got close enough, Honey summoned a Protect, and the bone''s impact rang out across the field. Chase and Lucario probably expected me to maintain it for as long as possible like I''d done the two previous times, but predictability was . "Drop it and Fire Punch!" Unlike Cross Chop, Honey had known Fire Punch for months. It was his bread and butter, and Lucario''s reaction time was slower than Zangoose''s. His fists lit aze while Protect went down. He uppercut Lucario in the jaw, but he easily recovered with a backflip. "Thunderbolt!" I yelled. "Throw the damn bone," Chase said. Lucario quickly threw his bone, which caught uspletely off-guard. The two attacks crossed each other and both Pokemon dodged with a sidestep, but unlike Electabuzz, Lucario was still fresh. He quickly grew another bone and kept throwing it at him until one hit him in the arm, and that was all he needed. Honey took a few steps backward, but Lucario was too quick to run away from in this state. The fighting type ran forward and used Vacuum Wave to dissolve another Thunderbolt. "Fire Punch!" I ordered. My eyes narrowed when Lucario''s palm lit up with that same blue color and a burst of aura hit Electabuzz at a range. It hadn''t been from too far¡ª just far enough to be outside of his reach. It seemed to be a modified version of Force Palm or something like it. Electabuzz fell to the ground and I recalled him with a soft smile. "That guy''s tricky as hell," Chasemented. "Good going, Ri." "Thanks," I said. "Angel, you''re up." From every angle I could think of, Angel was at an advantage here, but I couldn''t get confident. I needed to use everything at my disposal to win. "Sunny Day," I ordered. "Fuck that! Aura Sphere!" A ball of blue energy flew out of Lucario''s palm at high speeds and snapped Angel out of his focus. The damage was negligent, especially since it hadn''t broken through his thickyer of vines, but it was enough. "You do that every time she tries that shit," he continued. "Go in, but be slow. Vacuum Wave or use a bone every time it tries to grab you." Use a bone? How would that even work? I''d have to watch out for that, but either way, Sunny Day was out of the picture for now. I considered waiting for Lucario to make its move since the fact that it could counter vines rattled me, but Chase took the decision for me. "Bullet Punch!" This time, he was quick¡ª quicker than we could even react. Lucario dashed toward Angel and punched him so many times so quickly that his fists were just a blur. "Power Whip!" I yelled. A vine burst from his body, hitting Lucario in the shoulder and then burying itself against the ground. The steel type finished its assault and ced a palm against Tangrowth''s body. The same burst of aura hit, and it traveled through the vines like they weren''t even there. All of Angel''s vines wriggled as one as he squirmed in pain. "Again!" "Bind¡ª" "Get the fuck out of there!" Lucario jumped back, but one of Angel''s vine wrapped around his ankle and mmed him against the floor. He quickly sprung to action, growing an aura bone and shing across he vine before Angel could smother him. So that was what he meant, I thought. He had a way of hitting us up close with that Force Palm attack and two ways to counter Tangrowth''s vine. Legendaries, he was tough. We''d have to try to brute force our way through to win, but Lucario didn''t look tired at all. Only bruised in his jaw due to Honey''s Fire Punch. I took a deep breath. "Ancient Power in front and get in range!" Earth rose from the floor, consolidated into a hard boulder and rolled toward Lucario. "Cut it." The fighting type shed the rock down the middle, splitting it in two perfect halves. Angel was already treading forward, pushing himself with as many vines as he could. He was barely touching the floor with his feet. "Bind him! Overwhelm him with vines!" I said. Tangrowth redirected the vines he was using to walk toward Lucario, who summoned another bone and twirled it around like a baton. The vines helplessly washed against the bone. "Go around!" Another set of vines shot out from Angel''s body, this time circling Lucario. He couldn''t be everywhere at once¡ª "Go in now!" He didn''t even need to use Bullet Punch this time. Lucario''s Force Palm hit Angel again, this time angled toward his face. The grass type hastily retaliated with a Power Whip, but that wasn''t right. We needed to grab him instead of hit him. "Bind and Mega Drain!" I grinned. This time, there were too many to ignore, and he was too close. Lucario tried that same jumping trick, but we were ready. Tangrowth snaked a vine behind his back and killed his momentum, allowing him to finally wrap him with as many as he wanted. I rxed with a sigh. "Vacuum Wave!" And immediately tensed again. The air around Lucario''s fists became a vacuum and some of Tangrowth''s vines expanded, swelling uncontrobly before withering away like dust. It wasn''t over, however. Lucario kept using the move, forcing Angel to rece his vines to keep a hold on him. But then, disaster struck. Using the slightpse in time that Vacuum Wave bought him and us being taken off-guard, a blue bone slipped out of Lucario''s hand. The fighting type twisted it upward and managed to cut apart almost all of Angel''s vines, although he hit himself in the rush. Onest Vacuum wave was enough to escape, and he slipped out of our hold. I had learned a few things from that interaction. One, Vacuum Wave was annoying as hell, and if it hit Angel directly, then the sudden change would cause his vines to expand, then wither and die. It was almost a direct counter to us, and Chase had no doubt figured that out too. We were both terrible at physics, and we somehow hadn''t figured it out until now. Two, Lucario was strong. Ridiculously so. Even beyond destroying the vines with attacks, Angel had to actually struggle to hold onto him, which had never happened with a Pokemon of this rtive size. I should have expected a fighting type to be like that. Still, Lucario seemed to be tiring, but so was Angel, and we actually had to be on the defensive now that Vacuum Wave was a factor¡ª "Aura Sphere." Angel didn''t even have to wait for my order. A hastily built barrier sprung from the floor and crumbled to dust as soon as the attack hit. I craned my neck to the right to get around the dust and saw that Lucario was already moving. "Another!" I yelled. Lucario crashed head first into a boulder and calmly destroyed it with a Bone Rush. He was getting sluggish. Two minutes ago, he would have caught that. My eyes bulged when he threw the bone forward. Angel tried to stop it, but no matter how many vines he used, the bone simply cleaved right through. Fighting an aura user was so unfair. The bone lodged itself deep inside of Tangrowth, but it still stuck out. Lucario became a blur of motion with Bullet Punch. He stopped the attack midway through and smoothly transitioned into Force Palm like it was second nature to him and pushed the bone even deeper with the attack. Tangrowth shut his eyes tight andshed out half-hazardly with Power Whip. One of them hit Lucario, but it didn''t matter. He mmed another palm, and a smaller vacuum wave destroyed all of the vines on the right side of his body, exposing his dark flesh. The bone that had stabbed him lightly turned to dust, and Lucario finished him off with onest direct Force Palm. I wiped the sweat off my brow and my shoulders sagged. Even if I hadn''t known how aura would interact with different moves, hiding Bullet Punch until I sent out Tangrowth had been a good y by him, and Chase was quick to take advantage of any weakness that he saw. Lucario bowed toward Angel in apology as I recalled him and then sat on the floor with a tired breath. For the first time since I left Hearthome, a trainer had managed to take down Angel. Lucario was just so damn slippery. Chase had improved. He''d improved a lot. It stung to lose, but I knew that had been a possibility when I challenged him. I had learned a whole lot about aura and that would potentially pay dividends for my fight against Maylene. "Good battle," I smiled. "Right back at you."
Chapter 172 Chapter 172 CHAPTER 172 Chase walked up to Lucario and helped him up. The fighting type grunted when he pulled on his arm too hard. It seemed that Angel''s Power Whips had done a number on him, even if it hadn''t been enough. I ignored Sunshine''s mockingugh andforted Sweetheart, who seemed to be the most disappointed at the loss. Really though, her and Princess were especially worried about Angel. "He''ll be okay," I gently reassured them. His vines would grow back within twenty minutes and he''d be as good as new, although I''d have to dig deep within them to apply the potion to his skin if I waited too long. I directed my attention to Chase. "You beat me. How about some prize money?" I asked. "I guess Ididearn it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. I nodded, requesting to transfer ten thousand Pokedors onto his ount. His eyes widened, and his expression turned into an angry grimace. "I''m not taking that much. The usual number''s five hundred," he said. "That''s nothing. I started this League Internship thing and I''m getting paid extra, so you can at least have some of that. Use it to buy some potions from the Poke Mart." "No¡ª" I tightly grabbed onto his wrist and smiled. "What was that?" "No¡ª" "Yes?" "...uh, fine? Wait what the hell¡ª" "Perfect!" I eximed. "You can''t go back on your word. That''d befundamentally wrong." "Arceus, you''re creeping me out Pastel. Fine, I''ll take your money." Lucario gently bumped him on the shoulder. "And thank you," he added. "No problem. I know what it feels like to not want to ept money from friends, but you''ve got to straddle the line between pride and practicality," I said. I released Honey and Angel to heal them with potions of my own. Chase still refused for me to lend him anything, even if I said he could pay me backter. I quickly sprayed the cold, transparent liquid on Tangrowth''s ck skin, and the vines began to grow even quicker. I could see it happen in real time, slowly growing inch by inch. The grass type petted my head in appreciation. "You were amazing out there," I praised him. "That aura stuff is pretty funky, huh?" "Tell me about it. I don''t even know how it works half the time. My dad used to talk to me a bit about it, but he was pretty hush-hush. I just know that it seems to bypass some stuff sometimes. Like I managed to hit that ghost I told you about even though he could pass through a normal Bone Rush." "Yeah," I muttered as I moved on to patching up Honey. If possible, I would have liked to ask Cynthia about it, but the opportunity had passed me by. Aura seemed to act independently from type energy, or at least it operated under different rules. "You''re getting a lot better with Protect, and you were very annoying to fight. That''s a great job in my book," I told the electric type. He grunted, happy with his performance. I knew that even though we''d lost the fight, what he worried about the most was himself. "I honestly thought you would have sent out that monster of a Tangrowth against Zangoose," Chase said. "I had a pretty good tactic to beat him." I raised an eyebrow. "And? What was it." "Well I ain''t gonna tell you now. I''ll keep it for next time," he smiled, recalling the rest of his team. "I''ll be off, then." "What? Already?" "Well, you''ve got to do your own thing and I''ve got to buy potions before leaving for Veilstone." "Huh. Alright, then." I hadn''t nned on asking him to travel with me, but I thought we could hang out for a day at least. Well¡­ maybe I could justaskhim. "Hey, why don''t we go together? It''s been a while since we''ve met, we can''t just separate already." "What''s up with you?" "No ulterior motives," I rolled my eyes. "If I had any, you wouldn''t have guessed so easily. I just want to hang out with a friend." Chase sighed. "Well, I wanted to make it to Veilstone and challenge Maylene ASAP, but I guess I can stay if you really want to." "You''re talking like I''m holding you at gunpoint." "It''s the best you''re going to get, Pastel. Take it or leave it." "I''ll take it!" I immediately said. ¡ª "You know, you''re a tricky fighter, Pastel," Chase grunted. He was currently doing squats in sets of fifty. I was feeling tired by justlookingat him, but he was somehow holding a conversation with me while working out. We''d walked a bit further to the east to avoid attention because our fight had actually brought in a few spectators that had spread the news. I hoped the Poketch Company wouldn''t give me a hard time for losing. For the first time, I actually felt good after a loss, and I didn''t want them to ruin that. Maybe Cynthia''s words about losses being good for growth were resonating with me more than I knew. "You''ve said that already," I said. "And I just noticed, but we''re back on ast-name basis? What happened to good old Grace?" "That never happened. Wipe it from your memory." "No, I''m pretty sure that''s stored forever in my long-term memories now," I smirked. "Well you won''t be hearing that anymore. But seriously, it''s like¡ª whew, fifty," he exhaled. "It''s like, to beat you, a trainer has to find aspecificway to go through the battle in order to win, and if they don''t, they just slip and start to get stomped," he pondered. "Each one of your Pokemon has a trick to it." "A trick?" I asked. "Oh, I guess I know what you mean. Like Angel''s vines." "Vines for Tangrowth, regeneration for Jellicent, control for Togetic¡­ the only one with a decent amount of versatility''s your Electabuzz. Can''t know what the hell you''re getting into when fighting him. Can''t say for the other two though, I''ve never seen them fight." "That''s a fair point," I nodded. "I''ve been trying to work on Night Shade with Buddy, but progress is slower than I''d like. Then again, having a gimmick isn''t exactly wrong." "Oh, it isn''t, but you''ve got to be able to transition into something else when it doesn''t work. Well, Jellicent worked in this instance, but Tangrowth didn''t." "So you prioritize versatility then?" "To an extent. You''ve still got to focus onsomething. A Pokemon can''t really be good at everything, at least not at our stage. My Zangoose is terrible at long-distance fights, as you saw. I''m still workshopping a training regiment to deal with that weakness. Abomasnow''s not the best at them, but we''ve been working on it," he said, starting his squats again. I hummed. That was a lot to think about, but I probably wouldn''t be able to remedy it by Veilstone. It was true that if someone neutralized Angel''s vines, then we''d bepletely stumped. The issue wasn''t as bad with the others, but I needed to figure something out. He was my most powerful Pokemon discounting Sunshine, but he could also be my weakest at the same time if anyone had a surefire way to counter his vines like Lucario had done with Bone Rush and Vacuum Wave. Speaking of Vacuum Wave¡­ "Vacuum Wave is kind of bullshit, don''t you think?" I said, half-jokingly. "I mean, I never thought you could use it to such an extent." "Well, I don''t know much about it, but I do know that most elemental attacks tend to fizzle out when I throw that at them, and it pulls all the air out of the Pok¨¦mon''s lungs¡ª if they have lungs," he grunted. "It''s been a bit of trial and error. I''m terrible at that physics stuff." "Me too. I wonder if there are ways I could use physics and chemistry to my advantage to win battles. Like, fire needs¡­ oxygen to burn, so it''d make sense that Vacuum Wave would dissipate a methrower. Why did it cause Angel''s vines to wither though¡­ does a vacuum kill nts?" "Yikes." "What?!" "That''s kind of nerdy." "Stop being a kid. I''m just thinking of ways to improve, that''s all. You should too." "Not when I just kicked your ass." "It was close, you asshole! I want a rematch in Veilstone!" "Sure, why not. Might as well let me fight that Turtonator for good measure." "I don''t want your Pokemon to die, Chase." "Huh?Say that again!" I ignored him. Maybe I''de to a conclusion about my feelings regarding my loss a bit prematurely. My immaturity came out a bit too easily when my buttons got pushed. I needed to focus on the crux of this conversation. I didn''t know the first thing about physics or chemistry, though. It was at times like these that not paying attention in school came back to bite me. If it was to better my skill at battling though, I was sure that it''d be a lot easier to stomach learning about the periodic table or whatever. "What was school like in your town¡­ what is it even called?" I asked now that the thought had passed me by. Chase tensed and stopped his squats. Had I been too forward? "Falkirk," he muttered. "Don''t bother looking it up." "I¡ª I won''t." "Makes sense that you never heard of it," he continued. "There are around 100 mining towns all around the Iron Inds, and most people can''t even name one. We''re under Canve''s jurisdiction, so they can''t really tell the difference." "Yeah¡­ I don''t know much about them." "At least you''re trying to learn, which is more than most. Y''know, when I look around, it''s like, where do people think all of that steel that keeps their buildings standing came from? I mean sure, the iron is refined in Canve, but the point still stands. All those trucks, cars, airnes, kitchenware, fuckingsewage pipes!People work their lives away to provide for the maind, and they die to do it sometimes. And yet, no one gives a shit about us." "It''s true that I almost only hear about Canve, but we did cover the Iron Inds in ss, I think." "What? Just thirty minutes of shitty history? That doesn''t even matter," he shrugged. "But to answer your question, school is terrible. Teachers hate their jobs since they were sent there by the Canve government against their will and don''t care about us. Even then, there isn''t enough and the funding is shit, just like everything else. For all I respect Cynthia, she can go fuck herself for not improving anything there." "I mean, the position of Champion isn''t a one-man show. There are checks and bnces¡ª" "Which are now gone. I''m no politics expert, but sheisrunning a one-man showright now, and not doing anything to solve the situation." I bit my lip. He was right, but with Team Gctic on the loose, she was probably focused on other things. "It was always the same thing with Canve too. Every election, it''s''vote for me and we''ll fix all of your problems''and they end up not doing jack shit. Ugh, just makes me sick to talk about it." "Let''s talk about something else then," I hurriedly said. "Like your ns when you get to Veilstone." "Meh. Beat Maylene, get my flying license and get to Sunyshore ASAP on Sigilyph''s back. I want to start mopping up the gyms so I can get a few tries against the eighth." My eyes widened slightly in surprise. EventheChase was preparing for a defeat against the eighth gym, which in his case would end up being Byron like me. Expecting to win that battle on the first try was basically a pipe dream, so it was a smart thing for him to do. By the time a trainer got to the eighth gym, gym leaders wouldknowabout you and tailor their teams specifically to counter you and give you onest challenge to ovee before the Conference. Not only did that mean that they''d need up to a week to n their team against yours, but it also meant that you''d most likely end up losing terribly the first time around, and there was no guarantee that they''d keep that same team for your second try. So not only did you need to fight a grueling six-on-six, you were also going to get specifically targeted and picked apart by one of the best trainers in the region. I was looking forward to it. "You''re weird, Pastel. You ask me a question, then you just don''t say anything afterward." "I was thinking,Karlson," I spat. "And I was surprised you were taking things so safely. I was going to get my Pokemon Carry license and get beaten up by trainers better than I am, since the League Internship thing I told you about allows me to do that early. And beat Maylene too, hopefully." "Hopefully? You''re way too good to be that wishy-washy about things." "No, I''m actually confident about the battle, I just think I should stay humble. Y''know, healthy mindset and all of that." "So fake humility. Got it." "No, it''s¡ª" I groaned. "It''s just that I can''t allow myself to slip back into that mindset. Under Shiftry''s influence, I was kind of like you in Oreburgh when you spoke out against Cece and called her Unovan trash, or at least internally. I was a lot less outspoken," I sighed. "Why did you call her that? You don''t seem like the xenophobic type." "That?" He shrunk down embarrassingly. "I''m not, it''s just the easiest way I found to vent out my feelings. The idea that someone could swoop in from another region with outside money and run through the gyms seemed unfair as fuck to me. Now I obviously know that no amount of money will buy your way to the top." "Yeah¡­ money matters and can give you a huge jumpstart, but skill matters a lot more," I said. "Plus, you kind of got an advantage with Ri, no? Inheriting a Pokemon is kind of an advantage." "It is, but Ri was never trained to fight until I got him and we started to work out together. I guess I did get a bit of a head start by getting him early, even though I wish I hadn''t," he said, his face grim. "But to address your point, youcanstill buy your way into a few gym badges, but you''ll never get to the Conference that way." "So my point still stands," I huffed. "Yes, but I was justadding context." "Or you just wanted to one-up me. Anyway, watch out around Veilstone," I warned. "There were rumors about a Team Gctic base there, and Cynthia seems to think that they''re going to strike soon. You should probably walk around with Lucario all the time. He can sense people." Had Cynthia given Chase a League bodyguard too? He was less involved with Cece, Mira and I than the others, but he was still connected. I considered sending her a message to check, but she''d saidonly in emergencies. But what the hell constituted an emergency? Chase hummed. "Thanks for the warning. I''ll beat their asses if they pull something." "And you''ll staysafe, right?" "Yeah." "That didn''t sound very convincing." "I''m serious. I won''t start shit, but if theye after me, everything''s on the table." At this point, I was sure that we were capable of taking down most grunts, but one mistake was all it took, and there was no way we were standing up to Commanders yet. From his story about what happened in Mount Cor, Sunshine could probably take one of their Pokemon, but there was no way he''d be able to do what he did against Harry. The rest of my Pokemon still needed to catch up. I was starting to hate the fact that he couldn''t go all out because of me being near. Once again, myck of psychic was biting me in the ass. Chase finished his fifth set of squats, letting out a satisfied sigh and then downing an entire water bottle. "Fair enough," I nodded. "Aren''t you tired? You''re at like a bajillion squats now." "Today''s leg day," he said. "I''m going to run now, so if you want to keep hanging out, you better keep up with me." "Huh?" "You heard me." Chase began to run, and I followed. ¡ª "You''re¡­ fucking¡­ crazy," I breathed out. My lungs were on fire and I couldn''t feel my legs. "Now I''m gonna have to¡­ wash myself." "Just take a shower in the Cabin. I''m sure the people there will give you a room." "Shut¡­ up¡­" How? How was he just talking to me like nothing was happening? He''d been jogging for nearly an hour and forcing me to follow. At some point, I even considered getting Angel to carry me, but he said that he''d leave if I did. "You''ve got to get some meat on those bones, Pastel. Being a trainer ain''t only about getting your Pokemon into shape. You''ve got to whip yourself into shape too." "I''m healthy," I exhaled. "I walk through the routes and climb and stuff." I couldn''t do it anymore. I stopped and copsed on the floor, rolling onto my back and taking deep breaths. Chase stopped and looked at me disappointingly. "You almost made it an hour. Pretty good for your first run, honestly." "Now you''re the one¡­ humble bragging." "I''m not. I used to be skinnier than you back in the day." Right. I remembered that picture with his dad that he showed me, and he''d been a pale, almost sickly-looking kid, which was a world''s difference of what he was like now. "I used to be kind of a shut-in. My first run barelysted five minutes, but it''s all about steady improvements." "I used to go on runs," I said, finally able to speak normally. "With my Electabuzz to build up his stamina. We stopped now that he''s found better ways to do it, though." "You gotcent andzy." "No, I just had a lot of other things to worry about." "Whatever. Just know that being so weak will bite you in the ass one day." "Hey. Why did you start working out so heavily?" I asked. Chase sat on the floor next to me and leaned against one of his palms. "I thought I needed to be stronger. If I''d been, then¡­ y''know, I could have done more." More during whatever happened to Falkirk? He clearly didn''t want to go into it, so I didn''t pry, but I would definitely look up what happened to itter during the day. If I was getting a room in the Caf¨¦ Cabin, then it''d be dumb not to make use of the WiFi there. Plus, maybe I''d be able to start looking at resources for physics and chemistry. There ought to be at least simple interactions I could do during fights, although those type of tactics would work a lot better during double battles. It was a shame that I probably wouldn''t fight in one again for a long time. He stood up and held out a hand. I grabbed it. "Thanks. I hope you won''t force me to do anymore physical activities, because I literally can''t feel my legs." "That''s good. It means that you worked hard," he said. "But no, you''re fine. I''m done too." "I feel so icky. I need to get a room at the cabin and go shower. Want to grab a bite after?" "Do you think they sell chicken and rice here?" "What? No, they''re a bakery!" "Then no. Too much sugar and shit. Can''t be assed." "Your loss." "I was going to leave anyway. It''s the evening," he said. "You could use my shower." "I don''t care about that. I''m going to be traveling in the wild, no one''s going to smell me." My nose wrinkled, but I agreed to let him go. Hanging out had been fun, but Chase wasn''t the type of guy to stick around for long. He was a loner at heart, and he enjoyed that. He let me say goodbye to his team, and I did the same with mine. Ri issued us a bow while Abomasnow gently huffed, releasing mist and snow out of his mouth. Zangoose grunted, not bothering to look at us, while Houndoom licked my hand. His tongue was so hot it was almost ufortable, but he was cute nheless. I rubbed his chin until Chase told me to stop babying him. Vikavolt buzzed at me in some weird pattern while Sigilyph beeped, approaching me upside down until our faces barely touched. Needless to say, Princess hated her guts. She still chirped goodbye to Lucario, and then everyone else when I told her to be polite. Angel gently rubbed all of Chase''s Pokemon with his vines, but Zangoose easily dodged and hissed at him. Sweetheart happily mored at Lucario, who responded with some gentle words that I didn''t understand. Honey shook the steel type''s hand, and Zangoose actually shot him a respecful look, which was a world''s off of how she looked at everybody else on the team. It seemed that their battle had resonated somehow, and Honey bid her farewell too. Sunshine didn''t say goodbye, but at least he was standing behind me now and not a ways off. Chase was probably simr to Kamaile in some regards. And just like that, he was gone as fast as he''de. Hopefully we''d see each other again in Veilstone. "Now I need a shower," I sighed.
Thank you to my - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonver
TEAM Spoiler Togetic/Princess (Hustle) - Pound,Sweet Kiss, Growl, Headbutt,Fairy Wind,Ancient Power,Extrasensory,Thunder Wave, Air Cutter, Wish,Psychic, Shadow Ball,Dazzling Gleam Jellicent/Buddy (Water Absorb) -Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb,Water Sport,Water Pulse,Hex,Poison Sting,Mist,Acid Armor, Shadow Ball, Recover,Brine,Whirlpool Electabuzz/Honey (Static) - Thundershock, Swift,Electric Swift,Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer,Ice Punch, Thunderbolt, Discharge, Fire Punch, Protect,Cross Chop Tangrowth/Angel (Chlorophyll) - Vine Whip, Absorb,Mega Drain, Stun Spore,Bind, Poison Powder,Leech Seed,Ancient Power, Power Whip, Knock Off,Sunny Day Pupitar/Sweetheart (Guts) - Leer, Tackle,Horn Attack,Rock Throw,Payback, Stomping Tantrum,Smack Down,Bite,Rock Slide,Crunch,Sandstorm Turtonator/Sunshine (Shell Armor) - Smog, Ember, Smokescreen, Incinerate, Iron Defense,methrower,Shell Trap,Dragon Pulse, Bulldoze, Scorching Sands, Rock Tomb, Body m,sh Cannon, Sr Beam, Rapid Spin, Scale Shot,Iron Tail,Focus st [copse]
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Join myhere to chat, ask me questions and get pinged when a chapter goes up! Chapter 173 Chapter 173 CHAPTER 173 I ended up cing my name on the Caf¨¦ Cabin waiting list, and after begging the receptionist not to give me special treatment, she finally agreed and left me on there. A room suspiciously freed up immediately afterward though, and, well, there wasn''t much I could do about that. She wanted to keep me there so badly that I almost considered leaving right away out of spite. It wasn''t that I wasn''t expecting to be treated differently, it was mostly the fact that she just lied to my face about it. I wasn''t going to make a scene though, so I just bore with it and entered the room they gave me. It was only slightly smaller than a Pokemon Center room, but it was arranged simrly, with a tiny bed, a desk and a chair. There wasn''t a television though, which kind of made sense. Most kids just didn''t watch TV these days, and it was just a relic of an older time in Pokemon Centers, meaning that they could save on costs. There wasn''t really a point when everything could be found on a phone. Denzel was the epitome of this, but I still really enjoyed television, especially with my Pokemon, so one not being there was a bummer. I finally washed all of the muck and grime off of my body and rxed on my bed with a heavy sigh. My entire team wouldn''t fit in such a small room, so I opted to release Princess alone. The rest were either too big or needed to rest from their battle, so some time in a Pokeball would do them some good. The fairy type hugged me with her little arms and I pet her head. "I''m gonna be looking up some stuff, so¡ª ah, why don''t you grab some dirt from outside?" I asked, standing up to open the window. "You can practice your sculpting while I research." She happily nodded and flew out the window. A few secondster, she brought back a huge glob of dirt that barely fit through the opening. "What are you gonna work on today? That''s a lot of dirt." Princess apparently didn''t want to reveal what her n was. She was usually a lot better with a model, so I found it interesting that she was going to sculpt without one. Unless¡ª "Wait is it me¡ª" "Toge." "Ah." Way to crush your mother''s heart,I thought with a sigh. I grabbed myptop, plugged it in and started browsing. The inte here was slow, but it was better than nothing. The first thing on the list was Falkirk, Chase''s hometown. Falkirk. That surprisingly didn''t yield any coherent results. There was apparently a famous singer with thest name Falkirk, and it was all the inte showed me. I needed to narrow the search down. Falkirk Iron Inds. The first thing that came up was the images. Falkirk looked as bad as Chase had made it sound. Hundreds of rundown buildings huddling the side of a cliff, dirt paths and the rough waves perpetually keeping the entire ce wet and eroding the rocks on the side of the cliff. Not even the worst neighborhoods in Jubilife that dad always told me to avoid looked this bad. The only ce that looked remotely well-maintained was the small port that I assumed the miners shipped their iron from, where it''d go to Canve and be turned into steel or other things. I had to scroll to the bottom of the search page and go topage twoto figure out what happened. Ineverwent to page two. There were a few articles about the town having been destroyed by a Steelix slightly more than two years ago. In a harrowing turn of events, the small mining town of Falkirk in the Iron Inds has been reduced to ruins, as a colossal Steelix wreaked havoc upon its inhabitants. The destructive force unleashed by this powerful Pok¨¦mon has left only a few dozen survivors, forcing the abandonment of the town that once thrived in the heart of the Iron Inds. I felt my stomach drop. That was how Chase''s father died? Not only that, but he''d lost his entire hometown and everything he once knew¡­ Arceus. The article said that the city once thrived, but from the way he''d spoken about it, it had always been rtively poor. I scanned the rest of the article. ¡­mined too close to the Steelix''s territory and drove it to attack. The Iron Ind rangers were too weak to stand up to the beast, leaving it enough time to wreak havoc upon the town for two hours until reinforcements from Canve arrived to evacuate Falkirk. The survivors were taken to the city and officials have opened an investigation into Teracore, the corporation running the mining operations in the inds, but also notably in Oreburgh. Teracore¡­ I''d heard of them a few times, but I hadn''t even known they operated in the Iron Ind too. The survivors also sued thepany, so I wanted to see what ended up happening to them. Unlike with Falkirk, that was easy enough to find. They''d paid offrge sums to some of the victims and fought the ones that hadn''t epted the money in court until they ran out of money forwyers. I clenched a fist. It wasn''t only Cece and Louis'' fathers that were evil. Teracore had essentially traded the lives of thousands of people forprofit. The government investigation proved to do a lot better, or at least it did at first nce. The people in charge of the Iron Ind sector were fired and would spend decades in prison, which for most would mean that they''d die in there. But at the end of the day, Teracore was still chugging along, making hundreds of millions of Pokedors and were still getting paid by the Oreburgh and Canve city government to do their mining. It had barely been a p on the wrist. Surely there could besomekind of better oversight, no? I doubted that the people currently serving their sentence had been acting out all on their own. "Damn it¡­" It was so unfair. I could see where Chase''s mistrust ofpanies and the government in general came from. I wondered if he was nning on going back to the Iron Inds when he went back to Canve if he had the time. Falkirk itself was still abandoned, but maybe he''d want to see other towns around the inds. Or maybe it''d be too painful to remember. I nced at Princess'' statue, and I still couldn''t figure out what she was making, so I moved onto the next topic. I needed to figure out if I could use physics to my advantage, and for that, I needed a textbook. A pdf of one would do. I racked my brain, trying to remember the name of my old textbooks, but nothing came up. "Screw it, new textbook it is." After a bit of sleuthing, I ended up buyingIntroduction to PhysicsandChemistry 101, which were a lot less impressive sounding than I expected, but we all had to start from somewhere. I didn''t expect to create massive explosions or whatever, but it was a good base to build up from. Come to think of it, Sunshine could only create explosions on his shell because of the sulfur there that kind of smelled like a mix of eggs and burned matches. That was chemistry too! And yes, it had taken a while to get used to the smell, and I barely registered it these days. Anyway, I decided that I''d do at least one hour of physics and one hour of chemistry each day, and that started¡­ter. No!I waspletely free right now, so I needed to do it! Why was it that I always procrastinated with anything non-Pokemon rted? And the worst part was that thiswasPokemon rted, I just needed to push through and get to the meat of the subjects to see its effects in the way I battled. Chemistry was first. ¡ª "I hate chemistry!" "To¡­" "You don''t get it, Princess. This ismind-numbinglyboring! Sure, learning about the three states of matter and how molecules behave as a gas, solid or liquid is nice, but when am I ever going to use that in¡ª well¡­ actually, it''s pretty useful now that I''m thinking about it for a few seconds. Heating up water to stop a water type attack''s the kind of obvious stuff every trainer knows, but what about turning a gas back into a liquid? The textbook said it was condensation." Togetic let out a series of chirps, still engrossed in her statue. It was slowly taking form, and I knew now that she was making the entire family¡ª Sunshine included. Of course, she still hadn''t created me, and she wouldn''t. "Uhh, you do it by lowering the temperature of a gas. Like, if Chase''s Abomasnow used a massive Icy Wind on Buddy''s Mist, the attack would just turn into water and ice crystals. I bet Chase would never know about that though." "Toge!" She snickered. "Heisa musclehead," I smirked. "But you can''t underestimate him, I mean, he just beat us, didn''t he? Anyway, Mist isn''t even proper gas, butsteamis. There are all these gases thatlooklike gas but aren''t. I wonder if Sunshine''s Smokescreen is a gas? It seems a lot heavier than steam. Smog too." Well, it wasn''t like I had any ice type moves to think about doing that just yet anyway, but it was still something to think about. Something like Powder Snow or Icy Wind would work better than Ice Beam, since the area of effect would be wider. Now that my one hour of chemistry was done, it was time to move onto physics. I didn''t want to overwhelm my brain and not retain any of the information I was learning. It ended up being even worse than before, and unlike with chemistry, I couldn''t see any appliances to anything I''d learned in the hour I had studied and taken notes. The only thing I''d taken an interest in so far was motion and kinematics, but there was no way I was going to whip out a form mid-battle to calcte the trajectory of an attack like Rock Throw, especially when the Pokemon could justswitchthe direction of the rock whenever they wanted. And the target would obviously bemy Pokemon. Where itcouldbe useful was in situations like that interaction between Vacuum Wave and Angel''s vines, but I wouldn''t be learning any of that for a while. This was just anintroductionbook. Of course, I could always skip ahead, but I knew I''d bepletely lost if I did that. Arceus, I was bad at this. If anything, I''d have to supplement these lessons with research online, or it would take months for me toe up with any ideas. But itwasa long-term project, so we''d see where it left me. "Ohhh, it''s so cute!" I squealed, looking at Princess'' work. "You''ve gotten so much better!" Everyone was there, and they were size-appropriate too. I could see Angel''s individual vines and the differentyers of Sunshine''s shell. She''d done all of this in two hours! "You''re so talented," I said, grabbing my phone. "Here, let me take a picture. Stay in the shot! Give me a big, wide smile." Since we couldn''t carry her sculptures, I kept track of them using pictures instead. She was never bummed out about having to leave one behind, strangely enough, but I wanted to keep the memories. Plus, we''d look back on it in a few months and see how far she''de. I ended up finally sending a message to my friends to let them know that I''d made it to the Caf¨¦ Cabin and that I''d met Chase there. Everyone but Cece, Denzel and Pauline were on the road though, so I doubted that they''d see it any time soon. Cece actually asked me for a picture to cheer her up, and we ended up sending silly faces to each other for almost ten minutes until I called. The moment the phone stopped ringing, I almost jumped for joy and excitedly kicked my feet against the bed. "Grace!" "Cece, I miss you so much!" I whined. "So do I. It''s terribly lonely at night,"she said. The sound of her voice felt like bliss."I''ve been resting as much as I can to recover as quickly as possible! We''ll be leaving Sceon very soon." "That''s great news, but make sure not to overwork your leg. The Caf¨¦ Cabin''s a bit annoying, but the food''s great, so I think you can stay there for a day like I''m doing if you need it." "And be apart for another day? Absolutely not. Have you done anything interesting there? I saw that you met Chase." "Every time I see him, it''s like he matures ten years," I chuckled. "We battled too. He won." "He did? What were the rules?" "Three-on-three, no switches. His Pokemon are no joke, especially Ri." I ended up exining the entire battle in detail to Cecilia, including Chase''s new Pokemon and evolutions. Since he wasn''t actively hiding them, I didn''t think he''d care at all. "I''ve also started learning a bit about physics and chemistry. I figured it''d give me a leg-up on thepetition." "In what way would¡ª"she paused."Oh of course, I see what you mean. rence never gave me any lessons of the sort. The instructor I had kept to arithmetics. I mostly focused on things like dance, music or gymnastics." "Youareflexible¡­" I muttered. "And yeah, you technically used chemistry when you turned the sand into ss during that one battle in the tournament, so it''d definitely be of use," I exined. "It''s better to get started early thante. It''d help a lot down the line when we start creating moves too¡­ hah, man, I hope I make something that can be widely used so I sell the rights to Silph Co. and be rich." "That''s one in a million,"sheughed."I don''t know if I''d like to delve that deeply into those two subjects, though. Themon sense concepts like the three states of matter should be enough." "Uh, right, everyone knows about that. Condensation, am I right?" I nervouslyughed. "There''s no shame in not knowing. You''re smart and pick up on things quickly, so you''ll no doubt surpassmon knowledge in a week." I couldn''t help but grin. "Thanks. How are Pauline and Denzel doing?" "Pauline was never bothered, but Denzel''s doing better. He took your departure almost as bad as I did¡ª but don''t tell him I told you. He wanted to send you off with a smile, so he hid it, but he''s been down in the dumps." "Yeah¡­ I could tell," I sighed. "I''ll call him after you. And Pauline too, or she''ll throw a fit about being left out. How are Sol and Zerst doing?" "You know, I thought we''d made a lot of progress, but they''ve been fighting a whole lot recently¡­" ¡ª "I love you. Have a good rest of your night!" "You too,"she said."And don''t forget to send me Princess'' sculptureter." "I''ll have to ask her," I said, looking at her sleeping in my arms. "She''s pretty shy about her art." I hung up the phone, stretched and called Denzel next. "Hey big guy. I''ve heard you''ve been depressed without me," I said, half-jokingly. "From who? Was it Pauline or Cece?"He groaned. "You think I''d just tell you? I''m better than that. Now tell me what''s been kicking your ass." I heard Denzel exhale."Well, it''s not just you leaving. It''s not even about Justin''s mentality being fucked either, it''s a lot of things that add up. But the biggest thing is¡­ I feel like things just went from a fun adventure to like, this incredibly serious thing where we''ll have to put our lives on the line in the future. It was always dangerous, I mean, we went through Eterna Forest without knowing jack shit about battling. We had to fight and think our way out of Mount Cor too, but it feels different this time. Like it''s just the beginning, and we''ll have to fight humans a whole lot more from now on." I paused to consider what to say. "Grace?" "I mean, you''re right," I finally said after a heavy breath. "But I''d think that you would be able to cope with that. Everything will work out somehow." "Copying me?"He said. I couldhearhis smile. "That obvious?" "Yup. We''ll see what happens, I guess, but know that even though I''m not a target, I''ve got your back. I won''t let Mars do any of her sick shit to you or Team Gctic hurt anyone else." "Thank you. I mean it." "I know you mean it,"he said."This Veilstone stuff is stressing me out." "Me too, but we''ve got to deal with it. The League will protect us, so just stay vignt." "No, no, not even that. I need a lot of money Grace. Veilstone will make or break this year for me. I have nearly enough for a Shiny Stone from all the sponsors and donations from my fans, but I need more." "For your sixth?" I guessed. "I looked it up, and they''ve brought in a new clutch of Dratini at the Game Corner that are close to hatching,"he said."I want one, and I need to win big if I''m going to get one. I''m talking millions." "ADratini?It doesn''t seem like Dragonite would fit your schtick though." "What? Pauline told me the same thing! The Dragonite line is great. Have you seen a video of one flying? They''re incredibly graceful." "Dratini and Dragonairmaybe, but Dragonite? They look cute, but they''re kind of goofy¡ª" "Absolutely not. They look majestic as hell." "Whatever you say¡­oh, Mira wanted to get something from the Game Corner too! She wants a Porygon, and they sell those there too, or at least that''s what Cynthia said. I don''t have any advice for you though. Aren''t most of their games luck based?" "Some require more skill, but there''s an element of luck everywhere, yes. I''ve been studying up,"he said."If I don''t get a Dratini, I''m fucked." "You could always get another Pokemon and get a Dratini as your seventh." "I¡ªI know that would make sense, but I can''t bring myself to do that. I''ve got to keep to my list. It''s like, this goal I''ve set for myself, and if I don''t reach it, I''ll feel inadequate." "Just don''t lose all of your motivation if you don''t get one, okay?" "I''ll try. Thank you for telling me about Mira, by the way. I''ll see if we can figure something out." "Maybe her Kadabra can watch and calcte the odds of each win or something crazy like that," I suggested. "They''ve got a no Pokemon rule, otherwise cheating would be way too easy," he chuckled. "Anyway, I hope your trip to the Caf¨¦ Cabin went well? How''s Chase doing?" "Oh, he''s the same as always, but more mature," I said. "Ri actually evolved into a Lucario¡­" ¡ª "Well, nothing left to do but rx and wait for tomorrow," I said after finishing my call with Pauline. She was so abrasive that she was already secretly practicing flying on Charizard''s back. I told her that she''d better not get caught, or getting her license this year would be impossible, and she wouldneedit if she wanted to get eight badges in time. There was no way she, Louis or Justin were traveling all the way to Snowpoint and then Canve otherwise, although Justin had seemingly given up on the Conference. Backtracking to one would have been possible, but two? They wouldn''t make it to the Conference if they kept traveling by foot. Even I needed to fly on Togetic''s back, or I''d be cutting it too close with Byron. Losing to him and then missing the deadline would feel a lot more crushing than just not making it to the city itself. By the time I made it to Sunyshore, I''d have enough for a Shiny Stone if I''d calcted things correctly, and Togekiss shared a verymon body type with most bird Pokemon, meaning that it wouldn''t take too long to teach me how to fly on one thanks to not needing to call in a specialized teacher. I left bright and early the following day. It wasn''t like my nightmares didn''t wake me up early anyway, so it''d be better to make use of them however I could. After grabbing some food to go downstairs and replenishing a little on potions, I began my trek through route 215. The transition from beautiful weather to cloudy was so quick it was almost esoteric. I knew nothing about the weather, but¡ª It was already raining. "Damn it, I should have been wearing my raincoat right away!"
Chapter 174 Chapter 174 CHAPTER 174 Heavy wind whizzed past my hair as I held down the hood of my raincoat. Even though I was protected against the rain, my entire body still felt wet. Princess had originally created a psychic barrier above my head, but she had gotten too tired to keep it up. The asional boom of thunder rattled me, but it had been at least twelve hours since making it to route 215, so I¡¯d gotten used to the sudden noises by now. Strangely enough, there was a peculiar quiet to the route as well. Between the booms of thunder, it was as if everything was muted somehow. It was subtle, but easy to catch when you noticed. My ears felt full, as if I was flying on an airne and no amount of blowing with my nose pinched did the trick. It was like I¡¯d lost forty percent of my hearing. The sound of rain and thunder were still at their normal level, however. Despite all of this, I knew not to panic. This was a well-known effect of the route, and there was no exnation for it. Trainers just ignored it and made it through with no problems. I was currently crouching at a distance from Sweetheart and she quivered in trepidation. She''d been waiting for this since her evolution. ¡°Ready?!¡± I yelled out. Pupitar jumped in ce, excited for what was toe. ¡°Three, two, one¡ª¡± A sudden pop, and then a loud hiss escaped from her shell, and she flew headfirst toward a tree, running through and destroying itpletely. Splinters and chunks of bark exploded outward, but I was far enough to avoid any injuries. Sweetheart fell back onto the floor and struggled to stop her momentum, so I started to run after her. It took a minute for me to catch up. For a few seconds, I reminisced about the time when Princess had been a Togepi and struggled to stop her Rollout in our apartment. It all seemed so far away now. ¡°Holy crap!¡± I yelled. ¡°You went so fast! I¡¯m so proud of you!¡± I rubbed her tough stony exterior, and she rumbled under her cocoon. The entire team congratted her as well. I had released Sunshine for this asion only, because he never would have forgiven me if I let him miss the first time Sweetheart used the pressurized air inside of her to propel herself. All in all, I¡¯d call it a great sess. Tangrowth rubbed her head and creases with his vines, Jellicent rumbled proudly and Togetic pped to congratte her. Honey offered a thumbs up and yelled so loudly that for a second, I thought I¡¯d regained my normal hearing. I recalled Sunshine after he offered the rock type some praise. It wasn¡¯t so much that the rain creating steam every time the dropletsnded on his shell bothered us, but it was mostly because he was a big baby and the weather bothered him. I¡¯d release him when we found a spot to hide away from the rain. There was a small mountaining up in a few hours, so maybe there¡¯d be a small cave to hide under. The route was definitely on the easier side of things, but the permanently muddy floor was tiring me out quickly. And somehow, route 212 was worse than this! I was definitely never stepping foot down there. ¡°How much supply did that use?¡± I asked Sweetheart. ¡°Can you go for another one?¡± The ground type eagerly nodded. She wanted to fly, and she looked like she was having the time of her life. She ended up propelling herself seven more times until she ran out¡ª seven and a half if I counted thatst attempt that barelysted five seconds. It would take multiple hours for thepressed air to replenishpletely. What it did not do, however, was tire her. She was still just as excited as she¡¯d been before, so I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about overusing it in battle due to stamina worries. Still, having only eight meant that we couldn¡¯t just rely on the technique for mobility in battle, but it¡¯d be very good to use in specific circumstances, both offensively and defensively. Hell, I was even starting to think thatbining the move with Iron Defense would be too lethal for fleshy Pokemon. Pupitar was getting a lot better at crawling too, using the two small appendages on the sides of her cocoon to drag herself forward. She was slow, and would always be without the pressurized air, but she could at least maneuver now, which did wonders for her self-esteem. Evolution almost always took time for a Pokemon to get used to, but radical changes like hers were a lot worse. To go from being able to walk to crawling would feel crippling. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going,¡± I dered. Sweetheart¡¯s eyes saddened, but I smiled at her as I stood back up. ¡°What do you think? You¡¯re sticking around, obviously. We¡¯re not in a hurry.¡± Thunder boomed as she excitedly celebrated. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Finally, no more rain,¡± I groaned as I took cover under the nameless mountain¡¯s overhang. Well, it probably had a name, but I didn¡¯t know it. ¡°I¡¯m gonna release Sunshine and get started on dinner. Honey?¡± The electric type nodded and walked up to me. ¡°I can¡¯t cook without my sous-chef,¡± I grinned, releasing the fire type. ¡°We¡¯re cooking some stir-fry. Not the biggest fan of vegetables, but it¡¯ll do I think. It¡¯s a leg up from pasta, but there¡¯s a first time for everything. Uh, I had the recipe saved somewhere. Start taking the veggies out.¡± I looked through myptop as Turtonatorzilyy down under the deepest recesses of the overhang. Buddy, meanwhile, couldn¡¯t be any happier. He was soaking in the rain and his head had almost doubled in size from all the extra water, which wasical seeing as his head was already way bigger than the rest of his body. Princess was curiously observing Electabuzz pull out all the ingredients, while Sweetheart was already eating some rocks from the side of the mountain. Angel silentlymented theck of sunlight. He¡¯d enjoyed the rain at first, but he missed the sun shining down on his vines. ¡°Where the hell did I even save this¡ª ah, there it is!¡± I yelled. ¡°Oh, Arceus, what the hell is a tablespoon? I don¡¯t know how much that is!¡± Electabuzz chuckled and opted to just eyeball it. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me,¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°We¡¯re in the same boat. Now you¡¯ve got to heat the stove to medium-high heat and put the skillet on it, then you add the oil. Oh, wait, how much is a pound?¡± Maybe I should have kept to pasta. This was going to be an unmitigated disaster. We struggled the entire way through and had no measuring tools, so everything just went wrong. ¡ª¡ª ¡°This looks really bad,¡± I grimaced. ¡°The picture on the website looked way better than this.¡± Turtonator snorted and let out a rumbling grunt. Before Princess could even retort to defend me like she was about to, I clicked my tongue. ¡°We did follow the instructions¡­ sorta. I think we put too much soy sauce and we overcooked everything¡­ but hey, better overcooked chicken than undercooked. Thest thing I want to get in the middle of a route is food poisoning.¡± Electabuzz offered a serving to everyone. Sunshine and Buddy reluctantly epted. I expected Jellicent to do so, but Turtonator was a weed surprise, especially since he¡¯d criticized us so harshly. Honey was over the moon that they¡¯d both epted. He was dissatisfied with the meal, but no one would be an expert chef in a few days. Angel and Sweetheart were just content to eat anything. Everytime the grass type did so, it was as if he was eating the best meal of his life. He immediately grabbed the bowl, dragged it under his vines and he was done in a few seconds. ¡°Angel, I didn¡¯t add your vitamins yet!¡± I scolded. ¡°Well, it¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just slice up some more berries for you.¡± Princess perked up at the mention of berries. I spread the vitamin powder over all of their meals and mixed it, then cut up a few Oran Berries for Angel and Princess and did the same. ¡°You know, Princess, you defended Honey and I¡¯s cooking, but you still don¡¯t want to even look at it,¡± I said. She guiltily stared at her brother, who nodded with a grunt. ¡°If you want to really show us how you appreciate our cooking, you should have a little taste.¡± I held out a bunch of mixed vegetables in front of her mouth, and her head immediately turned away. ¡°Come on¡­ do it for mommy? Pretty please?¡± Togetic finally chomped down on the fork and ate something other than Oran Berries for the first time ever, which was wonderful progress. Electabuzz watched for her reaction with bated breath, but I ced a hand on his still-wet shoulder to let him know to temper his expectations. She held out her tongue and groaned as soon as she finished. ¡°You don¡¯t like it, but it won¡¯t kill you, right?¡± I smiled. ¡°I promise you that when Honey and I get better, you¡¯ll like it. Here, you can cleanse your pte with some berries and water.¡± We ate dinner mostly in silence, listening to the soft sounds of the rain pattering against the mountain and its surroundings. The sound of rain had always been good at making me sleepy, and it seemed to have the same effect on most of my Pokemon, especially when it was so much louder than everything else. Tangrowth syed out a ton of his vines, creating a bed for me, Honey and Princess. Sweetheart was asleep and still eating rocks somehow. Eating was so crucial to their species that they could somehow do that. Only Buddy was still awake, warding off the few wild Pokemon that dared to approach us. Most of them were harmless, not because they were weak but because I felt like they were friendly and just wanted to sleep somewhere dry. ¡°Let them in,¡± I whispered, looking at a pair of Lickitung. He hesitated for a few seconds, but shrunk down to his normal size as his eyes dimmed down. It was just two Lickitung at first, but we were soon joined by a Drowzee, a Kricketune, two Mightyena and a Ponyta. The poor fire type¡¯s mes were so weakened. I had no idea what it was doing on a route where it always rained. It was limping too, and its leg had a massive bruise. ¡°Did something fight you?¡± I worriedly asked. The horse neighed with a small, shy nod. ¡°I¡¯ve got things to help you,¡± I continued, grabbing a potion from my bag. ¡°It¡¯ll make you all better.¡± There was knowledge behind Ponyta¡¯s eyes, so it looked like it already knew what a potion was. It must have seen a trainer use it at some point. The fire type nervously approached me, making sure not to wake up any of my Pokemon and I quietly sprayed her leg with a potion. The mes on its back immediately grew from ufortably hot to just warm, and I managed to put my hand in the fire, much to Buddy¡¯s worried nces. ¡°There you go,¡± I softly said. ¡°You can all sleep here. We¡¯ll be on our way tomorrow morning, and I¡¯ll keep my Pokemon under control when they wake up.¡± More and more Pokemon showed up as the hours passed, and I could tell there was history and rivalries within certain packs. A group of five Psyduck seemed to be hated by every Pokemon here, although they were oblivious to it. A Staravia was constantly ring at a Pidgeotto, and Ponyta warily looked at an Elektrike that had just shown up. I guessed he was the one that hurt it, but there seemed to be some kind of truce here. Of course, my Pokemon were already awake at this point, and aside from being way too paranoid and Sunshine carving out his own slice of the cave for himself and threatening to attack anyone that got near him, everything went rather well. I still stuck by his side for warmth, as did the others. Not even a single fight broke out between the other Pokemon, and it was quiet enough for me to get some studying done. I ended up feeding the wild Pokemon too, but there were too many now. Somehow, rumors about this little spot spread and the small overhang ended up beingpletely packed by the next morning. ¡ª¡ª ¡°Bye-bye everyone!¡± I waved. ¡°Stay safe out there and good luck!¡± They¡¯d been a nice littlemunity. It was a nice reminder that every route had its own history, links between different Pokemon groups andplicated rtionships. It was a shame that I couldn¡¯t get to know them better. I had a feeling that a few days with them and I¡¯d be able to understand how they spoke perfectly, but my stay in Veilstone would be busy already, so I couldn¡¯t afford to waste time. Not that hanging out with Pokemon was wasting time. It was cool. I trekked through route 215 for the remainder of the day, using the well-demarked trail to go over the mountain I¡¯d just slept under. There was also a path around, but it would take at least ten hours extra, if not more. It was tiresome, but at least I was training my stamina further. Walking on a t path was easy¡ª I could do it for the entire day if need be, but walking up muddy slopes and on rocky, uneven terrain was apletely different picture. Angel tried to carry me a few times, but I refused his help, much to his chagrin, although there were multiple instances where he pulled me up small cliffs I couldn¡¯t climb. Turtonator and Sweetheart weren¡¯t exactly equipped for this route, so they stayed in their balls for the time being. Princesszily floated above me with her chin on my head the entire time. ¡°Finally,¡± I groaned as I sat below another overhang¡ª this time on the other side of the mountain. There would only be one more like this to climb, and apparently it¡¯d be possible to see Veilstone from its peak, even though it was slightly smaller. The rain had assuaged slightly, but it was still pouring. Electabuzz calmly prepared pasta on the stove while I opened myptop again. I had this idea for a move that had been unable to leave my head, and it had to do with steam explosions. My PDF textbook had this whole section about how steam behaved under different temperatures and environments that was a few pages long, and I¡¯d learned that it could actually explode under arge amount of pressure. That hadn¡¯t even been on my radar when thinking about applying physics to Pokemon battles, but it was certainly feasible. Pokemon battles at a high level were not just a set of individual, one-on-one fights. It was a team effort, each Pokemon building up for the next. Strategies sometimes only bore fruit after five Pokemon went down, but for this one, I would only need three in a set order. Sunshine and Buddy had been obvious. One was practically made of water and the other could vaporize it by just standing there, but the process was actually moreplicated than I thought. I heard the fire type groan as he strode to my side, and Jellicent chided him to tell him to stay quiet while I was engrossed in my thoughts. Mist wasn¡¯t steam. Mist was water in a condensed phase, meaning it was still in a liquid state, but light enough to float in the air. Fog was simr, but denser. For steam, the water needed to be in a gaseous state. Or that was what the textbook said anyway. If mist was still water in a liquid state, then heating it up should in theory turn it into steam. We could have just used the rain for a proof of concept, but I wanted to be sure that we could reproduce this without it. There would always be water in a gym leader¡¯s arena and in any tournament worth their name, but using Mist would make a lot more vapor in theory, since Buddy could just fill the arenapletely. That would be different against Crasher Wake, since his entire arena was like the Sceon tournament¡¯s Water Field. It was a bummer I¡¯d gotten no practice on it. ¡°Uh, go ahead and use Mist,¡± I whispered, chewing on my thumb nail. ¡°Not too much. We don¡¯t want to blow up the cave and have it copse on us.¡± Jellicent rumbled, and a thin mist escaped from his mouth. I let him release it until we had a good amount¡ª around three times my body size. Any amount would do if we pressed down hard enough. I stepped back. ¡°Okay, now heat that up,¡± I told Sunshine. The dragon spat out a thin stream of mes toward the mist, and the mist turned into vapor. It was a minute change, but it became more transparent and lighter. Mist tended to stick to the ground, clearly showing that it had some weight to it. Vapor was a lot wispier and easily blown away by wind. ¡°Princess,¡± I said. Her eyes shone, and a transparent bubble of psychic energy captured the steam before it could dissipate. She would be the one to squeeze it until it blew. ¡°Press down on it as much as you can.¡± I could feel my heartbeat. The bubble grew smaller and smaller, and the steam denser. Princess clearly met some resistance, narrowing her eyes as she kept pressing. Until the bubble shattered with a burst of pressure, the sound of the explosion reverberating across the small cave and the steam scattering quicker than I could see. There was no me or change in color, of course. This was a steam explosion, and it didn¡¯t use any kind of ignition. The st had been next to one of the walls of the cave, leaving only a gaping hole in its ce and crumbling stone. ¡°Holy shit,¡± I breathed out. ¡°That worked. I did a thing! We did a thing!¡± Even Sunshine was somewhat surprised that it had worked, and he couldn¡¯t help but celebrate with the rest of us. By celebrating, I meant him having the slightest hint of a smile on his face. ¡°Makes you change your mind about battling with me?¡± I asked. His smile disappeared, but he didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Whatever,¡± I grumbled. I could always create other moves that didn''t need him. ¡°Should we name it? I mean, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll call it out in battle seeing as howplicated it is to create, but it¡¯d be cool. It¡¯s our first custom move, you know?¡± Electabuzz excitedly nodded. He was maybe even happier than I was, and wanted abination of his own now. Unfortunately, electricity cameter in the textbook and was probably a lot moreplicated than water. I took a few suggestions from the team and Sunshine had less-than-ster, crude names. Angel moved his vines so quickly that I could barely catch the first word, but his suggestion was an extremely long name that would just be too much to remember. Sweetheart wanted it to be as violent as possible, aligning with Sunshine, and Buddy went with the hriously boring name Steam Explosion, but that wasn¡¯t it. ¡°No, guys, I need a cute name. No explosion of death or whatever,¡± I said, eyeing the rock type. ¡°How about Bubble st? It rolls off the tongue. Princess uses a bubble to pressurize the vapor, and we''d be keeping up the water theme.¡± Togetic chirped, pping her hands. She seemed to enjoy that one, and so did I. The others all groaned except Angel, who was happy enough with the name. ¡°That¡¯s three against three,¡± I said. ¡°And you can¡¯t even agree on a name. We win,¡± I stuck out my tongue. Jellicent whistled sharply, more agitated than he usually was. He said that only the Pokemon that could actually create the move should have a vote. ¡°No, no, we¡¯re a family. Everyone has a say,¡± I smugly said. ¡°Right guys? Buddy¡¯s saying that your vote doesn¡¯t count!¡± This time, even Sweetheart joined our side, and the water type just sighed in defeat. I just really liked cute things, okay? Now that the name was decided, I started to think again. In a potential battle, it would go like this. I would lead with Buddy and use Mist at some point before he was unable to fight, then switch the Sunshine and heat up the field enough to with water vapor. Both wouldn¡¯t even need to fight if substitutions were allowed. I would just switch to Princess and have her create explosions next to her opponents, and we¡¯d be able to do so until the steam ran out¡ª meaning that there¡¯d be multiple explosions. Her masterful control would be key here. I didn¡¯t know if the type energy that Jellicent infused into Mist would still make the move count as water type or something else, but any explosion would seriously hurt whatever the hell we were fighting. And, we¡¯d be able to adjust their sizes depending on how much vapor we packed together! She¡¯d alwayscked in power, and she wouldg behind the rest of the team in that department at least until she evolved, but Pokemon battles were a team effort. If she couldn¡¯t use powerful moves by herself, then we would make our own path. The potential with physics was nearly limitless, both offensively and defensively. My previous assumption had been wrong. There were already moves to create with my limited knowledge. I suddenly felt a very real urge to devour my entire textbook right this instant before moving on to moreplicated concepts. My lips twisted upward. Physics was fun. And I hadn''t even begun to scratch the surface.
Chapter 175 – Sister Chapter 175 ¨C Sister CHAPTER 175 - Sister Another day had passed, and attacks by wild Pokemon hadpletely stopped. It wasn¡¯t like they had the guts to do so anyway, but sometimes a few got a bit rowdy until usually Buddy scared the living crap out of them and they fled. That had stopped since I had let that huge group of wild Pokemon under that overhang with me, nursed Ponyta back to health and fed a few of them. The fact that it hadn¡¯t ceased right after made me skeptical that the wild Pokemon had some way ofmunicating who was a threat and who wasn¡¯t, but it was certainly a possibility with how intertwined everyone had seemed when grouped up in the cave. Still, route 215 was long, so I considered it unlikely. Sweetheart was making good progress with her air control, although mid-air adjustments were still a pipedream. I was almost certain she was ready to battle again, however, and even though she would be at a type disadvantage against Maylene, I was probably going to use her. It was going to be a five against five, after all. I was sure I¡¯d find a strategy to use with her, but I would need to study the gym leader first to be sure. The rumors said she was abrasive, but quick on her feet, meaning that she¡¯d be close to Chase¡¯s style. I was sure there would be a lot of differences too though, I just didn¡¯t know enough right now. And even if I could look it up, I¡¯d be too engrossed in my textbooks to notice. I had changed my one hour per subject each day study time to two hours when I had the time, and I ended up going over that by at least thirty minutesst night until Buddy convinced me to go to sleep. It wouldn¡¯t do to be tired when traveling on a route, especially when the terrain was so harsh. I stepped onto the mountain¡¯s peak and took a deep breath. The air was thinner here, but still easily breathable. Veilstone stood tall in the distance. Since it was still two to three days away, the only thing I could make out were a few skyscrapers. These little asions where one could just stop and take in the beauty and size of Sinnoh were always soothing to me. It had been the same when I could see Oreburgh from route 207 south of the Cycling Road. These were the moments that I traveled for, even though walking up a mountain was a pain in the ass¡ª trail or not. At least the way down was a lot easier on my legs, especially when Honey and Princess were there to give me some moral support. There was probably nothing more motivating than my kids telling me that I could do something. It took half the time to get down than to climb up, and I opted to take a break near the route¡¯s edge, since it was where the trail led me. As I fiddled through myptop and sneakily took a picture of Angel and Buddy being ridiculously cute due to the former forcefully hugging thetter until he had no choice but to reciprocate as best he could, something incredible happened. The clouds above me cleared, and the rain slowed until itpletely stopped, leaving only a rainbow that arched across the sky and left me breathless. The rain on route 215 intensified or slowed, but it never stopped. It was a constant, like the fog on the northern half of route 210 or the snow on route 216 and 217. The beauty of the moment was cut short when I heard something approaching from deeper into the woods. It was a distinct sound¡ª like something scuttling across the grass, but it was so quiet. Like a whisper brushing against my ears that I¡¯d miss if it didn¡¯t have my utmost attention. We were used to this at this point, so my Pokemon immediately took their positions in front of me and prepared to scare off whatever wasing. I¡¯d probably jinxed not being attacked, but oh well. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what emerged from the tree line. It was slightly smaller than seven feet tall and humanoid, with a body as thin as a stick that was almostpletely concealed by thick pastel pink and blue hair that acted like a cloak and stretched down and hugged the lower parts of its body, which grew thicker at the base. It wore a pointy blue hat that was made out of the same hair, and a thick tentacle-like structure grew out of it, ending into two spheres and three ws that shimmered slightly. Just one look into its eyes made me feel the same things I felt whening face to face Cynthia¡¯s Garchomp or Ruth in the lost tower. I had no chance of winning this fight. This Pokemon was leagues above mine in strength¡ª and even more powerful than Sunshine. Even if we all attacked it at once, I had no doubt that we would lose. But what choice did we have? My Pokemon understood immediately and tensed. Princess grabbed a few sharp spears with Ancient Power. Buddy swelled threateningly and his eyes glowed until his entire body was coated in red. Honey¡¯s arms spun as he gathered electricity, and my hair stood on end. Angel wrapped a vine around me and tightened his hold. Just as I was about to release Sunshine, I heard a voice. Well met, sister, the Pokemon spoke, staring at Togetic. A splitting headache immediately hit me and made my vision swim. I had practiced telepathy some more with Slowking while in Sceon, but the pain was still excruciating. I could still think, though. I bit down on my tongue and clenched a fist. What had it meant by sister? What Pokemon even was that? I¡¯d never seen it before! And you, it continued, ncing at me. I feel a kinship as well, but not quite whole. A halfling, then, but a sister nheless. How strange. You tread the line between two worlds. The words were bing unbearable. It was as if someone was driving a screwdriver into my head. Still, I held Jellicent back. He¡¯d already been creating a Night Shade, but there was no point. I couldn¡¯t antagonize this Pokemon. We would just die. What was it even doing on a route? Where were the Rangers? Your Rangers cannot hinder me. I am the leader of this area, known as Keeper of the Sacred Woods, or simply Keeper. News of your presence brought me here. ¡°Hold on,¡± I breathed out. ¡°Let¡¯s, uh, just stop talking for a second please. You¡¯re giving me a terrible migraine.¡± Oh, my humble apologies, sister. I have forgotten how sensitive humans can be, the Pokemon said before pausing. Your mind is like a twig that I could snap whenever I wish, but that would be rude of me. I have now altered my telepathy so that it aligns with your fragile mind. The voice was a lot quieter now, but it was also a lot easier to bear. The headache was still there every time it spoke, but it was muted enough so that I could deal with it. ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked, trying to keep myself from shaking. ¡°I¡¯m just passing through here. I mean this ce no harm, and if I¡¯ve offended you in any way, then allow me to pay the price. As long as it¡¯s reasonable.¡± Togetic chirped softly and ced a hand on my shoulder. The Pokemon didn¡¯t want to hurt us. I could feel it too. It chuckled, and its tentacle softly caressed her own hair. Ah, you have embraced our customs already, sister. It is rare to find a human this polite, and tis¡¯ a testament to your understanding of the old ways. That alone is enough to allow you safe passage within thesends, even though your emotions echo with a mor that stirs within me the urge to beat you until you finally go quiet. Huh. Strangely enough, even though I¡¯d just been told that it wanted to kill me, I feltpletely calm, and this wasn¡¯t like what had happened with Shiftry. It was like there were rules at y here, and they were easy enough to understand. I knew now that I was dealing with a fairy type. ¡°It¡¯s okay guys,¡± I told my team. ¡°We¡¯re safe.¡± Princess began to chat with the Keeper as well, asking it what brought it to us. You shall address me as her, not it, I immediately heard. Right, she could read thoughts. ¡°Sorry.¡± You have treated the inhabitants of my fief with an amount of hospitality, peace, and love that only a few trainers have. I simply wanted to meet such a human, but I never anticipated that you would partake in the ways of the fae, nor did I fathom that a third sister would be among your gathering, she said, eyeing my team. The first condition would have allowed you safe passage in the first ce, but now you shall have my blessing. I will join you on your travels until you reach that city full of horrid steel and noxious air. ¡°I see. What if I told you that a dragon was a part of my gathering?¡± I probed, my hand protectively touching Sunshine¡¯s Pokeball. The Keeper¡¯s tentacle flexed, revealing bulging veins until sheshed out and mmed it against the ground, kicking up dust and rocks. I sense the wyrm¡¯s presence, she said, her face twisting in fury. Its foul odor clings to you like a malignant growth. They are creatures of decay, clinging to past glory. They seek to take, take, and only take, but they never pay. I am a generous host, however, so I shall allow its presence under one condition¡ª that it behaves with utmost respect and refrains from causing any offense. Let harmony prevail as it did in that cave, and let us not let the wyrm taint our journey together. ¡°I will agree to this proposal,¡± I nodded. If she wanted to see how I behaved, then I¡¯d let her. Sunshine behaving was another issue, but¡ª I saw the Keeper¡¯s tentacle tense once more. ¡ªif he couldn¡¯t, then I¡¯d leave him in his ball. The Pokemon rxed, seemingly pleased with herself. ¡°What does everyone think?¡± I asked, turning toward my Pokemon. Togetic wanted this more than anyone else, it seemed. She asked the fairy type if she could approach, and she nodded, letting her get close. Princess looked at her with such awe that she reminded me of when Sweetheart looked at Sunshine or Chase¡¯s Lucario. Angel agreed as well, although it was surprising to see that even he knew better than to touch the Keeper without her permission. Honey also agreed, although a lot more reluctantly. I knew that he was only doing so because I wanted to travel with the fairy, and he seemed to be nervous around her and couldn¡¯t help but nce at her appendage every few seconds. Buddy stayed silent, which basically meant no, but he didn¡¯t want to say it, lest he offend her. Well, she¡¯d probably figured it out already. I cannot read the ghost¡¯s thoughts, but I know it disapproves. Allow me to stay regardless. I will be in its debt. I nodded. ¡°The exchange was quite equal, but I would say that I¡¯m paying a slightly heavier price. One of my family members might basically be confined to his Pokeball, and most of them either fear or dislike you. If I can¡¯t have my Turtonator out, then I lose out on days of potential training and bonding. That could potentially have more effects down the line. For example, theck of training could make me lose in my next gym battle. These might not matter to you, but to me, that¡¯s a heavy cost to bear. A bargain is in order, don¡¯t you think?¡± Uh, what was I doing? My lips had just moved on their own. The fairy type smirked, ignoring Togetic grabbing at her hair. No matter how hard she pulled at it, it stayedpletely still. The Keeper¡¯s hair was tougher than it looked. You are quite bold, but I enjoy that. Young fairies often yield to those with seniority, letting them enforce horribly one-sided pacts. With agees power and presence. With those two, respect and subservience follow. It is a pity that your fellow sister has not taken to the old ways as you have. This generation might truly be lost. Arceus, Pokemonined about kids too? I felt like I¡¯d heard an old man saying ¡®kids these days.¡¯ ¡°Daughter,¡± I rified after stopping myself from rolling my eyes. She could read thoughts, but I knew the effort to respect would be appreciated. ¡°And she seems too fascinated by you to care, at the moment. I suppose her time spent with non-fairies has influenced her behavior some, but that¡¯s okay. She¡¯s perfect the way she is.¡± Togetic flew back toward me, trying to hide her embarrassment and I grabbed her in my arms. Daughter, then, the Keeper smiled. What is it that you desire, halfing? Be careful. I will not take to offense kindly. I lifted up three fingers. ¡°Three things. Train my Togetic. Talk to me about your life and how you leading this route came to be. Allow my friends safe passage when they go through this route even if theye across you. I can tell you their names and show you what they look like on my phone.¡± The third point was the most important. I¡¯d never found joy in attacking wild Pokemon to train, even if I¡¯d done it a few times early in my career or when there were no other options, like in Mount Cor. These days, I mostly scared them away and only attacked if I was struck first and the Pokemon was determined to fight us, but my friends were different. Pauline and Cecilia had no qualms about it, and Denzel was neutral on the whole thing. Meanwhile, Louis¡¯ Gible routinely killed wild Pokemon for sport even when it wasn¡¯t hungry, and Mira¡¯s Haunter was probably no better. I knew that wouldn¡¯t fly under the Keeper¡¯s gaze. She wouldn¡¯t seek them out, but if they were unlucky enough to meet her, they would not be treated kindly. The fairy type¡¯s face twisted into a grin. My, my, sister, you keep impressing me. Very well, then. These demands would tilt the deal slightly in your favor, but I will allow it. Bargain struck, she said, tipping her hat. I did not know exactly how demands were measured, but the words felt right to me. I responded with a smile of my own. ¡°Bargain struck.¡± What is your name? It would be impolite to travel with you without knowing. ¡°Grace Pastel,¡± I answered before introducing the rest of my team, ¡°Do you have one?¡± Learning my name would have a price not many could afford to pay. Not even your harrowing Champion knows. ¡°I¡¯ll refer to you as Hatterene or Keeper then.¡± Somehow, I¡¯d just bargained with a fairy by the seat of my pants. ¡ª¡ª Hatterene, the Silent Pokemon. It can emit psychic power strong enough to cause headaches as a deterrent to the approach of others. If you are too loud around it or your emotions are too pronounced, you risk being torn apart by the ws on its tentacle. This Pok¨¦mon is also known as the Forest Witch. Type: Psychic, Fairy. I hummed as I closed my Pokedex. I¡¯d never even seen a Hatterene in my life, neither online nor in a battle, but ording to my Pokedex, they were native to Gr and extremely rare in Sinnoh, so that made sense. The Keeper waspletely silent as she walked, using the appendages at her feet to move in a scuttling motion. Sometimes she would drag herself with her tentacle if she needed to speed up or climb something, which ended up looking quiteical. I would not call itical. It is simply the most efficient way I have found to move, she said. Having a Pokemon capable of reading all of my thoughts was something I¡¯d need to get used to as well. It wasn¡¯t something mentioned in the Pokedex, and it felt like aplete vition of my privacy, but we¡¯de to an agreement and going back on it would be wrong unless both parties agreed. Electabuzz kept to my side, nervously eyeing the fairy while Jellicent stared at her with utter confusion. I supposed that he didn¡¯t exactly know what exactly she wanted from me, and he hated that. Togetic floated around Hatterene, asking her a million questions about her life¡ª from small to grand concepts. The current topic was how she¡¯d parted the clouds when she appeared before us. Everywhere Hatterene walked, the rain disappeared. Oh, ¡®tis not I who halts the rain, dear baby sister, but apanion of old. He may reveal himself at a point in our journey if his heart so desires. ¡°Is he as powerful as you are?¡± I asked, jumping over a fallen branch. Hatterene had wanted to keep me off the route, but she swore that no one would attack while I was with her. Promises were not made lightly. There exist myriad facets to the essence of power. s, yourprehension remains iplete, but such is unsurprising for a sister nurtured by humans. Your inherent potential lies untapped and is squandered by them. A year with me, and you would be a proper fairy. No longer would you be between worlds. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t ept that,¡± I said, reassuring Honey immediately. ¡°I appreciate your kindness, though.¡± Togetic jumped at the opportunity, asking what facets of power Hatterene had been referring to. I had questions of my own, but I wasn¡¯t going to stop her. We had time. There is of course violence. The crudest form of power. Simple yet effective in its raw force. But it bespeaks of a narrow mind, baby sister. mour is the one I am the most proficient in. It weaves its subtle threads, affecting reality as I deem fit. Its influence, though less overt, holds the potential for greater impact. That piqued my interest. mour. I had heard Denzel say it a few times, so if I had to guess, it was simr to what Sylveon did when creating his armor. That also meant that the concept was rtively well-known, or at least documented. Using it as a barrier? A pragmatic approach, but still crude. ¡°What do you use it for?¡± I asked. Why do you think that thend here is constantly showered by rain? That it is always so quiet? This region is my fief, and I have altered it to my liking. It is soothing, is it not? I inhaled sharply. This entire route was Hatterene¡¯s domain, just like Shiftry had done, but in a less-pronounced, more sustainable manner. That was why my hearing was so bad here, but the rain, thunder, and wind still sounded perfectly clear. Hatterene were known to hate loud ces. Right, that is what you humans call fiefdoms, she said. The rain softens the sound of my people¡¯s thoughts, making it easier for me to focus. I would have gone mad long ago without it. ¡°But if it¡¯s your domain¡ª or fief¡ª why can¡¯t you stop the rain?¡± mour at this scale works slowly, especially if I want to alter what made my fief special in the first ce. You made one mistake, however. A fairy¡¯s fiefdom does not work like others¡¯. It is slower, but holds more potential. Of course, I know that I must not make this ce impassable for humans, lest that horrible childes after me and ruin everything I have built. I frowned. ¡°Horrible child? Who?¡± That creature you humans call Cynthia. She is a horrifying beast beyondpare, but the wyrm at her side is ten times worse. I am well acquainted with the Togekiss, the only member of her gathering worth speaking to. We bargained for this deal decades ago shortly after her tenure began. ¡°Arceus¡­¡± I exhaled. Cynthia truly had roots everywhere, it seemed, but she was using them to keep trainers safe. The routes seemed like a much moreplex affair than I previously thought. Buddy whispered in my ear, telling me that this could end up being another Shiftry situation in the future if Hatterene ever went rogue. I felt the need to agree, but so long as the pact was fair and equal, then she would not break it. I did wonder what the intricacies of the deal were though. She had acted like she might have attacked trainers that didn¡¯t respect her or the Pokemon inhabiting this route when I asked her not to attack my friends, so she couldn¡¯t not be allowed to hurt people. The implications of Cynthia negotiating in what situations attacking a trainer was allowed made my head spin. A deal is a private affair, sister. I will not reveal it no matter how much I like you. Unless you pay an appropriate price, of course. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I suddenly remembered one of the graves in the Lost Tower. Tricked by the whims of the fae. Who knew how much she could extract out of me if I wasn¡¯t careful? Especially now that I was learning what mour even was. I didn¡¯t actually feel threatened, but it was like a constant feeling of alertness that forced me to stay sharp so I wouldn¡¯t not concede anything. You are wise to be on guard, but fret not. There will be no tricks with me. I will use these few days to tutor you and Togetic both in the concepts of mour and violence. ¡ª¡ª The first time Sunshine met Hatterene, I thought a fight would erupt immediately. We had traveled a few more hours until we settled in a small clearing, and I used the opportunity to introduce Pupitar and Turtonator to her. The rock type seemed nervous, but happy to see another powerful being so soon. Sunshine¡¯s snout red and the temperature rose until I had to recall him. It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d been the only one at fault. Hatterene had provoked him first by calling him a decrepit creature. For all of her wisdom, it seemed that her irrational hate for dragons was irreparable. Changing a mind grew harder the older the person was, and even though I doubted that she was as old as Shiftry, the Keeper was old. She¡¯d called Cynthia a child, after all. Wyrms are such simple beings. A few words are all it takes to set them off, the Keeper said with a bloodthirsty grin. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you were rude?¡± I asked. ¡°He hadn¡¯t even done anything yet.¡± I didn¡¯t appreciate the look in his eye. I would usually kill for such a heavy slight. ¡°You didn¡¯t even try to get along, and he did. I think that proves that you were more immature than he was. You just basically ignored all of the rules. Where was your hospitality?¡± Such a human way of thinking, Hatterene said. There will be no hospitality for wyrms. It is a wonder that Togetic even tolerates him. ¡°She learned to appreciate and love him just like I did,¡± I said. ¡°We made a deal, didn¡¯t we? So long as he doesn¡¯t offend, you will tolerate him. Or are your words worth nothing?¡± Hatterene¡¯s stare grew sinister, but I knew I had caught her. I ignored the pit of primal fear forming in my stomach and looked right into her eyes. ¡°Fairies don¡¯t lie.¡± They do not. My apologies for the offense. Still, I¡¯d need to wait at least an hour or two for Sunshine to cool down. If I released him right now, he¡¯d attack her right away and get himself seriously injured. I still had a few Hyper Potions left, but I wanted to keep them in case Team Gctic attacked me. You are hunted? Hatterene asked. ¡°By humans, yes,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re called Team Gctic¡ª wait, you already read my thoughts. Anyway, I thought you¡¯d know about them.¡± I don¡¯t bother with human squabbles. However, having something happen to an exceptional human such as yourself would be a tragedy. Let us hastily begin Togetic¡¯s training. mour appearsplicated at its core, but manifesting things on a smaller scale is a simple affair¡­
Chapter 176 Chapter 176 Announcement Thank you for 1000 readers! CHAPTER 176 In front of us, a small leaf was being kept afloat by Hatterene¡¯s psychic powers. Princess kept squinting at it, groaning as the entire family¡ª excluding Sunshine¡ª silently encouraged her. We¡¯d been loud at first, but both fairy types immediately red at us. They needed us to be quiet so that Princess could concentrate. You are doing it all wrong. There is belief, and there is belief, Hatterene scolded. You do not truly believe. Your emotions are too muted. Togetic sighed, suddenly feeling like she wasn¡¯t having that much fun any longer. The goal of the exercise was not to destroy the leaf. Apparently, even that would have been too advanced for a beginner, which meant that Sylveon was just ridiculously talented at shaping the world around him. There were limits to what they¡¯d both be able to do without staying in one ce for years like Shiftry and Hatterene¡ª Again with this Shiftry nonsense. Do notpare me to the Emptyfolk. I am d that he is dead. He was a weakling that did so little when he had so much. A pity. And of course, Hatterene was a psychic type as well, so she could multitask andin to me whenever I did something she disliked. And she knew Shiftry too, somehow. They were technically neighbors, so that did make some sense. Getting back on track, the goal of the exercise was to make the leaf tremble without psychic powers or wind. Hatterene¡¯spanion, who had remained hidden, could apparently stop the wind as well, and he was without it. At this level of silence, I could only hear my breath, the slight shifts of my skin against my clothes and the sound of my other Pokemon. Princess let out a frustrated cry and suddenly crumpled the leaf with Psychic. She couldn¡¯t figure out how to do it, and I couldn¡¯t exactly me her. Hatterene just kept saying that she didn¡¯t feel enough, but what the hell did that even mean? That wasn¡¯t how we usually trained! We used real concepts and¡ª It is real, the fairy type interrupted. The leaf suddenly uncrumpled and appeared as good as new, or perhaps in an even better condition than before. mour is not a science, nor a concept that is easy to grasp. It is a belief that you are more. That you can cast aside the rules set by our creator and forge your own path. Jellicent was suddenly more interested now, and he asked how long did it take for her to learn. I am always learning, ghost, she answered. But this exercise should not be thatplicated. Perhaps there is a mental block somewhere. Mental block¡­ oh! ¡°Princess, remember when you struggled to use Wish when we were first using it?¡± I excitedly asked. ¡°You had the same problem, where you just couldn¡¯t bring out real emotions unless the situation was real.¡± Her face lit up, and she nodded. We had a lead. She needed to feel threatened at least once, and then she would grow past her mental block. An inability to properly tap into emotion? A crippling weakness, but the potential to grow once the lid finally bursts is massive. We can work on mour at ater hour, since we are taking a detour. For now, show me how you execute fairy type moves. ¡ª¡ª How terribly weak. You call that a Dazzling Gleam? It would barely tickle that wyrm you seem to like so much. ¡°Well, that¡¯s because he¡¯s also a fire type¡­¡± I said, trying to defend Princess. You think too rigidly. You humans and your types, shemented. Her voice was very emotive, which was usually unheard of with telepathy, but she was a fairy. I wondered if Mira¡¯s Kirlia sounded as expressive as she was. Exploding energy outward is good, but youck a decent amount to deal any real harm to any but the weakest of foes. Your control with Fairy Wind is excellent, but it is nigh time gathering it grows as easy as breathing to you. I suggest you imbibe the wind to elevate your Dazzling Gleam into something new. Uniqueness is power. Conforming is stagnation. Then, we can move on to more advanced concepts. Perhaps start dabbling in Moonst. ¡°You¡¯re right that her being able to throw out super strong Fairy Winds while moving around would be a boon,¡± I muttered. ¡°But we¡¯ve tried, and it requires too much concentration.¡± So? Will you let a mere bump in the road hinder your path? Belief is the key to all improvements, dear sisters. She shall ovee. She had not offered any concrete strategy, yet somehow, I believed her. ¡ª¡ª It waste at night, and I¡¯d just finished studying for the day. My Pokemon hadn¡¯t cked off either, of course. Angel almost had Giga Drain down, and he, Buddy, Sweetheart, and Honey had trained against Sunshine. We¡¯d lost again, which brought the score to 4-0 in his favor, but now that Pupitar was joining in the fights, we were getting closer. She was basically his perfect counter. Her cocoon was too resistant to heat for it to matter, and she could easily take most of his attacks, although we¡¯d been surprised by Scorching Sands. Every time it seemed like we wereing anywhere close to beating him, he suddenly pulled a trick out of his sleeve and finished us off quickly. Sweetheart had already been out of air to propel herself, so I started to wonder if he hadn¡¯t baited her all those times she rammed into his shell. Turtonator had been on his best behavior, despite sending angry looks to Hatterene sometimes. He knew the risks of getting into a fight with an opponent that powerful, especially when a fairy type that strong would probably destroy any kind of protection my team could ce on me. I had no idea how I¡¯d even go about fighting her, to be honest. Her weak point must have been her thin body within, but the hair covering it acted like imprable armor. She was slow, but I doubted that she¡¯d let us get far away enough to run. Electabuzz grunted, and my head turned to my left. He handed me a bowl of chicken and pasta. ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re sweet,¡± I said, gently caressing his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to give some to the others.¡± Princess was still training hard with Hatterene, who was being followed by a few admiring wild Pokemon. The entire time we traveled together, she was a ma for attention. A Wooper hade to ask her something, while a group of Ducklett flew overhead. A Simisage with huge, round eyes hung from the treetops and sometimes chimed in. I could not understand any of it, especially since Hatterene seemed to only speak through telepathy. In fact, I hadn¡¯t heard her let out a single sound the entire time we¡¯d been together. She waspletely silent, just like Angel. I¡¯d never seen her this tired, but she was still going, gathering up a Fairy Wind as she flew forward as fast as possible. Hatterene wasn¡¯t one for small incremental increases in training. She was all about big, meaningful gestures. Since Princess could keep a very small Fairy Wind going throughout the arena every battle, we decided to build up from there and she was slowly improving. Once she got good enough, then she¡¯d be able to power up her Dazzling Gleam. The point was, it felt like we were all working harder than we ever had. Hatterene was having a conversation with Buddy. He seemed to really enjoy speaking to older Pokemon. He¡¯d been the first to really get to know Sunshine, and now he was among the first to try to understand the Keeper too. My exact age will remain hidden, but know this, dear ghost: we stand as peers, she said before turning toward me. You have a question. I did have one. ¡°Well, I figured now would be a good time to ask about you. How did you end up¡­ leading this route? Do all the other routes have a system like this?¡± No. My fief is unique in our coordination, although all routes have more history than a human would know. Much more, Hatterene exined. The reason I am here is simple. It is where I killed my trainer, so I made it my home. Everyone tensed, but I did not panic. All of my time spent with Hatterene so far told me that she was a reasonable being, but maybe she¡¯d been different when she was young. Or maybe it was something else. The fact that she had dropped that fact like it was nothing showed that even if I¡¯d been influenced by the fae, I was nowhere near her mentality. I was captured in my young age by a human who did not care for hospitality or the rules. He kept ruing debt by forcing me to do things I did not want and inflicted pain upon me with his stronger Pokemon when I dared to resist. I bid my time until an opportunity presented itself. I audibly swallowed. That was basically a few steps from what Cecilia had done with Scyther, except I assumed that it went on for much longer. Oh, it was lengthy, she confirmed. Of course, I eventually acted like I had joined his gathering and was a part of them. I could easily y the role of a willingpanion to bide my time. I have to admit that I had plenty of enjoyable times with them, and I even grew to somewhat appreciate the human''s good qualities when he apologized for his past transgressions after his youth had flown by and afforded him newfound maturity. Her face twisted into a terrifying grin, and her tentacle flexed. But know this, sister. A fairy alwayses to collect. Eleven years after he''d caught me, I killed him. For his small attempt at reconciliation, I made it quick. I never lied to him. I even vowed that I would murder him a few days after he¡¯d caught me, but he had forgotten. The fae do not forgive, nor do we forget, and our prices are paid long. Her prices were paid long¡­ was that where the concept of the long price hade from? The words had somehow wormed their way into my brain right before my battle with Harry, and I had been unable to stop myself from saying them. I couldn¡¯t imagine waiting eleven years to have my revenge on someone. ¡°Is there anything he could have done to repay you before you killed him?¡± I asked. Therees a tipping point when there is no escaping debt. His came before he matured, unfortunately for him. Perhaps if he had released me or started treating me correctly and like an equal sooner, he would have lived. ¡°But he was just a kid when he did that stuff to you. You said so yourself!¡± Should children be absolved of consequences? Do you think that someone of your age cannot tell right from wrong? Are two years of rtively peaceful times enough to offset nine years of hell, slowly building up my strength until I could rebel? ¡°I don¡¯t know the full extent of what he did to you, so I can¡¯t say, but from the way you described the situation, he was legitimately regretful. You could have told him and left.¡± But I did tell him. In fact, I exined it to him in excruciating detail, reciting each time he had wronged me as he begged for his life. I do not ount for forgetfulness. That is a human way of thinking, sister. The ghost agrees, but is too shy to say. Even the wyrm believes that side of you holds you back. I stared at Jellicent and sighed. We¡¯d gone over the fact that we were allowed to disagree on things. I disliked the fact that Hatterene seemed to criticize me for thinking like a human when I was one. In the flesh, perhaps, but your mind oscites between the two. No human would theorize on how to systematically take me down when they knew that I can read their every thought. Violence is in your very nature. There is potential within you, and as I said, I could imbue you with enough energy to turn you fully, but I shall not. It is clearly a fate you would despise. ¡°I would despise it because it¡¯d be against my will,¡± I added. ¡°I assume that you started building up your domain afterward?¡± Well, I had to fight off my trainer¡¯s entire gathering first. I did not kill any, but I did force them to run. Isn¡¯t it pathetic that after eleven years together, none of them wanted to fight to the death for their dear trainer? He was a rotten man, and they all disliked him. None of them had the guts to take that final step. It took me months to heal properly, but when I did, I began to alter this ce to my liking, and it slowly turned into what you see today. ¡°And yourpanion?¡± I asked, ncing at the sky. He is the only one that did not run after the battle and did not offer them any aid, Hatterene specified with a sly grin. So he¡¯d belonged to her trainer too. Had he been mistreated and wanted to rebel as well? I fiddled nervously and began to eat, but the food had already gone cold. I didn¡¯t know of any flying type capable of living that long. Any more inquiries? Otherwise, I will return to helping Togetic. ¡°Onest question. Are you just a leader? What else do you do on the route?¡± I said, observing the wild Pokemon around her. Solve disputes that have gotten out of hand and keep the area clear of outside threats, the Keeper said. I make an excellent mediator. ¡°So trainers?¡± No. What you call route 215 belongs to you humans. Everything around it belongs to me. What do they call it again? Simisage grunted, and then snickered. Ah, yes. Off-route. Such a narrow-minded term. Amidst a fewughs, Hatterene returned to support Princess, and I finished my meal. She had revealed something horrifying to me, and yet something told me it had been just. ¡ª¡ª I woke up the next day to Hatterene staring overhead with her body hunched over mine and Tangrowth. I¡¯d slept on Angel¡¯s vines, and he seemed to be awake already, just caressing her soft but durable hair. The rest of my team slept in their Pokeballs because they were either tired or wouldn¡¯t get along with her or the wild Pokemon constantly following her. Jellicent was the notable exception, of course. ¡°Good morning?¡± I asked confusedly. Good morrow. The ghost has brought your prowess for understanding Pokemon to my attention, and I have decided to inquire further. I shot Buddy a look, and he anxiously nodded. They must have spoken all night while the rest of us were asleep. ¡°So? Inquire, then,¡± I said after a yawn. I tiredly looked through my bag and grabbed at the first edible thing I saw, a pack of cookies. Since we¡¯d be spending more time than nned with the Keeper, I had to save food that could be cooked. He has told me that this is not just limited to your gathering, but that you can still quickly pick up what a stranger Pokemon means in a few days. Noble Simisage will be staying with us to prove this, but if it is true¡­ I have never heard of such a gift. Only the hushed whispers of stories of old. Stories? I was suddenly very interested in her knowledge. Even Cynthia hadn¡¯t known anything about it. ¡°What do you mean by stories?¡± A smug smile stretched across Hatterene¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t try to sell those to me. You want to know about my gift just like I do.¡± When a Pokemon you are not familiar with speaks, how does your mind interpret the words? I hummed, pondering with a hand on my chin and pausing to consider how to answer. The truth of it wasplicated, to say the least. For my Pokemon, I did understand their words individually, but with Pokemon I didn¡¯t know, it was different. I couldn¡¯t get their words, but it was as if I could feel what they were feeling to some extent, and the same applied to my family. It was how I¡¯d been convinced that nothing would happen to us when we were sleeping under that overhang with all those wild Pokemon a few days ago or shortly after Hatterene had first approached us and I got the time to look at her properly and think. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was there, and all I had to do was stare at a Pokemon long enough and want to know what it felt. And the nudging feeling I got every time, telling me that I¡¯d be able to fully understand them after a few days? That was a part of it too. It hadn¡¯t always been this way. Back when it was just me and Princess in Jubilife, I hadn¡¯t been able to understand fully formed sentences. A few words and some of her bodynguage, yes, but that was nothing to how I was now. And I was getting better at it. Slowly but surely. Your thoughts are enough to answer, Hatterene said. An empath as I am, then? But again, to prove this, Simisage will apany us. The myths surrounding your gift wille after. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t lie about this! Can¡¯t you tell by reading my thoughts? And Fairies don¡¯t¡ª¡± But you are no full-fledged fairy, sister. There could be many more exnations for this. I have no doubt that you fullyprehend what yourpanions are saying and that you learned to do so in a short amount of time, but you would not be the first human to do so. A unique ability, but not a gift. What interests me is you learning to understand what strangers would say in a few days. I do not think you are lying, but it could be a delusion of the mind. I clicked my tongue. ¡°Fine. Just know that this offends me.¡± I know. I finished eating my cookies, stewing on my frustration while Angel gently petted my head with a vine to soothe my anger. Buddy bowed his head in apology, but it wasn¡¯t his fault. I stared at Hatterene, who silently looked into the sky, no doubt talking to herpanion that kept the rain away from us. I squinted at her and focused. What was she feeling right now? Unlike with most Pokemon, her emotions were blurry. It didn¡¯t make sense, but it was the best way I had of describing it. There was a bit of happiness¡ª or was it pride? Maybe it was because she¡¯d found a person like me. I almost expected her to turn toward me, her usual calm face marred with anger as she asked me to stop analyzing her, but nothing of the sort came. It was as if she wasn¡¯t able to tell. Even while being able to read thoughts. After a few minutes, she turned back to to me and Simisage and asked us to interact. The green monkey hopped off his vine and jumped next to me,nding on the soft grass, still slightly wet from the rain that had practically drowned it before we settled here. ¡°We¡¯ve met, but we haven¡¯t introduced ourselves properly. Hi.¡± Simisage spoke in a flurry of words that I didn¡¯t understand and then looked at the fairy type. She was staring at and analyzing me so strongly that I felt naked. I couldn¡¯t understand what he said, but I felt like he¡¯d told me about something he looked back upon fondly. A past experience, maybe? One thing was for sure, he felt good about what he¡¯d said. Why can I not delve into your mind? Hatterene asked, emotion slipping into her tone. You have no psychic types capable of shielding it, and I am experienced enough to dissolve any paltry protection one of your friends¡¯ gathering coulde up with within a few minutes. With you, it is like an imprable barrier,yer, uponyer¡­ I would have no idea how to even begin to tackle this. The sheer depth of it shatters my understanding¡­ ¡°Wait, what?¡± I had never had anything put a shield on me! And now it is gone, the fairy type said. And there are no traces of it even being there. How is this possible? I do not understand. Is it only active when¡­ but still, how? I curse thisck of knowledge. ¡°Your psychic type ising out,¡± I sighed. Silence! She telepathically yelled, but it came as a furious hiss. The headache momentarily came back, and I hissed. Jellicent mored at her to stop, and Tangrowth¡¯s vines shook in a panicked frenzy. The headache left as fast as it came, and Hatterene anxiously tapped her feet appendages on the floor. My apologies. I have never¡ª It is the first time I have lost myposure like this. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I kind of pushed your buttons,¡± I said. ¡°Just try to be less trigger-happy?¡± I will. It appears there is a hint of truth to the stories after all. I shall tell you about them. Nightstalker? This might be of interest to you, so I assume you want to join us. A Pokemon fell from the sky so quickly that the force from the impact nearly took my coat off, and it hooked its sharp talons into the soft dirt. It was a tall, avian Pokemon that was almost six feet in height. Its feathers were beige on its torso, stretching down to its legs, but brown everywhere else, and a hood made out of bright, green leaves hid its face. A few dead leaves decorated its body as well, but the most notable ones wereid in an ¡®X¡¯ shape at the center of its hood. The Decidueye¡¯s red eyes stared at me from within its cowl, and the rain slowly began to patter all around us. Nothing about this route made any damn sense. I thought a water type would be stopping the rain, but it had been the opposite. Meet Nightstalker. My onlypanion and the one who aided in my rebellion against my old trainer by simply standing by as I tore through six Pokemon on my own, but also the one who beat me to enforce my subservience. He helped me to pay off his debt and clear his conscience, Hatterene said with a mad grin stretching across her face.
Chapter 177 Chapter 177 CHAPTER 177 "N¡ªnice to meet you," I stammered at Decidueye. Every time his eyes met mine, I felt a sudden chill. "I''m Grace Pastel." Nightstalker has been listening to all of our conversations and observing as well,Hatterene exined.He usually keeps his distance, but I knew he would be intrigued by your ability just as I am. The grass type silently nodded, carefully shifting his wings. He cawed at Hatterene, who smirked. And I suppose he wants to rece Simisage for our little experiment as well,she said, turning to Simisage.You may go if you wish.Tell your children I said hello. Simisage jumped, hanging on a branch before waving at us and leaving. At this point, Jellicent was too astonished to even speak or say anything. Thesest few days had done a number on him, and he probably just wanted torest. That would be a first. "That''s fine by me, he can stay." He would have stayed even if you did not want to. Nightstalker is no fairy¡ªhisck of hospitality can reach astounding levels,Hattereneughed. Her words were spoken through telepathy, but herughter wasvocal. It began as a mere whisper, a delicate trill that danced upon the air like the wind. But as it grew, it twisted and contorted, morphing into something deeply unsettling. It carried an otherworldly cadence, filled with an unsettling, twisted rattle. Her opened mouth revealed a row of wickedly sharp teeth that seemed far too long to fit into her mouth, but they somehow did. What a rude assessment,she continued.But let us get started with the story, then. It was a legend spoken to me by my mother, her mother before her and so on and so forth. It ismon knowledge among some wild Pokemon. Decidueye offered a quiet hoot in agreement. "Common? None of the Pokemon I caught in the wild know about it¡ª not even Buddy, and he''s lived a long time." Nightstalker whispered a few words to Hatterene, who nodded in response. Perhaps the stories are lost, then,she said with a hint of sadness.There once were three humans just like you, thousands of years ago when thisnd was still called Hisui and death lurked for your kind in every corner. When the world''s existence was threatened, they all traveled to different domains, gathering a w, a Fang, and a Plume. It is said that Pokemon of untold power hadid there. The boy that received the w craved for deeper knowledge, the one that received the Fang had enough ambition to fill the world, and the one that received the Plume''s heart was pure enough to befriend all living things. They were all chosen for a greater purpose, but what interests us here is the third boy. It is said that he grew more attuned to Pokemons'' feelings and was able to understand them within minutes of encountering them for the first time. "I can''t do minutes," I said. "Days at best. And I was never given anything resembling a feather." It might have been embellished, or you may get better at it in time. It matters not. That was the only part of the story that is of interest to you, but to summarize, the rest states that they went on to save the world from an unimaginable cmity. Afterward, humans flocked into thend, which is a fact that my mother always despised. Hatterene paused, and I almost scoffed. "Is that it? That was a lot less than I expected." Do you recall feeling strange at any point when visiting an area and gaining this ability afterward?She asked after Decidueye spoke. "No, it came to me gradually thesest few months," I said. "It wasn''t just instant. I don''t even know where it''d be." A shame. Still, any information was good. Hatterene seemed knowledgeable, and I knew that she wasn''t misleading me¡ª not when she was so invested in this as well. I didn''t know whyIwould get chosen by anything, and I also didn''t know any Pokemon with those capabilities. It was the best exnation we had, but I was somewhat skeptical that it was real. And even if it was, this sounded like a typical ''chosen one'' story. I didn''t feel like I was that. There was no way someone like me could be pure of heart. There was also the mental barrier to worry about. The fact that my mind had been protected without me knowing was even more surprising, and for some reason, it was only when I focused on understand Pokemon. That didn''t make much sense to me. Perhaps¡­ perhaps you draw on something to use your gift, and that is a part of it? It is faint¡ªalmost not here, but now that I observe properly, I feel a pull. Eat something, then we shall get back to training,Hatterene said.Nightstalker, stop the rain once again for our dear friends, if you will? My lips suddenly dried as the grass type flew up with a jump until he was but a dot in the sky. The clouds parted around him, clearing the rain with terrifying speed before hended back with a loud crash, sending chunks of mud flying my way and dirtying my clothes. Angel tried to protect me with vines but unfortunately failed. "Eugh," I groaned. Nightstalker is not one for subtlety. I apologize on his behalf. Decidueye dusted off his hood and shrugged. Well, it was time to train. ¡ª The hours passed us by quickly, and it was nighttime now. I couldn''t help but smile as Buddy easily struck a conversation with Nightstalker. I was forced to stay and listen, and even though only a few hours had passed, I was slowly starting to understand the grass type''s words. It seemed that my estimation of a few days to fullyprehend what Pokemon said was correct. Jellicentlovedto talk to Pokemon close to his age thanks to them easily rting to each other. Nightstalker was a lot stronger than he was, but he appreciated thepany nheless. I had asked him to train some of my Pokemon, but he had refused immediately. I just wanted to see him in action. Decidueye were known to be extremely quick and urate archers with the ability to pin an opponent to their shadow. They''d bereallyinteresting to battle, and I wanted to know if a flying Pokemon like Princess would be pinned to her shadow too. And would his power be more powerful at noon? Could he not use it at night too? He rebuked me, saying that I was annoying and asked too many questions, courtesy of Buddy''s trantion. At least he seemed to not care about Sunshine at all. The fire type seemed to be in a bad mood these days, and it wasn''t due to Hatterene. Being next to beings that powerful made him feel inadequate. At least he could share in hismentation with Angel, who was beside himself at the fact that Sweetheart just stuck to Nightstalker''s side like glue. "She still loves you, you know," I smiled at them both. "She''s just excited about her new shiny thing¡ª err, not that you''re a thing," I rectified as soon as IfeltDecidueye''s stare on my back. It was like a tingle below my shoulders. "Sorry Nightstalker." He epted my apology and returned to his conversation with Jellicent. obviously, I could only catch half of what was said, but they were engrossed in how the hell had he cleared the rain so quickly. To me, it''d just been him beating his wings strongly enough to part the clouds, but it was apparently different. The grass type didn''t want to give up his secrets, though, which was no doubt learned behavior from Hatterene. A bright light shed, and I shielded my eyes andfelt the force of Dazzling Gleam brush against my skin even from afar. Princess'' attack had powered up so much in just two days that it was as if I had been teaching herpletely wrong. Not only that, but the attack would also knock enemies away from her using a burst of wind now. My eyes blinked rapidly, trying to chase out the blotches of blindness still lingering after the sh. Progress on mour was slow, but it was steady. She was barely capable of moving a leaf on her own now, but anything else was a faraway goal as long as she wasn''t put in a real,emotionalsituation. Still, now that Dazzling Gleam had been perfected so quickly, Hatterene decided that it was time to move on to a new move. Moves are too rigid, but they are a good base to build up from. If we had a few months, I would be able to teach you a lot more, but s, your mother is too obsessed with her badges,Hatterene said before turning to address me.Pieces of metal with no inherent value, just like your money made out of paper. Humans are a strange folk. "If everyone agrees that something has value, then it does," I exined. "It''s not that hard to understand." Wishful nonsense,she dismissed.Let us get started on Moonst, sister. Togetic eyed her teacher and excitedly bobbed up and down. Control yourself. It is unsightly for a fairy to let her emotions show so strongly. Moonst is a crude technique, but it is among the most widespread. Do not be mistaken, however. It isplicated to weave. You do not simply have to pack energy tightly into a sphere like the Duskfolk for with their Shadow Ball. The Duskfolk? Mathilda and Ruth had said something about returning to the Dusk when they died. "Have youeverseen her that focused?" I whispered smugly to Electabuzz. The electric type chuckled but kept silently watching. The Duskfolk draw from the Dusk for their energy, but that ce leaks into our world like a sieve. Unlike ours, it is a clumsy and savage power not borne from this ne. They do not even have to struggle to use it. Our power is scattered among this Earth, but to gather the amount needed for stronger techniques, we draw from the Moon. I blinked. I knew the move was called Moonst, but that certainly hadn''t been what I expected. Princess had often looked at the moon with wonder, but I just thought that was her being a kid. Hell, whenIwas a kid and dad drove me around in his car at night I would cry because I thought the moon was following us. Moonst is at its strongest during a full moon, but that is not a prerequisite, and it can devastate your enemies during the day as well. The key is to know how to draw that energy. Look at the sky, baby sister. Togetic craned her neck upward and I mimicked her, but it was not a full moon. I could only see a crescent in the sky that softly illuminated the forest floor. Once she was done, we all stared quietly at both of the fairies with bated breath and awaited for what came next. Nightstalker seemed to be amused, however. Allow me to demonstrate. I will slow myself down to allow you to see. Thin, almost transparent threads slowly floated and intertwined. They were so long that I couldn''t see where they even began, but they looked to go all the way to themoon itself, stretching far into the sky until they disappeared from view. The threads suddenly shone as Hatterene slowly tied them into intricate knots, each seemingly impossible to mimic. The more I looked, thedeeperthe structure went, as if I was staring at¡­ there were just no words for it. None of it made any sense. I justcouldn''tprehend what I was looking at. I snapped out of my daze when the entire thing seemingly snapped into ce, and then it finally madesense. It was a miniature moon¡ª a perfect recreation with every single crater and dark grey blotch etched into the surface. Faded pink dust and chunks of earth forcefully pulled from the ground orbited around the small moon. Eventreeswere swerving toward the attack, but the area was stillpletely silent. If Angel hadn''t been wrapping vines around Honey or me, we would have been pulled in toward the attack. Princess herself was being held in ce by her teacher''s psychic powers. Hark sisters,Hatterene said.The true form of a perfected Moonst. The attack flew forward, and Hatterene summoned a thin psychic barrier all around us, dwarfing what Togetic was capable of without a sweat. The moon trembled and shook as it gathered more and more leaves, dirt and bark around it. And then it crashed into arge tree, finally exploding with a deafeningboomas sound returned to us. I couldn''t even see what was going on¡ª it was¡ª it was too bright. I covered my eyes and closed them, but I could still see the light through my eyelids until it was over. Everything in front of me was destroyed. There was nothing left but a giant crater that was asrge as one of the arenas in the Sceon tournament and a hazy, pink dust that menacingly lingered outside of our protective bubble. And she hadn''t even been trying that hard. "Arceus," I inhaled. My palms were mmy. I''d always know that she''d been strong but seeing it was an entirely different thing. I had negotiated withthat. She had called the techniquecrude. And it hadn''t even been a full moon! Did you catch it?Hatterene asked Togetic.It is not just pulling the energy, butwilling it under your control with belief.You will have to grow better at it if you want to grow past these horrible bindings that humans call moves. Try it. Needless to say, her first attempt was a terrible failure. And so were her second, and third, and¡ª ¡ª You are disappointed?Hatterene asked as I softly pet Togetic''s hair. She was sleeping like a log, exhausted from all the training.You cannot learn in a day what took me years to perfect. Even if she seeds in creating a Moonst, it will not be nearly as powerful or clear as mine. I smiled gently and muttered. "Disappointed at her trying her absolute best? Of course not," I said. "Plus, she''s learned a whole lot already, and we aren''t even done. The disappointment you sense from me is genuine, but it is for a different reason. It''s about the story. It raises more questions than answers¡­ and I want answers." To my right, Electabuzz leaned against a tree and watched the current scene with a sly grin. After pestering him for hours, Sunshine had managed to get Nightstalker to agree to a duel. Sweetheart and Angel cheered for the dragon as best they could, with the rock type screaming her lungs out and Tangrowth excitedly waving a dozen vines around. He wasn''t holding back for this one, and the fight was fully contained within one of Hatterene''s barriers. Scorching heat constantly warped the air around the fight, and just looking at it made me sweat. Sunshine roared as a methrower flew out of his snout, and Decidueye easilyranup the barrier, somehow digging his talons into the psychic surface. In one smooth motion, he drew an arrow from his wings made out of a sharpened feather, which was quickly submerged by shadows. Four arrows buried themselves inside of Sunshine''s shadow that had been created by his own mes, and the dragon type reeled as if he''d been hit. Nightstalker was clearly holding back here, but he was still having a decent amount of fun. He spun around a Dragon Pulse and took flight, somehow being engulfed in a sea of ghostly energy and phasing out of reality right before another stream of mes reached him. Stories are oftencking in substance, but they are still important. The longer a story is told, the more power it holds. And if anything, it gives you a lead. "Power? How does a story have power? Do you mean its value?" Yes. They are bargained for at heavy prices, among other things. But let us move on to more rted, but important matters. Let me introduce you to the concept ofpresence¡ª "Wait, how do you do that? Like, that word, it felt like it hadweightto it." That is a matter for a different time, baby sister,Hatterene smiled, gently rubbing my hair with her ws. It was the first time she''d even touched me.Presence is not exclusive to fairies, but the knowledge is heavily kept within our circles. She paused, and I understood immediately. "I won''t tell a soul." When a powerful Pokemon stays rooted somewhere for a long period of time, it will slowly umte power and the terrain will change to their liking. That is what you call a domain and what I call a fief, but the concept as a whole is called presence. The more powerful a Pokemon is and the longer it alters an area, the more presence it has. Its existence is etched into reality and bes afact. "Wait, what? Isn''t that just aplicated way of saying that the longer they stay, the more powerful they get?" No. It is a way of exining why that is the case. They do not grow in power because of battles, but because their very presence bes aw of the world. I am such a case. I have altered this region to my liking and the longer I stay, the more powerful I will be. Can you take a gander at what the end of it is like? The end¡­ so her final state? Maybe Mount Cor¡ª Hatterene''s tentacle tensed.You dream far too big. The forces at y in that sted peak do not follow the rules and are horrors beyond even myprehension. It took at least twenty seconds for me to digest those words, but that certainly lined up with my experience when I had fallen deep inside of the mountain. And we had been rtivelycloseto the exit. It got worse the closer to the peak. "Uh, what about Eterna Forest?" I nervously asked. Yes,she proudly said.At the center of Eterna Forest sleeps a being more powerful than I. For all I call that sted Champion Cynthia horrid, she would beat me quite handily, but I am sure she would have a harder time against the creature that lurks in the forest. It is far older than even Shiftry was, and its roots go back to before Hisui. Luckily for you humans, it seems satisfied to sleep at the center of the forest it has built. I am but a fledgling child gesturing in the dark trying to find a familiar ce to anchor myselfpared to the scale of the world. I suddenly felt very nervous. I hadwalkedthrough there and lived. Thousands of people did so every year. "What Pokemon is it?" Don''t get greedy now. Think of another example. "The Iron Ind seemingly never run out of ore," I muttered, thinking of Chase. "What about them?" Correct. Another good guess, but you think too rigidly. The fog to the northwest of here, the permanent snowstorm to the far north that ebbs and flows, but never stops. The burning summer heat around Stark Mountain even though it lies at Snowpoint''stitude and should be a frozen wastnd. These Pokemon are the strongest below the Legends of old, having rooted themselves in history and their presence reinforced by the world thinking that theybelong there.Reaching their status is my goal. "And there are more than this?" I asked, thankful that none of them had attacked a city before. Oh, far more, some big like the ones I described, but most are smaller like I, or even smaller than that. It pains me to admit my irrelevance, but I am no wyrm. My pride can take a hit,Hatterene smirked.Do you see what I meant when I said that stories hold power? The more these tales are told, the more their presence is reinforced. I nodded silently. All of these unexinable effects on different routes actually had an exnation. If I had to guess, there was no way that these Pokemon would let themselves be seen by any scientists looking to figure outwhy there was so much fog on route 210, for example. And it was the same¡­ in every region. Old Pokemon amassing power and altering the world around them, changing entire ecosystems. Thinking about it now, it was obvious, but I had never thought it was possible at such a scale. Routes were so muchrger than cities. Shiftry''s outburst wasinsignificantThey remain hidden, disinterested in human affairs as I am. It is simply not worth it. They are powerful¡ªincredibly so, but they are not invincible. Many have fallen in the past, and many will fall in theing centuries or millennia, either to a challenger within their domain or trainers powerful enough that seek them out. And when they do, another will take their ce, drastically changing the area in a few years. Which on an ecological scale was basically the blink of an eye. This was such a fascinating topic¡ª what would a normal type doing this look like? What about a flying or psychic type? I had so many questions, but no answers. And I do not have the answer either. I know a lot, but nothing beyond what my mother told me in my young age. The old ways are dying out, slowly but surely. Cities growrger and humans encroach on us, the air is slowly choked by machinery but what can we do but wait? Perhaps one day, a Champion will push back on constant expansion and protect our homes. I chewed on her words for a few minutes and stroked Togetic''s head while Hatterene stroked mine. She''d grown attached to me in just a few days, but I''d lie if I said I didn''t feel the same. "I''m surprised more of you haven''tshed out," I said. Lash out and get the noose around our necks tightened further?She said.For all I talk about violence, you humans have a monopoly on it. Pokemon follow your every order, each for different reasons. Some see it as a shortcut for power. I cannot deny that a Pokemon will grow faster with a trainer by their side, and not all of them share Nightstalker and I''s long lifespan and can afford to take a slow approach, although lifespan is a tricky affair that can be extended if you rue enough presence. If we struck back, we would be destroyed. We all know it. "Well I''d like to say that I''ll be the Champion and help you, but I know it''s moreplicated than that. I''d have to convince gym leaders, mayors and the people living in the cities. I''d have to fight corporations that thrive on city expansion¡­ it''s just¡­ hard. For all people say that Pokemon are hard to understand, human society''s a thousand times harder. Plus, I don''t think I''ll win the Conference this year, let alone beat Cynthia in five¡­ but I sympathize." And that is appreciated. Making a promise you are not certain you can fulfill would not be wise. I sighed. That had given me a lot to think about, but I had one more question. "Say¡­ is there some way I could use mour?" Use it? No. Humans and Pokemon are fundamentally different. You can not pull on the forces we do,Hatterene answered.But thanks to your halfling state, you will be able to understand and see it with enough training. If you can see and understand it, you can potentially train your daughter without my guidance. Unfortunately there is not enough time. We will reach Veilstone in two more days, and the learning process would take months. It would be shorter if you were a full-fledged fairy. I exhaled and ced my head against her hair-robe. Don''t make that face. You are always wee,she said.I will seek you out if youe back. "How about this summer? After the Conference?" I asked. "I coulde back before too if I have time after the eighth gym. When Princess evolves, she''ll be able to fly me." I said always, did I not? If it was up to me, you would have joined my gathering. The wyrm would have to go, however. I chuckled. Sunshine was already on the ground, his chest going up and down as he wheezed heavily. Decidueye had taken him down with a few feathers burned, but other than that he hadn''t broken a sweat. "You love him, don''t you?" I asked. "I think I can tell. He''s the only one you look at so fondly." An urate observation. I did not bother to ask if it was romantic, familial or tonic, but love was love. I did not need to know. They had a lot of history together. I wondered how he''d gone from attacking her to force her to help his trainer to joining and rebelling along with her. It is nigh time I properly introduce myself,Hatterene suddenly said, her eyes unmoving.My name is Betrix, the Keeper of the Sacred Woods. I felt pride bubble in my chest. "It is nice to meet you¡­ sister." To you, Grace Pastel, I bestow the title ofFriend of the Forest.It is a title that holds weight and may it carry you far. You are now my disciple. Human, halfling, gifted or whatnot, it does not matter. I dere you an honorary member of the fae. I stood up, Togetic still sleeping in my arms, and bowed my head in respect. All of my Pokemon were watching now. Even Sunshine. "Thank you, Betrix."
Chapter 178 Chapter 178 CHAPTER 178 "Be, what do you think about altering the path of electric type attacks using physics? Or fizzling out the attack entirely? I''m stumped, and my textbook won''t help. I have to prepare to face Volkner after Maylene." Simply will it away, she answered. And I do not recall giving you permission to call me Be. "We can''t just will things away," I rolled my eyes. "And for the nickname, I thought it''d be nice, but I''ll give up if you don''t want me to call you that." Sunshine snorted, and I totally didn''t understand why. I let out a short chuckle, yfully tapping his scales so he wouldn''t give me away. The old dragon was too tired to be angry at fairies. He hadn''t worked this hard in months, and even he was learning things from his few duels against Nightstalker and his mock battles against the family. The prospect of him growing stronger than before was terrifying, but also very exciting. The rest of the team were in their Pokeballs to rest up, excluding Princess, of course. She was growing more and more every day. Yes, you do understand. This trick that you''ve learned is irritating, I shall return to helping your daughter. "You''re teaching it to me, it''s not my fault." Don''t use it against me. It is rude to resist your teacher, Hatterene said as she shuffled away. Well, if she hadn''t wanted me to stop her from reading my thoughts, she shouldn''t have taught me to manipte how I felt on a whim. Be¡ª Betrix used emotion to read thoughts, so I could essentially counter her by altering them. It was nowhere near perfect, and they were only minute adjustments, such as what I''d just done: hiding my disappointment that Sunshine had nearly given me away. Manipting my emotions made me feel like a sociopath sometimes, but Betrix would scold me every time I was limited by ''artificial human barriers''. It had been this whole process ofbeling each state I usually felt and putting them into boxes, practicing rxation techniques until my mind was clear, and reframing those into what I wanted. Supposedly, my half-state had sped up the process. There were limitations, of course. There were always limitations. This was no barrier, and would only work with benevolent empaths. If she''d wanted to, she could have ransacked my brain. Still, having a better understanding of emotion would go hand in hand with training Princess and my¡­ gift. I still hated calling it that. Betrix had attempted to make me keep the mental barrier standing for as long as I could, but no matter how hard I tried, it only appeared when I focused on understanding. And focus was needed. It did not appear when I effortlessly tranted my Pokemon''s words. Pretty shitty, for a barrier, but if what Hatterene had said was true and I was drawing power from somewhere to get started on the tranting process, then it made sense. If I understood a Pokemon, I wouldn''t need the power any longer. I could understand Nightstalker perfectly now, although there were sometimes when he spoke so fast that I got tripped up. My ability had been proven in Hatterene''s eyes, and she desperately wanted to study me further. It was strange, how emotions slowly morphed into understanding over time. Betrix was a great teacher both to me and Princess, even though her words were harsh sometimes. Two days to reach Veilstone had turned into almost a week due to us meandering around the woods. I had grown used to telepathy now, and the headache from her speaking to me waspletely gone. We had stuck around so long that I was pretty sure that all of my friends excluding Denzel, Cece and Pauline were already in Veilstone. I had almost run out of food, however, so today was ourst day together. "Meanie," I said to Turtonator. "You owe me for that." The fire type pushed me away from his warmth, saying that he didn''t y by the rules of the fae. I paused as a slight anxiety took hold. It was so easy to get lost in Betrix''s ways, but I''d have to go back to society soon. Adapting would be tough. There''d be no more bargaining for everything and anything, no more gentle nights watching Buddy talk Nightstalker''s ear off, no more Betrix sternly telling Angel off while he rubbed her hair with a thinly veiled smile and happiness radiating off of her. Nightstalker ced a wing on my shoulder and hooted. It had a slight echo to it, but otherwise he soundedpletely ordinary. Nothingpared to Betrix''s horrifyingly charming vocalization. "I''m not sad, just¡­ mncholic, I guess," I answered. "It was fun being with you guys." The grass type silentlyughed and observed Hatterene telepathically yell at Princess as she formed a miniature Moonst. It was nothingpared to hers¡ª a bright pink ball of fairy type energy that sometimes revealed the dull grey that dwelled within. Betrix called it impure and imperfect, and it could only go a few feet before unravelingpletely, but it was still a force to be reckoned with in battle. I never thought I''d see her wield this kind of power before she evolved. And we had used it to beat Sunshine yesterday for the first time, after all. He''d been an especially good sport about the loss. Oh, he had still sulked in a corner like a baby and it took hours for him to even let me heal him with my few remaining potions, but deep down, he enjoyed the challenge. "Say, can I ask you something? Let me know if it offends," I said. Nightstalker nodded, not even looking at me. He was a pretty chill guy, but it was good to be polite. "How did you end up standing by while Betrix had her revenge?" He did not tense, nor did he even seem to care about me asking such a sensitive question. Nightstalker calmly exined that he''d been his trainer''s first Pokemon and known him for even longer than Betrix did. In fact, he still carried the name given to him by his trainer, while Hatterene chose her own name. It had been a point of contention between them in the past, but she''d made her peace with it. Nohea¡ª their old trainer''s name¡ª had not been a good person. He was brutal with all of his Pokemon and kept them under control by pitting their rivalries against each other. Just like someone might feelpelled to stay with their abuser even though they could just leave due to maniption, they did not dare to fight back. There was a fear that had been instilled within them from young, and they believed that going against him would be impossible. That was until Betrix came into the picture. "There were nows to protect Pokemon from abuse back then," I guessed. "I mean, not that thews are very clear and enforceable now. I don''t even think what he did would have been punished that harshly today. It''s wrong." The grass type nodded, but kept going. Betrix nned in secret at first, but slowly, she involved all of his eight Pokemon into her schemes, including him. When the day of the rebellion came, they all¡­ "Betray''s the wrong word," I interrupted him. "They were scared and couldn''t take the plunge. Even you were. Betrix told me that Nohea had started to genuinely change for the better in hisst two years and apologized for treating them terribly. Things were changing for the better, and they probably wanted to give him a chance. I guess that''s why you stood still and watched?" Nightstalker hooted again, which was more of a sigh. He had called me very perceptive. "Thank you for telling me. I''ll cherish these words," I said, bowing my head slightly. "And thank you for helping Sunshine out for a week. He''s burned you quite a bit." Turtonator growled, saying that he would have managed to get a hit in if he had a few more tries. Well, I''d let him believe that, and so would Nightstalker. The grass type had no pride to speak of and routinely let Betrix walk all over him. Honestly, I couldn''t exactly me him. It was hard to fight back verbally when she had her sights on you. She won every single debate she participated in, although Sweetheart did give her a hard time once by just screaming all over her words when she had called Turtonator weak. That had been a fun night. Decidueye sat next to Turtonator and me as he began to preen the feathers within his wings. They served as his arrows, so he constantly needed them to be in good condition for any battles. They were both stronger than anything on this route and everything around it, but Hatterene had said that the threats came from outside, which meant other areas. Although they did so a lot less than humans, Pokemon often fought for territory and resources, from small-scale battles torgemunities like this one. Hatterene kept everyone safe, however, and she wasn''t worried about whatever lurked on route 210 and generated all that fog. I''d be terrified if I were her. Nightstalker cawed, seeing through my worry. He was no empath, but he was still good at reading people thanks to Hatterene teaching him the ropes. He had never seen her this happy since she''d killed their old trainer. After a week with these two, the brutality of those words just went in one ear and out the next. They didn''t affect me whatsoever. Sunshine mockingly jeered, but I yfully pped his scales, identally hurting my palm in the process. My pain sent him into aughing fit. "Stop it!" I yelled. "No one saw that! You better not tell anyone. I''m cashing in what you owe me now!" He immediately refused. Ah, well, that''s what I got for getting cocky. I turned back to Decidueye and apologized for getting sidetracked. "I''m d that she''s happy," I said, leaning against my knees. "What about you?" For the first time, his eyes dimmed beneath his hood. They functioned somewhat like Jellicent''s but with their own quirk. The golden iris around his red pupils was very emotive too, dimming or ring up depending on what he felt. Sometimes, the pupils grewrger or narrowed¡ª softened or sharpened as well. They were always soft when he looked at Hatterene. Buddy''s eyes weren''t asplex, but his vocalization was more so. The grass type nodded as Princess'' third Moonst this time didn''t fizzle out and actually reached one of the targets she had raised with Ancient Power. She''d made them look like Sunshine, much to her teacher''s amusement and the fire type''s anger. He''d been so well-behaved this past week that he deserved a reward when we got to Veilstone. I didn''t know what he wanted, but I''d ask him soon. It was probably hard for a dragon to be bullied by two fairies and keep his head down. "Good," I smiled. "I didn''t want you to feel obligated to stick around. She''d hate you for that, and you''re good at hiding your emotions from us. Sheined about that to me when I started doing the same. I''m nowhere as good as you, though." Decidueye thanked me for my worries, but this was where he belonged. He couldn''t imagine being anywhere else. "Of course. Hey, are we pals now?" I suddenly asked. He nearly ripped out one of his feathers right then and there. "I want to be your friend. If I''m Friend of the Forest¡ª" I coughed, choking on the powerful words. It was like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs. The title might have been bestowed onto me, but I could still not say it. Turtonator offered me a bit of support with his tail, and I thanked him for his help. "If I''m that, and you live here, then I''m your friend, right?" I asked, tilting my head. Decidueye resigned to his fate, and I patted him on the back. "See? Not that hard," I grinned. "So, Night. What do you enjoy doing in your free time when you''re not hanging out with kids like us?" Sunshine angrily red up at being called a child, but I ignored his outburst. I knew he hated when Buddy called him that too, so I had maybe teased him on purpose. I was happy that we''d gotten close enough to have this tongue-in-cheek thing going on. "So?" Nightstalker sighed and began to tell me about how he routinely traveled to Veilstone under the cover of Phantom Force to steal some books to read, and that somehow led Sunshine to talk about how Kamaile taught him how to read too, once. I listened attentively, hanging to his every word. I would ask him about his old team soon. ¡ª "Well," I sighed. "We''re there." Route 215 stood in front of us, and the gate into Veilstone was extremely close if Betrix''s constantints about the toxic air were anything to go by. She usually never went this close to the city because of how industrial it was. Fairies that had spent centuries in the wild like her were not well-adapted to cities. Princess, meanwhile, usually liked to be in them. This time, however, she was terribly sad. Her head hung low and she held back tears as we stood in silence. "Maybe I could stay another day," I said, turning toward Betrix and Nightstalker. "There''s so much to learn still. I''ll just go next to the gate so I can send a text to my friends and tell them I''m safe and check on how close my girlfriend''s group is to making it. I can¡ª" Now, now, Hatterene gently said. You shouldn''t allow your sadness to leak out that much. I sniffled and clenched a fist. Tangrowth ced a vine offort around my wrist while Honey wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Betrix¡­ Night¡­" I whimpered. "I''ll miss you." Decidueye hooted, saying that I would not leave forever. "Yeah. Yeah, I know," I said with a quivering breath. "But it still hurts." I''d only known them for slightly more than a week, and yet I felt like I was saying goodbye to family. The tall owl looked at Hatterene as his irises stretched, their yellow glow dimming slightly. He whispered something to her, but I didn''t manage to catch the words. I will apany you to the gate, Betrix said. It is only the right thing for a host to do. "But shouldn''t¡ª didn''t you want to stay hidden?" I asked. "Don''t¡ª" Nonsense. I will do as I please, she smiled. Let us be on our way. "Wait¡ª Betrix¡ª" Be will do, the psychic type said, pushing me along with her tentacle. Just this once. We broke through the thick tree line and took our first steps onto the route. This close to Veilstone, it only took two minutes to meet our first trainer. She froze up, trembling like a leaf at the sight of the two Pokemon by my side. Her Breloom and Whirlepede protectively moved in front of her. I would have thought that they might have passed as my Pokemon and not wild ones, but it seemed that just the sight of them was enough to terrify anyone we met. What I had not anticipated was more wild Pokemoning to follow us. Hordes of them, simply walking along with me. I recognized Simisage, although he had two Pansage holding onto his massive head while he swung from tree to tree. The five Psyduck that had been with me at the cave, along with the Ponyta whose leg had been bruised, and more that I didn''t recognize. Trainers ran away or watched in awe at the disy of unity. Something of this scale had never happened before. I chuckled as a Cottonee floated in front of me, causing me to sneeze. A Starlynded on my head and nested there, pecking and pulling at my hair. Not even Sunshine dared re up at the invasion of his personal space, and he was very careful not to step on the smaller Pokemon. Angel was over the moon, grabbing children and carrying them on top of him. There was even a Tang on there, and the grass type was happily gurgling and intertwining his vines with Angel''s. He''d always wanted to be a caretaker. Sweetheart crawled on the ground, but a fierce Grotle had taken a liking to her and was walking by her side as she told him about the many battles she had been in. Five Phantump surrounded Buddy and orbited around his head, and he sighed at the attention. Still, I couldn''t help but notice a hint of amusement in his eyes. Honey shied away from all of the stares, but he was too big to hide away behind me. And it wasn''t like that would help anyway, seeing as we were surrounded from all sides, but he slowly got out of his shell and began to answer questions flying his way. Princess still hung by Hatterene, determined to exhaust every minute left that she had with her teacher for anyst bits of insight. "How is this even happening?" I asked, turning to Betrix. Her face was marred by a permanent wince. "Are you okay?" It is loud, but I will live, she smiled. You are Friend of the Forest, are you not? They have simplye to bid a friend farewell. Iughed as a Teddiursa pulled on my jeans and her mother, a towering Ursaring dipped her head in respect. When we reached the gate, an army of Pokemon Rangers was standing guard with their Pokemon out. A crowd of people¡ª mostly trainers¡ª behind them were pushing against a psychic barrier that looked ridiculously weakpared to Be''s. Imperfections, shallowness, unstable, it was everything you didn''t want a barrier to be. We stopped in our tracks and observed them. There were at least fifty of them, but they weren''t going to attack. You couldn''t be trigger-happy if you were a ranger. All they wanted to know was¡ª "You! You, in the middle of the crowd! Can you exin what''s going on?!" One of them asked. He stood in the center, so I assumed that he was the leader. What will you do? Hatterene smirked. I''d tell the truth, Be. It was as simple as that. Sheughed, showing her impossibly long teeth and the Rangers all tensed. One of their Pokemon¡ª A Luxray¡ª began to charge up electricity, but its trainer stopped it. Or him. I had a feeling he was a male. "What is the problem?!" I asked loudly. As soon as I began to speak, all of the Pokemon behind me stopped their chatter. "Are you serious? There are hundreds of Pokemon behind you threatening Veilstone. They seem to be under your control, so I will ask again. Exin what is going on," the leading Ranger said. "Under my control?" I said. "None of them are under my control. They''re here out of their own volition to send me off. And why shouldn''t they be allowed to do so?" "The city is right there¡ª" "But we''re still on route 215, are we not?" I said, my voice holding firm. "This is theirnd. They are allowed to be there." "But you have to admit that¡ª" "I will do no such thing. We were just walking. No one was attacked. Once I''m gone, they''ll go back to living their lives. I think that you overreacted." The leading Ranger scratched his head. "Well, we''ll stay here until they leave, just to be sure." "I''d like for you to make your Pokemon stand down first," I dered. I crouched and petted the scared Teddiursa''s head. "It''s the polite thing to do." Good. You are asking for an apology after an offense, Be said. I was, but I had to be discrete about it. They probably would have looked at me funny if I spoke like her. None of the Rangers recalled their Pokemon, but they did make them not stare with the intent to harm. "Thank you," I said. Now it was time to leave. I turned to Nightstalker. "Goodbye, Night. I''ll buy you books for when I get back," I said, wrapping him into a hug. "Stealing is bad, even if you do it to humans, okay?" The grass type reluctantly hooted in affirmation but didn''t refuse my hug. His feathers were sharp, as if I was touching a thorny bush. "You wanted artsy stuff, right? I''ll see what I can find," I added. "Maybe I can bring some paint too. It''ll be tough to fit in my bag, but I''ll make it work. We can go to your tree and paint a bunch of stuff together." Nightstalker smiled for the first time, saying that he''d like that and that Angel was wee to help. Tangrowth was too happy to even hear his words, but I was sure he''d love to paint stuff with all of his vines. He said his goodbyes to each member of my family, but his stare lingered on Sunshine. It was a respectful one, but also a challenge. Something that would drive the fire type to grow stronger and challenge him again when he came back. "Be." Sister. "May I?" I asked, extending my arms. The fairy type let out an otherworldly groan. If you must. I smirked, wrapping my hands around her soft hair as she rubbed mine with her tentacle. It was only now that I realized how light she was. I felt like I''d be able to lift her with a single hand. To be honest, I had never seen her eat. You have learned well, she said. I am proud of you. I felt pride well up in my chest. "I had a good teacher." Stay safe, and do not let these humans walk all over you and offend you without payment. And if you are in need of refuge, our doors are always open. Your title will carry you beyond this route. Pokemon in forests will see you as a friend and an ally, but you will still have to watch out outside of them. If these Rangers try to keep you, I will¡ª "Now who''s allowing their sadness to leak out?" I said. "I''ll be okay." Her face twisted in sadness, but Nightstalker was there for her. She turned to my team, offering words of her own. Wyrm¡ª Turtonator, she began. Our time together was cold and bore no affection, but I have learned to live and let live. You are not as bad as I previously believed, and I can tell that you made efforts to be cordial. I apologize for the way you were treated at the beginning of our time together. Sunshine nodded tightly, simply opting to stay silent. That was as good as his epting her apology was going to get. Electabuzz. Nightstalker loved your cooking, and I did think it smelled wonderful, she said. Honey smiled widely, shing his sharp teeth. I see potential in you. Do not squander it by acting less confident than you ought to be. That made him lose his smile right away, but Be was right. He was strong, but he acted like he held the team back sometimes. And you, Tangrowth. Your thoughts are so simple that I believed you were pulling some sort of borate trick, but you are truly appropriately named, she said. A strange fellow with asional shes of surprising wisdom, but with a hospitality unmatched. We all appreciate your kindness, especially the children. Angel''s vine excitedly wriggled at the praise, but he soon returned to ying with a pair of Wooper. Pupitar. Obnoxious, loudmouthed, and even less regard for the rules than the wyrm. She cheered at that as if they were qualities, and the Grotle next to herughed. Your evolution will bring an untold amount of rage upon you. Nightstalker and I have seen it with our own eyes, she said. Do not let it take hold no matter how much power it offers. Trust in your mother, and you shall reap the rewards in the long term. It wasn''t hard to fill in the nks on what had happened. Their trainer had owned a Pupitar as well, and things must have gone wrong when it evolved. Sweetheart chewed on the words, growing silent for the first time. Jellicent. Our conversations were fascinating, and you offered insight into the ghostly mind that I simply did not understand before today. The knowledge was well-received, and I am in your debt. Say the word, and I shall pay you back. Unfortunately for her, he insisted on her not owing him anything. He thought that the conversations alone were worth it, simply reminiscing about old times and how different life used to be. And you, baby sister, Betrix looked to Togetic. My words during training were harsh, but you have grown massively. The need to protect your mother drives you. Rarely has Moonst been learned so quickly, and you are a prodigy of control. Keep practicing with mour, and you will go far. Princess nodded, trying not to cry as I finally grabbed her into my arms. You will be missed, Grace Pastel. You are special. "I might be," I said as I struggled to stop the tears. "Or not. It doesn''t matter. I''ve learned so much about myself thanks to you. A side of me that I don''t feel like repressing any longer." Lean into my teachings, she said. Be more. "Thank you for everything." Thank you for everything. Goodbye, Friend of the Forest. The wild Pokemon cheered onest time for me and then began to disperse once more. Be and Night watched as I stepped through the gate, recalling my Pokemon one by one. Before I could even hope to step into Veilstone, it looked like the Rangers were going to question me. I couldn''t shake the feeling of annoyance I felt when I realized I''d have to deal with human strangers again. ¡ª So? Nightstalker asked. How are you feeling now? Betrix mentally sighed as her stare lingered in Veilstone''s direction. Not one hour since Grace Pastel had left, and the world already felt dimmer. The Pokemon stared at herpanion and blinked rapidly to make the mour that filled every facet of the world disappear from her view. She is the daughter I never had. Barely over a week, and it feels like I am losing someone I''ve known for years. She shines bright. She was chosen for a reason, but bright ones tend to burn out quickly, Nightstalker said as he preened his feathers. What shall we do now, Betrix? Do you want me to go? I could keep an eye on her from the shadows for a while. No, she would dislike that. It would be seen as a betrayal. Her independence is too important to her. The grass type smirked. That, she would. Do you feel them yet? Her so-called friends, yes, Betrix nodded. She could see everything that touched her fief, and the three humans Grace had shown her had just made it onto the route. There was the foul presence of another wyrm¡ª two souls for one body, but also a brother. He must have been the Sylveon Grace had told her about, and there was a good deal of mour around him. The armor. I promised her to let them through safely, and I will, but they will still be observed. And their ways with the rules tested? Decidueye continued, studying the tip of an arrow. Betrix hummed. Perhaps.
Interlude – The Test Interlude ¨C The Test INTERLUDE - THE TEST "Arceus, it''s raining like a motherfucker," Paulineined. "I''d rather be inside of Mount Cor than this. At least Charizard could warm me up." "Raining like a motherfucker doesn''t mean anything," Denzel said. Cecilia rolled her eyes, but she was too focused on her leg to retort. It had taken so long to heal that they left the city half a weekte and had to rest in the Caf¨¦ Cabin, but at least, they were in thest stretch of the journey. She walked through the forest floor with a slightly pronounced limp, unable to put her full weight on her leg for more than a second before the pain became unbearable. Zerst snarled toward a rustle behind a tree, almost blowing the entire thing up with Dragon Pulse, but Cecilia calmed him down with a hand on his scaly head. It was coarse to the touch. Sol, for all his usual calmness also felt anxious. He hadn''t even rammed his full weight against Zerst to keep him quiet as he would usually do. Sylveon simply stared at the two with a grimace and stuck closer to Denzel, who wiped the rain off his Poketch and squinted at the screen. "There should be an overhang we can take a break under soon for your leg, Cece. It''d be better if you were fully rested before we climbed the actual mountain." "Arceus¡­ I bet Justin and Louis already have their badges by now with howte we are," Pauline grumbled. "I''m sorry," Cecilia said. "I didn''t mean to slow you all down." "Oh, I didn''t mean it like that¡ª shut up Gothorita! I know!" "What''s she saying?" Denzel asked. "That she feels like shit because she can''t see the stars in this weather." "It''s daytime," he said. "Wouldn''t be able to see ''em anyway." "She can see them at all times of the day, just not through clouds. Anyway, I''m sorry Cece. I''m just feeling anxious about time running out, that''s all." "No worries," she said. It wasn''t as if Cecilia wasn''t anxious too, although for different reasons. Beyond the group separating and being away from Grace, there was something deeper that worried her and had been nagging at her since leaving Hearthome. Her father was under house arrest. Louis'' father was in jail, awaiting his trial. She had enough money to livefortably¡ª notforever, but for around half a decade, at least. So. Now what? Her entire goal to be Champion of another region had been to escape her family''s clutches, but Abel had inadvertently saved her with his phone call and let her expose her father''s adjacency to Harvey''s criminal links with Gctic. Her entire reason for thisjourneyhad been resolved while she''d been halfway there, as if the rug had been pulled from under her. Now Cecilia was drowning, desperately trying to findsomethingto hold onto. Sticking with Grace was one¡ª her promise to challenge Cynthia was another, but these were shallow. They weren''t goals that she had set for herself, but goals that had been pushed onto her. There was no structure to this journey any longer. No meaningful goal to the progress she made each day. Peel away theyers and at the heart of it, Cecilia was quite empty, or at least shefeltthat way. "There it is!" Denzel pointed as thunder roared. An overhangrge enough to fit all of their teams and stay dry while they took a break and ate. Pauline broke into a jog and breathed a sigh of relief when she made it under the ceiling, but her small moment of respite was interrupted by a group of wild Pokemon sitting at the corner of the cave. Zweilous roared at the three small Sentret, mes dancing in their mouths and illuminating the dim overhang until they finally ran off. "They could have stuck around," Denzel shrugged. "I don''t think Sentret are that threatening." "It''s better if they leave, or Zweilous wouldn''t have let me hear the end of it," Cecilia said. "Fair enough." Finally, she could sit down. The rain had seeped into her bandage, but Pauline quickly noticed and helped her change it while Denzel stood guard with Lopunny and Sylveon. The normal type looked to be bothered by the rain as much asthem, funnily enough. Sylveon couldn''t care less, and it was sometimes disturbing to see the water dripping down his unblinking blue eyes. Pauline, for her part, released her entire team apart from her Vigoroth and Cecilia did the same, leaving Talonme in her Pokeball. Scyther quickly went to his own corner and worked on sharpening his scythes against a rock. Slowking watched her with a curious eye, clearly wanting to speak, but opted to wait for her to be done with her friends first. Golett slowly turned on as the hum of machinery began inside of his body. He slowly trudged toward Zweilous, who chomped on his arm like a Lilipupp would with a bone. The ground type didn''t care about all of the slobber getting on his limb¡­ and torso, and¡ª everywhere. "Say¡­ why do you guys want to be Champion?" Cecilia asked. Pauline stared up as she carefully wrapped the gauze around her leg. "I don''t want to be Champion. I want to have fun and battle a bunch of people," she shrugged. "The Conference''s the ce that will probably bring me the most excitement, so that''s where I want to be." "And after that?" "After that, I do it again and again until I''m bored," she continued. "Then after another year or two, maybe go to another region to travel until I''ve got to settle down. It''s all about the journey, right? Traveling with friends and my team is fun. Being the Champion sounds like a pain in the ass anyway. Too many assholes looking up to you as if you''re perfect, and the moment you slip theye for your throat." Cecilia blinked. Her friend had given this more thought than she would have imagined. "What region were you thinking of?" "Eh. Haven''t given it that much thought yet¡ª why are youughing!" In retrospect,never mind. Pauline was just like Cecilia had expected her to be. "Thank you for the help with the bandage." "I wasn''t done! I haven''t given it much thought, but somewhere that isn''t boring like crummy Gr or Unova. No offense." "None taken," Cecilia smiled, turning to Denzel. "What about you, Denzel?" Her friend was staring outside of their refuge, his eyes mesmerized by the rain. "Denzel!"Pauline yelled. "Wha¡ª oh, sorry. Can''t hear anything on this route," he said, scratching the side of his head. "Why do you want to be Champion, beyond your aspiring influencer career," Cecilia asked again. "Well, you say beyond like that isn''t ahugepart of it," he said. "There''s more, but it''s kind of embarrassing." "Spill," Pauline said. The trainer groaned."Fine.I want to be someone that, uh, people feel like they candependon. A figure for young aspiring trainers like Craig is to me." "So you want to steal his shtick?" She asked. "A little, but I also want to be more essible than he is. He does a lot of interviews and stuff, but he doesn''t actually speak directly to his fans like I want to do. I want to make guides, give advice in Q & A sessions and stuff like that. It''s about time trainers catch up to their coordinator counterparts, don''t you think? That way, people who think that they wouldn''t have what it takes to make it could get a little boost, and sometimes that''s all someone needs, right?" "You know, if it was someone else, I might have made fun of them, but it''s you, so I''ll call your goal endearing," Pauline said. "You''re a great guy, Denzel." "Obviously.Look at me," heughed, flexing an arm. "Annnnd, you took it too far," she said. "You''re a joke." They bothughed, but Cecilia was stuck to her own thoughts. Denzel''s aspiration ran so deep that it made her feelpletely inadequate. She didn''t feel the need to help people grow like he did, and she didn''t really want to walk through what Pauline would callexciting. She might have hated anything ghost rted, but she was still the same girl that kept the group''s cohesion during their trip through Eterna Forest. So what did Cecilia have? After fixing up her leg, Pauline struck up a conversation with Denzel by punching him in the shoulder with her good arm. She was hurt too, and couldn''t move the shoulder that had been stabbed properly, but she hid it better than anyone else. Cecilia rxed with a sigh. Now she knew what people were subject to when she was alone with Grace. It was no fun being the third wheel. Lady Cecilia. The words brushed against her mind, no longer painful to her. Instead, they felt like aforting embrace. "Slowking. I believe you wanted to speak to me?" She said. This talk of goals troubles you, and when you feel this way, I am troubled as well. "Oh darling, I''ll live. It''s just something wise to think about. I wouldn''t want to be the Champion and feel aimless." Do you truly believe you could do it in a year after witnessing Cynthia''s power and hearing her stories? It was true that Cynthia had talked to her andshown herone of her recorded battles against Lucian during one of their many talks in Sceon. The amount of power she wielded was unimaginable, although her brother Mark came close. She''d beaten him three to six, but that was without using her Spiritomb, who she had said would shut him downpletely. She smiled, feeling no hesitation. "If I don''t believe in myself, who will?" I will,he answered. "Thank you." Although Cecilia was done running away from her father, she still wanted the power Cynthia had so badly. There was something about fundamentally destroying the arena you battled on that wassoappealing to her, but she needed a reason to wield that power. For Cynthia, it was to protect Sinnoh from threats, and the truth was that Ceciliadidfeel like she would seed in the political aspect of being a Champion. Cynthia favored slow, incremental change in order not to rock the boat, which was a philosophy that Cecilia agreed with. The problem was that she simply had no attachment to the region of Sinnoh. She hadn''t even been there for a year. Her true home was still Unova, and she couldn''t imagine a life outside of the region. "Slowking," she said as something began to click into ce. "Do you think that it is wrong to take things from family?" It depends on what that thing is, Lady Cecilia. "Power." That is up to interpretation. Zweilous would say that you deserve anything you desire. Golett would ask about what power is. Scyther would sneer and insult you. Talonme would say that you should calm down and think back on this in a few months to see if you haven''t changed your mind. Ceciliaughed. "That does sound like them. What about you?" I say you do what your will desires. "I desire power to affect change in Unova. I am in a unique position to understand how easy it is for corporations to influence our government, and Mark and parliament is happy to let them do so if they sell the government things for cheap and donate to their political campaigns. Change is needed, but it cannote all at once." And so it will be. "And so it will be," she nodded. "But first, I will finish my time here. I need to battle against Cynthia, and she needs to help me find a Spiritomb, which means I''ll have to grow strong enough until she thinks I can handle them." What if Grace desires to stay? Cecilia felt her heartbeat quicken. "I love her, but her father once told me that I needed a lifebeyondher. I will ask her toe with me, but if she says no¡­ then it will be over." A wise man, her father. "Yes. Yes, he is." ¡ª "Aren''t there more wild Pokemon than usual?" Denzel asked as his head whirled toward a group of Budew led by a wild Roselia. It was true. No matter where they were, Pokemon seemed to befollowingthem. It was the third time they were seeing those Budew and that Roselia after having walked for an entire day. There was no way that this could be a coincidence. Cecilia limped forward, her weight supported by Denzel on one side and Pauline on the other. "Sylvi''s been acting weird too," he continued. "Keeps staring off in the distance when we settle down, but he won''t tell me what it is." "He won''t tellyou?If he doesn''t talk to you, he won''t talk to anyone," Cecilia scoffed. Sylveon barked in protest. It was a smooth sound that soothed her ears and worries some, but only for a split second. Cecilia was worried. The wild Pokemon were coordinating something, which in few numbers wouldn''t be that impressive, but with all the different species they''d seen and distance they had crossed? Something was happening on this route. She had to recall Zweilous out of fear that him attacking one would makeallof them attack at once, and she was walking with Slowking by her side instead. Pauline, meanwhile, had her Charizard out even in the rain, supposedly to train her resistance to attacks like Rain Dance in the future. The fire type had grown tremendously in power since her evolution, but Cecilia made sure to let Pauline know not to just rely ononePokemon to steamroll thepetition. Even early in her journey when Zweilous used to be able to win alone, Cecilia always let Talonme and Slowking participate in battles. "Just smile and wave," Denzel said. "They''re not attacking." "They''re annoying." "Pauline, have you considered the fact that they haven''t done anything yet?" Denzel said. When they passed by a lone Caterpie climbing up a tree, Sylveon froze. "Sylvi?" Denzel frowned. The fairy type took a step back and frowned. Something wasing. "Slowking, do you feel anything?" I do, but it is a hole, not a mind,the psychic said.And something else, but she is¡­ blurry. "A ghost and another Pokemon," Cecilia ryed to her friends. Pauline whimpered, shrinking back behind Charizard. Her tailshed out and mmed against the floor. Cecilia released Zweilous at the first mention of a ghost, but it was wise not to let her full team out yet. These wereing straight for them, but it wouldn''t be different than the wild Pokemon that were apparently tracking them so far. The first was a Decidueye. It appeared out of thin air, leaning against a tree as it strummed its inner feathers. The second one was something that Cecilia had never seen before, and Pauline had the same look of confusion on her face. A Pokemon made out of pastel blue and pink wearing a hat. "That''s a Hatterene," Denzel stammered a whisper. "Stay quiet and don''t panic, or it''ll attack." Well met, travelers,words rang out in Cecilia''s mind. Pauline and she were used to telepathy, but Denzel still winced and clenched at his head.You have passed the first section of our test. Foul as I believed you would be, you offered the minimal amount of decency to the inhabitants of my fief. Zweilous snarled, and Cecilia couldfeelthe primal hatred emanating from his body. Silence your wyrm. I cannotmunicate telepathically with one who is half Emptyfolk. Cecilia''s mind was swimming. She couldn''t even understand half of what Hatterene was saying, but she knew when she was outmatched. She grabbed Zweilous'' Pokeball, but before she could recall him, Zerst breathed a stream of draconic energy toward Hatterene. The Dragon Pulse harmlessly washed over her. The psychic type''s face twisted, wrinkling with fury and rage unmatched and shing sharpened teeth that were longer than her entire face. Pink dust appeared around Zweilous andswarmedhim, going into his lungs until both heads could no longer breathe. Thankfully, Denzel tapped her shoulder and screamed at her to recall him, and she did. Finally. You are lucky. Ordinarily, I would have killed for such an offense. "Sorry!" Denzel immediately apologized. "Look, we''ll just be on our way, okay? Zweilous had been growing more aggressivetely." Hatterene did not speak. Instead, her eyes wandered to Sylveon. Why do you stay silent, brother? The fairy type answered with a series of small barks that she didn''t understand. Still, Cecilia had never seen him so restrained before. His vocalization was usually a lot more assertive than this, even against threats they had no chance to win against. Yes. I have been testing you as I said, but worry not, little brother. Someone has ensured that you will have safe passage,she said before turning to Cecilia.Do not release your wyrm again in my presence unless I let you. She could only agree. "Yes. What do you want with us?" My inquiry is simple. I will observe you during your stay here. "Observe? So you''re sticking around?" Yes. I will not speak to you. I will simply observe. "Fucking weirdo," Pauline whispered under her breath. "She can feel what you feel, Pauline," Denzel hissed. "And the Decidueye?" Mypanion will do the same. ¡ª This wasn''t what I had in mind when you said you would test them,Nightstalker hummed. Oh, it is a test. A test to see if they are deserving of her and the Pokemon that follow them. They are her friends,the grass type said.She would not associate herself with them if she did not think that they were. She is too young. I must observe. You could have observed without showing yourself as you had done during the first day. They passed that section of the test. Now I must see how they behave when I am looming over them and threatening to kill at every opportunity. The three children couldn''t help but constantly look over their shoulders as Hatterene and Decidueye followed them from afar. She couldn''t help but feel irritated at Sylveon''spletelof respect for her. She did not expect him to know of the old ways, but she at least expected something akin to Togetic. It seemed that he only cared about his trainer and his Pokemon, however. So what is your assessment, then?Nightstalker asked. The male is the least offensive. He at least shows respect and knows how to behave, but he is no halfling. He worries about keeping his friends safe and is also nning to stay back to buy time if I attack. He has a good heart, even if he is clumsy with his words. Hatterene paused and slowly filtered out the boy''s thoughts with the help of the rain. His thoughts were not that loud, but anything help to assuage the pain from thedeafeningthoughts of her fief''s inhabitants. When she had described it to Grace, she hadpared it to standing at the edge of a cliff, and if she fell, she would fly into a maddening rage that only Nightstalker could bring her out of. Of course, she hadn''t fallen in nearly a century now. Betrix knew how to control herself. The one with the fiery hair hates me, but she is the most scared out of all three. She is good about not letting it show, and her surface emotions are more simple. Hate for me and what I might do to them. She is anguished for her friends'' safety first and foremost, however, and that emotion is the loudest. Another good one,the grass type hummed.And thest? She is strange. Her thoughts are the loudest¡ªRare is a human with thoughts so deafening,Betrix winced.Her thoughts lie elsewhere¡­ she thinks of something else entirely unrted to the current situation. Something rted to politics that I cannot afford to care about. Perhaps a coping mechanism to keep herself from panicking¡­ yes, there is more. Deeper. Worry for her wyrm most of all.But all three share one thing inmon. They plead for Grace''s safe passage. Good. Good indeed,she said.But not enough. ¡ª It had been two days since the Hatterene and Decidueye had started following them, and Cecilia felt like she was about to go insane. Her beingpletely silent just kept the trio constantly on edge and thinking about when she would strike. Outrunning her was impossible when she had that Decidueye with her, and nothing they said even changed the look on her face. Pauline was taking it the worst and had routinely thrown insults their way, something which Cecilia and Denzel begged for her to stop. Thest thing they needed was for them to get angry, and some of these insults did get to Hatterene if her face was anything to go by. Slowking had attempted tomunicate, and so did Sylveon, although more reluctantly, but nothing of substance was said between them. Only titudes. It wasn''t until today that they made their next move. Hatterene pointed her tentacle toward Denzel and shed her teeth. Every time she did so, Cecilia couldn''t help but close or avert her eyes. Hatterene was just too disturbing to look at. Decidueye''s cold stare waspleasantYoung one. I must speak to your Pokemon. "Uh, okay," he nervously said, releasing his entire team. They had all seen Hatterene at least once, but they were clearly rattled by her presence. Milotic''s body coiled and tensed as he averted his eyes away from her. Roselia did not dare do her usual hissing or disrespectful sneer. Fross'' control of the cold was the best it had ever been and no frost leaked out of her body, and Lopunny''s ears constantly twitched in anticipation of a fight. Only Sylveon appeared calm. Very well. We shall go and speak alone. "Wait, you meant alone?!" Denzel eximed. "Why can''t I be there?" Because that would go against the entire point of this test. Fear not, it is only to converse. No harm wille to them. "Can I at least watch?" He begged. "I don''t¡ª I don''t have to be close enough to hear, and you can cut off the telepathic link." The fairy type paused, but then agreed.Very well. Denzel sank deeper into the forest with his team while Decidueye kept an eye on Cecilia and Pauline. She came back forty minutester, looking weaker than Cecilia expected. Not because she actually looked beatable in a fight, but because of howtiredshe looked. Cecilia immediately whispered to Denzel, asking what had happened. "I couldn''t hear. She just spent the entire time speaking to them, and they won''t tell me anything about it," Denzel sighed. "I think it''s some kind of test. First the wild Pokemon, then they follow us, nowthis?It feels like Hatterene''s analyzing us¡ª" You with the fiery hair. It is your turn. Do you wish to watch, or will you stay behind? "I''ll watch," Pauline dryly said. Thirty-four minutester, Hatterene came for Cecilia. ¡ª Five Pokemon stood in front of Betrix. Golett, a being of y and dusk whose stare appeared as empty as the void of space itself, save for a few shes ofindividualitywhenever someone it cared for was near, including its trainer. A Scyther that had a permanent anger permeating out of him. She could almostfeelthe intent to kill. He was theplete opposite of the docile Scyther she had once known, centuries ago. A Talonme awkwardly hopped through the forest floor, but she worried the most for her trainer, as did the Slowking who had annoyingly attempted to speak to her a dozen times about what she was doing. Betrix had thrown her psychic side to the wayside long ago, giving in fully to the ways of the fae thanks to her mother''s teachings. She had no time for a psychic ying pretend. The wyrm was also there, foul and as unpleasant as always. Her time with Turtonator had taught her not to judge a book by its cover, but by the Legendaries, these two were barely coherent enough to understand. It pained her to admit, but they were nothingpared to Turtonator''s asional wisdom. Cecilia stood far in the distance, fidgeting as she looked to her Pokemon. DESTROY! DESTROY! KILL!The head that she called Zerst roared.CHEW. CHEW. Sol, for his part, bit at the dragon''s neck to stop him from yelling.Restraint, Zerst. Your anger, toorge. Destructionter. Surprise attack. He was slightly more coherent but just as stupid. Even Tangrowth was better than this. What do you want with us?Talonme cawed.For days, you have stalked us like prey. Out with it. FOOD. FOOD. HUNGRY¡ªWHY TALK WITH ENEMY? KILL! Golett, please let him chew on your arm,Slowking said. The ground type silently offered Zerst his arm, and he wasted no time to begin chewing on it. Hatterene wrinkled her face at such ack of proper manners. Maybe she''d been too quick in offering them the benefit of the doubt. Scyther hissed, fanning his wings.I grow tired of this. Out with it. This was¡­ this was the worse team by far. There were no way around it. The boy''s team had been dysfunctional and full of bickering, but there was love hidden beneath the insults. The redhead''s team had been fierce, aggressive, and she had to stop that annoying Vigoroth from attacking her, but at the very least, Gothorita seemed to keep them under control. All of them seemed to love their trainer and were notvictims, so they had been allowed to go back. With this lot? The two normal ones, Slowking and Talonme werepletely ustomed to their behavior and only enabled it further. It was theplete opposite of Grace''s team, but they somehow made it work. Betrix was almost too bbergasted to speak, but she regained herposure after a short pause. I have gathered you here to speak your mind about your experience with Cecilia Obel. If you were mistreated in any way or forced to do things against your will, you may tell me. Slowking went first.I don''t see the point of this exercise, but I will be the first to tell you that Lady Cecilia''s skill as a trainer has only improved, and her care for us grows each day even while she is under mental anguish. Hatterene nodded, using his feelings to confirm that it was what Slowking truly felt. He genuinely cared for her and almost considered himself a parent¡ª no, a parent was wrong. He still disliked disagreeing with her and would not speak out against anything she decided unless it was a truly terrible idea. Perhaps a butler, then? Nightstalker had told her about those once from one of his books. My feelings are the same,Talonme chattered.She is not perfect, but nobody is. She has cared for me and I mirror her feelings. It is love. Very well. What about you, young Scyther? I hate her,he responded.I hate her fuckin'' guts. I hate how she treated me when she first snatched me from my territory. She forced me to train against my will for weeks and those three shmucks used to help her do it,he hissed, pointing a scythe toward Zweilous, Slowking and Talonme. Hatterene absorbed the information and immediately prepared to execute her n. The goal of this questioning had been two-fold: first, examine the rtionship between the Pokemon. A trainer that did not foster a good rtionship in their gathering would be an ipetent one. Cecilia had barely passed this section of her test. Second, see if there was any mistreatment taking ce. If there was, then she would offer the Pokemon to stay with her and live in her fief. She hadfailed¡ª but Scyther''s feelings were conflicted, which confused her. It reminded Betrix of how her old gathering used to feel when her old trainer started to treat them like people again. A penchant to forgive, but also lingering dislike. I despise her, you hag. But I don''t want your fucking pity. I''ll kill you if you keep looking at me like that. She has gotten better, and I don''t feel the urge to kill her every time I see her damned face, so I guess that''s an improvement. Betrix hummed. Cecilia was heavily indebted to this Scyther, but unlike Nohea, she had righted the ship in a few weeks instead of nine years. Did she deserve forgiveness? Would she repay the debt? She has gotten better,Hatterene repeated his words.But do you feel like she is enough? Does your rtionship with her feel fulfilling? That''s a lot of meaningless drivel. Has anyone ever told you that you sound so full of yourself every time you speak? Scyther''s words sent Zweilous into aughing fit, and Hatterene had to ce a barrier in front of him to avoid getting spit on her. Be careful,she warned. Her tentacle flexed, and the bug type finally began to feel fear.Answer the question, young Scyther. He sighed, and his eyes drifted toward the floor.I don''t know yet. There it was. That doubt that familiar doubt that had infected Betrix''s old gathering and spread like a cancer. But she could not afford to be biased. A fairy was fair in all things, and like all others, this human deserved fairness. I see. I assume you seek to find out, then. Yes. Then your trainer passes. ¡ª Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief when Hatterene motioned at her toe closer. She quickly ran through the forest floor andughed as her Pokemon surrounded her. Golett let out a small beep and his head spun around, which was a neat little trick he did when he was happy. Zerst and Sol screamed, demanding her attention until she scratched the scales on their necks. Talonme cooed and rubbed her head on her hand. Scyther rolled his eyes at the entire disy. You have passed her test, Lady Cecilia,Slowking said with a smile.And Zerst and Sol are hungry. "Thank the Legendaries. I don''t even know why this happened, but at least it''s over." She could breathe lighter now. Cecilia hadn''t known the consequences for failure, but with this Hatterene, she imagined the worst. Cecilia Obel. You have passed,Hatterene said.I will no longer be tailing you and yourpanions. Your group''s emotions were pure and your thoughts were not nefarious. You have treated the Pokemon on this route with¡­ an adequate amount of respect, and you cultivate a rtion of love with your Pokemon. You are free. Her eyes bulged. All this time, she could read thoughts? Cecilia scrambled to remember what had even passed through her brain thesest few days. Worry not. Like I stated, you have passed. Nightstalker. The ghost type appeared in a rush of wind so powerful that Cecilia struggled to keep her two feet on the ground. We are leaving. The grass type nodded, disappearing into the sky once more. Hatterene crawled away, but turned before Cecilia decided to leave. And onest thing. Tell Grace Pastel that she has good friends. ¡ª "Thank Arceus, it''s over," Pauline whined. "We definitely need to report this to the Rangers. I don''t want anyone else to be a victim of Hatterene''s sick games." "Guys¡­" Cecilia said. "I think she knew Grace." "What?"Denzel yelled. "She told me to tell Grace that she has good friends before she left," she continued. "I think they came across each other while she was traveling through the route." "Arceus," he sighed. "We''ll have to ask her about it when we get to Veilstone. At least itsoundslike she was friendly with her." "By the way," Pauline asked. "How did you know what the hell that even was? I''d never even heard of a Hatterene before." "I used to want one a few years back. I had one on my list." Pauline wheezed. "Ofcourseyou did."
Chapter 179 Chapter 179 CHAPTER 179 Like every Ranger Station in cities, Veilstone''s had been built somewhere near the gate. It had only taken ten minutes for the Rangers to take me, and I was immediately taken to a neat office room that looked like the one I''d been in back when I had told them about catching Sunshine. There was a simple metallic desk, aputer monitor that looked like it was from the 90s, and two chairs in front of it, where I currently sat. I could see Veilstone out of his window. It was a city of concrete, stocky buildings, and the sky was clouded by pollution. There was a reason Be hated the city. Veilstone was known for its heavy industry and was probably the worst offender of city expansion. Even Hearthome, Jubilife and Sunyshore knew to control themselves. Oreburgh was polluted as well, but it was small and self-contained within a valley. Veilstone had none of the charming architecture that other ces were known for, and its noxious air could easily spread to the other routes. Only Snowpoint looked worse than this, and that was because of its harsh environment. The same Ranger leader that had spoken to me sat down with a heavy sigh. He was probably having a terrible day. "Let''s get started. You can call me Ranger or Mr. Gibbs. Can I see your ID first?" "You know who I am," I said. "But you pretend not to?" "They''re just the rules. Procedure. I have to verify your identity no matter how obvious it is." I paused. "Fine." I handed it to him and he mulled over it, his eyes drifting over the card. "Thank you, Ms. Pastel. I''m going to need you to sign something¡ª just an oath that you''re telling the truth. Again, procedure." I nodded as he handed me the paper and a pen. While I was still capable of lying if needed, I felt like doing so would be horribly wrong just because of how ingrained Be''s teachings had been. I''d rather obscure the truth or go around it if needed. I''d called it a weakness, which had sent her into a thirty-minute rant about the superiority of fairy types and how that reputation made it easier to trick people. Good times. "So, Ms. Pastel. Can I know why you had an Arceus damned army at my gate and how the hell so many Pokemon followed you?" His tone was harsh and snappy, which I didn''t appreciate. "I told you already. They were just sending me off. I befriended them during my stay on the route." The Ranger irritatingly drummed his finger against the steel table. "Befriended hundreds of Pokemon in that short of a time?" "Yes. Just because you can''t fathom it doesn''t mean that it''s impossible," I shrugged. "I''ve done nothing illegal, and I know you can''t keep me here." "Will this happen again? Do we have to put a permanent presence on the route because of this?" "You aren''t listening to what I''m saying, and I''m starting to take offense." "What?" "They are harmless. Don''t intrude on their home because you feel insecure about having them close by inrge numbers. They know better than to attack the city." "Look, the truth of the matter is, we just want to know how youmunicated and coordinated so many Pokemon around." "I stopped and listened." He sunk slightly deeper into his chair. "Let''s move on. That Hatterene and Decidueye aren''t normally species seen in the wild in Sinnoh, and it doesn''t take much to know that they''respecial. Powerful beyond what we''d be able to contain without League backup. Do you know if¡ª" "They''re the same as the other. Harmless." "You should look at the videos going around. The Decidueye seemed calm enough, but she made some threatening faces while we spoke." "That''s just like her," I smiled fondly. "She was just feeling protective, I think." "Oh boy,"he groaned. "So you confirm that they won''t be of any danger to Veilstone? Can you be sure?" "Yes, I promise." Looking at his face, this meeting hadn''t gone the way he thought it would. He was probably going to call the League since there was no way he was going to just trust anything I said. Rangers usually did so when something too powerful struck, but he''d be out of luck there. Betrix technically hadn''t broken her deal with Cynthia by just revealing her existence. I wondered what Cynthia''s reaction to all of this would be, but unfortunately for me, there was no way to figure it out. If I had to guess, she had her head deep in Team Gctic matters, and I wasn''t about to call her. If she wanted to speak to me, she''d do it herself. Ranger Gibbs just stared at me as a heavy silence settled into the room. "Look, I''m in the League Internship Program," I said. "Cynthia invited me into the program herself. I wouldn''t do something stupid or lie about this." Arceus, it''d be so much easier if they had an empath around. We were just both wasting our time here. The Rangers'' job was to keep people safe and I had just done something very unusual, so I knew where he wasing from, but it felt like he''d just brought me here with the expectation that I was going to reveal somethingbig. Like a nned attack instead of it just being friends saying goodbye. Which made no sense anyway. If they wanted to attack, they wouldn''t have done something so obvious. But Iwasworried about something else. Not Be or Night''s safety, but what if the Rangers encroached further on the route for the sake of ''safety'' if I messed up here? I knew that I wasn''t detained and I could justleaveif he annoyed me too much, but I owed them better than that. All the Pokemon on that route. "That''s a fair point," he said, his face tightening. "Can you go more in-depth? Tell us how you ended up connecting with Hatterene and Decidueye in particr?" Well, I could answer that, at least. "They sought me out and befriended me. We spent a week off-route together with my team," I exined. "Ranger Gibbs, they really want nothing to do with Veilstone. Give them the benefit of the doubt here. They''re both just living their lives and¡ª look, they haven''t endangered any trainers either, right? Route 215 is weird, but it''s certainly nowhere near the most deadly route. It''s actually one of the safest." "I see your point," he nodded after a pause. "We''ll let you go." "You had no right to detain me in the first ce," I shrugged. "Erm, sorry. What will you do now?" "Keep a few more guards posted at the end of the route and see if whatever happened with you happens again," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. I smiled. That was basically the best I was going to get. "Thank you. Uh, I know I kind of sprung this whole thing onto you, but I really did only tell the truth." He irritatingly waved his hand at me. "Go. Have a good day." I stood up and left as Be''sints about human encroachment rang inside of my head. It might not have been much, but today, I had helped the wild Pokemon of route 215. ¡ª Veilstone was an ugly amalgamation of concrete and cement, but it also had a surprising amount of Pokemon out and about. Every city had a number of Pokemon that walked the street, but Veilstone especially so, and a lot of them did so without a trainer by their side. A Machoke curiously stared at me, and I dipped my head in return. Even though Pokemon would only feel a link to me in forests, it seemed like they could all sense there was something different about me. I grabbed my phone as I walked past a set of massive warehouses that must have altogether been the size of Floaroma. The port to Veilstone''s northeast exported the majority of what they produced in the city and imported goods from abroad. There were a few messages from people. Louis'' group and Justin saying that they''d made it to the city almost a week ago, but alsoEmilia. I felt a burst of excitement. I hadn''t seen her in what felt like a lifetime. Denzel, Pauline and Cece had apparently just entered route 215 as well, so they''d be here within the week. Knowing Be, she''d probably subject them to some kind of weird test, but I''d secured their safe passage, so I wasn''ttooworried. Chase was also here, but he''d already signed up to battle Maylene. I probably wasn''t going to have enough time to see his battle in two days. Justin, for his part, didn''t want to meet. It was a miracle he''d even sent a text at all. I couldn''t help but feel hurt when remembering how he used to be, but there was nothing I could do. Shiftry was already dead. I spotted the League''s office where I''d have to get my Carry License, and I also tried to find the League Trainer that was supposed to be tailing me, but to no avail. "I guess they''d be bad at their job if I could find them," I muttered. "They''ll probably talk to me at leastonce." Because of the people behind the line of Rangers that had filmed me, the news of what I''d done at the edge of the route was already spreading and Melody had already attempted to contact me numerous times. Before talking to her though, I decided to find a Pokemon Center to room there andshower. Being in the wild was nice, but there were only so many times that I could wash with a wet cloth without feeling dirty. Plus, a general check-up for my Pokemon was in order. I sent a message to the group chat to let them know I was safe, and a flurry of responses arrived immediately. Luckily for me, they didn''t know about what had happened at the route yet, but they definitely would within the hour. I arrived at the Center the closest to the gym, since I assumed that was where everyone was. After giving my Pokemon away and ignoring the stares as I had learned to do by now, I finally entered the quiet of my room and showered. Veilstone wasloudafter getting used to the muffled sounds of route 215. The car horns, the hum of the city, the people talking, it was all overwhelming but I didn''t let it show. My room was the same as usual except it was slightly older fashioned, with a ceiling fan instead of air conditioning. It wasn''t like I''d need it anyway because of how cold it was. I had a view of the gym, which was as massive as always. Therge stadium stood on an elevated part of the city''s southwest, and it was themed orange. I would do my research soon, but not today. The first thing I had to do was call Melody and assuage her worries. The Poketch Company was definitely angry with what I''d done, and it could easily be spun negatively. It could also be spun positively, though. "Eleven missed calls, huh," I sighed. "Must have gotten grilled by her bosses." I clicked on her name, and she picked up immediately. "Grace! Finally, I''ve been trying to reach you since you entered Veilstone!" Her voice was confident, but there was also a hint of anxiety. They were probably tired of me being so unpredictable. "Sorry. I needed to speak to the Rangers and get to a Center first," I said. "I know what you''re calling about, and I''ll tell you what I told them. The wild Pokemon didn''t hurt anyone and just wanted to say their goodbyes. They''re friends." "Legendaries,"she exhaled."It''s my job to work with you, and I feel like I''ve failed." "It isn''t that big of a deal, Melody. It''s probably going to be out of the news cycle in a few days." "You''re right. I think that this is actually good and that we can exploit this, and some of my colleagues do so as well, but we have to run it to the head of the sponsorship department, but he has his bosses upstairs breathing down his neck as well. He wanted to shake things up by working with you, but you''re actually doing that too much." "And he''sshing out at you because of it. I can tell that you''re tired." The liaison manager paused."We''re obviously not going to drop you. If there''s one thing you''re good at, it''s staying in the news, and that''s more promotion for us. Clearly this girl-next-door thing isn''t working though, so we''ll have to go back to the drawing board. Just¡­ be normal for a little while so we can regroup. Fight a few battles, win against Maylene and do some of those online promotions I''ve sent you, okay? I''ll keep in touch. I have a few ideas of how to spin this, but I have to convince the men in suits first. If they approve, I''ll talk to you about it." "I will. Sorry, again. I''ll pay you back someday." "It''s okay. I know that you''re trying your best." "One other question. I had a n to battle trainers above my level, and that implies losing, probably publicly. Is that okay?" "Yes, obviously that''s okay, but try not to go overboard with the losses. If you could limit yourself to one or two trainers to improve, we''d like that." That was¡­ not ideal. Losing against different styles of battling would make me improve faster. "I''ve put you in a lot of trouble, so that''s fair," I resigned. I owed her this, at least. She hung up the call, and Iy down on my soft bed until my phone blew up again. News had spread, and my friends wanted to meet for an exnation. Unfortunately, they were outside, and League Protection or not, I wasn''t going to go out without my family there in case things went south, so I asked them toe. Time passed slowly as excitement budded and flourished inside of me, but thirty minutester, they arrived. Emilia''s forceful knocks nearly broke down my door and she tackled me into a hug as Mira, Maeve and Louis entered the room. Her chestnut hair was shorter and wavier than before, only going down to her neck. "Emi!" Iughed. "I missed you so much!" She stared at me with tears in her eyes and sniffled. "Me too. It was lonely without you guys! I''ve been here for a week and a half!" "Where''s Vincent?" I asked, staring at the others. Louis looked as tired as always, his Combee flying overhead. One of the faces stuck out its tongue at me, but the others just stared, whispering at each other as they analyzed me. "Noting. He said that he''s sticking to Hearthome until he at least gets into the second round of a Contest. So the top sixteen." "Your friend''s turned into a badass coordinator, by the way," Mira said. "She''s been in the top sixteen twice." Mira appeared to be better, but there was no way for me to know if that was how she really felt or not. Her lips stretched into a child-like smile as she offered me a warm greeting. "I never seem to make it past the battle rounds, though," Emilia smiled awkwardly. "Wait, youmadeit?" I gasped. "Emi¡ª that''s great! Why didn''t you tell us? You didn''t even send a text about it. Pauline''s going to be livid." "I wanted it to be a surprise. I have a few others too. Plus, with everything you guys went through at Sceon, bragging about Contests didn''t seem appropriate," she said. "Come on. You''re our friend, you deserve to celebrate things too," Maeve said. "Right Louis?Louis!" "Yes. Obviously," he nodded. After a brief pause, he stared at me. "Grace, we heard about what happened on route 215. What in the world was that?" "It''s not as crazy as you think it is." Mira doubled over and wheezed. "E¡ªexcuse me? Girl just walks up to a gate with a ton of Pokemon and acts like it''s not crazy?" "Well okay, itmightbe a little crazy," I acknowledged. I chewed on my following words and considered what to say. I didn''t exactly feel like going in-depth about the old legend of the boy with the Plume because of howunbelievableit was in the first ce. Plus, they already knew I had a knack for understanding Pokemon, although it had probably grown past their expectations. "Be¡ª Hatterene found me while I was traveling through the route after I let some wild Pokemon under an overhang with me, fed them and healed an injured Ponyta," I exined. "Err, from there, she and Decidueye kind of took me under her wing." I breathed a sigh of relief. Betrix would definitely scold me if I gave her name out like that. Nightstalker definitely wouldn''t care, though. "What does that mean?" Maeve said. "She taught me and Princess a bunch of stuff. It was a lot of fun." "So let me get this straight," Emilia exhaled. "You go and befriend aHatterene, which are known to be incredibly dangerous and she bes yourteacher?" "Well, also a friend," I added. "And don''t forget about Night." "Night?" Louis asked. "Oh, Decidueye, sorry. I got used to calling them by name." "Take a look," Mira smirked, showing me her phone. It was a video of me taken by a trainer in the gate and posted on the forums. "You''re the talk of town." "Right, it still doesn''t exin the whole wild Pokemon swarm," Emi nodded. I held back a shiver as I heard the sound of my recorded voice. "This is going to sound a little crazy," I said. They allughed. "I''m serious. Keep this a secret for now." I didn''t know howit was for titles to be given out to trainers, and I wanted to at least wait until I spoke to Cynthia again to reveal that entire thing. I waited for them to agree, and started again. "Hatterene gave me this title that makes Pokemon in forests look to me as a friend, so they came together to say goodbye." "Title¡­?" Maeve muttered. All four looked somewhat confused. "I know, it sounds weird, but it''s true," I said. "I traveled alone to figure myself out, and that was exactly what I got from my time with her." Emilia sighed. "I still can''t believe the stuff you all get up to sometimes, but I''m happy for you." "Thank you. And by the way, how are your Pokemon?!" I asked her. It''d been so long since I''d seen Beldum, Aipom and Rockruff. "They must have grown a lot with how you''re this big deal coordinator now." "Well, I wouldn''t call myself a big deal," she shyly said. "I''m no rising star, but I''m good." I blinked. I''d usually never seen Emilia this confident. Her voice had beensteadfastwhen saying it. "I don''t know if you''ve seen, but I managed to catch Antoine Nguyen''s old links to Team Gctic. He was someone the League had missed, which is where most of my fame came from. I''ve got¡­ three hundred thousand subscribers. I''m doing pretty good." "Told you she was badass," Mira said. "Hey, tell her how you caught him." "Arceus, don''t make it sound so crazy. I was looking for corruption first¡­ there were rumors about him altering his scores for people he liked and disliked, but they''d never been substantial. I managed to sneak into his office at night and looked through until I found some old documents linking him to some weird packagingpany that I had never even heard about, and Iknowbusiness. Thatscreamedshellpany to me, so I looked deeper until I found out the whole entire thing was fake¡­ that was the extent of my involvement, really. I warned Fantina about it, and it turned out that was a Team Gctic shellpany, so they caught him. People keep saying it was me who did it, like I confronted him or something. Metang pointed me in the right direction, and Vincent helped a lot with research¡ª" "Wait, you saidMetang?" I gasped. She bit her lip. "Well dang it, my surprise is ruined, isn''t it?" "Youhaveto show him to me!" I demanded. "I bet you have something crazy like a new Pokemon too." "Or some new evolutions," Mira added. "That is¡­ scarily perspective," she said. She opened her purse, pulling out four Pokeballs. She teased us, releasing only her original three. Her white and golden Metang appeared as pristine as ever, his red eyes shing in surprise as he saw me. I had seen a few in the Sceon tournament, but I''d never really beencloseto one. "Long time no see!" I said, expecting some words back. He stayed silent, however, opting to simply bow using his entire body. "Metang''s a little shy. Well, I call him he, but he has two brains," she said. "It gets a little confusing when they both talk to me at once." "Metang are actually real interesting," Mira mused. She touched at the cold steel, and the psychic type let out an eerie mechanic resonance in irritation. "They can either form naturally after a Beldum''s psychic powers are put under enough stress andforcesitself to split in two to add to those powers, or when two Beldum meet in the wild and decide to fuse into one being. It makes ''em more likely to survive. A lot of Pokemon eat steel where they live." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "I assume you went with the first option?" "Yeah¡­ it was when I got into my second top sixteen during my first Grand Contest. I, uh, got crushed. Temperance''s Dragonair and Meowsticbo destroyed mein style, but Metang still evolved, so I wasn''t too sad." She is lying. She cried. I almost jumped in surprise at the voice. "Metang! You''re so annoying!" The steel type didn''t care to entertain Emilia''s antics. She released Ambipom as she grumbled under her breath. "Ambi. Say hello." The monkey greeted the entire room with a snicker, then presented one of his tails to Louis. "He wants you to shake it," I said. Louis looked to Emilia, who nodded. Louis brought his hand forward, but Ambipom sneakily stole his Poketch from his backpocket while he was doing so. He quickly tried to grab it back, but the normal type jumped over the desk, hanging onto the ceiling fan as sheughed and looked through his phone. "Ambi! Give it back!" Unfortunately for her, it was locked behind a code. Ambipom''s grin twisted downward as he threw the phone back at Louis'' face. The poor man just couldn''t catch a break. "I''m so sorry, he''s been getting more and more mischievous," Emilia apologize, helping the blond man up. Ambipom stuck out his tongue and spun himself around on the ceiling fan until Metang clicked annoyingly and grabbed him with a Confusion. "Thank you, Metang. I promise he''s not always like this. He was my first evolution. It happened a little before the Sceon tournament started during one of our training sessions after he learned Double Hit." "He seems fun enough," Mira said, much to Maeve''s annoyance."What?" "Read the room." "It''s okay. I just hope he''ll mature soon," Emilia said. Ambipom shook his head. She released Lycanroc next. He''d grown a lot, but still had that light brown fur. His lean muscles flexed and his rocky fur rustled as hezily stretched across the floor. "Lycan''s the same as always." I crouched, petting the rough fur around his neck and he flopped on his back with his tongue hanging out. I obliged him and rubbed his belly instead. "He''s been a huge help raising my new Pokemon. Without him, she''d be like Ambi already." "Enough teasing, just show it to us already," Mirained with a childlike pout. "Well, you can''t me a coordinator for enjoying the spectacle alittlebit," she smirked. Her new Pokemon was a small yellow fox with red fluffing out of her ears that I immediately recognized as a Fennekin. She was pretty young, if I had to guess, with how she quickly hid behind Lycanroc, Ambipom and Emilia. Maeve was over the moon, though, and she desperately tried to pet the little Pokemon. Fennekin''s eyes settled on me, and I could tell she that shefeltmy title. She only spent a few seconds doing so, though, and quickly returned to dodging Maeve''s advances. "I got her as an apology gift from my parents," she said with a pained smile. "That was always how they thought I worked, and they haven''t changed at all." "Your parents are in Hearthome?" Louis asked. "Hmhm. They desperately want me to go back to the meek little girl I was before, most likely because they canfeeltheir control over me slip. I knew it was bad when they didn''t blow up at me when I told them I was pan and dating Pauline." "Well, at least you told them, right?" Louis said. "Imagine telling your old self that." "I know, right? But you know¡­ I still love them, and they''re trying, I guess. And I''m happy that they gave me Fennekin, even if I wished they''d let me do my own thing. Butanyway, enough doom and gloom. You''ve got to go more in-depth with this Hatterene business! What''d she teach you?" "Well, let me go back to the beginning. First, she scared thecrapout of me¡­"
Chapter 180 Chapter 180 CHAPTER 180 Telling my friends about Betrix in-depth kind of made me realize how abnormal the entire experience had been. Maeve looked pale throughout the tale, especially when telling her about her Moonsts which hadn''t even been at full power. Louis and Emilia were just nervous, but Mira was actually quite interested in Be''s capabilities, especially the perfect barriers she easily created that were of better quality than even the ones in the gyms. She was interested in replicating them with her Kadabra and Kirlia, but without her direct teaching, she was out of luck. Be already despised her psychic side and did the bare minimum with that power, only using it to shield herself or move things around. If I had to guess, she probably did know powerful psychic attacks, but she would never use them unless she was forced to. They all stuck around my room for two hours or so until Maeve and Louis decided to go out and train. Maeve was trying to get her Monferno to evolve before challenging Maylene while Louis was introducing his Combee to battling, so they could cooperate with each other during training. I was sure that they''d battle against Maylene before me because of time concerns. They''d already spoken about spending very little time in the city in the first ce to go to Sunyshore right away. Plus, Maeve had her flying license to work on. Her Staraptor was absolutely massive and could very easily carry her far, but that would imply splitting from her group. They''d have to talk about it soon. Mira, Emilia and I weren''t that concerned. Mira and I because it was just February 10th and there was still plenty of time, and Emilia because she didn''t exactly care about ribbons. She just wanted to improve this year, and from her fantastic performanceting her the top sixteen twice, she was quickly bing a great coordinator. "Mira, did Denzel talk to you about the Game Corner stuff?" I asked. "You guys are going to the Game Corner?" Emi said as she typed away on her phone. "I wouldn''t step anywhere close to that building. The casino always wins." "Way to be a downer," Mira rolled her eyes. "He did message me. I actually went inside to scout a little bit. It''s not like I have much money to y with, but it''ll be good to at least know how the games work and if we can figure out a way to cheat." "Cheat?" I frowned. "Yeah, no need to make that face. They''ve got an Obstagoon as a bouncer that''ll detect any kind of bullshit you have going on and psychics inside that patrol the entire premises, so that option''s off the table. Denzel wanted to do it by the books anyway¡­ so I don''t think I''ll manage to get my Porygon." "Oh, you want a Porygon?" Emi asked. "I haven''t really seen them used in battle. You hear a lot about them being produced in Sunyshore, though." "Yeah, they mostly live inputers, but they cane out too and get inside Pokeballs," she said before grinning. "There''s a lot of funky stuff you can do with them. Bummer I probably won''t win." "Eh, I mean, you won''t know until you try, right?" I said, trying to cheer her up. "I do know, and that''s alright. I was thinking of just going all in with all of my savings on one spin," sheughed, throwing her head back. Emilia''s mouth gaped. "You''re crazy." "Well, some might say it''s the quickest path to the 750k I need to buy myself a Porygon. Fuckers inte the hell out of that price for profit, by the way. It''s nowhere near as expensive to code one. Anyway, we''ll see when the big boy himself gets there. Hopefully he''s not getting grilled by your fairy friend." "He''ll be fine. They all will," I firmly said. "Err, Mira, how are you doing beyond all of your Game Corner ns?" I knew from the moment that she''d stepped into this room that she hadn''t given up on finding Charon. In fact, I suspected that she hadn''t only snooped around the Game Corner. If the League couldn''t find that Team Gctic base, I doubted that she could. Still, I didn''t want to talk about that with Emilia here, so I would just ask about her mental health for now. The pink-haired girl silently stared at me and pursed her lips. "Been doing great," she said, innocently lifting her hands in the air. "I''m not as sad as usual, and that''s a win in my book. I''m focused on other things right now." Other things like her uncle, I guessed. Even if part of me internally screamed that she had the right to look for Charon, the rational part of me worried for her safety. "Okay. Well, so long as you''re sure of what you want." "I think justing somewhat close to achieving my goal would unwind a lot of tension that''s been building up," she smirked. "Are you speaking in code right now? Because it feels like you''re speaking in code," Emilia frowned. "What, of course not!" Mira said in a very sarcastic way. "Anyway, I''ve been trying to meet up with Chase, but he''s ignored all of my texts. I can''t find him in a city this big." "Wait, you''re still on that? I thought you were just pretending?" I scoffed. "What? Obviously not!" She yelled. "Have you seen him? Anyway, I''m off." My face fell. "Already? I thought you were gonna hang." "No, I''ve been trying to teach myself how to code and progressing leaps and bounds. Think of it as a n B for my Porygon," she eximed as she closed the door. "Then why would you spend everything you have on one spin?!" Emilia groaned. "Arceus, this girl is crazy." "A little," I nervouslyughed. I had no idea how to even begin to code, but I did know that creating Porygon was among the most challenging tasks out there. There was just no way that she was going to seed in a few weeks what took most people years. If Kadabra had been interested in coding, then maybe, but he wasn''t, and from what she''d told us about the species, they weren''t about to do something they didn''t want to, even if it was to help their trainer. I spent a few hours talking to Emilia about everything and anything, although it was mostly me asking about her contest stuff. She''d made a few friends aside from Vincent in the scene mostly through her influencer stuff, and an entric judge had taken an interest in her. Like always, just the judge stuff just didn''t seem right to me. If a judge took an interest in someone, how could we be sure that they wouldn''t be biased in their scores? Well, even Emilia wasn''t so sure anymore, but all she could do was keep going. She was having the most fun she''d ever had in her entire life. This was what she''d always wanted to do. But I had things to do myself as well. First and foremost, my team needed direction. After picking up my Pokemon from Nurse Joy and bidding Emilia goodbye, I decided to go down south toward route 214. I had considered going back to route 215 on the off-chance of seeing Be again, but something told me the rangers wouldn''t take too kindly to my presence there. Veilstone''s south was actually very prettypared to the hulking factories of the northern side. The further south I went, the more expansive and big the homes looked. I made my way through a sprawlingwork of suburbs until I reached the city''s gate and went through, although some Rangers there did shoot me a look and whispered behind my back like children. It seemed like I was building a pretty bad reputation with them, or at least the ones in and around Veilstone. I''d remember their faces¡ª "Arceus. That''s the Betrix in me speaking." No, there was no need to feel that antagonistic. Most of them were just kids slightly older than me. Younger rangers tended to be stationed in Sinnoh''s east due to how much safer it was. It was difficult topare the cozy ins of route 214 with the rugged Iron Ind, Mount Cor, or Eterna Forest, and trainers oftenined about the double standard. A few close brushes with death would let them know how immature they were being, but they''d most likely have to wait a few years for that. Yes. An appropriate price, even if I wasn''t the one collecting. "Woah," I gasped as I exited the gate. Route 214 was truly stunning, especially on a bright day like this one. To my right were mountains taller than the ones I''d had to scale on the previous route, but still paled whenpared to the towering Mount Cor, ever present in the far distance and dwarfing thempletely. Beyond the smaller mountains was Sceon, which I''d be able to see if I climbed them. There was no way in hell I was going to do that, though. The beginning of route 214 actually had a road. Not just a dirt path or a trail, but a fully paved road that stretched on beyond the horizon. Civilians driving there wasn''t allowed, but Pastoria, Veilstone and Sunyshore transported a lot of their goods through trucking, so some freightpanies had the right to use the road. Other than that, it was reserved for government use. There were trainers almost everywhere, but no Pokemon to be seen. I felt a twinge of pain at the notion that they''d been kicked out of theirnd, but I didn''t dwell on it. I made my way west toward the ridge''s nk, where I''d be able to get some peace and quiet. It felt good to be out of the city. It wasn''t like I didn''t like cities, I just disliked Veilstone in particr. The tension with Mira, Team Gctic, the League and the fact that it was polluted to all hell just made the entire city unpleasant to be in. There really ought to be some regtions on how much greenhouse gases a city was allowed to emit¡­ I released my entire family with a wide smile, and they all returned the gesture in their own ways. Jellicent boomed, his eyes softening slightly at my touch. Cold water dripped down my arm and then onto the ground. Pupitar yelled happily, but there was also a loud crack when she jumped in ce. She was currently molting for the first time, which mean she''d grow a few inches when she was fully done. Her rocky armor appeared weaker than usual, and the few cracks that revealed the new one within showed that it was a lot shinier than what she currently had. It glimmered under the sun and had a slight blue tint to it, while her current one was just a dull grey. It was also slightly soft to the touch, but I knew that''d go away a few hours after she was done moltingpletely. Well, I''d go easy on her today and allow her to eat the rocks here and molt in peace. It had started a few days ago while we were still with Be, and she hated the entire process. ording to her, it made her feel dirty, as if she wasn''t crawling around dirt all day. Not that I said that, though. She''d make a whole scene otherwise. Electabuzz grinned, happy to be back out of his ball. After greeting me, he teased Sweetheart by making fun of her half-molted form, and the rock type threw a tantrum by jumping up and down. The ground shook under my feet, but Angel quickly helped by wrapping a vine around me. "You knew she''d do that, didn''t you?" I groaned. The electric type proceeded to bellyugh until he was out of breath. It really wasn''t that funny, but I couldn''t help but giggle too. Much to my annoyance, Turtonator encouraged her, yelling at her to bring down the entire mountain. Thankfully, Sweetheart stopped after a few vines from Angel soothed her by caressing the little crevasse between the jagged spikes on her head. We both knew it was her favorite spot. "You rx and eat, okay? I''ll see about getting you your special food when Ie back to speed up your evolution," I said. I still had to look at the prices in-depth to see how much I''d be able to get while still saving for a Shiny Stone. Sweetheart let out an echoing roar from within her cocoon. "When we get to Sunyshore, I''ll see about letting you swim. Veilstone is close to the water, but it doesn''t really have beaches. So just hang in there, okay?" She begrudgingly agreed. She was cute when she acted spoiled like that. Princess was spoiled too, but it was a different kind. She just wanted me to give her most of my attention, which was evident with how she''d immediately asked to be picked up when I released her. Meanwhile, while Sweetheart did demand attention, she mostly wanted everything that caught her eye no matter how unrealistic it was, and that was reinforced by how Sunshine kept telling her that yes, that was an entirely reasonable way to think. Yeah¡­ I had two spoiled girls, and it was entirely on me. At least Honey was reasonable despite enjoying pushing Pupitar''s buttons. I ced my hands behind my back and walked back and forth between my team as they formed a line. "Listen up everyone! Our time with Be might have been very productive, but we can''t rest on oururels! You''ve all improved leaps and bounds, but there are still plenty of ring weaknesses we need to address before the fight with Maylene¡ª Sunshine, pay attention. This is good for team cohesion even if you aren''t fighting. You want to beat Night, right?" The dragon''s nose red, but he turned back my way. It was crazy how quickly he just found a spot to lie down when he was toozy to walk anywhere for more than an hour. My eyes drifted toward Sweetheart''s mouth, and I saw Angel sneakily bringing herrge pebbles and rocks so she wouldn''t have to move around too much. I silently thanked him by dipping my head and kept going. "She''s a fighting type gym leader, and even though I haven''t done my research yet, I know that implies fighting at close quarters. Angel, remember what happened to you and Lucario?" The grass type''s vines instinctively retracted further into his body. "Right? That was scary. I don''t think we''ll have to fight a Vacuum Wave user again, but since Maylene''s Pokemon are fighting types, I think that they''ll have a lot of ways to rip out your vines and escape from Bind. That means that we''re going to focus on long-range attacks for this gym. Leech Seed, your powder moves¡ª we''ll add Sleep Powder to that mix, by the way. If we had enough time, we could get started on Sr Beam, but that''s a long way off without a TM, so we''ll stick to that for now. If you can weaken them enough with those moves, they''ll have a harder time countering your vines." The grass type nodded and happily petted my head by extending one of his hand-vines and tightening the one he already had around my ankle. I needed to take what had caused Chase to beat me into ount, so adding onto Angel''s toolkit was a must. "Princess, you''re going to y a huge role. Keep practicing with Dazzling Gleam and Moon st. I know you want to get better with mour, but we''ll work on the fundamentals first." Togetic nodded but noted that Be would be very angry hearing that. "She would," I acquiesced. "But her mind doesn''t work with time constraints. She''s centuries old, and I don''t exactly know how long Hatterene live for, but she seems to think she can keep going for a long while. We just think about these things differently," I exined to her. Togetic sagely nodded, adding that Be wouldn''t care about losing to Maylene anyway. "Exactly. You''re gonna pack a punch at the gym, just keep working on what Be told you," I said. "Now Sweetheart, you can take it easy today¡ª hey, don''t start yelling, I haven''t even finished yet! Tomorrow, you''re going to work on your precision with your flight. Fighting types are strong enough to crack your cocoon, but Be taught us that the type advantage isn''t everything. No Pokemon would be able to shrug off 350 pounds flying at them. Add Iron Defense onto that, and you''re one of the biggest threats as long as you''ve got air stored in your vents." She shivered in excitement, letting out a burst of air that kicked up a bunch of dust in Honey''s face, which was something she took great pleasure in. The electric type looked at me andined, but he had made fun of her earlier, so he owed her at least this. But he definitely wouldn''t like hearing what I was going to say next. "Honey, this gym is kind of your biggest weakness," I started. "I''ll still use you, obviously¡ª the fight''s going to be five-on-five, but Maylene''s Pokemon will be better than you at closebat. We''ve kind of been neglecting your ranged attacks, so we''ll start working extensively on those again for the gym. If you can''t beat them at their own game, then change the way you y. Was that the saying? I forgot." My Pokemon looked at me confusedly. Right, if I didn''t know the saying, there was no way they''d know. "So keep working on Thunderbolt, Discharge and Protect for when you''re in a pinch," I said. "But you know, since we''re trying to impress Volkner next, your long-term project will be working on Thunder." His eyes glimmered at the move''s name. "I don''t think it''s realistic for you to expect to learn it in time for the fight. You''ll need to essentially tire yourself out by draining out all of your electricity over and over to build up the amount of electricity you can store, so it goes hand in hand with your training. Remember when you could only use a few Thunderbolts, but now you can use a whole lot? It''s basically like that¡ª like working out." I patted him on the shoulder and then moved on to Jellicent. "Bud, you''re obviously working on Night Shade," I started. "But we''ve been neglecting your water sidetely. Whirlpool is good, but it''s easily countered unless you''re fighting something in a water arena. It''s about time we get you decked out with something stronger than Water Pulse." Jellicent silently stared and awaited my following words. "On one hand, we''ve got Hydro Pump. On the other, we''ve got Water Spout. These techniques are extremely demanding and they''ll drain you of most of your water right away. Hydro Pump is like a much more powerful Water Gun that can cut through just about anything. Water Spout is kind of like Honey''s Discharge. You use the water inside of you and explode it outward. I''ve seen it used in a single direction too, but that requires a lot more control. Control that you won''t have yet. I''m letting you pick which one you want to learn. Start working on both and mull over it today." He nodded, letting out a few resonating clicks. "Sunshine. Don''t look at me like that, yes, you," I groaned, yfully kicking his leg. "Stop being such azy old man. I thought Night lit a fire in you today." The fire type grumbled and closed his eyes. It was a rtively warm day today, so he wanted toze around in the sun and rest. He was clearly exasperated with me. "No new moves. You already have an incredibly diverse pool, so just stick around and stay active. Help the others when they ask for it and battle them too, okay?" He waved an annoyed hand at me and reluctantly agreed. "Great! But hey, if you really don''t want to train, don''t feel forced to. You go at your own pace." He opened a surprised eye at me and I grinned. "I know how hard it is for old Pokemon like you¡ª" I coughed as a mouthful of smoke surrounded my face. Yeah, I kind of deserved that. Well, I''d downloaded a few of Maylene''s fifth gym battles, so after coughing for what felt like an entire minute, I plopped myself down next to a rock and opened myptop. I was surprised to see that even on this route, there was inte ess. The government had really built up this side of Sinnoh. Not as much as Unova, though, since ording to Cece, they had inte and service on almost all of their routes. Well, more videos for me. After doing some shameless promotion for the Poketch Company, of course. I also posted something else. A challenge to trainers with six or seven badges in Veilstone. The board filled up with hundreds of answers immediately, and I just knew that ny percent of them were lying. "How the hell am I going to sort through this? Picture verification for proof?" I sighed and opted to go and study Maylene for now instead.
Chapter 181 Chapter 181 CHAPTER 181 People thought I was good at Pokemon Battling, and these days I tended to agree. I had grown past being a meek girl with no confidence in my skill even though I did keep that confidence level-headed. Maylene Suzuki? She was a prodigy. She was fifteen now, but she''d been a gym leader since thest Circuit, and even if the rumors about her being a puppet that simply did whatever her handlers told her to were anywhere near true, that didn''t stop the fact that her true team was good enough for her to be a Gym Leader at her age. It hadn''t been by luck, either. Maylene''s father¡ª the old Gym Leader had tutored her in Pokemon Battling from the day she could speak. The ways that she was trained were pretty hush-hush and were a tightly held secret by the Suzuki family, but I was sure that it involvedsomephysical training. The story went that Maylene''s father retired after remarrying and left the gym to her with the government''s approval thanks to her incredible skill. She''d been raised with the role in mind and had no interest in actually journeying like the majority of Gym Leaders did at least once. Another special thing about Maylene? She was an Aura user. I remembered from history ss that Aura users had been plentiful in ancient history from the many texts and primary sources from the time, which was a big part of how humanity managed to survive in olden times when there weren''t that many trainers, but these days? There were barely any left and the gene camepletely randomly. Her father or mother hadn''t been one, and neither had her grandparents. She was unique, and the only Aura user Gym Leader. No one in Elite Four or even Cynthia could draw on that power. Not that it meant much anyway. Despite the stories about some humans slinging Aura Spheres or standing toe-to-toe with Pokemon thanks to Aura in ancient times, we couldn''t do anything with it these days. It just wasn''t concentrated enough in a body to use it for anything substantial, but it wasmon knowledge that Maylene did strengthen her body with it. Not enough to face down a wild Pokemon, but enough to pretty much manhandle any human facing her without breaking a sweat. She could also do some funny light tricks with it if that counted for anything. Princess called out to me, causing me to lift my head just in time to see a Moonst crash into a boulder she''d raised. "Good job, baby! Keep going!" I praised. She chirped and excitedly flew in a loop. Training was going well, even if it had only been twenty minutes. No one was struggling with what they had to do. Angel was practicing the range of his powder moves, Buddy was trying to figure out how to forcefully expunge the huge amount of water needed for Hydro Pump or Water Spout. Honey was already panting, having released an incredible amount of electricity. Uh, Sweetheart was trying to ram into Sunshine further down the route and he was easily avoiding her antics by turning and exploding on impact. I''d grown so used to the explosions at this point that they didn''t really bother me either, but trainers nearby might think differently. Hopefully they wouldn''t investigate and bother them. Maylene''s threats were plenty, but the ones who caught my eye immediately was Lucario. At first, I thought that she''d been using heraceand starter against some poor guy with four badges, but as it turned out, she owned two. This one had recently evolved at the start of this year and knew Vacuum Wave, so I had jinxed myself and Angel. I groaned, putting a palm against my forehead. "Just my luck." If I had to ce Lucario somewhere, it''d be slightly better than Chase''s. Having evolved months ago meant that it was a lot more confident with its movements in battle than Ri had been, and it was also slightly stronger across the board with a wider variety of moves like the elemental punches¡ª and kicks. I thought Buddy or Princess would be a good match here, but I''d have to study up what a vacuum would do to a being made out ofwater. I was so tired of that damned move. I already thought that I wouldn''t have to face it again until a rematch against Ri, but s. Or maybe she wouldn''t use Lucario against me! That''d be great. "Might have jinxed myself again," I muttered. Lucario was probably what most trainers like me would consider the biggest threat, but what worried the crap out of me was actually her Falinks. It''d be like battlingsixPokemon while you only had one, and each one of them could use moves independently. Even if they were weaker than when theybined their strengths for a move, it''d be alotto keep track of. Luckily for me, there was a trick to beating them. Take down the leading Falinks, and the rest would forgo all strategy and start panicking, even with their trainer''s orders. Maylene had trained hers to keep that panic at a manageable level, but the advantage was still there. But then, something else began to catch my eye. Machoke, Mienshao, Sawk, Throh, Medicham¡­ they all had a simr way of fighting with some quirks, like Mienshao''s weird whip-things and elegant demeanor. It was as if they all trained together as a unit rather than as individuals. On one hand, it made studying for most fights easier, but on the other, I was just getting into what made Maylene special as a battler. First, most of her Pokemon at my level could use Aura to some extent. Medicham and Lucario were known aura users, but Machoke? Throh? That wasnew, and I bet that she and her ace Lucario had something to do with that. For example, her Mienshao could coat its whips with Aura to increase how powerful its hits were, and Hariyama''s Force Palm also used Aura. Normally, for Pokemon that weren''t Lucario or other known Aura users, Force Palm was just a powerful shock wave, so it was a pretty mediocre move. Unfortunately, Maylene wasn''t normal. I''d have to do some more studying on Aura after figuring out her shtick. She was a veryintensetrainer. Yelled out all of her orders like it was thest one of the battle and didn''t take well to ''dishonorable'' tactics, so there was a dash of Pauline there. The problem was that she''d actually start to go harder in the battle if she felt like you used too many dirty tricks. A proper Gym Leader could stay impartial, but she was a teenager, which meant that she got emotional easily. Ugh, look at me, psychoanalyzing her, I groaned. It seemed that like Chase, she was a fast-paced battler that was quick to punish any mistakes, but her Pokemon also knewhumanfighting techniques. Before going on this journey, I''d had this image in my mind about fighting types being Pokemon that justhit things hard, but it was apparent that all of her humanoid Pokemon had been personally trained by her, or her father before her. I licked my dry lips when a video of a Zebstrika struggling in Machoke''s clinch yed. The poor electric type had been locked up and the life out of it squeezed until it fainted. Its trainer had been out of switches. If I ever let one of her Pokemon approach mines, the battle was over. Only Jellicent, who was able to liquefy his body would be safe. A single sound escaped from my lips. "Ah." I felt a fire ignite in my heart and clenched a fist. I could already tell that this wasn''t going to be like the Fantina battle. This was going to be incredibly difficult and one mistake could cost me the entire battle. Maylene was a prodigy. ¡ª "Gonna have to watch for Stone Edge¡­ ugh, this sucks. I think Princess can stop that attack¡­" I muttered as I chewed on my nails. Maylene was a real tough nut to crack. Whereas with previous Gym Leaders, I''d been able to naturally create a n for every Pokemon, there was just no way to besurewhat I was doing would work here¡ª well, I''d never beensureabout these gym battles, but the scaffolding for my ns felt a lot shakier here than what I''d done against Gardenia, Candice and Fantina. Hopefully I''d be able to remedy that with how much I''d improved at improvisation. Denzel would definitely have an easier time in this gym than Cece or I thanks to Fross and Sylveon''s ribbons. Zweilous and Golett would be at a heavy disadvantage, the former because of the type disadvantage and thetter because of how slow and unresponsive he was. Maylene also had a few ways to counter psychics like Slowking. Talonme would be her best bet, being fast enough to dodge counters like Stone Edge or Rock Tomb. I ced myptop down and hugged my knees. I missed her. Chase would struggle as well because of how much focus he''d put on close-ranged battles. I was already starting to feel the excitement build up, but I wouldn''t sign up just yet. First, I had to get back to this trainer battle business. There were thousands of responses, and I didn''t feel like browsing through them and verifying who was real or not, so I created a new message telling people to DM me pictures of the badges on their trainer ID. That did the trick, and the thousands of messages suddenly narrowed down to sixteen. Eleven people with six badges and five with seven. It was fun to see the different paths that they''d all taken. Almost all of them were missing Maylene''s badge, since they were in Veilstone, but they all had different badges. One of them even beat Candice as their sixth badge. Now, I could either pick a six-badger or a seven-badger, but I still didn''t know what I wanted. On one hand, I didn''t really want to getpletely dominated, but on the other, I felt like I''d be able to get more valuable advice from someone with seven badges. "Screw it. Seven badges it is." The person I replied to was a second-year called Zachary Gagher. My standards may have been screwed by being surrounded by so many talented first-years, but getting that many badges during your second year still meant that you were averygood trainer. I didn''t know if I shouldmit and research everything I could find, try to improvise or do a bit of both. But if Iwastrying to get better, it''d be a good idea toe at him at my best. That meant intensive research. I nodded to myself, content with the decision. Zachary¡ª although he told me to call him Zach¡ª had lost to Maylene for his eighth badge recently. ording to him, he''d saved her forst because he thought she''d be the easiest Gym Leader to battle for an eighth badge, but he''d lost 4-6. As a result, he was stuck in Veilstone for the next two weeks. He''d be able to battle me in two days when his team was healed. Okay, that had been a lot easier to set up than I thought. I messaged Melody to let her know what I was doing and went back to studying. Apparently being suddenly shoved into a vacuum would make Buddy''s head expand and boil until a decent bit of his body evaporated, so that wasfun. IhatedVacuum Wave. ¡ª It was evening when I made my way back to Veilstone. My Pokemon were all exhausted from training and they deserved a good night''s rest, so I was nning on going to the Center right away to let them rx there. On my way back, I actually walked across a mansion with dozens of League Trainers guarding the ce, and it was only then that I remembered that Cecilia''s dad was currently being kept in Veilstone while under house arrest. I felt my lips twist into a smile as I walked past his home. He got what he deserved. Jellicent shadowed me the entire way back, his form loose as hezily floated behind me. He had used a lot of water, and the route wasn''t exactly close to any rivers or the sea, so he''d have to wait to regenerate on his own. HehadSweetheart,though? She went crazy for water, and showers were no different. She finally finished molting while I washed her and partially inundated our bathroom, revealing a resplendent new cocoon. I had to throw the slimy remains of her disheveled shell in the trash. Trainersnevertold you this when they brandished their Tyranitar. Today had felt like an entire week, and after chatting with my friends through text, I eventually drifted off to sleep to the soft sound of Turtonator speaking to Jellicent through the bathroom door, bragging about the fact that he was technically still in his prime and that he''d only grow from there. He was such a kid sometimes. ¡ª I was horribly thirsty when I woke up. I let my Pokemon sleep as I grabbed some bottled water from the fridge and calmly opened up myptop. Nothing could escape Jellicent, however, and he quickly dripped under the bathroom door. A cool gust of air softly blew on my hair as he reformed behind me. "That''s new," I whispered. The water type didn''t answer. He wasn''t that talkative in the morning, not because he was tired but because he was scared of waking up everyone else. He''d been quiet as a Frillish, but he wasloudnow, even when he didn''t want to be. Today, I''d study up more on Aura and how it interacted with type energy and Pokemon in general, but first, I wanted to at least get research done on Zachary. I knew I''d lose, but I wanted to at least put up a fight. Finding his team was pretty easy. He was sponsored by a fewpanies and was pretty famous name around Floaroma¡ª his hometown. He was the best trainer from there in decades, and it felt good to see a change from the usual Sunyshore, Hearthome or Jubilife natives. "Guilty as charged," I mumbled. Maybe Denzel would eventually be a household name in Twinleaf too, although he wasn''t the only rising star from there. There was that Barry kid people couldn''t stop talking about. Either he''d never told me about him, or they hadn''t exactly known each other, which would be strange in a small town like Twinleaf. I hadn''t really pushed for information though. I whistled as I browsed through Zach''s team. He had seven Pokemon and they were obviously all fully evolved. I blinked when I saw Vespiquen, though. Those were rather rare with how weak Combee was, but I took note to ask him for tips on raising one for Louis. Today was going to be quite busy with all the studying I''d need to do, but I was still excited. It had been a while since I had researched trainers so in-depth. The morning flew by, and I only took a break to eat. While I analyzed more of Machoke''s battle to make sure that I wasn''t missing moves avable on video, I heard an irritated knock at my door. It was Chase¡­ and Mira, although I was pretty sure she was just along for the ride. "Hi?" I frowned. Mira beamed. "Chasey and I were just swinging by¡ª" "Pastel. Nice seeing you," Chase said dryly. He was annoyed as hell, and I didn''t even bother asking him how Mira had found him. His eyes settled on my desk full of notes and he dipped his head. "I''ll swing byter." "Wait, you can stay," I said, recalling my Pokemon to give them space. "What''s up?" "He''s salty he lost to that Lauren chick," Mira smugly said. "Should have seen him after the battle. He almost turnedpletely red." "Is that how you found him?" I asked. "I was just doing some investigating and I noticed that one of the arenas was packed. I haven''t left his side since." "I hate you. And the battle was close, you asshole." "You''ve stopped insulting me every sentence. It''s only every other sentence now, and I consider that a win," she cheered. "Go back to school, grow a few inches and I''ll start swinging." "Hold on, hold on," I interrupted. "You lost to Lauren Goodwill?" "Yeah. Now my team is all screwed up and I won''t be able to attend my gym battle in time tomorrow, so that''s two extra weeks in here for me." "Yay!" Miraughed. "Fuck you." "What was the score?" I asked, shivering in anticipation. "5-6. Like I said, close," he shrugged. "Well, her Sceptile barely took any damage, so you''re inting the numbers," Mira added. "What was the issue? How''d the battle evenhappen? Did you record it? What Pokemon was her biggest threat? Rhydon?" I asked in quick session. "Calm down, Arceus. I didn''t evene here to talk about how mediocre I was, I came here to tell you that she wanted to battle you too along with your pals Williams and Obel. I told her to send a text and stop bothering me, but she said that it was more appropriate this way. Normally I would have told her to fuck off and left, but I knew you''d be interested." "Not me?" Mira pouted. "No one cares about you, pest," he waved his hand dismissively. "That Lauren chick is crazy. She''s even more obsessed with battles thanyou," he pointed at me. "She has a one-track mind." "Cool. Answer my questions, please," I said. "Meh. Her Rhydon was pretty easy, and she led with it. It''s tough, but dumb as hell and Ri easily dealt with it after hitting it enough times. Aggron was a problem, though¡ª actually, all of her Pokemon are problems. I just couldn''tpete with the amount of destruction she brought onto the field, it fucking blows. Anyway, I''m off. I have to cancel my flying lessons with Sigilyph. She got pretty beat up. Then I''m gonna blow off some steam by running across the city. Fuckin'' Lauren¡­" "Okay¡­? Stay safe¡ª" "Bye-bye Chasey!" Mira waved. The fact that she wasn''t going to follow him was enough to get him to run out of the room. "You''re not following him?" I asked. "Nah. It''d be fun, but I''m busy. Hey, listen to this: my League Trainer bodyguard actually had to tell me to stop snooping around so much because it made it hard to protect me," sheughed. "I guess Iamkind of annoying." "You should stop self-destructing. Is Maeve not around?" "Oh, she''s busy training with Louis and trying to lock down where Justin is. I don''t want to involve her with this." "You''re involving her by justdoingthis," I snapped. "Stop acting crazy because you''re hurting, it''s not good for you." Mira''s eye twitched. "You don''t know what you''re talking about." "If you drag us into this and force us to have to save you¡ª" "You worry too much, Grace. You didn''t try to stop me when we were risking our lives in Sceon. Oh sure, you acted like a good old reasonable gal, straddling the middle ground, but you wanted it just as much as I did." "What are you implying?" I hissed, biting my lip. "That you''re a hypocrite. I know you want revenge on that fucked up Mars chick too, but you only act like you don''t. I know how people like youfunction. I''ve seen it." "You don''t know what you''re talking about," I mirrored her words. "I think it''d be best if you took a breather and got out of my room. You''ve offended enough," I said dryly. "Ah,offended," Mira mused. "You''ve changed¡ª or at least stopped hiding. I was waiting to see if you''d tell us anything, but hey, to be honest, you don''t owe me anything. Funnily enough, you expect to know everything about me while you get to keep your secrets." "What do you¡ª" "Kadabra''s studying TE, remember? He''s taken quite an interest in how it affects humans, and he''s close to figuring out everything he wants to. You gave him the breakthrough he needed," she said. I froze for a split second. "Just go." "You''re the one that started this, but fine, run away from the tough conversation," she said after a short pause. "Remember this, though. I think that out of everyone in the group, we might not know each other the best, but in terms of understandingeach other?" She left the rest of the sentence unsaid. "Toodles!" Mira waved. "I''ll be looking forward to our cooperation in the near future." I almost expected her to m my door, but she just closed it gently. I¡­ I didn''t know what to make of this. I wasangryat her, but I just couldn''t even begin to understand how she thought, and I was supposed to begoodwith people. Nothing she said made any sense¡ª or it did make sense, but whynow?Because of the stress she felt due to being close to her uncle? I thought that we''d been on good terms and had gotten closer after the entire Sceon debacle, but she was acting as if I had wronged her. And Ihadtold people about Togetic''s leakage. I''d told Cecilia about it¡ª but she had no way to know that. Or no, maybe she''d just think the fact that I''d only told her was worse. Arceus, I couldn''t wait for the rest of the group to get here. I just wanted to cuddle with Cecilia right now and for her tofort me. Even after all my time spent only with Pokemon, I still felt like I needed her. Hopefully, Denzel would get Mira back on track while they did their Game Corner stuff. I sent a text to Maeve asking her to check up on Mira, just in case. I felt like she was just trying to antagonize me for no reason, but maybe it''d be different with her best friend. I spent the next hour or two studying, but I couldn''t get my head in the game. As if the situation couldn''t get any worse, the text I got made me feel dread I thought I could only feel when my life was threatened. Mom Hi Grace! I know this is sudden, but I''m actually visiting Veilstone with your grandma right now and I heard that you were in town. I was wondering if you were free to meet? It''s been a while and I want to try to mend things further, but I feel like that''s impossible without meeting again. Let me know! I was sweating buckets before I even finished reading the entire text. How in the world had she gotten here? Had they fuckingwalkedto Sandgem and taken a ne from there? I just hadtoo much going onforthis!
Chapter 182 Chapter 182 CHAPTER 182 Damn it, damn it, damn it. I had been staring at this text for twenty minutes, writing paragraphs worth of words and erasing them because I couldn¡¯t bring myself to press send. The worst part was that I had left my mother on read and that she¡¯d started to type messages multiple times and just not sending them because of the little speech bubble, so I knew she was dying inside too. I just wanted to copse into myself like a dying star. Didn¡¯t she know that you just didn¡¯t drop on people like this without warning? If we had had a better rtionship, then maybe it¡¯d be justified as a surprise, but most of our exchanges were just small talk via text when I reached a new city or was about to leave one. We didn¡¯t even call like I did with my dad, I hadn¡¯t heard her voice since I had been in Snowpoint. Meeting her today was the furthest thing from what I wanted. Did Dad even know that she was here? And meeting my grandmother? I knew her even less than my mom, and my first interaction with her back in Twinleaf was her calling my father a son of a bitch! No thank you! I might have forgiven my mother slightly before leaving Twinleaf, but now that the whole thing was resurfacing after I¡¯d changed so much? I didn¡¯t care for a meeting at all, especially when I knew I¡¯d blow up at her and start talking to her about things like debt or prices, something she wouldn¡¯t understand whatsoever. She had cheated on dad and lied to him until he¡¯d find out. That deserved nothing but scorn from me. I took a deep breath and gripped my phone. Me Good morning, I¡¯ll have a lot on my te during my stay in Veilstone, so I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to meet. I¡¯m a member of the League Trainer Internship Program, I have a lot of obligations to the Poketch Company, and I have a lot of things nned. My schedule is going to be packed for the foreseeable. Sorry, but maybe next time. My finger hovered over send until I forced myself to press the button. I technically wasn¡¯t lying. Sure, the LTIP didn¡¯t actually force me to do anything, and my obligations to the Poketch Company weren¡¯t that exigent at the moment, but I had just weaved the words in a way that¡¯d make her think I was too busy to meet by listing a bunch of important stuff. Plus, from what I knew, my mom knew nothing about Pokemon battling, so it wasn¡¯t like she¡¯d be able to tell. ¡°I am busy,¡± I snapped at my phone screen. And I was free from the burden of lies. There was no point in studying when I wouldn¡¯t retain any of the information I was watching, so I cleaned up my notes and decided I¡¯de back to itter. It was still early, but I didn¡¯t want to let my family train until it was thest thing I¡¯d be doing outside. The less time I spent out and about with wiped-out Pokemon, the less risk I was under. I knew I had a League Trainer shadowing me, but even that wasn¡¯t enough. I wasn¡¯t leaving anything to chance. What I needed was to clear my head and just reset my mental. Just like what Be had taught me. I took a deep breath and loosened my body. I needed to look at things from a detached, rational point of view. This wasn¡¯t happening to me. It was happening to someone else, and I was looking at her through a screen. Able to be as objective as possible no matter the answer. What did the girl want? To make it through this town with all of her friends safe and sound. What did the girl need to do to reach that point? She needed to grow stronger to keep what was hers safe by force, because running away was admitting that she was not a proper fairy¡ª ¡°What the hell¡­?¡± I muttered, slowly opening my eyes. All of a sudden, I was the girl again. Tired, ragged, and with no idea of what to do. I groaned, sitting on my bed and clenching at my hair. It wasn¡¯t working. Or it was, but not the way I wanted it to. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from thinking a certain way, and it hadn¡¯t bothered me when it had just been me, Be, Night and my team, but I knew that it was abnormal now that I was back in human society. People were not possessions to be hoarded. Putting my head down while the League dealt with all of this was the smart thing to do. Maybe if clearing my head the way Be had thought me wouldn¡¯t work, something else would. After all, I had a few hours to kill. ¡ª¡ª ¡°What the hell? A four-move limit? Talk about narrow-minded,¡± I sighed as I tapped my Trainer ID against the machine¡¯s sensor. ¡°I mean, there has to be a limit somewhere, right?¡± Emilia said. ¡°If it was up to me, I¡¯d do five, but four isn¡¯t bad.¡± Emi and I were currently in the less-known Pokemon Game Arcade, which was a few blocks away from the Game Corner. It was a more¡­ family-friendly establishment that didn¡¯t involve losing all of your money, but it was run by the samepany. It was a bustling hub of activity with all kinds of games and obnoxiously loud music ying in the background. In the corner in the distance, a group of kids huddled over a Voltorb pinball machine. The main attraction was a row of Pokemon fighting games that had caught my attention. It was different than the one we were currently getting ready to y and less strategic. People picked a character Pokemon and could make them in different stages, and it was a pretty big hit, being sold on handheld consoles as well. ¡°You¡¯re interested?¡± Emilia asked as she inserted her money into her own machine. She stood opposite of me and had to crane her neck for me to see her. ¡°Pauline goes crazy for the game. She used to force me to y it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know Pauline yed games,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, she does. She¡¯s gotten banned from quite a few because of how toxic she gets. I never got into them though. What about you?¡± ¡°Me neither,¡± I shrugged. ¡°So what made you decide to invite me out there?¡± The game began, and I was given a random team of six Pokemon, each with four moves. I led with a Raichu and Emilia led with a freaking Quagsire. ¡°Just my luck,¡± I sighed. ¡°I got into a fight with Mira about stupid stuff, it¡¯s okay.¡± I switched to my Torterra and somehow got hit by an Ice Beam. Why could she just do that? Things weren¡¯t fair with arbitrary turns! ¡°You could tell me more too. I¡¯m here to listen.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to involve¡ª¡± ¡°I want to be involved,¡± Emilia said as she took down my Torterra by going faster than him somehow. ¡°I¡¯m tired of being a meek girl that has to be protected. Even Pauline won¡¯t tell me anything. I¡¯vee too far to be relegated to a damsel in distress.¡± ¡°You have,¡± I acknowledged. Emilia knew about what happened in Sceon, but she didn¡¯t know about the dangers that lurked in Veilstone or that she possibly had a League Trainer guarding her. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at any adult I saw in the arcade as the potential culprit. I exined everything to her all while she wiped the floor with me in this stupid game. She listened to me without a word, simply acquiescing with small grunts. ¡°You aren¡¯t scared?¡± I asked. ¡°I am. But I¡¯m also okay. So the fight with Mira¡­?¡± ¡°She blew up at me¡ª well, I blew up at her first because of how reckless she¡¯s being. If I had to summarize it, it was like I stepped on her toes and she retaliated by going for my jugr. If you¡¯re going to go after Team Gctic, at least have a damn n or something,¡± I exhaled. ¡°Another round?¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± Emilia nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think at the end of the day, we both made some good points, but I know that I was more in the right than she was. She¡¯s acting like she doesn¡¯t value her life because of how close to her goal she is.¡± ¡°Could it have been a cry for help?¡± ¡°Maybe. Maybe not. I don¡¯t know, I think that all she¡¯s thinking about is reuniting with her uncle. She knows that she won¡¯t be able to bring him back, but I think she still wants a confrontation. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a battle or just a conversation.¡± ¡°She wants catharsis,¡± Emilia added. ¡°Exactly. And she doesn¡¯t care what she¡¯ll have to do to reach it. Some of her words stuck with me, though. Revenge.¡± ¡°Against Mars? That¡¯s a terrible idea, Grace.¡± ¡°Obviously. But I can¡¯t help but worry about what would happen if I was in front of her again. I know I¡¯d have no chance to victory, but would I copse and cry? Would I shut down emotionally? Or would I want revenge?¡± Of course, Emi still didn¡¯t know about me being half fairy beyond the title Betrix had given me, but I could still skirt around everything and just give her the dilemma without context. ¡°Revenge doesn¡¯t exactly lead to anything good.¡± ¡°I fundamentally disagree.¡± ¡°You know what? Fair enough. Just don¡¯t go and be another Mira.¡± ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it. I just don¡¯t know how I¡¯d react is all, and it kind of scares me.¡± ¡°So are you and her, uh, fighting, then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think so?¡± I contemted. ¡°I¡¯ll let her cool off and hope Maeve and Louis help her solve her problems.¡± Reying the argument in my head, I didn¡¯t really know what she had expected out of me by telling me that she¡¯d gotten scolded by her League bodyguard if not me telling her to just stop. Since Kadabra had told her about my change due to fairy type energy, maybe she¡¯d thought I¡¯d be willing to help her in her search, or at least give her words of support. If that was the case, she¡¯d clearly misread me. Under Shiftry¡¯s influence, that might have been the case, but that wasn¡¯t me any longer. Emilia finished off my Steelix with her Dragon Danced Garchomp, handily winning the battle again. I just couldn¡¯t work with arbitrary numbers like stats. ¡°Another round?¡± I asked. It took me fifteen tries to beat her once, and that was because her randomly generated team had been really bad against mine, but by the Legendaries, did that win feel good. I turned quite a few heads by cheering like I¡¯d just won the lottery, and Emiliaughed at the entire spectacle. ¡°Why are you so sweaty? We were just ying a game,¡± she chuckled. ¡°It might have been a game to you, but that was the fight of my life,¡± I joked. ¡°On a more serious note, um, I¡¯ve been keeping something from you.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Another secret regarding your fight?¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s just that¡­¡± I sighed. How could I say this? ¡°The way I think¡¯s been changed on a fundamental level by fairy type energy,¡± I said. ¡°D¡ªdid that Hatterene do that to you?¡± ¡°No. My Togetic did without realizing it, and Cynthia stopped her from doing it for me,¡± I exined. ¡°What does that imply? Can it be fixed?¡± Her face fell right when she saw me flinch. This was why I hadn¡¯t wanted to tell anyone. The fact that they¡¯d want to fix me just left a terrible taste in my mouth, but Mira had been right. I couldn¡¯t expect to know everything about all of my friends while keeping secrets of my own. It wouldn¡¯t be fair. All this time, I¡¯d been enforcing an unequal pact without realizing it. First, I¡¯d tell her, and then everyone else. But I wasn¡¯t the only one who had to sort out our dispute. She had to try too. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it like that,¡± Emilia said. ¡°You did, and that¡¯s okay. It doesn¡¯t really happen to most people,¡± I smiled thinly. ¡°It makes me more abrasive, extremely protective, I hate unfairness and I think that people should pay for their actions. I don¡¯t want to be fixed, but I do need to figure out how to live with it. I like this side of me, Emi, but there are times when I need to catch myself and draw a line. I¡¯m still trying to figure things out.¡± Emilia paused for a few seconds to catch her breath. ¡°Remember when you just caught your Turtonator? You vented to Cece a lot about¡­ uh, prices. She told me a little bit when she talked about how worried she was for you. I thought that was just how you were.¡± ¡°Oh. Right,¡± I said, shuffling along the floor. ¡°Thank you for telling me, Grace. It means a lot.¡± ¡°Thanks for listening. And then you know, there¡¯s this entire thing with my mom suddenly appearing like some horror movie jump scare.¡± ¡°Your mom? What¡¯s she like?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know, but let¡¯s talk about it over some more games. I need to let out some steam.¡± ¡°Are you letting out steam if I¡¯m constantly beating you?¡± ¡°Oh, Emi¡¯s got the trash talk now, hm? Let¡¯s try a game that doesn¡¯t arbitrarily restrict you to dumb stat and four moves and see how it goes.¡± She beat me. In every. Single. Game. ¡ª¡ª Unfortunately, my time with Emilia was cut short when I decided that it was time to go train, but hanging out with a friend had helped me out somewhat. I actually took a taxi to route 214¡¯s gate because of how terrified I was of suddenly running into my mother and grandmother. It would be unlikely in arge city like Veilstone, but I wasn¡¯t taking any chances. Hopefully, I¡¯d be able to avoid her the entire time she was here. She had answered my text already, saying that it was a shame and to let her know if I had a spot in my schedule, and I said I would. Now that I was with my family again and had cleared my head with Emilia, I could focus enough to study Aura first, and then Zachary for tomorrow¡¯s battle. I still dreaded the next time I¡¯d see Mira because there was a lot of unresolved tension there, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Aura was¡­ well, this was just how I saw how it interacted in the videos, but it was a lot more fluid than I thought it could be. First of all, this didn¡¯t apply to me, but aura attacks and even Aura Sphere could hit true ghosts like Haunter. That poor trainer¡¯s reaction had been quite agitated. Secondly, although it could be stopped by attacks using pure Type Energy attacks like Thunderbolt or methrower, it was a very inefficient way of doing so. You were better off either stopping it with physical objects like Princess¡¯ Ancient Power or Sweetheart¡¯s Rock Slide, otherwise chances are the aura attack would just slip through your attack like it wasn¡¯t even there unless there was a huge disparity in power. It could also shatter psychic barriers easier, although it wasn¡¯t foolproof, and Protect was still immune to it. Like ghost type attacks, moves like Aura Sphere couldn¡¯t be redirected using Psychic or Extrasensory either. Thankfully this was a battle for my fifth badge, so there weren¡¯t exactly advanced techniques that she would use against me. For Maylene, Aura was her main way of brute forcing past a tough opponent like an annoying psychic or ghost. Princess would be my main counter there. If I ever got into a Pokemon deficit during the battle, she¡¯d be my ace to be able to catch back up. Using Dazzling Gleam on anything that gets near and then dealing with threats using Air Cutter or Moonst would do well, but I¡¯d still have to watch out. We¡¯d only have Ancient Power for defense against Aura, so she¡¯d have to stay low to the ground. Overall, I¡¯d done good progress today, so I decided to move on to the rest of Zachary Gagher¡¯s team after making rounds to make sure everyone was progressing okay on their moves or if they needed any help. Sweetheart was having issues trying to redirect herself mid-air, but I couldn¡¯t exactly help there. I had no idea what being in her body was like, so she¡¯d have to figure it out alone¡ª with moral support, of course. Angel and Honey were currently sparring against Sunshine, but he was easily handling both of them while still going somewhat easy and not using his body heat. ¡°Ampharos, Vespiquen, Infernape, Donphan, Ferrothorn, Pidgeot, Gyarados¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Sheesh, these are tough. Sunshine, c¡¯mere for a sec!¡± My voice caught the fire type¡¯s attention and caused his face to get hit by one of Angel¡¯s vines. He profusely apologized, rubbing Turtonator¡¯s cheek in an attempt to make the pain go away. Sunshine grunted and waved his vine away, letting him know that his ¡®weak¡¯ vines weren¡¯t even close to painful, but Tangrowth couldn¡¯t help himself. His vine around my ankle tightened anxiously. ¡°It¡¯s alright Angel! It was just training!¡± I eximed. And yet he still felt like he¡¯d done wrong by hitting him when I¡¯d called down. Electabuzz scratched his head, wondering what to do until Pupitar quickly intervened with Princess and offered him some supportive words, after which he promptly joined in. I smiled as the grass type¡¯s vine loosened and I turned to Sunshine. ¡°You could use some more tact. Anyway, I¡¯m battling a big shot tomorrow, and his Pokemon look to be all around your strength. Surely that should be a battle of your caliber. Want to join? A six-on-six is a lot more fun.¡± Sunshine pondered for a second, asking me why I was so happy to go into a battle that I had no chance of winning. ¡°Because that¡¯s how I learn, goofball. So are you in or not? That Ferrothorn is going to be a pain without you to help out.¡± The fire type agreed, with much less reluctance than I expected. It seemed that so long as he considered the battles worthy of him, he wouldn¡¯t mind helping out. Still, even with him, the ying field was far from even. I would have needed six Sunshines for me to stand a decent chance. ¡°Cool. Don¡¯t forget to listen to what I say, though, or it¡¯ll go terribly.¡± He rolled his eyes and strolled away to resume his training. He once again told Tangrowth that his vines didn¡¯t do anything to hurt and that even if they had it was just training. ¡°By the way, can we talk about your old team soon? I¡¯d like for everyone to learn more about them.¡± This time, I could only see the faintest of nods. I smiled softly and returned to my nning. I excitedly tapped my feet against the ground. I had my six-on-six, but I needed to figure out what Pokemon he¡¯d use against me. He had seven, after all. The fact that there was no way I¡¯d make it through six of his Pokemon was everpresent, but I wanted toe at this like I¡¯d do for any battle. Unfortunately for me, there wasn¡¯t any real way to tell which ones he¡¯d use or even lead with, because I was pretty sure anything he had would just destroy anything I had unless I led with Sunshine, which wasn¡¯t my n. Still, even though I''d lose, the true value of the battle was the advice he''d offer me afterward. Zachary¡¯s team was designed around two things: hard hitters and precise battlers. The hard hitters like Donphan, Gyarados, Pigdeot and Ampharos were the muscle that helped him deal with tough, bulky Pokemon while his other Pokemon were more focused on taking down trickier opponents. I noted that he had three flying types, meaning that maybe Honey would have a chance to shine here. I¡¯d analyzed the two styles, but facing both would be troublesome. What that Vespiquen was capable of was truly mind-boggling and her control over attacks made Princess look like an amateur. She was his biggest problem, and I¡¯d need Sunshine to hope to break her, because I knew that unlike with Pokemon like Ampharos or Donphan, all of my Pokemon would never be able to even touch her. Vespiquen wasn¡¯t his starter, but she sure was his strongest, at least in how annoying it was to battle. I was starting to realize that every trainer at a rtively high level had a Pokemon that defined¡ª no, maybe defined wasn¡¯t the right word. A Pokemon that stood a step above the rest of their teams and was a crutch that their trainers could always rely on in any battle. Craig had his Smence, Lucian had kazam, Aaron had his Drapion, Cynthia had Garchomp¡­ it could technically be said that mine was Sunshine, but that was almost entirely off the work of another trainer. If I didn¡¯t count him, I didn¡¯t really have that. Angel or Buddy could theoretically count, but they weren¡¯t at that level. Even Cecilia didn¡¯t any longer, her team having caught up to Zweilous. I didn¡¯t exactly know why that was amon phenomenon, but for better or worse, I didn¡¯t have that just yet. Anyway, all of that to say that Vespiquen was awful to battle and I was looking forward to somehow figuring something out. The afternoon quickly went by and I took another taxi back to the Center. Part of me almost expected my mom to just be at the entrance to catch me. Finding out the Pokemon Center I stayed at wasn¡¯t at all difficult anymore, but luckily it seemed that she at least had her limits. Tomorrow was going to be packed¡­ I wanted to get started on getting my Carry License too, which I¡¯d go do before the battle itself because I knew my Pokemon would need to go to get healed right away. I was so excited I barely slept.
Chapter 183 Chapter 183 CHAPTER 183 The League was represented in most cities through the gyms and their leaders, but that did not mean that was their only presence. Almost every city had a few other government-owned buildings, including the one I was currently standing in front of. It wasn''t that impressive¡ª an apartment block nestled in between more apartments, but with arge League g with its usuallyrge stylized Pokeball and a few grizzled League Trainers standing guard. Needless to say, the troubles with Team Gctic had them on edge and they had me go through this entire process to allow me in. First, I handed them my ID and then was looked at by a towering Gardevoir. I couldn''t help but notice her slight nod when she''d been done making sure I had no nefarious intentions. I dipped my head in return and was allowed in. The corridor was narrow but in pristine condition, as if it had just been cleaned. I walked on wood beautifullyid out in some kind of crisscross pattern that didn''t even creak under my feet. There were five floors in total, but luckily the room I was looking for was right there. I stepped into the cold office and it retained much of the corridor''s decoration, although the floor was tiled instead of wooden and paintings of locations of the Lily of the Valley ind adorned the walls. I recognized one of the huge stadiums that I''d seen so many times on television along with the League Building itself, its architecture still ancient and reminiscent of many of the older buildings in Hearthome. A tired-looking government official lowered her sses and stared at me. An older-looking trainer sat on one of the bright stic chairs, nodding off as he browsed his phone¡ª which surprisingly was a Retani Industries model. I couldn''t help but cringe at the fact that I''d almost gotten scammed by them once. "Good morning," I said as I approached the woman behind the ss. I didn''t have to be a rocket scientist to know that it was made out of incredibly resistant materials. "I''m here for my Carry License!" "ID?" She simply asked. Having already shoved it back in my bag after entering, I restrained a sigh and dug for it again. "You don''t have eight badges." "Oh, right. I''m in the LTIP, so I should be able to circumvent that," I said. "Oh. Just hold on a second." She peered over at my card again, this time paying a lot more attention. After typing in something herputer, she nodded. "Right, that checks out. Please sit on one of those chairs and wait for one of our examiners to call for you," she smiled. "Oh. Okay." She noticed my confusion and exined further. "Everyone''s got different Pokemon, right? We just want to make sure we have someone that can make sure you''re taking care of all of them correctly." "Thanks," I nodded. I went and sat on one of the ufortable chairs, anxiously looking at my phone for the time. I didn''t really want to bete for my battle in three hours. My eyes drifted toward the older teen and I bit the inside of my cheek. "Hey¡ª hey, how long have you been waiting here?" I whispered. "An hour and a half. Government stuff like this is always hriously slow," he shrugged, keeping his eyes on his phone. It didn''t look like he knew me, which was something I appreciated. "It might be quicker for you depending on your team, though. I''ve got a Glimmora, so it''s taking a while to get someone here who knows how to take care of ''em." I raised an eyebrow. "I don''t even know what that is." "Paldean. And they''re only born in a few select caves in that region suitable for them. She''s a headache to take care of." "So you''re Paldean, then?" I asked, suddenly interested. I knew that he''d had a strange ent that wasn''t from anywhere in Sinnoh, but I hadn''t know where to ce it. "No, I''m from Gr, actually. From Motostoke. I just traveled through Paldea for my second year. Funny thing is, I thought my Carry License from there would be valid, but Sinnoh is kind of backwards. Turns out I needed to get another license to technically be allowed to carry more than six Pokemon here. Same for my ID. A useless rule, if you ask me." He stared at the League employee to await her reaction, but she didn''t even look in his direction. She was typing away at her keyboard and asionally answered calls. "That does seem redundant," I said. "Yeah. It''d be okay if they just handed it to you after verifying that you had one from another region, but they want to make sure that I adhere to their specific guidelines. It''s just a waste of time, but whatever. I was free today, and at least they give you a few months to get your documents sorted before the government starts breathing down your neck." I chewed on his words, but ended up agreeing. It wasn''t often that I saw someone with an outside perspective on Sinnoh. Only Cecilia had offered me certain tidbits about Unova and the differences there, but at the end of the day, she''d started her trainer career here, so her expectations were only slightly less biased than mine. People tended to look at Kanto and Johto like relics of the past, but it was only now that I realized that other regions looked at Sinnoh the same way. I didn''t feel too bad about it when the facts were allid out in front of me. Denzel definitely would have fought back, though. I couldn''t wait to see him again. I ended up only waiting an hour and bid the unnamed trainer that had kept mepany goodbye. He''d reminded me that the world was arge ce and got me thinking about what I''d do after this year was over. Do another round of the Circuit, or go somewhere else? I was sure the Poketch Company wouldn''t mind some recognition abroad, and I had already vowed to battle through every region, but I didn''t know if I wanted to try Sinnoh again at least once. Well, I had a few months to decide. The examiner was a gentle, thin-looking guy that was the antithesis of what you would think someone that worked at the League was, but not everyone was a trainer. He led me to arge courtyard behind the apartment building and after releasing a Probopass, no doubt for his protection, he began to read a document in his hand. "Grace Pastel¡­" he muttered as he flipped through a few pages. "Your file is clean, so that''s good." "Clean?" "That means no incidents with your Pokemon, although there''s a footnote there about your Turtonator. No incidents since you''ve caught him, though. The first thing we look at for these things is if your Pokemon are known to be aggressive or violent to others. If they had attacked humans or wounded other Pokemon beyond what''s appropriate during a battle recently, your chances to pass would have been pretty slim. Oh, I''m Jack O''Hare, by the way." I sighed in relief. "Cool. Do you mind if I ask you questions about things? To report to my friends." "Sure. I enjoy talking about this job, otherwise I wouldn''t be doing it," he smiled. "One of my friend''s had a few idents with her Haunter," I said. Even when feeling bitter about Mira, I couldn''t help but look out. "But she''s also in the LTIP like me. Does that mean she''s screwed?" "Well, we typically look at a period of six months. If any incidents took ce more recently, she''d have to show the examiner that her Haunter''s turned a new leaf in a shorter time span, and that''s usually not the case." "Okay. So will you just take a look at my Pokemon, now?" "Soon, soon," he said, holding out his hand. "Are you nervous?" "Just kind of impatient," I said, fidgeting in ce. "I''ve got somewhere to be in two hours, so¡­" "Ie is good too¡­ a long-term sponsorship with the Poketch Company, so good security there." Right. If I hadn''t had enough money, then there was no way I''d be able to feed or care for more than six Pokemon, especially when they tended to need more resources as they evolved. "Before we start, are there any of your Pokemon''s quirks that I need to know? Aversion to being touched, hates loud voices, being stared at for too long¡­ anything that would interfere in my examination?" "My Jellicent doesn''t like being touched by strangers, but my Tangrowth likes touching strangers in a really intrusive way. My Pupitar gets excited or angry really easily, but she should be safe-ish. She just makes the floor shake a bunch," I listed. "My Electabuzz and Togetic arepletely fine with anything, though." "Well, you''ve passed all preliminary screening," he smiled. "I''ll be looking at your team now¡ª one by one, please." I released Sunshine first, since I wanted to take care of the biggest hurdle first. I had warned him to be on his best behavior this morning and that he''d most likely be getting looked at by a stranger. The fire type shot me an annoyed look as soon as he materialized into the world, but he thankfully didn''t injure or hurt the examiner in any way. Mr. O''Hare circled around him, and Sunshine thrashed his tail on the ground as he carefully analyzed the contents and condition of his shell. He also smelled it by taking a huge whiff. I knew he had to assess how healthy Turtonator was, but sulfur did not smell good. Satisfied with his shell, Mr. O''Hare moved on to his stron, and then his face. I actually had to intervene and scold him for blowing a plume of smoke at the examiner''s face when he attempted to shine a light down his snout. After a twenty-second-long coughing fit, he was well enough to speak again. Probopass surprisingly hadn''t reacted at all, but I assumed that¡­ he was used to a lot worse. "Your Turtonator''s in good shape. The sulfur content on his shell''scking, but that''s almost always the case with trainer-owned Turtonator since they can''t go replenish their contents by volcanos." "Is he going to run out?" I asked, feeling a slight surge of anxiety. "No, no, he isn''t. They have a way of naturally creating sulfur, but they usually supplement that. You''re alright," he said. I sighed in relief and released Buddy next. I wasn''t actually sure of how he was going to assess a ghost. Sure, he still had a corporeal form and had been born from an egg, but he didn''t need to eat and could recover from just about anything. The examiner stared into the water type''s eyes for a good minute and then nodded. "I''m done. You can move on." "Already?" "Well, he didn''t attempt to kill me right away," Mr. O''Hare chuckled. "That''s mostly what we look at for ghosts. But I could tell that he was doing well with you from his calm demeanor and mostly his eyes. The eyes of a Jellicent are very expressive¡ª" "I know, right?! He was actually feeling nervous about the entire thing because he didn''t want to mess things up for me. Thanks Buddy!" I eximed, gently rubbing one of his tentacles. The water type rumbled, his eyes shing with love before I recalled him. That had been underwhelming, but in a good way. I released Pupitar next, and since she''d just molted, she looked in pristine condition. Her blue-shaded cocoon glittered in the sun. "She''s just molted?" He noticed. "Yeah. It was her first time." "Her first time? That''s arge Pupitar you''re going to have on your hands, then." The rock type excitedly yelled, jumping in ce until I hurriedly stopped her with a shout. Thest thing I wanted was for her to upturn this entire backyard or identally hurt the examiner. "How tall is she?" "I haven''t measured since she evolved." Mr. O''Hare grabbed some measuring tape from his bag, and Sweetheart ended up clocking in at 4''10. She''d been 4''6 when she had evolved. I could almost feel her smugness radiating from here. "Four inches in one molt? She''s probably going to end up at around 6''5 and then gain another foot during her evolution. That''s going to be a big headache for you. Tyranitar eat a lot." "She''ll be fine," I reassured. "I''ll have enough money to feed her." "Sure, I don''t doubt that. Just warning you so you''re not caught off-guard," he said. "Her cocoon''s in a good state. If she wasn''t eating enough, it wouldn''t havee out that pretty. Can you have her let out a bit of air for me?" "Sweetheart, you heard him. But don''t fly anywhere!" The examiner held out a hand next to his ear as Pupitar excitedly let out a burst of the gaspressed inside of her. "Good sound," he nodded. "Your Pupitar''s doing very well. The chambers inside the cocoon can sometimes get messed up after a molt if they don''t eat enough, because they''re supposed to growrger each time." "Thank you," I smiled. I recalled Sweetheart and released my next Pokemon. Angel didn''t immediately rub him, but his Probopass instead, feeling at the thick mustache under his red nose. The steel type was content to just let it happen but drew a line when Angel tried to grab at one of his turrets. He shot out some kind of low-powered ray attack that destroyed one of his vines. Tangrowth recoiled, his eyes rapidly blinking. "Sorry about that. Probopass'' Mini-Noses are his most vulnerable spots. He doesn''t like it when you touch them¡ª even me." "No, no, Angel''s just like that. I''m sorry," I said. "And I''m sorry to you too." Probopass let out a screech-like metallic sound. I hadn''t been with him long enough to know his words, but I felt like he had epted my apology. Mr. O''Hare grabbed one of Angel''s vines and steadily pulled on it, squeezed it and attempted to cut it with a pair of scissors. It didn''t even cut past half of the vine. "Good vine condition," he nodded. "He gets a lot of sun." Next, he looked at the red tips of Tangrowth''s hands, noting that they were in good condition too. Angel easily passed his assessment. Honey''s neck craned toward Mr. O''Hare as he ced a number of test leads on his fingers. mostly analyzed the amount of electricity he''d umted by using some kind of modified voltmeter and the number that came up was several tens of thousand of volts. I didn''t see the exact number because of the sun shining on the screen. "Satisfactory, but it could be better. Are you using a battery to get him his electricity?" "A sr-powered one, yes. Uh, the model is¡­ Lumina PowerCell. I''ve had it since he was an Elekid." "Get him a bigger one. Or a sr generator you can carry. It might have cut it when he was small, but he needs more and it''ll be better for his growth. Sunyshore sells really high-quality ones if you swing by." "Will do. Thanks." He studied the sharpness of Honey''s fangs and finished up his assessment. I finished with Princess, who was on her best behavior as always. He dug deep into her fur to see her skin and shed that same bright light into her eyes. Everything was in order, but he did notice one thing. "The wings haven''t seen much use, have they?" "Well, no, she uses her powers to fly, so¡­" "Get her started on that, just as a routine. The benefits will carry over when you get her a Shiny Stone," he said. Princess reflexively pped her wings and huffed. She had clearly expected to get full marks, but it was really my fault, not hers. Mr. O''Hare finished writing his report on a clipboard he carried separate from my file he''d put back in his bag, had me sign on the bottom of the form and then pped his hand when all was said and gone. "You qualify," he smiled. "Go back to talk to Rosie and give her your form¡ª that''s the girl at reception." I beamed. "Yes! Thank you!" I had expected to pass, but I still hadn''t shaken the feeling of anxiety I''d had before the inspection. Now that I was done, it felt liberating. Finally, I could go past that annoying six Pokemon limit! If I hade across a cool psychic type before today, I would have been royally pissed. As I handed Rosie my form and watched her 3D print my Carry License, I began to wonder what my final number of Pokemon would be. Seven was a given, but did I want to go past that? I didn''t know yet, but it was good to start thinking about these things early. I knew that Cynthia had ten Pokemon and every Gym Leader or Elite Four member had at least seven¡ª with the exception of Lucian, who was content with his six psychics. Having a decent amount would keep your opponents guessing about which Pokemon you would bring into an official match, but more than that, I wanted my family to growrger still. Yet, I had no n beyond a psychic type. Maybe I''d let whatever caught my eye and agreed toe with me join my team beyond that seventh capture. It wasn''t like any of my current Pokemon had been nned apart from Angel, so he was more the exception than the rule. "Congrattions. If you lose it, you''ll have toe back here or any other League Offices and pay a 10,000 Pokedors fee to get it renewed." I nodded silently. That wasn''t a huge price, especially since only people with eight badges were supposed to be able to get this. By then, they didn''t have to be rich, but 10,000 was a fee that almost everyone would be able to afford. "Good luck with your wait," I told the unnamed trainer. "Thank you. Have a good day." At this point, I knew I should have asked him for his name and that I''d been rude not to do so, but it would be too awkward to do it now. I exited the building as I checked the time again. There was an hour and twenty-three minutes left to my battle, but Zachary Gagher had actually sent me a text asking to meet early to talk. Now normally, I would have done this no problem, but I decided to meet him in a public ce so there could be no funny business. The words that we''d exchanged seemed genuine, but there could always be another Harry Rodriguez. Someone masquerading as a trainer to infiltrate the League. I also sent a text to the group chat telling them where I''d be and that they''d possibly have toe pick me up early. Since we were going to battle six-on-six, the n had been to have one of them (preferably someone with a psychic type) walk me back to the Center. It''d only be a ten-minute walk since the arena we''d be battling at was the closest one avable. I wanted as few risks as possible even with the League Trainer tailing me. I recalled Honey as I stepped into the¡­ well in my rush to find any public setting, I had thought that it''d been a restaurant, but it was more like a food court. I could even see Arlyle''s chain selling food at one of the stands. It was still morning, so I wasn''t hungry and got to finding Zachary, but it took me a while to spot him. The dark-skinned teen waved at me from afar until I finally noticed it had been me he''d been looking at and not someone behind me. "Heyya," he said with azy wave. "d you could meet." He wore thick sses that made his eyes look bigger than they actually were and sported a buzz cut that was no doubt useful for traveling. My hair got tangled in a lot of things. "Hi. Shouldn''t we just battle now if you''re free?" I asked. It didn''t take much for me to notice the seven Pokeballs on his belt. "Aren''t you eager? We''ll go early if you want, but I had a few questions for you," he said before sipping on some sort of soft drink. "You said you''reing at this to improve, right? Is there a particr Pokemon you want me to not use?" "No, no, I don''t want any special treatments or for you to give yourself handicaps. Actually, this is great! I can tell you that we can actually fight a six-vs-six instead of a five-vs-five. My Turtonator agreed." His eyes shed with interest. "Ah. That makes this a lot more interesting," he said. "I''m good with that, then. Since you don''t want any handicaps, I guess we can get going. I was going to ask you if you wanted to have unlimited switching or things like that." "How about three switches? That''s pretty standard for a six-on-six." "Sure thing." He took the top off his drink, poured the rest of the contents into his mouth and loudly crunched on the ice cubes as we exited the food court. That had ended up being sort of a waste of time, but at least we were going to battle early for my troubles. I walked with Princess by my side and she eyed Zachary with a suspicious eye. "What do you expecting into this?" I asked him. "Like my impression of you?" "Yes." "Well I didn''t pay that much attention to you until news got out that you got into the LTIP. Congrats, by the way. Lots of trainers would want to be in that position." "Yeah¡­" I muttered. If he knew my circumstances, he wouldn''t have said that. "I ended up watching your battle against Fantina and a few of those Sceon tournament battles too. The event might have been ruined, but that only made ''em more popr. Wish I got to see that Turtonator in action, though. They say he''s around the seven-badge level," he smirked. "I think you''re talented. More than I was at this point in my journey, but you stillck a lot of things. I don''t want to sound like a pretentious asshole, though. I''m sure I''ll look back on myself in a year and think I was garbage. That''s the universal Pokemon trainer experience right there." "A lot of things like? Actually, don''t tell me yet. Tell me when we''re done." "Fair enough. You really don''t want any handicaps, huh?" "Of course not. That would defeat the entire point," I said. "Say, I actually do have one request, though. I don''t care when you use her, but use your Vespiquen against me." "Vespi''s the one that caught your attention? Most people talk about my Gyarados," heughed. "Anyone worth their salt knows that Vespiquen''s the true threat on your team," I said. "That''s a fair assessment. Okay, I''ll use her," he said. The words came easy to me, as they always did when I spoke to someone about Pokemon battling. Zachary Gagher had begun his journey in Floaroma with a single Pidgey but quickly caught his Combee in the honey trees that littered the fields north of town. From there, he''d gotten five badges his first year and now stood at the cusp of getting his eighth. That meant he was a potential opponent I''d have to face at the Conference. "I''ve got my folks in Floaroma calling me every day and telling me how proud they are," he fondly said. "I can''t let ''em down. Did you know there''s never been a Floaroma native that made the top sixteen of the Conference?" "So that''s your goal?" "Hell no. I''m gonna win the whole thing," he said. "But I''m not only doing it for them. I''m doing it for all of Floaroma¡ª ah, there it is." We''d made it to the arena, which was obviously seeing a lot of use at this time of day. These weren''t asrge as the ones in Jubilife, but there was still plenty of space for us. Some poor Kadabra fixed up the barrier after a battle. I sure hoped that all of these League Kadabras were getting proper treatment when they weren''t working. Pokemon didn''t care to be paid in cash, but I at least wanted them to be able to study whatever they wanted in their free time. Being a barrier Kadabra was a thankless job. We took our positions opposite of each other with dozens of eyes staring at us. They''d no doubt turn into hundreds soon. We counted down to three and sent out our first Pokemon. Since he had three flying types, I decided to send Honey out first. His usual confidence evaporated and his hair stood on end when Zach released his Vespiquen. Buzzing. Constant buzzing somehow louder than my own thoughts echoed through the arena. Her exoskeleton appeared smooth, but upon closer look, it was glimmering slightly as if she was covered in a thinyer of honey at all times. More honey dripped from her sixbs, but it did not fall to the ground. Vespiquen''s gem shone as she manipted the liquid to spin around her as if she was a water type weaving water, or somehow even better than that. She was the honey, and the honey was her. Things crawled all over her¡ª and also infested her honey¡ª not alive, but with purpose and answered to her every thought. They were shapeless, horrible minuscule things that were linked to her consciousness itself. My legs felt heavier as I stared into her piercing red eyes. There was this pressure that was pressing down on me, a weaker version of what Cynthia''s Spiritomb had done to me, but it was there nheless and made it harder to focus. My mouth and eyes suddenly dried up and I blinked rapidly to moisten them. I was aware of my breathing, of my tongue in my mouth, of the continuous tingles running up and down my spine telling me that this Pokemon was dangerous. "You told me to use her, right? Well, here she is in all of her beauty."
Chapter 184 – Punching Up Chapter 184 ¨C Punching Up CHAPTER 184 - Punching Up Honey continuously spun around Vespiquen, and it would slowly build up until she wasn''t even visible in battle. I only had two days to study her, so I knew only her moves and a few of her tactics, but none of that mattered when she didn''t even fight with moves most of the time anyway. She was too skilled for what she did to be put in a box as rigid as that. I couldn''t afford to stay still no matter how heavy my entire body felt. The longer I waited, the more we were at a disadvantage. Vespiquen excelled at prolonged fights and her survivability as a bug type was second to none. "Thunderbolt!" I yelled. Electabuzz whirred, his arms spinning around until electricity burst forward. Zachary didn''t bother responding. Instead, honey coalesced in front of Vespiquen with a single thought from her. The Thunderbolt simply fizzled out inside of the liquid as the small screams of hundreds of¡­ drones that infested her honey rang out throughout the arena. The center of the honey cooked, darkening until it turned to ck sludge, but it was quickly reced with fresh supply. Arceus, this thing was disturbing to fight. "E-Swift. Protect when it attacks you," I exhaled. A dozen electrically-charged stars appeared above Electabuzz, and he sent them forth with a grunt. If honey was enough to block electric type attacks, I wanted to check if Swift would break through. Vespiquen''s gem shone, and honey packed itself so tightly together that the stars simply stopped and disappeared with a small explosion, as if they''d hit a brick wall. "Attack Order. Scatter," Zachary said. I bit my lip and immediately ordered Electabuzz to Protect. I knew what attack wasing, and it''de so fast that nothing else would work. The solid honey exploded outward in thousands of pieces that glittered under the arena''s harsh lights. Vespiquen screeched, and the fragments shed any extra weight, bing sharpened spikes mid-air while the waste liquified again and returned to orbit her. The spikes whizzed directly toward Electabuzz, but the electric type didn''t waste any time. The first shards broke against Protect, but Vespiquen kept them , simply opting to exhaust us until she could break through. Of course, I knew that was the most likely scenario. They would have been dumb to just stop attacking right away, which is why I''d had Electabuzz work on this ever since our battle at the Caf¨¦ Cabin for this in case we ever got overwhelmed again. "Discharge!" I yelled. Unlike the battle with Chase, this one was instant. As soon as the Protect fell, electricity burst out of Electabuzz. Vespiquen couldn''t control honey itself, but she used the things that swarmed inside of it as building blocks to do whatever she wanted with it. The damage from Discharge fried all of them up and I ordered Electabuzz to get close. Keeping our distance was the safest y, but it wouldn''t work in the long term so long as Vespiquen could use Defend Order so expertly. The electric type blurred forward, but he inexplicably began to slow around halfway through the arena. Honey that had scattered on the floor clung and solidified around his feet, forcing him to free himself using more bursts of electricity. "Attack Order. Scatter and dyed Pir," he said. They were less, but they were still many. More fragments of honey sharpened and hurtled toward the electric type, but that wasn''t what I was worried about. An enormous amalgamation of honey built up into a ball in front of Vespiquen and then elongated toward Electabuzz. With little time for Protect, he hastily threw himself to the right to dodge the massive attack. Sharp needles burst out of the pir, some stabbing him in the leg while others liquified and crawled all over him, just overwhelming him with its sheer weight. "Don''t panic! Discharge!" I hurriedly yelled. Electabuzz''s eyes sharpened as he found my voice amidst the incessant buzzing and another wave of electricity surged out of him. The honey lost its life, but the pir was still raring to go. There were too many shapeless drones inside of it to make it lose form, and Vespiquen constantly renewed its supply from herbs. More honey continued to slow, stab or simply block Electabuzz''s way as he desperately struggled forward. Each time, a Discharge or a Protect would buy us a few seconds. Sometimes, I would order a Thunderbolt in hopes of catching the bug type off guard, but she was always ready to block any attacks. By the time Electabuzz made it ten feet away from Vespiquen, he was covered in a mixture of honey and blood from head to toe. His fist lit aze for a moment, burning away the liquid on his hand, and then he copsed below her. I gulped as I recalled him with a small apology. I could have switched him out for someone else, but I needed to save them for when I would use Sunshine and I had really thought that we''d at least manage to get a few good Fire Punches in. I could have pulled on the dragon type here, but I wanted to try onest thing. I sent out Pupitar onto the field, and she announced her presence with a yell, seemingly unaffected by how disturbing Vespiquen was. The bug type ignored her outburst, content to keep pumping out as much honey as she needed. She would never run out. Being cautious would never work, and Zach''s Vespiquen would shut us down no matter what we tried to do. We had to try something new. "Fly!" I yelled. Like a jet, Pupitar expunged some of thepressed air inside of her and flew toward Vespiquen quicker than they''d both expected. She had never fought in public since evolving, so I knew that I was catching him off-guard. "Defend Order. Layers." In an instant, ten thick walls of honey grouped up in front of Vespiquen and anchored themselves against the floor for structural support. I quickly yelled. "Iron Defen¡ª" But she was already doing it. Her cocoon shimmered, bing harder than steel as she easily destroyed every single wall in her way and rammed against Vespiquen''s abdomen, crushing it and tearing itpletely. Honey and things poured out of the huge, gaping wound as Vespiquen screeched in agony. Unable to stop herself, Sweetheart crashed against Kadabra''s barrier, kicking up dirt and rocks. "Focus! Heal Order!" The drones grew more and more numerous, crawling out of her every orifice and building her body back. The honey solidified around her and plugged the huge hole as the dark drones sewed it all back together until the bug type was as good as new, albeit the portion of her abdomen that had just been healed appeared fragile and paler than the rest of her body. I felt a glimmer of hope bud inside of my chest. "Again!" "Fill those vents, Vespi." The bug type hissed as more honey dripped out of herb. Pupitar took a few seconds to situate herself, but she was quick to get back in the air before the liquid could clog her vents. This time, there were no barriers to stop us. Pupitar flew forward and¡ª "Toxic." The bug type angled her abdomen forward and a glob of poison sshed against Pupitar''s shell. It would go away if the fightsted long enough thanks to Shed Skin, but right now? The poison dripped inside of her cocoon and into her eyes. Pupitar missed Vespiquen by arge margin and honey slowly filled her vents, grounding her permanently. I''d been tunnel visioning so much on the honey that I hadn''t expected him to do anything else. I recalled her before more damage could be done. I couldn''t be stingy with my swaps. Not after what she''d done to Electabuzz. I exhaled as I wiped the sweat off my brow. She''d taken only a single hit and could regenerate herself plenty of times if she wasn''t overwhelmed. I didn''t have much of a choice any longer. I grabbed Sunshine''s Pokeball and sent him out. The honey at his feet immediately burned as enormous mes ignited on his shell and he raised the temperature, leaving only squealing drones that he stepped on without remorse. This was our first real battle, and I couldn''t help but feel somewhat nervous. "There he is," Zachary grinned, his innocent face twisting with excitement. "Power Gem!" Turtonator was slow, so dodging her attacks was out of the question, but he was durable. "Shell Trap and Smokescreen!" I ordered in quick session. Eight bright orbs appeared around Vespiquen. With a screech, the bug type sent the gems hurtling toward Turtonator. In a quick, smooth motion that I knew would surprise Zach, Sunshine spun around as his shell glowed with a sinister red, all while he continuously spat out huge quantities of smoke that soon surrounded his entire body. I didn''t see the Power Gem hit him, but I heard them. Each created a subsequent explosion that spread the Smokescreen across our side of the arena. "Now methrower!" I yelled. "Defend Order!" The stream of mes emerged from the smoke. Its speed took Vespiquen by surprise, but she didn''t hesitate to clog its path with honey. The liquid caught on fire, first turning dark brown and then into a charred ck as it crumbled and bubbled on the floor. The heat had an effect on Vespiquen, but she''d managed to block the attack. I clicked my tongue and ordered another one not to let them rest, and each methrower came from another location through the smoke in order to not let them track us. methrower was powerful, but it didn''t have the extra oomph needed to break through that manyyers of honey. If we tried to approach, then Vespiquen would no doubt hit us with Toxic, Power Gem or Air sh. That left me with either sh Cannon or Dragon Pulse, but I knew there was only one right answer¡ª "Gust. Clear the smoke." I usually had a lot more time than this to think, especially with how quick I''d gotten at it. Vespiquen fanned her wings and the powerful Gust easily started to blow the Smokescreen high into the sky. "Dragon Pulse," I ordered. We needed to strike before it was all gone. The red-tinted Dragon Pulse broke through the remaining Smokescreen, and this time it easily broke through all of Vespiquen''s hastily erected barriers. The bug type''s arm''s entire body was engulfed in the hot draconic energy and caught ame, but a shout from Zachary got Vespiquen to extinguish the mes with Heal Order. It wasn''t a pretty affair. Honey wasn''t water, and it wasn''t working that well, only slightly attenuating the mes. "Again!" "Defend Order. Encase yourself and stop his attacks!" I bit my lip as honey rose from the ground and surrounded the bug type into a solid circle, leaving only a few small holes at the top for her to breathe as her eyes shed with a twinge of purple. The Dragon Pulse crashed against the barrier, causing it to melt, but the attack somehow began to sputter. Vespiquen emerged from her cocoon a burned mess, and her angered screeches angered me to no end. "What''s happening?" I asked. Sunshine''s roared with an untold amount of fury as he finally unclogged his nose with a huge methrower. Even if the majority of honey simply cooked away the closer it got to him, the sheer amount that Vespiquen was using was enough to at least interrupt his attacks in short intervals. It had only afforded them a little respite, but the fact that I was struggling against a bug type with Turtonator didn''t bode well. Vespiquen was a master of precision and control, but she wasn''t very good as resisting fire. Just the mes having burned her barrier and getting near her had affected her. Zach yelled, and another set of gems zipped toward Turtonator, who angrily retaliated with a scorching Dragon Pulse that warped the air around it. His usually imprable scales peeled off everywhere Power Gem hit, and the honey was annoying him to no end. Still, she continuously healed herself from the burns even if Heal Order grew weaker each time. Something had been bothering me, however. Zachary hadn''t ordered Toxic since using it against Pupitar when he could easily have used it to equalize the ying field. Now, he could have been holding back, but I had explicitly told him not to, so that theory didn''t make any sense. A simple mistake, then? Tunnel vision? He could have switched already, but he clearly wanted his ace to take down Sunshine. Was it his ego? A self-imposed rule? I held out a hand in front of my face as another explosion from Shell Trap rocked the arena. This time, ming bits of shell flew outward and prated deep inside of Vespiquen''s abdomen. Was it a trap, then? Waiting to take me down with Destiny Bond? He hadn''t called it out, and I hadn''t noticed anything odd. Using the move took a lot of energy and it was impossible to miss. I couldn''t afford to be indecisive! "Finish her off! sh Canon! I yelled. sh Cannon was weaker than Dragon Pulse, but it was also quicker to create. A thin line borne of metal cut across Vespiquen''s entire body, causing her to quite literally bleed honey. Her wings sputtered as she slowly lowered herself to the ground and fainted with grace, bringing her arms together and slowly closing her eyes. Turtonator''s eyes widened, and he roared in agony as a cold, purple me consumed him. He thrashed around and mmed his shell with Iron Tail in an attempt to relieve himself, but nothing worked. I gasped in utter confusion. That was Destiny Bond, but when had he used it? I recalled Sunshine and clenched a fist around his warm Pokeball. "When?" I asked. "When I encased her in that ball of honey," he answered. "I didn''t even notice anything. In your other battles, her entire body was surrounded by those same mes," I said. "No space for them in the shell," he said. "I''ll send my next Pokemon since Vespi went down first." This was really bad. Okay, it had always been bad, but now I pretty much had zero counters to his Ferrothorn if he sent it out. I watched with bated breath, but breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Ampharos emerge from in a sh of red. Arcs of electricity rose and fell as the Ampharos let out a very cute but threatening bleat, and it didn''t stop there. They soon took over the entire field. It was an automatic Electric Terrain that didn''t consume anywhere near as much energy to sustain and the electricity would jump at anything that it could, causing damage in the process. I knew that Sweetheart was our best shot at dealing with him. The Toxic was still running its course through her body, but she was finally starting to shed her outeryer of skin and would soon be rid of all of the poison. Arcs of electricity harmlessly washed over her. "Get close and ram him! Stomping Tantrum when yound!" I ordered. With a burst of speed, Pupitar sted toward Ampharos. I knew from what I''d seen that it was slow and wouldn''t be able to dodge something like this. "Cotton Spore and Guard." A single ball of cotton grew from Ampharos'' gem, and then multiplied like cells undergoing mitosis, clinging tightly to the electric type''s skin and then packing themselves as solidly as they could. Pupitar rammed into Ampharos with Iron Defense and he grunted in pain, but it hadn''t done as much damage as I expected and some of the cotton clung to Sweetheart and grew on her too. The floor shook when shended, harming Ampharos further, but Zachary didn''t seem to care at all. "Thunder." I frowned, thinking that he''d be wasting a lot of energy for no reason, but Sweetheart wasn''t their target. Thunder pped with a deafening boom and electricityshed out across the field, tearing it apart. Gashes opened, rocks flew off toward Kadabra''s barrier and long ravines stretched across the arena. Some of the rocks didn''tnd, however. They clumsily floated across the field as electricity shed in between them and kept them in the air. There was iron in those rocks. Not enough for him to exert full control, but enough for this. "Hit them," Zach said. Still surrounded by cotton, Pupitar struggled to clear her vents enough to fly. The smaller rocks didn''t do much against her cocoon, but therge ones did have some effect. I knew that Zach''s primary goal hadn''t been to use maism to control rocks, however, but to destroy to field enough so that Pupitar wouldn''t be able to navigate it with her air vents closed by cotton. Dodging wasn''t an option any longer. "Stomping Tantrum!" I yelled again. "Make a hole!" "Cotton Guard below you and Dragon Pulse." The floor under Ampharos'' feet split and shook and I expected him to fall down a chasm, but cotton somehow formed into a bridge linking two ends of the ravine and was solid enough for him to stand on. A turquoise stream of draconic energy washed over Pupitar, and she screamed out in pain. Ampharos'' Dragon Pulse was extremely powerful, for something that wasn''t a dragon. I bit my lip, wondering on if I should switch or not, but I had no choice. Pupitar was our best shot. "Rock Slide! Bury him!" I didn''t care how much iron was in those rocks, Pupitar would send too many his way for him to simply use electromaism to avoid them. Sweetheart tore up dozens of rocks from below the ground and joined them to the current ones that were just sitting next to her. The Rock Slide rushed forward like a wave in the ocean. "Thunder!" Again, the electricity was so bright that it left blindspots in my eyes and it crashing against the enormous amount of rocks was so deafeningly loud that it caused me to cover my ears. When I opened my eyes, arge part of the Rock Slide had fizzled out into dust, broken apart or missed its target. The rocks that did reach Ampharos simply hit his Cotton Guard, and the electric type quickly retaliated with another Dragon Pulse, bringing Pupitar down. It wasn''t just Vespiquen. Every one of Zachary''s Pokemon was an unsurmountable mountain that I''d be lucky to even bring down, and I hadn''t even forced him to switch with a massive type advantage. Jellicent and Togetic were out of the question here. I only had Tangrowth to deal with this. Things were looking down, but now that the terrain had been altered so much, there might have been a way for me to beat Ampharos. Angel''s eyes widened at the devastated state of the arena. Chasms, ravines, massive holes and boulders littered the entire field. What we had that Ampharos didn''t was maneuverability in this terrain. "Jump into that ravine!" I yelled. Tangrowth pushed himself with his vines, carefully lowering himself into the ditch with his vines, but a Dragon Pulse from Ampharos disintegrated the vines he used as support and he fell deep into the hole and out of view. That was fine, however. He was out of Ampharos'' line of sight as well. "Sunny Day!" I yelled. In five seconds, a harsh, otherworldly light bore down the arena. Angel pulled himself out of the ditch and into the air, thennded on the ground and began to run toward Ampharos. Zachary ordered another Dragon Pulse that grazed the grass type, but before he could reach him and begin restraining him with vines, Zach used his first switch of the battle. Then I realized how he had been trapping me all along when he sent out his Infernape. The fire type perched himself on a tall, jagged rock and the me on his head intensified as soon as he spotted Tangrowth. He hadn''t switched out with Vespiquen, so I had thought that he''d be stubborn again¡ª but wait, that wasn''t even it. Ampharos destroying the arena, him only using simple attacks to stop Sunny Day instead of pulling another sophisticated technique out of his ass had all been bait. Infernape now had the power of the sun on his side and this destroyed field was the perfect environment for him. I hadn''t felt like this since I had battled against Gardenia. And I never even had to consider someone nning that far ahead since my fight against her. I bit on my tongue and grinned. It wasn''t just his Pokemon that were powerful. He was just really fucking skilled too. Not even wanting to risk this fight, I recalled Angel and swapped him out for Buddy. His water type attacks would be weakened, but he was our best bet. Without Tangrowth here to keep it up, the Sunny Day would fade in a few minutes, but Infernape would reign on the battlefield during that time. That meant that I had to stall for it to end. "Night Shade, and then into the floor!" I ordered. Before the shade was even halfway formed, Infernape opened his mouth and a massive methrower destroyed it in the blink of an eye. The explosion rocked Buddy to his core and the sun slowed his regeneration. I hurriedly called for him to just liquefy and get under the floor. The water type quickly acquiesced, his misshapen form slipping into the many cracks on the floor left by the rampaging Ampharos. "I reckon you can give st Burn a try with the sun at your back," Zachary said. Infernape grinned, and I suddenly felt a chill. Fire overtook the fighting type''s form as he punched the floor. Cracks of fire and molten rocks emerged in front of him as the air became sweltering, soon warping over the entire arena. Infernape yelled as enormous pirs of mes erupted from every single crack he had created and rose high into the air. Water type or not, Buddy wasn''t going to resist that. Even if the st Burn hadn''t spread throughout the entire arena, the ground was being heated up to the point of melting. He escaped from one of the cracks. At this point, he looked more like vapor than his usual self, but he was trying his best to Recover. Stalling was out, then. "Get close and Hex!" I yelled. The Water Sports sputtered and died out from the heat as Jellicent approached Infernape in a wide berth. He opted to pester him with Water Pulses as he went, but those were barely still liquid by the same it reached his opponent. It was the same issue we had with Sunshine, and unlike Vespiquen, we had neither incredible control over our respective liquid or the quantities needed to overwhelm the heat from both Infernape and Sunny Day. Infernape covered his face as thest remaining bits of Water Pulse hit him and then quickly jumped from his rock. "Thunder Punch!" Infernape was incredibly quick, jumping over rocks with unmatched agility. The fire type slid across the floor and front flipped over a chasm, climbed a small hill that had been erected and then jumped toward Jellicent as electricity sparked around his fist. I had thought that we''d been high enough in the sky for Infernape to only be able to hit us with ranged moves, but I was almost wrong. The Thunder Punch barely missed Jellicent, but Infernape''s proximity allowed us to strike quickly with Water Pulse. The fire type grunted in pain, but he had barely suffered any damage. If only we''d started training Hydro Pump earlier¡­ Infernape spat out another methrower on his way down. Jellicent was constantly evaporating and losing enormous quantities of water that he couldn''t regain all that quickly, especially when the two ponds had been utterly destroyed by Sunshine''s heat and Ampharos destroying the arena. The sun was still shining, although slightly less. "Shadow Ball and keep your distance. If they hit us with Thunder Punch, it''s over!" I ordered. Zach seemed content to keep hitting us with methrowers. The problem was that our Shadow Balls were too slow at this height for them to hit an opponent as fast as Infernape while his attacks were quicker than Sunshine''s and easily reached Jellicent. Luckily for us, the sun finally went down and Water Sport came back online. But even then, I was at an impasse. Infernape hid behind a boulder as another Shadow Ball crashed right where he''d been a second ago. He was threading the needle, but showed no signs of even tiring. Jellicent''s bodypressed as a powerful Water Sport shot him away from methrower, now weakened by theck of sun. We couldn''t hit each other¡ª but they would still eventually win. We couldn''t approach out of fear of Infernape jumping up and hitting us with Thunder Punch, and he was too fast and nimble to outrun. We couldn''t create a Night Shade or escape below ground either. I was just stuck, but Princess would probably fare a lot worse than this. At least Buddy had survivability against fire type attacks, and I wasn''t willing to bet that she''d be able to stop Infernape''s attacks with Psychic when the heat was so potent. Zachary was slowly winning and he knew it. I had to do something. "Get low," I said. "Whirpool to buy us time." In a second, Jellicent solidified, deactivated his levitation and fell limp toward the floor. Infernape''s face split with a wild grin as he hopped one-handed over a massive rock like it was nothing and then leaped over a ravine on all fours. Buddy released a thin stream of water that quickly grew into a massive Whirlpool. "Ride it," Zachary said. Infernape jumped into the water, content to be carried by the current and then ignited with such intensity that the attack could only be re Blitz. The water ten feet around him simply evaporated and a burst of electricity overtook Infernape''s fist. I hadn''t expected him to do that, but we still bought enough time. "Now!" I yelled. A Night Shade emerged from below a chasm and hit Infernape with a weakened Water Pulse. The attack was too weak to send him flying, but caught the fire type so off-guard that the attack missed and crashed into the floor¡ª And he used it to pivot like a spinning top and hit Jellicent with his feet instead. The electricity ransacked through the ghost type''s body and he let out a loud booming scream as he quite literally cooked from the inside. There was only a pile of goo with two gleaming red eyes left. I bit my lip and recalled him. The leftover shade disintegrated, unraveling with a silent scream as the knots slowly untied themselves and the shade slipped back into nothingness. Well, it was up to Princess now. I released her and she immediately rose high into the air once she saw the state the arena was in. Her small Fairy Wind already settled into the arena and would continuously chip at Infernape. "Don''t get close, he just took down Buddy with Thunder Punch," I warned. "Keep a barrier around yourself and Ancient Power. Spears. Make them spin." Fifteen spears rose from the ground already half-formed and with a vicious spin. One by one, they flew toward Infernape, who broke into a run as he nimbly made his way back toward our half of the arena. The first two spears crashed against the floor, but it didn''t take long for Princess to adjust her pitch. The third and fourth spears missed as well, but each got closer to Infernape as he closed the distance between them. At the tenth spear, Togetic faked out Infernape by striking at his right to force him left and two other spears struck his leg and shoulder, still spinning to dig deeper. What I hadn''t expected was for the fire type to simply pull the bloodied spears out of his body and chucked them at Togetic with incredible precision and strength. He surprised her so much that she almost got hit, but she quickly took back control right as the spear grazed her stomach. It did force her to abandon herst five, though. Zachary ordered a methrower that washed over Princess'' barrier but still burned her. Her thin fur caught on fire and she began to panic, falling toward the ground like a meteorite. Her pained shrieks broke my heart, but I had a n. "Focus on my voice!" I yelled. Beyond the mes, Infernape''s never-ending grunts, the noise of the ground and the loudness of my own thoughts, I heard a single yes. "Thunder Punch," Zachary said. I waited. Waited and waited for thest second. "Dazzling Gleam!" Pink Mist was sucked into Togetic''s body and then burst outward in an explosion bright enough to rival Ampharos'' Thunder. The shock wave from the explosion threw Infernape back into one of the ravines, and the Dazzling Gleam had also somehow extinguished the mes. Princess tiredly rose back from the ground and gathered another set of spears, but Infernape didn''t emerge from his hiding ce. What were they nning? st Burn could work, but was impossible without the sun at Infernape''s current level. He didn''t know Dig, so that was out too. Was he going to travel across that ravine and emerge from somewhere else to catch us by surprise? "Watch that ravine," I warned. "Stay sharp." Twenty seconds passed without a sound until Zachary called out for his Infernape. Twenty seconds was an eternity for nothing to be happening in battles. The fire type emerged from the exact same spot he''d gone down in with a methrower already flying out of his mouth. They''d caught us off-guard again. The fire covered Togeticpletely, but she freed herself with another Dazzling Gleam. Infernape had already closed half of the gap by the same the attack was done. "Finish her off, Thunder Punch." "Moonst¡ª" The fire type''s fists hurled against Togetic''s cheek, but a half-formed Moonst hit him right in the chest. The bright, pink ball was full of impurities and small, but it was still Moonst. The attack sent Infernape off, but my face fell when Infernape struggled back on his feet and Togetic did not. The me on his head suddenly grew to a massive size, towering far in the sky as his eyes turned bloodshot. Infernape mmed his fists against the floor and yelled, demanding his next opponent. ze had juste into y. Tangrowth appeared in a sh of red and the battle immediately began again. Infernape had moved around a lot and gotten hit plenty, so his movements were sluggish. Angel rolled a massive boulder in front of him with Ancient Power to stop a methrower and slowly surrounded himself with the attack in hopes of protecting himself from the mes. "re Blitz. Break through the rocks," Zachary said. "Bind your vines together and Spore attack!" Imanded. Vines tied themselves together into structures thicker than my torso and pushed back against Infernape as tons of spores coated the surroundings and caught on fire. The grass type mmed his vine against Infernape with a powerful Power Whip, but the mes took hold and quickly spread. Tangrowth detached it before it could reach his main body. The vines writhed against the ground as Infernape burned everything in his way and rammed into Tangrowth with everything he had. Angel rolled backwards, a quarter of his vines ckened and turned to ash, but Infernape struggled to keep going. He''d breathed in Poison, Sleep and Paralysis spores and they were no doubt having an effect now that he was so weakened. The fighting type screamed, pointing at Tangrowth and then gave him a thumbs up as his voice slowly faded. He was finally unconscious. "Good job," Zach praised as he recalled his fire type. He''d probably thought that Infernape could finish us off with ze. He sent out his Pidgeot next, but it was only a matter of time now. The bird was an absolutely massive specimen. Pidgeotrge enough for their trainers to fit on them were rare, but this one was slightlyrger than Maeve''s Staraptor and I was confident that she''d be able to fit two of me. Zachary muttered something under his breath "Ancient Power!" I yelled. I knew that Zachary always used Pidgeot''s superior sense of hearing to take his opponents by surprise, and I would go down fighting. Arcs of air broke against Tangrowth''s rocks, but Pidgeot wasn''t idle. She flew at afortable pace and was easy enough to track, but after her trainer whispered something, she suddenly sped up and spun around Tangrowth with incredible agility. It was like she couldbine Talonme''s speed and Staraptor''s maneuverability all at once. A Twister formed, and Angel was stuck in the middle. He attempted tounch a few rocks into the sky with Ancient Power, but he didn''t have Togetic''s control. Even his vines had better range than his psychic powers. The Twister overtook him, kicking up dirt, dust, and rocks. The end of the attack revealed his unconscious body. I took deep breaths as my heartbeat slowed and the tension in my body loosened. In the end, I''d taken down two Pokemon and slightly injured a third, but that was fighting with the type effectiveness at crucial moments¡­ There was a long way to go, still, but Arceus, that had been fun.
Chapter 185 Chapter 185 CHAPTER 185 Angel¡¯s unconscious form disappeared into his Pokeball as trainers all around us pped and cheered for the end of the battle. I hadn¡¯t put an estimate on how many Pokemon I believed I¡¯d be able to take down, and even though I made a few ring mistakes, I was happy about my performance. It took a bit for the crowd to clear, mostly because I had to answer some curious trainers¡¯ questions about the battle, and so did Zachary. He was one of the up-anding trainers despite not being a first-year, so he was still decently popr, and for good reason. He had just beaten me without breaking a sweat. I was already reying the fight in my mind as I waited for him toe by, trying to figure out the less obvious mistakes that I¡¯d made. Using Sunny Day and falling for that Destiny Bond trick were two. Another one was me not switching out Electabuzz right away at the start instead of trying to desperatelynd a Fire Punch, but what else was there? That was what Zachary was for. He motioned at me from afar to follow and then shoved both of his hands in his pocket. He wanted me to follow him outside, which did make sense. Giving advice in this crowded arena would be annoying no matter how much of Sweetheart¡¯s screams I was used to when studying. Given the fact that all of my Pokemon were down, I called out to him, asking him to wait for one of my friends. Zachary raised an eyebrow, clearly weirded out by my skittishness, but I told him it was a personal issue and he quickly shrugged. I didn¡¯t think he was Gctic, but I felt very naked without a friend or Pokemon to keep me safe. Maeve had been the closest,ing back from a light training session with Mira and Louis while they opted to stay, so she arrived first. Monferno huddled by her side, using his body temperature to keep her from her usual shivering. ¡°Nice Monferno you¡¯ve got there,¡± Zach grinned. I¡¯d only seen Zachary¡¯s Infernape in battle, but he was a lot more outgoing and¡­ boisterous than Maeve¡¯s Monferno. The fire type shyly waved and shrunk slightly behind his trainer. ¡°Uh, thank you,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m Maeve.¡± ¡°Zach. Nice to meetcha.¡± Maeve nodded. ¡°By the way, I know this might be intrusive, but could I join you? I want to listen to the advice, even if it doesn¡¯t apply to me.¡± ¡°Sure thing. Why don¡¯t we get back to the Center, hand in our wounded ¡®Mons and head to the cafeteria? It should be rather empty this time of day,¡± he said. Empty might have been overselling it. The Pokemon Center¡¯s cafeteria was never truly empty, but the tide of people sometimes rose or lowered. Right now, it was low tide, with plenty of empty tables and quiet corners for us to sit in. Hopefully I¡¯d be able to get my team back after a single day. The more time I spent without them, the more anxious I felt. I also used the opportunity to swing by my room to grab myptop to take notes, which Zachary found very amusing. Trainers were old-fashioned and usually didn¡¯t take notes, let alone on aptop, but writing was a lot slower than typing. After picking up a cup and just filling it with ice cubes, hezily sat on the chair with terrible posture and adjusted his sses. ¡°You ready?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± I said, turning to Maeve. She also nodded. ¡°Now I¡¯m gonna say before I start, don¡¯t take anything I say personally, alright? I¡¯m just going to try to hammer a few points home and then move onto the positives,¡± he warned. ¡°Now, you¡¯re at that stage in your career where you can almost always figure out the correct way to respond to a threat. Your train of thought is scary fast, and you analyze the pros and cons on a whim while the battle¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Those sound like positives to me,¡± I said. ¡°Well, hold on for a sec,¡± he raised a finger. ¡°The best examples of this was your Pupitar against Ampharos and your Jellicent and Togetic against Infernape. You knew that my Ampharos¡¯ biggest weakness was hisck of mobility, so you tried to bury him in a hole with Stomping Tantrum or under a fuck ton of rocks. With Infernape, you knew that the moment you got close to the ground, you¡¯d lose, which is why you tried to keep your distance, either through flight or Whirpool.¡± He paused, waiting to see if I was paying attention. ¡°The problem with that is that you¡¯re operating through the worldview that you¡¯re better than everyone else at nning and reacting to threats, but you aren¡¯t, or at least you won¡¯t be for long. I will admit, there are plenty of times you caught me off-guard during the battle, but you always pick the most obvious way of responding to threats. That makes you predictable, Grace. It was obvious that you¡¯d try to go after Ampharos¡¯ mobility with Pupitar and I knew it wasing, so I easily reacted to that and shut her down.¡± What he was saying hurt a little, but I was too busy writing his every word to answer. ¡°When you catch someone off-guard, that¡¯s a crucial opening to take advantage of. You saw it with that crazy flight trick with Pupitar. Didn¡¯t even know that was a thing,¡± heughed. ¡°But the bottom line is, you¡¯re good at identifying problems and finding ways to fix them, just try to make that fix less obvious. It doesn¡¯t have to be every time, because that would be impossible, but try to think outside the box sometimes. Do some unique shit that only you would think of.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± I agreed. ¡°Next, you need to rx, okay?¡± This time, I scoffed. ¡°Huh? Do you mean me being kind of nervous?¡± ¡°Oh, no, being nervous is fine. Your battling pace, I mean. You¡¯re always going one hundred percent, you never stop and rx. You¡¯re always throwing out attacks even when you know for sure that they won¡¯t work. Your Jellicent did it against Infernape, your Electabuzz did it against Vespi. I¡¯m interested in why?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d be able to catch you on the wrong foot,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Why is it a problem?¡± ¡°Well, if your tempo¡¯s always at one hundred, I always know that an attack ising soon and that I need to respond to it, right? I¡¯m not telling you to spend time doing nothing, but it¡¯s okay to slow down and breathe sometimes. Your brain¡¯s at one hundred percent all the time. That makes you slip up, tunnel vision and do obvious mistakes that you really shouldn¡¯t be making like Sunny Day with Tangrowth. Now, because you¡¯re so used to attacking all the time, you panic when I simply slow down slightly, like when Infernape hid down that chasm for a bit and came out the same spot. Your Pokemon are used to your pace, so they panic too.¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah, I guess I do go a bit fast. I¡¯m kind of obsessed with being proactive instead of reactive, and I like to keep up the pressure,¡± I said. ¡°I getcha, and I¡¯m not saying that you need to do it like me. Being a fast-paced battler¡¯s perfectly fine. Just mix it up sometimes instead of always putting your foot on the gas. Recuperate, take a deep breath and look at the battle through a wider lens for just a little bit before you go back to going ham,¡± he said. He chewed on a couple of ice cubes and kept going. ¡°Now, getting back to your Pokemon. You asking them to constantly attack when the moves have a very little chance ofnding makes them waste energy for no good reason. There¡¯s a difference between keeping up the pressure and having your Jellicent use Water Pulse over and over when the attack couldn¡¯t even get close to Infernape. You were using more energy than he was and instead of just waiting to figure out a surefire way of beating us, you opted to order your Jellicent to go low. Battles at a high level against peers¡­ they¡¯re long and exhausting for the participants. Every ounce of energy counts.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I muttered. ¡°I guess that I really just never stop attacking.¡± ¡°Yeah. And again, I will reiterate, you don¡¯t have to do it like me, just keep it in mind. Everyone¡¯s got different styles, I was just giving you some general advice. Anyway, moving on, your face. I¡¯ve heard you can read people, although I didn¡¯t see much of it here, but did you know you¡¯re also very easy to read? When you panicked, I knew. When you were thinking, I knew. When you thought one of my attacks or techniques was bullshit,¡± he paused with a chuckle. ¡°I also knew. You really hated that Destiny Bond trick, huh?¡± ¡°I did¡­¡± I embarrassingly shrunk. I found it hard to focus on people when I was barely holding on by a thread during the battle. ¡°Can you exin how that worked? My Turtonator¡¯s going to be pissed.¡± ¡°When we¡¯re done,¡± he nodded. ¡°Anyway, get some poker face going, because as it stands, you¡¯re very easy to read. Actually, it doesn¡¯t even need to be a poker face. Some people have a persona they put on or are just one thing all the time. That girl, Craig Goodwill¡¯s sister¡ª what¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Lauren.¡± ¡°Lauren,¡± he said. ¡°Saw her battle some other good first year around here when I was hanging out. She¡¯s always unhinged when battling. That means that she¡¯s harder to read. Personally, I try to be rxed at all times, but I still slip up sometimes. Just try to figure something that works for you.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said. If I wanted to emte one facet of myself during a battle, it was the way I¡¯d been during my fight with Harry Rodriguez. The memories of that fight were still¡­ hard for me, and I still asionally woke up with nightmares, but the way I¡¯d been? I would be unreadable if I could replicate that. Of course, that¡¯d require me to emotionally detach and disassociate¡­ which was something Be had taught me. It¡¯d be a lot harder to do when I wasn¡¯t alone in a quiet room with only the sound of my thoughts, though. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter much if you¡¯re rolling your opponents like you were at that tournament, but when you¡¯re battling opponents stronger than you or at your level, you tend to let your emotions show. Gotta work on that,¡± he pointed at me. ¡°Next up, your Pokemon.¡± He saw me react and held out his hand. ¡°Now hold on. I won¡¯t state the obvious and say that they were weaker than mine¡ª except for that Turtonator. That¡¯s not the goal of this exercise and I¡¯d be a dick to think that counts as advice. They¡¯ll catch up with time, but you aren¡¯t utilizing a lot of them to their full potential. Did you notice how I had my Ampharos destroy the arena with two Thunders and let your Pupitar use Stomping Tantrums for my Infernape?¡± ¡°Yeah. I know what you¡¯re going to say. Your team fought like, well, a team and mine didn¡¯t. I¡¯ve been trying to figure out more ways of doing that, and it''s hard to focus on it when I''m losing horribly,¡± I said. ¡°You''ve gotta keep your head in the game no matter what. It helps if you don''t go at 100% all the time like I told you. My battle with Maylene¡ª well, it wasn''t as one-sided as this one, but I was still on the backfoot the entire time. I¡¯ve got three Pokemons capable of flying, and Infernape and Ferrothorn are good at navigating fucked up fields, so that¡¯s what I do most of the time. I destroy itpletely and use that to my advantage. See, you¡¯ve got plenty of destructive power already, but beginners¡ª forgive me for using that term¡ª tend to be too stingy with those powers. The arenas that they set up are more of a suggestion than anything, really. When you reach the sixth badge, it¡¯ll most likely end up beingpletely different than what it was at the start after every battle and both trainers almost alwayspete to change it to their advantage. Now, I don¡¯t know enough about your team to tell you what would work for you or what wouldn¡¯t, but know this: when someone¡¯s very clearly altering the field on purpose, try to at least stop them. Granted, with the power disparity here, it couldn¡¯t have worked that well.¡± ¡°No, no. I appreciate the advice, still,¡± I smiled. ¡°You won¡¯t have to worry about this for Maylene¡¯s fifth badge Pokemon, but Volkner¡¯s a master at working the field and turning it into hell for anything that doesn¡¯t resist electricity. Think what Ampharos did, but way worse.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ there¡¯s a reason why they said he could have potentially been in the Elite Four,¡± Maeve chimed in the first time. ¡°We¡¯re almost done now, but onest point,¡± Zach said after chewing on some more ice cubes. ¡°Damn, that hit the spot. Be less stringent with your swaps. They¡¯re a resource, but you¡¯ve got to use them. You never see someone at a high level lose without having exhausted all of their options. You could have potentiallysted longer.¡± ¡°I should have switched out my Electabuzz,¡± I acknowledged grimly. ¡°Your Vespiquen¡¯s no joke.¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°I do want to finish by saying that you¡¯re damn good. I thought I¡¯d be able to use the gap in experience to take down Turtonator with Vespiquen but I had to use Destiny Bond. Speaking of, you wanted to know how it worked?¡± ¡°I did. Beyond the obvious of causing a Pokemon to faint after taking down the user.¡± ¡°Ah, there are a lot more nuances to it than that. First, you actually could have noticed that I had Vespi use the move. We trained enough to conceal the mes with that trick, but you can never conceal the eyes. They shine purple.¡± My eyes widened. So that was what that had been! It had been barely noticeable since Vespiquen had been encased in that ball of solidified honey. ¡°We¡¯ve trained to extend the length to a minute and thirty seconds or something along those lines, but when we first got the move, she could only keep the bond going for twenty seconds, which was kind of shit,¡± he smiled. ¡°It takes too much out of her to use twice in a row, so if you¡¯d waited, you would have won.¡± I scoffed. ¡°Took a lot out of her? She was still damn near unbeatable!¡± ¡°Well moving honey around is as easy as breathing for her, so that doesn¡¯t count. You¡¯ve got to realize that taking a lot out of a Pokemon at Vespiquen¡¯s level doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re no longer threats.¡± I chewed on his words. It was true that even Sunshine could easily beat my Pokemon one-on-one when wounded or tired, so I supposed that made sense. ¡°Got any more questions for me?¡± He asked. ¡°Hm¡­ your Ampharos had some sort of proto-electric terrain running. Could my Electabuzz replicate that?¡± ¡°Every electric type could do it, although some easier than others. Don¡¯t know much about the Electabuzz line,¡± he said. ¡°Ampharos might not look like it, but he¡¯s a monster. He does it by just releasing electricity through his feet and into the ground, but the amount needed¡­¡± We didn¡¯t have that kind of power yet, but Electabuzz didn¡¯t need to evolve for us to start working on it. For now though, I¡¯d keep him building up his capacity by working on Thunder. The amount of destruction wrought by Ampharos left me salivating. ¡°Thank you for the amazing advice,¡± I said. ¡°It was more than I could have hoped for.¡± In fact, he¡¯d been so thorough that I no longer felt like the Poketch Company was holding me back by restricting the number of public losses I could have. I¡¯d written five pages of bullet points to further developter when I got back up to my room. ¡°No prob¡¯. Always a pleasure helping out, and it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t benefit. I wanted to fight that Turtonator really badly and the publicity will make my sponsors happy. Gotta get that dough.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± I sighed, thinking of how close I was to buying my Shiny Stone. After that, the TM floodgates would finally be opened, and I just couldn¡¯t wait. Zachary finished his¡­ drink and got up. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta run, see you kidster,¡± he waved as he left. ¡°The battle was fun!¡± I ignored the fact that someone one year older than me called me a kid and closed myptop with a satisfied sigh as I sunk into my chair. That had been damn satisfying. I could see what Cynthia had meant by how valuable punching up was now. There was a wisdom experience brought that no amount of hard work or talent would uncover unless someone actually beat it into your head. ¡°What¡¯d you think?¡± I asked. ¡°He¡¯s pretty cool. Confident,¡± Maeve shrugged. ¡°Wish I¡¯d been there to see that battle now.¡± ¡°Someone probably already uploaded a recording,¡± I said, stretching my arms. ¡°Man, that was good. Say, how¡¯re you doing? We haven¡¯t seen each other much.¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. I¡¯m mostly training, trying to push Monferno over the edge so he can evolve before Maylene¡­ I¡¯m gonna sign up with Louis in two days, but I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be able to get there. I¡¯ve also been trying to find a fifth team member, but I¡¯ve beening up nk. I¡¯ve had my four Pokemon for so long that I¡¯m getting anxiety just making a choice.¡± I stood up from my chair and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Pauline¡¯s had the same thing, except without your valid reasons. I think that you¡¯ll figure something out, but remember to take your time. It¡¯s okay to be stingy when you¡¯re going to be spending the rest of your life with your team,¡± I mirrored Cynthia¡¯s words. ¡°Thanks,¡± she smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll see youter? Maybe we can grab a bite tonight? Like you said, it¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Will, um, Mira be there?¡± I asked. ¡°No, no, I was thinking just you, me, and Emilia,¡± she said. ¡°I know you guys are kind of fighting, but I¡¯ve got Louis keeping an eye on her and that Chase guy seems to make her happy enough when theye across each other. I can tell when she¡¯s faking and when she isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Still nothing with Justin, then?¡± ¡°No, but there¡¯s¡­ rumors. He apparently has six Pokemon now, but it¡¯s nothing concrete. One thing¡¯s for sure, he¡¯s going to battle Maylene soon and then dip. He wanted to get to Sunyshore as fast as possible, remember? We¡¯ve got to find him before he leaves.¡± ¡°Agreed. Let¡¯se up with something tomorrow. I¡¯m going back to my room to study, you stay safe okay? Don¡¯t walk alone for too long. See youter for dinner? We can all meet in front of the Center at¡­ 6:30 pm?¡± ¡°Got it,¡± she smiled. ¡°Bye-bye.¡± I took refuge in my room and vicariously consumed and developed my notes. I immediately regretted not having recorded what Zach had said, but he probably would have thought that would have taken things too far. I colored them, bolded and underlined the important bits and two hourster, I had everything I needed. Now I just needed to apply this to the next time I trained with my team. I doubted that they¡¯d feel down. I had warned them that we were going into an unwinnable battle, but Sunshine would be furious about going down with Destiny Bond. That was nothing a few sweet words from Pupitar and burning a few cliffs to vent out his anger couldn¡¯t fix. Maybe I could make himugh with a really bad joke too. It felt weird having none of them here with me. My room felt empty. I spent the hours waiting for 6:30, but my phone rang an hour before the meeting. The Poketch Company was calling. ¡°They sure work fast,¡± I whispered. They probably wanted to speak to me about today¡¯s battle. ¡°Hello? Melody?¡± ¡°Grace! My proposition got through the board!¡± She yelled. I could feel her excitement through the phone. ¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t about my¡ª¡± ¡°We want to start you from zero, and we want for you to represent the link between Pokemon and Human society. You¡¯ve got a knack for understanding them, right? And you can just walk through a route with hundreds of them following you, I mean, that¡¯s the kind of stuff that only happens in movies.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said, my body tensing in anticipation. ¡°But they¡¯ll probably only be that friendly in forests.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the details. We were thinking¡ª and you can say no, but it would certainly help¡ª we were thinking about having you do an interview next week about your experience through the route. It would be on national television¡­¡± I deted like a balloon. ¡°I got questioned enough, Melody.¡± ¡°We can vet the questions and we¡¯ll prepare you. They¡¯ll be real softballs, and there will be no live audience. Just you, the camera crew and the interviewer. You can go in-depth about wild Pokemon as individuals and focus on the positives of your experience. If webine this with your talent at battles, we could strike a real gold mine.¡± ¡°Business-minded as always, aren¡¯t you?¡± I smiled. Arceus, this was fucking terrifying. Me on live television? And only a week to mentally prepare myself? But this was such a good opportunity to make people see wild Pokemon in a different light¡­ sure, it wouldn¡¯t change things, but it would at least start a conversation. And I could start helping out Betrix and Night. It wasn¡¯t a promise. Not yet. ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± I said. I may or may not have immediately regretted the words.
Chapter 186 Chapter 186 CHAPTER 186 "You are? That''s great! I''m going to be flying into Veilstone tomorrow with our media team to get you prepped, then." "Wait, media team? Can''t we¡ª can''t we do this over video like during the Sceon tournament?" Melody chuckled. "Oh, Grace, this interview is going to be a much more involved process and we''ll need to be there with you to ensure that you''re as prepared as possible. Can we meet tomorrow at six?" I sighed as anxiety began to build up in my chest. I was a public figure now. There was no denying it, and I couldn''t run away from that fact. It was going to be difficult, but I had the opportunity to use my public outreach for good and I wasn''t going to ruin that. There was the possibility of me messing up, though. What if the interviewer asked a question that wasn''t vetted to try to catch me off-guard? Melody had told me that controversy and drama was juicy and drove views, and Chase had spent enough timeining about for-profit media to me to make me understand that if they could screw me over to make money, they probably would. "If tomorrow doesn''t work, we can schedule it the next day. I know you''re probably busy training for your battle against Maylene," Melody said. "Tomorrow works," I said. "Yeah, tomorrow''s fine. What channel is this going to be with?" "SGNC. I''ll send you the full details via emailter, I''ve got to start packing since I''ll most likely be staying here as long as you and I still have work to finish up here. Make sure to read them over, okay? And don''t tell anyone, not even your friends!" "Wait, what? But they''re the biggest¡ª" She quickly hung up, leaving me with the chilling sound of silence. I had a feeling she wanted to drop the call as soon as possible so I wouldn''t change my mind. SGNC, or Spectrum and the Global News Company was the biggest cable newswork in Sinnoh with millions of viewers every night. They were the first damn channel on when you turned on your television in a Pokemon Center. The Poketch Company was¡­ essentially gambling on my performance up there. We were joined at the hip, and if I fucked up it would reflect horribly on them. How the hell had Melody sold this to her bosses? She must have made me sound much better than I actually was. "Legendaries¡­" I muttered. Just another thing to add to my te. At least there wouldn''t be a live audience. Surely I could handle one interviewer. I''d managed with a dozen of them getting in my face after every battle at the Sceon tournament. I wasn''t feeling hungry anymore, but it would have been rude of me to cancel on my friends on such short notice. And having dinner with them did help keep my mind off things, especially with Emilia''s wild contest stories. Apparently, some mean girls in Hearthome had promised to follow her here and had dered themselves her rivals. Not that she cared one bit about them. Maeve was a lot more talkative than usual too. I suspected that she was worrying a lot more about our circumstances than she let on and hanging out with friends was a good way to help. I couldn''t help but realize that Emilia was kind of bing this crutch that we were all able to lean on. She was just so¡­ bright. I ended up telling Maeve about the changes I''d undergone because of fairy type energy, and she almost had the exact same reaction as Emilia. Thankfully I''d expected it this time, and Emi was there to help out. Two down. Now there was only Louis and Justin to go¡­ not that Justin would care at the moment. I hoped it would help him rte because he too had been changed by type energy, but that was just me trying to keep my spirits up. Emilia asked to take selfies at the end of dinner to post online. She took pictures of our food and desserts too. She and Denzel were real socialites. ¡ª I woke up bright and early the next day, since I hoped to do a lot of things before Melody swooped in and carried me off to her media literacy dungeon. The first thing I did after breakfast was ask Nurse Joy if I could pick up my Pokemon yet, and I got a stern talking down to because Sunshine had been very difficult to work with. "I''m sorry, he usually isn''t like that," I apologized. "He lost in what he''d consider an underhanded way, and he''s very emotional." "Warn us next time, will you? He nearly burned millions worth of medical equipment when he woke up," she scolded. Nurse Joys were terrifying when they were angry. "Thankfully, the Blissey and Audino intervened instantly." I dipped my head. "Sorry again." I''d gotten Electabuzz, Turtonator and Pupitar back. Princess and Angel still needed to stay an extra day because of Infernape and Jellicent was just resting in his Pokeball. It wasn''t ideal, but it''d do. I quickly headed out of the Center and back toward route 214. They had all fought hard, so they deserved a break if they wished, but I doubted that they''d take it. The sky wasn''t as bright as the previous days and rain softly pattered against the ground. If Be had been here, this would have been some great weather to sleep in. Nightstalker sometimes let the rain fall so I could hear the sounds while she kept us under a barrier all night. Honey, Sunshine and Sweetheart had three very distinct reactions when they saw me. Electabuzz dejectedly stared at the ground, disappointed in his performance against Vespiqueen. Pupitar screamed at me to ask if I''d seen her flying, which I obviously had, but she just wanted praise. Turtonator¡­ hid his anger. It was still there, easy to see if you knew him well enough. The slightly ufortable heat leaking out of him despite the fact that he would never do it on purpose when I was this close. His eyes, slightly narrowed and his pupils thinned down to slits. The light smokeing out of his snout and mouth with each exhale. It was a lot more contained than I had expected. "I heard you gave the Nurse Joys a tough time. You know that you shouldn''t do that, right? They had nothing to do with your fight against Vespiqueen." The dragon''s scales lost a little bit of their color at the mention of Nurse Joy, and I finally understood that they must have terrified him. Those Blissey and Audino might have looked innocent, but they were trained and bred by the League. "Just don''t do it again, okay? I know it hurt your pride to lose in such a way, but we''ll get our revenge. We just have to work harder," I smiled. He responded with a timid nod. He really wasn''t being himself. "Just take a breather and rx today. The weather''s not great, so that''s a shame, but feel free to go off and sleep somewhere," I said. "Hey, Honey. You''re not at fault for your performance, I am. I messed up my orders and failed to switch you out when things weren''t working. I''m sorry." I patted him on the shoulder and he lit up slightly. He''d gotten a lot better at taking losses, but the fact that he hadn''t even gotten one hit in against Vespiquen weighed on him. I told him he could take a break too, but he wanted to get back to training right away. "Keep building up your electrical capacity, then," I nodded. "I''ll start looking for a bigger battery that can do the job until we get to Sunyshore when we get back. Sweetheart, you can do whatever you want to. The others are still in the Center." I crouched, petting the little spot between the spikes on her head. "You should probably check on Sunshine, though. I''d do it, but he wouldn''t like it if it was me," I whispered. The rock type grunted and crawled toward where Sunshine had gone. I thought she''d do that the whole way, but after a loud hiss, she flew off and crashed in the distance. We definitely had to work on thosendings. They had messed us uppletely during the battle with Vespiqueen and allowed her to fill her vents to keep her grounded. Pupitar were slower than their Larvitar form and she would slow down further the more she grew, so it was high priority along with Iron Head. I wanted her to learn the move so she could better focus the steel type energy to deal more damage when she flew at things even if Iron Defense would work for now. Today, she was on break, though. I lifted the hood of my raincoat and thought back to the battle. Zachary had gone over most points, so I didn''t need to have an autopsy like I usually did, but I still needed to look to the future. The most pressing part of his analysis was using my Pokemon as a unit beyond things like custom moves. As it stood, they were pretty bad at navigating destroyed fields, so that was off the table. Only Princess and Buddy would be able to, and that was because they could fly. I needed to find something with synergy, but the more I racked my brain for answers, the further away they seemed. The second urgent issue was my tempo, and that was something I could actually fix for my battle with Maylene by practicing against trainers. It didn''t matter if they were worse or better than me so long as I could get it down. The sheer amount of psychological pressure Zachary had inflicted upon me by just having his Infernape wait in silence could not be understated and I was desperate to recreate it against other opponents. It would make their minds race and desperate to know what the hell I was nning, but I wouldn''t even need to be nning anything. Granted, I doubted that Maylene would fall for those kinds of tricks, but the fact that attacking nonstop made me predictable and she wouldn''t hesitate to shut me down right away. For that, though, I wanted to wait for Princess and Angel to get healed and to let the rest of my Pokemon just rx for the day. I spent the next two hours learning more about Mayelene''s tactics since I had given a bit too much importance to Aura thest few days. Sure, it was a pain in the ass, but it wasn''t the only thing they had going for them. I recalled my team when I was done and finally released Buddy so that he could apany me back in town. I had a few stops to make. First was buying Honey his new battery. I swung by an electronics store and got him a bigger model. Unfortunately, sr batteries were kind of limited outside of Sunyshore because they specialized in sr energy, so I could only buy something with double the capacity. Honey would enjoy the gift nheless, but he deserved better. Second, it was finally time to get Sweetheart her¡­ premium dirt. There were a lot of stores seeling specialized food for different kinds of Pokemon. Aron, for example, had to supplement their diet with iron, as was the case for many steel types. Garbodor or Muk grew with trash or toxic materials, so many cities actually paid trainers with those Pokemon to clear out some of that waste. Only a few Pokemon ate dirt. The only one I knew of besides Pupitar were Mudbray and Mudsdale. I had looked up this store the day I had made it to Veilstone and it had excellent reviews. Now, I finally had time to go there. The building was rather empty, save for a man on his phone over the counter. Hundreds of packs of dirt wereid out on shelves, each with different names and contents. I didn''t even know where to start. I thought that I would have been able to swing by and just grab one, but there were too many options for me to know what to pick. Plus, these looked way too big to fit in my bag. In fact, they were the size of my bag and looked to be even heavier than that. I ced a hand under one of them and gave it a tentative lift, and it was a lot heavier than it looked. As heavy as Sweetheart had been as a newborn. I wasn''t confident I''d be able to carry one back at the Center. "Need any help?" The young man called out. "Yes, please," I said. He hopped over the counter and we both ignored the fact that he almost tripped and face-nted. "Are you looking to feed Pokemon or grow berries?" He asked. "You grow berries with this?" "How do you think all those berries get into those stores? We pack the soil with nutrients and sell those to thepanies that grow them. That''s the majority of our clients, along with amateur gardeners." "Cool. Well, I have a Pupitar to feed, actually¡ª" "Ah, Pupitar. You don''t hear that often," he said. "If you''re looking to speed up the evolution process, we have¡­ follow me." I followed him deeper into the store until we reached a row of untouched packets of dirtbeled BLEND. Yes, literally just blend. "This is what I tend to ship out for people that own Pupitar. It''s mineral-rich soil with plenty of calcium, iron, and magnesium for her cocoon. Lots of good bacteria that''ll help it break those down more efficiently and a neutral pH bnce for optimal nutrient absorption. Now, for the costs¡­ it''ll be fifteen thousand per pack." My eyes balked at the price. She''d get through this one pack in a single day. "If you don''t got enough money for it, I can''t give it to you," he shrugged. "Those are our rates." "I have the money, but she eats a lot. I don''t have the money to buy one of those per day." "Well, you can mix it in with her usual food if you really can''t. She''ll evolve slower, but it''ll still speed up the overall process and you''ll keep the benefits. Oh, and I assume you''ll want to get it delivered?" "No, no, I''ve got someone that can carry it back to my Center," I waved. "I''ll buy¡­" Since I had nned my savings around the sry from the Poketch Company and not the LTIP, I could use the money from thetter to buy this. Since it was February, I''d be getting paid soon, so I opted to buy two bags instead of one. Plus, next month, I''d be able to renegotiate my sry since three months would have passed from the time I''d signed with the Poketch Company, and I was hoping that they''d increase it. I had been a bit of a pain for them with what I''d done on route 215, but before that, I had basically been the model sponsee and listened to everything they''d said. And if the interview went well, that would basically guarantee my raise. "Thanks for doing business with us," he said as I paid. He carried the two packs of dirt on a tbed trolley. I released Electabuzz and he picked up one pack in each arm with a heavy grunt. I tried to get one off of him, at least for a little bit, but he refused to hand it to me and said he could handle it. If Angel or Princess were here, they would have been able to help too. The others weren''t built to carry stuff like this. Sunshine''s arms weren''t as long and dexterous as Honey''s and he had no fingers to properly grip the bag. He might not have looked the part, but Electabuzz was strong. He was a Pokemon, after all, and even though he was panting by the time we''d made it back to the Center, he didn''t struggle too much. He grinned, flexing his arms as he dropped the two packs inside of my room. I didn''t know how much I was speeding up Pupitar''s evolution, but I''d be able to tell depending on how quickly her next molt came. The examiner had said that she''d be ready to evolve by the time she grew to 6''5'''', so there was a while to go still. I would also need to actually use it all before we left Veilstone because there was just no way I was willing to travel with this. Knowing Tyranitar''s reputation, evolving even two weeks early could be crucial with Sweetheart''s performance in theter gyms and the Conference. Be had warned her about not getting violent and giving in to rage as they were known to when they evolved. Hydreigon were even worse. Hopefully it wouldn''te to a fight. I couldn''t imagine Sweetheart trying to hurt any of us on purpose, but she might still do so on ident. The power she''d be able to wield would bepletely alien to her, so it would take us a while to get her used to them, along with just walking around in such a huge body. There were also rumors of Tyranitar being truly impossible tomand while they were mega evolved¡­ but I was getting ahead of myself. Trainers capable of mega evolution were the exception, not the rule. I wasn''t getting that any time soon, first because I didn''t even need to look at the price to know that a Tyranitarite was expensive beyond anyone but the richest of trainers could afford and that I was way too weak to withstand the process. Craig, a fully grown man with years of experience was still wiped out every time he used it. I bet that I''d pass out immediately. That wouldn''t stop me from daydreaming about leveling a small hill with her. I bet she''d enjoy that. I spent the rest of the afternoon alone and the anxiety slowly built up as six in the evening approached. I even refused an invite from Emilia back at the Pokemon Game Arcade. It was only when there were thirty minutes left that I remembered that Melody hadn''t given me a ce to meet her at, but a knock at my door forced me to relinquish all fantasies of her giving me an excuse not to show up. It was strange, how she''d been in Hearthome yesterday and was already here. Being a trainer and traveling everywhere had made me forget how small the world truly was when you could travel on a ne anywhere. You could go from one end of Sinnoh to the other in just a few hours while for me, it had taken months of grueling travel with both highs and lows. I wouldn''t give it up for the entire world, but I had to admit that flight sure was convenient. "Grace! How are you?" She asked with bright eyes. She still looked the same as always, her dark hair tied into a bun and pronounced dimples when she smiled. "Great," I lurched. "Don''t be so nervous, we aren''t even doing the interview yet. Do you want to reschedule to tomorrow?" "No, no, I''m fine," I said. "Gotta do it. I owe you and others this." "You don''t owe me." "I do. You got chewed out because of me and I could tell how bad it was affecting you and I said I''d pay you back. We can go." Her smile softened and she led me out of my room. "Thank you for doing this. I know it''s hard for you, but it''s a great leap forward. And look, the interviews after your battles weren''t bad after the first few, right? It''ll be the same here." "You kind of dropped that it''d be on Sinnoh''s most watched channel and then hung up. That was a little rude," I said. "Sorry." We stepped off the elevator and Melody brought me to a car parked in front of the Pokemon Center. "Company owned," she smiled, turning to the driver. "Back to the Poketch Building, please." Right, they had a presence in every major city in Sinnoh, and I heard they wanted to get into Floaroma and Sandgem too. "Did you read what I sent you?" She asked. I nearly facepalmed. "You didn''t," she added. "I''ll just tell you here, then. You''re going to be interviewed by Mallory Ryan at 9:00 pm. That''s a prime timeslot with the most viewers, so you''ll have a lot of eyes on you." Mallory Ryan. I knew that she was SGNC''s most popr anchor, along with her co-host Patrick Cox. I remembered disliking them for how they covered the protests by stirring up controversy and drama when we were staying in Eterna city, so we were already starting off on the wrong foot. "Yeah," I dryly said. "We''ll prepare you, don''t worry. The team''s waiting back at HQ. It''s next week on Friday, so again, lots of eyes. We have nine days to get you ready, which is plenty of time. I''m not Craig''s liaison and I wasn''t in the position I am now when he first started working with us, but apparently hepletely bungled his first interview." "That does not help," I said, clenching a fist around my seatbelt. "Oh, it doesn''t? I thought it''d be good to show you that we all start somewhere. You''re a decent interviewee with the training I already gave you back in Sceon." "But this isn''t the same, and you know it." "Yes. It''s a lot more serious and high-key, I won''t deny that." Silence settled in for a few seconds as I waited for her to continue, but she didn''t. Maybe she wanted me to rx. "So it''ll just be Mallory, then? Not her co-host?" "Yes, just one. Two would have been unfair for someone who''s just dipping their toes in. Mallory can be¡­ well, she''s a little vicious when she''s interviewing someone she clearly doesn''t like, but the Poketch Company has a good rtionship with her and a lot of our sponsored trainers have already gone on her show and none of them had problems." "Vicious how?" "Asking questions that weren''t vetted, mostly. She''s good at her job and can easily get under people''s skin, but she found your interaction with the Rangers very interesting. She''s a little bit of a Pokemon rights activist, you see. Shows up at anti-Parasect protests and such." "Anti-Parasect protests?" "People that think that Parasect shouldn''t be allowed to be trained because the parasite takes over the brain when they evolve and they therefore can''t give consent to being used in battle. She also hates it when cities expand¡­ you should have seen what she said against the new port the League''s nning to build in Sceon." "I thought the news were supposed to be neutral," I said. "Not that I disagree with her." "Oh, please. News channels aren''t neutral," sheughed. "Every channel''s got their own agenda to push. It''s just how things work." "I guess. Anything else to know about Mallory?" I was slightly more sure of myself now that I knew she and I shared some values, but I couldn''t help but worry. "You got the gist of it. She''s already sent the questions she wants to ask and our team is reviewing them right now and no doubt editing a bunch of them to send back." She continued to exin the process to me as we rode toward the Poketch Company building, and as it turned out, almost every one-on-one interview was conducted like this. I honestly believed that the questions were a surprise every time, but that did exin how so few people got tripped up on the news during an interview. The Poketch Company building here had the same, modern look that it had in Hearthome with its facade covered in clear ss windows which still made it look horribly out of cepared to the concrete-filled buildings that littered Veilstone, but thepany didn''t seem to care about fitting in. It hadn''t in Hearthome, after all. As we both stepped inside of the building, my phone rang with news that made my heart swell with joy. "Can we postpone this to tomorrow?" I asked. "This is¡ª this is urgent." "Is it? I mean, I guess we could, but¡­" I nodded and bit my lip anxiously. "Please. My girlfriend just made it to the city." The woman sighed, smiling at me. "Fine. Tomorrow at six, I''lle to pick you up. Go." I was already out before she finished her sentence.
Chapter 187 Chapter 187 CHAPTER 187 My legs felt light. Each step was easier than thest as I ran toward the gate to route 215. The warmth and happiness I felt overtook the frigid temperatures, spreading from my heart throughout my entire body. They were here! I was going to see Cecilia, Denzel, and Pauline again after so long. All of the guilt I felt toward dropping everything at thest minute for this was slowly washing off my skin the closer I got to the gate. There had never been any doubt. We''ll be waiting at the gate, Cecilia had sent to the group chat. I yelled at a taxi before realizing the driver already had a client inside and continued to run. When I stopped for a red light, the fidgets came. Constant anticipation that I couldn''t shake off no matter what, and it grew toorge to ignore. The Ranger Station I had been questioned in passed me by in a sh, the sentiments of unfairness all but forgotten. I was so close. "Ah!" They were there, in the distance, tired but happy. Pauline tapped Cecilia on the shoulder and pointed toward me with a smug smile, and she and Denzel started to wave. Cecilia did not wave. She ran toward me with a limp, nearly tackling me to the ground in the process. She lifted me up into the air, spinning as weughed for what seemed like an eternity. It was so silly¡ª it had just been slightly under two weeks since I''d seen her, but I was happy beyond words. All the stress of the past few days didn''t disappear, but it was lighter now. I knew I''d be able to shoulder more than what I''d been capable of just mere hours ago. "I missed you," she smiled. "Hmhm," I nodded, nting a kiss on the corner of her lip. "How was your time on the route? Did you meet, uh¡ª" "Hatterene?" She asked. "Yes." "I''ll exin soon," I said. Denzel and Pauline were here now, although they''d given us some space. I wrapped both of them into a big hug. "Gremlin! Leave it to you to get into some weird ass situations the moment you''re off traveling on your own," Pauline said. "You owe us." "I''m sorry. I did manage to get you safe passage through the route." "That was a safe passage?" She trembled. "Arceus." "It wasn''t bad," Denzel said. She side-eyed him. "Okay, it was pretty terrifying. How''s Veilstone been treating so far, Grace?" "Stressful and annoying are two words I''d use. I''ve got a bunch of stuff and obligations¡­ Mira''s gone off the rails, Justin still hasn''t spoken to us, it''s just a lot. Was I the first one to arrive?" "You were. I didn''t think you would run here," Pauline said. "Cece wanted to surprise you like you guys did when you got back to Eterna, but I was against recycling that joke." "It wasn''t a joke," Cecilia said. " And you liked it! You were so happy that you cried." "I might have." "You did." "The real problem was that we had no idea where any of you were and there was no way to find out without seeming too suspicious," Denzel shrugged. "Anyway, everyone''s going to show up here, so we can wait if you don''t mind?" "I don''t," I shook my head. In all my rush to get here, I hadn''t even noticed everyone''s messages. The others were all taking a car to get here¡ª and Louis'' old driver was at the wheel. The same one who had driven us to Mount Cor all those months ago. Edward was his name, if I remembered correctly. "You guys won''t believe what happened to me yesterday. I battled this guy with seven badges and his Pokemon were incredibly skilled¡­" As soon as I named Zachary, Denzel was already looking him up and he noticed that he was also in the LTIP, which was why he''d owned more than six Pokemon before having eight badges. He certainly had the skill and potential to make a great League Trainer, but given his ambitions, I had the inkling that he was mostly in it for the extra money. Pauline and Cecilia were more enthralled by my retelling of the battle, however. Thetter seemed particrly interested in him having altered the field to his liking. To be quite honest, I wouldn''t mind a battle against Cecilia or Denzel after I''d practiced the tips Zachary gave me. I kept those for myself, of course, despite feeling bad about it. We were friends, but we were alsopetitors. If they wanted to improve quickly, they''d have to punch up like I did. Louis'' dark limousine arrived just as I was telling them about Chase''s narrow loss to Lauren Goodwill. Emilia''s reaction was simr to mine, and with good reason. Unlike me, she''d been apart from her girlfriend for an actually long time. She initiated a kiss, which caught Pauline by surprise and caused her to grin like an idiot. She''d trulye into her own. Denzel looked off to the side with an awkward smile, but then affectionately pped Louis'' back until the man nearly yelped. "I missed you, my man!" he grinned. "You look happier." "I am happier," Louis smiled. "Your teachings still carry me a long way during training and Gible''s been getting closer to the rest of the team¡­ save for Vulpix." The twounched into a conversation about the drama in their teams as Mira shot me a look. "Grace." "Mira," I responded. Our rtionship was still icy, then. I hadn''t been sure if she would keep going with this, but I certainly wasn''t going to be the one to apologize first. I was slowly atoning by revealing my changes while she was still off doing Arceus knows what every night when Maeve or Louis couldn''t keep an eye on her. Reckless, needless risk. Cecilia noticed my body tensing and grabbed my hand, but it was only for a moment. Mira soon turned toward the others, but she did not have her mask on today. She was more muted than usual and was content to listen in the background, only chiming in when someone addressed her directly. "Are there enough spots for all of us in the car?" I asked, leaning into the vehicle. "It''s a limousine, Grace," Pauline snarked. "Obviously there is. Hop in." I nestled myself deep into the car and was surprised to see it teeming with alcohol. That was probably why they''d been slower than me to arrive when I''d been on foot, besides Edward having to pick up everyone. Unless the alcohol was always there? I didn''t even know what kind of alcohol it was other than a few Champagne bottles I recognized because my friends drank way too much, especially when they were almost all underage! Louis served everyone a ss, although I didn''t take one and opted for water. Mira also took water. "A toast to our reunion, however long it mayst!" Louis cheered. "You didn''t have to add thatst part," Denzel said with a nervous chuckle. We all raised our sses and began to drink, and the group divided into smaller conversations. Pauline, Emilia and Louis talked about organizing an impromptu party in one of our Pokemon Center rooms and who would go buy what. Emi had already taken charge of almost everything and the other two were mostly just agreeing with whatever she said. Mira sipped on her water in silence with Maeve there to keep herpany and she was slowly cheering up. I hadn''t known what had happened to her¡ª probably another fruitless search. Meanwhile, Cece demanded for me to sit on herp despite how awkward it made it for her to drink, and Denzel bantered with us while he drank. "...feels like you two haven''t seen each other in years, not two weeks," he joked. "Talk about teenagers in love." "So what?" Cecilia huffed, tightening her hold on me. "You think it''s easy, wait until you start dating someone." "Not happening. I''m living the single life this year and focusing on myself," he said, pausing shortly. "So, Grace. What the hell was with you and that Hatterene and that Decidueye?" "Right. What did she do to you guys?" I asked. I knew she''d probably been tough, but fair. "She sent wild Pokemon to follow us to see how we treated them, then followed us for two days until she talked to our Pokemon to see if we were treating them right, I think," she said. "But then she said that she knew you and to tell you that you had good friends." My lips twisted upward. Be approved of them, then. That was good news. "She sought me out after I spent a night with a group of wild Pokemon¡­" I exined most of my journey with Be, excluding things like her name or the legend that could exin my power toprehend wild Pokemon. Other than that, I told them everything I''d said to the others, along with the hundreds of Pokemon walking me to the gate as a final goodbye. Needless to say, they were bbergasted by the end of the story. They''d been so stunned that they hadn''t interrupted me at all. And I included me being what Betrix would consider a halfling because of Togetic. Cece already knew, but Denzel didn''t. "What the fuck," Denzel said after downing his ss. "What the hell. How does that¡ª why didn''t you tell me about the fairy stuff?" I shrunk down slightly. "I thought you''d find me weird or try to find a way to fix me," I sighed. "I know you''re disappointed. Sorry." "I am," he said. "I thought we were best friends. We tell each other about stuff like this. At least I understand what you said about wanting to travel alone for a bit a lot better now. It came out of left field for me before, but I get it now." "Did you figure out everything you wanted, at least?" Cecilia asked. "I thought I did, but there''s a lot left. I need to figure out a way to bnce my two selves. I''m doing an okay job right now, I think." "I don''t think that you''re behaving any differently if that''s any help," Denzel said. "I mean, the stuff you said. Obsession with prices and things like that, I thought that was just you being weird." I rolled my eyes. "It isn''t weird. It''s just different. Thank you for hearing me out, though." "Thanks for telling me." "So what did Hatterene say about your teams?" I asked. "She was tired with mine, I think," he grinned. "Oh, yeah, yours argue all the time, so that makes sense. She probably thought that they were constantly being too loud. I would have paid to see it!" But my question had primarily been directed at Cecilia and more precisely, her Scyther. His circumstances hadn''t been that different than Betrix''s, aside from the length of time they''d spent forced to fight against their will and violently trained by their respective trainers. Cecilia stayed silent for a while, so I turned toward her slightly and saw a wave of uncertainty pass on her face. "I didn''t understand it very well, but I think that Scyther decided to stick around," she finally said. "He gave you a chance, then," I nodded. "Don''t squander it, okay?" She blinked. "I won''t." "Anyway, this entire thing somehow led to me having an interview scheduled at SGNC¡ª" "Excuse me?!" Denzel yelled. He downed another ss. "Yeah, next week Friday. I was actually on my way to begin my training when you guys sent that text, so I''ll have to go back tomorrow at six." "Do you know when it''ll be over?" Cece asked. "I wanted to ask you out to dinner." "I''ll probably eat there," I winced. "I owe Melody a lot and this is important, so I can''t drop the ball again. Can we go the day after tomorrow?" "Sure." "Stop talking about dating ns and talk more about that interview! Arceus, I''m so jealous¡­ argh," he groaned. "I''d give so much to be on that stage!" "If you could take my ce, I''d let you." "You better take your training seriously! Don''t waste your chance. People from all over Sinnoh will be watching," he sternly said. "Don''t talk about work right now," I sighed. "This is only part of it. I''ve got a lot of things to do. Between the interview, training my team, preparing for Maylene, and practicing the tricks Zach told me, my hands will be pretty full. You guys should get to work too." "Already started. I like this punching up idea. I''ve made a post, although I don''t think it''ll get as much traction as yours. I don''t have much to lure them with. Trainers don''t care about how many subscribers you have," he grumbled. "I''m interested in battling Lauren," Cecilia nodded. "You have her number, right?" "I did add her, but she doesn''t like to do things like that ording to Chase. She''s more of an old-fashioned girl, like ''our eyes met, so we have to battle'' or ''meet me at this spot for our fated battle,'' so I think you''ll have to find her." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course, it would be too easy otherwise. I also have to catch my sixth Pokemon soon¡­ I was thinking of going to see some of Maylene''s battles for some inspiration." "You want a fighting type?" Denzel asked. "Yes. I''ve narrowed down the list a little, but seeing them in action will make it easier." "There are a few fighting types near the mountain on route 214, but there aren''t that many wild Pokemon there," I said. "I''lle with you to see Maylene battle if I have time." "Are we still on for our date? You said you''d be busy." "Are you kidding? I''m obviously on," Iughed. "You keep me updated on it, okay? And by the way, no joke, you guys should definitely study Maylene and what she does with aura. You didn''t listen to me against Fantina, but this time it''s true." "Aura? I thought only Lucario could do that," Cecilia said. "See? This is what I''m talking about!" I groaned. ¡ª Denzel was somehow already drunk by the time we got out of the car in front of the Pokemon Center. Despite how big he was, it turned out he''d been a lightweight all along. He leaned against Louis for support while the others filtered in the Center. My eyes scanned the entire street before I stepped out of the limousine, and Cecilia quickly took notice. "What''s wrong? Are you scared about Team Gctic?" She worriedly asked. "I still haven''t noticed any League Trainers. I wonder how they''re tracking us." "No¡­ my mother, which is arguably worse. Sorry, that was a bad joke." "Your mother?" "Yes. She''s in here, and every time I get back to the Center, I get scared that she''ll be waiting here waiting to jumpscare me like a cheap horror flick," I shuddered. "Is she that bad?" "Now? Not really. In the past? She was horrible," I said. "I don''t feel like seeing her." I jumped as Cece linked her arm with mine and apanied me into the Pokemon Center. "I won''t ask what she''s done. It must have been bad if you aren''t even willing to see her," she said. "Cheated on my dad when I was a toddler," I whispered. Cecilia''s face darkened. She''d only met my father once, but he''d made a big impression on her. "Ah. Yes, I understand why now." "Good thing that she wasn''t here today either," I sighed in relief. After everyone had booked their rooms, we all stepped inside of the elevator and I tapped Emi''s shoulder. "Is the party still happening? Denzel''s ready to sleep already." "Who do you think I am?" she scoffed. "I won''t let this fated reunion go to waste! You should all gather in¡­ Louis'' room!" "My room?" the blond man sighed. "I''m the one who has to clean up after." "What happened to your spunk, Louis? You used to be all about hosting parties! I won''t hear anyints. Chop chop! Get Denzel to his bed." "I cane¡­" Denzel groaned. "I can¡­ ugh." "How can someone get this drunk on three little sses of Champagne?" Pauline scoffed. "He didn''t eat anything," Emi said. "I didn''t eat anything either¡ª" "Don''t turn it into apetition," she rolled her eyes. After telling us toe to Louis'' room in an hour, Emilia sent us all off. Needless to say, Cece joined me in my room. "Don''t mind the two bags of dirt, the notes, the y statues¡ª that''s Princess'' art, don''t step on it. Uh, yeah, I should probably clean some of this up. I would have if I knew you''d arrive today." "Don''t worry about it," she smiled as she carefully stepped over a statue of one of the Nurse Joys downstairs. She dropped her bag on the floor. "Mind if I take a shower?" I sat on my bed and put my phone on silent. "Um, yeah. Go ahead." I fiddled in ce as the soft sound of the shower filled my ears. She came out in a fresh set of clothes clearly meant to lounge in instead of travel. The wound on her leg hadrgely healed and was just a huge scar, and her stitches were slowly fading, getting absorbed into the skin. It was a mess of irregr, rough, dark scar tissue that stretched over her entire foreleg. I could slightly see the pattern of Krokorok''s teeth. Small punctures in the skin that were the only pattern that made sense. I clenched a fist and felt rage bubble in my chest. She hadn''t deserved this. Krokorok''s trainer hadn''t gotten off lightly. His entire life had copsed and he''d have to go into rehabilitation and learn to live with feelings, but I still couldn''t quash this trepidation in my heart. My jaw clenched. "Can I open a window?" Cece asked. Finally calming down, I nodded and she slid the window open. "Can we talk about¡­ our goals for the future?" "How far in the future are we talking?" "After this year''s Conference. Winning the tournament would be nice, but¡­" she trailed off. "Probably not happening," I nodded. "And if we did by some miracle, we aren''t getting past the Elite Four. You came to that conclusion too?" "I did a bit ago during my time on route 215. It was a weird trip. I was aimless for a while with no goal in mind. Just traveling, having fun most of the time," she said before sighing. "I want to go to Unova and do the Circuit there. I want to be Unova''s Champion." I stared at her as silence crept into the room. She kept staring straight outside the window, but I noticed the little nces she snuck me as she anxiously waited for my reaction. I didn''t even know how to react, though. I hadn''t expected this conversation at all. I nervously stared at my nails. "To beat your brother? You never really had an issue with him, didn''t you?" I said. She wasn''t like Lauren with Craig. "Beating Mark would just be a means to an end. I would do it even if it weren''t him. The true goal is to slowly reform the system to make what happened with my father impossible in the first ce. Corporations are toorge to touch¡ª and I realize how hypocritical that makes me sound. I mean, I did grow up with his money, but I didn''t truly realize it until I understood that if Sinnoh wasn''t holding him under house arrest, he''d be free back in Unova. The situation''s even worse there than here." "And you want me toe?" I guessed. "I do. I already told you a few stories, but Unova is different from Sinnoh. Even if you only have to defeat eight of them, there are ten gym leaders, it''s a bigger ce than Sinnoh, there are a lot more people and trainers, death is a lot more frowned upon, and I think you''d enjoy it. But I don''t want this to be some ultimatum or anything," she quickly said, shaking a hand. "I know Sinnoh''s your home, and you might not want to spend time away. I mean, we''re just kids, right? It''d be foolish to give up everything for¡­ this. You have your dad, the Poketch Company and this would just be you and I. I doubt any of our friends woulde." "I was thinking about what to do after this year came to an end, but I hadn''te to an answer yet. Can you give me the rest of the year to think?" I asked. "The real answer is I don''t know yet." Cece exhaled and her shoulders loosened. It looked like she had expected me to say no. "That''s okay." "But how''s it going to work? Didn''t you want Cynthia to help you find a Spiritomb?" "I''ll have to figure it out. I also want to battle her too, despite knowing that I''d get crushed," she said, finally sitting next to me. Her fingers intertwined with mine as she ced another hand on my thigh and kissed my cheek. Cecilia was odd like that. She liked to put distance between us when a tough conversation came up in case I gave her an answer that''d hurt so that she''d feel less pain, but then she''d be all cuddly if I agreed with her because she''d need a way to express how relieved and happy she was. Not that I minded. I had expected us to get straight to this and even put my phone on silent so we wouldn''t get interrupted. "Um¡­ can you¡­" I whispered. Her kisses and touch were electric. ¡ª "Why are you two sote¡ª you know what, don''t answer that," Emilia groaned after one look at me. "Sorry," I giggled with Cece. "You don''t look sorry. Come in," she smiled. The party was already well underway, although obviously Denzel wasn''t there. Some pop song that I didn''t know yed in the background while Miraughed in the corner as she forced Louis to do some silly dance that made him look like he was doing some kind of ancient ritual. Pauline filmed the whole affair, adding her snarkymentary. "Put more heart into it, or I''m sending it to the group chat!" She yelled. "I think he''s going to pass out," Maeve warned. Louis took a few ragged breaths. "Everyone''s looking anyway. I think I''m going to stop." He dropped on the ground, his chest rising and lowering with each breath. He looked like he''d just run a marathon. How long had they forced him to dance for? "Denzel''s going to be furious about missing this," Emi smirked. "Pauline, it''s your turn on the podium." "I can''t, I''m tired from traveling." "Sounds like a convenient excuse," Cecilia smirked. The redhead red at her. "Don''t look at me, my leg is still messed up. I can''t even walk properly yet." "I''m not dancing. Grace should dance." "Don''t involve me in this¡ª" Cecilia, traitor that she was pushed me forward. "I don''t even like this song!" I pleaded. It was toote. I was doomed to Louis'' fate. I spared him a look and finally understood what had pushed him this far. Peer pressure was hard to deal with, especially when everyone was so happy to be back together.
Chapter 188 Chapter 188 CHAPTER 188 My rm woke me up at eight in the morning, and I was out and about right away. I wasn''t exactly a morning person, but I had never struggled to wake up once I got on two feet and out of bed. Today was going to be packed (like most days in Veilstone so far), so I wanted to wake up as early as possible and take advantage of it even if we''d gone to sleep ratherte. I could always fix my sleep schedule and catch up on my hourster. "Hnng¡­" "You''re tired from traveling. Stay asleep, don''t worry about me," I told Cecilia. "We can get you another key to the room when Ie backter." "Fine¡­ love you." I couldn''t help but smile as I turned toward her. I got close to the bed to fix up the curtains, since a few rays of sunlight were shining on her face and bothering her, then I kissed her forehead. She put her arms around my neck and tried to keep me from leaving, so I nted a few more kisses on her lips. She was so cute when she was sleepy. Iughed. "I''ll see youter, okay? I''ll be out all day. I''ve got to do training, media stuff and such." "Be careful," she muttered. "I will. Want me to bring you breakfast? They''re making bacon and eggs today." "I''ll go down when I wake up," she whispered. "Can you get Slowking out of his Pokeball for me?" I turned to the belt she''d left on my desk. "Which one is it again?" "Third one from the left¡­ wait, no, from the right." I nodded, releasing the tall psychic into the room. Slowking stared at his sleeping trainer and shot me a grateful look. She was already back to sleep now that I was out of her arms. "Hi. You can speak to me now, by the way," I whispered. "Hatterene helped me get over most of the pain from telepathy." Ah,he immediately said.That will make things much easier from now on. There was still a headache, but it was easily manageable. Slowking didn''t know how to attenuate his voice like Betrix did, and it showed. It is my understanding that there is more to your rtionship with Hatterene than meets the eye,he pondered, cing his hands behind his back.A mother-daughter like bond, if I had to guess. She was testing us to see if we were worthy of you. A self-centered and wed way of thinking, in my humble opinion, but we all have our biases. Even I. I raised an eyebrow. Hatterene as a motherly figure? An interesting thought that I couldn''t deny made me feel warmth, but I doubted she felt the same. "She''s protective of me," I nodded. "Sorry if she gave you a hard time. Cece and Denzel told me about it." It was fine. She was very emotional and irrational, but I could visualize the situation from her point of view. I am interested, but I will not pry since I can tell it is a sensitive topic. "Thanks." And to you as well. Be safe on your travels,he said. He levitated Cecilia''s phone and clumsily typed in her code with his single dull w.I shall begin looking for psychic type masters capable of teaching me the process of shielding minds. I waved Slowking goodbye and exited my room. While telepathy was nice, I disliked the fact that unlike with Be, there was simply no emotion in his tone. I''d honestly prefer to talk to him naturally if he didn''t mind and fully learn all of his quirks, but I doubted that he''d like that. To be honest, there were plenty of my friends'' Pokemon I wanted to talk to. Cecilia''s Scyther was at the top of the list, but Zweilous was close. Denzel''s entire team would probably be a riot, but I wanted to focus on Sylveon. Then, there was Mira''s Kadabra. The psychic type had apparently been studying me, and I wouldn''t mind hearing what he had to say. That one would have to wait until she apologized and we made up, though. Hopefully Denzel would be able to mend the bridge by talking to her. He was probably feeling terribly hungover right now. Actually, he wouldn''t even be up. It was barely 8:30 am. Today was a training day, however, so none of that was on the table. I finally picked up Princess and Angel from the Pokemon Center and passed through the same rolling suburbs to get to route 214. I was going to take note of any fighting types that could be found here for Cecilia as well, although I knew that like most wild Pokemon on this route, they were all further south. Stumbling upon one here would be a miracle. I released my entire team, who cheered now that they were finally all reunited. Sweetheart doted on her sister, who actuallyon the ground to be showered in her screams of affection while Buddy didn''t evenin about being treated like a helium balloon by Angel, who relentlessly pulled him up and down with a vine wrapped around one of his tentacles. He kept going with the charade until Honey tried to join in and grab a tentacle of his own, after which he just dissolved into water to slip past both of them and slithered toward Sunshine, who scoffed at his weakness. ording to him, if Jellicent didn''t want something done, he just needed to fight them off. Of course, that didn''t stop him from being reluctantly touched by Tangrowth. Princess even greeted him with a slight smile, and he offered her a nod. They were getting closer slowly but surely. I directed them to train, although Princess and Angel could still take it easy. What I was interested in, however, was Vespiquen''s performance against us. The way she hadplete control over honey intrigued me, but the only Pokemon I had that excelled in control was Togetic. Excel might have been a big word. My standards had shiftedpletely since seeing Vespiquen battle, but she was still great at it. I was beginning to wonder if it couldn''t be replicated, not with something like honey, but with the earth itself. A mastery of Ancient Power soplete that the ground would flow like water around her and change however she wished it to. An inspiring idea that could bring her to greater heights. The problem was that it''d be a lot wiser to focus on her fairy type attacks, along with Air Cutter, which she was going to work on today as well. We''d neglected her flying type the entire time, but it needed to catch up now that we were going to fight a fighting type specialist. I''d given controlling the field some thoughtst night in bed as well. Princess had the control to make whatever she wanted¡ªshe literally sculpted art every day, most recently a Nurse Joy, although she''d told me that she wanted to make Be and Night soon. She''d created an enormous wall dividing the arena in two during the double battle with Chase and Cecilia, but that had nearly wiped her out. Angel had the raw power to screw up the field (even if that power was nowhere as close to Ampharos''), but none of the control. If I couldbine those two somehow and make Princess turn the arena into something we could use after Angel would give her enough to work with¡­ "Bingo,"I grinned. An idea had struck me, now I had to practice it and make sure I wasn''t in over my head. It wouldn''t work against someone like Volkner or Crasher Wake, but it seemed perfect against Maylene. There were plenty of trainers that''d be willing to battle me back in Veilstone. ¡ª 6:00 pm hade in a sh, and Melody hade to pick me up thirty minutes earlier. This time, there was no avoiding my responsibilities. I had also skirted around the fact that I''d gone against her word and told Cece and Denzel about the interview in a week''s time, but I made sure to tell them not to spill. I trusted my two closest friends enough with the information. "Don''t look so nervous," Melody said. We were the only two people in the elevator. "Oh, it''s forpletely different reasons this time. Pokemon stuff. I''ve been trying to make this new strategy work with Ancient Power, but it''s a little tough." "Oh, the moment someone starts talking about battling, everything sounds like gibberish to me. I don''t even know what Ancient Power is. Is that an ability?" My head whirled toward Melody and I shot her a look of pure disbelief. "You know what, never mind," I sighed. We walked out of the elevator and into¡­ what I could only describe as a makeshift interview room. Twofortable chairs sat opposite of each other with lights shining down both. There were microphones, individual equipment and a greenscreen behind all of this. A group of five people sat further in the room with a dozen empty coffee cups and notes everywhere. "We figured that simting the environment the interview would take ce in would work better for you," Melody said. "The real thing will look better and have a bunch of tech guys running around in front of you, but this is pretty one to one." "Thanks," I muttered. "They are¡­?" "Your training team that flew in with me," Melody exined. "From left to right, Gregory, Kenny, Julia, Sebastian and Rene. They were the ones that helped me train you for your Sceon interviews and gave me pointers on what advice to give you." I nodded and waved at them, and they greeted me back. It was nice to put faces on the team behind Melody. "So how different is this going to be, then?" I asked. "We''ll show you how some of Mallory''s interviews have gone in the past, show you how to pose and carry yourself¡ªremember the smiling point? That still applies," Melody said. "The interview''s supposed tost ten to fifteen minutes and is very unlikely to go over. Cable TV''s run like a tight ship. They keep to their schedule, otherwise they won''t have enough time to run advertisements, and that''s how therealmoney''s made." "We''ll be running mock interviews and guide you on how to answer each question," Rene said. "But before that, we''ve got a list of those questions that SGNC''s sent us at Mallory''s request, and we wanted to see what you thought of them." She handed me a piece of paper that I slowly scanned. The first questions were easy. She''d ask me about what convinced me to be a trainer, a few questions about my journey until she could naturally segway into what happened on route 215. There have been rumors that you can understand exactly what Pokemon say. Is this true, and could you prove it to us live on stage with one of ours? Arceus, I didn''t evenknowthere were rumors about that. "Don''t want that one," I said, tapping at the question. "I can''t do it right away and it''d be awkward to just say that, no? I feel like people would expect me to say yes." "That''s fair," Melody smiled. "I would have said the same thing if I knew how quickly you learned to understand a Pokemon. Your instincts are getting better." "And that''s a fascinating ability," Gregory added. "Have you been able to do it since you were a child or¡ª" "Greg, you aren''tinterviewing her," Julia snapped. She looked the most tired out of everyone in the group. "Keep your questions for when you''re not on the clock." I kept reading, nodding along. These were a lot less confrontational than I thought. Questions about my time with the wild Pokemon and if I could give them a few tidbits about some of them, more about how that link with Pokemon reflected on the rtionship with my team¡­ these were nice. Would you ever consider joining a Pokemon Rights protest in the future, seeing as how you stood up to the Rangers outside the gates? That one was trickier. I didn''t exactly have an answer for it, since it really depended on what the protest was advocating for. I was leaning yes, but Melody convinced me to keep it in since the team would help me develop a proper, well-argued answer. You shared some emotional words with Hatterene and Decidueye before you left. There are many theories running around, but could you go more in-depth about your rtionship with them? "How vague are my answers allowed to be?" I asked. "Too vague is bad. It makes you look weak and unsure of yourself," Melody said. "Like the protest one, we can help you¡ª" "No, this is different. Scratch it off, then," I sighed. "If I can''t be vague, I won''t answer." That was thest question I''d had to deny, and they quickly sent the list back to Mallory via email so she could either adjust her list by adding different questions or pad her current ones, becauseyes, she was nning on using the interview''s full runtime, so there was no hope of escaping by having it end early. Melody pped her hands. "Let''s start training you in the ones you''ve approved of so far! They might change slightly, but it''ll still help. Sit in the chair and I''ll act as Mallory¡­" I shambled back home exhausted that night, and I was supposed toe back tomorrow afternoon in order to get to my date in time. ¡ª "Arceus, my back hurts," I sighed. "How does your back hurt?" Emilia asked. "You trained for an interview. That should be pretty low on the physical side of things." "It''s the chairs, Emi. stic chairs with terrible support. I swear, the chairs at the League Office where I got my Carry License were better." I was currently getting ready for my date with terrible results. I had no fancy clothes and only packed to travel. The only dinner date appropriate attire I maybe had was that dress Cecilia had bought me back in Hearthome, but it was way too cold to wear it even with a vest on and it wasn''tformal. Emilia had joined me in my suffering. And to help me with my makeup and hair. Yeah, that was mostly why she was here. She was so good at it now thanks to her contests, but she was also excellent at fashion in general. I hoped that she''d be there to help me for every asion like this, because she certainly made an excellent fashionista. I did have that Poketch Company event I was supposed to attend this summer. "This is terrible," I groaned. "I have nothing! I was so busy that I had no time to go shopping, I''m going to look like trash." The restaurant Cece had invited me to was a fancy one in the city''s south, so that was basically code fordress well. I couldn''t show up to this one in jeans. Well, I could, but that''d be disappointing for both her and myself. "Come on, now, it''s not the end of the world. I can lend you something if you want." I turned toward her with Lilipup eyes. "You would?" "I''m only¡­ what, two inches taller than you? Our bodies are pretty simr, so it''ll work." She left and came back five minutester with two huge suitcases. "I have a lot of things in here," she said, opening them. "Feel free to peruse and pick whatever you like." I hesitantly lifted a khaki skirt, which Emilia nearly pped out of my hand with a horrified look. "Are you kidding me? That would look terrible on you." "What? I don''t¡ª" "Just leave it to me. Sit here." She motioned to the bed, and I followed her orders without hesitation. Emilia dug through the suitcase and pulled out a few options for me. "I wish we could have gotten these ironed," she groaned as she patted them down as best she could. "No time now." The girl hummed as she stared at what she had picked until she settled on a pink one shoulder dress that left a dangerous amount of corbone exposed and that would reach down to my knees. "Pink and white go great on you," she continued, pulling out some white heels. Cecehadsaid that she liked white on me. "Have you worn heels before?" "Uh, no." "Okay, we''ll go with white ts then. Go put this on and I''ll prepare the makeup and hair stuff. I should have a few hair bands hanging around. We''re going with a low bun. Cece''s going to love it, trust me." "I trust you with this more than I''d trust myself," I said, shuffling to the bathroom. "You know, speaking of Cece, it''s the 27th in a few weeks. I was thinking of what to get her and I got a good idea, I think. Don''t tell her this!" Getting in this dress was impossibly difficult, but I was somehow managing. "I won''t tell. Spill." "Well, beyond the actual gift I was going to buy, I was wondering if you could record a small personalized message for her? I was going to ask everyone and ask you to edit it if you don''t mind. I hope it''s not too much work." "Oh, please. It''s just adding a few clips together, it''ll be done in five minutes," Emilia said. "You know¡­ remember that letter she gave us before leaving for Mount Cor?" "How could I forget?" Emilia said, her voice turning slightly grim. "Personalized messages for each of us. I wanted to spin the idea into something more positive. I think she''d like it." Her tone brightened, "That''s a great idea. You''re good at this gift stuff. Most people don''t even know what to get until thest second and sometimes they even end up pulling the''I''m your gift''card. Not that it doesn''t work¡­ it does, and frighteningly well." "By most people, do you mean Pauline?" I teased. "Yes. Yes, I meant Pauline." Iughed and realized that my body felt constricted every time I did so. ording to Emi, that was just the pain of looking good. She said that I had ''potential'' and should dress like this a lot more often, so I figured that was good news. I looked into the mirror and took a few breaths. My burns were in full view in the dress. Red, scarred tissue stretching down my neck, cor and arm. A smidge of it was visible on my lower thigh. "It''s alotof effort, though," I sighed. "Girls are badass when they look good." If I''d been drinking something, I would have spat it out. I hadn''t expected such a direct statement from her, but I couldn''t really disagree. "Stop fidgeting around and sit still," she said. I didn''t know what she was doing to my face, but I nearly gasped in disbelief when I saw it. ¡ª Cecilia had really thought that she''d stop being nervous for dates by now, but she''d apparently been entirely wrong. Maybe it was because it had been a while since theirst seriousone. Sure, they''d knocked on people''s doors in Sceon, but it hadn''t felt anywhere as official as this and she didn''t want to disappoint. Training and focusing on Talonme''s flying type attacks yesterday had kept her mind off things, but now that the day hade, Cecilia found it impossible to focus on training, so she''d had Slowking run some drills with the others. It had gone¡­ rtively alright. Talonme didn''t need the extra help nor the direction, but Zweilous and Golett certainly did. Meanwhile, she just let Scyther do his own thing whenever he wanted. The fact that he had chosen to stay with her had filled her with untold amounts of relief, but she knew it was just the first step. As Grace had said, this was achance.She still needed to be better and atone for what she''d done, but Scyther refused to tell Slowking what he wanted her to do, so Cecilia was stuck trying to figure it out herself. She was no Grace. Figuring it out by just listening would be impossible, and she doubted that he''d speak to her girlfriend directly. She had directly contributed to him getting caught, after all. "Is this too much?" Cecilia asked, turning toward her friend. Pauline''s eyes narrowed as she studied her. She was wearing the same long dull ck dress that she''d worn for multiple parties that Emilia had thrown. "I feel like I should wear something more unique." The Pokemon Center''s mirrors weresosmall that it was impossible to even look at herself properly. Even after all these months, she was used to much taller ones. "It''snevertoo much. Dress killer and own it," Pauline said. "But hey, she''ll definitely think you look hot in anything." "I''ll wear something else," Cecilia sighed. "You know, her birthday''s soon. I''ve got no idea of what to get her. It can''t be something simple, but if I get her something too expensive she''ll dislike it too. Can you help me?" Pauline smirked. "March 4th, right? And that sounds like her alright. She''s probably thinking the same thing right now since your birthdays are close, so at least you''ve got that going for you." "I wouldn''t want her to suffer my fate," she said as Pauline unzipped her dress. "Thank you. I was thinking of jewelry¡ª" "Just get her a ring and ask her hand in marriage while you''re at it," she sarcastically interrupted. "And you said not expensive." Cecilia stammered, "D¡ªdon''t be silly. Obviously not a ring, but something like a ne or a bracelet. Whatever, you''re terrible at giving gift advice. You''re the kind of person who''d sayyouwere the gift." "Touch¨¦. Emi loves it though." Cecilia began to dig through the many clothes that Emilia had stored for her in her luggage and given back to her yesterday until she found something that caught her eye. She smiled as relief filled her. "I found something." "Then go get dressed already! You''re taking way too long." Cecilia stared at her phone and noticed that she had thirty minutes left, then ran into the bathroom. She still had to do her hair and makeup too¡­ she''d be cutting it close. "How did your flying license thing go, by the way?" She asked. "They don''t do same day appointments. Earliest I got was tomorrow," Pauline grumbled through the door. "Luckily they''ve got a guy with a Charizard there that can teach me, so it should be pretty quick." "What are you going to do after?" "I don''t know. Stick with the group to Sunyshore, probably. Then fly off. It sucks, but I can''t afford to waste time gvanting through Sinnoh." Cecilia nodded and made a vague sound of approval. Considering what Pauline had told her about desperately wanting to reach the Conference, her worries about time constraints made sense. Maeve would do the same, if she had to guess. The girl had already began her own training with Staraptor. The problemy with Louis and Justin¡ª She caught herself and grimaced. Justin''s goal was no longer the Conference. Not this year. But Louis had no flier, and as it stood, he would never make it to eight badges in time. There was simply no way he''d get to Snowpointandbacktrack to Canve without a flying type capable of traveling with a human, so Cecilia nned to get him alone in an attempt to convince him to either go out of his way to catch one as soon as possible or simply purchase one. He had until Pastoria to get one. Of course, Cecilia was worried about her own prospects, but she still had plenty of time for Golett to evolve. Heels were going to be tough with her leg, but she wasn''t going to be walking for too long¡ª "Holy crap. Your phone''s ringing," Pauline said. "And you just snooped?" Cecilia scoffed. "Is it Grace? She''s early." "It wasupright, it''s not my fault! And, no, it''s not the gremlin. It''s that bitch Amy. You didn''t block her number?" Blood froze in her veins, not out of fear, but rage. Memories of that fated day at the hotel, Amy Saunier asking Cecilia to essentially resign to her fate and be a veto her father''s whims, and now shedaredto call? To grovel at her feet and talk about how it wasn''t her fault, perhaps. If she was lucky, they''d never see each other again. Cecilia wasn''t sure if she''d be able to stop herself from releasing Zweilous and terrifying her. She''d gotten off free from any consequences because she wasn''t a trainer, nor was she from Sinnoh andw enforcement probably believed that she''d been pressured to act like she had by Harvey and rence, or at least that was the narrative the news, her parents andwyers had gone with. Last she''d heard, she was still in Eterna, although her parents had flown in to help her ''get through this'', whatever that meant. Cecilia tended not to look at whatever concerned Amy, or she''d get the urge to destroy her television. "Do that for me, please," she answered cooly. "Got you. Want me to send something? Like, fuck you Amy, jump off a bridge, I hope your ne gets hit by some rogue flying type when you finally fly back to Kalos¡ª" "No. Just block her. She doesn''t even deserve tomunicate with me any longer." "Hanging her off to dry? Cold as hell, I love it," she said. "Done. You won''t be seeing her pop up again." "Thank you," Cecilia said, opening the door. "Zip up this dress for me?" Pauline paused, looking at her. "Arceus, Cece, I amsojealous of your skin." ¡ª I turned eyes as I walked downstairs and out of the Center. Each one of my steps felt constrained and difficult to make. Breathing was more demanding than usual, but I did have to admit that Emilia had done an excellent job. I pulled at the purse she''d given me and feltfort at the sound of my Pokeballs jumping around the bag. Now that the time hade, I couldn''t help but feel nervous. Cecilia was waiting for me next to Louis'' driver, and her appearance left me speechless. ck stiletto heels elongated her legs and gave her a feeling of unmatched elegance. There was a small glitter, and it was only then that I noticed the diamond ne around her neck. A ck strapless dress that quite literally sparkled hugged her brown skin and bold red lipstick adorned her lips. She was¡ªshe was really fucking hot. I audibly gulped as I approached her. She''d gotten Louis to lend us his Arceus damned limousine. "Cece¡­ You''re¡ª" "You''re beautiful," she told me with a bright smile. "I still can''t believe I''m dating you sometimes." "Ditto," Iughed. I almost slurred my words. I couldn''t take my eyes off her. She helped me inside the car and followed suit. "Good evening,dies. Where to?" Edward asked. "The Elegant Carver, please," she said. I hadn''t been this giddy and happy in a long time.
Chapter 189 Chapter 189 CHAPTER 189 I had never heard of the Elegant Carver until yesterday, but Cece told me that it was the best Steak House in Veilstone. Her father owned a vacation home here and often came to the city for business, and he would sometimes bring her and her mother here. I would have thought that this ce would have been the subject of bad memories, but she didn''t seem to mind. In fact, she was empowered as we walked through the doors and onto the luxurious carpet, her limp having nearly disappeared in that brief moment. It was a protest, I realized. A way to tell herself that she had grown past this trauma and that she couldugh in the face of it with someone she loved. "Good evening," she smiled. "Reservation for two under the name of Obel." "Ah, Ms. Obel! It has been a while!" The host beamed. He was rather old, in his fifties, if I had to guess, and he sported a thick mustache. "And who''s your lovelypanion tonight?" "My girlfriend, Grace," she said, cing a hand around my waist. "It''s her first time here." "I''m sure she''ll enjoy it very much. We''re the best Veilstone has to offer!" He bellowed. "Nice to meet you¡­ um¡­" "Mr. Bahn," he said before motioning at a waiter with gusto. "Samuel here will take you to your table and attend to you tonight. Enjoy your evening,dies." I nearly gasped in awe at how expensive everything in here looked. Emilia definitely had done me a solid by lending me this dress, because I actually felt like I belonged despite my massive burns turning heads. Crystal chandeliers cascaded their soft glow throughout the room, but it wasn''t too bright, leaving the entire establishment dimly lit. Plush, velvet drapes adorned tall windows and there was even a long ga carpet that snaked through the entire restaurant that people walked on to get to their tables. I saw a glimpse of a bar room further in, but that wasn''t where we were going. A Hitmontop danced next to a pianist ying her song in the distance by spinning on his head and juggling knives in the air with his feet like it was nothing, but people didn''t seem to mind at all. In fact, they began to p just as the song finished, and Hitmontop got on his feet to bow with the pianist and the rest of the musicians. I was kind of jealous of her skill. The entire song had been wless, but she''d been the one carrying the entire melody. The waiter pulled both of our chairs to let us sit and ced a dining napkin on ourps. Everything on the table looked so fancy I was scared of even touching it. Even the damn menu was impable. Samuel poured us a ss of water and said he''d be back soon to see if we were ready to take our order. "So? Do you like it?" Cecilia asked. "Do I like it? Cece, this is incredible," Iughed. "I''ve never seen anything like it! Oh man, everything in here smells so good¡ª" I stopped when I heard herugh. "Oh. Sorry, I''m not used to these kinds of ces," I said. "Don''t apologize. I like seeing you like this." "Like what?" "Carefree," she said after a short pause. The music resumed, and Hitmontop began to dance and juggle again. "This ce holds a decent amount of memories for me. It''s nice to go there with someone I actually like. Have a look at the course." I grabbed the menu. "It''s a Steak House, so I gotta have steak¡ª okay, what the hell is a tartare? Sounds Kalosian." "Not a tartare, just tartare. It''s actually Aln, believe it or not. A Kalosian explorer brought it back and poprized it in Kalos after renaming the dish, which is why it sounds that way. It''s essentially salted raw meat, but this one has truffle oil, mustard..." Okay, I knew nothing that was on this appetizer list. Foie Gras? That was Kalosian gibberish to me. There was the Lobster Bisque, and Cecilia had already introduced me to the world of seafood when we''d been in Snowpoint, so I knew what I had to pick. "You''re missing out on the tartare. It''s A5 Grade beef," she said. "Oh, that''s the best grade, right? I don''t know¡­ I think I''ll stick with the lobster." We decided on a Tomahawk Steak for two as the main course, although I took a side of fries while she took asparagus, and I opted for some Lava Cake as a dessert while she decided to pick the Cr¨¨me Br?l¨¦e. Since this was an official establishment, Cecilia couldn''t buy alcohol this time, so we just asked for some soft drinks. "Lots of Kalosian stuff here," I mused. "Well, they don''t call them the best at cooking for no reason," she smirked. "But yes, it is a Kalosian establishment. My mother used to only eat Unovan food until she was introduced to this ce a few years ago." My eyes widened slightly. Cece had only talked about her mother to me once, and while she didn''t share that vitriolic hatred she had for her father, she seemed to err on the side of dislike due to her mother simply watching her get abused by her father all these years, just like her brother did. In fact, I didn''t even know her name. "Do you miss her sometimes?" I asked. "Not really. I miss what could have been, I suppose. If she''d had a little bit more backbone. Simply offering a few words of support after rence''s outbursts would have been enough for me. s, she was terrified of him. Even more than I was." "But you''re still her daughter. That''s messed up," I shook my head. "Will you go see her? When you go back to Unova." "I haven''t decided yet," she said, pursing her lips. "Can you tell me more about Unova? The happy memories you have of it instead of the bad, I mean," I asked. "If I''m going to go there, I''d like to know more about it. Not statistics or how itpares to Sinnoh, but how it makes you feel." Cecilia sipped on her drink, her eyes never leaving mine. "This might not make any sense," she started. "Come on, try it." "When rence said I''d being to Sinnoh to travel with strangers, I was actually a little relieved." "That makes sense, though. It would mean that you would spend less time with him." She nodded. "I was still a terrified, paranoid mess, of course. Remember when I mmed you against the wall in that bathroom stall?" Iughed. "You know, in retrospect, that was actually pretty hot¡ª" "Stop it!" She giggled. "And yes, it was, but that''s beside the point. Unbeknownst to rence, he was giving me the tools for me to escape. Pokemon, and ways to actually build friendships with people that weren''t rotten to their core. At one point, I actually wanted to stick around in Sinnoh my entire life, but that always left a bad taste in my mouth¡­ like I couldn''t ept it. All of my friends and loved ones are here. You, Pauline and everyone else, you''re my family. I mean it. Yet the pull I feel from Unova is almost impossible for me to ignore. I miss it too much." "A pull?" "It''s just a connection I feel. Like it''s my home, and that could never change. Despite it being where I suffered so many bad memories. Years of my life spent as a shadow of myself listening to my father''s orders and being friends with a girl that was only there to control me, and yet I want to go back. How insane is that?" "It''s not insane," I dered. "You have a sentimental bond with the ce. Here, what''s your favorite spot ever and why?" She immediately answered, "Castelia City without a doubt. Imagine a city four timesrger than Jubilife with five times the amount of people. A melting pot of every ethnicity, upation and way of life. It is thergest city in the world and I absolutely love how it looks at night. The lights are just amazing. I''d like to take you one day," Cecilia fondly said. Her eyes might have been staring in my direction, but she was looking elsewhere. At Castelia City in her mind''s eye. "The view from Skyarrow Bridge at night is just unparalleled. You just see the whole city, and for a single instant, it''s this¡ª this living, breathing organism. You have to see it to believe it." "That was a beautiful way of putting it," I said. She was a lot more passionate about this than I thought. "Doesn''t it get too crowded?" "Oh, it does, but that''s part of the charm. Rush hour is almost unnavigable, both with a car and on your feet. It''s like a sea of people, and everyone''s flowing with the current. I managed to slip out of rence''s hold on quite a few asions while we were out of the car. I''d sneak off to an ice cream shop with¡ª with Amy." "You don''t have to talk about her," I said. "What else?" "The art exhibits were great too. The Gym Leader there is a bug type specialist called Burgh and he hosts a lot of them. It''s kind of abstract, I mean, it has a lot to do with honey." "That seems terrifying to me after battling a Vespiquen," I sniggered. "Doesn''t it get bad, though? I couldn''t imagine running a city that size." "Gym Leaders in Unova are kind of hands-off in that stuff. I really mean it when I say that it''s a lot more civilian-controlled than here, you know? They have a role, but a very small amount of power, so their position is essentially ceremonial. They each have a side job other than tending to gyms. Burgh''s an artist, Sk''s a pilot, Elesa''s a model and influencer¡­" "Denzel would like her," I said. "That''s interesting. So they don''t do anything, then?" "Not really, aside from battle and attending a few meetings. Gym trainers there have a bigger role in the gym challenge, but I forgot how it was exactly. It does probably get boring, which is why they do other things. Speaking of Elesa, Nimbasa''s a ton of fun too! There are a ton of theme parks and stadiums to watch sports." "Sports like Pokemon battles?" "No, actual human sports. Like football and the like," she said. "rence would often buy some of his important business partners the best tickets to some of the games there. I wasn''t the biggest fan, but the theme parks are great! I can''t believe Sinnoh doesn''t have a theme park! I mean, what are you guys even doing?!" "Sunyshore has a Ferris Wheel! I''ve been there once when I was younger!" I yfully protested. "And the Safari Zone is kind of a theme park." "Nonsense. And A single Ferris Wheel doesn''t count," she rolled her eyes. "But seriously, it''s like, everything in Sinnoh is just so serious all the time, it gets exhausting. Unova is just fun, even after everything I went through there. The beaches on Humu¡­" "You told me about those, I remember!" I said. "There''s a festival there every summer, right? With the dancing Ludicolo that you forgot evolved from Lombre." "Don''t remind me about that," she shrunk. "There''s also Unde Town for beaches, although that one''s a lot more exclusive. Did you know Cynthia took a liking to the city when she visited Unova years ago? There were rumors that she wanted to buy a home there, but she never went through with it because people got nervous about a Champion vacationing in another region." "She could still do it when she retires," I said. "Unova does sound fun. I mean, I still feel the need to defend Sinnoh that you''ve so outrageously ndered¡ª" "With justifiable cause." "¡ªand honestly, you dide at a bad time. Everyone''s on edge with Team Gctic, I promise it''s not so doom and gloom all the time. I do like the sound of Unova, though. I can''t imagine being able to go to the beach all year round. Even Pastoria gets too cold outside of summer." "That''s because of the sted weather here. Sinnoh''s a cold hellscape! I want you to wear cute, summer clothes! I want to see you in a sundress and a hat while we''re on a date at the beach! The point is, I want to see you dressed in less than a coat, for Arceus'' sake. Your beauty''s wasted here." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you forget about yesterday night?" "You know what I mean." "I do know. I like teasing you now that the roles are reversed for once, even if it doesn''t work that well," I said. Our appetizers finally came and I licked my lips when I saw how juicy my lobster looked. "You know, you never vented that much about Sinnoh before. I didn''t think you hated it that much." "That''s because you make it genuinely fun and exciting every single day," she said nonchntly. I suddenly blushed and nearly dropped my Lobster Cracker. Right, she''d just made my night without even trying. ssic Cecilia. "You''re cute," she said with a smug smile as she leaned against her hand. "You just had to have the exact words that''d make me feel like the happiest girl in the world, didn''t you?" "I do my best," she said, bowing slightly. "Here, taste a little bit." A piece of tartare hung on her fork, and I hesitantly ate the meat. It quite literally dissolved in my mouth and exploded with taste. "Wait¡­ wait, this is really good!" I eximed. "I told you, you were missing out. We can ask the waiter for another one." My mouth was already stuffed with lobster by the time she called Samuel over, and she ordered for me. There was some sort of dipping sauce that I sure as hell didn''t know, but it tasted damn good too. I did feel kind of bad for Cece, because she was eating like an Arceus damned princess while I was being, well, me. "I poured my heart out about Unova, so why don''t you tell me your favorite aspects of Sinnoh?" I hummed, musing for a few seconds. I''d expected an answer toe up right away. I''d spent my entire life here, but I couldn''te up with anything other than I liked the people there. My dad, Betrix, Night, my friends¡­ but the ces? There wasn''t exactly any attachment there other than Jubilife because it was my hometown. I couldn''t go on a massive, passionate tangent about anything like Cece had done. I just came up empty. "I don''t know," I shrugged. "I like the people." "That was kind ofckluster." "I know," I giggled. "My bad, I literally couldn''te up with anything." She left it at that. I knew that she was subtly trying to convince me toe with her, but I appreciated that she didn''t push the matter too far and too quickly. I quickly finished my lobster and scarfed down the truffle tartare. Everything in this restaurant was so damn good. "By the way, Imented on how magnificent you looked tonight, but I didn''t know you had that dress," she said. "It looks¡­ very good on you." I could feel her eyes on me¡ª not that I disliked that. It felt good, and it wasn''t like I hadn''t looked at her either. "You wouldn''t believe how stressed out I was. Emilia helped me get ready and lent me her dress. She''s so dependable now. Hearthome changed her a whole lot." Cecilia nodded. "Times change, and so do people." "Woah. Why''d you get all wise on me all of the sudden?" "Shut up," she joked. "Oh, the steak is here." And it was massive. There was a reason it was for two people. The waiter handed us smaller tes with our sides and divided the meat in a bunch of different cuts to make it easier for us. "Grace. Say ''ah.''" "But we have the same meal?" I said confusedly. "Come on." I opened my mouth and she fed me some steak. It was delicious, just like everything else in this ce. "You just enjoy feeding me, don''t you?" "Guilty as charged. I won''t go overboard with it, don''t worry. Oh, by the way, I''ve narrowed my fighting type choices further! I forgot to tell you, since you were so busy training for that thing. I went to see a couple of Maylene''s higher-leveled gym battles today to see what the Pokemon would be able to do when I trained them up." Thing was code for the interview since there was no way we''d talk about it in public. If someone overheard and was overly curious, they''d probably think it was a secret technique for a battle. I was technically training for that too, so they wouldn''t be wrong. "Spill!" I said. "Toxicroak, Mienshao or Hitmonlee are my three options. I think I''ll catch whatever Ie across first, since I genuinely have no preference." The conversation paused for a few seconds as the entire room apuded the musicians and Hitmontop. "I thought you''d go for something like Machamp, honestly." "Don''t be silly. Notice a pattern in my team? I have three Pokemon that are good at overwhelming power and blowing things up, and two speedsters. I need one more speedster toplete the trifecta. If I manage to catch Spiritomb, I''ll go for another speed-focused Pokemon again to keep things bnced." "Oh. Any reason why you''re taking that approach? I''m actually curious." "It''s justbining my two favorite types of Pokemon, there isn''t exactly a grand strategy in it," she shrugged. "I''ve never been a precision-type battler, as you know." "I figured when I saw you battle Roark," I said. "You know, you''ve told me a few times that you watched my battle with Roark, but I''ve never actually seen yours." I nearly choked on my steak. "Please, do not watch it. It is so fucking embarrassing I will literally die." Cecilia responded with the most evil smirk I''d ever seen out of her. "Oh?" "Cece. No." She pulled out her phone and began to type. I nearly lunged at her, but I couldn''t humiliate us by making a scene. That battle with Roark had been so terrible I''d nearly managed to wipe it from memory. The first fight I''d been truly proud of was my battle with Gardenia, but anything earlier than that was just awful to look at. "You were so damn cute," sheughed, turning the phone toward me. "Look at how fidgety you were! You couldn''t even issue orders properly¡ª" She quickly pulled the phone out of my reach. Damn her long, beautiful arms! "I hate you," I sighed. "I love you too. I wished I''d talked to you for more than two sentences back then. We could have gotten to know each other sooner, and in retrospect, that was embarrassing for me too." "What''d you say again? I forgot," I frowned. Cecilia shifted in her seat. "Oh, don''t go silent on me now, it''s only fair that I do it too¡­ wait, wait, it''s on the tip of my tongue¡ª ah! You. What''s your name?" I mimicked her. "And you said it all mysterious-like too!" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, Legendaries." "You''re lucky that I was already crushing on you, or I would have thought you were a weirdo. Actually, you are a weirdo, and I love you that way." "Talk about the pot calling the kettle ck. Here, let me feed you again." "Sure thing." We somehow managed to finish the Tomahawk Steak, although we were both extremely full by then. I didn''t think I''d have room for dessert, but we''d already ordered and I really wanted to taste something as cool sounding as Lava Cake. "I kind of wish that was me ying up there," I said, observing the pianist. "No time for lessons these days, hm?" "Not really, no. Also, don''t say these days like I ever started. You only taught me once," I sighed. "Maybe I''ll have time this summer. You know, I might just go to Unova¡ª" Cecilia squealed and excitedly pped her hands. "Calm down," Iughed. "I meant as a vacation. To feel things out a little and see if I like it. I''ll have to ask the Poketch Company about it, but I don''t think they''d mind some promotion abroad, so I''m sure we can work something out." "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" "It''s just a test!" I said. "And I''ll have to stay in Sinnoh for a bit too, since there''s a huge Poketch meeting I have to attend here at the end of the year." "I don''t care, I have so many ces to show you! And we won''t be bound by the no flying on a ne rule during summer either, so we''ll have all the time in the world! And we''ll find you a teacher, of course." How was it that seeing someone else so happy fill my heart with such joy? I didn''t even think that it was possible. I mimicked ying piano on the table until the Lava Cake arrived. Was I sort of disappointed that it was just a chocte cake with some more liquid chocte inside? Yes. Was it still amazing? Also yes. Of course, Cece wasted no time making me taste her dessert too, and I also had her have some of mine. When the bill finally arrived, she nearly snatched it out of the waiter''s hand, much to his amusement. "I can¡ª" "You can let me treat you," she spoke over me. "I invited you here, so I''ll pay. When you invite me somewhere else, you can pay. How does that sound?" "That''s fair," I nodded. "Thank you for the wonderful dinner." She ced a hand on mine and stared into my eyes. I didn''t know if it was because I hadn''t seen her in two weeks, but just her touch sent a jolt of electricity up my arm. "Want to get out of here?" She asked, slightly breathless. "Hmhm," I nodded. I stretched as I got up. "Man, I didn''t say anything this entire evening but this dress is so tight. It''s even worse now that I''ve eaten so much." "These heels are killing me," she added. "Louis'' driver should be back by now, so I''ll finally be able to take them off in the limousine." "You could have worn ts like me. With your leg¡­" "I''m fine," she smiled. "You could say I wanted to make a statement." She ced an arm around my waist as we left the restaurant, although we did slow-walk to finish the final song that we''d hear tonight. There was a dance floor, but I was a terrible dancer and there was no way I was going to embarrass myself up there. I blinked when we turned toward the entrance, and Cecilia did the same. Rage¡ª more rage than I thought I was capable of feeling filled every cell of my being. I had never looked at someone and told myself that I hated them. Disliked, yes. Feared, also yes. But hatred? So intense that waves of heat washed over my body and I struggled to sit still. My jaw clenched and trembled and I barely contained myself. My entire body was so tense that it felt like a rubber band stretched to its maximum length and my vision blurred at the edges. Standing there was Amy Saunier and what I assumed were her parentsing here to enjoy a nice evening. Everyone froze aside from her parents, who just seemed extremely confused. Did they not know about the fucked up shit their daughter did? Or maybe they just didn''t know how to react. I was the first to move, stepping in front of Cecilia and cing a hand inside of my purse. "Maman, Papa, you can go ahead," she said after swallowing. Her parents turned toward her, clearly wondering why the hell she wasn''t speaking Kalosian. They began a heated debate which I didn''t understand, but after a minute, they reluctantly agreed and went ahead. "Nice to see you again, snake," I snarled. "Enjoy your evening." "Cecilia¡ª Cecilia, please. Give me another chance." I turned to my girlfriend, who simply shook her head in silence. "She doesn''t want anything to do with you. You''re lucky that''s all you''re getting¡ª" "Grace. I''ve got it." I huffed. "Fine." "Could you wait for me up ahead? Edward''s right there," she pointed forward. I was about to protest, but she spoke over me. "I know it might seem weird, but I need this, love. Please." "If you''re sure," I sighed. "But the moment you need me, just gesture and I''ll make her pay." I red at Amy and bumped into her shoulder as I left. ¡ª Thank Arceus, Grace had left without a fight. She hadn''t even blinked once when staring at the damn girl, and Cecilia almost thought that she''d pull out her Pokemon and attack her. It was like a switch had been flipped in a single second. She didn''t want Grace to be seen hurting or berating someone in public, especially not when she had that massive interview next week. Cecilia studied Amy Saunier with an intense stare that clearly made her ufortable. The blond girl nervously shuffled for a few seconds, then finally yelled. "Why didn''t you answer my call? I just wanted to apologize!" "Because your apology would mean nothing to me, Amy. Nothing." That was half a lie. Now that she was face to face with Amy, she knew it to be true, but the real reason had been that she''d been scared that she would somehow slip back into her clutches because of her maniptive words. Cecilia now knew that there was no chance in hell that was happening. Her anger was contained¡ª focused. As if ice flowed through her veins to keep her sharp. "I still feel the need to say it. I''m sorry for everything I''ve done¡­ I wasn''t in my right mind, and I made mistakes that hurt you. You''re¡ª you were my best friend." Cecilia opted to ignore that final sentence. "So you''re still going with that excuse then? Not taking any responsibility whatsoever? ying the scared little girl?" "I was¡ª" "You smiled at me when you told me to surrender in Eterna, Amy. You whispered my worst fear in my ear and smiled. You liked keeping me in a cage. I will never forget it," She said, her tone ice cold. "You put us all in danger while you were enjoying yourself." "I was just acting! Your father, he made me do all of it, and he got what he deserved! Just, please, don''t abandon me. We''ve known each other nearly our entire lives." "And yet I feel nothing," Cecilia shrugged. "Are you done?" "I''ll never stop trying to get you back," the girl sniffled. "You''ll see reason eventually." Cecilia rolled her eyes and walked toward Edward, but Amy spoke up again. "So you''re dating her, then? I heard about it," she sniffled again. "Didn''t you see how she looked at me? She wanted to kill me." "Possibly," she said, feeling a pang of affection. Amy paused in disbelief. "That''s just as fucked up as what I did!" She yelled. "She''s just like me! So why?!" "Stop it." "I liked you too, you know?! I just didn''t think you could avoid your fate, but I thought that maybe if you were put in a loveless marriage with Louis Bianchi, you''d still give me a chance on the side¡ª" "I don''t care. I don''t want to see you anymore," Cecilia said. "There is nothing you could do that would make me forgive you, Amy, that''s the truth. I''m with a girl I love very much, with friends I also love, and I don''t want your toxic behavior anywhere near them." "I care about you¡ª" "You don''t. You care about the idea of me you have in your head. You didn''t even ask about my mangled leg," she said. "Or how the fucked up things you did affected me and broke me in the long term. All you did was say how it wasn''t your fault. Not that you caring would have changed anything. It might have shown me that you were improving as a person, but it wouldn''t have changed what I said. I still would have wanted nothing to do with you." There was nothing left to be said. Amy was no trainer and her connections were both in two different forms of prison, so she posed no threat. Cecilia confidently strode toward Grace, her limp nearly gone again. "Are you okay? Did she give you a hard time? Do you want me to get in there and make her pay, because I¡ª" Grace asked. "I love you." Cecilia smiled, grabbing her girlfriend and hugging her tightly. She silently reciprocated and they got in the limousine. Grace''s face might have been full of lipstick by the time they got out at the Center.
Chapter 190 Chapter 190 Announcement No chapter tomorrow because my median nerve kind of hurts and I don''t want to take any risks regarding Carpal Tunnel CHAPTER 190 The Game Corner was legal to all, both trainers and civilians, and the stories of how people came out of there rich overnight were always the loudest. Denzel adjusted his belt, twisting it around as he hummed. He didn''t know how they kept their reputation so clean online and through word of mouth, but he also knew of the endless stories about people losing all of their life savings after a streak of terrible judgment and luck. Nobody forced them to y. Hell, there were even disimers all over the website that said to only gamble with what you could afford to lose, but just like saying smoking kills on cigarette advertisements, that didn''t stop people from fucking up their lives. Denzel thought himself above such irresponsibilities until he began to study the games at the game corner. He clenched and unclenched a fist as he heard an excited knock on his door. Grace and Cecilia were currently on their date and would most likely be joined at the hip the entire time they were in Veilstone. Emilia and Pauline had helped them get ready, but they were catching up together and making up for lost time in the former''s room¡ª and he couldn''t help but wonder why the hell it was so difficult to bear this time around when he''d been fine with it in Hearthome. Louis and Maeve were out training and had signed up for their gym battle against Maylene today. Justin was gone. Denzel stared at his hands and ran a finger over his palms. They were rough from traveling in the wild for so long. Tiny scars from cuts, calluses under his fingers, small marks from his nails that he''d gotten over thest months from clenching his damn fists too much. Denzel knew his list to be a w. A w that had held Sylvi back in fear because of how much he had obsessed with it, and yet he could not stop. Not when he was this close. He wanted to throw himself into work and distract himself from this petty sense of that he felt. A Dratini would fit, it would fit so damn well. "You''ve got this," he told himself. "You''re the fucking man." "Are you asleep? Open the door!" More knocks. Denzel had almost forgotten that she had been waiting, still. He stood up and cracked his fingers as he stepped toward the door. Mira was waiting for him there, her hands on her hips. "Finally. Damn, you look nervous. Are you alright?" "Obviously not. I''m terrified I''m about to throw everything I''ve made away because I won''t be able to stop myself." "Are you ready, at least?" she asked. "Yeah. I''ve done as much as I could to prepare. I have some sort of n, and I''ll try to stop if I lose more than one hundred grand. What about you?" Denzel asked. "I''m putting it all on one spin." "What¡ª what the fuck?" he scoffed. "Are you out of your mind?" "Not at all. I know the odds are ridiculously against me and it''ll probably backfire, but could you imagine if it didn''t?" She smirked. "Tonight, I''ll dare to dream." "Remind me to never take any financial advice from you," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. Mira was strange. There was a certain focus and intelligence behind her mindness, or at least that''s what Denzel thought when he looked into her eyes. She wasn''t as hyper as usual, which was also strange, but she looked fine other than that. He didn''t exactly know how to approach her. "By the way, I''m going to havepany tonight," she said. "I didn''t want to, but it''s out of my hands." "Who is it? A friend?" "No. It''s Carlos," she said, pointing outside of the Pokemon Center. League Trainers were easy to spot. Their uniforms were absolutely iconic, with a mix of orange and brown that looked thick enough to stop a knife. Denzel nearly jumped when he got close enough to see the man''s face. Half of it waspletely molten, the deformation going down to his neck like he''d been dumped into a jar of Acid. Unlike Grace''s red and malformed burns, his were deeper and the scar left him only with ayer of skin thin enough to see the muscle below. He was missing half of his hair and an eye as well, and Denzel could see down the dark cavity, a fact that made him want to lurch. One-eyed people usually wore an eyepatch, but this League Trainer didn''t care about the stares he attracted. Scars weremon, but they were almost never that horrible, because people usually died when they''d gotten hit with something that bad. "That''s the League Trainer who was assigned to me," Mira shrugged. "He''s started to actually show up and shadow me to stop me from doing reckless things. Carlos, meet Denzel." "Uh, good evening, I guess. Nice to meet you," Denzel said, opting to focus on the normal half of the man''s face. Carlos'' eye fixated on Denzel. "Likewise." "He''s not very talkative, except when he yells at me," she said. "We''re going to the Game Corner, Carlos. Surely that''s allowed." "Go ahead. I''ll follow." "Don''t mind him, by the way. We can just talk normally," Mira said. They began their trek toward the center of the city, where the Game Corner was located. It would take them a while to get there on foot. All of Denzel''s savings added up to 943,932 Pokedors, an astronomical sum by his old standards. All of the donations from his streams, videos and the money from his sponsors had added up to this. He had enough for a Shiny Stone, and he would still do if he lost 100,000, which was his limit for the night. He needed five million t for a Dratini. In other words, he needed to make slightly more than five times his current amount of money to win. Back in Hearthome, when he hade to a decision about getting a Dratini, Denzel had figured that he''d be able to y it safe. Bet a little amount at a time and slowly get to that sum, but he couldn''t. Not unless he nned to spend the next month in Veilstone holed up in the Game Corner at all times of day and night. Denzel didn''t want to win everything in one night like Mira did, but he certainly didn''t want to spend more time in the Game Corner than out of it. He still had to train for Maylene, study the effects of Aura, challenge trainers more powerful than he was and make content. "How''re things going anyway?" He asked, trying to distract himself. "Heard you were learning a bunch of different stuff like coding." "Making good progress, but it''d take me the entire year to make a Porygon," she shrugged. "It isn''t like normal coding where you can just steal someone else''s. You''ve got to make them unique, at least if you want them to have free will and be sentient." "I thought they were all sentient?" "Of course not. How do you think the government can pump out thousand of them at a time? They''re still all trained to do different things¡ª some Porygon protect against hacks while others keep your PC clear of viruses better than any antivirus could do. That''s why making em is still expensive. I don''t want a machine though, I want the real thing, which the Game Corner has." Denzel grunted with a nod. "I didn''t know any of that. Interesting." "It''s not just interesting, it''s fascinating. My uncle used to talk to me all about them and how he was sure that something called Rotom existed that could do as much work as a thousand non-sentient Porygonbined. I still don''t know if he was crazy or not." He slowed down slightly at the mention of Charon. Denzel wasn''t exactly sure how the hell to approach the topic, so he veered away for now. "You know, I heard you and Grace are fighting," he said. "She wants to mend things, you know?" "She does? Damn, she really is nice," Mira snorted. "Has she given what I said some thought, at least?" "I don''t even know what you fought about." "Ah. Never mind, then, ignore that. You know, I''ll probably just apologize and that''ll be that," Mira shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Then we can pretend it was nothing and that we were just being silly." "That bit of sarcasm wasn''t lost on me." A heavy silence settled between the two of them. Damn, this was hard. Denzel didn''t know how to even interact with her any longer, and the scarred man looming tall behind them didn''t make things any easier. Being so close to her uncle really had done a number on her. "How are your romantic prospects?" She said. Denzel flinched at the question. "Come on, a question for a question." "I''m not in love with anyone." "Oh, sure you aren''t. You can vent to me, you know? I might not look like it, but I''m trustworthy! I''m into Chasey, so I know what it feels like for things to be hopeless¡ª not that your situation is anywhere as hopeless as mine. Yours is just awkward." "Wait, you actually like Chase? I thought that was a joke." Mira sighed. "We''d make a shit pair, wouldn''t we? Do you want to know why?" The teenager nodded. "Because he''s the only one who doesn''t walk around eggshells when he talks to me. He speaks his mind, and he speaks it freely. The only ones I can get that from these days are my Pokemon and, well, Carlos over here." "d to be of service," the League Trainer said. "Thank you, Carlos. You''re the best!" Mira cheered. "You''d be better if you let me go wherever I wanted, though." "You''ll die." "I don''t think I''d die. Get captured, probably, but I wouldn''t die right away. The League is using me, Cecilia and Grace as bait, after all, so why not fulfill my role?" She said. "I think what worries you most, Carlos, is Charon sweet talking me into betraying the League. I have a Haunter that I recently figured out how to evolve and a Kadabra and Kirlia on the cusp of evolving too. I might only have four badges, but I wouldn''t be that easy to deal with." Denzel''s hair stood up, and for a moment¡ª just a single moment, he felt like he was looking at a stranger, not a friend. It was gone just as fast as it came, but when Denzel turned toward Carlos, the man''s terrifying face hadn''t changed. "Where did you find out?" The League Trainer asked, his facepletely still. "About Haunty''s evolution?" She asked, turning around to walk backwards. "Cynthia, of course. Who else? We had a few conversations after the Darkest Day." "Ah," he grunted. "Don''t worry, I won''t actually do it or tell anyone. It was a lot more horrifying than I thought," she shivered. "I couldn''t imagine doing that to anyone." Denzel was out of the loop, and he hated it. Cecilia had told him about how she''d spoken to Cynthia on multiple asions in Sceon, but she refused to tell him anything beyond the fact that they''d talked about Spiritomb. Grace had also apparently done so, although he knew nothing about that. To learn that Mira had as well? He supposed that made sense. All three of them were in the LTIP after all, but he couldn''t imagine an evolution method that made even Mira pale. Denzel felt his nails slightly dig at his palm. To reveal such information to a trainer with four badges, Cynthia must have thought all three to be important in some way beyond them just being targets for Team Gctic. "Come on, don''t look at me like that. I was just showing how ludicrous Carlos was being. I''d never join Team Gctic after they brainwashed my uncle. Not in a million years," she whispered with her jaw clenched. That statement made Denzel rx slightly, but he hated being out of the loop like this. It was as if he could only peek past a curtain, unable to see what was going on deeper inside of the house. He knew nothing, and Mira knew almost everything, or at least that''s what it felt like. "Say, Mira," Denzel hesitantly began. "Grace told me that you used to snoop around, hoping to gather information about Team Gctic, but what is your n?" "That was the original goal," Mira said after a short pause. "The goal now¡ª or at least before Carlos started stalking me¡ª was to get kidnapped in hopes of talking to Charon." Denzel''s face fell. "You can''t convince him toe back, Mira. Even if you did, the League¡ª" "I know that, Denzel. I''m not stupid, despite what some people may think," she hissed. "I just have different priorities. I want to talk to him no matter what, and the contents of that conversation are very personal. Only Kirlia knows about it." "People don''t think you''re stupid," Denzel shook his head. "They do. Or wait, stupid is the wrong word. Unhinged, maybe? Carlos, what do you think?" "Unhinged is a good one," he nodded. "You give your own life no value." "I do, actually, which is very new for me. The problem is that this is more important to me. So long as I fulfill my goal, I don''t care about the rest." Denzel saw the Game Corner''s lights before he saw the actual building. Bright, neon blue and pink that attracted humans like moths to a me. Arge crown logo adorned the top of the building and was surrounded by the words GAME on one side and CORNER on the other. A tall Obstagoon loomed in front of the building, smelling and staring intently at anyone going in. Mira had asked Denzel to potentially use some ''fairy bullshit,'' as she called it, to affect their luck, but they wouldn''t have been the first people to think of that. Obstagoon here would find any Pokemon-rted cheats and wouldn''t let you in if he smelled anything wrong. The line was long, just like every night, so they got into the file. Denzel couldn''t help but notice another, quicker VIP line that wealthy-looking people went through without Obstagoon there to stop them. "Mira, do you know how the hell do you get through there? I didn''t find anything about it in my research." "I''m not sure, I couldn''t really find anywhere to buy a VIP pass or anything of the sort when I went inside to check things out," she answered. "There''s a VIP-only area downstairs though, so it definitely exists." Denzel''s eyes narrowed. He was suspicious, but there wasn''t much he could do except maybe ask around when he made it inside. After twenty minutes, they made it through the queue and Carlos said he''d wait for them outside. The Game Corner was carpeted in red as far as the eye could see with fancy lotuses etched onto the fiber. Legions of people that looked more like mindless drones constantly pressed a single button at the slot machines, barely blinking or moving as they watched their savings go down without a single reaction. Denzel never got the appeal of slots. Sure, the house always won no matter what game he''d y, but there was no way in hell he was going to leave it all to chance. Everything here was just so bright and golden. The soft sound of slot machines left his ears as they continued deeper. Arge crown logo was etched into the center of the carpet where people lounged about in couches with drinks in their hands. In the back of the establishment was the service counter that let you exchange your Pokedors for coins, the currency in this ce, along with rewards. "Eyes on the prize," Mira whispered. Denzel''s eyes snapped to where she was pointing, and he couldn''t help but feel goosebumps when he looked at therge eggbeled DRATINI encased in transparent ss and sitting on a luxurious red pillow. There were more eggs in the back of the casino, and they were supposed to hatch any day now. He swore that he saw it shake. A bar hugged the reward and exchange counter closely, selling all kinds of drinks. The entire casino was designed to make money, Denzel noted. To make it to the service counter, they had to walk through every game, both Pokemon-themed and normal, and if someone ever wanted to grab a drink or go to the bathroom, they''d have to walk by the one ce that let them exchange more coins. Just one more spin, Denzel mused. A saying that had no doubt ruined thousands of lives and would ruin a thousand more. The irony of the incredible amount of PSAs telling people to be safe with their money wasn''t lost on Denzel as they strode toward the counter. 10,000 Pokedors were worth 500 coins, so Denzel spent 100,000 to get 5000 coins. They were stored on an application on his Poketch, and he was surprised to see that he could even buy them on there. That was cruel. In total, he''d need 250,000 coins to get to the five million Pokedors he needed for Dratini. Starting from 5000 was a pitiful sum, but the more coins he made, the more he''d be able to bet and win. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, he was hoping that his growth would be exponential, but he had no illusions. Denzel knew that this would be a long and grueling process. The teen nearly bumped into a Kadabra that curiously twirled his mustache at him. It was one of the many psychics that patrolled the Game Corner, making sure that absolutely no cheating was taking ce. "Well, good luck to you," Mira pped his back. "I''m off to spin. What are you going to do?" Denzel licked his lips, and his throat felt incredibly dry. Now that the moment was here, sweat dripped down his arms as he nervously clenched a fist. All of the games were rigged in the Game Corner''s favor. Slots, ckjack, Poker, Pokemon Roulette, Random Battle (that was way more biased than its equivalent at the arcade and almost impossible to win), Type Dice¡­ he might win once or twice, but winning enough to reach five million Pokedors? That was a pipe dream. There had once been a game called Voltorb Flip years ago, but it had closed a few days after opening because of how easy it was to win, and the casino actually started to lose money. But there was one thing Denzel was good at, and that was battling. The Game Corner had a second floor where people could ce bets on future battles that would take ce hours or days from now. It would be slower, but it would also be safer. "Upstairs," he finally answered. The two went their separate ways and Denzel climbed up the long set of stairs. Before even starting to bet, he wanted to ask around about this¡­ VIP business. While downstairs was full of civilians, mostly older people, upstairs was full of young trainers as he was, hoping to make it big on bets from battling. He couldn''t me them. After all, he was doing the same thing they were, hoping to use his expertise to win money. The problem was that these battles were organized by the Game Corner and sometimes had¡­ unlikely resolutions. Case in point, he heard a series of collective groans from trainers fixated on a giant television screen fixed to the wall. A Buizel had just somehow won against Grotle, and a lot of people had just lost money. These battles were rigged beyond a shadow of a doubt, but there was no way to really prove it. Denzel scanned the room until he found what he was looking for. A tall, brte girl looking all smug when everyone else had lost theirst bets. "Made a lot of money?" He asked her. Not a bad way to start a conversation. People liked to brag and talk about themselves, especially when they''d just proved their superiority over the rest of their peers. "You bet," she snorted as she stared at her phone. Denzel caught a glimpse of her number of coins. It was 146,402. "I knew the oue of that battle was way too obvious and took a risk. d that it paid off." "Youe to this ce often?" He asked. "I''m new around here. Just made it to Veilstone." "Really? Where are you from?" "Twinleaf." "Holy shit! You''re from the boonies?" Sheughed. "Is it true that you have no running water there?" Denzel bore with her and entertained her questions for now. She had a lot of money, meaning that she frequented the Game Corner a lot. He''d asked her about it to keep the conversation going, of course. Denzel was good with people, and he needed to leverage his skill if he was going to get himself a Dratini. "I guess all that stuff they say about Twinleaf ain''t true," she said. "I hope I wasn''t insensitive or anything." "I don''t me you for thinking all that stuff," he waved a hand. "I''ve heard worse. You''re okay. You look confident. You know your way around here, don''t you?" He said with a bright smile. "What''s your name?" "Ashley. Yours?" "Denzel Williams." "That rings a bell," she said. "I''ve heard your name somewhere." "Maybe." "Anyway, I doe here often. I''ve been here for a month, but I keep losing to Maylene. At first, I just wanted to pass the time, but I''ve gotten kind of hooked on this battle betting thing. I always bet a little at a time, but I win a lot more than I lose." "Interesting. Is there a trick to it?" "Why should I tell you?" She said. "What''s in it for me?" "Well, you''ve already revealed that you bet on the underdog in a battle that looks obvious, like this one," he shrugged. "True, but it doesn''t always work. The Game Corner mixes it up, or they wouldn''t make any money." "Do you value badges?" He asked. "I mean, duh. I''ve got three, so I''m not doing too hot. I don''t think I''ll make the Conference this year." Denzel sighed internally. This was¡­ annoying, but he could get something out of this. The problem was that he hated to use his fame to get what he wanted, but at this point, he was too determined to get Dratini to stop. "I have four badges and I''m on my way to five very soon," he said. "Look up my name." Ashley acquiesced, and the more she scrolled, the more red and embarrassed she got. She was nearly hyperventting by the time she was done. "I am so sorry about all that stuff I said about Twinleaf," she hurriedly said. "I didn''t mean any of it!" "I already said it was fine, don''t worry. I can train up your team if you help me out here. I''m not asking for you to hold my hand or anything, but just introduce me to this ce and the system. And also, I''d like to know if you''ve heard anything about the VIP area downstairs?" "Downstairs? Only the bigwigs go there, I don''t know much about it. You won''t find any trainers there," she said. "You can''t buy your way in either. They''re friends or partners with the owners, so you should just give up while you''re ahead. There are rumors that auctions take ce for rare Pokemon downstairs, but that''s the extent of my knowledge." He didn''t like the sound of that. If there''s one thing Sceon had taught him, it was to distrust closed-off societies like the Hunters or this one. He made a note to tell Carlos about itter, but he doubted the man would care. "Fine, I''ll keep my nose out of it," he smiled. "But are we on for the deal? Train you up, you give me advice on this?" "You seem set on something. What''s your goal?" "Dratini," he dered. "Me too!" She grinned. "I''m almost there." He already knew that from snooping, but he acted surprised nheless. "You knew that already, didn''t you? You''re terrible at acting." "Yeah, sorry. I might have looked at your phone earlier," he awkwardly said and scratched his head. "Okay, if you''re going to help me beat Maylene¡­ follow me." She pulled him by the wrist toward one of the unfrequented corners of the rooms. Therge TV screen turned off and began disying a timer. The next battle would be in an hour between two people called Ahmed and Sally using a Fearow against a Staravia. They probably took ce at those intervals if he had to guess. That meant that there were twenty-four battles per day¡­ yeah, there was the opportunity to make a lot, but also lose a lot. He needed to bet slowly, just like Ashley was doing. "There are no easy ways to know who''s going to win each battle, but there are ways to be better at it. The key to winning is to know who is fighting, not the Pokemon they''re using. Those all belong to the Game Corner. See, the guy with the Grotle, Kendrick, he has this tell when he''s going in a battle that he''s going to throw. To put it simply, he looks pissed. They say that it''s a part of his persona, but there''s a difference between acting pissed and being pissed, you feel me? That''s why you''ve always got to wait until thest five minutes to ce bets. That''s when they show up on the screen." Denzel nodded, absorbing as much information as he could. Grace would be better at this than he''d be. "So the first step is to know the trainers. There are forty of them in total, but they never use the same Pokemon. Not all of them are as obvious as poor Kendrick, but when he''s battling? That''s when you know to go big and make money." "Does everyone know this?" "Not everyone. A few people," she whispered. "There have been trainers sacked in the past for being too obvious, so don''t expect Kendrick to be here for long. You''ve got to squeeze everything out of him while you can." "When does he fight?" "Not every day. Like I said, there are a lot of trainers. I can share my notes about them, but I have more tips. Bullshit results tend to happen at night because that''s when the Game Corner''s at max capacity. During the day, a lot of the battles go as you''d expect, but that also means they''re a lot more equal. No type advantages, and the Pokemon are close in strength. People tend to think that it''s lower risk, but the risk is actually higher. It''s easy when you know someone''s going to throw the battle. Anyway, how much money do you have right now?" "Five thousand coins." "Okay, let me tell you about Ahmed and Sally. I don''t know much about them, so it''d be better to look at the Pokemon they''re using¡­" Denzel was d he had someone to guide him, but as Ashley spoke, he began to wonder how she was stuck at three badges if she was so good at figuring out who would win in battles. It soon dawned on him that knowing was different than actually doing. No matter how much knowledge you had, it wasn''t worth anything if you couldn''t apply it in your own battles. Denzel would keep his end of the deal and make sure she beat Maylene. ¡ª In the end, he''d stayed for six battles. He and Ashley had both won four of those bets and lost two, and he was currently at 11,000 coins. Not bad for his first day, but he would need to start betting inrger numbers sooner rather thanter. There was a limited supply of eggs, after all. Meanwhile, Ashley expected to get her Dratini in a day or two bar any catastrophic series of bets. She was close, but some days she lost more than she made, which was why she''d been hovering around 150,000 coins for the past week. Her team was small, but solid, with a Luxio, a Wingull and a Swadloon. He could definitely work with this. He bid his new friend goodbye and tried to look for Mira. He found her at the reward counter and waved, but what he saw made him freeze. Denzel nearly passed out when he saw the new Pokeball on Mira''s belt. Sometimes, one spin with everything on the line was all it took, and unlike most people that got that lucky, she''d been smart enough to take the money and get the fuck out.
Chapter 191 Chapter 191 CHAPTER 191 "See? She likes you!" Pauline stared at Emilia''s Fennekin with a grimace. The small fire type''s ears twitched as she rubbed up on her leg. Her fur was deceptively hot, but it was still afortable warmth. Fennekin was what could be considered cute, but Pauline didn''t see the appeal in owning such a Pokemon. Where was the fierceness? That twinkle in her eye that was enough to understand that crossing her once would have dire consequences? Maybe it was because Fennekin was still a baby. She raised an eyebrow and turned toward Emilia. "Yeah, she does." "You''re the first one she''s approached willingly so far. She can''t stand the others to the point of running away from them if they try to touch her. Although I guess she hasn''t hung out with Grace or Cece yet." Fennekin let out a high-pitched bark and strutted toward Lycanroc, who began to lick her forehead. "Isn''t it time for you to get to your first flying lesson, by the way? You don''t want to bete," Emilia said. Pauline grabbed her Poketch and her eyes widened. She had five minutes to arrive! Where had the time gone? "Fuck. I''ll see youter babe. You can show me more of those contest videos," Pauline said as she grabbed her backpack. "Don''t get too bored while I''m gone!" "I''ll live. I''ll probably go see Denzel to ask him about the Game Corner. He wentst night with Mira." Denzel''s name made Pauline freeze for a split second, but Emilia didn''t notice it, having already turned toward Fennekin and Lycanroc. All this time, she''d tried to bury the fact that she was in love with two people, and it had been easy when she''d only been with one of them at a time. Her mother had told her to try. To say something¡ª anything, instead of just hoping for it to go away, but how to even begin? Sitting down with them was a good start, but what if the right way to approach this was to talk with one of them at a time? What if they thought her to be a freak? What if it unraveled all of their rtionships? "What''s wrong? You look nervous." Pauline''s fingers quivered when Emilia cupped her cheek. It wasn''t like her to be like this. "Emi. What do you think about Denzel?" She asked, her jaw tight. "What do you mean? I think he''s a great friend. One of my best. Why?" I love him. And you. And it''s fucking killing me inside. "No reason," she smirked. "See youter!" "You know that you saying ''no reason'' like that just makes me sus¡ª" Pauline closed the door and ran down the Pokemon Center stairs. It wasn''t fair to either of them to treat them like this. Stringing Emilia along while she didn''t know that Pauline looked at someone else the same way she looked at her. And then, topletely freak out at Denzel every time he befriended another girl¡­ It was different with him. Pauline was already dating Emilia, and she didn''t care about her getting close to others. Her coordinator friend Vincent had been proof enough, even if she still didn''t trust himpletely. But with Denzel? He was single. Free to date anyone he wanted, and that meant that she could potentially lose him. Just thinking about it angered her, and that anger was a great help to cover up the feeling of distress that Pauline felt whenever she heard him talk about messaging some of his fans online¡ª and it was almost always a girl. Flight School was twenty minutes by foot from the Pokemon Center, so getting there in time would be impossible. She could have broken thew and flown on Charizard like she''d done plenty of times already to practice, but they''d never give her a license if they caught her. She bumped into an older-looking trainer as she ran across the street and felt his hand on her shoulder. She tried to yank it away, but he wasn''t budging." "Hey. You bumped into me, shouldn''t you apologi¡ª" "I''m not in the mood for your fuckery. I have somewhere to be," she snapped. "Just a simple apology¡ª" "I''m sorry you''re so unaware of where you''re going that you''d bump into me. Maybe get your eyes fixed," she said. He scoffed but let go of her. "You need help. You''re fucking crazy." "It''s people like you that make me crazy." She gave him the finger and kept running, shaking her head to dispel the doubt that crept up inside of her. She''d been a bitch just now for no reason, hadn''t she? Taking her anger out on the world when she was too scared to have a conversation with someone, and for what? Pauline could have apologized. It wasn''t like she was ever going to see him again anyway, so why? Why was she so angry all the time? Pauline had grown. She had gotten better at being nice to peoplepared to how she''d been in the past, but she knew damn well she didn''t behave normally. She wanted to keep her edge, she thought. To trust no one and to keep her tongue sharp like her mother had taught her to be. Yet, there was another reason. The stress of her damnplicated rtionship was piling up, and Pauline knew that it was all going to burst out eventually. She had to speak to them both, and soon. "Fucking finally. Damn Flight School," she huffed. When Pauline hade here yesterday to sign up, there had been no huge yard to give students and teachers space to practice flying as she''d expected. Instead, it was just another nondescript building made out of bricks and concrete like the other thousand that littered Veilstone. Pauline wasn''t much of an architect, but by the Legendaries, this city just looked boring. As it turned out, there were sses that she had to attend before practical lessons started. Five of them, where they''d go over the rules of flying and Sinnoh''s differentws. When she turned the corner, someone she knew did the same thing. They both looked at each other with a deep frown, and Pauline felt a surge of displeasure by just being near him. "Chase fucking Karlson," she said. "What are you doing here? Do you even have a flying Pokemon?" "To get my license, why do you think?" he deadpanned. "Why are you here sote?" "I could ask you the same thing." "Yeah, I probably wouldn''t care anyway," he shrugged as he entered the building. He didn''t hold the door for her and it almost closed on her face. Well, luckily he''d be in another ss. Thousands of trainers learned to fly every year, and they had to be divided into different sses to keep up with the demand. Pauline''s smug smile slowly disappeared as they both climbed up the same stairs, turned down the same hallway and reached the same ssroom. "What the hell?" Chase muttered. "Did you follow me here? First Mira, now you¡ª" "The world doesn''t revolve around you, so check that ego. It''s an unfortunate coincidence, that''s all." "Don''t sit near me." "I won''t. Why would you even think I''d sit near you?" She sighed exasperatedly. "We might have friends inmon, but we''re just acquaintances." "Acquaintances? I sure as hell am not acquainted with you¡ª" "Just open the damn door, dipshit!" She fumed. Chase and Pauline entered the ssroom, and twenty heads turned to them, including the teacher, who was tasked with getting them to know everything about the rules of flying before the official government-mandated written exam. Only after passing that would they be allowed to actually fly, which meant she hadpletely misunderstood what the teacher with the Charizard had said when they had spoken. An image was being projected onto the whiteboardbeled ''CITIES: DO''S AND DON''T''S'' "Ah, our two final attendees have deigned to show up. Pauline King and Chase Karlson, I presume?" She said. "Sit." They both groaned when they saw that only two seats were free. Not only were they next to each other, they would also have to share a table. Chase red at her, and she red back. Was this piece of shit ming her for this? Another word from the professor, this time more stringent, made them shuffle to their seats in defeat. She stared at them for another few seconds and scoffed when she saw that neither of them was taking out anything to take notes with. Chase leaned back against his chair and ced his feet on the table while Pauline dragged her seat further away. The professor muttered something under her breath and continued. "So, as I was saying, you aren''t allowed tond outside cities'' designated zones unless you are a member of the League, otherwise you will disrupt pedestrian and vehicr traffic. These zones are easy to see up in the sky, but they look like this¡ª" She said, tapping the picture on her whiteboard. It looked like a Helipad, but with a Pokeball instead of an H. Pauline had seen a few in her life. "You can alsond outside of city limits and go through the gate, and some Pokemon are not allowed tond inside of cities, even on the zones designated fornding. We''ll get into the list at ater date. You must also maintain an altitude of at least one hundred feet at all times unless you n tond, but you should preferably go higher." She clicked on a small remote and switched images. "Now, regarding speed limit, out in the wild, you can go as quick as your body allows, which tends to be around 53 meters per second or 120 miles an hour. Faster than that, and you go faster than terminal velocity. You start to feel pain and difort because air resistance pushes back and turbulence starts to really be felt. Go fast enough, and you will sustain permanent or lethal injury by potentially falling if you don''t use a saddle. Even if you do, going faster is unwise. Of course, people have been known to push past that limit for extended periods of time. Champion Cynthia and her Garchomp is just one example, but you aren''t professional fliers with decades of experience, you are children with bodies that are still growing. Do I make myself clear?" Grumbles ran through the ssroom, and she continued. "In cities, there is an actual legal limit which is 30 miles per hour. Unlike in the wild, you cannot go over that speed no matter how experienced you are¡ª unless again, you are a member of the League. Cities have a much higher density of fliers and going too fast makes collisions much more likely. I know these numbers can seem confusing, but you''ll get a feel of what that feels like during practical lessons. For now, just write them down andmit them to memory. And if your Pokemon are skilled enough to dodge suddenly with tight maneuvers, the forces applied to your body will not feel pleasant and can potentially make you ck out. For those of you who n to ride without a saddle, that means falling to your death. Do not think that it can''t happen to you, because I''ve seen it." She paused and switched slides again. "Now that we''ve gone over all of the rules¡ª" Pauline winced at the fact that she''d missed almost everything. Maybe it''d be better to take notes after all. It wouldn''t do good to flunk the exam, especially since she''d have to retake these sses again and they were each three hours long. Pauline just wanted to get her license to be done with this bullshit so that she could fly off wherever she wanted on Charizard''s back. The few times she had done so had felt so freeing that she''d beenpelled to smile and giggle like a little girl. She grabbed a notebook she''d hurriedly snatched while leaving, and Chase''s eyes drifted toward her. ''"¡ªlet me tell you about consequences. If you get caught breaking them¡ª and yes, you will get caught. Rangers often fly on the routes and in the cities and ask you to stop routinely to ask for your license. I''ve seen plenty of trainers thinking that the odds of them being found out were so minuscule that they didn''t listen to the rules. Some also died, but I''ve hammered on that point enough already. There is a zero-tolerance policy. This isn''t like driving a car. There are no points that can be taken off your license. You break the rules once, you lose it. Understand? Then you have to wait five years to get another one. Now, let''s go over Pokemon''s body types and what that entails¡­" "Psssst." Pauline rolled her eyes and ignored the annoyance to her left. "Hey. Hey! Do you have a pen and paper?" "I don''t." "You do! It''s literally right there!" Chase eximed. "Do you have something to share with the ss, you two?" The teacher asked with her arms crossed. She irritatingly tapped her foot against the ground. "I was just asking her for a piece of paper and a pen," he announced loudly to the ss. Pauline clenched her teeth, ripped out a page from her notebook and handed Chase a pen. She would have looked like a bitch if she hadn''t, and despite her bravado, Pauline didn''t want to be known as one these days. The professor began speaking again and Pauline stewed in her anger as Chase offered her a smug ''thanks''. They''d been put in the same group, so she''d have to spend five sses with this prick until they went their separate ways for practical sses, and that was only if their fliers had a different body type. There was no way to know, since he wanted to be sooooo mysterious. Pauline clenched at her forehead and groaned. Five straight days of this. This week couldn''t go by quickly enough. ¡ª Louis had never felt this nervous about a gym battle before. Roark and Gardenia had been him at his worst with no self-awareness. Back then, he thought himself to be the best first year. He chuckled at that. Now that he''d seen what his more-talented friends could do, it was almostical that he''d ever thought that way. "Why''re youughing?" Maeve yfully said with her hands behind her back. "At my old self." "They say you haven''t grown until you''re able to make fun of how you used to be," she said. "You''ve changed for the better, Louis." Seeing the dichotomy between Maeve with the rest of the group and her when it was just them or her with Mira was something he was still getting used to. She was much more outgoing and outspoken with them than she was with the others. Maeve liked to let people speak and listen, but getting a word in was difficult when everyone had such strong characters. He felt the same, these days. He still thought them to be close friends, but he felt much more at home with Mira and Maeve despite how they''d basically hitched themselves onto him. Only Mira could stand up to how¡­ socially powerful everyone else was. Even Emilia had grown leaps and bounds in that regard. Louis used to be like them. No longer. "Ready for more training?" He asked. They were in one of the many arenas in Veilstone, although this one was open-air. "So long as it''s with you," she quietly said, twirling her hair. He raised an eyebrow at that. She''d been much more persistent about spending time alone these days, but Louis didn''t make for a great training partner. Sure, they were close in strength, although Gible''s recent evolution during training had propelled him a little bit further than she was. Monferno was still stuck in his second stage, but she hoped to evolve him before their gym battle with Maylene next Tuesday. "I am ready, then. Another four against four? Or do you want it to be a double battle today?" Strangely enough, Maeve sighed. "Four-on-four is fine. Still scared of getting Combee into her first real battle, huh? I''ve seen a video of Grace fighting a Vespiqueen and it''s terrifying, let me tell you." "She''s not ready," he said. "She''s been through so much already after getting kicked out of her hive, I don''t want her to get hurt." Maeve turned away from him and let out a strange squeal. "What''s wrong? Are you alright? Did you swallow the wrong way? Something scary happen?" "Y¡ªyeah, I''m good," she said, shaking her hand. "Just nervous about the gym battle." Louis nodded, paying her no mind and grabbed Vulpix''s Pokeball. "Alright then. I''ll go to the opposite side¡ª" "Louis." He almost didn''t recognize the voice. It was the same, but the tone and inflection was nothing like Louis had grown used to. Justin stood there, paler than he used to be. Some muscle had built on hisnky frame and he looked at Louis with¡­ no, it wasn''t contempt. It was just nothing. Emptiness. He was neither angry nor happy to see him after so long. "Justin," Louis stammered. It took a few seconds for him to get hisposure back. He hadn''t even heard him approach and neither had Maeve. His steps were so quiet. "How are you? It''s been so long, we''ve all been trying to call you¡ª" "Enough with the pleasantries. I have rebuilt myself, improved my team and I need to see how I currently stand up to you. We used to be of simr skill levels, you and I. I wonder if that''s still the case." "Wait, don''t you want to see the others?" Louis asked. "We''re all worried sick about you." "Are we going to battle, or are you going to waste both of our times?" Louis flinched at the words. The worst part was that there was no animosity in them. Justin hadn''t intended to hurt, he was just stating what he truly believed. He maintained eye contact until Louis felt forced to avert his eyes. "Only if you''ll stay to speak with us after," he finally answered. "Fine, but only if you give me what I seek. Move, Maeve." The girl meekly nodded and stepped off the tform, leaving space for Justin while Louis went to the other end of the arena. He hadn''t expected this at all, and he had no idea how to even react. Justin had been supposed to get better with time, but it was like he''d gotten worse. He needed to tell the others¡­ no, he would battle him first and try to get him to talk with them willingly. An intervention would do nothing when he wasn''t capable of feeling anything. In fact, it was more likely to push him away from them. "How does a six-on-six with three switches sound?" Justin yelled. Even when loud, his voice was unsettlingly calm. "I can''t. The maximum I can do is a four-on-four," Louis answered. "Disappointing, but very well. Let us do two switches, then. I will send out my Pokemon first." Louis frowned when a Toxapex appeared on the battlefield. He knew that Justin had been rumored to have six Pokemon now, and there were stories of him relentlessly participating in battles day and night, but actually seeing one of his new teammates felt odd. Like he should have been there to see him get them. The poison type lifted two of its front legs, revealing the gleaming eyes and sharp teeth dripping with poison below. Louis sent out his Pawniard, hoping to take advantage of the poison immunity. He whetted his des against themselves and grunted. To Louis, everything wagered on this fight. His friendship with Justin, the guilt he felt for not having been there when he needed it, how lonely it must have felt, hiding in a hole and drowning in dark type energy as everything that made you you dissolved and you slowly became a shell of your former self. He needed to win. "Toxic Spikes." "Metal Sound!" He yelled. Toxapex shook all of its front legs, and sharpened nails dripping with poison flew forward, littering his side of the field and floating slightly above the ground. Before the entire battlefield could be drowned in poisonous spikes, Pawniard scratched his des against his torso, creating a sound so torturous that even Louis had to cover his ears. Toxapex felt the pain too, encasing its head in its twelve legs to protect itself from the sound. Justin did not react. Instead, he grabbed a Pokeball and switched, sending out an Arcanine instead. The majestic beast stood six and a half feet tall at the shoulder, and fire licked his fur as he stepped forward. Arcanine''s eyes shed with recognition when he saw Louis, but then they were reced with what had been there in the first ce. Louis was nowhere as good as Grace at understanding Pokemon, but anyone would recognize that expression. Tired, almost human eyes zed over with something. Guilt. Unfathomable guilt that ate Arcanine up from the inside for failing Justin in his time of need. Unlike Toxapex, he had known what Justin was like before. He''d always been a loyal Pokemon first and foremost, and his guilt was soon overshadowed by duty. He would never fail Justin again, including in this battle. "Agility and me Wheel," Justin said. Arcanine blurred forward, his body encased in blue mes that warped the air around them. Louis barely managed to recall Pawniard in time, and Arcanine stopped in a single, graceful step before retreating back to Justin. Louis swallowed and sent out his Gabite, who roared in fury when some of the Toxic Spikes dug themselves against his tough scales. Louis had hoped for Gabite''s tough hide to protect him from the poison, but it looked like he''d underestimated Toxapex. "Looks like you aren''t too disappointing," Justin said. "Keep up Agility and y Rough." Louis'' eyes bulged, but he reacted. "Sand Tomb in front¡ª" The ground in front of the dragon type liquified, forming a Sand Tomb that stretched across the arena like a fissure, but Arcanine easily jumped to the side. The battle was going too fast for him to track, and Arcanine quickly rammed into Gabite, his entire body swarming with pink dust. The ground type bellowed, but he did not go down. He dug his two ws into Arcanine''s flesh, digging at his shoulders with a powerful Dragon w. "Bulldoze!" Louis screamed. "Crunch." Darkness spewed from the fire type''s open mouth as he bit into Gabites neck, shaking his head and tearing some of his scales away. The floor under his feet shook and crumbled, opening a small chasm that the two Pokemon fell into. Gabite quickly recovered, angling himself forward and mming head-first into Arcanine''s hide, but the fire type did not stand still. He pawed and bit at him with Crunch and y Rough with snarls that Louis had never heard. "Now, Sand Tomb! Bury him!" "me Wheel." The floor turned to mud, but mes engulfed his body, still shining with an incredibly vibrant blue and burning Gabite''s scales and solidifying the mud before he could sink further. Still, they were at an advantage. His feet were stuck in solid ground, and Gabite kept tearing away at Arcanine''s flesh. His ws raked against his already-bloodied skin, tearing chunks of flesh, but the blood boiled and mes cauterized the wounds as soon as they''d formed. Things weren''t as easy as Louis had hoped, but they had the upper hand¡ª "Reversal." Gabite''s eyes bulged as Arcanine mmed into him with unbelievable force. He flew out of the small hole and rolled onto the floor like a ragdoll. He didn''t get up. Louis swallowed as he recalled his Gabite and sent out his Prinplup, who honked in pain from the Toxic Spikes that stabbed into his skin and began spreading their poison. Both he and Arcanine had been friends, once. They were each other''s first Pokemon and embodied loyalty to their trainers. Louis had shared many conversations with Justin while they were out and about. Arcanine no longer shared that warmth, and Louis'' eyes teared up as he looked at Justin. It was only now that it sunk in that they were no longer friends. He gripped at his shirt and felt a stabbing pain in his heart. It hurt. "Water Pulse!" He snarled. "Dodge with Agility and Reversal again." The fire type blurred, albeit slower than before and easily avoided the ring of water. Louis'' eyes narrowed as he attempted to track Arcanine, but he had no time to think. He could only react to what was happening. "Whirpool!" Prinplup honked, and gallons of water shot out of his small beak, swirling until it coalesced into a vortex. Arcanine stopped in his tracks, but Louis wasn''t done. "Freeze it!" A thin ray of ice washed over the Whirpool, freezing the entire structure in a moment. It fell onto Arcanine, and it was heavy. Prinplup spat out a small Water Gun forward, then slid on his belly using the slick ground to go faster than he could run. He angled his head to the left and sent a final Water Pulse flying at Arcanine, finally fainting the beast. Justin recalled him before he could even fall, his face still expressionless and sent out his Audino. The normal type did not twirl as he used to, nor did he smile. He only stared, ready to do what needed to be done. "Simple Beam." Louis clicked his tongue as an almost transparent beam washed over Prinplup''s body. It appeared harmless, but now, he couldn''t rely on Torrent as he had hoped to. Louis waited for Justin to do something, but his old friend simply waited, and after all, why not? The poison was running its course. Prinplup had to act, not Audino. "Ice Beam!" Louis yelled. "Light Screen." Audino''s eyes shone pink, and a thin barrier appeared around him. The ice made it through the Light Screen, but only after being severely weakened and barely hurting Audino. "Make a path and Drill Peck!" Louis ordered with a sweep of his arm. Again, Prinplup wetted the ground before him and slid, continuously providing himself with wet ground by keeping the Water Gun going. His beak slowly elongated and shone with a bright white, then he stood up and jumped as high as he could, twisting his body into a vicious spin. "Reflect." Prinplup mmed into the hastily erupted barrier, spinning and spinning until it cracked, but Justin did not stand idle. "Mega Punch." Audino''s entire arm bulged, shining as bright as Prinplup''s Drill Peck, and the moment Prinplup broke through the Reflect, he struck the water type''s cheek right as he stabbed into his chest. Audino slid onto the wet floor while Prinplup flew backwards,nding on top of more Toxic Spikes. He struggled to get up, but Audino finished him off with a loud Disarming Voice that brought a harrowing feeling into Louis'' heart. "You did well." He bit his lip and recalled Prinplup right as Justin ordered a Life Dew. The water Prinplup had sprayed onto the arena spun and coated Audino''s skin, healing his wounds. As Louis sent out his Pawniard, Justin immediately recalled Audino and sent out his Krokorok. Louis felt terrible for the ground type. He looked the most affected of them all. After all, he had been the one to bury Justin underground during the Darkest Day. Louis didn''t have many options. Both Vulpix and Pawniard wouldn''t do well here, but he couldn''t lose hope. What he did know was that Krokorok would bury and that Pawniard had no way to counter that, so he used hisst swap of the battle and sent out Vulpix. The Toxic Spikes again poisoned her. Was there truly no easy way to counter them? A strange light began to bear down into the arena like a second sun, letting him know that Drought had been activated. He''d waited to use his Fire Stone, but Justin had not. They had a single opening, and he needed to make it count. "Confuse Ray!" A strange, otherworldly bulb of light appeared above Vulpix''s forehead. It galivanted around the arena as if it had a mind of its own, but Vulpix focused and the Confuse Ray listened. It stopped zigzagging and began beelining for Krokorok. "Dig and finish her off," Justin said. The dark type didn''t even move. He simply sunk into the floor with his arms crossed, and the Confuse Ray had been too slow. Their first opening was out, but there was still a way to force the ground type out. Vulpix had learned more fire moves, but what they had focused on was manipting the mes themselves, tapping into the Vulpix''s line talent for elemental control. "Burn the ground as hot as you can!" Louis yelled. Fire emerged from every inch of Vulpix''s body and washed over the ground, warping the air around Vulpix. So long as they didn''t let Krokorok get close, then he would be forced to surface to actually hit them with their usual Sand Tomb¡ª Louis'' face fell when the ground under Vulpix fractured and shook. No, it was more than the ground under Vulpix. The entire arena was shaking, and it threatened to copse onto itself. This was too powerful to be Bulldoze. This was Earthquake. There was nothing they could do. Krokorok''s range had apparently improved and he was nowhere to be found, even when Vulpix had worked so hard to make staying underground untenable. The fire type fainted when the attack finished, and Louis dejectedly sent out Pawniard, who was subject to the same fate. There was no secret trick, no evolution to save him. He''d lost, and it hadn''t even been close. "Disappointing," Justin said. "But I''m still nowhere good enough for Victory Road." That was it. That was the extent of his words. "Wait, I battled you, so please stick around¡ª" "No, you didn''t give me what I needed," he said, not even bothering to look at him. "I thought someone I used to consider a rival would be better than this. Perhaps Pauline would be a better match¡­" Louis ran in an attempt to catch him but lost Justin in the crowded street. Just like that, he was gone. What in the world had just happened? He felt Maeve''s hand on his shoulder. "You should call the others. At least¡ª at least you know he''s physically fine," she said, trying to offer him sympathy. "Do you want to go back to the Center? Get your Pokemon healed up and rest?" Louis dried his eyes with his forearm and took a shallow, shaky breath. "Yeah," he nodded.
Chapter 192 Chapter 192 CHAPTER 192 Yesterday''s date had been wonderful until it was ruined by that turncoat Amy. Or was she even a turncoat? She had subtly manipted Cecilia her entire life, pushed her toward her father and told her it was her duty to be his pawn. No, she wasn''t a turncoat. She''d been evil all along. I couldn''t sleepst night, not even with Cecilia next to me. The fact that Amy was still running along and doing whatever she wanted brought a tremor of rage in my heart so immense that I couldn''t help but imagine the worst when I closed my eyes. Fantasizing about revenge until I caught myself and rxed slightly only to start all over again. I had better not see her alone, or I wouldn''t be able to hold back. The consequences were clear to me, but I knew it wasn''t enough. Hopefully she''d steer clear of my way. This time, Cecilia woke up before I did. She was going to be extremely busy today, with her mental training with Slowking and then preparing a way to tackle Maylene. I was the same, of course, but I already had a strategy prepared, now I simply had to learn to execute it. I''d used the sleepless night to focus more on what Zachary had told me about my face. I was too expressive, too easy to read, but could I not use that to my advantage? I''d already done so a little during the tournament when I tried to trigger my opponents using baby talk, but what I wanted went beyond that. Faking being surprised, scared, enraged or scheming, all while my mind waspletely clear on the inside and I could put everything I had into winning. It would be easier said than done. I was barely managing to keep my face still after Zachary''s advice, so I couldn''t even begin to think to fake my expressions, let alone convincingly. I could do it if I focused enough and disassociated like Betrix had taught me, but doing that during a battle would be impossible. Or at least, I thought it was impossible. Cecilia was gone now, but I was still in my room, so I stepped inside of the bathroom and in front of the mirror. "Angry face¡­ no, scared or surprised faces are easier," I muttered. I widened my eyes, raised my eyebrows and gasped with my mouth agape, and then giggled at how stupid I looked. That was possibly the least convincing surprised expression I''d ever made, but did it actually matter? Trainers stood far away from each other during official battles, and I doubted that anyone would actually notice that I was faking. Against most trainers I''d battle on the road, it would possibly work. But possibly wasn''t what I was after. Against my friends, who knew me like the back of their hand? They''d see through me right away. Experienced trainers like Zach or Craig and Gym Leaders would also be difficult to fool, but if there was one person to test this tactic on, it would be Maylene. She was young, abrasive, rash and easy to anger. Kind of like Pauline, but with a strict code of justice instead of just disliking anything that went against her. "Sorry, Pauline," I chuckled as I smiled to myself. Smiling was easy enough to do, but could I convert that into something that I''d be able to use to taunt Maylene? Taunting her would be a double-edged sword. Candice was a master at it, but I wanted to employ a more¡­ silent version of her craft. On one hand, Maylene would make more mistakes if I made her mad. On the other, she might start going after me hard like Candice had done with that Grian Darmanitan. I''d definitely be able to beat that Darmanitan these days. In retrospect, it had probably been slightly stronger than a four-badge Pokemon, although its physical strength went far above that. I''de far, but it was nowhere near where I wanted to be. "Time to go train before Melody calls me," I sighed. I quickly got dressed into some joggers, a hoodie and a coat, then I made my way out of the Center with Princess in my arms. She was feelingzy today and being a baby because she''d begun using her wings like the inspector had told us when I was getting my license, and she''d been all dramatic about it. I supposed that it was also my fault because I was actually listening to her and carrying her. She nuzzled her head against my chin and dozed off. I was going to battle Maylenest because I didn''t want Mallory to bring the battle up in any shape or form. I wasn''t expecting to mess up too badly, especially now that I had a better grasp of Aura, but having the interview after the fight would just add anotheryer of stress I didn''t need. That did also mean I had plenty of time to train. Once again, I trekked onto the hills of route 214 and released my Pokemon. We''d found a t stretch of rockynd that would simte Maylene''s arena rather well, although it was kind of screwed up from yesterday''s training session. Her gym''s arena was simr to Roark''s although with fewer terrain variations and no boulders to hide behind. A dozen stone pirsy before me, each of a different thickness and height. The tallest reached up to twenty-five feet. Some were also crumpled, having copsed under their own weight after having been built too tall. I released my entire team, and at this point training on route 214 was routine. They all knew what they had to work on, what they had to perfect and fix, but Angel and Princess stuck with me. The grass type poked at Togetic''s fluttering wings, but she chastised him to get him to stop. He flinched, and his vines drooped as he began to sulk. They were the pirs'' architects, and the key to my strategy against Maylene. "y nice," I told Princess. "He''s just curious. He''s never seen you use them before." Princess'' eyes softened, and she patted Angel''s head with her tiny arms. She told him that she''d just been nervous about using her wings. We''d found that actually using them was not only good because it''d carry over when she evolved, but also because it could give her a small burst of speed to better dodge things. It seemed obvious in retrospect, but I''d never even considered it. Angel quickly cheered, and Princess begrudgingly let him touch her wings to his heart''s content. I touched them too, of course. They were fluffy as hell, and her flustered reactions were cute. Right now, what we had was barely enough to be called a working n. My strategy was meant to create a forest of stone pirs stretching at least thirty feet tall, if not more with their help. The first step was to have Angel raise the stumps. The bottom part of the pirs that Princess could then stretch high into the sky with her control. He''d do the heavy lifting, and she would do the fine-tuning. The problem was that raising so many was difficult even for her. The bottom parts had to be bigger than the top, or the towers would copse in on themselves, but molding so many targets that quickly was impossibly difficult. But if. If we mastered it, it would go a long ways to beating Maylene. First, it would be the perfect environment for Princess and Buddy to get lost in thanks to their ability to fly. Hiding behind pirs or inside of them in Jellicent''s case would be perfect to confuse Maylene and her Pokemon. Not only that, but Togetic''s control with her attacks would mean that she''d be able to easily have Ancient Power maneuver the field whenever we used the attack. I was nning on using mostly fairy, psychic and flying type moves, but an extra boost wouldn''t hurt. Angel would be able to use his vines'' long reach to fight better than her fighting types as well. It wouldn''t affect Honey that much. Even if his range would be reduced, he was training to improve his reaction time with Discharge and Thunderbolt, along with their power. The one that would be hampered by this was Sweetheart. It wouldpletely screw over her mobility and make her unable to use Stomping Tantrum. There were two ways to remedy this. The first was to use her first while the terrain was clear, and the second was to use herst, since I wouldn''t care about copsing the towers with Stomping Tantrum. The pirs could be destroyed with enough work, of course. Smash the base enough times, and they''d copse. I''d proven as much with Angel''s Power Whip and Honey''s Cross Chop. The problem for Maylene was that there''d be way too many of them for her to spend time and energy on destroying them. If she did, well, that was ample time for my Pokemon to retaliate. Sweetheart flying at full speed into one of them with Iron Defense was enough to copse one in one hit, but nothing at our level could pack that much of a punch. Some of her Pokemon like Machoke had moves like Rock Tomb they''d be able to use to rip rocks out of the pirs, but that move was specifically meant to counter flying types. If I''d been battling Roark, then I would have been worried, but from what I saw, her Pokemons'' rock type moves were weak, they were terrible at being precise, and they were bad at hitting multiple targets at once. She''d focused on turning her Pokemon into experts at singling out and destroying an opponent if they got close, but this would hopefully screw her over. The only Pokemon I''d have to watch out for in this case was Lucario, whose aura-infused Bone Rush could cut through anything, but I had a contingency n if she used it against me. The loss against Chase had been a blessing in that regard. "Angel, can you copse these for me? And then, Princess, you smooth it out." Tangrowth''s eyes shone with a pale blue, and the structures in front of us crumbled, kicking up huge amounts of dirt. Princess continued his work, crumpling it into dust and filling the cavities that had been left. It took a minute, but the ground was as good as new. Now, to ruin it all again while I practiced making my face do things I wasn''t feeling. And hey, maybe it''d help for the interview with SGNC. I had to suffer Honeyughing at me the entire time. ¡ª Mira waited for me at the gate back to the city with her arms crossed. She was chatting up some ranger about the intricacies of his job and the amount of studying they needed to do to be a full-fledged ranger, but I didn''t focus on what they were saying. Instead, my body tensed up and I prepared for another fight. The pink-haired girlzily waved at me with a sheepish smile. I really didn''t get her. "Hello?" I warily said. "Hi. How''re you doing, Grace?" "How''d you know I was here?" I asked. "Sheesh, no need to be so aggressive. We all know that route 214''s your spot. Everyone else would rather train in the city, but you do it in the wild. That''s pretty cool." "Yeah. So what''s up?" "I came to apologize, among other things," she shrugged. "I was a bit of a dick, and I heard you''re going out of your way to reveal your fairy stuff. Honestly, I was kind of lonely. Maeve and Louis are stuck together like glue¡­ ugh, they should just date already, but the poor guy''s got a self-esteem issue and she''s extremely obvious but too nervous to say anything, it''s not great to look at." I felt a slight boost of confidence when I restrained my eyebrows from rising in surprise at the fact that Maeve apparently liked Louis. The training was slowly paying off. "Wouldn''t you be the type of person to just reveal it out of nowhere?" "Yeah, I would, but I don''t want to fuck what they have going. They''re cute together, and she can slowly help him fix his issues. Anyway, I finished assessing my Porygon and Denzel''s got a new friend from the Game Corner, so he won''t hang out with me." This time, I couldn''t hide my surprise. "You got it already?" I scoffed. "Lucky spin," she grinned. "Anyway, the point is, I had free time and I wanted to apologize. I mean, you were kind of hypocritical when I called you that, but I shouldn''t have worded it that way, and you''re working to fix it, so good on you, pal." "Right¡­ I still have to tell Louis. I haven''t seen him in a bit," I said. "But is that really it? You want something else, don''t you?" Mira nodded. "Let''s get out of here. Do you have free time to hang out?" "Two hours and some change," I hesitantly answered. I followed her out of the gate and into the city, and a man with a¡­ melted face was looking right at us. I felt my burn scars tingle when I looked at him, but he kept his starepletely still. "That''s Carlos, my League Trainer. He won''t be talking," she exined. After a short pause where she collected her thoughts, she spoke again. "Grace. What do you think about letting my Kadabra get a good look at you?" "I thought he already looked at me. Isn''t that why you knew about me?" "Yeah, but he never got close other than when we were robbing that ce at the tournament," she said. "He had no time to properly study you then. I can pay you back somehow if you need it, I''ve got some money leftover from the spin." Why¡ª why did she even think I''d need anything from her¡ª And then it dawned on me. Fairies almost never did anything for free. That must have been what Kadabra told her, or her preconceived notions about me. "We''re friends, despite what you think. I''ll do it for free if it helps you, especially when you''re doing dangerous stuff at night." She flinched and began to blink rapidly. All this time, she''d probably thought us to be acquaintances at best, despite pretending otherwise. We''d been at odds during our investigation in Sceon, and even now we still disagreed on how to proceed with Team Gctic. Even then, I still liked her, and she had apologized to me. "Carlos would protect me anyway, he never leaves my side," she said. "But if you really want to, I appreciate it." "Where should we do it, then?" "My room," she said, her tone resolute. I had just given her something invaluable, and we both knew it. ¡ª Mira''s Pokemon Center room was so clean and neatly arranged that it was almost as if she''d just booked it from the lobby downstairs. The bed was immactely made and covered in fresh sheets. There was nothing on the bedside tables or the floor. Hell, even her bag was nowhere to be seen. If there hadn''t been twoptops on the desk with some kind of moving code I didn''t understand, it would have been as if no one had lived there for the past week. I was surprised to see Kirlia standing in the middle of the room, her legs so close together that they were almost like a single thin line. Her eyes were closed, but there was a soft glow behind her pupils and her two red horns were shining as well. "She''s meditating to get ready to evolve," Mira exined. "Says my mental state''s getting better." "It is?" I outrageously whispered. "No need to whisper, she can''t hear us," she said. "And yes. I want to live, so that''s an improvement." Arceus, the way she just said these heavy sentences like they were nothing¡­ "But, my goal takes precedence. It''d be a bummer if I croaked, though. Kirlia knows about it, so she understands. Our values are simr." "I disapprove," I crossed my arms. "But I can''t do anything about it, since I assume Carlos knows?" "He does," she waved a hand dismissively. "I tried to get him to join me, but he''s loyal." The pink-haired girl grabbed her Pokeball and released Kadabra. The lean psychic''s eyes narrowed when he saw me, and he levitated his spoon onto the desk. "Grace agreed to let you take a look at her," Mira said. She paused and then groaned. "Stop being so grumpy all the time. Also, she can handle telepathy these days, so feel free to add her to your link." Grace Pastel. I appreciate youing here, he said. I have heard that you have tried to stop this foolish child from endangering herself, and for that, I thank you. "No problem," I said. His stare was somewhat unsettling. It was like he was looking at an object and not a living thing. "Get on with it and stop embarrassing me," Mira said. Whereas Slowking was Cece''s attendant and Duosion was Lauren''s finance manager and best friend, it seemed that Kadabra was just Mira''s dad. It was funny in a way, how every one of my friends'' psychic types took a different role. I am the only parental figure in your life. You are lucky your gamble paid off, or all of your savings would have vanished, he said, ignoring her groan. Now, you, Grace Pastel. Ah, yes¡­ A slightyer of light washed over his eyes. Yes¡­ I see it emanating from you. Every pore, brimming with fairy type energy. Fascinating. If only Mira had been affected by me as you had with your Togetic, we would be able to see eye-to-eye much easier, but s. Kirlia and Haunter would have thrown a fit. Magnezone, though, he would have been okay with it so long as he could disagree with that ghost¡­ Kadabra kept rambling as he studied me, so I opted to speak to Mira instead. "Does he see type energy?" I asked. "Never heard of a psychic that can do that." "He does. It took him months to develop, he''s been doing it since he was an Abra and he can''t maintain it for long, or his eyesight will go bad for the rest of the day," Mira said. "I don''t think he cares at the moment, though. It''s kind of useful in battle too, we''ve been practicing it a little." "Useful how?" "The more we progress, the more Pokemon act independently," she said. My mind shed to Zachary and I nodded. "Seeing TE means that he''s able to see his opponents'' attacks before they actually strike. They''ve got to gather that energy first, right? Either in their mouths, on their fists, feet, over their entire body¡­ Kadabra can see it in advance. It makes dodging with Teleport a whole lot easier." "Arceus," I exhaled. "He''s pretty good, yes." I will attempt something. Tell me if you feel strange or pain and I will stop immediately, Kadabra said, grabbing his spoon with telekinesis. "Okay¡­?" The feeling was hard to describe. It was like something pulling from under my skin, begging to get out from any way it could, but it was stuck there. My entire body froze, I clenched my fists and every muscle contracted. It refused to leave me and screamed. It was a part of me. It was me. Kadabra stopped after a few seconds, and his spoon stopped bending. There is enough fairy type energy inside of you to sustain many Dazzling Gleams, Kadabra mused. But it cannot be pulled out forcefully. "Which is why people are stuck when they get influenced by a type too much," Mira nodded. "I told you I was right." "W¡ªwait," I stammered, barely understanding. "What about Justin, then? The doctors said he''d go back to normal!" "Can''t track him down. Kadabra would love to study him, but he''s slippery. We''ll find him eventually. I think that the problem with him is that he''s absorbed so much dark type energy that some of it should theoretically not fit inside of his body and should be forced to leak out. I looked up some dark type specialists for research and none of them are as bad as he is. His personality shouldn''t have been erased. Right, Kadabra? Hello?" Kadabra''s eyes shed with passion. My hypothesis was wrong all along, but then why... Humans came before Pokemon, but they have somehow been fundamentally changed by the type energy that they brought with them. Is it adaptation? Evolution on such a scale and this rapid was not seen in any other animals. They keep it locked inside themselves and are fundamentally changed by it, but why are they special? Why has no other species adapted this way and why have they all been hunted to extinction or reduced to mere cattle while humans thrived? Was it mere luck? Aura alone would not have been enough, especially in the early days. It is spread through blood, after all. They would have been wiped out in a generation. Don''t tell me that¡ª His words grew louder and louder until he stopped. His eyes widened, shining ever brighter. Then he smiled andughed. Audibly. It was my first time hearing Kadabra''s voice, and he sounded like a mix between a heavy smoker and an old grandpa. Kirlia stopped meditating and intently watched her fellow psychic as hisughter grew until he could barely breathe. Madness was in his eyes, his old, grizzled wise look all but gone. Tears streamed down his face and his spoon fell to the carpet with a soft thud. Kadabra kept cackling, hacking all the air out of his lungs for what felt like an eternity until he stared out the window and into the sky. He drew a breath, and he suddenly looked exhausted. As if he''d aged a decade or even more. I see it now. I have deciphered one of the key madnesses of the world and I shall now move on to the next. I am satisfied, Mira. I understand. The light spread from Kadabra''s eyes and enveloped his entire body. He grew taller than I and thinner than a child. His spoon shook, resonated and somehow split into two halves and levitated into his glowing hands. An kazam stood before me. "What did you find out?" I quietly asked. That knowledge is mine and mine alone, he said. Suddenly he sounded a lot like Betrix hoarding her old stories like gold. I have reached enlightenment. I thank you, Grace Pastel. Without you, it would have been impossible. "So somehow, you trying to use a move by pulling energy out of my body made you realize something?" Do you take me for an amateur? It is not the act of pulling energy, but how the energy itself reacted to my attempt that made me attain this level of knowledge. "Atta boy," Mira smirked. "You ought to be able to start Teleporting me around now, no? Want to practice how far you can go?" I will get started right away while chewing on this newly attainted awareness, he said, disappearing in a single instant. "Thanks, Grace. You were a big help," Mira said, pping my shoulder. "This stuff is gonnae in handy." "The real reason you wanted this wasn''t to have an easier time beating Maylene," I realized. "It was to have an escape route in case you get taken by Team Gctic." "You''re correct. Ah, man, I wish kazam would share his findings with me," she sighed. Kirlia rolled her eyes and went back to meditating without a word. "Anyway, that''s crossed off the list. Porygon!" I blinked when polygons materialized out of one of herptops. It was blurry at first, and then slowly grew in resolution, like I was looking at a video game instead of real life. The Porygon let out a little beep and floated toward Mira. Not wanting to let the opportunity go by like I had done with kazam, I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned it. "How''s life inside of aputer? Wait, you can''t even answer that." "Can''t you have Kirlia trante?" "Nah, she doesn''t speak normally. It''s weird, but Kirlia and Kadabra can''t understand her. I''ve been trying to get her better at hacking stuff and running simtions on myptops." "Hacking? Why?" "Well, in the off-chance I get attacked and force whoever did that to take me there and I get out of that base alive, it''d be a shame if I didn''t get any information out of it, no? ns of attacks, locations of other bases¡­ Porygon''s sentient, so he can beat whatever bootleg Porygon that they have in there," she shrugged. "You''ve given this a lot more thought than I thought," I said, my throat dry. "I told you, didn''t I? It''d be a bummer if I croaked. Things are slowly starting to line up, but first I''ve got to get Carlos off my back!" I understood now. Mira Compton wasn''t insane, unhinged, or mad. She had a terrifyingly low amount of self-preservation, but she wasn''t just throwing anything at the wall to see what stuck like I''d believed when I had blown up at her a few days ago. She was creating a n. A reckless, suicidal one, but a n nheless. Mira sat back at herputer and studied whatever it was that Porygon had done. "Thanks again! Feel free to go if you want. Looking forward to working with you when the timees, Grace." It was the second time she''d said this, and it felt a lot more ominous now than it had before. "We''ll see about that," I answered. ¡ª I told Carlos that Mira was preparing something on the way out, and he answered by saying that the League already knew and that he''d stop her from doing anything reckless. I couldn''t help but feel anxious and think that she''d manage to slip out of their hold. Still, if the League couldn''t stop her, nobody could, and I was d that they were taking her so seriously that they had their League Trainer visibly shadowing her. Training with Melody was slowly getting better. I had to throw out a question that Mallory had sent back about my experience with Team Gctic at the power nt and my time during the Darkest Day. Those had nothing to do with the topic she wanted to speak to me about, but she had still tried to worm them in. Plus, the answers to the second were ssified. A text from Denzel snapped me out of my thoughts. One, Justin had won a battle against Louis an hour ago and disappeared. Two, Lauren and Cecilia were about to battle.
Chapter 193 Chapter 193 CHAPTER 193 Supposedly, Lauren had osted Cecilia after finding her at her Pokemon Center and demanded to battle. She was staying at another one, but she wanted to battle her so badly that she¡¯d waited until she got back from Slowking¡¯s mental shielding lessons. I loved to battle, but I knew I¡¯d never be that obsessive about it. And she could also have just sent me a text! She¡¯d probably wasted so much time waiting¡­ I sighed. I was running, of course. I wouldn¡¯t miss this for anything in the world, and it¡¯d help to see how the two had progressed in their absence. It would be presumptuous to think that only I had improved, and I¡¯d gotten caught with my pants down too many times after not incorporating that knowledge into my battles. There was also the matter of Justin. Louis was waiting at the arena too now that he¡¯d given his Pokemon to a Nurse Joy¡ª in fact, everyone was waiting, except for Mira and Emilia, and it seemed that I was the only one that waste. I hurriedly typed a message as I ran begging for them to wait for my arrival, and I exhaled in relief when Denzel answered with an ¡®alright¡¯. I managed to catch a taxi, but it was only then that I realized I hadn¡¯t even known where they were. I¡¯d just been running toward the arena that Zachary and I had battled in. I profusely apologized to the driver and waited for Denzel to send me the address. Of course, he didn¡¯t waste any time in calling me an airhead, but I reminded him that he hadn¡¯t sent me the address in the first ce. I arrived in ten minutes and gave the driver an extra tip to pay for his time. Thankfully, there was norge crowd yet. It didn¡¯t seem like people knew what was going on, and trainers were just battling as normal. Lauren was leaning far away against a wall and anxiously shifted in ce. Denzel and Duosion were keeping herpany, but it didn¡¯t look like she cared one bit for the former. My friends¡¯ heads turned toward me. ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte,¡± I announced. ¡°Grace!¡± Louis yelled. I hadn¡¯t seen him look so anguished since he¡¯d separated from us before we left Eterna. ¡°You have to speak to Justin. We need to¡ª we need to stop him.¡± ¡°Calm down and breathe,¡± I said. ¡°He must be staying at a Pokemon Center. We can possibly find him that way like Lauren did. It¡¯s a bit stalker-ish, but it¡¯s for his own good.¡± ¡°His Pokemon were so sad¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything. I was too weak.¡± ¡°You tried your best, Louis,¡± Maeve said. ¡°My best wasn¡¯t enough,¡± he eximed. ¡°What¡¯s the point in trying my best if it doesn¡¯t do anything? I have to do more. I have to go beyond. I have to stop him before he decides to leave Sunyshore.¡± We all grimly nodded. Victory Road wasn¡¯t that far off. ¡°I didn¡¯t know him that well, but clearly he felt something, right? He said he was disappointed,¡± Maeve said, much to Louis¡¯ dismay. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You haven¡¯t done anything wrong, I¡¯m just¡­ it¡¯s me. Pauline, he said he wasing for you next.¡± The redhead¡¯s tired eyes ignited with passion. ¡°I¡¯ll show him.¡± Louis spoke of Justin¡¯s new team. Apparently, he had an Arcanine and a Toxapex now. If he¡¯d used a Fire Stone on Growlithe, odds were he¡¯d used a Water Stone on Lombre too. That was a team to be reckoned with, even for me. If Pauline knew more, then maybe she¡¯d be able to win. From his short interactions with Louis, it seemed that he knew himself that he was not ready for Victory Road, so at least I knew that he wouldn¡¯t go inside as soon as he reached the city. His Pokemon, though? They worried me as much as he did. Krokorok especially seemed to be carrying an incredible amount of guilt. I needed to speak to them. They were having the wrong reaction. Instead of enabling Justin, they needed to hold him back. Toxapex and the final member of his team hadn¡¯t known him before, so it wasn¡¯t their fault, but the rest of Justin¡¯s team were causing him to go further into the deep end. If they opposed him, he¡¯d be forced to at least reconsider and talk to them. ¡°Now, Cece,¡± I said, turning toward my girlfriend. ¡°Are you ready? Isn¡¯t Slowking tired from his lessons?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t tire him,¡± she shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re still in the¡­ theoretical stage of things, so he¡¯s ready to battle. This will be difficult, but I believe in myself.¡± I smiled at her and nodded. ¡°Good. I believe in you.¡± I craned my neck toward Lauren and saw that she was getting closer with Denzel. She sported new headphones, which made me wonder if her old ones were broken. ¡°A¡ªare you ready?¡± She stammered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m being pushy, I just really want to do this. I need to let loose, you know?¡± She was still as quiet as always. ¡°Sorry for the wait,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± ¡°I can be the referee¡ª just tell me what Pokemon you¡¯re sending out first. It¡¯s five-on-five and two switches, right? That¡¯s the usual setup for these.¡± Lauren waited for Duosion to say something and then meekly nodded. While they were both talking to Denzel I tried to sneak a few words to the psychic type. ¡°How¡¯s Lauren when she¡¯s alone with you?¡± I whispered. Duosion squirmed. Lau¡¯s the same as always. She only changes in battle, he answered. He spoke twice as fast as other psychics and it was hard to keep track of whatever he said. I must be on, now. I nodded. The battle was about to begin. ¡ª¡ª Cecilia calmly observed Lauren get in position as she wrapped her fingers around one of her Pokeballs. The girl twitched, and Duosion ran around in its goo, clearly speaking to her in some way. In just a few dozen seconds, her personality would change. Cecilia had only seen it a few times during the Sceon tournament, but Lauren was apletely different beast in battle than out of it. What else did she know? Both of them prioritized power above all else, but Cecilia¡¯s was refined while Lauren''s was wild. Untamed and out of control. Four of her Pokemon were stocky and incredibly difficult to take down, while Sceptile was as quick as Talonme was in the air and Duosion¡¯s psychic powers no doubt rivaled Slowking¡¯s. Plus, there was that Expanding Force move to watch out for. Cecilia sighed and rxed slightly. There was no use getting lost in thought, and she hadn¡¯t been one to get nervous before or during battles ever since she started to fight for herself. Yet she knew that this was going to be difficult¡ª as difficult as the double battle in Hearthome, if she had to guess, but she had not been idle since then. Just like the rest of her friends, her Pokemon had improved by leaps and bounds. Denzel called out for them to send their first Pokemon and Cecilia sent out Slowking. He didn¡¯t look back at her, but a small gesture of his hand behind his back let her know that he was ready. Lauren¡¯s Duosion floated forward and trembled in his goo. A barrier around him shimmered briefly, then turnedpletely transparent. It would begin with a battle of psychics, then. Cecilia could have used one of her switches right away, but she really wanted to see the destruction that could be wrought by twopetent psychics. Lauren adjusted her sses and her innocent face turned into a mad grin. She was the same. ¡°Water Cutter,¡± Cecilia said. Water flowed from Slowking¡¯s opened mouth, but it did not immediately go for Duosion like Water Gun or Water Pulse would have. Instead, the psychic type¡¯s eyes shone, the water narrowed until it was as thin as a sheet of paper, and it exploded forward through the power of Psychic. Duosion¡¯s eyes lit up, and he reinforced his barrier, but the jet of water cut through it like butter and divided Duosion in half. The psychic whimpered for a few seconds and his body quickly reattached itself, but neither he nor Lauren had expected this. ¡°Good. Good,¡± Lauren smiled. ¡°Get your head in the game, Sirris. Barriers aren¡¯t enough! Psyshock on the ground!¡± ¡°Water Cutter again,¡± Cecilia said. Small multicolored orbs appeared around Duosion and rammed against the floor. Debris flew everywhere, but it snapped in ce with Duosion¡¯s Psychic. It was a clumsy thing, somewhat simr to Tangrowth¡¯s Ancient Power, if Cecilia had to guess. Slowking spat out another Water Cutter, but Duosion mmed the rocks against each other to block most of the attack. The pressurized water cut through, but was severely weakened when it reached the barrier. Duosion was unscathed. ¡°Get closer and Shadow Ball!¡± Lauren yelled. Sirris squirmed at the order, but executed it without hesitation. Purple lights gathered around his mouth, but then it split into ten smaller orbs and flew toward Slowking at high speeds. The water type tried to sidestep, but eight Shadow Balls hit across his body, from his gut to his shoulder. ¡°Again¡ª¡± ¡°Disable!¡± Cecilia ordered. Slowking¡¯s eyes shed with a dull grey, and the nascent Shadow Balls winked out of existence. He slowly gathered water from the pond next to him, spun it around, and began to flood the arena with Surf. Duosion reached the middle of the battlefield, and Lauren swept her arm. ¡°Expanding Force!¡± Cecilia¡¯s ears popped, and Duosion sucked in all of the air in the arena in an instant. Then, there was a blinding light and an explosion so loud that they began to ring. The light expanded, water evaporated and rocks were kicked up fifty feet into the sky. It ate away at everything in range until it fizzled out and died. A giant crater formed in the middle of the arena, dividing it in two and the remaining water slowly pooled inside of it. Cecilia sighed. There went the n to flood the arena. ¡°Confuse Ray, Sirris!¡± Lauren yelled with a childlike smile. An ominous ray of light formed in front of Duosion and beelined toward Slowking. Cecilia didn¡¯t know much about how the technique worked, but she knew it was incredibly hard to master. She couldn¡¯t afford to falter. If Slowking was confused, the battle would be over and she¡¯d be forced to switch. ¡°Blow it away,¡± she ordered. Another jet of water, slower and thicker this time engulfed the Confuse Ray, but it had no effect. It was operating on entirely different rules. Slowking had no hope of outrunning it, so he quickly redirected Water Cutter to hit Duosion instead. The water cut through his barrier again, and the psychic type¡¯s control faltered, but the Confuse Ray sank into Slowking¡¯s chest. His eyes became nk¡ª zed over as if he had no idea what was going on, and she could hear faint whispers inside of her head. Pure madness, words without meaning and incoherent yelling ryed through her mind. Slowking spat out a Water Pulse, aiming at nothing in particr. Sirris excitedly jumped and began assaulting his mind with Psychic now that he¡¯d gotten close enough to do so. There was no point in keeping this going. Cecilia recalled Slowking and sent out Scyther instead. Zweilous would have worked too, but she wanted to keep them for the heavyweight enemies that Scyther wouldn¡¯t be able to cut through. The bug type gave Cecilia her usual re but turned toward the battle. There was no time to waste. ¡°Agility, Focus Energy and Air sh,¡± Cecilia said without a breath. ¡°Grab it with Psychic! Crumple it and grind it to dust!¡± Lauren grinned. Sirris¡¯ eyes shone, but Scyther was already gone. He blurred backward out of Duosion¡¯s range, gradually speeding up as his body loosened with Agility. He cut across the arena and sent arcs of air flying, and the psychic type¡¯s transparent barrier shimmered each time one of the Air shes hit. One hit alone wouldn¡¯t have been enough, but he was stacking them up now. Soon, the barrier would fall. ¡°Psyshock! Pursue and trap him!¡± Fifteen orbs of light appeared around Duosion and exploded outward in every direction. Some converged toward Scyther while others tried to cut off his path. The flying type was beating his wings so quickly that they were impossible to see with the naked eye and he sped up more than Cecilia had seen him do before, but this took energy. It was a race. Who would hit who first? Scyther was slowly being cornered and forced to get closer. ¡°They¡¯re baiting you to you get in Psychic range!¡± Cecilia warned. This time, he heeded her warnings. He stopped flying andnded on the floor with a loud thud. Scyther was quick in the air, but he was only slightly slower by foot. The bug type ran across the arena, making sure to jump above the massive, water-filled crater. One of the Psyshocks hit his leg and he faltered for a second, but he did not fall. Instead, he kept harassing Duosion from afar. On the twenty-second consecutive Air sh, his barrier shattered and an arc of air split vertically this time instead of horizontally. Cecilia expected him to recover just as quickly, but it was slow. Sirris was simply standing there, both sides of him quaking in fear. Thin strands of goo and fluid linked the two sides together at a snail¡¯s pace. Scyther jumped at the opportunity and flew toward the frozen Duosion, shing down the middle again with Fury Cutter. It dawned on Cecilia that if Duosion¡¯s two brains were separated, he would be severely weakened. Scyther¡¯s instincts had been faster than hers. A neon green light covered both of Scyther¡¯s des, and he finished Duosion off with X-Scissor. He was a frail Pokemon, no doubt, so a few attacks had been all that was needed. Without a word, Lauren recalled Duosion and sent out her Magmar. It was as if she was so engrossed in the battle that she didn¡¯t even want to wait a single second to rx or think. ¡°I don¡¯t like the look in Scyther¡¯s eyes, Mags,¡± Lauren said. ¡°Get in that crater and burn.¡± The mes on Magmar¡¯s back red and the ground under his feet burned. Cecilia¡¯s eyes bulged as the fire type leaped into the water-filled crater. Immediately, it began to evaporate into steam. Magmar was no doubt getting hurt by this, but Scyther couldn¡¯t really hit him either. He sent a few Air shes flying into theke, but water was very good at weakening flying type attacks. A minute passed. Then two. Cecilia felt a pang of worry. Wasn¡¯t he drowning¡ª Apparently not. She saw a stream of mes through the steam and figured that all the water was gone. Apart from Scyther''s initial burns from the hot vapor, Cecilia didn¡¯t know what Lauren was nning. The water vapor would hamper Magmar¡¯s fire type attacks. It clicked when she switched and sent out her Seismitoard. ¡°You¡¯re up, Prime. Set up Aqua Ring and finish that fucking Scyther,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s a slow Pokemon, attack from up close and overwhelm it!¡± Cecilia yelled. Scyther screeched, and he flew toward Seismitoad. A strange blue light emanated from the water type¡¯s body, then the air grew frigid and steam coalesced into a wall of water in front of her. Scyther veered to the left, using his many wings to maneuver around the ground type, but water gathered around her fist and shot out like a canon when she punched in the bug type¡¯s direction. The pressure punctured multiple holes in his exoskeleton, but he managed to fly away. Lauren was mindless destruction no longer, it seemed. Cecilia took a deep breath and pointed forward. ¡°Air sh!¡± ¡°Use Uproar, Prime!¡± Lauren ordered. The toad opened her mouth and let out strange series of sounds. To Cecilia, they almost sounded pleasant, but Scyther was different. He screeched in agony, covering his earholes with his des and desperately tried to escape Seismitoad¡¯s voice by flying as far as he could. ¡°It won¡¯t stop until you make it,¡± Cecilia bellowed, cupping her mouth with her hands. She had to yell three more times for Scyther to hear her voice. ¡°Keep using Air sh!¡± The bug type hissed, but he knew her to be correct. The des of air cut across Prime¡¯s gut, but she didn¡¯t even bleed. The same eerie blue light swarmed around the wounds and healed them immediately. The steam was powering up Aqua Ring, Cecilia realized. Just like Rain Dance or being submerged in water would. Seismitoad did not stay idle either. She continued with her Uproar, sometimes mixing in a Water Pulse when she thought Scyther to be in too much pain to dodge. Cecilia really didn¡¯t want to use herst switch. Scyther would have to take a stand. ¡°Scyther! Scyther!¡± She yelled. ¡°Use X-Scissor and Focus Energy!¡± The bug type was in too much sensory pain to even give her a sign to let her know if he¡¯d heard or not. The saving grace of this situation was that Lauren couldn¡¯t listen to what she was saying either, and she was content to let Seismitoad run wild. Scythernded on the ground, pointing at Seismitoad with one of his scythes. The water type responded by giving him azy grin as she screamed. Cecilia noticed the small umtion of energy around Scyther that made his wings flutter in anticipation. The bug type closed his eyes and took a deep, rattling breath. Then raced forward as he sliced Air sh after Air sh toward Seismitoad. He jumped over the crater and took flight, his des brimming with bug type energy. Prime angled her head upward, and mud shot out of her mouth. Scyther avoided the vast majority, but a few clung to him like glue and made him slow. He was toomitted to stop despite Cecilia¡¯s warnings, however, and he cut across Seismitoad¡¯s chest with X-Scissor while she hit him with her custom Water Punch. The water exploded in all directions at such high pressures that it prated Scyther¡¯s exoskeleton and Seismitoad¡¯s thickyers of fat. Scyther fell to the ground, and she drew a few tired breaths, finally ending her Uproar. Aqua Ring healed her, but it was slower now. It seemed that it was sustained by the Pokemon¡¯s energy. ¡°Thank you,¡± Cecilia said as she recalled the bug type. She sent out her Slowking once again. He¡¯d be able to take full advantage of the steam. Free from his confusion, he assessed his new environment and smirked. From what Cecilia knew, Seismitoad had Swift Swim, not Water Absorb¡ª ¡°Muddy Water! Flood the field!¡± Lauren yelled. Cecilia¡¯s eyes narrowed as Seismitoad coughed up more water than she would have thought possible and also used the remaining liquid from her pond. At this point, the steam had cooled off enough and was slowly reverting back to a liquid as well, but she knew that the process was being sped up the same way Seismitoad had formed a wall of water to stop Scyther. It seemed like Prime had an ice type move of some sort. The water quickly overflowed the crater, filling it higher than Cecilia thought possible. Slowking formed a thin bubble around himself, and the dirty water reached up to his torso when Seismitoad stopped. Using ck Off in this environment would be impossible. ¡°It¡¯s going to be deceptively quick. Hold it back with Psychic when ites and break its mind,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Get close and rip him apart!¡± Lauren snarled. Seismitoad somehow swam through the torso-deep water, sliding across it like someone skating on a rink. Slowking moved a hand forward and attempted to disrupt her trajectory by creating artificial waves, but Prime was unabashed by the force. He tried Water Cutter next, but she just dove under the surface. There was a slight glow below the water¡ª her fist. Slowking moved his hand and pointed it at Seismitoad. She crashed into the invisible force and struggled as the psychic ransacked her mind. The sheer force she¡¯d applied forced Slowking to pull down his shield and the Muddy Water filled the empty space it had left. Seismitoad¡¯s dull, red eyes narrowed and she grunted in pain, but she would not take this lying down. Cecilia had expected for her to use Uproar, but she did not. It might not have sounded like it, but the move required focus. It was a song¡ª a song with order. It was hard to use it under the constant strain of Psychic. Instead, Seismitoad¡¯s fist stopped glowing, and she belched a purple liquid. Slowking waved at it with his second hand and it flew off into the water, but Seismitoad didn¡¯t stop. She was poisoning the water. ¡°Disable!¡± Cecilia yelled. Slowking¡¯s eyes shed grey and¡ª ¡°Icy Wind!¡± Seismitoad didn¡¯t even bother for Disable to finish. Poison turned to cold, frigid air that froze the water, her and Slowking. They were both stuck inside of the thick sheet of ice, and Slowking shivered from the cold. Icicles had formed on the bottom of his mouth and his eyes were sealed shut. He¡¯d stopped using Psychic. This was bad. ¡°Get out with Drain Punch.¡± Her fist shimmered below the ice with that same white glow it had under the water. The ice shattered around her, and she slowly climbed out of the hole withbored breaths. Slowking waved a hand, but the ground type rolled to the left, sliding across the ice. She clumsily stumbled to her feet and opened her mouth¡ª ¡°Focus on my voice, darling!¡± Cecilia yelled. ¡°Apply force to your left!¡± The psychic moved his hand, and Seismitoad was once more put under the strain of countless mental attacks. Her mouth closed, but then shot open again as she sprayed Slowking in poison. The acid ate away at his flesh, and he couldn¡¯t even budge away from the ice encasing him up to his chest, but he didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Finish it off! Onest push!¡± ¡°Keep freezing the damn floor,¡± Lauren said. Cold wind rushed out from Seismitoad, not only from her mouth, but from every pore in her body. The small patch of ice they¡¯d been stuck on spread through the entire arena, leaving them with solid, muddy ice. The ground type went down shortly after, and Lauren hungrily licked her lips. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a battle this tough with another first year apart from that Karlson kid,¡± she said, grabbing another Pokeball. ¡°Your group makes me feel alive!¡± A tall, hulking Aggron appeared on the ice. He took a tentative step forward, and the ice barely even cracked. ¡°Good shit. Finish off that Slowking with sh Cannon.¡± Cecilia didn¡¯t bother switching. Slowking was too tired to continue the fight, and there was a limit to ck Off¡¯s effectiveness. She would rather keep herst swap for another threat. Cecilia did notice that Aggron¡¯s sh Cannon was rather weak, however, but it was enough to finish the water type off. There was only one option. All this time, she¡¯d let Lauren take the initiative in reshaping the battlefield, but it was about time she did it as well. Talonme appeared in a sh of red in the sky and screeched as she pped her wings. Neither Zweilous or Golett would have worked well here. The former¡¯s attacks wouldn¡¯t have prated Aggron¡¯s armor, including Incinerate, and while thetter did have ground type attacks, Cecilia doubted that he¡¯d do well because of the size difference. ¡°Rock Tomb!¡± ¡°Agility, don¡¯t stay in one spot for long,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Then Fire Spin.¡± Aggron yelled, ripping out chunks of rocks from under the ice. They flew toward Talonme, who zipped past them without a problem. She was too quick to be hit by those. Cecilia had the advantage here, and she would work to keep it. ¡°Fire Spin! Melt the ice!¡± The bird screeched and embers fell from her wings, slowly forming into a tornado as itnded on the ground. The ice began to melt under Aggron¡¯s feet, but Lauren was quick on the uptake. ¡°Rock Slide! Build yourself a tform!¡± It was clumsy at best, but it would work. The rocks buried under the ice emerged, creating an ind of boulders. Aggron didn¡¯t have great footing there, but it would work. All around him, water sshed and steam rose. The heat of the mes clearly made him ufortable, and he tried to stop Talonme with another sh Cannon. Needless to say, it didn¡¯t work. ¡°You can stop,¡± Cecilia said. They didn¡¯t want to turn all of the water into steam, after all, but that also meant that Heatwave was off the table. Aggron could also potentially brave the water, but he¡¯d be slowed further and would still take some damage from the leftover type energy just as Magmar had. But Cecilia was still in a bind. Talonme specialized in attacking from up close, and that would be suicide against a Pokemon as defensive as Aggron. And yet, she¡¯d been the best option against the massive steel type. The goal here was to pressure Lauren into using her final switch¡ª ¡°Tailwind and start setting up me Charges,¡± Cecilia said. ¡ªand hopefully she¡¯d use something more manageable like Magmar or Rhydon. Rhydon was slightly more powerful than Aggron, but dumb, slow-witted, and didn¡¯t listen to what she said, so she¡¯d be able to whittle him down at the very least. And worst-case scenario, she¡¯d always be able to switch to counter whatever Lauren picked. The key was to get her to swap Pokemons first. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t take the bait. ¡°Heat Wave,¡± Cecilia sighed. It looked like the ind trap hadn¡¯t worked. ¡°Stone Edge!¡± Here, her weakness shone through. Talonme still required to fly in one spot to use the move at an effective level. She pped her wings and the air became sweltering. Aggron¡¯s armor was too thick to simply melt, but he was clearly under a lot of strain. The water turned to steam as the steel type let out a clinking, metallic roar and stones rose in a straight line toward Talonme. She stopped the attack and barrelled to the left, narrowly dodging a sharp edge that would have torn through her wing. This was too risky. One stone, and Talonme was done and they weren¡¯t able to attack effectively. Fire Spin was too weak, but it was all they had. ¡°Fire Spin!¡± The mes surrounded Aggron once more, slightly weakened by the steam like Heat Wave had been. The steel type grunted as the fire charred his metallic tes, but he did not waver. He ripped more Stone Edges from the ground, hoping to hit Talonme. They only needed a hit, and Cecilia needed dozens. Talonme spun, gathering mes all around her and dropping to the ground and caught herself at thest moment by opening her wingspan. She swooped past the ground as rocks followed close behind her. Aggron mmed a foot against the ground and another set of stones erupted from below, but Talonme climbed in altitude and veered to the right. The mes she¡¯d been gathering washed over Aggron¡¯s body, and only then did Lauren switch. Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief, but that was short-lived. Rhydon was herst choice of Pokemon, and she knew he wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with. Talonme could barely scratch Aggron, but him? The rock type wasted no time and began to chase after Talonme in the sky without a word from Lauren. The same dilemma as before yed out, except that there was truly no way to hurt Rhydon this time. Cecilia was ready. She recalled Talonme and sent out Golett. His eyes lit up, his insides hummed and the robot came alive. Rhydon did not stop, but he ran into the now-empty crater and tripped down toward the center. Lauren still had no reaction. The rock type rolled down and crashed into the crater, but he got up as if nothing had happened and started climbing out the other side. Golett was slow and small, but he packed enough power to hit past Rhydon¡¯s bulk. His rocky exterior was tough, but it wasn¡¯t as resistant as Aggron¡¯s. ¡°Shadow Ball,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Take Down!¡± She hadn¡¯t expected him to get that close, nor for him to listen to her. Rhydon¡¯s charge suddenly sped up toward Golett, who did not move as a Shadow Ball gathered right in front of his head. The weak ghost type attack flew toward Rhydon, but the rock type barely grunted in response. It simply hit him in the chest and disappeared. ¡°Iron Defense, quick! Then Stomping¡ª¡± Rhydon was already there. Golett¡¯s body shimmered, and the rock type mmed his entire body weight into him. The sheer force behind the impact propelled him back, but Iron Defense had protected him from the worst of it. Golett casually stood up, each movement slow, but deliberate. For the first time in his life, he made an independent decision. Rhydon¡¯s charge hadn¡¯t stopped, only merely slowed by the unexpected resistance from Iron Defense. The golem quickly stood, his movements fluid and he mmed the floor with one of his feet in a single motion that was so smooth that Cecilia almost gasped. She would have ordered him to use the move regardless, but for him to have used it without her? The destruction Golett wrought was only second to Duosion¡¯s Expanding Force. Cracks formed in the ground and swallowed one of Rhydon¡¯s legs whole. The rock type snarled and angrily mmed a fist against the ground, worsening the shaking, but Lauren¡¯s voice snapped him back to reality. ¡°Rock st and Stone Edge, Paragon! Stop him from attacking!¡± Using the same fist it had mmed the ground with, Rhydon angled his arm toward Golett and sent a series of rocks flying toward Golett at high velocity. They each mmed into him, breaking against his poor body, but the Stomping Tantrum continued. Rhydon fell deeper into a hole, and by now Cecilia¡¯s entire half of the arena was split with a single,rge fissure. She¡¯d missed this, she realized. Destroying things was just so much fun, and Lauren shared in her passion. It did not stop the Stone Edge froming. It was faster and more precise this time, erupting from below¡¯s Golett feet. The attack staggered the ghost type and a stone lodged itself inside of him through the small hole in between his joints. The light in Golett¡¯s eyes flickered, but Cecilia yelled for him to continue. ¡°Rock Climb!¡± A deep bellow emerged from below the ground. Each second, it grew louder until Rhydon jumped out of the fissure Golett had created, his ws shining white. ¡°Grab him and use Horn Drill. He¡¯s slower than you,¡± she smiled. ¡°Won¡¯t be able to do shit.¡± Cecilia¡¯s eyes narrowed. Did Lauren not know that Golett knew Hammer Arm? Rhydon followed her order, stomping toward Golett and clumsily snatching over his shoulder. He struggled to actually throw him. Golett was a lot heavier than he looked, but after a few barks from Lauren, he opted to just ce him as high as he could to let gravity do the work for him. So much for never listening to Lauren. He¡¯dpletely changed since shest saw him in action at the tournament and now followed her every order. Cecilia¡¯s breaths had turned shallow and anxious, but she waited until thest possible moment to strike. ¡°Hammer Arm,¡± Cecilia said. Gravity would assist them as well. Rhydon¡¯s horn and Golett¡¯s fist shone with a brilliant white as they each hit each other. For a moment, it was as if they were both frozen there. A snapshot in time that would go on forever. It ended after what felt like an eternity with Rhydon¡¯s horn cut in half and Golett¡¯s fist and armpletely destroyed. The ground typended next to Rhydon with a loud crash, creating a small crater on the ground, but their opponent immediately reacted. ¡°Finish him with Stone Edge. Pin him!¡± ¡°Scorching Sands!¡± Cece screamed. The floor under Rhydon¡¯s feet burned as it dissolved into sand, but he bore with the pain and mmed Golett under his feet. Cecilia winced as at least five different Stone Edges stabbed Golett¡¯s back. The life in his eyes disappeared and his rune flickered for a few seconds before turning off. She recalled him and bit her lip. Talonme would be useless here, so she could only count on Zweilous. The two heads snarled at their opponent, who was already rtively close to them, and they immediately hit him with abined Dragon Pulse right off the bat. The turquoise beam of draconic energy hit Rhydon like a truck, and the rock type could only cover his face in hopes of avoiding the worst of the damage. He was pushed back slightly and was only ten feet away from the fissure. His horn is shattered, so his horn moves are weakened, Cecilia thought. That means the biggest threat is Stone Edge. ¡°Calm down and Stomping Tantrum,¡± Cecilia exhaled. ¡°Rock st. Keep moving forward,¡± Lauren said. Zweilous tapped their feet on the ground, creating tremors that were weaker than Golett¡¯s, but they slowed Rhydon plenty. He brought a hand forward, sending out round rocks bigger than Cecilia¡¯s head hurtling toward Zweilous. Their scales protected them from most of the damage, but they were clearly after something. Cecilia couldn¡¯t let him get close. ¡°Start stepping back. Dragon Pulse.¡± Zweilous roared at the idea of retreat. Zerst¡¯s head thrashed around, but a sharp snap of her fingers brought him back under control. Rhydon bellowed and ran with a Take Down that made him impossible to stop. ¡°Hammer Arm.¡± Cecilia¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°Ice Fang! Sol, bite him in the leg!¡± She was so mentally tired, but she was no mere girl. She would spit in the face of adversity and fight until she won. Rhydon¡¯s fist mmed into Zweilous¡¯ body, but the two heads refused to go down. One bit him in the leg, spreading frost throughout his body while Zerst aimed for the attacking arm. Rhydon red, but they didn¡¯t let go. ¡°Zerst, keep biting. Sol, Dragon Pulse. Point nk.¡± Rhydon¡¯s leg exploded in a flurry of turquoise and shards of rock. The Dragon Pulse exposed the dull, grey flesh below. Rhydon screamed, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell back. Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew she was nowhere near done. Lauren grinned, seemingly happy with Rhydon¡¯s performance and sent out that damn Aggron. He was a true brick wall, and Cecilia couldn¡¯t switch to Talonme any longer. ¡°Incinerate, both of you,¡± Cecilia said. The good thing about having a destroyed arena was that a Pokemon as slow as Aggron would take a while to get to them. Lauren simply ordered him forward. The two mesbined and burned, but the me was still weak. A dull red instead of a vibrant blue or even a bright white as the most powerful fire types were able to produce. Aggron was toorge to dodge, but he didn¡¯t take the attacks lying down. Hastily erected barriers with Rock Slide protected him from the worst of the mes, but it also slowed him. A minute and thirty secondster, the steel type slid down the crater. Cecilia¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she opted to wait, much to Zweilous¡¯ anger. There was no harm in being cautious, but they were too headstrong to understand. Drool dripped out of Sol¡¯s mouth and Zerst tried to catch it with his tongue. Their heads snapped toward Aggron as soon as his head peaked out of the crater. He¡¯d been slower to climb than Rhydon, and he was clumsy. An idea popped into her head. Cecilia swept her arm. ¡°Dragon Pulse. Push him back!¡± Dragon Pulse wouldn¡¯t do much damage, but the impact would hopefully be enough to send him tumbling back into the crater¡ª Her face fell when Aggron didn¡¯t even budge. He screamed with a metallic tint and retaliated with sh Cannon now that he¡¯d gotten close enough. The bright light peeled off a few of Zweilous¡¯ scales, and they instinctivelybined an Incinerate that forced Aggron to keep moving. The only thing that stood in between them was therge ravine that had been formed by Golett¡¯s Stomping Tantrum. But then, Lauren¡¯s permanent grin widened. ¡°Autotomize and jump!¡± Arceus fucking damn it, she¡¯d withheld that attack the entire battle! Aggron began to shine and each one of his steps grew until he was light enough to jump over the chasm. He inhaled and leaped. Cecilia¡¯s willpower wavered for an instant, but she steeled herself. ¡°Dragon Rush!¡± Zweilous foamed at the mouth andpletely let loose. From this point on, they wouldn¡¯t hear anything she said and would just fight until they either fainted or their opponent did. Aggronnded across the ravine without difficulty, regaining his weight as soon as he did. Zweilous let loose and mighty roar and Zerst mmed his head against Aggron. A turquoise light shone after each impact, and the dragon kept hitting Aggron with no sense of self-preservation. The steel type felt the hits, grunting in pain after each one. He tried to grab at Zweilous¡¯ throats, but mes from Incinerate made them too hot to touch. Lauren screamed, ¡°Iron Head, send him flying, Defiant!¡± Aggron lowered his head and mmed his full weight into Zweilous. His horns raked against Sol¡¯s throat, shredding an entire line of his scales away until he headbutted the dragon type again, this time sending him backwards a few feet. A rock shot out of the ground and hit Sol¡¯s head, interrupting another Incinerate as Aggron kept running forward. He was determined to end this. And so were they. Zweilous traded blows with Aggron, using their heads to hit him with Dragon Rush. The steel type was too well-armored to take down easily, but chinks in his armor were showing. Repeated hits to the legs and gut had cracked it. Cecilia snapped her fingers, hoping to get Zweilous out of their daze. They¡¯d never seeded, but maybe today¡­ It didn¡¯t work. Aggron finished Zweilous off with another Iron Head. Almost half of their scales had been forcefully torn away and blood soaked the ones that remained. ¡°You did well,¡± Cecilia said. She sent out her Talonme. ¡°You¡¯re thest.¡± There was a hint of surprise in the flying type¡¯s eyes, but it didn¡¯t linger. ¡°Fire Spin.¡± ¡°Stone Edge!¡± Dodging Aggron¡¯s attacks was a lot easier now that he was barely standing on two feet. Talonme easily navigated around the Stone Edge, releasing mes from her wings that fell onto Aggron¡¯s body. The steel type blinked with his tired pale blue eyes and finally copsed. Lauren giggled as she sent out her Magmar. ¡°Mags. You¡¯re thest,¡± she mirrored Cecilia¡¯s words. Surprise shed in his eyes, but that soon turned into a vicious, anticipating smile. Both of them weren¡¯t used to being told this while battling, and it showed. This was it. The final stretch. Cecilia clenched a fist. If she did not believe in herself, no one would. Victory woulde. Magmar wasn¡¯t as slow as the others, but he was still confined to the ground. Still, she couldn¡¯t getcent. ¡°Tailwind and Acrobatics¡ª¡± ¡°Confuse Ray!¡± Lauren yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t get close!¡± Cecilia corrected herself. The strange light that came out of Magmar¡¯s snout meandered more than Duosion¡¯s but if it got inside Talonme, the battle was over. With the wind at her back, she easily circled around the arena, high in the sky until the light fizzled out and disappeared. ¡°Figured that wouldn¡¯t work. Let¡¯s do this the old-fashioned way, then,¡± Lauren licked her lips. ¡°Burn everything up with Lava Plume.¡± Cecilia and Talonme frowned at the move. mes red around Magmar andva erupted from every inch of his body. He kept burning with a twisted smile, filling the arena with noxious gases and fire. The ground under his feet melted and the air warped until Cecilia could only see a mirage. Staying far away and attacking with Heat Wave would do nothing. Magmar was fire. It would only tickle him and make himugh. They had to get in close. All or nothing. ¡°Agility and Aerial Ace!¡± Cecilia yelled. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Thunder Punch!¡± It was toote to go back now. Talonme blurred forward, going so quickly that Magmar had no time to actually charge up his attack. She stabbed her beak as deep as she could, and Magmar grunted. The blood boiled before it could reach the ground. It was so hot that even Talonme was getting ufortable. ¡°Lava Plume again!¡± Before she could escape, a glob ofvanded on her wing. She screeched at the burn and it made her entire body tilt right. Magmar used that single second to spit out a blue methrower that enveloped her entire body. Cecilia felt a tightening feeling around her chest, but she exhaled when Talonme emerged from the mes¡ª harmed and with cooledva sticking to her wing. She desperately tried to get it off, but if she slowed for too long, another methrower would no doubt reach her. ¡°Fire Pir!¡± Lauren said. Her eyes widened. Another custom move, no doubt. Magmar¡¯s twisted grin widened as he mmed a foot against the ground. Red, fiery cracks appeared in the ground, traveling until they got right below Talonme before erupting into a colossal tower of mes. Talonme¡¯s wing was hit¡ª the same one that had the cooledva was clinging onto. She hadn¡¯t been quick enough to dodge¡ª no, it was because they hadn¡¯t known what to expect¡ª Talonme was a fire type, but she did not routinely bathe in mes as Magmar could. The attack hurt, and her wing cooked under the fire¡¯s strain. She closed her eyes as she fell, and Magmar¡¯s eyes twinkled with glee. Cecilia¡¯s will did not falter for a second. ¡°You can do it,¡± she whispered. The bird¡¯s eyes opened, and she extended her wings. mes fell from her wings as she danced in the sky. It was as if she was one with the wind. ¡°Acrobatics!¡± Cecilia yelled. This time, she would attack with her talons. Talonme blurred as she flew toward Magmar. The wind whizzed past her wings, and she angled her wed feet toward Magmar¡¯s face. ¡°Smog!¡± The fire type coughed up a scorching, toxic fume. Talonme breathed in. Her eyes widened and she froze. She drove her talons deep in Magmar¡¯s shoulder. His fist, d in electricity, hit her chest. She convulsed at the contact until smoke emanated from her body. Cecilia¡¯s shoulders sagged. She had believed in victory until the final second. The girl wiped the sweat off her forehead and recalled Talonme. Lauren said something, but she didn¡¯t hear it. She¡¯d just lost for the first time. It was bound to happen at some point, after all. Yes. In fact, it was a miracle that it¡¯d taken this long. Losing was a normal part of being a trainer, and as Grace would say, it helped you improve. Cynthia had told her as much. Tomorrow, she¡¯d look at the footage and see what went wrong¡ª ¡ª¡ª I hadn¡¯t been the one battling, but I felt just as tired as Cecilia and Lauren looked. The sheer amount of destruction they both brought to the table was astonishing. Even though they both had four badges, it got pretty close to what Zachary was capable of. I dreaded what they''d be able to do when they got better. I shimmied across the crowd and went to see Cecilia. It was her first loss, so she¡¯d probably be taking it hard. I knew I did. I broke through the crowd and froze when I saw her. She was crying.
Chapter 194 Chapter 194 CHAPTER 194 Tears streamed down Cecilia''s face, and for a second I didn''t know how to react. I''d expected her to be disappointed, but I hadn''t known she''dcry. She sobbed and silently sniffled, and I hesitantly approached her, grabbing her arm before wrapping her into a tight hug. She buried her face in my shoulder and let out a few iprehensible words. "It''s okay," I gently said as I rubbed her back. "I know it hurts." I made out a single''okay''out of the jumble of words she said, and she clumsily wiped her tears and sweat with an arm after our hug. The rest of the group joined me, although Denzelgged behind because he''d been further away to be a referee. I caught a trainer filming the entire ordeal and I red at him. He froze, taking a few steps back until Pauline began to berate him and insult him, his parents, his career¡­ she really went above and beyond. He hadn''t been the only one filming. Dozens of people were all too happy to capture the first time Cece had ever lost herposure in public. Denzel finally arrived, and everyone formed a circle around her to stop her from getting filmed while Lauren awkwardly waited a few feet in the distance. "You were great out there, Cecilia. You truly have nothing to be ashamed of," Louis said. "Great doesn''t have enoughoomph. She was badass, that''s what!" Pauline huffed, having joined us. "You''ll get her next time!" "Uhuh," she cried. She still couldn''t form proper words yet. "Come on, Cece," Denzel said with a sad smile. "It was close." "It being close makes it worse," I exined. "This is basic stuff, Denzel." "Is it? My bad," he grimaced after Pauline elbowed his arm. "You¡­ fought well. I mean, the amount of power and skill you put on disy was incredible." "I ztill lozt!"Cecilia sobbed. "Let''s just get your team to the Pokemon Center and you in a room for now," Maeve said. I turned toward Lauren, who had taken a few steps in our direction. "I¡ªI''m sorry?" She said. "Not your fault," Denzel shook his head. "You both gave it your all, and that''s that." "I still feel responsible¡­ I was the one that asked her to battle out of the blue. Sirris would usually tell me what to do. Sorry if I''m being stupid or rude." "Why don''t you tell Cecilia what you thought about the battle?" I asked. The raven-haired girl fidgeted for a few seconds, and then inhaled. "It was the most fun I''ve ever had. It made my blood pump unlike any other battle and it pushed me to my limit. You were an amazing opponent, Cecilia Obel." "...Thank you," she said. First losses were difficult, but seeing Cecilia like this was tough. Her eyes were red as we walked back to the Center and her breath asionally quivered. Lauren refused to go back with us, but she did promise to actuallytextwhen she wanted something this time instead of just dropping out of nowhere. I was still hoping to battle her, and I''d gotten a lot of information from that battle that would prove invaluable in a potential fight. Duosion was severely weakened if you split his two brains, Aggron was terrible at fighting at range, Rhydon now listened to Lauren, but he was still as dumb as he used to be and something told me that he''d slip back into his old habits if I angered him enough. Magmar and Seismitoad were trickier, and I''d have to think for longer on how to counter them, and I hadn''t seen her Sceptile in action yet. Maybe Chase would tell me about him. For now, though? I''d worry about Cecilia. The videos of the battles would always be here. She handed in her Pokemon and crashed into her bed without a word. Whereas I''d scream in my pillow at how unfair my loss was, she simply dejectedly stared at the ceiling. Our friends tried to cheer her up but slowly filtered out as time went on. Louis wanted to go look for Justin, and Maeve followed him with Pauline, since she was hoping to pin him down and ''talk him straight.'' Denzel and I stayed, however. I sat next to her on the bed, but she didn''t even dare to look at me. My best friend leaned back against the desk''s chair with a troubled look on his face. "Hey. Cece," He asked. "What?" She sighed exasperatedly, her voice muffled through the mattress. "I won''t tell you to stop sulking or anything," he said. "But you do know that you''re a good trainer, right? One of the best first years." "I don''t follow." "I''m saying that you''ve held yourself to an impossible standard and that even if you lost, that doesn''t mean you''re a bad trainer." She didn''t answer. "Who would you evenpare yourself to?" He continued. "Even Cynthia lost when she was going through the Circuit. Nobody''s perfect." "I guess. I was just¡ªjust soclose," she said, finally twisting her body to face us. She stared into my eyes, but immediately averted them. "I can''t stop but reying the battle in my mind and think: what if I''d done something different?" "That tends to happen," I smiled. "It''s actually a good mindset. Helps you figure out your mistakes." "I shouldn''t have sent out Slowking against Seismitoad," she sighed. "That was the biggest one. If I''d saved him, he could have worked wonders against Rhydon and Aggron. She might have used Sceptile to counter him, but I could have stopped it with Talonme. I''m so stupid." "Mistakes are what makes us human," Denzel mused. "And to be honest, there isn''t really a way to know if that would have worked for sure. You would have done this, Lauren would have done that¡­ I try to live in the moment, you know?" "I disagree with that, but there isn''t a point in arguing," I said. "We all deal with defeat differently." "I want a rematch. I want one right away," Cece grumbled. "This sucks." "It does," I smiled, grabbing her hand. "I thought I''d win until thest moment. I didn''t doubt myself for an instant. I think that''s what makes the loss so hard to swallow," she said. "Even when Talonme went down, it took a few seconds to sink in." "I just wish you hadn''t been recorded," I sighed. "People always jump at the newest, shiny controversy¡­ it''s not even a controversy." "I don''t care about that at all," she said. "See? Good mentality," Denzel smiled. "Let''s see if there''s anything good on TV to cheer you up." "There isn''t. I have a lot of thinking to do¡­ about my team and how I work with them. I could have won with them as they currently are, I think, but there''s a lot of progress to be done. Talonme needs to get better at attacking from a distance, Slowking needs to get better at multitasking, I need to try to reproduce those few seconds of independence that Golett had during the battle, and I need to improve what Zweilous can do. Right now, he''s got only a few tricks, and it''s not cutting it. He''s still far off from evolving, so I have to figure something out." "See? Now you''re getting it. I know it sounds morbid, but if you hadn''t lost, you wouldn''t have been thinking about all of this." "What about Scyther?" Denzel asked. "I don''t¡ªit''s not up to me to make him do things. He decides what to work on. I''m happy enough he listened to what I said during the battle." "You worked well together," I said, squeezing her hand. "He might be warming up to you." A sad smile stretched across her face. "I wouldn''t go that far, but we''re moving in the right direction. Let''s just switch topics for now, talking about this just frustrates me." "Oh, I can talk about the Game Corner. I made a friend at the Casino called Ashley, and she sort of took me under her wing¡ªor maybe I forced myself there? They''ve got some really fucked up system¡­" Denzel ranted about his Game Corner woes, and we listened. Cece was slowly getting better, and shey her head down on my chest while I hugged her from behind. The battling betting system appeared simple, but was actually extremely convoluted. I still thought I''d be good at it though, from the way he exined it to us. I was d that he at least looked to have a good amount of self-control on his spending and someone to guide him so he wouldn''t just lose 100,000 Pokedors in a single day. Eventually, even Denzel left, although he said he wanted to talk to me one-on-one when I was free. I paid it no mind, since I was focused onforting Cecilia. Something about her reactiondidbother me. "Hey," I whispered. "Beyond the obvious fact that losing hurts, is something wrong? Between us, I mean. You wouldn''t even look at me." I felt her freeze in my arms. "You know I''m not disappointed in you whatsoever, right?" I asked. "I told you that you were great during the battle." "It''s not about the battle, it''s about the way I was after," she sighed. "Isn''t it pathetic to see your rival cry uncontrobly after a loss?" "Come on, now," I said. "You''re just being silly." "I guess." "When you beat me after our double battle, I spent hours ranting at myself and I screamed into a pillow," I revealed to her. "What? But you were so nice to me when it ended! You took¡ªyou took me to my room at the Center because I was so wiped out!" "I held it in, duh," Iughed. "It''s like Denzel said, right? We''re all human." "I still feel silly. I shouldn''t have cried like that." "At least know that I don''t mind whatsoever," I said. "Now sleep. I know you''re tired. You were dozing off during Denzel''s story." She chuckled. "The Game Corner doesn''t really interest me." I waited until she fell asleep and left, making sure to close her door as softly as possible. Ordinarily, I wouldn''t have done this and I would have stuck around longer, but I felt like what Denzel wanted to tell me was important. I''d known him for so long that I knew when he was being serious and when he just wanted to hang out. His room was one floor down, and he yelled that it was open when I knocked. I decided to ignore how potentially dangerous it was that he just left his door unlocked and stepped inside. A sudden chill creeped down my spine and I jumped out of my skin when Fross made a noise behind me. The ice type giggled as she flickered all throughout the room. "Don''t do that," Denzel said. "I told you it''s fine when you do it to me, but not my friends." Fross ignored him, content to mock me for getting scared. I could feel mischieviousness emanating from her, but I knew that it was just a harmless prank. Lopunny was lounging on the bed while reading a book, and upon closer look, I realized that she was learning how to read. It was one of those pre-school books that taught children what letters looked like and I assumed that Denzel helped her figure out what sound each one made. The normal typezily waved at me and returned to her reading, but she used the opportunity to kick Roselia off the bed. She screeched at her, fuming in anger. I squinted at her and focused. She was feeling injustice and rage, but below all of that, there was a yfulness that they all shared. They were rude to each other, but it was all just a game. Milotic was happily sitting next to Sylveon, and the fairy type was licking his nose. He was the happiest of the group, and despite there being some jealousy from the others, it seemed that their rtionships were all functional and loving. Sylveon blinked at me, tilted his head and nodded. I nodded back. "I''m gonna recall you guys, this is private," Denzel said. They all groaned andined at that. "It won''t take that long. And Lopunny, you''ve got to stop pushing people off the bed. It''s notyourbed, it''s mine¡ªwhy the hell are you kickingme?!I''m trying to help you!" Roselia stomped on his foot once more, for good measure. With a tired sigh, Denzel recalled his entire team. "I didn''t know you were teaching Lopunny how to read," I amusingly said. "She wants a phone," he exined. "And she can''t get one without knowing how to read. She''s been learning for a few weeks." "A phone? What for?" "I don''t know. But if she can read and write, it''ll be a lot easier tomunicate with her, and my team by extension," he smiled. "Anyway, sorry about Fross. She''s a little bit of a prankster." "I can tell. It was harmless, don''t worry. You wanted to speak to me?" Denzel exhaled. "You''d better sit down for this." I frowned, but I listened. "I spoke to your mother. She called me earlier and asked about how you were doing." I scoffed."What?How does she even have your number?!" "Grace, I''ve known her my entire life. We were neighbors," he said. "Obviously she has my number." Right. I''d been stupid to think that she''d just give up after one try. She''d moved back to Twinleaf into my grandmother''s house when Denzel was still a toddler, so she''d seen him grow up all this time. "So? What did she tell you and what did you tell her?" "Well, she just asked about how you were, and how you had been after all the stuff in Sceon. I told her you were doing well, but not much beyond that. I called you here to tell you to meet her." My eyes narrowed. "Why? You know what she did, right?" "I do know. Samantha told me about you when I was growing up a few times, you know? Not your name or anything like that, but that she had a daughter my age that she couldn''t see because she messed up. She always kept the details vague, but you know, then I met you and figured it out." "And youstillwant me to see her?" He exhaled as he sat on his chair. "Do you think it''s normal that a parent has to call their kid''s friend to know what''s going on with them? If they''re alright after having gone through a traumatic event and almost died?" "I think that she should give me space." "She''s given you plenty, right? I mean, sure, she asked to meet you, but other than that, she left you alone. All she does is text you and you answer once in a blue moon," he said before pausing. "Here''s what I think, Grace. This isn''t you¡ªstop being a baby and let me finish." I realized I''d been ring at him. "Sorry." "You were getting closer to your mother for a while. You spoke to her in Twinleaf and called her in Oreburgh. I don''t think you realized how happy she was when you did that, Grace." Memories came back to me. My mother giving me advice before my gym battle with Roark and telling me to get a good night''s sleep to make sure I minimized my mistakes. "I¡­ I know." "Isn''t the reason you started this journey in the first ce because your dad wanted to make you reconnect with your mom?" Denzel pressed. "You said you would try to bnce this fairy stuff with your human side, but I''ll tell you right now, youwouldn''thave done this before. The fact that you used to be closer with your mother is proof." "So what, then? You think I should meet her after what she''s done to my dad? Do you know he''s never dated anyone else after that because he has trust issues now? He just focused on work and me, and he made no time for himself. Shescrewedhim up, Denzel. All because she couldn''t keep it in her pants. It might have been more than a decade ago, but dad is still suffering because of herright now." "I know." "And you''re telling me to meet her, still?" I shook my head. "Do you realize how¡ªhow messed up she is?" "Samantha''s human, Grace. Humans make mistakes, some bigger than others," Denzel sighed. "I was like that, once. I never called my parents because they opposed my career choice until we got to Snowpoint and I realized that I could have died before making up with them. She knows she was in the wrong. She takes full responsibility and isn''t making any excuses. All she wants to do is see her daughter grow up. And if the meeting goes badly and she''s an asshole, then that can be on me and you can call me a moron." I chewed on his words in silence, but he continued. "She''s a nicedy, you know? She''d let me sleep at her house whenever I had a fight with my mom and she''s the one that helped me at first when I found Sylveon wounded in the wild. I was scared that my mom wouldn''t take him in, so I brought him to her instead. She gave me some of the supplies she kept for your dad''s Herdier. She managed to convince my parents to get me to keep him too." "Stop it," I said, my voice meek. He frowned at me and shrugged. "Fine. I won''t try to force you to do anything, I just wanted to give you my two cents. Sorry if that came out of nowhere." "No. I''ll¡ªI''ll try to do it," I said. "I was angry at her¡ªIamstill angry at her, and I thought I''d blow up at her." "You will?" He beamed. "Not today! I''ll message her¡­ I''ll tell her tomorrow," I sighed. Most of what he had said made sense, but what had truly pushed me over the edge and changed my mind was that Denzel had reminded me that dad himself wanted us to reconnect. Even after everything she''d done to him, he was still that nice to her and wished her the best. I didn''t know how he was that nice of a person, but despite my instincts telling me not to go, it made me want to at least try. And if he thought she''d paid enough, then she deserved a chance to redeem herself in my eyes. "I''ll meet her," I said, my tone more resolute. "Thank you for listening to me. I thought that you might have stormed out the minute I brought her up." "Come on. You''re my friend, I''d at least listen to what you have to say," I said, grabbing my phone. "Now to set up a meeting¡­ I know I only want to see her, because there''s no way in hell I''m giving my grandmother a chance. She called my dad a son of a bitch." "You know what, fair enough," he said, raising both of his hands. "Why don''t you meet her at a restaurant or a bar or something." I pursed my lips. "No¡­ I think I''ll do a park, actually. That way I can introduce her to some of my Pokemon if things go well. She''s only seen Princess before, and that was when she was a Togepi." "That''s nice." "It''s not just to be nice. It''s also because I want to know what they think about her," I exined. "Aside from Sweetheart, they''re all good judges of character and they cane at this from a neutral perspective. Plus, if she''s rude to them, well¡­" I made a thumbs down, and he nodded. After typing out the entire text, address and time to get her to meet me, I finally got the courage to press send. She instantly answered, much to my surprise and agreed right away. As I stared at my phone and mused on her words, an alert rang out of the device. I didn''t exactly know of the consequences this would have andhowit had happened in the first ce, but Cecilia''s father had somehow broken out of his house arrest. Well, broken out was the wrong expression. He''d beenkidnappedby Abel himself.
Interlude – Rats Interlude ¨C Rats INTERLUDE - RATS "Your move, Dan." The woman, who looked to be in herte twenties or early thirties, threw some dice on the table. They were old, with little ridges embedded in the wood and the digits almost lost to time, faded into the surface. She ended up getting two sixes, a five, a three, and two ones, meaning that she''d won again. "Bullshit," Abel spat. "You''re fucking cheating." The Ditto''s empty stare stayed the same, but her grin widened to an unnatural extent. Abel leaned back against his chair and put his feet on the table. The faint sound of an old police thriller yed in the background, illuminating the dimmed living room he found himself in. All the windows of this apartment were closed, not letting any sun shine through. The few rays that did showed how dusty the air was, but Abel did not mind. He pulled out a cigarette and tried to light it, to no avail. "Shitty fucking lighter," he sighed. Smoking is bad for your lungs. I foresee a gruesome death from cancer in the future if you live that long, Xatu spoke into his mind with only her right eye open. "Way to sour the mood," Abel smirked. "How old will I be?" Unknown. I feel a death with no regrets, but I have been known to be inurate in the past when predicting far-flung future oues. "S''alright. I know you''re trying your best." Your affection is appreciated, Abel. Abel was a slippery man. No matter what jam he found himself in, he usually always figured a way out and odds were he''d be richer by the end. This time, he''d found himself in quite a jam, however. League Trainers skulked through Veilstone''s streets day and night with their psychic and dark types because of Arceus damned Team Gctic. Sure, they paid well and he worked with them frequently, but holy shit, could they be annoying, and they were batshit insane. Teleporting back to Unova was impossible. It was across the ocean and eleven hours by ne. Xatu was good, but no psychic type was powerful enough to Teleport that far without intermediate jumps, and good luck doing that across the ocean. People knew his face, so leaving the region bymercial airline was impossible as well. No other rich prick was crazy enough to get him a seat on one of their private jets, and though mind control was an option, the government had tightened security so much that those flights were checked too. Case in point, he was trapped in Sinnoh like a rat. But it wasn''t like he''d considered leaving anyway. Not before he got one more word in with rence at the very least. Abel would get paid in full. It was less about practicality and more about making a point. He took in a deep breath, and the smell of musty air filled his nostrils as he heard someone step behind him. "Abel, dear? Are you hungry?" He turned toward the old woman nked by Mmar. The dark type stared at him with a wicked grin. He took great pleasure in this, but Abel did not particrly do so. Most of the time, it was just work, but right now it was simply a way to stay hidden for a while. "No thanks, Grandma," Abel answered. "You go and rest, alright?" "Sure thing." Mind control was a funny thing. The closer Mmar stood to the subject, the more power he exerted over them. Around five thousand feet, and he would lose controlpletely. Still, it was important for him to y his part. If the controlled person was suddenly exposed to something unusual¡ª say her quote on quote grandson was suddenly extremely rude to her and told her to get lost¡ª then the shock might break her out of Mmar''s spell, and controlling someone right after they''d just snapped back to reality was almost impossible. That was why Abel had to y his part, and why rence had wanted to keep his damn daughter away from her friends after the procedure, along with him wanting to keep up public appearances, of course. But mind control also took Mmar''s focus. Hours spent keeping the subjectpletely still as he analyzed every inch of their brain, slowly worming his influence in every corner until they became his. "Stick around." Mmar nodded and slowly walked behind Abel. Unlike Xatu, he could not speak telepathically. It was a cruel twist of fate, that his dark typing interfered too much with the psychic waves he needed to form words. Xatu shot him a dirty look, but stayed silent. Dan''s skin bubbled as she excitedly jumped up and down her chair. "It''s about time we go see that damned rat," Abel dered. Xatu sighed, her right eye open while her left one once again remained closed. Mmar''s two tentacles throbbed with excitement. "It''s going to be tough. The fucker''s under house arrest and guarded by at least fifty League Trainers, ording to Zazza and Kecleon. A tough nut to crack, but we''ve dealt worse in Unova. He''s low priority, and that means we can slip in." How had Zazza and Kecleon figured that out? Well, Abel had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He turned toward his oldestpanion and steeled himself. "Are you ready?" For once, Mmar''s permanent grin faded and he only nodded. He knew when to take things seriously. "Xatu. What do you see?" Out of ten futures, you get caught by League forces in four, the psychic type immediately answered with her right eye shining and throbbing. In all of them, you indulge in excess hubris and fight instead of running away when you get caught and captured. It is too far for me to see clearly, but your endes soon after. It is painful. "Memory extraction, no doubt. And the other six?" One where you slip through unmarred and undisturbed. Two where you manage to find a way in after fighting your way through, but I sense injury¡­ I am unable to tell if it would be fatal. One where you are found out before getting in, but get to rence Obel''s chamber regardless. Another two where you fight your way in, but you perish fighting. In all of them, your n is kidnapping. "You''re getting better. Kidnapping is the n." There was only one future where he wouldn''t get found out. That meant that nine times out of then, there would never be enough time to get rence to give him his money, especially if that rat stalled for time. Of course, you would. It is writ in the stars. "Don''t get too reliant on your predictions, Xatu. You know that when you tell me the future, it is bound to change," Abel said. It had taken her days to figure this out. The longer she analyzed the future, the more urate it would be, but not even Xatu was foolproof. She was wrong often, especially when there were as many variables as this, and relying on her too much would bring his doom. Nine times out of ten, however, he would rather know than go in blind. s, it is, Xatu said, finally opening her left eye. "Let''s go, then," Abel smiled. He recalled all of his Pokemon but Ditto then released Zazza. The bipedal dark type grinned at him and bared her teeth. Her crimson hair was resplendent, even in this dim room and it flowed freely down her body. Abel felt at his ten Pokeballs for reassurance as Zoroark''s form slowly changed. Strange panels of light flipped all around her, revealing her chosen human form. Ditto followed suit and did the same. They looked¡­ somewhat simr. Dan changed into one of his child forms unknown by the League, bing a little six-year-old boy with dark hair while Zazza became an adult woman with a striking resemnce. Ditto could only transform after touching a person or a Pokemon''s DNA, which was why Abel stored at least fifty different strands of hair in zip locks inside of his bag. Zoroark, meanwhile, could be anything she wanted at will. She didn''t even have to use someone as a model, in fact. She''d adapted her current transformation to mirror Ditto''s so they would appear rted. Dan let out a small gurgle of annoyance. "You''ll go back to being a girlter, alright? We ran out of hair and the League knows all of your little girl forms." Ditto was a moody Pokemon. At times, she wanted to be a girl while at others she wanted to be a boy. She despised being in her original Ditto form or another Pokemon and spent almost all of her time as a human, which meant that she never fought. When he''d first gotten her, Abel always referred to her as a boy, which was why her name was Dan, but these days he called her whatever gender she felt like being that day after Xatu and Zoroark kept screaming in his ear about it for weeks. It did get confusing at times, especially when she changed her mind multiple times in a day. Unova''s most wanted criminal walked out the door of an apartment he did not own and said goodbye to a grandmother that wasn''t his. He had other hideouts, but the odds of the League knocking on an old woman''s door was a lot lower, so he often lived in other people''s homes, especially old people. She would wake up when they got far enough and would not remember anything about him. The brain was a funny little organ. Instead of having a hole of time, like she''d fallen asleep and woken up, it would try to fill in the gaps with things that didn''t happen. He was in the clear. Abel cracked his neck. This was going to be tough, but all of his life he had gambled, and it had not failed him yet. ¡ª Veilstone wasn''t as good of a city as Jubilife or Hearthome to get lost in, but it would do the trick. Abel had changed his haircut, grown out his facial hair, and wore sunsses to hide his identity. Zazza had a bored look on her face, while Dan stared at the concrete city in awe, as he usually did. rence''s mansion was in the city''s south, where most rich people lived because it was away from the never-ending noise of Veilstone''s industry and the polluted air that clung to the city. The further north you went, the more factories there were and the poorer people got. rence''s mansion was still at least an hour and a half away by foot, but Teleporting there would be impossible. First, neither Xatu nor Hypno had ever been there because there was no way in hell Abel was going to have his only two Teleporters away from him. He had considered sending one and keeping the other, especially since Xatu could levitate, but he didn''t want to take any risk. The League knew that he owned a Xatu, now. They''d be suspicious of any lurking around rence''s mansion. Hypno, meanwhile, wasn''t very good at Teleporting anywhere further than she could see. No. It would be best if they arrived on foot. Abel held tightly onto Zoroark''s hand while she held onto Ditto''s. It was funny, how inconspicuous ''couples'' with a ''child'' were to the average person. It was why he''d almost always had Dan in a child''s form when they were out¡ª well, that and she couldn''t speak properly yet. She was a rather recent addition to his team and was still young. Zoroark, meanwhile, was one of his oldest and could speak perfectly when in human form despite hating the practice, so she usually stuck to grunts and barks unless the situation demanded for her to speak. "Aw, he''s so cute!" A woman said, looking at Ditto. The normal type''s smile immediately shrunk to a realistic proportion, but he was careful enough not to let any sounds slip. He''d already cost them information when he had infiltrated Cecilia Obel''s room by getting too excited, and Abel had nipped that behavior in the bud. The woman''s¡­ husband shot Abel an apologetic look. "He really is!" Zoroark beamed. "He can be a little much sometimes, but he''s a great kid." Dan frowned and hugged Abel''s leg, feigning shyness like he''d taught him. "D''aww. How old is he?" "Honey, we should go," the man tried. "He''s six," Abel said. His eyes narrowed when he saw a League Trainer missing half his face towering over some pink-haired kid with a Gardevoir. "And you''ll have to excuse us, but we''re a bit busy." He''d passed by multiple League Trainers on his way here, but that Gardevoir had looked right at him. He didn''t like that one bit. They had no time for idle chit-chat, and the longer he stood still, the higher chance someone had of figuring out who he was. He sped up, ignoring the woman''sints at her husband about trying for a child. The League knew Abel was in Veilstone due to his many jobs for Gctic, and they wouldn''t hesitate to track him down. He''d be forced to Teleport again right away if he could even do that. The sheer amount of dark types the League had shoved in the city was hampering Xatu''s long-range Teleportation, meaning that instead of whisking him away immediately, she''d have to concentrate on where to go for multiple seconds. A possible death sentence in the heat of battle. If she couldn''t do it, then there was no way Hypno would be able to. While Mmar specialized in fighting and hypnosis, Xatu in Teleportation and predicting future oues, Hypno specialized in mental barriers instead. Hypno had met Charon''s Hypno a few times, and she hated that little psychopath. When he was twenty minutes away from the mansion, Abel decided that it was time to spring to action. The blocky, artificial design of the city had bled away and led to winding streets and an ample amount of greenery, mostly through the form of gardens for the people that lived here. Some of them even had pools. Veilstone was rtively warm thanks to being a coastal city, but it was still February, so these were mostly empty, as was most of the street aside from the asional person or car driving through. "Stick to the n," Abel said, his face still staring straight ahead. "Dan, you''re going back in your Pokeball." The normal type protested, unable to hide the angry burst of purple below her skin. Zoroark hissed and bumped her on the head, stopping her instantly and Abel thanked the dark type with a small nod. They couldn''t be found out this early. "You can''t fight. You''ll only slow us down," he continued. "We''ll be fine. The others will keep me safe, and we''ll get our money. I''ll buy you whatever you want when we''re out of this hellhole." Ditto''s skin returned to normal, and he returned to his Pokeball without objection. Abel fiddled through his Pokeballs, using the little scratches on the metal to discern which was which. He found Kecleon''s Pokeball thanks to the particr spot of chipped paint near the top and released the normal type. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he instantly changed to the sidewalk''s grey color. Abel sat on a bench, content to let him out in the open thanks to his team''s general secrecy. Only four of his Pokemon were known after so many years as a criminal, and if that wasn''t a fucking proof of his talent, then nothing was. He sat on the closest bench on the sidewalk, pulled up one of his burner phones to appear busy and spoke to his two Pokemon. "Keep Kecleon hidden," Abel told Zoroark before turning to Kecleon. "Don''t get too close to the mansion, or they might find you out regardless. Just make sure the number of guards is the same. If you aren''t back in thirty minutes, I''ll assume that you were caught and I''lle to try to save you." The woman grunted, all too happy not to have to speak, and Kecleon stayed quiet but slowly turned invisible. Arceus bless him, he was one of his biggest assets, but he worked best with Zazza thanks to her incredible control of the dark. Dark types were a psychic''s biggest weakness. Whereas ghost types appeared as holes in the world to their senses, meaning that they could still easily be found with enough practice, dark types just weren''t there. Completely unable to be found through any kind of psychic sense, even from Elite Four level trainers. He would know. After all, he''d escaped Caitlin once. Unova''s psychic specialist of the Elite Four whose Musharna had warped and twisted her so much that she could battle and function while she slept. That had been a close one. Zoroark ced a hand on the invisible Kecleon''s head, shrouding him in dark type energy and rendering him truly invisible, muffling the sound of his steps and breath along with the aforementioned immunity to being found by psychic types. Abel could only guess if the normal type had already begun to run toward the mansion. Still in her human form, Zoroark sat next to him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He had to stop himself from smirking at her irritation. She didn''t like it very much when they pretended to be a couple, and neither did he, but it was work. His entire adult life, Abel had walked a tightrope. Close call after close call, disasters barely working out in his favor and escaping through the skin of his teeth. All for a single goal. Money, and a cozy retirement to Al for him and his team. They were the only proper region with no extraditionws, and also a hell of a tax haven. He wasn''t about to move to Arceus damned Almia, Fiorre, or Oblivia. He''d heard of fellow criminals slipping through the tightly closed borders, but that life wasn''t for him. What Abel wanted was to live on a yacht and drink away the rest of his years. He''d be happy dying of lung cancer if he could have a few decades of that. By his estimation, he''d been another five years of big jobs until he was ready. Parts of him regretted taking this path sometimes. Despite what they believed, trainers here were poor as sin despite all of their sponsors. Even that man Craig Goodwill was fucking poorpared to trainers of his level in Unova and Gr. The best ones there lived like Arceus damned kings. A single yacht? How about ten? How about a private ind? More money than they could spend in a single life? That didn''t count the Elite Four who were just as rich, and so were the Gym Leaders, despite them pretending to have jobs. The thought alone made himugh. Yes. Maybe if he had taken the correct, legal path, then he would have been there already. But it was toote, now. Abel had made his choice at the young age of sixteen when his Inkay evolved and he was in too deep to stop. He would do whatever was needed¡ª with a code of honor, of course. He was unlike those other criminals that he frequented at the start of his venture into this business. People would often tell him to just control people into giving him all of their money or other crude ideas, but Abel did not go after the innocent so long as he was not paid to do so. He was simply an enforcer. The executioner. He was the gun, and his employers pressed the trigger. Exactly fifteen minutes and thirty-six secondster, Abel felt a touch on his knee. Kecleon had always been a punctual one. The normal type reappeared and quietly whispered a few words. "There are still fifty guards. Fifty-one, to be exact," Zoroark tranted. "He had to wait until ten of them came out and switched posts with ten that were outside, but there may be more that he couldn''t see. He also tells you that he is tired of doing so much of the scouting and wants toze around in the sun as a reward." "Sorry, but you''re the best at it," Abel said. "Rest up for now." He recalled Kecleon. Abel might have had ten Pokemon, but only five were actually capable of battling at a high level, while the other five were mostly used for utility. He knew he was weaker than a member of the Elite Four even though he could escape them with their tricks, but he reckoned that he''d be able to give a gym leader''s true team a run for their money and even win against some of the less annoying ones in Unova. As for Sinnoh''s Gym Leaders? Well, he didn''t know much about them. "Time to go, Zazza," Abel said. "Would have killed to have a smoke, but it is what it is." "I''ll go buy you another lighter when this is over if you don''t tell Xatu," Zoroark said. "She''ll scream my ears off." "She''ll figure it out anyway with that left eye of hers." The left saw into the past, and the right saw into the future, Abel reminded himself. The moreplicated the question was, the less reliable predictions would get, but her past perception was crystal clear. She was able to recall what a person had done their entire lives, if she was given enough time to study them thoroughly. That had been useful on many asions in his career. One time, he had needed the code to the safe of somepany''s hedge fund manager swimming in cash, but since he''d needed to be in a meeting in an hour and a half, Mmar''s mind control would have been too slow. Of course, that was before he''d owned a Klefki. "There it is." rence''s vacation home was so beautiful that it was irritating. The exterior was adorned with high-quality sto, exuding a sense of sturdiness and sophistication. borate architectural details such as ornate columns that held up the entryway, intricate moldings, and decorative crevasses and bumps added a touch of regality to the structure as if he was fucking bragging, screaming about how rich he was at the top of his lungs. It was a home he wished he could live in. The garden was grand too. The expansive grounds were meticulouslyndscaped, with lush greenwns, vibrant flower beds, and perfectly manicured hedges. Tall, majestic trees line the perimeter, providing shade and an added touch of privacy. Hell, there was even an outdoor patio, and who could forget the massive pool right next to it? Even from afar, it seemed like it was inviting him inside. He was still far enough from the structure, but he knew that it wouldn''t take long for some patrolling League Trainer to rear their heads as soon as he entered the massive gates to the property. He discreetly released Hypno, who blinked at him and gently rubbed her pendent with her fur. "Do me a favor and fix up that mental shield. It''s been a while since you renewed it." Hypno rolled her eyes, and Abel''s head suddenly felt very cold. No, his head was the wrong way of describing it. The inside of his head¡ª his brain felt cold as psychic energy wormed itself through his skull and gently enveloped the organ. Then anotheryer. Then another. Fiveyers of mental shieldster, Abel was ready. The moreyers a psychic added to someone''s brain, the more unstable the entire structure became, and if it copsed¡­ well, it wouldn''t be pretty. Hypno was a professional at barriers, however, and she would be ready to get up to six soon. "Feel like you can Teleport me up to the right facade?" Abel asked, pointing slightly more than half a mile in the distance. He would have to be quick. Because like all dark types, Zoroark couldn''t be teleported. This was the most sensitive part of the operation. If they were too slow¡­ They''d get caught immediately. Hypno nodded. "Good." Abel recalled Zoroark, and before he could even blink, he was next to the mansion. The sound of a few talking League Trainers was to his left, probably on the front yard while he could hear the faint sound of a fountain to his right. Zoroark came out again right away and shrouded all three in darkness. Before Hypno felt too much strain, he recalled her as well. They''d practiced the motion so many times that it barely took half a second. Half a second for a psychic to have sensed them. Abel waited, his hand on Machamp''s Pokeball, but none of them came. Step one wasplete. Now, he needed to get inside. He hadn''t teleported here by random. There was arge window that he could easily climb in, but it was obviously locked from the inside. That was nothing that they hadn''t gotten past before. A Klefki appeared in front of Abel. The steel type''s face was perfectly still, unable to change due to his internal structure, but he knew from the little jingle created by his ten keys that he was happy to see him. Abel did not even need to verify that Zoroark was keeping them quiet. He trusted in her skills too much for that. "Unlock the window," he immediately ordered. Smashing it or forcing it open might have been too loud even with the darkness'' dampening effect, and if anyone walked past here, they''d known someone had broken in. It had been ten seconds since they''d gotten teleported here. No one could keep a door closed from Klefki, and a window counted as a door. The fairy type softly tapped one of his keys on the ss, and they all heard a clink. Abel quickly slid the window up and jumped into the mansion''s interior. He was in one of the side rooms that nked the foyer in the distance, and it appeared to function as some kind of pseudo-living room. There were couches all around a coffee table, along with a luscious carpet below them. Luckily for him, the majority of League Trainers were outside and not inside, but he''d still have to be careful. ording to Kecleon, only forty-one were littering in the garden. That meant that he had to watch out for ten people and their Pokemon. He quickly got away from the door and the window. Once he got out of this room, there would be no more stopping. It was all or nothing. In nine futures out of ten, he was found out in some way, shape, or form. Abel usually wasn''t nervous, but by Arceus, these kinds of jobs were the ones that made his fingers shake. "I fucking love gambling," he said, clenching a fist around Kecleon''s Pokeball. They used the same trick, rendering himpletely invisible to eyes and psychics as he scouted the inside of the mansion. rence was currently showering on the second floor while two League Trainers stood guard in front of his bathroom. Five others were in the foyer, one leaning next to the entrance and the other next to the stairs up. The other three were scattered along the rest of the vacation home, patrolling as they pleased and making rounds around the entire ce. There was only one dark and one psychic in the mansion too, although it was possible that they had more that they simply hadn''t released. Abel smiled as a bead of sweat dropped down his cheek as he recalleed Kecleon. He could exploit this. It would have been easier if Zoroark''s small shroud didn''t interfere with his psychic types so much, but he did have Mmar. He was borne both of dark and psychic. Unable to use Teleport, but still able to function in Zoroark''s shroud. He released the psychic type, along with Machamp. The hulking mass of muscles was Abel''s best physical fighter along with one other Pokemon. Even slippery people like him needed power to back them. In his line of work, fights were bound to break out. Abel whispered, "Inste the room." Abel''s eyesight grew blurry for a few seconds before returning to normal, and Zoroark could finally take a break. Keeping up such a strong andrge veil and having shrouded Kecleon did a number on her, and her breaths had grown ragged. It took five minutes for the first League Trainer to enter the room. He was apanied by a Kingler that crawled all along the wooden floor, scuttling as its eyes darted around the room independently from each other. The moment he stepped into the room, they struck. Mmar dragged the trainer toward him while Machamp and Zoroark worked together to knock out Kingler. The fighting type restrained it with his two upper arms while constantly hitting him with the other two, while Zoroark pushed a Focus st into its back. "Knock him out¡ª never mind." The trainer was already asleep, thanks to Mmar''s Hypnosis. He ced him on one of the couches and waited for another toe in. One by one, they all fell into his trap. ¡ª Once he''d dealt with the three patrolling League Trainers, more came to investigate. He managed to take down six in total before he decided to simply go out there and brute force things. It wouldn''t be good if they got too cautious and called for help from the outside. Once Kecleon reported their position, he used Zoroark''s shroud once more and went on the aggressive, taking down thest four trainers with Machamp, Mmar, and Shedinja. The bug type was his fastest Pokemon and could easily overwhelm all of his enemies, using Wonder Guard for protection. So long as Mmar kept the trainers from moving to release the rest of their teams and he had the numerical advantage, he would win. Abel left them where he''d met them. It would be too suspicious if the psychics outside sensed that all trainers had bunched up in a single room. He reveled in rence''s look of horror once he stepped out of the bathroom, his hair still wet from his shower. "A¡ªAbel¡ª" "Yes," he tiredly said. "I told you I''d get paid." rence stared at the knocked-out League Trainer on the floor along with his Durant and audibly gulped. "I can''t pay you, Abel. I''m stuck here, and you insist on getting paid in cash. The League would know if I retrieved therge sum you''ve asked." "Oh, I know. I''m asking you to contact someone from Unova to do it for you. It''ll be quite easy. I have a burner phone with me, and all you have to do is tell them to fly out here with the cash and hand it to one of my associates. I know your bank ounts aren''t being tracked in Unova." And Arceus, was carrying so much cash a pain in the ass. Abel had multiple safe houses he kept his money in, but he''d have to figure something out for when he managed to find a way back to Unova. rence''s face scrunched up. "Fine. Who should I call?" "Oh, I don''t know. Your wife, maybe? Or someone you trust with your damn bank ount information, I don''t really care. Just make sure they''re trustworthy. By the way, we''re leaving." "I don''t know if they''ll answer an unknown number¡ª" Abel quickly clicked his tongue and sped at the man''s face tightly with a single hand. "Shut the hell up." His mind shed back to what Xatu had said. Kidnapping. He was taking too long because rage was clouding his judgment. The original n had been to just slip away with rence, leaving everyone with their lives because he didn''t kill unless he was being paid exorbitant prices. This was just revenge. A one-man show that only involved him and Abel. He didn''t feel like murdering a bunch of rookie trainers. He released his Xatu, much to rence''s terror. "Xatu. Bring us back to base," Abel said, recalling his other Pokemon. His brain was on autopilot. He''d done this so many times that it was just as quick as breathing. Negative. Empty matter is currently swarming the building. I am unable to look into the future or the past, but it would be wise to assume that reinforcements areing. Her voice was jittery and like static to his mind, but he could tell from looking into her eyes that she was worried. "Well, damn," he said, suddenly feeling very exhausted. "Knew it was too damn easy. They knew I was in there and were springing a trap. Let''s see me get out of this bind, eh?" I would rmend running. "You ruin the fun in things," he irritatingly waved at her as he leaned against the wall. "Put on some clothes, rence." "What¡ª" "Put on some damn clothes. I don''t feel like seeing you naked for however long I''ll have you with me." The older man very quickly scrambled into the bathroom and was so nervous he struggled to dress back up. Abel released four of his fighters and stared into their eyes. Mmar. Zoroark. Shedinja. Machamp. "Hypno and Xatu aren''t going to be here because of this dark bullshit," he smiled thinly. The psychic wasn''t great at battling, but having psychics to keep him protected was an advantage he''d be foolish not to use. "Machamp, you grab the old fool. Keep him alive and don''t snap him like a twig." The fighting type licked his lips and grinned as he extended a limb, picking up rence and putting him over his right shoulder like a worn rag or a bag. "You''re going too far, Abel. Men like you¡ª" "There are no men like me. Only me," he raised a finger. "Shedinja, battling dark types is going to be tough for you, but you''re quick enough to dodge most of what they throw at ya anyway. Don''t get hit." The husk of the empty, dposing shell stoodpletely still while his halo glimmered slightly. Putrid odor and noxious liquid oozed from his pinhole eyes, and he was pretty unsettling to look at for too long, even after having owned him all those years. "Mmar, your psychic attacks are going to be fucked for a little, but you''re you. Brute force it and knock those trainers out," he said, taking a deep breath. "If that doesn''t work, well¡­ kill them. One good Dark Pulse should be enough." Mmar smirked and let out a little cooing sound. He always liked when they were in deep shit. "Zazza, you stick close to me and counter the attacks they throw. We know that they''ve made a perimeter around the building since we haven''t gotten attacked yet. Or maybe they''re on the first floor waiting. Either way, I''m letting Mimikyu out to y." Xatu and Machamp''s faces fell, but they knew it was necessary. Abel released hisst fighter. "Pika?" The sound of a Pikachu emerged from Mimikyu. It was so convincing that even Abel would have found himself hard-pressed to figure out the difference between a real cry and the fake one. Her tattered, ghostly cloak clung to her malformed body with childlike drawings of what a Pikachu should look like. The fabric, decayed and frayed, hung in disarray, exuding a cold air that made Abel shiver. Beneath the cloak, only fragments of a face dared to emerge. A pallid, withered visage, distorted and contorted, peered through the veil of darkness. Her two eyes, deep and cavernous voids that looked like drawn swirls onto a dark surface reflected an abyssal emptiness that deeply unsettled anyone who dared look at her. Jagged teeth jut out from its twisted maw below the costume that would consume anything that would approach. "We''re fighting. Keep your head in the game. No unnecessary killing, not when we aren''t getting paid." "Pika! Pikapi!" Abel recalled Xatu, then strode through the hallway and down the stairs. ¡ª "??????????????????????????Pi?????????????????k????????????????a?????????????c?????h????????????????¨´??!????????????????? ??????????????????????P????????????????????i??????????????????k???????????????????????!??????????????????????" Mimikyu tore through an Umbreon''s flesh with a sharpened Shadow w, her cuteness from a few minutes ago all forgotten now that someone had knocked her mask down. Her cries were a distorted, rageful thing. Shadowy tears somehow streamed down her ragged cloak, the drawings having etched themselves on thereafter she had gotten hit. Mmar''s eyes shone, his strong psychic abilities surprising the mass of League trainers and restraining them by lifting them in the sky. Mmar knew how to push through dark type bullshit thanks to understanding how it functioned. His Hypnosis quickly put five of them to sleep at once. An eerie light appeared above Shedinja and hovered right in front of a Persian''s eyes. The normal type snarled at the Confuse Ray and began attacking its trainer, who screamed in pain as a sh tore through her chest. In a way, fighting in melees like this was safer than not. You couldn''t use shy moves and tricks in battles without risking your own death or friendly-fire incidents, so they tended to be rather simple and restrained to normal, non-destructive moves. These League Trainers were recruits. Unrefined and unprepared. Their Pokemon were almost good enough to stand where he was, but they themselves were not. They were too green. Too unfocused. There was a world''s difference between doing fancy tricks during training and doing it when your life was on the line. But that did not mean it was easy. A Hitmontop spun on its head and its kicks somehow easily countered his towering Machamp''s strikes. The fighting type let a flurry of kicks fly focusing only on Machamp''s knees, and he got down on one knee before a focused beam of poison hit him in the arm and melted off his skin. Now finished with her Umbreon, which nowy lifeless on the ground with its chest barely rising and lowering, Mimikyu''s w turned to a vibrant pink as she began to clobber Hitmontop with y Rough. Zoroark''s eyes shone as a Protect appeared around them, barely shielding Abel from a beam of frigid ice. A ceon''s Ice Beam hit the barrier until it was exhausted, and she countered with Dark Pulse. The rings of void intertwined and mmed against its icy hide, leaving an opening for Mmar to put ceon to sleep. Abel''s eyes darted around the garden. Only two dark types left now that Umbreon had fallen. That should be enough to Teleport away, but he needed to find an opening for it. He was currently holding his own, but he wasn''t winning. The first wave had been rtively ipetent, but these new trainers knew what they were doing. He did not even flinch as Zoroark weakened a Centiskorch''s methrower with a Dark Pulse, leaving Mmar enough time to alter its path. He still winced at the heat and felt some of his skin burn. His eyes narrowed when he saw a Mismagius take down his Shedinja with a single Hex. It had tried to ce him under an illusion multiple times, but Zoroark had quickly nullified it. Shedinja''s husk now turned lifeless, its halo disappearing, but he recalled it before it hit the ground and released Xatu. "Start charging up a Teleport. On my go, you whisk us away," Abel whispered. Xatu was good, but she couldn''t Teleport all of his Pokemon at once, especially when that Absol and Honchkrow were still leaking dark type energy like a motherfucker. The sky was not dark as he had heard it had been in Sceon. The things that Shiftry had done couldn''t be replicated, but it would still hurt her concentration. "Stay focused. No idents." Of course, she answered, her voice distorted. The League Trainers redoubled their attacks now that they''d seen his Xatu, and Mimikyu was starting to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers. He bit his lip and recalled all of his Pokemon at once. rence fell onto the floor and yelped in pain, but in a sh, they were gone. Back at one of his hideouts, this time near the Game Corner. Abel, however, felt like his waist was hot. He touched it and realized it was bleeding. He''d gotten hit by something before Teleporting away¡ª He fell to the floor and panted. His waist was on fire and he writhed in agony. "Looks like you were right about that damned injury, Xatu. Release Machamp for me," Abel said with ragged breaths. rence said nothing as Xatu levitated the Pokeball and released the wounded fighting type. "Machamp. Patch me up please." The fighting type grunted and got to work., ignoring the wounds she had taken in the battle. Let me remind you that you have a meeting with the lunatics in one hour and a thirty-seven minutes, Xatu''s voice rang out. "Don''t call them that. Only I call them that." Still, Abel internally sighed. He hadn''t forgotten, but he did wish it could be tomorrow instead of today. He didn''t want toe at them in a position of weakness, anding wounded certainly was that. Sending Zoroark was technically a possibility. Her mind would just appear nk, as if he''d had a mental shield put up¡ª and he would go in there with Hypno''s shields. There was no way he''d ever meet with these crazies without protection. The problem was that Zazza would definitely mess up somewhere. She didn''t know how to behave like he did. Abel winced as Machamp gently cleaned the deep cut on his side. He took off his shirt which was now soaked with his blood. "Yeah, I''ll get there," he finally answered. "After a short break. I kicked the damn ho''s nest, so the streets are going to be crawling with League Trainers, and you got hit as well, so you should recover. Don''t want to mess up Teleportation. One of the most gruesome ways to go." The man let out a few shallow breaths "Why, Abel?" rence sighed. His defeated tone felt like bliss to Abel. "Why go so far? You''ve endangered yourself and for what? Money? Do you think they''ll let anyone have ess to my bank ounts after this?" "Don''t be stupid," he smiled. "I know that was the original n, but you must have cash stored somewhere. Men like you are too paranoid not to have an off-ramp in case everything goes to shit and you need to flee somewhere." rence said nothing, but the weakness in his eyes betrayed him. Abel recalled Machamp to let him rest. He''d been hit hard by that poisonous attack and his knees were injured as well. "You''re an open book. Call your wife, rence. If you don''t, I''ll just have to leave Mmar here to work on you. By the time I''m back from my meeting, you''ll be under hisplete control." "Very well¡­ I will call my wife and get her to take the money, but it''s the middle of the night in Unova, so she may not answer. where should I have it sent to?" "You''ll send it nowhere," Abel said. "I have an associate in Unova that she can hand it to. Sung Chin-Ho. I''ll call him first." rence winced at the name. Sung was another well-known Unovan criminal that Abel had worked with in the past. He was trustworthy, and he owed him a favor. People in this line of work knew not to cross others that had helped them before, but there was still a bit of doubt in Abel''s heart. Right now, he was stranded in Sinnoh, and Sung might get a big head and take the money for himself. Unfortunately, he was the only one Abel trusted to be good enough to escape a potential trap. He grabbed his burner phone and dialed his colleague''s number. "Come on, Sung," Abel muttered. "Answer." His body untensed when the rings stopped. Sung didn''t speak, of course. It''d be stupid to speak first when an unknown number was calling. "Sung. It''s Abel." "Well, well, well," he jeered. "The trapped rat himself. How''s Sinnoh treating you? I hope you''re enjoying your vacation in that uncivilized cesspool." "This is no time for jokes. I''m cashing in that favor now. I need you to pick up some money for me¡ª cash. You''ll need to stash it until Ie back. "You''ll pick it up on the outskirts of Castelia, 30 Stoneybrook Road." Sung paused. "What''s in it for me, Abel? See, you''ve left quite a hole by leaving dear Unova. People are scrambling to fill it and enrich themselves. I carved out a good little niche in Castelia, and I''m making more money than ever," he said. "The longer you''re stuck in the boonies, the better it is for me." "I saved you from getting caught, and this is how you repay me?" Abel hissed. "You''re an honorless worm, Sung." "You know how it is, Abel. It''s just business. I could have said yes and taken the money for myself, so consider the favor given." He sighed. "It is." Sung hung up, and Abel mmed a fist against the decrepit floor of his hideout. He''d been so close, and yet he was stuck. "I presume it didn''t work out?" rence said. "It didn''t. Don''t think you''re out of the woods," Abel muttered. "I''ll think of something. I always do. For now, why don''t you stew on your thoughts in silence." "Have you seen where your quest for revenge brought you, Abel? You are still stuck here with no way out. You are a maniac with no sense of self-preservation. What good is honor if it gets you killed?" "Don''t get cocky now," Abel said, his expression growing dark. "And don''t think I won''t kill you because I spared¡­ most of those League Trainers and their Pokemon. Business is business, but there are always idents." That seemed to shut him up. It was about honor, but also principle. What good was a man who couldn''t pay his bills and went back on his word? Now, he wasn''t actually nning on killing him, but rence was too much of a wimp to think for one damn second. What about asking him for transport back to Unova? Xatu asked. Abel chuckled. "Come on. For all your precognition, you think too simply, Xatu¡ª" Do not get smart with me, or I will leave little Dan in your permanent care. Do not think I cannot convince Zazza as well, she said, closing her left eye. The probability of her agreeing is high. Abel smirked. "You couldn''t have figured that out in that little time, but okay, okay. Really, there is no way the Sinnohan government will let any private ne from Unovand without thoroughly checking the intentions of the pilot. It''d be a trap. I barely managed to scrape by against some rookies from the League." Very well. Rest, now, Abel. I shall analyze the probability of you dying in your meeting. It would be a shame if you did. "Come on, Xatu. Don''t get soft on me, now." I will not allow you to perish. You will die old and miserable, but we will all be there with you. Now sleep. Your injury is worse than it looks. He did not fall asleep, but he did close his eyes. ¡ª The probability of your death at the meeting is at eleven percent and rising, Xatu finally said. We must make haste. Are you ready? Abel stared at rence Obel onest time. He was tightly bound, gagged and he''d triple-checked to see if it was tight enough. He considered letting one of his Pokemon stay back, but he felt vulnerable without all of them by his side. Plus, Shedinja was down for the count and Mimikyu and Machamp were wounded. He''d need all of them for his meeting. "Sure thing," he sighed. "Arceus, I fucking hate Team Gctic." After twenty seconds, he blinked, and he was somewhere else. Every time Abel met with Team Gctic, he found himself being less and less willing to work with them. They paid well and on time, but there was a reason he called them lunatics. Xatu Teleported him to one of the bases they always met in and Abel instinctively ced a hand on his Pokeballs. He didn''t actually know where their mainpound actually was and they didn''t trust him enough to reveal that information despite them working together. This was a hangar of some sort next to an abandoned container terminal northeast of Veilstone that they had repurposed as one of their bases. It was grimy and dark, but it had all the space they needed for whatever it is they did in there. He hadn''t seen most of it, only a few rooms. The one Xatu had brought him in looked more like an interrogation room than anything. A few steel chairs and a table. No windows, a dim hanging from the ceiling and a single steel door. In front of him stood three of Team Gctic''s Commanders. The tallest one and only man called himself Saturn. His face twisted in displeasure as soon as he saw Abel appear. He was just as insane as Mars but in a very different way. It had taken Abel a while for him not to chuckle at that stupid fucking blue haircut. A Toxicroak hung by his side, clearly annoyed at this meeting. Mars, meanwhile, happily called out his name as soon as he appeared. Whereas Saturn was standing, ring with his arms crossed and his face twisting in anger, Mars was sitting and giggling as she tapped her feet on the floor like a little child. "Abel! We heard about what you did, you''re just so much fun all the time!" She cheered. "I wish I could do stuff as well! It''s so boring these days, and Dusky''s been getting hungry." Dusky. The ghost that was always by her side out of his Pokeball. Abel knew exactly where he was thanks to Xatu continuously feeding him information. He was right above her, as always. Abel had never actually seen the ghost, but he knew how threatening he was. Mars was unhinged, but again, in a different way than Saturn. Saturn gave no value to anything other than Team Gctic, including human life. To him, deaths were a statistic, and he despised Abel for his materialistic ways. If he could press a button that killed all of humanity, Abel had no doubt he''d press it so they wouldn''t get in Team Gctic''s way. They were like ants to him. He was Cyrus'' closest Commander along with Charon, who wasn''t here today. Mars, meanwhile, knew lives to be valuable, which made her all the more terrifying. She had bragged to Abel about her singling out a single member of their organization and mentally fucking with them for weeks just to see what would happen, only to start over again with a new one when they broke or she got bored, much to Saturn''s displeasure, and she also dabbled in physical torture of League members they sometimes captured just because she found it fun. She liked studying human suffering and took great pleasure in the minute details while Saturn looked at the picture as a whole. Oh, and she was also fucking obsessed with Cyrus, Team Gctic''s leader who Abel had never met. But there was one moremander with them. Jupiter. She was normal, oh, so normal, but that made her all the more horrifying for going along with this entire organization. Abel had talked with her the most, and sometimes he even forgot that she wasn''t just an ordinary young woman. She had no Pokemon with her, it seemed. Charon was somewhat normal as well, but he walked a narrow path with a single goal in mind. Abel knew that look in his eye, but he did not know what the goal in question was. He hated working with them. Their goals weren''t aligned at all, but they paid very well. No one else in Sinnoh would employ him, and he was stuck here, after all. He didn''t care at all about them potentially taking over the government. In fact, he knew it to be impossible¡ª Xatu had said as much. Even if they did, they''d have a rebellion on their hands and the other regions would intervene. They''d been virtually wiped out of eastern Sinnoh and were only able to conduct small-scale operations there, and they''d been reduced to hiding like rats in Veilstone. It was only a matter of time until the League brought the hammer down and destroyed their presence there entirely. Once they did, they''d be too weak to do anything else, so Abel wanted to milk them for all they were worth. Eleven percent chance of dying, Abel thought. That number was no doubt faulty, but there''d been no time to study multiple futures so they had to make do with what they had. He stood up straight, hiding his pained side as best he could. He had toe to this meeting from a position of strength. "Sorry I''mte," Abel finally said. "I was held up with something." "You kidnapped rence Obel," Jupiter said. "It''s impossible to miss. I have to say, I''m impressed. I wouldn''t have wanted you to die." "Appreciate that," he said. Before he could keep going, Saturn snarled. "You egotistic, sniveling worm! Now the League will double¡ª no, triple their patrols! I thought we told you to stay put and await your next orders! You''ve gone against Team Gctic. If it were up to me, you''d be dead where you stood." "I am not subservient to you, Saturn. I have my own agenda and goals to aplish, and I don''t care if it means I have to step on your toes to get there." Marsughed. "Good answer! I would have asked Dusky to kill you if you got boring and apologized," she smiled. "You''re always entertaining, Abel, that''s why I like you." "Now, now, let''s all take a deep breath, okay?" Jupiter said, putting a hand on Saturn''s shoulder. "The meeting was originally meant to give you a job, but we''d like it if you warned us before doing things like this. We''re partners, right? It''s only normal to warn each other." "That''s a fair point," Abel said. "What''s the job?" "Enough about jobs! Join Team Gctic already! You''re nifty enough to be a Commander if you work hard and prove yourself," Mars demanded. Abel didn''t miss the hungry look in her eye. She wanted him to be one of her toys, no doubt. "I''m afraid It''d be better to work toward getting back to Unova," Abel said. "Bummer," she pouted. "You are to try to find out the progress the League has made regarding our bases, you miscreant!" Saturn eximed. "That''s awfully vague. These are usually a lot more precise." "Saturn''s not exining it correctly," Jupiter said. "As you know, we''ve set up multiple bases, but only a single one matters to us¡ª" "The one I don''t know about," Abel interrupted. She smirked. "Yes, that one. Not even all of Team Gctic''s members are privy to its location, so no hard feelings, yes? It''d be good for us if the government attacked one of these bases we don''t care about. It''d release the tension for a while and it might even fool them into thinking they got us for a few days." So they were buying time, then? What for? The longer they waited, the weaker they''d get, and hundreds or potentially thousands of their members would get caught in the raid. Abel didn''t let the confusion show on his face. "I wanna fight¡­" Mars sighed. "So? Just send out some poor goon to confess and use them as bait. Doesn''t seem like a job for me." "The primary goal is for you to track progress on the main base," she said. "We''d never be able to do that. It would also help to know if they already know about multiple of our bases and are just waiting to strike or not. There are preparations that would need to be sped up, in that case." "Fine," Abel grumbled. "But I want a higher rate. This is more dangerous than usual." Saturn clicked his tongue. "Look at you. You are a simpleton only driven by greed. There is no higher goal to your life, no passion, no love. How pathetic. You will die without having aplished anything¡ª" "Let''s add five million to your payment, then," Jupiter nodded. Abel restrained a smirk. They really blew money away like they didn''t care about what would happen in just a few months. He knew they were making money, but there was no way they were making that much. To learn about the League¡­ well, he''d have to capture some League Trainer, get Mmar to control him and go from there. The problem was that the range meant that he''d need to be a few blocks away, and that was risky, but he''d figure something out. "Sounds good," Abel nodded. "Is that it?" "Yes. Thank you for cooperating," Jupiter said. Mars raised her hand like a kid in school. "Wait! Could you catch someone for me?" "Pay and I can do anything." "Grace Pastel¡ª" "Absolutely not," Saturn shot her down. "Team Gctic will not allow you to y with a toy, especially one that''s guarded by five Elite ACE trainers." "Five? Never mind, then," Abel said. "We wouldn''t have paid you anyway," Jupiter shook her head. "She''s been obsessed with this girl ever since Valley Windworks¡­ it gets a bit much sometimes. Remember, Mars, Cyrus told us to stay put." "Fiiiine. It''s a bummer. She''s been getting a big head and having too much funtely. I want to ruin that little face of hers. My knife''s been itching to cut her open¡ª" "I''ll be off, then," Abel interrupted. "Next week, same time, correct?" Saturn and Jupiter nodded, and Xatu Teleported Abel back to his base¡ª And then there was pain. Horrible, mind-bending pain. He felt something squeeze his entire body like a vice, and he was too out of it to see what happened to Xatu. It was as if someone was stabbing his bandaged wound. A few rays of light, a bolt of electricity fried her and she was soon being held up just like he was. Unlike him, however, she squirmed and struggled. He could see agony sh in her eyes and after thirty seconds, a ghostly form slipped out of her, leaving her unconscious. Had that been a Haunter? "Let him move his face," a woman¡ª no, a girl''s voice said. Finally, he could breathe properly again. He turned and saw a pink-haired girl sitting on rence''s body. He looked terrified, but some pleasure slipped into his eyes. He was clearly happy to see Abel in this situation, and that enraged him even more. She had ungagged, but not untied rence, but he stayed silent anyway and tried to make himself as small as possible. A Gardevoir and an kazam stood by her side, their eyes shining as theirbined force held him up in the air while a Magnezone floated close to the ceiling. He''d gone soft. Overconfident after his recent victory. He should never have Teleported back without one of his battlers out with him. Abel struggled some more and tried to move his arms, but nothing worked. "How the hell did you find this ce?" He asked. The best thing to do in these situations was to buy time. People loved to talk, even when they shouldn''t. He''d almost fallen victim to that with rence earlier. "What do you want?" "That''s a secret, but you can call it a lucky break," the girl winked. "Now, I have a few questions regarding Team Gctic, Abel, and you will answer them. This big guy over here," she paused, pping rence on the face more than what was necessary. "Told me you just came out of a meeting with ''em." "Who sent you?" Abel hissed. He remembered her face from earlier, along with the Gardevoir, but he couldn''t ce a name. "I sent myself. Now, I rmend you talk fast. I have a scary League Trainer called Carlos on my tail and I only managed to slip past him because he didn''t know about kazam being able to Teleport me ces, and it turns out I might have had a few more guards than I originally thought. You know what happens if they get here, don''t you? You get caught and your brain goes kaboom a few hourster," she said, mimicking an explosion with her hands. "Now, me, I''ll just get scolded, but I can take the credit for catching you and that''ll smooth things over. Since I''m a nice gal and I don''t give a crap about you. I''ll let you go as long as you give me what I want." Abel bit his lip. She could have been lying, but he''d seen her with a League Trainer earlier today. All these years, he''d slipped past government authorities, rival criminals, gangs, a damn member of the Elite Four, and the one who finally did him in was a fucking kid because of his damn hubris. Judging by how slow Xatu went down to four of her Pokemon, he bet that he could have taken her with no problem if he could just get one of his battling Pokemon out of their Pokeballs. She was using the same trick he liked to do and he''d used on so many League Trainers earlier today. He pushed and struggled for another few seconds. His arms and hands didn''t budge one inch. No matter how strong a trainer was, it didn''t matter if you took their Pokeballs away. "Come on, now. Chop chop!" She yelled, pping her hands. "And don''t even think about lying. You''re smart enough to know what Gardevoir are capable of." "What do you want to know?" He sighed. She answered with a sheepish grin. "Now that was easy, wasn''t it?"
Interlude – Trap Interlude ¨C Trap INTERLUDE - TRAP Mira Comptonzily walked the streets of Veilstone with her hands behind her back as Carlos followed her. Her eyes darted around the entire street foranysuspicious activity or anything out of the ordinary, but at this point, she knew her search would be fruitless. It was something to pass the time and that made her think that she was at least doingsomethinginstead of letting her goal slip past her. "What do you say, Carlos? How ''bout I buy you somete lunch? I bet you haven''t eaten yet, and they got some good quesadis down at the Food Court!" The gruff man stared at Mira, his face expressionless. She could never tell what he was thinking behind that one eye of his. "I already had lunch when you were at the Pokemon Center," he answered. "Feel free to go eat yourself. I will follow." "What if I just wanted to eat with you, Carlos? I want to study you a little¡ª" Mira. Gardevoir''s voice rang out in her mind. She''d evolved a few hours ago, around thirty minutes after Grace left for whatever it was she had to do. It was probably more training, if Mira had to guess. The fairy type was tall and shadowed her as much as Carlos did, and she was still getting used to howloudcities were for empaths like her. Gardevoir hadn''t struggled as much as Mira thought she would, though, and she seemed to be having no problems whatsoever. She was sensitive to minute changes, but there was no pain or headaches. Right now, she was focusing on sensing individual emotions from random people. The good thing about having Gardevoir out was that they could pretend not to speak, even with Carlos here. She could basically read her thoughts, after all. Mira''s face didn''t change, but her thoughts did. She wondered what Gardevoir wanted. Do not turn around. There is a woman in front of me that is empty. She is traveling with a man and a child. The child thinks like a Pokemon and the man dons a mental shield, but I can still feel his emotions. Anxiety, excitement¡­ he is going to do something illegal. Well damn, that sure as hell was convenient. As it stood, the man behind her could be doing anything, but it was a lead, and Mira hadn''t had one since she arrived in Veilstone. On the off-chance that this was more than it seemed, she decided to follow him. Carlos wouldn''t know, of course. In his eyes, Mira would just bewalking around. Would Trace be enough to track him? It is. The man is hard to track and the woman is impossible, but the child is easy. Its emotions are loud. They are now one block away, you should start walking. Turn back, and then go right. Keep your distance. "Nevermind about lunch, Carlos. I''m not hungry," Mira said. "Let''s keep going. Hey, do you want to hear about that time in school when I identally flooded my locker in apple juice¡­" Mira ranted to Carlos about whatever came to mind, but in reality, she wasthinking. Originally, Gardevoir''s Trace ability had beenrgely useless even though it was one of the rarer ones her line could get. It was useful to easily keep track of ghosts whenever they disappeared which was why Haunty hated ying hide and seek with her, but its range had been pitiful and impossible to make use of. Now that she''d evolved, she could apparently hone in on a single person and follow them for¡­ well, they hadn''t tested the range yet, but it was huge. Maybe it was because Gardevoir was an empath as well? That was her best guess for now, and kazam agreed with that hypothesis. Emotions do help, yes,Gardevoir said.The louder they are, the easier it is to keep track. The woman would have slipped past kazam and most psychics, but my skills are beyond his now. Mira mentally thanked Gardevoir for the assist, but told her to focus to not lose the group. She''d said that the woman was empty, and after Sceon, Mira knew that it could only meandark type. Things got even easier for Gardevoir when they left the dense city center and entered the suburbs, and Mira made sure to stay as far as her range allowed her without beingtoodistant. At some point, the group of three stopped somewhere and so did they. Not that Mira could actually see them. They were still following from afar, further than they could be noticed. The child is gone, but the man is still there. It is impossible to know if the woman is here or not,she said.What shall we do now, my dear? My dear? Mira smirked and figured that was a fine nickname. Now, either the kid had somehow disappeared off the face of the earth, or he was a Pokemon as Gardevoir had said and had just gone back inside his Pokeball. The most obvious answer was that he was a Ditto. If he''d been a ghost, then Gardevoir would have known, but wasn''t this too simple? It''d be too convenient if she was right. "I''m gonna rest on this bench, Carlos. We''ve been walking for an hour and a half." She said. The League Trainer responded with a curt nod. "Hear me out here, I have another story." Carlos didn''t groan, nor did his face change, but Mira knew he was starting to get sick of her. He was a quiet man that enjoyed silence, but she needed to keep his mind upied. "I used to like this guy a few years back. He used to be really rude to me, but he stopped when almost my entire family died in that car ident that I told you about. I was alone with my uncle and he started to go off the rails with his research, but he was the only friend I had. His name was Frank¡­" Ditto were an extremely rare species that were seldom found in the wild. They had been discovered a few decades back, originally in Kanto, and they revolutionized Pokemon medicine. Some theorized that they had actually been created by humans like Porygon or ydol due to them appearing around the time Team Rocket got its start, and they were known to have dabbled in Pokemon experimentation. Regardless, Ditto were a blessing. Before their use in medicine, permanent maiming or even death was a lot moremon in Pokemon Battles. Mira found the topic fascinating, but right now, she knew only one person who owned a Ditto. Abel. And the only reason they''d found him¡ª or well, whatever dark type he owned was because Gardevoir had been practicing her empathy powers after having recently evolved. Talk about a stroke of good luck. What in the world was he doing here? His being in Veilstone was obvious, but why the hell was he just walking around? There was a goal to this excursion¡ª Gardevoir had said as much. rence Obel''s mansion is up ahead,Gardevoir said. Mira heart swelled with jubtion. There it was. A stroke of luck had led her to the closest she''d ever been at making meaningfulprogress. Abel worked with Team Gctic, and if she managed to catch him off-guard, then she''d be able to question him. The two problems was the danger and Carlos. First, Abel''s Pokemon were a lot better than hers, and second, Carlos would never let her do what she wanted. Mira needed to shake him off, and she knew exactly how. So he''s going to pay rence a visit, that much is obvious,Mira thought to herself.Odds are, he''s going to Teleport out if he doesn''t get captured first. Right now, Gardevoir needed to keep her senses focusedentirelyon him. Tracking Teleportation was impossible, but a Pokemon with Trace could do it if they were good enough. They''d been following Abel for an hour and a half, and she had gotten used to how he thought andfelteven through his mental barrier. The details would be blurry, but it waspossible. She theoretically could have sent Porygon to infiltrate whatever phone he used, but Mira didn''t want to risk the poor thing''s wellbeing. She was still just a little baby that didn''t even know good from evil. kazam will not approve,Gardevoir said. He wouldn''t if Mira was rash about this, but she wouldn''t be. Not when her goal was at the tip of her fingers. So close she could almosttasteit. They wouldn''t confront him today, but if he was nning on taking rence somewhere, he''d either take him to Team Gctic''s base or his own hideout. Then, all they''d need to do was track it down and sneak in another day when he was out. He had a Xatu, so it was possible that he''d sense them, but to him, they''d just be passersby. One of the thousands on the streets he saw every day. Around fifteen minutester, Abel moved again. Mira followed and realized quickly that he''d also been sitting on a bench. He Teleported toward the mansion,Gardevoir dered.I cannot feel him any longer. He is probably about to break in. Mira mused for a few seconds. Was he really going to kidnap rence that easily? She couldn''t exactly see what was going on from here. On one hand, rence Obel suffering was a wee development. No parent should have done what he did to Cecilia, and even though they weren''t particrly close, Mira did feel for what she had gone through. It''d be nice if he could be roughed up a little, at the very least. On the other, she couldn''t really donothing. Mira usually asked for forgiveness instead of permission, but her n was going to get her found out eventually, and if the League discovered that she''d essentially known of the kidnapping beforehand and done nothing to stop it, she might get in more trouble than she could handle. There was a tightrope she could walk here, and that was to wait a few minutes. If she could get Abel into multiple fights¡ª enough to wound his Pokemon orhim, then she''d be able to take advantage of that weakness. She doubted that Abel had any potions left. No stores would let him buy any, and she hadn''t heard of him breaking into any Poke Marts or robbing any trainers. That is wise. If Abel is weakened, kazam will approve begrudgingly,Gardevoir said.Your quick thinking is a thing of beauty. Mira internally thanked her, but then her eyes narrowed. If she waited too long, she''d cause¡ª she''d cause the deaths of innocent League Trainers. But if shedidn''t wait, then odds were Abel was going to get caught and her lead was going to go up in mes. They are strangers, dear. You do not have to care about them,the fairy type said.Focus on yourself. And yet, if she didn''t, was she really any better than Uncle Ernie? "...anyway, that''s how my first crush told me to my face that I was annoying when I was eleven. It didn''t really matter to me, though. It was just another slump. Oh, and by the way, Carlos. I have a confession," Mira said. "Hm?" "Abel is about to break into rence Obel''s mansion." Carlos frowned at her. "Don''t believe me? Why don''t we go an check it out, then?" Mira asked with a tired smile. The League Trainer shot up, and then whistled louder than what Mira thought possible. Two League Trainers dropped from the sky, one on a Pidgeot and another on a Staraptor. There weremoreguards? Mira bit the inside of her lips and internally swore. This was going to getplicated, and fast. "Go check on rence Obel''s mansion," Carlos said. He seemed to be the one in charge. "I will remain here and make sure she doesn''t slip away." The two trainers¡ª one man and a younger woman saluted and flew off. "Can I go check it out? Pretty please?" Mira asked. "Absolutely not." Barely a minuteter, he received a message on his Poketch. The unmelted half of his face twisted into a grimace. "Looks like you were right, Mira. They''re forming a perimeter in hopes of trapping him. I have a question for you, however," he said before pausing. "How did you know this?" Mira clenched her hands around the bench in order not to tremble. Carlos wasterrifyingwhen he wanted to be, and his way of peering over her made her wish she could just disappear. A cold feeling rushed down her spine as the ghost that always clung above his shoulder made its presenceknown. Gardevoir ced a hand on her arm and pulled her back, standing in between them. Do not pressure her,she said, adding Carlos to their mental link.We were following a man and weren''t sure if it was him or not until we came to the conclusion that he owned a Ditto. "There you have it," Mira shrugged, regaining herposure. The mansion feels empty, as if it''s slowly disappearing,Gardevoir said to only Mira.That must be the perimeter. They will attempt to stop him from Teleporting with dark types. Would that mess up with Trace? Damn it, she was so close and it was falling apart. It will, unless we get closer to the source. I sense fighting. "Hey, Carlos," Mira sighed. "You know, I''m sorry for everything. Genuinely. I know you hated being assigned to me and that I made you work a bunch by being out every day instead of¡­ being a normal girl, I guess." "Hm?" Gardevoir knew how to Teleport, but they hadn''t practiced it that much, unlike with kazam. Carlos would react before she released kazam, and even if they got Gardevoir to release him instead, they''d need a few seconds to get him up to speed. Restraining him was out of the question from a morality standpoint. He''d been good to her, all things considered. He might not have talked much, but he listened to Mira''s rants, her rage after days of no progress. Her crying. Do not fret. I shall go there myself and Trace his path. Interference will make this jump a hassle, but I believe I can at least manage to get up to the mansion. I only need to be slightly closer¡­ Before Mira knew it, Gardevoir was gone. Carlos grimaced, but he surprisingly didn''t do anything. Was he taking pity on her? No, he wasn''t the kind of man to do that. Maybe he still didn''t know about Trace and thought Mira wasshing out like a child, but would ultimately realize nothing could be done. "You don''t know what you''re getting yourself into, Mira," he said. "Eventually, you''re going to get too close to the sun." "Maybe." "No. It is not a maybe, it is a certainty. Look at my face, kid. This is what happens when you''re young and you think nothing can happen to you. That you''re on top of the world." "How''d you get those, anyway?" Mira asked. "Does it matter how exactly? I got a big head and got hit, that''s all you need to know." She paused. "I guess so." "I sympathize with your goal, Mira, but Sinnoh''s safety takes priority." "Maybe I should just give up, then, huh?" She tiredly said. "Maybe nothing I''ve worked toward thesest four years mattered. I was so close. Sodamn close." "Sometimes, you have to let go." "I''ll think about¡ª" Gardevoir appeared back at her side, and then she was somewhere else. It was only her fourth time Teleporting somewhere, but it felt as natural as breathing to her. Not that it was that difficult, since it was instant with no drawbacks unless the Pokemon that did so messed up and got you killed. "Where are we?" Mira asked, looking around. It only took a second for her to realize where she was. "Oh, wait, this is my room." Gardevoir had brought her back to the Pokemon Center that had been neatly arranged by kazam. Mira copsed on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It seemed to be higher than ever. "That could have gotten me killed. What if I got Teleported inside of a wall?" I was confident I would seed. I felt it, in fact. I would never let such a fate befall you. "kazam would be angry if he knew." He would,Gardevoir chuckled.Abel has fled the scene. I do not know where he is exactly, but I know the general direction. I believe that I can track him down, but you will have many League Trainers on your tail. I rmend releasing the rest of team to get them up to speed, dear. "Gotcha," she sniffled. "You do some damn good work, Gardevoir. It''d be too obvious, so I doubt my room''s the first ce they''ll look, so we should have a few minutes, at least." Anything for you. Mira wiped away her tears. She''d been so close to giving up just then, and the thought alone made her want to burst into tears. She had worked too hard to throw it all away. Mira grabbed her Pokemon and released them. Haunter, Magnezone, kazam, and even little Porygon joined in. Mira sniffled, then took a deep breath. "We''ve got a lead on Team Gctic, and I have very little time to exin, so Gardevoir will take over for me." Haunter''s tongue lolled out of his mouth and he licked his lips while Magnezone shot him an annoyed look and buzzed at Porygon. The normal type let out a cute beep and got on top of Magnezone''s head. kazam shot the fairy type a suspicious look.It would be best if you could exin in a way that does not disappoint me. Settle down, kazam. You know I would not endanger her. We have different definitions of endangering. You feel things while I think like a rational being,kazam said.Go ahead. We tracked down Abel using Trace, and he has Teleported somewhere with rence Obel. I can feel him around the Game Corner, but if I get closer, I know I will find his exact location. This is idiotic¡ª I am not finished. First of all, before he Teleported away, I felt a bright emotioning from him. Pain. It is still radiating off from the east. Mira''s expression twisted into a grin. Abel was wounded, and that meant they had a better chance to catch him off-guard. Second, his Pokemon were also hurt, although I do not know to what extent. There were so many emotions jumbled there that it was hard to tell, especially with how many dark type moves were thrown around, so this one is not a certainly, since I was only focusing on Abel and not them. "So we''ve got a chance, then," Mira nodded. "But wait, kazam. We aren''t actually going to fight him. The goal for today is only to find his base. We won''t actually go in so long as he''s in there." The psychic sighed.If you aren''t going in, then I am willing to help. You must promise me that this is as far as you will go. "I promise that I won''t seek a fight I can''t win," she said, her tone resolute. "I will not throw my life away." A hint of a smile shed on Gardevoir''s face. Haunter cackled, his ghostly form wrapping around Mira''s arm as the poison harmlessly washed off of her. Magnezone''s mas twisted in agreement while Porygon''s head bobbed up and down. Very well,kazam sighed. "Thank you. Can you Teleport me somewhere you''ve been, then?" Mira asked. "They might be downstairs." ¡ª The problem with having pink hair was that Mira stood out. She stood out alot. She couldn''t help but turn around every few seconds, expecting Carlos to be here and scold her into next Thursday. Fortunately for her, however, he was nowhere to be seen. Still, League Trainers were starting to get agitated, so it was only a matter of time until someone got their hands on her. I know it now. He is in here, somewhere on the upper floors,Gardevoir said. Mira breathed out a sigh of relief. It had taken almost an hour for her to pinpoint Abel''s location. We can leave now, then?kazam said, twirling his mustache.We got what we needed. "Yeah. Yeah, we can go," she nodded. "Thank you for agreeing with this." kazam levitated one of his spoons out of his hand and ruffled her hair.I know how important this is to you, child. Just know that you are cared for. Even the ghost likes you. "Hey, Haunty''s a nice fellow," she smiled. "You just dislike him because he wants to y all the time." His definition of y is skewed,Gardevoir said.Also, may I also¡­ perhaps¡­ Mira chuckled as the fairy type hesitantly lifted a hand. "Go ahead, goofball!" She eximed, angling her head forward. Gardevoir''s soft hands gently patted her head, unlike kazam''s rough handling. Did you see it, kazam?! I did it! I did it! Oh, Legendaries,he rolled his eyes.Spare me your celebrations! "Come on, guys. Let''s go apologize to Carlos before¡ª" Mira stopped herself when Gardevoir ced a hand on her shoulder, her soft eyes having grown confused. Abel is gone. He is further away now¡ªso far that I cannot sense him. "Wait, he''s¡ª he''sgone?" Mira eximed. "Where the hell did he go? Another base, maybe? Did he know we were here somehow and escape?! He must have Teleported away." I couldn''t feel any panic, just general anxiety before he left. "If he''s gone¡­" Mira muttered. "Could we go and check it out?" Mira¡ª "He''s not here, kazam. We can at least see what''s inside," she interrupted. "The only risk is if he Teleports back and catches us off-guard, but we''ll be alert at all times." If it is what you wish. Mira bit her lip. "I''m sorry." She knew he disapproved, but it was what needed to be done. She could have called for help from her friends, andmaybesome of them would have helped, but she didn''t want to involve them in this. Not when their lives would be at stake. Plus, there was the possibility of them snitching too. No, it was best to do this alone. Abel''s hideout was in a well-off apartment building, but when they entered, they realized that the inside looked decrepit and uninhabited. The ground was littered with dust, dirt, old newspapers, broken ss, and everything she could think of. For such a nasty-looking ce to be near the Game Corner¡­ well, it looked pretty from the outside, at the very least. kazam swore when he stepped on a shard, but apart from that, they kept going. Gardevoir directed them up the stairs and led them to a door in the deepest parts of the third floor. Could she feel anything in there? One man,she answered. Yes, one man is correct,kazam nodded. He is terrified. It is probably rence Obel,she said. It is definitely rence Obel,he corrected. Stop correcting me. "It''s just rence, then," Mira muttered. They could go in, free him and hand him back to the League, along with studying whatever it was that Abel kept in his hideout. If she rescued Mr. Obel, then at least that''d make her actions a bit easier to swallow. She was already in too deep to stop. There was no way she''d be allowed to go anywhere with a psychic type out of their Pokeball after this, so the best course of action was to go inside. Mira released Magnezone and Haunter appeared behind her. Gardevoir held out her hand before she even gave the order and forced the door open. Splinters exploded forward with a loud crash and all three of them stepped into the room. rence was tightly bound on the dirtied floor. He shook like a madman when he saw her. She froze for a second, but the gears in her head began to spin. "I''m here with the League to save you, Mr. Obel!" She smiled, rushing to his side. What are you doing?kazam yelled in her head. She mentally asked Gardevoir to tell him just to roll with it for now. The teenager ungagged rence, who took a few deep breaths as tears, snot and spit streamed down his face. "Oh, thank the Legendaries! Untie me, please!" He yelled. "Wait, first I need to know where Abel is," she lifted a finger. "There is the possibility that you cooperated with him to escape, after all. You''ve worked together before." "As if I¡ª" "Tell me, or you might share your friend Harvey Bianchi''s fate. The prisons of the Lily of the Valley Ind are pretty bad, I hear. It''d be a shame when you''ve been living in a mansion all this time." He froze, and then Mira knew she had him. A person as young as she working for the League wasn''t unheard of, but it should have alerted him. She wasn''t even in a League Trainer uniform. rence was too scared to think for even a second. "He said he had a meeting with Team Gctic! He Teleported away a few minutes ago with his Xatu, I don''t know where it''s taking ce!" She had it. Shefucking had it. After looking for a gateway to meeting her uncle for so long, she was no longer chasing after a dream. She was making it a reality. No!Not yet. Mira couldn''t rest on herurels, not when there was still information that she needed to gather before making sure that she could trap him here. She couldn''t go into a fight she couldn''t win without risking herself and her Pokemon. Ask him about his wounded Pokemon,Gardevoir asked. She had been about to. "Are his Pokemon hurt? I wasn''t assigned to protecting your mansion, but apparently he was wounded before bringing you here. Is that true?" Your acting could use some work,shemented. Silence and let her focus, you damned fool!kazam yelled. "He got stabbed by something on the left side of his waist, and he was so hurt that he almost passed out. His Shedinja fainted, his Mimikyu and Machamp are seriously hurt. Mmar and that strange dark type he calls Zazza are the only ones that came out of that battle unscathed," rence rambled. "I don''t know about the rest, but he didn''t use them to fight!" "When he went to his meeting," Mira started. "Did he Teleport with one of his wounded Pokemon? For protection?" "No, just his Xatu." Mira''s face twisted into a grin. Three wounded Pokemon, and two dark types that he couldn''t Teleport back with. That was five Pokemon that were potentially taken out of the equation. If he hadn''t gone to see Team Gctic with his wounded Pokemon, the odds of himing back with them in a ce he considered safe enough to dump rence in were¡ª Extremely low, especially after a victory such as this one,kazam finished.Gardevoir has been feeding me on your thought process. You have learned well, but you are missing a key piece. Ask him about his Xatu''s capabilities. It will be the only Pokemon hees back with, and I already know that you want to trap him now that all of this information is confirmed. Mira''s eyes widened at the fact that he was okay with that. Our chances of sess are high. It is a battle you will win, especially when Abel is wounded. The constant pain will make him sloppy,Gardevoir said. That was true enough,she thought, before asking the psychic type to thank kazam again for her. "His Xatu," Mira said. "How good is it?" "Does it matter? You''re a damned League Trainer! Just take him down and send him to the mmer!" "Answer me,"she hissed. Haunter''s cold breath brushed up against rence''s face, and he recoiled in terror. "When I bought his services months ago¡­ he told me that he only had five Pokemon capable of battling. He didn''t say what they were, but now I know, and you should too. He used them all during the fight." "Okay." Mira sat on rence''s body and pped his face. He yelped. "Why¡ª what are you doing¡ª" She pped him again, although her hits weren''t very effective because of how physically weak she was. "That one was for your daughter. I''m in charge here, you prick. Shut up and watch. Gardevoir, when he Teleports back, you restrain him. kazam, you focus on Xatu. Haunter, choke her out so she can''t concentrate on fighting back. Magnezone, you zap the shit out of her. Stay alert, he can be here any second. When we have him, I''ll ask him questions about Team Gctic." The key was to pretend to give him a way out of this mess, along with the feeling oftime constraintsto pressure him. Abel was a man with principles, but he was a rational person at heart, just like she was. His honor would fly out the window if it was to save his own skin. "Say, rence. Why is it that you hate your daughter so much?" "Who even are you?! You aren''t a League Trainer! Everything I did, I did for her own good¡ª" "You aren''t listening to me," she sighed. "I''m wondering if I should just leave you to Abel after all." Of course, she was lying, but his squirming and begging was music to her ears. Six minutester, Abel appeared. Her entire team sprung to action, restraining him and knocking out his Xatu. She reasoned with him, gave him all the facts, and he was ready to cooperate. Just as she had predicted. "What do you want to know?" He sighed. She answered with a sheepish grin. "Now that was easy, wasn''t it?"
Chapter 195 Chapter 195 CHAPTER 195 "Kidnapped? What do you mean, kidnapped?!" Denzel yelled. "What do you think it means? He was taken away by Abel," I said. Apparently, the League had set up some sort of alert system that was hooked up to people''s phones, because Denzel got the message as well. There was a blurry picture of Abel battling in the middle of a garden along with an updated list of his Pokemon. "I don''t exactly care, and I doubt Cece will, but the fact that he slipped past all those guards is concerning. What does that mean aboutoursafety?" "Shouldn''t we go see her?" "She''s sleeping right now, but I guess we should wake her up," I nodded. "Arceus, can we have a singleweekof peace? All of her Pokemon are at the Center too, so it''d be better if she doesn''t go out." Denzel got up and strode behind me, but just as I gripped the handle and opened the door, a woman stood in front of her door. The fact that she donned a League uniform meant that I didn''t panic, but I still jumped at her appearance. Her eyes werepletely white as if she had no pupils or irises, as was her hair. Veins throbbed at the edges of her eyes every time she blinked. Her skin was as pale as a sheet of paper, and Imeantthat. She was like a ghost. "Good evening. I am afraid you cannot get out," she smiled at me. "You are being ced under lockdown for your own safety." "What the hell¡ª who even are you?!" Denzel yelled. "We need to check on our friend, this is important." "I was given the name Lou. I am assigned to guarding Grace Pastel," she exined. "Why don''t we step inside so I can exin further?" "I need to get Cecilia," I said. "No. She is being guarded, so you have nothing to worry about." I clenched my fist and inhaled through clenched teeth.Calm down. Calm the hell down,I told myself.She''s just doing her job and what''s best for us.I opened my eyes, and my breath and heartbeat slowed. A soothing feeling enveloped me, and I was suddenly calmer than I''d been in hours. "Okay," I agreed. "If that''s what''s best." Lou let herself inside, but opted to stand in front of the door with her hands behind her back. She only had three Pokemon on her belt, but it was safe to assume that each of them were extremely powerful. I was still bothered by her eyes, however.Somethingabout her felt wrong to me, as if I could somehow exert the gift of trantion I held on her even though she was human. Or at least she looked human. "No need to stare at me like that," she said. "I was assigned to protect you. No harm will befall you while I''m present." "You said you''d exin," I said. "As you likely know by now, rence Obel has been kidnapped by Abel. The problem we have is that Mira Compton is missing as well. She wasst seen with one of her guards, but her Gardevoir Teleported her away. Intriguingly, she was near the scene of the crime and had been tracking Abel as well. Did she tell you she would do that at any point?" Lou asked. "Do you know where she might have gone?" Denzel and I stared at each other and sighed. "No," I shook my head. "I saw her a while ago when I helped her Kadabra evolve, but then I was busy with some sponsorship obligations. She didn''t tell me anything that I didn''t tell Carlos¡ª the League Trainer assigned to her." "Alright. It''s my job to keep you here until things settle down. Cynthia herself told me not to let you out. There''s a conversation she wants to have with you, Ms. Obel and Ms. Compton when she has the timeter tonight when thetter is found." Again?I wouldn''t mind talking to her, but I was certainly intrigued by what she wanted to say. We resigned to our fate and waited for the situation to clear. "Say, Lou," I probed. "Can I ask you something?" "So long as I am allowed to answer, I will." "You''re special, aren''t you?" I said. "There''s something that feels odd about you, beyond your eyes. A power radiating off of you." The woman''s nk eyes narrowed. "Perhaps." "Let''s not piss off the incredibly powerful League Trainer, yeah Grace?" Denzel said after nervously chuckling. "I wasn''t angered by it. Just surprised," she said. "But the intricacies of my being are of no concern to you." She wasn''t lying. I knew it somehow. "Fair enough. Sorry for being pushy, I''m very sensitive to emotion. Something tells me you already knew about that, though." The white-haired woman only smirked. That settled it, then. The League knew something about my abilities, or at least part of it did. Now the question remained, howmuchdid they know about it? More than Betrix did? If Cynthia wasingter, then she''d be the first one to know. Now, would she answer me? Now that was an entirely different matter. I appreciated her for her protection and insight, but I certainly didn''t look at her with the rose-tinted sses I used to. "I amsoconfused," Denzel stammered. "Sit down and be quiet," Lou said. Part of me considered the possibility of her being some ghost or a Ditto, but shewasn''ta Pokemon. That, I was sure of. I decided to leave the matter to rest and browsed my phone instead. Everyone seemed to be safe, although there were no news from Justin. Even Chase had messaged me privately to say that Abel''s strange dark type that was making rounds online looked like the ghost he''d encountered in that abandoned city, except it had ck instead of white fur. Some people from Unova were logging onto our forums and calling it a Zoroark, and the name was catching on. It was apparently some rare dark type from there was had illusionist capabilities, but their extent wasn''t known that well. The majority didn''t even know they existed, including me. The minutes passed with us stuck here, unable to do anything. ¡ª Abel''s neck squirmed until he exhausted himself, then mored at Mira to hurry up with her questions. He didn''t want her to waste any time, not when the League could being any minute. She''d stayed quiet for a few seconds to let him stew in his anxiety and then struck. "Where''s the base you were just at?" Mira asked. "Near the abandoned docks up north. There''s a huge group of eight hangars. They''re in the sixth one, if I remember correctly." "Don''t get smart with me," she frowned. "You know where it is. Don''t do that wishy-washy stuff." "Itisthe sixth one," he repeated. He is not lying,Gardevoir brushed up against her mind. "Any other bases you know about?" Mira said, leaning against a palm. She had her phone out recording the entire conversation. "Give me the exact address for my pals at the League." Abel groaned. "This goes against my code¡­" Mira feigned sadness in the most obnoxious way she could. "Aw, that''s too bad. Spill." He bit his lip, but gave her the name of three other addresses. She''d done her part, just as Cynthia had probably banked on. That damned woman was a master at using people, and Mira was the only one who wasn''t blinded by her niceties, but she was fine with being used so long as their goals were aligned. "Didja meet anyone important there?" Mira asked. "Commanders, maybe? Someone called Charon?" "I only met Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. Charon wasn''t there today," he said. "Well damn. Look at you, being all important and stuff," she said. "Any Pokemon that the League doesn''t know about? Gimmie all the Pokemon you know." "They all have six Pokemon, but I don''t know all of them. Jupiter has a Skuntank and a Tangrowth, Saturn has a Toxicroak and an Exploud. Since she likes to show off, Mars showed off her entire team to me. She had a Dusknoir, Clefable, Wigglytuf, Seviper, Nales and Bellossom. Charon has a Hypno and a Porygon, although I don''t know which form of Porygon it is." "Porygon Z," she answered for him. He still used that same Hypno and Porygon, then. Mira knew that Uncle Ernie had those two Pokemon. He''d owned them before her mother died and he was pulled into Team Gctic''s clutches. She''d already told Cynthia as well. Abel stared at her, clearly confused at the fact that she''d answered like she knew, but he didn''t say anything. He was smart not to. He could have given away more than what was necessary, especially with Gardevoir here. His best bet was that some questions would slip past Mira. Wait, Mars owned aBellossom? "Bellossom?!" Mira cackled. "This chick is too much, man. Are they nning an attack anytime soon? What was the meeting for?" This time, his face scrunched up beyond what she thought was possible. She wasreallymaking him infringe on his code. "Come on, kid." "Nu-uh. Tell me, or the League figures it out in an hour anyway." "They want to buy time for some reason. They wanted me to check how far the League progressed on finding their bases." "Interesting, interesting. Okay, I''ve done enough work. Let''s dive into Charon. He ever talk to you about family?" "No. We only talked about work-rted things." "Really? Not even about his little sister? He sure has grown cold," she muttered. "What are the odds that he''ll be in one of the bases you mentioned?" "Zero." "Damn it,"she hissed. There was no way she was letting this guy go. Even if she asked him to set up a meeting of some kind, he''d have no reason to actually do it, and it would no doubt be a trap. If Charon got arrested, Cynthia had promised her that she''d get a year with him. A year before the League took him away and murdered him. Of course, he''d be ced in a high security prison in the Lily of the Valley ind, but she''d be free to visit him any time. To ask all the questions she wanted and finallytalk. That had been the deal and why she was so content to be bait. Yet, Charon was still out of her reach. "Well, I did earn my LTIP paycheck, at the very least," she sighed. "You said you talked to Charon about work-rted things. What are those?" "I don''t fucking know, he''s their tech guy, okay? He just rambles about stuff when they give me a job and I listen. Team Gctic doesn''t tell me much about their ns." "Anything you notice about him that you could tell me?" "He has a goal, I don''t know which one. Funny thing is, you two have the same look in your eyes. You''re driven by a single thing, like you''re a ve to it." "Oh? Are you trying to get a rise out of me? That''s not that wise when you''re just wasting time. Or maybe you realized that I''m not letting you go after all? Anyway, how''d you sneak into that mansion? Give me all of your tricks." He smirked. "Xatu!" In a second, they weregone. "What the actualfuck?!" She yelled. "That Xatu¡ª That fucking Xatu was unconscious! How the hell did it wake up that fast?!" Mira tore at her hair, stood up and kicked the walls of Abel''s hideout.Anythingto vent out her rage until she could only draw upon ragged breaths. She felt a hand on her shoulder and calmed down. When she turned, Gardevoir looked anguished and kazam stared into her eyes apologetically. Even Haunter seemed distraught. I apologize, Mira,kazam said.It appears this slipped past me, but Xatu¡ª Mira raised her hand at the psychic, causing him to stop. With how obvious it''d been in retrospect the answer came to her quickly, like a whisper in her ear. "Wait¡­ wait, it''s the fucking Early Bird ability! Arceus fuckingdamn it," she screamed before exhaling. Magnezone clicked at her and she ced a hand on his cold metallic skin. "It''s not your fault. You knocked her out like I asked, I just got cocky.Fuck." Herck of knowledge had fucked her over. If only she''d known more¡­asked herselfif everything had been ounted for, then this wouldn''t have happened. Mira turned toward rence Obel, who was still bound and silent. He was sweating like a pig. "It''s your lucky day, rence," she sighed. "Looks like you''re going home after all. It would have been nice if he took you with him, but I guess he didn''t want to risk it." She sent everything she''d recorded to the League and stepped out of the apartment. Carlos and a slew of League Trainers were at the entrance, as if they were about to raid the entire ce. The man''s eye softened for a second, as if he was happy to see her. "You''re in trouble," he gruffed. "I know," she said with her shoulders slumped. "I had him¡­ I had him, but I fucked up and he escaped. I''m sorry." He patted her on the arm as he put her in cuffs. She''d expected screaming of some kind, but there was none. Of course, he was somewhat disappointed in her, which kind of hurt, but he couldn''t deny that she''d put in some damn work. At the very least, they hadn''t taken her Pokemon. Carlos led Mira to one of the buildings that ran the Carry License program, but instead of going where she''d gone to get her license, she was ced in some kind of basement with obnoxious bright lights and a one-way mirror. Jokes ran through her mind, like saying that it was funny thatshewas being interrogated now instead of doing the questioning, but thisreallywasn''t the time for jokes. "I''ll handle her," he told two of his colleagues. "You head out and patrol." They saluted, and once they walked out of the room, Carlos sat in front of Mira. His eye analyzed her as he gently rubbed his scarred tissue. Even though Mira was used to Carlos being quiet all the time, the silence weighted on her and was ufortable. "So?" She asked. "What''s up?" Carlos took a deep breath. "I knew about kazam learning to Teleport you after Ms. Pastel told me about it when she left your room, but Gardevoir? I certainly didn''t expect you to slip past me that easily." "I didn''t even know she''d do that, to be honest," she said. "I didn''t get what I wanted, so it was all for nothing." "Well, you did get us some good information, but that''s beside the point. You''ve got to get your shit together, kid. Let us professionals deal with the problem." It was true that she could let the League do its job and still get what she wanted, but that wasn''t how she wanted things to end. She wouldn''t let a family matter be taken out of her hands, not when Charon was the only family member she had left. "It''s not like what I say''ll matter. I won''t be able to do anything anymore," she said with a tired smile as she raised her handcuffed wrists. "No more sleuthing for me. I guess that means less work for you." Carlos leaned back against his chair. "It does." "I''d still take you out to lunch if I could. No tricks. You can finally tell me how you got these scars." "I''m afraid not. Why would I reward you when you did something wrong?" He said. "The League''s gotten the message you sent us. Information about Team Gctic." "So are you going to raid those bases then?" "Confidential, but the answer''s rather obvious," he said, rubbing his chin. "We need to ask you more questions about Charon." "I already told Cynthia everything,'' she said. "Ask her." "You have? We haven''t been told. Maybe she kept it to the LSS, then," he said. "The point still applies. What is his goal?" "She didn''t tell you? What a horrible boss," she jeered. "The Champion must have had her reasons. Go ahead." "I told you about my parents dying in a car ident four years ago, right? Some drunk-driving moron killed them. They were on their way to pick me up from school. Uncle Ernie loved my mom. He babied her his entire life and stuff and they were close siblings even with therge age gap. I think he saw her more as a daughter, to be honest. My grandparents weren''t very kind to them growing up, I think. After she died, he went off the deep end. He started drinking a lot and working every day without sleep. He wanted to bring her back¡ª create a perfect copy of her with AI, sort of like a Porygon. The problem is that putting an entire human brain in aputer''shard, and how would he even configure her? The furthest he got was some chatbot that horrified me. The resemnce, the quips in the sentences, the humor, they were exactly like Mom''s, it was seriously uncanny. He showed it to me after school with the biggest smile on his face. He never came to pick me up, so I waste every evening." Mira paused and sunk into her chair. "I called him out for it and he got angry¡ª the angriest I''d ever seen him. After mom died, he''d just been this¡ª this husk. Drifting away like a ghost. But then? There was a fire in him. He called me a bunch of names and said that being with me was too painful because I was likeher. Then he left. Told me he''d gotten a new job at some organization called Team Gctic and that they could help him bring her back. I thought it was some dumb tech startup at first, but I got an idea of what they were when they started popping up in the news. I don''t know how much progress he''s made. I tried to ask Abel, but he didn''t know either." "I see," Carlos nodded. "That''s it? I pour my heart out and you say''I see.''That''s actually pretty funny, in a morbid kind of way," she smiled. "What else could I have said? I''m sorry?" "True." "Anyway, we want further insight on how you tracked Abel down." Mira exined the entire deal with Trace. It wasn''t like the Leaguedidn''tknow about it, it was just that it was known as unreliable and her Gardevoir was really skilled with the ability somehow. Maybe because of all that time she''d spent perfecting her empathy with Mira as a Kirlia? That was her hypothesis anyway, but she was definitely wrong. Still, she told everything that came to mind to Carlos. The part thatreallymade him freak out was the fact that she could run two conversations at once, one in her head with Gardevoir and one with him. Even when Mira told him that it was because he almost never spoke, he told her that it wasn''t normal. People couldn''t do that. "Thank you for cooperating," he said. "We will lead you back to your Pokemon Center room where you''ll be locked down." "Aww, shucks. Putting me in the mmer already?" "All of your group is under lockdown until further notice, so it''s not just you. Cynthia wants to meet you, Grace Pastel and Cecilia Obel tonight, so you''d best stay put. I''ll be in your room to stop you from going off on your own again." "Okay. I''m assuming I can''t have my Pokemon out?" "Not your psychics, no." Mira blinked. kazam and Gardevoir would be stuck in their Pokeballs for the foreseeable future because of her. She''d been the one that took charge, but they were the ones being punished because of her actions. "Let''s go, then," she sighed. Her Pokeballs felt heavier. ¡ª The sun had set over Veilstone when Cecilia woke up. She screamed when she noticed someone standing in the darkened corner of her room. "Wow, wow, calm down¡­ sheesh," the young man said. He was young¡ª younger than she''d expected one to be. Maybe eighteen or neen? The one thing that drew her attention was his missing left hand. It''d been reced by a mechanical one. "I''m a League Trainer! The name''s Mason. I was assigned to keep you in your room until further notice. I didn''t do anything, you''re safe. I''m as nice as theye, I swear!" It took a few seconds for the words to register in her head. "Assigned to keep me in my room?" She asked with a hint of fear. "What happened when I was asleep?" "Your father was kidnapped by Abel, but they got him back a few minutes ago thanks to Mira Compton''s help," he exined. "She went against orders, so she''s been taken to one of our offices for some routine questioning, but she''ll be back in a jiffy, so you don''t have to worry ''bout her." The fact that her father had been kidnapped was¡­ well, it had a strange effect on her. There was no worry for him, but she hadn''t been ted either. Cecilia just wanted to shut him out of her life and never hear about him again, just like she''d done for Amy. Still, she would be lying if the fact that her father had had a terrible day didn''t please her some. "What about the others?" "They''re under lockdown, just like ya." "I''m going to see them," she said, striding toward the door. Mason slipped in front of her. "Woah, woah, calm down now. I said you''re underlockdown. Orders from above, I''ll get screwed if I let you out of here. Plus, your team''s all screwed up from that battle today, right? I was watching, it was pretty entertaining¡ª" "I said let me through." Cecilia tried to push past him, and he blinked, freezing for a few seconds before he extended his arm to block her path again. For an instant, he stared at her with a look of pure bewilderment and then cleared his throat. "Damn, you really didn''t listen to a word I just said. I''m only a few years older than you, but kids these days¡­" "The situation''s been solved, no? My father was retrieved, Mira''s safe, so why can''t I see my friends?" "Confidential." Cecilia didn''t want to give up, despite the rational part of her brain screaming at her to. Her heart¡ª her will was telling her to push past this trainer and do whatever the hell she wanted. In reality, though? She was powerless. With a sigh, she sat back on the bed and decided to text the others instead. She felt a smile creep up on her face when Grace flooded her inbox, and the others soon followed. She''d been particrly worried about Louis and Maeve because they''d still been outside when she went to sleep. "By the way, Cynthia''s going to show up at some point to speak to you all, so stay put," Mason said. "Lucky you, eh? She''s cool. Remembers my birthday, gets me a gift and everything. Plus, she''s hot as hell. Pays dividends to be in ACE." Cecilia wrinkled her nose and decided to ignore Mason''s infatuation. Cynthia wanted to speak to her again? She was always happy to speak with someone she looked up to. It was probably some more questioning if she had to guess. At this point, though, Cecilia didn''t know anything about Abel or rence that the League didn''t know, so they''d be stumped there. "You''re in ACE?" Cecilia asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn''t really look like what she''d expected the famed organization looked like, but she couldn''t judge a book by its cover. "Don''t underestimate me ''cause I''m younger. I''m as skilled as they get! If you ignore all my other co-workers, of course," he chuckled to himself. "Guarding you''s a pretty chill job, though, so I can''tin. Say, there ain''t that many kids that''ll just order people like me around. Why''d you do it?" "My friend Pauline would have done the same," she shrugged. "I just wanted to see my friends. I apologize if I was too pushy, especially when I could text them whenever I wanted." Mason rubbed the back of his neck with an ufortable look. "Fair enough." ¡ª My head turned toward Lou when her phone rang. It had made noise a couple of times beforehand, but every time, I checked to see if we were finally being let out. Denzel and I had been ying Pokemon Scrabble on his phone to pass the time while Lopunny read her book and Electabuzz struck up a conversation with her. She hadn''t seemed too interested, though. "The lockdown is over," Lou announced. "Denzel Williams, you are free to go. Grace Pastel, I shall bring you to our office to speak with the Champion." My friend looked at me. "Well, good luck, I guess?" "Sorry if you''re feeling left out. I''ll tell you what this is about if she lets me," I said. "You go check on the others, alright? Pauline''s probably pissed." "Definitely." I waved at him as I stepped out of the room. The Pokemon Center was fuller than I remembered, and the halls were crawling with trainers. The veins next to Lou''s eyes bulged as she squinted, her sight never wavering. She was checking for something, but I didn''t know what. Once we made it outside, she spoke to me. "You are titled," she said. "I feel it." "What are you?" I asked. "I told you, didn''t I? That''s none of your business," Lou said. "We aren''t Teleporting?" "Yes, but not in front of all of these people." Her words confused me until we stepped into an empty alley and I was whisked away into an office.She hadn''t used a Pokemon to do that.What in the world was going on? I knew about some ns in Kanto or Johto having human psychics with that power, but those were tightly held and passed down. No members ever had children with someone outside of their n. Had Lou escaped somehow? Maybe there was one in Sinnoh I didn''t know about. Still, that didn''t exin the eyes or why she felt like something in between a human and a Pokemon to me. From what I could see, we were still in Veilstone, at least. "Don''t expect me to exin," she said with a few tired breaths. "I can see it on your face. Enter the room." Cynthia''s office was painted in a warm, earthy brown. The Champion, whose presence was as strong as always, sat on arge, red, fluffy-looking chair at her desk as she offered me a silent greeting. Stacks upon stacks on paper crowded her desk and Garchompzily slept behind her, taking up that entire space. Not that I wanted to approach the dragon anyway. Her snores sounded like deep, rumbling roars that would be enough to terrify most who had never met her. Cecilia beamed when she saw me, and I wrapped her into a tight hug. Mira sat in one of the chairs with her legs crossed. She looked pissed off. I wanted to speak with her, but now wasn''t the time for that. "Sit." Cynthia was soft-spoken, but her wordsmanded authority. We all listened and waited for her to continue. "Not a lot of time has passed, but a lot has happened since west spoke," she said with her usual smile. "I wanted to keep you three uninvolved with this mess, but I am afraid that door is closing fast. And it has nothing to do with your little escapade today, Mira." Cynthia had interrupted her before she even opened her mouth. The room grew blurry, and I recognized that it''d just been insted by some psychic. Probably by one of the League Trainers outside. This was going to be confidential, then. "Professor Rowan and I have been hard at work, exchanging notes and piecing together information. It was fun, to get back into myths for once. I never have time for it, but this time, it was actually work," she said with a lightugh. "What do you say I start us off with a story about three children, not unlike you?"
Chapter 196 – Turning Point III Chapter 196 ¨C Turning Point III CHAPTER 196 - Turning Point III I knew where Cynthia was going as soon as she began to speak. She was going to tell us the same story Betrix had told me. I steeled myself and straightened my back. This felt important somehow. Something that I should be fully alert for. "Thousands of years ago," she began with a somber tone. "Three humans were given abilities by Legendaries known as Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf. These represent Emotion, Knowledge and Willpower respectively." I felt my palms moisten. I hadn''t expectednamesthat I had never heard before. She was being a lot more direct than Betrix had been. "The stories say that they were given a Plume, a w and a Fang that gave them those abilities. There are different versions of it as well. Stories change as they are passed down from generation to generation and are embellished beyond the truth. Some say that they spoke to those Legendaries and were tested before being given that power. Some say that they only had to travel to where they slumbered, while others say that it was a pure coincidence. The ranges of the powers in them vary. For example, for the child blessed by willpower, we have a story that says they were a good leader while in another, they could force someone to do whatever they wanted, akin to some kind of mind control." Cecilia''s face scrunched up in disgust when Cynthia finished her sentence. Obviously, mind control was a sore point for her. "The only element they all share inmon was that these gifts were always given tochildren. I, for one subscribe to the coincidence theory. I do not believe in chosen ones," she said with a smirk. "But I may be wrong. Grace, you can understand Pokemon and feel what they feel when you concentrate enough. When you do so, a mental barrier of incredibleplexity isyered onto your brain." "You know this?" I muttered. "How?" "I paid Hatterene a visit after seeing how close you got with her. That was quite a show you put on near Veilstone''s gates." "And she just told you?" "I forced it out of her. I have my ways of dealing with prickly fairies, and unlike her, I am willing to entertain being wrong." My blood ran cold at the words. I stared at my two friends who were frozen in ce, unable toprehend the scale of the information Cynthia was revealing to us. "I will pay her back at ater date," she continued. "Then it was a matter of putting her words to the test. Lou confirmed it for me. She was following you during your entire stay in Veilstone, and as it stands, nothing we have can replicate such a barrier. You are confirmed to be¡­ well, I won''t use chosen, but you have abilities that none others have. You visiting Lake Verity at the start of your journey lends credence to the ''visiting'' theory, but this notion changed when we analyzed Mira after Carlos raised suspicions about how you thought. Incredible skill at multitasking, constant rants and somehow one-uping your kazam with knowledge you shouldn''t have, learning at an inhuman pace like when you tried to learn to code from scratch, and most recently the fact that you can have multiple conversations at once." "W¡ªwhat? Do I have some kind of shield too?" The girl asked. "This is fucking insane." "Yours was a little harder to test. One of our concealed psychic types peered into your mind during one of your conversations with your kazam when he was a Kadabra. It was when you took Carlos to the industrial sector up north a few days ago. If I recall, you were talking about Justin Gardner. You came up with theories for his condition that went beyond our doctors'' understanding." "I was¡­" "You had the same thing. A mental barrier with hundreds, if not thousands ofyers. Impossible to breech, just for that moment," Cynthia said. "But unlike Grace or Cecilia, you never went to Lake Acuity up north." "I didn''t. I don''t even know where the hell that is," she stammered, her face pale. "And I guess¡­ like, correct answerse to me easily. Shit that I should have no business knowing or that should take way longer to figure out and I end up getting lucky because of it. It''s not perfect, though. I let Abel escape." "Interesting indeed. So what does it mean, then?" Cynthia asked, rubbing her chin. "We will return to this soon. Cecilia." Cece jumped when her name was called. "You are different. When we saw that two children of the same group had these abilities, we started to scan every single one of you. Sorry to intrude into your heads, but it is the most surefire way we had of figuring this out. We started to look back on past interactions and wonder if how you behaved back then was because of that influence or if it wasyou. It was simply too much. See, this is where the coincidence theory loses some of its appeal. If it was a coincidence, the odds of these gifts going to Grace and Mira are astronomically low." "How am I different?" Cecilia asked after a long pause. "You do not have the mental barriers. You do not have the same abilities these two have regarding Willpower, or at least not as much as it should be if you were the one." Cecilia''s shoulders sagged. "But there was a hint of them during your battle with Lauren Goodwill," Cynthia said. "That is not all. Chase Karlson also shares them, but his¡­ progress is more advanced than yours, and neither of you share the extent of Grace''s and Mira''s capabilities. It''s like the power has been split in half. The reason he isn''t here is because we''ll be talking about more than this, but I will get him up to speed when he decides to cooperate with us. Still,twopeople sharing the same blessing. That shouldn''t have been the case ording to the story, which is why I decided to abandon going along with old legends, as much as it pains me. Chosen ones, coincidences, traveling on location, who knows which one is correct? Or perhaps a mix? And words like Emotion, Willpower and Knowledge are horribly vague and can mean a wide array of things. We are operating on entirely different rules. We do not know how these Pokemon think, let alone how they''d go about choosing someone. Simply banking everything on stories won''t do the trick. They are helpful, but not reliable, which is something Hatterene ought to learn." Nowthat. Thatupended my entire understanding¡ª which wasn''t much to begin with¡ª but it turned my world upside down. Even if I hadn''t believed Be''s story to be right, the fact that it was being espoused by both her and Cynthia meant thatsomeform of it was true. My fingers trembled and I felt Cecilia grip my hand tightly. "What do you mean, Chase''sprogressis more advanced than hers? What is this, a race to figure out who''d be best at bearing this fucked up gift?" Mira asked. "Who''s better at fulfilling the role?" "At embodying the concept of Willpower?" my girlfriend specified. "An interesting theory. I hadn''t thought about that yet, but it would make some sense. There is no way to know if it''s correct or not," Cynthia smiled. "Still, neither Chase nor Cecilia went to Lake Valor, so the same point applies." "If I''m the exception rather than the rule, could the fact that I visited Lake Verity be a coincidence?" I asked. "If they are Legendaries, their influence could stretch beyond the Lakes," Cecilia said, frowning. "We''ve considered it. Again, there''s no real way to know." "So what''s this about a Plume, a w and a Fang, then?" Mira asked. "As far as we know, these are a metaphor for your abilities. None of you received anything of the sort. Any questions? If not, I will move on to the next part of the story." "Can we tell this to our friends or not?" I said. "I''m feeling a rift form between us the more confidential information you ask us to keep, and I hate it. I want us all to be on the same page." "I don''t think so." That wasn''t ano. I still held out hope. "If this is a race, and I''m losing, what happens when I do? I didn''t notice anything that different about me. I''m just the same as always," Cecilia said. "Maybe I tend not to give up anymore, but that''s it." "You do not want to lose to Chase," Cynthia noticed. "I''m afraid we don''t have an answer for you, but Mason brought something to my attention. You told him to get out of your way and he almost considered doing so. That''s not the kind of person he is." Cecilia nodded tightly. The Champion looked at Mira, who was staring with wide eyes. Her entire world had just been fundamentally changed, and so had Cecilia''s. "Now, let us move on. This part of the story, youwillkeep secret. It is about the three children being key to saving Sinnoh from cmity." Cmity. The word itself unsettled me and filled me with dread. How bad were we talking? I had thought that Team Gctic was an organization wanting to take over Sinnoh or wreak havoc because they disapproved of Cynthia, not for them to attempt to bring whatever the hell this cmity was supposed to be. The fact that Cynthia was referring to that same old story Betrix had meant that they wanted to mess withLegendaries. "You can''t expect us to do something if the League itself can''t do it," Mira quietly said. "Of course. I wasn''t speaking in a matter of strength. Team Gctic is trying to¡­ disturb these Legendaries in their rest to pursue further goals that I won''t go into. Should this evere to pass, we do not know how bad things will get. Are you familiar with the Legendary Birds and how they function?" "Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres," I nodded. "They embody the elements of electricity, ice and fire," The Champion said. "During the Great War, they sent dozens of avatars to end the fighting. Weakened versions of themselves to do their bidding. To us, it''d be like calling exterminators because of an ant infestation. There are multiple instances of trainers taking some down, but of course humanity was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. One or two, we could deal with, butdozens?We had to stop the war, and I am thankful for their intervention." "I remember Pauline''s mother telling us about that," Cecilia said. Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Josephine? She''s quite knowledgeable in geopolitics. Either way, some Legends can be subjugated andbeaten. The stories say that Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf were controlled in some way, so that does not bode well for us. The evil forces trying to shape the world to their liking controlled them through artificial means while the three blessed children could fight off that influence and fully cooperate with them," she mused. "It was a battle of leverage. The three legendaries often changed hands and battled one another, with the key objective being not to let all three fall into one camp''s hands." The Champion ced a hand on Garchomp''s rough scales, petting her gently. Love emanated out of the dragon type. "If one or all of Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit ever came under Team Gctic''s control, your job would be to do the same thing. To wrestle them away. That is somethingonly youcan do. Not any of us at the League. Not even me," Cynthia said, pausing slightly. "So you will have to forgive me for doing this, but you will be deeply involved in League affairs from now on. You cannot refuse. Chase Karlson will be told the same. We do not know how you would go about doing this either, but it should be... intrinsic." I swallowed, biting my lip. Visions of Mars dredged up at the edges of my memory and my palms began to sweat. My promise to Sunshine was now closer than ever, but I couldn''t help but feel a trepidation in my heart. As if I was anticipating something, but also fear. Mira grinned. Her goal was no longer beyond her reach. Cecilia stared with a clenched fist. I wondered what she was thinking about. "Of course, you may still keep going in the Circuit if you so wish. I will not stop you from journeying, but seeing as how invaluable you are, the guard arrangement we had? It will be permanent and on the routes from now on as well," she added. "Just like before, you will not notice them. They have ways to being hidden unless someone forces them to show themselves." "Nice jab at me, but you can''t deny I helped you a lot today," Mira crossed her arms. "You did. The raid on Team Gctic''s auxiliary bases are being prepared as we speak, and I did expect you to pull something like this, just not to this extent. But continuing, when you have gathered your eight badges or decide that you are done with the Circuit, you wille to the Lily of the Valley ind in advance. You will stay there all summer, including for the Conference, or until Team Gctic is dealt with in full." "Wait, I have obligations! I have my contract with the Poketch Company, I can''t go back on my word," I eximed. "I still have four tournaments to participate in too, so I don''t even think I''ll have time." "One word from me and a little bit of pressure applied to the right people and that contract will be modified as I deem fit. Do not worry though, we have good reason to think that they will be forced out of hiding soon enough. They are losing, and only through an attack will they regain the initiative. Once they do, we can stamp them out once and for all. This is going to end sooner rather thanter. I have no intentions of letting them ransack through Sinnoh for decades like Team Rocket did to Kanto and Johto." Mira raised a hand. "Cynthia. Have you considered the possibility of more people having these abilities? If Chase and Cecilia are sharing it, then it''s possible that we share ours with some stranger as well. Or used to share. What if it wasn''t just two, but hundreds of people." "We did consider it, but unless we n to look into the minds of every single person in Sinnoh in hopes of catching them at the right moment, we have to make do with what we have. Somehow, four people in your group ended up being involved." "Still cool to think about though," she said with a child-like smile. "Anything else? I wanted to go eat out with Carlos and I have a lot to think about. Can I tell him this?" "We''re almost done," Cynthia said. "And yes, you may tell him." "Shouldn''t you help us train or something?" Cecilia asked. "If we''re as important as you say, then it would make sense. There are potential ramifications with usations of favoritism, but doesn''t this take precedence?" "I do not care about favoritism at this point, but you won''t be fighting anyone important in Team Gctic," Cynthia waved a hand. "And on the off-chance you do, your guards will bring you to safety. You are making excellent progress without help as it stands¡ª" "Even so, we''d be making a lot more if you helped us," Mira interrupted her, raising her voice slightly. "Let me finish. I know the answer is not one you like, but Ireallydo not have time to train you at the moment. Perhaps some Gym Leaders would be more amenable to the idea when the Gym Challenge dies down near the end of the year, but don''t expect them to ept. I doubt they''d spend the little free time they get on tutoring people that don''t work for their gyms." "Sounds like you all want whatever cmity is going to happen to happen," Mira said. Cynthia chuckled. "You couldn''t be further from the truth. Let us speak and continue our conversation, then. The government will take care of the Commanders. The most you might have to see are grunts, but the ACEs will deal with it." "Can Ie to one of the raids today?" Mira asked. "No." "Bummer." "Why would you even want that? You uncle won''t be in those bases ording to Abel''s own words." "Because I want to destroy them for making him worse instead of better," she answered with a determined look. "For taking him away and ruining his life. Plus, you could use my Gardevoir''s Trace. If shetches on to one of the Commanders, she''d be able to track them." "As I said, you will only be involved if our fortresses at the Lakes fall. Right now, we are winning slowly but surely. No risks have to be taken. I wanted to speak about the rtionship between Abel and Team Gctic specifically. Due to him revealing all of that information about his employers, there is no doubt that a split will have taken ce. Unfortunately for us, he will probably keep himself shrouded in dark energy to stop us from finding him with Trace, and there is also the possibility of him having fled the city, so we won''t be seeing him any time soon. Another positive consequence from today''s events." "What about rence?" Cecilia asked. "He''ll be ced back under house arrest. He''s asked to speak to you, actually." "Absolutely not." "I figured. Grace, you have an interview next week with Mallory from SGNC. She will probe into today''s events. I''ve already told you multiple times, but do not speak about this. The same applies to all of you." "And our friends?" I asked. "Unfortunately, I''ve thought about it and I do not think it would be wise at the moment." "They''re trustworthy. They wouldn''t say anything," I tried. Cynthia studied a pen. "No risks will be taken. What if, they are taken hostage and their minds ransacked? No protection is foolproof. The less people know, the better." "I don''t know how you manage it. To live with everything hidden," I said with a hint of sadness. She didn''t react, and her smile didn''t falter. "Fine. I won''t say anything." "Good. I will now speak to you individually. Who wants to go first?" "I will go," Cecilia said. ¡ª Lying to children was not something Cynthia enjoyed, but how could she tell them that there was a risk of the world ending? No, better keep it vague with words like cmity for now. They would no doubt imagine something horrible, but they would not imagine the world winking out of existence in less than a second. Maylene was extremely strong mentally and she wasstillunsettled by the revtion and couldn''t help butfearwhen she stopped being busy. The only Gym Leader who were still behaving as they had in private were Byron and Wake. If the Lake Legendaries got in Team Gctic''s control for long enough¡­ then it would be over. There were still the matters ofhowthey were nning on doing so. The stories always spoke of bindings, either chains, shackles, rope, and many others, all sharing the color red. Cynthia had no idea of how to create or counter it beyond using Grace, Cecilia, Chase, and Mira. Then, there was the matter ofwhereit would take ce. The tales said Mount Cor''s summit, but¡­ Cynthia had only been there once, and nothing up there made any sense. Time appeared to pass normally when you were there, but outside of the summit, it almost stood still. Teleporting in or out was impossible. It seemed to stretch on and onand onfor longer than what was possible. Making it to the end of it had also been impossible, and she and her task force had been forced to turn back after running out of oxygen. They called it Spear Pir. "So, Cecilia," Cynthia said, twirling a pen. "I am asking a lot out of you. Putting a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. What is it that you desire." The young girl stared right into the Champion''s eyes. "So you are rewarding us with a gift, then." "As long as that gift is feasible. Do you want a TM? A Pokemon to fill out your ranks? Ask and it will be yours tonight." Cecilia pursed her lips. "I am thinking of a long-term gift, then. You said that I would never be able to handle Spiritomb unless I was as powerful as a member of the Elite Four. I ask you to bring me to one of their locations after my eighth badge regardless of how powerful I am. If I am blessed with Willpower as you say, then I should be able to resist their torment and pressure. I am confident I can handle it." Cynthia''s smirk widened. Cecilia Obel shared the most simrities with her, it seemed. She''d been horribly unqualified when she had stumbled upon her Spiritomb down that well on route 209. Yet she''d caught them and raised them all the same. Cecilia hadn''t even entertained the fact that she mightloseher gift either. She was further along than she believed. "It will be dangerous. I can only promise you this after Team Gctic has been dealt with. I can''t risk you dying to your own Pokemon." "I do not like it, but I''ll take it," she nodded. "That is all I wanted. Thank you." Which one would she take her to? The one at the top floor of the Lost Tower was a no-go. Ruth and Mathilda would throw a fit. Perhaps the one on route 225 on the Battle Frontier, then. They were not as young, but it''d have to do. Grace Pastel came in next. Behind her eyes were a judge, a jury, and an executioner. Cynthia could feel her animosity from here, but s, confidential information was confidential whether she liked it or not. The anger would fade in time, although it would take longer due to her leanings with the fae. "Grace. Seeing as I am forcing you into this, I will give you one gift. Anything that you desire that is possible for the League to procure. Say the word, and it is yours." "You don''t have to feel indebted if it''s to help Sinnoh as a whole," she said. "But if I had to pick, I guess I''d choose¡­ do you know about that ancient civilization Chase Karlson discovered on route 210? Keep it clear of any archeologists or League Trainers. I want to find a ydol or Baltoy and catch it." The Champion exhaled. Not even a Shiny Stone for her Togetic, or the method to evolve that Electabuzz of hers? Shewasgoing to get enough money soon, but they were all asking for incredibly dangerous things. Had they not heard what she just said? Their importance trumped even hers. They couldn''t be reced. Maybe they hadn''t fully realized how bad of a cmity it would be yet. "You are aware of the ghost that lurks within?" Cynthia asked. "We haven''t managed to catch or kill it yet. I''ve been too busy to go there and it''s low on our priority list." "I''ll deal with it, and I''ll only go when I''m strong enough to handle it." From the reports Cynthia had heard, it was some ancient form of Zoroark that seemed to be powerful enough to take down an entire team of six seven badge-rated Pokemon, or maybe even eight. Something in between. "The danger''s too high, I''m afraid. You''ll have to wait until Team Gctic is either dealt with, or ept going down there with a team of at least five ACE trainers." "I''m content to wait for now. I don''t have the time to backtrack yet anyway. I will see if something else catches my eye in the meantime." "Very well. Is that all?" "Lou. What is she? She resembles something between human and Pokemon to me. I can kind of tell what she feels." "The League created her in an effort to replicate the ns in Kanto and Johto," Cynthia said, deciding to stay low on detail. "She can teleport and has psychic powers, but they exhaust her quickly. I''m afraid I cannot exin further than that." Grace nodded and exited the room. Mira Compton entered with her hands in her back pockets as she studied the Champion. "I think I did everything you expected of me and more today, no?" She asked. "Sorry about letting Abel get away." Cynthia leaned against a fist. It was true that she''d expected Mira Compton''s efforts to lead them toward Team Gctic, but she hadn''t expected her to be this efficient at it. Gardevoir''s Trace would be a great asset for the League to have, but she doubted the teenager wanted to work for her. Mira disliked Cynthia, that much was obvious, but she was content with her situation, especially when she''d given her something to chew on¡ª the fact that she''d be slightly more involved with Team Gctic as a whole. Less than she would have liked, but more than expected nheless. Now that Grace, Mira and Cecilia''s importance had been cemented, it was imperative for Cynthia to get them on her side. Maybe that was the wrong way of saying it. She needed them to be loyal, as the rest of the League was. That was the true purpose of these gifts. Of course, Chase Karlson would get one as well, along with a quick admission into the LTIP. "It''s fine," she answered. "You did good, even though you were reckless. Needless to say, you will not be doing that again. I am giving you a gift. Anything you want." "I want to be able to let kazam and Gardevoir out of their Pokeballs," she immediately answered. "That is too simple. Consider it done, but surely there''s something else that entices you." "Five years with my uncle instead of one when you capture him," Mira said. "I would have asked for him to be in prison for life, but I know you''d refuse that." "I can promise you five years," she nodded. "But there is the possibility that he dies in the crossfire. Many things happen during battles." Mira clenched a fist. "I don''t care. It''s what I want." Cynthia paused and felt guilt creep up. Damn her and her soft spot for children. "We may try to extend it to seven years. Perhaps up to ten, if he is cooperative," she said. "Nothing more, though." The pink-haired girl beamed. "Thank you." Soon, all three were gone. No doubt, they had much to talk about, both with themselves and their Pokemon. Grace Pastel had asked how Cynthia could live with keeping everything to herself. Secrets within secrets, each more horrifying than thest. The answer was her Pokemon. She confided in them and them only. Her head turned to Garchomp and she let out a soft sigh. With them, she could be herself. With them, she could stop pretending and appear weak. She would have gone insane without them. ¡ª "I didn''t understand a word of what you just said. I ain''t special because of some story, I''mme. Now for the reward, when are you going to give money to the Iron Inds?" Chase Karlson was tiring Cynthia out, and she thought that feat to beimpossible. After all those words of how he could potentially have a supernatural ability and asking him what he wanted, what he asked for was more money for where he came from. He didn''t evenprehend thescaleof what was happening or how important he was. "I can''t do it. The budget this year was already passed, and I don''t control it anyway. The Directorate does." "Pass one of those emergency package thingies. You did it for Sceon. I want better security for miners, better pay, better hours, better equipment, more vacation days¡ª paid vacation days, mind you. I also want better-trained Rangers stationed all throughout the inds." Cynthia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I can''t just press down on a lever and fix everything. I''d have to negotiate withpanies, the local government, the workers themselves¡­ and if I push for too much reform, then the miningpanies will pack and leave. All of your people will lose their jobs and the Iron Ind will fall into ruin." "Fix it, then." "You realize that this would take years of incremental progress, right?" "Man, you suck. You''re a politician through and through. If you can''t give me what I want, I don''t want any reward, I''m out of here." Chase Karlson strode out of her office, insulting a League Trainer on the way. Maybe making him loyal to her would be more difficult than Cynthia thought. In a manner of speaking though, it had been nice to return to justpoliticsafter so long, even if it only had been for a few minutes. Arguments about policy was a nice change of pace that cleansed her pte after such a long day. Cynthia checked her watch and saw that it was two in the morning. It was time for the raids to take ce. There had been no activity in all of the locations Abel had given, meaning that either he hadn''t alerted Team Gctic, or they simply wanted them to fight to thest in tight corridors where they''d have the advantage. It would not matter with her there. A League Trainer Teleported her and Garchomp up to the docks up north, and the dragon type wed the hangar''s wall apart with a mighty roar.
Chapter 197 Chapter 197 CHAPTER 197 Cynthia''s story still echoed in my mind, and it was impossible to get out of my head as I walked out of the League offices with Cecilia and Mira in tow. They were thinking the same thing I was. A mixture of doubt, excitement, and fear marked their faces. The cold night air hit me harder than usual, and I shivered in my coat. A question rang the loudest, beyond the story, beyond the implications and dangers.Whythis group in particr? There was no waywewere better than the millions of people in Sinnoh. Even if Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie only picked children as Cynthia said, that was still alotof people to beat. Me? Chosen? I refused to believe it. Just as I had told Be, the notion was antithetical to my beliefs, but I couldn''t deny that it wasn''t random. "We should wait for Chase to meet Cynthia and speak, no?" Cecilia said, breaking the silence. "Nah. Chasey and conversations can wait," Mira said, stretching. "I''m hungry, and I''ve got to take Carlos out." "You''d think the Knowledge girl would want to brainstorm and learn more about this. EvenIwant to," I said. Mira smirked at me. "Come on, Grace. Even through all this gift bullcrap, I''m stillme, and right now my stomach is rumbling. Plus, all we''de up with is conjecture anyway, but I''m willing to entertain you tomorrow. See you galster!" She waved at us and dashed away. This entire situation had certainly helped patch things up between us more than we already had, but I couldn''t help but think she was being too carefree about things. It was like the situation had reversed, andIwas the one who wanted to be active andthink. Make up usible scenarios, n, anything to keep myself busy. "She has a point. I know I''m not as far along as you two, but our personalities won''t change because of this," Cecilia said. "If she and I are as far as this gets, then you''re right," I nodded. "This kind of ruins our ns for our summer vacation, huh?" Sadness flickered in her eyes. "It must be done, so I suppose it does. We have a duty we can''t abandon. We could goter." "Sure, I''ll check my schedule," I joked. She chuckled and the tension lowered slightly. Even if we wanted to go, it wasn''t like the League would let us anyway, not when we wereassets. Safety measures to use in case everything went to shit and the¡­ cmity started. "What do you think this cmity is?" "Legendaries rampaging across the region always spells doom for humans," she shrugged. "Perhaps the damage could be contained, since Cynthia assumed that they were beatable, but the deaths and damage would still be staggering." I nodded. "Hmhm." I felt strangely calm at that notion. Of course, anxiety and fear reared their ugly heads, but there was no panic now that the shock of these revtions with Cynthia had passed. "I wish I knew more, though. You''d think they''dmunicate to us through dreams or visions or something to tell uswhatto do if ites to that," I sighed. "But nope,plete radio silence. Bummer." "It''s never as easy as in the stories, isn''t it?" She smiled as we turned a corner. "You know, I actually have a confession. Hatterene told me about this story when I was with her, although it was a lot less detailed and I didn''t really believe it." "Anything Cynthia didn''t add?" "Nope. It was a story her mother told her," I exined. "And she mostly focused on the Plume and emotions bit." The streets of Veilstone were dimly lit by streetlights and the ambient shineing from the building. We continued walking in silence until we reached the Pokemon Center. Today had been such a long day. Training with my team, studying, media training, the battle with Cecilia, the kidnapping and nowthis. I just wanted to crash in my bed and sleep an entire day, but I knew that wasn''t feasible, not when there was so much to talk about. We swung by the cafeteria to grab some food on the way upstairs. "Say, Cece," I said as we entered our room. "What''s your opinion on being chosen? Do you think it holds any water?" "I honestly don''t know. It would seem like the most obvious answer right now, but when has the most obvious answer been correct?" She said. "I don''t really care how this happened. I''m focused on winning." "We don''t even know if that''s how it works." "True, but it''s something to strive toward, along with badges," she exhaled as she plopped on the bed. "I have to say, I wish I knew the criteria for this. Do I need to lean into Willpower as a concept or do I need to stay true to myself? You''d think someone receiving a gift from the Pokemon embodying Willpower wouldn''t have doubts." "I mean, you''d think the Pokemon embodying Willpower in the first ce would know who to pick." She blinked a few times and then shot up. "Indecisiveness has nothing to do with Willpower." "Huh?" "Willpower is¡­ it doesn''t mean that you can''t have doubts or that you''re full of yourself all the time like Chase and Pauline are. It''s something beyond that. A grander concept." "What is it to you? Willpower?" I asked. "It''s¡­ I don''t have an answer yet," she said in a defeated tone. "I don''t have the words to express it in a way that feels appropriate." "Fair enough. Itisvaguer than Emotion and Knowledge, that''s for sure." "But even those can be vague if you widen the scope enough. On another topic, I''m happy to finally understand why you were so good at understanding Pokemon." "Yeah, sorry for not saying anything sooner. I just didn''t really believe it until today. I don''t even think it''s sunk in yet," I muttered. Suddenly, my eyes widened when a terrible conclusion popped into my head. "Wait, do we keep the powers when all of this is done? I don''t want to lose that ability¡­ Ireallydon''t." Would I even be able to function if I couldn''t speak with my Pokemon like I could now? If I couldn''t feel the emotions radiating off of each Pokemon, stranger or friend? I didn''t think so. "Cynthia did skip that part of the story, or maybe there are no answers," she said. "This is uncharted territory. None of this has happened in thousands of years." I hugged a pillow and bit my lip. The possibility of me reverting back to¡­ I hated to call it normal.Thiswas my normal. How I''d been for months. If anything, the way I thought that the old me was apletely different person. It wasn''t just abilities that had shaped me. My experiences had as well, but I couldn''t deny that they were a part of me. It''d be like losing myself. "I''ve just got to hope for the best," I said, squeezing my pillow tighter. I''d have to tell my Pokemon about all of this tomorrow morning too. I couldn''t tell the others, but I could at least tellthem. I was sure Cecilia and Mira would confide in their teams as well. "If you had to describe Emotion, how would you do it?" Cecilia asked all of a sudden. "Hm¡­" I hummed. She''d been right. Thinking of the concept was easy enough, but putting it into words was a different beast entirely. After a minute or two, I came up with an answer. "It''s the essence of human and Pokemon existence. Without emotions, we''re nothing. Just a nk canvas with nothing to say and no story to tell. They''re the color palette of the human mind, they guide our choices and they bring our stories to life. Of course, that''s not to say that emotions are the same for you and me. They''re subjective and differ from person to person. For someone, red might signify anger while for others it means excitement." "Wait, when you sense emotions, you see colors?" "No, no, it was just a dumb metaphor," I sighed with a slight smile. "What I mean to say is that they make us unique. Take humans, for example. Two billion of us on the entire in total, and not one person is the same as the other. No two people will feel the same happiness, fear, joy, or anger. They make youyouand are unique to you alone, and I think that''s a beautiful thing." "That was¡­ well, now I see what I''mcking," she said. "What? Come on, I spoke like some kid trying to be deep for no reason, it was kind of embarrassing," Iughed. "There''s got to be more to it than that. I''m sure others would be able to describe it better." "But you spoke from the heart, and it felt reallypersonalto you. You hesitated at the start, then once you got started, the words kept flowing until you were done. I wonder what Mira would say about Knowledge?" "She''d probably say she was toozy to answer," I dismissed. "We''ve got to make sure to lock both her and Chase down tomorrow. I think it''d be good to travel together for a little bit when we''re done with Veilstone." "Perhaps. I don''t think Chase will agree. Not that I mind." "Stop seeing him aspetition already, you guys are friends," I sighed. "Wait, why do I feel like I''m forgetting something¡ª" I had almost forgotten the meeting with my mother tomorrow afternoon. ¡ª Cecilia left my room early the next morning since we all had a lot of things to do. Denzel and the others had called yesterday night to ask about the meeting with Cynthia, but we couldn''t say anything. Still, rather than lie, we decided to say the truth and tell them that the information was ssified instead of making up some half-truth. I could tell that Denzel and Pauline were starting to get irritated, and I couldn''t me them. I knewIwould be angry if I was being left out like this. What was the point of not telling them anything when their association with us would get them involvedanyway?They''d have to find out eventually. Cynthia was just so convinced that she was right all the time and it was slowly getting on my nerves. Yes, she was older, more experienced and had been through a lot more than us, but I would have liked it if she at least entertained our suggestions instead of shooting us down like she was speaking to children. "Then again, maybe she does know better," I whispered to myself. I wasn''t going to go on route 214 to train today, but I did release my entire team in my room. A few of them eyed the window in surprise because almost a full day had passed since they''d been out. I usually didn''t keep them in their Pokeballs that long, and it showed. Princess stared at me and hesitantly chirped. She already knew something was weighing on me. Even with Cecilia, Mira and Chase knowing, all of this responsibility feltheavyto bear. I greeted all of them with a hug¡ª although Sunshine protested and pretended to push me off. I knew that he''d be able to do it without a problem if hereallywanted to. Sweetheart mored at him until he let me embrace him in full. "Thank you, sweetie," I told her with a bright smile. They''d only been out for a few seconds, but my day already felt brighter. "Yesterday was¡­ busy for me. I did a lot of things after training. I went to that media thing you guys hate and then I saw Cece and Lauren battle." Pupitar shook in excitement, but then deted when she realized she hadn''t been there to see it. Electabuzz patted her on the head tofort her. I started preparing their food as I talked. There would be no fancy cooked meal today. It was just something to keep myself busy. "Then Cecilia''s dad was kidnapped by Abel¡ª" All of them cheered except Turtonator. They had always liked her. Even Sweetheart wasn''t jealous of her any longer. That had probably just been a phase. "¡ªbut long story short, Mira kind of saved him. Abel escaped too. Then I was asked to meet Cynthia." This time, I had Sunshine''s attention. I exined the contents of the meeting to them, from the story, to my theories, to the fact that I was now instrumental to Sinnoh''s safety and that I might have to contribute to taking down Team Gctic. Jellicent protested the loudest. Hehatedto see me in danger and demanded to meet Cynthia to chastise her. I smiled softly and rubbed one of his tentacles. "It''s going to be okay." He swelled, his skin bubbled and he began to drip on the floor. "It''s going to be okay," I said again. "I''m not going anywhere, I promise." If he could have cried, I knew he would have. The words struck a chord with him somehow, and he solidified his limb around my hand. "Don''t cry. You''re old, but despite what you think, you''re still my baby. I hate it when you''re sad," I told him. His red eyes flickered, but he nodded, so I turned to my entire family. "Come on, don''t be gloomy. It''ll be alright!" Angel''s vine tightened around my ankle and Honey tiredly leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. Princess and Sunshine shot each other a knowing look that confused me. They''d gotten along since Sceon had ended, but this was something more. A deal of some sort. Had theye to some sort of agreement while I hadn''t been listening? If they hadn''t told me, I wasn''t going to pry. "We''re going to spend a lot of time together today, and we won''t be training!" I announced. I thought it''d be a nice break from how hard they were working, but only Buddy and Angel seemed to be pleased. Sweetheart and Honey were downright disappointed. "Yikes, tough crowd. We''re meeting my motherter. Only Princess saw her once. You were so shy back then, remember? Back in Twinleaf?" Togetic nodded, but quickly told me to stop embarrassing her in front of the others. "No, no, you hid behind my leg, gripped my jeans and everything! Could you guys imagine her doing that now?" Electabuzz chuckled, and soon, moreughs followed. Turtonator surprisinglyughed the loudest, and unfortunately for Princess, there was no earth for her to throw at his face this time. Therewereher statues lying around, but she didn''t want to waste her pretty art. I was happy I''d finally managed to break the tension, though. I knew they were still worried, but we couldn''t let anxiety take over. We still had tolive. Once I got food from downstairs, I spent the remaining time I had with my family and we just goofed off together. Angel yed around with Sweetheart as best they could in the cramped room. Princess and Honey kept teasing Buddy about how he lost hisposure earlier and I kept having to jump in to defend him. He was so embarrassed that he shrunk to the size of my fist and floated in the corner of the ceiling. Sunshine slept next to my bed and his gentle warmth enveloped me like afortable nket. News of the raids of Team Gctic bases were slowlying out. No Commanders had been found, but hundreds of grunts and other low-ranking members had been captured. Cynthia had participated in two of them. "Check it out," I said with a picture of Baltoy on my phone. "This is the next Pokemon I want to join us. Well, that or its evolution. It''s an ancient Pokemon, kind of like Cecilia''s Golett. What do you guys think?" Their reactions were kind of disappointing. Princess called Baltoy ugly, Sunshine and Sweetheart said that it looked weak and Honey said that they were weird. Only Angel seemed to find Baltoy cute. Jellicent was still too embarrassed toment. I knew I could have asked for Electabuzz''s evolution yesterday night, but I took a gamble. The n was still to impress Volkner, and I felt more confident now that she''d said that theymightagree to tutor us. I thought that Baltoy and ydol were actually harder to ess than Honey''s method of evolution. If the ancient city was cleared by League Trainers, then I would have no idea where to look. ording to the drawing Chase had seen, there would be some in the castle, or at least that''s how I interpreted it. Closer to the king meant that they''d reside in his home, right? Steven Stone was the most prominent trainer to own a ydol, but footage of his battles were as rare as Cynthia''s, especially now that he was retired. He was still considered one of the strongest trainers in the world, and his teamwasChampion-level, but he''d retired tomit to his passion about rare rock, minerals and fossils full-time. Unfortunately for me, of the few videos I found, he only used his ydol in two. It had used multiple Hyper Beams at once, increased gravity to ground the challenger''s Swellow andflippedgravity topletely neutralize his Sceptile. I had no idea how I''d even begin to counter that. Despite me fawning over the use of multiple Hyper Beams at once through each eye, it wasn''t actually the most offensive-minded Pokemon. It couldn''t deal the damage that Steven''s Armaldo, Aggron or Metagross could, but the amount ofutilityit had made it tricky, and I loved tricky Pokemon. It was able to draw out any fight and use psychic powers in ways I''d never even thought of before, from more mundane things like setting up barriersaroundthe enemy to make their attacks blow up in their faces or grabbing their attacks and saving them forter use, to more ruthless methods like creating a psychic vacuum topletely extinguish all of the mes this other challenger had spent five minutes setting up in order to power up his fire type attacks. Yes, a vacuum aroundthe entirearena. That poor Rapidash''s mes went too. Togetic would never be able to replicate the way ydol fought, that was for sure. "Guess I''m all in on this ydol thing," I said. My eyes zed over the time and I realized it was almost time to go. I went to shower and Electabuzz hadid me some clothes when I came back. I thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and finished getting ready. "Remember this, everyone. I''ming at this from a biased point of view, so you''re going to have to be a judge of character for me. Can I count on you?" They all agreed, although Sunshine didn''t care much. "And you," I said to him. "Today''s the day. Would you be ready tonight?" He blinked, but then he nodded. Today would be the day he told me about his old team. I recalled all of them and got going. I almost expected Lou to greet me at the door, but she was nowhere to be seen. I still had no idea how the hell these ACE trainers hid so damn well. I''d be interested in talking more with her, but she wanted nothing to do with me, as she''d shown multiple times yesterday. This was just a job for her, and that was fine. First, I had to do this andthenfind Mira and Chase. Cecilia was going to try to rope them into a meetingter. I couldn''t deny that I wasn''t really thinking about my mother right now. There was too much on my mind. That also meant that I wasn''t nervous, or angry, so that was kind of a positive. We''d said that we would meet at a park in Veilstone''s south. It took me a while to find her. It was the week-end and this ce was packed with both people and Pokemon. She sat on a bench, a book in hand, but she somehow saw me through the crowd immediately. She stood up and excitedly jogged in my direction. She really did look like an older version of me. Dirty blonde hair, freckles and only slightly taller, but with blue eyes instead of green. Had it been difficult for dad too look at me¡ªno. I couldn''t think like that. I bit my lip, stopping any demands froming. There was no point in askingwhyshe had done it. She had already told me. It had just been her being a terrible, shitty human being. I wasing here in good faith and hoping to make amends or do anything to mend the bridge between us, but I knew there would be no way that we''d ever be as close or friendly as my father and I were. She didn''t lunge to try to hug me, so that was appreciated.AndI wouldn''t have to see my grandmother either, thank Arceus. It would be just us today. "G¡ªgood morning. Or wait, it''s the afternoon now. Thank you so much for agreeing to this, Grace," she said. "I thought you wouldn''t." "You messaged Denzel, didn''t you?" I asked. For some reason, my voice came out deeper than usual. I cleared my throat and continued. "He was the one that convinced me." My mother blinked. "He was?Wait,he told you about all of that¡­? Oh no. I really didn''t mean to pry, I just wanted to know how you were doing," she rambled. "Did you feel pressured into meeting me? I''m sorry." To be honest, I had thought that she might have discretely probed Denzel about confronting me, but honestly? She might just have been genuine. And that scared me.
Chapter 198 Chapter 198 CHAPTER 198 "Well I kind of did feel pressured," I finally answered. She immediately tensed and pain flickered in her eyes. "But I don''t regret it, I guess. It''s fine." My mother''s face rxed with a sigh, and it was only now that I realized how easy she was to read. She was basically an open book, which was probably where I''d gotten it from? Or maybe it was a coincidence, I didn''t know how gics worked. There was an awkward silence between us as the hustle and bustle of the crowded park seeped into the background. "Look at you," she smiled. "You''ve grown since I saw you in Twinleaf." "Not really. I''m still 5''5," I said. "I meant that the way you look at things¡­ it''s like you''re all grown-up," she said. "Should we go somewhere to speak? Somewhere with fewer people?" "Sure, I guess," I said. I didn''t really feel anything except a vague sense of contempt, but I supposed that was better than rage. Plus, she was trying her best, or it looked like she was, so I decided to do the same. "So how did you even get here?" I asked, trying to make conversation. Anything was better than this awkward silence. "Your grandmother had some business in Veilstone. She''s actually the co-owner of a toy store around here. She lived here when she was young, but she retired early. She still chimes in on business decisions from time to time." A toy store? That was certainly a strange niche, but kids did need their entertainment. "Now that Herdier was all recovered with the medicine you got him, he helped us get to Sandgem. It wasn''t difficult, especially now that all these government agents are crawling around Twinleaf. They tend to keep the route clear. From there, we took a ferry to Veilstone. I couldn''t let your grandma go alone, not with how old she''s gotten." "Hm. Were you involved in it at all? In the business?" "Oh, no. I worked¡­ well, when I lived in Jubilife, I worked in an ounting firm. I was an audit manager," she said. "When I left for Twinleaf, I just stopped working. I was lucky enough for your grandmother to support me financially so long as I helped around the house," she exined. "Doesn''t sound too impressive, doesn''t it?" "I mean, I don''t know," I shrugged. "But why did you leave? Even after you betrayed dad, you could have stayed in Jubilife. I know you said that guilt was too much, but isn''t that just running away from your mistakes? You left him to pick up the ck alone. I know how hard it is to take care of kids alone." Let alone when you couldn''t put them inside of Pokeballs. My mother blinked. "I know. It''s¡ª there''s¡ª there''s no excuse," she stammered. "Nothing I said would be enough. I''m sorry. To you and to Arthur." Her apology was appreciated, but it didn''t really bring anything out of me. Every time I thought I was being too harsh on her, I remembered what she had done. Surely there was a middle ground I could reach? "You''ve gotten quite famous, haven''t you?" She said. "I listen to people talk about you on the radio sometimes. I don''t know much about battling, but it''s entertaining." "The radio¡ª never mind. Yeah, I guess I have. People are saying I''m one of the best first-years this Circuit." "I know it doesn''t mean much, but I''m proud of you. I''m trying to¡ª trying to not be too forward, but I had to say it." "Thanks," I said. "You''ve been through a lot too, haven''t you?" She said, her stare lingering on my burns. "That horrible day at Sceon." "It was tough. Hard to push past, but I think I''m fine now," I said. "Kind of." This conversation felt awkward, but it wasn''t that bad. Certainly not as bad as I thought it''d be. We finally reached a more private part of the park, away from its central fountain and more at its edges. "Kind of?" "Well, it''s tough to forget it happened," I said. And there was also the unsaid fact that I was a lot more important than I thought and that it''d paint a target on my back if Team Gctic ever figured it out. A bigger one than the one I currently had. "But it''s okay. You learn to live with it." "I''m sorry I wasn''t there," she said before pausing. "Which is my fault." "Why don''t I introduce you to some of my Pokemon?" I asked. "You''ve only met Princess." She beamed. "Of course! I hear so much about them, it''d be great to actually see them in the flesh." I nodded, releasing Togetic first. Just like with my father in Hearthome, I didn''t want to overwhelm her by releasing all of them at once. Princess had been shy before, but she''d reallye into her own now. The flying type eyed my mother and nodded with a polite chirp. That was as basic of a greeting as you could get with her, but it could have been worse. My mother hesitantly approached her until she flew backwards, propelling herself with her wings for a quick burst of speed like we''d trained. "Nice to officially meet you. Last time, it was so busy in the house, I didn''t have time to talk or anything," she slowly said. Princess let out a series of chirps. "She says likewise and that she''ll be watching you today," I tranted. "Ohh, you can understand her that well? Impressive." I turned and scanned the entire surroundings. The story and my importance had me on edge, so I didn''t exactly want to say these things out loud even if I was getting a reputation for my understanding of Pokemon. "I can," I quietly said. "But don''t go around repeating it. The attention''s annoying." "My mouth is sealed," she nodded, mimicking zipping up her mouth. I was getting around the fact that she could be quite¡­ quirky. Her bodynguage was very extra, and she moved her hands around a lot when she spoke. "You never told me how you did get her. You left Twinleaf so quickly. You said there was danger at the Lake, and you were off to Sandgem. I had no idea that a few weekster the League woulde in and just take over. We aren''t allowed to visit it anymore, which is a shame. It was quite calming." It was then that I realized that talking to someone that knew vastly less than you did was suffocating. It was ufortable and I found it hard not to squirm. Desperately wanting to change the topic, I moved on to how I''d gotten Princess and exined the story of how my Dad had won her egg by pure chance. Togetic nodded along to the tale. She was always happy when I told it to someone, and it seemed that some of Sunshine''s pride was rubbing off on her. I didn''t exactly know what was impressive about the story to her, but I wouldn''t reign on her parade. Plus, she was cute like this. "Arthur did always like buying tickets to lotteries or raffles. He''d bring a bunch of stuff back home that we didn''t need," she smiled. "Come on. Don''t reminisce. Not when you¡­ you caused the split," I quickly said. "Oh. You''re right." She missed him, I realized. She would have to live with the consequences of her actions, which felt appropriate to me, but mncholic at the same time. It was difficult to exin. Maybe I missed what could have been, but would never be. Togetic rubbed her forehead against mine in an attempt tofort me, and I caressed her cheek for a few seconds. "Anyway, that''s Princess," I said. "I guess I''ll have you meet the most troublesome first." When Turtonator came out of his Pokeball, I realized that it was the first time he was actually out in such a public ce. Sure, we were at a secluded part of the park, but people and Pokemon came and went as they pleased. His eyes narrowed at the unexpected sudden noise and activity, but he settled down when I ced a hand on his leg. "Rx, big guy. Remember how I told you we''d be meeting my mother? This is her. Her name''s Samantha." For her part, Samantha shrunk down and shook like a leaf under Sunshine''s judgemental gaze. The dragon snorted and called her too weak to have given birth to me, which to be honest, I did find kind of funny. "What did he say?" "Well, he wasn''t very nice," I told her. "But he''s got a good heart. I caught him in Mount Cor." "I heard about that on the radio¡­ you came out with those," she said, looking at my burns. Turtonator, for his part, didn''t look guilty at all, and I didn''t expect him to. Princess chastised him and told him to apologize already. I ignored my mother''s stare and continued. "They talked about that on the radio?" "I didn''t use to listen to trainer stuff much. I mostly tuned in to see how you were doing," Samantha said. "It''s this sort of back and forth thing between two guys that have been in the industry for a long time¡­ a podcast, I think. They pick a few trainers to talk about for the day, but I only listen when you''re in it. I gave the name to Casey and Ronald too, and they listen when they speak about Denzel." It took me a few seconds to ce those names, but I remembered that they were Denzel''s parents. I''d only seen them once, but he''dined about them plenty. Theints had stopped after Snowpoint, though. "Oh, that''s pretty cool," I said. "I''d like the name of the program for him, I bet he''d like it." "Oh, sure. It''s ''Poketracker: Spotlight on Future Champions''. They''ve got some online recordings too, but I''m not very good at all that inte stuff. Even your Grandmother''s better at that than me," sheughed, waving a hand dismissively. I wrote down the name on my phone and thanked her while Sunshine keptmenting on how frail and weak my mother looked. "We''re humans. We''re all weak," I muttered. He snorted, agreeing heartily while Princess disagreed and called me the strongest human on the. "I''m sure Sweetheart would agree with that, but it''s obviously wrong" I smiled, turning back to my mother. "Sorry, I kind of answer them on autopilot. Don''t feel left out." "You''re fine, I''m just content to look." "I guess Sweetheart can be next. She''s kind of the family''s baby," I exined. "Don''t tell her that or she''ll have a tantrum." I released Pupitar, who was getting so heavy that her mere presence created an indent in the dirt. "Don''t move around too much, or you''ll mess up the park," I quickly said. "This is my mother Samantha. I told you about her." The ground type let out a rattling, echoing scream that made her jump out of her skin. "She''s greeting you. Sorry, she''s just a loud girl, don''t mind her," I said, petting her cocoon. Sweetheart protested and said she''d been quiet just now, but Princess chided her. "Listen to your sister and be a good girl." Sunshine breathed out warm air and said Pupitar should be allowed to be as loud as she want as an honorary dragon. "When did that even happen?!" I yelled. "You know what, never mind." The rock type preened at her draconic title, and Princess begged for me to release some of our more sensible family members before these two made her go crazy. "You call them sisters?" My mother noticed. "Oh yeah, all of my Pokemon are siblings," I exined. Turtonator groaned, refuting the notion. I patted him on the arm. "Except Sunshine, but I''ll rope him in soon. It took me weeks to get him to ept the name, but in the end, he agreed." The fire type turned away from me, heating up the air slightly. I''d grown so ustomed to his tantrums that I hadn''t realized how terrified my mother got again. "No, no, he''s harmless. He wouldn''t hurt me," I quickly said. I really did need to lower the tension. Angel was perfect for that. As usual, the big bundle of vine greeted all of us with touch, ignoring Turtonator''sints, and then moved on to the new person in his sights. Luckily, I''d been ready for him. "No!" I yelled, holding out a hand. His vines froze in ce. I wasn''t about to let him make her that ufortable, especially because he had no self-control. He was as innocent as they came, but she would not see it that way. I gently grabbed one of his vines and ced it in my mother''s hand, who hesitantly shook it like a hand. "He doesn''t want to shake your hand, he wants to feel your skin," I said. "His name''s Angel." "Hello¡­" she whispered. She waited for his greeting, but it never came. Instead, he rapidly blinked and his other vines writhed in ce. "He doesn''t speak, but he''s very happy to meet you," I tranted. "They talk about him a lot on the show," Samantha said. "Do they? Hear that, Angel? You''re famous!" The grass type excitedly bobbed up and down. "What''s with the vine around the ankle?" She asked. I stared down at my foot and saw that he''d already wrapped my ankle in a vine. "It''s his thing. It reassures him when he can feel me. He doesn''t trip me or anything, it doesn''t bother me at all." Princessy down on top of the grass type andzily asked him to make her a nket. Angel obliged her and wrapped a ton of vines over her, which made Sweetheart jealous. She yelled until Tangrowth also surrounded her in vines, although he couldn''t lift her on the ground. She''d grown too much. I noticed that Samantha was staring with a curious look. "They''re morefortable than they look. They make for a really good bed in the wild," I said. "Do you want to give it a try?" "I''m okay," she said. Angel''s vines drooped, but Iforted him with a hug and my mother apologized profusely. She was making it a bigger deal than it actually was, but I realized she probably thought she''d offend me if she made one of my Pokemon sad. "Don''t worry, he''s just a big softie," I said. "His mood changes quickly too, he''ll be back on his feet in no time. Look." I released Jellicent, who didn''t even have a second of respite before he was dragged around by three vines. Tangrowth shook him like a rag until he had his fill, and Buddy just stayed there and took it even though he could have slipped away. "Here, this is Buddy¡ª" The water type''s form constricted and expanded, loosened and tightened until Tangrowth was done with him. "You really went hard with him today, huh," I sighed. "Princess, I think this is because you kept lifting him with Extrasensory when he hadn''t evolved yet. Now he''s taking it out on others." It''d been meant as a joke, but Togetic took it seriously and fervently denied these allegations. Instead, she redirected the me to Sunshine, which made absolutely no sense, but it was funny. The dragon type protested and said he had nothing to do with our childish antics. "Anyway, this is Buddy," I repeated. "He''s a little reserved around people he doesn''t know, but he''s really nice." Now that he had some respite, the ghost type stared through my mother, judging her every movement. I had asked him to judge her character, and he always took his tasks seriously. I shot him a look to ask him what he thought at first nce. He said that he couldn''t see any sinister intentions, but he needed more time to make a more detailed assessment. "He wants to watch you," I said. "Don''t worry, he''s harmless." "Do you say that about every single one?" "Yeah, they''re all harmless." Compared to the potential they''d hopefully all reach in time? They definitely were. I finished with Electabuzz and introduced him as well. His normalcy was a weed change of pace for her, and they even shook hands. He was very serious. While he''d tried to prank my father with a jolt, there was none of that here¡ª just polite introductions. I let all of them interact for a while, and I was content to just watch. To be honest, I was pretty sure I''d be able to just watch all of my Pokemon hang out forever. They were all so precious. Sunshine tried to brag about his aplishments to my mother, who couldn''t understand a word of what he said while I sometimes chimed in to trante. Angel and Sweetheart cheered him on, and Princess had fallen asleep on the grass type''s head. Honey and Buddy observed Samantha, but the water type was the one that truly unsettled her. At least Electabuzz moved around and joined in on the conversation, but Jellicent waspletely still. Only his eyes shimmered, changing intensity with each interaction. Finally, my mother said something that had no doubt been on her mind the entire time. "Could you¡­ tell me some stories about your childhood, maybe? I know I don''t have a right to ask." I sighed. "Yeah. Some, maybe. Just¡­ some." ¡ª Meeting my mother hadn''t been this cathartic experience. It hadn''t been a disaster, nor had it been a long-awaited mending of the rtionship. It had been awkward, there had been stumbles and I still didn''t really think of her as family, but at the very least, things had gotten better. We were on a conversational basis now, and I wouldn''t ghost her any longer. I even sent my dad a picture of us and he seemed overjoyed. He really was a good man. "I''m going now," she said. "It was very nice to see you again, Grace. Thank you for giving me a chance." "Thank Denzel, he convinced me," I said. I had recalled most of my Pokemon at this point, but Princess and Angel were still out. She was done with her nap and was justzing around on his head. "It was¡­ nice, yeah." "I don''t want to be too forward, but let me know if you ever feel like doing this again. I''m leaving Veilstone in a week and a half, and I''m always open to meeting. Of course, I won''t force anything if you want your space." "Yeah, I don''t really know right now, but I''ll tell you if I change my mind," I said. "Have a safe trip back¡ª" A yell from Togetic alerted me. I turned toward her as I felt a vine wrap around my waist. An Abra had wandered behind me. An Abra. I flinched when a thick void surrounded the psychic and twenty spikes from Princess buried themselves in the darkness. Lou appeared before me, and it was only then that I realized that there had been four undercover League Trainers around me at all times. A couple with a Morpeko on the woman''sp stood up and ran toward me. I noticed the thin strands of ckness linking Morpeko to the submerged Abra. A man reading a news paper did the same, and a Honchkrow swooped from the sky the join his side, and onest womannded on a Dragonite''s back next to me. I only had time to focus on the Abra for less than a second, but my heightened senses told me one thing. His intentions had been nefarious. "Grace, what''s going on¡ª" Lou cut my mother off. "Ariel, Dick, you stay here and clean up. Serena, Maxwell, check the entire park to see if anything is out of order. This was an attack from Team Gctic." The four trainers saluted and dispersed. When the darkness dissipated from the Abra, it was unconscious¡­ no, it was dead. It had been stabbed fifteen times with spikes longer than its entire body. One of them had hit him in the forehead directly and blood was seeping from the hole. The other fourteen was all packed together, running through his torso, shoulders, tail. One of his arms was barely hanging on. Lou closed her eyes and held out a hand toward it. Veins next to her eyes bulged and her eyes shone behind her eyelids. "It''s dead," Lou confirmed. "I will Teleport you to the Pokemon Center, and you will be contained here until the threat has been dealt with." I swallowed. Dead? Just like that. One second it was alive and the next its life had been extinguished. And for what? The dichotomy of my reaction and my mother''s couldn''t be more pronounced. She''d copsed and was crying while I was just¡­ standing there. I felt shaken, but I''d been so desensitized to it at this point that I couldn''t feel anything but anger for the people that had made Abra do this. "Thank you, Princess," I exhaled before turning to my mother. "I don''t think it''d be good to meet. I''m¡­ I attract danger. You''re better off just leaving Veilstone early. It''s not safe here." "Are you done? I shall Teleport you now. Recall your Pokemon," Lou said. I wasted no time listening to her, and in a sh, we were back at the Center. Lou leaned against the wall and entered a coughing fit. Her breaths werebored and she was clearly exhausted. "I will stay here with you until the situation is contained," she said again. "Can you give my mother guards during her stay here? And my grandmother too?" I asked. "Team Gctic''s known to take hostages." "I will send the request to Cynthia immediately," she nodded, grabbing her phone. I sat on my bed and held out my hand. It was shaking. I clenched it around my phone and sent a message to the rest of the group about the attack and asked Mira, Chase and Cece to meet up specifically. The panic in the chat quickly subsided when they realized I waspletely fine. "Why now?" I frowned. "The raid failed to capture all of Team Gctic''s members. A few dozen of them escaped and are running free in the city," she exined. "We assume that Abra belonged to one of them, but nothing is set in stone. It could have been one from their main base that we do not know about. The only thing we are certain of is that it was a Team Gctic Pokemon and that it wanted to bring you somewhere. Odds are, we will not learn anything about it unless a trainer is found." It took an hour and a half for me to be cleared to go outside again, and in that time, I came to terms with the fact that Princess had taken a life. It hadn''t been¡­ necessary. It was a terrible thing, and she''d reacted emotionally. It was just such a waste. Arceus fucking damn it, I despised Team Gctic. How many Pokemon had been warped by their ideals? I couldn''t me Princess, even if I disapproved. She''d attacked first because not unlike me, Togetic could feel emanating emotions. It was one of the tips Cynthia had given me when we spoke in Sceon. Not only had she also figured out that Abra wanted to harm me, but she was quicker than me in doing so. Could I hone my abilities in some way? They hadn''t progressed in a while. I was just more aware of them now than I''d ever been. Even though I was now allowed to go out, I did not. Instead, I went straight to Mira''s room and saw that they were already waiting for me there. She''d already read my text, Cecilia sighed in relief when she saw me and kissed me. After asking if I was fine about ten times, I began to speak. "As I said, I was attacked by an Abra belonging to Team Gctic on the way here. The ACE trainers took care of everything. It went by so quickly. One second, an Abra was behind me, and the next he was swarmed by dark type energy and stabbed by Togetic''s Ancient Power," I exined, my eyes downcast. "My mother almost got caught in the crossfire." "Damn. Sorry about that," Chase said. "At least things went alright." Cecilia nodded. "Some of them escaped from the raidst night. They must have been one of the remaining stragglers," she said. I nodded and said that was Lou''s theory too, but she raised a finger. "Wait, that doesn''t actually make any sense." "Yes, because why waste a chance at running off into the routes and saving themselves instead of targeting Grace," Mira said, snapping a finger. "This was probably an order from above, no?" "Maybe," I muttered. "But they''ve got no idea I''m important. All they have is Mars'' obsession with me." Maybe they had been pressured by her to capture me? It''d make sense, in a way. That Abra hadn''t aimed to kill me and their Teleportation scheme didn''t work since the ACE trainers had a tactic to counter it. They wanted to bring me somewhere, possibly in one of their remaining bases. "This is madness," Cecilia seethed with a clenched fist. "Instead of trying to save their own lives, they''re stuck doing that crazy woman''s bidding." "You know she can do a lot worse than the League can," Mira frowned. "I''d rather take a painful memory extraction with a slight chance of not being too damaged and a few decades in prison over whatever she has cooking." "Why not send Dusknoir after me herself?" I asked. "Her hands must be tied," she said. "None of the Commanders are moving in any way. Them waiting for something important would line up with what Abel told me. And you said she was obsessed with their leader, right? He''s the only one she''d listen to, if that was the case. Maybe the other Commanders too?" "Hmhm," I nodded. I was still slightly shaken by the attack, but it was nice to see that the trainers Cynthia gave us were actually effective and that kidnapping by Teleport like they''d done at Valley Windworks wouldn''t work here. The move was easy to counter if you knew to expect it. I just hoped the same level of care and security was afforded to the rest of our friends¡­ and my mother. We knew they weren''t above anything, not even taking hostages. Taking my mother sounded like some sick game Mars was capable of doing. "Let''s talk about the Copperajah in the room, then," I said. The quicker I moved on from this topic, the better it''d be for my state of mind. I just wanted to think about something else. We all turned toward Chase. "Chase, you''re rather silent," Cecilia said. "What was your meeting with Cynthia like? What did you think about the story and its implications?" "Been thinkin''" he said with his arms crossed. "You know, my gut reaction was to think it was a load of bullshit, but I guess there has to be a hint of truth to it. I don''t particrly enjoy knowing I''ve got some people babysitting me." "A man after my own heart," Mira grinned. She sat cross-legged on the floor as she fiddled with her phone. Porygon sometimes entered and left the device. I expected some unwanted flirting next, but she stayed silent. Even she had her limits. "And?" "I mean, I don''t know, to be honest. I hate the idea of some old Legend fucking with my head and using me to do its bidding. Why not just do it yourself, youzy ass? Arceus," he eximed. "But hey, this cmity business doesn''t sound so good, so I''ll do my best. Sinnoh''s my home. I won''t let another one be destroyed." We all nodded at him, but Cecilia didn''t notice the fact that he''d let slip that he''d already lost a home. I could tell Mira caught on due to her change in demeanor, but she said nothing. What Chase had said amounted to what I expected, although he hadined a lot less than I thought. "Good answer, Chasey. Now, I came up with something yesterday night while I was chewing on some damn good quesadis," Mira said. "Cynthia''s not telling us everything, that much is obvious. She was handwaving a lot of the end of the story. Cmity''s a pretty vague word, don''t you think?" "Cmity''s pretty straightforward to me," Chase shrugged. "It''s like,plete decimation. The entire region''s gonna be destroyed." "Decimation doesn''t mean what you think it means, Chasey," Mira mocked. "I thought the same," I said. "But it''s not like we can force her to tell us if she doesn''t want to." "You''re right, which is why I tried looking up the same stories she talked about. Nothing came up. Like it was scrubbed from the inte entirely using mass-produced Porygon. Even my Porygon couldn''t find anything," she said. The normal type beeped disappointedly from the phone. "Even the obscurest shit will have some results." "So what?" Cecilia scoffed. "It was scrubbed, obviously. Sinnoh''s government isn''t above censorship." Mira continued, "I''m just sayin'', why scrub it? It''s not like some rando online could corrte anything from the story. Until yesterday, would you have been able to make the connection between Cynthia''s story and Team Gctic if she hadn''t linked the two for us?" "No," she said. "And it''s not the only story about Legendaries with apocalyptic vibes. I''ve found plenty that looked not to have been touched with simr implications." "So you''re saying it was taken off so we couldn''t find anything? Isn''t that kind of extra," I asked with a frown. "You guys underestimate how controlling Cynthia is as a person because you''ve looked up to her since you were kids," Mira shook her head. "She wants everything to be just how she likes it." "I sure am not," Chase spat. "I mean, I figured the gifts were to keep us happy," I said. "But to go so far¡­" "It could mean that this cmity thing is a lot worse than it sounds," Cecilia said. The disappointment in her tone was easy to discern. "Three Legendaries that look to approximately have the power of one of the Legendary birds'' avatars wouldn''t amount to much, despite what you might think. If they got to a city, then there''d be hundreds of thousands of deaths, but that''s not that much in the grand scheme of things," Mira exined. "Come on, don''t look at me like that. It''s true. Now, I could also bepletely wrong, but luck''s been on my side when deducing stuff these days." "When you''re looking for an answer, what does it feel like?" Cecilia asked. "When we were at Acuity, it was like¡­ this outside presence feeding us answers." "That''s exactly it. As long as the answer''s within my reach, I can kind of tell what it is. It''s not a hundred percent reliable, though. It''s got other effects on me too, as you know. I was actually nning on visiting theke when swinging up north if the League lets me. Maybe it''ll get us some answers." "Lake Valor''s just south of here," Cecilia said, looking at Chase with hungry eyes. "Maybe we''d get guidance if we showed up." "What if Cynthia says no?" I asked. "The ce is a fortress crawling with League Trainers. We certainly aren''t sneaking in." "Then she''d be really stupid. Look, Cynthia thinks we''re dumber than we actually are," Mira said. "Well, Chasey''s pretty dumb." "Huh?!" "I meant it in a cute, endearing way, don''t get all defensive. She wants to keep us happy. Here, do any of you y dating sims?" "I''m not much of a gamer," Cecilia said. "I''m not a nerd, so no," Chase said. "You yed dating sims?" I scoffed. "You''re asking the depressed girl with no friends if she yed dating sims, Grace," Mira smiled. "Obviously I did. Anyway, in most dating sims, each love interest has like, a rtionship value assigned to them that goes up and down depending on what text option you pick. That''s how Cynthia sees people. She tries to keep them all happy, but she doesn''t see us as independent people with our own needs and wants. She sees us as NPCs that''ll react with a pre-determined line of text depending on what she says." Chase leaned against the wall. "I almost fell asleep just now." "What a convoluted metaphor¡­" Cecilia whispered. "It''s a damn genius metaphor, that''s what it is," she smugly said. "Don''t think of her as this wless human being. I''m the only one that sees her for what she is right now: a fucked up human that just happens to be the voice of authority in the region because she''s a damn good trainer. To be honest, it''s not like I''m not fucked up, but hey, I''m just saying it like I see it." "I''ve stopped doing that a while ago now," Cece shrugged. "I don''t hate her like you both, though," she said, looking at Chase and her. "Come on, I don''t hate her. She''s just fake, and I dislike that," Mira said. "Woah, am I a hypocrite? Whatever. And I didn''t mean she doesn''t have Sinnoh''s best interests at heart. Anyway, where I was going with this whole dating sim tangent was, she wants to keep our values in the positive. That means that she won''t deny us too many times if we ask for reasonable shit. Visiting our correspondingkes is certainly reasonable." "I''d have to backtrack or fly to mine," I muttered. "Lake Verity didn''t have that much of an effect on me. I just felt¡­ calm and at home, I guess. It was like a state of permanent bliss. I wonder what Willpower will do." "Maybe I''d be able to beat my personal best for pushups there," Chase grinned. "Okay, musclehead," Mira rolled her eyes before looking at me. I had to be the one to ask him? In retrospect, maybe I was the best suited for it. He was closest to me, after all, and he''d called me his closest friend before. It was still nerve-wracking because he''d denied me every time I had asked beforehand. "Chase. Cecilia, Mira and I were thinking about traveling to Sunyshore together and we were thinking about having you join us. Maybe Pastoria? Nothing''s set in stone. We''ll have to split at some point because Mira''sst badge will be Candice." "I wanted to fly there," he said. "Come on, don''t be like that. Join us," I said. "It''ll be fun, and you''ll get to visit Lake Valor with us because we''re good at talking while you''re abrasive almost all the time. Plus, it won''t even take long to travel on foot and maybe you can bounce ideas off of Cece with the whole Willpower thing. To be honest, the entire point is to talk to each other ande up with answers about all this. Maybe learn some teamwork too? Get everyone to get better at working with each other?" "Eh. I have to wait a week and a half to battle Maylene because of that Lauren thing. Wouldn''t want to hold y''all back." "I''m not even close to battling her either," I said. "Cece''s going to sign up tomorrow and I don''t even know about Mira." The pink-haired trainer shrugged. "Eh, I don''t care much about badges or the Conference, but it''s something that''ll make my Pokemon stronger in preparation for our confrontation with Team Gctic. If ites to that. Maybe I''ll find some other Pokemon on my travels too." Chase groaned and scratched his head. "You guys seem annoying to travel with, but whatever. I guess I can do Sunyshore so long as you don''t bother me." "Nice," I grinned. "I promise we won''t annoy you." "Mira''s crossing her fingers," Cecilia said. "Way to sell me out!" Now we''d have to tell the others soon too. No doubt they''d feel¡­ left out, abandoned or worse, but they''d have each other. They could allbine into onerge group if need be as well. I felt bad, but I thought it''d be for the best. Leaving them in the dark like this killed me. "Looks like we''ll be spending a lot more time together from now on, then¡ª" Cecilia started. Chase held out a hand and interrupted her. "Now hold on. I''m not going to start being stuck to you like glue. This is only for when we travel. I''m a busy man and Pauline''s already annoying me in Flight School. Keeps getting on my fuckin'' nerves." "I''ll take what I can get," I said. "Anyone want to order pizza?" Mira asked. "I''m hungry and I''m craving pizza right now." "Ohhh, I can go for pizza," I yelled excitedly. The smile felt forced, but I kept it there for longer than what was natural. Anything to move on. "Pepperoni?" "I''ll take a quatre-fromage," Cece said. "A whole one?" I asked incredulously. "We can share? Two pizzas are enough for four people, and if pushes to shove, I can give the rest to Zweilous." "Are you kidding me? That''s unhealthy as hell¡­" Chaseined. "I''m out of here." "There''s got to be healthy pizza. Just take one with a bunch of veggies and chicken on it or whatever," I said. "You can have one custom-made!" Mira added. "I''m not going to lie, I was just looking for an excuse to dip." "You don''t have anything to do. Come on, stick around," I asked. "Please." Anything to move on. "...Fine." ¡ª Despite spending longer than I expected with the others, I hadn''t forgotten about my words to Sunshine. I entered my room and released him and him alone. This was his story to tell, and he wanted us to be alone for it. He didn''ty down as he usually did. I''d gotten so used to him by now that I had almost forgotten how regal he could be when he wanted. Turtonator stared me down in silence, but I knew he was asking if I was ready. "You can start whenever you want," I said. "And feel free to stop if it gets too hard." I would tell him about the attack after, along with the entire family. This was his moment and his alone. Warm air streamed out of his snout as he began to tell me his story, not just of Kamaile''s death, but how he lived.
Interlude – How He Lived Interlude ¨C How He Lived INTERLUDE - How He Lived His entire life, he had only known the volcano. Up here was only the heat, the hunt, and fiercepetition. Heat rose from Turtonator''s shell and sulfur glimmered off of it, giving the cave a warm yellow hue. Heypletely still as he awaited prey, but none hade in three days. His shell was cracked, almost split into three different pieces, half of his scales had been peeled off and there was a gaping hole in his stron. Turtonator had almost been mortally wounded after challenging a stronger member of his species further up the volcano after growing overconfident. The battle had barelysted two minutes. mes so powerful they glowed white had melted off his scales and they had fused to his flesh. Explosions so grand that the mere shockwave caused him to freeze in fear and that his opponent had used to propel himself up in the air and jump so high that it was like he was flying. Even through all of his agony, Turtonatorcursedhis weakness. When he recovered, he would challenge that Turtonator again, but for now? He needed to rest and recover. Down here, he did not have enough sulfur to strengthen his explosions, andpetition with other Turtonator for the meager amount present was fierce. Life was hard, but it was all he had ever known since he''d been born. No parents had been here to raise him, so his experience shaped who he was, and who he would always be. And so, he stood still as he waited for an unsuspecting weakling to wander by and die by his explosion. He couldn''t conceal himself well, but even Pokemon could make mistakes and slip. He had seen it many times before. After all, he had lived for slightly more than seventy years on this mountain, and he nned to live for centuries more. He would conquer this entire volcano and sit on his rightful throne at the summit.Hewould be the strongest and take what was rightfully his. Turtonator''s eyes narrowed. Steps.There were multiple individuals¡­ perhaps two. His tail flexed and he readied himself to strike. Something tensed in Turtonator''s back as he activated his Shell Trap, and its red hue intensified. He barely had time to see what it was that he was targeting before everything exploded. He mmed his tail against his fractured shell and his body contracted. Turtonator nearly passed out from the pain¡ª thestrainfrom exploding his wounded shell. He heard another crack form and breathed out a stream of mes to distract himself from the pain. This would take months to heal, but he would starve if he did not eat. When the smoke, ash and sulfur lingering in the air cleared, a Pokemon covered in white and purple fur stood there unharmed, along with a human hiding behind the psychic barrier it had created. Turtonator knew of these Pokemon¡ª Oranguru, they were called. It was covered in soot from head to toe. He had only heard of them, however. They did not usually venture up this volcano, and humans almost never went so high up. The human wore some sort of cloth over his face and studied Turtonator. He shared most humans'' tanned skin, but this one was stockier than usual. The boy''s eyes stopped when he zed over his wounds. Every wild Pokemon knew that trainers were bad news. They were slippery and liked to usetricksto win instead of using their own strength. Turtonator snarled and gathered a Dragon Pulse inside of his snout, amassing as much energy as he could before letting it loose. The turquoise stream of energy was warped by the heat and dissipated in a single stroke of Oranguru''s fan. Turtonator''s eyes bulged as rage bubbled inside of him.More tricks! "Calm down! Calm the hell down!" The human yelled. "What in the Tapu''s names happened to you?" Turtonator did not hesitate, but his next attack was also easily stopped. Suchweaklings! "You look bad, my brother. I don''t want any trouble, but I think I should heal you. I''ve got these," the human said, presenting some sort of strange metallic bottle. "It''s a potion that''ll get you all healed up. My name''s Kamaile. Kamaile Nnie. I don''t want to hurt you, I''m just exploring the volcano." If Turtonator had been in any state of fight back, he would have, but he was barely conscious at this point. He had used thest ounce of energy and poured everything he had left into this attack, and he''d failed. He stumbled and nearly fell down on the ground. "Keep that shield on me, Oranguru," Kaimaile said. A cold feeling spread across Turtonator''s wounds, and the pain soon faded. It did not disappear, and his scales did not regrow, nor did his shell mend, but at least he could rest easy. He''d been in so much pain thesest few days, and now that it was gone only a sense of freedom remained. The dragon blinked a few times and fell asleep. ¡ª When Turtonator awoke, his first thought was surprise at the fact that he was still alive. Good evening, abrasive one. The fire type scrambled to his feet and saw that the human was sleeping. Kamaile, he had called himself. Oranguru stared at him with a look of amusement that annoyed him to no end. What do you want with me, coward?Turtonator snarled.I could burn you to smithereens right now. Turn you and your master,he said, spitting out thatst word.To ash. Do it then,Oranguru said, dipping his head. He waszily fanning his face and barely paid any attention to him now that he was awake.It would be all for naught, since I am capable of protecting Kamaile from all harm. A simple spell will put you to sleep. So you were the one who put me to sleep?He raged.You miserable¡ª You copsed from exhaustion. I rmend rest if you want to recover. Potions can only do so much. The fire type''s eyes settled on Kamaile''s sleeping form, and after deliberating with himself for a few seconds, he sat on the hot, rocky ground. They sat there in silence for at least thirty minutes, not trusting each other but content to live and let live. Turtonator considered leaving, but it pained him to admit that he was intrigued by this Oranguru. The human, he did not care about much. Kamaile was still asleep even after all of hismotion. The soot on his face had been washed off, but that could never be the case for long in the volcano. A fresh coat had fallen on his face and stuck to his sweat. Turtonator finally broke the silence.Why did he not wake when I yelled at you? Is there a problem with his head? He cannot sleep without my help,he exined.Why do you care, abrasive one? I do not. If that is all, then, I will take my leave. Do not cross paths with me again, or you will die by my mes. Goodbye,the psychic said with an annoying smile. Turtonator did not answer as he strode off. ¡ª Two dayster, he encountered Kamaile again, this time higher up in the mountain. He had managed to eat and his wounds no longer hurt at all, but using Shell Trap in his state would be catastrophic, so his main method of fighting was hampered and there was nothing he could do about it. As he melted off a chunk of sulfur hanging to the ceiling and opened his mouth, letting the contents drip inside, Kamaile showed himself. Oranguru could barely contain a mockingugh that he hid behind his fan. Despite being made of leaves, it didn''t even burn. "You¡­ you''re that same Turtonator!" Kamaile yelled. "I recognize your wounds! How have you been doing? Do you need more potions? I''m almost out because I healed a bunch of Pokemon on the verge of death from different fights on the way here, but I have a few left." Tell your trainer that he should not speak to me so freely,Turtonator told Oranguru. The psychic tranted and Kamaile¡­ughed. That hadn''t been what he had expected. Far from it. Turtonator attacked them before storming off further up the mountain. Anything to get away from these two annoyances. Oranguru never struck back. He onlydefended, and for some reason, that angered him all the more. ¡ª A weekter, Turtonator almost died. The Turtonator he had fought all those days ago had lost to another challenger and had traveled to the lower levels to heal his wounds. A fierce battle ensued. Now that he was injured, they were on a slightly more equal footing. His opponent''s shell had been utterly destroyed and was unusable while his entireyer of scales had just disappeared. They exchanged blows for nearly thirty minutes until Turtonatorwon. He stood over the other''s defeated corpse and roared infury. The fact that someone had defeated what was anunsurmountablebarrier for him enraged Turtonator to no end, and he wanted nothing more but the get stronger. More strength, more power,more. He would never have enough. He mmed a foot against his opponent''s destroyed shell and let loose a methrower toward the cave''s ceiling. For at the essence of a dragon was a desire to hoard power and never let it go, even if he had to fight off the entire world to do so. Even if he had to fight Pokemon he had no chance of winning against. It was trial by fire, and he had been bathed in mes many times. The battle had left him nearly dead, bleeding from every orifice and barely conscious. The site of their fight had been scorched ck and molten rock still remained, pooling in every hole and crater formed by the battle. Kamaile arrived hourster after it had all cooled off. Even this high in the volcano, Oranguru kept him shielded from the heat. Turtonator had never seen a psychic type capable of shielding someone from the elements this well. So many powerful opponents that he would never be able to beat. Perhaps dying wasn''t so bad. Kamaile said something, but his voice was far away now. Turtonator feltpeacefulas he began to let himself drift off to sleep, but the human pulled out one of those devices they called Pokeballs and tapped his forehead with it. His vision went dark for a few seconds as a feeling of free fall shook him, and he awoke in apletely new world. A mountainous field full of volcanos that seemed to stretch on and on with no end, except he was the only one there. Whatwasthis? The inside of a Pokeball? It seemed like the environment had been tailor-made for him and him alone. He was too wounded and tired to explore, but he felt at ease here¡ª more than he''d been when outside, at the very least. He drifted off the sleep right where he stood. Another falling feeling jolted him awake as he was yanked out of the safety of the Pokeball¡ªlights, humans with pink hair, Pokemon he had never seen nking them, needles, voices, screams, orders.Everything here was new, and it was confusing. Turtonator red up, but a strange Pokemon pricked him with a needle and he fell asleep again. The next time, he woke up for good. He was outside, on some sort of beach as he was released from his Pokeball. Everything had happened so fast that Turtonator had no idea how much time had passed or what was going on. His body was as good as new and even his shell was back together, although he still felt some strain when he moved. Kamaile Nnie stood in front of him, not just with Oranguru but with the rest of his Pokemon. A Drampa, a Lurantis, a Mudsdale and a Mandibuzz. He had seen them all before at different stages of his life, but it was the Drampa that caught his eye. Their species were fierce rivals with Turtonator and oftenpeted with each other when they crossed paths, even if it seldom happened unless a Turtonator was driven out or a Drampa was driven inside of a volcano. "You must be confused," Kamaile said. "I''m sorry, but I had to catch you to save your life. I was out of potions and they wouldn''t have been enough anyway. Oranguru told me that you''d get yourself killed, but I didn''t expect you to actually do that." Turtonator was dumbstruck. He''d beencaught?Him?By a mere child, at that? The rest of the Pokemon silently observed, gauging his reaction. "I can bring you back to your volcano and release you if you want," he said. "I''d have to hurry because I want to get to this trial before I swing back to my home in Pani, but I can do it right now. Just say the word, and I''ll bring you back and release you, but I have another proposition. If you want, you can stick around too." Oranguru! Tell him that he shouldn''t be so simple-minded! That''s not how you recruit a Pokemon!Lurantis yelled, rubbing her sickle-shaped petals together. It worked for Drampa,Mandibuzz cawed.Why not for him? Drampa''s a simpleton that can barely think for herself,she said. Oranguru transmitted the message, and Kamaile scratched his head. "I mean, I don''t see anything wrong in being honest. It''d be no hard feelings if you wanted to leave, but Oranguru''s taken an interest in you and Drampa has too after I told everyone about our adventure. I don''t really have a lofty goal or anything like that¡­ I want to travel the world, really. Al''s too small for my liking, so we''re leaving in a few months when the year ends. I don''t know where yet, though." Turtonator blinked, his mouth agape as he stood in the soft sands. There was only the sound of the waves and the asional flying type to keep him grounded. This was still like a dream to him. Like he was still asleep. Barely a few minutes ago¡ª he''d been inside of the volcano. His home. And now he was being asked to join a human. Barely any time had passed from his point of view. If I can grow strong enough to conquer the volcano, I will join you for a time,he finally answered. Yikes. He''s an edgelord,Mandibuzz sighed. Never mind,go back, I don''t want him. Be a little more amodating,Oranguru said before rying his message to Kamaile. "You want to conquer W?" He said, looking far off in the distance. Turtonator turned around and noticed the huge volcano. All of his life, he had lived here, but it looked so small now. "I''m not that much into fighting, but my Pokemon are pretty strong and are obsessed with battling. We can help you train up, if you want." That was certainly true if Oranguru''s skills were anything to go off of. Turtonator epted to join Kamaile''s team. It would be the most consequential decision of his life. ¡ª Weekster Turtonator heaved on the ground as Drampa stood triumphantly over him. The battle had been close. He''d dominated his fellow dragon until something inside of hersnapped and she turned the battle around. Unlike most dragons, Drampa did not have scales. They had skin¡ª tough skin, but skin nheless. It was charred and the cloud-like fur on her tail and arms was charred ck. Kamaile worriedly fumbled through his bag and started to apply Burn Heals to her skin. Why do you fight like that, Turtonator?Oranguru asked. He''d been presiding over the fight. Kamaile hadn''t lied when he said he wasn''t interested in fighting. All of his Pokemon trained on their own, which Turtonator preferred, and they were the ones that were going through the trials, nothim. Trials were¡­ confusing. They''d participated in one around a week ago and won. It had been this entire process of living in a powerful Pokemon''snd, seeking it out and convincing it to fight with a gift. These were called Totem Pokemon by the humans because they wererger than normal, but Turtonator knew there was more to them. Slowly but surely, over the years, they changed their environment to their liking. When he''d fought that Lurantis, he knew that it could have made swift work of them if it wanted to. It had just been a friendly fight to pass the time, and it was happy to cooperate with humans in exchange for them not encroaching on its territory and asional offerings, both from trainers wanting to challenge it and the locals. The thought of someone ying with them like children had enraged Turtonator, but there was nothing he could have done. Lurantis had been too strong, and Kamaile''s own Lurantis was still fawning over the damn thing like a love-struck child. What do you mean?He finally responded. I have assessed you these past few weeks and realized you are squandering your potential. You are quite possibly already the most powerful out of all of us, and yet you employ nothing but brute force. Might makes right,he said.Tricks do not matter if you can blow past them with raw power. Even. I. Have. Trick,Drampa slowly said.Safeguard. Extrasensory. Light Screen. Mist. All. Counter. You. I. Won. Bah! What truly countered me was that enraged state of yours during the second half. I had heard that Drampa were known to go insane in battles, and now I have seen it first-hand,Turtonator spat.Next time, I will win. Mandibuzznded on the beach and cooed when Kamaile petted her head. He enjoyed camping and sleeping on beaches whenever he could, and most Aln inds were small enough for the beach to be a few hours away at most if the terrain was navigable enough. He could see what Kamaile called in the distance, which was Al''srgest ind. "That was a good showing from you both. I didn''t know you''d learned to master Dragon Pulse that much, Drampa," Kamaile praised. Simple. I. Copy. Turtonator. Oranguru tranted, as he always did. "Still, that wasreallygood. The next trial will be a walk in the park if you guys are this powerful. Only three more, and we have our seven. Mandibuzz, Lurantis wants to talk to you." The dark type nodded and flew off toward the woods. It had taken a while for Turtonator to understand that Kamaile let his Pokemon be truly independent. He had expected a trainer to keep him in a Pokeball for days until he was needed for a fight. You need to battle smarter, not dumber,Oranguru said, fanning his face.You have many tools at your disposal, do you not? Why stay focused on methrower and Dragon Pulse? Because they work, that''s why,he hissed.Do not lecture me. I am a dragon, not a child. Dragon. Child. Same. You would insult your own kind? Traitor!He spat. She is saying that your mind is too simple to be that of a dragon. She is essentially trash talking you,he smirked. What would you have me do, then, oh, smart one,the fire type said with sarcasm dry enough to fit in a desert.You talk so eloquently after all. You. Slow. Predictable. Movement. Rapid Spin. What about you? You can barely walk longer than twenty minutes!He eximed. And yet she has tricks to counter that,Oranguru said.You do not. If you want to conquer that volcano, you will have to be smarter than that. Turtonator roared, spitting out a stream of mes high into the sky and demanded a rematch. Drampa agreed. He lost again. ¡ª The fifth trial was a major roadblock for all of them. They had opted to travel to Poni ind because it was the only one Kamaile had never been to. Thend was dominated by an enormous canyon nked by two mountains that had been split down the middle, and it was where they currently resided. Their camp was protected from the sun that Oranguru and Kamaileined so much about. Turtonator and the rest of the team enjoyed the heat very much, however. They had all been throwing their heads against that enormous Kommo-o. He was an exigent, unforgiving Pokemon, and if they won, they would be given one of its scales as proof, but they had lost and been chased away for thest three attempts. "I think we should keep trying," Kamaile smiled. "He''s the toughest, so if we win against him, we''ll win everything. It''s not like there''s a Conference or anything at the end of the year, so we can take our time. We won''t be missing out on anything." That boy needs more backbone,Mudsdale said.He did not even attempt to direct us during the battle. You''re being too harsh on him,Lurantis chided.His passiony in exploring. We cannot ask more of him other than letting us battle. We always knew Kommo-o would prove a tough opponent. "I appreciate that, Lurantis," he smiled, giving Oranguru a thumbs up. "Sorry, Mudsdale. I know you want more from me. In better news, look!" He pulled out a map of the world with a widening grin and pointed to a chain of ind that Turtonator recognized as Al. The isted ind chain stood in the middle of the ocean in between tworge continents. The dragon couldn''t read, and it was the first time he''d ever seen a map, but it was hard to miss the sense of wonder in Kamaile''s eyes. "I bought this in secret yesterday while you guys were training. I had Oranguru bring me all the way back to Seafolk Vige for it." So you knew? Traitor,Lurantis teased. Why spoil the surprise?Oranguru shrugged.You love those. I don''t care, just let him finish about the map!Mandibuzz screeched. "I''ll hurry it up, then. I don''t really know where to go, so I''m going to let you guys pick. Anywhere works as long as the region''s safe enough. We don''t want to go to Orre, at least not yet," he said, pointing to a patch of desert that must have been a hundred times the size of Albined. He pointed to each region and named it for them, giving them some of their characteristics, but he would let them have the final decision. Gr looks nice and t. It would be ideal for me,Mudsdale said.Goodnd to graze as well. And I''m sure their mud is exquisite. Ew,Lurantis grimaced. Shut up! t is boring!Mandibuzz squawked, pping her wings.Pick something with some mountains, at the very least. There are some good ones everywhere, but Sinnoh has the tallest ones. Sinnoh. Cold. Not. Good. Personally, I think Kanto would prove a nice challenge,Oranguru said.But I am more amenable than most. Anything goes. What about you, abrasive one? Turtonator snorted. Oranguru really liked the nickname and had never stopped using it, even now. His eyes darted throughout the map, but there was only one choice that had caught his eye. Johto. Thend looks harsh, but it will make for good training. I am sure that after going through it, I will be ready to conquer W. It was still strange, to give his home a name. All of his life, he''d referred to it asthe volcano. It took a while to get everyone on the same page, but Oranguru joined his side and quickly convinced a majority. Mandibuzz had gotten enamored with Mount Silver as quickly as she had with Mount Cor, Drampa was content to follow Oranguru''s vote and Mudsdale thought it would toughen up Kamaile. "It''s settled then. We''re going to Johto this summer!" Turtonator restrained a smile as the rest of the Pokemon cheered. This was¡­ this was nice. ¡ª In the end, they never got past Kommo-o, but the numerous battles against the enormous beast got them plenty of experience for theing trip. They would go via airne¡ª machines that Turtonator had sometimes seen fly over W when he walked the outside slopes of the volcano. Kamaile had said a prayer to each Tapu deity before leaving, and so had Oranguru. The rest silently watched as they did. Turtonator was too proud to pray to some god, even if he knew their existence to be real. He''d never seen them in person, but their interventions were a well-known fact to each Pokemon and human in the region, even if they hadn''t shown themselves in almost a decade. It was customary for humans to pray and thank a Tapu when first stepping on their respective inds, but also when they would leave and not be back for a long time. Turtonator spent alongtime inside of his Pokeball, but when he was ripped out of thefortable embrace of his digital volcanos, what first hit him was howdryanddimJohto was. There was no constant sun to warm his scales, no pleasant humidity to cling to his snout. A part of him almost thought his mes would be weaker here than in Al. The city they hadnded in was apparently called Goldenrod, thergest city in the region. Kamaile was already giddy to start exploring the wilds, especially to get away from the stares people gave them. Al was isted from the rest of the world, so Pokemon like them weren''t often seen outside of the inds. Mandibuzz was the odd one out here, but she enjoyed the attention, and so did Turtonator. In a few months, they''d take this region by storm. After all, this region had a system that the fire type had been a fan of ever since Kamaile had exined it to him. Badges that showcased your strength to the entire world. What else could he ask for? It took a few weeks for them to get settled in the region. Kamaile signed up for something they called the Gym Challenge, and they decided to fight a human female called Whitney as soon as they could. Kamaile wanted to run along and dash toward the Lake of Rage or Mount Mortar, but he knew that this was important to them. Compromise was key in their rtionship. Turtonator had been wrong when he thought that it would take a few months to take the region by storm. Theycrushedher in their battle, going 4-0. Turtonator swept through her entire team by simply making it too hot for her normal types to stand next to him and had gotten them their first badge. Needless to say, they were disappointed, but the region didn''t see it that way. They saw an Aln and his Pokemon having the potential to go the distance. "Just two more hours and we can set up camp for tonight," Kamaile said. It was just him and Turtonator tonight. Not even Oranguru, who always shadowed him, was out of his Pokeball. Thisnd was called route 36, and to Turtonator, it was a boring slope upward that was often broken up by a patch of woods. Meanwhile, Kamaile''s eyes were sparkling. He looked at everything and gasped. A Sudowoodo masking itself as a tree caused him tough, and the rock type ran away in fear. "We''reing in on six months now, you know? Six months since you joined us. What do you think about us?" You are alright,he responded.Good, even. Our goals might not be aligned, but you help me grow stronger. Kamaile blinked at the answer. "I guess it''s hard without Oranguru here," heughed. "I expected a nod or a head shake." Turtonator nodded instead. "I''ve had them for years. I had no idea that you had to be fifteen to start this challenge stuff in other regions. There are no rules like that in Al," he exined. "I hope you don''t feel left out." Feeling left out when Oranguru harassed him about technique every day, Drampa and Mandibuzz taunted him to no end, Mudsdale kept criticizing his behavior and Lurantis talked his ear off about whatever beautiful tree she saw that day? That would be impossible. Still, he only shook his head. There was no point in talking when he wouldn''t understand. "I know you think I just like to explore, but I want to do more than that. I want to see everything the world has to offer before I go," he grinned. "I''ll even go to Orre when we get strong enough. Apparently, some stretches of desert there are so uninhabitable that even Pokemon steer clear. Doesn''t that sound fascinating?" Fascinating, no, but if anything, it sounded like a nice challenge. Turtonator smiled when he imagined the battles ahead. "You''re the only one that''d look excited over that," he chuckled. "That''s a n for the future though. I''m not going anywhere near there until I''m sure we''re good enough." He paused as he crouched under a low-hanging tree branch. The route was gettingloudthe deeper they went as the cries of Wurmple filled their ears. Something glowed in the distance¡ª a group of Volbeat following a single Illumise higher into the sky. "I''m d you decided to join us. You know, I was trying to reach the top of the volcano when I found you, but I realized I would have died when I saw you standing over that other Turtonator¡­" he sighed. "We''ve got so far to go, still. Maybe I should start getting more involved in battles." Mudsdale would be over the moon if he heard something likethis. For his part, Turtonator disliked being ordered around, but he''d be willing to put up with it if it meant he''d grow quicker. If there was amand he disliked, he could always ignore it. The fire type scared off a few aggressive Dustox with his bulk, and Kamaile finally released Oranguru for protection. A single Poison Sting could be deadly to a human if it stabbed them in the right ce. They were such a fragile species that Turtonator wondered how they''dsted this long. Kamaile released the entire team once he started setting up camp, and Turtonator drifted off the sleep in a corner. He awoke to a soft tap of Oranguru''s fan. Follow me, abrasive one. Must you always bother me, Oranguru? The orangutan rolled his eyes.I''ve never seen a Pokemon aszy as you. The dragon stood up and yawned, but he followed Oranguru and exited the grove. He already knew what the psychic wanted. It was another test. Another spar, like the hundreds they had before. Only Drampa came close to the number of battles they had. Try not to burn everything. I do not want to have to extinguish all those mes,he sighed.Ready? Yes. Turtonator flexed, heat bubbled under his scales and through his shell as the grass under his feet caught fire. Oranguru simply stared and waited for him to attack, but the slight glow in his eyes meant that he had activated Future Sight. Despite hiszy behavior, Oranguru was a ruthless fighter that even Drampa couldn''t stand up to and Kamaile''s oldestpanion. Only Turtonator could hope to win against him, but he lost more often than not. Hewasimproving, though, especially since the psychic had taught him to use his head in a fight and not rely on the same old tactics. The fire type stomped a fiery foot against the ground and a rock jutted out of the ground under Oranguru''s feet. The normal type''s Future Sight faltered for a second, and he immediately spat out a methrower. Oranguru waved his fan, and an enormous wave of psychic energy disrupted the mes until they fizzled out, and another one of his tricksTurtonator to use the move again.Instruct. A very annoying move that always got the better of him. Turtonator roared, and another stream of mes flew toward Oranguru, who flipped to the side and held out a hand. The terrain grew blurry, and the psychic suddenly got behind Turtonator in a single step. The dragon red up and pped his tail, activating a Shell Trap that hade faster than Oranguru expected. The explosion bruised him and his fur caught on fire, but he pushed through and began to assault Turtonator''s mind. He snarled as his thoughts and actions grew unfocused and the temperature slowly lowered. In barely a minute, he''d been bested. Another win for me,Oranguru smiled.You did well this time, but you still do not know how to counter Trick Room. It''s difficult to counter these annoying tricks,he angrily said, his head still pounding. Why not take advantage of it?He asked.There are tales of Trick Rooms being able to only affect the user, but I am nowhere near that skilled yet. You never move during your battles. You only stand and attack. You have grown smarter, but you do not use your full potential. Hah! Don''t get a big head just because you won,Turtonator jeered.I have been winning more consistently and I am progressing quicker than you. Soon, I will surpass you. Perhaps. And yet, you still feel the need to be insecure about it,he mocked. He easily pushed Turtonator away with another wave of his fan when the dragon tried to attack him for his words.What do you think of Johto, Turtonator? I am not too impressed so far, but surely stronger opponents wille. You better be alert, abrasive one. Tough times areing ahead. Turtonator paused.You worry too much. I worry just the right amount,he said, finally drowning out the ming grass.Go back to sleep, if you wish. I will. Good night. Needless to say, sleeping with a dull headache wasn''t enjoyable at all. ¡ª I wish we could battle Morty right now,Lurantis sighed. He wants to go to the Bell Tower, so that''ll have to wait,Oranguru said. Ecruteak City was one of the oldest settlements in Johto along with ckthorn, and it showed. The city wasn''t arranged like the grids of Goldenrod, but a mishmash of different paths, alleys and twists. Buildings were built in the traditional Johto style, with low symmetrical roofs sloping gently downward. They were made of intricate, wooden frameworks that made each building different than thest. The streets were wider than they''d been in Goldenrod, and there were no cars here. People walked on foot, flew, or Teleported everywhere they needed to be. Not that Turtonator cared much. Kamaile just couldn''t stop boasting about the city, and he was getting tired of it. The Bell Tower stood tall in the background, its frame surrounded by beautiful orange trees that seemed to be stuck in perpetual autumn. Dead leaves that somehow hadn''t lost their color littered the ground, but there was a clear path that led them to the tower. There was also the Tin Tower, but that one was a burned-out husk. A shell of its former glory where ghosts lurked and struck at anyone who got near. No one but approved personnel and groundkeepers were allowed in, and Kamaile hadn''t gotten permission to go despite begging for hours. He still took a picture from afar, however. After a lengthy queue, Kamaile was allowed on the property. He sped his hands together and offered Ho-oh a prayer before entering, as did the rest of the tourists or people that wanted to enter the tower. This prayer was even more demanding than the usual one he did with the Tapus, however. He got on his knees on the outside stairway and bowed until his head nearly touched the floor. Pfft. Religion. What a waste of time,Turtonator rolled his eyes.Why worship some deity and lower yourself to such an extent? Religion. Good,Drampa said.Larger. Than. Yourself. Comfortable. The dragon returned to praying and bowed her head, as did Mudsdale and Lurantis. She says that it isfortable to believe in somethingrger than yourself,Oranguru tranted.Ho-oh is an interesting Legendary, as Gods go. It does not hesitate to show itself to humans and sometimes perches on top of the tower for a few minutes. When it does, a human in Ecruteak is said to be blessed with eternal happiness and a long life. Wouldn''t you pray for a chance at that? Meaningless stories,Turtonator shrugged.The Legends are real, but they are selfish actors. We are nothing to them, and they would not hesitate to kill us all if they could. I do not see a need to pray to that. I will seize that power for myself and get as close to them as I could. That is like a child saying it will move a mountain,Oranguru smirked. What about you, then? I do not see you praying. Oranguru closed his fan and pointed at Turtonator.Prayer is a personal thing. I do not see the need to prostrate myself. You view religion as evil, but it is not. It has been used for evil in the past, but it is just a crutch we can lean on. A promise for something more. A life after death. A life after death?Turtonator frowned. In this region and Kanto, it is said that when humans or Pokemon die, they are judged for their actions by Ho-Oh. If you were a positive in the world, you be one of its feathers and reincarnate when you are shed and fall to the ground. If you caused more evil than good, there is only oblivion that awaits you. Right. Now. You. Negative,Drampained. My apologies, Drampa. We will let you finish your prayer in peace,Oranguru said. What is oblivion?Turtonator asked after everyone''s prayers were finished.Is it a ce? What were things like before you were born?Oranguru asked with his usual smirk.To me, that is oblivion. Billions of years passed in an instant until you were born. Others think it is something else. The people of ckthorn, for example, believe in hell. A ce where you are judged for your sins for a set amount of years until you are released back into the world as a spirit. Ecruteak''s sects thought that to be too depressing, I assume. Which one do you believe in?he asked. That is private, abrasive one,he responded after a long pause. This hell business sounds bad, so I''ll take oblivion,Lurantis said, breaking the tension.Drampa, will you be able to crawl all over those stairs? Silence. You. Annoying. Oblivion was more of afort for Turtonator than reincarnation was. He wanted his life to be special. For it to havemeantsomething and for him to have achieved all of his goals in the few centuries he had. His species lived for around two to three hundred years, so there was plenty of time left. If he was reincarnated, then his life would have meant nothing. It would have just been another in a series of however many he had lived through so far. His life belonged to him and him only. He internally cursed at the Legends for ying games with things that did not belong to them. Turtonator was stunned as the entered the Bell Tower. Soft, ethereal light filtered through stained ss windows, casting vibrant hues of red, blue, and green onto the ancient stone walls. It was as if a dozen rainbows were shining through the building and were permanently etched into the structure itself. Towering statues of Ho-oh were arranged next to each wall and a giant central pir rose into the next floor. A few bald Sages dressed in blue robes walked the halls to answer any questions people had. Visitors were only allowed to be on the first floor, but there was enough here to satiate Kamaile''s hunger for exploring new ces. Despite the amount of people and Pokemon that were packed inside of the tower, there was still a quiet reverence. People knew not to disturb the peace here. "What do you think?" Kamaile asked with a whisper. Turtonator''s head swung away from the statue he''d been ring at. Oranguru waved his fan, letting him know that he was here to trante. I think it is a waste of time,he answered. Even if he didn''t respect this ce, he was not insane enough to yell here. Not when he felt pressure for simply staring at Ho-oh''s statues wrong.I could be training instead. Oranguru smiled and ryed his words. Kamaile smiled. "You might be old, but you still think like a child, Turtonator. You seepetition where these is none. You do not have to fight everything." I do not fight. I simply disapprove. The man shrugged. "I think it''s a waste. Even if you aren''t religious, so many stories and legends have been packed into this ce. We''re in a building aLegendarysometimes roosts at. Do you realize the magnitude of that?" I¡­ perhaps I was too quick to judge,he said.I envy Ho-oh''s strength, that is all. Kamaile patted him on the arm. "You dream big. Ho-oh is capable of creatinglifeitself through its sheer will. That''s just¡­ it makes me think of how small we are in the grand scheme of things. I know you hate that feeling." Exactly,he nodded.You can climb, climb, climb, but you will never reach the true top. Only something that feels like it. s, I am bound to mortal powers. "At least you''re our strongest in terms of raw power. Soon, you''ll overtake Oranguru for the number one spot," Kamaile said as his hand traced the outlines of one of the statues. He almost gasped at the touch, and a tear streamed from his face. "S¡ªsorry. I''m just¡ª just overwhelmed." Turtonator nodded as Oranguru rubbed his trainer''s back. He''d known that he had liked to explore and that he''d prayed to the Tapus, but his fascination with Legendaries went beyond that. "My true goal is to meet a Legendary," he sniffled. "That''s why I want to explore the world. I want to see one and learn what itfeelslike. I don''t care if I''m vaporized afterward. I don''t care if it''s thest thing I do." And we will grow in strength to keep you from being vaporized,Oranguru said.I do not care how unlikely that feat is. We will do it. The entire team nodded, and Kamaile wiped away his tears. For the first time, Turtonator feltpelled by somethingrger than himself. A dream that went beyond strength or power. Something thatmatteredso much to someone that it could drive them to tears. He thought it was beautiful. ¡ª Months had passed, and they''d stalled out at the seventh gym. Both ir and Patton¡ª thete Pryce''s sessor¡ª proved too much for them at this stage. Turtonatordespisedfeeling so stuck, but theycked something that would propel them to the eighth gym level, and despite racking their brains together for answers they didn''t know what it was. Kamaile seemed content with their progress, however. He kept saying that six badges was a respectable number and that they''d do better next year. Of course, they weren''t nning on staying in Johto. They had explored it all. The caves, Ilex Forest, the Whirl Inds, the Lake of Rage, the Ice Path¡­ they''d seen everything there was to see except Mount Silver, which had proved too challenging. The Pokemon there were beyond what they were capable of. It was akin to the highest levels of W, but throughout theentire mountain. Needless they say, they had escaped, and thankfully with no casualties. Oranguru had Teleported them out. Kamaile despised Teleporting, even when it''d save time. He wanted to savor every single bit of the journey, which was why they were currently backtracking to Goldenrod instead of Teleporting there. For him, being able to travel anywhere instantly killed the magic of journeying ces. Their next region had already been decided a day ago through the same system. They had voted and picked Sinnoh. Turtonator didn''t like the sound of it one bit. He foundJohtotoo cold already, and Sinnoh would be on another level. He had voted for Hoenn, given that the climate there was tropical and it had a volcano where he would have finally been able to feast on sulfur again. s, Lurantis had been charmed by Eterna Forest, Mudsdale by the marsh next to Pastoria, and Mandibuzz by Mount Cor, leaving the rest of them with split votes. They spent that summer in Goldenrod building their strength by battling trainers or each other, and they had all huddled to watch the Conference at Indigo together. Some water type specialist had won, but lost to Koga. Turtonator wished he could bring about the destruction wrought by those Pokemon, but he was still far from being able toe close to that level of power. Theynded in Jubilife the day after that battle. Even in summer, Sinnoh was cold, or at least Kamaile thought so. He wore long-sleeved shirts and anotheryer above that while the natives went around with short sleeves. When they swung by to Sandgem to visit, some people were even going to thebeach. They all took great offense at what Sinnohans called a proper beach. This dreary piece of sand and cold, dull water were a sight for sore eyes. Mudsdale, for his part, wasn''t evenonthe sand. He was too scared of getting his feet wet, which was surprising for a stoic Pokemon like him. Still, Drampa enjoyed soaking in the water. Try. Water. Cold. Feels Good,she said. "Absolutely not," Kamaile answered thanks to Oranguru. "You''re all free to do whatever, but I''ll guess no one else wants to try this beach. I''d rather die, honestly." A strange force pushed Turtonator forward, and a wave washed under his feet. He shivered at how cold the water was and turned, his eyes locking onto the culprit. "Nice one, Oranguru," Kamaile smirked. "Okay, don''t look at me like that, I''ve got nothing to do with¡ªno, don''t attack him, this is a public beach! We don''t want to hurt or disturb any locals!" The methrower died in Turtonator''s snout, and he left the water. Mandibuzznded on Drampa''s back and preened her feathers while Lurantis and Turtonator stood together. Excited for another fun year?She said, covering her mouth with a scythe.I have a good feeling about this one. I think we''ll reach the Conference. And we will win it,Turtonator nodded.Together. Look at you, getting all sentimental. How unlike you,she giggled.I like it, though. You''re better this way. Hah! If better means I have gone soft, then sure, if that is your criteria,he snorted. We all love hardened Pokemon with softer sides. Just look at Mudsdale. When he lets it slip, it''s very amusing, is it not? It''s the same for you. When you put it like that,he sighed.I see that perhaps you may be right. I''ve been talking to Oranguru about convincing Kamaile to get us a new member this year,she said.Wouldn''t a little baby be cute?!Lurantis squealed. She spun around, unable to contain her excitement.We can raise it all together. If it were up to me, we''d find it in Eterna Forest, but Drampa''s being annoying about it and wants variety. No more grass types. Drampa''s right. A water type would be good,Turtonator nodded.You saw what that human did at the Conference a few months back. Raising a child is of no interest to me. We need a powerful member from the get-go that won''t spend months ying catch up and wasting our time. Pfft. You say that, but I''m sure when you see it, you''ll bepletely enamored. In your dreams. Turtonator do not raise their children. They are thrown in danger from birth and only the strongest survive,he smiled.That is how it should be. We have all lived so far because we are strong. He looked at the entire team and a feeling of pride swelled in his chest. Weren''t you the one who almost died in W? The feeling disappeared, and Turtonator grimaced as he walked off. What? You can dish it out but you can''t take it?!Lurantis teased. The dragon grunted.I''m going to sleep. Don''t follow me or I''ll ss this entire beach. Time passed, and the Circuit began. Roark, Byron, and Gardenia quickly fell. ¡ª "Finally, we''re at the foot of the beast," Kamaile said. "The tallest mountain in the world." Mandibuzz excitedly screeched and flew in circles high overhead. This wasn''t the first outpost they had been to, but they were all excited for the challenges ahead. Eterna Forest had proved disappointing, especially with how Turtonator was kept inside of his Pokeball almost the entire time there because Kamaile had been scared that he''d burn the entire thing down if he was let out. It was true that he might have sparred with Oranguru or Drampa, but the former had gotten so good at extinguishing fires at this point that Turtonator doubted it would have been an issue. Ugh. More caves, so annoying,Lurantis sighed.Oranguru, tell Kamaile that I want to rest. The grass type soon returned to her Pokeball, leaving only Turtonator, Oranguru and Mandibuzz out. They went deeper into the outpost. They turned quite a few heads here, and many had heard rumors about them. Turtonator basked in the attention. He stood tall and made his shell gleam in the sunlight. "We''re probably going to spend a day here to resupply, rest and then go in," Kamaile exined. His eyes were still transfixed on the mountain. "Arceus, it''s like I''m looking at a living thing. We''ll stick around longer on the other side so Mandibuzz can go have fun on the cliffs for a few days." Knowing her, she''ll bring back a lover,Oranguruughed. "Those onlyst a few days too," he grinned. "Maybe one day, she''ll settle for something long-term, but that''s a long ways off. I''m gonna check in at the Center, so I''ll let you outter, Turtonator. Chill out for a while." The fire type acquiesced, and darkness imed him. ¡ª Nonsense!Turtonator screamed.Why shackle himself with two weaklings?! They''ll only slow us down, and we won''t be able to challenge ourselves if we keep to the safer parts of the cave! You know how Kamaile is,Oranguru said.He''s incapable of not helping people, and those kids will die if they go alone. That''s not our problem. They can die for all I care,he snarled.The weak die. That is thew of the world. And yet, was it not you who lived thanks to him?The psychic mused.He helped you, just like he is helping them. Mount Cor will always be there, but lives are precious. Turtonator huffed, turning away from Oranguru in an attempt to hit him with his tail. The normal type easily jumped over the appendage andughed. That haughtyugh that Turtonator still disliked after two years spent with them. It was as if he was aboveeverything. "Is your Pokemon alright, dude?" One of the humans asked. His name hadn''t even registered in Turtonator''s head. "He''s ring at me, I think." They had just entered Mount Cor, and Kamaile was about to recall Turtonator for the time being. He had justshown upwith these two at thest second and now they were going to waste an incredible opportunity for growth. The two strangers lookedgreen. Young and innocent, but mostlyterrified. They were not worth the trouble and would only hold them back. "Yeah, sorry. He''s alright," Kamaile said. "Let me speak to him for a second. Oranguru, follow me." Kamaile motioned at Turtonator and got a few dozen feet away. "Oranguru, trante," he muttered through clenched teeth. Turtonator''s eyes twitched. He''d never seen him this frustrated before. "Turtonator. I know this is tough for you, but these two¡­ they needed help. They''ll get themselves killed up here, and they were brave enough to ask for help. It takes guts to admit that you can''tdosomething. More than you would know." Turtonator knew this had been a jab at him, but he ignored it. So? Again, I fail to understand how that is our problem. We didn''t waste our time with this back in Johto. Kamaile''s shoulders sagged. "You''ve got a good heart, Turtonator. Don''t let your goal cloud your kindness. When people ask for help, Ihelp. That''s how I am, and you''ve known that. The world''s a dark ce, but good deeds can make a difference. I want to be a force for good." I disagree,the dragon said.But you are free to do what you wish. I am sincerely disappointed in your actions, Kamaile. I thought you to be able to stand on equal grounds with me, but you are not what I thought you were. The Aln clenched a fist. "You don''t mean that," he sighed. "Look, we''ll talkter and sort out our difference, I''m sure we can findmon ground. For now, we''ve got to get going." ¡ª A few days had passed, and Turtonator hade to a conclusion. Mount Cor was boring if you did not stray off the beaten path. Apart from a few challenging Rhydon and a stray Onix, there had been nothing there to pose a challenge. Lurantis made quick work of all rock types before Turtonator could even have his fill. No one dared to attack them. Pokemon could usually tell they were terribly outmatched with a single look. The cave''s ceiling stretched high enough for Mandibuzz to fry freely thanks to her eyes having adapted to living in the dark. Mudsdale and Drampa were too slow to be out while they traveled and were not well adapted to the uneven terrain. You grow restless,Oranguru noticed.Do you want a battle, abrasive one? You pose no threat to me any longer,Turtonator said with a hint of nostalgia.I have learned all your tricks. I can counter them and win with my eyes closed. The psychic type nodded.And yet, I am the only one that can still get your blood pumping. There''s no point. I will wait until we reach Fantina. Lurantis says that she is the strongest Gym Leader in this region. At least she will pose a challenge. How powerful are you now?he asked.Compared to the Pokemon that lurk at W''s summit? The dragon blinked.I do not know. I have never been that high,he said.I would say that I would make quick work of the Turtonator that beat me when you first found me. That strong, eh?You progress the fastest out of all of us. Drampa is jealous. If she wasn''t sozy, she would keep up,Turtonator snorted.W will be mine one day. When will you leave, then? When you are strong enough? Turtonator stared at Oranguru who scratched his ear with a foot. What? It is a good question to ask,he continued.Since you n to conquer the volcano, you will not be with us forever. I am nowhere near powerful enough to even think about leaving,he said.The thought hadn''t crossed my mind. Oranguru smirked.Of course, it hasn''t. Don''t be so smug, you insolent fool. I know what you are thinking. That I have grown too attached to this group to ever leave. You could not be more wrong. The psychic waved a foot.Of course, of course. You''re a big, strong, independent dragon who won''t let bonds and friendships hold you back. I will have you know that¡ª The dragon nearly bumped into Kamaile, who had stopped in his tracks. The other two humans whose names he had still not bothered to learn also stopped. Arge group of strangely dressed humans¡ª around fifteen of them were in front of them and seemed just as surprised to see them. A man with blue hair arranged like horns seemed to be their leader. "Uh, hello? Can we help you?" Kamaile asked. "Commander Saturn? I thought this was a trainer-free zone? Have we gotten lost?" One of them asked. "Silence," the Commander groaned. "We were going up¡­ the theories are true. We are being kept away from Spear Pir. Brute forcing our way through should be possible, but in a high-stakes situation where every minute counts¡­ we will need the Lake Trio to allow us to navigate Mount Cor. Anyway, grunts, kill them. Team Gctic can''t be seen here." Kamaile gasped. "Wha¡ª" Turtonator''s heart sank when dozens of Pokemon appeared all at once. He barely had time to react when the first Golbat lunged at him at speeds faster than any of the wild ones that lived in the caves, but he roared and immediately fought back, burning the bat with a methrower. Mandibuzz was engaged in fighting in the sky that Turtonator could only get a glimpse of every time an attack illuminated the cave''s ceiling. Oranguru, keep¡ª I am on it,he said, a barrier appearing around Kamaile. At the same time, he waved his fan and an Arbok and Diggersby fell to the ground. The snake writhed on the floor until it fell unconscious and the ground type clenched at his head with his huge ears and mmed itself against the ground to distract itself from the pain. "Stay back!" Kamaile told the two trainers as he released his entire team. He hadn''t even realized they had already run off. Turtonator red up in anger and the stone below his feet began to melt. These littleratshadn''t eventriedto help! He grunted in pain when something hit his shell, but activating a Shell Trap was second nature to him now. He blew up whatever it was and spat out a methrower, slowly panning toward each trainer, but they had psychic types for protection. "Mandibuzz, Oranguru, Don''t let them through!" Kamaile yelled. Turtunator roared. Even after all of this, hestillwanted to protect those worms? The flying type battled with a pair of Golbat while Oranguru supported her with beams of psychic energy that she was immune to. Once they were all dealt with, Turtonator sprung to action. Mandibuzz!He yelled.Target the psychics! On it! The flying type dove close to the ground and little shards of darkness fell onto the trainers. The Commander sighed and released an Exploud, whoyelledso loudly that Turtonator felt his entire body vibrate. The sound reverberated through the cave and dissolved the shards, but some of them bounced back toward Oranguru. Lurantis quickly jumped and shed them, apart before they could reach Kamaile''s barrier, her sickles glowing with a neon green. The Gctic grunts closest to Exploud fell to the ground with nk stares and blood seeping from their ears because of the loud screams. Mudsdale couldn''t bring out his full potential without copsing this section of the cave, but he still fought, ramming into any Pokemon that got close. He trampled over an Elektrike and crushed it until it was paste. Drampa struck from afar, but she was already in her berserk state. There were justtoo manyof them to fight. asional orders came from Kamaile, who always kept an eye out for their blind spots, but they were making a majority of the decisions. A scream from Mandibuzz snapped him out of his battle-high and made him realize how beaten up he was. Hebored for each breath, his shell was on the verge of splitting, and just standing hurt. He was growing weaker each minute, and he couldn''t help but wonder if he''d been poisoned by something. Mandibuzz fell as a group of flying types swarmed around her. Oranguru tried his best to push them away, but he was too focused on keeping Kamaile protected. Thunderbolts, methrowers, Water Pulses and more broke against his shield and each one was weakening it slowly but surely. He forwent his fan and simplypuncheda lunging Persian with a glowing fist. Mandibuzz cried out until she crashed on the ground, and Pokemon swarmed around her like famished animals. Kamaile tried to recall her, but there were too many of them blocking the Pokeball''s homing system. I''m going!Turtonator yelled. He retracted into his shell and spun forward with Rapid Spin, grunting as a dozen attacks mmed against him. He spun into the group of Pokemon, burning them in the process, but he couldn''t make the environment too hot. Not when Mandibuzz was¡ª Mandibuzz was¡ª She was dead. Her entire body a mess of broken bones, burns, missing feathers and a broken neck. Shey lifeless on the ground at Turtonator''s feet, but he did not even have time to mourn or acknowledge Kamaile''s cries. Another set attack, this time from a Toxicroak and a Grimmsnarl that hade out of Saturn''s Pokeball. The fighting type was too quick for Turtonator''s eyes to track, but he kept his distance to not get burned, opting to hit him with Mud and Sludge Bombs. Grimmsnarl was slow, but he was strong. The fairy type locked eyes with Turtonator with a sickening grin as his hands wrapped around his body anddid not burn. He squeezed and Turtonator felt agony spread through his arm as his scales were crushed under Grimmsnarl''s bulk. Another scream from Kamaile rang out. Turtonator was too terrified to turn back. Too scared to see who had fallen. Your fear is delicious,Grimmsnarl mocked. He licked his lips, revealing sharp fangs.That Drampa is dead. Oranguru is soon to follow¡ª Something in Turtonator broke. mes poured out of every crack in his scales and the ground under Grimmsnarl turned into molten rock and he sunk slightly into the magma. His feet burned as Turtonature engulfed him in white mes that illuminated the entire cave. Toxicroak blurred back and another Hyper Voice from Exploud shook him. Grimmsnarl closed his eyes and went limp, but Saturn recalled him. The dragon ran forward, determined to break against the psychic wall that kept them protected. He would burn it all. He would burn those that killed hisrades and he would make their deaths agonizing. Kamaile said something, but he did not listen. He mmed against their shields with all of his weight and he ignored the pain that prickled all over his body. mes licked the barriers, and the grunts looked at him with a feeling of pure terror as the barriers began toburn. SNAP OUT OF IT! Oranguru spoke into Turtonator''s mind and he turned back. It was just as that disgusting fairy had said. Drampa was dead, and Lurantis and Mudsdale were barely standing. The grass type had lost one of her arms and she struggled to breathe in the scorching environment he himself had created. Toxicroak and a multitude of other Pokemon had opted to focus on Kamaile and his weakened friends instead of him. They needed his help. He screamed, blowing up his shell on the grunts'' faces before he began to run back. The sheer amount of pain was like someone had peeled his entire shell off. He didn''t even want to look at what state it was in. Kamaile knows we cannot win this,Oranguru exined. His voice was clear, even through all the fighting.He wants to spare us. ce us in Pokeballs. Absolutely not,Turtonator said as he bit down on a Purugly''s neck and burned her entire head.It will be costly, but he can still be saved. He has made up his mind. Tell him to change his damn mind, then! Put him to sleep and let us finish these scum off! They might kill us anyway if we are left in our Pokeballs! I have tried. We were speaking throughout the entire battle. I can try to hypnotize him, but it will take focus. The barrier is barely holding on. It is the only choice¡ª he cried out when something cold hit him in the arm. He flexed and melted off the ice.Do it. Oranguru''s barrier went down, exposing Kamaile to the elements. His skin burned and turned red under the immense amount of heat. The psychic''s eyes turned pink as he waved his fan in front of his trainer. "Oranguru,no!" Kamaile yelled. Lurantis rushed toward him, but a beam from her Pokeball ced her to safety. He recalled Musdale next, who''d been on the verge of sinking into a mud pit and drowning because of how heavy he was. Turtonator felt like he was about to die, and just like that time in W mountain, he felt peaceful. If he gave up now, he''d no doubt drift off to sleep forever and join whatever afterlife it was that Kamaile believed in. He tore apart a ffy and burned her until she was ash, but when he turned back to Oranguru, the psychic stood over Kamaile''s corpse, his body hunched over the man as he cradled him. What had happened? He was¡ª he was gone? It was like he''d been stabbed in the back by something. Poison and blood dripped out of his wound. There had been nost words? Just¡­ nothing? He was dead. Turtonator hadn''t even seen how it happened. Still, they could not give up. The grunts were slowly retreating in batches of Teleport, and were recalling their Pokemon. The attacks would stop when they were all gone. Oranguru, snap out of it!Turtonator yelled.You¡ª I cannot live without him. I have seen him grow from a child to a man. He is my entire life. The psychic''s fan glimmered pink and his face twisted in rage. His lips and eyes twitched, he bared his teeth. For the first time since they had met, he was angry. The psychic type rushed toward Toxicroak, screaming until his voice broke and his lungs ran out of air. He waved his fan, creating a wave of psychic energy that rattled Toxicroak and lifted him into the air. I will break every single bone in your miserable little body. First was the two arms, then the legs. Turtonator tried his best to shield Oranguru from iing attacks. The psychic went slow.Too slow, but he said nothing. Toxicroak deserved his wrath, but Oranguru had known Kamaile longer than any of them had. He would choose how his murderer went. Toxicroak was recalled into his Pokeball. Oranguru''s face slowly turned toward Saturn. He had lost everything. Tears streamed from the corner of his glowing eyes and his lips quivered as he began to sob. "Kill that ape, Excadrill," Saturn raged, his face contorting. "He harmed Toxicroak." The ground under Oranguru copsed. Turtonator slipped and fell into the hole and onto Oranguru. Something that must have been Excadrill tore through them both, its metallic ws digging inside of the psychic type''s body until heypletely still. Turtonator turned upright and his eyes widened when he realized the state Oranguru was in. Minced. He''d been minced. There was nothing left. A misshapen mass of fur, flesh and entrails that made Turtonator sick to his stomach. His precious fan had been cut into a thousand pieces. When Turtonator climbed up, everyone was gone. He stared around at the destruction that had been wrought. Drampa and Mandibuzz''s corpses were still there. He hadn''t managed to save even one of them alive. They were all gone, and he was the only one alive. The only one. Why him? Why hadn''t he died? Why was he the only one that lived? One hour ago, he had everything. Now he had nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing¡­ Turtonator approached Kamaile''s body and stared. He did not cry. Heraged. His trainer and the nearby Pokemon''s corpses caught aze until they were ash. His heartbeat was like thunderps in his ears. His pain, his grief, his sadness, all melted away and were reced by anger. Each breath he took spewed mes and poison in the air. Turtonator''s hands trembled as the air around him warped from the sheer amount of heat. Each step, burning away more of the ground and his bones grinding against each other. His vision was red and blurred at the edges. In that moment, reason and logic were cast aside, reced by an unbridled fury that seemed to transcend his very essence. It was a visceral, all-consuming rage that defied words, an overwhelming force that threatened to consume andburnhim entirely. He scanned the cave for anything alive that he could burn. Who was at fault? Humans. Trainers.Team Gctic. If Kamaile hadn''t been stubborn. If he hadn''t brought these two waste of lives to follow them, then they wouldn''t have slowed them down by asking to rest so many times. They could have avoided Team Gctic entirely. Their weakness had killed him, Mandibuzz, Oranguru and Drampa.Theyhad killed them. A primal roar tore from Turtonator''s throat, a guttural expression of the sheer fury that consumed him. It was a sound of defiance, of unyielding determination to confront the source of his anger head-on. Every fiber of his being screamed for release¡ª the cathartic release of violence and retribution. ¡ª He stayed there for days, guarding the remaining Pokeballs with his life. He did not dare release hisrades, not when they were on the verge of death and their safe refuge was the only thing keeping them in stasis. He attacked anything that dared approach, human or Pokemon. Hisir had turned into a sea of ash and magma. Two dayster, Rangers came. They tried to attack him, but failed. They took the Pokeballs instead. They were all gone now. He had nothing to protect. He walked for days, each one was harder than thest. Attacks from trainers came. No. They were not true trainers. They were children that wanted to y at being trainers. They deserved nothing but wrath. He burned, but his mes did not run out. He burned, but his wrath did not subside. He burned until there was nothing left. He burned, and he would burn until something killed him and he joined hisrades in death. He did not care about afterlives or reincarnation. He was justso exhausted. He rarely slept, but when he did, it brought dreams. Dreams of his travels. Of his friends. Dreams that made him wake up with a smile, only to reignite his rage when he realized it was all fake. Suddenly, something caught Turtonator''s attention. He picked up the pace and took a deep, fiery breath. Voices,he had noticed.Steps. Multiple humans. He would kill them like he killed the others. He turned a corner and saw them. Five humans and their Pokemon. Turtonator walked across the rocky ground, each of his steps burning the floor. he turned away, pointing his shell at them, but he still kept his face angled toward them to attack. He mmed his red, jagged tail against the ground, and it bubbled, turning into molten rock. One girl stepped in front of her group. She was practically shaking in her shoes. He would make quick work of her and turn her to ash just like the others, and then he would destroy the rest of them. Psychic types and afairystepped in front of her, ready to divert his attacks no doubt. How unrefined. Howweak. He would make quick work of them. The fairy reminded him of that Grimmsnarl. They were all the same.All the same. "Frillish," She exhaled with a trembling voice.Weakness. Disgusting."Drench me."
Interlude – How He Lived II Interlude ¨C How He Lived II INTERLUDE - How He Lived II She''d caught him. Somehow, the child had convinced him and ced him in a Pokeball. Perhaps it was because he''d been on the brink of copse, because she''d actually spoken to him about his circumstances instead of attacking or running away and that she''d clearly been holding back, or abination of the two factors, but the human had captured him. She had introduced herself, but he had not registered her name. Turtonatory in the familiar environment packed to the brim with volcanos constantly spewing ash high into the sky. It was the same, yet he couldn''t help but notice the subtle differences in the environment. The particr glint of theva, or the harshness of the sun in the sky. It was the same, and yet it was not. It was not his Pokeball. There was another reason for his agreement to work with her. The child had said that she would get him out of the cave safe from any Rangers, and that presented an opportunity to find his lostrades. If Mudsdale and Lurantis had survived as he hoped, then the Rangers would still have their Pokeballs. But how could hemunicate that with this annoyingly persistent human? Oranguru could have¡ª Turtonator caught himself and choked up, but he did not cry. He would honor their sacrifices with his head held high. That is what they all deserved. Going down fighting in a glorious battle¡­ that was the dream of all dragons, and yet it felt hollow now. He had had enough of fighting. Turtonator stayed there for hours stewing in his thoughts until a force snapped him back to the outside world. The girl was here, and Turtonator admired his work. The entire left side of her body was covered in bandages, no doubt due to how badly he''d burned her. Her Pokemon all stared at him in silence, although most red. Turtonator simply stared back. The Electabuzz had a broken hand, the Tangrowth''s vines were still almost entirely burned away, but the rest of her Pokemon were unfortunately fine. A Larvitar, Frillish and Togetic¡­ what a sorry excuse for a team. He didn''t like the look on that fairy''s face. He was almost tempted to taunt her, but the annoying child spoke up. "Hey again," She said with a twinge of anxiety. "I wanted to help you with your wounds, and scan you with my Pokedex." Her words were so outrageous that he couldn''t stop himself from snorting. Did she think he''d join this ragtag group of weaklings because she''d caught him? The physical pain he felt was but a fraction, a modicum of the emotional agony he felt every single second. The human was simply a means to an end. When the time came, he would ask her to release him, or he would kill her. The dragon turned away from her team. He saw that the fairy nearly spoke up, but her trainer stopped her with a gesture. "No?" She asked. What did she think he had meant? He hated stupid people like her. Turtonator flexed, raising the temperature around himself in an effort to scare her away. Maybe he would get some good sleep and escape into his dreams. Pokemon couldn''t dream inside of Pokeballs. Surprisingly though, she still approached and sprayed his wounds with potions. Even the damn fairy used Wish, mending his broken shell somewhat. The Pokemon stared at him, expecting a thank you, but he just ignored her. "I''m going to scan you, okay?" She could do so if she wished. He was tired of her voice already. Turtonator stood in silence as the Pokedex softly spoke into the girl''s right ear. The sooner this was done, the sooner she''d recall him again and they could stop wasting time. He ignored her amazed gasp as the device listed his moves. No doubt, she thought that she could just use him in battle to further her selfish goals. "So you''re a guy. Erm, let me introduce you to the team. This over here is Princess. She was my first Pokemon¡ª" No. He would not listen to her tirade. Turtonator walked off andy down against the wall of the cave, shutting his eyes tightly. He was not here to make friends, he was here simply out of convenience. You scum, the Togetic spat. She saved you, and this is how you repay her¡ª "Princess, stop," the girl interrupted. "Are you tired? Do you want to eat? I have food if you want." Couldn''t this damned girl take a hint? Turtonator ignored her. "This is Buddy. He was my second, and he''s kind of reserved, but he always means well. Sorry if he''s ring at you so much, he''lle around," She sighed before pointing to Electabuzz with her thumb. She winced at the simple movement. "That''s Honey. He tends to be hyper, although he''s mellowed out with age. Just a bit, though. I don''t know if you enjoy battling, but if you do, Honey''s your guy¡ª" Turtonator had had enough. He red at her with all the murderous intent he could muster, and she shrunk away. Instead of angering him further, she quickly finished the introduction, finally letting him have some peace of mind. He knew he won when she recalled him again with a pained look on her face. That would teach her to try to get close with him. Still, Turtonator wished he''d been allowed to dream again. To see his friends as much as he could before the memories grew blurry. They were all fading away. ¡ª The next time he was released, he was with the Nurse Joys. He gave them no trouble at all. He knew they wanted him no harm, and he was just focused on getting out of there. The next time he saw the girl, however, was somewherepletely different. They had left the mountain and now stood at the outskirt of the route, and a city that could only be Hearthome stood in the distance. Lurantis no doubt would have loved this sight. A twinge of worry crept up when he realized he''dpletely skipped the Ranger''s outpost, but it disappeared when he realized that she could just call them at any moment. "Hi," she hesitantly said. "I kept my promise. Got you out of the cave." And now, her job was over. Turtonator took a fiery step forward with a threatening growl. He was close enough to kill her now. It would just take a little push, and she would burn to smithereens without her Pokemon being able to do anything about it. So why was she not acting scared? "It''s been a few days since you were out," she continued. "But if you show me that you aren''t dangerous to people, I''ll be able to keep you out more often. I''d like that." The dragon type didn''t stop until he was mere inches from her face. It was the first time he''d taken a good look at her. Her eyes were weary beyond her years, but she still smiled at him. Why was she treating him this way after what he''d done to her? A ruse, perhaps. Maybe she believed that he would help in her battles if she was nice for long enough. Her Pokemon tried to intervene, but once again, she stopped them and kept them silent. Was she suicidal? He could kill her right now! "What''s wrong? Not the reaction you were expecting?" She asked. "What did you think I''d do? Run away in fear? Copse and cry, maybe? Order my team to attack? Badmouth you?" Such an insolent little worm! Turtonator spat out a methrower¡ª He blinked when only a weak Smokescreen came out of his snout. No¡­ no, it would not be good to kill her. He could use her, still. His hate for trainers had almost gotten the better of him. Mudsdale and Lurantis were out there. He needed to cooperate with her, but if she refused, then he would finish her off. Only then. But he would still wait a little. It wasn''t like his pride was stopping him from asking Pokemon that despised him for help. It was something else, buried deep inside of him that he did not want to acknowledge. The Frillish whispered something under his breath and spat out a Water Pulse. The water was harmless. It barely tickled the dragon, but it snapped him out of his thoughts. This was what he''d expected. Yes. So long as they raged at him for what he''d done to their trainer, then they would never get close. Thest thing Turtonator had expected was for her to recall Frillish and apologize on his behalf. Not only that, she said that she''d forgiven him. "You''re trying to be unbearable so that I release you. You could kill me, I suppose, but you''re too honorable for that. I brought you out of the cave. I saved you. So you won''t hurt or kill me. You''ll just act like a child and hope that I grow tired of you. I will not." He''d had enough of her. She knew nothing of the pain he felt, yet she acted like she did and it angered him to no end. The fire type snarled, ignoring the truth behind her statement and he red up until she was forced to whisk him back into his Pokeball. Good. ¡ª Turtonator restrained a groan when he was released in the exact same spot. It had only been a day, and the girl was trying again. She must have had a death wish. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you''re a big, scary dragon," she mocked with her eyes closed. Turtonator''s growling stopped when he noticed that she was alone. Not even the Togetic was here, and she was the only one with psychic powers on her team. "What? Surprised my team isn''t here this time?" What the hell was she doing? He''d almost expected her to attack him again with her full team this time, and perhaps her other humanrades as well. The girl propositioned some food, and he swiped it away after threatening to kill her with a methrower for good measure. She needed to be reminded what kind of partnership this was so she didn''t get any ideas. Turtonator was famished and finished the kibble in a single second and theny down in the grass a few dozen feet away from her. She sat there, doing nothing with him. They must have stayed around for nearly an hour doing nothing, yet Turtonator found it rxing. The wind brushing up against his scales and the softness of the grass made this a good spot for napping. When he started to doze off, he spotted another human walking behind the girl. Turtonator shot up and fury bubbled in his snout in the form of a methrower that threatened to burn this entire section of the route. The human fell and scrambled backward, stammering words that didn''t make sense. Another coward, just like the ones who had abandoned Kamaile. Just like the ones who had caused his death¡ª He fell into his Pokeball before he could kill him. ¡ª Many days had passed since Turtonator had pushed Frillish toward his evolution. It had been a pitiful process, to see the water type hold himself back so much. He''d convinced him by saying that he''d never be able to protect Grace Pastel if he kept his tantrum going, a point that had been terrible for him to bring up, but necessary nheless. The process had brought them somewhat closer, which the human appreciated greatly. He did not care what she felt, but Jellicent made for a nice asional conversation. Despite Turtonator missing his pastrades so much, he could not bring himself to tell the human about them. No matter how far down within himself Turtonator dug, he could not figure out why. Time was of the essence, and he was wasting a lot of it. Who knew what the Rangers would do with them? Turtonator was not familiar with their protocol regarding deceased trainers'' Pokemon, and it would be so easy to tell the human about them. For some reason, Grace Pastel was excellent at understanding her Pokemon, even without a psychic type. And yes, he had begrudgingly memorized her damned name, although the other humans that orbited around her mattered to him less than the dirt under his stomach. Turtonator shifted in the grass, adjusting his posture as he sat. He had considered keeping up with his training, but all of his motivation was gone. There was no point in growing stronger when they weren''t here with him. It waste at night, and her Pokemon were doing anything they could to avoid him after she''d asked him for his diet. Jellicent floated high up in the sky, observing Hearthome while that horrible fairy had finally fallen asleep on Tangrowth''s head with Grace Pastel sticking close by. Despite Togetic despising his guts and him disliking her, they hadn''t even spoken a word. Turtonator was aware of the threats she kept making behind his back to the others, which further soured him on her. Only a coward would be too scared to tell it to his face. Hezily opened one eye when he heard Larvitar stride up to him. Electabuzz followed closely behind, not willing to let to rock type be near him alone. You''re strong. How can I be big and strong like you? Larvitar asked. Turtonator prepared some witty retort, but he couldn''t bring himself to chide her. She was just a baby, after all. He hadn''t missed her awed stares every time Turtonator was out of his Pokeball. Lurantis would have enjoyed herpany, but Turtonator thought that just tolerating her was enough. You train. You push yourself forward and you never give, because if you do, it will be the end of you, he said. The rock type stared at him like she''d been starstruck. That''s so cool! I want to be like you one day! Can I touch your scales? No¡ª Larvitar ced a hand on Turtonator''s leg, and the fire type flinched at the contact. No one had touched him in weeks. What was this reckless child doing¡­ wait, she was¡­ she looked quite nice while doing this. Lurantis would have called her cute. Woah! What in the world? I''ve never seen you like this! Electabuzz yelled. Was that a genuine smile just now? Silence, Turtonator grunted. I was simply stretching the muscles on my face. The electric typeughed, pping his stomach. That''s probably the best excuse I''ve ever heard! I guess Sweetie''s your weakness, then. Mom''s gonna pick up on that really quickly. Turtonator turned toward Grace Pastel and winced when he saw her smiling directly at him. For some reason, she fashioned herself everyone''s mother. Even Jellicent''s, even if the ghost was reluctant to acknowledge it due to his age. This waspletely alien to Turtonator. With Kamaile¡­ well, they had beenrades whom he loved dearly, but he hadn''t put himself in a familial position. These nicknames were unfamiliar as well. Honhon, you''re annoying him, Larvitar hissed. Go be annoying somewhere else. Hey! Put some respect on your elders, youngdy! The electric type said. Next time youe begging to y, I won''t be the one helping out! Whatever, she said, still patting the scales. Angel will rece you. I don''t need you anymore, Honhon. Soon I''ll grow strong with Mister Turtonator''s help and have my payback for every time you pranked me. Those were because I love you, he said with a sheepish smile. Mister Turtonator! Who''s in the right? Me or Honhon? The dragon stammered. I¡­ He said I was in the right! Go away! You smell bad! Electabuzz sighed and ran off, much to Larvitar''s pleasure. This dynamic was strange, to say the least, but they were all slowly growing nicer to him and talking to him at times. Even that strange Tangrowth had tried. Not that Turtonator cared. Togetic, however? She could not tolerate him, not after what he''d done to Grace Pastel. The scars would apparently be there forever, marring the left side of her body from her face to her leg. Say, Mister Turtonator! Tell me a story about how you got so strong! The fire type blinked, but d¡ª reluctantly epted. He decided to tell her about his time at W instead of what came after, because talking about it would be far too painful an experience. Right now, he could only get by by ignoring his pain and hoping it would go away. The hole in his heart could not be filled by any new team. These people were temporary. He would not let himself grow close to anyone else ever again. Larvitar sported a huge grin throughout the entire story, and she was a lot more invested than he was. She shared his pain when he told her about times he had almost died to predators in his young age and shared his excitement when he took down a powerful enemy. You were right, Lurantis, Turtonator thought to himself. You knew me better than even I. Wait, wait, and you killed another Turtonator? You filled his insides with Dragon Pulse until he blew up?! That''s so cool! Tell me more! Later that night, Grace Pastel took over and began to tell him about her travels. He did not ignore her, even if he acted like it. ¡ª Grace Pastel had won her fourth gym badge against Fantina recently and had taken them all to that park north of Hearthome she liked so much to celebrate. Turtonator didn''t see the appeal. It had none of Al''s vibrant colors and he thought it was a waste of time, but they all seemed happy to be here. Electabuzz seemed rattled by something and had already been out when she had released them. She began a speech as Turtonator closed his eyes, lying down in the grass. "I came to this realization when we were back at Savika''s cabin, but Sinnoh''s just the start! I''m going to be the best trainer in the world, and to do that, I''ll need to travel to different regions after I mop up Sinnoh. I''ll have to figure out how to get enough free time to do it while being the Champion, but you catch my drift." The dragon''s eyes bulged at her words, and heughed at the sheer audacity of that deration. Despite her having said it when she''d caught him, he hadn''t expected it to be serious. It had been a vow fit for a dragon, and just as foolish. He had seen her train, and she was weak, as were her Pokemon. Inefficient, slow, barely starting to actually innovate and create something that was hers and not just rehashed from something she''d seen somewhere else. The only thing that she had going for her was her wits, but those were not enough to stand at the top. Oranguru easily outssed her in that department and they had stalled out at the seventh gym in Johto. He ignored Togetic''s re and continued mocking her. The goal of traveling everywhere was¡­ admirable, and actually achievable. "You think I can''t do it, huh? Well, just you watch, because you''ve got front-row seats!" She boasted. "Anyway, it''s nice out today, and we''re already here, so I figured, why not stick around a lil''? Angel, feel free to take Sweetheart to theke if you want. Princess, do you want to go too?" I must keep watch, she simply answered. They all ended up sticking around. Grace Pastel sat as she leaned on Jellicent''s body and stroked the fairy''s head as she recounted her travels. Turtonator did not care much, but it was something to pass the time and Larvitar seemed to enjoy it very much. She spoke of Floaroma, which was a nice little town that he''d already been to. Lurantis and Drampa had loved the flowers. "Then I¡­ I got kidnapped," she said, her fingers trembling. "I got taken to the Power nt by Team Gctic¡ª" Turtonator''s eyes snapped open and he felt a barely-closed wound in his chest reopen and bleed. Each subsequent breath grew quicker and rage-filled every fibre of his being, but a scream from Larvitar snapped him out of it. Ten spikes had been in the air, spinning as Togetic''s eyes shone, and Tangrowth''s vines had been erratically shaking. You would have needed far more than that to harm me, girl, Turtonator spat. I can always aim for the eyes, Togetic said, tilting her head. Or your snout, or that hole in your chest. "Stop threatening him," Grace hissed. "Turtonator, are you okay?" He appeared to be suffering from a panic attack, Jellicent said with a slight nod. "A panic attack? Do you need anything? Water? I don''t really know the protocol for this¡­" Electabuzz scratched his head. Oh, crap¡­ thank Arceus Sweetie was here to snap him out of it. At your service, Honhon! The rock type yelled, puffing out her chest. I''m the best, especiallypared to you! You''re an annoying brat, that''s what you are. Turtonator''s heartbeat slowed down to its natural rate, and he realized how weak he''d been. A panic attack, from the mere mention of Team Gctic? Lurantis and Mudsdale would be ashamed to see him now. I am fine, he said. Jellicent, trante for me. "You''re okay, I can understand you," Grace dismissed. "It''s a little patchy, but I''ve figured some of it out. The more we practice, the better I''ll get at it." What in the world¡­? "Freaky, right? I think it''s cool, though." My mo¡ª Grace is the coolest! Larvitar said. You should be friends with her and stop fighting with Princess. I am not fighting, baby sister. These are simply precautionary measures should the wyrm go rogue. Arceus, Turtonator was getting a headache. Let''s talk privately, he told Grace. Tell me about this Team Gctic attack in more detail. What followed had been difficult for her to recount, but it hadpletely reframed Turtonator''s frame of mind. He had thought of her as an annoying child with a few positive points, but now, he felt an instinctual need to protect. He did not consider her his trainer, but he did not want the girl who had been only helpful until now to be killed by Team Gctic. Not again. One of their Commanders, Mars, was after her. He didn''t follow up with his entire story, skirting on most details like what his friends had been like, but he gave her enough context for her to know what had gone on. As the memories resurfaced, he couldn''t help but rage against the trainers that had run away. These worms are the lowest of the low. No honor, no backbone! Just rats wanting to get off a sinking ship instead of trying to plug the holes, he roared. He''d been so loud that Grace''s hair had flown back. She hadn''t even blinked. "I''m sorry. I didn''t know he''d died, but I thought¡­ I''m sorry," she sighed, her eyes downcast. "I understand why you almost killed that trainer now¡ª" A call from one of her nameless orbiters interrupted them, and her face fell. "I''ve got to go, we''ll talkter." He was ced back into his Pokeball before he could protest. ¡ª "Morning, Sunshine," Grace said with a tired smile. Turtonator''s gut reaction had been tosh out and burn the grass where he stood. He would not be called by another name. He was Turtonator, and he would always be. Tangrowth, who was the only Pokemon here, pulled her a few feet away, but she justughed at his outburst and leaned to see the extent of the damage he had caused. She was treating him like the rest of her Pokemon¡ª like a damn child. "Sorry, I just wanted to try it out. Damn, you did a number on the floor. People work to keep it t and the grass mowed, you know." He grunted in dismissal andy down on the burned grass patch. "Let''s talk." What followed was an extremely irrelevant rant about what had happened to some child named Cecilia. She had to remind him of who she was, but then they finally got to the part that Turtonator actually cared about. What did their shared experiences with Team Gctic mean for their rtionship? "I''m not asking to use you in battle. I''m asking you what your goal is. Surely you won''t be content with just sticking around doing nothing for the rest of your life. That wouldn''t fit your profile. Personally, I wouldn''t mind. Sweetheart''s taken a liking to you, and she''d hate to see you leave. The others are warming up to you¡ª well, except Princess. And I''d like to get to know you too. You won''t have to fight," she shrugged. "But your behavior''s clearly changed since I told you everything. You''re nicer now, but it''s not out of pity. You want something." Something? For her quick wits, she was either deliberately obtuse or just stupid. He decided to stay silent to see which one it was. He wanted revenge. He wanted to tear Team Gctic apart, but more than that, he wanted to burn Saturn, and he wanted to do it slowly. To turn him to ash over the course of hours, savoring each minute where the man squirmed in ce, unable to escape his wrath. He wanted to kill all of his Pokemon as well. They clearly reveled in his sick, evil ways. "I don''t really know what you want," she exhaled. "I''m good, but I''m not psychic. I haven''t¡­ known you long enough to read you like that." Turtonator couldn''t hide the disappointment from his face, and he decided toy there, deciding to make her stew in the silence. Tangrowth motioned with his vines, but the fire type had no Arceus damn idea of what he was saying. He''d never seen a Pokemon incapable of speaking before. Different forms of speech like Drampa, yes, but to be utterly silent? The grass type was an enigma that he couldn''t be bothered to solve. I want revenge, but I will not make you seek it out, he finally exined. But when the dayes and Marses for you again, Saturn will follow. When he does, I ask you to get out of the way and let me burn. If the opportunity falls upon yourp that lets you find Team Gctic, you will not run. You will fight. That is what I want from you. If you ept, then I may be willing to be more¡­ cooperative in the subject of battles. Of course, I will not let youmand me. The practice of trainers ordering him around was stillpletely alien to Turtonator, after all. Kamaile almost always stood there, letting them make their own decisions. It had taken a bit of back and forth to get her to understand fully, but she picked it up really quickly. She refused his offer. Disappointing, he simply said. She was the prey instead of the hunter. She was not ready to stand as his equal. Weakness. ¡ª They''d left Hearthome now. Turtonator took his usual sleeping position as Grace''s team trained around him. His motivation was still gone. There was no drive, no passion to get stronger even for his quest for revenge. He just couldn''t bring himself to train. All Turtonator wanted to do was sleep and observe Larvitar grow stronger. Did you see that, Mister Turtonator?! She screamed, waving her arms excitedly. Wasn''t that Sandstorm awesome?! It had been ridiculously weak and unrefined. You''re doing great, he smiled. You will fly past me in no time, little one. Tangrowth petted her on the head and she nuzzled against his vine. The grass type blinked at him and waved. Turtonator nodded in return. They seemed to sharemon ground in the fact that they wanted to care for this little child. The grass type attempted to pet him on the head as well, but he swatted his vine away, causing all of them to droop as he waddled away. You made Angel sad, she said. He''s just trying to make friends with you. I do not care for friends, Larvitar. I am just here to pass the time until Team Gctic strikes. I think you should be nicer. Mom tells me that good girls are the strongest Pokemon in the entire world! Larvitar eximed. I think that applies to good boys too, even though she never calls Honhon a good boy. Maybe it''s because he sucks. She''d started calling Grace Pastel Mom recently, and Turtonator didn''t know what to make of it. He didn''t mind¡ª not when all of them except the mute and the ghost did, but he found it to be an odd rtionship. Hell, maybe Tangrowth used the term, but he just didn''t know it. She''s just trying to make you behave, he exined. You should be unruly. Dragon children fight each other all the time. What are you telling her? Jellicent said, swooping in from the sky. Do not feed her lies. Budbud! she greeted him, wriggling her arms. I do not lie, ghost. I was telling her about how proper children should behave. You were being a bad influence on her, he said. Go off to your mother now, Larvitar. I must speak to Turtonator in private. The dragon sighed as the rock type waddled away. You have grown more attached to her than I thought, he noticed. How amusing. So what? Did you think someone like me couldn''t have a softer side? He asked, turning away. I have been embracing it moretely, that is all. I am sure Grace will be ecstatic, he cheekily said. I have a question regarding your old life, Turtonator. I am not interested¡ª Your old teammates, to be exact. I do not know their exact fate, but you have not even tried to see how they were. Turtonator paused as he grimaced. In the distance, Grace was working with Electabuzz on some sort of fighting move for a tournament he didn''t care about. The electric type beamed at the praise, and Larvitar demanded to be praised too. Needless to say, this is between us, he added. I will not tell anyone else. There is nothing to say. You are holding it in, Jellicent said. Turtonator red as the temperature rose a few degrees. What? You pressed my buttons to get me to evolve, I am only returning the favor. Turtonator do not evolve. It was a manner of speaking, and you knew it, the ghost sighed. Why do you not ask Grace to see what happened to them? She wouldply right away. For all Turtonator didn''t feel like a part of this group, he couldn''t deny that Jellicent was the only one he could have a proper conversation with and rte to. He had lost someone just like Turtonator had, and he was a proper adult. The rest of them were all children, and even though he had his doubt about that Tangrowth, he behaved like a child anyway. I am scared, ghost! he spat. Are you happy now? Scared of? This separation. It feels final. I cannot just waltz in and reconnect with them, not after I failed to protect Kamaile and Oranguru. This is my penance. This is what I deserve. Jellicent''s head swelled. What a horribly self-centered way of viewing the world. Do you not think they are worried sick about you? I do not deserve their worry or their love. They are better off without me. You are a fool, Turtonator, but I know that changing a dragon''s mind is a tall order. Just know that you are stupid and that they will hold you ountable. Bah! You know nothing, he said. He waved an arm. Let me sleep. I grow tired of you. Jellicent returned to his training, but in truth, Turtonator enjoyed having someone to talk to. If only it hadn''t been about something that still hurt. ¡ª Wyrm. Turtonator opened an eye and groaned. It looked like Togetic had finally decided to annoy him. Of course, she''d shot him hundreds of murderous res in Sceon alone, but at least she''d never spoken to him. They''d reached the town a few days ago, and Grace Pastel was fighting in numerous battles while running her team to the bone. Turtonator knew they were weak, but he couldn''t help but notice their efforts. He stayed silent, not bothering to answer her. She would just hone in on something he''d said wrong and bother him, and he couldn''t shoot her out of the sky like he''d wanted to so many times. Wyrm. Wyrm. Wyrm. Wyrm. Wyyyyyyyyrm¡ª What do you want? He groaned. Mother has told me that I should make efforts to learn to tolerate you, she exined. I am making them now so that she and my siblings are happy. You don''t have to pretend to like me, he said. We can just ignore each other. Now go and let me sleep. I was having a great dream. I have to begrudgingly admit, you do not want to cause Mother any harm, she continued, ignoring him. I apologize for the way I have treated you. You want to destroy Team Gctic, and that is also a goal I share. That said! You are still nothing to me, and I will not hesitate to strike you down should you get out of line. Whatever you say. Take me seriously, you miserable wyrm! You may be able to ignore me right now, but one day I will evolve and be just as strong as you! Turtonator yawned. Sure thing. Curse you! I''ll tell Mother you were being mean to me! Turtonator blinked. Had those wordse out of the same mouth? When he turned, he realized the fairy was teary-eyed. Right, she was also still a child. A fairy, but a child nheless. She flew off toward her mother andined to her, but Grace Pastel only kissed her forehead and caressed her head. In truth, he''d detested her when they''d first met, but right now what he felt for her was mostly apathy. The hate had been one-sided for a long while, and she was turning a new leaf. Our Princess giving you trouble? Electabuzz panted. He''d overexerted himself due to training. What is it with you lot anding out of nowhere to talk to me? Turtonatorined. Kamaile''s team had been slower-paced than this, but they''d also been older. Children tended to be hyperactive and want to get involved in anything interesting, much to his annoyance. He missed the days when he''d be able to sleep for hours at a time without interruption. I wanna know you better, he smiled. Is there anything wrong with that? There''s a time and ce for everything. Right now, it is time to sleep. You sleep like fifteen hours per day. Anyway, sorry about Togetic. She''s been wanting to apologize to you for a while now, but it''s been awkward for her¡ª The electric type ducked, dodging a small pebble. He pointed at Togetic, who was now free from Grace''s arms. Hey! Don''t try to hit me! Silence, big brother! You''re talking behind my back. Such treachery! I won''t forgive you for this! Sweetie, help me out! Electabuzz screamed as he jumped left. You''re on your own, Honhon. I''m too busy being awesome, sorry, she said. She was making a crown of rocks for Tangrowth to ce on her head. What do you think about this rock? Tangrowth waved a mass of vines and blinked slowly. Not sharp enough? True. I want to look threatening enough to make everyone freeze in fear. I can''t do that with dull rocks. The grass type bobbed up and down in agreement. "Alright, alright, break it up," Grace pped her hands with a smile. "You guys, this is supposed to be training." Why am I being scolded here? Electabuzz cried out. I''m innocent! "You''ve got a point there," she snapped her fingers. "Princess, apologize." I''m sorry, she grumbled. But he was speaking behind my back too! I was trying to help you! The electric type yelled. Help me in a more obvious way! This is your fault! Only your fault! I finished my crown! Budbud, Mom, look! Larvitar yelled. Tangrowth had ced it on her head for her. Grace gasped. "You look so pretty! You''re shining!" That''s a beautiful crown, Larvitar. Do you want to carry it back to the Center? Jellicent asked. Yeah! Turtonator tried not to slip into despair. This team was pure unmitigated chaos, and Grace Pastel thrived in it. Larvitar pressed on her crown too hard and crushed it on the way back. She cried for an hour straight. ¡ª "I''m going to ask you a favor. We can trade," Grace Pastel exhaled. "If things go south and our lives are in danger because they realize we''re snooping around, I need you to help me. I also want to keep you as a backup for my battle against Harry. I''ll try to beat him without you, but you''ll be my fourth." Turtonator let out an amused snort. He would not be held on a leash just because they''d grown slightly closer. He did enjoy her gusto, however. She never relented, even when he''d tried to terrify her. It is what came after that caught his attention. A chance to take down Team Gctic if the opportunity ever presented himself. He knew from the way she was staring at him that she was forcing herself to say this, but he did not care. I will dly ept, he said, touching her shoulder. She was owed at least this amount of respect. The girl jumped at the contact, but he ignored her. Revenge was his purpose. He would kill Saturn, and he would make it slow, but first he would kill his Pokemon in front of his eyes. He hadn''t missed how they were the only thing the Commander cared for, having grimaced at Toxicroak''s broken bones while ignoring the coteral damage he''d caused to his grunts. Satisfied, he sprawled across the grass with a grunt. The rest of her Pokemon were training, as always. He would be lying if he said he was not interested in their progress. They had already grown leaps and bounds from the time they had fought him in Mount Cor. "Can I add one thing to the deal? Let me call you Sunshine." If you must, he muttered. "Hell yes!" She celebrated, pumping a fist. "I knew it''d grow on you!" Turtonator rolled his eyes. Children, he sighed. They grow so happy at the smallest of things. "Can you me me? I''ve been wanting to call you that for weeks," she said, sitting down to lean against him. The feeling was new¡ª unnatural. Kamaile had never been as physical as she was. "Sorry if I was too forward." It is true that I am not used to a human such as yourself, he said. Grace chuckled and leaned further back. She asionally gave her Pokemon words of encouragement as they trained, but she was less involved than usual today, which Turtonator found strange. She usually made rounds, spoke with the others or gave them directions when they were struggling. You are nervous, he realized. Scared. "This conspiracy stuff''s got me nervous, yeah, but I have to keep going. I know you hate it when I''m scared," she smiled. "When I look weak." I do not hate it, he said after a long pause. You do not let it get a hold of you and control your actions. I could not ask for more. She would not run away when the time came. That, Turtonator was sure of. "I think I love you now," she dered. "I think you''re family." The dragon snorted. I have only known you for a few months. "I know. I''m not saying you view me as family, even though I hope we get there one day. I''m saying that I do." Despite me almost killing you? "You were hurt. It wasn''t your fault. Even now, you''re still hurting." Nonsense, he shook his head. He felt hollow, but the pain was gone unless he recalled old times. He was still grieving, but it was easier now. All he could do was take it a day at a time. "I hope you trust me enough to tell me about your past one day," she said. "I really hope so¡­" The dragony utterly still. She''d fallen asleep while speaking, which meant that she was horribly sleep deprived. He feltpelled to let her rest. ¡ª Darkness had overtaken the world, but they were not enough to subsume his wrath. The unending rage he felt for Harry Rodriguez and his Pokemon was on full disy as his mes illuminated the dim world of Shiftry''s domain. Torterra, Luxray and Crawdaunt had fallen. He felt the hot blood pump in his veins as the rush of fighting overtook him. His movements felt slow and sluggish. His muscle memory was all gone. He had foregone a small piece of his revenge to save Grace Pastel and her Pokemon and was locked inbat with a Weavile. She easily dodged all of his attacks no matter what he threw at her. The ice type bypassed him and ran toward Grace Pastel and her Pokemon, who already had been wounded, and a feeling of dread overtook him as Weavile tore Larvitar apart with Night sh. Her young scales, peeling away and Weavile destroying the soft flesh below with her sharpened ws. Her screams of pain and her terrified eyes. Not again. Something clicked in Turtonator''s brain, and he realized he had grown attached even after trying to push them away. He was terrified of loss. Of that sinking feeling that had taken a few seconds to register when he''d lost everything. He had thought that they would just be a vehicle for his revenge, and that thought had been enough to satiate a fraction of the rage he felt toward Saturn. But he''d been wrong. He didn''t want to lose them. Not again! Turtonator roared and ran at Weavile faster than he had ever gone before. ¡ª He''d started training again. Grace was alone now, which he preferred. Turtonator thought Grace''s friends were only holding her back. Kamaile had been content to be alone with his team, so why could she not be the same? The sun was setting and her and Electabuzz were currently cooking some horrible dish while Togetic was working on her sculptures and making him ugly as sin. Pupitar was learning to crawl on the floor and cursing at it for slowing her down so much while Jellicent soothed her. Tangrowth waddled toward him and rubbed his arm with a vine. What do you want, Tangrowth? He huffed, clearing his snout with hot smoke. Something¡­ about doing something together? Turtonator always felt frustrated when attempting tomunicate with the grass type alone. I''m going to need someone to trante, he said. Stupid wyrm, Togetic mocked from afar. Look into Angel''s heart, and you will find your answer. Maybe you should stop speaking so vaguely and actually help, Togetic, he spat. He calmed down when he realized that a child was getting a rise out of him. You''re hurting my baby brother, she said, petting Angel on the head. The grass type hugged her with a dozen vines. What if I tell Sweetheart? She won''t forgive you that easily. So you''re resorting to ckmail now? He asked. Damned fairies. She knew exactly what he cared about the most. What do you want? Despite his annoyance for Togetic, he couldn''t deny that she had saved him from getting hit many times during their battles in Shiftry''s domain. Turtonator knew that she cared for him somewhat, despite not being able to admit it. He couldn''t say the feeling was mutual. You are sad, she said. Mncholic for something. And by the Legendaries, she took after her mother. Or did Grace take after her? Perhaps it was both. It is buried deep inside of you. You mourn your old family despite acting like you do not. A shame, really. I am sure Mother would be willing to hear you out. Venting is good for the heart. She''s already asked me once, and I said no, he answered. Feel free to tell Pupitar about what I''ve done. Call her Sweetheart or Sweetie already. What? No. A nickname is below her status. It will make her soft¡ª She told me she wanted you to call her by her given name, Togetic said, her wings fluttering. The others will not care, but she does. She immediately started calling you Sunsun, did she not? And she is under a lot of emotional distress over her new form. Not being able to move freely is difficult for her. Turtonator frustratingly waved an arm. Bah! Fine, if it is what she wants. I will never call you Princess, however. It is a name unbefitting of your murderous tendencies. Excuse me? Tangrowth''s vines writhed as he anxiously grabbed Togetic and cradled her. She did not even blink as she stared at Turtonator. He let out a satisfied huff when he felt the bloodlust emanating from here. Next, she would threaten to kill him and¡ª I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! She sobbed. Mommyyyy! Or¡­ that. She was angry at him for five days after that. ¡ª The spars with Nightstalker reminded him of his old fights against Oranguru back in Al. Turtonator flexed as he lit up the entire sealed-off area with mes, but Decidueye somehow spun around the mes as he rushed toward him, his enormous wingspan extended to its fullest extent. The fire type mmed a foot against the floor and a pir of burning sand jumped at Nightstalker, clinging to his wings like a living thing. Turtonator grinned, feeling closer than he ever had to victory. Four arrows coated in ghostly energy emerged from the burning sand. Two of them buried themselves against his shadow while the other two prated his leg. The pain caused apse in his concentration, allowing Decidueye to slip away from the Scorching Sands. When he emerged, the blue mes of Brave Bird surrounded him. The grass type mmed against Turtonator''s chest with so much force that it knocked all the air out of his lungs. mes still clung to his plumage, but it was enough to finish him off. Even without Phantom Force, I win easily, Nightstalker said. Good effort. Spare me your pity, Turtonator spat. He was familiar with this feeling. Lacking. Weakness. First, he''d seen Cynthia''s Lucario and now this? There was a long way to go before he was strong enough for his revenge. Once he regained his former strength, he would be powerful enough to stand up to one of Saturn''s Pokemon, but two would be pushing it. As it turned out, so much of his skill had been born through constant repetition, and training with Grace''s Pokemon was not enough. Nightstalker offered exactly what he needed. I hate it when people pity me. It only serves to anger me. I meant what I said, the bird shrugged. Betrix, you can pull down the barrier. We''re done for the day. Another match, he asked. Grace has potions, I can still keep going¡ª Rest up. We will go at it again tomorrow, Decidueye said. Turtunator grunted as he stood up. It was difficult to counter Spirit Shackle when he was sorge and slow, but he knew it was possible. If he''d been more reactive, he could have moved his body to take the arrows. It would have hurt, but he wouldn''t have been pinned and unable to respond to Brave Bird. A pitiful showing, Hatterene said. The more you battle, the harder it is to look at you. Togetic sniggered behind her teacher and stuck out her tongue at him. I do not care about what you have to say, he responded, raising the temperature slightly. His rtionship with Hatterene straddled the line between dislike and hatred. Powerful fairies like her reminded him of Grimmsnarl. Even after all these months, he hadn''t forgotten that sickening look of pleasure on his face as Turtonator lost everything he held dear. Dragons could enjoy violence, but fairies enjoyed suffering, at least against foes that they believed deserved it. It was a disgusting way of thinking that he would never get used to. It costs nothing to not be rude, Jellicent told Hatterene. Your prejudice gets the better of you. I did notice that wyrms are not as bad as I believed, she acknowledged. Very well, then. I apologize. Turtonator grunted and walked off, but Jellicent followed. He settled on a nice spot under a tree that looked mightyfortable. Will you not get your legs healed? The water type asked. No. Stop bugging me and let me rest. Something bothers you. You were the same when we spoke of Al yesterday night. Togetic and Pupitar tell me they worry for you. Hah! That fairy? Worry for me? What a joke, he snorted. She was mocking me just a few minutes ago. It is a game for her, he said. She does not mean any harm by it. Like Electabuzz''s pranks or Tangrowth''s grabby ways. Whatever you say, ghost. Fine then. If you do not wish to talk, tell me more about Johto, he asked. First Al, now Johto? Do you wish to travel? Not particrly, although I think it would be enjoyable. Alone, it would be dull. With my family, it would be a wonderful experience, he said with a soft click. What I am interested in is how different regions'' cultures differ to Sinnoh''s. The water type paused. I wish we could return to what I felt before Sceon. What? He asked. Innocence, he said after a pause. I know that things will only get worse from here on out. It makes my skin boil, but s. All I can do is protect them with every tool I have at my disposal. I respect that vow, Turtonator smiled. You wish to know about Johto, then? Shall I tell you about religion? You do not pray, and you do not strike me as a religious individual. I thought you would be one to scream at the Gods in anger due to the disparity in power. Once upon a time, maybe, Turtonator said, his mind drifting to the Bell Tower. And religion is a personal thing. I do not pray, but I believe. I want to believe. To believe that his fallenrades were in a better ce, and in the process of starting new lives. He began speaking about Johto''s customs, and somewhere along the way, Tangrowth joined them as well. The two Pokemon were fascinated by the topic. The rituals, the ceremonies, the legends¡­ it was the first time Turtonator had seen them so interested in one of his tales. Tangrowth raised an interesting question that Jellicent tranted for him, however. When ghosts died, they went somece that one of them had called the Dusk for a set period of time. Would that qualify as an afterlife? Was the ghost that came back their true self, or a copy with all of their memories while the original Pokemon had truly died? It was an interesting ethical dilemma if anything. "Am I interrupting?" Grace leaned against a tree and smiled at the three of them. We were just finishing up, Jellicent clicked. Is Hatterene finished speaking with you? "She wasn''t, I just told her off," she said. "Sunshine, Princess let it slip that she was rude to you. Are you okay?" You told her off because of that? Why would words from that old bat bother me? Turtonator grunted. Knowing her, she''ll dy your lessons by hours until she''s cooled off. "Oh, she was angry alright," the girlughed. "Not as much as I expected though. I just want to make sure you feel at home here. You''re family, and it''s no fun if you''re being excluded when everyone else is having a good time. I''m sorry, we''ve spent a lot more time on the route than originally nned, and I know you don''t like being here." Turtonator blinked. Feeling at home? Did he... did he deserve to feel at home? Enjoying the food that Electabuzz cooked because he''d made it with all his heart, and his happy-go-lucky attitude or long conversations with Jellicent. Pupitar looking at him starry-eyed with every story or tale he recounted. Tangrowth being so kind-hearted, despite Turtonator''s difficultiesprehending the grass type and them bonding over Pupitar as he slowly learned to understand him. Teasing that damned fairy child and her fighting back until he couldn''t help but smile and she ran off flying to her mother. Grace''s kindness. Her warmth that he could somehow feel through the me in his heart. All the little joys of the world. They added up slowly over time and made him happy. Did he deserve to smile and be happy when everyone else was gone? I¡­ I don''t... "Sunshine?" She stood on her tiptoes, cing a hand on his cheek as she wiped away a tear. He had only spent a few months with these people, and he was not as close to them as he was with his oldpanions. They had not reced them, nor did he immediately love them. They did not fill the hole in his heart, nor did they stop his guilt or his grief. But, He felt at home here.
Chapter 199 Chapter 199 CHAPTER 199 I¡¯d been sobbing uncontrobly for the past ten minutes. The sheer amount of anguish Sunshine had poured into his tale had driven me to tears before the murder had even taken ce. The closer he got to Mount Cor, the more anxious and tearful I¡¯d grown. At some points, he¡¯d stopped to make sure I was breathing alright. I just couldn¡¯tprehend the amount of pain he¡¯d been through. The only thing I couldpare it to was imagining losing everyone I knew¡­ my family, my friends in a single instant. Everything I had, just gone. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to live if that ever happened to me. He was stronger than I¡¯d ever be. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I sobbed. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sunshine sighed, his eyes staring right at me. Kamaile had been such a good person. A paragon of what it meant to be a force of good for the world, and yet he¡¯d been ripped away. Taken early by pure evil. Saturn. The words were so hateful to me that just thinking them out loud made me dig my nails into my palms and clench my teeth so hard my jaw locked up. So much suffering he¡¯d caused, and for what? What was the point of doing all of this? It was all so exhausting. I would do everything in my power to let Turtonator have his revenge. ¡°Thank you for telling me,¡± I sniffled. ¡°I understand you so much better now.¡± The fire type nodded, telling me that I looked a lot worse than he did. Turtonator hadn¡¯t cried during his story. He¡¯d teared up, but he had held everything in. ¡°It must have been so difficult for you, holding it all in,¡± I said. ¡°If you ever want to talk to the others, don¡¯t hesitate to. They¡¯ll listen.¡± Sunshine refused immediately. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t ready yet, then. ¡°But the two members of your team that survived¡­ don¡¯t you want to¡ª¡± Turtonator interrupted me. He was scared, he¡¯d told me. I would never in a thousand years thought that he could be scared of anything, but he was terrified of seeing them again. ¡°I won¡¯t force you,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯ll be the first to tell you that they won¡¯t be disappointed in you, Sunshine. If you were in the reverse situation and you¡¯d been the one taken by the Rangers, would you not want to see Lurantis or Mudsdale again?¡± The fact that he¡¯d been thest one out of his Pokeball with Oranguru and that he¡¯d failed weighed on him heavily. The dragon didn¡¯t answer. He simply ignored my question and avoided my eyes. ¡°We can at least go look to see if they lived. If I present proof that you were Kamaile¡¯s the Rangers should be willing to tell us what happened.¡± In truth, I wanted him to meet them again. I wanted so desperately. I knew it would be difficult for him, but it would also be incredibly healing. They were also probably worried sick, not having heard of him since Kamaile¡¯s murder, although from the way he¡¯d told me about them, there was the possibility of them having heard of him with how tech-savvy they were. I just hoped they knew he was alive. ¡°We can go first thing tomorrow,¡± I softly added. ¡°I¡¯ll help you find them. That¡¯s the first step. Then, if you feelfortable enough, we can talk about meeting themter down the line. Is that okay with you?¡± He reluctantly agreed, and I wrapped hisrge body into a hug. He didn¡¯t reciprocate, but he let me do it, something that would have been unthinkable just yesterday. His chest was tough and difficult to grab, but it felt soothing and warm nheless. After thirty seconds or so, he gently pushed me away andined about the snot I was getting on him. ¡°Okay,¡± I exhaled. ¡°Give me half an hour to calm down, and I¡¯ll release the others so we can sleep. Is it true that you can¡¯t dream in your Pokeball?¡± The dragon nodded as hey on the floor. All those times I¡¯d made him sleep in his Pokeball when all he wanted was to dream. To experience a night of bliss with the memories of his fallen family, and I had just trampled over all of that. I¡¯d failed him. I hugged my knees as the tears came back. ¡°I won¡¯t make any of you sleep in your Pokeballs anymore unless there¡¯s no other choice,¡± I dered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the times I didn¡¯t do it. I didn¡¯t know.¡± He said it wasn¡¯t my fault. That I couldn¡¯t have known before tonight. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have,¡± I agreed. The others had never brought it up, and I assumed that it didn¡¯t bother them. ¡°But I feel like shit anyway. I took your memories away from you.¡± A heavy silence settled in as I snuggled up deeper in the bed. ¡°I¡¯ll get you a fight with Saturn, and we¡¯ll all be here,¡± I said through clenched teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure he gets what¡¯sing.¡± Before, it had only been me being scared of Mars. Now? It was personal. Turtonator didn¡¯t answer. Hey down next to my bed and closed his eyes. ¡ª¡ª I woke up at seven in the morning. Sweetheart and Princess were still sleeping while Buddy hovered next to the ceiling. Angel sat next to the window to get some sun and Honey had his head on myp as he transitioned in and out of sleep. I¡¯d gotten a few messages that I perused as I stroked Honey¡¯s head. First, Mira had gotten approval from Cynthia to visit Lake Valor on the way to Sunyshore on the condition that we reported any effects it had on Cecilia and Chase back to the League. We¡¯d also gotten permission to visit the otherkes if need be, so that was something on my list after Princess evolved and I got my license. I¡¯d easily be able to stop at Verity on the way to Canve, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Second, my mother had texted and called. Princess had murdered a Pokemon in front of her, so she was justifiably shaken. Everything had happened so quickly that it hadn¡¯t sunk in after I¡¯d been Teleported away. She hadn¡¯t even known I¡¯d been in that much danger and it was probably the first time she¡¯d seen such violence on disy. There wasn¡¯t much I could say to help her aside from the fact that it¡¯d be better off if we reconnected at ater date whenever the situation cleared. She probably saw Princess and me in a very different light than before, but what was done was done. I couldn¡¯t dwell on it, and at least she didn¡¯t want to stop talking to me through text. Strangely enough, no one was talking about the dead Abra in a very public park, even though the media would usually have jumped on such a story. It seemed that Cynthia¡¯s iron grip was a lot tighter than I first thought, but not much could surprise me any longer. Some people were still talking about it online, including on my megathread, but the incident had happened so quickly that no one had recorded it, so at this point it was just spreading through word of mouth. And some of my fans were denying the fact that it had happened at all. It was a strange thing, to have fans. I didn¡¯t browse my megathread often, but it still felt surreal to have that many people talking about me. Defending me, attacking me, talking like they knew me personally, nitpicking at any mistake I made¡­ it was weird. Before, it might have bothered me, but I had too much going on to bother. I stretched and then started to get ready for the day. I had a few things to do today after my inquiry with the Rangers, and I wasn¡¯t looking forward to it. I side-stepped around Sweetheart and entered the bathroom. I did not blink, nor did my face clench up in rage. In fact, I was perfectly calm. I will kill Saturn, I thought as I stared in the mirror and tied up my hair. He was a cancer upon the world that deserved to be cut out. Destroyed. That was a promise. ¡ª¡ª I hadn¡¯t thought I¡¯d ever go back to the Ranger Station where I had been interrogated in, and yet here I was. I stepped out of the taxi and walked into the lobby, which mirrored a Pokemon Center, only it was slightly smaller and had none of the warm lights and colors that made them so weing in the first ce. There was surprisingly a short queue that I had to wait at. One trainer asked for some tips in raising an unruly Tinkatink, the other for the best spots on route 214 to find a Meditite and thest one asked when the next orientation ss would take ce. Being a Ranger was a popr career choice for a lot of trainers, it seemed. ¡°Hi, how can I help you?¡± The man said as he leaned against a counter. He sported the green uniform that all rangers shared in Sinnoh. ¡°I have a Pokemon that belonged to a deceased trainer,¡± I said. ¡°All of his team was wiped out except two Pokemon. Would it be possible to track them?¡± Immediately, he was more alert and awake than he¡¯d been seconds earlier. ¡°Do you have the name and ID of that trainer? ID would be ideal, because that means we¡¯d be able to find him in our database instantly,¡± He said. ¡°And I¡¯ll take your ID as well to verify your im.¡± ¡°Uh, I have his name. Kamaile Nnie. Actually, Sunshine might know,¡± I said as I handed him my card. ¡°Mind if I release a Turtonator right now?¡± ¡°If it behaves. Any damages, you¡¯ll have to pay for.¡± ¡°He will.¡± I released the fire type and he blinked at the unfamiliar environment. ¡°Sunshine. Did you know Kamaile¡¯s ID? On his trainer card?¡± He nodded, saying that he and Oranguru knew it better than Kamaile even did. He listed off the numbers to me and I recited them to the receptionist. ¡°KN449281095,¡± I said. ¡°Uh, I thought we¡¯d use one of our psychics for that, but alright,¡± he frowned. He typed in the code and nodded. ¡°Kamaile Nnie, I¡¯ve got him. Yeah, he got into that nasty ident in Mount Cor, right? Sorry for your loss,¡± he said, staring at Turtonator, who promptly ignored him. ¡°Yep, the Turtonator¡¯s in your file.¡± He¡¯d held back well at the fact that he¡¯d called it an ident. I patted him on the arm. ¡°A Lurantis and Mudsdale,¡± he muttered. ¡°We¡¯ve got one at the ranger outpost next to Eterna Forest and another down at the outpost next to the marsh on route 212.¡± I sighed in relief. Since they hadn¡¯t been given away, that meant that they¡¯d be easy to track down. Still, the fact that they¡¯d been separated left a bad taste in my mouth¡ª unless they¡¯d gone their separate ways out of their own volition? When I asked the Ranger, he told me he didn¡¯t know. Lurantis would have to wait until Princess evolved and I got my license, but Mudsdale was right next to Pastoria. It¡¯d be easy to visit him if Sunshine wished to do so. ¡°Can I do anything else?¡± He asked. ¡°I could contact the stations and tell them about you, if you want, but there¡¯s not much else I can do for you.¡± ¡°Thanks for the help,¡± I said, turning toward Turtonator. ¡°Verdict?¡± Sunshine ufortably shuffled, which was way out of character¡ª or at least for what I thought I had known until yesterday night. In the end, he said that he¡¯d rather wait until we made it to Pastoria to make up his mind. I nodded, recalling him as I made my way outside. My schedule was starting to get packed, but I was fine with that. After my seventh gym, I was nning on going to Lake Verity, possibly both Ranger Outpost to find Lurantis and Mudsdale, go to that ancient city if I could get permission from Cynthia to find a ydol, and train extensively for the eighth gym. Originally, I had nned on doing all of this after my eighth badge, but Cynthia had thrown a wrench in my ns by saying that we¡¯d be confined at the League after winning the battle. But there was also something else I needed to do. I wanted to go to the Lost Tower to speak to Ruth and Mathilda. I had three powerful Gengar to find, after all, and they¡¯d be the only ones that I knew were capable of pointing me in the right direction. I couldn¡¯t just hope for the best while I traveled. Even with Jellicent and Electabuzz being able to sense ghosts, trying to find those Gengar would be like trying to find a needle in a Sinnoh-sized haystack. Impossible. There was also the topic of that Rhyperior who¡¯d killed Sweetheart¡¯s biological mother, but finding a rock type in the notoriously confusing Mount Cor was a lot more difficult, and it was probably a lot stronger than what I¡¯d be able to handle even by the end of the year, so that one would unfortunately be on the back burner for now. The Gengar would also be, but I had evidence that they weren¡¯t murderous ghosts, at the very least. For some reason, the Game Corner¡¯s lights were lit up even during the day. The concept of gambling didn¡¯t appeal to me at all, but I knew Denzel would be here, as he was most days. I sure hoped he wasn¡¯t neglecting his training, because Maylene would capitalize on any weakness. A Dratini would be nice, but I felt like he wasn''t seeing the forest for the trees. I hadn¡¯te here to tell him that, though. Not wanting to enter the building, I texted him and asked him to talk. He came out ten minutester with a girl I didn¡¯t know, but I knew that she knew me from the way her eyes widened. ¡°Grace!¡± Denzel said. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to see you! Are you okay¡ª¡± He stopped himself and stared at his new friend. ¡°This is Ashley. She¡¯s been helping me figure out this Game Corner stuff. Ashley, this is Grace,¡± he said. ¡°Uh, can you wait for me inside? Sorry to make youe all the way out here to send you back, but¡ª¡± ¡°I get it. Private stuff,¡± she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting upstairs.¡± Luckily for her, there was no queue to enter the building since it was early in the morning. She quickly entered back and I turned to Denzel. ¡°How¡¯s your Dratini hunt going?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s going great, I¡¯m making more and more money,¡± he said. ¡°Hopefully I¡¯ll keep winning more than I lose.¡± ¡°Oh. You lost some?¡± ¡°Yeah, but so long as I win more, I¡¯m still making money. I¡¯m taking a slow and steady approach. I don¡¯t want to lose everything,¡± he said, his face twitching. ¡°We haven¡¯t hung outtely.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re doing your Game Corner stuff¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy too. It sucks that our schedules haven¡¯t lined up, but hopefully we¡¯ll have more free time soon. Have you been training?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have, you don¡¯t have to worry about that,¡± Denzel smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been helping Ashley too. It was a deal we made.¡± ¡°Okay. I won¡¯t forgive you if you lose to Maylene,¡± I teased. ¡°But I actually had something to talk to you about. Uh, you won¡¯t like this.¡± He clenched a fist and his body tensed slightly. ¡°Oh. Well, uh, bring it on, I guess?¡± ¡°Oh, you want me to say it here? It¡¯d be better to do it somewhere private,¡± I said. ¡°We never know who might be listening.¡± Denzel stared back at the Game Corner for a few seconds, but nodded. ¡°Sounds good. Your Center room?¡± On the way there, he told me a lot about the way he made coins at the Game Corner. There was that game where you could bet on battles that he said I¡¯d be really good at, and he went a lot more in-depth with the exnation this time. I wasn¡¯t interested at all, but maybe he had a point. I was good on money though, so there was no way I¡¯d be willing to take risks to make more. Next month, I¡¯d be able to buy the Shiny Stone, and then I¡¯d be able to save again for TMs and more dirt for Sweetheart. ¡°...yeah, that¡¯s how I¡¯d counter Falinks, I think, but you can¡¯t let your Pokemon get overwhelmed by numbers. y it safe and from far away, and you¡¯ll have an easier time.¡± ¡°My team isn¡¯t exactly the type to like that, but I¡¯ll have to do it. Maybe I can save Fross for them.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said as I entered my room. ¡°I¡¯d honestly use Fross to try to sweep through her earlier picks though.¡± ¡°What if she picks Falinks first?¡± ¡°Come on, Denzel. You know Gym Leaders don¡¯t bring out that massive of a threat first. Anyway, I have something important to tell you. It¡¯s about the group as a whole.¡± ¡°Yeah? So what¡¯s up?¡± I bit the inside of my cheek and continued. ¡°You know we were summoned by Cynthia and she told us stuff. Stuff we can¡¯t talk about, despite me asking for you to be able to know. And because of the information we got at that meeting, we think that it¡¯d be best for me, Cece, Mira and Chase to travel together for a little bit.¡± Denzel¡¯s face fell, and he sighed. ¡°Chase was there too?¡± ¡°He¡¯s involved,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s all I can say. I hate it, but she¡¯s forcing things to be this way.¡± ¡°And you can¡¯t tell us, like, anything? Not even a hint? You almost got kidnapped yesterday, Grace, and I don¡¯t even know why.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why either, to be honest, and I¡¯m not lying when I say that. I¡ª¡± I stopped as my head snapped toward my door and a bead of sweat rolled down my cheek. Was Lou and the League listening to this? They were, weren¡¯t they? The fact that I didn¡¯t know meant that I¡¯d rather not take any risks. ¡°¡ªcan¡¯t tell you more than this.¡± A sad smile nted itself on Denzel¡¯s face. ¡°You know, when we had that phone call,¡± he started. ¡°I said I¡¯d have your back and that I wouldn¡¯t let Team Gctic hurt you. Kind of rings hollow now, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Denzel¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he said, waving a hand in dismissal. ¡°I know it¡¯s not your fault. Circumstances screwed us over, that¡¯s all. I¡¯ll be off to the Game Corner then, yeah? I need to keep grinding to get myself a Dratini.¡± He¡¯d cheered up instantly, but I knew he was just pretending. Before he was out of the door, I called out his name. He turned and looked at me. ¡°Let¡¯s spend more time together in Sunyshore,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll both have a lot more time there.¡± He nodded. ¡°If you say so. I want something else in Sunyshore too, then.¡± ¡°Sure, anything is fine.¡± ¡°A battle.¡± I inhaled sharply, but nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll have it.¡± ¡ª¡ª Buddy slipped out of one of the pirs we¡¯d raised and immediately spat out a proto-Hydro Pump. The jet of water was so powerful that it created a crater in the ground and nearly copsed another tower. The water type quickly slipped back inside as soon as he finished his attack. ¡°Nice!¡± I cheered. ¡°Keep going, you¡¯re doing great!¡± On the other side, Princess was practicing flying in between the pirs as fast she could. It sounded easier than it actually was, especially for a Pokemon like her that had never made it a point to fly quickly before. It was important for her to be able to maneuver properly during the battle. She wasn¡¯t terribly fast¡ª still slower than Jellicent while he used Water Sport, but it was decent enough to work with. Progress with Air Cutter was going well. Now that we¡¯d mastered creating pirs, it was the move we were working on the most due to its incredible range and speed. Psychic would require her to get closer than I¡¯d befortable with. Despite her being both a flying and fairy type, she was still frail. The type advantage would be more irrelevant the further I progressed, and it would do me well to get within that mindset as early as I could. Both her and Buddy would be instrumental to the battle after the battlefield had been set, so they needed to be as prepared as possible. We were also working on Air sh, which was a natural progression of Air Cutter. She would need to manipte the air using flying type energy and speed it up as much as she could. I doubted that we¡¯d be able to get it down before the gym battle, but it was good to get started in what would be a pivotal move for her. Even Cynthia¡¯s Togekiss still used the move sometimes whenever it wasn¡¯t doing insanelyplicated techniques. But we weren¡¯t working on the basic version of Air Cutter we knew. What I had theorized was that she could potentially use the move from anywhere, meaning that the streaks of sharpened air wouldn¡¯t have to start from her wings. After all, it was just manipting type energy. Using her wings just made it easier and was more intuitive, but Princess¡¯ biggest strength was control. Who was to say that she couldn¡¯t start an Air Cutter from behind an enemy while she was in apletely different spot? The same principle would apply to Air sh. It would work perfectly with how I was nning to set up the terrain too. Electabuzz, Turtonator and Pupitar were off in their own little corner, training their respective moves. Progress with Thunder was slow and steady, but there were noticeable improvements with Thunderbolt and Discharge already, so I believed we¡¯d have it ready by the time we battled Volkner. There were whispers of Sunshine teaching Pupitar Dragon Pulse, but they¡¯d made no progress there. Supposedly, she was worthy now that he¡¯d told her she was an honorary dragon, but I just knew he wanted to spoil her rotten. I understood now that training with the team feltcking for the dragon, so I was looking into setting up possible 1v1s with trainers like Zachary to keep him sharp. There was no shortage of people wanting to battle me. And so, two days passed. I spent most of it training, getting ready for theing interview and spending time with my Pokemon. All of my friends had now signed up for their gym battles against Maylene, and the first set wasing up now. I shuffled toward my seat as Louis emerged from the waiting room, Pokeball already in hand. He touched the scar on his cheek and took a deep breath. He was a lot more determined than he used to be, and we all knew why. He wanted to stop Justin. The battle would no doubt be interesting, but I¡¯d be focusing on Maylene¡¯s habits. Rare were the Gym Leaders that were as expressive as Candice was, and Maylene was the only one that came anywhere close to that. I¡¯d be a fool to let that opportunity slip past my fingers.
Chapter 200 Chapter 200 CHAPTER 200 Maeve had already gone to the waiting room, and it was only us up here. Pauline chatted with Denzel as I sipped on some water as we waited for the battle to begin. Maylene was just like what she looked like in the videos. Deceptively lean, short, and with intense red eyes and short pink hair. She wore gym clothes, fingerless gloves and had a bandaid on her nose. After all this time, I still had no idea what that was for. "Keep your eyes on her tactics," I told Cecilia. "They won''t change against us, she''ll only grow more ruthless and less merciful." "I will," she nodded. "I hope we see a Toxicroak, Mienshao or a Hitmonlee." "I thought you already saw them?" I raised an eyebrow. "I did, but I''d like to see them more. Those might be a little too tough for this battle, but who knows, maybe Maylene keeps some weaker ones around¡ª" "ATTENTION!" Maylene yelled loudly into her microphone, creating a sound so obnoxious that all of the spectators stopped talking. Denzel covered his ears and grimaced with a swear. "Come on people! We do this every time! Stay quiet during battles!" She said. "Wee, challenger! This will be a four-on-four with two switches allowed. As Gym Leader, I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal, and murdering a Pokemon will get you disqualified from the Circuit. Send out your Pokemon!" "Was that necessary?" Cecilia whispered, her face scrunched up. "Talk about loud¡­" Denzel said. It was only now that I realized that Maylene''s battle videos were always quiet because she demanded a silent audience. It was in line with the behavior I''de to expect. She probably wanted her challenger to be as focused as possible. Louis sent out his Vulpix, and I smiled when Maylene sent out a Machoke. The species was a staple at her gym and she had many going from the third gym level all to way to the seventh. Machamp was always reserved for the eighth gym badge. Still, even if it wasn''t the one I had a risk of fighting, I knew that Maylene trained all of her Pokemon in a very simr way, so any extra knowledge would help. Seeing battles in the flesh was always better than on a video screen. Harsh sunlight began to press down on the arena. The referee shed down with her arm and signaled the start of the battle. "methrower!" Louis immediately barked. "Rock Tomb and get close!" Maylene said. Vulpix opened her maw, and a surprisinglyrge stream of mes powered by Drought flew toward Machoke. The fighting type broke into a run and dashed toward the methrower. At thest second, a stomp of her foot raised a rock twice her size in front of her. The mes burned the rock until it glowed red, and some of the fire still sizzled at Machoke''s skin, but she wasrgely unharmed by the attack. My eyes narrowed when I saw that Machoke wasn''t continuing on her path. "Throw it at her!" Maylene yelled. The fighting type''s fingers dug into the rock, and she ripped it out of the ground before throwing it at Vulpix with all of her strength. "Extrasensory!" Vulpix''s eyes shone bright pink as she altered the path of the Rock Tomb. The rock was so heavy and was flying by so fast that she was forced to roll to the left in order not to get hit. Machoke was already running again. The point hadn''t been to actually hit her, but to buy time, and she''d done it perfectly. Louis bit his lip when Machoke approached and simply ignored the other methrower that Vulpix hastily threw at her. "Confuse Ray," he said through clenched teeth. "Punch it!" A strange light left Vulpix''s head and entered Machoke''s body, but the fighting type''s punch still went through. It hadn''t even been a move. Her arm just flexed, growing nearly twice its original size as she mmed a fist against Vulpix''s head. The fire type went flying back, rolling on the ground and kicking up dust and rocks. She coughed as she stood up with trembling legs. Machoke bared her teeth, yelling at nothing and mming her head against the floor until Maylene recalled her, using her first switch. The Gym Leader had a sinister look on her face as she grabbed her next Pokeball. "He shouldn''t have done that," I sighed. "Now she''s going to hold back less." "What would you have done instead?" Cecilia asked. Her eyes narrowed in interest when Maylene sent out a Mienfoo. "With Vulpix? Try to hold Machoke back with Extrasensory instead. More risky, but it has a lower chance of blowing up in your face." "Wonder what this little guy''ll do," Denzel muttered. "That''s a girl," I corrected. "Fake Out!" Maylene ordered. Mienfoo blurred impossibly fast, appearing in front of Vulpix and pping her so hard that the sound reverberated across the arena. The fire type barely had time to register what happened before Maylene spat out her next series ofmands. Mienfoo seized Vulpix''s throat, lifted her off the ground and mmed her face-first in the dirt. The beatings continued with simple punches, but Mienfoo only aimed for Vulpix''s joints to stop her from getting up, and it worked. "Stop it with Extrasensory!" Louis yelled. Through the pain, Vulpix somehow managed to focus enough to use the move. She altered the air around Mienfoo, splitting them apart and pushing both of them away from each other. I smiled when I realized that Maylene''s face had basically given her surprise away. She might have been holding back, as was very evident, but she still hadn''t expected Vulpix to be able to concentrate and push through the pain. "methrower! Give it everything you have!" "Bounce!" Mienfoo''s legs contracted, and she jumped high into the air, leaving a small crater in her ce. The mes missed as well, but Vulpix followed the fighting type and kept the attack going. The fire intensified the closer it got to Drought''s strange light, but Mienfoo was too far up to be hit. As if she''d been pushed by a sudden gust of wind, the fighting type instantly rushed toward Vulpix in a blur of motion, leaving behind a streak of disturbed air. Mienfoo''s feet split the methrower apart and she crushed Vulpix''s head with a vicious kick from the air. The fire type was out for the count. "I do not condone the use of Confuse Ray," she dered, her eyes staring right at Louis. As the referee asked him to send out his second Pokemon, we all winced at the fact that she was kind of screwing him over just like I''d said. "Talk about a bitch move," Pauline snarked with her hands crossed. "What kind of Gym Leaderins about a move? It''s a damn battle!" "You did it to Grace," Denzel said. "In Floaroma?" "Oh. Right." Louis sent out his Gabite, whose scales shimmered under Vulpix''s Drought. He hadn''t really had much of a choice. The fire type''s ability would take a minute or two to fade, meaning that Prinplup would have been weakened. Even an amount of time that short was everything in a battle. Mienfoo squared herself and motioned for the dragon toe at her. "Don''t underestimate it," Louis said. "It''s stronger than it looks. Sandstorm!" Gabite roared, kicking up an enormous Sandstorm that blocked the view of the battle. Multiple groans ran through the audience, as they always did when something stopped them from seeing what was going on. "Dig and Dragon w!" Louis yelled. "Focus Punch." I heard Gabite burrow as a single bright light began to shine where Mienfoo had just been. The next thirty seconds were silent, with only the sound of the raging Sandstorm to keep uspany, but we knew that Gabite struck when we heard a loud rumble. Then, a crack, and the Sandstorm faltered, finally allowing us the see what was going on. Gabite struck at Mienfoo with glowing ws while the small fighting type struggled to dodge. The dragon was faster in a Sandstorm, it was also slowly whittling Mienfoo down. Mienfoo struck at Gabite''s leg, and the ground type buckled, but a push and a sudden burst of speed allowed him to catch Mienfoo in his mouth. "Dragon Breath!" Louis ordered. A blue light overtook Mienfoo, and the fighting type crashed on the side of the barrier. Gabite was relentless and didn''t allow her to rest, using his short wings to gain enough speed to overwhelm Mienfoo. He wouldn''t be able to fly until he was a Garchomp, but he could already glide for short periods of time. Gabite sunk Mienfoo in a pit of sand and finished her off with a Dragon w. "Not bad," Maylene said as she recalled Mienfoo. "You are taking this seriously after all." It wasn''t something I would have said, but it was true that Vulpix was getting outpaced by Gabite and Prinplup. I hadn''t seen Pawniard fight, but I assumed that it was the same there. Louis would need to give her a Fire Stone if he wanted her to keep up. Maylene sent out her Machoke again, probably hoping that her bulk would allow her to stop Gabite from throwing her around. Gabite''s chest appeared to have been hit by Focus Punch due to it being slightly¡­ concave, but apart from that, he seemed raring to go. "Sand Tomb! Trap it!" Louis said. "Rock Tomb!" The ground under Machoke''s feet turned to mud, but she rose a rock from the ground, this time under her feet. The fighting type sat on the rock cross-legged, leaned against a fist and awaited for Gabite toe to her with her sharp teeth bared. "Take it slow," Louis warned. "Dragon Breath." Gabite snarled, clearly disliking the order, but he listened. A powerful blue stream of draconic energy flew toward Machoke, who avoided it by falling backward behind her rock. Louis tried to trick her by using Sand Tomb again, but the fighting type''s reflexes were on point, and she avoided or blocked both attacks every time Louis threw them her way. "Twister!" A tornado began to form around Machoke, and this time, the fighting type couldn''t dodge. What she did do, however, was throw the rock at Gabite to throw him off. I was surprised the trick had worked on Louis twice. Gabite took the Rock Throw head on, and the boulder broke against his tough scales, but Machoke was running toward him. The same thing that had happened with Vulpix was happening here. "Dragon w!" "Submission!" Machoke''s legs flexed as she dove, tackling Gabite to the ground with as much force as she could muster. The two slid against the ground as Gabite dug his ws into her flesh as quickly as he could, but Machoke grabbed his neck, putting him in a chokehold. The same thing Mienfoo had done. This time, Machoke didn''t throw Gabite''s head against the ground. She kept him there, squeezing on him as much as she could. The sheer amount of pressure being applied made some of his scales pop right off his body, and while Gabite was hitting back and not letting this happen for free, the position made it incredibly awkward for him to do so. His Dragon ws could merely hit the fighting type''s arms while she stayed safely behind him. Louis winced as he recalled Gabite. It''d been the smart choice. I had expected Machoke to overpower Gabite, but I thought the fight would be more equal than this. Louis stalled for a few seconds and then sent out his Prinplup as the Sandstorm slowly abated. "Icy Wind!" Hismand came out like thunder. As soon as the water type was out of his ball, the words had beening out of his mouth. Prinplup honked as he beat his wings, and a frigid wind enveloped Machoke, who''d been too close to raise a protective boulder with Rock Tomb. Hell, even with the move, the wind would have affected her. The fighting type shook, her teeth shattering, but Maylene stomped a foot. "Toughen up and Strength!" Machoke somehow gained even more muscles and amassed unimaginable quantities of power. She was slow, but she could still move, and she ran as fast as she could toward Prinplup. "Transition into Ice Beam!" The Icy Wind narrowed until it was only a small ray of ice that pierced Machoke''s chest. From the impact, frost grew and overtook the fighting type until she was covered in ice. Not frozen, but slow enough to never hope to reach Prinplup. Small icicles grew at the bottom of her chin and hugged her entire body. The water type stepped back, inhaled, and hit Machoke with another Ice Beam to finish her off. Louis wiped the sweat off his brow and sighed. "This is kind of underwhelming," Pauline said. "What?" Cece scoffed. "Are we looking at the same battle?" "I dunno, I know Maylene is good, but it''s¡­ not as shy as I thought it''d be." That was what the fighting type was all about, at least around our level. They did not manipte the elements, nor did they create mindbending effects on the field, but they were difficult to deal with and consistent. Had she not seen what had just happened to Gabite? A single mistake, and he got grabbed and restrained. If Louis hadn''t had a switch, it would have been over. I eyed Maylene as the referee finished talking, and she sent out a¡­ Combusken. Against a water type, and when Louis had a Gabite in the back? I hadn''t expected that at all. I ignored my friends and bit my lip as I tried to decipher what she was thinking. Her face wasn''t one of someone who was deliberately holding back, but then again, maybe I couldn''t read her that well yet. "Water Pulse!" Louis ordered. "Bulk Up! Stand your ground!" Maylene said. The ring of water exploded against Combusken''s body, drenching him in the process, but he didn''t even flinch or get knocked back. A thin wave of energy emanated through his skin as he opened his eyes again. His body hadn''t changed, but there was something different about him. Bulk Up had made him stronger and more resistant to attacks. "me Charge!" The Gym Leadermanded, pointing at Prinplup. Denzel gasped. "Holy fuck¡ª" Combusken was faster than I''d expected from something with legs that short. It was quicker than even Mienfoo and speeding up as he ran. Louis hurriedly barked, and Prinplup spat out another Water Pulse. Combusken side-stepped to the left, kicking the ground with his leg to spin himself around. Another push, and he was right next to Prinplup. "Double Kick!" Combusken jumped and dropkicked Prinplup, leaving red imprints on the water type''s gut. Prinplup fell back, barely registering what had happened. "Now sh!" "Water Pulse!" Louis stammered. Dealing the most damage he could before Prinplup went down was the correct choice, at least if Louis wasn''t switching. Combusken raked his ws against Prinplup''s body, exposing the flesh below the skin while he desperately tried to fight back with Water Pulse. The ring of water crashed against Combusken''s face, but the fire type didn''t relent. He wed Prinplup apart until¡­ Well, until he evolved. Light overtook Prinplup as he grew into an Empoleon, and Maylene ordered her Combusken to stop. She was too honorable to keep attacking during such an important moment. Blue metal grew at the tip of his fins, but also split the front and back of his body in two and hid his neck. His beak extended and hardened into a crown that shone like gold. "Congrattions," Maylene said. "Are you ready to resume?" "Uh, yes." "Very well, then. Double Kick!" In an ironic twist of fate, Empoleon''s evolution might have screwed Louis more than it had helped him. It had bought him a moment of respite to gather his thoughts and to get Combusken off his back, but Empoleon was slower than Prinplup had been, his body now held down by heavy steel. Not only that, but his steel typing also meant that fighting type moves would hurt him a lot more. Combusken lifted a foot and kicked Empoleon twice in quick session. "Run away! Create a path using water!" Louis yelled. Empoleon spat out a low-powered jet of water in a line all over the floor and staggered as Combusken hit him again, this time in the back. He flopped on his belly and slid across the field, but the fire type was right behind him. He was still speeding up. "I get it," Denzel snapped his fingers. "Speed Boost. It''s a super rare ability that Torchic can get." "Does that mean it continuously speeds up?" Cecilia asked. "Is there a limit to it?" "Well, there is limit, but¡­ uh, what''s the opposite of exponential?" "Logarithmic," she answered. "Exactly! The ability grows less and less potent the more it''s used in battle. It exhausts the Pokemon pretty quickly too, but I guess Maylene worked on that endurance factor." "Turn around and hit him!" Louis said. Empoleon flipped himself and started to slide on his back instead, but that meant that he''d be running out of water in just a few seconds. The newly anointed steel type quickly used another Water Pulse that grazed Combusken''s rectangr head. It was a lot more powerful than before, but Combusken was quicker now. Empoleon ran out of water to slide on, and his escape came to a screeching halt as the steel dug itself into the ground. Combusken sidestepped and kicked his nk, finally finishing him off. The fire type heaved and was noticeably tired, but he would probably be able to keep going for another battle like this. Louis wiped his mouth as he sent out his Gabite again. "It''s weak! Use Sand Tomb and finish it off!" "Run in!" Maylene ordered with a sweep of her arm. I was on the edge of my seat. Literally. Gabite turned vast swathes of the ground into a quagmire, but Combusken was too fast to get caught. "Switch it up! Dragon Breath!" This time, the dragon swept the arena with the attack. Twice. Combusken jumped over the first one, but Gabite anticipated a jump the second time and finally hit his opponent, slowing him down if only slightly. Before Louis could even say anything, he used the opportunity to sink Combusken into the floor and rushed forward, his ws glowing blue. He tore apart Combusken with a Dragon w as the fighting type used a desperate Ember to deal as much damage as possible before going down. Maylene cracked her fingers as she sent out her final Pokemon. A shorter-than-average Gurdurr carrying a massive steel beam that was a silver grey, unlike the stereotypical red that I usually saw them with. Gurdurr flipped the beam with one hand and nted it against the ground. "Sand Tomb!" Louis said. I doubted that it was going to work this time, and I was correct. Gurdurr grappled onto his beam and then swung himself forward using the sheer momentum his strength had given him. He ran, dodging the attack with the same method. "Dragon Breath!" This was a battle of repetitions, it seemed. Gabite opened his mouth, spewing forth another powerful stream of draconic energy. "Block it!" Gurdurr flipped his beam, holding it horizontally as he ran. It shielded him from the majority of the damage, but his fingers and lower body were still damaged by the attack "Dig¡ª" "Swing!" I heard a massive ng as Gurdurr hit Gabite''s head with his steel beam. The dragon type reeled with a vicious snarl as he bit down on one of Gurdurr''s arms. The fighting type simply flexed to expel his teeth out of his member, and then mmed his steel beam against Gabite again, this time hitting the ground type''s neck. Louis desperately ordered Gabite to Dig, but Gurdurr grabbed one of his arms and kept him on the surface. Louis recalled his Gabite again, using hisst switch of the battle. He''d been on the verge of tunnel visioning and losing hard here, but he''d made the smarter decision. The blond man hesitantly grabbed a Pokeball, then clipped it back to his belt, then grabbed it again. He sent out his Combee into the fight. The bug type was so small we could barely see her different heads from the stands. Maylene yelled, "Rock Throw!" "Gust!" Louis snapped. Despite being tiny, Combee''s Gust was deceptively strong. Not the most powerful one I''d seen by any stretch, and weaker than what you would usually see at a fourth gym battle, but the goal here was obviously to whittle Gurdurr down for Gabite to finish him off. The wind swirled around Gurdurr, who grunted, but still summoned a jagged rock from the floor and threw it up at Combee one-handed. The bug type used her small size and easily avoided the attack, beating her wings as quickly as possible to further harm Gurdurr. "Shred the rocks and do it again!" Maylene said. This time, Gurdurr nted his beam on the ground and crushed the next rock using both his hands, reminding me of the same tactic Roark had used against Buddy with his Geodude all those months ago. His veins popped as he threw the rocks toward Combee¡ª "Sweet Scent!" And the rocks went wide. Maylene clicked her tongue. "Enough ying, Gurdurr. Defog and finish it off with your beam." Ah. It was in moments like these that the fact that this was work to them sunk in. Once again, Maylene''s emotions got the better of her and she held back less. Gurdurr grabbed his steel beam and swung it all around himself, dispelling Combee''s Gust like it was nothing. Then, he threw the beam with a lot more precision and a lot faster than he''d done with any Rock Throw. The steel hit Combee''s three faces and sent her crashing into the barrier, finishing her off in one hit. Unfortunately, Combee would be extremely weak until she evolved, but all in all, she hadn''t been a bad choice, especially when Pawniard probably would have gotten destroyed by a Pokemon like Gurdurr. His reach with his beam was unmatched whenpared to other fighting types, and he would have made quick work of Pawniard. Louis wiped the sweat off his eyes as he sent out his Gabite. Both Pokemon were tired, having suffered damage from previous battles. This could be anyone''s game. "Dig," Louis exhaled. This time, Gurdurr hadn''t been close enough to keep him from burying. The fighting type anxiously scanned for any disturbances in the ground. For twenty seconds, there was silence. Louis leaned against his knees and fought for air while Maylene simply stared with an intense look on her face. Gabite unburrowed below Gurdurr with incredible momentum that I hadn''t seen from him before. He practically flew, bringing the fighting type into the air with him as he wed at his torso. Gurdurr kept a tight grip on his steel beam and pushed it against Gabite, throwing the dragon type off of him. Both of themnded with a loud crash that kicked up enough dust to be mistaken for a small Sandstorm. Both also stood up. Both Pokemon circled each other as they slowly closed in. Gabite was too close now to use Dig again. Maylene and Gurdurr would punish him instantly and use another headlock, and that meant defeat. "Bulldoze!" Louismanded. Gabite mmed a foot against the ground, and it began to shake. Gurdurr nted his beam on the ground and perched himself on it, but that was what Louis had been waiting for. "Rush it and knock it off!" With another burst of speed, Gabite glided toward Gurdurr as he became a blur. The fighting type''s eyes widened as he tried to take refuge behind his steel beam, but Gabite was too quick. The dragon rammed into Gurdurr, digging his two ws into his shoulders as he finally tore the fighting type away from his weapon. With a primal roar, Gabite shed with Dragon w and Gurdurr fought back with punching attacks that I couldn''t ce. Only Gabite remained afterward. He stood up from Gurdurr''s unconscious body and roared once more, sending spittle everywhere and mming a w against his chest. Maylene somehow recalled Gurdurr and then his metal beam as Louis sighed in relief. It had been dangerously close, but he''d won even though Empoleon''s evolution had almost screwed him over. A detrimental evolution. Wasn''t that a funny thought?
Chapter 201 Chapter 201 CHAPTER 201 I was deep in thought as Maeve''s Staraptor swooped down with an Aerial Ace, aiming at a Crabrawler. The fighting type''s boxing-glove-like hands shimmered with ice as he countered her attack, causing as much damage as he had taken. The battle had started a few minutes ago and Maeve was on the ropes, having lost her Monferno while Maylene had lost no Pokemon at all. Truth be told, I was focused on something else. When Louis had used Confuse Ray on Maylene''s Machoke, my gut reaction had been to tell myself that Iwouldn''thave done that due to the fact that any non-damaging moves pissed her off. It was an unfair practice that Maylene was famous for, and it didn''t help with her already-tarnished reputation online. She was the most hated Gym Leader in Sinnoh by a long shot due to both unfair biases like her age andfaircriticisms like forcing trainers to battle a certain way if they wanted an easier time against her. A Gym Leader''s key purpose was to give trainers a challenge to ovee so they could grow, not to force them to conform to your fighting style. As it stood, despite her being incredibly skilled and a prodigy, I didn''t think she made a good Gym Leader, at least on the Circuit side of things. Unfortunately, nepotism had given her the position anyway. My friends cheered as Maeve finally took down that Crabrawler and Maylene sent out a Primeape in his stead. "Keep your distance!"She yelled. "Air Cutter!" Maylene countered the move with her usual Rock Tomb, and I returned to my train of thought. I was in one of the most opportune or misfortune positions depending on who I asked. I was possibly the kind of trainer Maylene would despise the most. She didn''t mind it when people altered the field like I was nning on doing, but hiding with Jellicent and keeping to the skies with Princess would anger her, especially when it was the main crutch of my strategy. Plus, that wasn''t even counting all of the psychological stuff I was nning on doing. So the question remained. Did I change what I wanted to do, or not? I could probably do it. I still had at least a week until my battle and I could definitely figure out a way to switch things up without altering my strategy too much. There was also the possibility of only changing my strategy by mming the brakes when Maylene grew too irritated. But was that truly what I wanted? No. No, it was not. I had to be careful, however. I knew for a fact that I was not the first trainer going into the battle with this mentality. Many lost, but some still won despite Maylene pressing them. Shewasstill a Gym Leader, and her people had a much tighter leash on her than Candice, so I didn''t think she would pull out something like Grian Darmanitan. Maybe something a single badge level higher, but even that was a stretch. What she usually did was change up her tactics to be more ruthless or pick a Pokemon that exactly countered yours to shut down any perceived weakness. It would be risky, but I needed to do it. This battle would be the best opportunity to further evolve my style from a nner to something more advanced. I needed something that was mine and mine alone, and the faster I figured it out, the better it would be for my long-term growth. I wasn''t nning on losing, but the main goal would be to see if something clicked for me in the battle. "Both Staraptor and Primeape are unable to battle! Both of you, send out your third Pokemon!"The referee yelled. Maeve sent out her Drapion while Maylene released a Pignite. The fire type jumped to surprising heights, bing a ball of mes while Drapion sprayed him with poison and attempted to snatch him out of the sky. The Heat Crash had beenheavyand the poison type was only barely able to stop it. Once Maeve realized that she was on the losing side of things, she recalled Drapion, swapping him for Starmie while Maylene did the same and released a Meditite. Being this close to the field had another positive effect for me other than making it easier to study Maylene. From here, I could actually visualize the number of pirs I''d be able to raise during the battle bar any catastrophic circumstances. I had a n B in case Maylene countered them too easily, of course, but I''d be starting the battle from a huge disadvantage. It''d be three¡­ no, four across and fifteen down.Sixty?No, that was too many. Even if Angel was a monster in the stamina department, Princess wouldn''t be able to follow up. I''d wanted to make them in a well-organized grid so it was easier for me to tell Princess where to strike with her omnidirectional Air Cutter we were still developing while she hid. Then, as Maeve''s Starmie went down, an idea struck me. Pirs would harm both my and Maylene''s visibility. I knew that had been the case since devising the strategy and I''d n to make use of both my and my Pokemon''s field of view to paint a fuller picture of what would be going on in the field, but what if I made the ''forest'' more dense on her side of the field? It''d be less work for us, and it would screw her over more than me. I came up with ayout in my head and decided to sketch it outter today. It was a lot more convenient for me this way. Maybe in the future, I''d scoff at creating sixty pirs, but that day wasn''t today. "Victory to Leader Maylene!" What? I frowned, staring at the battlefield. A tired Pignite stood over Drapion''s unconscious and burned body while Maeve bit her lip with her eyes downcast. She''d lost? I had always known any of us losing was possible and likelier the more we progressed, but¡­ damn. I still hadn''t thought it''de so soon. I hadn''t paid that much attention to the battle, but I knew that Maeve had kept it simple and done her best not to anger Maylene and keep to attacking moves. It wasn''t the end of the Circuit for her, but considering she''d have to wait two weeks to challenge Maylene again, she couldn''t afford to wasteanytime. "Mira should havee," Denzel winced. "Maeve''s going to need her." Pauline looked as our friend hurriedly shuffled to back to the waiting room. "Well, call her, then! Louis should still be somewhere down there since he didn''te back." We all went down to the lobby and saw her talking to Louis, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was clearly teary-eyed, although she didn''t let that stop her from brainstorming a new n. We allforted her the best we could, and Mira said she was on her way ASAP. They might not have hung out as much in Veilstone, but they were still best friends. They were in the same situation Denzel and I were in. "I don''t know¡­ I think I can''t afford to wait," she said, sniffling. "I need to keep my head up. Use the time I have now to go off and challenge Volkner right away instead of waiting the two weeks here, otherwise I''ll never make it. I need to catch myst two Pokemon as well, and to train harder, and¡ª and¡ª" "Calm down," Denzel smiled. "It''s going to be alright. For now, why don''t you just get to the Center? Your Pokemon need it." The girl timidly nodded. "I''ll wait for Mira first. Something about the way I''m doing things isn''t working, and I need to figure it out." "Do you want my honest opinion?" Cecilia asked. Maeve hesitated, but ended up agreeing. "You keep things too simple," she said. "It might be a bit ironicing from me¡­ but even I''ve started to realize that I need to add someplexity to my strategy. Simple orders worked until now, but you need to hash something out. Something unique to you. You certainly have the firepower to work with." "And leading with Monferno was a bad idea," Denzel added. "If there''s one thing you want to do this gym, it''s keep your distance unless you''re sure you can go toe-to-toe with Maylene''s Pokemon. Monferno''s a fighting type, but he''s not going to be as trained as hers." "I was hoping he''d evolve and my risk would pay off," she said. "I messed up there." I didn''t miss the fact that Pauline was paying attention to everything both of them said. I would have given Maeve some advice too, but I had unfortunately not even seen most of the battle. When Mira arrived, she told Maeve to drop off her Pokemon so that they could spend their whole day together, and she also dragged Louis with them. Knowing her, she''d probably slip out at some point to leave them alone with each other. "I''m going back to see some battles," Cecilia said. "Ditto," Pauline said. "I''m gonna need to be on top of my game." "Is that self-doubt I sense, Pauline?" I asked. "No, I''m just takingprecautions." "I''d stay with you, but I''ve got to get going," I told them. We were in public and Pauline didn''t know about my media training, so I omitted it entirely. "Denzel?" "Gotta get back to the Game Corner," he sighed. "I swear, I''m seeing the shing lights when I close my eyes, it''s getting harder to sleep. My friend''s waiting for me there." "Right. Well, we''ll be on our way, then," I told Cece and Pauline. "We can walk some of the way together?" I asked Denzel. "Sure thing." I didn''t miss the fact that two girls asked him to take a selfie as we got out of the stadium. From what I could tell, they weren''t even trainers. Thankfully, Pauline was gone, and I had noticed that Denzel had avoided saying that his Game Corner friend was a girl too. He knew how to avoid triggering her antics, but they were going to talk about this at some point. Right? "I feel terrible for Maeve," he said, shooting a small pebble off the street. "She almost had it, but she panicked. Sucks." I nodded. "Hmhm. She doesn''t have much of a choice now. She''ll have to leave for Sunyshore if she wants to use her time effectively, but that gym battle will be tough as well. Electric''s not a good matchup for her when she has Starmie and Staraptor¡­ honestly, she might be better off going right to Pastoria. Won''t take that long either." "We''ll see," he shrugged. "I think Louis will go with her if she leaves early. Mira would have too, but, well¡­" "She''sing with us," I finished. "What''ll you do now? I won''t lie, I thought it''d be easier for you since you''d travel in a big group." "Go with Emi and Pauline," he shrugged. "Emi''s traveling on the route?!" I yelled, turning a few heads. "They''re safe as can be, so yes, it won''t be too bad. Pretty sure she''ll regret it on the first day after not having traveled for so long, but she''s made up her mind. I don''t think it''ll be bad, though. I''ll still miss the rest of you," he said with a disappointed look. "I''m sorry. And I wouldn''t be so sure about it not being bad if I were¡ª" "Holyshit, is that¡ª itis!" My friend pointed forward and I squinted, but I couldn''t tell what he was directing me to look at. "Use your words," I said. "To the right, next to that mattress shop with the Kom on it. That''s Barry Lane!" Barry Lane¡­ oh, it was that kid from Twinleaf that people kept talking about that was apparently really good. He was running off toward the south of the city. I expected this to just be Denzel being happy he''d seen someone else famous, but he grabbed my wrist and dragged me forward while he yelled out Barry''s name. "Hey, hey, you''re going too fast!" I yelled. "Shit, my bad¡ªBarry!" He screamed, cupping his mouth with his hands. The teenager finally turned to face us and beamed when he saw Denzel''s face. "Wait, you know this guy?" I frowned. "Know him? I grew up in Twinleaf, Grace. I knew everyone there." Barry Lane wasn''t particrly tall, and his most defining characteristic was his hair which was more golden than blonde. He wore a thick, khaki scarf and had a brown satchel around his shoulder that he carried along with the usual huge backpack that most trainers had. Ididsee six Pokeballs at his belt, however, so my interest was piqued. "Denzel!"he yelled with a voice on the higher side of things. "I never thought I''d see you here. Who''s your friend? Wait, don''t tell me¡­ is that the legendary¡­ Cecilia Obel?!" "Wrong one, buddy. That''s Grace Pastel." "Nice to meet you," I added. I extended my hand, and he shook it so firmly that I thought he''d dislocate my wrist. "Sorry, I''m bad at all that inte stuff, so I only hear these things from word of mouth," he said. "Do you want to hang out or something? It''s been so long," Denzel asked. "Hoho, sorry Denzel, but I was on my way out of Veilstone. You see, I''ve recently gotten my fifth badge from Maylene. Sunyshore awaits me!" He said with a huge grin. "Bummer, then. Congrats on the badge though," Denzel said. "How''re Lucas and Dawn doing? I thought you were traveling together?" "They abandoned this Circuit thing pretty quick when they started working with Professor Rowan," he exined. "Battling isn''t their priority anymore and they help him with research stuff. When I tried to help, I couldn''t even focus on one task for more than five minutes! It''s a shame, considering how good they were. Champion material, I tell you! Not as much as me, though." "Damn. I''ll see you around then? Maybe catch you in Sunyshore?" "Sure thing, if you''re quick enough! Knowing you, you''ll bete and I''ll have to fine you 100 million Pokedors! You''ve always taken things too easily." Denzel innocently raised both his hands. "Guilty as charged." "I''m off then. It was nice to meet you Grace Pastel! I''ll see you around!" Barry ran off faster than I thought was humanly possible. Two minutes at this speed, and I''d bepletely exhausted, but Chase would probably be able to keep up with him. I shot Denzel an amused look. "You didn''t tell me you had friends back in Twinleaf," I said. "Barry, Lucas, Dawn? What''s up with that?" "I wasn''t actually that friendly with Lucas and Dawn. They were kind of quiet kids, and we don''t fit in that well together. I had no idea they were working with Professor Rowan though. Did you know Barry was actually sponsored by Rowan?" "Sponsored by a Professor?" I gasped. "Isn''t that basically the highest honor a trainer can have?" "Eh, not really," he shrugged. "It''s a pretty high-profile thing, but the prestige that came with it isn''t as high as it used to be. You can get a fuck ton of resources for your Pokemon though, so that''s a huge plus.Andhe gave him his first Pokemon. Lucas and Dawn too." "Which are?" "Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig. Piplup went to Barry, Chimchar to Dawn and Turtwig to Lucas." I let out a pensive hum. So he had the same starter as Louis did, then? I wondered how their strategies differed. Despite being the same species, no two Pokemon fought the same, especially at the hands of different trainers. "Don''t underestimate him," Denzel warned. "He''s sharp, despite how he looks. I''ve seen a few of his battles, although I haven''t checked in a while." "I wasn''t. I''ve heard about him too." After all, he was one of the best first years along with Lauren and us. "Isn''t his father a member of the Battle Frontier? I heard he was one of the few people that had a Rhyperior. Not even Roark has one." Denzel scratched his head. "Yeah. Never seen him though. He''s very absent as fathers go, and it''s a bit of a sour point." "Oh. Yeah, I won''t pry," I said. "Did you know I was actually supposed to travel with Barry?" He continued. "After my mom held me back for a year, we started nning our journey together. I realized pretty quickly that we didn''t mesh well and it would have been a disaster." "Really? You seemed pretty friendly." "Oh, weare," he chuckled. "It''s just that spending a few hours of the day together already exhausted me. You saw how he is, right? That was actually a good day for him. I''m pretty sure he has undiagnosed ADHD. I think he''d rather be off doing his own stuff. Plus, I know myself, and I''d rather be in a group that''s a little calmer." "I get that," I said. "Yougetthat? Have you seen your team?" "Have you seenyours?It''s a literal ro, dude," Iughed. "Although I guess Milotic won." "Touch¨¦. He ended up leaving early in the summer to go check things with Professor Rowan with Lucas and Dawn and get his first Pokemon. Anyway, just another guy to watch out for added to the list," Denzel said. "Gives you goosebumps, huh?" "It really does." So many trainers to face, and these were only the first years. Even Lauren didn''t have five badges yet, although I knew her battle was tomorrow. I wouldn''t go to see it because I''d be busy training now that I was repurposing my strategy, but I''d probably look at the recording. A few minutester, I split off from Denzel and looked up Barry as I walked. None of his Pokemon were what newer trainers would consider ''overpowered'' (which was a trap many had fallen into, including me during my first fight against Cecilia). He kept it simple, although I couldn''t help but notice his newest addition, a Muncx. "Empoleon, Staraptor, Roserade, Heracross, Rapidash¡­" I muttered. "Professor Rowan probably gave him the Shiny Stone for Roserade." A simple team that he had pushed to excellence, and that Muncx of his would grow to be a monster, if Craig''s own Snox was anything to go by. They were deceptively quick and could take an incredible amount of hits. Taking one down was a whole ordeal in itself and would take an extensive amount of nning, at least for me. His father, Palmer, was one of the best trainers in the world. Some said he was more powerful than the Elite Four, and apparently, his Rhyperior could copse small mountains and his Dragonite was even faster than Cynthia''s Garchomp. The problem with describing a Pokemon''s power level this way was that I never knew if people were exaggerating or not. If I had to guess, there was probably a hint of truth to it. With the amount of power that top-level trainers threw around, I wondered how the hell the League kept their barriers stable. Maybe they used ten Kadabra instead of one? Or fifty? The question simmered in my mind as I entered the Poketch Building. ¡ª "Actually, Mister Horn, That''s a very interesting point. Do you mind borating further on that for the people at home¡ª" The television paused, interrupting Mallory''s interview. "Do you see how she jumps on anything that she thinks the person on her show doesn''t know much about?" Melody asked. "That''s why you''ve got to be as prepared as possible." "I know, I know," I sighed. "You know, but I can telling here''s getting on your nerves. Even if the Poketch Company caters good rtions with herwork, there''s only so much we can do to stop potential damage," she said. "All we can do is make here at this interview in good faith and give you the questions. Don''t worry about beingperfect, just memorize the answers we came up with together." "I feel the need to add that that politician in that interview went on to lose his election by eleven points when he''d been the frontrunner beforehand," Rene said. "Rene.Not helping," Melody snapped. "Plus, you''re omitting a lot of context. It wasn''t theonlything that sunk his campaign, it was just the start of a series of scandals. Anway, we''re done for today, Grace. We''ll see you tomorrow." I nodded. "Yep. I''m off to train. See you guys¡ª" "Wait, wait!" Gregory yelled, raising a hand as he typed on hisptop. "We''ve got a new questioning in from Mallory." "I thought we sealed the deal on the questions," Melody frowned. "Read it to me." "I know you''re dating a Unovan, which begs the question. Have you heard of the sma Organization? [Exin if no]. What do you think about their message?"He read out. "sma Organization? What''s that?" I asked. "Your guess is as good as mine, kid," he shrugged. "I can look it up." "No need. I know what it is," Julia said. "Some fringe political group in Unova that''s been demanding all Pokemon to be freed from trainers. It started up a few months ago and it''s seen some growth, but not enough to rock the boat. Some of them ran for electionsst November but they didn''t get any seats. They''re basically a ragtag group with very little funding." Melody nodded. "They''ve got limited support of a few congressmen, Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius chief among them. He says that he doesn''t exactly support their ideals, but he wants to lower the percentage threshold for the party to get in parliament from five percent to three percent because it''d be good for their democracy to have the people represented." "Harmonia Gropius? Weird fucking name," Rene chuckled. "Leave it to Mallory to know about weird shit like this." "He''s a very respected Congressman and leader of the current opposition. People were freaking out when he didn''t denounce the organization right away," Melody shrugged. "Enough about politics, I hear enough about them at home already," Greg sighed. "Are we taking the question or not?" Melody frowned, cing a hand on her chin. "I think we could take it, but our answer would be opposed to their message. I''ll have to ask the higher-ups for permission. Unless you''re against it?" She asked, turning to me. "No, no, it''s fine," I said. "Let me know tomorrow, okay?" I bid them goodbye and left the building toward route 214 to train. Freeing every Pokemon from their trainers? That was such a radical message that I was surprised they were politically relevant at all. If I had to answer, I''d say I disagreed, but I certainly thought there could be some sort of middle ground. People like Betrix''s trainer still existed and were rarely punished. I''d seen them a few times, like the pair we passed in Mount Cor with a Wartortle, a Sawk and a Bibarel that werewaytoo wounded to be out, and yet were still out of their Pokeballs and not being rushed to the Center. The rules were there, but the system was broken. Now, I had no idea if it was the same in Unova or not, but the organization couldn''t have formed in a vacuum. They seemed to be a much more human-centric region than Sinnoh, with their enormous cities that dwarfed ours and the routes being so safe. Still, taking away all Pokemon from every trainer? So many bonds torn apart by the hand of the state? Just imagining my family being taken from me made my heart wrench. Utter madness.
Chapter 202 Chapter 202 CHAPTER 202 Three days had passed since Maeve had lost to Maylene, and she was nning on leaving with Louis today. It had been sudden, but we all knew she needed to leave if she wanted to have a chance at the Conference instead of waiting out the two weeks here. She was going to go right to Sunyshore and challenge the gym there, and although I told her that Pastoria would give her an easier time due to her Pokemon''s types, she wanted to stick to Sunyshore and try there first, at the very least. Pauline had won her gym battle yesterday and her Rufflet had evolved into a huge Braviary that was at least twice the normal size somehow. I saw her up close once and she was a whopping 9.2 feet tall, dwarfing her Charizard by more than two feet. Apparently it was some freak gene that her Braviary had, or at least that''s what the Nurse Joys said, but needless to say, after the evolution, she easily mopped up her gym battle. She had won 2-4, only losing Gothorita and Charizard in the battle. Her fighting style had pleased Maylene so much that the Gym Leader had been smiling by the end of the fight. If I had to guess, I''d say that she was currently the strongest of our friends that were one badge behind¡ª well, we technically had the same number of badges now, actually. Maybe Justin could rival her, but I hadn''t actually seen him battle yet. Lauren had also won her gym battle 4-6 and her Duosion had also evolved. Denzel''s own battle was today. It was hard not to feel left out or like I was falling behind, but I knew that was just my brain being stupid. It was okay to gost, and it wasn''t like I was being idle. My new strategy was starting to pay off, and Princess could draw upon the number of pirs we needed without exhausting herself too much with Angel''s help. Now all we needed was to iron out everything and we''d be as ready as we could be. I had also battled a few trainers at Sunshine''s level, including Zachary again. We unfortunately lost the majority of the battles, but we had a few surprising wins, notably against someone with a Druddigon. The more we battled together, the less awkward it was and the more he regained his muscle memory, so we were improving at a rapid pace even if he threw a hissy fit after each loss that I had to soothe him out of. I sat in the stands with Cecilia, Pauline and Emilia as we waited for Denzel''s turn toe. Thetter had alsoe to see Pauline''s battle and had been in awe of how much her girlfriend had progressed. Mira was spending as much time with Louis and Maeve as she could before they left, so they were out having fun. As Denzel walked onto his tform, my eyes locked onto Maylene. ¡ª "This will be a five-on-five battle with four switches allowed¡­" Four? That was unusual. Denzel shook his arms to get his blood pumping and rolled his shoulders. He wasn''t as nervous as he usually was for a Gym Battle, but maybe that was a sign that times were changing. Before, they had been a monumental event that made him unable to sleep at night. Now? It was just another battle. Another fight that he needed to win. The custom-made jersey all of his sponsors had made clung and caused his skin to itch. His battle was early in the morning and there weren''t that many people here, meaning that he could see his friends in the stands. Maylene finished reading out the rules, and Denzel sent out Milotic. The water type coiled around, his eyes and body exuding nervousness. It was his first gym battle, after all, and Denzel knew he did not want to disappoint. "You''ll be fine!" He reassured. "I believe in you." That made him calm down some. Maylene, for her part, released a Poliwrath onto the field. The stout fighting type flexed, showing off its muscles with a fierce look in its eyes. Denzel''s eyes narrowed at the choice. Poliwrath were known to have Water Absorb, but he wasn''t sure if this one had it or not. Milotic dwarfed it as well, but he knew not to underestimate fighting types because of their size. "Begin!" "Earth Power!" Maylene ordered. And just like that, the arena broke. Giant geysers of heated earth and rock spewed into the air, creating enormous craters and rifts that Milotic would have trouble crossing. He was fine with that, however. Denzel clenched a fist and grinned. "Surf!" He''d taken inspiration from Cecilia and Lauren''s battle for this one. Gallons of water poured out of Milotic''s mouth, the small spaces in between his scales and he used the small pond on their side of the field to flood the field as well. The craters filled up with water and an borate system of streams reced the chasms Poliwrath had created. They would both benefit from this no doubt, but he was okay with that. "Get close," the Gym Leader said. "Water Gun," Denzel continued. Milotic spat out a weakened jet of water that had no effect on Poliwrath, confirming the fact that it did have Water Absorb. He was surprised Maylene hadn''t even ordered it to dodge. Maybe she was still assessing his skills and thought that he deserved a freebie? Either way, he''d take advantage of the situation. "Twister! Don''t let it reach you!" Milotic drew on the draconic powers thaty deep within him and sang a song. A tornado appeared in front of Poliwrath¡ª small at first, but then it grew and grew until the water type was forced to dive deep into one of the rivers Denzel had created to take cover. He ordered Milotic to keep the Twister going at all costs. Even in the water, it would deal damage. Maylene was the one who needed toe to them, not him. Denzel''s eyes snapped to the left when he realized Poliwrath hade out of the river from apletely different spot. The fighting type pushed forward and it closed half the distance in one leap. "Dragon Breath and run into the water!" Denzel yelled. The beam hit Poliwrath in the arm, but it didn''t stop him from running. Milotic slithered away, secreting water from his scales to facilitate his escape, but there was no way he was going to outrun Poliwrath. Just as Milotic dove into the water, Poliwrath grabbed his tail and pulled. "Smash it!" Maylene yelled. Poliwrath spun Milotic around and mmed him against the ground so hard that it created a small split in the earth, but he didn''t let go. In fact, he continued smashing Milotic like a rag while the water type could only retaliate with the asional Dragon Breath. Twister would have been possible, but it''d hurt him as well. Denzel recalled Milotic and his throat suddenly felt very dry. It was true what they said about Maylene. One grab, and you were done for. He knew what he had to do now. The n had been to make Maylene run out of Pokemon before he employed his main strategy so she would have fewer tools at her disposal to retaliate, but with Poliwrath benefiting so much from the terrain, there was only one possible choice. His secret weapon for the gym. Fross appeared in the sky in a sh of red, and Maylene''s neutral stare turned into an intense frown. Denzel knew she hated ghosts. The ice type flickered, disappearing and reappearing at random and she exuded an aura of frost all around her. "Blizzard!" He snapped. "Mudshot!" Maylene yelled. Globs of hot scalding mud flew out of Poliwrath''s mouth, but Fross simply disappeared out of the way as snow slowly began to fall. She was actually easy to track, spreading ice wherever she went even when she wasn''t in this ne of existence, and Maylene knew it. The water under her began to freeze, as did the ground itself. "Again, follow the ice!" She yelled. Denzel didn''t have time to see if they''d hit or not, because an enormous Blizzard engulfed the entire arena. "Will-O-Wisp," he whispered. "Find it, then load up another one." A small amount of cold spread onto his fingers, letting him know that she''d heard him. Denzel wasn''t taking any chances. When he''d heard that Maylene despised people who fought ''dirty'', he came up with a n that would let him do so anyway without her knowing. The blue mes didn''t even giggle as they appeared in the Blizzard next to the barrier. Denzel shivered, but smiled as another burst of cold hit his hands thirty secondster. Contact. As soon as the Blizzard began to weaken, another one snapped into ce. Somehow, while he hadn''t been looking, Fross had turned into Denzel''s ace. Their tactic was not impossible to counter, but it was mighty annoying, especially against fighting types with very few ranged attacks. Case in point, Denzel''s smile faltered when he saw a stream of mes fly high up in the sky, and then turn into a literal ball on the ground. Maylene issued some kind of order, but he didn''t hear it through the cold wind. Fire exploded in all directions with an explosion so loud that Denzel''s ears started to ring. The Blizzard melted away and Fross'' body caught on fire, but she quickly extinguished herself by drenching her body in snow. The entire battlefield had turned into something akin to Candice''s arena. It was covered in snow and ice, but Maylene had switched at some point during the Blizzard and brought out an Emboar. The fire type huffed, expunging hot air from its nostrils. Denzel noticed two things. One, he didn''t think Maylene had noticed that her Pokemon was burned. They couldn''tmunicate, and he''d made sure to train Fross to have a tight leash on the spirits so they wouldn''t make any noise. Two, that had apparently not mattered, since Maylene had supposedly disliked him chaining Blizzards and hampering her visibility and hearing so much. So the situation was bad, but it wasn''t as bad as it could have been. "Shadow Ball!" Denzel yelled. Emboar was a slow, lumbering Pokemon, which meant it was a perfect target for Fross. The ice type weaved the shadows into a ball and¡ª "ming Rollout!" Emboar bunched up into a ball and somehow rolled to dodge the attack, melting any snow and ice on his path. While it rolled, it spat out mes toward Fross at random intervals¡ª probably whenever it had an angle with its mouth. Denzel clicked his tongue when Fross winced in pain. She didn''t even need to get hit by the mes. Just them being near hurt her enough, and she would eventually go down. There was Double Team avable, and she''d already used it once, but that had been when she''d been in the Blizzard, hidden both from him and Maylene''s judgemental gaze. Denzel recalled Fross. It''d be best to keep her healthy forter in the battle. He was no doubt on the backfoot, but an idea that went beyond using Milotic again for the type advantage popped into his head as he sent out his next Pokemon. Emboar was a threat, and massively so, but Sylveon stared at it like a bug when he firstid eyes on the fire type. Some of the snow had melted, but most of the ice still remained, giving Denzel an easy picture of where the craters and small rivers used to be. "Get close, take it slow," Denzel said. A terrible decision in any other circumstance, but this was Sylvi we were talking about. The fairy type silently prowled through the snow and approached Emboar, who grunted and mmed its fists together while it waited. That''s right, Denzel thought. Wait right there. "Now!" He yelled. "y Rough and Disarming Voice! Keep him there!" Sylveon blurred with Quick Attack, letting out a heartwrenching cry as some of his ribbons extended and wrapped around Emboar''s arms while the others flexed and whipped against his entire body. "Fight back!" Maylene yelled. "Get it on the floor!" Sylveon tilted his head as Emboar''s fists mmed against his armor¡ª the mour he easily manipted as he wanted. Another ribbon grappled Emboar''s leg, tripping him, and the fire type fell on the ice. It began to melt. Denzel eyed Maylene as Sylveon manhandled a Pokemon three times his size to see if she was about to recall it. When it started to sink into water, she finally retrieved him as she bit her lip. Yeah, she was angry. This was good, though. So long as he kept cycling through her switches, he knew she wouldn''t be able to pull any bullshit out of nowhereter in the battle. This time, a Toxicroaknded on the field. The w on its knuckle secreted a poison so potent that it pooled into the ground. Sylveon was at a disadvantage here, and he was fine with using another switch if it meant he''d stay healthy. Now came the dicey part of the battle. This really wasn''t a Gym Battle where Lopunny could shine. Everything she did, Maylene''s Pokemon could do better, but that did not mean she was useless. Still, as morbid as it was, he could afford to lose her here so long as she got some damage off. Denzel took a deep breath and leaned against his knees. "Bounce!" He yelled. "Venoshock!" Maylene countered. Lopunny left a crater where she''d just been as she jumped high into the air. Then, as if propelled by the wind, she suddenly dashed in Toxicroak''s direction with an extended foot. The poison type croaked, expunging poison from his mouth that melted off her fur, but she stillnded her kick on its head. "Run and do it again," he said. "Follow and grab!" Lopunny stepped back with a small hop, but Toxicroak leaned in and grabbed her leg as she jumped, mming her into the floor. "Elemental attacks!" Denzel yelled. Both Lopunny''s feet lit aze, and Toxicroak cringed away from the mes. Dry Skin, Denzel mused. Lopunny added two Fire Punches to both her hands and her ears and squared herself. Denzel warned her to stop the ones on her foot so she wouldn''t suffer Emboar''s fate, and she quickly listened, recing them with electricity instead. Still, Bounce was out of the picture when they were so close together. "Venoshock! Find an opening!" Maylene yelled. "Stay on the defensive," Denzel warned. Toxicroak spat out multiple clumps of poison, and then jumped forward with his fist drenched in the same venom. Lopunny hopped back, but when it became evident she wasn''t going to be able to dodge the entire attack, she opted to p as much of the poison away as she could with her ear. The fighting type punched her in the gut, causing her to double over, and then snapped toward her jaw in a vicious uppercut, but Lopunny managed to kick him in the face as she flew off. Denzel almost ordered another Bounce, but Toxicroak was too quick, so he let Lopunny take over the decision-making from here. There wasn''t much he could do in this slugfest apart from warning her whenever she got too close to the hole Emboar had melted. Lopunny ducked under a Poison Jab, but some still dripped on her head as she hit the fighting type''s shoulder and grabbed his left arm. Toxicroark sprayed her arm with poison, forcing her to let go as he quickly punched under her arm. Every time it tried to grab her, she managed to slip away with a backward Quick Attack, but she was still getting hit twice as many times as she was actually hitting, and it interspersed its attack with the asional Venoshock to switch things up. "Shadow Ball!" Denzel yelled. Toxicroak''s eyes widened, but it had already been leaning into another jab. Denzel had expected it to try to pivot to dodge, but instead, it pushed forward and flexed, ignoring the pain from the attack as it stabbed Lopounny''s thigh and injected her with poison directly. Lopunny kicked it away with an Ice Kick, but the damage was already done. She was poisoned. Yet Maylene wasn''t one to wait and stall for time. "Finish it off!" She yelled. It was time for onest hurrah. Denzel swept his arm. "Run ten steps back!" Lopunny flipped backward, pirouetting to create enough momentum to p Toxicroak in the face with her ears using Fire Punch. The poison type ducked to dodge, which left them enough time to run away. "Follow!" Maylene yelled. Even then, they would catch up. Bounce wouldn''t work, but that wasn''t the n. "Fire Punch the floor!" "Submission!" Lopunny had been standing right on one of the ice-covered craters, and she mmed a foot against the ice, which broke apart and began to melt. Toxicroak jumped, tackling her away from the crater and they both fell onto the floor. It straddled her, keeping her pinned against the ground as she hit him back with ever-weakening Fire Punches, but a final Poison Jab to the jaw knocked her out. "Lopunny is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon!" The referee yelled. Well, they''d almost managed to sink Toxicroak into a hole, but Maylene wouldn''t let the same thing happen to her twice. Denzel recalled Lopunny and sent out Fross again with a smile. Now, the question remained, would Maylene switch, or would she let Toxicroak fall? Denzel clicked his tongue when she let the fighting type remain on the field. It was going to go down fighting, which was the wise decision. No trainer worth their salt would have use a switch right now, but it had been worth a try. "Up high and Blizzard!" He ordered. "Poison Sting!" Maylene barked. The darts flew quickly, but only a few managed to sink into Fross'' invisible form. She kept avoiding Poison Stings until another howling Blizzard appeared out of thin air and drowned the entire field. He smiled at Fross when she reappeared next to the barrier in front of him, and she returned the favor as she manually pulled out the four darts that were currently stabbing her. She was getting tired, but she was nowhere near done yet. When the Blizzard finished, Toxicroak was down for the count. Maylene didn''t actually send out her Emboar this time, but a ziken right after the referee finished speaking. mes burst from its wrists as it struck a fighting pose with a leg up and its fists protecting its head. Two fire types, Denzel thought with a twinge of panic. He ordered Fross to buy time and use Shadow Balls while he thought. Swapping was an option, but using another switch to preserve Fross when Maylene was using two fire types against him wasn''t wise. Roselia was also in the back, which meant that he was actually in a lot of trouble. Milotic and Sylveon would have to pull some weight here, or he would just lose. Denzel wasn''t stupid. He knew that sacrifices had to be made to win, just as his Pokemon did, and it wasn''t the first battle where he realized that fact. This ziken didn''t have Speed Boost, at the very least, but its powerful legs meant that it could jump just as high as Lopunny could. It used some proto-version of Bounce, along with Aerial Ace and mes to maneuver in the air as it tried to hit Fross with ze Kick. The longer this went on, the more tired she got. He would have tried Blizzard to hamper ziken and Maylene''s visibility, but he had no doubt that she had a way to counter it just like with Emboar, and ziken was already pressuring her way too hard. "Hex!" Denzel yelled. ziken grunted as smoke emanated from its body, but it didn''t interrupt its proto-flight. It hit Fross with a ze Kick and sent her tumbling in the air until she crashed into the barrier. ziken somehow kicked the air, propelling himself back with a jet of fireing from the soles of its feet, and it turned at thest second to kick Fross. Denzel breathed a sigh of relief and he realized it had been a clone from Double Team. The real Fross appeared behind ziken with a Shadow Ball and hit the fire type in the back. "We''ve been too lenient, it seems," Maylene said. "Night sh. Finish it off." Denzel winced as a dark void appeared around ziken''s ws. The fighting type ran up the barrier and jumped, spinning with Aerial Ace at ridiculous speeds. The streaks of air intertwined with the darkness from Night sh, and ziken mmed into Fross with everything it had. She fell to the ground and didn''t get up. "Fross is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your third Pokemon!" From his chats with numerous trainers, he knew that Maylene always pulled some bullshit whenever she spoke to the trainer directly after they''d used a move she disapproved of. She disliked the Blizzard strategy, but she hadn''t shut him down in an instant like she had now. Denzel swallowed as he recalled the ice type and sent out Sylveon again. Milotic would be a terrible choice against a Pokemon this mobile, even with the type advantage. Denzel wiped the sweat off his brow and clenched a fist. Keep going, he told himself. This is a marathon, not a race. He stayed silent as ziken flew around the arena, waiting for Maylene''s signal. He almost expected her to pull some bullshit like Poison Jab, but thankfully, she didn''t. "Go in and ze Kick!" She ordered. It looked like it didn''t have any moves to attack at a distance, then, or at least not any powerful ones. "y Rough!" He yelled at thest second. Sylveon didn''t even blink or flinch when ziken''s footnded on his head. Instead, his ribbons wrapped all around its feet and weakened it. He could have used Disarming Voice, but he didn''t want Maylene to blow up at him again. Fighting her was such bullshit that it was like doing it with a hand behind his back. ziken''s wrists lit up with mes and it tried to fly away with that fire-boosting trick, but all the fire type did was bring Sylveon with it. He pawed and whipped against ziken''s body while fire enveloped them both, and ziken crashed against the ground when the fairy type began to strangle him. Sylveon was ejected away due to the impact. Snow melted under its hot body, and both Pokemon got up. Calm down, he thought. Stay positive, keep thinking, keep up with her pace, and you''ll win. There was one opportunity to win this one-on-one, and Denzel seized it. "Swift!" ziken lifted a foot and prepared the counter the stars with a ze Kick, but they never came. Or at least that''s what it looked like. A dozen invisible stars crashed against ziken, and then a dozen more. Sylveon had managed to make Swift invisible through mour after some intensive training, and it was paying off. "It''s a trick! Rush in!" She yelled. "Detect!" Sylveon shifted back, narrowly dodging a ze Kick. He struck again with his ribbons and whipped ziken in the knees. He had identified the fire type''s weak point in a split second. ziken''s knees buckled as he fell to the ground, and Sylveon finished the fire type off by beating the living daylights out of it. "ziken is unable to battle. Leader Maylene, send out your third Pokemon!" And she did, sending out her Emboar once again. "methrower!" She yelled. Shit! Denzel inwardly panicked. "Quick Attack and Swift!" Sylveon blurred toward the left as thest remaining snow and ice over the entire field melted away, exposing the craters and rivers formed by Milotic and Poliwrath once more. Sylveon wasn''t stuck on her side of the field, per se, buting back on their side would leave him exposed to attacks like methrower or whatever else Maylene had under her sleeve. Sylveon didn''t bother turning the stars invisible this time, and they simply hit Emboar in the gut for minimal damage. It was a lot bulkier than ziken had been. "Go in and trip him, then y Rough!" He continued. Maylene yelled, "Smog¡ª" "Don''t! Keep using Swift!" Emboar coughed up noxious fumes that slowly spread through the arena, forcing Sylveon back as the fairy type kept his Swift barrageing. "methrower!" Maylene ordered. Blue mes parted the Smog and engulfed Sylveon. Denzel winced when he heard the fairy type actually whimper from the pain. Fairies didn''t do well against fire, and the attack had burned away all of his armor. Without it, Sylvi was actually pretty frail, so their minutes were numbered. He bit the bullet and ordered Sylveon to use Disarming Voice, but it didn''t stop Emboar from attacking, it only weakened Smog and methrower instead. He couldn''t approach because of Smog. Disarming Voice wasn''t an option. methrower dealt more damage than Swift, and using Detect would just dy the inevitable. "Fuck it!" Denzel snapped. "Get in there and give it everything you have! Disarming Voice!" His head screamed at him for giving that order, but his gut told him it was the right choice. Indecisiveness meant losing, and he would rather make a wrong choice than do nothing at all and have a guaranteed loss. Sylveon shed a grin and rushed forward with Quick Attack while Maylene ordered Emboar to use Smog once more, although it had been weakened by Sylveon''s Disarming Voice. The fairy type immediately started coughing and could barely keep his eyes open in the toxic smoke, but he wrapped his ribbons around Emboar, soothing him in the process as he began another y Rough. The Smog grew too thick for Denzel to even see what was happening, but he heard multiple blows being exchanged. Every time Sylveon grunted or yelped, he winced, but he could only hope. His shoulders sagged when Sylveon flew out of the purple haze, his body limp. "Sylveon is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your fourth Pokemon!" Denzel rolled his shoulder and smiled nervously as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He was in quite the predicament, wasn''t he? He released Milotic, this time on his side of the field, but Maylene immediately recalled Emboar and sent out herst Pokemon instead. A tall Pangoro that would be able to grab onto Milotic and treat his body like a rag. If he ever got close enough, that was. "Aqua Ring and Water Pulse, rapid fire!" He yelled. Surf would have been more powerful here, but he had to think about Roselia''s ability to fight afterward. It would do him no good to flood the field further than it already was. A blue light shimmered around Milotic, and his previous bruises slowly began to heal. He reared his head back and shot out Water Pulse after Water Pulse. "Get close," Maylene simply said. The rings of water exploded against Pangoro''s fur, drenching and slowing it in the process. Pangoro''s legs flexed as he jumped over one of the two rivers, took more Water Pulses and then jumped over the other. Just how bulky was this Pokemon? "Keep going," Denzel muttered. "Bulldoze." The floor shook, throwing Milotic''s aim off and hurting his scales as Pangoro approached. This time, however, they wouldn''t waste their chance to run. "Escape into the water," Denzel shouted. "Grab it!" Milotic slithered away as he drenched his path with water. Pangoro jumped, but Milotic was already out of reach and it fell t on its face. Denzel rxed slightly, but this was far from over. A few secondster, Milotic appeared down the river. He peeked his head out and continued pestering Pangoro with Water Pulse. "Grab a rock and throw it!" Maylene barked. Denzel''s eyes widened. That wasn''t even Rock Throw. Pangoro''s arms tensed as it ripped a chunk of earth from the floor and threw it at Milotic, who quickly ducked underwater to dodge. Another Water Pulse hit Pangoro''s face, this timeing from under the surface. Denzel frowned. Even if Maylene had nned to grab Milotic again, this was too easy, something was going to happen soon. He got his answer when Maylene ordered Pangoro to Bullet Punch. The dark type blurred, entering the river faster than Denzel could see. A half-hearted Twister came out of his mouth, and Milotic began to create the tornado just as Pangoro began to hit him with a flurry of punches and then grabbed him by the throat to lift him out of the water. The draconic tornado stopped him in his tracks, but he didn''t let go. "Aqua Tail!" Denzel quickly said. The Twister engulfed them both, but water wrapped around Milotic''s tail and exploded when he mmed it against Pangoro''s gut. This time, the fighting type let go, but both of them were still stuck in the Twister. "Wrap and Dragon Breath!" Denzel yelled. He was going all in. With a nod, Milotic wrapped around Pangoro and constricted him as tightly as he could as a Dragon Breath charged up in his throat. Pangoro flexed and pushed against the Wrap, but the Twister kept him off-bnce. The blue stream of energy hit Pangoro in the face, and the dark type stumbled back into the water. He had it, Denzel thought with a clenched fist. Thirty seconds of violent thrashingter, Milotic brought Pangoro''s unconscious body ashore and quickly sank back into the river to let Aqua Ring do the job. If Denzel had trained more, he could have had Recover down¡­ damn it. "Pangoro is unable to battle. Leader Maylene, send out your fourth Pokemon!" She obviously sent out Poliwrath, who had barely seen any fighting. Maylene''s eyes narrowed when she saw the cold ghostly mes burn around the water type, but it wasn''t like she could do anything about it. "Dragon Breath!" "Mud Shot! Make it a stream!" Both attacks shed mid-air and exploded. Denzel wiped his upper lip and kept a hand on Milotic''s Pokeball. So long as Poliwrath wasn''t hurting him, he would keep Milotic in the field. "Dive in the water and grab it!" Maylene yelled. "No holding back!" Poliwrath broke into a run that was somehow even faster than before while he was burned, and Denzel counted the seconds as he ordered Milotic to retaliate in any way he could. Twister was too slow to form around an opponent moving that quickly, so he deferred to Dragon Breaths until Poliwrath jumped into the water. Denzel quickly recalled Milotic, using hisst swap of the battle. Now, it was Roselia''s turn, and she was perfect for what he needed. "There''s a Poliwrath in the closest stream to you. Use Venoshock and poison the water¡ª not the crater, the river," Denzel said. Roselia corrected her course, and Poliwrath quickly had to exit the water to avoid getting poisoned. He tried to jump into another pool of water, but Roselia poisoned it again. They would keep the water type from hiding anywhere as long as it was needed. "Seed Bomb!" Denzel yelled. "Mudshot!" The teenager clenched his teeth as both Pokemon traded blows. Roselia was too slow to hope to dodge an attack as fast as Mudshot, but Seed Bomb''s explosive range meant that Poliwrath could hardly do any better. Five seedsnded next to the water type, each explosion being so violent that it stopped him from moving for a few seconds. "Toughen up and keep going!" Maylene yelled. "Earth Power!" Fuck! "Leech Seed!" He yelled. A pir of earth erupted under Roselia''s feet, but not before two small seedsnded on Poliwrath''s body. Thorns grew from the seeds and wrapped around the water type like a vice. Roselianded with a soft thud, and she struggled back to her feet. "Again!" Maylene yelled. "Spore Bomb!" Roselia would go down faster than expected, but she would leave Maylene a parting gift. A tightly packaged lump of spores flew out of both flowers, and she was again hit by Earth Power. The spores exploded next to Poliwrath, and the water type coughed as it began to wildly shake and inhale more poisonous spores. Maylene''s face scrunched up in anger, but it wasn''t like she could screw him over. All she had left was Poliwrath and Emboar. "Roselia is unable to battle! Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon." Milotic emerged onto the field as close to him as he could. Around half of the water pools and one of the two rivers were poisoned to some degree, so hiding in the water would take some more effort if they ever needed it, but this was the best bet he had of winning. "Aqua Ring." A little stalling never hurt anyone. He could stop holding back now that Maylene was out of options. He calmly watched with his hands in his pockets as Milotic slowly healed up the damage he had taken from his previous fights and Poliwrath slowly sumbed to Leech Seed, Poison Powder, and Will-O-Wisp. "Poliwrath is unable to battle! Leader Maylene, send out yourst Pokemon." Maylene let out a haughty huff as she released Emboar. "Surf," he simply said. "Get close and me Charge!" Maylene yelled. Milotic sang, and all of the water on the field pushed against the fireball that Emboar had turned into. Most of it instantly turned to vapor, but some of it hit, and that was what they needed. The fire type struggled to move forward, its past wounds from its previous fightsing back to bite it. Milotic continued the Surf, including with the poisoned water, but he manipted a small space around himself so he could be free from any damage. Emboar fell at Milotic''s feet. It hadn''t gotten a single hit off. "Victory to the Challenger!" Denzel pumped his fist and loudly exhaled as the adrenaline slowly left his body. He grabbed his badge from Maylene, who all things considered didn''t look that pissed now that the battle had passed. The prize money was very appreciated, and so was the Drain Punch TM. He''d teach it to Lopunny ASAP. Five badges now. The Conference grew closer.
Chapter 203 Chapter 203 CHAPTER 203 I ignored Pauline''s squeals of joy as I leaned back against my seat with an intrigued hum. I''d paid more attention here than Maylene''s battle with Maeve because she was actually using Pokemon of my level, and I had learned a decent amount of information from this battle. Beyond the fact that her muscles tensed or loosened with her mood, the minute microexpressions her face made at different stages of her battles and the fact that she was very emotional when picking a Pokemon to counter yours, there was also the fact that Maylene spoke whenever she was about to go all in and ruin your day. If I knew to anticipate it, I could potentially react to it. And since I knew all of her Pokemon''s moves, it''d be feasible to create a counter. Of course, there was always the possibility of her having hidden techniques I didn''t know about, but I couldn''t ount for those until I was battling. The key approach would be to have my Pokemon survive through one of these tantrums. I already knew that it''d throw her off. After all, she explicitly expected these ''counters'' to finish off her opponents in a single hit. She''d told ziken to ''finish'' off Fross. She didn''t always say it out loud, but it was still obvious. She''d be rattled and potentially slip up. I was surprised that none of her Pokemon had used Aura at first, but the only ones she''d used in the battle capable of drawing on the power was Poliwrath, and, well, he hadn''t exactly been in a state to use it when she released him against Milotic. He''d been affected by every status move under the sun and was unable to move. ziken, Toxicroak, Pangoro and Emboar were monsters in their own right, but they weren''t adept with Aura like her Throh, Machoke or some of her other Pokemon were. Still, it''s not like she explicitly needed to use it to be a threat, but I knew that if I was going to go all in on frustrating her during the battle, she''d pull out all the stops. The key was tost long enough to make her realize that I was good enough topete at that level, and then her thoughts would start to fray and she would start making mistakes. Or at least that''s the conclusion I had reached. Gym Leader or not, Maylene was only fifteen. The pressures of being the youngest Gym Leader, all of the people ming her online, wanting to be able to stand on equal footing with the rest of her colleagues, expectations from her father who had raised her for the role in mind and selected her for the position, the job of helping run the city¡ª or at least standing in the meetings, possibly information about Team Gctic that I wasn''t privy to. I finally understood now. All of that was getting to her. Her smile after Pauline''s battle or when she fought with other people that conformed to her battle style. It was because battling this way was fun for her. It was her only outlet, her only way of exerting a modicum of control in her life and relieving ever-mounting stress, and whenever someone battled in a way she disapproved of, Maylene didn''t have fun. That was why she tried to shut it down immediately every time. Not battling as she liked effectively took one of the few joys she had in the world. Part of me asked what difference would a few battles make, but Maylene knew that the more she was like this, the less likely people were to try to go against the grain. Oh, I did feel kind of bad for her, even if her problems didn''t warrant her retaliating against other trainers that simply wanted to improve and get a badge. But what kind of person thought that putting a teenager under so much pressure was a good idea? So much responsibility? Her father was an idiot. I''d be a fool not to take advantage of her stress by using every tool at my disposal. All I needed was a little push, and she''d break¡ª "...Grace. Grace!" I turned toward Emilia and saw that they were all already up. "We''re going," she said. "Oh. Sorry." "Remember to blink," Cecilia smirked. I did so, realizing that my eyes felt incredibly dry as I stood. Getting out of the aisle was easy since it was so early in the morning. Denzel hadn''t been lucky scheduling-wise, but he made the most of it with a rtively dominant victory. Milotic had improved leaps and bounds since the Sceon tournament and I was d to see that Denzel had adapted to switching up the field to his advantage like Cece or I had. "When''s your battle, Cece?" Emilia asked. "Tomorrow at two in the afternoon," she said. "I need to do somest-minute adjustments with Zweilous¡­ but I think I''m ready. He''s the lynchpin of my strategy." I raised an eyebrow at that. Typing wasn''t everything, but she was bold to use a dark type as her anchor in a fighting gym when she had Talonme or Slowking avable. Hell, even Golett would have been more intuitive. I knew that she had a n, however. Cecilia wasn''t one to not know what she was doing. Pauline scuttled toward Denzel to congratte him and he looked more tired than I''d ever seen him after a battle. He was known for his stamina in battle, but it felt like he could barely walk straight. "She put me through the wringer," he exhaled. "A lot more nning went into this than I''m used to, and I had to work with her to win." "Work with her?" Pauline asked. "You know. Carefully walking the tightrope of not having her decide to wipe out my Pokemon because I used a move she didn''t like," he said irritatingly. "I am not looking forward to battling her next year." I nodded. "She''lle at you without pulling any stops." I wondered what they''d say if they knew I was nning on ignoring her moodpletely. Probably panic and tell me that it was a terrible idea. "Anyway, I''m gonna get my team to the Center. Keep an eye out for Justin. There''s been no videos of him, so he hasn''t fought her yet." "What if he asked for it not to be recorded? Like Lauren used to do?" I asked. "Well, then we''re fucked and he''s already gone, but let''s keep a positive spin on things." We split up soon after that. Pauline went to her practical flight lessons, and she''d decided to practice with both Charizard and Braviary. Emi went with her to see what flying was all about. Denzel went to the Center and then would get back to gambling, where he''d spend most of his time now that he''d gotten his badge. Cece went off to train like she''d said. As for me? Well, route 214 it was, as usual. I had a decent amount of time before my media training. ¡ª "Guys! Come take a look at this!" I motioned to my team and they all shuffled toward me. Sunshine was taking it easy after his tough fight against that Drudiggon, and he was keeping me warm since today was a particrly cold day. I''d scratch his scales until he fell asleep, and despite him pretending otherwise, I knew he liked it. Electabuzz stood behind me and Princess craned her neck around Angel. Sweetheart yelled that she couldn''t see myptop screen. "Angel, scooch over¡ª yeah, there you go. Princess, you get on myp. Leave some space for Buddy. Sunshine, you watch too. You aren''t fighting, but it should be of interest to you." The fire type sighed as he opened an eye. I had hastily drawn a rectangle on Paint that mirrored Maylene''s battlefield and ced a set ofbeled circles at different intervals. There were 36 in total, so seven sets of four and four sets of two. They were our pirs, and they were allbeled using the letters A to G and the numbers 1 through 4. For the sets of two, I used the letters H to K and the letters 1 through 2. As I''d said, Maylene''s side of the field would have plenty of pirs, but mine would have fewer, and it would still leave me with an unobstructed view of the Gym Leader. "Princess, you''re the one that''s got to memorize it the most due to your Air Cutter, but it''s important for all of you¡ª well, except you, Sunshine. I''ll be seeing less than usual, and Maylene''s Pokemon will be hidden from me at different points. By using these letters and numbers, you can tell me exactly where they are at every moment, and I can also use them as well. We''re a team, so we''ll be using two pair of eyes to track her Pokemon. This is the only way this''ll work." They all let out affirmative grunts. "Good, good," I smiled. I clicked a key and theyer with thebeling disappeared. "So if our opponent''s behind this pir," I said, pointing at E2. "What do you say to me? Honey, let''s start with you." With each Pokemon, I changed which pir I''d pointed to. Electabuzz and Jellicent got the right answer right away. Togetic got it, but she had to think about it for a few seconds while Tangrowth and Pupitar¡­ well, there was a lot to work on. Not only that, but since the grass type was mute, we''d need toe up with a way for him tomunicate. His signnguage and blinks wouldn''t work in the midst of battle. I''d alsoe to the conclusion that I would keep Sweetheart forst instead of first, only for the fact that she''d grown enough in strength to copse the pirs with Stomping Tantrum, so there were some opportunities there. "Princess, could you give me an Air Cutter? Pick the direction, I just want to see your progress." The fairy type nodded, not even moving from myp as the air in front of me sharpened and sliced horizontally across the ground. It was now one of her most powerful and versatile moves, which was a far cry from what she''d been capable of before. Now, if I could get her to redirect Moonst¡­ "Good," I smiled. "Keep working on that control." Hydro Pump had been mastered, Angel''s powder moves were better than ever and he''d give a heavy dose of it to any fighting type that approached him. Thunder was a ways off, but Thunderbolt was stronger than it had ever been. "You guys can go back to training," I said. "We''ll study the piryout when we get back to the Center." I scratched the underside of Turtonator''s shell as they left, although Sweetheart demanded some pets of her own before she went back to train. I cracked my knuckles and closed my Paint application, opening my browser instead. It was time to go further in-depth than I''d ever gone before. I knew Maylene''s Pokemon, their moves, but I did not know Maylene herself. The nning phase was half the fun of the battle, after all. To see a strategy you''d spent weeks working one to fruition brought me a feeling unlike any other. I began to type. Hesitantly at first. It felt like I was intruding on someone''s life, and I was. But if I managed to pull off what I had in mind? Arceus, would it feel good. And it probably would do her some good to be knocked down a peg too. I couldn''t be too harsh on her. The Poketch Company would get on my back, and since I was going to renegotiate my contract next month to get enough money for Princess'' Shiny Stone, I needed them to view me favorably (which was why I was so damn nervous for that interview). I could, however, easily do what I wanted while acting like I had Maylene''s best interests at heart, knowing that she would get furious anyway while my image was unaffected. Ruthless as it might have seemed, she was my opponent. I woulde at her with everything I had, both in and out of battle. My eyes scanned myptop screen as I looked up everything I could on Maylene with my Notes application open on the other half of the screen. Click. Press conference with Cynthia a day ago talking about the recent Team Gctic raids, and another one set for next week. Rising anxiety? Cynthia spoke the entire Conference and Maylene only confirmed her statements. No agency outside of her gym. Click. Does not appear to have any friends outside of other Gym Leaders, and cannot see them often due to work. Lived a sheltered life away from the media until she was suddenly thrust into the limelight ahead of time when she ascended to her position early after her father remarried and retired. Click. Father has been in Al with his new wife for the past two months celebrating their three-year anniversary and ising back in March. Closed down her gym on the day of his departure. Close bond. Wants to impress. Rumors of her fighting with her stepmother on numerous asions. Click. Was battling eight hours per day at the start of the Circuit. Has now moved up to ten hours. Since battling is her only outlet, I expect it to be because she needed to blow off more steam. Is continuously working outside one-hour lunches. Mentally fatigued. Click. Comints about retired/fired Gym Trainers regarding Maylene''s attitude. Despises delegating tasks and tries to work more than she can handle, possibly to impress her Father/other Gym Leaders. Is hotheaded and impossible to work with, leading to an incredibly high turnover rate at her gym. Click. Tends to retaliate by using a Pokemon with the type advantage when she gets angry. Tougher to beat, but easier to predict. Could manipte into using certain Pokemon. Click¡ª ¡ª This was terribly, terribly bad. Denzel''s mood had made aplete 180 since he''d won at his gym battle this morning. It was nowter in the afternoon, and he''d spent the entire day at this Arceus-forsaken Game Corner. He was getting tired of the ce, but he was still only sixty percent of the way toward his Dratini. The clutch of eggs had hatched two days ago, and he''d seen one in person for the first time yesterday thanks to Ashley finally managing to get hers. The problem was that when she finally got her Dratini, the casino told her that only two of them remained. Two. That had been yesterday. There was only one left now that some filthy rich Pokemon collector who wasn''t even a trainer showed up, converted all of his money into coins and bought the second-tost Dratini. and he was nowhere near the amount of money he needed "You''ve got to go big," Ashley said. "It sucks, but there''s no other choice." "Go big? After every precaution I took to stay safe? I can''t just spend it all on one battle!" He said with a hissing whisper. He didn''t want others to know that only a single Dratini was left. "Maybe they''ll bring another clutch of eggs¡ª" "It took six months for this one to arrive. The Conference will be over by then!" "Oh Legendaries, I have a stomachache¡­" he muttered, clenching at his gut. "Who''s battling next?" "It''s on the screen, dude. Sammy and Gabe. You''re not going to get a better setup than this." Denzel took a deep breath. None of them were known to throw battle, but Samuel was such a terrible trainer that he lost almost all of the fights he was in. He''d made plenty of money off of him, and he was a rtively safe bet. "I''d give you the money if I had any left, but you''ve got to take a risk. Unless you''re giving up and you''re buying something else? They give Clefairy, Porygon, Vulpix, Growlithe, S¡ª" "No. I''ll get my Dratini," he said with a clenched fist. Denzel walked up to the Counter and ced the majority of his current coins on Samuel losing. He clenched his fists around his armrests when he sat on one of the sprawling couches and anxiously awaited for the battle to start. It would be a Sammy with a Beedrill against Gabe with an Azumarill. He''d seen the Azumarill in other trainers'' hands a few times, but it was his first time seeing that Beedrill. That was a good sign and meant that it probably wouldn''t cooperate with its temporary trainer since it was new at the Game Corner. Denzel could barely bare to look at the screen as an ever-consuming gutwrenching pain consumed him. He couldn''t hear themands or the voices in the television, nor the people crowding around him. When he opened his eyes around two minutester, the battle was in full swing. Beedrill''s eyes were consumed by an incredible rage as it continuously attacked Azumarill with its glowing stingers, and the water type struggled to dodge the hits due to its awkward shape. When hit, however, it hit hard. Its springy tail mmed against Beedrill and sent the bug type crashing against the steel walls of the arena. Denzel felt his heart sing as Beedrill struggled to get back in the air. "Water Gun!" The order was crystal clear on the television, and Azumarill spat out the stream of water to finish off Beedrill, who crawled to dodge the attack. That would leave a horrifying image in Denzel''s mind for months. The poison type took flight once more and tiny sharpened darts flew out of its stingers and stabbed into Azumarill''s round body. Blood seeped out of the gash when Beedrill pulled out its stinger. Samuel stared with a nk expression. "Shit¡­" Ashley muttered. That wound was¡­ a lot more serious than something you''d expect for a small-scale betting battle. Gabe fumbled around for his Pokeball and quickly recalled the fallen Azumarill, and the TV cut to ck. It never cut to ck. When the footage came back, Samuel and Beedrill were announced as the winners as if nothing had happened. Denzel''s ears started to ring as he stared at the screen in disbelief. He still had around 800,000 Pokedors to his name, but almost everything he''d made here had just gone up in smoke. All of the sleepless nights, the long hours, the strategizing had been reduced to ash. He only had enough coins for cheap rewards. "Denzel¡­" Ashley said. He didn''t answer. There was no way he was getting his Dratini now. Not unless he spent the money he''d said he wouldn''t spend on coins and splurged it all on the next few fights. A part of him was tempted. After all, Mira had gotten lucky with her Porygon, so why not him? And yet he knew better. Roselia had been waiting to evolve for months now, and he owed her that Shiny Stone. He had enough money to buy it today, if he wished. But his list, everything he''d worked toward was gone. His lips quivered, and he bit them in order not to cry. His nails dug into his palms and the teenager inhaled as best he could. The deep breath helped calm him, but it didn''t help with him feeling like absolute shit. "Look, it''s not the end¡ª" "I''m alright," he interrupted. It was a lie, but he felt the need to say it out loud, if only to convince himself. "I''ve got a few tens of thousands of coins left. I guess I can try to go from there and y risky, but I doubt it''d be enough. That Dratini''s probably going to be gone by tonight." The girl ced a hand on his arm and softly caressed him. "Look. You''ve helped me a lot, and I won my battle with Maylene thanks to you. If you really want to, I can give you my Dratini¡ª" "Leave it," he said. "You wanted it just as much as I did. You were so happy when you got him, Ashley. I can''t take that away from you." Fuck, Denzel thought. He couldn''t deny that little part of him that screamed at him for refusing her. He had a problem. Denzel stood up and stretched. "This ce is fucking with my head. The lights, the atmosphere, the people¡ª well, you''re a good person, but it''s all fucking with me," he sniffled. "I''m gonna go, and I don''t think I''m evering back." "You still have coins left but that''s¡­ fair. I was only here for you now, so I don''t think I''lle back either," she said. "Thanks. I appreciate that." It itched. An unexinable itch at the back of his head that couldn''t go away. Denzel nearly fell as he walked down the stairs. Since the Game Corner was designed to maximize their ie, he passed by the reward counter. He almost bumped into an older man. He recognized his face. He was there almost every day to y slots, and he was more zombie than man. He had to twist his body around not to knock down the smaller, thinner man and his eyes glimpsed on something in the reward section. The itch was ever present and made him unable to focus, so he had to read it over three times to understand what he was looking at. SWABLU - 65,000 COINS Hadn''t he wanted one a few months ago? Well, wanted was a strong word. More like he had mulled over it as an option and figured he didn''t like it enough to stick with it. "You have 61,754 coins," Ashley said. "I have 5,300 leftover. I can give them to you if you want." "No need. Even if I wanted Swablu, I could just convert some of the real money I have¡ª" "But you won''t. So take it," she forcefully said as she pulled out her phone. Denzel barely had time to react before the notification came. It read ''TRANSFER REQUEST''. "There''s a part of you that considered it. That''s why you looked so long." Denzel sighed and scratched his head. "Have I told you that you''re kind of like my best friend?" "You have. Ten times, at least." Denzel''s finger hovered over the bright green ''ACCEPT'' as he mulled his options. Buying Swablu would maybe solve the itch that had grown into his head and grew stronger by the minute. Dissatisfaction. He''d finally ced a word on what he felt. Like he was leaving something undone. Something that he''d set out to do, and that was fundamentally wrong to him. It meant that he didn''t have what it took. That he was weak. Maybe this would be a way to get over that feeling. But was this fair to Swablu? Would he treat it fairly and stop himself from imagining what could have been instead of what was? "This fucking sucks," he sighed as he clicked ept. He bought Swablu right after that and vowed never to step foot inside of the Game Corner again. VIP zone? Corruption? Denzel didn''t care. Sometimes, it was better to leave the skeletons in the closet. He released it as soon as he stepped outside, and the little bird softly cooed at him. Denzel ignored Ashley''s attempt to poke it and scanned it with his Pokedex. His friend yelped as the bird ferociously bit her finger until it turned beet red. Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokemon. Swablu has light and fluffy wings that are like cottony clouds. This Pokemon is not frightened of people. Itnds on the heads of people and sits there like a cotton-fluff hat. Swablu loves to make things clean. If it spots something dirty, it will wipe and polish it with its cottony wings. If its wings be dirty, this Pokemon will find a stream and shower itself. Sex: Female Moves: Growl, Disarming Voice, Peck, Round, Roost The feeling of dissatisfaction was still there. But it wasn''t as strong as it had been a few minutes ago. Maybe it wasn''t as bad as he''d thought. Maybe he could learn to live with sudden changes. "Like jumping in a cold pool," he muttered. "Thank you, Ashley. Swablu, wee to the team." Now, to buy that Shiny Stone for Roselia so she could stop screaming at him every day.
Chapter 204 Chapter 204 CHAPTER 204 "You what?!" "I lost most of my coins and bought a Swablu instead," Denzel said, motioning to his new sixth Pokeball. We were currently on the way to Cecilia''s gym battle with Maylene, and Denzel was telling me about his experience at the Game Corner. "It sucked that there was a limited number of eggs," Emilia sighed. "That''s by design, Emi. You create an artificial scarcity and people spend more money on your stupid games like I did. They got me hook, line and sinker," Denzel winced. "Whatever. I''m never stepping foot in there again. It''s subtle, you know? You look around you and you scoff at all the people addicted to gambling until one day you realize that you''re addicted too." "But you left, didn''t you?" Cecilia said. "I did, thank fuck," he sighed in relief. "But do you know what my first reaction was when I lost all of that money? It was to gamble more, not to get the hell out of there. That''s the terrifying part. Anyway, that''s all over now. If you ever want a Pokemon, don''t gamble for it. It works out for like, one percent of people. Hell, even less." "Just treat Swablu right," I said. "You don''t want¡­ what''s Swablu''s gender?" "She''s a girl," he quickly added. "You don''t want her to feel unwanted because you wanted a Dratini. And don''t let your team haze her, please. I know they mean well, but it''s probably overwhelming at first." "I know, I know," he said. "I won''t treat her differently because she''s not what I originally wanted. Even now, I can''t help but think what if I''d bet on the right person, but I''ll¡­ I''ll try my best." "I know you will," I smiled, softly bumping him in the arm. "It''s an opportunity for growth," Cecilia nodded. "You''ve always been too rigid with your list ever since I''ve known you. Things don''t always go ording to n." "Yeah. Thank Arceus Ashley was there, though. She''s the one that forked me the remaining five thousand coins to get Swablu. I would have gone out empty-handed if she hadn''t been with me." Pauline, who had been silent until now, stopped dead in her tracks. "Ashley?" She asked with a hint of anger. "Oh, uh, yeah. That friend I talked about in the Game Corner? Her name''s Ashley." "Ah! I sure hope you had fun with her, then," she said with a bright smile. "I''ll have to give her my thanks someday!" That was somehow scarier than any other reaction she could have had. ¡ª The battle against Lauren, Grace''s battle against Zachary and Denzel''s previous battle against Maylene had taught Cecilia the importance of field maniption. It was a facet of Pokemon battling that she''d never even thought about when she''d first started her journey. Back then, she''d been obsessed with power, power, power. She still was, but she knew that to win, she would have to do more than hit harder. Granted, it was ironically still a key part of her strategy, but it was something she''d need to think hard about for future battles. The battle with Maylene would be another five-on-five with three swaps, as was standard for the fifth and sixth gym battles. Cecilia already had her Pokeball in hand and sent out Golett the minute Maylene had finished enunciating her instructions. The golem hummed and expunged steam from the holes under his armpit and below his legs. Maylene sent out a Hitmonchan that punched the air in quick session. Cecilia didn''t have to study to know that the Pokemon was adept at all punching attacks. "Begin!" The referee yelled. "Scorching Sands perimeter," Cecilia smoothly said. Arge circr radius around Golett turned to bright, hot sand and it followed the ground type as he slowly began his march toward Hitmonchan. The surface bubbled and exploded into small geysers that looked like a weaker version of Earth Power, but the immediate ground around Golett''s feet was still solid. "Bulk Up and Ice Punch," Maylene said. Cecilia shivered in anticipation. So she was going to ignore the sands, then? That meant that Hitmonchan was truly a close-range fighter with no way to attack at a distance. The fighting type stoodpletely still and its arms and fists swelled as it gained in strength. Like a spring, its legs extended as it ran forward with ice coating its fists. Hitmonchan hissed and its skin burned as soon as it entered the Scorching Sands. The ground wrapped around its legs and crawled over its torso like a living thing. "Restrain!" Cecilia yelled. Golett''s eyes shone brighter, and he returned the sand around Hitmonchan to its original state. Earth clung to the fighting type as it squirmed and desperately attempted to escape the trap that Cecilia had set. Maylene barked a few orders, and Hitmonchan burst out of its prison, but more sand just wrapped around the fighting type. Cecilia was determined to keep him trapped long enough to force a switch or to knock it out of the fight. "Shadow Ball¡ª" "Aura Burst!" Maylene yelled. Cecilia covered her eyes when blue light exploded out of Hitmonchan''s every pore. The sand around the fighting type died and spluttered out for a second before Golett mmed a foot against the ground to restart the attack, but Hitmonchan jumped toward the ghost type higher than what seemed natural. Must have been Bulk Up, Cecilia bit her lip. "Iron Defense and Shadow Punch!" The sands jumped into the sky and followed Hitmonchan while Golett''s body shimmered like metal. The ground type clenched a fist, seizing upon the shadows and angled his arm upward. "Ice Punch!" Maylene yelled. Hitmonchannded on the intact ground that Golett used to walk unharmed, and ice surrounded his fists once more. With a heavy grunt, the fighting typeunched his assault. Cecilia heard the cracking ice and the howling of the ghostly energy as soon as the two attacks shed. Frost spread from Hitmonchan''s glove to Golett''s arm, slowly overtaking the ground type. Its other fist continuously mmed against Golett''s head, and the light in the Pokemon''s eyes flickered. "Bury!" Cecilia yelled. The floor under Golett''s feet turned into scorching quicksand, overtaking both Pokemon. She heard Hitmonchan scream as every inch of its skin burned while Golett was as silent as always, but even he would be hurt if hot sand slipped inside his intricate mechanism. "Aura Burst!" Maylene yelled again. Cecilia clicked her tongue when everything exploded again, and Hitmonchan crawled out of the sand as it dragged Golett behind it with a single arm. The fighting type''s skin was red, ck, and purple, but it hadn''t lost the fierce look in its eyes. Hitmonchan punched Golett''s face with an icy fist and sat on top of the ground type. Cecilia licked her dry lips. Stomping Tantrum was out of the picture because the field needed to be rtively t for Zweilous. She ordered the golem to use Shadow Ball, but the sphere unraveled when Hitmonchan kept beating Golett with Ice Punches. She recalled Golett with a sigh. She had wanted him to take down his first opponent, but it looked like that wouldn''t work with Maylene. She sent out Scyther and the bug type hissed, threatening Hitmonchan while beating his wings against themselves to create an obnoxious sound. "Keep your distance," Cecilia advised. "If it grabs you, the fight will be over¡ª" Maylene surprised her by also recalling Hitmonchan, although in retrospect, it was obvious that the fighting type wouldn''t be able to fight well against a Pokemon like Scyther. Instead, she sent out a tall Gade that silently appeared on the field. The hair on Cecilia''s neck stood up at the sight of such a powerful foe. "The previous advice still applies. Agility and Air sh," she said. Scyther jumped into the air and his body loosened as he slowly sped up and became a blur. Gade''s eyes darted around the field, tracking him no matter how fast he became. Cecilia knew that Gade''s psychic powers weren''t as developed as Gardevoir''s, but he would still be able to restrain Scyther without breaking a sweat. The bug type shed across the air and it sliced toward Gade faster than what Cecilia thought he could react, but he teleported onto Scyther and brought him crashing down. Cecilia''s mind began to race. If Scyther fell at that speed, he''d be done for. "Night sh!" She screamed. "Like we trained!" The bug type''s scythe grew dark, and he opened a deep gash on Gade''s waist that bled void darker than ck. The psychic type''s eyes flickered, but he didn''t let go. Both Scyther and Gade crashed into the barrier and then fell on the ground. The fighting type stood up like an arrow right away and grazed his wound. It was still seeping with darkness, although it would run out soon. Grace had spoken to her about how that terrible Weavile had cut off the use of type energy through dark type attacks, and they were nowhere near there yet. Disrupting psychic moves for a short period of time, however? They''d gotten the hang of that two weeks ago. If a Pokemon overcharged their dark type moves, some type energy would remain on whatever wound they''d caused. Slowking hated training with Scyther now. The bug struggled to his feet and fanned his wings. Three of them were intact, meaning that flight was possible. "Air sh! It can''t Teleport!" Cecilia yelled. Maylene practically snarled when she realized what had happened. "Sacred Sword," she muttered through clenched teeth. "Use Aura." The arc of sharpened air never made it to its target. Gade''s longest elbow extended twice fold and shimmered blue while the other simply glowed, but did not grow. A simple slice across the air, and Air sh copsed in on itself, bing a simple gust of air by the time it reached Gade. "Finish it off. Aerial Ace." Even Scyther shot Cecilia an unsure look. He''d never done so before. "Hit and run," Cecilia ordered. Missing a wing didn''t affect Scyther''s speed very much, especially with Agility. He flew away as fast as he could, throwing Air sh after Air sh at Gade. The psychic pushed himself on one foot and jumped, spinning around like a drill so quickly that Cecilia could only see the blue streaks of Aura he left behind. The Air shes kept disappearing before making any contact, but Gade would be slower than Scyther until he could Teleport again. That left her time to think of something to take down this monstrosity. It seemed like Sacred Sword had the power to¡­ unravel moves if it was given enough time. Not dissolve them, per se, but to untie the bundle of type energy that made it stick together. That meant that to counter it, Cecilia either had to overwhelm it with power or attack at close-range. Seeing as this was a fighting gym, there was only one option, but Scyther wasn''t really the best at powerful attacks. Speed and overwhelming his opponent was where he excelled. Cecilia recalled Scyther and sent out Talonme instead. The flying type had speed, but she also had the power to ovee Sacred Sword. "me Charge and Agility!" She yelled. They had no time to waste. Talonme''s eyes widened when she saw what she was fighting, but she listened right away. She ced her wings t against her body and speed up as she fell toward the ground with Gade right on her heel. mes engulfed her body, and she sped up even more until Cecilia could barely track her in the sky. The fire type circled the arena, waiting for her nextmand. "How long will you run?" Maylene asked. "Gade, Teleport on that bird as soon as you can!" You''re the one forcing me to run, you petnt child! Cecilia screamed internally. She did not care what she had to do so long as victory was achieved. Every ounce of her being was screaming at her to win, and she knew she would. It was writ in her bones. "Heat Wave and Fire Spin!" Talonme squawked as the air around her distorted. It was tiny at first¡ª barely ten feet across, but it slowly expanded as she flew and burned everything in its path. The sand leftover from Golett lit aze and turned to ss as small pockets of mes spun and fell onto the floor. Gade himself caught on fire and fell like a meteorite falling and burning up through Earth''s atmosphere. Ah, to have finally mastered the act of using Heat Wave whilst moving was making Cecilia''s heart swell with pride. Talonme continued the attack as she zipped around the arena, leaving a trail of bright mes behind her. "Teleport and Sacred Sword!" Maylenemanded. Gade didn''t execute it immediately. The psychic type calmly observed as he burned, and then hended on top of Talonme as soon as she slowed down to turn a corner. Being so close to her charred his skin until it was ck and smoking, but Gade sliced across Talonme''s back, causing the flying type to fall with a screech. Cecilia could barely see where Talonme ended and Gade began as they bothbined into one huge fireball that exploded upon impact and created a mid-sized crater next to Maylene''s side of the arena. When the dust settled, both Pokemon were unconscious, although Talonme looked a lot worse than Gade did. If there was one thing Cecilia needed to solve, it was her frailness. "Both Talonme and Gade are unable to battle! As it is impossible to determine which Pokemon fainted first, it falls upon Leader Maylene to send out her Pokemon first!" Cecilia rolled her neck and sighed. She''d taken out a huge threat, and Maylene had cooled off now that she''d fainted one of her Pokemon as well. She released a Breloom next, and Cecilia restrained a grin. Breakthrough. Zweilous snarled as soon as they appeared. They''d fought Gardenia''s own Breloom long ago in the battle against Gardenia, and they were determined to win again. "Nasty Plot." Both heads'' breaths grew rapid as drool fell and umted on the ground. They dreamed of domination, destruction, strength, evolution, all of their wildest dreams until something snapped and they rued power to bring those dreams ever so closer to reality. "Mach Punch!" "methrower," she said with a snap of her fingers. Ordinarily, Breloom would have gone faster than the eye could see and used all of its momentum to punch Zweilous. The dragon''s throats swelled as the mes glowed through their scales and two methrowers flew out of Zweilous'' mouth. The mes shimmered with a brilliant blue and the edges were a bright yellow as it overtook the entire width of the arena and destroyed all in its path. The roar of the mes was so loud that they sounded more like a continuous explosion than the Incinerate she''d grown used to. The psychic barrier rattled and bent as the mes broke against them. Breloom quite literally cooked in the mes. It had gone down in one hit. "Breloom is unable to battle! Leader Maylene, send out your third Pokemon!" "Good job, darling," Cecilia said. Maylene didn''t seem to care one bit, especially whenpared to the little trick she''d used with Scyther. The girl''s mind would forever remain an enigma to Cecilia, but it didn''t matter. She''d regained control of the battle and now had the advantage. Zweilous coughed up smoke and heaved. The attack had done a number on their throats since they didn''t exactly have the body to support such an attack, but they''d practiced enough to use three Nasty Plot-powered moves. Cecilia''s eyes narrowed when Maylene released a Mienshao. She''d actually seen her in multiple battles and knew exactly why she''d chosen her. Bounce, High Jump Kick and Wide Guard. Using methrower or Dragon Pulse wouldn''t work here, and neither would anything Zweilous had at their disposal. Cecilia used herst switch of the battle and sent out Scyther again. "Don''t underestimate her maneuverability in the air," Cecilia said. "Circle around her, probe for weaknesses." Agility ran its course, and Scyther once more jumped in the air as he sent multiple Air shes at the fighting type, who dodged so gracefully it was as if she was dancing. She spun around one and bent her back to escape another. Each time, it was as if the attack was just about to hit, but it grazed her fur instead. "Aura Sphere barrage!" Maylene yelled. Mienshao extended her arm, and small pale blue spheres the size of pellets flew out of her palm so quickly that tiny shock waves rang out from her palms after each one. Scyther stopped with a hiss and dove toward the ground. "Keep attacking!" Cecilia yelled. "She can''t use Aura Sphere if she''s pressured!" She''d only been half correct. Scyther''s fierceness surprised Mienshao, but the fighting type only stopped attacking for a few seconds until she regained her footing. One of the Aura spheres punctured Scyther''s exoskeleton, and the rest soon followed now that the pain slowed him some. The bug type fell to the ground with a thud. "Bounce," Maylene continued. Mienshao jumped high in the air and then began to fall toward Scyther. At thest second, Cecilia yelled. "Air sh¡ª" But Scyther had been ahead of her. The attack had been weaker than before, but Mienshao still grunted in pain as the air sliced her thin waist. Scyther let out a final screech of defiance and then fell unconscious. "Scyther is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your third Pokemon." Cecilia was out of switches, so she had to choose very wisely here. Zweilous wouldn''t work, as she already knew, so it was either Golett or Slowking. Golett was too slow to deal with an opponent as quick as Mienshao, so only Slowking would be able to work. The psychic appeared in a sh of red with his hands behind his back. How tough is the opponent? He asked. "She''s strong both in close quarters and at a range," Cecilia exined. "Water Cutter." "Detect and Aura Sphere!" Maylene ordered. "Intercept instead." Water umted in Slowking''s cheeks, and his eyes shone as it flew off like ance and cut through many of the Aura Spheres Mienshao sent. They needed a lot more force to be destroyed than what Cecilia would have thought, and some of them even looked to be unaffected whenever Slowking didn''t spend enough time on them. The majority of the spheres hit Slowking, but he was rtively unharmed. Elemental attacks will not work to properly stop Aura, nor will psychic moves, Slowking spoke into her mind. "Let us go on the offensive, then. Surf and flood the field." What of the others? Have they already fainted? Slowking asked as he summoned gallons of water from the ponds and more seeped out of his mouth. He was worried about leaving the field unusable for the rest of her team, but Cecilia ignored him and kept her face steady. Maylene would not approve of midbattlemunication. "Stop them! Bounce!" Maylene yelled. So she wouldn''t always fight at a range, then, Cecilia sighed in relief. Not when she knew Slowking had to be stopped. The water umted until it reached Slowking''s waist, but that was only the first part of the n. Once again, Mienshao dropped from the sky, aided by the wind, but Cecilia swept her arm. "Swallow her whole!" She yelled. Slowking''s eyes shimmered, and some of the water jumped at Mienshao, just like Golett had done with Scorching Sands. All of Mienshao''s momentum was stopped by the water as Slowking waved a hand and encased her in a ball of liquid. The fighting type''s eyes widened, and she panicked, thrashing about in an attempt to swim out, but Slowking seized her directly with Psychic and began to assault her brain. Maylene switched outter than Cecilia would have thought. Mienshao would be tired the next time she came out. The young trainer nearly gasped in surprise when Maylene revealed herst Pokemon. Falinks. Six of them, to be exact, and onerger than the other. At first, Cecilia thought they would drown in Slowking''s Surf, but¡ª "First Impression!" Cecilia''s eyes darted back and forth. Two under the water, one swimming on the surface, one jumping and another two hanging back and nking¡ª Slowking grunted as he restrained the first one, then another, but he was being stretched thin, and the other two mmed into him and sent him flying back. The psychic instinctively cushioned his fall with more water, but more of the Falinks wereing. She couldn''t afford to flood the field too much without screwing up her n to make it return to normal¡­ Her heartbeat calmed and her breath slowed. Slowking would pull through. She knew it. "Megahorn, Close Combat, Headbutt!" Maylene barked. "Formation three!" The Falinks regrouped, somehow being capable of swimming despite their weight. Or no, floating would be a better word. Two of them stood on thergest Falink''s head¡ª who was tall enough to stand unmarred by the water¡ª and jumped in ce. When theynded, it sent them flying with Headbutt toward Slowking. The psychic waved, smashing the two against each other, but another one already rammed into his gut with its horn glowing neon green while the next started to beat him using the two shields it carried. "Darling, we''re using the water trick," she said. "Keep umting more water as well. I have a n." Right away. It was strange, how smooth his voice was while was struggled to fight off five Pokemon at once. Slowking yelled, lifting a sphere of water carrying three of the five Falinks as Cecilia''s eyes narrowed. Thergest one had the most destructive potential, so why did it hang back? It was only now that she focused on it that she heard the subtle sounds. Like the cross between the sound of someone scratching a paper and some kind of hiss, it was issuing orders to its soldiers. "Water Cutter. Target thergest one," Cecilia said. The Falinks in the floating ball of water did not panic. Instead, they formed a line and the first one pushed against the other two with all its strength to escape Slowking''s prison. The psychic type grimaced, which was the most displeased Cecilia had ever seen him, and he pped it away with a wave of psychic energy while the two freed others formed a tower and began to m their shields and horns in his face with Close Combat and Megahorn. "They''re protecting their leader," Cecilia noticed. "Power Gem." The water type snarled as rays of light rotated around him, vaporizing the surrounding water with a loud hiss and mming into the now three freed Falinks. Light bounced off their tough shields, but it staggered them enough to leave a pathway to the leading Falinks open. "Now!" Cecilia yelled. Slowking yelled, splitting the water in front of him. The attack had demanded so much that his water prison disintegrated, and the waves washed the five Falinks away, splitting them up as the current carried them. Slowking inhaled with an extended hand as Cecilia admired the sheer power at the psychic''s disposal. It was as if his will had parted the sea itself. The thin ray of water exploded toward Falinks and mmed into its two shields, denting them in the process. "Drown it." Slowking trotted through the path he''d created as the water around thergest Falinks surrounded and overwhelmed the fighting type. It cried out for help, and the others all squealed and swam against the current, but they were too slow. Slowking finally grabbed onto Falinks with Psychic and ransacked its brain as it drowned. The leader fainted, and Maylene recalled it. Slowking heaved, and the path he''d been holding open copsed as water rushed back in. "ck Off." She couldn''t see past the dirty water, but she hoped that Slowking would manage to heal some of the damage he''d taken. He was exhausted beyond what she''d intended, and Falinks were a ruthless enemy. Still, now that theirmander was done for, they panicked, unable toe to a decision on what to do next. "I''m taking charge!" Maylene yelled. "Formation two! Use it to swim!" The five remaining Pokemon reluctantly listened as their shields interlocked with each other until they formed a horizontal line that floated along the now calm waters. "Slowking," Cecilia probed. I am conscious and well, but weakened, he answered. I remain hidden in the water. Her face barely changed, but she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. "We''re going to have to take all of them down individually. Use Psychic." It was at times like these that Cecilia wished Slowking had Mira''s Gardevoir''s abilities to sense what she was thinking, but s, her strategy was out wide in the open. Slowking wasn''t the best swimmer, but he could still hold his breath for hours before running out of air. "Lock onto each other tightly," Maylene muttered. Cecilia bit her lip in anticipation until something tried to pull the Falinks underwater. Unfortunately, they were stuck together like glue, and moving all of them at once wasn''t feasible. Still, the mental assaults would work. One of the Falinks squirmed as Psychic fried its brain. "Iron Defense! Slip underwater and attack with Megahorn!" Maylene ordered. Four of the five fighting types shimmered as their body grew heavy. They sunk into the water, and Maylene recalled the fifth one, who had fallen to Slowking''s Psychic. Unable to see under the mud filled water, Cecilia calmly awaited the conclusion to this battle. Thirty seconds and another Falinks floated to the surface. A minute and another one fainted. Another minute passed, and the remaining two had toe back up for air. That was when Slowking struck and finished them off with Psychic. "Falinks is unable to battle! Leader Maylene, send out your fourth Pokemon!" "Slowking?" On myst legs, mydy. "You were wonderful, do not worry." It was only then that Maylene realized that she''d beenmunicating with Slowking telepathically the entire battle. She let out a haughty huff and released Hitmonchan. The fighting type''s skin was still horribly burned by Golett''s Scorching Sands. Right away, she ordered the fighting type to use Ice Punch on his feet to create a floating tform. There was only so much ck Off could do, but Cecilia asked Slowking to use the move anyway. They would need all the help they could get. Now, to deal as much damage as she could, Cecilia mused. "Psychic!" Maylene said nothing, and both trainers waited for Slowking to strike. Cecilia knew Maylene must have been nning something, but there was only so much she could do. The second Hitmonchan felt a twinge of pain, its feet turned to me and it sunk into the water. After which it electrocuted both itself and Slowking with four simultaneous Thunder Punches. It hadn''t even needed to hit him, really. All of that electricity spread through the nearby water and hit both Hitmonchan and Slowking. The water type''s unconscious body emerged from below the depths and Cecilia recalled him. "You did well," she said. Time to drain all of that water. Golett''s Pokeball felt heavy in her hands, not because of its particr weight, but because of the sheer amount of responsibility she was putting on the little golem. If he failed here, then the battle would be lost, but she did not entertain the idea of failure. Golett immediately sunk to the bottom of the water due to his weight, and Hitmonchan remade another tform of ice due to Maylene''s orders. "Stomping Tantrum, make a ravine!" She yelled as loud as she could. Cecilia''s face twisted into a satisfied grin when the ground under her rattled and numerous waves began to form on the water''s surface. Maylene simply waited. After all, the water draining benefitted her as well, although she ordered Hitmonchan to use Bulk Up and swim toward Golett before the arena was split by an enormous rift. When the dust settled, the arena was split into two by a giant fissure that was deep enough to contain most of the water. The Stomping Tantrum hadn''t been precise either. Other holes, gashes and depressions littered the arena now. The liquid still reached Golett''s feet, meaning that they''d have to fight in a perpetual puddle. A puddle was better than a makeshift sea, even if it made Scorching Sands unusable. Cecilia could see the lights and the arena''s ceiling reflected onto the water. Hitmonchan frowned, eager to get its rematch against Golett and finish the job it had started. Golett hummed, not even looking at the fighting type while water still drained from his internal system. There was no sound. Only the ssh of Hitmonchan stepping into the water with its ever-active footwork. Maylene went first. "Ice Punch!" "Hammer Arm!" Cecilia yelled. Ice surrounded Hitmonchan''s fists as the fighting type ran in. Golett only had time to lift an arm before Hitmonchan ducked and mmed both of its fists into the ground type''s torso. Golett''s eyes flickered, but he was too heavy to fly off. He stumbled a few steps and regained his footing while Hitmonchan followed. Golett smashed a fist downward, but Hitmonchan grabbed it before it could make contact¡ª And its eyes bulged when it realized how strong Golett was. Its arm bent the wrong way and Cecilia heard a loud crack reverberate through the arena. Golett''s fist mmed against the floor and sharpened shards of rocks exploded and stabbed into the fighting type. "Shadow Punch!" Cecilia snapped. Quicker than Hammer Arm this time, Golett followed up on his attack and punched Hitmonchan in the leg. Aura exploded out of the fighting type''s body, but that was more ast act of desperation instead of a sound strategy, and it hadn''t been ordered by Maylene. The attack harmed Golett, but there was only so much a Pokemon could do with a broken arm, and Maylene''s Pokemon didn''t take kindly to retreat. Hitmonchan fought with its one good arm andnded three quick jabs with Ice Punch on Golett before the ground type finished it off with another Shadow Punch. "Hitmonchan is unable to battle. Leader Maylene, send out yourst Pokemon!" "Keep it up, darling," Cecilia said. Having recently gained a new appreciation for affection, Golett''s head spun around 180 degrees to look at her as he celebrated with a loud hiss of his engine. Maylene released that same Mienshao, who calmly observed the state of the battlefield until Maylene began to order her. "Go in with Bounce," Maylene said. "Shadow Ball. Make it as big as possible and keep it there." The purple, ghostly energy intertwined in front of Golett as Mienshao nearly flew toward the ground type. She was under no illusion that she''d be able to hit the attack, so the n was to make it explode in the fighting type''s face when she hit. "Knock Off!" Maylene yelled. The Shadow Ball dissolved with a whispering scream as Mienshao wrapped one of her whips¡ª the fleshy extensions on her arms¡ª in darkness and simply hit the attack, and then went on to p Golett''s face with the same attack. The golem independently retaliated with a quick Shadow Punch, but Mienshao jumped above him and tripped him from behind. Golett fell into the puddle of water and Mienshao grabbed onto one of his arms with a foot on his leg to prevend him from standing up. "Push through! Hammer Arm!" "It''s too strong! Let go!" Maylene yelled. Mienshao listened, slipping away from Golett right when the ghost type mmed the ground with Hammer Arm again. She returned as quickly as she''d left with another Knock Off ready to go. "Mega Punch her knee!" Cecilia yelled with an extended arm. Mienshao kept rushing in, but she twisted her body around in hopes of avoiding their attack. Mienshao''s main weakness on the ground was how frail she was. All they needed was one hit to ground her. A small Shadow Ball so weak it might as well have been created by a one-badge Pokemon flew out of Golett''s outstretched arm and buried itself into Mienshao''s knee and tripped her up. Her whip mmed against the ghost type''s face and his eyes flickered off, but he punched her in the knee and she hissed as she jammed him in the throat. His rune finally lost its light. Cecilia recalled him and took a deep breath. "Golett is unable to battle! Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon!" And now for the finisher, she thought. The first thing she did was release Zweilous as far as she could from Mienshao. The dragon snarled and nearly started drinking the water on instinct until Cecilia snapped her fingers. Mienshao walked with a limp, and Cecilia knew her Bounce and High Jump Kick would either be extremely slow or out of the picturepletely. That only left her with Wide Guard. "Nasty Plot and Dragon Pulse," Cecilia muttered with unblinking eyes. "Wide Guard, then go in! There''ll be an opening!" Maylene ordered. For a few seconds, Sol and Zerst dared to dream. The draconic power swelled in their throats. It bulged and screamed to get out. For freedom. Zweilous let loose two Dragon Pulses, and itbined into thergest one she had ever seen out of them. Bright turquoise power shone all around the arena and glimmered against the surface of the disturbed water. It expanded until it was as if the energy took the form of a dragon''s head, and it drew upon everything Zweilous had. Mienshao grunted, and an enormous barrier shimmered in front of her as she nted her feet into the ground and extended her hands. The Dragon Pulse mmed into the Wide Guard and roared until the shield shattered into a thousand pieces. Like the sound of broken ss, of a te falling on the floor or the shattering of ice. The attack swallowed Mienshao whole and destroyed everything else in its path. The water returned to its calm state. Sol and Zerst wheezed, their burning lungs hungry for fresh air as they stumbled, barely able to stand up straight. Mienshao had fallen on the ground. Maylene recalled her with a smile. "Victory to the Challenger!" She''d believed in herself every step of the way.
Chapter 205 Chapter 205 CHAPTER 205 It was Friday. The ursed day had finallye. I woke up dreading what was toe this evening. The interview. A horrible knot had settled in my stomach and my sheets were drenched in sweat. I''d gotten nightmares about messing up in some horrible way for the past two nights. Tongue twisted, forgetting my lines, letting my confrontational side get the better of me, everything that could go wrong had reyed in my mind over and over. "Toge?" I smiled, stroking Princess'' head. "Good morning, baby." Togetic nestled herself against the covers and begged for five more minutes. Her siblings were all around me. Angel next to the window, as always, and smiling with his eyes. I''d be willing to bet that he was having a very good dream. Honey had somehow fallen off the bedst night and dragged the covers with him, but to his credit, it was supposed to be designed for one person. He''d fallen onto Turtonator''s shell and the dragon had somehow not realized it. Thankfully, Sunshine didn''t sleep with Shell Trap on. Sweetheart swayed back and forth in her cocoon while Buddy was a weird star-shaped thing floating in the sky. He greeted me with a soft click as I stretched. "It''s the big day," I whispered to myself. "Gotta get ready." The interview was at nine, but obviously I couldn''t just show up there thirty minutes early and call it a day. First, I had a final rehearsal with Melody and the team at two in the afternoon, and then I''d have to be at the SGNC building at six-thirty. At least the interview would onlyst ten to fifteen minutes, but I knew that time slowed to a crawl when I was nervous. It was why my previous Gym Battles had felt like they''dsted hours and not minutes. I started the day as I normally did: preparing my team''s breakfast and a shower. Jellicent hung around me the entire morning asking about how my nerves were doing. Hell, he even asked if he could be there during the interview for support, but I shut down that idea pretty quickly. It''d be nice, but I doubted the Poketch Company would approve because it could technically look like intimidation, especially with how he easily terrified strangers. If Mallory stepped on my toes like I expected her to, he''d probably swell up in anger. She was a Pokemon activist, but she was no trainer, and everyone on my team aside from Honey was¡­ well, weird. Thest thing I wanted was for Princess'' protectiveness to be misconstrued or for Sunshine to burn down the entire building. "Buddy! I''m done with my shower and your bath''s ready!" I yelled. I felt the usual shivers down my spine and heard a squelch as Jellicent slipped under the bathroom''s doorframe and crawled into the small bathtub. He was practically invisible in the water, save for his two shining red eyes. "It''s as cold as I could make it," I added. It was as close to the bottom of the ocean as one could get, just like he liked it. "Don''t spend too long, we''ve gotta run in an hour." Small bubbles popped on the water''s surface, and I sat with my back to the bathtub, letting my hair soak in the cold water. "I''ve got to take you to the beach when we get to Sunyshore. You haven''t been since I caught you in Sandgem." I heard an excited, distorted boom through the water. My body vibrated at the sound, as if someone had yed a bass boost next to me. "Sucks that it won''t be summer so I won''t be able to go in. Well, I could, but I''m not crazy enough for it. I think Sweetie''s gonna ask to get into the water though," I said. "Did you know sheined to me about you yesterday¡ª wait, it was two days ago, actually. She was all like, Ahhh Buddy''s telling me I won''t be able to go in the water, go talk to him! But like, way louder." The water rumbled as Jellicentughed. Some of it even seeped out and I jumped when it touched my back. "Arceus, that''s cold," I sighed. "Anyway, I''m just rying what happened. You know I kind of spoil her though, so I appreciate you being there to pull back. I think she''ll die on that hill though. We can give her at least one try. She won''t go too deep." I bent my head back and saw the water type looming over me with a disappointed look. "We''ll see?" I tried. "C''mon, if she gets too far I''ll recall her." He finally relented and sunk back inside of the bath. "I should probably get dressed and stuff," I sighed. "If the interview goes well and the Gym Battle does too, I''ll ask Melody about that raise. Plus I''ll get the money from Maylene too." I exhaled a deep, long breath, and Jellicent patted me on the back. I heard Sweetheart scream loudly in the bedroom and I unconsciously smirked. "Yeah, I''m alright. I''ve just gotta get through the day," I said as I stood up. "I''ll leave you to it and check this stuff out." I froze when I stepped outside of the bathroom. "What in the world is happening here?" First of all, Honey was desperately trying to pull at Sweetheart''s outeryer. She was molting again and I hadn''t even realized it in my half-asleep state. Electabuzz had slimy liquid all over his hands and small bits of dead shell littered the floor. Princess was gathering them all into a small corner for me while Angel was soothing Pupitar with vines to keep her still. Sunshine was giving her words of encouragement as well and telling her that she''d conquer this region soon if she could get through this and be strong. Of course, they all stopped when they saw me. Molting already? Wasn''t it too early? Her new cocoon was still in its softened state under the half-decrepit one, the usual tall spike-like crown ttened against her head to fit inside of the smaller cocoon. Needless to say, she''d grown again. "Guys, you should have called me and said something," I said. "I would have recalled her and brought her outside. It''s better if she sheds the outer skin naturally." Electabuzz hung his head low and said it was his idea. "You''re good, don''t worry. Now you know for next time," I gently said. "You''re almost done, so let me help out." I crouched next to Pupitar, who was trembling in her shell. "Shhh, it''s okay Sweetheart. I know it''s scary, but you''re almost done. Your body''s changing fast, right? That''s no fun, and it''s not your fault. Soon you''ll be big and strong." Add getting more soil for her to the list of things I needed to ace this interview for, I thought to myself. TMs could wait for now, but I wanted Sweetheart to get through this as quickly as possible. Her molting so quickly was proof that the soil I''d bought was effective, so at least that was money well spent. When all was said and done (and I finished cleaning up the floor), she was almost as tall as me¡­ fitting her in this room when she evolved was definitely going to be impossible. I spent the remainder of the morning getting food for myself, doingundry downstairs and wishing today could be any other day, but soon, the afternoon came and Melody called my cellphone. "Grace, I''m downstairs to pick you up." Words that terrified me, even if this was still just practice. She looked quite spry as she rolled down her window to greet me. "Hi Mel," I sighed. Spending most of my afternoons had brought me quite closer to her, and I feltfortable using a nickname for her. She''d been very helpful this entire process and felt like the only actual human that represented thepany, along with the rest of the media team that had coached me. "Ready for your big day?" She said as I walked around to open the door. "You look like you''ve seen a ghost." "I''m nervous." "You''ll do fine. Just keep it under control for the first question or so and then you''ll realize it isn''t that bad, especially with no live audience." "That doesn''t mean much considering how many people will be watching on TV." "Ah, you''re still imagining them there, then?" She asked. "We''ll try to go over more destressing techniques when we''re at the Poketch building." I leaned against the car window and sighed. Just get through this day. ¡ª After going over everything again, conducting four mock interviews ranging from easy to one where Melody went more in-depth by following up on each question, she decided I was ready and let me rest up for the final two hours. And Arceus, I needed that. I spent it with Princess and Honey keeping mepany on one of the couches. It was cute, hearing them whisper about tactics to make me feel better, especially when Honey tried pulling a prank on me by calling for me and then poking me on the cheek when I turned my head. Unfortunately I had to shut them down when Princess suggested maiming Mallory so the interview had to be canceled¡­ Well, she had said maiming lightly, whatever that meant. I''d wanted to give her a stern talking-to about not being allowed to injure people that had done nothing wrong, but then everyone would have looked at us like we were insane, and I already had enough on my te to deal with. Mel and I arrived at the SGNC building¡ª or SGNC Center, as it was called, at seven on the dot. Theplex wasn''t particrly tall, but it was truly massive, taking up an entire block. It ironically reminded me of the Poketch Headquarters in Hearthome with its modern and sleek design. The front of the building jutted out forward and was a nice blend of metal and ss that revealed the bustling activity within. The doors were also adorned with therge red SGNC logo with bold, white lines surrounding each letter. The entrance opened up into a vast reception area that sported mainly neutral grey tones. Comfortable-looking couches littered the room with journals that were probably a decade old. Water ran down the walls and down below, and it was only when I stepped forward that I realized the floor ahead was made of ss with water types swimming there. There were Remoraid, Goldeen, Magikarp¡ª "Grace?" Melody called out. "Right, my bad." I hoped they were happy here, but if Mallory the Pokemon activist worked here, they must have been treated well. Plus, I hadn''t really felt any fear or annoyance, but then again, I had only stopped for a few seconds. The SGNC logo also shed behind the reception desk, and multiple people worked there. Melody just strode toward the counter like she owned the ce. "Good evening. Melody Summers and Grace Pastel representing the Poketch Company," she said. They went through the usual procedure (asking for ID, verifying our im, and the receptionist typing away at hisputer) until he printed some kind of keycard with our names andpany name on it to put around our necks. We were directed to a room further down reception, which was basically just another waiting area with more outdated news. "What now?" I asked as I sat on the couch. "We wait for Mallory toe and greet us." I felt my stomach twist. "I thought I had two hours left?" "It''s just for the pre-interview. I told you about this when we first started training, remember? She''ll introduce herself to you and make small talk for around ten minutes or so so you be somewhat acquainted. Then you get to read my notes a little more, and you go to the dressing room where they do your makeup, and you''re on." She made a small rectangle with her fingers which I assumed was supposed to be a television. "Do you think they have water here?" I asked. My throat felt very dry all of a sudden, and my lips felt chapped. "I''ll go get one for you. Do you want anything else?" She asked as she stood. "Snacks?" "I''m good, thanks," I muttered. Melody left me all alone. I took deep breaths and tried the trick Be had taught me to calm down and rx. I closed my eyes, but not too tightly as I sank into the couch and saw myself. You''re okay. You''re okay. I repeated the sentence in my head until I felt something poke me in the arm and jumped. At first, I thought it would have been Melody, but I nearly fell over when Mallory Ryan stood in front of me. The short-haired woman who had captivated the attention of millions of Sinnohans stood in front of me. She looked to be in her thirties and had light brown eyes and hair with a smile that somehow made me want to smile back too. On one hand, seeing her here made me realize that this was actually happening. On the other, all irrational fears of her being reced at thest second with her co-host or some other person I''d never heard of or studied could thankfully beid to rest. "Sorry, I didn''t know if you were sleeping, or¡­?" Mallory trailed off. "Good evening!" I said a little louder than I would have liked. "I''m Grace Pastel." "I know," sheughed. "Can I sit?" "Yeah, this is your ce¡ª well, not your ce, but your job. Or, well¡ª" "Rx," Mallory said. "I''m not going to eat you. Did Melody note with you?" "She went to get me water, she should be back soon," I exined. The older woman sat down and looked right at me. "You''re nervous," she noted. I simply answered with a curt nod. "They must have told you a lot of terrible things about me, but rest assured. I won''t be tough on you, not when you''re representing the Poketch Company and we share values. This is mostly an opportunity for you to tell your side of the story. The pictures of you standing in that crowd of Pokemon were striking, you know? My daughter tells me she wants to be like you when she grows up." I let out something between a gasp and a scoff. Someone wanting to be like me? That hadn''t even crossed my mind. "How old is she?" I asked, not wanting to let the conversation die. "Six. Her name is Harley. You reminded her of those princesses that can talk to Pokemon in those movies kids go crazy for," Mallory smiled. "You made a powerful statement that day. You spoke for Pokemon, and activists like me noticed. You deserve to have a chance to speak, and they''ll have a voice through you." "I¡­ I think we have a lot more inmon than I thought," I said. "See? You''re rxing already!" She beamed. "I''ve been in this line of work since I was twenty, so you''re in good hands. Did the Poketch Company try to scare you? Let me guess, they showed you the clip of me humiliating Mr. Horn?" "They did. Multiple times." "It went viral, and it''s what I''m most known for," she said. "That politician was a moron. He spoke all about how expanding into route 214 would be better for Veilstone. What he really wanted was for his rich buddies to have morend to build their mansions on." The woman rolled her eyes as she recalled the interaction. "You''ve got to push back any way you can, right?" She smiled. "You''re a lot more active in this than I thought. I haven''t done muchpared to you¡­" "You''re young, and you''re a trainer," she shrugged. "Trainers don''t really have time for anything." Mallory paused and her eyes drifted to my Pokeballs and stuck there for longer than I thought was normal. "Have you interviewed trainers in the past?" I asked. "A few, but I mainly work in politics," she said. I nodded, remembering how she had covered Cynthia''s brief loss of power in parliament when we were in Eterna and the protests had been in full swing. "Anyway, people think of me as a ruthless interviewer because I ruined one greedy man''s career, but I can be nice too," she said. "Here, let me tell you about a few of the interviews I''ve had that they didn''t show you. It''ll help you understand the process as well." Mallory went on to exin some of her past interviews and the positive effects they had. It was probably to help me get over my nerves, and it was actually helping. Because of all the wariness Melody had beat into my head thest week of training, I''d expected her to be confrontational right away, but it thankfully looked like that wasn''t going to be the case. My sponsorship liaison came back with a bag of chips and two bottles of water in her hands a few minutester. "Ah, Melody! Long time no see," Mallory beamed. "Mallory. Still the same as always," she said. "You know each other?" I asked. "Beyond acquaintances, I mean." "We''ve worked together a few times in the past," Melody said, handing me the water. I quickly opened it and downed the entire thing as if I''d been dying of thirst. "I was just getting to know Grace, but it seems we let time get the better of us. Here, let me exin to you how it''s going to happen. You''re going to be dolled up a little. There are clothes as well if you want to change." I looked down at myself and shook my head. Melody had already prepared adequate clothing for the asion. It wasn''t as fancy as what I''d worn during my date with Cece, but the flowery skirt and in creamy top would do the trick. "Then, you''re going toe to the studio. Since you''ve seen the videos, you know how it''s set up," I nodded, remembering the two couches facing one another at an angle, so both people could easily look at each other and the camera when needed. "Don''t get overwhelmed by the crew, they won''t be interacting with you at all beyond the countdown before we go live. Then after a few minutes, we''ll run ads and it''ll be over." I''d already heard all of this from Melody, but it felt nice to have a refresher anyway. I wasn''t as nervous as I had been now that I knew Mallory was nice, but the knot in my stomach was still there, and I really hoped I didn''t look too sweaty during the interview. Mallory left soon after that, and I spent thest time I had studying the questions and answers while Mel kept mepany. ¡ª Whereas the dressing room for the Poketch Company photoshoot had only had one attendant, SGNC had at least four people working on me at all times. One of them tried to convince me to change clothes the entire time I was in there, but they ended up fixing my hair that had gotten messed up from me putting my head against the couch for an hour straight and dusting my face with light amounts of makeup. By the time we were done, there was only fifteen minutes left to the interview. I honestly had never been this nervous in my life. Not even when I had battled Roark. My skin tingled and felt like it was burning up. I tried distracting myself by thinking about what my friends were doing right now. The interview had been announced today as a surprise, so everyone knew about it by now, although Louis and Maeve had already left the city. The rest of them were probably all grouped up in a room waiting for me to get on TV. I imagined Pauline telling me to kick ass and my mood improved slightly. The studio room was a lot more spacious than it looked on television. Mallory waved at me from the elevated tform where the interview would take ce, and a green screen stood behind her. Guess that view of Veilstone at night was a lie, I mused to myself. Dozens of people were moving out and about, shouting at each other about technical terms I didn''t understand at all except a loud ''go in ten'', which meant that I had ten minutes left. With nothing left to do, I joined Mallory on the tform, although she was too busy to chat. People orbited and talked to her constantly, and she would instantly answer. With nothing left to do, I recited the answers in my head as I tried to calm myself the best I could. We both sat down on the couch as the technical crew adjusted the lighting andrge microphones hung over our heads, just out of camera''s frames. "One minute left," Mallory said as she crossed her legs. "Yeah." It was a simple answer, but at least I could speak. The minute felt like an eternity, but suddenly. "We''re live in five, four, three, two, one!" As if a switch had flipped, Mallory''s face grew more¡­ brilliant. Captivating. I didn''t miss the cue and began to smile as well, just like Mel had taught me. Not too wide, but just enough to not look obnoxious. "Good evening,dies and gentlemen. We are live on SGNC and I''m Mallory Ryan. Some of you may have noticed already that my cohost Patrick isn''t here¡ª" She stopped to wave in the distance, and I saw the man wave back. "Hello Patrick," sheughed. Was that allowed? I guess it was just how they did things on thework. "He''s standing by because today, SGNC is bringing you an exclusive interview with Grace Pastel! Rising star in the League Circuit, acimed as one of the best first-years this cycle, she''s an expert on battling and training Pokemon. Grace, how are you doing tonight?" "I''m doing great, t¡ªthank you. I''m happy to be there and to have an opportunity like this." Oh, Arceus, I''d stumbled over my words already. Mallory ignored the small hup and continued. "Many of you at home know this already, but Grace has received mounting amounts of public attention for many reasons, but today we''re here to discuss what happened on route 215. Before we get into that, however, why don''t you introduce yourself to the viewers not familiar with you? Even I''d like to hear a little more about where you came from. My daughter''s fascinated about you." The first question had arrived, and she''d weaved it seamlessly into the interview like we were having a natural conversation and not some scripted jargon. "Sure thing!" I said. "I grew up in Jubilife my entire life with my father. When I was younger I couldn''t even imagine I''d be a trainer, but once I actually experienced¡ª" I identally bit my tongue and paused. "Experienced what it was like to train with Princess for the first time, I caught the bug and I never looked back." "Fascinating. And Princess is your¡­" "My Togetic," I said. I''dpletely forgotten to specify that! Damn it. "It''s been tough, but I wouldn''t have it any other way. I love my job and I love my Pokemon with all my heart. They''re like family to me." My face twitched, and I made sure my smile was still there. I couldn''t keep itpletely still all the time, because then I''d look like a psycho. Normally I would have smiled anyway when talking about my Pokemon, but I was way too nervous to be normal at the moment. My palms were full of sweat and I was too scared to wipe them on the couch or my skirt. "Trainers often say that they love their Pokemon, but it looks like your love extended to more than just your team. Almost two weeks ago, Grace arrived at Veilstone''s gate with what the Rangers and multiple news stations called an army that could have threatened the city." She paused, and I assumed the technical crew was showing a picture of the event to the people at home. "What do you have to say to that?" She finished. "I definitely know that it looked weird. People aren''t used to that many Pokemon cooperating together," I started. "And the unknown or the unusual can be scary. They truly meant the city no harm and just wanted to send me off with a bang." "And when you say send you off, do you mean that you befriended all of those Pokemon?" "That is what I''m saying. I might not know all of them individually, but I still consider them friends, and I hope the reverse is true. What I experienced on the route was truly magical. I met so many Pokemon and realized that they''re just like us. They have theirmunity, worries, and drama as well." Mallory''s smile widened, which told me she was genuinely doing so. "A lot of people, trainers included¡ª" I didn''t miss the strong inflection on the word. "Think that Pokemon are just animals for entertainment or even food. I think it''s important for someone to shine a light on their individuality. If you had one moment to share with us that stuck with you, what would it be?" I felt my heart rate speed up at the first unscripted question. That wasn''t one of the ones she''d sent to us, but my mouth surprisingly started to move before I''d even realized it. Well, beyond the moments with Night and Be, I had plenty. "There was a Simisage that visited us every so often. At some point, he''d grown so attached to me that he decided to introduce me to his kid. She was the cutest little Pansage I''d ever seen, and shy too. She befriended Princess and Angel¡ª that''s uh, my Tangrowth¡ª and they yed together for a long time. I thought that was very cute. It just¡­ filled my heart with happiness I couldn''t exin." I finally understood what Melody meant now. Despite my stumbles, I was beginning to hit my stride. "But there''s another side to the story," I continued. "She told me that she feared being captured and ripped away from her dad, or for the opposite to happen. That is why I believe that trainers shouldn''t capture Pokemon without their consent. It''s a mistake many of us make¡­ I made it too, when I was just starting out, but I''ve grown past it. When you look at a wild Pokemon you want to catch, think about if they have a life they''d be leaving behind. Family, friends, dreams¡­ they all have those." I finally stopped and inhaled sharply. That had beenpletely unscripted, but Mallory seemed over the moon with me. "That was very eloquently put, Grace, and I agreepletely," she said. "But it''s still something a lot of people have yet to realize. I noticed that you said that Pansage talked to you directly? Could you go more into that?" I stopped myself from biting my lip. We were goingpletely off script now, huh? Mallory''s face waspletely still, like an Ekans lying in wait for prey, but she was still being polite and not as harsh as she could be. I knew she was curious about my capabilities, but unfortunately, I had to shut her down. "Hatterene tranted her words for me," I said. Mallory deted, although she hid it well. "Ah, yes. Hatterene. The Rangers said that their Pokemon felt like she was an incredibly powerful Pokemon, along with Decidueye. You spoke to them when you were about to leave and your words were caught on video. y the clip, please." We stood in silence for around thirty seconds until someone in the technical team motioned at us with a thumbs up. I felt a surge of panic when I realized I''d called Be her name, but remembered I had only whispered it. Could people make it out if they zoomed in on my lips? "Talks of getting Decidueye books and paint, along with calling Hatterene your teacher. There was obviously a personal connection there." I restrained a sigh. I needed to keep this concise and short. "I can''t deny I connected to them both more than the others," I said. "They''re friends of mine." "Friends of yours, you say. Not many trainers would be able to boast befriending Pokemon that powerful. Could you go a little bit more in detail about that process?" Arceus damn it, she was fucking good at her job. I''d explicitly asked her not to approach the topic, but she was leaving me an out. I was good at words too. "It started when I nursed an injured Ponyta back to health under an overhang. A lot of Pokemon ended up taking refuge there for the night and I met Hatterene and Decidueye soon after. They helped me navigate the route and taught some of my Pokemon. We bonded a lot, but they''re a private bunch. As a renowned Pokemon activist, surely you''d understand respecting their wishes." Mallory''s lips twitched, and she leaned back against her chair, her eyes still hungry for answers. She was admitting defeat. "Of course. Now, let''s move on. I''ve participated in many protests, especially when I was young. From Anti-Parasect to anti-expansionist protests, I''ve seen my fair share of marches against injustices done against Pokemon. Would you consider ever joining one of these? Back on script, I noticed. "I would, so long as they remain non-violent," I said. Thatst part had been added by the Poketch Company, but I thought it''d been a given when I answered. "I don''t have much time since I''m a trainer, so I can''t exactly put money where my mouth is, but whenever my schedule opens up, I''d be willing to join." "You should! People often have this negative view of protests, especially in Sinnoh and our neighboring countries. They''re much more culturally epted in Unova, Kalos and Gr. Protests give you the opportunity to meet a lot of like-minded people. It''s actually how I met my husband, believe it or not," she smiled. "You might not have the time, but what about donating? There are a lot of resources and charities that''d be willing to take your money." Off-script again. I couldn''t really fault her, though. At this point, we were having a conversation and the script was only used whenever we ran out of stuff to say. "I''d be willing to, but I have a few things I''m saving for right now. What''s most pressing is a Shiny Stone for Princess, but there''s a bunch of other stuff I won''t reveal." Disappointment shed on her face, but she left it at that. "Trainers and their secrets," she said. "Speaking of Unova, have you heard of this recently created group called the sma Organization?" "I have, but not much," I said. "I''d like it if you could exin it in more detail." That was honestly just me trying to fill the runtime with Mallory speaking instead of me. It technically wasn''t a lie. I''d only heard what Melody and the others had told me about it, so not much. "They''re a political group in Unova that fights for Pokemon rights and freedom," she said. I noticed that she''d left a lot of it unsaid. They wanted to rip Pokemon and their trainers apart. That was arguably as bad as capturing a Pokemon without their consent. "They''re small, but growing quickly, and I''ve donated plenty to them." I blinked. Mallory was SGNC''s most popr anchor. She had a fortune and probably hundreds of millions if not billions of Pokedors to her name. Donations from her were no small thing and could make a real difference. "What do you think about them?" I cursed internally. Now that I''d lied and said I didn''t know much about them, meing out against what she''d just said would make me look either like a huge hypocrite or a liar. Buting out in support would also bring the Poketch Company an incredible amount of negative press and would possibly hurt their rtionship with Unova''s government. Melody was probably fuming outside the studio right now. "I''m not really the best at politics, but I''d be willing to take a better look at themter," I said. "What you said sounds good, but I''d like to be informed about the sma Organization before making an opinion." Mallory faced me and winked with her eye hidden from the camera. "I''ll send you some informationter. Now, although I would have liked to hear more about it, you''ve shared your experience on route 214. You''re starting to be known for training on route instead of in arenas, and you''ve been spotted numerous times on route 215. Have you had any simr experiences on that route?" I sighed in relief and began to recite my answer. Mallory never went off script again, and fifteen minutes passed in a sh. ¡ª "What the fuck was that, Mallory?!" Melody yelled. I''d never seen her so angry. "What happened to not stepping on the Poketch Company''s toes?!" The short-haired woman waved a hand dismissively. "Come on. The girl handled it perfectly. She''s better at this than most of the old men I speak to." "Yes, she did, but it could have been aplete disaster! Do you think SGNC will let this go if the Poketch Company esctes this?!" "I''ll probably get yelled at by the executives, but I know their limit," she answered. "That''s why I stopped eventually. I stopped right in front of the line." Melody exhaled. "Arceus, I''ve never felt so powerless as I was watching the show behind the studio door. You did wonderful, Grace. I''ve gotten a few texts, and thepany''s happy with you." "Can we talk about that raise, then?" I asked. "Tomorrow." Mallory stared at her watch. "The ads are still running. Can I have a word with Grace in private?" "What for?" Mel asked, crossing her arms. "That''s why I called it private. Because I''m not going to tell you," she said with a smirk. "Don''t worry, it won''t be anything bad. You owe me a favor." "She does?" I frowned. "People often trade favors in the industry," Mallory exined. "Just make it quick," Melody said after clicking her tongue. She left the waiting room I''d gone back to. "What''d you think about the interview?" Mallory asked after a few seconds of silence. "I thought it was one of the most terrifying things I''ve ever done and that you nearly cost me my sponsorship, so I wouldn''t exactly call it a good experience." The womanughed. "I was a little hard on you, but nowhere near as bad as I could have been." "That doesn''t reassure me one bit. It feels like you bulldozed over me to satiate your curiosity, and I dislike that. You slighted me." "I did. I wanted to see what kind of girl you were. Dull, or sharp. It turns out you were thetter." She paused again. "You know, my daughter told me she wanted to be a trainer like you when she grew up. I told her that I''d never let her be a trainer." "What? Why? Because it''s not safe?" "Because I hate trainers," she snarled. "Keeping Pokemon confined in Pokeballs. Using them for bloodsport. Kidnapping. They''re all horrible people. You''re one of the good ones, Grace. One who I hope one day will put their money where their mouth is and free Pokemon from oppression and ept them in our society as equals, not pets." "You¡ª" "And I know you knew what the sma Organization was. You know their goal. To end the trainer phenomenon once and for all," she said. "I think it''s a noble one. When the first domino in Unova falls¡­ other regions will be next. They call it Domino Theory." "You''re mad," I said. "Utterly insane." "You''ve simply grown too ustomed to the systemic oppression Pokemon face," she shrugged. "I don''t me you for not understanding. You''ve already made so much progress alone and reached a point that few trainers do. Your points during the interview were so great¡­ that''s why I think you''re one of the good ones." I scoffed. "I''m out of here." "You think Sinnoh is bad?" She said. "If you ever go to Unova, you''ll realize how they trample on anything that isn''t human!" Her voice had been a distant yell by the time I had left the room. Now I knew why she''d gone off-script and pushed me so hard in the interview. It was partly curiosity, but she wanted to see how far I''d go in supporting her cause. How truly good one of ''the good ones'' could be. Aside from a few hups, I''d basically aced the thing and I was nevering back. "What''d she tell you¡ª don''t just walk past me," Melody eximed. "What happened in there?" "Mallory''s a damn wackjob," I said. "She supports sma." "Yeah, I saw the interview. She said she donated to them. I''m surprised the SGNC lets her say that, but she is known as an entric." "She told me that she hated trainers. To my face." "Okay. Well, uh, I knew she was a bleeding heart activist, but I never expected her to go that far." "People like her make the people on the fence about this entire ordeal treat actual reasonable reform like some crazy thing," I sighed. "Whatever." "I''ll talk to the Poketch Company about that raise," she said. "Do you have a tentative number?" I dragged my trainer ID out of my purse and checked how much money I had. The entire thing amounted to 245,000 Pokedors and some change. I''d get another twenty-thousand next month from the LTIP, thirty thousand from hopefully beating Maylene. Then, I''d get paid another 250,000 at the end of this month, meaning that I theoretically didn''t need a raise to get a Shiny Stone by the end of March. I would have liked to get this month''s sry raised, but the contract had explicitly stated that I could only renegotiate every three months. However, I needed the money for other things, and more importantly, I didn''t want to wait for the end of March. "I''d need a raise to at least 350,000 Pokedors per month," I said. "That''s the minimum amount. I deserve it. I know there''s been problems, but you can''t deny I''ve worked. You keep telling me that sales from younger people have gone up andpanies trying to eat into your market are stagnant when young people are who they are especially targeting because there''s less brand loyalty." "I think that''s a passable number," she said. "Great. I want another thing. I want to get paid on the first Friday of every month instead of thest." Melody opened the car door for me, and we went inside. "That''s an arbitrary change, unless you want to buy something and you don''t want to wait," she said as she closed the door. "You know what I want. I asked for it already, a Shiny Stone. You shot me down immediately though." Melody sighed. "I''ll see what I can do, but that''s a lot less likely than the raise. If you start moving your payday around, other people we sponsor will get antsy, and we just got over that phase." "What if I get an impressive win against Maylene?" I asked. The goal still remained: to have Maylene either get so angry she lost focus or broke while not looking like a terrible human being. Luckily for me, she was pretty terrible too, so I had something there. If I was lucky, she would only reach the first stage. That''d make these negotiations a lot easier. "It''d have to be at least as good as your win against Fantina, if I had to guess. The higher-ups really loved watching that one. They even had a highlight reel made to put on our website." "As good as my battle against Fantina?" I said, excitingly biting my inner cheek. "That''s what I was hoping to do, so I''ll try."
Chapter 206 – Psychological Warfare Chapter 206 ¨C Psychological Warfare CHAPTER 206 - Psychological Warfare Three days had passed since the interview, and it had apparently been a smashing sess. Or at least that''s what Melody told me. She spoke of ratings going up for the SGNC and other terms I didn''t really care about. I was personally just d it was over. The interview itself hadn''t been as bad as I thought, but what came after still bothered me somewhat. Mallory''s irrational hatred for trainers looked so visceral to me in that moment when we spoke that it gave me the creeps. Too bad her stupid hate overtook her other good points. The people at the Poketch Company had tentatively agreed on the raise if I kept up doing good work for them, so that was even better news. Hell, I even got a message from Candiceining that I hadn''t told her that I''d be on TV. I felt bad for leaving her hanging and we spoke for the first time in a while. The ice-type Gym Leader hadn''t changed one bit, and she was happy she was going to get more challengers soon now that the worse of winter had passed. My friends were all proud of me, and Denzel even thanked me for not throwing him under the bus during the interview. I could have spoken about his Budew¡ª hell, I even could have talked about Scyther, but I kept to my own experiences. So long as they had learned and wouldn''t do it again like I would, then bygones could be bygones. Plus, Roserade had forgiven Denzel, even if she still gave him a hard time sometimes and Scyther and Cece were making progress. Yes, Roserade. He''d bought her a Shiny Stone, and now he waspletely broke and decided to do more streams to fill up his coffers again. Little Swablu was kind of an enigma for me. She seemed to dislike everyone except Denzel, and even he sometimes wasn''t spared by her wrath. One time, he''d tried to put her on the sidewalk and off his head and she bit his finger in retaliation. She was a real cleanliness freak and considered everything that wasn''t her trainer''s hands dirty. At least he was treating her right. "Hello, I''m here to sign up for a gym battle?" I''d entered Maylene''s gym, and I was finally ready for the battle. The soonest I got was in four days, but that was perfectly fine. That was more time to prepare, and Chase hadn''t even had his battle yet. We''d have to wait for him before leaving anyway, since we were all traveling together. Mira had handily won her own battle, and Porygon had seen some fighting. The normal type wasn''t as powerful as her other Pokemon yet, but the amount of move variety she brought to the table couldn''t be underestimated. I spent the next four days isted and preparing as much as I could, and the day of the Gym Battle came in a sh. ¡ª "You ready for this?" Togetic nodded firmly with a fire lit in her eyes. I caressed her cheek and ced her forehead against mine, and wey still there for a minute. I heard the cheers of the crowd, signaling that Maylene had probably lost. I was too busy to look at whoever came back in the waiting room. I took deep, slow breaths as I recalled Togetic and she melted in a sea of red around my hand. The Gym Trainer outfitted me with the usual microphone, and I made sure my Poketch Watch was fully visible. Couldn''t let my bosses be unhappy. When I opened my eyes, it was as if I was looking at myself. An objective view of the situation presented itself before me, and I was the calmest I''d ever been. The touch of my clothes against my skin, Tangrowth''s Pokeball I had unconsciously grabbed or the feel of my steps against the floor, all of that was gone. It was like I was in a sensory deprivation chamber, and I had only one goal in mind. What did the girl want? To execute each step of the strategy wlessly and win. What did the girl need to reach that point? Toe at this with the most pragmatic, objective view of the world possible. Maylene was no longer a person. She was an obstacle. So I felt lighter as I made my way onto the tform. With a step, I shed my morals. With another, I shed myst doubts. With thest, I shed my worries about what people might think of me if this went wrong. I had note here to y. I came to win using every tool at my disposal, and I would have gone further had I had no mary or social concerns. Maylene walked onto the tform with a spry step and began to speak. "Wee Challenger¡­" I ignored her speech and looked at her fingers instead. Not twitching, so she must have had a good time during thatst battle. Not good. Her body was rxed, although it was a little tough to see from here. There was the faintest hint of a smile on her face. She was starting high, so I''d have to bring her crashing down. Annoying. The battle would be a five-on-five with three swaps, as usual. I immediately released Tangrowth onto the field, and Maylene brought out a Sawk. The blue Pokemon flexed and squared himself. Sawk. Grappler, Aura user, quicker and bulkier than he looks, I recited in my head. Little move variety, most likely brought out to scout out my capabilities. Good atplicated Aura techniques, but might not use them yet. There were two endings to this battle. Two branching paths, and they were not defeat or victory. They had to do with Maylene''s state of mind. Either she would be pushed toward the brink, or she would wake up and realize that there was more to battling than staying inside of herfort zone. I hoped that it would be thetter, but I would not stop myself if it was the former. "Begin!" The referee yelled. "Go ahead, baby," I said, my eyes unmoving. Tangrowth began to trudge along, slowly at first, but he was continuously speeding up. The base of our first pirs rose out of the earth as his eyes shone with Ancient Power. He''d trained so much with the move that he was capable of raising two at a time, and soon the first row waspleted. "Don''t let them set up! Go in and Brick Break!" She yelled. We''d nned for this, of course. I would have been a fool to think Maylene would just let us alter the arena. Angel finished raising the first four rows and crossed into Maylene''s half the arena as Sawk sprinted toward him. "Stun Spore," I said. Maylene''s eye twitched the moment the words left my mouth, but Sawk retreated before the cloud of yellow spores could reach him. His reflexes were just as good as I''d seen, and it was a shame that I hadn''t paralyzed him, but just me being able to zone him off of Angel was fine. Tangrowth zigzagged through the arena, and rows G, F, and E quickly erupted from the ground, but Sawk was following close by. Not close enough to get hit or grabbed by Angel, but close enough to keep us on our toes and have Tangrowth in his line of sight. "Aura Sphere!" Maylene yelled. "Block it with vines." Sawk flexed his body, extended his arms and a pale blue ball flew out of his hand. Tangrowth tied as many vines he could into a knot and brought them forward. The Aura Sphere exploded after nearly shredding through the majority of the vines and Tangrowth continued on his path. After another minute, he had created all of their bases. The first fifth of the actual height I needed them to be. "Enough ying around," Maylene hissed. "Aura Lance!" Already? I must have been annoying her. Which meant her mood was souring already. Good. A blue light extended out of Sawk''s hand reminiscent of Lucario''s Bone Rush, and the fighting type began to wield it like a spear. I already knew that it was capable of extending at least threefold, and it''d easily be able to stab Angel like Lucario had during my battle with Chase. Either way, Tangrowth''s job was done for now, so I recalled the grass type. I made sure to wait until right before Sawk hit him with hisnce, of course. Taking the joy of striking Tangrowth down from Maylene would make her angrier, especially when she''d only missed by an inch. I silently sent out Princess and watched as she got to work. Her eyes shone, and with a grunt, the first tower began to extend, as if someone had pinched the top of the structure and pulled it upward. Her sculpting, her masterful control and her intense training had alle to this. Maylene barked out an order, and Sawk sent out a series of Aura Spheres flying toward Togetic, but she fluttered her wings and manipted the wind to gain quick bursts of speed and dodged, but she unfortunately got hit twice. Both times on her chest. Most of the towers didn''t reach the desired height of thirty feet, but the ones closest to Maylene did. "Wish," I said. "Will you ever attack?!" Maylene yelled. She stomped a foot on the ground and recalled Sawk as a bright light flew out of Togetic''s body and into the sky. I let her words slide for now and reveled in her anger. If I''d been good enough, I would have mimicked sadness or faked flinched, but unfortunately every time I pretended to act one way, it still looked terribly fake, so I opted to stay calm instead. I wouldn''t talk back. Not yet. Maylene sent out an Infernape. I had figured she''d use at least one fire type against me because of Togetic and Tangrowth, and she hadn''t disappointed. Infernape wasn''t great at Aura, although it had mastered Force Palm. If I had to guess, Maylene had brought her out to attack at a distance. That means Heat Wave, methrower, Focus st, I recited in my head. "Climb those pirs and methrower that Togetic out of the sky!" Maylene yelled. Infernape sank behind one of the towers and a cry from Togetic let me know she was currently on C2. I saw a glimpse of him jump one row ahead, and it soon became apparent that the fire type would be able to fight in the air thanks to our pirs. That hadn''t been ording to n, but I had grown. No panic came. I waited until the fighting type stopped. She hung on a pir supported by a single hand. As soon as she opened her mouth and mes lit up her throat, I sprung to action. "Ancient Power, make her fall." Togetic''s eyes shone as she flung the small ledge Infernape had been hanging onto. The fire type tumbled and desperately tried to get a grip to stop her fall. "Air Cutter." The air below Infernape sharpened like des and rushed upwards, cutting into the fire type''s fur and skin until she bled from a dozen deep cuts. Infernape crashed into the floor and grunted in pain as she scrambled back to her feet. She rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding another Air Cutter and she retreated behind a pir. "Strike behind B4," I said. I internally smiled when I heard her scream again. I hadn''t seen the attack, but it had hit, and even Maylene was surprised. After all, Princess was hiding behind one of the towers out of Maylene''s line of sight, and she hadn''t expected her to be so versatile. "Fine then," Maylene said. "If you''re going to be a coward, I''ll stop pulling my punches." Now the real battle could begin. Twice now, she had spoken, and twice I had ignored her. I would not do so the third. "Acrobatics and Heat Wave!" Maylene yelled with a sweep of her arm. "Stick to the middle corridor so I can see you!" Infernape grunted and began to climb twice as fast, flipping and jumping in between pirs while Togetic tried to hit her with Air Cutter. The fire type front flipped and snaked around a tower as the air around her became sweltering. With a slight wave of a hand, it rushed forward and burned all in its path. Princess cried out and quickly hid behind one of the columns, but that wouldn''t be enough to protect herself from the wind. She quickly raised a psychic barrier and although some of the hot air slipped past the transparent shield, it protected her from the worst of the damage. Infernape wasn''t stopping, of course. The Heat Wave was continuous and Princess had to focus everything she had on defense. "Go in and Psychic." Maylene''s eyes widened as Princess exposed herself to the scorching temperatures and flew toward Infernape. I struggled to retain my calm persona when her short fur began to darken and burn, but she wasn''t taking damage for no reason. I hadn''t forgotten about Wish, and neither had Maylene. "methrower!" She yelled. "Extrasensory," The air between the two Pokemon grew strange and blurry. The methrower did not simply pass through. Instead, it loosened and became less concentrated. Less potent. Togetic dove through the mes with a mad stare and grabbed Infernape by the throat with Psychic right as Wish returned to her body and healed some of the damage she had taken. Togetic ransacked through Infernape''s brain and the fire type bled''s nose began to bleed¡ª I stared at Maylene, my eyes unblinking. Her arm was twitching¡ª hand approaching Pokeball! "Put her behind a pir!" I yelled, my words barely coherent. I''d broken my demeanor for the first time. Togetic grunted and mmed Infernape against one of the stone towers. Maylene had grabbed her Pokeball to switch out, and she did try, but the homing system didn''t work that well. It wouldn''t be capable of making a turn that sharp. The red light helplessly washed up against the stone. Maylene''s Infernape slowly lost consciousness away from her view. All Maylene could hear was her small groans of pain and Princess finishing the job. She was powerless to do anything. All she could do was watch. Just like her life outside of this gym. "Infernape is unable to battle! Leader Maylene, send out your second¡ª" "You''re a terrible person," Maylene interrupted. "Not only are you a coward, but you''re a shell of a human. Do you think I don''t see you taking pleasure in what you''re doing? That Togetic took longer than what was needed to take Infernape down!" Princess ignored her and simply threw Infernape toward the middle of the arena like a rag so Maylene could recall her, and I didn''t miss that tight clench of her fist. She wasn''t exactly wrong. Princess had taken longer to finish off Infernape, just like I''d told her to before the battle. ns were fluid, but beating one of her Pokemon while preventing her from switching out had been my goal from the start. Making her hear the pained noises of her Pokemon was simply a means to an end. Third time, and another personal insult, I mused. Now I could finally speak. Rebuke her firmly, but politely. Don''t rise to her level, make her look like the bad guy. Gaslight, but do not obstruct. "You''ve been insulting me and my way of battling since the start of the battle, Leader Maylene," I said. "I''m just trying my best to win the battle. Sorry if I''ve offended you." "You¡ª" She spat, but then stopped as she recalled her Infernape and her shoulders sagged. Now, one of her strongest was going toe out right away to take revenge on Princess. She disliked any Pokemon that didn''t fight within her rules, but what I''d done went beyond that. I had essentially assured that she would want to take down Togetic as soon as she could and right away. I rolled my neck when she sent out her Conkeldurr. The hulking fighting type carried two concrete cylindersrger than me in both hands. Not what I had expected, but it made sense. It was one of the most powerful fighting types she had at this badge level and Air Cutter would do terribly against him. Plus, he was so heavy that Princess would never be able to restrain him with Psychic, even if it would deal damage. And I recalled Togetic immediately. Maylene''s face fell. If you want to y like this, I will not give you an ounce of satisfaction this battle, I thought to myself. It was like I''d pulled the rug from under her. I released Jellicent, who rose high into the sky and instantly summoned a Night Shade. The shadows intertwined until they became a clone, and while the real Jellicent seeped into one of the pirs after a small drop of water fell next to my side of the arena, the Night Shade remained in full view. Maylene clicked her tongue. "The Night Shade''s a distraction. Watch out for the real one! Bulk Up!" Conkeldurr flexed, and his muscles bulged, growing even further as a dozen veins popped out from under his skin. One thing was for sure, one hit from that and Buddy would disintegrate. We had to y fast and loose with him, which was the n in the first ce. With a silent, ghastly whistle, the Night Shade flew forward and spat out a Water Pulse at Conkeldurr, who raised one of his concrete pirs in front of himself. The ring of water blew up against the concrete and only dealt minimal damage, but that was fine. The goal of the shade was just to provide support, harass and distract. My eyes drifted to the right side of the arena, where Jellicent had left the tiniest part of his body. The water circled on the floor, meaning that the ghost type was close to his target. Maylene probably believed that she''d be able to see him approach, but she was horribly mistaken. Maylene''s face swung to her left, and I assumed Jellicent was out of the pir and right behind Conkeldurr. "Hydro Pump," I said. I didn''t see him actually use the move, but I did see the enormous high-pressurized jet of water dig into Conkeldurr. The fighting type grunted, protecting his face with his huge arms and the Night Shade began to pester him with weakened Shadow Balls instead. The ghostly energy hit the fighting type, but my eyes widened slightly when I saw that Conkeldurr was still moving. "Throw!" Maylene ordered. Conkeldurr throw one of his concrete columns at speeds that looked impossible toward Buddy. I didn''t see what happened to him, but I did see his remains stter all over the floor, pirs, and barrier. The Shade quickly floated toward Conkeldurr with a hiss and blew up against the fighting type to buy Jellicent some time to reform. All of the water type''s fragments desperately crawled back together and he slipped into the pirs once again. "Keep your distance," I said. Attacks like Hydro Pump were the strongest the closer we were, but as it stood, Conkeldurr''s throws were faster than they had seemed on camera. "Rock Slide!" Maylene yelled. There it was, I internally cursed. The first move I hadn''t known about. The tower Jellicent had retreated into copsed in on itself and forced him out into the open, after which Conkeldurr threw his other concrete column and blew the ghost type up again. Rock Throw would never have been enough to copse our pirs, but Rock Slide was another story entirely. There were still thirty-five left standing. "Come back," I said. Buddy''s fragments slowly returned to my side of the arena, and Maylene used the opportunity to order Conkeldurr to go pick up his concrete columns again. As if each glob of water was alive, it rose into the sky and formed into Buddy, who apologized for his weakness. It wasn''t exactly his fault. We were going against a Bulked Up Conkeldurr, which was one of Maylene''s most physically strong Pokemon. Even if he solidified his body, he would have blown up. "Another Shade and make it continuously use Poison Sting," I said. "We''re using Drown." I finished the order by flicking my finger downward twice. Jellicent let out a series of clicks to agree and another Night Shade came to life. The ghostly construct wasted no time and began to spit out sharp darts dripping with poison. Conkeldurr had done away with A2, A3 and B3 when the first darts arrived. Only a few buried themselves into his arm before he retreated behind one of the pirs, but the Shade quickly circled around as many columns as it could to get a good angle on the fighting type. We were forcing him to move and shield himself using his concrete pirs so he wouldn''t throw it at Buddy instead. Maylene didn''t want to run the risk of one of her strongest fighters being poisoned. I hadn''t even seen where Buddy had gone, but I did know he was somewhere under the floor. I bit the inside of my lip when one of Conkeldurr''s pirs almost grazed the Night Shade. "Enough of this game!" Maylene yelled as she recalled the fighting type. I stayed silent. "You think you''re real cool, don''t you?" She huffed. "Lucario!" The bipedal fighting type appeared on the field in a sh of red. "This is serious. No holding back," she added. Lucario blinked, but then a blue light surrounded him. It danced and spun around his body, as if he couldn''t contain the amount of Aura he had at his disposal. This was thankfully a badge-appropriate Lucario, but that didn''t mean much when the fighting type was going to go at us like his life depended on it. I contained my excitement as best I could. She expected to steamroll me now, but if I took down Lucario? I would damage her psychologically to such an extent that she would never behave the same way during this battle again. The Poison Stings from the Night Shade refused to enter Lucario''s skin, so the ghost switched up to Shadow Ball instead. A blue bone grew out of Lucario''s hand and the fighting type split the attack in two. It didn''t even explode. It dissolved with an infuriated scream. "Drown," I said again. Jellicent appeared below Lucario''s feet and enveloped the fighting type''s body as his head swelled to three times its size. It had been a technique we''d developed to take down Team Gctic grunts and Pokemon. Of course, we were using the non-lethal version, where Jellicent wouldn''t forcefully enter Lucario''s lungs and instead would just swarm him using water TE. The fighting type thrashed inside of Jellicent''s head, but Maylene stomped her foot. "Aura Burst!" Buddy exploded for the third time, but this time, he didn''t reform right away. Instead, the pieces of his body spluttered and squirmed against the floor as if he''d been confused. Damn it, even while drowning, he could do that? Aura required a Pokemon''s concentration, so I hadn''t expected him to be able to use the damn thing. "Wait until it gains shape again and Vacuum Wave," Maylene said with her arms crossed. I stood still until Jellicent regained most of his body mass, and I recalled him before he could be hurt further. Maylene clicked her tongue. She could have Vacuum Waved earlier, but that ran the risk of a part of Jellicent''s body reforming elsewhere while she was distracted. "Cut down these pirs with Bone Rush." This came with no surprise. I''d known that Lucario''s Aura-infused Bone Rush could cut through rocks like butter. No matter how much I''d racked my brain, I hadn''t figured out a clean counter for this Lucario. What I had instead was a contingency n, but first, Honey would have to do some work. The electric type roared, spinning his arms around as electricity crackled like whips all around him. B2, B3 and C2 had all copsed into rubble. Even if Vacuum Wave would either weaken or disintegrate elemental attacks, they still served a purpose. I ordered Electabuzz to use Thunderbolt, and Lucario had to stop destroying the pirs to counter the ray of electricity. "Go in and keep using Thunderbolt," I said. Electricity roared brightly as Lucario countered each strike with another Vacuum Wave. When we got close enough, the tail-end of the attack actually hit him, leaving us with the perfect opening. All that training had paid off. "Cross Chop." Honey put his arms into an ''X'' shape as they shone and mmed down on Lucario''s shoulders. The steel type grunted with widening eyes, and Maylene nearly gasped in surprise, but they both recovered quickly. "Force Palm!" Electabuzz quickly blurred back, but Lucario''s Force Palm brimmed with so much Aura that the attack burst forth and extended past the normal range and erupted like a volcano. The attack went through Honey''s body, but it did not actually stab him. It probably felt like it had, though, and the electric type buckled, doubling over as he clenched at his chest and sizzling fur. "Bone Rush!" "Protect and Fire Punch," Imanded. Honey didn''t even raise his hands. The barrier appeared around him unconsciously and Lucario had hit so hard that the blue bone nearly bounced out of his hand. Electabuzz''s fist lit aze within the confines of Protect, and he punched Lucario in the leg while the fighting type managed to strike his ribcage. Lucario simply hissed in pain, but Honey went flying backwards and grabbed at his ribs when he stood up. "Feels broken?" I asked. He answered by saying that he didn''t know, but it hurt when he drew breaths too quickly. "Lucario, go in and finish him off!" Maylene yelled. "I''m out of switches, Hon, I''m sorry," I softly said. "Do you want to be taken out of the fight?" I was out of switches, but his health took priority. Electabuzz shook his head and flexed. He would not go down without a fight. Somehow, me ignoring the Lucario running at us had angered Maylene further and she looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel. I just needed to push her over the edge a little more. Lucario was faster and stronger than Chase''s, but Electabuzz had already had a run-in with the species. "Thunderbolt," I ordered. The electricity zapped Lucario, but the fighting type didn''t even blink. He pushed forward with a bone in hand and mmed against another one of Honey''s Protects. The electric type''s fist caught on fire again, and it looked like it''d be another hit for hit. Instead, I said this. "Discharge." Electricity so bright I had to cover my eyes exploded all around Electabuzz. He''d improved leaps and bounds with the move, and the floor shook under my feet as the attack ran its course. Lucario blinked rapidly and swung his bone around in an attempt to blindly hit Electabuzz while he regained his vision, but the electric type sidestepped and mmed Lucario with another Cross Chop. Unfortunately, that had alerted the steel type to his presence, and he swatted Electabuzz away with an aura-infused p. I waited a few seconds to see if Honey would stand up, but he didn''t. He''d done more than he knew, and Lucario was obviously tiring¡ª And¡­ convulsing? My eyes widened and I had to stop myself fromughing like a madwoman. Static hade into effect, and Lucario was paralyzed. The steel type leaned against a knee and grunted to Maylene, who snarled with a loud scream. I knew that was unusual when the referee had to ask her to remain calm after he announced that Electabuzz was unable to battle. "Are you alright?" I asked. "I''m sorry if I¡ª" "Send out your Pokemon," she hissed. "Okay. Sorry." Her anger was music to my ears. That satisfaction from having taken one of my Pokemon out had beenpletely ripped away through a stroke of bad luck. It wasn''t like Lucario was unable to fight, however, and the situation was still rtively equal on the field. We''d both lost one Pokemon, but to Maylene, it felt like she''d been on the backfoot the entire battle, and she was losing it. Now would she learn, or would she sink further? Since Lucario was paralyzed, the contingency n had changed. Originally, Togetic would have finished Lucario off, but now¡­ I sent out Jellicent again this time. Now that Lucario was paralyzed, we were better equipped to deal with him. I didn''t want to risk Princess or Angel yet, and we''d made a n to address Buddy''s explosive ways that ought to work, especially when Lucario was paralyzed. Now was the perfect time to reveal it to sink Maylene further. "Hydro Pump," I said smoothly. Water exploded outward in a tight cylinder and barrelled toward Lucario. The steel type groaned as he stood, aiming a hand forward and¡ª Too slow. The water hit him like a truck and sent him sprawling on the floor. Maylene clenched a fist. "Forget Vacuum Wave, strike back with Aura Sphere!" Lucario''s movements were sluggish, as if the Pokemon had barely woken up and he was sometimes overtaken by a spasm, but he was powerful enough to push through. Buddy spat out another Hydro Pump, but Lucario managed to get an Aura Sphere out. The ball of concentrated Aura asrge as my torso split the pressurized water apart. Jellicent easily dodged with a Water Sport, but my eyes widened when I realized that Lucario was speeding up. The ghost type kept narrowly dodging Aura Spheres and striking back with Hydro Pump until Lucario was back at 90% of his speed. Steadfast, I guessed. Could be Inner Focus as well. He''d learned to either focus or push through the paralysis. I could possibly get Jellicent to hide away, but that meant Maylene would order Lucario to take down pirs, and those were still essential to Angel and Princess'' performance. Then again, her taking down one or two wasn''t much of a problem, but they''d be able to copse them way too quickly for my liking. One of Lucario''s Aura Spheres struck Jellicent, but he''d reflexively solidified and lost a chunk of his body instead of exploding everywhere. The missing part of his head quickly regenerated with Recover, much to Maylene''s displeasure. Buddy was my most annoying Pokemon to fight because it looked like you made no progress whatsoever when you attacked, even when that was the furthest thing from the truth. I knew him, and I knew he was slowly tiring. Hydro Pump still took a lot out of him and left him vulnerable whenever he charged it up. It was time to go back to the tried and true, then. "Use Brine as close to the ground as you can." Clouds materalized right above Lucario''s head and raindrops stabbed into the steel type until he roared in anger and purged the entire move. The shock wave caused Jellicent''s body to ripple and the water type clicked in difort. Just how long would hest? Lucario was getting more powerful the closer he got to fainting. Calm down, I breathed. You''re fine. Grace is fine. "Make it higher, then," I continued. This time, more rain fell onto him like bullets out of range for the Aura Burst trick Lucario had used, but he raised a palm up and used Vacuum Wave. The attack did not stretch up enough to dispel the clouds, but it didpletely ruin Brine''s offensive powers. "Bomb him with Night Shade." Half-formed, misshapen horrors appeared all around Jellicent, and it was as if their mere presence dimmed the room. These wouldn''t be able to use moves and were weaker than if he focused on one, but I was willing to try anything to finish off Lucario as fast as possible. The shadows rushed Lucario, who clenched his teeth and exploded with Aura again upon Maylene''s order, causing a chain reaction in the shades that made them all explode. "Again, space them out," I said. I would probe, probe and probe until the dam broke and I punched through her defenses. Lucario huffed and could barely stand up straight after dispatching of the first two with Bone Rush, but the rest made contact. The shadows swelled, their eyes glimmered and they exploded right next to Lucario. When the purple smoke cleared, the steel type had finally gone down. "Lucario is unable to battle! Leader Maylene, send out your third Pokemon!" "Are you enjoying yourself?" Maylene asked. "I am, I love battling." "You call this battling?" She said as she grabbed her next Pokeball. "You use nothing but tricks. There''s no hard work behind your tactics. You hide away until you win." No hard work? I''d spent countless hours preparing for this, every detail, every single possibility, every minute of this battle, every word out of my mouth nned to meticulous detail. "I don''t think a Gym Leader should behave like this," I said, ignoring the fact that I''d been the one who turned her this way. "I''ve never seen any other Gym Leader insult their challengers this way." The teenager flinched, recoiling as if I''d physically pped her. Yes, think about what your friends would think when they saw this. Let it eat you up inside. Maylene said nothing and let out a short, unassuming pink Pokemon. I knew better than to underestimate Medicham. She was as big of a threat as Lucario, or possibly bigger against Pokemon like Buddy. If I could have, I would have switched, but s, I had to deal with what I had. "Night Shade and Shadow Ball," I said. "Detect and Calm mind!" Maylene ordered. There was a lot less zest in her voice now. I knew Medicham to be an excellent user of Aura, so there was no point sending Night Shades to explode on her. The fighting type''s body bent unnaturally as she dodged both Shadow Balls and her eyes shone. Calm Mind had brought her rity, and her powers would be increased for the remainder of the fight. "High Jump Kick ising," I warned. "Keep attacking, don''t let her Medicham breathe." "You think you knowing changes anything? Go ahead Medicham!" The psychic type silently jumped, leaving not even a small disturbance on the ground. She spun and coated a fist in Aura as she disintegrated a Shadow Ball with a tight jab and she pushed against one of the pirs, propelling herself at incredibly high speeds. "Poison Sting!" I ordered. The sharpened darts flew out of Jellicent and his Shade''s mouths, but Medicham waved a hand and stopped all of their momentum, leaving them to fall to the floor as the psychic continued her jump. Jellicent moved out of the way with Water Sport, but Medicham grabbed onto him¡ª She didn''t. She grabbed onto nothing and dragged him down with her psychic powers as they crashed toward the floor. The fighting type immediately stood and clenched a fist, and Jellicent rippled as she kept him locked in ce. "Force Palm." It came as a gentle touch. Blue light glowed from her palm until it extended like a spear and stabbed into Jellicent''s body. Unlike the others, this Force Palm was refined and nearly silent. The water type''s eyes dimmed and he finally went down. He''d pulled his weight during this battle, that was for sure. I released Angel next for a flurry of reasons. One, he wouldn''t be able to deal with Conkeldurr or Sawk on his own, so it was better to have him be useful here. Two, his heavy weight meant that Medicham wouldn''t be able to throw him around. She''d still be able to move him or restrain him, though. After all, Medicham had dragged Jellicent down with her, and he was heavier than he looked even in his more liquid form. But three, we had Knock Off and Sunny Day. Now that Maylene had locked in her five Pokemon, she wouldn''t be able to trap me with a fire type like Zachary had and four, it was finally time to start using the pirs again. "Sunny Day," I ordered. "Psycho Cut!" Maylene barked. Medicham cut horizontally across the air and weaved an arc of psychic energy that flew toward Tangrowth. The grass type raised a boulder in front of him, but the psychic force cleaved through the rock like a leaf and mmed into him, interrupting his attack. "Don''t let them set up and stay at a distance!" She yelled. "Keep using Aura Sphere or Psycho Cut!" "Go and hide, Angel." The grass type ran off behind a pir, using his vines to speed up while Medicham pressured him with his attacks. An Aura Sphere buried itself deep inside of Tangrowth, causing his vines to writhe in pain, but he soon managed to get behind one of the columns. Medicham hadn''t stayed idle during this. The psychic skulked through the stone forest, determined not to let Tangrowth get any respite. "Go in now!" I snapped. The whish on Maylene''s face was delicious, and it was now that I realized how valuable Zachary''s advice had been. Going from hiding to attacking right away had been like a metaphorical p. Tangrowth wrapped thick vines around two pirs and catapulted himself forward. "Psychic!" Maylene ordered. But she''d been so slow. She was more passive than she''d been at the beginning of the battle, which was more proof I''d been getting to her. There was a key thing about Maylene every challenger missed no matter what level they were at. She was not used to being pushed in battle because everyone wanted an easier time against her. If you broke her rules, Maylene would strike back any way she could by using stronger moves and techniques, but push her enough and she would also start slipping and making mistakes. Angel slowed, and then dropped like a rock in front of Medicham. His eyes twitched as the psychic applied force to his brain and squeezed it like a grape. "Knock Off," I said. Void consumed five of Angel''s vines as he jutted them forward, easily breaking out of Medicham''s psychic hold. He wrapped them all around Medicham, but focused on her head and neck. The closer the darkness was to a psychic''s brain, the more jumbled their thoughts would get. The fighting type shivered as the alien force interfered with her powers. My eyes snapped back to Maylene, and I saw her arm move. "Drag her behind a pir quick!" Angel stumbled through the arena and tried to stop Maylene from using herst swap by extending the vines that bound Medicham behind one of the columns, but she managed to get the fighting type back into her ball. Barely. "Get that Sunny Day off," I said, not missing a beat. A second sun appeared high in the sky, above even the tallest of stone towers and Angel shook in anticipation. Maylene bit her lip and hesitated on what Pokemon to send out next. I bet she was wishing she still had a slot for another fire type. A thousand what-ifs ran through her mind and after twenty seconds, she finally sent out Conkeldurr. Doubt had seeped into her mind like a poison. What if she wasn''t a good Gym Leader? What would the other Leaders say? What would her father say? This was just work. A routine battle. Yet in her head, it had transformed into a fight to defend her way of running the Gym. "Restraining him won''t work," I quickly warned. "Run off and hide." Make her mind race, I thought to myself. Make her stew in her worries about what I have nned. "Bulk Up and then follow Tangrowth! Don''t let it get away!" It was impressive, how fast Angel was with the power of the sun at his back. He was going as fast as a truck with a driver mming down the gas pedal, and Conkeldurr had very little hope of catching up. The grass type settled behind G3 and faced me. I craned my neck. "A3, going down the corridor. D3¡­ he''s gone to the fourth row, I can''t see him anymore." "Stop. Talking!" Maylene yelled. Angel''s vines dropped and the slithered across the ground behind him. They were sensors. They extended fifty feet and twitched like worms. Tangrowth waved at me twenty secondster. "Wrap it around his feet and Giga Drain," I said. I couldn''t exactly see what was going on, and neither could Maylene, but the annoying grunts from Conkeldurr were a good sign. The fighting type could easily crush the vines or tear them apart, but he''d be slowed and we''d whittle him down. Angel quickly ran away when Conkeldurr got close enough, leaving a trail of spores behind him as he retreated a few rows away. "Rock Slide! Force them toe to us!" Maylene snapped. To be honest, I''d been surprised she hadn''t just done that right away, but maybe she was just that focused on beating the hell out of my Pokemon. Conkeldurr grunted, and G3 copsed into rubble. Then G2, then F2. Instead of following us, he was content to clear the way for him to simply throw his concrete pirs at Angel. I doubted the grass type would be able to counter them in any way, shape, or form. Luckily for me, all of these copsing twenty to thirty-foot pirs had kicked up dust that hampered everyone''s visibility, but I could still guess where Conkeldurr was through which one of them went down, while the reverse wasn''t true. I waited until I saw a sign of Angel, and I smiled when I finally noticed him at the edges of the debris. Walking was growing difficult for him on all of this rubble, but the sun still meant he was nearly twice as fast. "Stay where I can see you and probe with your vines¡ª" I flinched when a huge concrete pir mmed into Angel''s back with so much force it sent him rolling forward. "Leech Seed in that direction!" I ordered. "Keep that column away from them." It was at times like these that Angel''s excellent multitasking came to the forefront. Seven of his vines wrapped around Conkeldurr''s pir and threw it at the corner of the arena. A series of seeds flew out of his body toward where the fighting type had just thrown his pir from, and dozens of vines slithered forward to actually sense and find Conkeldurr. All at the same time. He was my damn baby, and he was the best Tangrowth in the world. "You keep that little toy away from him at all costs," I said, more childlike than was necessary. "Defog!" Maylene said. Now that the bad visibility wasn''t to her advantage, Conkeldurr used hisst remaining pir to clear the air around himself. A powerful gust of wind pushed the dust outward and revealed that two Leech Seeds hadnded on Conkeldurr and were slowly draining his energy. "Good," I said. "Now keep your distance and Power Whip." Now what, Maylene? I thought. Angel''s vine glowed neon green as it mmed into Conkeldurr''s shoulder. She couldn''t reach us thanks to our speed from the sun, and she couldn''t throw herst column to attack at a distance because Angel would simply put it out of reach. The fighting type grabbed onto one of Tangrowth''s vines as it dug into his arm, but the grass type simply detached his vine before he could be pulled too far in. Maylene ordered him to run forward, but Tangrowth always kept his distance. Close enough for him to hit, but not enough for him to get hit. "Throw the pir," Maylene muttered. Her arms went limp. She unclenched her fists and her posture slouched a little. Disappointment and dejection transcended annoyance and anger. I''d done it. She was broken. And yet it hurt to see her this way. I finally realized what I''d done, but I would push through. She could stille back from this. She could still grow. Angel quivered in agony as thest pir mmed into him at full force, but he threw the structure away from the fighting type and into the opposite corner, just for good measure. "Copse the remainder of the towers. As many as you can," she exhaled. Tangrowth followed, harassing the fighting type as he sent the remainder of the second and third rows crumbling to dust. By the time he was done, deep, bloodiedshes had marred his entire back, arms and face. Conkeldurr used thest bit of strength he had attempting to manipte the rocks to bury Angel, but he countered his influence with Ancient Power. No longer was he clumsy with the move. His massive amount of practice had brought him far. "Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Leader Maylene, send out your fourth Pokemon¡­" The referee trailed off by the end of the sentence. Maylene wiped her eyes and sluggishly grabbed onto her next Pokeball. I hadn''t even brought up her father yet¡ª well, maybe it wouldn''t be necessary, then. Plus, pulling out that card naturally would have been a challenge. "Are you good?" I asked. Tangrowth grabbed Conkeldurr''s pirs and threw them in the middle of the arena for Maylene to recall them as well. "As if you care," she sighed, grabbing her next Pokeball. "I can''t have anything, can I? The only time of the day when I try to feel useful, you rip that away from me." "Look, it''s just a twenty-minute battle. Sorry if you feel that way, but someone that you can fit into a box wille along soon." My words were actually genuine this time, and I was disappointed with her. I understood that all of the stress of being a Gym Leader added up. Hell, I had studied it in detail. Part of me just couldn''t understand how she hadn''t learned to adapt and have fun¡ª or at least not be brought to the point of tears after one and a half years as a Gym Leader, but I wasn''t the one in her shoes. And yet, deep down, I''d wanted her to change from this. To maybe realize that¡ª "You put me down. They all put me down and think I can''t do the job because I''m too young. Because I try to keep people from battling a certain way. Because I''m Maylene. You think you''ve got me all figured out. All of you. You think you''ve won, but that''s far from being the case," she said. My eyes widened at the sudden burst of life in her tone. Her back straightened, her muscles tensed and blue wisps swam around her as her eyes turned icy blue. "It just makes me want to beat you even more. I''m done crying." My persona broke and I smiled, interrupting the referee before he could even speak with an outstretched hand. "Bring it on, Leader Maylene." She sent out her Sawk once again. He was rtively short, but I knew we wouldn''t be able to restrain him. The only reason we''d seeded with Medicham was because of dark type energy. Sawk would just rip the vines apart. If I could, I would have started setting up to raise the pirs again, but that''d tire both Princess and Angel too much. "Aura Lance!" The thin, blue spear manifested in Sawk''s hands, and Maylene swept an arm. "Bulk up and go in. Cut its vines apart!" "Keep your distance, Angel. Leech Seed." Tangrowth spat out a dozen little bulbs toward Sawk, and the fighting type''snce extended threefold as he pped them all away from him with incredible dexterity. Not even one had hit its mark. Sawk flexed, and its rocky segmented skin ground against itself as he massively gained in strength. He turned toward his trainer and saw her state, but quickly spun back to counter the next set of Leech Seed that Angel had thrown out. A burst of aura exploded at his feet and he blurred forward. Tangrowth took a step back, but he quickly realized that he would get outsped even in the sun. Instead, he ejected every kind of spore out of his body. Purple, green and yellow powder exploded out of Tangrowth, but Sawk didn''t even pause. "Thence extends further than that," I warned. "Slow him with Bind and Giga Drain when you can!" A dozen vines burst out of Tangrowth''s body and snaked toward Sawk. The fighting type spun hisnce around like a baton and minced most vines apart, but he grabbed onto one and blue light quickly spread through the appendage like fire. Tangrowth hurriedly detached it and it writhed on the ground until it turned to dust. "Come on, Sawk! Forward!" Maylene screamed. There it was. Adapt to your opponents, don''t force them intopliance. Another push came, and Sawk mmed Tangrowth''s side with hisnce. The grass type silently screamed and grabbed onto Sawk''s shoulder. "The weak point is through its vines!" Maylene yelled, causing me to bite my inner lip. Did she know because she''d fought other Tangrowth, or was it something else? "Low Kick!" Sawk grunted as he flexed and tore through Tangrowth''s hold. He hurriedly crouched, held his breath and closed his eyes as he approached. Somehow, he could still see Tangrowth. The fighting type swept his feet and made Angel stumble, then fall before he stabbed him with hisnce. Tangrowth squirmed, his eyes darting back and forth wildly as thence seeped into his true body. He fought harder than I''d ever seen him, mming Power Whips against Sawk''s body and draining as much energy as he could to remain standing. "Leech Seed!" I yelled. Sawk broke the vines apart and backflipped away from Tangrowth''s limp body. He mmed him with thence again before too many seeds could pose a risk. The sun weakened, and Angel fell unconscious. "Tangrowth is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your fourth Pokemon." I sent out Togetic, who seemed disappointed that most of her pirs were gone. Row 1 and 4 at the edges still remained, however, and so did the majority of the pirs on my side of the arena. "Fly up and hide!" I ordered. "No you don''t! Copse the rest of the towers!" Maylene said. "Watch out for¡ª behind you!" Sawk spun around and narrowly avoided the Air Cutter that Princess had set up. Sawk began to turn the remaining pirs to dust, and I knew something had to change when every Air Cutter was either avoided or dismantled. Maylene managed to catch them every single time, even through pirs. She''d done something rted to Aura with her eyes, and she could see Pokemon and attacks even when they were hidden. A mad grin stretched across my face. My entire strategy was null and void, and it was so much fun. "Thunder Wave!" I ordered. Togetic fluttered her wings, and thin electric energy flew toward Sawk. The fighting type''s body tensed as he nced toward Maylene, but she did notin. "Rock Smash!" Maylene barked. A blue fist mmed against the ground and rubble, rocks and earth erupted from the impact. The Thunder Wave caught in the debris, but Maylene wasn''t done. "Pole Vault!" Sawk broke into a sprint, each step propelled by small Aura explosions. He summoned anothernce and anchored it across the ground, sending himself barrelling through the air so quickly that he reminded me of her ziken or Gade. I''d underestimated Sawk, but that was fine! "Submission!" "Psychic and Dazzling Gleam!" I yelled. Sawk slowed in the air, but he still reached Togetic and sent her crashing toward the ground. Light emanated from the fairy type as she slowly exploded with a brilliant Dazzling Gleam. The light seared Sawk''s skin, but he didn''t let go. Both Pokemon fell into the rubble. "Don''t let it back in the air! The wings are a trap, just hit it as hard as you can!" His body still smoking, Sawk sprung toward Togetic¡ª "Fairy Wind! Full Power!" "Aura Sphere!" The pink wind spluttered as it came to life, but it was so strong that it blew Sawk away. The fighting type nted hisnce on the ground and grunted. Fairy Wind was not a constant like we used to do, but it was a series of sts as powerful as we could make them. Sawk extended a hand, and then a finger. He pointed toward Togetic as a ball of Aura grew from his fingers until it was ten feet wide and then condensed into a single point. "Moonst!" I yelled. A sphere borne of lunar power materialized in front of Princess and dragged stones and dust along with it. The rubble orbited around the attack like satellites as pink dust shimmered around the bright ball. The two moves did not hit each other right away. In fact, both were ridiculously slow, and I knew that to be one of a non-perfected Moonst''s main weaknesses. Aura Sphere and Moonst joined into a dance and spun around each other, captivating all of us. The space between the two narrowed, and narrowed, and narrowed¡ª "Move! Get out of there!" I said, snapping out of my daze. "Endure!" Maylene ordered. I covered my eyes, and the world screamed. Pink and blue weaved into each other and created a deafening explosion that broke against thend. All of that rubble from broken pirs flew off in every direction and destroyed everything in sight. Thest remaining columns copsed and a deep crater opened upon thend. I could almost feel the strong gust of winds blow past me, even through the barrier somehow. Princessy there, burned and unconscious while Sawk stood on hisst thread of stamina. The referee went on his usual spiel, but my ears were ringing so loudly I could barely hear him. "You''re up," I said, sending out Pupitar onto some intactnd beyond my side of the arena. The rock type shivered inside of her cocoon, excited to finally be in her first gym battle. "Stay focused. Rock Slide." It didn''t take much to finish off Sawk. He''d been barely standing, and the rocks buried him before he could strike back. The final fight would be Pupitar against Medicham. We had the type disadvantage, but type grew less and less relevant as the months passed. What we had that Medicham did not? Weight and size. "Stomping Tantrum," I ordered. Better start slow and ramp up, slow down the tempo, make her worry and lure her into a false sense of security. We teetered on the edge of defeat, but I would battle like I had all my Pokemon left. "High Jump Kick!" Maylene yelled. She was smiling, tasting victory. Having fun. "Its weak points are between its segments!" Sweetheart screamed, and the floor began to shake as Medicham jumped higher than before. "Smack Down!" I ordered. The rock came out of the ground like a bullet and broke against Medicham. The fighting type lost her bnce and fell to the ground, but it recovered quickly. The problem for Maylene was that Stomping Tantrum had begun again, and the ground type energy exploding below Medicham''s feet would slowly whittle her down. "Psybeam, then Psychic!" Maylenemanded. I swallowed and wiped the sweat off my face. Medicham instantly raised a hand and summoned a rainbow that mmed into Pupitar''s shell. The fighting type kept approaching, braving the harshness of the Stomping Tantrum, but her approaching was good. I waited, waited and waited until Medicham was close enough to strike. "Fly, Sweetheart." With a loud hiss reminiscent of a jet engine, the rock type blurred forward as her body shimmered with Iron Defense. Maylene''s eyes widened. "Dodge with High Jump Kick¡ª" We were too fast. The fighting type wouldn''t have time, and she extended her arms instead. A pink light surrounded Pupitar, but the psychic force did not even hamper her. She mmed into Medicham, and I heard a crunch. The fighting type flew off like a ragdoll and crashed against Maylene''s side of the barrier. Pressurized gas hissed out of Pupitar''s vents as she masterfullynded, skidding across the ground and rubble. "Medicham is unable to battle! Victory to the challenger!" Maylene stared at the ceiling and recalled Medicham. The wispy Aura around her disappeared and she struggled to breathe for a few seconds, only being able to inhale small huffs of air. Sweetheart screamed in celebration, and I let her have her moment before I recalled her. I once again became aware of the world around me. Beyond the battle. The usual cheers rang out. What a battle that had been. Maylene and I stared into each other''s eyes for at least thirty seconds. I saw the faintest hint of a smile when she turned away and began to walk up to me on the side of the arena. I did the same. The adrenaline left my body the closer I got to Maylene. She was just as short as I was, and it was easier to empathize with her now that she stood right in front of me and she wasn''t just a person on my screen. Maylene tapped on her microphone to make sure it was off and outstretched a hand. "Congrattions, challenger," she said. I shook her hand. Her grip was strong. "May I have your ID and Pokedex?" I had already pulled it out, so I handed it to her. She fiddled with the Pokedex, and grabbed a card of her own as well and an orange disk. "You are now the owner of the Cobble Badge, and I''ve transferred thirty thousand Pokedors into your ount. I''ve given you ess to the Drain Punch TM, in its unlimited form as well." "Thank you." "Grace Pastel," she said. "I still stand by what I said. You used my worries and anxiety against me, and it near got the better of me even if I knew what you were doing, and that pisses me off. I don''t think that''s an appropriate way to fight. But." I froze in anticipation. "I think that I had fun¡­ at the end there. And I apologize for any outbursts and personal insults I threw your way. You did notin when I used Aura to fight, and I think I should learn to be a better Gym Leader. You were waiting for me to wake up, right? You smiled when I went all out. You even stopped Jason." I assumed that was her referee. The poor man had had to walk all around the arena to actually see what was happening throughout the battle. "I don''t know. My intentions weren''t as pure as you think, Leader Maylene. I did use you, and I vowed to continue whether you gave up on the battle or not." "But you were happy when I did not." "I was." Maylene sighed. "Off you go, then. I don''t want to see you ever again!" "Just one thing. Sorry about your Infernape. I think I might have gone too far, my head wasn''t all there. I was tunnel visioned on winning." Maylene''s neutral expression turned into a deepset frown, and then a disturbed look as she stared at me like I wasn''t human. "Now I really don''t want to see you. Your practices disgust me¡­ but thank you for opening up a new door for me. Now go. I despise people like you. You''re a maniptor, and you''re being rewarded for it. Ugh." "It is what it is. I''m sorry," I apologized again before leaving. Unfortunately for me, my win hadn''t been as impressive as the one against Fantina. Or maybe it had? I didn''t really know. Executives cared more about what the score was after the battle instead of what had gone on during the fact. I could have made the battle easier than it was by adhering to her standards and probably won with a better score, but where was the fun in that? On one hand, she''d almost given up at one point and me screwing with her had made her slip up and make mistakes. On the other, she hade at me with everything she had with Sawk and Medicham. Preventing her from switching bordered on the taboo as well. I walked into the waiting room and sighed. Princess'' Shiny Stone would probably have to wait a while longer. This fight had been fun from start to finish, but I couldn''t deny it had been ugly. People most likely wouldn''t know, but I''d essentially be an emotionless monster during the fight. I doubted I''d be able to do the same against other Gym Leaders, which I was grateful for because I didn''t know if I''d be able to stop myself. Maylene had just been the perfect storm for me. What better than a teenager unable to fill her shoes left by her father to torment? None of the other Gym Leaders shared her insecurities. Roark apparently had, once upon a time, but he was grown now and I''d already beaten him anyway. This was the closest I''de to returning to how I''d been in Shiftry''s domain, and that had been the goal, but maybe it would be best to leave battling that extreme to people that had wronged me. This was a sport for people and Pokemon to have fun, after all. Infernape hadn''t deserved to get hurt those extra few seconds for my benefit. She had done nothing wrong. Still, Beyond the psychological games I''d yed on Maylene? I had learned and grown leaps and bounds.
Chapter 207 Chapter 207 CHAPTER 207 "That. Was. Awesome!"Denzel yelled as he pped my shoulder. "You destroyed the hell out of her! I don''t even care about the preventing her switch thing, the rest was just great." Cecilia scoffed. "You were wonderful, but Maylene was quite rude to you¡ª" "She was a bitch, that''s what she was," Pauline said. "Good job out there, gremlin." "She was an asshole, that was for sure," Denzel nodded. "She said that Grace didn''t work hard, I mean, are youjoking?" Stop it. Don''t praise me,I thought. I knew I''d won, but they were all ganging up on the girl because I lookedpletely reasonable during the battle. And yes, I did expect it to happen, but I looked¡­squeaky clean. She was probably going to be under fire for a while for insulting a challenger. The guilt was beginning to seep in, but it wasn''t a debilitating affair. The damn goal had been to look good for my sponsor, not appear like a psychopath, and potentially make Maylene grow as a Gym Leader, and I had maybe achieved all of those. With the way my friends were reacting, I''d definitely achieved the second one. "Grace?" Cecilia worriedly said. "Are you alright? Did the fight tire you?" "Yeah, I''m good," I finally answered. "Just try toy off Maylene for a bit. She was ruder than she should have been, but I''m no innocent angel either. We were, uh, we both kind of went overboard." My girlfriend raised an eyebrow. "Did you?" With one look at her face, I knew she''d figured something out. She knew me best, after all, and my tactic was rtively easy to spot with enough context. Cece could probably tell that I felt somewhat guilty and my confession only made it easier. "All you did was fight a way she didn''t like," Pauline said. "Look, we can go back to the Center and I''ll exin there. For now, just let the trash-talking go." "You two spoke for a while down there," Cecilia noted. "Yeah, I''ll exin," I said. "For now, I''ve got to get my Pokemon healed." The walk to the Center was a short and brisk one. Pauline couldn''t stop telling me that people were being wildly toxic to Maylene on the forums. People were d someone had finally knocked her down a peg and had stood up to her, which was fine, but the nastyments and insults were not. I realized that thinking this made me somewhat of a hypocrite. After all, had it not been me who had nned to bring up her father? Who had subtly broken her down to the point of tears? The road to hell was paved with good intentions, and whileyes, Maylene was probably going to grow from this, I could have been a lot morenormalwhile still helping her. That trick with Infernape, for one. I had taken it too far. Almost every Pokemon felt pain from battling, so one being hurt was nothing unusual, butdrawingout the process had been needlessly cruel. The effect on Maylene probably would have been the same if I hadn''t. There was an emotionless monster within me that I was not scared to embrace, but that had not been the time nor the ce. There was a lesson to be learned here. While using every tool to win¡ª including trainers and how they thought¡ª was a valid strategy, there was a point where it stopped being appropriate for a Gym Battle, or any battle really. So I wouldn''t stop studying people, as well as their Pokemon whenever I had a tough battle ahead of me, but I would not go as far as I''d gone. Against people that wanted to hurt my friends or my family, however? No holds would be barred. I handed all of my Pokemon except Jellicent to Nurse Joy and we made our way to my room. Thank goodness Mira was busy with other stuff. She was trying to code moves into her Porygon''s brain to bypass how expensive TMs were, but she wasn''t having a lot of luck so far. She probably would have chewed me out for this and figured it out right away. Or maybe not. I didn''t know if she''d care about my behavior if it wasn''t rted to Team Gctic. "So? Spit it out?" Pauline demanded with her arms crossed. "Emi''s sick and I need to take care of her. Denzel, you''reing with me right after this." "Uh, okay?" Shedidhave a cold, which would probably dy their group''s departure a little. She was really bummed out about it too. It seemed like so much time had passed, but our time in Veilstone was soon going toe to an end. So many things had happened, and yet we had spent less time here than we had in Hearthome. "I yed mind games with Maylene," I said. "I saw all of the pressure her duty brought her and I took advantage of her. Some of it was benign and valid strategy, like switching before she could get her revenge on one of my Pokemon, but the other stuff¡­ it got pretty bad." I was too much of a coward to tell them about Infernape. "How bad are we talking?" Denzel asked. "I mean, it''s not like you''d be the first to do this anyway. Gardenia does it all the time." "Her crying, that was nned. Every word out of my mouth was nned too, it was all engineered to make myself look better and her look worse. I thought that the experience could change her for the better, but I wouldn''t have stopped if it didn''t and shepletely gave up. I also¡­ uh, kind of used her as a stepping stone for potential enemies.Realenemies." "Yeah? Well, she deserves it," Pauline immediately said. "It''s not up to the Challenger to care about a Gym Leader''s mental state. They''re supposed to run a damn city and you have to treat them with kid gloves?" "I don''t know¡­" Denzel muttered. "I thought you looked off, but I figured that was just me. Your face waspletely still. You have that stare you do when you''re focused, but that went beyond that," Cecilia said. "What do you think, then?" "I think Pauline is right," she said. "Even if I''m ny percent sure that Maylene is only this way because her father is some kind of screwed up perfectionist that raised her to be a Gym Leader from birth and that she feels massive amounts of pressure because of it and I used that to my advantage?" "Yes." "Even if I''d nned to bring her father up to her before she cried to press her buttons?" She hesitated this time. "...Yes. You know how I am with fathers," she said. "I''d be horrified if you used mine against me¡ª" "I wouldnever¡ª" "I know you wouldn''t," she smiled. "But you realize this was wrong. That''s the difference between good and bad. You try to improve at all times, and you make the best of what you have." "Thank you," I sighed in relief. She gently grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Denzel finally broke his silence. "Yeah. It was arguably fucked up, but¡­ y''know, it''s kind of what I expected out of you. Wait, that sounds really wrong¡ª I didn''t mean it in a bad way. You idolize Gardenia, so I expected you to start using bodynguage and stuff like that. I didn''t know about mind games though. Just don''t go that far against me, yeah?" He finished with a twinge of anxiety. "I won''t, I promise." "And that doesn''t absolve Maylene," Cecilia added. "She is horribly unprofessional, but I suppose that''s what I should have expected from a person as young as her being shoved into her role. You say her father raised her for this?" I nodded. "I wonder if she even wants to be Gym Leader deep down," she pondered as she sat. "I don''t know, it was hard to tell." "Can''t she just designate a sessor and quit?" Denzel asked. "With Team Gctic running around?" Cecilia shook her head. "I don''t think Cynthia would let go of an Aura user that she can order around that easily. You saw her during the battle, right? That thing she did with her eyes, it revealed Pokemons'' weak points and it allowed her to see through the pirs." "It''s like Chase''s Lucario," I said. "I don''t think she sees them as much as senses them, along with moves. She''s a prime military asset." And Cece and I both knew Cynthia''s more sinister leanings now. Denzel and Pauline, however, did not. "And there''s also the pressure her dad''s probably putting on her," I quickly added. "It''s hard to say no to your parents, especially when you lived your entire life forthis purpose." "Yeah¡­ shit, I kind of feel bad for her now," Denzel scratched his head. "She was annoying to fight, and I got kind of heated when she started shit talking you. I guess no one came out of this the good guy." "Eh. I still think it falls upon the Gym Leader not to have a crisis in the middle of battle," Pauline said. "That''s true, but I think I kind of lost sight of the fifteen-year-old girl too. She''s notjusta Gym Leader. She''s a kid just like me¡ªyounger than me, even. I apologized down there when we were talking, but she hates my guts. I don''t me her," I said. "It was ugly, but I hope she''ll change. Unfortunately now she''s going to be med." "She was already being med online before this, but it''ll be intense for a while. I bet you that in one hour there''ll be clickbait videos about her too." "I thought the government copyrighted any of their footage?" I asked. "They''re strict on that stuff." "They are, but people find ways around all of those systems to make reaction videos. You can dim the footage, cut it, blur it. Some of it always slips past the Porygon." I exhaled. "Nothing I can do about it now. I doubt any further apology would go well, and it''d be best to let her be. I hope she pulls through alright." They didn''t stick around that long after that, although Cecilia stayed. I ced Buddy inside a cold bath so he could get back on his feet quicker and remembered I did have to call Melody before hanging out with Cecilia, and discussing my contract was private. I was surprised she hadn''t called me already. I had to call herfourtimes for her to answer, which was very unusual. Melody was a punctual woman. "Mel? Everything okay? Did thepany see my battle?" "Sorry, I felt the phone vibrating, but I couldn''t answer. I was in a video call with the board of the sponsorship department. We were talking about you. Congrattions on your victory, by the way!" I quivered in anticipation. "Thank you. So? What did they say?" "Like I said, you''re getting your raise. I only had the okay from one of them, but the full board has agreed,"she said."350,000 Pokedors per month, effective in March. Unfortunately though, they didn''t budge on moving your sry to the beginning of the month. I even tried to ask for a simple one time bonus like you got at Sceon, but they weren''t convinced. I''m sorry." I clenched my bedsheets and bit my lip. "Did they say why?" "Multiple reasons. One, they''re just like me and terrible at battling. They don''t even look at the battle, just the final result. That was why they were so pleased after your fight with Fantina. I know it''s unfair, but it''s how things work up there. They''re in charge, but they''re very disconnected from the entire thing. They have people that give them a rundown of how different battles went, and they''re more qualified, but they really didn''t like the score this time and there''s also the fact that you stopped Maylene from recalling Infernape. Apparently people don''t like that? Also, they''re used to Craig, and he routinely pulls out 3-6 against most Gym Leaders, and you''re supposed to rece him. It''s tough, and it''s not very fair, especially since you''re just a first year, but that''s how bigpanies work. To them, you''re a name on a screen that generates revenue. They don''t know you like I do." "Damn it," I hissed. "I wanted a Shiny Stone sobadly." "You''re still getting it next month, right? It''s not the end of the world." "I wanted to evolve Princess and get her started on flying and flying sses as soon as possible," I said. "An extra month screws me. I''m going to be very busy in a few months and I would have liked to knock the license thing out of the way." And also, I waskind ofenvious that Denzel had already bought his. Not enough for it to affect our friendship, it was just me being stupid and immature. Knowing my luck, I''d get pulled into some grand conspiracy that''d stop me from going to sses, and unfortunately due to ack of personnel, only people with a Pokemon capable of flight were allowed to sign up, even for the knowledge test. "I''m sorry,"Melody said."There was another reason too, which is rted to something important we have to talk about. Your contract''s changed and I''m going to need you toe here to sign the new version. The government knocked on Poketch''s door asking to alter your contract. Remember those five tournaments you had to be in? That''s gone now. We''ll still pay you the bonus for it, but you''re no longer obligated to participate." "What the hell?" I muttered. I knew that Cynthia had told me about changing my deal with the Poketch Company. I had just expected her totell me first. Had she actually screwed up Melody''s pitch? The board was mad at me and it wasn''t my faultat all. Yes, there was still the first point that Melody had brought up, but maybe¡ª no, not evenmaybe, itwouldhave made the board more amenable to my request. "I''m not going to ask why the government cares about your time, but with how domineering they''ve been gettingtely, it was out of the board''s hands. It''d be preferable if you came to sign the new contract today. They''ve sent me a physical copy and I can send someone to pick you up." "Fine. Send them now, please. And Mel?" "Yes?" "Thank you for trying. You''re the best sponsorship liaison I could have asked for." "Don''t sweat it. I''ve got your back." With my ns to maybe go to Unova this summer when all of this blew over, it''d be nice if Melody coulde along¡ªif she even wanted to. Someone would have to be there to represent me, after all. I hung up, told Buddy I was leaving for a bit and left my room. Slowking and the League Trainers shadowing us would be enough protection. Cece had been waiting in front of my door. "You look angry," she noticed. "I am angry. I''ll tell you in the car." "The car? I thought we were going to visit Emi." "I''m going to the Poketch Building for stuff. It''s urgent, but it shouldn''t take long. Can youe with me, and we can hang out after? I need to destress." "Of course. With how hard you were working, we didn''t have much time to be together since our date. I was going to ask you out anyhow because I figured you''d need to rx." "You know me so well," I smiled. "By the way, Mira called me," Cecilia said. Her voice became a whisper, barely audible. "We got permission to go to Lake Valor today." I restrained a scoff. So Cynthia screwed me over, and then she did this? Did she think that would make me forgive her? Complicated metaphor or not, Mira had been correct. She really did think us to be characters in a damn dating sim. Even the Poketch Company, bar Melody, treated me like a pawn. Hopefully when I grew further in strength and reputation, thepany wouldthink twice about crossing me. As for Cynthia? Well, she knew damn well I wasn''t going to do anything, not with Team Gctic there. Hell, I wasn''t even sure if she realized I''d be pissed. Ihadtold her that Icked in time, and she might have thought she was doing me a favor, but Arceus,talk to me first. All I could do for now was keep my head down, but thisck of agency was quickly getting on my nerves. ¡ª I had signed my new contract, and it was as Melody said. It had been written the exact same way, save for the five tournaments. Granted, them being out of the way certainly helped with my time crunch, but for Cynthia to do this without my input? I was pissed, damn it! Cecilia took me to see some kind of tourist attraction in Veilstone''s east. A set of huge craters from an ancient meteorite that had fallen there eons ago, and strangely enough, no vegetation had filled the deep gashes in the earth. Nature had not reimed its ce, and all we were left with was an enormous quarry-like crater. The space rock had split while entering Earth''s atmosphere and created the three craters, and a few chunks of the meteorite still remained deep in the hole. They were a dull grey and not very interesting, but thehistoryof it was. Geological data suggested that a crater in the Sevii Inds in Hoenn had appeared at the exact same time, and there was some strange DNA on the rocks that scientists had never seen before, which was why goingintothe craters was prohibited. You could only stare from afar. It was a nice date, and I promised I''d be the one to pick the location for the next one. Cecilia wasn''t even surprised by Cynthia''s decision due to how controlling the Champion was, but what truly baffled her was the fact that she hadn''t even bothered to contact me. Either way, I''d make sure to speak my mind whenever I saw her again. Even though my team was out ofmission, I still found myself at home on route 214''s mountainous slope. I spent hours there with Sunshine and Buddy, speaking about anything and everything. His experiences at the depth of the ocean, what school was like when I was a kid¡ª and he even shot me a disappointed look when I exined the grading system to him and I told him I hadn''t been great at it. He did strike me as someone who''d demand his kid had excellent grades. Even though he''d fainted to Maylene earlier, he was still well enough to speak and float around. Turtonator sometimes chimed in, and in his opinion, school seemed like a useless waste of time. Suddenly, Jellicent''s eyes glinted with a sinister red, and I understood why soon enough. There were steps. Not unnatural, considering this was a route, but we''d never seen anyonee this high up in the mountain. It was where I''d trained the entire time against Maylene. I slowed my breath, motioned downward with my fingers and Jellicent sank into the floor, ready to drown anyone with nefarious intentions. It was only a few secondster when I realized that Lou probably would have intervened if this was a dangerous individual that I was about to call him back up, butJustinwas thest person I would have expected to show up. "I thought I''d meet you here," Justin said. "They say this is your favorite spot." I recalled Turtonator before he could do anything rash. "Justin! Are you alright?!" I asked. "I haven''t seen you in forever. I¡­ heard about you, though. And people know Ie here?" The pale boy dipped his head. His thin frame had changed and grown lean. He was nowhere as well-built as Chase, but it was easy to tell he''d been working out. "They know, but they steer clear. I figured it''d be better to give my old teacher onest visit before I left," he said, his voicepletely still. "I thought you¡ª wait, that might have been too harsh, let me rephrase. Did youwantto see me?" With his emotions all but gone, I would have thought Justin wouldn''t have cared about seeing me or not. He hadn''t even contacted us since the battle against Louis, and we''d tried to find him for hours to no avail. "I wanted to test myself. You see, I won against Maylene around three days ago, and now I have my team back." I froze. "How did you fight her?" "Using the path of least resistance, of course. I hit her harder than she hit me, and she let me win rather easily," he shrugged. "When I saw that Pauline had also won, I went to go see her. It was around two hours ago or so. She told me that she''d ept when I got my head out of my ass." "Did that¡­ hurt you at all?" "Hurt me? No. She was hurt, though. I could tell," he said. "Will you also deny me a battle?" "Justin¡­ I can''t battle you," I sighed. "Most of my team is at the Pokemon Center, but even if they weren''t, I can''t reward you for this behavior." I bit my lip and stopped. Was this hypocritical of me? EvenIleaned into my fairy leanings at time.No, Justin was simply incapable of backing out.Of realizing what he was doing. Unlike me, he couldn''t knowwhento back out. "Listen, I''d like to see your Pokemon. I haven''t talked to them in a while, and I heard you got two new¡ª" "Very well. I will be on my way, then. Apologies for bothering you." "Wait!When you get to Sunyshore,talkto Louis. Battle him too, if you want. I''m sure he''d be willing to ept, and he''ll give you a challenge this time. You want your team to grow to survive Victory Road, right? Tough battles will get them there." Justin stared, his face unmoving. "Perhaps. If he performs better against Volkner than his disappointing showing against Maylene, then I will consider." "Good," I sighed. "Good. And I''d like for you to speak to Mira''s kazam too. He can figure something out and potentially get you out of this rut." "Out? I feel fine as I am. I am progressing leaps and bounds and by next year, I will easily make it to the Conference. Then, my position as the future head of Pherzen will be secure." "Come on, Justin. I know you know deep down thatthis isn''t you. You just can''t bring yourself to care. I just want you to take the first step. Help me help you. I''m your friend, and I¡­ I''ve also been changed by Type Energy, only fairy instead of dark. kazam can figure something out, I''m sure of it." His face didn''t change, but he stared at me longer than was needed at that revtion. I thought that he''d changed his mind, and that me having gone through a simr event would help himtalkto me, but he didn''t stay for long. "Farewell, Grace," he said, dipping his head. "We will probably meet again in Sunyshore." Justin left the route, and I assumed he was on his way to Sunyshore. He''d probably make it in four to five days¡ª possibly faster considering his one-track mind. If I could getoneconversation in with his Pokemon¡­ with Arcanine, his oldestpanion, then I''d be able to make them stop this suicidal Victory Road idea. Was it pragmatic? Yes, and it made sense if he ignored the fact that he''d be risking his life every single day.Damn it. "You cane out," I exhaled. "You didn''t even have to hide anyway." Jellicent slipped through the ground and emerged in front of me, right where Justin stood. The perfect position for Drown. "He''s not himself, but there''s no need to be alert. He wouldn''t hurt me." Buddy had never particrly liked my friends. He even didn''t care much for Denzel or Cecilia. He was a family Pokemon through and through, and he focused entirely on them. I couldn''t fault him for that. They were my friends, not his. The water type clicked and said it was better safe than sorry. "You''re alright," I said, caressing his wet cheek. "It''s okay to rx sometimes. You can''t be on guard all the time. Anyway, we''re going to be leaving soon¡­ as soon as Chase wins his gym battle, really. Sunyshore''s an electric type gym, so you''ll be taking a step back for the battle, but think you can start working on Water Spout again?" The water type nodded and began to float away. "Notnow," I chuckled. "You''re on break. You were wonderful in that battle against Maylene, but it hasn''t even been a day. After you master Water Spout, we''ll start experimenting with your ghost side again." It was a delicate thing to bnce. Dual typed Pokemon could either lean into one sidepletely like Be had or walk the tightrope. The benefits of ignoring one''s type could bring fast progress with the other, but long term, I believed it to be better to not neglect either, which was why I''d started Princess on Air Cutter (beyond Maylene being a fighting type Gym Leader). It was trickier with Sweetheart. Her evolution would turn her into a rock and dark type, but Tyranitar were still as good as ground types at ground moves. Or at least that''s what my minimal amount of research had told me. There weren''t that many trainers with the species. "Now, you wanted to tell me something?" I asked as I grabbed my physics textbook. My training against Maylene had made me put my studies aside for a while, and I also rereleased Sunshine, who huffed at the fact that I thought he''d randomly murder a trainer. I supposed he''d grown past that phase. Buddy nodded as he settled next to me, his shape hugging the boulder I leaned against. He whispered something in my ear and I felt a chill. His breath was cold. He wanted history textbooks.
Interlude – Maylene/Mirror Interlude ¨C Maylene/Mirror
INTERLUDE - Maylene/Mirror Like every single day, Maylene woke up at five in the morning. Eat, work out with her Pokemon, spar with the first and second-badge Pokemon, shower, check the Gym''s emails¡ª Hatred. She read out hateing her way by anonymous users or simply trainers that looked to pile on. And that was just the email, which she was obligated to look at. That was procedure. She knew Candice and Volkner had Gym Trainers take care of it for them, but she couldn''t be sloppy like them, lest she disappoint her father when he came back. Step down. You''re an embarrassment to Veilstone. You''re pathetic. Grace Pastel didn''t go far enough and should have beaten you into the dirt. Maylene blinked as she peered through every single message, and many were worse than those. A lot worse. She was used to hate, but it had intensified since her battle with Grace Pastel. That damn girl had walked all over her and made her look like the viin while escaping with her reputation nearly intact. Fucking psycho. The forums were worse, but at least that was moderated, so the most unhinged messages were deleted there. Each message hurt. Like stacking weight on top of her stomach until she couldn''t bear to breathe, but Maylene told herself she was fine. She pped herself on the cheeks and smiled. It was eight in the morning. Time to go to work. Challengers filtered in and out, and Maylene slowly realized that she couldn''t get in the zone. She noticed that multiple trainers were no longer battling like she liked, and instead tried to push her as Grace Pastel had. They probably expected her to break down and cry. Instead, she tried her best to provide a challenge¡ª and she tried to work with them, not against them. It was easier said than done, of course. Many times, she lost her temper and shut them down like she was used to, and she often justified it to herself. That she deserved to let loose and that she was right and everyone else was in the wrong. The audience had grown so toxic that they started to boo her every time she stepped onto the field. When she asked them to stay silent for the battle, they mored louder instead. She remembered Gardenia telling her about hecklers during the protests in her city. Maylene was fine. Lunch break. She quickly grabbed a sandwich that Lucario made for her. He''d been raised with her as a Riolu and they were the same age. She considered him a brother, but he liked to take a more subservient position because her father had asked him to. Demanded it, even. Master Maylene, I sense you are anxious. You should take a break. The deep voice rang into her mind like cold ice. "I''m good. This is my break, I''m eating lunch," Maylene said. "I can''t ck off! Who''ll run the gym otherwise?" You could close it down for a day. Or you could have one of your prestigious Gym Trainers take over for a little. "That''ll only spread more rumors about me quitting. They think I''m weak, but I''m not," Maylene spat. "I can do this. I was born and raised for this¡ª" It is okay to be weak at times, Master Maylene. "What? No, that''s not¡ª you know Dad won''t approve. I want this job, I just need to get more used to it. It''s just been a hectic few months." The world might have ended by then, she thought as a shiver ran down her spine. It''d be like a blip. One second she would be there, and the next, everything she''d known would be gone. Palkia and Dialga. Space and Time. Maylene was fine. The hour went by quickly. So quickly. Her next opponent was a kid with two badges, and Maylene grabbed at least twelve Pokemon to choose from during the battle. She walked through the locker room, ced a hand against the sliding door and¡ª Open. Open. Fucking open! Her hand trembled against the ss. Glimpses of the arena were far ahead, and Maylene suddenly felt nauseous. She couldn''t bring herself to open the door. Slide it open! Slide¡ª Aura burst from her skin, and the ss exploded. She was too tough to be cut, but she still flinched backwards, stumbled, and fell onto the floor. Maylene''s throat felt so dry, and she''d just drank an entire bottle of water for lunch. "I need a break," she realized. Lucario had been right. A mountain lifted up from her shoulders, but with that freeing revtion came disappointment that seeped into every pore of her skin. She couldn''t even bare to ask one of her Gym Trainers herself, so she had Lucario do it for her and her best Gym Trainer Garnt quickly took over her duties for the day. A one-day break was okay. It wasn''t even a day, it was half a day. She locked herself in her room and slept for a good while. She didn''t know how long. What time was it? The sun had set when she opened them again, but Lucario reassured her that the trainers had everything under control. Unfortunately, he also had to help around the Gym and couldn''t really be here to keep herpany. The entire system was running smoothly without her. Smoother, even. She wasn''t there to tell people to do things by the book every time they broke protocol, and yet, it seemed like they were working faster in spite of it. What the hell was she here for, then? After making rounds around the Gym, Maylene dragged herself back to her room and onto her desk. This wasn''t the office, but she''d do her best to check her emails again. The girl squinted when she saw that Candice had written something to her. Gym Leaders weren''t supposed to use that kind of channel to speak, and she had her number. The ice type Gym Leader was as sloppy as always. The email simply read: ''I know you''re doomscrolling right now, but stop doing that and check your messages.'' "What?" Maylene muttered. She grabbed her phone and noticed an audio file that Candice had sent her. She clicked it and let it y. "Hi Maymay! Am I allowed to call you Maymay yet, or is that only Gardenia''s thing? Maymay, I saw what happened to you yesterday. I know Grace kind of well and it kind of feels bad that both of my friends are fighting, but I knew you''d be spiraling hard and that you''d need help, so Gardenia and I came up with something. Call her when you''re done listening to this, by the way! She''s been calling, but you''re not answering. She has some good advice with the whole being a Gym Leader thing. Anyway¡­ trrrrrrrrrrrr¡­ was that a good drumroll? Yeah, I think that was pretty good. Here''s my piece! Stop reading what they say about you online, but if you do, make a burner ount and go ham on those little shitters. Call them every single name under the sun, just don''t get caught because that''d be a huge scandal. It''s incredibly cathartic, trust me on this. But! It''s important to note that not every piece of criticism is wrong even if it hurts, and you''ve got to learn to parse through the garbage to find some gems! Anyway, I''m passing the phone to someone else¡ª well, I''m not passing the phone, this is an edited audio file¡ª" Maylene ignored the fact that Grace Pastel was somehow friends with Candice and heard Roark''s voice on the end of the line. "Hi Maylene. I see the situation you''ve been put in, and I know you must be feeling the heat right now. I was in a simr situation when I was eighteen and I ascended to Oreburgh''s gym when Byron went on and moved to Canve, and uh, it wasn''t pretty. I desperately wanted to be stronger than him and I took out my frustration on my challengers for a good year or two until Wake knocked some sense into me. He''s going next, by the way. Wait, that was a spoiler, right? My bad. Anyway, the point I''m making is, if you want to quit, you should quit. We''ll convince Cynthia to let you go, but if you want to push through this? I know you have what it takes. You''ve made mistakes, but I was a lot worse than you and I was four years older than you were when I first became a Gym Leader. Just keep your chin up, kid. You''re family and I love you." As Roark had said, Wake was up next. "MAYLENE! I HEARD ABOUT¡ª She pulled the phone away from her ear with a trembling hand. She was already tearing up. ¡ªabout what happened to you. I can see why you''d disapprove of the way that kid battled, but I see no harm in it. To me, battling is just a show, but I know we see things a little differently, you and I. You take great pride in your position, and sometimes it can feel like you''re sinking. We''ve all had bad days, or weeks, or months. But being a Gym Leader means that you don''t let it slip through when you work. ANYWAY, Have you considered taking a little break? A mental health day, maybe! Y''see, Gym Leaders and even trainers often don''t consider their mental health and think checking in with one of the Nurse Joys makes ''em weak. I actually still regrly see one of them. I have for thest twenty years. This job, it wears on you. It erodes you like the ocean does to cliffs¡ª did you like that waterparison thing I did? Get it? Because I''m the water type Gym Leader?" Maylene let out a wet chuckle and wiped away some of her tears. "Just trying to make youugh, kiddo. Hope that worked. Jean-Pierre says hi, and we''ll cook you some wonderful seafood the next time you swing by Pastoria. How ''bout this summer? JP always says that there''s more to life than seafood, but I''ll tell ya, I''m gonna file for divorce if he keeps saying things like that about my cooking. That was a joke, by the way, please don''t tell him I said this! See youter, kid. CRASHER WAKE, SIGNING OUUUUUUUT!" Is this thing working? Volkner said. Okay, it is. Oh boy. I''m not really great at the sentimental thing, so I''ll just give you a word of advice. Sorry about not visiting you more often, by the way. You''ve been asking for a while, and I feel like I could have been more helpful if I did. You see, battling those little pipsqueaks with one to four¡­ maybe five¡ª actually six badges. Battling them feels like a real drag for me. I don''t have fun, I don''t even feel like I''m doing anything substantial, really. I just turn my brain off and let it ride. So sometimes, I''ll just let one of my Gym Trainers take over. Hell, I''ll let them work for the entire day if I feel like not doing anything and only battle the people that really get my blood pumping. That''s not to say you should only battle people that fight the way you like, but if you feel yourself slipping and start brutalizing a kid with two badges because his little Budew used Poison Powder, maybe take a breather for an hour or two. It won''t make you any less of a Gym Leader. You work too hard, Maylene. You work harder than all of us. Rx, yeah? "I will," she cried to no one in particr. Fantina''s voice came next. "Maylene. As you no doubt know, I hate the duties I have as a Gym Leader, and as it stands, I think I am a bad Gym Leader. Not a day goes by without my Gym Trainers hearing myints, so I figured I''d offer a different kind of advice. When you wake up in the morning, do you dread the day that is toe? When you go to sleep at night, do you wish morning would be dyed? When you battle, do you enjoy yourself? Depending on your answer to these questions, you should consider quitting. That is not me telling you to quit, of course. Just take it from an olddy, you do not want to be stuck doing a job you hate for decades. You do not want to look back upon your life when you are old like me and be filled with regret. People will say you can always quit, but we all know there are obligations. Training a sessor, the loyalty to your city and region, and more personally, your father. As you no doubt know, I am well acquainted with Oscar, so if you ever feel the need to talk to him but are too scared to, I will ry your message. Good luck with whatever you decide. The next time we see each other, I''ll take you to eat some poffins. Youin about it being unhealthy, but you''ve got to live a little!" It was Byron''s turn now. "Young Maylene. I assume my son has already given you advice on wanting to fill the shoes your parents left you, but I will go more in-depth with this. I know for sure that he skirted around the details. It took a while for my boy to understand this, but you do not owe your parents anything. You do not have to be greater than them in some arbitrary manner. Oscar was a titan. Even I look upon the man''s spirit with envy. He never tired, always worked, but that is not sustainable for many, and I fear he might have thought you to be the same. He is also not without fault. He and I¡­ we both made mistakes when we raised our children. My mistakes are reflected in Roark''s behavior and his are reflected upon yours. We were too focused on what you could be¡ª a perfect version of you we had inside our heads instead of realizing that you already were perfect just by being you. Children¡­ they areplicated to raise, but you are also your own person. I apologize on Oscar''s behalf, and I hope he will do the same when he calls next. If he doesn''t, well, there''s always my trusty shovel. One wack to the back of the head ought to set him straight." Maylene was a sobbing mess and she could barely see straight. The world was marred by her tears and she struggled to take breaths without whimpering. She continued listening to the file, but Gardenia''s audio only said one thing. "You''re done! I hope you liked it, it took the entire day putting this together with how busy everyone was. You should call me next, I''ll talk to you. I hope Candice or Roark didn''t ruin the surprise." Maylene''s trembling fingers scrolled through her contact list and clicked on Gardenia''s name. She answered instantly. "Maymay? Did you see the message?" "I did," the girl cried. "I did. Thank you. I can''t even¡ª find the words." "Just a little something to make you realize you''re not alone," she said. "I love you, Maymay. We all love you, remember that. You''re the kind of person that''d be too stubborn to ask for advice and to pretend everything was fine, and we believed that until yesterday. Sure, you ran your gym in an entric way, but we thought you were ignoring all the noise and that you''d grow and mature slowly but surely. I''m sorry we failed you. With all the Gctic stuff on our minds, we kind of put social interactions to the wayside." "It''s not your fault. I think I convinced myself that I was okay," she said. "I''m gonna take a break. I think a month-long break unless I need to battle someone six badges or up should be good. I''m gonna see about making some time to talk to a Nurse Joy." "Perfect! The first step''s always the hardest. Now, my advice! It''s a shame what happened with Grace Pastel. Been looking at the kid a little, and while she did cross a few lines, if it hadn''t been her, it would have been someone else that would have pushed you over the edge. You know how people hate fighting me, right? I get in their heads and stuff. I''ve seen my fair share of toxicity, but that''s not the point. There are two fundamental ways to run a gym. One, you go hard against everyone. That''s me, Fantina and Byron. Of course, that doesn''t mean you go all out, but you do give them a harder time than what you could be doing because that''s the point! Make your challengers step out of theirfort zone and confront situations they''ve never seen before. The other way is to go easier on people. That''s Roark, Volkner, Wake and to a lesser extent, Candice. That doesn''t make them worse Gym Leaders, mind you, they just have a different philosophy. Of course, all of that goes out the window when you''re the gate between someone and their eighth badge, but you know that already. Do you follow?" "Yes. I do." "The problem with you, Maylene, is not that you shut down strategies that aren''t straightforward. In fact, forcing trainers to approach battling a certain way can be excellent at teaching them to either adapt or push through. The problem is that there is no consistency in how you do things. One battle, you could let a kid have it easy because they fought how you liked, and in the other you up the ante and destroy someone''s team. There''s also the fact that you shouldn''t let the way you like battling or your mood influence your decision-making at all, but you''ll learn. All of this means that you don''te across as someone trying to teach, you juste across as a bitter bully, which means you aren''t doing the job properly. Even after a loss, a challenger should feel like they''ve learned something, not that the battle was horribly unfair. You''ve got to choose, Maymay. Are you a Gym Leader that trainers will flock to for their first badge like Volkner and Roark, or are you someone who''ll be just a little more demanding. Sinnoh needs both of these, and it doesn''t matter which one you pick. The formeres with a higher workload because all the new trainers will swamp you every single year, and it can be extremely boring or easygoing depending on what you''re like. Thetter will bring hate your way, but you''ll have less work and you might enjoy yourself a little more. So which one, Maylene?" The girl stammered, "I¡ª I have to pick now?" "No. You can pick today, or you can pick a month from now after your break. Just look within yourself and pick one you know you''ll be happy with. If trainers know what to expect whening to your Gym, this entire thing will die down, I promise you." "I''ll think about it. Thank you so much, Gardenia." "Anything for you. You''re like a sister to me, Maymay. I''m Teleporting to your Gym tomorrow, and we''ll have the whole day to ourselves. I''ve been wanting to catch up with you for so long!" "What about your Gym?" "Eterna City''s Gym will be run by Rnd tomorrow," she said. Maylene could hear her smirk. "And all battles above the sixth badge will be dyed. Volkner was thinking of doing the same next week, and Roark the next. We won''t let you go through this alone, alright? And we''ve got plenty of tips to give you for running your Gym." "Okay," she timidly nodded. "Let''s talk about something." "What?" "Anything! Just nothing rted to your job." "Well, if you''reing tomorrow, there''s this really cool nail salon ce that opened, and now that I''m on break I won''t damage my nails all the time during training¡­" Maylene was¡­ on the road to being fine. Truly, this time. ¡ª Mars leaned against both of her palms as she kicked her legs up and down her couch. She''d let her hair grow longer and it wasn''t gelled to its usual shape today, so it draped over her eyes. Mars puckered her lips and blew some air upward, lifting some of her red hair and then groaned. "Booooooooooored. I''m so bored! Juju, entertain me!" Jupiter smirked and freed one of her ears from her headphones. She was listening to the same cooking podcast she always had on. "Do you want some of Charon''s crosswords? I''ve almost finished all of them." Jupiter threw a basketball toward herrge, lumbering Tangrowth in the corner of the room and the grass type let out some half, gurgling, vomiting sound as he caught it and began dribbling the ball on the floor with a vine. They''d been throwing it back and forth for thest thirty minutes. "Juju, even as a joke, you''re going too far," Mars rolled her eyes. "Crosswords? I''d rather die." "Your loss," she shrugged. "You could always just watch cartoons." "Cartoons suck. I haven''t watched cartoons in six months, Juju! Don''t treat me like a kid!" Tangrowth threw the ball back at speeds high enough to break a nose, but Jupiter caught it with a single hand without even looking up from her screen. Mars let out a haughty huff and began to pout. "What? Do you want to y too?" Jupiter yfully asked. She spun the ball on the tip of her finger for a few seconds. Mars groaned. "Forget it." The young womany there, syed across the breakroom sofa that felt more like drywall than soft cushions. Team Gctic had been fun for her when she''d first joined, but these days, all she did was wait. Where was the fun, the adventure, the killing?! She wasn''t even allowed to mess with the grunts anymore because she was holed up at their main Headquarters and everyone here was in the know. They''d all be joining Cyrus in his New World, and he had forbidden her from tormenting them. She couldn''t even fool around a little bit. Cyrus. Mars couldn''t help but bite her bottom lip when she thought of her leader. He was the first man that had given her a home. The first person she''d known. Mars'' first memory was waking up in a dumpster in Jubilife two years ago now with her Pokeballs by her side with no idea of who she was, where she''de from or what had happened to her. She''d been naked, her body pale as if it had never seen the sun and her skin as soft as a newborn''s. She wandered the streets for a while, skulking away from view in the middle of the night, but a perverted man had noticed her, acted like he''d help and covered her with his jacket. He''d tried to force himself on her once he brought her to his apartment. She''d been too terrified to even release one of her Pokemon, but the man had put them away anyway. She''d just been a girl and he could easily overpower her, so Mars had resigned herself to her fate. Instead, his soul was swallowed whole by a ghost. Dusknoir. Mars remembered his pleading, him begging for his life as Dusky approached him inch by inch and feasted on his horror. Color, drained from the walls of his home. The television ying a deafening static. Screams. So many screams. He''d tried to run away, but Dusky had blocked every single escape, and the man shrieked and pleaded until his voice was gone and he resigned himself to his fate a broken husk. Mars remembered his body, dropping like a log with his face still covered in tears and snot. Hisst expression, a mix of confusion and dread, still anchored there. The smell of urine as his dder emptied. She thought it was beautiful. Nostalgic. Something about it reminded Mars of what she''d known, but the knowledge was out of reach. At the tip of her fingers. From that day forth, she carried a knife she''d stolen from his home and she murdered more. And more. She killed eight people and fed Dusky seven more before Cyrus somehow found her and allowed her to pick her name. Mars. That was who she was now, and who she''d been for the past two years. She did not remember her previous name, and she did not care for it. She belonged by Cyrus'' side. He was her knight in shining armor, her savior, her Messiah! And she hadn''t seen him in ages. Mars sighed again before shooting up. "I''m gonna walk around. Stretch my legs and scare some people." "That''s bad for morale. The grunts haven''t been a problem, but the scientists never were fully onboard with the whole cult thing," Jupiter said. "Charon''s got a tight leash on them, but they''re working slower than we need." "Then maybe I should make an example out of one." "No. Torture," Jupiter scolded. "I swear to Arceus, you''re like a kid. I guess you technically are two years old." "Two and a half, thank you very much!" Mars pouted. "I''m off, Juju! See youter!" Mars quickly skipped across the Commanders'' office and entered the brightly lit hallways of their base. The ce was a truebyrinth that even she got lost in sometimes, and that was by design in case the League ever broke in. Research they had stolen from Valley Windworks had been used here to create artificial teleporters that made traveling within the base an annoying process. The floor was made of grey tiles so clean that Mars could see her reflection on them, and the walls were made of reinforced material that Pokemon Centers were built out of. Only the most powerful of Pokemon could break through those. Mars released Mr. Wiggly as she walked, and the grunts made wide berths around them to avoid ever bumping into Mars or looking at her wrong. The Wigglytuff smirked, basking in his superiority and the fear that exuded out of the grunts. He loved tasting their fear. Oh, fairies weren''t sustained by emotion, but they were very sensitive to them and Mars'' fairies found fear tastier than others, which was something shared by Saturn''s Grimmsnarl. Wigglytuff might have looked innocent, but he was truly wicked in a very enjoyable sense. They had a lot inmon. All of them did. All of her Pokemon except Dusky had lost their memories as well, and they shared her goal of trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Well, it wasn''t really a goal. More like some side quest in a game. Now that she had Cyrus, she couldn''t care less about her past life. She had lots of fun here, even if it was boring these days. She''d tried asking Dusky about her past life a little, but his mouth was sealed. Every time, he told her it was for her own good, and she believed it. For some reason, she could understand whatever he said, and only him. No other Pokemon shared their bond. Mr. Wiggly, for example, needed a psychic trantor if he needed to tell her somethingplicated. Oh! Back to Team Gctic! Saturn was fun to tease, and he''d passed out when he heard the news about Abel nearly getting caught. The man had called, told them all of the information he had revealed to preserve his ''honor'' and then disappeared into the wind. Mars hoped they''d see each other again, he was a lot of fun. Charon was a grumpy old man obsessed with bringing his sister back to life, and Mars couldn''t care less about him. Juju? She was her best friend, and also an enigma. Jupiter was fully aware of Cyrus'' goal, and yet she was just a normal girl. Dangerously normal. She almost never got mad, although even Mars shook in her boots when she did. At first, she''d apparently joined Team Gctic for the money, but she was all in, now. Mars knew there must have been a deeper reason, but she had never revealed it to them. Only Cyrus knew. She knew it was a cult, she knew they wanted to end the world, but she treated this like a regr old 9 to 5, except she didn''t get to go home by the end of her shift. Cyrus¡­ Mars wished she could see him, but he had holed up in his office for the past two weeks and asked not to be disturbed. Mars stepped on one of the yellow pads and was instantly whisked away to a lower level of the base, toward the scientists'' quarters. Down there, gone were therge ''G'' logos and the crowd of grunts. The clean floor had been reced by some dreary beige. People that looked like they hadn''t slept in weeks typed away onputers, experimented with substances Mars didn''t understand and had their noses deep in ancient texts about Legendary Pokemon. They all flinched when they turned to look at her and Mr. Wiggly. "Good evening!" Mars yelled. Her voice reverberated through the entire corridor. It only took thirty seconds for Charon to show up. "Mars," the man said, walking with his usual limp and terrible posture. "Why have youe to bother me now?" "I''m bored, so I came to see the progress on your toy." "It is no toy," he spat. "It is a weapon. And I do not want you anywhere near the Chain Prototype." "Aw. Can I see it, at least? From afar? I''m a Commander, so I deserve to see what you''re working so hard on!" She said, puffing out her chest. "I wouldn''t do anything to piss off Cyrus." The old man pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you promise to leave afterward? And not toe back down here for a week?" "Pinky promise! Also, ew, when''s thest time you showered?" "That is not your concern." He briskly motioned at her to follow, and she did, skipping across the floor as she did. Wigglytuf mimicked her, almost floating in the air with each jump. He could do a lot more when he put his mind and will to it. The closer they got to the chain room, the more strange machines sprung up. White cubes that created wooshing sounds anchored to the ground with tubes that went even deeper and topped by strange yellow towers with green lights. Then, blue machines¡ª or vats with some Pokemon that looked like Ditto trapped inside a strange green liquid, begging to be let out as they slowly and forcefully changed into something else with restraints keeping them still and a dozen tubes prating their bodies. Mars stuck out her tongue at one and kept moving. The further she processed down the hall, the more the change had progressed. They''d been turned into a Pokemon Mars had never seen, but that she knew about. "Replicas of one of the Lake Trio," Charon exined. "Mesprit, to be more precise. They are continuously fed and tranquilized to avoid any unfortunate idents. They''re nowhere close the amount of power Mesprit could wield, of course. Ditto do not be as powerful as the Pokemon they transform into. In fact, I''d argue their level of power does not change at all. They merely adapt to their model''s way of living and battling." "Then why do you need them if they aren''t worth anything?" Mars asked. She was curious. After all, Charon was the brain behind this entire operation. She tapped on the transparent ss and the fake Mesprit flinched away. "Stupid girl. They''re worth more than you, I and all of Sinnohbined will ever make. The only thing we''re after," he said with azy smirk. "Is this." He pointed to the top of his forehead, and Mars noticed the red gem embedded on each Pokemon''s head. Some of them were missing and were in the process of regrowing. "We need thousands of these to create the Red Chain. With the Red Chain, we will bring the trio under our control. It is made of the same DNA, after all. It should theoretically work on the real specimen." "How''d you get their DNA? No one told me about this?! I''m a Commander! Does Cyrus think I''m useless?! Is that why he won''t see me?!" Mars yelled. She felt Dusknoir''s cold embrace around her and calmed down. Charon ignored her outburst. "Cyrus came upon one of thekesst summer, the one the League has called Lake Verity. An appropriate name for the being of Emotion," he rambled as he stroked his chin. "Afterward, we sent teams of divers and found an underwater cave with the remains of Mesprit''s DNA. Only traces. Barely usable, but usable nheless. The Pokemon itself was nowhere to be seen, but almost all of our divers couldn''t feelpelled to go back up and drowned in the process. The survivors say it was like the only thing in the world they wanted was to stay there because it was the most fulfilled they''d ever felt in their entire lives. Even now, they say their emotions are never as strong as what they felt in the cave. They''ll live a muted life from now on." "Yikes. You better not send me down there!" "Even though it pains me to admit, you are too valuable. That is what grunts that aren''t in on the n are for, although we are starting tock manpower in that regard." "If you couldn''t find Mesprit, how''re you gonna grab them? You need all three for the big day, right?" "We think we have a way of forcing them out of their¡­ hibernating state when the timees." "I can''t believe you''vee so far already! Turning Ditto into these little boogers?! Charon, you''re a genius!" She yelled. The man groaned. "It was not just me. The entire Department of Sciences worked on this. It took many tries for the Ditto to take to the DNA without dying. Thousands of trial runs and wasted specimens, but now¡­ here we are." They reached a set of giant doors that looked more like the outside of a vault than anything else. Charon pushed a series of buttons, then ced his thumb on a scanner and showed his eye to a camera before the doors opened with a loud hiss. Mars'' eyes widened at what she saw before her. The chain was red like the color of blood, but it was not really a chain. More like hundreds of stones linked together in a brilliant disy of symmetry. Each gem was the same, and yet it was not. Mars almost felt herself get lost in the colors. She squinted and realized each gem was a never-ending pattern¡ª a fractal. A strange, red glow surrounded the chain and it floated by itself without any device or Pokemon to carry it, as if it worked beyond the forces of gravity. "Behold. The Red Chain," he said, extending an arm as he smiled no doubt for the first time in weeks. "It is currently around forty percent finished, which is why we need to buy time and you can''t go gallivanting on one of your usual killing sprees. If we had obtained Uxie''s or Azelf''s DNA, the process would have gone faster, but the damn League got ahead of us at Valor and Craig Goodwill killed our first expedition at Acuity. A shame. It is funny, how even though the Legends are powerful beyondpare, their rules can still be broken." "Can I touch it?!" Mars said, her voiceden with excitement. "Wha¡ª Absolutely not!" He screamed. "It is being assembled and moved around with specialized equipment. I had one of my test subjects touch the Chain and he was overtaken by a sorrow so great that he died." "Died? How fun. What killed him?" "Sorrow, you daft girl. He was a mess for weeks until he couldn''t take it and took his own life. It could only affect him so because it is made of Mesprit''s gem. We handle them all through tools, even when carrying a single one." "I didn''t know being sad could kill. I wonder what the real deal would be like if a fake''s this powerful. Maybe the real Mesprit can make you so sad you kill yourself instantly! That''d be a lot more fun than the normal way of killing, like squishing your brain into mush or whatever." "Of course you wouldn''t get it," he said after a pause. "You''ve never felt sad a damn day in your life. And I don''t mean the little outbursts you get into when Cyrus doesn''t give you enough attention, I mean true sorrow." "Don''t get into some sappy story about your dead sister now," she chided. "I really couldn''t care less. Hey, did you know your niece is in town? Abel told us she was trying to find you." Mars leaned toward the older man until he backed off. She''d been probing for a reaction. Weakness. Something to exploit if she ever got too bored. Unfortunately, there was almost nothing. How unfun. "Do not speak of my sister. As for my niece, I already know she would not be open to our ns, so there is no point in speaking to her. She is blinded by morals. Useless. If she truly cared for her mother she would have joined us by now." Mars grinned. "So are you gonna kill her? Make it slow? Watch as she realizes her old uncle isn''ting back and the life slowly drains out of her eyes?" "I do not care what happens," he shrugged. "With the birth of our New World, she can be brought back as she was before my sister''s ident, and so can she." "I''d call dibs, but she''s all yours," Mars pouted. "Thank you for the tour, Charon. Mr. Wiggly loved it." Wigglytuff spun around and happily squealed. "I said I did not care what happened to her in this world, not that I would kill her. And I grow tired of your silly nicknames," he sighed. "Your Pokemon are all monsters as you are. They are not appropriate." "I''m going to act like I didn''t hear that," she said before slipping away. All of her Pokemon deserved cute names. Even Dusky. Charon would probably stay there, mesmerized by his own creation. He always cursed how slow they were being. They were close, but the League was beginning to breathe down their neck. Mars had not known about the chain, but she''d known about the n of action when everything was in ce. She couldn''t wait! There''d be so much carnage, and she was really pent-up. She returned and was pleased to see that Jupiter was still on her break. It wasn''t like there was much for her to do in these boring and uninteresting times. Charon ran the scientists, Saturn ran the grunts and Jupiter ran their Finance Department, but they had stopped making much money these days because they''d been forced into hiding. Thankfully, they had a lot of cash stockpiled from their activities thesest few years. As for Mars? She was muscle and made sure no one in Team Gctic''s core (so the members that were going to the New World) ever got second thoughts about the n. After all, anyone would rather die to League forces than have their soul wallow in agony for as long as Dusknoir wished, which would probably be¡­ forever! Mars was muscle and a deterrent, and so she was the most powerful Commander. More powerful than Cyrus, even, but her love almost never used his Pokemon. She was not only loyal to her leader because of love, although that was a huge part of it. The New World beyond this one would be a beautiful thing. Cyrus would be a God, and that meant that he''d be able to create as many people to torment as she wanted. Forever. There was nowhere else Mars would rather be. "Mars, I found something you might find fun. That kid you''re obsessed with¡­ well, I don''t want to be an enabler, but there''s a battle you might like," Jupiter said. "Oh? Now I''m interested!" The break room''s television was at least three decades old and the quality on it was garbage, but Jupiter still managed to get the battle to y. Grace Pastel against Maylene. At first, seeing that girl all stoic made Mars angry. Where was the little pipsqueak that had whimpered at her mere stare? Flinched away at her touch? That wasn''t her, it was someone else. It made her want to break into her Pokemon Center and cut her open. A thousand tiny little cuts, going slowly deeper as she bled out, just like Mars loved¡­ her knife suddenly felt heavier in her pocket. Unfortunately, with all of her guards, it was impossible even for her, and she wouldn''t disobey Cyrus. But slowly, Gradually. She realized something. Mars began to giggle as Infernape slowly choked out behind a stone pir and Maylene stared in utter despair. Her face twisted in horror at the fire type''s little choked screams. She slowly approached the screen, crawling until she was less than an inch away, her eyes unblinking as she hugged the television. Every word, perfectly crafted to appear innocent, just as she''d done with the dozens of grunts she''d subtly broken thesest two years, the gaslighting that made them look like kooks to the outside world and their peers. She knew, because she was the same. They were the same, but Mars embraced it while Grace pushed back. Even the nicknames¡­ She ced her forehead on the screen and beamed. "Oh, Grace, oh Grace." Marsughed until it felt like she''d asphyxiate. Until all the air was out of her lungs and her chest hurt. Until even Jupiter had to ask if she was alright and her Tangrowth nearly whipped her because he disliked the noise. Mars didn''t answer and slowly watched the girl she''d wanted to kill dismantle a child in front of her as the spit she''d expelled from all thatughing slowly dripped down the TV. She hugged it tighter and pressed her cheek against the warm screen. Grace, her mirrored self, just a few precious pixels on the screen that she so desperately wanted to touch. Mars nearly gasped and then broke into a sob. "She''s just like me, Juju. She''s just like me. We''re like long lost twins¡­" She felt Dusknoir''s cold hand gently pat her shoulder. "Your body''s older. You can''t be twins," the Commander deadpanned. "Siblings then!" Mars sniffled. "And it was a manner of speaking! I don''t want to kill her anymore." "Good. I was scared you''d slip away at some point and ruin things¡ª" Mars didn''t even hear the rest of what she said. Instead, her mind went racing. Mars wanted to keep Grace. They''d make a mean duo together! But there was no way she''d just be her friend. Unless. Everyone else around her was still fair game¡­ maybe there was a way to break her until she joined her¡­ and then it clicked. It''d be her mostplicated game yet, but Mars was certain it would work now that her conversation with Charon had given her inspiration. Her face twisted into a grin as she wiped her tears of joy. Of ecstasy, even. For now though? She was stuck here until the Red Chain reached itspletion. Mars watched the video over and over until the sun rose again.
Chapter 208 Chapter 208 CHAPTER 208 "You look happy. Happier than you were yesterday." I rolled toward Cecilia and wrapped my hands around her waist. Three days had passed since my battle with Maylene, and I''d slept in her room yesterday night, although I did allow Sunshine to stick in mine out of his Pokeball so he could dream. Slowking sat in one of the corners of the room¡ª I was pretty sure this was the first time I actually saw him sit since he''d evolved, and he looked kind of funny. He had hisst lesson on mental shieldster today, and apparently he was on the cusp of mastering singleyer shields. I didn''t really know how manyyers you could get up to, but it''d no doubte in handy. "I am. I''m picking up my Pokemon today, remember?" She caressed my cheek. "I''m d you''re alright. Are you sure you aren''t letting the guilt eat you up?" She left the context of the sentence unspoken, but Maylene had announced that she was going on a month-long break yesterday evening and many rumors were circting. Some said that it was just her way of saving face for a while until she retired while others said the League was going to rece her soon. I didn''t really care for those, but I had felt incredibly guilty about it for a while, to the point that I almost considered trying to get a meeting set up with her to apologize again. Of course, Denzel and Cece made me realize that was a terrible idea very quickly. As for Justin, I''d warned Louis about him and said he might be more willing to speak now, but that was it. "Yeah, I can''t do much about it. I just hope it isn''t too bad," I said. "I can''t wait to see my Pokemon again, though. They''re gonna be so happy we won." I technically could have brought Buddy here, but I was sure he was having a very fun time with Sunshine. I''d have to buy him some books today too. When I asked him the history of what region and what period, he told me to get everything I could get my hands on, and when I told him about the Canve library, he suddenly got very excited about the city. Unfortunately, it''d have to wait a while, but the library there had many books that you couldn''t find anywhere else, both in paperback or online. "Zweilous nearly destroyed the entire room in excitement when I brought him back here, so I had to recall them immediately before they got someone killed," she said. "Winning a Gym Badge always gets their blood pumping." "Thinking they''ll evolve sooner rather thanter?" Her lips went t for a second. "What?" I said. "Oh shit, sorry. They''ll go beserk, right? I shouldn''t have brought it up. If you need any help to calm them down when the timees¡ª" "No, I will handle it alone, just like my brother did. But it''s not even that," she sighed. "The headsbine back into one. That means that Zerst and Sol will fuse again, and I don''t know if I''ll ever be ready for that." "You were scared when Deino split into two as well." "Strange, is it not? I''ll have to learn to deal with it when the timees. I was thinking ofbining their names whenever they do evolve. And to answer your question, no, I don''t think it''sing any time soon. Maybe in a few months. Golett, however? I think his time is soon." "Can''t wait to see the little guy fly around," I chuckled. "Say, when your brother''s Zweilous evolved, you said he got sent to the hospital, right? It''s a dark type, so psychic attacks and barriers won''t work very well. I think¡ª" "You worry too much," she smiled. "What''s with your fixation on Zweilous today?" "Oh, it''s nothing. Last night, I just thought¡­ we''re more than halfway there, you know? Halfway to the Conference. That made me think about which evolutions people had left, that''s all. Then I remembered the whole ordeal with Hydreigon." Cece wrapped her hands around me tighter. "It has been a journey, hasn''t it? I''ll tell you about Mark, then. His Zweilous evolved during his second year during his Gym Battle against Drayden, and he had to recall it because it kept going for the kill instead of battling normally." "What''s Drayden''s type?" "Dragon." "Huh. Convenient." "Yes. He gave my brother advice after the battle, but he wasn''t cautious enough and he got wounded by a Dragon Pulse¡ª not the full attack, of course. He wouldn''t have survived otherwise. He told me to call him when the time came." "Fine." I hoped she wasn''t doing this in hopes of impressing Azelf, but I had no right toin about not asking for help. I''d done it many times, after all. "You know, thinking about your brother," I started. "Before him, there was Iris. But before her, there was Alder. I remember the headlines¡ª the youngest Champion in the world¡ª or at least since¡­ what''s his name?" "Since Blue and Red were Champion for a single day in Kanto. First Blue beats Lance, then the other guy beats him¡ª Red¡ª and he immediately gives the position back to Lance and disappears." "Right, Blue and Red. Arceus, those are strange names. Anyway, those guys became the Champion when they were eleven because trainers in Kanto could be trainers when they were ten back then. Kind of an unhinged policy, if you ask me." Cece scoffed. "Right? When I was ten, I could barely do anything, let alone travel in the wild, but their society used to be... pretty martial. Still is, even if the age was finally raised." "Anyway, Iris was twelve, right? Or was it eleven?" "She was also eleven, and she''s thirteen today. She trained under Drayden and he offered to make her a trainer early, which she happily epted, but as you know, Unova''s routes are a lot safer than Kanto''s for travel. And Iris wasn''t Champion for long," she exined. "There was an entire political crisis because of how young she was. Even with the systems in ce in case a child ever got the position of Champion, eleven was really pushing it." "What happened to Alder?" I asked. "I can''t imagine someone who''d been the Champion for that long losing to a little kid¡­" Cecilia grimaced. "You don''t know?" "Well, I am asking." "His Volcarona. His oldest partner died." "D¡ªDied? During the battle?" "No, it had died of old age. Well, not exactly old age, more like it was so old its body couldn''t fight off some kind of illness. Apparently it was already really old when Alder caught it, and on the tail end of its life. Even then, it was probably the most powerful trained Pokemon in existence." "Stronger than Garchomp?" "Well, it''s hard to measure power at that scale, I''m just repeating what people said," she shrugged. "But Volcarona are incredibly rare, and we thought they were extinct before Alder went and caught his. Do you know what they called his Volcarona? The Sun God. And it wasn''t even in its prime. They were revered in ancient times and one flutter of their wings could burn an entire vige to smithereens. There''s this story of an ancient catastrophe in Unova. A supervolcanic eruption that blotted out the skies for years, but that a Volcarona acted as a second sun for its inhabitants." "Arceus." "An exaggeration no doubt, but all stories have hints of truths to them. Alder was a rather unique Champion. His Pokemon were all strong, but he relied on Volcarona for everything, and it was miles ahead of the other members of his team. Combine that with his depression, and you get¡ª" "His crushing defeat to Iris," I nodded. "And it was crushing. 2-6, if I remember correctly. These days, he aimlessly wanders around the region like a homeless man, and his reputation is in tatters. Iris follows him around sometimes when she isn''t back at Drayden''s. I think she''s happier not being the Champion, and she hasn''t tried to retake the position. Her battle with Mark was very close." "That was depressing," I sighed. "Sorry?" "I did ask. Hey, gimmie a lil'' smooch to make me feel better." "How about a long one?" She smirked. "I''ll never say no to that." ¡ª "I''ll see youter?" I stood on my tiptoes and pecked Cecilia on the lips. "Yup. Gotta run. We can talk about when to leaveter when Chase finally answers us." His two weeks had run out by now, but he hadn''t told us when his Gym Battle would be aside from the fact that he was pissed that he''d have to fight some Gym Trainer and not Maylene herself. I quickly swung by my room and interrupted Jellicent and Sunshine''s talk of Johto and its history, but the dragon was horribly vague and inurate, or at least he was ording to Buddy. He huffed and demanded to be ced back in his ball, and I acquiesed after making sure he wasn''t actually angry. It was just another one of his unserious tantrum, and those ranged from the ''I''m going to kill you'' to the moremon ''Put me back in my ball so I can sleep with my volcanos.'' Learning what the inside of a Pokeball was like had been a fascinating affair. Even though they were a part of our everyday lives, few trainers actually thought about how the device functioned. "Hey, Bud," I said as we descended the stairs. People scraped the walls in order not to walk close to me. "What''s the inside of your ball like?" He let out a series of clicks and exined. To him, his Pokeball was the deepest part of the ocean where no light could reach. It was just him, the cold, and the asional sunken ship with the bodies of dead sailors¡ª dead sailors? I didn''t say it out loud, but the water type could tell I was confused. He huffed and said that the most powerful Jellicent were capable of dragging huge ships to the bottom of the ocean and feasted on every sailor''s lifespan. Supposedly, it wasn''t something he wanted to do, which I was d for, but it was there for ir. Basically, he decorated his house with corpses. Fun. I picked up the rest of my team and swung by a library before making my way toward good old route 214. Buddy wasn''t actually allowed inside the building, but he told me to get anything I could on either Sinnoh or Johto, and I obliged him, picking up ''The Complete History of Johto'' and ''From Hisui to Sinnoh - A History.'' I was starting to think I''d need another bag soon somehow, but I managed to fit the two thick books inside my backpack. I wasn''t very interested in history, but it was a hobby to share, and it wasn''t like Buddy could hold the books himself without ruining them. It''d pass the time on the road or at night in the Centers whenever I slept alone. Once I made it to my usual spot, I released everyone and they were all as good as new. "We won," I immediately said. There were cheers, but they were less jubnt than my win against Fantina. Meanwhile Sunshine just snorted, but I ignored him. We''d expected a win, which was why there was a lot less surprise here. We had never worked as hard as we had for this Gym Battle, and everyone had been confident going in. Pupitar immediately started bragging about her part of the fight, and then they all started speaking about who did what. I let that go on for a while. It was true that while I saw everything that went on during a battle, they did not, and had no idea what their siblings had faced. Electabuzz snorted and gave a thumbs up at Jellicent when the water type told him about how he''d finished off Lucario, and Angel was up in arms, telling everyone about how much fun he''d had fighting Conkeldurr. I sat next to Sunshine and poked him in the leg. "You''re smiling. You''re proud of them, aren''t you?" The fire type immediately lost his little smirk and turned his head away from me. "You don''t have to hide it," I said. "It''s okay to get closer to us. It''s okay to be happy. You deserve it." I stroked him on the arm, and his scales heated up a little. His smile returned soon after, and we listened to Princess brag about her pirs to try to upstage Sweetheart, and the two bickered for a while. Volkner was next, and that meant Buddy and Princess would take a backstage while the rest of the team came to the forefront. It''d be a perfect Gym for Sweetheart thanks to her ground typing, although I had no doubt Volkner had many counters for the type. Angel would resist electric attacks while Honey needed to be in top form as well. "Hey," The dragon opened an eye and stared at me. "Are you ready to y ball, you think? This is the sixth badge, so it''ll be a decent challenge. I''m sure Volkner will go a little above that too. The next Gym is Crasher Wake, and his arena''s full of water so you won''t see much action. If you want to finish shaking off your rust, battling Volkner will be a good way to do it, and you''ll be more prepared for Byron. If you say yes, of course. Don''t feel forced to." Turtonator sighed as he pondered his answer. I could see the gears move in his head as I stared into his eyes. I''d told him about Team Gctic. He knew a confrontation might be near, and I assumed that worried him a lot more than underperforming in Gyms did. After a few seconds, Sunshine nodded firmly. "Then you''ll see action," I smiled. "Let''s start working on something right away. Remember that Turtonator you told me about? The one who could move himself through explosions?" The fire type nodded. He''d tried before, of course, and the problem wasn''t the power required. After all, he was stronger now than that Turtonator had been. No, the problem was the sheer amount of control required to make it work. He couldn''t just explode his shell willy-nilly. He had to consider pitch, strength, tilt, his body weight, his shell''s current condition, and a thousand other different things. Essentially, he needed to do what Sweetheart had done, but it''d be harder. Way harder. I didn''t think he''d be done working on this by the time I battled Volkner. "Your biggest weakness¡ª don''t look at me like that, I didn''t say you were weak, I called it a weakness. It''s yourck of mobility. Imagine a future where your opponent tries to keep you at bay like Zachary''s Vespiquen, but you just fly up andnd next to them. Then, you do what you do best. You burn, and they faint." Sunshine''s eyes glimmered in anticipation, but that light left soon after. He''d tried to learn this trick countless times with Oranguru, but to no avail. "We can still try, right? Other than that, you''re on Sunny Day duty. Angel can teach you the basics." Turtonator''s head turned toward the grass type, who was pushing himself up in the air with a dozen vines for fun, and then he stared back at me. "Come on, you know he''s smarter than he looks by now. Can you handle five different tasks at once? I don''t think so, mister." The dragon type groaned, but waved a hand dismissively. He''d get started on Sunny Day when we started training back up again. Volkner was going to be tricky, but I was already nning on a sun strategy. It wouldn''t counter him explicitly, but it would turn Sunshine and Angel into monsters in their own rights, and I had a theory on something regarding Ancient Power. As for my other Pokemon, I was going to have Angel start work on Sr Beam. He needed to get better at fighting at a distance, andbined with the sun, it''d prove to be a devastating move. I''d already told Buddy to work on Water Spout. Electabuzz still needed to increase his electric potential as much as he could, and Thunder was still some weeks away. The good news was that his stamina problems were now gone, and he could fight for as long as was needed. Princess was going to start working on Air sh and conduct some¡­ experiments with Ancient Power soon. If what I had in mind worked, then she''d actually be very useful for Volkner despite how vulnerable she''d be. Sweetheart, meanwhile, was going to finish working on Iron Head. The focused steel type energy would make her pack a meaner punch when she flew. Sunshine would also keep teaching her Dragon Pulse. Drawing on dragon type energy was difficult for her, but it was possible ording to the Pokedex. Training never stopped. It was only continuous, arduous improvement that would bring me to the top, and thinking the pir strategy would work again was foolish, even though it''d be a nice trick to bring if I ever battled in tournaments. Stagnation was thest thing I wanted. As for me? Well, I needed to learn what made people tick without enormous amounts of studying. I wouldn''t have as much time to study opponents in the Conference as I did with Gym Leaders, and humans could be somewhat predictable. Behavioral sciences were a thing, after all. Well, I wouldn''t ruin the mood by announcing more training. It could always wait. Right now, my family was having a lot of fun. ¡ª I came back to Veilstone earlier than nned because I''d gotten a text from Chase asking to meet me, Mira and Cecilia in front of our Pokemon Center. I actually hadn''t seen Mira in a while, and she had deep bags under her eyes. When I asked, she said she''d spent an all nighter trying to get her Porygon to learn Ice Beam, and she''d done it. She spoke about a bunch of coding stuff that went over my head, but long story short, she''d managed to essentially code the move into Porygon''s head. "The answers came to me if I dug deep enough," she said. "It feels like cheating, but I''m not going toin. Ice Beam took me more than a week, so I''m going to try Thunderbolt next." "Thunderbolt? When you''re fighting Volkner?" I asked. "I''m mostly thinking about Wake. Don''t think Porgyon will see much fighting in Volkner''s Gym, but we''ll see. In other news, I need to find myself an Eevee¡ª" "You mean buy yourself an Eevee. You can''t just stumble across an Eevee," Cecilia said. "Denzel did it," I said. "Okay, but he just got ridiculously lucky. Eevee are rare, you''re most likely going to need to buy it. And the price of every Pokemon went up now that the Hunters went under." "Damn it," Mira sighed. "Okay, maybe I put the Eevee idea on the backburner for a while." Cece raised an eyebrow. "Which evolution did you even want?" "ceon. Cynthia''s wreaks havoc every time it fights, and it''s perfect for a special attack specialist like me," she smugly said. "Plus, Candice is myst Gym¡­ there''s that huge Icy Rock up north that''s known to evolve Eevee if they stay close to it for a day or two. Damn it, it was perfect." "If you ever get one, just make sure it actually wants to evolve into that first," I warned. "I will, I will, no need to preach at me. I''d take any Eeveelution, although Sylveon would be raining on Denzel''s parade a little. I don''t really care about trainer etiquette though." It was well known that trainers traveling in a group often avoided getting the same Pokemon. It wasn''t actively discouraged, but it was good manners. Of course, Mira didn''t care for good manners. "What about you, Cece? Narrowed your choices a little?" I asked. "Hitmonlee''s out," she dered. "Not flexible enough for what I want, and Tyrogue isn''t even guaranteed to evolve into one." "Fair enough. I''m sure you''ll¡ª ah, there he is." Mira beamed at the sight of Chase and waved like an excited little girl. Sigilyph followed close behind him, although she made herself small behind her trainer when she noticed us. She was still as shy as always. "Chasey!" She yelled. "Hi." She dashed toward him with her arms outstretched, but he easily sidestepped and ducked under her. She stood there for a few seconds, frozen with her arms in the same position while Chase pulled out two things from his pocket. One, his flying license. It was a shiny card with his name, picture, date of birth, and Trainer ID embedded on it. Two, a badge. Maylene''s badge, to be quite exact. "When?" I asked. "Yesterday. I pick up my team tomorrow morning, and we then we can leave on this trip thing." Mira finally unfroze and turned. "Aw, yeah! I''m so excited!" She beamed. Sigilyph beeped at her, staring with her unblinking eye until Mira looked back and the psychic type screeched in fear. "Stop scaring her," Chase said. "I just looked at her." "I said what I said. She''s a soft one¡ª but strong when it matters," he proudly said with a smile. He recalled the psychic into her ball and leaned against the Center''s wall. "She pulled her weight during my Gym Battle. Had to beat down a Gym Trainer, so it didn''t feel as good as it could have, but what''s done is done. At least I''m not strapped for cash anymore." "Tomorrow''s so soon," I stammered. "I have to buy a bunch of stuff, talk to Denzel¡ª" "Okay, no worries," he raised his hands. "Just don''t waste too much time. Don''t forget, after this Sunyshore trip, I''m outta here." "You said you''d think about Pastoria too," I said. "Right. I did say that. Sorry, I forgot. We''ll see." "Well, I''m ready to go whenever," Cecilia announced. "I''ll swing by and tell our friends goodbye. Mira?" "Louis and Maeve are gone, so yeah. Just gonna tell the annoying love triangle adieu and then we can get going. Think they''ll sort things out if they''re traveling alone, or will they dy another month? Any bets?" "I''m not betting anything. I don''t even know what you''re talking about," Chase said. "Don''t worry about it, Chase," Cecilia sighed. "Grace?" "Yeah. I guess¡ª I guess we can leave tomorrow." This was really happening, huh? Our time in Veilstone was finally over, and a lot quicker than I''d thought. It wasn''t like I had anything left to do here. Hell, I still disliked the city as a whole, but it was still kind of surreal to be leaving. I did get this feeling after every city, but it was more pronounced this time because of the sheer density of everything that had happened. There''d been event after event with very little time to rest. "Yeah, I''m ready," I said, more steadfast. "Did you guys know I''ve actually been to Sunyshore once before? I was a kid though, so I don''t remember much." "You did tell me," Cece nodded. "I''ve also been therest summer." I nodded, remembering that Sunyshore was where Cece had caught Talonme. "Anything interesting to do there?" Mira asked. "It''s really pretty. The walkways and the architecture make you feel like you''re living in the future," I exined. "Compared to Veilstone, it''s night and day. There''s the beach, but it''s still February. You can go see what the Lily of the Valley ind looks like from an observation deck in a lighthouse¡­ yeah, that''s all I remember. Oh, and there''s a Ferris Wheel!" "There''s a Ferris Wheel in Jubilife¡­" Mira muttered. "But this one''s bigger." "None of thosepare to Unova''s, but it is what it is," my girlfriend mocked. "There''s the Sunyshore Market open every Sunday where they sell a wide variety of goods, and the city''s also the influencer center of Sinnoh. It used to be Hearthome, but Sunyshore''s been growing extremely quickly since Volkner became Gym Leader and every young person wants to move there. Sunyshore University is also the most prestigious in Sinnoh, and of course as Grace said, it''s a center of technology and innovation." Sunyshore University¡­ I remembered that was where Isaac studied. The man who''d dated Lisa Hunter and who had led us to uncover everything in Sceon thanks to his very helpful phone call. "Who cares? We''re there to beat up Volkner, not to take pictures," Chase shrugged. Cecilia groaned. "You don''t know how to have fun, do you?" "I do have plenty of fun, you just enjoy boring stuff too much. Anyway, if that''s all, I''m gonna dip and practice flying some more outside the city. Let''s meet at the gate to route 214 tomorrow at eight in the morning." "That''s so early," Mira grumbled. "Yes. Exactly." "I''ll do it for you," she said, her eyes rapidly blinking. He took a few steps back and grimaced. "Ew." "Ew is better than what you used to say. That''s progress!" Chase kept walking away from her until he turned the corner. One thing was for sure, Sunyshore was going to be a lot more easygoing than Veilstone. "Let''s go out and eat, girls," Mira dered. "I''m starving. Here, take me to that high-end ce you two went. The Elegant Carver." "How do you even know that?" Cece scoffed. "And no, I am absolutely not taking you there. You won''t be dressed appropriately, and I''d like for it to remain something between Grace and I." "Come on. Pretty please? Do they do take-out?" "They¡­ they do," she relented. We ended up eating some luxurious food on the sidewalk and split the bill three ways. ¡ª "Yo," Denzel waved. "Heard the news. You''re leaving." I''d knocked on his room and he even paused his stream to talk to me. Now, how had he done that, I didn''t know, but¡ª "cked out the screen and muted the sound," he exined as if he''d read my mind. His Swablu sat on his head and preened herself constantly. She red at me just for stepping inside of the room as if my mere presence was dirtying it. I could easily feel that she disliked me. "Who preempted me and told you?" I asked. "Chase did. He''s not very discreet, and he''s terrible at caring. He sent a message to the group chat asking for everyone to confirm that you were leaving at eight. I guess he kind of didn''t care everyone else was in it." "Ah. Sorry," I winced. "I came to tell you." "Yeah, I figured." An uneasy silence settled in as I leaned against the wall and shut the door. "Good luck out there," he said. "With whatever it is you''re going to do." "Thanks. When are you guys leaving?" "When Emi''s better. Probably in three days or so. She''s slowly improving, so that''s good. Pauline won''t leave her side and is asking me to stick close by constantly." "You two are her favorite people in the world, so that makes sense." "I wouldn''t say that," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "You know it already," I shrugged. "You''re not dense, Denzel. I mean, I''ve known what''s going on since Hearthome, and I''m the densest person on the. Everyone else also figured it out. You three are the only people ignoring it. Pauline likes you both." "Look, it''s better this way," he said. "This way, no one gets hurt." I exhaled. "If you say so. Sooner orter, the lid''s going to pop off, and I figure it might just happen while you''re all traveling alone." "It''ll be fine." "Okay." "You didn''t sound very convinced." "That''s because I''m not." "Oh. Right." There was another pause. "Look at you," Denzel continued. "Now you''re the one giving rtionship advice. How times have changed." I smirked. "I try my best. How''d it go when Pauline met Ashley?" "She was nice, but she was doing that thing where she''s just pretending. Like she did in Sceon?" He said. "Creeped me out too, because she obviously hated her. Told me Ashley had a crush on me right after. "Yeah, I remember. Did she say anything else?" "No." "Wow. She''s grown. I thought she would have asked you to never meet her again." "I did too, honestly. I can honestly tell she was trying to be nice, which was really endearing. Probably gonna see Ashley again in Sunyshore and see how she''s doing. Anyway, you wanna join me for this stream? Since we''re going our separate ways for a little bit, it''d mean a lot." "Oh. Uh, what do you even do when you stream?" "We were talking about Swablu, but the conversation will change since you''re just going to pop up out of nowhere. Here, let''s just talk about how we train Pokemon. I think people will enjoy hearing the differences and simrities." "I think they''ll enjoy me picking you apart," I teased. He smiled. "Bring it on." ¡ª It was morning now. I''d stocked up on potions, told my team we were leaving early and bid my Center room goodbye after making sure I hadn''t forgotten anything. Streaming was¡­ an experience. It could maybe be fun once in a while, but it definitely wasn''t for me, especially since thementers kept asking about Maylene and I kept having to ignore them. Denzel had no moderators in his chat and it sometimes got quite toxic, but he was nning on making Lopunny one when she learned to read. A Lopunny moderating a stream? Now that was something else. What was next, her browsing the forums? I liked it, though. He was saving to buy her a phone and he''d have enough money when he got to Sunyshore. I met up with Cecilia and Mira in the Pokemon Center''s lobby, and we quietly made out way toward route 214. Chase was already there when we arrived. The teenager greeted us with a curt nod. Everything was quiet. The rangers were tired and drinking their morning coffee and clearly didn''t want to be disturbed. "Wooooooo! Let''s get this show on the road!" Mira screamed.
Chapter 209 Chapter 209 CHAPTER 209 "Grace, how much longer are you gonna pet that thing?" Mira sighed. "She''s not a thing. Just a sec," I said as I grabbed an Oran Berry from my bag. I rubbed the wild Girafarig''s neck and handed her the berry. The psychic type neighed and gently bit into half of it, then asked for me to feed her tail. The mouth hungrily jumped at the food, and Cece and Honey jumped when she nearly snapped my finger off. She scarfed down the entire half of the berry and she barely chewed. "I''ll be leaving now, alright? Be safe." The psychic type bowed her head in thanks, and I waved at both heads until we couldn''t see them any longer. I hadn''t really had a reason to feed Girafarig. We had encountered her a few minutes prior on the slopes of the mountain to route 214''s east and I could tell she was hungry. Girafarig were grazers, and they usually stuck to the route''s t areas to the west with plenty of grass to eat. It had been a few hours since we''d left Veilstone, and we''d decided to take the mountain path for a few reasons. One, Cecilia thought there was a chance she''d meet either a Mienfoo or a Croagunk there, although thetter were found in much greater numbers in the swamp next to Pastoria City. Two, I was a lot more familiar with the route, and three, there weren''t a lot of trainers up here to bother us. Cecilia and Mira walked with me while Chase flew high overhead on his Sigilyph''s back. I couldn''t help but nervously nce at my friend every few seconds and feel my stomach sink. He flew without a saddle, which meant he was holding onto Sigilyph''s wings for support. Apparently, Sigilyph were so rare they needed a custom-made saddle, and he didn''t have enough money to afford it (and he of course refused any help) nor the time to waste waiting for it to bepleted. He had passed his practical exam, so I trusted that he knew what he was doing. Plus, Mira had her Gardevoir out in case he fell. The tall psychic didn''t care much for anyone that wasn''t her trainer, it seemed, and she kept ncing at her and raising her arm to her head before shyly pulling back. Sigilyph, meanwhile, had been extremely nervous about the whole ordeal. She was scared that she''d get Chase hurt somehow. Her way of flying was fascinating, though. She swayed back and forth in the wind, her wings barely moving. "When he said he''d travel with us, I really thought he''d hang out," Mira sighed when she noticed I was looking. "He''lle down eventually," I said. "His arms are surely tired by now, it''s been two hours¡­" Cecilia muttered. "I think this is his way of working out," I said, shielding my eyes from the sun. "Wait, is heing down?" Sure enough, he was. Sigilyph slowly lowered her altitude over the next thirty seconds, but Chase jumped when she was fifteen feet off the ground. "What''s up?" Mira asked. "Come to speak to your pals?" "No, I saw something behind us¡ª far behind us. Some person on a Dragonite. It weirded me out, so I figured I''d walk." "Isn''t that just one of our guards?" I raised an eyebrow. "Actually, there was a woman with a Dragonite assigned to me. Guess she''s not bothering to hide." "They''reing with us on the routes too?!" Cecilia chuckled. "Did you pay any attention to what Cynthia said?" "No, I was busy demanding rights for my people, sorry," he said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. "Anyway, guess I''m walking. My arms were getting tired anyway." Mira poked him in the arm, and he jumped. "What? Chasey''s getting tired? I never thought he''d admit that." "It''s a lot more tiring than it looks," he hurriedly eximed. "Some stick like you wouldn''t get it." "Maybe you can teach me. You can hold onto my waist and carry me into the sky." "I don''t even want to touch you, let alone teach you anything. Sigilyph isn''t strong enough to carry two people and you''d die." The psychic type let out a sad digital beep. "Can''t believe a trainer would hurt their own Pokemon like that," Mira said, feigning sadness. "Don''t put that fucked up shit in her head!" They devolved into their usual bickering, which was asionally assuaged by Cecilia or me. I squinted as I looked to the west, down the mountain''s slopes. It was far, but I could see the asional truck driving on the paved road going from Sunyshore to Veilstone or vice-versa, carrying all kinds of goods in containers. Trainers also dotted the route around the road, and I could even catch glimpses of moves, although it was too far to see exactly which Pokemon were battling. Off in the distance, Sunyshore was visible, but it was shifted blue by the Earth''s atmosphere, or at least that''s what Mira had told me. They fight a lot, don''t they, Slowking spoke into my¡ª wait, he was speaking to Cecilia and Honey as well. I wish I could have some peace and quiet. "Aren''t you used to it?" I asked. "You have Sol, Zerst, Scyther¡­" Sol and Zerst are just stupid most of the time. Scyther likes to keep to himself. It isn''t that bad, especially with Talonme here. Speaking of, I rmend you let her stretch her wings. "I should, shouldn''t I?" Cecilia said. She grabbed the fire type''s Pokeball and released her high into the sky. Talonme let out a gentle song to announce her happiness and blurred forward with one p of her wings. Cecilia couldn''t help but smile at the sight. "Makes me remember that time up north when she went to look for route 216 when we just got out of Mount Cor," I said. "You were scared to let her go too far back then." "I was, but what kind of trainer would keep a flying type caged up?" She said, still smiling. "She''lle back. She always does." "Oh yeah! You guys should tell me about your time in Mount Cor!" Mira eximed as she turned her head toward us. "I''m the only one who wasn''t there!" Chase sped his hands together. "Finally some fucking peace and quiet." "Slowking and you have that inmon," I joked. The psychic type looked at me like I''d just stabbed him in the back. "Did no one tell you about that?" Cece frowned. "I thought someone would have by now. Maybe Denzel." "That boy only talks about work. Blergh," she grimaced. "Tell me about Mount Cor!" "Well, it''s not as exciting as you''d think," Cecilia said. "It was mostly terrifying¡­" ¡ª Evening hade, and we decided to set up camp before the sun would set. We settled on a nice, t surfacerge enough to amodate our entire teams, and I was treated to a grand sight. Every single one of our Pokemon was out. My team kept mostly to themselves in a corner, and I was surprised to see that Princess and Sunshine shared the same disdain for strangers. They red at every single Pokemon, although Princess'' was a haughty stare while Sunshine probably just hated themotion. Honey was the only one trying to make friends, and he had chatted up Chase''s Lucario until they began a spar, but he was on the backfoot since they weren''t using powerful moves. Zangoose and Sigilyph were off in a corner somewhere, the former because she hated crowds and thetter because she considered the normal type her best friend. It was cute, how Chase dropped these adorable nuggets of information about his team like they were nothing. Zweilous was chewing on a very confused Abomasnow''s lumpy arm and slobbered all over the bark-like green arm, and Golett was busy¡­ punching a boulder that Princess had raised for him over and over. Cece had told me it was his way of having fun. Slowking, kazam, and Gardevoir were the furthest away and were no doubt engaged in a conversation I''d understand very little of. Talonme was still zipping around the sky like there was no tomorrow and raced Vikavolt for who was the fastest. The bug type couldn''t keep up with her speed for long, but his asional quick bursts of electric energy allowed him to sometimes catch up. Scyther had struck an unlikely friendship with Chase''s Houndoom. They spoke mostly of loyalty and how Houndoom''s feelings toward Chase differed greatly with what Scyther thought of Cece. All of that to say. Why the hell was my team so unsociable? Everybody else was mingling, but they just stuck to themselves! Was this my fault? Had I raised them like this? "Okay, who''s in charge of what tonight?" Mira asked. Porygon orbited around her head like a moon. "I''m in charge of my own stuff," Chase said. "I can handle the tents," Cecilia ignored him. "Mira?" "I''ll help out." "I can cook!" I quickly said. "I''ve got some food, an electric stove, a pot and a skillet. Honey will help out." "I didn''t even know you two could cook," Cece said. "Can you cook?" Chase asked with a judgy stare. "Yes! And it beats whatever the hell you eat every day, trust me." "I''m gonna need a calorie check." "Just eat what I feed you, I swear it tastes good. My team can attest to it." "Your team''s biased," Mira teased with a smirk. "No¡ª well, yeah, but you can try it, right? I really want to cook for everyone. Please?" They reluctantly agreed, and I shot Cece a betrayed look. The other two, I had expected to be reluctant, but her? She hadn''t seen me cook yet. I was going to impress them all tonight and make them beg for me to feed them every day. "Guess I''ll get started on a fire," Chase said before sharply whistling to his Houndoom. "Let''s go get wood. Zangoose, youe too." Sigilyph ended uping as well, but the rest of his Pokemon stuck around and Scyther actually joined Slowking and the rest of the psychics. Needless to say, they were wary of the bug type, but he mostly listened to whatever it was they were saying and from the looks of it he was getting lost pretty quickly. A conversation between psychics was mind numbingly quick. I walked up to Electabuzz and Ri''s battle and the electric type actually started to fight harder when he saw that I was looking. I cheered for him, but he ended up giving up when Lucario locked his arm in a nasty armbar that reminded me of one of Maylene''s techniques. Honey shook his arm as he walked up to me, still reeling from the pain. He hid his disappointment well, but he was my kid and I could feel it emanating off of him. "You fought well!" I said, pping his back. I jumped when a small shock jolted my hand. He still had a little electricity stored in his fur. "For a hand-to-hand battle against a fighting type? You did amazing." That, he did. The cold voice enveloped my brain, as if someone was speaking everywhere around me at once. Ri bowed to Electabuzz, who awkwardly did the same. He is a good fighter. Much better than when west fought at the Caf¨¦ Cabin. If we had gone all out, he might have won. The little electricity he used was devastating and made my muscles spasm. "Hear that?" I smugly said. "He''s praising you too." Honey thanked him and asked for a rematch tomorrow, which Lucario promptly epted. Training outside of the usual group would do him some good. The fighting type joined Abomasnow and was taken aback by Zweilous'' intellect, orck thereof. He generated a bone and threw it off in the distance. The dragon let go of the ice type''s arm and began to chase the damn bone. Once they reached it, they fought for it until they snapped it in half. It wasn''t like I could understand them well either. They only thought of food, fighting and having fun. Cece had told me Hydreigon weren''t that smart, but they''d be leagues above Zweilous since their brains would join together again. I flinched when Mira''s Haunter appeared in front of me and then cackled at my fear before slipping away. He''d been having fun scaring different Pokemon for thest twenty minutes. Magnezone let out an angry screech and chased after him, begging him to stop humiliating their team with his childish antics. Honestly, I''d take ghostly pranks over murder like he used to do. "Let''s go talk to your siblings," I sighed. "Then, what do you say we cook that vegetable soup we were thinking of doing? Anything tastes better in a soup, right?" The electric type let out a heartyugh and said Princess would disagree. "We''ll get her to eat it," I said. "She''s been progressing leaps and bounds on the culinary side of things." He snorted, and so did I. Pasta, rice and most fruits she was alright with, but veggies were another ordeal altogether. I walked up to my team and greeted them with a heavy sigh. "You guys don''t feel like talking to the others? Not even you, Sweetie? Angel?" Pupitar yelled andined that I had singled her out. Angel essentially was only interested in befriending Sigilyph, which he had tried to approach once but to no avail. Maybe it was because she behaved like a kid? Buddy had the opposite problem and said that everyone but the psychic behaved like children, but he didn''t think it''d be polite to intrude on their conversation. Once I pointed toward Scyther, the surprise made him nearly double in size and he quickly joined them. I told him we''d get starting on our readingster tonight. Princess and Sunshine, I didn''t need to know why they were being anti-social. They''d filled Sweetheart''s head with so much trash talk that the rock type no longer felt like interacting with the others. I really didn''t want to hear what they''d said. "Listen up. You can stay alone in your own corner if you want, but talking behind the others'' back is a no-go¡ª" Turtonator quickly snorted in protest, saying that he wasn''t doing it behind their backs, but saying what he wanted loud and clear. Why was it that these two could bond over their dislike for strangers¡­ I clenched my forehead. "No. Badmouthing. Others. Keep it civil," I warned. "Sweetie, you should form an opinion for yourself. Go out and meet other people, I promise you it''s a wonderful thing. And I also promise you that these two goofs make it sound a lot worse than it actually is." Pupitar rumbled deep within her shell and crawled toward Lucario. She''d been interested in him ever since she saw him at the Caf¨¦ Cabin, and this evening was no different. The fighting type dipped his head at her and they began to speak, along with Abomasnow and Zweilous¡­ who was just there. The first thing Sweetheart asked was if he was strong. Ri replied by saying ''I believe so,'' and just like that, they were friends. I turned back to Turtonator, who was watching with envy while Princess sat on his hat-like head and sighed. "Don''t throw a hissy fit, you''re still her favorite," I said. "Let her spread her wings a little. She won''t be a baby forever. Anyway, it''s good that you two are growing so close¡ª" Princess fluttered her wings and instantly got off Sunshine''s head while he let out a small puff of smoke in protest. "Arceus. I want you two to start working on something tomorrow. For the Gym Battle with Volkner. Your strategy will be essential to winning." Princess tilted her head, asking me how I knew that even if I hadn''t studied him yet. I rubbed her head and smiled. "That''s good, you''re learning! You''re right, I can''t really know that, but it''d be very useful regardless. I want to test if Ancient Power works on molten rock. You know what that means, right?" First, Sunshine would have to go ham and melt the floor. He''d shown he was capable of this in Mount Cor when I had caught him, but doing it on the scale I was nning would no doubt tire him out, even with how strong he was. This wouldn''t just be where he stepped. It would be as far as his stamina and power would allow. Next, I''d have Princess lug that magma at our opponents. Brutal, but effective, just how I liked things. Needless to say, that meant they''d need to gost in the battle. Sweetheart was protected by her cocoon, but even that wasn''t strong enough to protect her from literal magma, and Honey and Angel would just burn up before they could do anything. That meant I''d have to figure out another way for them three to work in tandem and alter the field. Two field alterations in one battle? That number or even higher was routine in high-level battles, but for me, it''d be an incredible bar to clear, especially when Volkner himself specialized in field alteration. He''d fight way harder than Maylene to get his slice of the pie. "Think on it, yeah?" I finished. "I''ll see you guyster. I want everyone at the reading, alright? You can skip if you want, Sunshine. You already know how to read." The dragonzily waved a hand and told me he''d be there. I didn''t just want Buddy to learn how to read, I wanted everyone to. They knew letters and some numbers thanks to how the battle with Maylene had gone, but words were an entire different ordeal. Electabuzz searched through my bag and pulled out everything we needed to cook while I observed Mira and Cecilia set up their second tent. The pot was¡­ kind of small, but we took anything that''d fit. "Let''s cut these up, yeah?" I smiled as I grabbed a carrot. "I''ll dice this¡ª never mind that I''ve never diced anything before. I''m sure it''s easy!" He stared at me like I was stupid, but didn''t say anything. "I saw that look. You dice the celery. There''s a first time for everything!" ¡ª It was beautiful. The vegetables spun around the brown-orange broth as Honey twirled the wooden spat inside of the pot. The electric type gave it a taste and beamed. "Is it good?! Give me some!" I yelled. I hurriedly grabbed the spat and nearly spat everything out when the contents hit my mouth. "Iz hot!" I couldn''t feel my tongue. I coughed a few times but managed to swallow. "Holy shit. It''s hot, but it''s good. Right?" He agreed with the widest smile I''d seen out of him, but it quickly faded when he looked around camp. Chase hade back with enough wood for a fire. Never mind that it wasn''t old enough to burn properly, that wasn''t an issue when we had Houndoom here. We turned to each other, then looked at the small pot we had. Yeah, there was no way we were feeding enough Pokemon with this, even if we cooked the same dish multiple times. Not only that, but we didn''t have enough bowls for everyone. "Okay, Sigilyph, Buddy, Haunter, Magnezone, and Golett won''t eat¡ª" Honey interrupted and reminded me about Porygon. "Right. Porygon. I doubt Chase is going to let us feed his Pokemon since he used Maylene''s prize money to put them on this weird diet. That''s¡­ something." But still not enough, he reminded me. Some of them would have to go without my wonderful soup and eat the usual kibble, it seemed. "Let''s do this the easy way, then. We''ll form a line!" I said with my hands on my hips. I inhaled and yelled. "Dinner''s ready! It''s firste first serve!" There were¡­ less people than I thought. I had imagined a mad rush for my cooking, people pushing and fighting to eat first, but it was a pretty small and orderly line. Chase had been first somehow. "I''m starving. Gimmie soup." "Mind your manners." "Gimmie soup. Please," he groaned. "There you go," I smiled. Electabuzz poured him the liquid and he began to drink it without a care in the world, swallowing the bits of veggies without savoring anything. "Wait! How is it?" "Decent. That''s a B minus." I scoffed. "You didn''t even taste it, dude." "I eat to sustain myself, not to taste. That''s weak shit." "Whatever. Go away." I served an array of Pokemon next. Slowking, who couldn''t help but asionally look back at Sunshine looming behind him. The two seemed to like it, although I could tell Sunshine liked it a lot better because he was used to our cooking. kazam came as well, and I nearly fell over when he teleported the soup directly into his stomach. Everything from the diced vegetables to the broth. Eating wastes time. Thank you for the nutrition, he said. "If I knew you would do that, I wouldn''t even have bothered," I sighed. Yes, which is why I didn''t tell you. I clicked my tongue. "Psychics. You''re just like Chase, you know that?" Please do notpare me to that unthinking child. "I don''t lie. Now, off you go¡ª ah, Cece. Here you go." My girlfriend nodded and grabbed the bowl. At least kazam doing this meant I could hand a bowl over to another person. "Thanks," she said. "I''d stay and talk, but I don''t want to hold up the line. I''ll see you soon." I grabbed onto her sleeve as soon as she started walking away and stared into her eyes. For five seconds. Until she understood and tasted my soup. "So?!" "It''s great." I deted. "That sounded very half-hearted." "Okay, the truth is, it''s alright. But I really appreciate you making it for us!" She quickly added. "I''d love for you two to cook more dishes, truly!" I smiled. "Thanks. I''ll make some tomorrow too." Luckily, Sunyshore was only five to seven days away, and I had enough ingredients for homemade stuff for four of those days. Angel was next, and he dragged the bowl into his body and then spat it out a few secondster as usual. It had been lickedpletely clean. "Call your sisters over for me," I said. Angel nodded and patted my head with a vine until he jerked forward and nearly knocked the entire stove over. I was surprised to see Zweilous behind him. The dragon type had followed the smell of food all the way over here. Cecilia noticed and sharply snapped her fingers, and Zweilous came to an immediate stop. "Hello, you two. Do you want some¡ª well, of course you want some soup. Here." Honey quickly snatched the bowl out of my hands and said he didn''t want one of the heads to identally bite my hand off. He was vindicated when Zerst knocked the entire stic bowl over and started to lick the soup and inhale the chunks of vegetables off the floor. "Yeah, you enjoy that¡­" I muttered. "Where''s Mira? Mira!" "I''m eating some food I nabbed before we left Veilstone!" She yelled with a wave. "These are some fantastic quesadis!" "Are you sure you don''t want to try my soup?!" "With all due respect, I''ll take these over vegetable soup any day!" I threw my hands up in the air and groaned. I''d expected her to at least taste it, but it was fine since we were running low anyway. Electabuzz started to cut up some vegetables again as Angel dragged Princess toward us and Sweetheart followed closely behind. Princess looked like she''d been condemned to death as soon as she eyed the soup. "Don''t make a fuss. Here." I pushed the bowl toward her and nudged it into her chest. She forewent the bowl entirely and levitated the entire soup, drawing it into her mouth like she was sucking through a straw. She winced at the first taste, but soon enough, she was eating heartily. "See? It''s always the same with you," I chuckled. "You think you''re going to hate something, but you end up liking it anyway." She huffed, saying that Oran Berries were still better but that she''d make an effort and force herself to eat this because Honey and I had cooked it. The electric type teased her and pointed out that she had the widest smile on her face while eating, but that only got him a pebble to the head. "Don''t do that, he''s just ying around," I said. "Plus, he was right." For Sweetheart, she rolled over onto her back and I poured the rest of the pot''s content into her mouth. It wouldn''t be enough to feed her, of course, but even though we had run out of premium soil, there were plenty of rocks and dirt to be had up here. She excitedly told me about Lucario and Abomasnow while we cooked enough for ourselves, and I nodded along to the stories she told. I was pretty sure Abomasnow had lied to her about what he could do. Freezing an entire ocean? Growing an entire forest and coating it in snow and hail for fun? Yeah, he was boasting. At least Ri kept his achievements urate. He''d never been one to boast. Once we were done eating, I told Honey to go hang out with whomever he wished while I cleaned up, and then I finally joined the others around the fire. Many Pokemon stuck close by. Houndoom was next to Chase, whozily scruffed his neck. Princess was on myp, and Gardevoir, who looked to be over the moon, had Mira on herp. Talonme and Slowking nked Cecilia while Zweilous was slumped over close to the fire. Zerst was sleeping while Sol was wide awake. The rest of the Pokemon were scattered around camp. It was pitch ck, now, but we could still see the light poles shining like beacons down the mountain and the asional headlights from a truck. We continued the story of Mount Cor, but by now we were at the part with Savika''s cabin. I wondered how she was doing. Had she used the Pokeball I had left her? The League had probably overturned her home by now. I didn''t know what they had meant by fortress, but we''d get a good look at one soon when we reached Lake Valor the day after tomorrow. "When you visit the Acuity, will you ask for Savika?" I asked. "Sure thing," she nodded. "She''ll probably hate me. I make a terrible first impression on anyone I meet." "I liked you when I met you," Cece said. "So you hate me now?" She smirked before chuckling. "Just pulling your leg. Thank you though, I mean that. And thanks for the food, Grace, even if I didn''t eat any. You went into your mom mode today." "Mom mode?" "It''s what I call you when you act like a mom." "Wait, since when was this a thing?" "She made it up today," Cecilia said. "When we were pulling up the tents." "Aw man, this could have been a really good bit! We could have convinced her I created it months ago!" "I don''t think you know what a good bit is," Chase snarked. "I actually agree," I shrugged. Mira''s mouth gaped. "What the hell? You''re ganging up on me now." "Hey, you''ve never made meugh," Chase said. "I''m just stating the facts." Cecilia eyed Zerst nervously. "Please don''t talk too loudly, you''ll wake up¡ª" The head snapped up and roared at nothing in particr. Houndoom growled at him, and all of our Pokemons'' heads turned toward the dragon, save for Haunter who I hadn''t seen in an hour and Sunshine, whose time with us had taught him to sleep through anything. Princess, for her part, had been discreet with her reaction, but I could feel the ground under my feet shake a little. I kissed the back of her head and hugged her tightly. "Yeah, we should have expected that," I sighed. Cece soothed the head, calmly scratching his scales until Zerst also demanded some scratches of his own. The conversation resumed and soon enough they were both asleep. I didn''t miss Gardevoir''s disdain for the dragon type, and her eyes met Princess''. They both smirked at each other. Maybe she''d befriend someone after all, but it''d be another fairy. Sylvy, Be and now Gardevoir? She was only keeping to one type, and that was a problem. I wanted her to broaden her horizon and most of all, she needed to stop hating on poor dragons. It wasn''t even mutual this time. I wasn''t even sure if Zweilous had thought of her in thest day¡­ or weeks or months. "Oh, right!" Mira said. "It''s you two''s birthday soon, right? What was the date again?" "February 27th and March 4th," Cece said, her fingers fidgeting nervously. "Aw, we won''t be at Sunyshore by the 27th," Mira said. "We were nning on doing a joint party anyway," I said. "We can wait until Denzel, Pauline and Emi get there too." Cecilia nodded. "I think that''s a good idea. Emi would never forgive us if we partied without her. Chase, will youe?" "Sure." We all gasped. "What?" I exhaled. "Really?" "Yeah. Why''re you looking at me like I''m some kind of alien? It''s my friends'' birthdays, I''m not going to miss it. Arceus. I might leave early though." "Yeah, that''spletely fine," Cecilia smiled. "Thank you for agreeing." "You both missed my birthday, by the way. This shrimp was the only one to send me a message." "Wait, when was it?" I asked. "When I was traveling to Celestic. I actually celebrated it with my grandparents¡­" Chaseunched into his birthday story, which ended up with him just talking about his grandpa and grandma. He was very cute when sharing about his family, and he even showed us a letter they''d sent him while he''d been in Veilstone. It was true that Cece was going to turn sixteen on the route, which was a shame. I already had both her gifts nned. I''d bought the first one days ago in the city and it was tucked away safely at the bottom of my bag. The second was that video montage idea I''d given Emilia. Only she, Denzel and I had recorded our parts so far, and it was a well-kept secret. From the way she fidgeted, she probably had something for me as well already. We continued speaking deep into the night, and I was the first one to retire from the fire. I kissed Cece goodnight since I wasn''t going to sleep with her tonight and Mira stupidly acted like she swooned and asked Chase to do the same to her. Needless to say, he ignored her. After brushing my teeth, I gathered my team, dug through my bag for a shlight, and grabbed my Sinnohan history book. Sunshine had said he''de, but he immediately began to snore and fell asleep. Honey held the shlight up to the book while Jellicent shivered in anticipation. Sweetheart and Princess seemed somewhat intrigued, although thetter was just happy for me to read stories to her like I used to do when she was a Togepi, and Angel was just happy to be here. "This isn''t just story time," I said, "Pay attention to the words when I read, and what they sound like, okay? This is going to take a while, but I''d like for all of you to learn how to read." Pupitar was the first to grumble. "It''s a very useful skill, Sweetie. For example, if you get lost one day and you need to find me, you can read out my trainer card ID to a Ranger''s psychic. Plus, girls who can read are very strong. The strongest, in fact." The rock type''s eyes glimmered in anticipation, and from that point on, she was on board. "Chapter 1: Hisui''s colonization and settlement. Before being renamed to Sinnoh, thisnd was called Hisui by the first natives. The origin of the word Sinnoh is still heavily debated to this day, but most historians believe it to be the name of an ancient God. Around 10,000 years ago, the first human settlers arrived in small numbers, and they were mostly from Johto, our neighbor to the south. However, it is not until 2,500 years ago that we get a clearer picture of history with ancient cave art. Drawings that still remain to this day in Celestic''s caves of Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie (which have never been proven to exist, but this is not the first time humans have drawn or talked of fictional Pokemon), but also drawings of an enormous distortion appearing above Mount Cor''s summit. These drawings are preserved all over the region and differ greatly from more ancient cave art mostly found in Paldea due to theirplexity that rivals today''s best painters, but they lead all historians to one conclusion: around 2,500 years ago, a great cmity befell Hisui, and with it began Sinnoh''s recorded history¡­"
Chapter 210 Chapter 210 CHAPTER 210 Sinnoh''s history was actually quite interesting, even if it didn''t captivate me like it did Buddy. We had only read for two hours and were still at the ''squabbling city states'' era, and from what I remembered from school, it would be another few centuries until the Lily of the Valley ind was settled, and from there, trainers would take over the entire region and unite it under one banner. Supposedly, Jubilife City had been the first permanent settlement on the region, but other cities soon followed and shed over resources and territory often. Back then, Snowpoint hadn''t been founded yet, but there were even cities I didn''t recognize that had been lost to times or wiped out by war, disease, or Pokemon attacks. For example, there used to be a settlement nestled south of Eterna Forest where the outpost was, but historians theorized that it had gotten destroyed by two things: a war with Floaroma and a series of attacksing from the deadly forest. Pokeballs hadn''t been mass-produced back then, although there were Apricorn-based Pokeballs, so most trainers just let their Pokemon go wherever they wanted. There was also the fact that the first pages of the book spent paragraph after paragraph ''debunking'' Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie''s existence. How ironic. The author agreed with the cmity bit of the story, but did not go into it at all aside from that. Maybe that was why it had still been present in the bookstore. Anyway, I was done with history until tonight. Jellicent was picking up words very quickly, but the others were a lot slower. They''d definitely take at least a few months to grasp thenguage, but that was fine. There wasn''t a single dull moment while we traveled. In fact, we talked so much that Chase got tired of it and began to fly on Sigilyph''s back again. We had a lot more of our Pokemon out today as well, although not our entire teams. Buddy was high up in the sky and asionally spoke to Vikavolt and Talonme when the two slowed down enough to talk. They had struck a friendship yesterday and loved to race, even if the flying type won nine times out of ten. Mira had her psychic types out and Porygon was ying some mobile game inside her phone. Route 214''s mountain had three slopes that extended far beyond the mountain, and right now we were on the second one, which was thergest and highest in altitude. Walking on tilted ground was kind of annoying, but we''d grown used to it by now. We''d even met a few trainers a few hours back, but we didn''t stay long. "How about we take a break," Mira huffed. "I''m exhausted." "Already?" Cece said. "My, my, how weak." "I''m the brains, not the brawn like you Willpower lot. I just need to sit for twenty minutes or so," she exhaled. "I can''t move another inch." "That makes no sense and you know it," Cecilia said. "Grace has no trouble keeping up. Why don''t you have Chase help you with fitness?" "That''d be a way to get closer to him," I acknowledged. "Even with you, he wouldn''t be able to refuse taking someone under his wing." She needs to get further away, not closer, Gardevoir spoke into my mind. Just like Betrix, and Lucario, her voice showcased her emotions very well. Not like I couldn''t feel it anyway. She was jealous. Gardevoir got extremely attached to their trainers, and she was no exception. "Don''t say ''even with me'' like I''m a chore," she sighed. "On a serious note, I like it though, speak your mind. Anyway, I''m fucking done." She plopped herself on the dirty floor and cursed when a sharp rock poked her in the leg. kazam and Gardevoir were immediately beside themselves and swarmed her like two parents watching their kid fall over for the first time. Cecilia cupped her mouth with her hands and yelled for Chase toe back down. The teenager stared at Mira with a mixture of disappointment and disdain. "Don''t be a pussy and walk." "No, I don''t think I will. Twenty minutes." "We might as well take the hour off," Cecilia said. "Gives us enough time to recuperate." "Don''t tell me you''re tired too, Obel¡ª" "Cecilia," Cece interrupted. He frowned. "What?" "Cecilia will do. Or Cece. Your pick." Chase suddenly took a step back and scratched the back of his head. "I''ll give it a try." "Thank you. And no, I''m not tired. In fact, I feel reinvigorated. I haven''t had this much fun traveling ever." "That''s because you never traveled with me," Mira smiled. "I keep the morale up, just ask Louis and Maeve when we get to Sunyshore." "I''m gonna use the break we have to train, alright?" I said. "I have a few things to test out." My girlfriend nodded. "Sure. I''ll do the same, actually. I''ve been trying to teach Zweilous Dark Pulse and to work on Scyther''s Night sh, and I''d like to make some progress." "You''re leaving me with Compton?" Chase asked. "You could always go off and train. Or¡­ you could stick around," Mira said in a really weird¡­ sultry tone. "W¡ªwhat the hell was that voice?" Chase stammered. "I dunno, I''m in love with you and nothing is working, so I was trying something new." "Never do that again." I left them to their devices and scampered off a few hundred feet away after whistling for Buddy and found an area that was as t as possible. The ghost type gently floated downward and rumbled at my touch. "Having fun up there?" I smiled. "I only need you for a few things, so you''ll be able to go back soon." I released the rest of my team after that, but I''d only need Sunshine and Princess at first. It was time to put that Ancient Power theory to the test, but that wasn''t the only thing I wanted to do. "Sunshine! I need you to do something for me," I said, pping my hands. "I need you to go¡­ uh, a hundred feet away and burn as hot as you can, and as quickly as you can to see if you could turn the floor into molten rock." Turtunator snorted and said it''d be an easy feat, but I wasn''t so sure. Still, I''d let him be confident for now. "After that, Princess, you''re going to try to control the magma with Ancient Power, but first you''re going to tten the area a bit. Buddy, I''m gonna need you to float and the sky and ward off any trainer or wild Pokemon that wanders too close, and I''ll also need you to cool the entire ce down after we''re done¡ª or in case of an emergency. Thest thing we want is for the magma to spill down the mountain and hurt people. Angel, I''m going to have to lug some magma around too¡ª" The grass type silently jumped up and down and moved his vines around excitedly. "It''s probably harder than you think! And you won''t be doing it during the Gym Battle, it''s just to have a frame of reference. Honey and Sweetheart, feel free to watch from afar. Sweetie, I know you''re a rock type, but you''re no Tyranitar yet. Magma will hurt you if you stick too close." Pupitar grumbled, saying she''d totally be able to handle some stupid magma, but Honey told her she wouldn''t right to her face. Needless to say, she called him a bunch of names until I stopped her. After Princess raised the earth and ttened the area, I pulled out myptop, opened my notes app and told Sunshine he could get started. Turtonator yawned as hezily strode away from us until he was a safe distance, and Buddy floated into the sky once more, on the lookout for any passersby. The fire type began to heat up, slowly but surely until the air around him became sweltering and he looked like a mirage. I could barely see his form, and he was only a mishmash of red, beige and yellow. Soon enough, the ground under his feet began to glow red and then turn into a viscous state. I typed away on my keyboard as I observed the dragon in his natural habitat. Two assessments. One, he was too slow. It had taken three minutes for him to turn stone into magma, and three minutes were everything in a battle. I didn''t know if a Pokemon fighting back would slow him down or not, but that was also a possibility. I wanted to bring that time down to at least a minute and a half¡ª or one minute if possible, and Sunny Day would no doubt help with that. Two, Gym arenas were big. I hadn''t expected him to turn the entire field into a fiery mess, but we needed more than this to make things work. Actually, a more urate statement was¡­ "The further away the rocks are, the slower they burn," I dered, biting the inside of my mouth. "Okay. I can work with this. Princess, you''re up. Don''t get too close, or you''ll burn." The fairy type nodded as she let out a firm chirp. She slowly approached the field of magma¡ª or was a more urate termva? It wasn''t underground, after all. I slowly reced all the mentions of ''magma'' with va'' as Princess reached as far as she could go. The air was so hot that I could feel it from here, a hundred feet away, and it created a massive updraft that carried ash and fiery particles. Forget the heat, just being near that would suffocate me. That was another assessment, then. Princess would fight above theva, but she''d struggle to breathe the hot and toxic gasses. There was the option that she''d oust her opponents, but I sure as hell didn''t want to risk this entire battle on a maybe. Honey''s evolution rode on this, and he deserved perfection. I would rather crawl over a field of molten ss than ask Cynthia for more help. She''d hold that favor over me like a damn guillotine. Princess grunted, and I let out a jubnt scream when she raised a piece of Lava off the ground. It was small, and she looked to be barely able to control it. The red substance flowed in front of her like jelly until she brought it too close and she hurriedly threw it away. Even when I had warned her, she''d underestimated how hotva was. I shot up and nearly ran over there, but Honey stopped me with a sp of my shoulder and Pupitar called out to her sister. When Princess turned around, her entire facade was covered in ash and slightly burned. I quickly scrambled for a potion and a burn heal while she floated over, and Electabuzz screamed, telling Jellicent he could finally stop theva. None of it had flowed down the mountain thanks to Princess'' help, and it was still self-contained here. Sunshine stopped heating up the air and walked away from the hell he''d created and Buddy started spraying theva with the biggest Brines and Hydro Pumps he could muster. Needless to say, it would take a while to turn back to normal rock. It was so hot he was evaporating a little, and so did the majority of his moves before they could even reach the ground. Thankfully, it was having an effect. Before too much of the molten rock cooled down, I had Angel try to control theva as well and was surprised to see he could only do it barely. It seemed like movingva was a lot harder than rock. I also had Sweetheart try a move like Rock Slide on theva, but it had no effect. Only Ancient Power worked enough to move the viscous rock. Water vapor rose high into the air until the warped air returned to normal. I was honestly starting to think that putting theva on Pokemon could be lethal, which was a big problem. I sprayed Princess with a burn heal and then with a potion, and I told Sunshine to stay away until Buddy could cool him down as well. With every breath, hot smoke came out of his snout. He wasn''t winded at all as I''d feared, but that might have been because he''d been too slow. Once Buddy came back and sprayed Sunshine with water (much to his audible displeasure, I had to stop him from swearing multiple times because I didn''t want the kids learning that vocabry), I pped my hands once and grinned. "Good job everyone! That was a great first attempt, but there were a few issues. One, Sunshine, do you think you could heat things up faster than this?" The dragon mused to himself for a few seconds, and then nodded, but he exined it would take a lot of work. Long story short, he could easily raise his body heat enough to melt rock, but it was like an engine. It took time to get going at that level of power, and he''d even tried to speed up the process by using multiple methrowers, which I hadn''t seen due to the distorted air and massive amounts of smoke and dust. "We''ll have to work on speeding up that engine, then." Doubt began to creep and infest the back of my mind. Did I need to scale things down? Was this too powerful? I was beginning to think so. "Okay," I exhaled. I erased everything about the area being too small or not spreading enough and began to type a new n. We''d only turn a part of the arena¡ª preferably the middle of it¡ª intova instead of aiming for its entirety. That way, maybe Angel could use it as well, my other Pokemon would have a ce to stand and I wouldn''t identally get one of Volkner''s Pokemon killed or have him straight up cancel the match because they wouldn''t be able to stand or walk without choking or burning to death. I''d still need to find a way to alter the field further, possibly in a way that''d bring out all of Honey''s strengths. Instead of lugging theva at the opponents, I''d have Princess get it close to them. Molten rock had been hot enough to burn her from afar, so keeping it close to one of Volkner''s Pokemon ought to be enough to put them down if Princess managed to move theva as quickly as she did her spears and drills. I''d keep the burying someone inva idea for Team Gctic. I supposed the strategy was out for my battle against Denzel as well, then. It was strange, to reach a point where my Pokemon were getting so powerful I actively had to hold myself back. Granted, a huge part of this was thanks to Sunshine, but there was also Pupitar with her flying and Iron Defense, Jellicent with Drown¡­ being a top-level trainer was probably awesome, but it''d probably have its drawbacks too. Awesome strategies you came up with that took full advantage of your Pokemon''s powers weren''t always usable in their original forms or usable at all because they''d be too dangerous. "Okay," I repeated. "You guys did well. Thank you for preventing an environmental disaster, Bud." Cheers ran through the family, although Sweetheart did want in on the action somehow. "Let''s give it another try. We have a while longer," I said. "Princess, watch the burns. Keep it away from you and for now, don''t go above it. We''ll figure out a way to shield you from the smoke and the heat." And that would be with psychic barriers. For the smoke, that was a given, but the heat? Sunshine had told me about how Oranguru had been able to create psychic barriers to protect his old team from the elements, and I knew it to be possible, but what was the difference between Princess'' barriers and his? Years of experience, no doubt, but there was something we weren''t seeing. Who better to ask than psychic types themselves? ¡ª In the end, we ran the experiment another two times before Sunshine tired out. He''d asked for¡ª demanded another go, even, but I didn''t want to exhaust him and Mira was done with her break anyway, so we were back on the road again. While Cece spoke to Chase about how to better teach Zweilous Dark Pulse and of ways he''d found to alter the field to his advantage, I waved to kazam and Gardevoir who nked Mira as always, with Princess in tow. "Hi guys. I''ve got something to ask you regarding psychic barriers and how the hell they even work." "You could have asked me, you know," Mira said with a half-hearted pout. Forgive her, sister. She loves exining things to people in extremely condescending ways. She gets that from kazam, Gardevoir gently spoke into my mind. kazam grunted and then spoke. Do not spread lies! "She isn''t lying, she can''t," I smiled. "That''s what you get for not savoring my soup." The psychic type sighed. I would rather have thepany of Haunter than the two of you. Ask away, Grace Pastel. "Hey! Haunty''s nice these days!" Mira yelled. "I was wondering about how to progress Princess'' psychic barriers to their next stage. Right now, they only protect against attacks, but things like heat and cold can still slip through. That''s an issue for¡­ undisclosed reasons." "Ah, let me exin¡ª hmm!" Gardevoir ced a hand on Mira''s mouth and spoke. Silence, dear. Mastering the art of shielding is no easy feat for a psychic, let alone a non-psychic type. But it isn''t impossible, kazam mused as he twirled his mustache. What is psychic type energy to you, Grace Pastel? I frowned. "Dark was absence or neutrality¡­ uh, I don''t know what fairy is, funnily enough. Psychic? If I had to guess, it''d be¡­" "Control!" Mira yelled, finally freed from Gardevoir''s hold. "Not knowledge or intelligence, but control. Sorry, I couldn''t help myself." kazam shot her a disappointed look. He enjoyed these little lessons, and she''d just essentially robbed him. "I wouldn''t have gotten it, so you''re good," I said. It is indeed control, he said, raising a pebble from the floor. Psychic energy, at its core, is made to reshape andmand the world around itself. At the highest levels, there is nothing a psychic type cannot do. "Hold off on the bias here, buddy," Mira said. The psychic type rolled his eyes. Every kind of Type Energy has a concept it answers to. I know of many, but unfortunately for you that knowledge is sealed. Gardevoir smirked. That is quite fairy-like of you, kazam. Togetic snickered, and Gardevoir caressed her on the head. kazam groaned. Never say that to me again. I nodded, absorbing every wording out of his mouth, and so did Princess. Well, not his mouth, but his¡­ psychic waves. A psychic barrier is essentially a wave of force applied all around the Pokemon. If the force pushing against the barrier is more powerful than the barrier itself, well¡­ kazam pushed the pebble forward like a bullet and it shattered against an invisible wall that he''d just created. Your barrier is no more, he continued. That is what a ssic barrier is, but if you wish to improve your craft, a barrier needs to be continuously replenished and added onto. You are essentially continuously pushing outward against your shield. "Continuously pushing¡­ wouldn''t that make the barrier swell or explode? These things are unstable as hell," I muttered. Yes. Which is why it takes training and focus, kazam said as he nced toward Princess. Apply too much force, and like you said, it could break. Not enough, and it could damage the barrier''s structural integrity until it copses. You need to strike the right bnce, and you need to continuously apply that force when you have the barrier raised. "Basically, Princess over here will have to do some insane multitasking, which psychic types have the advantage on," Mira said. "That''s why non-psychic types often can''t raise proper barriers and there will be a cap that she''ll hit at some point regarding her psychic abilities while psychic types can just keep going." "And it''ll protect against temperature?" Against hot temperatures, kazam nodded. Temperature is just a word for the movement of molecules, so cold is another undertaking altogether. Ordinarily, these will just slip by an inactive barrier, Gardevoir exined. But by pushing outward, you slow their kic energy until the temperature bes bearable. For this, you will need a thicker shield, sister. "Or multipleyers," Mira added. "They do it for mental barriers, why not in battle?" You and youryer theory, kazam said, waving one of his spoons in annoyance. You thicken your shield, you do not doyers. Layers are an advanced concept even we haven''t started, and this little fledgling psychic is a beginner. Togetic let out a haughty huff and told him to still his tongue. I will do no such thing, kazam said. Either way, psychic Type Energy yearns for control to such an extent that it can be wielded to alter the movement of molecules through intent! Hah! Isn''t that a wonderful thing? I nodded absent-mindedly. If top-level psychics¡ª and I was thinking of Elite Four and above like Lucian¡ª could move molecules directly, then¡­ yeah. That was fucking insane. "Don''t dream too big," Mira said. "Even at the Elite Four, that kind of stuff isn''t used much. That sleeping woman in Unova specialized in other things, so Lucian''s the best at it in the entire world, and he''s a psychic type specialist, so he can do a lot of batshit insane things¡ª most of which would be lethal. Ever wondered what would happen if his kazam set his eyes on you? He could shake up the molecules inside of your body until you boiled to death or freeze them in ce until, well, you froze. Have you seen his Mr. Mime? That fucker can put your Pokemon in an invisible box and disappear all of the oxygen in there." "That''s terrifying, and I want to do the same," I hungrily said. "Easy there. Don''t forget that you can sprinkle a bit of dark TE and bepletely immune or close to it. Same for the barriers. One Dark Pulse just breaks through. There are ways around it, but they''re really out there. For all of the psychic type''s strengths, they''re hard countered by pretty much any dark type of a simr level." "Right, right," I nodded. "Speaking of oxygen. If I thicken the barrier like you said and do the pushing thing¡ª" By the Legendaries, do not call it the pushing thing! kazam said. His voice was smooth, but I could tell he''d been internally yelling. You apply the right amount of psychic force outward! "Okay, if I do that, then say Princess was standing on top of a raging forest fire. She wouldn''t choke on the smoke, then?" Correct, Gardevoir nodded. I grinned. "Can you start showing Princess the ropes tonight? We''ve been working on something that''ll require taking her barriers to the next level. Plus, it''ll be good until I get my hands on a psychic type." Sure. I am always willing to help fellow sisters, Gardevoir nodded, patting me on the shoulder. "Oh? Missus Grace Pastel wants to get her own psychic, huh?" Mira probed. "Which one? You could have caught that Girafarig yesterday." "I''m picky," I shrugged. "Plus, couldn''t you tell? The reason she was all the way up here is because the easier part of the route is swarmed with trainers and she doesn''t want to get caught." "Oh. Yeah, that makes sense." "Anyway, ydol''s the goal. I have an inkling of where there might be one, and I fell in love with the idea after watching Steven''s fights." "Ohhhh, ydol?! I don''t know much about them, but I hear they can mess with gravity." "Yes, yes, that''s part of why I''d want one," I smiled. "Anyway, that''s in the long term. I''m sure Princess will seed with her shield lessons." The flying type heartily nodded and asked to begin at once, but unfortunately for her, that''d have to wait until tonight. We spent the rest of the day walking, and even I was wiped by the end of it. Like yesterday, I cooked for everyone and we shared stories by a fire until I retired to read my history books. Just like that, two days passed, and we had made it past the first part of route 214. Pupitar had finally managed to get a proto-Dragon Pulse going thanks to Sunshine''s guidance, Princess was struggling with her lessons, and Angel was having a grand time learning Sr Beam and teaching Sunshine Sunny Day. The Grand Hotel Lake was a day out. A luxuriousplex of hotels run by Luca Antonovich''s family. I nearly froze when I thought of his name. I hadn''t known him well, but even now, I hadn''t properly processed his death. If there was one thing he would have wished for, it would be not to be forgotten. And ording to what Cynthia had told Mira, Lake Valor was only a few hours away.
Chapter 211 Chapter 211 CHAPTER 211 ¡°Are you certain she told you it was around here?¡± Cecilia sighed as she stared into the sky. Talonme was high up and shaking her head, letting us know that she¡¯d found nothing. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for nearly an hour.¡± ¡°Yes, ithasto be somewhere here. She said it was off-route to the east, but we might not have gone far enough.¡± ¡°Any further and we¡¯ll get to that hotel swarming with rich people, so no thank you,¡± Chase said before turning to Cecilia. ¡°No offense.¡± ¡°None taken. I know what you mean. Our behavior does make me groan sometimes.¡± ¡°All the time, actually,¡± he corrected. ¡°I can send Vikavolt out. He¡¯s the second fastest, and he can help clear more ground.¡± We all agreed and Chase released the electric type, telling him what we were looking for. As it turned out, Lake Valor was incredibly difficult to find, which made sense. If a bunch of children with a few flying Pokemon could find it, it would have been found a long time ago. I stretched my arms above my head and reflexively sat down, and Angel already had ayer of vine ready for me. While Mira furiously texted Cynthia and Chase asionally spoke up to add things for her to send¡ª mostly insults, which they strangelyughed about? Cece asked if she could sit next to me. I of course obliged her, and Angel was happy to have someone else sitting on him. He pushed us both closer to each other and petted our heads. ¡°Thank you, Angel,¡± Cecilia chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± The grass type shivered and swayed back and forth with glee. ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± I spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, we¡¯ll find it.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m notthatworried,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m feeling anticipation, mostly. Either way, do you think we should stay at the hotel for a little? A few days, to see if Luca¡¯s family¡ª if they know that he¡¯s dead?¡± I bit my lip. ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I wanted to tell them about it. And tell them about how he was during hisst days. He helped uncover this entire Sceon thing, and his name was swept under the rug. That¡¯s not fair.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d we¡¯re on the same page. We¡¯ll probably have to convince Chase, though. He doesn¡¯t even know Luca exists, and even if he did I doubt he¡¯d want to stay at that kind of ce.¡± ¡°Have you been there before?¡± I asked. ¡°The hotels? No, actually,¡± she shrugged. ¡°rence always preferred his homes or hotels in the city. It was easier to do business that way.¡± ¡°Hm,¡± I hummed. We¡¯d be going in blind, then. We stayed in silence for a few dozen seconds with Luca¡¯s death heavy on our minds. ¡°Hey, by the way, you won¡¯t believe what happened to me this morning,¡± Cecilia said with a slight smile. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Slowking tried to tell me a joke.¡± I scoffed.¡°What?!Spill, right now!¡± She looked away. ¡°I don¡¯t know, he wasveryembarrassed about it after the fact¡ª¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just put it out there and not tell me! Come on!¡± Iughed. ¡°C¡¯mon¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t makethoseeyes¡­¡± I stared at her and grabbed her hand. ¡°Please?¡± ¡°Okay, okay, heunched into this really long-winded rant about how Zweilous kept snoring too loudly at night¡ª¡± ¡°Wait, rant? I¡¯d pay to hear Slowkingranting.¡± ¡°Yes,rant. His evolution didn¡¯t make him lose his love for sleep. Then he must have seen how apologetic I looked because he made this horrible pun about Zweilous¡¯ snoring never dragon¡­ on for too long.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t get it,¡± I frowned. ¡°Dragon. Drags on. I had to do a double take, It¡¯s so bad it¡¯s good¡ª¡± ¡°Hey, you two,¡± Chase interrupted. ¡°We havepany.¡± He pointed at the sky and the silhouette of a Pokemon was barely visible. When it got closer, I realized it was the same Dragonite Chase had spoken to us about a few days ago. I shot up from Angel¡¯s vines and Cecilia followed suit. The enormous dragonnded next to us with unforeseen grace, barely generating any force. Each one of his scales looked tougher than steel and shone with a bright golden yellow. His antennae twitched as he stared at each of us and he nodded after each look. We all nodded back¡ª even Chase. It was hard not to be impressed when a 9¡¯5 Dragonite stared you down. I didn¡¯t crane my neck, but I could see hints of a saddle under the dragon type¡¯s emerald wings. A rtively short woman with unkempt brown hair and donning an orange-brown League Uniform climbed off the dragon¡¯s back. She looked around to make sure no one was around, but since we were at the edge of the route, we were alone. ¡°Good afternoon,¡± she smiled. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°Ariel. I recognize you,¡± I said. ¡°You were there when that Abra attacked me.¡± The woman nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me, I¡¯m surprised you remember my name. I have been one of the ACE trainers observing you during your travels. It hase to my attention that you won¡¯t be able to find Lake Valor alone.¡± ¡°Big surprise there,¡± Chase said. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you havee earlier? We¡¯ve been looking for an hour.¡± ¡°The Champion asked me to observe and see if you were capable of doing it alone. She said it would be good to see if you,¡± she pointed and Chase, ¡°and Ms. Obel were drawn to Lake Valor in any capacity. That does not appear to be the case.¡± ¡°Still, anhour?¡± Mira grumbled. ¡°Talk about ruthless.¡± ¡°We wanted to be thorough. Forgive us,¡± Ariel said. ¡°I know the way. Follow me. Nini, you fly over and get their Pokemon back. Talonme and Vikavolt.¡± The Dragonite nodded and hurriedly dashed into the skies at incredible speeds. After five minutes, they were all back and Chase and Cece recalled them. Ariel and the so-called Nini led us through the familiar tree line that signaled we were stepping off the route, but no wild Pokemon was stupid enough to attack a Pokemon that threatening. Angel asionally pulled away at branches and leaves so we had an easier time walking through while Dragonite walked through the unmaintained forest like it was cardboard. Mira tried chatting up Ariel, but when she realized she wasn¡¯t answering, she stopped and just walked in silence. She hadn¡¯t shown it, but even though this wasn¡¯t ¡®her¡¯ke, she was clearly nervous, and Mira¡¯s way to assuage anxiety was to just run her mouth. Today, though? She was quiet. It took nearly another two hours to get to our destination, and some of the time it felt like we¡¯d been going in circle. We passed many patrolling League Trainers on the way there with all kinds of Pokemon, and they were most likely there to turn any trainer braving thend beyond the route away. Finally, after an exhausting trek, we arrived. As if I had passed through a seamless mirage, the trees in front of me transformed into Lake Valor. The otherkes hadn¡¯t had this, so I assumed it was a security measure by the League. What I first saw wasn¡¯t theke. It was the walls. Massive concrete walls stretched at nearly 100 feet up and wrapped around the entireke with tiny holesid out throughout the entire structure. No¡­ upon closer look, it wasn¡¯t concrete. It was too shiny for that. The material reminded me of the outeryer of Pokemon Centers. Trenches had been dug around the walls with ground types constantly patrolling the rifts. Flying types flew throughout thepound and those that reached us watched us like a Talonme stalking its prey. Ariel brought us to a bridge that led to a gate that was reminiscent of medieval castles. Of course, this ce was far from medieval. After telling us to recall our Pokemon, the League Trainer showed her League card to a camera and then there was a crackling sound on the inte that I hadn¡¯t evennoticeduntil now. ¡°This is Fortress Valor Control. ACE Ariel Goransson, state your purpose for entry.¡± ¡°The children of thekes are here, as should have been expected,¡± she said. ¡°I am their guide.¡± ¡°Roger that. Please await verification.¡± The inte clicked, and we all nervously shuffled aside from Ariel, who looked in her element. I jumped when a Gardevoir Teleported to the gate and held out a hand toward us. She closed her eyes and after a few seconds, she disappeared back into the fortress. ¡°You are clear for entry. Outer gate A will now open. Proceed with caution.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she nodded before gesturing at us to follow. Beyond the wall was a second and third wall, and then there was a city. There was no other word for it. League Trainers filtered in and out of dull, concrete barracks that reminded me of Snowpoint¡¯s architecture, but there were also paved roads with huge jeeps driving around. League Trainers, Pokemon, and different officials milled around, some clearly working while others just spoke andughed together. We passed an open-air training arena where multiple fights were taking ce, and there was even astorewhere people could buy everything they needed. This ce was a truebyrinth, and we weren¡¯t even that deep in yet. Coming into this, I had just expected a building or two with a few guards, but this? I couldn¡¯t even imagine how tobegininvading this ce, let alone reaching theke itself. As we walked deeper, I found myself filled with a strange feeling. It was like a warm embrace that told methings were going to be okay¡ª so long as I fought. Fought against what? I didn¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t even thinking of Team Gctic. My Shiny Stone, my battles with Denzel and Volkner, the Conference, myambitions. Theke wasn¡¯t telling me that these were going to go in my favor, and they weren¡¯t making my doubts disappear. In fact, my doubt had been brought to the forefront of my mind and I felt weaker than I¡¯d ever been. And yet, I smiled. I knew it would be okay, because I would give it my damnedest. With one look, I could tell my friends were going through the same process. For Cecilia and I, it wasn¡¯t the first time ake had influenced us. In fact, it was mythirdtime while it was her second, but Mira and Chase? It was like they werehigh. Mira kept giggling over and over while Chase couldn¡¯t help but grin and look like a little kid. ¡°So everyone on the¡­ base feels like this?¡± Mira asked with a grin. ¡°Yes, but you get used to it after a few days. It will still be there, but faded,¡± Ariel exined. ¡°Holy shit, this is like a drug,¡± she muttered. ¡°The fading is gonna suck.¡± ¡°Addiction isbad, Mira,¡± I chided. With Verity came soothing and rity. With Acuity came learning and innovation. With Valor came courage and dreams. ¡°Cynthia wants you to stay here for a night, at the very least,¡± Ariel continued. ¡°In case there are any dreams or visions that reach you during your sleep. This is where you¡¯ll be staying. They built it for you in thest few days. For now, we¡¯ll keep going.¡± Chase groaned at thesinglehouse because he understood that meant he¡¯d have to stay with us. It was concrete, like the rest of the buildings inside the walls. I didn¡¯t know what the hell Pokemon Centers were made of, but they hadn¡¯t had enough material to make the entire base out of it, and our temporary home was no different. I would havepreferredto stay with Cecilia alone, but they were running out of space to build anything in the base, so I couldn¡¯t exactly me them. We kept following Ariel and shefinallyled us to theke itself. It was actually smaller than Acuity, which was thergest one while Verity was in between the two. We all stared at the water in awe. Just like the otherkes, it waspletely still and undisturbed by the wind, and it was so clear it felt more like a mirror than water. ¡°Do you feel anything?¡± I whispered to Cecilia and Chase. ¡°Nothin¡¯,¡± he shrugged. ¡°Me neither,¡± she shook her head. ¡°Beyond the usual effects of theke, there¡¯s nothing different.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± Aerial said. ¡°If you need me, I will be at Headquarters, and report any effect theke has on you. Ask for me at the entrance. Also, do not speak of anyconfidentialinformation while you are out of the house. ACE trainers will keep it insted.¡± ¡°Wait, people here don¡¯t know¡­?¡± Cecilia trailed off. ¡°No, they do not. If you must mingle, speak to them as you would speak to a civilian or a fellow trainer. They are not high up enough in the chain ofmand to know.¡± She hopped on her Dragonite and flew off. We stayed around for a few minutes, but Cece and Chase started to feel this¡­ this attraction to theke. Like they were being pulled inward. Cecilia likened it to the phenomenon people named the ¡®call of the void¡¯, whichMirathen exined to me and Chase was when people felt the urge to jump when they looked down from a high ce. After a while though, we decided to go back to our makeshift home. They could alwayse back tomorrow and we hadn¡¯t eaten lunch. There were thankfully two bedrooms inside the small house with two beds each, but there was only one bathroom, so thank Arceus we were only staying one day. The living room was spacious enough, but not for our entire teams, so some of them would have to stay outside or inside of their Pokeballs. ¡°Chase,¡± Mira said. ¡°Do you want me to leave you in your room? I can sleep with the other two, they¡¯ll share a bed anyway.¡± The teenager raised an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you¡¯d make some flirty joke about fucking.¡± ¡°What? I mean, Ithoughtabout it, but I wouldn¡¯t gothatfar. Seriously though, it¡¯s up to you,¡± she said with a salute. ¡°You¡¯re chill, just don¡¯t sneak into my bed in the middle of the night or some fucked up shit like that.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. Even I have boundaries,¡± she shook her head as she sat on the couch. She bounced up and down a few times. ¡°Holy shit, these are terrible.¡± I pressed down on the sofa and nodded. ¡°Yep, bad. Doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re only staying a day. Hey, do you know what wouldn¡¯t have terrible couches? The hotel south of here.¡± Chase tilted his head and frowned for a few seconds and then scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡ª¡± ¡°We were thinking of staying there a little,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°We had an acquaintance in Sceon whose parents run the ce, and he¡­ well, he helped us solve the mystery there, but he got killed.¡± And tortured too,I thought to myself. Harry Rodriguez had told mehe never talked, and that little Abra they used to Teleport around hadn¡¯t been powerful enough to rip his memories. I didn¡¯t want them to know about it. It wasn¡¯t right. But his parents? Well, they deserved to know. Everything. ¡°Well, shit,¡± Chase sighed. ¡°I can tell this is important with how morbid Grace looks. I¡¯ll, uh, I¡¯ll try. I might go on a few rants about how everyone there¡¯s a parasite.¡± Cece nodded. ¡°I know. Probably to their face too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t associate me with that, I really can¡¯t afford negative publicity. I wouldn¡¯t care that much, but I¡¯m extremely close to a Shiny Stone and who knows how Poketch could screw me over.¡± ¡°Tch. Fine, I¡¯ll hold back. You owe me for this shit.¡± ¡°Thank you. I mean it. Now, let¡¯s look at this kitchen,¡± I smiled. The League had brought us¡­ pre-heated meals, which sucked all of my excitement to cook in an actual kitchen instead of using an electric stove. ¡°I guess there¡¯s the microwave,¡± I sighed, putting my hands up. ¡°Guys,e and check what food you want there¡¯s a ton of stuff here, I¡¯ll heat it up for you¡ª not you, Chase. You want chicken and rice, I already know.¡± A few hours passed, and I realized the League was being a lot more hands-off about this than I thought they¡¯d be. Ididappreciate it, but it was surprising. Thiswasessentially a military base, so I¡¯d thought there would be tons of guidelines to follow, people telling us where to go and wherenotto go, but they pretty much left us to our own devices here. Mira stayed inside the house with a lot of our Pokemon while she worked on Porygon, but the rest of us went outside. Chase had decided to see how he measured up to some League Trainers that were training in the arena while Cece and I watched. Lucario was currently getting manhandled by a Cacturne. The grass type kept turning the ground into a void-infested quagmire that sapped Lucario of his will to fight and kept hitting him with Bullet Seed, slowly but surely taking him down. Lucario would asionally fight back as best he could, but hismotivationwaspletely gone. ¡°Isn¡¯t he doing¡­toowell?¡± I asked. ¡°He¡¯d be angry if I told him you said that.¡± ¡°Which is why you won¡¯t. Right?¡± I said with a coy smirk. ¡°But seriously, I thought we¡¯d get crushed.¡± ¡°League Trainers are good, but they aren¡¯t¡­ amazing like you think they are,¡± Cece whispered. She didn¡¯t want to offend anyone. ¡°Trainers in ACE are different, but these are justmon soldiers. The lowest of them can be at the six-badge level, even.¡± ¡°Ah. I assume that¡¯s where this Cacturne is, then.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯d say it¡¯s in between six and seven, yes,¡± my girlfriend nodded. ¡°It¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°He. Sorry, it¡¯s just better that way, I can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s still an excellent battler, don¡¯t get me wrong, but the League would never be able to fill its ranks if it was too harsh with its recruitment standards. Plus, they can only go up. The sses and the training afforded to League Trainers is second to none.¡± ¡°I figured.¡± We both winced whengrasssprouted out of the darkened floor and wrapped around Lucario¡¯s ankles. The fighting type face-nted, much to Cacturne¡¯s amusement and more dark-infused nts wrapped around his entire body until he waspletely unable to move. Chase uttered a few curses and recalled Lucario after forfeiting and asked for a rematch, this time using Abomasnow. His opponent approved. ¡°Do you want to battle one of them? I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be willing to give it a try,¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yeah, why not,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Sunshine could¡ª actually, I¡¯m going to use Honey for this.¡± She kissed me on the cheek. ¡°Good luck. I¡¯m going to look around as well.¡± I walked around the newlymenced battle and onto another arena. I didn¡¯t really know who to ask about this, so I just spoke to the first person I saw, which was a tall woman¡ª almost as tall as Cynthia. She looked to be in her early twenties, was quite well-built and intimidating, but I wouldn¡¯t let that stop me. ¡°Good afternoon. Care for a small spar?¡± I asked. She squinted at me and leaned forward. ¡°You¡¯re one of the little pipsqueaks that my bosses can¡¯t stop talking about?¡± Why else would I be here?I sighed. She knew the answer, but she probably was being more aggressive because she didn¡¯t want anything to do with me¡ª ¡°I¡¯ll battle you,¡± she dered. ¡°One-on-one until someone forfeits. Darmanitan needs to stretch his arms.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re annoyed that you¡¯ve been cooped up in here?¡± Her eyes widened slightly. ¡°Yes. I always take my leave around this time. It¡¯s my little brother¡¯s birthday in a week, but I¡¯m stuck guarding someke I don¡¯t give a fuck about and no one will tell me why aside from the fact that Team Gctic¡¯s interested in it.¡± I swallowed. ¡°The fucked up part is, I knowyouknow, pipsqueak,¡± she said. ¡°And that pisses me off.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take out your frustration on me,¡± I said. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Your name.¡± She frowned. ¡°Alexis.¡± ¡°Well, Alexis. Why don¡¯t we battle¡ª a nice, friendly battle, mind you, and then we can speak some more about your worries.¡± ¡°My worries? What are you, my fucking therapist?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re interesting,¡± I smiled. I stared into her eyes until she averted them. ¡°So what do you say, Alexis?¡± ¡°Uh, yes,¡± she said. ¡°Which one are you? Mira? Cecilia? Grace?¡± ¡°Oh, me? Just a pipsqueak,¡± I smiled. Alexis pursed her lips.¡°Jamie!Psychic barrier over here!¡± ¡ª¡ª Honey roared, flexing his muscles as he punched Darmanitan in the ribcage. Since this was aspar, the fire type hadn¡¯t made himself unbearable to approach, but he was still an incredible wall. Around Sunshine¡¯s strength, if I had to guess. Darmanitan grunted and mmed the ground where Honey had just been moments earlier, but the electric type blurred away, leaving only a trail of electricity behind him. Darmanitan slowly raised his fist from the ground and mmed his chest. He was just as aggressive and physically inclined as Candice¡¯s Grian Darmanitan had been, just incredibly more powerful. ¡°Keep running circles around him,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve got this.¡± Electabuzz nodded and dashed forward, electricity crackling behind him. He pulled his shoulder back and clenched a fist d in thunder, but Alexis raised an arm. ¡°Extrasensory!¡± I clicked my tongue as Darmanitan¡¯s eyes shone pink. It was a crude version of the attack at best, not even powerful enough to stop Honey fully, but the psychic-infused patch of airhadslowed him. Darmanitan grinned and a massive, fiery fist hit Honey¡¯s nose at full force. The electric type flew backward and tumbled on the arena. Multiple groans rang out from the spectators¡ª other League Trainers who were so unused to seeing non-military people that they¡¯d ced bets on the battle. ¡°Can you get up?¡± I asked. Honey wiped the blood off his nose and shed his fangs. I smiled back. I¡¯d been trying to improve his reflexes from up close, and he¡¯d actually been keeping up with Darmanitan in that department. Unfortunately, he wasckingpared to the fire type in everything else. ¡°Thunderbolt!¡± I yelled, pointing forward. Honey spun his arms, and in a fraction of a second, a massive bolt of electricity sprung forth. It was sorge it grazed the ground, creating a rift as it hit Darmanitan right in the chest. So much progress had been made and we werethisclose to a weak version of Thunder. The fire type reeled from the attack and convulsed as he took a few steps back, which Honey used tounchanotherThunderbolt. ¡°So much for a spar!¡± Alexis grinned. ¡°re Blitz! Low-powered!¡± mes swallowed Darmanitan and the fire type bellowed as he broke into a trot. Then a run. Then asprintthat left everything in his wake burned. The electricity hurt him, but it didn¡¯t stop his charge. ¡°Protect!¡± The fire type mmed against the green barrier and Electabuzz¡¯s knees buckled, but heheld. I yelled out for an immediate Discharge, but Darmanitan¡¯s fist was through as soon as the Protect lifted. Electricity exploded outward, but another Fire Punch hit Honey and sent him flying again. This time, he could barely get up. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough,¡± Alexis said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair,¡± I nodded. ¡°Great job, Hon.¡± He could only muster a thumbs-up before I recalled him. He¡¯d need a good day of rest and potions after this. But Darmanitan had not gotten out of this unscathed. A Pokemon ofSunshine¡¯slevel. It was not that long ago that I needed my entire team to take those down. Now? Darmanitan¡¯s breaths were heavy and some of his fur was darkened by the electric beatdown he¡¯d suffered. Thunder was at our fingertips, but even then, our work wouldn¡¯t be over. A single one would wipe Honey out in his current state, and I wanted him to at least be able to pull three in a battle. Of course, once he¡¯d at leastlearnedthe move, we¡¯d finally move onto something new. I could tell he was getting bored of working on the same thing over and over again like he had since we¡¯d left the Sceon tournament. Right now, I was thinking Screech and Low Kick. Two easy and quick moves to add to his arsenal that would improve his close-rangebat by miles. ¡°Not bad, pipsqueak,¡± Alexis said as she watched the betters collect or lose their money. ¡°I can¡¯t believe people actually bet on me. Not a lot, but still.¡± ¡°They¡¯re fucking idiots,¡± she waved a hand. ¡°But they¡¯re my fellow soldiers. We¡¯re thicker than blood.¡± ¡°I can see that. Any funny stories you have? Actually, tell me about your little brother first. How old is he turning?¡± ¡°His name¡¯s Aiden. He¡¯s going to turn sixteen and, well, he¡¯s my whole world. I¡¯ve been sending away half my pay to send him to Sunyshore University¡­¡± Alexis spoke of her life, her family, her work, the League¡­ everything. She even went into how the illusion around theke worked and how they could create an anti-teleportation field in the case of an attack. And I listened the entire way through. People always wanted people to talk to, even if they pretended to be tough on the outside. Maybe I¡¯d never meet her again after tomorrow, but there was no harm in knowing people. ¡ª¡ª Cecilia Obel hugged her girlfriend tighter as they slept. It was deep into the night, and actually, saying that she¡¯d been sleeping would be a lie. She was too excited to fall asleep. She was expecting something. A dream, a vision,anything. Her heart thumped against her chest and she could feel the blood in her veins. ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± Her heart jumped. ¡°Grace. Did I wake you up?¡± ¡°Kind of. I was just thinking aboutva anyway¡­¡± Thinking aboutwhat?Cecilia didn¡¯t understand, but she attributed it to some half-awake rambling and let it go. ¡°Go back to sleep, love,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve been tossing and turning too much, I¡¯ll go on the other bed.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°No,¡± she repeated. Grace turned and wrapped her hands around her neck. ¡°Okay,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I¡¯ll just drink some water and go for a walk, then. I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± she said. ¡°If you¡¯re lying, I won¡¯t forgive you.¡± Cecilia didn¡¯t know if her words were serious or a joke, but she preferred to err on the side of safety. Plus, she¡¯d really been nning oning back anyway. She softly stroked Grace¡¯s hair. ¡°Sleep. I¡¯lle back.¡± ¡°Okay. The pillow smells good. It smells like you.¡± The girl blushed, but quickly left the bedroom. The living room was full of sleeping,andnon-sleeping Pokemon. Jellicent, for one, was doing this terrifying thing were he was just a shapeless moving blob clinging to the ceiling, and two small red dots stared right into Cecilia¡¯s soul. If she hadn¡¯t been used to all those nights in Grace¡¯s Pokemon Center room, she would have jumped out of her skin. Sigilyph floated in the corner of the room, but upon closer look, shewassleeping. The problem was that her eye didn¡¯t close, so it looked like she was awake. Cecilia tip-toed to the kitchen and grabbed a ss of water before grabbing whatever proper clothes she had that weren¡¯t pajamas and exited their home. She was surprised to see Chase leaning against the concrete wall and staring at the moon. ¡°Chase? Did Mira annoy you?¡± Cecilia asked. The teenager jumped and nearly squealed. ¡°Arceus,fuck. Donotscare me like that,¡± he exhaled. ¡°Uh, I wasn¡¯t scared, it was a matter of speaking. Anyway, no, she was on her best behavior tonight. Didn¡¯t even attempt to flirt.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re actually taking it in jest, by the way.¡± ¡°In jest? What the hell does that even mean?¡± Cecilia clenched the bridge of her nose. ¡°I hope you know she¡¯s just fooling around. I mean, she does like you, but it¡¯s just banter. If it makes you ufortable¡ª¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m notten. If I hated it, I¡¯d tell her to fuck off like I already do when people cross a line. S¡¯alright, it¡¯s all in good fun.¡± ¡°Okay, I was just making sure,¡± she shrugged. ¡°What brings you out here?¡± ¡°The same as you. I can¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Excited?¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t call it excitement. More like¡ª¡± ¡°Anticipation?¡± She asked. ¡°Wonderingwhatwill happen?¡± ¡°Orifit¡¯ll happen at all,¡± he shrugged. ¡°What was that thing you said? Call of the void?¡± Cecilia nced toward theke¡¯s general direction. ¡°We never did actually touch theke, did we? Do you feel the pull?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling it all day. I tried to resist because I hate the idea of some prick fucking with my head, but at this point I just want to get it over with. Wannae with?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t see why not. Just let me¡­ let me warn Grace first. I might take a while longer and I don¡¯t want her to worry.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± he motioned. Cecilia quickly ran into the house and whispered into Grace¡¯s ear. Once she uttered Azelf¡¯s name, she was wide awake. ¡°Shit. Do you want me toe? What if you drown or something?¡± ¡°Drown? Why would I drown?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe theke will pull you in? This is uncharted territory¡ª¡± ¡°Chase will be there. I¡¯ll bring Slowking with me so he can monitor the situation.¡± ¡°Bring Buddy with you too. And tell him toe back and warn me if anything happens.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine,¡± she nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll see youter.¡± Grace kissed her, and it lingered for a second. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine,¡± Cecilia reassured. ¡°I promise.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make a promise you can¡¯t keep,¡± Grace said. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to keep it, then. And I will crawl over a field of broken ss before I break it.¡± Grace smirked. ¡°Fine. If you really want to do this alone, then go ahead. Just be careful. Legendaries aren¡¯t something to be messed with.¡± Cecilia knew that already, of course, but Grace was just worried. She whispered to Jellicent, who seemed reluctant to follow her but did it anyway, and she woke up Slowking with a soft shake. The water type despised being woken up early, but he straightened up when Cecilia told him what was happening. Soon enough, they were on the way toward Lake Valor. The pull was stronger than ever. Even as Cecilia stood upon the shores of theke, it felt like something was pushing her forward, butkeepingher from falling, as if she was just leaning above theke. She crouched and ced a steady hand above the water. Chase did the same. ¡°Let¡¯s do this shit,¡± he dered. ¡°Adequately said,¡± Cecilia smiled. She plunged the hand into the water and found that it was warm.Hoteven. This was the middle of winter, and yet it was as if she was in a jacuzzi¡ª And then she fell for maybe around twenty seconds. The world around her waspletely dark, and yet she could see her skin and her clothes. The ground felt wet as if she was standing in a puddle. Chase was nowhere to be seen. She could barely understand what had just happened. Cecilia looked around and saw something ahead of her. It was small. So small, and yet she felt a crushing pressure as soon as sheid her eyes on the Pokemon. She averted her eyes and could finally breathe again, but every time they evendriftedon its form, Cecilia felt like there was a suffocating weight on her chest. The little nces she did steal painted a blurry picture. Different shades of blue with piercing yellow eyes and some kind of red gem atop its forehead. ¡°Wee, Cecilia Obel. Champion by happenstance.¡± The words¡ªthe words, the words, the fucking words! They were terrifying. Unwordly, inhuman, impossible!And yet, it was also childlike, innocent, and pure all in one. It was beautiful. The Pokemon spoke into her head like a thousand choirs, and the voice reverberated across this ce until the inside of her body felt like mush. This was them while they wereasleep?How would Team Gctic even hope to¡ª ¡°Bow before Willpower.¡± The girl coughed as her legs buckled and she bowed. Not listening hadn¡¯t even crossed her mind. It wasimpossible. Like the sky not being blue, like an hour not consisting of sixty minutes,like two plus two equalling five instead of four. Azelf¡¯s will would be done. ¡ª¡ª Chase fell headfirst into some kind of puddle, and yet it did not hurt him. He even touched his nose to make sure it wasn¡¯t broken and the adrenaline wasn¡¯t masking the pain. He stood up and called out to someone.Anyone. Nobody answered. It waspletely dark ¡°Where the hell am I?¡± He stared at his hands and touched his chest to ground himself and make sure he was actuallythereand not dreaming, but it was only a few secondster that he noticed a Pokemon floating ahead of him. It was blinding, so blinding. Looking at it was like looking at the sun¡ª it was impossible to stare for too long. He gasped for air and took a step back. It was some kind of fucking blue freak. It couldn¡¯t have been more than a single foot tall, and yet itexudedpower. ¡°W¡ªwhat the fuck are you?¡± Chase stammered. ¡°Wee, Chase Karlson. Champion by happenstance.¡± shes in his mind at every word. Victory and defeat all at once, horrors beyond hisprehension,fear. Each one of them more terrifying than thest. They were vivid,sovivid, in a way that was impossible to exin. Like every word he had spoken and heard before tonight was fake. People ying pretend. Andthesewere the only true words he had ever heard and everwouldhear. He took another step back. ¡°Azel¡ª¡± The words died in his mouth and his throat lit on fire. He coughed until he could finally breathe again. ¡°Before you even hope to utter my name in my presence, human, you shall bow before Willpower.¡± Chase would usually have protested before such an order, but those were nowhere to be seen. The thought of disobeying this being was so utterly alien that it hadn¡¯t even crossed his mind. He lowered his head and got on a knee. Azelf¡¯s will would be done. Chapter 212 – Willpower Chapter 212 ¨C Willpower Chapter 212 - Willpower Breathe. Breathe. In and out. Cecilia gasped for air as a God carefully observed her. It had been at least a full minute since it had told her to bow¡ª maybe more, she couldn''t tell. The effect of beingpletely impossible to disobey had passed, and now she could only feel a mix of anger and fear. This was not the benevolent being that Cynthia had told her about. This was something else entirely. She inhaled sharply and slowly stood, almost falling in the process because of how shaky her legs were. "Did I permit you to stand?" Again, each word felt like someone had been beating her head with a stick, but she bore with it as best she could. "No," she whispered with a half hiss. "And yet, you did so anyway. Champion by happenstance you may be, but you truly are a Shard." After the pain passed, her eyes widened, and she began to realize what an opportunity this was. A Legend stood in front of her, and she would be a fool not to take advantage of it.Questions! Ask questions!She internally screamed. Making her mouth move to push out to words took every ounce of her will. "I have questions," she said. "If I am your Champion as you say, then you will answer. The stories say we must stop a cmity, and you must want it stopped as well if I''m here." "If I deem it appropriate. Ask away, Shard of meager Will." The girl clenched a fist. Anything to ground herself here. "You say we are Champion by happenstance. I was not chosen, then? Neither was Chase or any of the others?" The Legend stayed silent for a few seconds, and then it began tough.Laugh. Like some kind of maniacal child. Cecilia did not dare to nce at it for more than a second at a time, but she could see it bounce up and down in the air and clench at its stomach in the corner of her vision. "Humans!" It cackled."Thousands of yearse and go in a sh, but you never change. One taste of Will, and you became self-centered, egotistical, and gained delusions of grandeur despite your weakness. Chosen? You are worth less than a speck of dust to me. Once this is over, I will blink and five generations will have passed away. You are nothing." "And yet, here we are," Cecilia hissed as she clenched at her head. "Eons ago, I gave your people a will," it said."But you never did fully realize your potential. Worthless, every single one of you. No human would be worthy of beingchosen." "But it couldn''t have beenpletely random. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have been contained to my group¡ª" "I grow tired of this question. My gift was given to you, but you were not chosen. Move on." "This is important¡ª" "Important? Nothing about you, nor any thought you could muster would ever beimportant. You are not special. I told you to move on, and you will." Like when the Legend had told her to kneel, something changed in Cecilia''s brain. She would listen, and any thoughts ofnot listeningvanished in an instant. She opened her mouth to speak, desperate to attempt to break the spell, but she couldn''t speak. Its voice had been sononchnt, and yet it carried the weight of an indescribable magnitude. Champion or not, there was no way a pale imitation could stand up to Willpower itself. Azelf''s will would be done. "If I must," she said through clenched teeth. Now she knew what she would have tasted had Mmar gotten her hands on her, but she contained her anger as best she could. She would be a fool to be rude here. "Where is Chase?" "Nowhere. Everywhere." "What does that mean?" "Will you really spend your time here worrying about other humans? Think for yourself. Seize the desire that lies within your heart and soul, Shard." "Very well, then," she exhaled. "Why are there two Champions of Willpower and how do I win?" "Well done. You were the original gift-bearer, but your actions were not appropriate for a Shard of Willpower. Instead of fighting, you ran from every problem, as minuscule and irrelevant as they were. Even though you had my gift''s backing and your Voice could potentially carry you far. There was a modicum of potential within you both. You represent the calm, focused facet of Willpower, the long-term thinking to reach a goal while the other human embraces the rash and raw desire to seize whatever it wants right now. I went against my siblings and decided to split it in two." Against its siblings¡­ that meant Uxie and Mesprit. "And you still need time to decide?" Cecilia asked. "Why this doubt?" "Time to decide? Doubt?" The small Legendary giggled."I am Willpower, girl. I do what I desire whenever I want to. I adhere to no rules. I break them and make my own." "So? Are we stuck like this, then?" "Unless you want to fight to the death and im his Shard for your own. Be my guest. It would certainly make things interesting for a speck of time." Cecilia''s shaking legs froze. She started at the God despite the horrible weight pressing down her chest. Ever since Cynthia had revealed this story to her, she''d wanted to seize Willpower for herself and defeat Chase. She did not let ite in between them. She was not a jealous person, and she had assured herself she would win. But to kill a friend? "I will never." Her voice came out ragged and barely coherent. She witnessed the Pokemon tilt his head with a look that could only be described as confusion. "You did not even consider it? You''d keep it your entire life. With that amount of power, you could seize control of the entire world. Make people do your bidding with a thought and create a dynasty that wouldst generations. That would make your life actuallymatter. What a waste. I will never understand mortals." "You don''t need to," she hissed. "And I will not stoop tobrainwashing. Ever." "You havee close to it multiple times, but If that is your Will, Shard, then so be it." "When you call me Shard, what does it mean?" "Your gift. It is a Shard of the concept of Willpower, transferred from me to you. Small, no doubt, but enough to stand atop your species." "Enough. I have no dreams of conquest." "Lies. You wish to sit on Unova''s throne and to reform it in your image. That is conquest, even though you believe it would be bloodless." The girl flinched. "I see it all. Your deepest desires, all in one. Large, and yet so mundane. Freedom stands on top of the pile, but it is surrounded by many more. Strength, change, asting rtionship, safety for you and your loved ones¡­ you areid bare before me. I could pluck them out of you if I so wished.You''d be left an empty shell, unable to even move. Like a puppet without strings¡ª" "Enough!"Cecilia yelled. Her voice was amplified.Powerfullike never before. She had spoken without worry about what the repercussions would be. All she had wanted was for the being in front of her tostop talking. "You had it in you after all, Shard. Beware of using it too many times outside of this realm. More than one time in a day will exhaust you enough to make you lose consciousness, and since you only have half a Shard, the Voice will not carry your orders for a long time. Team Gctic ising, and you will need this power to save Creation from its clutches." "They want a cmity," Cecilia nodded. "Cynthia told us that they had a way to control you somehow." "It is not just a cmity they want. My siblings and I could render Palkia and Dialgiapletely subservient. The fate of Creation hangs in the bnce." ¡ª "Why the hell don''t you do it yourself?" Chase demanded. "You''re just being azy ass!" "I am Willpower, but there is only one entity I listen to. The Creator. I am not allowed to go beyond this Lake even if I awoke. This is where I belong and where I always will be until His Creation ends." "Then fuckingcontactthe creator or whatever and tell him to let you leave," he hissed. "Hell, even if they do somehow make it through the League and get to you, just kill them!" He''d been terrified, and he still was, but Chase was hitting his stride. The idea of an all-powerful being sitting on their asses and asking for help made him fume, especially when they''d clearly be able to wipe Team Gctic in an afternoon. "The Red Chain''s mere presence will be enough to stop me and my siblings. Things are not as simple as you think them to be, Shard." "Damn it," Chase cursed under his breath. "So what? You goad me into doing that weird ass voice so I know how to do it against Team Gctic, and then what?" "Humans are an unreliable sort, so I do not expect this so-called League to hold out. As a Shard, you stand slightly above them. When we are under their control, you will need to enter our minds and pull us away from the influence of the Red Chain. It will be an environment not unlike this one." "Any fucking secret code to snap you out of it?" "No. It will be a long and arduous process." Chase scoffed. "Funny how you''re telling me that everything is going to go to shit and you''re not going to do anything about it. You know, I haven''t known about Legends for long, but you seem like a fucking awful sort. Sitting high and mighty on your throne, calling humanity useless while youaskus who go in the fucking sewers to do your dirty work¡ª" "Silence." It was not a scream. Hell, it didn''t even raise its voice, but Chase''s mouth screwed shut against his will, and his teeth began to chatter. In his hubris, he had forgottenwhatit was he was speaking to. Azelf''s will would be done. He was so small. "Okay," he exhaled. "Tell me more about this Red Chain thing, then. How the hell does it work?" "It is made of the gems atop our foreheads. Emotion beckons to me and Knowledge. Team Gctic got a hold of their Gem. They can feel it. It is notplete yet, but it is being built." Emotion? Chase knew that was Verity, so Mesprit. "You talk to each other, even when asleep?" "I am talking to you right now, am I not? We are not asleep. Simply dormant. We speak, we observe, we feel the world around us." "Okay. You said you split Willpower into two, right? What''s going to happen? Is this some kind of fucked uppetition?" "I did. You will be weaker than you would be if you were one. You could kill the girl and im the remainder of the Shard as your own. Do you not see? Your desire to save the Iron Inds could be done by your Will in an instant. You could rule this Region, or simply tell your so-called Champion to do so herself." His anger overtook his fear, and Chase flipped the Legend off. "Fuck you." "How peculiar. Tell me, Shard. What is Willpower?" "I don''t have a poetic ass answer for you. Willpower is whatever pushes me to finish myst rep. Whatever makes me wake up in the morning. Whatever makes me work hard and keep pushing forward. It depends on what I want that day." The Legend paused. "Adequately said." ¡ª Cecilia could barely stand up straight. Revtions of Palkia and Dialga shook her to her core. Space and Time. This was no cmity. The world couldend. Had Cynthia known this? Her mind raced, but she did not let panic take a hold of her. She would be okay. With a clenched fist and renewed determination, she spoke up again. "Here is what I would like to know," Cecilia said. "You hate humans¡ª" "It is not hate. Hate would imply you matter enough to elicit a strong feeling out of me. Shard or not, you do not matter." Cecilia bit her lip. She did not care if she stepped on an ant when she walked, did she? But she wouldn''t carewhathappenedto the ants as a whole either." "If you feel that way about humanity, then why? Why even care about Dialga and Palkia? Is it to save your own life?" "My life has no value whenpared to Creation. Every human could die tomorrow and I would not care, but He would. Every living being is His child, and you are among the oldest. The mountains, the waters, the forests, firmament, more than you could ever imagine. Losing it all would be a tragedy." "So it is duty, then?" "Duty? One does not need to be forced to see the beauty of Creation needs to be protected. Alone, you are worthless. Together, you form a mosaic that shapes the world in every era. Creation is an ever-shifting painting, and it must be preserved." "The stories¡­ the stories don''t depict you like this. In them, you are a benevolent Pokemon that gifted humans with the ability towant. I think it is a shame," Cecilia sighed. "I thought you would bemore." "You cannot even begin to fathom what more is. I did gift humans a will. It was my purpose. Willpower is not a benevolent concept, girl, it just is. I am no mere Pokemon. I amWillpower, the good, and the bad. The other Shards will find my siblings to be the same, even if one of them is more soft-hearted than I am while the other is more ruthless. When we are done, send the other Shards to visit their respective Lakes." More ruthless than this? She couldn''t even imagine it. "That was already the n." "Good. I have a question for you, Shard. What is Willpower?" The question Cecilia had mulled over for so long. It had kept her up at night, tossing and turning, but she had nevere up with an answer. Not until she saw what Azelf was like. Now, she knew the answer. There was no doubt in her mind as she opened her mouth. "Willpower is whatever I want it to be." "Adequately said. We are done here, then." The change in topic was so abrupt that Cecilia had to do a double-take. "Wait! I have so much more to ask! How does this power even work, what about theyers of mental barriers¡ª" She blinked, and she was no longer in the dark. Her entire arm was wet after a few seconds, she realized she was back at the shores of thekes, and Chase was having the same realization. Slowking tapped her on the shoulder while Jellicent rumbled and she took a deep breath. "How much time has passed?" She asked. Time? You just put your hand in the water, mydy,Slowking spoke into her mind. Compared to the thousand choirs of Azelf, his was soothing inparison. Cecilia frowned and clenched a fist around the hot water. No time had passed then. "Did you see it?" Chase asked. Cecilia looked into his eyes. Remnants of yellow particles swam in his eyes. Fading slowly, but they would still be there for a few minutes. "I did. We spoke for¡­ I don''t even remember how long." "Me too. Oh, and by the way, what the fuck happened to your eyes?" Cecilia didn''t answer, for she did not know. She stared at theke and realized the pull she''d felt before plunging her hand was gone. She tried again, for good measure, but there was nothing besides the warmth of the water. Azelf did not want to be disturbed any further. Legends were not benevolent, nor malevolent. They worked beyond human concepts. They justwere. ¡ª I''d been pacing around the bedroom for thest ten minutes, and thest thing I''d expected was for them to be back so soon. I heard the door gently open and they were still speaking when they entered the house nked by Jellicent and Slowking. "...Red Chain, it''s this entire thing to control them. Cynthia was right on that front, thereisa way for Team Gctic to¡ª ah, Grace," Chase stopped as he stared at me. "What happened?" I asked. "Did you see anything?" "We did," Chase said. "Let''s go wake up Mira." After we scanned every corner of the house for cameras or microphones, with Porygon''s help, we recalled all of our Pokemon (we would tell them about everythingter), what followed was an incredible amount of information that mostly terrified me. Very little of what Azelf had actually said was good news, but what disturbed me the most was the fact that Dialga and Palkia were real and the Lake Trio was a way to control them. Not only that, but Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit seemed to be a lot more powerful than the League and we originally believed. These weren''t like the Legendary Bird''s avatars. These were beyond that, and there was the possibility of Team Gctic being able to use them tofight. But that was the least of our problems. "Dialga represents time and Palkia space. There''s a¡ª a statue of them in Eterna City that I never visited, but I always thought they were fiction. I mean, they''re definitely represented wrong, but that''s besides the point," Mira rambled with a frown. "This is bad." "No shit," Chase snapped. "This is fucking terrible!" "Calm down. First, we need to warn the League about the Red Chain, and that the world is in danger," Cecilia said. "Then, the n doesn''t change. The League isn''t asleep at the wheel. This will be contained." "I hope so," I muttered. "This is¡­ I mean, yeah. Fuck. This is basically the worst-case scenario." Could I focus on my journey with this knowledge? This hanging axe around my neck? All of our necks? "We''ll be okay," Cecilia assured, cing a hand on mine. Chase clenched at his forehead. "Looking at it objectively¡­ Team Gctic can''t afford another failure. Even if the League doesn''t sniff out their base in time, the odds are still in our favor. They''d have to break through all of this. The walls, the League Trainers¡ª" "And the Elite Four and Gym Leaders, probably," Mira added. I sighed. "I hope so. We need to go see Ariel to tell her about all of this." "But this does confirm what I said," Mira raised a finger. "The League kept us in the dark about this. They knew that this was no mere cmity. That''s why they had their Porygon keep the stories away from us. I was right." "You think they knew?" Chase frowned. "Of course they knew," she said. "But controlling information is how theydo things. And we''re supposed to tell them everything? Fuck them." Cece scoffed. "I hope you aren''t suggesting staying silent, because that would be horribly foolish." "No, I''m not. I''m just saying I fucking hate the fact that they''re hiding things from us while we have to scramble in the dark for information." "It''s not fair, but it has to be done," I firmly said. "When this is all over, we can give them the finger and stop working for them." "Working for them?" Chase asked. "I sure as hell am not." "Stop talking for a second and listen to me," I hissed. "Az¡ª the Legendary said that we''d keep the¡­ Shards until we died. That means that we''ll still be able to have these powers when Team Gctic is dealt with." I omitted the fact that we might fail to stop them in order to keep our spirits up. "Chase and Cece, you have this Voice thing now that you can use once per day. You can essentially make someone do whatever you want¡ª" "We haven''t tested that yet," Mira said. "There must be limits." "I will not test it," Cecilia crossed her arms. "Absolutely not." "We can figure all of thatter. We''re military assets. We''rewillingright now, but we might get pressured into joining." "They won''t force us," Cecilia shook her head. "This isn''t Kanto-Johto. Even if democracy has backslid slightly, we still have rights." "That''s¡­ fair," I said. "I just can''t help but feel paranoid, especially for Chase and Mira. If everything goes ording to n, we''re leaving this summer for Unova, but they''restaying here. I don''t think we should tell Ariel we''re keeping the powers." "They''ll figure it out eventually anyway," Mira shook her head. "I agree in principle, but it doesn''t matter in the grand scheme of things." "I don''t like it, but fine. For now, we don''t have to tell them, though. We can just omit it. It wouldn''t be a lie. There''s also something else. Thest thing we want is for them to know that one dying would strengthen their Shard." "Think they''d assassinate one of ''em?" Mira asked. "Did the blue guy tell you that you needed tokilleach other or that dying was enough?" "It said kill," Chase firmly said. "Whatever, better safe than sorry, so I''m okay with omitting that and the fact," she said, snapping her fingers. "But I still think we should test this Voice thing. How long it works, how far you can go with it¡­ it''d be harmless. Just tell me to stand up for five seconds or something." "Look, pushes to shove, I''ll do it," Chase said. "Cecilia obviously has some qualms about mind control¡ª" "Which shouldn''t matter when the world might end. With you, we get one try per day. With her, we get two. That''sdouble, and we need more data." "I won''t budge on my morals," Cecilia said. "Against Team Gctic, it''s another story, but I will not subject people to mind control, even as atest." They red at each other for a few seconds until Mira huffed and averted her eyes. "Next topic," I said. "You said we weren''t chosen. We can scratch that off the list." I''d never been a supporter of the theory anyway, and I was d to have that pressure off. I was not special, and that was fine. But Azelf had stillpicked Cecilia; and Chase after being disappointed in her. "But it was not random either," Cecilia added, vocalizing my thoughts. "I don''t know how that makes any sense." "And yet it does," I said. "Somehow." "Think the old grouch lied?" Mira asked. "Absolutely not," Cece instantly said. "It wouldn''t lie," Chase added. "It doesn''t care enough to lie." "Okay, well hopefully the other two will be more amenable," Mira sighed. "We need more information, and we''ll probablye out of the Lake with a little boost like you two." "They said that one sibling was more ruthless while the other was more kind-hearted," Cece exined. "I wasn''t sure which was which." Mira clicked her tongue. "Fuck." "Knowledge is most likely worse," I nodded. "But we''ll still get our questions answered. Our n doesn''t change. Let''s just¡­ tell Ariel" We walked to Headquarters, which was easy to find. Even at night, it was shone brightly in the sky, and it was the tallest building here. Ariel greeted us outside, and after telling her that Chase and Cecilia saw Azelf, we were immediately let in. They were questioned and no doubt told themalmosteverything, and they stayed so long that Mira and I ended up sleeping on a bench. The next morning, they still weren''t there after we ate breakfast, and I was starting to grow anxious, but they were finally let go right before noon. They both looked exhausted, but fine. As soon as we reached the makeshift home again, they spoke. "They just went in a lot of detail," Cecilia exined. "Asked for every question under the sun. They even asked me if I could convince the Legend to wake up and fight, so you can probably guess some of the questions were really stupid." "They probably had to cover their bases," I said. "Everything went well, though?" "Oh, yes, they were very pleased with the development. Apparently some of the higher-ups worried that the Lake Trio would be a lot more¡­ well, evil wouldn''t really fit, but I can''t find a better word. Less cooperative?" Chase yawned and leaned against a wall. "Same thing happened to me. Damn, this ruined my sleep schedule." "We could stay one more day," Mira said. "No. We leave," Chase said. "I''m done with this concrete hell. Walking will wake me up, and I''ll use the opportunity to jog." We agreed to leave after that, and soon, we were walking through one of the fortress'' gates. Ariel apanied us back to the route and flew off, and we were on our way toward the Grand Hotel Lake. It would take us a day to reach it from here. Despite the looming danger, I could only keep looking forward. Cecilia told me I shouldn''t let this get in the way of my goals. There was nothing I could do except hope the League would save the day, so there was no use worrying about what I couldn''t affect. Still, this knowledge would be a permanent knot in my stomach. It wasn''t only us that was in danger. The entire world was. But for now? I would do my best to focus on the Circuit, at least until I flew to Lake Verity.
Chapter 213 Chapter 213 CHAPTER 213 The Hotel Grand Lake sat atop a hill, and the stories of how luxurious it was never prepared me for how beautiful it would be. Trainers didn''t actually have to go through it to get to Sunyshore since there was an alternate route around the resort, but we''d forgone it since we would be staying at the hotel for at least a day. The road was avibrantgreyid in a criss-cross pattern and demarcated by a row of white bricksid onto the ground while the edges were made out of the same color, although in a different square-like pattern that was almost hypnotic. Cecilia gasped next to me at how amazing it all looked as we stepped up the first step of stairs. Calling the ce a hotel would have been disingenuous. It was a massiveplex the size of a small town with dozens of homes, restaurants, and stores sprouting up from the floor. The buildings'' exteriors were all so white they were like snow reflecting sunlight, but some of them had more color thrown in. Turquoise and azure bricks that shone like marble, acting as their support, and there were also resplendent blue windows, doors, and rooves.Everythinghere shared that color scheme, and they bled together in a beautiful mix that I couldn''t help but admire. Since it was winter, there weren''t that many people in the resort, but it still felt alive, and both they and small Pokemon walked to and fro. There were alsoguardshere, which made sense. No luxuriousplex was going to keep its guests unprotected, and they were probably getting paid alotof money. Retired trainers no doubt. "Woah, look over here!" Mira eximed. My eyes drifted across the white and blue canvas that was the Hotel Grand Lake, and I saw the enormouske that the ce was named after. The resort had been built around theke, but there was a small quay there with jet skis and even a small boat. The water wasn''t only confined to theke, of course. There were plenty of pools and even some kind of winding, snaky pool that wrapped around the entire property. Cecilia called it a zy river.'' Chase didn''t hide his displeasure as we entered thergest, central building, where we''d be able to register in and rent a ce. The inside was a lot more modern than the outside and was what I''d expect from a hotel, butbiggerand more extravagant. There was an indoor garden with blue and white parasols to protect guests from the sun with blue flowers and trees with their leaves dyedblue. Inside of it sat ake with a few Magikarp, and children swarmed around the Pokemon and tried to touch their scales. The water types felt happy enough, although they were annoyed at the attention and just wanted to be left alone. "Wee to the Hotel Grand Lake! How may I help you?" The receptionist behind the counter¡ª one of dozens¡ª snapped me back to reality. Chase muttered something under his breath that I couldn''t hear and Mira started to giggle, but Cece took the reigns of the conversation. "We''d like one home for four," she said. "Can we look at our options?" What followed was a list of different homes for very exorbitant prices that Cecilia paid for, but that Ipromisedto pay back. The most expensive suites with their own private pools cost up to 80,000 Pokedorsper night, but she thankfully opted for the 30,000 per night option, which wasn''t the smallest ce we could buy, but definitely more affordable than the more extravagant options. That was one battle with Maylene per night. Arceus. And to think some people stayed here all summer long. This was a very trendy spot that tourists loved to stay at before and after the Conference. Sinnoh''s international tourism industry was small whenpared to other regions overseas, but the Hotel Grand Lake was where a lot of the money was made. In addition to this fee, we had to get our Pokemon approved for release, but since we were rtively well-known trainers, the process went pretty quickly and we were given a pass. Ordinary people would have to get their Pokemon individually assessed if they wanted to keep them out in public. I released Princess as soon as we were out, and Chase did so with Zangoose while Cecilia released Scyther. Mira had already kind of been cheating with Porygon, since she never stayed in her Pokeball anyway, but she released both of her psychics so they could take in the ce in case she ever wanted to Teleport here. Thereweredesignated Teleportation pads for people to appear on, however, and appearing randomly throughout the resort would be breaking the rules. I grabbed Princess in my arms as I took in the sights again. All of this belonged to the Antonovich family, one of the richest in Sinnoh (although not as rich as the Bianchis had been before) who stayed here all year long. Their home hadn''t been hard to spot. It was thergest one and stood at the highest point on the hill. "So? What''s the n? In and out, you deliver the news and we leave tomorrow?" Chase asked. "I guess," I shrugged. "Think I can just knock on their door?" "No way in hell," Mira shook her head. "But if you tell them¡­ I don''t know how many guards here that you knew their son, maybe they''ll let you in. I don''t really know why Luca would leave this ce, honestly. Seems like he had his entire life set up for him." "Sometimes, it''s about freedom," Cecilia said. "The silver spoon is nice and all, but you can want more in life. Independence is a great feeling." Scyther strode up ahead, unwilling to walk too close to her, but still slowed down whenever he got too far. People weren''t really enamored with his demeanor and flinched or recoiled whenever he got too close. Mira''s psychics told him to rx, and he did¡­ slightly. We passed an open air arena where children that were definitely younger than fifteen were battling using a Yamper and an Azurill. The electric type clumsily ran forward, barely able to generate any electricity while Azurill sprung on her tail and jumped above him to dodge. "Huh," I muttered. "Interesting." "Interesting to see them breaking thew with no consequences ''cause they''re loaded," Chase grumbled. "Don''t be a hardass. We all know people ignore it anyway," Mira said. "Cynthia started training when she was six. This is no different." While owning Pokemon before you were fifteen was allowed and encouraged¡ª after all, I''d owned Princess¡ª battling beforehand was technically illegal, but it wasn''t enforced whatsoever. "Thews are a lot more harsh in Gr and Unova," Cece exined as we walked up the winding streets. "Unless you get an exception from a Gym Leader or someone in a position of authority, you won''t be battling until you''re fifteen, so peoplee here and like to let loose and get their children started early on battling. Any advantage is sought after, especially with the amount of money to be made as a top-level trainer." "You''re telling me that these are all Grians? And Unovans?" Chase asked. "Not all, but the majority, yes. Affluent people speak of Sinnoh as a dangerous region, and they''ll try to impress their friends by spending a few months here in the so-called ''trenches.'' Oh, I''ve heard plenty of stories about acquaintancesing back ''scarred.'' They''ll make a whole show out of it too." "When in reality, they''re just staying in a luxurious resort," I smirked. "I don''t mind the kids battling. If they''re having fun, so be it." "Unova''s starting to sound more like a prison than a region," Mira joked. Cece rolled her eyes. "I don''t think you know whatprisonis, Mira. The more Pokemon battling is regted, the fewer idents there can be. Don''t take Sinnoh''sxness as the standard, otherwise we might as well be Kanto and turn it into survival of the fittest." "Yeah, yeah. By the way, can we go to thatzy river thingter? Doesn''t it look fun?" "I''ll die before I go into that," Chase shook his head. The pink-haired girl gently pped his back. "You''lle." "I wouldn''t be opposed to it," I said. "But first, we deal with this." The path widened and we reached an enormous gate with a few chatting guards who turned toward us.Persian, Boldore, Solrock.We weren''t looking for a fight, but I couldn''t help but attempt to assess their Pokemon''s strength, which I found was moreplicated than I thought. "Good morning," I greeted them with a gentle smile. "We''d like to have a word to¡­ uh, the Antonovich family," I slowly said, realizing I didn''t even know their names. "It''s about their son." "Mr. and Ms. Antonovich are away on business today. If you want to meet them, you''ll have to set up an appointment at reception." Well, honestly, that had gone better than expected. I thought they''d be a lot more confrontational, but then again, business would probably suffer if the personnel were rude, and the keycards around our necks showed that we''d paid for a room and to have our Pokemon out. People that had paid here were treated like royalty. "Do you know when they''reing back?" I asked. "That information is private, miss. If you want to meet Sergei, the process is the same. Make an appointment." "We apologize for the inconvenience," another guard said. "Now if you''ll please turn back." I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. Sergei?Who the hell was Sergei? ¡ª Mira giggled like a little kid as we opened the door to our temporary home. The interior somehow looked crowded and spacious at the same time. I ran my hand on the rugged white walls and peered into the tiny kitchen. This time, I could buy things to cook. The living room had a small coffee table along with creamy beige couches, and the windows let ample amounts of sunlight in. There was a TV and free WiFi, so that was neat. Mira dashed in every single room and then we heard her jump on one of the beds. "Aw man, this feels so good! Guys,e feel the mattress, it feels like I''m floating!" I''ll go take care of her,Gardevoir spoke. There was a staircase that led to the roof of the building, where we had a fantastic view of the entire Hotel Grand Lake, Veilstone to the north, the beaches near Pastoria to the south and Sunyshore to the east. It wasn''t often that a view made us realize thescaleof the distance we traveled. It was quite windy up there, so we didn''t spend long, but Scyther decided to stay and Chase left Zangoose and Sigilyph with him. When we went back downstairs, Mira had been dragged out of the bed by Gardevoir because she hadn''t showered yet after traveling for days. I sat on the oversized couch and my friends followed suit. Some battle from a Grian channel was ying on television, and I almost gasped at how huge their stadiums were. This was some random tournament, and it was almost asrge as ourConferencestadium at the Lily of the Valley ind. They didn''t lie when they said it was among the wealthiest regions. People in Sinnoh would riot if they saw the government spending that much money onstadiums. "So. Sergei," Cecilia whispered. "I had no idea Luca had a brother." We had looked up Sergei Antonovich as soon as we left the gates of their homes, and as it turned out, he was Luca''s younger brother. He hadn''t been hard to find, especially when his family ran the most sessful resort in Sinnoh. He was only fourteen and looked almost exactly like Luca. "I mean, you barely knew the guy," Chase shrugged. "He wasn''t about to spill his entire life story. So, what''s the n?" "Meet him and tell him instead," I said. "We have no idea when the parents will be back, and there''s no point staying here long when Cece''s burning cash." "I wouldn''t call it burning," Cecilia said. "This ce is nice." "It better be, with how expensive it is," Mira said with a nervousugh. "So we go to reception, then? Tell these guys we want to meet this Sergei fellow and call it a day?" I nodded. "I doubt he''ll refuse, especially if we talk about his brother. We owe it to Luca. I feel like¡­ like we could have been great friends had we been given the time." "We''ll do right by him," Cecilia dered firmly. "Let''s go now. Chase, since you don''t feel like doing anything and you don''t want toe to this meeting, how about you go shopping for Grace?" The teen scoffed."Shopping?" "Do you want dinner tonight or not?" I sarcastically asked. "I can make a list for you so it''ll be quick. It''d be a huge help." "I can help," Mira said as she leaned back. "I want to be there for the meeting, but the setup is boring." "You just want time alone with me." "Yeah. Is that okay?" The boy grunted in approval and Mira pped her hands excitedly. Before we left, we agreed to reconvene here at three at thetest, and I also asked Mira if I could borrow her kazam to Teleport back onto the mountains of route 214 to train. I wasn''t about to makeva in the middle of a resort. Would the League be able to track me if I Teleported? I assumed they had a way to do so, but I''d probably text Ariel just in case. She had given everyone her work number before we left Lake Valor. Soon enough, we split up in two groups, but some of our Pokemon decided to stay. Scyther and Zangoose, for one. The normal type had decided to make it her life''s job toze around on Chase''s bed, and Scyther was happy enough. His rtionship with Cece was currently¡­ alright, but I wondered what else they needed to have a true breakthrough. Or maybe it would stick to incremental progress as they got closer inch by inch. Princess stuck around with me, but she was tired and floating with her head on mine. She hadn''t slept much yesterday due to all of the speaking we''d done, and her barrier training with Gardevoir was quite intense. "Will you go to thezy river today?" Cece asked out of the blue. "Me? Nah. I mean, the pool is heated, but it''s still cold out. Maybe I''ll dip my feet in the water, though. I''m sure Buddy will enjoy floating along the current very much. Hopefully he won''t scare the pool-goers, but there aren''t that many people." "I''d like it if you came along," she said. "I don''t have a swimsuit. Don''t worry though, I''lle." She gripped my hand and looked into my eyes, and she was about to say something but a younger girl asked her for a picture. One of her fans, no doubt. They took a selfie together and spoke for a few minutes, and then we were on our way again. "Grace, I''ll be frank with you. Forgive me if this is too forward, but is it the scars?" I blinked. "Well, no¡ª yes, but it''s not¡ª it''s hard to exin." "We have a while until we reach reception," Cece said. "I don''t really care that much, not anymore," I quietly spoke. "But it''s still weird. I mean, I don''t feel confident in a swimsuit. Even that dress during our date was pushing my limit, but a swimsuit would be too much." "You should feel confident. You''re beautiful." "I don''t know¡­" She dragged me forward and turned around, smiling at me. "What if we went and bought one today? I could help you pick one out." "Why does it feel like you''re going to get your way?" I asked. Her grin turned mischievous. "Because I am. Slowking tells me I''m very good at it." "He''s onto something. Fine, I''lle. I didn''t even knowzy rivers were a thing, and it sounds fun. Rxing, even, after all of yesterday''s events." "Good. I want you to befortable in your own skin." "I am. I''m not lying." "I know you aren''t. But it''s still hard, isn''t it?" I nodded, and we continued on our way as Cece tried to cheer me up with more of Slowking''s puns. As it turned out, he was really starting to feel himself with the jokes and there was a treasure trove of bad humor there. Plus, she was absolutely right. They were so bad they were good, and the funniest part is he didn''t even know. He just kept going because he saw Cecilia and Talonmeugh at them every time. The woman at reception was very nice about setting up this meeting for us. At some points, I almost thought she was scared to say no, one because of Cecilia''sst name, which even if it was tarnished, her family business was still extremely rich. Plus, it really did look like her father hadn''t known much about Team Gctic''s involvement with the Bianchis and he''d probably be let go soon. Either that, or he had buried the evidence far enough. Either way, there was no way they''d let him stay here, so they''d ship him back to Unova soon enough. There was also the fact that we were known to be involved with the League. The receptionist scampered off and dialed a number on thendline phone. "How is it?" Cecilia whispered. "Your first taste of soft power?" "This kind of stuff already happened at the Caf¨¦ Cabin. Feels dirty," I said. "It is. I dislike having this name attached to me, but people will always associate me with the name Obel no matter what I do. People use connections and fame like this all the time." "I know. At the end of the day, I won''tin, since we''re getting what we want, but I guess it kind of feels¡­ undeserved. I want these things to be attributed tome. Not the League, or a name." "We''ll get there," she said. "The first thing we do need to do to get there is make a ssh at the Conference. Being thest two remaining first-years would be nice. Everything else would be icing." "Thinking that far ahead already?" "Well, I''d be stupid not to, right?" I said as I stared at the Magikarp. One of them looked right back at me and blinked. "Violence is nice¡ª" "That''d be hrious out of context." "Well, you didn''t let me finish," I chuckled. "What''s that saying again? Speak softly but carry a big stick." "Ah, that one was said by an Unovan Champion a century or so ago." "It''s Unovan? I thought it was Grian," I said. "What? No, no, I''mpositiveit''s Unova¡ª wait, you''re just teasing, aren''t you?" I burst intoughter. "You got me. You''re like Denzel, you know? It''s funny to tease and probe at your more patriotic side. Anyway, the underlying threat of violence is a very effective tool when you''re nice to everybody. It lets them know not to step on your toes." Cecilia smirked at me. "Not that I mind, but how did we start talking about threats again?" "Uh, I¡ª yeah, I justunched into it, didn''t I?" "It''s okay. I agree. There''s a reason Cynthia managed to take over the entire government in a few months. The threat of her being able to do soanyway." "That''s what I''m saying," I nodded. "Not that I think that was a good thing." "Oh, of course not. But it''s still a good technique, isn''t it? No matter what we think of her, she was still a transformative leader, which is something I want to achieve as well. A good performance in Sinnoh''s Conference will guarantee headlines back in Unova since I''m Mark''s sister." "Does he know you''reing for him?" "Oh, he doesn''t. We don''t talk much, as you know. I''ll tell him formally the next time we speak." I restrained anotherugh. I couldn''t help but imagine her giving him the most formal speech possible while he just listened over the phone, utterly confused. He''d probably underestimate her. "Young Master Sergei has agreed to meet you tomorrow at eight in the morning," the receptionist said. "He will be apanied by guards. Do not bring your Pokemon and do not bete." Cecilia frowned and then shook her head as she leaned over the counter. "We will bring them." "But¡ª" "I''m sorry. What we mean to say is, we don''t feel safe without our teams around," I gently said. "I think it''d be a mistake not to allow this. We have very public records and we wouldn''t do something foolish. We just want to tell him about Luca. This is extremely important." The receptionist sighed and dialed her phone again. I leaned against Cecilia and whispered. "Gotta remember to speak softly." It took a while, but the meeting was approved. Afterward, Cece spent the next hour making me try all kinds of swimsuits, and I resigned to my fate knowing that she''d be putting different clothes on me for as long as she wanted. I did end up buying one. ¡ª "Thank you for the help, kazam," I said. The psychic type nodded.Of course. I will stay here while you train. "Oh, you cane back in an hour or so, there''s no need. I know you''re busy¡ª" Nonsense. It would be best for me to stay in case you need to change locations and you are nowhere to be seen when Ie back. We''re a few days out of the hotel, and you''d have to walk the entire way back. Or ask one of the League Trainers for a ride, which is a request I doubt they would ept. "Fair enough," I nodded. "They always do the strict minimum. Well, make yourselffortable, then." I released Sunshine, Princess and Buddy. Honey was back at the hotel with Angel, and Sweetheart was asleep in her Pokeball. Togetic yawned andined that it was time to train already. Sunshine mocked her and began to walk away to create the usualva, and she called him an impotent wyrm. The fire type didn''t seem to care at all andughed. Buddy floated up ahead to warn any passersby and got ready to extinguish theva at a moment''s notice. "How about this," I raised a finger. "You do this today, and tomorrow, you''ll be free to rx at the hotel and do whatever you want. I''m sorry about this, but you''re a really important part of our strategy. If you really don''t want to train though, then we can skip today. It''s up to you." Princess considered her options for a few seconds, but she decided to ept my offer. I thanked her and we watched as the terrain in front of us turned into a molten hell. As usual, I timed how long the stone took to turn intova and got two minutes and thirty-nine seconds, so hewasgetting better at it slowly but surely. Once we reached the ideal time of one minute, I''d get him started on the explosion jump n. "You can go ahead," I whispered. The flying type slowly approached the molten rock. Stage one had been to teach her how to move theva as well as she moved actually solid rock. We weren''t there quite yet, but we were close. Thest thing we wanted was to identally flingva at a Pokemon during the gym battle. Lava was aliquid. That meant that it was difficult to contain, and small globs of it flew everywhere whenever Princess carried it. Once we reduced that waste, we''d be ready to move onto stage two. I grinned as she lifted a portion of theva and spun it around. It was difficult to see, but barely any particles were falling off from the main chunk, and she was keeping it far enough away not to burn. Once she mastered proper barriers, this wouldn''t be an issue, but for now, she had to stay safe. Step two was to learn to shape that liquid. Not into spears or drills like I had done with stones. That was extra effort for no reason. Lava was, and it didn''t need to be shaped to kill. What I could do, however, was zone Pokemon and confine them wherever was needed with thatva. For example, say Sunshine had just finished turning the middle of the arena intova, separating our sides into two. Princess would then be able to move thatva en masse and trap her enemy somewhere, by surrounding the Pokemon¡ª albeit from a safe distance¡ª while they slowly burned. Lava, as it turned out, would also be quicker to move than rock, and it was a terrible conductor of electricity, which meant Princess would be able to use it as a shield. Even if she mastered psychic shielding, I knew that it wouldn''tst long against Volkner''s powerful electric attacks. So long as she raised it at a safe distance, the technique would be sound to use, but even with her perfected shield, I didn''t want to risk her burning herself if she could avoid it. There was also thest thing on my mind. Creating a proto-eruption. That was, however, still in the theoretical stage. I had no idea if there was a way to do it in a safe and controlled manner, and worst-case scenario I''d keep it for non-friendly battles. But if I could do it? Arceus, it would be cool as hell. Seeing Princess and the others wield forces capable of so much destruction was the kind of thing that excited me the most. kazam, who I hadpletely forgotten about, stared at my notes over my shoulder like I was mad. I ignored him. ¡ª "I don''t know about this, Cece." "Grace, you lookamazing." She spun me around and stared into the bathroom mirror. My burns were on full disy here, and they tingled whenever I looked at them for too long. She grabbed her phone, ced her face against mine, and took a picture. She''d never been one for photos like Denzel or Emi, but she did take them once in a while. "Can I send it to Pauline?" Cece asked. "Knowing them, they''ll probably stay here too and drag Denzel with them." "Are you kidding me?Drag?Denzel would love this ce. Have Emi and Pauline been here before?" I asked, trying to stare straight. "Oh yes, plenty of times. Emi loves it here in the summer¡ª" There was an obnoxious knock on the bathroom door, which could only be Mira. "Get out, you lovebirds! It''s time to go!" We put on clothes over our swimsuits and exited the room. Somehow, she''d convinced Chase toe during their shopping trip as well, and I had no idea how. We grabbed our bags and our Pokeballs as well and we made our way to thezy river. There were more people now than this morning, and employees were handing out intable tubes (which almost no one was using because of how cold it was) and plenty of Pokemon and humans swam inside of the water. At this point, it was too cold to stay out for too long and I started shivering. I grabbed Honey''s Pokeball and released him, along with Angel. I would have made Sweetheart swim, but she definitely would have destroyed the pool and probably killed or injured someone. Iwouldbring her to theke at the resort''s center tomorrow, however. "Honey and the others can watch our bags," I said, my teeth chattering. "I''m going in, it''s too cold." Cece asked Slowking if he wanted to swim, but he preferred toze around on one of the folding chairs. Angel, meanwhile, couldn''t help but dip his vines into the water and shiver in excitement at the touch. He sprayed Sweetheart with it, but she was angry I wasn''t letting her in, so her reaction was pretty muted. As for Sunshine and Princess? Well, they were sleeping soundly, the first back in our room and thetter in her Pokeball. They''d worked hard today and deserved a break. "Don''t jump in the water, shrimp. It''s shallow and you''ll break your ankles," Chase told Mira. "What a specific injury," she said. "But okay." She was first in the water, and we soon followed, but before that, I released Jellicent directly into the pool. The ghost shivered in excitement, although he did immediatelyin about how warm the water was. I dipped my feet into the pool and slowly lowered myself in. "You''ll get used to it," I said. "For now, let''s just hang out. Let the current carry you, but don''t scare anyone, alright?" Jellicent rumbled under the water, and I felt a powerful jet at my feet. Soon enough, his two red eyes were floating off into the distance. He was almost invisible, so most people that weren''t paying attention wouldn''t see him. Chase swam ahead as if this was actually apetitive swimming race while Mira tried to keep up despite her Pokemon''s warnings. Cece and I hung in the back and got carried by the current as we spoke of the limits of how a battlefield could be altered and waysaroundthat limit, and she spoke to me about different ideas she was thinking of implementing for her future battle with Volkner. Nerding out about battling with her was so much fun. Every time we passed our Pokemon, Honey would wave at me with the biggest smile on his face and Angel followed suit. Sweetheart was angry, but she couldn''t help but join in. Slowking was already half-asleep. Sigilyph beeped as she dipped her bottom wing in the water and Zangoose grunted when some of it got on her. Lucario meditated next to the edge, undisturbed by any noise. The eyes of strangers felt ufortable for the first few minutes, but soon enough, I shed the final bits of reluctance and realized I wasn''t interested in anything they thought. Just the girl in front of me.
Side Story 1 – Sailor Side Story 1 ¨C Sailor SAILOR "Takeda! Takeda!" Takeda, who had been resting his head on his palm, nearly fell and knocked himself on the ship''s railing. His head snapped toward the source of the voice and he straightened his back. It was his boss, not the captain of the ship, of course, but the CSO¡ª Chief Security Officer, Mister Richards. "Yes, sir!" "No cking. You keep an eye out at sea, and you keep an eye on your Buizel." "Yes, sir!" Takeda repeated again. Buizel, for his part, was barely visible from this high. There was the bright yellow of his flotation sac, but apart from that, Takeda only saw the white foam of the ocean. And Legendaries, was it a mesmerizing sight. Calm blue waters as far as the eye could see without an ind in sight. The horizon appeared a seamless curve, and Takeda couldn''t see where the water ended and the sky began. The sun kissed his face and the wind blew in his hair, carrying a salty scent. Wild Wingull followed the ship wherever it went, flying high in the sky and asionallynding to nab any food they could get their hands on. "If I catch you dozing off, I''m throwing you overboard," That''d be illegal, you son of a bitch, Takeda grumbled to himself. He exhaled and ran his hand on the rusty railing. Takeda was a new sailor, and he''d recently gotten a job aboard the Evercrest Voyager, a container ship that traveled the world and shipped goods in between regions. Right now, they were traveling between Hoenn and Unova, and they were taking the long way because traveling near Orre''s coast was a sure way to get your ship raided by a bunch of pirates. Takeda was just a small part of what kept this ship running, but his job in the security apparatus was to have his water type keep a lookout for any wild Pokemon getting any ideas. The official position was Navigational Watch Officer, but that made it sound a lot fancier than it actually was. He was a dime a dozen, and there were at least two hundred people like him on this ship. The only requirement to get hired? Have a water type Pokemon that can keep up with this boat for hours at a time. The Pokemon worked in shifts, of course, but his Buizel had a lot of stamina since he could float along the water''s surface and move using only his tail. Takeda hadn''t really imagined that he''d be a sailor, but he couldn''tin. The pay was good, since he stayed away from home and treaded dangerous waters for months at a time. The ocean was different from the routes, and Takeda knew routes. Just like many trainers with jobs aboard this ship, he''d failed multiple times in Hoenn''s Circuit and decided to get a job instead of wasting his time beating his head against the wall. Routes were rtively calm, and Pokemon there could be negotiated or dealt with. In the ocean? Well, there was a reason this job was dangerous as hell. "Boss caught you ckin''?" "Shut it." Takeda groaned. "Are you taking over my shift?" He wouldn''t have called Cameron his friend. More like an acquaintance because they shared the same job. The man was actually from Orre, and he''d entertained the entire ship with stories many nights in the crew''s quarters. The region waswless hell where death, looting and murder were just a way of life, save for a few safe zones and cities. Cameron''s hometown didn''t even have a name, nor was it on any maps, but it had been victim to raids many times in the past. He never did tell them how he had escaped, though. The tanned man leaned against the railing. "Nah, just makin'' rounds. If I look like I''m doing something, I''m not getting yelled at." Takeda rolled his eyes. "You ever regret taking this job?" "Isn''t this only your fourth trip? And you''re already thinking of quitting?" Cameron wheezed as he pped his leg. "Why don''t you go back to being a little trainer while you''re at it." "That''s not even¡ª you know what, never mind." The man paused. "I''m just pulling your leg. What''s on your mind?" "It''s just, you know¡­ this is it. I''m just gonna be standing on a ship for the rest of my life, shipping whatever the hell is in those containers," he sighed, turning toward the huge row of red, metallic boxes. "Fuck, man." "The pay''s good." "It''s not about the pay, it''s about being bored out of my mind. I should have tried for another job." "Stick around another few months," Cameron shrugged. "This is your first go at Unova, right?" "Not like I get out of the port. Heard Castelia was pretty though." Cameron smirked. "Hear me out. Me, Doyle, Jimmy, and Kaine were thinking of sneaking out when we get there, just for a few hours. Go to a bar, meet some girls, getid¡ª" "Arceus¡ª" "No, I''m serious! You need to get your dick wet, man, that''s your problem. Spend a night in a woman''s arms and all of your stress will vanish. Not like the girls working here are any good, and I''d have to report that shit to HR." Takeda scoffed. "Asshole." "Yeah. I am. You''re too innocent, Takeda. Tell me, what led you to this ship." "Huh?" "What made you get this job?" "Isn''t it the same for everyone? It''s your fifteenth birthday, you think you''re going to be the next big thing, but you realize that shit is harder than you thought?" "Can''t rte, I''m from the shitty desert," he smirked. "But I meant, why this job? It can''t be the pay, you said as much." "I thought it was a way to still have an excuse to travel," Takeda said after a short pause. "I was stupid and thought I''d actually get to use my paycheck and act like a tourist at every port we stopped at. I also thought it''d be good for Buizel and Carvanha. I have two water types, so why not use them?" "Well, there ain''t much those two can do against the threats of the ocean." "No shit," Takeda deadpanned. "I''m a lookout¡ª oh sorry, a watch officer. I''m no battler. But you worry too much. The waters are calm." "Let me paint you a picture¡ª" "You''re going to jinx us." "In these waters? No, no, we''ve gone through this route a hundred times, the Pokemon here are harmless. Anyway, this was¡­ fifteen years ago. My Swampert''s a little pipsqueak Mudkip. We''re traveling from Kanto to Gr." "That''s a long ass trip." "Twenty-five to thirty-five days depending on the weather and what happens. Guess how long this one took." "I don''t know, two months? Three?" "That was a trap. We never made it. Gyarados attacked us near the Sevii Inds. Half of the crew and their Pokemon went missing. That''s what they always say. Missing. Can''t recover bodies or Pokeballs in the damn ocean." "Which ind did you wash up on?" "Oh, I don''t remember. There are way too many on that archipgo to count. The natives threw a fit, let me tell you. That was back when they had their whole independence war and they thought taking us hostage would send Kanto-Johto a message. Those dumbasses didn''t care if thepany we worked for was fucking Grian. Hell, there was only three fucking Kantoans and two Johtoans alive at this point. The vast majority of us had nothing to do with it." "How''d you manage to get out?" "Months of negotiation. Let me tell you, it''s weird to be in the headlines and to have governments squabble over you when you''re not even from the ce. Anyway, long story short, the government invades and takes back control of the Sevii Inds. It was when they were still reeling from Team Rocket''sst remains in Johto, so their forces were stretched a bit thin." "Never thought you''d be the type to know about shit like that." "Well, I am an old man." "You''re forty." "I said what I said," heughed, pping Takeda''s back. "Anyway, that day, the waters were perfectly calm, just like today. Gives you something to think about, eh? I hate it when it''s calm¡­ too calm." "Corrtion doesn''t equal causation." "Take it from an experienced sailor, Takeda. Can''t you feel it? Everyone''s on edge." The young man turned around and started to notice the temperament of his older and more experienced crewmates. One, nervously tapping a foot against the metallic ground. Another, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. His head turned toward the bridge high up behind him and saw a glimpse of people looking through binocrs. "Sailing''s dangerous, kiddo," Cameron said. "We link the world together. We''re the ones that allow them to frolic with their damn luxuries, and people never think about us. Hundreds of us die every year, but we aren''t even a headline. Being taken hostage? Now that''s interesting. Being vaporized by a Gyarados'' Hydro Pump? People don''t give a shit about that." Takeda swallowed. "So you should live every day to the fullest. You don''t need no fancy dream. Come with us to Castelia. Here, I''ll take over your shift, go and get some rest." "Thanks," he nodded as he recalled Buizel. He barely got the words out of his mouth. Cameron released a Swampert that was made of pure muscle into the ocean, and the ground type began to swim. ¡ª The crewmates'' quarters were a cramped, hot and ufortable affair. The bunk beds were barelyrge enough to fit Takeda, and he was smaller than the average man. What had woken him up was a flurry of steps and activity on the deck of the ship. Takeda rubbed his eyes and yawned before tapping another man on the shoulder. "You know what''s going on?" "Nope," he answered. "But I was about to go on deck. You''re¡­" "Takeda." "Takeda. Right, one of the new guys. Don''t panic, you''ll be fine." His words had the opposite effect, and Takeda''s leg began to bounce. It was a nervous tick he''d had since he was a child, and he''d repeated it during every single Gym Battle he''d tried. And failed. In retrospect, worrying about losing some Gym battle had been stupid, especiallypared to now. His life was on the line. Cameron''s story still hadn''t left his head, which Takeda assumed was the point. He''d been toox, sleeping on the job and acting like he was some security guard at a mall instead of a sailor braving the most dangerous areas known to man. There was a reason the ocean floor outside of very well-guarded areas with underwater cables couldn''t be explored. Mapping was done by sonar, and every submarine sent down never came back up. Pokemon ruled here, and they would rule forever. Takeda scrambled up the narrow stairs and pushed the door open. He''d expected rain to be battering down the deck, heavy winds or at leastrge waves, but there was nothing. The ocean was perfectly calm. Too calm. It was only now that he understood what Cameron had said. The suspense was killing him, and he''d rather for it to be storming than whatever the hell this was. "Takeda! To your post, now!" Mr. Richards bellowed. A huge Kingler crawled by his side, onto the containers. "Protect the cargo at all costs!" "What is it? What''s happening? Cameron took over my shift¡ª" "There was a massive drop in the water temperature. Code Purple S." Takeda audibly gulped. He was green, but he''d gone through training. He knew protocol and a drop in temperature thatrge at thistitude could only mean two Pokemon. Jellicent or Dhelmise. "Focus, sailor!" Mr. Richards screamed. "To your post!" "Yes sir!" Takeda scrambled back to his position with Carvanha''s Pokeball in hand. The water looked fine, but he knew the ship had measuring tools tracking the temperature and the water type Pokemon swimming around them could feel somethinging. He released his water type into the sea. "Carvanha! Be careful!" He screamed, cupping his hands. "There might be a ghost under the hull!" Carvanha was too far for Takeda to hear his response, but he was far from the only water type there. He spotted Cameron''s Swampert swimming with broad strokes way down the hull. As Takeda''s eyes scanned for any disturbance in the water, his boss'' words rang out in his mind. Protect the cargo. They were worth less than merchandise here. He could see why Cameron behaved the way he did. Two hours passed with no progress. The water temperature kept dropping until ice formed around the hull and slowed the ship down to a crawl. The Wingull had all left, and the sky waspletely clear. Takeda shivered and frowned when he noticed he could see his breath. They were still next to Hoenn! Suddenly, someone screamed. "Jellicent!" An audible series of gasps ran through the deck, but they didn''t panic. They were sailors. Takeda leaned over the railing and saw a glimpse of a pink tentacle asrge as one of the containers slither up the hull, but someone pulled him back by his cor. "Don''t look down, kid. Easiest way to get dragged down and drown." It was Cameron. "I didn''t know Jellicent got this big," Takeda stammered as his leg bounced. Cameron shrugged. "They can swell up to massive sizes. Call out for your Carvanha and tell him to stay away, he''ll hear you." Takeda quickly followed suit and hoped for the best. He heard the hull start to crack and the ship began to tilt starboard. Jellicent were monsters of the sea, known to drag ships to the bottom of the ocean to feed on any living creature that dwelled within. If you were lucky, you''d drown or freeze to death. If you weren''t and you got stuck in a room with air, it was only a matter if time until Jellicent found you and touched you with a tentacle that would somehow stretch far into the ship and scan for anything alive. Takeda heard and saw things. Attacks from Pokemon powerful enough to hope to stand up to a Jellicent of this size. Cameron leaned against a container with his arms crossed. There was nothing they could do. The engineers downstairs were probably hard at work, and so were the other members of the crew, but the trainers? They could only trust that their Pokemon would be enough. Takeda flinched when he heard a huge explosion somewhere below the ship¡ª no, an explosion would be wrong. Something had punctured. The ship began to tilt more, and Takeda had to hold onto the anchored containers. "We''re still rtively close to Hoenn," Cameron said, his voice stone cold. "Carvanha and Buizel can alternate and take you there. You might die of hypothermia, but there''s a chance." "What about¡ª" "Worry about your own skin," he interrupted. "The ship''s done for. Swampert!" Protocol dictated for them to get on the lifeboats, but Jellicent wouldn''t let them escape through those. Takeda stood on the left side of the container as the ship rolled onto its side and he heard a loud booming noise that felt like a shockwave blowing through his body. He stepped back for a second and saw that everyone was either falling overboard or jumping. It took him a few seconds to understand why. If he waited too long, he''d be buried by the ship. Just when he was about to grab Buizel''s Pokeball, Cameron held him back. "Don''t jump you fools! You''re jumping to your death!" Below the water, another Jellicent loomed. Blue, this time. It looked a little smaller, but it was still huge. Large enough to swallow up anyone that had jumped on this side of the boat. There were two. Swampert jumped out of the water and began to climb up the deck with his hands glowing white. When he reached them, Takeda noticed the frost anchored on his skin, and he couldn''t help but think about Carvanha. The little water type was nowhere to be seen, but all he could do was pray for his safety. "Hold onto him. Tightly." Takeda''s body moved on his own. Half of the ship was submerged at this point, but at least he figured he''d die trying. He grabbed onto Swampert''s shoulder as tight as he could while Cameron held onto the other side, and the water type began to climb up toward the bow of the ship. His arms felt like jelly, but he couldn''t let go. When they reached the top, Swampert jumped with no hesitation. Takeda screamed as he fell toward the ground a hundred feet down. At this height, the water would feel like concrete, and they were going to hit ice anyway¡ª Swampert croaked. Water broke through the ice, spun and formed into a pir that stretched high into the sky and carried the water type toward the ocean''s surface. The cold hit Takeda like a truck, and his body immediately felt numb. First, his fingertips, then his arms, then his core. Swampert swam quicker than he''d ever seen him until the ship was nearly a dot in to horizon and the waters had returned to their warm state. Takeda had been crying for thest twenty minutes. Carvanha was gone. "Sorry for your loss, kid," Cameron sighed, patting him on the back. "C¡ªCarvanha¡ª" "I know. I know how it feels. I know loss. All you can do is bear through it. I lost friends today. Colleagues. Fellow sailors. I don''t even know who escaped and who didn''t." And they''d be dered missing. "Why would anyone do this stupid fucking job?!" Takeda sobbed. "We''re worth less than cargo! Fuck!" Cameron sighed as Swampert continued swimming toward Hoenn. "If it''s not us, some other poor sods will get enticed by the paycheck." Takeda blinked. Dered missing. Every ident, out of the headlines and quietly buried. "I see," he simply said. This wasn''t a job. It was a death trap. A death trap that was necessary for global trade between regions. "Hoenn''s probably three days away. Swampert is strong, so he''ll manage with a few breaks¡ª" Takeda interrupted with a scream after he felt something nibble his legs. Two yellow horns protruded out of the water''s surface and Takeda''s heart swelled. It was Carvanha! Swampert stopped and the water type dove into Takeda''s arms and tackled him into the water. Arceus, he was still cold, but the tropical waters were warming him and he hadn''t lost anybody! They were all alive! "Ain''t that something," Cameron smiled. "Get back on and recall your fish, kiddo. We''ve got a long way ahead of us. It''s not over. Three days without without food is going to be tough. Swampert can handle the water front." When they reached Dewford, they were almost exhausted, their skin wrinkled and swollen, and they were too weak to even walk. Takeda vowed to never be a sailor again. Cameron hopped on his next job the next month.
Chapter 214 Chapter 214 CHAPTER 214 I''d grown used to waking up early in the mornings, and it had never been a problem for Cece with how scheduled her life used to be back with her so-called father. Mira, however? She was basically a shambling zombie. "Blergh. I feel like I could just fall over right now." "Well straighten up, because we''re going in the belly of the beast," Cecilia chided. "Take this seriously. It''s horrible news we''re delivering." The pink-haired teen nodded. "You''re right. Sorry." I felt a strong gust of wind and shivered as we reached the gates of the Antonovichs'' vi. And it was a vi, with multiple buildings each bigger than the ones they offered to rent out. The sheer amount of wealth on disy would have made Chase pop a blood vessel, but he wasn''ting. Instead, he''d decided to borrow kazam to train just like I had. Seeing how convenient having a Teleporter around was did make me envious, but theserge distances quickly tired kazam out, so there was a limit to how what he could do. Since Mira hoped to Teleport back to Sceon after battling Crasher Wake to go through Celestic to get to Snowpoint, she was content enough to build up kazam and Gardevoir''s stamina. Gardevoir, however, wanted nothing to do with Chase and refused to help him. This time, the guards confirmed our appointment and let us through the massive gates, and two of them decided to apany us to the main mansion. The Antonovichs actually had a parking lot with¡­ golf carts? They probably drove around the property in these whenever they wanted to get somewhere. We walked around a multi-level fountain that was made of the same white stone everything was made out of and we entered the building. This was like stepping inside of Pauline''s Hearthome mansion all over again. There was so much wealth umted in this ce that just being here made me nervous in case I broke something. I saw a glimpse of a maid carrying a basket upstairs, but that wasn''t where we were headed. We passed a crystal vase that was probably more expensive than all the money I''d ever made and we were led toward a living room. A woman in a suit dipped her head slightly and greeted us. "Ms. Obel, Pastel and Compton. My name is Nadia, and I wee you to the Antonovichs'' home. Feel free to take a seat on one of the couches, the Young Master will be with you shortly. May I offer you any refreshments?" Cece spared us a look, and we just awkwardly nodded. "Water''s fine," she said. In barely a minute, we were handed ice-cold water, and we began our wait for Sergei. Nadia left the room with the guards, although I could still see them at the end of the hall. They probably just wanted to give us some privacy. I nervously sipped on my water we waited in silence. How would I even say this? Would it be better to rip the band-aid off, or ease into it? I was starting to think it wholly depended on who Sergei was as a person. Minutes passed, and he was nowhere to be seen. "Did they forget about us?" Mira asked. "It''s been fifteen¡ª twenty minutes. We woke up early for this." "Rx," Cecilia said. "If he isn''t here in ten more minutes, I''ll say something. It''s no use being impatient." "I''m not impatient, I just think it''s disrespectful to make an appointment and be . Especially when it''s a familial matter." I blinked as I saw a scrawny, short teen off in the distance. "You won''t have to wait for long. He''s here," I whispered. We all stood up and waited for Sergei Antonovich to make his entrance. He was nked by two maids and also wore a suit that had been perfectly tailored for him. What did catch my eye was the vibrant green apple in his hands that he carried like it was made out of ss. Every step he made was deliberate and he held his head high, but I saw the anxiety buried within. A little twitch of his head when heid his eyes on us and the subsequent straightening of his back to appear a little taller. Self-confidence issues, maybe? He lived a pretty sheltered life and almost never had any visitors. But regardless, I wasn''t here to pick him apart. It was just practice. "Good morning, Mr. Antonovich," I smiled with an outstretched hand. He hesitated for a few seconds and took it before moving on to Cece and Mira. "I''m thankful you could make it on such short notice." My eyes drifted to the apple in his hands, and I confirmed that my senses weren''t fooling me. That was a Pokemon. It was hiding within the fruit, and there was a hint of a tail behind the apple. I knew the species was Grian, but I was nking on the name. "Yes. And as you know, I am a very busy man, so let us get on with it. Wi, get me some juice," he demanded as he sat. "No ice. If there''s ice I''ll send it back." The poor woman silently slipped away, leaving only one maid left with us. Sergei stared at Cece and then coughed into a fist. "Nadia told me that you had news of my foolish brother. What is up with him now? If you want us to pay for any damages he caused, I''ll have to let you know that he is no longer associated with the Grand Hotel Lake¡ª Hotel Grand Lake!" Sergei stammered. I turned toward Mira, and then Cecilia. No one had nned who would speak first, but I had been the one to know what truly happened to him. That meant that it was my responsibility to¡ª "Your brother Luca Antonovich was in Sceon during the tournament organized by BattleZone was running," Cecilia started. The young boy hesitantly nodded. "I heard of that, yes. Mother and Father spoke of him on many asions. What is¡­ what is the problem?" "You know what happened during the Darkest Day?" Mira asked. "A rogue dark type submerged the entire town in darkness. That meant that the town was¡­ bad news." She nudged her head toward me and I took a deep breath. "Luca was an information broker during the tournament, and he helped us uncover the mystery. I can''t really go into detail, but he''s¡ª he was crucial in exposing the Hunter family and saving the city. The problem is, he got captured. And after that, he¡­ he died, along with his Cutiefly. I''m sorry." Sergei let out a nervous chuckle. "No. There is no way he would die, he''s¡ª he wouldn''t. He didn''t even own any Pokemon when he left. This wasn''t him." "They took him, and they made his passing painful. We couldn''t save him. I''m sorry," I said again with my head hung low. There were no tears. I hadn''t known him long enough for that, but there was a heavy sense of guilt and shame. It was hard not to feel anything when the victim''s little brother was sitting right here. Sergei clenched a fist as the maid brought his juice back. "Not now!" He screamed. "But you said¡ª" He knocked the ss out of her hands, and it shattered into a hundred pieces on the floor and sprayed the white couches. The Pokemon inside of the apple yowled and retreated her tail inside the fruit. "My apologies, Young Master," the maid said. "We''ll clean this up right away." "We aren''t lying," Mira said. "I''m sorry. I know how difficult it is to lose someone close to you." "We weren''t¡ª aren''t close! I haven''t seen my stupid brother in two years. He never calls and neveres back home because Father and Mother wouldn''t let him. Do you have a way of veri¡ªverifying this im?" "We have text messages with him and we were seen together in Sceon on multiple asions," I said. "But other than that, no. That''s all we had to say. We want you to know that he was a good guy." If only his curiosity hadn''t gotten the best of him, I thought with a hidden wince. "You say you didn''t speak?" Cecilia asked. "We didn''t. I was forbidden from calling." "Do you want to know more about him?" Mira asked. "What he was like? If it''s been two years, I have no doubt he changed." "Enough. He isn''t dead. If he was, Mother and Father would have told me. I''m done with this farce. Guards, show them out!" There was nothing else we could do. We''d tried everything and he wasn''t budging, so we didn''t try to stay around any longer. The guards silently escorted us to the gate and I heard a loud ng as they closed. "He''s in denial," Mira immediately said. "It happened to me too. The problem here is that since he has no way of contacting Luca, he''ll be in denial forever, thinking that his brother is off somewhere traveling. Talk about shitty parents¡ª what is it with rich people?" "Josephine is fine," I said. "We tried everything. I don''t think we''ll get a second meeting, so we might as well enjoy ourst day here, I guess." That left a terrible taste in my mouth, but what else could we do? "This is wrong," Mira bit her lip. "He''s going to live his entire life following false information." "He''s burying his head in the sand," Cece added. "He''s being lied to," I said. And yet, nothing could be done. ¡ª I spent the next hour and a half training Angel, Honey, and Sweetheart on route 214 with Gardevoir''s help, since I had promised a break for Princess and Sunshine, and then I decided it was time to get Sweetheart''s metaphorical feet wet. She''d wanted this for a long time and it would be good to cheer myself up. Theke at the resort''s center was evenrger from up close, and thankfully for me, it waspletely empty aside from a few people hanging about on the quay. I circled the shores of theke until I reached the most isted spot I could find and released the family there. "Sweetie, listen carefully," I said. "You''re going to swim, but¡ª" The rock type cheered, but she lowered her voice when I covered my ears and stared. After a short apology, I continued. "But only close to the shore. You can use your pressurized gas to propel yourself. If I ever think you''re too far, I''ll recall you in your Pokeball. Got it?" She agreed with a grunt. "Buddy, you go out there too. She''s too heavy for you to drag her out, but you can still monitor her and speak to her as you follow. The rest of us will just stay here and watch." Sunshine patted Sweetheart on the back and told her to get going, and the others also cheered her on. Angel was worried sick, but he tried his best not to let it show, which wasn''t very effective. Pupitar slowly crawled toward the water''s edge until the cold liquid touched her shell. The growing body inside her cocoon rattled at the touch, but she sunk deeper and deeper. Bubbles quickly climbed to the water''s surface and then the jet sprayed it behind her. A quickly erected psychic barrier from Princess protected all of us from the cold water. Sweetheart was skidding across the water with a jubnt scream, not unlike the jet skis that were parked at the quay. Buddy struggled to go as fast as she was, but Water Sport helped him barely keep up. I heard a hiss as she expelled more gas from her chambers. When I yelled, she abruptly turned one hundred and eighty degrees and started flying back right at us. I''d never seen her eyes this excited, and I couldn''t help but smile too, even if I couldn''t help but worry about the worst-case scenario. Ever since she''d been a Larvitar in Hearthome, she had wanted this, and she was finally living it. She spent the next two minutes going across the water as fast as she could, but she ran out of pressurized air soon enough and had toe back. Sweetheart slowly came to a stop on the shores of theke, proving how much she had improved at controlling her movement. The first words out of her mouth was her asking if we''d all seen her. Water dripped down her shell and I grabbed five towels to wrap her up with while she bragged to Honey about her navigation skills. Arceus, I hoped we''d find a way to get her to swim after she''d evolved. "That was great," I smiled. "You went so quickly too! People at the quay were looking at you, you know?" She huffed, saying that she knew they must have been impressed. "If you want, we can stay here a little longer to let you recharge, and you can have another go? We don''t have anything else to do today." Needless to say, she agreed immediately. "Wait, where did Buddy go?" While I hadn''t been looking, he''d slipped back into the water and imed it as his turf. "Ok, you know what, I''m going to swing back home and grab you guys lunch. Sunshine, since Buddy''s gone, you''re on Dad duty¡ª" The dragon snorted. "Don''tugh, I''m serious. Make sure Sweetheart doesn''t go in while I''m gone, and don''t let Princess hurt anyone that looks at her wrong. Angel, youe with me." Togetic let out an exaggerated gasp of betrayal at my words. She was obviously angry I was cing her under Sunshine''s watch, but she also disliked that I hadn''t told him anything about Honey. "Your brother knows how to behave," I said. Princess grumbled and plopped herself on the ground. I rubbed her cheek and smiled. We ended up staying here the rest of the afternoon. ¡ª Night hade to the Hotel Grand Lake, and with it, our final hours in the resort. Tomorrow, we would be back on the road and we''d hopefully get to Sunyshore within two to three days. What we were currently doing, however, was waiting for midnight. Cecilia turned sixteen in exactly four hours. "How the¡ª see, how the fuck did you do that? That trick with the exploding spores?" Chase asked. "I want Abomasnow to do the same." He squinted and snatched my phone out of my hands to rewind the video. He was currently watching my Gym Battle with Maylene, although he waspletely uninterested in the Gym Leader herself. He still held a grudge against her since she hadn''t battled him, and I didn''t want to tell him it was for the best. "What do you mean, trick?" I frowned. "It''s not a trick if I just have Angel expunge them from his body. Does your Abomasnow not do it like that?" "No, his spores attack are smaller than this. Training through repetition doesn''t really work, the mileage we get out of it is basically non-existent." "Do you have a video of him using the move? Maybe I can help." "They must have recorded his Gym Battle," Mira yelled from afar as she opened the fridge. "He''s obsessed with creating a weird spore attack powerful enough to swarm the entire arena. He told me when we were shopping yesterday¡ª aw man, there''s no apple juice? That was my apple juice! Who drank it?!" "The entire arena?" Cece scoffed. She was sitting opposite of me with her legs crossed. "That''s a lofty goal." "Isn''t that just a spore bomb, but big?" I frowned. "Not exactly unique. Denzel already uses it." "Who drank my apple juice?!" "I drank your fucking apple juice!" Chase snapped. "You didn''t say it was yours." "Chasey¡­" "I don''t care, I was thirsty and you never said it was yours. Anyway, I don''t want to make a spore bomb. I was thinking that with Blizzard, we could spread them all over the arena. Mix cold, paralysis, poison, sleep and hail all in one. Keep the Blizzard low-powered too so he can keep it going forever." "Ohh, that is devious," I grinned. "Yeah, that''s the point. But for that, we have to improve with spore moves." He showed me a video of his battle. It hadn''t really been close, and even Abomasnow had destroyed thepetition despite having the type disadvantage. "I''m not seeing anything," I shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it''s a weak attack, but¡ª" "Lemme see," Mira said as she grabbed the phone. "Hm¡­ yeah, he''s using the move wrong. Hold on¡­ uh, he''s made of mostly bark, right, so getting the spores out there is difficult. Have him spit ''em out. It''ll be easier that way." She threw the phone back on hisp and sat next to him. "You know, that does seem obvious now that you say it," Cecilia said. "Grace,e here." She tapped her thigh with a coy smile, but just as I was about to follow suit, there was a knock on the door. "Someone hire room service? I did want to order a pizza," Mira said. "I''ll go," Chase shot up. He strode up to the door followed closely by Zangoose and Lucario and looked through the peephole. "Some blond kid''s at the door. He looks like someone stole his lunch." I stared into Cecilia''s eyes, and then Mira''s. "Sergei," I said. "Open the door." Gone was Sergei''s perfectly tailored-suit and haughty pose. Instead, his clothes looked disheveled and his eyes were red and swollen. He still carried that apple in his hand that Cece had identified as an Applin for me. Not only that, but she was a different color than the norm like Emilia''s Metang. Apparently her species was a popr dragon type that rich people bought their children because of how safe it waspared to the norm. She certainly looked a lot more peaceful than Deino. We recalled our Pokemon so he wouldn''t get scared and we sat him down on the couch. "What happened?" I asked. "Chase, shut up." "I didn''t say anything!" "You were going to. Sergei, what happened? Do you want anything? Water?" "It''s my parents. They told me he was d¡ªdead. That they didn''t think it would be relevant information to give me." I blinked. "So they did know." And it made sense, considering they apparently had spies tracking him all the way to Sceon. They hadn''t seen his death, but his disappearance left very little room to theorize. People didn''t just vanish off the face of the earth¡ª unless they had a specialized team to do it like Abel. All Luca had owned was two Cutiefly. But what kind of parents would hide this information? They hadn''t made any public statement, nor did it look like they cared. We''de here with the expectation that Luca''s parents loved him. That didn''t look to be the case. "I don''t know what to do. I ran away and Nadia told me where you were staying. She said she''d distract my parents for a bit but the guards are already looking for me." There was no easy answer to his dilemma. He wasn''t fifteen yet, so he was still a child in the eyes of thew and he would get sent back to his parents as soon as he was caught if he ran away from the resort. Taking him was out of the question, but surely there was something we could do. Mira grabbed the television remote and turned it off. Chase spoke up. "Run away¡ª" "No. He can''t run," Cecilia shook her head. "Not until he turns fifteen. And does he even want to?" "That''s not the face of someone ready to run," Mira said. "You don''t know anything about me!" Sergeished out. "I can¡ª I have Applin. It can help me. Pokemon fight things! It''ll protect me from the wild!" My eye twitched at that pronoun, but I let it pass. He was in no state to be lectured about that, but the fact that he spoke of his Pokemon like an object didn''t do him any favors. "Cece? You''re the most knowledgeable with this," I said. My girlfriend sighed and brought her hand to her mouth as she thought. After a minute, she spoke. "Sergei. Are you happy here?" The boy suddenly looked so small and innocent. His eyes widened slightly and he gave us a half-hearted nod. "Is that the truth?" She asked again. "I''m tired here. I have lessons every day. I can''t go out of the house without approval from my parents and I can''t make friends with the guests." "And your parents. Do they make time for you?" "We eat together every night when they aren''t away on business." "Do they ask you about how you''re doing and actually speak to you, or do they pressure you and demand to know your ''progress'' on whatever lessons you had that day." We didn''t need his answer. His expression was enough to know what his life was like. Cecilia saw herself mirrored in him. "Look, Sergei. Right now, there isn''t much you can do. You''re young, so the authorities will take your parents'' side, and that''s not even talking about the whish you''d get from living like this to traveling the routes and sleeping in Centers." "So what, then?" "Bide your time. n your escape and if you want to, run away when you''re ready. The first step is always the hardest, but you''ll have to be strong. Having friends and support helps a lot with that. Do you have someone you can trust unconditionally?" "Nadia," he instantly answered. "Very good. Get her to help you, and when the timees, you strike. You run away and watch their reaction as fifteen years of investment falls down the drain. Because that''s what you are to them, Sergei. An investment." "And make them pay when you''re strong enough," I added. "Well, let''s hold off on that," Mira chuckled. "You could also take a chance and run away now," Chase shrugged. "Fuck it, why not? I''d rather risk getting caught than live a single day like this. Hell, you could even get this Nadia to help you out." "Thinking long-term is smarter. That way, he''s ready," Cece said as she shook her head. "Long term doesn''t sound so good when he''s eating shit every day." "I get it," Sergei said. "Running away now was all a pipe dream anyway. It''s not like I could ask you to help me escape. Even if you made it past the guards, you''d be charged for kidnapping and my parents would drown you inwyers until you never saw the light of day again." "I''m sorry," I said. "But if you want, you can stay a little while." He sniffled. "I''d like that. You said that you could tell me about Luca?" "We can!" I smiled. "And you can tell us about how he was before too." Sergei began to tell us about his brother. That he''d been a rebel from a young age and was the heir until he burned down a building for attention. From the way Sergei had spoken about his parents, I understood why. It was Luca''s way of getting his parents to look at him, even if he got disowned and kicked out right afterward. It was only when he started telling us that they became estranged after his parents filled his head with bad things that we pivoted to good stories only. Luca was gone, but he would not be forgotten. ¡ª Sergei had left at eleven after we saw shlights in the distance. It wouldn''t be good for the guards to find him in our home, and he hadn''t wanted to get us in trouble. In the end, he''d decided to prepare for his journey. He''d pitch the idea to Nadia and she would teach him how to survive the wilds and how to train his little Applin¡ª that I had also given him advice on. It would take years of grueling work, but he was determined to see it through. The mood hadrgely recovered from when he''d first arrived, and we counted the minutes until midnight. Cecilia anxiously watched her phone every few seconds and Mira couldn''t help but tease her for it. Hell, she even screamed happy birthday as a joke when there were twenty minutes left, and she fell for it. But when midnight came, I was the first one to speak. "Happy birthday," I said. It was a quiet deration, and Chase and Mira quickly followed suit. Cecilia teared up, and I wrapped her in a tight hug. This was her first birthday with friends. All of her others, she''d either spent with her parents¡ª soulless husks that didn''t even love her. They''d take her to parties where she knew nobody and was alone the entire night. "So, the sweet sixteen! How does it feel?" Mira asked as she leaned forward. "I''m going to be upfront, I don''t have a gift for you yet," Chase shrugged. "It''s the thought that counts though, right?" "I thought we were waiting until the joint party thing to do gifts?" Mira said. I instinctively stared at my bag. "Well, it depends. Cece''s the birthday girl, so if she wants¡­" "We can wait," she smiled. "I''m¡­ content." "I guess I''ll wait to give mine, then," Mira said. Ceciliaughed again, as if she couldn''t help it and thanked us each with a hug. With me, though, she leaned down and kissed me. "I love you," she said. "I love you too." "Don''t jump at each other''s bones while we''re here," Mira teased. "Let''s get the Pokemon in here too!" I eximed. A year ago, she''d been like Sergei. Now, she was free. Hopefully, he''d manage the same one day. Morning came soon after, and we were on our way to Sunyshore again.
Chapter 215 Chapter 215 CHAPTER 215 Route 222 was filled to the brim with trainers, and this time there was no avoiding them. My eyes lingered on a small Nidoran battling an obviously more experienced Dewott. Nidoran ran at full speed toward the water type, his horn dripping with poison, but Dewott simply pulled out one of his shells and raked it across Nidoran''s hide. This wasn''t the first uneven battle I''d seen. In fact, there werea lotof them. Not only was route 222 full of people and civilization, without a single wild Pokemon to be seen, but we could also see a prolonged patch of beach in the distance that reminded me of Sandgem. "This is kind of nostalgic," I said. "Reminds me of when I just left Jubilife with Denzel. The road was full of trainers like this." "Sunyshore''s a noob trap," Chase said. "A lot of these kids have been here the entire year and won''t bother quitting. Throwing their heads against the wall, not changing their habits even though they''ve been losing to Volkner all year." "I mean, if it''s fun," I shrugged. "It''s not fun. They''re ying pretend," Chase said with a haughty tone. "Staying on the safest route, not bothering to take any risks to improve and going back to their parents'' house when the day''s over. I mean, what''s the point?" "Don''t be an ass," I rolled my eyes. "We all start somewhere, don''t we?" Making it through route 222 would only take around twelve hours, and the more we approached Sunyshore''s gate, the more trainers there were. This route was so safe that even civilians were out picking and the road trucks drove through was still there far to the left. There were evenhomesnear the beach. They weren''t simply a part of Sunyshore''s expansion¡ª the city was actually pretty conservative on that front despite the high poption. There were just homes in the middle of a route. I didn''t like it. "We need to find a quiet spot for the thing," Mira muttered. "Good luck finding a quiet spothere," I said. "It might be a better idea to wait until we get to Sunyshore." Thethingwas another word for the Voice. Originally, we''d wanted to test it in the resort (although Cecilia still vehemently opposed it, as she showed with her re), but we''d dyed it due to personal arguments and disagreements. I was stuck in the middle of it all. On one hand, I didn''t want to go against Cece, but I did believe Mira was right. It would be better to test it so we knew what we were getting into. After around a two hours'' walk, we decided to take a break near the beach. Itwasa great view, although it was way too active for Sweetheart to swim. Some trainers were even having a battle in the water, although they stayed out of it themselves. We all snacked on sandwiches I''d made before we left. The asional trainer stopped by in hopes of talking to us, but Chase''s unfriendliness chased them away pretty quickly despite Cece and I''s best efforts. We''d even kept our most confrontational Pokemon inside our Pokeballs in order not to scare the public. I sat on Angel''s vines with Cece while Honey ate a sandwich of his own. Slowking spoke to kazam, although they kept their conversation private. From the way Mira''s psychic looked, he was probably being subject to more horrible puns. Lucario sat with his legs crossed, and a pale blue Aura surrounded him. His usual meditation, no doubt. Speaking of. "Hey, Chase. What''s Ri meditating for?" I asked. "Oh, it''s a bunch ofplicated words," he waved a hand. "Long story short, his body''s a conduit through which Aura can flow, and he''s building himself up. The more he does it, the stronger his Aura-based attacks get." "He''ll have to show me his tricks sometimes. I''m interested in how they differ from Maylene''s." "That five-badge Lucario she has? Ri''s better," Chase dered. "I know he was itching to battle him too. Too bad all we got was some League Trainer." "I''d be d if I got a League Trainer," Mira pouted. "Gym Battles are exhausting. I prefer the path of least resistance." "Maybe you''ll get one with Volkner. He''s known to be quitezy with his Gym Leader duties," Cecilia said. "He misses quite a lot of battles." My eyes narrowed. I wasnotgoing to battle a League Trainer. I''d make sure of it, no matter what levers I had to pull. "Guys, guess what, by the way!" Mira eximed excitedly. "Gardevoir told me I grew an inch! I''m 5''5 now!" I craned my neck and instinctively stood a bit straighter. "You are my height¡­ I''m still not growing." Cecilia and Chase had grown during the year as well, although Cece was almost taller than he was at something between 5''9 and 5''10. I didn''t think I''d grow much, but I had expectedat leastan inch or two. What was next? Was Mira going to grow taller than me? I could already visualize her future smugness and I was preemptively annoyed. "You don''t have a heightplex, do you?" Mira asked when she saw my face. "No, but I''m friends with a bunch of tall people. Well, except you." "Touch¨¦." Cecilia wrapped an arm around me. "I like you small. Angel does too." I felt the grass type''s vines shake in agreement behind me. "I''ll let that pass because it''s your birthday," I smiled. "Angel''s fine, though. He can do no wrong." "Oh, I get birthday privilege? I''m going to abuse that. Can we extend it until it''syourbirthday?" "Don''t get ahead of yourself now." "All this battling''s got me itching for one," Mira grinned. "Mira Compton, interested in battling?" Cece raised an eyebrow. "That''s a new one." "How about it, Chasey?" "Me?" He asked, his mouth full of food. "Sure, why the hell not." "Don''t speak with your mouth full¡­" I sighed. Honey echoed my words, but he ignored us. Mira raised two fingers. "Two-on-two, no switching! If I win, I get a date with you in Sunyshore." Ah.Thatwas her angle. Her interest in battling had probably been a lie. She was a trainer, but she didn''t share the sheer joy the rest of us had during Pokemon battles. Chase finished his sandwich in two bites and hummed. "Not like you''re going to win anyway," he said. "Cecilia, can Slowking make us a barrier?" The girl hummed. "A low-powered one, perhaps. He''s still getting the hang of it. Slowking?" I will try my best,he said.But I would appreciate it if you didn''t go all out. "They won''t, this is just a spar. Thest thing we want to do is kill a kid¡ª" I heard a whimper behind me, and a girl scampered away in fear. Cece nearly held herugh in, but Mira didn''t bother to hide it. I lowered my head into my hands and groaned as Honey patted my back and Angel caressed my head. "This always happens to me." "No, no, please go into greater details about how you threaten to murder children." Mira teased. "I said weshouldn''t," I hissed. "Whatever, just go do your battle thing already. I want to get out of here ASAP." I watched as Cecilia made rounds to clear us enough space for a battle and Slowking summoned a rectangr barrier. It was a much smaller area than actual gym battles, and it was also less high, but he was still a novice at protecting such a wide area and Mira needed her Pokemon with her in case she was going to use them. A small crowd formed around the makeshift battlefield, and people already had their phones out to film. "Honor system. We release on the count of three," Chase said. "Sounds good. You better prepare to organize a date for us, Chasey!" He scoffed and then counted down the three. He released Sigilyph while Mira released Gardevoir. It''d be a battle between psychics, then, but I had actually never seen what Sigilyph was capable, so I found my eyes getting drawn to the cute flying type. Needless to say, the person who knocked out the first Pokemon would have a huge advantage, so everything rested on this fight. "Damn it, I thought you''d lead Houndoom!" Mira yelled. She sounded genuinely upset. "Come on, Chase! Your Houndoom beats Magnezone, Haunter, kazam,andPorygon isn''t strong enough yet. He was your best choice! Use your head!" "Don''t care, didn''t ask. Can we start?" "...Yeah." "Three, two, one, go!" Mira leaned against her knees, but no orders came from her. Instead, a multitude of microexpressions etched themselves onto her face and Gardevoir responded to the silent order. The psychic type held out a hand and tiny rays of electricity appeared in front of her palm, coalescing into one giant sphere that exploded outward into a beam. "Psycho Shift!" Chase yelled. Sigilyph''s singr eye lit up, and the ray of electricity blinked out of existence right before it hit her chest. The attack immediately shot out from another point in space, this time slightly to her left, and flew toward Gardevoir. The fairy type quickly raised a barrier and the attack broke against the invisible shield. Mira''s face only twitched, and red mes began to spin around Gardevoir. The psychic grunted, bringing her hand down and the fire split into five different wisps. With another wave of an arm, they each flew toward Sigilyph. Psycho Shift wouldn''t work this time, not when the mes were being deliberately controlled by Gardevoir. "Whirlwind and Psybeam!" Chase ordered. Sigilyph shook her wings, and wind powerful enough to send me flying beat against the mes. Gardevoir''s stare intensified as she fought to keep the mes going, but they each fell onto the grass and began to burn the field. The wind continued and swept up Gardevoir''s dress-like skin, and the fairy type red at Chase. Another attack, this time a multicolored series of rings flew toward Gardevoir. She didn''t hesitate to raise a barrier, but¡ª "Shadow Ball!" While dark type moves broke through barriers like butter, ghost type moves were effective at breaking them down. While Gardevoir blocked the Psybeam, Sigilyph weaved shadows into a tight ball and let it loose. Gardevoir Teleported away from the sphere, braving the mes she herself had created, but the wind ahead of her sharpened and cut up her skin. A slightly frustrated groan escaped Mira, but she stayed silent. Gardevoir grinned, and then appeared right above Sigilyph with ice frozen around her fist. The flying type let out a series of beeps as Gardevoir relentlessly beat her up. She tried to shake her off, but she''d linked her other fist with Sigilyph''s skin and frozen the two together. "Don''t panic. Steel Wing!" Mira''s eyes widened, and before Gardevoir could Teleport away, Sigilyph''s wing turned silver and mmed against her. The psychic type''s Teleport stuttered as she quickly released another one of those electric attacks to buy time. I''d noticed the fact that Gardevoir had also tried to use Psychic on Sigilyph while she''d been on her, but Sigilyph was aconstruct. While the attack would work, she wouldn''t get a headache that broke her focus when there was no brain to assault. Gardevoir stood on one side of the field, burned and holding an arm. She wasn''t bleeding, nor had the Steel Wing been that strong, but just a touch of steel type energy and she''d been reduced to this. Sigilyph''s eye shone, and an arc of airrger than her own body flew toward Gardevoir. The fairy type expected it to fly directly to her, but it winked out of existence and appeared near Sigilyph again. And again. She was using Psycho Shift onher own Air sh. The same process repeated itself over and over, and the Air sh slowly built up speed as Sigilyph shifted it around the arena. Mira bit her lip, silently ordering her Gardevoir. She began Teleporting erratically just like the Air sh in hopes to avoid the attack, but she wasn''t like kazam. Even with these short distances, she would tire and Sigilyph would not. I blinked when the fire suddenlyroseas one and converged toward Sigilyph. Her wings twitched, but Chase told her to hold strong. The mes surrounded her and she let the Air sh loose. The move shattered Gardevoir''s hastily erected barrier and cut diagonally across her body. She flew back and crashed against Slowking''s barrier. "You''ve done well, Gardevoir," Mira said. "Take a breather." The fairy protested, but Mira recalled her anyway. Since this was just a spar, they weren''t going to fight to the point of unconsciousness. That Air sh had been going at speeds so incredible that I''d barely seen it hit and it hadn''t been visibleat all. I''d heard stories of a perfected Air sh being invisible, but I supposed it was easy when you could build up its speed over an infinite distance. I wondered if you could do the same thing with Teleport? It''d be a bootleg version of the move, but I believed it might work. I hurriedly grabbed myptop and began typing away as Mira released her next Pokemon. Magnezone, this time. "Did the battle give you an idea?" Cece asked as she leaned against me. "Yup. What if you could use, like, a methrower or Hydro Pump and Teleport it in apletely different location?" "That¡­ that sounds extremely powerful and annoying," she said. "Yeah, well, not that many Pokemon learn Psycho Shift, so I''ll have to make do." I turned my attention back to the battle, and a ray of fire, ice and electricity appeared above Magnezone''s forehead and rushed toward Sigilyph. The ray of electricity disappeared and reappeared behind Sigilyph, but the other two hit her in the wings. That had been smart of Mira. Sigilyph wasn''t good enough to use Psycho Shift on multiple attacks at once, and it looked like Chase hadn''t even taught her how to raise barriers yet, so they were taking full advantage of it. "Discharge!" Mira said. Magnezone buzzed and flew toward Sigilyph, his body brimming with electricity. I saw a glimpse of Psybeam before electricity exploded outward and blinded me. Sigilyph was surprisingly still standing after the attack, but Chase recalled her before she could get hurt any further. Magnezone actually seemed quite rattled by the Psybeam, and his mas rapidly spun as he buzzed and flew back toward Mira. Wait, she has Tinted Lens, I remembered. What an annoying ability. Needless to say, Chase sent out his Houndoom next. "methrower," he immediately ordered. "Mirror Coat!" Mira yelled. A shimmering barrier appeared in front of Magnezone, and the methrower bounced back toward Houndoom. The attack itself didn''t deal any damage thanks to sh Fire, but Mira wasreallyying with fire here, no pun intended. The mes danced around Houndoom and the dark type howled. "Let''s finish this quickly! Lock-On and Thunder Wave!" That was the y, then. Tonot let Houndoom attack at all.Something changed in Magnezone''s eyes, and a low-powered beam of electricity flew at Houndoom. Chase didn''t say anything, but Houndoom expunged darkness from every pore in his skin and the Thunder Wave copsed and died. When the void dissipated, Houndoom was nowhere to be seen. "Find him with Lock-On and Tri-Attack," Mira whispered. Magnezone''s eyes darted to the left and a quick, low-powered ray of electric energy hit the ground. We heard a yelp, and strands of darkness tied themselves into knots until Houndoom appeared again. He''d done this during our double battle, but he''d been easy to track. Now, he was practically invisible as if he was a ghost. "Lock-On is bullshit," Chaseined after clicking his tongue."Darkfire!" Darkness bled below Houndoom''s feet, and from there, silent and dark mes crawled out as if they had a mind of their own. They were so dark it was as if they sucked the light wherever they went. "Don''t let him! Lock-On, Electroweb!" The steel type screeched as he rapidly weaved a web of electricity in front of him. He wasted no time throwing it toward Houndoom, who was busy focusing on creating his mes. Right before the web hit, they all shot out upward. The web dissolved where the mes hit, but it had beenrge enough topletely wrap around Houndoom anyway. The fire type whined and began to convulse on the floor, but what happened to Magnezone was far worse. It wasn''t the heat that was the problem. The mes burned Magnezone, and itdidhurt him, but it alsopletely cut off his ess to Type Energy. Mira desperately yelled for the steel type to finish Houndoom off, but every attack died before it could evene together. And since they wereHoundoom''smes, they wouldn''t go out until he decided to extinguish them. "Isn''t this kind of¡­ insane?" I frowned as I spoke to Cece. "Yes, yes it is. He told me he''d been workshopping it for a while. Thereareways to counter it, but Magnezone isn''t exactly equipped to deal with it." "Yeah. Looks like Mira knows it too," I said. "She''ll get another chance. Chase could have t-out refused, after all. I''ve been trying to replicate something like this with Scyther and Houndoom''s been a big help for us¡­" I listened to Cece''s progress as Mira gave up and told Houndoom to stop the mes. Magnezone had nearly been knocked out and struggled to float, and Mira quickly ran up to him with a potion in hand after Slowking dissolved his barrier and extinguished thest remaining mes that Gardevoir had made. How would I even counter this Darkfire technique? Well, besides not getting hit, beating Houndoom to a pulp before he could attack, or switching, I knew dark types were vulnerable to bug TE. Aaron had found the weakness in Shiftry''s domain, after all. I assumed fairy was the same along with fighting, and you could always brute force him with muscle. So it wasn''t unbeatable, but it sure was insanely annoying to deal with. Like a stronger version of Will-O-Wisp. "Good effort, but you''re going to have to try harder than that," Chase said. Mira said nothing. She looked genuinely disappointed, which was something I hadn''t seen from her in a while. After kazam spoke to her, she cheered up pretty quickly and put a smile back on her face. "I really thought I had you before that Darkfire trick. Dang it," she said. "I''ll snag you next time." "There''s going to be a next time?" Cece asked with a teasing smile. "My, my, Chase is falling into your clutches faster than I thought." "She''s a friend," he shrugged. "And I did say she wouldn''t win." "It was close," Mira said. "Sorry shrimp, but it wasn''t." "T''was!" Chase shook his head dismissively. "We''re still sticking around for twenty minutes or so, right? I''m gonna go for a jog." He patted Mira on the shoulder before he left. "Wait, do you want potions for your team¡ª he''s already gone," I sighed. "He can''t sit still, can he?" I turned toward Mira. She waspletely red. ¡ª "Um. You four are really strong right?" We were back on the road, and a girl had approached us. She was fiddling with her fingers and shifting in ce, like this was nervewracking for her. She was actually tall¡ª as tall as Cece was, and she was obviously the same age, but there was a clear demeanor difference between us and her. She was green, and we were not. "What''s wrong?" I asked. "Did something happen to you? What''s your name?" "Uh, Erin. I was wondering if you could help me¡­ and, uh, a bunch of other trainers. I''m kind of the representative on this route." "Representative?" Cecilia curiously probed. "Yeah, we have a club for new trainers back in Sunyshore called New Wave where we vote on stuff. I was voted representative." "What the hell is this, student council elections?" Chase mocked. I hit him softly on the arm when the girl shrunk at his words. His forcefulness was intimidating, and I didn''t think he realized it. "What happened to you?" I asked again. "Um. Last week, we voted on banning money matches on this route. We''re all in this together, and I thought it''d be better if we didn''t have them. That way, people don''t lose all of their money on battles." She paused. "And?" Cece asked. "Some trainers disagreed. They formed their own club and they''re asking for money when they battle us. We have no badges, but the majority of them have one and their leader has two. We can''t stand up to him." I raised an eyebrow and enunciated what we were all thinking. "Why not just refuse the match? Two trainers have to consent to battle,andto battle for money. Can''t you just disagree? If they want to battle for money, they can do it between themselves." "I mean, we can, but that''s just not how¡ª we can''t really do that," she said. "It''s just¡­ cowardly. We tried keeping our heads down at first, but people who wanted us to fight defected and other non-affiliated trainers are hearing all about them and are joining their club. They''ll be bigger than us soon." Ah.The West-East cultural divide struck again, it seemed. This waspletely alien to us as people who had started their journey from the West. Route 222 was the safest in Sinnoh, but with that came petty disputes like these instead of a united front. Hell, maybe there were some on route 214 too, we just hadn''t traveled on the popr part of the route. Politics, I sighed. "They also keep badmouthing us and pushing us around. I hate it." "What do you want us to do, then?" Cecilia asked. "I don''t know¡ª" "You know," I interrupted. "It''s okay, just tell us." The girl shuffled ufortably. "I''d really like it if you beat Riley on our behalf! He''s the Wild Tamers'' leader¡ª that''s the new club. You guys are famous, and if you came out and supported New Wave, he''d stop bullying us." "The kid with two badges? That should be easy enough," Mira said. "Where''s he at?" "He usually hangs out further down the route, an hour out from the gate. Since I was nning on heading home soon, uh, I can follow you. I''ll point you to him." I brought a hand to my chin and nodded. If what Erin was saying was true, then what was happening was unfair. No trainer should ever be forced to give money to another if they didn''t want to, and since they weren''t actually breaking anyws, calling the Rangers would be useless. Plus, they''d look like cowards, and they seemed to hate that. If they kept it to trainers, they''d look a lot better. But first, I''d make sure to get this Riley''s story. "What do you guys think?" I asked. "I say we help, it sounds entertaining," Mira said. "Don''t care," Chase shrugged. "Sure, why not," Cece said. "I guess we''re in." ¡ª Erin was quite a sweet girl, but sometimes I felt like she thought we were, like, Gym Leaders or something. Even after traveling with her for two hours and making small-talk most of the way there, she was just as nervous as she''d been when we first met. She exined this club system to us in greater detail, and it was mostly kept to Pastoria, Veilstone and Sunyshore, where first and sometimes second year trainers decided to stay the entire Circuit. All you had to do to join was pay a membership fee every month, and the club would distribute potions, food and supplies, and the older members would give tips and practice with the newer ones. They mostly stayed inside cities but liked to go to routes to battle and ''camp'', which was meant to stimte the harsher environments of western Sinnoh. I had to say, it was very cute. And of course, with these quasi-armies camepolitics. Club rivalries, drama, bullying, everything I could think of. Hell, they were even run differently. Some of them were direct democracies while others had councils where a few ruled, and others were basically a dictatorship. Erin''s club¡ª New Wave¡ª was actually a rtively new yer on the tri-city area stage. Tri-city meaning Pastoria, Sunyshore and Veilstone. Even though she had no badges, her organizational skills had propelled her to the position of representative, and now people looked to her to fix this issue. "That''s him, that''s Riley," she whispered as she shrunk behind Cece. Mira smirked. "Woah, Chase it''s your twin¡ª" "Don''t even fucking go there." Riley didn''t really look like Chase. He was a short-haired, stocky kid that was bigger than the others¡ª and than me, by extension. I kept having to remind myself that these people were my age and not a bunch of children. He was speaking to some others with the widest smile on his face, and a Makuhita sat at his side. "Okay. Guess we''ll go in and figure this out, then," I said. "You shoulde," Chase told Erin. "Don''t run away." "I''ll¡­ I''lle," she whispered. "Let us do the talking, Chase," I warned. At first, when Riley noticed using at him, his face scrunched up and he ced a hand on his second Pokeball. Then, he recognized us and his face fell. That was convenient, then. There probably wouldn''t be a need to battle him. He waved away his entourage, leaving only himself, but they still observed from afar. We made sure to recall our Pokemon to forgo any¡­ intimidation or idents, but Cece still kept Slowking out. "How the hell did you find these people, Erin?"He asked. "Hi there!" I smiled. "Would you be open to speaking with us for a few minutes? Yes?" "I didn''t say yes," he said, ring at Erin. "It''s about your problems with New Wave," Cecilia added. "Something about forcing money matches onto others even though they don''t want to." The teenager grunted. "Pokemon battles have always been this way. If I don''t make money, then what? I''ve been saving up for a TM! Not only could I not make money, but I still had to pay the stupid club fee. I was bleeding cash." "Erin, how much is the club fee?" I asked. "Five Hundred Pokedors a month," she muttered. My first thought was that that was dirt cheap, but I had to remember these were new trainers¡ª rtively speaking. That amount of money was a lot to them, especially when they wouldn''t be able to make any more. Rileydidhave a point, but bullying? That was too far¡ª "Riley, you get an allowance from your dad that''s way more than that!" Erin snapped. "I do, but the others don''t! I''m fighting for them." "It''s like I''m watching a show," Mira whispered to Chase. I clenched the bridge of my nose, and Cecilia took over for me. "Then let the split happen. That''s fine," she said. "But don''t pressure trainers who don''t want to battle into battling. Problem solved!" "I''m just teaching ''em to be tough. And a lot of them seem to like the way I run things, considering how fast we''re growing." "So you won''t stop bullying them, then?" I asked. "While I do think your concerns are valid and that you have a right to create a club to run things the way you want, I don''t think you should keep up the bullying." "It''s not bullying. I''m just toughening them up¡ª" "Well, fine," I said, turning to Erin. "Hey, I''m going to be in Sunyshore for quite a while. I''m probably going to head to this route a lot to train in theing days. Y''know, maybe I''ll stay a few weeks. I''ve got to get my flying license and do a bunch of other stuff. My friends will be here too, and more of them are on their way." "So¡ª so, you''re threatening me?" He asked. I scoffed. "Threatening? Oh, absolutely not. I wouldn''t threaten someone with two badges, not when I have five. That''d be punching down and would reflect horribly on me, especially when any confrontation wouldn''t be close at all. No, no, I''m just talking to Erin, telling her my ns. She''s our new friend, so I figured it''d be good to let her know. Maybe I''ll help her train too while I''m at it. What do you say, Erin?" "Huh¡ª what?" "That a yes?" "Y¡ªyes¡­?" "Cool! I''ll see you here tomorrow, give me your number¡ª" "Fine,fine!" Riley yelled. "You don''t have to pretend to be her fucking friend. I''ll stop it, okay? We''ll just do a clean break and go our separate ways. That sound good to you, Erin?" "Yeah," she nodded. "Arceus, fuck," he sighed as he left. Makuhita patted him on the leg as he followed. Mira whistled. "Damn, you were ruthless." "Ruthless? No, I was just being nice to Erin," I said. "Is it my fault he interpreted my words as a threat?" Mira pursed her lips. "Now you''re just being devious." "Thank you guys¡­ for, uh, helping us. We don''t have much to give you, but New Wave will remember this favor. If we get big enough one day, then I''ll repay this kindness," Erin stammered. "I''ll be on my way now, I''ve got to call a general meeting¡ª" "Wait. I wasn''t lying, Erin. Give me your number." The girl''s eyes widened, and she nearly dropped her phone. "I''ll help you get a hang of things. Leaders being organizers is nice, but you''ve got to be stronger when you''re talking about club for trainers. Come on," I smiled as I beckoned her. "Cece can help you too if she wants. I won''t ask the other two¡ª" "Absolutely not," Chase groaned. "I''m busy," Mira lied. "I figured, which is why I said Iwouldn''t ask," I said. "Cece?" "Sure, I''ll help," she smiled. "This reminds me of Unova, makes me nostalgic." "Thank you anyway!" She beamed. "Oh Legendaries, the others will never believe me when I tell them this!" They''d probably seen us walking together already, but I wouldn''t let it spoil the surprise. Erin apanied us to the gate to Sunyshore, and we finally entered the sr-powered city. Now, to start preparing for my battle with Volkner. And Denzel.
Interlude – Band-Aid Interlude ¨C Band-Aid INTERLUDE - Band-Aid Denzel stretched his hand and looked at the little creases in his palm as he applied some of Emilia''s moisturizer. She''d remarked on his hands'' disastrous state and practically ordered him to put it on every day. Their fire burned in the distance and smoke rose high into the night sky, and Emilia and Pauline huddled around the pocket of warmth. They huddled on Braviary, who was evenrge enough to serve as a bed if need be. Charizard slept with a loud snore a few feet away, her me a vibrant blue and Fennekin sat on Emilia''sp while Gothorita observed the stars with a wondrous expression. The rest of their Pokemon were in their Pokeballs. The atmosphere between them three had been great, but Denzel knew something was bubbling beneath, begging to be let out. He thought it was better to ignore it. It was best not to rock the boat. Plus, he was busy preparing for his battle against Grace, but it was hard to do when his team was so¡­ what was the word for it? Not dysfunctional, but hard to work with. Sylvi followed wherever he went with a ribbon wrapped around his wrist, although he didn''t use any of his powers on him. He seemed to be quite persistent in getting him away from Pauline, so he had the biggest smile on his face now that they were going to spend a few hours away. Sylveon had always been a jealous one, but at least he kept it in check these days. Roserade knelt next to a patch of flowers and watched as her poison slowly dissolved the colorful leaves. She''d been fascinated by her heightened abilities since her evolution, and now she liked to throw it at everything¡ª rocks, nts, trees, and she''d just watch them melt. He was kind of worried about her, but he didn''t want to stop her from having¡­ fun. Lopunny lounged on the ground, and she''d stolen his phone again without him noticing. It was the fifth time since they''d started traveling, and he''d confused his fans a little when Lopunny had posted some barely coherent gibberish on a bunch of forum posts. Some of them even got deleted by the mods for being off-topic. Just thinking about it made him cringe, but he apologized soon after and it got him quite a bit of publicity. And any publicity was good publicity if he knew how to handle it. Denzel strode up to the normal type and snatched it out of her hand. "No. I''ll buy you one and make you ounts on social media when we get to Sunyshore, but you need to stop messing with my stuff, okay? I''m going to need you to focus up, we''re talking about Grace soon." He turned his head and saw Swablu standing atop Milotic''s head. Thankfully the bird wasn''t enamored by Sylveon as everyone else on his team was bar Fross, and she seemed to be integrating rather well. She was fierce like all of them and had easily handled all of their hazing, forck of a better word. Fross was close by, much to her displeasure, and she observed Roserade from up close and spoke to her. Denzel kept having to keep Fross close to him because she was determined to spook any trainer she came across on route 214, and there were a lot, since they opted to go for the easier, quicker path that didn''t go through the mountain. "Listen up everyone," Denzel said. "When we get to Sunyshore, we''re going to face off against Grace and her team." That seemed to garner their attention. Even Roserade turned away from her simmering flowers. Denzel smiled when Swablu held her head high and chirped. "Not you, Swablu. You''re still training! You did good against all those trainers today." The flying type scowled at him and retreated behind her fluffy wings. She still had a lot of catching up to do, but Denzel had plenty of ideas for her. "It''ll be a five-on-five. We still don''t know how many switches, but we can assume the standard three. We can also assume that she won''t use that Turtonator of hers, because otherwise it''s a guaranteed loss. So that leaves us with Jellicent, Togetic, Tangrowth, Electabuzz, and Pupitar. Now, it''s obvious that she''s going toe at us knowing every trick under our sleeves, so we can''t rely on surprise, especially when I have such a public persona. Now, what do you think would be a sound strategy?" They all spoke over each other, and Denzel only understood a little of it. Lopunny couldn''t learn to read fast enough. Then, she''d be able to use a text-to-speech program to trante what everyone said. "Grace thrives when she has information, and she''s gotten a lot better at thinking on the fly. Now, at the moment, we can''t exactly pack the punch they can power-wise aside from Fross." The ice type smugly ced a hand in front of her mouth, and Lopunny tried to hit her with an ear. The attack just phased through her. "Don''t get overconfident, the others are close behind you. In a speedy battle, we lose. But what we can do is draw things out. Roserade''s Synthesis, Milotic''s Recover and Aqua Ring, Sylvi''s Wish and Detect, Fross being able to disappear and hide in Blizzard¡ª and Hail, now. Lopunny¡­ well, you''re still working on Mirror Coat, but you''re faster than every one of her Pokemon except Pupitar when she flies. I thrive in longer battles. Endurance matches. Grace does not. As much as it pains to admit, we''re the underdogs, so we''ve got to even the ying field a little bit. You know what that means, right?" For once, he had his team''s full attention. Denzel smiled. "A battle of attrition. The longer it goes on, the more mistakes she''ll start to make. Now, it won''t be easy. Grace is good because she can force things to go her way. Let''s start by looking at her Togetic¡ª broad strokes, let''s just parse through it and see if we can brainstorm something. I don''t just want to draw things out, that makes us predictable and that''s a death sentence. We also need to¡ª" Denzel nearly jumped when Emilia grabbed him by the shoulder. His teamughed at his scared self, although Sylveon''s face waspletely still. He opened his mouth to say something funny, but her face was far too serious for that. Pauline was with her and looked to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. What had happened in thest two minutes? "Denzel," Emilia spoke. "We need to talk. All of us." ¡ª Emilia Lussier might have gained in confidence, self-esteem and peace of mind these past few months, but she still despised traveling even on a route as safe as this one. The feeling of tough ground under her bottom, the cold as soon as she walked a few steps away from the fire, the grime, theck of bathrooms and plumbing and the fact that she could only wash herself with a glove and water in this frigid temperature. She hated it all. Luckily, Winter would soon be over and it would start to get hot again. What she had missed, however, was hanging with her friends and her girlfriend. Plus, being with them finally made her feel in the loop again despite Cecilia and the others hiding things from them. She''d taken a break during Veilstone, only training every day, but it was time to get back into the swing of things in Sunyshore and get into contests again. "Hey, you''ll never guess what happened!" Pauline said as she browsed through her phone. Emilia had been reflexively petting Fennekin''s head, and the fire type was sound asleep on herp. She held out a finger in front of her mouth and motioned at Pauline to keep quiet. "My bad," Pauline said. "But look. Cece sent me this this afternoon." Emilia leaned against her girlfriend and stared at her screen. It was a mirror selfie of Grace and Cecilia in two-piece swimsuits. "They look great. Wait, are they in the Hotel Grand Lake? I''m so jealous," she whispered. "I wonder how she got her in one." "Right? When we were at Mommy''s Hearthome house, she didn''t entertain wearing one at all. I''m happy for her," Pauline smiled. "Maybe we can stop by for a few days too, the three of us? Get a house with one of those indoor jacuzzis you like." Emilia nodded. "That sounds nice. We don''t want to take too long, or Denzel will probably get frustrated." Pauline exhaled as she looked at the tall boy in the distance. "Yeah. He would, wouldn''t he?" Emilia blinked. She knew that look. She''d known it for months now, really. Ever since they were in Hearthome and Pauline threw a fit about Denzel potentially having a friend of the opposite gender. She was better now, and the jealous rages had stopped, but she was still terrible at hiding it, especially from someone she''d known her entire life. Even on route 214, when Denzel''s adoring fans¡ª which were mostly girls¡ª stopped him to ask for a picture, she couldn''t help but stare daggers. Emilia''s face turned toward Denzel, who''d been sneaking a look at them, and he hurriedly turned back toward his team and began to observe them one by one. He liked her too. It was easy to tell. The problem was that Emilia had no idea what this meant for her. Her hand in Pauline''s suddenly felt cold, and she bit her lip. Her old self would have followed in their folly and ignored this. It was easy, after all. The status quo wasfortable. Cozy, even. Day in, day out, the same thing happened. They bantered,ughed together, ate together, and trained together. A nice rhythm to get into. A routine. But Emilia was no longer the passive, scared little girl that let things happen to her. She didn''t care if she got hurt. Not anymore. Emilia pulled out her hand from Pauline''s and swallowed as she recalled Fennekin so she wouldn''t wake up. "Pauline," she firmly said. "How long are you going to lie to me?" The redhead frozepletely still, and Braviary did as well. Emilia felt a rumble at her back as the flying type let out a quiet caw. "What do you mean?" "You''re in love with Denzel. Do you still love me? You look like you still love me, but I honestly can''t tell." Pauline''s face turned toward a multitude of expressions, but settled upon one of pure panic as tears began to well up in her eyes. The sight hurt Emilia, but she had to remind herself that this wasn''t her fault. She had a right to demand answers, and the quicker Pauline told her what the hell was going on, the easier it would be to deal with. Worst-case scenario, Veilstone was still only a day and a half away on foot. She could always go back and cry her heart out. "I didn''t lie¡ª I just¡ª" "You kept it from me. You''re stringing me along, Pauline." "No!" Pauline hissed. "Please, keep quiet and let''s just talk between us¡ª maybe we can figure things out tomorrow. I promise you Emi, I still love you, I just¡­ I just¡­" "No. We''re talking tonight. Enough stalling," she dered as she shot up. "We''re all doing ourselves a disservice if we keep burying it. This has been going on for months, and I can''t keep my head in the sand any longer." Pauline couldn''t even speak. She simply gave the barest hint of a nod and got up like a shaking leaf. Seeing her reduced to this state almost made Emilia hesitate. A part of her had expected Pauline''s usual bombastic self, but her entire personality had done a 180, and Emilia knew that only ever happened when you peeled back everyyer and exposed the weak side of Pauline that hid within. She''d only seen it happen three times. Tonight was the fourth, and she was the cause instead of theforter. Emilia strode toward Denzel and grabbed his shoulder. The man jumped before turning with a smile, but his face fell when he saw the two of them. "Denzel. We need to talk. All of us?" "Um. Yeah? About what? Pauline, are you alright?" He asked with a frown. "I¡ª uh¡ª" The words died in Pauline''s throat, and Denzel seemed to enjoy this ufortable silence far too long, so Emilia took the initiative. It was toote to turn back. She''d jumped out of the ne and this conversation was their parachute¡ª except they all shared the damn thing and risked crashing and dying anyway. "Do you want to recall your team for this?" Emilia asked. Sylveon shot her an angry look and protested, but Denzel nodded and did so. "Perfect. So, Denzel, remember when you told me that you''d confessed to Pauline in Eterna City and that she''d shot you down, and that now you were content to be friends?" His frown turned into a wince. He knew what this was about now and he didn''t like it one bit. "Yeah," he said. "Oh good, at least you have the guts to speak to me. Why did you lie? You''re still in love with her. You''ve been in love with her the entire time, and she likes you back." "I didn''t lie, Emilia. I am content to be friends. I haven''t made any moves, I haven''t even talked to her about it since." "But that doesn''t change the fact that you still like each other and were traveling together. Don''t I have a right to be angry? I mean, I believe you, but this still borders on emotional cheating from my point of view." "Look," he sighed. "I''m sorry. This is¡ª this is my fault. I''ll travel on my own tomorrow morning. I''ll be gone before you even wake up¡ª" "Arceus, I''m surrounded by cowards!" Emilia yelled through clenched teeth. The anger she felt surging inside of her helped mask the pain. They both flinched at her outburst. "One that shuts down and doesn''t want to speak and one that wants to run away. Grow some fucking balls, both of you. Pauline, am I right or am I wrong?" "You''re right," she muttered. "Okay. So, what''s going on, then? What is all of this?" "What do you mean?" Denzel asked. "Why are you ying pretend? Acting like everything is normal when it isn''t?" Emilia sighed before turning toward Pauline. "Did you not know how to break up with me?" "Emilia, she doesn''t want to break up with you," Denzel said. "I''m the problem. I''ll just go." "No! No, Emilia, I love you, I just¡ª I just¡ª I love you both, okay?! And I won''t choose, and I want to date you both!" Pauline took a few steps back and stumbled, and she began to sob. Emilia was ready to wait for her to cry her heart out. After all, she wanted to as well. Instead, Pauline got up and broke into a mad dash toward Braviary. Emilia yelled out and tried to follow, but Pauline had always been more fit than she was and she''d been traveling for months, unlike Emilia who had stopped. Denzel just had his eyes downcast and rhythmically clenched and unclenched a fist. With surprising dexterity, she recalled both Charizard and Gothorita (who''d been observing the events in silence) at the same same time, and climbed on top of her giant Braviary. The flying type immediately understood and beat her massive wings, kicking up dirt and grass and forcing Emilia to cover her face and mouth. "Pauline, I swear, you better not!" Emilia screamed. "Get back down here!" "Go! Anywhere but here!" She yelled. Her voice was distant, so distant. She soon became undiscernible in the night sky, and only Denzel and Emilia were left. The girl turned toward Denzel and sighed. They didn''t have their license like she did, and neither Swablu nor Metang would ever catch up to her. Thetter couldn''t even fly that high in the first ce. Pauline was gone. "Fuck," Emilia teared up. "Damn it!" For a while, they stood in silence as they watched the stars. Emilia sat in the grass and hugged her knees and Denzel did the same a few feet next to her. Emilia tried to text and call Pauline, only to realize she''d left her phone here, along with her bag, even. "I''m sorry," Denzel said, breaking the silence. "I knew deep down, but it was easier just to¡­ let it be. I should have said something in Hearthome when the situation first reared its head up." "Yeah. You should have," Emilia sniffled. "But I also knew. The only difference is that I had enough of it, so I share some of the me." "Yeah. I guess." There was another lull. Contrary to before, Emilia tookfort in the silence. It wrapped its cold hands around her and it was just so pleasant. It was a physical weight on top of her, like a nket she could hide under. She''d just blown up the entire metaphorical house that was their rtionships, and Pauline had run away from the fire and left them to die. "Where do you think she''ll go? Sunyshore?" Denzel asked. She shook off the silence. "Pastoria, maybe. It''s further away and it''ll take us longer to get there. She could even be done with the city by the time we make it. Damn it." "She wasn''t going to break up with you, you know? You know she isn''t like that," he said. "I know, but I also didn''t? I couldn''t be sure, I was just¡ª scared, I guess. Not like it matters now. Everything''s down the gutter." "Yeah." Denzel groaned, and hey down with his back against the grass. "She said she loved us both. Does that make any sense to you?" Emilia asked, still not daring to look at him. "I''ve heard of it. Polyamory, right? That sounds like something bound to blow up in our faces. Not sure if I''mpatible with that lifestyle." "I think I could do it if I liked you too and not just her," Emilia shrugged defeatedly. "You''re a friend; one of my closest. But I''ve never even looked at you like that. I mean, I''m¡ª I was dating someone else." "Yeah, I''m in the same boat, besides the dating part. Not like it matters now, though." They continued talking deep into the night. It wasn''t like they could sleep anyway, not after a night like this one. Emilia hoped Pauline woulde back. ¡ª Pauline let loose a scream so loud that her throat felt like it had been torn apart. Tears and snot streamed down her face and her heart felt like it was made of ss and it had been shattered into a million pieces. She clenched her hands around Braviary''s coarse feathers and lowered herself as close to her ears as she could. "Faster!" She yelled. "Keep going south!" She didn''t have a decision in mind. Just to get as far away from the source of her pain as possible. It was entirely her fault. She''d let the situation simmer for too long and the boiling water had blown up in her face. Now, she was burning. Hurting. She dug her teeth into her lips to distract herself from the heartache. Weakness, a voice rang out. Pauline didn''t turn toward the source. Braviary wasrge enough to fit Gothorita, and she''d released her for support. Instead, the psychic was berating her. Gothorita had always been harsh with her words. She said everything that passed through her mind no matter who it could offend, and Pauline was no different. You run away in fear like a scared little girl, she continued. Would you throw it all away because of cowardice? "I''ve already thrown it away! Don''t fucking lecture me," Pauline raged through clenched teeth. "There''s nothing left to fix." With the way you''re leaving things, that might be true, Gothorita shrugged. But there is a chance to make things work, even if just to save your friendships that you are about to irreparably destroy. "Why is it that everyone else gets some damn therapist as a psychic and I get someone who fucking shit talks me?" Pauline hissed. Because you deserve to be shit talked, you utter moron, she pped back. You have a brain, don''t you? Can you tell me in what situation what you are doing fucking works out for the better? You''re like a child scared of going to the doctor because you''re terrified of what news you''d get. It could be terrible and you could be dying, but it could also be nothing. "I''m pretty sure I''m already dying," Pauline said. Every time you confided in me, I told you to rip off the band-aid. You''d always say you''d do it soon, soon, fucking soon! Well, soon hase, Pauline! The band-aid is half-ripped, even if you weren''t the one who pulled it! Now it''s your turn to finish the job. "Braviary, faster!" The giant bird stretched out her wings and came to a silent halt. The momentum nearly made Pauline bump her head against her body, but Gothorita held her back. Braviary offered a screech. "What''s your problem?" Pauline asked with a stammer. "Don''t stop!" We will drag you back kicking and fucking screaming, Pauline, Gothorita said. Braviary agrees with me. Don''t even think of swapping to Charizard. She will agree as well, and that stupid Vigoroth would too. What remained of the girl''s heart dropped. I see your fear. It is etched into the stars, Pauline, and there are many tonight. Much more than in that smog-filled city. "Please." I can draw upon the stars. I can look further. Right now, you are on an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, but you''re so small you''d burn up in the atmosphere. There is an alternate path. I see it¡ª Pauline covered her eyes as light engulfed the small psychic. If Braviary hadn''t been so big, she would have fallen off. Gothorita became a Gothitelle and now towered over her trainer. Her ck dress now went down to her legs and her eyes¡ª Arceus, her eyes. They shone in the night, and there were little lights inside of them. Stars, Pauline realized. Gothitelle were known to draw their powers from the cosmos. The best of them were so good at approximating the future that they could see the exact date their trainers would die. Their future-telling was more personal than Xatu and could only be used with people they bonded deeply with. I see it now, she said. If you go back, you will be happy. I do not know what form it will take, but the feeling is there. Do not throw it away. "I''m a terrible person." You aren''t. You''re just scared, and being scared makes people do terrible things. Pauline took a deep breath. "Turn back, Braviary. Thank you for not listening to me," she sniffled. The giant bird cooed at her touch and began flying toward their camp. "I''m fucking terrified." Ah, yes, add feelings to the list of your worst fears. I''ll put it next to ghosts and making hard choices. "I deserve that." Pauline''s throat felt like it was being squeezed by a vice that tightened the closer she got back to camp. When she saw the tiny red dot¡ª the me¡ª that anxiety reached a crescendo. Emilia and Denzel waved at her with both arms and yelled out some words she couldn''t make out, and Braviarynded with a loud thud. "You came back!" Emilia eximed with a relieved sigh. She touched Pauline''s shoulders, as if she needed to make sure she was real. "You didn''t run." "I did. For a bit," she said. "Gothitelle and Braviary knocked some sense into me." Denzel frowned and then noticed the tall psychic still sitting on Braviary''s back. "Gothitelle¡ª" "We can talk evolutionster. Enough stalling," Pauline said. "I''m ripping off the band-aid. I''m in love with both of you, and I know that sounds stupid, but it''s true. Now, in a perfect world, we''d link arms and start singing together to celebrate, but I know this isn''t¡­ that. Emilia, I''m sorry for lying to you and omitting the truth. I''ve betrayed your trust. I don''t deserve you." "I ept your apology," she nodded. "Denzel, I''m sorry for stringing you along. For harassing your friends and being a possessive bitch. I kept giving you mixed signals, and you must have been confused. Maybe if I made a clean break, we could have moved on, but I couldn''t." "I mean, you''re not the only one that did wrong. I''m sorry too." "Yeah, but I think I did more wrong than both of you, so just¡­ let me apologize," she exhaled. Her heart was beating against her chest so hard that it hurt. "So, we probably have the same question on our minds, right? What now?" Pauline was an idiot, but she wasn''t that stupid. She knew that her fantasy about the three of them starting to date as soon as she confessed had never been realistic in the first ce. "I don''t know," Denzel shrugged. "I''m the outsider. It''s up to you and Emilia. If you want, I''ll leave and you can sort out everything¡ª" "Stop asking to leave already, Arceus!" Emilia said in an exasperated tone. "We''re riding this one out. You know how sometimes people don''t leave a room until a deal is made? This is that. We''re sticking together until we figure out what the hell is going on, because the status quo wasn''t working." So they spoke. For nearly four hours, they discussed between themselves, and the conversation derailed multiple times. The good thing was that the awkwardness was nearly gone, albeit it was still easy to see and feel. Both of them dating her wouldn''t work. It was possible, and people sometimes entered such a polycule, but they all vehemently disagreed and disliked the idea. Pauline yawned and then she finally reached a conclusion. "I see it two ways," Pauline said. "Either Emi and I break up, we all¡­ uh, separate for a few months to chase away remaining feelings, and then hopefully we can return to each other as friends." "Or?" Denzel asked. "Or¡ª and don''t strangle me for this¡ª we all break up¡ª" "We weren''t dating," Denzel said. "Let me finish. We untangle and destroy this entire mess of a rtionship and build it anew. Slowly. And see what works? You two can also, uh, hang out more and maybe see if something happens?" "I feel like you''re a five-year-old smashing two toys together," Emilia said. "I mean, I''m not! And maybe now that you have the added context, you''ll both catch feelings, right?" "I don''t know," Denzel hesitated as he scratched his head. "This feels weird, still." "I''d really love it if you gave it a try. And if it doesn''t work, well, we can do the first option. The friend thing. I''m probably making it sound a lot simpler than it is." "Not probably," Emilia said. Sadness crept up on her face. "You broke up with me. We''ve been dating for three years." Pauline held her breath. "Yeah. I''m sorry." "You suck." "I do." "Let''s give it a try. But no guarantees. If I think this is ufortable for even a second, I''m out." Pauline beamed. "Thank you. And Denzel?" "Fuck it. I''m probably going to regret this, but whatever. Why not take a chance, right? We can call it a trial period." The vice unscrewed from Pauline''s neck and she felt like she could finally breathe again. The redhead stood up and stretched to get some blood flow going. "I guess we didn''t sleep," she said. "Should we skip a day or should we travel?" Denzel hummed. "I think we should¡­ should, uh¡­ Pauline, behind you." Pauline turned around and saw a wounded little furball approach her. It had deep gashes under its nose and on top of its left eye and one of its legs looked to be broken. It was a Mankey. Later that day, Denzel figured out he''d been run over by one of the trucks that drove along the road. The driver was also heavily wounded, and the front of his truck had been shredded. Pauline flew him back to Veilstone as soon as she could and Denzel and Emilia spent the day on route 214.
Chapter 216 Chapter 216 CHAPTER 216 Pauline tapped her knuckles against the Pokemon Center''s reception counter. She wasn''t speaking to anyone, nor was she blocking the line, but she couldn''t help but stick around. Mankey had been on the point of copse, so Pauline had caught and brought him back to Veilstone, but she knew that the longer a Pokemon had terrible wounds, the harder they were to fix, even with Ditto Cells. She was nowhere smart enough to know how the hell they even worked, but it had taken a few hours for her to get here. She just hoped the Pokeball had helped at least. Run over by a truck, she thought. It was in the headlines already. Pokemon were smart enough to avoid the roads, so it almost never happened. The driver had been Teleported back to a hospital by the Rangers and his half-destroyed truck had been towed back to the city. "Pauline King?" The name took a few seconds to register, and she had to be called two more times for her to realize it was her they wanted. She was just so tired due to everything that had happenedst night, and she hadn''t even slept a minute. One of the nurses walked up to her with a Pokeball on a tray. "Yes?" She muttered. "Your Mankey is perfectly healthy. We rmend no training or straining for a week, but other than that, he''s fine. There is a scar above his eye, but the eye itself is in perfect condition." Pauline sighed in relief. "Thank you!" She didn''t really want to tell her he wasn''t her Mankey. She''d only caught him to save him, after all. The girl wandered into the cafeteria to grab a sandwich to go and then after sending a message to Denzel and Emilia, she flew back onto route 214. With her signal, Braviarynded thirty minutes out of the city, and Pauline quickly hopped off the bird with Mankey''s Pokeball in hand. She also released Vigoroth and Gothitelle, primarily by instinct than anything else. She was running on fumes at this point, and she expected Mankey to attack her. Vigoroth shivered in excitement, as he always did whenever he was out. Calming down was impossible for him, but it beat running around like a maniac, and he was pretty level-headed these days even if he didn''t look the part. "Don''t hurt him unless he attacks," she warned. Very well, Gothitelle nodded. Vigoroth, meanwhile, let out a frustrated groan. He was addicted to fighting, and not getting his fill meant that he''d blow up as something soon. And to think that king were harder to handle than this. Pauline''s fingers felt sluggish as she pressed the release button. The small Mankey simply observed her with a calm demeanor, his red eyes staring right into her own. Arge, circr scar where no hair had grown sat above his eye and stretched up to the left of his forehead. "Uh, hello. I''m Pauline," she said. "I assume you know what happened? You got run over by a truck?" Mankey sat on the ground and crossed his arms as he grunted. He says he was crossing the road and the truck came out of nowhere, Gothitelle tranted. "Out of nowhere? It''s open road for miles and it''s a truck. Not exactly hard to miss," Pauline said. Mankey shrugged and dismissed her concerns. He says that you are a stupid idiot and that yourck of intellect worries him, the psychic type said. It was a lot ruder than that, but I removed the swearing. Only I''m allowed to swear at you. Even Vigoroth snickered at that, and he neverughed except when he was fighting. Pauline knew she was right, but maybe Mankey was just oblivious to his surroundings? He didn''t really fit what she''d expected. Mankey were known to be abrasive and aggressive, but this one was just¡­ there, even if he had a way with words. He was just a calm little guy. "Well, Mankey, I''m not going to lie, I haven''t slept in more than a day and me capturing you was apletely random event, but do you¡­" What would Grace say here? She didn''t want her friend to pop a blood vessel because she''d messed up the capturing process, even if she''d managed well up until now. "Do you have people to go back to? A family, friends?" Pauline asked. "If you want, you coulde with us. These aren''t the only Pokemon I have, I also have a Charizard. I hope you know what that looks like." Mankey scoffed. He says that he takes offense at how stupid you think he is. "Well, I''m not the one getting run over by a truck with miles of open road," she snapped back. "Sorry. Too soon?" Mankey shrugged. "So what do you say, then?" The fighting type shrugged. "Yes or no?" He shrugged again. "Will you answer the damn question?!" Mankey did not shrug. Instead, he finally spoke. Only if you help him reach enlightenment, Gothitelle chimed in. "What is he, some kind of sage?" He took a vow to never grow angry, but he still slips sometimes, especially when he fights Gothitelle tranted. He wants to obtain a peace of mind never before seen in his species. "Well, we''re a rough bunch," Pauline muttered. "But if you can stay calm with us and stay calm with Denzel''s mess of a team, then you''ll be able to do it anywhere. How about it?" Mankey stared off into the distance until she snapped a finger to snap him back to reality. He really was aloof. The fighting type nodded. "Great. Wee to the team, Mankey. You''re going to love it here. Hopefully." Of course, Vigoroth immediately challenged him to a fight, which Mankey promptly ignored. Pauline had no time for their antics, though. She needed to get back to Denzel and Emilia, and then she needed to sleep for ten hours straight. ¡ª Sunyshore was definitely my favorite city I''d been to so far. The streets were wide, with ample spots for pedestrians and bus-onlynes, meaning that there were very few cars driving around. It was also just so vibrant despite the city having been built on a piece of arablend. There were palm trees that lined a lot of the streets! Palm trees! They''d probably been imported from another region, but they fit right in and they were beautiful. We couldn''t go more than ten seconds without seeing a sr panel. They were on the bus stops, on the apartments, and even on the floor we walked on sometimes. Long sky bridges linked different high-rises together and made the city a truebyrinth, yet it didn''t feel crowded at all. Being here felt like living thirty years in the future, and yet it was happening now. Sunyshore was Sinnoh''s technological center. And there were also plenty of influencers here. It honestly reminded me of Hearthome. I''d been to Sunyshore once as a kid, but I''d been so young I barely remembered anything. The view of the Ferris wheel on the beachfront in the distance felt familiar, though. It was one of Sunyshore''s main attractions and it was situated on the city''s famous boardwalk. We''d split from Erin a bit ago after she''d pointed us toward the nearest Pokemon Center, and Cece and I would meet her tomorrow. For now, though? It was time to settle in. We signed into the Pokemon Center, and Mira couldn''t help but notice that it was the first time Chase was staying in the same one we were. All of my Pokemon werepletely healthy, so there was no need for me to hand them to one of the nurses. After that, we all split up for the day. The view from my room was spectacr. I couldn''t see the beach itself, but since I was on the highest floor, I could see the Lily of the Valley ind far off in the distance, and even a hint of the tall spire that capped the Pokemon League. I gripped my windowsill to stop my fingers from trembling in anticipation. My goal¡ª the Conference¡ª it was right there. The salty breeze kissed my nose and I squinted. So close, and yet so far. I was more than halfway there. After looking at the ind for a good two minutes, I grabbed my phone and sent the usual text to tell our group chat we''d made it. Louis and Maeve were already there, and we''d meet them another day. Justin probably was too. They had a lot of drama to solve, and I feared that I wouldn''t be much help in that department. Denzel, Pauline and Emi had sent Cecilia birthday wishes, but they hadn''t called, which I found strange, but maybe they were just busy. Either way, I had no time to worry. There were a lot of things I needed to do today. First, I needed to familiarize myself with the busnes here as I''d done with the tramnes in Eterna City, then I''d need to scout out the beach for Buddy and Sweetheart, find where the city''s flight school was for when Princess finally evolved¡ª and I was sure Cecilia would appreciate it as well, given she was certain that little Golett was close to his own evolution. She''d always been good at gauging these things. Then of course, there were the usual hours of training. I hadn''t lied when I''d told Riley I''d train on route 222, but I''d keep the most lethal parts of it to the mountains of route 214, since there was a lot less risk involved. Hopefully Mira would be okay with lending me Gardevoir or kazam today. My team wouldn''t be the only ones to train. I needed to start thinking about my battle with Denzel today. I was sure it''d happen before Volkner''s, so his woulde first. I released my team and got to learning which lines went where. And by Arceus, it was a lot more confusing than Jubilife''s public transport system. ¡ª The bus was cramped, and extremely so. I shrunk as everyone else towered over me. Men in suits, students from Sunyshore University, trainers, tourists, there were all kinds of people here. I had managed to find the city''s flight school''s address online, so I was going to the beach first since Mira told me she was busy with kazam and Gardevoir at the moment, but that they''d be free in a few hours. I got off at the boardwalk, and I released Honey so he could walk with me. There were even more people here. Sunyshore was Sinnoh''s third most popted city behind Jubilife and Hearthome, but its rtively small size and huge tourism industry meant that it was really densely popted and it felt packed at all times. Not only that, but it was also the seat of Sinnoh''s civilian government branch. The Directorate was at the city''s outskirts away from the buzz, so I hadn''t seen it yet. Apparently Cynthia had been here justst week to give a speech, but she was back in Veilstone now. The boardwalk was one of Sunyshore''s hot spots. It nked the massive beach and was lined by stores, stands, and there was even a Pokemon Center there, although Erin had told us it was always full because of its location. Even in February, people were on the beach. They weren''t in the water save for some Pokemon, but children yed in the sand and adults rxed there. Sunsyhore''s close proximity to the sea meant that it actually wasn''t cold. It was 12 degrees Celsius at the moment, so it was basically scorching hot for a Sinnohan even if Sunshine would say otherwise. I only had a hoodie on me right now, and I had the hood up and kept my head down as much as I could so people wouldn''t recognize me. I wasn''t nervous about it¡ª not anymore. I''d grown since my original rise to fame after surviving Mount Cor. Having people ask me for pictures and a thousand questions just felt like a hassle. Now if they asked me for tips about battling? Then I would have felt happy to help! But nine times out of ten, it was just a picture they wanted so they could brag to their friends or online or something. The goal was to find an isted spot I could rx in with the family¡­ or potentially bring Cece for a date. I had promised her I''d n one, but it was the first date I was going to organize and I already felt anxious even if I already had ideas. My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket, and I grabbed it, expecting Cecilia to be calling me. It was Lauren. She usually never called. I was so astonished that my finger almost clicked on hang up instead of picking up. She usually never called. "Hi? Lauren?" I asked. "What''s up." She said something in her usual quiet voice, but I barely heard her. Honey tapped on my shoulder and pointed me toward a section of the beach that was blocked off by some rocks. "You''re going to have to speak up, I''m in a crowd, I can barely hear you." "Grace Pastel¡ª" "Grace is fine," I stopped her. "We''re friends." "You own an Electabuzz, and I own a Magmar. Both of these Pokemon have evolutions that are secrets. Do you have a n?" I stopped in my tracks and raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Ask for Volkner''s help after I hopefully impress him in a battle. What about you?" "I thought so," she murmured. "I don''t know much about people, but Sirris does. He told me that Volkner and Flint are best friends. People say they''re so close they might as well be brothers." I nodded to myself. Volkner was the most powerful Gym Leader behind Fantina, even if the way he ran things didn''t exactly show that. But while Flint chose to go work for the League (and was promptly promoted to his position a few yearster), Volkner decided to be a Gym Leader instead. "Ah, I see your angle. Flint''s the only trainer with a Magmortar in the entire region and you want to somehow get Volkner to ask him for you? That''s going to be tough, Lauren," I said. "Getting an Elite Four member''s attention is an order of magnitude above a Gym Leader, and Volkner''s pretty introverted and hard to get a hold of." "But you n to impress him anyway," she said a little more forcefully than I expected. "You''ve changed a bit, haven''t you?" I smirked. "I''m just trying to be myself more, even if it''s embarrassing," she said, her voice back to a whisper. "What do you say we team up on this? You''re good with people." I hummed as I thought about my options, but I swore when I stepped onto the sandy beach. Lauren squealed. "I''m sorry for even asking! Goodbye!" "No, no, don''t hang up! I''m on a beach right now and some sand got in my damn shoes, I''m sorry," I groaned. I stuck out my tongue to Honey, who was mocking me like there was no tomorrow. "Stop it, or I''m going to throw sand all over your face, kid." "My face?" "No, I''m talking to Hon¡ª Electabuzz right now. We''re just fooling around, don''t worry about me. Uh, let me think for a minute." On one hand, seeing the Lily of the Valley Ind, a visual representation of my goal had made me realize that this was closer than I realized and everyone around me was going to be apetitor soon enough. Lauren had practically thrown herself at me, and she didn''t have the resources I had. No Cynthia to answer her questions, no way to ess Flint without getting in Volkner''s good graces, and there was no way she was going to use her brother''s clout for this even if that was her most realistic avenue. We were both really stubborn. In other words, I was in control here, and there were more reasons to refuse than not. But she was also a friend. Not as close as my others since she refused to hang out, but a friend nheless. "Fine, we can team up," I said. "But I want to spend more time with you while we''re in Sunyshore in exchange. We get to know each other better first. We''re going to need to employ strategy for this. Two back-to-back battles that Volkner would enjoy would be enough to convince him, I think, so we need to sign up at the same time. We''re the bait, and we have to hope he bites, and we have to be in top form." "That''s okay," she said. "Thank you. I have to warn you though, my fans in this city are pretty rabid¡­ they''re scary sometimes." "Scary?" "They wait outside of my Pokemon Center and stuff." "Oh. Yeah, are you sponsored by anypanies right now, or do you n on getting sponsored in the future?" I asked. "No, but I sold the rights to a TM to Silph Co, so I''m not struggling with money." I nearly choked on my own saliva. "You what?" "Sirris set up the meeting for me. I get a small percentage of each sale. I sold them Fire Pir, since it wasn''t an integral part of my arsenal." "Oh. Well, good on you, I guess," I said. I recalled that Craig had told me that it was one of the avenues to make money, but I had never expected someone I knew to be doing so. Originally I was going to tell Lauren to just scare them off with her Aggron if she didn''t care for bad PR like Chase, but I was a lot more intrigued by this. There had been a small trial run where Silph Co. had checked if the move could actually be easily recreated and taught to Pokemon. Make a move tooplicated, and there was no way you''d be able to sell it. If your move passed trials, then they''d sign a contract with you. While Lauren wasn''t rich by any means, she was about as wealthy as I was from the sales. Trainers certainly wouldn''t say no to what was essentially a fire type Earth Power. "Ok, well, we can hash out the details on our Volkner strategyter," I said. "I''ming up on an isted part of the beach and I''m going to spend some time with my Pokemon there." "Is tomorrow okay?" "The day after tomorrow, if possible? How does 10 AM sound?" I said. "I''m going to be helping out a new friend tomorrow." "Every time we speak, you have someone new in your orbit¡­" Lauren sighed. "Okay. The day after tomorrow." "See youter." I hung up and Honey lifted me up the rocks. I was almost scared some lifeguard was going to stop me, but nothing of the sort happened. "Look at you," I smiled as I jumped down on the other side. "You''ve been growing up." The electric type easily cleared the rocks in one hop and grinned. When he''d just evolved, he''d only been slightly taller than me, but he was a head and a half taller now. Maybe he was getting his growth spurt? In front of usy an untouched patch of beach that went on for at least a mile. There were no crowds, no parasols, no food stands. Just me and nature. It was exactly what I was looking for. Just when I was about to release the entire team, I noticed a tall girl standing in the distance. She must have noticed us as well because she shot us an awkward wave. The sunlight made her hair look white, but upon closer look, it was more of a very light beige than anything. She looked to be in herte twenties and was built simrly to Justin before his stint in dark type energy, meaning that she wasnky and looked very frail due to her height. Even in this cold, she wore sandals and a pale blue and white dress with a bright red ribbon on her chest. And of course, she had Pokeballs with her, so she was a trainer. Well, it''d be weird not to at least say hi when she waved at me. Plus, she was alreadying my way right now. "Hello," she smiled. Her voice was quiet, but unlike Lauren, she didn''t seem shy at all. More like soft-spoken. Her ent hit me hard as well. She definitely wasn''t Sinnohan. "Hi. Sorry if we stole your spot," I said. "I was looking for a quiet ce." "You hate the noise too, hm?" She said. "Don''t worry, I was just leaving anyway. I''lle back at some point, though." "Are you a tourist? I can''t ce your ent," I asked. "That''s exactly right. I''m from Johto," she said as she sat in the sand. "Work was getting overwhelming, so I''m taking a year off and traveling." I blinked. A year? That was a long time to be off work, but I wasn''t going to question her. Plus, it''d be impolite to ask her about it. "Sorry to hear that. How''s Sinnoh been treating you so far?" "Oh, it''s very pleasant," she smiled. "The cold is annoying, but the people are nice and Sunyshore is quite a beautiful city. It reminds me of home." "That''s cool. I only made it here today." "You''re a trainer, I assume? First year?" "Yes. We''vee quite far already, but I want to make it to the Conference," I dered. Electabuzz cheered alongside me. "We still have months to go." "Good luck to you, then," she nodded. "I''m Jasmine, by the way." "Oh, I''m Grace. Grace Pastel." We stood in silence, not knowing what to talk about next, but her phone thankfully saved us from the awkward silence. "Well, I''ll be on my way. The beach is yours for the taking," Jasmine said. Two things happened next that made my jaw drop to the floor. One, she uttered Volkner''s name as soon as she picked up the phone, meaning that she knew the Gym Leader on a personal basis somehow. Two, she released a Metagross that lifted her up the rocks to ess the public section of the beach. They were extremely rare and living supeputers that thought faster than even kazam thanks to their multiple brains. The hulking steel type grabbed her with their psychic powers and she recalled them soon after, waving at me as if nothing had happened. Like she hadn''t known she had dropped two bombs before leaving. "What the hell just happened¡­?" Electabuzz shrugged. ¡ª I still didn''t trust Sweetheart enough to let her y in the water without supervision, so I stood with my bare feet in the water with her Pokeball in hand. She preferred the sea overkes because of the waves she could ride, and she looked to be having the time of her life even if the saltwater slipping inside of her shell annoyed her. Buddy was soaking inside of the water and riding the waves and Princess was making sand castles with Angel¡ª and it was really funny how she desperately tried to get him not to touch her castle. Their sculptures were night and day. On one side, there was a literal castle that looked like it could be lived in and was as tall as I was, and on the other, well, there was Angel''s mound of sand. He looked pretty happy with it, though. Sunshine was here too, of course, and he kept harassing me about the state of Sinnoh''s beaches as if I had something to do with them. I crossed my arms. It was time to brainstorm for the battle against Denzel. "Hey, just a sec," I told Sunshine. "I''m gonna be thinking." He blinked, but then nodded as hey against the soft sands. I grabbed my phone and opened my notes app. Trainers came into battles hoping to push any advantage they had. That was why I came in with as much information as possible or why Cecilia pushed on the power angle so much. Denzel was good at everything and a damn good trainer in his own right, but what he excelled at were drawn-out fights. He''d shown it in a multitude of battles, but especially in our double battle in Hearthome. While I wasn''t as weak stamina-wise as I had been, there was no doubt in my mind that he would oust me. The longer the battle went on, the more mistakes I''d make while Denzel would stay solid and only hit his stride. He was a diesel engine, and I was a petrol engine. Unless diesel cars went faster than gas engines, in which case this would make no sense. What I needed to do, then, was shut that shit down right away. He would have counters, of course. I remembered that he''d told me that he regretted not teaching Milotic Recover for his battle with Maylene, so I knew that he was guaranteed to have learned it by now. What I needed to do, then, was overwhelm. There would be no switching the tempo in this battle unless I needed to. This was one of the rare cases where things would work in my favor because Denzel took time to get in the grooves of things. So long as I kept him on the backfoot, I would have the advantage, and I couldn''t let him recover and think, because he was arguably the best out of all of us at thinking on his feet. Now, I could have gone deeper than this, find ways to exploit some not-so-good traits and ws that sometimes reared their heads and that he refused to talk about with me, but this wasn''t like my battle against Maylene. Denzel was a friend and this was a friendly battle. There were still easy tells that he had when he got nervous, though. Him clenching his fists so much, running his hand through his hair, but also him trying to keep a positive attitude in spite of that in a very non-convincing manner. Those forced smiles weren''t fooling me. If I had him stressed, I''d be able to tell and push his buttons whenever something worked. "Good, good," I muttered. Easier said than done, but at least the scaffolding was there. Now, none of his Pokemon were to be underestimated, but until I gathered more data about what Roserade could do, I would focus on the two main problems on his team. Fross and Lopunny. They were both slippery and difficult to hit. The rest of his team was rtively slow, even if Sylveon''s ribbons would be annoying to deal with, but the ice and normal type would be the main problems, especially when every single hit Lopunnynded on us would be extremely punishing due to Power-Up Punch. Fross, meanwhile, would be well out of reach of Angel''s Knock Off at all times and would destroy him with Blizzard anyway, so I needed to find another way to deal with her. Nearly twenty minutes passed, and something clicked. "High risk, high reward. And it requires Angel anyway," I sighed. "Let''s keep it as a n B for now." Sunshine sighed and desperately asked me to stop talking to myself. I ignored him. If push came to shove, he was good enough with Ancient Power to raise a protective shell around himself to hide from Blizzard, but that wouldn''t be good for my strategy. I needed offense. Well, I had a few days to think about it. ¡ª "Hello, I''m here to borrow one of the psychics again," I said as I opened Mira''s door. "Oh, yeah," she said dismissively, "kazam can take you, Gardevoir''spletely wiped out." "Sure. And thanks again. I''ll pay you back one day." "Stop being so fairy-brained, it''s a nice thing between friends. kazam, you can go." The psychic type nodded, and before I could even blink we were back on route 214. I once again released my entire team, although Sweetheart was sleeping in her Pokeball. Today was the day. "Are you ready?" I asked, patting Honey''s shoulder. The electric type nodded, and Togetic and the others offered him some more encouragement. Even Sunshine reluctantly told him to break a leg. All those weeks he''d trained had led to this. Thunder. One of the most powerful electric type moves was at the tip of our fingers. In front of us stood the mountain''s facade. I took a dozen steps back and Princess erected a psychic barrier in front of me. Her training with Gardevoir was going well in that regard, even if she hadn''t been able to do so today. Honey took a deep breath and took a look at his palm. He clenched it. Honey grunted, sending sparks of electricity crackling through his fur. The yellow part of his fur began to glow as it brimmed with intense power against the dark stripes on his back, arm and legs. The smell of ozone clung to my nostrils and all of my hair stood on end. My heart raced in anticipation as he raised both of his hands. He was so blinding now that it was as if he was evolving. The floor under me shook and pebbles rattled. He finally unleashed the Thunder, and the environment responded in kind. I covered my ears as an explosion rocked the entire mountain. A flock of Starly flew off in the distance, desperate to escape from the noise as Electabuzz finally released an enormous amount of energy. I covered my eyes, but the light still shone through my eyelids. I was too blinded to see the attack itself, but I heard it despite the fact that my ears were still ringing from the explosion. The mountain cried. Something copsed¡ª like andslide running down the facade. When I opened my eyes, I blinked the clear thest remaining blotches of light in my vision. Honey was panting, but he was still standing tall. The mountain''s facade had been altered beyond recognition. There were deep gashes in the wall, and a part of it had copsedpletely. The ground under Electabuzz''s feet was ckened stone and was smoking slightly. I was d to see that kazam had stopped thendslide from going further down with a psychic. But still, Honey had done it. He''d mastered Thunder. "You did it! Honey!" I ran toward him, but Angel wrapped a vine around my waist to stop me from touching him and he took a quick step back. His body was still overwhelmingly charged with power, and even though I wasn''t going to touch him, the arcs of electricity that jumped out of his fur might have tried to go through me. Electabuzz shed a toothy grin as the rest of the team congratted him. With how he looked right now? I reckoned he could use three before tiring out, so essentially only two in battle unless I was going for some kind of desperate y. If we managed to make him charge it faster, then he would be a devastating opponent to face. Oh man, this was just so awesome. "You''ve worked hard, Hon, feel free to bask in your superiority today," I smirked. "I''m sure Sweetie will love that when she wakes up from her nap." He chuckled and said he wished she''d been there to see this. "Can''t take a nap away from her," I said. "She''s growing. By the way, when we get back, I can finally go and buy you that new battery! Anyway, if you''d like, could you try out another one? Right now, I think your limit is three, but I''d like to test it to make sure. Thene tomorrow, we can start working on Screech and Low-Kick." The electric type nodded, and electricity hummed again. ¡ª I knocked on Cece''s door, and she quickly opened it and dragged me into a long kiss. Iughed against her lips as we spun, stumbled around the room, and fell on her bed. "How was your day? Productive?" I asked. "Oh, the usual. I trained, but I also found you the perfect gift," she grinned. "What? I thought you had it already!" I said. "You were all nervous when I mentioned our birthday party." "I had it in mind, but I was scared that traveling with it in my bag would spoil the surprise. Plus, I wasn''t even sure if¡ª you know what, never mind. I''m going to reveal too much if I keep speaking." "Well, I''m looking forward to it. I found the city''s Flight School, by the way. Maybe we can attend together if our evolutions line up." "That''d be nice. Golett''s been different since I released him near Lake Valor. He was always changing, but it''s sped up now, and it makes sense considering the whole Willpower thing." "Aw, he''s growing up. Cute. Anyway, today Honey mastered Thunder, and¡­" I started telling her about my day in no particr order, although I kept the beach and my encounter with that Johtoan woman hidden because I wanted to keep the spot a surprise. Cece told me she''d brought Talonme to the spot she had first caught her in and that the flying type met some of her old friends there. She hadn''t said it, but it was obvious that Talonme liked to bask in their admiration. They were still Fletchling, after all, and seeing Talonme all grown up must have felt weird for them. Cece gently ced my hair behind an ear. "Oh, by the way, what are we doing with Erin tomorrow?" "I was thinking that route 222 was too crowded, so we could get kazam to Teleport us to assess her if it isn''t too difficult for him. Then maybe we could go and see what this New Wave thing is all about. I sent her a message saying that we''d meet her at nine in the morning in front of her house." "She gave you her address?" "She''s way too trusting, I know." "Sounds like a fun day. You know, part of me is d we''ve returned to events with such¡­ low stakes. It''s probably rude to Erin, but little things like this almost make me forget the world could end." "Cece¡­" "Don''t worry about me, I''m fine," she smiled, kissing me again. "What I''m saying is that Sunyshore could be a nice little vacation. Have we ever stayed in a city where nothing happened? Wouldn''t that be nice?" "Don''t jinx us." Sheughed. "You''re silly. Anyway, don''t scare Erin." "Scare her? I wouldn''t scare her." Cecilia raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay." "No, seriously, I wouldn''t scare her at all! She likes me!" "Let''s just watch a movie or a battle or something. By the way, are you sleeping in my room tonight?" "Well, obviously. I''m going to need to grab the usual, though. Toothbrush, pajamas,ptop, and I''ll let my team out in my room so they can hang out." Cece paused. "I can just lend you some pajamas." "They''re too big for me." "That''s the point, Grace. And may I remind you that it''s still my birthday." I chuckled. "Okay, you win." I probably wouldn''t have said no even if it wasn''t her birthday. Wearing my girlfriend''s clothes? I hadn''t done that since Eterna City, and she hadn''t even been my girlfriend then. I''d let her think she won something, though. "You''re ying me," she noticed. "When you say y like that, you make it sound a lot worse than it is." "I''ll use my birthday privilege on something else, then," she said, tracing a finger down my corbone. Her words and touch sent tingles down my spine. "Don''t get too excited now," she smirked, pulling her hand back. "Later." "You suck," I yfully groaned.
Chapter 217 Chapter 217 CHAPTER 217 The sound of Erin Atwood''s rm had always been obnoxious, but it was especially so when she hadn''t slept a wink. The girl groaned and rolled to the left to grab her phone and saw that it was already eight. How had she been supposed to sleep, with the people she was meeting today? Even now, she was nervous she was going to mess something up. "Good morning Comet," Erin sighed. "Mornin'' Sat." Comet and Sat were her Bidoof and meow, and they were just as tired as she was despite having slept all night. Comet kept snoring at the foot of her bed while Satzily stretched on top of her wardrobe and swayed her tail from side to side. And like clockwork, now that Erin''s rm had rung, she was starting to feel tired. Eriny in bed for five more minutes and considered sending a message to tell Grace Pastel and Cecilia Obel that she felt sick. All of New Wave had already sung her praises and begged toe with her, and she''d told them that they''d only asked for her because she was their leader. Not going would be betraying her club. But still, maybe¡ª "Erin! Are you awake yet?!" Her mom''s voice sapped all of her tiredness away in less than a second and woke up Comet, who nearly fell off the bed. Before Erin could answer, her mother barged into the room. Sat jumped off the wardrobe and rubbed herself on the woman''s legs. "Mom, don''t just " Erin stammered. "Didn''t you tell me to wake you up no matter what yesterday in case you slept through your rm? That you were meeting some new friends and that this was really important, and not to let you miss this for anything in the world?" "I did say that¡­" "Then chop chop!" Her mother yelled. She walked toward her blinds and opened them wide, letting the sunlight through. "I made some chocte chip cookies for these new friends. You said they were a big deal? You better make a good impression." "Mom." "What? You never know where connections can bring you in life. You need to wine and dine them¡ª with my cookies. Go get ready. I''ll make more for your friends at New Waveter today." "Thanks," Erin muttered as she hopped off her bed. They were a big deal. Celebrities, you could say. Not just because they were among the best first years in the Circuit, but because of their strange closeness with the League. They''d spoken to Cynthia herself, which meant that Erin was basically one person removed from having spoken to the Champion. She was sure they''d be fast-tracked to a job there as soon as the year finished, and many agreed, ording to a whole lot of posts on the forums. It was how Flint got his job too! But Erin didn''t care for herself. What she wanted was sess for New Wave. The minutes passed quickly. Too quickly. Her club''s group chat was alight and the early goers on route 222 were telling her that the Wild Tamers were keeping their distance and all harassment had disappeared. Erin ced her two Pokemon in their balls, made sure she had everything in her bag and sat by her window upstairs to wait. Five minutes before nine in the morning, they just appeared with an kazam next to them. Erin had to do a double-take to make sure she wasn''t just seeing things. Was she going to Teleport? "Oh Arceus," she whimpered. Erin had never Teleported before. Her mother yelled from downstairs, "Your friends are here¡ª" "I know!" Erin ran down the stairs and told her mother goodbye, although she told her to be back by eight at thetest. Erin honestly had no idea if she was going to be able to fulfill that promise or not. To her mother and most members of her club, Pokemon training was just a social activity for people to bond and make friends. Most trainers knew that they weren''t going to make it big and were just in it for fun. Maybe they''d get a badge or two along the way. Erin''s mother herself had forbidden her from ever going further than Veilstone or Pastoria if she ever did go on a journey, and most parents were the same. Erin didn''t exactly know what she wanted in the long term. For now, however? She wanted to beat Volkner before the year ended¡ª "Are you going to open the door?" "I''m going," Erin hissed. She pressed down on the handle until her knuckles turned white and pushed it open. Cecilia and Grace waved at her as she walked through her small garden, and thetter even patted kazam on the back like it was just another human and not an all-powerful Pokemon capable of squeezing her brain like a grape. Erin also noticed the scars they both bore. A leg mangled beyond recognition and a body half-burned. It was a reminder of the dangers that lurked behind what Erin knew and had known her entire life, yet they unted it like it was nothing. Well, it wasn''t like there was a way to hide the burns anyway. "Erin! How''re you doing?" Grace asked. "Ready to get your feet wet?" "Sorry to do this so early. We''re morning people," Cecilia said. "Next time if you want, we can meetter." They were going to do this again? Erin thought. They must have really been serious about this. "That''s kazam. Mira''s. He''ll be carrying us around today," Grace said. "Oh, and don''t mind the looks, he''s actually very nice even if he doesn''t look it." The psychic must have said something through telepathy, because both Grace and Ceciliaughed out loud. "Um, nice to meet you," Erin greeted kazam. "So we''re Teleporting? Does it¡ª what does it feel like?" "Oh, nothing," Cecilia waved. "One second you''re somewhere, and the next you''re somece else. It really isn''t bad. A little disorienting at most." "Okay. Sorry to spring all of this on you, by the way." "This is like a holiday for us, so don''t worry," Grace smiled. Erin blinked, not knowing what to say. "But we''re still taking it very seriously," Cecilia added. "Right?" "Oh, yeah, of course. kazam? Take it away." The air around Erin suddenly felt colder as the psychic Teleported them¡­ somewhere up a mountain. Erin didn''t really recognize this ce, and she felt a surge of panic. "It''s route 214, no worries," Grace said. "Still safe." Erin breathed a sigh of relief, but the blond girl kept going as she turned around. "Hey, Cece, this is what I was telling you aboutst night. Isn''t it awesome?" Erin couldn''t help but stare as well, and she felt her throat tighten at the sight. The mountain''s facade had been destroyed beyond recognition. Large portions of it had copsed, leaving debris and chunks of rocks at its base, fragmented and disintegrated into a thousand pieces. Layers of sediment and soil, each a different shade had been disced andrge fissures ran up the side of the mountain. What had done this? Some kind of rampaging wild Pokemon? Was it still on the loose? "A single Thunder did this?" Cecilia asked in awe. There was a certain glint in her eye that Erin couldn''t ce. "I wish. It was three," Grace huffed. "Honey''ll get there one day, though. Anyway, Erin! Why don''t we start off by greeting your Pokemon?" Oh. It had been her? Erin stared at Grace, who innocently stared up at her. Cecilia had walked toward the destroyed wall and ran her hand over the wounded facade with a grin. These people, Erin thought as she gulped. They were insane. ¡ª "A Bidoof and a meow. Aren''t they cute?" I gushed. I tried to pet the feline, but she turned away from me and jumped on Erin''s shoulder while Bidoof just watched. "Are you trying to be a normal type specialist?" kazam suddenly became interested in the conversation, no doubt because of the TE implications this had. "No, it was just random," Erin stammered. "My mom gave me Comet for my birthday and Sat is hers, but she''s lending her to me for battles." kazam deted and went back to practicing his telekinesis with Psychic. "Interesting. May I know their moves?" Erin listed off somemon moves that were to be expected from inexperienced Pokemon. Tackle, Scratch, Leer, Growl, et cetera. The usual. Cecilia listened intently as well, although I knew she was thinking further ahead than the basics. Today, we''d stick to those basics, however. I released Angel and grabbed myptop. "That''s Angel. He''s one of my friendliest. Angel, no touching her." The grass type''s vines drooped, but his entire body nodded as I sat on his vines. I''d wanted to get my entire team to train while we were here, but I realized pretty quickly that Erin was far too skittish for that. Thest thing I wanted to do was scare her off. "My mother baked us some cookies too, if you want some," she added. "Oh, really? Thanks a ton, I haven''t eaten today!" I cheered. The girl quickly handed us some and they were delicious. "Now, Erin, how many times have you fought Volkner this year?" "Only once. The other three times, I fought a Gym Trainer, and it also took me multiple tries to get past the Gym Trainer that allows you to sign up for the real deal," she embarrassingly said. "I got decently closest time, though. I took down his Shinx, but then he pulled out a Magnemite and Sat and Comet don''t have much to deal with anything that floats. Every time, they use those against me. Twice I fought Magnemite, then once a Tynamo and another time an Emolga." "That''s your test, then," Cecilia nodded. "You might be able to deal with them power-wise, but he''s asking you to think outside the box to deal with something you think you can''t. It''s a lesson." Erin turned toward me. "Uh, is what you''re writing¡­ good?" "What? Oh, I''m just summarizing what you''re telling us. Bullet points," I said. "Do you mind if we look up a video of your battles while you get your Pokemon warmed up?" "Uh, go ahead," she hesitantly said. "Comet, Sat, let''s start training." She went off into the distance, but not too far, and she watched her Pokemon jog and use moves on repeat. I entered the Sunyshore Gym''s website and quickly found her when I looked up her name. I clicked on one randomly and let the video y. The battle opened with Bidoof against Blitzle. "What jumps out to you?" Cecilia whispered after around two minutes. "Well, letting Comet take on Blitzle instead of switching to meow was a mistake because of how fast Blitzle is. Comet can''t keep up." Indeed, the electric type ran circles around Bidoof and asionally zapped him with low-powered Thundershocks from afar. "You''re looking too deep. Wider," Cece said. "We need to start broad and hone in on her deficiencies." I mused to myself for a few seconds. "Theck of confidence is killing her. She''s second-guessing every order and her Pokemon are getting confused." "Yes." "Oh, and she closes her eyes whenever her Pokemon get hit. That''s a split second lost, and those add up." "I didn''t notice that one," Cecilia said. "Eh, she could be wincing, it''s hard to tell with this video quality," I said, squinting at the screen. "But the fact that she freezes up as well is an issue. Fix these two, and she''s golden for the first badge. The flying Pokemon stuff is easily fixable with a little bit of outside-the-box thinking." "How would you instill confidence in someone? Train her until she can beat her peers easily?" Cecilia asked. "Hm. Yeah, I think that works. Be gentle with her." "I''m no Chase," she smirked. "Erin, are you done warming up?!" The teenager ran toward us a lot faster than she needed to and nearly tripped on the way there. "Done already?" "Well, we noticed something big, but easy to fix. You close your eyes and freeze up when your Pokemon get hit, don''t you?" Focusing on the easier issue first to ease Erin in was smart. I was content to let Cecilia work as I continued to watch Erin''s battle with the Gym Trainer. "Well yeah. It''s a reflex, I can''t stop, but does it matter that much?" "It does, exceedingly so. Time is a resource, Erin, and you need to be smart when using it. Notice how when you freeze up, the Gym Trainer keeps up the pressure on your Pokemon? Instead of countering or offering a strategy to your Pokemon, you freeze for some precious seconds. Do you battle others often? Non Gym Leaders, I mean," Cecilia asked. "Not really. I train a bunch, but we only battle every few days," Erin said. "Desensitize yourself to the feeling of seeing your Pokemon get hurt," Cecilia said. "Do they want to do this? To help you be a trainer?" Erin nodded, and both Comet and Sat did as well. "Then they know what that implies. Trust them," she gently smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "What should I do, then?" "You could ask them if they want to battle each other," I said. "But some Pokemon dislike that. My team''s not a fan, for example, even if they do it sometimes. Meanwhile, Cecilia''s has no qualms about it. A Pokemon will improve the quickest when there''s struggle involved." "Struggle doesn''t have to mean anything dangerous," Cece quickly added. "Just difficult battles and strenuous training will do. Push them to their limits again and again, and you''ll find that limit increasing extremely quickly." Erin breathed a sigh of relief, which I felt like she''d been doing a whole lot thesest few minutes. Her Pokemon agreed to spar¡ª and only a spar for now. It wouldn''t do any good to have them faint this early when we had only been there for a few minutes. I wanted her training tost longer than that. The fight itself was¡­ well, something I''d known to expect. It reminded me of Princess'' early days and mainly consisted of meow desperately dodging Bidoof''s attacks. There was this interesting dynamic where Comet was stronger but slower than Sat, who was weaker but quicker on her feet. As for Erin countering Volkner''s Pokemon capable of flying? Yawn on Comet could potentially work, but it left the opponent the opportunity to finish him off before they went to sleep, and I assumed that moves like Hypnosis were too advanced of a concept for Sat. She was actually quite spry on her tail, however, and she used it to dodge multiple times. "Think Sat can use her tail to jump in the air?" I asked. "Oh. Oh, that could work," Cecilia said. "And it''d take whoever she''s fighting by surprise and potentially allow her to get a clean hit." "See? Progress already," I smiled. Cecilia nudged her head forward. "Look, she doesn''t know who to cheer for." Erin''s eyes desperately alternated between both of her Pokemon, and she kept stammering something under her breath. "Aw." ¡ª As it turned out, the training with Erin didn''t go nearly as long as I thought, mostly because I''d overestimated how long her Pokemon would be able to train for. What she did have, though, was a lot of questions, and she was finally starting to open up to us, and she took notes on her phone whenever we answered. Cecilia healed up her Pokemon with two potions and she said they''d never been this tired or hurt after a training session, and even battles sometimes ended before things got this far. I was starting to better grasp how people were stuck here all year long, but Erin also told me that some of them didn''t really care for the Conference and that this was mostly a hobby. It was barely over eleven when kazam teleported us back to Sunyshore, but instead of going back home, Erin decided to take us to her clubroom. "People are going to love you," she said. "It''s going to be awesome." "Sure. I''m always willing to help people get better at Pokemon training," I shrugged. "Cece, you''re good to go?" "Yes," she said before leaning against me and whispering. "This might be good PR for you and the Poketch Company." That was true, but it wasn''t my main motive. Or any motive, for that matter. We stepped onto one of the sky bridges and I realized that they were automated walkways. I felt the urge to walk backward on one, but Cece grabbed me by the arm and shook her head at me like a disappointed parent. After navigating thisbyrinth of a city for around twenty minutes, we reached the New Wave building. It looked a lot like a school from the outside, and there was even a yground that was currently only used by young Pokemon. I smiled as an Igglybuff slid down a slide as he waved his little arms and his two friends¡ª a Popplio and a Rattata¡ª waited for him at the bottom. There was a sign made out of cardboard with the words ''New Wave'' clumsily painted on it, and dried light blue paint had dripped down from a few of the letters. We were osted before we even reached the entryway by a multitude of children with too many faces to remember. Erin introduced each of them as a name that Imitted to memory. There was even a girl called Emilia here, and it wasn''t actually a school, but some sort of old human daycare ording to Erin. So many questions, pictures, so much noise. It was almost overwhelming, but I found myself able to cope with it, especially with Cece here with me, who handled all the attention like it was second nature for her. After around thirty minutes, Erin locked us up in her office. It was a simple, small room with a wooden desk at its center and some file cabs. I took a seat and sighed. "Oh man, that was tiring," I exhaled. "I''m sorry. I thought it would be nice, and people will talk about this for a long time. This is good for New Wave''s rep," Erin said. "Whose building is¡ª who''s paying rent for this?" Cecilia asked. "Oh, this belongs to Jamie''s grandparents. They used to run it as a daycare before they retired, so we''re using it for free. We still have to pay for utilities, though, but electricity and wateres cheap here," Erin exined. "And we pool all of our resources together, and some parents help too." "Well you look like you run a tight ship," I said as I syed over the desk. "I don''t know if I''d be able to do it. Sounds like a hassle. You''ve got some real leadership skills." "Really?" The girl beamed. "I mean, yes, uh, I do." "I must agree. I should take notes," Cecilia mused with a hand to her chin. "Well, um, I can help you if you need it. I need to go speak to them for a few minutes and tell them to stop the noise, and I''ll be back, just five minutes!" Erin eximed. As soon as she opened the door, a flurry of voices slipped through the small opening. "You were really good with the kids too," I told Cece. "Hey, when I have to go to that Poketch event this summer, do you wannae with me? I can bring a date." "I''ll never say no to you asking me out," she smiled. "This was tiring, though. I got rusty." "Really? You didn''t show it at all. I thought you were fine." "I can''t let it show, Grace, I was trained not to. I thought I''d be fine," she shrugged. "I need to get better at these kinds of events before we get to Unova if I want a chance at nabbing the Championship." "What do you mean by that?" "Well, you know already," she said as she began rubbing my shoulders. "There''s a lot less ''might makes right'' and a lot more politics involved. I told you what happened to Iris, right? She was forced into resigning because she had no political support." "Uhuh." "Support is what I need. So I''ll need to make connections with politicians, Gym Leaders, and maybe the Elite Four if possible, or I''ll just get pushed out of power. For that, I need to work on my charisma and my stamina in social situations, and I''ll also need a total reset from myst name so that they know they''re speaking to me and not my father." "You''re plenty charismatic already," I said. "I know. Speaking of, you''re going to go after the badges, right? In Unova?" "Yeah! There''s ten, so that sounds like fun." "Do you want the position at all, though?" "No," I said right away. "I mean, I''ll still fight for it, but if I get there somehow I''ll turn it down. I sure as hell don''t want to be a politician, I just want to fight strong people." "I''ll have to go through you, then." "If the brackets line up that way," I said. "By the way, have you always been this good at massages?" "Am I? I''m just winging it." "Well, keep winging it please. My back''s been pretty tensetely. Maybe I''m growing?" Cecilia guffawed, "No." "You could have entertained it!" ¡ª There was a storm brewing in New Wave, and Erin was desperately trying to contain it. She''d locked the doors to her office from the outside so no one could sneak in and interrupt those two terrifying girls. They were nicer than she would have expected from celebrities, and they gave good tips, but Arceus, sometimes they just said things. During training, Erin caught a glimpse of Grace''sputer and saw that the most recently opened note document wasbeled ''LAVA STRATEGY - LETHAL VERSION.'' All she had wanted to do was check if her new teacher was writing nice things about her or not! And her other teacher Cecilia wasn''t any better either! She kept saying that every time she saw the beach, she felt the urge to ss it. ss it! Erin had to look up what that implied, and the inte redirected her to a horrifying battle at the Sceon tournament. And the worst part was, Grace had answered that she understoodpletely and they both giggled about it afterward like it was a joke. They werepletely insane. But she couldn''t deny that she had improved more in that one training session alone than she had in thest few months. A single day, and it felt like the wind was in her sails and Comet and Sat could potentially win at Volkner''s Gym if given another few days of training, and if she fixed her own issues they had outlined. "Erin, when are theying out? I didn''t get a picture?" "Can they train me too?" "Are you hogging them for yourself?" "Are they joining New Wave?" "Who cares? Lauren Goodwill''s better!" Erin inhaled. "Listen up! Right now, they just came to greet you all. I don''t know what they intend to do but it''s certainly not join New Wave. Maybe they''d be willing to help out the club temporarily while they stay, but that''s it. If you want, I''ll outline what they tell me during training and bring it back to you, does that work for everyone?" "But they''re training you specifically. Most of the advice won''t apply to us," June yelled in the back. "I''ll ask them for some general advice, then. If you have any specific questions, send them to me and I''ll see what I can do, okay? I can''t guarantee anything, though, so don''t expect much, or you''ll be disappointed!" That seemed to have calmed them down somewhat. Erin created a separate chat where each person could send one question at most. They had three hundred and fifty-six members, so even that was too much. Erin looked the questions over a few times, but an older girl¡ª Sandy¡ª tapped her on the shoulder. "There are more trainers outside. They heard that Cecilia and Grace were here." "Heard?" "It''s all over the Sunyshore forums¡ª and the forums in general. They''re both usually so private that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." "You can''t ambush them, Sandy." "Don''t call it an ambush, it''s just fans wanting to meet them. Denzel Williams does it all the time¡ª and did you hear he was on his way here? I''m his biggest admirer, I can''t wait!" Erin pushed a thumb against her forehead and sighed. "Keep them out. Don''t disturb them ever. We don''t know what they''ll do if they get angry." "Why do you look like that? Like you''re scared?" "I''m not scared, I''m just nervous. It''s not like theyugh about blowing things up or ssing beaches or anything¡ª" "What?" "I''m just joking. Haha. Isn''t it funny? Pleaseugh." Sandy frowned and just stared at Erin like she was insane. "Okay, I''m going back in there. Keep them out, Sandy. Keep them out no matter what." ¡ª "Okay, but fossils cost a bajillion to buy, let alone revive. I bet your dad had some fossil sitting in one of his mansions," I said. "Yes. A Plume Fossil," Cecilia smiled. "It''s behind a ss disy near the entrance of our home in Castelia to impress the guests. He never did want to revive it, though. I''m just saying that fossil Pokemon are interesting. They function on apletely different mindset and are a lot more aggressive, even with their trainers." "Byron has one, right? Bastiodon." "Yes, and Roark has Rampardos. I just think it''d be an interesting challenge¡ª" Erin knocked on the door of her own office and then entered when we told her to. "You don''t need to knock, Erin. This is your ce," I said. "So, what now?" "Um, could we get kazam back?" She muttered. "I''d have to call Mira," I said. "He''d probably be pissed at me for asking him toe when I told him he could go. Do you want to go back to the route?" "Oh, no, it was just to ask. Um, there might be a huge crowd of trainers outside. They aren''t from our club. And, uh, I don''t want you to get mad or damage our building." I frowned. "Damage your building? Why would we even¡ª even if we''re mad, we wouldn''t do that. The Poketch Company would hate me, and I''d be arrested!" "And you know, there are people in the building," Cece said. "Yes, but that''s obvious, so it''s beside the point." "You said you wanted to ss a beach, so I didn''t know¡ª" Cece grimaced. "Erin, you weren''t supposed to hear that. It was just a flirty joke, nothing serious." "Flirty?!" She coughed. "O¡ªokay, yeah. Flirting, got it. Okay, let''s go ahead and leave, then. Sandy''s keeping them out, so I''ll clear the way for you." Even with Erin here, avoiding the crowd was impossible, but she seemed to have a lot of authority even with non-club members in the city. When she yelled, people listened, and we were through easily. ¡ª "See youter, Erin. Cece will take care of you tomorrow, and we''ll be together the day after that, alright?" I said. "Thank your mother for the cookies for us!" "I will!" She yelled as she waved. "Sorry for the misunderstanding!" "We apologize too!" Cecilia eximed. We waved until Erin returned to the street the New Wave building was situated on. "Arceus, that was a disaster." "Hey," I said with an air of smugness as I bumped her arm with mine. "You''re the one who scared her in the end. I waspletely innocent." "She wasn''t supposed to hear it," Cece groaned. "And you started it with what you did to that mountain! You could have fixed it with Princess, but you kept it there to show me when you knew I''d love it!" "Are those excuses I hear? It''s okay, I''ll just bask in this superiority for the next week, don''t mind me," I teased. "Don''t worry about it, we''ll grow on her. Hopefully. She didn''t refuse to meet us again, at least." "I suppose so," she shrugged. "She has potential. She''s a nner like you are." "She is," I agreed. "Let''s hope we manage to nab her a badge." We walked back to our Pokemon Center, and while Cecilia left to meet with Chase for some theory crafting about dark TE, I stuck around and secluded myself in my room. It was time to see how Volkner functioned in detail.
Chapter 218 Chapter 218 CHAPTER 218 "Princess. Analysis time, get in here," I said. The flying type chirped as she floated on myp, and I opened myptop so she could see with me. She hadn''t given her input before, but she was just as smart as I was and I wanted her more involved in the process so we could bounce ideas off each other and she could get better at noticing weaknesses. I already had Volkner''s Gym website open, and I felt a sense of pride when I clicked on the six badge battles. What I did see, though, was disappointing. Even at a level this high, Volkner still didn''t fight in a lot of his battles and had a few League Trainers capable of standing in for him do so instead. I applied the seventh and eighth badge filter and saw that he was present for all of those. "So six badges is your threshold?" I murmured. "Okay." I wasn''t sure if demanding to battle him when I signed up would work, but I''d make sure he wouldn''t abandon his duties somehow. I also decided to study Volkner exclusively and not bother with any of his League Trainers. At six badges, I was finally getting into the big leagues, and Volkner was a difficult opponent to make that transition with. I''d heard and said multiple times that he was a master of the field, but seeing him in action was different. All of his Pokemon at this level knew Electric Terrain¡ª all of them. That meant that no matter what, I''d be fighting against boosted electric type attacks, but that was just the surface. Electric Terrain was simple to deal withpared to everything else Volkner had up his sleeve. "Let me tab out for a second¡ª actually, I''ll just split the screen. Keep watching the battle for me and see if you catch anything." Princess nodded, but her eyes had already been glued to the screen. I opened my notes and began to type. Volkner had many variations of Electric Terrain, each with different effects¡ª but all of them would still power up electric type moves. The first was something I''d named Static Terrain, although Volkner called it Electric Terrain Two. It was just as bad as it sounded. Any Pokemon that stood still for too long would eventually get paralyzed, and getting paralyzed meant that they''d struggle to move, which in turn meant that they''d get further paralyzed and then they''d enter a death loop while Volkner fired off Thunderbolts or whatever was needed to finish them off. Funnily enough, however, flying types or Pokemon capable of flight were immune to this and of course, so were any electric types. With a small grunt, Princess brought the fact that she couldn''t see any weaknesses to this move to my attention. Volkner could have his Pokemon create Static Terrain in mere seconds and it looked to require next to no concentration. Another electric type could possibly counter it, but Honey and I hadn''t trained enough in that department and catching up to a Gym Leader with years of experience was next to impossible, so we''d have to adapt. Not all of his Pokemon could use this variation. They were mostly kept to his heavy hitters that weren''t as fast, but were endurant enough to sustain the effect. Of course, not as fast was rtive with Volkner. Luxray, Manectric, even his damn Ampharos was fast somehow. This would not only be a battle against the element of electricity, but speed itself. "Wait, Princess. I got a counter," I smiled. "Well, not a counter, but I noticed something. None of his Pokemon that float can use the damn move." Magnezone, Eelektross, Vikavolt¡ª all of the fliers were incapable of using Static Terrain. The only logical conclusion was that to sustain the attack, a Pokemon needed to constantly channel electricity through their feet like Zachary had done with his own Ampharos. If he hadn''t battled me in Veilstone, I was sure it would have taken me some extra days to figure this out, so I''d have to thank him. The next effect¡ª which I donned ''Electric Fog'' had no such limitations. Volkner would somehow create some kind of mist that he then supercharged, and the electricity would desperately jump at any Pokemon inside at random intervals and it''d reduce visibility, even if not by that much. This one was less annoying than the first overall, but it would destroy Princess if we didn''t master her shielding in time. Almost all of his Pokemon could use this, but Volkner liked to keep it to his more frail Pokemon, along with his Pokemon capable of flight. Now, these were the main two that he used, at least at my level, but there were a few more that he kept if he needed. Sometimes he''d flood the field with his Lanturn¡ª that he had somehow gotten so good at water maniption that he could fight onnd by being submerged in floating water. Now, he wouldn''t do it all the way. Volkner only created a massive, arena-wide puddle that was ankle-deep and then he electrified it. If he only had two Pokemon left, however, he''d flood itpletely. Eelektross and Lanturn were very adept at navigating water, and any water types you countered with that weren''t also either electric or ground type would be quickly fried in the water. His electric types that knew the move Rain Dance could create a Thunderstorm that made Thunderbolt and Thunder strike from above instead of from his Pokemon, and the move would be quicker and almost impossible to dodge. Volkner''s arena actually shared Gardenia''s open skies, and it was the only one to do so. I shared some thoughts with Princess about countering it with Angel or Sunshine''s Sunny Day, but I''d have no way to know if that worked until I was in the battle itself. Weather moves countering each other only worked if the Pokemon was better practiced with it than the other. And for some reason, these were all called Electric Terrain with some number by the end. Volkner had a disappointing amount of inspiration when naming things. "Speaking of Volkner''s arena," I muttered. On the surface, his didn''t look that different from Maylene''s, but that was only at first nce. There was a lot more metal in the rocks than the average arena, which meant that any chunks or debris could be moved and manipted with incredible precision through maism, like what Zachary''s Ampharos had done but with ten times the amount of control. Volkner mostly used those for defense, though. Offense by throwing rocks looked a littleme when you could summon a lightning strike from the sky itself and would serve next to no purpose. Now, this was all¡­ kind of overwhelming. To go from Maylene''s simple but effective fighting style to this was difficult, but there was a silver lining to all of this. Volkner had practically no defense to speak of beyond rocks, and those weren''t very good. No Protect, no barriers, nothing. Just like what I''d heard about his best friend Flint, Volkner was an overwhelming attacker who believed that offense was the best defense, which meant that his Pokemon would go down a lot easier than Maylene''s. I watched as the slouched Gym Leader ced his hands in his pockets and a Raichu sliced up an Onix with an Iron Tail. "He looks bored, don''t you think?" I asked. Princess nodded and told me his mug was also ugly and unpleasant to look at. "Someone''s been hanging out with Sunshine too much," I said, petting her head. "You''re lucky you''re a Pokemon and people don''t understand you, you know? You need to be nicer." The fairy type absent-mindedly nodded and was mostly preupied by my head scratches. Unlike Fantina, Volkner didn''t hate battling, he just hated battling at what he considered a low-level, which the sixth badge was still apparently a part of. What I did see, however, were glimpses of enjoyment from time to time. When he got hit by a tactic he didn''t expect or a battle he''d been handily winning suddenly tightened, he actually smiled and got into it. What I needed was for him to feel like that for the entire battle, and Lauren would as well. "Possible, but difficult. What Pokemon did you notice were tougher than the rest?" I asked. "We''ll see if we came to the same conclusion." While Princess shared some of my worries, she mostly picked Pokemon that would counter her terribly¡ª so Pokemon that were fast and highly maneuverable in the air, and who could run circles around her. "Don''t be biased. Looking at the team as a whole, the biggest problems are¡­ Toxtricity, Heliolisk, Lanturn, Zebstrika, Galvant and Eelektross, I think. Raichu looks easy, but Aln Raichu isn''t. He''s the only one that can do barriers, even if they''re weaker than yours. Think you''ll have your new ones mastered by the battle? I''d probably give it a week and a half or two weeks." The fairy type nodded firmly, letting me know that there was no doubt in her mind. Toxtricity was a poison type, and I had very few counters for those, so he was on top of the list. Lanturn and Eelektross for reasons already outlined, Zebstrika because she was so fast that she was nearly impossible to hit. Heliolisk and Galvant were also quick, but their way of fighting was more gimmicky. Galvant was quick, and she liked to wrap your Pokemon in a thunderous web and knock them out while they couldn''t move. Despite being so tiny, Heliolisk could dish out incredible attacks from afar, and his dragon and ground type moves would actually be able to counter Sunshine even if he was one badge level ahead. Plus, he was like Gardenia''s Lombre since he could take advantage of both the rain and the sun with Sr Beam, but Sr Power meant that he wouldn''t be able to fight for long under thetter even if his attacks would be boosted. And I couldn''t forgo the possibility of Volkner using a seven-badge Pokemon to counter Sunshine. Either way, these were just the ones that jumped at me. At this level, everything Volkner brought out would be a threat, and I''d be a fool to underestimate Pokemon like Luxray and Manectric even if they were more of a jack of all trades. Now, that wasn''t it. This battle was two-fold. One, impress Volkner. Two, there was the question of how to make Honey shine the brightest. I didn''t only need to impress Volkner, but I needed to show him that Honey was worthy of the knowledge he held. Thunder would no doubt help with that, as the move was so intensive that I was sure Volkner had almost never seen any six badger use it against him. In fact, it was so powerful that it would deal a decent amount of damage against electric types without abilities that rendered all electric type attacks useless. But that wasn''t it. He couldn''t just hold his own. He needed to excel. He needed to be my ace for the battle. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us like usual," I said as I stretched. "I''ll start outlining the moves I see. You just observe for now, okay? And use the opportunity to get better at reading letters." ¡ª I probably would have kept studying all night if Cecilia hadn''t knocked on my door to check if I was still awake. She knew me too well at this point and had forced me to go to sleep since I was waking up rtively early tomorrow to meet with Lauren. I fell asleep right as I hit the bed and morning came in a sh. I did feel stupid because we hadn''t actually decided on where to meet. After a quick call, we quickly realized we were actually staying in the same Pokemon Center by pure luck. We decided to meet downstairs in the lobby, but it took me a while to find her because she was wearing a face mask, sunsses and wearing a hoodie. She was the one who actually waved at me. "Lauren, what''s with the getup?" I frowned. "You alright?" She was the same as always, but it looked like some of her skittishness had disappeared, at least. "It''s my disguise. I did what you told me yesterday, Grace¡­ I tried scaring them off. They liked it." I let out a scoff and leaned in as I began to whisper, "Okay, I''m sorry. I guess they''re a lot more rabid than I thought. Have you considered putting out a statement online? I know you already walk around with Sirris everywhere, so you should be fine security-wise, but maybe you should be straight with them." "So I should tell them that they''re fucking annoying wastes of space and that I''d be happy if they died?" She shyly whispered back. "Maybe something less extreme?" I said. "Like, ''hey, I''m happy I have fans, but please stop waiting for me outside of my Pokemon Center because it makes me feel ufortable''. If you want to keep working with Silph Co., you can''t seem too violent or extreme. It sucks and it''s unfair, but walking around with a Pokemon is kind of the limit of what you can do." "I see. Sirris said the same thing, which is why I tried to hide." "No, that''s justmon sense," I said. "Want to go to the Boardwalk? Eat some ice cream?" "It''s pretty hot today," she nodded. "Ice cream sounds fine." I felt my lips creep upward when I imagined Sunshine screaming that no, fifteen degrees Celsius wasn''t hot. I feared his standard had forever been altered by Al. We left the building with Lauren''s disguise, and we quickly hopped on a bus. "I wonder why your fans are so extreme?" I asked her. "I mean, we all have some, but yours are something else." "I don''t know. At some point, I thought it was because of my brother, but¡ª" Lauren froze when she spoke of Craig. "What''s going on?" "Craig¡­ uh, talking about him made me remember he''s here." "By here, you mean here? In Sunyshore? I thought he was training on Mount Cor!" It was at times like these that I regretted not being as online as some of my other friends. It meant I could miss easy information like this. "Well, he''s been there for a few months now, so he''s taking a break," Lauren said. "I''m surprised he hasn''te to see me." "Why? You said you didn''t want anything to do with him," I shrugged as I watched the city pass us by. "He probably learned to respect your wishes." "Maybe¡­ I guess¡­" "You know, it''s alright to want to see your brother," I said. "I don''t want to see him, I was just wondering." "Well, it works out for me. I haven''t been able to thank him in person since he kind of secured my deal with Poketch for me. I wonder if he''d be willing to meet." "I mean, he''s quite busy. The Poketch Company was getting antsy about him going missing for so long, and they want to use him as much as they can before he disappears again. Or at least I think so!" She eximed. I turned toward her with a smug smile. So she did like her brother after all. ¡ª We''d made it to the boardwalk, which was even more packed than yesterday now that the city was warming up. A few brave souls had decided to enter the waters of the beach too. I waited for Lauren toplete her order as I ate some of my ice cream from the small paper cup the stand gave me. I''d never been a fan of cones. Lauren, meanwhile came back with a yellow ice cream. "What''s that vor?" "Ginger pineapple ice cream," she said before licking the base of her cone. "You should have one too." "I''ll stick to strawberry, thanks," I said. "So, Lauren. What do you know about Volkner so far?" "That he''s tough," she grinned. "He can make the battlefield extremely difficult to even stand on for anything that isn''t an electric type. I''m confident I can handle him, but I know this is going to be harder than Maylene." I resisted the urge to start rambling on everything I''d studied up onst night. I knew Lauren functioned differently than me, and she did have two ground types. Even if Volkner had ways to counter them, she was in a good spot to win. "What Pokemon do you have on your radar?" I asked. "By the way, I have to say, I fucking love your sunsses. Sorry if thates out of nowhere." "Oh. Thanks," she smiled. "I bought them the other day, I can show you the store if you want to." "Sure!" "And for his Pokemon, well, uh, Lanturn looks annoying. Then there''s Zebstrika, Aln Raichu¡­" I nodded along with her list. Even if she didn''t study as much as I did, she was able to scope out threats with the little amount she had, which proved her instincts were on point. Of course, some of her answers differed from mine. Toxtricity wasn''t as much of a problem against her team, for example. I finished my ice cream, threw it in the trash and we kept talking. "Now, to impress Volkner, it won''t be enough to just win. You''ll have to bring out your A-game." "I always bring my A-game." "Just making sure," I innocently raised my hands. "He loves twists and turns he didn''t expect, so try to think outside the box. If the battle is predictable, he''ll hate it even if you''re throwing powerful attacks around or fucking up the field. So, we should share what we n on doing and make our tactics different." "I don''t have a n. I think I''ll just wing it." "Oh Arceus," I shivered. "People like you terrify me." "Am¡ª Am I scary?" She whimpered. "Well, the fact that you''re as good as you are while winging things is scary, yes," I said. "Anyway, do you n on usingva in any way shape or form? Or just using the sun in general?" "You''re thinking sun team?" Lauren mused. "Interesting." I shrugged. "Sorta kinda." "Well, I''ll probably use Lava Plume with Mags, but that''s it in theva front." I nodded. Magmar''s Lava Plume wasn''t as hot as what Sunshine was capable of, so I thought Volkner would still be impressed with us. We kept sharing some insights for Volkner until Lauren brought me to the store she''d bought her sunsses in. It was nice to finally hang out with her. We were friends, but until today, it was like she didn''t feel the same way. "And don''t forget, your Magmar needs to leave a mark on Volkner. That means you need to do everything in your power to make him an unstoppable force. Taking down multiple Pokemon with him would be ideal." "You''ve seen Mags battle. I have no doubt in my heart that he''ll do it." "Good. The question is, how do we guarantee a battle with Volkner?" I asked as I stared at myself in the mirror with a pair of sunsses. "Think they''ll agree if we ask? We''re among the best first years." "I don''t know. I thought you would know." "I guess I can call Candice," I whispered. That was one of the levers I could pull. "She might be busy working, though." "You have Candice''s number?" "Oh yeah, we''re friends," I said. "Want to know what she''s all about? She''ll be your eighth badge, right?" "I would like that, yes," Lauren nodded. "Okay, let me call her first. I''m going to buy these sunsses and a matching pair for Cece, so I''ll be right back." I walked up to the counter with a giddy feeling inside of me. Was I buying too much stuff for her? Honestly, I wanted to shower her with gifts, but this was already my second¡ª or my third, if I counted the video Emi had agreed to edit. Cecilia didn''t have aptop yet either¡­ but she''d probably feel ufortable if I gave her too much, and I had explicitly told her not to do the same for me. I dragged Lauren into one of the changing rooms as I scrolled through my contacts to call Candice. "Hi Candice. You''re on speaker," I said. "Oh! Grace, you called me? I''m so moved!" "We spoke the other day. You called me to say happy birthday when it wasn''t my birthday yet? Remember that?" "Oh, yeah, right," she said. "Who else is here? Is it your giiiirlfrieeeeend? Cecilia! How''re you doing! You should call me more often!" "It''s not Cece, it''s my friend Lauren." "Lauren? Oh, Craig''s sister?!" Candice yelled before freezing. I ignored Lauren''s annoyed expression and waited for Candice to continue. "Yes. Hello, Snowpoint''s Gym Leader Candice here. Please keep this short, we''re extremely busy." "Lauren''s fine, you don''t have to pretend to be working," I rolled my eyes. "We had a question regarding Volkner." "Oh, grumpy old Volkner? Shoot." "You know how he lets his Gym Trainers battle for him? Could we somehow prevent that for us? And you know, my friends who may not want to have it easier too?" Candiceughed and I heard her p her knee. "Don''t be so oblivious, Grace. You don''t have to worry about that!" "What do you mean?" "Well first, you brought Maymay to tears, so Volkner won''t pass this chance. You''re lucky he''s a good Gym Leader, or he would have sworn revenge against you or something and made your win impossible. It would have been funny, though. Craig''s Volkner''s buddy and he gives him the best battles, so I''m pretty sure he''ll battle his sister¡ª" "Let''s stop with the sister stuff," I interrupted. "Sensitive subject." "My bad, I seem to be very good at stepping onndmines. And I doubt Volkner will pass up the opportunity to fight the best first years, so your friends should be fine! You were worrying for no reason. You''re lucky we''re friends, or I would have charged you for this. I''m very busy, there''s mountains of paperwork¡ª" "You let all of your League Trainers handle that, Candice," I said. "And Snowpoint''s still frozen over, so trainers haven''t started arriving yet. You''re probably bored out of your mind." "I am!" She screamed with a fake cry. "I wanna go to Sunyshore and hang out with Volkner! He got this new girlfriend and I haven''t met her yet, I want to embarrass him in front of her so badly! Like, what if I told her all of his deepest secrets?" "You''re the worst," I smirked. "The best. Anyway, no joke, I actually have to go train some of the little guys, so I''ll be off. Say hello to the others for me. Bye Lauren, it was nice to meet you even though I''m pretty sure you hate me!" I stared at Lauren, but she didn''t answer. "Sheesh, that''s awkward. Bye Grace!" "See yater, Candice. Thanks for the help." I hung up the phone and grinned. It looked like I''d been worrying for nothing. "I don''t like her," Lauren muttered. "Yes, I could tell. But this was good news, right? We''re basically golden, now we just have to not fumble the opportunity." "We won''t. I never back down from a tough challenge." ¡ª I spent another few hours with Lauren going to different shops on the boardwalk, but we separated after that. I made sure to warn her that since she also had a Pokemon more powerful than the rest of her team in Rhydon, Volkner could possibly amp up the difficulty. When I asked her what she was nning on doing to figure out how the hell Rhydon evolved, she told me she was nning on going to the Battle Frontier to speak to Barry Lane''s father after the Conference. In a way, it was weird to see everyone so interconnected. Before I went off to borrow one of Mira''s psychics to train, Louis and Maeve were finally free to meet. I didn''t know what had gotten them so busy, but it was apparently some kind of intense training regiment that meant that they had an intense battle every few hours and limited their Pokemon to potions unless they really needed to go to the Center. As a result of that, they''d battled the most out of everyone in the group, and their Pokemon approved. Especially Gabite. I met them in one of the many arenas dotting Sunyshore, although this one was quite far away from our Pokemon Center since they were staying in a different one. I was greeted by a Nales battling toe-to-toe with an Infernape and Louis and Maeve standing at two opposite sides of the battlefield. Not only that, but a Gligar clung to Maeve''s head and tried to eat her hair while she battled. It seemed like we hadn''t been the only ones moving forward.
Chapter 219 Chapter 219 CHAPTER 219 The battlefield was embroiled in fire. Nales crouched as she opened her maw wide with her throat lit by the bright mes building within. Fire exploded out of her mouth, but where she truly shone was control. She weaved fire like it was a part of her body, and the mes divided outward in ten parts, each going toward Infernape at different speeds. "Torment!" Maeve yelled. Infernape''s eyes dimmed, losing their vibrant color as the fighting type scrambled across the arena to dodge the following mes. Nales lit up with a rage I''d never seen her have as a Vulpix and the mes dissipated into thin air. Her tails coiled around her body and toward her mouth, and this time, a Shadow Ball formed. "Get in there and Power-Up Punch! Calm Mind too!" She yelled again. The Shadow Ball flew forward, curving toward Infernape. Nale''s eyes shone bright pink and I started to feel drowsy. "Taunt!" Maeve screeched. The Hypnosis ended, and the Shadow Ball hit Infernape in the leg, exploding into purple smoke that he quickly left behind. The fire type grunted in pain every time he used his wounded leg, but the Calm Mind was already starting to take effect. I was surprised at how seamless it had all been, but Maeve''s starter had never been one to not be calm. "Extrasensory," Louis ordered. Nales howled, and the air in front of Infernape warped. The fighting type struggled against the psychic force, but he kept building the mes around himself until he turned into a fireball brighter than anything in the arena. I covered my eyes as the mes around Infernape jutted out like knives and stabbed into Nales, who yipped and mmed him away with her powerful tails. In a way, the battle was a deadlock. Nales and Infernape only had a few moves that weren''t fire type and that meant that they would struggle to take each other down. I''d been watching for thest ten minutes, after all. But maybe that was the point. The destructive force that they both brought to the table was nothing to scoff at, and I could easily see that they''d both improved leaps and bounds. Louis took a more proactive role in things, even if he still liked to hang back, while Maeve had slowed down her orders and actually thought before giving them instead of a panicky stream ofmands that were only half feasible. The two Pokemon threw two methrowers at each other, and the explosion and subsequent shockwave rattled the small arena even though the barriers held. Sometimes, I''d see Nales attempt to control Infernape''s fire, but she still struggled on that front. I''d ce her above the fighting type for now, but he was nothing to scoff at and unlike Zachary''s Infernape, he preferred to fight at a distance. "Confuse Ray," Louis exhaled. He seemed to know exactly when Infernape''s Taunt had run out, and the problem with Taunt was that Pokemon grew a tolerance to it when used multiple times in a single battle. A strange ray of light appeared in front of Nales forehead and rushed toward Infernape in a straight line. Gone was the wobbly nature of the attack she''d struggled with as a Vulpix. That wasn''t it either. More mes converged toward Infernape in an attempt to keep him from moving. Maeve tried Taunt again, but the light only slightly dimmed and wavered. Infernape attempted to run, to attack to interfere with Nale''s focus, but nothing worked. The Confuse Ray caught up to him, and he started attacking in every direction. Even himself. But what surprised me was that he broke out of the confusion in twenty seconds. That had only been enough time for Nales to hit him with more mes and another Shadow Ball. At this point, these two were so in tune with each other that they knew every trick and could counter them in countless ways. After another five minutes, Nales and Infernape had been brought to the point of exhaustion, although it looked like Infernape could still keep going for a while longer. Louis and Maeve both recalled their Pokemon and nodded at each other. "Good battle," Maeve cheered. "Are we doing Bisharp against Empoleonter?" "Sure thing. Uh, Grace is here!" Louis smiled as he waved. "Good afternoon!" Bisharp too, huh? I finally understood what they were doing, now. Throwing Pokemon that couldn''t deal that much damage to each other over and over, like an unstoppable object meeting an unmovable force. That meant that their Pokemon would struggle more, but improve faster. It was an ingenuous method, especially since they battled each other so much. I waved back at Louis as the arena''s employee arrived with a Sandsh that began fixing the arena. The blond boy rubbed his scarred cheek and nodded at me. "Hi Louis. Working hard, I see," I smirked. "Got your badge yet?" "Oh, me? Not yet, but Maeve has hers, so she''s got the same number as I do now." "It was kind of underwhelming. My Pokemon were stronger than my badge level, so the first match up was a Luxio, so that was free," Maeve chimed in. "The rest were tough, but I was fighting a Gym Trainer, so I ended up winning with an entire Pokemon to spare." I patted her on the shoulder. "Look at you! All confident now." "Maylene was kind of a wake up call," she said as she awkwardly shuffled. My eyes settled on the Gligar on her head. "He''s cute. Where did you get him?" "Route 214. It took a few days because I was looking for one specifically. You told me it was okay to be picky, and I really wanted one. He''s still catching up to the rest of the team right now. Gli, say hi." The ground type seemed a lot more preupied with eating and licking her hair right now, but he spared me a passing nce. Maeve didn''t look like she minded, but it was more of a defeated look than anything else. Like she''d already tried everything to get him to stop, but resigned to her fate. "Nice to meet you, Gli," I greeted, dipping my head slightly. "So. Nales." "Nales," Louis repeated. "Is it true what they say? The curses and stuff?" "Well, there''s some degree of truth to it, but she''s not at a level where she''d be able to inflict any kind of curse on you, no," Louis smiled. "She''s been quite irritable since evolving, however, and it took some long nights negotiating because of lifespan issues and, I had no idea what she meant most of the time, but we came to an agreement. It has to do with my long term goal." "He''s too embarrassed to say it to anyone else," Maeve added. "He didn''t even tell Mira when we met her yesterday." "Well, it''s quite private," he quickly added. "Could you wait a little while we heal our Pokemon?" "Oh, sure thing," I said. I''d never seen a Nales from up close, and she did not disappoint. Her fur was golden like the sun, and her tails tipped in a fiery orange, and it had no signs of burning even if she''d been fighting in a sea of mes. Even Infernape was burned in some spots. Her red eyes analyzed me as Louis applied potions to the areas she''d been hit, and his hands sunk into her fur every time he dug to get the spray applied to her skin. "Can I touch?" I asked her with a raised hand. Louis was about to answer, but Nales shot him an angry look. After reflecting for a few seconds, she deigned to let me touch one of her tails. The third one from the right, to be quite exact. I had no idea why it had been so specific, but I respected her too much to go against her wishes. Plus, pissing off the embodiment of fire that lived for a thousand years might have been a bad idea. I nearly gasped at how soft it was. It was like touching a cloud¡ª or a stack of feathers. After five seconds, Nales grunted and I pulled my hand off her tail. "Thank you for that," I said. "Sorry, she''s¡ª" "It''s okay. She''s entitled to what she wants," I shrugged. "Do you want to get lunch somewhere, all three of us?" Louis asked. "I ate a little with Lauren, so not that hungry, but I can order some fries or something," I said. "Sounds good," Maeve agreed. "Let''s go and catch up." Arceus, Cece would probably kill me for what I ate today. Ice cream and fries? I was pretty sure that''d give her a heart attack. ¡ª "Now, now, Erin," Cecilia gently chided. "You have to be firm. Don''t doubt yourself when you battle. Sat and Comet know you well enough to tell, and they''ll begin doubting themselves too. Say it firmly." "C¡ªComet, Tackle!" Cecilia smiled as she observed the Bidoof run up to Slowking. The psychic let him hit him in the gut, and the normal type bounced off like he''d run into a rubber band. Should I act hurt, mydy? Slowking asked. "What? No," Cecilia said. No, no, look. I''m feeling Slow-hurt right now. Isn''t that a good one? I''m going to report it to kazam and Gardevoir. Cecilia restrained augh. "You have a problem." Erin frowned. "What is it?" Cecilia shook her head. "No, no, it was just Slowking." She wasn''t used to Slowking not being able to bring one of her friends into his psychic link, but Erin had never been telepathically spoken to before and she didn''t want to give her a terrible headache. Today was Cecilia''s day with Erin, but none of the Teleporters had been avable, so they were on route 222. She''d wanted to go to the edge of the route to avoid other trainers, but Erin had vehemently refused, since she was scared some wild Pokemon would jump out of the tree line and attack them despite Cecilia assuring her that Slowking would catch any danger. Cecilia was in a dilemma here. On one hand, she could have released Zweilous to scare off admirers. On the other, Erin would be scared as well. She wouldn''t mind speaking to younger trainers, but she was here to train Erin, and the amount of people that hade up to them¡ª both in and out of New Wave¡ª was starting to get annoying. Still, this was practice. It was good for the long term, since she was nning to throw herself to the Sharpedo and enter politics. "That was a nice, firmmand. It doesn''t have to be loud, just solid," Cecilia continued. "Now, it''d be good to see if you could replicate that in an actual battle. Why don''t you go check on one of your club members with no badges and challenge them?" "S¡ªsure thing," Erin said. "But before that, I have to ask. Don''t take this the wrong way, please." "Nothing you could say would bother me," Cecilia said. "Wait, nothing? Really?" "Yes. Go ahead." "I just think I need to ask for the general safety of Pokemon, okay? This isn''t me bad mouthing your girlfriend." What now, Cecilia sighed to herself. She motioned at Erin to keep going as Comet kept using Tackle on Slowking. "I know you somehow flirt about weird stuff, but this¡ª uh, I read this and I couldn''t help but think, what if¡ª" "Erin. Please, talk." "Do you know about thisva n thing? I nced at her screen yesterday and it said¡­" Erin looked around before leaning in to whisper. "Lethal version." A few thoughts ran through Cecilia''s mind, but none of them were concern. The first one was that Grace''s aloofness was cute as always. Just imagining her typing that made her smile, but a mental nudge from Slowking made her remember than Erin expected an answer, and she looked more scared than she''d been before she asked the question. Cecilia didn''t know much about theva n besides the fact that Grace whispered about it in her sleep a lot and that she enjoyed watching her do so. "Oh, it''s just theoretical," Cecilia waved a hand. "Theoretical way to m¡ªmurder?" "Well, yes, but you know. At a certain point in a trainer''s career, youe up with strategies that are too dangerous to use sometimes. Grace just likes to keep them written in her notes. She''s very diligent." "Oh, right. That makes sense. I think?" "Yes. It''spletely normal," Cecilia lied. "You don''t have to worry about it. Now, off you go. I''ll keep an eye on you, but I''ve got to watch some of Volkner''s battles." Volkner was going to be an issue, and Cecilia knew it, but if her time with Chase could give her the breakthrough she needed with dark type energy with Scyther, then so long as the bug type scored a hit, she''d be able to cut off their ess to most TE''s for a short amount of time. That meant that all terrain alteration would weaken or even disappear. Using a flying type as a lynchpin in an electric type Gym? Cecilia chuckled to herself. Just like Zweilous with Maylene, she was going to take a big risk with this battle, but both Talonme and Slowking would struggle as well. It could also be the breakthrough her and Scyther desperately needed. She knew he had the power to stand with the others, but they needed the dam to break before Scyther fought like Cecilia knew he was capable of. "Right away, Cecilia!" "You can rx, this isn''t the army." Before opening the website to Volkner''s Gym, Cecilia opened her messages to Grace and sent something to check on her. I am currently training with Erin, and it is going well. Have you eaten yet? ¡ª Cece I am currently training with Erin, and it is going well. Have you eaten yet? I chewed through a fry and my tongue, wincing at the sharp pain. My sunsses nearly fell off my head. "Grace? Are you alright? Is it urgent?" Louis asked, dropping his fork and knife. He''d ordered some sd with cheese and Maeve had taken the same thing. "No, no," I said. I quickly answered the text and expected a verbalshing about my nutritionter. After putting the phone back in my pocket, I continued. "Just Cece. So, we were talking about ns." "Right. So as I was saying, I don''t have a flier, and Maeve''s Staraptor isn''t big enough for the two of us, so I was thinking of hitching a ride on Pauline''s Braviary. Do you think she''d say yes?" Louis asked. And there was also the fact that Maeve was leaving as soon as she got her license to go back to Veilstone to challenge Maylene again¡ª or another Gym Trainer, in this case. Louis would be alone again soon if he didn''t find a solution. "Well, Pauline did tell me she nned on separating from the group as soon as we finished up Pastoria, but I''m not sure," I shrugged. "Why don''t you get yourself a flying type or a psychic anyway? It''d be good for the long term, even after this year. Plus, you''re halfway to eight now, right? And even fewer months. If you don''t get your sixth soon, you don''t know if they''ll be ready for the Conference, and that''s a whole other issue." An issue which would be a lot moremon if more first years ever made it to the Conference in the first ce. The number was usually lower than twenty, although there''d probably be more this year due to it having more people in general. Thirty, maybe? "I know it isn''t to my advantage," Louis acknowledged. "But I don''t want to be that strategic with my Pokemon. If one falls on myp in need of rescue, then I''ll pick it up. If not, then I''ll move on." I nodded. "That''s fair, everyone''s different." "Come to think of it, Grace¡­ have you seen Justin here?" Louis asked. He''d told me e to think of it,'' but I knew it had been weighing on his mind the past hour. I had hoped that Justin would have spoken to him after our short talk, but it looked like it hadn''t been the case. "He''ll speak to you. I''m sure of it," I said. "I don''t know when, but it''ll happen." I saw it in his face on route 214. We stayed in rtive silence for another few minutes until I spoke up again. "By the way, will you guys be there for Cece and I''s birthday parties? We were nning on doing it in a Center room like usual, but it''ll be pretty crowded and we made a new friend that said we could use their propertyte at night when everyone was gone. You guys heard of New Wave?" They both shook their heads, and I started telling them about clubs. ¡ª kazam and Gardevoir weren''t avable today, and the scale of the training I wanted to do wasn''t suitable for route 222, so I''d unfortunately have to skip out onva training today. That didn''t mean my Pokemon were inactive, however. Princess still practiced her barriers, and Honey was still getting Screech and Low-Kick down at the isted beach we''d found. The fact that he was practicing Screech meant that he was far off in the distance in order not to damage my ears. Louis and Maeve, meanwhile, had gone back to train at the arena. I was actually thinking of messaging one of my friends to ask if we could replicate these little one-on-ones. Cece would be nice since I''d be able to spend more time with her, but objectively, Lauren was the best choice. Unfortunately, she only looked at her phone once in a blue moon, so she probably wouldn''t even answer today. I adjusted my sunsses as I dipped my feet in the sea water. My pant legs were rolled up as high as they could be, and even though the water was chilly, it felt nice. There was unfortunately no sign of the mysterious woman I''d met, which was too bad. I wanted to ask her about her Pokemon. "Hey, Sunshine," I asked. "Do you want to get started on your explosion thing tomorrow? You''re starting to heat up decently quickly." Of course, he wasn''t in the water next to me. He was currently lying on the dry ground, surrounded by a mound of sand that Princess had raised for him, because Arceus forbid he got an inch of himself wet. The fire type hesitantly nodded with a lot less gusto than I''de to expect from him, but at this point, he''d tried it for years with no progress. Moving around in the air using Shell Trap would be a long term project, but the sooner we started, the better off we''d be. "You''re lucky Sweetie''s having so much fun right now, or she''d wonder where all your confidence went," I said, turning toward the speeding Pupitar. It had recentlye to my attention that Tyranitar could learn Surf, but having her float on the water without pressurized air was another issue entirely. My working theory was having her create a surfboard made of rock, but I wasn''t sure if that would just sink or not. Oh well, we''d get there when we got there. I carefully waited until Sweetheart beached herself with the gracefulness and beauty of a Milotic if a Milotic weighed one hundred and fifty kilograms. Actually, it was more, since she''d shed multiple times since then. Now that she was out of the water, I could finally return to Volkner. A Pokemon had gone under my radar yesterday. Jolteon. A small and unassuming Pokemon at first nce, but it was a lot more threatening than anything else I''d seen. The reason I''d missed her was because Volkner almost never used her. He probably thought that she was too powerful to use on five-badgers, but with Sunshine in the picture, anything was possible. I''d heard a lot of things about Eeveelutions back when I lived in Jubilife. That the elemental ones could turn into¡ª well, their element. I''d seen my first glimpse of it when I battled that water type specialist in Sceon with the Vaporeon, and Jolteon was no different. She could literally turn into a bolt of electricity for a short amount of time. The burst of speed she''d get would mean that she''d be faster than even Zebstrika. The good news was that it wasn''t possible for her to maintain it for long, but it was just another worry to add to the list. I''d have to send this one to Lauren as well¡ª I nced at the top of my phone and noticed that Cece was calling me. I quickly ran away from the water to hide the sound of the beach, much to Sunshine''s amusement. Buddy would have defended me if he wasn''t off somewhere deep in the water. "I''ll let you off the hook for now, mister," I amusedly said before answering the phone. "Cece! How''d it go with Erin?" I ignored Sunshine making fun of me again, this time for apparently making my voice higher pitched when I spoke to her. He was definitely lying. "It went well, but I have to tell you this! You did scare her yesterday!" "What? Pfft, no I didn''t." "You did. She saw yourva document. The lethal one." I groaned and stared at the sky. "Okay, maybe I did scare her. But it''s not bad, right? Like, she''s fine." "I made it fine. She''ll probably look at you weird tomorrow, still, and maybe ask more questions too. She really thought you were going to randomly kill someone, you know?" "I''ll soothe her worries, don''t worry," I said, noticing Angel desperately dragging Sweetheart away from the ocean to no avail. I motioned at her to not get back in the water this soon, and despite listening, she grumbled in protest. "But aside from that, she''s making progress? How are we doing on the timeline?" "Oh, yes. She won two battles today and Comet''s working on Rollout while Sat is still trying to get her tail jump down. She''ll probably be ready in a week." "That''s great¡ª" "By the way, Grace. Ice Cream for breakfast and fries for lunch?! I''m taking you out to get a proper meal tonight, and I won''t take no for an answer." "Well, you''re making it sound like a punishment." "Don''t get smart with me now. I hear you smiling. Something with vegetables." "Fineeee." ¡ª I''d expected Craig to take days or even more than a week to answer my message asking to meet. He answered it in a few hours. Him and his sister couldn''t be more different in that regard, especially with how busy he was. I''d heard of him going on interviews with reporters desperate to know what his training on Mount Cor had been like and what new techniques he had to show for the Conference. Obviously, he kept his answers vague, but he had this suave way of appearing so pleasant, even when he was basically telling reporters off. And I''d even seen him in a new Poketch Watch ad on TV this morning. He could really act his socks off. "To be honest, is there anything he can''t do?" I whispered to myself. He''d invited me to a bar on the boardwalk because he''d already been there, so it only took a few minutes for me to get here. I''d expected it to be a lot more¡­ rough than it actually was, mostly because all of my experiences with bars came from movies, but I was greeted by a symphony of soft lighting, cheerful chatter and the quiet voices of a high-leveled battle ying on television. Some tournament in Jubilife with only eight badgers, apparently. A Tauros and a Lilligant were battling, but I could only tell because of the text at the bottom of the screen. The battlefield had been overtaken by thick vegetation and trees grew in front of my very eyes as Tauros rampaged through the makeshift forest. Needless to say, not many people were watching because we couldn''t see anything. But the fact that grass types of that level were able to build a forest from nothing? That intrigued me greatly. And it had literally been nothing. ording to the bottom of the screen, this arena had been a default, rocky arena like Maylene''s. If kazam had been there, he''d probablyunch into a lesson of how grass TE represented growth and not nature or something. I wasn''t exactly sure if growth was it, but it certainly fit neatly in theplicated puzzle that was Type Energy. "Grace! Grace, over here!" I turned toward Craig''s voice, and I was d to see he hadn''t suffered any new wounds on Mount Cor, although he did look a bit pale. He looked like he''d just gotten a new haircut and he was clean-shaven, so he didn''t exactly look like someone that had just spent a few months in the wild, that was for sure. Then again, he''d been back for a few days and there was no way the Poketch Company would have let him appear in a non-presentable state. I waved at him and quietly made my way to his seat, but I was bewildered to see that the woman I''d seen on the beach two days ago was here too. Her thin frame had been hidden by Craig until I''d gotten close enough. "Jasmine?" I asked. "Good afternoon," she smiled, her voice as gentle as I remembered. "Oh, you know each other?" Craig asked. "Small world. Take a seat, Grace." That''s what I wanted to say! I slid into the empty chair in between them and cleared my throat. I suddenly felt very out of ce here.
Chapter 220 – The Mountain Chapter 220 ¨C The Mountain CHAPTER 220 - The Mountain Sitting next to two trainers way stronger than I was in such a public setting sure was¡­ something. Craig called one of the bartenders over, and the woman immediately dropped everything she was doing to get his new order¡ª or, well, my order, in this case. She looked nervous as hell to be handling Craig. "Do you have some, uh, cranberry juice please?" I asked. I was also nervous, obviously, but I managed to soothe my nerves quickly. I shot the man a friendly look. "So, Craig. Thanks for meeting me, I guess. Was I interrupting something?" "Not at all," Craig said. "We just got stood up by my boyfriend," Jasmine sighed. "Canceled at thest minute." "Well, you know how it is, Jasmine. Work''s a bi¡ª work''s just like that," Craig said. I noticed he still hadn''t lost his habit of stopping himself from swearing in front of younger people. "He can''t put one of his trainers to fight for a kid''s eighth." "Well maybe if he kept better track of his schedule, then this wouldn''t have happened," Jasmine said before sipping on a giant mug of beer. Sipping¡­ actually she was practically downing the entire thing. Craig''s lips went t. "That''s just Volkner for ya. Oh, Grace, how''d you two meet each other, by the way?" Volkner, I thought to myself. Candice''s mention of a new girlfriend. It all made sense now. Volkner was dating Jasmine. "I met her on the beach," I answered, desperate to hide my surprise. I wanted to fit in. To belong with these incredible trainers. "Behind the rocks." "Oh, she likes that spot," Craig grinned. "So yeah, we were just drinking here¡ª" "And I was venting," Jasmine grumbled. "And she was venting," Craig repeated with a nod. "Then you messaged. So, what''s up?" "Well, originally I just wanted to thank you. For the sponsorship thing, I mean," I said. "Without your input, the Poketch Company wouldn''t have contacted me and I''d be in a worse spot right now." "Ah. Don''t worry about it," he smiled. "You''re a great kid, you''re going to be a great recement. Plus, you''re my sister''s friend. How is she, by the way? I''m keeping my distance, but I''d like to know." "Here he goes again," Jasmine cringed. "Let her spread her wings." "I am, which is why I''m not asking to meet her. Just, you know, I''d like to know what''s new." Just as I was about to answer, my juice came and I took a sip. "She''s doing great. We''re going to be meeting a lot more since we''re nning something for our Gym Battle. And I''m pretty sure she¡ª" I was about to say that she missed him, but in retrospect, that was a pretty terrible idea. He doted on her way too much to ignore that, and he''d probably fly off to see her immediately. "¡ªsold a TM to Silph Co.," I added without missing a beat. "So financially, she''s doing well too." "I saw that! Fire Pir, right?" He grinned. "I bought¡­ a few, even though I don''t really need any. Don''t tell her." "I won''t." Jasmine mmed her ss against the counter and yelled, "Another beer!" "Are you¡ª are you okay?" I whispered. "Me? Oh, I''m perfectly fine," she said. I could tell it was a lie. "What''s this n with Volkner you''re doing?" "Oh, nothing much. Lauren has a Magmar and I have an Electabuzz, so we just want to impress him in hopes that he can give us some information regarding their evolutions. Volkner and Flint are best friends¡ª well, I guess you know that." There was a glint in her eye. "I''ve met him once. This is an ambitious n. Volkner''s not easily entertained, so I wish you luck." The conversation slowed for a little bit, and I saw Craig message Volkner on his phone. I knew it was bad manners to snoop, but I couldn''t help but see him typing ''fumbling the bag,'' before I turned toward the television and sipped on my juice while I swayed my legs in the air since they dangled from the stool. "You know, I''m sure he''ll apologize," I muttered to Jasmine. Part of me said it was none of my business. I didn''t even know them, after all, but I couldn''t help but want to soothe things over. "He''s apologized many times already," Jasmine sighed. "I don''t want to break up or anything, I just wish he was a little bit more thoughtful, you know?" "Well, Gym Leader work is busy," Craig tried. "You think I don''t know that?" Jasmine said. Even when she raised her tone, it was as if she was incapable of speaking past a certain volume. "I left for a reason. I''m not asking him to do the same, but keeping track of his schedule is the bare minimum." Craig stared at me and restrained a grimace. "Let''s change the subject. Did you know Jasmine was from Johto, Grace?" "Yeah, she told me when we met," I said. "I don''t know much about the region." "Yeah, she''s from Olivine. I hear it''s a nice little coastal city. She''s the Gym Leader there." My hands around my ss tightened. I was speaking to a foreign Gym Leader? I had already spoken to her and not known! "I''m so sorry," I stammered. "I didn''t know, I¡ª" Jasmine ced a hand on my shoulder, although I didn''t miss her amused smirk. "You''re alright, Grace. Right now, I''m not a Gym Leader. Just a humble tourist." "She loves to drop that knowledge on people," Craig said. "She enjoys their reactions." "You dropped it this time. I wanted to see how long it took her to realize it on her own," Jasmine said with a smug expression. "I guess I gave you what you wanted anyway," I grumbled. "But wait, how do you two know each other?'' "Volkner''s my friend," Craig said, turning to Jasmine. "He introduced us a few months ago when they just started dating. You know, I couldn''t believe Kanto-Johto just let you go back then." "Oh, it was this entire process," Jasmine groaned. "I had to grovel at Lance''s feet for months to even start it. Fucking self-aggrandizing asshole." Oh, she just dropped Kanto-Johto''s Champion''s name like it was nothing. And called him an asshole. Great. "Kanto-Johto''s got a tight leash on their leaders," she continued. "I had to go through intent assessment, get my travel ns a security clearance, then since I''m a foreign national in a position of power and have a lot of destructive force avable, they had to negotiate with Sinnoh''s government to make sure I wasn''ting to be the world''s most obvious spy or terrorist. And I have two agents with me that are supposed to be following me at all times. I''m good at losing them though," she smirked. "I''m under a lot of restrictions, and I have to call every three days. Sometimes dear old Lance will even pick up the phone." "Agents from Kanto-Johto, might I add. They''re scared she''d defect," Craig said. "They''re a paranoid bunch." "Don''t start talking shit about Kanto-Johto now," Jasmine warned. "You know how I get." "Right, right, my bad," Craig said, raising his hands innocently. My head was spinning, but I just nodded along to whatever they said. If I remembered correctly, Jasmine''s vacation wouldst a whole year. What would happen to her rtionship with Volkner then? Maybe that was why she was so saddened beyond the obvious fact that he''d ghosted her for work. Every day they didn''t spend together was a day they would never get back unless she did decide to defect, and that would probably create an entire diplomatic crisis between her region and ours. And with Team Gctic around, Cynthia wasn''t going to let a Gym Leader resign, and I didn''t even know if Volkner had even entertained moving back to Johto with her. Their rtionship was basically on a timer. I exhaled as I bit the inside of my lip. That was a depressing thought. "Who''s recing you? At your Gym?" I asked. "My father. He used to run it before me, and he''s not as good as he was in his prime, but he''s still good enough to run the Gym," she said. "Anyway, enough about rtionship stuff. It depresses me." "Sure," Craig nodded. "Hey, Grace, check this out." He pointed at the television, and the battle was still going on, although Tauros had gone down and been reced by a Kricketune that could slice through the trees like paper. "Here we go again," Jasmine said. "You know who those two are?" He asked. I shook my head. "Not at all. I mean, I can read the names on the bottom of the screen¡ª" Craig interrupted me. "The guy with the Kricketune. He''s Archie Wright. Decent battler, but where he shines is the fact that he has twenty Pokemon, and almost all of them are good enough to stand their ground at the Conference. He''s a bi¡ª he''s almost impossible to n against." "But?" Jasmine asked. "There''s always a but, right?" "Just standing your ground at the Conference level isn''t enough to win," Craig continued. "I battled him once, but I blew him wide open. He''s improved slightly this year, but if I had to guess, he stalls out right after the group stages." "Harsh," I whispered. And it was especially harsh when I knew this guy could wipe the floor with me. If my Pokemon ever got there, I was confident I''d be able to n against him, though. "What about the girl with Liligant?" "That''s Mika Acevedo," he said. "Grass type specialist, and the winner of this battle." I nodded. It wasn''t over yet, but she''d been dominating from the start, so it was obvious she was going to win bar any extraordinary circumstances. "As you can see, her trick is growing forests out of nothing. She''s so good at it that she could grow trees during a damn fire," he smirked behind his mug. "The thing with her is that you''ve got to fight not only her Pokemon, but the forest itself, but her problem is that she''s a bit of a one-trick pony. She can do other things, but none of them are as effective as this." I finished my juice as Kricketune took flight with his thin ck wings, but one of the trees stretched to unbelievable proportions and high into the sky, mming into the poor bug type as neon green light surrounded its bark. "That was Wood Hammer," Jasmine said. "So she can make the forest use moves?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise. "Yeah. Told you that you had to fight the forest. Tricky opponent for sure, but easy to beat when you figure her out. I battled her twice. The first time I nearly lost, the second I won handily. If I had to guess¡­ I''d say top 64, but no further." "You sure are nice," Jasmine mocked. "I''m just saying it how I see it," he shrugged. "There are a lot of people better than her." "But no one better than you?" Jasmine asked. "Now that Sarah Newman left, you would be correct, at least if you don''t count the Elite Four and Cynthia," he said as a matter of fact. "When I finish up Poketch business here, I''m going to swing around the region to try and see if I can get any info on the people that pose a threat." I stood at the edge of my seat. "Like who?" "Ammar Halimi. From Orre," Craig said. "Brutal in fights because he''s seen nothing but brutality his entire life. Nearly killed his opponent''s Pokemon on multiple asions. His ace is a Fearow that''ll fight until every bone in its body''s broken. I don''t say this often, but I''m sure that it would beat Roxie in the air. I''d say he already has the makings of a potential quarter-finalist, but he still has months to improve, so he might get to finals." "Fearow''s interesting," Jasmine mused. "Underestimated a lot of the time because it''s not as fast as some other fliers, but it can be very versatile." "Then there''s that younger kid from Gr with a Glimmora. The problem with him is that I know nothing about that Pokemon. He hasn''t used it in any Gym or tournament fights, and the rest of his team is powerful too. He mostly has Grian and Paldean Pokemon. I''m starting to think I''m going to have to look up fu¡ª freaking Geeta to see what it''s all about." Jasmine snorted. "Okay, you know that you can swear, right? She''s not ten." "I don''t swear in front of children." "I''m not a kid," I protested. "And a Glimmora? I saw someone who said he had a Glimmora and who was from Gr. He was in Veilstone looking to get some documents updated. We spoke a little, and he seemed nice enough." Craig''s eyes widened slightly. "That was probably him. You''ve got a knack for encountering important people." "I''m just lucky," I said. "Luck is one thing, but taking advantage of that luck is another," Jasmine said. "Connections are important." "Oh,e to think of it! Jasmine, I didn''t ask what your specialty was. I saw you had a Metagross, so I''m guessing steel or psychic," I asked. "Steel is correct, but I dabble in electric types as well," Jasmine said. "My dad spent countless nights yelling at me for deviating from the beaten path, but I didn''t care. I''ve had enough men telling me what to do my entire life." Craig spoke up, "Kanto-Johto? Sexist? I never would have guessed¡ª" A re from Jasmine shut him down pretty quickly. Every person had their own biases about every region, and Craig was no different. "Who''s the strongest Gym Leader there?" I asked excitedly. "In Johto? That would be ir, the dragon type specialist and also Lance''s dear cousin, even though they despise each other since Lance was exiled from their n," Jasmine shrugged. "Volkner told me about that little kerfuffle you had with Maylene¡ª" I shrunk in embarrassment. She knew about that too? "¡ªNo need to be that scared, I''m not going to eat you. I wanted to say, if you thought Maylene was bad, ir is ten times worse. Did you know she refused to give out a badge when she got beaten once? It was years ago now, but it created this whole scandal." "Refused? Like, t out said no?" Craig asked. "Yes. When the public pressure got to her and Lance started breathing down her neck, she made up this new challenge. The trainer had to navigate the Dragon''s Den¡ª it''s this cave that belongs to the ckthorn n." "The city''s named after the n?" I asked. "The n founded the city," Jasmine nodded. "The kid was called Gold. He beat that challenge too, and he went on to beat Lance that year, but he refused to take on the mantle of Champion." "Isn''t that the second time this happened?" Craig asked. "Oh yes," Jasmineughed. "It''s a bit of a running joke, and Lance hates it, so I always make sure to tell it once every time we meet. Unfortunately, he''s also the only one that seems to be able to run the damn country, so I still appreciate him in a way." "If we ignore the human rights abuses, then he''s pretty good at his job," Craig muttered under his breath. "You Sinnohans are so soft," Jasmine mocked. "Why don''t you move to Gr so you can be done with it?" "Ha, ha, very funny," Craig rolled his eyes. "Barkeep, another beer please!" "What about you? Where do you ce?" I asked. "Well, there''s this huge gulf behind ir. She''s good enough to be in the Elite Four, and she was even propositioned when Agatha retired." "The woman who refuses to die?" Craig said. "Heard a lot about her and her ghosts. How old is she now?" "One hundred and two," Jasmine said. "But she always tells me she feels twenty, so make of that what you will. The only way Lance convinced her to retire was to offer her Lavender. He''d wanted to push her out of power since bing Champion." "Offer her? Meaning?" I probed. "She rules it with an iron fist. It''s a de-facto independent country within Kanto, and everyone knows it despite pretending otherwise," Jasmine exined. "Anyway, ir would rather be the ruler of the kiddie pool than be in charge of the entire country and have to share her power. Anyway, she''s the strongest by far. Then I would have said Pryce, but he died recently, so¡­ I guess it''s me or Morty. We haven''t really battled in a bit." She went on to list every Johtohan Gym Leader and their specialties, and then I remembered that Sunshine must have battled her too. I knew Gym Leaders battled a lot of people, but maybe she''d remember him with how unique he''d been to the region. I made a mental note to ask herter. She''d already given me her number. "Kanto''s different than Johto," Jasmine said. "A little bit more modern, and with no care for tradition. Just power. The Gym Leaders there have the biggest egos. You have Blue, Sabrina, Koga, Surge, Misty, and there was ine before he died, it''s a fucking dick-measuring contest and I want to die every time I''m in a room with them. Sabrina, Blue and Surge even have a policy of fighting at a six-badge level at minimum, so trainers know to avoid their Gyms before they get good enough, or their Pokemon would get beaten to the ground. But the strongest Gym Leader is definitely Blue. He''s a Champion-level trainer." "Champion-level? So stronger than ir?" I asked. My mouth was faster than my brain, because I remembered that Cece had told me about him in Veilstone. "Oh, yes. He was Champion for a little bit along with his dear old rival he hates so much and he hasn''t seen in more than a decade. He''s a little weird because he runs his Gym as a generalist Gym. Lance hates him." "Is there someone Lance doesn''t hate?" Craig asked. "Anyone who''s bruised his ego gets put through the wringer, but Blue likes to remind him he could take back the Championship any time he''d like. It''s not pretty when they butt heads. But as we all know, it''s one thing to win the position and another to actually run the two regions. Lance is good. A stable, steady hand." "Seems like Kanto-Johto''s a nice happy ce," Craig said without bothering to hide his sarcasm. "I hope Sarah''s doing well here." "He liked Sarah Newman," Jasmine leaned in and whispered to me. "She beat him in the finalsst year and then left for Kanto. Volkner tells me he spent months down in the dumps." "He told me about her when we were traveling up north, but he never told me he liked her," I whispered back. "Yeah. He never had to guts to tell her." "Stop whispering about me," Craigined. "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Jasmine shrugged. "People like to call Kanto-Johto dysfunctional, and I''ll admit it''s true. We even spy on each other sometimes even though we''re supposed to be a part of the same damn country." Sheughed as she finished her second beer. "But we''ve got each other''s backs against any threat. Someonees knocking, and we''ll unite to take them down. Like Team Rocket." "Shit. Yeah," Craig said. "I had just started my tenure when we brought the fight to them," she continued. "Then when Giovanni disappeared, the Kanto branch fell apart and they fortified in Johto. I saw a lot of death. It wasn''t a good time for us." A heavy silence settled in, and we all drank as we turned toward the TV. "Damn it, I ruined the mood," Jasmine said. "I''m feeling a bit tipsy, Craig. Want to cheer me up with a battle? I''d like to see how far I could push you, and you said nost time." "Well,st time, I wanted you to fight Volkner instead," Craig shrugged. "Yeah, but I beat him," Jasmine said. "So now I want you." The raven-haired man sighed. "Fine, but it''ll have to be in a private setting. No leaks, and no recording." "Who do you take me for?" Jasmine scoffed before her lips turned into a mischievous smile. "Someone who''s drunk." Jasmine thought for a few seconds and then her lips turned into a mischievous smile. "Only if you use mega evolution against me. And you have to release first." "See? This is what I''m talking about," Craig groaned. "Just get us out of here already." "Can I watch?" I asked. "Obviously," Craig said. "Follow me, kid." I hopped off the bar stool and followed them onto to boardwalk. Thankfully, his hotel wasn''t far from the beach, and he led us into his luxurious room that reminded me of the ces we used to stay back in Eterna City. I''d never been in a hotel since then. There were too many bad memories associated with this ce. "Um, can I message my girlfriend about this?" I hesitantly asked. "She''ll be so excited, it''ll be really cute." "Cecilia? Yeah, go ahead," he said as he grabbed a Pokeball. A seventh Pokeball that had been hidden in his bag, I noticed as I texted Cece. She messaged me back right away asking for a video, but I unfortunately told her it was impossible. I''d tell her all about it, though. If Craig had a weakness, it was that he''d limited himself to six Pokemon for nearly ten years. That meant that people always knew what he brought to the table, but it looked like he''d changed that. Craig released a small bug-like Pokemon with an oversized head that levitated in the air. She had seven spots on her bright red head, and she had multiple white rings in her pale turquoise eyes. I''d never seen this Pokemon before, so I scanned her with my Pokedex. Orbeetle, the Seven Spot Pokemon. It is famous for its high level of intelligence and possesses immense psychic power. It can observe and study the world around it through psychic energy up to ten miles away. Type: Bug, Psychic. "This is Dot. She''s my new Teleporter, and I''m trying to get her up to speed for the Conference. Spring a little surprise on people," Craig smiled. "I figured I''d keep her hidden until the semis, maybe." Well met, the psychic spoke into our minds. "Thank you, Dot. Could you bring us to¡­ let''s say one of the mountains on route 205." Right away, Craig. Would you like some coffee with that? A nice massage, perhaps? Since you''re so obligated to demand things of me and not say please. Jasmine and I restrained ourughter, and Craig sighed. "Please Teleport us to one of the mountains on route 205, Dot. I would greatly appreciate it." The air felt thinner and it was instantly colder as we appeared on a mountain''s peak. This ce was a teau with conveniently just enough space for two trainers to battle in. I squinted, and I could see Eterna Forest in the distance, sprawling all over thend. From up here, I could see that the trees grew taller the closer to the center I looked, and I remembered Betrix telling me about a Pokemon thousands of years old that slept at its center. My eyes drifted across route 205 and settled on Floaroma. The memories seemed so far away now. "Six-on-six, no switches so we keep it fun and straightforward," Jasmine said. "Are we doing this without a barrier? That''s always fun." "You are clinically insane," Craig said. "Dot will take care of the barrier. She''s strong enough for that already, and I won''t use her in the battle." "Aw. We have this traditional game we sometimes y in Kanto-Johto where we battle without barriers. The Pokemon fight each other and protect the trainer, and the one who chickens out first loses. I''m very good at it." "Do me a favor, Grace. Tell my sister to never go to that hellhole," Craig said as he dropped his bag on the ground. "Come here, Grace," Jasmine said, beckoning me with a hand. "I''ll show you what Olivine''s Gym Leader is all about." "Oh, I thought I''d just watch from the side¡ª" "No, you''re with me," she said. "Come." I nodded and followed her, and since I wanted to release my team so they could watch with me, I figured now would be a good time to bring up Sunshine instead ofter. "Say, do you remember fighting a Turtonatorst year''s Circuit? And an Aln trainer?" "A Turtonator?" She hummed. "Yes, yes I do remember. Why?" "Well, uh, he''s with me now," I said. "His trainer died." "Oh. That''s a shame," she said, her eyes dimming. For a second, it was as if she sobered up. "Yeah, I wanted my Pokemon to watch the battle, so he''''ll recognize you, that''s all." "No problem," she nodded. "Here we are." I released my team as Craig stood on opposite sides of Jasmine. I exined what was happening to them, and Sunshine obviously couldn''t keep his eyes off Jasmine, but I asked him to keep anything he wanted to say forter. Craig pulled a ne out of his shirt and grabbed his first Pokeball. The orb-like jewel seemed to change and shift colors every time I looked. Jasmine simply grabbed her Pokeball as well. Dot the Orbeetle''s eyes shone, and she summoned a transparent rectangr barrier around the field. I could tell she''d gotten the exact dimensions of a Gym''s battlefield from muscle memory. It felt odd, to be standing next to Jasmine. I''d never had this view of a field if I wasn''t the one fighting. Craig was in front of me. In a way, it was kind of like I was fighting him. There was no sound except for the howling winds. Craig yelled with his hands around his mouth. From this far and without a microphone, his voice barely carried over, so we didn''t hear anything he''d said. He released a Gyarados that let out a thundering roar that shook the inside of my body like loud bass. The sea serpent floated a few feet above the air, clumsily bumping against the barrier. "This is going to be fun," Jasmine muttered. "What do you think is unique about this battle, Grace?" "I¡ª uh¡ª I think the sound? You can''t hear what he''s saying and he can''t hear what you''re saying." "Yes," she nodded. "And that changes things. Craig knew it when he picked this ce. It''s harder to react for both trainers, so it''s kind of a double-edged sword. I love those. Some people are good enough at lipreading for it not to matter." I stared at Jasmine, who slowly sorted through her assortment of eleven Pokeballs as she decided who to send out. Craig is asking for you to, and I quote, get a fucking move on, Dot spoke into our minds. "Yes, yes, I will," Jasmine said. "Tell him to fuck off, but nicely." Will do. Jasmine led with a huge Skarmory that put any previous ones I''d ever seen to shame. The steel type bore many scars in its metallic hide, and it let out a screech that resonated throughout the mountain. "Whirlwind Spikes," Jasmine ordered, not losing her soft tone. Skarmory screamed, beating his wings as hundreds of small spikes fell from his body. A gust of wind as powerful as a hurricane sent them flying toward Gyarados so quickly that the majority of them stabbed into his huge body while the rest fell to the ground and began to levitate a few inches above it. Craig said something, and Gyarados inhaled. With a primal roar, he let loose a Hydro Pump toward Skarmory, but the winds were so strong that the jet of water weakened and curved before making it to the flying type. Even now, wind strong enough to lift everyone but the heaviest members of my team off their feet was swirling around the arena. "Metal Sound to distract, Sand Attack in his eyes," Jasmine said. Skarmory dove down from the sky and sped up as he manipted the wind behind him. Electricity shone around Gyarados, and the water type let loose a Thunderbolt that hit Skarmory''s wing. For a second, the steel type looked like he was going to fall to the ground, but a whistle from Jasmine snapped him back to reality and he sped up toward Gyarados. Another Thunderbolt wasing, but Skarmory opened his mouth and a horrible sound like nails on a chalkboard so powerful that I could see it mmed against Gyarados, who thrashed around to stop the pain. Skarmory continued on his path and threw sand into the water type''s eyes before turning back and hitting his tough hide with a sh Cannon. In a normal battle, that wouldn''t have worked. Not when Craig would have known that they were targeting the eyes beforehand. This was like they were both fighting blind and while I would have hated it, Jasmine loved it. "Okay, that''s enough warming up, I think," Jasmine continued. "Light Ray." A light brighter than the sun appeared in Skarmory''s mouth, and we were all blinded by its brilliance. It condensed into a singr point and then flew toward Gyarados faster than anything I''d seen. The water type roared in pain as theser burned and melted his imprable scales. When Gyarados thrashed, some of theser impacted the ground and turned the rocks intova instantly. "What is that?" I muttered. "A concentrated sh, bounced and magnified over and over inside of Skarmory''s body. The steel type is not only metal, but light as well," Jasmine quickly answered. "Again." Another bright light appeared inside Skarmory''s mouth. This time, however, the wind around Skarmory sped up, and it wasn''t his. The flying type struggled to stay afloat as the wind intensified and mmed him against Dot''s barrier. It was some kind of flying move, but I couldn''t tell what. Then Gyarados lunged forward as electricity surged through his body. Jasmine pursed her lips. "Damn it, he''s got me." The Thunderbolt ransacked through Skarmory''s body and wounded the earth around him until the steel type fell unconscious. I had no idea Gyarados could even learn electric type moves. His own Thunderbolt was stronger than Honey''s Thunder. The fight had just begun, but the field was already a mess. Lava, chasms and overturned chunks of earthy across the floor. "Not to cast doubt on your judgment, I mean you''re a Gym Leader," I started. "But you have electric types, right? Why use Skarmory?" Jasmine smirked as she grabbed her next Pokeball. "It would have been really funny if I won that round using Skarmory." Oh. Right, they were having fun, and she was slightly drunk. This wasn''t a battle for a badge or a tournament. They weren''t even going all out. Jasmine sent out a Magnezone next. It was slightly smaller than Mira''s, but I knew not to underestimate it. "Zap Cannon." Both of our hair stood up, but the attack had already hit its mark when our hair reached its apex. It hadn''t even been a ray. The electricity between both Pokemon had simply formed in a split second. The attack was so quick I couldn''t even begin to think about how to counter it. The lightning went straight for Gyarados and lit up his entire body. Protect or barriers would have been too slow. This lighting wasn''t yellow either. It was blue. Pure. Surprisingly though, even if its scales were a darkened husk and smoke emanated from his body, Gyarados did not faint. Water poured out from his still-burning scales and Gyarados lunged toward Magnezone. The steel type buzzed, and Gyarados nearly stopped in his tracks. The water around his head contracted and moved as if he was pushing against an invisible force, but I knew that this was no barrier. "Zap Cannon," Jasmine said again. It was a testament to her strength that something that would have been an ace in the hole¡ª a finisher that could only be used a few times under normal circumstances¡ª seemed to be her bread and butter. Craig quickly swept his arm, but Magnezone had already sent out the blinding electric ray. When I opened my eyes, I saw Zap Cannon breaking against what looked to be a Hyper Beam. The two moves exploded upon contact and I flinched when Orbeetle''s barrier broke apart like shattered ss. The psychic quickly reformed it, and Gyarados once again rushed toward Magnezone with water surrounding him. The hulking flying type mmed his entire body weight against Magnezone, knocking him away like a damn cannonball. "Zap Cannon." Somehow though, after tumbling for a few seconds, Magnezone came to aplete standstill as if he''d been gripped by an invisible force and immediately fired off another Zap Cannon. This time, Gyarados couldn''t stand against the sheer amount of energy poured into him. The water type copsed onto the ground, his tail burning on theva that remained. Craig recalled him and didn''t hesitate to send out Typhlosion. Theva that had slowly been cooling thanks to Gyarados'' water suddenly came back to life and began to spread. Skarmory''s spikes converged and stabbed into the fire type, who groaned in pain. Her wounds were cauterized before blood could even seep out of them. Jasmine sighed as she ced her hands on her hips. "Dot?" Yes? "Tell Craig that I thought we were having fun," Jasmine said. She ran a hand through her hair and called out to Magnezone. "Light Screen, keep away from all fire. Twin Hyper Beam." I saw Craig visibly scoff as he ordered Typhlosion. The fire type got on her forelegs, roaring as the mes on her back stretched higher and higher. Then, she quite literally exploded. The light hit us a split second before the sound. All of theva surged upward, along with more mes and globs of molten rock exploding out of Typhlosion''s corona. The entire field was overtaken byva so hot that I could barely see what was going on. Small mounds of earth rose from under the ground erupting, kicking up the molten rock until they hit and clung to the barrier''s ceiling, and I soon realized those were mini-volcanos. Each eruption, a subsequent explosion. My ears rang, but I couldn''t help but grin at the sheer destruction Typhlosion had wrought. She''d done more than Sunshine could ever hope to do right now in seconds. Two orange beams appeared in front of Magnezone''s mas and destroyed everything in their path as they beelined toward Typhlosion. The fire type grunted, and a wall ofva erupted in front of her and solidified into a ten-foot rock in an instant as Typhlosion appeared to drain all the heat out of it. The two Hyper Beams destroyed the wall, and shards of rock and debris pierced into Typhlosion''s skin, but she returned the attack tenfold. A giant pir ofva bubbled, rose from the floor and levitated toward the steel type. It didn''t even have to touch Magnezone. Even through the shimmering Light Screen, the steel type could barely handle the heat. He was no psychic, I told myself. Jasmine tried to retaliate with Zap Cannon, but they seemed to veer off-course and weaken the closer they got to Typhlosion. When the first bits ofva clung to Magnezone, Jasmine recalled her Pokemon and clicked her tongue. In front of usy a field full of erupting volcanos andva, and at its center stood Typhlosion. How was a steel type master supposed to fight against that? I got my answer when a Pokemon evenrger and longer than Gyarados appeared on the field. Steelix. The same Pokemon that had destroyed Chase''s hometown. Each of her segments spun independently from the other, and despite letting out a grunt that resonated through my body when she began slithering on theva, Steelix appeared fine. But that hadn''t been enough for Jasmine. "Ma Rise and Head Smash," Jasmine whispered before turning to me. "He''s lucky I can''t use Earthquake here. It would copse the entire mountain, barrier or not." I let the words sink in as Steelix began to float. Moreva converged and tried to drag the ground type down back to the ground, but despite all that weight clinging all over her metallic skin, Steelix didn''t look like she cared. And then in a sh and a lot faster than what I had expected (faster than even Sweetheart when she was flying), Steelix rushed toward Typhlosion, her head shimmering with a dim light. Craig said something and somehow¡­ Somehow, The air around Typhlosion grew hotter. So hot even Sunshine wouldn''t have been able to stand near her. The world around Typhlosion turned bright white. Everything shone white. Theva, the rocks, the volcanos, Typhlosion herself. The air itselfbusted and burned to smithereens as Steelix and Typhlosion turned into smudges of silver, blue and red. I heard the impact of the Head Smash, but the sound itself was weird. Like everything was¡­ lower-pitched, somehow. "W¡ªwhat is that?" I asked. "Oh, just Overheat," Jasmine said. "It''s annoying how quickly he deals with my Pokemon. He''s not even savoring the fight." Steelix was¡ª Steelix was unconscious when the air returned to normal. And by normal, I meant with the forever erupting volcanos and the rtively coolerva. With how hot it had been, theva was actually less viscous now, even though Typhlosion still stood on it like it was a tform. Jasmine recalled Steelix. "The Head Smash connected. She''s on herst legs," she mused. Any other trainer, and that move would have killed their Pokemon. Despite being weak to fire, steel types were naturally tough. I couldn''t imagine Craig ever using Overheat against Candice, personal team or not. Jasmine sent out her Metagross next, and the steel type immediately began to float above theva with Ma Rise. Typhlosion tried to melt them with another Eruption, but Metagross'' psychic barrier was too good for that. Even the heat wasn''t slipping past their defenses. "Starve her," Jasmine said. Metagross let out a metallic, nging sound, and something around Typhlosion changed. The fire around her neck winked out like a candle subject to a gust of wind. The fire type tried to use mes another way, standing on all fours and spitting out a methrower¡ª no, that was a Fire st. The mes split into a star-like shape, but they died out immediately as well. Starving¡­ were Metagross starving out the mes of the oxygen? "Hyper Beam," Jasmine continued. Metagross opened their mouth, and a bright glob of energy formed at its edges. When the attack flew forward, Typhlosion attempted to counter with the walls ofva, but she was too weak now and the Hyper Beam simply broke through eachyer. Next, she quickly used thest seconds she had and spat out another Fire st¡ª Metagross'' eyes shone, and the Hyper Beam disappeared. A secondter, it struck Typhlosion from the heavens. The beam split the clouds and created a massive explosion, heating up theva further and kicking it up high in the sky. The Fire st died before it could even reach Metagross'' barrier and the fire type finally went down. What a monster she had been. Craig recalled her, but what now? The floor would beva for a long while unless he had something to cool it down. I got my answer when he sent out an Eelektross and clouds began to cover and rain down the battlefield. It would be slow, but it would cool faster now, and Eelektross could float, even if the heat would hurt her. The raindrops pattered against Metagross'' barrier as the spikes once again hurt Craig''s Pokemon. "Cut," Jasmine ordered. At first, I expected it to be the move Cut, but the air in front of Metagross¡­ vibrated until it rushed toward Eelektross. They were too fast to dodge, even for Eelektross who had to simply take the attack. The invisible air cut her and blood seeped out of the wounds, evaporating in seconds. The electric type coiled her body around herself and shimmered slightly before she quickly floated toward Metagross. She was continuously speeding up, and at some point, she began to move straight as an arrow, not undting even an inch. Electricity charged around her, but I saw that her fangs also grew dark. "Miracle Eye," Jasmine muttered. I had to blink to stop myself from looking at Metagross for a few seconds, as if my instinct were telling at me not to stare. It felt wrong, forbidden, even. I could see it at the edges of my vision. An eye made out of energy above Metagross'' head. Craig seemed to have caught on, because Eelektross changed ns and spat out a glob of acid instead. Metagross quickly grabbed it and threw it back toward her, but Eelektross bent in an extremely unnatural way to dodge the attack and coiled around Metagross'' barrier. She stuck to it like glue. Metagross attempted to peel Eelektross away from themselves as best they could with Psychic, but the electric type was somehow stuck to the steel type''s shield. She burped, belching out more purple acid that somehow melted the damn barrier and harmlessly washed onto the steel. Then, Eelektross let loose a Zap Cannon that shattered the rest of the barrier and fried Metagross to the bone. The psychic type''s fist turned bright white as they mmed Eelektross away, but the electric type was just so slippery. She wrapped around one of Metagross'' arms instead and continued delivering shocks and using Crunch whenever she could. "Deactivate Ma Rise and burn her," Jasmine said. Without a moment''s hesitation, Metagross fell to the hot rocks below, mming Eelektross under their feet and burning her tough skin in the process. Water surrounded Eelektross'' tail, evaporating in the same instant as the electric type repeatedly mmed it against the ground where she stood and kept using Thunderbolt over and over. But it was the next order that sealed the deal. The rain was a deluge now. A small storm atop the mountain. Eelektross let out a high-pitched scream and a blue bolt of Thunder dropped from the sky like a hammer. Metagross buckled under the force, allowing the electric type to slip away and wrap around another leg and continued shocking Metagross with as many electric type attacks as she could. The steel type, meanwhile, clumsily tried to pull their opponent away with Psychic and started punching her¡ª and sometimes themselves with Meteor Mash. Metagross went down first. Eelektross followed seconds after. "You didn''t talk much this time," I noticed. "Metagross are a better battler than I," she said as she recalled them. "When I tell them to do something, they''ve either already thought of it or disagree with me, but if they do disagree they do it anyway because they love me." Craig sent out his Smence. Finally, I could see Roxie in action. The huge, magnificent Dragon took flight and stayed stationary in the air as she waited for her opponent, therge ne around her neck a mirror of Craig''s. "Here goes," Jasmine said as she sent out a Forretress. I braced myself for what was toe. Craig gripped his ne and light overtook both the jewel around his neck and Smence herself. The dragon grew in size, and her wings fused together into a crescent moon. Her front legs retracted into her body and she stared down at Forretress like a bug as she hovered there. Eelektross'' rain finally came to a stop. "Zap Cannon!" Jasmine yelled for the first time. Forretress let out a grave sound as electricity exploded outward¡ª A sonic boom hit the arena''s barriers, and Smence tore into Forretress with a Fire st that rivaled Typhlosion''s. A shimmering barrier appeared in front of Forretress, but the steel type still grunted against the attack''s power. Smence circled around him so fast that a hurricane had formed. Every time the dragon type sped up, a shockwave would rattle the arena. She could fly at the speed of sound. The only other Pokemon I knew capable of such a feat was Cynthia''s Garchomp. She was too fast for any of Forretress'' attacks to hit¡ª even the blindingly quick Zap Cannon because Forretress'' was slower than Magnezone''s. Pin Missiles flew out of the steel type''s four holes by the hundreds¡ª or even thousands, the few that hit barely scratched the dragon type. Another shockwave, and Smence bit into Forretress, her mouth wreathed in mes as she dragged him toward the ground. "Explosion," Jasmine smirked. In less than a second, light overtook the bug type and he blew up, shattering Dot''s barrier for a second time. The steel type fell down, an unconscious, smoking husk while Smence roared in fury at what had just happened. Her mouth was fucked. There was no other way to say it. It hung open as if she was unable to close it and blood and loose teeth seeped out of the opening, and she had slowed, even if slightly. Craig would like you to know that that was a low blow, Dot spoke. "I might have underestimated Roxie''s speed, so it was the only way to score a hit. Tell him that he got greedying up close and that it''s my revenge for bringing out Typhlosion so early," she responded. Jasmine sent out herst Pokemon. An Ampharos. The light on the electric type''s tail shone brightly as he stood over the cooled field. "Rain Dance, Amphy. Cotton Spore when shees." Smence roared, and she exploded forward with another sonic boom, her wings shimmering with draconic energy, but cotton surrounded Ampharos and allowed her to absorb the brunt of the attack. Of course, that didn''t mean much, and she was still sent flying backward into the barrier. Since something was wrong with Roxie''s mouth, it looked like she was forced to stick to attacks she could use without it. Craig swept his arm, and a Hurricane formed around Amphy that soon overtook the entire arena. Smence seemingly rode the powerful winds, but Ampharos had to anchor herself to the ground with more cotton. "Focus, Amphy!" Jasmine yelled so her voice could get through the wind. "Zap Cannon!" Ampharos bleated, and a ray of electricity immediately tore through one of Roxie''s wings. I hadn''t known how the hell she had even aimed that attack, but Smence nearly fell to the ground. A strong updraft carried her far above Ampharos, and she managed to regain her bnce. At this point, the ground that had been formed by the cooledva was now a mess again. A single Zap Cannon from Ampharos had created a crater where she stood, and more fissures formed on the ground. The Hurricane was still going, and it now carried chunks of rocks with it. Some of them hit Ampharos'' cotton while Smence was too high to be affected. The problem for Jasmine now was that Ampharos couldn''t see Smence due to all of the debris-filled wind, and she was slowly taking more damage from Hurricane. Or it would have been a problem for me, because Jasmine didn''t seem to care one bit. "Eerie Impulse!" She yelled. A small pulse of light rang out of Ampharos'' body and ran through Smence. It went further than Discharge could ever hope to, but it dealt no visible damage, and Roxie appearedpletely fine. But then, another Zap Cannon tore through the dragon''s chest and neck, burning across her scales as she let loose another garbled roar due to her broken jaw. And then another. And another. Ampharos could now somehow track Smence at all times, and she couldn''t retaliate because her jaw waspletely broken. Craig said something, and Roxie dove back into the Hurricane. Ampharos was on herst legs now, and they were determined to finish her off. The dragon''s eye shone turquoise, and the light soon overtook her entire body. They were like green-blue mes constantly surrounding her, and they disappeared for a second as Smence broke the sound barrier and then reappeared again. "Zap Cannon," Jasmine ordered. The entire hurricane lit up, and a thundering boom rang out. When I opened my eyes, Ampharos was unconscious, surrounded by cotton and bleeding from her gut. Smence had torn through her Cotton Guard with whatever move that was. I wasn''t sure it was known, even. Smence was on the ground, her hurricane ended and now incapable of flying, but she was still rearing to go. Craig gripped on his ne again, and she changed back to her normal form before Craig recalled her. The wounds did carry over. Jasmine did the same and stretched. "That was fun," she said. "I''m rusty." "Are you?" Iughed. "Well, the only person I''ve battled thest six months is Volkner, and we only did so three times. He won once, I won twice," she shrugged. "I still would have lost, but it would have been closer if I was in top form." I gazed at the battlefield as Craig released his Hippowdon to fix it up, and the reality of what I''d just seen finally sunk in. This was a battle at the top level. What I needed to reach in order to have a chance to reach the top sixteen at the Conference. It wasn''t just the power they brought to the table that was mind-boggling. It was also the sheer amount of times they could pull on a move like Eruption, Hyper Beam, Thunder or Zap Cannon. Jasmine had used it so many times, and it put my three Thunders to shame. And even then, they didn''t even reach close to the move''s power. Moves I didn''t understand or know, turning the entire field into a damned volcano. And they hadn''t even gone all out. This was just a battle for fun, with no stakes involved. Jasmine was drunk, spoke to me during the battle on multiple asions and looked rxed until Mega Smence came out, and they''d even been bantering through Orbeetle! Craig drew upon heavy breaths as he made his way toward us. He was pale, sweaty, and looked like he''d run through a triathlon. In front of me and my Pokemon stood the strongest trainer in the Circuit. Everybody knew his name, and the fact that he''d let me see this battle meant that he did not even consider me a potential threat. He was Sinnoh. An impossibly vast mountain I needed to scale. And yet, a mountain''s peak wasn''t close to the skies.
Chapter 221 Chapter 221 CHAPTER 221 There had been a few wake-up calls in my short career so far. When I fought Gardenia and realized that every Gym Battle was going to be an incredible hurdle to clear from there on out. When I''d caught Sunshine and found out that I could not justfigure things outwithout consequences when ns fell through. When I realized sometime in Hearthome that there was simply no way I was going to win the Conference this year. This was another one of those. Craig and Jasmine had gotten my full attention, and I waswide awakenow, and so were my Pokemon. Sunshine''s destructive power didn''t look that powerful next to Typhlosion''s continuous eruptions. All of their Pokemon were faster and stronger, but the trainers themselves were alsobetter. The entire family had been in awe for the entire battle, each for different reasons. Honey''s high from learning Thunder had been stymied when watching Gyarados use a Thunderbolt packing a bigger punch than the move and with so many Zap Cannons thrown around. Sweetheart''s uncontainable excitement when she''d seen Smence, Gyarados and Steelix duke it out with their respective opponents. Princess'' awe at Metagross masterful control of everything around themselves, and every other Pokemon as well. Typhlosion had controlledva like it had been a part of her body. What had fascinated Angel was how Eelektross had beaten a monster like Metagross through overwhelming determination, sticking to their body through her suction cups like a parasite and taking them down one attack at a time. Buddy had been impressed at all of that as well, but he''d been the only one leaving the battle with a sense ofsomethingdyingto know and learn about that had gone on during the battle. "Good battle, Craig," Jasmine said with an outstretched hand. The pale man gripped it tightly, shaking it. Jasmine didn''t seem to care about the fact that he was so sweaty it was like he''d been in a storm. "I''m wiped," he sighed. "Dot, could you bring us back to the hotel, please?" The Orbeetle nodded, and after I recalled my Pokemon, we were back to Sunyshore as quickly as we''d left. Craig shambled to his bed and dropped on it like a log, mumbling something to Dot before passing out. I bit down on the thousands of questions I was going to ask and turned to Jasmine instead. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You look like you''re dying for answers," she said. "I am." The Gym Leader turned toward the passed-out Craig and pursed her lips. "Let''s leave him to it, then. You''ll take care of him, Dot?" If I must,the psychic type said.I have to drop the rest of the team to the Center as well. Feel free to be on your way. I thanked Orbeetle again with a slight bow before we left, and we rode the luxurious elevator down while I texted Cecilia that I was back and that the battle had beensuper dupercool. She answered right away, as if she''d been waiting with her phone in hand the entire time, and I told her I''d talk to her about it this evening when we met. The elevator doors opened with adingwhen we made our way through the hundreds of tourists and their luggage in the lobby. "Want to go back to that bar?" Jasmine asked. "Um¡­ should you still be drinking?" I hesitated. "Probably not," she shrugged. "But I''d like it. Maybe I''d talk more over a drink." "Well, okay," I said after a short pause. Jasmine grinned like she was the happiest woman in the world for an instant. I hadn''t known she loved drinking so much, and I supposed she didn''t want to do it alone. I tried to pester her for answers while on the boardwalk, but she kept telling me to have somepatiencein that same soft voice that made it impossible to get frustrated at her. On the way there, Jasmine passed by a Pokemon Center and gave away her six wounded Pokemon. She did have eleven in total, so five still remained around her waist. We both sat in a booth opposite each other this time, which I honestly preferred because my feet could actually touch the floor. "Can I ask? Yeah?" I hungrily said. Jasmine nodded as she called out to a waiter. When she turned back to me, she spoke, "You''ve got potential." I frowned despite the pride I instantly felt swell in my chest. "How do you know? You''ve never seen me battle. Is it just the fact that I have five badges in my first year?" "No, no. I don''t even know what your team''s like except for Turtonator," she shrugged. "It''s your mindset. You just saw destruction that only a select number of people in the world have ess to in the palm of their hands. We''re known and tracked by every government. Even good old Gr and Unova, despite them espousing theirrights. Do you know why?" "Well, it''s like you said, right?" I probed. "The power you hold is too dangerous to let you slip through the cracks." "Correct. Only a few trainers at our level are off grid and off the radar. You wouldn''t believe how much the Indigo League panicked when Red went missing," she smiled fondly. "But yes. Craig alone would be able to destroy a good chunk of Sunyshore before anyone could stop him. You saw it, and yet you push forward instead of worrying about what would happen if one of us went rogue. You smiled at every explosion, every disy of power and destruction. Why?" "Because I want that power for myself," I answered right away. "One beer please," Jasmine said. "Amber." I turned toward the waiter. "Cranberry juice, please." Jasmine waited for the man to leave before she started speaking again. "It takes a special kind of person to see that and keep going. Trainers at the top, they''re all a kind of unhinged, some more than others." "I don''t see how someone could call Craig unhinged," I muttered. "That''s because you don''t know him well yet," Jasmine said. "It''ll slip through at some point, but he''s good at pretending to be normal. Notice how I called you unhinged and you didn''t say anything? You don''tcare, right?" "Well, no, not exactly. I mean, I do think you''re wrong," I said. "I''m just a normal girl." "Trust me when I say this, you will never meet a trainer at the top that''s normal, and that''s a fact." "What about you?" I asked. "You know what, don''t answer that." Jasmine smirked. "Go ahead and ask your questions, but I can''t guarantee I know the answer to all of Craig''s tricks." I beamed. "Yes! Okay, uh, I''d like to start with something thatyoudid, actually. That invisible force pushing against Gyarados when you used Magnezone. What was it?" "Maism. The same thing he did when stopping himself from being knocked away," Jasmine exined nonchntly. "I see how confused you are already." "Well, I''m working through a physics textbook right now and I don''t think that should be¡­ possible? I mean, he''s no steel type." "And yet it is. There are a lot of metallic content in a Pokemon like Gyarados. Hemoglobin and Ferritin, mostly. Magnezone can push and pull on those. It works a lot better on steel and electric types, obviously, but he can do it on a lot of others, including himself. Gyarados would have ended up breaking through anyway, though. There isn''t enough maic material to hold him for long." I licked my lips and furiously typed on my phone. This information could end up being useful against Byron. "Uh, next I have something rted to Craig," I said. "Typhlosion managed to stop Zap Cannon¡­ using heat? Is that possible?" Jasmine ignored my question and nearly snatched the beer out of the poor waiter''s hand while he gently ced my juice down. She threw her head back and nearly downed half of the mug before she exhaled like she was in pure bliss. "Jasmine?" I asked. "Right. Sorry. It''s a little trick trainers with powerful fire types love to use. ine loved it," she said with a fond smile. "I don''t really know the specifics of it. It''s not the heat that weakens the attack or just makes it misspletely, but a sudden change in atmospheric conditions. To be honest, it all sounds foreign to me." "But could I potentially use it with Sunshine¡ª my Turtonator?" Jasmine shook her head. "Not hot enough. And even if you did reach the temperatures needed, you''d do it too slowly." My lips went t. "I''ll keep a tab on it for future uses." That had been a shame. I''d wanted to use the tactic against Volkner, but it looked like that would be impossible at our current level. I sipped on my cranberry juice and moved on to the next question. "What the hell is a Miracle Eye?" I asked. "I couldn''t even look at it." "No one can. It''swrong," Jasmine exined. "It allows Metagross to peer through the world''s veil and influence dark types and dark type energy with psychic moves." "What about ghosts? Moves like Shadow Ball?" I continued as I typed. "That too," she nodded. "It''s aplicated move to learn. It took them five years to master, and they''reMetagross. The smartest Pokemon there is." So there was a way,I thought. Mira had told me about it recently, but I hadn''t expected to see it sosoon. The dark typing was not as infallible as it seemed when we were stranded in Shiftry''s domain. Still, five years for Metagross? That meant it was off the table for the near future. There was a reason even Lucian didn''t have ess to it, I supposed. Otherwise he would have broken through Shiftry''s domain without a problem. Or maybe hecoulddo it, and Shiftry''s domain had been too powerful? It was hard to know without asking the man himself. "Eelektross melted Metagross'' barrier with Acid. How is that even possible?" I asked. "I thought barriers were, well, they''re a physical thing, butnot really." "That''d be a question better suited for Koga," Jasmine said. "But at its core, poison aims to ruin. It is insidious. A knife hidden in a cloak, ready to stab you in the back. And a dagger powerful enough can stab throughanything. Even steel." The frown on her face made me realize that there was probably some bias at y here. I would hold her to her word until kazam got further into his research. I kept speaking with Jasmine for another hour, asking her about the battle in great detail, but at some point she got so drunk that half her answers were nonsensical and she had her head down on the table. What Ihadgotten out of her was more valuable than gold, however, and I had her number. The biggest being that Honey would be able to mess with maism as he grew older and more powerful, especially when he evolved. "Uh¡­ what do I do now?" I muttered to myself. "I want another beer!" Jasmine yelled, suddenly shooting up. She slurred her words and was barely coherent. My friends had drunk before, but I''d never been with someonethisdrunk. Craig was wiped out from using mega evolution, Volkner was at work, and I had no idea if the two agents following her even knew where she was. I stared around awkwardly and realized I probably needed to drag her out of here and bring her¡­ Wait, where the hell did she live? "Jasmine. Psst, hey, Jasmine!" I heckled. It took ten seconds for her to pay attention to me. The ashen-haired woman smiled at me. "Yeah?" "I need to bring you home. Where do you live?" "I live at Volkner''s," she whispered. "You¡ª you can bring me to his Gym. A Gym Trainer''ll take care of me." Well, at least she was lucid enough to understand the situation. I paid the tab and ignored Jasmine acting all embarrassed about having a kid pay for her or bring her back home. She didn''t lean against me, but I did have to catch her a few times when she tripped over her own feet or a tiny ledge. Since the Gym was rtively far, I even had to pay for the bus fare, but I considered all of this worth it, especially when she''d given me a whole lot of information beforehand that I''d be able to use in numerous battles in the future. It was my first time stepping inside of Volkner''s Gym, and the stadium was actually smaller here than I was used to, and it had a thunder motif at the entrance and etched at the center of the carpet. The building''s shape was generally the same¡ª an oval-shaped building with the arena at its center. The Gym Trainers recognized Jasmine instantly and a buzz of activity started around the lobby. "Um, I''ll leave you here, okay?" I said as a pair approached us. "You rest up. Today was fun." She mumbled something and slung an arm around a trainer''s shoulder as they carried her to what I assumed was her room. We spoke for a little, and I exined the situation (minus the battle with Craig, since I assumed he wanted to keep that hidden). Apparently Jasmine was quite a heavy drinker and it wasn''t the first time this happened, but she''d pulled back on alcohol recently, so this was actually not as bad as she usually got. It was one of the more positive aspects of her rtionship with Volkner, since the man drank very little. The Gym Trainers were quite friendly to me in a way that I hadn''t expected. I''d honestly thought they would have been a lot angrier, but they were very appreciative that I''d brought her back safely. Maybe they''d put in a good word with Volkner? I made my way back to the boardwalk and onto the private stretch of beach I had found, and I was happy to see that there was still no one in sight. Well, no one except a couple of Wingull that were resting there. It waste in the afternoon now and the sun would soon set. I released all of my Pokemon, who looked like they''d been dying to be let out. "I''m sorry I couldn''t let you out sooner, I was in a bar," I exined. "It was actually the second time today. That battle was¡­ something, right? Let me exin how I evengotto be there and catch you up on things." I told them about randomly meeting Jasmine on the beach, since only Honey had seen her then, and also meeting her at the bar with Craig. Sunshine couldn''t help but chime in that even though she was the steel type Gym Leader, she''d been challenging to beat when he''d been in Johto, and that of course had just been with Gym Pokemon and not her team. "You saw that battle," I spoke as I paced in front of them. "You saw how powerful every single one of their Pokemon are. Now the question is, what can we do differently to reach that pointfaster?" Training the way I was had worked for me this entire Circuit, but I felt like I''d growncent. All of the team agreed (even Buddy, who didn''t care for battling), we needed to fightmore people. The answer had been obvious. I called my friends rivals, and yet I only fought them once every few months. That couldn''t be the case any longer. It wouldn''t have to be full-fledged battles like the one I''d be doing with Denzel soon. Just doing it like Louis and Maeve were was perfect. A series of one-on-ones that pushed our Pokemon to the brink while we were in cities, over and over. Sunshine grumbled about the fact that he''d actually have tointeractwith more people and Buddy let out a slight sigh, but the rest of the team was excited about this new development. And it all started with Lauren. Who of course, hadn''t answered me yet. I sighed as I ced my phone back in my pocket. That was the first step. Comcency would be the end of me. I was under no illusion I would win at the end of the year, but I''d still give it my darndest to get as far as I could. "Mira''s busy with the psychics, Cece''s training Erin and Louis and Maeve are battling each other, so I guess we''re doing low-intensity training today," I said. "We don''t want to ruin the beach for Jasmine when shees back." Of course, the training derailed and I started to nerd out about the battle with Princess and Sweetheart. ¡ª "It was so hot theaircaught on fire and shone white?" Cecilia scoffed. "And you saw all of that? I''m so bitter." It was evening now, and Cecilia had treated me to a nice, healthy meal. Now, we were back in her room and getting ready to sleep, but it was kind of impossible with the excitement of the battle still fresh in my mind. "I''m telling you, it was unlike anything I''d ever seen!" I eximed. "It was¡ª it was awesome! Every time I close my eyes, I see it all rey in my mind. Every single one of their Pokemon could take down six of ours without breaking a sweat.Oh,and I forgot tell you about that weird move Roxie used at the end. It was like she was engulfed in draconic mes, I had no idea what the hell that was and Jasmine doesn''t either." Cecilia drew a shaky, excited breath as she smiled and got up from the bed. "Maybe it''s one of the new moves he was working on in Mount Cor. I''d love to pick his brain about it." "He''ll never spill," I said. "I know he doesn''t think much of us, but he''ll still keep his techniques hidden for sure." "Do me a favor, Grace. The next time you meet some incredibly powerful trainers that are about to battle, pleasecalland take me." I nodded. "Yeah, my bad, I just got so swept up in things. But what do you think about my idea? The battles?" "I think it''s good," she shrugged. "I''d have to stop them a few months before the Conference, though. Maybe after the seventh badge? I''d also want to keep things hidden." "Oh, yeah, of course," I nodded. "You can join me and Lauren for the battles, I guess. I asked Chase about it and he said no. Mira doesn''t care, and Denzel isn''t here yet." "He arrives in two days, right?" "Yeah." The day before my birthday, meaning that if everything went ording to n, our battle would be the dayafterthe joint party. It''d be a shame if my Pokemon were all at the Center during the party, after all. They were family and I wanted them to be here too. With all my nning against Volkner, I''d put the strategy against Denzel on the backburner a little, but I''d change that tomorrow. I joined Cecilia next to the open window and affectionately bumped her shoulder. She turned toward me and smiled. "Could you recite the battle to me again? With an emphasis on the destruction this time?" I chuckled. "You don''t have to ask me twice. Craig sent out his Gyarados and Jasmine her Skarmory¡­" ¡ª It was my turn with Erin today, and she looked quite happy when I picked her up. Mira''s psychics were still with her, but she was actually going to lend us Gardevoir today. I didn''t knowwhatexactly she was working on so intensely, but it was definitely substantial. After all, she hadn''t seen Maeve and Louis that many times, and even Chase was surprised at theck of contact. And this was all happening in her room, so I knew it couldn''t be something destructive. Erin spoke to me about the clout New Wave had now, and that thanks to us, people were joining them in droves. She''d had to streamline the application process and she''d already gained fifteen new members since we''d arrived. To think she and the others looked up to Cece and me that much. I was pretty sure she would have passed out if she''d witnessed the battle between Craig and Jasmine. Gardevoir had already been waiting in front of the Center and Teleported us to route 214 right away. It was actually great that she was there, that way she could check up on Princess'' progress with barriers. "Okay, Erin. I''m actually going to have my Pokemon train here. I''m on a bit of a time crunch and I have an important battle in a few days," I told her. "Don''t worry, they''ll be a bit away from you. And there won''t be anything involvingva." "Lava? Oh.Oh. Did Cecilia tell you¡ª oh, I''m sorry," Erin said with a slight dip of her head. "I was just worried. I mean, with that title¡ª" "No worries," I said. "You just keep working on what you know for now, and I''ll be with you in a bit." I released Princess first and let her go with Gardevoir after soothing her worries about Erin. I''d spoken about her, but it was their first time actually meeting. Erin called her cute, which assuaged her fears some. The fact that Princess had been that easily convinced forced me to restrain augh, and the flying type told me that she approved of this new friend. The rest of the team knew what they had to work on. Buddy was on the cusp of mastering Water Spout, while Low Kick and Screech were already dealt with. Now, it was just a matter of actually getting them to a more powerful level. Now that Sweetheart knew how to draw upon Dragon Pulse, she''d moved on to Stone Edge, but it would be a bit for her to learn the move when the closest thing she had to work with was Rock Slide. She essentially needed tobine the control she had over Rock Slide with Smack Down''s incredible speed. Angel, meanwhile, was still working on Sr Beam. Drawing upon the sun was one thing, but concentrating all of that power into one giantser was another. I was sure he''d get there for Volkner''s Gym Battle, but probably not for the fight with Denzel. Needless to say, Erin was immediately terrified of Buddy. Sat''s hair stood on end as she hissed at him while Comet ground his teeth together to create a cute, threatening sound. Of course, Buddy ignored them and moved onto his training. Ididask him not to do his usual shapeless horror thing in front of her. I was a little way away now, and I unclipped Sunshine''s Pokeball from my belt. When I released him, he did not hesitate to let his disappointment be heard. He seemed to love the beach very much, even if he relentlessly trash-talked it every time we were here. It was the closest thing that reminded him of Al, no doubt. "You ready to start?" I asked. His expression grew serious and he instantly agreed. We both knew what we were here to do. We were attempting to have him fly¡ª or at least jump in the air for a few seconds. If we solved his mobility issues, he''d be a huge threat on the battlefield. "Give it your best try right now," I said. "I''ll take cover¡ª actually, that''s stupid. I''ll just stand really far." The dragon disagreed and told me it''d be best to have Princess raise a wall for me. He wasn''t worried about the temperature as much as the debris the Shell Trap would cause. "I can''t see how you''re moving if I have a wall in front of me," I sighed. "But fine, if you''re so worried. I''ll have Princess take a little break and create a barrier instead.Princess!" Gardevoir frowned at me from afar for interrupting Togetic''s focus, but she was too far to speak into my mind. I apologetically raised a hand at her and Princess quickly floated toward me. "Sunshine''s going to use Shell Trap in an attempt to move himself around. I''d like a barrier, please." The fairy type acquiesced right away and wished Sunshine good luck. The dragon thanked her under his breath, and it was at times like these that I could appreciate how close they''d gotten. Turtonator''s shell glowed with a sinister red, then his tail shone bright white as he mmed it against himself. The subsequent explosion was as impressive as always. Even after seeing Jasmine and Craig battle, I could appreciate the power my family brought to the table. Chunks of rocks flew and mmed against Princess'' barrier and I felt hot wind m into my face. And I facepalmed as I heard Erin scream in the background. I had told her nova, but I hadn''t told her aboutexplosions. "What the hell was that?!" She yelled. "Sorry about that, Erin! It''s just a Shell Trap, don''t worry about it!" I returned my attention to Sunshine and noticed that the wind had been less hot than I''d expected. I patted Princess on the back and congratted her on her progress with barriers. My eyes had been on Sunshine''s feet, and he''d only slid around a foot. A far cry from the flight we''d been hoping to achieve like that old arch-rival of his on Mount W. Normally, he would steady and square himself in ordernotto slide, but since he''d been trying to move, he wasn''t doing so. "That was a good first attempt¡ª" Sunshine interrupted with a grunt and told me not to patronize him. This was where he''d been stuck at for thest two years. "I''m serious. It''s a good base to build up from. We''ll figure it out," I said, approaching to pat him on the arm. Turtonator''s shell was angled slightly downward, so the force from the explosion pushed him against the ground. There was also the fact that the explosion itself could be more powerful, but it would damage his shell, so we needed to make his shell more sturdy if we took that angle. Iron Defensewasa way of doing that, and he knew the move, but that would weigh him down way too much. "Let''s start by angling yourself more toward the sky," I said. "Princess, another barrier please¡ª" "Grace! Grace help!" My head spun toward Erin so quickly my neck hurt, but I remembered that Gardevoir was here and that she was in no danger. I ran up to her with Princess while Sunshineined about wasting time and saw what she''d been screaming at. I couldn''t tell her he was harmless, or I would have given her a headache,Gardevoir said. "No problem. This is what you''re screaming about?" I sighed. "He''s a little cutie." I crouched, ignoring Comet and Sat''s worried selves and held out a hand toward the Pokemon in front of us. He was only three feet tall and walked around like he was drunk all the time. I didn''t know much about Spinda, but it was true what they said about their eyes. They really did look like they''d been drawn on there with permanent marker, and if I stared for too long it looked like they were spinning. "He just wants to say hi," I said. "Look. Come here." Erin blinked. "Are you¡ª are you sure?" "Erin, I''m literally petting him right now." Angel had joined us and was rubbing the little guy''s head with a few vines, and Erin finally did the same. Her hand had been trembling at first, but she was smiling from ear to ear soon enough. "He likes you," I said. "How do you know?" Erin asked. "I can tell." Not only just because of Mesprit''s blessing, but also because the normal type kept holding onto Erin''s sleeves anytime she stopped touching him. He was rather young, if I had to guess. Maybe Honey''s age? Spinda stumbled forward and grabbed onto Erin''s leg, and her Bidoof seemed to now trust him while Sat just stared with an ample amount of suspicion. I could almost hear her silent disapproval. "Why don''t you catch him? Would you like that, Spinda?" Spinda answered with a small grunt. Even his voice sounded¡­ swirly, somehow. I turned to Honey and remembered our first encounter fondly. It was almost a mirror of what had happened back then, except he''d been louder and more bombastic. "I''ve never actually caught a wild Pokemon before," Erin muttered as she grabbed an empty Pokeball. "This is so exciting. It''s like I''m the real deal, now. Are you ready?" Spinda nodded, although due to how much he moved all the times it was barely recognizable. Erin tapped the normal type''s head with the Pokeball and he was absorbed into the device, whichdingedinstantly. "I wonder what his deal is," Erin said. "I didn''t know wild Pokemon just did that." "Learn to know him, and one day he might tell you why," I said. "Why don''t you release him, and you two can start bonding? Oh, and by the way, do you want toe to Cece and I''s birthday party?" "W¡ªwhat? The one with all of your famous friends?" "Yeah. You''re lending us your club building, and we''re friends, so I thought it''d be nice," I said. "Why don''t youe over? Meet the others?" Erin drew a short breath. "Yes! Sure! I''ll be there! I''ll even be an hour early! Do you need cookies? Because I can help my mom make some! What about the cake? And what sort of gift would you both like?!" Of course, I answered each question right away and we kept speaking until she froze and teared up. Sat and Comet began to hiss, but their bravado melted away in seconds. When I turned around, Sunshine was looming over me with mes in his snout. "Sorry, he just does that sometimes," I said. "Stop it. How did you even get here without me noticing?" The dragon huffed and told me to get a move on. "Sorry, Erin," I smiled. "Duty calls."
Chapter 222 Chapter 222 CHAPTER 222 "She answered?" Cecilia said. When I nodded, she sighed in relief. "Finally!" My eyes nced over Lauren''s response as I read it out. "I''m sorry I took so long to reply, I was busy creating a new concept for a move and spent the entire time without looking at my phone¡ª yeah, that sounds like her. Anyway, she agrees." "When?" "Now," I said. "Wow. How¡­ punctual." "That was some not-so-subtle sarcasm. She''s in our Center, so I think that''s why." It had been two days since I witnessed Craig and Jasmine''s battle. Craig was leaving in a few days, but of course, he told me to tell his sister he''d said hello. Jasmine, meanwhile, had apologized for getting so drunk with me and said it was unbing of an adult. I really didn''t mind much, especially with how much information I''d gotten out of her, but she wanted to make it up to me so I asked her if she wanted to meet Cece. I''d considered inviting her to my birthday before remembering that a twenty-seven-year-old probably wouldn''t enjoy being alone at a party with a bunch of teenagers, so I didn''t actually send that text. "Maybe we should have slept in, then," Cecilia said as she sipped on some apple juice. "Who doesn''t like to go to a bar at ten in the morning?" I said. "We should go, though. I don''t know when she''ll be avable again." Since Erin had been taking a break today to deal with the new recruits in New Wave, I''d brought Cece to the same bar Jasmine and Craig had been in. It was a cozy spot by the boardwalk, so what was not to like? Plus, the eight badger tournament in Jubilife was still going on and we were having a lot of fun watching. That grass type specialist girl had made it to the semi-finals and I was rooting for her. We quickly downed our drinks and left. We hopped on a bus back to the Pokemon Center, and I checked my messages again. Denzel, Pauline and Emi wereing back sometime this evening, and the party was tomorrow night. Our battle was drawing closer, but I felt confident. All training was going ording to n and we were progressing at a rapid pace. Sunshine still had problems, but we were actually making progress there too, despite it being so slow. "Think we can do this out of the city?" I asked. "How about my route?" "You call it your route now?" Cecilia smirked. "Well, I''ve been going there every day since Veilstone." "It depends on what Lauren says," she said. "She might want to stick to the arenas." "Hm. I think she''ll agree," I said. "I don''t want to do this in public. Too many people and no cameras. I don''t want the Poketch Company toin because I lost a few one-on-ones." "I''ve been thinking about sponsors," Cece said. "Oh, do you¡ª" Someone had just gotten off one of the seats and she offered it to me with an outstretched hand. I sat down and thanked her. "Sponsorships? How are you doing on money?" I asked. "I still have enough for a few years. It''s not like I''ve been going on a spending spree," she said. "But it wouldn''t be about the money. I would like being sponsored by a professor¡­ someone who had information to give instead of money." I chewed on her words and remembered Barry Lane existed. He was supposed to be in Sunyshore as well. "There are a lot of professors out there, but not that many of them offer sponsors. Only the biggest ones like Rowan," I said. "Yes. And it''s not like it would be feasible at the moment. They tend to only sponsor children they know or that can have them study rare Pokemon in return." "Zweilous is rare," I said. "They''re rare, but I mean truly rare. Like fossils, for example. I''ll have to keep a tab on it for now, since it''s not like it''s an urgent matter. It''s also a littlete in the year for new sponsorships." "Fair enough," I said. Lauren was waiting for us in front of the Center already, donning her usual mask and sunsses. Cecilia turned toward me and opened her mouth to ask why, but I shook my head. It''d be best if we just left first. "Good morning," Lauren whispered. "I''m happy that we''re doing this." "Right? This is great," I grinned. "Is Mira busy? Do we have a Teleporter avable? We wanted to do this on route 214." "kazam should be," Cece said. "I''m worried about her. She''s being a bit of a shut-in." "Well when I asked, she said she was working on something great, and she looks fine," I said. "I wouldn''t worry too much. Plus, she''ll be at our party, so we''ll get her out of her room. Lauren, what do you think?" "About Mira? I don''t know her well¡ª" "About training on the route," I said. "Slowking''s good at barriers." "You don''t have to tell me twice. I don''t like crowds," Lauren muttered. We went to get kazam and he Teleported us to Route 214. He was getting interested in Erin and pestering me to line up our schedules so he could study her. She had three normal types now, but since they weren''t powerful at all, they weren''t going to change her behavior and the way she looked at the world. Still, kazam was interested in studying the potential start of the process. I told him he''d be able to talk to her during my party. Even if telepathy would give Erin a terrible headache, he could still write down questions on pieces of paper if needed. "You still haven''t fixed your carving?" Cecilia smiled as she stared at the mountain''s facade. "Well, it was for you, so it''d be odd to fix it," I said. "We can keep it here. It''s romantic." Cece''s smile widened, and she grabbed onto my hips¡ª "Who''s starting?" Lauren asked. "I want to go first." "Um¡ª I guess I can go," I said. "Remember, we need to find the right bnce. Enough to maximize growth, but not too much. We don''t want our Pokemon to go to the Center for multiple days." It was a bit risky doing this with my battle with Denzel in two days, but I trusted myself to recognize when to give up or to stop attacking. Cece released Slowking, who quickly began to raise a barrier for us. It was a lot slowerpared to Dot''s, and it was no doubt weaker as well, but it would do for the amount of power we could throw around. Lauren released Magmar next to her along with Sirris, who had evolved into a Reuniclus during Lauren''s battle with Maylene. "Sirris is here for moral support," Lauren said. Howdy! The psychic type said. I heard two voices instead of one, which made sense, considering they were two brains sharing one body. Thanks for taking care of Lau! Lau''s thankful for yourpanionship! The voices were interspaced this time. They were kind of like Metagross in that regard, but unlike Jasmine, Lauren referred to them as singr. "She''s a friend," I said. "The pleasure''s all mine." Magmar had grown slightly, although he was shorter and stouter than Honey. I could feel the heat radiating from him due to the mes constantly lit on his shoulders. I knew his heat was dangerous, but he didn''te to Sunshine''s level yet in that regard. Lauren made her way toward her side of the arena with her two Pokemon, but I didn''t miss Mags shooting me a dirty look as he stepped behind his trainer. I mentally shrugged. I knew how he was already. "I might as well use Honey for this," I told myself. Since we were putting them in a pair anyway, it''d be nice to see how they matched up. "Is Thunder too much? It''s probably too much." I released Honey and quickly brought him up to speed. Gone were his days were he''d be anxious before such a fight. This was training, and win or lose, he knew that he''d progress. "Good luck," Cece said. "Thanks." What was Magmar''s biggest strength, I instantly asked myself. Versatile, but stronger up close due to the heat while Honey was the opposite. Lauren''s y would be to get close and finish the battle that way while mine would be to keep my distance as much as possible. Lauren probably had a bunch of custom moves under her sleeve and we had none. I really needed to get started on those, and quickly. I was close to finishing building up a base. Something for all of my Pokemon to stand on. Now it was time to expand and branch out. kazam positioned himself next to Slowking, who counted down in both of our minds. Three, two, one, begin. "Thunderbolt," I said. "Mach Punch!" Lauren yelled, her meekness and innocence torn away. Magmar rushed forward, bing a blur of fiery red as his fist glowed white. A powerful burst of electricity immediately flew toward the fire type, hitting him in the chest until he arrived and punched Honey in the head. "Grab onto him and Emberburst!" Lauren screamed. Not good, I bit my lip. "Electrocute, Screech and Cross Chop," I quickly ordered. Magmar firmly gripped onto Electabuzz as the temperature rose and his snout glowed dark red. A quick shock fried Magmar and the fire type convulsed for a few seconds. Then, Honey roared right into the fire type''s ear until he let go and mmed two glowing arms onto his shoulders. The mere contact burned Electabuzz, whose fur was already starting to smoke. "methrower!" Lauren said. This time, a huge stream of mes exited Magmar''s mouth quickly and engulfed Honey, who grunted in pain beneath the fire. I didn''t know what Emberburst was, but it took a while for Magmar to charge up, and its range was seemingly limited. "Thunderbolt again! Keep your distance!" Honey circled around Magmar as multiple bolts of electricity mmed into the fire type. Lauren retaliated with another methrower, but this time, I was ready and ordered Honey to put up a Protect. The mes were so quick that we barely had time for even that. "Smog Wave!" Laurenmanded. Toxic gasses spewed from Magmar''s snout in huge quantities, but it didn''t just stay there. Superheated air gushed forward and pushed it toward us. "Now Mach Punch!" She continued. A shimmering, green barrier appeared in front of Honey again, this time without my order. Magmar''s fist bounced off the Protect with a loud ng, and the Smog finally reached both Pokemon. I knew Honey would hold his breath, but it would only be effective for so long, and the heat was getting to him at the same time. This was like Heat Wave and Smogbined, and the move was appropriately named. Honey''s fur lit aze as he awaited my next order with a pained grunt. "Discharge!" I yelled. Electricity burst out from every inch of his skin, illuminating the battlefield and clearing away the Smog. Magmar hadn''t moved, however, and despite being hurt by the attack, dormant mes already spewed from his snout. "Now!" Lauren yelled. Mags spat out the Emberburst point nk, and I screamed for another Screech. At first, the mes didn''t look like much. They were a dull red that reminded me of the weakest methrowers I''d seen, but a secondter, something inside of it sparkled and exploded. Then again. It was a chain reaction of fiery explosions that overtook both Pokemon. I desperately craned my neck to see what was happening, but a Screech from Honey let me know he was still kicking. The sound cleared some of the ming smoke, revealing Magmar covering his ears with a snarl. At this point, no matter how much we kept our distance, he would always catch up with Mach Punch. Lauren knew how to push her strengths and how to put people on the back foot. "Low Kick and Thunderbolt!" I ordered. Honey squared himself and swept Magmar''s feet. The fire type grunted as he crashed into the ground backward and another Thunderbolt coursed through his body. Honey bared his teeth as he gripped the fire type''s arms, pinning him against the floor and he Screeched again as countless volts coursed through Magmar''s body. "Fire Pir!" Lauren ordered. The ground under both of them burst open, and mes and earth spewed from the opening. Honey tried to keep his grip on Magmar for as long as he could to electrocute him, but there was too much force. He flew back toward me and fell onto the ground, his body a burned, smoking mess. Magmar struggled to stand up and the confidence he''d exuded at the start of the battle was nowhere to be seen. He stumbled around and fell again. Still, Honey was unconscious. That meant that that round was their win. "Good job, kid," I smiled as I recalled him. A few things ran through my mind. One, I of course needed to get started on at least one custom move before the fight with Volkner now that we had Low Kick and Screech evidently down, and I had an idea in mind now that I''d seen Jasmine battle. Two, I wanted to find a way to replicate how annoying fire types were to fight from up close, but with Honey instead. Could I make him impossible to approach without getting hurt, somehow? Definitely. The problem was figuring out how. That was our next steps. I released Honey outside the barrier and applied potions to his skin while Lauren did the same with Magmar. She hadn''t used Lava Plume or altered the terrain, and we hadn''t used Thunder, so I was d we actually managed to respect the etiquette of this training regiment. "I''m next, I presume," Cecilia said. "Am I battling you or Lauren?" "You can fight Lauren," I said. "Then we can go after." They took around five minutes to get ready. Since Slowking was in charge of barriers, she couldn''t exactly use him, so she really only had four Pokemon to choose from. Cece released Scyther while Lauren released Sceptile. Volis was his name, and I actually hadn''t seen him battle since the Sceon tournament. Slowking counted down, and the battle began anew. "Agility and scope him out," Cecilia said. "Root Surge! m him!" Lauren yelled. Scyther pushed a foot against the ground and took flight, his wings beating so fast that they were just a blur. The flying type shed a scythe, and an arc of air that was almost invisible rushed toward Sceptile, who dodged the move with ease. His main strength was his speed, and he could keep up with Scyther without even using Agility. Everywhere he moved, something green shone under his feet, leaving thorny roots behind him that burst from the rocky ground and tried to wrap around Scyther''s body. Scyther circled around Sceptile, shing across the roots before they could get to him. This song and dance continued for around ten seconds until Cece spoke up again. "Cut in and Night sh," she said. There was a short gust of wind behind Scyther''s back, and the bug type actually sped up further as he blurred toward Volis, who croaked and spat out a Bullet Seed. Scyther angled himself in order to protect his wings, and the seeds broke through the tough exoskeleton on his torso. Both of his sickles grew dark, and he cut across Sceptile''s chest in the shape of an X. Sceptile quickly turned and mmed him away with his tail, but the damage was done. Darkness continuously leaked from the wound. "Fury Cutter!" Lauren yelled. My eyes widened. She knew? Cece was also surprised and quickly swept her arm. "Double Team and Air sh!" She yelled. Ten after-images of Scyther appeared all around him and they spun around each other to confuse Volis, who was still struggling to charge up the attack. "Detect!" Lauren continued. Sceptile blurred impossibly fast, narrowlingly dodging the Air shes that had beelined toward him. Fighting and bug type moves could push through dark TE, and Lauren was in the know. What she hadn''t expected was for another Air sh to cut across Sceptile''s nk as soon as he finished using Detect. The grass type mmed his tail against the floor in a disy of frustration and ran toward Scyther, then jumped. Finally, the Fury Cutter had activated. Scyther flew toward the left, but the grass type twisted his body and kicked him in the waist with Double Kick. The Fury Cutter had been a feint. "Counter!" Cecilia bellowed. There was a glint in Scyther''s eyes, and the bug type''s body straightened as he mmed his entire body against Volis. Sceptile tumbled back toward the ground and Scyther followed, finishing him off with an X-Scissor on the back. Cece and Lauren congratted each other and healed their Pokemon. Even with the type advantage, that had been an impressive showing from Scyther. He wasn''t the most powerful or the fastest of Cecilia''s team, but he was among the trickiest to fight with his harassing and skirmishing tactics. The fact that Sceptile had managed to stand up to him was a testament to his strength. He might have made it close had he not been locked into bug and fighting type moves. I definitely needed to look into more of those types of moves for my team in case some other trainer ever had the same tactic as Chase and Cece. These battles were rtively short and more fast-paced than usual since we could y them a lot more aggressively than usual because there were no consequences to a loss, but I was still learning a lot. Cecilia grinned as she patted Scyther on the back. "I can''t believe that worked! You did great!" The bug type screeched and shook his head dismissively. He didn''t really care about her praise much. "Is it the first time you managed the darkness trick?" I asked. "Yes. Chase helped me, but we never got it down until now," she excitedly said. "Now I just hope we can replicate it in battle." "You will. And it''s you and me now," I told Cece. "I''m going to use Princess." "Princess, hm?" Cecilia mused. "I''ll use Talonme, then." "Hell yes! Remember thest time they actually fought one on one? That was the Floaroma tournament." Lauren walked up to us with a smile. "This is so much fun. Who knew battling with friends felt like this?" "I told you you should have hung out with us sooner," I said. "I''ll get in position." Talonme was actually a perfect matchup for Princess, since I was interested to see how good she''d gotten at shielding herself against extreme temperatures in a situation that wasn''t a controlled environment. She''d have to multitask, so this was going to basically simte the actual battle with Volkner. We released both Pokemon, and they floated high in the sky. Slowking counted down, and the battle began anew. She''s going to build up speed and Heat Wave, I thought to myself. "Agility, Tailwind, me Charge and Heat Wave," Cecilia ordered. "Keep a barrier around yourself and get some rocks," I said. Talonme''s body loosened as she ttened her wings against her sides. The bird fell to the floor, speeding up until she caught herself at thest second and her body burst into mes. With a squawk, she blurred toward Princess and started gaining altitude with the wind at her back. The air was growing hotter. Princess ripped a set of fifteen head-sized rocks from the ground and chirped as they began orbiting around her. Talonme simply circled the arena as she built up her Heat Wave, since they didn''t want to get in Princess'' Psychic range. What they didn''t expect was that we had another move at our disposal. Princess grunted as the heat pushed against her shield, and I knew now that she was struggling to keep her shield up. Using it while doing other things was still too difficult for her, but practice made perfect. I waited just a few seconds until Talonme reached the closest point and sprung to action. "Extrasensory in front of her!" I yelled. By the time themand had gotten out of my mouth, Talonme was just where we wanted her. The air in front of her blurred, and the fire type screeched as she flew through it. She''d gotten a headache no doubt, but what I''d been waiting for was for her to slow down. Princess knew me and how I fought by now. The rocks orbiting around her flew toward Talonme and reformed into spikes mid air. Lances would have won, but that would have been overkill. "Air Burst!" Cecilia yelled. One of the spikes stabbed into Talonme''s chest, but that was all we got. The fire type pped her wings with a defiant cry and a powerful gust of wind pushed the remaining stones away. The air was sweltering by now, and both Pokemon''s form were blurry through the barrier. "Air sh," she continued. "Air Cutter from below," I countered. Talonme flew quickly, but Air sh was slower than what we had. The air below Talonme sharpened and cut her body, shing into feathers and skin. It''d been even faster than I expected thanks to the massive updrafts from the superheated air. I ordered Princess to gather some rocks again, and she did so. Having them in that form not transformed into anything would keep an opponent on their toes and guessing what we''d do. Now, in a normal battle, the best y for Cecilia would have been to keep away from Princess while the Heat Wave did its job, but this was no normal battle. "Go as fast as you can and Aerial Ace!" Cecilia yelled. She was going for broke and hoping that the force¡ª "Extrasensory and Psychic!" I said, my words so quick they were barely coherent. ¡ªbehind the move would be enough to push past Princess'' barrier, Extrasensory and Psychic. A pir of air in front of Princess grew strange in an effort to slow Talonme down, and she threw all of her rocks forward, opting for blunt force this time instead of spikes. Talonme slowed, but she pushed and kept going. The streaks of air forming from her beak destroyed most of the rocks, and she kept flying toward Princess. We needed more juice. "Dazzling Gleam!" I yelled. Of course, the problem with Dazzling Gleam was that the move came from Princess'' skin, and that for that, she needed to pull down her barrier. Her fur caught aze as she dissolved thest amount of protection she had, and light and wind exploded out of her. The Dazzling Gleam blinded Talonme and burned her body into a hazy, smoking mess. With a tilt of her head, Princess grabbed Talonme''s body with Psychic. The fire type had only stopped mere inches from her face, and she struggled in a desperate attempt to break free as Princess recreated her barrier. "You win," Cecilia conceded. "You could just m her against the ground and break her wings." I nodded and wiped the sweat off my brow. Some of the heat had leaked past Slowking''s barrier too. I recalled Princess to free her from the fiery arena and healed her with more potions. One thing was for sure, this was efficient, but we''d burn through potions pretty quickly. Slowking made sure to keep the barrier up until the air naturally cooled. Once I walked up to Cece again, she was already healing Talonme with potions. The headache would stick around, though, so she''d need a big break. "Isn''t Princess just the worst to fight?" Cece asked Lauren. "You can''t slip up even once." "I''d like to have Sirris battle her," she grinned. "Well, re Blitz or Brave Bird would have broken through and taken us down," I shrugged. "Let''s not do what-ifs," Cecilia said. "You won, end of story. Now, who''s going next?" We ended up doing this game the entire afternoon, cycling through our Pokemon who had gotten enough rest. Even kazam wanted to go home and thought we were insane. Since Cece had fewer Pokemon avable than we had, she battled the least, meaning that Lauren won the most battles, I was second and she was third. By the end, all of our Pokemon were exhausted and definitely needed to spend the night in the Pokemon Center. I''d wanted Sunshine to battle Lauren''s Rhydon, but we were interrupted by a text. Denzel, Emilia and Pauline had arrived in the city. kazam Teleported us back to Sunyshore immediately. Lauren bid us farewell, saying that she wasn''t really good with reunions, and we waited at our Center after texting them the address. Needless to say, I tackled Denzel to the floor as soon as he walked through the doors.
Chapter 223 Chapter 223 CHAPTER 223 "Holy fuck, I think you broke my ribs¡­" "Denzel! I missed you so much!" I yelled. I heard him chuckle and felt him hug me back. Trainers were used to these kinds of loud, happy reunions, so they only stared for a few seconds before returning to their activities and conversations. When I looked up, Pauline''s hand was outstretched. I grabbed it, and she helped me up and hugged me too while Cecilia greeted Emilia and Denzel. "I missed you, little gremlin," Pauline said. "How are things here?" "They''re so much fun," I said before turning toward Emilia. "Emi! You look great!" "I always look great," she smirked. Needless to say, it was hugs all around. "Let''s catch up in my room¡ª" Emi interrupted me. "No, I want to host the party. It can be a pre-party for tomorrow. Just let us get a room, and I''ll handle the food and drink." "Taking charge already," Cecilia smiled. "How was your trip here?" "It was¡­ eventful, that''s for sure. We stopped by the Hotel Grand Lake and stayed for two days, so it was fun too. Emilia took me to all of her favorite spots that she used to drag Pauline to when they were kids." "Grace!" Pauline yelled. "I caught a Mankey! He''s such a weirdo, but I like him! And I think he likes me back. Probably." "You got one?!" I gasped. "I''m so happy for you! I can''t wait to meet the little guy!" "You can meet him tomorrow. All of our Pokemon are spending a night in the Center. Well, except Emi''s. She doesn''t train¡ª" "I do train. I just don''t bash my Pokemon against themselves when I do," Emilia scoffed. "Anyway, let''s get those rooms." The process was quick, as usual, and we made our way toward the elevator right away while Emilia was already ordering stuff on the phone. "Oh, Gothorita also evolved," Denzel said. I grinned. "Really? You guys must have trained hard." Pauline stared at Denzel, who stared at Emilia, who stared at Pauline. That was weird. "Maeve and Louis are arriving in twenty minutes or so," Emilia said. "Louis said he''s smuggling in alcohol." Pauline pumped a fist. "Fuck yeah!" "Let''s be responsible now¡­" Denzel said. "You say that, but you''ll drink too," Emilia said as we walked out the elevator. "Grace, what do you want? Grape soda? Grape juice? Cranberry?" "Soda''s fine, thank you." When we entered Emilia''s room, she ced her bag on the ground and jumped on the fresh sheets right away. "Oh, beds, how I missed you," she said with a fake-sob. "Didn''t you sleep in a bed yesterday? In the hotel?" Cecilia asked. "Well, yes, but you know what I meant," she said. Denzel opened a window, leaned against the sill and I followed him while Cecilia, Pauline and Emilia bantered together about how terrible thetter had found traveling, even though this was the safest route in the region. It was hard to remember she''d made it through Mount Cor once and Eterna forest. "This city''s fucking amazing and I''ve just gotten here," Denzel muttered. The wind blew in his hair and face, causing him to squint. "You ready for the battle? I know you haven''t been resting on yoururels." "I''m ready," I nodded. "Well, I still need some finishing touches, but what do you mean, you know?" "You need to be more online, dude," Denzel said. "You drank in a bar with Craig Goodwill and Jasmine Whitaker, and you got into Craig''s hotel room with her. Next, you were seen helping her back home while she was drunk after drinking with her again. People are going wild about it." "Oh. Right," I said. "I saw a little bit of that, but I don''t pay much attention. I like to focus on myself, y''know? But I can introduce you if you''d like. Plus, Craig is still here. He was interested in you in Snowpoint." Denzel''s eyes widened. "Oh, word? I''d like to meet Jasmine! And Craig again!" "Of course. You wouldn''t believe what I saw¡ª" I turned back to the trio and leaned toward Denzel as much as I could. Cece was fine, and I assumed Denzel was too, but I wasn''t sure Craig would appreciate me telling all of my friends about the battle. "I saw them battle," I whispered. "I''ll tell you about it when the party dies down, and you can ask Craig about it too." "No videos?" He asked. "Nope. It was private. On a damn mountain on route 205, believe it or not. I still can''t believe that was real." "I need to get better at this connection stuff¡­" Denzel muttered. "How''d you even stumble into that?" "Randomly," I said. "Don''t worry about it. I think Jasmine likes me, so it''ll be pretty easy to set up a meeting. Cece will be there too." "Great. Thanks," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Can you tell me about it now, actually? The battle?" "I live to tell the story. The more I say it, the less the memories grow hazy," I smiled. "I guess I can do it before the others get here." I recounted the battle to him until Louis and Maeve arrived, and his expression had grown more impressed with each order. After that, though? The party was in full swing. ¡ª I felt a finger poke my cheek and I yawned as I woke up. It took me a few seconds to remember what day it was, despite us having a pre-party yesterday until three in the morning in Emilia''s room. The fact that the first thing she''d done when arriving was host a party was hrious enough, but she''d also ordered food and drinks too. It was as much to free herself from the terrible, pre-made food she''d eaten during her short stint to Sunyshore as it was something nice for everyone else. And it had been expensive. "Happy birthday," Cece softly said. "Thank you." I was sixteen today. I dragged her face down and kissed her¡­ a few more times that was probably necessary, and I got off the bed. "I''m going to shower," she said. "Are you going back to your room?" "No, I''ll wait for you," I answered as I grabbed my phone. "I''ll borrow your shower after. I think I have some clothes here?" "You do, second drawer from the left," she said, not even looking back. "How do you even remember that?" I whispered to myself. I''d been bombarded by happy birthday messages on my phone, and it wasn''t even noon. I checked my mom and dad''s first, and I answered them right away. I spent some time with my dad on the phone too, and he was nearly crying the entire time about how I was growing up so fast. There were of course, my friends, including Candice (who finally remembered what day my birthday was) but also Jasmine and Craig. The Poketch Company sent me an email, and Melody also sent me a very heartfelt message about how proud she was of my progress. I snorted when I saw Cynthia sent me a message too. The cynical part of me wondered if it was just to keep me satisfied, but I figured I''d better just take it at face value and be happy about it. She''d sent one to Cecilia too on the 28th, and I decided to do the same as her. A short, sinct answer. It waster than I would have liked. I wanted to go off to train for a few hours before we started organizing stuff for the party. I wasn''t going to skip, especially when the battle with Denzel was tomorrow, and I wanted to experiment on some potential techniques with Honey. Cece came out of the bathroom, so I quickly showered, and soon enough, we were out of her room. Sunshine was still sleeping in mine when I opened to door, along with Angel, while Buddy had been waiting for me right in front of the entrance. The water type floated toward me with more excitement than usual and wished me a happy birthday. Angel did the same, in his own way, dragging me up and down over and over. Sunshine muttered the words under his breath. "Can you say it again?" I teased. "I can''t hear you." This time, he said it loud and clear, and I couldn''t help my face from mocking him with a smug smirk. I used the opportunity to release the rest of the team from their Pokeballs. A few heads in the hallway turned when Sweetheart yelled happy birthday at me, and Princess flew into my arms, saying the same. Honey patted me on the shoulder and grinned. I spent a few minutes with them, but since today was going to be busy, I recalled them soon enough and we were out of the door again. They''d be able to spend more time out at the party tonight. When Cecilia and I knocked on Mira''s door for her kazam, she vehemently refused, even when I told her I was going to eat first. "Absolutely not. We''re swamped today," the pink-haired girl said as she typed on herputer. "They''re not doing anything," I protested. The two psychics shook their heads at me, and kazam spoke. We''re training. "Are you kidding me? You could have just said no," I scoffed. "Cece?" My girlfriend shrugged. "It is what it is. Maybe you could take a break today." "Get out of my room," Mira said. "I need to focus!" "Arceus, no need to yell," I groaned. "Fine, we''ll leave." I gently closed her door and rolled my eyes. "What''s gotten into her?" I asked. "I hope she isn''t like that at the party. I''m seriously getting worried she''s slipping back into how she was in Veilstone." But there was no reason for her to do so, so why? She had everything she wanted from the League that had dangled the bait that was Team Gctic in front of her face, and even she knew that. Arceus, I was getting nervous again. Couldn''t I rx for a single week? Sunyshore was supposed to be my vacation! And hopefully Pastoria too! "Well, just give her some time," Cece said. "I don''t know, she was looking at you weird. I''ll talk to her tonight," I said. "I guess we can''t really train like we did yesterday. I''m probably going to do some low-intensity training on route 222, and then I''ll message the others so we can meet¡ª" "Why don''t we go eat an early brunch first?" "I thought we could just get something from the cafeteria with Denzel and the others?" I said. "They''re all out," Cecilia said. "They told me about it while you were sleeping." "Aw. Why didn''t you wake me up first?" I asked. "I really thought we''d be able to hang now that everyone''s here." "You just said you wanted to train. And I wanted you to get some rest," she said, rubbing my back. "Come on, let''s go and eat something. I came across this great restaurant." "On the boardwalk?" "No, believe it or not. It''s next to the University of Sunyshore campus." "What? That''s so far!" "The food is really worth it, trust me." "Fine," I said. "I guess we can go." Cece smiled and bowed down to kiss my cheek. "You''re the best." ¡ª The restaurant Cecilia had brought me to wasn''t just next to the campus, it was right next to the campus, and it was full of students in theirte teens and early twenties. If I remembered correctly, it was a tech-focused university, but it of course had all kinds of programs. Professor Rowan had graduated from here while he was young and he often gave speeches to graduates or at the start of semesters here. Or at least that''s what Cece told me, I didn''t know much about it. "How is it? I told you it was great!" Cecilia said. "It was pretty good, I have to admit," I nodded. "Thanks for paying. Again." "It''s your birthday." "Yeah, yeah. I guess we can get back now. We really need to start organizing this party stuff. Denzel and Chase can do some heavy lifting. Should we order pizza? Cece?" She looked up from her phone. "Hm?" "For the party!" I eximed. "I think pizza''s a good idea¡ª" My phone vibrated in my pocket, and the more I read the message, the deeper my frown got. "Erin says there''s some intra-club drama with the Wild Tamers on route 222 again," I said. "Something with Riley." "Didn''t he say that he was doing a clean break?" She asked. "How strange." "Let''s get going," I dered as I shot up. "I need to go to the bathroom first, two minutes." "Oh. Do you want me toe with you¡ª" "I''ll be fine," she said. "Just wait for me outside the restaurant." "Okay." I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall outside as I observed students go about their lives. A lot of them were studying on the trim grass with theirptops, and some of them had Pokemon too. There were battles, people ying frisbee, volleyball, it looked like a lot of fun. The main university building was a few blocks away, but I could still see it from here. It looked extremely out of ce with its dated architecturepared to Sunyshore''s sleek, modern design. "I wonder if they have a TE research department or something," I muttered to myself. Cece arrived a few minutester. "Sorry about the time, the bathroom was full," she said. "Now, let''s get going." Since Sunyshore University was on the furthest eastern reaches of the city and next to the ocean, getting to route 222 took nearly thirty minutes, especially with how much traffic there was. It was at times like these that I wished for a Teleporter or for a Shiny Stone. The drama was apparently happening one hour into the route, but when we arrived, there were none of the crowds I''d expected. No yelling, no battling, no bullying. It was just Erin and a few friends of hers that I recognized sitting together and fawning over her Spinda, who spun on one foot and fell over¡ª no, not fell over. He caught himself and somersaulted, flipping twice in the air andnding with a soft thud. He''d looked on the brink of falling over and getting horribly injured the entire time, but he somehow made it look gracious. "Erin? What''s happening?" I asked. Her friends frowned and were about to ask something, but she hushed them down with force I wasn''t used to seeing from her. She really did behave differently with us. "Uh, the drama''s solved. It was a false rm, sorry," she apologized. "Swirls was just showing us some tricks. Do you want to stick around and look?" I squealed. "You named him Swirls?! That''s so cute!" "Grace loves cute names," Cece exined. "I know, it''s been all over the forums for a while," Erin said. Spinda bowed at me, stumbling a few times as he smiled. "But you could have sent us a text¡­" I sighed. "We spend a lot of time getting here. Do you want me to speak to Riley? Because I will speak to him¡ª" "No, he''s fine! Here, why don''t we¡­ uh, what time is it?" "It''s three in the afternoon," Cecilia answered. "Why don''t we head back and get started on the party, then? We need to empty some rooms to get more space for everything. I''ll help," Erin said. "Jessie, Sandy, Ken, you stick around. Sandy, you''re in charge for the rest of the day. Watch the new recruits." "Got it," she answered. Erin recalled Swirls and got up. "Are you sure about Riley?" I asked as we walked back. "I can be persuasive." "We know that," Cece said. "But let''s give him a chance¡ª" "I could crush him. Gently." "No! Don''t talk to Riley without telling me first. Don''t talk to him at all, actually!" Erin yelled. "It was just a little hup. We''re fine." At this point, she was practically dragging me back to Sunyshore, so I assumed she wanted to handle this herself to showcase her leadership to New Wave''s new members. Maybe she didn''t want to worry us too. Cece asked to take the scenic route back to Sunyshore by the beach, so I knew my n for a beach date would work now. By the time we arrived back in the city, it was the start of the evening and the sun had basically fully set, but we still had a lot of time to n things since the club room would only be freete at night when thest members left. I disliked doing things at thest minute like this, but I''d been swamped with training and had no time to n parties. Erin actually missed the bus somehow and wasted more time. I knew she was aloof, but missing a bus was really pushing it, especially when we''d gotten in right in front of her. Finally though, we made it to the clubroom. We walked past the yground and I was surprised to see no one was there. Erin opened the door and pushed me in. The entryway waspletely empty too. "Where''s everyone? Are they all on the route?" I asked. "Which rooms do we need to empty?" Erin didn''t answer, and Cecilia dragged me forward. All of the lights were off and I would have had to feel my way around without Erin here. She opened the door to one of the ssrooms, and I squinted as the lights finally turned on. Multiple voice rang out. "Surprise!" Everyone was here, and they were here early. Chase, Lauren, Louis, Maeve, Mira, Denzel, Pauline and Emilia. They were all here. Balloons of every color were tied down or floating right before the ceiling. Multiple weird, cylinder things exploded and popped out confetti. The entire room had been cleared out, and instead there was a set of two long tables with all kinds of food and drink. Shrimp, pizza, chips, cookies, and an enormous cake with Cece and my name on it. There were stacks of gifts in the corner for both her and me. The party was far earlier than we''d nned. I stood there, dumbfounded for a few seconds, and then my vision went blurry. I sobbed. "You guys¡­" Lauren frowned. "She''s crying. I don''t think that''s good news." Cece stood in front of me and the others swarmed around me. I heard multiple ''are you okays'' or ''what''s wrong''. "I''m just so happy," I sniffled. "I thought everyone was behaving so weirdly, I didn''t understand. Cece, you were in on this?! It''s your party too!" "I was in charge of keeping you distracted today while the others organized things," Cecilia smiled as she wiped away my tears with her thumb. "When it didn''t work, I had to call in Erin." "Sorry," Erin chuckled nervously. "It''s nice to finally meet everyone in person." "You know Erin?" I asked. "We spoke on the phone a bit. I was invited to the partymittee group chat after you invited me." "And let me tell you, this girl is a fucking blessing," Mira smiled. "She helped me so much." "Kind of makes you feel bad about ignoring her when you first met, doesn''t it?" Cecilia chided. "The reason Mira was acting so strangely these past few days was because she was the main organizer until Erin showed up." "But I thought you were working on some really cool move," I said. "No, I was working on looking up Sunyshore''s regtion on fireworks, ordering a bunch of food, making a ylist, figuring out everyone''s allergies, a time everyone would be avable, you know, the average party drill. Emilia was coaching me on the phone and Maeve helped too." I stumbled toward Mira and hugged her. "I''m sorry for assuming the worst about you." The pink-haired girl scoffed. "What the hell does that mean?!" "You know what it means," Cece smirked. "Sorry for doing this," Denzel said. "We had to keep you in the dark because we were scared you''d figure things out. Uh, Louis, Cece and Emilia covered most of the costs. I would have helped more, but I''m kind of still broke. I haven''t streamed in a bit and I haven''t gotten my paychecks yet." "Just you being there is good enough, you idiot," I sniffled. "And thank you for paying, everyone. I don''t know how I''ll ever repay this¡­" Maeve chuckled. "Come on, Grace." "No payment necessary. You''re good," Louis said. "It''s our birthday party," Cece gently spoke. "Just enjoy it." "Uh, I just showed up. Is that okay?" Chase asked. "Same¡­" Lauren muttered. "Sorry. I gave a gift, though." "Hey, I have a gift too, quiet girl," Chase said. "It''s going to blow every other gift out of the water." "Arceus, this is so overwhelming," I sighed. "But in a great way!" "Let''s get this started, then," Mira said. "This is the fruit of mybor. I feel like I just gave birth. It''s like, so much relief." Maeve recoiled with a disgusted frown, but Chase was the one to speak up first. "Please don''t say that." Mira pped her hands, and kazam appeared in the corner of the room. I craned my neck and saw that there was a DJ board there and a disco ball. Light began to shine throughout the room and music started to y. People slowly started to filter throughout the room. "I can''t believe you were in on this," I told Cece. "Since when did you know?" "The surprise as a whole was floating around since Veilstone," Cecilia said. "But I was only brought into the plot after my own birthday, since they thought it would be too difficult to keep it hidden from the both of us. Everyone knew beforehand." "Holy crap." "I was just as surprised as you were." A few minutes passed, and I grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and released my Pokemon one by one since the others were doing the same. The room was a little too crowded for everyone''s teams though, so some of the Pokemon were released outside in the yground. Charizard, Braviary, Sunshine, Milotic, Sweetheart, Abomasnow, Talonme, Vikavolt, Buddy, and Zweilous could be seen mingling through the window. I knew Sunshine and Buddy would have hated the crowd, and Zweilous would have knocked down all of the food while trying to grab some charcuterie or something. The rest of the teams were inside (except for Lauren, who had only released Sirris), including Erin''s own Pokemon, whose protection Angel had decided to make his mission for the night. The grass type furiously swatted at Haunter with a few vines until the ghost ran off through a wall. I noticed Erin pale and shiver at the sight of multiple Pokemon, so I decided to be her chaperone for the night. Or at least until she got used to their presence. I wouldn''t like it if she was just scared the entire time, especially when it was a party. "Please don''t identally destroy the building," Erin whispered. "Oh Erin, you worry too much!" I smiled. "Here,e meet Pauline¡ª wait, I guess you already know her." "Not really. I didn''t exactly speak to her¡ª" "Pauline!" I yelled. "This is Erin in the flesh. I''ve been training her." "I¡­ know?" "This is not fun!" I groaned. "Oh, is that Mankey?" The fighting type was sitting crosslegged in the center of the room, oblivious to the people and Pokemon that had to walk around him. He wasn''t even meditating. His eyes were wide open, and he was just staring at random things. "I told you he was a weirdo," Pauline said. "But he''s cool. He has this weird rivalry with Vigoroth. Vigoroth tries to make him mad, but he doesn''t care since it builds up his tolerance to anger." "Where is Vigoroth?" "Gothitelle is babysitting," Pauline said, pointing to the other side of the room. The normal type was hanging on the psychic''s robes and climbing all over her. "Oh yeah, she''s angry. I should probably just bring Vigoroth outside before she swears so loudly it gets to everyone''s mind. I''ll see youter, Grace." I turned and noticed that Emilia and Denzel were also outside, although they were just leaning against the window with some food. They had probably climbed through it. Honey was busy analyzing and tasting every single food item out there while Princess followed him and called everything disgusting, much to his chagrin. I decided to walk up to Chase, who was busy with Lauren and Mira. On the way there, I thanked kazam for ying DJ. Mira basically forced me, he said. Why couldn''t it have been Gardevoir¡­ Gardevoir was busy shadowing Mira wherever she went, and she loomed over the short teen while Ri attentively nodded to every word Chase spoke. "...not two days. Three to four days per week instead," Chase said. "And you want to leave a day between each to leave your body some time to recover at the start. Now, don''t forget that you don''t need to actually get a Gym Membership. Those ces are scams. Just get your Aggron to make you some dumbbells or something¡ª ah, Grace. How''s it going?" "Are you teaching Lauren how to work out?" I asked. "She asked," Mira said. "I want to be physically stronger," Lauren muttered. "That way I can be physically imposing." "And you''d do well to follow her example. Do you want me to start over? You want to warm up for ten minutes with a light jog or some stretches¡ª" "We''re good," I said, turning to Erin. A shame, Lucario said with a yful tone. Erin flinched at the sudden words, but Aura-based speech didn''t give headaches, so she was fine on that front. "That was weird. My head felt cold." "That''s how it works," I said. "Anyway, you¡ª" kazam strode up to Mira with a frustrated look and spoke. Mira. Take over DJ duties, please. "What? Why?" The girl groaned. You know the ylist better than he does, Gardevoir said. "You just want to separate me from Chasey," Mira said. "I''ll do it if Chase and Laurene." "I don''t care," Chase said. "If you want¡­" The trio left toward the DJ board, but kazam''s eyes were set on Erin. Cece was ying beer pong with Pauline, Louis and Maeve and someone had apparently made some kind of great throw because they all erupted into gasps and cheers. Do you have a pen and paper, Grace? kazam asked. "Uh, no. I don''t have anything with me¡ª wait, I don''t even have my gifts!" I yelled. "Shit, shit, shit!" "You''ll be alright. Here, have a cookie my mother made," Erin said. I snatched it out of her hand and reflexively munched on the food. I''ll go and pick them up if you tell me where they are, kazam shrugged. I''ll pick up some a pen and paper as well. "You''d be a lifesaver," I exhaled in relief. "Thank you. Erin, kazam wants to speak to you in writing. Is that okay with you?" "Oh. Yeah, sure," she said. I could tell she was hesitant, though. "Okay, my gifts are all in my backpack. Uh, here''s my room key," I said, getting the keycard out of my pocket. "Oh, and can you grab Cece''s coat? She might get cold tonight. The key opens both doors." There was a glint in kazam''s eyes and he disappeared. "He''ll be back in a few minutes. Why don''t you tell me what Swirls is like?" The little Spinda was giving Angel the performance of a lifetime, and they both loved it. Comet was snoring on Angel''s head already while Sat was curiously pawing his vines, which he moved around to let her y. The grass type pped with two vines and silently called Princess over, who''d grown tired of looking at food she found unappetizing. She hadn''t interacted with Swirls much, but I knew she disliked him. She had called him loose, whatever that meant. "He''s really strong. He has this move, Dizzy Punch. It actually leaves an imprint on rocks whenever he punches them! Isn''t that cool?!" "Now you''re getting it," I sagely nodded. "There''s nothing better than seeing the mark of what your Pokemon can do, Erin. Destroyed stuff is cool." "All this time, I thought you were crazy¡­" "Me? No, we''re normal, you and I," I said. "Everyone would think the same¡ª" kazam with a stack of papers, three pens, Cece''s coat and my bag levitating around him. Why in the world would you put your bag in the bathtub? He spoke into my mind. I had to look for it for thirty seconds! What a waste! "Why did I do that¡­?" I muttered as I picked up the bag and the coat. "What''s he asking?" "Why I put my bag in the bathtub." "To hide the gifts, maybe?" "Oh, right," I snapped a finger. "Cece came to my room yesterday and I didn''t want her to look through it or something." "That makes sense." What if she needed to go to the bathroom?! Humans are simple creatures! The bag being where it shouldn''t be would make her more likely to look through it! "Well, it all worked out, didn''t it?" I shrugged. "Come on, speak to Erin already." The psychic audibly sighed and levitated a pen against the paper. His words read like this. Dear Erin Atwood¡ª "You know myst name? How even¡ª" kazam stopped writing and scratched out his next words, recing them with this. Don''t worry about that. It hase to my attention that you have caught a third normal type. Now, Type Energy is known to have multiple effects on humans, but there are no normal type specialists of adequate power in Sinnoh to study the phenomenon. I know you will not have changed¡ª "He wants to study you," I interrupted. The psychic red at me. "What? It''s faster that way, and you write super slow. Plus, your handwriting is pretty bad." "What does study me imply?" Tell her I want to know the beginning of how a human is changed by TE. It is a gradual process, but the start of it is seldom studied. I ryed his words, and Erin reluctantly agreed after kazam told her there would be no pain involved. A strange light zed over his eyes as he stared at her, and I decided to leave them be for now. Knowing kazam, they''d be there for thirty minutes at least, and I didn''t want my party to be a research paper, and they could actuallymunicate now. I did feel bad for Erin, though. I sent Emilia to keep herpany since she was done speaking to Denzel. My best friend was currently hanging out with his Sylveon, who had been radiating jealousy since I''d seen him out of his Pokeball, and especially when he spoke to Emilia. I tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh. Hi." "Hi guys. Sylvi." The fairy type''s anger soothed when he saw me, and a ribbon gently wrapped around my ankle, reminding me of Angel. I crouched and petted his cheek. Unlike every other fairy I''d met, Sylveon didn''t call me sister. He just used my name. "I haven''t seen you in a while," I said. "Is he okay?" "Sylvi''s fine," Denzel stammered. "We just have a few hijinks we have to settle." "Jealousy issues?" I said. He nodded, and I swore I saw him pale for a split second. He was hiding something. "Yeah. Nothing we haven''t encountered before though, it''ll be fine." Sylvi huffed and muttered something under his breath. Something he knew I''d catch. Denzel, Emilia and Pauline were¡­ well, not dating, but were trying to reach that point, and Sylveon hated it. I blinked, not knowing to pretend to not have heard anything for Denzel, or to just rip off the band aid, but I opted for the former. It would be better if they told me when they were ready. I stared at Sylvi and subtly shook my head, and the fairy type stormed off, jumping out the window. "What''s gotten into you?" Denzel asked. Had he expected me to do something about it? Personally, I was happy that they''d finally stopped avoiding the topic and I hoped they''d seed, but three people dating each other was still astonishing to me. I guess I''m monogamous through and through, I thought as I fondly stared at Cece. Their game of beer pong was almost over now. "What''s with the coat?" Denzel asked. "Oh, that''s Cece''s. I''m holding onto it for her," I said. "Thank you again for the party. I love you, you know?" He nodded with a smile. "Me too. I''m d we met." I snorted. "You know how we thought we''d be able to be Champions when we first started out?" He grinned. "It was a good dream. Why? Feeling sentimental?" "No, it''s just that hanging out with so many powerful trainers made me think back on those days," I said. "I want to get there so bad." "Craig says the journey''s just as good as the top when he does interviews," Denzel said. "Think about it. You''re a Champion, you''re at the top. What else is there to do? You''d crush anyone you''d battle without breaking a sweat, and battling other champions is impossible because of the political repercussions." I nodded. "You''re right. It''s probably lonely." Was Cynthia lonely? I chewed on that thought for a few seconds, and Denzel continued. "I''ve been thinking too. I don''t really think I want to be a Champion and do politics and stuff. With my social media stuff, I''d prefer to be a free agent, you know? Not beholden to anything. Of course, the goal long term is still to reach the skill level of a Champion." "Oh? Where''s your usual patriotism?" I teased. "Sinnoh lost a good soldier today." "Shut up," he groaned. "I mean, it''s not impossible. Leon has a pretty big social media presence, but Sinnoh and Gr aren''t the same culturally. It wouldn''t work here." "Who the hell is Leon?" "Are you serious? Gr''s new Champion that ascendedst year? When we hang out, I''m putting you through some social media training. I wonder how the hell you''re still alive sometimes." "You suck," I said. "We should hang out, though. Let''s set a date. Two days after our battle!" Denzel beamed. "That''s what I''m talking about. Want toe on my stream again?" "I want to avoid anywhere your stream touches," I said. "Well, I am streaming our battle. Win or lose, it''s going to bring in a lot of viewers and revenue. I hope that doesn''t make you nervous? I can cancel if it''ll affect how you fight." "I''m good," I said. "And fine, I''ll let you be my social media coach. You can tell me what the new trend is on Chatter." "Come on, even I don''t use Chatter. That''s where all the coordinators go, it''s a toxic cesspool." "Now you''re sounding like Chase," I said. "Did you know he''s teaching Lauren how to work out¡­" We bantered for around ten more minutes, and then I made my way toward Cece. Honey was trying to speak to Lopunny¡ª wait, did he have a crush on her? He looked a lot more nervous than he usually was. Where had this evene from? Well, I wasn''t going to interrupt, but Lopunny''s heart was unfortunately Sylveon''s. I considered speaking him out of it after the party, but hey, maybe he had a chance. At least he was holding up her interest. I heard a bit of their conversation and noticed they were talking about learning how to read and their progress. You go, kid, I thought with a prideful smile. I also shot Princess a look across the room to get her to settle. I knew she wanted to tease and embarrass him from her mischievous stare. The fairy type grumbled and flew out the window to go see Buddy and Sunshine. "Cece! kazam got your coat. It''s going to get cold tonight, I think." "Grace! Here, have a cheese stick." She shoved the stick in my mouth and grabbed her coat. "Thank you. I was getting a little cold, since the window''s open." "You Unovans," I teased. My girlfriend grabbed my hand. "Don''t start now. Want to dance?" "Uh, I don''t¡ª well, I do, but I don''t know how to. This song isn''t that danceable, and I''m not exactly dressed for the asion." "That''s okay. It''s for fun." "Fine. But don''t me me if I step on your feet." Cece turned toward Mira, who was cackling with Lauren and Chase. I''d never seen the ck-haired girlugh this hard. "Mira! Do you have a love song we can dance to in there?!" Cece yelled. "Ask and ye shall receive, dear Cecilia," Mira said. Some cheesy song about two trainers being rivals and bing lovers throughout their journey started to y. I blushed when every head turned toward us. "Don''t say it so loudly." "I don''t care. Hey everyone! Grace is great and I love her!" Our friends cheered and whistled. "Arceus!" "Say it back. Come on," she chuckled. "I love her too!" I yelled out to the world. "Now, how the hell do I dance?" She leaned in a whispered in my ear. "Follow my lead." Cecilia''s hand intertwined with mine while the other wrapped around my back. I took a deep breath, and her warm smile calmed my nerves some. She began to lead me in the dance, and at first, it felt a little awkward. It felt odd to follow her every movement, but once I got used to it, we were practically gliding across the floor while our friends and some of the Pokemon pped and cheered us on. Every subtle shift in her posture spread through me in such an innate way that it was like I actually knew what I was doing. By the time the song was halfway done, I was smiling just as widely as she was. Cecilia leaned forward and kissed me right as the song finished. She''d always been one for theatrics. And so was I. "Let''s keep this PG, guys," Mira said. "We can''t ruin Chase and Lauren''s virgin eyes." "Shut up and put the next song on," Chase said. Another song began to y softly in the background. "You were great," Cecilia said. "And you only stepped on me twice." "That was a lot more fun than I thought, honestly. I remember that you like dancing though. You told my dad when we were in his rental car in Hearthome." Cece''s eyes widened. "You remember that?" "Duh. Of course, I''d remember." "They were among the only lessons I enjoyed," she said. "I''d be happy if you partook in it. I''m a little rusty, though." "You saying you''re rusty after sweeping me off my feet is crazy," I said. "It''s like what Jasmine said after the battle with Craig." "Somebody said Jasmine?" Denzel interjected. "Nice dance, you two." "Yeah. Jasmine was rusty, believe it or not," I whispered. "It kind of makes me think that Kanto-Johto''s Gym Leader are a lot stronger than the norm, since she beat Volkner twice." "She beat Volkner twice?" Denzel half-hissed. "Why didn''t you tell me that yesterday? I had no idea they fought." "The score is 2-1 at the moment," I said. "It''d make sense considering how martial their society is," Cecilia shrugged. "Jasmine''s standards might be skewed." That made what she''d said about ir a lot more impressive than it already was. The three of us spoke until Erin was finally freed from kazam''s hold. "Erin! Nice to finally meet you," Denzel said. "L¡ªlikewise. I have a friend called Sandy that''s a huge fan of yours. Can I film you for a bit? You can just say a few words to her about how you appreciate her support or something?" "Sure," Denzel smiled. "Let''s do it in another room. The music here''s kind of loud." "I''ll be right back, I''ve got to talk to kazam," I told Cece. I sneaked around the back of the party and saw that the psychic was sitting and staring at his spoons. "So? Verdict?" It''s faint. Extremely so, kazam said. But the process is slowly starting. I would need to observe her behavior to see any minute changes. "What if she doesn''t change? I mean, it''s the normal type." Don''t be so foolish, Grace, he shook his head. A change will happen. It is guaranteed. Normal TE is only named so because you humans named it so. There is substance to it, I just have to figure out what it is. "Well, you coulde backter in the year," I shrugged. "She''s bound to have gotten stronger by then." That was what I was considering. I could Teleport every few weeks to track her progress here. "See? It''s all good! Why''re you sitting alone in a corner?" I was enjoying myself, actually. Ruminating on my research. "Oh. So basically, you''re telling me to leave you to¡­ ruminate?" Well, no. Since it''s your birthday, you can stay if you so wish. "Nah, I''m going to hang out with the others. You should too. Gothitelle and Slowking are outside now. Buddy is too." I will soon. Do not worry about me. I nodded and let him be. I nced outside and saw that Zweilous was harassing everyone else like usual, but Talonme and Slowking were on there to keep him under control. Maeve was speaking to Pauline and Emilia about contests while Louis had joined Denzel. Their conversation topic was a lot more depressing. Justin wasn''t here. Of course, it''d been stupid to expect him to be here, but a part of me had still hoped he''d show up. I mostly hung out with Erin, Cece and Denzel the rest of the night, and then we all reunited to eat the cake. Half of it was vani with strawberry frosting¡ª my favorite! And the other half was chocte, which was Cece''s favorite. It was big enough for the entire group and then some. Cece even gave some of it to Zerst and Sol, who fought for the piece until they realized she was going to give another one to the head that hadn''t gotten it. A few other Pokemon had some cake, including Honey, Lucario, Angel, Lopunny, Scyther¡­ the list went on and on, and we actually ran out faster than expected. Everyone had gotten at least a piece though, so we were pretty happy. "Time for gifts!" Mira announced right after cutting the music. "Guys, gifts! Who''s getting them first¡ª oh, nevermind you''re just doing it without any organizing. Okay." I was swarmed with so many things. A card with a nice word on it from Erin, along with a¡­ homemade coupon that said I coulde to her house whenever she wanted for some cookies. Emilia handed me a beautiful pale blue dress that was on par with the one I''d worn during my date with Cecilia. Maeve gave me some new running shoes and some traveling clothes while Louis handed me a nice card just like Erin and some macarons. Pauline gifted me some high-heels, not missing a chance to tease me for my height, but she also gave me money¡ª "Money?" I muttered. It wasn''t an astronomical sum. ''Only'' fifty-thousand. "Don''t you darein. I held back, you know?" Pauline said. "I like giving people money. It means they can buy whatever they want if they don''t like the other gift I give them." "Well, uh, thank you. I''ll buy some more soil for Sweetheart with this." Denzel gave me two gifts. A joke one and a serious one. His joke one was a promotion to be the second moderator of his stream after Lopunny. The other was actually a joint gift for me and Cecilia. It was Cynthia''s autobiography she had written a decade ago and that hadn''t actually been distributed to publishers. There were only a few of them in the world. Needless to say, I was extremely interested. "Where did you even get this?" I scoffed as I quickly flipped through the book. The cover page was a younger Cynthia with her Garchomp behind her. "I thought they never actually sold these?" "I''ve got some connections of my own," Denzel said. "One of my fans works at the League and sent it to me after I paid¡­ a prettyrge price. Remember when I told you I was broke because I hadn''t streamed? Yeah, that was kind of a lie. I''m broke because I bought this." "Holy shit. You''re the best," I said. "Thank you so much. And, uh, thank you for making me a moderator I guess. I actually don''t have a DailyTube ount." "That can wait," he winked. Lauren gave me a Fire Pir TM, which she''d gotten for free since it was her move. I was going to teach it to Sunshine as soon as I could. Mira joked that her gift was the party she''d organized, but she pouted when I genuinely smiled at her and thanked her. Her actual gift was a sun hat made of straw that she said would look great on me and would help keep my face in the shade since we were going to Pastoria next. It''d be annoying to carry but I could always attach it to the outside of my bag. Chase handed me a step-by-step workout guide that he''d customized for me and made by hand¡­ Yeah. But humans weren''t the only ones with a gift. Angel strode up to me and pulled out a statue Princess had made. Buddy, Sunshine and Sweetheart mored as they looked through the window and Honey could barely contain his smile. It was a statue of me. The detail on it was extravagant. From the usual jeans, shoes and clothes I wore, to the freckles on my face and my hair. It was perfect. I was standing on a little podium and holding a Pokeball, and it was small enough to fit in my bag and sturdy enough to actually . "Baby¡­" I sniffled. "Thank you so much." I wrapped my daughter into a tight hug, and she made sure to remind me that this came from everyone and not just her. I made rounds and hugged all of my Pokemon. Even Sunshine was smiling. When I hopped back through the window, Cece was done getting her gifts too. Clothes, cards, clothes, more clothes¡­ yeah, she was definitely getting a lot of clothes, but she did love them more than I did. But we still hadn''t given each other our gifts. I sneaked a nce to Emilia, and she nodded. She had edited the video with our audio messages just like I''d wanted (although Erin and Lauren would have no part in it, I assumed), and the room had a projector. I quickly looked through my bag and pulled out the sunsses and two small, square boxes. Cecilia pulled out a huge rectangr packaged gift from the now-empty pile. "I''ll go first," Cece said. "Unwrap it." I felt anticipation course through my veins as I tore through the wrapping paper¡ª I sharply inhaled at what was within. I couldn''t believe my eyes. It was an electric keyboard with a sturdy protective case and a strap around it so I''d be able to carry it while we traveled. "So? How is it?" Cece asked. "Are you kidding me?! This is amazing! I''m gonna cry¡­" I hugged Cecilia and kissed her over and over until it probably felt awkward for our other friends just watching. It was my turn now, and I handed her the sunsses first. "Just a little something I bought in a store on the boardwalk. Lauren was there," I said. "It was a fun time," Lauren said. I pulled out my own pair and grinned. "We''re matching." Cecilia chuckled. "They look so good. Hold on, let''s take a picture together¡ª wait, the lighting is terrible. We can do it tomorrow." "I have something else. It''s a ring¡ª well, matching rings, really. They do this really cool thing where they interlock with each other, so it''s this cool metaphor where weplete one another, and they''re really pretty. I bought them in Veilstone and they were pretty expensive, but not too expensive¡ª Cece? Are you good?" My girlfriend was frozen and just staring at the two silver rings and back at me. I had never seen her look this shy in our entire time together. Even when we had just started dating, she hadn''t been this bashful. The chatter had also died down and everyone was staring at me. "Did you just propose to her in a really weird way?" Mira asked. "What? Why would¡ª" Oh. Oh. That was what rings did. Yes. How the fuck had I forgotten that?! For a second, my perception of time slowed as if I was in a battle and needed to think really quickly, because if I didn''t I would lose. This was a battle. A battle to find the words to get me out of this weird situation I had put myself in. They''re just couple rings! I would never propose to you¡ª no, too harsh. That sounded like I didn''t think our rtionship could ever go long-term. I had no idea that these could look like wedding rings and that this looked like I was proposing! No, they would never believe me. They knew I forgot obvious stuff sometimes, but this was pushing it even if it was true. Okay, the truth is I do hope to marry you someday, but we''re way too young for that and even though I think you''re perfect, we''ve only been together for a few months! These are couple rings, not engagement rings. Hm, I didn''t think that was good either, but it was the best option I''de up with. Three, two, one, go! "Okay¡ª the¡ª uh, yes." "Yes?!" They screamed in unison. What? How the fuck had thate out of my mouth? "No!" I quickly yelled. "There''s this thing called couple rings. That''s what this is. It''s not actually¡­ that. Yeah, that''s what I meant." I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Cecilia rapidly blinked as she grabbed one of the rings. "Um. What finger do I put it on?" She asked. "The¡­ index finger?" I said, unsure of myself. She slipped the silver ring on her finger, and I couldn''t help but blush. I was sweating buckets because this felt a lot more official than it actually was. This wasn''t supposed to be like this! I put on the ring on the same hand and held hers. "So, uh, yeah, those were my gifts," I said. "Happy?" "Hmhm," Cece mumbled. Needless to say, that moment overshadowed the rest of the night, including the edited video. Cece was doing this thing where she was kind of avoiding me and could barely utter a word when we spoke. Then, Mira and Chase couldn''t fucking stop making fun of me, and even Erin was pitying me. Her teacher! The party finished at around midnight with a round of fireworks that Mira had bought, and we all went back home after that. I was too embarrassed to even ask Cece if she wanted to sleep with me and I just locked myself in my room and screamed into my pillow. It''d be best to clear my mind for the fight tomorrow and then speak to her about this. Even so, This was going to haunt me for a long, long time.
Chapter 224 – Rivals II Chapter 224 ¨C Rivals II CHAPTER 224 - Rivals II Hey, I''m sorry about yesterday night. It was honestly just a stupid misunderstanding that doesn''t have to mean anything. I''ll see youter, I''ve got to iron things out before the battle. That was the message I''d sent Cece this morning as I made my way to the isted patch of beach. A night of sleep had cleared my mind some, and I''d also¡­ called my dadst night to vent to him about it. I could tell he was angry I''d called him thatte on a weekday, but he stayed up and talked to me. And he told me I was just being stupid and that I''d probablyugh at this in five years. With Cece, if we were still together. Apparently we were blowing this up and making it a big deal for no reason. He was obviously wrong, but it felt nice to have spoken to him about it. He was probably incredibly tired this morning at work, so I hoped he wasn''t angry at me. I made it to the boardwalk, and Princess lifted me up the rocks with Extrasensory. I was surprised to see that Jasmine was here this morning. I hadn''t expected to see her this early, even if this was technically a spot we shared. The Gym Leader waved at me and smiled as Princess and I walked toward her. "Hi. Nice seeing you here," she said as she stared at the calm waves. "Morning. Uh, would it bother you if I trained here? It''s just low-intensity stuff, nothing major. I have to iron out a final technique with Princess, and the others could use the warm-up." "Sure, don''t let me rain on your parade," she said. "You have a battle today, I heard." "Oh, you know about that? Yeah, it''s with my best friend¡ª he actually wanted to meet you if you don''t mind." "I don''t. Regarding your battle, Craig told me about it and that he''ll be watching. Denzel Williams interests him." "I figured. Any advice for me?" I asked. "No. You''ve seen plenty already." "Seen¡­ the battle you mean? I mean, It did inspire some ideas." "See? You''re already learning," she smirked. "Steal, Grace. Steal everything you see and make it your own." "Well I''ll get back to you when I can create a beam of light so intense it melts rocks," I joked as I released my Pokemon. "Want to talk a little? With Sunshine?" Jasmine stared at the dragon, who huffed. "That would be my pleasure." ¡ª I was just in time to the arena, and it was packed to the brim. Denzel had advertised it beforehand and I could barely navigate the damn thing. After squeezing past people bigger than me for around two minutes, I finally made it through. The trainers had cleared a space for us¡ª including our friends. There was a phone mounted onto a stick with Pauline and Emilia standing next to it. Denzel spoke to them, probably about some technical stuff. Everyone who had been at my party was here. Lauren stood alone in a corner with Sirris hovering around her. Chase and Mira sat on the ground, and she was showing him something on her phone. "Grace. We were wondering where you were," Erin said as she began walking by my side. "Do you want anything before the fight? Water? A snack?" "I''m good Erin. Rx. You''re more nervous than I am." "Are you nervous? I have a stress ball in my bag, and it''s very effective." "Oh, it''s just the pre-battle jitters. It''s alright, nothing unusual," I smiled. We continued across the arena until we reached the battlefield I would fight on, and Cecilia greeted me with a tight hug. My eyes drifted to her hand, and I was d to see she was still wearing the ring. It was beautiful on her. She also donned the sunsses I''d given her on her head. "There you are. I''m sorry for freaking out so much," she said. "I spoke with Pauline. She, well, she told me I was making a big deal out of it for nothing." "Well she sure was acting like it was a big deal at the party. But my dad said that too," I nodded. "So, we''re good?" "We were always good," she said. "And I''m not going to lie, I had no idea couple rings existed due to my¡­ peculiar upbringing. I was just taken aback by the entire thing, since I hadn''t expected it at all." "Yeah, sorry about that," I said with a nervous chuckle. "It looks great on you, though. The sunsses too. I should get going though, it''s going to start soon." "Good luck on your battle. I''ll be rooting for you." "Thank you. I''ll talk to youter!" I yelled as I passed her. It looked like Maeve was going to be the referee since she stood to the side of the arena and kept slicing across the air with an arm like she was practicing the motion. I gave her a thumbs up and she called me over. "Grace! I thought you''d bete!" "Why is everyone saying that?" I scoffed. "I was just at the beach, rx." "You were at the beach before such an important battle?" She asked. "No, I was training and speaking to a friend," I said. "Anyway, what''s up?" "You''ve got to tell me which Pokemon you''re starting with¡ª" "Pupitar," I said. "Is that it?" "Yeah. Thanks." "Good luck in your referral duties." "I mean, it''s not that difficult of a job¡­" I noticed that Erin had started pressing on her stress ball behind me, and I patted her on the back. "Are you okay?" "I just really want you to win," she said. "Aw. Thanks." After a few seconds, I waved to Denzel and finally reached them. They were opposite of Maeve to get the best shot of the battle possible. I greeted all of my friends with a hug and leaned toward the phone. "Are you already streaming?" I asked. "Yes, they can hear you right now. I wanted to start early in case we came across any technical difficulties. Pauline and Emi are emergency moderators because it''s getting really toxic¡ª wait, don''t read the chat!" I squinted at the phone and saw a flurry of messages going far too fast to read any of them except the ones that were appearing over and over. People were spamming a bunch of different messages with emojis to support Denzel or me. The number of viewers was¡­ 72,021 and rising. I felt a twinge of nervousness that eased when I took a few deep breaths. "What does ''spam this pretzel to support Denzel'' mean?" I asked. "I guess it rhymes." "Just¡­ it''s a meme I have on my channel. Just ignore it," he said. "Should we put it on emote only?" Emilia asked. "No! That''d be terrible. Not even the Conference does that," Denzel shook his head. "Are we ready to start?" "I''m ready," I said. My best friend nodded, and outstretched a hand. "May the best trainer win." I shook his hand. "May the best trainer win." "Was that for the stream?" Erin asked. "Can I speak?" "Yes, Erin, you can speak," Pauline sighed. "And by the way, all you fucking morons in the chat. If I see you get toxic I''ll make sure to ban you and tell Denzel to never let you chat again no matter how many unban requests you send!" The chat devolved into a flurry of pauLines¡­ I didn''t really understand why the L was highlighted, but I just decided that I wasn''t going to get streamer culture for a while and that was fine. "Remember, Pauline. Supporting one side is fine, you can even get a little spicy if you want, but toxicity, insulting us or our Pokemon is off limits. Get it?" Denzel said. "Emi, you keep her in line." "I''m not sure making her a mod was a good idea, Denzel," Emilia muttered. "And two moderators for a stream that''s probably going to have a hundred thousand people is insane in the first ce." Pauline huffed. "Shut up! I can do this just fine!" Denzel let out a half-restrained groan. "Okay everyone, we''re going to start. Uh, make sure to subscribe if you''re a first-time viewer because a lot more of these areing. Oh, and this battle is brought to you by¡­'' He started listing all of his sponsors, and we finally went our separate ways. I climbed onto the podium and tried to ignore the crowd of people to my right. At least they were almost all trainers, so they knew to stay silent. "Guys! Guys,e on!" Erin yelled. I turned and saw a group of people lift a huge, clumsily made pink banner with my name on it and drawings of my team. New Wave hade to support me. Thest bits of anxiety melted away as I turned toward them and waved with a huge grin. Erin pped and they cheered for a few seconds until they respectfully quieted down, but they did keep the banner up. Arceus, those kids were the cutest. Denzel faced me as he clenched a fist behind his legs and grabbed his first Pokeball. This was definitely the biggest audience we''d ever had for a battle outside of a Gym¡ª more than our double battle in Hearthome, even if you discounted the stream. I had spent numerous days thinking about the Pokemon he would start with in numerous ways, and there was a multitude of reasons I''d gone with Sweetheart. My team''s biggest weakness right now were poison types, and Denzel''s Roserade was a perfect choice. Not only would her poison type moves destroy Angel and possibly break through Princess'' barrier like Craig''s Eelektross had done to Jasmine''s Metagross, but her grass typing meant that she''d screw over Buddy and Sweatheart as well, even if I had a tactic for the water type to at least fight back. Only Honey could fight her on equal footing, but he''d need to get close with Ice or Fire Punch. Roserade was basically what any trainer worth their salt would start with. But Denzel knew that I knew this. And he also knew that he''d be able to hang Roserade over my head like a guillotine. He would not start with her. No, he would expect me to begin the fight with Honey, since that was my only y, and he''d send out either Lopunny or Sylveon since I was sure he''d keep Fross forter in the fight and they were better suited to fight Honey, even if I was sure he would be able to do well against them. Of course, I wanted to keep him against Roserade and Milotic. That meant that I could only start the battle with Sweetheart. She would destroy Sylveon in a one-on-one or put up a fight against Lopunny before I recalled her. Maeve ordered us to release our Pokemon, and we both did so. I hummed when I saw that Denzel released Fross. Snowkes fell around the ice type and the ground under her feet froze over as she let out an ethereal giggle. Had he mind-gamed me and faked me out? Or had I overthought things? I hid the annoyance on my face and took a deep breath. Maeve counted down as she brought an arm up and shed across the air. "Begin!" "Double Team and Confuse Ray!" Denzel ordered. Fross split into ten after-images and her eyes gleamed as frost overtook them all. Ten dim lights crawled out of the powdery snow, screaming for freedom and beelined toward Pupitar. I had no idea which one was the real one and they were all spreading out and covering the entire arena, so dodging wasn''t an option. This was a really bad matchup for Sweetheart. But that didn''t mean she was useless. I waited for a few seconds and internally smirked when I saw some of the Confuse Rays hanging back and more appear around each of Fross'' clones. "Go in and Rock Slide from below," I said. The rock type kicked up dust and rocks as she let out the pressurized air out of her cocoon and rushed forward. She expertly navigated the field of Confuse Rays¡ª and I could tell Denzel had not expected that. The frozen ground below her feet rumbled as rocks burst out and tried to swallow her and her clones whole. Three of them disappeared, but the rest dispersed and escaped, slipping into another ne of existence. The remaining Confuse Rays fizzled out. Where''s Blizzard? I thought to myself as the rocks copsed back to the floor. Without amand from Denzel, Hail began to form near the arena''s ceiling and crashed toward the ground, chipping at Pupitar''s armor. "Ice Shard!" Denzel yelled. The ghost and her clones appeared all around Sweetheart and small shards of ice broke against her. I bit the inside of my lip and recalled her. I''d be fighting from behind, but she''d done enough scouting while taking minimal amounts of damage. One, Denzel wasn''t using Blizzard for whatever reason. Two, Fross had gotten good enough with Double Team to make the clones'' attacks actually take a physical form. I hadn''t been sure with the Confuse Rays, but this confirmed it. I released Angel next and immediately called out for a Sunny Day. "Don''t let them! Confuse Ray!" "Knock Off the lights," I added. He''d probably expected Sunny Day to take as long as it had against Maylene, but it came in only a few seconds. A strange light began to shine and weakened the Hail. We wouldn''t get the full benefits from Chlorophyll, and Fross'' Hail wouldn''t deal as much damage either. When Fross formed three more clones and sent out the Confuse Rays again, I realized that her hard limit was ten¡ª unless it was a trick. Angel''s vines exploded out of his body, each of them wreathed in darkness and reflecting no light. He swatted the Confuse Rays like bugs, and they dissolved with pained screams. Denzel''s fist stayed clenched and tightened for the next five seconds, and he let out the smallest hint of a sigh. "Blizzard." Why was Blizzard a disappointment? What was he hiding? "Ancient Power," I said. We only had a few seconds to work with. Tangrowth encased himself in rocks, leaving only the top bare, and the battlefield was engulfed in the snowstorm right as he finished the fourth wall. That meant that we weren''t benefitting from Chlorophyll, at least for now, and I couldn''t see or hear anything. Just the howling of the wind and the frost battering against the psychic barrier. I bit the inside of my lip until the Blizzard wavered earlier than usual, and I couldn''t help but internally scream for joy. The fact that we''d made no roof had been a bait for Fross to attack, and she''d bitten. The Blizzard dissolved, revealing Tangrowth''s copsed frozen walls of protection, and I saw him squeezing the life out of Fross with Knock Off. The entire field had been overtaken by a thickyer of snow and his body was coated in a thickyer of frost. Denzel swept his arm. "Push through! Freeze the vines and escape!" "Leech Seed!" I yelled. Seeds exploded out of Angel and three of themnded on the ice type before she could freeze Angel''s vines and break free. She was struggling to do it through dark TE, but we weren''t anywhere as good as Chase and Cecilia in that regard. Fross flickered in and out of reality, her eyes zed over and unfocused as the Leech Seed slowly drained her energy. I normally would have used spore attacks here, but Fross didn''t breathe. "Crush some rocks and throw ''em," I continued. Angel divided his copsed walls into smaller shards, and then swept them within his vines, throwing dozens of them at a time. We''d taken inspiration from my battle with Roark for that little trick. Fross cried out in pain as the rocks tore through her body and she began to leak ghostly energy. "Frost Breath!" Denzel screamed. "Ancient Power!" Her weakness bought us the precious second we needed. The air in front of Fross grew so cold it was freezing over and blew toward Angel, who raised another four walls around himself. I internally swore when her clones started reappearing. Was that why he hadn''t been using Blizzard? Because she couldn''t maintain them while using the move? They certainly were a lot more annoying to deal with than some snow. Angel beat the clones with Knock Off, the ones he managed to hit disintegrated in one attack. The ones that didn''t, though, created Ice Shards that buried themselves inside of him and Frost Breaths that rendered his vines unusable¡ª And the real Fross¡ª the one with the Leech Seed¡ª created ten icicles above Angel and let them drop. We''d trapped ourselves in our own barrier and the move was undodgeable. The grass type''s vines wriggled in agony as each Icicle stabbed into Angel''s body. Damn, Fross was tough to crack. But she''d been weakened enough for what I needed. It was time to pull on Angel''s first and only anti-Fross contingency n. "Copse the walls and detach!" I yelled. I reveled in the confusion in Denzel''s eyes. "Keep your distance and keep attacking! Ice Shard and Frost Breath!" Angel dissolved thest two clones with a Knock Off as Fross created another ten and they all used Frost Breath in congruence. Angel pushed himself to the right using the few rays of sunlight that shone through the hail and ran using his vines. He was almost permanently suspended in the air and almost slipped on the snow multiple times. The grass type circled around the Fross and ten of his vines turned dark. Then, they detached from his body and flew toward the real Fross. The ice type screamed, and clones bunched themselves up in front of her body and attempted to freeze them. But I''d sent ten for a reason, and the darkness was a nice protective coat against ice Type Energy. They wrapped around Fross and her clones like asso, and they all dissolved, leaving only the real body. "Knock Off!" I yelled. Angel mmed another vine against Fross, but he only opened a deep gash against the snowy floor. Denzel recalled her with a relieved sigh and thought for a few seconds on who to send out. He decided to y his hand early and use Roserade. The mboyant grass type red at Angel. She''d never liked him, mostly because she considered him simple-minded. Her poison would make minced meat out of him. It pained me to be behind in switches right after I''d equalized the match, but there was too much risk involved with letting Tangrowth fight Roserade. I retrieved him and released Honey instead, much to Denzel''s annoyance. Without Fross and Angel here, the Hail and the sun were on their way out and would be gone in the next minute. "Poison the field," Denzel ordered. My eye twitched as gallons of noxious, purple liquid so toxic that the ground began to melt sipped out of Roserade''s flowers. At first, it only contaminated the ground around her, but her eyes shone and it began to seep further. I recognized that move. Extrasensory. Approaching her would be devastating for us, and the more we waited, the more the poison would spread. "Thunderbolt," I muttered. The attack was practically instant. Electricity zipped toward Roserade and ransacked through her body, but the fact that she was a grass type meant that she''d be able to take plenty of these. Still, Honey wasn''t the same as he used to be. He had stamina to work with now, and these were too quick for Roserade to dodge. The poison type grunted as the fourth Thunderbolt singed her right in the head, and she began to run forward, bringing poison wherever she went. "Sludge Wave!" Denzel yelled. For the first time, my air of calmness broke. A wave of poison rose behind Roserade and the grass type threw it all toward Electabuzz. It was literally a tidal wave that was twice his height and left nowhere to dodge. Holy fuck. That was power. "Screech until you have to Protect!" I cried out. The electric type''s chest swelled as he inhaled and screamed. I still hadn''t gotten used to the sound, and I had to cover my ears as the move''s sheer force pushed back the poison around him until the vast majority had cleared. He pulled up the transparent green barrier and waited until the poisonous sea had turned back into a puddle. We couldn''t be defensive, or we''d drown. "Go in and Ice Punch," I said. Honey blurred forward, and every time he lifted a foot, he''d lost more of his fur and even some of his skin. Ice surrounded the electric type''s fists as he closed in on Roserade. "Extrasensory and whittle him down!" Denzel ordered. Honey snarled as he sped up, and electricity crackled through his fur. He broke against the Extrasensory so quickly that his fist reached Roserade''s face and punched her and sent her flying back. The grass type screeched, scrambling back up as sharpened leaves flew out of her petals, but a quick, low-powered Discharge from Honey fried all of them before they could reach us. "Again!" I yelled. We couldn''t afford to give them time to recover. "Spore¡ª" "Don''t!" I added, speaking over him. Electabuzz slid against the poison and quickly rushed out of the powder''s range, but the poison was slowly stacking up, and it was almost as if it subtly tried to climb higher than his ankles. I''d wanted to save this for future Pokemon, but I couldn''t allow Roserade to take us down here, or I''d go from being at a slight disadvantage to losing. "Thunder," I breathed. Electabuzz bared his teeth, pushing through the pain, and electricity ran through his fur as his body began to hum. The electric type spun his arms, and Denzel''s hair began to stand on end. "Seed Bomb! Break his focus!" Denzel said. With a quiet nod, Roserade pointed her arms forward and sent out a series of exploding seeds, but they were underestimating us. We''d trained since Sceon for this. The explosions rocked the arena, kicking up rocks and poison until the nefarious liquid rained down all over the field. And then, an enormous Thunder broke loose with a deafening roar. The attack blinded me, but I bared and squinted through it. The poison at Honey''s feet evaporated and turned into noxious smoke while fissures and gashes opened up everywhere the electricity touched. The loud aftershocks drowned out Roserade''s screams, and the grass type convulsed against the floor. Honey took a deep breath, and I could tell he was kind of tired, but we needed to push while she was down. "Fire Punch," I said. Not missing a beat, Electabuzz'' fists caught on fire and the electric type blurred toward Roserade. Denzel grimaced and recalled his Roserade before she could get hit. He hadn''t expected such a powerful moveing from us, and it was a good thing I''d only told Cece and Erin about it. He ran a hand through his hair, and then sent out Fross again. I wasn''t surprised, especially when Honey didn''t really have reliable ways to defend himself against sustained attacks and we couldn''t exactly fight back. "Blizzard!" He immediately barked. The ice type was still tired from her short fight with Angel, but the attack was second nature to her now. She would easily dodge Thunderbolt and Thunder, and getting up close was impossible with a floating ghost. "Get in there and Discharge," I said. Electabuzz ran, leaving behind him a trail of electricity and he jumped as high as he could before the full force of the Blizzard appeared. Electricity erupted around him and Fross cried out, but she managed to finish up her Blizzard. Without dark type moves, throwing her off her game was impossible. I grabbed Honey''s Pokeball and recalled him before the Blizzard could deal too much damage. He was my best possible counter against Roserade. This was it. No more switching. No more musical chairs. Just Fross obviously noticed that I''d switched, because she ended her Blizzard early to save her energy. I could have spent the full thirty seconds allowed between switches wasting her stamina, but she was smarter than that. Even if there was now a thickyer of ice over the poison, sending out Angel here again wouldn''t work, especially when they knew our trick now and would be warier, so I released Princess. The cold would seep past her shield some, but she was my best bet. Plus, we''d been working on a new appliance for Ancient Power specifically for matchups like these where she would get swarmed and overwhelmed. The fairy type immediately ripped out some chunks of earth from below the ground, and the stones began orbiting her. "This is it! Double Team and send your clones! You stay back and Hail!" Denzel yelled. This is it? That was his n, then. The ice type split into ten once more and all of the appearances rushed toward Princess while the real Fross sang, calling forth another Hail. The chunks of ice broke against Togetic''s barrier, but it would be additional pressure on her. The clones spewed a Frost Breath that froze even the air, and they were smart enough not to get in the range of Dazzling Gleam. Togetic grunted as two of her stones melded and stretched into a wall, but the rest of the clones circled around her as they kept their attacks going. "Shrapnel." The wall stretched around Togetic''s entire body, using all of the rocks she had, and then it exploded everywhere. They tore through the clones'' bodies, and they disappeared with pained screams. Some even impacted Princess'' barrier, but none of it went through. With a soft grunt, the stones immediately circled around her like the rings of a and rebuilt themselves intorger chunks. It was a perfect attack to take care of enemies surrounding her without putting down her barrier. "Keep those for defense!" I yelled before snapping. "Extrasensory and spears!" Denzel''s face went through numerous expressions as the air around Fross blurred and the ghost was stuck. She tried disappearing, but even while she was gone, Princess wouldn''t let her go. Spears flew toward the ice type with a spin and stabbed into every inch of her body. Fross'' bright yellow eyes dimmed, and she fainted, falling on the floor without a single sound. It had been a trick to catch them off-guard, and it had worked. A brutal misdirection that didn''t leave them time to switch, just how I loved them. By the time he''d grabbed Fross'' Pokeball, it had been toote. Denzel took a deep breath, no doubt to calm himself down as he recalled Fross and sent out Roserade again. Her body was still smoking from the Thunder that had hit her minutes earlier. "Extrasensory," I immediately ordered. Psychic would be better, but I didn''t want us to get too close. "Counter it and Poison Cutter!" Denzel yelled. Poison Cutter? That had to be the same as Water Cutter, I quickly thought. He''d taken inspiration, then. Both Pokemons'' eye shone as they engaged in a mental battle. Roserade let out a soft cry as Princess'' psychic powers slowly beat out hers and the space around her slowly began to turn. Roserade aimed a hand forward¡ª "Shield yourself with rocks too!" Imanded. ¡ªand let loose a powerful stream of poison as thin as aser toward Princess. The fairy type stuck the stones together and formed them into one big barrier, but the poison was so potent that it melted right through the rocks and Princess'' barrier. Togetic cried out as the fur on her chest sizzled and the poison ate at her skin, exposing her pink flesh. The attack was short, so still blockable by Honey''s Protect, which was probably why she hadn''t used it against him. Either that, or they''d wanted to keep it a surprise, and fuck, it worked. Honey was truly my only counter. Anyone else though? There was nothing we''d be able to do to stop it. I couldn''t let her see this through. "Spears! Stab her and Air Cutter!" I yelled. "Again!" "Layers!" I added. Princess was still staggered and reeling from the pain, but the remainder of the rocks around her turned into a multitude ofyers as the flying type lowered herself and pulled a few spears to chuck at Roserade. They stayed low to the ground, and the grass type opted to take the attack to attempt another hit. She lowered herself to one knee, taking aim with a closed eye, and the small jet of poison beelined toward Princess. It melted through everyyer. Slower, this time, but it did. The spears stabbed into Roserade''s shoulder and gut, and a half-formed Air Cutter hit her in the back as well. Air Cutter would deal more damage, but the pain from stabbing? That would stay, and hopefully throw her focus off. Roserade could barely move without feeling agony through her wounds and screamed out in frustration. "Again!" Denzel yelled. Now that we''d stabbed her, we could focus entirely on Air Cutter. I ordered Togetic to use the move, and it came much quicker this time, cutting Roserade to ribbons while the poison type again inflicted incredible damage on Princess. She finally fainted after the third hit, and her body was in a terrible state. Almost no fur to speak of except on her face, which had been spared by Roserade because this was a friendly battle. I wiped my sweaty hands against my skirt and pondered on who to use next¡ª "Synthesis!" Denzel ordered. But that was thrown out the window when a yellow glow overtook Roserade and she began to heal from the damage Princess had dealt. I immediately sent out Honey, who was the only one who would be able to counter Poison Cutter. Buddy could potentially hide on the ground, but that would mean we weren''t attacking, and mere shades would be destroyed by Roserade before they could strike. Luckily, the spears were still prating her body, and she couldn''t exactly get them out¡ª not without hands, and using poison at the force needed to melt them would hurt Roserade as well. "Spore Bomb!" Denzel yelled. Roserade grunted in pain as she angled her two flowers forward, and multicolored spores flew toward Honey. The electric type blurred forward, avoiding it by arge margin he as awaited my next order. "Magical Leaf!" Denzel said. "Discharge!" I countered. This time, multicolored leaves flew out of Roserade''s flowers, and just likest time, Discharge easily dispatched of them. Roserade kept throwing attacks at Honey, who countered with Thunderbolt and dodged many times. For four minutes, Roserade healed any damage we''d done with more Synthesises. We were both at a bit of an impasse here. I wanted to get close to use Fire or Ice Punch, but I couldn''t because that would open us up to more Poison Cutters. Honey wouldn''t have the time to put up a Protect if he was at point-nk range, and I wasn''t sure if Screech would allow us an opening. I couldn''t take risks now that I was out of switches. Thunder would be too slow to charge up too. At least the floor wasn''t poisonous this time, because Denzel knew he would have no way to turn it back to normal for his other Pokemon. I leaned against my knees as Electabuzz roared out another Thunderbolt, and Roserade tried to catch him off-guard with more spores. He slipped away before they could even cling to his fur, and every time they were too many, he simply Screeched them away. But slowly, we were inching our way toward a victory. Inch by inch, Roserade''s Synthesis grew weaker and our Thunderbolts didn''t waver one bit. Denzel''s lips went t when he realized he wouldn''t be able to oust us, and he finally decided to use hisst switch of the battle. The fact that Roserade was in the back was worrying, but I''d leave that for future me and Buddy. Denzel sent out Sylveon, who stared at Honey with disdain and unblinking eyes. The mour around his short fur materialized in an instant, and he grew slightly blurry at the edges. "Thunder," I immediately said. They were far enough for us tounch the attack. Electricity hummed through Electabuzz''s body and crackled through his fur. Denzel winced. He knew Detect wouldn''t be enough. Thunder was no Thunderbolt. It was too wide and struck in every direction. "Swift ASAP!" Denzel ordered. "Break his focus!" If Seed Bomb hadn''t worked, Swift would not, but Denzel had always been a positive one. Sylveon ran forward, ignoring the immense power that was about to course through his body and fry him alive as pink stars appeared around him and flew toward Honey. They winked out and seemed to appear next to him quicker than they should have, and the electric type grunted as they spun and dug into his skin like saws. That was new, I muttered. But still not enough. Blood seeped from Electabuzz''s wounds, but he did not waver. He would not. Honey let the Thunder loose, and I covered my eyes once more as multiple explosions rocked the arena. Ice broke and shattered under the move''s weight, and Sylveon''s mour disintegrated in one attack. Unfortunately, it had still shielded him from the vast majority of the damage, and he''d gotten away with minor burns on his fur. Honey heaved as the fairy type got ever closer. "Screech and Thunderbolt!" I yelled. "Detect and y Rough!" Electabuzz bellowed all of the air out of his lungs, and Sylveon winced. His ears went t against his head and a short Thunderbolt impacted his neck, and the fairy type convulsed on the floor. Denzel clenched his teeth, and I stared right at him. I will never let you use Detect. "Keep your distance and Thunderbolt," I continued. There was no way to beat Sylveon up close, especially with how exhausted Honey was getting. One more Thunder left. I swallowed when I saw that Sylveon''s ribbons all converged toward Honey even when the fairy type was ying dead. Electabuzz side-stepped a ribbon that whipped against the ground and ran off. My eye twitched when it extended way past its normal length and tripped him before wrapping around his leg. Sylveon slowly stood as he tilted his head and stared at me. The ribbons slowly dragged Electabuzz toward him, and despite being able to push through the ribbons''pulsive soothing, he wasn''t able to break free. "Thunder!" I yelled. This one even caught Denzel off-guard. He hadn''t expected three. Electricity coursed through Sylveon''s ribbons as Honey charged the attack¡ª "y Rough, now!" Sylvi''s ribbons shone pink, and lifted Honey in the air like he weighted nothing. He began beating him against the ground like a ragdoll over and over, but Thunder didn''t require much focus. It was a burst of a massive amount of electric TE in a general direction. The electricity intensified until Sylveon started weakening. "Let go and Disarming Voice!" Denzel yelled. I clicked my tongue. I already knew what wasing. Sylveon screamed, and the electricity around Honey dimmed, burying at least half of the time we''d charged the attack. It allowed the fairy type to keep beating Honey up without restraint, and he fainted soon enough. I smiled as I recalled him. So much progress. This battle and our old ones were like night and day. I had a Pokemon deficit now, but Roserade''s stamina was done for and Sylveon''s mour was gone. I just needed someone to push through. I sent out Buddy, who floated high up in the air away from Sylveon''s ribbons. Using him guaranteed Roserade would be next if I knocked out Sylveon, but that was perfectly fine. There was a long-term n at y here. Like in the battle with Maylene, he left the tiniest part of his body the closest he could have it. This time, however, it clung to the barrier right in front of me. "Swift!" Denzel yelled. "Disarming Voice if he gets close!" Now, Sylveon''s weakness could truly shine. The invisible Swift only tickled Buddy, and the gashes in his body regenerated right away. It was the next order that made me panic. "Wish!" I was on a timer. "Shades, Poison Sting and Hydro Pump," I said in quick session. Sylveon cried out, and a light flew out of his forehead and through the ceiling while shadows weaved and intertwined, creating two silent shades. The water type had instinctively understood me. The Shades reared their heads and spat out a multitude of Poison Stings, which Sylveon desperately ran away from, but there were too many to dodge and he couldn''t use Detect forever. The Shades cornered him together, and the spikes buried themselves deep in Sylveon''s hide, slowly secreting their poison. Jellicent, meanwhile, inhaled as his head swelled twice the usual size, and a stream of water powerful enough to dent steel washed over the arena, destroying much of the remaining ice and throwing Sylveon against the left side of the barrier. "Swift and run away!" Denzel yelled. Obviously he wanted to stall this, but¡ª I stopped my train of thought and blinked. "Keep attacking," I ordered. "Use Water Pulse." I sensed the ghost type''s confusion, but he listened without hesitating. Sylveon was put under a true deluge. One of the shades covered him with brine, and the raindrops stabbed into him like knives. The other kept harassing him with Poison Sting and Buddy himself kept to the skies and used a multitude of moves. Water Pulse, Shadow Ball, Bubblebeam¡ª anything that was appropriate for the situation. Sylveon retaliated, of course, but he only had Swift to work with. No Moonst yet. The pink stars prated one of the shades and caused it to explode, but we weren''t green with the tactic anymore. They were spaced out at all times to avoid coteral damage. Buddy simply let out a series of loud clicks, and a Night Shade formed anew. And then, the Wish returned from the skies, healing Sylveon''s wounds. "Finish him," I instantly said. Buddy''s red eyes glinted, and two Hydro Pumps and another set of Poison Stings immediately rushed toward Sylveon. The fairy type gargled on the water and was continuously kept in the right corner of Denzel''s side of the arena due to Hydro Pump''s sheer force and pressure. Half of the Poison Sting didn''t even make it because of the water, but that was perfectly fine. Sylveon fainted, unable to fight back in any way, shape, or form. Wish had made me panic at first, but then I realized that there was simply no way for Sylveon to even make use of it. Roserade, however, would have. The best choice had been to let the Wishplete and destroy Sylveon before he could use another one. Denzel recalled the fairy type and immediately sent out Roserade, just like I''d predicted. Predictions didn''t matter much if I lost, however. It was time to bring back an old trick. "Mist," I said as I subtly motioned my fingers downward. "Keep the shades on the defense." "Magical Leaf!" Denzel ordered. Jellicent inhaled, and he started spitting out a thick, cold mist that fell toward the floor. Roserade, now freed from the spears, quickly moved her arms in one smooth motion and released sharpened, multicolored leaves that flew toward the ghost. The Shades weren''t equipped to stop such an attack. One of them summoned a Shadow Ball that split and released the smaller attacks like a machine gun, and they mmed into the grass type, creating a continuous, small explosion. The other Night Shade quickly floated in the way of the attack. It absorbed some of the hits, but exploded soon after, grazing Buddy in the process. The rest of the leaves buried themselves inside of the water type, who let out multiple, booming cries. "Hide!" I eximed. Jellicent lowered himself into the mist, and he would now be out of view from me, Denzel and Roserade. My best friend didn''t even pause. "Seed Bomb! Disperse the mist!" The explosions rocked the field and the heat turned the remaining mist back into water, which dripped onto the remaining ice and rock. Roserade readied herself to send another Magical Leaf toward Buddy, but she blinked when she saw that he wasn''t there. Not missing a beat, she dispatched the other Shade before it could attack again, and it sported a furious expression before exploding. "He''s underground! Synthesis!" The poison type shone, using thest remaining bits of energy to regenerate herself from the damage from Shadow Ball. I had no idea how she was still doing so. It was like squeezing water from a stone. Since we hadn''t managed to stop her before that, I decided to stay silent. And so we waited. For thirty seconds, nothing happened. I just let the tension build. Denzel and Roserade''s eyes darted around the arena, waiting for anything to happen, but nothing ever did. Until now. "Drown and Hex!" Buddy emerged from under Roserade and enveloped her. He had no form and continuously shifted as the grass type squirmed and fought to get out of his hold. Only his shining red eyes were still recognizable. At the same time, a vicious Hex hit Roserade and caused her to writhe in pain. The grass type thrashed around as violently as she could, hitting Jellicent with sharp leaves, spores and poison from the inside. This was risky, but we needed to take Roserade down. "Seed Bomb!" Denzel yelled. "Solidify!" In an instant, Jellicent''s body grew less transparent and Roserade slowed until she keptpletely still. I squinted as multiple explosions shook the water type from the inside and internally swore when his body dispersed. They were too powerful for us to keep Roserade trapped. Buddy split into hundreds of pieces that slithered across the floor and returned to our side of the arena. When he reformed, his body was infused with poison and tinted purple. Roserade used another set of Seed Bombs, but Buddy easily avoided the attack by propelling himself upward with Water Sport. "Magical Leaf!" Again, Roserade let loose sharpened leaves that followed Jellicent wherever he went and cut him apart before he quickly regenerated. It was the only super effective move they could hit us with, but it was still destroying us, especially with the poison eating away at Buddy''s energy. "Night Shade. Bombard her." The water type boomed, summoning half-formed misshapen shadows that looked nothing like him. With a silent, rageful scream, they all barreled toward Roserade. She grunted as Denzel barked for a Poison Cutter. The thin jet of poison cut the Shades apart, exploding them in one attack, but there were too many, and even if they sometimes aimed at the real body, he regenerated the damage as best he could. Buddy had traded time for utility, and eventually, a Night Shade mmed into Roserade, exploding into thick, shadowy smoke. The grass type reeled as she tried to keep her Poison Cutters going, but those two seconds of inattention were what we needed. More impacts than I could count destroyed Roserade and brought the grass type to her knees until she finally fell unconscious, poison dripping from her flowers. I sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Rx, I told myself. I was slipping back into my old ways and showing what I felt. I hadn''t cleared my mind before this battle like I had before my fight with Maylene, and we had basically passed the length of that battling with all the stalling. Focus. Don''t slip. Denzel used the full thirty seconds and released Milotic onto the field. At this point, it was a mix of overturned earth, ice, and water. "Bomb him," I said again. The poison was eating through Buddy''s energy, but if we could deal as much damage as we could, then we''d be in a great position. "Dragon Pulse the ground!" Denzel yelled. A turquoise beam of draconic energy mmed against the floor, slowly creating a crater that Milotic sunk in while the Shades floated toward the water type as fast as they could. I internally smiled when they all hit their mark, and ordered Buddy to summon another wave. "Surf," Denzel continued. Milotic spat out gallons of water as the shades around him exploded. The liquid dulled the explosions, but his scales were beginning to crack and he was struggling. Milotic filled his crater with water until it was full. "Aqua Ring and Recover!" He said. I''d known about Aqua Ring, but not Recover. Milotic went as deep as he could under the water and shone with a pale blue as lights spun around him. This was bad news. I''d wanted to expose his flesh to poison him with Poison Sting, but that wouldn''t work now that Milotic was as good as new. "Twister!" Denzel yelled. "Get in that water and Absorb," I muttered, motioning him underground again. The jelly-like liquid clinging to the barrier wriggled. "Don''t wait, strike right away." The air quickly begin to spin as Milotic sang, infusing it with draconic energy, but it barely hit Buddy before he slipped through the floor. Panic marred Denzel''s eyes. He hadn''t heard what I had said, only seen my lips move, and I had kept this tactic for an asion like this after being inspired by the battle between Jasmine and Craig. Buddy''s hearing wasn''t good enough for this, but he could use a piece of himself to look at me and hear. Denzel was a Pokemon behind, clenching his fists and probably repeatedly telling himself that he could still do this. This was a new element added to the mix that he hadn''t expected since I hadn''t used it before. I wanted him to spiral. Denzel nervously licked his lips, but flinched when Jellicent appeared in Milotic''ske and wrapped his body around him. The whish he''d felt from us waiting for so long the first time we''d hid hit just like I wanted it to, and he took two seconds to say his nextmand. Two seconds where Absorb could hit. "Recover and Dragon Pulse!" Denzel ordered. "Oust him!" "Whirlpool," I whispered. The water spun, speeding up until the two Pokemon became a blur of color. Multiple Dragon Pulses mmed against Jellicent and disintegrated parts of his body, but the water type didn''t even bother to regather them. He wanted to save as much energy as he could, squeezing the life out of Milotic until he fell. They fought for an entire two minutes, Jellicent losing more and more mass until a final Dragon Pulse finished him off. The water clinging to the barrier fell, and the ghost type reflexively formed into a puddle I could recall. Milotic was unwounded, if just a bit tired. The Aqua Ring continuously spun around the water type as he sunk back into the calming waters. I immediately sent out Tangrowth and exhaled. Lopunny wouldn''t have been able to finish off Buddy as easily as Milotic did, but for that, he''d have to contend with this fight. There was also a risk that he''d known and that he had a tactic to counter us. Angel shook off the ice that Fross had left on him and blinked at the water type, his vines shaking in excitement. "Sunny Day and get in there," I immediately said. "Dragon Pulse!" A second sun shone once more, and it would until Angel won or fell. The intensity of the Aqua Ring lowered under the light''s power. Wasting no time, Milotic peeked out of the water with a Dragon Pulse already formed, and it immediately mmed into a hastily erected barrier. Angel rushed toward theke, but attacks from Milotic slowed him down so much and forced him to keep raising walls with Ancient Power. The water type switched things up, using Twister instead to slow him down further. Angel''s loose vines spun in the wind as the grass type shut his eyes due to the pain. Somehow, Milotic could both maintain the Twister and use Dragon Pulse at the same time. He was buying time and basically stalling me. I needed to break the dam, but Leech Seed and powder moves would just get lost in the tornado. It was so powerful that he''d take at least two more minutes to get to Milotic, even with the power of the sun at his back. I bit my lip, and then blinked. "Ancient Power! Give yourself a kick!" A small pir of rock burst behind Angel and mmed him at full force, sending him through the Twister. The grass type wasted no time, immediately propelling himself forward with his vines before Milotic could create a new Twister to trap him in. Once he got close enough, his vines surged forward. "Giga Drain!" I yelled. "Surf!" Denzel countered. All of the water from theke burst out and barreled toward Angel. The goal here wasn''t damage, but to keep the grass type away from Milotic at all costs. Even with the sun, the current proved too much and pushed Tangrowth back. "Anchor yourself!" I barked. Denzel snapped, "Twister!" Ten vines shone neon green with a Power Whip and dug into the floor as the water broke against the grass type. The rest of them still continued above the water and wrapped around Milotic''s neck. The water type was too heavy for us to lift, but he squeezed as hard as he could as he began draining his energy and the vines gleamed with a dull green. "Disarming Voice!" Denzel said with a hand around his jeans. "Hit him!" Milotic opened his mouth, but some of Angel''s vines immediately intertwined and a Power Whip mmed against Milotic''s face. The Disarming Voice came out a nonsensical mess, but Angel''s hold over the water type still loosened slightly. But not enough for him to escape. The Surf finally ended, and Angel quickly pulled back the vines that he had attached himself with. The grass type closed the distance between him and Milotic and continuously hit with and drained his energy. Every time he tried to attack, Tangrowth would hit him with another Power Whip so strong that the only ones he could use were the quickest ones. Milotic kept himself to Dragon Breath, but soon enough, Denzel clicked his tongue. "I''m withdrawing Milotic out of the fight," he said, recalling the water type. That had been smart, but it was a littlete. Angel had still drained much of Milotic''s energy and used it to recover himself. Denzel cracked his fingers and sent out Lopunny. When she saw who she was fighting, her fists, feet and ears burst into mes, and the small amount of water under her feet that hade from Surf turned to vapor. I knew the normal type would dominate Sweetheart with her speed and Power-Up Punches, and unlike what I''d considered at the start of the battle, I had no more swaps to fall back on. If she defeated Angel, they''d actually have the advantage again. Denzel knew it. It was the only thing keeping him from getting lost in negative thoughts and making him battle worse. The buck stopped here. "Fake out!" Denzel ordered. Lopunny blurred impossibly fast and mmed both fists deep inside of Angel''s body. They''dbined Fake out and Fire Punch somehow. The grass type blinked and took a step back¡ª "Power-Up Punch!" And was barraged by fiery kicks, punches and hits with Lopunny''s ears. They''dbined those too! "Spores!" I snapped, bringing my arm forward. "And stop your Sunny Day!" Lopunny blurred back from the quick burst of spores as fast as she could, but even if she''d held her breath, they still clung to the non-burning parts of her fur and she would inhale them as the fight went on. The second sun dimmed, petering out into nothing, and Lopunny''s fire type attacks weakened slightly. "Grab her!" I yelled. "Dodge and Shadow Ball! If he catches you, it''s over!" The normal type backflipped, twirling in the air as she turned into a ball of mes thanks to her ears. She burned Angel''s vines away, and the spores on her fur. Still in the air, Lopunny gathered the shadows in front of her mouth and spat out a Shadow Ball toward Angel, which he blocked with Ancient Power. "Copse the wall and throw the rocks at her," I said. The grass type swept his vines and gathered as many rocks as he could, throwing them toward Lopunny. The normal type waited until thest moment and dodged with a jump so powerful it left another crater behind her. "Bounce!" Denzel yelled. So he was going for broke, then, I quickly thought. "Spores and Ancient Power!" The normal type turned into a ming meteorite as the air pushed her forward. More spores quickly exploded out of Angel, and he raised a thick wall in front of him. Lopunny grunted as she burst through the wall in an instant. She''d used too many Power-Up Punches. The spores around Angel themselves caught on fire and his vines started to burn to a crisp. Even without Sunny Day, she''d gotten so good at elemental attacks that this was second nature to her. "Hit her away!" Even beneath the fire, I could see Knock Off''s enveloping darkness. The energy coated some of the vines enough to keep them from burning, and Angel whipped her right nk at full force. The normal type tumbled to the ground and slid as the mes returned to her extremities. Even after all of this, Angel was still burning. The grass type sent out another set of vines and tried to grab at Lopunny''s arms and legs. She side-stepped and ducked, crouching against the floor and then kept backing up. "Wait him out! Run¡ª" Denzel said. "Walls!" Three walls erupted around Lopunny and the normal type bumped her back against the rock. She''d been running backwards at full force. There was an opening for Angel to grab her, but Lopunny jumped¡ª And promptly hit her head on a half-formed ceiling. Arceus, that training with the pirs had worked wonders. Tangrowth was nothing but a few vines and the dark body within at this point, but he was still hidden by the fire. He didn''t even waste an instant and five vines¡ª the only ones that remained usable¡ª wrapped around Lopunny''s arms and legs. The normal type burned, and fire enveloped her entire body once more, but she was no fire type and I could tell she wasn''t experienced with it because it hurt her as well. Denzel couldn''t see what was happening to her, but he desperately craned his neck and yelled out her name. Lopunny grunted as the Knock Offs impacted her, and she was forced to end her me body, lest she choke on the fire. The walls copsed as Tangrowth finally fell. He''d been burned to a crisp. I softly thanked him as I recalled him. Lopunny was done for too. I kept a hand on Sweetheart''s Pokeball as the normal type struggled to stand up. She raised herself with her hands, but then fell t. I''d won. Denzel''s shoulders sagged as he recalled Lopunny. The first thought that flooded my mind wasn''t the tion of victory, although that came second. I''d defeated Denzel. I''d won. And that was a big deal. No. What was at the forefront of my mind were new ways to fight that I hadn''t considered before. New moves, new applications for already-existing moves, things we needed to practice more before the battle with Volkner. It was ideas.
Chapter 225 Chapter 225 CHAPTER 225 Denzel took a few breaths as the reality of his loss sunk in and the cheers from the crowd flooded his ears. He clipped Lopunny''s Pokeball to his side and sighed with sagging shoulders. All of the adrenaline from the battle was leaving him at once, and it sure wasn''t helping with the disappointment he felt. He hopped off the elevated podium and toward Grace, who was frozen still and staring into the distance for some reason. It was only when he was basically almost there that she did the same and came to speak to him. Denzel outstretched a hand and she grabbed it before pulling him into a hug. She was sweaty, but he didn''t mind. "Congrats," he smiled. "How''s it feel?" He wasn''t bitter. Denzel had convinced himself he''d be the underdog since the day he challenged her, and he had expected it to be an uphill climb. Even more so now that she was hanging out with trainers so powerful they boggled the mind. Walking weapons of mass destruction that countries liked to unt and brag about, but that also kept each other in check. But damn it, was he disappointed in himself. "It feels¡­ well, revting," Grace answered. "Are you alright?" "I''ll be fine," he said. "I won''t lie though, it hurts." "Shit. Sorry." "Don''t apologize for winning, dude. I''ll live," Denzel said. "Uh, I''m gonna stop the stream and stuff for now." "Want to bring our teams to the Center after?" Grace asked. "I knew we said we''d hang out in two days, but now would be cool." "Eh, I''ll get back to you on that," Denzel hesitantly said. He couldn''t help but feel hurt at the disappointment on her face. "Don''t be like that. I''m fine, no joke. I just need a few hours to clear my mind and think on the battle. Rx." "If you say so. We''re all one phone call away¡ª" "Yes Mom," he groaned. "See you soon, alright?" Denzel patted her on the back and pushed her toward Cece and Erin who were waiting for her with wide smiles. The former raised a hand at him and shot him an apological look when their eyes met. He smiled at her and waved back before making his way toward his mounted phone, where Emilia and Pauline stood with saddened faces. They stayed silent and pointed at the phone, and he understood that they were asking him to end the stream so they could speak privately. Denzel''s eyes bulged when he saw the viewcount at 102,399 thousand. He spoke a few words to the stream and ended it, making sure to remind them to all subscribe. No doubt, he''d see a massive revenue bump from this and incredible growth for his channel. "Holy fuck, that was a lot of viewers," he said. "What did it peak at?" "118,000 or so," Emilia answered. "But Denzel, are you okay?" "Disappointed and angry at myself, but other than that, I''m fine." "That doesn''t sound too good. Do you want us to do anything, or¡ª" "Pauline, I''m fine. Well, actually, I won''t deny I feel like shit, but it''s nothing I can''t handle. This is something I learned to deal with months ago." "...If you say so." "Oh. When was this?" Emilia asked. "Back in Jubilife, Chase beat the crap out of Sylveon when he was just an Eevee and Ri was a Riolu. It was the first time we met actually," Denzel exined. "It took me a while to get out of that slump, but I did. I''m okay, I won''t spiral and start doubting myself or whatever. I''m a fucking good trainer, and I know it." The redhead smiled. "Cool." Chase was lucky Denzel hadn''t told her how much of an asshole he used to be, or he would have gotten an earful from her. Denzel sighed as he picked up his phone and folded the tripod. "But! Let me spend a few hours alone to get my thoughts in order." "I thought your thoughts were fine?" Emilia used as she crossed her arms. "You know what I mean," he rolled his eyes. "I''ll get my team to the Center and wander around and think about the meaning of what being a trainer is until I lose sight of myself and want to retire." He paused when both of his¡­ friends'' faces didn''t move. "That was a joke, guys," he said. "Okay, seriously though, I''m off." Denzel told the rest of his friends goodbye and made his way toward the Center, releasing Swablu on his head while he walked. Many in the crowd tried to hold him and ask him questions, some of which were very inmmatory, but he just used the convenient excuse that his team really needed to get to a Nurse Joy right now. He could have taken the bus, but he really felt the need to get blood pumping in his legs right now, and Sunyshore was a beautiful city. He could see why so many people had moved to it in recent years. Swablu chirped on his head as soon as he released her, and Denzel guessed what she had just asked. "We lost," he said. "4-5. You could have seen the battle if you weren''t so¡­ particr about interacting with others. Not everyone that isn''t me is dirty, you know?" The flying type bit and pulled at his hair in response, and he hissed out in pain. "Fine, fine," he sighed. "I''m bringing the others to a Center right now. Just rx and take in the sights." Swablu huffed and he felt her puff up her fluffy wings. She was quite a peculiar Pokemon, even after having known her for a few weeks. She was young, having hatched from an egg months prior, but she didn''t behave like his friends'' baby Pokemon. There was none of the cuteness there, only an aggressive tendency to destroy anything she didn''t like and a want for battle. That one would have to wait, unfortunately, since she was still ying catchup with the rest of the team. Milotic and the others liked to help her train, but Sylveon still hadn''t fully epted her. And she wasn''t even a dragon type yet. Denzel shivered at the thought of that. He handed his Pokemon to Nurse Joy and smiled at the trainers at the Pokemon Center that had been watching the battle. Normally he would have loved the attention, but that was thest thing he wanted right now. He slipped out as soon as he saw an opportunity to and decided to wander the streets once more. "What could I have done differently?" He muttered to himself. Because that was the entire crux of the issue, wasn''t it? A question that had haunted millions of trainers throughout all eras and all regions and one that he couldn''t shake right now. Should he have saved Roserade for Tangrowth after all? The fact that Fross lost to a grass type was still something that he hadn''t fully registered. That Knock Off trick had been vicious. Maybe he should have recalled Roserade as soon as Electabuzz showed his face¡­ yes, that he was sure of. Thunder had been wholly unexpected, and the fact that she''d almost used the move three times was awful. It would only go up from there¡ª Denzel jumped when Swablu alerted him by pulling on his hair. He''d nearly crossed the street while the light was red. "Thank you, Swablu," he muttered. "That was weird." He usually never got lost in his thoughts like that. "I should go and eat something," Denzel said. "Thinking over lunch sounds great right now." The teenager found the nearest restaurant on his phone and quickly asked for a table for one. Pokemon were thankfully allowed in the establishment, so Swablu stayed on his head. He had tried to ce her on the table or the chair in front of him, but she''d bitten his finger in protest. He ordered a pizza and returned to his thoughts, but he couldn''t help but think he was biased somehow. Trainers weren''t exactly the best at analyzing a battlepletely objectively, so Grace was kind of a monster in that regard. Seeing your ws exposed like that hurt, and it hurt even more to call them out. Better bury your head in the sand and me something else. He scrolled through the contacts on his phone as he clenched a fist. What he needed was someone with apletely unbiased and objective view. Someone that would be willing to call him out on anything he''d done wrong. He answered a few worried messages from his friends, sending a picture of himself and a scowling Swablu to their group chat. His finger hovered over Barry Lane''s number. Even if they''d told each other they''d hang out in Sunyshore, they hadn''t spoken since meeting that one time in Veilsone. He was the only person not in their friend group that wouldn''t be scared to set him straight. He called on his old friend, who picked up the phone instantly. He smiled when he saw that he hadn''t lost that old habit. Denzel''s mother would sometimes called his on theirndline and he would always answer the phone first. "Denzel! My old buddy old pal! What can I do for you on this beautiful day?" The way Barry spoke was a flurry of words, as always, like he was constantly in a hurry. "Want toe and eat with me?" Denzel asked. "I can drop you the address. I need you to discuss some battling issues with me." "Well, if it''s battling!" Barry eximed. "I''ll be right there!" "I haven''t even sent it to you yet." "I''m already running, so you better send it before I end up on the other side of the city." Denzel stayed silent for a few seconds and heard Barry''s stomping against the ground and his shallow breaths. "Okay, you''re actually serious. I''ll hang up, and you can check the messages for the address." ¡ª Barry leaned forward with terrible posture as he stared at Denzel''s phone and watched his battle with Grace. Somehow, he hadn''t known about it despite it being the only thing every first year could talk about online. Barry was the only person Denzel knew who was worse at keeping up with news than Grace. While they had a simr upbringing in Twinleaf, Denzel used the inte as much as he could to escape his boring life while Barry was just incapable of getting bored with what he already had. Swablu stared at whaty below the table with disgust and disdain. Barry''s Muncx was currently finishing his third meal and he would definitely ask for a fourth one. The normal type held his te up and slid all of his food down his mouth, not caring for all of the food he dropped on the ground in the process. Denzel could feel the waiters stare daggers in his and Barry''s back. He''d definitely clean up before leaving. "What a great battle!" Barry eximed. "Super, duper good. But, uh, why did you need me?" The short trainer looked at Denzel with light brown eyes that almost appeared orange and blinked. Even while eating, he always wore his green scarf. A heirloom left to him by his father before he left for the Battle Frontier. "I want advice," Denzel said. "You''re one of the best first-years¡ª" "I''m the best! I''m him!" Barry yelled. Barry wasn''t just among the best first years¡ª and definitely better than Denzel was. He was possibly the most random-minded trainer Denzel had ever seen at their level. People on the forums said that whenever someone battled Barry, they could never know what to expect, and he knew it to be true despite how rtively average his team was. Denzel had watched his battle against Maylene and saw how much he had angered her (it had been a while before her break). For example, his Staraptor knew Sunny Day and Heat Wave. His Rapidash knew Bounce and could somehow gallop across the air, raining fire down at her opponents, and she synergized perfectly with Staraptor. His Heracross had mastered his flying capabilities and could use them to create a sound that confused opponents. Empoleon was as good at using ice TE as his own Fross was and he used it to slide around the entire arena incredibly quickly. Muncx wasn''t good enough to battle yet, but he was sure he''d pull some simr tricks when he was. While Denzel''s Roserade had focused on her poison typing, Barry''s was focused on grass. And all of that was just the tip of the iceberg. He always pulled some insane shit that shouldn''t have been possible every time he popped up in an official battle. "Okay, let''s not yell in the middle of the restaurant, please," Denzel whispered with a hiss. "I wanted your advice. Completely unbiased. Justy it on me." "Well, there were mistakes on both sides, but it''s easy to say that from my seat," he rambled. "I think that you got too lost in your original strategy¡ª" "You know what I was doing?" "Well, you were trying to mentally exhaust her, it''s obvious. The stalling you did when switching, the healing moves, it was a pretty decent job, I''d say. But it wasn''t working, and you kept doing it and leaving her ample time to think!" "I fucking knew it¡ª" "I''d say the only time where that was the right decision was when you let the poison whittle down Jellicent before releasing your next Pokemon, but I mean, maybe it''s just me. I like fast-paced fighting better than this mind game stuff. I yell out what feels right at the moment. I don''t really know how you jive, so I don''t think it would work for you. This Grace Pastel fellow''s interesting, though. Is everyone in your group as good as you two?" "You met her in Veilstone," Denzel sighed. "Oh. I forgot." "And yeah, I''d say Chase, Lauren and Cecilia are that good," Denzel said, rubbing his chin. "Interested? You need more friends." "I''ll be fine. I can''t waste time when I''ve got to get my eight badges! I''m leaving for Pastoria when I get my team back." Denzel''s eyes bulged. "You won already?" "What do you think?" Barry grinned, shing the Beacon Badge on his trainer ID. "I won yesterday. I thought you of all people would know. I want to be the first first-year to get eight badges! That ought to impress my old man." "I was at a party yesterday," Denzel said. "Congrats, though. Happy for you. Shouldn''t you slow down and get your flying license, though? It''ll be convenient for¡­ Candice is your eighth badge, right?" "I''ll do that in Pastoria," he quickly dismissed. "I heard that¡ª" Barry stopped when he noticed that Muncx was tapping his feet for more food. "You''re ruining me," Barry smiled. "I''ll get you some¡­ what do you want? Is fish okay?" The normal type shrugged, probably saying that anything was fine so long as it got in his mouth. Denzel leaned down to look at Muncx and decided to talk to Barry about him. They were rare, and Craig had one. Plus, it wasn''t every day that he got Barry to stick to one ce for long. Keeping his attention was notoriously difficult. "How is taking care of a Muncx? Isn''t that expensive as hell?" "Yeah, but Professor Rowan sends me everything we need. That''s how I get my vitamins too," Barry exined. "This is just a treat." Denzel salivated at the thought of having a Professor sponsor him, but he knew that was a pipe dream. Barry had only been picked because Rowan knew his parents well. Palmer was well-acquainted with a lot of Sinnoh''s important people, and Professors were no different. "What else does Rowan send you?" He asked. "TMs, Ultra Balls, advice on how to raise each of my Pokemon and the exact nutrition they need. It''s annoying to keep track of, but it''s for their own good. He also sent me one of the few Shiny Stones he had stocked up for Roserade. In exchange, he asks me to catch some Pokemon to send back to hisb." "You can go past the six Pokemon rule?" "Duh. He''s a Professor, I get special perks," Barry said excitedly. "I''m still not allowed to keep them, but I can catch ''em and send them to him. Sometimes they stick around theb their entire lives, or he sends them back to where they lived after he''s done with them if they want to. That''s why the good old Professor wants me to get strong quickly. The more powerful I am, the more rare Pokemon I can find him. He''s been wanting to get his hands on a Carbink, but good luck finding a wild one outside of the deepest parts of Mount Cor. He''s got some wack theory about them having an evolution even though it''s never been proven." Denzel nodded. All of that made sense¡­ except one question he had. "Can''t he just buy them?" Denzel asked. "He''s a Professor, not a billionaire," he said. "He buys the ones he can, but a lot of Pokemon are too expensive. And if he can get them through me, why not save his cash?" "Right. Right. So is that how you taught your Staraptor Sunny Day and Rain Dance?" Denzel said. "Yeah! Rowan sent me the TMs for both. Reusable! I got Sandstorm and Hail too. Weather''s cool, but I kind of want him to get me Hyper Beam. He''s got a bunch of old TMs he stocked up through his career that he''s slowly giving me, just like the evolutionary stones. Obviously I have to give the TMs back when I''m done with them, though." "I guess that''s how your Pokemon know moves that arepletely crazy," Denzel said, leaning against a palm. "What''s next, a Rapidash with Sr Beam?" "Yeah, that''s in the works, actually," Barry said. "Anyways, TMs are great, but I still got to practice the moves for weeks before they''re usable. They''re only a baseline." "Yeah, obviously." "I need to get started on these custom moves. I''ve got some, but I''ve been relying on TMs for too long and your battle inspired me. That Poison Cutter was cool. I wonder if my Roserade can do the same thing, but with grass¡­ Grass Cutter?" "Yeah, I don''t think that''d work." The waiter arrived with Muncx''s fish. Denzel didn''t really know what it was, but the normal type inhaled it in seconds, bones and all. "I''ve got to go," Barry said, shooting up from his chair. "This was cool, but Muncx needs to train now. We''ve been working on Sleep Talk, but he just keeps staying asleep instead." "Wait, already¡ª" "Glory waits for no one, Denzel!" Barry recalled Muncx and ran off, his scarf flowing in the air. He nearly bumped into a waitress and she almost dropped all of the drinks she was carrying, and he didn''t even look back while apologizing. Denzel chuckled as he grabbed his phone again. He''d wanted to ask for the tab, but a message from Grace caught his attention. Stay where you are. Trust me. "What¡­?" Denzel muttered. Well, he didn''t like to be kept in the dark, but this was probably harmless. Maybe she''d show up¡ª actually, that wasn''t possible. He hadn''t sent them the address. Only a picture. Either way, he listened, ordering a drink to not clog up the table and browsed some of the reactions of the battle. A lot of people had expected him to pull through, mostly because Grace kept her training in the dark the entire time while he livestreamed his progress for his viewers. They probably hadn''t expected her to have kept up with him. The forums were alight with discussion of the battle, and even trainers beyond the first-year chimed in to give their opinions. Some of them called Denzel''s group overrated and said that they''d wipe out at the Conference, if they even got that far, but the majority actually respected their skill, much to Denzel''s surprise. Around ten minutester, he heard somemotion around the restaurant''s entrance. He paid it no mind. It was probably some fight happening outside or a famous person walking by. When he heard themotion get closer, though, he turned and saw that Craig Goodwill was in the damn restaurant. At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, but he waved at him with that crooked smile of his and tapped him on the back. "Hey kid," Craig said. "How''s it going?" "C¡ªCraig! What are you doing here?" Denzel cursed at himself for the stutter. He hadn''t seen his idol since they were at Lake Acuity, and he was still nervous around him. He knew what it was like to have nervous fans now, though, and he tried to calm his nerves. A titan of the industry was standing right next to¡ª actually, he dragged the chair Barry had been sitting in and took his ce. His friend would definitely regret leaving so soon if he found out. He recalled Swablu so she wouldn''t humiliate him in front of the trainer he admired. "Your friend Grace told me you were here. It''s a nice little spot, even if I usually stick to the boardwalk." How had she found the address? Just from the selfie he''d sent? It had been innocent enough and well-intentioned, but Arceus, she could be terrifying when she wanted to. Yet another reminder to never get on Grace''s bad side. Denzel just decided to think that Erin had known this spot and that she had asked her. "I was told you were watching the battle," Denzel spoke, trying to keep his voice still. "What''d you think?" He winced, expecting the worst. "You were both fantastic. Truly. It took me back to simpler times when I used to chase Sarah Newman around and she kept beating the crap out of me, except your battle was a lot closer. I see you''re taking the loss surprisingly well." Denzel unclenched his fist and rxed. He thought he wouldpletely rip him to pieces, exposing every imperfection. That was what he''d wanted, but it would have been differenting from the trainer he looked up to the most. "I''ll manage. I still feel like shit, but it''s okay." "Good. That''ll help you for the Conference, if you get there. Losing there crushed me the first time. It still did every year, and I''ve been going for six years." Denzel nodded. It was a known fact that Craig had been in a terrible state after losing in the finalsst year to Sarah Newman, and it had only been by a hair. That probably still haunted him at night. Or maybe not. "But you''ve got to look at the bigger context. For a first year, you''re progressing leaps and bounds. I thought you''d have med out by now when we met in Snowpoint, but here you are, chugging along. You''re an extremely talented kid." "But?" Denzel asked. Craig ced an arm over the back of his chair and smiled. "Do you want my advice?" "Who wouldn''t?" Denzel scoffed. "You''re the trainer. Everyone would want your insight after a battle." "Eh, you''d be surprised," Craig smirked. "Why don''t you tell me the problems that jumped out at you? Let''s start slow." "Everything I threw at her except Poison Cutter, she had a counter for," Denzel blurted out. "I don''t know how she does it¡­ not the nning, but, like, she manages to be the most defensive-minded out of all of us all while notcking in power. Every single one of her Pokemon is so tough to crack. You''ve got Togetic with Ancient Power and her barriers, Electabuzz with Protect, and he''s way faster than he used to be and that''s only going to get worse if she figures out how to evolve him. Tangrowth used to be easy to hit, but he''s got Ancient Power now too and even when you hit him, he''s got an insane amount of stamina. Jellicent can regenerate a thousand times, Pupitar''s got a tough shell and can fly incredibly quickly, but when she evolves she''ll be nearly indestructible except for the most powerful attacks¡­ Arceus." "Seems like a lot," Craig nodded. "And she is quite the defensive trainer. Good catch. She''s like a fusion of Gardenia and Byron, although even Gardenia wouldn''t have gone as far as she did against Maylene." Denzel swallowed. He knew that had happened? For some reason, he felt nervous even though he wasn''t the one that had done anything. "What about Jasmine?" Denzel asked. "Oh, Jasmine is like a rapier," Craig said. "She''ll stab you a thousand times and leave you dead. Byron''s a shield. You can m against him, but if you don''t have the power needed to break through, you''ll need tricks to win. Good luck on that eighth badge, by the way." "Right." That was going to be a terribly hard fight, and he looked forward to it already. Craig snapped a finger and pointed at Denzel. "Anyway, back to you. You were on the right track. There are two kinds of battlers in this world, kid. Defensive and offensive battlers. Now, this isn''t ck and white¡­ it''s more like a spectrum. And just because you''re defensive doesn''t mean you wait to have things happen to you. You can be a proactive defensive battler or a reactive offensive battler. You catch my drift?" Denzel nodded. "Now you approached this battle thepletely wrong way," Craig said. Denzel felt his heart drop. "It was close, but you could have handily won if you fought correctly. You yed too passive, Denzel, and I don''t mean using moves like Recover. You didn''t fight to your strengths and fought to counter her instead. You were basically ying by her game, and against defensive-minded trainers like her that like to think, that''s a death sentence. You can''t let them think, Denzel, that''s when you lose." "But I did y to my strengths. I mean, I can battle for a long time, and she can''t¡ª well, I thought she couldn''t. I underestimated her there." "Obviously she can. That''s beginner stuff, and you guys are at least intermediate. Your friends progress alongside you, not just you. I suspect that she''ll love to have long battles by the time the year is over. Her type always does," he recalled with a hint of fondness. "Personally, I dislike long battles. I keep mine quick by blowing past most opponents with raw destruction¡ª sophisticated destruction." Denzel understood where Lauren had gotten her battling style from now, even if hers couldn''t really be called sophisticated. He''d watched plenty of Craig''s battles, but him saying it out loud had made it all click. Plus, ording to Grace the battle with Jasmine had been pretty quick, all things considered, but that was mostly because of the strength disparity between Craig and Jasmine''s Pokemon. "So what are my strengths then?" Denzel asked. "For this battle, it was Roserade and your creativity with her," Craig said. "I''ve rarely seen a Sludge Wave applied like this at your level, let alone Poison Cutter. She was your crutch, and you failed her." Denzel clenched a fist and stared at his feet in shame. "Sorry about the harsh words. She could have carried you to victory if you relied on her more. Notice how you were basically winning every time she was on the field? And you could have won against Electabuzz had you poisoned the field again. You did win the first bout the two fought and forced her to recall him." "But my other Pokemon would have been hurt afterward!" "What''s a battle without a little risk?" Craig smiled. "Picture this. You just sent that Sludge Wave toward Electabuzz over and over until he couldn''t use Protect any longer, and you take him out. What does she have left that can fight Roserade? Jellicent, Tangrowth and Pupitar. That doesn''t sound so great, doesn''t it? And there''s also the fact that you could have used your switches better and gotten your Sylveon to actually get that Wish to her, but I digress." "But there was no way Roserade could have finished all three off." "She could have done two if you yed it correctly, and that leaves you with Lopunny, Milotic and Sylveon against herst Pokemon. Even having two of those left would haveted you a win. The poisoned floor would have been there, yes, but you would still be at an advantage. At the heart of it all, Pokemon battling is a numbers game. You''ve got to y to your strengths. Convert them into a lead, and convert that lead into a victory. Switches are important, but leads are everything. They are crushing psychologically and you want to do everything toe back and at least equalize the battle again. That makes you stop thinking clearly and you start to make mistakes unless you''re the most analytical, stone-cold individual out there. Even I''m not immune to it. It''s how I lostst year. That make sense?" Denzel nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, it does." "Grace exploited that," Craig said. "yed with the tempo, quieted down, made you slip up. You basically lost control of the battle as soon as you let Roserade exhaust herself against Electabuzz for no reason, and you never came back from that. You had a one Pokemon lead for a little bit, but it was fake. Just smoke. It wasn''t a real lead with your best Pokemon waiting in tow, because without Roserade there, all of the Pokemon she had left could beat yours without a problem. Now, every battle''s got a different Pokemon that''ll act as the cornerstone of your strategy. From the way she behaved, I''d bet that Grace knew yours was Roserade and that hers was Electabuzz." "Not Tangrowth or Jellicent? They were honestly a lot more annoying," Denzel said, recalling the battle. "Tangrowth and Jellicent were like¡­ Cynthia. They''re powerful, sure, and without them it would have fallen apart, but Electabuzz was like the thousands of employees under her that keep the League running like a well-oiled machine. He was in the background, but he screwed you. He exhausted your Roserade by fighting her twice, damaged your Fross some and took down your Sylveon''s armor in one hit, rendering him basically useless and easy fodder for Jellicent. Do you get it? Sylveon was a nonfactor in that battle, even if he finished Electabuzz off. He turned it into a four against five. Electabuzz knocked down your foundation and Tangrowth and Jellicent finished copsing the house." "Okay. I get it, I misused Roserade," Denzel said. "What else was there?" "Well, I don''t want to just give you the keys to the castle. Finding them yourself is an order of magnitude more satisfying," Craig said. "But¡­ hm." "What?" Denzel asked. "You know, you remind me of my younger self, believe it or not," Craig said. "No way." "Yes. That''s why I like keeping an eye on you from time to time. I was worse than you, actually. I had my rival I desperately wanted to surpass, and the fact that she was two years younger than me didn''t help. But even the way you behave. The way you handle your fame, it''s very simr. I like you, kid." "Thank you. That means a lot to me." Craig Goodwill stayed silent for a few seconds, leaning back against his chair. "I''ll be in Sunyshore another week," he said. "What do you say I take you under my wing while I''m there. I can¡­ point you in the right direction. You''ve got potential. An unpolished diamond, one might say." Denzel practically jumped for joy. "Yes! Absolutely yes! But what about your sister?" "My sister can handle herself," Craig said. "She''s a damn genius. I trust her to be the strongest first year by the Conference. And it''s only a week. Not much, all things considered. Just enough to light the way. I''ll teach you the broad fundamentals." "Fucking awesome. When do we start?" Denzel asked. "How about right now?"
Interlude – Forums VI Interlude ¨C Forums VI INTERLUDE - FORUMS VI Andrew Melendez¡¯s eyes snapped open as soon as his rm rung. He already knew what time it was and spared no time jumping out of his bed. His leg caught in his cover and he tripped down on the cold, tiled floor. ¡°Fuck! Arceus damn it¡­¡± Andrew hissed as he rubbed the shoulder and arm he¡¯d fallen on until he heard a voicee from down the hall outside his bedroom. ¡°Andrew? You good, man?!¡± He recognized Jan¡¯s voice and answered right away. ¡°Yep! Just fell off my bed!¡± ¡°Okay, well I¡¯m off to work! You have a good one!¡± ¡°Thanks Jan!¡± Andrew struggled back up to his feet and quickly left his room, snagging anything edible from their small kitchen. He ended up settling on some canned fruits from the pantry. Living in Jubilife was expensive for an eighteen-year-old, and he was only able to afford rent with roommates. Jan, Sandy and he had lived together for three years now, and Sandy had already gone to work. Why hadn¡¯t he left for work yet? Well, he had called in sick. Today was a very special day. Andrew floored it back to his room and sighed when he saw that he still had two minutes left until the battle between Denzel Williams and Grace Pastel. Andrew was no trainer, but battling was his passion and had been as long as he could remember. Unfortunately, he could never imagine himself actually traveling. He¡¯d given it a try once and realized that it wasn¡¯t for him after barely making it through Oreburgh Tunnel with his trusted Meditite. He still battled sometimes in one of the public arenas when he had time, but being a real trainer was out of the picture. Andrew grabbed his sses from his bedside table, sat on his desk and clicked at Meditite¡¯s Pokeball. The blue fighting type yawned as he levitated off the floor. ¡°The stream¡¯s starting soon,¡± Andrew said as he spooned a mouthful of fruits into his mouth. ¡°You wanted to watch too.¡± I did, Meditite answered. But I said I wanted to watch the video of the battle. A stream is unnecessary. You interrupted my meditation. ¡°Shit¡ª uh, sorry. Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it, then,¡± Andrew answered, turning on hisputer. Meditite interrupted his levitation for a few moments and opened the door with his psychic powers. He¡¯d probably be alone for a good hour or two. The fighting type shared Andrew¡¯s passion for watching and analyzing battles, but he certainly felt none of the urgency his trainer felt. Two of the best first-years in the Circuit, duking it out for the first time! There were rumors of them having battled at some point in Sandgem, but that was old history and couldn¡¯t be backed up by evidence, since the few trainers that imed to have been there weren¡¯t recording. Apparently, Denzel had won. Andrew opened up his browser and logged into DailyTube. His ount name was the same as it was anywhere else. Username: Goald42 Password: ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ¡ñ He slowly munched on thest remaining fruits as he observed the stream. Denzel had panned his camera toward the battlefield, but the crowd in the background was still visible, along with a few in his friend group. The chat was¡­ well, it was what he could have expected from an event thisrge. Denzel¡¯s chat was always terribly moderated, but today was especially bad despite Pauline King having warned toxic chatters. That only seemed to have triggered them as a flurry of ¡®pauLines¡¯ and other nonsense flooded the chat. S0phinator: SPAM THIS PRETZEL TO SUPPORT DENZEL Mawawawa343: Why is pauLine talking? IlllIIIIlI: pauLine CountBisharp: SPAM THIS VASE TO SUPPORT GRACE SurelyShirly: pauLine pauLine pauLine pauLine pauLine WailTank: Gamba where? Modcheck? Arial22030934: ALL IN ON DENZEL BOYS THE TRAIN NEVER STOPS. Tuturu: Every time this girl speaks I can¡¯t help but cringe Phoen1x: Can we get a Grace blink counter going? Andrew ignored those messages, along with the other spammers. Pauline and Emilia were quite hated among Denzel¡¯smunity because he¡¯d garnered a majority female audience and he was objectively quite a good-looking guy. Andrew had been at this for years at this point. The chat was flooding as fast as it did for some tournaments, but he was good at filtering the trash from the valuablementary. Even in a chat for a live event, nuggets of gold could be found, but he couldn¡¯t deny missing the forums. Just as the battle was about to start, he split his screen and opened the forum live thread on the side of his screen. It seemed that the majority of people were supporting Denzel, but Grace had a sizeable amount of fans as well. Of course, there were also the inmmatory assholes who liked to rile up both sides into fighting each other by manufacturing arguments. Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! Trainers ¡ú Events Topic: Denzel v Grace live reaction thread Original Poster: Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer) Date: March 5th 20XX He quickly scrolled to the bottom of the page and looked at what people were saying. ?Lexie_Jimenez (Verified Trainer) No way Denzel takes this. Grace is going to win handily because the only useful Pokemon on his team is Fross. The rest don¡¯t hold any water to the force she brings to the table. ?Xavier_Hester (Verified Trainer) I said the same thing but I was banned. Shit mods tbh that¡¯s not even toxicpared to half the shit people are saying. ?APETITAN Tell me you don¡¯t watch the training streams without telling me you don¡¯t watch the training streams. Sorry bestie, you¡¯re both going to be in for a rude awakening. Andrew groaned. It seemed that the event had been advertised so much that even the forums were annoying to read. Everyone had a take that they thought was the absolute truth, and they couldn¡¯t help but tell it as if it was a fact. He expected the intelligent chatters and users to start rolling in when the fight was in full swing. The man leaned forward as the battle finally started Fross against Pupitar. If the ice type hadn¡¯t been so tricky, Pupitar would have held the advantage, but Andrew knew Grace would be forced to use the first switch. The two Pokemon started exchanging blows, and Fross showcased her mastery of Double Team as Andrew nced at the chat. Penguindrum: Pupitar kind of washed tbh. Can¡¯t even deal with a basic Double Team. PokemonEnjoyer234: Fross is chadded out of her mind right now. Celestrialcord: Why isn¡¯t she using Payback? I¡¯m pretty sure that Pupitar knows Payback. Goald clenched his teeth and had to refrain himself from @ing the users directly. He knew the opinion of a chat could change on a dime. When Grace finished scouting and recalled Pupitar, more calls of her defeat began to roll in, especially when she released Tangrowth next. NeonNebbi3: FROSLASS SWEEP! (Krabbie): People are getting way too hyped up when this thing barely started. Extendoarm: Already throwing OMEGALOL 1Harpie1: NOOOO GRACE DON¡¯T SEND A GRASS TYPE AGAINST AN ICE TYPE NOOOO SHE HAS EARPODS IN SHE CAN¡¯T HEAR US Hazsuman: It¡¯s Sopher. I literally bet all of my points on her. Andrew actually chuckled at that. ¡®Sopher¡¯ was abination of Sophie and Over that had spread like wildfire after Sophie Richards had gotten kicked out of the Prime Minister position and arrested for coborating with Team Gctic. The chat kept looking the same, with only a few actually realizing that Fross was in trouble. Grace¡¯s Tangrowth was a monster, and anyone worth their salt knew it. The image of Tangrowth¡ª or Angel, as she called him¡ª running up to your Pokemon and destroying them inplete silence had be an inte phenomenon. It wasn¡¯t until his Leech Seednded on Fross that the chat started to change their tune. Devil_In_Backseat: Wtf how does it not dodge that?! PkmnTDW: Guys what if Grace wasn¡¯t actually throwing but actually cracked? RRRER: FUCKING MIDROLL ADS I WANT TO DIE Undertimex: Why doesn¡¯t she just dodge? Is she stupid? Vroomvroom: Dodge 4Head Dodge 4Head Dodge 4Head Sleepymeow_: Holy shit, did he just detach that vine?! Indeed, Tangrowth had. Goaldughed as the grass type¡¯s vines wrapped around Fross and her clones. He would have finished her off had Denzel not recalled Fross at thest moment. The momentum had definitely shifted in Grace¡¯s favor, and now everyone in chat acted like they¡¯d been supporting her all along to save face. Andrew wouldn¡¯t be so sure of her victory, however. It was too early to tell who would win. The next bout began as Grace recalled Tangrowth and sent out Electabuzz to counter Denzel¡¯s Roserade. Her weakness to poison types was well-known, and many people Andrew interacted with enjoyed pointing it out, especially the second-years and above who would be at the Conference and were preparing for her and her friends. Normally, first-years wouldn¡¯t have been singled out like this. After all, they weren¡¯t the only first years that would make it to the Conference. Andrew tracked a lot of them, and he expected twenty-two to make it. Not everyone in Grace¡¯s group was on that list. The usual suspects, her, Denzel, Cecilia, Lauren and Chase were on the list, but the rest were a lot less unsure. Even Mira Compton wasn¡¯t someone Andrew was confident on. But the reason a lot of the older trainers wanted to put them in the dirt was because they were a lot more fortunate than usual. Incredible sponsors, fame, a closeness with the League never seen with first-years, working with Silph Co, the list went on and on. Grace even looked to be on speaking terms with Jasmine, Olivine¡¯s Gym Leader who was on holiday here and dating Volkner. People were jealous that trainers objectively worse than they were had it better than they did. Andrew was sure they¡¯d catch up to mostiners by the Conference. Rare were the people who progressed as fast as they all did, and they were all a treat to watch. He did want Cecilia to do more public battles, however. He hadn¡¯t seen her fight since her fight with Maylene. It was a real content drought out here. He turned his attention back to the battle. The entire field had beenpletely poisoned, and Roserade was having a much better showing than everyone had thought. Even Andrew¡¯s eyes bulged at that massive Sludge Wave. KalosR: Yikes. Electabuzz can¡¯t keep this up. PUAPUAPUA: WASHED. LITERALLY WASHED IN POISON. EdisonWuu: Why did she go into Electabuzz?????? Jeeeeeeepers: Graceheads it¡¯s literally sopher. QuQ0: She has to rush and overwhelm Roserade PubbleYup: Wait, wtf??? AEIOUY: THUNDER?? Partager: BROS SHE JUST SAID THUNDER Doubledashline: HUH? Fightclub: HOLY FUCK Jeeeeeeepers: GRACEHEADS WE NEVER EVEN LEFT LilyPikachu: are you srs rn -_- Forsale: LETS GOOOOO Goald grinned as the attack exploded onto the field, destroying everything in its path and singing Roserade. Grace ordered Electabuzz to use Fire Punch, but Denzel recalled his Roserade to salvage her endurance. Andrew sighed in relief and nodded. He couldn¡¯t deny preferring Denzel to Grace, even if Cecilia Obel was his favorite trainer this year, and he was rooting for Denzel to win. Keeping Roserade healthy was the correct choice, especially when Electabuzz was the only Pokemon that could take her down rtively easily. She had the type advantage against every other member of her team except Turtonator, and Grace wasn¡¯t using him. People liked to theorize about when she would start to do so. The dragon type was her most elusive Pokemon and was rarely seen in public, so people barely knew anything about him. The most fervent researchers (including himself) had looked up his old trainer¡¯s battles to at least know what Turtonator was capable of, however, and he would undoubtedly have turned this battle upside down. Still, Andrew was d to see Electabuzz seed this much. People often saw him and Lopunny in the same light¡ª Pokemon that held their trainers back, for some reason. He knew they had no idea what they were talking about. They were just as powerful as the others, they just needed to get their moment. And it seemed that this battle was Electabuzz¡¯s. Grace quickly switched, recing Electabuzz with Togetic and Denzel sent out Fross. Andrew refreshed the forum page to see if people that knew what they were talking about were there yet, but to his dismay, it was just a slower version of the livestream chat. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a notification¡ª an invite to a private thread. ?Goald42 Hi everyone. Thank you all for the invite, the live thread and livestream chat is insufferable. ?Archive It¡¯s giving me an aneurysm every time I look. Who do you think has it in the bag? ?Goald42 Too early to tell. I¡¯d say it¡¯s anyone¡¯s game right now. ?AsobiAsobase Did you see that Thunder? That packed such a fucking punch, I wouldn¡¯t have expected a five-badger to have taught the technique to her Pokemon. I think she wins depending on how many times she can use it. Electabuzz seemed quite tired after the attack, but he looks like he could use it a few more times at least. ?Chichi Don¡¯t count Roserade and Fross out. They¡¯re Denzel¡¯s keys to victory. ?Chance_Bartan (Verified Trainer) Well Fross ain¡¯t doing too hot right now, chief. ¡°Shrapnel,¡± Grace had called out. Andrew gasped at the explosion of rocks that shred through Fross¡¯ clones like paper. But she wasn¡¯t done. She proceeded to skewer the real body with an obscene amount of spears. The ice type fainted in silence. ?Archive One key to Denzel¡¯s victory down. This girl likes stabbing way too much, by the way. Half the time she uses Ancient Power it¡¯s to fucking stab a Pokemon. ?Chichi Did I jinx him? I think I jinxed him. ?Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer) It¡¯s not looking too hot. Hope Denzel can pull through. ?Goald42 Roserade can still win this. There was a reason Denzel was so universally liked if you discounted the usual trolls and contrarians. He was possibly the nicest influencer in Sinnoh. No other influencer his size still regrly interacted with hismunity and answered his DMs when someone asked him for tips on Pokemon training. He was just a genuine good guy, and those were surprisingly rare on the inte. Both the forum thread and the chat went wild when Roserade destroyed Togetic with Poison Cutter. Denzel hadn¡¯t even shown that move in his training livestreams! The attack was vicious and cut through both Togetic¡¯s barrier and rocks from Ancient Power. Togetic were slow Pokemon, so dodging was probably impossible for her, especially since Grace hadn¡¯t focused on her flying typing apart from a pretty decent Air Cutter. Most flying types¡ª especially those at a high level¡ª could manipte wind to speed themselves up. Togetic would definitely have some catching up to do in that regard when she evolved. Even if Togekiss were quick, they weren¡¯t the fastest. They had the potential to be, however. They were capable of learning Extreme Speed for a reason. ?Archive There she goes, stabbing again. Togetic had just prated Roserade¡¯s shoulder and stomach with two thick spears. She was slightly creepy, especially since she seemed to enjoy herself whenever something got stabbed as Chichi had said. Her nascent fanbase was split into two camps: those that liked the creepy and those that thought everyone was being too paranoid and that there was no way Grace could be creepy in any way shape or form. Roserade finished Togetic off, and Grace sent out her Electabuzz again. But it was then that the battle started to slip out of Denzel¡¯s control. Goald and the few in his private thread could tell, but no one else could other than a few isted instances of intelligenceing from the livestream chat or the live thread that were instantly drowned out by every other take. His eyes panned over to the live chat once more. Nujabes: Roserade can oust with Synthesis imo Ped: How the hell is Electabuzzsting this long? It¡¯s been like four minutes of nonstop Thunderbolts 1029485ITE: SPAM THIS VASE TO SUPPORT GRACE Fredfred: Electabuzz fans are vindicated rn Teaisready: Denzel¡­ Notlikethis Notlikethis Notlikethis E10: Roserade is dominating and it¡¯s not even close PianoGranbull: ELECTABUZZ ROSERADE TANGROWTH When Andrew saw that Denzel switched, he knew the battle had tipped in Grace¡¯s favor. Not because of the swap itself, but because of how long he had waited to do it. Either he needed tomit to Roserade fighting Electabuzz¡ª which would have been a worse choice, but still better than what he had done, but at least he would have onest switch for the rest of the battle, or switched as soon as she started losing the fight. He had done neither. The chat went wild as another Thunder destroyed Sylveon in one hit, and the two Pokemon began to fight. Andrew refreshed the forum thread and started paying a modicum of attention to the discussion. ?Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer) That Electabuzz is pretty insane. Honestly, I thought he¡¯d hold her back by the time they got to the Conference, but if he can learn Thunder, I¡¯m pretty sure he can reach the level needed to fight in that tournament, evolution or not. He might be able to dish out ten in a row and without charge time by the time he gets there. ?Archive Yeah, Thunder¡¯s no joke. Only Zap Cannon is stronger if you discount custom moves. ?Chance_Bartan (Verified Trainer) The moment she starts thinking with electricity or maism, Electabuzz will improve even more. Obviously though creating custom moves with electricity¡¯s tough. I¡¯m pretty sure that Electabuzz is carrying this fight. ?Goald42 I can¡¯t wait to see him duke it out with Wake. Going to be an insane battle. ?Chichi What if Grace figures out how to evolve him? Andrew blinked at his screen and stood still for a few seconds. That¡¯s impossible, he wanted to answer. And yet, Grace had a closeness to the League that made people think that it was. What if they told her how to do it? They hadn¡¯t yet, or maybe they had, but the requirements couldn¡¯t be fulfilled yet. ?Goald42 Then we might have an ace on our hands. ?Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer) Dude, Tyranitar clears when she evolves and it¡¯s not even close. ?Goald42 I mean, sure. But you know what Volkner can do with his Electivire, and we have no point of reference for Tyranitar. No one owns one in the region. I still don¡¯t know how the fuck she got herself a Larvitar, and a fucking baby at that. They¡¯re always protected by their mother. Even the Hunters didn¡¯t sell them. ?AsobiAsobase Imagine if she actually spoke to people instead of sticking in her little corner the entire time. Goald, you speak to Denzel like every week. Use your clout to get her on his stream. They can do a Q&A or something. ?Goald42 I mean, I can try, but don¡¯t expect anything. Electabuzz finally fell to Sylveon, and Grace released Jellicent next. The fairy type was the butt of many harem jokes in Denzel¡¯s stream and was his most popr Pokemon, but he waspletely humiliated by Jellicent and hosed down in a corner. It was now that it started to sink in for people that Denzel was losing. Even Goald had little hope now. Unless Roserade could beat Jellicent, then it was basically over, and the poison type was exhausted from her battle with Electabuzz and unable to use any more Synthesises. They had to go big or go home. But the reason Jellicent was so tricky wasn¡¯t his attacks, although Hydro Pump was powerful. It was the fact that he could prate in any surface. Unless you had a ground type move or another way to hit something underground, you were basically forced to y the reactive game, which she thrived on. From this point on, it was as if Denzel had lost his footing. Grace started ying even more mind tricks on him, alternating the time she took in between attacks. Roserade fainted despite having put up an amazing fight. ?Chichi Yeah, it¡¯s gg. ?AsobiAsobase It never even began. If Jellicent hadn¡¯t been poisoned drowning Roserade he might have been able to sweep the rest. Might have been too aggressive from her. ?Goald42 She¡¯s winning because she¡¯s aggressive. Grace is defensively aggressive if that makes any sense, and Denzel isn¡¯t responding in kind. She¡¯s pressing down the gas pedal and letting go at random, different intervals to heighten the tension. He needs to learn how to not get affected by it if he wants to win, and he needs to learn how and when to take risks. Grace knew she had to take a risk to finish off Roserade and it paid off. ?Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer) Calcted risks. ?Chichi The risk I took was calcted but man, I am bad at math.jpg ?Goald42 I wasn¡¯t even joking ?Archive Once Jellicent can make his Night Shades actually take more hits and create attacks as powerful as he can, he¡¯ll be an even bigger threat too. ?Goald42 Everything on her team is a threat. That¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to be, ace or not. No one canst long with an unbnced team. Denzel¡¯s team is a threat too, but no one is actually paying attention. Sylveon just had a terrible matchup and Milotic is having one too. ?Chichi Look at us, sitting in our ivory chairs and telling it how it really is. By the way, Goald, didn¡¯t you have work today? ?Goald42 I¡¯m sick. Real bad cough. ?Chichi Uhuh. I believe you. Looks like Milotic is down. The water type had lost to Tangrowth. There hadn¡¯t been much he was capable of doing against the grass type except keep him at bay with Twister and Dragon Pulse. It had been a good strategy from Denzel, but it was too little toote. He sent out his Lopunny, who immediately rushed toward Tangrowth. Now, he was taking risks, but again, it was toote, and everyone but Denzel¡¯s most ardent supporters knew it. Mystline~: It¡¯s COPIUM not COPIUM over COPIUM yet AkakA: Midpunny can¡¯t do it, it¡¯s sopher. Blud keeps failing in every battle I can¡¯t do it anymore. RockTypeSpe_1: HOLY BASED Tangrowth on fire Starryeyes87: GOOOOO MY ANGEL Threedashline1: Denzelbros on suicide watch now that their wless idol is getting crushed Axolotlhead: Do you think Tangrowth will be able to stab things with his vines one day? X11P: LMAO SHE HIT HER HEAD ON A ROOF I CAN¡¯T Kaspaldrew: LOST TO ROCK HOUSE OMEGALUL 1010Years: What an awesome battle. Gonna watch it a thousand times. Defeat4t: Truly one of the battles of all time The battle was over. Lopunny and Tangrowth both fainted, the former from Knock Offs and thetter from the fire. Andrew got up to stretch his legs, letting the chat fly by. Denzel ended the stream soon after, and he made sure to download the VOD for Meditite in case there were any idents that corrupted the video or it was ever deleted. He had thousands of battles on his hard drive that he¡¯d saved over the years. After grabbing a bottle of water, Andrew returned to hisputer and erged his forum window. ?Archive They¡¯re already making GIFs of Lopunny hitting her head on that roof, she¡¯ll never live it down. ?Chichi I mean, it was extremely funny. Y¡¯all wanna get in a call so we can analyze this shit frame by frame or what? ?Goald42 Hell yeah. I¡¯ll call. ?Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer) Weren¡¯t you sick? Andrew rolled his eyes and called his friends. He¡¯d never been good at being a trainer, but he knew battling itself. That was why his dream was to get out of the slog that was working in a damn Pokemart and start a podcast that spoke about trainers throughout Sinnoh¡ª and possibly the world, if he got that big. He was inspired by Poketracker: Spotlight on Future Champions and wanted to do the same thing, but better. Archive wanted in on it too, but for now, they needed to save money before they could take the plunge. He knew they were good enough to do it. Andrew hadn¡¯t simply garnered the reputation he had on the forums making in-depth analyses of battles, trainers¡¯ fighting styles and their teams because it was fun. That was a part of it, yes, but his reputation could possibly kickstart his podcast if they could get enough listeners on day one. Archive was less known, but he was just as good at analyzing battles or even better. They wanted to do everything. Analysis, livementary, tips and tricks, tracking rising stars¡­ the list went on and on. And they would start it all at the Conference this summer.
Chapter 226 Chapter 226 CHAPTER 226 "Okay, just a second! The timer isn''t ready yet¡ª okay, you can go!" Honey grunted, and his voice distorted into crackling thunder as he blurred forward, leaving a trail of electricity behind him. I stuck out my tongue as the smell of ozone stuck to my throat, and Angel kept my hair down behind me with a vine. As soon as Honey reached and touched the wall (the same wall he had destroyed the first time he''d used Thunder), I stopped the timer. "That''s 3.76 seconds!" I cheered, pumping a fist. "This is actually possible, I think!" Honey shed a smile, giving me a thumbs up. It had been three days since my battle with Denzel, and I''d gotten my team back yesterday night. I considered giving them a little break, but they were all too excited to get on with training again, especially when I told them that Lauren and Cece had been training together while they''d been out ofmission. I considered joining them today, but I actually needed to work on theory crafting and being alone worked better for that. While Buddy finally finished ironing out Water Spout and Angel finished learning Sr Beam, everyone else was working on custom techniques that I''de up with while they were in the Pokemon Center. I was actually nning on transitioning from Poison Sting to Acid and from Absorb to Giga Drain. I''d taught the Fire Pir TM to Sunshine and he was having a lot of fun showing off with it. He needed it after getting humbled by Craig''s Typhlosion. Speaking of Craig, Denzel couldn''t stop gushing about having been taken under his wing. It wouldn''t be for long, but he was making the best of it. Most of their training wasn''t even Pokemon rted but on the trainer side of things. I was d he was finally having his breakthrough. Knowing someone like Craig woulde in handy for his career, even if you ignored the skill he''d gained throughout these seven days. During my battle with Denzel, Honey had left a trail of electricity behind him every time he ran at full speed. Originally I had thought that it was just a side effect of him just being so into the battle that he''d leaked electricity, but I realized soon after reviewing the footage that the electricity was actually speeding him up. When I asked him, he''d told me that it hadn''t even been a conscious thing, but I decided to hone in on that and ask him to reproduce it. And it worked wlessly. Now all we needed was to refine it. The act actually drained him quite a bit, but it was basically a faster electric type Quick Attack that would hurt anyone he rammed against. It could also bebined with other moves like the elemental punches to pack even more of a punch. The attack would finally enable him to step up as a true speedster like Cece''s Talonme and not just a fast Pokemon. "What should we name it?" I asked the electric type. "Denzel suggested sh Step, but that''s kind ofme." Honey nodded, pensively crossing his arms as he thought of a name. Angel wriggled his vines in anticipation, suggesting a bunch of names that were a lot too simple for my taste. "Electric Hop? Come on," I scoffed at the grass type. "We can do cuter than that." Electabuzz protested, saying he wanted a cool name and not a cute one. "You''re right, it''s your move, you pick," I said. The electric type sat cross-legged on the rocky ground andy there deep in thought until his eyes widened. Atst, he roared out a name. "Radiant Leap?" I muttered. "If you want to. That sounds more like a move that uses light, though. Like what Jasmine did with Skarmory." He shook his head and grunted, saying that his choice was final and I reluctantly agreed. "Okay Angel, feel free to start training again, okay? Then if we can get you to learn Sr Beam before Volkner, we''ll get started on Sr de. I want you to stab things." The grass type happily nodded as he waddled toward Sunshine, who was helping him with the move just like Angel had helped him with Sunny Day. While Power Whip had been enough to anchor him to the ground during the battle to keep him from getting swept away by Surf, that tactic had still almost failed. Sr de would be quicker, and it had potential future applications. Since he could detach vines and keep them infused with TE for a good while now, he could potentially send Sr des flying around, and that sounded like a lot of fun both for him and for me. It wasn''t only applicable to Knock Off. It worked with Power Whip as well, but less since there wasn''t the usual force that he put in the move whenever he detached a vine, and I assumed Sr de would have the same problem, but that was just another thing to work on. I also wanted to get him a lot better at spore attacks afterward and for him to be able to coat his vines in them. That way, he could potentially stab a Pokemon and deposit them directly into their bloodstream. The effect would be instant, and if they didn''t escape quickly, then it would basically be game over for that Pokemon. Of course, that wasn''t it. Trapping opponents and forcing them into a melee battle with Ancient Power like we''d done with Lopunny was something that I thought should stick around. And if that didn''t work, well, there was always the detaching trick. "I can''t wait," I muttered. "Honey, you keep working on¡­ Radiant Leap. I''ll check in with Princess and Sweetheart." That name would take a while to get used to. The electric type nodded and waited for me to get to a safe distance before he began to crackle again. For him, I wanted to push his Static ability further after he mastered the move. Doing what Volkner did¡ª the Static Field¡ª was still far beyond our reach, but what if we could create an aura of Static around him? It would basically be like armor. Approach him, and you ran the risk of being paralyzed. It wouldn''t be useful against Volkner since his Pokemon were all electric type, but long-term? Both this and Radiant Leap would be a boon to his melee capabilities. They were somewhatcking since we''d focused on Thunder for so long, and I wanted him to be a bnced fighter capable of doing both. Steal, Jasmine had told me. Where else to get inspiration for electric type custom moves than Volkner himself? I just hoped he''d be ttered instead of annoyed if I recreated a smaller version of his move. Maybe it''d make him see potential in Honey and hand over his evolution method. I made my way toward Princess and Sweetheart, who''d been far off in the distance because of the destruction the rock type was yielding. Pupitar propelled herself into the air and then mmed into the ground at full force, creating fissures all across the teau and causing the ground to shake so much I struggled to stay upright even when I was this far. "Guys! I''ming, so take a little break!" I yelled, cupping my mouth. I wanted her to work on a proto-version of Earthquake. The move was far too powerful for her to use before she evolved, but Stomping Tantrum wasn''t doing enough for what I wanted her to do against Volkner. Princesszily rearranged the teau as well as she could, as she had done each time when Sweetheart had used Earthbreaker, which was a name she''d chosen herself with Sunshine''s encouragement. It would only be usable while she was in this form, but it would help a lot with the transition to Earthquake. As for Princess? Well, there was a reason she was on field-clearing duty. She was so good in Ancient Power that she''d figured out how to implement our idea in two hours. cing a Pokemon in a cube and exploding it inward¡ª a variation of Shrapnel. Of course, what she would mostly focus on in theing days was still movingva around and attempting to speed up how quick she could charge up a Moonst. Flying moves like Air sh were on the list, but they wouldn''t be of much use against Volkner aside from maybe catching him off-guard. Sweetheart mored at me, asking if I''d seen her super cool attack. "I did, baby," I said. "You''re looking good. Keep working hard, alright? I promise you that you''ll be the star of the show against Volkner." After all, there had been a slight change to theva n that would make full use of her fissures. The rock type cheered, asking for headpats and I quickly rubbed the little spot in-between her head spikes. She''d been angry she hadn''t seen much use against Denzel, but things would be different against Volkner. She was not only a rock type, but a ground one, and she would be until she evolved. That meant she''d be immune to most of his attacks and his field-control capabilities. Since I''d use her, Volkner pulling out his Lanturn was almost guaranteed, so that was one Pokemon I knew he''d use. Four to go. I wanted to try predicting which Pokemon a Gym Leader would use against me even if I would still n for every possibility. It was just for fun. Sunshine was next, and he was even further than Sweetheart and Princess. Not because he was doing anything destructive today, but because he hated to let the team see him fail over and over again when he knew that he was a role model for half of them. Sweetie, Honey and Princess, despite what she might have pretended, all looked up to Sunshine and desperately wanted to surpass him. The dragon stood proud and tall despite his series of failures and loomed over me with an expectant stare. All this time, he''d been practicing with Shell Trap and desperately trying to improve his mobility, and there was progress. Slow, incremental, agonizing progress, but it was there. And yet, it was too slow for us. "I''ve got something for you," I said, snapping a finger. "Rapid Spin." The dragon type huffed at me like I was crazy. Yes, it was one of his only ways of traveling¡­ rtively fast. Slower than Angel was in the sun. But it was still his best way of going quickly. Sunshine doubted what I was saying, but he asked me to continue nheless. "Youbine Rapid Spin and Shell Trap," I exined. "You''ve got the momentum from Rapid Spin and you get height." Turtonator let out a series of grunts borating the many problems with my idea. One, he couldn''t see when he used Rapid Spin since his head retracted into his shell. Two, he''d need to hit his shell against something to trigger his Shell Trap. And finally, three, he''d be oriented wrong. To go up, he''d need to be upside down. "You can do all of that," I dered. "It''s a challenge. But you can do it. Imagine this. You''re fighting against some pesky Pokemon that likes to keep their distance¡ª let''s just go with Zachary''s Vespiquen. You drop on your back and start spinning. You propel yourself with a series of explosions and fly into them like an Arceus damned missile, and by the time you''re there, it''s like 500 degrees Celsius around you and rising. They fucking spontaneouslybust and burn to a crisp. Doesn''t that sound awesome?" I saw the faintest hint of a smile, and Sunshine said my enthusiasm was contagious. "You bet it is. Come on, this sounds awesome but we''ve got to put the work on. First, you need to get used to spinning on your back. Go on." I heard him say that he''d look stupid, but that didn''t stop him from listening. The fire type got on his back and started using Rapid Spin. He struggled to bnce himself and spun into one of the mountain''s facades, but he was spinning, and spinning fast. My vision was possible. It would be long-term like I had said before, but it was possible. Training continued on untilte in the afternoon when I decided to call it a day. I had to call Mira on the phone so she could send kazam to get me back to the city. After I recalled my team, the psychic type Teleported me in front of my Pokemon Center, and I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. "Melody. Good afternoon," I said as I picked up. "I''m getting in an elevator¡ª you know what, I''ll take the stairs for you." "Thank you. I''ll keep this short, since getting a hold of you''s been tough these past few days¡ª" "You called?" I frowned. "A few times after your battle with Denzel Williams. Good job on that, by the way, the people upstairs loved it. That''s what I''m calling you about, actually." "Uhuh. Go on," I said. "It took a while for this to sink in, but it is the board''s understanding that the livestream had more than a hundred thousand people watching and that you were wearing your Poketch Watch." "Yeah, I always wear it," I said. "Can''t hurt to be seen with it." Although I rarely used it at all. I preferred their phones, all things considered. "Largepanies are always slow to adapt to things. It''s a thousand different moving parts, departments and people that have to agree on a single idea," Melody said. "But in short, more people watched that battle than any tournament or Gym Battle you''ve been in by an order of magnitude. Thepany wants to see more of that if possible." "More livestreamed battles?" I scoffed as I jumped up the Pokemon Center stairs. "Maybe they should shoot Denzel a sponsor. I''m not going to start streaming. That''s not my thing. Did you even see the chat? I don''t want to deal with those people, they''ll make me want to stab something." "Well, that isn''t thepany''s position. All they''re saying is, cooperate with Denzel Williams and get yourself out there. The demographic for streams is overwhelmingly young, and that''s our main target, as you already know. There are news about X Technologies wanting to take a bite out of our market share." "X Technologies?" I asked. "Thepany that makes the Xtransceiver. Their profit margins are booming and they want to go international, and it''s making thepany nervous, especially when they were nning on doing the exact same thing soon. X Tech is getting here first and is forcing us to y on the defensive. It''s extremely popr with Unova''s younger generation and¡­ if I can speak candidly here, they just make better phones at the moment. Hell, even their watches are better. The only thing we surpass them in isptops, and don''t even talk to me about the mad rush for VR." "Huh," I said. "Can I extort you, Mel?" "What?" I ced the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I opened the door to my room and waved at Cece, who was already waiting for me with my new electric keyboard. "Can I extort you?" I repeated. "Well, not you. Thepany." "I am a part of thepany." "Okay, so I''m extorting you," I said. "My bonus. The idea I floated in Veilstone. I want it, and I can guarantee you more of these streamed battles. I might even just go on Denzel''s stream to chat, even. They just can''tin if I lose those battles." Melody paused for a few seconds. "I can probably sell that, but it''ll definitely have to wait until you win against Volkner." "What? That doesn''t have to do with anything we were talking about." "Grace, this is how it works," Melody sighed. "You have to make them feel like they''re getting something out of you. The idea of a fifteen¡ª sixteen-year-old extorting them won''t really make the members of the board happy. If we make this more of an equivalent exchange, then it can work." "Great. And tell them that if they''re nning on going international, I''m probably going to Unova next year, so it''d be best if they kept me well-fed, warm, and happy," I smiled. "We can n a wholeunch and expansion with me being there. Without me, they won''t have legs to stand on." "I will get right on that," she said. "What''s with the confrontational attitude, though? Not that I mind. I mean, I''m here precisely to smooth messages between you and the board over." "Well, to be honest, Mel, I''ve been wanting a Shiny Stone the entire year and I don''t exactly appreciate the fact that they keep asking more of me without giving anything in return. I''m their gship, right? They should treat me once in a while." "Okay, I''ll tell them you''d appreciate it if the partnership was more equal too," she said. "Anything else?" "Well, try to emphasize the fact that I''m friends with Craig and that I obviously want nothing else but the Poketch Company''s sess," I said. "Other than that, I''m alright. Thanks as always, Mel." "Have a great evening," she said. I felt bad for her, having to speak to a bunch of old people in suits that definitely didn''t understand anything about the intricacies of Pokemon battling, but so long as their numbers went up, they''d be happy. "Important business call, I presume?" Cecilia asked with a smirk. "Yeah. You''d think getting money from the Poketch Company would be easy," I joked. "Sorry for beingte." "Come sit. It''s about high time I teach you how to y piano." I followed suit and plopped myself down next to her. She ced the keyboard on myp and grabbed my hands, gently cing them on the keys. "We aren''t ying yet. This is just the proper hand position, okay? Rx your wrists and fingers. My old instructor used to say that your hands should flow like water when ying." "I''ll try to rx." I hadn''t touched one of these since we''d been in Hearthome, and that felt like a lifetime ago. "I already taught you notes, so I wanted to teach you about clefs, time signatures and note values, but I think you''ll have a better time learning in a more¡­ loose manner. Freer," she said. "So why don''t you try to y whateveres to mind. It doesn''t matter if it''s bad. Just let your hands do the work and find a short rhythm you like." "Okay¡­ okay." I softly pressed down on the first note and went where the music took me. It wasn''t great. I wasn''t sure I''d even be able to recreate it, but I was doing it. I was finally ying the piano. ¡ª A yawn escaped my mouth as I slowly got up from my bed the next morning. I checked my phone while brushing my teeth and smiled when Melody told me the deal had gone through. Now, obviously I would have to uphold my side of the deal, but it was nice to get a win regarding my sponsorship for once. I felt like that hadn''t happened since I had signed with them. Unfortunately, Denzel was with Craig day and night, so any stream-rted activity would have to wait. "Want some breakfast?!" I yelled at Cece. "I''ll go get it for us both!" she answered. "They''re making hashbrowns today!" "Sweet!" I celebrated. "Want to get started on that Cynthia autobiography tonight, by the way?" "Sounds good to me. How many hashbrowns do you want¡ª" "Six," I said, opening the bathroom door. She came back soon after that, and we stuck together until we decided to go train. I''d still be doing it alone today, and I would until Sweetheart and Honey had mastered their custom moves. Then, I''d go back to the one-on-ones. I had to think about who to battle on stream. Cece or Lauren would be my best bet, since I trained with them the most, but maybe someone I knew little about like Chase would be better. He''d trained just as hard as us, even if he preferred to do it alone and without Teleporters. I had heard rumors of him terrorizing some kids on route 222 from Erin, and people knew not to evene close to him. Either way, I had time to decide, and I was still focused on Volkner. Jasmine sent me a message during my training session that afternoon, saying that she wanted to talk over a drink right away. Now, normally I would have refused, but when a Gym Leader asked to hang out, it was very difficult to say no, and I could alwayse back this evening if I had time. I Teleported back to the city and quickly rode a bus to the boardwalk, expecting Jasmine to be three beers in already, but I was pleasantly surprised to see she was actually drinking sparkling water. She greeted me with her usual smile and gentle wave. "Hi. Are you alright?" I asked. "Good afternoon, Grace. I''m very well, thank you for asking." Things with Volkner must have picked up again, then. "Great. What did you want to tell me? I was training, but¡ª" "Grace, if you were training you should have said no. I''m sorry," she said. "Don''t let powerful people walk all over you, that''s a bad habit." "Well, you made it sound urgent," I said, sitting down. "I thought you were getting drunk again." "No, I was just excited to speak to you. It''se to my attention that Craig took Denzel under his wing." "That was days ago," I nodded. "Oh, I don''t keep track of the news, and that paranoid fellow never tells me anything he doesn''t think is necessary, even if we''re friends," Jasmine sighed. "So? Do you want to one-up him?" I asked excitedly. "Train me and see who''s the better teacher?" "Not exactly," she said. "I know you told me you wanted to evolve your Electabuzz by impressing Volkner. I put in a good word for you and your friend Lauren, so it''s a lot more feasible than before." "It wasn''t feasible before?" I asked. "It was, just exponentially harder," she shrugged. "Even I don''t know the method despite asking numerous times and I''ve been dating him for months, but then again it might have been different had I owned an Electabuzz. I think you''ll like what I did, but it''s going to be a surprise. I saw your battle with your friend. I want to train your Electabuzz specifically and help him get where he needs to be. As you know, the electric type is my second passion." I beamed, tapping my feet against the floor. "Awesome! He''ll be ecstatic! What are you going to teach him?! Can we start today?!" With each question, I leaned further and further toward Jasmine until I was barely sitting on my chair. The Gym Leader leaned against a palm and responded with azy smile. "Hold on, now. If you agree to this, you''ll have to keep it from Volkner. It isn''t necessary, but it''d be awkward for us if it got back to him. I am technically helping the trainer he dislikes for having screwed up Maylene." I shrunk slightly. "Do you think that''ll¡ª" "Make him keep the evolution secret? No, that''s not how Volkner is," Jasmine shook her head. "There are two kinds of Gym Leaders. Those who are trainers first and those who are politicians first. Cut Volkner and he bleeds trainer. He''s too nice not to help a kid that gave an Electabuzz a chance¡ª after testing you, of course. I don''t really care for all this Maylene drama, but I''m still his girlfriend. He''ll probably be a grouch if he figures this out. So no leaks to anyone that isn''t trustworthy." "I''ll keep it a secret," I nodded firmly. "You know what I noticed beyond all the tactics in your battle, Grace? Beyond what went wrong or right for both you and Denzel? I noticed that you love to fight using rocks." I blinked and leaned back in my chair. She was correct. Whether it be Princess, Angel, or Sweetheart, I enjoyed using rocks to battle a lot. After all, the possibilities were endless there. "Have you heard of railguns, Grace?" I frowned and thought for a few seconds. "Railguns? Uh, no, but it rings a bell." "Do you want to fire rocks using electricity?" "Like Volkner does sometimes? I''ve seen it, but it isn''t that effective, no? I mean, why do that when you can just throw Thunders or Zap Cannons at people." Jasmine shook her head. "Because when the technique is mastered, it can do a lot more than just hit people with rocks, and it''s also faster than Thunder¡ª but still slower than Zap Cannon. Volkner hasn''t actually mastered it. Amphy can''t do it, but I have two Pokemon that can. Magnezone and Electrode. There are times when the attack is a lot more useful than any Zap Cannon, trust me." "Obviously I trust you," I said. "Can you help with some custom moves I''m working on with him too?" "Oh, we''ll do the whole song and dance," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "Of course, you won''t master it by the time we''re done, but it''ll at least be usable and you''ll be able to practice it on your own. The railgun technique will also help with your Electabuzz''s electrical control. Something he dearly needs." "What do you mean?" I asked. "The way you battle is wasteful," she said. "So much energy wasted. Your Thunders go all over the ce instead of being focused on one target. Sure, that''s good if you want to break up the field, but if you just want to hit your opponent as hard as you can, it isn''t ideal." "But it makes them easier to hit," I said. "It''s a bad habit you two need to cut," Jasmine chided. "If you ever want to create advanced electric type techniques, the control Electabuzz will learn here will be sorely needed. Power isn''t the only thing Volkner wants to see. As it stands right now, he would be¡­ satisfied by you, not impressed." "Okay, I get it," I said. "Any other wasteful things we do?" "Your electric type attacks, mostly," she said. "But none are as bad as Thunder." I chuckled to myself. "It''s the first time someone''s ever said that power is a waste to me. It feels weird. My friend Lauren would disagree with your principles like her life depended on it," I said. "I can''t help it. It''s how I battle," Jasmine said. "Not one movement or moment wasted. Craig and Volkner like to call me a rapier, which is a nickname I enjoy. I find fulfillment in sophisticated, clean battles." "A rapier¡­" I muttered. "That''s pretty cool. I hope people have a nickname like that for me one day. Something that makes people quake in their boots whenever they hear it. You have to let these thingse naturally though." "Pfft. Naturally? When I get back to Johto I''ll be calling myself the Rapier of Olivine day and night until it sticks. Now, let''s have a drink, and then we can get started¡ª Johnny, a beer please! Amber!" The fact that she called the waiter here by his first name wasn''t lost on me. She came here a lot. "I thought you weren''t drinking," I said. "I was just waiting for you. Don''t worry, it''ll only be one," Jasmine said. "You have something too. Johnny, can we have some garlic bread?! They make the best garlic bread here, you''ll see." And thankfully, it actually was only one this time.
Side Story 2 – Glimwood Side Story 2 ¨C Glimwood
SIDE STORY - Glimwood Ready to get inside the Pyroar''s den?" Jonah turned to Karina and rolled his eyes. In front of himy Glimwood Tangle, the only way to ess Ballonlea. There were many old stories about horrors that had gone on inside the forest in olden times, but these days, it was as safe as it could be. They''d stayed at the edge of the forest for days as they took multiple,day-longsses at the outpost asking them to never veer off the outlined path and how to deal with different fairies and wild Pokemon that inhabited the forest, and now, they were finally ready. There were hundreds of trainers in the outpost waiting to do the same thing. "I just hope you don''t livestream the entirety of it," Jonah sighed. "Are youkidding?I''d totally stream it if I could, but Ballonlea''s stupid and doesn''t want to put wifi in their stupid forest. Like, get on with modernity already! This is why no one wants to live there." "I have to admit, it does suck. I wanted to finish watching Raihan''s tips and tricks," Jonah said. "Let''s go, then." "Your fault for not downloading what you want to watch." "Would it kill you to have an ounce ofpassion, Kari?" Jonah released his Corvisquire, who anchored himself on his shoulder while Karina released her Yamper, and they gave their pass to the Rangers and entered the forest right away. "Woah,"he gasped. A sense of wonder overtook Jonah as he stepped inside the Glimwood Tangle. The forest path beneath his feet felt soft and slightly springy. It was covered in thick, glowing moss that released a pleasant, earthy fragrance with each step. The air was cool and crisp.Pure.Every time he took a breath, his nose tingled, but in a good way. Even if the canopy was so thick no sunlight made it through, glimmering, bioluminescent nts and mushrooms were everywhere, illuminating their path with a soft, soothing light. The distant, otherwordly cries of multiple Pokemon made Jonah feel a twinge of nervousness, but he was assured the path was safe. Jonah stared up again and realized the trees were all curving in a different direction, some tying intoknots. "Hi guys, KariTheBest here, and wee to another vlog! As you can see, we''re walking through the Glimwood Tangle right now¡ª" "Kari. Just¡­ take a breath and live in the moment, please," Jonah begged. Corvisquire squawked in his ear, agreeing loudly. Karina answered with a middle finger and pointed her phone toward him. "Jonah''s here, and like always he''s ruining our fun. Before we start the video, don''t forget to subscribe, hit the notification bell and like! Let''s get started!" She yelled excitedly before she stopped recording. "Thanks as always, Jonah." The teenager had to stop himself from mocking how monotone her voice sounded every time the camera was off. She wasn''t done quite yet, but she would only record when they came across something interesting. "I mean, we''re literally in a mystical forest right now, and you''re recording." "Yeah! If I don''t record, my subscribers won''t see!" Jonah groaned as he passed a group of tiny Morelull and another group of trainers that were taking pictures of them repeatedly. They''d probably post it on their socialster. Jonah blinked, and for a second he swore that he saw the moss under his feet shift. There was constant movement at the edge of his vision, but the Rangers in the sses had told them this was a normal urrence. Jonah swallowed and decided to keep his head down. They''d reach Ballonlea soon enough, and then he''d be freed from this nonsense. There were some strange urrences in the city, but at least he could stay in a Center there until it was time for him to battle. Two hours passed without much happening aside from the asional encounter with a fairy type. Jonah had to stop Karina from trying to catch one multiple times. People in Gr weren''t allowed to handle fairies before they had four badges, and they only had one. There was too much danger involved, and it would just be taken away by the Rangers. Speaking of Rangers, they had encountered those too. They patrolled every inch of the path, making sure no one veered off course. It was then, however, that Karina spoke up and graced him with the worst idea she could have had. "Nothing is happening," she whined. "This vlog is going to be he boring. Do you¡ª do you think we should sneak out?" Jonah froze. "What do you mean?" "Veer off the beaten path.Adventure!" She whispered with a grin. "You just want views, Kari." "Well, that too," she said. "But don''t you want to do more that listen to the rules? This is why other countries treat us like aughing stock. Trainers keep having to stick thesafe spots.How are we supposed to grow if we''re never in any danger? Plus, I''m sure it won''t be that bad. There''s no way wild Pokemon wouldn''t invade the route and attack us if they were that dangerous." "No, Kari. I mean, I agree to an extent, but we have one badge and two Pokemon each. This is stupid. And since you want to upload it, you''re just going to get punished anyway." Gr had many rules to keep trainers safe, but they were strict. If you ever got caught breaking one of them, the punishment could range from a fine to being disqualified from the Circuit altogether. Jonah grabbed her by the wrist a bit harder than he would have liked and shook her. "This isn''t a game, Kari. This forest, it creeps me out," he muttered. "Is Jojo scared?" She mocked. "It''ll just be for an hour. If you don''t want toe, you don''t have to. Just stick around and wait for me here." "I''m going to tell a Ranger¡ª" "Good news, we just passed a pair seven minutes ago. That means we probably won''t for another half-hour or so," she said. "So knock yourself out." "You were nning this?!You could be disqualified¡ª" Karina slipped away from him and walked backward through the tree-line with her phone in hand while a few other trainers just stared and murmured to each other. Her Yamper loyally followed, and Jonah''s hands began to tremble. If she wanted to throw herself into danger so much, then fine. He would walk back, tell the Rangers and wait for her while they went and looked to drag her back kicking and screaming. Jonah leaned back against a tree and yelped when he nearly sunk into it, like it was a soft pillow. He waited there for thirty seconds, and each moment, doubt crept into his mind like a virus. Every second he stayed here, it meant that she could get lost. "Fuck you, Kari," he hissed. Jonah turned toward a group of girls. "You guys. Can you go and warn the Rangers? Tell them that Karina Read veered off the path, and that Jonah Sharp is following her. Please." "Yeah. Yeah, of course," one of them said. "But should you even¡ª" Jonah ran off into the trees, releasing his Deerling, which followed closely behind as he got the grass type up to speed. He yelled out for Karina''s name over and over, and the deeper he went the more dense the forest got. He pushed glowing foliage away from his face, jumped over some fallen branches and nearly tripped a hundred times, but the good news was that he hadn''t gotten attacked yet. In fact, he hadn''te across any wild Pokemon. Ten minutes passed without any development, but Jonah didn''t give up hope. The Rangers were on their way. "Kari!"He yelled. "...I almost can''t see anything in these woods, it''s really dense. Yamper can barely navigate it all. Right?" Jonah heard the small canine let out a high-pitched bark, and he nearly cried when he saw his best friend again. He nearly tackled her into a hug, and she dropped her phone on the ground. "Jonah? What are you¡ª I thought you were waiting for me!" "Shut up and follow me, you idiot," he cried. "I''m dragging you back whether you like it or not." "Already?" She groaned as she hugged him back. "Well, I guess it''s not that interesting anyway. The Rangers probably just don''t want us to get lost." "Well I went in a straight path, so let''s just get back to the route," he said. He attempted to drag Karin, but he met more resistance than he thought. When he turned back, her eyes were wide. "You said¡­ a straight line?" "Yes. I just ran forward and yelled your name a bunch of times," Jonah shrugged. "Corvi?" The Corvisquire squawked in agreement, and Deerling also nodded. "Jonah, I¡ª I went in a bunch of different directions so the Rangers would take longer to find me. Are you sure?" "We probably just got lucky. Come on," Jonah said. The girl nodded and they began to walk back toward the path. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Thenthirty. There was still no sign of anyone, and they hadn''t met a single wild Pokemon. The duo traveled the entire day and all they could find was moreforest. They decided to set up camp when they got tired. The only way they had of figuring out it was night time were their phones, but it wasn''t like they were useful for anything else. There was no reception, no inte for them to contact the outside world. "I''m sorry, Jonah," Kari said. She hadn''t cried. Neither of them had since finding each other. But it was easy to see the guilt was eating her inside. "This is¡ª I was stupid." "It was," he nodded. "You''re a moron. But we''ll be alright. There''s probably a huge manhunt going on for us right now. Like when that kid got lost in the Slumbering Weld? And they found him after a week?" She nodded. "Yeah¡­" "I mean, I hope we don''t have to wait a week, but we''ll be fine," Jonah said. "Thest time someone died in the Circuit was two years ago. The odds of it happening are astronomically low. Now let''s eat something and rest up. I think the best tactic is to stay still. The forest is leading us somewhere, so if we don''t move, they''ll have higher odds of finding us." Jonahfoughthimself to get the words out of his mouth. He was trying to convince himself as much as her. ¡ª When they woke up, they were no longer in the same spot. Jonah hadn''t known how it had happened, but they were in apletely different location. He shot up and spat out a mouthful of shiny dust that was in his mouth. His entire body felt horriblydry, like someone had sucked all of the moisture from his skin. He licked his lips to moisten them and drank a mouthful of water. Even his eyes felt like they had no moisture until he blinked multiple times. They had to ration, but he''d go crazy if he walked the entire day feeling this dehydrated. Karina felt the same way, strangely enough, and they both had some weird dust on their clothes and skin. It was almost impossible to get off, so they opted just to let it be for now. Even if they weren''t going to travel anymore, Karina had both her Pokemon, Yamper and Eevee out of their Pokeballs while Jonah did the same. They could never taketoomany precautions. At this point, the fact that they had encounteredzerowild Pokemon scared him more than the alternative. It was like this entire forest wasdead. "Jojo," Karina muttered. "Do you think we''ll really get out?" "Obviously," he answered right away. "Don''t be so down in the dumps. Why don''t we watch something on your phone? You have a bunch of stuff downloaded, right? I know we should probably save power to keep track of how much time''s passed, but we have a battery, and even then we''d still have my phone." The girl nodded. "Yeah. What do you want to watch?" Jonah patted her shoulder. "Anything you''d like." "What about Love in Wyndon?" She said. "Sure." He scooched up next to her and she let the video y. Love in Wyndon was herfort show, and there were ten seasons thest time Jonah had checked. It was a dating reality show where trainers lived in a resort with their Pokemon. At the end of each week, two people would be voted on and they''d battle. The loser was eliminated while the winner was immune for the next week. The winner of the entire thing got to go on a date with Raihan. Needless to say, it was one of Gr''s most popr shows, especially when every girl in the region had a celebrity crush on Raihan. They watched the show for hours, and for a few moments, they forgot that they were stranded in the middle of a forest. Jonah even found himself getting into the drama of it all. This was nice. ¡ª Five more days had passed. There was no sign of life anywhere. Every time they went to sleep, they would wake up somewhere else. Somewheredeeperin the forest. Each time, they were so dehydrated their skin wrinkled. They had tried to sleep one at a time, but the other wouldalwaysfall asleep without fail, and it was the same for both of them. They werepelled to do so by strange lights in the distance. They only had a few more days of food and water, and they knew at the back of their head they would probably die that way. There was no attack from a wild Pokemon, no exciting, blood-pumping event. It was just the slow, withering march of death. On the dawn of the seventh day, Jonah and Kari awoke in a clearing. There were so many lights here, of every single color. Colors Jonah didn''t evenknowexisted. He saw them floating, dancing, andughing with each other like they were alive. Enormous mushrooms swayed back and forth, but there was no wind here. The air waspletely still, and it smelled like¡­ it smelled like something. "What''s that smell?" Jonah muttered. "Burned steak?" Karina whispered. "Should we¡ª should we stay here again, or should we leave?" Jonah stared up and nearly gasped when he saw something blue. It took him a few seconds to realize it was thesky. He hadn''t seen the sky in a whole week. He couldn''t help but tear up, and Karina did the same when she noticed. They hadn''t cried since getting lost, and it was the first time they let their feelings out. They sobbed for ten minutes in each other''s arms. Karina kept apologizing over and over for throwing their lives away. Their Pokemon weren''t here. They''d kept them to their Pokeballs in order to save on food, since it slowed their metabolism. "There you are, children." Jonah''s head snapped toward the voice.Another voice that wasn''t Karina''s. An extremely thin, old woman slowly walked forward, using a pastel blue and pink umbre as a cane. She was so thin in fact it was like she hadn''t eaten in weeks, and yet Jonah knew who she was. Opal. Just Opal. Ballonlea''s Gym Leader had ast name, but nobody knew of it. Not even her fellow Gym Leaders or the Champion. Opal smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth. "You should know better than to make an old woman walk through the woods," she continued. Jonah ran toward her, tripping on the way there until he crawled to Opal''s feet. "Thank you.Thank you so much for saving us. We''re sorry for breaking the rules, can we¡ª can we just go home, now? I''ll do anything." Opalughed. A strange, inhuman sound that did not sound like augh, but some strange garble. "Anything, you say? In my heyday, I would have stripped you to the bone after such an offer. Do not offer me anything, children, lest I fall back into my old ways." Confused, but happy to just be out of danger, Jonah nodded as Karina offered the Gym Leader her sincerest apologies. Jonah didn''t know how a person as old as her had navigated the difficult terrain of the Glimwood forseven days, but he knew not to question her skills. While they looked and smelled horrible, she wasintact. No tears or rips in her clothes and shoes, and no smudges in her makeup. "Before we go, I must speak to an old friend," Opal spoke as she walked toward the center of the clearing. "You watch. Children these days are too soft. You do not know the dangers that lurk beneath our squeaky clean, dear old Gr. This will be a good lesson." Opal stopped, and ced both of her hands on her umbre''s handle as she stuck it into the soft ground. She tapped it twice and spoke. "Cimmerian." Jonah swallowed as the ground under their feet shook and something emerged from below. Shiinotic weren''t like Jonah saw in the illustrations. This one wasrger,farrger. It dwarfed Opal and reached the top of the canopy, masking the bit of sky that Jonah had been so d to see. Its mushroom glowed with a sinister light that overtook andswallowedeverything else. The colors changed, and Jonah could only see in shades of¡­ pale yellow and purple. Horrible growths that bubbled and expunged a pungent, steak-like smell sat atop the cap, and both Jonah and Karina covered their noses. He had to stop himself from hurling. It was as if someone had left raw meat out in the sun for days. Shiinotic''s fingers were long and thin, and they also glowed with that same purple, yellowish color. Its arms were thinner than Opal''s and pale white. And the eyes. Arceus,the eyes. There was nothing there. An absence. A stare that was so shallow and yet so deep at the same time. They were just dark. Obsidian orbs that seemed to absorb all light but the ones Shiinotic allowed to stay. Karina averted her eyes right away, but Jonah tried to stare. To find something in those eyes. A pattern, hidden pupils,life. There was nothing. Its smile was the same. As if someone had taken away all color from that section of its face. Shiinotic tilted his head and approached Opal, who didn''t seem shaken one bit. The fairy type touched her body with its fingers and let out a high-pitched squeal that resonated until it became a horrible, deep sound that sounded like static to Jonah''s mind. "Do not try to rearrange the deal, Cimmerian," Opal said. "When a child veers off the course, you send them back." Shiinotichissed,and Jonah covered his ears at the sound. "This is your fief," Opal agreed. "But we feed you plenty already, don''t we?" The fairy type''s thin fingers traced Opal''s face and it nodded. It spoke for a few seconds, and the Gym Leader hummed. "I see. Well, we''ll be on our way, then," Opal said. "If you''re bored, talk to me before tormenting children. Thank you for your time, Cimmerian." Jonah watched in awe as Shiinotic sunk back into the ground and color returned to the world. It was more powerful than anything he could ever imagine, and yet Opal had talked it down without a Pokemon by her side. She walked back toward them and tapped their backs with her umbre. "Follow." They walked in silence for a few minutes, but then Karina spoke up. "Um. Ms. Opal, thank you again. W¡ªwhat was that Shiinotic?" She asked with a trembling voice. "Why is it just allowed to be there? Isn''t that dangerous?" Opal didn''t answer for some seconds. "Do you want to know? Knowledge does note cheap, girl." "What does that mean?" She asked. "Do you want to know, yes or no? It is a simple question, is it not?" "Yes¡­ yes I do," she answered. "That was Cimmerian," Opal said. "He created these woods thousands of years ago. You know the old stories about the Glimwood Tangle, don''t you? That you would enter and get lost forever until you starved." "I thought that was just scary stories people told children," Jonah said. Opal scoffed. "Storiesare born from the truth. It is a shame to see what all of this deprogramming had done to the youth. Now everything is just a story.Just!Hah! My life has been long and arduous, but I still cannot get used tothat." "But why do you not just¡­ kill it? Does that mean Ballonlea is the same?" Karina asked. Something wrapped around Karina''s feet and dragged herundergroundas she screamed. Opal clicked her tongue and tapped her umbre against the floor in a rhythmic fashion until she was finally released, her body full of dust anddry. Jonah helped her up, but she was trembling like a leaf. "Watch yourself, girl," Opal warned. "This is no game. We do not kill Cimmerian because this ce belongs to him. Ballonlea''s first inhabitants were refugees hiding from war and subjugation, and they formed this pact for protection. It cost them an arm and a leg, but they were safe. Our ancestors grew in power until they reopened themselves to the outside world two hundred years ago now, but even then, only the inhabitants could navigate the forest without dying. When trainers started to filter in and out fifty years ago when I opened Ballonlea''s Gym, I crafted another pact to keep them safe." Jonah handed Karina thest of his water and she hungrily gulped it down. "Cimmerian drains on people''s energy to live and grow in power. He was feeding on you every night and letting you recover until you were ready to be drained again," Opal exined. A shiver ran down Jonah''s spine. "He was twisting the deal we made to the limit. He said he would have let you go after you ran out of food and water in a half-dead state," The old woman stopped herself to chuckle. "He was just having a bit of fun." Jonah spoke up, "So every time we woke up dry and with dust, we were¡ª" "You''d been kept underground. Hypnotized to stay asleep," she nodded. Jonah bit his lip, and he finally began to see wild Pokemon again. Opal was quite spry on her feet¡ª more than he had expected. "The Pokemon intrigue you, yes?" Opal said. "There weren''t any when we were trapped¡­" Karina muttered. "They know to keep away from Cimmerian''s feed." "We aren''t feed¡ª" Jonah grunted when Opal pped his back with her umbre. "You are. Here, we made it." The teenager blinked when he broke through the tree-line and saw Ballonlea in front of him. Buildings woven perfectly with trees andrge mushrooms, lights dancing far above them and thehugestadium at the edges of the city. Yet somehow, even with all of this construction, this ce was one with nature, and it showed. Nothing looked out of ce. Not even the stadium. "What? A¡ªalready?" Jonah stuttered. "It hasn''t even been ten minutes!" "I know my way around," Opal said. "Now, for your payment. You are disqualified from the Circuit this year effective immediately¡ª" Both Jonah and Karina hung their head low. "¡ªyour parents have already been notified and have called upon both of you to return home to Hammerlocke. As for the payment for the information I gave you¡­ I will ask you to never veer off the routes again.Any routes. If I hear about it, I will make sure to destroy both of your careers before they''ve even begun and you will never find a job in any Pokemon-rted fields." Jonah nodded. "Thank you for saving us." Opal hummed as she left them, and they released their Pokemon to celebrate their survival and give them the good news. The walk back to Hammerlocke would be terrifying, especially since they''d have to go through the Glimwood Tangle again. ¡ª Opal hummed a tune as she made her way back to her Gym. The Rangers had looked for nearly a week until she decided to step in herself and free them. Of course, she could have done so right away, but what was a life-threatening adventure without a lesson being learned? Now, they knew of the dangers that lurked in the Glimwood, and they would never throw themselves in such a situation again. Opal entered her office, which sat on the top floor of her Gym Stadium with a view on the entire field. She dialed for Leon''s number and waited for their new Champion to pick up. Arceus, he was annoyingly upbeat, but she couldn''t deny he was a powerful one. "Hey, you old bat! How''s it going? Heard you saved some children today, good job!" "Enough with the pleasantries. Cimmerian is growing bored. He misses the life he had before trainers came into the picture and infested his forest." Leon stopped speaking and she heard him sigh."What, then?" "Leave him to me, Leon," Opal said. "But when I die, someone will have to pick up the ck, and none of my trainees are as good as I am." "We could¡­ restrain him when you do,"Leon said. "If you mean kill,say it,boy," Opal snapped. "And no. There is too much history at y. It would be a waste." "History is not as valuable as lives." "I disagree, but you know that already," Opal said. "But killing him would not be as simple as you think regardless. It would take months. Years, even. Cimmerian is very good at hiding, and he will take the entire city down with him. There is a reason the ground below the forest is full of century-old, preserved corpses, Leon." Leon exhaled. "How much time do we have, then?" "I can buy you maybe twenty years after my death," Opal mused. "But I want to trainyou, Leon. I don''t care how busy you are. You make time for Raihan, and all he does is use his position to get women. Absolute scum." "I''ll make time,"Leon said."Sorry." Opal hung up and left it at that. Cimmerian was harsh but fair, and he was refreshingly forward. For all Gr appeared squeaky clean from the outside, it was different when looking from within. Opal knew of the covered-up scandals, the corruption, thewaste. She was a relic of an older era where death had been far moremon, and yet she missed it. And now, she had to contend with a Champion that was in the pocket of a select fewpanies and Chairman Rose. Opal pursed her lips. "I''ve got a decade left in me. I can keep the damage to a minimum, but after?" Well, after would be uncharted territory.
Chapter 227 Chapter 227 CHAPTER 227 After Jasmine finished up her beer, she took me to the isted part of the beach we liked, but we were surprised to see some kids there. Not trainers, even, just eight civilians that had found the ce and were using it to hang out. At first, I thought we were going to find another spot to Teleport from since she didn''t want Volkner to realize she was training me, but Jasmine didn''t seem to care. She tapped one of her eleven Pokeballs and released Metagross. The hulking steel type''s wed feet dug into the ground as they creaked with every movement. Their deep red eyes settled on mine and stared for a single instant, as if that was what they needed to assess me. The waves gently crashed against the steel type''s feet for a split second until an invisible barrier started blocking the water. Needless to say, the teenagers left pretty quickly. Jasmine hadn''t even told them to leave, just pressured them with Metagross'' presence. I couldn''t lie, they even made me nervous. "Thank you, Metagross," Jasmine said. "Was that alright?" I asked. "I mean, it''s not like us Teleporting together''s a big giveaway for anything." "What''s the point of power if we don''t use it?" She asked before cing a hand on Metagross'' cold steel skin. "They''ll be fine. Metagross, why don''t you greet Grace for a little bit? Get to know her?" "Uh. Hello," I hesitantly waved. "You can talk to me via telepathy, by the way. I''m used to it." We salute you, Grace Pastel. It is our understanding that Jasmine has taken an interest in you, but we will refrain from wasting any time. Let us pretend that we had a wonderful, full conversation so we can finally get going. Say ''thank you for thepliment,'' and ''I''m sure Jasmine will be a great teacher.'' We have calcted that the conversation will end right away if you say those exact words. Their voice was loud, but I was surprised to see it was actually only one. Reneucleus had two brains and two voices, but Metagross didn''t share that trait despite having four. It also took me a few seconds to understand that they were only speaking into my mind and not Jasmine''s. "Thank you for thepliment. I''m sure Jasmine will be a great teacher," I repeated. The Gym Leader beamed. "What did they say? Did theypliment me too?" We said she was in good hands, Metagross said. Jasmine crossed her arms as a smug expression stretched across her face. "Right. We should get started before someone elsees. Metagross, could you take us to¡­" The location we battled Craig Goodwill in seems appropriate, Metagross said. What do you think? She nodded. "Well, you''re never wrong. We haven''t exactly been to most of the Sinnoh routes, so that''ll have to do." "If Metagross can Teleport, why didn''t they use it during the battle?" I asked. The psychic type answered before Jasmine could. It would have only dyed the inevitable. Eelektross was going to catch up to us regardless of where we Teleported and was continuously speeding up with a constant Agility. We figured it was better to cut the confrontation short in order not to waste any time. From the start of the battle, we had calcted that the odds were not in our favor. Fifty-six percent chance of losing if we stayed in ce, but a sixty percent chance if we spent energy Teleporting around and being chased around the arena until Eelektrossnded a Crunch on us. None of the attacks we could have sent would have worked for long. It would have been a battle of attrition that we would have lost regardless. Craig Goodwill''s Pokemon are too powerful. The draw we obtained was the most favorable scenario. The chances of victory were under six percent. Midway through his sentence, Metagross whisked us away to the mountains Jasmine and Craig had battled in. "Are you done?" Jasmine asked. "See how unfun battling is with them? All of the mystery, the chaos of it all, it''s gone. Reced with a percentage." You ask us never to tell you anything regardless. Perhaps we appreciate someone finally being willing to listen to us. "Come on," she rolled her eyes. "You love when I don''t listen to you." I would not constitute that feeling as love. More like a fondness of how stupid you can be at times while being extremely smart in others. I would even call it endearing. Cute, perhaps. Like how you humans find babies cute. "See? They love me," Jasmine smiled. "I''ll recall you for now, or you''ll ruin the fun.'' If you must. The Pokeball absorbed the steel type and Jasmine coughed into her fist. "They''re a lot of fun, even if they pretend not to be," she said. "One of my oldest Pokemon." "Not your oldest?" I asked. Sheughed. "Oh no, my oldest is Magnezone. Steelix is my second oldest and also my ace. The tip of my sword. Metagross was picked up in one of the few colonies they have in Johto when they were just a Beldum. My father thought it''d be a nice gift, and it cemented me as his sessor." "Did you ever go on a journey?" I asked, shivering from the harsh winds. Jasmine was in her usual sundress, but she didn''t seem to care one bit. "I did. No one in Kanto-Johto can be a Gym Leader without going on a journey at least once. You''d be ridiculed and branded a coward. No one would respect you," she said before pausing. "Let''s get started." The Gym Leader released an Electrode and Magnezone out of her Pokeball while I sent out Honey, who was very confused about being on the same mountain as before. "Sorry to spring this on you Hon, but Jasmine and her electric types are going to tutor you about your electric type attacks. Is that alright with you?" He shed a toothy grin and agreed without a moment''s hesitation. When he waved at Electrode, the electric type slowly rolled back behind Jasmine while Magnezone screeched in annoyance. "Electrode''s a shy fellow," she exined. "But he''s one of my best fighters. If I ask him to Explode, he will get you, and it''ll be a clean kill. It was a very good tactic against the Rockets." I hummed as I nodded. The smile the electric type was famous for wasn''t there. Instead, his mouth was t and unopened as he silently stared at me. It was hard to imagine that this meek Pokemon was as powerful as Jasmine made it sound, but I knew she wasn''t lying. Magnezone was a lot more social, and his mas twirled around as he greeted Honey. He was smaller than Mira''s, but I could still vividly remember the all-powerful Zap Cannons that he could repeatedly use. "Thank the Legendaries, I can tell you''ll be very good at this," she sighed in relief. "You''re even better than my Gym Trainers." "Huh?" I frowned. "It''s about attitude. You''ve got the right amount of crazy in you. I tried training some of Volkner''s Gym Trainers when he asked me, you know? They all get squeamish when I talk about killing, it''s honestly sickening. I heard western Sinnoh was a lot better in that regard, but I couldn''t handle how soft they were and I stopped pretty quickly." "I don''t think that warrants calling me crazy," I sighed. "Come on, Grace. Like I told you, you need the crazy if you want to be any good," Jasmine gently said. "You haven''t realized how you look to people on the outside, haven''t you?" "What do you mean?" "Arceus, you''re the perfect student. Kanto-Johto would fit you like a glove." "Well, my intention is to go to Unova¡­" I trailed off when her face fell. "Goodness," she said. "Sorry, I just thought it was a waste of opportunity, that''s all. You''d grow faster there. Unova''s Gym Leaders, well¡ª never mind. This isn''t what this is about." I knew her biases against safer regions. That was where we mainly differed. While she thought I might be able to fit in with her clique, I actually didn''t mind safer regions. In fact, I''d probably prefer them depending on what they did to the wild Pokemon to reach that point. If it was a set of deals like what Cynthia had done to Hatterene, it would be preferable to just paving a road in the middle of a route. To my surprise, Jasmine released Ampharos as well. "Amphy can''t create railguns, but she''s there for moral support. She''s the most positive Pokemon I know," she fondly said. "Also my newest member of the team." The electric type affectionately bleated, lowering her head so Jasmine could pet her. Electrode seemed a lot morefortable with Ampharos around and he muttered a greeting to Honey. "So, Grace," Jasmine started. "Most rocks don''t contain enough maic materials to be moved using a maic field, but Pokemon can break the rules a little bit, just like when Magnezone over here stopped Craig''s Gyarados. Do you know why?" "Type energy," I immediately answered. "Yes! Most rocks will contain at least traces of maite, hematite, maghemite or other maic materials. Ordinarily, this isn''t enough to be moved by anything created by humans, but it is enough for Pokemon. Granted, most arenas do have a high content of iron, and Volkner''s even more so, but when Electabuzz gets good enough, he''ll be able to move most rocks." Honey and I nodded, listening to her attentively. "Let''s start with a little demonstration. Electrode, if you will?" The electric type grunted as he rolled forward and Jasmine motioned us to stand back. Sparks of electricity more powerful than Honey''s Thunderbolt erupted around Electrode, breaking up the ground into chunks, but the rocks that flew up never fell down. Instead, they levitated around him as electric currents shed to life and danced around Electrode and the rocks. Then, there was a low hum and I heard a boom, feeling a shockwave pass through my body. All of the rocks flew forward so quickly that by the time I actually realized what had happened, they had flown off the mountain''s peak and fallen toward the steep slopes. Honey stood in awe at the move''s speed, and he could barely sit still. "That was a lot quieter than I expected," I muttered. "Well, except for the shockwave bit." "It''s maism, not an explosion," she said. "So the electricity moves the rocks?" I asked, tilting my head. "No. The more powerful an electric current is, the stronger the maic field that forms around it will be. Electrode uses those maic fields to control the rocks. The electricity is just a byproduct of that. Now, Electabuzz, I''m going to need you to pay attention. You have to know how this works to start training." The electric type hurriedly nodded and leaned forward. "When you use electric type moves, rocks fly everywhere, both from the force of the attack and the maic fields themselves," Jasmine said. "The first step in your training is stabilizing the forces of the fields. Normally, it''s proportional to the force of the current, but again, Pokemon cheat. When you can keep rocks floating around you like your teammate Togetic¡ª" "Sister," I interrupted. "Sister Togetic," Jasmine corrected, not missing a beat. "We can move on to the next step, which is electrifying the rocks." "You can do that?" I scoffed. "Of course. You can inject electric TE into the minerals and give them maic fields of their own. Then it''s all about pushing and pulling to get what you want. You know how mas work, right?" We both nodded. "For the Railgun technique, you essentially want to push as quickly as you can. You know how sometimes, two mase together but others they''re repelled? That''s essentially what we''re doing here. You put two same poles together and they repel¡ª" "By pole, you mean like, north and south pole?" "Yes. Every maic field has a pole," she added. "In the third and final steps, you need to push on rocks by using the same poles on each other. Eventually, when you get really good at it, it''ll be like breathing to you, but right now it''ll seem impossible. Give it a try, will you? Magnezone and Electrode will observe and give you some pointers." Honey took a deep breath as electricity crackled through his fur. Unlike Electrode, that simple disy wouldn''t already rip up rocks from the earth. Instead, he shone bright, using Thunderbolt on the ground around him. Rocks erupted from the ground, and then he grunted in a desperate attempt to at least keep them floating. Instead, they barely levitated at all and quickly fell to the ground. Some were even ground to dust as he desperately tried to force them upward with a more powerful current. Electabuzz didn''t even sigh. He immediately got started on another attempt as Magnezone advised him and Electrode whispered something barely audible. Amphy added a cheerful bleat as her tail swayed from side to side, lighting up at different intervals. "This technique essentially requires an incredible amount of multitasking. Every single rock has to be micromanaged to perfection. It''ll take a while for Electabuzz to master the technique, but its uses are virtually limitless, and if he can do that he can basically create any electric technique he wants due to the amount of minute control he''ll have over electricity," Jasmine muttered with her arms crossed. "Our goal is to at least make it usable for your fight with Volkner. I know it seems tough now, but don''t forget his arena has a higher concentration of metal, so it''ll be easier. I can bring you there in a few days after the Gym closes so Electabuzz can feel what it''ll be like. It''ll be our secret¡ª I''ll break you in!" "Don''t get me in trouble, please," I hesitantly shifted. "Oh please, live a little! Even after that, it''ll be another tool for you to use. Variety is important. We''ll move on to your other electric type moves in a few hours." "Thank you, Jasmine," I said. "I appreciate the help." "Teaching people like you is fun, so I don''t mind," she shrugged. "You don''t y the game." "The game?" "You don''t harass me when I try to teach you lethal techniques," Jasmine exined. "You don''t pretend that this is all a game where you have to y nice. If I want to shoot rocks at my opponent at the speed of sound, I should be able to, damn it." "I feel like you have some very strong views about safety concerns," I muttered. "Oh, how did you guess?" She joked. "It''s a lethal technique I''m teaching you, Grace. You won''t be able to use it to its full potential unless you fight some truly formidable Pokemon. Even at the Conference, it''ll be too lethal to use until you reach opponents like Craig or someone with Pokemon with extremely tough hides. Or ghosts. These kinds of things are heavily regted here." "And it isn''t in Kanto-Johto?" I asked. She grinned, and suddenly the quiet, thin girl was no more. Instead, the monster that dwelled within revealed itself for an instant. It thirsted for adversity, for struggle, and for a second, it felt like a sword was pressing against my neck and I could barely breathe. "Iron sharpens iron," she simply said. We paused for a few minutes as we observed Honey struggle over and over. I wasn''t worried, of course. Thesest few weeks had given Honey the boost in confidence he sorely needed and it had all culminated during my battle with Denzel. I knew he''d be able to get back up over and over now. "Since the rocks are infused with electric TE, does that make it an electric type move?" I asked. "Well, yes. It''s actually an electric type move, not a rock type move," Jasmine exined. "Even with moves like Rock Throw or Slide, the rocks are infused with TE. Moves with no TE are like a cannon without gunpowder." "Cool," I grinned. I figured I could trick a lot of people with that. I heard Jasmine absent-mindedlyugh while she stared at Ampharos teasing Electrode. "Why can''t Amphy use Railgun?" I curiously asked as I stared at the tall electric type. "She''s quite scatterbrained," Jasmine said. "She doesn''t have the focus needed for it." "She''s cute, though," I said. "The cutest." Jasmine ced her hands behind her back and smiled at her Ampharos. The electric type had joined in and tried to lift some rocks for fun too, although her results were even worse than Honey somehow. We bothughed at that pitiful disy, but she was having fun. "I''m d she can do things like this now," she quietly spoke. "Amphy used to be quite sickly." "Really?" "Hmhm. She wasn''t mine originally. She was the lighthouse keeper''s, and she worked at the top of Olivine''s lighthouse. It was a few years after I started my tenure and things with Team Rocket really started ramping up in Johto that she got sick. So sick even the Nurse Joys couldn''t do anything. She was so weak she couldn''t even move. I stayed up there with her for hours and even forwent my Gym Leader duties for a little bit. Lance got extremely angry at me," she muttered before pausing. "He said that the Indigo League couldn''t appear weak in such an important moment. I let him trample all over me back then." "Really? I can''t even imagine you like that," I said. "Oh, I was quite meek and quiet at your age. I was a shy little girl that mostly kept to myself until Team Rocket sharpened me," Jasmine said. "It was hard not to listen to Lance himself, especially with his forceful attitude. The man can''t even entertain ''no'' for an answer.'' "And yet you respect him," I said. "Yes." The conversation stopped again, and I observed the mountain''s surroundings. Maybe the fact that she''d been bullied by Lance was why she wanted me to not to be pushed around by stronger people. A powerful gust of wind caused me to shiver. "I should have worn something warmer for this," I sighed. "How did Amphy get better?" "Well, I was waiting for a special remedy to be made for her in Cianwood. It''s this little town by the sea on an ind," she exined. "I couldn''t go get it myself because of Lance''s orders, so I asked a particrly talented trainer to go get it for me. That Gold person I briefly spoke to you about." "That was nice of him," I said. "I''m d Amphy''s all better now." Jasmine nodded. "She was blessed. The nurses gave her a month to live, and yet she pushed on until the remedy came. She got better over the course of a few days and started up her job again and I visited her every week or so, but she decided toe with me after Eichi¡ª the lightkeeper¡ª died at sixty-eight. She still misses him." I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. She''d been quite saddened when I had exined that Sunshine''s trainer had died before he joined me, but I had thought it was just a normal reaction to have. I knew now that it was because she empathized with us and she knew exactly how it felt. The only difference was that Eichi died of old age while Kamaile was taken early. I clenched a fist and my nails dug into my palm as I struggled to keep my breathing still. "So there is a de in you," Jasmine noticed. "It''s just sheathed the majority of the time." "Huh?" "I''ve never seen you angry. It was interesting," she said. "Sorry to bring back bad memories." "It''s alright," I said. "My fault." "No, no, Grace. It isn''t your fault." "Right. But I did mean it when I said it was alright," I said. "How did you meet Electabuzz, if you don''t mind me asking?" "He came up to me," I exined. "He yelled and demanded to be caught. I was very confused at the time, but I''m happy he did it. We definitely wouldn''t have met otherwise." Jasmine nodded as I spoke. "Not many trainers like to catch them, even in my region. It''s the same for Magmar." "Because they don''t know how to evolve them," I guessed before recalling that Denzel had told me the exact same thing when I''d shown him Honey for the first time. "Yes. It''s incredibly shortsighted, but it''s unfortunately how it works. Even when they''re in their second stage, Electabuzz and Magmar can fight at the elite level. It just takes more work to get them there," Jasmine said. "Volkner respects you, you know?" I excitedly blinked. "He does?!" "He was in the same boat as you are right now. An Electabuzz for an ace until he became Gym Leader and the higher-ups at the League that hoard the knowledge like dragons told him how to evolve him. He''s rambled to me for hours about how he was doubted and underestimated for having an Electabuzz." "I''ve never had that," I said. "Why do you think?" She smiled. "Volkner proved them wrong and made it to the Conference finals that year, although he lost to Flint. The stigma''s died down here thanks to his influence, but it''s still well-alive everywhere else. Few people own Electivire and Magmortar. ine owned a Magmortar, but no one remembers what he was like as a Magmar. Plus, he fucked off into a volcano after he died. Hasn''t been sighted in three years." My eyes widened slightly at the quick change in tone and cursing, but I paid it no mind. Jasmine and I spoke about my travels and how they differed with hers. She only went on the Circuit in Johto once and didn''t even make it out of the group stages there, but what she told me about the routes and caves in Johto didn''t leave anything to be desired. Kamaile had Oranguru to keep him and his team protected and Jasmine had Metagross¡ª who had only been a Metang at the time, but trainers without barriers were in extreme danger most of the time outside a few safezones. Of course, not every route was as intense as Eterna Forest, but some were. Multiple. And of course, they had forests of their own as well, like Ilex. Around an hourter, Jasmine called Electabuzz again and asked him to show her his custom moves. He started with Radiant Leap, which was his favorite since he''d named it and Static Shield was still only a concept that we had very little idea of how to implement. The electric type surged forward, leaving behind only a trail of electricity as he pushed himself as fast as he could. Jasmine looked very pleased. "That was great, although it could obviously use some work. Volkner has a simr move with his Electivire¡ª although there are a few different quirks. He calls it Quick Step." "Quick Step? Why is he so bad at naming things?" I asked. Honey, even through his panting from all the training asked the same question. I had noticed that Jasmine was intrigued by my ability to talk to my team, and she had been ever since I had Sunshine speak with her, but she hadn''t asked anything about it yet. Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I know right? I like Radiant Leap," she smiled. "You''re essentially using maism to push yourself subconsciously while Volkner''s Electivire uses electricity like a motor to speed himself up." "His own electricity?" I scoffed. "Yes. It seems quite unfair, doesn''t it? The longer a battle goes on for, the more of a threat Electivire bes, but there is a bottleneck you can reach to exhaust him. Most trainers never see that moment, though. If you want to beat him, it''s better to do it quickly before he can ramp up." "Arceus¡­ that''s so awesome." "His Jolteon can do something simr as well by turning himself into electricity instead. Now obviously that is beyond even my capabilities to teach. I''m no electric type master, just a hobbyist." "If you''re a hobbyist, then what am I?" I asked half-jokingly. "You''re a child learning how to crawl," she answered. "We''ll go step by step. What was the second move you spoke to me about?" "Static Shield," I said. "It''s like what Volkner does¡­ that thing he calls Electric Terrain Two, but only around Honey and not the entire field. We''ve been looking to improve his melee capabilities, and I think we can use his ability Static to help." "Using Static is the right approach, little thief," Jasmine said with a nod. She was proud I was taking her advice to heart. "You know abilities can be trained, correct?" "Well yes, but I haven''t gotten into that at all yet." "It''s time to start, then," she said. "To practice Static, you''ll have Amphy. She has the same ability." The electric type let out a happy cry and her tail thrashed around excitedly. Electrode had already rolled out of the way, as if he had known what wasing, but Honey got caught in the crossfire and tripped. Ampharos bleated, ignoring what she had done while Electrode and Magnezone profusely apologized in her behalf and Honey kept reassuring them that it was okay. I hadn''t known that her tail was that powerful. Training continued until Electabuzz was too exhausted to continue, which took hours. Before that, though, Jasmine had him practice Thunder in order to keep the move under control. His problem was that since he needed a crap ton of energy to actually use the move, he mostly focused on actually getting it out and not actually controlling it. For Thunderbolt, it was just about habits and cleaning up deficiencies. If we managed to make his moves as efficient as possible, he''dst even longer in battle and our current limit of three Thunders would turn into five. It would also basically catapult him as one of my Pokemon with the most stamina and he''d be tied with Angel. Of course, it''d help with his two custom moves too. So much knowledge acquired and progress made, and this was only the first day. There were so many facets of Pokemon battling I hadn''t even scratched the surface of, but today did make me realize something that had been at the back of my mind since Princess trained with Hatterene. Having a teacher a lot better than you made all of the progress we''d made beforehand look so small. I''d need to seek those out a lot more if I wanted to speed things up.
Chapter 228 Chapter 228 CHAPTER 228 Two days had passed since Grace had gotten a mentorship from Jasmine, and even more since Denzel had gotten his from Craig. Cecilia stretched, getting up from her bed as Slowking greeted her with his usual, slow nod. The side of her bed felt empty without Grace here, but she and Honey were giving it their all, so she always left as soon as Jasmine called her. That could be five in the morning, midnight, or in the middle of the afternoon. The steel type Gym Leader had no schedule to speak of and just called on a dime. Good morning, mydy,Slowking said. "Morning," she yawned. "Today is¡­" Training with Lauren, and watching over Erin,he spoke.Perhaps some experimentation with Future Sight and work on Disable and Yawn on my side of things. We have been neglecting those moves too much, and utility is always a good tool to have, especially when three of us are going to be weak against Volkner''s electric types. "Very well," Cece nodded as she got up. She nced outside her window and opened it without a moment''s hesitation. No longer did her fear hold her from keeping it open. It had been months since Abel had broken in, and no one had heard of him since Mira had almost captured him. "It''s somewhat hot today," she muttered. The water type nodded as he stood next to her and spoke,Spring ising. "I will shower, and then we can be on our way. Text Lauren for me, please." Of course. As Cecilia stepped into the hot shower, she wondered about her future. Things with her Pokemon were progressing smoothly even if she was still looking for her sixth and starting to worry about that. Even if she caught them now, it would take the rest of the Circuit to get them caught up to an adequate level. She had heard Croagunk were easy to find in the swamp near Pastoria, but that was so far away, and she had had no luck with Mienfoo so far even though she went on route 214 nearly every day. Still, she was set in her choice. It would be one or the other. Cecilia was looking forward to this year''s Conference, but she already looked beyond that. She needed to, if she wanted to seed next year. But even before Unova, there was a slew of things she would need to finish up in Sinnoh. Grace''s Poketch Company g in Jubilife, her request to Cynthia about Spiritomb,visitingthe Battle Frontier at least once, and her fated, private battle with Sinnoh''s Champion where she would no doubt lose. She at least wanted to take down one Pokemon if possible, but even that was probably a pipe dream despite the fact that she''d be much stronger than she currently was at the end of the year. And she was already thinking about an eighth member of her team, but that would actually wait until she made it to Unova. She didn''t want to overwhelm herself when she would most likely have a murderous ghost on her hands to take care of. Grace still disapproved of that choice, but the power a Spiritomb brought to the table couldn''t be denied. Cece stepped out of the shower and thanked Slowking when he told her that Lauren was already ready for her. Due to Mira having forgone much of her training to n for Grace''s party, she actually needed her psychics these days, so they never stayed for long after Teleporting them to route 214. kazam bid them goodbye as he Teleported back. Cece was interested in him possibly teaching the move to Slowking at some point instead of spending the money on a TM. She was rtively rich, but the TM was so expensive that even she would have to think twice before spending that much money. "Are you ready to start?" Lauren asked more upbeat than usual. "How about Mags against Talonme. It''d be a nice rematch from our battle in Veilstone and Mags'' been wanting to fight her. He loves trying to take down fliers." "Why not? But we have to do Golett against Seismitoad next. I want to see how he would fare against a water type Pokemon since Wake is next after Volkner." "Sounds good. By the way, do you know if¡­ um, if you could teach me how to do that dark type thing you do with Scyther?" "Lauren,e on. You look like I''m holding a gun to your head," Cecilia sighed. "Of course I''ll teach you. We''re friends." They had gotten much closer since they spent so much time together these days. Lauren wasn''t one to start a conversation beyond anything regarding Pokemon battling, but Cecilia had found that if she led their talks, her friend could actually be quite the conversationist. Yesterday they''d spent nearly an hour talking about Canve city¡ª her and Craig''s home town and everything there was to do there. Slowking brought up the psychic barrier and they both released their Pokemon. For a while, Talonme just circled overhead and easily dodged all of Magmar''s blows and pestered him from afar. She was too fast now to be caught off-guard by Fire Pir or some of Lauren''s other moves, but this wastraining, not a battle, so she dove down at the fire type, who looked on with glee as he squared himself and pped his hands, sparking blue mes all over his body. Cecilia had heard about the n to evolve Magmar. His personality was already almost unmanageable. He disliked any Pokemon that wasn''t on his team and liked to mock the ones he won against in fights. She couldn''t imagine him as a Magmortar. His evolution would no doubt entuate those traits. What Talonme currentlycked was ways to hit from afar. Yes, Air sh and Heatwave was well and good, but Cecilia wantedmore. methrower and Razor Wind would make perfect additions to Talonme''s arsenal while Cecilia thought of custom moves to give her beyond Air Burst. Magmar grabbed onto both of her wings and became fire itself, engulfing both Pokemon in blue mes that stretched high into the sky, but Cecilia called out for Air Burst and they all disappeared for an instant and sent Magmar flying back. Her smile widened as they cornered the fire type and relentlessly struck at him from every angle with Air sh. After exhausting Magmar, Lauren conceded and gave her the win. After healing the fire type up and recalling him, Lauren was visibly upset. Before having spent entire days together, Cecilia would have thought it was because she lost, but she knew better now. Lauren wasneverupset when she lost. Instead, she kept her head down and asked for a rematch. "What''s on your mind?" Cecilia gently asked, cing a hand on the girl''s shoulder. "I feel like I''m not progressing fast enough with Mags. Like he''s hitting some sort of bottleneck," Lauren said. "I don''t know how to get past it. He used to be my most powerful Pokemon besides Rhydon, but his progress has slowed, even if it picked up again with this training. I don''t think it''s enough for our n to evolve him. To impress Flint." "Well¡­" Cece was no fool. She knew that a trainer was the best person at assessingtheirPokemon''s progress, and if Lauren said Magmar wasn''t doing so as fast as her others, then she was most likely correct. "It''s okay," Lauren muttered. "I''ll get through this slump. It''s just slower without a mentor, and Grace keeps talking to me about how awesome Jasmine is." Cecilia winced. Her girlfriend could be a little¡­enthusiasticabout things, and she probably hadn''t figured out that Lauren was somewhat jealous of her circumstances. Hell, even she was jealous to some extent. Who wouldn''t be envious of someone having a trainer as good as Jasmine or Craig teaching them? Grace had actually asked Jasmine to help Cecilia as well yesterday, but the Gym Leader had vehemently refused. "Sorry about her," Cece said. "She doesn''t mean any harm, she''s just genuinely excited. You know you can tell her to stop, right?" "I don''t want to be mean. I''ll deal." "You''re right about one thing. Masters won''t fall from the sky to teach us," Cece muttered as she felt Talonme''s warm Pokeball on her palm. "Wehave to make it happen, and the opportunities are rare." Cecilia didn''t state the obvious: that Craig would be fully onboard to teach Lauren if she ever asked. She knew that was off-limit and a sensitive topic. Cece had Mark, but he wasn''t at her beck and call and had only said he would help with Zweilous once they evolved, and tutoring on the phone would be a lot less effective than in person. "Keep your chin up, Lauren. Eventually it''ll be our turn in the sun," Cece said. "It''s up to us to step out of the shade once the moment is right." The raven-haired girl smiled thinly. "I''ll try. Mags is going to be pissed." "He''s always pissed when he isn''t fighting something, is he not? Now, let''s move on to Golett against Seismitoad. Gohardon us." "Are you sure? We have the type advantage¡ª" "Yes," she interrupted. "I am sure." Cecilia released Golett, and the ground type''s head rotated toward her. She crouched next to him and held out her hand. Golett did the same and felt at her fingers. His hand felt rough, like a mixture of rock and hardened y. The soft hum of machinery rang out from inside of his body and smoke hissed from his neck, legs and armpits. He was growing more aware. More sentient. His personality had grown tenfold since visiting Lake Valor. He had likes and dislikes now, and even though Slowking couldn''t trante what he said, Cecilia knew that he tried to speak often. A mess of beeps and hums that were impossible for other Pokemon to understand, as if he was screaming into the void. It must have felt lonely. "Hi, Golett. Are you up for a battle again today?" Cece rubbed her thumb against his palm, and his eyes lit up with joy. Golett liked a lot of things. ying with Zweilous, battling, punching rocks to see what would happen, and he liked to make music. It had surprised Cecilia, Slowking and Talonme so much the first time they''d heard that they thought their brains had yed tricks on them, but no. Golett used the machinery inside of his body to make music sometimes. ngs, clicks, hisses¡ª everything at his disposal. It wasn''t very good, but it was still wonderful to Cecilia''s ears. It was hard to believe this was the same Pokemon she''d caught at the lost tower who had barely been able to move without her voicemanding him. Now, Golett stopped to look at the flowers. He stared at the sky in awe at thesizeof the world. He had food that he hated. Pokemon he wanted to spend more and less time with. He was alive. Today was his. She could feel it in her bones. Cecilia recalled him and sent him out inside of the barrier again, and Lauren sent out her hulking Seismitoad. The water type had grown since their battle in Veilstone, as had everyone''s Pokemon, but the difference with her was how quicklyshe was growing. Golett looked like a little kid in front of the water type. Lauren liked to think she was in her growth spurt. Slowking counted down into their minds and the battle began. "Prime, get up close and Water Punch!" Lauren snapped. Cece knew that they were at a type disadvantage, but the fact that Golett was aconstructmeant that much of Seismitoad''s arsenal was useless. Supersonic, Uproar, Hyper Voice, Toxic, all of those would be heavily weakened or useless. Water leaked out of Seismitoad''s feet, mixing with the earth to be mud as the water type slid across the ground. More and more water slipped out of her mouth and began to flood the arena. All of their techniques with Scorching Sands to keep opponents away wouldn''t work against Prime. "Resonance!"Cecilia yelled. Something loud boomed from inside Golett, and a purple pulse reverberated through the battlefield. Seismitoad froze in ce once it passed through her, and Cecilia snapped her fingers. "Phantom Force and Shadow Punch!" The ghost type disappeared, flickering in the wind as he slid into another ne. He reappeared secondster in front of Prime, shadows screaming around his fist as he punched her right in the gut. His already massive strength waspounded by his Iron Fist ability and sent Prime flying back, but dirty water rushed to cushion her fall. "I guess you really meant it when you said go hard," Lauren said. "Muddy Water!" This time, Prime flooded the entire field. Brown water gushed out of her pores, and an Aqua Ring formed around the ground type. Cecilia didn''t want to use Stomping Tantrum, especially when they had nothing to fix up the mountain now that Grace wasn''t here, so her mind quickly raced to find a solution¡ª Toote. The water already reached Golett and hammered into the little ghost type like a truck. Seismitoad swam at full force, catching a ride from the current as she rushed toward Golett. "Ice Punch!" Cecilia yelled. A light shone from below the water as ice formed around Golett''s fists, but the attack wouldn''t be enough for him to create a floating ind. What itdiddo, however, was use the Muddy Water around him to create an absolutely massive block of ice around his fists. Cecilia didn''t exactly see what happened, but she heard Seismitoad m against Golett and m him against Slowking''s barrier to her left. Damn it, I should have called for Iron Defense,she thought to herself."Resonance!" The ghostly pulse was much weaker now, but it still allowed them a moment of respite. Golett mmed a fist against Seismitoad, freezing her stomach over. Resonance was a move she''de up with after listening to Golett''s music, and it was what happened if he infused it with ghostly TE. The energy would make a Pokemon freeze for a few seconds the first time, but once their opponent grew used to it, it would have very little effect. That meant that she''d probably just used it for the final time. Prime grunted as she wrapped a sticky hand around Golett''s arm and kept the Muddy Water going at full force. "Toxic!" Lauren yelled. Seismitoad spat out noxious liquid that caused the water itself to evaporate, and it clung to Golett and dripped inside of him. His eyes dimmed a little, but the move only slowed him down. A Shadow Ball appeared in front of his face and directly exploded on Seismitoad. But it wasn''t enough. Water burst from the surface as Prime punched Golett with a Water Punch, and the light in the ground type''s eyes turned off as he sunk to the lowest depths of the Muddy Water. Cecilia blinked as her hand wrapped around his Pokeball. She waited, waited and waited until thirty seconds had passed. Nothing. She sighed as she recalled Golett, and Lauren did the same with Seismitoad. Cecilia released Talonme so she could Heat Wave and evaporate all of the water before Slowking pulled down the barrier. Once she got to see Golett up close again, she realized that the poisondidactually affect him more than she had thought. He just hadn''t shown it because of the way he functioned. It had slowed down his inner mechanism and weakened him severely. Cece had thought Toxic to be in the same realm as Acid since Prime had just learned the move yesterday, but it was way above what she had expected. Only slightly weaker than Roserade''s poison, by her estimation. It was truly an attack worthy of a poison type despite Prime being water and ground. Slowking washed away the poison with a powerful jet of water, but there was still some left inside of him. Golett slowly popped his head open, exposing a gaping hole that led to his insides, and Cecilia poured an Antidote inside of him and sprayed him with a potion. The ground type''s eyes ''blinked'', repeatedly shing as he let out a sad hiss of machinery. She''d learned to recognize his sad, happy, angered, and many other sounds. "You did great," she smiled as she rubbed his arm. "It''s hard to counter attacks like Surf and Muddy Water. We''ll work on your ground maniption soon. Scorching Sands isn''t enough. You need something to stop sweeping attacks like that. Even Stomping Tantrum wouldn''t have been enough." There are many applications to sound,Slowking mused.Perhaps we can pulls from Electabuzz''s screech with his music. Only Golett has no lungs, so no limit on how long he can emit the sound for. "Screech did work for Sludge Wave," Cecilia said. "What do you think, Golett?" The golem answered with a slow thumbs up. "We''ll get started on that as soon as you''re ready to battle again. Take a break for now," Cecilia said as she grabbed his Pokeball. She stopped when the ground type grabbed her sleeve and pulled on it. "What''s wrong?" His words confused her, and yet he was desperately trying to say something. It was at times like these that Cecilia wished Grace was here, but s, she was busy. Cecilia could tell he was growing frustrated. "Are you ready for the next battle?!"Lauren loudly asked. "Hold on, just one second!" she yelled back. Golett pointed to Zweilous'' Pokeball, and at least Cece could understandthat. She released the dragon type, who both licked her hand affectionately. Golett pointed to Zerst, andthento Sol, alternating between both at different intervals. "Do you want to speak to them alone?" She asked. "Battle them? Just stay with them?" Each time, Golett answered by shaking his head. It wasn''t until five minutester that Slowking finally understood. He wants a name,Slowking said.He wants you to give it to him. Cecilia''s eyes widened. "Is that¡­ is that true?" Golett''s head spun around as he let out a happy hiss that released more steam in Zweilous'' face. Both heads tried to drink the steam, and they grinned as the moisture stuck to their tongue. A name?Cecilia hadn''t even thought about it. She had never been one to nickname her Pokemon, and the only reason Zweilous had one was so that the two heads could distinguish between themselves when she called on them. Shewasnning on merging them when they evolved because she''d grown attached, but¡­ If Golett wanted a name, then she would give him one. "Lehmhart," she whispered. The ground type''s eyes dimmed for a few seconds. "Do you not like it?" Cecilia frowned when the dimming didn''t stop. And it wasn''t only his eyes. It was the rune at the center of his chest as well. Soon enough, he hadturned off, which never happened unless he fell unconscious. How strange,Slowking said.Maybe he exerted himself too much during the battle? "I don''t think so¡ª" A barrier immediately appeared in front of her, but it was for naught. Slowking had thought Golett was malfunctioning, but it was just light. Lehmhart was¡ª Lehmhart was evolving. He stretched, stretched andstretcheduntil he topped thirteen feet tall. His hands became massive, and so did everything else. Old wood wrapped around his ankles and wrists while the one rune at the center of his chest had befour, with two being on his hands and the other two on his shoulders. His chest wasn''t bare, however. A crack brimming with a bright yellow light was covered in a thickyer of wood that barely contained the power within. He was so tall now that Cecilia couldn''t even see his face properly. She turned toward Lauren, who was watching with her hands in her pocket and a slight smile. Zweilous snarled¡ª but it was one of their happy ones, and they tippy-tapped on their feet as Lehmhart finished evolving. Golurk shifted in ce, and the hum of the machinery inside of him appeared twice as loud. A constant sound in the background that kept the ground type going. Lehmhart slowly lowered himself, and justthatsent a small gust of wind flying into Cecilia''s face and caused her hair to go all over the ce. She held onto her hair as the golem held out a hand toward her. She silently did the same, wrapping a hand around a single one of his fingers. He gently grabbed her and ced her into one of his hands, lifting her up to his face. "I don''t think you''ll fit inside of the Pokemon Center rooms any longer, Lehmhart," Cecilia said with a nervous chuckle. That, he will not,Slowking said. The ground type lowered Cecilia to the ground back again as if he was handling porcin and terrified to crack the precious ss. He handled her with so much care that even Cecilia was moved. Lehmhart fixed up her hair with two of his fingers and stood back up at full height. It hadn''t been battling that had pushed him over the edge. It had been learning to be an individual. "Can we test something?" Cecilia asked. "Why don''t you try to use Hammer Arm on the side of the mountain¡ª" I do not believe that to be wise. "Come on. We need to limit test this," Cecilia said."Lauren, get Sirris to create a barrier around you!" "Got it!" "Slowking, you do the same," she continued. Golurk seemed just as eager as she was for this. He quickly turned toward one of the steep slopes and trudged toward it. What she hadn''t expected was for him to trip and facent into the ground, creating a mini-earthquake. He wasnotused to being this big yet. And they hadn''t even tried out his flying capabilities yet! Lehmhart picked himself up, stumbling as he did so, and he finally got close enough to use Hammer Arm. His four runes lit up and energy leaked out of therge fissure on his torso. Power hummed out of his very being. He slowly raised a fist that shone bright white, and with a swift, earth-shattering motion, his hand descended upon the mountain¡ª A deafeningboomechoed across the mountain and a flock of Pidgeys escaped in the distance. The surroundings shuddered in response to the attack. Cracks formed against the facade and the ground like an Ariados'' web and fragments of stone flew in every direction, some crashing against Slowking''s barrier. Even through the psychic bubble, Ceciliafeltthe shockwave ripple through her body. Dust and debris quickly filled the air like a chaotic storm of destruction. When the dust settled, arge part of the mountain''s facade had copsed, bing rubble at Golurk''s feet. Deep cracks sprawled across the surface like shattered ss, and arge crater had formed at the center of the web. Golurk still stood there, his fist still pressed against the mountain as he stared at his newfound power. "One hit of that, and it''s hard to see something surviving," Cecilia muttered with a smile so wide it hurt.Thatwas power. "You''re amazing, Lehmhart." Golurk finally lifted his fist from the zone of impact and stared at his own hand, flexing and clenching it repeatedly. He turned to Cecilia and gave her a thumbs up as his inner mechanism reached a crescendo of excitement that she had never heard from him before. Should we call Grace to fix this up when she''s free?Slowking asked.I don''t think it''s responsible to leave the mountain in such a state. "Are you kidding? I''m going to show this to her. She''ll be over the moon," Cecilia quickly answered. "Arceus, I can already imagine the look on her face! Maybe I should keep it secret until we go on our date." Cecilia hummed as she turned back to Lauren, and their training session began anew. She had no mentor, but she would not fall behind. None of them would.
Chapter 229 Chapter 229 CHAPTER 229 "His name is Lehmhart?" I muttered. "He''s¡­ so big now, it''s kind of incredible." I stared up at the massive Golurk before me, and Cecilia could barely contain her excitement. As soon as today''s training with Jasmine had finished, she''d called me over and stered my face with kisses because of how happy she was. She was so excited to show me in fact, that she had released him in the middle of route 222 because we were waiting for Erin here and Golurk flying in a city wasn''t allowed. So we were on route 222 In the middle of the afternoon. This meant that numerous trainers were either keeping with distance and ncing at the golem in fear or watching in awe. The ghost type waved at me in a motion more fluid than I remembered and touched my head with a single finger. "He evolved as soon as I gave him the name," she said. "He''s been very vocal ever since. Could you help me trante?" "Sure thing," I nodded. "Lehmhart? Anything you''ve ever wanted to say to Cece, feel free to say it through me." He immediately let out a deep, humming sound that took a bit for me to decipher. "He loves you and your team," I said. "And he''s happy you taught him how to live." Cece gently caressed the golem''s body, and he let out a pleasant sound at the touch. "I wanted to see if we could try out his flying¡­" Cecilia muttered. "Maybe just his arms for now? Lehmhart, do you think you can do it?" Golurk answered with a thumbs-up and a few low-pitched beeps. "He''s saying it''s like second nature now," I said. "The act of retracting his arms and legs, not the flying bit, I mean. He''s got no idea how to fly." "It would be better if we get him acquainted with flying before entering Flight School," Cece said. "Go ahead, Lehmhart." The process of retracting his arms into his body was slow, and it seemed he couldn''t even do both at the same time yet. After two minutes, his forearms were gone, having been reced by a gaping void. Lehmhart told us to get back while Slowking raised a barrier around us, and jets of mes spewed out from the hole in his arms. Cece had his Pokeball in hand, ready to recall him before any idents could take ce. The earth rumbled as the ground type slowly rose from the ground and into the air. The sound of his engines sounded like a jet engine on an airne¡ª And Lehmhart lost his bnce, going off into the distance and toward the sea before Cece hurriedly recalled him. It would have been very ugly had he crashed on the poor trainers. "Yeah, I definitely shouldn''t practice this here," Cece said. "But it''s still great! I can''t believe I''ll be able to fly soon." "He looks really goofy when he flies, by the way," I snorted. "Anyway, where''s Erin? She''s usually neverte." We stayed there and waited, and Cece told me she had some kind of surprise for me that I''d love. The answer to my question came soon enough, however. Erin strode up to us fifteen minutester and dropped an absolute bombshell. "My Gym Battle is in two hours." I blinked, thinking it had been a joke at first, but she was dead serious. "Why didn''t you tell us?" I stammered. "I mean, I think you''re ready, but¡ª" "I signed up yesterday on a whim and they said they could slot me in today," she interrupted. "I thought that if I didn''t do it now, I never would because I''m so afraid of failure¡­ it was like ripping off a band-aid. Now I''m scared, but I''m confident I can do it. I know I can." "You can," Cece reassured, looking at the time on her phone. "You said¡­ two hours? That leaves us one hour to train. Nothing straining, of course." Erin beamed. "Thank you. I¡ª I actually had a question about Comet''s Rollout¡­" ¡ª As I''d seen on video, Volkner''s battlefield didn''t appear that different at first, but when you looked closer and focused on the ground and rocks, a particr red tint revealed itself¡ª or maybe more of a reddish-brown. That was because of all the iron he''d ced inside of the rocks and ground. I had no idea how he went about replenishing it, but there was probably a steel type capable of doing so whenbined with the usual ground type that fixed up destroyed arenas. I felt pride swell in my chest when Erin confidently stepped onto her podium, her Pokeball already in hand. She hade looking her best, her hair stylized in aplex-looking bun and wearing a beautiful yellow dress I''d never seen her wearing before. She''d definitely taken after Cece, who always did the same thing whenever she had an important battle. The Gym Trainer facing her was a young-looking girl who actually looked very happy to be there. It probably wasn''t often that she got any experience battling on the big field. Gym Trainers mostly battled each other to improve with the more experienced ones giving them pointers. Sometimes, the Gym Leader would even lead a training session if they had the time, but Volkner definitely wasn''t the type of guy to do that¡ª I blinked and leaned forward. I thought I was imagining things at first, but Volkner had stepped out of the waiting room and he slowly trudged toward the Gym Trainer, dragging his feet on the ground. He yawned, cing a hand over his mouth. The Gym Leader was wearing sandals, joggers, and a in white T-shirt as if he''d just gotten out of bed. Murmurs and gossip ran through the bleachers as Volkner grabbed his Gym Trainer''s shoulder, pulling her back slightly. "Volkner, what''s¡ª" Her microphone cut out, and I didn''t hear the rest of what was said. What was happening was obvious, however. Volkner was taking her ce for this particr battle when he hadn''t battled all day. I honestly thought he''d be hanging out with Jasmine right now, but here he was. My eyes narrowed at the Gym Leader and a smile stretched across my face. This was only a first badge battle, but it''d still help seeing him battle in person at least a little, and I knew Cece was thinking the same. Then, my vision drifted toward Erin, who was trembling like a leaf. Her battles with the Gym Trainers had been rtively close, even if she had lost, but Volkner had crushed herpletely. I thought back to my Gym Battle with Roark. If he had won a dominating victory and sent me packing, then I definitely would have been nervous the second time, especially since I had self-esteem issues with my skill as a trainer back then. It was the same with Erin. "She will prevail," Cecilia dered. I felt her hand wrap around mine, the coldness of her ring clinging to my skin. "You say that, yet you''re as scared for her as I am," I teased. "I believe in her. We trained her well." "I know, I know, it''s just¡­" "I get it," I said. "She''ll be fine." Volkner sent the Gym Trainer packing, stealing her microphone in the process. He had the worst posture I''d ever seen, slouching forward and with a permanent half-crouch where his legs were never stretched to their full extent. He shoved his hands in his pockets, testing the microphone with a few words and then sighed. "Three-on-three. One switch. Understood?" Volkner listed. That was it? Where were the rules about no killing or him being able to use whatever Pokemon he wanted? He really was cking off. Erin clenched a fist around her dress and nodded. "Yes." "Good. That was firm," Cecilia said. "She''ll keep that up for the battle." Volkner called out for Erin to send out her Pokemon, and she did so with trembling hands. Her Bidoof appeared in a sh of red, and he was immediately alert and grinding his teeth together threateningly as he stared Volkner down. Volkner sent out a Pichu with a little bow on one of her ears, and a bunch of a''s echoed through the arena. The referee, who looked to be used to Volkner''s antics by now, simply shrugged and started the battle. "C¡ªComet, use Rollout!" Erin snapped, pointing at Pichu. Comet pushed himself forward, jumping a foot in the air before bunching up into a ball. He began rolling and picked up speed as he approached Pichu. "Thundershock," Volkner said. Tiny sparks of electricity sparkled around Pichu before surging forward and hitting Comet. The normal type grunted in pain, but he kept rolling and speeding up. "Nuzzle." "Growl!" Erin yelled. Pichu resigned to taking the hit, but more electricity surrounded her, this time jumping in a pattern instead of erratically. A scream from Bidoof made her waver for a second, and he rammed into her at full force. The electric type cried out as she crashed against one of the many raised spires of Volkner''s gym, creating a small indent in the rock. Bidoof hadn''t gotten off scot-free either, however. I had warned Erin about Nuzzle, but she seemed to have wanted to deal damage to Pichu regardless of the danger of paralysis. The normal type''s Rollout stopped as he struggled to move. Pichu slowly got back on her feet, sporting a scowl I never thought I''d see on such a cute Pokemon. She wiped her dirtied ribbon as she awaited Volkner''s next order. "Keep using Thundershock, but stay far away," the Gym Leader said. Pichu began her assault, although it was severely weakened due to the Rollout she''d taken. Multiple rays of electricity flew at Bidoof, who countered them as best he could by either dodging or kicking up Mud ps to weaken the attack, but the majority of them hit. Erin needed to either attack or switch, not y on the defensive¡ª "Yawn!" She yelled. Bidoof opened his mouth, and Pichu blinked as she wobbled and struggled to stay up. Yawn was the move they''d trained the most, and I knew Erin had wanted to keep it hidden for Volkner''s second Pokemon. Another two Thundershocks rocked Comet, but he was Erin''s most resistant Pokemon for a reason. His fur smoked, and he struggled through the paralysis, but he still stood. Pichu fell to the ground and started to snore. "Now, Tackle and Bite! You''ve got all the time in the world!" Erin said. I could see in Volkner''s eyes that he resigned to his loss immediately, although he obviously didn''t care one bit. I would have done the same. Swapping out a sleeping Pichu would be a waste, and this was probably his weakest of the three Pokemon he''d use. Comet took twenty seconds to reach Pichu, but once he did, he rammed into her and bit her arm. Volkner still waited, not pulling her out of her fight on the off-chance that Pichu would wake up, but the electric type fainted soon after. The Gym Leader recalled her with a fondness I hadn''t expected from him and sent out an Emolga right after. Erin''s shoulders sagged. She had already lost a battle to this Emolga, and defeatist thoughts were already swarming her mind. The girl pped her two cheeks until they were red and smiled. "Yawn, Comet!" "Gust." Emolga beat his wings, summoning a small tornado around Bidoof that stopped him from using Yawn. "Now Charge and Thundershock," he continued. "Tackle to dodge!" Erin barked out. Emolga took five seconds to charge up his Thundershock, and that meant Comet had ample time to react. He pushed himself to the left, and the electricity only grazed his tail. "Water Sport!" Erin yelled. Bidoof''s fur dampened, and the normal type flew, ejecting as much water from his mouth as he could. Volkner didn''t even flinch. Emolga lowered himself, easily dodging thest-ditch attempt to hit him and finished Comet off with another Thundershock. Water Sport to propel a Pokemon? She hadn''t told me about this, nor had she told Cece. I ced a hand on my chest and smiled. I could almost cry with how proud of her I was. "Erin, you''re amazing," I muttered. Sat came out of her ball next, since she was the only other Pokemon capable of taking down flying Pokemon. The normal type yawned and stretched on the red-tinted rocks as she sized up Emolga with a bored stare. "Quick Attack! Get under it!" Erin ordered with no hesitation. "Attack and keep your distance," Volkner said. More Thundershocks sparked out of Emolga''s body and toward meow. The normal type made herself small, practically prowling against the floor as she ran until she was right under Emolga. Her tail straightened for an instant, and then coiled again as she mmed it against the ground and sprung up. Her ws extended and shone bright white as she shed at Emolga''s wings. The flying type cried out in pain, but Volkner didn''t miss a beat. "Follow it and Spark." Electricity burst through Emolga''s skin, and the flying type rushed toward meow who was still in the air. She had no way to maneuver, and Emolga rammed into her right before shended. The normal type rolled on the ground, kicking up dust until she stopped herself by digging her ws into the floor. "Thundershock." I leaned against a palm as I observed meow dodge a series of Thundershocks as she progressively approached Emolga. The fact that this was a low-leveled battle meant that variety in tactics was severelycking. There were no custom moves, and the moves that did get used were few. I did notice that Volkner was leaving her a chance, however. He kept Emolga to a level where meow could reach, only ordering the electric type to get only a few more feet in the air. Even if he was bored out of his mind, he was a good Gym Leader. Sat tricked Emolga into thinking she wasing for him by mming her tail against the floor, but one whistle from Erin and she rushed forward instead, jumping on a rock with incredible dexterity and pushing herself from there. The electric type was caught off-guard and grunted as Sat clung onto him this time, determined to drag him down with her. She snarled, biting and wing at Emolga while he electrocuted her over and over until they both crashed on the floor. It was at this point that I wondered if Volkner would switch, but he didn''t. He let meow finish off Emolga with a Fury Swipes and recalled him. I hummed when he sent out a Pikachust, and he had the same ribbon on his ear Pichu had. Were they siblings? Friends, maybe, and one had evolved sooner than the other. "Quick attack and Electric Tail," Volkner called out. "Fury Swipes!" Pikachu blurred¡ª and that was important, because no Pokemon at that level were that fast. He rushed toward meow, who barely had time to react and put up her ws. She shed across Pikachu''s nk, drawing blood while electricity instantly came to life around the rodent''s tail and he mmed her away. "Again, Spark," he continued. "Quick Attack!" The electric type ran, electricity sparkling out of his cheeks until it overtook his entire body. meow yowled, scrambling back to her feet before she did the same. The two Pokemon butted heads, both grimacing in pain, but only Pikachu was left standing by the end of it. Sat''s limp bodyy on the ground, and her body was burned and smoking. Erin thanked her as she recalled her. Thanks to her and Comet''s training, she''d finally ovee her roadblock. Pokemon capable of flight were no longer an obstacle. She sent out Spindast with a grin. All of her anxiety from earlier had melted away, giving way to a joy for battling that matched Cece and mine. Swirls stumbled, barely managing to stay upright while Pikachu circled him on all fours and shared the same scowl Pichu had. They were like two peas in a pod. "Spark," Volkner said. Pikachu suddenly cut in, blurring as he brimmed with electricity. Swirls¡ª Swirls stumbled and tripped out of the way. He facented on the ground, dodging Pikachu''s attack by a hair. The electric type turned back, circling him and aimed for Swirls again, but he kept dodging by mere inches, always falling over when he did. Volkner didn''t call out for Thundershock either. It seemed like this Pikachu was trained for fighting up close while Pichu had been the opposite. "Electric Tail," Volkner called out. "Dizzy Punch, Swirls!" Erin barked. Pikachu''s tail sparkled brightly, and he zigzagged toward Spinda in an attempt to catch him off-guard. The normal type''s fist shone, and both Pokemon hit each other at the same time. Spinda''s attack was stronger, however, and Pikachu flew back into one of the spires. "Body m!" Spinda stumbled toward Pikachu like a drunkard, but somehow he was speeding up. At one point, I was surprised he even managed to stand upright still. Pikachu grit his teeth and headbutted him with a jump, but Swirls simply mmed him with all of his body weight, ramming Pikachu into the same rock. Another Dizzy Punch to the gut finished him off, and Spinda bowed to the audience before falling on his back¡ª nevermind, he was cartwheeling. Cecilia and I stood, cheering and pping as loud as we could. We did turn some heads. People weren''t used to others cheering so loudly for a first badge battle. Erin was crying of joy down on the field, and she recalled Swirl with quivering lips. She''d done it. ¡ª "Oh Legendaries, oh Legendaries, this is¡ª this is real, isn''t it? I''m not dreaming right now?" Erin cried, fanning her face. We''d greeted her right out of the waiting room, and she''de out a sobbing mess. I wrapped her into a soft hug while Cecilia rubbed her back. "It''s real, Erin," Cecilia said. "You won." "We''re proud of you," I gently spoke. "You were fantastic out there." "I mean, I still have to¡ª have to review the footage. I''ve gotten a ton of messages from New Wave already," she sniffled. "I can''t believe it!" "What TM did you get?" Cecilia asked. "Shock Wave. And I also got a bunch of money I''m gonna save for the club," she said. "Sat, Swirls and Comet can all learn it," I said. "It''s one of the easiest electric type moves to learn, so a bunch of Pokemon can. I''m one hundred percent sure you can go for three badges this year if you want." "Veilstone and Pastoria," Cece nodded. "Pastoria would be easier now that you have Shock Wave." "Especially since Maylene''s the fighting type Gym Leader and you only have normal types," I said. "But then again, if you want the easy way, then Maylene''s on break right now¡ª" "You guys are looking so far ahead already," she spoke through a teary chuckle. "But if I do it, I don''t want the easy way. Battling Volkner was¡ª it was so much fun." "Now you''re getting it," Cece said. "Let''s get you back to your club. I have an inkling they''re all waiting there to celebrate with you." "And they''re probably pissed you kept the battle a secret," I chuckled. "Can you guyse along?" She hesitantly asked. "It''d mean a lot to me if you were here." I stared at Cece and smiled. "Of course. We''ll hang out! If Jasmine calls, I''ll tell her I''m busy." Erin''s eyes widened slightly. "Thank you. And I''ve decided, now. I''m going to be a normal type specialist." Oh, I was sure kazam would squeal like a little girl at that deration. ¡ª "Look at our little Erin all grown up," I said. It was strange to be in the same room we''d held my party in. Only this time, it was filled with actual club members. Erin stood at the center, speaking to everyone and juggling what seemed to be a dozen conversations at the same time while she showed off her new, shiny badge. A few kids had already asked her to share her TM, and she''d agreed without hesitation since it was reusable. I had an inkling that Shock Wave was going to be widespread throughout New Wave soon enough. The few trainers in their club that had already owned one badge had disagreed to share the TM because trainers usually just didn''t do that. We were taught to hoard them for ourselves to get a leg up on possiblepetition¡ª well not taught, but it was what all the elite-level trainers did, and humans learned through repetition. Craig would never give someone the TM for Hyper Beam, for example. Erin didn''t care. "The first badge is always a great boost of confidence," Cece muttered. "It''s when you start thinking you might actually be able to do this. Go all the way." "Well, in her case, it won''t be all the way, but yeah," I agreed. "This''ll do wonders for her." The party had been going on for a few hours at this point, and the sun had already set. I sipped on some soda while chatting to Cece about anything that came to mind, and I cringed at myself when she told me to stop telling everyone I knew about Jasmine, especially the people that¡­ didn''t have a Gym Leader to tutor them. "Lauren''s feeling left out? Shit, that''s¡­ yeah, that''s my bad," I sighed. "I honestly thought¡ª" "Don''t worry, you two are good," Cece said. "I know you were just excited about it. You can tell me about your training, if you can''t contain it." "You won''t get angry? I''m feeling kind of self-conscious now." She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I''d be lying if I wasn''t wishing I had the same opportunity, but it''lle," she said. "Right now, I''m mostly happy seeing my girlfriend gush about Pokemon training. And even though I don''t have an electric type, I do find some tidbits useful." "You''re the best." "Mhm," she hummed. I stared up at her. "Seriously, I don''t deserve you." "Don''t give me any of that now," she scolded, wrapping an arm around my waist. "Do you¡ª" She stopped when another kid came up to us, looking to speak. Even with us here, Erin was the center of attention, but that didn''t mean we were alone. We stayed at the party until it finished at midnight, and while we walked home, Jasmine was waiting for me in front of my Pokemon Center with a bottle of¡­ something in her hand. I wasn''t sure what it was except that it wasn''t beer. Cecilia let out a quiet sigh, and I ced my head on her shoulder. "I''ll see youter?" I tentatively said. "You go ahead. I was going to go to sleep anyway, I get it. I''d like it if you came to my room when you''re done, though." "Thanks. Sorry," I said. "I''ll try not to wake you up." Cecilia politely greeted Jasmine, who nudged her head at her. I was happy to see that she wasn''t drunk, or at least not drunk yet. "Grace. Tonight is going to be magnificent," she dered with a prim grin. "What are we doing that''s so special?" I asked. The Gym Leader popped open her bottle and took a swig. I could smell the alcohol from here. "Remember when I told you we were going to break into Volkner''s Gym so Honey could try out maic maniption there?" I paused for a few seconds, registering her words. "That''s tonight?!" I scoffed. "Why?" "No time like the present. You want something done, you do it," Jasmine said. "It''ll be fine. We won''t get caught. I did plenty of sneaking around back in my day." "Don''t say back in my day like you''re seventy." "I know I dragged you away from your girlfriend, so we''ll make it quick and not go by foot like I originally nned. I feel bad for her," Jasmine quietly said. She grabbed Metagross'' Pokeball and released the steel type. "Hello, my loves. I''d like for you to Teleport us in front of Volkner''s Gym. We''re going to break in." For a second, I swore that I heard Metagross sigh and roll their eyes. Do you have a n for the cameras? The Gym Trainers patrolling the ce twenty-four seven? Do you have a route nned to break in and back out? Teleporting inside of a Gym when it''s closed is impossible, as you know. Dark type interference. "Don''t sweat the details. Volkner never checks the camera feed anyway and I''ll silence any Gym Trainers on camera duty." Silence? We certainly hope you don''t mean kill or threaten. It would be in the Indigo League''s best interest if you did notmit a drunken murder and embroil us into a diplomatic incident. "Rx, Arceus! No, not murder. I just mean¡­ you know, tell ''em to keep quiet as a favor. They love me at the Gym." They hate you. Only Volkner loves you, and the fact that you''re there distracting him by copting and making eyes at each other has increased the average Gym Trainer''s workload by 18%. They want you gone as fast as possible. "Just Teleport us," Jasmine sighed. Fine. Don''t say I did not warn you. "What''s the worst that can happen? The word gets out that I was trying to break a trainer in, Volkner gets angry at me and I bring up the dozens of times he dropped the ball," Jasmine shrugged. While she spoke, we''d been Teleported in front of Volkner''s Gym. "You know, you need to ease up a little and learn to¡ª" Metagross'' eyes shone, and they entered their Pokeball. "Did they¡ª did they just recall themselves?" I stammered. "They do that when they get tired of me," Jasmine smirked. "Let''s go in." A Gym at night wasn''t something I''d ever seen from up close. Bright lights shone down on the small path that led to the entrance, but the lobby itself waspletely dark. Jasmine slid a keycard in front of a sensor, and the ss doors unlocked for us. "Girlfriend privilege," she said, sliding the card back into a pocket. "Come on, get in there." "This feels so wrong," I muttered. Jasmine sipped on her¡­ "What are you drinking, by the way?" I asked in a whisper. "Vodka." I nearly choked, but I stopped myself from making any noise. "Doesn''t that taste really bad?" I asked as we slowly walked through the lobby. "My dad says it does." "Oh, it''s awful," sheughed. "But if you want to get shitfaced, it''s great. Don''t worry though, I''m not going to get drunk while I''m teaching you. I''m just sipping. Vodka tastes great when mixed with other stuff if you ever fancy starting to drink." "Whatever you say," I whispered. We snuck through the lobby with no incidents, although I did see a hint of a shlight before Jasmine pushed me toward a corridor. We circled what felt like the entire Gym, easily avoiding all patrols. We were lucky no one here had an electric type that was also psychic, or we would have been busted instantly. Jasmine gently opened a door I didn''t recognize and my eyes bulged when I realized it was the camera room. The Gym Trainer dropped the phone she''d been looking at instead of the screens and nearly fell off her chair. "Leader Jasmine? What are you doing here? Who is this¡ª" "Shhhh," Jasmine said. "Grace, close the door." I listened to her and gently pushed it back. "We''re going to use the arena for a bit," Jasmine said. "It''d be great if you didn''t tell anyone you saw us break in." "Uh, I''m kind of obligated to report that trainer''s presence¡ª" "Come on, Nancy. I''ll talk to Volkner about that promotion you wanted. Isn''t looking at cameras boring? You want to be an actual trainer, don''t you? You weren''t even paying attention to the footage." The girl bit her lip, and after deliberating for a few seconds, she nodded. "Fine, get out of here," she snapped, picking up her phone. "But don''t tell him I said yes to this, or he''ll fire me." "I won''t. I promise," Jasmine firmly said. "Thank you for your time." We left her alone, and I was certain her eyes would stay glued to the camera footage for the rest of her shift now that she''d been caught off-guard. We kept circling around the inside of the stadium until we reached the waiting room¡ª Volkner''s waiting room. There were eight lockers herebeled ''FIRST BADGE'' to ''EIGHT BADGE'' with what must have been dozens of Pokemon in each. My eyes lingered on the six badge locker until Jasmine pressed a couple of light switches. A loud, industrial hum started as the ceiling lights wooshed to life. It felt weird to see the spectating area so empty. "I hope nobody heard that," I muttered. "Get Honey out of his ball," Jasmine said. "It''ll just be him today." I released the electric type and brought him up to speed. The fact that we were here illegally made him extremely nervous, but he pressed on. Honey getting a feel for the rocks here would prove invaluable during the actual battle. Instead of using Thunder or Thunderbolt to rip up some rocks from the earth, he used Thunder Punch to be as quiet as he could while Jasmine observed. And she''d been right. It was easier here for him. We''d barely made any progress on the mountain on route 205 because of the low contents of maic materials, but all of the training he''d done showed himself here. The rocks floated around him and clumsily collided with each other as electricity coiled around him and crackled in his fur. He identally dropped some of them or pushed them away from his influence, but he managed to throw some away at a respectable speed. Not anywhere near what we needed to be, but we were at least halfway to the move being usable in battle. "See how much easier it is?" Jasmine asked the electric type. "It''s like going on a jog after trying to win in a triathlon. Much more manageable." Honey nodded, but he didn''t speak to keep up his concentration and tried again. "We''ll stick around for thirty minutes or so. Then we''ll slip out. If another opportunity provides itself, then I''ll bring you, but the experience he gains here will be crucial for your battle." "Thank you," I said. "Don''t sweat it," Jasmine said. "This brings back memories. I used to sneak around the Gym when I was a kid and my father ran it." "Really?" Why?" I asked. "Weren''t you allowed to be there?" The only reason she was hiding right now was because I was here, after all. I assumed that she''d been allowed to be in her father''s Gym whenever she wanted just like this one. "It was¡­plicated," Jasmine muttered. "And it''s not something I''d like to get into tonight." The conversation paused, and Jasmine took another swig of her bottle while Honey kept training. "He had this liquor cab in his office that I''d steal bottles out of," she continued. I scoffed. "How old were you, exactly?" "Eh, twelve, thirteen or so," Jasmine said. "You know what he said when he figured it out?" "He screamed at you and grounded you?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. Jasmine snorted. "No. He said he was proud that I''d outsmarted him, but that when I wanted to do something, I had to make sure the job was finished. One of the Gym Trainers had ratted me out, and he said that I should have threatened him with Maon and Onix, or said I''d get him to fire him if he tattled. Even if it had been a lie, it would have worked." "Working at your Gym doesn''t sound like a fun time," I said. "Oh, that was back in the old days. My dad was raised by a generation that was molded by the Great War. He was a kid during the fighting," Jasmine muttered. "He used to tell me all about how Olivine kept getting bombed to oblivion by enemy naval forces and Pokemon. That even the bunkers weren''t enough and sometimes copsed in on the people taking refuge there because of the Onix that our enemies would send underground to copse our more resistant buildings. That fishermen were hunted and our crops were destroyed by swarms of enemy Rattata so the entire region could starve. That sites of great battles were never cleared of their bodies so that ghosts could form, and how there''d be a second battle atop the corpses to capture the damn things. And a third. And a fourth. Over and over until the entire ce was a sea of rotten bodies where the smell clung to your throat. We did it too, of course. All of it." I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. "But Olivine was not destroyed to smithereens. We weren''t put down, nor were we captured by enemy forces. They bypassed us in hopes of capturing Goldenrod," Jasmine said. "We rose back from the ashes because they didn''t finish us off. Growing up like that, it fucks up a human. My father''s fucked and my grandpa was even more so when he was alive. He''s old, bitter, and he keeps ranting about how he hates Kantoans and their allies for what they did to us and that we should never have united, but he''s the greatest man I know despite¡­ everything. He''s the one that taught me to always finish the job. No loose ends. If you want to finish something, you go for the throat." I didn''t exactly know what this was alluding to, but I knew it was a lesson of some sort, so I nodded. "I will." The steel Gym Leader smiled. "Great. You''re learning¡ª" "Jasmine¡­?" I flinched, turning toward the source of the voice. It was Volkner in some shorts, slippers, and a T-Shirt. "I was working and I saw the lights turn on from my office. What''s going on here?" "I should have gone for the throat," Jasmine muttered under her breath. She pursed her lips and spoke up as she lifted her bottle. "Hey Volkner. Want some Vodka?"
Chapter 230 Chapter 230 CHAPTER 230 "Hey Volkner. Want some Vodka?" The blond man frowned, his eyes drifting to Jasmine''s bottle. "No," he sighed. "And give me that." He snatched the bottle out of her hand to keep her from drinking, or at least that''s what I assumed. Jasmine didn''t fight it at all and just let him have it. I could barely look him in the eye, let alone speak. I was too scared and embarrassed to say anything, so I opted to let Jasmine talk in my stead. Honey hid behind me even though he was bigger than I was, and he couldn''t even bear to attract any attention to himself. "Can you tell me why Grace Pastel is in my Gym, Jasmine?" Volkner asked in a semi-aggressive tone. "I was training her," Jasmine answered. "I apologize for the transgression. No need toe up with an excuse, by the way. I know you weren''t working." "Perceptive as always," Volkner said after a pause. "Nancy called you and woke you up as soon as we left the security room." The Gym Leader nodded. Upon closer look, it was noticeable. The getup that looked like he''d just gotten out of bed, the barely open eyes, the slowness of his speech, the yawning and the subdued anger went beyond Volkner''s usualziness. He was tired. And it was why Jasmine hadmented not going for that Gym Trainer''s throat, whatever that meant in that context. "She did," Volkner answered. "I know I''ve given you plenty of privileges, but you can''t just do whatever you want, Jasmine. Do you realize how humiliating this would look for me if this came out? Thest thing people want with Team Gctic running around is hearing that breaking into a Gym is this easy." "Gyms don''t have anything of importance beyond you," Jasmine countered. "All of the Gyms could be destroyed tomorrow and it wouldn''t matter so long as the leader lived. The Porygon you made would delete all the important data, which is why you only have a bunch of kids guarding the ce." Volkner groaned, staring at the ceiling with his eyes closed. "It''s not just about me, it''s the kid too." "I''m sorry," I spoke for the first time "I shouldn''t¡ª" Volkner repeatedly snapped his fingers at me until I shut up. He was irritated with my mere presence here. "She''s starting to be a big name. Not only because she works closely with us, but because of her skill and her sponsor. This could have torpedoed her career, Jasmine. Training in a Gym Leader''s arena before a battle is an unfair advantage, and that''s not even counting the breaking and entering." Jasmine sighed as she squatted. "Could have, could have, could have. And yet it will not. I don''t work in hypotheticals, Volkner. Your government thinks her too important to incarcerate her, and you don''t want to rustle any feathers or deal with the consequences of this. Plus, you''ve never been one to care that much about rules." Volkner''s lips went t, and he tried to rebuke her, but he knew she was right. "I apologize for breaking your trust, but her potential goes beyond mere badges or sponsors. I see it clearly, and she deserves all the tools I can give her." "I''m taking away your keycard." "That is fair," she said. "How drunk are you? I thought you were doing better." "Not much. Check the bottle." Volkner lifted the vodka and saw that it hadn''t been emptied much. "Have you been going to your¡­" he stopped when he nced at me. "Thing?" For the first time since I''d met her, Jasmine hesitated when she spoke. She stood back up, her fingers fidgeting and her lips trembling slightly. She was like a child that had been caught hiding their report card, and I felt like it was a glimpse at who she''d once been. "No?" She said in a meek voice. "But I only missed two meetings. Maybe three or four¡ª" "We''ll talk about itter," Volkner said. He approached and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her forehead as he did so. "Sorry for not being there. Work''s been a dragtely, and I was visiting Maylene too." "Don''t worry about it," she said. "As for you," Volkner menacingly said when he turned back at me. "Your Electabuzz interests me, and I don''t think children should be punished for the things adults rope them into. But, you still need to be punished in a way." I bit my lip, bracing myself for the worst. "Your assessment will start early," Volkner dered, all of hisziness and tiredness melting away, leaving way for the person thaty under: someone that lived for Pokemon battling. "Your Electabuzz will go against my Electrivire right now. Hit him three times with whatever attack and you''ll win, even electric type moves. We won''t strike back¡ª or we will, but not in any serious manner. Electivire will focus on dodging and you''ll have ten minutes to win." "T¡ªthat''s a punishment?" I stammered. "Jasmine suggested the idea to me and I was going to do it after your Gym battle whenever your Electabuzz was ready so you would have had more time to prepare, but we''re doing it now," Volkner said. "You can''t refuse. Either you battle me right now, or you kiss Electabuzz''s evolution goodbye. Don''t misunderstand, though. This isn''t a battle for your badge." "I ept," I instantly said. Volkner exhaled and reflexively shoved his hands in pockets that weren''t there. "Follow me to my office. I''ve got to get Electivire''s Pokeball." "Oh, uh, what about Jasmine?" I asked. "Jasmine can wait here. It''ll just be you and me," Volkner said. "Keep your Electabuzz here too." Honey finally found his voice and protested, but I told him I''d be fine and to stick with Jasmine. Volkner motioned at me to follow, and I quickly scampered toward him while Jasmine mouthed an apology at me. She had probably genuinely expected for me to get off scot-free because she was dating Volkner. The Gym Leader let out a loud yawn as he stepped inside an elevator next to his waiting room. He pressed on the fourth floor and stared me down. "So." "So¡­?" I hesitantly muttered. "How''s the training with Jasmine going?" He asked. "It''s, um, it''s going very well. Honey''s been progressing leaps and bounds¡ª" "Good, good. I appreciate someone training an Electabuzz," he interrupted. Even when he wasplimenting me, there was still lingering dislike in his voice, possibly due to what I''d done with Maylene. He had said he''d visited her recently too. "But about Jasmine. I heard that you brought her home drunk a few days ago¡­ never mind, that was a week ago now. Thank you for that." The elevator dinged, and Volkner''s office was just in front of the doors. That was convenient when he needed to alternate between battling and paperwork, and that was probably why he''d battled Erin in what were obviously lounge clothes. "Yeah. It was nothing." "Jasmine''s a great trainer, but don''t let her string you along to whatever she wants," Volkner warned. "She''s got a few problems. Her upbringing was rough, and it''s pushed her toward certain ways¡­ just watch out, alright?" I silently nodded as Volkner emptied the vodka bottle in his trashcan, then grabbed a Pokeball from his desk. There were eight of them lined up in small, circr molds that fit them perfectly. He turned on the lights and then spoke into a big microphone next to the PC. "Good evening, this is Volkner speaking. To all trainers on the night shift, there is going to be a battle happening. If there are any sudden noises or explosions, it is business as usual. Uh¡­ Rika, would you bring one of the Kadabra downstairs to make a barrier? Thank you. And bring two battling microphones too." "Thanks for hanging out with her though. She''s drank less since she started training you," Volkner said. "We can head back down." "Um, I actually have something to say really quick," I said. "My friend Lauren¡ª" "Ah, Craig''s sister," Volkner said. "Magmar, right? Not much I can do about that other than send the footage of her battle to Flint. I''ll try to nudge him in the right direction because I owe Craig a favor still." I breathed a sigh of relief. By being tested now, I was kind of screwing Lauren over, but I had at least salvaged her an opportunity to evolve Mags. Volkner spoke up again as he turned off the lights to his office and we entered the elevator. "Flint''s interested in her too," he said. "Only two people have a Magmar here, and Lauren''s one of them. Can''t guarantee anything, though, especially with how busy he is. Bing an Elite Four member really sounds tiresome. So much work and so little battling¡­ Arceus." "Can I ask onest thing?" "Shoot." "My friend Erin Atwood¡ª" "Ah, the fidgety kid," Volkner spoke over me. "Yeah?" "Yeah," I repeated. "I just wanted to thank you for battling her. She was over the moon about it." The Gym Leader shrugged. "It was pure coincidence. I recognized her name and remembered that she was one of the people that couldn''t take down fliers, so I figured I needed to test her." "Well, she was very happy about it, and she''s really passionate now, so thank you." Jasmine was whispering somest-minute pointers to Honey when we walked back. Volkner swatted the air, motioning me away like I was some kind of pest so I could leave him to speak alone with his girlfriend. I didn''t even try to eavesdrop. It would be a serious breach of trust and incredibly disrespectful with the chance I''d just been given. "Nervous?" I asked Honey. There was still a way to go until we reached our side of the arena. The electric type nodded, but he said he was determined to win no matter what. He asked me what strategy we''d employ given how strange this battle was going to be. "It is strange. All we have to do is hit him three times and he won''t seriously fight back¡ª well, I say ''all'' like it''s going to be easy. It isn''t." The electric type agreed. "Remember what Jasmine said? Your opponent is like an engine. The more the battle goes on for, the faster and more powerful Electivire gets until he¡­ overheats, forck of a better term. Us ousting him is a pipe dream, so we have to go in quick and fast and hope tond our three hits before Electivire bes unstoppable." Honey grunted, saying that the Railgun attack wasn''t advanced enough yet to hope to hit Electivire, but Radiant Leap would be useful. "Yeah," I nodded. "And Discharge too. Attacks with arge area of effect that can maybe get to him and leave him no options to dodge." We reached our side of the podium and kept talking strategy until a woman who must have been Rika entered the arena from behind me with a Kadabra in tow. Anger emanated from the psychic. He was pissed, and if I had to guess it was because he was working sote. The girl outfitted me with a microphone and did the same for Volkner after sprinting toward him to not waste any time. Honey quickly jumped into the arena before Kabadra could put up his barrier,nding with a loud thud. And Volkner sent out his Electivire. Electricity hummed around Electivire with each step he took. He dwarfed Honey''s size,ing in at around eight feet tall. His two, red-tipped tailsshed out and whipped the ground, leaving behind scorched marks from all the electricity packed in them. Muscles bulged all over his body under his thick fur. Two red eyes looked right at us, alternating between me and Honey. Electivire was sizing us up, and he didn''t like what he was seeing. We were weak. "This isn''t a normal battle, Electivire," Volkner started. He paused, sitting cross-legged on his podium. "Your only job is to dodge for ten minutes, but feel free to attack a little if you want. No electric type moves or electricity in general. No Protect. Rika, go ahead and start the battle." No electricity, I thought. Did that mean no Motor Drive? Electivire responded with a chortle, which sounded like an engine struggling to start. He thought us to be ants that he could crush. A fun way to pass the time at best. Honey whirled his arms around and began charging up electricity while Rika counted down. Even she was excited to see Electivire in action. "Radiant Leap!" I immediately barked out. There was a sh, and then Honey vanished, blurring forward with a trail of electricity behind him that burned the ground he walked on. Volkner didn''t even bother ordering Electivire. The electric type answered our challenge with a jubnt scream and pushed a foot against the ground, creating a small crater where he had just stood. "Discharge!" I yelled. Electricity exploded out of Honey as soon as he was in range, but Electivire''s eyes shed¡ª And he Teleported out of range. My eyes blinked, and I slowly realized what had just happened, but Honey was quick on his feet. He continued with Radiant Leap in a desperate attempt to reach and hit Electivire, but the electric type kept disappearing as soon as the attack got anywhere close. I''d known the Elekid line was capable of learning Teleport via TM along with the Magby line, but I hadn''t studied Volkner''s personal team at all. After all, I''d never expected to actually be in this situation. Speaking of Volkner, he yawned while he was looking at his phone and Jasmine was silently rooting for me behind him. Honey snarled as he desperately tried to get a hand on Electivire, but his reaction speed was always just enough somehow, and he always dodged by a hair with Teleport as if he was challenging himself to do so. The electric typeughed as he hid behind a rock and Electabuzz broke it apart with a Cross Chop. Electivire tapped Honey on the shoulder, showing that he''d Teleported behind him, but he was gone before we could even strike back. We had no dark type moves to work with to stop him. "Railgun!" I ordered. Electricity coiled around Honey, and the rocks from the destroyed spire began to float around him as they glimmered with electricity. Even though his hold on them was clumsy at best, Volkner''s eyes widened slightly. Some bumped around each other, fell on the floor or were identally pushed outside of Electabuzz''s orbit, but at least half of them stuck around. Honey grunted, crushing the rocks in smaller shards until they were mere pebbles and he rushed forward with Radiant Leap and carried them with him. His sheer speed made him drop some more, but it was fine. "Push!" I yelled with all my might. He''d noticed as I had that even though Electivire could Teleport, he was no psychic. His range was pitiful. Just enough to get out of Discharge''s range if he really pushed himself. Long distances were too much for Electivire, even after probably having trained with the move for what was most likely years and he was too far away from any spires to take refuge there. The electrified rocks burst outward all around Electabuzz, and Electivire grinned. His eyes shed once and a thin barrier appeared around him. Honey bared his teeth and immediately sent out a Thunderbolt forward. It was a crisp ray of electricity with barely any energy wasted, and it barrelled toward Electivire with the electrified rocks. The barrier stopped the Thunderbolt, but it weakened it enough for the barrage of electrified rocks to break through. The barrier shattered like ss and the pebbles mmed into Electivire''s chest. Since we weren''t great with the move yet, the damage had been a joke, but a hit was a hit. Volkner''s Electivire was a true threat, but they had handicapped themselves so much that hitting them was actually possible. Two more. "Electric Swift!" I grinned. Honey summoned a dozen stars, infusing them with electricity before he brought an arm forward and sent them flying toward his opponent. Electivire Teleported¡ª No, he wasn''t Teleporting. He was just moving quickly. So quickly that I could barely track him save for the blur of yellow and dark fur. He was slower than with Teleporting, of course, but that didn''t mean much considering he was faster than Honey was using Radiant Leap with no moves and no electricity. He easily outran the stars and led them to crash into one of the spires. Yeah, that would have been too easy, but I thought I might have been able to catch him off-guard. Honey let loose another Thunderbolt that Electivire easily sidestepped, and then he rushed toward us immediately after. "Discharge¡ª" Electivire blinked forward and ced his huge hand around Honey''s face. He threw him in the air, and the Discharge only activated when Honey had been halfway tonding. He crashed into the ground, rolling until he reached the barrier. I was about to protest and say that he''d said he would only be dodging, but that hadn''t been what Volkner had said. He had said no electric type moves and that all that was required of Electivire was to dodge. Electivire had other ideas. He was having the time of his life. Honey scrambled back to his feet, and I ordered him to gather enough rocks for Railgun again. He zipped toward one of the spires, his hands glowing with Cross Chop¡ª And Electivire reached it before he did, even with Radiant Leap and him not actively speeding himself up with electricity. This was his base speed. The Motor Drive ability that Jasmine had spoken to me about wasn''t even in y. Honey immediately unleashed a Discharge, but Electivire blinked behind the Spire to hide. Then, he Teleported back and threw Honey toward the center of the arena. Honey grunted in frustration as hended face-first into the ground. Red dust from the shattered rocks clung to his fur like glue. "Just Thunderbolt the ground!" I ordered. He executed it before he had even stood up. The electric energy broke the ground apart, creating shards of rocks that levitated around Honey. The electric type grunted as he stood, then rushed toward Electivire with Radiant Leap. "Don''t use them yet!" I yelled. "He can just hide behind the spire. Break it apart with another Thunderbolt!" Since Volkner had said no electricity, he''d be forced to dodge the attack and let us destroy the small spire. If he had a non-electric type move to counter us or used his half-baked barrier, then we''d just move on and destroy every single rock formation he could hide behind. This would just be a distraction. My theory materialized when Electivire stomped a foot against the ground with gleaming eyes and another barrier appeared. Since they weren''t the most defensively-minded battlers, their barrier was actually quite terrible. Worse than Princess'' or the other psychics I had seen. It wasforting in a way to see such a powerful Pokemon still have holes and ws. The barrier struggled against the Thunderbolt, but it didn''t break through. "Thunderbolt every other spire," I said. "Use Railgun or Discharge if he approaches." Electricity instantly shot out toward all of the rocks jutting out of the ground, and Electivire simply observed with the same grin it had sported the entire battle. He was using thest remaining stone as an anchor, and he would never abandon it, because if he did the same tactic ofbining Railgun and Thunderbolt would break through his barrier. I leaned against my knees and contained a smile. "Radiant Leap back." Honey spun, turning in less than a second, and he blurred back until I signaled him to stop. This distance¡­ was perfect. If one attack could break through the barrier on its own, it was this. "Thunder everywhere," I ordered. Electabuzz whirled his arms, gathering so much electricity that he lost control of the rocks orbiting him. He charged it faster than before, and more energy crackled through him and caused his fur to stand on edge. Honey let loose the massive Thunder, and it looked more like a Discharge than anything else. Electricity flew everywhere,shing out against the world. A focused Thunder would have dealt more damage, but all we needed was a hit. Electivire put both of his hands up and the screen shimmered and cracked under Thunder''s weight. "Keep it going!" I yelled. It would tire him out, but we needed to force the barrier to break. After six seconds of struggle, it finally did. The electricity singed Electivire''s fur, but another electric type would feel very little from an electric type attack, especially at our power disparity. The spire had broken down, and Electivire had nowhere else to hide from Swift. All he had left was his psychic barriers. One more hit. "Electric Swift," I continued as sweat dripped into my eyes. More stars barrelled toward Electivire, whose smile widened as he waited until thest second to sidestep Swift. He rushed toward Honey, who quickly countered with a Thunderbolt. Electivire blinked to the left, easily avoiding the move. The Swift slowly drifted back and began to chase down Electivire. "Discharge! Keep him away!" I yelled. I almost celebrated when the electricity engulfed Electivire, but bit my lip when I realized that he''d simply plunged inside Discharge with a barrier surrounding him. He sped Honey''s throat and threw him up in the air. Before Electabuzz couldnd, Electivire kicked him toward his own Swift. The stars rammed into him, and he groaned in pain while he tumbled into the sharp rocks. "Thunder again!" I quickly said. Honey got up, pushing a hand against his knee as he gasped for air, but Electivire blinked forward, leaping across the floor and grabbing a handful of rocks across the way. He threw it at Honey at full force, knocking the electric type back and knocking him off his feet and back on the ground. The rocks shattered against Honey and blood started seeping out of his shoulders, torso and legs, but he didn''t stop. The Thunder hummed and exploded out of Honey thanks to all of our training, destroying everything around him. Electivire narrowly backstepped and jumped to get out of the attack''s range. As Jasmine had warned, an unfocused Thunder was not only not as powerful, but the range was also a lot worse. I was fighting for my life here and Volkner wasn''t even looking at me. He was speaking to Jasmine instead and had deactivated his microphone. Look at me! I internally screamed. If we wanted to win, we''d need tobine everything we had at our disposal. I didn''t know how much time was left, but I was certain at least five minutes had passed by now. Honey gasped for air as he awaited my nextmand, and my eyes narrowed toward the grinning Electivire. He had speed, Teleportation and barriers to avoid getting hit, although he''drgely stopped Teleporting and was mostly just running quickly now. Throwing rocks or throwing Honey himself was a way for him to reset the tempo in his favor. "Swift," I muttered. Bait him into either being forced to run or gunning for Honey to use him as a shield. Of course, he had his barrier too, but I had noticed that Electivire was having fun here. He wasn''t fighting optimally, even by barely using any moves. I supposed that the restrictive parameters of the fight were something new for him and it''d be unfair if he didn''t give us at least a chance. Honey lifted an arm, and fifteen stars shot out toward the electric type all at once. Electivire let out a gleeful, engine-likeugh and ran forward. I waited for a single second, and he had already closed half of the distance. "Give me a constant Thunderbolt!" I said. Electricity crackled through Honey''s fur and rose toward his hands until it flew at Electivire, who simply side-stepped to the left. Electabuzz tracked him with the attack, and Electivire kept circling around him, sliding under or jumping over the Thunderbolt when needed. "Railgun!" Nearby stones shook against the ground until they rose and flew toward Electivire in an attempt to cut him off. We finally forced him to put his barrier up, and the rocks simply mmed against it. Electivire suddenly cut in and beelined toward Honey, having decided that he was done ying around. Perfect. Now I could finally reveal our trump card¡ª "Screech!" I snapped. Electabuzz gasped, his chest doubling in size until he bellowed it all out. Electivire squinted, and his barrier faltered. I didn''t even have to speak. Honey immediately used Thundershock so the attack coulde out as fast as possible. My heart sank when one of Electivire''s tails instantly wrapped around Honey''s ankle. At first, I''d thought the contact itself meant that he''d been electrocuted, but the outer, ck part of Electivire''s tail was apparently made of some kind of insting material because even when Honey''s Thundershock turned into a Thunderbolt, it had no effect on the electric type. I quickly ordered him to use Discharge, but his electric type attacks were all being channeled inside of Electivire''s tail. Not a move, I thought through gritted teeth. Just biology. Electivire''s tails were longer than they looked, and Honey was out of range of any punching moves. "Screech then Swift!" As soon as Electivire heard Screeche out of my mouth, he mmed Honey against the ground like a rag and then threw him back again. Somehow, his tail threw harder than his arms and Honey mmed against Volkner''s side of the barrier. He struggled back to his feet with ragged breaths, and erratic sparks of electricity danced through his fur. Electivire didn''t stop there, however. His muscles bulged as he threw rocks with both his hands and tails. Honey put up a Protect, and the green barrier shimmered as he slowly trudged forward. All of his Radiant Leaps and Thunders had tired him out. Only Angel would still be able to keep going at this point, and yet Honey was still standing. But what else did we have in the cards? Static Shield wasn''t ready yet, and I wasn''t sure it would even constitute a win. "Thunder," I muttered. It was a gamble. Everything else had failed, and this was thest hope that we had. A focused Thunder that''d be able to catch him off-guard. All of our Thunders so far had been unfocused. The kind that Jasmine hated. They struck in a wide range, but they were slow enough for Electivire to react and step away. He hadn''t seen our quick, focused attack yet. It was faster than the other and I hoped that it would be enough. Honey let out a few raspy breaths as electricity coiled around his arms. Electivire snorted, opting to run in again. Good. The only way this would work was if we were underestimated. Stones rose and fell around Honey''s feet, and he let out a defiant roar before unleashing the Thunder. The electricity rushed toward Electivire in a straight line faster than what he''d gotten used to. The electric type''s eyes widened, and he¡­ He sidestepped and barely dodged. It was so close that Electivire''s hair puffed up. Honey was already unconscious, with no way to keep going. I bit my lip and recalled him, and satisfaction radiated out of Electivire. He had a lot of fun with this battle, and he let Volkner know vocally, yelling so loudly that my eardrums shook. I clenched my Pokeball and sighed. It had been so close. So, so close. Volkner motioned me toe back, and I followed suit, dragging my feet across the ground as I did so. Extra training might have made the difference in that fight, either through Railgun being stronger, Thunder being faster or Honey being able tost longer in battle. As it stood, I would have an easier time in the Gym Battle thanks to Honey experimenting with the rocks here, but that didn''t matter in the grand scheme of things. "You lost," Volkner dered. "I did," I said. He paused, looking to Jasmine and then frowning. "You''re not going to ask me for another chance?" "A deal is a deal," I said. "I feel terrible about it, but you can''t change it after it''s been forged. I''ll be¡­ I''ll be okay, I think." "Jasmine, show her to the door," Volkner said, waving a hand as he recalled Electivire. "I''ll wait for you so we can talk about your stuff." Jasmine nodded and pushed me forward. We walked in silence toward the lobby, and then outside the Gym. It felt a lot colder than it had been an hour earlier despite me knowing that it wasn''t the case. "Grace," Jasmine said. "I''m sorry for putting you through this. You know, I''m an alcoholic." The deration came out of nowhere, and I turned toward her. I had suspected it, but she hadn''t drunk since starting to train me until tonight, so I thought that I was just being paranoid. "I''ve tried to swear off alcohol, but I can''t," she said with a sad smile. "Every time I walk near a bar or a restaurant, every time I see someone else drinking, it gives me to urge to do it too. I''ve never gone longer than a week and a half without drinking. It was my escape. It still is. Even Metagross say it''s impossible to keep a bottle away from me, and trust me they''ve tried." "I''m¡­ sorry about that. I was wondering if you were or not," I said. "I met Volkner at a support group meeting for addicts, actually," Jasmine said, leaning against the Gym''s steel walls. "I was hoping to use this vacation to rid myself of my addiction. There was never enough time with my work." "He''s an addict?" I asked, not hiding the sheer shock in my tone. "No, he used to be one. Smoking addiction," Jasmine said. "He was giving the meeting to help others. At first, I thought it was Sinnoh''s way of spying on me, but he was just a genuinely good guy. He''s my rock, you know. He keeps me grounded at my worst. I was making progress again, but I rpsed today¡­ and I made you do this." I nodded. "What''s done is done. I still appreciate all your help. Honey would be nowhere near as strong as he was without you, and there are other ways I can have him evolve." Although begging Cynthia for help would not make me happy, and Honey would be extremely disappointed in himself. "It''s not over, Grace," Jasmine said. I stared at her, and for a second, it was as if she glimmered in the moonlight. "Volkner never expected you to evennd a single hit, let alone two," she said. "You actually managed to get him to run out of Teleports and showcased Railgun extremely well, even though it''s still barely useable as it is right now. He was impressed. I convinced him to give you another chance during your Gym Battle. That means yours will be a four-on-four with Electabuzz vs Electivire as the final act if you agree. Even if you win the four-on-four Volkner won''t give you your badge if you lose thest fight. It''ll be the same parameters, except he upped the ante. Four hits instead of three. Will you take up the challenge?" I beamed. "Yes! Yes, we will!" "Good. My heart feels like lead no longer," she smiled. "Go on, now. We''ve kept your girlfriend waiting long enough. I''ll give you some pointers in two days if you''re willing to take them. I''m going to be busy with Volkner tomorrow. He''s probably going to take the entire day off to make sure I get to my support group." "I am interested," I said. "If I win the battle and you go to your meetings, you''ll be forgiven." Jasmine chuckled. "Good. I was beginning to think that you''d forgiven me already, and that wouldn''t do." "Well, you said it, right? Don''t let powerful people walk all over me," I shrugged. "If I catch you drinking again, I''m snitching to Volkner and never seeing you again, by the way. I know you like me." "Going for the throat, are you?" Jasmine grinned. "Good night, Jasmine," I said after a short smile. No matter what region you came from or how invincible or put-together someone seemed at first nce, humans were still vulnerable and wed. All of them. Another chance had been provided for me, and I wasn''t going to squander it. We were close. All we needed was to iron things out, and a win would be possible even if it took four hits instead of three. I hopped on one of the nighttime buses and made my way back to the Center, handing Honey''s ball to a tired Nurse Joy. Even though Electivire had barely fought, Honey had still fainted. The power disparity there was still mind-boggling. Had he used Motor Drive, he would have been impossible to hit. I slowly opened the door to Cece''s room and saw that she was scribbling on one of the notebooks I''d given her with her hair was tied back, exposing her neck. When she heard mee in, she turned toward me and beamed and shot up. Slowking was sitting in his usual corner and snoring while he slept. "You''re not sleeping?" I asked. "It''s one in the morning." "I wasing up with some custom move ideas and waiting for you toe back," she said. "How did training go?" "Good and bad," I slowly muttered as I shuffled toward her. My hands wrapped around Cece as I closed my eyes and she responded in kind, not minding how sweaty I was at all. She gently ran her hands through my hair. I probably needed another haircut soon with how long it was getting again. "What''s wrong?" She whispered. "I''m recharging," I said. I stayed there, hugging her and nuzzling my head in her neck for a good five minutes before I went and showered. When I came back in my pajamas, she was back to writing on her notebook. I stepped behind her and ced my arms around her neck, and she affectionately grabbed my right arm and caressed it. She''d written a bunch of moves for all of her Pokemon, but none for Zweilous. "No love for Sol and Zerst?" I asked. "They''re too unfocused for the concepts I came up with," she shook her head. "When they''re a Hydreigon, I''ll try." My eyes nced over a name that caught my attention. "Requiem?" I muttered. "It''s an idea for Lehmhart. A constant song that makes enemies take damage. Sort of like Sandstorm or Hail," Cece said. "Ideally, we''d reach a point where we''d be able to knock out low-leveled Pokemon en masse with the move while I stuck behind Slowking''s barrier, which will absorb the TE while I only hear the song." The fact that she''d also be able to kill non-protected humans in huge numbers with this was left unsaid between us, but it was understood. "Woah. Tying it with his love for music is really cool, I''m sure he''ll love it," I smiled. "Uh, I have to tell you about something important. Don''t panic, okay? Everything worked out in the end, even though it almost didn''t and it was a terrible idea to begin with." "Now you''re worrying me." I exined how Jasmine broke me into the Gym and everything that transpired there, and she stayed frozen the entire time, only contributing through groans and sighs that progressively got more pronounced as the story progressed. "So yeah," I said. "That almost went terribly." "Why would you even agree to this in the first ce?" Cece scolded. Her voice was level, but stern. "Well, I''m going to be honest, I thought Jasmine would manage to get Volkner to ease off¡ª and I mean, she did, but there were consequences, I guess. I don''t know. I guess she''s great at battling, but her addiction is screwing her decision-making in every other facet of her life." "Yes, that''s how addiction works. You need to call me before doing this stuff," she sighed. "What if Volkner hadn''t given you another chance? If he''d reported that you had broken in? Hell, what if a Gym Trainer smells blood in the water, goes against his orders and leaks it to the press? We''re so elusive that they would just love some controversy, Grace." "Yeah¡­ my bad." Cece exhaled. "I can''t stay mad at you for long, but you almost flew too close to the sun tonight. You need to think about these things." "Yeah¡­" I said again. "Go to sleep, Grace," she said after a pause. "I''ll finish up here and join you in a bit. I still don''t know how you can sleep with the lights on¡ª what? Why are you looking at me like that?" "Oh. Yeah, uh, I''ll go to sleep," I muttered. "I''m exhausted. I''ll tell the rest of my team about this when I wake up." "Then let''s sleep in tomorrow!" She cheerfully said. "I''ll wake up first and bring you breakfast in bed." I got into the bed and sneakily watched her ticks as she thought up of concepts for moves. Tapping her pen against her lips, staring at the ceiling, that muted, excited squeal she did every time she got a good idea in order not to wake me or Slowking up. The little things that made her, her. It was always the little things, wasn''t it?
Chapter 231 Chapter 231 CHAPTER 231 I picked up Honey from the nurses the next afternoon because I''d stayed in Cece''s bed the entire morning. She had not lied when she''d said that we would sleep in, but the truth was, it felt nice to catch up on some sleep and cuddle with her. I figured I would go train with her and Laurenter since Jasmine would be busy today. Hopefully it''d be the start of her alcoholism getting better. Last night still felt like a dream to me, but what I vividly remembered was Volkner''s love for Jasmine. It was real. I was sure he would take care of her today, Gym duties be damned. But before training, I had to catch my family up to speed on yesterday''s events. With how everyone but Sunshine was still growing, it was starting to get very crowded in my Pokemon Center room even if fitting them all in was still possible, so I''d gone to the beach again. Buddy had told me during one of our talks that Jellicent grew their entire lives at an extremely slow rate, so his was negligible and he could resize himself to whatever he desired anyway so long as it was reasonable. ording to him, there were some truly gargantuan Jellicent in the depths of the ocean that only came up to the surface to hunt, but he had never seen one of those sizes himself. I released Honeyst, and his head hang low and he apologized to me right away for losing. Needless to say, everyone demanded to know what had gone onst night, and although I was about to answer, Honey took over and exined everything himself. My Pokemon either weren''t familiar with human rules or in Sunshine''s case just didn''t care, so they didn''t see anything wrong with me breaking in. What they cared the most about was the battle, obviously. Sweetheart mored to Honey''s left and her cocoon rattled as she demanded to know exactly how strong Electivire was while Sunshine sneakily listened from a few feet away, hiding his curiosity. Angel patted Honey''s back with a few vines, but couldn''t stop himself from wrapping more and more around him until he squeezed the electric type into a hug to cheer him up. Buddy was more silent, offering aforting gaze and asking Honey if he wanted to prank him to feel better. Honey finallyughed, saying that that wasn''t how pranks even worked. And of course, Princess offered to maim Electivire. She did not enjoy Honey recounting how much the electric type hadughed or mocked him during the fight. I hadn''t understood Electivire''s words since it was my first time meeting him, only felt the emotions radiating off of him, but he was apparently a devious trash talker that had tried to provoke Honey on numerous asions. Thankfully the bait hadn''t worked and Honey stayed cool-headed. It was interesting to see the contrast between Volkner''s behavior and his starter''s. Princess and I were very simr. I had tried at least five times to get a word in to assuage Honey''s worries, and I only managed to get everyone''s attention by pping my hands. "We might have lost, but Jasmine negotiated another chance for us," I announced. Honey''s eyes widened with a mix of disbelief and hope. "It''ll be right after our Gym Battle. I still need to figure out if it''ll be in public, and if it is, if the arena will be reset." Honey screamed for joy, and Princess tackled him with a hug saying that she''d keep Electivire alive since he needed to be there for her brother''s battle. Sweetheart demanded to be included in the hug too, and Angel dragged the entire team together in one big pile¡ª including me and Sunshine, much to the dragon''s displeasure. I heard him whisper ''children'' to himself, but the barest hint of a smile was on his face. The different skin textures felt odd on my skin. Princess and Honey''s thin fur, Buddy''s liquid-like skin (he barely had a form from being squeezed down the middle), Angel''s smooth vines, and Sunshine and Sweetheart''s rough scales. When he released us, I ced a hand on my chin and tapped a foot on the ground. I wanted the fight to be public for the simple reason that it''d look good for me, win or lose. I had almost created a PR disaster for the Poketch Company, but this was an opportunity. Even if Electivire held back, Volkner was still the second-strongest Gym Leader and was consistentlypared to the Elite Four even though he was demonstrably weaker than them. Some people insisted that he was overrated whenpared to someone with Byron''s experience and that he was actually the third strongest, but that didn''t matter in the grand scheme of things. Any kind of battle with his starter would be a boon for what the Poketch Company thought of me. If I lost¡ª and I wasn''t entertaining losing, but if I did, then it wouldn''t reflect badly on me at all. After all, who expected the girl with five badges to win that battle? But if I won, beyond getting Honey to evolve, I would create another ssh, and the Poketch Company loved when I was on the news. I would text Jasmine asking for the details of the battle tomorrow. Right now, she needed to focus on more important things. "Let''s start nning," I dered. Honey answered with a firm nod, and I could feel the determination bleeding off of him. Beyond his loss, he''d gotten a taste of what awaited him beyond this form and was hungry for more. I was certain that part of him even wished he''d seen Electivire at his full strength, but that battle would be decided before it had even begun. There was still a huge gap to close before we could even hope to win that fight. An evolution was a shortcut, but it wasn''t the end of it all. "What went wrong yesterday?" I asked. It was tough to do my usual autopsy when there was no video avable. Seeing myself battle in the third person always did wonders when spotting mistakes and improving upon them. Sweetheart chimed in, but Buddy gently told her to stay silent to let me focus and reminded her that she hadn''t been there. "It''s not really a matter of what went wrong but what we can improve upon and what worked," I muttered. "Electivire will know our tricks next time, but do you know what a Gym Leader and their Pokemon''s biggest weakness is?" Honey stared around, hoping for someone to answer. Princess opened her mouth¡ª "Princess! No cheating," I said. "Just give it a try, Hon." The fairy type let out a sad chirp and apologized to Honey. The electric type answered with overconfidence. "No," I said. "Although Electivire will definitely being into that second battle underestimating us. The answer is stagnation. Once someone bes a Gym Leader, they won''t have much time to train with their personal teams beyond asionally using them against powerful trainers that challenge them each year. Maybe they make them train on their own, but that''s it. You be a Gym Leader, and you settle. You sacrifice progress to take care of yourmunity and foster the growth of future trainers." I paused, wondering if any of the current Gym Leaders beyond Fantina ever regretted that decision deep down. Even outside of Sinnoh, this problem still applied. "Electivire will still be the same when we face him, but we will not," I said. "We''ll be stronger." Honey''s mouth stretched into a toothy grin and I could tell that had fired him up. "The three things that worked were¡ª actually, let me get myptop open for this," I said, grabbing the device from my backpack. Angel reflexively made a bed of vines for me to sit on so I couldn''t get sand all over my clothes and I started to type. "The two things that worked perfectly were Thunder and Radiant Leap. Thunder breaks through Electivire''s barrier instantly and Radiant Leap allows you to keep up with him, even if that''s temporary¡ª guyse sit. Reading lessons." Sweetheart groaned at that, but she crawled at my side while Princess floated above my shoulder. Angel was already behind me and Buddy made himself as small as possible so he could fit. Honey sat to my right, while Sunshiney in the sand with an open eye to listen to my strategizing. "Pay attention to the letters," I said. "Buddy, pop quiz! What''s that word!" I yelled, pointing to ''barrier''. The water type hesitated, but he answered with the correct word. "Good job," I smiled, rubbing whatever the hell he was. Some kind of squiggly star with his two red eyes piercing his pale blue skin. "Moving on, the things that didn''t work that well, but will work if we work on them enough. Discharge, Screech and Railgun. Discharge is an excellent zoning tool that can reset the tempo. Swift works for zoning too, but no need to work on it. I''d rather focus on other things." Honey winced, probably remembering when he got kicked into his own Electric Swift. He had avoided that part of the story when telling his siblings about it, so I decided to keep silent not to embarrass him. "Discharge can alwayse out faster, but if we train Railgun enough, it will be powerful enough to break through Electivire''s shield on its own, and we can use it like Princess'' shrapnel. Smaller, focused projectiles or beams of energy break through psychic barriers easier than wide attacks like Discharge." The fairy proudly nodded since she was the one that had helped Honey work on the concept for that attack. "Screech is self-exnatory. No matter how strong Electivire is, he still has ears, but the problem is that he''ll know to expect it now. Plus, none of that will be enough. The issues with Electivire are his speed and Teleportation," I started. "But thankfully it looks like even he has limits. He stopped using the move midway through the battle, and even Jasmine said as much while you were unconscious. The best strategy here would be to bait out as many Teleports as we can at the start until he runs out, and then we can start going in for real." I stopped, and my hands hovered over my keyboard. "Of course, we can always get a little bit innovative and refute that entirely," I grinned. "Go in while they least expect. That means countering Teleport in some way¡­ you don''t learn dark moves naturally and I can''t spend anything on a TM right now, so I''ll keep a tab on that for now. If I manage to figure something out, we can catch them off-guard, because that''s how we win this. Both hits we got, we did because Electivire hadn''t anticipated them. Next up, Static Shield." Honey''s fur stood on end, along with my hair and Princess'' own fur as he reflexively charged up electricity until Buddy called out. "We''ll have to wait for Jasmine and Amphy to keep helping us with that one, but we''d need a more advanced version of the technique. Something strong enough to count as a hit and that would stop Electivire from actually touching you with anything other than his conductive tails." That meant that the move needed not only to paralyze opponents that physically hit Honey, but to have electricity automatically jump at nearby Pokemon. My Pokemon all nodded, and I finished up my mini-report. It would have been ten times the length had I gotten footage of the battle, but we were done for now. "So, Hon. While I train with Lauren and Cece, I want you to prioritize Railgun first and Discharge second. Tomorrow when we''re with Jasmine again, we''ll focus on Static Shield. That okay with you? Anyone else want to chime in with an idea?" Aside from a few well-meaning but terrible suggestions from Angel and Sweetheart, no one had anything to say. "Well then, let''s get back to the Center. Now, now, Sweetie you''ll get to swimter. You''ve got to work on Earthbreaker!" ¡ª Training went well for the next few hours. I mainly focused on getting Angel familiarized with Sr Beam against Lauren''s Sceptile, since the grass type would be resistant to the attack. Even with all of our experience and strength, it was still only slightly smaller than the Sr Beam Gardenia''s Sunflora had used against me, but then again, she had Sr Power, Growth, and a mastery of Sunny Day we still couldn''t match to this day. Lauren was delighted when I told her that Volkner was going to send the video of her battle to Flint. I skirted around the detail of what happenedst night and only told her that Jasmine had helped, which was a twisted version of the truth. I knew Cece would breathe easier because of it. Speaking of Cece, Lehmhart was a real menace in battle and had won the first battle against Lauren''s Seismitoad and nearly won the second, although Seismitoad wasn''t used to fighting such a Pokemon. Thirteen feet tall was nothing to scoff at, and it meant that her Muddy Water was useless at sweeping Lehmhart away. Volis had fared better, since he was so quick on his feet Lehmhart couldn''t fight back that well, but the coteral damage from his Hammer Arms and Stomping Tantrums had severely damaged the Sceptile. He''d fought Rhydon too, although the rock type had won thanks to his advanced strength. The fact that the rest of our Pokemon were catching up to both him and Sunshine was undeniable, however. Before we finished for the day and left, however, I wanted to test my mettle against the ground type with Buddy. Cecilia stood opposite of me with Golurk already out in the field. Princess had fixed it up for what felt like the hundredth time. Slowking, who was tired from keeping up the barrier for so long, spoke into our minds and began the battle. "Night Shade, then stay far away and Hydro Pump!" I yelled out. Jellicent whistled sharply, and two shadows materialized by his side. Lehmhart''s biggest weakness was how weak he was at a distance, but his size meant that it couldn''t be easily exploited, especially when this arena was smaller than normal. Three thick pressurized jets of water flew out of Jellicent''s mouth and his clones with a loud boom. Lehmhart lifted a hand, blocking one with his sheer mass, but the other two rammed into his tough exterior. "Phantom Force and Thunder Punch!" Cece yelled. Golurk disappeared into thin air, smoke evaporating from him until he slipped into another ne. The fact that something sorge could just disappear like that was astonishing. The Hydro Pumps broke against the ground as if they were passing through the invisible Golurk, but I knew he was still getting hurt. Knowing that he could only be gone for around fifteen seconds at most, I waited for Lehmhart to reappear with bated breath¡­ And he did, dwarfing Buddy by a mile and with one of his fists wreathed in electricity. With surprising dexterity, he struck directly at Jellicent, but the water type narrowly dodged the attack and flew around his arm. The shades raged, denting Golurk''s armor with abined Hydro Pump. "Aim for his knee," I ordered. "Resonance!" The Hydro Pump didn''t stop. It simply slid down toward Lehmhart''s leg, and Buddy added his own attack to the mix. Something within Lehmhart rumbled, and the sound of his engine bellowed erratically until it turned into a strange tune. A wave of ghostly energy exploded out of him and destroyed the shades in a single hit. Jellicent''s body rippled, his eyes dimmed and he froze in ce. Cece''s next order was obvious. A humongous Thunder Punch mmed against Buddy and sent him exploding everywhere. The shock from Buddy disassembling made hime to his senses and he quickly reformed. "Stomping Tantrum," Cece continued. Lehmhart jumped into the air, and the world held its breath. When hended, the ground burst open and Buddy''s fragments flew apart before most could reach the main body. The ones that did, however, reformed into a smaller, weaker version of himself. It would take a bit for him to gather everything again. "The knee," I said again. Night Shade was automatic to us now. Buddy formed two and sent another one crashing against Lehmhart for good measure, and a Hydro Pump washed against the ground type''s knee. It was the thinnest and weakest part of his body. Golurk''s knee buckled, slowing him down, and the ghost type leaned against Slowking''s barrier for support. I smiled when we''d bought enough time for Jellicent to gather most of his body. "Go in and Water Spout!" Buddy screamed, propelling himself with Water Sport to rush toward Golurk''s knee while his shades kept applying pressure¡ª "Phantom Force!" And Golurk disappeared. Still, the attack went through. Water exploded out of every inch of Jellicent''s head. Each jet was powerful enough to stab through steel, and the pain from the attack forced Golurk out of hiding. The ground type flickered in and out of reality and the water cut through his tough exterior. Ideally, this was when Buddy would slip inside of his body and use Water Spout, but I didn''t want to send Lehmhart to the Center for days. "Hammer Arm," Cece said, crossing her arms. Golurk lifted a glowing fist into the sky, mming it against the ground with all of his might despite all of my attacks. The earth wept from the blow and Slowking''s barrier shimmered as the psychic struggled to keep it intact. Shards of rock flew upward, destroyed the Night Shades and stabbed into Buddy. This was the problem when facing Lehmhart. His evolution had taught him how to feel pain, but that didn''t matter. He was too big and too strong for his simple attacks to be stopped. "Resonance and Ice Punch!" I clicked my tongue when mist coalesced around Golurk''s fist next and formed into ice. The battlefield would be unnavigable to any Pokemon, but not him. He was just too big for it to even matter and stepped over faults or ridges like they were nothing. Lehmhart let out a pleasant hum as music yed from his body, and another wave of shadowy energy passed through Jellicent. The effect was dimmed this time, but the water type still froze and Lehmhart''s fist rammed into his face¡ª And froze himpletely. That was the disadvantage of being entirely made of water I supposed. Cece breathed a sigh of relief. "My win?" "Well, Buddy can barely move, so yes," I said, recalling the water type. "Lehmhart''s a monster, huh?" "His size is a blessing and a curse," she said as she recalled him. We both joined Lauren, who had been sitting next to Slowking and watching the fight. "In a real battle, I need to figure out a way to improve his defense. Something that will work multiple times, unlike Resonance. Iron Defense works for physical moves, but¡­" "No one''s crazy enough to fight Lehmhart up close except Volis," I said. "He likes a challenge," Lauren grinned. "I''d like to say I could help with Lehmhart''s moves, but I don''t know enough about how he works yet." "I''ll figure it out," Cece said. "Let''s call Mira so kazam can send us home." It was no use wasting potions now that we were done with training since all of our Pokemon were going to go to the Pokemon Center. "I''ll have Princess fix the damage in the meantime. People use this path sometimes." Cece raised an eyebrow. "Really?" "Yeah. Denzel says that there are rumors about this spot going around because of how much we''re using it. It might be best to switch it up tomorrow, even if I''m not here." "Thanks for the heads up," Lauren said. Princess groaned when she saw the state of the ground next to us, but she got to work and soon enough, we were back home. ¡ª Craig had left a few days prior, so Denzel''s training hade to an end (and he was very cagey about anything he''d learned). That meant that we could hang out a lot more whenever he wasn''t busy having his ''totally not a date'' excursions with Emi. Of course, they weren''t dating yet, but I knew from Sylveon they were trying, and that meant that they were spending a lot of time together, whether it be outside, streaming together or making videos together. Pauline wasn''t jealous at all. In fact, she was encouraging this in very non-subtle ways. The fact that I couldn''t reveal this to Cecilia was annoying me. We told each other everything, but this wasn''t my ce. I did catch Sylveon giving me the stink-eye recently because I wasn''t blowing up his trainer''s nascent rtionships. Either way, it had been a while since I spent time with Denzel. He sipped on some boba tea while we walked Sunyshore''s streets. "Want to go ride the Ferris Wheel?" Denzel asked. "I went with Emi the other day, it was great." "I''m saving it forter," I said. "For Cece." "Ah, I get it," he said. "Let''s just head back toward our Center for now, then. Are you sure you don''t want any boba tea? It''s really good." "I''d have some if it didn''t have those little¡­ what even is that down at the bottom? Olives?" Denzel nearly choked on his drink. "Olives? That''s tapioca! Arceus, why would they put olives in this?" I smirked. "I was joking, calm down. I''m not that oblivious, although I didn''t know it was called tapioca. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something." "This could either be really good or really bad," Denzel said. "Have some faith, will you?" I said with a teasing smile. "You''ll love it." "Oh really? Are you finally going to use the gift I gave you and moderate one of my streams." I stopped myself from grimacing. "Absolutely not. But it''s even better, believe it or not¡ª for you. For me, it might as well be the end of the world." "Now you''re just being dramatic. Spit it out." "I need toe on one of your streams. The just chatting ones," I said. "Poketch Company obligation, I''m afraid." My best friend''s mouth opened agape, and he couldn''t even find the words to respond. "For real?" He stammered. "Yes, for real," I said. "Then I wanted to ask if you could stream every single time I battled someone in our group¡ª" "I''m going to announce it right now so you can''t back out," Denzel spoke over me. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and opened up his Chatter app. He typed faster with a single thumb that I did with both. "Can we do this tonight?" "Tonight? Absolutely not! I need you to prepare me! I don''t even know what you''re going to be doing." "Fine, tomorrow," he groaned. "Emi will want in on this to grow her channel too. We draw from the trainermunity, but she draws from the coordinatormunity. With the three of us, we can probably get like¡­ sixty-thousand viewers. That''s huge for just chatting. Top of the category in Sinnoh." "Blergh. Words." "I need ideas on what to do¡­ oh, I know! We''ll start with a Q&A. You have no idea how many questions people have been dying to ask you. I''ll make another Chatter post asking people for their questions with a hashtag¡ª actually, I need to cooperate with Emi for this." "You do you," I said. "I''ll just be hoping for the best in my corner." "No, no. That''s not it. I want to ask you something, actually. Remember Goald42?" I looked into the depths of my mind, but no answers came up. "A username?" I said. "He''s a friend. The guy that did that awesome analysis before the Sceon tournament¡ª" "Ah, I remember now! The guy that didn''t know Buddy had Water Absorb!" I snickered. "Well, that was your fault," he said. "Anyway, he''s been wanting to interview Cecilia¡­ he''s kind of a superfan. I was wondering if we couldbine both ideas and turn it into a massive stream. I''m sure he''ll actually interview you both if given the chance. He has this neat idea for a podcast and I want to help him get his name out there for when he starts it. Plus, it''s good practice." "Why don''t you ask her yourself?" I asked. "Because she''ll say no if it''s anyone but you," Denzel said before sping his hands together. "Come on, please. It''ll be great, trust me!" "I''ll ask, I''ll ask," I sighed. "Is that it?" Denzel finished his boba tea as he nodded. "I''m not looking forward to this," I sighed. Honey wasn''t the only one looking forward to an evolution. All of it was for the Shiny Stone. "I''ve been telling you that you''re too offline, this is going to be great," Denzel grinned. ¡ª "He told me to ask you because you''d say no if it wasn''t me. It''s tomorrow¡ª theres'' no time set up yet, but definitely at night so it can be after my training with Jasmine." Cecilia chuckled as she lounged with her head on myp. I''d only been in her room for five minutes and I''d already broken the subject. "Well, he isn''t wrong," she said with a hint of a smirk. "Feel free to say no if you want." "Well, in an ideal world, I would say no, but I''ve got to be up there with you." "I can handle it. Crowds don''t make me that nervous anymore," I said. "Oh, it isn''t about your anxiety," Cecilia said. "It''s about stopping you from saying something stupid." I scoffed and tried to rebuke her, but I came up empty. "Hm?" She teasingly probed. I grumbled, "You might be right, but you didn''t have to point it out that harshly. Fine, I''ll tell him you''re in, but don''tin!" I quickly texted Denzel, telling him that Cece had agreed. "This Goald guy is your superfan, apparently. If I''m being honest, it''s kind of weird. Denzel showed me a lot of his posts and he gushes about you a lot." Cece pursed her lips. "Are you jealous?" "Well, no¡­ I just feel protective, that''s all. But Denzel says he''s a nice guy, so I''ll give him the benefit of the doubt." "Aw. It would have been cute if you were jealous." I don''t know about that, I thought to myself. I rolled my eyes, but then a question popped into my mind. "You know, I''ve never asked. Have you figured out if you''re gay or bi?" "No, actually. Before you and the others, I never knew anyone that well outside of Amy," Cecilia softly said. She raised a hand, cupping my cheek, and I felt the cold silver of her ring. "I''ve never had a crush or fallen in love with anyone else and I don''t think I''ll do so anyway." "You know your way around with¡­ words," I blushed. "Thanks." Cecilia raised her head until her lips met mine, her hand still wrapped around my cheek. Her other one gently pushed me down until she was on top of me and she smiled, her hair draping down toward me. "You''re like the sun," she whispered. Another kiss, more passionate this time, and¡ª Someone banged on the door, and I recognized Denzel''s voice. "Guys! Open up, it''s time for stream prep! Emi''s here too!" Cece sighed, parting our lips. "I wish you had dyed the fact that I''d said yes." "Yeah¡­ my bad."
Chapter 232 Chapter 232 CHAPTER 232 Denzel and Emilia came into the room with both of theirptops and immediately started setting up. For a second, I had to remind myself that this would just be for practice and not the real deal because of how serious they were. Cece observed them with her arms crossed and lingering frustration that both of them were too engrossed in their technical talk to figure out. "Ok, so we''ll have these act as our two monitors, and this is how it''ll look the day of except we''ll be live instead of offline," Denzel said, presenting bothputers to us. One of them had some sort of streaming program opened while the others had his chat open on one side and his channel open on the other where we would see our dyed selves. Even while he wasn''t streaming, his chat was moving at a slow pace with people talking about tomorrow''s event since he had already announced it on his socials. I wasn''t good at any of this influencer stuff, but I did know for a fact that Denzel knew how to build up hype for an event. "Two screens? Is that the norm?" Cece asked. "It certainly makes things easier when you don''t have to repeatedly tab out. Some people even have more, but that''s hard when you''re a trainer that''s traveling," Emi said, turning to her. "What''s wrong, by the way? You look disappointed and we haven''t even started exining." "Oh, nothing," she sighed. "We were just busy." Denzel hummed a tune as he typed to his chat. A flurry of activity began as soon as his message came out. "Emilia''s been talking about this crazy nose-piercing idea¡ª" "Only you call it crazy," she said. "I did say it''d look good on you," he defensively told her. "Anyway, moving on! Here''s the n. First, we do a Q&A with the chat. The questions wille from Chatter and will pop up that screen. We''ve been going through them and filtering out the troll ones, but do you have boundaries you don''t want to cross?" I smiled. "This reminds me of my first pre-interview training with Mel and the team. Uh, it should be fine, right? Isn''t this just going to be Pokemon-rted?" Emilia snorted. "Oh, Grace. They want to know much more than that." "Like what?" "Like League-rted things, personal stuff, politics¡­" "Why don''t we just scroll through them during the event and you can pick which ones you want to answer? That''s a lot easier," Cece said. Denzel worked his jaw from side to side. "It''s a lot less professional than I''d like, but if that allows us to avoid the annoyance of filtering out questions with one day to work with, sure." Emi picked up from where he left off. "The Q&A willst an hour and a half, but we''ll be talking between ourselves during the stream too." "Oh. Do we have to be, like, entertaining?" I asked. "I''m not great at that." "You''ll do just fine," Emilia said. "Plus, Denzel and I are good at making sure there are no lulls in the stream, so all you have to do is bounce off of us." My best friend nodded, releasing his Lopunny into the room. The normal type was pissed for whatever reason, but her anger instantly subsided when he threw her a phone. "You got her one?" I asked. "The day she got back from the Center after her battle," he nodded. "My chat was quite mean to her for a while, but I shut it down as fast as I could." "That''s always the problem with battle streams," Emilia shrugged. "People always me the Pokemon when ny-nine percent of the time it''s the trainer who screwed up. No offense, Denzel, I mean I don''t understand anything about battling anyway." "You''re good," he said. Lopunny quickly started typing something on her phone before turning it toward us, showing us the opened Notes application. I already knew what she''d said because she spoke while she typed, which was really cute, especially with how broken her grammar waspared to the words she actually meant to say. They say I loose to ceiling. Fucking anoying. Kick them in the balls. "Oh. She''s got quite the mouth on her," Cece noticed. "Uh, yeah as it turns out," Denzel embarrassingly scratched the back of his head. "She''s been tranting what my team says and they''re all quite, uh, talkative. Swablu''s the worst of them. She can''t say a single sentence without swearing." "I thought she was a baby?" I said. "Yes, which makes it worse. Anyway, when she learns proper grammar, I can hook her up with a text-to-speech program and she''ll be able to act as my interpreter. She''s very excited about it. Right?" Denzel asked, turning toward her. Lopunny answered with this. Fuck you. Lovingly . The dyed response made it extremely funny and we all found it hard not tough at it. "Lopunny will be on the stream too, but she''ll take on more of a passive, off-screen role," Denzel said. "I''ve been looking into recruiting mods that can actually moderate my chat, and she''s one of them for better or worse." Lopunny brooded as she typed, What do u maen worse? "I mean that you''re still learning not to be biased," he groaned. "Pauline will be another, and I''ve got five other people that will be there, so the chat should be slightly less toxic. Last time it didn''t matter since you weren''t looking at it, but this time it''ll be in your face all the time, and since you''re both not used to it, it can be grating at first." "The brain likes to focus on the negative," Emilia added. "Don''t threaten anyone, I''m pretty sure that could get my channel banned," Denzel said. "Psht. Come on, I wouldn''t threaten someone out loud. I''d make sure I''d threaten them in a way where no one but they know I''m doing it, I can''t ruin my reputation." Cecilia nodded. "I''ll be here to stop any mishaps. There''s a face she makes before she feels like murdering something." "Ah, yeah, that thing where she stops blinking and her breath slows," Denzel said. "You''re better at spotting it than I am." "The blinking just stops when she focuses, it doesn''t always guarantee violent thoughts. The key is that her body is perfectly still. Like a painting." "Did you guys speak about this behind my back?!" I stammered with a twinge of betrayal in my heart. "Oh please, it''smon knowledge. There''s a blink counter meme about you, and it''s not just in my chat. It''s everywhere online," Denzel said. "People count how many times you blink during battles." "I blink plenty." Although my eyes did always feel dry after, I thought to myself. "Any other memes about her?" Cece asked with a coy smirk. "Oh, so now you''re interested," I groaned, putting my hands up in defeat. "The blinking one''s the most well-known, but you also have stabbinging at a close second," Emilia said. "Third is how hard it is to get a hold of you¡ª" She stopped herself andughed. "Actually¡­" she chuckled. "Denzel has this really funny meme about you saved on his phone¡ª" My eyes darted to Denzel, and his tall frame somehow shrunk as he shot Emilia a disbelieving gaze. Lopunny, who had already imed a spot on Cecilia''s bed, seemed to be enjoying every second of this. "It''s stupid," he said. "Show me." As soon as he had his phone out, I snatched it out of his hand. Cece leaned toward me to look, and she let out a heartyugh. It was a blurry picture of me¡­ somewhere in Sceon. It took me a while to remember that it had been taken in that clearing I trained my team in for the tournament. The picture looked to have been blurred on purpose and had the text ''LEGENDARY POKEMON SPOTTED'' in all caps and bolded impact font. "Where''s the joke? Seriously, that''s not even funny," I mumbled. "It straddles the line between horribly on the nose and hrious," Emiliaughed. "And for some reason that makes it even funnier." "Ha, ha," I mocked. I nced back down at Denzel''s phone and noticed some other memes on his camera roll. "Wait, he has other memes in there¡ª" "That''s enough of that!" Denzel yelled, grabbing his phone back. I tried to grab it, but he extended his arm up in the air until he was out of reach. "Do you have memes about all of us saved?" I scoffed after giving up. "He sends them all to me," Emi said. "I''d say at least fifty percent of them are funny." "You just don''t appreciate humor like I do," he shook his head. "Send all of the memes about Grace to me," Cece spoke to Emilia. The chestnut-haired girl nodded, and before I could even protest, Denzel spoke over me. "Let''s get back to the topic at hand! We got way too side-tracked. One hour and a half of Q&A. Do you all follow me so far?" "It''s hard to follow with all of this off-topic stuff, could you go over it again?" Emilia teased. "I''ll just choose to ignore you. Next, we have an hour and a half long interview with Goald42¡ª his real name is Andrew Melendez. He''ll be joined by his friend Archive, who doesn''t want his real name out there." "So it''s not just Goald now, but this Archive guy too?" I asked. "Every hour it seems like you add new stiptions to the stream." "A one-hour-and-a-half interview seems ridiculously long," Cece muttered. "Okay, I get it," Denzel sighed. "You guys don''t like it. It''s not really an interview, it''ll take the form of a podcast. For this section of the stream, Emi and I won''t be speaking most of the time. It''ll just be you two, Andrew and Archive in a call while we''ll be sitting on the bed and joining in to moderate and observe. So we have a three-hour stream, and it''ll probablyst around ten minutes longer if we''re generous. Does tomorrow at nine in the evening work for you all? Because I already said it would be at nine and it would be really awkward to change it now." "Nine sounds about right, but wait, what are they going to talk to us about? Don''t we get a heads up for the questions, to like prepare?" I asked. "What? No," Denzel said. "That''d be ridiculously inorganic and staged. That''s not how this is going to work. If there''s a question they ask or something they say that''s off-limits, let them know on the spot." "I liked my prep for my interview with SGNC better than this," I grumbled. "Rx, it''ll be fine. These are two people just as passionate with battling as we are even if they''re not in the Circuit," he said. "Cece, does it work for you?" "If I must." "Oh, and we''ll split the revenue for the stream between the four of us," Denzel said. "It won''t be that much, but it''ll still be substantial, I''d say. I feel like it''d be a bit unfair if I took it all since you two will be the stars of the show." "Oh. I guess that makes sense," I muttered. "Anything else¡ª" "Yes!" Emilia yelled. "You''re making a Chatter and a DailyTube ount. Both of you." "I''ll be fine, but Grace won''t be able to post anything without explicit approval from the Poketch Company anyway," Cece said. "Same Poketch Company who would love to have her be more active online? It''s not much, but just her having an ount will make her follower count skyrocket even if she never posts anything and it stops people pretending to be you two dead in their tracks." "People pretend to be us online?" I asked. Emilia smiled, focusing on her phone for a few seconds before showing the screen back to me. She had typed the name ''Grace Pastel'' in the search bar and there were around a hundred people with variations of my name. It was the same for Cece. "Grace_Pastel1, _GracePastel, Grace-Pastel, xGracePastel¡ª Arceus, what the hell?" I said, blinking at the screen. "You''re both famous enough to get verified, so this won''t be a problem when you make an ount," Denzel said. "Some of these are just fan ounts too," Emilia added. "Not everyone''s pretending to be you." I clicked on the culprit with the most followers, who had nabbed the name GracePastelOfficial for themselves. They had twenty-two thousand followers, which ording to Emilia wasn''t much, but it was still astonishing that all of those people had been tricked into believing that person was me. "Really enjoyed my battle with my friend Denzel_Williams. Now I''m on my way to get an apprenticeship with Jasmine! Maybe I''ll go to Johto with her next year¡ª why in the world did ten thousand people like this?" I scoffed in disbelief. "Well, people were high off the end of our battle and were looking for any kind of news from you, so they all converged on this post. It probably got boosted by the algorithm too," Denzel said. "See what I mean, though? At least iming your spot online is important." I sighed, blowing a raspberry. "Yeah. Arceus, why didn''t you tell me this earlier?" "I tried!" Some more ounts that pretended to be me loved acting crazy too. Like, utterly unhinged, which I wasn''t. Posting stuff about stabbing, saying that one day I''d snap andmit murder, and other things that made me cringe from the bottom of my heart. Thankfully as Emilia had said, most of the ounts were normal people that were simply my fans that had made fan ounts. Some of them posted news about me and what I was doing while others made montages of my battles. It felt odd to actually be face to face with their ounts. To this day, I had known I had fans but they were faceless and might as well have not existed save for the rare person that was brave enough to stop me on the street. I had Buddy or Princess out specifically to avoid those situations though, so that rarely happened. Denzel, meanwhile, couldn''t go ten minutes without getting stopped. "Should I put out a statement about it?" I said after making both of my ounts. I had already texted Melody about it, and she''d answered instantly with a thumbs-up emoji and said that this was great news. "To stop them from being weirdos?" "No. The more attention you give it, the more people will do it," Cece said. "You''re better off ignoring them." "She''s right," Emi nodded. "I wish my fans were like yours." Cecilia''s fans looked sane inparison. Sophisticated, friendly debates about her battles, tactics and Pokemon that reminded me of Denzel''s early days before he had blown up. What was strange with Cece was that she was popr and yet her fanbase hadn''t devolved into a mess. Of course, there was always the asional nutjob, but that was a universal issue that gued every famous person, trainer or otherwise. "I mean, you do stab things a lot, and the fanbase often reflects the trainer¡ª" I red at Denzel, and he innocently lifted his hands. "I''m just saying¡­" "It''s not weird when I do it. Right?" I asked, turning toward Cece. She wrapped an arm around me and kissed my cheek. "Absolutely not. It''s very cute." Emilia raised an eyebrow. "You guys are so weird." Denzel and Emilia stayed for around an hour to tell us more about the stream, but the conversation often devolved into debates about online culture and fanbases. Denzel helped us ask for a verification checkmark and put us in contact with Goald and Archive. They didn''t have many followers on Chatter, but he said they mainly focused on the forums, which he had told them was bad for growth if they wanted to do their podcast thing, so he was kind of acting as everyone''s social media manager. Emilia kept stressing how abnormally nice he was being. Rare was an influencer of his size who still chatted and helped his fans so much. He even still answered his direct messages, although he had a horrible backlog that was growing by the day. She was quite famous in the coordinator side of the world, although less then we were, but her frequent coborations with Denzel kept her growth steady and allowed her to act as a bridge between the twomunities. And it made people start to talk. They were together so much that there were rumors that they were dating. Of course, no one but me knew the truth. Before they left, Lopunny asked to speak to me alone. Denzel found it strange, but he let her do so. Everyone left Cece''s room, leaving me only with the normal type, who was still on my bed. Her rxed, lounging pose was no more, however. She was tense, as if she had been preparing herself for this moment for a while now. She started to type on her phone, but I stopped her. "You can just speak to me," I said. "What is it that they call you? Wench? That''s really rude, honestly, I don''t know how you deal with it." Lopunny huffed, saying that she was proud of her name despite the negative connotations it had. I frequently heard her and the rest of Denzel''s team speak with each other and it sometimes boggled my mind. Twig, Snake, Wench and Hog. Sylveon was no nickname, and I hadn''t seen them speak with Swablu yet, but the fact that they liked these was still insane to me. "So? What is it? You can always talk to me." Lopunny took a deep breath and began speaking, first saying that Denzel had been too focused on the training they''d gotten from Craig and his¡­ situation with Emilia and Pauline to notice the rot that was festering within. Sylveon had tried to recruit her to destroy his rtionship, and when she''d refused he called her a traitor and stopped speaking to her. Just like he had stopped speaking to me after I had the same reaction. He hadn''t asked anyone but her, and Lopunny was sure than even Milotic wouldn''t join in to help if asked, but this was creating a rift between her and the team because Sylveon kept her isted from the others. At first, she was surprised that I even knew about this, but I exined that he''d done the same to me. I bit my lip and exhaled, trying to find a way to put my thoughts into words. "I have to tell this to Denzel," I said. "He has to speak to Sylveon. Didn''t they already have a talk about this? In Hearthome?" Lopunny didn''t answer, instead saying that Sylveon had never expected Denzel to ever start potentially dating someone else, and he hated the idea of sharing. I knew fairy types were possessive and protective¡ª hell, I felt it every day toward Cece even if I kept it deep within me, but if I let that side of me out, I knew I could turn into a horrible, controlling person. Princess was ready to kill and ask questionster if anyone ever threatened me, and Be had put my friends through a trial to prove that they ''deserved'' me. But this went beyond that. Lopunny continued, saying that Sylveon might have epted one woman in Denzel''s life, but the idea of dividing his time with two was too much for him to bear. She''d caught him crying on multiple asions, hidden away from the rest of them. He was spiralling, and it was affecting his training too. New moves came slower to him than the others, and he wasn''t as motivated as before. "I can''t imagine Sylvi crying¡­" I muttered with a twinge of sadness. It was hard not to think back to the little Eevee that I''d first met in Twinleaf. "We need to tell him about this now¡ª" The normal type furiously shook her head, her ears swaying wildly from side to side. She asked for one more chance to set things right. The next time they were all together, she would essentially stage an intervention with the entire team and reveal everything Sylveon had said. "That can get ugly," I said. "I wouldn''t do that if I were you." She shrugged as sadness emanated from her. She said that they''d always been more independent than my team, and she wanted to try to fix things their way first. She also feared that Denzel would stop his experiments if he heard what Sylveon was feeling. The fairy type had kept everything hidden from Denzel perfectly so far. If it didn''t work, then she would talk to me again and ask for my help. I asked her three times if she was certain, and she said yes. Part of me felt like I was doing the wrong thing for listening to her, but Pokemon were individuals. Going behind her back when she had explicitly asked me not to would feel even worse. One thing was for sure, though, if the intervention went badly and Denzel needed to speak to Sylveon, then I would need to be there with them. Denzel tried to ask me what the conversation had been all about, but I told him I couldn''t say, and I told Cece the same thing despite wanting to tell them. One question sprung to mind, however. Why had Sylveon not done anything himself? I was happier because of it, but he kept asking others to do what he wanted instead of doing anything himself. Not that there was anything he could do anyway¡ª Oh. Oh. He had asked for Lopunny''s help because she had a phone and was literate. ¡ª I found it easier to focus the next day despite having struggled to sleepst night. Sleep had cleared my mind and managed to make me a lot more positive than I''d been. At the core of his being, Sylveon wanted Denzel to be happy. If Lopunny couldmunicate that along with the fact that Denzel would always have time for him, then she would seed. Melody had sent me new terms and conditions for whatever I wanted to post. She had to run every single post by her team before it was approved, and only then would I be able to upload whatever I wanted. I was also surprised to see that Cece and my ounts were already verified, and the news of our arrival on Chatter had made the rounds. It was only morning, but I already had passed eighty-thousand followers and I was climbing quickly. Cece was slightly above that, at eighty-six thousand. Melody had me put some Poketch Company corporate speak in my bio. I looked up Craig''s ount for my own amusement and saw that he had six million followers. Even Cynthia had an ount, although she only posted government-rted stuff. She had fifteen million followers, which was almost half of Sinnoh''s poption. Chatter was mostly a Sinnoh-based tform, and other regions used their own social media that was mostly disconnected from it. Denzel? He had two hundred thousand. I''d already gotten a bunch of direct messages, but I got tired of looking at them really soon when I read the third message asking me to stab them and the second asking me to meet them in Sunyshore and the countless number of creepy messages and I set my direct messages to friends only. Thankfully, my teacher arrived as soon as I had enough of looking at the website. Jasmine had messaged me the exact time she would pick me up and came at eleven in the morning on the dot. "Jasmine!" I smiled. "Did you go to your support group?" "Pinky promise," she said. "Feel free to ask Volkner. It wasn''t¡­ well, I can''t help but think that I''m not like them every time I go there, but I''ve finally acknowledged that I am. Now it''s a matter of putting in the effort¡­ Arceus, let''s just go and train. The further I am from a city the better it''ll be." I felt a pang of pity for the Gym Leader. "Will you be fine when you get back?" "I''m going to be honest, I might need you to drop me off at Volkner''s Gym. I don''t think I can be trusted alone, Grace." "Okay. Well, I''m free until¡­ eight thirty, so I''ll stick around until Volkner''s off his shift." "It feels weird having a teenager babysit me, but thank you," she said. "I mean it." Jasmine released Metagross, Teleporting us away and I started to tell her about needing more help for Static Shield. Before that, though, I asked her about the battle with Volkner, and she said the fight between Honey and Electivire would be in public and would be right after the 4v4. That meant that the changes we''d made to the arena would stick. The afternoon passed in a sh, and soon enough, evening came. When I arrived in Denzel''s room, he had already set everything up, and Emilia and Pauline were there too, although the redhead wasn''t in the shot and away from any microphone. Yes, they had boughtrge microphones specifically for this, and a fancy face cam was mounted on the desk. Four chairs that had no doubt been brought from our friends'' rooms had been arranged around the desk. I shot Lopunny a knowing look, and she shook her head, signaling that an opportune moment hadn''te quite yet. She returned to typing something to Pauline, who guffawed at whatever she had said. "How are your nerves?" Cece asked, grabbing one of my hands. "Good?" "I''m good, don''t worry about me," I said. "You''re here." "What about me?" Denzel joked. "You''re irrelevant," I teased back. It felt weird to joke around when Sylveon''s plea was gnawing at me. "Ouch. Well, it''s 8:50pm. Let''s start the stream¡ª and by the way, please refrain from showing how in love you are on camera. No kissing." "Obviously. Who do you take me for?" Cece scoffed. "Someone who can''t go five minutes without touching or kissing her girlfriend," Denzel said. Cece was about to fire back, but she realized she''d kissed me and reflexively ced one of her hands around my waist as soon as she''d seen me. Her hand slipped away, causing Emilia tough, but Denzel gently shushed her so he could start his countdown. "You really need a ''starting soon'' screen," Pauline said from the back. "I''ve alreadymissioned one, it''s on the way. No talking, Pauline." "I don''t want to interact with the cesspool that is your chat anyway." "Shh! Three, two, one, start!"
Chapter 233 – Debut Chapter 233 ¨C Debut CHAPTER 233 - Debut The atmosphere changed as Denzel clicked the ''GO LIVE'' button. His and Emi''s face seemed to shift, like they were more rxed and natural somehow even though I knew for a fact that they were faking it¡ª or at least performing for an audience. My body tensed, and I readjusted my sitting position, leaning back to appear morefortable. The stream had just started and the viewcount was already above ten thousand and rising fast. Denzel didn''t exactly have a special introduction like I''d expected him to have. Even after all these months, I had seen him stream, but never actually seen him start one. He stayed silent for around ten seconds and then spoke. "Hi guys. Emilia and I have finally managed to finagle Grace and Cece into a stream," he grinned. "Is the sound alright?" I watched in awe as a flurry of agreements flooded the chat. It was like a hivemind, where a few repeating messages could cascade into a wall. Emilia and Denzel proceeded to exin the concept of the stream like they''d done for us for the viewers who had missed the announcement. Every time they spoke, their voices were upbeat. Not unnatural, but just slightly forced so they could be more entertaining. "Okay guys," Emilia said, turning toward us. We were both sitting in the center and their chairs were nking us. "Go ahead and introduce yourselves!" "Grace Pastel. Pokemon Trainer." "Good evening, I''m Cecilia." "Come on, give it a little bit more energy before we jump in," she rolled her eyes. "Don''t m up. Here, if you had one thing you wanted to say to your fans watching the stream right now, what would it be?" "Thank you for your support," Cece dipped her head. "I know I don''t interact with the world as much as you would like, but I appreciate you." Woah. That had been a lot more professional than what I had nned on saying. My mind scrambled for something to say as Denzel and Emi both turned toward me and the chat was filled with people awaiting my answer. Of course, I memorized a few usernames of people who had trash-talked Cecilia while she spoke. They''d be swiftly dealt with after the stream. "I think it''s interesting to have different people rooting for all of us," I said. "Y''know, when I started all of this¡ª this journey, the fact that I''d grow a following wentpletely over my head. It feels kind of surreal. But still, I''m a trainer first and foremost, so expect me to keep focusing inward. Denzel and Emilia are the group''s influencers. We''re just¡­ people." The chat flooded with hearts and other cute emotes, which I assumed people were spamming to support us. I let out the smallest sigh and my shoulders felt lighter. "You saying we''re not people?" Denzel joked. "You know what I meant. We''re normal, you''re actually starting to be a celebrity," I said. "Well, people here don''t think you''re normal," he shrugged. "Let''s get into the questions. Originally this was just going to be a Q&A for Grace, but there''ll be questions for Cecilia too. You won''t believe what I had to go through to get her to agree to this stream¡­" Denzel recounted our interaction, filling any dead air while Emilia scrolled on her Chatter page by using the hashtag Denzel had designated. I only caught a glimpse of the screen but those were a lot of questions that we wouldn''t be able to answer. Through some nifty movements that I didn''t understand, she put up Chatter on the stream and divided the stream between us and the website. "So they''re going to start answering questions now," Emilia said as soon as Denzel finished his story. It was like an unspoken signal had been given. They werepletely in sync. "Feel free to pick and choose which ones you''d like." "Oh? Does that mean we can just ignore them and scroll until the time passes?" Cecilia joked. Themunity seemed to love that, spammingughing Lopunny emotes. I had noticed a few others in the short time the stream had gone on. There was one for a happy Milotic, a disgusted Roserade, a disgusted Swablu, and a Sylveon with a heart, which was the one they''d used earlier. "Look at you, getting into the spirit of the stream," Emi smiled. "Obviously no one can force you to answer things, but try to approach this in good faith." "Fine," she said. "So¡­ do we just go?" "Yeah. Go ahead." Cecilia hummed as she scrolled down for a few seconds. A lot of these were actually appropriate because Emilia had sorted the page by the posts that had been liked the most, and it didn''t take long for her to settle on a question. "Do you like this one?" She asked, mousing over the post. I nodded. "Yeah. It''s cool. Plus the stream seems to like it." Sotaisei #DenzelQ&A Is there a particr reason why the both of you stay out of the limelight so much? All the information we get regarding you is basically crumbs, and I think that''s a real shame considering the talent you both have. You could be building a brand like Denzel. "Do you want to go first? I feel like we have somewhat simr reasons," I said. "Sure. It''s not like I avoid attention on purpose, I just don''t care about it at all," Cece said. "I''m taking this year to grow as powerful as I can as fast as I can, and I don''t think I''d be able to do that if I split my attention too much." "Her attention''s mine," I smirked. "And her team''s, of course." I could tell that she wanted to answer and keep flirting, but Denzel spoke before she could. "Guys¡­" Denzel muttered. "Sorry," I raised my hands. "Should I answer now?" The stream seemed quite satisfied with Cece''s answer, although I saw glimpses of people who thought she was making the wrong move. Personally, I knew her true intentions were to start pushing for fame once we made it to Unova proper and not Sinnoh, but she hadn''t revealed her intention to leave next year yet. Denzel motioned at me to answer, and I did. "I mean, I''m kind of simr. I put in one hundred percent of what I have in Pokemon training, which is why I don''t really care for fame." "But you actively avoid it, unlike Cece," Emilia chimed in. "I mean, I kind of do. It just honestly seems overwhelming. I imagine that Pokemon training and hanging out with Pokemon in general is a lot more fun than doing meet and greets, streams, brand deals, negotiations¡­ yeah, it''s just a hassle. Except with the Poketch Company, who thankfully lets me be." I knew I definitely had a team of employees watching my every move, so it wouldn''t do any harm to gas them up a little bit. After a pause where I ignored some people calling me a sellout, I continued. "I''m a sellout for focusing on Pokemon training? How does that make any sense?" I scoffed. "I genuinely mean it when I say I''m thankful to the Poketch Company for letting me do my own thing. I''ll remember your usernames, by the way." "Okay, well let''s calm down. Don''t let the voices of a few get a rise out of you. Most people are supportive," Denzel said. "Denzel does do both, but that''s a lot of work," Emilia nodded. "I sometimes wonder how he can fit all of it in a day. Anyway, I suppose we can move on to the next question. Grace, why don''t you pick this time?" "Uh, okay," I said. I ced my hand on the mouse and scrolled until one question regarding Sunshine caught my eye. This one was addressed only to me, so I nced at Cece to ask if that was fine. She answered with a discrete nod. Ope7re #DenzelQ&A Many people have been curious about your Turtonator. You''ve owned him for months, and we still haven''t seen him in a battle since Zachary, so I was wondering if he ns on cooperating with you any time soon? We all know how difficult gaining the respect of a dragon is, especially one that''s a lot stronger than your other Pokemon. Is the rtionship awkward with your burns and all? I had done more battles with Sunshine in Veilstone, but those had been in private with Poketch Companywyers making our opponents sign an NDA because they hated when I lost in public. What was important to me was clearing up his reputation. A lot of trainers had been burned or scared away during his multiple days spent grieving in Mount Cor. "Sunshine''s an angel. Kind of grumpy, but when he opens up to you, he''s the sweetest dragon ever¡ª what''s this emote? Doubt?" "It means what it says," Denzel awkwardly said. "It''s kind of incredible that you say that¡ª not to me, but to most people! Seeing someone that was harmed so much by a Pokemon and calling them sweet just a few monthster is kind of insane." "And something I''ll never understand," Emilia agreed. "Well it¡­ it was hard, but he was having a hard time too. An even harder time," I said. "Everyone knows his trainer died. It was in the headlines. No one''s going to be thinking straight after that. If I had to choose, I''d do it all over again to save him." Cece ced a hand on mine for support. "Um, regarding the battles, you can expect him to fight against Volkner, so stay tuned for that, but seriously, he''s a great person. I''m proud of all the progress he''s made and I love him." "There you have it," Denzel said. There was a lot of hype for my statement about the battle but none for Sunshine''s emotional state. That was streaming, I supposed. I leaned back to hide my annoyance, leaving the mouse to Cece and while she scrolled, Denzel spoke up again. "It''s not umon to find trainers with scars anyway," he shrugged. "The rest of us in our group mostly got lucky. Louis has one on his left cheek, Lauren has that small burn on her leg, Cece has those scars on her leg and it took a long time for her to be able to walk again¡ª" He paused, realizing that the public technically did not know why her leg had been screwed up like it had. The chat jumped on the opportunity, begging for him to reveal what had happened. It was honestly scary how so many people could unify like this and ask the same thing. The chat felt like a living, breathing hive mind. "That''s for another time," Denzel said. "But yeah, the thing is, with people with scars like Grace or Carlos¡ª people know Carlos, right?" "With how many times he was with Mira, yes," Cecilia said, still leaning toward theputer. "The thing with them is that they tend to¡­ well, die and not survive. You know that picture of the ne with all of the Pokemon attacks on it that Kanto used to figure out where they needed to reinforce their nes during the war that''s be sort of a meme, but it wasn''t telling the full picture because of survivorship bias? That''s why you don''t often see trainers with huge scars like them." "I get what you mean. Grace is a tough girl, though," Emilia said. "I''ll take thatpliment." "I found a question!" Cece said with a devilish grin. keepca1m_ #DenzelQ&A This might look weird, but when did the both of you start dating? There was no announcement, and that tends to be the case when two famous trainers get together. With you two, you kind of just started with the PDA out of nowhere around Hearthome, although some people say it was earlier. Nice rings, by the way. Denzel groaned. "Are you serious¡ª" "It''s a question, is it not?" She interrupted. "You said we could pick and choose. I think that''s appropriate, especially when we won''t be able to during the interview." He sighed but resigned to his fate. "It was Mount Cor. As most of you know, I was in a terrible headspace back then, but¡­ my friends came to save me. They pulled me out of that dark ce and I''m happier now than I''ve ever been. Grace had just told me she liked girls a few days prior in Eterna, and I realized right then and there that I loved her. I told her when we met again in the mountain''s depths and kissed her there." "Knowing Grace, she would still be bumbling around if you hadn''t," Denzel shrugged. "Let it be known that I was their wingman." "I mean, they were basically dating even before that. I wouldn''t call cuddling all night long something very friendly," Emilia mocked. "It''s possible, but if you see two people do that, odds are, they''re dating." "Shut up," I mumbled. My friendughed. "You know it''s true. You guys were like Deerling in headlights!" "You didn''t even know any better!" I yelled. "I did actually theorize a little with Pauline when we were in Eterna, but I was convinced you were straight," Emilia said. "H¡ªhow is that even possible?" I asked. "Like genuinely?" "I don''t know. I was still in the closet back then, so I guess I pushed my insecurities onto you? Pauline thought you had a crush on Cece, but she said it was better not to say anything." "Let''s actually segue into something else," Denzel said. "Unless you have something else to say, Cece?" "I''m done, unfortunately. You can expect me to hone in on any rtionship-rted questions, by the way." Denzel shook his head in disbelief. "There''s no need to find a question for this one, this was one of the most asked questions that we got. Your Pupitar, Grace. People know you got her in Mount Cor, but the circumstances of that are still basically unknown. You just kind of showed up with her on my stream one day." "So should I say how I got her?" I asked. "If you think that''s appropriate, yeah." "Well I first saw her in Mount Cor, obviously. Her¡­ her mother was fighting a Rhyperior, but she was losing terribly¡ª" I paused as the stream exploded. People couldn''t believe that we''d seen a Tyranitar and a Rhyperior in the wild and lived to tell the tale. "Tyranitar opened up a chasm in the earth and Denzel, Cece, Chase and I fell down to a lower level of Mount Cor. Sweetheart stuck around with me for protection, but we ended up bonding and I caught her. I didn''t want her to die. She was still really weak back then, even though she''d throw a fit before acknowledging that. She wouldn''t havested a day." More questions popped up in the chat, asking a flurry of different things that were mostly about Tyranitar and Rhyperior''s capabilities. I bit the inside of my lip in annoyance, but Denzel shot me a knowing look. "There are only a few known wild Rhyperior, and they''re very deep in Mount Cor, so they want to know if it''s one that''s been seen before," Denzel exined. "Behave guys, this is a sensitive topic." "How many in total?" I asked. "Six if we count Palmer''s. Five without. The one''s that''s the most well-known has a nasty scar on his torso and is missing some of his orange stones there. He got it when he fought Craig a few years ago." "I guess he does train on Mount Cor," I muttered. "But honestly, I was way too scared to know if that was the one." "I didn''t see any scars," Cece said. "It was another one, then. That''d make sense, since we were nowhere near the summit. Let''s get back to the questions. Grace, feel free to pick," Denzel said. I was starting to understand his strategy now¡ª if I could even call it one. He wanted to go through as many questions as possible to satisfy his audience and in order not to bore them. The viewer count was at 53,466 now, which was a lot more than his usual number. "You know, it is interesting that no one knows Rhydon''s evolution," Cece mused while I looked through the cesspool of questions. "Not even the League. Palmer caught his as a Rhyperior, correct?" "Uhuh. In Mount Cor," Denzel said. "But it wasn''t during his journey. He was already incredibly strong when he did so and he was¡­ one year older than Craig, if I remember correctly? I''m not well-versed in Battle Frontier personalities." "Well you''re way better-versed than me," Emiliaughed. "I wonder what Lauren''s going to do." "Rhydon are powerful even when they don''t evolve," he shrugged. "Blue Oak has one on his personal team and he''s Champion level." "I mean, most Pokemon can reach that level without evolving anyway, right?" Emilia asked. "Yes. Evolution''s a shortcut, but theoretically, a Bidoof could be that powerful. The diminishing returns would mean that it would probably take a century unless you were really gifted," Denzel said. "But Rhydon''s basically as powerful as a full evolution anyway, so you don''t lose out that much." I subconsciously nodded, thinking of Mathilda. She was a Sinistea, and yet had been overwhelmingly powerful. I still was nowhere close enough to taking her or Ruth down even at my current level, although I might be able to get out of there alive if they both attacked me. Maybe. "Are there any trainers that use non-fully evolved Pokemon at a high level?" I asked. "Well, there''s Temperance and her Dragonair," Emi immediately answered. "Even if she''s a coordinator, she''s strong. She says her Dragonair doesn''t want to evolve because Dragonite''s ugly." Denzel scoffed. "I take personal offense to that. To answer your question, there are a few, but it''s mostly because the Pokemon doesn''t want to evolve, not some self-imposed challenge. Uh, there''s¡­ Den Hornsby that has a Sneasel, and he ced top 64st year at the Conference. Uh, Ali West still has a Doude because he prefers their offensive style over an Aegish which would be more bnced." "Where did he ce?" Emi asked. "Group stages. But that was mostly because he got really unlucky and got put in with a bunch of older trainers." "I got my question," I cut in. "Unless you want to keep going?" "No, no, this is a Q&A," Denzel said. "Go ahead." StarThomas #DenzelQ&A Hey guys, I had a question regarding Gym Leaders for you and everyone else in the room. What was the favorite battle you ever had and why? Another question was, is there any particr reason you all skipped over Byron? I think he would have been easier should you have challenged him early. "For everyone in the room," I repeated. It was a subtle way of wasting the runtime. "I''ll go first. My favorite battle against a Gym Leader¡­ definitely Gardenia. I still watch it over with my team sometimes for old time''s sake. It''s where I really found a style that worked for me, and Gardenia''s my favorite trainer, so that''s a plus. I look up to her a lot, and I''d love for her to teach me about bodynguage one day." "That was an insane battle," Denzel nodded. "That Sr Beam that she threw at you was so powerful that I thought the barriers were going to give. They probably had a weaker Kadabra on shift since it was a bunch of weaker trainers in a row. Cece?" "Go first," she said. "Okay. Uh, I''d say Maylene, believe it or not." No one in the chat believed him, and it was easy to see that remains of the hate toward Maylene were still there and fresh. "I''m not joking. In hindsight, I think it was sort of fun to y around her, and it was Milotic''s first big battle too. He did awesome." "I''ll have to say Candice," Cece continued. "It was where Zweilous evolved and I managed to snap her out of whatever she was in. She was going way too easy on me at the start." We turned toward Emilia, and she let out a nervous chuckle. "I''m not a trainer, but I guess Roark? I mean, it''s the only one I won against. It wasn''t very fun, I just pushed through with Metang." "Pauline?!" I asked, raising my tone. Denzel shot me a look. "What? They said everyone. We''re doing Lopunny too." "Fantina!" She yelled. "Beating her ghosts up was fun!" I internally cursed when I realized she was keeping it short. "Lopunny?" The normal type answered Gardenia by using her phone and said that it was when she got her first big boost of confidence. It was hard to remember how shy she used to be when Denzel had first caught her, hiding behind his legs with her scarred ear. The scar was still there, but it was a lot smaller and almost unnoticeable now that she''d evolved. "Denzel and I were traveling together when we decided to skip Byron, but it was mostly because we were scared of his experience and we had a terrible team to deal with steel types. I had Togetic and Frillish while he had Eevee and Budew¡ª" "Sylvi did have Double Kick." "And yet you were the first one to suggest skipping," I smugly said. "We decided to bide our time instead, and I don''t regret it one bit. Keeping one of the strongest Gym Leaders forst sounds like fun." "Good luck stabbing through a steel type," Denzel joked. I paused, and I felt an excited shiver run down my spine. "Watch me." "For us, it was mostly because we were put on a pre-determined route by Louis'' father," Cece shrugged. "There wasn''t really a reason." "Wait, what? This is the first I''m hearing of this," I said. "We were meant to save Byron, Fantina and Volkner forst to impress people," she shrugged. "That routing¡­ is basically impossible unless you have a flying license or spend like two days in each city," Denzel said. "Now you know why they were so shit in their nning," she smiled. "I hope Harvey''s having a grand old time in prison." I let out a small, surprised breath. Cece almost never swore, but when she did, she meant it. "So you were saving the strongest forst? Or they were, I guess," I said. "Hmhm. They wanted us in the headlines." "Assholes," Denzel muttered. Pauline yelled, "Hey!" "Not your mom, Pauline. Your mom''s fine. Kind of. Next question! Cece, go ahead and look." Cecilia obliged him, and he kept going. "You know, I wonder what¡ª wait! Fuck!" "What is it? Did I mess up something?" Cecilia asked, abruptly lifting her hand off the mouse. "No, I just forgot to put on some background music. Sorry everyone," he sighed. "Don''t just scream like that for something so minor!" Cece angrily said. "I thought I screwed your setup." Denzel quickly put on some copyright-free music, and Cece found her next question while we trash-talked his horrible music tastes. "I don''t want the stream demonitized," he said. "You''ll thank meter." Stripy2000 #DenzelQ&A This is a question specifically for Cecilia. It''s getting prettyte in the year, and the seventh Gym forces you into a six-on-six, and you haven''t caught your sixth Pokemon. I was wondering if you thought you were going to struggle to catch up whoever your sixth will be. P.S: I rmend an electric type, since you''ll be fighting Wake and youck one. "Okay, well first of all please don''t backseat which Pokemon someone should get," Denzel said with tired eyes. "We all hate it when it happens, and it''s very annoying. Cece, go ahead." "Well, I''ll win five-on-six if need be, but what you say about the Conference rings true. I''ve given myself a limit. I won''t allow myself to leave Pastoria without a sixth Pokemon with me. They will no doubt struggle against Byron, but s, sometimes it''s just the way the cookie crumbles." "You know, the funny thing about that is¡ª" "Are you going to say something funny?" Emilia jokingly interrupted. "No¡­ not at all actually. You got me," he rolled his eyes. "This is a well-known phenomenon, though. The Five-Pokemon syndrome. Trainers are so unsure of who their sixth Pokemon should be that they spend way too long with a team of five and fail to win their eighth badge because of it. Sometimes they''ll get desperate, catch something and realize that they dislike who they caught." "So?" I asked, clenching around my armrest. "Uh¡­ so they release them. Or treat them terribly," Denzel said. "It sucks, but it''s a symptom of forcing people into a six Pokemon limit before the eighth badge. People will always be assholes." "You''d better hope I don''t find anyone like that," I said. Knife emojis flooded the chat, and Denzel didn''t seem to like that at all. "Uh, moving on!" Denzel panicked. "I will say that¡­ wait, Cece, can I say this?" "My sixth is already nned, and I won''t catch an unwanted Pokemon or a Pokemon that doesn''t want toe with me," Cece said. "Mienfoo or Croagunk. There you have it." Denzel paused, looking at the screen. "Yeah, they seem happy about that reveal. Grace, your turn." I nodded and got to work. Only ten minutes had passed so far. I would have to do more than one hour of this? "Better be picky than catch a Pokemon you don''t want and hurt them," Denzel continued. "Granted, people could technically call me a hypocrite since my Swablu was unnned." "Yeah, but you treat her right," I said. "If you hadn''t, I would have yelled at you." "Come to think of it, you don''t really get angry at other people often," Emilia said. "Oh, not with you guys," I said. "You''re amazing friends. Oh, your chat knows about your casino stint, by the way?" "They know. I was telling them all about it in Veilstone, and it ended with me shit-talking the Game Corner and making a video about how terrible gambling is." "You could have be an addict," Cecilia chided. "I think I was addicted, honestly. Gambling is fucking terrifying." "Got one," I said. "Addressed to me, Cece and Denzel." "Are you doing this on purpose?" He asked. "No, I just think it''s a really good question." Philexusson #DenzelQ&A This is a question for Grace, Denzel and Cecilia. If you make it past Byron, where do you think you''re going to end up in the Conference? A lot of people have been specting and it''s basically impossible to know until the month of, but it''d be nice to hear your opinions. "Well, top sixty-four would be nice," I said with a dreamy tone. The prospect of an incredible amount of battles with powerful trainers already had me excited even if it was still months away. "But my goal is to get out of group stages. Isn''t that luck-based, though?" Denzel spoke. "There''s some luck involved. There are trainer rankings¡ª" "Rankings?" Emilia scoffed. "Well, not rankings per se, but we''re just put into different¡­ power categories, forck of a better term. It depends on previous performances, your team, your skill as a trainer, and things like that. We''re all divided into four tiers, and they draw a number of trainers from each tier randomly and put you into a group." "Tier one''s Craig?" Cece asked. "People like Craig, yeah, but even then he''s a lot more powerful than the average tier one. Anyway, you''ll basically be guaranteed to have at least one tier one trainer in your group. The goal should not be to win every match, but to win enough points to get past group stages." "How many points gets you through?" I asked. "That depends on the year, really," he shrugged. "In a year like this with a lot of people, you''ll need more points to get past group stages and into the top 256. To actually answer the question, though, my goal is top 128." "Top sixty-four for me as well," Cece said. "You guys sure are ambitious," Emilia said. "Well, what''s life without a little dream or two?" I smiled. The fact that seedings weren''t random was something I weed, though. Arceus forbid some poor first-year was put in a group with a bunch of Craigs. Plus, no one would want all the top contenders to have a chance of getting eliminated that early. The Conference wasn''t just a tournament to pick the potential next Champion, but a tournament that millions of people enjoyed. But really, it was mostly because ofpanies. A boring Conference was a Conference with fewer viewers, and that meant less advertising. "What really interests me the most is items," Denzel said. "That''s a whole facet of battling we''ve never explored before. Berries that make type effectiveness matter less, rocks that make weather moves more powerful¡­ it''s going to be exciting." "Items are kind of cool, but honestly I''m starting to think I''d enjoy battling without," Cecilia said. "Of course, when in Kalos, do as the Kalosian do. I won''t put myself at a disadvantage." "Since Pauline is here, why doesn''t she answer the question?" I asked. "No, no, we''re moving on," Denzel said. "I''m good," the redhead nodded. Come on, where was your usual fiery passion? I internally screamed. This time, it only took a minute for Cece to find the next question, which meant we had very little room to speak about random things. TR_Supersonic #DenzelQ&A This is a question for Grace specifically. You''ve been hanging out with Jasmine Whitaker. Can we know what''s going on there? A group of teenagers said she scared them off with her Metagross on the beach and that you Teleported somewhere. You being so close to a foreign Gym Leader is kind of insane. Cece nudged her head at me, and I nonverbally thanked her for the easy question. "Jasmine''s my friend, and she''s helping me train Honey to his full potential," I answered. "She''s been a great teacher and he wouldn''t have been anywhere near this strong if she wasn''t there. Sometimes she goes on these tangents about her home, but I like it." "Grace does have a knack for meeting important people," Emilia said. "People in chat are asking how you convinced her to teach you, if you feelfortable answering." "Well at first we metpletely randomly on the beach, and a second time when I met Craig in a bar. After my battle with Denzel, she said I was interesting." "She called you unhinged, more specifically," Cece said with a slight huff. I had already told her all about how Jasmine had said that every trainer at the top had some degree of strangeness to them, and she vehemently disagreed. Cece and Denzel were pretty normal, and I was too, so her point didn''t really stand. Or at least that''s what I believed until a bunch of ''TRUE''s were spammed in the chat. "Guys, no one here is crazy, alright?" I sighed. "Jasmine''s just very opinionated." "You two are crazy," Denzel said, raising his hands. "I''m just a guy." "Sure, dude," I shook my head. "Anyway, Jasmine says my temperament is already there, and all I need is the skill to back it up, so she was helping me get there. And don''t start acting crazy in front of her just because I said this, okay? She has a lot on her te already, and she might go for the throat if she''s angry." "Go for¡­ the throat?" Emilia asked with a deep frown. I had apparently confused the viewers too, because they seemed to think that meant kill. "No, no, not murder. It''s¡­ well, it''s hard to exin, she''s a lot better at it." "Guys, she''s dating Volkner and killing a trainer would start an international incident, okay? You''re all safe¡ª how did we even get here? Cece, I thought you were going to stop Grace from bringing this stuff up." My girlfriend innocently tilted her head. "Hm? She didn''t say anything wrong, though. She just brought up something Jasmine said." Denzel pinched the bridge of his nose, and Emilia gently rubbed his arm. I didn''t miss Pauline smiling at the contact, although she immediately stopped when she noticed I was looking at her. "Sorry, I was just rying what she said," I apologized half-heartedly. "But we''re good, right? I mean, this isn''t even in the top ten of worst things I''ve said." "There''s a top ten?" Emilia asked with a raised voice. "I don''t know, I just assume there is. There are a lot of misunderstandings about me. Why else do you think stabbing became a meme?" "Because you stab things." "Yes, but that''s because it''s effective in battle. I haven''t stabbed anyone personally." "Well yeah, thank the Legendaries," Denzel said, slightly out of breath. "I mean, what would I even do it with? I don''t have a knife. A pencil? Scissors? Those always have rounded tips anyway, I paid attention to them a lot when I was in school. It''s technically possible, but stabbing is a lot harder than it looks, and I''m not that strong anyway." Denzel nched. "Goodness, let''s just move on from this topic¡ª chat do not say ''not yet!''" Cece nudged her head at me, and I nodded. "This was all hypothetical. I don''t condone stabbing or anything of the sort, this was all purely hypothetical since the topic came up," I said. "Grace," Denzel pleaded. "You brought it up." "What? Doctors stab you a bunch during surgery, and you don''t say anything to them. Hell, I was stabbed in the arm multiple times when they had to do that skin graft on me!" "Next question!" "Wait, what does ''based'' mean?" I asked. ¡ª The one-and-a-half hour of questions had passed agonizingly slowly, and Denzel looked exhausted by the end of it. I had mostly picked Pokemon training questions, answering about my process to analyze my mistakes after each battle, how I trained, how toe up with custom moves, and funnily enough, someone had asked me how to budget. I was technically the best at budgeting in the room. Cece had her leftover money, and she would for a while. Pauline and Emi were billionaires, and Denzel had blown all of his money on multiple asions without even having an emergency fund. The favorite question I had answered, however, came from a trainer with a Togetic of her own. She''d even posted a selfie after the picture, and she asked me how to get as good with Ancient Power as we''d gotten. Needless to say, I rambled about it for ten minutes until Denzel himself had to stop me. Some strange person called Grace''s Twin kept sending donations saying that we were meant to be together until they were banned, but they came back with alternate ounts eleven times, just adding numbers at the end of their name until they stopped. We were already segueing into the interview section with Goald and Archive. Denzel had only muted the microphone for a few minutes. "There''s no break? You look like you need a break," Cece said. "A break means losing traction. People''s attention span is fickle nowadays," he said as he stretched. "Try to keep yourselves under control for the interview, please¡ª ah, they''re ready to start. We''ll be on the sidelines for this one. Be nice." "We''re nice people," Cece said. "And remember that these will be a lot more invasive than the others because you can''t just scroll past the ones you don''t like." Denzel dragged his and Emilia''s chair out of the shot, and heunched the call with Goald and Archive. "Hello? Is the sound alright?" A voice rang out. It was deep, but smooth. "Yes. Who is this speaking?" Cecilia asked. "Oh, where are my manners. This is Archive. Thank you for giving us the opportunity and for joining us here tonight. Andrew?" "Y¡ªyeah. We appreciate it. Do you have any questions before we start?" That was Goald, then. His voice was shaking like a leaf while Archive seemed confident. "We can start if you''re ready," I said. "Cece?" "Go ahead, gentlemen." "Okay! We have a list of topics we want to approach if that''s not too much to ask for. Andrew, take it away." Goald cleared his throat. "Let''s start with a question that''s been on everyone''s mind. And we saw you scroll past these, but it''s about your closeness with the League, along with your friends Mira Compton and Chase Karlson, who unfortunately aren''t here with us. You''ve been known to speak to Champion Cynthia on multiple asions, have ACE trainers as guards and you even refer to her by her first name. Could you go into that at all?" He had stammered or hesitated multiple times, but he''d gotten his question across. I stared at Cece and wondered what we should say. We could technically answer with noment, but I wanted to see what she thought. "Well, we can''t really go into it that much. We''re in the LTIP, so we''re somewhat close to the League that way," Cece said, exuding confidence. "I know first-years are never admitted into the program, but there are always exception to the rules, isn''t there?" Archive jumped in when his colleague seemed too out of it to answer. He was probably fanboying over the fact that Cece had just spoken to him. "That doesn''t exin everything, though. LTIP members don''t just speak to the Champion, and you''ve done exactly zero jobs for the League so far. It seems that everyone else would have been kicked out for inactivity by now. There have been a lot of strange events surrounding you since the Darkest Day in Sceon." "I''m afraid we can''t answer," Cecilia said. "Would you say it''s confidential information, then?" "She said she couldn''t answer," I interjected. "So we won''t answer." "Okay," Archive said. "Grace, something happened to you while you were in a park in Veilstone. This is all second-hand ounts, so feel free to correct me if I''m wrong, but you were attacked by¡­ something? Some people say an Abra, others say Pikachu or Sandshrew. It happened so quickly that no one really had a good look at it. ACE trainers intervened and saved the day, but we can only theorize that you''re being targeted by¡­ someone." "No," I shut down. "Let''s move on, now." "I just want to let you know that you being quiet on the issue creates countless conspiracies and that rity would help a lot," Archive said. I bit the inside of my cheek and imagined countless ways I could blow up thisputer. "I don''t appreciate this questioning, Archive," Cece said. "I thought this was a friendly podcast." "Well, we just wanted to start with the heavy questions first," heughed. "This is on everyone''s minds, but fine. Next up, we have a question for you, Grace. People say that you can speak to Pokemon. Like, understand the literal words that they say, not just guess off of bonds and bodynguage. Would you confirm whether that''s true or not?" "I''m just close to my team," I said. "Are you implying that people that can''t understand their Pokemon after a few months with them aren''t close to their teams?" "No," I said, restraining a groan. "I just have a talent for it, that''s all. Some people will be better at things than others." "But rumors say that you can understand every Pokemon, not just your team." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Archive?" The man paused. "Yes?" Not worth it, I told myself. "I don''t feel like answering the question." "Let''s switch topics, Archive," Andrew said. "Sorry about that. We did say we''d let you have boundaries. Uh, the next thing we have on the list is for Grace. It rtes to your battle with Maylene and your more¡­ sadistic leanings. Do you have any regrets of how you fought her? As you know, she''s taken a one-month break while her Gym Trainers and her Lucario run things. Do you n on battling everyone that isn''t a friend that way?" "I have some regrets, but I guess I never did address that battle," I sighed. "I think it was a good as a whole, but I could have gone at it in a different way." "You preventing the Infernape switch was pretty egregious," Archive said. "I mean, it is taboo," I nodded. "It''s not something I think I''ll do much more of. To answer your question, I will pull back on that way of battling for the most part. I won''t just spare my friends. Plus, Maylene was the only one it would work on properly anyway, Gym Leader wise." "Do people say Grace is sadistic?" Cecilia asked. "Sometimes they do. Like, for example instead of using Air Cutter repeatedly against Denzel''s Roserade, she stabbed her in the gut and shoulder," Goald said. "That was mostly to shake off her focus. Constant, sharp pain is good at that. Air Cutter wouldn''t have done well enough and Princess would have fallen faster. It''s not that I like inflicting pain, it''s that inflicting pain is good to win battles." "See, a lot of trainers wouldn''t really say that out loud," Archive said. "It is true. We all know it," I shrugged. "I guess this is a good segue into your different battling styles, then," Goald said. I internally sighed in relief now that we were finally getting back to normal topics. "C¡ªCecilia, you use wide destruction and speed as a weapon. Where do you see your team at their apex?" "It''s hard to imagine something so far away," Cece muttered. "But I have two kinds of Pokemon I want. The heavy hitters that can alter the terrain in many different ways and the speedsters or fliers that can easily navigate what I pick. It''s not just about strategy, though. It''s also about taste." "Could you borate on that?" Archive asked. "Isn''t destroying things just a lot of fun? I dream of the day I can tten a mountain and point at it, saying, that was me. I altered the face of the earth forever." "Well, there are regtions against that type of thing," I interjected. "But I get what you mean." "Seeing my Pokemon destroy the environment just fills my heart with so much joy," she smiled fondly. "Well, not as much as I get when I''m with Grace." I couldn''t help but grin while Archive and Andrew stayed silent for a few seconds. "Okay. So you like destroying things. Is that final?" Archive asked. "Yes." "Did she stutter?" I said. "You better not call her weird for it." "Erm, okay. What about you, Grace?" Archive asked. "Where do you see your battling style at its apex?" I hummed, tapping a finger against my lip. "I think it''s all about field control and psychological tricks for me," I said. "Of course, using out-of-the-box tactics sounds like fun too, like the pain thing we were talking about." "I thought you said you wouldn''t do psychological tricks anymore after Maylene?" "Oh, there''s a difference between what I''m capable of and what I''ll actually do," I said. "I have a bunch of ideas that are too rude, disrespectful, or taboo to use." Like making trainers flinch by attacking them directly, orpletely obstructing their view with a giant wall, or subtly trash-talking in the middle of a match, and many other ideas that never made it past the conceptual stage. "But there''s a difference between ideas and reality," Cece quickly added. "Grace respects what it means to be a trainer." "I mean, it is sort of arbitrary, but yes," I said. "I don''t want to be an asshole." "Thank you for the answers," Archive said. "You''re quite the pair, aren''t you?" "Next up, we have ns after this year''s Circuit," Goald said. "Denzel has already said he ns on going through Sinnoh again and we assume it''s the same for you two, but some people aren''t sure. Would you be willing to share with us today?" "Well, we''ll most likely have a lot of things to do this summer, so we''ll be in Sinnoh for¡­ possibly all of July and some of August," Cecilia said. "But after that¡­" She looked at me, and I nodded. "Unova''s the n," she said. "We want to go through the Circuit there¡ª well, I wanted to, and Grace agreed, which I''m still very thankful for," she continued, grabbing my hand. People in the chat were not happy about that, and even our friends were surprised. We had floated the idea of going to Unova to them a few times, but we''d never actually confirmed it to them, so this was new for them as well. "Interesting! Why Unova in particr? Is it just because it''s Cecilia''s home country?" Archive asked. "That''s mainly it, yes," Cece nodded. "And we think that taking on the full ten Gyms might be fun." "Plus, traveling through an entire new ce is nice," I said. "Going through Sinnoh again would probably just be me flying around cities and beating the Gyms there." "Will you not fly in Unova?" Andrew asked. There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and knew it was because it was going to be way harder to track us abroad. I pushed down the jealousy that was rearing its ugly head. How was I jealous of someone Cece didn''t know anyway? "We were thinking about walking through the region for the most part," Cece said. "I may be Unovan, but I never walked through the routes themselves." "Exploring and camping is fun," I nodded. "Plus, the routes are apparently super safe, so there are no drawbacks, really." "That is something Unovans like to boast about," Archive nodded. "Okay, Andrew?" "You all traveled as a group before, but you''ve splintered into smaller and smaller ones as time went on," Goald said. "Is there a reason for it? Some people think there was a falling out." "A falling out?" I scoffed. "We''re all still amazing friends." "We all had different things we wanted to focus on," Cece said. "Groups are malleable. We don''t even know how we''ll travel to Pastoria. If the group will reform, or split further¡­ we don''t know." "Well I was thinking I could go with Emi and Pauline?" Denzel said. "Because it''s not often that Emi can travel on a route, I mean." Liar, I thought. "Fine by me, even though I''ll miss you." "So you''re still friends, then?" Archive asked. "No drama?" "Do people not see us hang out and talk every time we''re in a city?" I asked. "I mean,e on, people." "People just like to look for drama where there isn''t any," Cece shrugged. "That is true," Goald said. "People were theorizing that you broke up when Grace went and traveled to Veilstone on her own." You would have loved that, wouldn''t you? I internally huffed. Andrew spoke again, "Continuing, we have a topic that''s¡­ kind of rted to a question that''s on everyone''s mind and might be somewhat controversial and is rted to something that was already asked during the Q&A. At this moment, between all the trainers in your group, who do you think is the strongest currently, and who do you think will make it the furthest in the Conference." "I don''t know," I said, tilting my head. "I''m currently stronger than Denzel, I guess, but he did get this super secret training with Craig that he won''t tell anyone about." "That''s because Craig doesn''t want me to say it," Denzelined. "Shush now," I teased. "You''re not in the stream. I guess¡­ hm, it''s hard to quantify. I feel like Lauren''s the best currently, but the gap isn''t as wide as it once was." "I agree with that assessment," Cece nodded. "What about you and I?" "Well¡­ I''d say bar Sunshine, we''re pretty equal, no?" "Saying that you''re equal is kind of copping out," Archive said. "Well it''s what I feel," I said. "I think that depending on the day, I''d be able to win or she would." The chat flooded with demands for a battle between us, and Goald and Archive asked for the same thing. "Well, I wouldn''t want Honey in a Center for multiple days currently, but we might after my Gym Battle," I said. "Regarding who has the best shot of making it furthest in the Conference¡­ it''s impossible to know before we get there." "Come on, give us an answer, at least," Andrew sighed. "Me." "Me." I turned toward Cecilia and we bothughed. Even Archive chuckled, which did a lot of work to break the ice. The podcast continued in a more friendly fashion. Goald''s nerves calmed down, Archive grew more understanding of questions we couldn''t answer and dare I say it, I kind of had fun. Denzel bid his viewers goodbye, listing all of his sponsors before ending the stream. "That wasn''t that bad, was it?" Emilia said. "Rocky start, but we made it." "It peaked at around 80,000 viewers," Denzel nodded. "Thanks for participating, girls." Pauline stretched. "Arceus, I''m tired and I wasn''t even talking. I must have banned at least sixty people, if we don''t count that crazy Grace''s Twin guy." Lopunny nodded, not even bothering to type on her phone. She only grumbled that her fingers were tired. Being a moderator was hard work, it seemed. "How much money did we make?" I asked. "You have a one-track-mind, don''t you?" Denzel said. "DailyTube takes a prettyrge cut, but the stream made around 120,000 Pokedors in total. Split it four ways, and you have the number. Payout takes around three to five business days, so you''ll have to wait. "30,000 in three hours isn''t bad," I said. "Why doesn''t everyone just do this streaming stuff?" "Why don''t you do it?" He jokingly said. "It''s annoying." "You''ve got to realize I''m in the top 1% of the 1% of streamers," Denzel shrugged. "The majority of people are stuck at 1 viewer the entire time." "How lonely," Cece muttered. "Well, that''s that!" I smiled. "Denzel, I have a list of usernames for you to ban." My best friend stammered. "What?" "People that were rude to Cece. Cursed_Meowth_Images1, ReticentoneWNs, ShmokerChain1028, RoorooR, aDELAIDE¡ª" "Wait¡ª" "¡ªDetectiveDn, Nashetovich, Defeat4t¡­ and Dreamville. I can write the names down for you if you want." "Thank you, Grace," my girlfriend gently said. "Okay, rx," he sighed. "We''ll look at their chat logs." "Thanks!" "And you''re going to Unova? That''s confirmed?" He asked. "It is," I said. "Sorry you found out like that. I guess it never came up." "Please keep me informed," he sighed. "I already feel like I''m out of the loop¡ª" "I know. It was just ns between the two of us, though, not League stuff," I said. "Are we okay?" "Yeah, of course." "Well, I''m going to shower, change clothes and then we can hang. It''s been a while," I said. ¡ª Melody Summers felt like she was out of breath as the stream finally ended. Multiple times, she thought she would have gotten a panic attack from the way Grace had behaved, but she thankfully never stepped over the line. She still couldn''t believe they had wanted to market her as a rtable, everyday girl. She was anything but normal. Thatment about scissors? That had been weird. Incredibly weird. Melody liked Grace as a person, but she couldn''t deny that there was a lingering worry for her there. Still, the members of the board hadn''t minded too much, especially when she''d spoken well about thepany multiple times, worn her watch and had said that she found the Poketchptop great to take notes on when someone had asked about tips for training during the Q&A section. They also loved that she was going to Unova. In fact, it was what they were the most excited about. Melody closed her ownptop and sighed as she stared out of her window in her apartment in Hearthome. "Looks like there are no fires to extinguish today," she muttered to herself. "Thank the Legendaries." Melody was basically Grace''s manager at this point, even if the girl didn''t know it. It was her that coordinated her appearance on the front trainer magazines (and they were still using pictures from that one photoshoot they had), that asked people in different newswork to bring her up and talk about her during their sections about trainers and that constantly shielded her from the board''s ignorance. Next on the list for her? Another photoshoot for new pictures and as soon as she got a flier and time to swing by Jubilife, a meeting with the board itself, face-to-face to n theirunch in Unova and talk about the rivalry with X Technologies. Of course, that meant that she needed her Shiny Stone. The bonus had already been agreed to, and now all she needed to do was beat Volkner, but even that wasn''t an obligation any longer. Not with the text she had sent two days ago. Honey''s going to fight Volkner''s Electivire during our Gym Battle for reasons that I can''t really get into, so you can warn the board ahead of time. Melody had wanted to ask a thousand questions, but the most important one had been how? How the hell did she do things like¡­ that? The only answer she could muster was okay and good luck. And now, she was probably going to Unova with her and would have to get approved for hormones there. The Unovan medical system was a hassle. Hopefully Grace would mellow out with age, because between the League and her antics, Melody felt like she had aged ten years in the few months they''d been working together.
Interlude – Haystack I Interlude ¨C Haystack I INTERLUDE - HAYSTACK I Louis Bianchi stared at his Bisharp, who was sitting on a fallen tree diligently sharpening his des on a triangle-shaped rock. Bisharp had grown a lot since his evolution, and he was now half a head taller than Louis was. His des were so sharp that Louis had once identally touched the ones below his chest and cut his arm. The steel type had profusely apologized and offered him his rock in return, but Louis told him it wasn''t his fault. He had a lot on his mind that made him not pay attention to his surroundings sometimes. Still, this rock wasn''t one he recognized. "Where did you put your old rock? Is that a new one?" He asked. Bisharp offered a curt nod, but he was too engrossed in whetting his des to do anything else. He had owned at least ten favorite rocks since Louis had caught him, and this one made eleven. Route 222 was quite a nice spot. Not to train¡ª he and Maeve used the arenas for that, and she was currently spending time with Pauline and Cecilia¡ª but to simply stick with his team. Plus, newer trainers left him alone like he wanted. Louis wasn''t famous like his friends were. He had his time in the sun, but he was in the background now. Most people knew him as that person whose father tried to betray his country for a quick buck. Part of him wanted to see his dad again and ask him why, but he knew the answer. Pure and simple greed. Regardless, the maximum security prison at the Lily of the Valley Ind didn''t allow public visitors or calls, so it wasn''t like he could go there ormunicate anyway. If Louis had to guess, his father would be ced back into a normal prison on the maind after the remains of Team Gctic was dealt with. It wouldn''t be long now that their bases in Veilstone had been raided. Empoleon stood behind him, always standing guard even when it wasn''t needed. Louis had tried to get him to go to the beach, but his dislike for swimming still lingered, even after reaching his final evolution. Combeezily buzzed around his head like usual, asionally bending honey around themselves, which was supposedly a telltale sign that the evolution into Vespiquen was near. The three heads would fuse into one mind and form one being. Louis had teared up multiple times at that prospect, but always in secret, hidden away from Combee. He didn''t want them to hold themselves back for him. Nales and Gabite were currently arguing about something, which he didn''t know what. The dragon snarled at Nales, sending spittle all over her fur, and she was not amused. She retaliated by blowing a puff of mes into his face, but a grunt from Empoleon stopped them both. The fire type huffed, turning her head away from Gabite while he mmed a w against his chest. Really, the issue was that they''d never really loved each other. Gabite was too violent for Nale''s tastes. Gabite did enjoy Bisharp''spany and begrudgingly respected Empoleon because he''d known him the longest. With Combee, he basically ignored her, finding her too weak for his tastes, but Nales coddled the bug type like she was family. Bisharp found her cute as well despite pretending otherwise, but he was quiet whenpared to the rest of his Pokemon. Louis'' research had said that Bisharp tended to be loud and boisterous because they led, but he was the pr opposite of that. Either way, his team wasn''t¡­ well, it wasn''t a family like Grace''s, nor a unit like Maeve''s, Lauren''s or Cecilia''s. It was a hodgepodge of different personalities that often shed. And yet, they persevered. "Gabite." The tall dragon shot him a prideful look, but begrudgingly offered Nales a half-hearted apology, or at least that''s what Louis thought he said. Nales, for her part, smiled smugly and seemed pleased with herself, giving Louis a slight dip of her head as thanks. Gabite hade far since his early days as a Gible, but he had a ways to go still. Part of Louis dreaded the inevitable Garchomp evolution that would no doubt bring a slew of problems, but that was still far away. Louis sat next to Bisharp and he consciously forced himself not to make his leg bounce. He linked his hands together and pressed them against his mouth as he thought. Where was Justin? He''d be obsessed with his old friend, desperately scouring the Gym''s website to see if he''d fought Volkner, but he hadn''t. This felt odd. Wrong. Grace had told him that Justin would eventuallye to find him, but had she been wrong? He''d hoped that her acquaintance with Type Energy would help her understand him, but that didn''t look to be the case. Louis blinked as a cold flipper tapped him on the shoulder. A tough, metallic hand covered in rock dust touched his own. The buzzing around his head quieted down. A soft, tuft of warm golden fur rubbed his back and his dragon''s piercing yellow eyes softened for a second. "I''m fine," he muttered. "I''ll be fine." He couldn''t help but feel like he''d failed Justin every step of the way. He should have followed him after Sceon like Maeve and Mira had done to him when he''d been struggling. Instead, he let Justin do whatever he wanted because he''d asked¡ª demanded it, even. Then, he''d lost that battle in Veilstone and gotten utterly crushed. If he''d been more skilled, then all of this could have been fixed. No¡­ that wasn''t it. Louis had been scared as well. Justin had changed so much that Louis had preferred to look the other way and to keep him as far away as he could because loss was terrifying to him. Loss of any kind of rtionship. Fear had made him a terrible friend. He''d found it easier to look the other way and to tell himself that it would all be fine if he waited. And so Louis had waited, but there was nothing there. No progress had been made. It couldn''t be just left like this. It would feel wrong. Like a page left unturned. "Is everyone ready to head back?" Nods and grunts of affirmations ran through his team. He recalled all of them besides Combee and started his long trudge toward the city gates. Arceus, each step felt so heavy. Like a thousand stones weighed his ankles down. Like he was pushing a boulder up a hill with no end. Like he was walking in quick sand and sinking with each step. If there was one thing Louis sometimes wished he had, it was a dash of his old ego. At least that way, he would have been able to bear through this with his self-esteem and confidence unburdened. Louis took another step. And then arger one. Soon enough, he was jogging to Sunyshore. He would endure. ¡ª "Hey my brother!" Denzel waved at Louis from the gate with a huge smile that he couldn''t help but instinctually return. From what Louis understood, Denzel was doing great for himself these days, especially with his huge stream yesterday. Louis approached his friend, who wrapped an arm around his shoulder and dragged him toward Sunyshore. "Heard you were feeling down from Maeve," Denzel said. "I came to cheer you up, since I''m not training today. I''m trying to negotiate to create merch and it''s a real hassle now that Craig isn''t here to help, but I''ll deal. What''s wrong?" Louis frowned. What was wrong? The answer was obvious! "Justin." Denzel''s lips went t. "Ah. Yeah, he''s just gone. Like a ghost. Finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack. There isn''t much that we can do." "I know," Louis muttered. "I''ll deal with this, no need to bother yourself¡ª" "Come on. We can hang out for a little bit, right? All of the girls are together and Chase and Mira are training. I don''t want you to go through this alone. You can talk to me." "Where would you have us go?" Louis asked. "Anywhere. Got a favorite spot here? You must have been to Sunyshore plenty of times." He nodded. "I did. Uh, I used to go to the beach with my¡­ well, I wouldn''t call them friends. Children of my father''s connections, mostly." "You don''t see them anymore, huh?" "Not since the start of the Circuit, no. And now that my father went to prison, is a pariah and our¡ª hispany got nationalized, they have no use for me." Denzel patted Louis on the back. "Why don''t we go to the beach, then?" "It''s cold around this time of year," Louis answered. "It''s hot today, and I see plenty of people go in every day," he shrugged. "I know you have a lot on your mind, but why don''t you rx a little?" "I can''t¡ª" "You don''t think you deserve it," Denzel said. "I''ve gone through¡­ a simr thing before. Well, not exactly, but it was back in Eterna." "What happened? Sorry, I was mostly focused on myself and my so-called prowess as a trainer back then," Louis said with a dry chuckle. "I hadn''t gotten my wake-up call." His friend paused. "You''re a good trainer, Louis." "Nonsense." "You''ve got four badges, dude. In your first year. And you''re going to get more. If you solve your flier issue or use Pauline''s Braviary after Pastoria, you''ve got a real shot at making it to the Conference." Louis stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "I mean it," Denzel shrugged. "But let''s return to my story. I used to have self-confidence issues that stemmed from the fact that I wasn''t progressing as fast as Cecilia and Grace, but that waspounded with the fact that they had all of these problems that my life couldn''t hold a candle to. That made me think that every singleint, every time I felt tired, angry or sad wasn''t warranted. That my feelings were invalid because, I mean, what the hell was I even worrying about?" Whereas Louis felt like he couldn''t afford to rest or feel happy because of what Justin was going through. "I guess that is somewhat simr," he nodded. "I try my best," Denzel said. "So juste to the beach with me. Pauline bought this beach volleyball that she stuck in my room so we could y. Spend a day between friends where you can breathe." Louis let out a long breath. "Very well. What do I have to lose? Every time I''ve looked, it hasn''t made a difference." "Now we''re talking," Denzel smiled. "Plus, I wanted to ask Pokemon training-rted questions, so I suppose it could be nice." "Sure, I''ll help out. Let''s head to the Center and get changed." ¡ª March was in full swing, and each day, Sunyshore''s long beach had more and more people. Louis'' feet shifted in the sand as he squared himself, and he sent the volleyball back toward Denzel. For all his friend''s height and build, he was actually quite bad at sports. His dexterity just wasn''t there. Denzel hit the ball, and it slipped off his wrists, softly bouncing onto the sand. They had no to speak of and they weren''t even counting points, but Louis had to admit it felt good to be ying sports after so long. His father had forced him to y a multitude of them, including golf (which he hated), but volleyball was among his favorites along with badminton. "Damn, my bad," he awkwardly said. "Pauline said this would be easy." "Pauline yed volleyball in school," Louis said. "What?!" Denzel scoffed. "She never told me any of that!" "She probably wanted to keep it a surprise to dominate you during your match," he shrugged. "Emilia knows. She''s definitely in on the n." Louis had noticed how close all three had grown, but it was nothing he paid much attention to. Subgroups had formed within their friend group, and that was just life sometimes. "That sounds like her. Thanks for the heads up," Denzel said as he pushed the ball upward. "So. What were those questions you wanted to ask me? I''ll do my best to help out." "Field alteration. It is what I need to take the next step, and yet I''m stumped. I can''t think of anything that would help my team as a whole¡ª" He cut himself off to send the volleyball back. "You''re thinking too big," Denzel said. "It doesn''t need to help your entire team. That''s incredibly hard to do when you aren''t a type specialist. Helping even one or a few Pokemon is fine so long as it''s not permanent. Hell, even if it''s permanent, it might be worth it if you have a lead, but I know you don''t like to y risky." "Not at all," he shook his head. Louis hated taking unnecessary risks during battles, which was why he tended to stay on the defensive and react most of the time. It was a far cry from who he used to be. Back when he''d only owned Gabite and Empoleon and only thought to attack. Despite working better, his newfound strategy had cost him multiple battles against Maeve, but he knew there was a way to make it work with tweaks and experience. "That''s fine, not everyone''s going to battle the same. Plus, it works kind of well with your team, I feel like." "How?" "Well, it''s kind of slow. Stalwart, forck of a better word. It works better defensively than offensively save for Nales, but even she battles your way. Plus, you know about Kingambit, right?" Louis nodded. "How could I not?" Kingambit was Bisharp''s final form, and they always fought twice as hard whenever they were thest Pokemon on the field. Scientists said that it was instinctual since they were the leaders who needed to fight for that final inch when their army had fallen and they were thest Pokemon standing. "But getting a Bisharp to evolve is¡­plicated, and I don''t have that much time," Louis continued. "I would have to go back to that cave I found him in and find his old group." "What is it that they need to evolve again?" Louis paused. "Triumph. The ultimate victory that proves them to stand at the apex of their species. They need to beat an army of Pawniard and Bisharp by themselves and live to tell the tale. It''s¡­ dangerous." "Well, I''m not saying you have to do it. I''m saying it fits you. You know, I admire you, Louis." "How is that even possible?" Louis froze. The ball dropped to his feet and rolled onto the sand. "Don''t look at me like that, I''m serious. You''re a tough guy. Probably the toughest guy I know." "It isn''t enough," the blonde said. "I should have been there for you more, y''know?" Denzel muttered. "I''m sorry." "There are only so many hours in a day, you don''t have to drop everything for me. I know how busy you all are." "But you''re dropping everything for Justin. Shouldn''t I be doing at least a fraction of that?" "Well, you''re doing it right now," he said after a pause. "I am. Want to go grab ate lunch after this?" "I don''t see why not." "Come on, give it a little pep!" Denzel eximed. "Sure!" Louis yelled. He hadn''t yelled in so long that it hurt. He pushed the ball back toward Denzel, and they began to y again. "Hear me out, Louis. I''ve seen your battles with Maeve, and what youck right now is confidence." "Ha!" Denzel caught the ball and smiled. "Youughed." "No, I didn''t!" "You did. Damn it, I should have recorded this, the others won''t believe me when I tell them this. I haven''t seen youugh since¡­ since¡­" Denzel stopped, and his smile suddenly disappeared like dust in the wind. He cleared his throat and continued. "Like I said, you''re a good trainer, but you behave like a kid that''s going through their first Gym Battle every single time. Even with Maeve, despite being a lot morefortable with her. You can be reactive and confident¡­ although we don''t really have any reactive battlers in our group. I could tell you about some random trainer I know off the top of my head." "Go ahead." "Jules Mantle, half ice type specialist and half water type. As you can guess, they can do a lot of nifty things with freezing water. They mostly react to whatever''s being thrown at ''em. Last year during the Conference, they got up to the top 16 by slowing down battles to a halt every time." "Slowing¡­?" Louis confusedly asked. "Yes. They''ll slow their opponents'' Pokemon down to give them time to react and counter things either with ice or water moves. The point is, they''re reactive, but they still have an active strategy that they employ. You just wait for things to get thrown at you. Sometimes that works, sometimes that doesn''t. You need strategy thatplements your style." Louis attentively nodded, listening to every word. "Granted, you don''t want to get a big head either." "I''m the person you need to tell that," Louis said. Denzel chuckled. "At the end of the day, it doesn''t matter what strategy it is. Just have something you set out to do. iling around in a battle won''t work, or at least it won''t get you to eight badges. You''ll have a decent team against Candice, but types will only carry you so far." Louis blinked, looking up at the volleyball that Denzel had lobbed at him. His body tensed, and he feltpelled to go for the ball, jumping and arcing his back until he spiked it right at Denzel''s feet. "Yeah, confidence like that. Sheesh, go easy on me." "I appreciate the advice, Denzel," Louis said. "And that was me going easy." A group of girls suddenly interrupted their game, asking Denzel to sign autographs on their Pokeballs and a selfie. He apologized and told them he was busy helping a friend, much to their displeasure. "You didn''t have to do that," Louis said. "I could have waited." Denzel chuckled as he shook his head. "How''s Gabite doing recently? He still causing you problems?" "He''s doing alright. I''m mostly worried about when he''ll evolve." "I''ll lend you a hand if pushes to shove," his friend nodded firmly. "I said the same thing to Cecilia, but she''s determined to do it on her own. Your Gabite''s pretty rowdy as far as they go, so you might need help." "That¡­ that reassures me," Louis sighed in relief. He would rather have help than not. "I mean, what are friends if they don''t help out, right? You doing alright with Cece?" "We haven''t spoken to each other much in Sunyshore, but yes. The awkward atmosphere is gone these days." "You over her?" "Yes," he said, not missing a beat. "The time away helped." "d to hear it. Don''t worry about romance, I''m sure you''ll get a girl soon. Maybe she''s even closer than you''d think." "I don''t think I''m in the right¡­ headspace for a rtionship right now," Louis said. "It wouldn''t be right. I don''t even know what a rtionship is. My time with Cecilia, it was all fake. I mostly spent it unting her around like a thing and forcing her to have one-sided conversations while she answered with hums and nods. I don''t want to slip back into bad habits." Denzel paused. "Fair enough." They yed volleyball in silence until Denzel tried to spike the ball¡ª And failed miserably. That gave Louis a good chuckle. ¡ª "This isn''t as fancy as you''re used to, eh?" Denzel said as he chomped on some ribs. They hadn''t gone far. They were in one of the multitudes of restaurants that lined the boardwalk. Louis had basically been peer pressured into ordering ribs as well, but he did enjoy them very much even though Denzel made fun of him for using a knife and fork. "You make it sound like I haven''t eaten those pre-packaged meals for trainers," Louis said. "Oh yeah, those are terrible," Denzelughed. "I heard Grace and Honey cooked for Mira, Chase and Cecilia when they were traveling, though. Homemade food while traveling? I''m kind of jealous." "Why don''t you ask her to cook for you?" Louis asked. "Knowing her, she''ll jump at the opportunity. She''s quite¡­ motherly." "We should ask her, then," Denzel said. "And hell, she won''t be limited to ingredients she can conveniently carry since we''re in a city." "If she agrees, I will be there," Louis said. "So, Louis," the teenager said, dropping a bone on his te. "What''s next for you after this year?" Louis froze at the question, not knowing what to answer. He''d been so focused on first surpassing Cecilia and then saving Justin from getting himself killed that he''d never taken a second to think about himself. "I think it''s an important question." "It is. I know it is," Louis stumbled over his words. "I don''t really know yet. I mean, I do have a long-term goal in mind, but it isn''t currently achievable." There was no morepany for him to inherit, but even if there had been, he wouldn''t have been interested any longer. Thest thing Louis would have wanted was to turn into his father. He kept telling himself that they were different, but the sheer amount of wealth they''d had¡­ that corrupted people. "So you want to build yourself up for your long-term goal, then. Wanna tell me about it?" Denzel asked. "This is somewhat embarrassing¡­" "I bet you it isn''t." "I want to open a Pokemon sanctuary for abandoned Pokemon, both by their groups in the wild and by trainers," Louis muttered. "I don''t really have any ns in ce other than the location¡ª" "Dude." "What?" "That''s so fucking awesome," Denzel breathed. "Is it?" "Yes!" "Well, the nned location is Floaroma since there''s a lot of space and it''s close to Jubilife. That''s where the majority of newer trainerse from and they tend to abandon their Pokemon the most," Louis said. "But I would have to have enough money to buy thend. Even with the money I currently have, it isn''t enough. Plus, Floaroma''s zoningws are awful." "Floaroma''s a great spot," Denzel nodded. "You thinking of that field up north where the tournament was held, aren''t you?" "Exactly!" Louis eximed a little louder than he wanted. "It''s the perfect area. There''s nothing there aside from¡­ well, flowers and a bunch of honey trees. So Pokemon training is somewhat temporary, which is something I''d have to sell to Gabite if he''s still that aggressive whenever I try this project." "I can try to help. I''ve got a lot of online reach, and I''ll have even more whenever you get started. Of course, you need money." Louis nodded. "And you''ve been spending so much for us?" Denzel eximed in an incredulous tone. "That thing with Jerry Heo in Sceon, all the parties you''ve paid for¡ª" "It''s fine," Louis said. "No. You need to think about yourself more," Denzel scolded. "I''m going to help you with this." "You don''t have that much. No offense!" "In the future, obviously. Hopefully by then I''ll be rich, but you should look into ways to make money too." "Like what? I''m¡­ good enough for a mid-sized sponsor, I suppose, but that''s it." "How will you run this sanctuary? Financially, I mean," Denzel asked as he leaned back. "Hopefully through donations, but that probably won''t be enough, especially when I might need employees if the project grows big enough." "Hm. You know business." "I can''t just start a business out of thin air. I don''t even have the capital for it," Louis said. "That was basically a nonstatement." "This is all long-term. I''m not telling you to mize your sanctuary. Obviously that would be an awful thing to do, but maybe have some services on the side? Like, you could make use of all that experience you''re racking up as a trainer to offer training courses." Denzel grabbed a napkin and called a waitress over. "Excuse me, do you have a pen?" The woman nodded, and after two minutes, she brought the pen. Denzel grinned. "Let''s brainstorm this. We all know that the best ideas were born on a napkin in a restaurant." Louis cracked a smile. "Sure." ¡ª It was evening when Louis and Denzel went their separate ways. The blond teenager had multiple napkins in his pocket full of notes that he''d need to transcribe on an actual book orputer. Maeve would surely hand him a few. He grabbed his phone as he slowly dragged his feet through the boardwalk, and he noticed that she''d texted him multiple times already asking for his whereabouts and if he was okay. Louis answered right away, apologizing for the tardiness of his answers. He turned toward the darkened beach and watched the people filter out now that the sun had set and the temperature had lowered. Suddenly, a glimpse. He blinked and caught himself. Surely he was seeing things. Louis pushed past a taller man as his breaths grew rapid and uneven. He''d recognized that light brown hair and pale skin anywhere. Was this fate? Pure chance? Was Justin looking for him? Or perhaps something else entirely. Justin wandered onto the boardwalk with his hulking Arcanine at his side. Louis clenched his teeth and broke into a run. Somehow, he had found the damn needle in the haystack.
Interlude – Haystack II Interlude ¨C Haystack II INTERLUDE - HAYSTACK II No longer did his feet feel like they were tied down with lead. With the wind at his back, Louis ran as fast as he could. Every time his leg touched the ground, his body felt lighter, and his eyes never left the back of Justin''s head. Arcanine figured out that he was here first, turning his head toward him and growling slightly. People recoiled and avoided the fire type in response out of fear while Justin stopped in his tracks. "Justin," Louis said. His old friend slowly turned, facing him fully. Louis blinked, desperate to chase the tears that were already building up. He didn''t even know why he was crying. His tears meant joy, sorrow, regret, but most importantly, there was hope. The feeling ballooned in his chest and made Louis stand just a little straighter. Just a little taller. More confident. He stared into Justin''s eyes and found nothing. "I''ve been looking for you," Louis continued. "We have unfinished business." Justin kept silent, simply studying Louis, who did not retreat or flinch away from his empty yet piercing stare. "Grace told me you were going to speak to me," he said. "Where were you?" "I never told her that," Justin finally spoke, his body unmoving. "In fact, I stayed silent when she asked." "I know. Your demeanor was apparently very shaky, so she thought differently. That doesn''t matter now. Justin, I''m here to talk. Just¡­e talk to me." "There''s very little to talk about. We''ve been through this song and dance before," Justin said. "You will disapprove of what I set out to do, and I will simply disagree. We will butt heads, and no one will change their mind. Why waste time?" Louis dug his nails into his palm in frustration. This couldn''t be a repeat of what had happened in Sceon where he''d desperately tried to convince his friend not to leave, but how? Was he¡ª Was he ready? He sharply inhaled and his chest tightened. "What are you doing right now?" He asked. "Arcanine wanted to enjoy some fresh air." "Isn''t that what you would constitute a ''waste of time''?" Louis frowned. "After all, you aren''t training right now." "My Pokemon have needs, and I supply those needs," Justin said. "A cohesive unit that enjoys themselves will progress faster than a ragtag group of personalities that keep shing and doing whatever their trainer wants at all times. You of all people should know." Louis took thement in stride. He had been hit a thousand times before, and he had gotten back up each time. Tonight was no different. It was like someone pouring hot oil on him after being set on fire and having his nerves destroyed. "You care, Justin," Louis said. "You care about Arcanine. About your other Pokemon. Isn''t that proof¡ª" "I do care, but care takes many forms," the boy shrugged. "Are we done?" So he did care. That was one foot in the door. "We aren''t." "You have nothing to offer me, Louis. I''ve beaten Volkner already. All that remains is me getting my flying license, and I will be able to fly to Victory Road. It is a shame that there aren''t any ferries to go there. I suppose the League uses it to stop inexperienced trainers from getting themselves killed." "So like you?" Louis said. Justin didn''t even deign to answer. Still, that made Louis hesitate. Justin had five badges already? Despite having scoured videos of Gym Battles online, he hadn''t found Justin''s anywhere, which meant that he must have asked for the recording to be turned off. And a flying license? That must have been his mysterious sixth Pokemon. Still, that meant that Louis had no more time to prepare. And if he let him go now, who knew if he''d see him again before he left the city? Could he even do this? "I do have something to offer you. A battle¡ª" "A battle that we both know I will win, so what is the point? You wouldn''t challenge me." "No. I''ll give you the battle of a lifetime," Louis said with a sneer he thought he''d lost a long time ago. "I''ll show you that you can''t hold a candle to me." Gone was the soft-spoken tone that had be a part of him throughout the months. Vocal chords clicked into ce, confidence slipped through his pores and the edges of his fingers tingled in excitement. He hadn''t spoken like this in months. "Victory Road? Don''t make meugh," Louis scoffed. "If anything, the one going there should be me. I''ve got what it takes, and you don''t." Talking this way after so long was like desperately grabbing onto any kind of nk after a ship had sunk in the middle of the sea. He fumbled around, iling around the water until he found something to support himself on. Memory. "Don''t tell me that you''re too terrified to respond," Louis jeered with a tone so obnoxious he made himself want to puke. How easy it was to slip into old habits. How . Like drawing on a well that was almost empty. "I''m talking to you. Or will you ignore me? Louis Bianchi?" Arcanine shot Louis a re, but a pat from Justin stopped him from going further. "Your efforts to get a rise out of me are pathetic. Your family name holds no power any longer." "You think you''ll be able to run Pherzen like this? Pariah I may be, but pariah you will be. A recluse like you could never run apany that size. You need to go above and beyond. Do things that aren''t rational or needed, like speaking to people and doing them favors. You need to be social." "Nonsense." "At the end of the day, that''s what this is about, isn''t it? Pherzen," Louis pressed, taking a step forward. "Does Patrick agree? Does he know the extent of how warped you''ve be?" "He knows." "He knows the condition, but he doesn''t know its extent," Louis said with a smug huff. "You haven''t spoken in months, I''d bet. If he actually sees you, who knows how it''ll change? You think you''ll still be his sessor? Nothing was signed. It was a mere verbal agreement. It''s all dust in the eyes of thew." This time, something shifted in Justin''s eyes. "Everything I do, I do for humanity''s medical advancement," Justin muttered. "You''ll advance nothing like this. You''ll be put in a division away from the public eye where you can''t embarrass him, and you''ll have to answer to someone else once he retires. How does head of manufacturing sound? Or head of PR¡ª" Louis stopped himself from guffawing. "Nevermind. Someone like you couldn''t do PR." "I''ll make you eat those words." Louis smiled. Prodding at Justin''s goal was still something that could trigger something in him, because in the end, it was all for Pherzen. Victory Road, the istion, the training. All to inherit apany. He had a one-track mind. "So you agree to the battle, then," Louis said, waiting for Justin''s nod. "Good. I want it in writing." "What?" "In writing. A contract. If I lose, you may do what you wish. It''s not like I could stop you regardless," Louis spoke. "If you lose, you travel with me and Maeve. If it is legal counsel you want, I still have a fewwyers I could call, and I''m sure I could at least find one in Sunyshore at this moment. The name Bianchi is toxic, but it still has weight." "What''s in it for me?" "Oh? Is that doubt?" Louis smiled. "I thought you were going to win. But as a gesture of goodwill, I won''t tell any of the others you''re here." "Fine. You''re a sorry excuse for a trainer regardless." "Keep theming. I''ve lived in a state of emotional agony for the past five months." Justin might have been inflicted with darkness, but was still a teenager. Prod and talk down his ambition, and he would respond in kind. The hints of his former self that he''d seen in Sceon and Veilstone had made Louis realize that he couldn''t beg for a change of mind. He had to force it out of him. No one could be truly emotionless, surely. ¡ª "So let me reiterate, Mr. Bianchi. A five-on-five with three switches for each trainer, and these are the correct conditions?" Mr. Murphy asked. Louis crossed his arms and nodded. "Yes. That is correct." A five-on-five was not ideal, especially with Combee, but it was the only way Louis had gotten Justin to agree. A four-on-four wouldn''t satisfy him, and Louis had even hidden the fact that Combee hadn''t evolved yet out of fear that Justin would have changed his mind. He wanted a fight. The stout Mr. Murphy adjusted his sses and handed to contract to his equivalent¡ª Mr. O''Brien, who was Justin''s ownwyer. "Are there any loopholes?" Justin asked. O''Brien eyed the contract from side to side. It was a short one, barely a page long that stipted conditions for loss and victory. Justin had added the condition that a loss from Louis would make him have to stop ''bothering him'' for a period of five years. It was essentially a restraining order without having gone through the legal process. Not only that, but tonight would have to be a secret. Louis wouldn''t even be able to tattle to Maeve. Louis already knew that having to carry this burden alone would crush him. And yet, it was now or never. Damages for breaching the contract included Louis speaking well of Justin to his father (it seemed that he''d gotten on his nerves there) since Louis and Patrick used to be acquaintances thanks to his father, and he would value Louis'' words. There was also marypensation that would cost Louis an arm and a leg and would bleed his metaphorical coffers dry. "No loopholes," O''Brien said with a gruff voice. "Irontight." Thewyer handed Justin a pen, and he signed. Louis did the same. Their verbal agreement was now legally binding. ¡ª It was the dead of night, and the arena Louis and Justin stood in waspletely empty save for the employee working the graveyard shift and the League-employed Kadabra. Louis had used the precious time with thewyers to desperatelye up with a strategy¡ª any strategy. Not only had he found himself in a five-on-five when Combee was still weak in battle, but Denzel''s words from this afternoon rang truer now than they had when he''d first heard them. He didn''t want to leave a battle like this to chance. That was essentially what he''d done his entire career as a trainer. To blindly go into a battle and hope for the best was to set yourself up for failure. So here he was, desperately trying not to drown as he grabbed his first Pokeball. Louis'' fingers twitched until he tightened his hold over his Pokeball. He had no idea what Justin would start with or how far his old friend had progressed, but he knew enough about types to know what Gabite was his safest bet. Justin had no ice nor dragon types¡ª unless his sixth was a dragon, but Louis doubted that. "Ready?!" He called out. Justin answered with a silent nod. Louis counted down. Gabite appeared in a brilliant sh of red and roared mightily once he realized he was about to battle, exposing his triangr, sharp teeth. The dragon''s eyes narrowed at his opponent. His body was covered in dull, burgundy scales save for the white ones on his belly and the dark ones interspersed at different intervals. His eyes were darker than night, his snout had doubled in size and teeth as sharp as Gabite lined it like a razor. Krookodile. Gabite squared himself, pressing down on the hard, rocky ground of the arena¡ª "Sand Tomb and Dig," Justin said. The ground under Krookodile''s feet turned soft, and the dark type sunk beneath it with an eerie silence. The Sand Tomb traveled with incredible speed toward Gabite, seemingly following Krookodile''s trajectory underground. "Bulldoze!" Louis snapped. With a snarl, Gabite stomped a foot on the ground, causing it to shake uncontrobly. Unable to bear the pain, Krookodile jumped out of his Sand Tomb early and wed at Gabite, raking away a few of his scales and exposing the tough, pink flesh below. "Scary Face and Torment." Sweat began to umte on every inch of Louis'' body. Krookodile''s face seemed to growrger, more sinister. He opened his mouth, revealing rows and rows of teeth that could cut through his arm like butter and he emitted a low growl that made Louis shiver and his breathing quicken. Even Gabite, who was about to retaliate with Dragon w had to stop. Something else¡ª something small shifted in Krookodile''s eyes, and Gabite''s own seemed to grow darker in response with the dark type''s. The ground type buried again, and Krookodile sank into the sands. Louis called out for another Bulldoze, but Gabite seemed incapable of using the move. So Louis went for the next best option. "Earth Power!" The ground bubbled all around the Sand Tomb and then exploded. The burst kicked up sand, dirt and rocks into the sky, and Louis heard a low-pitch hisse from somewhere else underground. "Again!" Louis'' leg bounced on his podium. He leaned in, awaiting another Earth Power¡ª And nothing happened. He flinched when a massive burst of sand wrapped around the arena with a deafening howl. It wasn''t a Sandstorm so much as it was a localized burst of sand, sped up to such a degree that even Gabite grunted in pain from the wind. The dragon type dove into the Sand Tomb as if he was jumping headfirst into a pool and buried to get away from the st and chase Krookodile. Louis'' mind raced, desperately attempting to exin Torment. Two times, he had ordered to use a move, and twice it had failed after the first attempt. Either it was a more powerful Disable that would prevent Gabite from using moves after using them once¡ª "Get back up and Bulldoze!" Louis quickly ordered. The ground burst open, and Gabite forcefully dragged Krookodile out of the floor with a w digging deep into his gut. The ground type''s teeth grew dark as he Crunched at Gabite''s neck, puncturing his scales and digging deep into his flesh. Gabite brought the ground type into the air with his proto-flight and then mmed both himself and his opponent into the ground as they brawled, forcefully creating a Bulldoze. The floor shook, and Krookodile''s powerful Sandstorm ceased at once. So he couldn''t use the same attack twice in a row, Louis thought. "Scary Face and Foul y," Justin said. Once again, Louis flinched at Krookodile''s horrifying face. A maw that could swallow him whole opened, and he bit down on his tongue to force himself not to scream. To Gabite, however, the attack was less effective than the first time. He still slowed, allowing Krookodile a moment of respite. Darkness gathered around the Pokemon''s fist, and he mmed a palm right into Gabite''s chest. The impact knocked all the air out of Gabite''s lungs and sent him tumbling back right into an already-formed Sand Tomb that he sunk into. At this point, the entire arena was covered in Krookodile''s Sand Tombs. Anyone other than Gabite would never be able to beat him. This had to stop now. "Rush in!" Louis screamed. "In close quarters, you''ll win! You can''t use an attack twice in a row!" An Earth Power propelled Gabite out of Sand Tomb, and he clumsily flew toward Krookodile as fast as he could. Often, he nearly stumbled out of the air or had to push himself back up with his legs. "Scary Face and sink," Justin countered. The third time was basically a blip on Gabite''s radar, and the dragon rammed into Krookodile before he could retreat underground again. Gabite''s w shone turquoise, and a Dragon w dug deep and raked across the dark type''s chest, followed by a close-quarters Dragon Breath and another Dragon w. Justin stoodpletely still as he recalled Krookodile, and Louis breathed a sigh. It was as much relief as it was worry, because he knew Gabite was needed to finish off Krookodile. The ground stopped shifting and solidified, although it was now horribly uneven due to the permanent Sand Tombs Krookodile had created. Justin sent out his Audino, who eyed Gabite with a suspicious tint. "Yawn," Justin spoke. Audino opened his mouth wide, and Louis feltpelled to yawn as well. The drowsiness onlysted a second, however. Louis was determined to use the little time Gabite had left to deal damage before recalling him. "Bulldoze and Dragon w!" Louis snapped. Audino''s skin wasn''t tough like Krookodile''s, and they needed to exploit that weakness. Gabite shook off the lingering pain from the fight with Krookodile and blurred toward Audino¡ª And mmed head-first into a psychic barrier. "Misty Terrain," Justin continued. Pink dust emanated from Audino''s body. Little by little at first, and then overwhelmingly until the battlefield was nothing but pink. It was so bright Louis found it hard not to squint. Not wanting to have a dragon fight on a terrain designed for fairies, Louis recalled Gabite and immediately sent out Bisharp instead. The tall steel type stared around in confusion. Finding Audino in this terrain was almost impossible. The normal type''s pink skin bled perfectly into the pink light. The dust had clung to Gabite''s scales, but it perfectly slid off Bisharp''s metallic skin. "Swords Dance and Night sh! Tear through the barrier" Louis ordered. Bisharp''s body moved in a rhythmic motion, and he finished the dance by striking a pose. His des glinted and sharpened. With a grunt, he ran toward Audino, who waited patiently for the steel type with an unwavering, gentle smile. Darkness enveloped Bisharp''s hand, and he shed across Audino¡ª Who disappeared, transforming into pink dust. From the other side of the arena, a fireball mmed into Bisharp''s back. It was weak¡ª far too weak to actually deal arge amount of damage, but the mes were still painful to the steel type. Next, grass knotted around his ankles, keeping him still until pellets of mud struck him from another direction. des grew out of Bisharp''s legs, cutting apart the grass, but the dark type was just as confused as Louis was. Where was Audino? Justin simply observed, his face still unmoving as another fireball was hurled toward Bisharp. This time, the steel type dodged, but a beam of ice got him in the leg. These attacks were all so varied, but they were all weaker and slower than they should be. Not only that, but they formed anywhere Audino wished. There was no way the normal type was traveling that fast. Louis would have loved to know what was happening, but he had no time to waste. "Metal Sound," Louis said. Bisharp whetted his de across his own body, creating a horrible sound that made Louis wince. A small, painful squeal from Audino revealed his location, and Bisharp rushed toward the source of the sound. His hands once again grew dark, and this time, he shed across the real body. The Night sh tore through the barrier and across Audino''s chest. Blood seeped out of the wound, seeping onto the pink ground. Justin ordered Audino to Yawn, and he did before disappearing once more, somehow vanishing into thin air. Had that been the real body, or an illusion? The fact that Louis didn''t know scared him, and now he was on a timer again. He told Bisharp to use another Metal Sound, but Audino didn''t let anything slip this time. Bisharp cried out in pain as a dozen attacks mmed into him from all sides. Streams of mes, beams of ice, electricity, mud¡ª anything he could possibly conceive. He recalled Bisharp before he could fall asleep or take too much damage. Audino reappeared as soon as he was the only one on the field, the wound on his chest having been half-healed and progressively knitting itself back together as dust coated the gash. Bisharp specialized in one-on-one battles where he could see his enemies, and Louis had expected him to be able to fully take advantage of that against the slow-moving Audino. Whereas Audino had been a mere healer before, he was now possibly the most annoying Pokemon to face. Illusions, barriers, healing, Yawn, pulling every move under the sun? What Louis needed to beat Audino were wide attacks. Firepower. He released Nales, who curiously smelled her surroundings. mes enveloped her right away, coating her fur and protecting her from the dust''s potentially malignant effects. Her tailsshed, her eyes shed, Drought bore down onto the battlefield and Louis swept his arm. "Burn up the field!" Nales let loose an eerie howl, and mes spun around her wider and wider each time until they enveloped the entire arena. Audino slung more mud at Nales, and this time a jet of water. Nales shook off the pain and finished burning up the field. The Misty Terrain began to waver, and it was only a matter of time until it copsedpletely. Nales'' eyes shed once more, and her head snapped toward her left. She knew exactly where Audino was. "Will-O-Wisp!" Louis yelled. "Yawn," Justin said. If they could somehow get Audino to be permanently burned, then they''d be in a good position. Louis internally swore as another Yawn took effect, but he couldn''t afford to use hisst switch here. Nales was the only Pokemon who could take Audino down or at least weaken him. Another jet of water hit Nales in the chin, but it was even weaker this time, as if it was tied to Misty Terrain''s condition. Wisps crawled into the ne of the living kicking and screaming and rushed toward Audino. "Encore and Magic Coat." The blond trainer blinked as the Will-O-Wisps died in agonized screams as they mmed into a multi-colored barrier. At the same time, Audino twirled, and his eyes shone with a dull grey. Nales would now feelpelled to use only Will-O-Wisps. Her hold on her mes copsed, and they now ran wild across the arena. Her coat of fire dissolved into thin air, and another Will-O-Wisp floated toward Audino. The normal type again used Magic Coat to cancel the attack. Louis bit his lip. Yawn was ticking, and Nales would be stuck using Will-O-Wisp longer than it would take for the move to take effect. Audino couldn''t exactly hurt her that much either, but he didn''t need to. The short of it was, he''d beenpletely fucked. Louis couldn''t afford to lose Nales here. He unclipped her ball and with a heavy hand, recalled her. His dilemma grew more manageable when the Misty Terrain did not rebuild itself, however. Instead, it appeared to be stuck in its half-broken state. A pragmatic person would have sent out Combee as a sacrifice. A way to reset the tempo of the fight and to get Nales back in right after. Louis¡­ couldn''t. "It''s up to you," he whispered as he sent out Bisharp again. Audino was possible to track now, and so long as they overwhelmed his healing factor, than victory was possible. Like clockwork, Justin ordered him to Yawn, and he did so right as Bisharp pushed against the ground with a darkened hand. Grass tied around his feet, but Audino''s attacks were weaker now, and he easily tore through the Grass Knots by running. "Disarming Voice." Tears formed around Audino''srge, blue eyes and he let out a harrowing scream. Bisharp hesitated for a split second, allowing Audino to sling another fireball at him. It was only now that Louis understood what was going on. The fire, the water, the grass¡ª everything had formed from Audino''s will. It was mour powered by the Misty Terrain. Or maybe the terrain provided the mour itself? And yet, Audino was a normal type! Bisharp silently tore through Audino''s psychic barrier. He brought another hand forward, this time cutting with sh. More blood and dust gushed out of the wound, but Bisharp did not stop. He was locked in, and kept shredding Audino apart. "Life Dew," Justin said. The wounds healed, but a lot slower than they appeared. By the time Bisharp had cut ten times, only one had knitted back together. Justin wanted to buy some time, but he had none. Louis expected him to use one of his switches, but he did not. Instead, the Misty Terrain began to copse in on itself and Audino''s attack turned into a continuous Disarming Voice that bought him a precious few seconds. "Wish." A light appeared above Audino''s head and rose through the ceiling. It was Audino''sst act. The normal type fell, bloodied and unconscious. Bisharp neatly shook his arms, throwing the blood off his de in one go. Since Wish had been used, it was obvious who woulde next. Krookodile materialized onto the field, and the ground instantly began to shift once more. Bisharp immediately sunk into a Sand Tomb, but Louis had been ready for it. "Metal Sound!" The sudden screech surprised Krookodile, and the shifting sands stopped for a second. Bisharp jumped out, continuously using the sound to buy himself some more time. "Metal w!" With newfound stamina, Bisharp ran toward Krookodile, who violently shook his head to focus. A burst of metal from under Bisharp''s feet helped him jump above the ever-increasing amount of Sand Tombs, and he let out a reverberating scream as his hands shimmered bright white¡ª And Krookodile buried, hiding safely from the attack. An expected, development, but annoying nheless. Even worse, the Yawn finally took effect, and Bisharp stumbled until he fell asleep. It was over. The Sand Tomb swallowed him whole, and Krookodile finished him off below ground where Louis couldn''t see. Bisharp was spat out from the earth like a rag, and Louis recalled the steel type. He of course sent out Gabite once more, and the dragon was eager to continue the match with his arch-enemy. "Torment." Louis clicked his tongue, but the move was more annoying than debilitating. Krookodile''s eyes drew in Gabite''s gaze, locking him into non-consecutive moves. "Dragon Breath and go in," Louis said. Blue mes danced in Gabite''s mouth, and he spat the attack out with a roar. Krokoodile did not bury this time, because Justin knew that would just prompt an Earth Power or Bulldoze. Instead, he took the attack head-on, using his bulk to resist the hit. Gabite flew forth, and Krookodile snarled, squaring himself to prepare for impact. Gabite mmed into his chest with a loud crash, and Krookodile slid backward. "Foul y." The dark type threw a darkened fist at Gabite''s chest, and scales flew out like shrapnel out of a grenade. The dragon delivered a vicious Dragon w to Krookodile''s nose, and the two Pokemon entered a terrible melee. All discipline vanished into thin air. They wed, bit, headbutted, anything that would get one to dominate the other. Louis bit his lip when Krookodile threw Gabite back with a powerful gust of a Sandstorm and his sheer bulk, and the Wish re-entered his body. Scales quickly rebuilt and reappeared. Cuts mended. Blood evaporated. Krokoodile grinned. Gabite drew on tired breaths. "Earth Power," Louis said. They had to keep their distance now. The Wish had ensured that Krookodile would beat them up close. The ground under the dark type''s feet exploded with boiling earth and singed Krookodile''s scales. "Thrash," Justin said. Krookodile''s eyes glinted¡ª this time with fury. He sank into the ground, but left his upper half exposed as if he was a Feraligatr swimming through a swamp. He was faster than he''d ever been, going as fast as Gabite could fly. The earth seemed to liquefy and push him forward like water currents. "Alternate between Bulldoze, Earth Power and Dragon Breath!" Louis yelled. "Then run!" The ground shook, earth burst open with deafening booms and the concentrated stream of draconic energy all hit Krookodile, who looked like he couldn''t even register the pain. Gabite jumped to fly away, but Krookodile emerged from the earth with a wave of mud at his back. It clung to Gabite and kept him grounded, allowing Krookodile to get his hands on him. Another melee began. This time, Krookodile was clearly dominating. He mmed every single body part against Gabite. So much so that Louis felt like he was hurting himself. Something in his hand crunched when it hit Gabite''s nk, and yet the onught continued. Krookodile savagely bit Gabite''s arm and tore. The sheer violence made Louis flinch, but Justin didn''t even react. All of the sophisticated strategies had been thrown to the wayside. Gabite fought back as best he could with Dragon w, Metal w and sh. And yet, this battle could only go one way. Krookodile stood over Gabite''s unconscious body with tired heaves, but he did not celebrate with a roar. Instead, he stumbled around and kept fighting the air. Louis quickly recalled Gabite before he could get caught in the crossfire, and Krookodile ran forward, mming his head against Kadabra''s barrier at full force and hurting himself in the process. Louis took a deep breath and sent out Empoleon. The steel type instantly got into an alert position, but he blinked confusedly when he saw Krookodile''s mental state. Louis thought Justin would recall him, but he did not. He was probably too tired to hope to use without Audino''s Wish. "Brine." Clouds instantly materialized above Krookodile, who was still wing at the edge of the arena. They stabbed into Krokodile, denting and peeling off his scales until the ground type fell unconscious. Louis was sure of it now. He''d been Gabite''s explicit counter. Audino wouldn''t have had the firepower to deal with the dragon. Justin silently recalled Krookodile and sent out his next Pokemon. A human-sized Pokemon emerged from the red light. He had beige fur, duck-like lips and a green lilypad for a hat. Ludicolo began to dance to a non-existent rhythm as soon as he appeared on the field. Water and Grass meant that Empoleon''s water moves would basically be useless in this fight, but they had other levers to pull. Louis waited for Justin to speak first. "Rain Dance." For Swift Swim, Louis instantly thought. "Ice Beam!" Shards of frost formed around Empoleon''s mouth until they started to shine. Three arcs of ice barrelled toward Ludicolo, who opted to take the attack in order to finish off his move. Small bolts of electricity shimmered in the clouds and droplets began to fall. "Again!" Louis barked. "Teeter Dance." Ludicolo''s dance grew more vigorous, and Empoleon''s Ice Beam fired off before it could bepleted, missing entirely. Empoleon was swayed into the dance and started following Ludicolo''s every move. "Leech Seed," Justin continued. Ludicolo spat out a set of seeds at Empoleon, all while keeping up his dance. Theynded on the steel type and immediately burst open. Thorny vines wrapped around Empoleon''s body and slowly began to suck his energy. "Now Mist." It took a few forced coughs, but a thick mist slid out of Ludicolo''s mouth just as the Teeter Dance grew weaker and weaker. Empoleon blinked as he snapped back to reality, but Ludicolo was already gone, having slipped into the mist. All that remained was a terribly loud storm overhead, the umting water and the mist. And they were on a timer. "Icy Wind and Aqua Jet!" Louis yelled. Empoleon honked, and water instantly surrounded him. Aided by the rain, he jumped and flew like a bullet. Ice formed at the edges of the attack, but that wasn''t what they were looking for. Instead, the constant spinning from Aqua Jet created a perimeter of cold air that would harm any Pokemon near them, and now that Empoleon had a constant supply of water, he would be able to use the technique until he fainted. Somehow, every time the Leech Seed froze, it glowed neon green, unthawing itself and continuing to drain the water type''s energy. Empoleon traveled across the arena, sweeping the entire battlefield with ice. Frost enveloped the floor, and the water that had umted began to freeze over into a thin sheet of ice. Once Empoleon reached the end of the arena, Ludicolo let out a displeased croak. They hadn''t expected Empoleon to be this good. Louis smiled, but it disappeared as soon as Justin spoke. "Sunny Day." Everything disappeared. The stormy clouds, the rain, the thunder, it all evaporated in mere seconds. A second sun formed high ahead in the arena, and both Empoleon''s Aqua Jet and Icy Wind lost in volume. It wasn''t all that bad, however. The Sunny Day made the mist thin, and Ludicolo''s shadow could be seen dancing¡ª "Grass Knot." "Freeze it!" Louis yelled. These weren''t the little vines that Audino could use. Instead, they were massive and were capable of grabbing Empoleon''s entire body. Empoleon exhaled, letting out another Icy Wind that froze the vines that attempted to wrap around him. "Energy Ball. Keep up the pressure," Justin continued. There was no vegetation to be seen anywhere except the Leech Seed, so instead, Ludicolo drew the energy from himself. A small part of his hat withered away, forming into a green ball of glowing light. With a confident cry, he sent it forward, and it seemed to curve and follow Empoleon wherever he went. It wasn''t the only Energy Ball either. Ludicolo sent out more and more until he looked like a dead nt¡ª And then, he regenerated everything with Synthesis. "Ice Beam! Just hit them out of the sky before they get to you!" Louis yelled. Empoleon nodded, and weakened rays of ice intercepted each Energy Ball, causing them to explode mid-air. Grass grew wherever they did so, cracking and growing through the thick sheet of ice that Empoleon had created. Louis'' tongue pushed against the back of his teeth. He had enough information now, and he had strategy. Waiting around would be the death of him. He had to rush in and overwhelm before the Leech Seed caused too much damage. "Slide and Metal w!" Louis screamed. Aqua Jet might have been weakened, but Empoleon could still make use of his biology. Heunched himself on his stomach, using his flippers to slide on the ice faster than a car. Ludicolo twirled, and sharpened leaves emerged from his beige fur and flew at Empoleon, cutting the softer parts of his flesh. On a dime, Ludicolo croaked and the weather changed again, and rain began to fall. Weaker than the first one this time, but it allowed him to slide away as if he was on an ice skating rink, constantly harassing Empoleon with hit-and-run tactics using Razor Leaf and Energy Ball. The steel type didn''t flinch. Instead, another Aqua Jet formed around him and he blurred, ramming into Ludicolo. He shed across the water type''s fur and skin with Metal w. Ludicolo grunted in pain, but his hands stuck to Empoleon''s skin and glowed neon green. The steel type''s eyes wavered, and Louis soon realized more of his energy was being drained. "Ice¡ª" But Empoleon was already on top of it. Three arcs of ice sprayed Ludicolo across the chest, mouth and face until the grass type finally let go. Empoleon squawked, hitting him with a Metal w before escaping away, and another wave of Energy Balls flew toward him. Justin wasn''t switching, Louis noticed. He wasn''t switching because nothing could take down Empoleon like Ludicolo could. "Synthesis," Justin spoke. And there was also that. But each subsequent Synthesis would be weaker than thest. Ludicolo wasn''t like Denzel''s Roselia. He could only draw on the move a few times before exhausting himself. Louis'' heart shook in trepidation as Empoleon formed into another Aqua Jet fused with an Icy Wind. "Take the hit," Justin said. "Stop¡ª" Toote. Aqua Jet was too fast, and Empoleon once more rammed into Ludicolo''s chest. The grass type slid back onto the slick ice, straining against Empoleon''s sheer weight. "Tickle." Pushing through the pain, Ludicolo''s hands shifted under Empoleon''s armpits. The steel type began to . A strange, uneven honkbined with short breaths. At the same time, Ludicolo''s hands shimmered green once more and Empoleon fell. Not because he fainted, but because he justughed so uncontrobly that he couldn''t stand. "Ice Beam! Empoleon!" No orders went through. The draining attackbined with the Leech Seed proved too much for Empoleon. The water type fainted, and Louis clenched a fist. This was bad. Extremely bad. But Louis took a breath. He couldn''t let panic get a hold of him. Not all was lost. Nales came out of her ball next, and she growled in displeasure at the rain. Thankfully, Drought counteracted much of the Rain Dance, and much of the clouds dissipated until only the only rain left was a little patter that was barely noticeable. That meant Ludicolo would be slower, his water moves would be less effective and Nales would almost be at her full potential. "Will-O-Wisp! Burn up the field again!" Louis barked. Five spirits from another world materialized around Nales in a circle and rushed toward Ludicolo. Then, she d herself in fire. The ice instantly melted below her feet, turning into water, and that water subsequently turned to vapor before it could even have an effect on her. Ludicolo spat out a powerful jet of water toward the wisps, but it had no effect. Instead, they only screamed in rage and each one entered the grass type''s body. A purple me enveloped him and shone brightly. "Disable!" Louis snapped without missing a beat. He''d seen Grace''s Jellicent enough to recognize a Hydro Pump, and knocking it out of his arsenal would be key to winning this battle. Nales'' eyes shed grey, and the water cut out like someone had turned off a faucet in a sink. "Water Pulse," Justin said instead. Ludicolo found his voice, and a ring of water barrelled at Nales. "Inferno!" mes spluttered and exploded outward, and Nales'' eyes shone bright pink. She picked up the mes, molding them however she wished and formed a barrier that evaporated the Water Pulse before it could reach her. The blue mes formed into an elongated spear and they mmed into Ludicolo, lighting him on fire¡ª real fire this time. "Synthesis through it and approach to Tickle," Justin said. The Synthesis was half-baked, but it bought Ludicolo some precious seconds. The water type slid across the little water that remained liquid, but Louis wouldn''t let him. "Imprison!" Ludicolo mmed against a psychic wall and soon realized that there was no way out. Nales'' eyes shed, and the fire intensified. It burned everything to smithereens until Ludicolo''s body was ashen and smoking, running through all of the oxygen that had remained in the box. Justin recalled his Pokemon. The sheer brutality of this fight was far beyond what Louis was used to from his training with Maeve, and yet he knew he had to push on. "I see your Nales has improved," Justin acknowledged. Louis opened his mouth, but he didn''t know how to answer. It was the first time in the fight that Justin had actually spoken a non-order. The Drought finally reached its full potential now that Ludicolo was gone, and the fight for influence had been won. "She has," Louis finally said. "She''s my ace." "Let''s see how she fares against mine, then." Justin released Arcanine, and Louis drew a sharp breath. Nales'' mes were just as useless against him as they were against herself, and both fire types intensely stared at each other. Louis was surprised that Justin hadn''t sent Toxapex. He was probably keeping her forst since he didn''t take Combee seriously, and the poison type wasn''t exactly the best at actually utilizing water type moves and moving around. Or maybe¡­ it was sentimental? Still, this was¡­ perfect, wasn''t it? The training with Maeve. Constantly throwing Nales against her Infarnape. Fire type against fire type. "Nasty Plot!" Louis yelled. Nales'' eyes darkened, and Louis always liked to imagine she dreamed to burning Gabite to a crisp. The mes around her and Arcanine shone with a brighter, more intense blue, but that wasn''t the point. The goal was to power up all of her other moves. "Hypnosis!" Louis added. "Agility and y Rough," Justin said. Nales'' tails straightened and weaved together into a half-circle as she stared down Arcanine with the intent to put him to sleep. Arcanine''s body loosened, and he blurred with that speed his line was famous for. He might have been onnd, but he was almost as fast as Cecilia''s Talonme and that was without Extreme Speed. The canine was bigger than Nales, and he mmed into her barrier. He opened his mouth, his teeth darkened, and he Crunched through the quickly erected shield. Just as his eyelids closed, he rammed into Nales, breaking her focus and snapping out of his daze. He continued beating her up with every body part he could manage. Paws, his head, teeth, or just hurtling his body at her. Nales desperately countered with shields, blocking wherever she could, but they couldn''t stay on the defensive. They had used a setup move. "Extrasensory!" Louis yelled. Arcanine''s teeth stopped mere inches from Nales'' already-bloodied throat, although the mes had vaporized most of the remaining blood, and he began to whine as the fire type ransacked through his brain. She lifted him up in the air and mmed him head-first into the ground¡ª "Roar." There was a certain twinge of something to Justin''s voice. Not excitement per se, but something. Arcanine bellowed out, and Nales repeatedly blinked, not understanding what had happened before the fire type sent her flying with a Take Down, shaking his head to bear through the recoil. That move was an actual problem. Combined with Arcanine''s speed, Louis was convinced that this was the move they needed to take away and not y Rough. "Disable!" Louis yelled as soon as Nales got back on her feet. Another sh of Nale''s eyes, and Arcanine growled in frustration. "methrower." Louis contained a smile. The mes would do nothing to Nales. Arcanine breathed out a huge stream of mes powered by Drought. They merely tickled Nales¡ª Arcanine broke through the mes and bit one of her forelegs with Crunch, dragging her as he ran at full speed. They''d used the mes to hide themselves and lower their guard! Louis'' leg bounced and his heart was moring in his chest, but there was a way to react here. An opportunity. "Confuse Ray!" "Let go¡ª" The light was faster than Justin had expected. It shifted as it entered Arcanine''s body, and the fire type''s teeth snapped tighter. Nales shrieked in pain and Louis heard her foreleg snap. Arcanine let go and kept running, ramming at full speed into Kadabra''s barrier. Nales'' foreleg was a bloody mess, bent the wrong way and clearly broken. It dangled over the floor as the fire type desperately stayed conscious. "I¡ªI''m sorry, I''m so sorry," he stammered as tears welled up in his eyes. Louis grabbed her Pokeball with a trembling hand, but Nales'' head whirled toward him and she red. At first, he thought that she med him as well. Confusing a Pokemon that had a hold on her had been reckless, and Louis had been too lost in his own adrenaline to realize that, but when the re intensified as soon as he aimed toward her, he realized it was because she wanted him to fight. But then, something buzzed in his mind. Like the static noise of a television. ¡­wet nket and fight! Louis winced as the headache spread through his head, and his vision blurred. Arcanine was running through the arena, using methrowers on what he must have thought was Nales. "Sorry," Louis said again. "Go in and Hex." While his vision recovered, Nales painfully hopped forward. Being down one foreleg meant that she was a lot slower than before. Justin simply waited for Arcanine to snap out of his Confusion in silence, not even offering a word of support. Nales'' eyes shimmered, and smoke emanated out of Arcanine''s body. The fire type yipped, writhing on the floor in agony as the Hex worked through his body. Louis realized that the confusion''s effects were tampering out, however. "Hypnosis, quickly!" Nales'' tails formed into a circle, and she stared down Arcanine with an intensity never before seen. Louis'' jaw clenched when fifteen seconds passed and the Hypnosis hadn''t finished off. Nales'' focus was fraying with her leg in such a condition. "Reversal," Justin spoke. He''d somehow known that Arcanine was good to go before Louis had. The fire type''s muscles tensed, and he blurred toward Nales, who cried out in pain as her broken leg was once more caught in the crossfire. Louis already knew that Reversal dealt the most damage when a Pokemon was on the brink of fainting. Nales did not get up. But Arcanine was on the brink, barely able to stand. He struggled back to his feet as the Drought died out and the mes that had been swarming the arena turned to a dull red and then vanished. Louis'' ears were ringing. If he hadn''t spent so long apologizing to Nales or trying to get her out of the fight, then it would be her standing right now and not Arcanine. He stood there, frozen as he blinked. The ringing in his ears grew louder and his heartbeat slowly calmed as the adrenaline left his body. His fingers rxed, he swallowed and moistened his lips. What now? Combee was the only one left. "I''m waiting for your fifth. You have ten seconds left," Justin warned. His voice was distant now. Far away. Louis blinked and the ringing in his ears reached a crescendo. He sent out Combee, who took flight as high as they could. "And I thought you were finally taking me seriously," Justin said. "After this long, she''s still a Combee? What a waste." Combee was the weakest member of his team, but she was no longer useless. She''d trained with Maeve''s Gligar a multitude of times. "methrower. Finish it off," Justin said. "Shield yourself and Air Cutter!" Louis yelled. Honey leaked from Combee''s carapace and slowly formed into a wall in front of them. It burned up, turning into a dry, darkened mess, and Combee cried out from the burns. Still, they beat their wings and the air sliced up Arcanine''s nk. The canine wavered, but another order from Justin snapped him back awake. "Fill his mouth!" Louis continued. Honey clumsily flowed around Combee and then floated toward Arcanine, who slowly opened his mouth. mes appeared deep in his maw right as the honey entered and coalesced inside. The methrower burned as much honey as it could, desperately trying to break through, but another Air Cutter sliced up Arcanine and finished him off. Even Justin was surprised at that, although it was only on his face for a second. Wasting no time, he sent out hisst Pokemon. It was a huge raven that dwarfed Combee, although it was still smaller than Pauline''s Braviary. Around seven feet, if Louis was right. Its plumage was covered in steel, and deep red eyes set upon Combee like they were prey. With one p of Corviknight''s wings, he took to the air. This was bad. "Drill Peck." Corviknight spun, warping the air around itself until it appeared like a huge drill. It flew toward Combee, whose Air Cutters only tickled the steel type. Gust didn''t fare any better. Corviknight was too heavy to be knocked off-course. Louis barked out an order, and the honey formed into another wall. The flying type''s beak easily broke through and stabbed into Combee, sending her tumbling toward the ground. The honey fell as well, now lifeless and Combee crashed into the arena with a dull thud. Louis'' arms went limp to his side, and the world seemed to grow just a little darker. "I will not lie, Louis, your first four Pokemon were impressive," Justin said. "I am satisfied with this match." He grabbed his Corviknight''s Pokeball¡ª Combee''s wings fluttered. Then they glowed and grew, as did the rest of their body. Evolution, Louis thought. He sucked in air through his teeth and covered his eyes as Combee grew into a full-fledged Vespiquen. The first thing Louis noticed was the buzzing. It filled his ears and overtook all of his thought. A weight pressed down his chest and he found it difficult to breathe, having to consciously suck in and expunge air. His heart began to beat so loudly that it was almost painful. Tingles continuously ran up and down his spine and he wanted nothing more but to run out of here. Things crawled out of Vespiquen''s skin and began secreting massive amounts of honey, healing the wound from the Drill Peck that had carried over at the same time. Louis nervously clenched a fist, and realized he was sweating buckets. It was like he''d dipped his hand in water. Even Corviknight seemed intimidated. He no longer eyed Vespiquen like prey, but an equal. A threat. Justin stood there, his face unmoving. Louis'' mind raced, but all of his thoughts were consumed by the buzzing. Vespiquen sprung to action without hismand, bending honey around her and throwing it forward. "Drill Peck again. We have the advantage," Justin said. Corviknight squawked. The sound was metallic and screech-like. It would have been unpleasant to listen to had Louis been able to focus. Vespiqueen screeched, and her honey clung and solidified around the steel type. Its rotation meant that the majority of it was continuously flung away, but it slowed Corviknight and forced him to abandon his attack. Vespiquen could control it so well now. As if it hade to her instinctually, and Louis supposed it had. Vespiquen were supposed to lead hives. "Steel Wing," Justin continued. Louis could only stay silent. Honey crawled all over Corviknight, whose wings shimmered bright white. The flying type''s huge wingspan mmed right into Vespiquen''s abdomen, but she used the close range to infiltrate his armor with honey. While Corviknight was covered in steel, they needed their feathers to fly. The honey solidified, and Corviknight fell to the floor with a loud crash, as did Vespiquen. Yet, that didn''t stop the constant, debilitating buzzing. Louis ced his hands over his ears, but even that didn''t seem to work. The bug type screeched, snapping her pincers together. A bridge of honey still linked the two Pokemon, and more and more things crawled onto Corviknight. Shapeless, horrible things that Louis couldn''t even begin to describe. The bird squawked as the grubs infiltrated past its armor and past its skin. Honey began to leak from his beak and its eyes as it furiously thrashed on the floor. His squawks turned into gurgles and horrible coughs that kept spitting out more and more honey. Corviknight was drowning, Louis realized. "Vespiquen! Stop, you''re killing it!" He could barely hear the sound of his own voice through the buzzing. Louis quickly grabbed his Pokeball, and just as his finger hovered over the return button, Justin recalled Corviknight. Louis looked at Justin and saw something he thought he would have never seen again. Genuine worry. He''d been terrified of losing his Pokemon. In front of themy what remained of the battlefield. Honey-soaked, full of potholes, water vapor, chunks of ice at its edges, grass, scorched earth. Louis'' legs felt like jelly. "You¡ª you win," Justin huffed. "You got me." "No! No, I lost!" Louis yelled. He clicked his tongue and recalled Vespiquen. "This was terrible sportsmanship from me! I should have recalled Vespiquen right away¡ª" "I was too scared. I¡ª It''s been so long," he said, stumbling back. He copsed and sat on the ground. "I didn''t know I could be scared any longer." The blonde''s lips quivered. "I''m sorry." Louis had won. Justin would travel with them, and he''d potentially saved a friend from killing himself in Victory Road. And yet, victory tasted like ashes in his mouth. All this time, he had worried about Gabite''s evolution, and Vespiquen was the one whom he should have watched out for. He was a failure. He''d failed Justin, Justin''s team, and his own Pokemon. He''d won, but at what cost?
Chapter 234 Chapter 234 CHAPTER 234 Cecilia spoke behind me with a tired voice. "Is that your phone?" I frowned, turning 180 degrees on the desk chair and staring at the bedside table. I''d been so focused on my physics textbook that I hadn''t noticed it had been buzzing. I''d wanted to see if I could get any extra information on electricity that Jasmine hadn''t given me yet, but it was mostly things I wasn''t good enough to exploit yet, like that trick Craig''s Typhlosion had used to weaken and stop Zap Canons. "Shit. Did I wake you up? Was the light too strong?" "Yes, but that''s fine. I''ll have no trouble falling back asleep." I grabbed my Poketch and my mouth slowly opened in disbelief as I read Louis'' entire message. "He did what?!" I yelled. Cecilia shot up, waking up again from my yelling. "Huh?" "Cece, Louis battled Justin over some sort of contract and won," I said. "They''re both downstairs right now giving their Pokemon to a nurse. Apparently he managed to change Justin''s mind about his entire Victory Road n!" Cecilia''s lips stretched into a smile that widened as I exined the situation. "Through dark type energy?" She asked. "Yeah. I don''t know how, but¡ª I guess he just did it." "Did he message you or the group chat?" I stared back at my cell phone to make sure. "It was just me for now. He says he wants me toe downstairs." "Should Ie?" Cece asked. "I want toe." "I''ll ask." I typed out the message and changed out of my pajamas as quickly as I could. My hands reflexively went to my belt before I remembered that most of my Pokemon were in my room right now and the only ones I had in their Pokeballs were Princess and Honey. When Louis answered, he said that Cecilia coulde too and that he had called for Denzel as well. My girlfriend got changed and we were on our way downstairs as soon as she was done. The elevator ride seemed excruciatingly long and I couldn''t stop myself from staring above the doors every time the floor number switched. We were practically running once we reached the lobby. Since it was two in the morning, it was also empty save for our two friends and a nurse sitting over the counter. Louis looked absolutely terrible. His face was wrought with guilt and he sat on one of the couches with his elbows on his thighs and leaning against his palms as he stared at the floor. Justin looked shaken, which after seeing him emotionless for so long, was like night and day. Denzel wasn''t here yet, but I was sure he would only take a few more minutes. "Louis! Justin!" Cecilia yelled as a wave of relief washed over her. "What¡­ happened?" Louis slowly stared up at her, his face pale and aghast. "I''m exhausted. It was a¡ª it was close. I nearly killed his Corviknight." Cecilia didn''t know how to answer that. "How?" I asked. "Combee evolved. She went berserk." "Ah," I muttered. It was easy to see how it had happened with the experience I''d gotten with Zachary''s own Vespiquen. What I hadn''t known was that she would do something like that after evolving, but I hadn''t really asked Zachary about it. "Justin, are you¡ª" "I''m fine," he answered me. "I lost the battle, and I will adhere to the contract. I won''t go to Victory Road." "That''s not what I wanted to know. I wanted to know if you were alright." Justin''s neck tightened. "Yes." The fact that Justin''s sixth Pokemon was a Corviknight hadn''t been lost on me, but now wasn''t the time to think about that. "Will Corviknight be fine?" Cece asked. "Long term?" "The Pokeball stopped the worst of it ording to the nurses," Justin spoke when Louis couldn''t. "They have him on some kind of respirator and they''ll have to purge the honey out of his lungs and body. Vespiquen''s grubs are invasive and are killing him from the inside. Making more honey without Vespiquen''s orders." I swallowed. Not everything could be fixed with Ditto cells. "But he''ll be fine?" I asked. "He should be," Justin nodded. "But it''ll take a week of careful treatment and monitoring. There are too many of them inside of him to destroy, so they''ll have to wait until they die¡ª well, they''re not alive, I suppose." The fact that he was so clinically speaking of Corviknight like that would have angered me if I hadn''t known about the dark type energy within him. Plus, he was clearly worried. You just had to dig deep and know him to figure it out. Cecilia sighed. "No casualties. Good. Louis?" Louis had tightened his fists so much while Justin exined Corviknight''s condition that his knuckles were paler than even Justin''s. "Louis," she repeated. "Yes?" "Things are okay." Louis sighed, leaning back against the couch as he rubbed his forehead. Denzel arrived a few secondster with untied shoces and two different socks. "Justin! Holy shit!" He yelled with a wide grin. "Louis, you did it! You¡ª Louis?" "Uh, he''s been through a lot," I said. Justin exined Corviknight''s condition using the exact same words he had before, save for that stutter about Vespiquen''s grubs. It would take a while to get used to, but Louis had done it. Justin was saved. Now it was all about what came afterward. We all took a seat on the leathery couches and Justin recounted the battle bit by bit, not because it was what mattered right now but because he felt the need to, as if he wanted to put it all on the record. We all let him do it. After all, we weren''t about to cut him off when he''de of his own volition. I couldn''t help but feel tense as he spoke, even though I knew the end results. What he had done with Audino was certainly of interest to both me and Denzel, and some of the tricks he''d pulled showed that he was still fully on board with his stalling strategy, although it seemed like he had pivoted somewhat toward unconventional methods instead of only stalling. If the situation wasn''t so serious, I would have allowed myself to smile proudly at Justin''s skill. Louis was quiet at first, but he started to speak when Justin got to Vespiquen. "I couldn''t even hear myself think. For a moment, I was scared of my own Pokemon," Louis muttered. "That made me freeze up. I could have spared Corviknight the pain it''s going through right now." Yep, that was Pressure, I thought to myself. I''d researched the ability a little when I had prepared against Zachary''s team. The reason I''d been rtively fine was probably because I''d faced Cynthia''s Spiritomb back in Sceon. Well, face was a big word. I hadn''t even seen them. Just felt their presence in Cynthia''s pocket while they were still inside their keystone. Even through Shiftry''s domain, those whispers had nearly crushed me. I couldn''t imagine facing Spiritomb at its full power in a real battle. "That''s Pressure," Denzel said, echoing my thoughts. "Although I''ve never experienced it myself. I hear it can basically lose you a battle if you aren''t prepared. Pokemon with the ability are incredibly rare. I guess Vespiquen has it." "The most important thing is that Corviknight will recover," Cecilia gently said. "We all make mistakes. Even I didn''t know Vespiquen could rampage when they evolved." "That¡ª that shouldn''t have been the case," Louis said. "I researched! I researched as much as I could about Vespiquen." The conversation lulled, and Louis'' jaw clenched. "I know someone who can help," I said. "Zachary Gagher." "Oh, right!" Cece eximed. Louis frowned. "Who?" "Maeve didn''t tell you?" I raised an eyebrow. "He was a seven-badger I battled when we were in Veilstone, and his ace is a Vespiquen. Well, he actually has eight now, but the point still applies." "She didn''t¡­ but I''d already told her about my fears for Combee evolving back then," he slowly whispered. Realization dawned on his face. "Ah." "Are you sure you don''t want her here?" Cecilia asked. He shook his head. "No, no. I would only worry her. I will tell her about this tomorrow when I''m in¡­ better spirits." I whipped out my phone out of my pocket. "I''ll call Zachary right now." "Wait, he''s probably sleeping¡ª" Denzel said before I interrupted him. "I know. But Louis needs it." He opened his mouth to speak again, but I was already scrolling through my contacts. Denzel scoffed in disbelief when Zachary instantly picked up. I could hear explosions in the background, a telltale sign that he and his team were training somewhere. "Zach?" "Ah, Grace! ''Evening! To what do I owe the pleasure?" There was that usual tint of sarcasm to his tone, but I knew him enough to know that it was just his actual voice and that he meant no harm. "I have a friend whose Combee just evolved. He needs help. Are you avable?" "Always willing to help a fellow Vespiquen trainer," he said. I could hear him grinning. "I''m putting you on speaker, okay? His name''s Louis." I ced the phone on the coffee table and Louis took a few seconds to start speaking. I soon realized that he was embarrassed, but a pat on the shoulder from Denzel made him start. He exined Vespiquen''s actions to Zachary, who listened in silence. "So?" Louis said. "Vespiquen don''t go crazy when they evolve. That wasn''t a rampage like what Pokemon like Ursaring or Haxorus are known for. That was different." Louis nervously ran his hand through his hair. "How so?" "Vespiquen have a peculiar way of thinking, Louis. They''re born to lead hives¡ª you should see them, by the way. They''re fucking enormous. I almost got myself killed when I caught my Combee," he recalled with a heartyugh. "But getting back on track, your Vespiquen evolved and a bunch of new information flooded her mind. I think that she lost herself for a second and forgot that she wasn''t the queen of some hive getting destroyed by a Corviknight. Essentially, she saw the threat and decided to eliminate it." "So she''ll be normal when she''s back?" Louis asked with a hint of hope. "I hope she''s not giving the nurses too much trouble." "Well, she''ll be different," Zachary said. "Her brain works a lot differently now. It''s like, think about how you''d feel if you went from being a normal human to a supeputer being able to process thousands of tasks at once. It''d be overwhelming, right? It''ll be the same for her. She''ll have to get used to it and it''ll take some weeks, but she won''t try to kill you. Or others. Try not to use her in battles for the first week, at the very least. I think her evolution will have shaped some of her mentality and she might be a little more aggressive than the usual Vespiquen. She''ll probably have a hate boner for every Corviknight from now on." "Every Corviknight?" I scoffed. "Yes. Every Corviknight," he repeated with a chuckle. "She''s got them in the ''threat, kill on sight'' part of her brain right now and it''ll take some work to get that to ''threat, be brutal'' instead. There are stories of Pokemon attacking Vespiquen hives and them just attacking every member of the species that strays too close afterward just to stay on the safe side. Remember, Vespiquen''s first instinct is to run and protect a hive. She''ll still think that way even when she''s on a team." "Well thank you for the help," Louis said with a relieved sigh. "I feel much lighter now." "On the flipside, that Corviknight is probably traumatized for life," Zach said. Louis'' face flinched like he''d been struck. "Got any other questions for me¡ª" He stopped as an explosion that was closer this time rang out. "Sheesh! That''s what I get for trying to teach Gyarados Hyper Beam. Anyway, got any more questions for me?" "I do. About Pressure," Louis said. "Ah, yeah! That gives you the heebie-jeebies, right? Been a while since I''ve been able to notice it, though. Don''t worry too much. It''ll be tough for you at first, but you''ll get used to it over the months. I remember I couldn''t even look in Vespi''s direction for too long when she evolved." "Thank you." "I have a question," Cece spoke up. "Cool! Uh, who are you?" "Cecilia Obel." "Oh, right. First time hearing your voice," Zachary said. "Go ahead." "Could I train myself with Vespiquen''s Pressure to¡­ say, get used to another Pokemon''s pressure?" "Hm. To a certain extent, yes, but every species''s got a different way of fucking with your head. Weavile makes you feel like you''ve got ws pressing against your neck and that you''re about to get your throat ripped out. It actually tricks your brain into feeling a little pain too," Zachary said. "Absol makes you imagine the worst possible events, and it feels like it genuinely happened to you. Vespiquen obviously makes you unable to hear your own thought with buzzing and you can''t really look in her direction for long or you''ll see some disturbing shit. You could go on and on. It''s tricky. Those are the only two Pokemon I''ve faced with Pressure outside of Vespi." That description of Weavile surprised me, and for a moment my mind went back to my battle against Harry Rodriguez. I''d been lucky it looked like the Hunters'' Weavile''s ability hadn''t been Pressure, or I might have lost that battle. Harry probably wouldn''t have been able to handle it either, though. I wondered how he was doing. Hopefully he was having a miserable time rotting in prison. "So it''s possible?" Cecilia asked. "Sorta. You''ll have an easier time, but it won''t make you immune is what I''m saying. Hell, even other Vespiquen still make me sweat." I knew she was thinking of training herself for her potential Spiritomb, and it wasn''t a bad idea. Plus, she''d be able to keep Louispany too, which I assumed he would dearly need in theing days. Louis asked a few more questions regarding Vespiquen to make sure the information he''d gotten online was correct regarding things like diet and her other needs, and the conversation finally finished. Zachary hung up as another explosion rang out in the distance. He had eight badges now, so his first run at the Conference was guaranteed. I hoped I''d face him again there in a proper battle. Sunshine needed his rematch, after all. "Man. What a night," Denzel exhaled. "Justin, which room''s yours¡ª actually, is this even your Pokemon Center?" "It is not. I was staying at the one closest to the city gates," Justin said. "This one''s full, isn''t it?" I asked. "Yes. Because it''s the closest to the Gym, and more trainers have started to arrive from the west," Cecilia exined. "Stay with us tonight. The nurses won''t yell at you for keeping your room empty once. Grace does it all the time anyway," Denzel said. "I have my Pokemon there instead. It''s a loophole," I smiled. "No, it really isn''t," Denzel said, rolling his eyes. "We can sleep in my room. Unless you have a problem with sharing a bed. I guess I could sleep on the floor, but that''ll kill my back." "No. But you are quiterge. I fear I might not be able to fit on the bed." "I guess you could stay with Louis." "I''m sorry, I¡­ I need space," Louis shook his head. "I''ll be ready to face the world tomorrow." "Come on, Louis. You know that''s no problem with us," Cece assured him. "Justin can stay with me." All of my friends stared for a few seconds. "I guess you can recall your Pokemon and have him stay in your room," Denzel said. "I should have thought about that." "No, I meant with me. I''ll stick around." "You don''t have to worry about me escaping," Justin deadpanned. "I will adhere to the contract." "I believe you," I smiled. "I just want to catch up." He frowned at that statement as if he hadn''t understood my words. The others agreed, but they were unfortunately too tired toe with. I kissed Cecilia goodnight and Justin followed me into my room. Sunshine, Buddy, Sweetheart and Angel were all there. Sunshine and Buddy instantly got on high alert as if they wanted to murder Justin. Sweetheart was sleeping in the corner of the room, her cocoon gently swaying from side to side. She was starting to molt again. Angel instantly tried to hug Justin, but I stopped him with a flick of my hand. "So yeah, Justin''s back," I whispered. "I''ll exinter." I recalled them all and motioned at Justin to sit anywhere he wished. He decided on the foot of my bed. Thankfully, I''d used Cece''s room so much that my room was nowhere near as messy as they usually got. "Want anything? I''ve got water, I think." He shook his head. I stood there silently for a second, observing him. Justin stared nkly at me, his nerves from earlier somewhat settled. "I''m d you''re back. This is going to be good for you. For all of us," I continued. "How''ve you been since thest time I saw you?" "Adequate." "That''s better than bad," I said. "Corviknight will be okay. No one''s better than a Nurse Joy." Justin blinked, and he shifted in the bed a little. "It was the first time since Sceon that I felt scared." I sighed. The emotion had probably been magnified too, since he hadn''t felt it for so long. "Do you feel any ill will toward Louis?" "No. He couldn''t have known," Justin shook his head. "I do wish he had reacted faster, but what is done is done." I nodded and sat next to him. He flinched at the sudden closeness. "Rx. We''re friends." "Still?" He frowned. "How?" "The bonds of friendship are strong. They wouldn''t be broken by a few months apart," I quietly said. "So. Corviknight and Toxapex, huh? You bought them?" "I bought Toxapex as a Mareanie," Justin said. "I caught Corviknight as a Corvisquire." "You caught him?" "It wasn''t originally nned, but he followed us for a while during our travels. Audino got attached very quickly." "That''s cute. I miss the little guy," I chuckled. "Is he okay these days?" "What do you mean?" "When you fought Louis in Veilstone. Your Pokemon looked¡­ well, they didn''t look in the best ce mentally ording to him." "They took a little adjusting to my new condition," Justin nodded. "But things are okay." "Just okay?" "Okay." I fell back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. "What''s Corviknight like?" "Not very knightly. He''s somewhat of a savage fighter," Justin said. The words came easier now. "He reminds me of Pauline." I chuckled. "What?! I''ll tell her you said that!" "Don''t. She''ll scream at me." "Could I see your little Toxapex too?" I asked. "She wasn''t in the fight." "Why?" "Just to meet her," I shrugged as I sat back up. "Unless you don''t want to." "Very well," Justin said, releasing the poison type onto the floor. Confusion emanated off Toxapex as soon as sheid her eyes on me, and she lifted up more of her twelve legs so she could get a better look at me. Toxapex were smaller up close than I thought they would be. She was about three and a half feet tall, if I''d estimated correctly. Her eyes were fluorescent and shone with a brilliant yellow. "Be at ease, Toxapex," Justin said with a calm tone. I leaned down toward her. "Hi. You don''t know me, but I''m one of your trainer''s friends. It was before he got you." Toxapex let out a weird, gurgly sound that reminded me of Gardenia''s Tang, only somewhat higher pitched and more rxed. Her emotions settled down, and she seemed excited to meet someone new, especially someone who her trainer knew. Justin retold the battle to her when she demanded to know what had happened, but I noticed he made Corviknight''s condition sound a lot better than it actually was. He was still in there. "Can we talk about something ufortable¡ª well, I guess you wouldn''t mind," I said. "I would not." "We can have Mira''s kazam look at you tomorrow, if you want. He might be able to figure out a way to return you to¡­ well, I won''t say normal, but back to a healthy dose of dark TE." Justin sighed. "I don''t know." "I already knew you didn''t want to." "This new state of mind¡­ it''s made me progress much faster than I would have if I was still my old self. I can work day and night without caring about how tired I am. I''m not scared to venture off-route to train in high-stakes battles¡ª" My eye twitched at that, but I let it go for now. "¡ªand during the battles themselves, I can make the correct decisions. Take Louis, for example. His Nales lost against my Arcanine because he flinched when her leg was broken. Things like that, they don''t happen to me. I''m good at battling now." "And since you''re good, you can try to make it to the Conference instead of this Victory Road n you tunnel-visioned on." "I was thinking long-term," Justin shook his head. I noticed that emotion slipped back into his voice now that he was speaking about his goal. "A better showing at the Conference next year would please my father more than¡­ what, getting in and getting knocked out at the group stages? I wasn''t even sure I could make it past the eighth gym, still." I bit the inside of my lip. "So you feel like this is helping you, not hampering you. Ignoring the suicidal ideas." "I wouldn''t have¡ª" Justin stopped himself when he realized he was yelling. "I wouldn''t have died." "Trust me, you would have." I was beginning to understand now. Rationality was a part of him, but his goal was the key to unlocking his emotions again, or at least the key to him getting better. That also meant he could do stupid things to reach that goal and try to take non-existent shortcuts. I would have to report any findings to kazam. "Regardless, what''s done is done. I won''t be going there any longer," Justin muttered. Toxapex cried out in support, rubbing one of her legs on his. "Thank you, Toxapex." "I did say return you to healthy levels, but then again, maybe there''s a way through this without that," I said. "Have you felt anything else since the fight?" "Just fear, but it''s all but gone now." "There might be ways to trigger other emotions in you," I said. "But that means we have to experiment. Prod at things until something gives. And trust me when I say this, there are ways to cut yourself off emotionally in battle that don''t involve TE." His eye twitched. "What do you mean by that?" "I can do it. It still needs some work, and I slip sometimes. It''s like I''m looking at myself in third person, hovering over my shoulder. I did it against Maylene." "Third person? Is such a thing possible?" "It''s different for you, huh," I acknowledged as my shoulders sagged. "I guess it''s still like Shiftry''s domain." He nodded. "I still recall exactly how it feels. Stuck inplete darkness, unable to hear, feel, or see. I couldn''t feel anything. I was just floating there. Part of me believed I''d died and that this was the afterlife." I shuddered at the thought of an eternal sensory deprivation chamber being any kind of afterlife. "Slowly but surely, I just stopped caring. I couldn''t tell how much time passed or what was going on, and that didn''t bother me. After a while, Krookodile pulled me out." Toxapex''s eyes dimmed, and she keptpletely still. "I''m sorry." "Not much could have been done anyhow. We were all Teleported to separate locations. No need to apologize for something you had nothing to do with. Plus, ridding the world of the Hunters supersedes anything I or anyone else dealt with that day." "I disagree," I blurted out. "You put too much importance on individual lives, then." "If you say so. What do you say about kazam, then?" "I will ept," Justin said after a pause. "Great! Plus, he''ll be happy to nerd out about TE. He''s been wanting to study you for a while. But say, why don''t you talk to me about your journey? From Sceon to here? You must have gone through a lot, and I know nothing about it." "If you want to." Justin began to speak his tale, and I was content to listen to him all night, and it reminded me of our old chats when I used to be his teacher. I was sure my current self would cringe at half of the advice I had given him. My heart felt full. He was finally back. The biggest hurdle had been cleared. Justin was home. ¡ª Needless to say, I was exhausted the following day. The others couldn''t believe it when they saw Justin again. As soon as she got to my room, Pauline tackled him, hugging him as tightly as she could until he nonchntlyined that he couldn''t breathe very well. Emilia followed with a light, gentle hug of her own, and she kept asking him if he was okay. Maeve, Mira and Chase weed him back, although they knew him far less than we did. Chase hadn''t had many objections to Justin''s Victory Road n in the first ce. "If you leave again, I''ll kill you!" Pauline cried. Justin frowned. "That wouldn''t make any sense." "Shut up! I''ll kill you!" Seeing everyone like this filled me with a nostalgic feeling. For a second, it felt like we were back in the old days with few worries and innocence still in our minds. Louis helped Justin up from the floor and hugged him as well. He seemed to be in far better spirits today, although I could tell guilt still marred his mind. He only had Vespiquen with him now, since she''d only needed to spend one night with the nurses, but the rest of his team¡ª and obviously Justin''s¡ª were still at the Center. "Justin, I''m taking you out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Pauline dered. "That''s excessive," the pale teen answered. "I mean, even I have to agree with that," Emilia said. "We have to catch up! And if there''s anyone that''ll get him to feel something, it''ll be me!" "Well first, let''s make some space," Mira spoke up. "I''ll get kazam to take a look at him." The psychic appeared in the room and was clearly displeased at the amount of people we''d crammed in here. He shooed Chase and Maeve away from him before turning to Justin and realizing that the trainer he''d wanted to take a look at for so long was right there. "We''ve got Justin back," Mira nonchntly said as her legs dangled from the desk she was sitting on. "He''s got no psychics, so no telepathy." kazam grinned as he levitated his two spoons next to her with a twirl of his mustache. My, my, my. Justin Gardner, the psychic spoke. "Oh! This is actually an interesting question," Mira lit up. "Can you speak into his mind with all that dark TE he''s got swirling around his insides?" "Justin? Do you want to try?" I asked. "Pain is bearable," he said. Testing. Testing. One, two, three. Justin froze for a moment. "That hurt." "Really? You didn''t show it at all!" Maeve yelled. "Psychics are still tough for me." Speaking to him is a lot more difficult than others, kazam quickly said. I have to go slower and actually concentrate, but it''s possible. "Justin? How did that sound to you?" Mira asked. "Very quiet. Like a faint whisper." "Shucks. I guess it does have an effect," she said, crossing her arms. "Well, get to work, kazam. We''ve offered you a buffet." "Please don''t speak about him like he''s food," Cecilia sighed. A few people in the room chuckled as kazam''s eyes began to shine. Yes, yes, he is quite empty, the psychic said with a gleeful smile. A nightmare to work with, just like I wanted. "How long is this going to take? We''ve got to go out for breakfast," Paulineined. kazam ignored her as he continued staring at Justin like he was the only person in the world. People broke up into groups, with most hovering over Louis. He was the man of the hour. A hero. He''d saved Justin''s life. Mira hopped off her desk and pulled me aside. "Grace. Are you freeter? We need to test the Voice. Chase is ready" My throat tightened. "Uh, my teacher''s busy today, so I guess so." "Great. Now I''ve got to ask Cece, but she''s going to pop a blood vessel. We''ve already wasted enough time not doing anything¡ª well, we trained, but that isn''t enough." "She''lle around as long as she doesn''t have to use it, and especially not on me," I said. "But I do agree that it''s necessary¡ª" My phone rang. Melody was calling. "Just keep me informed," I said. Mira threw a hand up with azy salute. "You''ve got it boss." I discreetly entered the bathroom to get a nice and quiet ce to speak to Melody in. "Grace! How are you doing this morning?" "Very good Mel," I smiled. "You sound happy too. I''m not going to lie, that kind of scares me." "Why would that scare you?" She asked. "I''ve got great news¡ª" "There it is," I groaned. "I know this is short notice, but we''re going to need you toe to the address I''ve texted you ASAP." "You texted me already? And is this urgent? I''m with a friend that I haven''t seen in a long time." "Company obligation, Grace. You''re going to be in a new photoshoot." "Okay, you know what, that''s not that bad. It''s been months since myst one, so I kind of expected it to pop up at some point." "Using your same pictures over and over wasn''t a very good look. But you won''t be alone. A few of our sponsees are in the city and will be there too." I restrained a groan. "So this is like, a group picture?" "Yes. You''ll be paired with multiple people so we can take pictures. We want to appear like a nice, happy family. Plus, this is a nice opportunity for you. You''ve stayed isted away from our other trainers, and they''re curious about you. After all, they all know you''re the new face of thepany, and yet you''re so hard to get a hold of." "I try my best," I smirked. "I''ll be on my way. Kind of shitty to do thisst minute, though. Is there a reason why?" "Your guess is as good as mine. I knew there was another photoshoot supposed to happen soon, but I had no idea it''d be like this. From mymunications with the other sponsorship liaisons, all the other trainers were also summoned with very little warning. Just get there! I''ve already sent a car." "Fine, fine. I could have taken the bus. Are you in the city?" "No. I''m still in Hearthome, but feel free to call me or keep me on the line. It''s my job to support you." "Thanks, Mel. You''re the best." After warning Mira that I had to go and bidding the rest of my friends goodbye, I left my room and left the Pokemon Center.
Chapter 235 Chapter 235 CHAPTER 235 "You know, I kind of wish I had some wireless earphones for this." "We make some. We can have some sent to you tomorrow if you want,"Melody''s voice rang out. "I''d only need them for today. Won''t it be awkward if I have my phone to my ear while meeting all these new people?" "Yes, it would be rude." "Well, I''m about to hang up, then. We''reing to a stop. Thank you for the ride, sir." The driver answered with a grunt. The people the Poketch Company sent to drag me around were always quiet. I stepped outside of the car and felt the cold morning air hit my face, blowing my hair into my eyes. In front of me stood Sunyshore''s one and only mall. Unlike Jubilife, which had many thanks to its massive size, Sunyshore only hadonemall. The Sunyshore Mall stood in the southern part of the city, and I could see the Vista Lighthouse in the distance, with its beautiful spotless blue ss and its red and white pattern. Jasmine had boasted that it was actually small and insignificantpared to Olivine''s lighthouse, but it was still one of Sunyshore''s most recognizable symbols and a popr tourist attraction. That wasn''t where I was going today, though. Of course, Sunyshore''s policymakers were smart enough to put a mall on the way to the city''s most popr attraction. I knew Sunyshore Mall had existed, but I had no idea it was an open-air facility. The mall seamlessly integrated into the rugged surroundings that reminded me so much of route 214. Beyond the huge parking, the entrance was marked by a huge wooden arch with Sunyshore''s badge carved into it, and Pokemon and humans filtered in and out of the establishment. A Machoke gently cradled a little girl in her arms while her mother packed everything they''d bought in their car. A flock of Starly perched on the wooden arch, thergest of which stood at the center and puffed up his feathers while his group admired him. A group of teenagers crowded over a T-shirt with Craig on it¡ª a different one than the shirt Craig had given to Denzel all those months ago in Savika''s cabin. I heard a lick of their conversation and noticed that it was apparently a new, limited edition with his Eelektross on it. All in all, everyone was having a fantastic time. "So it''s where in the mall?"I asked. "I''m surprised you don''t have a dedicated office like in Hearthome." "I''ll guide you, but there''s a map as soon as you enter. And we have an office, it''s just above one of our stores at the center of the mall. There weren''t that many options in a city like Sunyshore. No need to waste moneyplying with their horrible construction code." "Horrible, or inconvenient?" "Why not both?" "I guess. I don''t really know anything aboutws tobuildthings." "It was more to save costs than anything, really. There were plenty of lots being sold at the mall, so thepany bit¡­ by the way, I''m getting more emails. The reason the photoshoot was called so early was because Aubri Schneider''s in town." "Aubri? That rings a bell. Denzel probably knows her." "She''s notoriously hard to get a hold of and she''s a¡­ character, that''s for sure,"Melody hesitantly said."She probably showed up in Sunyshore and the higherups jumped at the opportunity to actually get her in here. She''s one of our sponsees. Arguably the most powerful one besides Craig." The mall''s interior was a series of interconnected paths and courtyards all adorned with lush greenery and vibrant, yellow flowers. There were stores of every kind here, both for people and Pokemon. Potions, saddles, food, Pokemon clothing, items¡ª there were more things than I could keep track of. Of course, since this was Sunyshore, sr panels were on every roof and pathway. The mall''s architecture was a big contrast with what I''de to expect from Sunyshore. Only the boardwalk was as rustic as this ce was. Giving tourists a break from the modernity of it all was probably the goal the people who had built this had in mind. I grinned when I passed by a little battlefield where trainers could battle and a small crowd had formed, screaming in excitement as soon as something unexpected happened in the battle. Melody guided me deeper into the mall and toward its center which was mostly full of food stands and had a huge fountain that had a little Whiscash statue spitting water at the top. I stopped to buy myself a hot dog that I quickly scarfed down. The somewhat nd taste reminded me of Cecilia bragging about howrealhot dogs were made in Castelia City. I''d have to hold her to that. I raised my sunsses and entered the Poketch store, which was bright white with sleek, rounded tables where phones, tablets,ptops and more of their products could be tested by the customers. Melody told me to go deeper into the store, and one of the employees recognized me instantly. "Okay, I''m hanging up Mel." "Good luck out there! Make friends!"She cheered. "Will do." The employee directed me toward an elevator which was activated by a keycard only a few people in the store had. He sent me off to the second floor and left before the doors closed. The upper floor was a lot more quaint and less modern than the bottom one, but I supposed there was no need to impress customers here. It was a nice, carpeted and spacious hallway with plenty of offices where people typed away on their keyboards and drank their morning coffee. Melody had already told me where to go, however. At the end of the hallway, a huge room opened up with three trainers speaking with each other. A crew of photographers and some other people were in the back of the room whispering to themselves. I easily noticed Joshua Nance, who''d been the one to take my picturesst time. I recognized one instantly. Ramon Casaus with his Raticatezily sitting at his feet. I''d looked him up the day I had gotten sponsored because he''d been next to me on the Poketch website. I knew he''d made it to the Conference multiple times and had the most powerful Raticate in the region. He had actually been born and raised in Sunyshore, so if I had to guess he already had his eight badges and was swinging back home again. He wore shorts, sandals, a in white shirt and had a blue cap on backwards. Ramon had light brown skin and was almost as tall as Denzel. Despite being a third year, he still had a baby face that made him look fifteen. The other two, I didn''t recognize, however. I must have scrolled past them. The first was another older teenager, and the first feature that jumped at me was the gap in his front teeth. He spoke with a slight lisp, and he was rather thin. Ididnotice the huge scar on his shoulder since he was wearing an A-Shirt. That must have been a gnarly injury when it urred. A tall Meganium stood next to him, chomping at his short hair. The third girl was only a little taller than I was and looked to be the youngest other than me. She couldn''t be older than seventeen. She was actually quite well-built with well-defined muscture, and her brown hair was tied into a short bun. She had arge Mothim attached to her back, and her huge wingspan made her trainer look likeshehad wings. And of course, they were all wearing their Poketch Watches, including me. Ramon and the other boy both had eight Pokeballs on their belt while the girl only had six. "There she is. Woman of the hour!" Ramon cheered. "Grace Pastel in the flesh!" Raticate angrily growled at his feet at the sudden outburst. "Uh, hey guys," I said. "Hi, hi, don''t be shy. This is Sharon Ay. She''s a bit of a bitch¡ª" The girl pped the back of Ramon''s head, and the other scarred teenagerughed. "I''m Sharon," she said, outstretching a hand. "Nice to meet you." I shook her hand, and her handshake was firm. It reminded me of Maylene''s. "I''m Bob Wace, but you can call me Bobby," the scarred trainer said. "This is Meg." His Meganium let out a smooth cry that was almost like music, and I was certain I''d seen some pink dust fall off her flower. "And I''m Ramon!" He yelled. "Nice to meet you all," I smiled. I finished shaking hands with all of them and then blinked. "Should I have a Pokemon out? I mean, you all do." "Our starters. It''s justmon courtesy," Sharon gruffly spoke. "My bad," I said, restraining a wince. I released Princess as fast as I could, and she eyed our new acquaintances suspiciously before flying into my arms. "This is Princess," I said. The fairy type reluctantly offered a greeting without even turning toward the three trainers. "Heard a lot about her," Ramon nodded. "So we''re missing Aubri?" I asked. "Oh yeah. She''s alwayste," Bobby chuckled. "We don''t know her that well." "Wedoknow she has a bit of a hate boner towards you," Ramon added. "Ugh. Don''t be so crass," Sharon moaned. "She hates me? Why?" "You came out of nowhere and stole her thunder. She worked hard to be the one to rece Craig, and you denied her that. Years of hard work down the drain," Bobby shrugged. "This year was a bit of a scuffle." "Oh yeah. The Sharpedo smelled blood in the water and started circling," Ramon said, crouching down and petting Raticate. "But Aubri was the one who everyone knew had the best shot. Or we thought she did." I restrained a sigh as Princess whispered some reassurances in my ear. These weren''t really differences that could be sorted. I reallyhadkazam would love you,I thought to myself. Ramon grinned. "Byron cockblocked her out of her eighthst year." "And she made sure to destroy him this time," Bobby added with a smile of his own. "Ram and I are generalists. He made it to the top 128¡ª" "Top sixty-four, you ass!"He yelled. "Oops. I forgot," Bobby said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. "I made it to the top thirty-two." "Awesome¡­" I exhaled, wide eyed. "I''d love to battle you." "Ain''t she cute?" Ramon said. "M''fraid we can''t, though. The big boys up top don''t want their golden child to look bad." "Plus you''d get stomped anyway," Sharon muttered. Bobby sighed. "Sharon¡­" "It''s true!" Her desire to keep calling me weakwassomewhat grating, but it wasn''t like they were being explicitly rude. Plus, Sharon was arguably just as talented as I was or more, getting seven badges in her first year and already having eight before her second was over. "What about Aubri?" I asked. "Semi-finalist," Bobby answered with his arms crossed. "She lost to Sarah Newmanst year." Sharon winced. "It wasn''t really a good showing. That girl was in her head the entire battle." "Good thing she fucked off to Kanto, eh?" Ramon asked. "One less person for the Poketch gang to worry about." "Pleasedo not call us the Poketch gang," Sharon groaned. And she''d gone on to win the entire thing, beating Craig in the finals. "So you guys are friends?" I asked. "Bobby and I traveled together in our early days after meeting in Hearthome, but we split off after our first year. Sharon''s obviously a neer, but she''s wormed herself into our group now that she got sponsored this year. I wish I could have seen her cute little self, just starting off her journey with her Burmy¡ª" The girl scoffed. "I''m going to drop you off the cliffs and into the ocean." We allughed at that and kept having some small talk and speaking about how our journeys began. Ramon spoke about having been too poor to get what trainers considered a ''good'' starter and how he found his Raticate stealing out of his trash as a Rattata. Sharon said that she found her Burmy on one of the trees next to Eterna city and befriended it during the summer before she caught it with a Pokeball she''d bought with money she''d stolen from her mother''s wallet. Bobby wasanotherFloaroma native, and his parents bought him a Chikorita for his fifteenth birthday, so his story was more aligned with mine. "My dad won an egg in a raffle and Princess hatched out of it," I exined. "For a while I didn''t think I''d get into being a trainer, but I changed my mind pretty quickly when I got my first taste of battling." Princess agreed with an excited cry, although I hadn''t missed all of the insults she''d whispered at me to trashtalk my colleagues. "You caught the bug," Bobby grinned. "Wait, my dad says that too!" Iughed. "Maybe it''s a generational thing¡ª" Ramon spoke before stopping. "Ah, there she is." I turned and saw Aubri Schneider shuffle into the room with a Chatot on her shoulder and a Szzle crawling closely behind her. I didn''t say this a lot, but¡­ at a nce, it was easy to see she''d been through more than I had. First, she was missing half of her right hand, and only her thumb was left. Her burns mirrored mine, although hers were only on her right arm instead of the entire half of her body. Her burns weredeeperthan mine, though, and her arm reminded me of Carlos'' face. Szzle was probably the one who''d done that to her. Just like Sunshine, they didn''t actually live in Sinnoh, so I wondered how Aubri had gotten her. She also wore an eyepatch, so I assumed she was missing her left eye since the scar there ran up to her forehead in a diagonal. Her hair was puffy and unkept, and she was only slightly less pale than Justin was. And of course, I didn''t miss her scowling at me even if I could tell she was trying to hide it. "Which one''s her starter?" I whispered. "Chatot," Sharon quickly answered. "''Sup losers?"Chatot cawed."Ready to take some damn useless pictures?" I struggled to contain my surprise. I knew Chatot could speak, but actually hearing it was something else entirely. His voice was undistinguishable from a human''s too. "Hi Aubri," Bobby nodded. Ramon and Sharon also greeted her, and I followed suit. "Bobby. Ramon. Sharon," she spoke. "Here''s a trantion for you,"Chatot spoke."She''s tired of wasting time and wants to go back to sleep." "How did Victory Road treat you?" Ramon asked. "No new scars to add to the tally?" "Don''t be rude, Ram," Bob scolded. Victory Road?I audibly swallowed and stroked Princess'' head to calm her down. She was a Conference semi-finalist, of course she could handle Victory Road. Thatdidput the scale ofmygroup''s problems into context, however. Sunyshore couldn''t let me have one week without realizing that I was a small fish in an extremely big pond. "I haven''t, but thank you for worrying about me." "Fuck off and kill yourself,"Chatot gleefully said. "So she can be rude to me but I can''t dish it back?" Ramonined. A hint of a smile formed on Aubri''s face as she recalled Szzle into an Ultra Ball. "Chatot''s having a bit too much fun, so I apologize," she said. "But I''ll let him continue because he always speaks what''s on my mind!"The flying type cried out. Oh, they were certainlysomething. Aubri was determined to ignore my existence, which I would have said something about if I didn''t somewhat feel bad for basically stealing her job and that I didn''t want to start a scene when we were about to work together for a few hours. Still, she recounted her adventures training in Victory Road. "I had a nasty run-in with a Garchomp that nearly sliced my head off on the deeper floors," she deadpanned. "I had to report it to the Rangers in case it ever decides to leave the cave. I''m pretty sure that was one they don''t know about." "How tough was it?" Ramon excitedly asked. "Tough enough to eat your rat," Sharon mocked. Raticate answered with an infuriated hiss. I could tell he was tired of not being taken seriously despite his obvious strength and skill, and jokes like this angered him to no end. Ramon''s face darkened, and his jovial attitude disappeared in an instant. "Sorry, Ram," Sharon bit her lip. "Too far." "Yes." Aubri continued. "It was good enough to handle three of my Pokemon at once." "That''sstrong," Bobby muttered. "Bah! I sent him packing!"Chatot mocked. Imagining a Pokemon as small as Chatot standing up to a Garchomp was tough, but hewasher starter and an actualbatant on her team, so he couldn''t have been lying.Exaggerating?Now that was a possibility. "So did you loose your entire squad on ''em?" Ramon asked. "Did Noivern and Chatot burst its eardrums?" "I kept it to three to train us," she shrugged. "Noivern didn''t see much action, but Chatot did his job just fine. There were a few close calls that made me decide to head back to Sunyshore early." "A warning would be nice next time so we aren''t all calledst minute," Bobby said. "I''ll try to do better next time," she shrugged. "Fuck off. I''m a queen that can do whatever I want!"Chatot cried out. Aubri passed me without a second look and headed toward the organizers while Sharon followed closely behind her.I guess she''s her model trainer,I thought to myself. "And you, first-year girl? You''re pathetic and can''t do anything by yourself!"Chatot mocked me as they passed us. Aubri whistled, and the flying type stopped. Ramon and Bobby stuck by me, and we were slower behind them. "Sorry about her. She holds grudges," Bobby said. "Oh I know all about holding grudges," I said. "Has she spent her entire time in Victory Road like Craig does in Mount Cor?" "Oh yeah. She wants to beat him and get her revenge. We all know Craig rmended you and that you''re his pal," Ramon spoke with his hands behind his head. That was probably what Chatot had been talking about, then. "She could have a chance if she gets her hand on a megastone." "She''s been saving for a few years," his friend nodded along. "Which of her Pokemon can megaevolve?" I asked. "She''s got two. That nasty little Sableye of hers and her Medicham. Dunno which one she''s going for, though. She''s quite secretive. Kind of like you." "Don''t worry, though. She might hate you, but she won''t let it get in the way of work," Bobby reassured me. "Which is why she isn''t uttering a single word to you unless it''s necessary," Ram added. "She speaks through Chatot when she''s mad at someone." "Whatever. I can deal," I shrugged. Joshua Nance greeted us with wide arms and a beaming smile. He seemed to be quite familiar with the rest of the trainers too. First, we were sent toward a styling area in the back. Our clothing was fine, but we still needed makeup¡ª even the boys got some foundation. They took Aubri''s eyepatch off, and I shot her a quick nce. She was indeed missing an eye¡ª Her other eye snapped toward me, and I flinched. Satisfied with herself, Aubri turned her head and continued speaking to her Chatot. Princess and I kept staring at her the rest of the time we were with the stylists untilshegot ufortable and definitely thought I was a weirdo. After around fifteen minutes, we were all done. I had to stop myself from touching my face to not ruin my makeup. "We''re doing something a little different today!" Joshua Nance eximed, pping his hands. "It won''t be a set of group photos, butbattlingpictures!" "Do you want us to burn the entire building down?" Ramon chuckled. Joshua paled. "Of course, you''ll be holding back your full power. We''ll just do it with the Pokemon you''re the most known for." "Not our starters?" Sharon sighed as Mothim''s wings sadly fluttered. "Money talks," Bobby shrugged. "It is what it is." Joshua nodded. "Thank you Bob. For Grace, that''s going to be Tangrowth. Aubri, you''re with Noivern." "So you''re going to talk up Noivern and not me? Scandalous! Treason!"Chatot screamed with a frustrated p of his wings."I''ll sue you for emotional damage! For nder! I don''t care if I''ll lose, I''ll drag you in court until you''re bled white¡ª" Aubri interrupted the bird''s tirade. "Rx." "Would you also like some tea with that?"Chatot gently asked Joshua. The photographer cleared his throat and continued. "No, I''m fine. Thank you Aubri. Bob, you''re with Chandelure, but keep that ghost under control. Ramon¡­" The photographer hesitated for a few seconds. "You''re with Mightyena. Sharon, you''re with Minior." I tilted my head and frowned.Minior? Pokemon were recalled and another set of them appeared. A huge Noivern with a permanent scowl appeared next to Aubri. His huge ears instantly drew my eyes. I knew that they used them for echolocation in dark caves. Not only that, but Noivern was a dragon type too. The temperature immediately dropped when Chandelure materialized above us. The ghost was a source of light, and yet she seemed todrawin light and darken the entire room somehow. "Chandelure, we''re in a photoshoot!" Bob eximed. "At ease." Light returned to the world, and the temperature returned to normal. Joshua and the members of his team breathed a sigh of relief. Mightyena was¡­ Well, he was a Mightyena. Darkened fur, angry eyes and wickedly sharp teeth and ws. Still, he must have been incredibly strong considering he was apparently Ramon''s ace. Angel shook in excitement at all the new faces, and I had to stop him from touching everyone and annoying the others. His vines drooped and wrapped around me instead, and I gently caressed him with my hand. Minior was a fractured brown shell whose cracks revealed the glowing pink flesh within. They had gaping, darkened circles in ce for eyes because that part of their shell was still intact. Minior wereincrediblyrare because they only formed in space. I personally had no idea how some rocks could suddenly gain sentience, but the Pokemon still fascinated me. "Can I scan them with my Pokedex?" I asked. "Sure thing," Sharon nodded. Minior, the Meteor Pokemon. Minior form in the ozoneyer and above as rocks and particles slowly umte. When they grow too heavy, they fall down to earth like a meteorite. If they survive the fall, they will be stuck on the. "She was almost dead when I found her," Sharon said gentler than usual. "Their shell regrows if you feed them the right space rocks. It''s insanely expensive, but there''s a market for it." Her, then,I internally spoke. They were technically genderless Pokemon, but Sharon wasn''t the only one to just stick a gender on a Pokemon without one. Cecilia with Lehmhart, Mira with Magnezone and Porygon, and many more trainers I most likely didn''t know about. "Good thing you were there to stumble upon her, then," I said. "Like I said, we''re going to do mock battle poses for the cameras. They won''t actually be battles. We''ll just ask your Pokemon to strike a pose and maybe send a gust of wind or a small stream of mes for the cameras. The pictures will go on Trainer''s Daily and a slew of other magazines." "Magazines are a dying breed, Joshua," Aubri said. "Drop those already." "I don''t make the rules," he shrugged. "Don''t worry though, it''ll also go online. The higher ups are terrified of X tech." "Ooooooh.Assets! Spreadsheets! Terrifying!"Ramon mocked with his hands up. "It''s true. We''re working on reaching out to younger audiences, which Grace has been very helpful with¡ª" Aubri clicked her tongue. "¡ªbut they realized they weren''t doing enough. Our social media ounts only get hundreds of likes per post except when we announce a new phone becausenobody cares. You''ll remedy that today. The picture will be going up on Chatter." Part of me wished it had been a real battle in private, but I would have gotten destroyed without them breaking a sweat, so the pictures wouldn''t have been great. "Let''s start with Aubri and¡­ Grace. Your two Pokemon are thergest, so they''ll really pop out in the picture." Seeing as there was a greenscreen behind us, they were going to add the background in post-production just likest time. I thought it would have looked a lot better had we done it somewhere outside, but I wasn''t the one in charge. I motioned Angel forward, and the grass type happily waddled into his position. Noivern used his wings to walk on all fours and Aubri shadowed him. Joshua grabbed his huge camera and adjusted the lens. "Now Grace, I want your Tangrowth to shoot as many vines forward as possible like he''s trying to grab Noivern. Aubri, you send a gust of wind¡ªa small gust of wind. Please don''t destroy the building. You''re going to use the wind to send the vines back. Are we clear?" "Got it," she said. "We are," I agreed. "Can we start?" This wasn''t even a battle, yet I could feel my palms begin to moisten. "Three, two, one¡­ you can start!" Angel''s vines shot forward at incredible speed. They all converged toward Noivern, who stood on his hind legs and pped his wings¡ª I closed my eyes and covered my face as a strong gust of wind nearly knocked me on my back. Even though I was in the shot,I''d been far away from Angel.His vines all diverged as if they''d hit an invisible force, and I heard Joshua''s camera click multiple times. "Perfect! We''re done for now, thank youdies. Leave it to you two to finish a picture in one shot." Angel turned back at me, smiling with his eyes. He helped me fix up my hair and soon enough, we were reced by Sharon''s Minior and Bobby''s Chandelure. Joshua took a while to find a position he liked for them, but he eventually settled on Minior using Charge Beam and Chandelure just surrounded herself with screaming purple mes. "Have you been to Victory Road?" I whispered to Ramon. "A few times, but I never stayed long. I''m more of a safety-first guy," he said. "How was it?" "Awful.It''s dark as shit, the Rangers explicitly warn you that nothing will be done if you get lost, and the Pokemon there have a rage boner for any human that shows up. At least it''s not anywhere as cold as Mount Cor." "It isn''t?" "Nope¡ª ah, it''s my turn." We went through a whole lot ofbinations after that. Angel and Mightyena, Mightyena and Noivern, Angel and Minior¡­ Angel was actually in quite a lot of the pictures. In fact, I had the most pictures of the entire group. It took a few hours to get through it all. "Joshua." Thenky man stopped looking through his picture and turned toward Aubri. "Yes?" "Grace Pastel has a lot of pictures for someone with five badges. It looks fake to pretend like she can stand up to us. Trainers will see through that. It makes us look less authentic." "It''s not about the badges. She''s Craig''s sessor, so she gets the most exposure," Joshua shrugged. "If you have anyints, take it to the board." Ramon cackled. "Good luck speaking tothem!" "Is that so umon?" I frowned. "You''d have better luck finding a mega stone in the middle of route 222," Sharon shrugged as Minior orbited around her. "You should know by now that all contact is done through our sponsorship liaisons. Only Craig gets to speak to them face to face." "So¡­ she''ll probably get to do it too once he retires and starts working for the League," Bobby said. Everyone paused. I didn''t know how to answer that. They were all far better trainers than I was. It wasunfair, I realized. The only reason I was in this position was abination of incredibly unlikely events I had stumbled into. "I''m done here," Aubri snapped. "Chatot would have given you an earful, you''re lucky he isn''t here," Ramon said with a sheepish smile. "d to have met you, Grace Pastel. Maybe I''ll see you at the Conference." "If she gets past Byron, I''ll give you 50k," Sharon said. "Bitchy as always, Sharon," Ram said. "At least give her the benefit of the doubt and say she''ll wipe out in the group stage." She hit him on the back of the head. ¡ª The ride home was quick since Melody had a car sent for me, and soon enough I was back in Cece''s Center room, where she, Mira and Chase had been waiting for me for the past hour. "There you are! How was work?" Cece asked after nting a kiss on my cheek. "Weird. They''re mostly nice, but I can tell there was still some tension with a girl called Aubri. The others were cool, even if I could kind of tell they don''t like the fact that I leapfrogged them." "So long as you didn''t threaten anyone," Mira said. "It''swork. I wouldn''t do that," I rolled my eyes. "You been working out with my gift?" Chase asked. "Uh, no. But I''ll do it at some point!" I eximed. "It''s been busy, that''s all. You know, there was actually this girl called Sharon that had a lot of bulk on her¡­" I went into detail, telling my friends about the new people I''d met and some of their Pokemon. Chase and Cecilia were quite intrigued. After all, which trainer wouldn''t be? Cecilia already hated Aubri, but there wasn''t much we could do. She hadn''t really done anything wrong anyway. She''d been professional and behaved perfectly during the photoshoot. I almost thought she''d use the opportunity to ''identally'' hurt Angel, but that was my prejudiced mind speaking. If I''d been in her position, what would I have done? Not attack her Pokemon, that was for sure, but I couldn''t deny that I would have behaved worse than she had. Mira was more preupied with the Voice, even if she forced herself to listen to my story. "Let''s start. Cece''s said she won''t use it, so it''s up to you, Chasey. We can only use it once per day, right?" Mira asked. "That''s what that asshole said," Chase nodded. "Ok. Hit me. Today, we''ll start small and slowly ramp up to find the limits. Ask me to jump ten times as high as I can." The hair on Chase''s arms and neck stood on end as he tensed. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Mira, Jump ten times as high as you can." The voice resonated throughout the room and Chase stumbled, his skin paling and he leaned against the desk in order not to keel over. Cecilia and I were unaffected, but Mira? Something in her eyes shifted, and she started jumping. It wasn''t very high, but she was giving iteverythingshe had. Her leg muscles strained and she groaned as she hopped over and over as if her life was on the line. Cecilia couldn''t bear to look at someone robbed of their freedom and she turned away. After the tenth jump, she blinked and her eyes returned to normal. She took a few tired breaths and whistled. "That wasweird," Mira said as she gasped for air. "Like, I thought I''d be able to try to fight back, but that didn''t even cross my mind. Are you alright, Chasey?" "I''m good," he groaned. "Just feeling a bit¡­ weak." "If you use that in the middle of a life-threatening fight and you just copse, it''d be pretty bad," I said. "You''d have to either be sure that you''d deal with your opponent in one go or keep it as ast resort." I could see the ability being very useful. Getting an enemy trainer to off themselves to throw their team into chaos would be effective. Mira nodded, her hand rubbing her chin. "Tomorrow, we''ll try affecting multiple people¡ª" Cecilia snapped. "No!" "Yes,"I shook my head. "I''m sorry Cece, but this is too important." My girlfriend bit her lip, but said nothing. "Next, we have to figure out if there''s a time limit. Like, can you order me to do something for one hour? Two hours? Aday?I''ll be the test subject for that one," she casually said. "And can you give impossible orders? Like, if you ask me to fly, what the hell am I gonna do? Hop on Magnezone and ball? What if you ask me to grow a third arm? There''s a lot of things to try¡­" Mira kept rambling for a few minutes, and I paid as much attention to her as I could, adding a few of my opinions along the way. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together anyway since it had been a while since the four of us had hung out and Jasmine was at her support meeting. And so, multiple days passed. Justin''s Corviknight made a healthy recovery, as did the rest of his and Louis'' team. We all trained and strived to improve each other as much as we could. Soon, I would sign up at Volkner''s Gym, as would all of my friends. The time for my Gym Battle was approaching.
Chapter 236 Chapter 236 CHAPTER 236 The Voice was an incredibly powerful tool to use, but Mira had discovered it also had its limits. The longest amount of time she''d found someone could be put under Chase''s spell was around one hour, give or take. She took longer to escape his grasp while I always took a few minutes less, but the fact of the matter was, it wasn''t consistent whatsoever except for the fact that the maximum amount of time was always fifty minutes to an hour and ten minutes. Next, the time was lower depending on how many people Chase affected. Two would split that hour in two, and we assumed it would keep going down as we kept going. Impossible orders like ''grow a third arm'' would just have the person freeze there for an undetermined amount of minutes. Mira had told me that more testing was required to see if there was a possibility of it being linked with how hard the order was. Of course, there were a bunch of things we just couldn''t test out of fear of someone getting injured or killed, and we only had one try per day, so we hadn''t gone too far yet. The Voice also worked on Pokemon, but just like with humans, the more we used it on them the less time they would be under Chase''s influence. We were making steady progress, and Cecilia wasn''t giving us as much of a hard time as she had at the beginning even if she was still opposed to any kind of mind control. She''d teared up when Chase had ordered me around on the second day as if the worst thing imaginable was happening to me. What Mira said had been true. When Chase spoke to me, disobeying was impossible. I always feltpelled to do whatever he''d said, and it felt like the most normal thing in the world for me. That was the most terrifying part. There wasn''t even a single part of my brain that had thought something was wrong. Being freed from his control felt like waking up from a dream except I always remembered what had happened. "Jasmine!" I waved at my teacher. She waved back, although her usual smile was a lot more muted. Quitting an addiction was hard, and she was miserable. It wouldn''t be sunshine and rainbows right away, but slow, incremental progress until she was freed from the hold alcohol had on her. She''d described not being at least slightly tipsy like the world had been drained of its color and everything was cold and dreary all the time. I felt bad for her, but Jasmine shouldered on. "One week sober, right?" I smiled. "Congrats." "They say it gets easier after the first few weeks, but I can''t help but feel like garbage," she muttered. "I have these cold sweats at night and I can''t sleep, so I wake up tired every day." I sighed. "It''ll get better." "That''s what Volkner and Metagross say," she muttered. "Let''s get to your training grounds." Soon enough, we were back on the mountain near route 205 again. Metagross didn''t go back in their Pokeball this time. They were always out when we trained these days so they could support Jasmine. Sometimes I''d hear herugh at a joke orment that I wasn''t privy to. Most of the time their conversations were kept private. Metagross was no empath, but they somehow had a way of knowing what Jasmine was thinking, so they differed from most psychics. Honey weaved on the teau so fast that he was a constant blur of crackling electricity. The sparks singed the rocks whenever he stepped, jumping away from him at random intervals. Static Shield had been mastered, and we couldbine it with Radiant Leap. He was even faster now than he had been, almost as if his feet hovered off the ground. I was sure that we''d be able to outrun and catch up to Electivire when the time came. And that time was soon. Railgun had improved as well. Honey was faster, more reactive and better at keeping control of rocks when he ran with Radiant Leap. After four minutes of constantly running at full speed with Radiant Leap and having Static Shield on, Honey copsed on the floor and desperately gasped for air with his chest rising up and down withbored breaths. I ran up to him as quick as I could. Even if I couldn''t touch him after he''d used so many electric moves and my hair was standing on end, I wanted him to see that I was here. "You''ve improved so much thesest few weeks," I said, leaning next to him. The electric type grinned, exposing his two sharpened canines and he let out a few tired groans. He was too tired to even talk back, but I knew what he was feeling. Pride. Aplishment. Confidence. He''d shed thest remaining doubts about his skill and been born anew. Win or lose, he would be satisfied in himself. "You''vee so far, and yet we aren''t even close to the heights your strength and skill can reach," I grinned. "I love you, kid." Honey whispered the same to me just as I heard Jasmine approach from behind. "He''s ready," she said. "You''ve got the tools you need to win. Besides working on Railgun and ironing your techniques, you should be good." "Hear that?" I smirked. The electric type sat up and thanked Jasmine for all the help, which I tranted for her. "It was my pleasure," she smiled. "Maybe when we see each other again, you''ll be an Electivire. And I''ll be watching your battle." Honey trembled in excitement and told her he hoped so. We''d done everything in our power to strive to be the best version of ourselves, and the rest of the team hadn''t cked off either. We had all massively improved. It was time. ¡ª "So I''ve got you for¡­ this Thursday at 5:10 pm," the Gym Trainer spoke as she entered my name in herputer. "That works for you?" "Yup. Thanks for finding a spot that was so soon." "Later in the year people with more badges are higher priority," she exined. "Newer ones willin, but we wouldn''t want someone missing the Conference because of scheduling. It can happen, but most of the time, it''s a skill issue." She handed me my ticket and I was on my way out of the Gym and toward route 222 to see Louis and Cecilia. It felt weird to sign up for a Gym Battle so early. Usually I was thest to go since I loved to spectate my friends'' battles in case I spotted anything I hadn''t seen on video. For this one, however? I would be the first, and it wasn''t because of hubris. Yes, I did believe we were ready, but I would never actually pass up on some extra studying time. What I needed was my bonus, and I wanted it as soon as possible. That meant that Volkner needed to fall. If I could spend the remainder of the time we had in Sunyshore learning how to fly or starting that process and getting Princess used to her new body, I would be satisfied. Cece had already started to go to the theoretical sses after I''d told her she didn''t need to wait for me, and Lehmhart was slowly getting a hang of how to fly without crashing into the ground. When I saw Cece and Louis talking together in front of the gates, I couldn''t help but smile. They hadn''t spent time together in a while, and it was nice to see them being friendly again. Arceus knew Louis needed Cecilia''s gentle disposition to emotionally recover from what he had done. "Guys! How''s it going?" "Grace! We''re doing great. How was training?" Cece asked. "We''re ready. I just signed up." The air grew heavier for just a moment. "I wish you good luck," Louis dipped his head. "We''ll be in the stands cheering you on." "I appreciate it. How''s your Vespiquen training going? Is she spooky still?" I asked. "It''s like usual," Louis shrugged. "She isn''t aggressive, but she''s¡­ well, she''s different. I still see shes of how she used to be, but most of the time she''s silently staring at us. Zachary said she''s still getting used to her new senses and that she''ll slowly open up." "Good, good," I nodded. "Pressure''s heavy," Cecilia exhaled. "After ten minutes next to her I can''t help but feel exhausted. Both physically and mentally. The buzzing really does make you go crazy." "But we''ve been building a tolerance to it," Louis added. "It''s hard, but I''ve got to do it if I want to do right by her." I turned around and stared at the route. It was the same as usual. Trainers, civilians, Pokemon all living in harmony and not one wild Pokemon in sight. I sighed, facing Cece and Louis spoke again. "Justin''s Corviknight is scared of me now," Louis muttered. "He doesn''t want anything to do with me." "It''ll get better," Cece said. "I think it will. It just¡­ you know," he sighed. "On a brighter note, I was telling Cecilia about my long-term goal¡ª" "I''ve told you a million times you can call me Cece," she rolled her eyes. "Sorry." "What''s your goal?" I asked. He told me about his sanctuary idea, and I couldn''t help but hug him in that moment. He froze at the sudden contact, not knowing how to reciprocate, and I grabbed his hands as I smiled at him. "Any help I can give you, I will," I said. "And hey! Zachary''s also from Floaroma and he wants to help improve the ce. I''m sure a sanctuary would be right in his line of fire. Arceus, I''m so happy I put you guys in contact!" Louis awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Thank you for your support. I''ve been telling this to everyone and even Pauline didn''tugh at me. All of this¡­ it makes me think I could actually get it done." "Of course you can! You just have to start saving." "A bank wouldn''t blink at giving him a loan if he grows as a trainer and gets some kind of ie," Cece mused. "He has a business model all worked out. Denzel helped him make it on a napkin. Emilia and Pauline said that it was sound, and they''re the best at money." "I''ll apply for a loan when the timees," Louis agreed. "For now, I have to focus on the small." "You''re a great guy, Louis. I''lle visit sometime when we''re old." "Not too old, I hope," he said. "I want to get this started in a few years." "Yeah, that''s totally old," I dismissed. "Though my dad would kill me if I said that to him." They both chuckled, and I sat next to them in the grass. We hung out for another hour, mostly reminiscing about old times. Louis exined to us how he convinced Justin to battle in the first ce and I nearly fell over when he told me he''d had him sign a contract. Not only that, but he''d spoken in the same way he used to with that obnoxious, ''I''m obviously better than you at everything'' tone. When I asked him to do it again, he reddened and refused. Eventually, he left to go see Justin. They were spending a lot of time together, even if these hangouts were some of the most awkward he''d ever had in his life by his own words. It was only Cece and I left, and wey in the grass with our hands intertwined. "You signing up soon too?" I asked. "In a few days," she muttered. "I think I''m ready. I was nning on relying on my Night sh trick, but with Lehmhart having evolved, I have an entirely new n." "He''ll be a great fighter for the Gym." "Hmhm. It''s good that he can shine here. I won''t be able to do much with him against Crasher Wake." "Yeah, he''d just sink," I said. "That battle''s going to be pretty tough for you." "I considered trying to evaporate all of the water in his arena with Talonme, but I figure he has tricks to counter that. It would be too easy otherwise." "Well, you''ll figure it out. I have a few ideas myself, but that''s in a while." I flipped to my side and ced a hand on her cheek. "We''re going to need to test Chase''s voice againter." "Don''t remind me." "I''d rather we know its limits before we get in any kind of life-threatening danger," I said. "C''mere." I brought her face closer to mine and I nted two soft kisses on her lips. "It''ll be okay," I said. "Chase is a friend. We can trust him with that power." "I know! It''s just the¡ª" "Principle, I know," I interrupted. "I''m trying to understand, and it''s hard." "I get it. You feel like I''m wasting your tries since we only get one use per day." "Kind of." She smirked. "You don''t have to hold yourself back." "Okay, yes I feel that way, but I won''t press you on it." "I appreciate that," she said. "By the way, I had a question if you don''t mind. About Spiritomb." She leaned in to whisper the name. Even if people knew the Pokemon existed thanks to Cynthia poprizing it (she was the only trainer known to own one of those horrors), it still felt wrong to say the name out loud. Like you were asking for something bad to happen to you. "Go ahead." "You''ve seen Cynthia''s, and I haven''t," she muttered. "I''m slowly getting used to Vespiquen''s Pressure, but¡­ what does Spiritomb''s feels like?" Memories that I had buried deep within me came surging back, and I felt my hands sweat around hers. She obviously noticed, because she spoke up again. "Never mind." "No, no, I can talk about it!" I eximed. "Uh, it''s¡­ well, there''s the usual baseline. You be hyper-aware of every bodily process, down to your heartbeat and the blood pumping in your veins, but that''s the same for Vespiquen. Where Spiritomb differs is¡ª they speak. The souls inside of it, I mean. At first, you hear the pleas. People yelling in agony about¡­ I assume whatever was happening to them before or during whatever ritual turned them into that. Then they on and speak to you. They tell you to do things like killing your loved ones or hurting yourself. Eventually they dig at every single insecurity you have, big or small, and even though they''re all speaking at the same time, you understand all of them perfectly." "And then?" Cecilia asked, slightly breathless. "I don''t know, the fight ended before then," I muttered. "Cynthia''s Lucario stabbed Shiftry. I don''t know how bad it would have been if I wasn''t in his domain or if Spiritomb had actually been out of their keystone." "That''s¡ª" Cece exhaled, "a lot." "It is. Why''d you ask me that all of a sudden? You getting second thoughts?" "No. Cynthia sent me a message saying that she had confirmed the location of the Spiritomb I would be¡­ hopefully getting." I felt my fingers tingle. "And?" She leaned in to whisper. "Route 225 apparently has one that''s rather old. Not as old as hers, but old nheless." "That''s on the Battle Frontier." "Yes." I sat up and stared at the sky. "I had no idea that ce had one. Then again, I''ve never been. So the League knows of every location with one?" "I''d assume so. If I had to guess, there aren''t that many left." "Does it being old mean it''s more dangerous?" "It depends. Cynthia says that the younger onessh out more easily, but the older ones are more sinister. Less violent, but more¡­" "Mind-breaking." "That. And young still means more than a thousand years old. Old is¡­ old. Like, before recorded history old. There''s a reason no one''s figured out how to make them again, and there were attempts. Horrible attempts. They all stopped after the Great War." "Well let''s hope yours is a good one," I said. "You''ll be an absolute press ma in Unova if you actually catch one this summer." "Right?" She smirked. "But that''s not the reason I want to do this. Is it wrong to want the power a Spiritomb could own at my fingertips? To desire the challenge of raising one? Cynthia was only one year older than us when she found hers." I shook my head. "She was already the Champion?" "Yes. A newly appointed one, but Champion nheless. She said she found hers down a well." "A what?! You''re fucking with me." "I''m not! It was just there, apparently. I had a hard time believing it too." "Well, I''m looking forward to when we get to that part of the autobiography." Cecilia chuckled, and her hand sped tighter around mine. ¡ª "Grace! Why didn''t you tell me about all of the famous trainers you were with in that photoshoot?!" I turned toward Denzel as I slowly chewed on my pasta. I''d been eating lunch alone in the Center cafeteria since everyone else was busy and I was taking a break, but he barged in and mmed the table with his hands. "I didn''t think it was important," I shrugged. "You what¡ª" He stopped himself and facepalmed. "You didn''t think telling me about some incredibly skilled trainers was important?!" "Yeah, man. It was just work. We did it and went home," I said. "I did get all of their contact info, though. Except Aubri. She hates me." "Aubri Schneider hates you?!" A few heads turned at Aubri''s name. She really was famous. "Yeah. And I can''t do anything to fix it. She wanted to be the face of thepany and I leapfrogged her when she''s way stronger and has years of experience. To be honest, I thought someone as savvy as you would know that." "Well I don''t know everything," he grumbled. He dragged a chair back and sat in front of me. "I had no idea she wanted to inherit Craig''s position. Aubri keeps away from people most of the time, so she doesn''t seem like the type¡­ then again, you don''t seem like it either." "I mean, we''re all doing it for money at the end of the day," I shrugged. "I heard she''s saving for a mega stone." "Ah, yeah. That costs millions. Tens of millions, for the rarest ones," Denzel said. "There''s a very limited supply and they only form in very specific conditions. Some young Kalosian Professor tried to make some artificial ones a while back¡­ Syco¡­ Sycamore, I think. He failed miserably and plunged billions of Pokedors down the drain." "Knowing her skill, she would have gotten paid a lot more than me if she''d gotten my position. I get it, I really do," I sighed. "Yeah. I think she might not have been chosen though¡­ her scars are really bad," Denzel winced. "What''s that got to do with it?" I scoffed. "Think, Grace. If she''s going to represent Poketch, they want her to look good, even if it''s a dick move. A girl that''s missing half a hand, has no skin on one of her arms and is missing an eye won''t attract anyone. There''s a huge stigma against people with that many scars. You''re lucky your burns only go up to your cheek and the parts that are more visible aren''t as deep as hers, or I doubt the Poketch Company would have picked you, with or without Craig''s rmendation." "How did she get those scars?" I asked after a short pause. "The burn is obviously Szzle, but the rest?" "It''s quite tragic, actually. The eye was a really nasty ident in her first year. She was fresh out of Jubilife and got attacked by a pack of Spearow after she tried to catch one. The wound took her eye out and stretched to her forehead." "Did she even have a badge?" "No." That new? And yet, she persevered, I thought to myself. "The missing hand came muchter. It got sliced by a Leavanny in Eterna Forest when she was training. Before she was strong enough to hang out in Victory Road all the time, she was always holed up in those woods. One day, she went too deep and¡­" He motioned his hand getting cut off with a click of his tongue. "Apparently her Szzle snuck into a Cargo Ship from Al and rode it all the way to Sinnoh. That''s how she caught her," Denzel continued. "And she got that crazy burn." I felt a twinge of sadness for Aubri, which I didn''t think I''d be able to. It wasn''t her fault. It wasn''t my fault. It was the board who had done this. But then again, even if they''d been willing to entertain her, I wasn''t going to give up my spot. The money was too important to give up on. Oh well. "Not everyone''s going to like me. No matter what I do." "Well for what it''s worth, I think you''re a great gal," he smiled. "I would hope so. We''re best friends." "Never mind, you''re awful," he mocked. "Cece told me you signed up for the Gym already?" I leaned up from my te. "Yup." "Look at you, taking the initiative. I was thinking of doing it today too, I was going to goter. Emi''s been on my case about going to help her get that nose piercing." I gasped. "She''s getting it after all?!" "Yeah, but she''s scared it''s going to hurt. Pauline''sing too." "I wannae!" I yelled. "Well I''ll tell her you''re in, then," he chuckled. He grabbed his phone, but his face fell as he scrolled. "What? Did she suddenly change her mind?" "No¡­ I got a popup about some news." I froze. "Team Gctic?" "No, no!" He stammered. "You don''t have to worry about that. It''s Pokemon poachers." I dropped my fork, and it cked loudly on the floor. "Poachers?" "Yes. They''ve been operating somewhere out of route 212 near the swamp, but the League is apparently too understaffed to deal with it, so it''s up the the Rangers and they''ve been having trouble. They''re trained to safely contain wild Pokemon, not fight people." My shoulders felt heavier and there was a tingle in my eye. I wiped away a tear, biting the inside of my lip so strongly that I tasted metal. With all the manpower they had focused on guarding thekes, the Lily of the Valley ind, stopping any hidden operations from saboteurs and finding Team Gctic''s base, their manpower was stretched thin. Of course, filthy lowlives would take advantage of it. "A bunch of trainers got threatened and gave up their Pokemon in exchange for their lives, and it''s made the news so hopefully the League gets going and deals with the damn problem," he sighed. "I wonder why Wake isn''t doing anything." They won''t. They won''t care when the world risks ending, I thought to myself. And Mudsdale¡ª Sunshine''s old teammate was right in the crossfire since he worked with the Rangers there now. "What are they doing with the Pokemon?" I asked. "I''m not really sure. Sell them in some kind of ck market, maybe?" "So what, they''re basically LARPING as Team Rocket? Fucking pathetic," I sniffled, grabbing my fork. "I guess. They don''t really have a name from what I can see. Do you want a tissue?" "Yeah," I cried. He quickly got up and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the counter. I blew my nose and scrunched them up. "I hate this." "The world''s a dark ce, Grace. Whenever people sense the opportunity, they''ll strike." "I want to gouge their guts out." "O¡­okay. Let''s leave it to the professionals," Denzel said. "Want to finish your food?" "I''m not hungry anymore." "Okay. You still good with the n? I can stick around with you until Cecees back if you want." "Thanks, but I''m okay. This piercing stuff will cheer me up." "Okay. Emi''s already ready to go." ¡ª "Oh Legendaries, Legendaries, Legendaries!" Emilia yelled. She was grabbing onto her leather chair and clenching the armrests as tightly as she could. So tightly in fact that veins were bulging out of her arms. "Stop moving, I''m just making the spot with a pen," the piercer sighed. She was an older woman in her fifties with tattoos and piercings all over her body. A tiny Murkrow was perched onto a stick in the corner of her store and cackling wildly. "Why did you say you wanted a piercing if you''re this scared?" I sighed. "It''s to make a statement," she answered with a trembling voice. "Rx. Apparently it doesn''t hurt," Pauline reassured her. "Well I''ve read that it can hurt¡ª" "Shut up, Denzel," Pauline said. The piercer brought a mirror in front of Emi''s face and confirmed the spot she''d marked was the right one. She disinfected her hands, put on gloves and wiped some kind of disinfectant wipe on Emi''s nose. Our friend closed her eyes before she could even see the needle. "Emi''s always been terrified of needles," Pauline whispered to me. "You should have seen the face she made when we had to take that booster shot at the start of our journey. She was throwing a fit." "So she''s doing a lot better now," I said. The older woman pricked her nose with the needle, and Emilia squealed a little, and in a few seconds, she had already ced the nose stud through the hole. "Wait¡­ it''s over?" Emilia asked, opening a single eye. She closed it immediately when she saw that the needle was still in front of her face. "Yes, it''s over," the woman said. "Now, let''s talk about aftercare¡­" Emilia beamed, and she followed the piercer''s words to the letter. It seemed like she was going to get a lot more piercings in the future. ¡ª When I had started the Circuit, I truly thought I would grow used to battling in Gyms. The atmosphere, the crowd, the stakes. It all added up to being a nervewracking experience that would make even the most experienced trainers nervous. I wasn''t dissociating for this battle, so the nerves were getting to me, especially when both Princess and Honey''s evolutions rode on this battle. I had a strategy. Now I just had to execute it. "Grace Pastel, you''re up! Just let me put your microphone on." "Thanks," I smiled. "Good luck out there! Jasmine has been a lot more manageable since the¡­ event, so I wanted to thank you for that." I snorted. "Thank her. She''s the one putting in the effort." I grabbed Sunshine''s Pokeball and exited the waiting room. Spectators began to cheer for me. New Wave was up there too, and they decided to sit in thest row so they could have their banner of me and my team up. I knew my friends were up here too. All of them. Even Jasmine. I felt prickles up my nape and I moistened my lips. Volkner finished his break right on the dot and approached his own podium. He wore jeans, a ck shirt and a blue jacket with yellow buttons on its sleeves. His grey shoes squeaked on the clean floor. He was actually dressed up. Volkner''s words were like sparks in my ears. "Wee, Challenger," he spoke. "This will be a four-on-four battle with two switches allowed. If you win that battle, it will be followed by a one-on-one where you will be forced to use your Electabuzz¡ª" Murmurs ran through the arena. That had most likely never been seen before. "¡ªI reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the Circuit." Volkner paused, and I hungrily licked my teeth. "Send out your Pokemon." I released Sunshine onto the field, and the air immediately started to swelter.
Chapter 237 – The Battle for the Skies Chapter 237 ¨C The Battle for the Skies CHAPTER 237 - The Battle for the Skies I smiled when Sunshine appeared onto the field. Even in a battle like this, he was still his usual self. Sunshine immediately showed off by sending a methrower high into the sky and bellowing out with a deafening roar to announce his presence. The air around him warped as it grew hotter and hotter, and the dragon set his sights on Volkner, who didn''t seem impressed. The Gym Leader did take a bit longer to send out his Pokemon than I thought, though, which I wouldn''t mind at all. After all, if he took the full thirty seconds, that was more time for us to heat up the field. Two minutes and a few seconds was all we needed to turn Volkner''s Gym into molten rock. Volkner''s hands settled on a Pokeball at the end of his belt, and he released a brown, t-looking Pokemon with two wide eyes. Stunfisk, I realized with a sharp breath. I hadn''t studied him! How? I''dbed through every single video! Was he a new recruit? No¡­ the only exnation for this was that Volkner had adapted the power of his Pokemon right away instead of starting off with a baseline because he knew Sunshine was more powerful than my current badge level. "E.T. five," Volkner said. My eyes narrowed as the ground around Stunfisk turned to dust and began to fly around the field like grains of sand. They filled up the arena as Sunshine continued to heat up, generating a Sunny Day without my order. The light would be masked by the Sandstorm, but it wasn''t a powerful one. The grains were thin, and I could easily see the entire field. E.T. means Electric Terrain, but five? I had no context there, but it was easy to imagine what woulde next. "methrower," I said. "Don''t let them set up for free." Another stream of mes burst from Sunshine''s snout, aided by the sun and the rising temperature. The mes were a brilliant, singing blue at their edges and seemed to grow the longer Turtonator kept the attack going. The dust flying around the arena suddenly electrified as one, and Stunfisk beat his two appendages like wings, sending himself in the air. He glided away from the methrower, although I heard him cry out from the move''s sheer heat. Sunshine grunted from the electric charge. The rocks here were almost fully iron and conducted electric currents very well. The electricity jumped out at him and attacked like it had a mind of its own, but his scales protected him from the worst of it. Sweetheart would be immune, but the rest of my team? They would be screwed. "Keep heating up," I said. "methrower. The heat will hurt him." "Trap him and Mud Shot," Volkner ordered. "Iron Defense!" The ground under Sunshine turned into superheated quicksand as he shimmered white, and Stunfisk spat out globs of mud from the sky. Sunshine tried to raise a foot to escape, but the hold the sand had on him was tight, and the mud crashed into his scales like bullets, denting some of his scales and his stron. He retaliated with methrower, but Stunfisk was charged chock full of electricity and could levitate away easily. The ground type''s slick skin had darkened and burned away even without any contact. One more minute, I thought. The sand beneath Sunshine was already glowing red. "Sludge Bomb," Volkner said. Stunfisk zipped through the electrified sandstorm as Sunshine tracked him down with methrower. He singed one of his wings, burning and darkening it in an instant, and the electric type could barely handle being near Sunshine. "Into your shell and Shell Trap!" Unfortunately, Sunshine was still trapped, so he couldn''t dodge the giant ball of poison that dropped onto him. We could do the next best thing, however. The fire type retracted into his shell as the sand under him turned to molten ss, and only his tail remained out of it. We''d trained the motion so many times that it was unnaturally quick. He mmed an Iron Tail onto his shell and caused a massive explosion that knocked Stunfisk away. The rock finally turned from red to molten. Smoldering, smokingva clung to Sunshine''s scales as he rose from his shell with a wicked grin, and it soon began to spread, slowly limping toward Volkner. Stunfisk tried to trap him again, but any Sand Tomb instantly turned to ss that crinkled under Sunshine''s feet. The spires around Sunshine slowly sunk into theva and added to the mass of molten rock. "Keep at it, let''s take it slow," I said before sending an arm forward with a wild grin. "Dragon Pulse!" The attack snapped into ce quicker now that Sunshine was reinvigorated by the heat, and neither Volkner nor Stunfisk had expected such a trick. The Dragon Pulse burned the air around it and Stunfisk cried out as the attack engulfed him. I''d done the same thing against Denzel, but it would only work once against a seasoned Gym Leader. "Mud Bomb," Volkner said, not losing his cool. Stunfisk was ashen and ck now, but he was still conscious and far from fainting. He spat out a few balls of mud that levitated in front of him and coalesced into a bigger sphere in seconds. I ordered another Dragon Pulse, but Stunfisk glided out of the way higher and higher into the sky until he was out of reach from the heat and the toxic smoke. Having a higher vantage point meant that we had ample time to dodge any attacks. The Mud Bomb fell toward the ground, but Sunshine retracted into his shell, using Rapid Spin to get out of the way and sending multiple chunks ofva flying all around him. He was at the center of the arena now, and theva had almost spread everywhere I''d wanted it to. "Thunder," Volkner ordered. I winced as the attack instantly appeared, beaming down from the sky and through the sandstorm, mming into Sunshine. He roared in pain as the attack peeled off his scales. Stunfisk flew high in the sky, aided by his own Sandstorm and maism. If Sunshine and I had mastered flying through explosions, this wouldn''t have been a problem, but s, we''d have to deal our own way. "Smokescreen," I said. The dark smoke immediately billowed out of his snout right as Volkner ordered another Thunder. Sunshine was hit again and much of the smoke was cleared, but we could generate a Smokescreen faster than they could create Thunders. Sunshine was continuously using the move, so it didn''t matter if Sandstorm blew it away. Stunfisk was good¡ª better than Honey. His Thunders were faster, stronger and he could use them like there was no tomorrow, but he was no Amphy. He would still have to recharge between attacks. Lightning and heat emanated from the Smokescreen, but Sunshine was able to get lost in the darkness. All that could be seen was theva that pooled and pooled away from the Smokescreen. A few more Thunders struck the ground, but none of them hit their mark while Turtonator stayed hidden in the smoke. Sunshine retaliated with Dragon Pulses, methrowers, and Fire Pirs. It was a battle of attrition, and we were slowly but surely winning. The sheer heat from Sunshine''s attacks was enough to slowly whittle Stunfisk down. That didn''t mean we were getting off scot-free either. The electrified Sandstorm was whittling Turtonator down, but just slower. I was perfectly content to¡ª "Rest and Sleep Talk," Volkner said. I cracked my neck. It would have been too easy, wouldn''t it? Stunfisk closed his eyes and fell asleep. His burns healed, his skin regenerated and he was almost as good as new. Not only that, but he kept zooming around the sky like a bird even through his sleep, and a few more pellets of mud flew through the Smokescreen. The reason Stunfisk hadn''t impressed me was because he wasn''t a shy fighter. From the little I''d seen so far, he was a battler that was meant tost long. Volkner had only been content to let the battle be one of attrition because Stunfisk was built for them. Meanwhile, Sunshine couldn''t thrive against fast opponents, and neither could he take down Pokemon that kept that much of a distance quite yet. While the ground was a hellish environment of my creation with bubblingva and toxic, poisonous fumes, the sky was free from these disadvantages. He was ying to his strengths, and we were not. That was a mistake. And yet, I smelled weakness. Stunfisk was asleep, and so the Sandstorm weakened. It didn''t end. It simply abated because Stunfisk wasn''t able to consciously keep it going. And as went the Sandstorm, the electricity would follow. It would have been amazing if I had been able to have Sunshine have his first Gym Battle dominating some Pokemon weaker than we were, but life didn''t always work out that way. I waited another thirty seconds for the electricity in the Sandstorm to die out, and I recalled Sunshine. The Smokescreen finally dissipated, the Sunny Day grew weaker and it would continue to do so until it disappeared, but theva stayed. Menacing, scorching destruction that clung to the ground and would render it impossible to fight on. And we''d run plenty of tests. It took hours to cool without water. I sent out Princess next, who smiled with glee when she saw what awaited her. Weeks of training had led to this, and she had learned to love to y withva. A bubble of psychic energy shimmered around her before turning invisible, and she lowered herself so close to the molten rock it was as if she was touching it. The red hue bounced off her fur and tinted every part of her. Yet, her fur did not burn. Nor did she choke on the hot fumes. She was in her element. "Burn him. He''s stronger than you, so you can go a little ham," I smiled. Volkner''s hands froze in his pockets when he realized what I was doing. Princess'' eyes shone, and a chunk ofva rose from the ground. A burst of air propelled her toward Stunfisk high into the sky with the molten rock, and a Thunderbolt mmed into her barrier. Another Sleep Talk. She grunted under the impact of the powerful attack, and some of her barrier copsed. Her fur almost caught on fire before she fixed her shield, and she squealed for joy when she divided theva and threw a sliver of it at Stunfisk. The superheated speck of rocknded on the ground type and his entire body spontaneouslybusted, burning him to a crisp. The sheer amount of pain caused Stunfisk to wake up and half-hazardly explode outward in a burst of electricity. The unfocused attack still strained Princess'' barrier¡ª proof that Stunfisk was beyond her level. Stunfisk fell from the sky like a burning meteorite and toward theva as the crowd gasped in fear, but Princess quickly grabbed him with a fast Psychic to save him from any idents, not missing the opportunity to brutalize his mind with everything she had. Volkner quickly recalled him before he could get further in harm''s way. The entire field wasn''t covered, and Volkner''s side was still rather clear, but ack of luck had forced him to switch anyway because Stunfisk would havended smack dab in the middle of the fiery rock. Theva gave a sinister red hue to the entire field, and I could barely see anything above it. I''d created hell. A lethal zone that made it impossible to send out anything but the strongest, toughest Pokemon if he ever wanted to cross it. All wecked were the volcanoes. If we had them, we would have created a half-baked version of what Craig''s Typhlosion had done against Jasmine. And it was so fucking beautiful. But we were nowhere near victory yet. I''d essentially created a situation where fighting on the ground was impossible, so I''d expected Lanturn toe out now that Sunshine was gone. Instead, Volkner released a huge bird only slightly smaller than Pauline''s Braviary who screeched as she took to the skies, aided by the updraft from the hot air and her own wind. Kilowattrel was a Paldean Pokemon I''d never seen before studying Volkner. Paldeans tended to keep a tight leash on their wildlife like Alns, so Paldean Pokemon outside of their region were rare. And yet here we were. While I was master of the ground in this battle, Volkner was master of the skies. "E.T. eleven," Volkner said. The flying type''s mere presence created a gust of wind so strong that it pushed Princess slightly back, and I knew for a fact that it would have been far worse without the barrier there. It built and built until Kilowattrel had created a mini electrified storm around her. Approaching her was a surefire way to lose. And it was spreading. I knew that eventually the electric Hurricane would cover the entire field. We had the tools to win, however. Princess did have a piece of smolderingva at her side. Hurricane to speed herself up and hit opponents, Wild Charge as the finishing blow, I internally whispered. "Get low and get yourself some spears," I ordered. "Counter with Air Cutter." "Hurricane," Volkner said. The air sharpened and flew toward Kilowattrel at high speeds, but one beat of her humongous wings, and the Hurricane howled. The Air Cutter dissolved into thin air as Princess flew back, circling around the arena to grab some earth from the non-molten part of the field. It instantly formed into spears that she added to her arsenal, and she used the opportunity to replenish herva as well. The Hurricane was slow to start, but it soon reached its apex. Princess could barely keep to the air. The wind battered her from every direction, but her barrier thankfully held. Without it, the entire n would fall into disarray. "Wild Charge," Volkner added. Kilowattrel was huge, but just like all of Volkner''s Pokemon, she was also incredibly quick. The wind carried her, and she blurred toward Princess, who quickly chucked a few spears forward and split off a small chunk ofva, raising it in front of her for protection. The spears broke apart from the electricity and strong winds surrounding the flying type before they could reach their mark, snapping like branches under my feet. Kilowattrel opted to simply bear through the pain from theva to ram into Togetic. The fairy type reflexively exploded with a Dazzling Gleam that further burned and dizzied Kilowattrel, but she was far toorge to miss. I heard a loud crack as the barrier shattered into a thousand pieces and Princess bore the full brunt of the Wild Charge. Kilowattrel''s wings caught on fire from theva, but she kept Princess in her beak and dragged her low so she could burn. They both turned into one fireball as the wind from Hurricane kept screaming and battering Togetic. "Dazzling Gleam!" I yelled. An explosion of light. Then another. And another. Kilowattrel''s mouth was a smoking mess, but she only let go after the fifth Dazzling Gleam and flew away as she let out a pained caw. As soon as her barrier reformed, Togetic held out a hand and momentarily seized her with Psychic, but electricity buzzed all around her and somehow broke the hold she had on the flying type. She was slower now that a lot of her feathers had been burned, but it was only momentary. Kilowattrel just screamed, powering up the winds that carried her and she was suddenly just as speedy as she had been at the start of the battle. "If she Roosts, you stab or burn her," I ordered. "Wish." "Charge Beam," Volkner said. Aided by the wind, Kilowattrel quickly turned her entire body and a ball of electricity formed in her beak before it shot out like aser. Princess blocked the attack withva that bubbled and burst at the impact, and she sent a ball of light up into the sky and through the ceiling. Now, they would rush in and hope to defeat us or Stockpile. Either they yed the long game and let Princess regenerate to avoid Sunshine getting the Wish, or they would just opt to take her down now. A strategy quickly built itself in my mind for the two paths. "Stockpile and Electro Ball," Volkner ordered. Good. "Lava drills!" Who said we could only keepva close to us? No one, and yet I''d acted like that was the case the entire time. The molten rock formed into glowing red spears and flew toward Kilowattrel, who was inhaling as much air into her gullet as she could. We didn''t send too many. Only three. And the fact that they were drills was just to make them more aerodynamic. The Hurricane strengthened and electricity spread through the wind, but Princess'' hold on the drills was too secure to be disturbed. Kilowattrel''s huge size came back to bite her as more of her feathers caught on fire. Theva dug into her skin and burned off her plumage, revealing her pink flesh. Of course, that burned too. Unfortunately, we hadn''t gotten her wings. Destroying them would have guaranteed victory, and it was nothing Nurse Joy couldn''t heal up. The electric type opened her beak again and shot out a ball of sma toward Togetic. It was far too quick to redirect¡ª Princess tried to protect herself with her remainingva again, but the sma ball broke through that and her barrier, mming into her burned chest. I clicked my tongue when I saw that Kilowattrel used Stockpile again, and then she swallowed the air, healing a few of her wounds. We needed to go big for this. "Get low," I said. I leaned against my knees and excitedly bit my tongue. When Princess was close enough, I uttered my next order. "Moonst." Princess'' wings fluttered, her eyes shone, and a ball of light slowly appeared in front of her. Volkner ordered Kilowattrel to use another Electro Ball, but the Moonst''s gravity made it swerve out of the way. The ball of light picked up in size andva started orbiting it like sets of rings around a. Kilowattrel tried another Electro Ball, an Air sh and another Charge Beam, but the pull the Moonst had was too powerful and the attacks kept moving around the before crashing into the ground. I held my breath. Volkner smirked. "Uproar," he said. The electric type opened her mouth as wide as she could and screeched. Electricity sparked around her beak and was carried by her voice. For a second, the Moonst faltered, but Princess let out a fierce cry as she sent it forth. It picked up more and moreva. Dust and wind swirled around it, burning up as the Moonst curved upward. Kilowattrel kept screaming until even people in the bleachers covered their ears, but I was too captivated by what was happening to care. Princess followed her Moonst as best she could, hiding behind it to avoid any attacks. She was the only thing on this field not affected by its gravitational pull. The Uproar was still getting to her¡ª Thankfully, the Wish bore down through the ceiling and healed her, but she was still struggling. Not wanting to break her focus, I didn''t order her to use another Wish quite yet. "Keep your distance," Volkner continued. Kilowattrel pped her wings, but a sudden Extrasensory from Princess stopped her from moving until the Moonst was close enough to start pulling her in. Princess had to drop her shield to focus on both Extrasensory and the Moonst and she started to burn from her proximity to theva. The constant Hurricane struck her from every direction. The electricity coating the air jumped at her fur. Yet she held on. She believed. Kilowattrel shrieked as she pped her wings. Bursts of air shot out from under them as she tried to escape, each one stronger than thest. The moon pulled her in. Theva burned her to a crisp. I had to call out to Princess for her to stop before she got a Pokemon killed. The Moonst disappeared into thin air, the molten rock dropped to the ground and Princess kept the unconscious flying type afloat. The crowd gasped again, but no Pokemon would die today. Volkner quickly recalled her to stop her suffering and wiped the groove between his lips and nose. "You''re quite a lethal fighter, aren''t you?" He said. "I can see why Jasmine likes you." "Sorry, I guess? I''m trying to hold back," I answered back with a slight hesitation. For a second, I almost thought he would stop the battle and say thatva wasn''t allowed. "Just an acknowledgment," he shrugged. "I''ve never seen Moonst used that way. You''ve done a good job." Thank you, Be, I internally squealed. A Gym Leader had praised me! And yet what felt like the climax of the fight was only the beginning. Volkner grabbed his next Pokeball and sent out Lanturn. The pond on Volkner''s side of the field still remained (albeit much of it had evaporated), and the water slid out of it, crawling toward the electric type as he continuously spat out water from his mouth. After five seconds, he was levitating in the air in a bubble of water. "Wish," I instantly said. Princess was unfortunately barely able to keep fighting. That Moonst had taken everything out of her, especially when she''d gotten hit so much. The best strategy here was to let her fall and deal as much damage as possible. The light was slower to go up in the sky now, but Volkner wasn''t idle. "Rain Dance, Aqua Ring and E.T. four," Volkner ordered. Dark, storming clouds materialized above the arena and it began to pour. Hot steam rose up high into the sky and coated every inch of the arena as theva slowly began to cool. Multiple blue rings shimmered and spun around Lanturn. "Now Thunder." "Bubble ¡ª" Too slow. Before the vapor next to Lanturn couldpress and explode, a beam of electricity fell down from the clouds. The energy broke against Princess'' shield for an instant before it shattered itpletely, and it went through her and reached theva down below, sending a few chunks of it flying. The attack was so bright I had to cover my eyes, but I quickly brought an arm forward and recalled Princess before she could fall further. Volkner''s n with Lanturn was obviously to flood the field and take back control of the ground. When theva cooledpletely, he''d be able to create an electrified sea that even Jellicent wouldn''t be able to navigate, let alone Sunshine and Sweetheart. In effect, if he managed to flood the field, he''dpletely screw me over. But there was another reason I hadn''t switched beyond Princess already being too tired for even Wish''s abilities. I needed to keep it for Buddy. I grabbed Sunshine''s Pokeball and threw him out in the middle of his already-coolingva. His presence reinvigorated the heat, and the arena started to shine red once more. Rain pattered down on his scales, and it instantly turned into vapor. In effect, if he was there to sustain his pool ofva, the field would never be flooded. Lanturn scowled behind his bubble of water and frustration emanated out of his skin. Turtonator activated his Sunny Day again, and an eerie light rose as high as Lanturn. The clouds would help cover much of the light, but any extra help was wee. The ground was mine and the sky was Volkner''s. "Hydro Pump," Volkner said. "Evaporate it." Lanturn''s water shook, rippling in every direction, and an enormous Hydro Pump barrelled toward Sunshine. It foamed at its edges and sounded like a waterfall. Sunshine flexed as mes andva surrounded him, and the Hydro Pump lost almost all of its mass when it hit him in the chest. He snorted, immediately retaliating with a Dragon Pulse that Lanturn barely managed to dodge through hydrokinesis. Having figured out that no water type moves would work, Volkner changed strategies. Another Thunder rocked the arena, mming down right in Sunshine''s face. Electrified water desperately gasped for life at the non-scorching corners of the arena, but other than that, this ce was ours. I bit my lip when Lanturn began to speed up with Agility. He was now just as fast as Stunfisk had been, and he stayed high up in the sky, hitting us from far away. At the fourth Thunder, Princess'' Wish entered Sunshine''s body. The attacks were weak against him, but it was still Thunder. In the time it had taken to strike Sunshine, my thoughts hadn''t been idle. Ideas within ideas. ns within ns. I licked my lips as they stretched into a grin. My little ray of Sunshine was far too much of a threat to approach. His mere presence could kill, and yet, I hadn''t found a way to bring the fight to our opponents. Not yet, anyway. "Coat your shell inva," I said. Sunshine did not hesitate, even if he didn''t understand quite yet. It was proof of how far we''de together. Another Thunder tickled him, as he sloshedva all over his shell. The molten rock clung to every ridge, every spike, every single inch. "Shell Trap and Scale Shot." Turtonator''s face twisted into a grin that mirrored mine. He spun, his back facing Lanturn¡ª "Water Wall and Confusion," Volkner said. More water. Lanturn''s bubble grew twicefold before splitting off and forming into a wall in front of him. Turtonator pped his glowing Shell with an Iron Tail and pieces ofva and scorching scales flew everywhere like bullets. The force of the explosion propelled them high enough. They flew right through the wall of water, only slowing slightly and Lanturn''s face twisted when he realized Confusion wasn''t enough to stop us either. Not only did his water bubble begin to evaporate, but the sharpened hot scales sliced at his skin. Blood seeped into Lanturn''s water, but the Aqua Ring would heal him and the water would just be reced if we didn''t strike again. "Again," I said. "Supersonic." Lanturn''s light shone brighter than any of the ceiling lights, and he screamed. I winced at the high-pitched noise. Sunshine had it even worse. He could barely stand up straight, let alone spread molten rock on his shell. "Charge and Thunder. You have time," Volkner said. Electricity crackled around Lanturn, spinning and coiling around his body until his light shone again. More darkened clouds gathered above Sunshine, who was vigorously shaking his head. My ears were still ringing, so I was certain he sure as hell couldn''t hear anything. Lanturn stayed utterly still with his eyes closed as he prepared his attack. I couldn''t let this happen. I had studied Lanturn enough to know that this would hurt, dragon or not. I crouched and motioned to Sunshine until he caught sight of me. He''d still been facing my side, and it didn''t take long for him to notice I was gesturing. Rx, I mouthed. You''ve got this. He blinked at me and nodded. Lanturn screamed, and the blue Thunder broke against his¡ª My ears popped. Another explosion. Light so bright I could see it through my eyelids. I shot up from my crouching position and blinked to chase away the afterimages from the light. Lanturn was burning. His water had evaporated so much that he was only covered by a thinyer of liquid. The Aqua Ring was weakened, and his wounds weren''t healing right. Burns and deep gashes covered his skin and had pierced through his thickyer of fat. The top of Turtonator''s shell had split from thebined force of the explosion and the massive Thunder. I frowned as what had just happened clicked into ce. Sunshine had activated his Shell Trap right as the Thunder stuck, triggering another explosion that sentva and scales flying everywhere. Since Lanturn was still during his Charged Thunder, he suffered a lot more than the first attack. Arceus, Sunshine''s aim was good. "Dragon Pulse before he regenerates his water!" I screamed. I had to repeat the order again so Sunshine could hear, and he spat out a Dragon Pulse that engulfed Lanturn''s entire body. The mes and draconic energy drowned out the water type''s screams, but another Supersonic from Volkner rang out before Lanturn could faint. He recalled the electric type before he fell into theva and I sighed in relief. Volkner couldn''t flood the field any longer. My biggest losing condition was out of the window. The Gym Leader sent out Stunfisk again. His proximity to theva charred his sleek, already burned skin, but the ground type levitated in the air before too much damage could be dealt. Stunfisk was a staller. Low, but consistent damage, and he could heal as many times as he wanted. Unlike most healing moves, Rest didn''t take any energy. That meant that our only opening was when he was asleep and couldn''t use the move again. That meant the first thing we had to do was get Stunfisk to use Rest again so he could fall asleep. Sunshine turned toward me as Volkner called out for Electric Terrain, and I nodded. I would let him do whatever he wanted until he could actually hear again. We couldn''t use Shell Trap too many times now that his shell had been split by Thunder, but it was the best way we had of hitting a flying Pokemon consistently. Once the electrified Sandstorm had begun, Volkner sprung to action. "Mud Bomb." Stunfisk zipped through the arena until he was right above Sunshine, and he gathered mud in front of his mouth. The steaming ball of mud grew bigger and bigger until¡ª An explosion rang out, andva and scales tore through the Mud Bomb. It exploded on Stunfisk''s face, scorching him inbination with the molten rocks. Turtonator spun around right away, snarling as pain spread through his back, and a methrower gathered in his mouth. Stunfisk abandoned dropping another Mud Bomb, flying back and pestering Sunshine with Mud Shots instead and he easily dodged the blue mes. "Bulldoze," Volkner continued. I frowned. Why now and not before? Stunfisk floated back toward Volkner and flew toward the floor as fast as he could. My eye twitched when I caught on to his speed. It hadn''t been easy to spot, but the closer he was to the ground¡ª I nearly gasped in disbelief. He was so fast that the air around him was warping, just like Cecilia''s Talonme. Not quite the speed of sound quite yet, but he was getting there. He mmed into the non-molten part of the ground and the entire arena shook with such violence the attack looked more like an Earthquake than a Bulldoze. The ground under Sunshine''s feet split open, forming a hole that sunk him and theva. The arena was changing. It wasn''t a crater. More like a dent that had appeared in the middle of the arena and where theva slowly pooled. Turtonator wasn''t idle, however. A sh Cannon instantly flew out of his snout and cut across Stunfisk. Even that attack was hot enough to burn him. The dragon might have been in a hole, but he was still in his element. Yet it was easy to see why Volkner had done this now. "Mud Shot," the Gym Leader ordered. "If you can hear me, Rapid Spin toward Stunfisk!" I yelled. They were sure that Sunshine had no mobility now, and they could keep him trapped in the dent as long as they wanted. The fire type retreated into his shell and spun onto theva, but the hole was too steep to climb out of. A giant ball of mud flew into the pit and exploded against Sunshine''s scales. Then another. And another. The dragon roared in frustration. There was no good angle to retaliate. Stunfisk braved the heat and sat t on the ground lobbing his Mud Bombs into the hole. I clenched a fist and sighed. Even though his shell was split and we hadn''t seeded before¡­ we had to try. "Propel yourself," I ordered. Turtonator instantly reacted, retracting into his shell and turning himself upside down. Another Mud Bomb blew up against his stron, but that was fine. Sunshine began to spin, his shell glowing bright red. I braced myself, and every muscle in my body tensed. The ground shook from his own Bulldoze, and his shell burst open in a brilliant explosion. I held my breath, and he flew. Not very high. It wasn''t graceful, nor fast, but he flew out of the hole,nding up the ridge Stunfisk had formed. Turtonator stumbled out of his shell, and his eyes locked with the ground type. He was angry at the humiliation he''d been subject to. He glowered, ignoring the electricity from the Sandstorm that jumped at him for the thousandth time, and the ground under his feet started to turn molten. Yet he did not let anger or pride get the best of him. "sh Cannon!" I yelled. Speed was the name of the game. The blinding light cut across the field and hit Stunfisk before he could fly off. The electric type''s skin was quite literally cooking from being this near to Sunshine and our attacks. "il," Volkner ordered. I flinched at the sudden burst of speed. I had thought they would be retreating and using Rest¡ª Stunfisk mmed into Sunshine''s chest at full speed with electricity coursing through his body. He''d been so low to the ground that it had practically been instant, and the attack actually sent Sunshine back a few feet. The fire type shook off the pain, clumsily grabbed onto Stunfisk, and burned. The ground type screamed, but he kept iling in Sunshine''s hand. Every time he did, the dragon would get knocked back longer and longer distances. Combined with powerful Discharges and the Sandstorm, we were reaching our limit. mesbusted around Turtonator as he let loose a methrower, and the final il sent the dragon flying until hey knocked out on his back. Stunfisk was a burned husk that looked barely alive. Volkner didn''t even look worried. In fact, he looked like he was having fun. A draw was¡­ not ideal. I hoped to keep Sunshine going for Volkner''sst Pokemon, but I had never expected Stunfisk to actually be that threatening. I knew that he was a higher badge level, but Volkner had acted like he''d been a staller in the first part of the fight. He wasn''t the kind of trainer to use mind games like I did, so the only exnation I had was that he''d thrown caution out the window and made a sacrifice y to take Sunshine out of the fight because he knew Stunfisk would be the only one able to do so. Rest to stall, il to destroy any opponent when he was done with them, I thought. What a fun strategy! In all my gushing over tactics, I''d missed the fast that Sunshine had technically fainted first, and the referee reminded me to send out a Pokemon first. I apologized and released Sweetheart onto the field. Her cocoon was fresh from a new molt and glimmered. She was over six feet tall now and an inch taller than Denzel, even. Her cocoon would protect her from the heat so long as she didn''t actually plunge into thevake. We''d done a lot of limit testing with this over thest few weeks, so we knew how far we could go. She roared within her shell, announcing herself to the world just like Sunshine had. Volkner sent out hisst Pokemon. A rtively small spider that Sweetheart could easily crush with her weight if she rammed into her just once. The Galvant screeched as electricity surged through her thick fur and powerful legs. Sweetheart responded with a half-baked screech, mockingly imitating the electric type. "Fly and ram into her! Earthbreaker!" I yelled. I heard a hiss and a pop as Pupitar expunged air from all of her vents. With a burst of speed, she flew forward with an Iron Head already prepared. Galvant didn''t look rmed. When Sweetheart crossed theva-filled hole, she scuttled away at incredible speeds. Sweetheart made a sharp turn to the right to follow her. Galvant was fast, but Pupitar was faster. "Let''s use our new strategy," Volkner spoke up. The electric type reached the corner of the arena and climbed up on it. Kadabra and the referee''s eyes bulged out of their sockets as Galvant''s spiked feet shone neon green and she ran up the side of the barrier. Sweetheart rammed into it at full force, and the entire facade nearly copsed from the sheer force and the shock wave. They must have had a weaker Kadabra set up for this battle. An Earthbreaker broke apart the entire area and fissures appeared in the ground, but Galvant was unharmed. "E.T. Fifteen," he added. Since this was a new strategy, I had no idea what to expect. I ordered Sweetheart to fly up and follow Galvant, and a horde of rocks from Rock Slide followed in her wake. A burst of electricity. Then, Galvant jumped across the side of the arena, leaving behind thin strands of electrified web. Sweetheart broke through some of them, but that wasn''t a problem for Galvant. An Electro Ball shot out from under her, giving her enough momentum to reach the other side of the barrier. The two sides were linked together with Electroweb now, and they weren''t done. Galvant built and built until the entire sky was covered in at least tenyers of her electrified webs. All of our attempts to stop her were futile. Rock Slides didn''t go high enough. Smack Downs were too imprecise. Breaking through her web with Iron Head would just have her rece it in seconds and would just waste Sweetheart''s air. I swallowed and felt a shiver of excitement run up my spine. The sky was theirs. We needed to contest it somehow. "Now Bug Buzz." Galvant screamed. Every strand of her hair stood on end as she screeched as loud as she could. A green hue traveled down onto the floor as fast as the speed of sound and Sweetheart rattled in her shell from the sound. It wasn''t debilitatingly loud, but unlike moves like Screech or Uproar, the bug type energy infused in the attack did the heavy lifting here. We couldn''t stand back and watch this happen, or she would just lose without doing anything. Buddy would struggle against an opponent like this, and I still needed to find an opening to get him in the battle to cool thevake and flood the field. "You''ve got to get up there," I said. "Fly into her web!" Sweetheart was a ground type. It fell onto us to be aggressive and chase, and onto Galvant to run. We needed to weaken her. Pupitar shivered in her shell, and then flew up into Galvant''s web. She snapped the firstyer, broke through the next five and emerged above the entire structure. Galvant stopped her Bug Buzz and spat out a stream of poison at Sweetheart. The toxic liquid ate into her shell and dug deep. Sweetheart opened her mouth, and a rock shot out of her body so quickly that a small shock wave shook Galvant''s web. The electric type screeched in agony as the rock impacted her abdomen and tore through more of her web. "Sandstorm!" I continued. She hovered in the sky, her body utterly still, and she started to eject masses of sand out of her vents. Galvant scuttled forward and jumped at Pupitar before the wind could grow too strong. "Giga Drain," Volkner ordered. There it is! "Dragon Pulse!" Turquoise energy concentrated in front of Sweetheart''s mouth. She screamed out the attack, pushing Galvant back onto her web and through it. The bug type desperately grabbed onto a strand and swung before she could reach the ground,nding on the side of the arena¡ª "Smack Down!" I barked. Another rock shot out of Sweetie''s mouth, but I internally swore when Galvant dodged most of the attack. Only a few shards of rocks hit her, and that wasn''t much. The electric type somehow sped up as she clung to the bottom of her web and rebuilt it as fast as destroying part of it had been. "String Shot. Find an opening for Giga Drain." Thick strands of string flew out of Galvant''s mouth. She continuously moved as she did so, avoiding any further attacks. A Dragon Pulse missed by a mile, and a Smack Down did so by a sliver. Sweetheart flew away in an attempt to dodge. Herrger size made her more bulky and gave her a bigger supply of gas, but she was far easier to hit with Galvant''s Compound Eyes. Dragon Pulse kept us in the game for a while, but Galvant could sling out string like no tomorrow and Pupitar would eventually have to catch her breath. The rock type stopped her attack and allowed the strings to wrap around her and plug her vents. What had happened against Zachary''s Vespiquen was happening again. I inhaled sharply as the jet sputtered and then died. The ground type fell toward Galvant''s web. The electric type blurred as she traveled to the bottomyer of her web, grabbing strands of electrified string along the way. She jumped, and for a second I thought she would join Sweetheart on the ground, but that made no sense! Theva¡ª Galvant met Pupitar mid-air and wrapped her into her web before they could fall too far. Her fur began to smoke from the sheer heat, but her web was stronger. They''d found a way to reinforce it with electricity over the years of experience Galvant had. She dragged Sweetheart back up into her web, somehow lifting her heavy frame. She made sure to be above her and away from her mouth to avoid any potential attacks. The strings began to grow neon green and I immediately recognized Giga Drain. I recalled Sweetheart before more damage could be done and wiped the sweat off my brow. My chest rose with deep breaths as I released Buddy onto the field. Jellicent instead of Tangrowth here had been a three-pronged strategy. The n had been to weaken whoever Volkner''sst Pokemon was for Sweetheart to be able to finish them off, but I also had to use him to cool the molten rock before the fight between Honey and Electivire started. Not only that, but Angel would bepletely out of his element even if I discounted theva burning his vines if he got too close. This was an air war, and unlike Sunshine, he had no good way to strike enemies far above him other than the slow-to-charge Sr Beam. "Regenerate through any damage, shield yourself in any way you''ve got and cool theva," I whispered to the small piece of Buddy that clung to the barrier next to me. I made sure to pull the microphone down with my hand so Volkner couldn''t hear our strategy. Although he didn''t seem concerned at all. "Thunderbolt," he said. Electricity hummed, and Galvant shot out a beam of electricity at Jellicent far too quick to dodge even with Water Sport. The ghost type''s watery skin bubbled and smoked from the attack, but he didn''t let that stop him from summoning his usual two Night Shades. "Good thinking," I muttered. "Distract. Add Mist to the mix and hide. It worked fine with Sunshine''s Smokescreen earlier." Buddy spat out a long stream of cold mist while the two shades flew at Galvant. She hurled a spear-like Thunderbolt at the closest one, but she screeched in annoyance when it didn''t explode from the attack. Clouds appeared above theva and rain poured onto it in enormous quantities. The first shade got caught in the electrified web and Galvant zapped him until he blew up and destroyed much of the structure. The second kept its distance and hurled an Acid toward the web. The electric coating wasn''t enough to keep it from dissolving this time. Volkner ordered an Electro Ball, and the second shade also blew up some of the web. At this point, it was impossible to see anything in the arena. The mistbined with the water vapor had masked the entire area below Galvant''s web. "Where are you?" I whispered under my breath. The water type''s fragment answered right above theva, and that he was currently soaking it with Hydro Pump and Brine. "Add some Night Shades. Keep harassing or they''ll get ideas," I quietly said. The nightmarish, agonized screams of suffering shades filled my ears and swelled until everyone in the stands got ufortable. The misshapen ghosts flew into Galvant''s web, exploding over and over while the electric type continuously rebuilt it. "They aren''t striking back," I said. "nning something?" The piece of his body metaphorically shrugged and said I was better at figuring these things out than he was. A half-baked Thunderbolt struck inside of the mist at that moment, but I knew that couldn''t be it. Where was Discharge? Rising Voltage? Infestation? "How''s theva?" Almost finished. "Good. I''m going to have you go in and destroy as much of the web as possible with Water Spout as soon as you''re done¡ª" I frowned. My throat tightened when I noticed that Galvant was no longer anywhere on her web. "She''sing for you¡ª" A loud, pained scream reverberated through the arena and a burst of electricity kicked much of the mist away. Galvant had jumped onto Buddy''s head and was electrocuting him¡ª I squinted and noticed the little things that crawled inside his head. Infestation. Somewhat like Vespiquen''s grubs, but less orderly. Her ws shone green with Giga Drain, and she started to suck his energy. I ground my teeth as Volkner''s strategy revealed itself. They''d waited for theva to cool to strike so they wouldn''t have to risk burning. "Water Spout!" Jellicent''s head and then exploded outward. The pressure was so strong that Galvant was thrown off his head and started to bleed. Pale, yellow fluid that acted as her blood. Buddy''s eyes dimmed as the Infestation dug deep inside of him and ate through any Recover he tried to use. He spat out a Hydro Pump in frustration, but it wasn''t even close to Galvant. "Rising Voltage," Volkner said. The ground cracked, and electricity broke through the fissures and converged toward Buddy. "Focus," I muttered, cing my hand on the barrier. "I''m right here, baby. Listen to my voice. You''re on a timer. Stay high up to avoid the Rising Voltage, right below the Electroweb." My voice was enough to calm him down. Buddy wasn''t used to not being able to regenerate. It was like fighting with his arms behind his back. The water type followed my order, and Galvant followed by climbing onto the wall again. "Bomb her." Shades shrieked, and they exploded with ghostly energy as they rammed into the spider. The key was not to let her regenerate through Giga Drain. A Thunderbolt struck Buddy as she climbed back onto the Electroweb. Now that we''d given up the ground, both it and the sky were Volkner''s. We needed to wrestle back control of one element. "Keep your distance. Blow up the web," I whispered. Another Water Spout, and the web copsed from its center and toward the edges. Galvant screeched in annoyance and jumped back onto the wall when she tried to rebuild it again, but we struck her with Hydro Pump. "Thunderbolt," Volkner ordered. Yep. It was only a matter of time until Buddy fell. The electric attacks were too quick, and Recover wasn''t working due to Infestation. I supposed they''d wanted to rebuild the web before Sweetheart came back onto the field. Thankfully, we hadn''t let her. The fourth Thunderbolt finished Buddy off, and he fell toward the electrified floor. I recalled him and quietly thanked the water type for his help. Without him, Honey would have been screwed. I would have either had to let Lanturn cool theva ore up with an entirely new strategy for the entire battle. I released Sweetheart back onto the field, her vents now cleared from any string. The red tint of Volkner''s arena had been reced by the ckened rocks of cooledva and the ankle-deep puddle of water that covered the entire field from the condensed vapor and Buddy''s water type attacks. Perfect. The Rising Voltage ended now that I had a ground type out and it was just a waste of energy. No more webs, no more Rising Voltage. We had equalized the ying field. I took a deep breath and swept my arm. If we let them build their Electroweb again, it was over. "Fly to her and Crunch. Youtch onto her and never let go," I said. A risk? Yes. But it was necessary. Pupitar eximed as she propelled herself into the sky. "Wait for an angle and String Shot," Volkner countered. "Otherwise, Acid." A ground type would lock them out of most of their moves, I repeated in my head. With a juvenile roar, Pupitar turned left to avoid the glob of noxious poison and her mouth grew dark. Galvant shot strings in her mouth in an attempt to stop her from using Crunch, but a quick Dragon Pulse cleared it away. She decided to run. No time to weave her web this time. She ran along the wall and started to emit a Bug Buzz. Sweetie winced, but she sped up as much as she could and raked against the psychic barrier. The wisps of dark energy nearly caused that part of it to copse, but Kadabra strained to keep it going. Pin Missiles flew out of Galvant''s back, but they only grazed the rock type. Galvant was tiring now. Why else was she incapable of rebuilding her web when she''d been able to at the start of the fight? Sweetheart''s mouth opened wide and she Crunched the bug type''s leg until a snap reverberated through the arena. "Giga Drain! Acid! Bug Buzz!" Volkner yelled with a grin. "Earthbreaker! Drag her down!" I squealed in glee. Sweetheart angled herself down and pushed as her entire body shone green due to Giga Drain. Acid tore through her shell, webs wrapped around her, and an incessant buzzing filled her earholes. Both Pokemon crashed into the ground and a wave of dust and rocks flew through the arena. I licked my lips and everything went quiet. The dust settled. Galvant''s body was battered and broken. She was upside down with her legs folded onto themselves, and yellow blood seeped all over the driedva. Sweetheart was well enough to crawl and even celebrate with a roar. I pumped a fist and jumped. Fuck yes. "Good job, Sweetheart," I exhaled. "You were amazing." Arceus, I was tired. I blinked to chase away the exhaustion and I recalled Sweetheart after a few seconds. The crowd cheered, but it was only the first part of the battle. "Congrattions, Challenger," Volkner said. "But as you know, there is a second part of your trial. My Electivire will engage your Electabuzz in a mock battle. Your goal is to hit us four times with any attack within a time limit of ten minutes, and even electric type moves will count. We will not use any electricity, but Electivire can strike back however he wishes so long as he is using non-electric type moves." Volkner recalled his Galvant and sent out his Electivire without a second thought, and excited murmurs ran through the spectators. I took a deep breath and they sank into the background as Electivire waved to his ''admirers'' with a wide grin and bowed multiple times. "Focus," Volkner said. "They''ll use the water to strike you." Electivire shrugged with a motor-likeugh, and I bit the inside of my lip. It was an obvious strategy, but I''d hoped they wouldn''t have figured it out and thought that me flooding the field had been a random urrence through cooling theva. I released Honey onto the field, and his arms whirred in anticipation. Electricity hummed, traveled up and down his body and he shed his teeth at Electivire, who chuckled at him. "Sally," Volkner said,zily waving an arm. The referee who had looked like she''d been on the verge of passing out multiple times during the battle cleared her throat and counted down. Ten minutes. Four hits. Honey exploded forward with a brilliant surge of electricity, and Electivire squared himself as his tailsshed out against the ground. Honey put one hand forward and a Thunderbolt shot out of his palm, traveling in the water in an instant. Electivire''s eyes shone, and he Teleported to the opposite side of the arena in two jumps. Run through the Teleports, then get his barrier, I thought. "Pick up some stones, Hon," I said. A tiny Discharge surged out of his skin and destroyed chunks of the oldva we''d used. Electricity linked the stones together as they spun around Honey in harmony. With a flick of his finger, five of the stones shot out, going so quickly they were a blur. Electivire mmed a glowing arm against the ground and raised the earth in front of him in a thin wall. That was new. The stones impacted the wall and createdrge indentations, but they didn''t break through. Honey blurred forward with eleration worthy of a true speedster, and within four seconds, he''d punched the wall and destroyed it to smithereens, adding the chunks to his collection. Electivire was already gone, having hastily erected a barrier just in case we struck with a Discharge. "Get a big one," I said. "Keep it in reserve." Electabuzz grunted, grabbing a boulder asrge as his entire torso with a flick of his finger. Another Thunderbolt shot out toward Electivire just to keep him on his toes, and the electric type blocked it with a screen. The water made the electricity travel so quickly that Teleporting was almost impossible when we were too close. Electivire was no psychic. There were limits to his abilities. "Swift." Electivire grinned as the stars materialized around Honey and flew toward him. Now he would create a barrier. I contained a smile when Electivire raised his arms¡ª "Thunder!" Electric energy pulsed, and Honey grunted as he charged his power. He let loose the massive ray of electricity, and it easily outran the slow Swift. Electivire couldn''t Teleport. We were too close. The electricity traveled through the water in an instant and hit Electivire''s barrier. His amateur shield strained against the Thunder, but the Swift? Well, the Swift was the straw that broke the Camerupt''s back. The stars sliced through the barrier and hit Electivire in the shoulder. Had he put down the barrier to Teleport, the Thunder would have gotten him instead. Buddy''s water was saving our asses. Without it, Electivire would have just been able to run out of the way. One hit. "Hit ''em with the rocks and get close," I said. A few shards of rock slung forth, but Electivire sidestepped them without too much trouble. That was just a distraction, however. The massive boulder flew forward, and Electabuzz followed closely behind it. For a while Electivire Teleported away as much he could, running out the clock. This time, he was taking us seriously. No more did he stick close to tap Honey on the shoulder or even deign to attack to lower the risk of getting hit. Honey tried to catch him off-guard with the same Swift and Thunder trick, but he was wise to it now. He always kept far enough away to give himself time to Teleport. Four mind-numbing minutes of this game of tag passed by until Electivire was finally beginning to tire. Six since the start of the battle. "Now! Cross Chop!" I yelled. Electabuzz''s arms shone white as he shed down his boulder into a hundred pieces. With one smooth motion, he levitated them in front of him and swarmed Electivire, who was forced to stop and create another barrier. Honey did not stop, however. He blinked with Radiant Leap and was in front of his senior in an instant. I yelled out for a Screech, and an agonizing sound rang out Honey''s mouth. His fist sparkled, and he punched through the barrier¡ª Electivire''s face was twisted in pain, but weaved out of the way, grabbing Honey''s arm. Even Thundershock and Discharge would be too slow. He was going to throw him away. "Static Shield!" I snapped. Electricity came alive within Electabuzz. And a small spark singed Electivire''s fur. Electivire didn''t waste a second, throwing Honey as far as he could. The electric type mmed against the barrier and coughed, holding his ribs while he quickly shot back up to his feet. Two hits. But we''d revealed all of our cards. Railgun''s improvements, Static Shield, our Swift-Thunder one-two punch. Screech. It was all out there. Another two minutes. Another dance. Thunderbolts, Thunders, Discharges, Swifts, Screeches. Electivire kept his distance, jumping instead of running to keep up with Honey''s speed. He''d moved from barriers and now was shielding himself with whatever the hell that Earth Wall move was, and even through Honey kept breaking them apart, he was too fast. I''d thought Radiant Leap would be enough to outrun him, and it was. But not when he could jump so high and so far¡ª I gasped. Audibly. Volkner must have caught on, because he told Electivire to focus again and not to let his mind wander. I bit my lip and a strategy clicked into ce. The referee gestured. One minute left. "Thunder," I said. Honey rolled his shoulders. He was tired, but he would push through. My baby would push through. Electivire raised that same wall of earth around ten feet away from him. It held the Thunder for two seconds before breaking apart. Two seconds was enough for him to jump out of the way¡ª "Radiant Leap! Jump at him!" Honey''s eye twitched, but he trusted me. Electivire could jump, but redirecting himself when he wasn''t using any electric type attacks? Impossible. His momentum had made him blur, but Honey was faster. He pushed his leg down, his leg bulged and he strained to jump as high as he could. For a moment, he looked like lightning. Electivire''s grin widened as light consumed his fists. He was going to Hammer Arm us out of the air¡ª "Scree¡ª" Honey was already on it. I covered my ears, and thunder and soundbined into a cacophony of noise. Electivire ground his teeth and his ears began to bleed. Honey used the opening to punch him in the gut with a half-formed Fire Punch, but Electivire''s fist was stilling. Honey cried out as the electric type mmed his Hammer Arm into his back. I heard bones break¡ª his spine¡ª Fucking CONCENTRATE! "Discharge!" If he could focus on my voice¡ª A brilliant explosion consumed them as Honey crashed to the floor and Electivire gracefullynded, his fur sizzling. My head turned toward the referee, who stared at her watch. "Thirteen seconds left. Grace Pastel wins," she said. Four hits. Cheers filled my ears. So, so loud. I barely managed to recall Honey before Iid my back on my podium and sighed in relief. He wouldn''t be able to move until he stayed in a Center for a week, at the very least. The bright ceiling lights nearly blinded me and forced me to close my eyes. I could barely breathe. I could barely do anything. And yet, relief overwhelmed me. "Good," I mustered. "Good¡­ whew." I had fucking won.
Chapter 238 – Catharsis Chapter 238 ¨C Catharsis CHAPTER 238 - Catharsis Gotta get up. My chest thumped as the cheers from the crowd died down and transformed into worried whispers. From up there, it had probably looked like I''d passed out. It wouldn''t even be the first time, since I''d had the exact same thing happen after my fight with Candice. Arceus, that was a long time ago. I took a deep breath and pushed myself back up as best I could. My movements were sluggish and awkward. Now that the adrenaline was leaving my system, a tiredness was slowly taking over. I wanted nothing more but to crash into my bed and sleep for the rest of the day. When I climbed down the steps of the podium, Volkner was already waiting for me at the side of the arena with his hands in his pockets. I shuffled there as fast as I could so I wouldn''t make him wait too long. I had no idea if he had other fights after this or if he was just going to let his Gym Trainers take over, but I knew that Gym Leaders'' breaks were precious and not to be wasted. As usual, our microphones were already off at this point, so no one could hear us. "Congrattions," he said. "ID, Pokedex, you know the drill." I nodded, ignoring the pride swelling in my chest and handed him my card and the device. After thirty seconds, he handed them back to me. "You''re now the owner of the Beacon Badge, and I''ve transferred 40,000 Pokedors into your ount. You also have ess to the Charge Beam TM in its unlimited form." Charge Beam was for sure going into Princess'' arsenal. I didn''t think we''d use it that much, but it was always good to have some extra options just like when I''d taught her Shadow Ball. I didn''t see the need to teach it to Honey, though¡ª not when Thunderbolt was a faster and better option for a consistent, low-energy move. "Thank you," I smiled. "Sorry about your Electabuzz," Volkner said, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Electivire doesn''t like to lose, even when it''s not a real battle. He got a little carried away there." "That''s the price of battle," I said. "So¡­ for the evolution¡ª" "Come back here when he''s healed up. It works out anyway because there''ll be a lot to prepare." "Got it!" I grinned. "Well, off you go then," he waved me away. The idea that Honey was actually going to evolve soon had reinvigorated me and I jogged back toward the lobby. I quickly passed through the waiting room, passing a nervous-looking trainer that I told ''good luck'' to. When I emerged in the lobby, there was pandemonium. I couldn''t even see the Gym''s exit. People¡ª mostly trainers crowded over me asking a million questions and were so loud my head was spinning. It wasn''t so much the first part of the battle that had impressed them. In fact, I suspected that all of my and my team''s efforts would be overshadowed by Honey ''dueling'' Electivire. Honey did deserve the attention, and I wasn''t about to let anything ruin my mood. I''d won. "I''ve got to get my team to the Center!" I yelled. I broke through the wall of trainers and noticed that Denzel was pulling away at some of them in another section of the crowd in an attempt to get to me. I called out to him and he sighed in relief. All of my friends followed closely behind him¡ª although I did notice that Erin and Emilia looked a bit pale. Congrattions rang out from every direction. Cece called me wonderful as she grabbed both of my hands and said I''d been beautiful the entire battle. Denzel patted me on the back, demanding to know what the hell my deal withva was and how I''d gotten Electivire to fight me. Louis was more preupied with Honey''s state at the moment, and I knew from one look at his face that he''d been terrified multiple times during the fight, and Justin (who had been dragged here by everyone else) simply gave me an acknowledging nod next to him. Chase was already theorizing on how to counter myva strategy and called the battle with Electivire a show that didn''t matter in the grand scheme of things¡ª "Guys. Let me get to the Center first, okay?" I said. "Ugh, I''m so sweaty." "You''re telling me what that was all about on the way there," Denzel demanded with folded arms. ¡ª The fact that I''d only told Cece about the fight with Electivire kind of pissed all of my friends off, but they were too happy to care at the moment. Already, Chase''s mania had spread and by the time we were at the Center, he, Cecilia, Denzel and Lauren were talking about ways to counter them. I listened to their conversation while I handed my Pokemon to Nurse Joy. I''d told her to get back to me regarding Honey as soon as she could. Mira leaned against a wall with Louis and Justin, probably talking about some TE stuff. The blonde had clearly disapproved of my strategy, but he hadn''t said anything about it yet. Pauline and Emilia spoke to Erin next to the elevators, probably soothing her. On the way there, she''d asked me what the lethal version of the n was. It was to bury my opponents in moreva until they turned to ash. It''d be surprisingly effective on most Pokemon. Still, I''d told her that the non-lethal version was perfectly valid and that pain from burns or burning was among the worst for any living being to go through. "I mean, we knew Turtonator was going toe into y at some point," Chase said. "You can''t stop him from heating shit up with dark TE, but one thing I was thinking about was using theva yourself. Throw it back right into her Pokemon." "Hard to do it without Ancient Power," Denzel said. "Good thing Sigilyph learns Ancient Power then, Williams," Chase jeered. "It''ll be a good move to add anyway. It''s a pretty versatile attack." "The only Pokemon I''ve got capable of standing up to thatva-Ancient Powerbination is Milotic. I''ve actually been working on the Safeguard tactic¡ª" "Safeguard?" Lauren scoffed. "I''d have Prime bury theva in some cold mud and call it a day. Or maybe I''d have Paragon or Mags y around in it like a kid in a ball pit." "Well some of us want sophisticated strategy," he rolled his eyes. "It would work perfectly to protect her from the heat." "Zweilous'' scales won''t be tough enough until they''re a Hydreigon¡­ but Lehmhart could stand close and be alright, I think," Cecilia noted. "But the real key is taking down Princess. Without her, theva''s just stationary. Annoying, but possible to deal with." "You only say that because you''re going to have three Pokemon capable of flying by the time your team is fully evolved," Denzel sighed. "Cecilia''s got Scyther for dark Type Energy stuff and I''ve got Houndoom. One Darkfire and Togetic''s entire shtick copses." "That Moonst trick was pretty nasty too," Denzel muttered. "Didn''t know the move could mess with gravity. I hope Sylvi can learn it when he''s out of this rut." I grinned. The knives were out to get me. After six minutes, one of the Nurse Joys approached me over the counter. "Grace Pastel¡­ your team will recover after three days aside from your Electabuzz. What in the world happened to him?" I raised an eyebrow and felt a twinge of worry. "He got hit by Volkner''s Electivire using Hammer Arm¡ª" "Ah, yes, that would do it," she sighed, shaking her head. The fact that she wasn''t acting surprised or asking me any questions was refreshing, but Nurse Joys usually saw so much during their career that nothing surprised them any longer. "A shattered spine, multiple broken ribs, a broken corbone, a broken arm, dislocated shoulders, cracks in his pelvis¡­ he''s got aundry list of injuries. It''ll take a week and a half to get him up to speed, and even after that, you''ll have to wait another week for any kind of training while the Ditto cells solidify properly, or he''ll break his bones again. They''ll be fragile for a while." I didn''t know what to say to that but to thank her for the help. Honey had been a lot more injured than I had thought at first. Hopefully they had him on some powerful painkillers in there, and I''d have to ask Volkner if that meant I had to wait even longer for his evolution. Electivire wasn''t just powerful for his speed, but for his strength too. There was a whole lot of muscture hidden under his thick fur. That powerbined with his speed when using Motor Drive¡­ I shuddered at the thought of that, and an image of Electivire mming into Honey at the speed of sound with a Hammer Arm conjured itself in my mind. He''d be able to kill any of my Pokemon in a single Hammer Arm except Sunshine and Buddy. I was only left with Angel and Buddy. The ghost type was taking a well-earned rest in his Pokeball. I waved goodbye to my friends, telling them that I was going to take a nap in my room. Most of them decided to stay there and talk about how they''d counter Sunshine and Princess as abo, and a lot of their ideas gave me things to think about. The tactic wasn''t wless¡ª far from it. It had a lot of holes like being able to be used against me if my opponent had powerful fire types or an Ancient Power user, although movingva around with that move required weeks of practice, so that was a little less likely. Either way, I''d have toe up with something different for Wake considering his arena was a giantke with a few inds peppered throughout. Izily took off my shoes as I entered my room and I took a short shower to wipe away the sweat from that battle. I also drew a cold bath that I released Buddy in so he could recover faster and feel better in general. I was going to get Angel out of his ball to tell him everything about the battle while I fell asleep, but I stopped when my hand touched my phone. "Better check my phone before I crash," I whispered. My fingers tingled in excitement when I saw that Melody had just called me a few minutes ago. There were also congrattions from Jasmine who said she felt crummy that she couldn''t go out and get ''shitfaced'' to celebrate. I answered her, thanking her for her tutoring and everything she''d taught Honey. Without her, the second half of the battle would have been downright impossible, even if Volkner had kept it at three hits instead of four. There was also a text from Bobby, saying that it had been a good showing and to keep up the good work. He had been the only one that hadn''t looked pissed about my sponsorship with the Poketch Company, so that made sense. I also thanked him for the kind words. I called Mel, but I was the one who spoke first as soon as she answered. "Melody! My money!" I yelled. "Well first, congrattions are in order," sheughed. "The board is very pleased with your performance, and the fact that Electivire was on the field will draw more eyes to you and to the Company." "Yeah, yeah. Can I get paid? I''ve been waiting for this for so long." "The money is being transferred to you as we speak¡ª" I interrupted her with a joyous celebration, and sheughed. "350,000 thousand Pokedors added to your current total. I''ve checked the prices of Shiny Stones and that should be enough for the current rates." "When am I getting the money?" I hungrily asked. "Well like I said, it''s being transferred right now¡ª" "Okay, I gotta go!" I screamed. The nap could wait. After telling Buddy that I was leaving with Angel''s Pokeball, I made a mad dash to the stairs and jumped five steps at a time, nearly falling over twice. I rushed through the lobby and Cece asked where I was going. "To the mall!" I yelled back. The bus ride was agonizingly slow, especially when I''d gone there by car before. Could I have not hung up and had Melody send me a driver? I''d been so excited about the prospects of buying a Shiny Stone that I''d thrown all thoughts out the window. My foot repeatedly tapped against the floor of the bus and I couldn''t help but stare out the window the entire ride. We crossed the long bridge leading us to one of Sunyshore''s many inds and I burst out of the bus with energy I didn''t know I still had left in me. I reached the map at the mall''s entrance and traced my finger up and down the image. Stone store, stone store, stone store¡ª there it was! EvoStone Emporium! It took another two minutes to get there. A wave of cold air hit me as I entered the establishment. The interior was quite rustic, which fit the theme of the mall. It was neatly organized into different sections, each dedicated to a specific type of evolutionary stone. They were all hidden behind ss to stop any trainers from trying their luck and stealing anything, and a Gardevoir walked through the store, her watchful eye looming over every upant like a Pidgeot looking at a Caterpie. Which wasn''t many. Only me and five other people were in the store. Stones were expensive. I gazed over a set of Moon Stones. The rocks were rugged, dark and somewhat unremarkable, and yet they drew me in. Next, a set of Dusk stones that reflected so little light that they were void at their center and I could only see the purple at their edges. These stones weren''t verymon, though. Water, Fire, Ice and Leaf stones were everywhere. Thunder Stones were a little bit rarer, but not as scarce as the rarest ones. These elemental stones were ranked from D to S grade, and a Pokemon that evolved with a higher quality stone would reach its full potential far sooner than if they had not. And the rarest one of them all was right beneath my gaze. There were only two of them disyed in the entire store. It was pale yellow at its edges and darkened at its center. Unlike the Dusk Stone, Shiny Stones were¡­ well, shiny. A small rainbow sat atop each of them from the refracted light, and I gawked at the price before remembering that I actually had the money to pay for one. It had been transferred to my card while I''d been on the bus. I called an employee over, and a short man approached me. "A Shiny Stone, I presume? You''ve been staring at it for thest minute," he said. "Uh, yes," I stammered. "Sorry." I paid him upfront and felt my throat tighten when I realized I was back to zero. I had the fifty-thousand Pauline had given me for my birthday and a few extra thousand bucks leftover, so my Pokemon wouldn''t starve and I still had some vitamins stockpiled. The employee carefully unlocked the ss pane with a key and ced the Shiny Stone in a thick casing that he then ced in another case, and then finally into a bag. "Don''t lose it," he said. When he saw my reaction, he cleared his throat. "Just a little joke I like to say." I restrained a scoff and I was on my way again. I finally had a Shiny Stone. Now all I needed was three days. ¡ª I woke up from my nap in the middle of the night and cursed. My sleeping schedule would be screwed for the next few days, it seemed. Angel slept next to the window with a vine nestled under my covers and wrapped around my leg. Buddy hovered in the sky, clinging to my ceiling and watching over both of us. I asked him about his experience in the Gym battle and what he thought about it while I grabbed myself some water. My Shiny Stone was safely hidden under my bed and would be until Princess was out of the Center. The water type dripped down from the ceiling until he reformed behind me and said that he felt like he''d failed against Galvant. "You did your best, and that''s all I can ever ask of you," I smiled. "That Infestation trick was crazy. I had no idea it would affect your regeneration like that¡­ we won''t get caught out the next time we face a trainer with the move." He silently nodded. I turned toward Angel, who was still sleeping soundly. "We''ll have to train you and Angel up a lot for the fight against Wake. You''ll most likely be the anchor for that fight. And it''ll be a six-on-six! I can''t wait!" I eximed. "Arceus, now that we bought the Shiny Stone we''ll be able to buy a bunch of TMs the next time we get paid! But I still have to keep buying dirt for Sweetheart too¡­ I was thinking of what each one of us currentlycked while I fell asleep¡ª I guess I also dreamed some of it too." Buddy chuckled¡ª clicks and whistles that were music to my ears. He said only I could dream of ways of patching out weaknesses. "But it works!" I groaned. "I still have to watch footage of the Gym Battle in a few days. Gotta approach things with a fresh mind. But moving on, what you currentlyck is status moves. Confuse Ray would be great, especially if we could get your shades to use it while you attack. Will-O-Wisp, you can only learn through TMs, but it would work wonderfully with Hex. I guess I could also get you a move like Ice Beam for coverage¡­" I rambled for at least a minute before moving on to Angel. I rolled toward the sleeping grass type and smiled. "What Angelcks is effective ways to fight at a distance. With Sr Beam, we were nning on keeping opponents trapped in vines while he charged the attacks, but he needs more variety, so I think Sludge Bomb would be nice." Buddy agreed, saying that he''d be able to help the grass type with poison type moves when the time came. "Right, you can do that. Princess¡­ well, Princess and Honey are going to evolve soon, so I don''t want to say anything that''d be horribly wrong. One thing is for sure, though, we''re going to focus Princess back on flying type moves. She''ll need to manipte the air around her like Kilowattrel if she wants to be truly fast, and Togekiss have the potential to be. I also think that something like methrower or Focus st would be nice to counter steel types. Gotta already think about Byron. And hey, did you know Electabuzz¡ª or Electivire I guess, but did you know they could learn Rain Dance? I figure that would go nicely with some Thunders. Gotta steal Volkner''s strategies and all that." I got back into my bed and below the covers. "Of course, these are all expensive and I won''t be able to get them all at once, but I did get a raise, so it gets easier from there. Sunshine''s decked out with moves already, but more wouldn''t hurt. I''d need to think about it more, though. Oh! Did you know he actually managed to do that explosion thingy we were working on!" Buddy''s eyes shed in surprise. "I know, right? He was so great out there! You better praise him when he''s back." The water type rippled as heughed, telling me to imagine Sunshine''s reaction to praise. "Yeah, he''d definitely get all shy about it and act like he doesn''t care. Actually, let me just tell you about the part of the battle you couldn''t¡ª hey,e on, don''t sigh at me! Indulge my passion a little, I''m not tired enough to go back to sleep. I''ll let you rant about history to the entire team tomorrow since we''re almost done with your book." Buddy was mostly worried about how our family actually was and how they''d been hurt rather than the battle, but he listened anyway, and he did contribute some ideas. Angel woke up along the way and excitedly hung to every word too. I didn''t sleep that night. ¡ª Three days. Three, agonizing days. And yet, here I was, finally grabbing Princess'' Pokeball and my other Pokemon from a tray. The hype from my battle with Volkner was still the talk of the forums, but it had thankfully subsided in real life. My friends had all slowly started to sign up for their Gym Battle. They were spread out throughout the week. I had Mira''s kazam Teleport me to route 214 on my own. Today, we weren''t training. Today was special. I released my entire team onto the cliffs, and their first reaction was to cheer and celebrate their victory once I told them that we''d won. Even Sunshine couldn''t help but smile, and Buddy did end up praising him, which made Sweetheart do the same. If dragons could blush¡­ Angel had already known about the victory, but he acted like it was his first time hearing about it anyway and he wrapped his vines around all of us. "Listen up," I grinned. "Your brother''s still at the Center. He fought well, but Electivire hit him a little too hard and he still needs to rest for a few days. You all did amazing. Truly. We''re getting better at fighting as a team and not as individuals." My family responded with grunts and nods, although Sunshine scoffed at the notion of Honey being his sibling. He wasn''t there quite yet, but if I''d gotten Buddy to agree to it, I''d hopefully get him one day too. I took a deep breath and pulled out my Shiny Stone from its casket, and Princess'' eyes immediately narrowed. She stared at it, breathless as she instinctively floated closer. It was my first time actually touching the Shiny Stone. It felt warm in my hands, but not hot enough to be ufortable. "Hold on," I said. Princess froze in ce. She was eager. She''d wanted this just as much as I had. I nodded and spoke again. "Originally, I wanted Honey to be here, but I''ve got a little something for him!" I ced my backpack on the rocky teau and pulled out Denzel''s tripod that he had lent me. Then, I ced my phone on it and opened my camera app. "We''ll record it for him so he can watch when he''s back," I said. I felt a twinge of sadness, but I couldn''t bring myself to wait any longer. I''d waited months for this, and holding back was impossible. "Hold on, I''m getting all of you in the shot¡­ Sweetheart, stop hogging all the space! This is Princess'' moment¡ª there you go. Angel, stop poking Buddy, you''ve bullied him enough when it was just the two of you. Sunshine, are you scooching away? Get in the shot!" After wrangling everyone for around two minutes, they formed a semi-circle around Princess, who was shivering in excitement. I clicked on record and spoke. "To future me¡ª and future us. Today was the day Princess evolved into a Togekiss." By the time I finished my sentence, I was already next to my family. I held out my hand to Princess, and the stone touched her forehead. It instantly started to shine, as did she. The stone turned to dust that her body absorbed as she grew. Arms retracted into her, wings spread and grew, her body changed. We all held our breath during the process. My heart was going so fast I could feel it drum against my ribs. I was so overwhelmed I felt like crying of joy. All of our hard work, everything we''d done for months had led to this moment. My little girl was all grown up. And it felt so fulfilling. Princess was slightly taller than me when she finished evolving. Air and pink dust swirled around her until she opened her eyes and brought it to a stop. I wiped a tear from my cheek and touched her head. Just being near her felt soothing. I''d have to get her to reign that in, but I''d let it slide for now. "You did it," I softly said. "You did it." My daughter chirped and ced her forehead against mine. She was smaller than Cynthia''s own Togekiss, but she still had a bunch of growing up to do and she was already big enough to let me ride her. Angel was the first to try to touch her, and he wriggled as he ran his vines all over her. "Right? She''s so fluffy now!" Iughed. "You can be a pillow! You''re just as soft as Nales." Princess huffed, but she relented to her pillow duties. We all observed her body for a while, and she tried to stretch her wings. The movement was slow and awkward, which was to be expected. She could float, but flying with her wings was much harder than it looked. "It''s going to take you a while to get used to this new body, but you''ll be stronger for it," I said. "You can be just as fast as Talonme without losing any of your current skills." Princess let out an excited cry, and she pped her wings a few times. Somehow, no gusts of wind blew my hair away, and those that dide were barely noticeable. I''d seen how Cynthia''s Togekiss hadn''t disturbed the world around him when he flew, even when he was going as fast as he could. Sunshine congratted her and said that she''d finally stop being babied all the time now that I couldn''t carry her in my arms every time she was out of her Pokeball. Princess froze¡ª And she cried. "Did you have to say that?" I groaned. He groaned, saying that he sometimes forgot she was a kid with her murderous tendencies. It took a bit to get her to calm down. I had to promise her that I''d try to carry herter. Togekiss were actually quite light as far as Pokemon went (she was actually lighter than I was), but getting her to fit in my arms was apletely different problem entirely. Oh well, I''d try, still. But now, it was time to start getting her adjusted to her new body, and the first thing on the list was getting her used to getting in the air.
Chapter 239 Chapter 239 CHAPTER 239 "Take it easy¡­ uh, yeah, like that! Don''t go too high yet, you''ll hurt yourself! Arceus!" It was hard to not feel nervous when your kid was learning to fly all over again. Princess slowly hovered around twenty feet in the air, and she struggled to keep her bnce. She''d nearly flipped over five times already (my heart had dropped to my stomach every single time), and we were all trying to hide our nervousness while encouraging her. It wasn''t working very well, though, since apparently her evolution had made her a lot better at sensing feelings and she hadined that we should believe in her more because all of our doubt was making her slip up. Angel had prepared a bed of vines below her in case she lost bnce and fell while Buddy hovered in the sky with her. "Now you know what she was like when she just turned into a Togetic," I whispered to Angel, Sunshine and Sweetheart. The dragon snorted, and a pebble burst from the ground, smashing into his arm. Harmless, but annoying nheless. A glow fainted from Princess'' eyes as she huffed. "See? You can already use Ancient Power while flying," I cheered. "Keep it up." The fairy type smiled, satisfied with herself while Sunshine cursed at her. The main problem we had with just hovering was that even if Princess only had to use fairy Type Energy to float, she still had to apply it in a careful bnce throughout her body to not tip over, and now that she''d drastically changed, she would have to learn how to do it all over again. Princess was a smart girl, though, so I was sure that it would only take a week at most. Then, we''d be able to move on to real flight. Combine the two along with manipting the wind to speed herself up, and that was a Togekiss'' true potential. Arceus, I couldn''t wait to fly around the sky with her. Traveling had a charm of its own, but flying across the region with the wind blowing past my ears sounded awesome too. There was freedom there. No forest, mountain, river or swamp would be able to stop me. I bit my lip as soon as I thought about swamps. I still hadn''t forgotten about those poachers. Hopefully they''d be dealt with soon. We ended up sticking around for as long as possible, but we needed to leave before the Flight School I had found closed for the day. After calling kazam, he Teleported me back to Sunyshore and I made my way to the establishment. I would have had Princess practice on the way there, but I didn''t want her to identally fall on someone or even worse, in the middle of a busy road. When we got back to the Center, she''d be able to practice more. Flight School was situated south of the city, where there was still enough space for a huge fenced yard to give students an appropriate area to practice. The building was simrly themed to every other in Sunyshore, but a lot bigger. I supposed government facilities didn''t have to conform to the building code around here. And it was government-run. Cecilia had told me that you could get flying lessons in Unova through private enterprises¡ª although they were approved by the Unovan government and kept up with their standards. Even the theoretical and practical tests could be taken through private businesses. Not in Sinnoh. Only the government could hand out licenses. Some people called government-run things inefficient, and I had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but at least it was free. I needed to save money for TMs, and there were also items for the Conference to think about, but I''d delve all into that after I finished up Pastoria and traveled throughout the region. It wasn''t like I had the money to do anything anyway. I''d need to buy a saddle for Princess soon enough. A crowd of trainers were leaving the building as I entered. I assumed they were thest ss of the day and hurried up to the front desk, which for some reason was incredibly difficult to find and not actually next to the entrance. Instead, it was in an office in the middle of a hallway to the left of the building. The man behind the desk looked exasperated when he saw me enter. He''d been in the middle of packing and had been about to leave for the evening. "Good evening. Sorry for beingte, uh I wanted to sign up for a license? So I''ll have both theoretical and practical lessons, please." "Sure thing," he exhaled. "Trainer ID, please." The employee scanned it through a machine next to hisputer and nodded. "Togekiss. Alright, I''ll put you down for lessons. You''ll start with theoretical sses and then move on to the practical ones. Five of them, the first one tomorrow at¡­" I quickly wrote all of the sses on my phone along with the ssroom numbers. A few of them fell when my friends were battling, so I''d have to miss those battles, starting with Mira''s tomorrow. Once my five sses were done, I''d take the theoretical test and move on to five practical sses that I didn''t have the date for yet. I thanked the man for his time and left. The next five days would be full of lessons, it seemed. Five days to get Princess able to float? I wasn''t too worried, especially since it would take another day for the exam. Theoretically, all we needed to be able to do to pass my test was be able to sit on her while she floated around the sky. Soon, I''d be able to fly. I felt giddy as I left the building. ¡ª The remainder of the evening had passed quickly, and it was morning now. Denzel''s battle was first and we all sat to spectate. It felt odd to be here and not have to furiously analyze the battle for my own. I couldn''t help but put myself in that mindset before remembering I already had my badge and I could rx. There was no pressure to perform. I didn''t know when I''d take on Crasher Wake, but maybe not goingst all the time could be a good idea. It felt nice. Of course, all of my other friends were focused on Volkner as he and Denzel approached their respective tforms. My best friend didn''t look nervous, but it was easy to tell that he was with his clenched fist. I understood himpletely. After getting tutoring from one of the best trainers in the region, what if you lost? You''d feel horribly inadequate. Not only would you potentially disappoint your teacher, but other people without the tools we had gotten who would win would make you feel inferior through no fault of their own. In a way, battling after getting a teacher was even more nerve-wracking than doing so without. But I believed that he''d be able to get into the flow of battle like I had after a few minutes. I figured I''d focus on Denzel today to see what he learned from his time with Craig instead of Volkner. His battle would be the standard 5 on 5 with three switches, and Denzel led with Lopunny. The normal type flexed her arms and anchored herself onto the floor with her feet. I had never seen her this determined. It was like she wanted to prove something. I didn''t know if it had to do with her unfortunate reputation online or something with Sylveon. Maybe it was both. Volkner released his Luxray. Unlike the one on his personal team, this one was more like a jack-of-all-trades that didn''t excel in anything, but could do everything well. It was a Pokemon Volkner liked to lead with a lot for his sixth-badge battles to see what his opponents would do when going against a ''nk te'' so he could better test them. The electric type''s eyes shone as he stared down his opponent. The referee counted down, and the battle began. Denzel barked out an order, and like usual, Lopunny''s ears, fists and feet all activated Power-Up Punch as she rushed toward Luxray. What was unusual was her speed¡ª or maybe it was her footing? She had alwaysbined her attacks with Quick Attack, so that was normal, but every step carried her just a little further. Luxray''s teeth glimmered with electricity as he opened his mouth and waited for Lopunny to reach him, and more electricity spread from his feet and onto the entire field. Lopunny grunted when she stepped onto the Electric Terrain, but she didn''t hesitate. Luxray struck as soon as she got close enough, and the normal type leaned into the attack. Luxray bit into her arm, and electricity burst out of the attack like a mini-explosion. Lopunny pulled him toward her and pped his head with her two ears before she mmed a glowing green fist into the electric type''s nose. Drain Punch, I mused. Maylene had given us the TM, but it was notoriously difficult to master. Luxray kept trying to bite at Lopunny with Crunch and Thunder Fang, and while the Electric Terrain was hurting the normal type and speeding him up, he was still far slower than her, and she was growing stronger. Lopunny''s stance was different as well. Small shifts that made a world''s difference. Keeping her fists up to protect her face and throat from Luxray''s biting attacks, squaring herself and digging her feet into the ground to stay grounded and stable. Punching Luxray in the muzzle, jaw or throat¡ª targeting its weak points. Volkner called out to Luxray, and the electric type began to run. Fighting Lopunny up close was growing more and more difficult, especially when Drain Punch was keeping her somewhat healthy. Lopunny followed as best she could, but with the Electric Terrain fueling Luxray, he was able to outrun her. Spires copsed and turned to rubble as Lopunny destroyed them in an attempt to hit Luxray. "Thunder." "Mirror Coat!" A thin barrier surrounded Lopunny, but the Thunder was too powerful. It stabbed through like a hot knife through butter and hit Lopunny right in the chest before growing and overtaking herpletely. The normal type shook off the pain¡ª She shook off the pain from a Thunder and Bounced into the air, creating a crater where she had just stood. A quicker Thunderbolt struck her this time, but her foot started to shimmer brighter than a Power-Up Kick and the move split the Thunderbolt apart as she rushed toward Luxray in a blur. In fact, she was so fast that¡ª Luxray''s head mmed against the ground from the sheer force of the impact. Had she missed, Lopunny would have hurt even herself and possibly broken her leg. Since when had Denzel taken this much risk? And she wasn''t done either. Lopunny quicklytched onto Luxray''s throat and threw him headfirst into the ground. Teeth and blood fell out of his mouth as he roared in pain. Volkner opted to let his first Pokemon fall and released his Eelektross instead. The electric type sized up Lopunny and his circr mouth twisted into a smile as he began to levitate through maism, out of Lopunny''s reach. Denzel ordered her to use Bounce, and she did go even higher than I thought she could, but from that distance, Eelektross had ample time to react. He spat out a Sludge Bomb that melted Lopunny''s fur and had her tumble back toward the floor. Eelektross let out a gleeful slurping sound and followed her. Electricity sparked to life around her slippery skin and she blurred toward Lopunny. Denzel switched her out before Eelektross could get a hold of her. He didn''t study as much as I did, but Craig had an Eelektross and I was sure he knew that once theytched onto a Pokemon, they would never let go or be pulled away unless they were contending with something like a Machamp, and even then their suction cups would tear apart the skin. The Electric Terrain strengthened and spread throughout the entire sky now that Eelektross was on the field, and he sped up as he zoomed across the sky, a torrent of electricity whirring around him. Denzel sent out his Roserade as soon as noxious air began to grow out of Eelektross'' mouth and filled the entire arena. Electrified poison would have been awful for me to face, I thought to myself. But Roserade thrived in poison. The grass type somehow stared down at Eelektross even when he was above her, and Volkner struck first. Rain began to fall. Rain, poison and electricity mixed into one. Denzel didn''t lose his cool and ordered Roserade to use Toxic Spikes. Sharp shards of solidified poison were littered onto the field and began to float as Eelektross gathered a Thunder above her. It struck fast, beaming down from the sky with a deafening boom that blinded me. A Synthesis was already forming around Roserade and she aimed up, and Poison Cutter cut across Eelektross'' nk. The electric type screeched, thrashing as the poison dug through his sleek skin. "Sludge Wave!" Denzel yelled. Poison mixed with the water falling on the ground, and Roserade brought her arms forward. The poison spun, bing a typhoon that rose up and up, but Eelektross glided past it¡ª And cried out in agony when a glob of poison blurred from the whirlpool to his skin. It was Poison Cutter, but remote. Not only that, but the sheer amount of control Roserade had on it was incredible. She was seamlessly using Extrasensory to make the poison do as she pleased. Again, just like with Lopunny there was very little that was new. Everything was just better across the board. Another three Thunders struck Roserade, but Volkner realized he wouldn''t win a battle of attrition. The Electric Terrain and powered up Thunders would have beaten her a long time ago had she not been so efficient with Synthesis. Even through the poisoned fog, she could draw upon the little light that made it through and heal. "Go in and take her down," Volkner said. Had Eelektross gotten stuck in the poison tornado, he would have been stuck, but he wasn''t. He spun around it, Roserade''s poison still eating at his white flesh. Roserade''s eyes returned to normal, and she swapped from Poison Cutter to Seed Bomb. Eelektross rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding an explosion¡ª Wait, they were detonating mid air. Eelektross tumbled through the air,nding in Roserade''s poisonedke. He let out a savage screech as electricity jumped at Roserade, traveling through the poison instantly. Eelektross crawled across the floor, half of his skin disintegrated and wrapped around Roserade like a vise. Half of his skin was gone, and that meant his suction cups too, so he bit her with a Thunder Fang instead and stayed there. Thunder after Thunder struck Roserade down with deafening roars, and more of his skin melted away from the poison as Synthesis sputtered in and out of use. I stood at the edge of my seat until Roserade fell. Eelektross was a ferocious fighter who seemed to not even care about pain. I''d have to figure out ways to fight Pokemon like that too beyond just hitting them hard. Denzel thanked Roserade for her help and sent out Milotic instead. The poison immediately started to hurt him, although his scales were tough enough not to dissolve. That ended when a series of green lights appeared around him and the poison cleared from the water around him and pushed away. Everywhere Milotic swam, the water was clearer than anything I''d ever seen, and it was deep enough for him to hide in now. I imagined that this was what the beaches on Al Sunshine had told me about were like. But the Electric Terrain was still hurting him, and he wouldn''t be able to resist for long even through Recover. "Thunder," Volkner called out. Milotic immediately sang, and a bubble of water wrapped tightly around his scales, lifting him up from the poisoned sea. He was flying, I realized. A clumsy version of what Volkner had done with Lanturn. Even the poisoned fog was blowing away from him thanks to his Safeguard. The Thunder struck down into the sea, electrifying the entire thing, but that didn''t matter when Milotic wasn''t in it. A Thunderbolt this time, faster and quicker to activate. Milotic winced as it mmed into his chest. The two Pokemon exchanged a few blows, but Eelektross was content to run away and attack with Thunderbolt now that he could safely be out of range of any attack. Neither Dragon Pulse nor Hydro Pump were quick enough to hit him at this distance, so Denzel opted for another strategy. The poison rose from the sea again, this time aided by Twister. It was a beautiful way of using the terrain Roserade had left for Milotic, and unlike her, Milotic knew how to create a tornado without Extrasensory. The advantage of it being an actual move meant that it rose faster and engulfed Eelektross, who thrashed as the poison, draconic energy and water all assaulted him as one. Volkner smiled, and Eelektross fainted. I didn''t miss Denzel internally fanboying at the fact that he''d gotten a smile out of Volkner. The Electric Terrain subsided, as did the Rain Dance, and the Gym Leader sent out his Magnezone. It was basically Milotic''s perfect counter. Immune to the poison that still clogged the air, resistant to all of his attacks and undisturbed by the calm, poisoned waters below. The Toxic Spikes tried to prate Magnezone''s steel hull but had no effect. Milotic quickly used Recover before the steel type could strike, and a simr version of Electric Terrain again took to the field. "Lock On and Thunders," Volkner said. I gulped as Denzel narrowly recalled his Milotic before the two Thunders could strike him. Magnezone''s gimmick was that he would nearly always hit and that he could use two attacks at once, one through each ma. Denzel sent out his Fross next, and the poisoned water immediately froze beneath her feet. A snowstorm kicked up immediately. Not a Blizzard, nor a Hail, but something in between that cloaked her everywhere she went. It didn''t overtake the entire arena, but Denzel was on top of things already. "Blizzard!" The snowstorm instantly spread, and a Blizzard snapped into ce. It wouldn''t do much against Magnezone, but the key strategy was for him to never see Fross. If he couldn''t Lock On to her, then he wouldn''t be able to actually beat her. I leaned back against my chair now that the fight was impossible to spectate. One of the thing I''d noticed beyond Denzel''s basic but extremely useful improvements was that all of his Pokemon had learned to control their elements extremely well. He was well on the way to figuring out pure TE maniption, which was something a trainer needed if they wanted to stand at the top. Electricity began to mix with the Blizzard, and I had no doubt it was striking at Fross. The entire audience eagerly awaited to glimpse at whaty beyond the Blizzard. And this one was constant. There were no breaks. No way to peak at what was going on, or even hear because of the howling winds. In a way, this was a double-edged sword. Denzel had no way of knowing what was going on either. I squinted toward him and noticed his twitching fingers. Nervous? No, where was the foot tapping and the fist-clenching? A way ofmunicating? I couldn''t really see a pattern, but maybe¡­ After three minutes, I knew he must have had a way of at least knowing Fross was okay, because his face twisted in joy or worry at different intervals. Something to watch out for, I noted. Another minute passed, and the Blizzard finally started to subside, much to the audience''s pleasure. No one liked a battle they couldn''t see. Magnezoney on the ice that had formed from theke, and Fross huffed cold air. She was barely able to float any longer, and her usual elegant look had been reced with a feral, hateful one. It had been a while since I''d seen her give into her ghostly side like that. Clones from Double Team dissolved around her. Volkner retrieved his Magnezone and sent out his¡ª I clenched my hands around my seat when I saw Jolteon. He was speed incarnate, even at the sixth badge level, and the one on Volkner''s personal team was the fastest Pokemon in Sinnoh period. Electricity hummed through his spiky fur as he tested his foothold on the icy floor. The Toxic Spikes stabbed into the electric type, causing him to grunt, but he shook off the pain. Fross had no more energy for Double Team or Blizzard, but she still had tools to pull on. The ghost raised her arms, erecting two walls of ice that stretched next to Jolteon and mmed¡ª A sh of thunder, the crack of lightning, and Jolteon was already next to her. The electric type mmed into Fross with something in between Volt Tackle and Wild Charge and Fross immediately flew back, crashing into the barrier and fainting in less than a second. Milotic was back next, and water immediately surrounded him. Denzel hoped to use his floating capabilities to avoid Jolteon''s horrifying melee tactics, but the electric type had ways to strike from a distance too. There was a reason his Electric Terrain was weaker than all of the others and only powered up his speed and electric type moves. Just like the one on his personal team, Volkner had focused Jolteon on offense and speed. Not field control, no fancy tactics, just sheer brutality. "Pin Missile and get up there," Volkner said. "Dragon Pulse!" Denzel yelled. Electricity coiled around Jolteon''s needle-like fur, and dozens of electrified Pin Missiles flew out of his back. The Dragon Pulse morphed into a Twister that sent the Pin Missiles off their mark, but Jolteon turned into electricity and in less than a second, Jolteon was on top of Milotic. A point-nk Thunderbolt shook the water type to his core, but Recover allowed him to bear through the worst of it. A Hydro Pump sent Jolteon crashing toward the icy floor, creating a small crater, but the electric type rose and¡ª A sh of lightning. He was up there again. It hadn''t even been a second. I saw a glimpse of panic slip in both Denzel and Milotic, and this time Jolteon bit through Milotic''s water bubble with a Thunder Fang that pierced through his scales. Another Thunderbolt cooked Milotic, and he cried out in pain as he desperately tried to shake off the electric type. Denzel barked out an order, and Milotic''s water bubble dispersed. Milotic and Jolteon fell to the floor and Milotic crushed the electric type with his full weight upon impact. Jolteon snarled as he let loose a Thunder now that he had enough time to charge the attack. Milotic fanned his beautiful tail as draconic energy wrapped around it and he mmed Jolteon away, but the damage was already done. Jolteon had been so ruthless that he''d easily torn through Milotic''s regeneration, and the water type had fainted quicker than even I had expected, and suddenly Denzel wasn''t in such a dominant position any longer. Sure, Jolteon had gotten hit and he was poisoned, but with how quickly he could finish each fight, did it really matter? This was Volkner''s test. What would Denzel do in the face of overwhelming offense? My best friend released Sylveon next, and the fairy type curiously eyed Jolteon. The battle between the two began, and it was easy to see that Sylveon had improved the least out of all of Denzel''s Pokemon. I bit my lip as the fairy type resorted to the same old tricks. Sylveon managed to wrap ribbons around Jolteon''s neck, but he turned into electricity and freed himself before ramming into Sylveon¡ª Whose mour barrier copsed in a mere five hits. And it hadn''t even been Thunder. Sylveon mmed a glowing paw on Jolteon''s head and kicked him away with y Rough, but this was a problem. It wasn''t that Sylveon was weak, even though he had only improved slightly. It was that his belief wascking. And I knew why. Jolteon was slowing, but that didn''t matter when he could turn into pure electricity that instantly zipped around the arena. Sylveon fought back, of course, but Jolteon took him out. Denzel was losing. Lopunny was hisst Pokemon, and she was healthy thanks to Drain Punch. She immediately flexed when her trainer told her that she was thest line of defense. Volkner recalled Jolteon, using his first switch of the battle and sent out Zebstrika instead. Another Pokemon with overwhelming speed and offense. A Rising Voltage immediately snapped into ce and leaked through the ice. The electric type was slower than Jolteon, but she was faster than anything Lopunny could hope to achieve at her level. Zebstrika rammed into the normal type at full speed with a Wild Charge, but Lopunny stood her ground. Her feet dug into the ice, her ears blocked the worst of the attack and she immediately countered with abined Drain and Power Up Punch to Zebstrika''s neck. Zebstrika neighed, rising on her hind legs, and she kicked Lopunny in the head¡ª but the normal type twisted, dodging the attack by a hair as she bent backwards. Her ears wrapped around Zebstrika''s feet and she mmed her face-first against the ice, ignoring the raging Thunderbolts as she punched her with another Drain Punch. Lopunny was keeping Zebstrika close enough to regenerate but blocking or dodging most attacks, and it was working. If she could sustain herself enough¡­ Lopunny cried out as Zebstrike kicked her in the thigh and her leg buckled, but before another kick could get her in the head, a point-nk Shadow Ball struck at Zebstrika''s nk, leaving her an opening to regain the advantage. The fighting was so simple and yet so brutal. But the tides turned when Lopunny let loose a flurry of punches that finished off Zebstrika. She thrived in long fights, and she was stronger now than she''d been thanks to Power-Up Punch. Every inch of her body was bulging muscle, and she looked like she''d grown a few inches. Lopunny stood victorious over Zebstrika''s body and wheezed. She was bruised, battered, burned, but not defeated. Next came Jolteon. Had he been at full strength, the battle wouldn''t even have been close, but it was. There was no way to duck out of Jolteon''s way like Zebstrika, but Lopunny always punched back for every hit she suffered. The battle did not end with some grand technique. Both Pokemon were too tired to even hope to use anything but the simplest moves. Elemental Punches, Thunder Fang, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack¡­ it was a slugfest. It ended with a simple Fire Punch. Lopunny raised a fist and screamed. Denzel had won by a hair. ¡ª Beyond the usual celebration, I was the only one who knew Sylveon well enough to understand that there was a difference between a disappointing performance and a psychological block. Sylveon couldn''t even bring himself to pull on mour any longer. When our friends cleared the way and Denzel got his team back to the Center, I pulled him away to speak. "Listen. When your team is healed, we need to speak to Sylveon. Both you and I." My friend clenched a fist, but he nodded. He knew Sylveon better than all. "He was doing well when we trained with Craig, but hepletely copsed during the actual fight. I don''t¡­" Denzel sighed. He couldn''t even finish the sentence. "He was doing well during training because you hung out with him more than Emi and Pauline," I exined. "You have to talk to him about this. And yes, before you panic¡ª" "You know?" "I do know," I nodded. I wasn''t about to throw Lopunny to the wolves, though. "I''m sorry, but Sylveon needs an intervention. Did you even talk to him about it at length?" "I didn''t." "We cane to an understanding. I''ll just be here to mediate and make it easier for you to understand him and your team. You need to speak. All of you. Ignoring the problem will only make it worse. Sylveon''s a lot more sad than he looks." "Okay," he exhaled. "We''ll do it." "Three days," I nodded. Three days for his Pokemon to get healed. ¡ª Flight School had finally ended, and I already had ten pages of notes. It felt weird to be in a school-like environment after so long, but so long as it had to do with Pokemon, I had no problem paying attention. I hummed as I walked across Sunyshore''s streets and decided to go out and train Princess again, since Mira''s Gym Battle was over anyway. "I wonder what the score was," I mused as I grabbed my phone. The score was 4-5 in Volkner''s favor. Mira had lost.
Interlude – Volkner Interlude ¨C Volkner INTERLUDE - VOLKNER "Victory to Leader Volkner!" Volkner Doyle watched as electricity and poison washed off his Toxtricity, who roared in celebration after his victory over Mira Compton''s kazam. He had savaged the psychic, turning the entire field into a minefield full of electrified poisonous bombs. The pink-haired girl, for her part, looked to be quite shaken at her loss. Not terribly sad, but somewhat disbelieving. Volkner recalled Toxtricity and left without another word while his Gym Trainers came en masse with their Pokemon to fix up the field. Pyukumuku to absorb any poison, Hippowdon and Dugtrio to mold the earth back into a rtively t field and recreate his spires. Durant to tunnel and replenish the supply of iron under the field and the rocks themselves. The Gym didn''t only raise electric type Pokemon, even if keeping all of them fed and taking care of them in general came at a hefty cost. That wasn''t counting maintenance, sries for Gym Trainers, equipment, utilities, security¡­ every single Gym in Sinnoh ran at a loss, and the government covered the majority of the costs even if negotiations were sometimes fierce. There were tricks to use, though. Candice liked to spend any money she had left over on useless things just so she''d get the same amount of money or more from each subsequent budget passed. Now that Cynthia ruled alone, Volkner didn''t think that they would have any problems with the budget this year. Volkner reached his office and kicked off his slippers with a yawn. Now that Mira Compton had lost, he was done with battles for the day, but that didn''t mean he was done with work. He could still afford to take a break for twenty minutes or so. Mira had good instincts. She seemed to know how to respond to every problem or test Volkner gave her and how to counter them. The problem had been that she didn''t actually have the tools to do so. Tricks like mass Teleportation from her kazam and Gardevoir worked in lower levels and the Gym Leaders might have let her through, but the sixth badge was the big leagues. It wasn''t something she could rely on and win, and Volkner wouldn''t allow her to rely on one gimmick to win. She had done nothing to stop him from altering the field or countering his influence and he''d been in a dominant position from the start of the battle. Volkner wasn''t very impressed, for a child that had been supposedly blessed with Knowledge. Oh, Cynthia had told him and the other Gym Leaders all about the blessings right after they''d left Veilstone. Volkner still couldn''t believe it, nor did he fully understand the ramifications, but he appreciated being in the loop. Cynthia had also not-so-subtly hinted at the fact that she wanted the four of them to be ''as strong as possible'' by the end of the year, and he hadn''t missed the implications. She had wanted him to evolve her Electabuzz for free, and Volkner was sure she wouldn''t miss a beat if Mira Compton ever asked her to evolve her Haunter. Mira apparently had enough morals not to ask for it to be done. Days with a Haunter was not something many would wish on their worst enemies. He had refused to evolve Grace''s Electabuzz for free, telling Cynthia that a test would be more appropriate, and Grace Pastel had passed, for better or worse. Volkner did not look forward to the political blowback he would get after all was said and done. He could already hear the whining about favoritism from here, and if he was being honest, it wasn''t like it was wrong. The Gym Leader leaned back against his chair and sighed. What he wouldn''t do to spend his break with Jasmine right now¡­ but she was at her support group. There was an obvious reason Cynthia wanted Cecilia, Mira, Chase and Grace to be as strong as possible by the summer. Team Gctic had somehow vanished. The League was going house by house, searching Veilstone with a fine toothb, and still nothing. The fact that they were holding out for a big assault was apparent. When else to strike then when all the best trainers in the region and many of the League Trainers would be at the Conference? Cynthia had nned for this already. The League would not be caught off-guard. "Well, time to get to work," Volkner groaned. His twenty-minute break passed in a sh, and Volkner went through his day. A new batch of baby electric Pokemon for the Gym that he quickly signed off, and they were a lot more expensive now that the Hunters were gone because their Daycare did not run anywhere as smoothly now that the League had taken it over. He also had to inspect their capabilities. Some Pokemon were more talented than others, even when they''d been born a few weeks ago, and he had to individually pick their training regiment. Thank Arceus his Gym Trainers could handle that. After around two hours, he was back in his office for a video chat meeting with the City Council. Volkner wasn''t one to leave his Gym unless it was absolutely necessary. He dozed off for most of the meeting. The topic of housing wasn''t exactly his favorite. "Home prices are rising far too quickly. Young people are moving here in droves and we simply don''t have enough space for them. Homelessness has been on the uptick for the fifth year in a row. It''s simple, gentlemen, we need to build more housing," Mr. Brandt listed as he tapped on a piece of paper. "I don''t appreciate your use of ''gentlemen'' here," Ms. West said. "Oh, yes, yes, whatever! Fucking political correctness¡ª" "We could always loosen our building code a little. Are we going to let some NIMBYs get in the way of progress?" Mr. Rozen shrugged. "We can''t let the older folk go ''fuck you, I''ve got mine''. We need high-density apartments." "Mayor Sanchez won''t approve," Ms. West spoke again. "His election is next year. He''ll get ousted if he does." Volkner twirled his pen and sighed. "I''ll talk with Sanchez about housing. We have other things to discuss either way." Everyone in the conference call froze, and Volkner''s pen stopped in his hand. Mr. Serrano was the first to talk. He cleared his throat and unmuted his microphone. "Um, could we know what this is¡­ about?" "No need to worry. Your jobs are safe," Volknerzily said. Every single City Council Member in this call feared Cynthia. Every single one. Speaking out against her in a position of power was career suicide, or worse, you''d be investigated for ties to Team Gctic. They had not forgotten how half of the Directorate had been fired or arrested. The Directorate was quite literally a stone''s throw away from Sunyshore, and the political ramifications had been felt. They had not forgotten how all of Sceon''s own City Council and other positions of power had been swiftly reced with loyalists either. Days passed, the world turned, and they all pretended Sinnoh was still a democracy. Unova, Gr and Kalos had already offered scathing remarks about ''democratic backsliding'' and Gr had put sanctions on the table. It was the price to pay for Cynthia''s silence on the matters of Team Gctic. The world did not see what she saw. They saw a rag-tag group of crazies on the verge of defeat while she saw a threat capable of ending the world. Volkner felt a chill run down his spine, and the meeting resumed. No matter how much the City Council pretended to have a hand in policy, they had not had any real power in months. Elections still existed, but the final say would be always Cynthia''s. And Volkner would rather have her in charge than them without a shadow of a doubt. ¡ª "Mr. Sanchez! How are things?" Volkner said. "How was the surgery?" "Well, you know, my eye still hurts and I''ll be wearing an eyepatch for the next few days. Thank you for asking, though," the mayor said. "I heard you wanted to speak to me?" "Two important matters," Volkner said, pressing down on his pen. "Housing first¡ª" "I''ve already told them I will not be signing any kind of housing reform." Volkner put his feet on his desk and restrained a groan. "We can make it incremental. Set up areas with different zoningws so your voters can still enjoy their view on the beach. Expansion into route 222 is not an option at the moment. Too expensive of a project, and the government''s coffers have seen better days as you know." "The only cities not running at a deficit are Sunyshore and Jubilife, I know," he acknowledged. "Sinnoh''s credit rating is about to be downgraded, the loans from Gr are going to run dry soon and the ''softer'' regions will think twice before letting us borrow, and that''s not even counting sanctions. We''ll have to start relying on austerity measures soon enough." Sanchezughed dryly. "I''m not looking forward to my constituents'' pensions running dry. But let me guess. Cynthia wants Team Gctic dealt with before the entire region plunges into an economic depression never seen since the Great War?" "You got it," Volkner shrugged. "It''s at times like these that being an Autarky like Kanto-Johto would have paid off¡ª" "Let''s not deny that Cynthia opening up our economy has drastically improved the quality of life," Volkner interrupted. "You open yourself up to globalism, you expose yourself to the double-edged sword," Sanchez said. "Anyway, back to housing¡­ what does Cynthia think about it?" Volkner pondered on how to answer the question. He could very well lie and say that she''d have his head if he didn''t sign a housing bill, especially when Gym Leaders were a part of the League itself. They had a direct line of contact with Cynthia while mayors did not¡ª or at least not at the moment. But that wasn''t really his style. "I''ll be honest with you Sanchez. We''ve worked together for a while, I think you''re an intelligent guy," Volkner replied. "She doesn''t care, at the moment. This is a local matter." Sanchez finally found his voice and started speaking more confidently, as if he''d been scared that Volkner would snitch before asking him that question. "Just like she doesn''t care about the rising crime rate in Jubilife, the deficit issues, the poachers near Pastoria and the crumbling tourism industry. We have 36% fewer tourists thanst year, and it isn''t even summertime yet, Volkner. 36%! Sunyshore''s never seen such a sharp drop in tourism in a single year. The Conference this summer will have half of its seats empty. The Champion is growingx. I''m not the only one that thinks it. Why do you think they stopped doing approval rating polls?" Volkner inhaled, letting the bubbling rage subside before he answered. Cynthia had given him so much. All of them too. And when the going got hard, people drew their knives behind their backs while they shook your hand. Cynthia worked harder than all of thembined. There were no breaks, no respite, no time to breathe. She took it all upon her shoulders and bore with it. "I''d suggest you don''t continue this," Volkner said. "We''re living through extraordinary times." "And those times require action, which hasn''t happened since Sceon, and I''m convinced that was because that city was almost destroyed. The rest of us get crumbs." Volkner stayed silent for a few seconds Better not rise to that level. Threatening was beyond him. Maybe Jasmine was rubbing off on him too much. "I had another matter I wanted to bring up with you. Consider it a favor," Volkner said. "In approximately¡­ a week and two days, I''d say. I''m going to need you to prepare the city for ckouts." "ckouts? What section?" "All of it," Volkner added. "Call it a ten-minute maintenance at a press Conference or something. Say that the grid is overloaded and we need to do some check-ups. Have our key infrastructure run on their generators for those ten minutes, and it should be fine." "Could I have the real reason?" "No. I''m sorry." Sanchez sighed. "We''ve had a good rtionship, Volkner. It isn''t often that a Mayor and Gym Leader cooperate as closely as we do." "Hmhm." "Yet being kept in the dark like this¡­ still bothers me," the mayor sighed. After a short bout of silence, he continued. "But I''ll get it done." "Appreciate you, Tom," Volkner said. "That''s Mr. Sanchez to you," he joked before hanging up. Volkner nodded to himself and ced his phone back onto his desk. Electricity was aplex thing. Electabuzz''s evolution would be a long and grueling process. He still remembered being in Grace Pastel''s position like it was yesterday. Grace would have to wait a while before revealing Electivire, but he doubted that many would corroborate the two events. People often didn''t look at the simplest solution to a problem. Still, for safety''s sake, he would get his dark types to disable the thin stream of dark TE and allow her to Teleport in and out so no one would spot her. The Gym Leader heard a knock on his door, and Jasmine barged in like she owned the world. "Hey!" He smiled. "What happened? You look happy." "Volkner! Guess what, guess what?" She yelled as she scurried toward him. He wrapped her into a tight hug and kissed her. He couldn''t help but feel guilt when he instinctively felt relief that he couldn''t taste any alcohol. Trusting her with this was hard, especially when she wasing back home alone because of work. "What is it?" He asked. "I passed by a bar on the way home and I felt nothing," Jasmine grinned. "No primal urge to run in there and order something, and I didn''t even feel thirsty! I did look back for a second, but I mean, I didn''t actually have to release Metagross so they could stop me¡ª" "Arceus¡­ I''m so proud of you." Volkner hugged her again. "Are you crying?" "Shut it. I don''t cry." ¡ª Another day, another flurry of battles¡ª most of them high leveled. His final fight of the day had been against another one of the blessed kids, and he had performed incredibly well. Chase Karlson''s Pokemon might not have had the firepower others had, but their fundamentals were all trained far beyond their level and his Darkfire attack had even caught Volkner off-guard. It wasn''t often that six-badgers knew how to y with dark TE to such an extent. That Houndoom would be a real menace when it reached its full potential. It leaned against its dark typing a whole lot, unlike Flint''s Houndoom who had basically neglected that entire side of him save for a few tricks that Volkner knew by heart. His Abomasnow had coated the entire arena in a Sleep Powderbined with Blizzard which made all of his Pokemon sluggish. Sigilyph could Teleport Volkner''s attacks away from itself and didn''t have to spend energy on dodging. Lucario''s aura maniption was something he would only see out of Maylene''s. Zangoose hade already burned and was not only incredibly fast, but could tear his Pokemon to shreds from up close and at a distance. Vikavolt''s maneuverability was incredible and it had forced Volkner not to set up Electric Terrain because it could take advantage of it more than his own Pokemon. But Chase Karlson still had much to work on. His Pokemon had clearly been at the sixth-badge level, but his mindset was not, and because of it he had only won 4-5. The cap-wearing teenager battled like no one would punish him for his mistakes and took too many risks. Oh well, it was just more talent to nurture. Byron would probably shut him down hard if he didn''t fix his issues. Gym Leaders would not allow a trainer to pass the eighth Gym with such ring problems, and he wasn''t the only one in his group with issues. Volkner''s eyes narrowed when one of his trainers waited for him at his office. "Leader Volkner! Cynthia on the line in your office, sir!" "Leslie? Since when do you speak like that?" Volkner frowned. "Did Jasmine put you up to this?" The young girl blushed. "Um, yes." "Rx, okay? This technically isn''t the League. Speak to me however you want. You don''t even have to add Leader before my name." "R¡ªright." "And stop listening to Jasmine. She likes to trample meek people, it''s how she copes with her withdrawal. I''ll talk to her, okay?" "Thank you, Lea¡ª Volkner." "Gotcha. Say, there''s a second-badge Gym Battle after this one. Tell Rocky I told you that you can take over that one. Get yourself some more practice," he said. The girl beamed and ran off, nearly tripping when she stepped into the elevator. Volkner opened the door to his office and smiled when he saw Raichu sitting at his desk. "Get off there, you," he smirked. "I hope you didn''t send any emails. And that you didn''t scare Leslie." The electric type snickered and climbed on his shoulder, his long whip-like tail hanging next to his back. Just like almost every Gym Leader save for Roark, Volkner''s Pokemon liked to wander the Gym wherever they pleased. Raichu usually spent the most time with his two kids¡ª The Pichu and Pikachu who wore ribbons on their ears¡ª but he''d swung by to hang out. Electivire was still brooding about his loss to Electabuzz because he was still a child at heart. Jolteon was definitely asleep on his and Jasmine''s bed, hogging all of the space for himself like usual. Luxray was downstairs helping Pokemon train, and Ambipom was helping whoever was currently at the Gym''s reception. Octillery and Lanturn were the only ones in their Pokeballs at the moment. Just like Flint, Volkner hadn''t always been a type specialist. Ambipom and Octillery were his second and third Pokemon, but he''d decided to lean fully into the type after realizing its limitless potential. Although Volkner was sure that any type specialist would say the same about their own type. The Gym Leader picked up the phone, and Cynthia''s smooth voice rang out. "Volkner. How''s your day going?" "So and so," he said. Raichu mored in his ear, and he changed his answer. "It''s going great, actually. You?" "Terrible. But it could be worse," she said. "Did you hear the news?" "Cynthia, if you have to ask if I''ve heard the news, I haven''t heard the news." The Championughed¡ª and Volkner caught himselfughing too. It was a rare sight, to see her genuinelyughing. Unfortunately, the event was short-lived. "Bad news, I''m afraid," she sighed. "International trouble." "I''ve been battling and crawling through paperwork all day." "Gr''s started to move. They''ve frozen our foreign currency reserves and the assets of a lot of our politicians, and the riff-raff aren''t happy. Then there are the usual sanctions they already have on Indigo. Restraining loans, investment, trade¡­ I''ll have Lucian write you up a report." Volkner drummed his fingers against the desk. "Already? I just spoke to Sanchez about that yesterday¡­ I thought they''d wait." "Oh, they''ve got a new Champion that''s incredibly charismatic, so you know how that usually goes," Cynthia said. "Youe in, sit in that chair for the first time and you start thinking you can save the entire world." Cynthia stopped, and Volkner didn''t exactly know what to say. "Leon, right?" He probed. "Yes. He''s invited ''all of the democratic nations of the world'' to do the same," Cynthia chuckled. "But the other so-called ''democratic'' countries haven''t done anything but condemnations so far. I''ve tried talking to him, but Leon doesn''t want to speak to a dictator. I also thought that Unova would stay on our side after all of the rapprochement we had this past decade, but I suppose they don''t like seeing the system we imported from them be ripped to shreds." "You''re doing it because you have to." "And yet it hurts." Volkner blinked. He didn''t often see her espouse weakness before¡ª not that he minded! And he understood. She''d torn apart the system that she''d taken decades to put into ce in less than a year. Volkner couldn''t even imagine Sunyshore losing all of the progress the city had made during his tenure. The moment of weaknesssted only a second. "I wanted to warn you personally because Sunyshore is going to get hit particrly hard. I apologize." "I know. I''m guessing the materials to create sr panels are in the sanction package." "Yes. Sr cells specifically. Sinnoh''s stillcking in semiconductor manufacturing. It hase to my attention that there was some debate about some housing bill¡­ that''ll have to wait, I''m afraid." She already knew, Volkner noticed. "What do I do about Grace Pastel''s Electabuzz¡ª" "Evolve him. There''s only so much electricity we can store, so it does not matter in the long run," she instantly answered. "I''ll have to call Mark Obel to negotiate some kind of deal, otherwise we''ll be pushed into the arms of Kanto-Johto for trade and politically as a whole. Honestly, we might still strike a deal with Indigo. I''ll see if I can wrangle the two sides together. Hoenn¡­ well, Hoenn has no backbone. They''ll stay neutral, but maybe we can use this. Still, this risks an entire political realignment¡­" Volkner opted to let her ramble about geopolitics for a while. Cynthia didn''t really have many people to vent to. "Mark Obel. Quiet, reserved, and often underestimated," she continued. "And yet, just like Gr, he''s in the hands of a few corporations. Looks like I''ll have to trade him his father back." "rence Obel?!" Volkner stammered. "The investigation on him is nearly done anyway. If Gr and Unova drop us, Sinnoh will copse," Cynthia said as a matter of fact. "We have fewer people, less economic power, and we import our food to have a surplus. We''re small, Volkner. I am a realist at heart. I know how Mark works. He could care less about his father. Do you know about what is happening in Unova?" "An energy crisis." "Correct. There''s also the start of a political upheaval going on and a refugee crisis due to Orre, but that isn''t relevant at the moment. The people that are truly in power, the suits behind the seat, they want rence Obel back to stabilize the Obel Energy Company." "That''s the issue when you rely on onepany for the majority of your energy¡­ majority of anything, actually." "A lesson we learned dearly with Harvey Bianchi and the Hunter family," Cynthia agreed. "Either way, I am sure that if we free Mr. Obel, then Unova will look the other way. Then it''s just a matter of convincing Kalos not to follow their dear old rival Gr into their ns. It should be easier said than done. I already have our diplomats talking at their embassy." "Should I talk to Jasmine? She could get Lance to support us, and unlike Unova and Gr, whatever the Champion says goes in Indigo." "I would appreciate that. This is going to hurt, Volkner. I''ve already got my economists and Lucian''s kazam on it, but there''s only so much we can do when the central bank of the world decides to destroy us. We''re looking at a way of dodging them by trading for sanctioned goods through Hoenn, but that''ll be inefficient and they''ll extort us." "The knives are out. So much for sharing a bond from living on the same continent." "Yes. I haven''t felt this way since I was a child," Cynthia said. Volkner almost thought she was smiling, but that must have been his imagination. "Regardless, get that Electabuzz evolved, and remember to talk to Jasmine. A report wille to you shortly, and like always, let me handle the press." "Are you sure you don''t need help¡ª" "Let me handle the press, Volkner," she repeated more firmly. Volkner wanted to protest. She already handled everything. "Fine," he sighed. "Arceus, what a shitshow. I fucking hate politics." "I''ll see youter." The Champion hung up, and Volkner stood to look through his office window. Sunyshorey below him in all of its glory. A colorful pattern of blue sr panels. A home to millions of people. His people. They had no idea what wasing, did they? Sanctions sounded scary on television, but they didn''t know what it truly implied. "Fuck," he swore through clenched teeth. ¡ª "So you want me to call Lance?" "Yes," Volkner nodded. "Sorry to use you for work stuff, but my boss asked, so I''ve got no choice in the matter. Butter him up and get him to call Cynthia. A conversation between the two would solve a lot of problems, but she''s the only one who doesn''t care about two Champions actually talking to each other. It rarely ever happens." "Well Lance likes to cultivate this image of being above everyone else, but I''ll try," Jasmine said. "I might have to sell that you need him. He respects strength, though, so I think I can make it happen. I''ve always wanted to fight Cynthia''s Spiritomb!" "Do it by any means possible. And Cynthia doesn''t care about what you have to do, she doesn''t have much of an ego," Volkner shrugged. "When ites down to it, she''ll get down to crawl in the mud. She would die for Sinnoh." "Any good Champion would die for their region," Jasmine said. "I''ll call him right away. This''ll just make you more of a pariah, though. A rapprochement with the world''s boogeyman? How exciting." "Not like we have much of a choice in the matter. Sinnoh''s got 30 million people to Kanto-Johto''s 250 million and you''re self-sufficient." Jasmine hugged Volkner from behind. He was still sitting in his chair, and her arms wrapped around his neck. "Maybe that''ll stop you from trying to be like Gr and Unova," she softly said. "The culture''s different. You can''t fight against that." "I disagree, but it''s not like we have the luxury of choosing at the moment." There was a flurry of reasons Kanto-Johto was self-sufficient, but the one Volkner was the most familiar with was Pokemon-generated energy. Something that had been banned in almost every region due to the horrible abuses suffered by the working Pokemon was still legal andmon in Indigo. Volkner was an electric-type specialist, and he knew first-hand how terrible those conditions must have been. For all he loved Jasmine, getting closer to her country left a bad taste in his mouth. "Oh well," Volkner sighed. "They forced our hand." The next day, Cynthia and Lance called. A few hourster, a brand new partnership between the two regions was announced, and Kanto-Johto spoke out against Gr''s ''unjust persecution'' of Sinnoh. The world was moving.
Chapter 240 Chapter 240 CHAPTER 240 If I had to describe Mira''s performance in one word, it would be underwhelming. The way she''d fought had no mistakes I could spot, but it had all been so small-scalepared to what Chase and Denzel had done that she''d been at a disadvantage from the first second of the battle. "I really thought you wouldn''t care," Cecilia told Mira. "I thought you didn''t want to bother with badges." Mira''s face scrunched up. "I didn''t think I would care. But as it turns out, I don''t know what the fuck I care about." Chase shrugged with his arms crossed as he leaned against the Center''s wall for support. We''d just tested if the Voice worked through a phone by having me leave the room, and we''d quickly found out that it did not. Next on the list was trying a dyedmand and asking someone to act normally for¡­ say forty minutes before having them do something. "You cked off," he said. "That''s what happens when you take it easy for too long." "I¡ª I know," she said. "It''s not the stupid badge I care about, it''s the weakness. I''m weak." I raised a hand. "That''s¡ª" "True," Chase said. "She is weak." "And to think I wanted to stand up to Team Gctic admins? If I hadn''t been lucky or hadn''t had guards, I might have died a thousand times over. I thought it was at least partly skill¡­ but it was all luck. Luck and that blessing." "So? What are you going to do?" Cecilia asked. "I don''t know. Gather my thoughts for a few hours, maybe. One thing''s for sure, I won''t challenge Volkner again. Two weeks is too long to be stuck in this city. We were already thinking about leaving soon." As soon as Honey had evolved, I subconsciously added. "But Wake?" She continued. "I mean, I''ll try. But as it stands, I''ll lose. I thought I could just do what I usually did¡­ just rely on Teleportation to overwhelm, use my head to find an easy way to win and call it a day, but that''s wrong. I need to actually push myself to win and get better so I can fight Gctic." "So the Conference¡­?" I trailed off. "Is a no-go. But hey, if everything goes well, I''ll be in the stands cheering you guys on," she said with a sad smile. "This sucks. I fell behind." "Everyone''s been training their asses off in Sunyshore. You needed to do the same," Chase said. "She did train," I said. He nodded half-heartedly. "But not enough." "Not enough," Mira repeated. "Damn it." There were no jokes. No asking Chase on a date to cheer her up, or that sarcasm we''d learned to know her for. Nothing. She was just genuinely disappointed. ¡ª "Okay," Denzel sighed. "I''m ready¡­ I think. I''m nervous. Do you think we should maybe only have Sylvi out for this¡ª" "Dude, no," I interrupted. "This problem rtes to your entire team, and we''ve already said they''d be here." Denzel''s face and shoulders tightened. We had decided to do this on the isted patch of beach I''d found in case things got bad. Sylveon was in a very vtile emotional state, so we weren''t going to take any risks and kazam and Gardevoir were still getting fixed up at the Pokemon Center. My nose tingled at the salty smell of the ocean and the sound of waves crashing against the sand was constant, but somewhat reassuring. The sun was a semi-circle just above the horizon and the entire sea shone with a bright orange. "Remember, I''m here no matter what," I reassured him. "You can count on me to help." "Okay. Thank you," he said. "You''re a great friend." Denzel released his Pokemon one by one. Swablu scowled at me before settling on her trainer''s head. Since she was the newest member of his team, she was the one I understood the least, but that was fine. If I really needed help tranting, I''d just go through another Pokemon. Roserade immediately tensed, her roses bristling in the evening wind. Milotic appeared closer to the sea, and the waves brushed up against his scales. The sheer anxiety bleeding off his body was palpable, and he coiled up while he waited,forting himself with the water''s touch. Fross was focused. Not once did she blink in and out of existence, nor did she spread frost around her. Lopunny pped her cheeks and nodded pumping herself up and her team with encouraging words. They had all been forewarned as soon as they''d been out of the Pokemon Center. I released Princess as well, because she was Sylveon''s best and possibly only friend outside of his team. She''d gotten much better at hovering, and she instantly started twirling in the air to practice her bnce. Princess knew what wasing, but she always spent every minute out of her Pokeball practicing. She hadn''t sculpted anything or worked on her moves in days. "Now, I''m going to serve primarily as a trantor, but I only have one mouth, so try to speak one at a time so I can ry to Denzel," I said. Lopunny''s grammar still wasn''t good enough for text-to-speech and it would be quicker this way. "I''ll be a neutral observer too." "Before we start I want to¡­ I want to apologize to you guys," Denzel spoke up. He hesitated, picking up Swablu into his arms. The flying type didn''t nip his fingers like she used to. "I''ve neglected the problems brewing in the team and for that, I''m sorry." Denzel was almost always cheerful, so seeing him like this hurt. He was nervous, but he tried to appear confident and smiled for his team. Here was possibly the hardest worker of our entire group. He juggled so many aspects of life that I had no idea how he handled everything at once. "Here goes nothing¡ª and be calm, okay?" Denzel said. Sylveon appeared in a sh of red and eyed all of us¡ª at first, with cheerfulness. I supposed it wasn''t often that he got Denzel alone to himself at this time of day, since he usually hung out with Emi and Pauline thiste in the evening or was streaming, or marketing, or speaking with his sponsors, or¡­ There was so much. "Sylvi," Denzel said as he crouched next to the fairy type. "We need to talk about you and me." Immediately, I felt the dread leaking out of Sylveon. And yet his face stayed the exact same. He smiled, nodding at Denzel. If I hadn''t be an empath, would I have been able to tell he feared what was toe? No. And hereiny the problem. Sylveon had gotten so good at tricking his team and Denzel, pretending that everything was fine. If we hadn''t decided to speak to him now, who knew what would have happened when he couldn''t handle the pressure any longer? "It''se to my attention that you''ve tried to ruin my rtionship with Emilia and Pauline." Sylveon''s feelers tensed. Now that the confrontation was in full swing, he wouldn''t be able to hide any longer. The fairy type was good at hiding his true feelings, but not that good. He shot Lopunny and I dirty looks¡ª "No. Look at me," Denzel said. His tone was gentle, yet firm. "That''s not okay, Sylveon. You can''t just meddle in things like that." The fairy type spoke up for the first time. "He wants to speak alone," I tranted before shaking my head. He probably thought he''d be able to salvage things if it was only him and Denzel. "No, Sylvi. We''re doing this together. All of us. And we won''t leave this beach until we''ve made up." Sylveon''s lips quivered, and he cried out in protest. Denzel''s entire team had different reactions. Swablu huffed and I was pretty sure she threw out an insult his way. Milotic profusely apologized, bowing his head over and over but said that this was for the good of the team. Fross silently agreed as she drifted in the wind. Roserade sat on the sand and closed her eyes, her head hanging low with disappointment. Lopunny told Sylveon that this was for his own good. "He called them traitors," I ryed. "I don''t think he means it." Sylveon barked at me and told me to shut up. Princess'' eyes narrowed and shended on the beach, ring at him. "Stop it," Denzel said. "Just stop. You''ve been found out. You can''t wriggle your way out of this. It''s over." The fairy type took a step back, and for a second, I thought he''d run. He didn''t. Instead, he teared up and sobbed. Princess'' look softened and she floated over, patting him on the head with a wing. We let him cry for a while. It would do no good to strike at him while he was at his weakest emotionally. His ribbons drooped to the ground and swayed in the sand and his tears glimmered pink in the setting sun. No one dared to approach, even if Milotic clearly wanted to. Consequences, I thought. Harsh, but unfortunately fair. Better it happen now than when irreparable damage had been done. After a few minutes, Sylveon was tapped out of tears. He resigned to his fate and waited for Denzel to speak. "First, I want to ask you. Why?" My best friend asked. "Why do this?" Sylveon sighed in defeat, but he didn''t resist. He exined himself, calling Pauline and Emilia all kinds of names in the process. I opted to nce over those details. "He says you''ve been spending no time with him and all of your time with them," I said. "That isn''t true!" He eximed. "I make time for all of you¡ª we spend time together every day for hours!" I waited for the fairy type to speak again. "It''s gotten lower, that''s his problem," I said. "And he thinks that if you start dating, it''ll go down and down until he barely sees you any longer. He knows that Pauline doesn''t like him and he thinks that she''s trying to purposefully take you away." Denzel exhaled, chewing on his next words. "Sylveon. You''ve been such a big part of my life¡ª and things won''t change if I start dating anyone." The fairy shook his head. "It''s always been you and him. He didn''t mind when you were just friends with others. You never spent as much time with friends as you do with them. Now he thinks he''ll disappear and be irrelevant," I tranted. Roserade spoke up for the first time and shrugged. "She says Sylveon is being extra and that this isn''t like him. That you should be allowed to do whatever you want and that no neglect hase her way or the way of your team." The fairy type tried to pretend like he ignored thement, but I could tell he''d felt emotional pain. Roserade¡ª Denzel''s oldest, first teammate that he''d caught had just spoken out against him. When I told Denzel what had been said, he raised a hand. "Don''t make it so personal," he tried, but the grass type spoke over him and said that this was personal. There were no more rtionship games. It seemed that Sylveon''s behavior thesest few weeks had eroded Roserade''s love for him so much that she felt no problem speaking out, and the poison type wasn''t one to be gentle when she spoke. Milotic stammered out a few words to try to calm the situation down, but Denzel was the one who stopped the dispute. "Look. In your ideal world, I know that I just give up and never see Emilia or Pauline ever again, but that''s not possible. Even if this thing doesn''t work out with them, then I''d like to stay friends," Denzel said. "And I won''t be single forever, even without them." Sylveon barked. "One woman, he could maybe handle. That was a really shaky ''maybe''." "So the number''s the problem?" Denzel sighed. "I get it. I mean, it''s kind of weird to me too, but it hasn''t made me ufortable yet, at least." Lopunny talked this time, and Sylveon nearly gasped in disbelief. "She says she really likes Emilia and Pauline''spany, and that they make herugh," I said. "Fross likes Pauline too, and Milotic likes Emi¡ª" The water type shrunk, retreating further into the water. "Sylveon''s the only one with the issue, and he''d like to figure out a way to fix things together." "We all would," Denzel nodded. "Is there a¡ª apromise that can be reached, somehow?" Sylveonughed dryly. "I''m serious," he said. "Let''smunicate. We should have been doing this from the start. I don''t want you to feel the need to hide things from me." Milotic hesitantly murmured to Sylveon. "Milotic''s saying that Sylveon spending time with Pauline, Emilia and their Pokemon instead of always ring at them could help¡ª" Sylveon pushed him away with his ribbons, and Denzel shot up. "Hey! Rx, okay? No need for anything violent." Milotic shrunk away, nearly crying as Fross floated toward him. The ice type ced a cold hand on his head while Swablunded on his back and chirped. I''d never heard the flying type be so . Sylveon whispered an apology to Milotic, but no one bothered to listen. He was losing all of his friends. "Milotic''s suggestion was good, but I''ll throw in something else. I can''t just ask you to give something. I''ll give something away too. Now that we''ve got our badge and we''re in a good spot money-wise, I''ll take some time off streaming. What do you say?" Sylveon blinked, and then turned his head. "He''s saying that things will just return to how they were as soon as they leave Sunyshore," I sighed. This was difficult. Far harder than I thought it would be. "Compromise is how we work through this," Denzel said. "Please. Give it a try." Swablu squawked at Sylveon in agreement, saying that even if she thought Pauline and Emilia were dirty, she still wasn''t demanding anything out of Denzel. Lopunny chimed in and said to just try and she swore that things would get better. Fross tried to lift the mood with a joke, but I didn''t hear the end of it before Roserade told him to stop being a baby and return to how he used to be. He was always the same, I thought to myself. Just better at hiding it when Denzel wasn''t in anything official. He had hid or dragged Denzel away while they trained on multiple asions and despised any girl that looked to have feelings for him even if he didn''t return them. They all spoke as one, and Sylveon stepped back again, but he was cornered¡ª Denzel approached him, walking on his knees since he''d been crouching. Sylveon screwed his eyes shut, closed his eyes and screamed to leave him alone¡ª "Princess¡ª" The ribbonsshed out like whips in every direction. They cracked against the sand, Sylveon''s own body and¡­ Denzel''s shoulder. I quickly dug through my backpack for a bandage while almost all of Sylveon''s team jumped on him to restrain him from doing any more harm. Fross raised her hand, and all of Sylveon''s ribbons froze in ce. Lopunny tackled the fairy and pinned him to the ground. Milotic wrapped around him and held him tight. Roserade watched and shook her head in disappointment, but Denzel called out to them and raised his arm. The front of his shoulder had been branded red, and blood dripped onto the sand, both from Sylveon''s ribbon and the gash in Denzel''s skin. His face was pale and his breaths trembled, but he wasn''t scared. "Let him go," he winced. "Thank you for the help." This time, Sylveon looked ready to run, but the guilt superseded his need to get out of there a thousand times. He cried, desperately apologizing for what he''d done. "I know, Sylvi," Denzel said. He dragged the fairy type into his arms and brushed his fur. "I know." I sighed in relief, but still whispered to Princess to stay ready. Her new form had made her instincts grow awkward. It was hard to instantly put up a barrier when she was spending so much of her brain power focused on floating. When they finished hugging, I patched Denzel up with a bandage around his armpit and shoulder. He''d have to go see a doctor as soon as possible. We all knew that he was only putting on a brave face. His paleness showed that he was in extreme pain right now. "My offer''s still on the table," Denzel said. "And tell you what, why don''t I look into hiring a¡­ uh, manager or something so I don''t spend as much time working." My eyes widened. "That''s a great idea! If you had your own Melody, then you''d have so much more free time! They can help you with your online stuff too. Like, a secretary." My friend took a bit to answer due to the pain in his shoulder, but he nodded. "Except that they''d be independent instead of bound to a singlepany." "Coordinators do it all the time, no?" "Well, not all the time¡­ but Emi''s been looking into themtely. I wasn''t sure if I needed one before this, and it''s kind of scary to give so much control away, but I''ll do it¡ª" Sylveon shook his head. He was sobbing so uncontrobly that he was almost impossible to understand. Half of Denzel''s shirt was soaked in tears. "He says you don''t have to change anything. And that he''s sorry. Multiple times," I said. Lashing out against Denzel had been as big of a wake-up-call as he could have gotten. He was ready to fold so easily now. "No." Denzel''s team stared at him in silence. There was no sound but the sea brushing up against the sands and the cries of a flock of Wingull overhead. "I''m the trainer. I am responsible for this," he said, touching his bandage. "I should have spotted that something was wrong. I should have done this much earlier before it blew up like it did. It was hard without understanding you all besides a fewmon words, but with Lopunny getting better at writing, I''ll hope that if you have aint¡ª any of you," he paused and looked at every teammate. "That you''ll have her tell me. No matter what it is. And Lopunny, I trust you to actually tell me the problem this time. Okay?" The normal type nodded, apologizing for keeping this hidden from him for so long. She teared up and began to me herself, and Roserade tapped her on the back. The grass type might have been a thorny flower, but she loved her team all the same. They all did. In the end, Sylveon agreed to try to spend more time with Pauline and Emi to learn to know them, and this time, it truly felt like there had been a breakthrough. Like it would turn for the better after so many months of burying the issue. "Could you let us be for a bit," Denzel asked. "Just for ten minutes or so." "Okay," I said. "Um, I''ll be behind the rocks, okay? You really need to get to a Center." "I will. Just¡­ let us watch the sunset." I dipped my head and called on Princess, who followed me without missing a beat. "And Grace. Thanks for the help. For everything." "I love you, you oaf," I smiled. "I love you too." Sylveon ended up falling asleep next to Denzel. He was emotionally and mentally exhausted, but my friend hadn''t stopped saying how much Sylveon had apologized while he drowsed off. When we reached the Pokemon Center, he was taken into the human wing to get looked at by a doctor. I didn''t really know the extent of the wound, but the sound the ribbon had made when touching Denzel''s skin was still fresh in my mind. I hadn''t known when I''d gotten tired either, but my bed seemed like the best thing in the world right now. I considered telling Pauline and Emilia about the intervention and Denzel''s wound, but I decided against it. Denzel would prefer to tell them himself, and I doubted the doctors would keep him for long. I spent around thirty minutes with Justin and Cecilia before heading off to sleep. Princess really did make a good pillow. ¡ª As it turned out, Denzel''s wound wasn''t as bad as it looked when I had bandaged it, but his doctor had said that it would most likely leave a shallow scar on his shoulder. Even if he''d spoken to Emi and Paulinest night, I knew he had a lot to do and he''d be busy the next few days, so I only saw him once in the morning. I would have slept in, but today was an important day. It was my first practical flying lesson with Princess, and if I was even more than five minuteste they''d give my spot to another trainer. I had passed my first test with flying colors, getting 95% because of some stupid nightlight question I had gotten wrong. They had to be attached to the Pokemon, not the trainer, although putting some on both wasmon. It was the best way to avoid collisions mid-air in the dead of night. The closer I got to Flight School, the more excited I got and the more my tiredness melted away. I ran toward the courtyard, which was currently only upied by my apparent teacher and ten other students. Far fewer than had been in my theoretical sses, but that was probably because she needed to focus on us individually. She was a tall-looking woman with a towering Staraptor standing next to her with a saddle already on his back. As soon as the clock struck ten in the morning, our instructor started to speak. "Good morning, aspiring fliers!" She smiled. "My name is Coraline Herrera, but you can call me Coral or Ms. Coral, if you want to be formal. Today''s your first day actually flying. How are you all feeling?" Excited cheers ran through all of us, and I would have been lying if I hadn''t yelled too. Who wouldn''t be excited at the prospect of flying? "Excellent! Now, the first step is actually the most important¡ª you always need to check with your Pokemon before you fly. If they''re feeling tired, angered, or emotional in general, idents may happen¡­" I internally groaned. Procedure again? I wanted to get in the sky already! After she rambled for at least five minutes, she continued. "Next up, this is the ''bird'' body type ss, so you''ll be able to pick up your saddles over here on the hanger," she said, pointing toward the edge of the courtyard. "When you''ve got them, release your Pokemon and I''ll teach you how to put on your saddle on each of them. Even with the same body type, every Pokemon species is different! I already see some of you rolling your eyes. For the people who swear they won''t need a saddle, you''ll be learning how to ride with one in my ss. If that bothers you, you''re free to leave." Her amusing demeanor disappeared in an instant. Ms. Coral took flying very seriously. I grabbed the saddle (which looked a lot bigger from up close, but they were all foldable to fit in bags, just like the one I''d buy), and we all released our Pokemon. Two Pidgeot, another two Staraptor, a Corviknight, two Unfeazant, a Talonme way bigger than Cece''s, a Bombirdier, and a Swanna. I released Princess, who looked ufortable in front of all of these new faces, but she puffed up her chest and closed her eyes to show off. As it turned out, putting on a saddle was a lot more difficult than I thought it was, and I was the only one with the problem. Everyone else had finished in a sh, and Ms. Coral had to help me buckle the straps around Princess'' wings. I swallowed the embarrassment and listened to our instructor tell us about making sure the saddle wasn''t loose anywhere by having our Pokemon move around to check, and maybe even take a small test flight for a few seconds. Then, we put on our eye goggles, and she told us to always wear them just to stay safe. There were a few stories about trainers getting their eyes hurt, or even worse, injured from getting stuff in there while they flew. But atst, we actually mounted on our fliers. I felt goosebumps on my arms as soon as I stepped on Princess'' back. I strapped a belt around my legs and waist to keep me from falling over. "It''s up to you now, young trainers!" The instructor cheered as she got on her Staraptor. The flying type pped his wings and slowly rose up into the air. "You know your Pokemon better than I! We''ll do a loop around the courtyard at first. Follow me!" I was amongst thest to rise, mostly because Princess was incredibly nervous she''d drop me. Her wings trembled and the little crown on her head twitched. "We''ll be okay," I softly said, petting her head. "Just rx. Act like I''m not here." I froze up when the air around her swirled, and she floated up¡ª just a few feet at first. Then, she rose far above the courtyard and joined Ms. Coral in the skies. The oceany in front of me in all of its glory, and for the first time, it did not feel like an insurmountable barrier any longer, despite how foolish that thought was. The Lily of the Valley ind sat there, imposing as always. I adjusted my goggles and gasped, in awe of everything. My feet dangled in the air, and a cold brush of wind blew past me. I was in the sky. We were flying! "You''re doing great, Princess," I said, leaning in toward her ears. She chirped in response as we followed Ms. Coral around the courtyard. Everything felt so freeing, as if I had wings of my own. For an instant, I wanted nothing more than to tell Princess to speed up and fly away to anywhere we wanted, but I was sure she''d disagree even harder than Coraline would. This was how people that flew felt every time? How liberating! I wanted to scream for joy. My bindings had been smashed and I could finally be free. I giggled as I caressed Princess'' head. She was starting to get into it and have fun too, and she was even speeding up at times. To hear the wind whistling past my ears when she''d be able to go faster¡­ I couldn''t wait. "This could get addicting," I told her. Unfortunately, the lesson onlysted two hours. We learned how to handle ourselves on a saddle (and I learned that sitting on that saddle design for two hours straight hurt my back), how to handle sharp turns, all kinds ofndings, and we even had a few of our Pokemon use attacks while we were flying on them. Aerial battles are a skill that every trainer with a license needs to know, she had said. I understoodpletely. Craig had told me that he often got attacked on Roxie''s back when he flew near Mount Cor. I stretched as Princess hovered over me next to the bus stop. "That was fun, wasn''t it? I wish we could take another ss right now." The fairy type chirped, but she said that I''d need to watch my back. "I''m alright! Now that I walked around for a bit, it''s feeling really good. We might have to take breaks during extended flights, but that''ll be fine." Princess nodded and wondered if she''d be able to sculpt while flying any time soon to pass the time. "Let''s not get too ahead of ourselves," Iughed. "But maybe one day." We waited in silence for a few minutes, and she was such a baby that shended in my arms. The hold was extremely unsteady and awkward, but she was only eighty pounds. I had to recall her when we got on the bus. All of my goals for after the seventh badge were now within reach. First, I''d head to Lake Verity to talk to Mesprit. Then, I''d loop around and visit my dad for a day or two in Jubilife¡­ maybe I''d see my mom in Twinleaf too and visit Denzel''s parents,e to think of it. Then I''d go to the Lost Tower to speak to Ruth and Mathilda about finding Honey''s old parents, visit Betrix and Night with the paint and books I promised to buy, and finally, I would enter the ruins on route 210 to find a ydol before flying back toward Canve. Had I been on foot, this would have taken months. With Princess? I could be on the other end of Sinnoh in days. And I would do it all on my own. I had never traveled for that long without my friends, so it would be a new and unique experience, if anything. Oh, and I also had something else to ask Ruth and Mathilda. Was truly killing a ghost possible? Mars'' Dusknoir shed in my mind, and I shuddered as I sank into my bus seat. And what would I feel if I looked at him again now that my gift was fully developed? Questions forter. ¡ª When I entered the Center, I thought nothing would be able to sour my mood after having flown on Princess for the first time, but I was evidently wrong. Cecilia sat at her desk with Louis, leaning against her hands with her phone next to her. Not crying. Something worse. Her fingers tightened, interlocking with each other and her breath was perfectly steady. She was quiet, and Louis breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me enter. Cecilia was like ice. Unmoving, just thinking to herself about whatever had happened. Even my presence didn''t soothe her. There was no immediate beaming smile or soft greeting. There was only a terrifying silence I had never seen from her before. It was rage.
Chapter 241 Chapter 241 CHAPTER 241 "What''s wrong?" I immediately asked. "What happened?" Cecilia''s hands clenched around the desk, and Louis took a step back, almost like he was scared of her. "I just got off the phone with the Champion," she exined. Her voice was perfectly still, and yet I couldn''t help but notice the rageful feeling hidden deep within. "rence will be freed and sent back to Unova." The information dropped on me like a ton of bricks, and my eyes widened. "No." "Yes. Tomorrow, he will be put on a nice, private ne and go back home, and there is nothing we can do about it." "Why?!" I yelled. "That''s fucking bullshit!" "Politics," Louis said. "Gr is leading the charge against Sinnoh and is implementing sanctions, and Unova would have followed had Cynthia not used rence as a political bargain¡ª" Louis'' words died in his mouth when Cecilia drummed her fingers against the table. "After everything he''s done," she said. "He doesn''t even get a p on the wrist. The deal is already finalized." "They won''t do anything to him in Unova?" Cecilia chuckled dryly. "In Unova? He''s a king there, Grace," she said in a forceful tone. "I always knew that there was rot beneath Unova, but I was too naive to think that it wouldn''t spread here. The world is more connected than it''s ever been." "Rot?" "Mark is a spineless coward," Cecilia hissed, her voice full of venom. "You don''t know how Unova''s run, Grace. Let me exin." She turned her seat toward me, her face still perfectly still. "The Championship is fake." Louis scoffed. "It''s not fake¡ª" "Louis." The blond teenager froze up and bit his lip. "The Championship is fake," she repeated, "and so is the Elite Four and parliament. No matter what political party you''re a part of, you''re beholden to the five conglomerates that actually rule the country. X Technologies, the Obel Energy Company, Avalon, Crescent Global, and the Opelucid Group. Together, these fivepanies ount for 57% of our GDP." X Tech, I internally muttered. Melody had spoken to me about them. They were most known for the Xtransceiver, but they delved into a lot more than Poketch did. "Uh, is that a lot?" I asked. "Grace, it''s fucking enormous," she sighed. "Do you understand, now? They control everything. Politicians, the media, the Elite Four, and even my dear brother," she continued through clenched teeth. "Every child dreams of working at one of these fivepanies when they grow up. Even trainers dream of being sponsored by one of them. They''re ingrained in every part of our culture." "Ah. So what you''re implying is that they got together and put pressure on Mark to free rence." "I am not implying, I am saying," she forced. "I thought I could fix Unova from the inside, but the entire system needs to be blown up to smithereens and be rebuilt anew." "You still n on going?" Louis muttered. "What? You want me to run? I''ve had enough of running," she dered. "I will be treated like a pariah. Now that tensions are rising, my closeness to Sinnoh will make me a target if I ever get anywhere close to the Conference there." "Can''t you call Cynthia? Get her to try to¡­ negotiate, maybe?" Louis asked. Cecilia chuckled, and I smiled wryly. "You''re too nice for your own good, Louis," Cece said. "Nothing can be done." She clenched at her clothes, and I ced a hand on her back. "So much abuse, and he gets nothing," she muttered, her voice finally breaking. "Nothing." "We''ll get him," I said. "I''ll help you." Something shifted in my head, and I reached an understanding. rence was no longer paying for his crimes. Someone needed to fix it. Some of Cecilia''s rage was directed at Cynthia, but most of it was actually pointed at Mark. ording to her, he had folded like a piece of paper and he was the worst Champion Unova could have, since he yed into the hands of his ''owners'' instead of actually fighting back. Apparently Gr was in a simr boat, although it was less an equal oligopoly (I had just learned that word today) and more like a hierarchy ofpanies with Macro Cosmos sitting at the top. Macro Cosmos handled everything in Gr, so much so that it was omnipresent. Technology, transport, media, the inte, construction, insurance, banking, energy¡­ the list went on and on. And Unova was just a different side of the same coin. I didn''t understand much of it, but it kind of sounded to me like they were just like a¡­ whitewashed version of Kanto-Johto. Cynthia had promised Cecilia a favor, but she had refused as strongly as humanly possible. Cecilia understood that Cynthia had done this to protect Sinnoh''s interest, but that didn''t mean she wouldn''t be angry. She wanted nothing to do with the Champion, and she would want nothing to do with her until she needed to catch her Spiritomb or Team Gctic struck. I just hoped this wouldn''t impact her Gym Battle tomorrow. When Louis left, Cecilia exhaled like the world was weighing down on her. "Do you know what my first reaction to the news was?" She asked with tired eyes. I shook my head. "It was to use the Voice, Grace. To somehow force things to go my way." "Well¡ª" "And it would be so easy," she interrupted. "So, so, easy. But I must not sumb to temptation. These powers are¡­ a slippery slope. If anything happened to rence, then Sinnoh would reach the brink, and Team Gctic would take advantage. Things are never as simple as they seem." I paused. "You''re a good person, Cece. Just because you thought about it doesn''t mean that you''d actually do it." She tapped a finger against the table. "I don''t know." There wasn''t much left to be said. Cecilia ended up sleeping alone that night. ¡ª Cecilia''s anger had not subsided. It had carried over, magnified, twisted so much that I couldn''t recognize her. I had seen her angry a few times, but never to such an extent. She was not one to scream in anger like I was. Instead, she would silently re at you, pick you apart with words until you gave up or she won the argument by stepping all over you. Except that there was no argument to be won this time. Cynthia had made a decision, and it would be done no matter how much we pleaded. I wasn''t one to understand politics. I didn''t even know what sanctions were. Denzel had told me that tensions between the ''east'' and the ''west'' were growing a few months ago, but anytime he opened his mouth about politics I just started to snore. Either way, none of that mattered now. Her Gym battle was finally starting. Cecilia hade dressed looking her best. Makeup dusted every inch of her face, and she wore a vibrant, high waisted yellow skirt that made her wless dark skin pop, and a brown belt tied around a tucked pale blue chambray shirt. Cecilia red at Volkner when he approached the podium. He was just another outlet for her cold, calcted rage. Her battle would be the usual five-on-five with three switches allowed. Her first Pokemon materialized inside of the arena, the red light growing and growing until it reached thirteen feet tall. Lehmhart hummed, releasing vapor through every crack in his body as his eyes slowly lit up. She was starting strong, I thought. Volkner released a Heliolisk¡ª one of the Pokemon I''d studied the most. "Begin!" The referee yelled, shing down with her arm. "Sunny Day," Volkner said. Heliolisk''s frilled neck fanned out, and a second sun appeared in the sky. A Sr Beam was obviously next, but Cecilia swept her arm. "Resonance and Hammer Arm." Her tone was firm, resolute, and anything but loud. Lehmhart sang¡ª a cacophony of sounds from machinery, to beeping, to hums, but there was also a melody there. A joyous one. He had gotten far better at ying music. The pulse of ghost type energy passed through Heliolisk, dispelling the huge glob of sunlight that had been charging in his mouth. Golurk raised a glowing fist, and the world held its breath. No, it flinched. Impact. The entire Gym quite literally vibrated at once as pure destruction was unleashed onto the field, and the referee nched, calling for a second Kadabra. Boulders exploded upward like shrapnel, and the arena split down the middle, opening up a huge crevasse and threatening to sink Heliolisk. A hole opened in Lehmhart''s arm, and steam hissed out of it as if he needed to release the extra heat his punch had generated. The electric type was just recovering from Resonance, and he crawled up the walls with surprising dexterity. "Shadow Punch." Golurk brought up his other arm, and something snapped. A jet of powerful mes erupted around the arm, and half of it detached itself. The purple arm flew at full speed toward Heliolisk, golden mes and shadows mixing as one. "Dragon Tail," Volkner said. "Phantom Force. Crush him." Heliolisk crawled over the chasm, and a blue light overtook his tail. He waited for the exact right time and mmed it against the flying Shadow Punch. The two stayed frozen there for a second as the electric type screeched to deflect the attack, but Lehmhart disappearing meant that he had other worries. His music cut off as soon as he slipped into the shadows like someone had forcefully pulled out or unplugged my headphones. With a high-pitched roar, Heliolisk redirected the Shadow Punch toward the barrier, and the attack blew up with a deafening boom apanied by echoing screams of spirits. "Sweep the arena with Sr Beam," Volkner ordered. Globs of light materialized in front of Heliolisk''s opened maw, and he hit the entire width of the arena. The beam left behind a trail of destruction and explosions, and it did hit Lehmhart. The ground type reappeared right above Heliolisk, crawling on all fours as his eyes sputtered. His arm independently flew back toward him, but Volkner immediately struck. "Change of ns. Climb on him and strike from there." "Scorching Sands and Stomping Tantrum." The ground around Lehmhart turned to quicksand that burned at Heliolisk''s feet. The normal type screeched as sand clung to his body like it had a mind of its own, but Lehmhart kept up the pressure. Still on all fours, he stomped his knee against the ground, creating a massive earthquake that broke the entire arena apart. Heliolisk blurred with a Quick Attack to prevent as much damage as possible and began to climb on Lehmhart''s arm, but multiple Shadow Balls appeared all along his limb to stop the normal type''s climb. Ghostly strings kept them attached to his arm, but they always rushed toward Heliolisk as soon as Lehmhart let them loose. The electric type weaved in between the first two, but the next three mmed into his chest, head and brushed his arm. But he had his Sr Beam ready. Lehmhart''s song reached a crescendo, and this time his entire arm rumbled. Volkner grinned, and Heliolisk spat out a Sr Beam that was wayrger than anything Angel could muster. Golurk''s left arm flew out like a rocket, propelled both by the Sr Beam and whatever powered Lehmhart, and it smashed into the barrier. The entire structure shimmered, and the crowd gasped, but the barrier held. The sheer force of the impact interrupted Heliolisk''s sr beam, and Lehmhart rose back on his feet. "Swallow him up. Crush him. I don''t care." The electric type attempted to get up, but more Scorching Sands appeared below him and clung to his skin, covering him in burns and wrapping around him like ropes. Lehmhart''s detached arm convulsed for an instant, and then the hand snapped around Heliolisk, squeezing him like a grape until he fainted. Volkner recalled the normal type and nodded to himself as the sun slowly petered out. The entire arena was a mess of ravines, uprooted mountains, ridges and hundreds of boulders. I trusted that Slowking would be able to work something out despite hisck of mobility, and Talonme and Scyther could fly. But Zweilous? He''d be screwed in such an environment, unable to move anywhere. Golurk''s arm clicked back into its socket, and his music intensified. Even with the microphones, it was difficult to hear what Volkner and Cecilia were saying from up here. The Gym Leader sent out his Lanturn next, the same he''d used against me. Lanturn spat out water until¡ª "Resonance and Hammer Arm," Cecilia said. Before Lanturn could even start to float in the sky, another pulse of ghostly energy washed over the entire field. The water type froze, water still dripping from his mouth and Lehmhart only had to take three steps to get close enough to punch. Every time he put everything he had into an attack, the world stood still¡ª Volkner recalled Lanturn. The fight hadn''t even begun, and he''d been forced to get him out of harm''s way. One Hammer Arm to the electric type''s body, and he might have even been out for the count. If I had to guess, Volkner probably thought that Resonance had been a one-time attack or that it would weaken with subsequent uses, and it would, just after being used twice on the same Pokemon. The Gym Leader settled on Magnezone instead, and he ordered him to get as high as possible as soon as he got on the field. "Resonance and Shadow Balls." The same, eerie aura passed through Magnezone, but he was high enough to be out of reach from any of Golurk''s most powerful attacks. Instead, a flurry of Shadow Balls mmed into his metallic shell, and he dodged the next volley with rtive ease. "Use sh Cannon repeatedly." No need for Lock On when Lehmhart was so big, I thought to myself. Magnezone summoned two balls of white light in front of his mas, and both turned into thicksers that cut across Lehmhart''s chest. The ghost type''s eyes dimmed as smoke emanated from his wounds, and he yelled out in song. Cecilia ordered Golurk to send his fist flying another time, but Magnezone shot it out of the sky with sh Cannon and moved out of the way. After another two beams mmed into Golurk and made the golem stagger, Cecilia recalled him. Talonme was next. She released the fire type into the sky, and she was undisturbed by any damage the arena had taken. Talonme spread her wings and sized up Magnezone, her eyes narrowing at him. An Electric Terrain snapped into ce, but Talonme wasn''t as frail as she used to be. It would hurt, but it would not be enough to bring her down. "Lock On and Thunder." Already, Talonme had begun setting up. No longer did she use a simple Tailwind. The wind was hers, and it would blow at her back wherever she went. mes appeared around the flying type as she blurred with a me Charge and a Quick Attack to further boost her speed, and the air around her warped when she finally added Agility to the mix. Thunder cracked, flying out of Magnezone''s mas, and it missed when Talonme ttened her wings and dove closer to the ground. Instead of hitting the barrier, the attack unnaturally twisted and followed Talonme. She was quick, but Thunder was catching up. Every time Talonme pped her wings, hot air descended onto the field. The Heat Wave would prove too much for Magnezone if Cecilia bought enough time, but two Thunders would be enough to take down Talonme. "re Blitz," Cecilia snapped. Talonme screeched, and she made a sharp turn toward Magnezone. "Thunderbolt¡ª" Before Volkner could even finish hismand, the fire type crashed into Magnezone at full speed and they both tumbled to the ground like a huge fireball. The full force of the Heat Wave followed next, because she was so quick that she was faster than her own attack. The Thunder curved downward and barrelled toward Talonme, hitting her right in the back. The flying type and Magnezonended on the ground with a loud crash, but the mes never left Talonme''s body. Magnezone''s head had a disturbinglyrge dent, and some of the metal had begun to melt and fuse together in a horribly wrong fashion, twisting and continuously melding together. Electricity around Magnezone''s mas winked out of existence, and the steel type fainted. Even if Talonme wasn''t in any state to battle, she''d gotten one of Volkner''s Pokemon out of the way. Clean and efficient, I noted. A y to allow Golurk better matchups. Lehmhart was the lynchpin of Cecilia''s entire strategy, and it seemed that she didn''t mind making sacrificial ys to give him better prospects. Volkner sent out his Lanturn again, who was pissed that he''d been recalled so quickly. The water type summoned a thunderous storm and began to float using hydrokinesis and an Aqua Ring shimmered in his bubble. Talonme pped her wings, but she''d been too hurt to fly up and even the subsequent Heat Wave was weakened. Lanturn smirked when a few clouds of vapor rose from his bubble and finished her off with a quick Water Pulse. Cecilia opted to release Scyther next. The bug type screeched, fanning his wings and sharpening his des against themselves while Lanturn looked down on him. He''d already felt Golurk''s resonance once, so a flier like Scyther was the best way to take him down, especially when he stayed so high up in the sky. "Rain Dance," Volkner said. Lanturn''s light shone, and clouds gathered right above him, spreading throughout the entire field. Droplets of rain started to fall, and soon the whole arena would be flooded. "Night sh. Cut him off," Cecilia ordered. Agility and Quick Attack were left unsaid. Scyther broke into a run, hovering in the air with each jump with his wings. He jumped over a ravine and flew up toward Lanturn, his scythes wreathed in darkness. "Thunderbolt." Scyther couldn''t do much to dodge with the Rain Dance here to power up Lanturn''s attacks, and the electricity mmed into his chest. He grunted, his wings faltering for a second, but then he shed across the air. Darkness blurred toward Lanturn and cut across his nk. It was void given the form of an Air sh. The wound stuck, leaking dark type energy and blood like a sieve. The rain immediately weakened, and the electricity in Lanturn''s bubble died out. Even his hydrokinesis began to falter, and the water type lost altitude at an rming rate. "Signal Beam," Volkner quickly spoke. Lanturn''s light shone, emitting a neon green light that Scyther narrowly dodged. The bug type sliced Lanturn''s forehead with an X-Scissor and he didn''t stop. sh, Night sh, Air sh¡ª he savaged Lanturn until Volkner decided to recall him. Scyther let out a taunting screech andnded on top of a small hill. Scyther was still frail, but the sheer brutality he brought to the table couldn''t be ignored. One Night sh was all it took, although I knew dark TE was not infallible as Signal Beam had shown. "Focus, please," Cecilia said. The bug type shrugged, but he listened, squaring himself for his next opponent. A Vikavolt spread and fanned her wings with a loud buzz, her body chock-full of electricity. The air hummed, and electricity began to spread, striking Scyther at regr intervals. Vikavolt took to the air and instantly flew with a burst of speed, just like Chase''s own Vikavolt, only slightly slower. "You know what to do," my girlfriend spoke. Scyther bared his sharp teeth and sped upwards, challenging Vikavolt with a taunting cry. "Don''t get close and Thunderbolt," Volkner said. Scyther was faster than Vikavolt, but any time he got close or he struck her with Night sh, she would fly off with a burst of speed and hit him with Thunderbolt. Vikavolt didn''t even have to turn to use the move in the right direction. Cecilia frowned, and she decided to switch up tactics. "Razor Wind." A bubble of air sharpened around Vikavolt and sliced her up before she could blur away with another explosion of electricity. The electric type screeched, her pincers clicking in irritation, but as it stood, she would easily win long-term. Volkner had other ns, however. "Vise Grip." Vikavolt turned in a way that seemed impossible to the naked eye. It was so sharp that her entire body jerked unnaturally and in a split second, she was facing Scyther. The flying type screeched, coating his arms in darkness, but another burst of speed took him off-guard and Vikavolt''s powerful jaws snapped around his exoskeleton, pinning his scythes against his waist in the process. Volkner cracked a finger and told Vikavolt to finish Scyther off. Cecilia could have switched at this point, but she opted not to. Golurk was her key to winning, as morbid as it was. Scyther had been at a disadvantage from the beginning and he''d done very well. Vikavolt fried Scyther with electricity and dropped him on the ground. Cecilia thanked the bug type, recalling him into his Pokeball. Golurk would be a terrible matchup with a Pokemon with quick bursts of speed like Vikavolt, so she decided to use Slowking instead. The psychic would essentially force Vikavolt into staying far away, but how would he actually strike her? The Electric Terrain was already hurting him, and he couldn''t really move around this destroyed arena. Volkner ordered a Thunderbolt, and Slowking raised a hand. A barrier instantly shimmered¡ª no, it was three barriers. Layers. The empowered Thunderbolt broke through the first, but the second only strained against the electric energy. Even Volkner seemed surprised at that. kazam had told me thatyered barriers were an advanced concept. All this time, Slowking had created barriers for us to train, and he was putting the experience to good use. "Thunder," he said. Vikavolt hovered high in the air, and a blinding light overtook her. Electricity crackled, bearing down on Slowking like a hammer. All of theyers shattered, but the attack was weakened enough to leave the psychic type standing. Each had taken just a little bit more time to break. "Again," Volkner said. "Water Cutter!" Vikavolt needed to sit still to charge up a Thunder, and Cecilia used it to her advantage. The tinyser-like jet of water dented Vikavolt''s exoskeleton and stabbed into her like a knife. The move''s force threw off her aim, and the bug type opted to let the move loose now rather than miss. The world screamed, and Slowking grunted as another Thunder struck him. "Power Gem!" Cecilia swept her arm. Five¡ª twelve¡ª dozens of rocks that had been unearthed by Golurk floated around Slowking like moons around a as his eyes shone. Light enveloped each of them, and they turned intosers. Beams of light that Slowking could aim wherever he pleased. Vikavolt screeched, dodging with another explosion of speed and leaving a trail of electricity behind her, but Slowking was micromanaging so many. Eight beams were continuously following her while the remainder tried to corner and hit her wherever she flew. Smoke emanated from Vikavolt every time the Power Gem hit due to the sheer heat from the attack, leaving red blotches on her exoskeleton. Volkner switched to Bug Buzz and Thunderbolts instead of Thunder. Slowking could only keep one barrier going with so much focus, so Thunderbolt broke his barrier apart and Bug Buzz''s green hue would sneak inside. Thesers veered off course, as if Slowking''s brain had been scrambled. "Thunder." Cecilia inhaled sharply, switching Slowking out before the beam of electricity could hit. Had a bug type move just broken his focus? I''d never seen that before, but I had also rarely seen a bug type move hit a psychic type in my short career, let alone a bug type of this level. Zweilous announced their presence with two twin roars. They''d grown since theirst Gym Battle and grown a foot since their evolution in Snowpoint, and yet there was much more progress to be made before they evolved. Cecilia snapped her fingers to get their attention. They''d been released on a heightened tform, and they wouldn''t be able to leave it without tumbling and leaving themselves open to attack. "Nasty Plot and Hyper Voice! Dark and dragon!" Volkner''s eye twitched. "Cut in and X-Scissor." He couldn''t dodge sound, so the best move was to hit before they even started yelling. A thin, dark aura surrounded the dragon and their breaths grew quicker and quicker. Drool fell onto the ground and both heads froze as Vikavolt blurred toward them. Then, they screamed. I could see the sound travel and bounce through the arena. One, full of darkness and the other full of draconic energy. The two Hyper Voices intercepted and mixed into a blue that was almost pitch ck. Vikavolt cried out in pain, but the momentum was already there. She crashed into Zweilous, her mouth snapping around Sol''s neck. "Dragon Rush, Zerst," Cecilia said. Zerst''s head glowed blue, and he swung himself at Vikavolt as much as he could. The bug type''s jaw was locked onto Sol. Her saw-like pincers had punctured his scales and blood started to leak out of his neck. Volkner squinted, but he didn''t switch. Instead, he had Vikavolt use Bug Buzz. I understood his n at that moment. Take down one head, and see how she reacts. Sol hadn''t fainted, but he was incredibly wounded. His flesh had been serrated. Vikavolt had fainted with her jaw still locked around his neck. Volkner''s next Pokemon was an Ampharos, and he was finally locked into his five choices for the battle. The floor under the electric type''s feet rumbled, and electricity rose through every inch. Not Rising Voltage. It was Static Terrain. Zweilous'' movements grew sluggish and their heads jerked around at random intervals. "Hyper Voice again," Cecilia said. Best use an attack where they don''t need to aim, I nodded. Zerst screamed at full force, but Sol was barely conscious and the attack was just normal this time. Ampharos bleated, wincing at the pain. Had this been Zachary''s Ampharos, he probably would have ordered him to cover his ears with cotton. Instead, Volkner did this. "Dragon Pulse. Aim at the screaming head." Cecilia''s eyes widened, and Ampharos gathered the draconic energy in his mouth. With a soft scream, he let loose the attack. "Counter with Dragon Pulse!" Cecilia yelled. Even alone, Zerst was powerful enough to stop the attack. His Dragon Pulse overtook Ampharos''¡ª And it cut off when a bit of Static caused him to freeze up. Ampharos'' Dragon Pulse mmed into Zweilous at full force, finally fainting the half-conscious Sol and greatly hurting Zerst since the attack had been focused on him. Cecilia ordered the dragon type to keep using Hyper Voice until Ampharos finished him off with three other Dragon Pulses. Cecilia recalled Zweilous. Volkner''s sacrifice y had worked. Together, they would have easily beat Ampharos, but one head? That wasn''t enough. Cecilia released Golurk, and Volkner didn''t even give him a chance to strike, using hisst switch of the battle to get Lanturn back into the fight instead. Cecilia huffed and recalled Golurk. Slowking appeared in a sh of red and stared nkly. It was almost , how they both desperately wanted to avoid bad matchups. Cecilia ced her hair behind an ear and pursed her lips. If she could knock out or weaken Lanturn with Slowking, then she would have the advantage. A normal Electric Terrain reced the vicious Static Terrain, and Volkner again had the electric type use Rain Dance. Water already clung to the deepest crevices, but it hadn''t particrly affected the field so far. Lanturn was still covered in cuts and deep gashes from Scyther''s assault and blood and flesh seeped into his water bubble. Slowking''s barrier would protect him from the worst of the terrain, but Volkner wouldn''t just be content to let it stand. A quick Thunder struck from the storm clouds and snapped Slowking''s threeyers. The psychic''s body burned and smoked, but he raised a hand. "Disable!" Cecilia yelled. Slowking''s eyes shone with a dull grey, and Lanturn red. Now that Volkner was out of switches, he''d never be able to shake off the Disable. More Power Gems rose from the ground and all of the lights converged toward Lanturn, who exploded with a Discharge. It only stopped the first wave, however, and more struck him, turning his water bubble into vapor. Electricity hummed around Lanturn, and he actually moved closer to Slowking, who raised a hand to ready himself to use Psychic, but Lanturn abruptly stopped. The electric type''s light shone, and a Signal Beam broke through Slowking''s barriers. Thunderbolts would never be enough, I realized. The psychic''s eyes narrowed, and Lanturn immediately struck with a Thunderbolt. "Avnche!" My eyes widened. Rain drops turned into huge spikes of ice that broke through Lanturn''s bubble and prated his back. Candice had given us the move months ago, and yet only now had Cecilia taught it to Slowking. Lanturn screamed, and another bolt of electricity mmed into Slowking''s chest. He was running on pure spite at this point. "Keep up your barriers!" Cecilia snapped. "Power Gem!" "Signal Beam." The multicolored ray of light flew through the barrage of Power Gems, and both attacks hit their mark. Cece had absolutely no opening for ck Off, and she knew it, so she decided to go for full-on offense. The two Pokemon kept exchanging blows, but Lanturn came out on top. There wasn''t much Slowking could do when Signal Beam could tear through his barriers¡ª not anywhere as good as dark type moves could, but still far better than Thunderbolt, and every time the barrier did break, another stream of electric energy would ransack through his body. It was up to Lehmhart. The giant appeared on the field, which was nowpletely flooded. The waters only went up to his ankles, but he would have to watch his footing due to the red tint of the water from the iron particles swarming the liquid. "Hydro Pump," Volkner said. Resonance wouldn''t work. Not when Lanturn had heard the music once before. Instead, Cecilia ordered the golem to use Phantom Force. Lehmhart slipped into the shadows, and I assumed the water passed through his invisible body¡ª still dealing damage, but not actually pushing him back. "Ice Punch," Cecilia continued. Lanturn was already out of range, but that didn''t matter. Lehmhart raised a fist, sending it flying toward Lanturn as soon as he reappeared. The ground type tripped and stumbled,nding with a deafening crash into the water due to the uneven terrain under his feet. Another Hydro Pump mmed against the icy fist, but the water froze upon contact and Lehmhart''s fist broke apart the ice with the force from the jet-like propulsors in his arms. The fist only clipped Lanturn, but that was enough to freeze his entire bubble. The electric type fell to the ground like a rock, plunging into the water. Lehmhart instantly fished for Lanturn and grabbed him with his huge hands as soon as his arm was back in ce. He brought the water type up to his face, and began gathering a Shadow Ball. The shadows grew. And grew. And grew. It was so big that Golurk had to extend his arm fully to not let the attack actually touch Lanturn''s frozen body yet. Volkner had already grabbed the water type''s Pokeball and waited, just in hopes that he would be able to unfreeze himself, but that didn''t happen. Instead, the Shadow Ball touched Lanturn atst, and purple smoke filled half of the arena. Volkner waited the full thirty seconds to let some of it dissipate and sent out Ampharos. Static Terrain and any kind of electric tricks would be useless. The electric type was struggling to keep his head above the water and could barely swim as it was. Volkner had bet everything on Lanturn being able to beat Golurk, but it had note to pass. "Dragon Pulse," Volkner said. "Grab them and finish them off," Cecilia said. Golurk leaned forward, and a Dragon Pulse hit him in the chest. That was barely enough to hold him back for a few seconds. The ground type grabbed Ampharos and just squeezed. The electric type fought back, but there was only so much he could do with that much of a size difference. He fainted after forty seconds, and Volkner recalled him. Cecilia had won. ¡ª The days passed quickly after that. Everyone else won their Gym Badge¡ª mostly because Volkner couldn''t be bothered to actually battle them. The only one he''d fought by chance was Louis, and heted a narrow win thanks to Nales pulling her weight. Vespiquen had barely fought in the battle, since Louis was still too scared of her killing a Pokemon, but I was sure that she would have made him win by a far wider margin. I finished getting my flying license, and I''d practiced flying with Princess every day since. Atst, however, the time hade. It was time to pick up Honey from the Pokemon Center and evolve him.
Chapter 242 – Grit Chapter 242 ¨C Grit CHAPTER 242 - Grit "How''re you feeling? Can you walk okay?" Honey stretched an arm in front of me and grunted that I was worrying too much. His movements were slow and deliberate, as if he was scared of breaking something since Nurse Joy had told us numerous times that his bones were still in a fragile state. Volkner''s Electivire had done a number on him, and all of that fromoneHammer Arm. Honey jumped on my bed, after which I mored at himnotto in case he got himself injured again. He clung to the fabric like it was gold, and after a while, I broke into a smile. He was just happy to be back. "I want to tell you again, you wereamazingduring the battle, Hon," I said, patting him on the back. "You used yourst seconds of consciousness to use Discharge without even knowing if it would work out or not." The electric type rolled onto his back and shed his fangs, saying that everything paid off in the end. "It did," I smiled. "And today''s your big day. Volkner said toe at¡­ five, since he''ll be ending his shift early for this. We have a bunch of time to kill, so I have something to show you." Honey raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Trust me! Let''s head to the beach, and we''ll let your siblings out so you can say hello." Honey hopped off the bed, and with every sudden movement, I felt my heart jump. He was thankfully fine and said I was worrying for nothing. All those times I''d told my father the same was now recontextualized in my brain and a creeping feeling of guilt crawled up my neck, but it was only short-lived. I locked my arm with Honey''s and we decided to go to the beach by foot. The electric type had never reallyseenSunyshore aside from the boardwalk and the street our Pokemon Center was in, so he was exploring it for the first time. I noticed his eyes nce over a store¡ª a book store, to be exact. "Want some new books?" I asked. "You hate history." Honey rolled his eyes, saying that there was more to reading thantiresome topics. He still couldn''t really read properly, but if he wanted a book, I would never say no. We perused the two-story book store for a while, and I was more preupied with its interior design than the actual books. I already had a lot of reading on my te, so I wasn''t exactly looking for something new. Honey yelled at me toe over, and he shrunk when a bunch of peopleshushedhim. "Yeah, you shouldn''t be too loud in here," I said. "What caught your eye¡ªis that the¡ª" I caught myself and lowered my voice. "Is that the brand newic book in the Detective series?" He nodded, and I quickly scanned the pages. The first edition hade out years ago and had a detective partner with his Pikachu to solve mysteries, but it had expanded and these days there were a lot more Pokemon involved. This one had a Murkrow apanying a brand-new main character. I knew he didn''t want to say it, but Honey also liked the images. "I wanted to read it too," I said. "I betcha the others will like it. Find anything else you like?" Honey scratched his cheek and then dropped another five books in my arms. "Okay. Let''s buy ''em!" ¡ª It was barely noon when we reached the beach. Honey grabbed my waist, lifting me over therge rocks before hopping over in a single jump. "Nice. No one''s here," I smiled, staring at the entire beach. "So¡­ before I let the others out of their Pokeballs, is there anything you want to tell me? Are you nervous?" Electabuzz shrugged, saying that the excitement he felt easily dwarfed any anxiety. I nodded. "Good to know." I paused, turning toward him. "You worked incredibly hard these past few weeks, and I''m so,soproud of you," I gently told him. "You deserve this." He blinked, and then chuckled. The electric type scratched his belly and said to keep the sentimental words forter. "I don''t want to cry in front ofVolkner," I scoffed. "That''d be embarrassing. Anyway, I have something to tell you about Princess. This might be sudden, but I bought her a Shiny Stone that she used to evolve. I''m sorry you weren''t there to see it, but if I had waited, we would have had to wait until Pastoria to get our flying license, and she would have wasted precious days when she could have gotten better at getting used to her new body. The setback would have been too big." Disappointment shed in Honey''s eyes. "But!I recorded it," I smiled. "Let''s watch it together first." I grabbed my phone and browsed my camera roll, quickly finding the desired video. After handing Honey the device, I put my head on his shoulder and watched in silence. "To future me¡ª and future us. Today was the day Princess evolved into a Togekiss¡­" The evolution was just as emotional to me as it had been the day of. I held back tears and wiped my eyes while Honey grinned as he watched his sister evolve. He was soproudof her that I could feel it permeating from his fur. "I recorded her first flight too," I sniffled. "Uh, I''ll let you watch." I let the electric type have his fill, and he cackled at Princess iling in the air over and over. I didlet him know that she was a lot better at it now, however. If she wasn''t there was no way I would have gotten my flying license. "Oh! Look at my license, by the way. The picture kind of surprised me and now I look stupid on it," I snorted, pulling out the silver card. My eyes were half-closed due to the sh, and I looked like I was about to sneeze. We shared a goodugh at that. I''d be willing to bet I was the only idiot in my friend group that was going to happen to. "You ready?" I asked. Honey nodded, and I released everyone on the sand. Immediately, he was swarmed by Angel''s vines. The grass type surrounded him with so many that his yellow fur was barely visible any longer. Sweetheart burst into tears of joy, cried at how much she''d missed him and demanded a hug. She might have been a brat to him, but she''d never been separated from her big brother for that long. Angel pushed him toward Sweetie and he wrapped his arms around her cocoon. She was farrger than he was now, but they made it work. Buddy sprayed the back of Honey''s head with a tiny jet of water, and the electric typeughed at the harmless prank. He poked the ghost back with a finger, and from the way Buddyrippled, it was clear that he''d been given a small shock. The electric type waved to Sunshine, who slowly approached and awkwardly patted him on the back. Strength was something he admired, and Honey had proved himself ten times over since I''d watched my battle with Volkner at least twenty times. Which Sunshine and Buddy didn''t hesitate to report on, prompting augh from Honey. He turned toward Princess, who hovered in the air like a queen in front of him, her chest puffed up and her eyes staring toward the horizon in a dramatic fashion. "I already told him about you, no need to do a pose." Princess'' face fell, and she cleared her throat, pretending that shehadn''tbeen doing a pose. When shended, Honey touched her fur andyelledat how soft she was now. I let the entire team mingle for a while, since we had time to waste and I ended up buying lunch on the boardwalk for them. Honey tried to fly on Princess multiple times, but she kept refusing because she feared that him falling would break his bones again, so he decided to read hisics with Sweetheart instead. "Don''t get sand all over those, okay?" I warned. They answered with half-hearted grunts. Sunshiney in the sun, and he growled in annoyance when Princess flew overhead and covered him with her shade. He told her to get away this instant unless she wanted all of that useless fur to burn. The flying type sprayed him with some pink dust and zoomed away as she giggled. From an outside perspective, their rtionship would have lookedterrible, but I knew they were just fooling around. Sunshine was looking forward to the summer very much, and each day the temperature was just a little higher, his face brightened. Buddy floated along the beach, and half of Angel''s body was in the water as well. The grass type had anchored himself in the sand, stabbing his vines through the ground while he yed with the water by sshing it everywhere. I crouched next to Sunshine and closed my eyes after setting an rm for 4 in the afternoon. Life was good. ¡ª I ended up not needing my rm, since a group of people iming the beach for themselves ended up showing up and waking me. They were a bunch of new-ish trainers. If I had to say, they had¡­ three badges? And they''d started fighting low-stakes battle on the beach, much to Sunshine''s displeasure. I watched for a little while, and they didn''t seem to pay any mind after getting used to Sunshine''s res. Princess had been too busy flying far off into the horizon to care, and Buddy was the closest he could get to sleep at the moment, so my most belligerent Pokemon were under control. I slipped away at 3:30 and reached the Pokemon Center by 4, so I was pretty early. Cecilia had beenpletelyfixatedon politics thisst week, and I wanted to try to learn at least alittleso I wasn''tpletely ignorant when she vented to me about what was happening in Unova. rence had reached Castelia safe and sound, and Unova was going to turn a blind eye to Sinnoh. Kalos hadn''t done anything beyond denounce us, and apparently Gr had been somewhat humiliated because their n to rally the internationalmunity hadn''t worked. They were sticking with it, though, and the first round of sanctions had been implemented. ording to Louis and Cece, it would take a few weeks for them to actually be felt, so the entire region was bracing itself for an economic crisis (that would be nowhere near as bad as it could have been). At five in the evening, Metagross came to pick me up by the Pokemon Center''s entrance. The hulking, metallic Pokemon still felt odd to look at. So many emotions shing at once. The fact that he''d alreadye to pick me up here so many times when I trained with Jasmine meant that it wouldn''t turn many eyes. It was just business as usual, or at least we wanted to pretend like it was. "Jasmine isn''t here with you?" I asked. She said that she told you the next time you would be seeing each other, Electabuzz would be an Electivire and she tends to attach meaning to meaningless words,Metagross sassed, ignoring the passersby looking at him.s, it is a part of what makes her stupidly lovable. Let us be on our way. Before I could even speak, Metagross had snatched me away, and I was¡­ somewhere in the Gym.In front of Volkner''s office,I realized. "Should I knock?" I pondered. Obviously, they rolled their eyes before mentally scoffing.Humans. "Rude," I huffed. I knocked at Volkner''s door, and after twenty seconds I knocked again. Volkner opened the door as he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, Metagross. I''ll take it from here," he said. Oh, are you sure you don''t want to leak your state secrets to us to celebrate the new partnership between our two regions?Metagross said.Maybe a crumb of ssified information? "Veryfunny. I''d bet you know the way already but that Jasmine hasn''t been informed," Volkner shrugged. The probability of that is extremely high,the steel type nodded.Oh well, I will be on my way. Jasmine is probably whining again, and I''d better use the opportunity now that the dark emitters are off. Your trainers hate it when I dent the ground due to my weight when I walk around. "You do that." Metagross disappeared out of thin air, and Volkner sighed. "Very sarcastic for a supeputer," he said. "Come in." "Oh, we''re going inside?" I asked. "Okay." I entered the Gym Leader''s office, and I crouched when I saw a Jolteon sleeping soundly under his desk. "Don''t worry about the noise, Jolteon''s a heavy sleeper. You''d think she was using Rest," he chuckled. "Sit." I dragged the cushioned chair and sat down. Now that I wasn''t as nervous as the first time I entered his office, I actually noticed that every inch of Volkner''s office was built to befortable. Cushioned chairs, rounded edges on his desk, a carpet so clean it looked like I could sleep on it without a problem¡­ he''d definitely fallen asleep here a ton. Volkner dialed a number on his phone, and he leaned so far back against the backrest of his chair that I thought he''d fall over. "Mr. Sanchez! The ckouts are imminent now," he said. "Can you confirm the state of our infrastructure onest time so I don''t identally shut off all of our Pokemon Centers?" The Gym Leader spun around on his chair, and I heard a faint voice on the other end of the line. The name was familiar, but I was too interested in theckoutsto care. "Gotcha. Thanks again for the help. Yeah, we''ll talk about the sanctions soon. See you." The Gym Leader hung up and exhaled as he stood. "We''re ready to go." After locking the door to his office, Volkner shuffled toward one of his walls and grabbed two of the Pokeballs on his desk. There was arge shelf full of books hugging the wall. "Oh! Are you going to pull one of the books and reveal a secret area¡ª" Volkner grunted as he dragged the shelf away from the wall with all of his might. Jolteon''s ears twitched, but the electric type only rolled over, settling into a deeper sleep. Volkner clenched his teeth andpulled, but it was a¡­ pretty pitiful disy. Not thatIwould be able to do any better. He wheezed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "The Gym Leader lifestyle isseriouslyunhealthy," he wheezed. There was a set of doors behind the shelf that were made of stainless steel. Volkner typed in some kind of code on a keypad and nudged his head up. "Get in." I shot up from the chair and leaned toward the newly-revealed door. It wasn''t actually a door, but a secretelevator. "Has this always been here?" I asked as I hesitantly stepped inside. "No. It was built during my tenure," the Gym Leader answered. There was only one button, and we plunged into the depths of the Gym. The elevator rattled and lights shed as we descended further down. "It was built specifically for my Electivire the year I became a Gym Leader," he continued. "It looks shabby, but it got the job done." My body shivered in anticipation when the elevator doors opened and led us to a long, concrete corridor that was barelyrge enough to fit the width of two people. Thankfully, I wasn''t ustrophobic, and we quickly reachedanotherdoor that Volkner typed another code into. I flinched when a section of the wall slid open, revealing a camera that he stared right into. "Leader Volkner Doyle recognized,"an artificial voice spoke."Steer clear of the door when it opens." There was a loudpopand then ahissas the enormous door strained open. Andstrainit did. I winced, covering my ears as the unused door slid against the floor with a horrible screech. Volkner rarely came here, and it showed. What came next, however, was acolossalbattery the size of Erin''shouse. It wasposed of gigantic cells and interconnected table, and the battery hummed as loud as a truck. Adjacent batteries surrounded the huge device, but each one was still bigger than I thought they could ever get. And in front of the entire structurey tworge metallic bars, protruding out of the biggest battery with two cracks in the concrete that I couldn''t exin. Volkner whistled and released his Electivire, who grinned at the familiar setting. This ce probably held a lot of good memories for him. "Release your Electabuzz." I inhaled sharply, and Honey appeared next to me. Electivire squinted at his junior, but chuckled when Honey shot him a dirty look. That Hammer Arm hadhurt. "This is it," I told him. He only responded with a silent nod. "Do you know why Electivire was virtually unheard of until the harnessing of electricity and urbanization?" Volkner asked. I shook my head. "Because there was never enough electricity to trigger the evolution." "So when you said ckouts¡ª" "I meant the entire city." Goosebumps ran up and down my spine and arms. "You saidvirtuallyunheard of?" He smirked. "Good catch. Yes, there were some Electivire before urbanization." "How?" "The answer''s simple. Legendary Pokemon." I blinked, finally understanding, but Volkner continued anyway. "Things like natural thunderstorms or other powerful electric types was never enough.Legends? They were. The odds of it happening were virtually nonexistent, but itdidhappen a few times in history. An Electabuzz struck by an avatar of Zapdos that actuallysurvivedthe attack would evolve. It is the same for Raikou in Johto and Thundurus in Unova. Odds were, they would instantly die instead," he shrugged. "But when they didn''t?" He pointed a thumb at Electivire. "What if you could build up electricity throughout an Electabuzz''s life?" I asked. "Going slow and steady?" "No. It needs to happen all at once, or it won''t work," Volkner shook his head. "Don''t worry, it''s safe. We stretch the process out as long as we can to ensure safety and evolution at the same time. Ten minutes." I swallowed. "Does that mean he''ll have enough electricity to power a city after?" "Oh, he''ll stabilize downward," Volkner dismissed. "Most of the energy will be consumed for his evolution, but thepotential will be there. That''s a pretty lofty goal, though. Even my Electivire can''t do it. Think of it like an ultimate goal to strive torward." Electabuzz grunted, and I caressed his arm. "I''ve been looking at trying to build an artificial way to evolve Electabuzz using an item so we don''t have to hide it anymore," Volkner muttered. "Thest thing the League wants is kids having their Pokemon try to steal electricity from cities in hopes of evolving them. The name I workshopped isElectirizer, but Jasmine says I''m terrible at names. Oh well, that''s still a work in progress." "What''s Magmar''s evolution like, then?" I asked, thinking of Lauren. "The Pokemon are closely rted, right? I can''t think of an equivalent¡­ is it getting swarmed by mes?" "Why would it be equivalent?" The Gym Leader chided. "The two evolutions have nothing to do with each other. But today isn''t about that. Don''t fish for more information out of me, I''ve already sent your friend Lauren''s battle to Flint. He''ll get to it when he has time." "Thank you." "I won''t lie to you," Volkner spoke grimly, turning to Honey. "It will start with an overwhelming feeling¡ª like you havemorepower than you know what to do with. Youhaveto retain it. Keep it inside of you no matter what. The electricity will desperately try to find an outlet, and that feeling will slowly turn into agonizing pain. You won''t die, but it''llhurt. Are you still ready?" Honey took a deep breath. And he agreed. "Good, good," Volkner said before releasing a Kadabra. Greetings,the psychic spoke. "Good evening. Thank you for being here. This is a Kadabra from the League¡ª the same one that stood there with me all those years ago," Volkner said. "I had him sent for the asion since this is beyond what Gym Kadabra are allowed to see. Grab onto those two handles, and start sucking as much electricity as you can. Anddon''t stop." Fiveyers of barrier appeared in front of us, each one thicker than thest, and Honey wrapped his hands around the two metallic handles. His fists tightened around them, and then electricity surged everywhere around him. I had covered my eyes on instinct, expecting a blinding sh as bright as Thunder, but instead, it started slow. Like a trickle of water that would build and build until it became a waterfall. Honey gritted his teeth and tightened his hold as if it was already hurting.Because it wasn''t his electricity,I realized. Electivire observed with a calmness that was entirely out of character and his arms were crossed while Volkner had his hands in his pockets. The minutes stretched until they becameparable to hours. The electricity grew in power until smoke began to emanate from Honey''s fur. Until I could see through his skin and look at his bones. Until I had to cover my eyes because of the brightness of the light. Until I could see said light through myeyelids. And yet, that was nothingpared to the screams my son was letting out. Each second, another agonized howl. Part of himwantedto give up. His hand slipped from the metallic bar, and Volknerbarkedto not let go, or all of his pain would go to waste. He was so close. I sniffled, realizing I was crying. "You''re almost there," I sobbed. "You''re almost done." I didn''t even know if I was telling the truth or not. Time might as well have been infinite and not have mattered down here. Kadabra''s first barrier shattered like ss and flickered into nothingness¡ª or at least I imagined it evaporating. I couldn''t seeanything. Minutes. It was onlyminutes. "How much longer?!" I snapped. "He can''t keep going!" "Trust him," Volkner said. An undetermined amount of timeter, something in the light shifted. It was softer. Less erratic. There were fewer shing lights and more of a uniformglow. I cracked an eye open and saw the electricity slowly subside. I rapidly blinked to chase away tears tobear witness. It was his height that changed first. Honey stretched, reaching more than 7''5. His stout body became lean, but that was only for a moment. Muscles grew and bulged. His fur thickened. His arms grew and his fingertips turned ck. The two ws on his feet turned to three and dulled, and his tail split into two. The smell of rubber filled my nostrils as the tails thrashed around, creating two cracks in the ground.Two more. Honey''s teeth ttened, his eyes turned to a deep red and something within him began tohum. Until it stopped, and Honey fell to the floor with ragged breaths. "Honey!" I yelled. "Are you okay?!Put the barrier down!" "Don''t get close. He''s still overcharged. You''ll die through no fault of his own," Volkner said. "Electivire. Go check on him." Kadabra lowered his barriers, allowing Volkner''s Electivire to approach Honey. He leaned on the floor and touched Honey''s chest. For a second, they shared a moment, looking into each other''s eyes until Electivire pulled him up. Honey staggered, and he could barely stand up straight. His fur was still smoking, and electricity was jumping around erratically. Volkner ordered Kabadra to activate his barriers again and exhaled in relief. "You did it," he said. "Eleven minutes and thirty-seven seconds." Honey let out a tiredugh¡ª like the sound of a starting motor, just like Volkner''s Electivire. He said he was okay, but he was too exhausted to even speak properly. His words were slurred, and he copsed on one knee. "Should I recall him? Send him to the Center?" I stammered. "Recall him if you want, that''ll let him rest some," Volkner nodded. "But I have a few more things to say to you." I half-heartedly nodded and recalled Honey into his ball. "Rest up, okay? You did perfectly." "Congrattions to both you and him," Volkner said. "I didn''t think I''d see an Electabuzz evolve again. It made me somewhat emotional. First things first, keep him away from the public for a while. At least a week. Some people will associate the ckout with his evolution, but it''s nothing a little discrediting can''t deal with. So long as it''s a small, vocal minority, it''ll be fine. That means nogiving him to Nurse Joys, which meansno battling." "Got it," I nodded. "Next up, don''t use him in any battles for at leasttwoweeks. Don''t touch him or get too close for that long too. He has a lot of power within him now, and he doesn''t know how to control it yet. He could identally electrocute you without meaning to, and youwilldie. Feel free to use your other Pokemon to know when he''s ready. That Turtonator of yours should be able to resist it no problem." I felt a pinch of sadness, but I knew it had to be done. I nodded, and Volkner moved on to his next tip. "And I don''t think I need to say this, but just in case. Everything you saw today is top secret and must not be revealed. Even to your friends that are blessed by the Lakes." "Of course¡ª wait, youknow about that?" "Yes? All of the Gym Leaders know. Anyway, I would give you tips about how to handle battling and how to use Motor Drive properly, but I don''t want to make it too easy for you. You were already given more than most will ever get. Figure it out on your own." "I wasn''t going to ask." He raised an eyebrow. "I''ll hold you to that." Volkner led me back up to his office, and I stared out the windows of his office and saw that lights were slowly turning back on throughout the entire city. My throat suddenly felt dry, and my fingers trembled in excitement. Volkner pushed his shelf back on the wall and unlocked the doors to his office¡ª Jolteon wasstillsleeping. "Off you go¡ª actually, before you leave. Jasmine wanted to see you before you get going to Pastoria. If you could pass by tomorrow when Electivire can actually stand on his own, she''d appreciate that. She wants to bid you farewell and probably giveyousomest-minute advice. Instill some wisdom." "Iwould appreciate it too," I smiled. "Uh, I guess I''ll go? Thank you?" The Gym Leader was already sitting at his desk and staring at hisputer with his usual terrible posture. He shooed me with his hand, not even looking at me. The League Kadabra Teleported me back onto a random street a few blocks away from my Pokemon Center and immediately vanished to where I assumed was the League or somewhere in its vicinity. I drew a long breath when I realized what I''d done today. It was over. We had done it. Months of work and perseverance had led to this. I ced a hand around Honey''s Pokeball and exhaled. Honey was an Electivire.
Side Story 3 – The Glacier Side Story 3 ¨C The cier THE GLACIER Name: REGICE ss: PAC-Z Status: DORMANT* Description Regice is an incredibly dangerous entity with a robust build and a crystalline appearance. It is 12¡¯3 feet tall and is predominantlyposed of an icy-blue angr shell. This outeryer appears to mimic the facets of natural ice crystalttice, but it is indestructible to any attacks despite it being identical to normal ice on a molecr level and the surface is free of any blemishes or impurities. Regice is therefore incapable of suffering any permanent damage or of being terminated. Pokeballs do not work on Regice and only serve to agitate it. Like its siblings, Regice¡¯s face is dotted with yellow lights. This one dons a ¡®plus¡¯ pattern that can dim or sh depending on Regice¡¯s current state. Regice is capable of making sounds that remind people of a high-pitched continuous frequency that is known to stutter and ¡®glitch¡¯. Regice¡¯s body maintains a core temperature of 0 Kelvin at all times and its surroundings are permanently frozen. No human can approach the Pokemon without specialized gear without immediately freezing to death. Regice is known to disrupt any attempts to Teleport close to it, instantly freezing any human or Pokemon that attempts to do so even while in its dormant state or when wearing protective gear. It is also known to disrupt psychics in general. Containment Procedure Regice is currently located in Mount Cor at Point ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€. Historical records do not go far enough to know how Regice reached this ce, and the chamber it is contained in was built before the League got there. Regice is to be kept in its chamber at all times. No personnel below the rank of League Commander or ss 5 Scientist may enter the chamber save for experimentation. Regice is kept asleep, and will stay asleep as long as ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ys dormant in ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€, but it is known to have periods of agitation during the ritual that we still do not know the reason for. The working theory is that the few seconds ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ awakens during the ritual is enough to sometimes wake Regice or its siblings from their slumber. Do not approach unless Regice awakens or you have direct permission from a Commander, a ss 5 Scientist, or someone of higher rank. Experimentation Log #192 (Doctor ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€) Date: January 17th ¨€¨€¨€¨€ Deathrow inmates ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ and ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ were brought into Regice¡¯s chamber wearing specialized suits and kept there for 5-hour intervals. The experiment seemed to be going well, but they described a particr feeling of frigidness that grew worse and worse. At the fifteenth go, they were shivering so uncontrobly that they could barely function. ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ described the feeling as ¡®the most painful thing they had ever experienced in their life¡¯. Date: January 28th ¨€¨€¨€¨€ The two test subjects seem to be cursed with a coldness that will never leave. Regice has sipped past their skin and into their bones, and nothing we have tried will warm them. Despite this, they appear to be in perfectly healthy condition. The cold makes it impossible to sleep until they fall unconscious from exhaustion, and they are stuck in a permanent cycle of tiredness. Hallucinations and nonsensical ramblings aremonce, and they both have expressed a desire to see Regice again so they could ¡®beplete¡¯. It is my understanding that they are feelingpelled to freeze to death. Date: February 12th ¨€¨€¨€¨€ The inmates physically assaulted League personnel when they were brought lunch. Seeing as there was no progress in the experiment, we decided to terminate them. Rmendation: Regice must never be visited by the same person more than five times. It is unknown if we could space these visits out to abate the effects Regice has on the human psyche. More experimentation is required. Requesting the shipment of more inmates. Incident Report #3 Date: June 12th ¨€¨€¨€¨€ Regice¡¯s agitation during the ritual on ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ was far beyond normal levels. It floated up from its frozen podium and fired a beam of ice at the Chamber¡¯s door, freezing and destroying it instantly. ¨€¨€ League Members died from the single st and ¨€¨€¨€ more died from the following events. Regice broke out of its Chamber and Protocol cier was initiated. Champion Cynthia and the newly appointed member of the Elite Four Flint Teleported as close as they could, prompting much confusion from Conference watchers since they were both spectating a match at the time. The temperature around Mount Cor began to drop steadily at a rate of one degree every twenty-seven minutes. It is theorized that eventually, the entire mountain and its surroundings would have reached the temperature of 0 Kelvin if given enough time, but it is unknown if ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€''s influence would have eventually countered or would have superseded this phenomenon. Cynthia and Flint sessfully contained Regice, temporarily knocking it out after a battle thatsted ¨€ hours. This marked the third time that Regice had ever woken up fully and the first time during Champion Cynthia''s tenure. Fewer League Trainers died this time than thest two incidents. Chapter 243 Chapter 243 CHAPTER 243 The ckout had barely been a blip on people''s radar thanks to its short length. The next day, no one was talking about it, or at least no one online. I was starting to browse Chatter a lot more to get ustomed to something other than the forums for social media, and it wasn''t even a trending topic any longer. It was hard to be more popr than current political happenings, and part of me was d it was out of public consciousness so quickly. A day had passed since Honey''s evolution, and other than telling my team about it, I hadn''t spoken to anyone else. He''d stuck around in his Pokeball the entire time since releasing him in my room would be a disaster in the making. "A day should be enough, right?" I whispered to myself as I browsed my phone. Press Conferences from Leon with Macro Cosmos'' CEO¡ª who was also the League''s Chairman¡ª by his side, rence Obel restarting his duties in Unova and meeting with the Elite Four¡ª "Gah! I want Sinnohan stuff!" I groaned, scrolling past the headlines. Economic news¡ª Melody had already filled my head with those. The board was bracing itself for the worst, and they were not happy with Sinnoh''s closeness with Kanto-Johto. They were apparently the antithesis of a free market, and Poketch had only risen to prominence when Cynthia opened the country up. Before she rose to power, Sinnoh was kind of in between the more liberal Hoenn and the draconian KJ government¡­ a mixed economy was the correct term. "Learning things not rted to Pokemon battling is hard," I sighed. "Enough politics for now." I had barely managed to sleepst night due to all of the anticipation I had built up. How could I not? Honey was in his new form, and I couldn''t even do some limit testing. Asking a trainer to have some patience when a new evolution had juste to pass was like asking them not to breathe. Eventually, they would have to do so or they would pass out. For some reason, I sneakily left my room as if that made a difference. It wasn''t like anyone could see Honey through his Pokeball. Unfortunately though, Mira had taken her loss to heart and was getting wrung dry by Chase and Lauren in some new training regiment. Her Porygon wasgging way behind the rest of her team, and even though Haunter was no longer the murderous, blood-thirsty ghost he had been, he stillcked discipline in fights and liked to do whatever he wanted most of the time instead of listening to her. Anyway, the point was that there was no way she''d let me waste Gardevoir or kazam''s energy on Teleporting me away. I hummed, reaching the Pokemon Center''s lobby. The mood wasn''t grim, but it was a lot more quiet than usual. Worried whispers about trainers'' parents possibly losing their jobs, or being unable to pay mortgages, rising prices¡­ trainer supplies would be rtively secure, but everything else was going to get worse very soon. Possibly by the time we got to Pastoria. The entire group was nning on leaving soon¡ª although Louis, Justin and Maeve were going to leave today. Denzel, Emilia and Pauline would stick together once again, and I assumed Sylveon would try to be a lot more involved. Chase, Mira, Cecilia and I would travel together to Pastoria too, while Lauren would stay on her own (mostly due to preference), so the groups were the exact same save for Justin. Very little of the groups that had formed today would actually matter in the long run, however. We weren''t nning on staying in Pastoria for as long as we had in other cities, and everything would change as soon as we all beat Wake. Some of us like Chase and I would leave on our own, but new groups would form and old groups would fragment. For some of us, it would need to be a desperate sprint to the finish while for others, it would be the final stretch. The year wasing to an end, I mused to myself. A strange thought to have when it was still March. Since Mira''s Pokemon weren''t avable, I figured I''d try to see Jasmine again. I quickly hopped on a bus and left for the Gym, and when I asked for her, one of the Gym Trainers called her over. It had been a while since I saw her, and she looked a lot better than she had before cutting alcohol out of her life. She offered me a bright smile and waved, reminding me of the first time we''d met on that beach. "Jasmine, you look so good!" I eximed. "Your skin is brighter somehow." "I do have better skin," she smirked. "Why don''t we go somewhere we can speak in private? Metagross can bring us to route 205." "Oh, that would be perfect," I said. The psychic was released in the middle of the lobby, jump scaring many of the trainers there, and they walked out of the huge, sliding doors to Teleport us to the same mountain Craig and Jasmine had battled in¡ª as well as where we used to train almost every day. We weren''t at the summit, though. "Congrattions on Honey''s evolution. It''s obvious the ckouts had something to do with it, but I promised Volkner to stay quiet." "Thanks. I guess it''s easy to tell if you had prior context that I was going to evolve him," I said. "I still don''t know the exact mechanics behind it, so it''s technically still secret," the Gym Leader shrugged. "Let''s have him show off, shall we?" "Uh, can you put up some barriers, Metagross? Honey''s still going to be unstable¡ª" Already done, they said. They''ve been there since we appeared. "What?!" I scoffed, holding a hand out. The cold, invisible wall was indeed here. "Damn, you''re fast." It would be shameful if we were not. I grabbed Honey''s Pokeball and held it within my palm for a moment as I stared at it. I opted to release the rest of my team first¡ª all of them within the constraints of the barrier except for Sweetheart since she was immune. Sunshine wouldn''t be hurt too badly, but I didn''t want him to feel pain for no reason. Princess nearly knocked her head on the barrier''s ceiling before I called out to her. She''d be as addicted to flying as I was. "We''re going to see Honey for the first time," I warned. "Remember what I said? That he''s still going to be dangerous to be around for a while?" They all grunted or nodded. I had been the most worried about Angel. I felt like he would have hugged Honey without giving it a second thought, so Metagross'' barrier was wee. In fact, he was rubbing the steel type''s head right now, much to their annoyance. A psychic cut sliced all of the vines making contact, and Angel blinked. "So it sucks, but we''ll have to stay far away for now. I don''t even think Princess'' barriers would be enough¡­ we''ll have to wait it out." The fairy grumbled, but she knew I wasn''t lying. Honey was still supercharged, and I didn''t want to risk any idents. I released the electric type in the distance¡ª around twenty feet away, since there was less to worry about with Metagross here. Jasmine grinned as Honey stared at his hands, and then at us. Sweetheart excitedly crawled toward him and bumped her head against his shoulder now that he was taller again. Electricity crackled all around Honey, some of it reaching even us, but Metagross'' barrier didn''t even tremble. The rest of the team greeted him as loud as they could, and he grinned, exposing his ttened teeth. It felt odd to see him without his fangs, but I would get used to it. "So tall already!" Jasmine eximed. "How are you feeling?" I asked. He hesitated to answer but finally settled on better. He was still extremely tired, and his body felt like he''d just finished working out oring out of an intense fight, but worse than that. "Let''s keep the limit testing for another time, then," I said. "For now, why don''t you just try walking around? Get yourself ustomed to your new body." Princess agreed, but couldn''t help but add that he was lucky it would be far easier than what she''d needed to do to learn to deal with her new form, and Angel shook his entire body. He reminded her that Honey''s evolution had been extremely painful and that now wasn''t the time for that by signing with his vines. Angel might have been¡­ well, Angel, but hispassion was second to none. Togekiss quickly apologized, but Honey told her it was okay. The electric type hesitantly raised a foot, sending sparks of electricity everywhere. They were so powerful that they created fissures on the floor, and stones levitated around him without him even being conscious of it. Honey took a step¡ª And blurred forward, leaving a trail of electricity until he mmed his entire body into the mountain''s slope. Along with the crash came an explosion of electricity that worsened the impact, and a huge crater formed in the wall. It was a deep hole at its center, and tiny cracks at its edges, like a spider''s web, but a lot less even. "Honey! Are you okay!?" I yelled, feeling my stomach drop. Sweetheart flew over to him, and her propulsion cleared away most of the dust. Electivire was pulling himself out of the crater with much difficulty. He pulled out his arm and let out an exhausted sigh. "Okay, just don''t move!" I yelled. I recalled him and released him close to us again. He couldn''t even walk without going uncontrobly quickly. "Fascinating," Jasmine muttered. "I''m sure Surge would love seeing this." "From the stories you told us about him, I don''t want to be anywhere near Surge," I sighed. "Okay, try sitting!" Honey plopped himself on the ground as slowly as he could, carefully supporting himself with a hand. When he moved his other one, a giant beam of electricity flew at us, but Metagross'' barrier absorbed it without flinching. Every time, Honey kept apologizing. "You''ll be back to normal soon," I reassured. "Just rx for now, okay? Jasmine said she had some advice for you!" My mentor crossed her arms. "I never said that. I said the advice was for you, not for him. I''m sure he''ll figure things out. Maybe mortally wound a few Pokemon and children along the way." "Not funny, Jasmine," I rolled my eyes. "For me, though?" "Yes," Jasmine smiled, vaulting herself on Metagross'' head. Your bottom on our head is quite ufortable. Jasmineughed, patting the psychic on the head. "Sorry, it won''t be for long. Now, Grace. You''ve obtained two evolutions in Sunyshore, and pivotal ones at that. The only Pokemon that you have left is Pupitar¡ª" The rock type mored, her true body shaking in her cocoon. "The power you wield is not yet great, but it is more than most will ever get to use in their lifetime. So the question remains, what will you do with it? Beyond thepetition between you and your friends, the Conference, and your badges." "Uh¡­" "Me, for example? Beforeing to Sinnoh, I used it to rule Olivine and protect mymunity. Most Gym Leaders will say simr things if you discount the fakes in the West," she snorted. "You want to battle every Champion, do you not? That is¡­ admirable. But that is a child''s dream. I am asking for something real." "It''s not a child''s dream," I frowned. "It is real." "Forgive me, then. I am asking for something that you can at least grasp." "Well it''s not like I haven''t thought about it before," I muttered. My legs shuffled, and I shifted in ce. "It''s kind of lofty, though. I don''t know if you''d say I could grasp it quite yet." "If it''s close enough," she shrugged. "The picture isn''t all clear yet, but I want to help wild Pokemon¡­ uh, protect them from human encroachment, give them better rights. I also want to help owned Pokemon too, to prevent abuse and stuff like that. I know you''d disagree, but that''s what I want." "I will admit, I care more for human advancement than wild Pokemon, but we can just chalk that up to priorities. Either way, you know that you can''t do that by being a social shut-in, right?" I flinched back, and Princess protested while Angel soothed me with a vine. Buddy and Sunshine stayed silent. "Harsh words, I know," Jasmine said. "But given that you want to go to Unova despite my warnings, you''ll need to. Everything is politics there, Grace. You can''t changews in Unova because you have the bigger stick, and hell, you won''t even have that. You need to actively work toward your goal, chip at it for a long time until something gives, and that means getting to be more outgoing." "I, uh, did consider that." "You''ll have to be a public figure. Nuh-uh, don''t look at me like that. You aren''t a public figure at the moment. Not a proper one, anyway. Want to changews in Unova? You have to y politics. Speak to politicians, give speeches, engage with local governments, make connections¡­ and that''s only on the human side of things." I gulped. "Overwhelming, isn''t it?" She smiled. "Cece was already talking about doing all of that months ago," I muttered. "I thought I wouldn''t have to, or at least not that much. We have different goals, but the avenues are simr." "Dreams are nice," Jasmine shrugged. "But you need blood, sweat and tears to make theme true. You think it''ll be easy? That Unova¡ª one of the most urbanized regions in the entire world will just y nice and let you change theirws without you gathering any kind of support? Without speaking your cause? Of course not. It''ll be procedure, procedure, procedure until you want to kill all of them." "So what should I do, then?" I asked. "Why don''t you start by not being a shut-in outside of your friend group?" she chuckled. "On a more serious note, meet like-minded people. Get to know the progress and the fighting that has been made toward your goal by others. You aren''t the first one to have this goal, and you won''t be thest." My mind shed back to Mallory, who I had spoken to during the interview with SGNC. I didn''t care for her, but she had said that she''d been to multiple protests, so Jasmine was correct. There were probably plenty of groups in Sinnoh and Unova that were the same. It was unfortunate that this sma organization seemed so extreme. It could have interested me otherwise. Jasmine continued. "You don''t change society by being passive, Grace, and as it stands, you''re a passive individual. You have to be proactive¡ª and you are. Just for Pokemon battling and training instead of everything else." "I understand," I nodded. "I''ll try to look into some in Pastoria. It''s a pretty small city, but there''s bound to be something." Granted, I''d have to ask Poketch, but they were quite preupied at the moment and with how I''d basically been the perfect sponsee during my stay in Sunyshore, I had a lot of leeway so long as the group wasn''t extreme. "Good," Jasmine smiled, hopping off Metagross. "Another warning. If these tensions are anything to go by and they keep rising, there''ll be a stigma against Sinnohans when you get there, especially for one seen speaking with Cynthia on multiple asions. rence Obeling back might put a pin on things for a little while, but this didn''t happen for no reason. The powers behind the Champion wanted this, and they won''t change their mind." "Oh, I knew that already," I said. "Cecilia told me. I don''t think it''ll be that bad with the general public, though." "You underestimate the power of propaganda. Indigo is no stranger to it, but Unova uses it in more subtle ways. Now that we got the heavy topics out of the way, let''s get back to Honey, shall we?" Honey''s antennae twitched when he heard his name. "You were a wonderful student," Jasmine started. "One of the hardest workers I''ve had the pleasure of working with. Amphy, Electrode and Magnezone will miss you, but all good things muste to an end." My teacher released the three Pokemon. Ampharos'' tail swayed from side to side, knocking on Metagross'' leg as she excitedly stared at Honey. Electrode''s permanent saddened expression turned into his species'' usual grin. Magnezone''s mas twirled, and he beeped above Electivire. It was their first time seeing him after his evolution too. "We will miss you all." My throat suddenly dried, and I wiped my eyes. "We''ll miss you too." Jasmine hugged me. "I''ll be cheering for you at the Conference. Put everything I''ve taught you to good use and sharpen yourself. There is potential within you." "Hmhm. And I''ll remember the Rapier of Olivine," I sniffled. "I''ve already willed the nickname into existence," she chuckled. "Now, let us bring you back home." ¡ª We decided to all get lunch together before Louis, Maeve and Justin left together. The entire ordeal ended up being very fun, even if most of it ended up having us asking Justin ridiculous questions and himing up with answers so factual they ended up being ridiculous. We sent them off on route 222 and waved until they were dots on the horizon. Louis was somewhat apologetic that he didn''t have a flier, so Maeve and Justin would have to walk with him and hold themselves back, but they''d made their choice. Or Maeve had made her choice. Justin had signed a contract. The next few hours were a flurry of packing and making sure we weren''t forgetting anything. Stocking up on potions, just in case, buying food and supplies for the road. At least it was rtively hot now, so traveling would get a lot less cumbersome. My hands brushed over the three Hyper Potions that remained in my bag from Craig, and I thought back to the Darkest Day. Without those¡­ half of Princess'' throat, ripped out in a semi-circle. Almost all of Sweetheart''s scales, gone and her flesh torn asunder, her small frame bleeding out in the darkness. "I need to get myself some as soon as I get my paycheck," I whispered to myself. "Having at least six at all times would be nice." One for each member of the family, in case they were ever mortally wounded. Still, even Hyper Potions had their limits. Full Restores were almost considered magic. They were restricted technology only avable to the League. They were a lot more expensive than potions¡ª a lot more. Up to twenty-thousand per Hyper Potionpared to the thousand that their less-effective model cost. "Sculpture of me, check. Books¡­ check. Arceus, I need a bigger bag." A few minutester, a knock sounded at my door. Cecilia. I quickly made sure my phone was charging and went to let her in. "Is it time already?" I asked. "Erin''s waiting downstairs," she nodded. We made our way to the lobby, and Cecilia''s eyes widened when she saw Erin. The tall girl was already tearing up, and it wasn''t even tomorrow yet. "She was fine when I left to get you," Cecilia muttered. "Erin." "Y¡ªyeah? I just got something in my eye¡ª both my eyes." "It''s okay to cry," I said. "I feel like crying too." "I can''t believe you guys are leaving already," she cried. "I always knew you''d leave, but in my head, I guess it was like¡­ I guess I thought I had more time." "You''ll be fine," Cecilia said. "You''ve always been good at running New Wave. Now you just have the muscle to do it. And a badge!" "And you have our numbers," I added. "It''s not like we''re never going to talk again. We can call all the time!" "Yeah," she sniffed. "Thepulsive part of me wanted toe with, but I know I''d just slow you all down. Plus, the club would flounder like a Magikarp without me." "So you''re stopping at one badge?" I asked. "I''ll try to go for two by the end of the year if I train up Sandy enough to run things while I''m gone." "I''m sure you''ll get it," I smiled. "You two changed my life¡­ I''m not sure you realize it," she sniffled. "Next year, I''ll try to go on a journey. A real journey, even past Mount Cor and into the west of Sinnoh. I''ll have to convince my mom, but¡ª" "Oh, Erin, that''s so wonderful!" Cecilia eximed. "We''ll be rooting for you!" Erin smiled, letting out a sad chuckle. "Thanks. I''ll try to go for as many badges as I can, and maybe spread New Wave''s wings beyond Sunyshore." "Just try your best," I said. "As long as you do that, you''ll feel fulfilled, win or lose. I promise you that." "Of course." "And call before you get into Mount Cor or Eterna Forest!" I warned. "We''ll have plenty of tips to give you." Erin nched and cleared her throat. "Don''t get cold feet now," Iughed. "You''ll be stronger than we were when you enter. You''ll be able to handle it." "Or maybe I''ll have a flier to skip both. A ton of flying types share the normal type too," the girl stammered. "Um, are you two still busy, or¡­ could we hang out onest time? My mom made some cookies at my house for you, and you can stay for dinner too." "Really?!" I yelled. "I''m done packing. Cece?" "I''m done as well," she nodded. "Let''s be on our way, then." ¡ª We all ended up crying when we told Erin goodbye for the final time. Her mother had practically attempted to kidnap us to get us to stick around longer, but we really had to go if we wanted to wake up early tomorrow. A good night''s sleep was essential to traveling quickly, and we all wanted to get to Pastoria quickly, all for different reasons. Chase had floated the idea of ''getting a seventh Pokemon'' for his team, although he had no idea which one. He thought the Safari Zone would be a perfect opportunity to find another Pokemon with enough drive to be on his team. Cecilia obviously wanted to find her sixth Pokemon and start training them as soon as possible as well. Mira, meanwhile, had heard of someone in Pastoria capable of upgrading her Porygon, which was something she imed was impossible to teach herself. We woke up the next day at the crack of dawn and rode a bus to the gate. Denzel, Emilia and Pauline would leaveter, and so would Lauren. She was in one of her phases where inspiration had struck, and she would only focus on creating a new move until it failed and she gave up, or she seeded. The sky was as clear as it could be without a single cloud in sight. The sun bore down on my skin, and Princess raced through the air as fast as she could, desperately trying to keep up with Cece''s Talonme, who was tutoring her in manipting flying TE. Slowking spoke to kazam, who rolled his eyes and facepalmed with an audible groan. Lucario strode next to Chase, and Houndoom rubbed his horns against his trainer''s legs. Route 222 was full of trainers, but they would slowly filter out the further we got. "Should we swing by the hotel again to check on Sergei?" I asked. Chase groaned and threatened to fly to Pastoria instead of walking if I ever suggested wasting more time. It was true that we could potentially get him in trouble by being there, so I shrugged and agreed. Maybe I''d tell Erin about him. It''d be nice if they could journey together. He was fourteen and nning on running away the next year. Well, I''d try to put them in contact. The endless road stretched in front of us, and the wind was at our backs. Our legs felt light, and we were content to stay silent for the time being. It would take six days to get to our destination¡ª five if we were fast enough. Pastoria City awaited us.
Side Story 4 – Autobiography I Side Story 4 ¨C Autobiography I Side Story - Autobiography I "Arceus, I''m so excited to read this," Cece said as I nestled my back against her chest with Cynthia''s autobiography in my hands. "Excited? I''m more intrigued," I muttered. "Can you see okay?" My girlfriend nodded, wrapping her hands around my waist. "It''s more like I''m wondering what experiences could have turned her into the woman she is today. Plus, this is knowledge few people have. Sure, trainers from her generation probably heard about her a whole lot, but delving into her thought process is an entirely different thing." "That''s true enough," I nodded. I couldn''t lie that I was salivating at the thought of getting to know Cynthia''s psyche, even if she had written it a decade ago after having spent ten years in power. I turned the first page, we started our reading. This book is dedicated to my twin sister Celeste, my grandmother Kirsten, to the people of Sinnoh, to the past Champions who had to walk the path I tread and to future Champions who will follow in my wake. The mantle of duty is heavy, and I hope history will look upon me favorably. I have done all in my power to do good to Sinnoh, and I will continue to do so for as long as I live. On that, you have my word. Chapter 1 - Encounter I''d always found Celestic boring in my childhood. These days, I desperately want to go back to simpler times like the ones I lived through in that town. In my childhood, Celestic was even more barren than it was today. The people were almost all old or young. Adults mostly left the city as soon as they could to go to greener pastures, even if they had to brave route 210 to do so. There was one school, one grocery store around a few hundred people at most. There were no televisions and only a few radios, and I remember going to the Pokemon Center to hear battlesmentated on their radios as a young child. However, even the Center was old. It was underfunded, understaffed and used outdated equipment that wasn''t even using the new revolutionary Ditto cells to heal Pokemon yet. The city was nked by Mount Cor in the west and and of fog in the east. We were an ind. Lonely, forgotten, we did not matter. But that did not stop me from seeing all the trainers passing through the city each year. I remember asking my grandmother about the scary strangers as I looked at them out our dusty window, and she would answer ''trainers'' with much disdain. Celestic didn''t like trainers. They were rude, did not respect their religion, and walked all over us because who would even stop them? Rangers? We didn''t have any of those. The League was preupied with more important matters, and Celestic always got the short end of the stick. My grandmother med the government for this, and by extension trainers. It was hard not to when Celestic got no funding and help from wild Pokemon attacks always came weeks toote. We had to rely on a few old trainers and their old partners for protection. My grandmother''s hatred for trainers passed onto my sister Celeste, but me? I''d always been intrigued. They were a gate into the outside world. They carried stories, scars, new things I''d never seen before. They reminded me that there was a world beyond my little ind. A world I wanted to explore. One day when I was six, the lid blew open and I failed to contain my urges. I decided to skip school and run away from home. It was a foolish choice by every single metric. I ran into route 210 as far away as my little legs could carry me and I got lost in the fog. The stories from trainers had made it sound like Floaroma was just a stone''s throw away, and I believed I''d get there in an hour at most. And yet, I ran and ran until I copsed on the ground and wheezed to desperately pump air into my lungs. The fact that I''d still been alive after so long out of Celestic was a miracle in itself. I stayed on the ground for a long time, just staring into the foggy sky as the mist clung to my throat. It was hard to breathe. Hard to see. Hard to think. It wasn''t the middle of winter quite yet, but it was cold up in the mountains and my clothes were wet from the fog. I thought I''d die here, but I was happy I''d seen something else. A new slice of the world I''d never known. I remember it clear as day,ughing and coughing as I waited for a wild Pokemon to snatch me away. What came up to me was a Gible. She''d been wounded, and I didn''t know from what. She was practically crawling on the floor and her eyes were hollow. Dried blood covered her and bled into her red stomach. Gible copsed next to me as I stared at her. I held out a hand and touched her head. She blinked at me and growled. I don''t exactly remember who fell unconscious first. Eventually, I closed my eyes and just drifted off to sleep. I didn''t wake up in the afterlife. There was no Arceus to greet me and hug me with its thousand arms. No bliss. Instead, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. Old man Richmond hade to look for me with his two Arcanines. He was a Great War veteran that was arguably the most powerful trainer in Celestic. He''d seen fighting at the front between Kanto and Johto and seen one of Zapdos'' avatars with his own eyes. The war had abused him. Scars covered his entire body, from shallow ones torge ones that couldn''t be ignored, and it was the same for his two Arcanine. At first, he thought that Gible had hurt me, and he considered killing her. War veterans are almost all gone today, but they were everywhere when I was a child, living out their twilight years. The war had scarred them all, and they knew killing and death as much as breathing, sleeping and eating. He wasn''t going to let a member of hismunity be hurt without passing retribution. I vehemently defended Gible, yelling with such vigor that my throat hurt for hours afterward. I distinctly remember the shift in his eyes then. He''d turned from a soldier back into an old man. Still, no matter how many times I pleaded with him, he left Gible there to die and carried me on his shoulder back to Celestic. I got an earful from every single adult I passed that evening. An event like a child running away was obviously the talk of town, and everyone had something to say about it. As for my grandmother? She was just d I was alive, as was my sister. People told her she needed to raise me right for this to never happen again. Kirsten never hit me or my sister. She''d gone through so much, losing her daughter in childbirth and we never knew our father. My mother had been too scared to tell her the man''s name, and it is easy to understand what happened to her now that I''m an adult. I am the daughter of a rapist, and so is my twin sister Celeste. It has weighed on my mind for years, and it is my first time exposing that fact to the world. I now know who my father is since he contacted me when I became the Champion, but we''re getting ahead of ourselves, aren''t we? A few weeks passed, but the attention around my escape never died down. Again, Celestic was slow in every aspect of life. Whenever I went to school, the other children would ask me to tell them about the outside. The world beyond the fog and the mountain. I lied and embellished what I''d seen, saying that I saw great towers of steel like those ''skyscrapers'' the trainers from other cities liked to talk about, or that I saw great battles between wild Pokemon. It was the first time I''d made any friends. I didn''t know it at the time, but our family were outcasts, and adults often told their children not to y with me or Celeste because we''d been born out of wedlock. They''d call us bastards under their breaths when our backs were turned. Celestic was old, and with age came prejudice and discrimination. The Gible I''d seen still fascinated me. We had shared a moment, and yet I had abandoned her. Was she dead? If she wasn''t, where was she now? Had the Pokemon that attacked her struck again? Questions upon questions. I wanted to run away again, but my grandmother would suffer again if I did. I''d asked old man Richmond to take me there again, but he wouldn''t budge. Curiosity has always driven me from a young age, and it still does. Questions have always consumed me, and I needed answers even if my life was at stake. So I hatched a n. Celeste and I shared a bed due to how small our home was, and after begging for days, I convinced her not to tattle to our grandmother, but she would only agree if I let here with me to protect me. We snuck out in the middle of the night, armed with a kitchen knife and one of grandma''s old gas lights. Two six-years-olds in the middle of one of the deadliest routes in the region with no Pokemon of their own. Our bravado didn''tst long. Celeste clung to my arm the entire way through as I called for Gible''s name. I didn''t even know if she was still there, and the n was stupid, but we were children. We didn''t know any better. My actions would not be without consequences. It was a Zangoose that came upon us first. It was probably famished, because it was thin and ragged. Two human children would be easy pickings for it even if it was weakened. I gripped the knife tightly and waited for it toe. In retrospect, Zangoose was rather weak, young and inexperienced. Its movements were clumsy and slow as it dashed toward us, but we had no way of outrunning it. That didn''t mean we didn''t try. Celeste ran slower than I did, and I turned back when I heard her scream. She was lying on the ground with two huge gashes in her back and blood seeped out of her wounds. The gasmp had fallen on the ground, the ss around it having shattered. I couldn''t think. I ran toward Zangoose with a knife in hand to save her, but I stopped dead in my tracks when Gible appeared out of the fog and bit into its shoulder. Her wounds were healed, but still present. The first scars that would ever mar her body. I dragged my sister away from the fight and tried to press down on her back to stop the bleeding. That was all I knew about wounds. Bleeding was bad, and it needed to be stopped. I nearly hurled when I saw all the blood on my hands, but after thirty seconds I turned back toward Gible. She was losing. Zangoose was too quick and nimble to get caught without the element of surprise, and its ws could pierce through the young dragon''s scales. Thest licks of light from themp illuminated their battle, but everything beyond was a sea of fog and darkness. As if the four of us were the only people in the world, fighting for survival. A primal feeling rose in my chest at that moment. It was the first time I''d ever felt something like this. As my sistery, crying and bleeding at my feet, as Zangoose fought desperately not to starve, as Gible defended us with all she had. I felt joy. A twisted, broken kind of satisfaction. I gripped my knife as tight as I could until the color drained from my hands, and I circled around the fight. I abandoned my sister. I wanted to fight. To live. To experience. Something clicked in my brain. I saw battle. I understood it. I wanted it. I craved it. It was my oxygen! My sustenance! Without it, I would die, or at least that was how I felt in the moment. Orders flew out of my mouth before I even had time to think about them. Not moves, but strategy. I told Gible when to jump back, to go in and w or bite Zangoose. When openings presented themselves, I would run in as quickly as I could and stab my knife into Zangoose. My arms were that of a child, so the wounds were shallow, but it served as a distraction for Gible to strike. We fought for what seemed like forever. My mouth was wide open, grinning from ear to ear until it hurt. I was having the time of my life. Until Zangoose shed across my gut and sent me flying. Gible managed to force it the flee as I got up. My cut was shallower than Celeste''s, and I could still walk, although barely. My smile vanished when I realized that Celeste was still on the ground. She was still breathing, although barely. We were forty minutes out of town, and I would never have the strength to carry her the entire way. The magnitude of the situation slowly sunk in. My sister was almost dead, and it was my fault. What would the adults say? I spoke with Gible with a trembling voice, and she helped me carry Celeste with her mouth. She was careful not to bite down too hard and we got back without further incidents. I put as much pressure on her wounds as I could. When we were home, she was unconscious. I told Gible to meet me at the city''s entrance again in a month and she fled into the night. I was given the dressing down of a lifetime. Dozens of people yelling at me, saying that it was a miracle Celeste was alive, that I was the devil in disguise, possessed, awful, a monster. My grandmother joined in this time, and it waspletely justified. I had done a mistake, and we had only just barely survived. The voices sounded far away to me. What I cared about was what I''d felt during the battle. It was a burst of ecstasy that I needed to feel again no matter what. I was ced under lockdown in my grandmother''s house as soon as my wounds were patched up, and my sister would have to stay in the hospital for months. We were twins, and we would have twin scars. Hers on her back and mine on my stomach. From that point on, I wanted not only to explore but to chase the thrill of battle.
Chapter 244 – The Thief Chapter 244 ¨C The Thief CHAPTER 244 - The Thief Togekiss cried out as a vicious Razor Wind tore apart her feathers. The cuts were superficial, but the attack still hurt. With a fierce cry, she pped her wings and sped away from the harmful bubble of sharpened air, a gust of wings blowing at her back. Talonme shrieked and dove down to her level, her body wreathed in mes as she sped toward Princess with a me Charge. As it stood, the fairy type was nowhere near as fast as her opponent. We had to go on the offensive. "Air sh!" I yelled. With a barrel roll, Princess sent two arcs of blurry air flying at Talonme, who dispelled the attacks with a powerful burst of air before she continued speeding toward the fairy type. A Charge Beam slowly built up in front of Princess'' mouth, and she abruptly turned to face Talonme. The electricity hit the fire type in the chest, but her momentum still carried her and she rammed into Princess with everything she had. The sheer force of the impact and me Charge knocked Princess down, but she caught herself and floated inches from the ground. "Darn it," I sighed. "We lose again." "Well, she''s getting a lot better," Cece smiled. "Two days ago, that Charge Beam never would have hit." "That''s mostly because we caught you off-guard. I bet you thought we''d keep running." "Well, admittedly you should have, since the strategy didn''t work," she chuckled. "Right, but we''ve got to get better with Charge Beam anyway. In a battle with stakes, you''d be right." Princess floated toward me and waited so I could apply a potion to her burning fur and cut skin. I spritzed the liquid over her wounds, and despite not being able to see through her fluffy fur, I imagined them closing before my eyes. Cecilia did the same with Talonme, and we returned to where Mira and Chase were staying. It had been three days since we had left Sunyshore, and we had finally reached the huge stretch of beach that would lead us to Pastoria. Talonme had be Princess'' tutor in everything rting to flying TE, and we were rapidly improving, but we needed to go faster if we wanted to beat Wake. We weren''t going to stay in Pastoria for long, and we would have less time to trainpared to the amount we''d gotten before Volkner. We came upon an intense fight between Chase''s Lucario and Mira''s Gardevoir when we arrived at the shore. The fighting type grunted, holding out an arm, and Aura exploded out of his palm in a dozen different tendrils that stabbed into Gardevoir. She winced and flickered, but her attempt to Teleport away failed, and she decided to strike with a Fire Punch instead. Psychic was not allowed during sparing. Still holding out his hand, Lucario bared his teeth and pulled Gardevoir toward him before punching her in the gut with a one-handed Bullet Punch. Silver danced within his fist and intensified with each strike, and he''d struck a dozen times by the time Gardevoir hit him in the head once. The battle came to a stop when Mira and Chase spotted us, and the Aura stabbing into Gardevoir receded. The fairy type let out a tired huff and sat on the sand. Training never stopped for us, even if we''d adopted the short but intense battles that Louis and Maeve had coined and refined them, pushing them to its limits. "You guys finished your fight too?" Mira asked. "Did Princess finally nab a win?" I stared up at the Togekiss, who was flying high up in the sky, and shook my head. "Not yet, but we''re getting there! She''s got a good handle on Air sh now, and Charge Beam will help for Wake." "I wonder how good he''ll be," Chase said with a hand over his mouth. "Well it''s going to be our first six-on-six against a Gym Leader, so it''s bound to be intense," I shrugged. "Speak for yourself," Mira said with a half-sigh. "Stop self-deprecating," Chase scolded. "That''s an excuse people use to not bother working as hard, because if they suck, what''s the point? You''ve got to believe you''re the best." "Chasey, only you can do things like that. You''re obviously not the best." "It''s about belief!" "Today''s pretty warm. Why don''t we go to the beach?" Cecilia asked. Mira scoffed. "And get myself killed by some Tentacool in the water? No, thank you." "I figured it''d be safe in the shallow waters," she sighed. "What should we do, then? Keep traveling for a few hours?" "As long as you don''t fill my head about politics¡ª" Chase started. "Chase, you want to do politics. You asked Cynthia to improve the Iron Inds! That''s what politics is!" Our friend worked his jaw for a few seconds and his feet shifted in the sand. "You know what, fair point." "She did get you there," Mira shrugged. "But I still don''t care about Unova and what''s happening there!" He eximed, then turning to Mira. "I''m just going to keep training the shrimp. Mira, get your Porygon out. She needs exercise." The pink-haired girl groaned. "Against who?" "I''ll give you an easier matchup. Zangoose. We''re going to have them battle for thirty minutes." "You''re on!" She grinned. "I''m gonna take a little flight," I muttered, slipping away. "I won''t be gone too long. Maybe an hour or two." My friends all nodded or acquiesced, and I called to Princess with my hands cupping my mouth. Cecilia couldn''t fly on Lehmhart yet, because she had only passed the theoretical flying exam. Lehmhart was still too inexperienced to actually have her fly on him, so her license would have to wait until Pastoria. Talonme was still growing, but I doubted she''d ever berge enough to have Cece fly on her. She was smaller than average for her species, but that meant she had traded bulk for speed. I''d pay to see her try, though. That''d be a funny way to spend an hour or two. Too bad it was way too dangerous. Princessnded on the beach, and I gasped in horror when sand got all over my pants and shoes. I guess wearing jeans and sneakers on the beach isn''t smart, I thought. One day, she''d be good enough tond without any disturbances just like Cynthia''s Togekiss. I petted Princess'' forehead and she preened. "Yes, yes, you did very good," I smirked. "Ready to go fly around?" The fairy type squealed in excitement, and I got to work on putting the saddle on her. I unfolded the entire¡­ contraption and slowly but surely buckled it around her wings. I was getting the hang of it, but if I ever needed to fly away in an emergency, I would definitely have to make do without a saddle. When I finished putting it on her and put on my goggles, I slung my bag over my shoulders, hopped on her, and strapped myself in. After one pat on the head, she slowly floated upward. Sand pulsed on the ground and then burst upward when Princess rushed to gain altitude. I did not flinch, nor did the ufortableness of the forces pressing down on my shoulders and back surprise me. We''d grown a lot more confident than we used to be. Wind whistled past my ears, and the world below us became smaller and smaller. A grin stretched across my face as I took in the sights. To our left and the general south was an endless ocean with a few uninhabited inds in sight. Technically, they were in Pastoria''s jurisdiction, but they hadn''t ever done anything with them. Wild Pokemon lived on them by the thousands¡ª mostly groups of Wingull and Pelipper, but also Seel, Spheal, Sealeo, and Buizel. A singr cargo ship headed in Sunyshore''s direction could be seen in the distance. I leaned in and yelled. "Let''s go and say hi!" Princess chirped, but the wind drowned out the sound of her voice. She sped up, and I held onto the saddle despite being strapped in. It was hard not to be scared when my body felt like it was going to fall off any minute, despite knowing that was absolutely not the case. I leaned to the right and noticed a Mantine breaking through the ocean''s surface and floating for what seemed like thirty seconds. I squinted at the water type, but hummed when I saw I couldn''t tell their gender from that far. A flock of Mantyke followed them, each jumping and desperately trying to keep up with their apparent leader, who slowed every so often to let them catch up. In a matter of five minutes, we hovered over the cargo ship and waved at the sailors there. Most of them ignored me, probably because I was far from the first trainer to have this idea and they were focused on work, but a few of them whistled or waved back. I noticed a bunch of water types surrounding the ship, and there was a Gyarados at its head to keep it protected from wild Pokemon. We followed the ship for a few minutes before Princess sped back toward the coast. It was hard to discern, but I could easily see different groups of trainers on the ground, somerge and some small. Route 213 wasn''t as safe as 222, but it was still nothingpared to the routes out west. Even the ocean was safe if you got close enough to Pastoria (which we were not, at the moment). Speaking of Pastoria, I could see it far in the distance. The city appeared foggy due to how far it was, but it was there. Mount Cor loomed even further, its peak hidden far above the clouds. I found it astonishing just how far I could see from up here. There were no routes. It was just Sinnoh. Massive, but not asrge as it had seemed before I''d be capable of flying. It was finite, now. Every corner of the region was within my reach. I let out a bellowing, excited scream as Princess zipped to our true location. Route 213 wasn''t only known for its huge beach. There was also a rtively small mountain here that I''d flown to yesterday. On the way there, I only noticed two other trainers flying. I would have thought it to be amon urrence before getting my license, but the sky was really big. Seeing another trainer up here was rarer than not, with the exception being outside of cities. One of them, I recognized. It was hard not to see Dragonite''s resplendent scales, even when they were hidden behind the clouds. Ariel was thankfully still following us. Princessnded on the mountain, which actually had a t teau at its summit and a lot of vegetation, which was thest thing I would have expected from a ce like this. Every other mountain peak I''d seen was just barren rock. "Good job, you aced thatnding!" I cheered, hopping off her back. "Let me get this off of you." Hiding Honey from my friends had been a challenge, but as it turned out, going on a flight was a very convenient excuse. Omitting was not lying, and I did enjoy flying every day. I wasn''t going to keep him in his Pokeball the entire trip. That would have been awful for everyone involved, and that was time where he wouldn''t be able to grow used to his new body. After taking the saddle off Princess, I released the entire team and followed up with releasing the electric type far away¡ª twenty feet, to be exact. He was getting a lot better at not randomly blowing up, and he could actually walk. I had done the same thing for him yesterday. "Hi! It''s the afternoon right now," I greeted him. Sweetheart did the same, although she immediately crawled toward him. "Just a few more days of this, and you''ll be set to get close. You keep an eye out for any Pokemon," I told Princess. This ce was technically off-route. We''d been attacked twice before, but they''d been deterred pretty quickly. Once by a Victreebel that Sunshine had scared away, and the other by a Budew Colony that were led by an aggressive Roselia. That brought back memories. I wondered how Denzel, Pauline and Emilia were doing right now. Thankfully, I hadn''t suffered a Bullet Seed to the gut this time, and my team chased them away rather easily. Honey answered with a thumbs up, and a few Thunderbolt-sized bolts sparked out of his hand. Thankfully by now, Princess'' barrier was enough to stop them. Sweetheart called him a wet nket when he apologized again. She was back to her usual, trash-talking self now that the novelty of the situation had passed. The thing about her was that she did it so innocently too. My dad had always said that kids just blurted out whatever was on their minds, and it was the same for Sweetie. Jellicent grumbled in my ear that I hadn''t released him close to the ocean, and I promised I''d do it when we got down. Sunshineined about the grass being too tall and prickly on his scales, then asked if he could burn it, but I shook my head. "Don''t alter the ce. People live here," I sighed. "Just rx and enjoy life. If the grass is prickly on your scales, then think about how it must feel on my skin. I''m just a little human, and I''m bearing with it." The dragon rolled his eyes in his usual diva fashion, finally deciding to lie down on the ground. I could tell he was growing more nervous the closer we got to Pastoria. Mudsdale was there, and the closer we got, the more the weight of what he considered his failure stacked up. Not only that, but he would still have to tell the rest of the team about his story before that. I approached Sunshine, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "You''ll be alright. This will be good for you. For both of you," I softly said. Sunshine answered with a half-hearted grunt, and Angel motioned that he''d be here for him if need be despite not even knowing what we were talking about. Turtonator snorted, and Angel pped two clumps of vines together while he smiled with his eyes. Making Sunshine happier was the goal, and the fact that the fire type wasughing technically meant that it was working. I grabbed my chemistry textbook and myptop,menting that I was almost done with the thing. Somewhere along the way, I''d actually started to enjoy the topic. This was just an introduction, however, so there was a lot more to be learned even after I finished both my physics and chemistry textbooks. Princess'' feathers swayed in the wind while she settled down next to me and Sunshine. Sweetheart and Honey were ying a game where the electric type essentially tried to bench-lift her as many times as he could, and he was having¡­ some sess. Electivire were strong, but he was still starting from his baseline. It would take a while for his muscles to build up. Maybe I could give him that workout routine Chase had given me for my birthday. "Do you think I could give him that workout Chase gave me?" I asked my family, eliciting a few chuckles from them and an indignant cry from Princess. "What? They have the same body type! Of course, he''d have to do, like, ten times the amount of everything for it to work, but who knows?" The flying type scoffed in disbelief. "You know what, we''ll ask him and see what he says! Lucario does the same routine he does, and it''s clearly worked!" Princess rolled her eyes¡ª "Since when do you roll your eyes at me? Is this¡­ is this some kind of new phase?" Did she think she was grown up since she''d evolved? And yet she still wanted to be babied half the time! She couldn''t have it both ways. The fairy type lifted a ball of mud from the earth and began to sculpt Honey in his new form. We stayed there for forty minutes, mostly in silence save for a few conversations. Buddy asked Sunshine about help with Will-o-Wisp since it was the first move that actually stumped him somewhat, but the dragon type was of no help, answering that he had no idea how to mess with anything ghost-rted. Angel just enjoyed the sun, although he had wandered a few dozen feet away to find some wildflowers ande back to stick a few in my hair, which Sweetheart loved, so she ended up getting some too. Honey worked on retaining his electricity, and Buddy loomed over my shoulder to read my textbook. Princess sensed a few Pokemoning close by, but none dared approach. That was, until now. "They''re not stopping?" I muttered, closing my book. I quickly put myptop and the textbook back in my backpack. "How fast?" My question was answered right away when something leaking an incredible amount of rage entered my senses. It was nothing I''d ever seen before. Pokemon usually were threatened or scared when they attacked you and just wanted you out of their territory or away from their kids or group. But this? I stood up from my crouching position and inhaled. They were going so fast. "No time to run. They''re already¡ª" I flinched when arge Carnivine appeared in front of us, floating slightly above the ground. It was as if the tall grass bent away from her bundle of multicolored vine-like feet. A sweet smell filled the air as drool umted in her mouth and fell to the ground. Her eyes were nk, and her pupils barely visible, but it was easy to see she was furious¡ª My entire team took to their positions. In a second, Honey blurred in front of us, electricity humming through his skin. Princess let the barrier fall for a moment and immediately ced it around only me, allowing Sunshine to take a few steps forward with hot air gathering in his mouth and snout. Angel moved himself with massive clumps of vines and pointed them at Carnivine with the most menacing look he could muster while Sweetheart let loose a juvenile roar and a few puffs of air from her vents. Buddy''s eyes shed with fury, but I held out a hand. "I can tell you''re angry. We''ll be leaving now if you''ll allow us," I said, keeping my voice as steady as possible. I could tell from a single look that Carnivine was not to be messed with. "We mean you no harm. Everyone, stand down." What had caused her so much anger? Was it born from injustice? Pain? I couldn''t delve deep enough to know. I took a step toward Princess, hoping to mount her without a saddle, but Carnivine growled and I stopped. It was a croaky, grave sound that made my ears rumble. "I was trying to leave," I said. The grass type snarled, sending spittle all over. "Someone trante," I quickly spoke. Honey spoke up first, keeping an eye on Carnivine at all times. We were six, but as the seconds went on, the nagging suspicion that Carnivine was extremely powerful only grew. She didn''t fear us whatsoever, which could have been because she was blinded by rage, but even then, the vegetation here listened to her. Grass twisted when she growled,shed out when she screamed. It was hers. Honey said that she''d lost a son to another human a week ago. A thief had caught him. I bit my lip and frowned. "I''m sorry," I exhaled. "I understand why you don''t want to see any humans now. If you''d just allow us to leave, we''d be on our way." We reminded her of the pain she''d felt, and it was still fresh. One did not recover from loss that quickly. I assumed some trainer hade and caught her son without asking for consent, as trainers unfortunately usually did¡ª I covered my ears when Carnivine yelled again, and the grass under her feetshed out. A whisper from Princess revealed that she''d called us all the same. Humans. I took a step back¡ª Through the barrier, grass straightened, sharpened and wrapped around one of my ankles. It crushed¡ª My mind went white for a second. My vision shook and blurred around its edges. For that moment of agony, it felt like up was down and right was left. What was happening to me? My breaths caught in my throat, struggling, until they came out as a ragged cough¡ª argh, fuck¡ª Suddenly, something snaked around my waist. It was Angel. He grabbed me right away and threw me onto Princess'' back with a vine, but more grass grew in seconds and kept her away from flying by wrapping around her. Sunshine spat out a huge methrower toward Carnivine, who pped her two appendages and flew away like a damned flying type. Angel grabbed my waist again and decided to keep me on his head from now on to keep me away from the grass, and I tried to ignore the agonizing pain in my ankle. It was slowly fading away¡ª pulsating over and over as the adrenaline filled my bloodstream. Princess moaned as the grass slowly started to twist around her like a vise. I spoke to her with a shaky voice, "Free yourself with Air sh¡ª" With a rageful scream, two shades appeared next to Buddy and began battering Carnivine with Acids and Shadow Balls. They were too slow to hit, however, but Honey''s Thunderbolt was practically instant. The grass type grunted in pain when the attack hit, but she continued speeding up until she was continuously flying in circles around us. Every single step from my Pokemon was slowed by the grass. It wasn''t a lethal thing¡ª or at the very least not while Carnivine was focused on something else, but it was like a continuous Grass Knot that made moving twice as difficult here. Princess yelled, finally slicing all of the grass from her body and she took flight alone, but not too far away from me, since she wanted to keep her barrier going. Now that we knew that Carnivine could fly this fast, going on her without a saddle would be suicide. The grass type would follow us to knock me off Princess, and I would just fall to my death. A tornado full of leaves was starting to form around us. I clenched a fist and stared up at Carnivine, who was so quick that she''d just be a green circr blur above our heads at this point that none of our attacks could reach save for Swift. The leaves were so sharp that they cut across everyone''s skin except Sunshine''s scales. Princess was barely holding on to her barrier as it was, so there was no way she''d be able to extend it to everyone else. She was still somewhat tired from her bout with Talonme. Princess is too focused on keeping me protected to do anything substantial, I thought to myself. Sunshine heating up would just hurt the others. Sweetheart can''t do much, Honey''s already continuously throwing Thunderbolts¡­ Buddy''s Night Shade would blow up in seconds from the storm, but he could maybe¡­ "Buddy, you need to go up there and cut her off!" I yelled. The water type listened at once, propelling himself through the tornado as he continuously regenerated himself. I bit my tongue when his head swelled, and Carnivine didn''t manage to swerve out of the way in time. The grass type rammed into Buddy, and I snapped. "Now!" A methrower, a Thunderbolt and an Air sh managed to hit Carnivine¡ª and Buddy, since he was so close. Tendrils of water clung to Carnivine and solidified around her, allowing another volley of attacks to hit. A single seed flew out of Carnivine''s mouth and blew Buddy to smithereens, sending chunks of his body everywhere around us, and Carnivine red at me. We were all bleeding. Wounded. Hurt. My eyes flitted over to the skies for a moment. Where the hell was Ariel? Darkness intertwined in Carnivine''s mouth, and my stomach dropped. The grass type rushed toward us, but Honey blurred with a bright Radiant Leap and jumped, grabbing the Carnivine in a chokehold. Another second, and I had to cover my eyes when he let loose a huge Thunder. Sweetheart carefully waited for her turn and then rammed right into Carnivine''s t head when she found the right angle, and Honey held the grass type in position for her. Carnivine snarled when Pupitar hit her at full speed with an Iron Head, but the damage on her head healed in seconds. Carnivine''s two arms grew as they shone neon green, and she pped Electivire in the face and sent him flying so far I almost gasped. The electric type rolled on the grass like a rag doll, and a spark more powerful than the others lit some of it on fire, leaving a trail of mes behind him. Carnivine huffed and got back in the air, but a Shell Trap and a Scale Shot from Sunshine tore right through her and her bodybusted until a burst of air freed her from the mes. Right then and there, she identified Sunshine and Honey as her greatest threat. Carnivine screamed and pushed herself back into the air. She blurred toward the electric type, who was just getting back up. "Angel," I whispered. Vines shot out of Angel and converged toward Carnivine. In her rush to get to Electivire, she hadn''t gotten enough altitude to stay out of range. The vines wrapped all around her and darkened in an attempt to cut off her TE. "Pin her!" I yelled to Princess. Lances emerged from below the ground and stabbed into Carnivine''s body, staggering each one to buy as much time as possible. The grass type snarled, and her spit grew purple and began to melt Angel''s vines away. Honey yelled out a warning, and Tangrowth finally let go of Carnivine, allowing him to let loose another Thunderbolt while Sunshine crashed into the grass type with a fiery Rapid Spin. I was protected from the heat, but my other Pokemon were not. Princess winced as smoke emanated from her fur while Angel had to throw himself back in order not to catch on fire. That meant Carnivine was free. I could almost see her shifting eyes. Sunshine was too hot to approach and potentially the one Pokemon that could deal any real damage to her. Honey was too close to us and had too much support. The stone spears that had prated her head and torso melted off thanks to her Acid, and she turned to¡ª "Get back to us!" I screamed. Pupitar narrowly dodged what looked to be some kind of Leaf de by propulsing herself up in the air, but Carnivine was close behind her. The ground type dove down to the ground, and Carnivine followed. The others tried to get their attacks tond, and some did, affecting Sweetheart in the process. Thankfully her shell protected her from the worst of the damage from methrowers and Air shes, and she was immune to electric attacks. My eyes met hers, and I flinched when she passed me, leaving only arge billow of dust and powerful currents behind her. Carnivine did not dare approach the entire team and opted to let her run for now. I felt frustration and rage swell¡ª Now! "Smack Down!" I yelled. A rock erupted from below Carnivine and reached her in an instant, burying itself inside of the grass type and dragging her toward the floor. I barked an order to Sunshine, and he spun toward Carnivine, who spontaneouslybusted into bright blue mes. Contrary to what I had believed, though, the battle did not end. A cluster of seeds leaked out of Carnivine''s burning mouth, and the subsequent explosions rocked the entire mountain. Smoke swelled high into the air, and Sunshine wasn''t visible any longer. Buddy had finally begun to reform to my right and was ready to go again. "Keep yourself solid," I squinted in a desperate attempt to see through the smoke, ash and mes to no avail. "Try to send a chunk of you to check on Sunshine, and keep the Acids and Shadow Ballsing. Honey, you''re muscle and our frontline. Sweetheart, hang back and find openings and get her back on the ground whenever you can. Angel and Princess, you''re support." To keep me from getting killed. It was a shame, that battles like these were different. My team had progressed leaps and bounds, but they did not know how to fight such a dominant opponent without hurting each other, and worse, they had no way of going all out without the barrier shattering and me dying. But Carnivine was also in a dilemma. Alone, she could easily deal with us. Together? She had no easy way to win. Buddy reported that Sunshine was still fighting in the smoke and asked if he should aim to kill. I hesitated for a few seconds, then clicked my tongue. "Aim to knock her out," I answered. "She''s still¡ª" Carnivine emerged from the smoke, heavily wounded from her short fight with Sunshine. I felt a twinge of worry until Sunshine exploded from within, sending hot smoke flying everywhere with another Shell Trap. With the ash dispersed, I could finally see his state. Much of his body had been wounded by poison that still ate into his scales. His flesh was exposed to the elements, and the dragon type clenched his jaw from the pain. Vines stretched up from the ground and stabbed into Carnivine. When I noticed the glow, I bit my lip. Was that healing? "That''s Ingrain! Cut it!" I snapped. Princess hovered in the air next to me, but she didn''t need to move. A dozen Air Cutters sliced across the Ingrain, and Carnivine roared in anger as her vines copsed. She was narrowly seared by a Dragon Pulse from Sunshine, and Sweetheart immediately tried to hit her with another Smack Down, but Carnivine knew how to react to it now. The rock still stabbed through her arm. There wasn''t enough material to for the Smack Down to bury itself in and drag Carnivine down, so it simply tore a hole through it, and it regenerated in seconds. The same could be said of every part of Carnivine''s body. It appeared burned, but she''d regenerated past Sunshine''s attacks. How? "This is a stalemate," I said in an attempt to negotiate. "Again, I''m not here to do any harm! Just let us leave!" Unfortunately, Carnivine was not done with us. Multicolored leaves appeared all around the grass type and sharpened before Carnivine sent them flying at all of us. Honey blurred in front of Sweetheart with a Radiant leap and put up a protect, but everyone else was hit. Buddy summoned a Night Shade at thest second in front of him, which exploded and damaged him in the process. Princess tried to use the same Air Burst technique as Talonme, but she failed and the Magical Leaves hit her head and wings. Sunshine spun, opting to let his shell get hit instead of his exposed flesh while Angel simply took the attack in stride, barely feeling anything. Then, she nted herself on the ground with a thump, and the grass all around us grew until it was taller than all of us. I was still on Angel''s head, and Princess sliced across the grass around us with Air Cutter as soon as it gave any signs of life so we wouldn''t get attacked by it or caught by surprise. "Burn it!" I yelled out. The sound of a methrower went off in the distance, and I gulped. My heart was going faster than it had in a long time¡ª I hadn''t fought like this in what felt like a lifetime ago. A battle with lives at stakes was so much more terrifying than I remembered, and I had to dig my nails into my palms in order to focus. The pain in my ankle grew worse every time I didn''t, and I couldn''t afford to worry about that right now. The sound of battle rang out in the distance, and then I noticed a huge ball of electricity rise into the sky. Discharge¡ª no! I couldn''t afford to fucking dally and observe. My team was buying me some time. What were Carnivine''s strengths and weaknesses? She can regenerate through anything like Buddy can, but through different mechanics. Enough power to pierce Sunshine''s scales, which means she can basically punch through anything. Luckily, she''s too angry to actually focus and strike where it matters. I was the head of the Ekans, and Princess kept me alive. Granted, we wouldn''t just have let her attack Princess. Angel was here for backup, and Sweetheart was close by. Restraining her wouldn''t work, so what, then? Attacking until she gets too exhausted to regenerate? Was overwhelming her regeneration at my level a possibility? Cutting it off with dark TE hadn''t seemed to work very well, but Angel wasn''t the best at it. Well, no time to fucking think. The entire forest of tall grass around me had started to burn to smithereens. I stared at one of the des of grass for around ten seconds and blinked when I realized it was regenerating too, but not fast enough to do so through the mes. Hopefully it''d be the same for her if we kept her burning long enough. But that grass¡­ everything here was hers, then? Had she created this ce, or had she appropriated it¡ª Electivire bellowed like an engine, his muscles bulged and he mmed a Fire Punch right in Carnivine''s jaw. The grass type had hidden herself in the grass and anchored herself with an Ingrain, and he had found her. Jellicent slipped into the ground while Sunshine grabbed onto Carnivine''s arms with a mighty roar before Carnivine pushed him off with a well-ced Seed Bomb, allowing her to escape. "Princess, how tired are you?" If she could sweat, she''d be doing so. She answered that she was fine with a tired huff as Carnivine shed across Honey''s chest, but he slipped back with a Radiant Leap, leaving only a shallow cut in the ce of what would no doubt have been a debilitating injury. Thank the Legendaries for his speed. He didn''t hesitate to go back into the thick of it, weaving in and out to dodge most of her attacks. "Keep back. You need to put everything you have into the barrier," I muttered. "Angel, I''m going to need you to go in. As it stands, we''re slowly losing, and your vines might be able to keep things in our favor. Buddy''s going to strike soon, so wait for him. Sweetheart, you stick around. Keep us protected." The grass type dropped me on Togekiss'' back, and the barrier morphed, growing slightlyrger around us. Arger barrier was a more unfocused one, and I felt a hint of heat on my face and skin from the fires raging around us. Carnivine saw this and immediately turned her attention to me. Every vine in her ''stalk'' burst open and pushed Electivire off of her with whip-like vines. Each strike left bloody imprints on his fur and forced him to let go while Sunshine was off on the side and biding his time to not harm us too much. A Crunch built itself up in her mouth. The second time, now. She might have been wild, but Carnivine knew how to deal with barriers. At that moment, Jellicent emerged below her. Before she could swoop toward us. He screamed in agony from the Crunch, but he lost his form slipped inside her mouth and started to burn her with Hex from the inside. A Water Spout exploded from within her, and every part of her broke. I gasped, thinking he hadn''t listened to me and that she''d died. But despite Jellicent wanting her to, Carnivine hadn''t died. Instead, thin, green tendrils burst from every inch of her skin and linked all of her body parts back together. I''d known grass types were resistant, but this bordered on functional immortality! Jellicent was left without a target as he emerged from her broken insides, and a bundle of grass grew from the ground within the mes in a second and whipped him away. He crashed into the dirt with half of his head missing. Angel wrapped dark-coated vines around Carnivine''s neck, stalk and arms as soon as she had a shape again, and she desperately cut at them with poison and the grass itself when she realized that Leaf de wouldn''t work with her leaves restrained. Buddy spat out a glob of Acid right at her head, causing her to scream and Honey arrived with the deafening roar of Electricity and mmed another Fire Punch into her stalk. He''d been speeding up this entire battle thanks to Motor Drive, but he was at the point where exhaustion was catching up to him. "Let Sunshine pin her!" I yelled. The dragon grinned and propelled himself with a Rapid Spin. Angel''s vines burned when he arrived, but that was fine. The grass type simply detached them before the mes could reach him. Turtonator finally got on top of Carnivine and began to burn. Vines and grass writhed from her body and the ground, but Sunshine never let go no matter how hard she whipped and cut across his exposed, burning flesh. The air around them warped until the grass type finally fell unconscious. "Arceus," I sighed as the weight of a thousand bricks lifted itself off my chest. "Is everyone okay?" Sweetheart and Angel were basically unharmed, and Buddy could just regenerate from most of the damage. Princess'' blood soaked her fur, but it was nothing too bad. Cuts upon cuts that would heal with a potion. Honey and Sunshine? They were in a horrible state¡ª the fire type even more so. Electivire had fought Carnivine in closebat and had suffered for it. Poison had eaten at the flesh on his arms, torso and face, and of course he had the same cuts that Princess had, but deeper. Had that Leaf de hit him in the chest, I would have had to recall him and we would have never won the fight. The electric type also had surface-level burns from Sunshine. The fire type was barely recognizable. His beige scales had been destroyed or peeled off, and he could barely stand on his own any longer. "Angel, could you go up to Honey and apply five potions," I asked, wincing when I hopped off of Princess'' back. Pain had shot up my leg even though I hadnded on my non-wounded foot. Walking was going to hurt. "I can''t approach him, still. Do the same for Sunshine when he cools off¡ª Sunshine, get off of her. We don''t want to kill her. Buddy, you extinguish the remaining mes. It''s getting hard to breathe because of the smoke." The dragon responded with an annoyed grunt that would have been ten times as loud had he had the energy. Carnivine had tried to kill us, so why not kill her? "I don''t think she was trying to kill you," I shook my head. "Me, yes. All of you? I think she was holding back. Thank you for getting yourself hurt so much for us. I''ll recall you as soon as you get some potions¡ª" I flinched, and would have fallen over had Princess not used her body to support me. Ariel and her Dragonitended upon the mountain''s peak with Ariel at his back. The same League Trainer that had shown us around Lake Valor. "You''re a littlete," I said through clenched teeth. "My apologies. That was intentional," she said, looking around the burned battlefield. I scoffed. "Intentional?" "I phrased that badly. Adversity breeds skill. Had you started losing in any serious capacity or your Togekiss been struck and been unable to use barriers, I would have intervened. Your ankle getting hurt wasn''t a part of the n, so I apologize for that. I originally wanted to let you fight Carnivine, and I did not expect her to strike at you with such lethality. She is not usually this¡­ aggressive. I thought she simply wanted to drive you away." Sweetheart growled within her shell. The temperature around Sunshine rose again, and only Honey''s voice managed to stop him. Angel continued diligently applying potions to his wounds, and I did the same for Princess. Ariel was just so emotionally distant that she was hard to understand, but it wasn''t the first time she''d done this. She had let us fumble around in an attempt to find Lake Valor for hours until she helped, but at least our lives hadn''t been threatened. "That''s a lot of risk," I muttered. "And my family is hurt because of you. My ankle is¡­" I stopped, and my eyes drifted to my ankle. It looked swollen and red. "I don''t know. Broken, maybe." "We ACE Trainers are excellent at evaluating risk, and wild Pokemon are usually far more predictable than humans are. The League knows of Carnivine and I believed you to be able to take her down. Have you not learned valuable lessons from this fight that could be applied in¡­ less official manners of battle?" I had, I thought to myself. There were minor facts like Princess needed to be able to fly while shielding me¡ª or best case scenario, I would nab myself that ydol so she wouldn''t have to worry about me all the time and would be able to make full use of her newfound mobility. Honey could be excellent atst resort barriers with Protect and Radiant Leap and a few ideas about what Angel could be able to do with his vines that I''d be stealing from Carnivine. But there were also broader concepts, like needing to manage to find a way to fully utilize Sunshine in a battle like this without hurting the others or actually working in tandem. We weren''t in Sceon any longer. We had the power to deal real damage, and that meant that we could hurt ourselves, but our opponents would also not allow Sunshine not to go all out. I needed to get these issues in order before we set off for our cross-Sinnoh trip. I knew for a fact it wasn''t thest time I was going to face an enemy stronger than my entire team. Ruth in the Lost Tower, that thing down in the ruined city¡­ and possibly more that I didn''t expect quite yet. But more than that, my head had grown too big. Even with my Pokemon being as strong as they were, that didn''t mean the wild was safe, and my affinity for Pokemon also didn''t mean that I could talk my way out of fights all the time. The high from the battle was leaving now, and I could barely think straight with my busted ankle. "That''s still a really dumb policy, and my opinion of you just cratered," I said, ring at her. "That''s a problem. Ideally, we would have a rtionship that allows us to work together. I''m sorry about your ankle, but your getting hurt was unfortunately guaranteed. Again, I believed that Carnivine would not strike you with this much ferocity, and by the time she had, I had been caught off-guard. I decided to see how you would deal with the threat to allow you to grow." At least we were all fine, I sighed in relief before mumbling to Ariel. "So you knew about this Carnivine?" "The League and the Rangers track many of these powerful wild Pokemon. She is not that strong just yet, but given a few decades¡­ she could grow to anchor herself and start ruing Presence." Obviously, the League knew about Presence, I pondered. ACE Trainers were pretty high up in the food chain as things went, so there wasn''t a lot Ariel wouldn''t know. I stayed quiet at first and observed a few wild Pokemon swarm around Carnivine and mourn her loss to us. Most were grass types like Seedot, Bellsprout, or Oddish, but not all of them were. Taillow, Starly, Bidoof¡­ there were a lot of them here. Carnivine might not have been a domain holder, but she was most likely their protector and the most powerful Pokemon on this mountain. "At first I might have thought her to be a domain holder, but she''s too weak," I muttered. "I guess she''s just really strong and can make use of the vegetation around here." All but the most courageous wild Pokemon scampered off as I approached Carnivine''s unconscious body, hopping on a foot until Angel carried me over. I hovered my hand over her head to make sure she was at a safe temperature for a human to touch, and made sure there was no more poison dripping from her mouth. I started applying one of my potions to her as well. It wouldn''t do much, but maybe it would make the pain more manageable once she woke up. "Indeed, she is far from a Pokemon with a domain," Ariel said with her arms crossed. "I feel the need to reiterate my surprise at how aggressive she''s gotten. Usually, she doesn''t strike at people like this." "She said her kid was stolen." The ACE trainer paused, crossed her arms and tapped a finger on her elbow. "Really?" "I was hoping to learn who before she attacked me," I continued. "I mean, they''d have to be a really good trainer to actually get past her, so I figured I''d maybe be able to get a description to find them nearby. If it wasn''t long ago, maybe they''re still in Pastoria or on the route and I could have convinced them to bring the Pokemon back." Angel nodded at the suggestion and caressed Carnivine''s head. He was the only one who loved the idea. The others were a lot less¡­ agreeable, except Honey who was neutral on the entire matter. Ariel ignored me and her eyes drifted to my ankle. "Do you have something to patch yourself up? I rmend flying to the Pokemon Center in Pastoria as soon as you can." "Oh, yeah," I said, touching Carnivine''s rough skin. "I can make a splint and bandage it for now, but I''ll have to¡ª well, I don''t know. I''ll have to talk to my friends first." She didn''t answer, but she did stay until I was done healing the entire team. As soon as Angel applied potions on Sunshine, I recalled him. He was growing delirious from the pain. Seeing him like this made me fume every time I stared in Ariel''s general direction. After having Princess create a splint out of stone with Ancient Power, I bandaged my swollen ankle as best I could. I hissed every time I pressed on it too hard, but it needed to be tight. After taking a breather for around a minute, I was ready to leave. A whole lot of the teau had been burned, but we were nowhere as experienced as we needed to be to regrow the ce and Ariel said she had no grass types. Fucking hell, it hurt. Every movement was slow andborious, desperate not to move my ankle too much. It felt like even my clothes touching my swollen skin was too much. My face was drenched in cold sweat, and biting my tongue to distract myself from the pain didn''t work. Ariel offered to lend me a hand, but I refused right away. I wanted nothing to do with her. Trial by fire worked, but I enjoyed walking. While I unfolded Princess'' saddle, I heard a gurgle from Carnivine. My head whirled toward the grass type, who was still too tired to even move. How had she recovered so quickly? Was her regeneration at work again? Sweetheart berated Carnivine, telling her to stay down and that she had lost, but she wasn''t looking for another fight. Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear it. "So now that we beat you, you''re willing to talk?" I spoke before stopping. That sounded a lot more aggressive than I''d wanted it to. "Sorry. You''re¡ª you''re hurting. More than we are." I kept my distance, but I did exin to her that I was willing to go look for her son if she told me what Pokemon he was and described the trainer that had taken him. The Pokemon himself was a Leafeon. Anything that had evolved from Eevee would be rare (and especially one that could either evolve deep inside of Eterna Forest in Sinnoh or from the highest quality Leaf Stone which was extremely expensive), but that was no excuse to rip some poor Pokemon from their mother. Carnivine let out a miserable, depressed cackle, and Honey tranted her next words. The thief hadn''t been a normal trainer. He had hypnotized her, and by the time she''d woken up, Leafeon was gone. She''d gotten a glimpse of him before falling into a trance. Brown hair and eyes, average height, clean-shaven, thin eyebrows and an angr face. He smelled of tobo and smoke. I nervously tapped my foot the more of his Pokemon she listed. Machamp, Mimikyu, Shedinja, Mmar¡ª "What the fuck¡­?" I exhaled. What in the world was Abel doing catching random Pokemon?
Chapter 245 Chapter 245 Announcement A user on my Discord called Yemdm drew Grace and Cece! Give them a warm thanks!
CHAPTER 245 The sharp pain at my ankle vanished for an instant when I realized that Abel had been involved, only to return like a wave crashing against the sand. I winced, and I caught my leg spasming in erratic motions. I took a deep breath and prepared to ask questions, but Ariel had already started to speak. "Was there a Pokemon capable of turning into something else? A female dark type," Ariel asked, more forceful than I''d ever heard her. Dragonite seemed content to listen, but the inquiry had piqued even his interest. Carnivine, who had already started to stand up and crawl away shook her head and hovered a few inches in the air with a tired sigh. Ariel had already grabbed some notepad and was writing this information religiously with a pen she''d gotten from one of her many orange uniform pockets. No doubt she was going to report to her superiors about this. Unfortunately, Carnivine was done talking to us. She didn''t believe us when we¡ª well, when I said I''d get Leafeon back, and the fact that Abel had stolen him changed things greatly. I had struggled so much against Carnivine while Abel had slipped in and out. Granted, his team was kind of built for stealth and crimes like these¡­ I sighed. He hadn''tmitted a crime. In the eyes of Sinnoh''sw, all he had done was catch a wild Pokemon, despite how horribly wrong that was. Stealing a child from his mother was among the most horrifying ways you could catch a Pokemon. But he was still a criminal. Even if his team wasn''t focused on strength, he would still beat me at the moment, and while I knew I would actually be able to deal some damage now with Sunshine and Honey being heavy hitters, I didn''t think it would matter. The risk was far too high. And yet, I didn''t want to just give up. "Why would Abel steal some random Leafeon? Sure, he could sell it for a million or two to the right buyer, but that doesn''t really seem his style," I took a step back and remembered my ankles hurt, causing me to wince as a sharp pain shot up my legs. "Ariel, does the League know anything?" "We knew he was in southern Sinnoh, but we didn''t know where exactly," the ACE Trainer said with a hand on her chin. Dragonite growled in agreement, which made my hair go all over the ce. "This narrows things down slightly. We still don''t know if he''s nearby or not. With a Xatu seemingly efficient in long-distance Teleportation, he could be anywhere." "Could you have the League investigate this?" "We''re already investigating," Ariel said. "But there isn''t much else I can do. The interrogation from Mira Compton showed that Abel does not know where the main Gctic base is, since her Gardevoir was there to tell if he was lying or not. He would not be of much use at this point except for gaining further favor with Unova." Iughed dryly. "Favor? Was being freed not enough for rence? He needs to have his revenge for not paying the criminal mercenary that he hired?" Ariel stared. "Yes." "Damned manchild," I clicked my tongue. Carnivine was gone, now, having left a trail of grass where she had floated off to. At least her home would be rebuilt soon. "I guess I''ll be leaving." "And I will be following." "Hard to tell," I snapped before pausing. "How do you eat? And sleep?" I asked. "We work in shifts, obviously, but we never go lower than three at a time. I am the one who was assigned tomunicate with you. Regardless, you don''t need to worry yourself for my well-being. I believed you said your opinion of myself had cratered." "It has, but that doesn''t mean I have to be an asshole or that I can''t be curious," I said as I mounted Princess. Angel thankfully helped with a few vines around my waist so I wouldn''t have to put weight on my legs. "Goodbye. And don''t hurt Carnivine!" "I will not. She has a good rtionship with the League, and I believe she is just grieving at the moment. She will be back to her normal self soon enough." How clinical, I restrained a wince and exhaled. I recalled the rest of my team and flew off on Princess. From up there, I could thankfully see that the damage I''d caused to the mountain wasn''t too much. The mes hadn''t spread far thanks to Buddy extinguishing them, and Sunshine hadn''t gotten too hot¡ª not to hisva-creating temperature anyway. With azy, tired glide, Princess set off in my friends'' direction. Ariel was an odd person, and so was every ACE trainer I''d seen so far. She was just so¡­ detached and unemotional, but not in the same vein Justin was. It had been trained into her by the League, probably to let her stay calm and focused in every situation. And maybe to listen to every order no matter how dangerous it was too. Lou was something else entirely, however, but she hadn''t been the one to intervene today. My hands tightened around Princess'' fur, and she let out a worried chirp. "Sorry," I said. "I''m just thinking." And trying to distract myself from the horrible pain in my ankle. Having my foot over in the air like this was debilitatingly painful, but cing it on the saddle also hurt. How in the world was I going to get Leafeon back? The odds of finding Abel were basically zero. I was sure that he had found a new trick to get past Gardevoir''s Trace, and with how umon the fairy type was, Mira''s was the only one with the ability pushed to such a level that Sinnoh could pull on, probably because she''d spent their entire time together inside of Mira''s head, even while she''d been a Ralts and Kirlia to track her different moods. Was it impossible, then? "Even if it somehow was, what was I going to do?" I sighed. "Ask nicely?" Plus, he''d probably already sold it¡­ but to whom? Would anyone in their right mind work with Abel after all the targets he had on his back? Did he work through a third party? Or maybe he pretended to be someone else? With that Ditto and the other strange dark type Mira had told us about, it was certainly possible, but then again, criminals were criminals, and the League was distracted andcking manpower at the moment. I bit my lip and sighed again. I was in and over my head, wasn''t I? I had called Ariel out for risking too much for waiting to swoop in and save me, and now here I was thinking about ways to find one of the most wanted criminals in the world. And that was if he hadn''t already sold Leafeon. As much as it pained me to admit it, odds were I wasn''t going to be able to do anything about it. A normal trainer would have been possible to find and speak to, but there wasn''t much else I was capable of. I turned my head back and stared at the mountain''s peak with pity. Stillcking, I thought to myself. Carnivine had been right. We were too weak to handle Abel, at the moment. Princess swooped down, flying only a few dozen feet above the beach, and seeing the ground pass us by so quickly improved my mood, if only slightly. Trainers battling, a few scant wild Pokemon brave enough to walk the routes, the endless waves¡­ it felt nice. The pain in my ankle came in pulsating waves, each more hurtful than thest. I would definitely have to go to the Pokemon Center and cut our trip short, but first I had to talk to them. It was about time I revealed Honey to my friends. This entire thing had shown that it was unsustainable to keep him hidden from them for that long. Volkner would probably hate me for it, but I wasn''t strong enough to hang out off-route as long as I wanted with him, and keeping them in the dark was hurting me. I''d still keep him hidden from the public, of course. I couldn''t help but crack a smile when I reached Mira, Chase and Cecilia. Zweilous was busy digging a hole in the sand with their mouths instead of their wed feet while Talonme had her feathers puffed up as she took in the sun next to her trainer. Porygon and Zangoose were still battling, and their respective teams were cheering them on in their own ways. Most of Chase''s team watched with a respectful silence while Mira''s team was as loud as they could be¡ª save for kazam, who looked like he was dying inside. Porygon wasunching every elemental attack under the sun. Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, methrower, Scald¡­ was that Scald? Zangoose raked her ws against the sand, sending white arcs toward Porygon, who beeped when one of the arcs hit her. The fight was cut short when Togekissnded, however. Mira and Cecilia''s eyes darted toward my ankle, and they noticed that something was wrong right away. I released Angel onto the beach and had him help me down. I perpetually bnced myself on one foot and leaned against the grass type for support. "What the hell happened¡ª" Cecilia cut Mira off. "Who hurt you?" Her eyes focused on my ankle as she approached me, and the same cold rage furiously bled out of her. She had been quick to anger ever since rence had been sent back to Unova, and she didn''t hesitate to lean into the emotion any longer. I turned back and pointed to the mountain in the distance with my thumb. "I was up there, but a Carnivine attacked me," I said, carefully picking my next words. "I won the fight, but she crushed my ankle with some grass¡ª it might have been an advanced version of Grass Knot, or she was just manipting it however she wished." "You were off-route?" Cecilia asked. "Yeah. I thought I was¡ª" I inhaled sharply as pulsating pain shot through my leg. "I thought I''d be fine. I got a big head and I paid for it. Before you ask why, it was because of¡­" My eyes darted around and a sigh escaped my lips when I saw that we were in the field of vision of multiple trainers. I leaned in and whispered. "Honey evolved into an Electivire." Reactions were muted, mostly because they were quite preupied about my potentially broken bone, at the moment. "So you beat that Carnivine, then? Do you need us to beat it up?" Chase asked. "No. Don''t approach her¡ª especially you, Chase. Your Sigilyph''s barriers aren''t good enough. You''d win, but you''d get horribly wounded or die unless you used the Voice. Just let her be." "You should have used the Pokeball trick," he muttered. "Do you need anything? Mira has some Aspirin." The Pokeball trick meant just throwing empty Pokeballs at an opponent to stall and buy time, just like he had done against the ghost in the underground city. "It might have worked once or twice, but she was smarter than that," I shook my head. "More importantly, I have news. Carnivine didn''t attack me just because I was in her territory¡­" I exined the situation as best I could, telling them that Abel had snuck on the mountain and stolen her child and also went over the battle in general. By the end, I was skimming the details. My ankle needed a Pokemon Center. "So Ariel watched and did nothing?" Cecilia scoffed. "My respect for the League sinks lower by the day." "It did teach her things," Chase shrugged. "Her ankle is broken¡ª" I cut in. "That''s not a sure thing¡ª" "Forget about Ariel for a second," Mira raised a finger. "Abel is catching Pokemon¡­ to sell?" "I mean, that''s what I assumed. I doubt he wanted Leafeon for his team," I said. "Didn''t you say something about poachers a few days ago?" Chase asked. I blinked, and context clicked into ce. "No¡­ wait, maybe yes. They''re supposed to be in the swamp west of Pastoria, so I hadn''t even made the connection, but it''s possible that Abel sold Leafeon to them. That''s one of the rarer Eeveelutions." "I''d say it''s almost guaranteed. Now, we don''t know if that''s just a one-time thing or a recurring business. Abel is someone who prioritizes money above all else." Mira said with crossed arms. "I really thought he''dy low after his close call in Veilstone," I muttered. "Either way, if he''s involved, we can''t really do anything, can we?" "Well I wouldn''t want to," Mira nodded. "But hey, I roped you in a bunch of stupid situations before, so I''d be willing to help." "Destroying some poachers sounds like a nice way to spend our time here," Chase agreed. His jaw tightened, and he looked back to Zangoose. "I fucking hate criminals." I nodded. Chase had busted into Valley Windworks without any backup before, so I was sure what he said came from the heart. In a one-on-one, Abel would best all of us, but together? It was still a risk. I bit the inside of my cheek and shook my head. "Granted, this isn''t a sure thing," I said. "I mean, how long will it take for this ankle to heal? I don''t think it''d be a great idea to do this." Mira smirked. "Think Ariel, Carlos, and the other ACE trainers will intervene if we throw ourselves in danger?" Her eyes twitched, and she turned to kazam and Gardevoir, who were no doubt screaming in her head. "With humans, they will, I think. Ariel did emphasize that wild Pokemon were usually predictable. But I don''t want to be the one to force them to risk their lives to protect us. What if one of them dies? I don''t want that debt in my hands. It would eat me from the inside." Her smirk ttened. "You''re right. My bad." "Cecilia. What do you think about this?" Chase said. My girlfriend''s eyes shifted as if she had been in a daze. That was unlike her, I thought. "I¡­ you shouldn''t risk yourself," she finally spoke. "And to be frank, I have started to hope for Abel''s¡ª" Her mouth stopped. "Never mind." Mira''s eyes narrowed, and I frowned. Abel''s what? I shared a look with Mira, and she discreetly nodded. She''d get to the bottom of this... hopefully. "I''ll need to fly to Pastoria ahead of you guys to get my ankle looked at," I said. "Sorry to cut our travels short, but it''ll only be a few days apart. Plus, Sunshine needs to get looked at too. He got hurt really bad, and I don''t think potions will be enough." "Go on," Chase said. Mira nodded. "We''ll be right behind you." "Do you want Chase toe with you?" Cecilia asked, cing a hand on my arm. Her inner thoughts from earlier looked to have been put on the wayside, but there was still conflict deep within her. I''d known her for long enough and spent enough time with her to be able to tell. "He can follow on Sigilyph." "I''m fine. Princess will be here if anything happens, and I''ll be strapped in tight," I said with a bittersweet smile. "Sorry about keeping Honey hidden from you." "Nah, I get it," Mira shook her head. "The ckouts, right?" I didn''t answer, but must have given something away, because she kept going. "Yeah, I figured." "Keep it a secret," I pleaded. "I want to make it look like he evolved on the route." "Obviously I won''t rat you guys out," she rolled her eyes. "Let''s meet when we''re all in Pastoria and make a decision," Chase said. "Let''s bring Williams and Lauren in. The others are too weak, I''d say." "I''m weak," Mira acknowledged. "But you''re smart, shrimp," he said. "You can help us figure things out." "Nothing is set in stone, okay," I said as Angel ced me back on Princess. Thanks to his dexterity with his vines, he strapped me in tighter than even I was capable of. "We aren''t even sure if this Abel-poacher link is right." Once I ced the grass type back in his Pokeball, we were on our way up. Despite her exhaustion, Princess pushed to bring me to Pastoria as fast as she could, but also made sure not to make any sudden twists or turns to spare my ankle from any extra pain. The city was still a few hours away, so I''d need to fill my mind with something while we flew, or I would definitely pass out from the pain. "Arceus, I''m going to need crutches," I groaned. Even with the wind as loud as it was, Princess heard me and responded with a sad chirp. "Don''t beat yourself up over it. It could have been a lot worse," I said, petting her head. "You know, when we get a psychic type, you''ll be free to fly during battles and you''ll be able to reach your full potential. You might not have as much power as Sunshine and Honey, but you''ll be a menace." The fairy type nodded half-heartedly, and she asked if I wanted¡­ help. Her new evolution had also brought her powers to a new level. Back in Eterna Forest, I had used her as a sleeping aid when I''d been gued by nightmares, but she could do a lot more, now, and apparently she was confident that while she wouldn''t be able to stop me from feeling pain, she could make the flight more bearable¡ª I shut her down. "No, Princess. Things haven''t changed. I can''t be reliant on you for everything. Cynthia might be¡­ a character, but her advice is still valuable." Togekiss stayed silent for a few seconds, gliding across the sandy beaches of route 213, but after a bit, she said that she''d be like a painkiller. "You''d be a lot better, which is worse," I gently said. "Thank you for worrying about me, though. And look, if we''re ever in a fight¡ª an important fight like the one with Carnivine, and I get hurt to the point of not being able to think straight, then maybe. If it''s absolutely necessary." She seemed content with that, at the very least. When the pain came back, I started talking again. "Okay, I''m feeling¡­ a little better, mostly because I''m getting used to the pain," I said, leaning toward her ear. "If you ever need to take a break, you cannd. I know you''re tired." Princess answered by saying that flying was no big deal. "I''ll hold you to that, then. Hey, since the swamp is a no-go because of the poachers and Abel, Cece''ll have to go to the Safari zone to find her Croagunk." She hadn''t settled on Mienfoo exactly, but they couldn''t be found anywhere near Pastoria, so I suspected that Croagunk would be her final Pokemon. There was only so much time she could waste. She''d have to bring them up to speed as fast as possible, and there was also the Zweilous evolution to worry about¡­ granted, she wasn''t worried yet. I hoped she would still call her brother despite their rtionship having been irreparably broken. "There''s also Sweetheart," I muttered. When Princess asked what I was talking about, I spoke again. "She''s getting close to evolution. The timeline points to her doing so at some point during our travels after Wake. We''ll have to contain her somehow. I need to start thinking about that." Togekiss suggested having me fly on her in the distance while the others fought Sweetheart. "I need to talk to her. She can''t go through this alone," I shook my head, clinging to the saddle. "But staying on the ground would be dangerous too. I guess we canpromise. As long as we aren''t too far and she can hear my voice, and it should be okay. I don''t know if she''ll be too blinded by rage to know that her dark type attacks would break through your barrier. At least she''ll lose her ground typing so Honey will be able to help out. Let''s bounce ideas off of each other and outline a n now." There was also another thought in the back of my mind. Dissociating¡ª the trick Be had taught me¡ª was a lot harder to pull off when lives were actually on the line. In Gym Battles? All I needed was around ten minutes of set up, but how would I lean into it when I''d have no warning and I''d have to watch my family member actually be at risk? More food for thought, I thought to myself, sinking my hands into Princess'' fluff. Anything to keep myself thinking. The hours passed, and I managed to distract myself until we reached our destination. ¡ª The sun was almost setting when we arrived. Pastoria looked unpopted from the air, but I knew that wasn''t actually true. Sure, it was one of Sinnoh''s smaller cities, but it was still inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people. Pastoria differed from Jubilife, Sunyshore, and Veilstone in that there were no skyscrapers, but it also wasn''t tightly knit like Eterna City either. The entire city looked suburbian, forck of a better word. Long, winding roads with simr-looking homes and Pokemon Centers and Marts were peppered throughout. The only ce that looked like a proper city was Pastoria''srge port and its surroundings. The low density allowed nature to flourish everywhere throughout the city, and more Pokemon called Pastoria their home than any other major city in Sinnoh, which was one of the reasons I''d looked forward toing here the most. There were even patches of forests in the city¡ª parks where Pokemon and humans alike could enjoy a day out in the shade. The Safari Zone was tinier than I''d expected. Apparently there were some local poptions of rare Pokemon there along with what you''d expect to find in a swamp. Paldean and Aln species that were fit to live in the environment and that the Pastorian government had fostered over the decades. Needless to say, there were some stringent quotas on the number trainers could catch. Princess circled over the city, making sure to adhere to the rules we''d learned in Flight School as she searched for anding pad that was as close to a Pokemon Center as possible. The city was surrounded by the swamp to the west and north, and a forest even further north hugged the Safari Zone and stretched on for what seemed like forever. There were plenty of other trainers flying around too, as there always were in cities. It was just odd that I was one of them now instead of the ones looking at the sky in awe. Well, that was just me having delusions of grandeur to distract myself from my ankle. Most trainers didn''t give a crap of what went on over their heads. Princessnded on one of the pads with giant Pokeballs on them, and I released Angel to support me the rest of the way. The long streets did not work in my favor here. Pastoria was even more car-centric than Veilstone and Hearthome had been. I passed by a group of curious Bidoof and waved, keeping my face as still as I could. When I reached the Pokemon Center, I was ready to copse. I gave over all of my Pokemon with the exception of Sweetheart and Buddy and moved on to the human wing. I was dragged into one of the hospital rooms and checked right away. The doctor that had been assigned to me looked quite young, but I paid him no mind. He introduced himself as Dr. Hemsworth. "So. Will you tell me what happened to your ankle?" He gently asked. The answer took a while. It was hard to talk when he was actively undoing my bandages. At the very least, he didn''t say my splint had been bad, but he didn''tpliment it either. Why was I even expecting apliment on my splint? Arceus, the pain was making me go crazy. "I fought a wild Carnivine, and I think she hit me with some strengthened Grass Knot. Either that, or she could manipte the grass as she wished." "Hm¡­" "Ow!" I hissed, clenched at my leg as he palpated at my swollen ankle. "My apologies. It definitely feels and looks broken, but we''ll do an X-ray just to be sure. Take off your ring and undress, please. I''ll hand you a special gown and step out of the room to let you change." My entire procedure was a blur. Having to stand and keep my leg still was so painful sweat started to drip off my forehead. When all was said and done, he produced a series of images that showed my ankle fractured in a few pieces. I gulped and turned to the doctor. "This is good," he said, much to my surprise. "The bones weren''t disced, so you''ll be able to heal without surgery. We''ll need to immobilize it with a cast, of course, and I''ll have to ask for you not to put any weight on the leg¡ª" "How long will it take to heal?" He hummed. "You''re looking at a few months for your leg to feel normal, at the very least. In around a month and a half, walking will be possible again¡­" His words faded into the background, and a mixture of rage and disbelief bubbled in my chest. Fucking. Ariel! Months! Months of healing! Yes, she said that she was caught off-guard, but had she intervened the moment Carnivine appeared instead of wanting to force me to grow in strength, then none of this would have happened. Calm down, I exhaled. You shouldn''t have gone up there in the first ce. And there was no way she could have known about Carnivine wanting to kill me when she usually only chased humans off her mountain without injury. At that point, I''d be expecting her to step in whenever I came across any wild Pokemon, and that was unreasonable. But still, fuck her! The fact that even ACE trainers were not infallible was not something I''d wanted to figure out. Doctor Hemsworth donned me with a cast for my ankle that looked more like a damn ski boot than anything and gave me a pair of crutches to help me walk, along with some painkillers that I knew would be a lot less effective than Princess was. I was too tired to do anything. After getting myself a room and downing a pill, I let the numbness take me and fell asleep.
Chapter 246 Chapter 246
CHAPTER 246 I slept for so long that I woke up the next day. My stomach rumbled, and my throat felt horribly dry. Pain pulsated through my ankle, and it took me a split-second to remember that it was broken. That would take a while to get used to. "Water¡ª" Arceus, my voice was croaky, as if it wasn''t actually me speaking. My foot froze mere inches from the ground. I''d been about to put my full weight on it. I carefully shuffled to the mini fridge and poured myself a ss of water. I''d been so tired yesterday that I hadn''t even released Buddy and Sweetheart before sleeping. In fact, I''d been so focused on getting myself to a doctor that I hadn''t even told my friends that I''d made it to Pastoria. Strangely enough, since I''d flown there instead of walking, I was actually the first of the group to make it to the city. I''d even arrived before Louis, Maeve and Justin. I sent a text exining that my ankle was broken, exining that a Carnivine had done it, and opted to tell Melody the same thing so Poketch would know. I sat back on my bed and downed another pill for my pain. Thebel said once every six hours and a maximum of twice per day, so I needed to be careful about that. After taking a picture of my cast to send to the others, I groaned and considered what the hell to do today. "Exploring would have been fun if I hadn''t been crippled," I sighed, gripping my bedsheets. Not only could I not put too much weight on my foot, but I couldn''t leave it hanging in the air either. Both hurt like hell, although the painkiller was kicking in and was turning the intense pain into a duller ache. "I guess I could have Angel carry me." I was sure the grass type was healed since he hadn''t suffered too harshly. Honey and Sunshine were the only ones who would have to stay longer. The Nurse Joys were probably a little taken aback by the fact that I owned an Electivire, but I was sure that very little surprised them after everything they saw through their career and training. I''d have to ask them not to say Honey''s species out loud when they handed him back to me while I picked up the others, though. I wanted to wait a few more days for the reveal, and I was sure they''d understand. I released Jellicent into my room and told him about my broken bone and the time it''d take to get better. The ghost simmered with hate toward Ariel, but I touched his cheek in an effort to calm him down. "It''s going to suck, but we''ll be stronger for it," I gently said. "Don''t think about Ariel for now. Want to go hang out outside? Angel can carry me around, and I have a few spots I want to check out." Of course, Buddy wanted to keep me confined to my room as much as possible so I could rest up and heal, but I didn''t want that, even with a broken bone. "I used to do that without being injured," I said, standing up to grab my crutches. I ced them under my armpits and took a few tentative steps. "Uh¡­ these are a lot less intuitive to use than I thought, but I guess I''ll get used to it. Anyway, back in Jubilife, I was kind of a shut-in. Did Princess ever tell you about that?" He shook his head. Princess didn''t really talk about my faults from the time before I''d gone on a journey, only the good memories. I leaned against the wall and struggled to open the door. "I''ve got it," I quickly added before Buddy could help. Hiding my frustration from not being able to do mundane things was going to be a challenge. "Anyway, I''d get home from school and stay in my room all day except when I''d go on these father-daughter dates with my dad. I had some friends at school, but none of them were really that close like the ones I have now. None of them have tried to contact me, funnily enough. I think I prefer it that way." The water type squeezed past a few trainers, and then stopped me with a small click. I''d been going toward the stairs instead of the elevators. When I turned back, he asked if any of them were trainers today. "I haven''t really looked," I shrugged. "Like I said, we weren''t close. I sat next to them at lunch, and we''d speak a little. I wasn''t really invited out because I was sort of a weirdo, and either way I think I would have said no because I preferred being home and watching whatever show or battle was on TV." Buddy hummed, saying that I didn''t really watch TV any longer except when the kids wanted to watch cartoons. "Yeah, I mean I do the real thing now," I smirked. "Oh, there it is." The elevator dinged, and I slowly entered it. Luckily, since it was morning, there weren''t that many trainers out and I didn''t have to wrangle to enter, because that would have been an entire dilemma. I picked up Princess and Angel''s Pokeballs from the Nurse Joys, confirmed that they''d keep Honey''s status anonymous, and released them after I grabbed a quick breakfast and exited the Pokemon Center, along with Sweetheart. Every single eye darted toward my cast. "Morning guys," I smiled, wanting to appear strong. "So yeah, I''ll cut to the chase. As you can see, my ankle''s broken." Sad or angered grunts ran through the team. Angel patted me on the head and ruffled my hair. "It''s going to take a month and a half for me to be able to walk without crutches, and even longer to actually do things like jog and run. It''s going to suck. But we''re going to tough it out, alright? Princess, don''t be so mopey. I''m fine!" I was not fine. But I had to act like I was. I hadn''t lied in so long, I realized. It felt so wrong. Like I was speaking a differentnguage that I didn''t actually understand. I knew from the way Princess squinted at me that she saw through me right away, and she snitched to the rest of the team, who all yelled at me for lying. "Okay, I''m sorry. I''m pissed," I said. I clenched my fists around my crutches and bit my lip. "I hate this. But it''s already done, okay? Let''s make the best out of it. I want to go out and about while the painkiller''s still in my system and I can actually do things. Angel, could you carry¡ª woah!" The grass type wrapped a vine around my waist. Sharp pain panged in my ankle when he lifted me off the ground. "Gently! Do it slow." He plopped me down on his head, strapping me in with more vines like a seatbelt. He dragged the crutches out of my hands and nted them inside of him. They still stuck out a little, but at least they''d be easier to carry. He also carried my backpack and my piano, so he was basically doing everything, which I appreciated greatly. His vines were very convenient for things like this. "Okay, just walk around wherever you want for now," I said as I grabbed my phone. "Sorry Sweetie, but you''re too slow and you''d probably damage the streets, so I''ll have to recall you, okay?" The rock type didn''t yell like I''d expected her to. Instead, she just nodded, even though I could tell she was annoyed. Was she behaving because I was hurt? I thanked her again and she disappeared into her Pokeball. Soon enough, we were on our way¡­ wherever we wanted really. Princess hovered a few feet above my head. It was important not to go too high because otherwise she''d be breaking thew and thest thing I needed was a fine. The good thing about Pastoria was that with streets this wide, traveling with a lot of my Pokemon was so easy that it was a wonder every trainer wasn''t doing it. Oh, I saw some traveling with multiple, but others kept them all in their Pokeballs. Funnily enough, the town Pastoria reminded me of the most now that I wasn''t practically delirious from the pain was Sceon, only a little bigger in every single aspect. We passed by a home with a pool, where a Wooper and her trainer were enjoying their morning. Every house looked almost the same, with brown rooves and dark, different-colored bricks, although there were unique ones sprinkled once in a while that stood out. "Uh¡­ okay, here goes." ''Pokemon activist groups in Pastoria.'' Those were the exact terms I typed on my phone. Jasmine''s words had been harsh¡ª Well, they hadn''t been harsh. Just unexpected. I needed and wanted to get involved in the scene and actually talk to people with simr goals that I had. It was about time that I took action instead of just thinking about doing this. Granted¡­ I''d probably better get the okay from Melody first. I wondered what Jasmine would say if she saw me like this? I quickly thought. I hadn''t sent her a message because she''d probablyugh and say I got off easy. "Better call Mel," I muttered. Angel''s vine tightened around my waist in his usual ''what are you talking about'' way. "Don''t worry about it, baby. It''s just sponsor stuff," I scrolled through my contacts and called her. She answered immediately. "Hi Melody¡ª" "Grace! What happened to your ankle?!" She asked, stressing thest word. "I sent you a message! I told you, we were attacked by a Carnivine!" I yelled, feeling slightly defensive. "Oh. Did you? I''m so used to having to find out things about you through other people that I didn''t even check. What''s the damage?" "You should have more faith in me. It''s broken." "Shit. Let thepany know if you need anything. How long will it take to heal?" "One month and a half to walk. Longer for everything more advanced than that," I exined. Angel waved at a couple of Pidgey, who screeched at him when he tried to touch them. Buddy chided the grass type and told him to keep his vines to himself. I continued. "I''ll be okay. I was calling to know if me getting involved in a Pokemon Rights group was an issue or not?" Melody paused. "That depends on a multitude of factors, Grace. And isn''t your ankle broken? What are you doing, looking into things like that? Shouldn''t you be resting?" "Buddy said the same thing," I chuckled. The water type turned at the mention of his name, his tentacles shifting slightly. "Mel says I should stay holed up in my room." He nodded and strongly reiterated his stance. "Yeah, I''ll rest up soon. I''ve got a few hours in me," I said. "So, Mel, what are these, uh, factors?" "Send me a list of names, and I''ll give you the ones you can look into and maybe join. It would depend on their history, if they''re non-violent, their leaders, what those leaders had said in the past¡­ then I''ve got to send it to the higher-ups. It''ll take a few days for the decision toe back. The sanctions have them quite panicked and busy." "A few days?" I grumbled. "Okay. I''ll do some research and send you some names." "And you absolutely must not be seen anywhere near them until we allow you to, okay? Don''t associate yourself with any until we give you the approval." "Yes, I get it. I''ll just find something else to do today." "Like resting?" "Later. I''m hanging up now, okay?" "See you soon, Grace. Keep your leg still!" I blew a raspberry and stared into the sky. That was a no-go for now, then. I kept scrolling through my phone as Angel took us wherever he wanted. He was having quite a lot of fun, since it was the first time he actually decided on where to go for the entire group. Even then, he kept his walk steady so my ankle wouldn''t move around, and he had a few vines keeping my tibia against his body. He brought us to one of those forest-parks that was rtively empty save for wild Pokemon. The grass type waved at an Aipom hanging by a tree with his tail and settled down in the shade. I caressed the top of his head, knowing that he would have much rather been sitting in the sun, but had decided otherwise since I was sitting on him. I''d settled on two organizations that looked legit enough for what I needed. One was a lotrger than the other and was called the United Pokemon Advocacy Network, or the UPAN for short. They were the biggest organization in eastern Sinnoh and was actually one Mallory from the SGNC had been a part of before she had moved onto Team sma. They had a branch in Pastoria, and the address was somewhere next to the port. They were known for their moderate and incremental demands. Most recently, they had started lobbying politicians to ban another wave of Pokemon humans wouldn''t be allowed to eat, but of course that had gone out the wayside with the numerous political crises Sinnoh was dealing with at the moment. The second was called the Pokemon Freedom Alliance, or the PFA. The PFA was a lot more localized to Pastoria and was considered more radical, with demands like having a psychic stationed at every Pokemon Center to ask trainers'' Pokemon if they were treated right or wanted to leave. Their key goal, however, was to end the Great Marsh. They called the Safari Zone a cage where Pokemon were essentially ''farmed'' for trainers to catch them. Honestly, they appealed to me a lot more. I sent Melody the two names, emphasizing that I''d rather look into the PFA if possible. Their demands weren''t actually that bad, despite the inte framing them as this horrible thing. Granted, I wanted to learn more about the Safari Zone for myself beforeing to any conclusions, and I''d go there whenever Cecilia arrived in the city. Would I even be able to with my ankle the way it was? Would Angel be able to carry me through the marsh? Or maybe I''d have to hover slightly above ground on Princess. Walking in a swamp with crutches would basically be impossible. PFA''s psychic Pokemon in every Pokemon Center idea, though? I agreed wholeheartedly! It would make abuse so much more difficult to hide, and maybe they''d be able to use the Rangers to return the Pokemon to their homes too. A slight, earthy smell filled my nose as I settled down on Angel''s head. I was almost sinking inside of him with howfortable he was, and had I not slept for twelve hours straight, I definitely would have gotten drowsy. The soft cries of Kricketot and Burmy rang out throughout the park, and my lips stretched into a smile. Yeah, I was miserable, but this was kind of nice. I released Sweetheart, since we''d stopped walking around for now, and the rock type calmly swayed in the forest. A few wild Pokemon approached me after I told Buddy and Princess to stop being so overprotective. They were bing unbearable because of my broken ankle, asking if I was okay every two minutes. I knew they meant well, but I preferred to focus on other things. These were just two Kricketot¡ª friends, most likely. "Hi little fellows," I whispered, touching Angel''s head. "Baby, can you put me down?" Angel gently ced me back on the ground, cing the crutches under my shoulders by the time my healthy foot touched the forest floor. I let them go for now and crouched next to the two bug types. The first Kricketot was a little bigger than the other, and he was also a lot more outgoing. He let me touch the little strings on his stomach and then cheered. Come to think of it, I internally said. I sat on the ground and asked Tangrowth to hand me my piano. I dragged the electric keyboard out of its casing and turned it on. I''d practiced a whole bunch, both in Sunyshore and on the way to Pastoria. Of course, I was nowhere near good quite yet, but at least I was sort of okay. I pressed on a key, and the two Kricketot shivered in excitement. Their antennas twitched and the smaller one touched one of his strings on his stomach. "Uh, you two should lead. I''m not good ating up with stuff," I said, turning to Buddy, Princess and Sweetheart. "You three sing." The water type shrunk¡ª which was one of his ways of scoffing. "Yes. Sing! Come on, give me something! I have a broken ankle, so cheer me up! Pretty please?" The Kricketot slowly began to y a melody with their stubby little arms, along with mming their antennas together in a gentle rhythm. The strings sounded like violin, and the antennas like... xylophones? Smiling, I joined in soon after. It was a clumsy thing with mistake after mistake. My fingers would slip, or I would press down a note that I thought would sound good, yet did not, or I would press on it for too long or too little. And yet, it was beautiful to me. We were all trying our best. Princess tapped the back of Buddy''s head with a wing and told him to start singing. The water type blinked, his eyes dimming as he resigned to his fate. My eyes widened when Princess sang. Her voice was far deeper than her usual tone, which went perfectly with the song we were ying. Jellicent added some clicks and whistles at regr intervals¡ª a little like a beat that he got more and more into the longer the song progressed. Sweetheart was a lot less uniform, yelling as loudly as she could until I managed to help her find a good tempo and volume. Angel started twirling¡ª breakdancing, forck of a better word. Spinning on himself and using his vines to keep his momentum. My hands sped up as much as they could, and the song reached its apex. It was a brutal, frantic rhythm that I had no idea two little Kricketot would be able to make, but I followed them as best as I could. When the song ended, the same Aipom we''d seen pped with a wide grin, and a few other Pokemon that had gathered to listen left after giving us their thanks. A Spinarak pulled herself up back into her web. A Petilil floated off into the wind and behind some trees. We''d been seen by plenty of people. "That was awesome. Thank you both for joining us," I dipped my head at the Kricketot, who nodded in return and left after gesturing at my leg. Healing wishes, maybe. "Thank you. Stay safe," I said. I wriggled my fingers over my piano and smiled. "ying music for others feels good. You three sang great!" I turned to Angel. "And your dance was awesome," Buddy huffed, turning away from me. If ghosts could blush, I thought with a smirk. Meanwhile, Princess did a smug pose, saying that she hadn''t even tried, and Angel just kept¡­ doing whatever that cute dance was. Had he seen someone dance like that on TV and wanted to replicate it? "Wish Honey and Sunshine had been there to see it, though," I said. "We cane back here when they''re all healed up. Angel," I stopped to snort. He''d spun so much that he was dizzy and barely standing straight. "I wanted to talk to you in particr about a new technique." I waited for the grass type to return to his senses, and he focused on my voice. I could tell he''d wanted to wrap a vine around my ankle in that moment, but he quickly moved on to the other one. His usual one was broken. "Carnivine could manipte the grass as a whole, right?" I exined. "She made it wrap around things and had it regenerate nearly instantly. Only Sunshine could burn through it fast enough. I was thinking, what if you could do the same thing?" Tangrowth shifted his entire body. "Not with grass. With vines." His entire body wriggled as one. "You''ve been working on Sr de and using your powder moves through your vines, of course, you''ll keep working on that. This is more of a long-term thing¡­ it''s a lot harder than it looks, and there are going to be a lot of steps. You''d have to teach yourself to extend your range so you could cover a lot more of the battlefield, but you''d also need to lean into regeneration a lot more so you can keep churning out vines without running out. Without Giga Drain, that''s a lot more difficult. And I know that you''re great at multitasking, but managing an entire field of vines would be impossible for you, at the moment." I paused and called over Princess, who allowed me to lean on her. A Pidgey above us screeched and nearly got caught in Spinarak''s trap before escaping with a small gust of wind. "But just picture it," I continued with a wild grin. "The field. Your field, covered in your vines, each one independently controlled by you and regenerating continuously. Ten of them stab into your opponent with Sr de while another¡­ hundred just grab them to keep them still while you finish them off. Doesn''t that sound awesome?" Angel shivered in excitement and nodded, waddling around as happy as he''d ever been. "That sounds like an Elite-level technique to me, and it''ll take a long time for us to get there. There are a lot of steps to take before we reach its full potential, but that doesn''t mean we can''t create proto-versions of it or start working on it now." And of course, the technique wouldn''t be usable in an all-out brawl like the battle with Carnivine, or at least not on thatrge of a scale. I''d have to wait for the entire family to be there to start brainstorming on that. We at least needed a Band-Aid until a psychic joined us and made things a lot easier. "First, you''ve got to start working on regeneration, I guess. Does anyone have a good guess at how the hell Carnivine was regenerating so quickly? It wasn''t only Ingrain, although that was part of it. Maybe a passive Synthesis?" Princess shook her head, giving up on finding an answer. Jellicent hummed, then nodded after thinking about it for a while. Angel brought up two vines and mimicked a shrug with them while Sweetheart followed whatever Buddy said to appear smart. "It was pretty sunny. Not that many clouds were out yesterday, so Carnivine''s regeneration would have been pretty strong if it was Synthesis. And I guess that applied to her nts too. Angel, you can learn both moves, although I guess Ingrain would be a lot easier for you." The thought of Angel potentially bing an absolute monster like Carnivine was quite pleasing to me, and I felt a tingle run up my spine. "We''ll get started soon. For now, you finish up on Sr de, and then we''ll move on to Ingrain. I guess Buddy was teaching you Acid too. Think you can handle that?" Angel nodded without a moment''s hesitation. "Great! After that, we''ll work on the range of your vines, but that''s far off. Anyway, let''s just¡­ rx here for a little while, yeah? The weather''s nice, and thepany''s nice too. I hope those Kricketote back soon." ¡ª Pastoria''s port was a lot bigger from the ground than it had felt like in the air. The floor was pavedpletely white, and the smell of the ocean clung to my nostrils. Angel carried me along the private part of the marina, where a dozen luxury yachts sat unused. Personally, I didn''t see the appeal of a yacht when the ocean was so deadly, but if I had to guess, the owners never ventured too far from the coast. The waters around Pastoria were routinely patrolled by Rangers to ensure no idents took ce. This was a stark contrast to the more industrial parts of the port. There, I saw people holding signs that read ''Laid off'' or ''Lost my job'' and that were asking for money. I handed as much as I could, but there was no way I''d be able to help everyone. The effects of the sanctions were already being felt. A lot of sailors that would have been on ships going to Gr wereid off, it seemed, and this was only the beginning. I munched on a ham, cheese and lettuce sandwich as I observed the luxurious marine front. I was technically not looking for anything, but my eyes were drawn to the hotels and five-star restaurants. Pauline and Emilia would love it here, I said, jotting down the location in my long-term memory. It was hard to ignore the strange looks I got due to Angel carrying me on his head. What did surprise me was some kind ofmotion when Irgely left the port and passed by Ranger Headquarters around fifteen minutes away from the marina. HQs were different than outposts. The outpost was where Mudsdale would be, but this was just where all the offices and the paperwork were run. A small protest was taking ce¡ª a protest of trainers. There couldn''t have been more than thirty people there, but it was a striking image nheless. Usually, trainers didn''t protest. It wasn''t really in our culture, even if times got really bad. But times were worse than bad here. They were demanding action from the Rangers. ''DOWN WITH THE POACHERS'', ''DO-NOTHING RANGERS'', ''MY POKEMON WAS STOLEN'' and simr slogans were etched in red into signs, and despite there being so few trainers, this ce was louder than anywhere I''d seen on the bustling port. Five Rangers had been stationed at the door to keep the people out, but it didn''t look like it would actually hold. They were pushing in, and even the press was there, filming, interviewing and taking pictures. I asked Angel to take a wide berth around the street to avoid getting in any shots, but I did ask him to stay to see what would happen. These poor trainers had lost Pokemon dear to them, and they deserved to be heard. If I had one of my family members taken away, I''d be going head-first into route 212 to slowly kill whoever was the culprit in the most agonizing way possible, but not that many people had the capacity to do that, so this was their next best option. I stayed there for another few minutes, and the trainers didn''t actually breach into the building. It appeared they got reinforcement both from Rangers with actual Pokemon Teleporting in from the outpost in the marsh out west andw enforcement setting up a barricade around the building. "It''s truly a tragedy what''s happening here," someone said beside me. He was a boy with a pretty high-pitched voice. "Hmhm," I hummed. "The League has other priorities, but I can''t help but think they could send¡­" I didn''t finish my sentence. Surely a squad of fifteen ACE Trainers would be enough to deal with these poachers, but then again, they hadn''t even found their hideout yet somehow. If Abel was helping, that would certainly make a lot more sense. I didn''t know how much experience he had with hideouts, but the fact that he hadn''t been caught by either the Unova or the Sinnoh League spoke volumes. I turned to the boy who''d been speaking to me¡ª "Uh¡­" The blond teen adjusted his green scarf with a look a lot more serious than I''d ever seen him described with. "I wish I could do something for them," Barry Lane said. "Right," I nodded with a shaky voice. I had not expected to see him here. "But we''re just people, right? It''d be difficult to strike them down, let alone find their base of operations." Had he forgotten about me despite Denzel introducing us in Veilstone? I questioned in my head. Not that it bothered me at all. "I tried to get Professor Rowan to speak to the League about it, but he said it was out of his hands," Barry said. "I''ve got to keep toughening up. One day, I''ll be strong enough to deal with things like this on my own. My old man coulde down here and fix it in one afternoon! Although I guess he''d have to find their base first. What''s your name?" I blinked. "Grace Pastel." He tilted his head, staring up at me and Angel. "That rings a bell¡­ oh right! You''re Denzel''s pal! He told me about you after you fought in Sunyshore!" And he introduced us in Veilstone, I internally screamed. "Right. I didn''t know about that. And I also didn''t think things like this would interest you," I said, turning back toward the protest. It hadrgely dispersed, now, but I had no doubt it would start again somewhere else. "Denzel said you were a lot more scatterbrained." "I can focus when it matters," he said. "Either way, I need to go. I''ve been training day and night to fight Crasher Wake, and then I''m off to fly for Snowpoint! I want to be the first first-year with eight badges!" "Honestly, you''ll probably make it," I resigned. "Denzel said you were pretty strong," Barry said, poking at Angel, who poked back. "Maybe a battle would be nice. I''ve beencking a rival¡ª not that you could be my rival! You and your friends are all far too slow for that!" I scoffed. "We have the same number of badges!" "For now," he shrugged. "Uh, could you wait until my other two Pokemon are healed?" I asked, tempering my need to ept right away. A big battle would be a perfect way to reveal Honey to the world. "We got into a nasty run-in with a wild Pokemon off-route, and they got really hurt." "And your ankle too," Barry noticed. Now that we had moved on to a less serious topic, he started speaking a lot faster. "I can wait a few days, but not too many. Then, you''ll just slow me down!" "Two days," I specified. "Two days stretching it¡­ gah! I don''t want to turn into a Slowpoke, but fine! Six-on-six with three switches! I want to fight your Turtonator." "Sounds like a deal," I said. "Um, I need your number, though. To organize, and things like that¡ª" "Meet me at 890 Adide Road in two days at one in the afternoon! Okay, thanks, bye!" He ran off into the distance, not bothering to stop at my calls. "O¡­okay," I stammered. So... that had just happened.
Interlude – Horizon Interlude ¨C Horizon
INTERLUDE - HORIZON Cecilia looked onto the beach and listened to the ever-calm waves crashing against the sand intently. She focused on the horizon and squinted at the thin, almost indistinguishable line that separated the ocean and the sky. Beyond the horizon was obscured, and it would be no matter how far she chased. Walking, running, flying, swimming, none of these would work. The horizon would march on in front of her, forever alluring, out of Cecilia''s reach. Her feet did not move one inch in the sand, even when a particrlyrge wave hit her ankles. She was still, ever staring at the horizon. Cecilia was beginning to despise herck of power¡ª not only physical, tangible power that her Pokemon could dish out on a whim, but soft power as well. When the people she wanted to emte spoke, the world moved. Cecilia''s word did not matter. She could scream, kick, destroy, throw a tantrum, but the situation would not change at all no matter what she wanted. Cecilia was at a stage where she was powerful enough to feel like she mattered, but not powerful enough to actually do. She sighed as she heard soft steps in the sand approach behind her. Mydy, Slowking spoke into her mind. Chase and Mira request your presence. "Tell them I''ll be a little while," she answered. "Ten minutes." Very well. Make shore to ask me if you need any help. Cecilia turned to the psychic and gave him an amused look. "That was a¡­ five out of ten. Maybe a six, if I''m feeling generous." Was shore on a beach too on the nose? That was the point, Slowking shrugged. I wanted to cheer you up. "That worked some. We need to get you started on Chilly Reception. I''m sure you''d be able to make puns so terrible even the opponent would freeze." I''ve wanted to learn the move for weeks, Slowkingughed, rubbing his hands together. Don''t get cold feet now. You aren''t ready for what''s toe. "Cold feet? Was that another one?" The water type''s mouth gaped. I swear it was not. You can''t fault me for using amon human idiom. Cece snorted. "Just go tell them I''ll be on my way." Of course, mydy. "Thank you, darling." Slowking began to jog back to the rest of the group, almost hovering in the air every time he took a step. Training himself to step on barriers was going well, Cecilia mused with pursed lips. Levitation was too advanced of a concept for most psychics even though all of them could theoretically reach such capabilities, so Cecilia and Slowking had settled on the next best thing, especially with how good Slowking was getting at shielding. Plus, it would be a wonderful tool to have against Crasher Wake, since his arena was a giant, rectangle-shaped sea with a few inds. Slowking might have been a water type, but he would not be able topete against Wake''s Pokemon in the water. Cecilia let out a long exhale, turning back toward the ocean. The decision the League had taken to send her father back hadpletely blindsided her. Cynthia had warned her beforehand, but that hadn''t even mattered. To paraphrase the Champion, she had basically said that they were doing this whether she liked it or not. There was too much at stake to let feelings get in the way of things, Cynthia had told her, and that she would make it up to Cecilia when they traveled together this summer. Arceus, that would be miserable. Cecilia closed her eyes, focusing on the anger that rose from within her chest. Think, she shouted at herself. There was no use letting the anger consume her. Focus. Channel it and clear your mind. Cecilia opened her eyes with newfound rity, and she took a breath. Talonme could be seen in the distance, flying so fast over the ocean that Cecilia could barely keep track of her. The sound barrier was as elusive as ever. There were no more tricks they would be able to employ to gain more speed, or at least none that Cecilia knew of. From now on, Talonme would need to train herself until she reached her goal. Yesterday''s revtion had thrown her for a loop. Abel was near, or at least he was involved with some ''business'' nearby. The first thing she felt when she heard the news was not terror, which had been extremely surprising, and not something even Cecilia had expected. She had spent so many nights dreading Abel and Mmar taking what was worth the most to her. Freedom. Being a mindless puppet forced to listen to the whims of her father for however long Abel would have been under his employ. By the time they''d let her go, it would have been toote to change anything. Cecilia blinked and felt her throat tighten. Even imagining herself stripped of her will terrified her. So why had she been¡­ no, relieved would have been the wrong word. Cecilia still despised Abel from the bottom of her heart, but she''d never felt so¡ª so¡ª Dirty. The first thought that popped into her head was, I want Abel back in Unova so he can burn and destroy everything my father had ever loved and cared for. She had not cared for the stolen Leafeon, nor had she bothered to feel bad for Carnivine. Cecilia had only thought in terms of how she could use Abel for her own gains, and that terrified her. Cecilia disliked Cynthia, but a part of her could not help but understand how the Champion had gotten to where she was in the first ce. Cynthia was a ruthless pragmatist who did not care what she had to do so long as her decision helped Sinnoh, and it would be easy for the teenager to let that side of her take over. After all, what was one sin? But then it would turn into two, three, and yearster you looked back, and you were unrecognizable to even yourself. Or maybe that version of you had never been real in the first ce. Just pretending to be normal. And it was not like she could just convince the others not to get involved¡ª and the fact that she was even thinking about that disgusted her. Grace was a kind soul. Cecilia was sure that she would convince herself to get involved one way or another. Chase wanted to bring the poachers to heel, and despite Mira having changed for the better, she was still not risk-averse. If a fight between them and the poachers took ce, the League would intervene and Abel ran the risk of getting caught. "Damn it," she sighed. "Damn it all." Cecilia could almost imagine Azelf giggling at her with their child-like voice, mocking her dilemma and just telling her to take what''s hers or something along those lines. There was a fire in Cecilia''s throat, begging to be let out, but she would stamp it out every single day. She would never use the Voice. What if my friends are in danger? She thought as she took a few uneven breaths. Cecilia gulped. Then, she would. But for a selfish goal that only she cared so much about? No. She could not. We''ll see how long thatsts¡ª Cecilia''s head whirled behind her, but there was nothing. Just Mira and Chase in the distance, getting ready to set up for the evening now that the sun was starting to set, along with their Pokemon surrounding them. She swore that she heard something taunt her. She buried the concerns and made her way toward her friends. She released Zweilous along the way to apany her, and the dragon followed in her wake, content to be by her side. Sol and Zerst were growing a lot more cooperative these days¡ª not with her, but with each other, a telltale sign that their evolution was not near, but at least within reach. She dreaded and reveled in the day she would finally get a Hydreigon. How ironic, that she would miss Zweilous having two personalities when she had feared that very thing when they had just been a Deino. She would also still call Mark, if only to give him a piece of her mind and eviscerate him as well as get his advice. Cecilia and her brother had never been close, but he had essentially knifed her in the back. Instead of listening to special interests in Unova, he could have grown a backbone and punished their father for all of his abuse. Then again, Cecilia had no idea what the view looked like beyond the horizon. Cynthia did. Mark did. And yet, they all seemed so evil to her. Did power truly corrupt even the most well-intentioned individuals, then? Did responsibility doom you to immorality? Was the weight of a region simply too much to bear? Continuously twisting and bending yourself for the ''greater good'' until you became a part of the system that you tried so hard to destroy, change, or reform? What did Mark, Cynthia, and the other Champions see that she did not, and why did it push them to act so? Cecilia ced a hand on Sol''s rough head and smiled when Zerst demanded attention as well. They both licked her hand, but their tongues might as well have been concrete with how tough and rough the texture was. "Thank you for worrying," she smiled, scratching both of their chins. Cecilia walked the rest of the way in silence, and soon the beach bled into grass and dirt. Mira and Chase sat atop a log that Zangoose had cut and brought over for them, and Houndoom had already started a fire to cook their meal. Today was¡­ grilled cheese sandwiches, which Mira apparently knew how to cook. Houndoom snored at Chase''s feet, and Vikavolt was off flying somewhere just like Talonme was. Zangoose and Sigilyph were speaking a few dozen feet away, and the normal type was showing off a new way of sharpening her ws to her friend while Scytherpared his scythes with them. Abomasnow had started spending more and more time in his Pokeball now that the weather was shifting gears. Lehmhart was also in his Pokeball for now because he had exhausted himself trying to fly. He was getting a lot better, though, and Cecilia was sure she''d be able to get her license in Pastoria. Lucario sat next to Chase, quietly meditating with Aura diffusing out of him. The n for her and Chase was to go to Canve right away after their seventh badge, even though they weren''t exactly going together. Cecilia hadn''t exactly asked yet, but she was sure Chase was nning on going to visit the Iron Inds, and she wanted to go with him. Not because she wanted to do anything there, but because she didn''t think it''d be good for him to go alone. He had finally opened up and told both her and Mira about what had happened to his hometown and father, and Cecilia didn''t want to leave a friend in need hanging, especially when the Iron Inds would hold traumatic memories for him. kazam and Gardevoir nked Mira, as they always did. Porygon was ying some kind of gacha game on her phone and had hacked it to give herself infinite in-game currency somehow. Haunter and Magnezone sparred in the distance. The ghost was irritating his opponent to no end by taunting him every time an attack missed, and Slowking contained the damage with a barrier. The battle must have just begun, she mused. "There you are," Mira cheered, gesturing at Cecilia toe over. "You were brooding so hard that I could see it from here." "Well, no, you couldn''t," Chase shook his head. "Manner of speaking, Chasey. Sit down, Cece. We want to talk about things with you." "Just to preempt this, I do think Mira''s spouting a bunch of bullshit and is way in over her head." "Pfft. That never happens," Mira said with a sarcastic chuckle. "You''ll be getting the first sandwich as revenge so you can be ourb Rattata." "I thought you knew how to make them?" "Uh, yeah, but cooking in the middle of nowhere is different than cooking in a kitchen." "Arceus, I miss Grace''s cooking," Chase grumbled. "Your sandwiches are definitely going to taste bad." Cecilia cracked a smile. "I wish I''d been recording that. Her hearing Chase say that ought to have cheered her up with her broken ankle." "Well I heard online that she was having fun ying piano to the wildlife in Pastoria earlier today, so you shouldn''t worry too much about her," Mira joked. "Your girlfriend will be fine." "It''s a long time not to be able to walk. I know how frustrating that is from experience, let me remind you," Cecilia paused to sit on the long log and pat her clothes down to look presentable. "And Grace isn''t one to enjoy feeling restricted. What do you want to talk about?" Mira grabbed the only skillet they had left now that Grace was gone and started making the sandwiches. "You''ve been out of it ever since Abel''s name was mentioned yesterday." Cecilia blinked. "Out of it? Perhaps I was more distant because of my worries¡ª" "Grace knows something is up too. We shared a look before we left, and I have to figure you out now. We''re friends, Cecilia. Talk to us. You don''t need to hide." Cecilia sighed, not knowing what to say. "Oh, shit. She was right?" Chase faltered. "I¡­ um, I was worried for¡ª well, not for Abel, but I ideally would want him to get back to Unova and wreck havoc on his path for revenge," she said, calmer than she expected. "So this whole poacher business made me uneasy. The ACE Trainers intervene, he gets caught, and then what? He gets extradited to Unova, and rence wins again," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Do you know how he was greeted back to Unova?" Both of her friends shook their hands in silence. "With des. My brother shook his hand and smiled for the cameras," Cecilia raged. "He smiled! There was this whole party thrown in Castelia, my mother weed him with open arms and a kiss, and they''re saying he was a political prisoner and that there was no evidence against him, which is bullshit. Almost all of the Gym Leaders and half of the Elite Four came to his party. Marshal, Caitlin and Brycen missed it, thank the Legendaries." "He still abused you," Mira muttered. "How does he get weed back into society after that? He hired Abel!" "Thew''s different for him," Cece bit her lip. "He''s pinning it all on Louis'' father. Throwing his old business partner under the bus." "Bullshit," Chase spat. "He''s also using my closeness to Cynthia as a foil," she continued. "Saying that I''m getting manipted by a foreign dictator. Of course, I''m a damsel in distress getting manipted again. He used the same excuse when Pauline exposed him in Eterna City. Amy ate it all up too." "Amy?" Chase frowned. Cecilia frowned. Had she never told him her former friend''s name? "Trash. Don''t bother asking," Cecilia said. "A likely story," Mira scoffed. "Can''t believe you still want to go there. You should stick around next year with us. Bring Grace too." "See that?" Chase pointed at Mira. "That''s her saying she''ll miss ya both and she wants to spend more time with you. Savor it." The pink-haired girl blushed and stammered out an answer that made no sense. Cece smiled, but she shook her head. "No. I''ve made my decision. I will not run away any longer," she firmly dered, reminding herself of how Azelf had mocked her for it. She wanted to be taken seriously. If she stayed away from Unova like an exile, then her enemies would win and have thestugh. Imagining them toasting over Champagne about how their ns had all worked out infuriated her so much that she forgot to breathe. Cecilia continued with a firm voice. "I just can''t. Even if Grace hadn''t agreed toe with me, I would have gone." "So what? Are you gonna have, like, a political revolution? Kick some ass?" Chase asked, his eyes fixated on the fire. "Please," Cecilia rolled her eyes. "A revolution? With all the death and destruction? And with what support? Revolutions aren''t born from nothing. You can''t just dere one and hope for the best. I n on working within the system and using all of its ring loopholes to my full advantage." "Yikes. Take notes, Chasey. You''ll have to do it too," Mira said. "I can hire people for that, right?" "You''re never bing the Champion," Miraughed. "Maybe aim for Gym Leader of Canve instead. You''ve already got Ri for a steel type." "Fuck off." Cecilia retreated into her thoughts to ignore their bickering. It was not like she had been idle all this time. Her father being sent back home had lit a fire under her, and she had been doing research. She did not expect to beat Mark next year, but that did not mean she''d have to y nice. Unova was not a monolith, despite what her friends believed. Not everyone approved of the status quo. The problem is that they never got enough power for it to matter. Whereas Sinnoh was split into two parties¡ª or used to be before it became a fancy group full of ''yes-men''¡ª with a pro-Champion coalition and the opposition, Unova''s political life was much more alive. Cecilia had looked into a few of them. ''Forward Unova!'', The ''Anti-Corruption'' party, The ''Radical Party''. She did not exactly see eye-to-eye with any of them, but they did share amon goal, so ideology was not exactly a problem quite yet. There was also the ''sma Organization'', which was actually thergest out of the four and had gained steam this past year, but they were far too extreme for Cecilia''s liking¡ª although she had noticed that their message was getting toned down a little as they gained more and more influence. Still, they were just populists saying whatever was the best to get themselves elected. Only their Pokemon rights policy seemed to be something they believed in. Not that she would not be content to let them shake up the status quo. The status quo was the enemy. Cecilia refocused on her friends, who seemed to be back to their normal selves. "Here''s your sandwich, Chasey." The teenager lifted his cap and bit into the bread. "Meh," he said with his mouth full. "Good effort, I guess." "Hell yes!" Mira pped her hands. "I''ll make yours, Cece. I''ve given some thought to your Abel problem while I was arguing with this guy¡ª" "I personally think you should just let Abel rot and take the fight to your old man yourself," Chase interrupted. "Oh, my bad, shrimp. Go ahead." "Right. Uh, I obviously wasn''t going to say what Chase said. On the off-chance that we get involved in this poaching thing¡ª" Chase cut in. "I''ll go with or without you." The pink-haired girl flicked him on the forehead. "Let me finish! Arceus! On the off-chance that we do something about it, then y''know, maybe just don''t bother thinking about Abel getting arrested." "Huh?" Cecilia frowned. "Think about it. If he can''t stand up to or run away from a few first-years and some ACE Trainers, what makes you think he''ll even bother your dad in Unova?" Mira shrugged. "rence is dumb, but surely he''s hired bodyguards¡ª real bodyguards. Not the one you told me about that were in the hotel in Eterna City that were only as good as kids with a couple of badges. You don''t just get kidnapped and not change your hiring process." Cecilia blinked. "It''s true that rence would do that," she muttered. "I remember seeing a lot of faces filtering in and out growing up. He''d have dozens of different guards every month¡­ but now, he probably has some ACE Trainers of his own. Hell, maybe he had some before going to Sinnoh that never showed their faces. I wouldn''t know." "But it makes sense, right?" Mira asked. "If he can''t deal with us, well, he sucks." "Well, we''re strong," Chase said. "This Abel guy is what? 8-Badge level?" "Probably higher, but I don''t know, he doesn''t really fight people, as you know. When he does, it''s to stall to allow him to escape," Cecilia paused, grabbing the sandwich from Mira''s hands. It was so hot she almost dropped it. "I''ll give your suggestion some thought, Mira. Thank you for the help." "I live to please," she bowed. "But I know it''s not that easy." It was not, Cecilia thought to herself with a visible nod. What if Chase let his hatred of criminals get the better of him and used the Voice on Abel to trap him? Granted, they were keeping their capabilities a secret from their guards, which was why they hadn''t practiced or experimented with it ever since they left Sunyshore and only did so inside of their Pokemon Center rooms. They still feared that a power like that would have the Leaguepletely reevaluate their rtionship and decide they actually were too valuable to let travel around the region or let go of after this whole Gctic situation was over. What if, against all odds, she was the deciding factor between Abel escaping and getting caught? Cecilia internally groaned and bit into her food. There were too many ''what-ifs'' for her to even know what to do at this point. "This tastes¡­ okay," she said, trying to change the subject. After chewing for a few seconds, she recoiled. "Ew, what cheese is this? stic?" "Excuse me, princess! I didn''t buy you gourmet Miltank cheese, because we don''t all have the money to spend on that!" Mira yelled. Cecilia couldn''t tell if she was fooling around or she was genuinely offended. "I''ve got to save for my Porygon Upgrade, and I barely have enough as it is considering I wanted an Eevee." "Sorry, sorry," she waved a hand. "Come to think of it, Chase, how''s your money doing?" "Well aside from getting paid from the LTIP, I don''t get much," he shrugged. "I''m still never getting myself a sponsor. I''m not going to whore myself¡ª" he stopped, and considered his next words. A smart decision, considering Cecilia had been about to destroy him with a verbal essay about sponsorships. "It doesn''t align with my morals. I want to be self-made, and I don''t want to be beholden to some half-dead men in suits." "Meh. I''d kill to get sponsored by a professor," Mira shrugged. Cecilia beamed. "Me too! I was actually looking into Unovan Professors too!" "You? You don''t seem like you''d be interested in research," Chase said. "Mira, I can see it." "If you couldn''t, you''d be blind," she chuckled. "It''s not about the research, it''s about the information and supplies they''d be able to give," Cecilia repeated what she''d told Grace in Sunyshore. "They''re treasure troves of knowledge¡ª Mira, do not make that joke." "Wasn''t going to!" Cecilia couldn''t bear to finish her sandwich and threw the remaining bits to Zweilous, making sure to divide it into equal parts. Even then, Zerst got jealous and glowered at his fellow head, who was too busy chewing to care. "As much as it pains to admit, I''ll definitely have to do something for money," Chase acknowledged. Every wording out of his mouth looked like it pained him, and he shifted ufortably in his seat. "The Conference has a bunch of items, or whatever nonsense, and I still haven''t bought vitamins¡­ although we''re keeping up through sheer dedication." "I''m sure you''ll get an idea," Cecilia said. "No, he won''t. He''ll put it off because his standards are impossible and go into the Conference without items," Mira said. Chase red. "You''re the one who wasining about money and wishing you could get sponsored by a Professor. Your standards are impossible." "Guess we aren''t so dissimr," she teased. They spoke deep into the evening, and Cecilia was content to let herself be a part of the fun even though she was still far from having fixed her internal dilemma. Still she was at least enjoying herself tonight, and that was more than she could ask for. ¡ª Cecilia hadn''t really drifted off to sleep when her phone rang, but her eyes had been closed, and she''d been leaning against Talonme''sfortable fluff. She was no Togekiss, but she was stillfortable and warm. Chase slept huddled next to his team while Mira had her head on Gardevoir''sp. The fairy type stroked her hair while her trainer snored. Grace had told her that Gardevoir thought Mira to be a daughter, and she''d seen more evidence of that every passing day. Speaking of Grace, she was calling at an unspeakable hour. Cecilia didn''t care, nor did she manage to contain the burst of happiness within her. One day apart, and she already felt like this? This wasn''t healthy, she told herself. She had not figured that out on her own, of course. Denzel had spoken to her about it once in Sunyshore, but she hadn''t wanted to act on it beyond making some vague promises. Co-dependency, he had called it. And of course, Denzel had not expected Sylveon to be suffering from a very extreme version of it. Maybe those weeks apart would do them some good. Right now, though, all she felt at the idea was dread. It was hard not to feel distressed when they literally spent the majority of every single day together in some form. Cecilia picked up the phone and rose, opting to get away from her friends and Pokemon so she wouldn''t disturb their sleep. "Ceeeeceeeee," Grace drawled. Cecilia giggled. "What''s up with you? How''s your ankle doing?" "The pain meds have worn off, and now I''m stuck on my bed trying to go to sleep. The pain makes it hard, but what really grinds my gears is the fact that I can''t fucking change positions without sending terrible spasms up my leg, so¡­ yeah. I''m not sleeping, I guess. Did I wake you¡ª Buddy, please don''t get this close, you''re going to get my cast wet and I already got into that close call when I showered." Cecilia sat on the sand, not caring about any that could potentially get on or in her clothes. "I can stay up with you, if you want," Cecilia said. "Oh! I mean, I wouldn''t want to keep you, you sound tired." "I am," she agreed. "But I can stay an hour or two. Maybe three." "Let''s settle on one," she said. "I did a bunch of fun stuff in Pastoria today! Here, I yed the piano and two wonderful Kricketot joined in the melody¡ª it was this entire thing. I wish I recorded it! I bet you''d be proud of me¡­" Cecilia intently listened to Grace''s day. Her girlfriend did not hold back from venting about the pain she was in or the poacher situation, but she did not let that deter her from focusing on the good either. The good food, the pretty streets, the wild Pokemon, the parks, the fun she had with her team¡­ she sounded like she was doing okay for herself. She had also looked into Pokemon Rights and was apparently going to battle Barry Lane. Denzel would go crazy for it if he was there. "You won''t believe what Mira said today!" Cecilia gasped, suddenly remembering. "Well, not said, but more implied. She basically admitted that she''d miss us¡­" Graceughed when Cecilia finished the story¡ª and especially at the notion of Mira blushing. That was a rare event, and every happenstance was stored in their core memory. "Chase is the best for forcing that out of her. How''s he doing?" "He misses your food." "I''ll make him some chicken and veggies when you guys get here. Honey will probably tell me to stop working and cook alone." "He''d be right." "Meh. I can do it if I have the painkillers in me." "I don''t like the sound of that." "Any update on the Slowking pun front?" "There is an update, but don''t change the subject," Cecilia chided. "Don''t worry, I only take two per day, spaced six hours just like the doctors said. Otherwise I''d be passed out sleeping right now." "Right," she nodded. "Um, say, Grace. I have something to tell you about Abel. I told this to the others already, but¡­" Cecilia stared upon the horizon and blinked as she exined her dilemma. It was so dark out that she could not tell where the ocean ended and the sky began as if the horizon had disappeared from viewpletely. Cecilia held out her hand, her palm outstretched, and closed it around where she thought it would be. There really was no way to know what was beyond there until you made it there yourself through sheer force of will.
Chapter 247 Chapter 247
CHAPTER 247 "I think you''ve got to prate the ground and, uh, absorb the nutrients. You can try to use Sr de to make it quicker. It''s a lot more efficient at stabbing than Power Whip." Angel nodded, and a bright light slowly overtook his vines. Our Sr de was still clumsy and slow to charge, especially on a cloudy day like this one, but even with the sun, the move wasn''t really usable in battle yet. The principle behind Sr de and Sr Beam was the same: draw upon the sun for energy to charge your attack. That was where the simrities ended, however. As it turned out, Sr de required far more control over that energy than Sr Beam because while the beam was just letting the attack loose once he''d gathered enough of the sun''s energy, Sr de needed fine control to work. Coating a vine with the power without it exploding all over the ce had proved a challenge in the weeks Angel had started to learn the move. Now, though, he had a grasp on it good enough to avoid any idental explosions, but even with the sun, he wouldn''t be able to use Sr de that quickly out of fear of the attack blowing up and hurting him. Tangrowth stabbed eight vines coated with Sr de deep into route 213''s soft soil. It was hard to tell if he was regenerating or not because, well, he hadn''t actually been hurt, but he did say he was feeling something, and his vines were growing slightly longer, kind of like someone with overgrown hair. I did need a haircut,e to think of it. I ran my hands through my puffy hair and hummed. We''d gone to train right after Barry had challenged us, and Princess had flown me to an isted spot that was still on the route. It was a small clearing in the middle of a well-maintained forest a few miles ind away from the beach. I did avoid route 212, because that was where the poachers were located. I''d heard online that the route was practically a ghost town nowadays. It had already been somewhat empty before this whole situation because the swampy part of the route was one of the most dangerous spots in Sinnoh, but even the stretch going up to Hearthome was empty. While Angel was experimenting on Ingrain and practicing Sr de at the same time, Princess practiced her aim while flying as fast as she could, hitting boulders she had set up with Ancient Power with Air sh and Charge Beam from a distance, and practicing with flying TE in general. She had a lot of catching up to do to stand up to flying types of our level, but she was chugging along. Eventually, though, I would like for her to delve into Tri Attack. It wasn''t the attack as a whole that interested me, but the individual sts of electricity, fire and ice themselves. They would serve as an excellent base for Princess'' future foray into elemental attacks. Togekiss could learn things like methrower through TMs, and knowing how to handle weaker versions of those moves would speed up the learning process. I thought that for now, however, it would be best to bring her up to speed with the techniques that every flying type of a high level needed topete in the air. Buddy''s Will-O-Wisp and Sludge Bomb wereing along alright. The water type had never been this challenged when learning a move. Sludge Bomb was easy. It was just a natural progression to Acid, except that it wasrger and was supposed to explode when itnded, which meant that he''d need a better grasp at manipting poison TE. But Will-O-Wisp? Jellicent''s eyes shone bright red as he summoned another wave of the cold, purple mes in the distance. They screamed¡ª some in joy, others in sorrow or agony¡ª but summoning the mes wasn''t the problem. In fact, he could do it quite easily at this point. It was getting them to listen that was. There was a reason he was so far and isted from us. Two of the Will-O-Wisps entered his own body and burned him while the rest scattered in every direction. Luckily, he''d gotten good at at least sending them back to wherever it was they came from before they could run off. The wisps usually died off after two minutes or so, being unable to sustain themselves in our world for long. Where did Will-O-Wispe from, actually? The Dusk? Betrix had told us that ghosts drew power from another ne of existence, so the logical conclusion was that Will-O-Wisps also came from there. But what the hell even were they? Half-formed ghosts? They had voices but I wasn''t sure if they were real, conscious beings or just pretending to be. Well, maybe that''d be another question for Mathilda. I doubted Be would answer me for free. Sweetheart was working on Stone Edge. The move''s concept was simple¡ª sharpening rocks and having them burst out of the ground¡ª but it actually had a lot of applications that Rock Slide just couldn''t fill. Precision and speed were two, but most of all, a Pokemon that knew Stone Edge well enough could basically do whatever they wanted with rocks, sort of like what Princess did with Ancient Power except they wouldn''t be able to shape them like she did. The team was very hard at work, as always. Not just because of the fight with Barry, but because of Wake too. He tended to be underestimated by trainerster in their Circuit because he wasn''t the best Gym Leader in terms of skill or power, but even then, people often forgot that still meant he was far better than the vast majority of trainers and certainly he would be an incredible mountain to climb. Today, though, was about my research on Barry Lane. I sat back on the ground a few feet away from Angel with myptop on myp and hummed a little song as I looked up some of his battles. There were actually a lot more than I expected to find, mostly because he did actually battle people in cities whenever he stayed there¡ª mostly second and third years these days, because he''d crush any first year at this point. People weren''t going to refuse a challenge from Palmer Lane''s kid. Of course, there was nowhere near the amount of video footage that other trainers usually had. I''d say he had a simr number of appearances as I did, except I battled my friends and he battled strangers. So I looked up and studied the first battle¡­ then another, and another. I tried to keep the battles recent so I''d learn his Pokemon''s moves as well as his style, but the problem was that Barry was a different person in every single fight. Sometimes, the differences were stark, like going from having a slow, stalling strategy against Maylene where he controlled the field to an all-out blitz against Volkner, but most of the time, they were subtle changes that only a good eye would catch. At first I thought he''d be like Candice. That there''d be patterns or categories I could slot him in, and to an extent there were, but this was like Candice on steroids. Sometimes he wouldpletely switch up a strategy mid-battle too, even if it wasn''t failingpletely. Other times, he''d create a brand new move, use it once and then never use it again. The sheer amount of creativity and techniques Barry had was mind-bogglinglyrge, and whenever he battled, he seemed to do so on pure instinct. But I did not despair, nor did I think victory was impossible. First, I had a lot more firepower than he had with Honey and Sunshine, and I hade far from the days where I''d been almost incapable of thinking on my feet or dealing with new elements in battle. "Let''s look at that Empoleon¡­" I muttered. Empoleon, Staraptor, Roserade, Rapidash, Heracross¡ª Barry''s team was quite simple in theory, although that newly-evolved Snox was going to be a big problem. Granted, the normal type was also getting used to his new body just like Honey and Princess were, so that equalized the ying field a little bit. He had only been seen in a single fight three days ago, and he moved very clumsily. Empoleon¡ª a master of steel and ice moves (he could actually shape ice however he wanted), and excellent with water too. Surprisingly one of Barry''s fastest Pokemon due to how quick he moved on ice, I mused as I watched the water type battle against Volkner. He also knew a bunch of coverage moves, but that was honestly all of Barry''s team. I assumed that his sponsorship with Professor Rowan meant that he had gotten a lot of TMs to use on his Pokemon. As it stood, Empoleon wasn''t that big of a problempared to the rest of what was on Barry''s team, but he did know Roost, which meant thatbined with ice type moves to slow his opponent, Empoleon could excel in long, drawn-out slogs. Granted, he could also crash into you with Liquidation or Drill Peck and destroy your Pokemon quickly too. Staraptor was a scrapper. Not a massive hitter like Cecilia''s Talonme, but someone who could be a lot more consistent while she fought. She focused on maneuvering instead of speed, which meant that Barry could do a lot of strange stuff with her. Strangely enough, she was also Barry''s main way of setting up the weather, with Rain Dance, Sunny Day and a bootleg version of Sandstorm that was still rtively weak. In a battle he''d fought and lost against a third year in Sunyshore, Barry''s Staraptor had spent half of it grounded and fought with Close Combat, Acrobatics and Steel Wing. Against Maylene, Staraptor had used Sunny Day and Heat Wave topletely neutralize the same Lucario I''d fought and had forced her to switch. As it stood, she would dominate Princess in the air, so I''d have toe up with something else to deal with her. "To be honest, Staraptor fights more like a Togekiss than an actual Staraptor," I muttered. Angel twitched next to me. "Stay focused," I said. "I''ll talk to everyone about Barryter." Togekiss were known for the sheer versatility of their moves and fighting styles, and that was where Barry had taken his Staraptor, it seemed. Staraptor even knows Ominous Wind, I thought, feeling slightly impressed. Using ghost type techniques for a non-ghost was extremely difficult, even with TMs. There was a reason Princess didn''t use Shadow Ball very much. It was much too slow to charge, too weak, and too difficult to control. I did n on working on it eventually, but it wasn''t anywhere near what we prioritized at the moment. "Roserade next," I said. It didn''t take long to find a video with her, seeing as she carried Barry for most of the fight against Volkner. What if Denzel''s Roserade had focused on grass instead of poison? That was basically what Barry''s Roserade was. A master at using grass in a multitude of unique ways. She didn''t use many moves save for Leaf Storm, spores, Seed Bomb and Petal Blizzard. The rest was all Barry telling her to do some wild thing, and her somehow following up on that. She could extend thick, thorny vines from her flowers that served as extended arms and whips. Luckily, she seemed nowhere as sturdy as Denzel''s Roserade. She traded that weakness for mobility, though. The poison type liked to use Grassy Terrain and Grassy Glide to move around. Rapidash was where things really got wild. The fire type wasn''t exactly Barry''s ace from the videos I could see, but he might as well have been. First of all, he could fly. Fly might have been a strange way of putting it. Rapidash could jump in the air with Bounce as many times as he wanted. Thankfully, he wasn''t fast when he did it, but he couldnd back on the ground to gain momentum before quickly jumping back into the sky with a surprising amount of speed. "Arceus, it looks so wrong," I chuckled. Rapidash casually hopped in the air, raining down mes into Maylene''s arena. There was a drawback to Rapidash having focused on the technique for what I assumed was months. He was Barry''s only Pokemon that was somewhat predictable and didn''t have much else under his sleeve. Hypnosis was kind of scary, but he needed a long time to get it off. There was also Sr Beam and Charge Beam to deal with water types, but other than that, Rapidash was focused on what he did best. Fire and flight. Heracross was another one of his fliers. The species were normally only capable of crude flight unless they were mega evolved, but he had mastered it in his own right. He was also adept at using sound-based attacks through his wings, which meant that my orders might be obscured while he was out. The problem with Heracross wasn''t as much the variety of his moves, but the fact that if he ever got close to your Pokemon, you were in trouble, especially with Swords Dance. Sunshine and Honey would be a great counter for him. Last but not least, Snox, who like I''d seen was exactly in one battle. There wasn''t much to go off of with him, but I could at least learn his moves. What I knew from Craig''s own Snox was that they were incredibly resistant to all attacks. Fire, frost, electricity, any elemental attack wouldn''t go past theiryer of fat. Snox was the only one of Barry''s Pokemon who I thought Sunshine couldn''t take on through his passive heat. Lava would hurt, but it wouldn''t be game-changing. Stabbing him with elongated spears would just have them bounce back before they did any real damage or they''d get stuck in his fat. I knew there was a solution to all of these issues. I would just have toe in with an outlined n and keep up with Barry''s pace and switch-ups. I didn''t want to just react, however, and there were plenty of things I could do to assert my presence on the field. I opened an empty page of notes and began nning. ¡ª "Gah! This is so fucking hard!" I groaned, clenching at my hair. "I''ve never experienced this before!" Angel, who was taking a break from his Ingrain training, caressed my hair and unruffled it. Every single time I felt like I was nning something correctly, I realized that it wouldn''t work. The main issue was that Sunshine and Honey were pivotal in this fight, but they were only two and Barry had six Pokemon. That wasn''t to say that the others would be useless, but Electivire and Turtonator needed to be my lynchpins, while all of Barry''s Pokemon could serve as one. "Rx," I sighed. "Look at the big picture." What if I used them as a battering ram to turn the tide of the battle? They were no doubt my two most powerful Pokemon at the moment, and should there be a stalemate or Barry gained the advantage, they''d help me kick the door down, so to speak. I was going into this half-blind, but one thing was for sure, Sunshine and Honey would force Barry to react. "Well, I might as well take a break too," I said with a stretch. "Angel, you hungry?" The grass type shook his head, but said he''d be willing to eat anything I made. All of those Ingrain had given him the nutrients he needed. "Okay, gather up the others," I said. "I''ll have Princess fly me back to the Center and I''ll make something for you guys¡­ wait, my phone is ringing." Melody again, I thought. Already? She''d told me it would take a few days. "Something wrong?" I asked. "Regarding your political aspirations, a decision was taken. You will be allowed to join the United Pokemon Advocacy Network." I raised an eyebrow. "That was fast." "Well, the UPAN is widely known across eastern Sinnoh. I was expecting you to send me more choices akin to the Pokemon Freedom Alliance and more obscure organizations that would take a while to vet, but you went with a moderate, popr choice. I''m very proud of you." "Thanks?" I hesitated. "So the PFA''s a no-go? They have pretty decent ideas." "Obviously it''s a no-go. It''s not just about their policies, but the way they conduct themselves¡ª or at least that''s what my colleague said. I''ve been too busy to look into it." "What''s new?" I asked, gesturing to my team. Angel had gotten distracted and tried to get Princess to blow him with the most powerful gust of wind she could muster. When my Pokemon noticed, they started to make their way toward me. "I mean, obviously you''re taking care of me, but what''s got you so busy?" "Oh, meetings that could be emails about the n of actions to counter the sanctions," she said. I easily visualized her rolling her eyes. "Don''t worry about it. Nothing will change regarding your sry." "Got it," I nodded. "By the way, nice music stunt," she said. "Someone recorded it and posted it online. You''re trending on Chatter, and you were wearing your Poketch Watch." "Someone recorded that?" I shrunk. "I was ying like garbage! This sucks." "You were ying okay," she said. "And it''s a striking image that''ll stick in people''s minds." "As long as the board is happy," I muttered. "Um, are you going to be flying to Pastoria? It''s been a while since I''ve seen you." "Aw." "Don''t aw me," I quickly said. "Sorry, that wasn''t a conscious aw," sheughed. "I''m afraid I won''t be able to see you, though. I''ll be stuck in Jubilife for the next few months. Do you think you''ll have time to pass by the city during your off-the-grid flight that you warned me about?" "Uh, maybe when I''m done with the entire thing and I''m on my way to Canve. Why?" "The board would like to meet you. Both with and without Craig." I froze, not knowing how to answer. "It isn''t that intimidating. I''ll help you before the meeting." "You''re telling me that meeting my bosses isn''t intimidating?" I scoffed. "Look at the bright side, you''ll see me there." "Great," I sarcastically said. "What will it be about?" "Transition procedures, mostly. That really is what it is. Procedure," she said, emphasizing the word. "You''ll be fine." "Okay. I got it," I said. "The board would like a tentative date for the meeting. Craig has already agreed upon the 25th of April, but early May should work as well." "Early May works a lot better," I said. "Plus, it''ll only be one afternoon, right? If I get to Canve early, I''d be able to fly back to Jubilife if needed." And by then, I''d be able to walk, I willfully thought. "Okay, Mel, I''ll leave you to work¡ª wait! Actually, I''m going to be battling Barry Lane in public in two days. Is that fine?" "What?" "I''m battling Barry Lane." "Palmer''s son? The only trainer on the Circuit sponsored by Professor Rowan?!" "Yeah! Why are we screaming?!" "Legendaries¡­" "It was spontaneous! He asked me out of the blue today." "Okay. Okay," she breathed. "Can you stream this?" "Stream? I don''t even know how any of that works," I said. "I guess I could ask Denzel for help." "Excellent! And don''t worry about your showing! Even if you lose, this''ll bring us so many views that it''d make up for any result!" "I''m going to win," I dered. "I never said otherwise. Good luck out there! And enjoy your time at the UPAN." "Will do." Yep, she''d definitely freak out when she realized Honey had evolved. I hung up, and after recalling my team, I was on my way back to Pastoria on Princess'' back. ¡ª After feeding my team some kibble mixed in with their vitamins, I had Angel carry me to the UPAN''s building, which was situated in Pastoria''s city center close to the port. It was about time for me to start specializing with my team''s vitamins too. Sunshine was already doing so since he''d been with Kamaile before, but the rest of my team had been eating every vitamin to give them a good base to build off of, as I''d seen online and Cecilia had told me all the way back when we had traveled in Eterna Forest. With Angel, for example, I would prioritize Magnesium and Zinc. His defenses were already high, and special attacks were mostly what we had to worry about. With Princess, Carbos and Calcium to focus on speed and special attack. Sweetheart would get Protein and Iron, Buddy Magnesium and Calcium, Honey Carbos and Calcium. Sunshine was already taking Calcium and Magnesium, so there would be no changes there. The UPAN Pastoria building looked quiterge and wealthy. It looked like one of those old buildings you sometimes found in Canve. It was old. Pastoria, like Canve and Sangem, was among the oldest in Sinnoh. The history book I read most nights with Buddy did state that the earliest settlers hade from Johto south of us, so them having created towns south of the region on the coast at first made sense. Of course, the majority of these towns had been lost to time. War, disease, Pokemon attacks, the world was unforgiving back then. The facade was made of beige bricks whose colors had chipped away with time, and the roof was made of old, gently sloped rusty y tiles. Many small, decorated windows littered the front of the building, and small pockets of vegetation were growing through the cracks in the building. There was no banner or sign advertising that this ce belonged to the UPAN, and I had to double-check to make sure I''de to the correct address. "I guess this really is the ce," I muttered, looking up from my phone. "You can let me down, Angel." Tangrowth gently ced me on the floor and handed me my crutches and my backpack. I''d dropped off my piano at the Center, since I knew I''d be going inside of a building and didn''t want to walk with that extra weight. After recalling Angel, I stepped inside of UPAN headquarters. It wasn''t full of activity as I had expected. There were only a few people inside, and most looked bored out of their minds. The interior had been hollowed out and renovated to look a lot more modern, even if the ground was still made of plywood and the walls still had this old feel to them. The furniture lookedpletely out of ce, as did the lights on the ceiling. Seeing as there was no reception for any questions I might have, I decided to ask one of the faces there. I approached an older-looking teenager¡ª although I could tell he was still a trainer thanks to the two Pokeballs he carried. He had a buzz cut, dark hair and he was so engrossed in his phone that he didn''t even notice I was in front of him. "Uh, hi? I need help?" I tried. He lifted his eyes up at me, and I saw something shift in his eyes. He recognized me, I realized. "Sure, what''s up?" He asked. "You''re Grace Pastel, right?" "Yup. I''d like to¡ª well, join might be too fast, but I''d like to look into the UPAN. It''s pretty empty¡­ uh, is anything going on?" "Not at the moment, no," he said, straightening up. "My name is Alex Gilliam," he extended his hand, and I shook it. "I''m a member, but I don''t have the authority to let you join. That''d be Harley Webb. She''s at the head of the UPAN''s Pastoria division. She''s a little busy at the moment, but I could go knock on the door of her office." "I mean, if she''s busy I can alwayse backter," I shrugged. "No! No, stay here, okay. Grab a seat, I''ll be right back," Alex blurted out. "Okay." He ran off into a hallway, and I heard him jump up some stairs. Parts of me almost wished I could spy on whatever he''d say with Buddy, but I didn''t want to be rude or get kicked out of this office before I even talked to the leader here. Alex seemed way more excited than I thought he''d be. I was a famous trainer, but I hadn''t really been involved in the Pokemon Rights scene before. Maybe he thought that my experiences with wild Pokemon would be able to help them advance their cause, and that was certainly what I believed, at least. With my ability to actually speak to Pokemon without a psychic, I could make things a lot easier for the UPAN. I sat down and ignored the stares of the other four people in the room. Alex came back five minutester with an older-looking woman¡ª in her early thirties, so around Melody''s age, if I had to guess. She had shoulder-length, frizzy brown hair and wore really thick sses. She had no Pokemon of her own, or at least none that I could see with her. I shot up from my seat to greet her. "Grace Pastel," she said, looking at me from head to toe. "Good afternoon. I hope Alex wasn''t rude to you or anything¡ª" the dark-skinned teen besides her shrunk. "My name is Harley Webb, but you can call me Ms. Webb." Right, I thought. I wasn''t exactly used to calling adults like that anymore. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Webb. And Alex, again," I said. "I''d like to look into the UPAN?" Ms. Webb exhaled. "You''re noting at a great time. We''ve beenrgely inactive since¡­ the crackdowns in the Directorate. Any societal pressure is shut down. We cannot do much at the moment, but¡­" Ms. Webb tapped her chin and smirked, narrowing her eyes. "We''ll take you in. Have Alex show you around," she gestured at him. "I was busy coordinating with the rest of the UPAN leadership on how to go forward, so I''ll get back to it." I turned to Alex, who stared nkly in my direction, as if he hadn''t expected Ms. Webb to leave him alone with me. "Well, I guess I will show you around," he shrugged. I looked down at my leg and crutches. "Do you think I could fit a Tangrowth in here?"
Chapter 248 Chapter 248
CHAPTER 248 "Sorry again that you can''t use your Tangrowth to walk here," Alex apologized with an awkward smile. "He''s way too big." Alex was almost done showing me around now. The building was mostly full of empty offices because no one had been called in due to the UPAN''s current inactivity. Since the ce was old, there was no elevator and I hadn''t gone up the stairs, so I technically hadn''t seen most of the ce, but ording to Alex, it would just be more of the same. In a way, it was kind of underwhelming, and not at all what I''d pictured when I first heard about this organization, but Alex swore that it was temporary. It was easy to tell that he didn''t want to let me go. "No worries. I''ll deal," I answered with a tired huff. I followed him down a hall, although it was clear he was slowing himself down so I wouldn''t fall behind. "Ms. Webb seemed really excited to have you here," he continued. Clearly, he was trying not to let this fall into awkward silence, and I was happy to bite. "That''s her excited self?" I asked. "I thought she was going to yell at me." "Yup. She doesn''t smile very often. Thest time I saw her do that was her birthday two months ago, but even that didn''tst very long. Blink, and you''d miss it," Alex said. "It''s probably because you''re a big deal." I nodded absent-mindedly. "So you''re a trainer?" "Technically. I don''t battle, though. Not because I oppose it or anything!" He quickly stammered. "It''s just not for me. I tried it out when I was fifteen for a few months, but it never went anywhere. I¡­ well, at least it made mee here. Been in the UPAN ever since. I volunteered at first, but now I work here." He opened a door and gestured at me to go inside. The door looked more like a living room than anything else. Bookshelves hugged the walls, but they had very few books and a lot of decorations like artwork, ceramic vases, unlit candles, and nts. It did smell really good in here, though. Everywhere else else smelled of wood and freshly printed paper. "This is a meeting room. Sit down so you can rest, you look pale. I wanted to show you onest thing first, but it can wait." I''d put on a brave face the entire time, and that didn''t change, but I did feel grateful he had noticed I was tired. I hadn''t wanted to say anything because not being able to walk for long pissed me off, but a relieved sigh escaped from my mouth as soon as I copsed on the couch. I let my crutches fall to the ground and syed out on the sofa like a slob. "Damn. I guess I pushed you, my bad," he said, scratching his head. "Do you want anything? I''m sure we have something in one of our medicine cabs upstairs¡­ maybe water?" Arceus, I''m pathetic, I bit my lip to contain a groan. "I''m okay," I sighed. "Thanks for asking. So you said that your time as a trainer made you join the UPAN?" Alex looked startled for an instant as if he hadn''t expected me to ask a question while I''d been hurting. Unfortunately, I needed a distraction from my throbbing ankle. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Yeah. I''m actually from Sunyshore. I traveled with two other people originally, and they were¡­ well, they were pretty awful to their Pokemon." My breath trembled. He kept going. "They''d treat them fine almost all of the time. More than fine, really. But when they lost in a battle? They''d put all the me on their Pokemon and spew the vilest words at them. Worthless, trash, useless¡­ and worse insults that I don''t really feel like repeating. We all got stuck at the second badge, and needless to say, after a while I just separated myself from them. I couldn''t ¡ª I can''t be friends with people like that," he paused and frowned. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," I breathed. "Yeah, I am." "So then, I tried for another month or so until I got tired of the Circuit, and I looked into Pokemon abuse. That got me involved in Pokemon Rights as a whole. I still specialize in abuse today, though. It''s a sizeable problem with weaker trainers. zero and one-badgers, mostly. Physical abuse is a lot rarer than psychological, thank Arceus." "There''s no way you''d be able to be a good trainer without treating your team correctly," I muttered as my heart stirred. "You me your Pokemon for battles, and you''ll never improve yourself." My mind shed back to the trainers we''d seen during our second crossing of Mount Cor, with their Pokemon so wounded that they could barely walk straight, and yet they hadn''t been brought back in their Pokeballs despite them being near the entrance. There had been a few incidents close to Sunyshore I had to stop as well. Of course, there were always one or two exceptions, but even Saturn seemed to care for his Pokemon with the way Sunshine had spoken about him, and Mars seemed to care for her Dusknoir too in some messed up way. Not that that made me hate them even a fragment less. I still wanted them to die by my hands. "People don''t want their egos hurt," he said. "They think they''re going to be the next Cynthia their entire lives, and then it turns out, they aren''t, and they feel the ground sink under them when they realize they''ll probably have to quit for one reason or another. Not everyone can afford to try for years." "You can''t justify the way they think!" I scoffed. "I''m not justifying, I''m just telling you that''s how they think." I bit my lip. "Right. Sorry." "I can tell you''re passionate about this, at least. That''s a good thing, but it''s important to get in the heads of the people you''re trying to change." "Some people are beyond saving," I said. "Therees a point where you''ve done too much to be forgiven." "I have faith in people and humanity as a whole," he shrugged. "There''s a lot of things you can do beyond punishment. Education is important. What if every trainer had to take a ss on how to treat Pokemon before they left off? Yeah, that wouldn''t fix everything, but it would help. You''ve got to chip away at the issue. Hell, I''d make wild-traveling sses mandatory too instead of optional, but that''s an entire other problem." I nodded. "That''s a great idea! But I didn''t see it on your tform." "Oh, that would rock the boat way too much to actually be on our official program," heughed. "They''re just a few pet projects of mine I try to push whenever Ms. Webb gives me the time of day and is willing to entertain me." "I looked at your program, and I also looked at the PFA." Alex''s mouth ttened, and his back straightened. "The PFA''s kind of a taboo around here. They just say anything to get in the headlines and get attention instead of making tangible progress." "They have some good ideas, don''t they?" "Well, I won''t deny that they have some," he reluctantly said. "But there''s a difference between good ideas and ideas that are actually achievable. The world isn''t a vacuum. You can''t just do whatever you want." "What about the psychic idea? Putting some in every Center?" Alex hummed. "Good in theory. Tough in practice. First, you''d have to breed thousands of psychics, and that''s expensive, especially now that the Hunters aren''t in the picture. They also can''t just be set up to punish bad trainers. That''s a narrative waiting to blow up, with how little trust there''s in the government right now. And even then, the PFA is suggesting to make them therapists too, and to be honest, I agree. Trainers get free therapists, so why not Pokemon? The problem is that we just don''t have money for all of that, and we didn''t even before the sanctions." "Right," I realized. "There''s always going to be a fear of control, though. Pokemon Centers are government-run, and that''s a slippery slope a lot of people wouldn''t be okay with." "Okay, I kind of get it," I said. Trusting the League was something even I couldn''t do. "I mean, I do think we also have to figure out a way to stop trainers from catching Pokemon against their will too, and I thought psychics would help with that, but I get that it''s a lot moreplicated than I thought. What else is there?" "Well, why don''t you try to guess?" He smiled coyly. "A quiz, huh?" I leaned on my palm and pondered his questions for a few seconds. "Would it make trainers that abuse their teams less likely to take their Pokemon to the Center?" His eyes widened slightly. "That wasn''t what I had in mind, but I¡­ I guess it''s true? You see the same thing with parents that abuse their kids. They don''t take them to the hospital for bruises they give them and things like that. I never really thought about that." "What is it, then?" "The vast majority of Pokemon abuse doesn''te from trainers," he said. "Ites from people who would never have a reason to bring their Pokemon to the Pokemon Center in the first ce. People who find loopholes inws to still use Pokemon asbor, people that hunt rare Pokemon and only keep them to sell to breeders, things like the Game Corner¡ª when there''s money involved the chances of abuse skyrocket." "That¡­ makes a lot of sense." "See what I''m saying?" He said. "The PFA is focusing on things that aren''t really a priority. To be honest, the UPAN is just ignoring most of what I just said because they don''t want to be written off as extremists, so all of this is just me rambling. The only hardline stance the UPAN has is the banning of breeding Pokemon for food." "That''s considered hardline?" I scoffed, raising my tone. "Fucking awful." Alex sighed. "Yeah." After a pause, he perked up. "You know, I think we''re going to get along. And to be honest, this whole breeding thing needs a revamp too¡­" ¡ª I''d taken a fifteen-minute break for my ankle, during which Alex had told me about all of his ambitions for his future. Ideally, he would like to be the head of one of the divisions of the UPAN to lead their operations in a city, and from there he would hope to actually have real influence on policy. For now, though, he was content to work under Ms. Webb. ording to Alex, she was considered a ''centrist'' in the organization. Not too ''extreme'' like him and I would be considered, but not one to want to pass only minimal, almost meaningless change like the head of Veilstone was. Now, he was bringing me to thest spot he wanted to show¡ª a small yard at the back of the building, and he still hadn''t told me what was in it Alex was also astonished by myck of knowledge in politics and sometimes didn''t even believe I didn''t know the answer to the questions I was asking him. "You thought we could just implement this without running it through the City Council?" He asked with widened eyes. The dark-skinned teen brought his hand up to his mouth and stared at me like I was stupid¡ª which I guessed I was¡ª and like he wondered how I''d even survived up until now. "Holy shit. So what, did you think we could just talk to the League and get it done?" He snapped a finger. "Just like that?" My crutches raked against the floor and I irritatingly groaned. "I thought that you''d send a petition to them or something. They handle the Pokemon stuff, so I thought it''d be fine." "Holy shit," he repeated. "You desperately need to take a civics ss to refresh your memory! We can''t just talk to the League. First, we''d have to lobby the City Council and convince the mayor to test out a policy locally. Then after a few years, if it worked and was popr enough, the Directorate could maybe consider implementing it federally, but even then, the Champion would have to sign the bill. We''d have to work with both wings of the government." "Oh. I guess that''s why nothing substantial ever gets done," I said as Imitted his words to memory. I didn''t want to be ignorant forever. These were things I had to learn if I wanted to make a difference. "Yeah, you can''t rock the boat too hard, which is why moderate demands are unfortunately the only thing that has a chance of ever passing," he exined. "Here we are." The doors to the yard were already open, and Alex helped me down the steps. It wasn''trge¡ª smaller than the building itself. It was then that I realized that the yard was actually at the center of the building and surrounded by its four walls. A courtyard, then, I thought. There was a singr tree along with a small pond, but what caught my eye were the Pokemon there. There were only a few. A Sewaddle, Wurmple, Cea, a Luvdisc in the pond, a Cherubi and a Buizel. They immediately swarmed Alex, although Luvdisc could only look on in the water. He crouched, greeting each Pokemon individually. Surprisingly though, he didn''t release his two Pokemon. He hadn''t even told me about them this entire time, granted we''d been too engrossed in political talk (essentially him teaching me how things work) for me to ask. "They''re Pokemon that were abandoned, but are too weak or emotionally scarred to be released back into the wild here," he said as he approached Luvdisc to greet her. "Ideally, we try to give them a home to stay at, either with a trainer or a civilian. Buizel and Cea are here temporarily, but the others have decided to stay and have been here for years." "You''re doing a great thing," I smiled, holding out a hand toward Luvdisc. She sprayed it with a gentle stream of water, which I assumed was her greeting. "Thank you for giving them a home." Wurmple screeched and crawled up on my back. His ten legs felt very ticklish, and I picked him up in my arms instead. "Can I release my Tangrowth here?" I asked. "Is he friendly? He''s kind of scary when he battles." "Oh, yeah," Iughed. "He loves things like this. I didn''t know you still kept up with the scene." "Eh, it''s just nice to have something on from time to time," he shrugged. I released the grass type, who blinked with hisrge eyes as he observed his surroundings. Sewaddle''s leaf shivered, and she stayed , ttening herself against the grass until Angel introduced himself and she realized he was a friend. In the wild, that was probably how Sewaddle avoided predators. She''d been operating on instinct. "This is Angel," I said with a bright smile. "He loves meeting new people! Feel free to hang out with him, I promise he won''t hurt you." Buizel was the bravest of the group and decided to approach with a confident step. The others soon followed, and I ced Wurmple back on the ground so he could join in. The bug type tried to crawl up Angel''s body while Cea curiously poked at his vines. Sewaddle was content to let herself be pet, and Luvdisc started to shoot at stray vines with more jets of water to y. Cherubi, meanwhile, opted to stay near Alex''s leg. She was quite a shy little thingpared to her otherpanions. "Ms. Webb will want to speak with you at some point. I think she looked fired up back there," Alex said. "She might be thinking that we can finally get some sort of progress going again. Everything''s been stalling." "So let me guess," I raised a finger. "She''s going to contact the City Council¡­ and ask them to do something? Try to sell her policy?" "Well, at the moment they would say no. Too scared to rock the boat when Cynthia''s breathing down their necks," he said, whispering thest part of his sentence. "And dealing with us instead of doing anything against the poachers would probably start a wave of protests like there was earlier in the year here." "Hm. I don''t think I¡ª" I paused. I was close to Cynthia and the League. The world knew it, and my interview with Goald and Archive proved that they had questions about it. "Is she hoping to utilize me to get the City Council to budge?" I asked. Alex was genuinely taken aback. "You learn fast. Utilize might be too harsh of a term, but that''s what makes the most sense to me, so I think that is what is going on. You just happen to be a big deal, for some reason." I raised an eyebrow. "Fishing for info?" "Who wouldn''t?" He nonchntly shrugged. "You''re a sixteen-year-old that routinely speaks to the Champion, and some of your pals do too. You were also seen talking to ACE Trainers in Veilstone. Anyone would get curious." Cynthia did owe me for undercutting my contract without a warning, I thought. But I really doubted that she would care about things like Pokemon rights, at the moment. As much as the issuepelled me, I was under no impression that they did the Champion, and she had more to worry about at the moment. But maybe that didn''t matter. An idea sparked in my head, and I smiled. "Well, I''ll try my best, I guess. I''m very green at politics, though." He snorted. "I can tell. You''re in luck, though. Local politics are usually annoying and full of drama, but Cynthia runs a pretty tight ship. It shouldn''t be¡­ well, it''ll be hard, even with you, but at least it''ll be more doable." "What is Ms. Webb trying to push, at the moment?" "Last time we were active, food regtion, but that''s mostly on the federal level. Locally, we were trying to put some checks on the Safari Zone. This year''s seen a big influx of new trainers, and everyone wants to go there to catch some rare Paldean or Aln Pokemon. The quotas already in ce for their species aren''t equipped to deal with things like this, and we''re scared that some species will struggle to recover." "I was nning on going there at some point to check it out," I said as I observed Angel have the time of his life. "The PFA wants to shut it down, right?" "Yeah," he chuckled. "But I disagree. The Great Marsh is a nice ce for them. Pastoria''s always been good to their wildlife, at least rtive to the nation. The reason the PFA wants to shut it down is because of some nonsense about systemic oppression and it being a zoo." Alex paused, the smile on his face vanishing. "It was at first. The reason Aln and Paldean Pokemon live there was because the city government bought them decades ago to boost trainer tourism. When trainers pass through a city, they spend, which is good for the economy. I won''t lie to you, the Safari Zone used to be a terrible ce, but it''s improved a lot." "Well, I''ll see for myself," I said. "But I want to believe you." "You''re going with that ankle?" "Angel and Princess¡ª my Togekiss¡ª will carry me, and my friends will be there. How dangerous is it?" "It''s no route 212 or Eterna Forest, but it''s got its fair share of dangers in some areas. They''ll explicitly warn you before you go in, though, so they''re pretty easy to avoid." Considering ignoring dangers hade back to bite me yesterday, I wasn''t about to think I was invincible again and go into the Pyroar''s den when it wasn''t needed. "Could you tell me which species are endangered and which ones are cool to catch?" I asked. "For my friends. I think a bunch of them will be trying to catch something there, at least." Louis, Maeve and Justin would probably arrive at some point tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and the others would follow soon enough. Louis and Maeve stillcked a sixth Pokemon, as did Pauline and Cecilia. Chase had talked about catching a seventh too. "Sure thing. Wimpod are fine to catch, then there''s¡­" I stayed with Alex in the courtyard for another hour before I left, mostly because I needed to return to training. I only had two days¡ª or a day and a half left, and I was nning on making use of all of my time. He asked for my number to call me when Ms. Webb would need to call on me again, and I did tell him I would most likely not be avable until my battle with Barry was over. If I wanted to join for real, I''d have to pay them a monthly fee, but it was small enough for it not to matter much to me. During training, most of our short-term improvements woulde from Princess'' skill in the air and Angel''s Sr de, but anything to push our team to the limit was appreciated. While we were training, I called Denzel for help setting up a stream, and he screamed so loud through the phone it was like he''d been sitting next to me. "You''re. going. to. battle. Barry?!" "You can do it too when you arrive here¡ª actually, probably not. He''ll be saying you''re too slow, if I had to guess," I said, observing the setting sun in the distance. "But yeah, we met by pure chance." "Okay, okay, you''re going to listen to me very carefully. First, you want to¡­" Denzel went step by step on how to set up a stream, and after thirty minutes or so, I believed I''d gotten the hang of it. He also advised me to go buy a tripod, since Louis, Maeve and Justin might not be here to hold my phone. Of course, he said he''d make full use of the signal on route 213 to watch the stream, and he handed me his, Emilia''s, Pauline''s and Lopunny''s usernames so I could make them chat moderators. He also had me mod a bunch of strangers who were apparently mods on his stream, so in the end I ended up with twenty-two of them in total. A lot more than the two we had during our battle. "So," I hesitantly said. "How''s Sylvi doing?" "He''s doing¡­ well, okay, I guess," he said in a slightly defeated tone. "Better than before. Progress is slow, but he only res at Pauline half the time now instead of all the time. She says she doesn''t think he''ll ever like her, and I don''t know if she''s right or wrong." "Well, tolerancees before liking," I said. "If he can reach that point, then anything is possible. I hope you''re spending more time with him too." "I am! Like I promised," he said. "I hired a manager that runs all of my sponsorship stuff and an editor to edit down my streams into videos, so I have a lot more free time. Y''know it''s nice to press down on the break pedal for once." "Right?" I smiled. "Yeah. You do something for months, and you think that you can''t stop, or you''ll lose all of your motivation to work. I thought the routine was the only thing that kept me in it. That if I took a break, I''d disappoint everyone who looked up to me. I thought that stopping would make me burn out, when it was really the opposite. I think I was burning out." "Oh¡­" I trailed off. "And now, what do you think?" "Well, that was all bullshit," heughed. "This is so much better." "I always thought you worked way too much," I said. "I''m sorry, I should have said something sooner. I didn''t want to get involved, since it seemed like you knew what you were doing." "No worries, Grace. At least I fixed it before irreparable damage could be done," he paused for a few seconds. "Is that training I hear in the background?" "Oh, yeah! My team''s hard at work¡ª though Honey and Sunshine are at the Center, as you know." Arceus, he was going to freak out when he saw Electivire. "Hope your leg''s doing okay," he said. "It''s not, but I can take another painkiller in¡ª" I took my phone away from my ear to check the time. "¡ªtwo hours and forty-seven minutes." "Damn. It''s so bad you''re tracking it down to the minute, huh?" "Well, when I talk to people or I focus on something else, it doesn''t hurt that badly." "I''ll help, then. What are you working on?" I let out a taunting hum. "I guess I can let you on a few secreeeets." Denzel groaned¡ª "Don''t roll your eyes at me," I said. "Damn it, how did you know?!" He chuckled. "Seriously though, I''ll tell you a bit of what I''m working on. For Princess, I¡­" ¡ª I arrived in my Pokemon Center roomte at night, and despite my best attempts, falling asleep was impossible. I had taken another painkiller during training and I wasn''t allowed to use any more today. Iy still in my bed for hours until I cracked and decided to call Cecilia. It was three in the morning, so I was almost certain she would be asleep, but she actually answered the phone after a little while. The sound of her voice alone soothed my pain. Or not, it was definitely just a cebo effect and me being way too happy to hear her after one day apart. We told each other about our days and everything was going well (despite her relentlessly worrying about me) until Cecilia said that she had something important to talk to me about. "Um, say, Grace. I have something to tell you about Abel. I told this to the others already, but¡­ I''m feeling conflicted about him." I paused. "Conflicted how?" Cecilia went on to exin that despite everything Abel had done to her, she wanted him to be freed from his chains in Sinnoh so that he could go to Unova. She justified herself in numerous ways, mostly by saying that she wanted her father to burn¡ª a sentiment I understood very well. What I couldn''t understand, however, was the fact that she wanted someone else to do the burning for her. A criminal that had caused her so much pain and suffering¡ª that had almost pushed her to A scumbag that was worse than trash and that justified all of the horrible deeds he did by saying it was just a job. "Cece," I muttered. The words almost died in my throat. "Why?" My girlfriend stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I told you why." I frowned. "I don''t understand. I mean, I do, but I guess I don''t understand how your mind prioritizes things." "The short term isn''t everything, Grace," she told me with a firm voice. "You have to look beyond what''s on the horizon, or at least try to." "I¡­" I sighed. I didn''t want to argue or debate. Not tonight. "Fine. I''ll try, but don''t expect me to just let him escape." I had to stop myself from scoffing at my own words. Me? Abel would run circles around me for a lifetime if he needed to, but the words had juste out before I could think. It was the same thing whenever I thought about Mars and Saturn. "Sorry," I said. "I just feel like him getting off scot-free for what he did would be really hard for me to ept." "He went after me, not you," she said, raising her tone slightly. "So let me decide. When we inevitably have to follow Chase to stop him from getting himself killed, we don''t even know what will happen. Mira suggested we give Abel no quarters because if he can''t escape here, then he wouldn''t be able to put even the smallest of dents in Unova. Plus, we don''t even know if he''s truly involved. I am hoping he isn''t, to be honest with you." But then, that meant Leafeon would never get back to Carnivine, I thought to myself. "And you shouldn''t even be involved with your broken ankle in the first ce!" She yelled. "Do you want to get hurt again? Abel doesn''t kill unless he''s paid or absolutely forced to, but he can still leave you in the hospital for weeks or months! And even then, the poachers could be paying him to do so, and I am sure they will have no mercy either. I know we''ll have the ACE Trainers, but they aren''t infallible, as you know now." Buddy, who hovered closely above me, nodded as his eyes dimmed. I ignored the bad taste in my mouth along with the surge of pain in my ankle at its mention and sighed. "Yeah. I guess that would be the best choice, logically speaking. But I don''t see myself sitting in a Center while you''re all out there." She exhaled. "Let''s just change topics. I don''t like fighting. We can all hash this out when we meet." "Fine. But I am telling you that if you decide to go into route 212, I wille. I don''t care how much you all push back against my decision, I will be there." "I''m not even the one wanting to do this. Chase is. He wants Denzel and Lauren involved too, but he won''t force them toe if they don''t want to." "Denzel and Lauren don''t have ACE Trainers," My stomach dropped, and I shifted in my bed, ignoring the pain in my ankle. "They shouldn''t get involved. The ACE Trainers won''t be able to cover for all of them and protect us adequately." Denzel was too good of a friend not toe, and hiding it from him would basically be impossible. Lauren, I was less sure of hermitment. It dawned on me. "Cece, this is a really stupid idea." "Like staring at two trains about to collide," she affirmed. "We could convince Chase not to do this, maybe?" I rubbed my forehead and thought for a few seconds. "We can try. What I''d really like is to talk to the ACE Trainers and tell some of them to do something, but I''m not naive enough to think they''d do it. We''ll have to talk to them about it anyway, though." The conversation died down for a little bit, and I decided to change the subject. I didn''t want to talk about dark things for the entire hour. "So. What are you thinking to beat Crasher Wake?" I asked. ¡ª The next day passed in a sh, and I spent almost its entirety training. I finally picked up Honey and Sunshine from the Center, and they were surprisingly excited to get in a tough fight so soon. The fact that Sunshine had struggled against a nt¡ª and yes, he had called Carnivine a nt¡ª had him thirsting for a good fight where he could get his revenge. Personally, I didn''t know how the hell his revenge made any sense when we wouldn''t be fighting Carnivine, but I just attributed that to him being his usual self. Honey was just eager to get a better feel for his new form, and for that, he needed to fight more battles. The electric type had spent his day of training learning to better control himself. He was almost no longer super-charged (and he had probably given the Nurses a lot of trouble), but he still had a lot more power than he''d ever been used to. Now, another day had passed, and we were ready for Barry, although none of my friends had made it to Pastoria quite yet. The closest ones would make it this evening, and the rest would make it tomorrow. I showed up at the address he had given me on Angel''s head and saw him already waiting there. He waved at me with so much gusto that I thought his arm must have been hurting. His Empoleon stood tall beside him. The water type was slightly bigger than Louis'', but just from one look at him I could tell he was nowhere as serious. His resting face was a smile, just like Barry''s. "You''rete!" He eximed. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. "It''s 12:55. I''m literally five minutes early." "Cutting it real close, though," he waggled a finger at me. "My mother taught me to always be twenty minutes early everywhere you go." "Uh, I think that''s just a you thing," I said. I leaned toward the door and saw that the ce was packed, but that should have been obvious from the number of people already outside. Looks like my and Denzel''s advertisement on Chatter helped. "Should we go in?" The blond trainer pumped a fist, and Empoleon mimicked him, which ended up looking extremely awkward. "Sure thing! We''re all excited to fight." We stepped into the arena, and I took a deep breath. This was going to be tough.
Chapter 249 – Everything Everywhere All At Once Chapter 249 ¨C Everything Everywhere All At Once
CHAPTER 249 - Everything Everywhere All At Once Since I''d made a social media post to advertise my stream, the entire arena was already packed, and every battlefield had been cleared so we''d get all of the attention, for better or worse. What did surprise both me and Barry was that these fields were not normal as we were used to. Instead, each one was a swamp. A marsh that mirrored Pastoria''s surrounding environment with numerous inds, vegetation and even a few trees. It looked pretty deep too, but the water was obviously too murky for me to be sure of anything. "Uh, I had no idea these were like this, it''s my first time in here," Barry said, scratching his head. "Does it bother you? We can go somewhere else if you want. It''d kind of be a waste of time, but I''m game. It''s my fault, since I picked the address without looking." With a head tilt, I considered the advantages and disadvantages of this. Barry''s Snox would be neutralized in this environment, but Sunshine would be too. This much water wouldn''t evaporate fast enough, andva couldn''t form on this marsnd unless I radically altered it somehow. Still, Buddy would be at home in this terrain, and I wanted to lead with him anyway. Empoleon was less good with water than we were, Rapidash could fly, but if any of my Pokemon knocked the fire type into the water, it was basically over for him. Sweetheart would be able to skid across the water here too, and the nutrients in the soil would be great for Angel¡­ Yeah, I was definitely okay with battling here. Plus, win or lose, a field like this would definitely help me prepare for Crasher Wake, even if his arena had fewer inds than this. I''d have to text the address to my friends whenever they made it here so they could practice. This was too good to pass up on. "Yeah, if you want to," I innocently said. "Good practice for Wake." "Right!" He eximed. "So can we start, or¡ª" "Just a second. Uh, I need to set up a stream. Could you go find someone willing to be a referee in the crowd? Someone that looks dependable?" "Leave it to me!" He saluted before running off, his Empoleon following behind him with an awkward step. What a goofball, I chuckled. I grabbed my phone and tried to remember all of the steps Denzel had painstakingly guided me through and used the foldable tripod I had bought at thest minute. After checking that I was actually capturing the whole battlefield, I got ready to start the stream. Already, my ''pre-chat'' was going crazy. I didn''t really care for them. Mostly, I was sad that my channel wasn''t mized since I had never uploaded anything on it and I wouldn''t make any money from the stream. If ount sharing hadn''t been banned on the tform, Denzel would have lent me his so I could actually get something out of this, but at least the board was going to be happy. "Oh well," I said. I was too focused on theing battle to care, and it wasn''t like I was nning on making streaming a regr thing either. Less than a minute spent looking at chat and I already wanted to end the broadcast out of spite. Once Barry came back with a guy he dragged by the arm, he introduced us with a flurry of words. Samuel¡ª the ref¡ª asked each of us the rules of the battle, and then privately which one we would send out first. Barry told him that he didn''t have to call out when a Pokemon fainted because it slowed down the battle too much. I locked in Jellicent, started the stream, and made my way toward the edge of the battlefield. When I arrived at my spot, I leaned on one crutch, dropping the other. Barry was already squirming in excitement on his trainer tform when I stepped on mine, and he excitedly¡ª and and repeatedly stomped with his two feet on the metallic floor. He had to readjust his scarf after he was done because of how wild he''d been going. I''d seen plenty of trainers be excited for a battle, but I''d never seen someone be so agitated they literally couldn''t sit still. I took a deep breath and held it, counting the seconds until the kid we''d asked to referee told us to send out our first Pokemon. Jellicent appeared high in the sky, and his red eyes scanned the battlefield from corner to corner. This was swamnd. Unusual to fight on. In every public arena we''d been in before, the terrain had been t, rocky ground with maybe a few boulders in between. This was a new environment that he''d excel in, although I doubted it would stay the same for long with how much power we had at our disposal. A piece of himself discreetly stuck to the barrier so we couldmunicate without Barry hearing. Of course, by the time I''d been done thinking, Barry had already released his Staraptor. The huge bird pped her wings, sending ripples through the murky water, and she hovered right over the surface. As far as predicting his first Pokemon went, I''d stopped after trying for two hours yesterday. There was no consistency in what Barry picked first, so it would have been pointless to waste time instead of trying to learn more about the way he fought. Buddy was the safest choice I could have picked. Only Roserade would have countered him. But there was no more time to monologue. The referee shed his arm across the air and bellowed. "Begin!" Immediately, I braced for theing Sunny Day, but instead out of Barry''s mouth came this. "Spinning Swift!" That was a new one. Staraptornded on solid ground for a split second, and then twisted. Wind, water and stars gathered around her and started orbiting the flying type with a menacing, loud spin. Then, they exploded outward. The Swift shattered into a hundred pieces, each traveling toward Jellicent like bullets and homing in on him. I didn''t have time to express an order, but that was fine. Buddy propelled himself back with Water Sport and retreated into the swamp below the water. The Swift burst through the surface, each shard of the stars creating actual waves. So much power behind a divided Swift? I thought to myself before leaning against one knee. Then, I remembered my ankle was broken, and I stopped before the pain could get too bad. Below the water, the Swift would slow enough not to hurt Buddy that much. "Night Shades and attack with Hydro Pump," I whispered. "Double Team and dive!" Barry yelled with a wide grin. He was having the time of his life even though the battle had just started, and I couldn''t help but return his smile. Staraptor took to the air once again, but she left behind blurred clones that dove into the water like an Empoleon would. Some disintegrated from powerful jets of water that Buddy and his clones were no doubt sending at the moment, but most made it through. The water began to stir, as if the clones themselves were applying force to the water. "Hurricane!" Barry yelled. With a low-pitched screech, Staraptor beat her wings, each subsequent p generating an ever-strengthening storm that picked up the stirring water and mud. Thankfully, we were safe under the water, but I squinted when Barry stacked a Rain Dance on top of that order. Rain Dance against a water type? I knew he was nning something, but I couldn''t get lost in his pace. I understood what made Barry so threatening now. Being proactive against him was terrifying. With how unpredictable he was, it was impossible not to want to wait to see what he''d do despite my better judgment. You''ve got this, rx, I exhaled, loosening my shoulders. I felt better when a Hydro Pump clipped Staraptor in the wing, but she was adept at riding the winds to dodge anything Buddy and his shades threw at her while submerged in the water. "Try Will-O-Wisp," I muttered. Even from deep below and through the storm, I heard the screams. Six purple mes impossible to extinguish burst from the water''s surface. One of them tried to make a break for the spectators, but disintegrated with a shriek when it hit the barrier. The other five rushed toward Staraptor, and her wind had no effect on the wisp. "Ominous Wind!" Barry yelled. Staraptor''s eyes dimmed with shadow, and her plumage seemed to grow pale even though that shouldn''t have been possible. The tiniest of fissures opened in the air. A hole through reality. It was too small to actually see what was inside, and there were none of the screams I hade to expect from ghost type moves. Instead, the world grew purple, and the fragment of Jellicent''s body began to squirm. The wind was so silent. As if it muffled everything else in the arena. Under the water, both of Buddy''s shades exploded. The rain started to fall in every direction instead of just down. Water started flowing up, sideways and small pieces of mud began to float. I was not deterred. "Whirlpool." The water around the swamp began to spin until it exploded upward as one with the force of a Hydro Pump. It wrapped around Staraptor as if it had a mind of its own and dragged her into the swamp. The Ominous Wind weakened, but it kept going. I knew from research that it would take at least one minute for it to disappearpletely. The Will-O-Wisps¡ª which had actually been slowed by the Ominous Wind¡ª jumped at the asion and all entered Staraptor''s body as she fell under the water. Unfortunately, a Hurricane from Barry dispelled the Whirpool, allowing the bird to free herself before Buddy could go ahead and drag her deeper under the water to force a switch by drowning her or finish her off. She made a wide sweep around the arena, strengthening the Ominous Wind once more as she almost brushed around the barriers. Despite the fact that she was burning, Barry was beaming in excitement. He hasn''t researched me at all, I noticed, feeling slightly offended. Everything is new for him. "I know you''re struggling, but try to Whirpool again, but hide inside of it. We need to catch Staraptor by surprise to use Acid and melt her feathers¡ª" Barry held out a Pokeball and recalled Staraptor, causing me to frown internally. Yeah, Staraptor had been burned, but Ominous Wind was wreaking havoc on Buddy, and they were basically winning the trade. Unless he''d figured out something. Or not? Gah! I was growing paranoid. Not bothering to care about Ominous Wind, Barry immediately sent out his Empoleon, whose steel creaked from the ghostly attack. Everything started to make sense when frost began to spread from the tip of his flippers. The steel type dove into the water¡ª "Run," I warned with a fist clenched around my jeans. "Blow him up with shades, use Shadow Ball, just keep away." "Freeze!" Barry screamed. Buddy barely made it five seconds until he rose from the water encased in ice. His eyes glowered with a deep red as he no doubt tried to break out, but Empoleon jumped out of the swamp and skidded on some ice he''d formed under his feet. He held out a hand, and the rain falling spontaneously froze, adding to Buddy''s prison. At the same time, the Ominous Wind finally abated, the gap in reality closed, and my sense of hearing was right again. "Focus," I gently said. "You still have shades, don''t you?" Empoleon waved his hand around, and with every movement, Buddy''s ice prison would violently crash against the barrier. The steel type''s eyes narrowed, and he finally lost his smile as he reached the apex of his concentration. The center of Jellicent''s prison hollowed out, turning to water that allowed him to move, but the ice formed into spikes that stabbed into every inch of the ghost''s body. I breathed a sigh of relief when his two Night Shades emerged from the depths, both nking Empoleon. One of them blew him away with a quick Shadow Ball while the other enveloped him with a weakened Hex. "Water Spout," I said. Every single cell in Jellicent''s body shook, and the ice prison shattered, allowing him to break out of the shell. The massive, gaping holes in his body regenerated¡ª albeit slowly. That Ominous Wind had dealt a lot more damage than I thought it''d do. When Barry ordered his Empoleon to freeze Buddy again, I recalled him before the ice could cover his entire body. There had been so much ice the first time around that I hadn''t even been sure if I''d be able to recall him. I didn''t know if Barry realized he might have created a technique that prevented opponents from recalling their Pokemon. "Come on, send on your next Pokemon! I''m having a st!" He yelled. That technique on Empoleon is mighty impressive, I mused, ignoring his tantrum. Even ice types of our level don''t have the know-how to control ice this well. At the twenty-eighth second, I released Electivire onto the field. Murmurs from the crowd, which then turned into excited cheers or gasps¡ª I cut them off. Electricity hummed and sparkled as Honey whirled his arm around, thergest burst of energy reaching halfway to the barrier''s ceiling. Barry''s mouth gaped, but he was only still for an instant. "Oh man, oh man, oh man!" He yelled. "Empoleon, Stealth Rock and freeze him!" "Radiant Leap! Get up close!" I eximed, unable to contain my excitement. Metallic shards fell off of Empoleon''s body as frost coalesced in between him and Honey using the rain. The electric type grinned, taking a step¡ª Even now, his speed never failed to surprise me. In a second, he leaped over the swamp,nded on Empoleon''s ice tform, and ced a palm on the water type''s head. A Thunderbolt¡ª no, a Thunder exploded in every direction, drowning out Empoleon''s pained screams. The metal in his body worked very well at conducting electricity. Electivire''s excellent start was short-lived, however. The sheer powering from Thunder destroyed the thick sheet of ice both Pokemon had been standing on, and they fell into the water. "Keep a hold of him," I said, feeling breathless. Another Thunder ransacked through Empoleon''s body, but Barry did not recall his water type. Instead, he swept an arm and grinned. "Steel Beam!" A giant metallic rod as thick as Empoleon''s stomach rammed into Honey''s gut, sending him flying back. The electric typended in the water, and he wasted no time swimming back tond as he hit the swamp with a Thunderbolt, this time. Empoleon was far, but the electricity still spread to him in an instant. "Aqua Jet! Back onto an ind!" The steel type flew up, although it was only for a short amount of time. When hended on the nearest ind, he rolled on the sand and barely managed to get up. Meanwhile, Honey held onto the giant bruise forming on his stomach. My eyes scanned the field for the steel beam that had been used, but it had probably fallen deep into the swamp. We could have used maism to send it back, Imented. "Thunderbolt." A thick sheet of ice formed from the moisture and the rain, barely managing to block the attack. It had been a while, so Empoleon was probably keeping the Rain Dance going despite Barry not having said anything. "Thunder." "Dodge and Weather Ball!" I smirked when the Thunder still hit Empoleon''s flipper, even though he had immediately begun to slide on an ice slide he was continuously generating with a honk-likeugh that was both weird and cute. A huge ball of mist, ice and water formed in front of Empoleon''s mouth, growing and growing until it wasrger than Honey himself. Empoleon twisted his body, and the ice slide turned ordingly. With a defiant and humorous cry, he sent the Weather Ball flying at Honey. His attacks were still powerful, but his movements were sloppy. Empoleon was tired, and how could he not be? The next Thunder was too fast for him to swerve out of the way, but I scoffed when he raised the path instead. The Thunder crashed into it, destroying all of the ice in the process and allowing Empoleon to fall back into the water¡ª never mind, hended on another slide, and got away from us. Barry cackled, pping his stomach like it was all a big joke, and Honey dispatched the Weather Ball with a Thunderbolt¡ª The Weather Ball exploded with the deafening roar of a storm. Shards of ice tore through Honey''s fur and skin while the water was so highly pressurized that it pushed him back a few feet. "Go in again," I said. Empoleon is too tricky to take down from afar, and Barry adapted to Honey incredibly fast. "Leap from ind to ind until you get close¡ª" Before I closed my mouth Electivire was gone. Empoleon fired off an Ice Beam, which he sidestepped like it was the slowest attack in the world. He was speeding up, I smiled. Each ind, his step grew more confident. More solid. Every time, he would fire off another Thunderbolt toward Empoleon, who was getting closer and closer to getting hit. Upon Barry''s very upbeat order, the water typended on the furthest ind from Honey he could find using Aqua Jet to fly away and his ice slides to swerve out of attacks. "Now Grass Knot!" Barry ordered. With haste that I could never have expected,yers andyers of grass twisted themselves around Honey''s ankle. The electric type easily tore through them with Radient Leap and reached Empoleon with a Thunder Punch in the gut. Empoleon doubled over, drooling all over the ground until Honey let him go and he copsed in the mud. His ice paths would remain until they melted, but Empoleon was finally down. We''d taken the first Pokemon. "That was so cool," Barry said in an admiring tone. "I didn''t even know you could evolve those unless you were high up in the government!" At the same time, he''d already sent out his Snox as close to us as he could, and I instantly barked out an order to retreat. Honey jumped toward another ind, stumbling during thending, and I could finally take in Snox in full. Honey was tall for his species¡ª slightly shorter than Volkner''s Electivire, and he would keep growing for a good while, but Snox dwarfed even him. The normal type was truly massive in a way that none of my Pokemon would be able to stand up to in a melee. Snox yawned as he scratched his belly, his slit-like eyes barely open enough to actually see what was going on in the battle. This is it, I thought to myself. "Honey, try out a Thunder." I bit my lip and watched as the Thunder hit Snox, lighting up his surroundings. When the light receded, Snox tilted his head and bent his head toward his belly with confusion radiating out of him. It was burned. Just burned. And maybe bruised too. "Amnesia!" Barry shouted. Ah, shit. Snox stared around, and his body diffused a pale, pink glow. Another Thunder did even less damage than before, and the normal type seemed to forget he''d even been in a battle. Hey down on the ind and decided to go to sleep. "Snox! Concentrate!" Barry said, stomping a foot. At least I had time, and Honey was still raring to go. "Cross Chop." My jaw clenched, and I waited for Honey to get to Snox with bated breath. If this didn''t work, then I was in big trouble. The electric type''s arms shone bright white, and he blurred with Radiant Leap, his tailsshing out against the muddy ground. Hended on Snox''s stomach. I smiled when Snox actually groaned from the fighting type move, but my lips ttened when he swept at Honey with a glowing fist. The electric type narrowly managed to put up a Protect before getting hit, and he was unharmed. That did not mean he stayed where he was. The¡­ Mega Punch? Sent him tumbling in the water, and he spun so many times that he was disoriented. Anger washed off of Snox like an open sieve and he let out a bellowing roar that made even the mud and water around him ripple. "That''s what I''m talking about! Get your revenge! Ice Beam!" Barry grinned, pumping a fist. "Keep hitting him with Thunderbolt," I said. The first Ice Beam hit Honey in the shoulder and the second in the back, but once he got back on an ind, a burst of electricity destroyed the ice and a Thunderbolt mmed against Snox. The attack barely had any effect, but as it stood, we could consistently dodge when far enough while Snox could not. In fact, the normal type hadn''t moved from his spot since the start of the battle, and despite having good coverage moves, his usage of them was still slow and awkward, just like his movement. "Ack! Too fast, huh? Snox, Bulldoze!" I blinked, and the ground under Honey''s feet began to shake. Small bursts of rock and earth slipped through the opening cracks, and I had to stop myself from freezing to recall Honey fast enough. Snox could consistently hit us from afar. Damn it, I bit my tongue. Honey was my best bet to take Snox down, but I wanted to keep him forter in the fight. I could technically have kept harassing Snox with electric type moves, but I wanted to keep Honey''s energy high enough for other threats, and he needed to be at the back of Barry''s mind to keep him thinking and worrying. Not that he looked worried at all right now. The blond teenager was having the time of his life. Bulldoze immediately canceled out Sunshine too, so I was left with¡­ Buddy? It was either him or Princess. Angel and Sweetheart would have absolutely no effect on him. We''d have to release an insane amount of powdered move for it to actually have an effect on a titan like Snox. Buddy it is, I convinced myself. I sent out the water type once more and immediately told him to get as high as he could. He was still tired from the Ominous Wind since he hadn''t rested as long as I had wanted him to, and the steel Stealth Rocks that stabbed into him didn''t help, but he was our best bet. The way I nned on taking down Snox was not going to be pretty, but it had the highest chance of working. The water type flew upward with a few bursts of Water Sport that sshed down into the swamp while Snox tracked him with angry eyes. "Ice Beam!" Barry ordered. But we were thankfully too far for it to matter. The slow, weak beam of ice missed by arge margin, and then Buddy kept dodging every subsequent attack. First came the setup¡ª "Will-O-Wisp." Now that Jellicent was close to me, I shivered and saw my breath when he summoned the spirits, even through the barrier. This time, though, his hold on the wisps was sloppier because of how tired Jellicent was. One of them tried to burn him, but his eyes shed and it winked out of existence before it could harm him. Two others again tried to escape through the barrier, but the rest made a mad rush toward Snox. "Uh oh! Can you eat those?!" Barry asked, unsure of himself. For the first time, Snox moved. It was almost hrious, how he stumbled on his two huge round feet. The normal type stood, and his mouth darkened. Crunch! With surprising haste, Snox chomped down on each Will-O-Wisp, and all of them died in his mouth. He stuck his tongue out as far as he could after the fact, as if he''d just eaten something disgusting. Okay, I blinked as the normal type tried to retaliate with a Thunderbolt that Jellicent narrowly dodged. Had we gotten better control of Will-O-Wisp, we would have been able to out-maneuver him. I tried twice more, just to be sure, but each time, Snox managed to eat the mes with Crunch. They never went around him to try to avoid his mouth. Instead, they all rushed at Snox without any coherent strategy. Well, it was time to go with the original n. I''d wanted to try burning Snox, just as insurance for the future as I''d done to Staraptor, but that wouldn''t be possible. "Into the water. Drown him," I whispered¡ª "Hey! She''s whispering again, Snox! Get ready!" I waited for Buddy to slip through the water''s surface and continued. "He''s going to try to eat you with Crunch, and it''s going to hurt. If you can Recover and win the battle of attrition, then we win. You just need tost long enough to make him pass out. Hell, you can try to burn him now that you''ll be close." Night Shades broke through the water''s surface and harassed Snox with Hydro Pumps that didn''t deal any substantial damage. There was another reason I couldn''t just strike him from afar to take him down. The hits would stack up eventually to take him down, even through Amnesia. Unfortunately for us, Snox knew Rest. Not Sleep Talk, but he would wake up again before we could take him down. Electivire would have been in the same dilemma. Jellicent''s red eyes stalked under the water, and Snox hit his surroundings with Thunderbolts so weak that even Buddy wouldn''t be that hurt. Variety was good, but focusing on so many techniques had left a lot of Barry''s Pokemon''s moves . Buddy slipped into the muddy ground, and then emerged behind Snox with a silent scream. He lost all of his form, bing a liquid blob that wrapped around the giant''s head. Snox brought his hands up to his face and wed away, but he could not get rid of water given form. The normal type fell to the ground and rolled around like a ball as he desperately tried to get rid of Buddy. At the same time, the Night Shades kept the pressure up. Their Hydro Pumps didn''t do much, but anything would help. "Will-O-Wisp," I whispered. "Focus!" Barry yelled. "Lick!" Before the spirits could appear, Snox lolled out his tongue, dimmed with a purple light. Jellicent froze around Snox''s head as he moved his tongue as fast as he could. "Now Crunch!" Damn it¡ª "Acid." Poison seeped everywhere. Snox let out an uncharacteristic shriek. The Acid ate into his rolls of fat and his face. The normal type lostyers of his skin, but he didn''t stop. The pain only enraged him further, and he mmed his face against the ground as he Crunched down on Buddy''s form. The ghost lost his shape as darkness coursed through his body, and I restrained a sigh when the piece of him began to slide down the barrier. He was done for. Snox wasn''t much better off, withyers of skin and fat peeled off, but Barry didn''t order him to rest because he couldn''t. Electivire was still in the back now, and he was the only one that would be able to overwhelm Snox while he slept. He might have been fine with that before because it would force me to use myst switch, but now that Buddy had fainted, I could do it for free. His instincts are good, I thought as I moistened my lips. I wiped the sweat off my hands on my pants and grabbed my next Pokemon. A sh of red, and then Honey appeared on the field, grunting in pain and holding his arm up to protect himself from the Stealth Rocks. Barry immediately recalled his Snox, not even entertaining the fight. My eyes would have widened had I not held myself from emoting. I expected him to at least try Bulldoze, but then again, I was ready to let Honey be hurt if it meant I could take Snox down, and Barry clearly wanted to keep the normal type in the fight. Empoleon''s ice slides were basically all melted at this point, but the extra water meant that the inds had shrunk some. At least I''m caught up in switches. "Roserade, you''re up!" He called out with never-failing enthusiasm. He released the grass type a few inds away. Now that I could look closely, her roses were a slightly different tint than Denzel''s Roserade, but both grass types were basically the exact same size. Barry immediately called out. "He''s faster than you! Get a hold of him first!" He shouted with never-ending vigor. I inhaled sharply when the grass below Honey''s feet started to grow and twist. Like a crude version of Carnivine''s control. Honey stayed on the move, never staying in one ce for long, but even the reeds in the water were trying to get a hold of him. At the same time, Barry called out for a Sunny Day, which came out a lot faster than Angel''s ever did. Electivire would sometimes get caught, but he was strong enough now to just tear through the grass. "Thunderbolt while you get close!" I said, leaving the Fire Punchmand unspoken¡ª wait! "Railgun! Use the Stealth Rocks!" A smile spread across Honey''s face as he swept through the arena, speeding up as he did so to pick up the Stealth Rocks. Electricity hummed around him, and the metal levitated around him. The electric type held out a hand, and they all barrelled toward Roserade so fast that they all tore through her like bullets through papier-mach¨¦. Now go get her, I thought with a shiver of anticipation. Barry grinned. "Cotton Spore!" nts all around Honey exploded, diffusing massive amounts of cotton and stopping him right in his tracks like adhesive. How?! I squinted at the ground and nearly scoffed in disbelief when I noticed the little flickers of white on the ground. He''d been growing a damn field of cotton and I hadn''t fucking noticed! Grass types could pick what nt they grew?! Without fucking seeds?! "Fire Punch! Free yourself!" I cried out, cursing having to reveal the attack. "Grassy Glide and Thorn Whip!" Barry ordered. Honey snarled as his fists caught on fire, and cotton withered into ckened husk, and then smithereens. Roserade slid across the inds like she was ice-skating, and then across the water. Lilypads grew everywhere she stepped, leaving her enough space to make her way toward Honey. She aimed a rose at him, and another burst of cotton exploded, swarming him, but he was quicker to react this time and pped his hands, creating sparks of me and electricity that burned through the cotton in a single second. Two thorny vines raked across Honey''s arm and shoulder. The one that hit his arm actually wrapped around it and started to glow neon green with Giga Drain while the other kept hitting him over and over. "Grab it!" I yelled. Honey''s muscles bulged, and he pushed past the pain, clenching a hand around the thick vine. He yanked it toward him, dragging Roserade forward. "Energy Ball!" Barry countered. There was so much vegetation here that the green, fluorescent ball coalesced in a split second. nts shriveled and died, and Roserade hit Honey''s face with the Energy Ball as soon as he got her near him. Electricity surged, as it did every time he felt pain, but he stayed focused. He grabbed onto Roserade''s frail arms and punched with ming fists as he Screeched into her ears¡ª "sh!" Light exploded out of Roserade with an audible explosion¡ª like a damned shbang. I felt my shoulders sag in relief when the poison type''s body flew back, half of her body a smoking husk from the Fire Punch until grass wrapped around her and sacrificed itself to heal her. That was new too, I said, licking my lips. Not as quick as Synthesis, though. "Listen to my voice!" I yelled. Electivire hadn''t been hurt by the sh, but he was disoriented and couldn''t see where he was or hear very well. Still he managed to catch what I said, and my words calmed him down some, allowing the electricity around him to settle down. So much waste, I thought. We''d probably used the equivalent of five Thunders from all the electricity leaking out of him. Approaching would mean getting hit by sh, but that was fine. "Thunderbolt," I ordered. Better save some energy for Snox. I needed to weaken her and switch in the next minute or so. "Seed Bomb!" Barry ordered. Roserade giggled, and a cluster of explosions rang out all around Electivire. My eyes narrowed as I instinctively protected my face despite the barriers. Had Roserade left those seeds when they''d been close? During the sh, maybe. Honey shot out a Thunderbolt, but he couldn''t see very straight and it wasn''t even close to its target, insteadnding on the ground a few feet away from Roserade and kicking up some mud. I recalled Honey before he could get hurt any longer and licked my teeth. I was out of switches now, so my next one really had to count Sunshine? Despite the type advantage, I feared that I''d underestimated Roserade''s versatility in such terrain. He''d bergely contained to one ind, just like Snox, while the grass type could grow lilypads to walk on. Sweetheart was a no-go, not right now. It was either Angel or Princess¡ª Twenty seconds left to make a decision. Princess would have the advantage, but the problem rested with Barry''s remaining Pokemon. I needed to save her for threats like Heracross and Staraptor. Sending out Tangrowth here was a risk, because there was a possibility that Barry would switch to Rapidash, and even if I took Roserade down, Rapidash would no doubte out next. It was a risk I was willing to take, however. I clenched the grass type''s Pokeball, taking in its familiar shape to rx my mind. I released him an ind away from Roserade with ten seconds to spare, and Barry sprung to action. "Exploding Pin Missiles!" He ordered. Roserade mirrored his excitement, and nearly thirty¡ªforty¡ª damn it, fifty Pin Missilesunched from her flowers, leaving trails of smoke behind them. I spoke on instinct. "Ancient Power!" The attack came out much quicker thanks to Sunny Day. Four walls surrounded Tangrowth, and a roof built itself just in time for the first Pin Missiles to explode around his ''house''. The earth here was soft¡ª just mud, but the advantage of Ancient Power was that it could shape the ground into anything. The thickened walls were barely standing by the end of the explosion flurry, and Angel lowered them himself. "Throw some rocks," I quickly continued. The walls copsed into small bits that Angel swept in his vines, and in one smooth motion, he threw them toward Roserade. "Seed Bomb!" I had expected another wave of seeds to explode against Angel to distract him, but instead, Roserade beamed, as if she''d been waiting for this moment the entire battle. The poison type slid with Grassy Glide, but it wouldn''t be enough to dodge. Then, an explosion under her. Seed Bomb after Seed Bomb, and suddenly, she was flying. Timing and strengthening each subsequent explosion with such precision that she could basically travel in the air, which was exactly what I''d wanted to do with Sunshine. I grinned when Roseradended in the distance on another half-submerged ind and spoke up. Our proof of concept had just essentially been proven possible. "Get close to her," I said, trusting in his speed with Sunny Day still active. "Use Ancient Power to create more rocks as you go." They''d be useful for Sweetheart, because she would actually need a supply of rocks to use in this arena. Earth was not rock. Angel propelled himself with his vines, almost jumping in the air as he pushed into the ground with so much power he was creating small craters in the mud. He shot his vines down to prevent himself from sinking and essentially floated in the water. Each of his vines worked as one, filling a specific duty that he needed to move with such grace. But Barry was not idle. His Roserade wouldunch small globs of Acid, which Angel easily stopped with Ancient Power. The poison wasn''t weak by any means. This was Barry we were talking about. Focused on grass typing Roserade might have been, but she still excelled in poison type attacks. It easily melted through our Ancient Power walls, but that was fine. The fact that it didn''t punch through like Poison Cutter did meant that only a few droplets could reach Angel. "Charge up a Sr de," I said when he''d closed half the distance. A select few of Angel''s vines began to glow bright white with sr energy. "Watch out for sh when you get close!" Barry was, however, determined not to let us get close, falling back on grass maniption. Cotton Spores exploded in Roserade''s wake, although I knew how to stop them this time and Angelrgely avoided the field of white flowers. Seed Bombs might not have hurt Angel that much, but the force of an explosion that massive was still nothing to scoff at and slowed him down slightly. "Shadow Leaves!" Barry yelled. Hah! I fucking knew this one! "Knock Off all around you!" I yelled. Roserade lowered her two arms to the ground, and a Shadow Ball mmed into the ground. Instead of exploding uncontrobly, the ghostly energy weaved itself in the grass until Roserade''s entire ind was filled with purple vegetation. The leaves writhed around, that it wasn''t Roserade doing it. Spirits had possessed the nts, and they tore themselves from the ground. Stalks, leaves, grass, bark, lilypads, anything that was near flew off and rushed toward Angel. He stopped, and the vines he wasn''t using to charge up Sr de were all submerged in darkness. Then, he thrashed around. Everywhere. His vines were so quick they''d be a blur of blue all around him, and the ghosts were all knocked out of their leaves before any could even hit him. It was one of Roserade''s most powerful current moves despite taking a while to charge, but Angel had too many vines to use to get hit more than three times. Roserade''s face fell in disappointment, and she prepared herself to use Seed Bomb to retreat again¡ª "Knock Off, detach!" I yelled with a thrill in my voice. Angel threw a vine forward that wrapped around Roserade like asso, and the explosion that came out of the Seed Bombs was a lot weaker than before. Then, Angel''s Sr des shot forward and all converged toward the poison type as soon as he reached his fifty feet range. An Acid leaked out of Roserade, but it would take time to chew through the dark-coated vine. Sr de was a grass type attack, but the four vines still stabbed into Roserade like butter. The sheer force of the impact also staggered the poison type and we basically skewered her. I''d gotten an idea to trigger one of the unstable explosions from Sr de after stabbing an opponent, but just like using Water Spout inside a Pokemon, that was far too lethal to use in a fight like this. Roserade was no Carnivine. Barry recalled Roserade, and I wiped a few beads of sweat from my face. Instead of the expected Rapidash, Barry sent out his Heracross. Arceus, this is so much fun, I immediately thought with a widening grin. I blinked to moisten my eyes and studied the lean bug type. Those tes of armor look tough. I doubt I can stab through those. I cracked my neck and exhaled as the fighting type took flight with buzzing that only Vespiquen could beat. "Sustain the Sunny Day," I said, remembering that it was Roserade''s. "He uses sound-based attacks, and you won''t be able to hear me for most of the fight. He''s going to get up close¡­" As my words went on, the buzzing grew louder. Not as debilitating as it was with Pressure, but it was still way too loud for Tangrowth to hear anything I''d say, especially when he was on Barry''s side of the arena. Barry yelled something, but I knew the disadvantage was two-fold. Heracross couldn''t hear anything he''d say either. Not that that mattered. Pale, green energy diffused out of Heracross'' wings, and the fighting type flew toward Angel as he strengthened his Bug Buzz. He angled his face downward, and his horn glowed bright white. I could only watch and hope Angel would figure out a way to counter Megahorn on his own. Heracross would be able to break through Ancient Power with his physical prowess, and despite being a slow flier, he would still catch up to Angel due to the swamp. Vines burst toward Heracross as soon as he crossed into Angel''s range, both with Power Whip and Knock Off added to the mix. Heracross didn''t even try to alter his course. Dark type effects could not suppress bug-type or fighting type moves, or if they could, it wasn''t for long. The Bug Buzz hit Angel, whose entire body shivered in pain, and yet his focus didn''t waver. Vines wrapped around Heracross'' body, so much that he was barely visible under them. The force of the vines actually managed to restrain his wings, ttening them against his body, and for a second, the Bug Buzz stopped. "Break his wings," I snapped at the opening. "Huh?! Strength!" Barry said, slightly taken aback. Heracross flexed, and the sheer force tore apart many of Tangrowth''s vines. Heracross clumsilynded in front of the grass type, who mmed him away with a Power Whip. He didn''t budge. Instead, the Bug Buzz started again, and he rammed a Megahorn deep inside of Angel, whose vines shot out everywhere in a desperate attempt to hit the bug type away from him. Spores exploded, Power Whips dented his armor and Knock Offs wrapped around Heracross'' body. None of it was enough. I thanked my lucky stars when Heracross'' wings bent in the wrong direction and Angel stabbed hasty Sr des into the ground to use Ingrain¡ª I closed my eyes, but saw the light from the massive explosion through my eyelids anyway. Angel had been so hurt that he hadn''t managed to stabilize his Sr des to use Ingrain. The Bug Buzz was manageable now thanks to the broken wings, so I spoke again. "The ground is soft! Just use Ingrain normally!" I yelled. I had to scream the order five times until my throat hurt for Angel to hear. In that time, Heracross had been goring him with Megahorn. The vines stabbed into the mud, and the grass around Angel started to die as he healed himself. We are severely behind when ites to theplicated techniques grass types can work with, I realized with a bouncing leg. Luckily we''d started work to remedy that soon. "Pin Missile!" Barry ordered. I clicked my tongue. Not much I could do about that from point-nk range. "Power Whip as much as you can!" Tangrowth desperately mmed as many Power Whips as he could against Heracross'' back, denting his armor. Each attack grew weaker and weaker, but it was all we had. The Pin Missiles buried themselves inside of him, and that was the finishing blow. Ingrain couldn''t heal through both Pin Missile and Megahorn. Angel fell to the ground, and Heracross removed his horn from his body. Then, something shifted in Heracross'' body. He was reinvigorated, stronger, almost glowing with glee. Moxie was a terrifying ability that could snowball out of control very quickly and allow a battle to get out of control. Which was why we couldn''t let that happen. I didn''t waste any time. I sent out Princess, who took to the air and stared down at Heracross with disdain. Now that we''d broken his wings, the best the fighting type could do was hover at most to travel from ind to ind, and Barry couldn''t switch any longer, and their Bug Buzz was no longer powerful enough to mask orders. We had a clear advantage here, but Barry was still Barry, and he was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn''t underestimate him. Earth rose, still dripping to the ground until Princesspacted it into stone. It morphed into a solid ring that started spinning around her, and she flew around the field awaiting mymand. I didn''t keep her waiting. "Moonst." We were going to hit hard and hit fast. Fragments of light coalesced in front of Togekiss, and she swooped down toward the ground with the attack. Once she got close enough, mud, water and grass started orbiting the Moonst, spinning faster and faster around the attack. "Stone Edge!" Barry yelled. The fragments of rock Angel had created for Sweetheart blurred upward, mming into Princess'' barrier. The tension in my shoulders peaked, and then vanished when only thest volley broke through. Utterly silent, Princess threw her Moonst forth. The gravitational pull on the attack was so potent that it had been buried. Enveloped by muddy water. Heracross tried to run, but his wings weren''t powerful enough to let him escape. "Endure!" Barry yelled. The bug type sank in the water perpetually spinning around our Moonst, and Princess took back to the air, triggering Moonst''s explosion. Light, dust and pink surged out of the attack, along with steam and water. "Air sh as soon as you see him¡ª" "Aerial Ace!" Barry yelled. My heart sank when I saw Heracross emerge from the billow of steam and pink dust. Somehow, he was still flying. Could the momentum from Aerial Ace ovee a broken wing? "Psychic when he''s in range!" I yelled. We couldn''t let him hit her. A gust of air pushed Princess back, and she rode the current, hoping to outrun Heracross'' attack. Unfortunately, she couldn''t. Instead, the ring of rocks orbiting her split, and massive chunks blurred toward Heracross. Who dissolved into nothing. Transitioning into mind games now? My eyes darted everywhere around the arena in a desperate attempt to understand what the hell had just happened. Barry called out for a Stone Edge, and a volley of rocks all flew toward Princess, who retaliated with an Air sh where the rocks came from. The arc of sharpened air sunk into the depths, but there was no sign of Heracross anywhere save for the fact that he was still fucking attacking us. Togekiss'' eyes shone pink, and the Stone Edges turned to dust before they could reach her barrier. Either Barry''s found a way to turn his damned Heracross invisible, or he''s under the water, and he can create clones of some kind. The terrifying part about fighting this dude was that I had no idea which one was more likely, but at least my gut told me that that clone looked like a Double Team. More Stone Edges burst upward in an attempt to catch Princess off-guard, but with how high she was, she could easily stop each volley, and her barrier stopped the stragglers that made it through. Heracross emerged from below the water with Aerial Ace, and Princess immediately hit him with Air sh¡ª no, he dodged with maneuverability that shouldn''t have been possible with broken wings. Then, it came to me. Afterimages from Double Team wouldn''t care about broken wings. Princess managed to dispatch the clone with another Air sh, and I told her to bide her time. I''de into this battle expecting Heracross to be a ruthless fighter in a melee, but he was stalling us. No, stalling was the wrong expression. He was building up the tension, hoping to fuck with us in an attempt to find an opening for the real body to attack. But eventually, he''d have toe up for air. So I waited. Two minutes of this stalemate passed. Then another two. Heracross wasn''ting up for air. And I knew he hadn''t drowned either, because he kept attacking and baiting us with Double Teams. More and more came at a time. First, two, then three, and the number kept rising. We were at five, now. Princess tried to hit the water with Air sh and Charge Beam in hopes to get a lucky hit, but it wasn''t working. Think, Grace, think! Why the hell would Barry put so much importance on Rain Dance as a strategy on Staraptor if Empoleon was the only one capable of making use of the damn water. Barry was more silent than he''d been during the entire battle, and no matter how long I stared at him, he wasn''t giving away anything. Not ncing in Heracross'' potential direction, not panicking when an Air sh maybended closer than he expected. Either he had the best poker face of all time, or he himself didn''t know where Heracross was¡ª just that he was underwater. If I had a psychic type, I would have been able to track him, but as it stood we were fumbling in the darkness and hoping for the best. "Moonst," I said again. The stalemate needed to be broken. Togekiss summoned another sphere of light¡ª "Now!" Barry yelled. Fifteen Heracross burst from the water, all flying with Aerial Ace. A bubble of water clung inches from their skin, and I realized he''d been using pockets of air to breathe. Was this an actual attack? Was my hypothesis about Heracross'' real body not being able to fly bogus? No time to think about it. Princess released the Moonst early, and half of the Heracross were sucked in toward the move, disappearing as soon as they made contact with the moon. "Reversal!" Barry screamed, pushing a fist forward. I inhaled more air than what I thought was possible. Time seemed to stand still as my eyes darted between each remaining Heracross to find which one was real or not¡ª but nothing seemed to give them away. Every single instance of Heracross flew in the exact same painful-looking way. Gone was the maneuverability that the first clones had showed. He''d been tricking us when acting like Heracross couldn''t fly. Pin Missiles exploded out of every clone, leaving behind trails of smoke that obscured the skies, and every single of of them converged toward Princess. "Dazzling Gleam!" I snapped. Light surrounded the fairy type, and then popped with a blinding explosion when as many Heracross as possible were close. Most of them dissolved into nothing, but there were still four left. Stones burst like shrapnel in an attempt to destroy thest remaining Heracross, and we finally managed to hit all of them. The final Heracross screeched in pain when the small shards of rocks mmed into his shell, and Princess grabbed him with a Psychic¡ª Her hold on him broke in less than a second, and the bug type shattered her barrier like ss, mming into her with all of his strength. Togekiss went flying toward one of the barriers, but she caught herself before she could hit the psychic wall. Heracross fell into the swamp below, his body limp. He''d exerted everything he had left to use Reversal. Moxie shouldn''t have been enough to break through Princess'' Psychic. Had he used Swords Dance underwater? I clicked my tongue as Barry recalled his Heracross and sent out his Staraptor once more. The flying type would have the advantage in the air, but she was still burning from the Will-O-Wisp, and she''d been hurt quite a bit by her previous fight. "Sunny Day!" Barry ordered. Staraptor pped her wings together, and the waning Sunny Day came back in full force. The harsh light shone down on the swamp, illuminating every inch of the arena. Roserade and Rapidash would make full use of that Sunny Day, which meant that unless this was another one of Barry''s misdirects, he would send one of them next. "Wish," I said. "Keep your distance and Charge Beam. She''ll beat you from up close." "Heat Wave!" Barry yelled. I wanted to sigh in relief. The air around Staraptor warped from the scorching temperatures, and she sent them toward Princess with a p of her wings and a screech. Barry still didn''t know our barriers could work against temperature. The Wish left Princess'' body and flew through the ceiling, and Princess sent a beam of electricity toward Staraptor. The normal type ttened her wings against her body and dove down, extending them once again inches above the water to stop herself. She weaved in between each Charge Beam and Ancient Power Drill with dexterity I couldn''t wait for Princess to reach. Every time I thought one of our attacks would strike true, it buried itself in the swamp instead. But Staraptor was noting closer. One Brave Bird would have no doubt been too powerful for Princess to do anything beyond slow her down, so what was he nning? Staraptor was slowly burning, and she would until she fainted. "Moonst," I said as soon as Staraptor was an appropriate distance. "Ominous Wind!" Barry continued. Yeah, that made sense. I understood now. Barry considered every Moonst an opening to strike, and as much as it pained to admit, he wasn''t wrong. Moonst took time to get going. Staraptor''s eyes dimmed as she circled the arena, slowing to concentrate on controlling the alien force, and another minute crack appeared in the sky. Ghost type moves would cleave through Princess'' barrier like a knife through butter. "Let go and Charge Beam!" The fairy type released her Moonst, and instead, a thin electric current struck Staraptor in the wing. Staraptor shivered, falling onto one of the inds as the Ominous Wind got started. The fact that it was silent still disturbed me. Arches of water floated up like gravity no longer existed, but none of them bothered Princess, and she could still fly fine. Instead, she used Staraptor''s fall as a means to stab her wings with two elongated spears. The normal type screeched as the stones tore through her wings, grounding her¡ª hopefully permanently, this time. "Good job," I said. "Keep hitting her with Ancient Power or Charge Beam." "Aerial Ace!" Barry yelled. Before the words were out of his mouth, Staraptor was back in the air with some kind of proto-flight that looked wrong but somehow worked, just like Heracross, and she managed to get out of the way of another Charge Beam. So it was Aerial Ace, that allowed them to keep flying, then. The normal type reached another ind, although she was clearly less proficient at this type of flight than Heracross had been. "Focus on the wind!" Barry ordered. Staraptor turned to face the sky, and the Ominous Wind strengthened. Princess'' Charge Beam somehow swerved out of the way and impacted the wet dirt instead. "Roost!" Barry continued. Staraptor glowed. My eye twitched. "Air Cutter." The air around Staraptor sharpened, slicing her with a hundred different cuts. Blood seeped through her plumage. The wound looked bad, but I knew better than that. Air Cutter was weak, and it had only stopped her from focusing on using Roost. I couldn''t allow them to heal. "Keep stopping her from using Roost and get close," I said. My eyes never left Staraptor, who was now only a blur behind the ever-growing purple mes. "Ancient Power. Break her." The Ominous Wind hurt, but she still listened without hesitation. A gust of air blew at Togekiss'' back, allowing him to speed up until she was a blur. When she reached Staraptor, the bird hit her with a Whirlwind. The burst of air stopped Princess dead in her tracks, but that was fine. Two blocks of stone rose at Staraptor''s sides, and then they mmed together with her in the middle. Bones crunched, and Staraptor howled in agony. Barry quickly recalled her¡ª damn it, what the hell? Even after hurting his Pokemon this much, his smile didn''t even falter. I knew I would have been pissed, or at least worried, and I thought it would have made him slip and be more predictable, but none of it worked. Trainers at the top, they''re all a kind of unhinged, some more than others, Jasmine''s voice rang out in my head. I smiled, and Barry sent out his Rapidash while the Wish reentered Princess'' body, healing some of her wounds. The fire type neighed with a wince that twisted his face, then turned toward Barry in annoyance, probably from the fact that he was getting hurt by Staraptor''s own attack. The Ominous Wind was still going, and would for another minute, but when it ended? Rapidash would be able to make full use of Sunny Day. "Wish again, then Moonst and Air sh," I said. "Just like I showed, he''s going to fly at you." If we could take down Rapidash¡­ "Agility and re Blitz!" Barry yelled. Rapidash broke into a run, and then a blur that left a trail of fire behind him. He jumped off one of the inds and then jumped again, and again. Each subsequent jump, a powerful gust of air that shot Rapidash up and gave him more height. The momentum he''d gotten from his run carried over, and he appeared like a meteorite aiming right at Princess. "Scrap the Wish¡ª" I smiled when I realized she''d already been crafting her moon, having taken the executive decision not to use Wish when a giant ball of fire was flying right at her. The Moonst didn''t have as much time to gather, but it was enough to pull Rapidash away from us¡ª my eyes! Ringing in my ears! Rapidash mmed headfirst into the Moonst, causing a giant explosion as he tore through Princess'' barrier and mmed right into her with re Blitz. "Keep going and Smart Strike!" My fingers twitched around my crutch. "Hold him." Princess'' eyes snapped open at the sound of my voice. Her body was a smoking husk, and she was falling toward the water, but her eyes brimmed with psychic energy, and Rapidash''s body twisted. "Break his legs," I said. "Megahorn!" Barry yelled. The fire type''s horn extended and seemed to twist, allowing him to break out of the psychic hold before Princess could cripple him permanently. A series of Air shes cut across Rapidash''s nk as he retreated far enough away to dodge most attacks. Moonst is a no-go, I thought as the Ominous Wind finally ended, reinvigorating Rapidash''s mes. He would just fucking brute force his way through, and he had more energy left in the tank than Princess did. The fire typended on one of the inds, his mere presence burning the wet grass, drying the mud and evaporating the water. His steps on the inds broke the now-brittle ground, creating tiny fissures. "Hypnosis!" Barry yelled. From there?! I swept my arm. "Ancient Power!" Hypnosis from a non-psychic would always be slow, but we couldn''t afford to get caught off-guard. Princessnded on solid ground, and a set of spears blurred toward Rapidash, who was forced to interrupt his technique in order not to get impaled. Barry called out for a methrower, but that helplessly washed over Princess'' barrier, and the fairy type got back into the air. This was nice. Familiarity. I knew what to expect with Rapidash, and I could actually think instead of solving one catastrophe after the other. "Agility and Poison Jab!" Never-fucking-mind. "Thunder Wave!" I said, feeling a mix of anxiety and hope. I''d hoped the mere order of a Thunder Wave would get Barry to reconsider, but instead, Rapidash hopped into the air once again, even faster than thest time. Electricity crackled through Princess fur, and it rushed toward Rapidash, who side-stepped the Thunder Wave with a sideways bounce before jumping back toward his target. Poison somehow leaked from his hooves, and I bit my lip. Unless this is the weakest Poison Jab known to man, this is going to break through the barrier. With his speed, he would probably break through psychic¡ª "Shrapnel!" I said, making a split-second decision. Rocks buried themselves in Rapidash''s hide like bullets, creating countless bloodied bruises and holes in his neck, nk, and head. The fire type mmed two of his hooves through Princess'' barrier and mmed them into her chest. The poison melted through her fur and skin, and she screeched in pain as she tumbled to the ground. Instead of using Psychic, which we knew would be useless due to Megahorn, she sent another volley of rocks toward Rapidash. Togekiss crashed into the water, and her fur clung to her body. She couldn''t swim, but she kept herself afloat with fairy energy. And she was still capable of fighting. Rapidash turned, twisting his body in the air as he got ready to finish us off with onest Poison Jab. mes spun around him like an unending inferno. Drills emerged from the water with a devious spin, and she sent them flying toward Rapidash. Not enough. The fire type was hurt, but hended at full force on Princess'' head, mming a hoof coated in poison in her head. I exhaled, recalling Princess after thanking her for her hard work. It might not have been a shy debut for her, but no one else would have been able to take down Heracross like she had, especially when Sunshine would be stuck on a single ind. "You''re up," I said, releasing Sweetheart. The rock type''s eyes widened with glee at all of the water around her. "Sandstorm." Pupitar expunged specks of sand from her vents, masking the full power of the second sun from Sunny Day, which Rapidash was no doubt sustaining. "High Horsepower!" Barry yelled. Wait for it, I internally screamed, holding a breath. Rapidashnded, using the ground to maintain his momentum, and then flew toward Sweetheart. Wait for it¡­ I clenched a fist to calm my nerves, waiting until thest possible moment. "Smack Down!" One of the rocks Princess and Angel had left for Sweetheart burst upward before circling back and mming into his back. The force behind the move brought Rapidash back to the ground before he could hit us. Not enough rocks for a powerful Rock Slide, and we weren''t good enough with Stone Edge yet. "Again," I said. Barry said something, but I didn''t hear over the strengthening Sandstorm. mes burst from Rapidash, swarming the entire ind they were on as another Smack Down bruised him. "Earthbreaker!" With a burst of air, Sweetheart jumped. She maneuvered using the gas to turn her body and mmed back into the ground. Rapidash neighed at the mini-Earthquake, and Barry evidently told him to run away, because he was back in the air as soon as he could. "Lower your Sandstorm!" I yelled. "I need to hear him and to see what''s going on." Yes, he couldn''t hear me either, but I''d rather know what the hell he was saying. "...Beam!" Ah, shit. A bubble of pure sr energy appeared in front of Rapidash''s horn¡ª slowly, thanks to the Sandstorm. "Go as fast as you can! Across the water!" With the sound of a jet engine, Sweetheart flew, skidding on the water''s surface like a skipping stone as she carried as many rocks with her as she could. Rapidash released the Sr Beam, whichnded in the water where Pupitar had just been, leaving only steam instead. The attack didn''t end just there, though. Rapidash angled his head to track Sweetheart wherever she went, and the tail end of the Sr Beam grazed her back. Of course, Rapidash immediately started charging up another one. I was waiting for him to lose enough speed so that he would either have toe down to the ground for more momentum, or he would be slow enough for Sweetheart to ram into¡­ there! "Full speed! Ram into him!" The words left my mouth before I was conscious of them. More gas left Pupitar''s vents, and she sped up until she became a blur skipping across the water. Rapidash''s eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to get back into the air instead of actually building up some momentum with a running Agility. But that was fine. It was toote. Sweetheart rammed into the fire type at full speed, and then the rocks followed suit. There was a crack¡ª multiple cracks, and Rapidash rolled on the ground until hended in the water, his mes only a flicker of what they''d just been. The Sr Beam he''d been charging exploded with a surge of light, and Sweetheart let out a scream that was half due to the pain and half due to excitement at having taken down Rapidash. Barry recalled the fire type, and I wiped the sweat off my head. Two Pokemon left, and I still have Sunshine and Honey. Barry didn''t send out Roserade. Instead, he sent out Snox¡ª still with a lot of his skin missing and that rage had only built up since thest time he''d been out. I internally cursed when I realized how fucked I was. "Defense Curl and Rest!" Barry yelled. Arceus fucking damn it, I had fucked up. Or had I? I maybe could have used Honey against Rapidash, but then Roserade would have probably managed to take him down or close to it, and Snox would have been left. If I''d sent Sunshine, Rapidash would have managed to oust any Scale Shot¡ª Focus! I was still in an advantageous position, and there was one way to maybe salvage this. Snox''s wounds were progressively healing while the normal type snored without a care in the world. "Iron Defense and ram into him," I said. Arceus, I should have brought a bottle of water. Pupitar bounced off of Snox like a kid on a trampoline, and the normal type only moved a few inches. She let out a frustrated screech, but I called out to calm her down. "Smack Down," I continued. It was hard not to feel angry at how little our attacks were doing, but at least Rest was done now and we were dealing some damage. That wasn''t the n, though. Snox''s snoring stopped, and the normal type blinked, as if he''d forgotten where he was. "Bulldoze!" Barry immediately ordered. Good. The earth shook, creating tiny fissures, and Pupitar clenched her eyes tightly shut. "Payback!" The Bulldoze was still ongoing, which was perfect. Sweetheart''s eyes dimmed, then shed with anger as she hurled herself at Snox. The normal type bellowed when her multiple horns actually tore through his belly, but he grabbed onto her. She was so heavy, and he lifted her like she was a backpack he could sling over his back. I ordered the rock type to try to fly away, but she couldn''t wedge herself free from Snox''s hold even after expunging more air through her vents. "Heavy m!" The normal type fell forward with Pupitar under him. Snox smiledzily with satisfaction that was hard to miss, and he pushed himself back up. His smile fell when Sweetheart wasn''t down. Instead, another Payback¡ª I internally cursed when Barry yelled out for Ice Beam, and Snox finished Pupitar off with the beam of frost. I drew a deep breath. Okay. I grabbed Honey''s Pokeball, and the electric type appeared with a burst of electricity. Snox''s eyes narrowed at his old opponent, and he clumsily stood on two feet, almost stumbling down toward the water. "Amnesia," Barry ordered, more quiet than he''d ever been. "Thunder." The massive burst of electric energy struck before Amnesia could take effect, and Snox grunted in annoyance. The giant hit back with an Ice Beam that missed by a mile thanks to Radiant Leap. "Keep your distance, keep attacking with Thunderbolt," I said. "Save your energy." Force them to change, and not us. They would have to Rest, eventually, leaving an opening for Honey to strike with Cross Chop. So long as Motor Drive kept chugging along and Honey didn''t reach his limit, we''d be okay. The problem was, I wasn''t so sure he''d be able tost that long, but it was the best strategy I had. Get too close without Snox sleeping, and we''d get hit by Bulldoze. For nine minutes, Honey hit Snox with Thunderbolt over and over. The normal type''s belly had been burned until it turned ck. And it wasn''t like our tactic had done nothing. Snox was struggling to stay awake, and couldn''t even stand. We''d hurt him a lot. Just another few minutes of this, and he''d fall. It was astonishing how many hits he could take. Professor Rowan probably had him on the best fucking diet possible. Calm down, I breathed. My thoughts were straying and my head felt numb. Unfortunately for us, Honey was starting to slow. His breaths grew ragged, his Thunderbolts weakened and his reflexes dulled. Nine minutes of non-stop Thunderbolts, Radiant Leaps and the past fights took their toll, and unless he somehow got hit by a damn electric type attack to sustain himself, it was only down from there. Like a hawk, Barry instantly noticed the weakness and pointed forward. "He''s weakening! Keep using Ice Beam!" I only had one chance. "Cross Chop." Electivire blurred toward Snox, hopping from ind to ind. He snarled when an Ice Beam hit him in the shoulder, but that barely stopped him from reaching his target. Without Barry''s order, Snox started a Bulldoze while Honey sliced across the normal type''s nk with Cross Chop¡ª Snox leaned forward, pushing against the Cross Chop as he hit Honey with another Heavy m¡ª or was it Body m? Electivire bellowed, and a Thunder struck Snox as he pushed with Cross Chop as hard as he could. The Bulldoze weakened, but his legs still buckled under Snox''s massive weight. Honey got down on one knee, then both, and Snox managed to let himself fall on him. A surge of panic, immediately tempered by clearing my mind. Snox huffed, rolling off of the electric type. I instantly recalled him and sent out Sunshine on the same ind Honey had been in. The temperature instantly began to swelter, but that would do very little against Snox. "Rest!" Barry said with a thrill in his voice. "Focus st!" Energy gathered in front of Sunshine''s snout, and I painfully counted the seconds it took for it to charge up. The attack hit Snox, but he''d already healed so much. Fucking bullshit¡ª Don''t panic¡ª but it''s still fucking bullshit! "Yes!" Barry cheered. He was so sweaty, but there were no signs of tiredness. I was so fucking thirsty it was unbelievable. The Focus st dealt a substantial amount of damage, but Amnesia was still active. "Sunny Day!" You don''t have the raw power, think outside of the box. A second sun rose high above the arena as my thoughts went a million miles an hour. Think. Think. Sunshine tried his best, hitting Snox with a series of Focus sts, but it wouldn''t be enough. Snox would wake up soon, hit us with Bulldoze and then Rest again. Fucking awful move, Arceus fucking damn it, and he didn''t even know Sleep Talk yet. With rage came the insatiable desire to burn Snox to smithereens, and an idea popped into my head¡ª "Shell Trap!" I yelled. "Push him off the ind!" Sunshine turned, the water around their ind quickly turning to vapor. His shell glowed with a dark red hue, and the force of the explosion moved Snox a few feet. Just a few feet. If I could get Snox to drown in his sleep, Barry would be forced to recall him out of the fight to save his life. "Again," I quickly said. One explosion, Snox slipped away from the ind''s center. Two and three explosions, he made it onto the beach. Four¡ª Snox woke up with burns covering his body, and Barry instantly told him to use Bulldoze. The normal type tried to get back on his feet, probably to hit us with a Heavy¡ª well, a Body m, but another explosion from Sunshine knocked him off-bnce. "Forget it, just put everything you have into Bulldoze! Rest when you feel yourself fainting!" Barry yelled. The panic in his voice was delicious, but I was also panicking and sweating so much it got into my eyes. The Bulldoze intensified¡ª air filled my lungs. The ind was sinking. Copsing. Why now? The information took a split second to click in my mind. Sunshine''s heat had dried the mud, making it easier for the Bulldoze to destroy the ind. Then, my eyes widened. This had been the same ind Rapidash had stayed the longest on. Had that been intentional? Snox and Sunshine sank beneath the waves like rocks. Both were too heavy to have any hopes of swimming to another ind. "Shell Trap!" I yelled. Turtonator could propel himself with his explosions. There was a red hue below the water¡ª "Grab him, Snox!" No! Forcefully drowning a Pokemon had been my idea! The water bubbled as another explosion rang out from below. Turtonator''s snout peaked through the surface until Snox grabbed onto his tail and dragged him down with him. Shit. "Dragon Pulse!" Turquoise light illuminated the depths, and I didn''t know if it was because Sunshine could actually hear me or he''d just decided to do this on his own. I waited with bated breath to see if he''d be able toe back up. Ten seconds. Another burst of light. He was giving it his all. Twenty seconds. They grew less frequent. Thirty seconds. No more Dragon Pulses. I snapped out of it before Sunshine could actually drown and recalled him without thinking. The beam from the Pokeball took a nauseating amount of time to actually reach him, but he was safely tucked back in his ball. Barry leaned against his knees and sighed in relief, recalling his Snox as well before the normal type could actually drown. Of course, he still had Roserade left in the back. I bit my lip. I wanted to scream into a pillow. The way we''d lost was so¡ª so¡ª No, not unfair. There was no fairness in battle. It had been my fault. Had I told Sunshine not to heat up his surroundings, the ind wouldn''t have sunk so easily and we might have managed to finish him off. It hadn''t been like Snox had infinite amounts of endurance either. He''d been starting to grow tired. I doubted that even Barry had expected that to happen. I sat down on my tform, dropping my crutch and ignoring the throbbing pain in my ankle. How the hell could I counter Rest on a Pokemon as bulky as Snox without murdering my opponent? Drowning them to snap them out of the sleep worked, but that wasn''t consistent enough for my liking. Damn it, there definitely was a way other than hoping to blow past the opponent with power, otherwise everyone and their mother at the Conference would be running Rest on their bulky Pokemon that could learn the move. It was an expensive TM, but Conference-goers didn''t exactly hurt for money. Rx, I sighed. Think back to the battle. Argh, it was too fresh in my mind to look at it objectively. My nails dug into my palm enough to leave marks. I was so pissed at myself for failing Sunshine. He had all the tools to snatch a win, and I¡ª Oh. Right. I''d been battling for a crowd. I blinked, and the sound of cheers filled my ears. I didn''t care very much for those. I wanted to learn a way to shut down Rest permanently, and I wanted to figure out the mistakes I''d made during the fight. I tried to stand up, but I hissed when my ankle red up. I hadn''t even been putting any damn weight on it¡ª "Let me help you out." I turned toward Barry¡ª when the hell had he even gotten here? He outstretched his hand, and I took it after wiping the sweat on my hands on my jeans, and he pulled me up. "How do I counter Rest?" I asked. "Huh?" "How do I counter Rest?" "I¡ª I''m not sure¡ª I think you could do something with either dark, psychic or ghost TE to keep a Pokemon awake forcefully, but that''s just a theory I have¡ª" "Thank you," I said,mitting his words to memory. That was just more I''d have to look at with Buddy, and maybe Princess. Was trying to hard-counter a move only he used this much petty? Well, it wasn''t like I wasn''t petty. "That was exhrating and terrifying at the same time," Barry said. "It was fun," I acknowledged after a pause. "Thank you for battling me." "I should be saying that!" He eximed with a child-like grin. "I never thought a first-year would give me this much trouble. I think the battle would have gone your way had the ind not copsed¡ª" "I don''t think so. I think Roserade could scrape off a win by keeping her distance by using the Seed Bomb trick to fly," I spoke over him. "Don''t pity me. I know you hoped for the ind to sink, or you wouldn''t have released Snox on the ind Rapidash had already been on. I lost, and¡­ that''s okay. I''ll use this to my advantage." "This¡­ what?" "This battle," I said. "Could you pick up my crutches?" The blond boy handed them to me, and I cursed the fact that I''d have to walk back to the Pokemon Center. He helped me down the tform and scratched the back of his head while we walked toward my phone so I could end my stream. "I guess you''re worthy of being my rival." I snorted. "I''ll take it." "The way you fight is way too brutal, though, I mean breaking my Rapidash''s legs? Spewing Acid on Snox''s face while drowning him? And there was also¡­"
Side Story 5 – Silph Co. Raid Side Story 5 ¨C Silph Co. Raid
Side Story 5 - Silph Co. Raid Silph Co. Headquarters was his. Giovanni Campione sipped on some gin as he sat on President''s Koyasu''s luxurious, leather couch. He let out a satisfied groan as he enjoyed the strong vor. Two Team Rocket Grunts and Executive Archer stood by his side. The thin, pale, blue-haired man''s face was twisted with such disturbing pleasure that Koyasu couldn''t help but recoil every time Archer stared in his general direction, and his lean Houndoom kept growling at Koyasu as well. Giovanni had always despised that psychopath Archer. Unlike Giovanni, he wanted nothing more but to inflict suffering. So long as he could have his fun, he would be a useful dog. And loyal. One could not forget that. "Mr. President," Giovanni smiled, leaning in to exude confidence. The truth was, this was a dangerous y. For him to be anywhere near where Team Rocket operated would have been madness to his previous self, but the opportunity here warranted it. "Let''s talk business. You know what I want." Giovanni had Teleported here before having his dark types flood the building to dy the League, and more of his Executives had struck important regions all over the country to confuse them. More importantly, though? Mewtwo had been let out to y. Let Lance, the Elite Four and their trainers chew on that for a good few hours. "W¡ªwhat could you po¡ªpossibly want from us?" President Koyasu stammered. "The Master Ball, you buffoon!" Archer snarled. Giovanni raised his hand, and Archer silenced himself. "The Master Ball, and its schematics. We want to¡­ be able to recreate it." "Madness!" Koyasu eximed. "I will give you the Master Ball, but I can''t allow its production to fall into your hands!" "Look at that! You''ve found a backbone," Giovanni grinned. "Thousands¡ª tens of thousands are dying because of your very actions, Giovanni," Koyasu said. "Why? Money? Why would a Gym Leader like you do something like this¡ª" "Why?" Giovanni scoffed sarcastically. "Ah, yes, why? Money is only a secondary goal. It is for the greater good of Kanto, of course." Giovanni sipped on some more gin and calmly ced the ss on the coffee table. "Tell me, my dear president. Did you fight in the war?" The man shook his head. "Coward," Giovanni spat. "Had I been of age, I would have volunteered instead of letting the conscription officerse at my door. Let me guess, your wealthy family paid them off? We have time¡­ so why don''t we talk a little." Giovanni cursed at himself. Why talk instead of running out of here? Part of him feltpelled to tell his story, and it wasn''t like they were going to let him live regardless. Koyasu was the only one who had seen him, after all. Team Rocket had been ndered by the League for years ever since its inception in the post-war years. His mother had been at its head until he realized she was only after profit. He realized there was no grander goal to her actions, and then he killed her and took control. For the greater good of Kanto. President Koyasu could only muster a tight nod. "You want to know why, Koyasu? Because Kanto and Johto being a part of the same nation makes me sick," Giovanni growled. There was so much anger in his tone that he felt his vocal chords strain. "Indigo must be dissolved, and the war must be started again. Kanto must rule Johto. We are not equals. They must be subjugated. But that is not all, Mr. President. Kanto had broken through the front line in thest months of the war. Victory was right within our grasp." Giovanni held out his hand and clenched a fist. "But those damned Legends," he mmed his fist against the table. His ss rattled against the old wood. "They ruined it all." Giovanni remembered it as clear as day despite having been a child. Fire incarnate, flying over Viridian. Moltres hadn''t even aimed at them, and it hadn''t even been that big. It had just flown over his city on the way to the front, and half of it had burned to smithereens, killing hundreds of thousands. The city still bore the fire''s scars to this day. Mewtwo, Giovanni thought to himself. A clone of the progenitor Mew, mixed with Ditto and human cells that had been designed over the course of decades and who was capable of dispatching any Legendary Avatar in a one-on-one fight. Once Giovanni took over and the war started again, he would be their contingency should the birds intervene once again. With a little luck, Mewtwo would kill Lance and his Elite Four to soften Indigo for him. "Madness," Koyasu finally answered with a trembling voice. "I''m afraid you don''t have much choice in the matter," Giovanni said. "I do. You''ll kill me anyway," he said with a tired sigh. "I will not be allowed to live now that I''ve seen who truly leads the Rockets." "Oh, of course," Giovanni nodded. "But your family might." President Koyasu''s face lost all of its color. "No¡­" Team''s Rocket leader snapped his fingers, and one of his grunts produced a picture in his hand. It was President Koyasu''s two daughters, their husbands, his son, his wife and his grandchildren, all tied up and with tears streaming down their face. "Now we can stop ying these games," Giovanni said "You must¡ª" At that moment, another grunt knocked at the door''s office and let herself in. She saluted Giovanni and whispered into his ears. "Sir, a trainer has broken into the building. He is currently breaking past all of our forces and wasst seen on the third floor." Giovanni drummed his fingers over the seat, and his Pokeballs seemed a lot heavier on his belt. "Drag Koyasu out of here for a second." His two grunts quickly executed his order and grabbed the president out of his office. "Do you have any more information for me?" Giovanni said. "The descriptions all point toward it being Red Isamu, sir." "Arceus, damn it!" Giovanni snarled. "Why now of all times?" This wasn''t Team Rocket''s first scuffle with Red. First in Mount Moon, where some low-level grunts were trying to steal some fossils to sell, but Giovanni had not worried about that event. Those grunts had been the lowest of the low. New recruits trying to prove themselves. But then, it never stopped. In Cerulean, he dealt with a group of grunts trying to smuggle TMs. In Cdon, Red broke into one of their bases and defeated an Executive. Giovanni had been too busy pretending to be a Gym Leader to keep his cover to intervene. Then, there was the Pokemon Tower incident with that damned Blue where they had stopped Team Rocket from killing Cubone to sell their skulls. Again, again, and again. The sheer amount of growth he had shown thesest few months shouldn''t have been possible outside of war. Never had he seen a trainer grow this powerful this quickly, but then again, Red had practically been raised by that peace-loving fool Samuel Oak, and had his full backing. Blue was the same. "Swarm him," Giovanni said. "Don''t let him get up here, or I''ll have your heads. Bring Koyasu back in." The woman paled. "Um¡­ there''s also another individual in the building. Blue Oak, sir. It appears they are teaming up to bring us down." Giovanni clenched the bridge of his nose. "Bring. Him. Back. In." The grunt scampered off, and President Koyasu was dragged back into the room¡ª with an extra bruise forming around his eye, Giovanni noticed. "The Master Ball and its schematics. Now." "You''ll spare my family?" He asked with desperation oozing in every part of his body. "I will. They have no blood in this fight." President Koyasu pointed toward his desk with a trembling hand, and Archer tried to open the drawer. When he realized it was locked, he had his Houndoom smash it open with a Headbutt, and the Master Ball fell onto the teal-tiled floor. Its dark purple tint and yellow ''M'' were almost hypnotic. So much power at the tip of his fingers. "The schematics are downstairs in the basement where we experiment on making new types of Pokeballs," he said. "You''ll have to send your grunts and have them talk with one of our scientists. They''ll know." "Very well," Giovanni said. Koyasu winced, expecting his death, but Giovanni could onlyugh. "You aren''t dying yet, Koyasu. Not until we verify that the schematics are actually there. Archer! Go downstairs¡ª avoid any battle at all costs. Let our grunts slow Red and Blue down. Take a few scientists with you. They''ll help us get started on producing our Master Balls." "Yes, Giovanni sir!" He bellowed before running off with his Houndoom. With a monopoly on Master Balls and Mewtwo, Team Rocket would be unstoppable. Many dangerous Pokemon in the wild would now be able to be caught on a whim. Who cared if they hated their new masters? Drop them in the middle of a fight, and ny-nine percent of trainers wouldn''t think twice before attacking first and forcing them to retaliate to save themselves. And if he lost a few grunts to them? No matter. Those were always expendable. The minutes passed agonizingly slowly. Giovanni couldn''t help but stare at the clock and internally curse when only a minute or two had passed. Archer was too slow for his liking, and their radios had been jumbled by the darkness swelling around the building. Giovanni moistened his lips and couldn''t help but feel his hands start to sweat. It wasn''t so much that he thought he would lose. Talented or not, he would not suffer a defeat from two trainers that were this green. It was that should one of them escape, his entire n would copse. He could always run. Order his dark types to stand down and Teleport away. But Giovanni was so close. Should the state of the building shift, then that might alert the League that something had changed, but more than that, Giovanni''s vanity would not allow him to not be present for the culmination of years of nning and work. An explosion rang downstairs, and the entire building rattled. Giovanni dusted his head and sighed as he stood up. "You keep Koyasu bound in this room," he said to his two grunts. "He must not be allowed to escape." Giovanni arranged his suit and tie, making sure to look his best before stepping out of Koyasu''s office. Large, window panes allowed him to face Saffron in its full glory. The streets down below were swarming with Rockets. The city was his. He had conquered it through might alone, and he nned on conquering many more. The hallway wasrge with a high ceiling and plenty of space to battle, but Giovanni could not exactly go all out here. If he copsed the entire building, he would die, and all of his ns would be reduced to ash. With Mewtwo here, he would have been able to do whatever he wanted¡­ It is toote for regrets, Viridian''s Gym Leader steeled himself, and he released his Nidoqueen and Nidoking. "Prepare for battle," he spoke. The two poison types grunted. The two boys arrived three minutester. Blue Oak, always with that haughty smirk on his face and that ne his mother had given him. A simple stainless steel charm that he kept around his neck at all times. Red Isamu was shorter and wore his usual red cap and jersey and his face sported his usual nk expression that he''d gotten known for. Pokemon swarmed them on all sides. For Red, a Pikachu sat on his shoulder while a wounded Charizard and Snox nked him. Espeon rubbed itself on his leg. He released a perfectly healthy Lapras onto the cold tiles. Five Pokemon left, then, Giovanni acknowledged. And that Pikachu would be useless against his ground types. Blue was in a better shape. An Arcanine, Exeggutor, Kadabra, stoise, an Umbreon, andstly a Pidgeot flying overhead. Mere children, Giovanni thought. Both were only eleven and yet they had caused so much trouble. It was his first time seeing them in person, and it was hard not to feel rage at the thought that two eleven-year-olds had been thorns at his side for so long. "So it was you, jackass?" Blue smirked, leaning forward with his hands in his pockets. "Arceus damn, Viridian''s Giovanni at the head of Team Rocket. Gramps always said you were a patriot, but you''re a damned terrorist? Think you''re hot shit?" "Focus," Red whispered. Blue shrugged. "Fuck off." "Aim to kill," Giovanni said. Poison belched out of both Nidoking and Nidoqueen''s mouths, but each served a different purpose. Nidoking''s poison hovered in the air and grew into solid balls while Nidoqueen''s spread throughout the ground, separating both. Nidoking grunted, and his poisonous spheres rushed toward both trainers. Red whispered something under his breath while Blue screamed. "Leaf Storm, Hurricane, Icy Wind!" Exeggutor''s eyes shone, and it released hundreds of leaves into the air that immediately set to strike at Giovanni. Nidoqueen dragged him toward her and wrapped him in a soft protect, but that was not the end of it. Pidgeot pped its humongous wings and the Leaf Storm intensified while stoise added to the attack with a frigid wind that froze Nidoqueen''s poison and Nidoking''s poisonous spheres. The purple ground type grunted in pain when he was hit by thebined attack and actually slid back. The entire facade¡ª the huge window¡ª shattered with a deafening explosion, and the wind rushed inside of the building. Espeon followed and targeted each of Nidoking''s spheres with a rush of psychic energy, blowing them up. Giovanni frowned when each explosion was contained in an individual barrier to keep their trainers safe. Such skill, Giovannimented. Children they may have been, they would have made excellent Executives. Charizard roared as it soared in the air and Blue''s attack sustained itself. A white-hot methrower submerged Nidoking''s armor. Nidoqueen was forced into keeping up her Protect for as long as possible. Giovanni realized he would have to go all out, consequences be damned. These children were aiming to kill him as well, it seemed. He released the rest of his Pokemon. Persian, Rhydon, Dugtrio and Kangaskhan. "Nidoqueen, you keep protecting me," Giovanni muttered through the howling Leaf Storm. "The rest, rush in and overwhelm them." Pikachu hopped off Red''s shoulder and in a split second, it rammed into Persian''s nk with a Volt Tackle. The normal type hacked as it rolled away, shards of ss prating his skin. Dugtrio spat out a few globs of mud at the electric type, but it was far too fast to get hit. Rhydon flexed, and shards of rock exploded out from his hand and barrelled toward Red. Exeggutor joined with Espeon to protect Red, and the Leaf Storm intensified. A barrierbined with a technique as intensive as Leaf Storm, Giovanni mused. Impressive. "Nidoking, Kangaskhan, Rhydon! Go in!" The three Pokemon ran forth to carry out Giovanni''s will while the rest of his Pokemon hung back in support. Snox rolled in front of Blue and Red while Kadabra propelled him forward through Psychic. Nidoking heaved to stop the massive normal type while Rhydon and Kangaskhan sidestepped it. An Ice Punch rammed into Nidoking''s gut, and the poison type retaliated by stabbing Snox with poison dripping from his horn. Pikachu kept dodging every single strike Persian dealt and retaliated with quick, focused Thunderbolts while Charizard and Pidgeot struck from afar. Rhydon came upon stoise, who angled its cannons and struck at the rock type''s armor with a Hydro Pump. Kangaskhan was free to reign, however. The normal type broke into a run, her fist glowing bright white as it struck toward Blue. No psychic would stop her Mega Punch. Giovanni''s face fell when tendrils broke out of every inch of Umbreon''s body and wrapped around Kangaskhan. She would have broken through had Espeon not begun to assault her mind. Red spoke, and an eerie light escaped from Lapras'' horn. Confuse Ray! "Kangaskhan, stand back!" The normal type took a step backward, but psychic force restrained her long enough for the Confuse Ray to get her. Giovanni clicked his tongue, grabbing his Pokeball to recall her, but it was then that Arcanine teleported¡ª No, it was Extreme Speed. The fire type rammed into Kangaskhan and threw her off the side of the building. Giovanni''s heart sank as Kangaskhan''s screams grew more distant, and then he heard a huge crash and a car rm. If she wasn''t dead, she was only barely alive. Giovanni clicked his tongue. Persian finally shed across Pikachu''s gut, sending blood stter everywhere. The electric type cried out in pain, and Charizard swept into the Leaf Storm. Pikachu quickly hopped onto its back and retreated to safety. "Power Gem." Persian''s gem shimmered bright red, and Rhydon screamed as he ripped off chunks of rocks from his body. The shards turned white and shot out likesers. Even then, Rhydon was too busy overwhelming stoise with sheer power. Shards of rocks flew off of him like shrapnel with every strike. The sharp rocks easily tore through stoise''s gut, and he didn''t have a good angle to strike back with his canons. Kadabra tried to hold the rock type off of it, but there was no way it was going to stop Rhydon. Kadabra was the weakest link. "Dugtrio!" Giovanni yelled. "Kill that Kadabra!" The ground type blurred, catching both Red and Blue off guard. Not many people were used to his Dugtrio''s speed. Pikachu jumped off Charizard''s back in an attempt to m Dugtrio with Iron Tail, but the ground type buried itself to avoid the attack and got in front of Kadabra. ws reached out of the floor and shed as deep as he possibly could across the psychic''s chest and arm. One hit was enough to prate any barrier and send it flying, and Blue recalled the psychic type before more harm could be done to him. Lapras screamed and let out a frigid Ice Beam that froze everything in its vicinity. The attack was so quick that one of Dugtrio''s head were hit. Pikachu took advantage and hit the same head with Iron Tail while Exeggutor''s Leaf Storm switched focus. "Swap with Persian," Giovanni whispered to Nidoqueen. The poison type wheezed, finally letting go of Protect and Persian instantly reced the shimmering green barrier before Charizard had a chance to hit him. Giovanni had trained the two in absolute defense. They could keep Protect going for a long time. Nidoking finally broke through Snox, whose gut was bloodied and torn open and his hand loomed over Exeggutor with a Poison Jab while Nidoqueen stood on all fours and spat out a glob of poison in their general direction. Arcanine blurred in front of the Poison Jab and bit into Nidoking''s tough hide with all of the elemental fangs at the same time. Many times, Arcanine had tried to find an opening to fling his Pokemon off the building again, but he had not found any. Meanwhile, Pidgeot was not silent. The flying type screeched, and a huge sphere of energy concentrated in its mouth. Hyper Beam?! Here?! Giovanni internally screamed with a surge of panic. Blue was going to get them all killed! The attack swept through the hallway, creating an enormous explosion that¡ª Everything copsed, and Giovanni fell to the floor below with his entire team. Red had somehow climbed on top of Charizard in the nick of time, although his arm was bleeding heaps while Exeggutor had spared Blue from the worst of the st and held its trainer in a psychic bubble. Giovanni''s face and suit were caked in dust, debris and his own blood. Charizard swept down with a methrower aimed directly at him, but Persian jumped in front of him with Protect. Giovanni''s eyes swept the current floor. Umbreon, Lapras, Snox, stoise and Pikachu had fallen down while the rest remained on the upper floors. Exeggutor ced Blue back on the ground and Giovanni''s head split open until cold numbing darkness coated his every pore. "Finish off that Lapras," Giovanni spat, standing up and dusting off his suit. Confuse Ray was too much of a threat, but it had tired it out somewhat. The water type wasrgely stationary and as good as a target as any. Nidoking and Rhydon rushed forward, but Pikachu couldn''t stop being everywhere. It harassed their legs, dodging every single one of their slow attacks and hitting back with Iron Tail. It split itself off with Double Team just like it had done against Persian and bought Lapras enough time to hit Rhydon with a Hydro Pump. Red pointed forward, and Charizard blurred. The trainer dropped off of his back,nding with a clumsy roll while the fire type mmed into Rhydon at full force and grabbed him. "Nidoking, keep going after Lapras. Dugtrio, help against Charizard." The flying type''s ws shimmered white and buried themselves into Rhydon while the rock type repeatedly hit it in the head with a fist that exploded with Stone Edge every time it struck. Nidoking mauled Lapras, who cried out in pain as Nidoking gored its neck and secreted poison into its bloodstream. Red quickly recalled the water type, and Espeon jumped down to meet him while Blue did the same, not bothering to use a Psychic or his massive Pidgeot. Charizard red up with power that came from nowhere¡ª ze! Dugtrio sent a few balls of exploding mud at the fire type, but it only had eyes for Rhydon and grabbed the rock type into a Seismic Toss, flying off into the air and out of the destroyed window. Nidoking turned to Snox, whonded with a boom on the floor and created a crater, but Giovanni signaled the poison type, and he took a few steps back, returning to Giovanni''s side. "Whew," Blue sighed, noticing a lull in the fight. "This really gets my blood pumping. Hey Red, get a load of this guy! He really thinks he can take us." Blue recalled the rest of his team and set them down on this floor, and Red did the same. "Surrender to the League," Red said, ignoring his fellow trainer. "Strike a deal with Lance." "Hah!" Giovanni cackled. From the corner of his vision, Charizard carried Rhydon back down and a shock wave rocked his body. A secondter, he heard a huge crash. Rhydon was down. "It is true what they say! You are a child of few words, Red," Giovanni spat out the name. "A deal? Lance would rather see me killed, and I have gone too far to give up now." "Well, die," Blue shrugged. "Not my problem." Four Pokemon left to their nine, Giovanni''s mind raced. And that was if he counted Persian, who was straining to keep up his Protect. They were stronger than he expected. Easily past the level of eight badges already. Giovanni could not afford to send off his Pokemon into the fray any longer. "Stick together. Persian, swap with Nidoqueen. You''re going to hit their psychics¡ª" Giovanni whispered. "Keep whispering, loser! You''ll still fucking lose," Blue grinned. "Umbreon, go on the offense! Arcanine, you''re support!" The dark type sunk into the floor and crawled up on the half-broken walls while Arcanine ran toward Giovanni''s Persian. The feline''s eyes red, and Arcanine froze for a split second, allowing the normal type to pass him. Umbreon snarled as he jumped out of the wall, darkness exploding out of him with a harrowing silence. The dark submerged all of Giovanni''s Pokemon, and Nidoking blindly swept his arm and tail around. Right at that moment, Charizard flew back into the building, not blinded with rage but with determination as it spat out a Dragon Pulse at Dugtrio, who buried to avoid the st. stoise''s Rapid Spin sent high-pressurized water flying everywhere, including the building''s walls. They easily copsed from the strain, and Persian yowled in pain, but a Night sh cut across Espeon''s barrier and Dugtrio was close behind with a Night sh of his own. Persian quickly ran back to Giovanni''s side, going around every opponent and dodging their attacks with ease until Arcanine mmed into him with another Extreme Speed. Snox was too slow, so Pikachu was thest line of defense. Thunder roared, and Persian was caught in the st until his fur caught on fire, but Dugtrio was immune. Espeon cried out as Dugtrio''s ws shed at her, but Giovanni''s smile fell when Exeggutor kept the ground type still with Psychic and began to assault his mind. At the same time, he expended his barrier to include Red while stoise focused his attacks on Dugtrio. A Sludge Bomb from Nidoking would have killed off Espeon had Red not recalled it. Next to Giovanni, Blue''s Umbreon still shed with Nidoqueen, and it was losing. At least until Pidgeon swooped down with something akin to a remote Steel Wing, and Snox reached them with a Rollout that led into a Heavy m onto Nidoqueen. The Protect around Giovanni nearly copsed when the full weight of the massive normal typended onto Nidoqueen, and Umbreon pawed at her leg with some kind of dark type attack¡ª Which quite literally destroyed her leg. Such power! That could only be Foul y! Giovanni''s eye twitched as Snox used Ice Punch repeatedly on Nidoqueen''s face and her protection copsed. Persian was still reeling from the Extreme Speed. "Now," Red said. Pikachu appeared from nowhere like an assassin, and it would have killed Giovanni had Nidoking not drawn the electricity with his horn. The poison type kicked the rodent away and turned to continue spewing his poison on the opposition. Umbreon had struck many blows to Nidoqueen, but even with a broken leg, it was no match for her. Nidoqueen roared, and she pped her hands around the dark type''s face, crushing its skull. Giovanni clicked his tongue when Umbreon hadn''t died. Blue''s mask of confidence slipped, however, and he ced Umbreon back into its Pokeball. "stoise, Hydro Cannon! Pidgeot, Arcanine, Hyper Beam!" Blue snapped. Red side-eyed him, and Giovanni blinked. That was suicide. Fucking Oak giving his grandson these damned TMs! Giovanni watched as two spheres of concentrated energy materialized in Arcanine and Pidgeot''s mouths and the air around them shifted from how hot these attacks were. Water gathered in stoise''s mouth and cannons so powerful it was just foam and vapor. Red just ran away without a single word, leaving Blue and his wild suicidal grin to face Giovanni. His ears popped, and everything exploded. When Giovanni opened his eyes, he tried to move his arm and restrained a scream. Broken, he acknowledged. He had fallen multiple stories, and he was nearly dead. But not dead. He had noticed Persian and Nidoqueen desperately use Protect in front of him the moment of the attack. And yet, he had lost everything. To two children. Giovanni stared around in hopes of finding a teammate as he strained to stand up. Bodies littered the floor. Dead employees he had taken hostage and the Rockets he had brought for this mission. Was it over, then? He no longer had the Master Ball, and he doubted he could recreate it now. Giovanni''s skills had rusted. He had not focused on or loved Pokemon battling for years now. Was Kanto doomed to irrelevance¡ª No. He still had Mewtwo. Giovanni limped toward the stairs and his Persian soon joined him. "Go find the others," he hacked. Koyasu had probably died of coteral damage, but Giovanni''s identity was going to get leaked. The knives were out. It was war.
Chapter 250 Chapter 250
CHAPTER 250 "There¡­ there, my stream is over," I muttered. I double-checked my phone to make sure I wasn''t about to carry it while still streaming on ident. "Yep, over." It was pretty hard to ignore the swarm of trainers no doubt waiting for me outside so I could no doubt exin how the hell I''d gotten an Electivire. I already had twenty-nine notifications¡ª half of them from Melody and Denzel alone, the other half from all of my friends. Even Candice hadn''t known, for some reason. Maybe Cynthia had kept the deal contained to her, me and Volkner? A congrattion from Jasmine, a panicked text from Louis about how hurt our Pokemon had been, Pauline calling me a badass and desperately wanting her Vigoroth to evolve into king after seeing Snox at work¡­ there were some simrities with the two. There were more texts than I could count. My viewership had peaked slightly lower than my battle with Denzel, probably because I didn''t have his reach online. "I''m pretty bad with inte stuff," Barry said, leaning forward. For a second, I thought he''d been snooping and I covered my phone, but he didn''t even pay attention. "We didn''t have it when I grew up." "Damn. Did you just watch TV?" "I wouldn''t watch cable. Most of the time, I just yed outside, but sometimes I''d put my old man''s old VHS tapes on to see his battles," Barry said with a fond smile. "We''ve got every single one of his Gym Battles, some other ones where he battled random trainers, all of his runs in the Conference and his battles against the Elite Four and the Champion." "Holy crap," I muttered. He had a treasure trove of videos that were no doubt worth millions. None of this footage was avable to the public, if I had to guess. Maybe they kept them in some archives at the League, though. "Did he get far?" When he said the Elite Four and Champion did he mean that Palmer had actually gotten that far in the Conference? "Got to fight the Elite Four twice," Barry said, his face beaming in admiration¡ª and . "The second time, he got up to the Champion, but lost. After that, they recruited him in to work for the League." I nodded with a grunt, surprised he hadn''t pushed on to be the Champion himself. I ced my phone back in my pocket, folded my tripod and put it in my backpack. "Who was the Champion back then?" "Leo Florentius!" He instantly answered. "Half dragon, half steel type specialist! Of course, he lost a few yearster to Gabriel Radetic, who then lost to Cynthia wayter, but Leo was really cool! They say he sent his Smence out during the war, who would fly down south to attack Kanto''s armies on his own. He was really strong." "War isn''t cool," I said. "Oh¡­ well, of course," he nodded. "But my old man couldn''t even take him down at the tail-end of his career, so you know he was really powerful." "I can see why you and Denzel are friends," I smirked. They''d probably nerded about trainer history together for hours as young kids. I turned to face the crowd, who hadrgely dispersed outside by now. Trainers were respectful enough to give their opponents space after such a battle. "Okay, I''m going to go home now. I need to get my Pokemon healed and answer some texts." "I can bring you if you want!" He eximed. "Oh. I thought you''d run off." "Well, my Pokemon are beat up too," he shrugged. His eyes were such a light brown that they almost appeared orange. "It''s not like I could do anything anyway. My battle with Wake is in four days." "Oh. Oh. I''m sorry," I said. "What for?" "Well, had I known that I wouldn''t have tried to hurt them so much," I muttered. "I could have dyed your battle by weeks if you were forced to miss the deadline! Why didn''t you tell me?" "I wanted you to give it everything you had with no holds barred, that''s all," he answered as if he was saying the most obvious thing in the world. "That way, we bothe out of the battle satisfied no matter the result." "Okay," I said, still thinking I''d almost ruined his stay in Pastoria. Luckily I hadn''t actually broken any bones¡­ except maybe Staraptor? They were pretty tough, as far as flying types went. "I guess I''ll take you up on your offer. It''s not often someone gets to talk to Barry Lane." "Why talk when I could train instead?" He deadpanned. Had I been someone else, that definitely would have rubbed me the wrong way. Right now, though, I just smiled. Barry was short¡ª well, no, he was shortpared to the friends I had. He was only an inch taller than me if I could estimate correctly. He pushed through the crowd, using my ankle to make people clear the way so I could pass through. Already, I could hear the numerous questions on everyone''s mind. Honey was the Pokemon of the hour, even if I had lost. It was all everyone could even speak about. Barry didn''t seem to care, though. Once we were through, I embarked on the long journey back to the Center with Barry in tow. "What about your Pokemon? You should probably get them checked in, and if we stayed at the same Center I would have known." It would have been hard to walk through the lobby without people whispering that Palmer''s kid was there. "My mom taught me that I need to be a gentleman," he shook his head. "My team''s tough! The Pokeballs will keep them from hurting." "If you say so," I hesitated. "We''re in the same direction anyway!" Arceus, I was sure that without my broken ankle, I would have loved to walk Pastoria''s long streets. Thankfully, the painkillers were still in my system, so I was doing okay. They really needed to invest in public transport here¡­ maybe we''d see a taxi I could get in pass by at some point. "So what''d you think about me?" I asked. "You were exciting," he smiled. "All of your Pokemon are so cool! I didn''t know Pupitar could go across the water like that, let alone fly! That''s like something I''de up with! I''m a little bummed I didn''t get to fight Turtonator the way I wanted, but I saw an opportunity to win, and I needed to take it or things might have gotten bad. I don''t know why, but when I battle fellow first-years who can stand up to me, I get really thrilled. I hadn''t felt that in a long time." "When was thest time?" I asked. "Well I pretty much pulled away from everyone else our year after the first month or so," he slowly answered, staring at the sky. "But I guess Lucas and Dawn were still great until I got my third badge." "Oh, Denzel told me about them! They''re researchers, right? For Professor Rowan?" "Yup, they''re his assistants. They have real talent, let me tell you. A spark no one else has¡­" he trailed off and held onto his scarf. "Right now, they''re probably good enough for four badges, and they aren''t even training that hard because of how busy they get. They would have made it to the Conference if they tried. There''s no doubt in my mind!" "Any reason why they didn''t try?" I asked. "Well, they were always nerds, so when Rowan offered them their positions as assistants, they couldn''t refuse. I like that old man, but he robbed me of two great rivals!" He eximed,ically clenching a fist. "But I guess I have you, now." "You should give Lauren a try," I said. "Cecilia doesn''t have a sixth Pokemon yet and Denzel is still training up Swablu, so you''d have to be content with five-on-fives." And he was fixing things with Sylveon, little by little. I omitted Chase''s name, because I knew for a fact that he and Barry''s personalities wouldn''t mesh well at all. "Unfortunately for you and fortunately for me, I''ll be out of here as soon as I beat Wake," he said. "I finally managed to get my flying license, and now that it''s almost April and the weather''s gotten better, I''ll be able to fly to Snowpoint to battle Candice." "Oh, nice! How many tries?" "Four for the written exam, one for the practical one," he said. "I can''t pay attention in sses. My mom homeschooled me because she was the only one that could get me to learn anything. Not that there were that many kids in Twinleaf anyway. We''ve got a single school and like, three certified teachers for all of it. The rest of them are just adults that like to teach but aren''t actually teachers." "One school? I don''t think I''d be able to live there." Barry''s lips stretched upward. "In a way, I like how small it is. The calmness of it all." He was thest person I would have expected to say that. Barry seemed like he would fit in perfectly with Jubilife''s bustling city life. "I miss it sometimes, but you can''t sit still if you want to be the best," he gripped his scarf and frowned. "Win or lose at the Conference, I''m off to the Battle Frontier this summer." To confront his father about whatever problems they were having. Was it abandonment? I didn''t have much context, but it looked like Palmer hadn''t seen Barry in years due to his duties at the Battle Frontier. "You want to beat Palmer?" "Yes," he nodded firmly. "It''ll be so tough! He managed to knock out four of Leo''s Pokemon, and that was back then when he didn''t have Rhyperior." I swallowed. How strong was Palmer, exactly? Like, I knew he was insanely powerful, but at that scale of power, the lines got very blurry. "Is he stronger than the Elite Four?" I asked, voicing my thoughts. "I guess, yeah. The other Frontier Brains aren''t as strong as he is, but they''re usuallyparable to the Elite Four," Barry exined. "Want to know my dad''s team?!" He asked, then went on without letting me answer. "Milotic, Rhyperior, Dragonite, Darmanitan, Tauros, Hariyama, Gade and Absol!" He machine-gunned their names, each one faster than thest. "Sheesh." Talk about powerhouses. Granted, every Pokemon could be strong, but there were some more associated with power than others. "So he has fun beating all the people with eight badges that flood the Battle Frontier to train during the summer?" I wondered. "The Battle Frontier is where a lot of our military-trained Pokemon are," Barry said, as if he was reciting from a textbook. "You know, the League has a ton of Pokemon and not enough people to train them, so they send them to be loaned there so they don''t get rusty. My old man doesn''t use his personal team very often, other than when he has to fight wild Pokemon that attack the few cities we have up there." "Are they frequent?" I asked. "Oh, a lot more. The Pokemon on the Battle Frontier don''t really like negotiating with humans, since we only arrived there in big numbers around a century ago, and they''re a lot stronger on average. Again, it makes for good training grounds for the government''s Pokemon, though." I caught myself, not wanting to spark some political debate with a friend I''d just made. He seemed a lot more knowledgeable than I was in this field (somehow losing his scatterbrained and hectic temperament just for this). I knew it must have been more nuanced than ''we''re just defending each other'', though. There must have been something up there that made the League want to settle that ind. Wasn''t Cecilia''s Spiritomb up there too? A Spiritomb there implied that humans had been there before in ancient history to actually make them, or maybe they''d been dropped off after conception on the maind? Betrix had also told me there was some kind of domain holder up there that kept the temperatures warm all year long and the climate tropical even though it was even further north than Snowpoint. "Well, I hope you''ll beat your dad," I said. I knew it wouldn''t happen this year, despite how good Barry was. "What about your parents? Are they trainers?" He asked in an upbeat tone. I snorted and then broke into an uncontrobleugh. The image of my dad being a trainer wearing sneakers and with a backpack had been too much for me to bear, even if I knew he had actually tried for a month or two when he''d just turned fifteen. My mother didn''t even know the first thing about Pokemon battling either despite trying her best to keep track of my progress. "No," I coughed, leaning on a crutch for support. "No, absolutely not." Arceus, I couldn''t wait to see dad again. He was busy being a worrywart about my broken ankle these days, and he''d told me he couldn''t focus on work. I felt a twinge of guilt, and my smile fell. "I didn''t think that would set you off." "I just got a really funny image in my head," I said, shaking my head. "Don''t worry about it." "You look sad, now, though." "Yeah. I miss my dad," I said. And I was going to have to betray him again with this poacher business when I''d told him I''d try to stay safe back in Hearthome. "I mean, we message almost every day and call at least once a week, but I want to see him, y''know? I haven''t¡­ since Hearthome. You ever miss your¡­" I paused, considering my next words. Dad would be inappropriate and stepping on his toes. "Mom sometimes?" "All the time. I try to stay focused on other things, though. And I smile! Y''know, she''d tell me, ''Barry, if you''re tired of being sad, you should smile and try to cheer yourself up!'' Apparently she''s seen some study on TV where people are more likely to be happy if they smile. Fake it ''til you make it, or something like that." "Hmhm," I grunted absent-mindedly. "She sounds like a nicedy." "She''s the best." His lip twitched. "She had Lucas and Dawn follow me to Jubilife to get me a map that I forgot about, and I had to tell her phones were a thing. Then she told me, ''Barry, you don''t know how to use a phone!'' And I told her I was learning. The twins gave me the map in Jubilife anyway, though. It soothed her worries." I blinked. "Lucas and Dawn are twins?" Barry paused, stopping in his tracks. "Yeah! I thought that was obvious?" ¡ª Obviously they were twins. Now that he had shown me an old picture, they did really look alike. Dark blue hair, grey eyes, their noses and faces were the exact same shape¡ª even their smiles were simr. I painstakingly opened the door to my Center Room and Barry left to get his own Pokemon healed. I didn''t know if I''d see him again. I had given him my number, but he''d told me he never used his phone other than to locate himself and call other people¡ª mostly Rowan who''d send him on jobs or his mother. Of course, I hadn''t wanted tounch into the ethics of Rowan asking Barry to catch Pokemon to send him, but I did try to pry, and at the very least Rowan would send the Pokemon back when he was done with them if they wanted to. So, temporary kidnapping? Yikes, that was still awful. "I guess I gotta check on my phone now," I groaned. Beforehand, I drew a cold bath for Buddy and released him inside. The Ominous Wind had really done a number on him, and he''d need hours of resting to be back in top form. Resting. Rest. On the way there, there had been a few techniques that hade up to counter moves like Rest and its ilk. First, Taunt. The most obvious answer that I hadn''t even considered until Barry brought it up. The problem with Taunt was that it wasn''t permanent, and the more a Pokemon used it on another, the more tolerance that opponent built toward the move for the battle. The first Taunt would have put Snox into a rageful state where even Barry wouldn''t have been able tomand him. The second would have angered him enough to snap him out of his sleep, and the third maybe would have made him hesitate to Rest. Would that have been enough to beat him? Probably. I certainly would have had a much better chance, and I could have kept its use hidden for a pivotal moment that would have allowed me to take Snox down. Either way, I''d move the technique up to the top of Buddy''s pile, since we desperately needed something to stop setup moves in general anyway. Two, Electric Terrain would sometimes snap a Pokemon out of Rest if given enough time, but that one was a lot less consistent. Pokemon adept at Rest would probably be able to work through it¡ª or at least that was ording to Barry. He was very knowledgeable when it came to stuff like this because he experimented a lot to create concepts for new strategies or moves. Three, Worry Seed. This one would be explicitly for Rest, so I didn''t really want to focus on it now that the bitter feelings from the loss hadrgely passed. What I wanted Angel to do was continue work on Sr de, Acid, and most importantly manipting his vines to control the field. Roserade''s performance had inspired me and given me plenty more ideas, but we''d stick with our simple baseline for now and build from there. Spreading vines through arge chunk of the field would be a good start. So it would fall onto Buddy to be our Taunt user. The move was also a rtively cheap TM, but I was confident I knew how to get him started on it, and I wanted to save my money for actual necessary TMs since I was going to get paid in a few days¡ª thest Friday of the month. Dark TE was neutrality and could dampen feelings, but the Elder in Sceon had used it to leave only an undying loyalty toward him remaining in the Hunters'' brains. So, you could technically pick and choose what feeling to leave untouched. Taunt was, well, a taunt, which meant that Buddy would have to leave something like anger, rage, irritation, impatience, or something along those lines intact. Easier said than done. Buddy had a grand number of zero dark type attacks at the moment, so he didn''t even have a base to work with. Angel and Sweetheart would be able to help him with that. I let out a silent chuckle when I imagined those two teaching anything. Poor Buddy would probably have a terrible time, but he was a genius that learned moves in record time, save for his issues with Will-O-Wisp. He was the smartest person in the family, despite him not acknowledging it. I was confident he''d be able to learn it rtively quickly. Not in time for Wake, but soon after that. Sweetheart could potentially learn Taunt too, but the minute maniptions needed didn''t suit her well. She wasn''t dumb by any means, just too unfocused to make it work. Even with a TM, I believed she''d struggle to master the move. "Right. My phone," I whispered. "Will you be okay in here?" Buddy answered by letting bubbles out of his mouth. "Gotcha," I said. First, Melody. Calls, calls, more calls and texts. She was bbergasted that I''d even managed to get an Electivire, let alone the fact that I hid it from the Poketch Company. Unfortunately for her, that had been an order from Volkner, and he was technically my superior in the League''s food chain since I was in the LTIP. I called her and soothed her worries by saying that this was really thest secret I''d keep from her. She didn''t like it, and I could tell that she wanted to scold me, but she was too excited to even care. After telling me I shouldn''t have ended my stream so soon, Denzel basically gushed over the battle from start to finish. He was really fired up, as were the rest of my friends. Unfortunately, when he asked me to tell Barry to battle him next, I had to break the news that my new friend wasn''t going to stay long, so he decided he''d battle Chase, Lauren or Cecilia instead of the best first-year in the Circuit. Cecilia had said that she was going into the Safari Zone to catch her sixth Pokemon as soon as she got there, but even then Wake was going to be the hardest for her. She''d have to essentially fight a five-on-six. I doubted that her new Pokemon was going to be that strong. Social media, now. I hadn''t wanted to check Chatter, but I''d tried to be a little more online ever since Sunyshore. It wouldn''t hurt to check what people were saying about the battle and maybe make a post too. Right. I''d make a post! I wracked my head for a few minutes, sent the draft to Melody and waited for her to approve, which she did. It wasn''t a revolutionary post. Just one saying that I''d enjoyed the match a ton, thanking Barry for the opportunity when he had such a busy schedule and that I''d learned a whole lot. Electivire was a trending topic, funnily enough. Most people were sharing moments of the battle they''d loved with him in it, but there was a minority¡ª a very vocal minority that wasn''t very happy with Honey''s evolution. Heardemsay_oO Why is it that this girl gets everything handed to her? The mentorship with Jasmine was already bullshit, but this takes the cake. Why does she get to have an Electivire without going through the proper channels, which is getting promoted high enough in the League? If I had an Electabuzz, I''d be left out to dry. Even Volkner had to wait to be a Gym Leader! Ampren7a This is tant favoritism from the League. Volkner must have told her. That has to be what that Electabuzz vs Electivire special match during her Gym Battle was about. No one else gets special treatment like she and her friends do. There were a lot of these. I typed a response to a few, but just deleted it afterward, realizing that it wasn''t even worth interacting with them and that Melody and Poketch as a whole would hate me for posting behind their backs. From the outside, I supposed that it looked unfair. And to be honest, there was some degree of favoritism. So what? Had I lost against Volkner, I never would have gotten Honey to evolve, and Craig Goodwill had told me that making connections was a skill that trainers at the top needed. Heardemsay_oO¡­ after a few minutes of research, I got his real name. Two badges, third year. Ampren7a, three badges, second year. I wasn''t looking them up to make fun of them or even threaten them. I wasn''t about to turn into Chase from early in the year. I was just satiating my curiosity since I wanted to know the demographics of who wasining the most. "Might as well follow some people," I said. Denzel, Cece, Emi, The Poketch Company, and maybe some of my co-workers too? Ramon, Bobby, Sharon and¡­ yeah, not Aubri. She''d probably hate me even more now considering she had brought up this favoritism issue up before, but from the Company instead of the government. It was strange to see my fans jump into thements to defend me. Some imed I''d only lost the battle because of my painkillers or my ankle when that waspletely bogus. My mind had beenpletely clear during the fight. I passed by Goald''s ount andughed when I saw him analyzing every minute of the battle with Archive. They were apparently doing so on the forums too to grow their fanbase on both sites. I gave them both a follow too. Iid down on my bed and outstretched my arms as I scrolled through Chatter for an hour. It was a special and strange feeling, to see people talking about me that much. Psychoanalyzing my every move, calling me a saint who could do no wrong or an evil trainer who hid behind a veneer of innocence and using every minute detail in my life to prove their narrative (those that hated me mostly used how brutal my orders were as ''proof''). Fans and haters, pitted against each other in a fight that apparently mattered? Not to me, but to them. I couldn''t deny that seeing people defend me felt good, and that seeing people badmouthing me hurt, but at least it hurt a lot less than it once had. At the end of the day, I was just a girl. What really pissed me off were the people ming my Pokemon for my failures, but I always scrolled through those quickly so I wouldn''t convince myself to respond. Hopefully Sunshine wouldn''t beat himself up too hard for that loss. We''d proven that movement through explosions was possible and not some hallucination he had had from when he''d been half-dead in a volcano. Roserade was just a lot lighter and nimble, so it was easier for her than it would be for him, but it was still within reach and growing closer by the day. The afternoon passed slowly, as it always did whenever my Pokemon or friends weren''t with me. Buddy was too tired to keep mepany, so I ended up falling asleep while brainstorming which TMs I would get. It was hard to bnce cost and utility, especially when I wanted everyone to get at least one TM. When I was eating dinner in my room, my phone rang. My friends were about to arrive. Including Chase, Mira, and Cecilia. They''d apparently sped up after I''d left, going as fast as humanly possible, and they''d caught up to Louis'' group in thest few hours, so they were going to enter Pastoria together. Denzel''s group was still a day behind, but it was still hard to ignore the surge of happiness coursing through me. They were back!
Chapter 251 Chapter 251
CHAPTER 251 I didn''t know what I''d expected when I''d seen that my friends had arrived. Running at them and wrapping them all in a big hug close to the gate? With my ankle the way it was? Maybe if Princess had been in a state to fly me there, it would have been possible. Plus, I knew I probably would have slipped on the pavement and broken another bone because of how hard it was raining. The sound it made falling on the street outside was almost hypnotic, and the soft, warm lights of the Pokemon Center made for a very cozy atmosphere. Sitting in the Pokemon Center''s lobby to wait for them toe was a lot less climactic than what I''d wanted, especially with the trainers harassing me. Harassing might have been too harsh. They were mostly trying to get Honey''s evolution method out of me, and I didn''t have a Pokemon to scare them away this time, since I had left Buddy in his bath. All I answered with was I''d been in a tough fight while I''d been traveling between Sunyshore and Pastoria and let theme to their own conclusion. My broken ankle certainly helped them think that a hard fight had something to do with it, but they also knew it couldn''t have been just the battle. My breath caught in my throat¡ª which I then let go with a sigh when I realized I''d mistaken arge group of trainers for my friends. I constantly browsed my phone to see when they''d be arriving. I hadn''t really picked the closest Pokemon Center avable to the gate, and Pastoria''syout would mean they''d take longer to make it here. But after a half-an-hour wait¡­ "Legendaries, it''s fucking pouring," Chase gruffed. Water clung to his clothes and he swore under his breath, shivering from the Center''s cold air conditioning. Mira and Maeve followed next, although they were dry from Slowking and kazam shielding them from the rain. Louis, Cecilia and Justin had been protected by Gardevoir, although thetter was slightly wet. Save for Justin, they all beamed when they saw me, and hurriedly got to the couch I was sitting on so I wouldn''t have to take too many steps. They were going to treat me like a damsel in distress, weren''t they? That was going to be awful. Justin stayed in the back and gave me a simple, half-hearted wave, and I nodded back with a smile. Greetings were, well, greetings. Hugs all around, except for Cece, who got a very long kiss out of me while I wrapped my arms around her neck. "You don''t have to act so scared," I told her. "You can hug me tightly and stuff, as long as you don''t jerk me around." "Oh. Sorry, I just didn''t want to make it worse." "Goodness," Maeve sighed. "That looks a lot worse than the picture you sent. Maybe it was the angle?" Louis crouched, ignoring the fact that Justin had already gone off to get his Pokemon healed and was getting a room. Back in Sunyshore, he would have been way too paranoid to ever let his eye drift away from Justin even if they were in the same room. Their travels together must have done wonders to mend that trust. "At least you have an excuse to skimp out on working out now," Chase smirked. I eyed him from head to toe. "Why are you wet? Did Sigilyph¡ª" He let out a frustrated groan, but Mira jumped on the asion to exin. "Little Sig exhausted herself training during one of his regiments, and he said he deserved to suffer the consequences for pushing her too hard." Maeve stared at the floor. "Well, people are going to have to clean this up¡­" "Bah, I''ll help them if they really need to." Chase waved dismissively, identally sending water on Louis'' jacket. "I thought I deserved it." "Oh yeah, by the way, Sig?" "Just a nickname I came up with," the pink-haired girl said with a shrug. "She likes it." The discussion died down so they could all give their Pokemon to the Nurse Joys for the usual check-up. When Maeve, Justin and Louis decided to pack it up and go to their rooms, Chase called Mira back over before she called it a night so we could talk. Everyone was exhausted after their travels, but she was especially so, given that they''d basically jogged over here. It was a wonder, considering she had been so unfit when we''d just left Veilstone. "Any idea of when Lauren''s getting there?" Chase asked with a curious tint. The meeting about the poachers. "Williams is being slow, but I haven''t heard of her." "She''lle around. Before you throw us into a, " Cecilia lowered her voice, "suicidal mission, I''d like to go catch my sixth Pokemon. Preferably tomorrow." "What?! But I won''t have my team back tomorrow!" I whined. "Maybe I''ll have Angel back, actually." "Yes," she said with a devilish smile. "You can go and rx while you wait for us toe back. Maybe go do the UPAN work you were talking to me about. I''ll be happy so long as you''re in the city." "Was this a n of some sort?" I red. "A n? No, we were just lucky that you decided to battle Barry Lane," Mira smugly said. "Which was a great performance," Cece added. "It appears to me that I might begging behind a little, which is why I want to remedy that as fast as possible by getting started on training a sixth Pokemon." "Chase''ll be in the Safari Zone too. I''ll be busy tracking down that Porygon guy. Uh, I don''t know about Louis and Maeve." Mira said. "They looked somewhat hesitant." "Any idea of what you''re looking for?" I asked, turning to Chase. "Meh. You know that''s not how I do things. If a Pokemon catches my eye with its¡ª" he winced, as if he knew I''d get on his case about pronouns. I knew he didn''t care, but the effort was appreciated, "¡ªtheir drive." "Okay, well I actually have guidelines for you to follow. Like, a list of endangered Pokemon you shouldn''t catch," I said. Chase groaned, and Cecilia looked uninterested since she already knew what Pokemon she wanted, and there was no way Croagunk of all species would be endangered in Pastoria. "I''ll send it to the group chat," I said. "Don''t look so annoyed, it''s only a few Paldean and Aln species." I rolled my eyes and stood up on my crutches. I restrained my usual pained grunt, because I knew they''d all freak out. "It''s important we don''t let them go extinct in the Great Marsh, or they''ll be all gone from Sinnoh." "Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "Uh, you want some help to go up, or¡­" "I''ve been living here for days without you." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "No need to treat me any differently unless I really look like I''m hurting." "Well, you walk at a Slugma''s pace, so¡ª" I hit him in the leg with a crutch, and he stared nkly. "Was that supposed to hurt me?" "No, it was supposed to make you stop," I said. "Anyway, we can go up. Obviously, I''m taking the elevator." "We are," Cecilia corrected me. I smiled, probably like an idiot. "Right." ¡ª "Man, I can''t believe I let Rest screw me over like that," Iined to Cecilia. I''d been venting to her about the battle for thest twenty minutes, and she had been content to listen. "Well, at least I know I need Taunt to counter moves like that." My girlfriend''s hands tightened around me. My back was lying on her, and she was hugging me from behind. There weren''t that many positions to cuddle with my ankle, but this worked. Buddy, who had finally recovered from the battle, was talking to Slowking about ways he could use water to his advantage beyond just using it as a hiding spot, but unfortunately, both of them had been cking in their water typingtely. "Lehmhart definitely would have overpowered Snox with Hammer Arm, but he''s so strong the copsing issue would havee up, still," I rambled. "I''ve been cking too much in the TE department! I need to start¡­ moving grass and water around to do things!" "At the end of the day, it was close," she soothed me. "And you''ve learned from it." "Yeah, I guess. I need to start studying Crasher Wake tomorrow, but I already have a better idea of how the heck I''m going to fight. Oh! You should definitely go and practice in that same arena, by the way! Get a feel for fighting in a field full of water." "That was the n as soon as I saw it on the stream. It''s too good of an opportunity to just pass up." She poked at my cheeks and gently tugged at them. "You''re angry." "At the battle? Not really angry, just frustrated at myself. I could have won." "No, no. You''re angry that you''re not going to be able toe with us to the Safari Zone tomorrow. You can be angry about multiple things at once." "You can parse through what I''m feeling?" I asked. "Scary. But you know, I could go with Angel and Buddy." She chuckled. "No." "No?" "No, you won''t." "Well, maybe I could stay near the entrance! Hang out with the wildlife there while you guys go off and try to convince Pokemon to be a part of your team." It was the first time that Cecilia actually tried to catch a Pokemon this way, which was a wonderful improvement for her. Lehmhart hadn''t been sapient enough to refuse. As I settled deeper into Pokemon activism, it would have been impossible to date someone who still treated her catches like she had Scyther. Cece said nothing, but I knew her silence was a disagreement. "Come on, I really wanted to see you convince a Croagunk to join you. What''s your strategy? Just don''t let Sol and Zerst get close, because they''ll scare that Croagunk lifeless." "Sol and Zerst wouldn''t be able to navigate the swamp anyway," she sighed. "Their evolution would remedy a lot of the problems I have working them into my strategies, but it''s also a terrifying prospect." She paused, then chuckled. "Maybe I''ll have Slowking convince Croagunk with a pun." The psychic turned toward us and spoke. I fear that might actually be counterproductive, as much as it pains to admit. "I fear you underestimate yourself, but perhaps you might be right. Better y it on the safe side and just try to have you trante." Talonme can give them a list of pros and cons, Slowking said. Con, Zerst eats anything that moves. Pro, he''s strangely endearing. Con, Scyther will look at you wrong just for being there. Pro, he''s also strangely endearing. Cecilia snorted. "Of course. By the time she''s done, it''ll be sundown already." "Hey! You can''t do inside jokes! Buddy and I don''t get them!" The ghost type rumbled, saying that he didn''t really care to know another team''s inside joke, but Cecilia exined anyway. "Talonme has this thing where she makes every hard decision with a pros and cons list," Cece exined. "Granted, I think Slowking likes to exaggerate the trantions." Me? I would never! Slowking said with an indignant look. "Okay, now I believe you," I told Cece. "You''re a terrible actor, Slowking." The psychic sighed. There goes my future career. "Wait, what¡ª" "He''s just fooling around," Cecilia cut in. You say that, but we''ll see who has thestugh when I''m starring in the biggest movies. I''d make a mean main antagonist. She scoffed. "You don''t even want to do that." He winked. I don''t. Stand-upedy would be nice, though. Buddy''s eyes dimmed, and he decided he''d be better off clinging to the ceiling like usual. He did not mesh well with Slowking''s humor. After multiple calls to get him back down that went nowhere, I continued. "Anyway, about Barry, I heard some interesting things about the Battle Frontier. I figured you''d want to know¡­" ¡ª "Be careful, okay? And remember, you need to be non-threatening. Speak softly and gently, and don''t get too close at all. Not worth the risk when you''re dealing with a poison type and I won''t be there to advise you. And also, pay attention to the guide''s advice. There should be a map they hand over to you¡ª mhm!" Cecilia bent down to interrupt me with a kiss. It was early in the morning, and the Pokemon Center''s lobby was rather empty. Couches with just a few people filling them, a single nurse at the reception, and most trainers immediately entered the cafeteria to eat breakfast. Not that she would have cared if it was full anyway. "Thank you love, but you''ve given the same speech to Chase and he left¡ª" she grabbed her phone. "¡ªsix minutes ago, and I was right there. I''ve got to get going if I want to be back in time to sign up for my practical flying sses. Lehmhart''s ready." "Right, you''re doing those," I said. "Uh, good luck. Don''t go to the dangerous areas." "You''re thest person who should be telling me that," sheughed. My heart swelled when she did, even if she was technically calling me a hypocrite. It felt nice to just be like this, despite us knowing that there was underlying tension with Abel. "I''ll see you this evening." "I love you." "Love you too." Arceus, I was going to miss her when we went our separate ways. A week or two I could handle, but months? And this wasn''t even going to be with phone calls, since I was going to be in the middle of nowhere the majority of the time. One crisis at a time, I thought. I knew it hardly constituted an actual crisis, but that sure as hell didn''t stop it from feeling like one. Like a sinking feeling that would grow stronger and stronger as time went on. I waited until she was out of view to get back inside. Just like I''d thought, Angel was ready to be picked up, and Sunshine was too. I had wondered if the potential water in his lungs would hamper his recovery, but it thankfully hadn''t. My ankle could thank its lucky stars that I was going to get carried everywhere again. I was even happier when I saw that the Turtonator line was allowed in public in Pastoria. They were banned in cities like Veilstone and Jubilife outside of designated zones like Pokemon parks, but thankfully he could hang out everywhere here. I released the two, along with Buddy. Angel was the same as always, not shaken up by the battle at all. His vines drooped slightly when I told him we''d lost, but he wasn''t apetitive Pokemon and generally only cared about battles because I cared about them. Sunshine, though? His disappointment was palpable. His nose red, and he couldn''t stare me in the eyes. "Hey. None of that," I chided. "Your loss is on me." The dragon dismissively snorted and shook his head,unching into some kind of hypothesis about him not being able to use Focus st fast enough being the reason we lost. "No. We lost because I failed to identify that the inds could copse. Because I was tunnel visioning on Snox being so frustrating," I firmly said. "Look, it''s true that we''ve relied on you being quite literally a thermal bomb to win fights and that we shouldn''t have neglected your coverage moves other than sh Cannon, but you had all of the tools to win. Both the fight against Snox, and Roserade after. I just didn''t know how to use them, and I''m sorry for failing you." I touched his scaly arm, which was a lot colder than usual. "But I''ll do better next time. And we know that you moving through explosions wasn''t a one-and-done deal by that Turtonator up Mount W. You can do it too. You''ve been getting better at it. Without Snox dragging you down, you would have made it back up tond through Shell Trap. You almost have the power to stand at the Conference already, all you need is to refine your technique." That seemed to have gotten him over the hump, although I knew he was still down in the dumps. I handed my crutches to Angel, allowed him to pick me up and we were on our way toward the UPAN Headquarters. I had already texted Alex that I wasing, and he seemed ecstatic. Part of him apparently thought that he''d scared me away by pressing on myck of general knowledge about politics when we''d spoken, but that had already been forgotten. The reason? There was a rumor about me online that I held grudges. Well, it wasn''t wrong, but the rumor itself was grossly exaggerated. I wasn''t going to dislike someone just because they didn''t keep their reservations about me quiet. That''d make me really annoying to talk to. I pulled out myptop and started opening up Pastoria''s Gym website. It felt odd, to actually click the number seven. Like it wasn''t real. And yet it was. The battle for my seventh badge. "Oh, right," I turned to Sunshine. "Whenever you''re ready to go see Mudsdale, we can go." He nodded, a little more sure of himself than he''d been before. Soon, then. So. Crasher Wake. An icon of Pokemon battling, mostly through his bombastic personality that made Candice look tame inparison. Every battle was a show with him, and his referees acted like it, announcing things like battles were damn wrestling matches. They were morementators than referees at this point, but they seemed to enjoy it. It was a part of their Gym''s culture, and because of that, Pastoria''s Gym was packed more than any other Gym in Sinnoh. Who wouldn''t want to hear an insane ref talk about a first-badge Starly fighting a Buizel like this was the most important battle in the history of the entire world? Crasher Wake and his Gym were just fun, and they didn''t take themselves seriously. Even for the eighth Gym Badge, battles were run the same way. There had been multipleints about the referees snapping people out of their focus and causing them to lose, but Wake just answered that it was a part of the test itself. "Do you think people are quiet at the Conference?" He had answered with a heartyugh. "The cheers andmentators are so loud there that you can hardly hear yourself think!" The better lesson¡ª at least in my opinion¡ª was that Wake''s Gym taught people (who weren''t water type specialists) to fight on apletely disadvantageous field. A crucial lesson for any trainer wanting to reach the top. A nice tidbit was that Wake was the only Gym Leader of this era who hadn''t made it to the Conference even once as a kid. He''d stalled out at seven badges four years in a row and decided to be a Gym Trainer instead. Yet, he''d gotten to his position regardless through sheer perseverance and hard work. Anyway, I wasn''t there to watch Wake''s interviews, even if they were funny, especially when his husband was there with him and desperately attempting to stop him from saying something stupid or provocative. Jean-Pierre, he was called. Some Kalosian who''d met Wake when they were young, and he was actually quite involved with running the day-to-day at the Gym even if he wasn''t a trainer. An administrator, then. First, there was the arena. A giant, rectangr-shaped sea with five inds. Four at each corner, and arger one in the center of the battlefield. All of them had at least a few palm trees and some vegetation, along with sandy beaches to potentially ss. Thankfully, these were a lot more solid than the ones in that shoddy swamp, so the chance of them copsing was basically zero. They''d been built into the arena''s foundation. The problem with Wake was that even his least threatening Pokemon would be tough to beat with a Pokemon who couldn''t go in the water. Buddy would be instrumental in this victory. Without him, I would struggle to nab a win, and that wasn''t even a question. The seventh Gym Badge wasn''t one where Wake would take pity and order his Pokemon out of the water to fight if he knew they''d lose up close¡ª which they would against Honey, Angel, and Sunshine despite his fire typing. Princess was safe enough with her flight, and while Sweetheart could skip across water, I believed she''d take a backseat for this Gym Battle. Of course, this was a six-on-six, so a backseat probably meant that she''d have to fight anyway, and I could¡­ maybe teach her to propel herself underwater like a submarine? It would be nerve-wracking, but Buddy could supervise her and leave a part of himself with me to say if I needed to recall her or not. In fact, I was better off training all of my Pokemon and their movement in water so they could escape back to an ind in case they were dragged into the sea. Honey already knew how to swim, but he could get better. Sunshine could navigate with explosions, but he also could improve. Princess needed to learn how to float faster, and Angel could probably propel himself with his vines to reach some kind of proto-swimming. I didn''t want Wake to blow one of my Pokemon into the water and be forced to recall them. So, the threats. The Pokemon who went above and beyond and weren''t just adept at using the water to their advantage (something I was sure I''d need to take inspiration from). First, the heaviest hitters. Gyarados and Wailord. While their huge size would make them easy for Honey to take down, I doubted that Wake would ever let the battle end up with them facing each other. Every single attack from them would deal massive amounts of damage. Wailord''s Water Spout was so powerful that it could rain back down all over the field with the same force it had whileing out of his blowhole, and if the water type ever hit your Pokemon with a Heavy m, they were basically done for. Gyarados, meanwhile, knew Hyper Beam, Hurricane, Hydro Pump, was deceptively fast with Dragon Dance and could easily snowball out of control with Moxie. He could also fly in the air to snatch flying types trying to keep their distance with Ice or Thunder Fang¡ª so Princess would be in danger there. And he was way too heavy to even hope to stop with Psychic or gusts of air. Without Honey, these two would have been unsurmountable opponents. With him, though, they could be manageable if I managed to set up the switches correctly. Their sizes would work against them and would make them easy to hit with Thunder. Next up, two Pokemon that shone through the variety of attacks they could pull from, Starmie and Octillery. Their hold on every attack was solid, and that meant they could throw a wrench in any n. Starmie could levitate¡ª although not very well¡ª and could use Recover, while Octillery could turn almost invisible through camouge and had Lock-On. Basically, they were incredibly annoying to fight and made battlesst a lot longer than they should, and their coverage was insane. And yet, the referee and Wake still found a way to make them exciting for the spectators. Gastrodon, Quagsire, Whiscash and Swampert were problems just because they could shut down Honeypletely with sophisticated ground techniques, but luckily Angel would be able to deal with them if needed. I''d still need to watch for Ice Beams and Ice Punches, though. Pokemon like Sharpedo or Gorebyss were all capable of Hydrokenesis like Volkner''s Lanturn, so they could basically fly however they wanted. Jellicent and Alomom could stall through Recover and Wish and whittle a Pokemon down with Toxic, but luckily for me I knew exactly how to take down a Jellicent. I had to admit that this one was a lot better than us at messing with water TE, though. That''s on the to-do list. Of course, there was the biggest problem of them all. The wall. Pfin. A Paldean Pokemon that had a second form that could be triggered¡­ uh, well, by the time I''d researched and watched six different videos with Pfin, I still hadn''t figured it out. Every instance of the transformation had happened at different times¡ª most of themte into the battle, but one super early in too, when three of Wake''s Pokemon had fainted to take down one of his opponent''s in what would have possibly been a sweep¡ª No¡­ no, there was something there. Amon link that was on the tip of my tongue, a strand I needed to grasp. "I fucking have it," I said, exhaling in relief after five minutes of introspection. The transformations had happened when the tide of the battle had turned against Wake. When victory seemed all but impossible. When all odds were stacked against him and it would take a miracle to turn things around. When this condition was met, Pfin would change into its Hero form and be a juggernaut capable of taking down virtually anything. This wasn''t like Kingambit. It didn''t matter how many Pokemon Wake had left. So long as things were desperate, Pfin would transform. In its normal form, Pfin was¡­ well not a problem. Just an average water type under Wake''s care. Certainly powerful, but nothing to write home about. One of his weakest members on the seventh-badge roster. In his Hero form? He could fly (without hydrokinesis!), bend water to his will, punch as hard as a fighting type, and hit hard from afar with moves like Ice Beam or Hydro Pump too. He was an Arceus-damned superhero, and he and Wake leaned fully into the persona. He felt so unfair that I''d even consider his Hero form to be a badge ahead when powered up by the rain, which was basically always. That battle where Wake had lost three Pokemon to one? Pfin had singlehandedly turned it around, fainting after taking down another three Pokemon of his own. Wake hadn''t even switched him out, probably to give his opponent a chance. I noticed that was a consistent pattern with Pfin. Whenever he switched forms, Wake would never recall him until he fainted. But Wake''s true constant strategy, the one that had sent so many trainers five badges and up packing was the weather. More precisely, the rain. He could call upon a deluge with basically any of his Pokemon to power up all of his water type Pokemon. Not just their attacks. Moves like Aqua Ring or Life Dew would also be strengthened. Hell, it seemed like even their non-water type attacks were stronger in the rain. What was peculiar was that even with the rain, the inds were neverpletely buried underwater. Sure, they flooded a little, but they always remained. Did they have drains under the water? I supposed it would be a bit unfair if Wake could just turn his field into a full-blown sea with nond for non-water types to stand on. This was supposed to be one of the easiest Gym Leaders in Sinnoh? I didn''t want to see what the hell the others did for the seventh badge! I didn''t have the time to finish my research by the time we''d made it to the UPAN building, but that could wait. I''d make sure to start learning the Pokemons'' movesetster while my Pokemon trained. Alex was waiting for me out in front, and he gave me a short,zy wave as I approached on top of Angel''s head with Sunshine and Buddy in tow. The fire type didn''t even greet him until I forced him to. "Mornin''," he yawned. "Sorry, I''m sort of tired. Ready to go to work?" "Yep! What are we doing today?" "Making food and feeding our rescues, sticking pamphlets on walls, trying to do outreach by talking to trainers and civvies¡­ I have a list of addresses to knock on doors, and we''re just one of the teams doing this. We''re kicking things back into high gear¡ª oh, you have to join first to volunteer. Sorry about that, I forgot." I stared at him with rising curiosity. "Difficulty sleepingst night?" "More like I didn''t sleep at all. I was busy catching up on paperwork for Ms. Webb. Me, her and a bunch of others stayed at the office the entire night," he said, pointing back to the building with his thumb. "Don''t worry, though. You won''t have to do any kind of paperwork." "Oh. Was yesterday special or something?" "I told you, didn''t I? We''re kicking things back into high gear, which means we had a lot of catching up to do. We''re not even halfway done, but I''ll get to go home tonight, at least." "Because of me?" "Yes, Grace," he smiled. "Your presence here is an opportunity to get some good work done. Now¡ª" he yawned again. "¡ªare you ready?" I nodded. "Sure thing."
Chapter 252 Chapter 252
CHAPTER 252 "So remember!" The¡­ Ranger? Said as he tapped the wide map with his palm. "Areas six and five are not rmended for anyone five badges and lower! The Pokemon there are aggressive and will most likely attack you! Areas one from four, you should be rtively safe! But of course, no guarantees. Am I clear?" A cacophony of yeses and grunts rang out around Chase, who had his hands shoved into his pockets and his shoulders slouched forward. Just like the time he''d gotten lessons before Mount Cor or Eterna Forest, this was basically torture for him. These days, though, he at least tried to pay attention. He couldn''t slip up, not when he carried so much weight on his shoulders. He wasn''t about to die to some stray Poison Sting, not when the Iron Inds needed a fighter to represent them. Oh, and there was also that Legendary bullshit too, he guessed. "Will you be alright?" Chase turned toward Cecilia, who handed him one of the Great Marsh''s maps. At the back was a list of ''probable encounters'' a trainer could get in each zone, but that wasn''t something Chase was interested in. "I''ll be fine," he grunted. "I think I''ll just wander around until a Pokemon catches my eye. You?" She shrugged. "Zone four is where the Croagunk are, so zone four is where I''ll be. I could try to go to zone six for a Toxicroak, but I''d rather not." Trainers around them were already filtering toward the Great Marsh''s entrance. There was only a set number of people allowed in at a time, and they were only allowed in for three hours total, so they had to make every minute count. "Right, right, you wanted a fighting type," he remembered as he grabbed Sig''s Pokeball. That damned Mira had gotten the nickname stuck in his head. He could already imagine her fucking smugness. "Stay safe out there." "You too¡­ and also," she stopped, grabbing him by the arm. "We''ll be the two first of the group in Canve, so I was wondering if you were going to go to the Iron Inds?" Chase''s skin tingled, and not in a good way. "Yeah." A simple answer. One meant to hide the fact that he dreaded seeing Falkirk''s ruins again. It wasn''t like he''d be forced to go there. The Iron Inds were plentiful, and Falkirk was just one town, but he owed it to his father and to the hundreds that had died to that fucking Steelix. He had no ns of revenge¡ª he knew the people to me were the miningpanies¡ª but that didn''t mean he wasn''t going to despise that Steelix with every ounce of hate in his body. "I was wondering if I coulde with you?" Come with me? The suggestion rang out a few times in Chase''s mind, and he was too bbergasted to answer. No. Yes. Maybe. He opened his mouth, then closed it when the words died in his throat. "We''ll see when," his voice cracked, "we get there." "Alright. Just let me know, okay?" She said. Arceus, he hated how gentle she was with him. It was annoying when she warmed his heart with her damned friendship and he had to hold himself back from smiling. It was difficult to remember that he hated her at one point. "Yeah, will do," he nodded. "I''ll be on my way, then." They bid each other good luck, and Chase got on Sigilyph''s back after showing his license to one of the Rangers nearby. They weren''t exactly Rangers. Some bullshit about an auxiliary branch focused exclusively on Pastoria''s Safari Zone or something that was directly under the city''s control instead of the federal government. Chase didn''t know why the Great Marsh wasn''t just under the Rangers'' jurisdiction, but he had other fish to fry. The air grew cool and crisp as Sig gained altitude. The Great Marsh was divided into multiple areas but further divided in two by a huge railroadwork that stretched until the end of the Safari Zone. The Pokemon knew better than to destroy it, and it helped the Rangers that didn''t have fliers move quickly to each zone of the marsh. Chase wondered why they didn''t just use Teleporters, but maybe they didn''t have enough to be reliable? Either way, it wasn''t his problem. The marsh was spread out before him and was arge spread of mud, trees and shallow water. "You recovered from yesterday?" Chase asked Sigilyph. His grip tightened around her wings until his knuckles were white. A custom saddle for her would have cost an arm and a leg, and he''d grown used to flying like this now. Sigilyph let out a series of beeps that were happy, so he assumed she''d said yes. She tended to ramble about anything, even if he didn''t really understand without Ri there to trante. He had looked it up, and her species could technically talk through telepathy, but it took a lot of practice for them to learn to do so and they hadn''t even started yet. Chase observed the world below, as hundreds of trainers traveled the murky swamp. Some of them were flying like he was, while others rode their Pokemon in order not to get caught in the water and mud. The ones that couldn''t do either? They were out of luck. They got pretty far for a ten-minute flight. Sig wasn''t the fastest flier, but she was enough. Chase hadn''t wanted to be with a crowd that would distract any Pokemon he tried to observe. "Okay, we''re in zone four," he muttered. Sigilyph beeped in response. "Don''t get too excited. You''ve got to stay focused, alright? Land us on solid ground. There''s some right below you at one ''o clock." The psychic quickly lost altitude, and Chase jumped off of her before she couldnd, eliciting a few angry-worried cries. "Rx," he whispered, scanning the area. Zone four was a lot more encased in trees and less open than the other ones. Before him was a serene expanse of shallow water with small inds peppered throughout, which was where he was currently standing. Although standing was a bit of an exaggeration. The mud felt more like quicksand than solid ground, and Chase constantly had to shift his feet around to not sink ankle-deep into the ind. The water was so murky that there''d be no way to know if some Pokemon was swimming down there without a Pokemon capable of sensing others. There were no bridges between the inds, or anything to allow trainers to navigate the ce without getting wet. It was hard to build anything in a swamp. Chase''s head snapped to the left, toward a distant cry of a Pokemon that he didn''t recognize. The air felt thick and humid here now that he was down on the ground, and it coated his throat and lungs. Chase released Vikavolt, who screeched happily as soon as he appeared and fanned his wings. "Yeah, you look good today too," Chasemented. Vikavolt buzzed in excitement, and Sigilyph¡­ probably said the same thing? He released Zangoose too, just because she and Sig were best pals and almost inseparable. Lastly, he released Ri so he could sense their surroundings. He could do it a lot better than Sig could, even if he used Aura instead. Thest thing he needed was for some aggressive Pokemon to jump at him from the water. "Now, we wait." Are you sure that waiting is wiser than striking out to search for our newrade? Ri asked. Chase waved a hand as he sat on a half-rotten wet piece of log. "Yeah. Just tell us when you feel something¡ª" There are approximately twelve Pokemon in a range of one hundred feet, the fighting type interrupted. "Breathe a little, will you? We have the majority of our time left. A Pokemon is bound to stumble here." Ri sighed, and Zangoose snickered. Zangoose, I would appreciate it if you didn''t encourage this. The best course of action would be to at least move around. The normal type shrugged, saying something that elicited a sigh out of Ri and a panicked reaction from Sigilyph. "What''d she say?" ''Fuck off'' "Good, you''re taking after me," Chase grinned. "Anyway, if we move around too much, we''ll scare the wildlife away. Staying still will show them we aren''t a threat looking for a fight." Very well, the Lucario relented. But when you have an hour left on the clock, I will have you move. "Sure." So Chase settled down, gotfortable, and waited with an arm slung over his knee. With his team here, the Great Marsh wasn''t so bad. ¡ª It''s quite hot today, isn''t it? "I''d rather it be hot than cold. Sinnoh''s weather is horrifying and only tolerable half of the year. The other half, it''s a frozen hellscape," Ceciliained. Her legs wobbled as she stepped onto an uneven bump, but Slowking wrapped her in a gentle psychic bubble to stop her from falling. Apologies. I will focus on the barrier. "You can still talk to us," she said. Scyther flew close behind her, although he had stayedrgely silent except toment on how weak everything here looked. Cecilia was not walking on solid ground. She was walking a foot or so above it, on a barrier Slowking had created that served as a bridge that allowed her to navigate the swamp without getting her clothes all mucky, and it generally just made traveling a lot easier. Trainers had looked at her in awe when she''d first shown the trick, but she was far enough to be alone, now. Talonme was up in the sky, scouting for any sign of a Croagunk. A group of Barboach quickly hid under the water when they passed above them. Pokemon here were weak, and the danger was minimal. If any of them decided to attack, Slowking would simply protect them. Although his shift in focus might just end up making her fall in the mud. It didn''t take long toe across the first Croagunk. They weremon in the Safari Zone, and Talonme''s sharp eyes would spot them from anywhere. Unfortunately though, the small fighting type scampered off before she even had a chance to make her pitch, swimming through the water at surprising speeds. Should we pursue? Slowking asked. "No need. We''ll find another one," she shook her head. "There''s time." And even if there wasn''t she could alwayse another day. Slowking continued leading Cecilia, and soon enough they crossed into zone three. She was busy imagining how she would beat Wake. Zweilous would be hard-pressed on his arena, and while Scyther and Talonme could fly and would be fast enough to avoid most attacks, it''d be difficult to hit Wake''s Pokemon if they hid under the water. Even Lehmhart wasn''t tall enough to stand in his man-made sea. It would take ingenuity to win, and Cecilia was mature enough to know that ingenuity was not her strong point. Chase, Denzel and Grace, they all had methods to find ways against such a disadvantage, but beyond Slowking using shields to walk on, she was stumped. So she did anything a good trainer would do. She asked her Pokemon what they thought. Scyther let out a mockingugh, his wings fluttering as he shook his head. The fact that you can''t figure something out amuses me, Slowking tranted without missing a beat. Maybe this''ll be the one you finally lose. Cecilia smirked. "Is that a challenge?" Scyther shrugged, sharpening his scythes to pass the time. Ha! A challenge? It was a mere observation, Slowking ryed (he really tried to get the tone too, which failed despite his best efforts. Telepathy was working against him). But I''ll be watching, of course. And fighting. "Thank you for the help," Cecilia dipped her head. Scyther''s throat trilled, and he turned away. Slowking suggested freezing the arena, and that was certainly a possibility, but unless they managed to create a thick sheet of ice, Wake would probably just destroy the ice. Still, it would be wise to work on Slowking''s capabilities with ice regardless, along with Chilly Reception. There were strands of a n there, but she didn''t know how to tie the entire thing together quite yet. "Do you want to speak about Eterna Forest again?" Cecilia asked, leaning slightly toward Scyther. He does, Slowking guessed. He can''t stop himself from talking about the folklore. Scyther snarled, and Slowking simply chortled in response. Despite his best efforts, Scyther ended up talking about it anyway. The ce Cecilia had caught him in was at the forest''s periphery, even if it didn''t really feel like it at the time. To their young, untrained eyes, he''d been an unstoppable beast that needed all of theirbined effort to beat. Today, he would have been easy to dispatch in five moves at best and held in ce with Psychic until the deed had been done. The closer you get to the center of the forest, the stronger the Pokemon get¡ª Slowking stopped. You told us that already, Scyther. Scyther screamed, probably telling him to keep tranting. There are myths that every Pokemon living in Eterna Forest knows, and all of them are about the Pokemon that lives at its center. Strangely enough¡ª he turned toward Scyther and rolled his eyes. Okay, not strangely enough, but no one really knows what it is, or at least none of the Pokemon living at the edges of the woods. The ones close to the Center would easily destroy our entire merry little troupe. Scyther nodded, satisfied with himself before continuing. It is an immortal being that is perpetually asleep and has been asleep for thousands of years. He''d go as far as calling it a demi-God. There are periods where it grows slightly more active and the vegetation grows taller and faster. Grass types grow more powerful too. Apparently, thest time was before Scyther was alive, though. So more than twelve years ago, then. Still, Cecilia''s eyes widened slightly. Scyther never spoke of a Pokemon with such admiration. Usually, he either tried to call them weaker than he was or stayed silent and brooded when he knew they weren''t. Slowking continued. He wants to¡ª you want to what?! To cut him down in a one-on-one?! "He wants to win in a fight?" Cecilia blinked, slowing her step. "That''s¡­ impossible. You called them a demi-God!" Well, now we know why he didn''t mind sticking around, Slowking mused with his hands behind his back. He grows faster here than in the forest. Progress drives him. "Is this an actual goal of yours? Is there even a reason?" Cecilia pressed. Discounting the fact that she was going to Unova next year, even if she came back to Sinnoh for a few months in some years when she would hopefully be strong enough, she doubted the Sinnohan government would ever let her do that. If the Pokemon had created the forest, then wouldn''t it copse if it died? That''d be an ecological disaster on an extremelyrge scale. She didn''t even want to do it! He says he just wants to prove his strength, Slowking said. "Well, there are much better ways to prove your strength, but we''ll see," she sighed. "You''re basically asking the impossible out of me. Anyway, I actually have another question for you. About your evolution." That topic caught his attention more than any time she''d tried to get him to open up to the team. "Your species needs to train in a ce full of iron to evolve," Cecilia said. "We''re going to the Iron Inds soon¡­ if Chase agrees. Do you want to stay a Scyther? If you turn into a Scizor, you''ll lose in speed, but you''ll still be able to fly and grow more resistant. You''ll still be able to cut things, since I know you love that. At the end of the day, it''s up to you. I don''t mind either way." Scyther didn''t answer, but she already knew what he''d meant before Slowking tranted. To give him some time to think. "Very well. On another topic, Slowking, do you think you could make these shieldsst when you''re recalled?" Cecilia asked, gesturing at the invisible bridge below. We discussed it with kazam, but that is way beyond me at the moment. Maybe on a small scale, it could be possible. If you want to return to the topic of Wake, you could always¡ª A screech overhead from Talonme interrupted him. Another Croagunk. The fire type swooped down to lead them to what she''d seen, and they reached a clearing with a stretch of solid ground Cecilia could actually stand on. This Croagunk was a little taller than the previous one, but slightly thinner as well. They weren''t wounded per se, but they had clearly been in a fight recently. Half-healed bruises covered the poison type''s body, and her right eye was only half-opened. Cecilia ced a hand on Scyther''s exoskeleton to keep him from scaring Croagunk away. He quickly budged his shoulder away like a teenager annoyed that their parents were touching them in public. Talonmended to their right as gently as she could to not scare away Croagunk. Good morning, young Croagunk! I hope you''re having a marsh-velous day¡ª "Slowking!" Cecilia hissed. I was just breaking the ice. You''re the one who gave me the idea anyway. Tough crowd. "Hello," Cecilia said. Just like Grace had told her, she didn''t get too close. Croagunk looked wary, and waspletely silent. "Ie to you with a proposition. I''m a trainer looking for a sixth Pokemon, and I think you''d be a good fit. That would mean that you''d get caught by me and ced in a Pokeball. That you''d travel with us and grow stronger. Travel beyond Sinnoh." Scytherined to her left, probably saying that he wished he could have gotten the same treatment. Granted, he had immediately tried to kill her and her friends, so that was somewhat hypocritical of him. The fact that she''d screwed up with himpletely did not change that fact. Cecilia cleared her throat. How would Grace approach this? "This isn''t my full team, but the other two might scare you, so I thought it''d be best if we kept this contained. Do you have friends here you don''t want to lose? A family? If you do, we''ll be on our way." For the first time, Croagunkmunicated. It was a shrug, specifically at the mention of friends. "No? What happened to them?" The fighting type croaked, deciding to sit on the ground. Cece turned to Slowking, but he was already on top of things. No family. She had a friend, but she was taken by a trainer seven months ago. A Wooper. "I''m¡­ I''m sorry." Cecilia nervously licked her lips until an idea popped into her head. "I guess we''ll be on our way. Before we go, I could administer you a potion. Or¡­ well, I guess you could use it on yourself if I throw it to you. I can tell you were in a fight." Croagunk nodded and muttered something under her breath. Two days ago, against a Tang for food, Slowking said. Food? Cecilia thought. Angel could just subsist himself on sunlight, but maybe that particr Tang couldn''t? Or maybe they had just liked the taste of food too much to give it up. Cecilia grabbed a potion and approached with a hesitant step. Talonme eyed her with a palpable nervousness while Slowking told her that this was a terrible idea. Cecilia didn''t go up to Croagunk. She just wanted to show the fighting type that she wasn''t terrified and that she was giving her at least a small amount of trust. "Should I throw it?" Cecilia asked. Croagunk beckoned her instead. Cecilia swallowed and took another step on the soft, shallow reeds. Then another. And another. Until she was right in front of Croagunk. She crouched and applied the potion on her skin. It seemed so dry from up close. From afar, it had seemed like a smooth, even blue texture, but that couldn''t be further from the truth. It was weathered, rough skin that looked like it had been exposed to the elements for too long. Tiny, almost imperceptible kes of skin littered both Croagunk and the ground around her. "How long have you been sitting here?" Cecilia asked. The poison type answered with an umitted shrug. "You need water. Your skin is basically peeling off," she continued as she inspected Croagunk. "There''s plenty of water around. You live in a swamp for Arceus'' sake. What happened to you?" She doesn''t feel like moving, Slowking said, suddenly behind her. She doesn''t feel like doing anything. She hasn''t eaten or drank since the fight. "That''s why you''re so thin!" Cecilia gasped. Her hands shot into her bag in an attempt to find some food. Instead, she settled on a water bottle and poured the contents on Croagunk''s head. The fighting type''s skin started to heal, slowly but surely. kes were drawn away, patches of dryness moistened, and her skin looked healthy again, or at least as healthy as that little stopgap could make it. "There you go, have some food." She handed a small can of Zweilous'' favorite kibble, and Croagunk downed all of it in five seconds. She let out a burp, and her cheeks swelled. She thanks you, Slowking said. "What was that about? Not feeling like moving? You were going to die in another few days if you kept that up, or some other Pokemon would have snatched you up. I''ve seen a few Staravia around." The fighting type shrugged (Cecilia was learning that was amon thing she did), but a weak exnation escaped from her mouth, and she closed her trembling eyes. Even Scyther winced. She lied, Slowking said. Her friend wasn''t taken seven months ago, but two days ago. Croagunk didn''t fight a Tang for food, she fought the human to try to leave Wooper time to escape. It did not work. "We can do something about this!" Cecilia said. "Grace can help. We can try to find that trainer and convince him¡ª forcefully." Croagunk chuckled, which was more of a sad, raspy defeatedugh. She exined that her Wooper friend had been special. Her skin was brown, and she was from far away. Paldea. Paldean Wooper was one of the endangered Pokemon Grace had told her about, Cecilia thought as her fingers anxiously intertwined with her skirt. Not only that, but Croagunk went into depth with the culprit who''d caught Wooper. A human woman had done so, along with a Hypno. They''d Teleported out right afterward. A surge of paranoia overtook her. Abel had a Hypno. Yet he wasn''t the only trainer with a Hypno, so were her worries just unfounded? Two of his Pokemon could turn into humans, although his Zoroark couldn''t Teleport unless he''d found a way through that, so it would have had to be his Ditto, who had a child-like demeanor. The fact that he hadn''t been there made sense either way. In a city, he''d be recognized. She needed to warn the others. This didn''t bode well for her hopes of Abel being uninvolved. "Okay," Cecilia exhaled. "This¡­ this doesn''t bode well. I''m going to need to¡ª" Her legs wobbled, and she suddenly felt so weak. Once again, a stolen Pokemon. First Leafeon, now a Paldean Wooper and probably many more. Was this the start of a pattern? If this was true¡­ once was a coincidence. Twice would basically confirm it. Abel would be working with the poachers, and he''d be so deep in Pastoria that even this ce wasn''t safe. Paldean Wooper would sell for hundreds of thousands in Sinnoh due to their artificial scarcity, which she assumed was why it was so close to extinct here in the first ce. Trainers looking to make money would travel here to catch and sell them. There were guidelines in ce, but Grace had already told her all about how the UPAN thought those weren''t enough. Cecilia outstretched a hand and steeled her tone. "Come with me," she said. "Train and grow stronger. We and our friends will do something about this. When we find Wooper, I''ll release you both or she can decide to join as well. I promise you. Scyther," she pointed back to the bug type, "would kill me if I ever kidnapped another Pokemon." Scyther snorted, but he didn''t disagree. Croagunk hesitated. Her eyes darted between Cecilia, Scyther, Slowking, and Talonme. Then, she nodded. Cecilia ced a Pokeball against the poison type''s forehead, and she was caught without any resistance. Once she released her again, she scanned her with her Dex to check her moves. Croagunk, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. Its cheeks hold poison sacs. It tries to catch foes off guard to jab them with toxic fingers. Once diluted, its poison can be used in medicine. It rarely fights fairly, but that is strictly to ensure survival. It is also popr as a mascot. Moves: Mud p, Poison Sting, Low Kick, Venoshock, Astonish, Fake Out, Counter, Rock Smash, Mud Bomb, Pursuit, Feint Attack, Poison Jab (Click for more information) Ability: Dry Skin (Click for more information) ¡ª You should have listened to me, Ri said. Now look at you. Chase trekked through the swamp''s mud with annoyance surging with each one of Lucario''s remarks. Yeah, he was right, but he didn''t have to rub it in! Forty minutes left, and he hadn''t found anything. Chase pushed through the swamp, at least thankful that this exertion was just another form of leg day. Zangoose had demanded to get back into her Pokeball, not wanting to dirty her white fur. Ri was down in the muck with him while Sig and Vikavolt flew a few feet above their heads. Pokemon fighting ahead, Ri said, stopping Chase with an outstretched arm. He grinned instead of feeling any danger. "Perfect! Now I can go and see which one has potential¡ª" Actually, they aren''t fighting. I''m sorry, Lucario spoke into his mind. One of them is running away from a group. I don''t know what Pokemon exactly, but they are flying while the runner is swimming. They shoulde into view in three, two, one¡­ Chase squinted at the little grey and purple Pokemon whose two antennas would barely get up to his knees. Following him were three Hoothoot probably looking for a meal. The sight immediately triggered something in Vikavolt. He''d been the same way. Just a little Grubbin in Jubilife getting attacked by Spearow until Chase found him. The difference between him and this Pokemon, however, was that Vikavolt had fought back while it was just running away. "Go do your thing," Chase said. With a burst of speed, Vikavolt shot forward, emitting a loud buzz and the crackling hum of electricity. The Hoothoot''s eyes widened, and they fled as soon as they realized that Vikavolt was way too strong for them. Whatever the hell that swimming Pokemon was also ran away from Vikavolt, funnily enough, until he saw the electric type chase his foes away and he continued toward him instead. Chase grabbed his Pokedex to scan it. Wimpod, the Turn Tail Pokemon. This Pok¨¦mon is known to be cowardly. When it desperately dashes off, the iling of its many legs leaves a sparkling clean path in its wake. Its habitat varies from beaches to seabeds, swamps, and even sewers. As a natural scavenger, it will gleefully chow down on anything edible, no matter how rotten. Wimpod usually gather in swarms, constantly on the lookout for danger. They scatter the moment they detect an enemy''s presence. Type: Bug, Water "What the hell happened to your swarm?" Chase said. The mere somewhat aggressive sound of his voice sent the Wimpod into a trembling frenzy. It obviously scattered, Lucario said. She got lost instead of rejoining them and regrouping. Chase let out a long sigh. "Well, I saved ya. Go on. You should toughen up a little. I know it''s apparently in your DNA to be scared, but you should go down fighting, if you ever do go down. Don''t let some shitty birds kill you without attacking back." Vikavolt hovered over Wimpod and attempted to cheer him up with some encouraging words that Lucario tranted for him. He mostly rted to his own experience as a lonely bug living in Jubilife, desperately scavenging to stay alive. Anyway, after they bonded for around ten minutes, Chase finally decided to leave. They needed to be at the entrance soon, and he''d only get back in time on Sigilyph, and even she was being way too friendly with Wimpod. Chase started to walk away to find drynd so he could get on Sig (the mud here seemed to drag him down every time he tried to pull himself up), but Wimpod followed everywhere they went. "What''s your deal?" Chase growled. "We saved you already!" Wimpod let out a nervous screech. She had determined that you were the best person to follow to keep her safe, Lucario exined with an amused look. She''s asking to be part of your ''swarm''. "What the fuck?" Chase groaned. Vikavolt and Sigilyph want to take her in. This isn''t what I wanted, Chase silentlyined. She didn''t have the drive! No spark! Yeah, she was kind of cute if you looked at her the right way, but Wimpod was no fighter. But¡­ for the cohesion of his team¡­ he might need to catch her. Vikavolt and Sig would be down in the dumps for weeks if he refused, and Chase couldn''t have that when they needed to train to beat Wake. Maybe he could train the cowardice out of her? "Fine. You cane with us, but you''re going to get worked to the bone." Chase could see the shift in her eyes. So long as she was safe, she''d ept anything. Chase sighed as he threw the Pokeball at her. The device floated in the mud and dinged. It hadn''t been what he had wanted, but it was something, and he wascking a water type. Too bad there was no way she''d be ready for Wake in time, or even Byron for that matter¡ª Chase nearly choked on his own saliva when he scanned his new capture with his Pokedex. She was even weaker than he''d thought! Moves: Defense Curl, Struggle Bug, Sand Attack (Click for more information) Ability: Wimp Out (Click for more information) That ability was one he hadn''t seen. Chase clicked on it again to see its description. Wimp Out - Wimpod is adept at sensing the exact moment when it has no chance in a fight and will desperately try to run away to avoid further danger. When it does, it grows adept at evading attacks and gains a boost in speed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Wimpod let out a happy screech.
Chapter 253 Chapter 253
CHAPTER 253 "Good afternoon!" I eximed with a bright smile. "My name is Grace Pastel, and I''m a member of the UPAN. How are you doing today?" The thin manzily scratched his beer belly and squinted. "I was doing great until you knocked." Uh, that was bad. I wanted to look back at Alex, but I knew I couldn''t show any sign of panic. Panic would let the man in front of me grow more confident, and that meant he''d grow more aggressive. I adjusted my crutches (Alex had told me that a Tangrowth at their door would make people call the police) and kept up my smile. Usually, the people on the list of addresses were at least amenable to the UPAN cause, even though I had no idea how the hell they tracked that. Canvassing was still a mystery to me. "Well, I''m so sorry about that." The man groaned with a grimace. "No, no, never mind. I was a dick. Sorry, I''ve just been having a terrible week. I lost my job and stress has been piling up. I need to scrounge up a n to pay my mortgage. Go ahead. Do your speech, or whatever." "Well I hope you''ll find something," I said, my eyes closing slightly. "Pastoria''s really started feeling the sanctions now, huh?" "Every city," he sighed. "My brother''s up in Hearthome, but he managed to be spared in theyoffs. Works for some techpany that won''t have theponents to make their chips anymore." "And where do you work?" I asked. "The docks. I''m no sailor, just a guy that moves¡ª moved things around when they got to port. My wife and I finally managed to buy this housest year, but¡­ maybe this Kanto-Johto thing will work." I didn''t know enough about economics to know if it would. Trade between Kanto-Johto and Sinnoh was just starting and hadn''t ramped up yet while almost everything from Gr had been cut off in a few days and the little scare from Unova had given out-of-region investors cold feet. Melody had even told me about how X Tech was scaling back their expansion into Sinnoh, so at least there was some silver lining with all of this. A silver lining for me and the Poketch Company, I caught myself. Not themon people like this man. I had to be careful not to grow out of touch. "Uh, I guess I''ll give the speech," I awkwardly said, staring down at my paper. "First, can I confirm that your name is indeed Ethan Cahan?" "The one and only," he sarcastically drawled. "The UPAN has restarted its operations, and I wanted to know how closely you track¡­ ah, screw the speech," I sighed. Ethan raised an eyebrow, and I could feel Alex stare daggers at my head. "What do you know about the Safari Zone?" "The Great Marsh? It''s that ce you trainers love," he shrugged. "Pokemon are easy to catch there, and there are some rare critters running about." "A lot of those¡­ critters are at risk of going extinct from the Great Marsh if the City Council doesn''t convene to update the Great Marsh''s guidelines. Wugtrio, Veluza, Toedscruel, Paldean Wooper, Clodsire, Araquanid and Comfey are all critically endangered right now. We''d like for you to sign," I handed him another piece of paper, "a petition and tomit to voting the current councilors out of power if they don''t get this done. These are people that are going to be wiped out if we don''t do anything. Their rarity makes trainers want to catch them and they need protection." Ethan stopped leaning against his doorway and actually started paying attention to what I was saying. "Extinct? Why''s this the first time I''m hearing about this?" "If I had to guess, the media''s focused on what''s fresh and new instead of long-standing local issues because that drives ratings up. Right now, we have around eleven Councillors willing to do the right thing," I continued, remembering what Alex had told me. "Way short of the twenty-five we''d need to pass any kind of legition. The only way we''re going to change things is to threaten to take away their power." "Well, I''ll be damned." He snatched the paper and pen out of my hand to sign against his wall. I gave him the list of all eleven names before thanking him for his time. Elections in Pastoria wouldn''t be for another two years, but any pressure was good. The strategy wasn''t to actually wait things out that long, but to make the politicians sweat and start to feel the current shift in public opinion. ording to Alex, they tended to prioritize decisions best to keep themselves in power over anything else. "You scared me for a second when you went off-script, but that ended up going very well," he said. "Way better than thest house. Good job." "Well, it''s not like I tripped all over my words until you had to intervene," I said with a joking tone. "I think it was the script. It''s easier when I can use my own words." "I get that. I mean, the script is there for a reason¡ª it''s been proven to be the best way to keep people from closing their doors on our faces, but if it works for you, it works for you," he paused, slowing himself down to wait for me to release Angel. Like he''d done countless times today, the grass type picked me and my crutches up so I wouldn''t have to walk. "That was thest house," Alex continued. "We''ve reached our quota for the day." I stretched my arms. "Woooo! That was a lot of work." I''d been out and about since this morning, and Cecilia and Chase were already done with their Safari Zone. I was very surprised when I saw that they''d both already caught their Pokemon. A Croagunk and a Wimpod. Apparently, Cece had something to tell me about Croagunk, though, but she was currently at Flight School and then would start training her to see what level she was at. Alex had helped with everything, thankfully. From feeding the rescues to standing around at the city center near the docks to hand over fliers, we''d basically done everything in our power to help the UPAN. He''d also let me ask him questions about anything UPAN or politics-rted, and he''d answer after making fun of me. Still, I was learning, and despite his mocking ways, Alex was a great teacher. The way he spoke about politics in terms of individuals made things a lot easier to understand. "You have to understand, at the end of the day, politicians are people," he had told me. "People with goals, dreams, fears, families, and irrational opinions. Everyone''s just pretending to know what the hell they''re doing, and somehow the entire system still works." A sobering yet illuminating thought. Every politician I usually saw had been on TV when dad had hogged it to watch the news, so I''d always seen them as sort of¡­ characters in a show? Not real people in a way. I guess Cynthia''s also a politician, I mused as we made our way back to the UPAN to report our work today. But I always saw her as a trainer first and foremost until I saw more and more of her. "When are we doing this next?" I asked. "I''ll probably be a little busy in theing days." "Right, you''re training for Wake, right?" He asked. That, and other things. "I''d like for you toe in and do this at least twice a week," he said. "You know¡ª" he stared up at me, "¡ªI''ve only known you for a few days. At first, I thought your entire persona was something the Poketch Company built, but I know better now. This is you," he paused to fold and shove the papers into his satchel. "But now that I actually know you''re real, I have a question. Why are you so brutal in your battles?" My lips tightened, and Angel ran his vines over my legs and head to soothe me. "I''ve never brought it up before, because I''m not a trainer¡ª well I am, but not in any serious capacity. I was wondering if it was just a me thing, or¡­" "No, you''re right. I am unique. It''s not just me, though," I said, remembering the Orrean Craig had brought up back at that bar in Sunyshore. Ammar Halimi, if I remember correctly. "Every trainer has a different style¡­ does that make me look hypocritical?" "Eh. Sorta kinda?" "I mean, I just want to use every tool to win," I exined, patting Angel''s head. "Before Ditto were a thing, then yeah, I never would have done it. But these days, medicine for Pokemon can basically fix anything as long as you don''t wait days to get there. I think I''m just verypetitive at my core." And fighting that way was just fun, as much as it pained to admit. It was fun to use brutal attacks to mess with the opposing trainer. It was fun to cripple Pokemon in a way that''d make them useless further in the fight. It was funing up with different ways for my Pokemon to stab things. It was exciting to see Gym Leaders baffled at the tactics I pulled and get serious¡ª to an extent. That wasn''t something I would tell just to anyone, though, so I omitted that part of my answer. The fact that the only person who battled like me was a guy from Orre (and probably a few others I didn''t know about) didn''t work in my favor. "And if someone wants to fight back the same way, they can be my guest," I continued. "I''d probably get mad in the heat of the moment, but that''s something my opponents could exploit to make me make mistakes. It''s a sport at the end of the day. The goal is to use everything at your disposal to win." He frowned¡ª not in a judging way, but in an ''I''m very confused way''. "I''m not sure I get it, but I wasn''t cut out for battling anyway," he said with a protective hand over his Pokeballs. I still hadn''t met his team. We made our way back to UPAN headquarters, and Ms. Webb was very pleased with our work. So much so that she gave us one of those rare smiles Alex had talked to me about so many times. Ms. Webb tapped her fingers against her desk and eyed all the signatures we''d gotten. "With all the teams we have out and about, one more week of this, and we''ll have enough to present to the City Council," she said with a grin. She brought a pen to the corner of her lips. "Of course, a petition won''t get them to move off of their asses and do something. It''s only one part of the punch." "What''s the other part?" Alex asked. He''d been tired recently, but all of that had vanished when he''d entered Ms. Webb''s office. She adjusted her thick sses. "Grace will be there." There it was, I thought with a sharp inhale. She''d essentially had the same idea I had when I''d first met her. She''d use me not just as a prop to show around, but as a legitimate measure to pressure the Council. No one knew how close I was to Cynthia exactly. Even Ms. Webb didn''t know. They had no idea I actually had very little clout in anything she did. To the outside world? Well, I might as well have been her apprentice. I sarcastically giggled at that thought. ¡ª Maeve Chang''s phone was lost. It had been a stupid mistake. She had dropped it out of her hand as she picked it up from her pocket, and it had fallen into a gridded storm drain. She wasn''t rich by any means (although she was starting to look for a sponsor), but buying another Poketch phone wouldn''t be an issue. It wasn''t an issue, she repeated to herself. For as long as she could remember, Maeve had kept old items, even when they were broken. She''d always attached sentimental value to something she had owned for long. Plushies, broken figurines, shoes that didn''t fit her any longer, clothes that were too small, and her lost phone that was four¡­ five models old. "I don''t get the issue," Justin deadpanned behind her. "If you need a new phone, just buy a new phone." Maeve groaned. "I will. Just let me get my thoughts in order," she sighed, then stood back up from the drain and finally gave up her hopes of one of her Pokemon going down there to get her phone back. Infernape could have kicked the gate down for Starmie to pull through, but that was probably illegal, and her phone was definitely broken after having soaked in water for so long. "Yeah, let''s just go, I guess." She clicked her tongue and tried to abate the ever-climbing frustration rising from within her. Justin and Maeve had been supposed to join Louis for training in the arena Grace had rmended, but there was no way she was going to go more than an hour without a phone with all of these rumors about poachers. "Sorry for the waste of time," she said, remembering that Justin didn''t enjoy staying idle. "There ought to be a Poketch store somewhere near. Could you look it up for me?" With a discreet nce, Maeve observed how quickly Justin could type. In an instant, he was already pointing in the store''s general direction. "Did kazam take another look at you today?" She asked. "He has more theories. The newest one being that he could counteract the darkness by overcharging my body with fighting, bug or fairy TE. Of course, when he realized that had been tried before in the past and all experiments had failed, he said that they hadn''t done it properly." "Don''t let him worsen your condition, alright?" Maeve warned. "You aren''t ab Rattata." "I might as well be," he said, his voice unwavering. Even his walk seemed mechanical, somehow. Something that had taken her a while to get used to on their travels. "But yes, I did tell him that I would not ept such an experiment unless he could get at least fifty renowned doctors and professors to agree." Maeve smirked. "Good!" It was strange, to babysit someone like Justin. Maeve wasn''t used to being in charge of anything, let alone someone with such a burden. Following what everyone else said had been enough to carry her this far, even if there had been stumbles along the way. Every day, she had to remind herself that yes, she was a good trainer. Five badges in her first year¡ª and possibly more¡ª was still something rare. The problem was that the people at the top of her friend group were just too good to even hope topare herself to. It was difficult to live in a perpetual shadow. Maeve''s vice was ego searching. Something that gued many, from trainers, to politicians, to online personalities to singers. Looking yourself up on the inte to see what people were saying about you could either make or break your day, and yet it was so intoxicating at the same time. A drug. Maeve wasn''t the butt of any jokes, nor was she the subject of any admiration. Her megathread was depressingly calm, with a few posts every day, and she had no presence outside of the forums. She just didn''t have the skill, nor the interpersonal drama to generate any kind of discussion, and for some reason, that hurt her more than anything else. The fact that she was in a group of such talented people that overshadowed everything she coulde up with didn''t help. Maeve clenched her teeth but calmed herself with a deep breath. Maybe I shouldn''t get that damn phone after all, she thought to herself with a sad chuckle. Thank the Legendaries Louis wasn''t there, or he would have noticed and asked too many questions. "Oh yeah! Are you going to the Great Marsh tomorrow?" She asked to distract herself. "And for what? I already have six Pokemon." "Oh, I thought you''d want toe with us or something," Maeve said. "Just to hang out." "Meaningless risk. If Louis asks me toe, I will be obligated to do so through the contract I signed, but if not, I will be practicing for Wake." "Fair enough." Alone time with Louis. Terrifying. Her travels with Justin had broken the routine of it all, and now she feared she''d turn into a nervous mess. It wasn''t like he was returning any of her advances anyway. Maybe Gligar would break the awkwardness, with all of his hair-eating ways. After a ten-minute walk, they entered the modern-looking Poketch store, with sleek, rounded tables and disys of all of their devices for customers to test (and to entice them, too). Out of the corner of her eye, a tall woman¡ª or was she still a teenager?¡ª was buying phones in bulk. Eleven of them, and the cheapest models still avable. She was also paying in cash only and not using her Trainer ID. From the two Pokeballs on her belt, she was also a trainer. Maeve thought it was weird for a trainer to buy that many phones, but she paid her no mind. Maeve asked for the newest Poketch model and winced when she saw the price. Oh well, it wasn''t like she wasn''t going to use it. Justin took the opportunity to buy a portable battery for his own phone¡ª "What are you staring at?" Maeve asked. Justin''s eyes drifted back toward hers. It was strange, how he could maintain eye contact for as long as he needed. "That girl was staring at us," he said, nudging his head forward. "Looks like she''s getting ready to leave." Maeve turned and noticed it was the same woman¡ª or girl, ording to Justin¡ª that had been buying so many phones. She packed them all in a bag, but instead of leaving, she beelined right toward them, her ashen hair swaying from side to side. Maeve''s back straightened as she stared at the six-foot-two teenager. She''d rarely seen a girl this tall. "Hi," she shed her teeth. "Uh, I noticed you were looking at me? Do you need anything?" "Oh, uh, sorry," Maeve stammered. "I was just surprised at the number of phones you were buying and your height." "Oh. People always joked about how tall I was growing up," she muttered, cing a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "I wish I could be smaller, but it is what it is. Both my parents were over six feet. My dad''s almost seven feet tall, actually." Maeve almost shrunk under her intense stare, but she pushed through. "Well, that was it, I guess. Sorry to bother you." Justin also dipped his head and apologized. "No worries. And hey, maybe we could hang around more often? This is kind of embarrassing, but I''m a pretty big fan." "Oh. Of who? Denzel?" She asked, thinking it was the most likely choice. He had the most followers online, after all. Maybe Grace? Cecilia? Chase was too mean to have many fans, but the ones he did have were mostly from Canve and the Iron Inds. "You!" Sheughed. "I''ve seen all of your Gym Battles. Your battle with Volkner? Great performance! Your Infernape is a menace. The way you had him throw those ming rocks at Volkner''s Pokemon like bullets? That was cool as hell. " Maeve inhaled sharply. A fan? Was this a dream? All of a sudden, her jaw started to tremble, and Maeve wanted to crawl into a hole. She''d been so weird! To a fan! She cleared her throat, making her voice a smidge deeper. "Sure thing. We can do whatever. Just contact me on the forums? Wait, what''s your name?" The teenager beamed. "Zoey Miranda. My ount''s verified, so you shouldn''t have any trouble on that front. So, uh, I''ll see youter?" Maeve excitedly nodded, and Zoey left the store''s premises. It wasn''t much, but being recognized outside had meant the world to her. "Justin, did you see that?!" She bumped him in the arm with an elbow. "I have a fan!" "She could be using you to get closer to Denzel or the other top first-years," he immediately said. Maeve''s shoulders slumped, and her confidence vanished. "No need to look like you''ve seen a ghost. I''m just saying it''s a possibility. Why don''t you start by looking her up." The two left the store, and while making their way to the arena Grace and Barry had battled in, Maeve set up her phone. The good thing about Poketch was that she could recover everything she had on her old phone through her Poketch ount, even if you had to go through a thousand different loops and steps to actually get your data back for security and privacy reasons. Zoey Miranda. Her ount was indeed verified. Two badges, although she''d startedter than the usual age of fifteen, which made sense. She was actually neen years old, having beaten both Maylene and Volkner. She had never posted on Maeve''s megathread, but maybe she was more of a lurker than anything. More snooping reinforced that theory. Zoey rarely posted anything. In fact, there was a one-and-a-half-month gap where she hadn''t posted anything on the forums, or even been active at all, for that matter. Maeve contacted her right away, asking when she''d like to meet. Her heart was beating in anticipation for an answer, but none came by the time they made it to the arena. Louis was already waiting for them by the entrance with his Nales next to him. They''d been practicing telepathy thest few weeks. All in all, today was looking up already. ¡ª "Why wouldn''t you show me Wimpod?" I whined. "They''re such cute little bugs!" "Because she''s terrified of loud noises and new people, that''s why," Chaseined, staring at me in annoyance. "She ran away from me when I showed her to Mira. It''s a wonder someone like that managed to live in a damn marsh full of other Pokemon. I''d think she would have gotten a heart attack from her own shadow." I ced my hands on my hips. "Rude." "I''ll show her to you when I get her to sit still in front of strangers," he said. "Right now she thinks me and my team are part of her new swarm or whatever." I was sure I''d be able to look at Wimpod without scaring her, but I respected his decision and decided not to keep pushing. "Don''t keep us waiting too long," I chided. "I''m happy you got a new Pokemon." "Sure¡­" Chase didn''t look very pleased with his capture, but his team was, and I knew he wasn''t the kind of person to treat a Pokemon badly. He was prickly on the outside but soft on the inside, like a cactus. He''d probably be gushing about Wimpod''s progress in a week and bringing her up any time he could. We were waiting for Cecilia toe back from assessing Croagunk, and she''d be there any minute now. Mira was unfortunately unavable, having convinced the Porygon expert to let her work for him in exchange for an Upgrade. Supposedly, he''d been impressed with her credentials, having attempted to create a Porygon from scratch. So basically, we weren''t going to be seeing her a whole lot, at least until Denzel got here, which was soon. During her free time, Chase would force her to train so she didn''t fall behind more than she had. He told me that they''d made good progress while traveling and that she had a few tricks to alter the terrain now. The others were still out training, which meant it was just me and Chase. "How''d you like your work at, uh, the¡­" "UPAN," I said. "United Pokemon Advocacy Network." "Right. The UPAN." "I won''t lie to you, it was tiring, but it was also fun. I felt like I was actually doing something." I smiled, and my fingers twitched in excitement. "I''ll be working with them the entire time we''re here." "Well, good for you. You know, I''ve been meaning to tell you. That ancient city up in the mountains? Don''t bother looking inside of the city, there''s nothing there but Sigilyph and you''ll just waste time¡ª time that will leave that ghost enough time to find you and hunt you down. Look inside of the castle instead. Make a beeline for it. The ceiling''s high enough for you to fly in Princess." "I''d thought of that already, but thanks." "Huh? You did?" "Well yeah, I''m not gonna look if there''s nothing there. You said the ydol and Baltoy were all drawn closest to whoever the king was, right? That means they''d be in the castle." "Well, except for that weird metallic Pokemon, yes," he nodded. "I hadn''t thought of it that way. I didn''t have time to look anywhere but the central hall and the throne room." "Thanks for the advice anyway." Such a powerful ghost would definitely have ways to render barriers ineffective, I thought. I was better off ying it as safe as I could. Cecilia entered the room a few minutester, a thin Croagunk following behind her. Her bright yellow eyes instantly captivated me, and I nodded at her. Chase raised a hand to make a nonmittal wave. The poison type didn''t really look happy to be here, but she wasn''t angry. Maybe a twinge of anxiety? Or was it anticipation? Slowking followed close by. He had probably served as the trantor. "This is Croagunk," Cecilia introduced her with a gesture of her hand. "As you know, I caught her in the Safari Zone, but she revealed something to me." Cecilia exined that Croagunk had been friends with a Paldean Wooper who had been caught by an older-looking woman. From the way Croagunk had described her, she was older than your usual trainer. In her forties, maybe. The intriguing part about this was that she had used a Hypno to Teleport away. More importantly, Cecilia had promised. She had promised to do something to find Wooper, so this was her fully giving in to fight Abel. Her reservations had not been put to rest, however. I still heard the doubt in her tone when she got to that part of the story. What she was sure of, however, was destroying the poachers. "I''ll just assume she Teleported in," I muttered, both to myself and the others. "But for that, you''d have to have been inside the Safari Zone beforehand." "And if she didn''t, think we can twist some arms and find a log of everyone who''s been there? You said it was two days ago, so they probably still have her name," Chase suggested. "They''d just say no," I shrugged. Unless this soft power thing was way beyond what I thought it was capable of. But that was just a pipe dream. "And Abel wouldn''t just let himself get tracked like that." "Agreed," Cecilia said. "Did the woman talk at all?" I asked. Croagunk nodded. "She spoke well?" Cecilia asked, catching onto what I was implying. If she spoke well, then it would lend credence to it being his Zoroark. The Unovan Pokemon was extremely rare¡ª one of the rarest Pokemon on the, in fact¡ª but it was still a dark type. Dark types couldn''t Teleport. Unless¡­ well, unless Hypno knew Miracle Eye, now. Jasmine had exined how it allowed psychics to ''peer through the world''s veil'' to affect even dark types. "Was there a giant eye above Hypno''s head when they Teleported? Something you couldn''t look at no matter how hard you tried because it was wrong?" Croagunk''s eyes widened, and she nodded. "Fuck. Fuck!" I snarled. "What?" Chase asked. "Miracle Eye," I simply said, and then proceeded to exin how the move worked. Chase struggled to ept it as a concept, but when I told him I''d seen it from Jasmine''s Metagross, he changed his tune pretty quickly. "Okay, we''ll file a report for now. What was done technically wasn''t illegal, and we don''t know one hundred percent if it''s Abel yet for this one, but Miracle Eye as a move is¡­ incredibly difficult to master." "So we tell them we think Abel''s Zoroark was in the Great Marsh?" Chase asked. "We know Cynthia. We won''t getughed at," Cecilia said, crossing her arms. "The key is to make the tip anonymous. This means that nowhere in Pastoria is safe, but if we get a headline or something, it''ll put pressure on Abel. He''ll know he''s been found out, and maybe he''ll shift tactics." Croagunk croaked, and Slowking tranted whatever it was she was saying¡ª but only inside of Cece''s head. It was probably a private matter. "I''ll go talk to Ariel when I get Princess back," I said, biting my lip. "She should be easy to spot in the sky." "Got it. Williams gets back tomorrow, so we''ll bring him into this, and we''ll see if Lauren wants to as well. What about Barry Lane?" Chase probed. "He''s a big deal. Also a nepotism baby that gets everything handed to him, but that''s beside the point." "He works hard, and you know it. Barry Lane is¡­" I trailed off, trying to find the word. Yes, he wanted to do good. Yes, he had spoken to me about the poachers, but he was so¡­ innocent. I was sure he had multiple close calls during his journey, but he still saw the world like, well, a normal sixteen-year-old. He thought a Smence flying south to Kanto to kill thousands was cool. I wasn''t the most mature girl on the, but I''d seen my fair share of awful and terrifying things. I didn''t want to involve him in this, especially when he had no psychics or barriers to use. "I think he''ll want to leave," I said. "His battle with Wake is soon, and then he''s out of here." "Fair enough," Chase shrugged. "I''ll text the shrimp." The creeping dread from the fact that we were again getting involved in such a situation was hard to ignore. Sure, route 212''s marsh was extremely big, but a few flying types could sweep over it in a couple of weeks at most to try to find this poaching base. There were manpower problems, but hell, I was sure the League had at least some Pokemon like Staravia to spare. Was it truly pure negligence, or was there something more than met the eye? Cecilia recalled Croagunk to let her sleep. The poison type had trained hard with Slowking and Scyther and all of today''s emotions had tired her out. "How is she?" Chase asked. "Strong?" "I assess her to be around the level of three badges?" Cecilia said, unsure of herself. "Maybe slightly lower. She''s got a good foundation, and she''s quite speedy, but her power iscking as of yet. It''s nothing that can''t be fixed, though. What about your Wimpod?" Chase coughed into his fist. "Yeah, I''m pretty sure she''s currently at the lowest of the low." I chuckled nervously and sat on the bed. Cecilia grabbed my hand, cing it on herp and Chase continued speaking about how his team already loved Wimpod way too much. Tensions were high.
Chapter 254 Chapter 254
CHAPTER 254 "So you''re saying that Abel Torres is in this city?" The lights of the interrogation room were so harsh I could feel them on my skin. Apparently this was one of their mostfortable rooms, which was why it had a nice couch that I was seated on, but other than that there wasn''t much else. The police officer dragged his chair a little closer to me with a stoic, but worried look. Thest time I''d been with an officer was in Sandgem, and that had been a terrible experience. I hade in here thinking that I''d be treated the same way. "His Zoroark, more specifically. A Unovan dark type that can turn into other living things through illusions," I exined. Could they actually turn into non-organic beings? Questions forter. "She was with his Hypno. Abel himself was on the mountain on route 213 and caught a Leafeon." Officer Pugh let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his bald head. He was taking me seriously. Giving credence to my ims. Arceus, it felt good for my words to matter. Sometimes I wondered what had happened to that officer in Sandgem and what would have happened if they had taken our im seriously. I doubted that Cyrus would have been apprehended. He''d probably Teleported out as soon as he''d found theke and called Charon. Maybe it would have made a difference, still. The chubby officer wrote for a few seconds on his notepad, but I continued. "It''d be nice if you could announce his presence here for people to take precautions and everything. Zoroark could be anywhere," I muttered. And we wanted him to feel the pressure. Better he slows down stealing or stops entirely, even if he might take precautions and be harder to find. "We think he has links to the poachers on route 212, but we have no hard proof yet. Just evidence." Mr. Pugh nodded. "Is that everything?" "Yeah, I believe so." "Thank you for your report," he said. "You wanted this to be anonymous, correct?" "Yeah." He went over my story another time to make sure he had gotten every detail correctly, and then let me out of the interrogation room. He led me back to the lobby, where more officers worked around the clock behind reinforced ss. Cecilia was there waiting for me. She''d given her report too, with Croagunk there to confirm everything (every police station had at least one psychic). "Everything went okay?" She asked. "Yeah, swimmingly." I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, leaning one of my crutches against the stic chairs. "Now we wait. Abel will be put on st, and he''ll wonder who screwed him over. Maybe that''ll make him stop sending his Zoroark out on these kidnapping missions." It was hard to remember that what he was doing technically wasn''t illegal¡ª or at least the catching part of it was. Who knew what happened to those Pokemon afterward? A sudden shiver shot up my spine and my hand tightened around Cecilia''s. I let go, grabbed my crutch and we walked out of the station. "Denzel, Emi and Pauline areing back today," she said. I knew she was trying to change the subject to cheer me up. "Pauline said she''d try to catch a sixth in the Safari Zone." Louis and Maeve had too, although they''de up empty yesterday. Maeve was specifically looking for a Yanma while Louis didn''t even know what he wanted yet. "Good. Anyter, and she''d fall too far behind. How are you nning on getting Croagunk up to speed?" "Scyther seems to have taken a liking to her, and she enjoys Slowking''s jokes, believe it or not," Cecilia said with a beautifulugh that left just as fast as it came. "She''s still having a tough time, but hopes of saving her friend drives her. For now, I''ll just work on her basics and have her focus on a few moves. Poison Jab, Venoshock, Rock Smash¡ª and I''ll have her learn Brick Break. Then, we can expand." I paused for a few seconds, and then moved to face her. "Say, why don''t we go to the beachter? My team''s going to be all healed soon, and I want to teach them how to swim." Cecilia smiled. "Swim? For Wake?" "Well, that and the general applications of swimming," I specified. "It''s just a good skill to have. What do you say?" We had gone on a date in Sunyshore where I''d shown her the isted beach, but the weather had turned against us that day and we couldn''t go into the water. It had been too cold, and the rain hadn''t been in our favor either. Of course, I wouldn''t be able to go in the water due to my cast, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t go to the beach and sit on one of those chairs or a towel to take in the sun. Cece could go and enjoy it. "Obviously yes," Cecilia said with a roll of her eyes. "Slowking will be better off improving his swimming as well, and it would be nice for Talonme and Scyther to practice getting out of the water as fast as they can." "Awesome." We walked back to the Pokemon Center, which took a while because of how slow I was. I picked up my team as soon as they were ready. After texting the group chat about the police report going through (we figured it was time to inform everyone that Abel was in this city and possibly working with poachers), we decided it was time to leave for the beach. Beforehand, though, I had to address my team in private. I donned the swimsuit we''d bought at the Hotel Grand Lake and wore a shirt and a pair of shorts over it before making my way to the park on Princess'' back. Actually, could sand damage my cast? I''d better put a stic wrap around it just to make sure. Eh, I''d look it upter. Right now, I was too busy smiling at how good the wind felt against my hair. Princessnded near that same park where we had yed music for the Kricketot in, and I released the entire team when I got there. Sweetheart, who showed her first signs of molting, shivered within her shell as I rubbed her chin and the spot between the spikes on her head. One more after this one, and she''d evolve. The sparksing out of Honey''s fingers were smaller now. I couldn''t wait until I could finally hug him again. They all greeted each other in different ways. Sunshine patted Sweetheart on the head while he grunted at the others until Honey gripped his hand and patted him on the shoulder. At this point, the dragon didn''t feel anything from the rtively small electric shocks that never made it past Princess'' barrier. Princess hovered above me and let everyone greet her first. Arceus, she was turning into a brat. For now, though, I let her have her time. Two minutes of greetingster, I was sitting on Princess'' fluffy back. She had lowered herself to the ground for me, and I could almost sink into her. "So, we lost against Barry¡ª but," I stopped to raise a finger. "The fact of the matter is, we could have won had I just been better. Made better decisions. The loss is on me." They were reluctant to agree, of course. I knew a bunch of ''what-ifs'' were running through their minds right now. What if they''d been stronger? Faster? Dodged that one attack? It was a train of thought that could utterly consume someone if they let it run wild, but we''d learned not to do so. I pped my hands to have them focus back on me. "In two days, I''m getting paid enough to buy a TM for each of you," I said. "And we''ll keep our heads in the game. Barry Lane is the strongest first-year. He had all of Professor Rowan¡ª" I stopped, remembering that none of them knew who that was. "A really famous Professor. The most famous one in Sinnoh, in fact. He has all of his resources, and we almost got there. We''re strong, guys. Revel in it. Doesn''t it feel good?" Honey smiled, revealing his ttened teeth, and he let out a motor-like giggle. Sweetheart roared, causing the floor under her to rumble. Princess rubbed her head against my hand and cheered with a cry. Angel caressed everyone with vines, and Sunshine didn''t swat it away like he used to do. Buddy sagely nodded, an almost-silent click reverberating across the woods. "We''ll go further, still," I grinned. "The next time we fight Barry, it''ll be our win. For now, though? Back to training! Today''s going to be a little special, although Honey will be exempt because we don''t want to get anyone electrocuted. Any guesses?" Jellicent immediately guessed, taking the fun out of the entire situation. Sweetheart and Angel cheered, although Sunshine snorted and waited for me to say he''d gotten it wrong. "It''s true. You''re going to learn how to swim." Turtonator balked. ¡ª "You aren''t nervous? Not even a little bit?" I asked my girlfriend. "Why would I be? I''m going to be strapped in a saddle." I pouted. "You''re no fun." Seeing her be all anxious about flying would have been cute, but then again she''d beenpletely zen when Craig had flown us back to Eterna City. Princess lowered herself to allow Cecilia to climb on first. It was her first time flying with two people, but I was confident she''d grown confident enough with flight for it not to matter. Two was definitely her max, though. There was no way we''d ever get up to three. Pauline''s Braviary, meanwhile, could probably carry six people with the right saddle. Cecilia helped me up on Princess'' back, and I strapped myself in too, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach when she wrapped her hands around me from behind. I knew for a fact that she didn''t need to do it either. But it felt good to. "Go ahead. To the beach," I told Princess. "Uh, preferably a spot without many people?" Togekiss was already in the air before my sentence finished, and I smirked when Cecilia''s hold on me tightened at the sudden burst ofteral speed. Nervous after all, hm? The fairy type rose high above the Pokemon Center (which was the only area other than specifding pads trainers were allowed tond and take off from) and made her way to the southern tip of the city. We''d be bypassing the docks and continuing that way toward the beach, and obviously she''d have to find the closestnding pad to the beach. With how famous Pastoria was for its beaches though, there was bound to be one near. Route 212''s swamp was far away in the corner of my eye. "How''s your second¡ª wait, third time flying?" I asked, turning my head toward Cece. She had the cutest grin on her face. "It feels liberating!" She screamed. "I can''t wait until Lehmhart can carry me around!" "Oh! With everything, I forgot to ask! How did your first lesson go?" Her smile fell slightly. "Not that great. He could hover, at least, but flying horizontally is still beyond him. So technically, we can fly, but not quick at all. Slower than Sigilyph, really." "You''ll get there," I said. "Oh, by the way, I''ve been getting better at the piano and stuff. I was thinking, maybe I could do a little something with Lehmhart, since he loves music so much." "Grace, that''s a fantastic idea! He''ll be ecstatic!" She bent forward to kiss the back of my neck. Tingles. "Maybe I''ll get back into music too," she pondered. "It''ll be good to have a way to further bond with him." "You can y, like, every instrument, right?" "Not every," she scoffed. "Just a lot. I''m quite rusty in anything that isn''t the piano." Which made sense, since she''d been the one to tutor me. Cecilia continued. "rence used to sign me up in all these musicpetitions," she groaned. "In public, he''d act like he didn''t care what ce I got, but if I didn''t score first, when we got home he''d scream at me and say that I humiliated him," she sighed. "The worst part is that I believed him." "He''ll pay, don''t worry," I promised. After a pause, she spoke up again. "Sorry I ruined the mood." "You''re allowed to speak about anything," I shrugged. "When something''s on your mind, just tell me. No secrets, remember?" Cece spoke¡ª and I knew from the way that she was talking that she had a smile on her face. "Fine, then. You look very attractive in those shorts. I''m d you''re finally wearing them." My face felt hot all of a sudden. "Not when we''re flying please," I stammered. "I mean, I was basically waiting the entire time for you to put them on. I bought them for you in Eterna¡ª" I had Princess make a sudden drop, and Cecilia screeched, practically strangling my waist in the process. "Sorry! That was a little rougher than I thought it''d be," I said. "Are you okay?" "...Yes." Princess finally finished her ascent, and we soared through the skies. Almost ten minutester, we were on the other side of Pastoria. She circled the beach for a few minutes to spot the most inactive area beforending nearby. I had Angel carry me the rest of the way, although he decided to put Cece on his head too. The beach back in Sunyshore had been active, but not crammed with people like this one. A trainer and his Hitmonlee yed beach volleyball against another trainer and his Frogadier. It was fun to see the fighting type kick the ball instead of using his hands. Hundreds of peopley on towels syed out on the beach, tanning their skin while they either slept, read books, browsed their phones or more. There was some kind of race in the background with trainers riding their water types along the beach, and one of them let go of her Sharpedo due to her speed and tumbled into the water. It was hard not to get swept in the festive atmosphere, and it was also hard to remember that a crisis was currently gripping the city. We reached the final stretch of the beach where sand bled into woods and there was no one here. The closest people were dots to our east. Cecilia grabbed a towel from her bag, and then dropped it on the fabric as soon as Angel lowered us onto the sand. She snatched my bag out of my hand and said she''d deal with everything, so I was stuck making sure the stic wrap around my cast was well-adjusted. The weight of the sun felt wonderful on my skin. Cecilia handed me some sunscreen, along with my sunsses. She''d already been wearing hers on her head from when we hadnded. "Want water?" She asked. "I brought food too. Just snacks, though." "Oh. I forgot about all of that," I muttered. "I''ll have someter, thanks!" Before our actual date could start, we needed to get our teams started on training. I released my Pokemon, and Cece released hers. I could already see that Croagunk had lingering apathy for Zweilous, who started smelling at the sand. Zerst even took a bite, though he spat it out immediately when Cecilia snapped her fingers and yelled at him. The poison type gravitated toward Scyther the most, and she seemed to outright fear Lehmhart. His huge size made him daunting to approach, but when Slowking happily waved at Golurk and tapped him on the knee, she was content to approach. Lehmhart released a few bits of steam and got on his knees, outstretching a finger toward Croagunk, who¡­ shook it. That had hardly been a shake. More like a pat. I turned back toward my team, and Sunshine looked as horrified as he''d been before. Usually, it was just because he called Sinnohan beaches trash, but today it was because he feared the water. "Okay, we''re going to do this one by one, okay? Five minutes max in the water for everyone¡ª less for you, Sweetheart. You''re going underwater, so thirty seconds max. Am I clear, youngdy?" The rock type froze, then nodded in her shell. "Good," I smiled. "Buddy will be there as a lifeguard. He''ll keep a part of himself here with me so he can warn me if anything goes wrong and I can recall you. Sunshine, your goal is to stay afloat in the water by using Shell Trap. Princess, see if you can glide across the water by floating. Angel, look into using your vines to propel yourself up and forward. Honey¡­ well, you can already swim pretty well, and your electricity would hurt Buddy, and we don''t know how far it''d spread, so sit this one out, okay?" I asked. His face fell, and his two tails straightened. "Sorry, but it''s just to be safe, okay? Thest thing I''d want is for an ident to happen." The electric type agreed, and it was hard not to feel distressed at how disappointed he was. He was a kid, and kids liked going to the beach to swim. "And hey, Sunshine, Angel and Sweetie will keep youpany when it''s not their turn," I said. "So! Who wants to go first?!" Sweetheart volunteered instantly. I could tell that the most reluctant one (besides Sunshine) was Princess, who was already working on some kind of borate sandcastle with Ancient Power. I''d have her and Sunshine gost, then. Results of our swimming experiments were¡­ mixed. Sweetheart had to constantly output air out of her vents, or the water would flood them. I had to recall her four times until she got the hang of it. Angel sank as soon as he got deep enough into the water. He could keep himself afloat for a little while, but being in water permanently for him was going to be harder than I thought. Princess'' swimming was just fine. She was being spoiled about it and hated when her fur got wet, but she could easily glide across the water. Sunshine was surprisingly decent, keeping himself afloat and moving forward as long as his shell was in good condition. Just him being in the water created a great amount of steam, and the explosions only added to that. All in all, it was a work in progress. The goal was just to give them the tools to escape the water, save for Sweetheart. They were never going to rival Wake''s Pokemon on their field. Cecilia was doing the same thing, training Scyther and Talonme to fly out of the water. Slowking was¡­ somewhere under the surface, training himself to swim faster than he usually did. After forty minutes or so, I was confident enough to not just spend the entire time looking at the water. Croagunk was training her agility by climbing on Lehmhart''s body as fast as she could while the ground type tried to pluck her off. Walking with crutches on the beach is the absolute worst, I thought with a tired groan. Cece had been nice enough to wait for me to finish up presiding over training, and she was already waiting in her swimsuit. Once I made it to her, I threw off my shirt and shorts, trying to forget how silly I must have looked with my cast on, and sat next to her on her towel, even though mine was empty. She started talking about some movie Denzel had told her about, and then somehow segued into the fact that her movie knowledge was basically zero. I quite literally couldn''t believe it, and decided we were going to remedy that at some point by spending an entire day in my room after having rented DVDs. Times like these were precious. ¡ª I''d dropped off Cecilia at the Pokemon Center after our date. I had fallen asleep on the tail end of it because I''d been so tiredtely, and she''d been content to let me sleep. Still, I had something to do before I went in as well to shower. Even though it was the third time I was flying today, it felt freeing to be back in the skies. Princess'' back was morefortable the more I got on it, even with the saddle. I ran a gentle hand over her neck as she gained in altitude, dodging a cloud (flying through clouds was not illegal, but not rmended). After reaching the ACE Trainers'' usual height and a cold gust of wind rushed through my clothes, I had Princess scan the surroundings to see if we could spot Ariel. No brilliant spot of yellow ever got my attention, so after five minutes of looking, worry crept up my neck. Was she fired? Can ACE Trainers even get fired? They''d probably be discharged. On one hand, the thought of her being punished for failing us so spectacrly felt somewhat satisfying, but on the other, she was the ACE Trainer I was most familiar with. And if she was gone, who had they reced her with? A cry from Princess snapped me out of my thoughts, and she turned toward a dark spot in the sky. I squinted, still constantly running my hand on her back. "Your eyesight''s better than mine. What is that?" I asked, leaning toward her ear. She answered Honchkrow, and it was then that I remembered that a man with that Pokemon had revealed his cover when Abra had tried to whisk me away with Teleport back in Veilstone. His name was¡­ Maxwell, I remembered. I ordered Princess forward, and with a p of her wings, the momentum shifted. Wind whizzed past my ears in the same exhrating fashion it had our first flight, and my lips stretched into a thin smile. As we approached the ACE Trainer, something dawned on me. Honchkrow weren''t supposed to be this big. Usually, they were four feet tall, or somewhere around those lines. This one was slightly bigger than Princess was. Was he another insane gic mutation like Pauline''s Braviary? I''d been so shaken during the Abra attack that I hadn''t noticed at all. The dark type''s feathered cap tipped itself as he hovered in the air with his two wingszily outstretched. Maxwell''s dark hair was unkept and he looked tired, but other than that he was the same as every other ACE Trainer. The orange uniform, strong-looking with lean muscles and a few scars here and there, the most prominent one being a cut stretching from the top of the right side of his lip to his cheek, stopping right below his eye. Lucky. What was particr about him was that he didn''t wear any goggles to protect his eyes. "''Afternoon," hezily drawled, much more emotive than Ariel ever was. "How can I help you, Ms. Pastel?" "Hi. Um¡ª" Arceus, now that I was here I didn''t know what I wanted to say. "Okay, first off, what happened to Ariel?" "Rotated through the formation. She recused herself as your contact and I was ordered to take her ce," he exined. "She''s still hanging around." How the hell did she hide something like Dragonite? She might have had other fliers¡ª honestly, the fact that I didn''t know the Pokemon teams of the people protecting me didn''t feel normal, but secrecy and all of that. They weren''t allowed to get close to me or be attached so they could make the hard decisions down the line, like¡­ kidnapping me and keeping me locked in a cell should the need for it arise. I have no idea why that''s the first thing that came to mind. "Okay," I exhaled. It was difficult to speak this high up in the air. The sound of the wind was deafening, and it blew against my face, so it wasn''t carrying the sound of my voice very far. "I have a few questions for you, if you don''t mind!" "Answering what you want to know is my job so long as the questions are reasonable," Maxwell nonchntly shrugged. Honchkrow let out a mocking cackle, not at me, but at his own trainer. He didn''t care at all, though. "The poacher''s base is somewhere on route 212''s swamp. I feel like¡ª" I groaned when more wind interrupted me. "¡ªI feel like a couple of fliers should have been able to spot it?" Maxwell nodded. "Pastoria has sent a couple already. No reports of any base being found. Hearthome helped by sending their own Rangers down their side of route 212, but there was nothing either. No base found." So they had tried. The entire narrative online made it seem like the League was doing nothing. Of course, a full search with hundreds to thousands of boots on the ground wasn''t feasible. Even if they used the Rangers, the risk involved would send the casualties skyrocketing, both from potential attacks from poachers and the Pokemon in the swamp thinking that humans were invading again. A massive sweep like that happened every time a city expanded. Pokemon fought back as best they could, but at the end of the day, they were always beaten back. The average Ranger wasn''t actually that powerful. Less than the usual League Trainer, at the very least. Of course, there were definitely a couple thousand stronger than I was throughout the region, but the point was, there was no political will to send a bunch of Rangers to their deaths in a swamp for a base that may or may not have existed. I moistened my lips. Good thing Alex was teaching me things fast. A few powerful trainers could have dealt with this, like Craig, Aubri and the others who routinely made it to the Conference, or at least I thought so. Maybe they wouldn''t have found the base either, but they had the power to do things. Unfortunately, trainers like them were more worried about where they''d ce in the Conference than things like this, and it wasn''t their job to do anything anyway. "Could it be underground? Out of view from any flier?" I asked. "Under a swamp? You''d have better luck building a flying castle," he dismissed. "They''re good at hiding, which makes sense considering they apparently have Abel involved." Ariel must have told him about that. "He learned some new tricks," I warned. "His Hypno knows Miracle Eye, now. He used it to Teleport Zoroark around. You know what that means, right? He can have his Zoroark act independently and have her essentially be anywhere at any time." Maxwell''s eye twitched, and it wasn''t because of the wind. It made sense for him to be wary of being in a city. People knew what he looked like, even though he had no striking features. Zoroark could turn into anyone at will. Such an ability still boggled my mind. She didn''t even need DNA like Ditto did! So while Zoroark kept to the city and the Safari Zone, Abel kept to catching Pokemon in the wild. How many wild Pokemon had they caught, anyway? There was no way Leafeon and Wooper were the first, and they also targeted trained Pokemon. Why? Wild Pokemon would be possible to influence so they were ready to be sold, but trained Pokemon? Mmar had brainwashing, but he needed to be close to his victims, or he''d eventually lose his connection. "What''s with all this poacher talk, Ms. Pastel?" He asked with narrowed eyes. I couldn''t help but notice that he was sticking with that name. "If I told you to do something about them, would you do it?" "No. That is not the mission I was assigned to do," he immediately answered. Of course. My shoulders slumped, and Princess let out an angry chirp, calling the ACE Trainer a bunch of swears that Sunshine had taught her. Some of these were even new to me. Honchkrow smirked at her outburst, and I calmed her down by caressing her head. I nodded. "Okay. What if I told you that we were going to do something about it, then?" Maxwell raised an eyebrow, and his Honchkrow cackled once more. The dark type apparently loved when someone went against his trainer. "Then I would tell you that is horribly unwise, stupid, dangerous and that you should keep ying badges." ying badges. I didn''t like that tone, but he was a grown man, so maybe that was how it looked from his perspective. "But will you stop us?" I asked. Maxwell hesitated. "My orders say no, and I listen to my orders. If you weren''t allowed to put yourselves in danger, you''d grow slower, and we can''t have that now, can we? We''d have to step in should you be attacked by a human trainer, but I doubt you''ll have any luck finding a base of operations. At this point, we believe they''re Teleporting somewhere else after they steal anything. With Abel''s psychics, it would be very likely." I wanted to smirk and cry at the same time. Good. Now, how the hell were we going to find a lead? ¡ª It was evening now. I''d spent thest few hours of the afternoon getting Buddy started on Taunt and making ns for him to further his encroachment into water maniption. I had a lot of ideas swimming in my mind, but I needed something that would actually help him. It was nice to create a move, but what we needed was more utility with the water. He already had Water Spout and Hydro Pump, so he was good on that level for a while. I tapped a finger against my chin and slung an arm around the backrest of my chair, pushing myself back against the desk. Barry had Roserade possess nts with spirits. Could I do the same with water? Of course, I had Night Shades to fill that niche, so I wasn''t looking for pieces of water to attack our opponents. Buddy had two weaknesses at the moment. One, he was too fragile. Even when he solidified himself, an attack powerful enough could dismantle him and it took a precious amount of seconds for him toe back together¡ª sometimes even a minute if he''d been damaged too much. Two, he could be frozen too easily, and since he was fully made of water, that was a death sentence in a fight. Scald was an option, but that was a temporary fix that would only break him out of the ice just like Water Spout, not stop the freezing entirely. A defensive move, then. Coating himself with water wouldn''t work with the ice problem, but what if that water was possessed? Or what if that water was coated in dark TE? I actually had no idea if it would work, but it was an idea. Wake had at least one ice type move on almost all of his Pokemon at the seventh badge, and Buddy was too instrumental to that battle to leave those weaknesses unaddressed. We''d practice that tomorrow. I almost had all the TMs I wanted to buy in mind save for two because of budgeting, and due to the contract, it would be some months until I could renegotiate a raise again. I hadn''t understood it at the time, but the Poketch Company definitely hadn''t been as lenient as they had looked to the naive person I''d been in Hearthome. "Next time, I''ll ask for a whole lot more," I muttered. I spent the next hour alternating between studying Wake and rewatching my battle with Barry until my phone rang. Denzel, Emilia, and Pauline were back. And Arceus, they''d taken their sweet time.
Chapter 255 Chapter 255
CHAPTER 255 Pauline arrived with a Primeape. The fighting type walked so peacefully. His eyes were closed, his breaths slow and he practically glided across the Pokemon Center''s orange-beige glossy floor without a sound. Pauline wrapped me, then Cecilia into a hug. Emilia followed close behind, her brown hair tied into a ponytail. Denzel came into view with his Swablu sitting on his head, still angry at everything like always. My best friend looked worried, which ended up worrying me. If he was showing his worry, then the sky might as well have been falling. We hugged him too, and the others also arrived at that moment. All of our friends were here¡ª save for Lauren, who was arriving in another two days. The greetings felt long, especially when a meeting hung over all of our heads. "He evolved when he was meditating or something, I don''t really understand it," Pauline told us as she shrugged, staring down at the cross-legged Primeape. "Vigoroth had annoyed him really badly that afternoon, so I think that had something to do with it?" "They still have that going on?" I asked. "Oh yeah," she snorted. "Vigoroth will try to get him angry in their spars, but Primeape never rises to that anger. He''s making good progress¡ª" she stopped when the fighting type side-eyed her. "Okay, you''re making great progress toward reaching enlightenment, or whatever. Good job." A calm, zen feeling was the only thing radiating out of Primeape. How stable he was surprised me. Emotions were like colored waves, never staying at the same level for long. They ebbed and flowed, but Primeape''s was a line, even when Pauline annoyed him. A far-cry from what I had learned to expect from his species. They were depicted as so angry they couldn''t think in the media I consumed as a kid. He was the only evolution our friends had, though, but not the only one that had made progress. "I''d feel confident using Swablu against Wake," Denzel said, continuing a conversation with Chase I hadn''t been following. "Craig taught me a lot of fundamentals, which means that training up a Pokemon from scratch is quicker. Granted, I wouldn''t call her seven-badge level yet, but she''s getting there! That Cloud Nine ability is going to do wonders against Rain Dance." "So when''s she evolving, then?" Chase asked with crossed arms. "I don''t know? Maybe in a few weeks," Denzel hesitantly said. Swablu preened her feathers and puffed up her chest, not to impress anyone here, but to make herself feel good. "How''s Sylvi?" I cut in. "Emotions wise? Just like I told you on the phone. Battling-wise? He''s been doing great¡ª we''re working on Moonst and a few new mour tricks. By the way, Chase, you caught a fucking Wimpod? I never would have thought¡­" I left them to their conversation and slipped back in with Pauline. Emi was talking to Mira, Louis, and Justin, but she was doing great. Every time I saw her, it was like she was more confident, and somehow she ended up being the least worried about these poachers. "You better not leave us in the dark," Pauline warned Cecilia. "It''s just like you and her," she turned toward me, "to try to do everything on your own while we y here like children." My girlfriend had been entirely too content to avoid the topic, but that was impossible when she was being confronted with it directly. "We''ll talk about it tomorrow, Pauline. Just settle into Pastoria for now, okay?" The redhead nodded, then smirked after a pause when she looked at me. "Did you know she posted, like, a thousand different pictures of your sleeping face yesterday?" Cecilia shot Pauline a look of what could only be described as pure betrayal. I had taken a one hour nap or so before leaving, having fallen asleep to the sound of the waves. I gasped. "To the group chat?" "No! Just to her," she sighed. "You should have seen her texts," Paulineughed. "Anyway¡ª where''s¡­ ah, there''s Justin! Justin! Stop being so emo and battle me!" The pale teen turned toward her and away from Emi. "I think you should catch your sixth Pokemon as fast as possible. And we wouldn''t want your team to be out ofmission when you have to train for Wake." "But Grace battled Barry!" Justin tilted his head. "Grace has six badges and you have five. She can afford to." "Blegh. You''re no fun." "He''s right, you know," Maeve muttered. "Every day counts for us." They''d sign up for Wake earlier than we would, and they''d leave earlier too. If I remembered correctly, the n was for Denzel to go quicker than he''d like so Pauline could carry him to Canve on Braviary. She would also bring Louis with her since he didn''t have a flier while Maeve and Justin had their own mounts. Essentially, Denzel would leave and fight Wake earlier than the rest of us with six badges. I wasn''t nning on goingst, either. I wanted to give some distance between myself and civilization for Sweetheart to evolve so there were no casualties. Even if I could just recall her in her Pokeball if things got too dicey, idents were possible. I had done my fair share of research on Tyranitar while nning to contain her, and they had among the highest defenses of any Pokemon. That was not an exaggeration. And their mega evolution was even better, although that was never happening this year. Only a few mega Tyranitar had appeared in history and the tales weren''t pretty. Apparently, getting them to listen to anything you said was impossible, and when they had the power to literally reshape thendscape, that was a pretty big problem. The reunion led to one of Emilia''s famous parties, where we realized that Justin actually kind of turned back to normal when he was drunk? He had drank of his own volition, despiteining about how unhealthy it was. The sight of it alone made Pauline tear up, even though she tried her best to hide it. I almost thought she was going to ask him to be permanently drunk, but she didn''t. Instead, she just let Mira shirk the info over to her kazam, who would chew on it for a day or two ande back with one of his many theories. Hopefully he''d actually figure something out soon. He had dered it his ''life''s work'', since no other doctor or scientist had solved it before. The only ''cure'' known was to wait for years for the energy to disperse, and again, even then he''d still be affected. If someone could create a breakthrough, I believed it would be him. When the party came to a close, neither me, Denzel, Cece, Mira, nor Chase had drunk any alcohol, which was normal for me and Chase, but highly unusual for the other three. All of our Pokemon were recalled. I had kept my team up to speed with the poaching situation, but tonight was when we actually formted a n on how to tackle this. No one woulde out of this room until we did so. Denzel audibly swallowed as Mira turned the music down. He pulled out a folded map from his bag¡ª "Woah. When''d you buy that?" Mira asked. "Is that¡ª" "Route 212 in its entirety," Denzel said, unfolding the map. "And I bought it on the way to the Pokemon Center." He stopped to tape the map on Cecilia''s wall. "It was pretty cheap since maps have gone out of style since phones came into prominence. You get a real bang for your buck, and you all basically warned me like a bomb was about to go off at any moment. I thought it was good to be prepared." It was an impressive map. Route 212 was drawn in excessive detail, from the Marsh to Pastoria''s west, with all of its bogs andkes, to the river that run from Mount Cor, to Sceon to cutting the route in two before emptying into the ocean. Then eventually, the route swung north toward Hearthome as a rtively t downslope. The most unique thing about this section of the route was that a rich family lived in a mansion there called the ''Pokemon Mansion'', which really showed how high their ego was. Apparently they had guards around the clock there to protect their home from the wild Pokemon, since it had only recently been built. The family whose name eluded me hade there from Hearthome to ''get away from it all''. I remembered it had been a pretty big controversy when Hearthome''s government had leased them the rights to thend. Coming back to the map, it also had a list ofmon Pokemon found on all areas of the route, but that wasn''t what we were interested in. Denzel tapped on the swamp. "This is where almost every trainer has had their Pokemon stolen," he dered. I was content to let him speak. It reminded me of when he''d give us a rundown on the routes when we traveled as arge group, only in a much worse context. "So you''d think that their base was nearby, but Grace spoke to her¡­ ACE Trainer and was told that they hadn''t found anything on all of route 212, is that correct?" "Yes. They swept the route with fliers in thest few weeks, but found nothing," I nodded. Chase sighed. "I thought they only meant the swamp." "No, they meant the entire route, including the non-swampy parts," I reiterated. "And they found nothing." Mira raised a finger. "So, could they be Teleporting on another route? Off-route, maybe? That bodes badly for us," she said, ncing at my ankle. "If the League''s scouts can''t find a base, it''ll be difficult for us to find one." "What about your Trace trick?" Chase asked. Denzel frowned. "Trace trick? Gardevoir''s ability?" "It''s how I managed to track Abel. Gardevoir spent so much time in my head from the day I caught her that she''s far more attuned to the ability than others¡ª that and I got lucky. She could also sense the Zoroark, so that''s a plus. The problem is, I don''t think he''d be sending her out if he hadn''t found a way to fix that. It was too big of a hole not to patch." Cecilia nced at me, and I gripped the edge of my desk. Mira and Chase nodded. It was time, then. "Denzel," I said, a little quieter than expected. "Uh, before I tell you this, I need you to know that if you want to back out, you still can. We are technically breaking thew by telling you this¡ª and even the League doesn''t know the extent of how far this goes." "Uh¡­" he trailed off. "I mean I would rather not, but if you think this is important." "No, I need you to agree. I know it''s confusing, but this is a big deal. You''d have to carry this to your grave." My best friend frowned, and I could tell he was considering his options. "Okay. I agree. You can say whatever you want to say," he agreed, clenching a fist. Mira beamed. "Perfect! Okay, so long story short, your best friend Grace not only has the ability to understand what Pokemon say freakishly fast, but she can also feel when something is a Pokemon in a way I''m pretty sure could bypass whatever the hell Abel came up with." Denzel''s mouth gaped. "Huh?" "You know thatke next to your hometown and the one you were at next to Snowpoint? There''s a third one north of the Hotel Grand Lake. Three Legendary Pokemon hibernate there¡ª well, ording to Cece it''s not hibernation, but dormancy. They can still influence the world in subtle ways, including giving a bunch of children powers, for some reason, but we also aren''t chosen somehow¡ª" "Hold on. Hold on," Denzel stammered with his hands up. "Is this a joke? You''re fucking with me." "No, Williams. This is unfortunately true, and we can prove it," Chase shrugged. "I thought you just had, like, a connection to Pokemon or something," Denzel said, his voice aghast. He was pale like he couldn''t believe what he was hearing. "You said you can prove it¡ª prove it how?" "Cecilia and I, we can force people into doing things with our Voice," he said. "She never uses hers, though. I can run a quick test on you if you want. We were saving my one daily use for this." "Supposedly Mira and Grace will get something out of visiting theirkes just like we did," Cecilia added. "But the point is, we have a way of telling Zoroark apart from other humans. Abel is strong, but she''s apparently only carrying Hypno with her and that isn''t one of his fighters. The five of us could take them¡ª and if the ACE Trainerse in like you said," she turned toward me, "then it''s not even a question. And if she''s carrying more Pokemon that day, we can always pretend we didn''t notice." Mira nodded. "See, Abel is still operating from the point of view that we''re just a bunch of normal children. Hecks information. And actually, Cece, we wouldn''t even need for it to be a fight¡ª" Denzel yelled, "Slow down! Slow the hell down," he exhaled. "I trust you guys, but¡­ test it on me. Make me, uh, make me jump a couple of times." "Oh, that''s a ssic," Mira giggled. Chase ced a fist in front of his mouth and cleared his throat. "Okay. Jump five times." Chase took a deep, tired breath as soon as the words left his mouth. Denzel, of course, instantly began jumping up and down. Cecilia stared with the same displeased look, though she had gotten used to it at this point. "Why five times?" Mira asked. "He said a couple of times." "So three," she said. "Five is fine¡ª" "Holy fuck," Denzel hissed, his eyes bulging. He gasped for air, like he was drowning and I took a hesitant step toward him. He held out his hand, motioning at us to stay back. "What the fuck? This is actually real?" "Yeah," I nodded. "I''m sorry you were in the dark for so long, but we thought it was better you knew if you''re going to help with this. Even the League doesn''t know about the Voice stuff because we don''t exactly trust them." "You don''t trust the League?" He asked in a confused tone. "They''ve been fucking us with their lies and keeping us in the dark," Chase said, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. Even after practicing with Azelf''s gift for so many weeks, he still wasn''t capable of using the power more than once a day without passing out¡ª and he never would be. At least he could use it without nearly copsing now. "Just let me sit down for a second," Denzel dryly said, stumbling onto the bed. "You said you were¡ª chosen." "Not chosen," Cecilia said. "Azelf liked to reiterate that." "Azelf? I think I remember reading that name in a book or something," Denzel muttered. "Uh, do you know why this happened? I assume it''s rted to Gctic, like, everything is connected." "It''s another heavy topic," Mira warned. "Very heavy. Knowing would not help and would only serve to hurt you. I''m talking world-altering consequences." Her lips ttened, and she took a deep breath. "But if you really want to know, then¡ª" "You know," he interrupted. "So I want to know." We told him the world was maybe going to end. ¡ª It took an hour for Denzel to have the energy to get up from the bed. He hadn''t cried or panicked. Mostly, he hadid his back against the bed and stared at the ceiling the entire time. It had been apathy. Him wondering if anything he''d done in thest half a year and anything he''d do in the future even mattered. It took many attempts to convince him to talk again, mostly by saying that the League had things under control, from what we knew. We didn''t trust the League, but we knew they didn''t mess around, even if I unfortunately had learned that even their trainers weren''t wless. Nobody was. But the goal was cheering him up. Denzel was an optimistic person. It was just in his nature to think that things were going to work out somehow. Be it through powering through or finally having processed everything, he sat up on the bed. "Can¡ª can I have some water?" He asked. He rubbed his chapped lips together and erratically blinked. Cecilia silently handed him the bottle, and he downed it in one go, squeezing the entire stic bottle down before standing up and shaking his arms. "I think I''m okay. I have to be okay." "Come on Williams," Chase gave him a friendly pat on the arm and brought him up on his feet. "You''re strong." I hugged him gently. "I know it''s heavy. I''m sorry." My best friend wrapped his arms around me. "You were carrying this this entire time? How?" "By not thinking about it," I nervously chuckled. "But now, you know everything." And that was an immense weight off my chest. Since Sceon, I''d been hiding things from him. Denzel had been with me from the start, through thick and thin. He deserved to know, and even though it was hard to bear, I knew part of him was relieved. "Yeah. Yeah, I''m okay," he exhaled. "Do me a favor, don''t tell Emilia or Pauline about this. In fact, don''t involve anyone else. I''m not even going to tell my Pokemon this." "We weren''t nning on involving them," Chase said. "I wanted to bring Lauren in, though." "That Braviary could be a nice scout, and her Gothitelle can see a little into Pauline''s future, so¡­" Mira shrugged. When Chase turned to re at her, she frowned. "What? I''m just saying!" "What if I told you to involve Maeve in this?" Denzel asked. "You''d say no." "I would say no," she agreed. "Pauline literally asked me to involve her when she arrived in the lobby," Cecilia sighed. Mira raised an eyebrow. "What''d you say?" "That we would talk about it tomorrow." "Do not," Denzel forced out. "This is my red line." "I agree," Chase shrugged. "I¡­ have to agree," I spoke up. "Denzel is already going to have to stick with one of us at all times to be covered by the ACE Trainers. We don''t want to spread them too thin. Trust me when I say this, they would let you die to save us instead." "Okay, we have a majority," Mira said. "Sorry, Cece. I know Pauline''s gonna get pissed at you." "Not just at me. At all of you," Cecilia shrugged. Denzel brought his hands together and leaned against them. "So what''s the n?" Mira smiled. "Nothing for now. We need to wait until Cecilia finishes getting her license so she can fly on Golurk. You said you already ordered the custom saddle?" She asked. "As soon as I finished my written exam," my girlfriend nodded. "It''s already finished, waiting for me in Sunyshore. I''ll pay a fee to have it Teleported¡­ unless kazam can go get it for me?" "I''ll send him," Mira said. "He''s been wanting to see Erin anyway. It''ll take a few hours, though. So many jumps will tire him out." "Send him tomorrow," I said. "Gotcha, boss!" Mira yelled with a sheepish grin. "Continuing the n, when Cecilia can fly, we send her, Chase and Grace flying over the marsh, just to see if the Rangers missed anything. Talonme could do it stupidly fast, so I''d say we should send our other Pokemon independently, but I doubt any of us want to risk that. Thest thing we want is for them to be captured by poachers." There were nods all around. "What do I do?" Denzel asked. "You''re a social Butterfree, Denzel. Keep the social cohesion going and make sure our other friends don''t do anything stupid like we''re doing," Mira said. "Pauline seems like the girl to say, ''Hey, they''re doing this but don''t want us to help, so I''m going to help in secret!''" "Other than that?" Denzel added, leaning forward. "Well, you can''t fly since you don''t have a license, but you could go on Princess or Lehmhart when Cecilia gets her license. Two pairs of eyes is better than one," Mira said. "But the real goal, the more tangible option is to find one of Abel''s Pokemon. He''s sending them out on their own. Ditto would be ideal, but that Pokemon has the mind of a child, I doubt he''s going anywhere. Then, we have that Pokemon spill the beans through coercion." "Coercion?" Cecilia asked. "Yeah." Mira''s smile stretched to her ears. "That''s what I meant when I said we don''t even have to fight. You call Chase, and we use The Voice." "And you don''t think the League will find that weird?" I asked. "Come on, we can just say we ripped it out of their heads with our Psychics and they got lucky enough to get out of it unscathed. Since it wouldn''t have been a fight, all they''d be seeing is us talking with a stranger." I nodded. It wasn''t much, but it was a n. ¡ª It was Friday. kazam had gone to pick up Cecilia''s saddle, and Denzel was probably arguing with Pauline and the others. Those were worries forter. A grin stered itself on my face when I saw the numbers on my Trainer ID go up in front of my eyes. The Poketch Company had finally paid me for the month and an extra 350,000 had just been added to my ount. I''d already been waiting in the Poke Mart for thirty minutes and called Melody three times to confirm that I was getting my paycheck today because of how excited I''d been. I already had a list of moves on my mind that all totaled around 400k in total, so I''d have to spend a little extra, but that was fine. I swept through the store, grabbing disk after disk and paid for all of the moves in bulk. Seeing the money go down after a month''s worth of work always hurt more than it should have¡ª after all, what good was money if I didn''t spend it? You could have invested it, I heard an imaginary Emilia say and spontaneously rolled my eyes. First, I needed to finish learning about politics before ever delving into the stock market. That statement was only semi-ironic. I knew trainers like Craig actually invested a lot of their earnings. But enough about money! I''d spent a whole lot today, and it was time to give everyone their moves. I had Princess fly me close to ''our'' spot at the park and released the family. They already knew about the fact that they were all learning moves today, and it was impossible for them not to be excited. TMs were honestly the best, both for trainers and Pokemon. I knew they''d been created by Silph Co. during the war to train Pokemon quicker, but they had also been independently created in Unova by the Ope¡­ Opelucid Group, I remembered from Cecilia''s rants. What a weird name for a city. The twopanies still fought about who had created the concept first, but one thing was for sure, there had been a whole lot of spying during the war and someone had stolen the technology from the other. I smugly presented the six disks, fanning their casings out with my hands. One thing the battle with Barry had taught me was that while coverage moves would never be as good as your bread and butter unless you were really good, it was still a necessity to have them. I''d bought today''s moves with that mentality in mind, save for Sunshine''s TM. I also wanted to limit myself to moves they wouldn''t be able to learn naturally without a lot of struggle. I ced every disk inside of my Pokedex and licked the back of my teeth as the TMs loaded into the device. I''d throw the disks inside one of those TM recycling binster. "Sunshine, you''re going first," I said. When Sweetheart protested, I continued. "Come on, be patient. You''ll be next!" That satisfied her, and she rumbled inside of her cocoon. I recalled the dragon and ced the Pokeball close to my Dex and selected the ''me Charge'' move. Sunshine already had plenty of coverage moves, so I figured a boost in speed would help, even after we figured out how to have him fly. With his endurance, he''d basically be able to have me Charge activated at all times and gradually speed up. Since it was a fire type move, he''d take to it pretty fast too. I released Sunshine, and something in his eyes had changed. It must have been weird to have that extra knowledge jammed into your brain in seconds. As promised, Sweetheart was next. For her, I had picked up Aerial Ace. Why? Because Barry''s use of the move had given me a new appreciation for it. Not only would she be able tobine it with her jets, but the move was known to track down the user''s opponents and almost never missed. It would work wonders against grass and fighting types andplemented her current battling style very well. There was the obvious question on my mind, though. What about when she evolved? This wouldn''t be like Princess and Rollout. The body shape would still be there for her to use Aerial Ace, but the flight aspect? It was difficult to imagine a multi-ton mass of rocks and armored tes flying, even with tricks with the wind and Sandstorm. Yet the move would still be usable, so I considered it a good purchase. For Buddy, I had picked Ice Beam, which had been one of the most expensive TMs on this list. I simply believed that he needed a better way than Acid to battle grass types, and Ice Beam could be used from anywhere in the arena. Not only that, but it''d be mighty useful against Crasher Wake''s water types, be it to freeze them or create ice tforms on the water for the others. His TM was really the most straightforward, and I knew he''d get ustomed with the move faster than the others, which was good because we needed to work on Taunt and his defensive custom move whose name was still in progress. Angel had gotten Brick Break. Alone, it might have seemed underwhelming, but he could use it with multiple vines at once. It would be an excellent counter for ice types, but to be honest I''d gotten it especially for Byron, as were all the moves that would follow. None of his grass type attacks would hurt the steel type specialist, so I decided to remedy that with Brick Break. Plus, moves that could make full use of his vines were just an obvious choice in general. Angel''s vines shivered in excitement when I let him out of the Pokeball again, and he blinked at me in rapid session. He was happy. For Honey, I''d gotten Bulldoze. Earthquake was a move Electivire could learn, but one, it was way too expensive and two, he was nowhere near powerful enough to use the move. Bulldoze would serve two purposes: it would help him defeat Byron''s Pokemon, and it would also serve as a tool to shape the arena when he got good enough with the move. I hadn''t forgotten how Volkner''s Electivire had managed to raise a wall of earth in front of himself to dodge our attacks, so it could also serve as a means to raise a shield whenever he ran out of energy for Protect. Honey hesitantly tapped a foot against the forest floor, as if he was scared of identally using Bulldoze right now. Luckily for us though, nothing happened. Lastly, Princess. For her, I had bought Mystical Fire, the most expensive technique on this list. It was also a move that Mira''s Gardevoir already knew. It was less powerful than something like methrower, which I wanted her to learn down the line, but what it traded for power was control, which she excelled at. Users of Mystical Fire could shape the mes however they wanted when they grew experienced enough with the move, and that control over fire could eventually extend to all fire, which meant better coordination with Sunshine. All in all, I was happy with my purchases. I''d agonized over what moves to buy for weeks now, and there might have been better choices for events I hadn''t foreseen yet, but I fully believed the focus on Byron was warranted. I had been warned about him far too much not to. I wasn''t disrespecting Wake either, but the eight badge was the badge. No one¡ª and that was not an exaggeration¡ª no one other than truly gifted prodigies won their eighth badge on the first try. I desperately wanted that to be me. Plus, I had a specific strategy for Wake that I was workshopping in the back of my mind that only needed the tools I currently had. "Okay, everyone, I''m going to have Princess bring me toward one of the arenas so we can get you started on these. It''ll be important not to hyperfocus on them, though. You''re all juggling a lot, so feel free to tell me if you get overwhelmed." We needed to grow faster. Twenty minutester, we were outside of the city. I made rounds while my team practiced their new moves. Princess could create the fire, but her control over it right now was mediocre. She couldn''t shape it properly, but she could at least move it around, so that was something. She was doing some nifty things,bining Ancient Power with the Mystical Fire by turning her drills or spears into ming weapons. It wasn''t so much that they were burning, but having a shape to wrap the fire around made it easier for Princess to handle her new attack. Sweetheart was higher in the sky than she''d ever been. The rock type was quite literally soaring, and the constant, loud jet-like burst of air had now been reced by the asional expulsion to keep her going. Aerial Ace would carry her further, make her fly faster, and make her attacks impossibly hard to dodge, even under water. Still, to prevent her vents from flooding, she''d actually have to keep blowing air constantly under the surface. Honey was far off, but the ground around him was a mess of small ridges and chasms. He was struggling the most with his move, mostly because he didn''t know how to not hurt himself while using it yet. Power-wise, though? He was already set. Angel pped the sand around himself with three simultaneous Brick Breaks¡ª which was up from the one he could create thirty minutes ago. He was making steady progress and soon he''d be able to be asfortable with it as he was with Knock Off or Power Whip. Hell, maybe we could even do the detaching trick with Brick Break too. Sunshine barrelled down the sandy beach, burning sand into a crisp with each step. The force of the mes wasn''t much, but that wasn''t why we''d bought the move in the first ce. I''d never seen him be this quick. He ran faster than I could ever hope to. While he was continuously speeding up, it looked like he''d reached his cap for now¡ª my eyes almost fell out of their sockets when he retracted into his now glowing shell. An explosion sent my hair flying everywhere, and Sunshine took flight, jumping fifteen feet into the air and even further with his momentum. Another p of his tail, and another explosion rang out, but he lost his bnce and tumbled down into the sand. I circled around him, carefully waiting for him to cool down, but Princess was faster. Shended next to the fire type, not caring about her sizzling fur to congratte him. That had been a breakthrough. I held out a hand and slowly approached until I realized the heat just hurt and wouldn''t actually burn me. I crouched next to Sunshine and grinned. "You see that?" I asked with an intense stare. "That''s only a taste of what you''ll do." I caught a shadow of a smile on Turtonator''s face, and he stood up. Sand washed off his scales like water, and he carried himself tall. This singr action? That had been his goal for the past three years, and he had finally tasted it. After thanking Princess, Sunshine gruffed, saying that he needed to practice keeping his bnce more, but that the me Charge was a huge help to gather starting momentum. "That''s why I got it for you," I said with my hands behind my back and a sheepish smile. "I was thinking of getting you started on Shell Smash too, actually. When you blow up your shell so much that it''s fractured? There''s supposed to be a way to harness the pain and channel it into power." The fire type''s face twisted into a gleeful grin. But there was also something else. He wanted to go see Mudsdale tomorrow.
Chapter 256 – Reunion Chapter 256 ¨C Reunion
CHAPTER 256 - Reunion It was tomorrow now. I was musing over my strategy for Crasher Wake before heading out to the Ranger Outpost over breakfast. A groan escaped my mouth when I bit into some buttered toast and crumbs got all over myptop, and I bent down to blow them away. Princess was still sleeping, having imed my bed for herself like she liked to do while Angel took in the sunlight through the window as usual. Like I''d noticed and told myself before, the key lesson in Wake''s Gym was this: how would a trainer approach battling in an arena that was so disadvantageous it might as well have been unfair? It was a pivotal lesson in any trainer''s career and it fell onto Wake to instill those teachings. Well, unless you were a water type specialist, I mused to myself. While the inds wererger than in my battle with Barry, they were too spaced out for Honey to simply jump between them, and even though Angel could always improve at swimming, there was no way he''d be fast enough to cross safely. There were two ways to fight back against such a tactic. Either adapt to it, or bypass it entirely. I was nning on doing a mix of both, with a focus on the former. While Wake''s makeshift ocean would always be filled by Rain Dance, making evaporating it impossible unless your Pokemon were way stronger than the 7th badge level, there were still ways to counter the water. Right now, I was thinking of . Again. A silly concept, unless you stopped to think about it for more than five minutes. Wake could just cool it down with water! Well, yes, but cooled-downva formed solid rock, and solid rock would extend the range of the inds we had. Add in a little bit of tform-building with Ancient Power because we would need an ample supply of rock to createva anyway, and I had a skeleton of a n. Hell, we could even create inds from scratch if we were ambitious enough. I was still studying up on Wake''s Pokemon''s moves, but that part woulde naturally. Ideally, I was thinking of signing up for the Gym in a week''s time to leave my Pokemon ample time to settle into the strategy and just better themselves in general. That alone wasn''t it, however. I still needed a way to take down Wake''s Pokemon when they were below the water. Honey''s Thunder and Princess'' Moonst would be powerful enough to handle that. Moonst''s gravity would pull any Pokemon upward while Thunder would just travel through the water. Sweetheart and Buddy could move under the water already. Sunshine and Angel were the problem. Turtonator could always use something like Dragon Pulse or Focus st, but aiming at something underwater was a lot harder than in the air, especially when the water molecules would weaken and slow our ranged attacks. What I''d noticed during our swimming lessons was that his explosions kind of worked like a depth charge¡ª okay, that was maybe an exaggeration, but anytime he exploded, Buddy had been stunned for a few moments by the force of the impact even when he''d been standing far away. So that was the tactic I decided we would use if he was ever dragged into the water, but we could also use his exploding Scale Shot to force a Pokemon to surface, or at least that was the theory. We still needed to tweak the timing of the explosions, but with how many scales we could send, dodging would be incredibly difficult. For Angel, things were a little moreplicated and a lot more fluid, but my working strategybined Ingrain and Sr de¡ª the exploding variants, of course. His range of fifty feet was already a lot, but it could easily be extended with Ingrain. The nutrients from the soil would allow his vines to grow longer and would allow him greater maneuverability, especially since we''d been training those two specific things in the first ce. He''d be able to fumble around the water with his vines and use exploding Sr des to either hit or stun any Pokemon in the water. After they were stunned, he''d be able to grab them or hit them with something like Power Whip. I''d also need to use Sunny Day, either with him or Sunshine to at least weaken the Rain Dance. With all of these ns in ce¡ª and it was a lot of ns to juggle¡ª Buddy would lose some of his prominence in the battle, but he was still desperately needed as an anchor I could fall back on. Water Absorb would be key here. With him out, I''d be locking Crasher Wake out of all of his best attacks. Ice Beam would also be able to freeze any Pokemon using hydrokinesis to move. Even though Wake had a few tactics to counter freezes, it would still buy time and slow down the battle''s tempo, allowing me to think on the fly, because as every trainer knew, no n survived contact with the enemy. I sighed, letting out a satisfied groan as I stretched in my chair. My breakfast was done, so it was time to go to the Ranger Headquarters on route 212. I figured I might as well have used the opportunity to get my first bit of scouting done too. I exited the Pokemon Center with one crutch in hand and my phone in the other, reveling in all of the talk about Abel in the news. Still, even though the news filled my heart with joy, I wouldn''t be satisfied until he was at least in a prison cell. After telling Denzel, Mira, Cece and Chase I was going on patrol, I pocketed my phone, released Princess, and set up her saddle. There was almost no disturbance when she took off (after grabbing a cube of earth with Ancient Power for whatever reason). No woosh of the air, no dust or dirt, and even the sudden lift upward felt smooth. The warm, spring air felt good on my face, but it turned colder and colder the higher we got. Suddenly, the wind shifted and began to blow at my back, speeding up Princess even more. Every day she flew, she was better than she''d been previously. Pastoria''s widespread, suburbian design became less and less dense until roads led into dirt paths, and dirt paths led into nature. The swampy part of route 212 wasn''t really a route. There was no path to follow, because building anything in a swamp was a logistical and expensive task that Pastoria wasn''t inclined to do, and maintaining it would be even more expensive than that. Part of the reason this swamp was considered one of the most dangerous ces in Sinnoh was because there was no pre-determined path. It was like walking off-route, but for days. Anything could jump at you from the water, and there was a lot of water to hide under. Just like in Eterna Forest, going through this ce without a Psychic was basically suicide. I had to admit, it was very appealing to look at at first nce. From high above, the first thing you''d notice was the vast expanse of colorful flowers and lush greenery. Lilypads, reeds and other aquatic nts covered most of the waters. The swamp was a mosaic of vibrant multicolored hues. Intricate waterways interlinked ponds andkes with each other. asionally I''d spot some shifts in the water, but I saw or sensed no Pokemon. We were too high up for that. From the one time I''d flown over the Great Marsh and the way Cecilia had described it, there were plenty of dry spots to be in, and the water was navigable enough to walk through. Route 212''skes were deep enough to drown in. One step in the wrong ce, and you''d fall into the depths. I was high up, but upon closer look, the bodies of water here were a lot murkier than they were in the Safari Zone. They were so murky that no sunlight would ever shine through, which meant the water was denser and harder to move in. Harder to escape from, too. It was impossible to overstate how vast the swamp was too. It went on and on in every direction. "If you spot anything strange, let me know," I told Princess. She offered me a nod back, having already been focused on looking out for a base. We weren''t expecting to find it here, but looking wouldn''t hurt. Chase woulde in and scout this afternoon, but he''d go further than the swamp. Dividing the route into zones was smarter than doubling up and wasting time. An hour of scouting done, and all we''d spotted were a few trainers huddling to the only patches of drynd in the marsh and the asional wild Pokemon. One time, a group of three had even been getting attacked by an Arbok, and I had Princess swoop in to save the day. A Psychic and a couple of Air shes were enough to send the poison type slithering away and back into the murky waters. The group of trainers thankfully weren''t wounded, and they might have won against Arbok with all of their Pokemonbined, but I hadn''t wanted to take that risk. Evidently, they realized that this route was too much for them and turned back right away. If I''d been them, I never would have gone here anyway, with all the poachers running about, but trainers were known to ignore warnings. Route 212 might have been deserted, but some would always try to brave the dangers anyway. Kind of like me, I thought as Princess doubled back. The Ranger outpost wasn''t in the middle of the swamp, or it would defeat the entire point. Instead, it was near the marsh''s entrance, where dirt turned into wet mud. I felt a twinge of nostalgia at the sight of the gatedmunity. It wasrge enough to be a small town and surrounded by an electric fence, with a Pokemon Center, Mart, and a few buildings strewn throughout, including the Ranger Station, which was thergest one and topped by an army-green roof. Just like Mount Cor''s and Eterna Forest''s. Here, Rangers patrolled the surroundings. There were signs of wear and tear on the fence, meaning they''d been attacked multiple times recently. Nonding pads? I guess I''ll justnd at the Center''s entrance. There weren''t many trainers here, I noticed when Princessnded. Even in the Pokemon Center, there were only two people in the lobby. It made sense, and I had expected it, but it was still depressing to look at. I released Sunshine, who blinked when he realized where he was. The sight of him made the few people walking out and about stare, but we ignored them. "Yeah, we''re here," I said, patting him on the arm as a sign of reassurance. "You''re still okay, right? Are you sure you want to do this alone?" Princess expressed the same worried feelings, but Sunshine nodded. Gone was his anxiety about meeting Mudsdale. He was ready, and grew readier by the minute. I offered him a gentle smile, and my hand slipped away from his arm. To be honest, even I had been nervous about meeting Mudsdale because I feared he would judge me for trying to ''rece'' Kamaile, or something of the sort, so I couldn''t help but feel some amount of relief. At the same time, I wanted to be there for Sunshine if he needed me, but this was his decision, so I would respect it. "Let''s go, then." Princess hovered over me while Sunshine walked briskly by my side. The fairy type had sculpted her cube-shaped piece of earth into a full-fledged miniature Mudsdale during our flight. She levitated it into Sunshine''s hand, and the fire type clumsily held onto it, dipping his head in thanks for the gift. "So that''s what you were making! Woah, there''s a lot of detail on there." I leaned forward to squint at the statue. "How''d you know what a Mudsdale looks like anyway?" Togekiss answered by saying that she''d seen the Pokemon in one of her cartoons she liked to sing along to. "Huh. Guess I''d fallen asleep." She nodded, noting that I''d been studying hard for my written flying exam that night. Still, from one look at the species, she''d managed to recreate a Mudsdale perfectly. We entered the brightly-lit Ranger station and I osted the receptionist with a wave. She turned toward me as if she hadn''t been expecting a trainer in here, but then she cleared her throat and quickly got into work mode. "Wee to Route 212''s Ranger Station. What can I do for you today?" She asked. I pointed back at Sunshine with a thumb. "Turtonator''s trainer passed away in Mount Cor before I caught him, but three of his Pokemon survived. His name was Kamaile Nnie, and the Pokemon we''re looking for is Mudsdale. He''s supposed to be in this station?" The receptionist''s eyes drifted down to the statue Sunshine carried. "Right. We do have a Mudsdale here¡ª just for procedure''s sake, could I have your trainer ID?" I slid the card down the counter and waited for her to type away at herputer. I assumed that since these two were probably the only Mudsdale and Turtonator in the region and that the story had spread through every Ranger station by now, she was confident enough not to demand more verification. She continued, "We''ll verify this with Mudsdale and then set up a meeting¡­ in the yard. It should only take around five minutes¡ª our psychics are busy with something else, at the moment." "Sure," I agreed. "And it''s okay if Sunshine''s alone, right?" The Ranger took a split-second longer to answer, since she hadn''t known Turtonator''s name. "He looks fine to go, yes," she said after staring into the dragon''s eyes. I grabbed my ID back and shuffled to the ufortable stic seats. People really took the Pokemon Centers'' couches for granted. I theorized with Sunshine about Shell Smash to pass the time for ideas on how to get started on the move, but we came up empty. He didn''t know how to channel a broken shell into power and speed, and we were stumped because every instance of Shell Smash was different for every Pokemon capable of using the move due to the different body types¡ª "Turtonator? Mudsdale is ready for you," the receptionist called out. Sunshine froze, then turned to me. His mouth trembled, and he asked if I could apany him outside, his bravado from earlier all but gone. I agreed and hoisted myself on my crutches, and Princess graciously epted her entry back into her Pokeball. We silently walked through abyrinth of slick halls and beige walls with chipped paint that seemed to stretch on and on the closer we got to the yard. It wasn''t an impressive one. Shrubs grew everywhere from the rich soil, and it was walled off by high, wooden fences. A tree sat in its corner, and under it, Mudsdale stood. He was a lot taller than I''d expected. Slightly north of eight feet, which meant he was absolutely massive. His brown skin had the texture of leather and his dark hair was so packed together it looked like a helmet. Mudsdale shifted under the tree, first looking at me¡ª but only for an instant¡ª then at Sunshine, with relief radiating out of him like water out of a showerhead. I dipped my head and silently slipped back into the building, closing the door behind me ¡ª He truly hadn''t changed, in the end. Mudsdale stood as strong and tall as he had always been. His body was steady, with no unnecessary movement. Not even his hair swayed in the wind. It was far too heavy for that. Turtonator was silent as he approached his old friend, and he noticed a certain tiredness in his eyes that hadn''t been there before, and he knew it was not from ack of sleep. Turtonator took a final step and stared up at Mudsdale, but his words died in his throat. Mudsdale spoke first, I missed you. The dragon''s eyes widened. A year ago, these weren''t words he would ever have expected from Mudsdale, but times were different now. Kamaile was gone, and they''d been separated for what felt like a lifetime. I missed you too, old friend, Turtonator finally said. He gently grabbed Mudsdale by the neck and let out a relieved sigh. You didn''t hug before, Mudsdale said with a sprinkle of amusement. Turtonator snorted. You didn''t say things like ''I missed you'' before as well, so I suppose we''ve both changed in that regard. How have you been? Mudsdaley down under the shade, and the earth itself shook when he did. I''ve been working for the Rangers for the past few months, he said. They took me in without a fuss and helped me struggle through my grief. Yet, the hole in my heart is not filled. Turtonator nodded. It never will be, but it gets a little easier every day, he said. Mudsdale paused, then neighed with a gruff. I thought you were dead, Turtonator. The fire type blinked for two reasons. One, even though he still referred to himself as Turtonator, being called that felt odd to his ears. Two, he had not expected this topic toe up so soon. Unfortunately, Mudsdale had never been one to beat around the bush. I wanted to contact you, I just¡­ I just didn''t deem myself worthy, Turtonator muttered. I failed Kamaile. I failed you all. Oranguru, Mandibuzz, Drampa, too. They''re all dead because of my failures. Mudsdale shook his head, baring his t teeth. You don''t get to bear the responsibility alone, Turtonator, he said in amanding tone. We all failed them, but the ones that are at fault are that Team Gctic gang. Rage swelled inside of the dragon type when he imagined Saturn''s face, and was only soothed when he imagined every inch of his body burning. Slowly. Hours spent with a foot on his chest, making it hard, but not impossible to breathe to inflict as much pain as possible while he cooked alive for as much time as he could manage. I do bear it, Turtonator said. And I will until I kill Saturn. Mudsdale''s eyes narrowed. You want revenge. It was a statement, not a question. As if the ground type had expected it and was just confirming it for himself. I do, Turtonator nodded, sitting down in the grass. I want to see his miserable little face slowly cook to a crisp. And I think you should join me in my endeavor. Mudsdale sighed, and his stare seemed so much heavier. In an instant, he looked far older than he had seconds earlier. Imperfections in his hair, small scars on his body, chips in his hooves. I am not looking for revenge. The statement reverberated in Turtonator''s head for what felt like hours. How? How did Mudsdale want to sit still while the person who killed so many of their loved ones roamed free? I can tell that you''re confused, Mudsdale continued. I simply do not have the energy for it, Turtonator. You''ve still got the spark in you. The drive that made us strive to improve in our heyday. That made us train and practice every waking hour so we could collect badges, he stopped, smiled sadly and stared into the distance at nothing in particr. I''m tired, Turtonator. It''s peaceful here, outside of when poachers are involved. They don''t even make me patrol. I simply help the neers train. The rhythm is enjoyable. Every day blends together¡­ it feels nice. Turtonator gritted his teeth and restrained a roar. You can''t live like this. Can I not give up? No! You cannot, Turtonator said. He opened his mouth, then closed it, considering his next words. I think that you should want retribution, but I will agree to let that go, as much as it pains me, he slowly spoke. But you can''t live your life in a daze. That is how you lose yourself. It helps with the pain. Turtonator flexed, then restrained the heat leaking out of his body. So many months with children had helped him learn topose himself. What about Lurantis? He asked. Is she the same? The fire type asked through calming breaths. We''ve kept in contact. The psychics write letters we dictate, and the humans send them, Mudsdale said. She''s in a better state than I am. She''s thrown herself into Ranger work and has adopted a child from the forest. Turtonator''s anger vanished, as if it had never been there in the first ce. That''s just like her, he whispered. Just like her¡­ And just like that, the tension faded. Even when she wasn''t there Lurantis was the glue that held them together. Do you not want to meet her again? Turtonator asked. Grace¡ª the girl who caught me¡ª she is nning on going to see her soon after we''re done in Pastoria. She could bring you. Mudsdale hesitated. Perhaps. I will have to think about it¡­ I think seeing her would hurt me more than you''d know. Old memories would resurface¡­ I already cannot get a full night''s sleep. Think about it, then, the dragon nodded. You wouldn''t have to fight if you didn''t want to. The girl is as soft-hearted as theye, so long as you''re on her good side. I gave her those burns, and she has never looked at me wrongly in spite of them. Mudsdale frowned at that ''good side'' bit of the sentence, but opted to ignore it. Grace is her name, then? I''m surprised you settled with a new trainer, given your old disposition. Bah! She''s an annoying brat, but also frustratingly loveable, Turtonator groaned. She caught me while I was full of pain and rage in Mount Cor. Her child made this for you. The dragon showed Mudsdale his own statue, and the horse''s eyes widened in surprise. Such excellent craftsmanship¡­ but she is too young to have a child, or at least that''s how I understand human maturity. Turtonator snorted. The one who made this is a Togekiss. One of her many adoptive children, he exined. It wasn''t a human. She adopts¡­ Pokemon? Strange, isn''t it? She''s even treating a three-hundred-year-old Jellicent as her son too, believe it or not, Turtonator let more fondness than he''d wanted slip. Deep down, I think she thinks of me as her son too, which is just a preposterous notion. She also has a gift for understanding Pokemon, which makes her far less irritating to work with. Hah! I couldn''t imagine having stayed this long if we hadn''t been able to negotiate. There was no way I''d let one of her friends'' psychics trante my words. She wouldn''t have gotten that out of me¡ª You love her, Mudsdale said. Turtonator''s eye twitched. I¡ª he said defensively¡ª It is okay, the ground type cut in. I know you haven''t moved on. No one as driven by revenge as you would have, he said. You are allowed to love others, Turtonator. Don''t stay stuck in this damned grief-ridden hole like I. Lurantis has been trying to move on as well. I want you to try, Turtonator said. Try to fill the hole with something else. You loved traveling, Mudsdale. You aren''t built to stay in one ce for so long. Is there truly nothing you want? Search within yourself. I want¡ª he stopped himself. I can''t. You were going to say something¡ª Let it go, he said harshly. After a sigh, he spoke again. I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to raise my voice, it''s just¡­ hard. Hard to find motivation for anything. What I want is for things to go back to the way they were. You, me, Kamaile and the others. Traveling together again. Mudsdale¡­ I know it is nothing but a child''s dream, he sighed. It doesn''t matter, in the end. The world is not a just ce. Sometimes, bad people win, good people die, and the wheels of time keep churning, with or without you. I''ve told you I won''t let them get away with it, Turtonator gruffed. Puffs of smoke billowed out of his nose. I will kill him, Mudsdale. I swear to you. Small embers lit up in Mudsdale''s eyes. Good. Now, tell me about your new adventures. I want to know who the human and Pokemon who have changed you so are. Turtonator settled into his seat with a fond smile. I suppose I should start¡­ let''s start in Hearthome, he said, not wanting to get too close to Kamaile''s murder. You see, the original n after she got me out of the mountain was to kill her¡­ ¡ª I yawned, stretching in the lobby''s chairs. Arceus, my back and butt hurt so much after staying seated here all morning and afternoon. I''d gone to grab lunch too, of course, but when considering stretching my legs, I had to ount for the pain in my ankle. I''d been stupid and forgotten to grab my painkillers with me beforeing here, and I was pretty sure the one I had taken this morning hadpletely run out. The sky was a dull orange outside, signaling that the sun would be setting soon. There was no news from Chase''s patrol, and Mira had been busy vetting some new friend Maeve made with Gardevoir, but she''d need me to make sure she wasn''t Zoroark. Zoey Miranda was her name. If I''d been trying to not stand out in a crowd as Zoroark, I wouldn''t have morphed into a six-foot-two girl, but we still could never be too safe. My phone was at fifteen percent at this point and I wanted to keep battery for the flight back, so all I could do was wait. What I did do was visualize some of my old battles to see if I could catch any mistakes I hadn''t yet. Every single one appeared clear as day to me, even my first Gym Battle against Roark. Arceus, that one had been embarrassing¡ª Steps. And those steps were unmistakable. Sunshine proved me right when he walked into the lobby, eliciting confused stares from the Rangers starting their night shifts. He looked lighter than he had beening in, and I would have had to be blind to miss the joy sliding off of him. Bright, excited, and most of all, satisfied. A nice gradient that I wish I''d see more of on him. I shot up without my crutches and bit my lip with a wince. "Ow¡­ how''d it go?" I bent down to grab my crutches. "Was it everything you hoped for?" Sunshine nodded with a terribly cute smile, and he told me to follow. I did, although I was slower than I''d been earlier. He didn''t mind one bit, and was content to slow down to my pace. The dragon waited for me to open the massive doors to the yard (he was probably scared he''d destroy them on ident), and I saw Mudsdale again, sitting with his replica. His focus switched from Princess'' statue to me, and I hobbled down the steps. What should I say? Well, introductions couldn''t hurt. "It''s nice to finally meet you, Mudsdale. My name is Grace Pastel. I''ve been Sunshine''s new trainer." The ground type''s eyes bulged at the name ''Sunshine'', and then heughed¡ª a weird sound to being out of a horse. Sunshine, for his part, rolled his eyes and waited for theughing fit to finish. Mudsdale spoke, but his words were still gibberish to me. Luckily, we had someone to trante. He said it was nice to meet me, and that he''d never expected Turtonator to take on a nickname. "Oh, I bartered with him over it for almost two months," I said with a sly smirk. "He was a real sweetheart about it, though. Neverined once about it after he agreed." Mudsdale said something that Sunshine refused to trante, but he clearly felt embarrassed about it. "I hope you guys had fun catching up. I''ll dly take Sunshine here again while we''re here," I continued. "Things might get busy soon, but I''ll try toe every day. The rest of the team can train in one of the arenas here¡ª and maybe you cane to watch Sunshine train too." Mudsdale dipped his head in appreciation, but then Sunshine spoke up. He said that Mudsdale was considering joining us temporarily when we left Pastoria so he could go meet Lurantis as well. It had taken hours of prodding and convincing, but he''d finally agreed. The ground type wouldn''t fight, nor would he train. He''d just be a travelingpanion for a while. "Are you kidding?" I beamed. "This is great news! I mean, I had the idea, but I didn''t want to force anything." I stopped and gently patted Sunshine on the arm. "This''ll be great for you three." Relief flooded every inch of Mudsdale''s body, and Sunshine said that ''he''d told him so''. What had they been talking about, I wondered? "I''ll have to talk to the Rangers about it, though," I muttered. Sunshine exined that Mudsdale didn''t do much around here, save for training new recruits or taking the asional mud bath (I was pretty sure that was meant to be banter), so convincing Rangers wouldn''t be that difficult, especially when they used to belong to the same team. "And hey, worst-case scenario I can just use some subtle threats," I huffed with a shrug. "Like knowing Cynthia, or something. Wouldn''t be the only time I n on doing that anyway," I said, thinking of the UPAN. "The Rangers will get the message." Mudsdale eyed Sunshine, who snorted and introduced me again, for some reason. "I see your little plots," I squinted at the dragon. "Oh! And Mudsdale¡ª" I closed my mouth. ''Mudsdale can tell me old stories about you'' had been what I''d wanted to say, but maybe that was too insensitive? It was best to let those thingse naturally. "¡ªI guess I should introduce the rest of the team. We should see how you mesh with them before we actually start traveling. Oh, and you''ll love Buddy¡ª" One of the Rangers called out for Mudsdale behind us. He needed to go help train two new ground types that had been under his care. Sunshine''s face twisted in annoyance, but Mudsdale calmly stood up. He didn''t do much here, so I knew he couldn''t have loved the job, but maybe he still feltpelled to do his duty? "We''ll be back tomorrow," I said. The ground type nodded and disappeared in a sh of red. I turned back to Sunshine, who red at the Ranger''s back. "Did you have fun?" I asked. His anger disappeared. Instead, he asked me to stop treating him like a damned child.
Chapter 257 Chapter 257
CHAPTER 257 "So you want to take Mudsdale?" The man in charge of this Ranger''s station hadn''t given me his name yet, but he had led me to his office and offered me to sit, along with some tea. I had only drunk tea once before in my life and remembered not being a particr fan, but whatever this one was made of made a world''s difference because I was certain I would have downed all of it if it hadn''t been scorching the inside of my mouth every time I took a sip. "Hmhm," I hummed as I put down my cup. "Mudsdale''s already agreed to leave whenever we leave Pastoria, so we''re good on that front. I''d also want toe see him every day, if possible?" The short, square-ish man sank a few inches into his chair and ran a hand over his wooden desk, revealing two missing fingers on his left one. "We''d have to verify this, of course, but assuming you''re telling the truth, we''d have to get Mudsdale to finish some of hismitments here first." Oh, that was a lot easier than I thought it to be. "I mean, so long as he''s done when we''re ready to leave, it should be fine. We''re nning on staying here¡­ maybe another week and a half? Is that enough?" I spied the Ranger''s name on a namete. Brockhouse. I knew thatst name¡­ ah, it was the samest name as the Ranger that had helped register Sunshine to me when I''d first caught him. I spoke again, probably snapping the Ranger out of his brainstorming. "You''re Mr. Brockhouse?" I asked. "Do you have a family member that''s a Ranger, by any chance?" He raised an eyebrow. "You''ve met Malcolm?" He asked. When I nodded, he continued. "He''s my cousin. We traveled together when we were young." "If you could call him, I''m pretty sure he''d vouch for me." Malcolm Brockhouse had definitely kept track of me, seeing as he had warned me that an ident with Sunshine could have led to him being taken away when I''d first caught him. "No need for vouching," he shook his head. His tone was slightly friendlier now. "A week and a half should be enough for Mudsdale to finish bringing the new trainees up to speed, and we''ll also need his help transporting some cargo, but other than that, he''ll be free¡ª if he confirms what you said." "He will," I said. "We''ll have to transfer ownership from this station to you personally, so you''ll have toe in the day of," Mr. Brockhouse continued. "I think that''s it." "Can I stay to finish this tea?" The Ranger smirked. "Unfortunately I''m quite busy with the poacher situation, so you''ll have to leave my office, I''m afraid. Feel free to take the mug and hand it to Sandy downstairs when you''re done, though." That must have been the receptionist. "Any news or progress on the poachers?" I innocently asked. Fishing for information could only be good here. When Brockhouse frowned, I quickly added, "I''m just curious." "I''ll tell you information that''s already public," he said. "The League''s cooperated with us, scoured the entire route and found nothing, which means they must be Teleporting somewhere else that we haven''t been able to track. When we manage to capture one of them, we''ll have more to work with." "Got it. Sorry, I just feel safer knowing about these things," I said in a half-truth. "I''ll be out of your hair, then. Thanks for the tea!" Brockhouse silently nodded, and I closed the door to his office, realizing that grabbing two crutches with one hand and drinking tea at the same time was a puzzle in and of itself. I opted to give up, leaned against the wall and finished drinking the delicious substance in silence. Why had no one ever told me about this before? Had none of them ever tasted this? My entire body felt warm when I finished, which would have felt great if it was the middle of winter. Not wanting to drop the cup while walking, I awkwardly handed the cup to a passing Ranger instead of the receptionist in hopes that it would find its way back to Brockhouse''s desk after I''d told them about it, and then I was on my way out. Before I left on Princess, I found a good spot to train at. An arena built for the Rangers that was twice as small as the ones I was used to, but it would unfortunately have to do. Of course, most days I''d have to swing by the beach to keep up the swimming lessons, and I also had UPAN work to do in three days or so¡ª meeting with the City Council. The flight back to Pastoria didn''t take long, and I spent it telling Princess all about how cute Sunshine had been when meeting Mudsdale. It wasn''t often that we got to see him excited, let alone embarrassed. I told her Mudsdale loved his statue and that we''d keep it for him, since he wasing with us. The temporary bit, I wasn''t used to. Part of me hoped he''d just end up sticking around with us, but I knew that it was up to him, at the end of the day. Either way, I was doubly excited to go meet Lurantis now. Wended at the Pokemon Center, and I was nning on grabbing myptop to keep studying Wake while my Pokemon trained on the beach for the rest of the day after getting them some food to eat, but first I had to deal with this new friend of Maeve''s. All of my friends were out, either training or in the Safari Zone, but knowing that I''d need to vet this Zoey individual, Maeve and Mira had stayed behind, and they were waiting for me in the Pokemon Center''s lobby. "There she is!" Mira waved at me with a smile. Maeve sat next to her with her, although she was a lot more nervous than usual. I strode up to them with a wave of my own. "Did everything go okay with Sunshine?" "Yup, it went great! And I might have gotten addicted to tea too." "Tea? That''s the sort of stuff I thought Cece or Emilia would drink," Mira snorted. "But Emilia''s obsessed with coffee, so." "You should have seen her back in Eterna, she hated the stuff," I said. "Where''s Zoey?" "On her way," Maeve said. "She wasn''t expecting the vetting thing to be serious, since Mira already did so yesterday and found nothing wrong. In fact, she wasn''t expecting this at all. She thinks we''re weird for being so paranoid." "How''d you vet her?" I asked. "I just had Gardevoir take a look at her. No dark TE swirling around, no traces that she''s a Pokemon, and when I asked her if she was involved with Abel, the poachers, Team Gctic or something evil in any way, she said no and Gardevoir detected no lies. Luckily thanks to you and Cece the news about Abel hade out and spread at that point, so I could just y the role of the overprotective friend without potentially alerting her," she turned toward Maeve. "Which I technically am! But toy any doubt to rest, we need to be sure," Mira said with a shrug. Maeve seemed irritated at that, and I knew she wasn''t the only one. As it turned out, Denzel ''smoothing things over'' with our friends had backfired terribly, and Pauline was even more pissed than we thought she''d be¡ª specifically at him. The others were on her side too, which wasn''t something I had expected. If anything, I would have thought Justin would have erred on the side of caution and pushed the group in the right direction. "Maeve?" I probed. "What?" "You look angry." "I just, you know, wish the rest of us weren''t treated like kids by the rest of you," she snapped. "Since when do new friends have to be vetted? I don''t remember you vetting Erin." Mira''s permanent grin went t, and then turned into a grimace. "Look, Maeve. If Abel hadn''t been here, this would bepletely different, okay? We just want what''s best." "I get that," the teenager got out through gritted teeth. "But it still sucks. How''s Grace going to figure something out Gardevoir couldn''t anyway?" "I just know these things," I said, not bothering to exin further. Maeve wanted to protest, but she stopped herself mid-way through the first word. "Fine. Then we''re done? I wanted to go to the Safari Zone today, but I couldn''t sign up because of this." "Guess you''ll go hang out with Louis instead," Mira teased. "I think he''s busy at the moment," she responded with a faint voice. "But yeah, maybe." "nning on signing up for Wake soon?" I asked. "I signed up today. I figured I might as well," Maeve shrugged. She then exined that her battle was in three days early in the afternoon. I''ll have to miss it, then, I internally groaned. "I''ll look for Yanma in the meantime. I''ve been having no luck, though. Apparently they''re supposed to be somewhatmon, but¡­ blegh." Mira rubbed the back of her neck. "I''d help out if I wasn''t busy." "No worries¡ª oh, Zoey''s here." I turned toward the Pokemon Center''s entrance, through which an imposing girl had just stepped. Zoey Miranda''s brown hair was all over the ce. Thick strands ran down her back and messy bangs over her forehead. A small amount of freckles dotted her cheeks and nose, which grew more numerous as she approached and got under a light. Mira immediately stared at me, but I''d already reached my verdict as soon as Zoey had stepped into the Pokemon Center. She was not a Pokemon. Still, I had to y the part. I held out my hand. "Zoey, right? Nice to meet you," I said. She sped it tightly. Cold hands. "Likewise." Her voice was stiff, probably because she was nervous? People''s extremities were cold when they were. "So, how''d you meet Maeve anyway?" "At a Poketch Store. She was buying a new phone," Zoey answered. I turned toward the teen in question, who exined that she''d dropped her old phone down a drain and into the Pastoria sewers near the docks. After some small talk about how I was sponsored by Poketch (I was really just filling in the air here), I let Zoey go. First, she asked Maeve if she wanted to hang out, but she''d already decided to go check on Louis. When both of them had left, Mira stood by my side. "Nothing off about her?" Mira asked. "Not even a little bit?" "Nope," I said. "She''s human, through and through." Mira clicked her tongue. "Huh. Really? I feel like I''m missing something. Like, a gaping hole in my knowledge. And it''s fucking with me. Like an itch that can''t be scratched." I stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I mean, if you think so, then¡­ we can always look deeper into her," I muttered. "But it''s not like we can stop them from meeting. We''d have no reason to, anyway. No solid reason." The pink-haired girl undid her two pigtails, shaking her head to free her hair. "That''s fair. I just think something doesn''t pass the smell test. I''m going to set up another meeting and have Gardevoir track her with Trace, but I''ll give it a little. We can''t have her grow too suspicious. Did you see how stiff she was?" "I don''t want to get a big head, but I think you''re forgetting I''m famous." Mira chuckled. "Ouch. Lose one badge, and you''re no longer included in the famous club," she fake-whined. "You might as well have driven a stake through my innocent heart." "Oh, please. You''ve got thick skin." "I''m just fucking with ya," sheughed. "Hey, Porygon." Once she called out, the normal type slipped out from her pocket¡ª I assumed her to have been in her phone. The artificial Pokemon was one I''d always struggled to understand, even after knowing her all these months. "Say, Grace. What do you say about a little fight? A one-on-one between Porygon and one of yours." I raised an eyebrow. "I''ll never say no to a fight. What spurred this?" "Well, Louis and Pauline are about to battle," Mira said with a shrug. "I''ve been training with Chase, but not with you. I need to fight someone I''m not used to fighting, and we''ve got a few tricks up our sleeves¡ª" "Louis is fighting Pauline?!" I yelled. "Huh? Yeah¡ª" I grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where?" "The arena you rmended¡ª" "Teleport us there!" I yelled. "I can''t believe you''d let me miss this! I already missed so much of it! I''ll battle you after!" "Well you were busy," Mira groaned. She grabbed kazam''s Pokeball, and told him to Teleport us to the arena. We had to step out of the Pokemon Center to actually do so. One second, we were on the street, and the other, we were outside of the arena. It was still packed, but there weren''t anywhere near the amount of people there had been during my fight with Barry. Damn it. I had thought that them wanting to fight Wake early would mean that they wouldn''t be fighting. Nales was embroiled in a patchwork of mes and steam when I arrived. The fire danced around her like it had a mind of its own, and her eyes shone bright pink as she sent the mes barrelling toward Gothitelle. The psychiczily waved a hand, dispelling each me before it could reach her. Nales forwent sophistication, opened her maw as light danced in her eyes. She brought the mes at the tip of her tails and weaved them around her into nine condensed orbs that shone bright blue. The fireballs seemed to howl when they flew toward Gothitelle. "Imprison!" Pauline yelled. Gothitelle groaned, but the shine in her eye intensified. Nales sent the nine fireballs flying erratically, but her opponent seemed to know exactly where each one would be no matter what. Pink boxes mped down on each ming orb, and they all exploded with a deafening boom. When the boxes disappeared, there was only smoke and wisps of mes. Louis bit his lip, then swept his arm. "Will-O-Wisp!" "Teleport and beat the shit out of her!" I snorted at that order. Gothitelle couldn''t Teleport very far¡ª a sign that she was green with the move¡ª but she could still go from ind to ind while Nales was stuck in one spot. "Disable!" Louis snapped. Pauline''s eyes bulged out of their sockets when the power to Teleport vanished out of Gothitelle''s arsenal. "I thought this was a spar!" Sheined with a grin. "Fine! Magic Room!" The battlefield shifted to a yellowish pink. Nales'' control over her mes died, and they all sputtered out. The Will-O-Wisp wavered, some of them dispelled, but one managed to enter Gothitelle''s body regardless. When Nales opened her mouth to spit more fire, only smoke came out instead. Pauline had control over the entire arena. Nales wasn''t the only one incapable of using moves, however. Even Gothitelle seemed to be locked out, although she could still use weakened moves like Psybeam. The multicolored light hit Nales'' nk, and Louis immediately understood. "Ember!" This time, the fire type spat out small mes which were so slow that Gothitelle easily dodged them by walking. "What the hell¡­" I muttered. "That''s a hell of a technique," Mira said. "That''s not a dark type move," I noticed. "Nope. Long story short, it creates a zone that leaves all but the weakest moves unusable. And this isn''t something your average Crunch will be able to break either. You''d need a whole lot of Crunches, or a burst of dark TE to dampen the thing or bug TE to overwhelm it. Maybe you could do something funky with ghosts. Gothitelle took control of the ambient TE and is stopping most of it from being used. So not inhibition, more like a restriction." Pauline hade far, but at this rate, the fight would never end. The redhead recalled Gothitelle with a grin and sent out her massive Braviary instead. And I immediately understood what the n was. Braviary didn''t need moves. Louis was evidently out of switches, and even if he wasn''t, nothing would be able to stand up to that massive bird. Braviary let out a low-pitched screech, and then swooped down toward Nales, who tried to fight back with another Ember. The mes just slightly burned the edges of Braviary''s feathers. The flying type''s ws dug into Nales, picking her up like a rag. One p of her wings generated ripples across the swamp. She raked Nales against the psychic barrier and continuously dug into her skin with her talons until she dropped her down into the water. "Are you still good to go?" Louis asked as soon as the fire type plopped her head out of the water. Apparently, she answered yes through Telepathy, because Louis nodded. Braviary dove down toward Nales as the Magic Room slowly dissolved, and I spotted Emilia in the crowd. Dragging Mira by the wrist with me, I made my way toward our friend. She was well-dressed, as always, and stood next to a tripod holding up a phone. She must have been streaming. After all, it was free revenue. Emi smiled when she saw us. "I didn''t know you''de." "I didn''t know they were fighting!" I eximed. Braviary pped her wings, and wind started to pick up around the arena. "What are the rules?" "Just a friendly four-on-four with two switches. Louis'' Gabite is down, and Pauline''s Vigoroth is down too. Gothitelle really manhandled Gabite with Future Sight, it was kind of crazy. A few hits from Gabite would have taken her down, but he never even got close to her." Mira whistled, and I turned back to the battle. Every time Nales got anywhere close to an ind, Braviary would swoop down and attack her to prevent her from reachingnd. Nales decided to take this into her own hands and turned toward the normal type. Her eyes shone once more, and Braviary slowed¡ª the sudden Psychic held her in ce for a moment, and Braviary lost her bnce, falling in the water as well. Unfortunately for Nales, the huge bird pecked her in the head until she fainted. Louis released his second-tost Pokemon, his Vespiquen. The buzzing swarmed my mind, and trainers that were spectating grew pale. Most opted to straight up leave. There was an unsettled gleam in Braviary''s eye, but it left as soon as it came. Braviary barely got out of the water before honey assaulted her and pushed her back in. It clung to her feathers and she grew heavy. Her wings were slower, her movements sluggish, and she couldn''t even get in the air. Thatrge size was working against her, for once. Even if the Magic Room hadn''t faded, Vespiquen controlling her honey wasn''t TE, it was biology. The bug type''s eyes shone, and she ripped out wet mud from the ground. Light engulfed the small spheres, heating them up until they glowed white, and aser ripped through Braviary''s plumage. It would take more than a single Power Gem to take her down, though. While the flying type still struggled in the water, Vespiquen tried her best to destroy her with as many Power Gems as possible while keeping her still with Honey. "Whirlwind!" Pauline yelled. Louis countered, "Defense Order!" Braviary screamed, and huge gust of wind that could have swept Honey off his feet hurtled toward Vespiquen. A wall of honey formed in front of her, but it was destroyed by the Whirlwind, and it threw the bug type back before a thick cushion of honey kept her in ce. Unfortunately for Pauline, Vespiquen countered Braviarypletely. The flying type was permanently grounded and assaulted on all sides by Power Gem. Consciousness flitted from her eyes, and Louis yelled out, "Fell Stinger!" A sharp, glowing needle stabbed into Braviary''s wing. It had been the finishing blow. "Shit," Pauline muttered. Who next? Unsurprisingly, she sent out Charizard. I internally sighed when I realized I wouldn''t see Primeape fight just yet. It was easy to see that Charizard had already fought in this battle from the numerous bruises on her. She took to the air with a mighty roar and mes licked the edges of her mouth. Honey converged into one huge blobrger than the ind under Vespiquen when Pauline barked out for a methrower. Her control over honey wasn''t as clumsy as it had been before taking down Braviary. It was fluid now. Nowhere near Zach''s own Vespiquen, but getting there. The honey turned into a charred, ck mess, but it was enough to stop a methrower. "Air sh!" It wasn''t enough for that, though. The air in front of Charizard sharpened as she flew directly into Vespiquen, ignoring the honey crawling on her wings. Not like it could do much anyway. It just burned instantly before it could do any real damage. Vespiquen screeched when the air cut across herb. "Heal Order!" Louis yelled. Not good. You should have had her use Power Gem instead. Grubs and honey stuck to Vespiquen''s exoskeleton, closing her wounds slowly. It was only now that I could appreciate Zachary''s Vespiquen more. She could easily heal faster while still attacking and bending honey. I desperately wanted a rematch, even if he had eight badges now. Charizard mmed into Vespiquen with a fiery tackle and mmed her against the ground, uncaring for any damage she''d taken. The bug type screeched and only now did Louis order Power Gem. More honey subconsciously climbed onto Charizard, but it just burned, and the grubs inside of it died before it could be of use. Charizard raked a ming w across Vespiquen''s chest and she retaliated by spitting a glob of poison on her face, melting the outeryer of her skin. "Vespiquen, this is a spar," Louis firmly spoke. The bug type redirected her anger toward Charizard''s belly instead. So he had control of her in battle, but she could still slip sometimes. More fire finished off Vespiquen, and he sent out his Empoleon instead. The steel type sneered at the amount of water next to him, but I knew from our texts that Louis was finally getting Empoleon to swim, even if he hated it. Before Charizard could take full advantage of ze, Empoleon lifted a hand, and a Brine appeared above her. It was smaller than what Buddy could manage, but it followed her as she made a mad dash through the arena not to get hurt by the attack. "Fuck it. re Blitz!" Pauline grinned. Charizard''s bloodshot eyes shot open, then were engulfed by mes as was her entire body. "Into the water!" Louis yelled. "methrower!" More bright jets of me hit Empoleon as he slid down the mud and into the swamp. Undeterred, Charizard dove down there too. There was an explosion of steam as the fire type impacted the water, but Pauline recalled her soon after. I was pleasantly surprised that Empoleon had managed to swim deep enough to escape a re Blitz. With ze, the attack would have been devastating. It was Gothitelle against Empoleon, now. Even after so long, their skill was neck and neck. What I hadn''t caught before, however, was that Gothitelle was tired. "It takes a lot out of a Pokemon to sustain a Magic Room," Mira said as if she read my thoughts. "I mean, how can it not?" Empoleon was fresh. A sh Cannon came alive in front of his mouth, and Gothitelle barely Teleported in time. With heavy breaths, the Psychic threw an insult Empoleon''s way vocally, hitting the water type with a Psybeam. Her hand moved diagonally, and the attack followed. Empoleon grunted from the attack, but it was no Psychic. The move was too weak to deal substantial damage. He swam toward Gothitelle, summoning another Brine that finished the psychic off. Louis had won. Mira discreetly pumped a fist while Emilia sighed and startedmentating her stream. I need to start building counters for these weird moves, I thought to myself. Magic Room wouldn''t havee near winning Pauline the battle had she fought against me¡ª it was too niche of a trick specifically tailored toward her Braviary (and I assumed Primeape and Vigoroth) and didn''t work for long. Plus, I would have been ready for it. Gothitelle was less focused on sheer power and more on utility and support, with Future Sight, Imprison, and Magic Room. Still such ingenuity from Pauline? Her battle with Volkner''s Gym Trainer had been pitifully simplepared to this. "So how about it, then?" Mira said. "You against Porygon? Doesn''t even have to be here." "Oh, right," I said. "Let me just talk to Pauline and Louis first." I''d gotten to know Pauline very well this past year, so I thought I understood what had driven her to make this shift in her style. Out of the entire group, she was the only one that Volkner didn''t battle. Why? The answer was simple once you knew the man himself. Pauline''s style had carried her far, but it was so simple. Something Volkner no doubt would have found boring to battle against, especially when he held someone with her number of badges to such high standards. "...good fight, Louis. Damn, Vespiquen is so annoying," I heard the redhead say. "Fire counters her easily, but there must be other ways to hamper her." "I''ve had help from Zachary. It was mostly him getting Vespiquen to this level¡ª" "Oh shut up, you mopey bastard," Pauline sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh. Grace. Mira." Her tone had been a lot drier than expected, and I already knew why. She was angry she was being left out of the poaching situation. Emilia shuffled in ce ufortably while Louis greeted me and Mira as well. "When I heard you two were battling, I had to swing by," I said. "That was a great performance. I mean, Magic Room? How did you even teach Gothitelle that?" "She cheats," Pauline said. "Looks into her future to reverse engineer moves she''ll learn. To me, that''s a whole ass paradox, but hey, if it works it works," the redhead said. "You know,tely she''d been telling me to stay away from you two. Cece and Chase too. She won''t tell me why, though." My throat felt very dry at that moment. How much did Gothitelle know, and how far could she see? Mira¡ª who had been conversing with Louis and Emi on the side about contests¡ª froze, and her eyes darted to Pauline. "How good''s her Future Sight?" I asked. "The longer she focuses, the further she can look, but right now she can''t really go further than three months," Pauline exined. "And it''s all through me or her. She can''t look at your future. Only through people she''s bonded with, and it''s still really blurry." That was¡­ better. But still didn''t answer much. If she wanted Pauline to stay away from us, that meant she saw something, and that something was harmful to Pauline in some way. What way, though? If she was in mortal danger, then surely Gothitelle would have suggested cutting contactpletely and more forcefully. "Sorry I was a little rude," Pauline continued, unaware of the bombshell she''d dropped on myp. "But if you really think I''ve improved that much, then maybe I could help with the¡ª" Mira shushed her. "Not here, and not so loud," she hissed. "My bad," Pauline muttered, half-turning to Mira. "But you''re helping, and I''m pretty sure I could take you down in a battle these days." "Let''s stop this dick-measuring contest," Emilia cut in. "We talked about this, Pauline." The redhead huffed. "You''re right." They talked about this? About what? From the way Louis reacted, I knew he''d been there too. Damn it, now I couldn''t help but be fucking paranoid. It''d be so much easier if I could just be an empath for humans too and read them however I wanted. After around ten minutes of small talk and a promise to all get dinner togetherter, Pauline and Louis left to the Center, apanied by Emilia, who had ended the stream. Justin was apparently hanging out with his team on his own. "I think the battle can wait," Mira said. "I''ve got to go check in with Denzel." "Yeah," I breathed. "You go do that. I''ll, uh¡ª" "Go train, Grace," Mira cut in. "I''ll handle this. You and Chase already patrolled today, and I''ve been doing nothing. You guys have to train for Wake, and I gave up on the badges. You''ve got your UPAN stuff, Cece has her flying lessons, Chase is training up Wimpod. Let me use my free time, alright?" She said in a soft tone. "You know I''m good at multi-tasking." "Thanks. Yeah, I''ll do that." I had her Teleport me back to the Pokemon Center, and we spent the rest of the day training after flying to the beach.
Side Story 6 – Great War Testimonies Side Story 6 ¨C Great War Testimonies
Side Story 6 - Great War Testimonies It goes by many names. Mostmonly, the ''Great War'', but also the ''World War'', the ''Kanto-Johto War'', the ''Final War''. Personally, I will always prefer the Final War despite how unrealistic that notion is. Today, we remember the pain of loss, the agony of war, but in a generation? In two? When the people that lived through the conflict begin to die and children that do not know of war start gaining positions of power? I dare not suggest another conflict is likely, but all credence points toward it not having been thest. This year marks the 10th since the end of the Final War. The world has changed irreparably, for better or worse. Orre was scorched by multiple Moltres to the point of bing uninhabitable to everything but the toughest of Pokemon and men. Companies are rising in Unova and Gr and gaining in influence. Kanto and Johto have done the unthinkable and have formally united under Indigo out of fear of Legendaries. A revolution rocked Kalos and the royal family was imprisoned or executed just months after the war''s end. The world poption fell by twenty-three percent, mostly due to Legendaries, and that was just a warning. All of that is the tip of the iceberg. As for me? My name is Jonathan Briar, from Unova. I am just a record keeper, writing this in hopes of preserving these traumatic experiences on paper. With enough luck, my work and the work of others will dissuade future generations from delving into another war. This will not go into geopolitics. Instead, I will focus on the small. Individual ounts from Pokemon, civilians, soldiers, leaders from every region. I believe that personal ounts like this are even more important and will help paint a picture of what war is truly like. My questions will always be in bold, and the responses will be written normally. PEWTER CITY, STATE OF KANTO-JOHTO - LIFE AT THE FRONT, AN ACCOUNT BY SAIKI IESADA Saiki Iesada looks old. The lines running across his face are deep, he looks tired and grunts every time he sits, stands or does a sudden movement. Ites across as a surprise, then, that he is only thirty-nine years old. The veteran is missing an arm and the remains ofcerations mar his neck and shoulders. We are currently inside his home, and his wife brings us some tea. Pewter is a rough city. Rugged architecture, hardy people, and it is still rebuilding from the war even ten yearster. Massive war memorials litter the entire city with hundreds of thousands of graves. More than half of the city died or left as refugees toward Kanto''s interior, and most have note back. During most of the war, Pewter was an easy target for sabotage and aerial attacks. "I''ll start with what might be a tough question. What was life like at the front?" Saikiughs. "Pfft. I thought you were going to ask how I lost my arm! As soon as the war began, I volunteered. If I could go back in time, I would do it again. I didn''t have much. Just my old man''s Torkoal to my name. They said a fire type would be useful and sent me to the front," he said, staring into the distance. A picture of Torkoal sat on a drawer. His Pokemon had died in the war. "So Pewter was not a front-line city, then?" "It might as well have been with all the times we were attacked!" Saiki gruffs. "But for a while, the true front was miles to the east at Mount Silver. Some of us fought in the caves¡ª a terrible, terrible thing. The stories scare even me!" He says, leaning back into his chair in a defeated fashion. "I was on the mountain''s nks." "And how would you describe your experience?" Saiki works his jaw and stares up at the ceiling. He stares back down at me, and the unimaginable weight of war sits atop his shoulders. "Hell." "If you don''t mind, could you go into further detail?" "I still remember my first day," he recalls. "The war had only been going on for two weeks at that point, and no one knew what the hell they were doing. Not the soldiers, the leaders, or the politicians. Hell, we didn''t even know what the war was for. Some fucking border dispute, they said. I was brought in to the foot of Mount Silver and our barracks were attacked the night of. Some night raid from some Johtoan punks." He paused, trying to find the words to describe his experience. "The thing about a boy''s first battle is that it''s confusing," he said. "The adrenaline tampers the fear of death, and all you''re trying to figure out is who is who and how the hell you''re going to make it through the next ten minutes. People die all around you. There are battles in the air and on the ground. Buildings copse, but in that instant, you don''t care about who the hell is winning. You don''t even care about getting some Johtoans killed. You care about living, but you can''t run! That''s a coward''s way, and you''d get killed for deserting. Eventually somemander took control of the situation and gathered us up, and we began to push back the Johtoan forces. I''d say there were around one hundred of ''em in the raid. They tried to catch us while we slept." "And you won?" Saiki nods. "Technically we did. The thing about war is that there aren''t enough trained psychic to protect the troops. All of the psychic types are sent to missions that matter or are protecting the people in charge, and the result is that the fights are a fucking bloodbath. People burning to death, getting cut up, run through¡ª the fragility of humans is put on full disy. The way we were all trained¡ª the doctrine was to kill the trainers first and the Pokemonter. Cut the head of the Ekans, so to speak." "And the Pokemon would be disorganized, leaving you an opening?" "That, and there was also the psychological effect. This wasn''t just a war between humans. Pokemon are soldiers as well. Even if a lot of them lived through battles¡ª more than humans, anyway¡ª you kill their trainer, and they lose all of their motivation. That''s a soldier knocked out of the war for however many months it takes for it to be transferred to a new trainer." "Pokemon swapped hands?" Saiki waves his only arm. "All the time. A Pokemon that isn''t fighting is a waste of supplies. They get put with one of them war shrinks for a few weeks and get right back to fighting. Some of ''em lost themselves to war and became killing machines. How else do you cope when you cycle through a trainer every few months? A lot of ''em went crazy and killed some of their own too," he sighs. "It is what it is." "So, back to the front. Were these raidsmon?" "Very much so. Johtoans were adept at them and far better than we were. I saw a few battles as well¡ª with thousands of people and Pokemon on both sides. When that happens, all semnce of what you know about Pokemon training disappears. It''s formation, doctrine, strategy. There''s no calling outmands. We tried to keep Pokemon that couldplement themselves together. No one was putting an Onix with a Furfrou. Think of something like hundreds of same type Pokemon lined up. Water types for example would be sting their enemies with Water Gun, Water Pulse or Hydro Pump." "And the humans?" "They took a backstage during thergest battles, and they were mostly there for support. nking, assassinating generals, strikes from the air, artillery support in the back. Human-made weapons were never used that much before the war. Who needed a Howitzer when Pokemon could do the exact same thing? A ne when you could fly on a Fearow? Well, we did. There were far more humans than there were Pokemon fighting in the war, and we needed to put them to good use. Even non-trainers were conscripted." "Let''s move a little further into the future. The breakthrough when you made it through Mount Silver." "Ah, yes! That was when things really ramped up and battles started happening left and right. A massive push around Mount Silver from Kantoans and Hoennian forces pushed our enemies back, and we reached Johto''s hearnd. You know what happens next, though." "The Legendary Birds." "Never saw ''em, but I have plenty of war buddies that did," he says with dimmed eyes. "In the end, what are we? Nothing. Legends could end humanity in an afternoon, and it''s a wonder they haven''t. Ten years ago, it was the birds, but who knows what it''ll be next time?" "You think there''ll be another war?" "Obviously. War is a human and Pokemon constant. We can''t stop it, it''s in our blood. I don''t know where it''ll be next time. If I had to guess, probably here again. Kanto and Johto getting along? That can onlyst so long." CASTELIA CITY, THE REPUBLIC OF UNOVA - THE UNOVAN CAUSE, AN ACCOUNT BY MASON WOODS It is easy to see at first nce that Mason Woods is no soldier. The way he carries himself is calm and collected. He does not flinch at the closing of doors or cars passing by, nor does he look at Pokemon walking in the streets with wary suspicion. We sit in a small caf¨¦ that is nearly empty, and we both order something to drink. Mason drinks his coffeepletely ck and downs it before the interview. He is a retired politician and was a member of parliament. One of the key figures in the Committee for Foreign Intervention formed in the months after the war''s start. Today, he is ostracized by Unovan society atrge and is seen as the main cause for Unovan''s intervention in the Great War and its subsequent esction. Not many Unovans died during the warpared to the other regions, but they were still scarred by war, and Orrean refugees swarm the country''s border in an attempt to escape the wastes. They are, of course, brutally shut down. "Help me paint a picture here. Why would Unova, a country on the other side of the world, intervene in Johto''s favor?" "Tell me, Jonathan," Mason answers. "Do you think democracy is precious?" "I certainly think it''s the best form of government, but¡ª" "Kanto was a military dictatorship. Johto was a corrupt democracy¡ª but a democracy nheless!" He says, clenching a fist. "The only one on that damned continent. I believed¡ª and many of my colleagues who now spout anti-war nonsense still do¡ª that Johto was worth protecting. People say that nobody won the war, but that isn''t true. Kanto won the war. They forced their form of government over Johto." "So you wanted to protect democracy, then?" "Why else?" "Some people say that a lot Unovanpanies had a lot of stake in Johto and that was one of the major reasons. Also, the Opelucid Group grew five times richer during the war by selling weapons and training Pokemon abroad." "Complete and utter nonsense," Mason scoffs. "You take the word of leftists desperately trying to frame me instead of real, tangible goals? And look! Those samepanies are growing ever richer now that the war is over. Sure, the government sold contracts to the Opelucid Group because they made the best weapons and streamlined the Pokemon training process! But what about the others? Avalon, the Obel Energy Company? The war only hurt their profits. That''s as dumb as saying we''re intervening in Ransei for oil. We have plenty of fucking oil!" "Please rx, Mr. Woods. Moving on, could you exin what you saw in the inner workings of government during the war years?" "I apologize for raising my voice," he sighs with trembling lips. "I formed the Committee for Foreign Intervention along with a few like-minded colleagues. Kiran Lang, Aubrey Lewinsky¡­" He lists many names from many different political parties before continuing. Some of these are new to me, and others are vocally anti-war today. "We wereughed at at first. Sending our boys and girls to die an ocean away wasn''t exactly a popr notion with most of parliament, and we were ostracized by our own parties. We grueled and lobbied for months, but to no avail. But¡ª" he stops and smiles. "Hoenn joined Kanto''s side and Sinnoh joined to help Johto. Al was a Hoennian colony at the time, which Orre was very interested in seizing for themselves for a forward-facing base in the Azure Ocean." "Ah. Now it''s starting to make sense." "Orre invaded Al with a surprise attack and seized the archipgo for themselves in Hoenn''s moment of weakness, and that got Parliament nervous. Orre might be a backwater now, but ten years ago it rivaled Unova¡ª but of course, you know that already." He clears his throat and I continue. "Wouldn''t logic dictate that you back Kanto and Hoenn should Orre back the other side?" "Geopolitics aren''t that simple. Thest thing we wanted was for the war to escte and for our cities to be bombed to smithereens. And war with Orre would be terrible for us. Instead, we looked to pragmatism. Join the war on Orre, Sinnoh and Johto''s side and act as a mediator after what looked like an inevitable victory. Grant Al its independence from Orre through diplomacy and weaken them in the process due to the fact that they would have used men, money and resources on a country they wouldn''t control.." "Pragmatism and democracy?" "Why not both? One does not disallow the other," he shrugs. "Anyway, suddenly, we were all about intervention, and the Committee finally got to work. We would send Johto an expeditionary force 150,000 thousand strong, not counting the Pokemon, and most of our efforts would be concentrated in the sea and air. We expectedplete domination. After all, it was four countries against two." "But other regions intervened." "So goes history," Mason nods. "You know, sometimes I have these visions at night. Nightmares." "Nightmares?" "What if Moltres had picked Unova to scorch instead of Orre?" he trembles. "Then we would be ruined, and they would be prospering. Unova won the coin flip." "You think it was a coin flip?" "I doubt the Legends bothered to learn about the intricacies of who was at fault, who was in the right, and what region to burn, freeze, or electrocute. We were dirtying their backyard and they gave the Durant nest a kick. Hundreds of millions died in the process." "What do you think the future holds for Unovan politics?" "Well, as much as it pains to admit, we achieved all of our war goals and we''re the only power left on the continent. Orre doesn''t have a functioning government any longer and the majority of their people died in the fires. Their lushnds were ssed and turned into desert. So¡­" His face scrunches up, and he exhales. "In the end, I suppose Unova was one of the winners." ECRUTEAK CITY, STATE OF KANTO-JOHTO - THE LEGENDARY BEASTS, AN ACCOUNT BY LIZBETH BANE Lizbeth Bane res at me as I enter her office, and she stops typing on her type-writer for a moment before continuing. She asks if I''m the interviewer her staffers were so excited about, and I say yes, introducing myself. She dresses like a man, sporting a ck suit and pants with a tie. She was one of Johto''s leading Legendary researchers during the war, but today, she is just a University Professor in Ecruteak. Her office is orderly, as if everything is in its intended spot. "Sorry for the inconvenience. What can you tell me about the Legendary Beasts? Raikou, Entei, Suicune?" "Not much," she snorts dismissively. "Don''t expect to get a full ount of how we went about creating the artificial ones. That is ssified information, and I value being alive." "On the fourth year of the war, the Legendary Beasts¡ª or some form of them were seen aiding Johto''s alliance. This sent Kanto and Hoenn into a panic, but they quickly realized they were not the real deal." "Yes, yes, yes," she groaned. "They were not real. The fact that Kanto, Hoenn, Kalos and Paldea thought they were for even a few days is proof that theyck a lot of intellect," she quips. "Sinnoh had¡­ the technology and knowledge to create things from nothing. It took four years to find the right vessel. I won''t go deeper into it." "So how strong were these fake beasts in actuality?" "Around the level of an average Gym Leader''s Pokemon. Devastating in battle, but not war-changing like we needed them to be. There were worries about¡­ you know what, never mind. Just know that they were not sustainable, which is why they stopped being used after six months." "And the war was not sustainable either, was it?" "Why do you think Kanto and their allies broke through in the final months? Obviously, it was not sustainable. We were slowly losing, inch by inch until everything gave away and the entire war effort unraveled." "Getting back on the topic of the Beasts. Could you have created any Legend¡ª or a bootleg version of them, at the very least?" "Theoretically. But the Beasts were simple. The Legendary Birds, they''re a concept. Too blurry, not enough form. We cannot understand them well. Ho-Oh and Lugia are the same. They are constants. Laws of the world that will survive for time eternal. The Legendary Beasts are good. They''re Legends, but understanding them is almost achievable, or at least that was the theory." "And this technology is in the hands of the new government?" Lizbethughs dryly. "Calling it technology is funny," she says. "But yes. You can bet that every single state now knows the theory behind it. Putting it in ce is another ordeal entirely. It''s not just Kanto-Johto and Sinnoh that know it. We all know it. And I hope we all understand that experimenting with things that were not meant to be yed with would be incredibly stupid." The weight of her statement settles in the room, and everything seems darker for a moment. I breathe. HAU''OLI CITY, REPUBLIC OF ALOLA - REFUGEE HAVEN, AN ACCOUNT BY LANAKINA PUKAHI Lanakina takes a long drag of his cigarette as we sit on the beach and watch the waves. Time seems to sit still on the pristine beach, and the sound of the water feels nice on my ears, even if writing in the sand is an awful experience. Hau''oli city sits in the distance. It is already a lotrger than it was when I first came here two years ago. The sunlight feels heavy on my skin. Lanakina breathes out smoke and smiles. He works in the Aln Ministry of the Interior and is overseeing Hau''oli''s current expansion. "Go on," he says. "Thank you. Al''s been independent for ten years, now. Would you say the¡­ ordeal has been a sess?" "I''d say it''s been so and so," he frowns. "Hard to negotiate with the hundreds of Pokemon to expand without a full-fledged war that no one wants. There have been times when conflict was inevitable, and Unova''s been a big help in that regard. War never stops. It just slows, wanes, and then picks up again." "And how is the government? It wasn''t modeled after Unova, was it?" "It was not. We aren''t exactlypatible," he chuckles. "We''re far more in tune with nature, and we''ve got no League. Everything''s civilian-run." "Is the fact that a city is bulldozing over a tropical forest not ironic when considering that statement?" "If it was Unova, everything would have burned down already," Lanakina shrugs. "Not that we could do that with the Tapus around. It''s all about not stepping on their toes." "Al''s been getting a bit of a reputationtely, hasn''t it?" He smiles proudly. "We''re a damn refugee haven, that''s what we are. We''ll take your poor, your tired, your criminals, anything so long as you can work. Our poption''s growing exponentially. From a few tens of thousands to the 400,000 we have today. Hopefully it doesn''t stop for a while. We need thebor." "There''s been usations of you taking in war criminals from every region. Layne Lancaster moved to Hau''oli from Kanto, for example. He was known to line up trainers and force them to kill their own Pokemon to spare their own lives, and he would kill those that did regardless afterward." Lanakina''s face falls. "Is that what this is?" "I''m just asking questions." "I did say we''ll take your criminals. War criminals included," he speaks. "People always rag on us for doing this. They say that we should follow the rule ofw¡ª the fucking rule ofw! Hah! Give me a break! Every region''s got their skeletons in their closets. Hoenn grabbed themselves a bunch of terrible scientists¡ª war criminals," he presses. "To start some kind of fucking space program. Humans going to and sending things to space? What''s next? Complete nonsense. Unova allowed the richest to move into their country so they invest in their economy no matter what fucked up crime theymitted. It''s war crimes all the way down, Jonathan. No one''s got clean hands." "Fair enough. But no one''s been as open with it as Al has been." "Every region''s got their niche. We have to specialize, or we''ll die. We''re the smallest in terms ofnd area and poption, we''ve got no oil, no rare minerals¡­ nothing. We have to allow ourselves to build ourselves up, and for that, we need immigrants. Youe here, you''ve got a clean te. Don''t fuck up again, and we''ll turn our heads the other way." "Has Orre¡­ well, do you share any bad blood with Orre?" "If there was anyone left to have bad blood with, maybe," he sighs heavily. "Poor bastards. They invaded us and upied us for years, but they weren''t as bad as they could have been, especiallypared to how brutal Hoenn was with us and the news we heard about the front in Shinwa. I feel terrible for all the death there, but what can you do but pray and hope for the best?" "I suppose so." "I suppose so? Have some heart you emotionless bastard," heins. GATEON PORT, ORRE - HELL, AN ACCOUNT BY SIDNEY PIERCE Gateon Port is a small settlement of a few tens of thousands of people, and it is far more orderly than I expected. It is one of Orre''s only permanent settlements and the only one with a semnce of a functioning society. Coming here is more difficult than I expected. There are no airports to use, and ships have a high chance of being seized by pirates. Many people walk around with guns and rifles, and Sidney Pierce does so as well. He is thinner than what seems healthy with scabs and bruises all over his body. Beyond the city, there is some greenery, but beyond even that, there are the endless dunes that stretch taller than mountains. I cannot help but look over my shoulder every few seconds even though I have hired guards toe with me. Other than their own, there are no Pokemon in sight. The majority of people walking around me have some kind of burned tissue on their bodies. "Before we begin, I have to ask. What''s with the¡ª" "Guns?" He speaks with a frail voice. Even then, he looms threateningly. "You gotta have a way to defend yourself, man." "I''ve heard of this before, but there are no Pokemon here?" "Oh, there are. Just not enough for everyone. That''s not even speaking of maintenance and the fact that we don''t have many Pokeballs left from the pre-war days. That stasis effect would at least help us not have to feed the damn things that much," he says with a fidget. "Have there been any attempts to establish a working government here?" "And do what? What is there to rule over exactly? A few settlements, nomads, ruins?" He stops to spit on the ground. "There''s nothing left. A few dozen Moltres was all it took tomit genocide on a scale the world had never seen. Half of us died from the fires, then another forty-five percent from the societal copse that came after or they managed to run away. Famine, disease, crime, it doesn''t take much to kill a man." He pauses. "That''s not to say no one tried. They just all failed." "If you had someone in charge, the situation would improve, wouldn''t it?" "Want me to tell you what we need for the situation to improve? International help," he says. "Many regions have sent help. Unova, Gr, Hoenn¡­ to this very port, in fact." "That shit gets stolen and sold the moment your ships leave," he rolls his eyes. He stops to erratically scratch his elbow and grunts. "We need a force to fix things. A few thousand, well-trained men and women would be all it takes to take control of this port. Then they can go from there." "So you''re asking to be invaded?" "Fuck yeah, I''ll be invaded! People can invade this shithole all they want! I don''t care who does it, I just want someone to do something. Not that it''d be easy. Plenty of people have used this crisis to make a fortune, and they''d fight back any authority. Anarchy pays, believe it or not." "It would be horribly expensive." "And war isn''t?" He raises a twitching eyebrow. "That depends. Are there any other settlements like this?" "This port''s the biggest, and there are a few others on the coast. There are also a few beyond the coast, and I''ve heard whispers of some underground city being built ind too. Only rumors, though." "Some people live ind? Isn''t that terribly dangerous?" His lips quiver, and he stammers. "People will live anywhere, man. There are raiders, Pokemon that live in the dunes, the threat of dehydration, walking for days and weeks in the sand to reach the next settlement or oasis. Most of the people you''ll see innd are nomads trying to go east." "To get to the Unovan border and cross it." "That, and also scavenge the remains of our old cities that are still standing. I''ve been to two back in the early days. They''re all so empty. Hundreds of skyscrapers burned to a crisp and barely standing. It''s hard to imagine we all lived there back in the day. Plenty of scrap metal and other goodies to steal, though." "Did you lose anyone in the Great Fire?" "That''s what they call it abroad?" Sidney snorts. "Yeah, man. It''d be hard to find someone who didn''t lose someone else. The entire fucking region was set aze. You don''t just scrape through that without losses." "My condolences¡ª" "Thank you. Move on." "What''s your n for the future? Is there any hope of recovery for Orre?" "I heard a few people say it''d take a thousand years for thend to go back to normal, so no," he shakes his head. "Just¡­ survive. Live every day like it''s thest, because some motherfucker might shoot me in my sleep for forgetting to pay him back. Maybe find one of ''em Moltres Avatars and shoot it before burning to a crisp. Wouldn''t that be fun?" I don''t answer. COUMARINE CITY, THE KALOSIAN REPUBLIC - REGRETS, AN ACCOUNT BY TRISTAN ARCENEAUX I watch life on Coumarine''s port go by and can''t help but marvel at its beauty. It is a stark contrast to Gateon Port. Orderly, well-staffed, paved ground, and Pokemon wandering about. I sit in a restaurant next to the port and Tristan sits with me while on his break. Today, he is just a waiter, content to live a discreet life. Ten years ago, he was a leading figure in the Kalosian revolution that overthrew the old monarchy. Today, Kalos retains much of its old traditions with noble titles, but it is a full-fledged republic. "When I talked to you on the phone, you said that you thought the war was a good thing. Will you exin why?" "Is there a King in Kalos, Jonathan? A Queen? A royal family?" I cannot help but notice the thick ent. Kalos is one of the only countries not to speak ourmonnguage, and it is hard to understand him. Tristan''s words were slow, long and drawn out. "Well, I suppose not." "Exactly. Because we killed them and grabbed freedom for ourselves. Without the war, the conditions needed for this never would have risen." "And why did Kalos join the war on Kanto''s side, exactly?" "I am no politician. Just a retired revolutionary. I do not know what goes through their minds. But scum supports scum, Jonathan. Kalos was an absolute monarchy. Kanto was a military dictatorship that was at war against Unova, Gr, Orre, Johto and Sinnoh with only Hoenn on their side. Authoritarians fear when their fellow dictators fall. For a second, it probably seemed like the entire world was changing. That dictators were going to fall. I supposed that scared King Charles III and his ministers." "And that is why Paldea joined as well?" Tristan chuckles. "Possibly. They''re a Military Junta, so a dictatorship all the same. The key point, though, was to be a counterweight to the other nations hoping to strike Kanto down." "How did you start getting involved in the Kalosian Revolution exactly?" "It was during the war. Kalos was the only nation not on Shinwa that had implemented¡­ uh, how do you say it¡­ conscription on its people. A lot of us were forced to fight in a war that we did not care about whatsoever. I was lucky and was not drafted, but my brother was, and you can guess that anger needed to be redirected somewhere." "So you got involved before the war ended?" "Far before," he nods. "That was how I ended up as one of its leaders by the end. At first, we did not want to bring down the monarchy. We just wanted to end the war. We would bomb ships, railroads, airports, military bases. We were a thorn in the government''s side, but we were an effective thorn that hampered the war effort well. Of course, Guarde Royale hunted us like dogs." "How did you start wanting to abolish the monarchy?" "It came in phases. When we realized that King Charles III was not going toe to the negotiating table, we decided that we needed to do more. We settled on a constitutional monarchy at first, a¡­" he frowns to find the word, gesturing above the able with a hand. "A Figurehead with no power¡ª like what they have in Gr. Of course, everything changed when the war ended." He stops to see if I need to speak, but I just nod. "With the troopsing back home, we were killed by the thousands. The bodies of my camarades were hung high to scare our fellow citizens. Public executions were done by the King''s Haxorus. Heads were cut off with the move Guillotine." "So your movement became more radical." "As it should!" He yells, unabashed by his surrounding employees and clients. "Soldiers that had seen the horrors of war joined us by the tens of thousands. There were riots in the streets from theckluster response to the appearance of Zapdos in Lumiose. People were hungry, tired, scared, angry. Kalos gave out at the seams. King Charles was betrayed by his own guardsmen and many of his Lords who knew the situation was untenable, and we killed him and his wife. We gave them both a trial, of course. They were both convicted of trai¡ª treason and their heads were cut, like what was done to so many of ours beforehand. Their children were exiled to Gr and I am sure they are living a nice life." He chews on his words and drums his fingers against the table. "Parts of me wish we would have kept them in prison. Who knows if thirty years from now, Gr will not hang them over our heads and use their im to go to war?" "So you still dislike Gr, then? Even after bing a republic?" "Rulers may change, but history and politics do not. Gr was a threat to us before the republic, and it still is now." "Who did you take inspiration from to form your new government?" "No one, save for the Gym Leader system that we found would be a stable alternative to the Lords and a Champion and Elite Four to lead the military side of things¡ª with oversight from l''Assembl¨¦e Nationale and le S¨¦nat." "And the Lords¡­ what happened to them?" "The ones that helped the King were killed or imprisoned. The ones that helped us kept their titles, were stripped of most of theirnds, but got to keep crumbs. Much more than I would have liked." "You could have been in an important position in the new government¡ª" "I was not after power. Just freedom, and revenge for my brother''s death. Vive r¨¦publique, et vive Kalos." FLOAROMA CITY, SINNOH - WAR HEALING, AN ACCOUNT GIVEN BY SALOME THE GARDEVOIR Salome gently gestures me toward a couch, and I sink into thefortable fabric. Her rooms had dim, yellow lights that washed over the walls and her face. She moves her arm and the door locks. "Thank you for your time, and for meeting me on such a short notice. I had a few questions about¡ª" (She cuts me off and answers in my mind, but I will use quotation marks for consistency) "My time spent healing during the war," she says with a nod. "You were told about me?" "I can read it. In your mind." "So you can know what I think at all times?" "Correct. I will often let people talk regardless, because humans like to talk. It is good to heal." "You were one of the therapists on the front, were you not?" "Yes. I spent many years there, speaking to humans and Pokemon¡ª but mostly humans. My job was to get them in fighting shape as fast as possible, so my healing was often not sufficient. Despite my warnings, they often took them anyway." "How did you help people get better?" "It depends. For the loss of a family member or a Pokemon, I would allow them time to grieve, cry in my arms while I soothed them and told them everything would be okay. For a soldier who was wounded and was in horrible pain, I would make them feel things. Block off pain. Have them focus on the good." "So you altered how they felt?" "I could not bear to watch them squirm in pain. They asked for me every time they were wounded. I was one of the most popr therapists on the front. Humans like to speak about the ethics of messing with the mind, but when someone''s leg is shattered and he needs to wait two days for the nurses to amputate him safely, I would rather block off the pain than not." "Do you ever regret sending so many young men back to fight after they''d suffered so much?" "The war was a human construct. I was just living in it, and doing my best," Salome softly says. "If it hadn''t been me, it would have been someone else. The fact that I am an empath just made me better at the job. I did not care much for sides or who would win. I simply wanted to help them attain a better state of mind." "What led you to this career path? Today, you''ve used your experience to be a therapist here in Floaroma." "I belonged to a human that fought in the war. When she died to a stray Stone Edge, I was healed by a woman. I couldnt help but feel like a failure. My barrier had been breached by that Stone Edge and I had gotten my trainer killed, but somehow, her words made me feel better and allowed me to forgive myself. Seeing her work made me want to do the same. Had I not been a Gardevoir, I doubt my request to be a healer would have been approved." "So there were not many Pokemon therapists, then?" "A Pokemon healer was a Pokemon not fighting at the front, and psychics were dearly needed. I was more the exception than the rule. Humans are weak and are capable of doing the job just as well." I nod, noticing her tendency to refer to therapists as healers. "So now you n on living in Floaroma as a therapist, then?" "There is nothing I would rather do. Even today, many men suffer from conditions like shell shock and that still need my help." "They use a new term for that condition in Unova, now. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." "That¡­ certainly feels moreplete than shell shock. I will see if I can spread the term."
Chapter 258 Chapter 258
CHAPTER 258 Gothitelle could see into the future. The words rang out over and over in Mira Compton''s head as she strode toward Denzel''s room. That was something she hadn''t ounted for, and like a missing piece of a puzzle, the information slid into her mind and her knowledge became a little more whole, and with that came ever-growing satisfaction that could not be abated. Three months, and only things rted to Pauline and herself, Mira thought. That gave them a little wiggleroom. If they never nned to involve Pauline into Team Gctic shenanigans, then Gothitelle would never find out about anything. And yet, Pauline was in some sort of danger. Would Mars target her because she was one of Grace''s friends? Likely, with how much of a crazy bitch the Team Gctic admin was. Part of Mira almost considered just ripping the band-aid off and talking to Gothitelle, but Pauline was starting to dislike her again for being in the know while she was not, and if Pauline disliked her, then Gothitelle would too. Never mind the fact that the psychic wanted Mira to stay away from her. While Mira thought about how to approach this Gothitelle situation and stepped into the elevator, multiple trains of thought ran in the background of her mind. Eevee was not looking like an option right now because of money issues, so she was weighing the benefit of catching an Exeggcute in the Safari Zone. Mr. Jimenez needed her code done by six in the evening, and she hadn''t even started it yet outside of visualizing it in her head. Somehow, she made mistakes in her head too. She was self-taught in coding, but his extra push had made her fully capable of creating non-sentient Porygon, and a lot of other useful things. She currently had around eight in her phone, at the moment, not counting her actual Porygon, who was currently watching videos on there after getting banned from that gacha game for hacking. Either way, the Porygon would be useful forter. Mira was also considering what the hell she''d tell Denzel about all of this, thinking about new techniques for Haunter and Magnezone, and what the hell she was going to eat this evening. Always Quesadis¡ª Exeggcute were known to be a lot to handle, but Blue Oak''s Exeggutor was a menace¡ª Hi big guy! Your not-girlfriend can potentially blow the lid on this whole thing and I don''t think she''s great at keeping secrets¡ª Just a few more shifts and I''ll get my Upgrade to evolve Porygon¡ª Should I do something about Porygon getting addicted to gambling in video games¡ª Okay, but Quasadis are great. It was never overwhelming. Mira had gradually grown into it, and was d that she at least had that to work with, because without it, what was she? Not much. But Chasey would tell her to cheer up and that he was here for her if she needed him, so she did, donning a smile as she knocked on Denzel''s door. Mira knew Chase didn''t like her back at this point. She wasn''t one to miss the subtle signs of romance, which was why she''d toned down the flirting just a bit. He was still a great guy, though. Great friend too. All of her friends were great, really, but he and Maeve were extra great, even if she didn''t see her too much these days with the distance she''d taken from the group to hang out with Zoey and them no longer traveling together. Maeve was pissed with her too. Too nosey, she had called her. Not that she was incorrect. Denzel opened the door, his body filling the entire frame. He looked down at Mira and gave her a disappointed look. "Ouch. If you didn''t want to see me, at least hide it from your face," the girl joked. "That obvious?" He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I thought it was maybe Pauline or Emi or something. Thought I could fix things with them." "That bad, huh? Can Ie in?" He shifted away from the entrance and gestured her in. "Yup." He closed the door. "What''s the problem?" he asked. The tension in his body was easy to see. "No poacher trouble?" "If there was, I would have sent you a text or called, not waltzed into your room willy-nilly." "Right." "Okay, so Pauline''s Gothitelle. Did you know she could kind of see three months into the future?" Mira asked, tracing her hand against the wooden desk. Denzel stayed silent, his mouth agape. "Okay, so you didn''t know. Got it. She was hiding it from you¡ª well, not hiding it, but she just never thought it to be relevant to bring up until someone asked about Gothitelle. Fair enough." "Wh¡ªwhat?" "Yeah, she''s warned her to stay away from us¡ª well, you weren''t included in the equation, so you''re fine, and I doubt Pauline will listen to her anyway. The problem is that I''m starting to lose my doubts that Gothitelle won''t figure this entire thing out soon, and that''s kind of a ticking time bomb. I don''t really know how any of that shit works yet, and the problem is exactly that. So, since Pauline kind of dislikes me right now, I''m going to need you in there to figure out the quirks of how it works. Gothitelle and Xatu are the only Pokemon who can use Future Sight to see longer than like, one minute. Uses the powers of the stars, or something. I won''t be able to fill in the gaps until we talk or youe back with more information¡ª oh, I''m rambling, sorry." "Yeah. I mean, our talk went pretty bad," Denzel winced. "Uh, I''ll try to, I guess. I''m pretty sure all of them have a bone to pick with me, at the moment." "What words did you use?" Mira asked. "I hope you didn''t use ''it''s for your own good'', that one never goes over well." Denzel''s jaw clenched. "Oh, okay. That was meant to be a joke, sorry," Mira nervouslyughed. "Uh, it can''t be that bad. I''m sure she still loves you and everything. Give it another day or two." Every day was a risk, but love was an annoying thing, Mira internally sighed. "I''ll do that," he nodded. "Hey, I''m no Grace, but I can tell you''re still shaken," Mira patted him on the arm. "Why don''t I get some coding done here for my job, and we can talk in the meantime about your streaming stuff and how terrible I am to keep aspany." "Won''t you need to focus?" "Nah," Mira said, dropping her backpack to pick up herptop. "It''s just shitty menial tasks. Copy paste arge portion of the code, then tweak it a bit depending on what the Porygon will do. Right now, Mr. Jimenez is asking for Porygon that search through social media to feed ads to users for Chatter, and Chatter sells the data. Or other social media sites. Pretty fucking nifty." "If you say so. Did you always swear this much, by the way?" Denzel asked, his tone rxing slightly. Mira raised her eyebrows. "Huh. I guess I got a little bit of Chasey in me." Denzel''s face scrunched up. "Never say that again." ¡ª One dayter. Mudsdale walked at a trot, but even his trot made the ground rumble. The ground type was definitely heavier than one ton, that was for sure. There was a reason the Rangers didn''t allow him to walk inside the buildings other than him being slightly above eight feet tall. His sheer weight would just destroy any tiles he tried to walk on. I wasn''t the one riding him, not that I wasn''t going to try. Right now, Angel had anchored himself on Mudsdale''s back, vines attached all around the ground type''s body and some around his neck. Angel mimicked an ted yell with an eye-smile as Mudsdale rode around in a circle. Sunshine was still dumbfounded by the entire thing, but he mused that he should have known Tangrowth would have done something like this. I snorted, staring up from myptop. "Let him have his fun. He''s gotten the idea to ride something ever since I started using his head as a passenger seat," I said, slowing down a video of Gyarados. I sipped on another cup of tea that Mr. Brockhouse had graciously brewed for me. This one was different than what I''d gotten yesterday and had a little bit of a fresh, minty aftertaste to it. Was mint tea a thing? It was probably a thing. "But you have to admit the introductions are going well, no?" Sunshine nodded and let a smile slip on his face. Supposedly Mudsdale never would have done something like this before. "Really? He''s such a softie, though. Kind of like you. Tough on the outside, but when you open up¡ª" And with that, the dragon left. I rolled my eyes, and Princess sniggered. I was sitting on her, at the moment. Without a saddle, of course. I wasn''t going to pass up sitting on someone sofortable, and there weren''t any seats nearby. Buddy was practicing Taunt with Sweetheart in the distance, and he was getting the hang of it. The rock type had already gotten her fair share of rides, even though she could barely bnce herself on Mudsdale for more than five seconds and the ground type could barely support her weight. Every time she fell off, Princess had to fix up the crater that formed. Turning my attention back to Princess, a wisp of bright red mes constantly appeared and reappeared in front of her. "You''re on break right now," I said, passing a hand over her head. "Rx a little. Wanna go for a ride next?" The fairy type huffed, saying that she was above such things. I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say. I saw you looking at Mudsdale earlier and you know you can''t hide envy from me." I waited to gauge her reaction, but she didn''t budge. "I guess Honey''ll be next." The electric type couldn''t practice Bulldoze and his other moves outside of the battling arena, so he was one of the few actually taking his break. His control over electricity had grown almost perfectly, so he was holding onto and reading the Detectiveics I''d bought him in Sunyshore. I returned to my studying until Mudsdale strode up to me and neighed to catch my attention. He had called out my name. Angel hopped off the ground type''s back with a dull thud, and Princess asked him if he had fun. I turned my full attention to Mudsdale, whose words were stillrgely unknown to me. It had only been one day since we''d met, after all. I slid off Princess'' back, hobbling on one leg until I got my crutches. Angel, as diligent as ever, slipped my second one into my right hand before I could even blink. Myptop returned to my backpack. "Thank you," I said before turning to Mudsdale. "Let''s go for a walk." The horse cocked his head to the side, but nodded. Sunshine was lying down in the distance on the rocky floor, taking in today''s warmth, but he couldn''t have been more obvious about spying on us. We were in an isted spot in the outpost, which hadn''t been hard to find with how empty of trainers it was. Luckily, it was still expertly guarded, so I still felt safe not having an eye on my family at all times. "How''d you like them?" I finally asked. Mudsdale stayed silent for a few seconds before settling on an answer. I had to work to figure out what it meant. A small diffusion of satisfaction, steady and firm, but also nostalgia. Huh, interesting. Kamaile''s team hadn''t had any children. "I''m d you like them," I smiled. "They''re everything to me. It would have been difficult if you didn''t get along. I could tell Sweetheart got a little on your nerves earlier, though. Sorry about her, she''s very easy to excite, and her evolution being nearby''s got her in all sorts of moods. She thinks she''s going to take over the world." Mudsdale snorted at that, but it was short-lived. Anyugh was good, though. Mudsdale''s apathetic view toward life was difficult to miss. "You''ve worked with kids before, haven''t you?" I asked. The ground type hid the surprise on his face very well, not even changing the rhythm at which he walked. He answered with a simple nod. "Use your words. If you don''t, I''ll still learn, but I''ll learn slower," I said. Of course, that came back to bite me in the ass. I understood maybe ten percent of the long speech that came next, and that wasn''t enough to gather context to answer back. "Okay, I''m not going to lie, I got a big head." I turned my head away from him in slight embarrassment. "I didn''t get a lot of that¡­ okay, I didn''t get most of that." Mudsdale didn''tugh, thank the Legendaries, but he did shoot me a curious look. "Sunshine told you about it already, right? Through circumstances I''m not too sure about, I can understand Pokemon after three days with them or so," I exined, skirting around the name Mesprit. "It''s certainly made life a whole lot easier. I couldn''t imagine my life without it at this point. It''d be like not being alive, really," I ended with a murmur. "But there''s no, like, trick to it or anything." The ground type let out a pensive, rumbling neigh. "Right? It''s weird, isn''t it?" I giggled. "Anyway, children! Was it back in Al?" Mudsdale nodded, but before he could exin, I opted to have Buddy take his break ande trante. It''d be good bonding, too. My voice carried far in the empty outpost, and he listened right away, sliding across the cracks in the ground and reaching me in mere seconds. Sweetheart looked on, angry that her ''student'' had been taken away from her. Jellicent was the one who had taken to Mudsdale the most. He really knew how to approach him and talk to him without stepping on his non-existent toes. Mudsdale had lived in a group before¡­ well, that part was left unspoken, but he''d been a part of a herd. He had been at its head¡ª the only Mudsdale that led around twenty Mudbray (the number often fluctuated, but it was around there), which I assumed was part of why he was such a steady Pokemon. Someone I felt like I could rely and depend on for whatever I needed. He didn''t go that in-depth with the story, but I assumed that Kamaile had gotten him to agree to join him and not caught him by force. That wasn''t his or Al''s style, and I doubted that Mudsdale would have spoken about his old herd without some bitterness if he''d been forcefully ripped away from them. "I didn''t know you lived in herds!" I eximed. "I''m guessing you helped with the kids, then." He did. All the time. And that had built him a tolerance for kid shenanigans. Apparently, in his species, it was customary for the males to lead and take care of the herd while the females were more aggressive and usually didn''t lead. There were, of course, always exceptions. Males would also strike out on their own when they reached maturity to start their own herds, either with a few others that they convinced to leave or finding Mudbray or Mudsdale in the wild. He had gone alone, because apparently the first option sometimes created huge rifts inmunities that could sometimes end up in fights, or multi-generational spanning rivalries. Buddy sagely nodded, absorbing all of this information with great interest while he tranted, and Mudsdale seemed very pleased that we were hanging onto his every word. I could tell he wasn''t used to being listened to like this. It wasn''t hard to imagine Sunshine just ignoring what he said, or even the other members of Kamaile''s team. I had only heard a few stories about them each, but only Drampa was the one who looked like she would have cared. We finished our walk infortable silence. When we looped back to my family, Angel quickly scuttled toward me, pushing himself with dozens of vines and motioning with a dozen more. "I can''t ride Mudsdale, that was¡ª" That was Kamaile''s spot. Other Pokemon were fine, but Mudsdale only had one trainer, even if he was dead. The ground type paused and then said something else. No trantion came out of Buddy''s mouth. Instead, Angel hoisted me onto Mudsdale''s back, and the horse didn''t even so much as twitch to disagree. "Okay, I guess I am riding you," I chuckled nervously. My hands went to grip at the ground type''s dark hair, but I had to work to get in there. The texture was so tough and it was so tightly wound together that digging my fingers to get a grip on it took twenty seconds of effort. "Go slowly, please. It''ll hurt too much if my leg bounces." Seeing the ground from up here was scarier than flying high in the sky, for some reason. Or maybe it was because I didn''t have a saddle? Mudsdale slowly walked around the outpost. His hair was softer on the inside than the outeryer, so I ended up petting it the entire time. Oh, and Princess demanded a ride when we were done. ¡ª One dayter "So there''s one thing you''ve got to understand, Musdale," I said as I tied my hair back. Togekiss flew far above us, electricity sparkling through her fur. "Princess is like, very uppity. I guess I''m to me for that? I kind of struggle telling her no unless she demands outrageous things. I think she''s been having some kind of rebellious phase too. But! She''s also a huge baby, so you don''t want to talk back to her too hard." Sunshine nodded along, adding that it had taken him months to learn to walk the careful line. One second, he could be bantering back with her, and the other she''d be crying to me. Mudsdale raised a hairless brow but followed what we were saying. There had been no idents yet, but I figured it was better to warn him because they were bound to happen. "So yeah, she''s capricious and I love her," I said, feeling a smile tug at my lips. "But befriending her is solving a puzzle in and of itself." Mudsdale had decided to ask me about members of my family and what I thought about them, starting with Princess first. I didn''t know if he was just genuinely curious or if this was a test of some kind, but I did love to gush about my kids, so I wouldn''t miss an opportunity like this. Plus, I was on break, having finally smoothed out my strategy for Wake. Now all I needed was to figure out a containment procedure should he use Pfin. Part of me wondered if I''d need to just throw the match so he wouldn''t transform¡ª or transform aste as possible, but that was needlessly risky andplicated. Still nice to keep it as a contingency, though. "Okay, so, Angel. He''s a little strange, right?" I turned to look at the grass type, who was using Ingrain on the barren Ranger grounds. If he could find nutrients here, he could find them anywhere. "Non-verbal. I still don''t know why. I guess he was just born this way, but he''s easy to understand once you get the gist of his signnguage." Sunshine snorted, letting me know that I waspletely wrong. He was just starting to get it after having been with us for months. I rolled my eyes. "You look at the vines too much. It''s mostly in the eyes, Sunshine. Anyway, he''s a very sweet boy. Wants everyone to get along all the time, and is actually very easygoing. He''s great at listening to people venting too, believe it or not. A great listener in general. I''ve spent a lot of nights just talking to him about problems. And he''s great with kids! Even though he''s a kid himself." Turtornator grunted to say that he wasn''t so sure about that. Mudsdale opted not to say anything. "What? Have you seen him?" I scoffed. "He''s totally a kid. Here, let me call him over¡ª Angel!" The grass type turned, then waved at me before he waddled over with a cute skip. A vine snaked around my good ankle and leg as soon as he got close enough. I had long learned to live with his clinginess. In fact, I thought it was cute. "Hey kiddo. Mudsdale wanted to know how old you were. I know you said you don''t remember, but why don''t you try to ballpark the number." He tilted his entire body, then blinked. Slowly, eight vines rose. At first, I thought he''d meant eight, which was a lot older than I''d believed, but I knew from the sharpness in his eyes that he meant decades, not mere years. Eighty. I closed my mouth, which had opened without me knowing, and gulped. "Woah. I, uh, I thought you were a lot younger than that." Sunshine shrugged, asking if it mattered if he behaved like a child half the time anyway. No. It did not. "You''re a cute kid, Angel," I smirked. "Why don''t I go cook something for everyone? The Center''s basically empty, I''m sure I could borrow the kitchen." Honey appeared before me with surprising control over Radiant Leap and grinned. "Let''s do this," I said, returning the smile. ¡ª The Pokemon Center''s kitchen was a grand affair. An almost endless row of stainless steel countertops sat to my left, serving as the station where most meals were prepared. Large sinks were positioned to the sides, where a lonely cook was currently washing a bunch of tes. She was the only person on shift at the moment, and had been very nice about lending me a slice of her kitchen. People were surprisingly amenable if you were nice and listened to their worries for a little while. "Remind me to never try to make pizza again, Hon," I sighed. I leaned toward one of the five ovens, looking at the awful experiment the both of us had created while Electivire cleaned the dishes. He had to be very careful with the measuring cups and handful of spoons I''d used to spread the sauce¡ª so careful that he was holding them between two of his fingers. The fact that he could actually touch water without killing everything in the vicinity meant that he was basically normal again. I slid next to him and elbowed his side. "Let me help you out. You did most of the work." The electric type hummed, his two tails straightening. Electivire tails were very expressive, not that I needed to keep track of bodynguage. Straight when focused or in a fight, loose when rxed or having fun, and everything in between. He was disappointed in the results, but still excited to taste the damn pizza. We''d made it twice as big as the recipe said because of all the mouths to feed, bought the needed ingredients at a nearby grocery store (which was the only one in the station), but we''d messed up so many times with the dough that we''d run out and decided to do with what we had. An hour and a halfter, here we were. I rubbed a sponge against a metallic bowl. "It''s almost ready, by the way. Feel free to go take a look." Electivire responded with soon. He was very diligent, wanting to finish cleaning everything up before reaping the fruits of ourbor. I hobbled behind him and wiped away the leftover flour that had fallen on the counter. We passed the time with him telling me about hisics that he was devouring through and reading to Princess. Having no arms didn''t mean Togekiss couldn''t turn the pages with Psychic, but she was being a damsel about it. "Oh, by the way," I said when we were done. I swiveled around and wrapped Honey into a tight, soothing hug. All this time, I''d waited for him to be ready, and he finally was, despite me still smelling ozone and my ponytail standing straight up. He returned the hug, of course, and I didn''t miss the relief rolling off of him. If the cook was looking at us now, I''m sure it would have lookedical, to see me dwarfed by Honey, both in height and in width. "I''m proud of you," I spoke into his fur. "Truly." I let go before he did, and realized he wanted to stay like this longer, so I listened. We hugged until the oven dinged, and before I could go to pick up the pizza, Honey did, expertly wielding a Pizza Peel to slide it out of the oven. For my part, I grabbed the pizza cutter, having always wanted to use one at least once in my life. Just as I finished cutting the pizza, I felt a small shift in my hair, and then noticed white powder falling around the edges of my vision. "Honey! You little¡ª" He easily slid back to dodge a swipe of my hand with a grin. He''d thrown flour in my hair, the little prankster. An engine-likeugh filled the kitchens. I sighed¡ª which was more an amused one than anything. "Ha, ha, ha. You got me," I deadpanned. "Help me clean this flour up, then we''ll set up the pizza outside. We have no box, so we need a huge te, uh, napkins for me, I''ll have to hand feed Sweetheart, but Angel will help with that. Two slices each¡ª one slice for me." While the pizza ended up not being the best, it wasn''t bad either, and my Pokemon acted like it was the best thing in the world. Save for Mudsdale. He wasn''t very impressed. Who knew making Margarita Pizza was this hard? ¡ª One dayter. "Stop being such a sore loser," I told Sunshine. "You know the days of you being able to fight two-on-one are over, but that doesn''t mean you''re weak. Weaker Pokemon grow faster than stronger ones, that''s literallymon knowledge. Staying ahead of the curve for that long would be impossible." The battlefieldy destroyed in front of me, burned to a crisp from both fire and electricity, and it had been torn through by Bulldoze and Ancient Power. In a feat of ring overconfidence, Sunshine had challenged both Honey and Angel to a fight to see who''de out on top. Honestly, I mostly believed he wanted to impress Mudsdale, who had watched on at the edge of the arena with me and the others. While the ground type was no longer interested in battles, he still wanted to see how far his friend hade. The result had been a dominant victory in Honey and Angel''s favor. The electric type had taken to melee, so much of his fur was burned off, but the Cross Chops and Bulldozes he could now deliver had devastated Sunshine, who could only escape using two explosions at a timebined with me Charge to fly. Meanwhile, Angel had been support with Ancient Power, since getting too close meant he would burn. Every time the dragon had tried to hit Angel with methrower or Dragon Pulse, Honey had been there to block it with Protect. I had already healed Tangrowth and Electivire, who were taking a break in their Pokeballs. "Your win condition was rushing Angel and getting him out of the fight, but running away from Honey''s impossible, and he''s strong now, right?" I exined as I applied a potion to his arm. "He can''t overpower you yet strength-wise, but the momentum he builds with Radiant Leap knocks you back. So you had to think outside of the box¡ª using Scorching Sands and Bulldoze was good, but it wasn''t enough." Outside of going all out, winning a two-on-one was a dilemma for him now, and not a particrly close one. "Ever think of using methrower while using Rapid Spin?" I mused. "Now that you can fly for a few seconds, it''d be worth taking a look at. You trap Honey in a Scorching Sand while baiting him to get up close, then you fly and hit Angel with a methrower instead of having to wait tond. In those few seconds, Honey always managed to free himself." It was harder than it seemed, he answered. First, he''d have difficulty aiming, which was obvious, and the methrower would only hit Angel for a split-second at a time. Second, he was already focusing everything he had into not losing his bnce while using Shell Trap mid-air. "Okay, then how about leaving the Rapid Spin mid-air and using methrower from there?" I asked. "And hey, what I suggested is still good to keep in mind if you want to spread fire everywhere quickly." He answered that he obviously knew that already. "Your new movement options will be great against Wake," I said. I had signed up to battle earlier today beforeing here, and my battle was in three days in the evening. I wouldn''t be the first one of my friends to battle¡ª but I would be the first one with six badges to do so. Our revtions to Denzel had made him reconsider and decide to stay a little longer. "Anyway, Mudsdale, what''d you think? You wanted to see, after all." I was under no illusions that this had sparked a new interest in battling for the ground type, but he had looked like he had enjoyed it, at least. Mudsdale swayed his head to the side, allowing his hair to droop, and he told Sunshine he was proud of his progress, which caused him to smother a smile. He was a dragon, and his pride wouldn''t allow him to be happy at something as simple as praise from a friend. A friend he hadn''t seen in months. Not that he was hiding it very well. "You two sure are cute," I giggled before turning back to the ground type. "It''s about time to go, unfortunately. We''ll be back tomorrow as always¡ª oh, actually, I can''te tomorrow. I''ve got the UPAN stuff I told you about." Mudsdale was surprised I forgot about something that important, and I had to tell him I didn''t forget, it had just slipped from my mind. I rode him back to the Ranger Station with Sunshine by our side, and one of them came to put him back in his Pokeball. I swung by Brockhouse''s office before leaving to thank him for today''s tea as well. He''d been making me a cup every time I came here, now that I''d wormed myself into his good graces. I''d need to convince him to teach me about tea soon, but Rangers didn''t have days off. I released Princess, and she began her flight back to Pastoria. In the days I''d spent at the outpost, I''d spoken to more Rangers than I had in my entire life, and it made me appreciate the work they did. I''d probably¡­ not probably, I had been unfair to them in Veilstone due to my own biases. I knew now that most of them only wanted to do good. Granted, things weren''t ck and white. It was the Rangers that cleared the routes every time a city needed to expand. It was the Rangers that were the tip of the spear for the human race and that prodded at wild Pokemon over and over until one or a group of them snapped and attacked, after which they would mp down even harder to prevent it from happening. But some Pokemon were aggressive too, that I couldn''t deny. In the end, what were we but people with different objectives and agendas? People. The word rang out in my mind as I approached the city. Tomorrow, I would speak to the people in charge of Pastoria and have my first real foray into politics.
Chapter 259 Chapter 259
Chapter 259 Pastoria''s Municipal building wasn''t an impressive one. Oh, sure, it was and sat nestled in the city center near the docks, but it didn''t take my breath away like the Poketch Headquarters in Veilstone had, or Sunyshore''s mall, or many of the buildings in Jubilife. The facade of the municipal building was fresh, like it had just been renovated. Red brickwork adorned with dark, ornate limestone soared upward, and I could count five stories and a multitude of decorated windowsills. The entrance wasn''t grand. Just two revolving doors at the sides and an automatic door in the middle, all made of pristine ss. Many citizens filtered through those, but a few were people in suits¡ª employees who worked here. Louis would be disappointed in how this looks. He''s always loved architecture. "You good?" Alex asked. I snapped out of my analysis of the building and stared at Alex. Ms. Webb was already striding ahead with a confident step, and he didn''t want us to fall behind. It wasn''t just us three. Around ten UPAN members entered the Municipal building with her, so we were twelve in total, even if Ms. Webb and I were the main ones who were going to make our pitch. Apply pressure at the right moment and with the right words, and you can make someone do anything, she''d told me. She was a brain over brawns type of woman, but I had to admit, at one point, there was only so much intrigue could do against power. For example, the only reason it worked with Cynthia¡ª and thank Arceus it did¡ª was because she yed the game, or at least she did in peace time. She had made the rules, after all. It was her game. The inside of the building was a little more impressive than the outside. On the ground, Pastoria''s crest had been carved into the stone. A Gyarados'' head, with the words ''In Nature''s Embrace, We Flourish'' written at the bottom. "They tried to get it changed to a Floatzel ten years ago," Alex whispered in my ear. "They wanted a local Pokemon to represent them and it was put to a vote, but it narrowly failed." I hummed at the information provided. Alex was a good friend, but he was a better teacher. The dark-skinned teen was a treasure trove of information about the most random things. Ms. Webb led the UPAN past therge, limestone staircase and toward a backroom. I realized pretty quickly that both sides of the staircase led to the same ce: the Council Chamber. I stood on my tiptoe to stare into the semi-circle room through the window in the door and saw that a lot of them were missing. There were supposed to be fifty council members in Pastoria, but there were only around thirty-four of them present, at the moment. There were also normal citizens sitting in for the assembly to see what their elected officials got up to. Ms. Webb told us we''d wait for the current meeting to finish to step in. "Some of them are missing," I spoke, mostly to myself. Alex jumped at the asion to exin, "The chamber''s almost never full. Some of them have second jobs, othermitments, are sick¡­ only really important votes get the full fifty. Plus, everyone''s united on most issues at the moment to not rock the boat, so it''s not like skipping is going to hurt anyone." "Fair enough," I muttered. "You feeling nervous?" he asked. "Want to rehearse some lines?" "I told you I''m not going to do lines," I said, rolling my eyes. "I am somewhat nervous, but I''m okay. Talking to like," I turned back to the room and counted approximately sixty to seventy people in total, "seventy people is okaypared to going on SGNC during their prime hours." "Fair enough. Just let Ms. Webb take the lead, okay?" I gave him a teasing smile. "You''re more nervous than I am." "What? No, I''m totally cool," he said, not in a very convincing manner. A hand passed over his Pokeballs, as it did at least once every ten minutes, as if he needed to remind himself they were still there. "I''ll do okay, don''t worry about it. If it makes you feel better, you can brief me again on who I need to scare shitless." Alex nodded, hiding a sigh of relief as he started telling me about people with power in the City Council. Obviously he started with the mayor, the one who would sign any bill intow and send it off to Crasher Wake for final approval. His name was Logan Byrne, the man currently presiding over the chamber and going over City Council business. Madelyne Banks, the Council chairperson who usually ran the chamber, and also an old trainer who got up to three badges in the past, which was a rarity among politicians on the civilian side of government. Then, he listed another nine names¡ª the people on the Safari Zonemittee that oversaw most of how it was run and had authority over the ''Rangers'' there. Madelyne Banks was included in the list. It was all old information he had drilled into my head at this point, but he felt safer going over it again and again. Ms. Webb whistled to catch our attention as the meeting finished, and she opened the door to lead us in. "...before we adjourn, we have onest matter to attend to¡ª well, it appears they''ve shown themselves in," Logan Byrne spoke into a microphone. Now that I got a good look inside the chamber, it was less a semi-circle and more of a curved room. Logan Byrne stood on an elevated podium in front of a lectern, his thinning hairbed to perfection to the side of his head. The numerous City Council members sat in front of him in rows of continuous desks bending along the room, each with a namete, a water bottle or a drink of some kind, and a microphone. Some of them had notepads to take note in, and even fewer hadptops. Staffers were out and about attending to their every need, and citizens stood to the back, eyeing us with curious eyes. I recognized one of them from all the door-knocking I''d done with Alex. We followed Ms. Webb toward the center of the room, but beforehand I released Honey out of his Pokeball. Ms. Webb turned back to smirk at me. That hadn''t been a part of the n, but she didn''t mind, it seemed. Alex, meanwhile, was sweating bullets, but he said nothing. It was toote now, and he didn''t want us to appear divided in front of the politicians when we needed to be a united front. An Electivire was a striking Pokemon to have out in the middle of a City Council meeting, especially with how fresh the evolution still was in everyone''s mind. I hobbled on my crutches, keeping up with the UPAN''s pace while Honey shadowed me. The point I was trying to make wasn''t that I could kill everyone in this room, although I certainly could. While I was without a doubt the most powerful person in this room, no one actually thought that was going to happen and it hadn''t crossed my mind in any serious capacity. The point was to have them take me seriously before I even uttered the first word. I was not just a girl, but a trainer. "The UPAN is here to talk about the situation in the Safari Zone," Logan Byrne said after clearing his throat. "They''ll be doing a pitch to see if they can move any votes around. After that, the session will be adjourned." Huh, this was a lot moreid back than I thought, which was something I actually liked. The fact that they acknowledged that we were straight up trying to change votes was refreshing and made things easier, in a way. Mr. Byrne waved a nonmittal hand and a few staffers moved in to give us microphones. When I had asked Alex about this a day ago, he''d said that anyone who wasn''t the chairperson or the mayor wasn''t allowed to preside over the Chamber because of symbolism and rules. Ms. Webb tapped on her microphone, catching the entire room''s attention and stealing it away from Honey. She adjusted her thick sses andunched into a speech. "Ladies and gentlemen of the City Council and my fellow citizens. I stand before you today not just as the head of the UPAN''s Pastoria division, but a citizen concerned with the state of affairs in the Great Marsh. As we all know, our city''s Safari Zone is a vital habitat for a plethora of Pok¨¦mon species, some of which are found nowhere else in our region. It is a ce where nature''s beauty and diversity are on full disy¡­" She basically enunciated all of the issues the Safari Zone was facing today but with a focus on some species being close to extinction, like Paldean Wooper. "...this problem is exacerbated by the poaching issue. As we all know, Abel Torres," I noticed Alex flinch at the name, ''has his hand in the problem. I ask you, dear councilmembers, is that really the example we want to follow? The behavior that we want to allow? Is the motto of our beautiful city not ''In Nature''s Embrace, We Flourish?'' The UPAN therefore rmends the following measures¡­" What Ms. Webb wanted was an instant block on any capture from currently endangered species, and a tighter quota after the local poption recovered. She also wanted the people in charge to check what Pokemon trainers came out with to verify that they were not breaking thatw, and if they were, they''d have to release the Pokemon and pay a heavy fine. To be honest, it wasn''t much. Trainers would still be allowed to rip Pokemon away from their friends and families with no punishment if they caught the right ones, but it was still progress. After hammering on the fact that rare Pokemon not going extinct was good for the city''s ie and trainer tourism¡ª something which left a bad taste in my mouth¡ª even if they''d take a hit in the short term, Ms. Webb gestured toward me. "Allow me to introduce you to Grace Pastel," she continued. "You''ve no doubt heard of her these past few months, and she''s joined our organization as a volunteer¡ª" There were murmurs, as if me walking into the room in locked step with the UPAN hadn''t been enough to snap any remaining strands of denial. Now that she had announced me, it was official. "¡ªI will allow her to speak before you, and then you will be able to ask questions. Grace," she nodded at me. Well, here goes. "Hi everybody," I announced to the room. My voice was soft, but steady. Calm. I was not a child, I was a trainer. "Ms. Webb went over all of our points, but I''m here to give a little bit of outside perspective as a new member. Before I arrived, the UPAN was on break and not doing much, and I saw how everything kicked into high gear again with my own eyes. I''ve talked to like-minded people, exchanged ideas, debated, worked. I haven''t worked with them long, but it''s been one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life." I inhaled, and Honey grinned. "However, I also know that you think you''re going to get out of here and ignore everything we''ve just told you," I said, staring into Madelyne Bank''s eyes. If she fell in line, the rest of themittee would follow. I took a few steps around the room, supported by a single crutch. "I''ve learned a lot, not only here, but during my journey in general. To connect to Pokemon, and to treat them not as objects, or animals, but as people. Learned to grow strong enough to be a voice for them. A voice that people can''t ignore. I''ve made mistakes too," I said, thinking of Buddy''s capture. "Mistakes that I hope I''ve atoned for." Words were a lot like games. A puzzle to find the best way to reach the true topic you wanted to talk about without iting out of left field, without lying, or simply by obscuring the truth. I was good at games like these when I put my mind to it. My time with Be had taught not only Princess, but also me. "Part of reaching that point in my life," I continued, "was meeting Cynthia for the first time." Enouncing her name here was like the p of thunder. Always followed by silence. The councilors leaned forward, hands gripped their desks, jaws were clenched, fists tightened. I had essentially pped them with a word, and they couldn''t ignore me any longer, and any councilor hoping to speak now resigned themselves to let me finish my speech and stayed silent. Names hold power, Betrix had told me. It was only now that I realized how right she''d been. Oh, how they feared her. How they trembled in terror at the mere mention of her. They''d probably lost colleagues who had spoken out against the Champion in the early days. Even when she wasn''t there, she loomed over this room. "I''d just been taken hostage by Team Gctic. I was a broken, scared husk of a human. She gave me the power to keep going. She gave me the motivation to never be caught off-guard like that again. To have the power to defend myself." Honey mmed a fist on his chest, creating small sparks of electricity, and a few of the councilors flinched. I was surprised at how easy the words hade. For all I disliked Sinnoh''s Champion, there was no denying that without her, I would have given up and gone back home after Floaroma. I would have been too scared to shoulder on. The warm ceiling lights were focused on Ms. Webb, but right now, I had their full attention. My words were truer now than ever. Half of my body was burned, my ankle broken, a small scar from Weavile''s Ice Shard was on my waist and a pale one on my back from a Paras biting me in Eterna Forest. I had braved Mount Cor twice, fought Harry Rodriguez to the death and nearly been kidnapped by an Abra into Team Gctic''s clutches once more. Countless tribtions had led me here. More than any of them could imagine. Yet, I still stood. I was still small in the grand scheme of things, but I hade far. "Needless to say, that was only the first of many meetings, but I digress. I want to extend that power to all Pokemon eventually, but today, it''s about the Pokemon in the Great Marsh." I could see the metaphorical gears turning in their minds. Words were a tool, and from that tool, truth could be molded into a weapon. They filled their heads with the wildest of ideas because theycked context. They did not know the extent of my rtionship with Cynthia, but they could only guess, and the human mind tended to imagine the worst-case scenario first, as I''d done myself many times. ''What if I deny this, and Cynthia hears that we''ve stepped on one of her apprentice''s toes?'' must have been one of the multitude of questions on their minds. I had handed them a de, and they had maimed themselves with it before stopping to think. "If you make the right choice, we can all be winners," I said a little louder. "You''re so scared to hurt your profit and to rock the boat that you''ve pulled wool over your eyes to stop yourselves from working. At the end of the day, I hope most of you came here to work. Not being a thorn in Sinnoh''s side is good and all, but if you make yourselves useless¡ª if you paralyze the political process in this city and let every single responsibility of fixing things fall onto Cynthia''s shoulders, then what good are you?" Why shouldn''t she just rece you with loyalists from the League? The words went unspoken, but they were understood. "There is an economic crisis happening right now, and you''re just waiting for the federal government to bail you out," I said. "The Champion spends countless sleepless nights handling everything¡ª" which she obviously loved to do, because she was a control freak, "¡ªand maybe she''d like some support." She wouldn''t. Hell, I was sure she actually wouldn''t mind if the local government did nothing regarding the economy, but she owed me one after what she had pulled in Veilstone with my contract, and I was starting to understand her game. "That''s all I have to say," I smiled. "I hope you give my words some weight. Thank you for your time, councilors." When I turned back toward the UPAN, most of them were horrified, but Alex nodded and Ms. Webb was smiling from ear to ear. Subtle threats probably hadn''t been on the others'' bucket lists. The Poketch Company, I could handle. I had not given Melody a pre-approved speech, because I had winged this entire thing, but I hadn''t said anything outrageous. Ms. Webb gave out some closing words, and after a few questions from the councilors, the staffers came to pick up our microphones, and the session was adjourned by the mayor. Ms. Webb immediately pounced and osted me. "Quite the speech there, my dear," she noted. "That went better than I could have expected. I expect them to have a bill on the floor by the end of the week." "You were great," Alex said. "Must be something about your voice. There was passion there." Mostly, I had talked out of my ass with the Cynthia stuff¡ª but never lied. They didn''t know that, however. Not even they knew the extent of my connection with Cynthia. I was not her friend, nor her apprentice, but more like a prisoner on parole. There was a reason she wanted me and the others holed up in the League after the eighth badge. If she wanted to use me, I would use her too and have no qualms about it. The councilors cleared the chamber, slowly filtering out of the room along with the citizens. Honey patted me on the shoulder and said he liked how fired up I sounded. Maniption was like a maze, I mused to myself. Find the right path, and anyone''s arm could be twisted enough. Even mine. The mayor was waiting for me outside the chamber, leaning next to who I assumed was his daughter. She couldn''t have been over five, and she hid behind his leg and screamed when she saw me until his wife grabbed her. Logan Byrne turned toward me, his eye focusing on my burns for a split second before snapping back to my eyes. The UPAN hadrgely dispersed now. Ms. Webb was talking to Madelyne Banks, probably about future bills. Alex and Honey were still by my side. "Grace Pastel," he said with clear displeasure. "Quite the fire you lit under us." "Well, I just spoke my mind," I shrugged. His eye twitched. "Not Cynthia''s?" "Oh, absolutely not," I innocently said. "Although I guess we have a few interests that align." We did have a few interests that aligned, but none in the form of what I''d talked about. Logan Byrne eyed me as if he was trying to figure out if I was bluffing or not. After five seconds, he sighed. "You''d make a terrible politician, you know that? Threats only go so far, Ms. Pastel. Politics is about forging connections." And yet, you''re listening to save your own hide. "I know I''d make a bad politician, which is why I''m not and I never will be one." He raised an eyebrow. "Really? It was my understanding that Cynthia was¡ª" He stopped himself, and I left my face nk when I realized why. I had fucked up, but not majorly. I had implied that Cynthia had made me her apprentice and was grooming me to take her position, which was very involved in politics, but now I hadpletely reneged on that possibility. Cecilia had made her wanting to go to Unova public, and even if she traveled somewhere else at some point, everyone knew she would settle down there eventually. Thankfully Mira and Chase could still be options. If I had been alone, though, he could have started to doubt my entire speech. Truth was a weapon, but the de was double-edged. I could cut myself on it too, and I almost had. Logan Byrne was sharper than I''d given him credit for. Still, he couldn''t be sure, and what politicians valued the most was their position and their future careers. I had no doubts that Byrne wanted to one day work in the halls of the Directorate, and he wouldn''t risk everything on a hunch, especially when the points we''d made outside of our ruse were valid ones. It was in the city''s financial interest to stabilize the Safari Zone''s poption, and money was everything now that Sinnoh was being squeezed by the sanctions. "You thought that Cynthia¡­?" I probed. "Never mind," he smiled. "I hope you have a good rest of your day. We''ll try to get a bill signed to protect the inhabitants of the Safari Zone and attempt to tackle the economic crisis." He was talking like he wanted me to say something. Like I was supposed to ry this to Cynthia. "That''s great news," I smiled. "Have a good day too." He went back to his daughter and wife, and outside of the building. I let out a long sigh and put more weight against my crutches. "What was that?" Alex asked. "Nothing bad. Are we done for the day?" "Yup. No more political speeches for you. Ms Webb wille back here at some point to hash out the details, but¡­ we did it," he sighed. "We got it done. I think that makes for a celebration. The UPAN''s going to hold a party, I''ve heard. Want toe?" I checked my phone for the time. "I can hang for a little bit, but I''ll have to go and train in a few hours. My battle with Wake is soon, so I can''t ck off. UPAN Headquarters?" He agreed, and soon, we were on our way. ¡ª The party hadn''t been that fun. I had made a few friends, but nothing could beat one of Emilia''s parties. Drinking juice and talking politics wasn''t how I had wanted to spend my Wednesday, but at least I was learning. Slip-ups like what happened earlier couldn''t happen again. Melody said the Poketch Company disapproved of my speech, but publically, they couldn''te out against it, or their words would be taken as anti-Cynthia and they feared what would happen then. I hadn''t even considered that possibility, but I supposed that worked in my favor. Plus, just like what had happened with Maylene, I had usible deniability. Overall, it had gone very well, but it wasn''t me that had done anything. It was Cynthia, or at least her name, and she hadn''t even been there. Soon though, Alex took me to the courtyard to see the Pokemon and just to get some air, really. I had released Angel and Honey to y with them, and everyone was having a great time. Alex could barely stand up straight with how drunk he was, but for an instant, he sobered up. "You know, you might not stick around long, but you''ve made real change happen, Grace," he said, staring at the afternoon sky. "And I''ll forever be thankful for that." "Wouldn''t have done it without you to teach me the ropes," I said. He was talking with a twinge of nostalgia, or maybe it was just in sadness. "Is something wrong, Alex?" The dark-skinned teen turned to face me. "Yeah. A lot has been wrong,tely." I paused, and stopped sipping on my juice. "You can talk to me, you know." His face scrunched up into a wince, as if he was deliberating on what to say, or even if he should talk. A protective hand passed over his Pokeballs, and his legs tensed. "Nah," he decided. "I can''t ask for this. I''d be using you, and I don''t want to do that." "It really wouldn''t bother me, no matter what it is." Alex inhaled through gritted teeth. I had never seen this from him, but it felt a lot more real than anything I''d seen before. Like he''d been wearing a mask all this time. He looked tired now. That constant upward tilt of his lip was gone. "A month and a half ago¡ª or a little over that, I guess," he spoke. "Poachers tried to steal my Pokemon." My eyes swiveled toward his two Pokeballs, and for a second, I believed them empty until I honed in on the word ''tried''. He sat down in the grass, his back sliding against the stone walls. "Tirtouga and Whismur," he said. Tirtouga? My eyes widened when I realized that he owned a fossil Pokemon. How? Those were so expensive that they made the Shiny Stone I''d bought look cheap. Alex released his two Pokemon into the courtyard, and it hurt me how scared they were when they first saw me. There was trauma in those eyes. Whismur cried out in a whisper, crawling behind Alex''s back and making herself small while Tirtouga growled at me with sharp stones growing on his shell. Alex didn''t leave them out for long. He recalled them in seconds before Angel could even notice them, thank Arceus. His friendliness would have been out of ce here. "My family''s¡­ well, my family''s wealthy. They aren''t the kind that you hear about in the news, like the Bianchis, the Kings or the Gardners. They''re quiet," he said. "Bought me a fossil for the start of my journey and sent it to be revived in Oreburgh. Whismur, I caught in the wild, but that doesn''t matter. They were after Tirtouga." He paused, and rubbed his forehead with a hand. "We were doing some work in route 212¡ª trying to forge some connections with the local wildlife there so we could hope to speak to them to hear about the issues they cared about. We were attacked by a group of poachers, but luckily we had Rangers there to help, since they were escorting us. They were targeting me, Grace. They wanted Tirtouga, but they failed, and a Hypno came to Teleport away." Abel again, I inhaled. That made three. I wanted to say many things. You looked so¡­ normal all this time was the first one that jumped to mind, but he had always been somber and avoided the topic when I''d wanted to meet his Pokemon. Everyone processed trauma differently, but I couldn''t imagine just standing there¡­ and doing nothing about it. Just living your life as it had once been. As I kept thinking, it started making more sense. He''d thrown himself into politics, spent sleepless nights working withoutints even when the UPAN hadn''t been doing anything, working on pet projects and trying to keep up with the paperwork even though nothing was required of him because it was distracting. Everyone processed trauma differently, I repeated to myself. Some threw themselves into work. Others sobbed and cried, not being able to do anything for days or weeks like I had almost done in Floaroma, and today, I hoped I had changed. Othersshed out violently. He wasn''t someone I understood, but he was still a friend. "The poachers were just starting to pop up back then, so we didn''t think that could happen," he choked. "I couldn''t do a thing. They wore masks, so I couldn''t even get one person arrested." "Ms. Webb¡­" "She knows," Alex said. "Ms. Webb knows. How could she not? But what can she do? Not much. She''s not that much of an emotional person, Grace. In her eyes, all ended well and she doesn''t understand how I could still hurt. I ask her for as much work as possible, and she gives it to me. I''ve kept up hope, you know? Hope that someone would take them down. I''m terrified of going outside of Pastoria, and I''m scared of letting my Pokemon out of their balls outside of my house. Even there, I just¡­ have to force myself to do it." "And you want me to deal with them?" "You? No!" he eximed while shaking his head. "It''s too dangerous. It was just your speech¡­ your connection to Cynthia¡­ I was thinking that maybe you could ask her," he hesitantly said. "Push the League to do something." Oh, Arceus. I had fooled even him, hadn''t I? "I don''t think that would work, Alex." He let out a sad chuckle. "I figured." Then, he put his mask back on. He donned a neutral expression, a half-smirk that now looked so fake in a way that reminded me of Mira, and he shrugged before turning back to the Pokemon at the opposite side of the courtyard¡ª "Alex." He turned back at me. "I''ll try something," I said. "I''ll try." Alex nodded. "Thank you." ¡ª The League Trainers were a no-go, as I had already asked them. Cynthia was also an obvious no-go since there was no way she was going to drop what she was doing in Veilstone to look for a base that no one knew. For all the Champion was powerful, she had no psychic types of her own. Lucian''s kazam would maybe make the difference, but I honestly doubted it. I was starting to suspect they had a way to hide their base from even elite-level Pokemon thanks to Abel pulling something, which meant that the only way we were going to get something was to capture someone and force the information out of them. "Damn it, this is hard," I groaned. My team was training in the background, this time on the beach. Cecilia was currently taking her flying test, which I was sure she''d pass with flying colors after having shown me how Lehmhart flew. Maeve won her Gym Battle by a sliver, barely edging out Wake''s Pelipper with her Staraptor. Her tactic had been to poison the water around an ind she camped on with Drapion and Gligar and to go from there. The others'' battles for their sixth badge would be soon, and we were running out of time in Pastoria. Our stay had always meant to be shorter than in the other cities¡­ I blew a raspberry. For now, I had sent a text about this to the group chat, and I had to focus on my own battle. Then, I would throw everything I had into this. His Pokemon hadn''t been stolen, but a few that belonged to some people who had now quit the UPAN had, and while Alex was my only friend there, it didn''t mean I wouldn''t try. I had told Alex I would, and that had been a promise.
Chapter 260 – Battle Against a True Hero Chapter 260 ¨C Battle Against a True Hero
CHAPTER 260 - Battle Against a True Hero If there was onepliment I could give Crasher Wake, it was that he could entertain a crowd. I had never heard the spectators be this loud in the waiting room in any other Gym. Another three days had passed since I had given a speech to Pastoria''s City Council, and now I was waiting for my Gym Battle to begin. I was used to this now. The nerves were there, but only in the background. I recited Wake''s Pokemon''s moves and techniques under my breath over and over, like a ritual. I had good reason to be worried, even if I was not. After all, I had never studied a Gym Leader this in-depth, mostly because every time I learned, I grew just a little more efficient at retaining information and making ns with that information. Pauline had unfortunately lost to Crasher Wake, the final tally being 4-5 when Charizard had failed to take down Wake''s Swanna. This was a disastrous result for her, especially when she had needed to win to get to the Conference with time to spare. Louis had won, scraping a victory like Maeve had thanks to his Vespiquen carrying the fight and pulling out a win that had seemed impossible. I was finding that Louis had a knack for those kind of wins. Justin had not fought yet, wanting more time to prepare himself, but he had a good team and head on his shoulders to deal with Wake''s tactics. Now? A choice presented itself in front of Pauline. Either leave now and fly to Canve, or give up, but it wasn''t that simple. Not when she knew we were nning on doing something against the poachers. I hoped she would leave, personally. Better she be in Canve than stay here, with all the danger lurking about. Denzel could fly on Cece''s Golurk instead when the time came instead of using Braviary, and Emilia could just grab a flight to join her in Canve. Louis would even be able to fly on her Braviary since he''d gotten his badge. But honestly, it would take a miracle for her to make it to the Conference, and that didn''t look likely, not only because she would have to one shot the eighth gym, but because of the huge distance between here and Snowpoint. She''d better odds of winning the lottery. Today isn''t about that. I couldn''t afford to be worried about Pauline, not with this fight ahead of me. Another roar from the crowd muted by the thick walls of the waiting room filled my ears, and this one felt final. Like the battle was finally ending. The referee said something I couldn''t make out, and a Gym Trainer came to outfit me with a microphone, and a minuteter, a sweaty teen with the brightest smile on his face passed through the waiting room, paying me no mind as I fiddled with one of my Pokeballs. My n was set, and so were my many contingencies. I was ready. My Pokemon were ready. I could only throw everything I had into the battle and never look back. With a thin smile, I stepped through the arched corridor and into the Gym as soon as Wake''s break ended¡ª "...have another wonderful battle for you today,dies and gentlemen. On the left, we have a trainer that has taken Sinnoh by storm. There''s nothing she won''t order her Pokemon to stab, no bones she won''t break, no opponent she won''t maim! Don''t let her meek, innocent frame deceive you! This trainer is so cunning she might as well be downright evil! She gets into her opponents'' heads and dismantles them piece by piece. The legendary, elusive, wicked, unblinking¡­ GRAAAAAACE PASTEL!" Oh, Legendaries, I restrained a groan. Most people cheered, but there were some boos too. I hade in nning to ignore the referee and the crowd, but I had underestimated how loud he was. The referee was shirtless, just like Crasher Wake would be, and he had a deep,manding voice that I felt was perfect for this kind of game. I stepped onto the tform, Pokeball already in hand. Fourrge screens stood atop the arena that would continuously show the score of the battle. I cringed when I saw that they''d used my Trainer ID picture. That hadn''t been my best one. I''d been nervous as hell about starting this entire trainer thing. "On the right, we have our wonderful Gym Leader, as always! Rumors say he''s wrestled a Gyarados barehanded, he''s ripped beyondpare, can bench as much as a Machoke, and I guess he''s also a good battler¡ª " The crowdughed at the roast. "¡ªHe''s smarter than an kazam and prettier than a supermodel, our one and only CRASHEEEEEEEER WAAAAAAKE!" The referee''s words were synced to the exact moment Wake finished stepping onto the tform. Smoke and small sparks had followed his steps for effect. The Gym Leader flexed, waving to the crowd with a wide smile revealing perfect teeth. His pectorals moved individually, and he backflipped in ce to the crowd''s acim. I hadn''t expected someone in their fifties to be able to do this before I''d watched the videos. Wake wore his mask, as always, and had his ridiculous haircut that wrapped around the side of his head until they reached into a white unibrow. He struck a dramatic pose and pointed right at me. "WELCOME, CHALLENGER!" Wake boasted. Somehow, he was even louder than the referee despite being further away. "This''ll be a six-on-six with three switches allowed! I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the Circuit. Now, Grace the Wicked, SEND OUT YOUR POKEMON!" The Wicked, I noticed. I didn''t take offense, not when I knew how Wake''s Gym operated. Sometimes, when he battled¡­ controversial trainers, he made them into a viin. A heel was the proper term for wrestling. I was sure he''d prepared that title ahead of time. It was all a game, really. A game I had not particrly felt like entertaining¡­ But¡­ Wouldn''t it be fun? To have an excuse to let loose and be the person who desperately tried to w her way to the surface every day, but couldn''t because of social norms? If it was all a game, then the Poketch Company wouldn''t be able toin. This was a show. A performance. A performance with gravitas, yes, but one nheless. I let a feral grin stretch across my face. "I''m disappointed," I said. "If you wanted to give me a title, I would have expected it to be a lot better than wicked. Maybe Grace the Impaler," I mused, tapping a finger against my chin. "That one has a nice ring to it." Wake mimicked indignation, but couldn''t hide his joy that I was rolling with this. "I won''t let you spread your evil ways any longer, wicked trainer." "By the end of the battle," I said, "I''ll show you why you should have called me Impaler." Princess appeared in a sh of red, soaring high in the skies. The referee rambled about her numerous aplishments¡ª mostly her stabbing things and most recently ying withva. They knew me, I realized. I''de so far that people knew about my Pokemon, even when it was my first time battling here. Wake answered by releasing a Golduck. Starting with something basic, as all Gym Leaders except the eighth do. The arena itself was just how I had studied it. Four inds at each corner, fifty feet in diameter, while the one at the center was a hundred feet in diameter. Wake''s arena was slightly wider and longer than the norm so they could all fit. The entire arena was not an artificial pool, but had been made to look like a naturalke or sea, save for its rectangr shape. That meant that the shores of the inds were a gentle slope, and there was material under the water. Things to build with. "It''s been a while since Golduck has seen a battle like this one. Let''s see if he can bring Togekiss to heel and stop Grace the Wicked in her tracks!" The refereemented. "Three, two, one, LET''S RRRRRRUMBLE!" I spoke first, "Ancient Power, as we nned." "''As we nned," Wake snorted. "Only viins talk like that! Golduck, Rain Dance and into the water!" I''d gotten used to battling peers when it came to the weather, so even though I had studied Wake''s Pokemon, it still came as a surprise when one second, the skies were clear, and the next, it was pouring. The calm waters turned agitated, and waves crashed onto each ind. Thunder boomed in the dark clouds, but that was fine. Princess was staying close to the ground anyway. Faster than she''d ever been, she flew around the arena, pulling wet mud and sand from below the water and turning it intopact rocks. "Ice Beam!" Wake screamed. Now in the water, Golduck peeped his head through the surface, but a rock instantly mmed into the side of his head as soon as he made himself known without Togekiss even having to look at him. She could feel where Golduck was at all times thanks to her empath powers. The beam of ice went wide, and Princess kept building up rocks on the central ind. My eyes bulged when I saw how fast Golduck had gotten. In an instant, he swam to the left to avoid another set of rocks¡ª drills and spears this time. "Impaler she may have called herself, but she isn''t seeding very much at the moment," the referee noted. "Our brave Golduck is fighting against evil itself! Should he lose, then who knows what suffering Togekiss could inflict on his teammates?!" "Force her hand!" Wake ordered. "Hypnosis!" And it would be from under the water, I knew. There was an eerie light below the surface, and Princess started to slow¡ª "Charge Beam!" The Charge Beam coalesced into a ball, then surged toward Golduck, who went deeper into the water to dodge the spread of the electricity. Thankfully, that meant the Hypnosis was too far to work on Princess, and she had only slowed. They might try to catch us off-guard with that. "Catch her!" Crasher Wake yelled, snatching nothing out of the air with a hand. Enormous jets of water that were evenrger than a Hydro Pump rose like twisters, all aiming to take down Princess. Fly too high and the thunder from the clouds will get us. Too low and the water will. Barriers would help, but they wouldn''t stop Princess from getting dragged into the water. Togekiss weaved between the columns of water, burying and lodging the rocks deep into the ind so they wouldn''t get swept away. One of the jets twisted ny degrees, bending to m against her like a sledgehammer. Her Psychic shield didn''t break under the water''s massive weight, but it did crack, and it was only one hit. Gone were the times when she had been this impregnable fortress. Our opponents'' offense had caught up to her psychic powers. "Moonst!" I yelled. "Aim directly at him and rip him away from the water!" "Converge the sts!" Wake ordered. All of the water bent in an attempt to swarm Princess, and one didn''t have to be a battling genius to know that her barrier wasn''t going to withstand that many gallons of water flying at her that quickly. We were going to go tit-for-tat, then. The ball of light formed in front of her mouth, growingrger andrger. Right before the water hit her, Princess cried out, and a huge gust of wind came to life around her to push the liquid back, buying her a precious few seconds¡ª Then she let it loose. The moon''s gravity diverted most of the water jets, but some still hit Princess. Her barrier shattered with a deafening crack, and she drowned below the massive amounts of water. The Moonst fell down into the sea, warping air and water around it until all started orbiting the attack. Golduck was nowhere to be seen, and I was actively muting my empathy powers in order not to cheat. I wouldn''t use them when one of the Gym''s entire gimmicks was hiding underwater. My victory would be earned through my own means. I waited for a few seconds, and I saw Princess fall into the water, but I grinned when I saw a sh of red. Golduck''s red gem. The water type had been pulled into the Moonst. The entire arena was swirling with water, including the skies. It had disced so much water and pulled so much into its grasp that escaping it was impossible for Golduck. "What an incredible disy of power! This battle is truly a sh of titans! Will our good man Golduck make it and manage to vanquish this horrifying Togekiss?!" The red gem shone brightly, and the Moonst exploded so loudly my ears rang and the barriers rattled. The water dropped back to the sea, generating enormous waves, and Golduck was knocked into the barrier, the remains of a shield having shattered around him. "Nail him!" I instantly said. Princess was still hovering in the water, but she pulled spears from the dirt under the surface. I clicked my tongue when Golduck held them in ce as he slid down into the raging waters. "Out, out, out!" I screamed. Holy shit, Golduck was fast. His body undted as he blurred through the water to beeline it toward Princess. She barely managed to get out thanks to our training¡ª Wake cackled. "Waterfall!" Another burst of water carried Golduck upward, and he mmed into Togekiss, who hadn''t had time to bring her barrier back up. She cried out, but I saw opportunity. "Psychic and Thunder Wave." Princess'' eyes locked onto Golduck, and she snatched the water type out of the air. The Thunder Wave didn''te, however. Golduck''s gem shone, his eyes did as well, and Princess'' wings started to jitter. They were locked in a battle of the minds, but we were better. Togekiss snarled, a sound that I''d never heard out of her, and Golduck''s arms went t against his sides. Electricity finally came to life and entered the water type''s body. I had thought that Wake would switch, but he was content to let Golduck get paralyzed. Not that it did much. Thepse in concentration to pull out Thunder Wave allowed Golduck to pull water upward, submerging both Pokemon. He then dashed into her with all of his might, pushed by his own current, and Princess went flying back and out of the water column. Golduck was slower now, and his body was rattled by the asional convulsion, but he still had Swift Swim and it was pouring. The referee said something, but I was too focused to care. Leaning into being a viin was enough. "Water Twister!" Wake said. The water was slower toe, now. The column Golduck was in bent down and twisted toward Princess. I grinned. "Charge Beam!" The electricity traveled through the column at speeds Golduck was no longer capable of working with. The water type tried to run, but he was racked by continuous electric shocks. Still, not enough. Togekiss remedied that instantly now that the water tower had copsed. She''d caught herself before falling into the water, and a spear blurred until it stabbed into Golduck''s shoulder and leg. Should have broken a bone or two during Psychic, I thought to myself. Even now, Golduck was attempting to swim away, and he wouldn''t have been able to with a broken leg or arm, or at least not as effectively. Golduck quacked in pain as he pulled out the spear from his shoulder and retreated into the depths. "Moonst." "Back up, Golduck! Hit her with everything you''ve got!" Thunder pped in the skies, and Golduck jumped out of the water with an Ice Beam that tore through our half-formed moon and caused it to explode. Another column of water followed behind him, bending to his psychic powers. A second Ice Beam harmlessly washed over Princess'' barrier, but it was hard to miss my daughter''s harsh breaths. She beginning to tire, but Golduck was worse. Not Moonst, then. Too slow when they''re expecting it. "Rush in and grab him," I ordered. With a howl of the wind, she blurred toward Golduck, twisting around an Ice Beam. She shed her barrier for speed, and for the first time, I could truly call Princess a speedster. Before I could blink, she had closed the distance and seized Golduck with Psychic. She pushed him toward the barrier until he crashed into it and finished him off with a Charge Beam. I exhaled, tension leaving my body and ignored the crowd''s boos. This was a game, and also a lesson. The crowds at the Conference were known to be ruthless, especially with someone who fought like me and with fans having picked their favorites far before the battle began. "Our brave Golduck has lost and is unable to battle!" The referee screamed. He arched himself back and held a hand in front of his eyes as if he was sobbing. "Who will stop this tyrant from destroying the sanctity of our Gym? Leader Wake, send out your next Pokemon!" "Oh, you can boo all you want!" I eximed. "You motivate me to keep going. I''m just getting started." "Golduck might not have been able to stop you," Wake muttered. "He tried his best, but the brutal tactics employed against him were too much for him to bear." Oh please, I hadn''t even done anything bad yet. He was building up to something. I could feel it in my bones. "The only Pokemon that can vanquish such foes are Pokemon with brutal tactics of their own," Wake continued with a rumbling voice. He grabbed his next Pokeball. "GYARADOS, YOU''RE UP!" The scarlet light from the Pokeball built, and built until it left us with thirty feet of thick, armored scales battered down by the rain. The water type was flying with surprising grace, hovering slightly above the sea. Gyarados'' eyes instantly locked onto Princess and narrowed. "Gyarados! Hurricane¡ª" I recalled Princess into her Pokeball, but the wind. It whipped around the entire field, carrying water, rain, sand and dirt from the inds. It was so loud that the referee knew not to say anything, because no one would hear anyway. The rocks I had wedged onto the center ind went too, so fuck myva n, I suppose. I could have just built up the inds with Ancient Power, but that would have been far too slow and demanded far too much focus from Princess. We had tested things at the beach, and it would have left her too open to any attacks. Still, Gyarados would have destroyed Princess, and it wouldn''t have even been close. "YOU MUST BE QUAKING IN YOUR BOOTS, VILLAIN!" Wake yelled. Somehow, his voice made it through the wind. "I''m quaking in excitement at the opportunity of taking down such a giant!" No reaction. Blegh, I couldn''t yell that loud. I sent Honey out onto the central ind, and he had to anchor his tails to the ground not to fly off due to the Hurricane. He dropped on one knee and gripped his hand into the sand. Rocks that Princess had raised now pelted him from all sides. Wake said something, and I internally sighed at the fact that he wouldn''t loudly announce them through the Hurricane. Gyarados gathered a huge glob of sma in front of his mouth. Holy fuck, that''s Hyper Beam. My throat went dry as the huge ball of orange energy grew, and then exploded out of Gyarados'' mouth¡ª So loud! My ears popped and rang from the noise, but Honey had been designated as our Gyarados counter, so he already knew what to do. At thest moment, he pulled up a shimmering Protect. I couldn''t see what had happened due to the burst of light, but the areas surrounding Honey had created a giant crater half the size of the central ind. The few palm trees caught on fire from the proximity to the st even through the rain, and water turned into vapor. When the dust settled, there was just a small strand of intactnd where Honey stood, smothered in remains of smoke and mist. That would have beaten us in one hit, or close to it. "Thunder," I smoothly said. Gyarados was powerful beyondpare, but we were as well. I didn''t know if Honey heard me or not, but electricity coiled around his arms. The stones stopped hitting him, instead hovering close, as if they couldn''t touch him. Gyarados was still catching his breath, and the Hurricane slowed slightly. Not that he could have dodged this anyway. Honey brought his arm down, and like a hammer, Thunder struck down Gyarados from Rain Dance''s dark clouds. The water type roared, thrashing all around the arena. Honey nearly got hit by the mindless thrashing, but a smooth dodge from Radiant Leap got him away from the flying type''s tail. Flying and water type Gyarados might have been, but his thick scales still meant that it would take multiple of these to bring him down. "Again!" I yelled. Wake yelled something that I couldn''t hear through the Hurricane, and Gyarados came back to his senses. Water poured out of Gyarados'' mouth, and it mmed against Honey, enveloping his entire body and pushing him off the ind. The Thunder still hit, though, this time spreading through the Hydro Pump and coursing through Gyarados'' body. Wake flexed as he switched out Gyarados without a word. The Hurricane instantly finished, like it had never been there in the first ce. "Get back tond!" I screamed. Something appeared in the water, dark blue and rtivelyrge. Thankfully, Wake was there to straight up tell me what she was. "You fell into my trap," he boasted. "You couldn''t have thought I would just let your Electivire wreak havoc, did you? WHISCASH, DRAG HIM DEEP!" I would have had a witty answer, but by the time he was done, Whiscash was already up to Honey. No swimming lessons would have been enough to outspeed Whiscash, and electricity wouldn''t even tickle her. The water seemed to grow muddy around her, as did the rain. Whiscash had a custom Rain Dance that empowered her even further. Honey grunted as the ground type rammed into him at full speed, snatching him by the hand with her huge mouth. She could hit Pokemon with Earthquake if she brought them to the sea''s floor, I remembered. This wouldn''t be sustainable. I grabbed my Honey''s Pokeball and recalled him through the surface. If we had managed to grow the ind, this wouldn''t have happened. Electivire wouldn''t have gotten pushed into the water. The thought of my main strategy having been reduced to dust gnawed at the back of my mind, but I had contingencies for a reason. I still had a lead, I was winning, things were going alright. "And Whiscash forces Electivire back into the deepest pits of hell! Who will our challenger send out next?!" Whiscash seemed to love to gloat unlike Golduck, she jumped high out of the water and flipped, much to the crowd''s amusement. She seemed to love the attention. "I''ll make you wish Honey was still on the field," I hissed for effect. I pulled out Angel''s Pokeball. "Angel will cut you to ribbons." This time, Wake answered. "A grass type to take on my Whiscash? Hah! How boring! I say¡­" The crowd yelled as one, pumping their fists with each word. "GET! BETTER! MATERIAL!" I sent a passing re at the right side of the spectators and sent out Tangrowth on the corner ind on my side. Wake was somewhat right, however. Whiscash had a plethora of ways to deal with grass types. Not as many as Swampert or Quagsire, but still a hell of a lot more than was normal. It was a good thing, then, that I knew exactly what wasing. "Sunny Day and Ingrain," I said. There was only a glimpse of the sun above the torrent that was Crasher Wake''s Rain Dance¡ª or Mud Dance, in this instance. The murkier waters wouldn''t work in my favor here, but at least we should have weakened it by around thirty percent¡­ or not? It seemed just as strong, somehow, which wasn''t what I expected. Vines glowed white, and stabbed into the ground. Then, Angel''s other vines grew, extending over the entire small ind. A nice proof of concept, I mused. More extended into the water, snaking their way past the surface. Whiscash had approached, but not deigned to get close. I saw Wake open his mouth. Chilling Water or Icy Wind? "Chilling Water!" Wake yelled. "Wall!" I countered. Water frosted at its surface, but it was still a liquid. Whiscash had dove back down into the depths and was nowhere to be seen, but the Surf-like attack crashed into Angel''s ind with such force that I saw him buckle. His vines raised into a wall, but they instantly froze in ce. That was fine. The Ancient Power wall underneath the mass of vegetation held, and had already turned to hard stone. "Earthquake!" Wake ordered. Whiscash jumped out of the water with the grace of a Magikarp, that was to say none at all. She intended tond onto our ind. I knew from the videos that Whiscash had learned Earthquake this month, and even then, it would have wreaked havoc on us, vines or not. I faked a bit of panic, not for the audience or any performance, but to fool Wake himself. "Sna¡ª snatch her out of the air, now!" Arceus, I''d gotten good at that. Vines converged toward Whiscash, crawling over the sand, the wall, and even from the water. The ground type spat out small pressurized jets of water to dodge the first wave, but there was no escaping Angel''s grasp with his extended range from Ingrain. Tangrowth wrapped a dozen vines around her and brought her deeper into his grasp. Deeper into hisir. Next up was, Ice Bomb. "Ice Bomb!" Frost leaked out of Whiscash''s skin, and then exploded with a loud series of cracks. Earthquake had been the bait to scare me shitless. This had been Wake''s true strategy. All of the vines around Whiscash froze, allowing the water type to simply break them and continue on her path. The fact that the ones that had been using Knock Off did as well had not been a part of the n, but that was fine. Things could continue as nned. "Sr de and Sleep Powder!" I yelled. A single Sr de had been hidden below Angel''s tuft of vines and had been charging up all along. It rushed toward Whiscash, skewering her before she could m into the ind and the mass of vines with Earthquake and potentially knock us off. I couldn''t see it, but Sleep Powder was being deposited directly in Whiscash''s bloodstream. The ground type''s eyes struggled to stay awake as an Ice Beam charged in her mouth, but the attack died in its crib. Whiscash was asleep. "Told you you should have called me the Impaler," I gloated. "Giga Drain." I waited to see if Wake would recall his Pokemon, but instead, he just gritted his teeth. An act, I knew, but it was still weird to see such an emotive Gym Leader after having battled Volkner. Wake did not switch. He let Whiscash faint on Angel''s vine. None of her ice tactics had worked, because we''d nned for every single one. "Looks like my material was good after all," I added. Arceus, I sounded so full of myself, it was hard not to cringe. "Can anyone stop Grace Pastel? Our beautiful Whiscash was skewered like amon fish! This injustice cannot stand, can it?" The crowd roared. "NO! IT! CAN''T!" "Leader Wake, send out your next Pokemon!" I felt a sudden surge of dread. A shiver down my spine. Wake slowly grabbed his next Pokeball, and for a second, I thought Pfin woulde out. Wake knew, I realized. He stared me down, as if he was toying with me. Thank the Legendaries, I sighed as Gyarados appeared above the water once more. It was funny, how I felt relief at the monstrous serpent. Wake ordered a Hurricane once more, and the attack drowned out thest remaining bits of sunlight Angel had at his disposal. The Gym Leader barked out amand, and frost tipped Gyarados'' massive fangs. There was no use even trying, I realized soon enough. Honey was the only Pokemon capable of taking down Gyarados. I used myst switch of the battle before Gyarados could lunge at Angel, and all of the vines on the ind disappeared. I sent out Honey back onto the field on the central ind¡ª The Hydro Pump was nearly instantaneous. Electivire barely had time to blink, but he still side-stepped it with Radiant Leap. The attack clipped him on the shoulder, and I was pretty sure it dislocated his shoulder because of how powerful it was. The electric type held onto his shoulder as electricity coiled around every fiber of his being. Keep it simple, I told myself. When you have a bomb, just blow it up. "Thunder!" Gyarados retreated into the water this time, but he was so massive the attack still hit the tail-end of his body. Missing his huge form under the water was impossible with the waves he generated, and Honey kept pestering him with as many Thunderbolts as he could. I froze when I saw something deep blue and yellow shimmer below the muddy surface, however. Dragon Dance. Shit¡ª "Protect!" I cried out. With speed that should have been impossible for a monster that size, Gyarados mmed into Honey with Waterfall. Water exploded upon contact, but the Protect kept him shielded from any damage. Still, Honey was swept away from the ind. Waves followed Gyarados wherever he went, flooding the damn thing anyway. So much for not flooding the inds, I clicked my tongue. Gyarados continued on his warpath, another Hyper Beam generating in his mouth. In the water. Protect? Won''t work. No footing. Attack? No! "Dive!" I yelled. Electivire let himself sink below the water, and Gyarados let loose his massive Hyper Beam. The water type was a force of nature, truly. The concentrated beam of energy left behind a trail of exploding steam, and I could only hope Honey had been spared from the worst of it. Water was dense enough to weaken most attacks, including Hyper Beam. Wake wouldn''t let me rest, however. Gyarados waited the ten seconds or so it took for him to recover¡ª not enough time for Honey to swim back with the Hurricane being so strong¡ª and then rushed toward Electivire with another Waterfall-Surfbination. I didn''t have to say Thunder twice. Gyarados convulsed as he mmed its full weight into Honey. The electric type gritted his teeth and grabbed onto his opponent''s head instead of flying off. Even Wake was surprised at that¡ª genuine surprise¡ª and pride swelled up in my chest. Through a dislocated shoulder, he held on for dear life as Gyarados dove underwater in hopes of getting him off. Thunder after Thunder ransacked the flying type''s body, and at the fourth one, he finally fainted. I breathed a sigh of relief. That one had been close and dangerously so. The Hurricane ended with a whimper as Wake recalled his Gyarados. Honey could barely swim, and he crawled back onto one of the corner inds, coughing water out of his lungs. "Another one of Wake''s Pokemon goes down!" the referee yelled, filling his voice with fake anguish. "This is a disaster! Can this viin not be stopped?" "I haven''t even done anything bad yet," I snorted. "Yet?! Do you hear that,dies and gentlemen? More torturous methods will befall Leader Wake''s remaining Pokemon! Is it over? Can evil truly not be beaten?! IS THIS GYM DOOMED TO FALLING TO HER WICKED WAYS?!" "No." Wake did not yell, but his voice did carry far. In a single moment, he grabbed the attention of the entire arena. Even mine. It was at this moment, I realized, that I had messed up. In most heroic stories, the antagonist started out by nabbing a few victories here and there. Then, the protagonist slowly started wing his way back up, inch by inch. Gyarados. Then, there was a pivot. A change in the air. Crasher Wake released his fourth Pokemon. Pfin didn''t look like much, but that didn''t stop me from cursing what felt like a thousand times in my head. Blubbury skin so turquoise it looked green under the right angle, pink and blue eyes, and a very cute smile. I had fucked up. Not because I hadn''t at least considered the possibility of a Pfin, but because I realized that Wake had baited me. The battle that had gone on before this very moment had been a singr goal in mind. To make me run out of switches. It wasn''t like he hadn''t tried to win. Wake never threw battles to let Pfin transform. The reason he hadn''t switched was to gain a tactical advantage over meter down the line, and he hade to collect his due. Now every time I threw something at Pfin and it didn''t work, well, too bad. I would have tomit to and suffer the consequences. Not only that, but the rain. It was stronger than usual, pouring so much that the inds were actually flooding slowly. By the end of the battle, the four corner inds would bepletely submerged. Had each subsequent Rain Dance stacked on top of the previous one? He hadn''t pulled that off before, but I assumed that was why Sunny Day hadn''t weakened it. How strong would Pfin be, then? Wake cracked his neck, and then spoke. "Take a look at the screen, Pfin," he said, pointing a thumb upward. The score was 0-3 in my favor. A change was needed. "Do you feel it? That shift in the air? We need you. The tide must turn." Pfin angled his head up, and when he saw the score, something shifted in his eyes. He dove down into the depths, spectators started to rhythmically stomp their feet, filling every inch of the arena with the sound, and there was light¡ª "Thunder!" I snapped. It would be slow to charge with how tired Honey was, but I wasn''t going to take any chances. After five seconds, electricity boomed out where Pfin had been, but there was no sign of whether he''d been hurt or not. I bit my tongue as my eyes scanned the water. The light was gone now, but¡ª Pfin emerged back a changed Pokemon. His skin was now a dark blue, and he wore foam-like gloves that could punch as hard as a Machoke. The crowd cheered for Pfin, who flexed his muscles and bowed as he floated up in the air. "Legendaries! Has our savior appeared in our darkest hour? What happened to our dear Pfin? Our Hero is here to save us once again!" The referee cackled. "HERO!" Wake bellowed, pointing at me. "This trainer is wicked! She impales Pokemon for fun, breaks bones for sport and likes inflicting the maximum amount of pain in battle¡ª" "Thunderbolt." Faster this time, the beam of electricity hurtled at Pfin, who easily dodged as he red at me. Wake scoffed. "Hey! You can''t interrupt us during my exposition speech, that''s illegal! HERO, USE FOCUS PUNCH AND VANQUISH HER!" He moved like lightning. Pfin blurred as if he was using Radiant Leap and mmed a glowing fist deep into Honey''s chest. The electric type barely had time to retaliate with a weak Thunderbolt before he was uppercutted into the sky. Hended in the water and sank, signaling that he was down for the count. I gulped as I recalled him. Pfin was the game changer, and it was time to pull out all the stops. I had made a n just in case this happened. The problem was that Wake had two other Pokemon other than this, and Honey had been my best counter to any of his Pokemon. If he sent out Wailord now, I was essentially fucked unless the contingency I had worked on with Sunshine and Angel worked. "COME AT US WITH ALL YOU''VE GOT, GRACE THE IMPALER!" Wake yelled. "WE''LL TURN YOU BACK EVERY TIME, BECAUSE THAT''S WHAT HEROES DO!" Pfin flexed, and water coiled around him. He waspletely silent, I noticed, onlymunicating with the smallest grunts. Probably to keep the whole secret identity only he thought he had. He wasn''t fooling anyone else. Focus, I snapped at myself. I grabbed Buddy''s Pokeball and released the ghost type. His eyes dimmed when he saw Pfin, and a piece of him stuck to the barrier like usual. He knew what had to be done. His only job? To burn him with Will-O-Wisp. I hadn''t felt like this since facing Candice''s Grian Darmanitan. "Hero, Double Hit!" Wake ordered. Pfin flew with a fist pointed forward, and he crashed against Jellicent with all of his might. There was no point in trying to outrun him. He was faster out and inside of the water. Hero raised a palm and pped Buddy with deafening hits twice, each disintegrating parts of his head¡ª not scattering, but disintegrating. The ghost type already knew what to do, but I whispered the order anyway. Shadowy mes appeared close to his skin, and Pfin immediately let go, throwing him away like a discarded rag. The Will-O-Wisps chased him, but he was way too fast to ever get hit and soon enough they died with their usual screams. Damn it, baiting him close hadn''t worked. Buddy recovered, and¡ª Pfin stared at me. No, not at me. At the barrier. A thin beam of ice froze the transparent piece of Jellicent''s body, and Pfin flew toward me, mming a fist into the barrier to shatter it. I flinched at our sudden proximity, which he seemed to love. How the hell had he known? "Your viinous tactics won''t work here," Wake smirked. "Hero, eyes on the prize. Freeze the ghost!" Here goes nothing. "Water Cloak!" Buddy had been close to the water due to being hit around so much, so what came next took minimal effort. Water rolled onto his skin in a thickyer, and then darkness seeped into the attack just as the Ice Beam hit. The attack still hurt, but we didn''t get frozen! I resisted the urge to pump a fist at our firstplicated foray into pure TE maniption being so sessful and yelled. "Night Shade and Will-O-Wisp! Buy yourself time!" Still in his dark cloak, Buddy summoned two shades¡ª One immediately exploded when Pfin punched it with something akin to Lauren''s Water Punch, but stronger. Jet Punch, I recognized. The explosion from the shade caught Pfin off-guard, so at least we were dealing damage. The second shade tried to hit Pfin with an Ice Beam, but Pfin simply pped it away. What the hell was that interaction? Buddy summoned another set of Will-O-Wisps while he gave himself some distance and had his Shade change to Shadow Ball. "Now for the finisher! ASTONISH!" Crasher Wake yelled. The fact that a move as weak as Astonish could be considered a finisher spoke to Pfin''s strength in the rain. Shadows came alive around Pfin''s shoulders, then his hands. He pped them together, creating an explosion as he gathered more energy, and then rushed toward Buddy. He barely hovered over the water, but it came alive around him as if he was using Wave Crash or Surf. He punched through the Shadow Ball, taking the force of the attack head-on, then dove under the water to go even faster to swim past the Will-O-Wisps. "Acid." The remaining Night Shade tried to slow Pfin down with Ice Beam, but the attack didn''t deal much damage. I grinned when poison bled and roiled through Buddy''s skin. Pfin grabbed onto the ghosts'' head, but grunted when the poison tore through the skin of his hand. More Acid flew in a line directly at Pfin''s chest. It didn''t have that big of an effect, but it was hard not to feel pleasure at the sight of their damn superhero getting hurt. I was the damned viin, and I let the role fill my very being. Still we weren''t actually burning Pfin. Something had to change. "Into the water," I breathed. Buddy had spent thest minute trying to fully regenerate, and he hadn''t had the opportunity to do so each time because Pfin was so damn quick. The ghost type pushed himself back with Water Sport while Pfin followed close by. At this point, Wake had fully implemented his long-term n, and he was just punching things hard. Now, I had to figure out a way to take advantage of that. I waited for a few seconds, but they felt like a lifetime. Not having Buddy there to tell me exactly what was going on was like fighting without an arm. "Water Cloak and Ice Beam!" I yelled. There was light under the raging waters. Ice Beam would instantly freeze all of its surroundings under the water, including Jellicent himself, had we not had Water Cloak. "Punch through the ice!" Wake yelled. Another ten seconds passed, and Buddy emerged from the water unscathed. It wasn''t long until there was a dull crack and Pfin emerged with bits of ice still clinging to his body as well. Think outside of the box, I internally screamed. While Buddy was resistant, we couldn''t sustain this. Hit hard enough, and Pfin would exhaust all of our Recovers, and Wake was smart enough not to use water type moves on anything but Night Shades. Pfin rode another wave, then surged upward with a fist wreathed in Ice. He was hoping to punch through Water Cloak, I instantly realized. The remaining Shade had fled to follow Buddy, and it threw itself in between the two, exploding in a single hit. He followed up by stabbing a fist into Jellicent''s head, but when the ghost didn''t freeze, he punched three more times until the Water Cloak shattered while we could only retaliate with point-nk Shadow Balls. Pfin was so aggressive¡ª Aggressive. Frost spread through Jellicent''s body like cancer, and he fell down onto the ind they were floating above like a rock. The fact that he could just punch harder until our techniques broke was so Arceus damn unfair. "Water Spout!" I barked out. "ASTONISH!" Wake yelled. The first Water Spout barely cracked the ice. The second destroyed the outeryer. The third allowed Buddy to free himself from his prison. Astonish was one of the slowest moves Pfin knew because of his unfamiliarity with ghosts, which had left us a precious few extra seconds to break out. "Taunt," I ordered, my voice clear and crisp. Taunt was not just a move that prevented a Pokemon from using non-attacking moves. At its heart, it was a move that left only aggressive emotions within an opponent, forcing them to attack, at least the first time it was unleashed. Buddy''s eyes dimmed as darkness seeped into them, and Pfin hurled all of his body into the ghost, carrying him across the ind and repeatedly punching with Astonish until the crashed into a palm tree. That was fine. "Will-O-Wisp." Buddy summoned a third set of cold, purple mes. Pfin only had eyes for Jellicent, at the moment, and he didn''t notice the mes enter his body until it was toote. We''d burned him. Pfin grunted in frustration as an enormous transparent purple me overtook him. Jellicent was more of a puddle on the ground at this point, but a Shadow Ball¡ª nevermind, Pfin just punched through it and finished off Buddy with thest remaining ghost TE he''d carried over from Astonish. I exhaled, and tension left my shoulders. The first step of the contingency wasplete, but Pfin was still a force to be reckoned with. The water type floated up as he red at me. "And Grace Pastel''s second Pokemon goes down after taking the beating of a lifetime!" The referee celebrated, along with the crowd. "The tide has turned,dies and gentlemen! Fear not, because our Hero is here! Challenger, send out your next Pokemon in your league of viins!" "I have thirty seconds, and I n on taking them," I said with a haughty smirk. Internally, I was still panicking, but it was good to vent some steam. "I''ve always enjoyed seeing my opponents burn. Not as much as stabbing, but y''know." I was surprised to hear the crowdugh at my joke. I honestly thought they''d boo me, but this was refreshing too. After spending all of my time, I released Princess again, hoping that her small rest in her Pokeball had been enough to get herself back in form. The fairy type instantly fled away from Pfin, since I had warned all of my Pokemon ahead of time. She gathered rocks, forming them into a thick ring around her while Wake yelled. "Ice Punch! Get yourself some water!" What Golduck could do, Hero could do better. Columns of water rose faster into the sky, and then Pfin cut them off and molded them into huge spheres the size of Lehmhart. He was doing what Slowking had done during his battle with Maylene, but with pure TE maniption instead of psychic powers like him or Golduck. And honestly, he made them look like children ying with y-Doh. "Charge Beam," I said, wanting to test the waters. Pfin stopped in the air and flicked his wrist. One of his six balls of water instantly moved in front of him, catching the Charge Beam and letting it diffuse there. Fuck. No time for Wish, he''s already halfway there. "Mystical Fire! Make some steam!" When we had worked on my first true custom move in that cave on route 215, I thought it to be a game changer. That was, in retrospect, hriously incorrect. The move was too difficult to set up for the small returns I would get out of it, and it wouldn''t actually deal that much damage. Still, I watched as mes clung to Princess'' ring of rocks, creating steam everywhere she flew. Some of it, she just half-haphazardly threw everywhere else, and it quickly turned into steam due to the rain or the sea. Pfin was going so fast he was a blur, but we were fast too. "Hydro Pump!" Wake yelled, realizing he was wasting time. There was still a time limit to these Gym Battles. I wanted to yell dodge, but she already knew what to do. Enormous jets of water burst out of Pfin''s six spheres and all rushed toward Princess. These weren''t normal Hydro Pumps. They bent to the water type''s will, twisting and turning as they hunted down Princess like a pack of hungry Mandibuzz. She dove down, avoiding two, then twisted around another oneing from below, and spread her ming ring of stones into a wall to block another, creating a burst of steam¡ª I winced when the Hydro Pump punched through the Ancient Power like it had been cardboard and mmed into Princess. She tumbled down, but then caught herself before she couldnd in the water. Against Pfin, the water meant an instant loss. Looks like it''ll only be evasive maneuvers, then. Princess circled around the arena and flew back toward the water type. "They''re nnin'' something!" Wake warned. "But you''ll punch through. You''re a hero! The Hero!" Pfin flexed, ignoring the constant pain from the Will-O-Wisps as ice danced within his palms. When he closed a fist, he ced both of them into two of his bubbles, and they immediately froze over. They did not drop, however. With a grunt, the water type retracted his Ice Punch from the enormous balls of ice and punched them with a glowing fist, shattering them into a thousand sharp pieces that instantly honed in on Princess. That was the problem with fighting Pokemon this strong, I internally groaned. They''re so fucking powerful they can pull any tricks out of their asses, and we were just starting to catch up in that regard. The four remaining spheres of water continued with Hydro Pump, of course. Arceus, the rain was making him so much more powerful than he had any right to be. I waited with bated breath until Princess got in range¡ª "Bubble st!" Steam and mes condensed next to Pfin, and in a second, it blew up with a loud pop. Scorching steam singed the water type''s body, and he grunted as he covered his face with an arm. There was another explosion, then another, and another as Princess kept her distance. The shards of ice still came for her, stabbing deep into her fur and coating it with blood. Still, she cried out and a Charge Beam came into being, hitting Pfin in the arm. A gust of wind made her gain in altitude, and she narrowly dodged another Hydro Pump. The jet of water grazed her, still, and she winced. It was time to kick things into high gear. I wasn''t going to win by ying nice, and she was in range. It was one thing to do this on ident in battle and another to straight up give the order. "Break his arms." Pfin''s eyes bulged when Togekiss gripped him with Psychic. The problem was, I realized, that he was so strong that in a second, he broke out of her hold and barrelled toward her with unending rage. Shit. "Focus on his arm!" I yelled. Not the entire body, but one limb. Pfin always flew with an arm outstretched like in aic book, and the audience winced when an audible crack rang out and it bent ny degrees sideways. Pfin screamed, but not in pain. He raged as he mmed into Princess with all of his might, the remaining water spheres copsing behind him. The Hero dragged Princess under the water as she desperately tried to electrocute him with Charge Beam. "Psychic! The other arm!" I yelled as they sank under the surface. Twenty secondster, Pfin threw Princess'' unconscious body back onto the ind. Pfin emerged with not another broken arm, but it was swollen and I could tell he couldn''t move it properly. The referee spoke. "And Hero equalizes the battle! He might be beaten, battered, but he never gives up, does he? He NEVER breaks! WHY?" The audience yelled as one. "BECAUSE! HE''S! HERO!" "Challenger, send out your next Pokemon!" "Let''s see what Hero can do when he can''t punch properly," I taunted, then grinned when I saw anger course through Pfin¡ª not through empathy, but just from the way he red at me. He hated me, I realized. I was everything he stood against and he wanted to send me packing. Verbal taunts work, then. I sent out Sweetheart onto the central ind, and she quickly let out an excited scream at all of the water and rain around her. "I''ll have you know," I spoke to him directly, "that your time ising to an end." "DON''T LET HER GET TO YOU, HERO!" Wake bellowed. "HYDRO PUUUUUUUUMP!" "Fly and Aerial Ace," I instantly said. For all Hero was an unsurmountable wall, he was not invincible. He was tiring from two fights in a row, and the Will-O-Wisp was chipping at him little by little. The water type didn''t move his arms this time when he pulled water from the sea, and for that, he was slower. Sweetheart was already flying with streaks of blurred air appearing all around her, and she faced the Hydro Pump head-on. What Hero did not expect was for her to push through it. Her flying at all had caught him by surprise, but he didn''t think Sweetie would be able to push past a Hydro Pump. A small, echoing grunt escaped her mouth as she entered the water and more air bubbled out of her jets. Pfin flew back, and even though he was slower, he could still outspeed her. "Dragon Pulse," I exhaled. The turquoise energy burst out of the rock type''s mouth, traveling through the water until it hit Pfin in the shoulder. The impact sent the water type tumbling down as if he''d lost control of his flight, but we were hot on his tail. A delicious crunch sounded out through the rain when she mmed further into his chest, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Had he been able to use his arm, a few punches would have made quick work of us, but he could not. Or I thought he couldn''t. Wake barked out an order, and Pfin moved his broken arm through sheer force of will, hitting Pupitar with a Jet Punch as he cried out in pain. The rock type snarled, and her shell cracked after each hit, but she caught onto him with Crunch as they both crashed in the water. "Stay up," I said. While he could push past the pain to hit us, Pfin would be hard-pressed to wrestle a Pupitar when he was this weakened. Sweetheart flew out of the roaring sea, preserving as much gas as possible by pushing herself with Aerial Ace while there was no sign of Pfin anywhere. He doesn''t have healing moves, so him waiting is to my advantage. Sweetiended on the central ind, which at this point was half of its original size. "Catch your breath," I said. "Keep an eye out." We were close. So close to beating him. A jet of water rose from nearby and nearly covered Sweetheart, but a quick burst of air got her away from the threat. Next, a wave washed over the ind, taking with it the few trees desperately hanging on for dear life. Pupitar floated up so she wouldn''t get swept away by the wave. "So this is how it ends, huh?" I taunted. "Hero? Hiding in the depths and striking at us in the dark while our backs are turned?" Surprisingly, Wake did not banter back or offer Pfin words of support. Instead, he stared down into the water with focus he hadn''t had before. The referee picked up the ck, calling me a bunch of funny names and saying that I was a coward for breaking bones. "It''s just smart," I continued. "Although he did manage to punch Sweetie anyway. Funny how that works. Apparently your hero''s had enough of fighting, though." As another thirty seconds passed with sporadic attacks, It dawned on me. He wasn''ting. Wake grinned, as if he''d been testing Pfin, and not just me. He was, I realized, not only teaching me to fight on an unfair field, but also how to keep my cool during a paradigm shift. He''d also been teaching Pfin not to rise to my taunts. Hero, the crowd chanted. The majority of the people in this room wanted to see me lose, but somehow, I was still not the underdog, as if I was living in his story. They all called his name, louder and louder until¡ª The water moved as one. It did not take a shape. Not exactly. It was more like the entire sea itself was rising, inch by inch. The water grew more agitated, foam built up in every single wave until the entire surface was covered in the same substance that Pfin''s gloves were made of. "Into the sky, now!" I yelled. I didn''t have to say it twice. With the hiss of a jet engine, Sweetheart left for the skies, leaving behind a trail of sand and dirt. The foam built and built until it all surged upward. Gallons of it. Enough to fill the arena two times over, all of it converged toward Sweetheart, and Pfin was still nowhere to be seen. The noise from the spectators reached a crescendo¡ª Then, it all copsed. The water returned to normal. Pfin had washed up onto an ind. The burns from Will-O-Wisp had finished him off. The referee said something, but I was too busy registering what had happened. That move¡­ the amount of control it would take to make it happen was incredible and went beyond everything I''d seen from Pfin. I gulped, and Sweetheartnded back on the ground. "You did well, Hero," Wake said. "Rejoice, for this battle has made you grow beyond your means." "I think," I gasped, "that it''s about time to transfer him to the 8th badge." With so many stacked Rain Dances, he had been nigh unstoppable. Without them? I was pretty sure he''d be able to easily hold his own when transformed, at the very least. Wake grinned. "He does pack a punch, doesn''t he? ESPECIALLY AGAINST OPPONENTS LIKE YOU!" He raised both of his arms and basked in the crowd''s cheers. For all this could have been boasting, I knew Wake was right. Pfin thrived against opponents like me. People he saw as evil and unfair pushed him past his limits because he truly believed he needed to stop me. A few momentster, he sent out his Sharpedo. I breathed a sigh of relief when good old hydrokinesis made a return, and water clung to the dark type''s skin to help him float. While his mastery over it was far better than Volkner''s Lanturn had been, it still looked hriously clumsypared to anything Pfin had been capable of. This is one of Sweetheart''s worst matchups, I acknowledged. Sharpedo''s skin was tough enough for her hits to be dulled. The Rain Dance did not strengthen, but it didn''t wane either. This wasn''t over, but at least the inds wouldn''t flood even faster. "INTO THE WATER AND OUT! LIQUIDATION!" Crasher Wake bellowed. Sharpedo dove down like a missile, and as soon as his skin touched the sea, he sped up and gathered momentum. He didn''t go deep. I could still see his dorsal fin peeking above the surface. Water built up like a wave until the dark type jumped out of it and it followed him. The liquid around Sharpedo was shaking, with bubbles and ripples going through it as if it would explode on contact. And I knew it would. "Iron Defense," I ordered. Running away from Sharpedo? Impossible, not when Wake had Agility in his backpocket. I knew for a fact that he wanted to make me run so that he could catch me off-guard, but I knew all of Sharpedo''s tricks. Sweetheart''s skin shimmered brightly as Sharpedo crashed nose-first into her. Water exploded, puncturing holes into her shell. "Payback!" I grinned. This would only work once, but oh boy, did it work. Sweetheart moved unnaturally quickly as darkness slipped from her shell, and she mmed her full weight into Sharpedo so strongly that half of his teeth fell out. Sharpedo slid across the ind, then lifted himself up back into the water. They''d only stay at a distance from now on, even if Sharpedo''s expertise was in a melee. There were scant few rocks to use here, but the Ancient Power from Angel still remained. Crumbled stone in the ind on the right corner that was barely still above water any longer. Thank fuck I''d yed the long game. Hurricane from Gyarados might have washed most of them into the sea, but some were still gathered around the corner and she could pick them up from under the water. "Switch inds! To my right!" I ordered. Sweetheart flew, skipping across the water like a stone until the reached our corner. Wake barked out for an Agility, and then a Hydro Pump. He still followed, but kept his distance now. "Dodge right! Left! Left again!" Her eyes were back to the attack, so she followed my voice and narrowly avoided all but thest Hydro Pump. She was on herst legs, but we needed this. Any extra damage would go far in helping the rest of the team. I leaned against my crutch as Sweetheart beached herself on the ind and quickly turned. The only counter was¡ª "Smack Down!" I yelled. A rock shattered under the water, then flew toward Sharpedo, who dodged by ducking under the water. Perfect. The rock moved ny degrees down and mmed into his skull through the water. Not much damage, but it''s something. Sharpedo roared¡ª something that sounded more like something that should havee out of a dragon''s mouth¡ª letting loose another Hydro Pump that broke through a hastily made wall with Stone Edge and finished the rock type off. Ancient Power woulde in handy for her at some point. I recalled Sweetheart after thanking her for her performance. Only she had the tools to finish off Pfin, and she had used them perfectly. I released Sunshine onto the center ind, and he immediately grunted in displeasure. Rain turned to steam as it hit his shell. "Sunny Day." The bright light left Turtonator''s snout and grew until he peered through the clouds. It wasn''t much, but it was something. Crasher Wake barked out another order, and Sharpedo continued pestering us with Hydro Pump. He was keeping his distance, then. Sunshine lifted an arm to protect his face, but there was only so much he could do to actually dodge. But this was fine. I let a third Hydro Pump hit him. Then a fourth. I told him to use Dragon Pulse, which Sharpedo easily dodged. Lure them into a false of security, then strike. I would only be able to do this once. "Scale Shot!" I called out. In one smooth motion, Sunshine turned toward Sharpedo, his shell already humming and glowing with Shell Trap''s power. Dozens of glowing red scales from his back flew toward Sharpedo, who tried to dive to dodge. The first explosion stunned him, then there were dozens more, like cluster bombs, one going off had triggered all of the others. "Fly." mes danced around Sunshine, hugging his body in a warm embrace. The me Charge sped him up until he jumped and mmed an Iron Tail against his shell. Then, he retreated into it and used it again. He didn''tnd on top of Sharpedo, because we didn''t manage to extend the range of the ind. Even when flooding due to the rain, it would have given him more space to gather momentum, but that was fine. Another Shell Trap, and he swam toward the still-stunned Sharpedo, grabbing onto his tough skin. Vapor rose high into the sky and water evaporated from him just being there. A Dragon Pulse gathered in front of Sunshine''s snout¡ª Wake recalled his Sharpedo before he could burn, and wasted no time or pleasantries sending out hisst Pokemon. Kingdra. The dragon type hovered over the sea, and for some reason, the storm ended. The rain itself continued, but the sea waspletely calm. And we were in the middle of the water. Shit. They''d pulled the rug from under me. "WHAT NOW, IMPALER? KINGDRA, DRAGON PULSE!" "You''ve got this," I exhaled. "Shell Trap out of the water." I inhaled sharply when Kingdra opened her eyes for the first time and spat out her Dragon Pulse. It was weaker than Sunshine''s by far, but it would still hurt. The dragon ducked under the water to tamper the hit as if he was one of Wake''s own Pokemon, then exploded¡ª twice¡ª thrice in a row in less than a second andunched into the air with very little control except his general direction. He sprawled out at the edge of the ind, and it was hard to notice the top of his shell starting to splinter. "Twister!" Wake yelled. It was a small tornado at first, and then a cyclone. The air was chock full of draconic energy as it spun faster and faster. Kingdra rumbled, and the Twister fell onto the ind like a force of nature. And she was making another one. I told Sunshine to start off a me Charge again, but jumping onto Kingdra when we''d just made the same y against Sharpedo would be impossible. It was a good thing that he had other tricks up his sleeve. "Scale Shot!" "Watch out¡ª" Wake yelled out, but it was toote. They wouldn''t just explode in the water. Small, ming scales flew off of Sunshine''s shell as soon as he used another Shell Trap, and then exploded all around Kingdra. Kingdra was powerful, only second to Pfin and Gyarados, but she was also slow, and had nowhere to retreat to. Both in or out of the water, we would get her. Sunshine let loose a ming Dragon Pulse thatpletely enveloped the water type. He kept it going for as long as possible until the Twister grew to such an extent that he couldn''t avoid it. The attack had grown using water and now overtook the entire ind. "You''ve got this," I breathed. "Keep going." And keep going he did. Kingdra aimed her Dragon Pulses using the red hue beneath the Twister, but hers were weaker than ours. Sunshine finished off Kingdra with an angry roar. Her scales were burned, and smoke still emanated out of her. Sunshine didn''t boast even though I knew he wanted to. We still had work to do. "Leader Wake is down to one Pokemon!" The referee yelled. "Can Sharpedo do it? Can he bring it home and end this battle?! Leader Wake, send out yourst Pokemon!" Wake released the dark type as far away from us as he could, but that was fine too. Little rays from the Sunny Day asionally peered through the clouds and onto Sunshine''s scales. The dragon type drew on heavy breaths. "Sr Beam." Months ago, he had used Sr Beam in the middle of a Smokescreen during our first training bout. While I hadn''t brought it up again, I knew it would be key here and practiced the same set up as much as we could with Angel. A smokescreen masked more sunlight than storm clouds. It burst out of his snout like a shbang, so loud that even Wake had to repeat his order to get under water twice. Not that Sharpedo had waited for him anyway. The water type was quick, but he no longer had Agility set up. The Sr Beam wasrger than a Snox and evaporated the water under it. So powerful it created a dent in the sea fifteen feet deep like we''d split the water in half. Sharpedo used Hydro Pump¡ª the Sr Beam brushed past the attack after a second of struggle and reached the dark type. When the Sr Beam done, Sharpedo was down for the count. "Victory to Grace the Impaler!" Holy shit. Holy fucking shit, I''d won, and it hadn''t been particrly close. Wake''s entire strategy had revolved around Pfin, and we had countered it despite our difficulties. The rain slowly abated, leaving only the sun to peer down on Sunshine. This time, he gloated, letting out a methrower high into the sky. I let him have his moment, of course. He''d just gone toe-to-toe with a Kingdra in the middle of a makeshift ocean and in the rain, even if that Kingdra wasn''t particrly that strong. Granted, everything looked weak inparison to Pfin. The crowd was cheering for my victory now that the ''act'' was done, although of course there were leftover boos, even if they weren''t many. The vast majority of people were regrs at the Gym and knew it was all a game. I carefully stepped down the stairs with my crutches and made my way toward Wake, but he was nice enough to motion at me to stay where I was so I wouldn''t have to walk too long. He spoke first. "Looks like you''ve won your title," he said with a wink. Even outside of battle, his voice was loud. "Congrattions, impaler¡­ or maybe bonebreaker would be more appropriate. Quite the brutal way you took down Pfin. He isn''t used to peopleing at him that way." "I would have lost if I hadn''t. Three Focus Punches at full strength, and Swee¡ª Pupitar goes down." "That''s fair. You should probably expect someone to fight you the same way at some point, but at the very least, Gym Leaders tend to be more lenient with the way we battle. I hope you didn''t mind the little fun we had. I try to do it for every battle, but most of the time I''m the heel." Lenient? Had he not seen that Hyper Beam from Gyarados? I thought, smothering a smirk. I already had my ID and Pokedex out for him, and I handed them over. "It was a lot of fun. It felt good to let loose, in a way." "Right? You clicked on pretty fast, so that was nice. We gave our spectators a good show." He fiddled with my Pokedex first, then my ID. "You''ve got the Fen Badge now, and an extra 50k in the bank. Oh, and also the Scald TM." Good for Buddy, that one. "I hope you''ve learned many lessons here," he said, somewhat ominously. "Because the eighth will be much harder than this." I stopped myself from gulping and nodded firmly. How to not panic if you start losing, how to fight on a field that''s tantly unfair and think outside of the box, improvements on how to think on my feet, I need to get my ass into gear and focus more on things like TE maniption, and more that I probably wasn''t looking at right now. Still, now wasn''t the time to be gloomy. I had kept my nerves. I hadn''t panicked. I had stared the Hero in the eye and hadn''t blinked. And Legendaries, that had been so much fun.
Interlude – Shift Interlude ¨C Shift
INTERLUDE - SHIFT "I mean, dude¡­ Grace the Impaler?" Denzel snorted, as he had every time he repeated the name. "That''s so on the nose." Denzel Williams stared at Grace, who shook her head in dismissal. It had been hours since her dominant victory over Wake, and they''d already hosted a party for her. There was something tense in her shoulders, he noticed. She''d taken on the responsibility for her UPAN colleague''s trauma, so Denzel wanted to cheer her up through teasing. "I like it!" she eximed. "It really speaks to me, and you being an asshole about it sucks." "Even Cece found it funny. She just doesn''t want to mock you because you guys are dating." Grace rolled her eyes. "Jasmine wears her corny title on her sleeve. If she can be the Rapier of Olivine, I can be Grace the Impaler." "Sure thing¡­" She pinched the small of his back, causing him to jump and her to snicker like a kid. The evening air was warm, which reminded Denzel of Twinleaf. Pastoria''s weather was strikingly simr to his hometown, and it made him somewhat nostalgic. "Pauline doing okay?" Grace asked. "Oh, she''ll recover," he said with a clenched fist. "She still doesn''t want to speak to me much. I''m waiting for her to cool down, and her loss hasn''t helped with that. Even Emilia''s been kicked out of her room." Grace winced. "Yikes. Well, it''s always good to give her space when she''s like that." He nodded pensively. They knew Pauline in and out by now, along with her quirks. She''d bounce back stronger than ever, even if the Conference was basically no longer a possibility. "What about you?" Grace asked. "How are you doing?" He turned toward his best friend. There was always something in her eyes, when she worried for one of her loved ones. Innocence, maybe? Something that made it hard to remember that she was the same girl that had ordered her Togekiss to break Pfin''s arm without a moment''s hesitation. Grace made a lot more effort to spend some time on social media, but he didn''t think she knew how many people couldn''t believe she just did that sometimes. The only ones who fought simrly at a high level were Amar Hamili from Orre or a few people from Kanto-Johto, but he could count them on his hands. This style of battling would make her a pariah in Unova, but despite his warnings to her, she didn''t care enough to change it. "Sure, what do you mean?" He shrugged. "You know what I mean, Denzel." Denzel leaned against the Pokemon Center''s walls and took a deep breath. "I try not to think about it." The world ending, and you messing with beings beyond myprehension. "If you want to talk, I''m here, yeah?" "I know that." "I make a good hype girl," she smirked. "Remember how I cheered you up before you fought Gardenia?" "Don''t make it seem like it was twenty years ago or something," he chuckled. She loved reminiscing about good memories. "But yes, I remember. But, you know, this situation is orders of magnitude above that." He stopped and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "But I''m okay. Taking it one day at a time." Grace leaned deeper against her crutches. "Always the optimistic one." "If I wasn''t where would you be?" he asked half-jokingly. "Probably dead." The words were like a bucket of cold water had dropped on his head, because he knew from her tone that she was being serious. Grace echoed his thoughts. "I''m serious. I need you," she continued. "Which was why I was the one who pushed for you to learn about the truth. The others were less inclined to tell you the entire thing. Only fragments of the story." If he had to guess, Mira had probably been the most opposed to him learning about this. "I¡­ appreciate that," he murmured. "Yeah, I do," he said, more sure of himself. "Y''know, even when I''m in Unova, I''ll text you every day." "Obviously," he said. "Call, too. Although I guess every day might be difficult with the different time zones." "Know what you''ll do when this year is over?" she asked. She was staring in the distance, as if she saw something he didn''t. "Stay in Sinnoh. Go through the Circuit again," he said. "Pauline will want to do it too, and Emilia has her contests." "Thought you''d say so." She turned her face away from him for a few seconds, then let out a long exhale. He''d told her that he wasn''ting to Unova, but she had probably still held onto hope. Denzel held out a hand, wanting to pat his friend on the shoulder, but she recovered quicker than he thought she would. "How''s Sylveon doing?" Denzel''s Pokeball felt heavier, at that moment, and the scar across his shoulder tingled. He still needed to get used to that. "Good. Wanna see him?" His best friend beamed. "Can I?!" There she is, Denzel smirked. Being all gloomy didn''t fit her. He released Sylvi next to her, and the fairy type flinched when he saw Grace, who immediately crouched to look into his eyes. Sylveon''s ribbons moved erratically and stuttered, a sign that he was nervous to see her. "Hi Sylvi!" Grace said. "Long time no see. I missed you." She ced an arm against one of Sylveon''s ribbons, and he rxed right away. Empathy, Denzel thought. That way, Sylvi would know she wasn''t lying. Grace asked him plenty of things, like if he was eating well, or if he had reconciled with Denzel''s Pokemon. There were no questions about Pauline or Emi, because Grace was worried about Sylvi. This was his time, and the fairy type enjoyed being pampered. Seeing Grace have a full-on conversation with Sylvi was a lot weirder now that he knew the exact reason why she could do so. All this time, he had thought her to just be talented at picking up bodynguage or specific words. Eventually, the topic turned to training. Sylveon was doing a lot better for himself, and traces of his deficiencies had all but disappeared now that they had found a fragile equilibrium. "Sylvi was always better at mour than Princess," Grace said. "Arceus, Hatterene''s going to be so pissed when I visit her. We haven''t progressed at all on that front." "Actually," Denzel raised a finger. "From what I understand, your Moonst is different than ours. That means Princess uses mour to shape hers the way she wants." Grace''s eyes widened. "Really? What''s your Moonst like?" she asked, turning to Sylvi. "Notplete yet, but almost there. We''ll have it mastered by the time we fight Wake," he exined. "But, uh, ours doesn''t do all of that gravity stuff. It captivates the opponent and stops them from moving by sting a wave of apathy at them. Kind of like what he can do with his ribbons, but on a bigger scale. So yours has a lot more destructive potential, and ours is more, like, utilitarian, I guess." "That''s so cool!" she yelled. "So is every Moonst different? Damn it, Be¡ªHatterene! I bet you she''s so full of herself that she considers every other Moonst ''not proper'' or something. That''s the only reason why she wouldn''t have brought this up." "You know her a lot better than I do," Denzel said. "Either way, I''m going to have her get Princess up to speed with mour when we get here. She''ll probably ask for something in return, but I''ll just wrangle it out of her." "Why yes, why don''t you wrangle information out of a fairy that''s centuries old," Denzel snorted. "She''s just a person," Grace deadpanned. "Like you and me." A person that doesn''t think at all like a human and puts more value in deals than lives, Denzel thought. Still, he wasn''t going to tell Grace who she could or couldn''t be friends with. Hatterene still terrified him, and he had no intention of ever traveling through that route again. "You disagree," she noticed. "I can''t hide anything from you, can I?" he groaned. "Dude, you''re an open book. Maybe if you stopped doing that fist-clenching thing you do all the time and didn''t strain your face every time something unpleasant happened to you, you''d hide more things from me." ¡ª This fucking sucked. So Arceus damn much. Pauline wanted to tear her hair and scream, but she''d done plenty of that already. Victory had been so fucking close. If she hadn''t ordered Charizard to rush in as soon as ze triggered and yed it safe instead, that Swanna would have been minced meat. The redhead bit her lip and kicked into her bed, identally hitting the wood and hurting her foot. She restrained a squeal and sped her foot. Stupid. That was stupid. Primeape eyed her with a nk expression as she blew on her foot. Pauline had been with him long enough to know when he was annoyed or not. "I''m sorry for disturbing your meditation, or whatever," she growled. "I''ll be better." The fighting type grunted, then stood up from his cross-legged position. He moved toward Pauline with silent steps and ced a hand on her knee. "Are you¡­forting me?" she asked. Primeape agreed with his smooth voice, and then gestured at her before sitting cross-legged again, this time after hopping on her bed. Was he asking her to meditate? She didn''t know the first thing about how the hell any of that worked! Still, it wasn''t like she had anything else to do. She had asked for time alone, and alone she was. She was already trying toe up with ways to apologize to Denzel for her outburst. He had fucked up, but she hadn''t helped things. Pauline crossed her legs and took a few deep breaths, following Primeape''s lead. These days, she acted more like a Primeape than he ever had. She had lost, and no amount of ''what ifs'' would fix things. Now, two options presented themselves before her. Get out of this crummy town and try to fly to Canve ASAP, or just¡­ give up for the year. The choice wasn''t that evident. Giving up was not in Pauline''s vocabry, but if she left, then she would leave her friends to face these poachers without her. She knew she was weaker than them by far. It didn''t take a genius after seeing how Grace handled Pfin to know that she was outssed by her and the others by miles, but she still wanted to do something. Pauline was not a child to be coddled. If she won every Gym from now on in one attempt, then making it to the Conference was theoretically possible, but Pauline knew better. Even if she could, her friends were more important than badges, and she still didn''t have a sixth Pokemon. There was no way she would have beaten Byron for her sixth if she lost to Wake. Candice was maybe possible, but still. Oh. I almost forgot to breathe. Pauline drew upon another long breath. Gym Battles¡­ Pokemon battling in general was just fun. Fun was why she''d wanted to make it to the Conference. She did not have any grand goals like the rest of her friends. Louis'' sanctuary, Denzel being a symbol and a teacher, Justin wanting to revolutionize medicine or Grace''s advocacy for Pokemon rights¡­ Pauline had none of that. Instead, she just wanted a few years of traveling and hanging out with the people she loved before she got shoved into a position she didn''t deserve in her mother''spany. Plus, having badass Pokemon would do wonders to let people know not to fuck with her. Was not having a noble goal so wrong? It wasn''t, Pauline realized. She was Pauline, and she did whatever she wanted. The redhead sighed in relief at the weight dropping off her chest. She would stay, then. "This is nice," she muttered. Primeape grunted in annoyance. Right, she couldn''t talk during this entire process. Maybe she''d even keep doing this meditation thing. ¡ª This girl was going to be the end of me, Melody groaned. She pushed herself off her desk and stared through the window panes. Jubilife''s skyline had always been way too crowded to her liking whenpared to Veilstone. Granted, she''d grown up in the middle of nowhere in Sceon, but she barely remembered those days, now. Better her parents'' non-eptance about her gender stay buried and blurry instead of vivid and traumatic like they were in her first days in Hearthome after she''d run away with no money or n. Before the Darkest Day, Sceon had always been a town where everything stayed the same because anything that was was obviously meant to be. Sprinkle a handful of bigotry, and it was easy to see why her parents tried to lock her in her room when she hade out as transgender at the age of sixteen¡ª fifteen years ago, now, she mused. But Melody was getting sidetracked. Grace''s recent performance against Wake was a true wonder. Not only was the score something the board loved, but the battle itself had blown up online due to how poignant the storyline and her acting had been. Or at least, Melody told the board that it was acting. She knew Grace well enough to know her quirks by now, and that girl down there, facing Wake? That had been just a piece of her true self. Melody leaned against her desk, double-checking that she hadn''t missed any important emails. Sometimes, she had nightmares about that. Ten minutes to 3:30 pm. It was time to meet the board again. The Poketch Building in Jubilife was the central node of the entirepany. The structure itself was made of two towers almost made entirely out of ss while the first five floors linked the two towers together. The board was, of course, on the highest floor of Jubilee Tower¡ª the one Melody was currently in¡ª which had been aptly named after Jubilife. The second tower was named Innovation. Just Innovation. It was where most engineers and programmers resided and worked on old and new products. Including Grace''s father, funnily enough. They had spoken on a few asions when they crossed paths in the lobby, and he was a very nice man who loved his daughter to bits. The way he gushed about her achievements made Melody smile every time, and she kept having to ept his thanks for ''taking care of her''. They both knew how harsh thepany''s workload could be. Melody was Grace''s shield, in a way. She only contacted her after parsing through the most important matters, and everything always filtered through her. Rising stars like her or her friends always caught the most attention from the media and other brands because they were fresh and new. Craig was Craig. A symbol. But he was old news by this point, as mean as the observation was. He didn''t excite people, save for when the Conference started and he released that mega Smence of his. New people were shiny, and shiny things enticed the masses. Melody strode through the busy halls of Jubilee tower. The ck of her heels hitting the cold, granite tiles kept her steady. Melody had met the board more times than she could count since being promoted to Grace''s Sponsorship Liaison and the girl had been made Craig Goodwill''s heir, but it was hard not to feel the knot in her stomach. Offices passed her by the dozens. This floor was entirely dedicated to sponsorships, but not exclusive to liaisons. There were scouts for new and old talents, marketers, data analysts, social media managers,munity rtions managers, and of course, Never forget thewyers. They stalked every nook and cranny of thepany and were a veritable army. The government had tried to sue Poketch multiple times during the early days of Cynthia''s tenure because of monopolyws she had tried to establish after seeing Unova''s conglomerates during her sabbatical, but they had always failed. These days, Poketch worked hand in hand with them, of course. It was Poketch that collected and sold data to the government at a very cheap price, since they didn''t require any Porygon to do so. That hade in handy with Team Gctic running about. But Melody Summers was but a neutral observer. She had climbed thedder high enough to know these things, and honestly, so long as she got paid and got to do the job that she loved, she wouldn''t throw a hissy fit. What would it even do, really? One woman, shouting into the void? She would instantly get smeared from every side, her word would be discredited and she would be cklisted from ever working a simr job at anypany. The elevator dinged, and Melody stepped through the doors. Even the inside of these damn things were marble. The Poketch Company did not shy away from its luxuries. Inside was someone she knew very well. Jules Fulton. On the shorter side of things, slightly chubby and with a thick and well-trimmed beard and mustache that was starting to turn white. Also, Aubri Schneider''s Sponsorship Liaison. The third one in three years. Working with her was a hassle. "Jules," Melody greeted him. She passed the keycard around her neck on the sensors below the elevator''s buttons and clicked on 109. "Melody," he gruffed. Melody did not miss his eyes drifting to the button she''d pressed. "Off to see the board?" "Hmhm. Grace won against Wake yesterday, I''m sure you''ve heard of it." Jules snorted. "Ah, yes. Impaler, they call her. I''m sure that''ll be wonderful PR." "It will," she smiled ruefully. "People want something new, Jules. They''re tired of us selling the same old story." "Aubri''s new," he said. "But we all know why she wasn''t picked. Because they don''t like the way she looks." Melody rolled her eyes. Sure, that was true, but Aubri was a difficult person to even get a hold of. She was even worse than Craig, in that regard. Even without all of her scars and maimings, she wouldn''t have been chosen. She would hate the job, Melody knew, but the only reason she wanted it was to buy a megastone, either for her Medicham or Sableye. Rumors were, she was close, but using mega evolution with only a few weeks of practice at the Conference was a surefire way to get yourself to the hospital or the Pokemon facing you hurt beyond what even Ditto cells could fix, or worse, so even if she got the stone before the month of June, she would not be able to use it. "I know what you''re thinking," he continued. Arceus, could this elevator ride be any longer? "But they could have given her a chance." "You know as well as I do that there''s no chance when money is involved." Jules clicked his tongue. "And taking in that little bloodthirsty maniac of yours wasn''t a chance? A first-year with no aplishments¡ª" he quickly finished his sentence when he saw the look on Melody''s face, "¡ªat the time." "Craig rmended her. You can bury your head in the sand, but it''s the truth, and it''s worked out so far." "Not without some hups¡ª" Jules cleared his throat and stopped when the elevator stopped, and a group of people in suits entered. It was not the first time they were having this debate. Grace was not without her opposition within Poketch, and it would be something she would have to learn to navigate soon enough. There was only so much Melody could protect her from. Thepany had a singr goal: to make as much money as possible. However, not everyone within agreed on what the best way to do so was. Apany asrge as this one was bound to have factions. The elevator was empty again when she reached the final floor. The room was tiled in dark stones that reminded Melody of obsidian. The board had always had a ir for drama. It was unsettling, how empty the ce was. There were no decorations, nor was there any furniture. The only person here was the board''s secretary, who changed every month or so. Melody greeted her, the sound of her heels echoing throughout the massive room. She gently knocked, then slid the door to the boardroom open. Six men and an empty chair sat before her, each and every one of them old, including the Poketch Company''s founder, Remington McMin. His son, the only member of the board with a foot not in a grave was not present. He never was. Even in his forties, Landis McMin liked to live like a bachelor. Last she''d heard, he was taking an extended vacation in Al with his new girlfriends that she was sure he hadn''t paid a ludicrous amount. The table they sat by was ridiculously long and fancy, with carvings covering every inch of the old wood. Light from the huge window peered down on them from behind and cast looming shadows on the table. "Members of the board," Melody said, without missing a beat. Her hands were prim and proper behind her back, and she stood up straight as an arrow. "Melody," Remington said. All the others followed suit like drones. Melody was pretty sure Mr. Hemsworth to the left was senile. "The board is very pleased with your sponsee''s performance. I suppose that will fix any¡­ hups we had with her speech to Pastoria''s Councillors." Of course they hadn''t liked it. Melody hadn''t either, but Mallory had sent her a very long text gloating about it and she''d sent it to her contacts in Unova. A rising star, calling for ''Pokemon Liberation'', Mallory had called it. There had been plenty of trainers like her, but none as vocal. Had Grace not swung Cynthia''s name like a bat, the Poketch Company would have vocally disapproved, but they could not go against the Champion, at the moment. Not when they had fostered good rtions through her many power grabs. Had Grace done this on purpose? Melody wondered, or had it been luck? "This impaler¡­ what is it called again? Meme?" Mr. Sandy started with his usual raspy voice. Decades of smoking did that to a man, and the fact that he had pronounced ''meme'' ''mehmeh'' was not lost on Melody, but she kept her face straight. "It''s very hip with the younger generations. A bit crass, but we can make it work." "There is some opposition," Mr. Smithson added. "Especially from older trainers. Plenty of Conference goers have spoken out against her, and it''s generating some bad press." "You either love her, or you hate her," Mr. Sandy said. "There is no in-between." "Permission to speak?" Melody asked. "Granted," Remington said. "There is a point to be made in the fact that her tactics are brutal, but they''re also exciting. No one else does it like her," Melody said. "And isn''t that what we want? So long as it only ruffles a few feathers and we have our PR team working twenty-four-seven on this, we can make it work." Remington smirked. "Exciting¡­ yes. That certainly is the case. I cannot remember a time when Poketch had this much attention, and more younguns are buying phones and watches than ever." Melody smiled. His word was as good asw on the board. "I can have my team spreading it online as soon as this meeting is done." Not that she needed to, when it was spreading so quickly but any boost in engagement would help. Remington nodded. "Good, good. She''ll ask for a raise as soon as she can, no doubt. Try to¡­ guide her toward the right direction. We can''t start paying her Craig''s sry right away, not when we''d have a rebellion from our other sponsees on our hands." Craig''s sry? An exaggeration if there ever was one, but Remington liked to amplify statements to prove his point. If anything, Grace would probably ask for less than she was worth. She still didn''t know how to value people as assets. "Of course, Mr. McMin," Melody answered. She wasn''tmitting to this idea, but nodding and agreeing now and attempting to change their mindster would be easier than a confrontation right this moment. Poketch''s CEO grabbed a stack of papers and adjusted his sses. "Now, regarding the transition. Since Grace Pastel has agreed to meet, we''ll need to prepare to make things as smooth as possible so our stock price doesn''t take a hit. You''ll have to prepare her for a news conference, then we''ll have our design team start work on merchandise¡­" Remington rambled on, and Melody hung to his every word. As much as she disliked these wrinkly old men, she wanted this to be a sess. ¡ª "I can''t hide anything from you, can I?" Abel said with a teasing smirk. You know this already, Xatu answered. The psychic''s eyes shone, and she snatched the half-finished cigarette out of Abel''s hands, smothering andpacting it until it became ash. You said you would quit. "I say a lot of things I don''t mean," heughed. This is not a joking matter. We are talking about your health. "Rx, Xatu," he sighed, releasing onest trail of smoke out of his mouth. "I needed to dpress. It''s almost time." Mr. Backlot had been a good patron. An excellent one, even. He was, after all, the only rich prick crazy enough to host Abel in his home. The man was so obsessed with rare Pokemon that Abel had him biting out of his hand. He was currently in a room he had concealed with Mmar and Zazza''s help, far away from all the Pokemon he had captured. Oh, they were still in the mansion, hooked up on all kinds of Candies until they lost their sense of self. The ones Backlot kept were not, of course. They needed to stay clean, because otherwise how else would the fatass be able to look at and enjoy their presence in his makeshift underground zoo? Rare Candies were terrible, but they also made Pokemon grow faster. Much faster than normal. It was unhealthy as sin, but Backlot''s patrons needed them high and docile, and more power meant shier battles, which was always good for the Game Corner''s pitfights. Abel had only been in that VIP area once. Not that shabby ce they hid down the stairs, but the real VIP area that was even more elusive. These people were without morals, and he hated every single one of them. That did not mean he would not work for them. It was just business. Until it wasn''t. "How''s our little project going?" Abel asked. Zazza has fed her enough information to have her act on her own. It will be soon, Xatu spoke. She closed her left eye and peered into the future. Things are proceeding as nned, but the odds of everything falling into ce for us are pretty low. Their project was in Pastoria, at the moment. One of Backlot''s recently hired hands that they were manipting, and she had chosen a very annoying target that had forced Abel to experiment with the limits of Mmar''s abilities. Still, even if his shot in the dark had worked so far, Abel was not going anywhere near Pastoria. It was not because Mira Compton was there. The little runt had just caught him off-guard, and for that, she had his thanks. He had not been this close to getting caught in years, and the close call had allowed him and his Pokemon to improve leaps and bounds to fill the gaps that he now knew they had. Miracle Eye had been one, something Hypno had been working on for years, but never prioritizing, and there were plenty of new tricks as well. How else would they be hiding the massive Pokemon prison in this mansion? "No choice in the matter," he said. "If this seeds, we can get back to Unova. I have a bone to pick with rence." Your quest for revenge will be the death of you. "Honestly, Xatu, when have I not slipped away from a jam?" Abel smirked. He sat on the luxurious bed. Was that velvet? He didn''t really know. Abel had grown up poor. So poor that his mom had him eat cereal with a fork to save the milk forter. So poor he''d only had one pair of shoes that he had worn until his feet hurt from growing up. So poor his mother had drowned in medical debt until she died of lung cancer. She''d been a smoker. Even through all of his dealings and all of the money he had earned, he still couldn''t live like he wanted to. Not when the money could be tracked. He couldunder in small amounts, but not the sixty million he had stocked in Unova and the few million he had in Sinnoh. He had spent quite a few months gathering all of it, and now it was all here, in this room. The only ce he''d be able to spend inrge numbers was Al, but unfortunately, his retirement woulde farter than he wanted. rence needed to die first. "Legendaries, I can''t wait until we get to Al. Xatu, do you want a yacht or a resort?" You do realize that by bringing up retirement so often, you are taunting the strings of fate to string you up and hang you? "Can''t a man daydream about what he wants?" he asked with a hint of amusement. Then, he paused. "Do you hate what we''re doing, Xatu?" Abel asked. Not particrly, the bird answered. The Pokemon we captured are unfortunately just coteral damage. That is how business goes. I have done far worse for you, and I will keep going. Why would you ask when you know the answer already? "I don''t know," he shrugged after a pause. "Zazza hates it, and she keeps letting me know how much she hates it. It weighs on me." None of his Pokemon were good people. They were criminals, just like he was, save for Dan, who was too young to understand the magnitude of their actions. They had injured, killed, stolen, destroyed, burned, looted, mind controlled when the time demanded it, but for Zoroark, this was personal, which was why they were going to fuck Mr. Backlot on the way out. To do that, however, they needed to screw over a lot of people first. Mind controlling him into confessing wouldn''t work. Backlot would just hirewyers to use it as a defense when all was said and done and wriggle his way out of things by saying that he had no control over his actions the entire time. Abel had never backstabbed someone who paid so well, but Zazza demanded it because for her, this was personal. Their actions had doomed many Pokemon to hell, but at the very least they would cut off the flow as soon as their n kicked into motion and they left. The poaching had been happening even when Abel had not been hired, but on a much smaller scale. Backlot had been doing this for years. Honestly, Abel did not care much for the Pokemon suffering, but mostly for Zazza''s state of mind. Xatu spoke into his mind. Of course. She''s the one who has to do most of the work, and she hates pretending to be human. She also knows how it feels to be abused. Still, now is not the time for doubts. If everything goes well, Mr. Backlot will¡ª "Yes," he said. "I know. We''ll manage." We always do. Somehow, you have found a way to consistently beat the odds, Xatu said with fondness in her eyes. Abel snorted. "We''re slippery." That, we are. Abel trudged through his room, passing by his suitcases full of cash as he rubbed his bare feet on the soft carpet. He peered through the window and saw sprawling gardens and fountains. The property was surrounded by massive hedges, and those hedges were surrounded by massive walls. Paid guards were everywhere outside of the walls. Most of them knew about the poaching. In fact, before Abel hade, they had been the ones hunting rare wild Pokemon to drug up and send to the Game Corner for profit. Sometimes, trainers'' Pokemon were stolen too, but on much rarer asions. Of course, his arrival had sped things up dramatically. Abel had so expertly masked the hidden section of the mansion. Even inspectors from the League a month ago had found nothing. Servants worked day and night to preserve the garden''s beauty. They truly did good work, didn''t they? The Pokemon Mansion did look beautiful at this time of year, with all the flowers blooming about.
Interlude – Her Stand Interlude ¨C Her Stand
A/N: General trigger warning for this chapter and most chapters until the end of this arc. Think Darkest Day from the Sceon arc. INTERLUDE - HER STAND One week earlier "This is bullshit," Pauline raged. She lifted her leg to kick a wall, but managed to stop herself. "Damn it. For my own good? Fuck you, Denzel." She bit her lip and gripped at her skirt. Two minutes earlier, she had burst into the room with news that Maeve and the others had been anxiously waiting for. Chase, Denzel, Grace, Cecilia and Mira were going to deal with the poachers one way or another, and the rest of them weren''t invited. Pauline let out a long, trembling breath, and Emilia rubbed her back with a mother''s gentleness. Louis'' brows furrowed, but he was silent. Justin was quiet too, although he had the tiniest smile on his face¡ª a relieved one. Maeve? Well, she didn''t really know what to think. On one hand, she hated the fact that her friends were going to risk it all alone, but on the other, she felt relief and understood Justin''s point of view. She liked not risking her life for something that the government should be able to handle. Now if only she could convince them not to go ahead and dive into the Pyroar''s den, she would, but she knew them far too well for that. Grace, Mira and Chase especially. Once they set their minds to something, they were not going to change them. "And they let Mira join?" Pauline hissed. "She has the same number of badges we do! That''s fucking hypocritical!" "Perhaps her psychics and her Porygon would be of better use than your brute force," Justin suggested. When the redhead red at him, he shrugged. "I''m just being objective." That was true enough. Plus, Haunter could hide ces by slipping through reality, so Mira would have her uses. Maeve already knew that they had the ''power'' thing covered anyway, so it wasn''t like adding Pauline''s team to the mix would add much. Sure, she had a Gothitelle, but¡ª "Now what?" Louis asked to fill the dead air. "It''s not like we can stop them." Nope. They couldn''t. Not without doing something they regretted. "The best course of action would be to alert the authorities of what they are nning," Justin suggested. Yikes. Maeve hid a wince. That would be a horrible y that would irreparably destroy their friendships, which was par for the course for Justin. He wasn''t looking at the problem correctly. "Trainers love to solve random bullshit all the time," Pauline sighed. "It won''t work. They''ll let them do it." That was true enough. Maybe Pastoria would want to get the credit, but there''s no way they''d refuse freebor. "So what, then?" Emilia said. "I want to help, but it''s¡­" "Dangerous," Louispleted the sentence. "This is beyond Sceon, and you weren''t even there for that," he said, nodding at Emi. She red back at him, mirroring Pauline''s earlier stare. If the situation hadn''t been so desperate, Maeve would have called them cute together. Louis continued, "I''m sorry, it''s the truth. This is far more dangerous, I''d say, with Abel involved. The Hunters had good Pokemon, but they weren''t good trainers." Maeve tapped a leg against the floor. It could be more dangerous, but they couldn''t be sure. They had no idea how many people were actually in on this and the scale of the poaching operation. "You don''t know that," Pauline said. There you go, Pauline. Maeve hummed in support, which made Pauline''s lips quirk. Pushing conversations from the background like this was not something she had ever done. Louis had no idea if these poachers were actually good trainers or not. As much as Maeve liked him, he was out of line. Granted, she also didn''t want to get involved¡­ argh, why was this soplicated? "I think you''d be lying to yourself. And we''re on the same side here. I want to help too," Louis insisted. "So we should run our own operation parallel to them, then?" Pauline asked. "Justin and I can fly, and we can both carry multiple people for protection, so that''s not a problem. Maeve''s Staraptor can only fit one person, though." They were involving her already? Not that she didn''t want to help, but¡­ gah, this was hard. Could they at least let her sleep on it? She''d dug her own grave by supporting Pauline here, and she didn''t want to attract the redhead''s ire when she was already royally pissed. "Yeah," she shrugged. "I guess I can help." Pauline smirked "Great. If they want to do this the hard way, we''ll do this the hard way¡ª" "But we should probably wait a little," Maeve continued. "We should see what they do first, and shape our operations to help them as much as possible. Right now, you only have the vague n of what Denzel said, right? Scouting and stuff. We need to help, but we don''t want to get in their way." "So you think we should wait a few days?" Emilia asked. Maybe if she bought enough time, then this would all blow over. "Yeah, just to actually figure out all of what they''re going to do. They must have a n beyond try to find the base and bust in. That would be stupid," Maeve said. "Let''s just take a breather, okay? Scouting won''t help if the two groups don''tmunicate about the areas they''ve already been to. There must be another way to help." Pauline crossed her arms and clicked her tongue, but agreed nevertheless. The meeting continued in earnest, with everyone throwing ideas to see what would stick on the wall. Pauline hated the idea of her loved ones being in danger without her being there. Emilia hated the idea of being a scared little girl like she apparently was in the past. Louis wanted to be as helpful as possible. Justin and Maeve were sane forpletely different reasons. Arceus, if only she could get a meeting with Denzel to convince him to bail on this entire thing¡­ "We''ve exhausted most topics," Louis said. "So the n is, try your best to figure out what they''re doing. Spying is a bust. Togekiss, Sigilyph, kazam and Gardevoir can sense people, and sometimes I feel like Grace knows more than she should in that regard too. Maybe we can try to spy on Denzel. He doesn''t have a psychic." "Sylvi''s nice enough, now, so we could do that without being scared he''d strangle us when Denzel isn''t looking," Emilia said in jest. Or was it in jest? Wait, what the hell? She waspletely serious. Still, spying, now? Maeve was at fault for this havinge up, but by the Legendaries, for all she liked Louis this was a terrible idea. Oh well, she wasn''t about to refute them. Maeve was at her best when she sank into the background and followed someone else''s lead. Leading? That was for the others. She was content here, and at least spying on Denzel wouldn''t get them all killed. The meeting dispersed, and Maeve went back into her room. Louis asked if she was alright, but she needed her alone time. The teenager copsed onto her bed with heavy eyes and scrolled through her new phone. It''d take some time to get used to how fresh everything was. There was nog when she opened an app, and the screen wasn''t busted and cracked. There had been a certain familiarity to it that had been lost. She released Gligar, who hopped on her head and picked at strands of her hair with his ws and mouth. Then, Staraptor, who plopped herself down on her pillow fort beside the bed. Starmie rolled below the bed, because he had loved cramped spaces for as long as she''d had him. Drapion was too big to be in the room and Infernape would identally burn stuff down with his fire. Maeve searched her name on Chatter and scrolled until an alert in the forums startled her. Zoey_Miranda (Verified Trainer) Hey. Wyd? Maeve_Chang (Verified Trainer) Big drama with my friends and it feels like a civil war, but nothing much. U? Zoey_Miranda (Verified Trainer) Hope you get thru that ok! Still looking for that Yanma? Maeve_Chang (Verified Trainer) Yeah, no luck yet. Looks like I''ll get way busier from now on, so I won''t be able to catch it for a bit. It sucks when your friends want to y hero and you''re swept in it because you don''t want to let them go through it alone. Zoey_Miranda (Verified Trainer) Wdym by that? Are they gonna y vignte with the poachers? Maeve_Chang (Verified Trainer) No, no one is. We aren''t involving ourselves with them. I was talking about something else. Politics. Zoey_Miranda (Verified Trainer) Aight. Well, tell you what, why dno''t you tell your friends ot go get lost ande with me at the Safari Zone tmr? I can show you around, I''ve been here for a few months. I know where the good spots fro Yamna are. Maeve_Chang (Verified Trainer) Word? Screw it, I''lle, but not tomorrow. We can do it after my battle with Wake, I just want to focus on training atm. I can do one day without all this stress. Zoey_Miranda (Verified Trainer) Sounds good. Let''s meet at Arlyle''s near the docks for lunch first. I''ll send u the address when you''re ready. Maeve smiled through the tiredness. Was she evil for this? It''d be nice to have someone not involved in this to vent to, and it wouldn''t be the first time she''d hung out with Zoey. As soon as Mira had learned about her existence, she''d demanded to have Gardevoir check her out and had found nothing wrong. Zoey had been very anxious about meeting Maeve''s friend, but it had all gone without a hitch. She''d lied about the poachers and would have to stay quiet, but she had far more worries than that, and they were mostly about time in the Circuit running out. Part of her considered going tomorrow to look for Yanma anyway, but it would be best to focus on Crasher Wake for now. She couldn''t afford to mess around, not when she was consistently the underdog. At some point, she dropped her phone on her chest and fell asleep to the sound of her Pokemon. ¡ª "Come on, pal." Maeve held out her first, and Infernape bumped his into hers. How warm, she thought. He had kept her from freezing numerous nights together, from his early days as a Chimchar up until now. Maeve pped his shoulder and congratted him. After all, he had just managed to take down Starmie in one of their spars, and it had long been a goal of his to do so. Granted, Starmie hadn''t been allowed to use his psychic type attacks, but a win was a win. Zoey had suggested that training alone might do her some good, and to be honest, the novelty of it all made it feel like she was progressing faster. Maeve hadn''t been one to make her Pokemon spar very often, but the progress they''d made in two days was significant. Her Pokemon had grown too used to Louis'' and Justin''s, and having a new training regimen would do them some good. Grace having suggested the beach was awesome for her too. The swampy arena was full a lot these days, and this ce was empty. Her friend was busy meeting Mudsdale every day, but the next time Maeve saw her, she would thank her a thousand times. Her battle with Crasher Wake was tomorrow, and the nerves were starting to get to her. What if I lose? Then it would be all over, and she would feel like aplete failure despite that not being the case. She was negotiating with a shoe brand to sponsor her, and things were looking up money-wise. Now, all she needed to do was win, and everything would be alright. Everything would be alright. Infernape pped her shoulder, the me on his head dimming slightly. Trust in yourself, it felt like he was saying. The fire type grunted, giving her a thumbs up and shing his sharp fangs. "We''ll win," she smiled. "I trust in you, and myself. Do you trust me?" Infernape grinned, as if to say he always had and always would. Maeve slid her arms around her starter. The me on his head was ufortably hot, but she didn''t care. Infernape loved her, as did her other Pokemon. They did not judge her for her performance, they did not judge her for how quiet she was, they did not judge her for being Maeve. There was something about that that made her want to cry. The next day, Maeve won her Gym Battle by the skin of her teeth. ¡ª Six dayster Zoey was a lot of fun. She wasn''t always joking around like Mira was, but Maeve still appreciated her awkward friendliness. They''d hung out a few times the past few days while Maeve waited for her team to heal¡ª so much so that Maeve had to stop herself from being too clingy. Having a normal friend felt so good. Plus, when would she ever have another chance to give someone battling advice? That basically hadn''t happened in thest two months! Spending time with Zoey also helped Maeve not obsess over this poacher issue. Just like in Sceon, it seemed like her friends were going to take things into their own hands. Now that Grace had her Pokemon again, she roamed Pastoria''s streets absent-mindedly when she wasn''t with Mudsdale. Cecilia and Denzel often patrolled route 212 on her Golurk''s back. Goodness, the ground type was so loud when he flew that he sounded like a military jet. Chase also scouted on Sigilyph. Thankfully, they hadn''t found anything so far. Sunyshore had been a nice little reset for her. A city where everything had been so normal she could cry. She had forgotten what normal felt like. It had been like tasting her mother''s cooking after having spent years abroad or something. Nostalgic. Zoey reminded her of the normal she so desperately craved. "Whatcha thinking about?" Zoey bent down to loom over Maeve with her hands behind her back. "The trouble with your friends?" "Kinda," Maeve muttered. "Like I said, the group''s having a bit of a civil war, and I honestly want nothing to do with it," she found her words. Zoey was also a great listener, and she''d learned a lot about Maeve''s troubles. The fact that she was from outside of the group meant that she was also easy to vent to, for some reason. "It''s private, though." Zoeyughed. "Duh! I wasn''t going to ask, or anything." Maeve nodded. "I know, I know. Sorry. You''ve been a good friend¡­ are we friends yet?" "I''d hope so!" "Then we are." Maeve smiled and checked on her new phone. It was almost time to go into the Safari Zone to find her Yanma. Zoey had also surprisingly not had any ulterior motives. At first, Maeve had let Justin''s words get to her and thought Zoey had just been trying to use her as a stepping zone to make connections, but she hadn''t even bothered to ask about them beyond surface-level stuff, and that was only when Maeve brought them up first. "Thanks for the help, by the way," Maeve continued. "This Yanma thing is eluding me. I''ve been looking every damn day and I''ve only found one that instantly run away." "The Yanma line''s pretty fast. Some of them even have Speed Boost, which is a pretty nifty ability," she said. "Why do you think I''m trying to catch one?" Maeve smirked, speeding up her pace. "My team''scking a true speedster, at the moment. I mean, Infernape and Staraptor are pretty fast, but¡ª" "They can''t go as fast as you want," shepleted the sentence. "I get ya. We''ll get you your Yanma, no worries." "You said they were in zone five?" Maeve asked. "Well, four and five. You kept to zone three and less because they''re safer, but I promise you that zone four isn''t bad, so we''ll stick to there. I mean, I''ll have a hard time there, but you''ve got six badges now." "I mean, I only beat Maylene''s trainer, not her," Maeve said under her breath. "A badge is a badge. Six badges in your first year? I keep telling you that you''re a great trainer, but you keep moping about it." She was right. A badge was a badge. It felt good to have someone to back her up like this. Mira was too busy to hang out with her these days, but even then they never talked about how Maeve was a good trainer. Am I a crybaby for wanting my ego to be satiated? She thought with a jerk of her arm. "Speaking of badges, why''d you stop collecting them?" Maeve asked. "You''ve beaten Maylene and Volkner, but you haven''t been trying Wake at all." Zoey''s lips went t, then stretched back into her usual smile. "I just don''t have the drive or talent for it," she answered after a short pause. "Better leave that to the prodigies like you." Maeve snorted. "I''m no prodigy." "Okay, maybe not, but you''re good and I''m not. Battling is all Kalosian to me. I understand none of it, even though your advice has helped a little." "So you''ll give Wake a try?" She paused again. "We''ll see." Maeve and Zoey entered the Safari Zone outpost the minute the clock struck two in the afternoon. They had gone to sign up there yesterday and had managed to nab two of thest remaining spots for the day. Now that there were news that Abel was hanging around the Great Marsh, the activity there had plummeted, and the city was no doubt going to be economically hurt by this. They listened to the not-Ranger''s spiel, and after a thirty-minute ss, they were let into the Marsh. Maeve released her Staraptor, who at this point was used to the routine of them flying around the Safari Zone. She eyed Zoey and let out a hesitant cry. "Think she''ll be too heavy?" Maeve asked. Star nodded. Zoey shoved her hands into her pockets. "Bummer. It''ll be a big waste of time to walk to zone four, but I guess it''s the only way. I hope you don''t mind getting your clothes dirty." "I mean, we could have her take turns flying us," Maeve said. "Nah, better you have your flier with you in case of an emergency." "Fair enough." Avoiding the mud and water was basically impossible, so Maeve resigned to her fate. She released Starmie so that the psychic type would be able to sense any Pokemon attacking. Starmie hated getting his gem dirty, but he was willing to sacrifice hisfort if he could help Maeve get her sixth Pokemon. Star was flying overhead, keeping herself busy and stretching her wings after a long night in her Pokeball. Maeve groaned when her foot got stuck in a deep pit of mud. "Damn, this is awful," she sighed. "You know, you can release your Pokemon if you want." "Pansear and Furret would hate this," she said. "I''ll release them if you need any help with your capture. I doubt a six-badger will have trouble knocking out a Yanma, though." "I don''t n on knocking it out. I want to convince it to join me," Maeve quickly specified. "Oh. Right, my bad." "Don''t worry. I know it''s ingrained in the culture to catch Pokemon that way, but I''m trying to be better. Grace is right on that point. We treat our own Pokemon with respect¡­ or most of us do anyway. So why not afford that to the wild ones? They aren''t any different." Zoey snorted, and Maeve couldn''t help but think she heard a smidge of dismissiveness. "Going to join the UPAN like her?" "You know about that?" "Well you told me about the problem with politics in your friend group and she''s all over the inte all the time, so it''d be hard to miss her getting involved." "I assume you don''t like the UPAN?" Maeve guessed as she stepped back onto drynd. Her jeans and legs were soaked in dirty water, and so were Zoey''s. "I don''t involve myself in politics." "I mean, at this point it''s justmon decency, not politics," Maeve said. Zoey stayed quiet for a few seconds, then let out a half-hearted grunt. Was she really going to fight her on this? Maeve''s shoulders ufortably twitched upward. Zoey was a friend, but¡­ her moral fiber wasn''t quite all there. They meshed well together, but Mira never would have said something like that. All of her Pokemon save for Haunter hade to her willingly during her journey. Maeve''s eyes drifted to her own Pokeballs. It was hard not to regret the way she''d caught her own Pokemon now that she knew better. Infernape was a gift from her parents, and by Gligar, she''d known that convincing Pokemon to join her was better, but all of her Pokemon in-between? Staraptor, Drapion, Starmie? She''d knocked them out before catching them. Only Star had been in a group, and she''d taken the longest to forgive her. Did she even deserve forgiveness? Maeve thought as she stared at her flying type high in the sky. She stopped when the sun shone in her eyes and blinked to chase away the light imprints. "Look, I''m sorry," Zoey said, waving a hand. "I''ll try to be better, okay? Let''s just keep going. The faster we get you your Yanma, the better." Relief flooded her veins. "Thank you." It took forty minutes of arduous travel to reach zone four, and they quickly got started looking for a Yanma. At times, Maeve would hear loud buzzing and have Staraptor fly toward the sound, but it was always something else. Ledyba had been thetest culprit. After thirty more minutes of searching Star finally located a Yanma. She directed them to the bug type, who was fanning its wings on a tree and looked not to have spotted them yet. How would she do this without a psychic? Starmie weren''t capable of telepathy to trante, and Zoey didn''t have one either. Wanting to do this on her own mighte back to bite her. Maeve cupped her mouth. "Hello! Please don''t be scared!" She quickly added. Yanma had been about to fly off and had summoned afterimages to confuse her, but it paused and hovered in the air. "My name is Maeve Chang! I''m a trainer and you should join me! We have a lot of fun!" Yanme tilted its head. Too straightforward, maybe? Zoey had her hands in her pockets and just observed. "I want to get badges and be a great trainer," she continued with outstretched arms. "If you enjoy fighting, we do that a lot." She stopped and whispered to Staraptor and Starmie. "Here, guys, do your pitch." Starmie clicked in quick session, while Staraptor was content to mostly listen, intervening every so often to no doubt correct something. Yanma seemed interested by their words, its wings fluttering in excitement at random intervals. "I have other Pokemon too, but I don''t want to release them to scare you. An Infernape, Drapion and Gligar. You''d be my sixth." Yanma screeched, but it was apparently a good screech, because Staraptor cackled with a wing over her mouth. Maybe it had told a joke? But it still wasn''t enough. Maeve needed something to push Yanma over the edge. "How about a one-week trial period?" She asked. "If you don''t like it, I''lle here to release you, and we''ll forget this ever happened. I don''t know how I can get you to trust that I would release you, but¡­" The bug type happily nodded to that suggestion, and dipped its head¡ª telling Maeve to catch it? "Can I catch you?" Maeve asked. Yanma nodded, and Maeve grinned. The Pokeball dinged without any hitches and Maeve released Yanma again to scan her, praying for the Speed Boost ability. Passingly, he was also a male. Yanma, the Clear Wing Pokemon. Yanma is capable of seeing 360 degrees without having to move its eyes. It is a great flier that is adept at making sudden stops and turning midair. This Pokemon uses its flying ability to quickly chase down targeted prey. Moves: Quick Attack, Double Team, Air Cutter, Supersonic, Detect, Bug Bite, Whirlwind, Uproar Ability: Speed Boost Yes! Even without Speed Boost, she would have kept him and worked with him, but she couldn''t deny that getting the ability she wanted was a plus. She told Yanma they''d talkter and recalled him. Maeve turned away from Zoey to grab a water bottle for the both of them. It was hot, and it was important to stay hydrated. Might as well grab some for Star too, she mused. Staraptor, not Starmie. Her simple nicknaming style hade to bite her, and even Zoey had been confused at first. Since she''d caught Staraptor before Starmie, the flying type got the nickname first. Maeve snickered to herself as she grabbed the bottles out of her bag. "Hey Zoey, do you want some¡ª" The sound a Pokemon made when being released from a Pokeball was not something Maeve could ever miss. The hiss, followed by the pop as the device opened was so iconic at this point that everyone associated them with Pokeballs. Maeve turned toward Zoey. Maeve''s smile fell. Dread overtook her¡ª so potent she could feel it oozing around her skin, clinging to every inch like a physical thing, making the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end. Her fingers twitched, yet they felt frozen at the same time, and the water bottles fell on the ground with a soft thud, rolling off of the ind and into the swamp. Maeve''s feet shifted in the grass and her throat felt so dry. Zoey stood with a Feraligatr and a Swampert nking her. Her usual smile had faded, having been reced by a hardened stare. Staraptornded in front of Maeve with a loud crash and spread her wings protectively while Starmie let out a series of confused clicks. Upon closer inspection, Feraligatr and Swampert didn''t look normal either. Their eyes were bloodshot, and foam constantly spewed out of their mouths. Thick veins shining turquoise under their skin ran the length of their bodies. "Uh, Zoey?" Maeve asked, desperate to keep her voice from trembling. "That''s not a Pansear and a Furret¡ª" "Don''t move," Zoey warned. "If you even touch your Pokeballs or try to get onto Staraptor, I''ll kill you. Keep your Pokemon back. Do not scream." How, how, how, how? Mira had vetted her and made sure she wasn''t involved with the poachers! Had she fooled Gardevoir''s truthtelling abilities? She must have! Had Grace been wrong too? "Zoey, I don''t¡ª I don''t understand¡ª" "Listen to me. Slowly unclip your Pokeballs and let them drop to the ground. If I see you release even one of them, you''re dead." So everything had been fake, then. Maeve felt tears well up into her eyes, both because she''d been tricked and because of the danger she was in. Her bottom lip quivered until she bit it. "W¡ªwhy?" She stammered. "Just do as I say, and you''ll live!" Maeve''s heart pounded against her ribcage. Could she call for help? No, she''d said no screaming. Starmie? Her eyes drifted toward the psychic, who was fidgeting and clearly didn''t know what to do. She slowly¡ª excruciatingly slowly moved her hand toward her belt as she thought¡ª "Get a fucking move on!" Zoey snarled. "You told me slowly!" "Well faster than that!" Not too slow, then. She sped up a little and gulped. Zoey didn''t have a dark or a psychic type. Could Starmie assault her mind to kill her? Kill? Yes, kill! Now wasn''t the time to have her fucking reservations! Zoey was a damn poacher! Gligar''s Pokeball dropped into the mud, and Star nced at Maeve, who kept her eyes staring at Zoey. Think, you worthless piece of shit! There was no one around, and they hadn''t seen anyone for thest twenty minutes. Maybe she could stall and hope someone would wander here? But that depended on luck¡ª what about hopping on Staraptor and flying away, hoping for the best? But she''d already dropped Gligar''s Pokeball, and she''d have to recall Starmie from the air too. Fuck! FUCK! "Are you sure you''ll let me live?" Maeve asked. Not her priority, at the moment, but she needed to y the scared little girl and buy any extra seconds to get her to think, which wasn''t hard considering how utterly terrified she was. Part of her worried that her hands trembled so much she''d release a Pokemon on ident and get herself killed, but she needed more time. "Yes." Maeve paused. "Was everything a lie?" "Get a fucking move on!" Why not just kill Maeve if she wanted to steal her Pokemon? There was no way she was an actual fan. Maybe killing people would force the League into action instead of the half-job they''d been doing so far. Better not to rustle too many feathers? She dropped Yanma''s Pokeball onto the ground. She was running out of time. Feraligatr and Swampert were barely holding on. Somehow, Zoey could control them. How strong even were they? They''d clearly been drugged up with something¡ª "Psychic on her!" The words flew out of her mouth before she realized what she''d said. Starmie''s gem shone, and Zoey copsed on her knees as she gripped her head. Maeve expected her head to basically explode, but instead all she got was a nosebleed. How?! A mental shield? Her actions were quicker than her train of thought, and she leaned against the ground to release the rest of her team just in time for Feraligatr and Swampert to spring into action. She decided to keep Yanma in his ball. "Motherfucker!" Zoey growled, still clenching her head. "Target her flier first!" With a snarl that was more monstrous than Pokemon, Feraligatr and Swampert swept forward. Swampert easily glided through the mud while Feraligatr slipped and slid, stumbling on the way to them. The ground type opened his mouth, and a giant, foamy jet of water mmed into Stapartor before she could fly off and sent her tumbling toward the water. What came next made Maeve''s heart drop even further than she thought was possible. Zoey grabbed a radio from her bag and called for backup. Starmie tried to break bones instead, but somehow, no psychic type moves worked on her, and all Zoey got was pain in her arms. "Drapion!" Maeve yelled. The poison type moved in front of them and grappled Swampert with his two pincers, stabbing into his arms to inject as much poison as possible. The water type didn''t even flinch, as if it waspletely impervious to pain. Instead, it gripped Drapion''s arm and pulled, yanking the first pincer away, not caring for the huge chunk of flesh the w tore on the way out. They weren''t manipting the water around her, or the mud. Were they too drugged up to use anything but the simplest moves? Starmie switched from assaulting Zoey''s mind and body to stopping Feraligratr when it got too close. The crocodile mmed into his Psychic, but it was so strong. Infernape moved in, finding his footing on the mud and mmed a fiery punch into the water type''s gut. "Gligar, Pin Missile her!" If Zoey wanted Maeve to kill her, then she would y ball and worry about the repercussionster. She had already murdered one person in Sceon during the Darkest Day and she would rather live on and carry the weight of her actions than die a sinless girl. Sharp needles exploded out of Gligar''s back as he hovered in the air, and Zoey gritted her teeth. There was panic in her eyes, like she hadn''t expected Maeve to actually strike her. "Swampert, get back here now!" Her voice snapped the ground type out of his daze, but Drapion mmed a Poison Jab into Swampert''s gut and kept him locked in ce with a Vise Grip. Swampert would have to tear away the flesh if it wanted to get back to its trainer. Zoey bit her lip and started to run, jumping at the moment to dodge the Pin Missile. That didn''t stop five of them from tearing through her leg, turning it into a bloodied mess. Zoey let out a pain-filled, harrowing scream that made Maeve''s heart wrench and crawled backward. Her screams only made Feraligatr grow fiercer. Blood fell out of his nose, mouth and eyes due to Starmie''s psychic, but his muscles bulged beyond what should have been possible and he broke through the Psychic attack. "Infer¡ª" He was already on it. "Thunderbolt!" She yelled at Starmie. Infernape''s me surged, and Maeve felt the heat tickle her skin. She gasped when Feraligatr simply elbowed him away like a piece of stic. Infernape cried out, sending spit and blood out of his mouth. The crack in his skull that followed made Maeve''s throat tighten. Electricity burst from Starmie, finally stopping Feraligatr in his tracks while Gligar shed across his back before continuing toward Zoey to finish her off. "Keep your distance!" Maeve yelled. The flying type extended his wings to stop in midair, and another set of Pin Missiles exploded out of him. Swampert shot him out of the sky with a quick Ice Beam, freezing his wings. Staraptor finally crawled out of the water with a broken wing. Out ofmission. Infernape was unconscious on the ground and blood pooled from his head. Out ofmission. She recalled both of them and bit down on her tongue until she drew blood to focus. She quickly recalled Gligar before Swampert could hit him with a Hydro Pump and released him next to her again. "Brine. Aim for Zoey," Maeve told Starmie. "Drapion, Venoshock. You''ll lose in closebat. Gligar, keep using Pin Missile¡ª" "Kill her!" Zoey cried out with her voice full of hatred as she held onto her stump. The sight of it made Maeve want to gag, but she swallowed the bile that made its way up her throat. Pin Missile would keep Swampert pinned to her. Case in point, the ground type used a Protect to keep her from dying from both Pin Missile and the Brine. Feraligatr was the only one they had to worry about, then. Drapion spat out a huge glob of poison at Feraligatr''s face, melting his eye and into the water type''s flesh. He wasn''t holding back for this one. Still, Feraligatr ignored what would have been debilitating, and his muscles swelled again. Starmie hit him with another Thunderbolt that barely slowed him down, and Feraligatr grabbed onto Drapion''s arm and pulled as his muscles bulged again¡ª Green blood spewed from Drapion''s arm stump, and Maeve nearly copsed. She wanted to puke, to scream, to cry, to give up¡ª but she had to take a stand. Ditto cells can fix that if he gets to the Center fast enough, she reminded herself. Maeve called out to Drapion, who, although delirious from what had just happened, blinded Feraligatr with another pressurized jet of poison. Swampert wasn''t idle, either. A Hydro Pump stopped inches from Maeve''s face thanks to Staryu''s Psychic, but the move had so much force that a few droplets hit her face¡ª "Argh!" The world went dark. Sharp pain all over her face. She couldn''t breathe, she couldn''t open her eyes, she coouldn''t stop herself from falling and rolling into the mud. Maeve wed at her face, and the sound around her grew so distant. She slowly opened an eye and ran a hand on her face. It was wet¡ª a distant burst of light, and a roar from Feraligatr¡ª she drew a strained breath when she looked at her hands and realized it was wet with blood. She spat out a mouthful to try to get the metallic taste out of her mouth, but more kepting every time. She couldn''t feel her face beyond a numbed sting. Maeve crawled back as close to the edge of the ind as she could and grabbed her bag. Feraligatr''s legs were more bones than flesh, but even when it couldn''t walk and couldn''t see, it still tried to w anywhere it could. Swampert was in a better state, but it was constrained to stick close to Zoey, or Gligar would kill her. Maeve send a half-coherent text to Mira and then called the police. "Pastoria Police Department, what is your emergency?" How the hell did talking work again? Maeve grunted, then coughed. "I''m¡ª I''m getting attacked by¡ª" She flinched, instinctively protecting her face with her hand. Instead of stopping theing Hydro Pump, Starmie deflected it and allowed it to hit the water. "By a trainer¡ª a poacher in the Safari Zone. I''m in zone four," she stopped to cough. "Please help." "We''re on our way. Stay on the line with me, okay? The officers are tracking your phone. What Pokemon does your assant have, and could you assess their level for me?" "Feraligatr and Swampert," she exhaled. "They''re stronger than my Pokemon and drugged up, I have five badges. I think¡ª think I''m¡ª I''m going to pass out. My face is hu¡ªurt." The operator said something, but it faded into the background. Maeve''s vision shifted back to the battle. Feraligatr was dead. Drapion has kept melting off its body with poison even after it had fallen unconscious, and it was now a pile of disgusting bones and flesh on the ground that wasn''t even recognizable to her. Maeve threw up on the mud when the smell hit her. Like rotten meat mixed with noxious fumes. Zoey didn''t seem to care. They weren''t hers. The drugs made them listen, somehow. Drapion was barely able to function, spitting out poison at anything that moved, including trees and the water and her own Pokemon. Maeve recalled him before he could identally hurt her. Zoey bared her teeth, still gripping her stump. "I didn''t think you had it in you to go for the kill," she said with a bloodied mouth. She stopped when more Pin Missiles washed over Swampert''s Protect. "Little fucking Maeve Chang, aiming for the throat. I should have studied you more." There was panic in her voice. She was terrified, just like her. "Fuck¡­ you¡­" Maeve groaned. If you''d known what I''ve gone through, you would have fucking figured it out, you bitch. Help would Teleport in any minute now, but they''d have no way to appear to her exact location unless they''d been here before, Maeve thought with a tired sigh. Her eyelids were so heavy¡ª stay awake! Stay the fuck awake, Maeve! The battle was at a stalemate. They couldn''t breach Swampert''s Protect, and it couldn''t hurt them with its attacks. She balked when a Hypno and a woman in her twenties Teleported into the swamp. She''d forgotten about the backup! Hypno cleaned its pendulum with its fur as it studied the battlefield while the woman approached with a heavy step¡ª then a blur! Darkness submerged her hand, and she punched Starmie right in his gen, knocking him out. Gligar tried to gain some height, but she jumped and grabbed him by the tail, mming him against the ground when shended. She raked across his chest with more darkness to finish him off. Zoroark. Her friends had warned her about it, and she was here now. "Ah, Zoey," the woman said. She crouched at Feraligatr''s corpse and bared her teeth in anger like a Pokemon instead of a human. She touched the dead water type''s flesh and dipped her head, then stood up again. "You know, I''ve always wondered why you would target her out of all people. You know the people she''s friends with have connections." "She called the cops! Get us out of here!" Zoey cried out, ignoring her. Zoroark looked at her in disgust. "Answer the question." "Infernape¡­" Zoey choked. "Please get me out of here. Please. I''ve lost so much blood, I think I''m¡ª dying." Zoey pointed to Infernape''s Pokeball, and Maeve''s heart dropped and she muttered a choked ''no'', but Zoroark did note to steal her Pokemon. Instead, the dark type just shot Maeve a sorry look. She ordered Zoey to recall her Swampert, then spoke again. "Hypno, get us out of here." An eye appeared above Hypno''s head that Maeve feltpelled not to stare at. She sobbed, her head t against the mud as she crawled in a desperate attempt to get them not to escape. If she could buy time for the cops to get here¡­ a chill crept up her spine as the Miracle Eye reached its apex, and everyone winked out of existence¡ª Not everyone. Zoey was still there. She''d been abandoned. But why? The police would be able to question her¡ª Arceus, her entire face burned. "No¡­ no, no, no, no!" Zoey cried out. "NO! Pansear¡­ Furret¡­" Zoey sobbed. Serves you right. Help arrived exactly fifty secondster. They put Zoey under arrest and grabbed Swampert''s Pokeball. Maeve felt hands grab onto her, and after a few minutes of questions that she didn''t have the strength to answer, and some kind of first-aid she was too dazed to feel, both she and Zoey were hoisted into a helicopter. She passed out somewhere in the air. ¡ª Where was she? A falling feeling snapped Maeve back awake, and when she saw that she was in a hospital bed, she realized none of this had been a dream. Her heart dropped when her Pokeballs weren''t by her side, but she calmed down when she read the post-it note attached to her desk. Your Pokemon are with the Nurse Joys. Thank Arceus, they were still with her. Zoey''sment on Infernape''s skills seemed so sinister now. All of thepliments were because she''d wanted to steal him. Maeve clenched at her bedsheets and cried for what felt like an eternity, but she was too tired to even do that properly. Maeve ran a hand over her face and winced. It hurt, but less. She paused when her hand passed over a soft dip on her skin, then another, and another. With a trembling hand, she grabbed her phone, still damp from her time in the swamp, and she unlocked her camera. Lines. Red lines ran on her face, thin gashes that hade from that fragment of Hydro Pump that had hit her. One from her right cheek to her forehead, one over the ridge of her nose, and one at the corner of the right side of her lip. Another running from her jaw to her ear¡ª and so many more. Her face felt numb, and the pain was dulled, probably due to whatever was going into her system through that IV drip. Maeve sniffled, dropping her brand new phone on the cold hospital tiles, and the screen shattered. Twenty secondster, an rmed nurse entered the room. Her words were far away, even when she was close. After picking up her phone and its shattered screen, she called for more personnel, and they ran a few checks on her. She was going to be fine, they repeated. The lines on her face would fade in a few months, and only the deepest ones would stick, so at maximum she would keep only a few scars from this. They called it a miracle. Her stomach still felt like it had sunk into the deepest pits of hell. It was hard, to push yourself when you did not have Shiftry''s domain to let you not care. For an instant, Maeve wished she was Justin. He''d be picking himself up without a hitch while she¡­ well, she didn''t know what to do. The person who did this to you was arrested, the nurses and doctors kept telling her. She''ll go to jail as soon as her wounds are treated. Zoey was gone and would be put behind bars, but the fact that Maeve had been tricked so easily by the first person to give her any attention said so much more about her than she''d wanted to know. She had risked so much today. Almost lost Infernape. Had Zoroark not spared her from this fate, then she wouldn''t even have been able to think of how much grief would have destroyed her. She didn''t know why Zoroark had even done so, but she could only thank the Legendaries. That was the true miracle. Not some fucking scars on her face. Her friends came an hour after the nurses and the police officers asking her questions, mostly because they wanted to make sure Maeve was ready for visitors, and they would only let them see her one by one. Pauline, Denzel, Emilia, Louis, even Chase came in. Most of them had simr reactions. They apologized for letting this happen to her, which made Maeve even angrier, although she hid it well. This was on her. At least Chase told her she did well, kicking Zoey''s ass. Justin surprisingly came too, and disyed more emotion than she''d ever seen out of him since the Darkest Day. He hadn''t cried like a baby like Louis, but he was shaken. Like when Corviknight had almost died to Louis'' Vespiquen, from the way her crush had described it. Even Lauren swung by, having gotten to Pastoria two days ago, although she only said a few words the entire meeting. Cecilia was hard to gauge. They were friends, but never that close due to having different cliques. Maeve couldn''t help but think she wasn''t even looking at her, but at something far away. Calcting. It was somewhat terrifying. Mira was inconsble. She med herself for everything. Had Gardevoir found something wrong with Zoey, then none of this would have happened. She was a sobbing mess when she entered, and the same when she left. Maeve thought that she was used to getting hurt more than people around her being hurt. Grace wasst toe in. She walked swiftly, even with her crutches at her side. It was like she glid across the hospital floor, as if every step had meaning. "Maeve." There was an unsettling rage in her eyes that Maeve had never seen before. Blink, and you''d miss it, but her face was also utterly still and rxed. It was as if she let the rage fill her and did not even try to fight it. She was rage, and rage was her. Grace''s voice was steady, almost too calm for the way Maeve knew she actually felt. The blonde sat next to her, dragging her chair close and tightly sping one of her hands. "Zoey Miranda did this to you," Grace said. It was more a statement than a question. "Yes." It was a simple answer, but what else to say? She''d almost died because she was so much of a loser that she trusted the first stranger to give herpliments. "I''m sorry¡­ I killed Feraligatr. It¡ª they were drugged, and probably didn''t know what was happening. Drapion was out of control after getting his arm ripped out, and I was in too much pain to tell him to stop¡ª" "Feraligatr''s death is a tragedy," she spoke. "But it is also not on you." The scarred trainer stared right into Maeve''s eyes, her own unblinking. "Zoey was just one facet of the entire operation," Grace said. "We''ll get her to tell us where the poaching base is. Since Zoey isn''t part of Team Gctic, the League has no authority to rip out her memories like she deserves. She''s sitting pretty in her hospital bed and has policemen guarding her, and odds are, she''s not going to talk to the cops." The next statement was left unsaid, but it was obvious. She was going to do something about it. "Grace, you shouldn''t¡ª" "I should," she interrupted. "The people who had her do this to you? The people in charge that revel in evil and give the orders? I''ll kill them. I owe it to you, to Alex, to Carnivine and to Croagunk. I owe it to the trainers who had their Pokemon stolen. Them being gone will be a good for the world. The tools? The one that carried out the orders? I''ll have them rot in prison to pay the long price like Harry Rodriguez." Maeve gulped. Not one bit of hesitation in there. "I won''t be the one to cry for them," she finally said. "But the Poketch Company and the danger¡­" Grace sped her hand tighter. "I''m tired of events happening to me or the people I love, Maeve," she said. "I want to happen to people before the thought of hurting my friends even pops into their heads. No one will know. The League will keep things hidden." Maeve did not know how she nned on getting Zoey to talk, let alone get to speak to her when the police wouldn''t let them do so. They wouldn''t let anyone get close, let alone friends of the victim. Maeve sighed. "Just be careful, okay? I''m¡­ I''m alright. I just need a few days to recuperate and get my thoughts in order." Grace''s face did not change, but her eyes softened. "You''re lying. Take a breather," she said. "I''ll have the poachers pay their due." The blonde girl sat up, crutches in hand. She was the only one that had not asked Maeve how she was, or even expressed a few words of worry. There was only the thought of revenge consuming her like a relentless fire burning deep within her soul, and it would not end until she had the culprits'' heads on a pike. So simple, and yet so terrifying all the same. "That was a promise," she said as she pushed the door open.
Chapter 261 – Opening Moves Chapter 261 ¨C Opening Moves
CHAPTER 261 - Opening Moves Hatred, true hatred was an emotion I''d felt only a few times in my life. Saturn, Mars, and Amy were the only people I had on my list until today, and Zoey had been added to it now that she had tried to kill my friend. Maeve''s Pokemon had almost been stolen. Her Drapion''s arm had been ripped out, and it would take almost a month for the Ditto cells to regrow it, basically knocking her out of the Circuit by destroying her chances of making it to the Conference. Regrowing a Pokemon''s limb, while possible, was not an easy affair, and the new limb would be delicate for weeks afterward. The marks on Maeve''s face would scar, and I knew how difficult dealing with those was, even if she had acted like she was fine. It stuck with you, and it took months for you to be yourself again. Zoey Miranda was worth less than some dirt on my shoe. From the questions Denzel had asked Maeve, the Feraligatr and Swampert she had fought against had been drugged. They were being made to fight against their consent, and one of them had died because of it. No amount ofst-minute pleading would change that her actions needed consequences. "No leniency," I said. "We went over the n, Denzel. This girl is evil and is lucky I can''t lodge a drill in her forehead. Actually, that would be too quick. Painless. She deserves no such mercy." My best friend shook his head. "You cannot think like that, Grace. She cried for her Pokemon. Furret and Pansear exist, and they''re most likely in danger." "Do circumstances absolve you from your actions if those actions are evil?" I asked with a tilt of my head. "Should she get a p on the wrist because her eyes secreted a few tears?" "No, but¡ª" "Enough about moral quandaries!" Mira snapped, shooting up from Denzel''s bed. "We have our n. Now, we execute, but first, we need to talk about Abel." "Why did Zoroark let Maeve''s Pokemon go, and why did she not save Zoey Miranda," Cecilia nodded. "It is evident to me that he wanted her to get arrested." Mira snapped her fingers and pointed at Cecilia. "Correct. And if she''s arrested, then the cops will question her, but she isn''t talking to the cops so far, and Abel is smart enough to know that that was a possibility. He wouldn''t leave that much to chance, no? No," she added, as if to reaffirm her own statement. "Whoever Zoey is working for, they probably coached her on staying silent to the police should she ever get caught," Cecilia said, crossing her arms. "Unless a plea deal of some kind is made, I don''t see her ever confessing." "Even then, why would she target Maeve?" Chase asked with a frown. "She should know that we don''t fuck around. Maeve doesn''t fuck around either." "And she should know that the League protects you guys to some extent," Denzel added, much to Chase''s displeasure. "What? I''m just saying, you have friends in high ces." "Friends I don''t want," Chase grumbled. "These questions are impossible to answer until we talk to the man himself," Mira said. Her eyes were still red from all the crying, but she''d thrown herself into workshopping a n with us and our psychics, and that had distracted her from our failure to warn Maeve ahead of time. It was just as much her fault as it was mine. "The thing we can be sure about is that the bitch was meant to get caught." "Okay. So now what?" Chase asked. "Lauren is here. Do we involve her?" "No time to waste," I said. "Bringing her up to speed would take too long, and we don''t even know if she''d join us, and we aren''t even sure if the ACE Trainers will protect you yet," I said, nudging my head at my best friend. "Also, we can recover from any potential hit we''d take from our actions thanks to the League, and they can''t. And it''s too many people to watch over and protect. Two drugged Pokemon almost got Maeve killed. They''ll only slow us down. Denzel, remember not to kill anyone." "You really didn''t have to remind me," he said. "And don''t forget, Grace. Only the people in charge. The employees, you can knock out and they can go to prison." I nodded. "I know. That was already the n." "I''m just making sure. You can''t¡­ lose yourself to your more bloodthirsty ways, okay?" Honestly, I was surprised he wasn''t fighting me on this. It wasn''t like he didn''t want to. I could see it in his eyes. Denzel was my best friend, but he was too soft. It was surprising to even myself, how easily I had made the vow to kill. I had done so with Saturn, but this was much closer and more tangible. Cynthia had told me once, that the first time was always the hardest, as if she''d known I would do so again. Sceon seemed so far away now. Now, at the very least, I knew that when I met Team Gctic again, I wouldn''t flinch at what had to be done. "We have a n," Cecilia said. "We have a timeline." "Now, we execute," Mira exhaled. ¡ª "Let us through, fall asleep and after all is said and done, forget this ever happened." An invisible power roiled around Chase''s mouth, and the two cops standing guard in front of Zoey''s room became dull and silently nodded before lying down on the floor. We had thirty minutes, now. Less, probably, due to theplexity of the order. Luckily, this hall had been cleared thanks to Zoey needing to be protected from us or the public. The public wanted her dead, at the moment. It was the dead of night, and we''d infiltrated the Pokemon Center''s hospital where Zoey was stationed. Infiltrated was a big word, because trainers were technically allowed here at all times of day because of its adjacency to the Pokemon Center. Not many people worked the graveyard shift, so it was just a matter of waiting for the right opportunity. Cecilia opened the door to Zoey Miranda''s room, and it took everything I had in me not to imagine the hundreds of ways I could kill her. She was sleeping. Fucking sleeping. This bitch deserved nothing more but to rot in hell. Her foot was fortunately no longer attached to her bandaged leg, so at least I could revel in the fact that she''d be a cripple for the rest of her life. Chase huffed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, and Mira pped Maeve''s assant awake, leaving a red imprint on her face. "Wakey, wakey," the pink-haired girl said. She had cried until she had run out of tears, and now she wanted answers. We all wanted answers. Zoey groggily opened her eyes, then they widened when they saw that we were in her room. Just as she was about to scream¡ª Mira clicked her tongue. "No, no, no. I don''t think you understand the situation you''re in." Haunter appeared next to Zoey, ghostly tongue lolling out of his mouth. He brought it to an inch of her face, and the tall brte recoiled. "Good. Stay quiet," Mira smiled. "Trust me, if you would have screamed, there isn''t much I could have done to stop Grace from cutting you." "That''s still on the table," I said, enjoying the weight of the hatchet I carried. The same one I had used months ago when none of our Pokemon could gather firewood. Of course, all cutting would have to be non-lethal. "What do you guys want?" she stammered. "Please don''t hurt me." Every time, she kept eyeing the door, as if she expected the officers toe save her. They wouldn''te any time soon. "You hurt innocents, but you don''t want to be hurt," I hissed. "Fucking hypocrite. You work with the poachers. Where are they based?" "I won''t. You can''t¡ª you can''t kill me. You''re bluffing." Thank Arceus, she hadn''t agreed. It would have been disappointing, not being able to torment her for the answers. "You think?" Mira loomed over her. "Your mental barrier isn''t going tost forever, you know? Pretty nifty thing, you have there. Better than anything Cecilia''s Slowking can pull off. Strangely enough, you don''t have a psychic, so Abel probably bestowed it to you." Zoey''s eyes widened. "I don''t think you realize how much we know already," Cecilia said. Her words were so gentle, like a poison someone would take to die painlessly. A silent killer. "Just tell us everything, and we''ll be on our way. Don''t make this harder than it has to be." Zoey gulped, but she stayed silent. "Should we take her?" Chase asked, still breathing heavily. "You know Teleporting inside of a Center is impossible," Cecilia shook her head. "We''d have to go through the halls, and we''d get caught." "Teleporting isn''t impossible if you''re good enough," Mira shrugged. "kazam can do it, if given a few minutes." The statement made Zoey clench a fist. Yes, we could kidnap you at any moment. Let that despair fester inside of you. "But yes, they''ll know immediately and alert the authorities, so that isn''t wise. Wait!" She eximed. "I forgot! We can totally not care about the authorities, because we''re a part of the League! Lucky us, huh?" An exaggeration, but a good one to make. If only Cecilia used the Voice¡­ no, I couldn''t start thinking like that. She had made a vow, and she was sticking to it. That was fine. I just had to figure out a way to twist the knife until she spilled everything out of her guts. Plus, it was good to see Zoey squirm. "Maeve said you cried for Furret and Pansear before she passed out," I said. The flinch the girl had was delicious. "What happened to them? Are you being held hostage?" Zoey bit her lip. "If they are, we could get them back for you," I pushed, ignoring the rage within. "We n on taking down the poachers. Either you tell us, or¡­ well, we take you and wait until your mental shield falls apart, and we rip it out of you by force. Truth be told, I''m running out of patience. I could not care less about you, or your circumstances. Your life is worthless to me. You threw drugged Pokemon to their deaths, and did not express one bit of remorse. All you care about is yourself, so don''t give us some sob story. But, if you have two innocent Pokemon that are being held hostage, we will get them back." Not for her, of course. She wouldn''t own any Pokemon for the rest of her life. "They were¡ª" I interrupted her. "And don''t lie to us," I smiled. "Because I will figure it out eventually, and when I do, I will kill you, and I''ll make it slow. The best part is, the League will let me get away with it." There you go. Something shifted in Zoey Miranda''s eyes. She was quite easy to figure out, with the nuggets of information we''d gotten from Maeve. This girl valued her own wellbeing above everything else, and she would be willing to do anything to survive another day. She might have lost a foot, but at least she was still alive. "Go on," I said. "I wasn''t¡­ well, I''m not a hostage, or at least not exactly," she got out. My vision swam, but Cecilia''s hand sped my shoulder to calm me down. "I got a job with the poachers through connections I made in Veilstone when I was there and I was still doing Circuit stuff. I didn''t know before joining, but if you get caught or snitch, they take your Pokemon as coteral and sell them to the Game Corner. That''s why you never go on a job with your actual Pokemon." Mira frowned. "So the Game Corner''s running this?" "Partly. The poaching itself is organized by Mr. Backlot, the owner of the Pokemon Mansion. He''s the one running everything. He sells most of his catches to the Game Corner, and they run fights with the Pokemon in the VIP area. He keeps the rarest one for himself. Now that I''m gone, he''ll send my Pokemon to the Game Corner too, after they''re forcefully fed Candies." Arceus, Denzel was going to beat himself up because of this. I could tell Mira was feeling a twinge of guilt, but my best friend was going to take a long time to forgive himself for funding such an evil establishment. He had given them hundreds of thousands of Pokedors alone. The only reason he wasn''t here tonight was because he was because I knew he would be far too nice to Zoey. He was going to join us after this. "Candies?" I probed further. "Drugs that make your Pokemon grow, but too quickly to be healthy," Cecilia exined. "Depending on the dosage, they can turn docile too. Most likely, they were the ones Swampert and Feraligatr were given." "And you just willingly joined them?" I scoffed. Fucking scum. "You didn''t think to report them instead?" "I needed the money, and they''d kill me if I did!" Zoey screamed. A re from me stopped her from raising her voice again. "They have people everywhere. Even in prisons. I''m risking my life telling you this, you can''t tell anyone else." "Don''t be a coward," Chase said. "Atone for what you''ve done." "We won''t tell anyone about this," Cecilia said. The lie hade out of her mouth so naturally that I realized she could have fooled even me. "You have my word." It was just such an irond statement that it made people want to trust her. And the fool believed her too. "Thank you," she sighed. "I¡ª if you want to stop us¡ª uh, them, you''ll have to go to the Pokemon Mansion. I don''t know where they keep all of the Pokemon, but Mr. Backlot knows." "And Abel?" Cecilia asked. "He''s basically his second inmand. He''s the one that created my mental shield and his Hypno is Teleporting the poachers around." "How''d he fool Gardevoir?" Mira demanded. Haunter hovered just a little closer, and Zoey shivered. "He shouldn''t have been able to." "I don''t know¡ª and that''s the truth, I swear." "Funny thing is, we have no way of knowing that," Mira smirked. "Remember what Grace said. Ever wanted to know what it felt like to get stabbed in the chest by a stone spear?" Zoey paled. "I''m telling the truth¡­ he just had his Mmar and Hypno do something, I don''t know what. He said he had a nasty run-in with one of you before and that he''d created contingencies to counter that person." Mira bit her thumb nail. "Alright. That fits very neatly," she said. "Now, let''s go over your poaching pals'' capabilities. How many people can we expect to fight?" "Around fifty guards?" she hesitantly said. "Most of them won''t have drugged Pokemon like I did, and they aren''t that strong. Just in high numbers enough to deter any wild Pokemon from attacking the mansion. There are eleven with drugged Pokemon, I know them all. There''s a reon, a Ciino¡­" Imitted everything Zoey told us to memory. She went very in-depth, going over moves, how Pokemon hooked on Rare Candies fought in simple but effective ways, theyout of the mansion, and everything else we''d need for the raid. With the League Trainers with us, I had no doubt we''d make quick work of all the guards. There was still some information shecked due to not being high enough in the food chain, but this was more than we''d expected. "The one you''ve got to worry about is Abel," she said. "He''s strong, and Mr. Backlot is paying him very well. His Pokemon are¡­" We let her list them, just in case he had caught something new, but there wasn''t anything out of the ordinary other than the fact that Abel''s near-capture had pushed him to new heights. After twenty minutes of questioning, we knew we were cutting things close. We''d squeezed everything we could get out of Zoey, and she was of no more use. "Just one more thing," Zoey said. "Uh, Mr. Backlot is having a bunch of rich people over tomorrow for a get-together. The event officially starts at one in the afternoon andsts the rest of the day." "Are they involved in the poaching?" Cecilia asked. "I don''t know, I wasn''t allowed to look at the guest list. I believe a few of them will be¡ª but again, I don''t know their names. Backlot keeps their identities secret just in case of a leak. I think most won''t have anything to do with it. They''re just his rich friends and connections he''s made over the years. Most of them will be Teleporting in." Not good, when we were nning on keeping this on the down-low. And where would Abel fit in all of this? He clearly wanted to bait us, but why? Even if he hadn''t wanted to save her, he could have had Zoroark kill Zoey before Teleporting away. He wanted us to know about this. "Thank you for your time," Cecilia said. "We''ll leave you to rest. But onest question. Do you know of a Paldean Wooper that was captured recently from the Safari Zone by Abel''s Zoroark and Hypno?" Zoey nervously licked her lips. "Shipped to the Game Corner." Cecilia took a deep breath. "I see," she simply said, smothering the cold, icy anger within. We asked for a Leafeon, and Zoey said she hadn''t seen anye through, but that she might have missed him. That could either be constituted as good or bad news depending on the way I looked at things. "I''m sorry," Zoey said. "I really am." She was not. She was sorry she had gotten herself caught, and nothing more. Cecilia, silver tongue that she had turned out to be, had been there to feed her sweet nothings to push her over the edge every time she''d looked like she would be shutting down and deciding to stay quiet. It had been far more effective than my threats, I had to admit. But still, Cecilia was an excellent liar and smooth negotiator. We''d been recording all of this. Zoey wasn''t going to be able to im mind control as a defense, now. Cecilia had exined that it was her most likely means of staying out of prison. As soon as everything was over, we would have Denzel edit our voices, names, and everything that could give us away out of the clip and send this anonymously to the cops. Zoey was going to rot in prison for the rest of her life, or close to it. And, well, if she died to the agents Backlot and the Game Corner had in multiple prisons? She would deserve it. Personally, I wouldn''t particrly care. ¡ª We were back in Denzel''s room, now. We were lucky that it waste and most of our friends were sleeping soundly, because having to exin all of this to them would be a hassle and get in the way of our nning. We told him everything as quickly as we could, and his mercy for Zoey cratered when he learned she had willingly thrown herself into this. She had not been ckmailed, mind-controlled, or pressured. She knew the way the poachers operated before joining them, save for the fact that her Pokemon might be taken, and she had done so anyway because she''d wanted money. But it was when we ripped off the band-aid about the Game Corner that he froze. "The¡­ Game Corner is involved?" he choked and sped his knees. "I¡ª Swablu?" "The fights you were betting on weren''t a part of it, Denzel," Mira said. "And Swablu was obtained legally and hatched from her egg. That VIP area we found shady and couldn''t get in? It''s a front for the real one, where they have the poached Pokemon fight." "I still financially supported them, Mira," he hissed before cing his head in his hands. "I''m so fucking stupid." "You had no way to know, Williams," Chase said. "Put your chin up." Denzel raised his head. He wasn''t crying, but he was tired. We would all usually be asleep by now, but there was far too much to do to get ready to storm the Pokemon Mansion. Chase gripped Denzel''s shoulder. "You''re a trainer. Yeah, that doesn''t mean you can''t feel guilty, or cry, or hate the fact that you funded the Game Corner," Chase said. "But you need to stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself and be a trainer." "Adequately said," Cecilia agreed. "If you feel responsible and want to make it up to the Pokemon trapped in the Game Corner, then stop wallowing in self-pity and join us. You''re better than this." My girlfriend held out her hand, and Denzel grasped it tightly. "I will," he dered. "Thank you both for that." "Now, let''s keep going. Cecilia, you go stock up on Hyper Potions. Twenty, like we said," I spoke. "That''ll add up to the few I have remaining. Denzel, Mira, you go with her. We can''t be on our own, at the moment. Chase, you''re with me." Chase adjusted his cap. "Sure thing. Which one first?" "The League trainers first," I said. "Then, Carnivine. Before all of that, I have to speak to my team. I suggest you all do the same¡­ and Cece, smooth things over with Croagunk. She''ll be angry that she can''t participate when she learns about Wooper''s fate." "I know," she said, thinning her lips. "But she''ll understand. We''re doing this for her, too. And maybe Wooper will be freed from the Game Corner after we expose them and all is said and done." There was a pause. "Abel did this," I pressed her. "All of it. You know what that means, right?" Cecilia bit her lip. "I won''t hold back." Good. ¡ª Being in a store in the deep of night broughtfort to Mira that she hadn''t known she needed. The warm, glowing lights on the white tiles contrasted with the darkness outside. Pastoria was not well-lit at night like most cities. Buildings were like little inds of light, where activity still desperately clung. Haunter was with her, still, hidden from view as she browsed the aisles with nothing particr in mind. Cecilia was already buying the potions with Denzel. They were all ready. Every single one of them knew what was toe, and they''d made their peace with it. Hell, some even looked forward to it. Grace and Chase were two sides of the same coin in that regard, while Denzel was on the opposite side, but knew what had to be done. Cece was out of the coin entirely. Mira couldn''t gauge Cecilia no matter how hard she tried. The tall girl had this mysterious air about her tonight that attracted Mira''s attention like a Mothim to a me as she desperately attempted to solve the puzzle that was her mind. Porygon2 made her phone vibrate in her pocket, possibly for support. She''d evolved two days ago and her capabilities were practically limitless. She was, Mira mused, very good at leading the non-sentient Porygon without her trainer''s input, which would be an integral n of the n for tomorrow. Or, well, today now. It was past midnight. "Haunty," Mira said. The ghost did not respond. Instead, Mira felt a chill across her skin. She had never been one for violence. Oh, she wouldn''t shy away from it when it was required of her, but she''d always found it so wasteful. Tonight, however, Mira Compton felt particrly bloodthirsty. One did not try to kill her friend and get away with it. One did not try to kill her friend and get to stay rich and have fucking parties. Mira grabbed a pack of chips and crumpled it. This was all on her. Her failure. She had failed to vet Zoey properly, and now Maeve was paying because of it. Why was it always someone else and not her? "You''ve been a good boy these past few months," she continued. "Ever since I''ve spoken with Fantina, you''ve improved leaps and bounds. Found ways to be more than just a murderous, hateful ghost. I have learned to love you, and you have learned to love in return." Haunter loved to y catch, even if his poison sometimes dissolved the ball. Haunter loved punk rock music. Haunter loved to annoy the living crap out of Magnezone. Haunter loved ying pranks on people. Haunter loved clinging to her shadow and tickling her feet and ankles. Haunter loved to watch people go about their day while being invisible. "Today, Haunty," Mira sighed, "I''m going to ask you to break your chains and be the worst you can be." Mira felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. The ghost cackled. ¡ª I released my team in the same park we''d yed music in. They knew things were wrong as soon as they saw the look in my eye. Cries, grunts, growls of worry rang out, but they stopped when I raised a hand. Now was not the time to worry about me. I exined everything that had gone on today, including the borate n we''d made to storm the Pokemon Mansion. Angel, Buddy and Honey were the most worried, as they always were. Princess, Sweetheart and Sunshine would follow without a word as they always did, but I needed to convince the entire team that this was sound. "Remember the story Be told us?" I asked. "About her killing her trainer after years of pretending to like him?" How could they forget? Be had a way of telling stories that was so captivating, especially when they pertained to her own circumstances. "Whether you think it was fair or not doesn''t matter," I said. Even today, I didn''t think it was. That she should have given him a chance after seeing him improve. "What matters is, do you think Backlot deserves to fight this in court for years and years, with his sentence not even set in stone? All we have in Zoey''s testimony. Enough to ruin his reputation, but not to send him to prison. She told us that the League came to inspect the Pokemon Mansion and found nothing, so we don''t know if he''ll even go to jail if we talk to the authorities. Cece thinks that since he''s working with Abel, he could even im that he was being mind-controlled from the start," I spat through clenched teeth. "The ACE Trainers won''t go there unless we bait them into doing so. You understand, right? Only we can stop this. Backlot has been doing this for fucking years¡­ ever since he built this damn mansion, probably. Pokemon are suffering, and every day we don''t do anything is another day they spend dying." That seemed to have won Angel over. The grass type nodded, wrapped a vine around my good ankle and gently squeezed it. He had always been a caretaker, and imagining Backlot going free after the amount of suffering the Pokemon were subject to by his word was too much. "There was a fundamental lesson in Be''s story," I said. "About people getting what they deserve. Backlot and his ilk deserve to die." I turned to Buddy. "We''ll have ACE Trainers protecting us from all danger. The best Sinnoh has to offer. And we aren''t too shabby ourselves. We have seven badges. Few trainers ever get this far. We''re powerful, Bud. I''m not that little girl who was taken hostage in the Valley Windworks any longer. I''m tired of watching this happen and doing nothing about it. We don''t run away, we fight." The ghost''s eyes dimmed, but he gave me a reluctant nod. "Honey." So grown up now, but still a little boy. Still the same Pokemon who had been so shaken after killing Harry Rodriguez''s Crobat, even through Shiftry''s domain. "I won''t have you kill anyone, whether that be a person, or a Pokemon. On that, you have my word," I said. "And we won''t be targeting innocents. The only people whose heads deserve to be punctured are Backlot and his ringleaders." Zoey had told us that there were others who were high enough in the food chain for me to target. None of them lived in the mansion with him, and I didn''t know their names, but she thought that them being at the party was guaranteed. Since Backlot was having a party, I was sure he was celebrating something, and they weren''t going to leave their old business partner out to dry. Plus, it wasn''t like rich people like them had to work on a weekday. "I won''t ever force you to be someone you''re not," I continued. "You''re fine just knocking our enemies out." The electric type''s tails straightened, and he told me he didn''t want me to be a murderer. "Oh, Honey," Imented. I rubbed his arm, then hugged him. "You''re too nice for your own good. You know I''ve already crossed the line during the Darkest Day. It''s¡­ it''s about justice." Electivire sighed. But he agreed with the n. People had the freedom to choose their path in life, and that meant that they were subject to consequences. And in the end, what were we but people? ¡ª The cold, night air whipped around my hair as I rode on Princess. Chase followed close behind without a saddle, as usual. Sigilyph had been brought up to speed, and she would let out a worried beep every thirty seconds or so, and Chase would soothe her. I couldn''t hear what was said because of the wind, but it evidently worked, since she stopped doing so when we got high enough in the air. Princess hovered in ce, and allowed Chase to catch up to her. "How are we going to find your trainer? Maxwell, you said his name was?" Chase asked. I squinted and scanned the horizon around me. Finding a Honchkrow this skilled during the night was basically impossible. We could try to find one of Chase''s guards as well, but I didn''t see anything, and my friend had only spoken to one of his guards once in Veilstone when Cynthia summoned him to meet. The only sources of light currently avable were the spotlights attached to my saddle to make sure no other flier would ram into me. Of course, our bodyguards weren''t subject to the samews. "I''ll have Buddy do it," I said. I released Jellicent into the air, and his red eyes were the only thing I could see in the dark. "We''re looking for a Honchkrow, or anyone that''s currently flying this high." The ghost agreed and started to scan our surroundings. "Grace," Chase said. "I know you want Backlot''s head¡ª" "You''re not going to tell me not to kill him, I hope," I said, turning toward him. Chase snorted. "Me? You know me better than that, Grace." "Right. Sorry, I''m just on edge." "I getcha," he said. The way hezily hung on Sigilyph''s back made me nervous, but he had never fallen before, and Princess was here to catch him if he did. "But no, I wanted to talk about Mira''s Haunter." My eye twitched. "Does this have to do with the evolution? She still hasn''t told us how." "Good guess. She told me, when she was crying earlier today. It isn''t pretty," Chase said. "Essentially, he would haunt someone until they couldn''t take it anymore and offed themselves." "She''s thinking about doing it with Backlot? We won''t have the time¡­ we''ll have to be in and out. The longer we linger, the worse this gets." "She hasn''t explicitly said so, but I think that''s what she''s nning. Part of me thinks Backlot will be quite easy to break," Chase shrugged. "You don''t know that." My friend sighed. "I know you want to kill Backlot yourself. That''s mostly why you''re against this, and not some issue of time constraint. Be honest with me." I winced, and calmed Princess down before she coulde to my defense. There was no use in lying to myself. "See? I''m right." "You are," I said. "I wanted to¡­ I wanted to do it. Backlot has had his hand on this poaching thing for years ording to Zoey. Fucking years. How many lives has he ruined? Taken? I want to watch the life drain out of his eyes." "You know," Chase smiled. "When I met you, I never thought you''d ever say stuff like that." "Only with those who deserve it," I grunted. "Do you think that death by Haunter would be a worse way to go than getting crucified on a tree in the middle of route 212 and letting him rot there for an hour or two and acting like he has a chance of surviving if he apologizes enough?" I wondered. "I haven''t done the calctions," he snorted. Ah, Chase. The only one I''d feelfortable saying this stuff to. "But Mira having a Gengar would be good for all this Team Gctic shit. Don''t know much about ''em, but there must be a reason they''re so feared." "I''ll see if we can arrange something to both be happy," I said. "Do you have any grievances you want to address?" "I just want to crack some skulls, Grace," he said. "Nothing more, nothing less. Backlot and his crew have done wrong, and they deserve to pay, be it through death or prison. I''ve got your back no matter what." No matter what. The words felt like they mattered. "Thank you, Chase." It was strange to be so proactive in our actions. We had never held this much power at our fingertips, and it was nigh time we used it for good. I wasn''t going to stand by when one of my friends had nearly died. "Ah, you were looking for me." Chase, Sigilyph and Buddy jumped when we heard Maxwell''s voice. Honchkrow cackled, silently pping his wings behind us. I barely had the time to feel hime, and Princess had beenpletely stumped. Her empathy was different than mine and could actually be countered, then. That was good to know. If I could feel an ACE''s Honchkrow trying to sneak around, then there weren''t many things that would fool me. "Do not do that," I exhaled. "We''re on edge." "Ms. Pastel. Mr. Karlson. To what do I owe the pleasure tonight?" he asked, ignoring us. "I have an inkling you already know," I frowned. "I do know you broke into Zoey Miranda''s room and made it past the officers with some kind of Hypnosis," he nodded. "I do not know what information you extracted out of her, but I also know that you''re nning something. Ms. Obel and Ms. Compton have been quite active, which they usually aren''t at this time of day. We''re quite interested in how you managed to get police officers to forget what happened. The officers don''t even remember that they were asleep, funnily enough. Hypnosis doesn''t usually work that way, and Ms. Obel''s Slowking has not practiced with the move that much." "He has," Chase denied. "Not like you can see or hear much from your fucking fliers." Fuck, the n hadn''t worked. The reason Chase had made the officers fall asleep was to make the entire thing look like a Hypnosis, but the League wasn''t biting. Maxwell opted to let it go for now. "What are you doing, then?" he asked. I exined all the information we got from Zoey as fast as I could. If Maxwell was shocked, he hid it very well. "So we''re nning on storming the Pokemon Mansion today," I said. "And you''ll being with us." When Honchkrowughed, which was creepy in the dead of night, Maxwell''s lips quirked. "s, it seems like it." "There''s going to be a party. By the time we get there, it''ll already be the afternoon, so the guests will all be there," I said. Sigilyph and Golurk were still quite slow at flying, and even if I could have made it to the mansion faster, I didn''t want to get ahead of everyone else. "So we''ll need you to make this look like a League raid that we participated in. I trust you''ll smooth things over." "Demanding a lot now, are we?" he smirked. "You said you wouldn''t stop us," Chase shrugged. "We will not," Maxwell said. "And I suppose Ms. Collins would appreciate us doing some spring cleaning." "Backlot and the people in charge are ours," I demanded. "Their fates are in our hands." Maxwell waved a hand dismissively. "Sure thing." I blinked. "That easy?" "Rejoice, for the Champion has decided to clear out the rot from Sinnoh''s criminal underworld," he said, spreading his hands wide. "And luckily for you, due process is more of a suggestion than a rule at this point in Sinnoh''s history. Whatever Ms. Collins says, goes." "Onest thing, then," I said. "Denzel ising with us. I need you to protect him as well." "Not my job," he shut down. "Do it yourselves." "Would it really hurt you to do more than the bare minimum?" I hissed. Maxwell''s eyes darkened. "I don''t think you understand, Ms Pastel. I do not deviate from my assignment. Ever." There was a shiver down my spine, and I could only nod. We would have to keep Denzel protected by having him stick close to us, then. The n was deviating already since we had nned to split, but there was no way my best friend was going to let us go alone, even without ACE Trainers to watch his back. It would be best if he stuck with me, then. "So, we''re good, then? You''ll intervene right away?" "Yes." "Okay. Thank you." Maxwell and Honchkrow disappeared into ck smoke, and Chase and I flew on toward Carnivine. ¡ª The mountain my ankle had gotten broken on hadn''t changed since thest time I''d seen it. In fact, every ounce of greenery had regrown from the time Sunshine had burned it down. We flew deeper than I''d ever gone before, however. We delved where the grass grew thicker than bark and taller than trees, and it all was illuminated by the moon''s soft glow. The mountain''s center. I had never seen such thick vegetation outside of Eterna Forest. "Think she''s in there?" Chase asked. "We''re too far up for me to feel anything," I said. "Princess?" Togekiss chirped quietly and closed her eyes to focus. There was no way we were going to go down here, especially with how much vegetation there was. We''d be stepping into a death trap. If Carnivine attacked, at least we''d be in a position to run away. Sigilyph''s Psycho Shift would send any attacks back Carnivine''s way, and from the time I''d fought her, she didn''t have that many ranged attacks and was a far better fighter in a melee. "This is going to take too long," Chase said. "The sun''s going to rise in an hour and a half. The others are waiting for us in Pastoria." "So then we raid them at night instead of in the afternoon," I said. "Honestly, that might be better. The partygoers will be drunk or asleep." "Okay, but then there''s a higher chance of the others actually getting here during the fight," Chase shrugged. "You know a note telling them not toe won''t deter them. And by my understanding, they have quite a history with notes." I grimaced, realizing he was right. Cecilia had left us a letter so long ago now, when she''d gone into Mount Cor alone to die. Our goal was to have finished things at the mansion by the time they ever had a way of making it there. They wouldn''t know where we''d gone exactly, but it was no doubt going to be on the news as soon as the raid started, and our friends were smart enough to put two and two together. Essentially, the earlier we left Pastoria, the better. Cecilia had suggested not leaving a note at all, but we had decided this would go too far and damage our friendships. We didn''t want to lose anyone. We exined as best we could in the letter that the ACE Trainers wouldn''t protect them like they did us, so they were better off staying back. "I''m just saying," he shrugged. "You do you." I let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. What do you have in mind?" "Heh. Check this out," he grinned. "HEY, CARNIVINE! WAKE THE FUCK UP! WE NEED TO TALK!" His voice was so loud it reminded me of Crasher Wake. It echoed across the mountain multiple times. Buddy red at the back of his head like he wanted to murder him. "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed. "That''s like, the worst way of approaching this!" "Is it?" he asked with a thumb pointing down. Something shifted in the leaves until Carnivine''s silhouette made it through. I couldn''t see her properly, but I knew it was her. Her grief and anger had only abated slightly, and she was still aplete emotional mess. I soothed Princess by softly caressing her head and told Buddy to stand by. "Well, she ain''t attacking us on sight, so that''s a win," Chase murmured. "You''re terrible at this," I scoffed. "Let me do the talking." "You got it." Carnivine rose to our height and red at me. I already knew what the problem was. She thought she would never see me again. Hell, just me being there probably made her remember Leafeon even more, when she was trying to move past this. She had given up long ago and had no hope of finding her son any longer. And unfortunately, she might have been right. Still, we had to hold on to hope. "Carnivine," I said. "I know you don''t want to see me, but I have a proposition for you regarding the poachers. We know where they''re based." Fury surged out of her skin in erratic waves that made her difficult to look it. I squinted, turning my head slightly. There was so much fury emanating out of the grass type that it was like her emotions were pressing down on my chest. The grass below usshed out in every direction, slicing across the air until it even cut itself apart. Thank the Legendaries we hadn''tnded. That would have cut us into ribbons. "I told you I would try to get Leafeon back, and I keep my word," I said. "I won''t lie to you and say that we know your son is safe. The way they treat the Pokemon they kidnap is¡­ deserving of a horrifying death. But there''s a chance. We''re nning on going there." There was a trill in Carnivine''s throat, and she opened her mouth to talk. My Pokemon could trante, of course. The grass type asked where this location was. "I''ll tell you on two conditions," I said. "One, you stick by me at all times. Two, I know you''ll want to kill everyone you see." Including Pokemon fighting for the enemy that are drugged. "That won''t do. There will be innocents where we''re going which include both humans and Pokemon, and unless you can promise me that you''re going to y ball, then we''ll handle it on our own. We''ll still try to find Leafeon for you and bring him back here." Carnivine growled, and the grass below us turned to sharpened des all aiming at us with a neon green glow. Even while being around a hundred and fifty feet above the ground, it was hard not to feel nervous. "Don''t fight me on this," I said. "If you can''t do it, then don''te. I''ll bring you to the mastermind behind all of this and I''ll let you watch him reap what he sowed." It didn''t matter who finished off Backlot, Carnivine would be here to see it. We were going to capture the man, after all. Carnivine stayed silent for a few seconds, then snarled, sending sweet-smelling spittle out of her mouth. She couldn''t, I realized. She couldn''t guarantee the innocents'' safety, even if she wanted to agree with my proposition. I inhaled. "Thank you for being honest with me." I would have been able to tell if she lied, but it was still an appreciated gesture. "I promise you, I''ll bring you to him. And I might be able to let you have some of the people that were in high positions in the organization, since I n on smoking them out. We can all share." Share in retribution. Denzel would have nched had he been here, but Chase didn''t care one bit. There wasn''t much to say after that. Carnivine demanded for us to leave and note back until we either had the culprits, her son, or both. "Well, that was emotional and all," Chase said as Carnivine left. "But it was also a waste of time. Let''s head back." ¡ª "Arrested?! What do you mean, Zoey was arrested?!" Abel had always thought that Edward Backlot looked like a Lechonk. The fat man pumped his fist in the air, his face bright red as he raged and punched the air with little jabs that wouldn''t hurt a Cutiefly. His maids gave him a wide berth as they prepared his party, not willing to get Backlot''s attention while he was angry. He was making the rounds of his mansion while in his pajamas and flip-flops, and Abel dutifully followed behind, of course. Dan was a boy today, and Abel held his hand as they walked through the Pokemon Mansion''s fancy carpeted hallways. Abel shrugged. "By the time Zoroark got there, the cops had already taken her," he tly lied. "This stupid bitch," Backlot snarled. "Why risk it all now? I told everyone to stay put and out of trainers'' business for the next month! We were drawing too much heat!" Because she values money above everything else, Abel mused. He knew people like her, because he was her, but less fucking stupid. It had been easy to push her buttons to have her target big names in hopes of getting Backlot''s attention so she could get a promotion. The problem was that he hadn''t expected her to target Maeve Chang of all people. The n had been to have her arrested and get her to talk to the police. Abel was well-versed in legality, and he had no doubt Pastoria''s policemen would have offered her a deal of some sort if she gave up the bigger morsel. The little rat would have jumped at the chance to get five to ten years in prison instead of life, and the cops would have offered her a nice,fortable cell away from the other inmates, so her life wouldn''t be in danger. The Unovan knew exactly how her mind functioned. He would, after all, have epted the same deal and taken his chances in prison. Then Abel would have identally left Backlot''s zoo exposed before leaving, and as soon as the police came by with a warrant, they would have caught that inconsistency. Oh, just the tiniest of gaps. Oh well, he supposed it was all ruined now. Xatu had been quite rmed at the fact that Maeve Chang''s friends were alling with ACE Trainers in tow. Abel had expected them toe, but not so soon. He couldn''t just have one normal day, could he? "What will you do, Mr. Backlot?" Abel asked. "Call mywyers," he sneered. "The party won''t be interrupted, it''s too important and I''ll lose face with my business partners. The police wille knocking sometime this week, I''m sure, so you''ll have to be discreet." Thank Arceus, he was so stupid. Hm, maybe stupid wasn''t fair. Mr Backlot was too secure. Yes, that was the word Abel had been looking for. He thought that everything was always going to go as he foresaw it and that hiswyers would get him out of any jams. It wasn''t thew he was going to need to fight in a few hours. "I will, Mr. Backlot," Abel dipped his head with a coy smile. Now, Abel had a few problems. Should he run, Backlot would be rmed, and he still needed the rich prick to get back to Unova anyway. Backlot had been supposed to lend him one of his private helicopters to get him to a ''private airfield'' that his friends in high ces supposedly had, away from the League''s eyes where a private jet would pick him up. Abel had been very clear with Backlot upfront that if this was a lie, he would kill him, so he was sure he was telling the truth. Unfortunately, today had him in the worst of jams. If word came out that Backlot was captured, killed or that his mansion was under assault and Abel showed up alone, they would never let him in a ne. Hell, he couldn''t even do that. He hadn''t been told the airfield''s location as of yet, and wouldn''t until the end of his employ. What now, Abel? Mind control to get it out of him in a subtle way? It would take hours to get him under Mmar''s influence, but they had hours. Just hours. The problem was that Backlot would need to be away for those hours, and one of the maids was bound to notice that the pig was missing. Abel''s employer was a paranoid man, and he had plenty of alerts and systems set up as deadman switches should Abel mind control him. Backlot felt too secure, but was not naive. One did not hire Abel without a few contingencies like these. Even though they wouldn''t be able to beat him, the maids would alert the guards, then the authorities, and Backlot would get off scot-free after having told Abel where the airstrip was, because he couldn''t be touched before Abel was on the damn ne. Sure the Unovan would escape, but¡­ He owed it to Zazza to see the man in prison. Well, dead worked too, if he could manage that without screwing himself over. The unhinged part of him wondered about Mmar mind controlling a pilot, but he wouldn''t trust his starter with having someone ride a bike, let alone pilot a ne. Threats were possible, but not something he feltfortable with because of the huge amount of agency the pilot would have over the situation. There was a very fine line he could walk today to ensure he got everything he wanted out of this. That path, unfortunately, had him stay during the party, and it was so hriously unlikely toe to pass that Abel wanted tough. It all started, of course, with stealing Backlot''s phone and texting his pilot ahead of time. Mr. Backlot could not be allowed to die or fall into enemy hands until the time was right. Time to gamble again, then. Fifteen to twenty ACE Trainers in total, by his and Xatu''s estimations, and a bunch of uppity teenagers that thought they were going to fix all that was wrong in the world by taking down a single poaching operation and probably screech about how wrong it was and morals. Arceus, Abel needed a cigarette. ¡ª The sun had already risen when we were back in Pastoria, and it was nine in the morning by the time we decided to leave. Most of our friends were still asleep, save for Emilia and Justin, but we''d slipped the note under Pauline''s door. She was usually one of thest to wake up, and she''d taken to sleeping alone ever since she had broken up with Emilia. I hadn''t sensed any Pokemon inside of her room through the door, so they were all in their Pokeballs. Cecilia had distributed the Hyper Potions to everyone. They had cost her an arm and a leg, but they were far too valuable to skimp on. Lehmhart''s legs had disappeared, having retracted into his body somehow. I still didn''t know how the hell he did that, but it was better not to think about it. Cecilia, Mira and Denzel were attached on his back, strapped into her custom saddle that kazam had picked up. Right now, they were upright, but they essentially would have been horizontal to the ground if Lehmhart had known how to fly properly. He was still getting the hang of it, which was why he was far slower than his potential. Chase was on Sig''s back, as usual, and I was on Princess. We had eaten a quick breakfast to satiate ourselves and double-checked everything at least five times. Lehmhart took off first, and he was louder than he had any right to be. It felt like I was standing next to an airne until he got high enough into the sky. I had also shoved one of my crutches into Lehmhart''s saddle. I was only going with one. I didn''t miss Denzel being nervous about flying like this, but he''d get used to it. Chase went next, his Sigilyph silently hovering until they were tiny in the sky. I spared Pastoria onest look, and Princess took off. Six hours to reach the Pokemon Mansion by cutting in and flying off-route. Six hours to retribution. Six hours for Backlot to start paying the price for his actions.
Chapter 262 – Beachhead Chapter 262 ¨C Beachhead
CHAPTER 262 - Beachhead "This is a problem," Denzel yelled. He had to, for his voice to be heard over Golurk''s engine. The Pokemon Mansion was beautiful, especially on such a sunny day. There wasn''t a cloud in sight for miles, allowing us to get a perfect view of the ce. The property itself was long, rectangr and surrounded by huge brick walls. Those wouldn''t be a problem, considering we could fly. The mansion itself reminded me of the haunted one we''d been in during our trek through Eterna Forest, only not in a decrepit state. The entryway was grand, with guests having to climb at least a dozen steps before making it inside. The roof itself was made of some kind of purple material¡ª possibly painted tiles. We were too high in the sky to check in order not to give ourselves away. The problem Denzel had found was that while the enormous garden was swarming with guards and their Pokemon, some whom we couldn''t make out with the naked eye, there were also guests galivanting about. It was easy to tell the difference. Backlot''s friends were dressed in bright colors that popped, even from this far up. "We knew it was a possibility," Chase said. "I won''t cry if a few billionaires get hurt through coteral damage." "If we do this," I exhaled, "we do it properly. Minimize the casualties. Let''s at least make sure no innocents die." "And how the hell are we going to do that?" Chase asked. "Easy. We make them run inside. Our appearance will scare the crap out of them, and the guards will direct them into the mansion. Then, we have free reign in the garden," I exined. "Just, you know, don''t burn down or blow up the damn building." Cecilia squinted. "Theyout seems urate to what Zoey told us. Five floors, two wings, four entrances, one tower, and the garden is exactly as she said as well." Rows of enormous fountains with Milotic statues spitting waters atop of them, surrounded by hedges, and graveled paths. I turned my head back at the swarm of ACE Trainers waiting silently behind us. I recognized a few of the faces, including Ariel on her Dragonite, some who had saved me from Abra at the park in Veilstone, Maxwell, Carlos and even Lou, although she shared a mount with someone else. I still didn''t know why she felt like an abomination to my senses. Pokemon, but notpletely. There were sixteen of them in total, each with six or more Pokemon, save for Lou who had five. Flygon, Dragonite, Staraptor, Pidgeot, Skarmory, Tropius, Unfeazant, Drifblim¡ª they were all on their fliers and had followed us here. Now, they were silently waiting for us to strike with emotionless faces or hardened stares. It felt weird in a way. It was almost like we were leading an army, although I knew that obviously wasn''t the case. Cecilia''s Talonme silently glided next to us in a blur, stopping herself right in from of Lehmhart. The ground type dwarfed herpletely, but she could run circles around him all day. Talonme quietly cawed to all of us. "Fifty-two guards," I tranted immediately. "There might be more inside. Fifty-five Pokemon that she could spot, but there''ll be more." Hundreds of them, and most wouldn''t be drugged. Even if Zoey had said they weren''t that goodpared to us save for those who had been fed candy, we couldn''t lower our guard. We were nning to strike hard and fast to not give them time to organize a response. The sight of so many ACE Trainers in uniform would be terrifying for anyone who wasn''t us. "So," Mira nervously yelled. "Are we ready?" "Give me a few. Five minutes," I said. I closed my eyes and let arge swath of air fill my lungs. Deep, slow breaths. I did not know for how long I was silent for, but every time I inhaled, my heartbeat slowed. Thest bits of nervousness melted off of my back, leaving me lighter than I''d been before. There were no more doubts. The innocents would be spared, and the men and women who had a hand in this scheme would face retribution, because if not us, then who? So with onest breath, I opened my eyes and was no longer myself, but a girl. A vessel to carry out what needed to be done, and nothing more. To look at the situation objectively without letting feelings or reservations get in the way. It was unsightly for a fairy to let her emotions show so strongly, Be''s voice rang out in my mind. What did the girl want? For Justice to be brought upon those who deserve it. What did the girl need to reach that point? Nothing but act, for she already had all the tools at her disposal. Now all she needed to do was not to flinch. "I''m ready," I said. One pat on Princess'' back, and we all dove down as one. The wind whipped across my hair, sharpening my wits. In a matter of twenty seconds, we reached the Pokemon Mansion. Loud crashes thundered everywhere as dozens of flying typended on the gravel, sending sprays of stone flying everywhere. The guests and the guards stared at all of us, almost as if they were in a daze for a few seconds until dozens of the ACE Trainers'' Pokemon appeared in a sea of scarlet. "This is a League-sanctioned raid," an ACE Trainer spoke. "Surrender and¡ª" A Politoed waved a hand, using all of the water from a nearby fountain to hit an ACE''s Furfrou with a Hydro Pump. Then, all hell broke loose. Guests screamed as they ran and the guards barked out orders, and multiple fights erupted all around me, but I honed in on myself. A methrower washed over Princess'' barrier as I released my entire team. My eyes honed in on the guard that had ordered his Pokemon to strike me. Darmanitan, Machoke, Donphan and Graveler. The man called out for all of them to break me, and they all rushed in our direction. Each one of Machoke''s steps left a small hole in the ground. Darmanitan left a fiery trail in his wake. Donphan and Graveler were the fastest, using Rollout to get to me. There went my option to ask them to surrender. "Drown the trainer. Honey, Sunshine, hold them off. Sweetheart¡ª" They were already here. Donphan rammed chest-deep into Honey, who slid back a few feet at the force before lifting the ground type off the floor and throwing him back at his trainer. The man jumped out of the way, and Buddy appeared from the gravel to catch him like a, submerging his entire body. Sunshine mmed a foot against the ground, turning the gravel to fiery sand as it clung to Graveler, but it was Pupitar that stopped the rampaging rock type. She mmed into him with Iron Head and his skin cracked as the impact sent hundreds of rock shards flying off. Honey grunted as Darmanitan blew a methrower into his face. The rampaging fire type tried to get him with what looked to be a re Blitz, but Electivire just pulled up his first Protect of the afternoon, leaving Princess an opening to slice Darmanitan open with a multi-directional Air sh. Honey followed up with a deep Thunder Punch that broke something in Darmanitan''s chest, and Sunshine finished him off with a Dragon Pulse that stretched until it hit a Butterfree in the distance that Mira''s Porygon2 was battling. I stared back at the man whose name I did not know and watched as he desperately wed at his throat to breathe. I gestured to Jellicent, who let him out of his prison, and the guard hacked water out of his lungs while Angel grabbed Donphan by the tusks as he mmed him a dozen times with Power Whip until the ground type went down. "Feel free to be more aggressive," I told the grass type. "Princess has me covered." Tangrowth nodded and immediately waddled to help Honey duel this Machoke. I had expected him to be strong enough, but fighting types were not to be underestimated. Machoke sped Honey''s arms as the electric type retaliated with numerous Thunderbolts. He would win eventually, but wasting his energy on this would be useless. This was a battle of attrition. Our enemies were numerous, and the fighting would be long. "Princess. His arms." Machoke cried out as her arms bent until her bones popped out of her body, and Honey used a Cross Chop across her neck, knocking her out cold. Pokemon were people, and Pokemon that weren''t drugged were just as wrong as their trainers. Knocking out the guard was actually harder than I thought it would be, since Angel was too far to use any kind of Sleep Powder or Stun Spore without impaling him. I didn''t want to identally kill¡ª Sunshine reeled when a Dragon Pulse hit him in the shell, and he tumbled across the graveled path. Huh, that had done substantial damage. I let the guard run away and turned toward the culprit as explosions and attacks rang out all around me. The entire area was cordoned off anyway, so he''d fall into our hands soon enough. A Shelgon with bloodshot eyes. Drugged, probably, along with a normal-looking Zangoose and Tauros. The three Pokemon were led by a furious-looking woman. "Shelgon is a threat," I identified as I spoke over her order. Another Dragon Pulse targeted Sunshine, but Electivire stepped in front of him with Radiant Leap and held it at bay with Protect. "Buddy, drown her. Princess, slice the normal types and make them bleed." Targeting the head of the Ekans was just smart. Buddy sunk into the ground, and I didn''t miss my enemy pale and consider running off when she realized a Jellicent was targeting her and not her team. She deliberated for too long, since the ghost appeared below her and surrounded her entire body. Zangoose tried to w away at him, but she was like a child trying to push a mountain. He instantly regenerated any damage she dealt with her ws. These Pokemon were weaker than thest ones, I noticed. Tauros'' eyes narrowed as he screamed and made a beeline toward me while Shelgon was too out of it to use anything but Dragon Pulse. Without a trainer to direct her, the dragon type was aimless due to the drugs. Zangoose stopped striking at Buddy as soon as deep gashes opened up in her fur from Air sh, and instead she rolled and squirmed against the ground. Buddy let the woman''s head out of him, and she took in a gasp of air before he submerged her once more. So long as she could breathe, she wouldn''t die. Vines outstretched from Angel as he stopped Tauros dead in his tracks and sucked his energy with Giga Drain. Shards of gravel sharpened and stabbed into the normal type thanks to Sweetheart''s Stone Edge. Sunshine was more preupied with taking down Zangoose, at the moment, having run over there with me Charge, so I turned my attention back to Tauros. Honey used Cross Chop and Princess Psychic to take the normal type down, blood seeping out of her nose from the mental assault. Unfortunately, Honey had been hit by another Dragon Pulse and had a giant bruise on his right shoulder. "Angel, grab thatdy''s Pokeball," I spoke. "Princess, contain that Shelgon." Layers uponyers of grey earth rose from the ground all around Shelgon, who screamed as a Dragon Pulse blew up the firstyer. Angel walked around the path, ignoring Sunshine stepping on Zangoose''s chest and burning her to a crisp and he snaked two vines into the Jellicent''s body, grabbing the drowning woman''s Pokeballs. He clicked on the buttons until Shelgon was recalled, spared from suffering any longer, and once he gave me the Pokeballs, I ced Shelgon in my backpack. I turned to Sunshine. "Enough ying around. Be efficient with your takedowns." The dragon blew a Dragon Pulse into Zangoose''s face, and the normal type fainted. This time, I managed to recall all of them and kept the Pokeballs on the floor save for Shelgon''s. "Good. Let''s keep going." I turned, looking for a guard to fight. Mira had moved on from Butterfree and the other bug types she''d been fighting and was mopping through a Kangashkan and Dodrio with her team. Cecilia was even further, standing in the middle of a huge crater with only the ground she was on still intact. Lehmhart had changed back into his normal form and was essentially destroying everything around him while Slowking kept her and Croagunk protected. The poison type was watching the fighting around her with sharpened eyes. Talonme dueled a Staraptor and a Staravia in the air and was mming into the weaker bird over and over with her body surrounded by mes while dodging all of their attacks while Scyther sliced across a Raichu''s chest with Night sh, keeping the electric type from using any TE. Pokemon burning in dark mes and writhing on the ground surrounded Chase, who was nked by Houndoom and Zangoose. Lucario danced in Aura and was taking on four Pokemon at once, never getting hit a single time. I noticed Chase wasn''t having the same reservations we were about the guards and was having his Pokemon hit them until they fell over. Abomasnow was beating a Loudred to a pulp with frost spreading after each hit. Denzel hadn''t strayed too far from me. A small Moonst had rendered a Linoone and Indeedeepletely unable to even muster the will to fight while Lopunny mopped them up. Unconscious Pokemony at his feet with their skin melted off from Roserade''s poison and Milotic coiled around him and used Protect whenever he was on the verge of getting hit. Swablu angrily screamed as she fired off Dragon Pulses in support as she flew above his head. Mira''s Gardevoir was nearby, since she was his main way of countering psychics, but she was focused on helping her trainer from a distance, at the moment. Things were moving along well, it seemed, but that was only thanks to the ACE Trainers. They were so¡­ clinical when they fought, even more than me in that regard, and their fights weren''t battles so much as they were pure domination. Like farmers mowing through wheat. There was just no resistance there. Angel wrapped a vine around the girl we''d just defeated and brought her to me. "Where''s Abel?" I asked. If he was going to hide, then I''d rather know where. Then, I''d put her to sleep. "Fuck you," she snarled. "I''ll never¡ª" I never heard her next words. A huge wave of slicing winds mmed into us and was so powerful that the woman''s body just¡­ fell apart. There was no other word for it. One second, she''d been there, the other, she turned into paste. Princess barrier didn''t hold for long. It shattered and I felt my entire body vibrate until Lou Teleported next to me with her hands held out, and she grunted when blood seeped across her palms. All of my Pokemon had been knocked away and cut save for Sweetheart. Dozens of Angel''s vines had been cut to ribbons, Buddy had disintegrated, and a lot of Sunshine''s scales had just peeled off. I stared up at the culprit. Culprits, plural. Eight enemy flying types had targeted me and not cared for their ally being in the way. They weren''t even being directed by trainers, and there was no regret in those stares. They just didn''t care. I slowly stood up as my entire team rushed to my side once more and wiped the pieces of that woman off of my face and ignored the numerous tiny cuts across my body. My cast had been torn open and was done for, and part of my clothes were shredded. Honey and Princess had dozens of cuts across their body,rge and small, being the Pokemon who would be most vulnerable to that type of attack. "Where are your Pokemon?" I asked Lou. "Dealing with the riff-raff," the white-eyed woman answered. "I had to Teleport away from my fights for this. You don''t look too shaken for someone who almost died." "Focus on the task at hand," I said. "You''re bleeding all over," Lou countered. Her barrier strained when another gust of sharpened wind hit us, but it held. I stared down at myself. "Doesn''t look or feel lethal, and most of it isn''t mine. Honey, Sweetheart take down those fliers." A spear of lightning blurred toward two Noctowl, who instantly fried. Good. Their attacks had only been strong because they''dbined their might. Sweetheart cried out, and the gravel became hers. It was an enormous, dark swarm that buried the rest of the fliers and made them fall to be easy pickings for the rest of my Pokemon. Sunshine, Princess and Jellicent quickly dispatched them. One of them escaped, but Lou''s arrival had freed Togekiss from her bodyguard role and she rose high into the sky. At this height, she could use her Moonst without fear of hurting us or any allies. The move came faster this time, and it pulled in the escaping Fearow. She used Sweetheart''s gravel to create two spears almost asrge as me, and used the curve of gravity to rip through both of Fearow''s wings. The flying type screeched as she fell, but Honey''s Thunderbolt smothered her scream of pain. "We can keep advancing, now." "You keep going," Lou deadpanned. "I''ll¡ª" Her head snapped to our left, and in an instant, she blinked away to shield Chase from an attack that had broken through Sigilyph''s barrier. I was on my own, then. I stepped over the guard''s corpse, not bothered about the blood getting on my shoes. They were already bloody anyway, and I couldn''t exert my ankle that much now that my cast was shredded and didn''t hold the leg in ce. It was painful, but pain was just that. Pain. Easy to ignore in my current state of mind. Grace could deal with itter. It didn''t take long to find my next opponent, and this one, I was worried about. A Musharna hovered over her trainer with her eyes closed and smoke emanating from her nose. A single Pokemon, but a Pokemon that exuded confidence. This was one of the guards Zoey had warned us about. "Princess, run psychic interference. Don''t bother with the brain, we have¡ª" A sudden headache hit me and I stumbled to the ground. Lou had been correct and Slowking''s barrier was enough, then. Good. So long as my neck wasn''t snapped. It''s not like Musharna didn''t try. I felt the bones and muscles there shift, but Princess countered her every time. Sweetheart panicked and flew off toward Musharna, her body surrounded by darkness. The sudden burst of movement forced the psychic to act, and an Energy Ball formed in front of her. Pupitar broke through the barrier with an enraged yell, ripping Musharna away from her trainer¡ª I squinted when Musharna condensed into pink mist and she was on top of her trainer again. What had just happened? Zoey hadn''t spoken about illusions, and Sweetheart appeared to have been hurt by that attack. I ordered Sunshine and Honey to just bombard her with moves while I motioned at Buddy to sink into the floor, since he hade back together a while ago. To my surprise, his body was wrestled away before he sank below the gravel. "That trick won''t work here," the trainer smirked. Why waste breath talking in the middle of a fight? "Night Shade and Shadow Ball," I said. The Shadow Ball came out of Princess, and Buddy summoned as many shades as he could. The spirits let out silent, whispering howls of pain as they barrelled toward Musharna with only one goal. Explode. But that was only a distraction. Princess whispered that Musharna''s mist was making us see things, and I was inclined to agree. Sweetheart circled around to get back to us, and Honey and Sunshine stopped attacking. Another headache hit me like a truck, and blood seeped out of my nose. No matter. The barrier held, and would hold for a while, still. I closed my eyes and felt. Rage, anger, fear, anguish, sadness swam around me like a tidal wave. It was hard not to get swept in it. Loud. Louder than anything I''d ever heard before, like I was sitting in front of a concert bass. Illusions could fool Princess, but they could not fool me. Another mental assault came, but this time, it was repelled like a pebble striking against steel and I felt nothing but a cold numbness. I opened my eyes, not changing anything about my behavior. "Princess, drills to your left." What we''d been fighting against had been a dream. "Buddy, Sweetheart, add some dark TE." Twenty drills rose from the earth, crumbs of gravel and darkness melded to the structure, and they all flew to our left. I heard a barrier shatter, a yell, and a thud. The world went blurry around us, and then shifted. The trainer I''d been fighting was bloodied on the ground, and Musharna started to sob for her fallenrade. Good, she was distracted. I motioned to my team, and we hit Musharna all at once. The psychic crumpled to the floor like cardboard, and mist stopped smoking from her nose. If she hadn''t been so sad, she would have been a tough opponent. That had been close. Without Mesprit''s blessing, I would have had to buy time until an ACE Trainer came back. I strode up to the man who was bleeding on the floor and assessed the damage. Princess had gone overboard here. I crouched and pped him before he could bleed out on the floor. Coteral damage was unfortunate, but I didn''t have the resources to save him. Too many holes in his body. I let my crutch fall on the ground, slipped my hatchet out of its holster and held it against the man''s neck for effect. "Where''s Abel? What''s he nning?" "Please¡­ it hurts." Luckily, he had the energy to speak, at least. "Tell me where Abel is, and I''ll see what I can do." "I don''t know where he is, just that he''s inside," the man croaked. Heunched into a coughing fit and hacked out blood. "That''s all I know, I promise. It hurts." Would a dying man lie to me? Well, it wasn''t like I had a way to figure it out. "Hm. Well, I''ve seen what I can do, and that is nothing. You''re going to bleed out, I apologize. You tried to kill me first, however, so no debt was incurred." I grabbed the Pokeball on the guard''s belt and recalled Musharna, ignoring his cries for help. After rising from my position and hobbling my way forward, Honey whirred with a twinge of worry. "I''m fine," I said. "Tired, bleeding, but fine. That was an ident. We didn''t know exactly where he was, so we needed to use more drills." Princess apologized to him, although I knew she couldn''t care less about the actual murder when the man had tried to kill me. What she was worried about was Honey''s mental well-being. The electric type nodded, and Buddy asked if he could wipe the blood off my body and clean my wounds. When I answered yes, I let the warm water wash away the muk and blood. Scald had been good for him. He could heat up his water now. The others were¡­ not dead, so that was a relief, but they were all wounded. Chase was bleeding from his arm¡ª coincidentally, the same arm that Sneasel had cut him on when we''d fought his pack. Two of Mira''s fingers were bent wrong, and she continuously clenched at her hand to help with the pain. Cecilia was hard to gauge. She was covered in grey dust, but she was still standing. All of their Pokemon were as well. Denzel was fighting two trainers with a bloodied nose and forehead. For the first time since the operation began, my stomach lurched. He was losing, and no one wasing to help. "Princess, Sweetheart, go assist." Togekiss and Pupitar lunged forward, and in less than five seconds, they reached my best friend. Princess lobbed ming orbs into the Grotle, Poliwrath and Bibarel while Sweetheart folded an Ariados like papier-mach¨¦, and poison and green blood squeezed out of her like a grape. Denzel used the opportunity to bark out a few orders, and Lopunny slid behind the burning Bibarel to strangle him. Her muscles had bulged due to numerous Power-Up Punches, and nothing could overpower her. Sharpened leaves from the garden floor and Roserade''s body herself sliced across a Crustle, who scuttled forward with surprising speed. Sylveon blurred in front of Roserade, his ribbons angled at his enemy like knives as they glowed pink. They extended further than they had any right to and mmed into the bug type like whips. Princess weaved her me around into a raging inferno that burned the two trainers until they were forced to step back. The mes only subsided when Bibarel and Poliwrath worked together to extinguish the mes. Unfortunately for them, though, Grotle had fainted. There was also another Graveler and two Dugtrio that had to be taken care of¡ª The smell of ozone clung to my nose as Honey appeared in front of me with a Protect. A flier had attacked us, this time with a trainer on the Pidgeot''s back along with a Pidgeotto and a Staraptor. A flying type specialist, then. Had they used me sending two of my Pokemon away as an opening? A good tactic, I had to admit. I held out a hand at Sweetheart and told her to stay and help Denzel, but Princess had toe back. Sunshine, Buddy and Angel''s attacks didn''t hit their marks. These Pokemon were quick enough to dodge, although Sunshine''s mes still burned the tip of their wings and started to cook the trainer. Exploding Scale Shots would have been enough, but he had to hold back, otherwise this entire side of the garden would be burning and gravel would have turned to molten rock by now. That was the thing about fights like these. Most of them were brutally simple. Just hitting your enemy with a bigger stick until they gave, instead of using fancy techniques. The trainer was forced tond, he realized, or he would just suffer from more burns until my scars looked prettypared to what he''d get. Pidgeot swooped down on the ground, but not before Princess rammed into her with the wind at her back and a barrier around her. The psychic structure copsed from the impact, and the hit sent the trainer rolling on the gravel until he was covered in cuts and his elbow joint bent backward. Pidgeotto and Staraptor screeched in worry and flew down to nab their trainer. It was always surprising, to see Pokemon caring so much for their criminal owners, but I supposed being a criminal didn''t mean one wouldn''t treat his Pokemon well. "Shell Trap." With a wicked grin, Turtonator summoned a me Charge and ran. One, two, three steps, then he jumped and exploded forth. He mmed his entire body into Staraptor and burned. Princess looped back toward us with the air vibrating around her. Pidgeot scrambled back to the air, but a Thunderbolt from Honey kept her grounded until the Air shes cut across her back. It wouldn''t be long, now. Staraptor was unconscious, her body a smoking crisp. Pidgeot took another two Thunderbolts to go down, and Princess chased Pidgeotto with Charge Beams until the bird crashed on the gravel right into Buddy''s figurative maw. It was strange, how he could stretch so wide and turn into such horrors. His insides turned boiling with Scald, and Pidgeotto fainted. Their trainer was running away now. It was surprising, how adrenaline and fear could push a human. A torn joint, broken arm, burns, and bleeding all over from falling into sharp gravel, but he was still legging it without even trying to get his Pokemon back into their balls. If he did not value them as much as they did him, why did they care for him so? I didn''t understand. Needless to say, he didn''t get very far. Honey caught up in less than two seconds, and the man stumbled back. He crawled, begging for his life as Electivire just sighed. The trainer crawled back until Angel snatched him with a vine and wafted the air around him with a hint of Sleep Powder, knocking him out for good. I wasn''t going to keep asking about Abel, since evidently, no one knew where he was or what his n was. After recalling all three flying types, I turned back to Denzel. He had a leg up on thepetition, now. Sweetheart wasn''t even needed any longer, with how brutally Sylveon was knocking Bibarel''s head into the floor over and over until his ribbons were bloody and Denzel had to tell him to stop. The guards weren''t fighting back. Not anymore. Evidently, someone had sounded for the retreat while I''d been focused on my fights, because they were all scrambling to get inside of the mansion. We all managed to pick off a few stragglers, of course, but a decent number of the remaining guards made it inside by the time all was said and done. Around twenty, by my count. Almost a hundred unconscious Pokemon and an uncountable number of Pokeballs littered the garden, and some of its grass burned until water types extinguished the fires. I grabbed my bag and applied potions to my Pokemon. None of them had been hurt too much, save for that Dragon Pulse Sunshine had taken and thebined st of slicing air that had almost killed me. Still, I divided two Hyper Potions for the entire team. While it would heal their wounds, it wouldn''t rece the blood they''d lost or replenish their energy. "Are you feeling okay?" Honey turned toward me as I patted his arm and nodded tightly. We hadn''t breached any of his boundaries, save for a single murder. That was unfortunate, but going through this without any coteral damage would have been a miracle. It was already a miracle that none of the guests had been harmed before making it back into the mansion. Sunshine looked like he''d been having the time of his life. I wouldn''t me him for having his fun so long as he was efficient with it. Angel was appalled at all of the meaningless hurt the guards had caused. He looked onto the fallen with a saddened expression. Buddy and Princess didn''t give a crap about anyone but us, and Sweetheart felt like she could have done more. Her evolution wouldn''te today, I knew¡ª not before herst molt, and that frustrated her. I tended to all of them talking about their worries. We had won the first battle, but we had not won the war quite yet. I passed by a fountain as I made my way toward my friends and traced my hand on the granite to ground myself and remember I was still human. Mira and Chase were already together as I found myself next to them. The pink-haired girl gnawed her teeth as she clenched her hand. "Grace," Chase gruffed. He shot me a look and acknowledged my injuries. The cuts all over me weren''t deep, but they were probably hard to ignore. Some would probably scar. I needed to get a look at my face before I could know if any would stick there, but one on my arm looked pretty deep. "d to see you''re rtively okay." "Right," I said. I blinked and began to feel again, little by little, and with that came prickles of pain. "How''s your hand?" I asked Mira. "Can''t move it without it hurting like a bitch," she hissed. "Think multiple bones are broken in there. Some piece of crap Sudowoodo nicked me in the hand." "Multiple bones shattered, I''d say," Cecilia said as she slid into the conversation. Her face was still caked in dust, but she actually appeared unwounded. She wrapped me into a tight hug, and I responded in kind, even if it somewhat snapped me out of my daze. Lehmhart loomed tall behind her, with marks all over his body. He''d taken a lot of punishment due to hisrge size. The rest of her team followed suit. "That''ll take months to heal. Longer than Grace''s ankle." "Without Carlos, it would have been worse," she muttered with a cold sweat. "I already know what I''ll need. Bone realignment surgery, a cast, and physical therapy. It won''t be pretty, but I''ll live." Losing the use of a hand was far worse than she made it sound, and I could tell she was frustrated. At least it wasn''t her dominant hand. Denzel was thest to arrive, panting and out of breath. He was pale as snow and I was pretty sure he''d thrown up, but he had already cleaned and bandaged his wounds. One across his forehead, a few across his face, and a nose that looked broken because of all the blood on it. I helped Chase bandage his arm while Slowking cleaned Cecilia''s body with a gentle jet of water. Then, I moved on to patching Mira up as best I could. There wasn''t much I could do without a cast, and hands weren''t exactly fit for stone splints. For my cuts, I could only cover as many of them as possible in bandages, so my arms, legs, and below my half-shredded clothes that I had to change with a spare that Mira had somehow remembered to bring, although her clothes were a little big for me. Cece helped me in that regard. My girlfriend breathed a sigh of relief when I told her that Lou had Teleported to save me from that close call with all of those flying types. We all glossed over most of our fights, but talking was good to keep me distracted from the pain all over. It was like my entire body felt like one giant bruise. I could still see the disintegrated woman off in the distance, but I did not shudder. Not now. The girl couldn''t flinch. "Milotic was good at protecting me," Denzel said with a clenched fist. "I actually hurt myself by jumping out of the way to avoid an attack andnded face-first in gravel. It could have been worse." Thankfully, his nose wasn''t actually broken, or at least that''s what Mira and he said. It wasn''t crooked or bent the wrong way, just slightly cut. "We''re alive," I said. "That''s what counts." "What now?" Chase asked, feeling at his bandaged arm. "The n''s screwed now that the guards retreated into the mansion." That was true enough. There had been such a sheer amount of Pokemon that their bodies slowed down the ACE Trainers too much, and even if Lou and a few had Teleported to block the entrance, there were multiple of those. The guards had focused on them and not on us because of the disparity in skill, and their Pokemon had fallen by the hundreds because of it. Doing this without the ACE Trainers would have spelled doom for us unless we''d infiltrated the mansion instead, somehow. Maxwell, Lou and Carlos walked up to us after around five minutes while the others were talking to themselves, staring silently or watching the mansion''s windows to check for any movement. "How''d you find your first battle?" Maxwell asked with his usual yful tone. "The scale of it is difficult to get used to." I''d been in exactly one battle to the death with a trainer, but even that had been different. This one had been a lot more of me just¡­ going through the motions of a never-ending struggle. Sure, I''d been in danger, but never enough to panic like I had against Harry Rodriguez when Princess and Sweetheart had almost died. I was fine with almost dying, but my children could not. "Awful," Denzel groaned. "More or less what I expected," Cecilia said. "Pretty fucking bad," Mira sighed, gesturing at her hand. Chase shrugged. "It did get my blood pumping." "It''s what has to be done," I finally answered. "And it''s just the beginning. What now?" "Casualty report first," Carlos gruffed. His half-molten face was still quite a sight. "Eleven guards and eight Pokemon have died during the battle. Fifteen wounded guards that we''re taking care of, two wounded ACE Trainers, but none critically or enough to stop them from participating. No Pokemon casualties on our side," he droned. Eleven dead guards, and eight dead Pokemon huh? That was a lot more than I expected, but ACE Trainers weren''t exactly known for their gentle touch. There was less regret for the Pokemon than I thought, even if it was still there. The image of some of them killing their ally in an attempt to get to me without any hesitation was hard to ignore, even if a Pokemon''s morality wasn''t aligned with a human''s. "We''ve retrieved all drugged Pokemon, although two were severely wounded. We''ll have one of ours Teleport them to the Center¡ª" I grabbed Shelgon''s Pokeball and dropped it into his hand. "A Shelgon. The only one I recovered." "That makes eight," he nodded. "There should still be a few inside, then, ording to Zoey Miranda." "I rmend sealing off the mansion with darkness to prevent anyone from fleeing," Maxwell suggested. "Rich people tend to use a Teleporting service and I doubt they''lle now that we''ve started the battle, but we can''t discount one of them owning a psychic and using it to filter people out. I can take Dick and Asher with me." "No, Maxwell," Lou said. "Them escaping helps us." "Wouldn''t that stop our psychics too?" Cecilia pondered. "We can make it powerful enough to stop glorified Pokemon taxis, but not strong enough to hamper your psychics besides mild annoyance. But it is a terrible idea regardless," the ash-haired woman said. "The guards might use the guests as cover, no?" Denzel asked. "It''d be a PR disaster for the League if you killed a bunch of innocents. And, you know, it would also be horrifying." "You''re correct, but Maxwell tends to only think in terms of efficiency," Lou said dismissively. I disliked how she spoke to Denzel as if he wasn''t meant to be here. "This is now essentially a hostage-filled building, which is why striking with a full frontal assault or not thinning out the herd a little would be unwise." Denzel answered with a nod, and Maxwell followed Lou''s suggestion without protest. There was a chain ofmand I didn''t quite yet understand there, because from what I knew about the scarred ACE, he wasn''t one to bow so quickly. "Unless Backlot gets desperate and traps everyone in there," Cecilia suggested. "If he does, we''ll have to deal," I said. "What if Backlot and his associates escape? He has no reason to stay here." "Backlot will not run," Carlos grunted. "The League knows him well. He''s too prideful for that, and if he''s hiding a collection he''s spent more than a decade building somewhere in that mansion, then he will not abandon it." "If you''re sure," I muttered. If that was true, we could get the names of his associates'' through him, or by using the Voice, if he didn''t talk. By the time we captured Backlot, he''d be good to use it again. But Abel wouldn''t think twice before escaping, I thought to myself. The Unovan had no allegiances. As soon as things got dicey, I was sure he''d run. Hell, he might have already run away. Annoying, but I was still in a state of mind good enough to understand that protecting innocents was better than exacting revenge. "Where would he hide?" Lou shrugged. "He wouldn''t be able to escape to any city, and Backlot isn''t one to live in the middle of the woods without all of this." She gestured around herself. "Now that the fact that he''s at the head of a poaching organization is spreading, no other Region will take him. Not even Al. The Tapus are not as lenient as they used to be after the war. Alns won''t let in a criminal of this magnitude now that his crimes have been made public." There was a reason no new city had been established or expanded in that region in decades. Mudsdale and Sunshine exined it to me recently when they''d been reminiscing. Every time, the Tapus rejected the notion, refused any negotiation, and weren''t beyond wiping out any half-built town before anyone even had the time to move in. The only thing the Alns had managed to do was build an artificial ind in the middle of the ocean. I nodded. "Alright. I believe you." Lou frowned. "I didn''t particrly care about that. We''ve got our beachhead," she dered. "Now, we strike ind." "I have a few ideas on how to approach this," Mira said. "Feel free to tell me if I''m being a dumbass or not." Carlos raised his only eyebrow. "Let''s hear them." Soon we would be going into the belly of the beast, and the girl woulde back in turn.
Chapter 263 – Siege Chapter 263 ¨C Siege
CHAPTER 263 - Siege Arceus, what a beautiful party it was. Full of panicked guests looking to save their hides, crying children with their baby Pokemon pets, knocked-down drinks and fallen food soaking the velvet carpet. All Abel needed now was some terrible music to make among the top five parties he''d ever been to, but Backlot had ordered the underpaid DJ to turn it off. Unfortunately, nothing would ever be able to top the time he''d sneaked into one of those cocktail parties in Castelia where Burgh gave a speech about some fucking painting and droned on for three hours. He had stolen that painting. Sold it for around three million. Abel would have loved to have a drink, but he needed his mind crisp and clear for this. Five minutes since the twenty-two remaining guards hade back in, and everyone was yelling at them to understand what the hell had happened. Abel circled around the grand foyer with Zazza at his back in the form of some woman in her thirties and Hypno calmly cleaning her pendulum with her mane in the corner of the room. All of his other Pokemon had their positions, of course. The ACE Trainers were going toe in one way or another, and he needed to buy time. It had been more difficult than he''d thought, stealing Backlot''s phone, and his pilot would take a few hours to get to the actual airfield. Now, he had scrolled up through all of their messages, but it seemed like they were deleted frequently, so he still had no address or general direction, which meant he still had use for Backlot. Speaking of his boss, the Lechonk had screamed until his face was red and decided to gather two of his men still left while the other twenty-five kept watch of the entryways. The guests avoided them like the gue, not wanting to get hit by a stray Stone Edge, or whatever rumors were swirling about. Abel passed by a mother hugging her daughter tight, telling her everything would be alright as she stroked her back and tried to hide her own fear from her voice to not panic the kid. He''d seen plenty of those already, considering the fact that guests had brought their families to the party. Abel motioned at Hypno to follow. The Unovan had been supposed to stay hidden during the party, since he was a wanted criminal, but most of the guests were too busy fearing for their lives to ask Backlot why he had Unova''s most famous thief under his employ. Not that some hadn''t. Backlot just hadn''t answered the question Abel climbed the staircase and walked down the red carpet, making his way to Backlot''s office. "Stay out there," he turned to Zoroark and Hypno. If Zazza ever saw Backlot, Abel feared she''d sock him in the face. "Good, good. Abel,e in," Backlot sighed. He let himself be weak in his study, letting his toupee drip onto his sweaty forehead. Just like all of this mansion, it was luxurious beyond belief. Deep, regal Burgundian tones and carved wood. Who the hell carved their flooring with such intricate detail? And there was more space here than he could ever hope to use. "Samuel, Warren, report." The two jittery guards nodded, and Abel listened intently. Twenty-six guards either captured or dead, the Pokemon their assants used, that there were only sixty-five Pokemon left avable to all of them, and they exined the tactics employed by the ACEs. Sinnoh''s ACE Force was different than Unova''s, it seemed. They fought more like a military unit than a special, focused force. Abel eyed Backlot as he breathed in, the gears turning in his head. "Why did you strike first?" he hissed. "We could have still surrendered. This is a raid, so they must have probable cause, but if they found nothing, then they couldn''t have sunk me, even if my reputation would have been in tatters. Mywyers would have beaten this in court!" Oh, yes. Which was why Abel had Mmar mind-control one of the guards and have him order his Politoed to attack. He couldn''t have risked a surrender, because that would have been his worst-case scenario. The League would havee in, and yes, while he could have stabbed Backlot in the back and revealed his house of horrors, he wouldn''t have been able to get his ride back. Backlot was smart enough to have contingencies to stop Abel from mind-controlling him, but he hadn''t extended that security measure to his guards, the poor fool. The guard Mmar had controlled was unfortunately dead. It would have been nice to still have a hold of him as a tool, but s, not everything could go his way, could it? "We could still do it," Samuel stammered. "Surrender, I mean." "You''ve struck at ACE Trainers under mymand," Backlot snarled. "They''ll fight me tooth and nail and have my head for this. It''s a fucking capital offense! Either you die under mymand, or you get the death penalty or worse!" Ah, he was fully in this now, how fantastic. Backlot was smarter than thinking he could deal with this on his own, but the fool was so addicted to his zoo that leaving it was basically worse than death for him. It was his life''s work. His reason for existence. Without it, he was an empty husk pretending to live. So he would try everything in his power to save it until it was far toote. And when that time came, and only then, he would realize he had fucked up and jump into Abel''s arms and lose all of his leverage. "So you say there are children there? Five of them?" Backlot asked. "Members of the LTIP, as we understand it," Warren murmured. "Not as powerful as the ACEs, but one-man armies in their own right. I had to fight one of them¡­ she drowned me in her Jellicent and took out all of my Pokemon in the meantime like they were nothing," he said through clenched teeth. There was regret there, and sadness that he''d most likely never see his team again. "She was attacked midway through and I managed to run off." "Run off without any Pokemon," Backlot grumbled. "You''re dead weight." "She was terrifying, sir," Warren muttered. "Looked at me like I was just in the way¡ª" "You''ll still be of use," his boss interrupted, drumming his fingers against the wood. "As it stands, our best course of action is fortifying. I want you to use my ample amount of furniture to make barricades in the halls. It won''t hold them, but it''ll obscure their vision and the guests and maids will make them think twice about breaking in with all of their might." "We''re¡­ keeping the guests here, sir?" Maxwell asked. "We have to. That way, we have leverage. The League won''t go in and ughter innocents in cold blood¡ª Abel!" "Yes, Mr. Backlot?" "I need you to prevent them from Teleporting in here. Can you do that?" he asked, gripping the edge of his desk. "I can, but the mansion is toorge, so it''ll have holes." "Holes we can guard," he gruffed. "Get to it, now. All of you. The longer we wait, the more the ACE Trainers prepare while we don''t." "How should we tell the guests they are now hostages, sir?" Abel said, hiding his haughty tone. "Just figure it out!" the man raged. "I have to talk to my associates. They''ll be Teleporting out through those gaps when the timees, so it''s not all terrible news." Abel didn''t have to be told to leave twice. He exited the room, and Zazza and Hypno followed closely while the two guards went downstairs. n? Hypno asked. A psychic of few words, she always had been. "Still the same," Abel said. "Everything''s proceeding rtively correctly. First, we have to get Mmar to start coating some rooms in dark TE. Zazza, you''ll help as well before I send you into the crowd to blend in." "Right," the dark type grunted. "They won''t Teleport into the funnels," Abel guessed. "They''d suspect that they would be sted by dozens of Pokemon as soon as they appear, it''d be suicide, ACE Trainer or not. No time to put up a barrier. They''ll move in through another way. Side windows are possible, but unlikely. Backlot''s forces don''t have enough manpower to cover everything and guard the Teleporting points we''ll be creating." "Which is why you epted Backlot''s suggestion in the first ce," Zazza said. "Well, yes," Abel shrugged. "Doesn''t matter. If he hadn''t, I would have asked him myself. This needs to be a long, arduous siege, and that means we can''t make it too easy for them, still. That''s why you''re all spread throughout the mansion and I''m going to have the guards send their Pokemon to protect the windows instead of the Teleportation points. The ACEs won''t risk Teleporting in, ever." I could go warn them, Hypno spoke. Easier that way. Abel nodded, and Hypno disappeared. She would be a key yer in this, with Miracle Eye to Teleport through Zoroark and Mmar''s darkness. ACE Trainers their attackers might have been, they knew how easy guarding a choke point was against an assailing force, so they would enter through less conventional means, like breaking through a wall. They''d been trained for war, and they would want to minimize civilian casualties. One thing Abel had noted through Mmar''s mind control was that the ACE Trainers were very keen to defend Mira Compton''s group. He already knew it, of course, but it was something else to see it in action. They were¡­ important, in some way. If everything went to shit, he might be able to capture one of them to negotiate from a position of strength. They were also different than he''d expected. More straightforward, and far less preachy, which was good news. He''d heard speeches about his wrongs a thousand times already. He''d rather they just get to the point and they tango right away. Mmar stood tall a few feet away from one of the windows, his golden eyes gleaming in the sunlight. Abel''s starter dipped his head when he saw him, Zazza and Hypno approach. His usual smirk was reced by a serious look that didn''t fit him at all. Standing around and waiting wasn''t good for his nerves considering their convoluted n. "Mmar, I''m going to need you to work with Zazza and inste this entire building and prevent Teleportation," Abel said, getting straight to the point. "Try to get as much of it as you can. If you have to abandon some rooms, make them rooms on the first floor and far away from Backlot''s office. We''ll have them fight for this ce inch by inch." Hypno, Xatu and the other psychics would be annoyed, but they would still be able to use their moves, although with some strain, as all high-level psychics would. Guests and employees would die, but that was no skin off their backs. Zoroark rolled her eyes. "Always a ir for the dramatic. When I''m disguised as one of the guests, can I punch Backlot in the jaw?" "Not yet, Zazza. Not yet." Mmar croaked, and tendrils of darkness seeped into the floor. ¡ª Not even five minutes after the battle, the mansion was swarmed in darkness. It wasn''t very surprising with added context. Teleporting in had been Mira''s first suggestion, but the ACEs had refused because they would have needed to go in multiple waves if we didn''t recall our Pokemon before going in, since there were just too many of them and not enough psychics¡ª five, by my count, not including ours. Lou wasn''t good enough to Teleport more than one person at a time. Second, they feared the guests would panic, and it would lead to a stampede with hundreds of casualties. Not the kind of results any of them wanted. Now that we knew these were hostages, it made sense they wouldn''t allow the guests to escape. "Maxwell, would you send someone to clear that news chopper?" Lou asked without turning toward the Helicopter. "Have two ACEs circle the area and order the ce sealed until further notice." News organizations were already here, unfortunately, and I recognized the SGNC logo on the helicopter. They were thirsting at the news of a League raid on one of the richest and most entric people in the country, if entric was another word for psychotic and evil. Maxwell ryed Lou''s orders, and Ariel and another trainer riding an Unfeazant flew up to ask the chopper to leave. "Won''t be the first trying to get in," Carlos said with his arms crossed. "If they don''t leave, we just arrest them," Lou spoke as she observed the mansion. "They can go record the Game Corner instead. I''m sure the League wouldn''t mind a show of force in Veilstone." Cecilia''s back straightened. "They''re raiding the Game Corner as well?" "They started earlier than we did," Lou nodded. "We won''t have any results for a while, but we had to do it now before they had the chance to scrub any evidence." My girlfriend bit her lip and allowed hope to show on her face. She was hoping for Wooper to be found, I knew. Croagunk did too, her cheek-pouch filling and emptying faster than they''d just been. "Denzel. Are you okay?" I asked. "Uhuh. Don''t worry about me, I''m doing a lot better now that we''ve made it through the first bit rtively alright." But that wasn''t it, was it? I could tell Denzel was worried about having been spotted, and it was a problem. He wasn''t a member of the LTIP, so he technically had no right to be here. I didn''t know how we''d wrangle that¡ª maybe ask Cynthia to let him in the program retroactively? Even then, it wouldn''t just make the rumors magically go away. Luckily, we were taking down poachers whom we''d given a chance to surrender multiple times, so as long as we kept things clean as we had so far, he would walk out of here with his reputation intact. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored it. Not now. "We have a few grass types. We could try to approach the windows and use a few fliers to spread Sleep Powder and Stun Spore ind," Carlos suggested. Ind. It was strange, how they referred to the mansion like it was an actual territory and not just a building. "Could work, but they''ll have countermeasures before any damage is done. There isn''t any point in not doing it, however, so we''ll send you there soon. First, we need a tangible n." "What about going through the roof? We make a hole, and we get down from there?" Mira asked. "Apparently Backlot''s office is on the third floor, ording to Zoey. On the left wing." "Yes, that would be sound. The windows and entrances will most likely be guarded as well, and even though we could break through, it would be best to take them by surprise," Lou said. "They''ll expect us toe through a wall or the roof, but they won''t know where exactly. Not until it''s toote and we''re already in there." "First, we wait," Carlos said. I frowned. "Wait? Why?!" "Let the anxiety rise by harassing them instead of breaking in right away like they probably expect," Carlos said. "Our friends will fly here¡­" Denzel muttered. "Then your friends will be asked to turn around or be ced under arrest," Maxwell said. "No one else will be added to this operation." My best friend gulped but breathed a sigh of relief. "So the spore thing first, right? Abomasnow can help with that, but I didn''t think this would go like this," Chase muttered. "I expected a lot more action." "This is no battle, Mr. Karlson," Maxwell exined. "This is like the wars our forefathers fought. You have no idea how difficult clearing a building protected by barriers full of cornered trainers and Pokemon is, let alone an entire city. Every room is a potential death trap. Laying siege and exhausting them for a few hours is just smart tactics unless you have enough power to level the cepletely, which we can''t due to the hostages and needing to capture people of interest." "Why not stay longer, then?" Cecilia asked. "Theoretically, I mean. I don''t particrly feel like staying here long, but we couldst days." "Backlot has enough food and water tost for months in this ce. Better to wait long enough to exhaust them, but not long enough for them to get a good night''s sleep. First thing''s first, though, send someone to ask for a surrender and negotiation. We do this by the book." Cecilia took in her words and nodded. This was a learning experience for all of us. The chopper had left, by now, but I could still hear it in the distance. An ACE Trainer walked up to the front door of the mansion with a megaphone and a Mr. Mime protecting him and demanded that the forces inside of the building surrender. No answer came. Not even an attack. Then, he tried to ask for negotiations for the hostages, but even then, nothing came. "Usually one or two would have tried to break out," Lou muttered. "Mutiny from the inside would be best." "Either way, we have to get started," Chase said. "Williams, Roserade cane to spread her spores too." "Right," Denzel nodded. "We''ll do it on both sides of the mansion," Lou specified. "In and out with a psychic so they don''t have time to retaliate. "Denzeles with me," I said. Lou answered with a nonmited nod, and Maxwell and Carlos exined what the n was to the rest of the ACEs. Me, Denzel and two other ACEs stood in a circle around a Bronzong while Chase was in another group. To reduce the strain on Bronzong, we had to bring only our grass types, which were Angel, Roserade, Venusaur, and a Breloom while a Staraptor hovered in the sky where we''d Teleport. Lou counted down from five, and then I was suddenly somewhere else. I could peer through the side window and saw at least eight Pokemon standing guard and using guests as human shields. Anger red within me, but my view was instantly obscured by green and yellow spores despite Bronzong''s barrier keeping us safe. A Power Whip from Angel instantly shattered the ss, and Staraptor swooped down from her position and a huge gust of wind carried everything into the mansion. The sheer amount of spores was more than I''d ever seen before, but Bronzong Teleported us out before we could see the results of our work. After around two minutes, Staraptor flew back close to the window, needing only a split second to see inside, and then blurred toward us in seconds. Talonme was almost as fast, I noticed. Even if she was nowhere near as powerful, it was a sign of how far we''de. Staraptor cawed, and Bronzong tranted to report. I was finally starting to realize what Maxwell had meant when he said this was war. This was doctrine. Something that had been drilled into these ACEs and their Pokemon for years. Chase''s group was a littlete, and the Mr. Mime there had much fewer results due to the fact that a Grumpig had been able to contain the spores right away. Another flier, this time a Ninjask reported as well. "Eleven guests unconscious," Lou said. "Five Pokemon knocked out cold. Persian, Luxray, Heliolisk, Hitmonchan, and Slowbro." "Mediocre results, but the psychological effects will be felt. The vise is tightening," Maxwell said. "They''re far more liberal with their hostages than I thought they would be, though." "Backlot has nothing else to lose," Lou shrugged. "A cornered Pokemon alwayssh out." "I did notice something," I said. "Eight Pokemon guarding one window, when they have fifty-something left by our count? They should be spread thin, shouldn''t they?" "They are," Mira nodded. "But it doesn''t matter how thin they are if they have people to cover their asses." "Even when we go in, that''ll be¡­ a problem," Denzel muttered. "What if Backlotshes out so much hundreds of innocents die?" "These are his friends and friends'' families. Will he really do it?" Cecilia asked. "He''s already using them as shields," I spat. "Not like he values their lives." "Backlot will most likely give the order, but the question is, will his forces follow? We have no real way to know, but they are not open to negotiations. We cannot allow them to get any leverage," Lou said. "If hostages die by Backlot''s hands, then that is not on us." "But their safety still matters," Denzel said. "It does," Lou agreed reluctantly. "Which is why we''ll try to thin their forces as much as possible before going in." I bit my lip and nodded. Please let this go okay. "What now, then?" I asked. "We do the spore trick again, but through another window," Maxwell answered. "Then, we switch tactics." ¡ª Twenty minutes into the siege. Screams. How annoying. Zoroark walked down the steps, cursing how slow she had to act as a human not to attract any attention. She heard panicked yells from the opposite side of the mansion. A real human would not have heard the words, but she did. Spores. The ACE Trainers were attacking, but valued the lives of the hostages too much to just break in, so they would soften Backlot''s forces first. Her eyes scanned the foyer, which was upied by around five Pokemon. Not thatrge of a force, but these so-called civilian humans were scared of everything. If they all ran as one, some would die, but most would make it out alive. Why would they not take that chance? Zazza did not understand humans, and she did not think she ever would. Arceus, she hated clothes too. The weird fabric clinging to her skin was ufortable and it took every ounce of restraint not to change back into her original form. For Abel, she thought. He''d saved her life. Without him, she would still be in Virbank getting kicked around by her old owners and their stronger Pokemon. Abel had brought her there, a yearter to exact revenge. There was nothing left of any of them after she''d been done with the bodies. Zoroark needed to blend in, and for that, she needed a target. The foyer wouldn''t do, she concluded. Too many people to do this discreetly. She could change into whatever she wanted, but she needed to turn into someone on the guest list. Plus, creating some of these ugly, strange clothes from scratch would have been a chore. Zoroark stalked the halls for two minutes until she found what she was looking for. The people that had fallen asleep due to the spores. The hallway was still swarming with the leftover, clinging to every surface and floating in the air like dust in an abandoned home. This amount of spores would mean that even walking through would have her fall asleep by clinging to her skin until she had to breathe and getting in her eyes or her nostrils. Zazza flexed, and power coursed through her body. Darkness was not cold, nor was it hot. It just was, and Zoroark couldn''t help but let a savage grin stretch her lips when she called upon her power. It was like drawing from an enormous well. The void surrounded her, and she jumped. In one smooth motion, she was atop her target''s unconscious body. Then, darkness pulsed out of the dark type and pushed all spores away from her, giving her the time she needed. Zoroark lumped the thin woman on her shoulder and jumped back just as the spores settled into the end of the hallway again. The pulse would numb the people who had been touched by it for a few days after they woke up. Zoroark''s body loosened, and she felt shivers all along her skin. Transforming always felt¡­ odd. To observers, it looked like panels of light appearing around her and flipping, revealing her new form. To Zoroark, it felt like her body itself was turning inside out. Not painful, but very ufortable. In a matter of seconds, she was her captive, clothes and all. Brown skin this time, shoes that were way too small for her feet and clothes that were too tight for her body. Zoroark growled in frustration, but now, all she had to do was hide the human somewhere. The dark type''s head whirled back. People wereing. Either she could tear a hole through the wall and hide¡­ no, that would just make them more curious. Humans had a tendency to put their noses where they didn''t belong. Zazza decided to let theme. They were running away at a snail''s pace, or at least that''s the way it looked to her. Two females and two males. Were they hoping to escape through the broken window? If they held their breaths and closed their eyes, they might seed in throwing themselves out the window before falling asleep, and the League would take them to safety. Unfortunately, they had seen Zazza carrying her doppelg?nger. If they woke up after escaping, they would tell the League that she''d transformed, and if they ran off, they''d tell the guests, and that would spread through the guards. It was a true shame, really. She would have let them go otherwise. Zoroark blurred, the world around her slowing. By the time the first man had taken a step back, she snatched him by the throat and lifted him up the ground, circling around the group to block their escape. She would knock them out, so they would still get away with their lives. There were screams, as there always were, but Zoroark ignored them. Her psychic powers weren''t great, but Mmar was a good teacher. Light overtook her eyes, and the world shifted, revealing strings. An overwhelming number of them, all of the exact same length and bending in different directions. Her eyes focused, and most of them¡­ didn''t disappear, but they did fade into the background. Zoroark focused on the ones in the humans'' heads and weaved them into a structure that Mmar had taught her well, and they all crumpled to the floor from the makeshift Hypnosis. She gently ced the man she held by the throat on the ground and decided to shove the human she''d turned into inside of a closetrge enough to fit ten of her. Now, to blend into the crowd and wait for the ACEs to strike. With that many people in the crowd, no psychic was going to be able to pick her out. When she made it back to the foyer, anotherdy called out to her. "Tasia! Oh, Arceus, I was so worried! I tried calling you, but phones don''t work anymore¡­" Of course, Tasia had friends. Good thing she was a good actress, but how was she going to figure out this human''s name without giving herself away? "George was taken somewhere," the friend muttered. "They say they''re taking us hostage, but I''m not certain." Now was the time you figure this out? Zoroark wanted to grunt in annoyance. "They are," Zazza said, injecting fear into her tone. "We should stay silent and blend into the crowd so they don''t pick us to send to the windows. Who knows what the ACE Trainers outside will do? We could die." There you go. The girl shut up, and even though Zazza was secreting fake tears, she wanted to smile. ¡ª Thirty minutes into the siege. Kecleon was a nifty little Pokemon. He''d spied for Abel more times than the Unovan could count and was among one of his oldest captures. The normal type crawled on his shoulder, his skin turning to the dark colors of Abel''s clothes, and hung there. Since Hypno and Xatu were quite busy, at the moment, Abel released Dan from his Pokeball. The pink blob instantly scowled until he turned into the form he''d stuck to for the past few weeks. An eight-year-old boy, this time. At first, him always having been a child made justifying his behavior easy for the public, but now he was just used to being small, and they''d collected plenty of hair so he had an expansive catalog to choose from. Ditto was, after all, only slightly more than one year old, and the species took a while to mentally grow, unlike most Pokemon. "Trante what Kecleon says for me," Abel said. "This ce crummy. Leave yet?" Dan pouted. "If things go well, we''ll be leaving today," Abel said, crouching to reach his eyes. There was another scream down the hall, which made Dan frown. "Don''t worry about any of that. We''re doing the n I told you about, remember?" "Yeah," the Pokemon answered. He''d been learning to speak these past few months thanks to Zoroark''s tutge, and he''de far, even if his words were still garbled. It was hard not to feel proud of him. Kecleon croaked a series of words, and Dan nodded along. "Cory Williamson, Shaun nkenship, Ja¡­ Ja Chapman¡­" The names of Backlot''s associates came one after the other until he had the full list. He only knew three of them by name while the other ten were new to him. Not something he was particrly nning on using, but a nice bargaining chip, if anything. "Teleport away," Dan continued. "Escape." Abel nodded. As much as he would have liked to keep them here, Backlot would have figured something out if he took out the Kadabra that came to pick them up. Could have knocked out both them and the Kadabra too, but he didn''t want any meaningless risk. Someone where they were supposed to Teleport to was bound to be alerted if they didn''te back. Still, he had leverage now, in case things didn''t work out. Should everything go to shit, he could always kill Backlot before he fell into the League''s hands, escape, and try to make a deal with the government in exchange for the names. It''d leave a terrible taste in his mouth, but he''d need ns in case none of this worked out. "Good job, Kecleon. Keep spying on Backlot and alert me if he gets any wild ideas so I can steer him in the right direction." The normal type nodded, turning invisible, and Abel recalled Dan into his Pokeball. He leaned against the wall and his hand instinctively went to a cigarette in his pocket that wasn''t here anymore. Xatu had destroyed all of his hidden packs. Five minutester, Hypno Teleported next to him with that awful, awful eye above her head that Abel couldn''t stare at. Miracle Eye had more uses outside of battle than within, and it was a wonder Abel hadn''t had Hypno prioritize it until he almost got caught. The eye winked out of existence, and Abel wiped sweat he didn''t know had been there. "What are they doing?" Abel asked. Spores, mostly, Hypno answered. Sometimes, they attack through the windows if there''s an opening and there are no hostages. Backlot''s guards are overwhelmed, so they haven''t covered every window yet. There are also two ghosts that have snuck in, but Mimikyu, Shedinja and Mmar have those covered and force them to flee every time. "How many Pokemon are down?" Only eleven, now that I spread the message to get further away from any windows. They won''t catch them off-guard again. So long as we keep hunting ghosts before they take us down, we''ve stabilized until they try something else. "How''s morale looking in the troops?" The guards needed to at least fight back. If they surrendered at the sight of the ACEs breaking in, then Abel wouldn''t be able to buy time. Terrible. There are talks of surrender, but most are trying to get some kind of Kadabra to pick them up, but they can''t call for help with the darkness scrambling phones. Apparently some people left with one earlier? "Yes," Abel nodded. "Backlot''s associates. Do me a favor and pick up Xatu for me?" Abel closed his eyes, and it took ten seconds for Hypno to pop back with Xatu. The flying type looked mighty annoyed, probably from being in the dark too long, but she would have to deal with it. "Anything new?" Xatu''s eyes twitched. The numbers are fluctuating wildly. Every minute, the odds change. I fear I won''t be of much use to you here, Abel. All I can do is tell you that they''reing, and soon. Her voice was garbled as well, due to the dark. She did not share Hypno''s expertise with using psychic powers in these environments. Even before the ACE Trainers had even arrived, her numbers had started to change in every direction, so there was something else at y, here. Too many variables, perhaps. "Oh, I know that," he said. "I was hoping for more, but it''ll have to do." Abel Torres rolled his shoulders and sighed. I apologize. I can try to look again. "No need to exhaust yourself," he said, shaking his head. "As soon as they break in, take me to Backlot. Hypno, you''re ry. The team won''tst long against ACEs, even with our tricks stacking odds in our favor, so you''re Teleporting them to me as soon as things get dicey. Have Xatu feel when our enemies strike to help you time things." Both psychics silently agreed. Soon, it would be time. ¡ª Two hours and thirty-nine minutes into the siege. The mansion''s roof was so uneven and rough that just crouching on it hurt my ankle like hell, and all of those bandages on me made my body feel tight and ufortable. Buddy worriedly clicked at me until I told him I was fine. I''d found it harder than I thought to get back into the zone, especially with all of the activity around me at all times, but we couldn''t wait any longer. Our tactics weren''t having much effect any longer, so we needed to break in. Denzel was with me, along with Lou, Maxwell, Ariel, and two others that were called Richard (although they called him Dick) and Serena. All of my other friends were in another section of the roof with their respective ACE Trainers. We were going to split from now on, and not meet again for a while until we fought through the mansion. The fight itself would be rtively easy unless we stumbled on Abel and his team, but even the Unovan couldn''t stand up to five ACEs. That was, unless he had tricks up his sleeve, which we had no doubt he would. There were also the guests and employees to worry about, so there would be no wide-ranging or destructive attacks. That would put a strain on our tactics, but it had to be done. I wasn''t going to let my team kill innocents. There were children here, I knew. I''d seen one through the window during one of our Sleep Powder tactics. I would rather let guards and Pokemon escape than have all of those people die on our watch. Lou stared at her watch until the clock struck the dot. Ariel''s Dragonite pierced through the roof with a simple Ice Punch, and we all released our Pokemon into the breach. All around us, three simr explosions rang out. I jumped, letting Angel''s vines catch me and gently pull me down into the room we''d just gone in. No guards, no guests. Some kind of bedroomrger than Dad''s entire apartment. It was my first time seeing my bodyguards'' teams in full from up close. I let myself breathe again and closed my eyes in relief. We were in, and things were so silent. My body and mind began to numb.
Chapter 264 – Into the Breach Chapter 264 ¨C Into the Breach A/N: I will reiterate the trigger warning I put in at the start of this climax
CHAPTER 264 - Into the Breach Since the start of this operation, Denzel had wanted to barf. He''d done it once already, when he''d seen Roserade dismantle a Graveler with hundreds of poisoned leaves. When he''d heard he''d been one of the few causes for Pokemon casualties, Denzel had swallowed down the bile and blinked away the tears. It was too much. He had expected it to be terrible, but there had been so much carnage all around him in the garden that he was sure the images of the battle would haunt him for months toe. He hadn''t been built for this. No one was built for this. It was toil. Endless work, crawling in grime, blood and muk. And yet, when he looked at the thing pretending to be Grace, he couldn''t help but wonder where the hell his best friend had gone. There was something empty in her eyes. When they''d stepped into the hallway, they''d immediately been struck by ten Pokemonmanded by two guards, as if they''d known exactly where they would be. Had there been no hostages here, it would have been easy to beat them, but they were forced to stand in front of their enemies to dissuade them from striking. While Denzel, the ACEs, and Grace would have to hold back and cripple themselves not to hurt the twenty or so people in front of them, the enemy had no such reservations. They''d tried the Sleep Powder trick, but Backlot''s guards had a Grumpig to stop the spores with barriers, and of course, breaking through the barrier in one hit required attacks that would kill the hostages. So they struck small, at first. Building up their techniques little by little until the shield would crack, and hopefully leave them an openingrge enough to strike with a precise move. When the first hostage died to one of the guards'' Pokemon''s doing¡ª a man who looked to be in his twenties and who had begged for his life until it had been snuffed out of him¡ª there had been two reactions. Denzel froze in disbelief. An entire life, just gone. One second, he had been there, the other, Grumpig had wrestled him in front of itself to block a low-powered Ice Beam from Lou''s Vanilluxe after they''d taken down its barrier. Grace had stayed silent and had Princess lodge a spear through the hostage''s corpse and through Grumpig''s head in a cold act of retribution. It hadn''t mattered. Not really. The man was dead¡ª frozen like a statue, but the nonchnce of it all disturbed Denzel to no end. In the end, four more hostages died until the Pokemon were dispatched. Not all of them had been as evil as that Grumpig, thank the Legendaries, and they''d decided to surrender instead of fighting a losing battle of attrition. Now, Ariel, Richard and Lou pushed further inside of the building while Grace, Denzel and Maxwell were tasked with getting these hostages out of the building safe and sound, where Serena would stay with them and keep the peace. This was, thankfully, an operation to free these innocents just as much as it was one to capture Backlot. Denzel''s crouched in front of a girl who couldn''t have been older than ten, his fingers and arms pale. He did not know if his paleness was because of the dark, or because of these events, but it was probably abination of both. She was sobbing uncontrobly and not moving. He could have dragged her out of here by force, but Denzel couldn''t bring himself to do so. Be strong, he told himself, because part of him wanted to sob just like her, and it wouldn''t do to show that to this child. "Hey, hey," he gently murmured. "What''s your name?" "L¡ªLisa," she cried, shooting a nce at the frozen corpse. Had she known him? "I''m going to need you to be strong and walk, Lisa," Denzel said. "My¡ª my¡ª" Her words were iprehensible, but Denzel could tell they''d been rted in some way. A cousin? A big brother, maybe? And if so, where were her parents? Taken to a different side of the mansion, probably. Denzel felt his heart wrench with guilt. They hadn''t been good enough, and now Lisa would have to live without a family member her entire life. How many years would this day haunt her, he wondered? How many repercussions would it have down the line? Too many to count, Denzel thought with a clenched fist. He soothed Lisa for another minute until she was ready to at least walk, and by the time he''d gotten her ready, Grace and Maxwell had led all of the other hostages back through the roof and back in the garden by lifting them up on his Honchkrow and Princess. Not one of them had spared Lisa a single look past asking her if she was hurt anywhere. Maxwell was different than Grace. Denzel pegged him as someone who had seen too many horrors in his life and had found the best way to cope was just to at all of it. It was more efficient this way, Denzel kept telling himself. She wasn''t actually doing anything wrong, but there was more to being alive than efficiency. This was not her. The Grace he knew waspassionate and warmhearted. The Grace he knew would not have looked at a child who had just lost a family member like a statistic she needed to deal with before moving on to bigger fish. So before they caught up to the others, Denzel decided enough was enough. He had to snap her out of it. "Grace," he called out more aggressively than he would have liked. His best friend turned, her eyes unblinking for far too long as she stared at him. "Hm?" "We need to talk about your behavior," Denzel said. "Now isn''t the time to have a spat," Maxwell interjected with a snide stare. "Do it when you''re out of here." "Maxwell is right," Grace said. "Let''s catch up with Lou and the others. This mansion too big, and it''s got upward of a thousand guests and maids. The faster we move, the fewer people die, and the less time Abel has to n." She paused. "Somewhere in this mansion," she muttered, "horror beckons, and it is loud." The kidnapped Pokemon, Denzel thought. She could feel them somewhere. "Since the others went ahead, protocol dictates we clear the side rooms," Maxwell said. "We have to ount for Abel being able to bypass empathy powers, and Ms. Pastel can''t sense humans. Let''s begin." Denzel''s nails dug into his palms. They were right and he knew it, damn it. Honey was the only one of her Pokemon that seemed to be giving him the time of day about this topic too, so it wasn''t like he could force the conversation. Jellicent had never liked him, for the ghost only had so much love to spare. Princess liked him, but Denzel was pretty sure she liked Sylvi far more than him. Turtonator didn''t even spare him the time of day. Sweetheart was indifferent, although she liked when he talked to her about fighting, and while Angel was amenable and the nicest of her Pokemon, he was too focused on keeping things alive at the moment. But he had to pull her out of this hole. "We can talk while we do this," he said as Grace had Angel swing a door open. "You need to get ahold of yourself." "This is for the greater good," she deadpanned. "Room is clear." "Room is clear," Maxwell mirrored from the other side of the hallway with a Liepard next to his leg. "I know you''re doing this for good¡ª I know you''re a good person," he said as he had Lopunny kick down a door that shattered in a thousand splinters. Nothing in there. This was going to be long, arduous work. "Being in this situation doesn''t give you an excuse to be like this. You mutted a corpse. You look at the hostages like they''re in the way." "Grumpig deserved to die for what he did." "So you''re the judge, the jury and the executioner now?" he scoffed as he cleared another room. "There are ways to go about things. Ever since you''ve met with Hatterene¡ª" Denzel cut himself off when he saw Grace flinch. "No, it goes further than that," he corrected himself. "But she''s the one that taught you to be like this. You''ve had these moments where you aren''t yourself," he continued. "And I will not give you a pass for this no matter what the situation is despite what the others say. Being a cold-blooded killer isn''t you." "I''m afraid it is." "Then fucking contain it," Denzel hissed. "Being good takes work, and it''s thankless work too. But you know what? Fine. I''ll apologize for getting on your case about killing Grumpig¡ª" Lopunny kicked down another door. "Room Clear. You probably saved lives by doing it, and I''m sorry. I just¡­ I don''t know how you do this killing this so easily. I don''t know how any of you do it or vow to do it, to be honest. Not Cecilia, not Chase, not Mira. I don''t think I''ll ever be able to get used to it." "It gets easier," she said, with a little bit of emotion. Denzel ignored the wrench he felt in his heart. "But the way you treated the hostages? That isn''t right, Grace." His friend was silent, although he noticed her breathing quickened. "Being a friend isn''t just about blindly supporting each other, it''s also about calling each other out when we go too far," he continued. "Just like you called me out for neglecting Sylveon and putting too much time into my streaming and marketing stuff. Just like you called me out when I was being annoyingly defeatist in Eterna City. I think you could at least make the hostages feel at ease after rescuing them. Even Maxwell does it." "Room clear," The ACE said, ignoring them. "Dissociating like you do won''t always work out, even if it might today," Denzel said with a clenched fist. His entire body felt strained. "If you''d behaved this way in Eterna Forest, when you had to pick up the pieces and mend the group back together, we would have died. If you behaved like this when we were in Mount Cor trying to get Cece back, someone could have gotten injured or worse, and you probably wouldn''t have told us that you were getting sick. If you were like this when catching Turtonator¡ª" The enormous dragon loomed down at Denzel, but he would not be intimidated today. "He would have burned you to a crisp," the tall teenager finished. "And probably us, too." "It''s easier this way," she said with a waving voice. Her Pokemon swarmed around her to support her. "I can do what needs to be done." "I don''t know¡ª I don''t know if there''d be a way to bnce it," Denzel said. "But at the end of the day, this is just¡­ advice I''m giving you. I can''t imagine my life without you as my best friend, so if you can''t stop, I''ll just bury it all and try to forget. Try only to remember the actual you and bury this day somewhere very deep, because I won''t lie to you, I''m d you saved my life today, but¡­ I still don''t think that was you." In that moment, light came back to her eyes, and Denzel recognized his friend again. "I''m still killing Backlot and the people in charge," she muttered. "And I''m still leaning into it when the timees." "That wasn''t what this was about," Denzel said. "It was about how you''d get there." Although he couldn''t help but worry for the fate that awaited the man. Death, he woudn''t feel bad about, but that deal Mira and Grace had struck while they were flying? It would keep him up at night. "How sweet," Maxwell mocked. "Keep your fucking heads in the game, kids. You never know when something will jump out." They caught up to Lou, Richard and Ariel soon enough, and Denzel''s heart dropped. Eleven dead civilians on the ground, blood seeping into the dark, and no enemy Pokemon to show for it. Just because he''d said some nice words didn''t mean everything would work itself out. "This is among the worst-case scenarios," Lou dered. ¡ª It was, in a way, strangely annoying being here. It reminded Cecilia of rence''s numerous properties, only less extravagant. How many years had she spent, walking down halls just like these when her so-called father had summoned her to his office for another round of verbalshing for not being perfect? Too many to count. Yet, this was not the only reason why Cecilia was frustrated. Cecilia could not use Lehmhart, her strongest asset, because he was taller than the ceiling and his weight would tear a hole under them until they reached the ground floor. She could also not use her most devastating attacks to deal with her enemies due to the hostages swarming the building. Twenty people, they had saved already, and now another set of Pokemon blocked their path. Slowking grunted next to her when a flurry of attacks reached her. Thankfully, none of them scythed through the hostages, although she noticed some were hurt by the proximity to elemental attacks. Here, Scyther, Talonme and Slowking reigned supreme, but Zweilous? Zweilous was more focused than they''d been in a long time. Always target the psychic first, her bodyguards had told her. Then, the trainer, then the rest of their team as they make mistakes due to the grief they''d experience. "Dark Pulse, twenty percent." Both heads let darkness gather in their mouths, like rings interlinking with each other until they became a chain. The weak attack shattered Girafarig''s hastily erected barrier and whisked out of existence before it could hit an older-looking woman. Channel the rage, and focus, she continued. At the very least, this one was nowhere near as powerful as that Grumpig Chase had warned her about before going in. A quick Air sh cut across Girafarig and her ilk from above, and then Scyther dove in, shing like a madman until nothing was left standing. Nothing except a single Stond that he threw with much strain. The bug type motioned at Croagunk, who circled around Stound until she suddenly cut in with a Fake Out. Stound snarled, not being stunned for as long as Croagunk thought they would be and would have bit into her arm had Slowking not wrested her back. Too strong, this one, but any training is good training. Scyther cut across Stound''s nk and Zweilous finished him off with a Dragon Pulse that was approximately at thirty percent. The hostages came next. Cecilia smiled to reassure them that everything would be okay while her trainers helped with the evacuation process. A smile exuding confidence would be good to make them feel at ease, but it should not be too wide, for their situation was serious. She needed to be a beacon of hope for them to look to and think that everything would be alright. Cecilia iced her veins and shut down the swelling rage when a woman with burns carrying a toddler in her arms made herself known and thanked her for her help. How much meaningless death would today bring? People were being executed in cold blood, and for what? One man''s folly? "You''re doing well," Mason said once all of the civilians were gone. He was a lot more serious than he''d been when locking her down in Veilstone, which she appreciated, and his team was serious as well, save for a grinning Aln Raichu that floated on their tail like a surfboard. Her other two ACEs were here as well, but Mason was the only one she''d ever talked to. Grace and Mira were unique in that regard, considering their closeness to their guards. "But if one of those Pokemon had been not ying along, then you''d have dead hostages on your hand," Mason finished. Cecilia''s blood ran cold at that fact, but she didn''t let it show. "How could I have improved?" They didn''t stop when they talked, but Cecilia listened attentively. This was as much a raid as a lesson, otherwise they wouldn''t be letting her lead. They had intervened when she took too long to take down her opponents or when the opposition was too strong, but other than that, she was on her own save for when they cleared rooms. It was not only a lesson in non-conventional battles, but in warfare, and for that, Cecilia would be forever thankful. Oh, there were books about the art of war, but none were as good as experiencing it for yourself. Course of action, intelligence gathering, protocols for numerous situations, decision making¡ª these would all serve her well in the future. She peered into a bathroom while Slowking kept her protected with a barrier and kept moving. Something gnawed at the back of her mind, however. Things were far too quiet. Abel had not made his move despite them pushing far into the mansion. Hostages were dying, yes, but they would still snatch victory if things kept going as they did. Zweilous blew through a barricade, exploding the wooden desks, chairs and tables like they were paper, and they marched on. Radios didn''t work here, so there was nomunication with the other side, but all she could do was focus and hope her friends were alright. Power screamed to get out of her throat, her fingers trembled, and something in the back of her head . ¡ª Mira''s hand was throbbing like a motherfucker, but it was best not to focus on that. Moving it was still possible, but agonizing¡ª the most pain she''d ever felt in her entire life, in fact. Mira''s ACE Trainers were holding her on a tight leash because of her past behavior and her two psychics being weakened here, so she was support instead of the tip of the spear. Not that a trainer of her caliber could even be the tip of the spear. Porygon2 fired a Water Pulse on a Rhydon that took up half of the hallway while Magnezone fired a blinding sh Cannon. That Rhydon was drugged. Shit. He was thest Pokemon standing after all of hisrades had been taken out. A flurry of water and grass type attacks assaulted the rock type, including kazam''s Energy Ball, and Carlos whistled. Cold seeped into her. His Mismagius must have done something, because Rhydon started fighting the wall instead of them, shattering the structure and tearing through it like it was cardboard. Paintings and decorations broke as Rhydon dove horn deep into the wall, opening a gaping hole into some kind of living room. Carlos'' ghost had tried to infiltrate the ce numerous times with Haunty, but every time they''d been kicked out by Abel''s Pokemon, which was why Haunter was currently waiting close to her to strike at her true target. The deal she''d struck with Grace would leave both of them happy, and Arceus knew that girl loved her bargains. "The way''s clear," Carlos said. "Pokeball." One of the ACEs ran without making a single sound and swifter than Mira had ever seen, grabbing Rhydon''s Pokeball and recalling it before it could bring the entire mansion down. The thing with Pokemon who were fed Rare Candies is that they never went down until they died. There had been five hostages to free¡ª and one dead and two injured in that lot. A miracle, considering the rampaging Rhydon. Mira spoke to them as brightly as she could, trying to be the support that they needed in these trying times. In the back of her mind, cogs turned. "Carlos," she said. "I''m ready to do the thing." "With your Porygon?" he gruffed. "If you still think that''s wise." "It is. We can get the names of Backlot''s associates if we dig far enough." The pink-haired girl grabbed her phone and realized how crippled she felt typing with a single thumb, but after twenty seconds, she ran her program. Fifteen Porygon came to life outside of her device, but these weren''t like her own. Their eyes were nk, and they had no will. Just a bunch of ones and zeroes that would only execute their tasks beforeing back to her or die trying. They fled through the halls and through the walls of the building. A neat trick, if anything. Hop inside of the nearest phone you see. Avoid danger. Send all of the contact information and the texts back to me. Those were the three main parameters the Porygon were operating on. Once they were done with a single phone, they''d move onto the next until a one mile range was covered, with Porygon2 leading them mentally. The guards, Mira didn''t expect much from, but there was a possibility that Backlot''s associates were still in the building, and even if they weren''t, then Backlot''s phone would be of use. Porygon could scour through broken devices as well, so unless he''d Teleported the damn thing away, then she''d get results. A smarmy fellow like Abel would hold that information above their heads when the time came, and Mira wouldn''t let him blindside her. Not again. Even if she didn''t get the names, having logs of Backlot''s criminal activities would be good to clear their reputation. Mira didn''t expect them to take arge hit, but hostages were dying, and this raid wasn''t going to be as clean as they thought it would be. "Onward," Carlos grunted. Mira followed. ¡ª "How many?" Chase asked. More than four hundred in the foyer, but they''ve been barred from getting close to the doors, Lucario answered. I cannot delve into more detail, not when I have never practiced sensing at this scale. They have a single Pokemon on the stairs, ready to signal if anyone gets near and to block any hostages from running upstairs. Chase chewed on the words for a few seconds, then clicked his tongue as his ACE Trainers brainstormed a strategy to keep as many civilians alive as possible. They''d been the first to make it near the foyer, it seemed, but they were still out of view, not even bothering to cross into the stairs out of fear that more civilians would be killed. It had been a lot easier for Chase, saying that he didn''t care and he would just barge in anyway before he''d spoken to the damn people, seen them crying, injured and dead. Rich they might have been, but they were still human, and it was something he might have forgotten along the way. How ironic, that he had gone through the same process with his current friends and thought himself above that, now. Chase brought a hand to his chin and his right foot tapped rapidly against the carpeted floor. His squad had no ghosts to send to scout, and Sigilyph was going crazy from the dark. It took everything she had to focus, and she''d saved multiple hostages withst-second Psycho Shifts. Abomasnow ced a thick hand on Chase''s shoulder and Houndoom licked his fingers. "Our best course of action is waiting until another group gets near," an ACE said, pointing toward the opposite hallway. "They send a ghost and choke the life out of the Pokemon on the stairs, then we can get going." "So we let them win, then?" Chase muttered. "It''s not about winning," another one said. "Time is on our side, Chase Karlson. We''ve knocked out twelve Pokemon on the way here, and the other groups probably will end up with a simr number. Let them clear out the wings, then we can move onto the foyer." "I don''t like it, but fine," Chase grunted. Three minutester, he realized that things would not be that easy. There was a shrill screaming from downstairs, muted from the distance they''d put between them, but the sound of it made Chase''s hair stand on end. He''d heard that type of scream, over and over when Steelix had destroyed his home. It was not born out of fear or pain, but loss. The panic soon spread, and there were soon screams everywhere until they filled the entire hallway. "Lucario?" Chase snapped. The crowd is moving back as one, as if to run away from¡­ something, but they aren''ting up the stairs. Chase cursed, and loudly. There wasn''t much he could do, not when the ACEs were holding their positions. They kept saying it wasn''t worth it, and Chase couldn''t help but think to hell with that. Something was happening down there, and people were dying. Millionaires and billionaires, he reiterated. "They better volunteer to pay their damn taxes after this," Chase hissed, turning to his four ACE Trainers and their Pokemon. "We''re going in. People are dying." "Let the record show that we disagreed with this decision," an ACE said. They were putting him in charge, Chase realized, and suddenly, the weight of duty came crashing down on him, heavier than anything he''d felt in years. No matter what choice he made here, it would have consequences. There would be no miracle. It would just be differing, shittier shades of grey. But if he could not handle this, then how would he handle leading the Iron Inds or Sinnoh itself? Millions of souls, looking to a single leader for what to do, and he balked at four people and a few hundred hostages? "What are your names?" Chase asked. "Dominic." "Rene." "Nevaeh." "Nakai." "I should have asked a long time ago," he said. "Whatever happens, I''ll bear the consequences." They moved as one, although Chase knew he would struggle to keep up with their pace for long, even with how much he''d pushed his body for years. The stairs were just around a minute away, and a huge Arbok stood guard. In less than a second, a Sigilyph seized it in the air with Psychic and the other Pokemon easily dealt with the poison type. Chase ran down the winding stairs and only then did he notice the magnitude of the situation. The foyer was on fire. Bright, red mes shone against the dark and consumed everything in its path. The entire mansion would fall to the mes if this continued, and all of the hostages would die. Some were already dead, lying there, burned and lifeless. The mes crept up the copsing walls and ate at the wood, spreading like a disease. A reon stood atop a dead guard and burned everything in his vicinity while the hostages were pushed back by the remaining Pokemon. They were stuck in between a rock in a hard ce here, and these stupid fucking guards weren''t even relocating them. Zoey had told them about a drugged reon back at the hospital. Had its trainer lost control? The ACEs were faster to move than he was this time. A Cloyster and a Walrein instantly started spreading water across the mes and beating them back. "Downstairs," Nakai spoke. Chase inhaled, but could only nod. With his team at his back, he ran toward the culprits. Twelve Pokemon, some of them clearly wounded, but they had mixed into the crowd and waited for Chase, Nakai, Rene, and Dominic to strike with bated breath as the Nevaeh worked to contain the drugged reon. The teen felt at his grandparents'' ne and wished he could call upon the voice again, but he couldn''t. Not until this evening. The ash and smoke from the waning mes clung to his throat, but he didn''t cough. He could only watch. "If you surrender, we can work out a deal!" Rene yelled. "No need to get so many innocents killed!" One of the guards hesitantly spoke. "No death penalty!" "We can work that out!" Rene answered. "Just let the hostages go and surrender, okay? The same goes for your Pokemon!" Thank Arceus. Chase hadn''t even thought about negotiating with them, but things were going to work out. He felt a prickle of heat at his back as reon unleashed the final bit of energy it had into a roiling inferno, but the attack was contained by Dominic''s Walrein in a giant sphere of frosty water. It took around five minutes of hesitant deals before the guards agreed to surrender, and the hostages could finally be let out through the front doors of the mansion. The guards agreed to let Abomasnow let them breathe in a little Sleep Powder so they could be transported without a fuss, and their Pokemon were recalled, including reon. The casualties were in the dozens¡­ thirty-four, Chase winced. All burned due to reon before he could get there. His indecisiveness had cost them their lives. "We should havee earlier," Chase muttered. Lucario could only stay silent, but it wasforting, in a way. "We believed they wouldn''t negotiate," Rene said. "It''s a shame, but it could have been worse." "It fucks with me, having to think of every decision in terms of lives lost," he grimaced. "Leadership is¡­ harder than I thought it''d be." The ACE snorted. "Did you think you could fix everything with a word?" "No, but¡­ this just reframed everything I knew. Everything I thought I knew. Every decision a Champion makes ripples across the region with intended and unintended consequences. I think I¡ª" Darkness sliced across Rene''s neck. Her head fell off, falling with a sickening thump as her body crumpled to the ground. Hostages all around them ran in a massive panic, and Chase didn''t even have time toprehend what the fuck had just happened. He would have gotten crushed underfoot too, had Sig not been there to lift him up, and his Pokemon could only brace themselves against the crowd. The screamed, pushing and stepping over each other without a thought as Rene''s Pokemon stared in disbelief¡ª Chase''s eyes narrowed at one of the hostages. She ran faster than was humanly possible, somehow weaving in between the crowd. She cut open Rene''s Chesnaught, Minun, Sandsh, Venomoth, Granbull and Lilligant before they even had time to register what had happened. Grief had frozen them. "Zoroark!" Chase hoarsely yelled. The entire crowd was outside now, and it was only Chase and the remaining ACEs. Panes of light flipped around the dark type, reminding Chase of the ghost he''d seen in the abandoned city, and she returned to her original form. Zoroark did not pay any attention to their Pokemon. Instead, she focused on the trainers. Not him, Chase noticed. She was targeting the ACEs first, because they were stronger. Zoroark blurred as she shaped the darkness around her into a mass of writhing ws. Protects formed around every single ACE, easily absorbing the attacks. The terrain was at her advantage here, as it was for every dark type. She could shape the darkness into whatever she wanted. Chase soon realized Zoroark might have bitten off more than she could chew when the ACEs started driving her back. Darkness wrestled away by Nakai''s Umbreon. Dominic''s Aggron pelted her with sharpened pieces of steel twice asrge as Chase in an attempt to kill. Nevaeh''s Ariados slowed her with String Shot and sent poison that melted through every surface. Wounds built up one by one, and Zoroark was on the back foot. They couldn''t just stand around and sit here. "Lucario!" Lucario''s eyes closed in cold understanding as two blue bones grew out of his palms and more aura emanated from every inch of his skin. With a wave of his hand, the blue light shone toward Zoroark, who cried out in pain as it turned to tendrils and tried to pin her down. Vikavolt hovered in the sky, firing as many Thunderbolts as he could while Lucario blurred forward. Nakai''s Luxray followed suit, as did Zangoose, Abomasnow, and numerous others. Lucario usually was a master at fighting in a melee, but he could barely keep up with Zoroark. A bone mmed against her shoulder after tendrils wrapped around her ankles, and Zangoose wed across her back with an X-Scissor while Luxray hit her with a Thunder Fang. The dark type growled and punched Lucario in the gut faster than the eye could see, sending him back as he rolled into the dark. Zoroark snarled, calling forth a powerful pulse of darkness. Chase did not flinch. He jumped off Sig''s back despite the high fall, and hended in a roll right behind Lucario, whose aura overtook him and shielded him from the worst of the attack. His bodyguards brought their Protect back up again, but Zoroark used the opening to strike at Chase instead. Her entire body whirled back, and she kicked Zangoose in the gut, sending her tumbling back, and then she blurred, side-stepping Houndoom''s methrower and Abomasnow''s Ice Beam¡ª Umbreon traveled through shadows quicker than Houndoom could ever do. Zoroark bared her sharp teeth, and then pulled back before she even tried to attack. There was another pulse of darkness, but this one was weaker than thest. The wounded dark type ran off up the stairs, and Chase clenched a fist. "Fuck," he sighed. They would have won, he knew. The only reason she''d seeded was the element of surprise. The other ACEs gathered around Rene and her¡­ Chase didn''t know if her Pokemon were dead too, but some were simply unconscious, he could tell. ACE Trainer Pokemon wouldn''t go down that fast, even when distracted. Something was afoot, and as it turned out, Dominic noticed that these were the telltale signs of Hypnosis. A dark type using the move so quickly? That was not something they''d expecteding in. They recalled her Pokemon and carried her body outside with solemn stares. The garden outside was full of guests¡ª more than he had ever seen, which meant that his friends were doing good work. The fresh air blew against his face and did wonders to clear out the smell of death from inside the mansion. Zoroark was on the loose, and she was powerful. One of Abel''s fighters, if he remembered correctly. Chase felt worry creep up his spine, but there was nothing he could do. Heading back inside on his own would beparable to suicide. "Reinforcements are arriving in approximately eight minutes," Nakai said after staring at his League-issued phone. Not Poketch designs, but close to it. "Not ACEs, just League Trainers. They''ll take care of the hostages. When they arrive, we will head back in." "Good," Chase muttered as he stared at the hundreds of terrified guests and maids in the garden. "Are you okay? Rene¡­ well, I didn''t know her, but you did." She had died so quickly, as was often the case in battles at the heights Chase had reached. Taken by surprise. They had thought about the possibility of Zoroark hiding as a hostage, along with Ditto, but they''d growncent after a deal was reached without any interference from her. Fucking hell, this was all on them. A mistake that shouldn''t have been made. "I will grieve when our work here is done," the short man said. "The mission alwayses first." Chase nodded. "Okay." He tried to find something else, but the words died in his throat in a series of grumbles. I''m sorry. My condolences. We''ll get Zoroark back for what she did, but he knew none of those would work. None of them had when his parents died. So what else was there to say? ¡ª It was easier than not, letting myself be numb and unfeeling. The darkness helped me transition between states easily. It was no Shiftry''s domain, but it certainly helped, even with all of the noise around me, be it Pokemon or hostages. We hadn''te across an enemy squad in two minutes, so we believed they were holed up somewhere else. Denzel''s words rang out in my mind, reverberating in it over and over. Had I been doing too much and losing myself? How would I take actions that were needed, if I couldn''t bring myself into doing them? Would I have been able to order Princess to run ance through the hostage if I''d been my current self? No, you would not have, I answered. Denzel had been somewhat right, but also wrong, however. This was as much to help myself as it was to help others. Seeing hostages treated like pawns to sacrifice, dead people all around these hallowed halls? It made the desire for revenge ever greater. It bubbled under my skin until I felt like I''d break, whereas before, only the most extreme cases of cruelty would have me seek revenge, like that fucking Grumpig. The psychic had felt nothing when he''d used that man as a shield. Just relief at his own safety. That was what made me snap. The sheer fucking audacity of just using a living, breathing person like a rock to hide behind wasn''t something I was willing to let slide, ever. If I was presented with the situation again, I would make the same decision every time¡ª Colors, seeping through the doorway. Faded, almost muted, but there regardless. "Wait!" I hissed. Maxwell, who had just been about to have his Ursaring open another door, froze¡ª The door shattered in a thousand pieces, and Ursaring roared as darkened ws raked across the Shadow Ball faster than the eye could see. The Shadow Ball exploded in a billow of purple smoke, and I dragged Denzel close to me as Honey sprung up a Protect. I heard Lou cough beside me, her barrier having shattered, and when the smoke disappeared, she was writhing on the ground. Her Lunatone hastily threw her back, desperately trying to get her trainer out of harm''s way, and every Pokemon prepared to fight. The ACE''s Pokemon entered first, and another explosion rocked the entire office. A desk crumbled, bookshelves sank, and purple energy swirled everywhere. Ghost. I only got one look at the carcass before a pir of ice from Lou''s Vanilluxe overtook it, because that was what it was. A carcass. Pale greys and browns, forever dposing, yet never falling apart, with a bright halo above their head. Abel''s Shedinja. The ice just swirled until it disappeared, reminding me of Cynthia''s Spiritomb. Maxwell called out. "Fire, rock, ghost, dark or flying¡ª" Lou''s Solrock materialized a pyro bomb around Shedinja, and everything went white. Honey was the only reason we weren''t dead. My ears rang as Buddy extinguished mes on Princess'' fur and Angel''s vines, and the other ACE''s and Denzel''s Pokemon who weren''t behind something or Milotic''s own Protect were overtaken by the mes. Solrock wasn''t themselves any longer. Lou''s near-death made them impossible to control. "Angel! Lou''s Pokeballs!" I yelled. The grass type was still smoking, but two quick vines snatched Lou''s Pokeballs and recalled all of Lou''s Pokemon while Shedinja silently weaved ghostly chords together and strangled Morpeko. The small electric type screamed, but there was no voice that came out until Richard recalled him and released him nearby. Maxwell''s Honchkrow squawked as des of darkness scythed toward Shedinja, but the bug type just¡ª Put up a Protect. "Fuck! Protect and Wonder Guard!" Maxwell snarled. "We''ve got to exhaust it first¡ª" Explosions were growing closer and closer as something hateful traveled our way. "Another Pokemon''s iing to our right!" I yelled. "They''re going through the walls!" Shedinja put up another Protect when Sunshine blew a stream of unending mes toward them, but I shut him down immediately when the mansion started burning. Buddy was on me-extinguishing duty before it could spread, but he sent shades exploding at Shedinja, and numerous Pokemon attacked him from all sides. The bug type just hovered there, powered by nothing and with only muted feelings to give me an insight into their psyche. From all the true ghosts I''d seen, this one was the most alien by far. Liepard growled as she blurred toward Shedinja, but she never finished her attack. Her eyes went nk, and she fell to the ground as if she was in a catatonic state, after which the ghost began to choke her too. Maxwell clicked his tongue and brought his Liepard to safety, releasing her next to Blissey. "Don''t get close," Ariel said as her Blissey healed Maxwell''s Liepard with a Heal Pulse. "It''s doing something, messing with any Pokemon that approaches." The worst part was that Shedinja was weak. Stronger than my own Pokemon power-wise, but weaker than these ACEs. Protectbined with Wonder Guard was just unstoppable and forced you into a protracted fight, which the ghost was apparently excellent at, unless you had the sheer strength needed to blow past Protect, which was nigh impossible. Fighting in a single, small office also made things a lot more difficult than they had to be. "Twenty seconds to impact," I warned. "They''re angry." "When the other Pokemon gets here," Ariel said. "Focus on it and retreat into the hallway." Protect was the line between life and death. Honey said he was growing tired, so Milotic quickly crawled toward us and brought up her Protect instead, leaving the electric type time to rest. They couldn''t put them up long like the ACEs'' Pokemon, so they were only brought up when there was a particrly powerful move capable of hurting us, but we weren''t Shedinja''s focus, I realized. Ten seconds to impact, and the hate was so loud that it forced me to mute my powers. Shedinja had a gimmick, a gimmick that could be broken after a few minutes of fighting, but what would arrive worried me¡ª "P?????????????????????????????????????????????k?????????????a????????????????????????????????????h???????????????????" Mimikyu burst into the room and as if a switch had flipped, we all ran into the hallway. There would be ample space to fight here, and if they didn''t follow, then we had more time to regroup, heal our Pokemon, and strategize. Mimikyu''s beige and decrepit costume did very little to hide what was beneath it. Fragments of a face, so deafeningly silent. Eyes like a child''s drawing that drew you in and continuously shifted in ce. We blew her up with everything we had as soon as she followed, and her costume turned to tatters, but that only made her angrier. I shivered when more of her body was exposed. It was an amorphous void thatshed out in every direction with makeshift ws that were darker than the night sky. "Shedinja''s gone! Phantom force, probably!" Dick yelled. Sylveon''s ribbons tried to wrestle Mimikyu, but they were cut like paper through a shredder, and none of Denzel''s or my Pokemon had much of an effect, since we didn''t want to bring the entire mansion down. The ACE Trainers were far better equipped to deal with this, having more custom moves under their belt than I could count, both powerful and not, thetter being for this exact situation. Maxwell disappeared in a puff of ck smoke as Honchkrow brought him to safety and his Weavile and Liepard were tearing Mimikyu apart. Shedinja reappeared behind Ariel, but her Cryogonal had been ready for it. The ice type countered the X-Scissor with Protect, then almost managed to hit Shedinja with a rolling Night sh before he brought up his own barrier. Shedinja was tiring. Never before today had I understood the move''s importance until I got into a battle like this one. If I managed to catch a ydol, Protect was going on the top of my list for them. We were finally getting the upper hand again, and the chaos subsided. Denzel''s and my Pokemon only struck when we were sure we wouldn''t get in the way and from afar. Abel''s Pokemon had grown, that I was sure of. No one thought they''d be capable of standing up to ACE trainers before today. Yes, individually, each was weaker, but Mimikyu fought until there was almost nothing left of her and Shedinja had their tricks tost far longer than they had any right to. Buying time through trickery, I mused. But buying time for what? Why not just run away? Fortunately for us, after a short, pitched battle, Mimikyu was on herst legs, and Shedinja''s reaction times grew slower and slower. None of the ACE''s Pokemon had taken too much damage, save for Richard''s Greninja. Honey and Milotic had been reced by Cryogonal to keep us protected, having grown too exhausted to periodically keep putting the green barrier up. Mimikyu fainted, bing a pool of purple void covered with her destroyed costume, and Shedinja finally took a hit from Maxwell''s Crawdaunt and fell in one hit. The ghost''s halo disappeared, crumbling into dust as the Pokemon fell lifeless on the ground. "How''s Lou?" Maxwell instantly asked. We turned toward the pale woman as our Protects came down. Ariel walked at a brisk pace toward their fallenrade while Maxwell and Richard ran to her. She was breathing, thank Arceus. "She''s unconscious, but nobody knows how she''ll be when she wakes up. We need to get her out of here," Maxwell said. "Make a hole through the ceiling and have Dragonite carry her." Ariel nodded. "Nini." Dragonite spat out a small Dragon Pulse, tearing a gash in the roof, and the dragon lifted Lou in his arms. "It bes dangerous without her," Richard said. "We no longer have a psychic, and we won''t be able to go through another one of these if Abel pulls out more of these tactics." "We''re pushing through until we meet the others," Maxwell shook his head. "The mission is the priority." Dragonite came back and exined with much difficulty that hundreds of hostages were outside. I''d known the dragon enough to at least grasp some of what he was saying. That meant that our friends had managed to run through the mansion and free the majority of them, which was great news. A headache split my head open as Hypno and a Xatu appeared in front of us with a gleaming eye above the Hypno''s head. They were only there for a second. A single second. Weavile tried to strike her, but it was toote. Then, all of the ACEs and their Pokemon were taken away¡­ somewhere. There was a surge of panic inside of me, and my hands started to sweat. Denzel said something, but I didn''t pay attention to what he was saying. Lou would have been able to counter that, most likely, or at least slow it down. Had she been taken out on purpose? "Denzel," I whispered, "Steel yourself." He could only muster a nod. Steps, muffled by the dark. None of our Pokemon had been taken, and I was sure that was for a reason. Or maybe thebined might of Hypno and Xatu wasn''t enough to Teleport all of us and they prioritized the ACE Trainers'' Pokemon instead? I turned toward the direction of the steps, and our Pokemon braced themselves. Denzel released Swablu, who had been resting after taking a hit to her wing in the garden, but we needed all of the firepower we had if we wanted to win. Brown hair, average height, and an unassuming figure, save for the sharpness of his jawline. Steady steps that were far too confident for the situation he was in. Abel Torres was here, and Machamp and Zoroark followed behind him. No Mmar, I noticed. The Unovan ran a hand through his messy hair and I saw a bit of annoyance sh on his face when he stared at Shedinja and Mimikyu, which he promptly recalled. "Hello," Abel spoke. "Now that your bodyguards are gone, I am here to present a deal to you, since evidently and for some Arceus-forsaken reason, you''re in charge here. Easier to negotiate without the hounds trying to capture or kill me." Princess ripped a few bricks from the walls and formed them into a drill until I stopped her. I understood immediately now. Without his Mimikyu and Shedinja ready to fight, he wasn''t in as much of a position of strength as he could have been. "What deal?" Denzel said, trying to keep his cool. Amusement flickered on Abel''s face. "Backlot can be yours, along with the names of his associates if you wait one more hour and some change." I blinked as I registered the words. This was thest thing I would have ever expected. Granted, I was not even thinking about epting his deal. He did not only have two Pokemon with him, but three. There was something invisible crawling on the ceiling above us, and I had no way to alert Denzel about it without Abel finding out, and from the way Princess looked, she hadn''t noticed, too. He definitely had a way of bypassing empaths, then. Zoey hadn''t been a fluke after all. I also had no way to know if the Pokeballs on his belt were empty or if he was saving them. Even if the rest of his Pokemon weren''t battlers, any extra help would work to beat us back. "Why would you hand him over to us?" I asked, desperate to buy time. If our other friends and their ACEs got here, then we''d stand a better chance. Three Pokemon against twelve, I believed we could take, but some of our Pokemon were tired, burned, and I didn''t know if he had more tricks up his sleeve like what he''d done with Shedinja to stand a better chance than he had any right to. I had no idea if he''d taught his Kecleon to fight on the level of his other battlers in the months since Veilstone, and I had no doubt some of our Pokemon would be terribly injured or worse if we went into a protracted fight. "He''s holed up in his zoo, at the moment," Abel said. "Where all of the Pokemon he''s stolen are." "The Pokemon you''ve stolen," I spat. The flickering colors of agony were closer now, and louder too. I knew now it was somewhere close to the foyer. Abel rolled his eyes. "Semantics. Here''s the deal. We can both get what we want here. Now, either I take Backlot with me and leg it, or you give me what I want and I give you the names of all of his associates. I know the League wants their heads." Denzel moistened his lips. "What you want is? Beyond us waiting an hour, I mean." "For you to stay holed up in the mansion, pretend that you''re still looking for the fool and just to let me be. See, I''ll actually let you find him. In approximately six hours, the door to his house of horrors will reveal itself, along with all the Pokemon he''s tortured. I''ll be long gone by then, but he''ll still be there. I''m confident that no League investigations will be able to find the actual room no matter what methods you employ. If you double-cross me, I could just not send you the names of his associates and keep the room hidden away. I don''t have to be here to sustain what I''ve employed to hide it." That could be a lie, but I had no way to know. Think, Grace, think. Why the hell would Abel want any of this? My eyes darted between his Zoroark and his Machamp, who were staring at us nkly. There was no aggression there. Just normalcy, as if they''d done this a thousand times before. They had done this a thousand times before. epting this was out of the question, but I still needed to know what he was getting out of this. One, he had no idea I could sense his fucking so-called ''zoo'' and the suffering that went on within. "What are you getting out of this?" Denzel probed, enunciating my thoughts. "None of your business, kid. I''m afraid the clock is ticking. Pushes to shove, I flee with Backlot." What did Abel want the most? Money? No, too simple! To escape to Unova and get his revenge on rence Obel for slighting him twice and escaping because of Mira. Did Backlot have a way to give him this? A private ne was a sure thing, but the League had eyes on every airport and searched even those. But if he was confident we''d never find where Backlot was, then why did he even need us? Couldn''t he just leave? No¡­ why would Backlot take him on a ne if he left him out to dry here? Abel needed him here with him. Zoroark¡­ Zoroark and Ditto could turn into Backlot if needed, so that wasn''t an issue, but¡­ His n was beginning to take shape, but there were still so many holes. Damn it, I couldn''t get a read on him. But I could at least pretend like I could. Buy some time. "You have a deal with him and you want to run off to Unova," I said. He shrugged, not bothering to answer. His face was difficult to read, more difficult than anyone I''d seen save for a few, other than when he''d seen his Pokemon hurt, ironically enough. I flinched when Hypno and Xatu reappeared, although Xatu looked halfway dead, with a torn-out wing and both of her eyes having been ripped out. Hypno was better off, but even though I could barely look at her, I could hear her tired breaths, see the flickering light from the waning Miracle Eye, and blood seeping on the ground where she stood. There was finally a surge of panic in Abel, but he smothered it as fast as it hade. They weren''t close to us, so the fear of them kidnapping one of us passed. Abel recalled Xatu and sighed. "Well, your time is up." What now? Every ounce of my being wanted to strike. To rip him apart and make him pay for what he''d done. But I couldn''t risk it. I couldn''t. I¡ª Movement on the ceiling. My body moved before I realized it, and I pushed Denzel back. The wood cracked under where he had just been, and Kecleon revealed himself on the ceiling, having just tried to capture Denzel with his fucking tongue. They''d tried to kidnap him by bringing him close enough to Teleport. Hypno was on herst legs. She couldn''t just whisk him away in a second like she''d done to the ACEs. The Miracle Eye disappeared, and Hypno fell, now unconscious from exhaustion. They''d been timing this, and they''d failed. Abel frowned. "How¡ª" "Kill him!" I yelled. Sylveon hadn''t even waited for us to strike, a Moonst forming in his mouth. "Oh dear," Abel sighed.
Chapter 265 – Rout Chapter 265 ¨C Rout
CHAPTER 265 - Rout The Moonst came quickly, but Zoroark was faster. While Abel and Machamp stayed frozen, their eyes captivated by Sylveon''s moon, the darkness under Zoroark rippled, then surged like an enormous wave toward us. A gust of Fairy Wind from Princess, powered up by everything she''d learned with the wind, weakened the darkness before it could get there, and Honey stepped up as Denzel squeezed himself next to me to fit into his Protect. The wave of darkness turned into a mass of scythes, bloodying all of our Pokemon save for us and Milotic, but what came next was unexpected. Machamp picked up Abel in his arms and ran. They were retreating. "Honey!" I barked. Tired he may have been, but he was still nowhere near done. Sparks of electricity hummed around him until he blitzed past Zoroark, not bothering to hit her even if beams of energy still grazed her. The dark type tried to follow, but Roserade fired off two Poison Cutters from her flowers that came even faster than they had in our battle. The poison actually punctured through Zoroark''s shoulder and gut, proof that the grass type was aiming to kill. Honey fired off a Thunderbolt at Abel while Jellicent sank into the walls in an attempt to follow. Machamp threw his trainer forward so he wouldn''t get caught in the electric attack and took the Thunderbolt with a grunt. Abel was still running, and Zoroark and Machamp were following. Kecleon had turned back invisible and was escaping as well, although I knew he was near Abel and still on the ceiling. "We follow," I dered. "Got you," Denzel replied without missing a beat. This was do or die, and I knew he would have my back no matter what, just like the rest of my friends. He was pale, terrified, and wished that none of this was happening, but he would still do it, because Denzel was steadfast. "Princess, stick around. Zoroark''s nning something," I said, turning to Angel. "Pick me up." Tangrowth ced me on his head and broke into a run, which Denzel followed on foot. Every bounce hurt my ankle like hell, but I''d deal with it. I had to deal with it. They were organizing some kind of fighting retreat, but Zoroark had a hungry look in her eyes, along with the pain and everything else she felt, which was mostly worry. Lopunny stomped the ground, her muscles bulging as Sweetheart shot off the ground with her remaining gas to take down the dark type. Princess tried to sh her apart with the wind, but a wall of darkness stopped Zoroark from getting cut. It would not, however, stop Lopunny from punching the shit out of her. Zoroark narrowly avoided the first Power-Up Punch, but she couldn''t avoid the flurry of kicks and hits that followed. She gritted her teeth, but instead of fighting back, she transformed, losing half of her body to dodge Sweetheart''s Iron Head. Princess tried to fire multiple drills she''d ripped from a brick wall toward Abel, but instead, Zoroark jumped like a spring was at her feet to p them away without a fuss. The few that made it through, Machamp stopped. The fighting type could jump higher than I''d thought. Wouldn''t work like it had against Harry Rodriguez. In the front, Honey desperately tried to dodge Machamp''s brutal strikes. The fighting type had used the momentum fromnding from his jump to m an elbow into Honey''s forehead, but Electivire narrowly managed to get a Protect up. A shaky one, but it would do. Machamp was a giant and had a few inches on Honey, but he was faster than he looked. I heard a sickening crack when he punched Honey in the shoulder, but Buddy emerged from the floor, crawling along the fighting type''s skin as Sylveon joined the fray against Zoroark with ribbons that acted more like swords. Zoroark still kept up with Lopunny, Sweetheart and Sylveon without too much difficulty, but she was starting to get overwhelmed. Machamp''s skin began to boil as Jellicent slithered all over him with Scald. "Inside and Water Spout," I said. Zoroark''s eyes twitched when I gave that order, and she instantly blurred back with fear. She wed a hand along the floor, sending tendrils of darkness to grasp at Jellicent and wrest him away before he could climb inside of Machamp''s mouth. The fighting type roared as he jumped back, tanking a Dragon Pulse from Sunshine with a tired groan. Honey couldn''t move his arm very well, but another Thunderbolt took to Machamp. Denzel barked out a few orders for his Pokemon and then turned to me. "He''s gaining ground," he huffed. Fire was in his lungs, having grown tired from all of our previous trials, but he wasn''t slowing down. "If you send Princess to get him with her psychic powers¡ª" He stopped when Zoroark''s eyes shone and Roserade fell asleep in an instant. "Hypnosis," I hissed. "Princess, Psychic interference!" So that was their y, then. Running away for too long would no doubt have them run into reinforcements, so they were going to turn the fight by having us lose our numerical advantage before that came to pass. I called out to Angel, and Kecleon''s tongue almost mmed into me, puncturing the wood in front of us in the process. That would have broken a few ribs. I suddenly felt sluggish, my eyes struggled to stay open until Denzel had his Milotic use Protect in front of me and Angel, and I snapped back awake. It was surprising, how he''d taught the water type to move through hydrokinesis already. Zoroark snarled in response, but not before herpse in attention got her a punch in the face from Lopunny. The normal type was speeding up and excelled in drawn-out fights like these. "Her psychic powers are better than Princess, or at least she can push past her," I breathed. Denzel turned, recalling Roserade before running again. "But slowly. That gives Milotic enough time to work with. Can you deal with Kecleon?" "I can. Sunshine." The dragon was keeping up with us, but he was among the slowest here when he couldn''t speed himself up with me Charge. We couldn''t waste time extinguishing fires if they were behind us. "Dragon Pulse next to that chandelier, and don''t hold back," I whispered. Denzel side-eyed me, but just dove to the side as he dragged me next to Milotic. He told Fross to go for Abel, and I decided to follow suit. Target him first, and his Pokemon would follow. "Buddy!" I yelled. "Go for Abel¡ª" The water type listened instantly, but the Dragon Pulse obscured my vision. Everything exploded as me and draconic energy burst from Turtonator''s snout. The green, shimmering Protect came before I could even feel the heat on my face. I knew the Dragon Pulse must have hit Kecleon, because I sensed him fall down to the ground, along with a thunderous crash of the chandelier and half of this section of the roof. Machamp called out to Abel as the fighting type dueled Honey, who was continuously dodging his strikes with Radiant Leap. Bad at range, I noted. Milotic was attentively waiting to spring up Protect when needed, but he also extinguished the nascent mes while Buddy was hunting Abel down. There had been no Protect for him to resist the Dragon Pulse, but darkness'' defensive capabilities never ceased to impress. Zoroark had raised a wall of it, and it had absorbed the attack before it could reach Abel. He was burned, at least. His skin was crinkled and reddened. The Unovan stared back for an instant, and I swore that I noticed him pale, even in the dark. He pulled out a Pokeball, and¡ª "Princess!" An entire section of the wall flowed like liquid in front of Kecleon before the red light could reach the normal type. Abel clicked his tongue and stopped running. Honey tried to run to finish off Kecleon, who was still squirming on the ground, but Zoroark blurred, tearing across his back and Machamp punched him with a glowing fist faster than he could put up a Protect. My heart sank when multiple of his massive teeth were knocked out of his mouth, along with an ample amount of blood, and he fell back. I recalled the electric type, but he wasn''t the only one aiming to finish off Kecleon. Lopunny decked the normal type in the jaw and threw him back, and Swablu sted him with a Dragon Pulse for good measure. Angel grabbed him with a tight vine, and Kecleon''s tongue stuck out of its mouth as he began to choke. Of course, Princess had formed another wall of stone in front of us, so Abel could only hear his Kecleon''s desperate, hoarse cries. Terrible as my fight against Maylene might have been morally, the experience I''d gained from it could be called nothing but useful. I held out a hand, and we stopped right in front of the fallen chandelier. It wouldn''t stop us, of course, just slow us down some. We could just walk around it, but Abel had stopped, not taking the opportunity to put some distance between us because deep down, he cared. He could have continued beating us, probably taking down almost our entire team in the process with Zoroark''s Hypnosis if he caught us off-guard again. Hell, he probably would have if they weren''t so focused on defending him. But the fact of the matter was, Abel Torres loved his team. And that made the fact that he tore Pokemon away from their families even more sickening. He understood the love trainers had for their teams because he felt it. This was why Abel was among the worst people I''de to face. Because unlike Mars or Saturn, he behaved like an actual human being who was just evil, and that made it all the fucking worse. Hate pooled in my stomach, but I kept it there before I could make a mistake. I knew Buddy and Fross were waiting in the wings, but Zoroark stood guard in front of Abel, darkness wreathing and pulsating in her palm. From the way half of her fur was frozen or burned, and ghostly smoke wafted off her body, they''d already tried to strike once or twice in tandem, but it clearly hadn''t worked. Still, we had the upper hand, and had only lost two Pokemon for it. "Surrender," I said with a sharp smile, "or Kecleon dies." ¡ª Abel had, he finally understood as he heard Kecleon''s choked cries for help, drastically underestimated these ''uppity'' teenagers, as he had called them. Kecleon had been extensively covered by Mmar and Hypno, so how in the world did this girl know exactly where he was at all times or when he''d strike? Once was a coincidence, but twice? Had he known, he would have recalled Kecleon right away. He''d nned to use her as a hostage to get her and her friend''s Pokemon to surrender right then and there, because he couldn''t keep running without running into trouble. They were probably two minutes away at most. He''d heard a little about Grace Pastel. She was the one Mars was obsessed with and had asked him to kidnap her, and from the way she gleefully held Kecleon''s life over his head, he could see the resemnce. When she''d first arrived here along with her group, Xatu had told him that they''d been the cause of the wild fluctuation in her calctions. She''d told him that they made no sense, and Abel had never seen her that terrified, in that moment. Denzel Williams, he knew less about, but the problem wasn''t that their Pokemon were too strong, it was that they knew how to fight these kinds of battles. Fights to the death with no rules. He would have expected them to be green, and to havee into this like they were fighting a Gym Battle. Abel sighed as he clipped Kecleon''s Pokeball back onto his belt. Xatu, Hypno, Shedinja, Mimikyu were down, Mmar had his duties to attend to and had to sustain the darkness in the mansion, not only to stop reinforcements through Teleport but to power up Zazza''s fighting capabilities. Dan and Klefki couldn''t fight at all, so they''d get absolutely crushed. Abel hadn''t expected Mimikyu and Shedinja to fall before he got there. They''d been meant to buy time while he worked on getting Backlot to give up and escape instead of holing up in his fortress. Once Backlot had fully realized that there was no winning this¡ª which he had at this point, he would have given Abel the location of the airfield, after which the Unovan would have promptly tied him up somewhere and left him to rot while Zoroark would have pretended to be him escaping to Unova with Abel. He had also not expected the ACE Trainers to almost kill Xatu and defeat Hypno in the small window of time they''d have to react when getting Teleport away. He had, in the end,pletely fucked up. Part of him wanted to run anyway, thinking that Grace wasn''t serious about killing Kecleon, but a look in Denzel''s eyes told him that she was. Zazza''s face turned into a human''s so she could speak, and she growled. "Abel, you can''t be considering this offer¡ª" "Shut the fuck up," Grace hissed, lording over her Tangrowth. "You don''t get to speak, or Kecleon dies." Abel held out a hand. "Quiet, Zazza. Look. If I may speak?" The scarred girl nodded. "I''ll surrender," he said. Saying it didn''t feel as bad as he thought it would. Like a weight lifted off his chest. He''d probably get killed for this after a swift trial, if he even got that, but he was tired. Months, he''d worked just to get home, and for months, he had been denied this. Arceus, his face hurt. He was pretty sure he was covered in burns. "Just make sure the League doesn''t imprison my team. That''s my deal." Grace Pastel frowned. "Almost all of them are just asplicit in this¡ª" "Grace," Denzel bit down. The blonde sighed. "Fine. Recall your Pokemon, and we''ll ask the League to spare your team. They''ll¡­ probably listen." But why? Why would they listen? What kind of influence did these teenagers have? Abel''s eyes widened when Kecleon cried out with words. Words he did not understand in full, but that he had learned toprehend in his years with the normal type. Zoroark muttered something under her breath. "No¡ª" She grabbed Klefki''s Pokeball, releasing the fairy into the world. Frost spread at Abel''s feet and Jellicent struck from the other side, but Zazza pushed him away into a door as she barked something at Klefki. He crashed into the door, flinging it open as Klefki followed. The steel type''s assortment of keys jingled with a bright light, and suddenly, the door mmed shut. Mmar, he had understood. Zazza had told him to run with Mmar and to keep Dan and the others safe. Ah. Abel stared at his hands and noticed that his fingers were trembling. His vision went blurry and he exhaled with a shaky breath. He hadn''t¡­ cried in a long time. Not since he''d lost his mother. It took five minutes for Abel to get his bearings back. Five minutes to stand and convince himself to keep going. He stood up in the billiard room he''d been thrown into and ran a hand through his hair. Kecleon, Machamp and Zazza had given themselves to the enemy to save him, and Abel doubted they had time to kill the two kids before the ACEs got there to help. He wasn''t even sure they''d won either, but he had to keep the faith. "I''m not going to abandon them, Klefki," Abel said. The little ring of metal shook his keys in protest. "We''re more than that," he continued. "This is a¡­ precarious situation, but not everything''s lost. Zazza and Machamp can beat them, if they y this correctly." Which wasn''t guaranteed without him to guide things and with how angry they probably were at the moment, but he had to have faith that they would achieve victory before the ACEs got there. "So what we need to do is regroup and get to Mmar first. Can you do that for me?" Klefki jingled, although Abel knew his face couldn''t change (it was metal after all), he knew the steel type disagreed. His Pokemon would all disagree. They wanted him to escape, even if he couldn''t make it back to Unova. To keep living as a free man and to eventually figure out a way to make it back and fulfill their dreams of retirement in Al. "Klefki," Abel said. "Let me out of the room. Take me to Mmar. I have a n. Not a good one, but it''ll¡­ have to do. Call it ourst chance." Grace Pastel could somehow know where Kecleon was no matter what, and she''d known that Zazza would use Hypnosis and kept her Togekiss on a leash because of it, so it was not an illogical leap of faith that she was some sort of empath. Maybe some kind of League experiment, like that ACE Trainer that followed her around that Abel had tasked Shedinja and Mimikyu to get rid of? If she was, and since she could bypass all of the means Abel had employed to keep Backlot hidden in his zoo, then it was only a matter of time until they found the room. From that point on, then they would eventually be able to get in, even if it''d take hours. What he had noticed was that the ACE Trainers had no more psychics capable of standing up to Mmar. Oh, the teenagers had a few, but none would be able to stand up to him individually, and they would no doubt split to look for him. That dark type specialist ACE had been Teleported away, and even then, Mmar knew how to weave his Hypnosis through the dark. Abel strode toward the door, opened it, and suddenly, he was somewhere else. ¡ª I didn''t order Angel to kill Kecleon when Abel escaped, but that was only because Zoroark had pushed him in the door against his will. Everyone attacked at once as soon as she pushed him, and they redoubled in their efforts to kill us, now free from having to protect Abel. I knew instantly that he''d been brought somewhere else, because Klefki had just disappeared. Not Teleportation, but the room itself had shifted, like what had happened in Mount Cor during our first trek there. "Shit!" Denzel yelled. Machamp hit Lopunny with a flurry of punches, sending the normal type sprawling back with too many broken bones to count, and he would have stomped on her head and squashed it like a bug and crushed it had Denzel not recalled her just in time. Zoroark weaved in between our team, shing Sylveon, Sweetheart and Sunshine apart with darkened ws. There were no thoughts to her attacks, only rage. She was sacrificing herself, I realized. They both were. They wanted Abel to run away with all of his heart. Princess tried to break Machamp''s limbs with Psychic, but the fighting type''s bones and muscles were too strong to bend, so all she could muster was hurting him. We were losing, now, and not slowly. One of Sunshine''s front tes was torn off by Zoroark and Machamp joined in, grabbing Pupitar like she was a leaf and squeezing until her entire cocoon cracked and she screamed in pain even as Fross and Buddy desperately attacked him to free her. Machamp didn''t budge from any of the attacks. No Hydro Pumps, Scalds, Shadow Balls or Ice Beams worked, and every time Fross tried to freeze him, he just flexed and the ice cracked. I recalled Sweetheart before more damage could be done with a sweaty hand around her Pokeball. My heart drummed against my chest, her cries echoed in my ears and I braced myself. No choice, then. With Machamp here, we would lose, and a loss meant that eventually, we would have to recall all of our Pokemon until we got killed. "Can you distract Zoroark?" I whispered. He didn''t even answer me, just springing to action instead like he was a second set of limbs. Fross moved on from harassing Machamp and brought out her arm. Zoroark didn''t freeze in ce¡ª she always exploded in darkness before that could happen¡ª but she did slow, and that was all we needed for Angel to grab her with a dozen vines, which left her open for Swablu and Princess to cut her apart with the wind. "Water Spout in Machamp," I said. Buddy didn''t have to hear it twice. He slipped inside of Machamp''s mouth even as the fighting type desperately tried to keep it tightly shut. Zoroark finally freed herself from the vines and desperately sent a line of dark energy to save her teammate, but it was toote. Machamp''s head, neck, and chest exploded with red mist, and he fell to the ground, lifeless. The entire mansion shook as one, and Zoroark''s eyes ignited with a fury that would have made me fall off Angel had he not been keeping me steady with a vine. The grass type prepared to get me off his head and next to Milotic, who had been coiled around Denzel, but Zoroark was focused on Buddy entirely. The ghost''s form was soaked in red with Machamp''s blood coalescing in his head, and he only shot Zoroark a displeased look as he sunk into the floor. Zoroark wrestled him up with newfound power, as if the entire mansion had decided to spit him out. She tore him to shreds faster than Pfin had until there was nothing left of him but droplets. My heart dropped when I saw that he wasn''ting back together, but I could still feel life emanating off of him. She''d somehow exhausted himpletely, and he wasn''t even forming a puddle for me to recall. Zoroark turned to re at us, wisps of white and red forming in her hair. Sylveon fired off a Moonst, but darkness enveloped it, and it exploded before it could even form and hurt our own Pokemon. I swallowed. Her state was too vtile to use Kecleon as a bargaining chip¡ª Tendrils of darkness formed over Fross and Zoroark grabbed her by the throat, somehow knowing where she had been and dragging her back into reality kicking and screaming. She squeezed, and the tendrils did as well. The light went out of Fross'' eyes, but she didn''t die and return to the Dusk. The hold faltered when Princess fired off a series of Air shes at her and copsed an entire facade of the wall onto the dark type. Zoroark''s form flickered through the stone, which was abnormal, but eventually it buried her enough for Princess to mold it into sharp spikes that stabbed through her entire body and for Sunshine to turn them molten with a methrower. None of it worked. She just got rid of it with a simple Dark Pulse. Zoroark shifted her focus to me, but our Pokemon had ced themselves between us now. She tried to weave in between them, riding the dark like a wave as she jumped over Sunshine and wed Swablu in the air, shattering Princess'' hastily erected barrier instantly. The flying type cried out with a deafening shriek as Zoroark almost tore her apart, but Sylveon snatched her with his ribbons, and this time they did not break. He had spread his mour to them, I realized. An incredible breakthrough in the face of adversity. With a snarl, he mmed her against the wall, but void snuck up on the surface to soften the impact. Denzel almost recalled his Swablu when he saw that the flying type could only muster weak twitches, but her neck began to stretch as light overtook her. The hit had been so heavy that she''d started to evolve. There was no joy on Denzel''s face, for this wasn''t the time for it. He recalled her as soon as she was done while Zoroark jumped back to avoid our attacks. The dark type circled around us with maddened eyes. Zoroark broke into a room, destroying the wall and two secondster, she tore her way back into the hallway faster than we could react. She slipped past our Pokemon a second time, this time hitting Turtonator right in the chest. Angel ced me back on the ground, pushed me back, and tried to hit Zoroark with a flurry of Brick Breaks that destroyed the mansion around them. Only one of themnded on her arm, and instead, she pulled forward as ance of darkness formed in her hand and she stabbed the grass type with it. He didn''t go down, but the pain made him stop attacking, and that was enough. Time seemed to slow as Milotic''s shimmering barrier formed around me. Zoroark didn''t even give us the time of day, jumping up toward Princess instead by using the Protect as a tform. She held out a hand, and Togekiss was wrested toward her, leaving way for Zoroark tonce her through the chest. It was darkness, I remembered. Not physical. Yet the light went out in Princess'' eyes and she fell to the ground in one hit and her screams sounded just as real. There was only Milotic in between us now, and since Zoroark had faked him out, his exhaustion caught up to him¡ª Zoroark was already here when the barrier copsed¡ª Angel''s vines and Sylveon''s ribbons snagged Zoroark, but that didn''t stop Denzel from sping my wrist and dragging me into a protective bear hug. I didn''t see what happened exactly, but his hold tightened and he screamed. The sound of fighting was further away now, and Denzel let me go. "A¡ªare you okay?" I stammered out. My best friend was pale, and he answered with a wince. I recalled Princess and thanked the Legendaries Zoroark had been focused on us instead. My relief was short-lived when I saw the huge diagonal gashes on Denzel''s back, seeping blood all over the floor. "You''re bleeding!" "Uhuh," he hoarsed out. He had saved me, I realized. Angel and Sylveon had kept him from getting sliced in half, but Zoroark still managed to get some of her attack off. Had he not been there, my entire face, neck and chest would have been torn open, and I might have been¡ª would have been bleeding out on the floor. Had his team not been there to back me up this entire time, I''d be dead where I stood. "ns?" Denzel muttered in cold sweat. "We¡ª we can''t hold her at bay forever." mes raged across the hallway as Sunshine desperately kept Zoroark away from us. Denzel only had Milotic and Sylveon left, and I only had Angel and Sunshine. The four of them wouldn''t be able to win this, especially with Milotic being as tired as he was, and Denzel losing a lot of blood. Too much blood. His eyes were unfocused, and I had to yell at him for him to stay awake¡ª I sighed in relief, and a mountain was lifted off of my shoulders. "We won''t have to." A Dragon Pulse hit Zoroark from behind, followed by an Aura Sphere and a dozen different attacks. Our friends and their ACEs were here. It wasrgely clean up after that. Sunshine''s fires were extinguished by a surge of water, although they had spread far and it took a lot of effort. Zoroark fought back with the rage of someone who''d just lost everything, because she had, but there was no way she was standing up to all of usbined. She took down two ACE Pokemon and nearly got one killed before being brought to heel, panting and drooling all over due to her blind rage until she was made to breathe a heavy dose of Sleep Powder. I fell back against the floor, copsing from exhaustion with heavy breaths. I was so tired, I realized. I hadn''t slept at allst night, and we''d been spending thest few hours just fighting, both in and out of the mansion with close call after close call. I didn''t even remember what not having adrenaline in me felt like. Chase pulled me up before Angel could, and we reunited with our friends. There was only sheer relief in the kiss I shared with Cecilia, but it was short-lived. There was too much to attend to. Miraculously, none of them were more wounded than they had been before. Chase''s wound on his arm had started bleeding through the bandage again, but other than that we were all safe and sound, thank the Legendaries. I scooped up Buddy''s form so he could be recalled, and I got the faintest thank you in return. He had never been this weakened. Denzel was sent away, along with Sylveon and Milotic. He couldn''t stay, not when he needed medical attention as soon as possible. They had set up a triage in the garden, apparently, and some League Nurses hade to tend to the wounded. He was barely holding onto consciousness when he left, but I couldn''t do anything but pray he would be okay. Those w marks had been deep. We all hugged one by one again, although Mira could only do so with one hand, but the celebrations were short-lived with one of our own being hurt so much. One of the ACEs cleared their throats, clearly expecting a report from me. I exined everything that had gone on, from our entry into the mansion to Hypno and Xatu Teleporting the ACEs to an unknown location, to our fight with two of Abel''s Pokemon. Two of his Pokemon, and we had nearly lost, I shivered in frustration. If I hadn''t killed that Machamp¡­ my eyes drifted toward the fighting type''s corpse. Maybe Zoroark would have been easier to contain if the fighting type hadn''t died. Would we have been able to hold against both him and Zoroark until help got here? Would Denzel have been hurt as badly as he had? There was no way to know, I realized. I did it because I had to save ourselves now. I didn''t work with the power of hindsight, and we were losing just as hard when it had been Machamp and Zoroark fighting us. Abel was a terrible person, but he clearly loved his team, and the opposite was also true, which left an ashen taste in my mouth that would take a long time to wash away even if I''d done this to save our lives. Mira told us that her Porygon had scoured through all of the phones here, but she hadn''t managed to get any information on Backlot''s ilk, but she had gotten past texts proving Backlot''s crimes, including everything the guards did to steal Pokemon and an extensive trail of what Pokemon were stolen at what times and where, so at the very least we''d be able to release that to the public and it would help redistribute Pokemon to their owners or their routes. "So Abel escaped in this room with Klefki," I shakily finished. One of the ACE Trainers opened the door I pointed toward and obviously, nothing was in there. It was empty, and some kind of wine cer. "Now we have no idea where he went." "Klefki''s properties are rather unknown to the Sinnoh League," an ACE spoke. "Not many people have trained one to have the abilities Abel''s has, and none of them in Sinnoh, or at least none in our recorded history." "Back in Unova, it was said Abel could get into any room with Klefki," Cecilia whispered. "But there was no talk of him disappearing into rooms. This is something he''s discovered recently. If Grace''s theory is right, this is a simr phenomenon to what happens in Mount Cor''s deeperyers." "Fairies are beings of belief," I said. "And Klefki''s specialized in opening and locking doors. The next step in his development would be to pull something like that." "I think that he used Klefki to hide Backlot''s captures, then," Mira said. "Something like a pocket dimension? No, not a pocket dimension, the power needed for that is unimaginable. But still using Klefki fits." All of the ACEs agreed with that assessment. "I can feel them," I said, closing my eyes. "The Pokemon that were kidnapped. They''re somewhere next to the foyer." Chase frowned. "Really? We all passed through there and didn''t notice anything." "Because it''s concealed, Chase," Mira said. "I thought Lucario would have sensed something with Aura¡­" he grumbled. Our bodyguards'' eyes narrowed at me, and their stares washed over me like a tidal wave. They knew now that whatever power I had could bypass any methods Abel had employed to keep Backlot''s prison hidden, but I had made a vow to free them, and I wasn''t going to break it. We moved as a united force now, although I had to sit on Angel''s head to keep up with the pace. Arceus, my ankle hurt, as did the deep cut on my arm. I never thought I''d reach the point where sleep was more appealing than revenge, but there was still work to be done. Mira was in front, discussing the properties of Klefki with a few ACEs while I was in the back to not obscure their view. "Since it''s not a pocket dimension, could it be some kind of shift? Like, Klefki can shift the rooms of this mansion around?" Chase asked. "It''d be like Cecilia said. Mount Cor, but on a much smaller scale," Mira agreed. That was possible. Things like pocket dimensions would require presence, and Klefki had only been here for two months or so. Not enough time for the world to start feeling like he was a fixed entity and to give him all of the powers that came with it. I nodded along when an ACE mirrored my exact thoughts and continued. If Klefki was moving rooms around, then he wasn''t moving theplex where Backlot''s stolen Pokemon were contained. Abel had called it a house of horrors, and since he had been stealing far before the Unovan criminal hade under his employ, the room had existed beforehand in the mansion and was probablyrge enough to fit all of his captures. Moving rooms that wererge probably required more energy, which Klefki might or might not have. Chase used to have theories about it being buried underground somewhere, but the League would have found such an obvious ploy the first time they investigated him. I bit my lip until it hurt when we reached the foyer. Half of it was burned, with parts of the ceiling barely hanging on by a thread and the smell of burned wood was hard to miss. League Trainers that I didn''t know filtered in and out of the foyer to cover and carry the dead bodies out of the mansion. Horror, sorrow, fear and more negative emotions seeped everywhere, so much so that I felt like I''d choke on it. I held back in tears as Angel ced me on the ground and gently caressed my head. "A reon went insane and got a bunch of people killed," Chase exined with a heavy sigh. "Then, Zoroark¡­" He stopped and turned toward his own ACEs, but continued when they didn''t seem to react. "Zoroark struck from the crowd and got one of us killed and the stampede that followed injured even more people. Her name was Rene." My eyes turned toward the dark type in disgust. Angel had been carrying her sleeping frame in a tight bundle of vines along with Kecleon. I didn''t think I would ever truly get how the hell Abel''s team''s morality functioned. Did they think they were the only ones entitled to being happy? "Grace?" Cecilia probed. "Anything?" My eyes drifted across the foyer. It was easy to see that the once luxurious room had turned into a shadow of its former self, even if I had never been there. The grand staircase was now wounded and bore the scars of the fire''s fury. Its dark wood was warped and splintered, the carvings marred and unrecognizable. Even there, the fire had spread. I painstakingly made my way toward them and scraped my hand against the torn wallpaper until I reached the twist in the stairs that linked the two staircases together. I crouched and knocked against the wood, wincing at the amount of anguish emanating from the wood. Chase frowned. "So it is underground. See?" I lifted a finger. "Hold on." Continuous cries for help, deep below. My hand shifted around the half-burned carpet and tried to lift it, but it was a lot heavier than it looked. Our Pokemon easily got it done, and¡­ nothing. There was no secret entrance or trap door to be seen. "Try hitting the floor with an attack," I said. We moved out of the way, and a Throh mmed a fist against the ground with enough power to shatter steel, but the ground didn''t budge. Instead, it shimmered and revealed a small crevasse all around what was evidently a trap door. Throh tried hitting it a couple of times, but the wood didn''t even budge. Next, we had him try to punch his way to the room from the side, almost like we were tunneling from the bottom of the stairs, and we were making good progress until he reached a point where nothing budged. We even tried poison, but it had no effect. Poison can eat through anything, Jasmine had told me, and yet it looked like our dosage wasn''t powerful enough to make it through. That was some serious belief that Klefki was working with. Punching through that would take time. "mour?" Cecilia asked. "Yes, it''s more than that. This is something that only Klefki can do," I guessed. "He''s chosen a room to keep people out, and now no one can get in." "Abel said that Klefki didn''t need to stay here to keep the room hidden, and the fact that this was working while he was in his Pokeball lends credence to the theory," Cecilia said. "Keep it here, yes, so long as Klefki keeps believing in his work. Sustain it, I don''t think so," I said. "mour fades if you hit its user enough. Just look at Sylvi. Hit him, and you''ll destroy his armor, so there''s the possibility that we could just brute force past it, and that Klefki wouldn''t be able to build it back up if he was far enough away. I doubt Abel thought we''d be able to find the actual room, so he was probablyfortable obscuring the truth to make himself sound like he was in a better position." "So what? We just hit it over and over and hope it gives?" Chase asked. "I mean, we could, I guess." My voice must have been wavering, because all of my friends shared the same look when they turned toward me. Worry, and pity. Just being here hurt, and Denzel having been nearly wed apart by Zoroark shook me. It shook them too, but they were better at dealing with this than I was when I could actually feel things and I wasn''t dissociating. Cecilia sped my shoulder with a reassuring touch. "That, and we can try to find Abel, but if Klefki doesn''t want us to find him, then I doubt we are, but¡ª" Mira stopped, and her eyes widened. "Grace, you said that Abel didn''t use his Mmar?" I nodded, and then it dawned on me too. "He would have used him during the fight if he was in his Pokeball," I muttered. "If he had a third Pokemon, then the entire fight would have turned on its head. Abel''s going to look for him. We need to go, now." Carlos gruffed. "Good, you figured it out. We would have said something if you hadn''t in the next minute." So they''d known and not said anything? I turned toward Carlos, but he shut me down with a stare. "This is a learning experience for you," he said. "Problem-solving is an important skill set, and I wouldn''t have waited long." "Try to be less condescending, Carlos. She''s having a tough time," Mira said. Leaving one ACE to guard the trapdoor and his Pokemon to keep trying to brute force his way in, we all scattered throughout the mansion. Cecilia demanded toe with me. ¡ª "Send Talonme scouting down the wing," Grace told Cecilia. "It''s a shame the damn thing is curved, or she could have just seen if they were there or not." Cecilia eded, and Talonme blurred, going so quickly that the air around her warped. She looked to Grace, who was continuously fidgeting. Not even two minutes since they''d decided to split with the others, and her worry had turned to anger that begged to be let out. The ACE Trainers behind them were content to wait in silence. It wouldn''t take long for Talonme to scout the entire area, but Abel could have been hiding Mmar in rooms too. Cecilia had no idea if he had run away already, and none of them had seen Mmar while scouring through the mansion, but double-checking in case he had somehow gotten there wouldn''t hurt. Talonme came back thirty secondster, bringing with her another strong gust of wind and shook her head. Not here, then, Cecilia mused. "I can just sense Pokemon, so no need to clear the rooms again," Grace said. "Abel needed his Klefki out to escape from us, so I think he''ll have him out to avoid us too." "Bringing you through the entire hallway will be too slow," Cecilia said. "Angel can''t run that fast when it''s this dark." Grace clicked her tongue, but Cecilia knew she hadn''t meant it toward her, instead of just it being a general feeling of annoyance and powerlessness. She had never gotten used to her broken ankle, and Cecilia doubted she ever would. "We have no choice," Grace insisted. "Either he ran off, or he''s still in here somewhere." "We haven''t searched the tower," Cecilia said. "It might be worth looking at. Talonme?" The fire type nodded, and was off toward the only remaining area that they hadn''t cleared, but Cecilia knew she would probably find nothing. If Abel could travel from room to room without having to get caught, then even the ACEs would be stumped. "Klefki''s no God," Cecilia said, sping her girlfriend''s bandaged hand. It was just idle talk to reassure Grace, and herself as well. "He will have his limits." "You know," the blonde said absent-mindedly. "Abel loves his team." "Hm?" "He loves his team, even after everything he''s done," she continued. "And his team loves him in return. Abel takes care of his Ditto like a father would take care of a toddler, from the reports we''ve gotten. He was distraught when his Pokemon were almost killed, and I''m sure he''ll be affected once he learns that Machamp is dead. Even after everything he''s done," she stopped and inhaled, "I don''t think he would abandon his Pokemon." Cecilia loved the look in Grace''s eye when she figured something out. It was something she''d learned to discern all the way back in Mount Cor when she and Denzel figured out a way to get them out of the mountain. There was brilliance there, brilliance that Cecilia knew she could not match, because her expertise lied elsewhere. The way Grace learned about people and Pokemon after a single meeting with them was as endearing as it was terrifying. "We need to head back," Grace muttered. "Now." Cecilia realized soon enough that Grace had been correct when the first sound of the muffled splintering of wood rang out in the hallway. Grace was slow to move, but she kept up with Tangrowth. Cecilia ran there right away with the ACEs. The darkness in the mansion winked out of existence like it had never been there in the first ce. It wasn''t a fight. Abel didn''t fight when he knew he would lose. The ACE and his Pokemon were all hypnotized, hanging in the air until they dropped like ragdolls and fell asleep. Cecilia couldn''t tell if Mmar was tired in the single look she got at the dark type before everyone around her froze in ce. They had no psychic to counter him, she realized, and Abel must have known this too, because he was in in sight. Slowking tried as best he could, but Mmar''s skill went far beyond his. Mira and Chase were gone, and there was no telling when they''d get here. Had they heard the sound of splintering wood? Cecilia needed ACE psychics, and unfortunately, none remained, which was why Mmar hade out in the first ce. Abel climbed up the stairs with a calm step, avoiding the gaping hole Throh had created. "Mmar, keep them still," he said as he recalled Zoroark and Kecleon. "Where''s Machamp?" She''d been so frozen that Abel hadn''t known that she wasn''t Hypnotized. Unfortunately, before a n could form in her head, Mmar croaked, pointing a tentacle toward Cecilia. Abel wanted to leave, she knew, but he wouldn''t. Grace had been right. "I''ll tell you if you let them go and surrender," Cecilia tried. Abel''s jaw clenched and sped his head with an anxious hand. "Enough stalling. I don''t understand why Mmar can''t control you, but you''re going to answer the fucking question, or I will have Mmar snap all of their necks. I don''t do mindless killing, unlike the League," he spat to the side. "Every time I''ve crossed that line, I was paid for it or I had no other choice." What a sickening philosophy. As if getting paid for murdering innocents justified the act. She hade here ready for this, had been convinced to do this, but the words were hard to get out. It felt like Cecilia was about to lose a part of herself that made her her. The young girl who valued freedom above all else, ripping it from someone else. Someone who deserved it, but a person nheless. The League would learn about it, but that wasn''t the main issue. Could Cecilia look her friends in the eye after this? They would not care, but she would. "I''ll tell you two," she said with quivering lips. "I''ll tell you to recall your Pokemon and for all of you to surrender." Fire in her throat! Cecilia hacked out the words and doubled over as every ACE and their remaining Pokemon fell to the ground and quickly picked themselves up. The pain came in waves, but it was soon reced by exhaustion. She wanted nothing more but to close her eyes and sleep. It was not that she was not justified in using the Voice. Abel would, and deserved to rot in prison for the rest of his life. Cecilia knew herself, and she knew that after using it once, not relying on it more was something that would be infinitely more difficult to do, and Legendaries, she knew Unova would push her to. Cecilia Obel was no longer the idealist that she thought she could be. For the first time, she peeked behind the horizon, and what she saw there horrified her. Ultimately, Cecilia thought, she was the sum of her parts. But there was more bad in her than good. Azelf, had won, in the end, and theirugh was deafening. ¡ª The ACEs took Abel and his Pokeballs right after Cecilia used the Voice. Hers was different than Chase''s. It was an insidious whisper. Whereas Chase was like a loud, boisterousmand that you couldn''t imagine not listening to, hers was more of a suggestion that would make you believe she had your best interest at heart, and that you should therefore listen. Like a gentle hand to guide you while you were lost in the dark, whether that be to your doom or not, because not having her here was terrifying, or at least that''s how it felt in the moment. She hadn''t wanted to speak at all after the fact. Just to go home and be alone. "Our time apart during the next month or two will do me some good," she had told me, and that hurt more than anything else she would have said, because she was essentially telling me she wanted a break. She wouldn''t message or call me, I knew, because she couldn''te to terms with what she''d done. And it had been my fault. I had convinced her to use it if needed, and she must have hated me for it. The worst part was that Chase and Mira''s group had gotten there fifteen to twenty secondster, so one could argue it might not have been necessary. Chase and Mira were busy exining the concept of the Voice to the League, and we''d no doubt get some very strongly worded sermons from them. Ideally, we would have kept it hidden, but I couldn''t fathom the fact that Abel could have escaped. Not again. Or at least that was what we believed without hindsight. Abel was like a shell of his former self. Themand had onlysted around twenty minutes, and now he was answering questions with a muted demeanor as if he had given up on everything. He gave us all of the names of Backlot''s associates, and they would soon be arrested and given over to us. Two, I would hand over to Carnivine. The rest, I would execute. A drill through the head when Princess was healed. It would be quick and painless, but death was a price of its own. I''d told Carnivine she would be able to look at what happened to Backlot, but the ACEs quickly told me it would be politically convenient if we just did the deed right away and pretended like he died in the crossfire. Klefki was ordered to open the door to Backlot''s zoo, and I was the first one to step inside, followed by Mira and two ACEs. It wasn''t the dark prison I had expected, but it was still a prison. Rare Pokemon sat behind thick walls of ss that reminded me of the ones Pokemon Center used. Bagon, Gible, Kabuto, Turtwig, Grian Darumaka¡ª they were all rare Pokemon that cost millions. They were clearly malnourished and were kept sedated with some kind of gas. I held in my rage as we walked through the halls. We couldn''t just break through the ss, not before we got Backlot to turn off the gas. It took everything I had not to grab my hatchet and cut him apart right then and there, but we needed to take care of the Pokemon first. Edward Backlot trembled like a little weasel as he crawled backward until his head hit a wall and he hurt himself. He was overweight, with a greying beard and hair arranged in a toupee. The ce was arranged like a giant living room, with a coffee table for him and his friends to drink at while they looked at their abused captures. In fact, a bottle of some kind of alcohol sat on the table, nearly emptied. "P¡ªplease. I was mind-controlled. Abel made me¡ª" "Shut the fuck up," I said as I limped toward him. "Who even are you? Please, members of the League, let me call mywyers¡ª ah!" I mmed my axe into the wall right next to his face, and he shut up after that. "The gas. Turn it off." "Right away," he squealed. He reached for a lever hidden behind a wall, and the ss slid down into the floor, freeing every Pokemon there. I tended to them as best I could. They were shaken, and some of them had lived thest years, drugged up and unable to tell how much time had even passed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw one of the ACEs taking care of a Leafeon. Carnivine''s son was safe and sound. "I need to call mywyers," Backlot repeated in a whisper, but none of the ACEs gave him the time of day. "You''re not getting due process, Backlot," Mira said. The man nched when the ACEs left, leaving only me, Mira and Backlot in the room. "Are we not a nation of " He hissed. "I want to speak with a superior¡ª" "Princess fainted, so this''ll have to do," I interrupted. I angled my axe up. Haunter appeared behind Mira with a cackle, and I cut him in both thighs, digging deep into the flesh as blood sttered all over my clothes and bandages. It was harder than I thought, cutting through a human. I''d never been the strongest person around, and my arms were thin. Backlot still screamed and spoke nonsensical words that filled me with a tired satisfaction. I took a few steps back and threw him the axe for future use. Then, Haunter got to work. Mira and I both watched. ¡ª It waste in the evening, now, and I watched the garden slowly empty out as civilians were taken back to their home. Most of them would be going back up to Hearthome, where they would disperse and Teleport back home with hired Kadabra or Xatu. Save for Buddy, my Pokemon had all been given to one of the Nurses for their wounds, where they would have to stay for days. We''d stopped Abel and Backlot. Abel''s Pokemon would be sent to the League and assessed to see if they could be rehabilitated, just like the rest of the guards'' Pokemon. If not, they would be put in prison or killed, I didn''t know which. Pokemon prison didn''t really exist, it was more of an expression. They''d be ced in their Pokeballs for a set number of years and only released to be fed, for those that did eat. The League had its own system for sorting through criminal Pokemon, but it wasmon knowledge that Pokemon often got a lighter hand than their owners. Rare was the Pokemon that wouldn''t take at least one of the new leases at life the League threw at them, be that the Battle Frontier, Ranger work, League work, or something else. Seventy-six hostages had died in the raid, and Sinnoh''s richest caste had gone through a traumatic experience that would ripple throughout the entire region. Emilia''s parents had been among the wounded, although thank Arceus they hadn''t died. From what I knew, they both had lung problems due to smoke inhtion from that reon. Their real estate business saw them often involved with Backlot''s parties, and despite having a rocky rtionship with them, Emi was shaken. She hadn''t even known they would be there because she''d blocked their number in Sunyshore. Our friends who hadn''te on the raid were outside, and that would be an annoying conversation to have, especially since Pauline had gotten herself arrested by trying to get in to help us. Denzel was conscious, and he''d be able to get back on his feet in around three to four days. There were¡­ talks of nerve damage. The wed area would apparently never return to normal and feel continuously numb and tingly, even if he chose to have surgery to make most of the feeling go away. From what I''d heard, Cecilia was already gone on Lehmhart''s back. Her n was to just sign up for Wake and leave as soon as possible. There had been bad news, I knew. The Game Corner''s raid had gone far better than this one, and Wooper¡­ Wooper was dead. She''d died to another drugged Pokemon in one of the fighting rings in the Game Corner a day after arriving. The League Trainers that had been Teleported by Hypno and Xatu were safe, although Lou was still unconscious due to that Shedinja. This was a mess. A mess that would require me to stay in Pastoria for at least an extra week to sort everything out. There was just so much to deal with, and most of it wasn''t even bittersweet, it was just bitter. I hadn''t even gone through my calls and texts yet. I should, I thought to myself. Just to think about something else. I grabbed my phone and decided to call my father first. Oh and also, Gengar were terrifying.
Interlude – Fallout II Interlude ¨C Fallout II
INTERLUDE - FALLOUT II Wee to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit rted news! General ¡ú Politics Topic: The Raid on the Pokemon Mansion [MEGATHREAD 56] Original Poster: Ethan_Rose (Verified Trainer) Date: April 7th 20XX First thread after the entire raid, so don''t delete this, mods. And can we add a politics subcategory already? Edit: So that just fucking happened. I''m not going to go over the events of the raid since those are verycking for some reason (censorship, obviously). The only footage we have is from the attack on the garden, so specting is nice, but as it stands, the only facts we have are these: Sixteen ACE Trainers raided the Pokemon Mansion with five members of the LTIP (which Denzel Williams was apparently always a part of?). Seventy-six hostages died, and fifty-one were wounded enough to go to the hospital. Two ACE Trainers died, and one was severely wounded. I won''t go over the deaths of the guards, because they don''t deserve any of my attention. I know this will seem biased, especially whenpared to my coverage of the Darkest Day, but I have no shits to give about traffickers, dead or otherwise. Getting back on track, Edward Backlot had been trafficking Pokemon in his mansion as soon as he had it built ording to the League, but he had dabbled in the business before. The Game Corner predates the Pokemon Mansion (the name seems a lot more sinister now) by decades, but they had always been trafficking Pokemon, and Backlot had been involved with them, which was how he forged his contacts in the first ce. We do not know what has happened to his associates at this time. In total, Backlot had sixty-seven Pokemon in his mansion, but thousands of them went through it over the twelve years he''d been doing this for. The Pokemon there were malnourished and drugged so much that they weren''t even aware of where they were or what was happening. A lot of them seem to have suffered physical trauma, so it''s clear that Backlot wasn''t content with just looking, because he was beating them too, and they were all weak enough for the hits to hurt. The Pokemon that simply passed through him were given to intermediaries, but they always ended up in the Game Corner to fight in pits while drugged on Rare Candies. The number of casualties there are still being tallied, but they''re in the thousands. As for what happened inside the mansion, again, we have no footage. I ask to quit with the rampant spection, and I also ask for everyone to stay serious in the thread. This is not a joke. People died today, and hope you''ll treat them with respect. Also, like always, keep this thread contained to ONLY the raid on the Pokemon Mansion. There are concurrent threads talking about the Game Corner and its demise. ?SierraHomie What do you mean, there''s no footage? You''re telling me that not one person filmed what was going on inside? No leaks? That''s very suspicious imo, especiallybined with the fact that seventy-six people died. Seems to me like the League fucked up and is trying to hide it. ?Arnold_Marquis (Verified Trainer) Obviously they fucked up, considering they could have waited an extra day and this could have been avoided. ?Redtree293884 I''m hearing that Backlot was nning on getting Abel to escape to Unova. Turn on SGNC, Cynthia''s giving a speech. If they hadn''t struck today, then Abel would have escaped. Now, is that a valuable trade to make? I don''t know. ?Daphneeeeeee I won''t trust a word thates out of the League''s mouth. If they hadn''t fucked up, they''d release the footage. ?Vivian_Kelly (Verified Trainer) Why yes, let''s release the footage to let the entire world learn about our ACE Trainer tactics. I''m sure Gr and Team Gctic would love you. ?Archive The footage from the garden fight is blurry since they could only get it from afar, but I''ve analyzed the fight on my podcast with Goald. I''ve tracked a few of the casualties. It seems like all of the LTIP Trainers have killed at least one guard or Pokemon, and that was only outside. Yes, I know it was legitimate self-defense and that we shouldn''t me them for it, but who knows about all of the deaths that went on inside? I''m of the opinion that there was something to hide. ?Kaia_Griffiths (Verified Trainer) Vivian_Kelly you should know better. We''re owed answers by the League. I''m tired of them just pushing things under the rug. ?GarchompW Archive, you''re letting your conspirational side show again. The League is literally exining itself step by step. All of the theories are being ripped apart live on television RIGHT NOW and people are still spreading fake news. Vivian_Kelly is right, but the reason there was no footage leaked was also because Abel was keeping the mansion in darkness the entire time. It fucks phone signals and doesn''t allow people to send stuff. ?HamNcheesePanini I''m more interested in why Denzel Williams and his group were taken into this mission in the first ce? The ACEs had to intervene multiple times to save their skin (proven by the footage from the garden), and it''s a given that they weren''t trained enough to participate in an active hostage situation. It wouldn''t be a stretch to say that more people died because the ACEs were stuck protecting them inside. ?Alma_Neal (Verified Trainer) And by the way, WHY were they being protected this much? One of the wounded ACEs literally (who can fucking TELEPORT, by the way. Why is no one talking about that?) almost got shredded by some kind of flying type attack to protect Grace Pastel, and they sure as hell weren''t affording each other that amount of protection. And if they''re that important, why were they there risking their lives in the first ce? You don''t see Cynthia talking about that on TV. ?Homing!_ The press conference isn''t over, give it some time. She''s got to speak about the actual issues first. ?Hamadi_Baroun (Verified Trainer) If she addresses it, I''ll pay you 10k Pokedors Homing!_ ?Kadaris_Pierre (Verified Trainer) I mean, there were nearly six hundred people in that mansion. Seventy-six deaths seems like a miracle inparison to what could have happened. This could have been a real bloodbath. ?Goald42 Archive, please let me vet your messages before sending them. ?Laurent_Lepoutre (Verified Trainer) I''m honestly nevering to this hellhole of a region again. Should have gone to Unova. ?CalmnessIncarnate By the way, I have to note that Grace Pastel and Mira Compton still haven''t exited the building. Chase Karlson, Denzel Williams and Cecilia Obel are all ounted for, but they''re still inside. It''s possible they might be dead. ?Sonya_dik (Verified Trainer) If they were dead, the League would have announced it. I usually don''t ask much of people online, but please try to use your head. ?Bramblest This is actually a relevant topic, though. Denzel Williams looks to have been wounded, since he was carried on a stretcher outside ording to sources on Chatter. ?HewwoMeowth Sources: I made it the fuck up. ?Bramblest I typed an essay about how you should remove yourself from this world, but I''d get banned by the mods so I deleted it. ?Brayden_Mercer (Verified Trainer) This is actually confirmed information. Mira Compton also has a hand injury, but the extent of it isn''t known. ?Danielle_Hennessy (Verified Trainer) I like how the majority of this thread is spent trying to find out if the League is tricking us or not instead of spitting on Backlot''s grave. The man was basically a demon. It doesn''t get much worse than torturing innocent Pokemon for more than a decade. Could you even be friends with him and not know? ?EndlessEngine11 Holy shit, you''re awful. ?Danielle_Hennessy (Verified Trainer) All I''m saying is that maybe there should be an investigation into every person on that party''s guest list /shrug. ?DoeffeeWhyTho I''m sure those children deserve to be investigated very much. Why not have them drawn and quartered next? ?HOLYWARRIOR Tbh Grace Pastel kind of looked like she wanted to help the guy she downed? She stood over him for a little bit, but we can''t hear what was said, obviously, and even if the footage was good enough to lip read, the angle is wrong. ?FalKKone See? Cynthia''s addressing the LTIP stuff. Arceus, calm the fuck down and let the informatione to you instead of yelling murder. ¡ª Arthur Pastel rested his head against his palm and tried to focus. He''d been a worried wreck the entire day, having gone home early from work when the news first started reporting on the raid and his daughter had been in the middle of it all. His head still felt cloudy, after everything that had gone on today. All of Sinnoh had been shaken, the news could only talk about the raid, but Arthur could care less about Sinnoh when Grace had been in the midst of a literal warzone. The conversation they had just had hadn''t been as enlightening as Arthur had hoped. The fact that Grace wouldn''t talk about what happened in-depth didn''t help with his rising anxiety. Fifty times, he had called. Hours, he had spent, wondering if Grace was alive or dead with a pit growing in the deepest reaches of his stomach as the sun set. He cried when he heard her voice again for the first time. But what followed was his daughter skirting around ssified details and focusing on what happened to other people instead of herself, and Arthur knew her well enough to know that she was not doing well. Her voice had been too steady, because she was pretending. The same voice she''d made countless times when she''d pretended to be fine when she''d been younger, only a lot harder to discern. Arthur ran a hand over his thinning brown hair and sighed. She was closing herself off, and there was nothing he could do about it. She could fly on Princess, now, and when he''d asked about flying to Pastoria, she had vehemently refused. She was scared. Scared, ashamed, and hurt. And who wouldn''t be, after the carnage that had gone on inside the Pokemon Mansion? Seventy-six dead, more wounded, and that wasn''t counting the Pokemon and the bodyguards. Backlot had apparently died in the fighting, and Abel had gotten arrested, finally. The dark-haired man rose up on his feet and remembered that he''d forgotten to eat today. It was lonely, without her, but Arthur had known Grace would grow up one day. He''d been the one to push her into journeying, after all. He hadn''t expected for it to take this much of a turn. His daughter was talented¡ª among the best Sinnoh had seen in years, they kept telling him, but he just wanted her to stop risking her life, which was something she''d said she would stop doing when he hade to Hearthome. His attempts to contact the League to get an exnation for why the fuck his Grace had been involved in this in the first ce fell on deaf ears, with worthless titudes that made him more angry than not. No other members of the League Trainer Internship Program had been in the raid, so why her? Arthur made himself a quick sandwich and sat back at his table, in that same, grueling position that had been hurting his back for thest hour. He had a call to make. He had spoken to Sam on a regr basis, even after they separated. Be it for news about how Grace was growing up, or doing in school, or even Herdier, but none of the conversations had ever been longer than a few minutes. It still hurt to talk to her. Arthur was not one to forgive very easily, and he never had been. No, he would never forgive her, but he could work with her and had always done what was right instead of what he wanted, because their daughter needed help, and she wasn''t going to seek it out on her own. Grace had always been an independent girl. "Arthur?!" He had already told her about Grace''s safety, of course, along with the fact that she would be calling her at ater date, after she''d dealt with official Poketch and League business. "She''s fine, Sam," he instantly pre-empted her. "Physically, at least. Cuts all over her body, but only one big one on her arm. Mentally, though¡­" He winced, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "She needs help, Sam, and the worst part is that she doesn''t know it yet," Arthur continued with a choke. "She''s said that the League will afford her a special therapist if she needs one¡ª she said if, Sam. War is no ce for a sixteen-year-old." Samantha stayed silent for a while, but he heard her tearing up over the phone. Grace might not have known her mother well, but Samantha knew Grace better than their daughter could imagine. She listened to the news about her, a podcast, and kept up with every scrap of information she could find. Things were better now that they texted and called regrly, but it would take more than a few months to forge a motherly connection again. Samantha had left when Grace was five, after all. All of her earliest memories of her mother were faint at best. "How¡ª how can I help?" "Grace has told me she''ll be dropping by Twinleaf and staying there for a few days," Arthur said. "This is going to be difficult for both of you, but you have to help her, Sam. Please." "Of course," she murmured. "I''ll do whatever I can." "I don''t know if she''ll try talking to you about the mansion, but be gentle¡ª don''t push her into it, because then she''ll put up her barbs and see you in a bad light." "I know not to step on sensitive subjects," she said. "I''ll try to just let her have a rxing time to begin. I''ll¡ª" she sniffled, "go see if I can get us two rooms at one of the neighbors''. Mom''s not going to be great to have in a sensitive environment like this." "You could also kick your mother out," Arthur grumbled. "It''s her house, Artie. I can''t just tell her to leave" Artie. The word had been like sticking his hand in barbed wire, but he decided to let the name go for now and focus on what mattered. "It''ll only be for a few days. And maybe if she wasn''t such a hard ass¡­" He stopped when he noticed that Samantha had gonepletely silent. "...sorry. Just¡­" Arceus, it was so difficult. Arthur put his forehead against the table and clenched a fist around his phone. Isabelle was probably half of the reason Sam had run away from Jubilife. Her words were like poison, and even though he didn''t expect her to bother Grace, he would rather the cynical old bat stay as far away from her as possible. Yes, Arthur would have always left Sam, but Grace wouldn''t have had to grow up without a mother. They could have seen each other on weekends, or maybe for half of the holidays. "Just try your best," he finished. "I''ll convince her to leave," she firmly said. "Thank you," he breathed out as relief filled his very core. "Grace has something she wanted to tell me, but she didn''t, in the end. I could tell. Don''t¡­ force it out of her, but if she tells you something of note, just¡ª keep me informed." "I will." There was not much to say after that. Arthur hung up and finished his meal. He still wasn''t hungry. ¡ª Melody Summers hadn''t slept in more than twenty-four hours. The sheer amount of work the raid had put on her te was more than she''d ever thought she would have to deal with, but she took it in stride. Tracking social media trends, what people were saying about the attack, and the thousands of rumors that were floating online. Melody needed to keep a pulse on public opinion and make sure she could get ahead of any rumors or bad press that could creep up so she could coordinate with her team to counter those with rumors and good press of their own. Grace was thankfully safe, although injured. She didn''t want to speak much about what had happened. Not that Melody had expected her to. It wasn''t the first time her sponsee had to keep ssified information private, but it had been a while since Sceon, and that kind of event was not supposed to happen twice in one year. Melody finished her coffee and patted down her dress. She had spent the entire night in the office, and she still couldn''t afford to go home to nap or sleep. Knowing that resting her eyes would have her fall asleep on her chair, she decided to browse through Chatter once again. Needless to say, yesterday''s events were trending, and would keep trending for days. Public opinion was¡­ mostly positive, but also muddled due to the high number of civilian casualties. The biggest question on everyone''s minds had been, if Backlot was having a party, why the hell not wait another day to strike to avoid any civilian deaths? Sure, the Pokemon would have had to suffer an extra day, but when seventy-six people had died, it was a trade Melody would have been willing to make. Now that they had answered with the fact that Backlot had been nning to fly to Unova with Abel after hearing about Zoey Miranda''s arrest and cooperation with the League, the narrative hadrgely died down. A man like Backlot abandoning everything he had seemed difficult to imagine, but then again, no one had known that he was a cruel psychopath either, so it was all up in the air. Of course, she knew she didn''t have the full picture, but it was hard not to ponder. Neither the board nor their families had been present at the party, save for Mr. Hemsworth''s nephew who had gotten out of the scrap early and with a few scrapes. The East and West divide was not only a factor for trainers, but for civilians as well. Sinnoh''s richest mostlyy in the eastern half of the country save for Poketch and another fewpanies, and the board hadn''t known Mr. Backlot very well. Melody blinked when she saw a series of posts talking about the of footage from inside the raid. It was true, she would have expected at least one hostage to have filmed what happened inside of the mansion, but there was just none, save for some blurry footage of the battle in the garden shot from afar by the SGNC that had already leaked. The League had put a gag order on the entire thing, but there had to have been one person who would ignore it and just post something. The sponsorship liaison was curious¡ª how could she not be? Grace sounded like the entire ordeal had changed her, and how could it not have? Something had happened inside that mansion, and it was hard not to jump to the worst conclusions. But that wasn''t Melody''s job. She had to support Grace because Arceus knew she would need it. This was not something a young girl like her should go through without professional help, and her friend group was fracturing, both through conflict and just because they had nned to split before this. Melody couldn''t let her sink to depths that she wouldn''t be able toe back from, not because it would hurt Poketch¡ª Melody''s eyes widened when she realized that in that moment, she was apathetic about thepany''s profits¡ª but because she cared for Grace. "Arceus¡­" she sighed. "When did I grow so attached?" Melody decided to call Grace again, and to let her know that she would be there when she swung by in Jubilife to see her father. She spoke in that same, hollowed voice she''d spoken in after Sceon that betrayed her state of mind, but as she did then, Melody said nothing of it. She did not want to confront her, and she was no mental health professional¡ª which Grace was still considering seeing, but thankfully leaning on actually doing so. Regrettably, they were interrupted by a call from the board, which was the fifth meeting they would have in the past day. Melody needed to coordinate so much that she was sure she was the most overworked sponsorship liaison Poketch had ever seen. But she would endure. "I need more coffee." Unfortunately, when the board called, Melody couldn''t ignore them for long. Jubilee Tower was a hubbub of activity even though only Grace had been involved in the raid. Thankfully for Melody, she did not encounter any other sponsorship liaisons in the elevator, because Arceus knew they would have asked for her head on a pike. They were already doing so, but Melody knew it wasn''t personal. It was, after all, in their interests to take Grace out of thepany to put their own sponsees in a better position. Unfortunately for them, however, the board had other ns. Melody shook herself awake as she exited the elevator and she strode through the darkened room that preceded theirs. The board secretary looked just as tired as she was, the poor girl. After a gentle knock, Melody let herself in, her tiredness sinking to the far reaches of her mind as she straightened herself and ced her hands behind her back. She was surprised to see Remington''s son sitting in the seventh seat. He hadn''t been here during theirst meeting, so she assumed that Landis must have gotten on the first ne back from Al because his father had demanded it. "Members of the board," she greeted with a slight dip of her head. "Melody," Remington McMin said. "How is the situation progressing?" "Civilians are more preupied about the events in the mansion as a whole, and not Grace''s presence there," she exined. "Trainers, however, want to know what she was doing there. The League''s exnation satisfied a portion, but trust in them is running low these days." They had, in part, said that the reason Grace''s group had been involved in the operation was because they had helped with the investigation into Edward Backlot''s schemes and that all showed the potential to be ACEs themselves and had not hampered the recovery of hostages whatsoever. Melody wasn''t sure if both of these statements were lies or not, but it was the story the League was going with, and Poketch knew better than to go against the grain when there was money to be made. "We''ve gotten private assurances from Cynthia that Grace Pastel is only receiving ACE training, and that she still ns on going to Unova next year," Mr. Sandy droned. "So there have been no changes there." The narrative they were spinning was a lie, then, Melody guessed. One of the current theories online was that the League was trying to keep Grace and Cecilia and foster their talent instead of letting them go, despite them having announced ns to go abroad before, and it would certainly fit if they were no longer going to Unova. Why give such training to trainers that would leave, after all? The Poketch Board and Melody were the only ones who knew about the lie, but knew better not to pretend to believe in it. "That''s wonderful news," she said to fill the air. "As it stands, Grace Pastel was seen killing one individual with a Musharna," Remington said. "And unlike Craig''s run-in with Team Gctic and his subsequent short stint in prison, we can''t sweep this one under the rug. It might scare away investors." Melody still couldn''t believe it. Grace had killed someone. The words still didn''t feel real to her, but she knew it had been an act of self-defense. That did not mean, however, that she would be able to forget it any time soon, or be able to stop imagining it every time they spoke. "So tell the investors that she was valiantly saving tortured Pokemon and that the Musharna was seen trying to kill her too," Melody said. "You should¡ª" Landis Remington sighed a lot louder than what was necessary in a very obnoxious fashion as he leaned back against his chair. "Look, you''ve marketed this kid as some kind of Pokemon whisperer, right? And she''s got this entire ''Pokemon rights'' shtick going on. Would it be that much of a stretch to have her character fight to free some poor tortured souls?" Landis finished with a smug smile. That was my idea, Melody internally groaned. "I do agree with this assessment," she said, still surprised that he had kept track of Grace even when he''d been spending time in Al. Landis unfortunately did not understand that Grace was not acting a character, but that she genuinely cared about these issues, but Melody did not deem it necessary to correct him. The board was generally out of touch with her regardless. "It fits," Mr. Powell nodded with a breath. They were just as tired as Melody was. "But the League has been stepping on our toes. We can''t keep doing this if they don''t warn us ahead of time. Eventually, we''ll run out of yarn to spin." Melody felt the hair on her neck stand on end, and none of the board members deigned to answer that. Still, she knew they were all thinking about it. "Cynthia''s offered her sincerest apologies," Remington cut in. "She said that the risk of a leak was too high to let us know, but that she''ll inform us of any future¡­ operations." The tension left the room as fast as it had filled it. The board members nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer, and the meeting continued. ¡ª "It was out of your jurisdiction, Wake. You don''t get to shoulder all of the me." "The Pokemon Mansion might be on Hearthome''s turf," Wake Fraser muttered, "but most of the victims were in Pastoria''s territory¡ª both wild and trainer-owned Pokemon. We aren''t meless here, JP." Jean-Pierre affectionately ced a hand on Wake''s shoulders, and the Gym Leader appreciated the contact. Without his husband here, the Gym would have fallen into disrepair already, with how much he managed alongside him. Wake''s lips thinned as he studied the report sent by the League¡ª the public report. He knew that Cynthia would be sending him what really happened in theing days when they''d pulled together a moreprehensive report of what had happened. "So many years, right under our noses," Wake tiredly sighed. "And nothing was done." When he was not in public, in the deepest reaches of the night, Wake''s persona fell off the wayside. He was still boisterous and loud when he needed to be, and that would always be his true self, but he knew when to turn it off. "The Rangers answer to the League, not to you," Jean-Pierre soothed. "Even they didn''t find anything when they searched Backlot''s mansion for the first time, which was¡­ somewhat ipetent." "Abel is a man beyond the means of most of the League''s investigative skills." "It''s a wonder they found out, then," JP said. Wake knew why already, of course, but it was one of the many secrets he''d have to keep from Jean-Pierre over the years. Jean-Pierre was no fool. He knew that the League had many skeletons in its closet¡ª skeletons that he would never be able to unearth. Both of them had long learned to live with that fact, even if it was still difficult at times. "At least it''s done with," Jean-Pierre said. "Sinnoh''srgest poaching ring was broken. Surely that is cause not to be so morose." "You''re right on that front," Wake nodded. "But the victims will take years to heal, and so will the trainers. That isn''t even counting the civilian deaths¡­" Fantina was beating herself up due to herpse in judgment. It was her, after all, who had given the final stamp of approval for Backlot to build his mansion on Hearthome''s side of the route more than a decade ago. Wake pinched the bridge of his nose and finished reading the report. "You''ve been working for too long," JP said. "Give yourself some time to rest and approach the situation with a fresh mind tomorrow. I can tell one of the trainers to take over for the day." Wake dismissed him with a grunt. "No. What people need right now is normalcy, and I need to be there to sell it to them." When had he grown socent, willing to sit and wait for the League to deal with issues he should have been fixing himself? This was not just about the poachers. Pastoria was tearing itself apart at the seams, be it the Safari Zone, the docks or the economy as a whole. They''d been under a heavy deficit for a few months now. Tomorrow, he would contact the City Council and start working with them in tandem, but that was not all. "What the people need now, Jean-Pierre, is Crasher Wake." ¡ª Cecilia traced a finger around the edges of her Trainer ID and found no Fen Badge on its seventh slot. She had failed to triumph yesterday, and the loss felt hollow. She did not cry or throw a tantrum as she had during her first loss against Lauren. She had grown up now, and the fact that losing a battle had made her cry just a few months ago was still something she could not quite understand. Badges were still a milestone, but when Cecilia had first started this journey, they had been a personal one. Every new notch on her card had been supposed to signify a closer step to freedom. She had freedom, now. That, and everything else she had ever wanted. Badges were a means to an end. A way to measure strength, and nothing more. Annoying as Wake''s performance was¡ª and she had not participated in it whatsoever¡ª he had handled her perfectly. The battle had been close, and exceedingly so, no doubt due to the terrain disadvantages she suffered from. Having Talonme boil the water until it became unbearable to stay in had worked wonders until Wake had pulled out his Gyarados, whose hardened scales the heat would not bother. The enormous water type had been her true test¡ª a test that Lehmhart and Slowking had passed with much difficulty. It was Scyther, that cleaned up after that. The bug type was no shy fighter, but he got results and he was steady. Croagunk''s inclusion into the team had given him something totch onto. Something that finally made him feel like he truly belonged. Despite being at a horrible disadvantage, Zweilous had pulled their weight and taken down a Milotic before fainting themselves, having much space to work with thanks to Lehmhart''s progress with geokinesis and Slowking managing to leave a barrier behind even after fainting. Cecilia''s n had been sound and beyond a few hups, it had worked at every single turn. But the fact of the matter is, she had been fighting a five on six, and she was no longer at a point where Gym Leaders would let that slide. She had not bothered sending Croagunk out during the fight, one because she would have lost horribly, and two because the fighting type was still grieving. Croagunk did not deserve to get thrown out into a battle that Wake had made a joke of. Even after the events at the Pokemon Mansion, he kept his aloofness during fights. It was all so tiresome. Cecilia''s boots sunk in the Safari Zone''s mud as she traversed the swamp with Croagunk leading her. Only Croagunk and Slowking apanied her (and she wanted to trudge in the mud instead of walking on Slowking''s barriers to make this more personal), since her other teammates were still at the Pokemon Center, and would be until tomorrow, when she would leave for Canve. Cecilia was not going to wait two weeks festering in Pastoria to challenge Crasher Wake again. Without Lehmhart to fly them, it took a while to get where Croagunk wanted to go. "Is this the spot?" Cecilia asked softly. The poison type answered with a tight nod. It wasn''t special, or beautiful. It was just an area where the water was particrly muddy and Wooper liked to stay in. Cecilia stared at the still water in silence and allowed Croagunk to grieve. The fighting type did not cry, for she was not the type of person to. Her grief manifested differently¡ª a attitude that tried to convince her that there was nothing that she could have done and that smothered the rage within her. They were quite simr in regards to stamping out anger before it could be an issue, Cecilia noted. Ice flowed in both of their veins to cool them down before any outbursts coulde. Abel had been arrested and taken in by the League, but his demise would not fill the hole in Croagunk''s heart. It felt strange, to have the man that had terrified her for so long and tried to rob her of her freedom to be dealt with. To have stared him in the eye and defied his words. To have taken his freedom in turn. I did not know you, Wooper, Cecilia internally said as she crouched near the waters. But I grieve what could have been. "Slowking," Cecilia whispered, ncing at him. "Something has been on your mind." The water type eyed her warily. He''d not spoken much thesest few days, and Cecilia knew it was because he did not want to step on andmine and trigger something within her. She appreciated the thought, really. Even she did not know how to cull the forces within herself. The Voice beckoned, but Azelf had been deafeningly silent ever since she''d used it. The Legend had had their fun with her, and now they had returned to their usual state. Cecilia reckoned she had been amusing enough to check up on every few days for a little while, but Azelf no doubt had other irons in the fire and wouldn''t stick to a mortal for long. She was d. Sometimes, I look at you and I wonder, Slowking said. Why hold yourself to such impossible standards? Cecilia eyed Croagunk and motioned at Slowking to move away so they would not disturb her. "An expected question," Cecilia murmured. "Had I not used the Voice, then maybe I would have failed to buy enough time, and a few ACEs would have died in the fifteen seconds it took Chase and Mira''s groups to get here. I would have blood on my hands, and I''d most likely be regretting my ineptitude and my failure to act." So why? Slowking asked. In all of our months together, I thought I understood you as well as you did yourself, but this one truly eludes me. "No one gets it," Cecilia said with a saddened smile. "Even Grace does not. She tries to, but she doesn''t, and I cannot me her for that. How much will I bend, until I can''t recognize myself, Slowking?" It was a one-and-done deal, the psychic chided with a frown. Perhaps you''ll have to use it more, if battle with Team Gctices to pass. "That''s what I fear," the dark-skinned girl sighed. "My own folly." She could extract anything she wanted from people, order them to forget, and they would be none the wiser. Such terrifying power sat at her fingertips, power she needed to curtail immediately. Yet, when the rubber met the road, when she met opposition she could not bend to her will naturally in Unova, would she be able to stop herself? A shiver shot down her spine, and she moistened her lips. "In the end, I do not regret the decision," she told Slowking. "I only regret what it might lead to in the future. It is a very slippery slide I walk. Do you know what the concept I fear the most is, Slowking?" What is it? "The greater good," Cecilia answered. "Ites as a gentle whisper, makes so much sense in the moment, and makes you bend and twist until there is nothing left of you by the end of it." Croagunk stayed until they ran out of time and had to leave the Safari Zone. The fighting type was staying with them, now, because where else would she go? Strength was something she valued, butpanionship even more so, now that she had lost everything. The spars and lessons from Scyther, Lehmhart''s gentleness and songs, Slowking''s jokes, Talonme doting on her, and Zweilous being stupidly lovable were all something she''d been growing attached to, because loss was cold and friends were warm. Cecilia would know, even though she had not spoken to any of them in person since the raid four days ago beyond checking in on Maeve and Denzel in their respective hospital rooms. She needed space, both to think and to reevaluate where she stood. Grace and she had exchanged texts, but she clearly wanted to push her to speak and that wouldn''t do. Not now. It would be hard, without Grace''s support, and Cecilia had no doubt she would surely handle it worse than Grace would. Cecilia grabbed her phone as soon as she made it out of the Safari Zone. The press hounded her, of course. They had since the raid on the Pokemon Mansion, but Cynthia had told them to stay silent on the matter. Slowking whispered about therapy in her head as she scrolled through her contacts. Something that the League had also rmended and nearly forced onto them, but she would wait to get to Canve for it. What good is therapy, if most of my issues have to do with ssified information? she had asked, until Cynthia herself had called and said that she would send one that the ACEs had ess to and that she would be able to be fully open with. A small respite, at the very least. Mark Obel. Cecilia stared at her brother''s name and called as soon as the press gave up. Slowking was already working on a barrier that would not let sound in or out of it, as most high-level psychics were capable of, but he did not have a hold of it quite yet. "Cecilia? Thank the Legendaries¡ª I''ve been trying to dig for as much information about the raid as possible. What were they thinking, sending children into this¡ª" "Do not pretend," she cooly interrupted, "to care about me." Her brother paused, and there was a shortpse of silence. "If this is about father¡ª" "What else could it be about, Mark?" she asked. "You took him back, and you didn''t even give him a p on the wrist when we both know that he deserves so much more." "The country''s economy¡­" Markunched into a ramble of concepts and numbers that went over Cecilia''s head. Champion she might want to be, but she was no economist. What she did catch, howver, was that the greater good had warped her brother beyond recognition. Why else would he have let her suffer her father''s whims all those years after leaving to escape them himself? But the worst part was that the practical part of her understood, and she was sure the decision was perfectly sound, even if she disagreed with her brother''s decision to bend to the will of corporations instead of breaking them. It would take years¡ª decades, maybe, but someone had to start. Understood, she might have, but she would not forgive. "Mark, none of this matters. It''s all dust," she sighed as she eyed her Pokemon Center in the distance. "You told me once, when I was in Snowpoint, that you would help when Zweilous was on the cusp of their evolution." She had felt it in her bones, just like in the days before she had battled Candice. She knew Zweilous well enough to know when something was changing. All infighting between the two had stopped, their attacks were so in sync that it was unnatural. Their personalities had started to meld back together, slowly but surely. All signs that a Hydreigon was near. "Are you sure you don''t need anything?" "Ah yes, now that it''s politically convenient, you ask me," she smiled wryly. "You''ve¡­ changed. Grown." "Enough with the sentimentality. Is your offer still on the table, or has our dear father gotten into your head and convinced you that I was a Sinnohan puppet on my way to destroy anything that was Unovan?" "It still stands," Mark confirmed. "Then let us speak, Mark," Cecilia said. "Of how I will bring a Hydreigon back under control when the timees, and of how to train him properly without ttening an entire hill or getting myself killed." One dayter, she was gone. ¡ª Denzel shifted up in his hospital bed and cursed the pain in his back. It was a constant sting that made him feel like wing his back out, and the worst part was that he''d been lucky. A few inches deeper, and Zoroark would have damaged his spine and he might have been paralyzed or worse, so despite the pain, he couldn''t help but thank his lucky stars. It had been a day since Cecilia had left, and today Chase had been supposed to fight Wake. He wanted to catch up to Cecilia to make sure she didn''t do anything stupid and tell her that her offer to go to the Iron Inds still stood, but Sinnoh was vast, and the soonest they''d meet again was probably Canve since that was where Cecilia was going. Normally, Denzel would have been watching the fight, but he was too anxious to look at what was happening in the world outside of his television. Sylveon slept at the foot of his bed while Lopunny and Roserade softly bickered next to the window. Fross was training alone outside while Milotic was sleeping in his Pokeball and Altaria was still getting healed in the Pokemon wing of the Center. Zoroark had only hit her once, but it had been with the intent to kill. A soft knock on Denzel''s door snapped him out of his thoughts, and Maeve stepped into the room when he told her toe in. The lines on her face were still striking, but at least they had paled somewhat, and most of them would disappear in theing weeks. "How''s our newest member of the LTIP?" Maeve greeted him. "Your back feeling alright?" Right. He hadn''t forgotten, but it felt weird to be a part of the League now. They had contacted him the day after the raid to have him sign some papers, and Denzel knew enough to understand that refusing hadn''t really been an option. Yes, he had been retroactively added to the program, but it certainly helped quell most of the theories, or at least he thought it did, since he wasn''t looking. Supposedly, the League was saying that he''d been in the program in secret since Sunyshore, and they had suspiciously forged the papers with the wrong date and his fake signature to prove it. The excuse they were currently going with was that Denzel had wanted to keep this private because his parents would have opposed it. It wouldn''t have been the first time a trainer would have joined the League Trainer Internship Program in secret, but it was an exceedingly rare urrence. Too neat. Too convenient. Denzel had told his viewers multiple times, how his mother was very protective and had dyed his journey by a year. It was scary, how the government could just craft a story and make it seem so real. His mother had called every day since to ask him to leave the program, but he''d refused. He couldn''t. Not when the League had created this narrative to save him. "Denzel?" Maeve asked. "Are you okay?" The teenager blinked. "Uh, yeah. I''m doing good now that it''s all over. My back still hurts like hell, and it will for a while." Maeve dragged a chair next to his bed with a grimace. "Pauline said it was permanent?" Pauline had basically bought her way out of jail, and thankfully it would end at that, but she was the one who''de to visit him the most. Emilia was too busy with her parents in Hearthome, which was something Denzel understoodpletely. She had written them out of her life, and they had almost died. It was impossible not to be shaken by that fact. "It won''t always hurt this bad, but it''ll hurt¡­ kind of? They said it''d be numb, but sort of painful. Like needles poking in my back. The worst part right now is when I have to sleep, though. I can''t sleep on my stomach at all, so I have to do it on my side, but that''s also a bitch." She stayed silent for a few seconds. "Going to get the surgery?" "I will at some point," he said. "Not right now, though. The recovery time is too long. How are things with you?" Maeve sank a little into her stic chair. "I don''t know. Okay? I feel¡­ relieved, but the whole situation feels foreboding in a way." "You''ll be alright," he smiled. "How is it that you can stay positive when havinge so close to¡ª" she stopped herself. "Nevermind. Sorry." "If I don''t do it, who will?" Denzel muttered. He needed to be that beacon. The ray of hope for the group to look to before they could spiral out of control and sink further. "Yanma finally decided to stick around," Maeve said. "And Drapion''s arm is making okay progress. It''s just a little stump right now, though." "So you''ll have to stay here until it regrows?" "Yeah. The Nurses need to keep him close in case the Ditto cells go badly and they have to restart the entire process," she exined. "That usually doesn''t happen, but better safe than sorry." Being locked down in Pastoria would hurt, especially when it meant that Maeve was out of the Circuit. Denzel tried to find the words to cheer her up, but he came up empty. "Chase won his battle, you know?" she said. "Fought a lot more conservatively than usual. The raid changed him." Denzel smiled. "Word? That''s awesome¡ª what was the score?" "5-6. Vikavolt and Abomasnow pulled no punches," she said. "Took down a Wailord and all." "Arceus¡ª holy shit." "Right?" Maeve said. Talking about Gyms was nice, for a change of pace, so he let her exin everything that had gone on during the battle and how Chase had lit the water on fire with Houndoom and how the mes were so powerful even Wake struggled to put them out. As soon as he did, however, Abomasnow came out onto the field and created a thick sheet of ice to stand on. "It wasn''t really a sheet, more like an iceberg," Maeve specified. "It was fun to watch. Took my mind off of things." "Yeah¡­ message taken," Denzel said. "Grace said the same thing. That I should get back to doing routine stuff if I can." "She visit you often? She came to me a lot until I was discharged." "Every day since, but she doesn''t stay long with how busy she is," Denzel said. "Right now she''s delivering Leafeon back to Carnivine. She was here this morning." Denzel clenched a fist. "She''s hurting," he dered. "I think the raid shook her more than she''s showing." "You know her better than me. If you say so, it must be right," Maeve said. "When we were in Floaroma, I had to basically yell at her to get a therapist, and she''s stopped talking to her since," Denzel said. "We finally convinced her, and she says she''ll talk to the League one, but her mentality hasn''t changed. Grace hates appearing weak, Maeve." "What?" "It makes her feel like she''s not in control, and I think that''s one of her worst fears," Denzel said. "A situation spiraling out of her control." He stopped and looked around for a few seconds, ignoring the throbbing pain in his back. "What I''m about to say here doesn''t leave this room, Maeve." The girl nodded tightly. "She watched Backlot die with Mira. For hours," he whispered. He ignored her paling and continued. "She''s not the one that killed him, before you ask. I don''t care what that man did or how he died, staying there to watch is¡­" "Abnormal." "Fucked up," he added. "Someone needs to stop her from doing things like this, but I''m stuck in a fucking bed all day, Cece''s¡­ well, Cece''s gone and dealing with her own issues. Mira''s just as screwed up as Grace is and about to leave, and while Chase has been trying to help both, he''s only one guy. I need to ask you for a favor." "I''ll try my best." "Get the others to talk to Grace before she leaves," Denzel said. "Louis has a soft touch, so he''ll help her. Emi''s dealing with her parents, but Pauline''s mellowed out since the entire incident and isn''t angry anymore. Instead of being stuck with me, she should be helping Grace. You should try, too." "But you¡ª" "I''ll be fine, Maeve. I can deal. I can take hits and get back up. Someone needs to press on the brakes because I think we''ll all regret it if we don''t do it now and we let Grace be worse. Please." His friend inhaled sharply. "Okay." "Just try to get her away from her current mental state¡­ like, talk to her about Gym Battles like you did for me. It won''t fix everything, but it''ll help get a shred of normalcy back, right? Take Justin with you. She''s always babied him. Ask her for training advice with your Yanma, or ask her to spar or something. Anything." "You have my word," Maeve said, her voice firm. Arceus, had she always been this dependable, or had Denzel just never bothered to look? ¡ª Cynthia hadn''t been back at the League in months and was happy to see her office in the exact same condition she had left it in. Legendaries, it had taken so many months to convince the cleaning staff not to climb the spire her office sat atop of just to clean some dust off the floor. Bertha followed close behind her, but the old Elite Four wasn''t as quick on her feet as she used to be. Her steps were still steady, but slow and deliberate, and Cynthia didn''t miss her being out of breath from climbing the stairs. Many times, Bertha had asked her to have an elevator installed, but Cynthia always rejected that notion. It would destroy the League''s integrality and that old architecture she absolutely adored. Cynthia sat at her desk with a satisfied sigh, and Bertha slowly dragged a chair and settled opposite of her. Her old mentor''s brown eyes studied her with their usual intensity as she pulled out her earth-colored scarf. Bertha had taken Cynthia under her wing, when she had first be the Champion. Without her, Cynthia was sure she would have gotten pushed out of power by the old Elite Four¡ª strong supporters of Gabriel Radetic, the Champion who had preceded her, because holding onto power was, ironically, not just about how big a stick you were holding, even in dictatorships like Indigo, and it especially was not about that when you wanted to turn your country into a democracy during your reign. Cynthia was sure Radetic was currently enjoying his retirement in Al. She had, after all, made it all but impossible for him to stay in Sinnoh. An unofficial exile, one might say. Undermining his support, little by little, investigations into his past dealings had revealed ample amounts of corruption and self-serving his own interests, which helped turn public opinion against him. She had branded him an old man who was out of touch and against public interests. A member of the old order that had stopped Sinnoh from progressing to the heights their country truly deserved, while she had branded herself as a force for meaningful change. Radetic had fought back throughout the years, but there was only so much a single man could do against the entire apparatus of the state, old Champion or not, and once the first of his goons in the Elite Four had been reced by Lucian, he saw the writing on the wall and decided to give up. Why fight, when he could enjoy himself in another region? It had made perfect sense for him to leave, with how Al attracted rejects like Dustox to a light. Most of their national security strategy was assured through old, powerful trainers retiring in the region. With Gabriel gone, Cynthia had forged open a path and worked to turn Sinnoh toward democracy, and she had seeded. None of it would have been possible without Bertha teaching her the ropes. Until the Champion had to tear more than a decade of careful work apart in a few months. That still stung, and without Togekiss there, she was sure it would have haunted her at night. "So, Cynthia," Bertha said with a steady voice. "Out with it. And no need to ster that smile on your face." Cynthia''s lips ttened, and she almost brought them back up again, as if she couldn''t stop herself. She had forged herself into an icon, and not being the Champion took more work than being her true self these days. Bertha knew the real her¡ª arguably more than anyone else in this world. More than her sister Celeste or her ailing grandmother, whom she hadn''t seen in so long because there was just so much work. "My apologies," Cynthia said. Bertha tapped her delicate fingers against the oaken desk. "What was the reasoning behind your actions, Cynthia?" Why not force the children to wait an extra day? The question went unspoken, but it was as clear as day, and Bertha wanted the true answer, not the one they peddled to the public. Her tone was grounded, for Bertha had always been a stable woman that could be relied upon. For decades, she had been surrounded by her team, and that had only improved herposure. Cynthia had never seen her panic even once. While even Lucian had been shaken when she had informed him about Team Gctic''s ns, Bertha had taken the new information with a shrug and asked what they were going to do about it. Cynthia had learned to discern the quirks in her tone, however. Bertha was perhaps the only one willing to ever challenge her on her decisions like she was doing today¡ª "Enough with analyzing how best to approach your answer, child," Bertha chided. "None of that with me." The keystone in her pocket shook, and dread and pressure spread throughout the room until every item on the desk started to rattle. Until the wood started to creak. Until colors started to fade. The Champion clicked her tongue and it vanished just as fast as it hade. Bertha had not bothered to even nce at Spiritomb, having grown used to their outburst whenever someone did not prostrate themselves at Cynthia''s feet, or at least act subservient to her. "I apologize, Bertha. It takes a while to decouple Cynthia and the Champion when I''ve been thetter uninterrupted for so long," Cynthia said. "Hmhm," she nodded. "I warned you, all those years ago, didn''t I? Politics changes people. The deeper you go, the more twisted you be." "And yet, I would do it again if given the choice," Cynthia muttered before pausing. "Have you?" "Changed?" the old woman said. "Oh, yes. Even a woman such as myself will be warped and molded by the invisible hand thates with power. Earth bends, my dear." "I would have loved to see it," Cynthia smirked¡ª a real one, this time. "Your old self. But to answer your question, the League came in expecting a quick surrender from the guards and a copse of any resistance. Admittedly, that did note to pass." "Look at yourself," Bertha said. "So wrapped up in your own little game that you don''t even realize when you lie by omission." Cynthia''s eyes widened, but the Elite Four member continued. "You should know by now, not to treat me like an idiot, Cynthia. You knew of Abel''s goals, and you know that humiliating the League as he has would be a possibility. The man has a Mmar, for Arceus'' sake. Are you telling me you did not ount for the possibility that a guard would be controlled?" And the League now knew through his confession that he had forced the fight to start in the first ce. "It was a possibility," Cynthia acknowledged. "But he could also have simply escaped. We did not know about the private airstrip beforehand, and so did not know he would dig in his heels and defend the mansion when all seemed lost." Bertha let out a pensive hum and studied the high ceiling of Cynthia''s spire. "Yet you did not bother ounting for that possibility and went ahead with the n anyway, possibly dooming all of the hostages to their deaths." Cynthia had missed trading barbs with someone who was her equal¡ª which was partly why she enjoyed Lucian''s kazam so much¡ª and the smile that stretched across her face was genuine, in spite of the horrible topic they were addressing. The problem with being Cynthia was that, unlike the personality she donned when she was the Champion, she was someone that the vast majority of people would consider not right. "I did," Cynthia said, ignoring Bertha''s re. "I will reiterate that I did not expect the raid to degenerate as it had, but the possibility had been ounted for." "And if you went ahead with it, it obviously means it benefitted you," Bertha said, standing up. "Sinnoh''s richest, broken for a generation. Empty important posts that need to be filled with new blood. Malleable blood that won''t be as entrenched in their beliefs and that can be influenced. Thrown into the arms of the League for support." "They will be rueful," Cynthia added, "they will have questions, and we will have convenient answers for them that will make too much sense. We can spin this as an attack on all of Sinnoh and tighten ranks in the face of the worsening economic crisis. But I also look beyond the immediate. After Team Gctic is dealt with and I reform Sinnoh into a democracy for a second time, they would have conveniently waited for things to return to normal and opposed me as soon as it became convenient to do so because of how much profit my decisions have lost them so far. It would be best to foster a good rtionship with them and give them support after such loss, and this gives us a good opportunity to mend bridges, especially with all of the positions that will need to be filled." Of course, westernpanies were another issue entirely, but she''d already given assurances to them, including Poketch. After all these years, it still paid to have Remington at her beck and call. She''d tried to take him down numerous times early in her tenure by implementing anti-trustws, but their constant legal battles had brought them to an¡­ understanding of sorts. "A loss artificially created," Bertha used. "Is it?" Cynthia asked. "I did note into this with this as a goal, Bertha, nor did we think it was the most likely oue. The support afforded will be genuine." Not only that, but the experience afforded to Chase, Grace, Cecilia and Mira would be invaluable for the future. They had learned more in an afternoon than they would have with a month of lessons¡ª lessons that they would have never agreed to take due to their coldness with the League in the first ce. A coldness that was thawing by the day, Cynthia had noted. "If you shoot someone with good intentions, is it still still a good act? Or in this case, seventy-six people." "If it will help Sinnoh as a whole, then yes," Cynthia said. "And please. Loss of this scale happens at least once a year in the Iron Inds and the northern reaches of the Battle Frontier. Trainers die every day in Mount Cor, Victory Road and Eterna Forest. This isn''t anything new, Bertha." And you''re the one who taught me to be like this, Cynthia internally said. "It isn''t," the ground type specialist nodded. "And yet." "And yet," Cynthia sighed with tired eyes. Bertha dragged herself back to her seat. "Let us speak of the ACEs, then. Two deaths." Cynthia nodded. "Rene Montoya and Trenton Graves. They''ll be expensive to rece. Lou is still unconscious, but she''ll be recovering." Unlike other regions, Sinnoh''s ACE Trainer force was a small, but dedicated one, which meant they were among the best in the entire world. The number often fluctuated around two hundred in total, and they took years to train and candidates did not often appear. They were handpicked by the League from therger pool of League Trainers for their mentality instead of their skill. ACE Trainers needed to be two things: either malleable until they turned into what the League needed, like Ariel Goransson, or empty shells, like Lou had been upon her creation. There were only a few trainers that would be able to stare one of their dead Pokemon in the face and keep going as if nothing had happened. They put their grief in a box and unpacked it after a mission was over, always. Even Cynthia wouldn''t be able to, and so, she was not fit to be an ACE. "I''ll look at promising candidates with Aaron, since Flint is busy with other work and is wasting timemunicating with that Goodwill child," Bertha noted. "There are a number of issues you need to look into before heading back into Veilstone¡­" The meetingsted for another forty minutes, where they went over the numerous problems that had sprung up in the Lily of the Valley ind over Cynthia''s absence. The League had scoured almost the entirety of Veilstone, and now she suspected that Gctic was somewhere underground. Digging would be difficult when they would loosen the foundation that Veilstone had been built upon, so they opted to send ghosts instead to see if anything would be found. If one never came back, then it would confirm their suspicions and they would only have to pinpoint the location of the base. "The children have powers, then?" Bertha mused as the conversation moved. "How peculiar." "They did blindside me. I never expected them to hide it from us, not when the world was under threat," Cynthia said. "I suppose we pushed them so much they felt like revealing their capabilities would pose a threat to them. We can guess that eachke will give them some sort of ability to do with Emotion and Knowledge." "How ironic, that a power to do with Willpower strips one of their will," Bertha hummed. "Should we not bring them to thekes as soon as possible, then? So they could get used to their ability as fast as possible?" Cynthia shook her head. "Not when we''re cultivating some goodwill again. This is even more important now that we know about the powers, Bertha." Bertha''s eyes narrowed a sliver. "Oh. Oh, I see the game you''re ying now." Already, Cecilia had called for advice before she''d left for Canve. Mira had asked for Cynthia to connect her with Fantina so she could deal with her new Gengar now that she was traveling back to Hearthome with a series of Teleports. The ghost was another advantage she''d gained from the raid''s events. She''d apparently caught an Exeggcute before leaving as well. Chase''s ACE trainers had now reported he had learned about the weight that came with being in a position of power, and she knew his edge toward her would soften in time. While Cecilia and Grace were leaving for Unova if Team Gctic was dealt with by the end of the year, Chase and Mira would stay. The League would make much use of their abilities in the years toe. Even if they didn''t join the League, they would be a resource to draw upon whenever a favor was needed. But that was not all. Cecilia''s goal was to be Unova''s Champion, and having her there meant that Sinnoh and Unova''s rtionship would be¡­ not secure, but under a better foundation, at the very least, considering how quickly Mark Obel almost turned on them when the going got difficult. She would not win the position next year, but the girl was talented and grew quickly. Her narrow loss to Wake was an unfortunate consequence of catching her sixth Pokemon toote. It was only a minor setback, and she had plenty of time to make up for it. Better a loss here than at the eighth badge, where the stress of time running out could make one make mistakes, and Byron would no doubt be far smarter to beat for a seventh badge than an eighth. It was only a matter of time until she threatened Mark Obel for the position of Champion. She knew, because they were not so dissimr after all, as their most recent conversation had shown. Cynthia had had an inkling ever since they''d spoken in that hospital room in Sceon. Grace Pastel was still an enigma, however. Cynthia didn''t understand where she stood quite yet, but it was clear that it was closer than she had been before. Her rift with her ACE Trainers had all but disappeared. Their reputations would be safeguarded, of course. The League had gone through the phones of every hostage and deleted the videos recorded because of ''national security concerns''. Who would, after all, want to expose how the ACE Trainers operated? The darkness around the mansion had worked in their favor in that regard. The only footage that had leaked to the public was footage from before the actual breach into the mansion. Not only that, but the hostages who had spoken out about the raid had only worked to sing the praises of the ACEs for rescuing them¡ª vaguely, of course. And now that they had Abel''s confession, they could shift the majority of the me on him for this ughter. He had, after all, said that without him here, the guards would have surrendered without a fight, and since the League had expected them to do so as well, the stories lined up perfectly. The best lies were ones masked with truths. "You''ve always been good at figuring out the way I think, Bertha," Cynthia said. "You''re the one who taught me, after all." And Bertha did not regret it either, because she would much rather have Cynthia in power than Radetic right now. She was, simply put, morepetent in every regard. The meeting ended soon after that, but Cynthia needed to do onest thing before dealing with the problems on the inds. The Lily of the Valley ind was a city in and of itself, with tens of thousands of inhabitants at all times¡ª most of them the families of the government employees here, but there was also a high-security prison where Sinnoh''s worst criminals were kept. The prison was often empty, because most of the prisoners were executed or shipped away for experimentation with Legendaries before they could clutter the cells. They were crucial in learning how threats to Sinnoh operated and could bebatted should they ever stir again. Today, only five people were jailed here, including Louis Bianchi''s father. Cynthia passed through many checkpoints, having her mental state checked by Pokemon and people alike until she strode into the well-lit depths of the prison. The entire facility was d in white with few distractions for the inmate, save for the one hour they got outside of their cells each day. Cynthia knocked on the reinforced ss and stared at Abel. The brown-haired man was a shell of his former self. All of his confidence was gone, having been reced by an air of defeatism that clouded every inch of his being. He was sat on his white sheets, his hands neatly ced over his knees, but he only looked after Cynthia knocked a fourth time. His Pokemon had not been sorted out yet, and they were making very little progress on that front. Their bonds had been strong, and even Ditto refused tomunicate with the League. "Abel Torres," Cynthia said. "Let us talk." "What''s there to talk about?" Abel said, his voice distorted by the ss. "Your fate, of course," the Champion said, never losing her smile. "Now, I have it on good authority that everything you''ve told us is the truth now that we ripped away that exquisite technique you crafted with Mmar and Hypno. Truly, it is something that even Lucian would have struggled toe up with. That also means that we don''t have a need for you any longer." Mark Obel himself had thanked her for capturing Abel, which warmed their cooling rtions further. Gr had beenrgely silent, because speaking out against a massive poaching ring wouldn''t be great for their reputation, so her actions had been seen as good abroad, which was exactly what she had needed. In a way, Abel had been very useful to her in that regard. But that did not mean that there would be no consequences. "Spit it out," Abel sighed. "The question of your execution has been answered. After a few days of deliberation, the League has decided you will be kept here for the rest of your days," Cynthia said. She did not miss Abel''s small relieved breath and the loosening of his shoulders. Death was a human fear, despite what people told themselves. "We can also talk about letting your teame visit you once in a while, since they will be staying under the League''s care," Cynthia said. That was the bait. There was light in his eyes that hadn''t been there, even when he''d been told he would be spared. Cynthia was not doing this out of the goodness of her heart, however. It would make it easier for Abel''s Pokemon to cooperate. A Zoroark in Sinnoh''s hands would do wonders, and should the Pokemon prove uncooperative, well, they could always renege on this entire deal and kill them all save for the Ditto and the ghosts. "But, there is a condition. Should you refuse, you will be killed." Reel it in. Make the other option so terrible that he won''t even consider it. "From this day forward, I will use you whenever I need to grasp something about what is happening in Unova," Cynthia dered. "You get their culture and issues far better than I ever will, and it is my understanding that you escaped Caitlin, once? I would be interested in knowing the capabilities she''s grown since leaving our Battle Frontier so young." Of course, there were videos of her battles against Unovan Conference winners, but there was a difference between the information Cynthia was after and sport. Plus, she wasn''t challenged very often, since Unova''s system let the challengers pick and choose which Elite Four member they would fight first, and Caitlin was never among those options. Marshal was the usual pick, and the Champion couldn''t me them. Fighting against a ghost, psychic or dark type specialist of that level when you were that inexperienced and weak was a daunting experience. Caitlin hadn''t been a good battler, really, especially whenpared to her valet Darach, who''d been the actual Frontier Brain and who had left for Unova with her. She''d been around the¡­ five-badge level before going on her Unovan journey and staying there. Cynthia never would have guessed that yearster she would ascend to the position of Elite Four in that region, and she was not foolish enough to try to dredge up information that way, lest she start a diplomatic incident. "I''ll tell you anything," Abel said. There was nothing wrong with insurance, Cynthia thought with a rueful smile. There was no one more reliable and loyal than someone you had spared when they did not deserve it. ¡ª "To Rene and Trent." Bottles rose up in the air, then clinked together as the ACE Trainers cheered. Carlos quite liked their little group. Maxwell, Ariel, Carlos and Lou were closer than ACEs ought to be, which would make the pain all the worse when one of them inevitably died. Carlos Iglesias had never enjoyed beer. None of them did, really, but it had been one of Rene and Trent''s vices, and it was a way to honor the dead. Now that they were given a week''s respite where they''d be checked out by the shrinks, Carlos wanted to make full use of the time they had together, because he had no idea which day would be thest. They''d been temporarily reced in their guard duties by another group of ACEs, so the marks were still protected. It was a perfect time to sit on one of the benches in the Lily of the Valley Ind now that the weather was getting better. In the distance, preparations were being made for theing Conference. Maintenance was being run on stadiums, hotels were being readied to open, ceremonies were being rehearsed andpanies were finishing bidding for ad space. League Trainers, government employees, and their families filled the flowered paths¡ª which were full of white and pink Lilies, as the name of the ind suggested. In the less built-up areas of the League, they went as far as the eye could see. The flower signified purity, innocence and rebirth, which were concepts the League had and would never epass. Marks. That was how they referred to the four children they''d shadowed since they''d been in Veilstone City. Growing too attached would spell their doom and would keep the ACE Trainers from doing what was necessary if needed. Carlos gulped down the awful beer, which was a lot harder with half of his face missing. He''d long learned to adapt, however. Missing an eye was a lot more cumbersome than half of his lips. "Legendaries, I can''t believe they liked this shit," Maxwell guffawed. "I never did understand." "It''s apparently an acquired taste," Ariel muttered. She eyed the ingredients written on her bottle and actually read it. "There''s a lot of added sugar in there. I don''t think I''ll be finishing the bottle." "Come on," Maxwell smiled. "For Rene and Trent." A shadow of guilt passed over Ariel''s face, and she gave him a reluctant nod. "You know, I''d reminisce, but they''d hate it," he continued. "That, they would," Carlos said, chasing away the memories. "How will you keep track of your mark now that she''s going to be Teleporting around?" Ariel asked, not bothering to look Carlos in the eye. She''ll have to bring one of us over during each jump," Carlos answered. "It''ll probably be me, when I get back." "Ms. Compton does enjoy yourpany," Maxwell said. The words were innocent enough, but he did not miss the usatory nce. Don''t grow too attached. It was a warning. "Better than the job you''ve been doing with yours," Carlos gruffed. "Grace Pastel dislikes all of you. It makes cooperation harder, and word is, she''ll be going into the ruins to get herself a Teleporter." "She''ll get over it," Maxwell shrugged. "Ariel did screw up, you can''t deny that, and Ms. Pastel holds grudges deeper than your average trainer." "She has actually spoken to me to bury the hatchet," Ariel dered. "A surprising development, but a wee one." Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "When was that?" "A few days after the raid. You wouldn''t have known about it, since you''d already left," she said. "I''m quite relieved." "Well, isn''t that sweet?" Maxwell snorted. "Now who''s getting attached?" Carlos chimed in after finishing his beer. Ariel shook her head. "Not attached per se, but it makes me feel like my mistake has been atoned for, at least in part." Afortable silence settled in as Carlos watched his colleagues¡ª never friends¡ª finish their drink. "You ever think we threw them into this too young?" Carlos blurted out. "You were the same age when you were selected to be an ACE," Maxwell shrugged. "It''s the way the world goes." "But I was eighteen when I went on my first operation like this one," he said. "You weren''t picked by the pricks," Maxwell shrugged, which was his undercover way of saying that he hadn''t been the key to saving the world. The ACE had a very strong disdain for Legendary Pokemon. "When that type of duty calls, you unfortunately can''t refuse it." Carlos sighed. "Well, let''s hope they get a bit of a breather after this one." ¡ª "See, how the hell do you even do that? I can''t just move my hands that fast," Pauline grumbled. I let out a softugh as I ran my hand through Mudsdale''s hair. We were sitting in the same park I''d yed piano, and the same Kricketot hade as guests, although they weren''t really enjoying Pauline''s attempt at music, and I was pretty sure they were badmouthing her too. She gave them the finger and they chimed indignantly, picked themselves up and left. "Why''d you do that?" I groaned. "You know what, whatever. You''ve got to slide your hands through the keyboard," I exined. "Like¡­" I mimicked ying the piano in the air, but the redhead just looked at me like I was talking anothernguage. "I''ve never been great at music. Mommy tried to get me to y the violin, but I kind of threw tantrums until she gave up on me." "What''s with rich people and having their kids y a musical instrument?" I asked. "I mean, it''s cool, but I''m pretty sure all of you at least tried to y one." My friend shrugged. "Probably something to brag to their friends about. Oh, look at me, my daughter can y the trombone!" We bothughed at her terrible impression of some snotty billionaire. "I''ll have you know that''s basically what you''d have sounded like if you hadn''t met me," I teased. "I''ll let you have that win for now, gremlin," she said as she traced a finger on my piano. One week had passed since the raid. I turned back to Mudsdale and watched the oldie doze off to the chimes of the small woods, happy that he''d still be joining us for the journey north. A lot had happened since then. Chase, Mira and¡­ Cece were gone. Denzel was barely getting out of bed again. Emilia had gone to Hearthome, where she''d probably meet Mira tomorrow. Justin and Lauren had won against Wake today, and now Pauline was only waiting for Denzel to fight the water type Gym Leader so she could carry him to Jubilife and drop him off there on Braviary. But there was also the looming consequences of what I''d done, wing at the back of my mind despite my friends trying to distract me. Oh, I knew what they were trying to do. Finding out had been easy enough, with the way they''d all swarmed around me a few days after the raid with the same faces and lines. I couldn''t help but think that a part of them were scared of me. They all looked at me like I was different, and they didn''t know how best to approach the topic of the raid, and for some reason, that hurt even more than them calling me what they really thought. But it felt good, to ignore. To hang out with Pauline like nothing had happened, and to just banter about her piano skills. I dug deep into my bag to grab a water bottle to drink, making sure to keep my ankle still while I did so. The raid had not been without its consequences. I had moved around too much, and my recovery would be dyed. I got lucky, the doctor had said. I could have gotten a permanent limp or worse. "Cecilia''s still on your mind?" Pauline asked. "You had that look on your face." I smiled at her, something fake and foul, "No, I''m fine. She just needs her space, that''s all." The redhead clicked her tongue. "None of that with me, Grace. I know what it''s like to have a rtionship in a permanent limbo¡ª" "It''s not in limbo," I snapped with a twitch of my fingers. "I just need to¡ª to talk to her, but she won''t let me. What if she decides to go off somewhere dangerous alone somewhere? The Iron Inds?" "She won''t. She''s not in that kind of headspace anymore, Grace," Pauline said. "Her loss to Wake probably bummed her out too, along with whatever went on inside the mansion that you won''t tell me about." "It''s not my ce," I said. "Ask her when you see her again." Pauline nodded, then wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Cheer up, alright? She loves you more than anything¡ª literally. You guys will be fine." I could only muster a weak affirming hum. "I don''t want to see you leave sad," she said. "Honestly, I don''t want to see you leave at all." "We''ve gone our separate ways before." "Never like this," Pauline murmured. "It feels different this time, doesn''t it?" It did, and I''d have to be blind not to realize it. The Pokemon Mansion had scarred us in a multitude of ways and people needed their space to deal with the aftermath. That didn''t mean Cecilia leaving without even a word didn''t feel like a part of me had been ripped away. We''d always been supposed to separate, but never like this. I echoed Pauline''s words in my head and sighed. "Are you scared of me, Pauline?" My friend didn''t freeze, but I knew she''d wanted to. After pondering how to answer for a few seconds, she finally did. "I''d lie, but you''d see right through me, so honestly? A little bit." My lips quirked into a sad smile. "I figured." "Or maybe unsettled is the right word? Denzel told us what happened to Backlot," she whispered. "I¡ª well¡ª" "Don''t worry about it," I said. "I still love you. We all do," Pauline said. "But you''ve got to get a hold of yourself¡­ somehow." "Never thought Pauline King would be the one to tell me that." "This isn''t a joke," she scolded. "Don''t make it one." "Sorry." "Do you want to talk about it? About, uh, what happened?" I hesitated for a second. Pauline was offering me a hand, and it was what I''d wished for, so why was it that I couldn''t agree? You know the answer, I told myself. Because to this day, I still didn''t regret watching Backlot die and killing his associates. Something is wrong with me. What would she say if she knew what I truly thought? Would Cecilia throw me away? Would they all look at me worse than they''d been doing now? Would we even still be friends? "I''ll be fine," I said. "I''ll start seeing that therapist soon¡­ they''re being flown to Twinleaf, and then they''ll follow along wherever I end up." "You could have seen her earlier if you hadn''t had to be convinced that therapy was necessary," Pauline chided. "Going to see your mother too?" "Uhuh. Honestly, I never thought I''d say this, but I''m looking forward to it," I muttered. "We''ve been talking more, and Twinleaf will be nice for what I''m dealing with. Seeing family will be nice, and Mudsdale will like the t fields." Even if I''d have to see Mesprit too. I didn''t miss the sliver of relief on her face. Was it how this was going to be from now on? Was talking to me going to be like walking through a minefield? Everyone talked to me like I was insane, and maybe I was, but I was growing tired of it. I gently wrested myself away from her arm and yawned. "Maeve''s runningte," I said, changing the subject. Pauline wanted to fight it, but she did not. As if nothing had happened, we went back to talking about music and her childhood as we waited for Maeve, Justin and Louis to arrive with take-out. The afternoon passed more cheerfully than the morning had been, but eventually, it was time to leave. I bid all of my friends farewell, including Lauren, who would be Teleporting to Sceon with Sirris and trekking to Snowpoint on foot just like Mira. Arceus knew I needed to hurry now that Sweetheart was showing the first signs of molting. I wanted her to evolve near Lake Verity, and I would be cutting it close.
Chapter 266 Chapter 266
CHAPTER 266 The weather started turning for the worse at around five hours into our trip, forcing us to find a ce tond and settle in for the evening faster than we would have, and that was difficult considering how dark it was. We were still over route 212, although we''d swung north in order not to get caught in the swamp. My clothes were soaked, and I shivered as Princess dipped down to get lower to the ground. It would take three days to reach Twinleaf by flight in total now that we didn''t have to slow ourselves down because of Chase''s Sigilyph. I''d have to cross half of route 212, then over Mount Cor and arge stretch of wilderness until I reached Oreburgh. The stop in that city was necessary if I didn''t want to have to camp off-route, and my run-in with Carnivine had taught me better, especially considering that the area I would have needed to stop at would have been crawling with Pokemon even stronger due to its istion from any route. Then, it would be a straight flight to Twinleaf. Still, I couldn''t help but smile when thinking of her. She''d been overwhelmed with relief when I brought Leafeon back to her and had apologized for breaking my ankle. It hadn''t been on her, really. It had been my fault for putting my nose where it didn''t belong and thinking I''d grown invincible after my victory with Volkner, and if we hadn''t crossed paths, then I never would have known about Leafeon. The fact that traversing Sinnoh would now be this simple was still exhrating, especially when I knew that Princess would always be able to go faster. Craig''s Smence had been much quicker than this, although the type of saddle I had wouldn''t really allow her to go that fast without hurting my back. "Let''s get your brother out of his ball," I said as thunder boomed. The fairy type snickered, and I knew it was because Buddy was very loose on the sibling thing, even more so than Sunshine was. I released Jellicent as we hovered around a hundred feet in the air, and he seemed to relish in the rain. His head swelled slightly, and his eyes shone brighter than usual. "No need to show off that much," I teased. The water type rolled his eyes. "Can you find us a good spot to camp in? We can''t see crap in this weather." A gust of wind mmed against my face, causing me to groan and hurriedly grip my saddle. Jellicent''s eyes scanned our surroundings for a minute until he moved one tentacle toward us¡ª no, he was pointing backward. There were small hills there that marked the border between the swamp and the rest of the route, he exined. He was much slower than Princess, but he guided us there until we reached a small alcove barely deep enough to keep us dry. I released Angel, who carefully ced me back on the ground and handed me a crutch to lean against. Princess was so soaked that her fur clung to her skin just like it had during the battle against Wake, and she looked very displeased. "Let''s hope this lets up at some point," I muttered as I leaned forward to look at the cloudy sky. Buddy was still out in the rain, having transformed into a puddle with two glowing red eyes by himself. There wasn''t much space to release the entire team, but I decided to do so anyway, at least for a few minutes so we could speak except for Sweetheart, who was currently sleeping, and would for most hours of the day. The final molt required a lot of energy, and she''d be resting a lot more than usual. Sunshine shot me an indignant look as soon as he materialized. Oh, yes, how dare I release him when it was raining. I just stuck out my tongue and motioned at him to get close so I could dry my clothes. I was not going to sleep with wet clothes. Thest thing I wanted was to get sick. Afortable warmth spread throughout the cave as I quickly changed andid my clothes on a towel so they could dry. Once Electivire helped change the bandages for the cut on my arm, we could finally rx. Angel was busy ying in the rain and spraying Honey with more water until Turtonator told them to quit it because they were getting the inside of the alcove wet. Mudsdale, meanwhile, was the one taking the most space in the small cave due to his massive height and size. Even when lying down, his head was still poking out of the alcove. The ground type simply snorted as he watched my Pokemon shuffle away from each other awkwardly. "Honey, tell me if the rain gets annoying, alright? I''ll recall you," I said. The electric type simply shook his head and moved on to speak to Buddy instead, so I turned back to Mudsdale. "We were in a ce just like this up north, once," I recounted as I settled deeper into the cave. Arceus, I was going to have to eat gran bars for dinner. "It was a lotrger than this, though. A lot of Pokemon came in and joined us¡­" Part of me had dreaded this. Being alone, traveling to Twinleaf without any of my issues with my friends having been resolved, but I couldn''t deny that it felt much better being here than in the city. Staying in Pastoria any longer not only would have screwed up my timeline to get Sweetheart to evolve near Lake Verity, but it also made me feel like I was choking. At least, my team didn''t treat me any differently. They were, however, still worried about me, because they knew something wasn''t right. Mudsdale didn''t know me enough to guess, but I hadn''t been behaving right since the raid. I knew Denzel had told everyone about Backlot with good intentions, that he only wanted what was best for me, and it had helped somewhat. My friends and I had gone from barely talking about normal things at all to at least doing so again, but the fact that they knew that I''d watched Backlot die left a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn''t so much the fact that I''d done so that bothered me, but the fact that I''d be judged for it, and judge they had. Every time they stared when they thought I wasn''t looking, there was a tint of difort. The way I behaved wasn''t normal. I knew that, now, and I''d known all along. Why else would I have wanted to hide Edward Backlot''s fate, or hide the way I''d hurt Maylene''s Infernape to draw out his suffering? Now I had to deal with the consequences of my actions and watch my friends stare at me like I was some kind of monster. I still love you, Pauline had said, yet beforehand, that ''still'' never would have needed to be there. And if Cecilia found out¡­ She''d known the way Backlot had passed, but she hadn''t known Mira and I had stayed to watch. After telling the story of how I''d met Be to Mudsdale, I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my camera roll, erging some goofy picture I''d taken of Cecilia when she''d been blinking. A small smile stretched across my lips as I leaned against Sunshine''s scales. The dragon was already asleep. For all he hated the rain, he found its sound easy to fall asleep to. He''d wake up hungry tomorrow. Togekiss called out to me, and my eyes drifted up from my phone. "It''s just a picture," I said. "I can''t even text her, there''s no signal on this route." Princess grunted, saying I shouldn''t be looking at her picture like a ''lost child''. It wasn''t the first time she''d felt like this, I knew, but it was the first time she''d said something about it. I bit down a snappy answer and only mustered a nod. She was right, and she was more mature about this than I was. Mudsdale looked quite confused, but opted to stay out of any potential arguments. I smiled sadly. "Sorry. I guess you''re right," I said before pausing. "You hungry?" The fairy type nodded, and I caressed her cheek before painfully standing up. "Today''s just going to be kibble. I''m way too tired to cook anything, and the weather''s bumming me out," I said, staring off into the distance. It was mostly woods with short trees and hills, along with a few outlined paths through them. In this weather, we weren''t going to see any trainers passing through, and I preferred it that way. I''d started disliking any interaction I had with those ever since the raid, for obvious reasons. I fed the entire team, although Angel would make do with sunlight tomorrow and Mudsdale told me he preferred to graze. "Graze? Like, normal grass?" I asked. The horse neighed in affirmation, adding the fact that his favorite type of grass was somewhat muddy, after rainy days like this one. "Well, that''s why you didn''t look bothered by the rain at all," I snorted. It was a quiet night, really. Mudsdale ended up reneging his spot and sleeping in his Pokeball to allow the others to have some space. Honey did some fancy light tricks with short bursts of electricity through his fingers, lighting up the cave with a soft glow. Angel''s entire body was soaked with water as he sank and dripped against the stone. Princess quietly molded a super long andplicated spear with Ancient Power. Did she have to put spikes on it? I bet she''ll ask me to carry it around for a few days too, I mused. I ended up staying upter than the entire team, save for Jellicent, of course, but he was basically checked out in the rain. Now that we''d made it past the swamp, the route was safe once more, so he didn''t have to be alert at all times, and most Pokemon here would be too scared to approach anyway. I scrolled through my camera roll until I fell asleep in my sleeping bag. I couldn''t stop myself. ¡ª The next day, the sky finally cleared up. I let Mudsdale and Sunshine eat breakfast before we left. I made the ground type nearly choke when I asked if Sunshine was going to eat grass too. "What? I was just wondering," I said with a teasing smile. Turtonator''s eye twitched, and he said that if I wasn''t already wounded he''d sweep my legs with his tail. "No, you wouldn''t," I said. "You''d feel terrible after. You would have blown smoke into my face or something, but you''ve softened up so much that you won''t even do that." Unfortunately, he didn''t prove me wrong. Did he feel that bad for me? I asked myself. Still, I shuffled across the wet grass when we were done and got on Princess'' back once more. There had been a lot of rain yesterday, and parts of the route were so flooded I could see teams of Rangers attending to the flooded paths with water types. The swamp was probably even worse, though I doubted they''d do anything about it there. Now that it was daytime again, Mount Cor loomed tall in the distance. Even though this part of it was nowhere as tall as the peak, it still dwarfed any other mountains in Sinnoh. Once, I had described the entire mountain as if someone had grabbed the earth and pinched it up. The slopes at Mount Cor''s base were not gradual, they were a sharp rise that I''d never seen on any other mountain or hill. Below me, vast expanses of trees stretched for miles and miles. Princess chirped softly as she sped up, and I felt a little kick. Every time she got anywhere close to the mountain, she got uneasy. "Don''t worry. It''s not like we''re on it, we''re just flying over," I said. And we had nned each stop specifically to avoid having to rest on the mountain. People like Craig and Aubri trained there, so there was no way in hell I was ever going to approach that ce. I''d gone through too much to already be dropped into a life-and-death fight. I just wanted to rx for the time being and prepare for the inevitable confrontation with that ancient Zoroark. Aubri Schneider going through my mind made me think of my fellow Poketch sponsees I''d met in Sunyshore for that photoshoot. Ramon and Bobby had actually contacted me after the raid and been rather nice about it, along with offering a warning. Their own liaisons¡ª so their equivalent of Melody¡ª wereing after me and undermining my position. The fact that I''d killed someone during the raid was public now, and no matter what I did, people would now see a murderer when they looked at me even if they were ''nice'' about it, or as nice as someone could be. Craig himself had been shaken when his Smence had killed those Team Gctic grunts near Lake Acuity all those months ago, so I could tell that having killed someone was abnormal in our line of work unless you worked for the League, and they wanted to use that and my other tendencies to push me out of thepany. Melody had soothed my worries and said that the board was still on board with me, but I couldn''t help but feel somewhat anxious. I needed to be on my best behavior for when I could negotiate my next raise. What had they wanted me to do, even? Let myself get mentally assaulted by Musharna until Slowking''s mental shield broke? It was self-defense. No use thinking about it when the biggest goal of this trip was to decouple from the public and rx. I spoke to Princess about everything until we made it to Mount Cor. She was growing up quickly, and so I could confide in her now when I hadn''t been able to just months ago. Granted, most of her advice had to do with violence, so it wasn''t applicable there, but it felt good to talk to someone about it. Everyone at the raid would have to deal with these rumors too, although Denzel had ''only'' killed a Graveler, and for some reason people didn''t care as much when Pokemon died instead of humans. I knew Chase wouldn''t care and Mira was preupied with other stuff, but I hoped Cecilia was dealing well with the new way people would look at her, now, and that it wouldn''t close any doors with sponsors in Unova. I needed to stop thinking about her, but worrying for her was fine, probably. It was my first time flying over Mount Cor. Craig''s Smence had gone around it, and the sight was as breathtaking as it was terrifying. The mountain''s presence was no less menacing in broad daylight, casting long, eerie shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly over the destendscape. The air seemed to grow colder here, and thinner too. I shivered as we started our flight above the passes. High above them, of course. Thest thing I wanted was to get attacked by some wild Pokemon that got angry we got too close to its territory. There were pockets of life, on the mountain. There were ledges full of vegetation that looked small from up there, but that were as big as a city or close to it. Pokemon could go their entire lives knowing only that ledge. There were of course, many rivers. All of Sinnoh''s rivers originated from Mount Cor, although they became waterfalls by the time they reached the ground. Up here, though, the slope was gentle enough to allow the water to roll through the numerous valleys. At the peak of these ridges were snowcaps, even during the spring, although I knew they melted in summer. The taller sections of the mountain saw snow and hail all year long, however. "Craig''s somewhere down there right now," I said absent-mindedly as I leaned to get a better look at the ground. "Or maybe he''s closer to the peak. I hope he''s fine." Mount Cor wasn''t the only pretty sight, although it was the only one that unsettled me. To my west was the vast ocean¡ª or it was a sea, I supposed. It separated Sinnoh from the rest of Shinwa, where Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn sat. I drummed my fingers against my saddle as Princess soared even higher and I caught a glimpse of the mountain''s peak high above the clouds. It was blurry, shifted blue due to how far away it was, and it was so blurry I couldn''t make out anything. It was said that Mount Cor was so tall people needed oxygen to make it that high, and no one had even been at the peak. That was probably a lie. There was no way the League hadn''t sent someone up there. Betrix had been terrified of the entire mountain when she''d described it to me, so she knew more about it than she let on too. Well, I wasn''t going to poke the Bewear. It took us hours to make it past Mount Cor, but we made it through with no incidents save for a Braviary that hadn''t liked how close we got¡ª even though we were very far away from the slopes. Thankfully, he had just let us off with a warning, which had been a gust of wind so powerful it would have knocked me off Princess had I not been strapped into a saddle. The scars that had marred his body were signs that he''d been in quite a few scraps and I was not confident in winning an aerial battle, so we just high-tailed it out of there. I didn''t know how to gauge Braviary''s strength, but he was probably strong enough to take at least Princess down alone, although I was sure she''d leave him very hurt by the end of it. They had to be this strong, to live at those heights. We reached Oreburgh during the evening, and seeing the city again was like a breath of nostalgia. And fumes. Horrible, toxic fumes. I covered my nose until Princessnded in the industrialized city at the Pokemon Center near the Gym. She was tired after having flown all day, so I recalled her and promised I would let her sleep on the bed tonight with me. Everything had started here. My first battle against Roark that I had almost lost and only won thanks to Princess'' pivotal evolution. Memories shed in my mind. I''d been a sweaty, stumbling mess by the end of that battle, but it had taught me the heights of what victory tasted like, and I''d grown addicted to that feeling. "A room for one night, please," I told the Nurse Joy. The stares at my back were prickly, like they hadn''t expected me to be here already. I supposed I hadn''t really told anyone where I was going, so seeing me pop up in Oreburgh was probably surprising. The whispers were annoying too, especially when they were loud enough to hear. Theories about what had gone on in the mansion were rampant, and most of the ones regarding me had to do with stabbing things. I grabbed my keycard, and I would have gone to see the city had I not been so exhausted. "He¡ªhello," a voice rang out behind me. It was a kid, just like Erin. Doe-eyed and excited to meet me. I was surprised to see a Togepi in her arms, although this one was a male. He retreated into his shell when my stare lingered for more than a second, and the girl''s legs shook. Right, I was a murderer. Erin hadn''t texted as much since the raid. It was different, now. I blinked and softened my gaze. "How can I help you?" I smiled. "Um, my name is Sophie. I was wondering if you had tips to train a Togepi? He hatched from an egg recently, so¡­" "Aw. Does he have a name?" "Not yet. Uh, I usually try to watch your battles, but you were a lot better than he was when you fought Roark. I don''t know how to train him from scratch." The Togepi let out an embarrassed chirp, and I softly chuckled. He was a lot shier than Princess had been as a baby. "People don''t really know how you got your start," she continued, growing a little more confident. "Your battle with Roark was shaky¡ª I''m not saying that, other people are!" she yelled. "But then against Gardenia, you started showing your skill. I want to get better." Right. No one knew my first battle had been against a kid with a Shinx, or that I''d gotten my start by having Princess practice Rollout in dad''s apartment. I wondered how that dude with Shinx was doing these days. I was usually good with names, but I''d forgotten his. "Well, I won''t be staying here long, but I can give you some pointers," I said. "How''s his Rollout like?" ¡ª She hadn''t stayed long, and I hadn''t expected her to. I had somewhat overwhelmed her with all of the potential techniques a Togepi could have and that I had missed out on because I hadn''t been good enough to think about them, and I hoped she''d put them to good use. Before I left, though, there was a special ce I wanted to go to. Oreburgh hadn''t changed at all, really, and it might have been foolish to expect a city to drastically change in a few months. The richest people lived on its outskirts, away from the pollution from the mines, while the poorest lived close to them. I rode Mudsdale through the sidewalks until we reached a particr poffin house. "It really looks the same," I muttered. In retrospect, these were nowhere as good as the ones in Hearthome, but Buddy and Princess had loved them when we''de here and they had first started growing closer. I bought the team ten packs of poffins, all with different vors, and decided to go eat it on the city''s outskirts up north on route 207, where I used to train. "You ever had poffins, Mudsdale?" I asked with a hand on his neck. He was always gentle with he walked so he wouldn''t hurt my ankle. The ground type answered with a resounding no, which surprised me until I remembered that Sunshine hadn''t had any either and that this needed to be remedied immediately. I released my entire team, but only Togekiss and Jellicent recognized this ce. The stony ground with the few shrubs that grew few and far in between and the tall mountain that led to the rest of route 207 that could only be scaled or flown over. I handed out the poffins to them, although I kept the Oran ones for Princess and the Mago ones for Buddy. Sweetheart was awake now, although she was struggling to keep her eyes open and we all looked at her warily. Should she evolve early, I would recall her in her Pokeball immediately and keep her there until we reached Lake Verity. Angel had forgone food to keep a close eye on her. She was taller than he was, now, but his vines still soothed her wherever they touched. "Hear me out," I said, turning to Sunshine, who was pretending not to like his poffins. "Buddy used not to listen to me." The dragon snorted, and Honey''s tails twitched curiously. "I''m serious. I''d call out for a Water Pulse and he''d use a Night Shade. Back then, our Night Shades weren''t really that great. Anyway, it was because I messed up when I caught him, but still, can you imagine it?" The ghost red at me for exposing him, but unfortunately for him, I was the one with the Mago Berries and he didn''t exactly have the means to grab them unless he absorbed the entire thing into his head. It was still odd, to see the food dissolve directly in there. Turtonator jokingly called Jellicent ackey, after which he sprayed him with water and ruined the poffin he carried. Princess chimed in and said that Sunshine was just as much of ackey as Buddy was, and there was an amused glint in Mudsdale''s eye. He enjoyed seeing the dragon be teased, as Lurantis and Oranguru had done in the past. "You''re notckeys," I said. "You''re family, which is why you call me out when I do something wrong, or at least try to. I, uh, I want to talk to you guys about something." The air grew serious, and I bit my lip, chasing away the regret I felt for having ruined the nice mood. There were no trainers in sight, and even if there were, Princess would be able to sense them. At this time of the year, most trainers had left Oreburgh, either due to winning against Roark or just giving up on him and returning to Jubilife or Canve. Oreburgh wasn''t asrge as Sunyshore, and so had a lower trainer poption save for the rush here early in the Circuit. "As it stands, I still don''t think I did anything wrong," I quietly said. "That''s not the way a normal person should think, or at least I think so. Watching Backlot pay his due was right," I stopped, letting silence fill the air. "But it also wasn''t. I need¡ª I need a conscience, or something akin to it. Someone to tell me when I might be going too far. Because I know most of you don''t care about my friends, but I do, and I don''t want them to think I''m too far gone." Immediately, I could tell what each member of the team thought with a glimpse. Sunshine''s eyes narrowed, like he was saying don''t even think about it. Sweetheart softly muttered something under her breath, but I let her know that she could keep sleeping now that she''d eaten. Jellicent just couldn''tprehend human morality and why people had made such a fuss about the entire situation in the first ce, so he was the wrong person to ask. For Princess, justice had been served, and it was well-deserved. So it fell upon Angel and Honey. "It''s¡­ hard to exin exactly what I''m asking, but basically, just try to let me know if the ideas I''m suggesting to take down any future criminals are terrible." Both agreed, although Honey was a lot happier about it. Tangrowth patted me on the head and nodded with a gentle stare. Arceus, how worried about me had they been? I thanked them with a smile and we returned to eating poffins in peace. I scrolled through multiple texts that my friends had sent me to check on me, and I noticed Princess and Buddy eyeing my screen from afar. "They''re just texts," I said. "Not to Cece. I''m giving her space." I turned to the fairy type. "Also, when did you tell Buddy about this?" The fact that I was so fucked up I couldn''t even go a day without thinking about Cecilia. Togekiss answered withst night, when I''d fallen asleep, and they''d been the only two in the room. I thought the little rascal would have been asleep, with all of the flying she did. Unfortunately, they hadn''t been able to stop me from reading Cece and I''s old texts, and maybe expecting a ''hello'' or something. I knew she was fine, because she''d texted the group chat about being in Jubilife. Had someone told her that I''d watched Edward Backlot get tortured? Maybe that was why she didn''t want tomunicate. No, no, I was growing too paranoid. My friends wouldn''t do that to me, they wouldn''t tell her. Denzel had told me that he wouldn''t and that he''d told the others to stay quiet when I asked, but I started typing a message to him about it to make sure. I erased it before I could send it. I needed to stop. I needed to, but I couldn''t. I nced back down at my phone and replied to all of them with news I''d made it to Oreburgh, although with how fast news traveled about us these days, they had already all known about it. Mira was in Hearthome now, although she was rather quiet. I hoped her lessons with Fantina were going well. She''d been there, when we watched Backlot die, but she''d been a lot more squeamish about it than I had. Still, she had stayed the entire way through, and as it stood, she was the only person who wouldn''t judge me for it. Was she dealing with the same bullshit that I was? She probably was, which might be why she left Pastoria so quickly. Soon after that, Princess and I were back in the air. ¡ª I was almost tempted to get back to Jubilife on the way to Twinleaf, but I decided against it. One, the city had way too many people, which meant that since the raid was still being talked about a lot, there was no way I''d be able to avoid attention like I''d done in Pastoria and Oreburgh. The desire to see dad was strong, but I would rather have waited longer for the news to die down¡ª well, die down was probably too big of a hope, but at least I''d have peace for a while in Twinleaf, along with that therapist. There was the desire to see someone else too, but Princess never would have agreed anyway. We cut across the southwest and flew over Sandgem. I decided to let Princess stop here for a few minutes so Buddy could see the ocean he''d lived in for centuries. Coincidentally, this was also the beach where Mudsdale, Sunshine, Kamaile and the others had spent an entire afternoon when they had juste in Sinnoh, and the ground type enjoyed telling me how Turtonator had threatened to ss it on multiple asions after Lurantis had annoyed him. The fire type still hated calling this ce a beach. Eventually I broke away from the two and walked toward Jellicent, who watched the wave with a strange look in his eye. "You doing okay?" I hesitantly asked. I couldn''t get too close, because otherwise my cast would get wet. The ghost turned back toward me and said that until I had caught him, he hadn''t been alive. Not truly, anyway. Drifting across the sea, going from prey to prey until something would hopefully be strong enough to kill him. For more than two centuries, he lived here, but it was only until he''d met me that he learned to make living enjoyable again. He floated toward me and let his face brush against my arm. I turned to caress his cheek, and his eyes dimmed. He loved me, and he had no regrets. ¡ª Just like nned, three days after our departure from Pastoria, we''d made it to Twinleaf. It looked smaller from up here. Surrounding the town itself were picturesque fields and meadows. The rich, earthy tones of the countryside were dotted with wildflowers and tall grass, and beyond those were the usual woods that dotted much of Sinnoh. A meandering river cut through the town until it reached the southernke, where a few people were currently fishing, probably for Magikarp. They ate those here, I knew. Like Pastoria, there was no grid to be seen. Instead, the streets had been made with no n in mind, and every single house was designed differently. Some looked small and cozy while others were sprawling. One of them, I recognized, was Denzel''s home, a rtivelyrge patisserie that doubled as a house with a picketed fence surrounding much of thend. I spotted more than fifteen Miltank in that pasture. I knew Denzel''s mother used their milk to bake her stuff. But it was not their home I was going to. There were nonding pads in Twinleaf, so Inded directly in front of my mother''s home. No therapist to be seen yet, and they''ll probably show themselves soon. I hopped off Togekiss, drew in a deep breath to chase away the anxiety and knocked.
Chapter 267 Chapter 267 CHAPTER 267 I was assaulted by a tight hug as soon as the door opened. My mother was a lot happier to see me than I thought she''d be, with the news that I had killed a man going around. My hands stayed frozen in ce for a few seconds until I hugged her too, and for some reason, I started tearing up. This shouldn''t feel like home, I told myself. I quietly sniffled until the hug was done. Mom sped my shoulders to get a better look at me. "Grace," she smiled. "I missed you." Thest time I''d seen her had been after that Abra had tried to kidnap me, and she''d been very shaken by the attack, especially when Princess had instantly stabbed him with Ancient Power. She looked just like me, save for her age, the color of her eyes, and being a little taller. Dirty blond hair, freckles, and a nose that was on the smaller side of the scale. There were no traces of judgment in her eyes, however, or at least I thought there wasn''t. It was hard to tell, since she wasn''t a Pokemon and I didn''t know her that well. "I missed you too," I said, and was surprised to see I actually meant it. "Come on in," she beamed as she led me into the home. "Your grandmother isn''t here, so it''ll be just us." "Oh. Why? I could sleep on the couch or something," I muttered, wiping my eyes. "No, no. It wasn''t about the rooms, I just thought it''d be better if it were just the two of us," Mom quickly replied. The living room was more orderly than it had been thest and only time I''d been here. Had she cleaned up in anticipation of my arrival? The ce was smaller than the usual house I''d seen flying above Twinleaf, but it was still nice. Cozy, maybe. Something smelled good in the kitchen, and since there was no separation between it and the living room, I could tell Mom was cooking something. I ced my backpack at the foot of the couch and smiled when I nced at the table Denzel had been sitting at when I''d seen him for the first time. Herdier had been sleeping on the couch, but he jumped when he saw me and joy radiated out of him. He''s so happy, even though he''s only seen me regrly until I was five. I scratched the base of his ears and let him lick my face for a bit. "I could have helped with dinner," I said. "I thought you''d be tired from your travels¡ª oh, feel free to make yourself at home, by the way. Do you remember where everything is? I can show you around." "Yeah, I do. Thanks," I smiled. "And, uh, about cooking. It''s something I really enjoy, and I''d like to get better at it." My mother beamed. "Oh, that''s not a problem at all! We can get started tomorrow." "Can my Electivire join us?" "The more the merrier," she said. "So long as he doesn''t¡­ break or fry things." "He''s better than I am," I added. That was the end of that. Samantha let me know that dinner would be ready in around ten minutes, so I took the opportunity to get settled upstairs and take a shower. I covered my cast with stic and used the opportunity to switch my bandages after a few minutes. Now, I felt fresh and as good as new. The cut on my arm had almost finished healing now, but the bandages helped me not pick at the crust that had formed. It ran most of the length of my forearm until it reached the top of my wrist. I decided that I''d feed my teamter. My mother had met them all already in Veilstone, but only for a few hours. They''d all liked her some, save for Sunshine, so I wasn''t too worried on that front. Mudsdale and I would be able to stamp out his worse behaviors like his attempts to scare her. I was pretty sure he still hated my mother because he''d called her a coward, but he was a big old softie these days, so he''d keep quiet if I asked him enough times. I hobbled down the stairs and was greeted by the most beautifully arrangedsagna I''d ever seen¡ª not that I''d seen many. It was also kind of campy. She''d cut thesagna up into different cute shapes, like stars or even Pokemon. Litleo, Pikachu¡­ is that Jigglypuff? She must have had molds for these. "Sorry about the stairs¡ª you let me know if you need any help going up or downstairs, okay?" she said as I sat down. "Your dad told me your ankle would take longer to heal, now." "Yeah, I moved it around too much after my cast broke," I quickly said, desperate to change the subject. She was treating me normally, so I wasn''t about to ever get into the topic of the raid and risk changing that. "I saw you got WiFi installed? When I was in the washroom." I took a bite from thesagna and squealed at how good it was. I needed to keep some of this for Angel, he''d love it so much. "I did a few months ago. It was a hassle to wait for the technicians from Sandgem toe, and it''s not very fast, but I listen to a podcast with it that talks a lot about you. I told you about it, didn''t I?" "Hmhm," I said as I chewed. "Denzel listens to it sometimes now that I told him about it." "Oh, that''s just fantastic! I''ve been trying to get Barry''s mother to listen when they talk about him, but she won''t figure out how to work the technology even after I show her step by step." There was a pause for around a minute as we ate in silence. The conversation didn''t flow as naturally as it did when I was with my dad or my friends, and we weren''t close enough to befortable with awkward silences like this one, but I had expected this. "How''s theke?" I asked. "Inessible since the League showed up," she sighed. "It''s a shame too, really. I would have liked to bring you there again to soothe your worries." I held back a wince, since I was nning on going there soon and she didn''t know. At least I had confirmation that this would be just like Lake Valor, though. It was hard to imagine the deste and quietke surrounded by a military fortress instead. Honestly, I would have rather it be empty for Sweetheart, but I could probably find a clear spot when the time came, seeing as Valor had a few. I didn''t know if it''d berge enough for Tyranitar, though. What I was certain about was that I wasn''t going to let any League Trainers intervene between me and my daughter. "What do they say about me in the podcast?" I asked. "Before¡­ recent events, I mean." "Mostly good things. A lot of thenguage used, I''m not familiar with, but it feels nice to track your progress, in a way. They say that you''re good at nning things and getting ahead of traps, for example. We can listen to some of the old episodes together, if you''d like." I raised an eyebrow. "I feel like that would be kind of embarrassing." "Well, it''s up to you," she said. "Oh, if you ever want to watch TV, we have a few channels¡­" Dinner passed without a fuss and in a quiet fashion. When I asked my mother about Pokemon food, she said I''d probably have to fly to Sandgem to buy it inrge quantities. My team was full of big Pokemon who ate a lot, and now I didn''t have my friends'' bags to share space to store food in. It would be even worse when Sweetheart evolved into Tyranitar. Sure, a lot of my team didn''t need to eat, but they liked to, and I''d be mean not to let them have food. The flight to Sandgem and back would barely take over an hour anyway. Like I''d thought, Angel enjoyed thesagna very much, and everyone had a little taste, much to my mother''s dismay, considering she''d wanted to store leftovers for tomorrow and the day after that, either for lunch or dinner. The entire team was¡­ rtively nice to her, in their own ways. Jellicent didn''t stare daggers and just stayed silent after greeting her, while Sunshine had grunted a greeting and went off somewhere in the distance. I could still see his shell''s faint glow, and I knew he wanted to sleep outside tonight, and probably every night until we left. It wasn''t often that he could. Angel and Honey were the nicest, as always. The grass type let my mom have her personal space, but couldn''t help but touch her hair and notice how simr it was to mine. I served as an interpreter between Electivire and my mother in anything rted to cooking. She was giving him a lot of tips, and he wasmitting them to memory. Sweetheart was asleep, as usual. It would be soon. In three days, maybe two. Princess was flying overhead and training with flying TE. I''d have to start back up on training during my stay here. Being down in the dumps was no excuse to stop progressing, especially when the 8th Gym would be the most difficult one yet and I''d have to battle Zoroark in the ruins. It was a nice night, all in all, although my mom went to sleep a lot sooner than I expected. She was very adamant about getting eight hours of sleep every night, which was a quirk of hers she''d apparently had since she was young. Soon after, it was just me and my team. It was so easy to see the stars above Twinleaf, just like on a route. Maybe that was why I felt sofortable here. It felt more like a route than a town, even more than Floaroma had, except that it was so quiet here that I felt like I was the only girl in the world despite seeing the soft inds of light in the distance. Not even wild Pokemon could be heard. It was just the wind. When Mudsdale decided to go and make sure Sunshine wasn''t terrifying people by walking in front of their homes like he owned the ce, I turned to the rest of the team. "I''m going to see Mesprit soon," I dered. There was no surprise there, although there was trepidation. Tangrowth''s vines shivered in the night while Togekissnded next to me without a single sound. Jellicent''s eyes dimmed, and he asked if I was sure. Cecilia''s experience with a Legendary hadn''t been great, so I understood their reluctance to let me go, especially when I''d be on my own. It was Electivire, that protested first. He said that I should wait to have a few meetings with my therapist before plunging into such a dangerous situation again. A while ago, I''d said that Knowledge could be the more ruthless Legend of the trio, but in my current mental state, Mesprit could leave me emotionally destroyed and snap me like a twig if they felt like it. "We aren''t staying here long, Hon," I gently muttered. "Four sessions with a therapist won''t fix me." But it would help, he answered right away. I shifted in my sitting position and slung an arm over my knee. "Maybe." I could dy, but then I''d have fewer days to get used to whatever the hell Mesprit would gift me. No, four days isn''t much, I''m just making excuses, I realized. Even from this far, the Lake beckoned me to the north-west. It felt wrong not to go there. "Well, it doesn''t cost anything to try," I finally said. I blinked when I saw the relief on the electric type''s shoulders. "But that therapist better show up soon. We aren''t staying here long." We spent another hour out until I decided to call it a night. ¡ª "Grace. There''s ady at the door that says she''s with the League?" I groaned as I struggled to open my eyes. This bed was a lot morefortable and soft than the Pokemon Center ones, and Princess had made for a very good cuddling partner. My mother''s voice had sounded distant and echoey. I''d slept like a log with everything I''d eaten, but when the words Mom had told me finally registered in my head, I shot up from the bed and nearly fell off. "Ady with the league?" I slurred, wiping spit from my chin. "That''s definitely the therapist I told you about. W¡ªwhat time is it?" "8:52 in the morning," she answered. That sounded like the appointment was at nine. An appointment that had never been set up, but one nheless. I got ready as fast as I could, opting to skip breakfast for now so I could meet the woman who''d be joined at my hip for the next¡­ well, I didn''t know how long, but for a while. Opening the door revealed that she was rather old, possibly in her early sixties. She sat calmly on my mother''s porch until she noticed me and turned. She had long, wispy hair that had almost greyedpletely, leaving only a few tufts of brown. She was thinner than what looked healthy, but most of all, she felt important in a way I couldn''t really exin. Most League personnel I''d seen had felt like that too. There was just a way about how they carried themselves that caught my attention. Her skin was tan, like a native Aln''s. "Ms. Pastel," the older woman said, outstretching a hand. Her voice was smooth and high-pitched. I shook it, although her handshake felt so light it might as well not have happened. "My name is Aliyah Pascual, but you can call me however you wish." "Aliyah, then," I quietly said. I turned back to my mom, who nodded and went back inside the house. "I called my first therapist by her first name." "I would say that we should go for a walk, but that would be unwise," Aliyah said, dipping her head toward my ankle. "So let us confer here, Ms. Pastel." "Grace is fine," I said. "And by here, you mean¡­" "On the porch, yes," she said. "Sit." "Can I have a Pokemon with me, or¡ª" "No. It will just be us two, but don''t worry, I don''t bite," Aliyah smiled. "I have a Turtonator and Mudsdale still out there somewhere," I said. "But I guess that''s fine." Goodness, I was nervous. I hadn''t been this nervous when talking alone to Amanda, but I supposed my issues back then had been orders of magnitude lower. She waited for me to sit next to her, and I realized she was shorter than I was, which wasn''t something I was used to. She had a single Pokeball with her, although it didn''t look like she would release them for this session, at the very least. Maybe they were an empath like Gardevoir? Aliyah pulled out some sort of unlit candle from her bag and lit it with a lighter. It smelled like¡­ okay, I was nowhere nearpetent enough to know what it smelled like, but it smelled good. Next, she handed me a pillow to sit on so I wouldn''t have to be on the hard stairs. An outdoor therapy session was¡­ weird, but I didn''t hate it. It was a very fancy one, and purple just like her candle. "I''ve worked with many ACE Trainers in my career," Aliyah said. "One could say it''s my specialty. I''ve seen facese and go, but none as young as yours." "Is that an issue?" I asked. She shook her head. "Not at all. This will be new both for me and you, Grace, but I have decades of experience. You''re in good hands." This was already starting a lot differently than I was used to. She wasn''t going to be taking any notes, it looked like, but there was something about her voice that just put me at ease. It was no trick, I knew. If she''d been some kind of Pokemon, I would have known. Surprisingly, she did end up releasing her Pokemon. The psychic type was almost transparent, and he let out a single tone from the top of his head. Chimecho. Seven bells rang, and each sound felt different when they went through my body. "Thank you, Chimecho," my therapist inclined her head before turning toward me. "A measure against eavesdroppers." "That''s not a barrier," I said. It was different than what I''d seen high-level League psychics do. "It is not," she confirmed, leaving it at that. "I''ve been given a file about all of the events that went on during the raid," she said. "So you can speak in full confidence when we talk. Let''s start at the now, shall we? What is your goal? What are you trying to achieve from your time with me?" I frowned. I want you to fix me. But fixing could mean a lot of things, and she was only just one woman. For a moment, there was only silence as I attempted to find the words to answer her question. "I guess I just want to be strong enough to stop feeling like I''m spiraling. I want to feel in control of my life again." There was something in Aliyah''s eyes, but I didn''t know what. "Ah, control. Something everyone wishes to have," she said. "How would you describe the way you feel, at the moment?" "Lost," I instantly said. "Confused, I guess. I have someone I really miss, and, uh, I can''t talk to her right now. She was usually the person I used for support and to cope with events like these." "Cecilia Obel," Aliyah nodded. "But now, it is just you, so we should work together to make you able to stand on your own two feet, yes?" "I would like that," I agreed. "And there''s¡ª" I stopped and bit my lip. "Uh, I don''t really care about what people think of me except for the potential money lost because of my sponsor. It''s annoying, but I can deal. But my friends know what I did, and there''s this weird¡­ dissonance, where I don''t care about having watched Backlot die, but they do, so now I feel like I have to care, but I can''t bring myself to, and it''s making me go insane. Now things are different, and I don''t know if they''re just talking to me because they think I''d be a psycho." I was out of breath by the end of the statement, but it felt good to have finally told someone. "I did figure there was an issue like this," Aliyah quietly said. "Tell me, Grace, have you ever turned off your abilities to sense emotions from Pokemon?" I blinked. "Once, when I was fighting Crasher Wake. It''s not turning off as much as it''s diluting it until I can''t really pay attention to it anymore." "You''ve lived the past few months of your life able to know everything a Pokemon felt, and that means you can essentially know what they''re thinking at all times," she said. "And now, there are your friends. For the first time, you don''t know what they truly think of you, but you cannot delve into their psyche to know despite how hard you want to, am I correct?" She stopped to see my reaction, and my eyes were open wide enough to make it obvious that she''d been right, so she continued. "You''ve grown so used to having answers at your fingertips that you feel like you''re drowning." It was strange to have it put into words for the first time, but she waspletely right. I desperately wanted to know what the others felt when they looked at me. If there was a hint of disgust, or how far the fear ran, or if they were only telling me one part of what they truly perceived me. "That is the thought process of a controlling person, my dear," she said, almost like she was reading my mind. "It is also very unhealthy. It is my understanding that you will receive new powers from Lake Verity, but should your wishe to pass and you do extend your abilities to humans¡ª along with whatever other powers will be given¡ª you mustn''t delve into that path. You wille to regret it." "How?" I frowned. "If I can tell what they''re thinking about me, I can adjust¡­ uh, I can make myself better." Aliyah gently clicked her tongue. "Because that would only bring animosity between you and your friends, Grace. It is also an issue of breach of trust. Your team has grown used to this, but humans work entirely differently, as you know. I doubt Cecilia Obel would appreciate it if you could tell how she felt at all times and used that to your advantage, hm?" No, she would not. In fact, she would hate it, given the fact that freedom was what she valued the most. I sighed, watching a couple of kids run in the distance. "So what then?" I asked, suddenly so very tired. "Do I keep drowning?" "No, Grace," she said. "You learn how to swim." ¡ª The sessionsted longer than I''d thought, considering the fact that I''d most likely be seeing Aliyah every day for theing weeks. Not much progress had been made yet, but we mostly talked about boundaries and what they meant. I had to confess that I''d nearly broke and messaged Cecilia a bunch, and Aliyah had plenty of tips for me, even though I had no idea if they would work or not. It was, I knew, new for both of us, considering that Aliyah mostly dealt with things like PTSD, but she was actually surprised at how clear-minded I was after having almost died multiple times and killed people. Had they not deserved it, I would have been shaken, I had said. And none of my Pokemon hade close to dying, unlike in Sceon. Yet it was what people thought of me that had me worried. There would be two steps to this. One, teaching me to renege on my current morals was apparently close to impossible, although some ground could be gained back. Aliyah had only worked with one fairy type specialist in the past, but she''d known enough to tell that it was going to be the same with me. She had carefully exined that my incident with Princess had not changed the way I thought, but simply worsened the ''worst'' sides of me. It was still me, after all, who hadn''t spoken to my mother for ten years even though my father had repeatedly asked me to. Me, who had watched Princess ram into opponents with Rollout as a Togepi with gleeful smiles and watched her develop violent tendencies without blinking. In fact, I''d leaned in and enjoyed these far before any fairy type energy could be imbued. It had always been me. But I could not deny that Grace at the start of her journey would have passed out and vomited had she watched what Haunter had done to Edward Backlot for that long, so it wasn''t just me. It was a mix, a terrible cocktail that made me abnormal to the rest of the world, and I was slowly growing worse by not mming the brakes. Secondly, if I could not gain back the morality I''d lost and I wanted to not disappoint my friends, then I had to work to keep my urges under control to be able to stop myself, which was something I''d already asked Honey and Angel to help with in Oreburgh. "Can you give me a squiggly line?" I asked. Jellicent drew in water from Twinleaf''ske andpressed it until it was as thin as rope. Then, he made it undte¡ª clumsily, but it was still squiggly. "Okay, now freeze it?" The water type let out an annoyed groan, but let frost spread through the water. Practicing TE maniption was less about power, but about precision. If he could get that down, then we were golden and could start creating plenty of moves, or even do whatever the hell we wanted like Pfin had done with his huge spheres of water or those homing Hydro Pumps. Buddy was not the only one training, currently. Princess was off somewhere practicing Tri-Attack so she could get a handle on working with ice and electricity. Sunshine could unfortunately not train without risking burning everything down, but he was trying to speed up how quickly he could use his coverage moves. Honey, meanwhile, was busy trying to learn Hammer Arm, which would prove a lot more useful than Cross Chop against Byron. Angel was training with his vine-field technique. It was routine, but routine felt nice once in a while. Mudsdale was keeping Sweetheartpany, since she wasn''t dozing off at the moment, but she was still too tired to train. Anyway, it was nice to get back into the swing of things. I had no idea where Aliyah was even staying, because League employees all felt the need to be secretive for no reason. She probably Teleported somewhere with Chimecho, or something. Maybe Sandgem or theke. We hadn''t even scratched the surface of my disassociation issues and how to know when to do it or not, or the fact that my self-preservation seemingly went off the wayside whenever I felt like justice had to be served, or how everything tied into my violent tendencies in battle¡ª tendencies that I wouldn''t change, I had decided. There were plenty of other things to address, but we had time, at the very least. This wasn''t really what Aliyah hade here to discuss, but it was what I wanted. Even ACE Trainers would not have been able to watch what Haunter had done to Backlot for that long, ording to her, so I needed the help. I would not lose myself entirely, but Aliyah had said a ''bncing act could be struck'', and so I decided to trust her. My heart jumped when my phone vibrated before I could even realize that no, it was not Cecilia, and even if it was, I needed to stop this. My mom was calling me over to cook stuff. "You okay to stay here and train?" I asked Buddy. The ghost nodded. "Okay, just keep trying to make difficult shapes with water and mixing it up with ice," I said. "We''ll keep reading history stuff tonight, okay? I know you were desperate to learn how the war between Jubilife and Canve ended." One of the many that had been fought, and currently had Canve blockading Jubilife at the point we''d stopped in the book. Canve had been Sinnoh''s primary naval power, in its heyday. Buddy watched me with an amused glint as I turned toward Honey. "Hey! It''s time to cook!" I called out, cupping my mouth. Needless to say, he ran toward my house faster than I could count to three. Buddy spat out a beam of shining ice into the sky, which was the signal we had if I needed a ride from Princess, and around thirty secondster, the fairy type hadnded. Twinleaf was nice, in that way. My Pokemon were more independent here than they''d ever been, and they could spend hours on their own without me constantly looking over their shoulder, save for Sweetheart, of course. I recalled her before I left. Thest thing I wanted was a Tyranitar rampaging across Twinleaf. She would be with me at all times. ¡ª "Arceus, it''s surprising how fast you made it here," Mom said. "Though I guess Electivire made it even faster. He''s already helping in the kitchen." "Well, Princess is fast," I said, patting my daughter on the head. "Stick around for now, alright? I might need you to fly back." The fairy type nodded and decided to keep flying, but said she would stay around the house. She was training her maneuverability with bursts of air and making good progress, at the moment, so I didn''t want to interrupt the groove she had going on. Honey wasying out the ingredients to¡­ some kind of cake? "What are we making?" "My special pancake recipe," she smiled, pulling back her sleeves. "You''ve never had them before, but I promise you, they''re the best pancakes Twinleaf has to offer." "There are like three hundred people here," I deadpanned. "Five-hundred and eighty-six," she specified. "Either way, let''s get started. Electivire''s been a great help." We got going and started mixing ingredients, although making pancakes wasn''t really a 3-person job, it was still an enjoyable experience. "I didn''t know your Pokemon could read," my mother said. "A lot of them aren''t great at it yet, but yeah, I''ve been teaching them," I said. "Felt like a useful skill to give them, you know?" "Hmhm. Um, I know I can''t get the details, and I''m not asking you that, but I hope your session went well?" "There''s a lot to work on, but it did," I nodded. "Thanks for asking." She raised an eyebrow¡ª uncannily simr to me¡ª "Really?" "Yeah. I guess it shows you care, and that feels good, I think." Mom said nothing, but she did feel blink rapidly. I hadn''t forgiven her, still, and I didn''t know if I ever would, but maybe that was okay. Maybe we could just be okay in spite of that. "How did you meet Dad?" I asked. I didn''t know where I was going with this, really. My mother''s lips ttened as she handed the wet ingredients for Honey to mix. The electric type wasrgely silent, save for any advice he needed, but he was still paying attention to the conversation. "At a bar," she said. "I know it sounds cliche, but he was out drinking with his colleagues and I was working there part-time. We struck a conversation, I suppose." She didn''t go further than that, because it pained her to, I realized. I let go of the topic and decided to move on. "You know, I appreciate you being here," I muttered. Especially when it feels like all of my friends have turned their back on me. Mom wrapped a hand around my shoulder and squeezed, which felt awkward, but good. "Did you just put flour on me?" She gasped. "Oh, I am so sorry¡ª I¡ª here, have this towel." She clumsily gave me a tiny towel with a really cute embroidery on it just as someone knocked at the door. My mother''s body tensed at the sound, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Stay here and keep mixing," she said. "I''ll be right back." She wiped her hands on her apron and scuttled toward the front door, but it wasn''t like I wouldn''t be able to see who was here, or hear, given the fact that the house''s entrance gave a straight view into the kitchen. It was my grandma at the door, although I didn''t stare for long, since I didn''t want to mess this up for them. "I heard that some stranger was at my door this morning," my grandmother said. "I''d like to know who that was." My mother answered in a hushed whisper, quiet enough so that I couldn''t hear the words. Honey patted me on the shoulder when I tried to listen closely. "I won''t be quiet in my house," my grandma said. Samantha seemingly gave up. "I told you, didn''t I? Grace was going to see someone from the League." "Not on my property," the older woman spat. "What has the League ever done for us? They spit on us every year, blocked ess to ourke, and now one of them gets to sit on my porch?" I should say something. "Look, next time I''ll ask her to go somewhere else," Mom said in a whispering hiss. "Why do you always do this? I told you this was important¡­ Grace needs this." Arceus, it was odd to be talked about like I wasn''t there. I wanted to intervene, but Mom had told me to stay here and I felt like me getting into an argument with my grandmother would only make things worse, so I kept my mouth shut. "She hasn''t even said hello," she said. "Arthur really never did teach her manners." My hand froze and sped the bowl. I turned toward both women and stared right in my grandmother''s eyes. This wasn''t about me, was it? Nor was it about the League. She just hated my father, when he''d done nothing wrong at all. She was just being an ass and using me as a crucible to fulfill some kind of old vendetta she had against Dad. "Leave Arthur out of this," Samantha muttered, far weaker than I would have. When she realized that my grandmother wasn''t looking at her anymore, she nced my way and drew a breath. "Oh, Legends, no. Mom, leave. We''ll talk this out in a few days." For what it was worth, my grandmother¡ª whose name I did not know and I would never bother to learn¡ª did keep up the staring contest for quite some time until she looked at me. Truly at me, and not the kid she thought I was. She did not know much about battling or journeying, and therefore hadn''t known what I''d gone through, save for the asional nugget of information Mom talked about. She broke off our stare and stared at my burns first, her nce drifting down my neck and probably wondering how far they went. Further than you think, asshole. Her stare brought her down to my broken ankle, and then my arm. This is who she was fighting. A broken, wounded teenager. Yet I did not give her an inch, because after everything I''d been through? She did not evene close to intimidating me. I kept silent, of course, and I ignored the urge to do something I''d regret. I would have to bring this up with Aliyah to see if I could tamper those. "We''ll talk about thister," the old woman grunted, closing the door louder than what was needed. She''d been lucky it was Honey who''d been here and not any of the others. The electric type''s tails had been frozen in ce, and it was hard to miss the anger roiling off his fur, but he''d kept quiet, only having offered me support by making himself taller. My mother let out a heavy sigh as she leaned against the wall. "I''m sorry, Grace. I thought she''d respect my wishes and keep away." "So that''s why she isn''t here," I said. "Because she''s awful." Mom''s lips twitched, and I could tell she''d wanted to refute it. "Let''s just get back to cooking," she smiled. "This won''t happen again." She looked tired, now. Older. Her smile was sadder than anything else, but I knew she didn''t want to talk about it, so I bit my lip and nodded. It seemed, I realized, that Mom had been subservient to her own mother the entire time she''d been here. ¡ª Another day had passed since arriving in Twinleaf. It had started like this. Mudsdale and Angel had been watching Sweetheart while the other members of the team trained nearby, but the ground type had called me over when Pupitar closed her eyes and started rattling from within her cocoon. It had been to early. Too soon. And yet it was happening. Princess flew me over in seconds, and the rest of the team made its way there as fast as they could. I grabbed my Pokeball, but recalling a Pokemon while they were evolving was¡­ unhealthy, to say the least, so all I could do was watch and hope for the best. We all stood in a wary circle around her at what we thought was a safe distance, and Princess and Honey were in front of me should a Protect or a barrier be needed in the second or so Sweetie would be out of her ball. I scanned the terrain around us and sighed in relief when I saw that no one was here save for a few people in the distance. Thank the Legendaries I decided to train on the town''s outskirts today. The rock type shed the final pieces of her outer shell with a pained grunt, and her body started glowing¡ª and expanding. The entire shell cracked, but I did not see what was within. Instead, she grew and grew. Arms, feet, and a tail unfolded. Sharp, jagged spikes extended all over her back and shoulders. The light dissipated, revealing thick, rugged green tes that would only harden with age. The rock type had grown to nearly a towering eight feet, but she would grow, still. Her eyes locked onto mine, and rage started to seep off of her like a waterfall. Grains of sand started to streamed out of the vestigial vents on her legs and chest. She roared so loudly that every flying type in miles flew off, but I recalled her into her Pokeball before she could attack. The ground had started to shake from her yelling, and my ears felt muffled. That sound had no doubt terrified Twinleaf''s residents. I gulped. I''d made a n for this, but now that it was actually happening, it felt like I''d stepped onto quicksand. I nced at Princess and had Angel ce me on her. It was time to go to theke, and hopefully, it would at least dampen her rage.
Chapter 268 – Remember Chapter 268 ¨C Remember CHAPTER 268 - Remember I buried any remaining doubts I had about my n as Princess rushed toward Lake Verity. Tyranitar were rare enough not to have that much research done on them, but there were still people with the Pokemon outside of Sinnoh, most notably Brock, a Gym Leader in Kanto. He had, however, stayed tight-lipped about anything regarding his Tyranitar''s evolution. It was actually Grimsley from the Unovan Elite Four, a dark type specialist, who had gone extensively over what triggered the rage within Tyranitar when they evolved. Unova actually had thergest number of people owning a Tyranitar at a whopping five if you counted Grimsley. The reason they were so difficult to catch was that first, normally a trainer would need to go deep into an incredibly dangerous mountain, like Mount Silver or Cor, and even if they did, Larvitar were always protected by a mother. Pupitar, meanwhile, were usually buried somewhere deep underground to escape predators (although they almost never reached their final stages due to howmon burrowing Pokemon like the Onix line found them), while Tyranitar were, well, Tyranitar, and they had so few children throughout their lives that breeders couldn''t exactly work with them. Good luck forcing two Tyranitar¡ª which is a big ask in the first ce¡ª to breed if they didn''t want to. I had a bone to pick with breeders in general, but that woulde farter. I had to fix my own issues before looking outward again. But I was getting off-track. Their issues essentially had to do with them gaining a new typing and being overwhelmed by it so much that a rampage was the result. Months ago, Rnd Hunter had told me that dark TE was absence, and that was true, in the way he knew it. All of his life, he had only known Shiftry, and so it had molded his understanding of the energy. At its core, he had been right, but Sweetheart was no Shiftry. She would have no mastery of the dark, and so emotions would swell inside of her uncontrobly. It was often said that it was anger, that pushed a Tyranitar to be violent after their evolutions, but that was wrong. It was fear. So many feelings surging to the forefront of their minds confused them too much to think, and that led to them being terrified. Combine that with having to learn how to stand on two feet again and having built up massive amounts of stress because of their final molt, and the picture became a lot clearer. "I think it was around here somewhere," I muttered to Princess. "Keep flying northwest, I can feel the pull there." My usual ACE Trainers were on break, although it would end very soon, and my new ones were even more elusive than them and had refused to show themselves even once. I had thought that they''d show me where theke was, but then again,st time they''d tried to see if Chase and Cece could feel Valor for a while. Maybe they wanted to see if things were different, since I wasn''t splitting my power with anyone. And it was different. I could feel the pull closer, now, but before I could get any further, someone on a rtively small Pidgeot just appeared around five hundred feet in front of me. I told Princess to stop and wait for them¡­ him to approach. When he saw who I was, his face instantly went frombative to understanding. "Grace Pastel, right?" he called out. "My Commander said you''d being soon." It took a second to realize that Commander was a League term and not just something Team Gctic slung around. They had probably pulled the term from there, thinking about it. "That''s me!" I yelled, remembering that no, most League Trainers still had no idea about the Legendaries in thekes or why the hell their bosses were letting us in these fortified areas. I''d been about to say I wasn''t here to meet Mesprit yet. "Let''s see some ID, just to be sure." I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at the procedure as he got closer to Princess and pulled out my card from my wallet. Once that was done, he led me deeper above the forest. Just like Valor and Acuity, Verity was off-route. I held back a surprised gasp when four minutester, I passed through a thin veil and theke just revealed itself to me. Right, the League camouges them with some kind of mass illusionary technique and turns back anyone before they can get close enough to see the illusion break. The entireke was been surrounded by massive, dark walls, just like the other one, but this time I was allowed to fly over them instead of having to be identified at a gate. This one was a little bigger than the other two, if I remembered correctly. In a way, it felt odd to be back at the location of such a pivotal moment in my life. I''d met Cyrus here, and I''d nearly died. There was no anxiety, however. As soon as I had crossed the threshold, my body started to loosen and a gentle calm wrapped around me. It was like lying down and being covered by a warm nket¡ª just so . My worries about Sweetheart didn''t wash away, but they weren''t as debilitating. This ce was basically a small town, and there were far more people here than in Twinleaf, even. Rows and rows of dark barracks had been raised, and Sinnoh''s g flew everywhere. Wended beside thergest building, next to a couple of trucks driving on the asphalt road and carrying cargo. Thest time I''d been in one of these, I''d been weaker than basically every League Trainer stationed here. Today? I could say with confidence I was on the upper end of that spectrum. The base''s headquarters was a formidable building. It stood as a sentinel of authority andmand. Its facade, an unyielding monolith of reinforced concrete and steel, exuded an aura of invincibility. Massive, st-resistant walls rose several stories high, giving the impression of an imprable fortress. Pokemon Centers were made of the same stuff, but the paint jobs and garnish made it hard to link the two. The building''s architectural design was a model of utilitarian efficiency. Sharp, clean lines characterized the structure, eschewing any form of unnecessary ornamentation. A symmetricalyout conveyed a sense of wrongness, with how neatly everything had been arranged. Rows of small, high-set windows, almost like narrow slits, adorned the upper levels, while a fewrger windows on the lower floors allowed for essential natural light to filter inside. The League Trainer led me inside, and I was d to see that I wasn''t the center of attention aside from passing nces. Most of them had work to do and wouldn''t gawk at me like people had outside of Twinleaf. After a twenty-minute wait, the Commander was ready for me. I walked as quickly as I could with my crutch as I let the calm spread through me. Everyke had had just an intoxicating effect on the mind, it was really difficult not to get caught up in this feeling. By the time I snapped back to reality, we were already in front of the Commander in a tight room sting with cold air conditioning. She was younger than I thought she''d be, but the League fostered talent over experience or age. A thin scar ran out the corner of her eye¡ª almost like Louis'' own scar¡ª but other than that, she was as good as new. She donned short auburn hair and a ssic military uniform. What did surprise me was Aliyah''s presence, along with her Chimecho hanging around her neck like a scarf. We''d had a nice session earlier this morning going over the basis of what I wanted for myself, so I hadn''t expected to see her until tomorrow. Before I could even say something, she raised a hand and spoke. "I currently live here, and Bethany decided it would be wise for me to be present," Aliyah exined. "Personally, I did not believe it to be necessary." Bethany''s her name, then. Bethany shot Aliyah a re that was so fast I could have blinked and missed it. The League Trainer who apanied me saluted and left the room, closing the door. "Since you''re here," Bethany grumbled, waving a hand dismissively at Aliyah. Chimecho''s eyes gleamed, and seven chimes rang out, just like before both of our sessions so far, so I assumed no one would be able to eavesdrop. "You''re here to meet Guardian One, then?" Bethany asked, turning to me. It took me a bit to understand why she was so¡­ displeased with me. Maybe displeased was the wrong word, but she certainly wasn''t nice, which was fine. I hadn''t expected to be coddled. Bethany was a Commander in the League, which meant she''d probably read everything about the raid. She was¡­ unsettled about me. Was that why she''d wanted Aliyah to be here? The report certainly didn''t make me look good, and I knew it was only a matter of time until the Gym Leaders got ess to it. Gardenia wasn''t a friend, but I had hoped to see her one day and connect with her. Candice was going to think I was insane, but not in a good way. She was going to despise me. Don''t think about it yet, I told myself. Let theke flow through you. "Not today, no," I said when I saw her stare grow worried. I''d been taking too much time to answer and just staring. "Also, Guardian One?" "Can''t say the Guardian''s name out loud without going wild here," she exined. "The effect depends on the day, really. Sometimes it''s just a burning feeling in the throat, other times the calm feeling you get turns into sorrow, anger, mncholy, anxiety¡ª just, negative emotions for up to a week, so the people who know about its existence call it Guardian One." Azelf and Uxie''s official denomination was probably Guardian Two and Guardian Three or vice versa, then. "It wasn''t like that in the otherkes," I said. "I know it wasn''t," she deadpanned. "And it''s not like that in Acuity either. This one''s capricious." Arceus fucking damn it, that did not bode well for me. Good thing I wasn''t touching theke until the day I was leaving. Honey had been right when he''d warned me off. "Well, I''m not here to meet¡­ Guardian One yet," I said, ignoring her sigh. "I have a Tyranitar who just evolved, and I''d like to use theke''s calming effect to aid in her adjustment." Bethany raised an eyebrow. "We heard reports of people having heard some kind of roar around here and the wildlife having grown agitated. I had no idea it was you." "There are reports already?" I scoffed. "Young trainers from Sandgem like to travel the wilds around Twinleaf," she dismissed. "But to answer your request, I would be willing to ept so long as your needs aren''t too extravagant. I can extend the help of a few of my trainers¡ª" "No trainers," I interrupted. "Just me." She paused, and reevaluated the entire conversation in an instant. She''d probably thought I''d ask for too much instead of nothing. "Well, supposedly you have ACEs guarding you, so that''s alright. We''ll still have trainers on the ready to intervene, however. You''re too important to be risked." "I guess I can work with that." I shot a look at Aliyah. See,promise. That was progress, right? And I hadn''t even gotten angry at her tone even in passing. That was probably because I had other things to worry about and thanks to theke, but still. "We''ll clear you an area," she said. "You''ll just have to wait a while." ¡ª It was perfect. There was a long stretch ofnd with no League personnel to be seen, and no infrastructure save for the wall around half a mile away. They had made me wait around an hour to clear the space for me, so no one would being here until I told them I was done dealing with Tyranitar. Theke''s shores were just around fifteen feet away and I had to physically stop myself from plunging into it. It was like the pull of gravity, or someone tugging at my arm. Cecilia and Chase hadn''t described the pull to be that strong. Was it because their power had been split, or because Mesprit was more enthusiastic about me? Perhaps it was both, but I wouldn''t be touching theke''s surface today. I hovered above the ground on Princess as she kept a barrier around us. My Pokemon all had their positions, and I''d told them the entire n while we had waited for the League to give me the okay. Two things were most important. One, this was not going to be a battle with the goal of taking down Sweetheart. We needed to calm her down, which meant buying time until she got adjusted to the changes in her body. Angel and Honey would be of great use there, with powder moves and using Static to slow her down. In a way, we were going at this like we''d battled Sunshine in Mount Cor, really. Buddy''s Will-O-Wisp wasn''t going to be used here because it would actually hurt her and possibly anger her further, but he was going to use the water from theke to slow her down some with his new skills with TE maniption. Surely using water from a Legendary''s domain wasn''t sphemous or anything. Sunshine would stay in the back and be support, but he wouldn''t be of much use here, unfortunately, save for giving Tyranitar words of support, and Mudsdale would stay even further back in order not to fight. I had asked the ground type if he wanted to stay in his Pokeball for this, but he''d said he wanted to be here to watch, at the very least. The second important thing was that if this didn''t work, well, I could just recall her and try again. The goal of this fight was tost as long as possible so Sweetheart could grow used to the swirling emotions in her body. "Is everyone ready?!" I called out. Affirming grunts rang out below, and I knew they all were. I moistened my lips and released Sweetheart in front of Angel and Honey. Immediately, sand started to spin around her and spread as she let loose a bone shaking roar. The rock type stumbled as she tried to take a step, having not grown used to walking again, and that was the opening Angel needed. A dozen vines shot forward, blurring until they mmed onto Tyranitar''s thick tes in an attempt to slow her. Buddy''s eyes shone red and water crawled all over Sweetheart before solidifying into frost and ice and dulling her movements, but that didn''t stop the sand from gushing out of her vents. Jagged stones shot out of the ground, each one taller and thicker than I was, and Sweetheart hurled them toward Honey as the electric type blurred around her to find an opening. They buried themselves into the ground at an angle and kicked up more dirt, while some fell into theke. Tyranitar grabbed onto Angel''s vines and tore them apart with a single hand, pulling him forward in the process. Puffs of spores emanated from the torn-up vines, but we''d need much more to have a visible effect. Tyranitar stared into the sky and her eyes narrowed at Princess and I. I gulped as she redirected the tons of sand toward us and she obstructed my view. Princess'' barrier shimmered with the impact of the sandstorm. The move was more like a Hurricane than anything else. The fairy type gained in altitude with a burst of air, but the entire area was full of sand, now. For a second, the sandstorm staggered, and the sound of earth being ripped out made it through the deafening sandstorm. "Fairy Wind. We need to see what''s going on!" I yelled. Togekiss pped her wings, and pink mist countered the sandstorm somewhat and allowed me to see that Honey was holding onto a bleeding shoulder. Electricity crackled around him as he sped up with Radiant Leap and ced a hand on the enormous rock type''s back. Tangrowth wrapped vines around her tail before she could hit him, and electricity spread through her. Good thing she lost that ground typing, I told myself. Where was Buddy? My eyes scanned the battlefield until I spotted pieces of him scattered around. Damn it. "Sweetheart!" I yelled. "It''s me! Grace¡ª" The only thing my voice did was have her remember that I was still here, and darkness gathered around her mouth. A pit formed in my stomach as I screamed at Princess to dodge. Rings of darkness interlocked with each other until they shot out toward us. They were slow, thank the Legendaries, but they still grazed against Princess'' barrier and shattered it. I coughed as sand filled my throat, lungs, and eyes¡ª fuck, it hurt. I fell limp to the side, but I was strapped in tight. Togekiss quickly put a barrier back up and I took in a deep, raspy breath before coughing up sand as I set myself straight on her back. The sandstorm was dispersing Angel''s spores too, damn it. Luckily we''d been high and quick enough to avoid my breathing any in. Suddenly, the entire area began to shake, rumbling with something akin to a Stomping Tantrum but stronger, and Honey put up a Protect to keep himself from getting too hurt. Angel and Sunshine, meanwhile, took the full brunt of the attack. The earthquake kicked up earth and rocks so high into the sky that it was hard to believe I was flying a hundred feet above the ground. Princess dodged them all, of course, but the sheer speed of them shattered any doubts I had that the barrier wouldn''t have broken in one impact. Jagged rocks stood up like spikes and the ground grew uneven. I clenched my teeth and ordered Princess to go higher. We couldn''t afford to get caught by that dark type move again. Looked like Dark Pulse, I quickly noted. I hadn''t expected Sweetheart to have already been able to pull on dark TE right after evolving, even if it was clumsy. Buddy had been reforming too slowly for my taste and had probably been hit by one of those, but he was back in form. Water coiled around the ghost and Shades materialized around him. A new trick we''d learned was that the shades could help him be more efficient with manipting water, and a thinyer of liquid surrounded Tyranitar, freezing right around her vents and choking out the source of the sandstorm. Electivire tagged her with another burst of electricity before stepping back to avoid a backhand. They were longer than I thought they''d be, and a hit from those would be like getting hit by a truck. "Keep up the pressure!" I yelled. "She''s slowing!" Another set of vines shot out of Angel''s body, but then Tyranitar moved. All this time, she''d stayed stationary. The rock type brought a foot forward, then another, but she tripped and fell, creating a giant crater in the earth and a billow of dust. Tangrowth''s vines turned neon green as he sucked some of her energy with Giga Drain, but the rest of the team kept their distance. Tyranitar angled her head up, and a Dragon Pulse mmed into Angel and sent him rolling backward until the earth rose into a wall to stop him from falling into theke. My eyes drifted toward Mudsdale and I mouthed him a thank you, but Sweetheart wasn''t done with him. She''d designated the ground type a target, now. Another Dragon Pulse shot toward Mudsdale, but Sunshine moved in with a ming Rapid Spin and took the attack in the chest to protect his friend. The attack knocked the air out of his lungs and he winced as he slid back and fell over. Then, the floor split open. It came as a fissure first, slowly spreading in a zigzagging line toward both Sunshine and Mudsdale. Then, it opened like a giant maw, twenty feet deep, and both Pokemon fell in. I snapped Sweetheart''s Pokeball forward and recalled her before she could close it back again. The sandstorm let up after thirty seconds or so, allowing Princess and I tond. I used Turtonator and Mudsdale''s Pokeballs to bring them back up to our level fast enough and had Togekiss fix up the ground, along with the enormous stones Tyranitar had wrought. After taking a mouthful of water and spitting the remaining sand out of my mouth, it was time for a group meeting. "We''re going at this wrong," I said. "I thought theke would dampen the rage enough to have her not try to hurt us that badly, but she''s still trying. Instead, it''s just making her lose her confusion and fear quicker. As much as it hurts me, we need to be more forceful." They all protested, of course, the loudest being Sunshine and Angel. I listened to their suggestion with a cool head, because despite being the team''s leader, they deserved to have their voices heard. Sunshine said that even if we were more forceful, her defensive capabilities had grown so much that it would only serve to anger her and nothing else. "I didn''t mean, like, taking her down. Giga Drain worked well, but you''re right on that front," I muttered. Draining moves were one of the few that could bypass Tyranitar''s armor. "The only move that will have the biggest effect is Honey''s Cross Chop. Do you think you can go in and out?" The electric type nodded with a tired grunt. He''d been grazed by a giant Stone Edge to the shoulder and was growing tired, so I decided to heal him with a potion as best I could. Sunshine''s Focus st would help a lot here, even more than Cross Chop, but I doubted he would ever agree to strike her that hard, and I was inclined to agree with him anyway. "She''s slowing, and she''s clumsy," I said, biting my lip. Arceus, she must have been so scared and overwhelmed. "But this is the best spot to do this. It''d be far worse somewhere else without theke to help." Her strong emotions were subsiding, slowly but surely. Lake Verity was odd, really. Why was it that it made people calm? Mesprit was the herald of all emotion, after all. Either way, when her feelings stopped peaking so high, she would be well enough tomunicate. Emotions were supposed to be far less erratic than this. Right now, she was like a storm. The transitions were happening too quickly, and they were too great. "Angel, you were doing great, and Buddy, keep blocking those vents. I need to see what''s going on in the battle and that sandstorm is way too powerful if left unobstructed. Sunshine, keep talking to her like you were. Our words are having an effect, we just need to keep pushing and break through. Mudsdale¡­ thanks for the help. I really appreciate it." The ground type inclined his head, and I mustered a thin smile. His fall in that fissure had given him a big scare. This was going worse than expected, but the n was working, at least. I ran my hands through my hair to push away the sand and hopped on Princess once again. I''d have to see if Mom could give me a haircut before I left. Once I reached our desired height, I released Sweetheart again. Her eye twitched, and darkness exploded out of her as she let out a mighty roar. Buddy instantly wormed himself below ground to avoid the attack while Honey put up another Protect. Instantly, he rushed toward Sweetheart with his forearms glowing white. He reached her in less than a second, his Cross Chop cracking the rock type''s tes. She keened, but he was gone before she could retaliate with a Stone Edge or her spiked tail. Her proficiency with the move had grown leaps and bounds. The rocks spun around her with ease as if she was Princess using Ancient Power. Electivire weaved electricity through his arms and fingers, altering the path of the stones with maism until they struck around him and buried themselves into the ground like tall spires. The sandstorm was still there, although abated thanks to Jellicent''s help. The ghost had his Night Shades work on the water while he kept freezing it over and over far more efficiently and deeper than an Ice Beam ever could. Sunshine had started attacking, although his Dragon Pulses were far weaker than he could have made them and they only tickled Sweetheart. "Sweetheart, please," I shouted. This time, she looked at me and didn''t instantly attack. She did fire that beam of darkness at us, however, and Princess had to dive down to dodge. The Fairy Wind carried her far until she swept over Tyranitar''s head. The rock type grunted as the wind hurtled into her with enough force to sweep Sunshine off his feet. She was, unfortunately, too heavy to trip up and did not even budge. "Angel!" I called out. The grass type sprung into action, cutting off a few of his vines before throwing them forward as they glowed with Power Whip. I motioned at Princess to turn back, and she did so quickly that blood rushed to my head, and everything spun and throbbed for a second. Four walls surrounded Sweetheart as soon as the vines mmed into her. They barelysted a moment, of course, and Tyranitar simply walked through them like they were nothing, but that smallpse of time left us an opening. Angel attached himself to the ground with Ingrain, and his vines snaked across the floor like a mass of writhing Ekans. Sweetheart fired off a Dragon Pulse across the vines, but they slowly regenerated and regrew until they reached her. They wrapped around her legs and tail, slowing her down as Honey finally got a good Thunder Wave off. He didn''t know the move, exactly, but he''d gotten good enough with electricity and Static to know how to work it anyway. As soon as he was gone, the vines below Tyranitar''s feet glowed with Sr de until they blew up, kicking up more spores¡ª mostly Sleep Powder. This was it. This was my opening. "Lower," I told Princess. I could feel the hesitation within her, but she instantly listened. She hovered around ten feet above Tyranitar with her barrier still in ce. The sandstorm kept continuously thinning. "Sweetie," I yelled. "It''s me." She tried to move, although she stumbled due to the huge amounts of Sleep Powder in her system, the paralysis, and the fact that she hadn''t grown used to her body yet. Instead, she only screamed in frustration until she sat down on the ground, her arms and legs still twitching. "Do you remember when I found you?" I muttered. "Our first days together deep below Mount Cor?" Her words were incoherent and nonsensical, but her eyes softened. "You were so small," I continued. "Just a little baby who wanted to conquer the world. You''ve reached heights you''ve dreamed of your entire life, but you''ve got to wrestle back control. Focus on my voice, Sweetheart. I''m right here." The entire team started approaching with heavy, tired breaths. Electivire hesitated, his hand hovering over her towering shoulder until I nodded and he touched her. Turtonator stayed silent, but his stare said a thousand words. Jellicent watched with dimmed eyes as he soothed her, saying that none of this had been her fault. Angel''s vines retracted from the ground and back into his body until he petted the crook in between the spikes on her head, just like what she''d loved. Princess chirped, enunciating a soft ''baby sister'' that cleared thest doubts Sweetheart had. "Come back to us," I choked, tearing up even through theke''s calming effect. "Remember. Please." Sweetheart''s eyes flitted, and she could only muster a small nod. All of her remaining fear and confusion slid off her like water off a Ducklett''s back. I sighed in relief. We''d made it, and without theke, we maybe would have needed to spend hours doing this. Togekissnded, and I hobbled toward Sweetheart, touching her for the first time. Her tes were scaly from up close and were as hard as steel. She kept muttering apologies and crying¡ª although her crying sounded a lot more threatening than it had before. Even when she was sitting, she dwarfed mepletely. I didn''t know how much more she''d grow, but she was technically still a kid, and crossing eight feet was guaranteed, and perhaps even nine. "Are you hurt?" I said, pulling out two potions. "Honey and Angel did a number on you, didn''t they?" Electivire scratched the back of his head and apologized for using Cross Chop on her, and I knew she really was back when she called him a stupid idiot. I let out a wet chuckle as I stood on the tip of my good foot to apply the potion to her back. Turtonator stared her up and down like he was the proudest he''d ever been. I hadn''t even seen him this pumped when he had mastered our Shell Trap-Rapid Spinbo. He even and said she was ready to be a true dragon, with how powerful her Dragon Pulses had been. "Don''t get too many ideas inside of her head," I said, much to Mudsdale''s agreement. "I''ll tell you guys what, what if we stick around here for a bit? It''ll help Sweetie deal with her adjustments. Oh, and Princess, can you fix the ground again?" Togekiss didn''tin, for once, and Honey watched me with a careful eye. "Not meeting Mesprit yet, Hon¡ª" Stupid! My stomach dropped, and I flinched, expecting to be hit with some kind of bacsh, but after five seconds, nothing happened. I took deep breaths and waited for my heartbeat to slow, which was quicker than usual thanks to theke. Had Commander Bethany lied? No, no way. Maybe only I could utter the name. I stared out at theke as I calmed down my Pokemon and told them it''d been nothing and that I was supposed not to be able to say Mesprit''s name. Well, I wasn''t going to take any more risks like that. "Uh, yeah, I told you I''d wait to meet the Guardian, so you don''t have to worry. This is just¡­ you know, nice," I said as my eyes swept the crystal clearke. "And it''ll be good for your sister. I should have brought food here. Oh, right. Apparently, you can still sustain yourself off rocks and dirt, Sweetie¡ª" She interrupted me and yelled that she was tired of dirt so loudly that the inside of my body shook as she shed her rows of sharp teeth each the size of my head. Okay, we were going to need to get used to the volume issue. She had always been loud, but I was pretty sure I was going to go deaf if this kept up. "Shhh, don''t be too loud, okay? You have big lungs now. How about this, I''ll go buy a bunch of stuff in Sandgemter today and we can have Mom, me, and Honey cook for all of us. Princess will have to carry the groceries mid-air, though. You''re so big now there won''t be enough space in my bag if anyone else is going to eat." I stopped when the fairy type asked if she could spin them around. "No, you definitely can''t do that. Let me text her to see what she can help us make." With her size, she was definitely going to have to contend with earth and rocks while we traveled, though. Iy down in the grass and against Princess'' fluffy body while Honey, Sunshine and Angel coddled Sweetheart. The dragon couldn''t help but notice the strength of her scales dwarfing his and expressing his jealousy over them. Supposedly, if his scales were that tough, he would have conquered Mount W by the time he was one year old. He was, of course, horribly mistaken. Buddy was floating at the edges of theke. The waters brought him a calm he''d never felt before, so he was content to just soak in it and rx. I did warn him not to go too deep, though, just in case. Denzel''s Milotic had swam in Lake Acuity as a Feebas and nothing had happened, but we were better safe than sorry. I turned toward Mudsdale, who was lying down a few feet away and watching the calm waters, as if they reminded him of something. I wanted to tell him that he coulde closer if he wished, but he knew that already. I still had sand all over my hair and inside my clothes. I felt like sleeping, but I didn''t let myself slumber out of fear that Mesprit would somehow pull me in while I was under, so instead I thought of Sweetheart''s new capabilities. She was practicing walking, at the moment, and every step shook the foundation of the earth. Sometimes, she tripped, and that was a mini-earthquake in itself. No amount of vines would be able to prevent her from falling. Of course, at least they were here to soothe her when the frustration caused her to cry. She was, without a doubt, now the most powerful member of my team in terms of both destructive and defensive capabilities. A Cross Chop had merely cracked her shell¡ª or I supposed it was armor, now. She could have taken fifteen of those focused in the same spot before her armor broke, although I was sure moves like Focus st and Giga Drain could bypass her toughest defenses. The sheer power that she''d gained with Stone Edge was unparalleled, and having scanned her with my Pokedex, she''d learned Dark Pulse, which confirmed my suspicions even if it had been clumsy and slow to use. What shecked now was precision. Like Sunshine, I was sure she already had the power topete at the Conference, but she had to learn how to use it¡ª She tripped again, this time closer, and pieces of earth would have fallen down my face had Princess not blown it away without even looking. I snorted and decided to get up so I wouldn''t doze off and walked up to Sweetheart, who was face-up, at the moment, having creating a small crater from her stumbling. I crouched next to her and brushed a hand against her face. "You''re doing great, baby," I said. "Why don''t you take a break? Aren''t you tired?" She definitely was. Sweetheart might have changed, but these were still her eyes and I could tell how she felt even without my gift. I scratched her head as she decided to settle down for an afternoon nap. With how hard her tes were, it was hard to believe she felt anything from the touch, but she apparently did. One thing was for sure, there was no way I was using her in a battle any time soon, although I''d have to start training with her to gauge her strength. She could hurt or kill a Pokemon by ident, if we weren''t careful. A single one of her Stone Edges was sharp andrge enough to wound Princess really badly. And that fissure-like move, earlier? We''d been lucky she had only used it once and slowly enough for me to react. It wasn''t a move, really. She had just ripped apart the floor through sheer force of will, like what her mother had done to save her from that wild Rhyperior, but on a much smaller scale. Yeah, I wasn''t going to make a mistake and have her hit something way harder than she should. "Oh," I muttered. She was asleep already.
Chapter 269 Chapter 269 CHAPTER 269 Unlike Pastoria, Sandgem had never been built that far ind, and instead stretched along the coast. It was striking to see from up here, even if it was my second time seeing the city from the air. I asked Princess tond on one of the pads to let us wander the streets for a little bit. It was nice and warm today, evente in the afternoon, so I didn''t want to waste the opportunity and wanted to leave myself time to enjoy the little things. It wasn''t even something Aliyah had brought up, really, I just felt like hanging out with her and Angel while we went to buy some groceries. Shended us on one of the pads on the city''s outskirts, and I let Angel carry me around while she hovered closely above us. The streets were straight as an arrow here, unlike Pastoria''s winding ones that meandered everywhere. There were, I noticed, a lot more kids out than usual. I recognized the look on those faces¡ª people that were growing excited that the year was drawing to an end, because soon they would be able to strike out on their journey for the first time. Granted, it was still barely mid-April, but the excitement for a new Circuit started building up far before the year''s end. Some would train with a starter they already had while others would look on with jealous eyes and desperately want their own. Already, people would be swarming the tips and tricks sections of the forums for new trainers, which was only something I knew because I''d been in the same position a year ago. Yes, even when I''d been convinced I wanted nothing to do with Pokemon training, I''d been reading posts giving advice about it. So what? "Mom said that she wanted to make a bunch of grilled meats, so we have to buy a lot," I said. I ignored Princess'' groan, although Angel was intrigued by it. I''d fed him meat before, but maybe he''d just forgotten. "I''ll just have you eat whatever, Princess, don''t worry about it." Funnily enough, Mom had said she''d pay me back even though she was unemployed and I had more money than she''d know what to do with, but I knew what it felt like, to have someone buy things for you, and she had some money saved up from the time she still worked. I passed by arger crowd of kids all huddled around one of Sandgem''srger buildings. I recognized it, of course, and any Sinnohan would have seen it on TV at least once in their lives. It looked more like an enormous manor than aboratory, with a weathered wooden fa?ade, a surface adorned with ivy and trailing vines that somehow looked fancy instead of overgrown weeds. The wooden frames bore thin scars which was a part of that rustic charm. The roof was covered in sky-blue tiles, casting shadows that loomed across the worn cobblestone pathway leading to the entrance. There was a hint of a backyard surrounded by a nice-looking blue fence. Professor Rowan''sb, I mused. And it looked like he was giving quite the speech, too. He was raised on a tform behind a lectern and holding a microphone. Upon closer look, some kids were here with their parents too. Most were standing, but the front rows had chairsid about for people to sit on. The professor wasn''t alone, either. Two others went back and forth behind him, whispering to each other as he gave his speech, both with the same colored blue hair and gray eyes. The twins who Barry told me about. Well, it wouldn''t hurt to stop by to listen to the speech, although I doubted I''d be able to talk to them. I was well connected to the League, but the scientificmunity was a different matter entirely. While I was sure I could have bribed him by having him study Sweetheart, I wanted to keep her status a secret, at least for now, and she''d probably break down half of hisb or kill him by ident. My reputation was already in tatters enough, and I doubted that ''it was an ident'' would help me. "Don''t touch random people," I whispered to Angel as we approached. His vine around my good ankle drooped, but it was an agreeing droop, so I pat him on the head to praise him. "...every year, I give a speech like this. As a Pok¨¦mon Professor, it''s my lifelong passion to explore, understand, and celebrate the extraordinary diversity of life that thrives on our. Pokemon are more than just creatures; they represent the bonds we share, the adventures we undertake, and the lessons we learn on our path to bing trainers, coordinators, researchers¡ª the possibilities are endless. Those very same bonds need to be nurtured. This is why this summer, I am giving a select few the opportunity to get their very own starter from myb!" Huh, that was interesting¡ª although obviously not for me. From what I knew, Rowan only really gave starters to people well-connected to him or hisb, but now he was changing things a little bit, so I''d just witnessed an extraordinary event. Excitement gleamed through every kid''s eye. No doubt, they were salivating at the thought of getting a top-of-the-line, ''well-bred'' starter Pokemon. I knew better, though. Those things mattered less and less the further you progressed in your career even though they''d give you a big boost at the start, and relying on how powerful your Pokemon''s parents had been was a surefire way of crashing and burning hard. I stayed for a little while, and there was a demonstration of the starters that would be given out. Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig, so the usual three, which Dawn and Lucas released from a briefcase. What I hadn''t expected, however, was for them to show their own Pokemon. Lucas was a little shorter than Dawn, but his Torterra dwarfed any other human and was absolutely massive, especially next to her Infernape. The huge tree on his back was well-trimmed and maintained, or at least far more orderly than Harry Rodriguez''s had been. Moss covered most of his shell, leaving only thin bits of brown and grey exposed. It even covered the rocky spikes on his back too. There was difort from Princess at the sight of a Torterra after so long, and I couldn''t help but feel a twinge of it too. "Unfortunately, Barry Lane couldn''t be present today, so I have no Empoleon to show you, but I assume that what we''ve shown has pleased you enough, looking at your faces," Professor Rowan chuckled. Knowing Barry, he was already fighting Candice up in Snowpoint for his eighth badge. As Angel passed behind the crowd, my eyes locked with Lucas, and something in his look unsettled me. There wasn''t really a reason why. He hadn''t red, or been rude or anything, so maybe I was just being paranoid. I listened until Rowan started getting into how he''d pick his three new sponsees and then decided to leave. I figured maybe I''d catch some new information about evolutions or discovery or something, since that was his domain of expertise, but this was a speech to excite new trainers, not to talk about anything else. I couldn''t deny that he knew how to entertain a crowd, though. Would the trainers he gave his Pokemon to have to find him some rare Pokemon like Barry sometimes did? Maybe he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Rowan was a lot funnier than I would have guessed from his stern face and his rtively old age, and I felt thankful that he could draw attention like a ma. That way, I wouldn''t have to care about people gawking at me. "Let''s go get those groceries, shall we?" I dered. ¡ª "Watch thending, alright?" I gently said. Princess retorted by saying it was just meat, and she could have spun it around ornded roughly if she so wished. "I really hope Sweetheart doesn''t rebel like you''re doing right now," I said. "You used to be so cute and well-behaved." The fairy type huffed, although I had to reiterate that she was still cute because missing the beat of sadness would have been impossible. Shended in front of our home¡ª funny that I was calling it that already¡ª and did, in the end, carefully ce the fifteen or so bags she''d been carrying. I carefully slung my foot over her after untying myself, but before I could release Angel to give me a lift, she pulled me up with Extrasensory and ced me down like a feather. "You know I was just joking around, right?" I said. She puffed up her feathers, and I snorted, passing a hand over her forehead. "It''s your birthday soon," I muttered. She''d be two years old at the end of April. None of my Pokemon knew their birthdays, really, although for Sweetheart I could guess in a ballpark. It was a shame, in a way. Maybe I''d let them pick a dayter so they could all celebrate it at one point or another. I chuckled as I walked up to the door, thinking that Sweetheart would definitely pick today if I gave her the choice to. Princess levitated the bags on Mom''s porch, and it took me a few seconds to remember that people just didn''t lock their doors in Twinleaf, so I just pushed it open and smiled when I saw that Mom was dragging a huge grill out of the kitchen. "Where do you even keep that thing," I asked with a coy smile. "Oh, around," she said. "Just kidding, I actually borrowed it from the neighbors. Uh, passing through." I moved out of the way and watched her drag the grill out of the house. She''d connected an extension cord to it. Mom had taken surprisingly well to the news that I now owned a Tyranitar, possibly because she didn''t actually get how rare they were? She did get spooked when she saw how big Sweetheart was this afternoon when I came back, though. "Are you sure if I release her here no one will care?" I muttered as I followed her outside. "Well it''s not that they won''t care, but they certainly won''t tell the world about it," she grunted as she set the grill outside. "We kept Lake Verity hidden from outsiders for decades, Grace. No one will tattle." "If you say so," I said. It wouldn''t be the end of the world if someone figured it out anyway, just annoying. I released the entire team and we spent a nice evening together. And holy crap, did Sweetheart like meat. ¡ª It was the next day, now. I didn''t know what it was with Aliyah and candles, but each session, she had a different one. This time, I could recognize the smell, though, and I''d probably turn this into a game in the future. "Lavender?" I asked. She dipped her head. "Yes. I was born in Lavender town in Kanto, if you were curious." I leaned forward. "I heard the ruler there was a bit¡­ special." "I left far before Agatha was given the city to rule to force her retirement," Aliyah smiled. "But she was an omnipresence in the city even before she ruled there, and remains so. But enough about my hometown, my dear. Let us talk about today''s theme." She handed me three cards¡ª were those custom-made? Truth, Separation, or Judgment were written on each of the cards, with¡­ ominous-looking designs on each of them, but also somewhatforting? They were hard to describe. Where had she found the time to design and draw these? "Yesterday, weid out the topics you wanted to approach during our time together, but these are some of the ones you focused on," she exined. "Pick a card." My fingers hovered over the cards. "Um, I guess I''ll pick¡­ truth today." "Today? Oh no, Grace, we''ll be working on Truth for the next week," she said, grabbing back the other two cards and shoving them in her bag. "Let us begin with this week''s theme, then. You told me you felt resentment toward your friend for telling all of your friends about the raid." "Not resentment. That''s a little too harsh," I muttered. "Uh, I guess I don''t know how to call it. On one hand, I think it was for the best, because clearly what my friends think about me is the main thing stopping me from bing something I''d regret, but on the other, it''s like¡­ the rug was pulled from under me before I was ready." Aliyah paused for a second, and shared a look with her Chimecho, so I ufortably shifted on my mother''s porch. "I''m sure there were better ways to handle it," she nodded. "Would you rather he have warned you beforehand, and you told people together?" I shivered when I imagined that. "Well, no." "Hm. You did not want to be present for the news, then, so at the very least, you were spared from that." "Yeah, no. Watching them get an entirely different picture of me while I''m sitting there would have been too much. I think I would have run away." "Did you want to wait a few weeks to tell them, then?" "Well, I can''t put a hard number on it. It''s just¡ª it was messy, and now everything''s tangled, and it''s never going to go back to how it was before." "I believe, Grace, that if you wanted to be honest, there was no way your rtionships were going to be unchanged, no matter when youmunicated what you had done." Ah. So I''d lost from the start, then. In my quest for satisfaction and revenge, I''d broken down everything I''d ever loved irreparably. I could only muster a shaky breath in response. "But that does not mean you will never be friends again," Aliyah pressed. "And I believe it was better said sooner rather thanter. Of course, I do not know your friends beyond what their files told me, but from what you described, they obviously still care for you." "Yeah, like you''d care for a monster because you don''t want them to hurt anyone else," I said with a sadugh. "Gotta keep Grace cated, or who knows what she''ll do next?" "There will be a period of readjustment," she nodded. "But you cannot put the me on them for acting differently, can you? And since honesty is something you value, you would not have kept it hidden." I hugged my knees. "If I''m being honest¡­ I think I never would have said anything if it had been up to me," I whispered. "I''m a hypocrite, Aliyah. When I battled Maylene for my fifth badge, I did something to her Infernape¡­ I, uh, drew out her suffering to press Maylene''s buttons while preventing her from recalling her. It was all a part of a n to break her, you see." And I was sure now that the Gym Leaders had received the reports, Maylene was feeling very vindicated right now. To be honest, she had every right to be. There had been no more messages from Candice, although we only spoke around once a week anyway, but I''d be a fool to expect things to be normal again. "And?" she asked. She knew the answer, but wanted me to say it out loud. "I never told anyone about that part of the n when I confessed, because I knew how fucked up it was," I finished with a heavy breath. "Admitting that to me took a lot of courage," she said. "It didn''t. You''re a stranger¡ª sorry, but it''s true. I barely know you." "But it''s the first time you''ve said it out loud, isn''t it?" Aliyah asked. "That is no small feat." "So yeah, I think I never would have said anything, again," I said. "The League still would have learned about it, and Mira, Chase and Denzel would have known, but the first two wouldn''t have said anything. If I had asked Denzel strongly enough, I''m pretty sure he would have stood down. And the fucked up part is, part of me regrets not having done so. It''s like, I can''t stand not having everything go my way in regards to my rtionships with my friends." "You could have, but you did not," she said. "You know it would have gone too far. A breach of trust, and maniption. Using his love for you to get your way." "That''s what fairies do," I said, pausing. "But I''m human. Aren''t I?" I asked, genuinely wanting to hear the answer. "You are," she nodded. "Trust me when I say this, Grace, there are people in far worse conditions than you are. Conditions beyond saving. And you''ve progressed a decent bit thesest few days." "Like Agatha," I guessed. "More monster than human, that one," Aliyah nodded with a tint of fear. "But this is about you. What you did to Infernape, is it something you want to tell to your friends?" "Well, one thing at a time, right?" I said. "Eventually, when I''m right again, then maybe. Or as right as you can make me." "All progress will be of your own doing, Grace. I am simply here to listen and offer advice." "Well first, I need to tell Cece about Backlot whenever we see each other again," I slowly spoke. The words felt wrong, like I was about to shoot myself in the foot. I missed her so much, even now. Slightly more than a week not together, and the world felt so dull. "Then, eventually¡­ Arceus, I''m just being ky, aren''t I?" "Pacing yourself isn''t wrong," she shrugged. "The road you walk matters littlepared to the destination." "But it still matters some," I confirmed. "I get it." "Now, let us move on to your concerns," she continued as Chimecho rang. "We''ll move inward, like a ring, and slowly peelyer byyer until we get to the center." The center being Cece, I knew. Even if I''d avoided the ''Separation'' topic, I couldn''t avoid talking about her, it seemed. "I guess we can start with, uh potential connections I''d wanted to make but are now basically impossible," I muttered. "That''s what you mean by outeryer, right?" "It means whatever you want it to mean," she said. "Well, that''s what it means, then," I confirmed. "I really admire Gardenia¡­" ¡ª Legendaries, speaking with Aliyah felt good. I felt lighter that entire morning while I let out my team to hang out and train. It was light work, really, just something to keep themselves busy and slowly progress. I wasn''t the only one who had gone through the raid, they had too, and they deserved a break. Sweetheart was getting the hang of walking again, away from any prying eyes while the rest of the team watched over her. Mudsdale, Angel and I had gone into route to lead a pack of Bidoof back to the nearby river. They''d been kicked out by arger pack who had stolen their dam, so they needed an escort to go further downriver to make a new home. It wasn''t much, but I didn''t want to just storm back in and take back theirnd when they wouldn''t be able to defend it when we left. We ended up spending the rest of the morning and early afternoon finding a good spot for them to settle in and had to negotiate with some Poliwags to give them enough space to settle. After that, I decided to head back to Twinleaf, given the fact that I''d heard that rumors had began circting about in regards to Sweetheart. They didn''t know she existed quite yet, but they did hear her roar that first time, and trainers who had been nearby had gone wild specting about what that had been. Most thought it was a dragon of some sort. Casey and Ronald¡ª Denzel''s parents¡ª looked to be having a very heated conversation with my own mother when I came back, and they flinched when they saw Princessnd next to the porch, which meant they stopped talking, so unfortunately, I didn''t hear what they were arguing about. I smiled. "Good afternoon¡ª" "Think about it, Sam," Casey said, turning back toward Mom. "You know this isn''t right." Okay, then, not good afternoon. She had an issue with me, I realized. Both parents gave me a wide berth as they left. Was everyone going to be scared of me from now on or what? "Is this about Sweetheart?" I instantly asked. "No, it isn''t," Mom said with a grimace. "It''s about their son. Don''t worry about it, though." "But it has to do with me, doesn''t it?" I pressed. "It¡­ does." "Tell me," I said with a tired sigh. "Please." "It was mostly Casey doing the talking. She asked me to tell you that she thought you were a bad influence on Denzel and that your actions kept putting him in danger. I tried to argue back, but Casey''s always been good at putting her head in the sand. It was Denzel who joined the LTIP, but she thinks you forced him to." "I¡ª I need to sit down." My light mood cratered to depths I didn''t think were possible, and I recalled Princess before she could chase after Denzel''s parents and pester them. I nearly crashed on the stairs and my head spun. "You''ve got to understand Grace, they''ve always been protective of him, and they''re feeling unsettled about your Pokemon just walking around town unsupervised too. Your grandmother''s been talking¡­" "My team''s been behaving," I hoarsed out. "They have, but¡­ they aren''t used to it yet." I couldn''t even be angry at them, could I? Because the fact of the matter is, it was true. I was the one who''d basically pulled Denzel into this by telling him about Team Gctic''s true ns, making him feel more involved and in the end, a part of our group. I wasn''t the only one to me, of course. He wasn''t a baby, he had agency of his own and had picked to join us with no regrets, but the fact that he was just getting out of a hospital bed and had nearly died was partly on me. Even the ACEs hadn''t wanted him there at first. I need you, I had told him a few days before Maeve had gotten attacked. Had that contributed to his decision toe? And the worst part was, when I had said this, I had known that I would be getting involved with the poachers now that I had won my badge. It had been subtle, so subtle, but that was always how I did it, wasn''t it? I''d never known his parents well in the first ce, but the fact that my best friends'' parents hated me was just pouring salt into the wound. It wasn''t a big deal. It wasn''t. It wasn''t. My Mom had been fed the League''s lies, so I couldn''t even talk to her about it. I needed Aliyah toe back, I¡ª My mother wrapped me in a tight hug. "You''re alright," she whispered. "I''m here." "I''m sorry," I sniffled. "You''re not to me, Grace." I am. "I''ve ruined so many rtionships by doing this," I sniffled. "I can never take it back." She didn''t understand. I knew she didn''t. How could she, when she had no context for what I was saying? "Is that offer to listen to that podcast still on the table?" I asked through my quiet sobs. "Hmhm." "Can I have¡ª something sweet with that? Like, cake or something. Sorry, I''m not¡ª making any sense." "I''ll see what I have, baby." ¡ª "Stop being so fidgety, I cut your grandmother''s hair all the time," my mother clicked her tongue. "You''re going to make me mess up." "If you mess up my hair, I''m going to die." "Don''t be so dramatic, it''ll grow back." "Now I''m getting second thoughts." Snip. snip. snip. The scissors cut across my hair, and tufts of it fell to the ground. Night had fallen, and I was finished crying, even though muddled feelings still remained. I had fallen asleep next to Mom and taken a long nap the entire afternoon, and she''d stayed with me the entire time. I''d asked her not to cut my hair too short and to leave it around shoulder length, and to her credit, I was facing the bathroom mirror to tell her off if she went too far. Mom squinted, leaning to get a better look at the hair behind my ear, and I felt the cold touch of the scissors. For a second, I almost blurted out that I used to collect those, but that was probably a bad idea, given the rumors about me. "You know, maybe you should stay an extra day or two," Mom said. I sighed. "I can''t¡­ I''m on a timeline, Mom. I''d like to, but I have a lot of stuff to do. And you know, people would get antsy if I stayed too long." She paused, and her hand twitched around my head. "I get it. This has just been¡­" "Nice?" "Yeah, nice," she smiled. "Plus, I heard you''re leaving at the end of the year." "I''ll stille visit you," I said. "And it''s not like I''m staying in Unova permanently. You know, I have this goal¡­ well, it''s kind of embarrassing to say it out loud." She raised an eyebrow, but didn''t force me to spit it out, which was nice of her. I stayed silent for a minute or so and just enjoyed her gently touching my head and the snipping of the scissors. "Well, I want to travel the world, sort of. Meet strong trainers from all over and battle them until I reach the peak." "Well, I don''t know much about battling, but people say you''re talented, and you''vee far already." I almost shook my head. "No, you don''t get it. I''m not even close to my goal yet. What I''m doing right now''s small potatoes." "Calling that huge Tyranitar of yours small potatoes is giving me whish, Grace." "Obviously you''d say that, you have no frame of reference," I grumbled. "But still, even after everything that happened, it''s one of my dreams." "Oh? What are your other dreams?" "To help Pokemon in society," I said. "Partly why I''m going to Unova, really. They''re one of the worst ces to be for Pokemon, and I want to try to remedy that." My mother hummed. "Do you have a n on how you''re going to approach it?" "Oh. Uh, not yet, but I''ve gotten some experience working in a Pokemon rights organization and in politics. Not enough to change the world yet, though. I wanted to start looking stuff up this summer." Snip. "Can you lower your head a little for me?" she asked, and I obliged her. "Thank you. Just remember to save time for yourself like you''ve been doing here, hm? It can''t be all training all the time. Or¡­ working in politics." "I''ve been¡­ rxed¡ª well, Sunyshore was rxing. We met a girl there and had kind of a vacation." And now she isn''t talking to me anymore. "You''re right, though. I guess I should dpress more, it''s just difficult." "Well, I''m here if you need anything," she softly said. "And your Dad too, obviously. You¡­ well, I won''t me you for not relying on me much, but you should rely on him more." "Well, you know how it is with League stuff. Can''t really say anything." "Hmhm." Silence between us had grownfortable, now, but it didn''tst long. She''d tell me about a story from her childhood to pass the time, like how Twinleaf used to be even more isted than it was now when she''d been a kid, or her time in Jubilife¡ª all before meeting Dad, of course. I still didn''t like it when she reminisced of her time with him, or the little time she had with me as a baby, because it hurt. I did allow her to slip in that she used to cut his hair all the time, though, which is how she got so good at it. "Ta-dah!" she beamed, outstretching her hands. "What do you think?" "It looks good," I said. I turned my head around and nodded. "Yeah, I like it. Thank you." "Just¡ª just good?" "Great!" I quickly added. "Perfect length, just like I asked you." I paused, chewing on my next words. "Uh, it''s just hard to feel good whenever I cut my hair. I''ve always been attached to it, so sorry if I sound bummed. It''s just something I have to do, so¡­" "Oh, I''m sorry." "I''m the one who asked you," I said. "Don''t worry about it." Mom gave me a quick nod and patted down my shoulders for any loose hairs. "Well, I''ll leave you to it, since you said you liked to wash your hair after a haircut." "Yup. Thanks again for the help." I watched her leave the bathroom as she reiterated that she''d clean up all the loose hair when I was done. I was going to miss her, wasn''t I? ¡ª I was leaving Twinleaf today. There hadn''t been much to pack, since I was traveling light, and thirty minutes after my session with Aliyah finished, I was ready to leave. I''d never been good with goodbyes, but when I''d firste here, I had never expected I''d actually feel like crying when I left. I hadn''t even spent long here, just a few days. This was the same mother I''d hated my entire life, yet I couldn''t bring myself to do so anymore when I looked at her. She had messed up terribly, it had all been her fault, and because of her my dad had been ruined for who knew how many years. Forgive, no, I repeated in my head. But I had learned to like her anyway. It wasn''t love yet, although I believed that her being my mother was what made my stay here so emotional. Cecilia had often told me that I was just like my Dad, and even though I didn''t see it, I figured she must have told the truth, but I''d seen quirks I shared with my Mom even though we''d never lived together save for these past five days. Five days, yes. I had ended up extending my stay by a day. "I guess it''s time," I said, fiddling with my good foot. "Thanks for housing me, and thanks for kicking your mother out for me too." ''Your mother'' and not ''grandma'' was something she noticed, but she paid it no mind, instead wrapping me into a hug. "You''ll always be wee here. I hope Twinleaf gave you some of what you needed." "Well I feel a bit better than I did when I first came here," I said in the crook of her neck. "I still have plenty of issues, but I''ll try to deal. It''s scary in a way, to go back to the real world. Not that Twinleaf isn''t real." "But it''s away from everything," Mom muttered. "I get it." Ah, of course, she does. Why else would she have run away here from Jubilife if she didn''t? "Stay safe out there," she said. "I''ll try." I hopped on Princess and after some waving, we were off. Five minutester, and I could no longer see Twinleaf. We were not going toward Sandgem, however. We were flying toward Lake Verity. A strong gust of wind blew at our backs and my body jerked back as Princess sped up so quickly the world below me became a blur. She''d gotten better again, I noted. Like before, a League Trainer¡ª this time a woman¡ª appeared to greet me and apanied us into the base to bring me to see the Commander. I had to talk to Aliyah anyway, since I had to ask how the hell she was going to follow me on the routes, considering she''d said we''d have a session every single day. Commander Bethany was sitting in the same office, with the exact same clothes and position. It was somewhat uncanny, how neat she was. Aliyah dipped her head at me with a shadow of a smile. "I''m here to see the Guardian," I dered. "And Aliyah¡ª" "When you finish your meeting, we''ll have to keep you here for an hour or two to confirm the extent of your new capabilities," Bethany interrupted. "After that, you will be free to leave." Oh, that was not how I''d expected that to go. I bit down on a snappy retort and exhaled. This was¡­ a reasonable ask, all things considered. It made sense that the League wouldn''t just let me run off without knowing what I could do or take my word for it, considering the power wouldn''t be split this time and that we''d hidden the Voice from them for months. That came with a loss of trust. Their thought process made sense. "Okay," I nodded. "Aliyah, can we talk?" "If it''s about how I will find you on the routes¡ª" how did she even know that? "¡ªrest assured. Chimecho has his ways." "Oh. Okay?" I asked, slightly confused. Arceus, psychic type owners were weird. "I''ll be on my way, then?" "We''ll have an assortment of trainers escort you," Bethany nodded. I bit my lip. "Sure, whatever." Did she need to take a tone that aggressive with me? Arceus, I knew not everyone was going to like me¡ª and even fewer people in positions ofmand¡ª but I thought a crumb of respect had been earned, at least. Chimecho''s eyes shone, and whatever he did to mask the sound of our voices ended. I was led outside of themand post and toward the Lake. I was actually put in a car, and they drove me to the Lake''s shore. I passed a hand over my Pokeballs to calm myself as I hobbled toward the water. Five trainers were behind me, each with a grass type out. They were probably hoping to put me to sleep should Ie back from this¡ª which from their perspective would be in an instant¡ª and go haywire. Well, here goes. I ced a trembling hand near the water, which at this point was practically a maic force on my skin¡ª I cursed when scorching water jumped at my wrist. ¡ª One second I''d been at the shores of Lake Verity, and the next I was falling in a cepletely devoid of anything else. It was just pure darkness as far as the eye could see. I screamed as I kept falling for what felt like an eternity until I slowed and gentlynded in what felt like a puddle which was ankle-deep. Strangely enough, in here, my ankle wasn''t broken. I nearly gasped in relief when I twirled it around and felt no pain whatsoever. But my relief was short-lived. Colors swarmed the world at once, filling the darkness with lights. I nced upward and instantly buckled to my knees and suddenly, there was no air in my lungs. Breathe. There had been a sh of pink, a red gem and pale blue skin. Just looking at Mesprit was suffocating, but that was not the worst of it. Their emotions were iprehensiblyrge. That was what the colors were. They filled this entire domain and beyond. I nearly gasped when I saw colors I''d never even seen before, ever-changing. They shifted like a mirage in the desert, never holding a single form for long. All this time, what I had seen¡ª experienced¡ª lived had been so small close to this. Every second that passed felt like I was drowning, desperately trying to keep my head above the waves to no avail. So I gave in and let myself drown. I sobbed so uncontrobly I couldn''t even stand up straight. Iughed until my lungs ran out of air and I kept going. I red until I forgot how to blink. I raged until I dug through the flesh in my palms with my nails. I danced until I couldn''t feel my legs anymore. I grinned until my lips hurt. I sulked. I wept until I ran out of tears. I contemted, until I learned to raise my head again and swam with the current. I didn''t know how long that took. Possibly hours, or even days. I took in my first real breath since I''de here, because apparently I hadn''t needed to breathe, and I let the warm air fill my lungs as colors spun around me. Looking at Mesprit in more than a passing nce was still impossible, but at least I could stand. In front of me was a God. The concept of Emotion itself. "Wee, Shard of Emotion! Took you long enough! I thought you''d keep teasing me and you would nevere to meet!"
Chapter 270 – Emotion Chapter 270 ¨C Emotion
A/N: If the color hurts your eyes, click the spoiler Spoiler CHAPTER 270 - Emotion Arceus, they sounded so young. Like a child, barely over the age of six, yet capable of wielding power that boggled the mind. I stopped myself from instinctually taking a step back, instead digging my heels in whatever liquid it was that I was standing on. It was warm¡ª too warm andfortable. "H¡ªhello," I forced out. "I''m sorry for keeping you waiting." There was a slight pause, and then a giggle. Was that good or bad? I couldn''t evenprehend the emotions that were emanating off Mesprit, so I couldn''t tell. There were too many¡ª they were toorge¡ª too new, too nonsensical. Like they were feeling every possible emotion at all times, but in a grander fashion. "Put your head up, Shard," the Legend ordered. It was a , yet it was yful. I winced, ncing upward and expecting the same suffocating feeling to befall me, but instead, I got a clear look at what Mesprit looked like. I didn''t know if that was better or worse. Their piercing yellow eyes terrified me¡ª shook me to my very core. Continuous shivers ran up and down my spine. Mesprit''s gem shone brightly, even through all of the colors swirling about. "You''re letting me look," I said, slightly unbelieving. "Of course! You''re my Shard, so why wouldn''t you be able to look? I let you utter my name, after all," Mesprit said. Ah, so that had been intentional, then. That was¡­ slightly reassuring, honestly. "I have questions¡ª if I may." The God flicked a hand up and forcefully dragged me toward them. I felt a gentle squeeze lift me up in the air and guide me forward until they stared right into my eyes. Their skin looked so soft and glowed slightly¡ª like porcin. There was not a single blemish to be seen on any part of their body. Mesprit''s yellow eyes shone and I saw the air to our left shift as they turned me in that direction. It was a vision, no, an image of what was going on in the real world. The five League Trainers and their grass types, frozen in time as I plunged my hand into the water. "Before we begin," Mesprit said with a hint of yfulness. "Perhaps we should rid ourselves of these humans. What do you want me to do to them?" My stomach dropped, and I squirmed in Mesprit''s hold. "No! Don''t¡ª don''t do anything." The God frowned. "Fear? How strange. Worry not, Shard. I like you, no harm will befall you while you are here." "Don''t do anything to them. They''re just here to make sure nothing goes wrong," I stammered. "I wasn''t going to kill them. Just punish them for thinking they could interfere and use it as a lesson for you." "Lesson?" I said, cold sweat dripping to my chin. How could I convince them not to do this? "Yes, like when I punish them for calling my name out loud," Mesprit said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But this deserves stronger punishment, for thinking that they could interfere between me and you." "They''re not interfering." "Of course. They cannot, but they wish they could. But seeing as you disagree, I will let them go with only a month of heartache," Mesprit dered with a flick of their wrist. "Why¡ª" "The deed is done, Shard," Mesprit said. "There is no walking it back." They let me go, and I stumbled back, still registering what had just happened. The image was no longer there now, but I knew the moment I opened my eyes again the League Trainers would be distraught. The worst part is that they''d probably think it was my fault until I could exin myself to Commander Bethany. "Why did you do this?" I asked, my eyes wide. "Because I wanted to. Why else?" the God asked, titling their head. "Now, let us begin." Mesprit floated a few feet in front of me with a wide smile and spun around as they giggled. "I''ve wanted to talk to you for so long! Since that fateful day, when you first came to the shores of my domain." Focus, Grace! I screamed at myself. You had questions, so ask them. I would worry about the consequencester. "Why so anxious? We have all the time in the world, here." "You said you liked me, right?" I muttered. "Of course! I haven''t had a Shard in millennia! It''s a special asion!" "Then would you please refrain from hurting anyone else," I begged. Asking something from a God wasn''t exactly a wise decision, but it was all I had. "Please. It would make me like you more." "Liar! You don''t like me, you only fear and disdain me," Mesprit grumbled. "I''ll remedy that." Something went wrong. It was difficult to describe. Like a piece of myself, having gone missing, but not being able to tell which, and then a seed was nted and slowly began to take root. I looked at Mesprit again and realized I was smiling. My cheeks felt warm, and I rxed. I felt so content here that I didn''t care what Mesprit had done to those trainers. Why had I even criticized them for it in the first ce? Now they were going to hate me¡ª and that; that was the most terrifying prospect I could think of, at the moment. Love. This was love, and it felt so real. And that quick realization came a fresh dose of horror. "You''re reacting to this all wrong!" "Fucking fix me," I snarled. "This love¡ª it''s fake." "Grrrr, fine. If you hadn''t been a Shard, that would have worked perfectly," The Legend huffed, crossing their arms. Another moment passed, and I felt whole again. Normal. I gasped in relief and restrained the tears that almost came. Sparing onest look at Mesprit just to make sure I was right again, I stood up and red at them. "You can''t do that to me ever again," I demanded. Mesprit''s face fell. "You never would have been the wiser if you hadn''t been a Shard. We would beughing together right now. Granted, I could have kept going, it would have gone on for a while longer so I could pluck the right emotions away and shove in new ones to make you whole again." I ignored the horror that crept up my skin. "It would have been fake." "I would have made it real." "May I be frank, Mesprit?" I said. When they nodded, I continued. "I would rather die." I expected an outburst of anger, but instead, Mesprit gasped¡ª which sounded way too human for my liking, and they pouted, letting out a sad hum. I was starting to understand, if only slightly. Mesprit was even more disconnected from humans than Azelf had been and genuinely didn''t understand why I didn''t want them to just pick and choose what I felt at will. "If you feel so strongly about it, then I won''t, and I apologize," Mesprit said. "Since I sensed emotional turmoil within you, I was going to ask if you wanted me to fix it. All of your current worries could disappear, you know?" "Absolutely not. From this point on, please, just don''t touch me." "Only because I like you." Arceus, what a strange fucking way to show your love, then. And of course, Mesprit knew what passed through my mind because they were the empath, but they seemed to like it better when I spoke. "I just have questions," I said. "If I may?" "Of course, Shard." "Earlier, you said that you wanted to talk to me that day I first came to theke. Does that mean I was chosen for a reason or another?" Azelf had been very clear that Cecilia and Chase were Champions by happenstance, and I wanted to confirm if it was also the case for me. If it was, odds were, Mira wouldn''t have been chosen either. "Uxie''s going to be angry if I just rob them of the joy they''d feel revealing the answer to the Shard of Knowledge," Mesprit said as they floated upside down. The first word resonated with a bit of power even if we weren''t in Acuity. "It would make me like you more if you told me." "You speak no lie," they said after a short pause. "Very well, then. That day, when you came face to face with that empty shell of a man, Iid eyes on you and yourrade." From what Rnd Hunter had told me about Cyrus, he was the empty shell, and myrade¡­ was Denzel. "I knew the empty shell nned to use us to bring an end to His creation by virtue of forewarning from Knowledge. I cannot bestow my gift to people beyond my domain while I am dormant. Only to those who are close to the space I influence or the space around my Shard itself. You were in the correct demographic. Young, a desire to travel, but most of all, there was potential already there. Beyond that? Happenstance." "But Denzel was right next to me," I hissed. "He was right there." Mesprit cackled. "That human is far too boring to ever hope to be my Shard. There was less potential in him, and unlike Willpower, I do not break His rules." The sentence had ended with a sinister re, so there was obviously still resentment there that I didn''t want to touch with a ten foot pole. Still, I felt so much relief. It had been random, after all. There was so little pressure on me now. I didn''t fit the mold¡ª beyond whatever ''potential'' meant. I assumed that they meant I wasn''t as ''sane'' as Denzel was, and I had never been. And that wasn''t a good thing. "It''s a wonderful thing, Shard! Your fellow human is a dull canvas, but you? Your colors are far more vibrant than his, and they were even back then." "Cyrus is only doing this because he can''t feel anything," I challenged. "Couldn''t you just fix him? Normally I wouldn''t endorse it, but¡­" In the first ce, part of me almost thought that Cyrus'' state had been Mesprit''s doing¡ª All the air was pulled out of my lungs, and I copsed when a crushing pressure pressed on my entire body. I hacked out as a hand went to my throat and the force of Mesprit''s full presence bore down on me¡ª no, this was not their full presence, it was the presence of their dormant self, in a fake world of their creation. "I told you, didn''t I?!" Mesprit raged¡ª truly raged. The colors around them violentlyshed out and struck at me like whips, causing stinging pain that wasn''t real. "Shard or not, I won''t let you suggest that I would have gone against His orders!" "You¡ª" I coughed, half my face buried in water that wasn''t there. "You influenced the League Trainers. I thought¡ª" "It was nothing permanent!" the Legendary yelled, their voice reverberating against the dark. "And should they leave here, they will return to normal early!" Then, all of the pressure winked out of existence. There was no more ring pain on my skin, as if it had never been there at all. "You understand now, yes? Fixing him beyond the reach of my domain would have gone against His rules. Forgive me for the outburst, Shard. I apologize." Don''t think about the rules, don''t think about how shit and convoluted they are¡ª I couldn''t stop. While I might have been able to trick Betrix, I couldn''t trick Mesprit, and anger roiled again, this time gentler. "Uxie would say I should notsh out against a Shard who could not know better," Mesprit said. "So you will be spared for thinking that He would be wrong in any way shape or form." And this was Mesprit liking me? I slowly stood back up, thankful that this world wasn''t real and any potential injuries I got here wouldn''t trante to the real world. I caught my breath for a few seconds as Mesprit swayed their head from side to side, awaiting my next question. "So, the other Shards," I mumbled, suddenly not as brave any longer. "They got their power¡ª through me?" "My siblings'' domains had not seen visitors in centuries, save for that female human who lives near Knowledge," Mesprit exined far too gently for my liking. "Through you, new gifts were bestowed. There were no better options than humans you were close to, so you couldmunicate when the time came. My siblings picked the ones who best fit what they wanted. And so, three others became Shard¡ª though it should have been two." Finally, I had gotten answers to a question that had gued our minds for so long. I nodded tightly, though my emotions betrayed me and Mesprit stared with a wide smile as they no doubt watched relief flow through me. "Okay, thank you for the help," I said in hopes of cating them. Granted, it was useless, but I still did so out of fear anyway. "Az¡ª Willpower said that Team Gctic somehow got a hold of your gem." Mesprit nodded. "They sent people deep underwater, and somehow there are replicas being made through that horrifying, monstrous thing you humans created. Ditto, you call it. It helped you create that propped-up, so-called ''God'', but he''s a fake! And he is not wee! He was not created by Him!" "Mesprit," I coughed, covering my face from their anger. "You''re hurting me." "Oh, no! I''m sorry, Shard!" The rage vanished as fast as it hade, and I drew in a raspy breath. "So¡ª this chain, can it be destroyed?" "It can, but it will take far more power than any Pokemon your so-called Champion has at her disposal. If it cannot be reached beforepletion¡ª and trust me, Shard, the time is near¡ª then it will take months to destroy. The whole is greater than its individual parts, because it matters." It matters? "What do you mean by that?" I asked. "The Red Chain is Concept, its individual parts are not," the Legendary said, as if that exined anything. "Okay¡­ I guess. When you say thepletion is near, how far away is it?" Luckily, since the chain was being made out of Mesprit''s gems, they had an answer for me. "A month and¡­ two days." Calm down. Even if theypleted the chain, they would have to make it through the fortresses that surrounded thekes, and they would need to take control of all three Guardians to go ahead with their ns. They were still on the back foot. "And my role will be to wrest you back from their control should they breach the walls here and reach yourke, right?" I asked. "Your sibling said as much." Mesprit nodded with a song-like hum. "My next question is about Cyrus again," I said. "About how someone can truly be born with no emotions. I thought they were exaggerating, but if even you call him empty¡­" Even Justin at his worst had felt something. "The answer still eludes me," Mesprit said with a frown. "It is as if he was born with Knowledge and Willpower, but no Emotion, therefore he is an empty shell. Thest time someone attempted to end His Creation millennia ago¡ª your Champion''s very ancestor¡ª there was no such individual to contend with." "Cynthia''s ancestor¡ª" "He was quite the human. There was madness in him I have only seen a few times since. There is one, currently, who works for the empty shell. They would have both made excellent Shards, but unfortunately, they wanted to break His rules." Before I could speak, Mesprit floated toward me until our foreheads almost touched. They would have, had I not taken a step back and nearly tripped. Their presence was still overwhelming, and the closer they were, the worse I felt. "You had that same potential within you, and you were getting there," Mesprit grumbled. "But you hold yourself back instead of leaning into my Concept, and for what? Opinions of mere humans?" "I''m human," I fought back. "You are Shard," Mesprit giggled. "And this dissociation business is not something I approve of. Why be unfeeling when you can experience the beauty of emotion?" "Well, I''m working on that one," I said. "It helps me fight efficiently." The God stuck their tongue out at me. "Efficiency is boring. Was it not wonderful, when you saw the will to live slowly drain out of that blemish for hours? The feeling of your axe, sinking into his flesh?" "It¡ª it wasn''t¡ª" "Liar! You loved it. While the Shard of Knowledge was paling and averting her eyes, you stared right into that human''s eyes and relished in every moment until he took the axe and slit his own throat. Your enjoyment of that process was none of my doing, but you are avoiding your deepest wants for shallow ones." I bit my lip. "I''m trying to change," I said in a defeated tone, my shoulders slumping. "I don''t want to be like this." "Oh, you don''t care. Not really. It''s your friends, but mostly, it''s that girl you love, the half-Shard," Mesprit hummed. "But the powers I am about to bestow onto you could remedy this. It would not be difficult." "Stop." "It''s just about grabbing the emotions you like and expunging the ones that you don''t, slowly but surely. A little push there, a little pull there, and soon enough she''d only look at you. She would never leave you, because that is your biggest fear, Shard. Abandonment. She would love you more than she thinks possible," Mesprit said. "She will be yours. Of course, she''d fight back with her gift if you did it too abruptly, but if you do it slowly enough, she''ll never be able to tell. She is only half a Shard, after all. Now that you''ve met me, your power will overwhelm hers." "Stop it." "And you''ll be able to tell, because you''ll be able to know what she feels at all times if you delve deep enough, and the previous Shard of Emotion loved that feeling just as much as you will, I''m sure. So long as you keep her on the path to save His Creation, Azelf will not care. They despise their two Shards anyway." They puffed up their chest proudly. "Not me, though! I like you, which is why I''m giving you all of this advice! Honestly, it serves them right for breaking His rules!" I clenched a fist. "If I had been cornered. If I had been desperate. If they had all thrown me away," I slowly said. "I fear that I might have considered that offer for at least a few seconds, and that disgusts me," I spat. "I don''t want to control people, Mesprit. You think it''s fine, because you don''t see the opinions of anyone who isn''t me as important, but I will never rob Cecilia of her freedom. Never. Or anyone else''s." Mesprit huffed and pouted. "How dreadfully boring." "I hope I stay boring to you my entire life," I hissed. "I want to be normal. I want to be¡ª no, I am human." "That ship has sailed, Shard." "You don''t get to make the decisions for me. That would be breaking His rules," I said. My knees buckled, but I still stood, not because I had grown stronger, but because that had only been one of the gentler pressures applied to me today. "Very well, then. This is not how I expected this to go," Mesprit sighed. "You were growing so entertaining, too." "And I thought you''d take this a lot more seriously," I muttered. I had been so close to the edge, hadn''t I? All it would have taken was for my friends to give up on me and I would have jumped into the depths of the abyss without looking back. I probably would have ended up losing my sponsor at some point. Ended up as a recluse who everyone hated, and became someone unrecognizable. No, that was wrong. I would have been recognizable. Each step taken further down could be tracked to the day, and the staircase had a lot of steps left. "Ah, human morality. I never did understand it," Mesprit said. "Let us move on to your new gift, then, Shard." "I told you I wouldn''t use it," I preempted. "Well, that''s not right. I won''t use it unless I''m about to get killed or it''s needed. That, I have no qualms about." "Pfff, I was about to say that getting into that game my sibling and that human you love were ying would be boring, thank you." Then, Mesprit paused. "You''ll find yourself hard-pressed to use it in such a situation, Shard. You are no Concept. Being a Shard in full will allow you to tinker with your gift with much higher limits, but for you, altering someone''s emotions will require focus¡ª" Mesprit stopped. "Oh! Maybe your dissociation thing can help, although it won''t help for the time you''ll need. Days of carefully altering someone. Of course, you can always brute force things, but that will leave your target irreparably damaged and actually exhaust you to unconsciousness right away. Me, I could fix them, but you''re only a Shard." "How does it work? How do I do it?" I asked. "You add, remove or mix the colors, obviously." "Okay, but how does that work?" "Rx! It''lle to you naturally. The more you practice, the better you''ll be at it. Of course, you''ll be able to affect and sense all living things." "Not happening." Mesprit rolled their eyes. "I thought we agreed that we weren''t going to y the same game!" "It''s not a game!" Ished out. "You really are no fun. Azelf would love you¡ª wait, they wouldn''t, hahaha!" "So is that it, then? Are we done?" I asked. "Oh, but wait," Mesprit said with a devilish grin. "That human you care about who was soaked by the Dark. You could fix him." I froze. "Now, if you don''t have anything else to add, Shard, we are done. Oh! And you''ll be able to understand Pokemon in an hour tops instead of a few days. I almost forgot!" I could¡­ fix Justin. Make him return to normal again, and he''d be cured. All I had to do was¡ª "Oh, but you''ll need practice. His case is quite severe. You don''t want to mess him up even further, do you?" Mesprit tilted their head and smiled. Fuck this. I decided to end that part of the conversation here. I couldn''t think straight with them being the devil on my shoulder. I ran a hand through my wet hair and sighed. "Why would you ever want to hand over this power to someone as unstable as Mars of all people? Or Cynthia''s ancestor?" "So long as they save His Creation, what do I care? They''ll be dead before I can blink," Mesprit nonchntly said. "The previous set of Shards, they carved out a niche in the world for themselves after they did. The Shard of Willpower stayed in Hisui and created an empire that copsed as soon as she died. Emotion sailed the world, creating a cult of admirers and a religion that petered out a few generations after his death. Knowledge settled down on the maind south of Hisui and created a city-state to rule where humanity''s feats advanced leaps and bounds until she was assassinated while she slept and everything she''d worked for was lost when her vige was razed to the earth and the grounds salted. Willpower''s shard had sent the assassin despite having been so-called lovers during their quest to save the world, out of fear that their empire would fall behind technologically. It is all dust, Shard. Dust. And if it must be so, then I would rather be entertained for a fraction of my existence." They paused to sigh. "Without Shards, I cannot delve into the world, you see. It is boring, and interesting humans make for an interesting instant in time. Even Willpower entertained themselves with that human you love for a short while." "We were always tools, weren''t we?" I quietly said. "It is not your fault, Shard. The Creator loves you, He truly does. You are the first of His children. But we were not imbued with that love. We are simply Concepts. He is blind to your faults, so we must peer through his blind spots, lest His Creation end." "Fine Mesprit," I said tiredly. "I''ll be a tool. I''ll do what''s needed when the timees. But I can''t in good conscience behave like you want me to." "Begone, Shard. I like you less than I thought I would." The Legendary flicked their wrist in annoyance, and I was pped away by an invisible force. Before I couldnd, I was back in the real world. I inhaled sharply as the water on my wrist slid down like goo and settled back into theke. "Grace Pastel! Confirm that you are still with us!" Everything was so loud, and the world was so bright. I squinted and put a hand over my eyes as I turned back toward the League Trainers. They were terrified of me, but that wasn''t it. I could delve deeper, now. The shades were more precise, easier to distinguish. I tried to answer, but I had the biggest headache. The center of the base was swarming with emotions in such an overwhelming way that for a second, I couldn''t evenprehend what I was looking at. "I''m¡ª I''m here," I said, quieter than I wanted. Wait, hadn''t Mesprit given them some kind of heartbreak? I couldn''t see any signs of it here, and they were acting normally. Two of the League Trainers approached me with a careful step and grabbed me by the arm to lift me up. Had Mesprit changed their mind? I wasn''t so big-headed to think that I had anything to do with it, but still, I felt thankful nheless. I would have told them that they only needed to leave the premises not to suffer a month of heartbreak, but it was still better this way. They tried questioning me during the car ride back, but stopped when I started clenching at my head when we reached the activity hub of the base. I knew I could dull my powers, but this was like trying to empty an ocean with a small cup. It wasn''t stopping. "I need¡ª I need to go somewhere without so many people," I exhaled as the car came to a stop. "This is hurting me." Like the first few times a psychic had tried speaking into my mind, but continuous instead of a short injection of pain. They said they would have to ask Bethany about that first, and I could only muster a nod. At least they left me to sit in the car. Iid down on the backseat and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Add, remove, or mix the colors. Mesprit had been right. I hadn''t done anything yet, but I could pull and push at them when I wanted to. Ripping them out of someone would take some exertion, but it was scarily intuitive, even if it would have made me pass out. Doing it slowly and over time, however? There was no limit, save for my stamina. Did they have water in here? Right, I had my backpack¡­ my backpack. Right, I had left it in the car and it was still here. I opened it with a shaky hand and grabbed one of my water bottles. When I tried to drink, the water got all over my face and inside of my nose instead. I nearly choked on the damn thing and ended up dropping the bottle in the car. Look at me. Given a gift by a literal God and I can''t even drink water by myself. It took a little bit for someone toe back to get me, and I was slowly but surely emptying the fucking ocean. Maybe I''d been exaggerating, really, but in an actual city, it would literally be one. "Grace Pastel. Commander Bethany is ready for you." "What about what I asked? Doing this somewhere else?" I asked through cold sweats. "She has already ordered the surroundings to be cleared, including headquarters," the League Trainer said. I pulled myself back up and carefully stepped out of the car with my crutch, wincing when a flurry of people and Pokemon passed by me. The throbbing pain dissipated when the building was emptied and I kept getting better at masking my gift. This time, Bethany had a Vileplume with her, though I didn''t know if it was hers or someone else''s. Aliyah was here too¡ª with Chimecho. They both stared into my eyes and¡­ appraised me, forck of a better word. After around a minute, she pulled a recorder out of a drawer and turned it on. "How was it?" Bethany finally asked. I revealed every content of the meeting, save for when Mesprit essentially called me a psycho. This information would all be sent to Cynthia, probably. They really appreciated an actual timeline on the Red Chain, at the very least, and the fact that Mesprit was a lot more cooperative than Azelf was. Cooperative was some way to call it. My neck hair stood on end when I remembered how effortlessly Mesprit had made me love them. Continuing on, apparently my eyes were pink, although that was fading and fading quickly. Cece and Chase''s eyes had been yellow after speaking to Azelf, so that made sense. The colors felt a bit odd, but I wasn''t going to tell Gods what colors should signify what concept. "Now, about your new¡­ capabilities," Bethany asked. "From what I understand, I can tamper with emotions. If I do it subtly, it''ll take hours to days to change someone the way I want, but I can also¡­ use a hammer instead of a scalpel, forck of a better word, and wreck everything, but that''ll make me pass out. Too much stamina used at once." I saw fear flicker around her like a surging me as she paled, although Aliyah was as calm as could be. It made sense. I could potentially be altering her in ways she wouldn''t even understand right now, and she would be none the wiser. I would be terrified of me too. I needed to keep what Aliyah had said in mind. Me being able to know what my friends felt when they saw me would bring out my most maniptive tendencies, so I needed to keep practicing at lowering this¡­ intensity until I could ignore itpletely. "You don''t have to worry," I tried. "I won''t do anything." Bethany snorted¡ª though it was a way to mask her fear¡ª "Well, if you say so," she said, clearly sarcastic. "Unfortunately though, the League would like if you could¡­ test this." I frowned. "What?" "It doesn''t have to be something big. Maybe make someone jovial or sad for a little bit, just to confirm." "So¡­ who?" I muttered. "We brought in a prisoner since we were expecting you¡ª" "What? You want me to experiment on some prisoner?" I scoffed. "That''s¡­ fucked up. I can''t do this." "He''s one of the people who was running the fighting ring in the Game Corner," Bethany finished, tapping her fingers nervously on the desk. My eyes narrowed. This was maniption, and it was tant. "Did Cynthia make you do this?" I asked. "No. It was my call," Bethany shrugged. "And you can always change them back to normal." Not a lie, I noticed. Her nervousness and fear would have swelled if it was, unless she was a stone-cold liar who''d trained herself to bypass even the most powerful empaths, which I doubted she was. She''d been right that I could get them back to normal, but I wasn''t confident I actually knew how yet¡ª which I guessed was why she''d asked me to practice in the first ce. My lips quivered as I struggled to get the answer out of my mouth. Say no. Say it! "I don''t feel confident in trying anything at the moment," I said. "First, I just want to be able to stand in a crowd without dying." I didn''t miss Aliyah dipping her head at me. I could almost hear her praise from here. For Cecilia, this was the slippery slope, but I already was at the bottom of the slope and I needed to w my way back up. There was a reason why answering no had been so difficult. Because deep down, I wanted the prisoner to suffer for what he''d done, and I wanted to be the one to do it. But also, part of me thought that practicing on him would be a way to help Justin. I couldn''t just let him be, could I? Bethany nodded. "Fair enough. We still have some tests to run to see if any of our current methods are effective at stopping your empathy, and then you''ll be free to leave." "Okay." Psychic barriers did nothing. Darkness dampened my view enough, but I could still peer through if I tried harder and focused. There was another thing they tried¡ª somehow abination of the two that they''d stolen from Abel, ording to them¡ª which almost muted their emotions, but notpletely, and the longer I looked in all of these cases, the more I could see, so they wouldn''t work for very long. It took nearly two hours to test everything, and by the end of it I was exhausted. Exhausted and hungry. They fed me and kept the building empty to help, but I knew that now they wanted me out of here as soon as possible. So I obliged them and left, telling Princess about what happened while she looked for a decent spot to camp in outside of Sandgem. I would have much to talk about with Aliyah tomorrow. [copse]
CHAPTER 270 - Emotion Arceus, they sounded so young. Like a child, barely over the age of six, yet capable of wielding power that boggled the mind. I stopped myself from instinctually taking a step back, instead digging my heels in whatever liquid it was that I was standing on. It was warm¡ª too warm andfortable. "H¡ªhello," I forced out. "I''m sorry for keeping you waiting." There was a slight pause, and then a giggle. Was that good or bad? I couldn''t evenprehend the emotions that were emanating off Mesprit, so I couldn''t tell. There were too many¡ª they were toorge¡ª too new, too nonsensical. Like they were feeling every possible emotion at all times, but in a grander fashion. "Put your head up, Shard," the Legend ordered. It was a , yet it was yful. I winced, ncing upward and expecting the same suffocating feeling to befall me, but instead, I got a clear look at what Mesprit looked like. I didn''t know if that was better or worse. Their piercing yellow eyes terrified me¡ª shook me to my very core. Continuous shivers ran up and down my spine. Mesprit''s gem shone brightly, even through all of the colors swirling about. "You''re letting me look," I said, slightly unbelieving. "Of course! You''re my Shard, so why wouldn''t you be able to look? I let you utter my name, after all," Mesprit said. Ah, so that had been intentional, then. That was¡­ slightly reassuring, honestly. "I have questions¡ª if I may." The God flicked a hand up and forcefully dragged me toward them. I felt a gentle squeeze lift me up in the air and guide me forward until they stared right into my eyes. Their skin looked so soft and glowed slightly¡ª like porcin. There was not a single blemish to be seen on any part of their body. Mesprit''s yellow eyes shone and I saw the air to our left shift as they turned me in that direction. It was a vision, no, an image of what was going on in the real world. The five League Trainers and their grass types, frozen in time as I plunged my hand into the water. "Before we begin," Mesprit said with a hint of yfulness. "Perhaps we should rid ourselves of these humans. What do you want me to do to them?" My stomach dropped, and I squirmed in Mesprit''s hold. "No! Don''t¡ª don''t do anything." The God frowned. "Fear? How strange. Worry not, Shard. I like you, no harm will befall you while you are here." "Don''t do anything to them. They''re just here to make sure nothing goes wrong," I stammered. "I wasn''t going to kill them. Just punish them for thinking they could interfere and use it as a lesson for you." "Lesson?" I said, cold sweat dripping to my chin. How could I convince them not to do this? "Yes, like when I punish them for calling my name out loud," Mesprit said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But this deserves stronger punishment, for thinking that they could interfere between me and you." "They''re not interfering." "Of course. They cannot, but they wish they could. But seeing as you disagree, I will let them go with only a month of heartache," Mesprit dered with a flick of their wrist. "Why¡ª" "The deed is done, Shard," Mesprit said. "There is no walking it back." They let me go, and I stumbled back, still registering what had just happened. The image was no longer there now, but I knew the moment I opened my eyes again the League Trainers would be distraught. The worst part is that they''d probably think it was my fault until I could exin myself to Commander Bethany. "Why did you do this?" I asked, my eyes wide. "Because I wanted to. Why else?" the God asked, titling their head. "Now, let us begin." Mesprit floated a few feet in front of me with a wide smile and spun around as they giggled. "I''ve wanted to talk to you for so long! Since that fateful day, when you first came to the shores of my domain." Focus, Grace! I screamed at myself. You had questions, so ask them. I would worry about the consequencester. "Why so anxious? We have all the time in the world, here." "You said you liked me, right?" I muttered. "Of course! I haven''t had a Shard in millennia! It''s a special asion!" "Then would you please refrain from hurting anyone else," I begged. Asking something from a God wasn''t exactly a wise decision, but it was all I had. "Please. It would make me like you more." "Liar! You don''t like me, you only fear and disdain me," Mesprit grumbled. "I''ll remedy that." Something went wrong. It was difficult to describe. Like a piece of myself, having gone missing, but not being able to tell which, and then a seed was nted and slowly began to take root. I looked at Mesprit again and realized I was smiling. My cheeks felt warm, and I rxed. I felt so content here that I didn''t care what Mesprit had done to those trainers. Why had I even criticized them for it in the first ce? Now they were going to hate me¡ª and that; that was the most terrifying prospect I could think of, at the moment. Love. This was love, and it felt so real. And that quick realization came a fresh dose of horror. "You''re reacting to this all wrong!" "Fucking fix me," I snarled. "This love¡ª it''s fake." "Grrrr, fine. If you hadn''t been a Shard, that would have worked perfectly," The Legend huffed, crossing their arms. Another moment passed, and I felt whole again. Normal. I gasped in relief and restrained the tears that almost came. Sparing onest look at Mesprit just to make sure I was right again, I stood up and red at them. "You can''t do that to me ever again," I demanded. Mesprit''s face fell. "You never would have been the wiser if you hadn''t been a Shard. We would beughing together right now. Granted, I could have kept going, it would have gone on for a while longer so I could pluck the right emotions away and shove in new ones to make you whole again." I ignored the horror that crept up my skin. "It would have been fake." "I would have made it real." "May I be frank, Mesprit?" I said. When they nodded, I continued. "I would rather die." I expected an outburst of anger, but instead, Mesprit gasped¡ª which sounded way too human for my liking, and they pouted, letting out a sad hum. I was starting to understand, if only slightly. Mesprit was even more disconnected from humans than Azelf had been and genuinely didn''t understand why I didn''t want them to just pick and choose what I felt at will. "If you feel so strongly about it, then I won''t, and I apologize," Mesprit said. "Since I sensed emotional turmoil within you, I was going to ask if you wanted me to fix it. All of your current worries could disappear, you know?" "Absolutely not. From this point on, please, just don''t touch me." "Only because I like you." Arceus, what a strange fucking way to show your love, then. And of course, Mesprit knew what passed through my mind because they were the empath, but they seemed to like it better when I spoke. "I just have questions," I said. "If I may?" "Of course, Shard." "Earlier, you said that you wanted to talk to me that day I first came to theke. Does that mean I was chosen for a reason or another?" Azelf had been very clear that Cecilia and Chase were Champions by happenstance, and I wanted to confirm if it was also the case for me. If it was, odds were, Mira wouldn''t have been chosen either. "Uxie''s going to be angry if I just rob them of the joy they''d feel revealing the answer to the Shard of Knowledge," Mesprit said as they floated upside down. The first word resonated with a bit of power even if we weren''t in Acuity. "It would make me like you more if you told me." "You speak no lie," they said after a short pause. "Very well, then. That day, when you came face to face with that empty shell of a man, Iid eyes on you and yourrade." From what Rnd Hunter had told me about Cyrus, he was the empty shell, and myrade¡­ was Denzel. "I knew the empty shell nned to use us to bring an end to His creation by virtue of forewarning from Knowledge. I cannot bestow my gift to people beyond my domain while I am dormant. Only to those who are close to the space I influence or the space around my Shard itself. You were in the correct demographic. Young, a desire to travel, but most of all, there was potential already there. Beyond that? Happenstance." "But Denzel was right next to me," I hissed. "He was right there." Mesprit cackled. "That human is far too boring to ever hope to be my Shard. There was less potential in him, and unlike Willpower, I do not break His rules." The sentence had ended with a sinister re, so there was obviously still resentment there that I didn''t want to touch with a ten foot pole. Still, I felt so much relief. It had been random, after all. There was so little pressure on me now. I didn''t fit the mold¡ª beyond whatever ''potential'' meant. I assumed that they meant I wasn''t as ''sane'' as Denzel was, and I had never been. And that wasn''t a good thing. "It''s a wonderful thing, Shard! Your fellow human is a dull canvas, but you? Your colors are far more vibrant than his, and they were even back then." "Cyrus is only doing this because he can''t feel anything," I challenged. "Couldn''t you just fix him? Normally I wouldn''t endorse it, but¡­" In the first ce, part of me almost thought that Cyrus'' state had been Mesprit''s doing¡ª All the air was pulled out of my lungs, and I copsed when a crushing pressure pressed on my entire body. I hacked out as a hand went to my throat and the force of Mesprit''s full presence bore down on me¡ª no, this was not their full presence, it was the presence of their dormant self, in a fake world of their creation. "I told you, didn''t I?!" Mesprit raged¡ª truly raged. The colors around them violentlyshed out and struck at me like whips, causing stinging pain that wasn''t real. "Shard or not, I won''t let you suggest that I would have gone against His orders!" "You¡ª" I coughed, half my face buried in water that wasn''t there. "You influenced the League Trainers. I thought¡ª" "It was nothing permanent!" the Legendary yelled, their voice reverberating against the dark. "And should they leave here, they will return to normal early!" Then, all of the pressure winked out of existence. There was no more ring pain on my skin, as if it had never been there at all. "You understand now, yes? Fixing him beyond the reach of my domain would have gone against His rules. Forgive me for the outburst, Shard. I apologize." Don''t think about the rules, don''t think about how shit and convoluted they are¡ª I couldn''t stop. While I might have been able to trick Betrix, I couldn''t trick Mesprit, and anger roiled again, this time gentler. "Uxie would say I should notsh out against a Shard who could not know better," Mesprit said. "So you will be spared for thinking that He would be wrong in any way shape or form." And this was Mesprit liking me? I slowly stood back up, thankful that this world wasn''t real and any potential injuries I got here wouldn''t trante to the real world. I caught my breath for a few seconds as Mesprit swayed their head from side to side, awaiting my next question. "So, the other Shards," I mumbled, suddenly not as brave any longer. "They got their power¡ª through me?" "My siblings'' domains had not seen visitors in centuries, save for that female human who lives near Knowledge," Mesprit exined far too gently for my liking. "Through you, new gifts were bestowed. There were no better options than humans you were close to, so you couldmunicate when the time came. My siblings picked the ones who best fit what they wanted. And so, three others became Shard¡ª though it should have been two." Finally, I had gotten answers to a question that had gued our minds for so long. I nodded tightly, though my emotions betrayed me and Mesprit stared with a wide smile as they no doubt watched relief flow through me. "Okay, thank you for the help," I said in hopes of cating them. Granted, it was useless, but I still did so out of fear anyway. "Az¡ª Willpower said that Team Gctic somehow got a hold of your gem." Mesprit nodded. "They sent people deep underwater, and somehow there are replicas being made through that horrifying, monstrous thing you humans created. Ditto, you call it. It helped you create that propped-up, so-called ''God'', but he''s a fake! And he is not wee! He was not created by Him!" "Mesprit," I coughed, covering my face from their anger. "You''re hurting me." "Oh, no! I''m sorry, Shard!" The rage vanished as fast as it hade, and I drew in a raspy breath. "So¡ª this chain, can it be destroyed?" "It can, but it will take far more power than any Pokemon your so-called Champion has at her disposal. If it cannot be reached beforepletion¡ª and trust me, Shard, the time is near¡ª then it will take months to destroy. The whole is greater than its individual parts, because it matters." It matters? "What do you mean by that?" I asked. "The Red Chain is Concept, its individual parts are not," the Legendary said, as if that exined anything. "Okay¡­ I guess. When you say thepletion is near, how far away is it?" Luckily, since the chain was being made out of Mesprit''s gems, they had an answer for me. "A month and¡­ two days." Calm down. Even if theypleted the chain, they would have to make it through the fortresses that surrounded thekes, and they would need to take control of all three Guardians to go ahead with their ns. They were still on the back foot. "And my role will be to wrest you back from their control should they breach the walls here and reach yourke, right?" I asked. "Your sibling said as much." Mesprit nodded with a song-like hum. "My next question is about Cyrus again," I said. "About how someone can truly be born with no emotions. I thought they were exaggerating, but if even you call him empty¡­" Even Justin at his worst had felt something. "The answer still eludes me," Mesprit said with a frown. "It is as if he was born with Knowledge and Willpower, but no Emotion, therefore he is an empty shell. Thest time someone attempted to end His Creation millennia ago¡ª your Champion''s very ancestor¡ª there was no such individual to contend with." "Cynthia''s ancestor¡ª" "He was quite the human. There was madness in him I have only seen a few times since. There is one, currently, who works for the empty shell. They would have both made excellent Shards, but unfortunately, they wanted to break His rules." Before I could speak, Mesprit floated toward me until our foreheads almost touched. They would have, had I not taken a step back and nearly tripped. Their presence was still overwhelming, and the closer they were, the worse I felt. "You had that same potential within you, and you were getting there," Mesprit grumbled. "But you hold yourself back instead of leaning into my Concept, and for what? Opinions of mere humans?" "I''m human," I fought back. "You are Shard," Mesprit giggled. "And this dissociation business is not something I approve of. Why be unfeeling when you can experience the beauty of emotion?" "Well, I''m working on that one," I said. "It helps me fight efficiently." The God stuck their tongue out at me. "Efficiency is boring. Was it not wonderful, when you saw the will to live slowly drain out of that blemish for hours? The feeling of your axe, sinking into his flesh?" "It¡ª it wasn''t¡ª" "Liar! You loved it. While the Shard of Knowledge was paling and averting her eyes, you stared right into that human''s eyes and relished in every moment until he took the axe and slit his own throat. Your enjoyment of that process was none of my doing, but you are avoiding your deepest wants for shallow ones." I bit my lip. "I''m trying to change," I said in a defeated tone, my shoulders slumping. "I don''t want to be like this." "Oh, you don''t care. Not really. It''s your friends, but mostly, it''s that girl you love, the half-Shard," Mesprit hummed. "But the powers I am about to bestow onto you could remedy this. It would not be difficult." "Stop." "It''s just about grabbing the emotions you like and expunging the ones that you don''t, slowly but surely. A little push there, a little pull there, and soon enough she''d only look at you. She would never leave you, because that is your biggest fear, Shard. Abandonment. She would love you more than she thinks possible," Mesprit said. "She will be yours. Of course, she''d fight back with her gift if you did it too abruptly, but if you do it slowly enough, she''ll never be able to tell. She is only half a Shard, after all. Now that you''ve met me, your power will overwhelm hers." "Stop it." "And you''ll be able to tell, because you''ll be able to know what she feels at all times if you delve deep enough, and the previous Shard of Emotion loved that feeling just as much as you will, I''m sure. So long as you keep her on the path to save His Creation, Azelf will not care. They despise their two Shards anyway." They puffed up their chest proudly. "Not me, though! I like you, which is why I''m giving you all of this advice! Honestly, it serves them right for breaking His rules!" I clenched a fist. "If I had been cornered. If I had been desperate. If they had all thrown me away," I slowly said. "I fear that I might have considered that offer for at least a few seconds, and that disgusts me," I spat. "I don''t want to control people, Mesprit. You think it''s fine, because you don''t see the opinions of anyone who isn''t me as important, but I will never rob Cecilia of her freedom. Never. Or anyone else''s." Mesprit huffed and pouted. "How dreadfully boring." "I hope I stay boring to you my entire life," I hissed. "I want to be normal. I want to be¡ª no, I am human." "That ship has sailed, Shard." "You don''t get to make the decisions for me. That would be breaking His rules," I said. My knees buckled, but I still stood, not because I had grown stronger, but because that had only been one of the gentler pressures applied to me today. "Very well, then. This is not how I expected this to go," Mesprit sighed. "You were growing so entertaining, too." "And I thought you''d take this a lot more seriously," I muttered. I had been so close to the edge, hadn''t I? All it would have taken was for my friends to give up on me and I would have jumped into the depths of the abyss without looking back. I probably would have ended up losing my sponsor at some point. Ended up as a recluse who everyone hated, and became someone unrecognizable. No, that was wrong. I would have been recognizable. Each step taken further down could be tracked to the day, and the staircase had a lot of steps left. "Ah, human morality. I never did understand it," Mesprit said. "Let us move on to your new gift, then, Shard." "I told you I wouldn''t use it," I preempted. "Well, that''s not right. I won''t use it unless I''m about to get killed or it''s needed. That, I have no qualms about." "Pfff, I was about to say that getting into that game my sibling and that human you love were ying would be boring, thank you." Then, Mesprit paused. "You''ll find yourself hard-pressed to use it in such a situation, Shard. You are no Concept. Being a Shard in full will allow you to tinker with your gift with much higher limits, but for you, altering someone''s emotions will require focus¡ª" Mesprit stopped. "Oh! Maybe your dissociation thing can help, although it won''t help for the time you''ll need. Days of carefully altering someone. Of course, you can always brute force things, but that will leave your target irreparably damaged and actually exhaust you to unconsciousness right away. Me, I could fix them, but you''re only a Shard." "How does it work? How do I do it?" I asked. "You add, remove or mix the colors, obviously." "Okay, but how does that work?" "Rx! It''lle to you naturally. The more you practice, the better you''ll be at it. Of course, you''ll be able to affect and sense all living things." "Not happening." Mesprit rolled their eyes. "I thought we agreed that we weren''t going to y the same game!" "It''s not a game!" Ished out. "You really are no fun. Azelf would love you¡ª wait, they wouldn''t, hahaha!" "So is that it, then? Are we done?" I asked. "Oh, but wait," Mesprit said with a devilish grin. "That human you care about who was soaked by the Dark. You could fix him." I froze. "Now, if you don''t have anything else to add, Shard, we are done. Oh! And you''ll be able to understand Pokemon in an hour tops instead of a few days. I almost forgot!" I could¡­ fix Justin. Make him return to normal again, and he''d be cured. All I had to do was¡ª "Oh, but you''ll need practice. His case is quite severe. You don''t want to mess him up even further, do you?" Mesprit tilted their head and smiled. Fuck this. I decided to end that part of the conversation here. I couldn''t think straight with them being the devil on my shoulder. I ran a hand through my wet hair and sighed. "Why would you ever want to hand over this power to someone as unstable as Mars of all people? Or Cynthia''s ancestor?" "So long as they save His Creation, what do I care? They''ll be dead before I can blink," Mesprit nonchntly said. "The previous set of Shards, they carved out a niche in the world for themselves after they did. The Shard of Willpower stayed in Hisui and created an empire that copsed as soon as she died. Emotion sailed the world, creating a cult of admirers and a religion that petered out a few generations after his death. Knowledge settled down on the maind south of Hisui and created a city-state to rule where humanity''s feats advanced leaps and bounds until she was assassinated while she slept and everything she''d worked for was lost when her vige was razed to the earth and the grounds salted. Willpower''s shard had sent the assassin despite having been so-called lovers during their quest to save the world, out of fear that their empire would fall behind technologically. It is all dust, Shard. Dust. And if it must be so, then I would rather be entertained for a fraction of my existence." They paused to sigh. "Without Shards, I cannot delve into the world, you see. It is boring, and interesting humans make for an interesting instant in time. Even Willpower entertained themselves with that human you love for a short while." "We were always tools, weren''t we?" I quietly said. "It is not your fault, Shard. The Creator loves you, He truly does. You are the first of His children. But we were not imbued with that love. We are simply Concepts. He is blind to your faults, so we must peer through his blind spots, lest His Creation end." "Fine Mesprit," I said tiredly. "I''ll be a tool. I''ll do what''s needed when the timees. But I can''t in good conscience behave like you want me to." "Begone, Shard. I like you less than I thought I would." The Legendary flicked their wrist in annoyance, and I was pped away by an invisible force. Before I couldnd, I was back in the real world. I inhaled sharply as the water on my wrist slid down like goo and settled back into theke. "Grace Pastel! Confirm that you are still with us!" Everything was so loud, and the world was so bright. I squinted and put a hand over my eyes as I turned back toward the League Trainers. They were terrified of me, but that wasn''t it. I could delve deeper, now. The shades were more precise, easier to distinguish. I tried to answer, but I had the biggest headache. The center of the base was swarming with emotions in such an overwhelming way that for a second, I couldn''t evenprehend what I was looking at. "I''m¡ª I''m here," I said, quieter than I wanted. Wait, hadn''t Mesprit given them some kind of heartbreak? I couldn''t see any signs of it here, and they were acting normally. Two of the League Trainers approached me with a careful step and grabbed me by the arm to lift me up. Had Mesprit changed their mind? I wasn''t so big-headed to think that I had anything to do with it, but still, I felt thankful nheless. I would have told them that they only needed to leave the premises not to suffer a month of heartbreak, but it was still better this way. They tried questioning me during the car ride back, but stopped when I started clenching at my head when we reached the activity hub of the base. I knew I could dull my powers, but this was like trying to empty an ocean with a small cup. It wasn''t stopping. "I need¡ª I need to go somewhere without so many people," I exhaled as the car came to a stop. "This is hurting me." Like the first few times a psychic had tried speaking into my mind, but continuous instead of a short injection of pain. They said they would have to ask Bethany about that first, and I could only muster a nod. At least they left me to sit in the car. Iid down on the backseat and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Add, remove, or mix the colors. Mesprit had been right. I hadn''t done anything yet, but I could pull and push at them when I wanted to. Ripping them out of someone would take some exertion, but it was scarily intuitive, even if it would have made me pass out. Doing it slowly and over time, however? There was no limit, save for my stamina. Did they have water in here? Right, I had my backpack¡­ my backpack. Right, I had left it in the car and it was still here. I opened it with a shaky hand and grabbed one of my water bottles. When I tried to drink, the water got all over my face and inside of my nose instead. I nearly choked on the damn thing and ended up dropping the bottle in the car. Look at me. Given a gift by a literal God and I can''t even drink water by myself. It took a little bit for someone toe back to get me, and I was slowly but surely emptying the fucking ocean. Maybe I''d been exaggerating, really, but in an actual city, it would literally be one. "Grace Pastel. Commander Bethany is ready for you." "What about what I asked? Doing this somewhere else?" I asked through cold sweats. "She has already ordered the surroundings to be cleared, including headquarters," the League Trainer said. I pulled myself back up and carefully stepped out of the car with my crutch, wincing when a flurry of people and Pokemon passed by me. The throbbing pain dissipated when the building was emptied and I kept getting better at masking my gift. This time, Bethany had a Vileplume with her, though I didn''t know if it was hers or someone else''s. Aliyah was here too¡ª with Chimecho. They both stared into my eyes and¡­ appraised me, forck of a better word. After around a minute, she pulled a recorder out of a drawer and turned it on. "How was it?" Bethany finally asked. I revealed every content of the meeting, save for when Mesprit essentially called me a psycho. This information would all be sent to Cynthia, probably. They really appreciated an actual timeline on the Red Chain, at the very least, and the fact that Mesprit was a lot more cooperative than Azelf was. Cooperative was some way to call it. My neck hair stood on end when I remembered how effortlessly Mesprit had made me love them. Continuing on, apparently my eyes were pink, although that was fading and fading quickly. Cece and Chase''s eyes had been yellow after speaking to Azelf, so that made sense. The colors felt a bit odd, but I wasn''t going to tell Gods what colors should signify what concept. "Now, about your new¡­ capabilities," Bethany asked. "From what I understand, I can tamper with emotions. If I do it subtly, it''ll take hours to days to change someone the way I want, but I can also¡­ use a hammer instead of a scalpel, forck of a better word, and wreck everything, but that''ll make me pass out. Too much stamina used at once." I saw fear flicker around her like a surging me as she paled, although Aliyah was as calm as could be. It made sense. I could potentially be altering her in ways she wouldn''t even understand right now, and she would be none the wiser. I would be terrified of me too. I needed to keep what Aliyah had said in mind. Me being able to know what my friends felt when they saw me would bring out my most maniptive tendencies, so I needed to keep practicing at lowering this¡­ intensity until I could ignore itpletely. "You don''t have to worry," I tried. "I won''t do anything." Bethany snorted¡ª though it was a way to mask her fear¡ª "Well, if you say so," she said, clearly sarcastic. "Unfortunately though, the League would like if you could¡­ test this." I frowned. "What?" "It doesn''t have to be something big. Maybe make someone jovial or sad for a little bit, just to confirm." "So¡­ who?" I muttered. "We brought in a prisoner since we were expecting you¡ª" "What? You want me to experiment on some prisoner?" I scoffed. "That''s¡­ fucked up. I can''t do this." "He''s one of the people who was running the fighting ring in the Game Corner," Bethany finished, tapping her fingers nervously on the desk. My eyes narrowed. This was maniption, and it was tant. "Did Cynthia make you do this?" I asked. "No. It was my call," Bethany shrugged. "And you can always change them back to normal." Not a lie, I noticed. Her nervousness and fear would have swelled if it was, unless she was a stone-cold liar who''d trained herself to bypass even the most powerful empaths, which I doubted she was. She''d been right that I could get them back to normal, but I wasn''t confident I actually knew how yet¡ª which I guessed was why she''d asked me to practice in the first ce. My lips quivered as I struggled to get the answer out of my mouth. Say no. Say it! "I don''t feel confident in trying anything at the moment," I said. "First, I just want to be able to stand in a crowd without dying." I didn''t miss Aliyah dipping her head at me. I could almost hear her praise from here. For Cecilia, this was the slippery slope, but I already was at the bottom of the slope and I needed to w my way back up. There was a reason why answering no had been so difficult. Because deep down, I wanted the prisoner to suffer for what he''d done, and I wanted to be the one to do it. But also, part of me thought that practicing on him would be a way to help Justin. I couldn''t just let him be, could I? Bethany nodded. "Fair enough. We still have some tests to run to see if any of our current methods are effective at stopping your empathy, and then you''ll be free to leave." "Okay." Psychic barriers did nothing. Darkness dampened my view enough, but I could still peer through if I tried harder and focused. There was another thing they tried¡ª somehow abination of the two that they''d stolen from Abel, ording to them¡ª which almost muted their emotions, but notpletely, and the longer I looked in all of these cases, the more I could see, so they wouldn''t work for very long. It took nearly two hours to test everything, and by the end of it I was exhausted. Exhausted and hungry. They fed me and kept the building empty to help, but I knew that now they wanted me out of here as soon as possible. So I obliged them and left, telling Princess about what happened while she looked for a decent spot to camp in outside of Sandgem. I would have much to talk about with Aliyah tomorrow.
Interlude – Iron Islands I Interlude ¨C Iron Inds I INTERLUDE - IRON ISLANDS I Cecilia had to admit it, Canve city looked like a nice ce to live in. It was not like her usual favorites in Castelia or Jubilife¡ª massive metropolises with urban sprawl as far as the eye could see¡ª but it certainly had a charm of its own. There was something about the maritime way of life here that was so endearing, and it reminded her of the piers in Castelia, only a much smaller version of them. The streets were paved in a beautiful pattern of light and dark grays, and no asphalt roads were to be found here. Instead of buses or trams, people traveled up and down the city through their public ferry system, which was another point in their favor. But it was the bridge that linked the two halves of the city, that Cecilia enjoyed the most. Unova had always had a thing for bridges. While they did link the entire region together, they were also more than that. They were a symbol of unity. Bridging dreams, cultures, innovations, and lives together. Six bridges, but all united in one purpose. It sounded good, and it certainly made for excellent dressing, but Cecilia knew of the rot that delved if you looked at Unova long enough. She had always known, but only now did she think it was an issue that needed to be fixed. Rot should be cleansed from the whole. Cecilia checked the time on her phone as she felt the tinge of saltiness in the air with Slowking and Croagunk by her side. The fighting type was punching the air with glowing fists in an attempt to build up her stamina, trying not tough at Slowking''s silly jokes. Since the raid on the Pokemon Mansion, she had been training day and night without a day''s break, even though Cecilia had tried to have her slow down. She was, however, progressing leaps and bounds with Scyther''s tutge. The soft sound of the waves would have been rxing, should she not have every trainer who passed stare at her. The news of her murder had followed her far, it seemed. The loss of reputation bothered her, as much as it pained to admit. She had never been one to care much for what people thought about her, but a good reputation could be leveraged, and she had lost that advantage, possibly forever. Everyone knew Cynthia killed people, but no one had ever gotten footage of it. It was all about image. It was one thing to theorize and talk about how Cynthia dealt with criminals, and another matter entirely to see someone disintegrate a man''s head with Dragon Pulse without flinching. Yes. That was how she had killed. And the second time was nowhere as difficult as the first. She raised her head and exhaled when Chase finally turned the corner with two drinks in hand. "Catch," he yelled. "Wha¡ª" Cecilia brought her hands up, and although she made contact with the drink, it nearly fell to the ground. Slowking wrapped it in a neat psychic bubble and raised it back to her. "Did you have to throw that?" she sighed, staring at the juice box. "What even is this?" "Grapefruit," he grunted. "Chase, I hate grapefruit." He scoffed. "What the hell is wrong with you? How does someone hate grapefruit? It''s literally a fucking fruit. It''s sweet." Right. Only Grace knew things like that. Cecilia clicked her tongue. "It has that weird acidic aftertaste¡ª you know what, never mind. Let''s swap. You have a different vor." "Whatever." Chase hadn''t really needed to find her, since they''d been going in the same direction regardless. He had popped up yesterday night, having just reached the city a few days after she did, and finding which Center Cecilia stayed at these days was as easy as looking up her name online. She appreciated his presence, still. He helped her not get lost in thought about the Voice or Grace. Ah, I thought about her again, she sighed. Cecilia hated the way they''d left things, but she had needed space¡ª and still did. Still, she couldn''t help but worry. Had her meeting with her mother gone well? Had she met Mesprit yet? Were her therapy sessions going well? How was she doing without her¡ª and was it as suffocating as Cecilia felt? She had wanted to ask all of this. Call, speak, do anything together, so long as she heard from her, but this was a conscious decoupling. The pragmatic way to look at this was that they would be better off learning to spend time without each other. Theirst real interaction together had been¡­ somewhat heated, with Grace having tried to minimize the horrible fact that Cecilia had used the Voice. Cecilia had known that she had just wanted to make her feel better by saying that it had been to protect them, but it had done the opposite. But still, it wasn''t like they¡­ couldn''t text at least a few times. Grace had just never even messaged once, so Cecilia thought she was doing well enough. Or that she no longer needed her, and that was a mortifying thought. Not even once, she had texted. And she was strangely silent in their group chat as well. The only reason Cecilia knew of her well-being was because Denzel had told her that his parents had seen her in Twinleaf for a few days, and they were not happy about it. Should she text first, then? Would that be odd? Would she be annoyed? Was Grace still angry at her? I don''t want her to hate me¡ª "Stop brooding about Grace," Chase said. "Seen you do it too many times, and I''ve only been here for a day." "You don''t get it," Cecilia muttered. "You''re right, I don''t," he shrugged. "I don''t get this dating stuff, really. But you won''t talk to me about it, so I can''t, so honestly, that''s on you." "How much longer until the ferry?" she asked, ignoring him. "An hour and a half," he said. "Wonder how your therapist will follow you this time. Think he''ll be on the boat?" Cece would have smiled at that, weeks ago. "Possibly. It''s not like he''s that conspicuous." Chase snorted. "Conspicuous." "What? It''s a word." That was a lot of time to burn. The ferry to the Iron Inds only ran twice per day, once in the morning and oncete in the afternoon, and they were taking the morning one to have as much daylight as possible. Surprisingly, Chase had no longer been hesitant about it when he found her, asking her to go to the inds right away instead, like he was ready, now. Cecilia admired her friend, in a way. He was the only one who hade out of the Pokemon Mansion in a rtively alright mental state, and he was mellower now than he had been. "What''re they saying about you in your country?" Chase asked, trying to change the subject. Probably awful things, Cecilia thought. Not that she would let that stop her. She had already been branded a puppet of Cynthia, so nothing she could do would rescue her reputation. "Oh, I haven''t looked, believe it or not. I can''t handle that many problems at once¡­" she answered. "Right. Sorry. Okay, then, what the fuck is it with you and grapefruit?" This was going to be a long hour and a half. ¡ª Cecilia leaned against the ferry''s railing as the warm wind fluttered in her hair. Already, they had passed multiple inds, but this boat only stopped at the central andrgest one, which was, ording to Chase, the only ind where one could lead a somewhat decent life in the inds. It was no Canve, but at least it had a Pokemon Center and proper hospital. Reaching the Iron Inds without a ferry was actually illegal, because Sinnoh''s government wanted to log each entry into the ind and each exit too. It served the same purpose as those Ranger Stations that nked Eterna Forest, the entryways into Mount Cor and Victory Road, except there was no lesson to be had. It was simply a way to track who was going into the rtively dangerous environment. Or which Iron Ind denizen was going out. They still had a while to go to reach the central ind, which ording to Chase was named Fisher Ind. Not a very unique name, but at least she knew what to expect when they reached the ce. Cecilia reentered the basically empty ferry and found Chase on his knees facing his seat, where his Wimpod was squirming about excitedly. It was¡­ cute, really. He babied his Wimpod very much, even if he pretended not to. She hadn''t even had her first battle, since Chase wanted to ''make sure she was ready''. With how slow he was being with her, she wouldn''t be ready for the Conference in time, but maybe that was fine. "Am I interrupting something?" Cecilia asked. Her friend flinched, and Wimpod screeched, jumping on his back and desperately trying to crawl under his shirt despite being far toorge to do so. Chase quickly recalled her and red at Cecilia. "In my defense, I had no idea she would get scared at my voice," she preemptively said with two raised hands. "Arceus¡­" "You, of all people, cannot criticize me for ack of tact, Chase," Cecilia said as she sat down. "Still, I''m sorry. It looks like you were having a good time." "Take whatever you saw to your grave," he said, half-jokingly. "How''s the view outside? Did you see Anvil Ind? I always thought it looked cool as a kid." "You didn''t stay in Falkirk your entire life?" Cece asked, suddenly intrigued. "I did, but my Dad had pictures of some funny-looking inds he''d been to. Being shaped like an anvil is pretty cool if you ask me." How childlike, Cecilia couldn''t help but notice. "I guess I did go to Fisher Ind once when I got really sick, but I don''t remember it much. I used to get sick all the time, back in the day." "I did see a really t ind¡ª more than what I thought I''d see, in this archipgo," Cecilia said. "Oh, that''s probably Sandy''s Key," Chase shrugged. "It has like, a hundred people on it tops. Can''t really sustain much more, with how small it is." Cecilia paused. "You really do know every ind?" "Obviously. It''s home," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Got any more questions?" He was actually eager to talk about it, too. Cecilia wasn''t as good with people as Grace was, but she was not bad by any means, especially with her friends. "So this ce is a part of Canve, right? They say Byron was born here and used to be a miner." Chase''s eye twitched, and heughed dryly. "A few years in Oreburgh, and Byron forgot all about us. Dad said that he promised a lot when he left, you know? He crawled through the mud every day like all of us, and it was the first time someone from the Iron Ind got to such a position. Gym Leader of Oreburgh. He stayed there for years, and he promised he would put pressure on Sinnoh to change stuff. Teracore operates in Oreburgh''s mines too, so we thought he''d be able to put some pressure on them and have them change the way they do things." Cecilia frowned, guessing at what happened next. "Nothing changed beyond some empty gestures. It''s always the same, really. Empty promises," Chase muttered as he stared through the window at the endless ocean. "I know now that he probably really did want to change stuff. Why else would he be Gym Leader of Canve after so many years spent in Oreburgh? Closer to home, and this time, the Iron Inds would actually be in his jurisdiction." "Poweres with its own bindings," Cecilia said. "He got in there thinking he''d change everything and got a dose of reality, I bet," Chase snorted. "Even back when Cynthia hadn''t democratized the country, Gym Leaders weren''t all-powerful and had to wrangle special interests, and Radetic had his fingers in a lot of pies." Cecilia frowned. "How''d you learn about this? Not that I''m calling you dumb¡ª" "You better not," he grunted. "I''ve just been researching stuff. You know, to get ready." Cecilia leaned forward. Had she finally found someone to speak about statecraft with? "Did you figure out anything?" "I did. The clean-cut way of doing things would be to grant the Iron Inds independence from Canve and to make it a full-fledged part of Sinnoh," he concluded. "That way, we negotiate with the miningpanies. We set the terms. Not some bureaucrat sitting hundreds of miles away in a cozy office who never set foot on a single ind." "Negotiations, then. I thought you would employ more brutal methods as Champion." "Well, I''m not going to be the Champion any time soon, right?" he admitted, possibly for the first time. "Gotta start small. Organize, and stuff. Make this matter. Of course, it''s going to be hard without Canve''s subsidies, but we could negotiate something with the federal government. I could also try going for Gym Leader position, but I''m not nning on working in some crummy Gym for a decade and licking Byron''s boot so he picks me as a sessor when he retires. He picked his fucking son for Oreburgh, and you know what happened." "They say Roark made Maylene look like an angel, early in his tenure," Cecilia said. "He desperately wanted to show up his father and bulldozed every challenger that came through." "He used the correct Pokemon, but he fought for real," Chase nodded. "He''d let wins slip through after trainers knocked their heads against him a few times, but if your instincts were worse than his, there was no way you were winning on the first try. It''s a wonder he was never recalled." "Not a wonder," Cecilia smiled. "If he hadn''t been Byron''s son, he would have been fired by the League. There''s no way they would have let a random Gym Trainer stay in his position." "Nepotism''s the bane of my fucking existence," he spat. "Anyway, Byron fucking sucks, no matter where hees from, but I''ll wait until I''m in a position to make change happen to judge him fully." "How level-headed." "I''m super level-headed. You just never bothered looking." "You did, I recall, call me overrated Unovan trash when we first met." Chase snorted. "Water under the bridge, right?" "You''re lucky I''m so forgiving," she said, finally cracking a smile. "When we get to Fisher Ind, how do we get to Falkirk? Another ferry?" "They haven''t even rebuilt the town, Cece," Chase shook his head. "Don''t think they ever will. We''ll have to fly there. It''s fine now that they know we''re in the Iron Inds. I know the general direction, but I''ll get us a map just to be sure." "They sell maps out in front," Cecilia suggested. "They do?" he raised an eyebrow. "I''ll go now, then." He came back with a crusty map that took effort to unfold. Cecilia wrinkled her nose. There was no way she was ever going to touch that thing, but Chase didn''t seem to care. The Iron Inds wereposed of hundreds of inhabited and uninhabited inds. Some were simply arge enough rock to have been marked down, while others had thousands of inhabitants. ording to Chase, tens of thousands of people lived scattered throughout the inds¡ª nearly a hundred thousand in total. Directly east of them was Sinnoh''s coast and the area around Eterna Forest. "There. The town''s stillbeled, since it''s an older map," Chase said, tapping on Falkirk. His lips tightened, and his finger stayed still on the ind. "Are you sure you''ll be alright?" "You deal with your own demons," he snapped before pausing. "My bad. Sorry." "Water under the bridge," she repeated. "Remember, I''m here to help." "Seriously, though, what about you?" Chase asked. "You dealing okay? I''ve never had any problems with, uh, you know." The Voice, she guessed. "You know about Zweilous," she said. She had told him, before they decided to go together to the Iron Inds. There would be a fight there, and she had said that if he wanted to go alone to avoid having to deal with a rampaging dragon, he could. "The thing is, when I asked my brother about how to deal with their evolution, he told me that it would take days for them to even hear my voice. Weeks to use in an actual battle without them going blind with rage and murdering anything in their way." Chase frowned, but decided to let her keep going. "You see, for all of your ws, you''ve got a good moral code¡ª" he chuckled. "¡ªI''m serious. You don''t have to worry about temptation, Chase. Me, I have thoughts about ways I could use this to my advantage. I was considering using it on Zweilous when they evolved, Chase. To get him to sit still for an hour so we could speak and see if I could get through to them." She''d already told her therapist Jude about this, but he had been less than ideal in that regard. Instead of pushing back, which is what she wanted, he had said that it might work in everyone''s favor and talked to her about consent instead. He was right, damn it, he was. Zweilous¡ª or Hydreigon, in this case, wouldn''t mind. Their evolution would change them, but she knew them like the back of her hand. If it didn''t work, well, no harm would have been done, because they wouldn''t care. Themand in question would have been to calm down. Only enough to let them without Hydreigon throwing lethal attacks at her and her team, and not enough to actually control the dragon''s actions. Knowing Zweilous, they would be horrified that they had even struck her in the first ce, but was it her ce to do this for them? It was not. So after Jude''s suggestion, she had asked them, and they had agreed without a moment''s hesitation. They were growing smarter, these days, but was their word enough to count as consent? "You''re having a real war with yourself over here," Chase noted. Cecilia took her first real breath in a minute. "I don''t like the way I''m starting to think, Chase." "I''m probably a bad guy to ask for advice," he shrugged. "But would it really be so bad?" "It would," she answered instantly. "Then don''t do it." Cecilia sighed, and turned away from him. He did not get it. No one did. ¡ª "This ce hasn''t changed," Chase said as he stepped onto the pier. "You said you didn''t remember it," Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "It''s about the atmosphere, Cecilia." Fisher Ind was actually home to five separate fishing cities. This one¡ª First Landing¡ª was thergest, home to nearly ten thousand people, and thergest town on the Iron Inds in general. It felt odd to walk onnd again after hours spent at sea, and the world seemed to move, still, but Cecilia walked through the pier and entered the town. First Landing''s buildings were actually mostly made of stone, and their exteriors were scarred by the ceaseless sea winds. te-gray roofs, weathered but steadfast, provided a stark contrast against the vibrant blues of the ocean that stretched endlessly to the horizon. The paths were mostly dirt, but the areas around the pier were paved, along with the path to the mines in the inds'' center. Cecilia assumed it made it easier to extract resources that way, but it reminded her of what she''d read about the colonial empires of old. Develop ways to bring resources back to the maind while leaving the actual inhabitants living in squalor. This ce never stopped being a colony, did it? And they did live in squalor. There was no other way to say it, the people here lived in abject poverty worse than the most underdeveloped parts of Virbank, which her father so charmingly used to call a dump only kept afloat through the existence of Pokestar Studio. The Iron Inds did not have an industry to keep themselves above the water line. All they had was mining resources that never seemed to run out and fishing. Nothing else. The people here looked hardy, both in their constitution and in their expressions. Everyone here was as well-built as your average trainer or better, with how much they moved around every day, which made Chase''s past thinness stand out a lot more. Other cities couldn''t boast of such a poption. "Pokemon Center should be up this road," Chase said. "Can we spend a night here?" "Of course," Cecilia nodded. She was not about to stop Chase from getting to know his home again, and if she was correct, he might need the time to get ready and brace himself to confront his past. "Just making sure, you don''t have any ns for revenge, right?" "Nah. I need to look forward, not back," the teenager replied. "Plus, that Steelix would definitely kick my ass. It was like that Rhyperior and Tyranitar we saw in Mount Cor." She wanted to ask if his memory wasn''t skewed by the trauma, but that wasn''t her ce, and she was d he wasn''t pursuing Steelix deep in the abandoned mines. Battling a Steelix in tight caves of all things was a surefire way to die. First Landing was built upon an ever-rising hill, and it was like the city had , like a continuously rising semi-circle. Cecilia stared in disbelief at what they called a Pokemon Center here. The building was so small and nowhere near as sprawling as the usual ones. It looked like it would barely have enough room to house ten people, let alone enough to heal thergest Pokemon specimen. Chase was unbothered by it, though, and entered the building right away. Cecilia stopped herself from wincing at how dirty everything was in here. They couldn''t even be bothered to clean the floors? And what was that smell? Goodness, this was not going well. She would honestly rather camp outside than sleep in here. The Unovan let Chase speak to a nurse who wasn''t even in costume as she tried not to be rude and stare at every nook and cranny. "We''ve got two rooms. I''m going to go out, though. Youing?" he asked. "Yes, please¡ª oh, wait, my phone''s ringing. They have service here?" Chase rolled his eyes. "You know, once in a while, your rich girl persona reallyes through. Obviously they have service, it''s a damn Center." "It was a genuine worry!" Cecilia blustered. "Let me see¡­" "Oh, my phone rang too," Chase muttered. There was a flutter of warmth in her stomach when she saw who was texting. Grace had sent a message to the group chat with the people who knew about Team Gctic''s true plot, so Mira, Chase, Denzel, and her. Grace P. ''Sorry for having been radio silent for a few days, guys, I hope everyone is doing well. I finally met Mesprit yesterday and I have a few things to say¡­'' It was long. Longer than any text she had ever received from her, but it exined the meeting with Mesprit, including the Legendary''s terrifying behavior, making Grace love them by force. Cecilia sighed in relief when she read that Grace was back to normal, however. Beyond that, there weren''t many details about the conversation they had. They did finally have an answer as to why they''d been chosen, and it made understanding Azelf''s disdain so much easier. They had not been someone the Legendary wanted, but they''d been the best option. It was odd, however, that Uxie had waited until they met Mira to give someone their gift, but then again, maybe there really was no one better. In her opinion, Denzel might have made a good Shard of Knowledge, but she was no God and didn''t know what the criteria for being picked even were, and there was no doubt Mira had been a good pick. ''...my new powers are odd. I''ve essentially be a full-blown empath, and I''m feeling so overwhelmed by everything I''m probably going to have to skip visiting my dad until I adjust better to them. I feel like Jubilife would make me pass out on the spot right now. Just being near Sandgem is hard enough. So I''ll be staying on routes for a little while until I learn to adjust my power down, so I''ll probably be silent again. Sorry.'' "Well, looks like she''s doing rtively alright for herself," Chase said after finishing reading. Cecilia nodded absent-mindedly. Grace was an empath, which meant sensing what emotions people and Pokemon felt at all times. She couldn''t help but feel a twinge of nervousness at the thought, but it looked like she would be able to turn it off at some point like she''d said she had done against Wake, so that soothed most of her worries. Cecilia texted back to the group chat as a whole, but part of her so desperately wanted to call, just for a minute. To hear her voice again. Mira C. Wdym by full blown empath? Thats a little vague. For a moment, Grace was typing. Then for five minutes. Then for longer. Cecilia almost thought she''d identally typed a letter and put her phone back in her pocket. Grace P. I can tell you whjen we ssee each other. Mira C. Thats in a while Grace. Possibly over that 1 month timeline you gave us. Grace P. Sorry, I have to go. I have to get bettr at undrstading it myself before I say anything innscurate, and Im not ready. "She''s not okay," Cecilia muttered as she crouched with a heavy breath. "She''s not okay at all. I have to call her." Chase didn''t protest, since he didn''t understand why they''d been apart in the first ce. The phone didn''t ring. It went straight to voice mail, so she called again. And again. And again. More than ten times. Chase gripped her shoulder tightly and acted like he couldn''t see her tears falling to the floor. "You know what, why don''t we, uh, stay in? Your next meeting with Jude is tomorrow at noon, right?" Should she leave? No, she shouldn''t. It wouldn''t be fair to Chase, but it also wouldn''t be fair to herself to try to chase someone with no way of knowing where she was despite how much she wanted to. Prioritize yourself, Jude would say. Right now, she had to get Zweilous through their evolution, get Scyther to evolve, and help Croagunk reach her potential. Cecilia steeled herself. Compartmentalize. Put the anxiety and grief in a box and keep it there forter. With a deep breath, she rose with her back straight and her chin high, as if she hadn''t been crying in the first ce. "Go do whatever you want, and I''ll follow," she finally told Chase. Her friend frowned. "You doing that is seriously weird. And you know, probably unhealthy." "I can''t afford to cry with so many challenges ahead of me. Where are we headed?" Cecilia followed Chase out of the Pokemon Center and down the winding road. Apparently, he was going to some kind of bar he''d spotted on the way here next to the pier that Cecilia had missed due to looking around like a kid. There was definitely more to Grace''s empathy than she was willing to let on, but why keep it hidden? Cecilia racked her mind with the answer, but nothing came up beside her maybe thinking her power would make their opinion of her change. And if she hadn''t changed when hearing about Cecilia and Chase''s Voice, then why worry about her own gift? The group chat was still alight with Denzel trying to see if Grace was okay, but Mira wasrgely silent, not typing anything other than an ''okay'' when Denzel asked how she was doing, which sounded faker than anything else, even through text. It wasn''t just Grace who wasn''t doing well. None of them were. Even Chase, if she looked long enough. He perpetually readjusted his cap or gripped the ne around his neck like a tic he couldn''t shake. They entered a non-descript bar without a name that smelled like cigarettes. Cecilia nearly choked on the second-hand smoke, and even Chase looked ufortable. Sailors here spent their evenings drinking their wages away and ying dominoes or cards, which they mmed on tables in obnoxiously loud ways. Those who didn''t drink hoped to save enough to move to the maind and escape from this horrible life. And the ticket to the ferry was expensive, for people who lived here. That wasn''t even counting the money you''d need to start apletely new life. These people were stuck here. This was Sinnoh''srgest open air prison. Cecilia''s eye twitched when she felt people stare. It reminded her of the horrifying way Louis had looked at her in the first weeks they''d known each other, before Eterna Forest had changed them all. She was strong¡ª strong enough to destroy this entire building without a second thought and bury them all in the debris. She could order everyone in this room to die for her, and they would do it with a smile on their face. Still, she felt anxious. "Are Pokemon allowed here?" Cecilia asked Chase in a hushed voice. "Knock yourself out," Chase said as he strode toward the bartender. A woman, thankfully. One of the only ones in this entire establishment who had apparently learned to ignore the stares. Cecilia released Scyther at her side, and suddenly no one was looking at her anymore. She breathed a sigh of relief as the bug type eyed her curiously. He wouldn''t get it, of course, but his presence was very appreciated. "Hey. I need information about Falkirk," Chase said, leaning against the dirty, ash-covered counter. The woman snorted, scanning Chase with tired eyes. "And who are you, little man?" she asked with a very distinct ent. The same one all of the Iron Inds'' inhabitants shared, and that Chase hadrgely lost. It was surprising to Cecilia that someone didn''t know who Chase was, especially in his home region. She would have expected them to be fans of his, and even then, he had just participated in the biggest poacher raid Sinnoh had experienced in decades. It was all anyone could talk about on the news! "Chase Karlson," he answered nonchntly. "Son of Urie Karlson and Adeline Halcourt. One of Falkirk''s thirty-one survivors. I have seven badges, and I fight for you." He stopped to slide her his Trainer ID. "Now, I''ll ask again. I need information about Falkirk." He was the center of the room, now. The person everyone in the room had to look at¡ª even her. Murmurs about his name ran through the bar. So they did know him, then, Cecilia thought. Just not what he looked like? "Ask away, Chase Karlson," the woman said. "What''s your name?" "Sonja." "Sonja. That Steelix who destroyed Falkirk," Chase said as he dragged a chair to sit on. "Was it spotted recently?" "It was. Some fishermen saw it nesting out of the mountain''s crest while they were looking for Magikarp, Goldeen, and Remoraid," she said, turning to one of her customers. "Right? Anders?" "Had its head hanging out of the mountain and everything," the man nodded as he smothered a cigarette. "It imed the entire ind as its turf. Won''t let anyone try to rebuild." That sounded like a domain in the making, given a few decades. Though ording to Grace, Hatterene had told her that another Pokemon already had set up shop here and was the reason the iron never ran out. Could there be domains within domains? Could Pokemon share domains? The implications were endless, but she had no answer. "The miners angered it too much, now it doesn''t want to let anyone back on," someone else spoke up. "Fuckin'' Teracore." "Ain''t that right," another manughed. "Cheers to that." "Cheers!" "So most of the time, it''s underground?" Chase asked. "Most of the time, yes, but a Steelix that powerful can feel anything walking on the ind. Kicked out an entire expedition of sailors we sent to attempt to rebuild on our own," the barkeep muttered before smirking. "Why? You nning on getting revenge for us? Gonna shank the fucker?" Chase let a joke about stabbing through metal pass, then shook his head. "No. I want to pay my respect to the fallen." Cecilia expected anger, but there was a twinkle in the woman''s eye. "Maybe they do raise you right on the maind." "I was raised here," Chase challenged. "But you''ve lost your touch," she shrugged. "Talk like ''em, now. All prim and proper. Look at your gal. One step with usmon folk and she looks like she''s about to pass out." Cecilia''s face twisted with indignation, but Chase raised a hand to stop her from talking back and before Scyther could hiss and sh his teeth, though he did anyway, causing the bartender to pale. "She''s not like the others," he said. "She''s also a friend, not my anything. So you shut your fucking mouth." The womanughed as color returned to her face and she turned to her clientele. "He''s got a mouth on him too! An Inder, born and bred! Want something to drink? Both of ya." Apparently, that had been¡­ good? There were a lot of cultural differences here that Cecilia didn''t get. Chase asked for whatever they had while she asked for cold water. Instead, she got lukewarm water that still had a slightly salty taste to it, and she decided not to drink any more of it. Chase, meanwhile, got beer while being underage. Cecilia knew that he normally wouldn''t have drank any, but he indulged himself this time. "Any words from the Rangers?" Chase continued. "They''re too busy keeping the maind safe. Got word from Canve that the price of reiming the ind from Steelix wouldn''t be worth the cost at the moment." "Never worth the cost when it''s for us," Chase said. "And no Ranger can take that Steelix down without help from the League. I''d do something if I could, but I''m not strong enough yet, I''m afraid." "Can''t you call them¡­ what do they call those? Conference-goers, or whatever," someone said, eliciting a fewughs. "Have ''em beat that Steelix." "It''s probably stronger than even those," Chase said. "But either way, the Conference is something else entirely. Most people who make it there have never stared death in the face in any serious capacity anyway. They''d shit themselves before going to face down a wild Steelix." "Heard you were chummy with the government, though," Sonja said. "Chummy''s one way to put it. I''ve already asked for help multiple times. They have other priorities, at the moment." "Obviously," she spat. "Any other questions, son of Urie?" "You wouldn''t know what moves or techniques Steelix is capable of using, would you? In case it tries to attack us." "Moves?" Sonjaughed. "They tell us to watch for Rock Slide or Rock Throw down in the mines," another man spoke up. "Don''t know much about battling, son." "Don''t worry about it, you''ve been plenty of help," Chase said. He downed his drink and grimaced. "Arceus, this tastes like shit." "Tastes like home, though, doesn''t it?" Sonja grinned. He paused, then smirked. "That, it does." They left soon after that, although Chase paid a lot more than the actual tab and told them to keep the change. Cecilia kept Scyther out and about. She''d never seen Chase in his element like this, and it had been like he''d been another person. No, it had been like he''d been himself, but fuller. Like she''d peered through the potential he actually had. Already, the people in the bar were probably speaking his name, and it would spread further than it already had. "They didn''t know much about you or what you looked like," Cecilia said. "I thought they would." "News spread slowly through the inds," Chase shrugged. "And they have a lot more to worry about than watching Pokemon battling. Notice how few trainers there are here?" Cecilia nodded. "I thought it was odd." "It serves two purposes. One, it keeps us down in the mud. If one of us ever got strong enough and had ideas, then it''d be bad for the people running this show." "Teracore," she muttered. "They own this ce," Chase said. "Not in name, but they do. Byron was an anomaly, and they got to him before he could do anything of note. Two, it keeps us ignorant and makes us disdain the mainders, because we''re other. Notice how they hated you when you walked in?" "They were also staring in very inappropriate ways," she angrily said. "Were they? Shit, sorry. Want me to go and beat ''em up?" "I figured you didn''t notice. It''s alright, they stopped when I released Scyther anyway." It wasn''t alright, but thest thing she wanted was to have Chase start a fight with his own people when the current situation had so much potential to be seized. The bug type fanned his wings and shrugged. "Anyway, we hate the maind. Not knowing jack shit about Pokemon battling keeps us isted, and hatred is a powerful tool. Ignorance, though, that''s the main purpose. Some people have radio here, but almost no one owns a television or a mobile phone, and being interested in battling is seen as a shameful, foreign thing. I never wanted to be a trainer until I figured something needed to change around here. I thought I''d just be a miner like my old man, or a fisherman. That I''d either die from straying too far from the coast or too deep in the mines. Or I''d get crippled for life." Cecilia nodded. She had seen those too, while walking the streets. People who had been grievously wounded on the job, now wasting away. "You have an opportunity here," she said. "To spread your name in all of the Iron Inds. To be the most famous man here since Byron, decades ago." "That''s not the goal," he said. "That way of thinking will turn me into just another politician." "But it''ll help you gain leverage," she pushed. "To reach your actual objective. A voice for the Iron Inds that people can''t just ignore. When you gained more influence, you could¡­" she gestured widely. "I don''t know, organize a strike or something. Keep the people organized and fed through donations, if you use your fame to call on the rest of the region to help. No one knows how bad it is here, Chase. They don''t ever talk about this on the news¡ª" "I know that," he spat. "I¡ª know." "So then it should be the goal. There''s an opportunity here. I''m not telling you to do it now, but at some point, you''ll have to grab it. With the Voice, you''ll have so much leverage that the government will be inclined to listen to you." "I get it. Now fuck off." Cecilia''s shoulders slumped. "Sorry, I guess." Her friend brought a hand to his forehead and sighed. "I don''t want to think like that, Cecilia. I don''t want to be¡­ one of them. The people who see this as some sort of game and not people''s lives. They''ll suffer if I go through with this. Every time there was a strike, they ended up only losing." "You''re already ying the game. Here, take your n for independence. Think it''ll be any easier? Even though Canve gives you enough money to keep you afloat, but not enough to actually improve your lives, it''ll get worse before it gets better. It''s a course of action to achieve your goals, and it''s just politics." "It fucks me up, you know," he sighed, suddenly turning toward her. "The fact that I see what''s been done here and I get it. I hate it, but I fucking get it. Sinnoh''s iron mines are the most productive in the entire world because we have an endless supply here. No one has to do prospecting, aerial surveys or whatever the fuck it is they do to find new ones. We just keep mining the same spots over and over and shit out more iron and ore than multiple countriesbined. And it''s like, when did I start thinking like this?" "I get it. I really do. But thinking it is one thing, Chase. To beat your enemy, you have to know them and how they think. And you have to hit them where it hurts." Chase''s leg stopped bouncing¡ª she hadn''t even noticed he has started¡ª and he sighed. "Well, I''ll be fucking damned. I guess I will." "We''re the same, you and I," she said, grabbing him by the shoulder. She''d grown a little taller than he had, now, by slightly less than an inch. "Yeah, only you''ll have to do on a region-wide scale what I''m trying to do in a localized area," he said. "Good luck with that." It was not a sarcastic remark, but a genuine one. "Now, this Steelix," Cecilia said. "What exactly is the n to stop ourselves from getting killed?" "If ites for us, I''ll use the Voice and buy us enough time to fly off," he whispered. "But I''m hoping that two people instead of a full expedition won''t anger it too much. You keep yours for your dragon." "I didn''t tell you I''d use it," she said. "But you want Zweilous to evolve during our stay here, don''t you? To get them useable before the fight with Byron." "I do," she acknowledged. "So either you''ll have to most likely give up on the Conference because risking using Hydreigon in a Gym will be insane," he said. "Or you''ll have to use the Voice and figure something out." Giving up on the Conference? Not an option. It was meant to be her stepping stone. A ce to show how powerful she''d grown to Unova and to arrive there with the wind in her sails. Without it, she would arrive humiliated. Cecilia''s lips thinned. "Why don''t we go train? Clear our heads for a few hours?" "Sure thing." "Maybe Wimpod and Croagunk can have a fight," she smiled. "Absolutely fucking not," he growled. "She''s not ready." She was smiling. Walking like nothing had happened with Chase and Scyther by her side. But inside of Cecilia''s mind, gears started turning.
Interlude – Iron Islands II Interlude ¨C Iron Inds II
A/N: This is the final part of the interlude. INTERLUDE - IRON ISLANDS II "Thank you for your time, Jude," Cecilia sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "Truly." Jude Cantrell¡ª Cecilia''s therapist¡ª was a middle-aged man around his early forties with short, dark hair. He had a thin face with sunken cheeks, though he wasn''t underweight by any means. The short man nodded as he walked out of her Pokemon Center room. She''d unpacked everything about Grace today, having finally pulled her worries out of the box, and sometimes, a good cry really did feel good, even if the crux of the issue hadn''t been addressed. "I will see you tomorrow at noon, Cecilia," he smiled. "You did well today." "Will you be able to get to Falkirk?" she muttered. While Jude had a Misdreavus and a Bte, he had no means of Teleporting that Cecilia knew of. "Oh, one of your ACEs will fly me. We''ve been in contact," he said. "And remember, give her space. Calling over and over won''t do any of you any good. She''s most likely seen those and will answer when she''s ready." Cece nodded tightly and then watched Jude stride through the Center''s dirty hallway with steps so light she wouldn''t have been able to tell he was here was she not looking at him. She''d been doubtful about therapy before, but Jude was truly a blessing. It was unfortunate that Chase had refused the League''s offer, even if he was doing rtively wellpared to her and the others. Cecilia knew he had a lot on his mind to vent about, especially after yesterday''s outburst about his worries about the Iron Inds. s, Chase was an inder, after all. The people here had developed a culture that dictated that getting help was shameful and toughing things out was the only way to go about things, and he had still not let go of that mentality. Once she made sure that she hadn''t forgotten anything in her room, Cecilia left¡ª and hopefully she would never have to stay here again. She was pretty sure she''d breathed in more dust in a single night than she had her entire life. Chase was already waiting for her in the lobby, though he was talking in a hushed tone to his Lucario and Zangoose. She felt bad interrupting what looking like an important conversation, but Ri had noticed her approach anyway, and his nce gave her position away to Chase. "Good afternoon," she said. "Arceus, you''ve been crying," he deadpanned. Cecilia frowned. "You didn''t have to say it so¡­ matter of factly. Yes, I was crying, but I''m done now. I let everything out of the box. How was your morning?" "Spent it visiting ces with Ri and the rest of the team. Kept Wimpod in her ball, though. This ce would terrify her." She hummed as she got closer. "See anything good?" She nearly jumped when Ri spoke into her mind. It was good to reminisce. There is not much to do here, but I have been here plenty of times with Urie. The ce hasn''t changed. Zangoose offered him a supportive look, though support from her looked like she was still ring. After so much time spent having Slowking speak through telepathy, Aura felt odd to her mind. Like a frigid nket enveloping her brain. Not painful by any means, but slightly ufortable. "We went to check out the mines too," Chase added. "To see what conditions people worked in." Cecilia winced. "And?" "Awful. You know, I didn''t reallyprehend how bad it was. My dad probably kept how shit conditions were to keep me happy, but it''s hell down there, Cece. I spoke to the miners and they told me about the shit air venttion, the lights that don''t work half the time, the heat, the long hours¡­ and the mine''s so far away from First Landing that they don''t have time to go home for lunch, so they''re forced to buy food on location. And guess what? They pay Teracore for their food. Thepany''s literally growing richer by not feeding them." Cecilia frowned. Even Unova, which was quite literally five corporations in a trenchcoat, hadws to protect workers against abuse like this. The picture was growing clearer, now. For the vast majority of people, the only jobs open would be the mines. These were, coincidentally, always far away from any settlement, which meant that workers would have to spend an absurd amount of timemuting there and back on foot. Not only that, but they were stuck there the entire day for wages that were honestly so low she wondered how they even sustained themselves. Unless they worked overtime. Chase exined that there were barracks near the mines where miners could be lodged if they so chose so they could work longer hours. Entice them with more money, but not enough to actually change anything. This ce was a well-oiled machine of oppression. "Did you find a supervisor to speak to like you wanted?" Cecilia asked. "Yeah, but if I did anything, he''d retaliate on the miners when I left because he''d think they sent me or some bullshit. I know how they work," Chase said through gritted teeth. "They spend the day here and then Teleport back to Canve. Funnily enough, the government doesn''t track them." "Obviously not," Cecilia said with a hint of sarcasm. "That''d be far too fair." "They hate that here," he nodded. "Arceus, what I would have done to punch that fucker in the face. Ri warned me before I could. Instead, I spent some of my savings from the LTIP and bought the entire ce lunch¡ª not from Teracore, though. Fuck giving them any more money. I had Sig fly the food in from here." Cecilia''s eyes widened in surprise. He''d talked about needing to save money to have his team catch up for the Conference, but clearly, this was more important to him, and she respected that fully. Which you almost forgot to do, and would have done if I hadn''t been here, Lucario said. "Give me a break," he groaned. He stood up to leave, though he recalled Zangoose and left Lucario out. They were both ready to fly to Falkirk, now. ording to Chase, it would only take thirty to forty minutes to make it there. It would have been faster, had Sigilyph been a fast flier, but she was stillgging behind in flying type TEpared to Talonme or Grace''s Togekiss, and she didn''t have a literal jet engine like Lehmhart did. "The Iron Inds don''t look very ripe for agriculture or raising any animals," Cecilia muttered as they left the Pokemon Center. "Is fishing enough to sustain the ce?" "No. A lot of the food is imported from the maind," he instantly replied. I figured, Cecilia thought. The leash Canve had on this ce was tight. "We mostly eat fish Pokemon, though. The ones near the coast are weak enough to kill with mechanical harpoons, and their attacks aren''t enough to destroy our fishing boats. Obviously, there are idents sometimes, though. Keeping the waters mostly clear is one of the few things Canve does right." "Well, at least you''re aware of the situation," Cecilia said after a short pause. "How will you proceed?" "Next time I speak to Cynthia will be very interesting," Chase said. "This time, you''ll have a set of demands instead of asking her to ''fix'' things. Cynthia is a pragmatic woman at heart. So long as it is in her and Sinnoh''s interest, she will ept your demands¡ª after Team Gctic is done with," Cecilia exined. "You have levers to pull, but will it be enough?" "I have the Voice. And I can possibly unite the people of the Iron Ind, though it''ll be tough." "Pfft. You''re a charismatic leader, Chase, and you fit in," Cecilia said. "You''ll unite them in no time." "Threaten a strike if they don''t give in to my demands. Teracore will throw a fit, but at the end of the day, Cynthia''s pulling the strings. I''m thinking that we should use more machine-based mining. That way Sinnoh keeps getting their iron, and we can breathe easier." "There will be a heavy upfront cost," Cecilia said. "And you can''t get too reliant on machines, or Pokemon will get angry and people will lose their jobs." Some would rather work in such terrible conditions than not have any money at all. "I know that. But we need to diversify. The fact that the majority of us either go into fishing or mining is the problem, but¡­ Arceus, this is hard. I can''t just snap my fingers and turn this ce into a tourism haven, or a manufacturing hub, or whatever." "There will be difficult times ahead. But future generations will be thankful," Cecilia muttered as they approached First Landing''s outskirts. "Al was in a simr situation after the Great War. I read about it as a child." He scoffed. "As a child? You subjected yourself to this shit willingly?" "It was quite a fun read, thank you very much," she haughtily retorted. "Al had fewer people than you do now, thend was barely developed and it had been a Hoennian and then Orrean colony. I can refer the book to you if you wish." "I thought Orre was like, anarchy." "It was a power that rivaled Unova before multiple Moltres razed it to the ground," she exined. "This ismon knowledge." "Don''t get smart with me. I''ll take the book name, though," he finally said. "Good. Though obviously, the situations have their differences. Al looks¡­ far more appealing than this ce and are far easier to actually live on." The Iron Inds weren''t as pretty, though a few of the inds she''d seen on the ferry here had been breathtaking. Thend was basically impossible to farm on, so a poption that ballooned too quickly like it had in Al after the war wouldn''t be possible here. Still, educating Chase in these matters would prove useful. "I n on spending the summer after the Conference here, if this Team Gctic bullshit is dealt with," Chase said. "I need to start organizing. I can''t handle all of this shit on my own, so I''ll need to find people better than me to delegate some tasks to." "Excellent thinking!" Cecilia said with a surge of excitement. "Had I not had priormitments, I would have joined to help before going to Unova." "Right, you''re going to the Battle Frontier with that psycho." Cecilia rolled her eyes. "I wouldn''t go as far as calling Cynthia a psycho. She''s a goal-oriented woman, and most of the times she doesn''t care if she has to step on some toes to reach those goals if it leaves Sinnoh in a better position." "Well, she shares a lot of the me for this whole situation," he gestured around the town, "so I''m not going to forgive her any time soon. She can start repenting by giving me what I want." They kept talking about politics until they were ten minutes out of First Landing at the same spot they''d trained in before. The rocks here still looked burned from Houndoom and Talonme''s duel yesterday. The dark type was a menace, but Talonme had managed to pull off a win by leveraging her speed in the air, and they''d been working on quite a few tactics to finally address her frailness which they''d need to beat Byron. Steel type or not, it would not matter if she got taken out in just a few hits like she used to. Her, Slowking, and Lehmhart would be her lynchpins for the Gym. Scyther and Hydreigon, she wasn''t so sure, with their evolutions looming ahead. At this point, she was sure that hitting Zweilous hard enough would trigger it, which was why the dragon type hadn''t trained yesterday. Falkirk''s ind would be a much better environment for this. For Scyther, meanwhile? A week training heavily in an iron-rich environment like this one would be enough, if he pushed himself and chose to evolve. Cecilia released Lehmhart, who instantly brought an enormous finger close to her face. She let the giant delicately rub his finger on her cheek and smiled. Still as delicate as ever. "People got scared yesterday because of your robot," Chase smirked. "Someone was walking nearby to investigate the sound when we trained, but turned when they saw him." First Landing''s inhabitants had probably never even heard of a Golurk before. Cecilia hoped she hadn''t scared whoever had seen him too much. "He''s no robot," Cecilia said. "He''s alive." Lehmhart let out an affectionate hum, releasing steam from his back, and hey down on his stomach when she asked if she could put her saddle on his back. It was a time consuming endeavor, as she had learned to get used to, and she quickly climbed on his back to strap the reinforced leather around his upper arms, where they were the thinnest and they wouldn''t retract. Then, another loop around his ''skirt'' to stabilize the entire structure. Nearly ten minutester, she was strapped in and ready to go. Normally, Slowking was the one to help her, but since Chase was here, he decided to take his stead. Taking off on Lehmhart was a turbulent affair. The sound of whatever powered him was so loud Cecilia couldn''t hear herself think. Honestly, she had considered buying hearing protection along with her goggles, but with everything going on, she never made time for it. Soon enough, they were in the air, and Chase was following on Sigilyph''s back a few minutes behind. ¡ª Falkirk was¡­ Small. The ind itself couldn''t have beenrger than her father''s property in Humu¡ª and Cecilia did realizeparing it to that made her an obnoxious rich girl, but the fact that she''d been confined in cesrger than this entire ind during her childhood really put her privilege on full disy. Like most inds, it sloped up into a central mountain, where Cecilia could see the entryway to an enormous abandoned mine due to the railways that protruded out of it. Some of the rail had been upended and destroyed, however. And that was like much of the town. There wasn''t a single building left intact, and a scant few were still standing. Even the pier had been sunk beneath the waters. Strewn across the town were the remnants of everyday life. Abandoned and overturned carts, rusted bicycles, shattered ss windows and still-open doors bore witness to the haste with which residents had fled. There was a trail of destruction that was very easy to follow, even now. Steelix''s path. The steel type had torn a hole through the mountain wide enough to fit two Lehmharts and had crawled their way to the town, possibly creating earthquakes on the way there, from the way fissures still ran through the ground. Cecilia tapped on Lehmhart''s back, and the ground typended inside of the city, near some kind of¡­ shop, kicking up dust and debris as he did. Cecilia covered her nose and eyes until it settled down. It was hard to tell what the building had been, with the way the structure had copsed, but Cecilia saw hints of counters through an enormous hole in the wall. Now that Lehmhart could use his arms, he carefully grabbed the saddle after unstrapping it. It was quite the feat, how he managed to be so delicate with his size. He ced Cecilia on the floor, and she finally took in the ruins of Falkirk for the first time. It was eerie, how silent this ce was. She could almost imagine the people walking in the streets, but they were nowhere to be seen. She had never been inside of abandoned or destroyed cities before, but Cecilia was pretty sure she''d just discovered a new phobia of some kind. Abandoned ces felt wrong. Shadows of their former selves, haunted by their past inhabitants. She felt goosebumps on her arms and ced her arms t against her body with a shaky breath. No signs of a Steelix anywhere, Cecilia thought to herself. Chasended around twenty secondster, and though he was slightly paler than usual, he looked¡­ rtively okay. He released Ri immediately, along with the rest of his team. Even Wimpod, he carried in his arms. All of his Pokemon hovered around him, though he kept repeating that he was fine. "I''m going to find my house," he simply said. Cecilia recalled Lehmhart and decided to silently follow. ¡ª Everything was gone. Chase had known that would be the case, of course. He''d seen it happen while running through the streets. The sound of homes copsing, ss shattering and the ground shaking had been so loud he hadn''t been able to hear the screams. So yes, he had known, but seeing it again was an entire other fucking matter. He walked through debris-filled streets like they weren''t full of death, taking the same path he used to as a kid to go from the pier to his house when his old man used to go talk to some fishermen friends. Chase always decided to go back home early, because he hated being outside as a kid. Today, he wished he''d spent more time with his Dad. Watched him talk about gambling, or his time spent abroad as a trainer, or anything. Ri and the rest of his Pokemon followed in silence, and even Vikavolt was making an effort to mask the sound of his flight. Wimpod trembled in his arms at all of the destruction, and Chase softly caressed her carapace with his callused hands. "Be strong," he asked. "It''ll be okay." Cecilia''s stare was piercing. All of his life, he''d thought he would be alone with Ri doing this, but having a friend with him was¡­ different. Nice, even. These past days with her had been fun, even if they had a lot of bullshit to deal with. They weren''t alone very often, but he found that they meshed very well and were passionate about the same things. In the end, he was d she was here. And to be honest, if she hadn''t been, she''d probably be obsessing over Grace again. But right now, none of that mattered. He was just trying to distract himself from what was toe. Wimpod jumped in his arms when she noticed half of a human skeleton buried under a fallen roof. Then fragments strewn ahead of a boulder. Then another sitting with a piece of sharp rock lodged inside of their ribcage. They didn''t have the decency to remove the fucking corpses too deep in the city. Rage swelled inside of Chase, but he couldn''t scare Wimpod even further. She was doing her best to be with the team, and despite what he had said when he had first caught her, she was a fighter. If¡­ If they hadn''t gotten rid of the corpses this deep, then that meant¡ª Chase didn''t run, but his pace sped up dramatically. He turned away from Main Street and onto Smith''s Road, like he had hundreds of time before. His home sat at the very end of that street. His breath caught in his throat, and suddenly, he wasn''t so confident any more. Sweat built up on his arms and his leg started to bounce the minute he stopped. Can I do this? He didn''t know. He wasn''t sure anymore. He¡ª he¡ª Chase, Ri muttered. You do not have to do this. You don''t have to force yourself to see for me. "Ri, we''ve wanted to¡ª" he stopped to breathe. "¡ªwanted to go back this entire time. We made an oath the day he died. We''re right there, Ri. Right there. A few dozen steps, and we''re¡­" Sigilyph beeped worriedly, though Zangoose stopped her from intervening. This is important, Lucario acknowledged. But your well-being matters more to me. If seeing this will break you, then you are better off not doing so at all. And before you yell, it is with a heavy heart that I say this. Chase gulped, and he looked back to his street. The shitty fucking bench that was always dirty and on an uneven spot in the ground was torn in half, and half of it was jutting out of one of his neighbor''s wall. The little patch of vegetation old Karin used to keep and water was gone. Arceus, he had hated her for yelling at him every time he''d nearly walked on there, and now she was dead. Fuck. "I''m going," he finally said. "I''m going," he repeated a second time, steeling himself. He took the first step. Then the second. He hopped over a fallen house, and found his steps heavier the closer he got to his home. It was copsed. Completely, as he knew it had been. Their old stone homey in ruins, the once sturdy exterior now a jumbled pile of even stones and dirt. The roof obviously hadn''t fared any better, and in the end, the entire ce was inessible. "It''s¡­ copsed," he muttered. "I need to¡­" "Sigilyph and Slowking can help," Cecilia suggested. "They can lift the debris with Psychic." Sig excitedly beeped, brushing his back with one of her wings. "Sure, uh, yeah," he said. "That sounds good." His friend released her Slowking, and the two psychic types got to work. The fucked up part of this was how easy it was for the both of them to clear this ce out. They lifted the roof like a piece of paper and split it into multiple parts, carefully catching the splinters before they could get to them and cing them neatly back on the street. Next, the stones flowed like grains of sand and were thrown back. An unsurmountable obstacle as a kid was now dealt with in barely two minutes. If it was so simple, then why the fuck couldn''t the Rangers do anything? Steelix was being quiet, so they could have sent a group of two or three to do this. He knew the answer. Because without having an opportunity to reim the ind and start mining again, they had no reason to actually fucking help them. Fucking Canve, he raged. Arceus, the fact that he couldn''t go to Byron right now and have a fucking word was pissing him off. He understood, but that didn''t mean it was right to do this. Sometimes, the rubber had to meet the road and you had to tell Teracore to suck a dick. Chase gave Wimpod to Zangoose, who clumsily carried her in her arms as he approached the ruins of his now uncovered house. At least the flooring had survived. The wood still creaked in the same spots too. He walked through a non-existent door with Ri at his side and set his eyes on his father''s corpse, with bits of torn-up clothing he''d been wearing. The usual crap he wore below his miner''s uniform since he''d juste back from work. I love you, son. This wasn''t your fault. You aren''t weak. You''re perfect. He was still in that same position he had told Riolu and him to run away with, though the part of the roof which had copsed on him had now been removed. The damage now was obvious. His leg bones were cracked in at least ten pieces and fractured all over. When he''d been a kid, he had desperately tried pulling his father out from under the roof until his fingers started to bleed and his nails started to split, and even with Ri, it hadn''t been enough. Ri hadn''t been strong, back then. But in the end, it never would have mattered, would it? His Dad never would have been able to run anyway, with the state of his legs. Lucario closed his eyes as a blue aura enveloped him, and Chase knelt against the floor close to his father''s bones. He readjusted his cap and sped his mother''s ne. No pictures he hoped to reim were intact. "I''m back," he muttered. "Sorry to keep you waiting." No answer came. Of course, no answer came, but that didn''t matter. He talked for a long time, about his journey. About how much of an asshole he used to be, his new friends, and this Legendary bullshit he honestly didn''t care about beyond the world needing to be saved. He must have spent an hour and a half recounting all of it, though Ri often interrupted to correct him when he strayed or was too biased. He also prayed. Chase had an odd rtionship with religion, ever since he visited his mother''s grave. He liked imagining his parents, reunited in the afterlife and being proud of him. He had done more research, in the months since. Worship of Arceus like they did in the east was a little hard, when he knew the prick was resting on hisurels and watching the world possibly end, but supposedly he made a nice garden for the dead to hang out in after they passed if they were good, so Chase would let it slide if his parents were having a good time up there. It was different everywhere, he knew. Not everyone believed in the same thing¡ª hell, not everyone even believed in Arceus being the creator, but this was his version of things, and it would work well for what he needed. "I''m going to make things right," he dered. "When I left here, I made an oath with Ri as soon as I was alright enough to speak again on the rescue boat. I said I''de back here to see you again, but I also said I''d be the Champion and make things right." He stopped to take a breath, staring into the empty eye sockets. His hand was still outstretched. Chase could still feel his father''s touch on his cheek, using thest remainder of his strength to tell him he loved him. "One day I''ll be Champion," Chase continued. "But the work I can do here? I don''t need to be Champion to do it. And it starts now." Chase rose a new man. The sun bore down his back, illuminating the ruins of his home as he stared down upon his father. "Let''s give you a proper send-off, shall we? Let''s give all of you a proper send-off." Chase left his house and called out to Cecilia, who had been patiently waiting all this time. It was scary, how much of a saint she was. "Cece," he said. Her eye twitched. "You look different," she noticed. "Are you alright?" "Yeah. I''m going to need your help carrying all of the bodies down to the pier, if that''s okay?" "Sure thing," she said without a moment''s hesitation. Moments like this was why he was d he''d met her. Overrated Unovan trash. Legendaries, he''d been so full of shit. ¡ª Falkirk had only been home to a few hundred people, yet it took until nightfall to gather all of the bodies, and even then, Cecilia was sure they had missed some, but they had done all they could. When she''d asked what they were gathering them for, Chase had simply answered that this was how they buried people in the Iron Inds. They''d built multiple barges using wood and hardened mud from Lehmhart and ced all of the bones on it after making sure they would actually float. They were a little rocky, but it did, and Houndoom set each of them ame with mes that were beautifully golden. Their teams surrounded them, save for Zweilous, and they watched in silence. Chase''s team was huddled around him, while Lehmhart yed a farewell tune that fit the mood almost too well. "The traditional way of doing things was to put the person on a boat and burn them at sea, but I had to improvise," Chase exined as the bones and barges burned down. "Of course, that was before. Back when Sinnoh was just a squabbling mess of city-states and we rivaled Canve on the sea. Before we were conquered. Nowadays, we just burn the corpses onnd and keep the ashes, but this¡­ felt proper, I guess." The smoke rose high into the sky as they watched in silence. None of the barges got too far, because Houndoom''s mes were too powerful, but the gesture was there, and Cecilia knew that was all that mattered. She wondered, still, why Chase hadn''t wanted to keep his father''s ashes, but it wasn''t her ce to ask. Urie Karlson would burn among the rest of his people. "I finally did it," Chase sighed as he stared at the night sky. "You did. It might not mean much, but I''m proud of you," Cecilia said. She did not know what it felt like, to lose a parent who had genuinely loved you for the first or second time. Chase crouched, and his arms hung off his knees. "I hope they''re proud too," he said. "They are, Chase. They are." There was a short pause. "You religious?" he asked. Despite fewer and fewer people being religious save for a few countries, Cecilia knew, that most of eastern Sinnoh saw Arceus as the creator¡ª which apparently was correct, which was called Originalism. In Johto, they believed it to be Ho-Oh, who was also their guardian of the afterlife who would reincarnate you if you lived a good life. That one was called Celestism, for their worship of the light and rainbows. In Unova, the majority followed the religion of Syncretism. They believed that two dragons¡ª Reshurem and Zekourom fought for eons in a barren world until peace was made, and they united as one. Without their fight to scar the world, life began to bloom and the world came to be. There was a split-off of that church who believed that the dragons had split again, which was why the world was in such discord all the time. Another believed that a third dragon had been in the picture and had thrown a once peaceful world into disorder, but in the end, Cecilia had never really believed in any of these. "Not exactly, but does that matter?" she shrugged. Though Arceus'' existence had been confirmed, she still didn''t believe there was something beyond death. "If you think your parents are watching over you, then who am I to disagree? I''ll support you every step of the way." Chase smirked. "For all your moral quandaries about how you''ll use your power wrong," he started, "you''re probably the nicest person I''ve ever had the pleasure to meet." Cecilia sat next to him. "Why don''t we make an oath, you and I?" He blinked, but she continued. "That we''ll change our homes no matter what, and that one day, we''ll both be Champions. You, Sinnoh''s, and me, Unova''s. That we''ll be different than all of the people in power now and actually try to break the status quo. That we''ll do good and never lose sight of what''s right, no matter what tools we need to use to rule." Herrade turned toward her and outstretched his hand. "You better not disappoint me, Cecilia Obel. Because I''ll take these very seriously." She sped it tightly. "I''ll do what''s needed, Chase Karlson. Until we reach the top." Cecilia rose a new woman, and the thread by which her reservations hung snapped.
Chapter 271 – Second Chances Chapter 271 ¨C Second Chances
CHAPTER 271 - Second Chances Training a Tyranitar was hard. Well, correction, it was hard when not being in the middle of nowhere, like when I could bring my team up to that mountain on route 214 where no one would evere. There were a decent amount of trainers around Sandgem, and our training only helped to worsen the rumors. Sweetheart had grown extremely powerful, and her practice with manipting the ground could be heard for miles. At the very least, she''d stopped yelling every time she seeded with something, so that was a plus. At the end of every session, I had Princess fix the ground, but Angel couldn''t justregrowthe grass like nothing had happened, so we left a trail of overturned earth everywhere we went, and peoplenoticed. And now, Sandgem''s Rangers were investigating. They couldn''t let a potentially dangerous Pokemon slide, and they probably thought they would have wandered from somewhere off-route. At first I''d been nning to just leave tomorrow morning to make the entire situation go away. In the first ce, the only reason I was staying near Sandgem was to get used to my empathy, since I could afford to spend the few days I''d nned to stay in Jubilife here. My father had been morbid when he heard I wasn''ting, but after a few calls with me he realized my visit to Twinleaf hadn''tpletely ruined me and the cause was something else entirely¡ª something I couldn''t reveal. But my Dad trusted me. He knew from my tone when I was lying or being truthful, so he had agreed to let me go, so long as I saw him when I passed by the city again for my meeting with Poketch. Not that he would have been able to stop me anyway. But I was trying to be a better person. That was the whole point, right? So instead, I would go to the Ranger Station in Sandgem first thing in the morning and confess that the ruckus was all me. From that point on, they''d be able to deduce Sweetheart evolved, and it would probably leak, but¡­ that was okay. Better that than sending them on a wild chase for a Pokemon that was no longer there. Already, they had warned trainers off this route, and I didn''t want to stop aspiring trainers from being able to simte living in the wild. There were already people prepping for the next Circuit. Fresh faces, just turning fifteen and hoping to make it big next year. I sighed, snuggling against Buddy for warmth. He made his body softer for me and warmed it with a low-power scald, so he wasveryYes, she''d trained a lot of hours, but that was an excuse if I''d ever heard one, and her sister was content enough to dote on her. She''d taken to her caretaker role withoutint, but then again, she''d always had a soft spot for Sweetheart. She was the only one Princess never sassed. Honey yed tug of war with Angel for two purposes. One, obviously for fun, but the grass type was trying to improve the strength of his vines through regeneration from Ingrain, and Honey was my second strongest in terms of physical strength. Mudsdale was currently munching on some grass while half-asleep. He had been a good teacher for Sweetheart, in terms of getting her ustomed to manipting the ground. He didn''t want to get too involved, but he''d given her some pointers to get started. ¡­ Now what? Thoughts. I needed thought, or what had happened yesterday would resurface. I had ked. I''d fucking run away froming clean, and it was all because I was a coward. When Mira had asked me to exin my powers in more detail, I''d dodged the question entirely, but hiding it hadn''t even been in the n! The thought of them knowing I could rewrite their feelings at will was terrifying, because Iknewthey''d be scared of me. While they could own someone for around an hour, I could subtly change people until they became mineforever, if given enough time. Who the hell wouldn''t be scared of me? I also knew it couldn''t stay hidden for too long. At some point, the rubber would have to meet the road. I couldn''t keep stacking secrets on top of one another and hope that wouldn''t blow up in my face. The worst of it was that when I''d turned on my phone the next morning, Cecilia had called ten times, and now she hadn''t tried to contact me since, and I didn''t know if it was because she''d given up on me or was pissed. Honestly, the former possibility was a lot worse¡ª A deep rumble snapped me from my thoughts, and I slightly sank deeper into Jellicent. "Sorry," I muttered. "I guess I''m just worried about stuff. My friends." Anxiety rose within the ghost like a dim, flickering me, as it was always the case with him. Other than hate or anger, which I rarely saw these days, he was not someone to build up his emotions quickly. Whatever he felt, it would alwayse slowly, like a building tide. He told me to talk to Aliyah about it tomorrow instead of avoiding the topic like the gue. I knew he was right, but I was scared that she''d be disappointed in me backpedaling abouthonesty. "Legendaries, I''m so stupid. She won''t judge me. There''s no way she will." Buddy heartily agreed. I''d never expected him to approve of anyone who wasn''t a part of the family, so this was a nice surprise. Still, Ineededto tell my friends about the extent of my empathy. Aliyah had saidthe road you walk matters littlepared to the destination.And that destination wasing clean abouteverythingbefore we all met again. It''d be better to give them some time to digest everything about me over a few days instead of dropping it on them face-to-face. You''re also a coward who can''t handle telling them the truth in person. I sighed, rummaging through my bag until I found the history book about Sinnoh''s we''d been going through. "How about some more reading?" ¡ª I didn''t know what I had expected, flying into Sandgem. I nearly copsed when I stepped off Princess to the point where random passersby asked if I needed an ambnce. It hade as a slight tinge of unease as we had approached, but now it was just an overwhelming wave that never ceased. There was justso mucheverywhere. Commuters stressed or annoyed about work, excited tourists going to the beach early, trainers determined to make a difference and train the entire day. It was all so overwhelming. My head waspoundingagainst my skull, and my heart was beating so quickly I felt like I was getting a heart attack. Princess cried out, asking me to get back on so we could fly away.I wasn''t ready,she''d said.I could just call. But if I never pushed myself, then I''d never actually learn to deal with this. I closed my eyes, and despite still being able to feel and faintly see the colors, it helped me center myself.Focus. Let the emotions fade, just like you used to do.I took a deep breath and took my first step, turning toward Princess to remove her saddle. "I''m alright," I rasped. "It''s slowly getting better. I just need to bear with it¡­" This was just like when I''d needed to build a tolerance to telepathy. It would bepainful, but it would be worth it. I folded the saddle and shoved it in my bag that I struggled to close for thirty seconds straight, and then I released Angel so he could carry me to the Ranger station, which was one block away from thending pad. What Mesprit had failed to warn me about was that feeling so many emotions at once would screw withminetoo. Since it was currently the morning rush, when most people walked and drove to work,Istarted feeling anxious about a job I didn''t have. For an instant, I allowed myself to grow jealous of Cecilia and Chase, who had never had to deal with any of this. Empathy came with so many drawbacks that I almost regretted having touched thatke. Now, not only would I have to grow used to this for weeks, but I had to deal with being terrified of slipping down the morality slope. I could fix Justin, now. If I was being honest with myself, I regretted having said no to practicing on that prisoner. It was therightthing to do, but if I eventually told Justin about these powers and asked him if he wanted to be fixed and got him to consent, then what? I''d never be able to do it, because practicing on innocents would be psychotic, and there would be no better opportunity tolearn. If my therapist hadn''t been in that room, I probably would have agreed. Not that I med her at all. I was d she''d been here, but I couldn''t rely on others to be my moralpass forever, could I? Even if I''d never be able to think that prisoner didn''t deserve punishment, I could grow enough to say no without having someone to push me to say no. But now I was just going in circles. I could go one day without worrying about if I was a monster or not. I had Angel drop me off in front of the Ranger station, and he told me to be careful in there, in his own way. I caressed his vines for a few minutes, putting my throbbing forehead against his head and told him how much I loved him a bunch. He didn''t hear it enough, these days. "Why don''t you¡ªugh." I stopped when I felt a spike somewhere on the street. My eyes drifted across the road until I saw that a car had bumped into another, and that had somehow reverberated through the traffic because they were all wasting time. "You can hang out here and get some sun. I''ll be right back." Angel nodded, and he settled on the sidewalk as I walked inside of the Ranger building. The first time I''d stepped into one of these in Veilstone, I''d been so angry that they''d brought Pokemon to the gate, when really they''d just been doing their jobs and I could have been a lot less aggressive about exining myself. Granted, I still believed my point stood, but whowasn''tgoing to guard a gate when hundreds of Pokemon were walking toward it? "Are you¡ª are you okay?" the Ranger at reception asked me. Did I look that bad? "Yeah, I''m alright," I stammered. "Uh, I''m here to report about the Pokemon you guys were looking for out west?" "Are you sure you don''t want me to take you to a Center¡ª" "Look, the faster we do this, the faster I can leave," I snapped. "I''m sorry, but I really don''t need any help. I know which Pokemon it is. It''s mine. My Pupitar evolved and she''s been training around here. I was¡­" I trailed off, considering what to say. "I was sick, so I couldn''te in earlier." Really edging between a lie and the truth there, Grace,I internally groaned. "So you¡­ own a Tyranitar?" he slowly said, surprise and awe lighting within him. Better that than being worried about me. "Yes," I groaned. "I''m sorry, but can we hurry this up?" I was deeply regretting my choices right now, and more so with each minute that passed. Jubilife definitely would have put me in aa. Mesprit had been such an ass for not warning me about this¡­ "Um, sure, we can verify that." Someone behind me called out. "Did she just say Tyranitar?" Oh, goodness me. ¡ª I was the only trainer in Sinnoh with a Tyranitar. Big fucking deal. Right now, I was too tired to give a crap. They had me spendthirty minutesin this station, working on whatever it was Rangers did when they weren''t out on a Route. I thought they''d just use one of those devices they had me put Sunshine''s Pokeball in when I''d first caught him, butno, supposedly they had to keep me here for longer. At this point, my clothes were drenched in sweat, and they were sting air conditioning here because it was spring and we Sinnohans couldn''t go five minutes with the temperature being over twenty degrees.Finally, though, a Ranger came back and handed me Sweetheart''s Pokeball. "Thank you for reporting this¡­" she said, slowing as she got to me. Wow, she thought I looked like hell.Really?So bad your colors were that bright? "Are you okay?" Tenth person to ask me the question,I silently groaned. "Yes, thanks," I said, grabbing the Pokeball. I struggled to clip it back to my belt for a while, but I eventually got it done, thank the Legendaries. "I can leave now, right?" "Um, I had some news¡­ unless you want to get to a Center¡ª" The girl paled. I must have red. "Sorry about that," I quickly said. "It''s just been a couple of days¡­ weeks. Maybe months." But she knew that. Her opinion of me had soured slightly anyway, probably because I''d been an ass and she was just doing whatever her superiors asked of her. "Anyway, go ahead," I finally said. "Professor Rowan has called our Captain. He wants to meet you." "He wants to meet my Tyranitar," I corrected. The girl grimaced. Why the hell was she scared of me? I apologized! "Most likely," she muttered under her breath. "Can he do this in the middle of a route or something?" I asked, slowly rising from my seat. "Well, I wouldn''t know, Ms. Pastel." "Got it. I''ll just¡­ ask. And again, I''m sorry for blowing up at you. Where does he want to meet?" "At hisb," she said. There you go. The colors started to warm again, now. What she felt was relief, mostly. Since I couldn''t turn my empathy off at the moment, I''d be a fool to just ignore it. Plus, hyperfocusing on whatoneperson felt had actually helped my headache a little bit. Parts of me wondered if I could feel out Team Gctic''s base with this, but there was a reason the League hadn''t asked me. Sniffing out a base when every building would have people in it would be nigh impossible. When I exited the building, I noticed Tangrowth was ying with a kid who couldn''t have been a day over five while his parents watched nearby. Needless to say, he was depressed when I told him we had to go. Headache or not, I wasn''t going to keepRowanwaiting. ¡ª Thankfully, Sinnoh''s most well-known and foremost professor wasn''t giving a speech today, and the front of hisb was rtively empty. Even better, it was near the outskirts of the city, so I no longer felt like I was drowning beneath a huge wave of emotions, even if I could still barely function. My throat felt horribly dry, and I was starting to grow nauseous, but other than that and the debilitating headache, I was justpeachy. "Look, if you''re so worried about me, you cane in," I told Princess. "But this is honestly better than the Ranger station, so I''m fine." She hovered over me and pouted really cutely, but when I went to scratch her chin she threw herself away from me like a dramatic diva. "Fine. No scratches. Your mom''s suffering and you won''t even let her pet you," I said. She half-opened an eye and Angel panicked slightly when he thought I was actually serious. Iughed¡ª andughing made my headache get worse¡ª and I had them follow me into Rowan''sb. The courtyard was deste, especially whenpared to when he was giving his speech a few days ago. I would have thought that it would be bustling with his assistants, or maybe Pokemon Barry had brought back. Rowan actually had no Pokemon of his own, which was unique for a Pokemon Professor of his caliber. He focused on studying the evolution phenomenon, so he liked filtering through a lot of Pokemon, none of which stayed permanently, ording to Barry. Those who didn''t go back to the wild, he would hand over to the Rangers or experienced trainers he trusted willing to take in a stray. Before going inside, I turned to my two Pokemon. Tangrowth had been continuously poking Togekiss in the wing, and she''d tried to bite off his vines. "Stop bickering with Angel," I warned. Before she could spin an excuse, I clicked my tongue. "I don''t care who started it, okay? This guy''s a big deal. Either you behave, or I put you back in the Pokeball. Angel, don''t touch anything. Or anyone." I stopped when he gestured, tying two opposite vines together and closing his eyes. "No, not even to say hello! Maybe I should have Buddy around for this¡­ no, he''d re. Honey? I guessing in with three Pokemon would be rude¡ª you know what, just act normal for five minutes. I have to fix my reputation¡ª" Someone was approaching the door. I cleared my throat, turned, and made sure I had wiped all of the sweat from my face. The door jingled as it opened, revealing a girl who was of average height and with sharp, striking grey eyes.Dawn, I recognized, though she wasn''t wearing her beanie this time, and her dark blue hair was tied up. She had her brother''s exact stare, but I didn''t flinch this time. "Good morning," she smiled after sizing me up. "How''re you doing today?" Small talk first, then.In a way, I was d it was her. Her brother had kind of freaked me out when he''d stared at me the other day. She was calm in a way few were when they were meeting me for the first time these days, but that was refreshing, really. "Could be doing better, all things considered," I said. "Uh, can my Pokemone in?" "Sure thing! The Professor''s been dying to see you," Dawn beamed. "My name is Dawn Sinir, by the way." "Barry talked to me about you," I said as she let me in. Angel looked around excitedly while Princess kept him in line, thank the Legendaries. Her smile turned coy. "Good things, I''m sure." "He holds you in very high regard," I said. Rowan''sb was way too empty to be thisrge. The white tiles bounced the white light from the ceiling into my eyes and worsened my headache, but it''d be rude toin. They were so clean that I could see my reflection off of them, and suddenly I felt bad for walking in with dirty shoes. There were two other assistants who I could see in total¡ª one older-looking man and a young woman¡ª though they looked at me with¡­ notdislike, but suspicion, really. Like they thought me being here was a mistake. I''d gotten used to it at this point, and I couldn''t really me them, with the murder and all. This part of theb was a single, huge room with a lot of machines that looked way tooplicated for me to ever hope to understand, with cables going out of them and plugged intoputers. One of them had an Eevee inside of it, though she looked quitefortable in there and was dozing off with no signs of being in emotional of physical pain, so I let it slide. They were probably studying the properties of her numerous evolutions or something else I was too dumb to get. "Sorry about the res," Dawn nonchntly said. "You''re famous pretty much everywhere." "It''s alright," I said, mostly focusing on not making a face due to the headache. "They only know that version of me, and in retrospect, having Princess out isn''t doing me any favors." Considering she''d been the one who''d killed a man.The fairy type huffed, though she was behaving like I asked her. Dawn chuckled. "You really do call her Princess. And which version of you would that be?" she asked, still facing ahead. "You must have seen the video," I shrugged. "The one where I stand over a dying man." She wasn''t even perturbed by me, and that was kind of disconcerting, but also heartwarming? The only people I''d seen whohadn''tbeen at least shaken to some extent were my friends or members of the League. Sure, there was a part of her that thought I wasweird, but the surge of panic, anger, or fear that I expected thankfully never came. I rxed slightly and somehow stopped fitting in the mold of ''the girl who killed someone'' that I''d reflexively stepped into. "I did see the video. Mind the Professor, will you? He''s got a soft heart and might be a little tough on you," she said. "He''s been having a spat with Cynthia, since all those hostages died. He knew a few of the victims." I''d wondered about how close Cynthia was to Rowan a few times, but I''d never had a way to get an answer. They were close enough to be having a fight, at least, though it was probably a one-sided one. "What about your brother?" I asked. "Oh, they say we''re basically the same person sometimes. I''d be inclined to disagree though, with how many pairs of socks and dirty clothes he leaves hanging around in our room," sheined with a sigh. I snorted. "I honestly kind of empathize with him. My Pokemon Center rooms are a mess until I leave the ce." "I''d ask how you lived in a disorganized space, but I see Lulu do it every day," she said. Lulu?That was pretty cute. "It''s not disorganized if I know where everything is," I retorted. "Well, my girlfriend¡ª" the words caught in my throat, but I only stopped for a split second.Please tell me she still loves me,"¡ªsometimes has to find stuff for me, but you know. I know where themajorityof things are." "See, that''s the thing that''s wrong with you! And if I try to clean stuff up, thenhe"Obviously,"Dawn giggled. This was¡­ nice. Just talking about stupid socks was fun. I felt a lot better than I had in days, and I''d just talked to this girl for barely a minute. In a way, it made me miss my friends even more too. And Cece. I bit the inside of my lip. Couldn''t I be happy for more than a minute before stumbling again? Arceus, I was so fucking stupid. Ten times, she called, and I didn''t even answer. Now she was who knows where and I was too terrified to even talk to her despite the fact that Iwantedto. Nothing made sense with me, did it? "Having a tough time, hm?" Dawn noticed. "I''ll deal. I just need to hold on until tomorrow and I can talk to my therapist," I muttered.Then the day after that. And the day after that. "Maybe we can show you around town while the Professor''s looking at your Tyranitar. Oh, congrattions, by the way! I don''t know when she evolved, but getting one is a huge deal." I could tell she didn''t want to hang out with me. Instead, she wanted to stay in and nerd over Sweetheart with Rowan. Her excitement peaked when she spoke of the rock type far more than anything I''ve seening from her. "You can study her too if you want," I said. "I''ll just wait, and she''ll know how to behave if I leave my Jellicent with her, but me being there will be more effective." "If you say so," she said, not pushing further. "What are you guys going to study, by the way?" I asked. "Oh, he''ll probably ask you about her evolution¡ª seeing a Pupitar evolve is nearly unheard of, save for the people who own a Tyranitar of course. Then he''s probably going to check her physiology, behavior, anatomy¡­ can we prod around in her vents? Like,where does the sand evene from?There must be an organ down there or something we could discover¡ª" "I''d hold off on that for now," I said. "Oh, and of course, the Professor will pay you for letting him study a Tyranitar for an entire day," she added. "How does 450,000 sound?" All of that for a single day? "W¡ªwhat?" I scoffed. "Unless you want something else? He can pay in TMs," she raised an eyebrow. "You said four hundred and fifty thousand?"I''d be able to buy so much with that. "Tyranitar arerare." "I''ll take the money," I quickly said. Better take the money so I could think about which TMs I wanted for more than a few hours. After rambling about Tyranitar for a little while, Dawn pointed me to a corridor, which led to theb''s immense backyard where Professor Rowan was waiting with Lucas. He was tall, from this close, and his square face and intense stare would have intimidated me had I been green. Lucas adjusted his cap and excitedly waved.Looks like I''m going to make their day with Sweetheart here, so at least I''m doing something good.Some equipment had been moved here, though both Lucas and Rowan carried a notepad. There was some kind of huge scale-looking thing, a camera, a¡­ microscope? And a whole lot of stuff I didn''t know. "Ms. Pastel," Rowan greeted me with a gruff. Yeah, he straight-up disliked me, even if he was being professional about it. "Thank you for taking time out of your day to meet me here on such short notice." "It''s no problem at all," I quickly said. "Um, it''s an¡­ honor to meet you?" There was an awkward silence, though Lucas quickly filled it. "When the Professor heard that a trainer with a Tyranitar was in town, he went pretty crazy," Lucas said. "You went just as crazy, Lulu," Dawn rolled her eyes. "You literally knocked your orange juice all over your breakfast." "Well, I''m the one who cooked, so you can''tin about me wasting your time," he grunted. "Well, it''s still a waste of food! Andmaybeif you didn''t call my cooking trash, I''d help you out more¡ª" Rowan cleared his throat. "Children. Let''s not embarrass theb, please. Ms. Pastel, if you will." Lucas snickering at his sister for ''winning'' the argument was hard to miss. I let Sweetheart out of her ball, and her eyes narrowed when she sawpeople. She hadn''t seen anyone else but us or Mom since evolving, and though there was agitation within Rowan, Lucas, and Dawn just stared up at her in awe and only didn''t approach because I outstretched a hand to warn them. Princess hovered over her sister and patted her on the head while Angel rubbed the crook of her back spikes. "Hi Sweetie," I said, walking up to her. "Be nice, okay? No ring¡ª nobiting, not even softly. These three are going to check you out to study you. Remember when I told you you were really,reallyspecial the other day?" I asked. Mostly, it had been because she''d demanded praise, but the point still applied. "You''re one of the rarest Pokemon out there. People want to know more about you." The titan growled, and Rowan''s already paleplexion nched even further. Even for a Professor, seeing a Tyranitar from this close must have been nerve-wracking, but his assistants didn''t care whatsoever, and unlike me, it wasn''t because they knew Sweetheart like the back of their hand. They were just impervious to fear, as if theycked the capacity for it, or they just had a ridiculously high tolerance. After a bit of negotiating and me promising Sweetheart that I''d buy enough food to fill her stomach instead of her having to eat dirt, she reluctantly agreed, and they started studying her. After turning on the camera, they weighed her. She stepped on the massive industrial scale, and the results came in atnine tons. That was, uh a lot more than I expected. They analyzed theposition of her tes with their microscope and debated about it for a while, and did a lot of other stuff like shing a light into her vents¡ª though they never touched them. Honestly, I felt very out of ce with the terms they were throwing around, but they looked like they were having a good time, and I was content enough to sit here and grow used to my empathy. Sometimes, I''d feel confusion from them when they realized I was taking deep breaths and had my eyes closed, but none of them ever said anything about it. What I realized, however, was that Dawn hadn''t been kidding when she said they''d study herthe entire day. At around one in the afternoon, they broke for lunch, and while Rowan retreated into his office, Lucas and Dawn stuck around and asked me if I wanted to eat. Really, I mostly wanted to drink something, because I felt like I''d puke if I ate, and thest thing I wanted was to puke in a world-renowned Professor''sb¡ª or backyard in this case. They offered to feed my team too, from the huge stocks of food Rowan kept stored. Lucas and Dawn didn''t just have their starter Pokemon, it seemed. The former had a Bronzong and Gastrodon while his sister had a Clefable, a Kadabra, and a Pachirisu. Both of their teams seem to be extremely close to each other¡ª far closer than my Pokemon were to my friends'' own. We all sat at a table they''d set outside and I watched them eat a sandwich while I just had some iced water. "We saw your fight with Barry," Lucas brought up. "You''re pretty good. He called us the same day and screamed about how he found a new rival." Dawn smiled. "Finally got the heat off of us. He was begging for us to start getting badges." "I mean, we haveone," Lucas said, turning toward us. "We battled Orebugh''s Gym for fun at the start of the year when the Professor was picking up a fossil there." "Okay, but Roark was super easy. His badge doesn''t really count," Dawn shrugged. "I heard it gets really tough at the second badge, though." "I struggled against Roark," I said. "Almost lost, really. I would have if Princess hadn''t evolved." "Well, look at you now," Dawn shrugged. "They call you one of the best first years." I paused, and my good foot tapped against the grass. "Tell me if I''m being forceful." I''d be able to tell, but I shouldn''t forget good habits. I wouldn''t keep this power on at all times, after all. Both of the twins nodded. "You guys are so strong without even trying already," I said with a hint of jealousy. "You could have been¡­" You could have been more. Their talent didn''te often, and they definitely would have made it to the Conference if they tried. "Well, it''s all subjective," Dawn said. "We enjoy being assistants to the professor, and wedo train, mostly with each other." "My Pokemon are better than hers," Lucas shrugged. "Lucas, shut up." "Anyway, this is what we set out to do, and we both love it," Lucas said. "We hope to be renowned Professors one day." "You''ll be my assistant, you dweeb," Dawn teased. "Is someone talking right now, Grace?" Lucas asked. "I thought I heard something, but maybe it was just the wind¡ªack!Why''d you hit me?! You literally started it!" "That was just a flick, don''t be a baby." Having a sibling looked fun, or at least when they were as close as these two. If I had a twin right now, would they be having as many problems as I was? Maybe I''d be able to vent to them about my problems the entire day. The two kept bantering for a bit until Dawn said Lucas was being rude to me by starting fights. They were kids, at the end of the day. And so was I, apparently, given that I couldn''t help butugh at some of the jokes, and eventually I startedughingwiththem. "Anyway, what my brother was saying is, we like this better than battling. That''s more of a hobby for us," Dawn said. "At the end of the day, that''s what matters. Plus, the Professor thing was more long-term. Right now, our goal is to make the world better, one scientific discovery at a time. Doing some good is fun. Like, finding out one of the Professor''s research subjects doesn''t want to evolve and getting them an Everstone to hang onto despite the data we''d lose out on." "Since you asked a question, I''ll ask one," Lucas said, staring through me.There it was again.I readjusted my sitting position as he continued. "What d''you want to do?" "Uh, like in life?" I asked. "Um, bing a strong trainer, and advocating for Pokemon rights¡­" "Well, what my brother means is your goal right now. Think simple," Dawn sat, leaning forward as she set her sandwich on her te. "Doesn''t have to be big." Beyond the fact that I was a mess that needed to be fixed, a monster who needed to be held on a leash and that I wanted to get better, what did I want right now? Well, it was hard to say considering those two were my biggest priorities. Badges? Something told me they wouldn''t be satisfied with my answer. They''d asked me a simple question, and the hair on my back was standing on edge, like I was supposed to care what they thought about me. The tension wasso high,yet they were so calm in a way I didn''t think was possible. Like apletely still line. Now I finally understood why Denzel said he wasn''t that friendly with them¡ª beyond being aplete third wheel¡ª considering they could pull out these fate shattering questions at the drop of a hat. "Making things right with my friends," I answered. "But that''s not what you want, is it? I guess more broadly, I also want to do good." Dawn hummed. "Do good, huh? What''s that imply? Lots of people have different notions of what that means." "I don''t know. Like, helping some random Bidoof find a new ce to build a dam, or some lost kid find their parents." "Think she did one of those examples?" Lucas asked. "I''m going to tell Rowan to put you on Pokemon Analyzer-watch duty," Dawn sighed. "That''s pretty cool, though. Most of the time people answer with more personal goals than that." I muttered. "Well¡­" Then, it clicked. Or maybe it didn''t click, but Iremembered. Good acts made me feel good. Beyond the thirst for revenge, punishment, the desire to deliver retribution to those who needed it, that was what I''d been, first and foremost. Helping people and Pokemon without expecting them to pay anything else in return. Hell, I had helped Cecilia after she''d threatened to feed me to her Deino in a bathroom stall, and today I probably would have threatened to hurt her back instead of getting to know her when she''d been so obviously traumatized and full of paranoia. I never would have given Pauline a chance after what she''d called me during the Floaroma tournament. AndifI had given Cece a chance and fallen in love with her, Louis would probably be dead in an alley somewhere, given that I could probably get away with murder these days. Some of the best friends I''d made, I never would have given a chance after they wronged me once. I''d just had the retributive part of me grow uncontrobly while the kind part of me stayed at a simr level. This wasn''t much, but it was a start. Itmattered. It was something that made me feel human again. "What do you think," I asked, almost breathless, "about second chances?" Lucas frowned "Huh?" "For yourself, or for other people?" Dawn asked. "Both." "Well there was this guy in Johto that Professor Elm likes to bring up whenever he calls Professor Rowan and they exchange research. Stole one of his Totodile and broke some otherws in his quest for some kind of purpose. Today he works in hisb often," Dawn shrugged. "I don''t really know, though. Depends on circumstances, really." Was I a good judge of circumstances? People like Backlot, Mars and Saturn, they were beyond giving any chances to. The notion disgusted me, and it would be antithetical to who I was. But what about Maylene? I''d forced her to have a breakdown in public, pushed her buttons until she cried because she wasn''t running a Gym properly.Obviously she wasn''t,but she was a kid. There were probably better ways to help that I didn''t even try. I could have asked Cynthia about it, or Candice, or just won normally and have tried totalkto Maylene instead of breaking her. Instead, I hadn''t even given her a chance. And I was far worse today than I''d been in Veilstone. So no, I was not a good judge, save for the most extreme, clear-cut cases. I wasn''t even a half-decent one, really. "It''s about time to start again," Lucas said. "The Professor will be back soon." Dawn said something, but I wasn''t listening. It would be easier said than done, to do good for quote-on-quote ''bad'' people. I was stillme,and I was never going away. The girl who had broken an overworked stressed teenager and enjoyed it until she realized how fucked up it had been when she thought about what her friends would think about it if it ever came out.And I might have done worse, if my worries about Poketch hadn''t held me back.But I''d also gone through hell to go to the city today and warn the Rangers¡ª and it wasinsanethat I even considered that an achievement when it was justmon decency, but the headache probably had something to do with it. It was a start. Iwascapable of doing this. I''d done it multiple times before, for Cece, Pauline, Louis¡ª hell, even Sunshine. Helped people who had been bad to me or terrible people and brought the good out of them. It was a second chance. Professor Rowan came back a few minutester, and had me spend the rest of the day bored out of my mind. Still, being bored once in a while was a nice change of pace. ¡ª Now that we were done with all of these experiments, it was truly time to leave. Lucas and Dawn bid me warm farewells after Rowan transferred money onto my Trainer card. I''d spent more time in Sandgem than expected, and it was nowte in the evening. I wouldn''t miss the town given that it still gave me a migraine, but it hadn''t been as bad as I had expected, and I was making real progress in finally dimming my empathy and had foundsomethingto work on. With some luck, by the time I made it to another city, I wouldn''t suffer as much and I''d actually be able to function like a normal human being. That was forter, however. For now, it was time to head to Eterna Forest, and I''d stop in Floaroma on the way there. The town where it all began tumbling down and where everything began.
Chapter 272 Chapter 272
CHAPTER 272 I sat with Aliyah around a fire near the ravaged path. I''d eaten already earlier this morning, so we didn''t need to roast anything, and it was hot enough that no fire was needed, but Aliyah insisted the fire be there anyway for ambiance. The mes were a brilliant purple instead of a warm red and smelled like¡­ something sweet. Her ashen hair looked colorful against the me''s light¡ª a remnant of what might have been when she was younger, maybe? Her Chimecho''s eyes pierced true, even during the day, and despite the fact that it was morning, parts of me had been tricked into thinking it was nighttime. Her emotions were a confusing canvas if I''d ever seen one. The peaks and the valleys were smaller, as if she''d numbed herself to the world and kept it that way intentionally. Sometimes, they slipped through, mostly when I caught her talking to Chimecho and joking around with him. The psychic had never spoken to me, but I was certain he was capable of telepathy. "So you''ve had an epiphany, then," she continued our conversation. "Think about it," I excitedly said. "If I can make myself do good deeds to even those who''ve wronged me and feel better about it, then I might be able to get my priorities in order, right? Reframe the way I do things!" I kept going, telling her about how my current self would never have made friends with the people I currently loved if I had met them now, and that went hand in hand with what we''d talked about in Twinleaf. Lost opportunities to connect with people I''d wanted to, like Gardenia. Hell, maybe I could have been friends with Maylene if I''d helped her instead of doing what I did. Pauline was simr when we''d first met,ining about ''unfair'' ways to fight, and I''d befriended her anyway. Granted, the Maylene ship had sailed at this point, as had possibly every other Gym Leader''s. She would hate me even more, as she had a right to. "You know how your mind works better than anyone else," Aliyah said. "If you believe it would work, then I think you should try. There will be no harm done by any good deeds, no matter the reason for doing them." "I¡­ won''t lie, I would have liked a little bit more confidence," I sighed. "Now I feel like I might be in over my head." "It might work. It might not," Aliyah gently said. "But at the end of the day, you are trying, are you not? Trying with all of your heart, with a desire to improve. That is what this is about." My lips quirked upward. "Thanks, Aliyah. I¡­ really do appreciate it." My therapist dipped her head, and then snapped her fingers, dispelling the me like it had never been there in the first ce. I had no idea if it was actually her doing this or Chimecho, but since she was no Pokemon, I was inclined to think it was thetter. Though it was possible she was another psychic, I felt none of that from her. Cynthia had told me during our meeting in Veilstone that Lou had been created in an effort to recreate Kanto-Johto''s psychic ns, but not how many of those the League had at its disposal. Maybe there was a better version of her I couldn''t feel out there. "That''s our hour and a half finished," she said. "Unless you have something to add, I will see you tomorrow." "I had a question," I muttered. "About you, I mean." The old woman dipped her head, signaling me to go ahead. "I don''t know much about you. And I guess that''s by design, since you''re a therapist and you have to stay professional, or whatever," I quietly said. "But the me thing is really cool, so¡­" Aliyah chuckled, and a bit of relief bled through her skin as if she was d I''d said that. "I''d be a fool to reveal my tricks." Chimecho rang in acquiescence, and I squinted at the both of them, sad that I couldn''t see enough to get an answer. While empathy was a powerful tool, it could be bypassed or tricked entirely, if you were good enough, either by muting yourself enough or somehow being able to fake emotions to an extent they became real. Of course, that wouldn''t stop me from screwing with your emotions, still. "What made you be an ACE therapist?" I asked, a little more seriously. "I mean, you came from Lavender to Sinnoh, and then what?" "I''ll spare you details on my personal life and say that I simply believed someone had to do it," she said. "I''d always been interested in psychology, and I wanted to do some good. ACEs deserve the best, truly. No one deserves to go through what they do on a regr basis." She''d seen much, I realized as regret flitted off her. Probably failed to save people she''d wanted to. There was guilt buried deep within. "But that''s enough of that," she said. "I see you ogling my emotions, youngdy. I thought we talked about boundaries." "Well, I can''t turn it off yet¡ª" Aliyah gently clicked her tongue. "I know you cannot. But there is a difference between that and actively looking, isn''t there?" I shrunk back slightly. "You''re right. Sorry. It''s just second nature to me by now, so it''s hard not to look." "Progress has been made," she said, standing up. "You are doing well. You can''t expect to unlearn your past behaviors in a week. I will see you tomorrow, then." "Yup. Thanks for the session," I said. "And, uh, sorry again." She took a few light steps away from me, walking with purpose with no destination in mind. Chimecho chimed seven times, and then she disappeared. ¡ª Floaroma looked even prettier during springtime. From the sky, it appeared as a vibrant tapestry of colors. There were more flowers than I could name littering the entire town, with only the paved streets not being covered by them. Since I''d arrived on a weekend, hundreds of people were picking on the rolling hills with their friends or families. To the far west, I could see the ocean, which was the same direction the Iron Inds supposedly sat in and where both Cecilia and Chase were, at the moment. I did not dare look to the East, for that area held horrifying memories and I couldn''t turn my head despite how hard I tried to, not out of fear from the memories themselves but my reaction to them. From up here, it was easy to see how Floaroma as a whole was an enormous meadow surrounded by thick forests that stretched far beyond here, save for, again, the town''s east, where a river that originated from the mountain on route 205 gently passed through. From this vantage point, I could see some kind of factory further up north that I remembered worked to manufacture iron that came from the Iron Inds. It was difficult to see that far, but a railroad led directly to the coast, where most iron came in and out, ready to be shipped to the rest of the region. I didn''t really understand why they''d built it in such a strange location. I asked Princess tond me in front of the Pokemon Center, where the fruits of mybor in Sandgem made themselves known. Being in a town still hurt somewhat, but Floaroma was far less populous and was at least somewhere I could function while not looking like a pale corpse. I got myself a room and was surprised to see the Pokemon Center not bustling nearly as much as it had when I had firste here, but upon reflection, it made sense. Unlike earlier in the year, not many trainers were passing through the town, which would make my stay here much more pleasant¡ª though I needed to stop being a social recluse despite my reputation having soured. Melody had contacted me when I''d been camping far away from Jubilife, telling me that not interacting with the world made the problem worse than it already was. That I needed to own this and say that I''d just been defending innocent Pokemon from getting shipped to terrible fighting rings or kept in Backlot''s zoo. In fact, that had been the majority opinion, but me staying so silent on the matter did not do any favor to stop rumors of spreading. She did not have the full picture of what I''d done. None of them did. Unfortunately for her and Poketch, though, I was a little overwhelmed by, well, everything at the moment, but I would try my best to make things work and work with their social media team. My image with most trainers was still generally positive, but that wasn''t enough, and I wasn''t pulling enough weight to get myself out of this little slump. This was a two-way partnership, after all. I could at least start posting online again. I wouldn''t do anything right now, though. Today, I''d need to face my past. Getting Angel to carry me was second nature, now. The grass type picked me up as soon as I released him, and his excitement surged when he noticed the amount of flowers here. He plucked a few with his vines, cing them on my head as we went. I also let out Honey, whose eyes softened as soon as he saw we''d made it. He hade far since we''d left here, and he had traveled, as had been both of his goals when he had sought me out, but still, we''d seen no signs of the Gengar who had raised him. "Keep some flowers for Sweetheart," I told Angel, half-jokingly. He didn''t need to keep any when they were everywhere at the moment. "She''ll want to make a crown and call herself an empress." Tangrowth silentlyughed, picking up as many flowers as he could. I ced a few on his head myself as he waddled toward the town''s eastern exit. Honey snorted at those, saying that they were for girls. "They''d look nice on you, but whatever you say, kiddo," I shrugged. "Hey, we should all wear someter to take a group picture¡ª" Honey cackled, his tails flinging wildly behind him. He couldn''t help but imagine me having to convince Sunshine about wearing a flower crown. "Hey, I bet I could do it. If Sweetheart wants it enough, he''ll do it. That girl can tug at his heartstrings like no other," I said. "Plus, Mudsdale will get him to y ball." For a little while, we walked in silence, with Honey taking in the old sights. While he had mostly hung out near the¡­ Power nt, he''d often wandered into town in hopes of a trainer taking him in, though none did until I came around, and for that I was forever thankful, despite how selfish that made me. I couldn''t imagine a life without my little Honey at this point. I was still considering what TMs to get with my newly earned money, but Floaroma was too small of a town to have a wide selection anyway, so I''d have to wait until I stopped by arger city to get them. When the headache started to get unbearable, I spoke up again with something that had been on my mind the past few hours. "Say, Angel. We''ll be going near Eterna Forest soon," I said. "That''s where I caught you." The grass type''s vines perked up slightly, slithering like Ekans and tickling the underside of my legs. "Since this is ending up being kind of a nostalgia tour, if you want, I can take you back to where I caught you," I said. "Actually, it might be hard to find without Justin''s Arcanine¡ª did you know that was how I found you, by the way?" Tangrowth wagged a vine like a finger. "Well, he battled a trainer with a Tang before, and apparently, you smelled simr," I exined. "Anyway, what I meant to say was, if you have a spot in the forest you remember and you miss, we can try to go there." I had grown so much this past year that none of the Pokemon who gave us trouble back then would even be able to touch me now. That Pinsir who had taken all of our group and just walked away? All of my Pokemon could easily take him one-on-one now with barely a scratch. It was the same for that group of Paras, Dustox, and that Mismagius in that abandoned mansion, though the ghost would prove trickier. Her sheer mastery over illusions had been far beyond her actual strength, and she could probably trap us in there again for a little while until Honey and Buddy sniffed her out. Maybe an hour, if she picked a good spot to hide and we got unlucky. I wouldn''t even dare to stray near the center of the forest. That was where Aubri Schneider had lost her fingers to a Leavanny, and I had no intentions of getting maimed any further if I could avoid it. To my surprise, however, Angel disagreed with going into the forest. He had no real attachment to the ce, and most of his life here had been a¡­ blur of avoiding predators and finding inds of sunlight like the one I''d caught him in for nourishment. "Well, if you''re sure," I muttered. And he did look sure. There was no wavering within him. Honey breathed a sigh of relief, having not wanted to go through what he called the ''death forest'' ever again, no matter how strong he got. "I guess living in those oppressive woods is annoying," I agreed. "And Sunshine will get angry if we keep being in areas he can''t go all out in when fights happen." When was thest time that had happened, outside of Gyms? It had been a while. We reached route 205 rtively quickly. On this side of the river, it was just a stretch of tnd with flowers blooming all over now that it was Spring. Back when we''d firste here, they had been confined to Floaroma and its outskirts, but now they were truly everywhere. A small mountain nked the route, which was part of the same chain Jasmine and I used to go train on. Honey asked me if he could go and run, given he didn''t often have the opportunity to do so on such t terrain. Before the ''go ahead'' left my mouth, he''d already blurred forward with a sh of light. While Angel kept walking me, I opened my phone to check on my friends. I''d been putting it off, but I could at least try. It was then that I realized that despite not even having had it for that long, I''d already grown¡­ not dependent, but used to my empathy. Talking through text felt like missing a limb after so long being able to know what everyone felt. At the very least, people looked a little livelier, though Cecilia and Chase were still radio silent. Denzel was finally out of the hospital and had his battle with Wake in two days. Emilia and Mira had apparently linked up in Hearthome and would stick together for a little while until thetter was done dealing with her Gengar troubles with Fantina''s help. Emi was trying to get back into Contests, though with her parents and everything else, she was struggling to get back into what she called ''an industry of needless catfighting'' despite her love for the sport. Lauren was¡­ odd. Though she''d been supposed to travel to Snowpoint to battle Candice as fast as she could, she was back in Sunyshore for whatever reason. And while Louis and Justin had left¡ª with Louis flying on Corviknight with Justin to Canve¡ª Louis had asked me to look into buyingnd near Floaroma somehow. I knew nothing aboutnd acquisition or how to even start getting into it, but he said he''d call me as soon as he made it to Jubilife, which should have beenter today. Given hisck of a sixth Pokemon, though, and being realistic, fighting Byron was going to be an uphill battle, but I knew he just wasn''t that into it anyway and was mostly going through with the Circuit to build up his name recognition at this point. At least Gabite would enjoy the battle. Maeve and Pauline were still in Pastoria, having given up on the Circuit for this year, but they were apparently training, still, save for Maeve''s Drapion who was still recovering. In those few days we''d spent together after the raid, the two had grown closer than they''d been, which hadn''t been close at all if I was being honest. All in all, everyone was doing well and recovering, slowly but surely. Valley Windworks had always been in view, but I had Angel get closer before patting his head for him to stop. He gently ced me down on the ground, where I sat in the grass against his body after releasing the rest of the team. I waited for Honey toe back before I started talking, though he merely took around twenty seconds to appear with a sh. The Power nt itself was surrounded by a true forest of turbines that silently spun in the wind. Just like back then, electric types were everywhere here, though they were mostly Magnemite and Shinx. I''d also seen a few unique ones like Tynamo, Mareep, or Electrike. No Elekid, though. Pokemon here were friendly enough, having grown used to humans since people traveled through this route to go to work. "This is where it happened," I told my Pokemon. "Where I was taken. They took me from a bathroom stall and Teleported me in there with the other hostages." Princess, Honey and Buddy were the only ones who knew about this in detail since they''d already been with me. Mudsdale himself had only learned about this entire event a few days ago. Since he''d grownfortable enough to talk to us about stories of Kamaile, I had told him about this vulnerability of mine too. Honestly, I thought I''d have more words to say about it, but I only managed to let out a sigh. I could see people going about their work in the power nt, though the vast majority of employees were inside of the building. I could feel them as a clump of swirling emotions¡ª mostly a mixture of annoyance, exhaustion and boredom. The white-tiled floor had seemed endless back then, the light, blinding and ufortable, the strange hum of the machines, so unsettling and confusing, the grunts and their Pokemon an unsurmountable threat. Though I supposed Mars was still one, everything seemed so small now that it was hard not to wonder when it had all changed. Yes. Small was how it felt, but it was unsatisfying as hell. I''d been nervous toe, but now that I was actually here, I felt no difference. My body was just numb. "Huh. I guess that''s that," I whispered. Sunshine peered over my shoulder and my other Pokemon showed signs of worry, so I continued before Sweetheart could scream at the building for revenge and scare everyone there. "This ce has no hold over me," I finally dered. "I''ve grown too used to this. Sure, it''s not pleasant, but it''s¡­ just that. Another ce where something bad happened. To be honest, I don''t know if that''s good or bad." They all answered with good right away, as I had expected¡ª But Mudsdale said that it was not. There was a little bit of outrage from Turtonator, but the ground type ignored his friend and tilted his head toward me. It was bad, to have gone through so much that everything blended together, he said. It was funny, how that had been what part of me had been thinking. "You''re partly right, I think," I softly said. "But I think this is good too, in a way. Doesn''t it mean that I''ve grown past this?" The ground type chewed on the words for a few seconds, and just answered with a halfmitted neigh. Despite being somewhat right, he was, after all, someone who had struggled to move on, and it was not his fault. It was easier to move on from an event like this one with support from friends and therapy, none of which he had ess to. Even now, since we were getting closer to Lurantis, he kept having second thoughts about the meeting that Sunshine kept snapping him out of. "Now I''m sure that when the timees, I''ll be ready," I said. "Let''s head back and train for a little bit. Buddy, since there''s a river nearby, I want to work on the thing we talked about so you stop blowing up all over the ce¡­" ¡ª Since I''d be rtively busy today, we didn''t train very long, and Sweetheart refused to train in the first ce because she didn''t want to ruin the flowers near the river, so instead, most of my Pokemon had decided to take the day off except for Buddy. Princess was his training partner today and was pelting him with huge Air shes. They also came faster, these days¡ª as fast as Air Cutter, so we had very little reason to use that move anymore unless I needed to cut something to ribbons for whatever reason. Anyway, while he could solidify his body to be more resistant, that would not work against powerful attacks¡ª and it never had. It wasn''t a reliable way to fight, and people would be able to punish him while he reformed no matter how fast he got at it. So instead, I had picked for him to train something else. To make him a fluid. He could already turn into liquid, which was currently how he could sink into the ground whenever he wanted. What I''d theorized was that being shapeless would make it easier for him to keep himself together. Case in point, the next Air sh sliced through the air and burst upon impact with the blob of water, and while yes, parts of him exploded, they narrowed, bing thin lines until he absorbed them back before they could fly off everywhere with a satisfying squelch. The reason this worked was that being shapeless meant that he wouldn''t have to actually care about how he reformed himself whatsoever, and so he could just botch the job until ater date and gather himself much faster. He''d also learned to reform quicker in general, with all the times he had needed to (unless he was hit by a particrly strong dark move), and this was just more training for that purpose. Plus, why did he even need a shape anyway? Having a mouth made it easier to gather energy for moves like Shadow Ball, Hydro Pump or Ice Beam, so right now, he would need to reform properly, but in the future, there was no reason why he couldn''t stay shapeless the entire fight¡ª a writhing mass of water with two red eyes. At least this way, he''d be more aero-dynamic with Water Sport. All this time, I''d tried to raise his defenses, but we''d been working against his biology instead of with it. He wasn''t just working on this, of course. His water maniption hade quite far during our time together, and though we were still behind where Pfin was, we were making steady progress. He could now encase people in water through his will and either freeze or heat it up onmand. My goal with Buddy was to have him be a master of temperature¡ª at least with his water side of things, which had been a priority for a while, now. Manipting water to the extent Pfin had been able to, but transitioning it between scorching steam or frigid ice with a thought. We needed to get started on increasing the volume he was capable of ying with soon, though¡­ A rtively quiet growl from Sweetheart caught my attention, and I turned toward the rock type, who had finished her flower crown, and she''d roped Honey into it. Granted, he was smiling by now and making fun of Angel''s own crown for having ced way too many flowers on his head¡ª like, seriously, he''d basically made a field of them up there and now they were overflowing and falling off his head. With dexterity I''d grown used to, he quickly made a new one for me, using one of his cut-off vines as scaffolding, and for Mudsdale, though the ground type kept looking at his reflection in the water and giggling about how silly he looked. I called over Jellicent and Togekiss to tell them to take a break. The fairy demanded two crowns, because one was obviously she was worthy of more than the rest of us. "Since Angel gets so many flowers, you can have two crowns, but don''t be too bratty about it." Buddy corrected me and said she shouldn''t be bratty at all. "Well, she can be bratty if she eats her food tonight, how about that," I smirked. Princess huffed, saying that of course she would take this deal. "No going back, then. I''ll be borrowing the Pokemon Center''s kitchens." There was a flicker of doubt, though it was overshadowed by everyone else being excited about it. Now I''d have to go and empty an entire grocery aisle¡­ was that rude? I was paying, but I felt like that was still rude. "Sunshine¡ª" He gruffed, telling me not to even try it. "I''m gonna take a picture, you need to be on theme," I said. "Just for ten seconds, at most." The dragonined about Togekiss getting away with her behavior with deals while he had to do things against his will, but Mudsdale chimed in and mocked him forparing himself to a literal child. "You know, it''s just flowers. Not the end of the world," I said. "But I guess you''re fine if you don''t want to do it. C''mere and get in the shot, you big baby." Unexpectedly, Sunshine sighed and told Angel to make him one of those ''horrors'' we were wearing, and the grass type literally jumped for joy. Sweetheart almost started an ecological disaster by excitedly stomping on the ground, which she would have done had we not stopped her. I nudged Electivire''s arm and told him to stop cackling and did the same for Princess, who''d been smugly staring at Turtonator and reveling in this. Sunshine got into the frame, and since I''d left my tripod in Pastoria, Angel grabbed my phone and stretched his vine until we were all in the shot. I smiled for the camera, waited until I heard the little snap and for Tangrowth to plop the phone into my hands. I snorted. "Angel, this is so blurry!" ¡ª I considered leaving my team on the route to train before remembering that this was not Twinleaf, and even there, that had gone terribly. The townspeople feared my Pokemon despite them having behaved just because they looked threatening. A sliver of indignation came before I remembered how it looked, from a perspective that wasn''t mine. Even I had been scared of Cynthia''s Garchomp when knowing she hadn''t meant me any harm every time I''d seen her and her trainer had been there with her. Obviously, they were going to be scared or at least uneasy. I was justpletely in the wrong here, having let my Pokemon wander without asking for permission. Granted, since Princess often flew, she was a lot less egregious than the others. Seeing random powerful Pokemon without their trainer was bound to raise rm bells. Good, keep yourself centered, I imagined Aliyah''s voice. You do not have a monopoly on the perspective of what is right or wrong. One of the many pitfalls of fairy type specialists, that one, though I was no specialist. So instead of leaving them there, I had recalled my team. The sun was going to set soon and the sky was a beautiful orange that deepened the closer you looked to the horizon. I''d somewhat forgotten the exact location of where I''d wanted to go, since it had been so long. "It should be somewhere near the town, like an hour out," I muttered on Princess'' back. "Maybe forty minutes? I thought it''d be easier to spot it from the sky, but maybe we shouldnd and backtrack the route. That''ll take a while, though¡­ ah! I think that''s it!" I pointed down to a field with even more flowers than average, which I recognized mostly because of the stretch of white fences that hugged the sides of the massive dirt path. After looking for another ten minutes, I found what we were looking for. It was easy to see that the grave was still being tended to, with some gifts having beenid upon it and a clumsy headstone having been carved. Even on a route, nothing had destroyed it, or maybe something had and Jacob kept putting it back. That possibility didn''t seem very likely, though. I stepped off Princess, deciding to be alone for this, and I limped toward the grave, which was now covered in flowers. The earth had been overturned here before after digging. It had been a long time, since I''d thought of Starly. The poor flying type had died during our trek through the Ravaged Path, and we had helped his trainer Jacob out of there. I wasn''t emotional about it¡ª not beyond feeling morose for what had been done. A life snuffed out early because of ack of thoroughness from the Rangers and a trainer overestimating himself. It hadn''t been Jacob''s fault, really. Even I had overestimated myself in those days, believing that I''d be able to win the Conference in a single year. Granted, my near-loss against Roark, my near run-in with Scyther near Sandgem, and Denzel''s Roserade hitting my gut with Bullet Seed had probably destroyed my most self-destructive tendencies early. I hadn''t known what Starly liked, and he was surrounded by plenty of flowers already, so I had decided to get him a little poffin. While they weren''t as good as the ones in Hearthome, they were still excellent. I grabbed a pen and paper from my bag that I''d brought and started writing, using my piano case as support. I was probably going to miss Jacob despite having wanted to see him. I''d tried contacting him through the forums, but he hadn''t been active in months, so that had been moot. Instead, he''d catch this letter the next time he visited Starly''s grave with his Wooper. ''Hi, Jacob. It''s Grace Pastel, and it''s been a while. Don''t worry, this will be short. I tried to contact you, but you weren''t avable on the forums. I was swinging by Floaroma while dealing with some personal issues, and I thought I''de to visit Starly''s grave. I''m d to see it''s still being cared for, and I gave him a little gift of my own to enjoy (unless a wild Pokemon got here and stole the poffin, which in retrospect might happen, so sorry about that). I hope you recovered well from your poisoning and that Wooper and your parents are doing alright too. I don''t know if you still n on being a trainer next year or not, but either way, you shouldn''t let the shame of what happened in the Ravaged Path influence your decision. It was the Rangers who messed up, not you. Anyway, some of the advice I had for you if you did choose to go through the Circuit again was to travel in a group and maybe take a flight to eastern Sinnoh before summer''s over for a gentler start. They never do prepare us properly for what we''re thrown against in the West, and there''s no shame in acknowledging that one isn''t ready. Sorry if I''m being too forward, by the way, feel free to throw this entire thing in the trash if I am (not the poffin), but thest time we met, in your hospital room, you had that look in your eye. The me of ambition that said that you weren''t done. If I''m right and I''m not just being annoying, then next summer, book a flight to Sunyshore. I have a? ?f?r?i?e?n?d? an old friend there who might be game to travel with you, and someone else who lives at the Hotel Grand Lake who wants to go on a journey too. Traveling alone is nice sometimes when you need some space, but there''s no other experience like being on the road with friends, and you''ll be able to push each other further than if you were alone and bounce ideas off of each other. Some fierypetition is always nice. Anyway, their names are Erin Atwood and Sergei Antonovich. I gave you their contact information below, though Sergei is probably going to be way harder to contact than Erin. I''ve already told her about him, though, so I''m sure it''ll all work out, given the fact that you have a few months to organize. You guys are all nice people, and you shouldn''t let any video you''ve seen of me make you think that you shouldn''t try to get with them. And if you already had ns or a group, then feel free to ignore all of this. Good luck next year, Jacob. May you make many friends and your adventures take you far. "There you go," I sighed, flexing my hand. "Gah, I haven''t written anything that lengthy on paper in so long that my hand hurts." Princess let out a soft chirp in support, and I left the letter beneath the Poffin box, hoping that Jacob would find it the next time he visited. Since everything he''d left here was in a good state, I had a feeling he would. "Let''s head back to Floaroma and help out Louis," I said. Togekiss groaned, saying all she wanted to do for the rest of the day was cuddle in bed. "Soon, baby. Soon." ¡ª "I''m telling you, Louis. These are the prices I found," I sighed. "This is ridiculous," my friend scoffed. "I could findnd in Jubilife that''s less expensive than this." "Well, I''m sorry, but that''s what the realtor told me," I said. "Maybe you can negotiate when you get there, but there''s nothing else I can do." As it turned out, Floaroma was an expensive town to buynd in, and while Louis had expected that to be the case, he hadn''t expected the prices to be this high. "Now I understand why no one ever bothers with private ventures here," Louis groaned. "The only businesses in Floaroma currently running are hundreds of years old or pay rent to operate inside of buildings they don''t own. Maybe I should find somewhere else? But Floaroma was so perfect¡­" I''d grown smarter, these days. Learned how the League functioned. There was no reason Floaroma of all ces should be the most expensive ce to buynd in¡ª beyond even Jubilife¡ª unless the League wanted to stop people from buyingnd here, because yes, my snooping this evening had taught me that the government owned most of thend here, and that part wasn''t for sale. The parts that were were so ridiculously expensive that even Louis'' father at the apex of his wealth would have looked twice before buying, because why buynd in the middle of Floaroma if it was basically never going to be profitable anyway? Very few people lived here. The poption wasparable to Sceon. "Grace?" "Wait, I''m thinking," I muttered. No, there was a reason for this, and it smelled like a deal with a powerful Pokemon who predated the existence of this town and wanted to keep this ce from being too urbanized. Thinking about it more, it made sense. Why else would that steelmaking factory up north and the power nt to the east have been built so far away from Floaroma? I doubted that the people liked , and while I was no wind expert, Valley Windworks hadn''t felt particrly more windy than this ce. "When you get here, ask for Marty Sobieck," I said. "He''s the realtor I spoke to and owns the part of the meadow up north you wanted to buy and a bunch of the othernd in town. Tell him about your n for the sanctuary in detail and that you''ll still keep the area free from urbanization. You could probably make a contract about it somehow¡ª have a¡­ condition or something. If you break it, you lose rights to thend." "Sellingnd conditionally¡­" Louis hummed. "Common enough, though this type of agreement would probably be a first." Probably not, I thought to myself. "If you do, and he likes your idea, he might lower the price," I said. "It''s just a hunch I have, though. I might bepletely wrong, so don''t get your hopes up." And if my hunch was correct, then this Marty guy was in on this. Something had been off about the way he felt when we''d spoken, like our entire meeting had been a waste of time from the start. Granted, he could have believed that because I was a teenager and he had exorbitant prices, but there was a certain about him that rubbed me wrong. The only reason he''d epted the meeting in the first ce was because I was close to the League, and that made me more suspicious. Why would my affiliation with the League matter if I had no money anyway? Maybe because he thought I''d have actual word from the government about hisnd. After all, I was publicly an ACE in training. "If this works, it''ll probably still be expensive, but it''ll be affordable," I continued. "If not, well¡­ there''s always Twinleaf?" "Twinleaf isn''t on the path trainers take though," Louis sighed. "Thank you anyway, Grace. I''m still¡­ confused, but I''ll give it a shot." "Thank you for¡­ uh, trusting me," I said. "And for talking. It was nice." Had he not called me, I probably would have just texted, because talking to my friends had been a terrifying thought until today. It had been stupid, of course. After all, we''d spoken and hung out for nearly a week before I''d left, but my brain worked weird sometimes and my irrational fear had finally been wrested away. For a little while, we kept talking about what we''d been doing and he asked me for advice battling Byron, but he was extremely surprised to learn that I hadn''t even looked him up yet. I was too focused on other stuff to have started studying quite yet, and honestly speaking, the motivation to imbibe information made it way harder for it to stick. I had tried a few times, but it was taking twice as long to learn half as much, and that wasn''t doing my motivation any favors. I was going to get truly started on it soon. Just not right now. After I hung up, I decided to call it a day and go to sleep early. Princess finally got what she wanted, snuggling up beside me and stealing all of the covers for herself. Everyone else was out too, though Sweetheart was toorge to sleep inside of a Pokemon Center room now, and it was already crowded as it was. Musdale too, was too big, and I knew the ground type did not mind sleeping in his Pokeball at all. Sweetheart was probably going to throw a tantrum when she woke up tomorrow, so I''d better bring her to the middle of nowhere for that¡­ Honey slept with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, while Angel had imed his spot by the window. Sunshine was near my bed, spreading afortable warmth throughout the room and we''d all grown used to his incessant snoring by now. I woke up at some point, flinching as something¡ª not something, my phone rattled on my bedside table. I iled around for a few seconds, ignoring Princess'' groan as I grabbed my phone and saw that Jasmine was calling me. I felt guilt at the disappointment I felt, since I had honestly hoped it would be Cecilia, but this was good too. "Jasmine, it''s three in the morning," I sighed. "Sorry, Grace," she said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I just got word that you were in Floaroma and decided I had to call. You don''t stay in the same spot often, these days. Quite ironic, for someone who''d spend weeks on end in cities." "Well, I''m a busy girl," I tiredly said. "What''s wrong?" She hadn''t read the report. That I was sure of. She was a foreign Gym Leader. Dating Volkner or not, there was no way she''d know about it. "Can''t a teacher see her old student?" she humorously asked. "I even flew all the way here on Skarmory." I rolled my eyes as I excitedly sat up on my bed. "Liar. You just had Metagross Teleport you." "Busted. I still had to make a few visual jumps, because we''d never been here before. I''m here now, though. It was incredible how easy it was to find your Center. There should really be measures about that¡ª" "I''ming down right now!" I yelled. ¡ª Jasmine still wore one of her many sundresses. She grinned at me when she saw me walk into the lobby. Since it was the middle of the night, it was thankfully empty, save for a nurse who nervously nced at the steel type Gym Leader once in a while. Jasmine and I had stayed in contact, since I left Sunyshore. She''d been one of the first few I told about my broken ankle, for example. I had cut off contact after the raid, though, and she''d stopped texting me after I hadn''t answered her first three texts. It was something I had appreciated with her. She gave me space to deal with my problems, and now after catching an opportunity to see me, she''d taken it. If I hadn''t answered, I was sure she wouldn''t have kept calling. Kanto-Johto preferred to let their people individually deal with these types of matters¡ª like what had happened during the raid. It wasn''t a healthy outlook on the matter, but in that brief period when I''d sunk to my lowest depths, I had let myself appreciate that facet of their culture. I hugged Jasmine tightly, and breathed a sigh of relief when she returned it. I hadn''t expected her to be disgusted at me for killing someone or anything, but having confirmation through her actions and my empathy was nice. And I wasn''t actively looking. It was hard to ignore when she was one of the three people in the room. "You''re tense," Jasmine noticed. "How''s your recovery been?" "My ankle, or¡­?" I muttered. "Recovery can mean a lot of things," she dismissed. "Let''s go with every facet of it." "Steady," I said. "I''m just chugging along, really. Slowly getting better with my therapist''s help." She paused for a few seconds. "Well, if it works, it works." "You should get one," I said. When she snorted, I pushed. "I''m serious. Aliyah''s great at her job. I feel lighter after every session with her." "There''s cultural stigma, Grace," she gently said. "I appreciate the thought, however. How have your travels been? You aren''t one to usually strike out alone." For a little while, I felt the tiredness melt off of me as I told Jasmine about traveling, and she told me about her life in Sunyshore. I was happy to learn that she hadn''t rpsed (and hadn''t been lying when saying that) despiteing dangerously close a few times. It was a constant struggle, with her, but she was still sober and well. That conversation somehow led to my new fascination with tea, which we had found she''d gotten passionate about too, while trying to find a substitute for alcohol. After that, she wanted to know about Honey''s progress. I would have showed her, but he was sleeping and I didn''t want to wake him up. From what I told her though, she was pleased with how far he''de. "I saw him take down Wake''s Gyarados," she said with a toothy smile. "That was a grand battle." "ying the viin was fun," I confirmed. "Now though¡­" I paused, nervously interlocking my hands together. "Erm, Volkner say anything about me?" Jasmine hummed. "So there is something I don''t know." Shit. I''d given myself away, apparently. "So he did?" "Not explicitly, but after the raid, every time I brought you up, he shut down the topic immediately," Jasmine said in a whisper with a slight tilt of her head. "Like he doesn''t want to think about you. Beforehand, though, talking about you was just fine, even if it still annoyed him. I doubt Volkner would get so up in arms about you killing one person, so I guess something else must have happened inside. Something that disturbed him when he read about it. So I started asking for your friends who''d been in the raid, and he shared a simr reaction for Mira Compton." Damn it, she was reading this situation like a book. I quickly scrambled for an excuse with my poker face on. "I killed more people," I said. "And Pokemon." "Oh, that was a given. But you don''t have to worry, Grace. I won''t ask if you don''t want to tell. Really, I''vee to regret your involvement in the raid¡ª" My eyes widened at her. "¡ªyes, no need to look at me like that." "I thought that¡ª" "Iron sharpens iron, yes, but perhaps you were sharpened too soon," she exhaled, her tone low. "There is a spark in your eyes that is gone, Grace. I lost that spark too, at your age, during the Rocket wars, but seeing it happen to a younger generation burns more than I thought it would." "You''re getting this all wrong," I stammered. "I¡ª" I turned toward the Nurse Joy, who had noticed my raised tone. "Why don''t we take this outside?" Jasmine said. And so we did, taking in the warm night air. There was not a soul in sight, and the warm light of the Center was like a refuge within Floaroma''s darkness. "You''re getting this all wrong," I repeated. "It''s my fault. All of it. I''m¡­ gah, this is hard." "Take your time," she said. "I''ll formte this as a question instead," I sighed. "And promise me that this stays between us? Your¡­ origins make it a lot easier to talk to you about this without fear of being judged." "You have my word," she nodded. I inhaled. "Okay. When you killed your first human, did you feel regret after?" To me, humans and Pokemon were one and the same, but I emphasized thetter because I knew she would give it a bigger importance. "Oh, yes," she instantly answered. "It was a gnarly affair, given that Steelix crushed her beneath her tail. There was nothing left, and the woman haunted my dreams for weeks." "That''s what I mean. The spark I lost, I think it''s entirely because I actually got consequences for my actions, and not because of my actions themselves. I''m¡­ different," I muttered. "Worse. I''ve been trying to remedy it, and it''s a slow process of improving, but¡­" "Whatever the reason, you are still a child, Grace," Jasmine said. "I find it regretful either way. It should not have happened. You might have skipped a few stages and gotten to where I am sooner, but you shouldn''t have had to. I bear some responsibility, for having pushed you in that direction." I traced a small circle on the ground with my crutch and stared at it. "You''ve gone soft," I said. It wasn''t an usation, just an acknowledgment. I didn''t think any less of her for it. "Sinnoh''s had its effects on me," she smiled. "And seeing what happened to me¡ª to me and my friends in Johto happen again is a sobering thing, Grace. We all have our vices to learn to deal with our issues. Mine was alcohol, but it would not be my ce to talk about my fellow Gym Leaders'' personal affairs." "Well, I''m not going to start drinking, so you don''t have to worry about that," I grunted. Jasmine chuckled. "I wasn''t. But be careful not to fall into a vice of your own. Theye in many forms." "I''ll keep it in mind," I said. "Thanks for listening to me and my stupid problems." "Nonsense," the Gym Leader chided. "I''m d you opened up." She knew I was still hiding something, but she didn''t push further. We spent another hour together until I literally couldn''t stay awake any longer and had to get back to bed. Jasmine bid me farewell, and Metagross whisked her away. I sank into my bed and cursed the fact that I was going to be tired when meeting Lurantis tomorrow.
Chapter 273 Chapter 273
CHAPTER 273 Well, this ce is surprisingly active, I thought as Princess hovered over the Ranger Outpost. From above, it was easy to see how far Eterna Forest stretched. It was, however, easy to determine where it began and ended. The hue of the forest''s trees was darker than the ones around it, and they wererger in general. I could actually see the center from up here, or at least guess where it was. The further in you went, the taller and wider the trees grew until they reached a truly gargantuan size. It was difficult to think that I was looking at actual trees and not man-made structures. Something slept at the center, thousands of years old. The forest was their creation, and they were so powerful Betrix had called herself weakpared to them. I ignored the surge of dread within me and asked Princess tond me at the outpost. I definitely would not fly above Eterna Forest on my way to Eterna City¡ª though I was only stopping there to sleep and buy TMs, so I wasn''t nning on staying long or being busy like I had in Floaroma. After that, it would be back over Mount Cor and toward Sceon, where I''d stay before going to the Lost Tower and having a chat with Ruth and Mathilda. Either that, or they''d try to kill me. Hopefully not. Thinking about it, barging into your house after saying you''d nevere again and asking for a way to kill your kind for real was probably rude as hell, wasn''t it? I was kind of out of options, though. Mars never had Dusknoir''s Pokeball around, so trapping him in it like I had done to the Hunters'' Weavile was a non-starter. Anyway, there were a lot more trainers than I thought there would be present here, especiallypared to how empty Floaroma had been. The number was even slightly higher than it had been when I had passed through the ce, for some reason. Princessnded me in front of the Pokemon Center, like usual, and melted in a sea of red as I recalled her and walked inside of the building. The emotions were muted now. Just another few days¡ª maybe a week¡ª and I''d be able to ignore thempletely. Right now, however, it was hard to do so when everyone was looking at me. Well, not everyone. I wasn''t the center of the world, but a good number of them, and it was loud. Knowing I''d definitely stay there a few days, I got myself a room and then started the trek toward the Ranger Station. Come to think of it, I don''t know if Lurantis is on this side of the forest or the other. It would be really awkward if she was on the other side, so hopefully she''d be here. Trainers filtered in and out of the building with tickets to enter the forest in hand, or just to get to their sses. Honestly, it was insane to me now that they hadn''t held any sses before this year and had only started doing so because the casualties were getting too high. Before actually entering the building, I released Sunshine and Mudsdale. The ground type was a nervous wreck, constantly shifting his huge legs on the ground and reflexively turning it to mud. Turtonator, meanwhile, was keeping his head up high and acting like nothing was wrong, but I was an empath. I patted the dragon on the arm and Mudsdale on the leg. "You guys ready? Well, I have to ask if she''s actually there first, but¡­ this is it." Sunshine boasted that he was, and Mudsdale answered with a quiet affirmation. At the very least, I wouldn''t have to wait days to understand her like I''d done with Mudsdale, so that was a plus. An hour tops, Mesprit had said, and they had been urate from the way I''d begun understanding Lucas and Dawn''s Pokemon perfectly over the course of one lunch. I ced them back inside their balls and went through the same process I''d gone to get to talk to Mudsdale, and since I was pretty widely known at this point the process was very quick. Lurantis was here, though she''de back from a mission to help get two trainers out of the forest around two hours ago, and she was resting up. Apparently she was a big help to the Rangers here, with how powerful she''d been, and unlike Mudsdale, it looked like she wasmitted to her work and her skill and had never stopped battling. They led me into a garden farrger than the one Mudsdale had been in, which was a sign of how much funding the Rangers here got. Lurantis was¡­ smaller than I had imagined her, being only slightly taller than I was. When Sunshine and Mudsdale had told me about her, I imagined her to be as tall as they were, but she was human-sized. Her entire body was adorned by pink leaves, and although her arms looked like scythes, that was only a trick. They were actually soft leaves, even if I had no doubt she had a way of sharpening them with a move of some kind. She had lost an arm during the battle with Saturn and his grunts, but there was no sign of that here beyond her new arm being a little¡­ paler, maybe. It was clearly newer than her other one. Curious,rge eyes looked at me, and a little Oddish was hidden behind her robe-like leaves. That must have been her son that she''d told Mudsdale about in their letters. As soon as I released her oldpanions, exhration bled out of her and she instantly ignored me. I smiled, watching the three meet again for the first time in months. Well, I guess it was time to leave again, then. I waved to the three of them and left. ¡ª Seeing Lurantis again had filled Turtonator with as much happiness as he''d felt meeting Mudsdale, but having the three of them here at once? That was what bliss was made of. Five minutes since they''d met, and the trio still couldn''t stop smiling. Turtonator, you old fool, Lurantis smiled. When Mudsdale sent thatst letter saying that you wereing, I could hardly believe it. Turtonator felt the smile on his face widen, but he embraced it instead of fighting it. And this¡­ job. How have you been doing? The little oddish squealed in her arms when he identally nced at him. This one was jumpy and spoiled. Nothing like Sweetheart, though actually, perhaps she was still spoiled. Still, he could still get on the right path, if Lurantis eventually stopped babying him and taught him how to fight. I''ve found meaning here, Lurantis said. The work is fulfilling, and the humans are good to me. It is not what I had before, but¡­ I am happy. Mudsdale cocked his head to the side and looked at Oddish. Little one. Don''t be scared. You suck, Turtonator! Stop ring at him! Lurantis yelled, half-jokingly. I see you''re still as bad with children as ever. Are you okay, Oddish? Y¡ªyeah. So you do speak! the dragon bellowed. Lurantis pped his arm and hissed. It was in her instincts, to threaten like a bug type would. She did, after all, look like one. Hah! I''m simply doing you a favor. It is no good for children to be shy. Where''s the fire within him? I''m sorry¡­ Oddish muttered. May the Tapus bring the sky down on your head, Turtonator, the grass type nonchntly said. I wouldn''t call him bad with children if I were you, Lurantis, Mudsdale said. There is one of Grace''s he''s taken under his wing, and he is Togekiss'' favorite Pokemon to verbally spar with. Not one day goes by without them having a fight about something, and I keep having to remind him he''s an adult. That little rascal is no normal child, Turtonator grunted. And I''m simply teaching her to respect her elders. Togekiss, hm? Lurantis hummed curiously with a trill within her throat, like the rustling of leaves. Who''s the other one? Tyranitar, Musdale answered. There was a flicker of doubt on Lurantis'' face, as if she didn''t believe what she was hearing. It''s the truth. I saw the little one grow up myself, Turtonator grunted. Grace is a powerful trainer, Mudsdale added. I figured. One must have been, to capture Turtonator. Though you did leave some nasty burns on her face, Lurantis hummed. Bah! I regret it now, but she understands, Turtonator said. No need to obsess over the past. I''ve always thought humans were strange about scars. They should be a mark of pride, not something you shy away from! She''d sit you down for an hour-long talk if you said that in front of her, Mudsdale said with a hint of amusement. Isn''t that right? Sunshine? The dragon''s eyes bulged, but Lurantis caught on immediately. For all Mudsdale appeared outwardly serious, he was an insidious one. He''d been spending more time with Princess recently¡­ A name?! sheughed. Really? You? It was forced upon me during one of our negotiations, he grumbled. He likes it, Mudsdale tranted. I can''t believe it. Turtonator, with a name! She must have really made an effect on you. What convinced you to follow her? Turtonator had joined Kamaile because of the camaraderie he''d found with him and his Pokemon. His old trainer had a good heart¡ª too good, sometimes¡ª but he''d been someone Turtonator couldn''t help but begrudgingly respect, because there was strength behind kindness, or at least that''s what Oranguru would say. It had taken him a while to understand it himself. There was some of him within Grace, or at least there had been. Who else would let half of their body be burned and not bear any grudges? She had cried about her scars for weeks, and yet not borne him any ill will, and even though she had known the surface of his story about losing his previous team, she had waited until he was ready with noints. That was someone worth following. Strength, he lied. Liar, both Mudsdale and Lurantis said. His nose red until Oddish squealed again. ¡ª Making social media posts would have been hard, without Melody guiding me every step of the way. How was I supposed to know that the picture we''d taken wearing flower crowns should have been posted earlier? I mean sure, it was cute, but people followed me for battling stuff, not for random things I did with my Pokemon. Anyway, she''d forced me to post the picture along with a long-winded post exining my absence, and people seemed to buy it on Chatter, at least. My silence had been spooking the board, so she''d basically ordered me to keep posting silly stuff. Honestly, I thought she''d have me post a long-winded apology after my silence, but instead I''d gone back to acting as if nothing had happened. Since I was waiting for Sunshine, Mudsdale and Lurantis to finish their meeting, I''d asked one of the nurses about the high number of trainers still present here, and ording to her, it was because of a new trend having popped up with trainers spending time in Eterna Forest in short bursts to grow faster than they would out of it. They were technically right on some level. Adversity was the trigger for massive growth in Pokemon, after all, and now that Pokemon in the forest were less aggressive than they used to be when we''d gone through for some reason, not as many people died or were injured going through it. I could see the sense in it, even though I''d personally never do it. I would honestly much rather spend time anywhere else but in the forest. Even Mount Cor would be a better alternative. Ized around on the Pokemon Center couch for an hour to build up my tolerance to emotions, and then decided to go get myself a drink. I craved fast food, now that I hadn''t had any in ages, but the Pokemon Center cafeteria would have to do. "Chicken and rice? Pretty basic," I muttered inint. At least they had fruit sd for dessert. The ce was packed, since it was early in the afternoon. I shuffled my way through the queue with a tired yawn, but after grabbing my food te, I felt a sh of rising anger to my right. Two kids were arguing about something through hushed breaths. There was anger, but also fear, anxiety, and¡­ loss. I hummed, deciding to steer clear, but fate had other ns for me, it seemed. The girl shoved the boy at full strength, knocking me back. I bnced myself in order not to fall, but I only had one functional foot. I knocked everything I had on the floor along with the te itself, which rattled obnoxiously. My hands instinctively went for my Pokeballs and my eyes scanned the two out of habit. Freshly bandaged wound on her arm. Deep and ufortable for her to the point that she couldn''t move the limb properly, but can still shove. Boy, unwounded, but short of breath. Because of the fight? Five Pokeballs in total. Numerical disadvantage. My ankle¡ª Hurt like hell. I hissed when I tried moving it as pain throbbed within my cast. The pain centered me, taking me out of fight or flight mode, and my hand stopped before I could release Princess out of habit. My heart was pounding in my chest, my hair standing on end and my thoughts were going so quickly it was hard to keep track of them. I''d been ready for a fight to the death when there had been noneing at all. "Look at what you did, you fucking idiot," the teen boy screamed before turning to me. "Arceus, I''m sorry, I¡ª" He gulped when he got a good look at my face and instinctively took a step back as fear bled through his skin. I stayed silent for a few seconds, mostly focusing on not getting overwhelmed by the sudden attention and waiting out the pain in my ankle. I shot the girl a look, but she averted her eyes instead and huffed. Her apparentpanion stammered out a few words. "G¡ªGrace Pastel. I''m so sorry, I never wanted to¡ª" "Can you help me up?" I sighed. He sped my hand and slowly pulled. "I''ll clean all of this up," he said gesturing at the ground. "June, apologize already." "You''re fine," I said. "You guys were fighting, right? Just watch it next time, and don''t shove people." The girl¡ª June¡ª could only muster a nod, though I could tell she was being bitchy about it. The sh of pain in my ankle was subsiding, slowly but surely, so I hoped nothing had happened, but I''d probably have to go see a doctor just to make sure, which was annoying. Already, my recovery was going to take longer than usual, and I''d go fucking insane if it was dyed again. I let out a small groan and pinched the bridge of my nose. It was just one small mishappening, but it felt like a ton of bricks. I opened my eyes again and saw that the two were still frozen, looking at me with anxiety creeping up on them like a newyer of skin. Exploitable¡ª no, stop. "What''s your name?" I asked the boy. "Aiden Parks," he instantly answered. "Look, we''re just in a really bad ce right now¡ª our friends¡ª" "Aiden!" June hissed. "We were traveling with our group through the forest, and we got attacked by a Parasect and a bunch of Paras. Our Pokemon were already all hurt because we all underestimated the number of potions we''d need. I''m, uh, really sorry. If I can do anything for you, I''ll do it." "The Rangers," I muttered. "Did you not warn them?" "We did, but they''re ipetent," June growled. "They took one of their psychics and couldn''t find them, even though we showed them the exact area they were in. Instead they showed up with someone else who needed help." Passionate, this one. Somewhat like Pauline, but different in many ways. I hesitantly moved my foot and sighed. "I''m going to go get checked out by a doctor and talk to my Pokemon," I said. "Stay here. It might take a few hours." June frowned. "What do you mean, stay here?" "Stay in the lobby if you want. I might be able to help you. Just be avable." "Do what she says," Aiden muttered. It was time to put my money where my mouth was. I went to the human wing of the Pokemon Center, tired and angry, and while one of the doctors checked me out, I couldn''t help but think about how close I''d been to unleashing Princess on these two kids. Maybe I''d been affected more than I thought? Really, I just wasn''t used to being physically hurt outside of a life-or-death context, so my trigger finger was pretty itchy. The edge had worn off by now, thankfully, and I was back into a rtively normal state with no adrenaline pumping in my veins. I forced myself not to sense what the doctor was thinking as he looked at the newly-made X-ray I went through and felt a surge of excitement when I managed to. For my troubles, he reported that the ankle was healing fine and that my fall hadn''t done any damage, but to be careful from now on. Not like I could have expected someone to get shoved into me, even with empathy. I made my way back to the Ranger station atop Angel''s head, though I wanted to wait for the entire team to be here to exin what was going on. I knew there were going to be protests, especially from Sunshine and Mudsdale. This was close to the same situation Kamaile had gotten himself killed for¡ª helping two trainers whom Sunshine had wanted to leave hanging dry. If he had not, and he had made it through Mount Cor faster, he would still be alive today beyond a shadow of a doubt, so I knew he would be¡­ sensitive to this. I didn''t particrly feel either way, really. There was no strong pull to help June after she''d nearly screwed me over, though Aiden had been more amenable and there was sympathy there. That did not mean I was void ofpassion, and I didn''t want trainers to die in the middle of the woods. We''d never gotten lost in there, and even then each day had been a terrifying affair. Maybe I''d be able to pick up other stragglers on the way, though a multi-day journey sounded annoying considering the fact that I had no one to Teleport them back if I did find them. And I knew I would find them. I would only need to bring my empathy back to the level it had been as soon as I''d gotten the power, so basically bring it to its apex. Pokemon felt different than humans. There were quirks within them I didn''t know how to put into words, but if I could iste them and try to only feel people instead of every living thing, then I was confident I''d be able to get them back. Maybe I can ask the Rangers for their Kadabra, I mused. When I got back to the yard, Mudsdale wasughing more vocally than I''d ever heard him with Lurantis while Sunshine grumbled something under his breath in embarrassment. Looks like everything on this front''s gone rather well. "I''m not interrupting anything, am I?" I asked in a teasing tone. The dragon groaned, thanking me for finally arriving and freeing him from these two clowns. I approached Lurantis, who was carrying Oddish in a gentle hold in her arms. The grass type curiously stared at me, though he recoiled a little when I approached. "It''s okay little guy," I muttered. "Nice to meet you, Lurantis. I''m, well, Sunshine''s new trainer." The fire type grunted, saying that they had introduced me already, though Lurantis giggled at the name. "Well, I still have to be polite, don''t I?" I said, patting him on the arm, which Lurantis keptughing at. "d you''ve seen how much of a softie he turned into. Anyway, um, guys. I''m sorry to interrupt. This isn''t how I wanted to do this, but I made a decision earlier that I''m not sure you''ll like. I''ll need to release everyone for this, if that''s ok? Will Oddish get scared?" I asked Lurantis. The grass type shook her head and approved of my request. I dipped my head in thanks, releasing the entire team. After a short round of introduction where Lurantis tried to touch Princess'' fur way too much and kept admiring how big Sweetheart was, I decided to get started. I sat down and slowly exined the context of the situation, which Turtonator immediately dismissed as rash. It was rash. There really was no reason to be doing this except for me trying to forcefully put myself back together and see if I could get some enjoyment out of this. I figured I would when the longer we argued, the more set in stone my opinion was. I wasn''t going to decide for them, however. I was going to bring it to a vote¡ª where everyone would be able to chime in. Do we help, or not? The majority was the choice we were going to go with. Some of the yes votes surprised me. Angel and Honey had been expected. They had been designated as my conscience, after all, and they were the most kind-hearted of the team. Honey just wanted to help in general, despite having called the ce a forest of death, and Angel wanted to get the lost children back to safety. Princess and Sweetheart were a lot more surprising, however, and Turtonator looked at them with an astonished expression, as if he couldn''tprehend what had happened. And it was not some childish reason like Sweetheart wanted to try out her new strength. There was a desire to help me here, not the trainers lost in the forest. She wanted me to figure out if this was going to work or not in a bout of maturity I hadn''t expected from her. Princess'' vote was admittedly somewhat fraudulent. Going against me¡ªtruly going against me in decisions like this; decisions that mattered¡ªwas not something she liked doing. The no votes, I had expected, really. Sunshine, Buddy, Mudsdale. For the ground type, it was mostly dredging up past trauma that was the issue. I gently ran a hand through his hair. "I''m sorry about this," I muttered. "But I feel the wind in my sails. I''m on the verge of something¡ª I just feel it. I need this. We''re strong, too. It won''t be nearly as dangerous as the first time I went through. I doubt they ran off too far away, but if they''re too deep in, we won''t keep going." I turned to Sunshine. "You''re pissed at me." The dragon wasn''t shy about outwardly showing his emotion. The temperature around us had raised slightly, taking me back to when I''d used to talk to him in Hearthome. "You won''t be able to help much," I confirmed his fears. "But you''ll still be there. Team Gctic isn''t here anymore, Sunshine. They''re trapped like Rattata in Veilstone, unable to move and biding their time. It''ll just be the wild." And he was far more skilled than he had been back then. Lurantis chimed to the side. Over thest twenty minutes, I''d basicallye to understand most of her words, which she found fascinating and kept harassing me about to know what my secret was. She''d even convinced herself I was hiding a psychic somewhere to trante everything, which had added some humor to the sour mood. A nice change of pace, if anything, despite the tense mood right now. "You want toe?" I said, slightly disbelieving. In retrospect, Mudsdale had said she''d thrown herself into Ranger work, and she had integrated herself far better than he had here. There was a slight sigh from Oddish, as if this was amon urrence. Lurantis reiterated that this was her job, and that she''d meant to go on one more patrol before the day was over anyway. Plus, she wanted to spend more time with her two friends, so she was killing two birds with one stone here. Her familiarity with the area would certainly help, if they were more than a day inside of the woods. I had considered flying above the forest and scanning it that way, but that was probably a bad idea for multiple reasons. I''d need to be close enough if I wanted to sense stuff, and Princess would need to go slowly¡ª at a walking pace¡ª to actually let me feel things out properly. That would leave us open to attacks from below. "Look, if it helps, I''m on a tight timetable anyway, so any longer than four days without¡ª without Princess feeling anything, and I''ll give up, okay? Can we do this? Please?" Turtonator''s stare softened a smidge, though he gave me a tight, frustrated nod. I smoothed the deal over by convincing one of the Rangers to lend me a Kadabra, which as it turned out wasn''t very difficult when you were considered an ACE in training and I was going in with the explicit goal of rescuing people, so I was kind of doing their job for them. Not that this was their fault, really. With the amount of people going into the forest at once, they were understaffed. Rangers were often rotated between bases so people wouldn''t have to spend months in the same intense environment, and during this time of the year the number of them in Eterna Forest was always lower because the number of trainers had been supposed to be lower too¡ª or at least that''s what one of them told me. And good luck convincing the people taking it easy on the other side of Mount Cor toe back here. She handed me Lurantis'' Pokeball temporarily as well, so with Kadabra I technically had nine Pokemon in total, which definitely felt weird. I still didn''t know how many Pokemon I wanted as a final number. I''d recalled all of my Pokemon, though Lurantis was still out and carried Oddish in her arms and kept cuddling him against her chest and telling him how much of a cutie he was. There was something strangely endearing and rtable about that, and I felt a twinge of nostalgia at the fact that I could no longer carry any of my Pokemon in my arms. The grass type handed her son over to another Ranger in some nondescript office, and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Again? You''re overworking yourself," he said. "I''ll take care of him for you, though." She thanked him, closing the door and turning to me, as if she''d been waiting to talk to me alone. "What is it?" I asked. She muttered that there really was no psychic, though that was only a passing thought. Lurantis let me know that she appreciated me taking in Mudsdale and Sunshine with me and reuniting them together, but then she wondered what my intentions were after I left here. "Well, Sunshine ising, that''s a given," I instantly said. "But Mudsdale¡­ well, it''ll be up to him, really. The team really likes him, but he was happier here in those few hours you spent than he was with us, even if we did help him heal. So¡­" Lurantis didn''t sigh, but her body loosened slightly. She exined that despite appreciating what I''d done, she would not havee with us no matter what. She actually liked this job. She enjoyed Ranger work in all of its facets and had made friends here who helped her get through tough times, both human and Pokemon. And of course, there was Oddish, who she''d found in Eterna Forest and whom she loved more than anything else¡­ yeah, it was easy to see that she was never going to agree toe, even if we''d taken in her kid with us. "You don''t have to worry, I wasn''t going to steal him away or anything," I said. "Not my style. I captured a Pokemon against their will once, and vowed to never do it again." Lurantis'' eyes glimmered with curiosity as she quickly tried to guess who it had been. Her first guess had hriously been Princess because of how haughty she was. I realized then that no one had told her she''d been my starter. "No, no, it was my Jellicent," Iughed as we walked out of the Ranger building. "He tried to kill me a few times after, but I won him over. It shouldn''t have been like that, but¡­ yeah." The grass type tilted her head, saying that for a ghost he was pretty non-threatening and generally quiet. Yeah, she hadn''t seen him in action yet. Once out of the station, I released Kadabra out of her ball and greeted her. "Hey. You''ve been assigned to me for a¡­ rescue mission, you call it?" Goodness me, the psychic said with a very audible groan. A retrieval mission, she corrected. And I already know that. Did you think they would just have handed me over without warning? "Well, I was just making sure," I grumbled. What a strange friend you''ve made, Lurantis, Kadabra said. Regardless, I am no fighter, given the fact that I was trained to specialize in Teleport explicitly. At most, I have minor psychic powers, but they are not that reliable for threats in the forest. Please keep me in my Pokeball until I am needed. Surely a trainer of your caliber would not need me otherwise, she finished with a tint of sarcasm. Had I¡­ just been sassed by a Kadabra? "Um, okay?" I hesitantly spoke. Thank you. That way I can have some peace and quiet and make some time to study ergonomics. You would not believe how inefficient human-made systems are. You and your ''breaks''. Utter nonsense. "You have fun and do that," I said, recalling her. Lurantis giggled, introducing her friend and calling her a real piece of work. "She''s kind of fun, though. Arceus, I can''t wait to get a psychic." The grass type teased me and said that my tricks wouldn''t work on her with the biggest, shit eating grin on her face. I could see why Sunshine had called her the bright spot in their team. ¡ª Aiden and June weren''t in the lobby, nor were they in the cafeteria. Damn it, did they ke? I''d told them to stay put. Had they not believed me? I''d said it''d maybe be a few hours, anticipating difficult negotiation, but it had only been one and a half! I groaned as I stalked through the halls upstairs. "Fuck it," I sighed, closing my eyes, and the headache came back in full force as hundreds of ming, colorful wisps appeared in my mind''s eye. Aiden wouldn''t be easy to pick out, but June? June''s emotions were quite unique in the way they flowed. It was difficult to exin. It was not just about shade, though every emotion had a different one, and it helped since I knew from her simrities to Pauline that she would stay feeling a certain way longer than others. I isted for anger, frustration and¡ª loss, for she feared her friends to be dead. A part of her already thought them to be, really, and she''d been bracing herself for impact, which was partly why she had shoved Aiden, I imagined. There was also texture to consider. Grainy, smooth, crinkly, bumpy¡ª these were a lot harder to make out, but I found myself guided toward room 428 on the fourth floor. Two people were inside of the room, arguing about something again. Arceus, I was scary. I''d make an excellent stalker, really, which¡­ wasn''t a good thing. I knocked on the door, and their anger flickered and winked out like a dying me, leaving way to surprise and anxiety. I knocked again, more forcefully this time, and finally, Aiden opened the door. "Hi," I said. "I thought I told you to wait in the lobby?" June scoffed. "How even¡ª" "Not now, please," I interrupted. The skinny teenager in front of me nervously shuffled like a kid caught misbehaving, though June only red at me. Her eyes were red¡ª she''d been crying. Angry crying? I used to do that, once. "Can Ie in? I said I''d help," I pushed. "Sure," Aiden sighed. Thankfully, June said nothing, only clutching her wounded arm and swaying back and forth like she was trying tofort herself. I dragged the seat on Aiden''s desk and sat with a tired groan. "How many people is it?" I asked. "And what are their names?" They both looked at me as if they hadn''t expected me to get right into it. June spoke up. "Three people. Daniel Hall, Arthur McDowell, and Edith Thurmond." Arthur? He shared a name with my dad. Not that it mattered, it was just an observation. "Okay. Did you stay on the path? Follow the signs?" I continued. "When did this happen?" "Hmhm. We were about twelve hours in, but then, well, we got attacked," Daniel said. "June and I managed to run back, but she got wounded. This was yesterday." Twelve hours. Good, it would be quick, then, rtively speaking, and I knew around when to start looking. Since it had only been a day ago, I doubt they strayed far. I have a better picture of things now. "Okay. Now I''m going to guess you were fighting about going back in to help. June here wanted to go back to find your friends, but you¡­ don''t seem like the type to say no. Toopassionate. You told her to stay back while you went off on your own because she''s injured and you aren''t. Then you fought, and she shoved you." Her injury wasn''t much, anyway. A deep cut, sure, not nothing debilitating. Still, they were friends, so he worried for her. Really, the truth was that he had a crush on her, but she didn''t know despite reciprocating, and the guilt of shoving him was eating her inside. It wasn''t my ce to intervene, though. "You¡­ how did you know that?" Aiden stammered. "Call it a guess," I shrugged. "Anyway, I said I would help, so I''m going into the forest today¡ª" "Let me help!" June yelled. Three Pokeballs by her side, and two for Aiden. "How many badges?" "We all have two¡­ Roark''s and Byron''s," the girl answered. "We wanted to get a third before the year''s end, which was why we took the plunge and decided to go through the forest," Aiden sighed. "We never should have gone." You''ll slow me down. Protecting you will be a hassle. If something happens to you, that blood is on my hands. All reasonable things to say, really. Plus, with them there, I wouldn''t be able to just bullshit another excuse about me being able to sense their friends¡­ though I could just say that Princess was the one who did it, just like I''d done with Lurantis. Yeah, that worked. If it had been me, in their position, I would have asked toe too and I knew I would have despised someone who would have told me no. After all, we had quite literally dyed calling the Rangers when we went to save Cecilia on our own in Mount Cor. Legendaries, we''d been in over our heads, then. It was a wonder we hadn''t died. "I have rules," I said. "You can''t take her, she''s injured!" Aiden hissed. "Fuck you, Aiden!" I leaned against a palm and waited, though as soon as I did, the fighting stopped. "I''ll y nice and make this as safe as possible for you, but I have rules," I repeated. "Be mindful of my Pokemon and try not to be rude to me around them¡ª they won''t hurt you, but I''d like this to be free of any drama, really. Two, if we spend more than a day in there, someone will show up every morning to talk to me. She''s my therapist, but these sessions are private, and I''d like it if you didn''t try to snoop. I know you''re curious about me." They wouldn''t be able to hear thanks to Chimecho anyway, even while staying close, but it''d be better for all of us if they didn''t try. Aiden frowned. "How is a therapist just going to show up¡ª" "That''s myst rule. No questions about me, please. If you can respect all of that, then you cane. Oh, and also just let me deal with the fights. Your Pokemon will just get in the way, so keep them around as ast line of defense in case anything slips by Princess and Honey¡ª that''s my Togekiss and Electivire." "We know¡­" Aiden murmured. Oh? My nicknames had finally started to stick around, it seems. That was nice. "You''ll be helpful, though. I''ll need you to guide me to the exact path you took, so look alive," I smiled. Uselessness was one of the most insidious feelings someone could feel. Best to pull them out of that with the truth. "Are my rules okay?" They both agreed instantly. "Well, we can go after I restock on potions, then," I smiled. "And you know what¡­ you said you were running low, right? I''ll get you some too. This is important, okay? Never go through a ce like this without the appropriate number of potions. That''s a really dumb risk. It''s always better to have more than not enough, even if that hurts your wallet. And also, you should¡­" ¡ª I had not missed this ce at all. The trees were almost suffocating, with the sheer amount of foliage forming a canopy so dense almost no sunlight made it through save for a few rays here and there. The forest smelled oppressive too, with the scent of nature and leaves being so thick you could choke on it. The asional noise had used to scare me, once, but I did not waver at all. I hovered slightly above the ground on Princess with my good foot hanging off her in case I needed to quickly dismount. Electivire, Jellicent, Lurantis, Turtonator and Tangrowth were also all present. I still didn''t feel secure about letting Sweetheart walk out and about given the fact that she still forgot howrge her tail was half the time and I didn''t want her to identally crush all of Aiden or June''s bones or copse a tree. Mudsdale was no fighter, and the ground here would be hard for him to walk on. It was already difficult for Sunshine, too. The vegetation was so deep my two newpanions were walking ankle-deep in foliage, and they were constantly whispering about me while their Pokemon followed behind them. Marill, and Ducklett for Aiden. Magnemite, Spinarak and Geodude for June. Solid teams all around, for second-badgers. Well, so long as they were keeping themselves busy and safe, they were doing more than I could ask them to¡ª "Iing," I muttered. "Five¡ª seven¡ª eight Pokemon." Both Aiden and June froze behind me as Honey blurred in front of them, ready to spring up a Protect. Buzzing could be heard soon enough reverberating through the forest, but they took a minute to actually get here despite the fact that I was actively gimping my empathy. Eight Beedrill with stingers as long as my torso dripping with poison showed up, though they stopped when they actually saw what they were dealing with. They hovered in the air, hissing between each other. Probably expected the usual weak prey. It was honestly surprising that they hadn''t just run off. There must have been a colony nearby with their Kakuna. "I have no quarrel with you," I dered. "If you want, we could go around if you don''t ask us to make too long of a detour. This is an urgent matter. I''m looking to save a couple of kids who got lost here. I will not harm you." There was hesitation, and the title Betrix had given me so long ago mattered here. Most were clearly inclined to let me pass, though two disagreed. "You can''t beat me," I said. "This doesn''t have toe to a fight." One of the Beedrill''s stingers glowed¡ª He was restrained by Princess'' Psychic instantly. I had told her going in that we were going to do as little murder as possible, but the other Beedrill instantly swarmed the attacker and turned on him, stabbing into his tough carapace with glowing and poisoned stingers. They were going to kill him for endangering the hive. Sunshine could onlyugh at the disy of cowardice and underhanded means. "Stop!" I yelled. They did not. It was as if they were all overtaken by duty to protect their hives. I barked out a few orders, and Angel grabbed all of them with a tight hold and darkness-coated vines while Princess encased the wounded Beedrill in a stone box made of Ancient Power. "Put them to sleep," I sighed. Sleep Powder wafted off Angel''s vines, and each Beedrill slowly crumpled to the ground. I hopped off Princess and limped toward the wounded Beedrill while Lurantis muttered something to Sunshine. Arceus, walking with a broken ankle in this environment was absolutele hell. A barrier appeared around me before disappearing after a split second, and the Ancient Power turned to dust. Beedrill was a bloodied mess, with transparent, yellowish blood seeping out of multiple holes. "Are you going to behave?" I asked. "I can heal you. You''ll have to strike out on your own, but at least you''re alive. Don''t attack me, or I''ll leave you here, and you''ll slowly bleed out, or something else will make you their next meal." The bug type mustered a weak nod, and after confirming that he meant no harm through my empathy, I sprayed him with two potions. He flew off as fast as his exhausted wings could take him, and I let out a satisfied sigh. I was smiling. "Legendaries¡­" June muttered. "Let''s keep going," I said. "Angel, put me on Princess again."
Chapter 274 Chapter 274
CHAPTER 274 Encountering a swarm of Beedrill a few hours into Eterna Forest had been seriously unlucky. Aiden wasn''t even sure how they''d missed them the first time he and his friends had gone through. His fingers still trembled and he desperately looked for something to distract himself with his hands. If that had been me and June, we would be dead right now, he thought as he looked at his friend. She was pale, thoughrgely silent, as she had been since they entered the forest. While she was outwardly strong, Aiden knew she''d been the most reluctant to try to rush to get their third badge against Gardenia and had wanted to take it easy for the rest of the year. Two badges for first-years was pretty average, after all. Beating Roark''s unending offense for their second badge had been tough, and they''d had to try different tactics for months. Ducklett let out a soft quack on his shoulder, and his hands finally settled on the water type''s head. "Are you okay?" he asked June. "Y¡ªyeah. I''m good," she shakily murmured. "I didn''t know there were Beedrill around here." "There aren''t supposed to be," he said. "They say the forest was way more dangerous earlier in the year, though." "More dangerous than this?" Her eyes nced toward their guardian and the rest of her team, walking as if they hadn''t been attacked ten minutes ago. In fact, she was joking around with that Lurantis and . Something was clearly wrong with her, but it would be rude to stare for too long, with that Turtonator of hers staring daggers at every opportunity. Grace had said that they would never attack, but he had the feeling that the dragon type wouldn''t blink twice if those Beedrill had killed them. All of her Pokemon were strange, to some extent, save for Electivire who felt like a rtable fellow¡ª though the attack hadn''t phased him any either. Jellicent was one of her scarier teammates, with the piercing red eyes that could be seen through its head and it sometimes turning into a writhing mass of possessed water when he needed to make it through a dense area of the forest. The Pokemon that unsettled Aiden the most was that Tangrowth of hers. Something about that silent stare he gave those Beedrill when he moved to grab each with a vine that moved faster than Aiden had been able to see sent a shiver up the young trainer''s spine. It was the silence that was terrifying. It made every single one of its actions so banal, like it was just executing them without any thought. Like it was a damn robot. "Are you kidding me?!" Grace cackled at her terrifying dragon. "You tried to get a Totem Pokemon to fight you one on one?" For a second, the air seemed to grow slightly hotter, and Aiden and June got ready for the worst. Lurantis made a terrifying hiss that was supposed to be a giggle, he had learned, and moreughs followed suit, all unique in their own ways. "Arceus, she''s being so fucking loud!" June hissed in a whisper. "We''re in fucking Eterna Forest." Aiden winced. It wasmon knowledge that one should be as quiet as possible when going through this ce, lest they alert more wild Pokemon and get attacked. Maybe that was why the Beedrill hade. And if that were the case, then they''d see a whole lot of that. Aiden''s breaths grew short, but he took deep breaths like Arthur used to tell him, and he calmed down soon enough. Not before Grace shot him a strange look, as if she''d known something, and then turned back and continued with her conversation. "I hear trainers at the top are all insane," he whispered back. "I guess it''s true." It wasn''t like there had been any way to confirm it. This was the first time they''d even seen a top-tier trainer with their own eyes, and thest ce he had expected toe across one was at the Ranger Outpost. Almost every trainer at Grace''s level had a flier or a Teleporter and they never went to the forest to train. Aubri Schneider still came sometimes, though she''d reced this ce with Victory Road, and she was one of the crazier ones anyway. "Can she really understand Pokemon? I thought that was just a rumor¡­" June muttered. Good. Talking would get his mind off that terrible buzzing from the Beedrill. "I guess so. Think the theories are true?" "I mean, she might as well be some League experiment," June whispered. "There was that girl who could Teleport in the raid. Maybe they''re from the same batch." "We don''t know that for sure. ACE trainer could be a psychic. Like an immigrant from Kanto-Johto or something," Aiden shot back. "Well, this girl isn''t psychic," she grumbled. "Or she''d be able to move things with her mind and or stuff like that. I just wish she could be quiet." "She sensed those Beedrill somehow," he said. "I''d be willing to bet that she''s one." "Maybe she just has really good hearing." There were many theories about Grace Pastel''s abilities to speak to Pokemon, and the tworgest ones were as follows: she was either a psychic, or a League experiment supersoldier of some kind. Thatst one went hand in hand with the fact that she''d been present in the raid on the Pokemon Mansion and was an ACE in training. Some said that she was being given unfair advantages in the Circuit¡ª so many that she might as well be a nt¡ª but Aiden hadn''t really involved himself in the discussion. He was more of a Craig Goodwill or Denzel fan than anyone else due to Grace''s violent nature in battle, though he knew Edith was a huge Grace fan who had tried to replicate her style, which made training with them awful. I hope everyone is fine. ¡ª "This is where you all got separated?" Grace asked, stepping off her Togekiss. She''d hopped off before Tangrowth had even wrapped its vine around her waist, like there was unconditional trust it would catch her. "Yeah," Aiden answered. This ce was truly awful. The forest was denser here than anywhere else they''d been, which had made the Paras and Parasect sneak up on them without any warning. By the time they''d realized what was happening, twenty of them were already all over the camp. He''d told them that this was a bad ce to set up camp, and yet they hadn''t listened because the first day had been rtively easy. Now they were gone. Aiden felt the instinctive need to hold his breath even if the spores were gone, and he heard the distinct screeching and hissing of the Paras. He imagined them crawling over his legs and body¡ª his face¡ª Grace gripped his shoulder. "Calm down. We''re here to keep you safe, okay? Breathe." Breathe he did. Rhythmic, slow, but soothing. His fingers stopped twitching, and he stopped feeling the need to itch at his skin. June wasn''t in much of a better state, though she kept it better hidden. Not that it worked, anyway. Grace helped her calm down too, even if it didn''t work much. After a minute or so, she limped back toward her Pokemon and spoke up again. "Princess, you feel anything?" Grace asked. The fact that she''d been in Eterna Forest with a broken ankle was not lost on Aiden, but he supposed that when you could ride one of your Pokemon at all times, it mattered less. He wished he could sit right now. His legs felt numb, and every single step hurt to take. Togekiss and Grace stayed silent for a while, their backs turned toward them. When the second minute passed, he shot June an awkward look. When the fifth did, they started getting antsy, and by the tenth, his friend spoke up. "Think she''s finally gone crazy?" June asked. "Don''t be rude," he said. "She''s just letting her Togekiss concentrate, so stay quiet." Grace Pastel had her quirks, but she was the one trying to help her friends. Not any other of the confirmed people going into the Conference ming her online, but her. Oh, she''d made quite the list of¡­ well, not enemies, but people who disliked her, at least. That was mostly where the League nt narrative came from, anyway. Aiden liked to keep track of trends online, as any respectable trainer had to do to stay ahead, anyway, ording to Denzel''s tips and tricks streams. Most of the¡­ sheesh, calling them low-level felt wrong, but that was the only way topare them to the people that made it far into the Conference. Most of the low-leveled Conference participants felt threatened by this crop of new first years, and their closeness to the League only left a bad taste in all of their mouths. There were even rumors of her fellow sponsees in Poketch being close to a civil war, and though none of them had publicly spoken out against her, it was well known that their managers were pulling the strings. "Got it," Grace said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "There are three people¡­ deeper than I would have thought. We can''t exactly know how long it''ll take us to get there. We''ll have to spend the entire next day in the forest, so we''ll have to set up camp." June let out a relieved gasp. "Are you sure it''s them?" "Well, there were multiple groups of three, but they''re slightly off the beaten path and a lot more scared than the rest. If it''s not them, then we can keep looking. They aren''t moving right now, but I know for certain that they''re all alive, at least." Aiden restrained tears, though he couldn''t help but let a few fall. They were fine, or at least they probably were. "How many Pokemon do they have each?" Grace continued. "Um, three each. I''m the only one who has two," Aiden muttered. He''d wanted to catch something else in the forest, but Grace scared away or negotiated with every wild Pokemon they came across so far. He wouldn''t care, though, so long as their friends were okay. "Princess?" Grace asked. The fairy type dramatically clenched her eyes, then said something Aiden couldn''t understand. "Well, only one of them looks to have three Pokemon out. The rest have one each, though¡ª" she stopped to wince. "Sorry, it''s just a headache. Um, none of them have more than three, so they still fit your friends'' profile, though they could be inside of their Pokeballs." "We should just go right now," June forcefully said. "Get there as soon as possible!" She shook her head. "You kids need to sleep. It''s nighttime already and you''ve been walking for nearly twelve hours straight. You''re tired." "But¡ª" "My team will keep watch," she interrupted. "Your Pokemon haven''t eaten, right? They''re hungry. Mine are too. I promise you, we''ll get going. Just get three to four hours of sleep. You look like you''re going to copse." They reluctantly agreed, deciding to recall their tired Pokemon into their balls so they could rest before being served dinner. Grace released a massive Mudsdale, eight feet in height, whose head scanned all of her other Pokemon. It let out a slight neigh when it saw that they were all okay, and it dipped its head toward Aiden and June. Another normal one, thank the Legendaries, Aiden thought to himself. "tten the ground for us, will you?" Grace asked. "We''re setting up for the night." The floor rumbled under them as Mudsdale slowly shaped it to its liking, tearing out clumps of grass and bushes in the process. The areas around the trees, it left intact. It was as if it could manipte the earth itself¡­ it probably could, really. Aiden had no idea where she''d gotten herself a Mudsdale, but the world had never seen it fight before, so all they could do was guess. "Princess, some walls please." Aiden flinched when four thick walls of earth rose all around them and solidified into stone instantly. The fairy type had been molding some kind of ginormous spear while doing this, like it could use that move without a second thought. It was one thing to see it do it in the heat of battle, and another to see its far more¡­ domestic uses. "Makes you feel safer, right?" Grace said with a warm smile. "I''ll let you kids prepare dinner for your team while I''ll feed mine. Let me know if you need anything, alright? I''ll give you some space." "We''re the same age," June grumbled. "Oh. Yeah, we are," she acknowledged with a saddened look. Aiden nced toward hispanion. Had she stepped on andmine? "Sorry about that. Guess I was being rude, huh?" She paused, looking like she wanted to say something else, but instead, she just shrugged. "I''m going to have to feed my Tyranitar, and she can be a real crybaby about eating earth when I don''t have enough to feed her, so don''t mind her crying, okay? I''ll recall her if she makes too much noise when you''re sleeping." Tyranitar. An apex predator that only lived on the deepest or highest reaches of Mount Cor. Aiden had missed the day the information itself had leaked due to being on a route, but it took a lot of the remaining heat off of her now that it was all anyone could talk about instead of the raid. He was pretty sure, however, that beyond Professor Rowan, they were the first ones who were actually going to set eyes on the beast. The earth itself shook when the massive Tyranitar was released and it took its first step. tes thick enough to stop any physical attack, they said, and it at least looked true. A set of thick, rugged, rock-like tes covered almost its entire body, leaving space for a few holes and that blue section exposed on her gut. The green tes bore a rough, weathered texture reminiscent of natural rock formations, and the sharp edges protruding all along its back, arms, head, and tail looked like they''d be able to tear through his Pokemon like a paper shredder. It shed its fangs at its trainer and growled, a sound that reverberated deep within Aiden''s bones, but Graceunched into some kind of baby-talk that was¡­ disturbingly endearing? It was not at all the image of her he had built up in his head, at least, so it was like looking at a different person. Aiden was pretty sure whatever the hell that crying was kept any predator away from them in miles. ¡ª June Lambert couldn''t sleep. She tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, but couldn''t help but see the Paras every time she closed her eyes. And that Parasect. It had been void of any consciousness like it was simply a puppet with strings instead of a living being. A parasitic fungus with tendrils like sinewy fingers had ensnared Parasect, but she''d never thought it would be so disturbing to look at. The parasite had smothered the creature''s head, leaving only haunting voids where its eyes once were. Lifeless. And yet it hadmanded a legion of Paras to attack and spread their spores onto them. If they hadn''t ran¡­ They''d be sustenance for the spores right now. "Damn it," June whimpered, biting her lip. She slipped out of her sleeping bag, deciding to take a walk to stretch her legs and think about something else. Maybe theorize about how the hell to beat Gardenia, if they were ever going to make it there. Maybe they should give up and fly out East next year? No, no, they just got unlucky, and the outpost was packed. If only this stupid trend hadn''t popped up at the worst of times, then her group wouldn''t have been coteral damage. Where had it evene from anyway? Legendaries, all they''d wanted to do was make it through¡ª June stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Grace Pastel in the darkness, sitting on some kind of chair, leaning against a tree, and she stroked her Togekiss'' head in a rhythmic fashion while the fairy type slept. Or¡­ never mind, she wasn''t sleeping. Her eyes were half-opened, so she was just dozing off. The blond girl softly hummed a tune as she put her Pokemon to sleep, and for a second it felt so wrong being here, like June had intruded on something she was never meant to see. This wasn''t what I thought she was like at all. "Couldn''t sleep?" "Gah!" June jumped. She hadn''t even turned her head! How the fuck did she do that?! She quickly turned to see if she''d awakened Aiden, but breathed a sight of relief. Maybe she really was a psychic. The massive Tangrowth shot an eye open, though returned to sleep soon after, as if he could do so onmand. His entire body shut down, and his vines stopped moving all at the same time. Creepy. Electivire still leaned against a tree with his arms crossed and hadn''t woken up, and the rest of her Pokemon were inside of their balls¡ª or¡­ not. June felt an ufortable prickle on her neck as if something was looking at her. Where was her ghost? She couldn''t see the red eyes anywhere, and that was even more terrifying. "Sorry," Grace said. "Want to sit? I can talk if you want." "I don''t want to be a bother," June said. "I was rude to you earlier today. I''m sorry." Graceughed. "You were. It''s alright, though. All''s been forgiven. Princess?" June nervously ran a hand through her hair as the half-asleep Togekiss raised a small earthen stump for her to sit on, and then molded it into a chair the next moment. Clearing her throat and suddenly feeling very nervous, June sat down and ignored the fact that her knee was bouncing. It was a whole lot harder to behave how she had earlier today now that she''d seen Grace''s Pokemon in action. It was one thing to see them on video, and another to see them in person. It was only then, that you truly visualized the sheer gap in strength present between the two. "We''ll find your friends, you know," Grace said. "They''ve moved slightly, but they looked to have settled for the night." That was less weight on her chest, but it was difficult not to worry. They''d been together for months, after all, having all met in Jubilife early in the Circuit, and now they were inseparable. If something was to happen¡­ "I get it, you know? That fear," Grace muttered, petting her Togekiss. "Feels like you''re choking until you see them again, alive and well." June nodded. "I feel like I haven''t been able to take a proper breath in days." "You''re strong, still. You wanted toe while injured, even though you didn''t have to. That takes guts, really. You''ve got the mindset to make it far." Pride swelled in her chest, though she smothered it before it could take hold. She had no right to feel proud when her friends were scared and lost. Plus, Grace waspletely wrong. "We started the same year," June bitterly said. "You have seven badges, I have two. I had to try against Byron and Roark so many times sometimes I felt like giving up." "But you didn''t," Grace smiled. "And you won. Did you know Craig Goodwill only got two badges in his first year? Five in his second, seven in his third, and only got to the Conference on his fourth? Look at him now, June. He wed his way up the mountain through sheer perseverance. He''s a household name." "I''m no Craig," she muttered before sighing. "Why are we even talking about this? None of it matters, anyway." Legendaries, Edith would kill to be in this situation, and I''m ruining it, June thought to herself. "It matters," Grace said. "Here, why do you want to be a trainer? That reason is why you''re going after the badges, and the badges are why you went through here in the first ce." June frowned. "What''s that mean?" "It means that if you''re going through things like this again, you''ve got to take this seriously, yeah? Better not get yourself in this amount of danger for something you aren''t passionate about, because it is dangerous, June." "I am passionate!" the girl instantly retorted. "I want to be a League Trainer, but they don''t even start looking at you as a potential recruit until you have at least five badges." It had been her dream since she''d been a little girl, to work for the League. Cynthia was her idol¡ª a woman born from nothing, who had snatched power from the entrenched old order all in a single year. She''d do anything to work for her, rising high up in the League. The people who med her were full of shit. They all knew she''d restore a true democracy after Team Gctic was done with! "See? What you''re feeling right now, that is passion," Grace said. "Keep that fire within you burning, and it''ll all be worth it in the end." "If¡ª when we find the others¡­ can you¡ª can you train us? Give us more advice?" June asked. "There''s no time, I''m sorry," Grace sighed. "But here''s a word of advice, since you like Cynthia so much." There was almost a flicker of displeasure in her eyes, but it passed as quickly as it hade. "She once told me this thing about punching up. You know, challenging people stronger than you to expose your ws makes you fix them quicker than you would on your own. It''s something I wished I had more time to do. Really, I haven''t done it since I''ve been in Sunyshore." "F¡ªfrom Cynthia?!" June squealed. "Holy shit¡ª you must talk to her all the time! What''s she like?!" Grace paused for a few seconds, chewing on her next words. "Driven." "Is¡­ is that it?" "Yeah. Sorry, that must have been disappointing." "Um, can I ask you a favor? About my friend Edith?" June asked. "Shoot." "They''re a huge fan of yours, so they mighte off a bit strong, but please be nice to them. It''ll make their day, even after being stuck in this stupid forest. Maybe give them your number to talk once in a while?" "Oh. Right," she said as if she just remembered her fans. "I must be a pretty terrible trainer to follow. Denzel''s way better at this than I am." "Is¡­ is it true that you met in Twinleaf and that you just decided to go on a journey together on a whim?" "Is that what they say? I guess we were pretty nonchnt about it, so it''s true. I just asked, and he said yes. We kind of met on the same day." "And is it true that your first battle was Eevee against Togepi and that you won?" "What? No, he won! Who''s saying all of this?" she groaned. "I don''t know. People. There are no videos of any of your fights before Roark, so¡­" "That fight will haunt me until the end of my days, I swear." They kept talking for hours, and June suddenly felt reassured that yes, they were the same age. And that Grace was kind of cool, once you got to know her. ¡ª "I can''t believe you didn''t wake me up, June." "Well, you were sleeping!" June groaned. And looking cute while doing it. "Waking you up because I can''t sleep is stupid, and since Grace is here, we don''t have to do it in shifts." The sun hadn''t risen yet, but Aiden had needed to wake up anyway. Grace had estimated their friends to be around seven hours away, though it had taken her Togekiss a long time to do so. Definitely a psychic, and insanely powerful at that. Seven hours? That was miles away! No Pokemon had attacked during the night, though Grace had befriended a couple of Phantump who had hung out for a little bit while she yed her piano. Personally, June had just been annoyed about how cold they made things. Jellicent might be creepy¡ª the scariest of her Pokemon by far¡ª but at least things weren''t cold when he was around, skulking between cracks in the ground and tree barks. They were traveling again, now, and despite having all of their Pokemon out, they were clearly only here for decoration, as much as it pained June to admit. "So you talk to one of the best first-years all night, and you don''t get me involved?" "We only talked for a few hours. Stop being stupid about it," June rolled her eyes. "Here, I''ll just ry all of the advice she gave me¡­" It spoke to Grace''s skill that she had turned Eterna Forest from a terrifying ce to a dull one. Really, nothing interesting happened for the next few hours, with only a Scyther taking its chance and attacking before being restrained and systematically put to sleep, all while Grace smiled and muttered to her Pokemon about doing good deeds. June didn''t exactly understand what was so good about taking down a Scyther, but she preferred not to ask. She was in a good mood, a mood which improved the more time passed. When the clock struck nine in the morning, a tanned woman with pale hair just appeared out of nowhere through the tree line, scaring the wits out of June and Aiden. A Chimecho followed closely behind her, catching Lurantis'' attention and exciting the grass type even more, somehow. "No, Lurantis, this isn''t a party," Grace sighed. "Well, well," she said with a soft voice. "You certainly made me work for this one." "Sorry Aliyah," Grace smiled. "Still, you''re as punctual as always. Is it okay if we keep moving for this session? I''m sure you''ll get annoyed about not being able to set the ambiance, but I''m helping these two find their friends. Aiden, June, this is Aliyah, my therapist." "Uh¡­ hi," Aiden hesitantly spoke. "Nice to meet you?" June said. "Good morning to you too, my dears," Aliyah said. Something about her unsettled June. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, almost like her body had no weight. She turned back toward Grace. "I suppose we''ll forgo the candles and pillows for one session. We have much to talk about, don''t we?" "Yeah! This is working, Aliyah. Or I think it is!" Grace excitedly yelled. "Oh, and my Pokemon will have to be around to protect these two. Princess will have to hear what we say, though, because¡­ well, I can''t walk here and I''m riding her." The therapist sighed. "I don''t like breaking the rules, but s. Chimecho, be a dear, will you?" June hadn''t known that sounds could feel like this. This was not like standing next to a loud bass or the engine of an airne. It was far more subtle, yet the weight of it was immense. Grace and Aliyah kept walking as if nothing had happened, but¡­ their voices didn''t carry far enough to make out what they were saying. Lip reading wasn''t her strong suit either, but none of the words seemed to make sense anyway, so that was a bust. Legendaries, people weren''t going to believe half of what they''d seen here when they came out. ¡ª "I feel better than I have in a while, Aliyah. I mean, this girl indirectly shoved me and could have fucked up my ankle, but I was talking to her like she''d done none of that instead of wanting to hurt her!" I excitedly yelled. "I feel like I''ve made more progress today and yesterday than I have since the raid!" Aliyah was old, but she did not tire from walking in Eterna Forest. My therapist hummed as Chimecho shot her a curious look, and I forced myself to ignore the emotions leaking out of them. Focus on Arthur, Daniel and Edith, I told myself. The session wasing to an end now, and I''d managed to only look four times. "This is all excellent news, as I''ve said," Aliyah said. "But this reflex you told me about. Going for your Pokeballs at the first sign of danger? You''re still on edge, Grace. It is a form of PTSD." "We¡­ we said I wasn''t as affected by the actual raid as much as the consequences," I said. "We established this. I''m just not used to getting hurt when something isn''t trying to kill me¡­" My therapist inclined her head. "And? My point still stands. When I told you this, I was not aware of this part of you. It did note all at once, of course. The origins of these instincts are deep¡ª abination of all your close brushes with death. From this very ce, to Mount Cor, to Sceon, to the raid. You cannot imagine yourself being hurt without being in mortal danger. So much so that you almost put these two in danger. That is trauma, Grace." I didn''t put them in danger, I didn''t release my Pokemon anyway, I wanted to say, though I bit down on the retort and nodded. "Okay. Okay, I get it. How do I fix it?" "You can''t just¡ª" she stopped to snap her fingers. "¡ªfix it like that. It is not something you unlearn in a week, much less months. I would say that time away from these life-and-death situations, along with keeping up your sessions with me would help this matter, but this behavior is not quickly unlearned." "It''s not something I want to unlearn. I''ll need it if I get into another real fight. We have a month, Aliyah," I said. My therapist''s expression turned mncholic. "We can have you distinguish between when such reactions are appropriate or not." "Well¡­" I turned to June and Aiden. "At least I''m fixing one part of myself." "That''s good, but it is important not to rest on yoururels. I''m not telling you to dive into the forest and save more people, of course. I am warning you about potentially backsliding. Recovery is not a smooth process of continuously progressing upward. There might be slip-ups, if you are not careful. Aiden was shoved into you and knocked your food te on the ground. That is, by all ounts and purposes, a minor urrence. Now, if your ankle had been affected, or if she''d been so shaken by her friends'' disappearance that she had been awful to you, then what?" I stayed silent, not knowing what to answer. "That is not to minimize your efforts. You''re making great strides, Grace, and Imend you for that. And of course, you are not obligated to help people, especially if they dy the recovery of your ankle. No one is entitled to your help. What''s important is to learn to let go, yes? You are a child, but not as they are. There is real power behind your words, especially with the new abilities at your fingertips, it is important to be aware of that. Before meeting Mesprit, you had to worry about Poketch and your ie, and that kept you from making things worse for yourself. Now? You could exact revenge with them and society atrge being none the wiser." "I wouldn''t have!" I yelled. "That''s thest thing I want." "Good. Still, you must understand that I must speak of these things, yes? It was not meant to put you in a foul mood." Well, I''m kind of in a foul mood anyway now. "Sure," I grunted. "You''re doing good," she reiterated. "I see the efforts you go through to curtail your impulses. Your recovery is going well." I cracked a smile. "I guess it is." "Well, I must be on my way, now," she said. "Try not to have mee into a forest next time. I would greatly appreciate it," she continued with a hint of humor. "Tomorrow, we begin a new theme. Chimecho?" Aliyah waved to Aiden and June, walking off into the woods and disappearing behind a tree without a sound. ¡ª When I reached Daniel, Arthur and Edith, the reason they hadn''t moved much became apparent. Daniel''s leg was wounded to the point where he wasn''t able to walk. It was something I''d suspected, with the way his fear was different than the others, but I hadn''t told June and Aiden about it. Their Pokemon were hurt too, beyond what potions could properly heal. It would take weeks for them to properly heal in a Pokemon Center. I watched with a tired smile as June and Aiden reunited with their friends. They were so overwhelmed by relief that they hadn''t even registered I was here. This felt fulfilling. I hadn''t lost that part of me, I had just buried it deep, and I had needed to w my way through the mud to unearth it. I began recalling myrger Pokemon, leaving only Princess and Honey out for emergency barriers as I sent out Kadabra. Even if she''d been trained, she wouldn''t be able to Teleport my entire team. Well, that''s that, I sighed. "Do you guys want to Teleport on the other side of the forest?" I asked. If Lurantis wanted to go back, she could, but these kids needed some kind of respite. They all looked at each other, and then at me, though Edith looked away and made themself small. Looks like you were wrong, June. They''re incredibly shy. When I looked at Edith, I saw neither girl, nor boy, but something else entirely. Non-binary then. That exined the pronouns. I wasn''t sure until now, really. Even when looking at them without empathy, I wouldn''t have been able to tell what gender they were. Kadabra''s eyes bulged. I did not consent to this, you vile human! "Can you not do it?" Well, I can, but¡ª "Please? They''ve been through a lot, and they at least deserve this. I''ll put in a good word for you at the station, and my word matters. Maybe you''ll get more time to study¡ª" Deal, she instantly said. Well? Let''s get going. "I''ve never Teleported before¡­" Daniel murmured. "Does it feel weird?" "Not at all. One moment you''re here, and the next¡ª" I blinked as we appeared in front of the Ranger Station at the forest''s exit, which was just as bustling at the other. "¡ªthe next, you''re somewhere else," I sighed. "You could have waited!" The boy is wounded, she said, though I knew that was not at all the reason for her being in a rush. Well, I had three more days to spend here, so I''d make the best of them and let Sunshine, Mudsdale, and Lurantis spend time together. Maybe make sure that the kids were okay too, because Legendaries, they''d need support after this. And also, I was so tired I felt like I was going to pass out any minute now. I had a lot of sleep to catch up on.
Chapter 275 Chapter 275
CHAPTER 275 Why was it that people woke up tired when they''d slept for longer than usual? Or at least that''s the way I felt after having slept the entire afternoon and through the night inside of the outpost''s Pokemon Center. My mouth felt so dry it might as well have been a desert, and my entire body felt numb. The sun was barely rising through the window, though Angel was blocking almost the entirety of the rays. It took a few seconds to situate myself and remember what had happened yesterday. The people I''d saved were alive and well, even if Daniel had a nasty gash on his thigh and their Pokemon needed to be healed extensively. I rolled out of bed, leaving Princess to im the entire thing for herself as I nabbed myself ice water from the fridge. Lurantis had agreed to stay on this side of the forest, but had needed to get Oddish back with Kadabra. Now that she was back, she''d be able to hang out with Sunshine and Mudsdale all day today. Kadabra had unfortunately exhausted herself by Teleporting too many people too many times¡ª and med me for it¡ª so she''d need to take a break for a couple of hours. It was hard to remember sometimes that the people I worked with were not of average skill level. Not every psychic would be able to Teleport these distances without growing tired. I had two days left here, not three, then. I wondered about what to do to pass the time while I waited as I slowly went through my morning routine and scrolled through my phone with tired eyes. Intruding too much on Lurantis, Sunshine and Mudsdale might be a little rude, and while I wouldn''t disappear, I at least wanted to give them some space. Training was a given, especially since Princess could fly us away from the outpost to have some peace and quiet. Sweetheart could use some more practice with earth-shaping and transitioning into Earthquake, but they never told you how difficult training Earthquake was. In theory, it was just a more powerful version of Bulldoze or Stomping Tantrum, plus we had created Earthbreaker specifically to make that transition earlier, but it was not only about the power behind the move. The level of intricacy needed to create an actual earthquake-like phenomenon that strong went beyond any other ground type moves we''d worked with so far. Oh, well, power was also an issue, even if it wasn''t the only one. There was only so much Princess could fix when the entire area went to hell, and Mudsdale had taken over since, but now that he''d be busy, it would get a lot moreplicated. I could see now why people like Craig and Aubri went off in the middle of nowhere to create new moves and practice their old ones. It was not only about secrecy, but also about convenience. Jellicent floated behind me, asking me about my night. He told me about how he had snuck out of the Center while we slept to go practice in theke nearby and had identally scared off every water type in miles. I snorted as I scrolled through Pastoria''s Gym website and smiled when I saw that Denzel had won his Gym Battle, and it hadn''t been that close. 5-6, so the same as Chase''s, but his Milotic had barely had a scratch on him when he took down Ludicolo. An impressive victory beyond a shadow of a doubt, given the fact that he''d also faced down Gyarados. I was sure his sponsors were very pleased and that his new merch was selling like hotcakes, though I hadn''t seen anyone wearing any shirts quite yet. Altaria had been surprisingly effective, with her Cloud Nine ability negating Crasher Wake from stacking any Rain Dances like he''d done against me with well-timed switches, and the power behind her attacks was nothing to scoff at. She''d held her own until Kingdra took her down¡ª the same Kingdra Sunshine had beaten. She wasn''t quite seven-badge level, but she was definitely close. The fundamentals that Craig had taught Denzel had carried him far, and were still of use even today. Now, he was going to leave Pastoria as soon as his team was healed and fly to Canve with Pauline''s help. I was happy to see he''d started his streams back up again too. Always quick to recover, this one, I thought fondly. I missed him dearly¡ª I missed all of them, really, but I was not ready to see them yet. Not until I told them the entire truth, at least. Well, I felt more capable of it than I was a week ago, so as long as things kept progressing¡­ "Oh. Mel called me." I''d been deep asleep when she did, but she was happy about something, from the way she''d only called me once and then texted instead of calling me ten times in a row in a panic. People liked the fact that I''d gone into the woods to save trainers, apparently. I hadn''t even done it with Poketch in mind, but it was a nice bonus, at the very least. Better have to have the board happy for when we''d meet, with the way Melody had warned me about the other sponsorship liaisons getting ideas. To be honest, I was surprised that Aubri hadn''t spoken out against me at all, but for all the older trainer disliked me, she''d been very professional when we''d met for the photoshoot. Speaking out against people in your ownpany wasn''t her style, now that I thought about it more. Anyway, I dropped my phone into my pocket, deciding to ignore the fact that June and Aiden had already spread the story of our time in the forest in detail and that most didn''t believe them. It was a good thing I hadn''t done any training in Eterna Forest or shown off any of the new stuff all my Pokemon were working on, really. This was about the time to start hiding my Pokemon''s capabilities from prying eyes in the Conference. Granted, they''d have onest opportunity to look at my team when I challenged Byron. Or multiple, if I lost. "Well, might as well catch some fresh air. Guys?" Angel excitedly squirmed, and Princess groaned, asking to get back in her Pokeball to sleep. "You''ve slept for as long as I have¡­ but fine. I''ll use Angel as a ride today," I said. "Let''s go drop Sunshine and Mudsdale off and find something to do. Maybe give the kids a visit." After returning them, my limping steps carried me out of the Pokemon Center, though I grabbed a quick bite on the way out and made sure I had enough for my Pokemon''s breakfast. Lurantis would be waiting inside of the station itself, and it took Angel little time to bring us there with a steady rhythm. My ankle was actually starting to feel better, or at least it did whenpared to the first day I''d broken it. I knew it would still be weeks until I could actually walk, let alone run, however. I would have released Buddy so he could go on his own and train some more, but people were starting to say he was terrifying. Honestly, I couldn''t see it, with how goofy he got sometimes, but he did exude a hard exterior. This Ranger Station was a mirror of all others, with a green roof and a tight, modern design that made it look sleek both inside and out. Lurantis had been waiting for us inside in a simr-looking garden with Oddish hiding behind her feet, though this yard was more flowery than the other. It was interesting to see how slow-moving the grass type was at the start of the day without the sun out. Even if Tangrowth sometimes got sluggish at night, he was never this affected by theck of sun. When I asked her while my Pokemon ate, she told me that she technically wasn''t equipped to be out of the sun for that long, since she was Aln, and all that time spent under Eterna Forest''s thick canopy had taken its toll. She was building a tolerance for it, but it was a slow-going affair. Mudsdale did not explicitly tell her that she should quit if it was bad for her, but she guessed from a single look in his eyes, and she refused immediately, which gave Sunshine a goodugh. Lurantis valued this job far too much, and she wouldn''t let such a small obstacle stop her. I was, however, angry that she hadn''t told us beforeing. Without Kadabra to Teleport us out, she would have been in an even worse state. The grass type brought one of her scythes-like arms up to elegantly cover her mouth and said that that was how building a tolerance worked. She wasn''t used to going this deep in the forest for that long, and meeting with her long-lostpanions had been a good reason to. After breakfast, I left them to it and left the Ranger building. Once I made sure Kadabra''s prowess had been emphasized enough to the Rangers, I was free of any obligations until Aliyah showed up. Might as well go check on the kids before I go and find a training spot. Close to the water would be nice for Buddy, but worst case scenario, he can just stick around on his own. Maybe I''d give studying Byron another try too¡ª "There you are!" June called out outside of the station. She looked brighter than yesterday, that was for sure. Her face was free of any worry, which meant that Daniel Hall''s leg injury wasn''t too bad. Worse than what Emi had gotten during her trek through here, but recoverable, at least. She''d brought Edith Thurmond with her too, it seemed, though they couldn''t look me in the face. Their light brown eyes just stared at their feet while they blushed, their rtively short dark hair drooping downward as they did so. It was chin-length, and kind of looked like a bob cut, but a lot more¡­ messy and free-flowing. "Come on!" June yelled, nudging them forward. "You''ve said that you wanted to meet her so many times already!" How would Denzel go about this? He''d have a wide smile, get into his streaming persona and give his fans the best possible experience, even if that was just for thirty seconds. The problem was, I had no persona. Whatever, I''d just wing it. I smiled. "Hi. How have you been?" Edith finally spoke. "G¡ªgood. Thanks for saving us." They didn''t made their voice small like Lauren did. It was more of a nervous stutter. I looked around and saw that we were all attracting attention, which was probably making things worse for them, though June didn''t seem to mind one bit. For the longest time, I''d been like that too, scared of crowds and people looking at me to the point of barely being able to function due to my anxiety. "Why don''t we go somewhere more private?" I asked, releasing Angel. The anxiety in Edith''s eyes melted away, leaving way for awe. "My room will do. Unless your other friends want toe, or we go to Daniel''s hospital room¡ª" "Edith can go without me," June said. Her friend made some kind of half-hiss, half-grunting noise of pure disbelief. "What? We''ve spent a lot of time with her already, so just go," she continued. "Aiden and Art are with Daniel, at the moment. You guys cane visitter, he doesn''t like to be overwhelmed." Why was she lying? I had my empathy at the lowest level it had ever been, and it was as clear as day. Still, there must have been a reason, so I decided to let it go. "I mean, if you say so," I said with a raised eyebrow. June was already running off, anyway, waving at us with that sharp grin of hers. "Well, if it''s just us two, I was nning on going training and studying," I said. "My therapist will probably show up in the middle of it, though. Want to go for a ride?" "On Princess?" Edith gasped. "Oh, Legendaries!" "Do you like her?" I asked. "I¡ªI do. She''s my favorite," they muttered. "I''m one of the top contributors to her Trainerpedia page, you know? I''ve watched her fights more times than I can count." "Trainerpedia? Oh, right, Denzel told me about it, once," I said. It was a website where all of the information about trainers could be written and edited, and each popr trainer had a hugemunity around their pages. "Sorry, I''m kind of bad at this. Anyway, do you?" "I do!" they yelled. Well, they were still shy, but it looked like their excitement had overtaken their timidity for now. I recalled Angel, who was sad he didn''t get to be my ride again, and I released the flying type. Trainers watched as I strapped Edith onto the saddle¡ª not too tightly, so they wouldn''t be ufortable. They did these little flinches every time I identally touched them, which made it really hard to strap them in. Honestly, it was kind of weird how many parallels this entire self-reflecting journey had to my first one. Today''s was that Craig had done the same thing for me up north, when flying us down to Eterna City, though I supposed I wasn''t really flying Edith anywhere in particr. I just figured this would make their day, especially since they liked Princess so much. I handed them my only pair of goggles so their eyes would be protected, and then I hopped on myself. "I can''t believe it," Edith whispered. "I''m on¡ª I''m on Princess." "Take it easy for this one, baby," I softly said, petting Togekiss'' head. I, for one, knew she was annoyed at having to fly two people when that second person wasn''t Cece. Togekiss gently lifted off into the air, and toward the East. Edith was shaking like a leaf, though I didn''t know if it was from excitement or nervousness. Probably both, really. I was trying to finish stamping down on my empathy, so ignoring them forcefully made for some good practice. I was sure I''d be able to stay in Eterna City without passing out when I made it there, at least. "Can I ask questions?" Edith said. They had to ask twice, because they hadn''t been used to how loud the wind was this high up when flying, even at a lower speed. "Go ahead." "Is it true that Princess has no upper limit on her drills? Like, can she make a hundred at a time?" "Well, there is a limit. We haven''t really tested it in a while, but it''s probably north of fifty? Fewer for spears. I won''t say much more about it, though." Edith stayed silent for a few seconds, and then gasped. "Oh, no! I won''t put the information out, I swear! This is¡­ between us." Was disappointing a fan okay? I wanted to tell them no meant no instantly, but that was a rude way of going about things. "I get it, but I really don''t want to risk any leaks, sorry," I said. "Look at the bright side, you''ll see us go through some routine training. It''s all stuff I don''t mind revealing." "Sweet! You never train in public, so no one knows what your process looks like. Do your Pokemon fight each other? What''s your way ofing up with new tactics? How do you get your team to learn moves from scratch¡­" Oh, they could really get going when they wanted to, huh? June hadn''t been lying when saying Edith was a massive fan. I tried to answer their questions to the best of my abilities, though sometimes they asked for too much and I had to put my foot down. Still, they were practically beaming about this the entire way through, and by the time wended, most of their shyness was gone. I dismounted Princess at the edge of one of the massivekes a few hours from Eterna City and helped Edith off too. It felt good to be with people shorter than me, for a change. I wasn''t short, I was just friends with a bunch of freakishly tall people. "Before you start, um, can I have your autograph?!" Edith asked. "My¡­ what?" "Your autograph¡­?" "My¡­ autograph?" "Yeah. Like, signing something I own. I was thinking my Litwick''s Pokeball, but¡ª" "Wait, wait, wait," I stammered. "You have a Litwick?" That was a true ghost! People usually never caught those that early, save for Mira! "Yeah. With a Trubbish and a Tyrogue, but Litwick''s my starter, so I wanted you to sign my ball¡­" Okay, focus on the autograph for now. "Well, I have a pen in my bag somewhere, but it''s not a permanent marker, so it wouldn''t stick to your Pokeball. I haven''t really done this autograph thing before. I don''t even have one of those fancy ones like Denzel does. Would I just write my name?" "Anything you want!" Edith squealed. "As long as I take a video of you signing it, it''ll be fine. Maybe write it in one of my notebooks instead." They quickly searched through their backpack, pulled out a notebook and handed it to me. Now that I was looking at it, their bag had all kinds of pins on it. LGBTQ+ gs, a Togepi pin, a small stic knife pin¡ª Okay, let''s stop looking at the pins. The knife was cute, but it was a testament to my reputation that my fan had one of these. Where had they even gotten this? Did they sell knife pins? Could I im royalties on these? Of course you can''t, I silently chided at myself. "Which page?" I asked, scrolling through the book. "Oh¡­ you draw me?" There were multiple illustrations of me on here. Sometimes, portraits, other times full-body drawings. There was me with my full team, or me with a single or only a few of my Pokemon. It was mostly just me, though. Despite it just being pencil sketches, these looked really nice¡ª Edith snatched the notebook out of my hands with a face so red they looked like they were about to pass out. "I¡ª I¡ª I''m so sorry¡ª I didn''t¡ª I thought¡ª I gave you the wrong book." "Edith, this was really cool," I smiled. "Really, it''s awesome! I''ve never had someone do art of me before." The trainer paused, shifting their feet along the grass and clutching the book against their chest. "You really think so?" "Yeah! You''re really good at it. If you want, I''ll sign that one." They hesitantly handed it back to me, and I gave them the best signature I could manage while they filmed, which ended up not being very good. I ended up just writing my name in cursive, which I''d never really been good at. Cece, though, she could write in cursive like there was no tomorrow and actually preferred to do it that way. Her handwriting was really pretty. "Now, I''m gonna get my team out and have them start training. Since you''re here, I''ll only have my Tyranitar work on control stuff instead of pure power, so you won''t have to worry about any tremors, or whatever. Is that okay?" "Grace Pastel is asking me stuff," Edith mumbled. "Yes! Yes, that''s absolutely okay!" Jellicent, Tangrowth, Electivire and Tyranitar all appeared in a sea of red, and Edith nearly jumped for joy. Honey nced in my direction, though he liked the fact that he was being admired, so he gave them a wide grin and a thumbs up. "Can you¡ª can you do that again? I want to take a picture¡­" Then, Sweetheart and Angel demanded to be in the picture, which caused Jellicent to audibly click in frustration and float over to them, since he knew he''d be asked to be in the shot anyway. Better to just get it over with now and not waste time. "I''ll hold your phone and take a pic of you and them, if you want," I suggested. Training could wait a few minutes. ¡ª "Bubble," I ordered. Jellicent let out a booming whistle, and two enormous bubbles of water rose from theke, around the same size as Pfin had been able to do, though they were a smidge smaller. I waited for around thirty seconds to see if he strained to keep them afloat or not, but he kept them steady. The only disturbances on their surface were slight ripples, and there was no water dripping back into theke, so no volume was being lost. Edith watched with a gaping mouth, but they hadn''t seen anything just yet, nor did they trulyprehend the sheer amount of control on disy here. Had a Pokemon been inside of these spheres, they would have been continuously pulled to the center and kept there through powerful currents Buddy was continuously generating. "Boil and Freeze," I said. The ghost type''s eyes dimmed, feeling slight irritation at the challenge of having to do two fundamentally different actions at the same time. It was a lot to manage when working with TE, but he braced himself, his body shrinking slightly and his red eyes brightening as he concentrated. To the left, a wild symphony of steam and bubbles surged from the sphere''s heart as the water within surged and roiled. This was Scald, but on a more powerful and massive scale, applied over an entire area instead of it just being a stream of steaming water. To the right, delicate tendrils of frost crept along the sphere''s surface, etching intricate patterns that glistened in the sun. The air around it was frigid and still, with wisps of vapor swirling across the bubble''s surface. This was not Ice Beam, but the maniption of ice TE itself, and everyone knew that went wonderfully with water. "Hold. One minute," I continued. By the fortieth second, Buddy was clearly struggling. More and more impurities appeared on the spheres. The boiling one began to lose in mass instead of being continuously resupplied with new water while the frozen one began to crack, crumbling under its own weight as physics began to win the tug of war against Type Energy. Still, the ghost held for the minute he needed, and with an exhausted, reverberating sigh, he let go. Both spheres crashed into theke, though Princess'' barriers stopped the waves from touching us. The sheer amount of concentration that had just taken was incredible. Just a pure disy of skill, and yet we were far from done. What if Water Sport coulde out as a Scald so propulsion hurt his enemies? What about using Water Spout and instantly freezing the outgoing water to generate hundreds of ice spikes going so quickly that they were basically impossible to dodge? What about¡­ ice spears? Okay, ice spears wouldn''t be that great in effect, but it was still fun to think about. "Good job, Bud!" I beamed. "Go take a break and soak in the water, you deserve it." I didn''t have to tell him twice. He instantly deactivated his floating powers, plunging deep into theke to recuperate. He wasn''t the only one training hard, of course. Honey had managed to get Hammer Arm and finally mastered Bulldoze, so now I was looking into ideas for a custom move that would prove useful against steel types. It''d probably have to do with electro-maism, but I couldn''t start nning until I properly learned about Byron. Angel could use Brick Break as well as Knock Off by this point and was entirely focused on his vine terrain thingy that I still needed to name. When she wasn''t busy protecting us, Princess was working on better controlling Mystical Fire and bringing Tri Attack up to speed. The move had proved to have far more versatility than I believed it would have at first. Poor Sweetheart was grumbling while she tried to make a Stone Edge swerve mid-air in different directions. She wanted to work on big stuff, but this was as big of a deal as it got. I''d also finally taught her Rock Polish, the TM I''d gotten from Roark. It had never been useful as a Pupitar when she could fly, but now that she was walking again, reducing drag during battles and improving her speed would work out well for her. Though it was a double-edged sword. Rock Polish meant that she would be faster, but it also meant that she''d be easier to knock around due to the fact that she''d slide over everywhere and possibly fall over at the first sign of a strong attack. I would have to pick and choose when to use the move properly, and I was sure it was the kind of thing Byron or any trainer worth their salt would instantly hone in on and punish. Really, I wasn''t even sure if I''d use it against him yet. "You do this every day?" Edith muttered. We were sitting in the grass and watching all of my Pokemon''s training y out. "Almost every day. They have breaks sometimes when we just goof off," I exined. "Like that picture with the flower crowns!" they eximed. "I wondered when you were going to post stuff again. I was so happy when you said you were gonna be more active online and you did that stream in Sunyshore." "You can thank Denzel for that," I smiled. "He basically dragged me by the arm to do it. It was fun, though." Edith shifted in the grass. "You''re a lot." "Hm? What does that mean?" "I mean, this is just¡­ normal for you. My mind''s getting blown," they muttered. "You''re so much better than the fights against Wake or Barry that it''s not even funny." "Want to hear a story?" I asked. "Well, more like a lesson, really." "I''ll always say yes to that." "You never stopped being in awe of what Pokemon can do, even at my level," I said. "Conference regrs¡ª even those that don''t make it out of the group stages¡ª they would destroy me, as I''m sure you know. I think I''d definitely be able to take down a few of their Pokemon, though," I said, thinking of the fight with Zachary. "Maybe get rtively close, in the best case scenario and if I was given time to research, but they would always win. People like Aubri Schneider? They''d look at this," I gestured toward my team, "andugh at the simplicity of it all, or maybe feel nostalgic for their earlier days. Craig Goodwill or the Elite Four? They would roll over me without even a contest, and that''s not even the pinnacle, Edith." I stopped and watched Edith hang onto my every word, like I had to Craig''s near Lake Acuity when he had first told me about his goal, and I had taken it for myself. The Conference would be an entire different beast. I was always used to being the one who did research, andpletely unfamiliar with being researched myself. They would all look me up. All of them would know what to expect. This wouldn''t be like Sceon, where I would be able to roll thepetition. Even in the group stages, each fight would force me to w my way up. Fight tooth and nail for each victory. I would do all in my power, prepare in every way I could, and some of those fights would still be impossible to win. Every trainer there would be terrifyinglypetent. Everyone who would make it there would not have made it through flukes. The eighth Gym Badge was when the rubber met the road. No matter their temperament, their quirks, what they thought about me, what their rtionship was with their Pokemon, they would be the best of the best. Aspetent as me in their own ways, or better. There would be no crushing victories for me, no matter what I brought to the table, I thought, ncing at Sweetheart. And Legendaries, I could not fucking wait. First, I would have to figure out how to blow past the wall that was Byron. Either win through overwhelming power or tricks, Craig had said. "Grace?" "Hmhm," I grunted. "I was just thinking about the Conference, sorry." "What about Cynthia? June talks about her a lot," Edith asked. "I mean, I know she''d win, but¡­ would you be able tond a hit?" "Oh, she wouldn''t even let me see what happened, I''d bet," I smiled. "There''s punching up, and then there''s punching at her. It would be over in less than a minute, and the worst part is she wouldn''t even have to do anythingplicated to beat me. Like, she''d just loose her Garchomp on us, and that''d be that. Do you get it, though? The world is so vast, Edith," I eximed with a toothy grin. "This is just Sinnoh. Who knows what the other regions are like? How their trainers, Gym Leaders, or Elite Four fight beyond the few videos we get ess to?" It was difficult, getting through regional inte blocks, or at least if you weren''t tech-savvy like Mira was. The only reason I''d managed to dig up a video of Steven Stone''s old battles was because someone here had reuploaded them here in terrible quality years ago. "Anyway, that''s all to say that this? My team? This is just a portion of what''s possible. The possibilities are endless." Fire burned within me, rekindling what had dimmed after the raid. The warmth spread through my chest, and the world seemed a little brighter. Every breath felt fresher than thest. This was passion. Not lost¡ª never that¡ª but reignited anew. "You''re¡­ really cool." I snorted. "I''m not. My friends are way cooler than I am. Anyway, that Litwick of yours. How''d you catch it?" "I can show him to you, if you want," they excitedly said. "He''s my dad''s, but he was never a battler until he handed him to me for the journey." Ah, that made a lot more sense. Still, I wondered how their father got their hands on a true ghost, but stranger things had happened. Edith released the ghost, and coldness spread around the small, flickering me. His bright yellow eyes curiously nced at me, after which he waved with his stubby little arms and let out a small, ghostly hum that made my skin tingle. "Hey, little guy," I said. "He smells really good, too. My therapist would probably kill for one of these." "Don''t worry about his me potentially sucking life energy and stuff, he learned to stamp that down a long time ago." "Oh, they can do that?" I tilted my head, imagining all the ways I could utilize that technique. Edith could too. It''d be good for them to at least develop ways to use it in case they were ever attacked by something looking to kill. "That''s pretty cool." "You''re not scared? Even my friends are creeped out by him." I watched Litwick bob up and down as his me danced in the wind, his wax-like skin dripping down all over his head. "This guy? No, he''s a real cutie," I said. "I knew you''d get it!" ¡ª Aliyah ended uping while we''d been training and talking, though she disappeared soon after as usual and left us to our own devices. Edith did end up asking for my number, which I gave them. That way, they''d be able to brag about knowing me to people online, or at least that''s what they told me. They were a lot of fun, when breaking through their shyness, though it took a while for them to get out of that fan headspace. I liked instilling wisdom as much as the next experienced trainer, but I wanted to make friends too, or at least acquaintances. I brought Edith back to the outpost after we finished training a few hourster, though they''d asked me to watch their team train to give them advice before we went. They were less of a nner than I was, but our instincts while battling were simr, with how ruthless they enjoyed being. I did have to tell them to chill out with that aspect when training, though. All it did was have them waste potions, which was hard to remember, were actually a limited resource for most trainers. That hadn''t been the case for me since I''d befriended Cece and the others, so I''d gotten a really huge shortcut in that regard. They also asked if they coulde with me when I left¡­ which wasn''t something I''d expected. It made a little sense when thinking about it. Their friend Daniel would be out ofmission for weeks, which basically meant that the Circuit was over for him. As blunt as it was to say this, I doubted that any of them would manage to beat Gardenia on their first tries, and since this was the end of the Circuit, Gym Leaders prioritized people with a higher amount of badges, like six and seven, so they weren''t going to get many attempts. I''d be happy to be proven wrong, but this was the assumption all of them were going with too. They were a tightly knitted group, and most didn''t want to leave their friend festering in a hospital while they progressed without him. Edith, however, had been desperate to spend more time with me, since I was leaving soon and had taken the plunge. Since they weren''t going to try the badges any longer, they figured they''d try to travel with me. I was sure, after all, that if Denzel had the opportunity to, he would have loved to travel with Craig. I had refused. The ces I was going next¡ª the Lost Tower, visiting Betrix, and finally, the ruined city would be too dangerous for a trainer like Edith, and just like Denzel, my ACE Trainers wouldn''t protect them. I had considered dropping them off in cities while I went where I needed to, but I had no idea how many days I''d spend for each of my visits, and that''d mean Edith would just be alone in a city most of the time. If that was the case, they were better off with their friends. Really, I liked them, but I also didn''t want to lose my alone time either. I did promise I would buy them and all of their friends a ticket to the Conference so they''d be able toe and watch, though, so at least I had that going for me. They were pretty pricey, and their parents hadn''t nned on chiming in. Anyway, I''d spent some time with the rest of Edith''s friends and yed the part of a responsible trainer, who totally wasn''t someone who was constantly fumbling in the dark in search of herself. As they all grouped up around me, looking in my direction like I was the best person in the world, I realized something when I stared at Edith, and they averted their eyes with a blush. They liked me. The feeling had been developing since they''d actually met me, and I''d be less of an unreachable celebrity crush and a tangible human they had spoken to. Since I had been essentially putting my empathy on mute, I hadn''t figured it out until now. It was the hue of a deepening and passionate crimson. Not deep yet¡ª only deepening and growing with every moment,yer byyer. The texture hardened, grew more solid, and that gave the emotion weight. I could have ignored it. I should have. But I had grown curious when I had noticed it, and so I delved deeper. Mesprit had told me that people liking me would be something I loved, as had the previous Shard of Emotion. And this was not love yet, far from it. Still, it was so intoxicating I had to actively stop myself from falling deeper. The worst of it was that even though I did not like them back, or even entertain that notion, that messed up part of me that would never leave wished I could stay longer and keep enjoying this. It was easy to imagine why my predecessor had made a cult, after all. Hundreds¡ª thousands of people, loving him more than anything else in the entire world? How must that have felt? He must have grown addicted to the feeling, perpetually growing his group and molding them to his liking to chase even higher bliss until he died of old age. I cut the meeting short and left soon after. I couldn''t do this. I couldn''t. I wandered around the skies on Princess in silence as I cleared my head, ignoring the subtle giggles at the back of my head and perpetually convincing myself that I hadn''t done anything wrong. I hadn''t messed with Edith''s emotions, or anything. Just spoken to Edith and looked for a few minutes because my curiosity got the best of me, but when I realized what was happening, I stepped out and understood it was¡­ well, it would have been wrong to keep them around, because I''d just be leading them on to use them to make myself feel good. My heart was Cecilia''s, and I missed her now more than ever. "Let''s head back down, shall we? Thanks for letting me think." Togekiss chirped, saying that she was always willing to spend time with me when I needed it and that she''d been working on her Lurantis and Oddish statues anyway. I was starting to like flying to clear my head. The cool and crisp air made it easier to think, and there was no one here but us and the sound of the wind. I forwent protocol, not going through the Ranger building and insteadnding directly where Turtonator and his friends had been talking. "You four are in the exact same position I left you in," I said with a tired smirk as I dismounted Princess. Mudsdale, Turtonator and Lurantis turned toward me, though the grass type retorted by saying Oddish was in her arms instead of on the ground this time. "I came to hang out. Lurantis, Mudsdale tells me that you were the nner for your team before Gym Battles? I''d like some input from you if possible, since you''ve fought Byron before and Sunshine doesn''t have any useful input beyond the simplest y-by-y." Sunshine snorted, saying that her ns didn''t pan out half the time and that Drampa and Oranguru were the ones who had truly pulled the strings, causing Lurantis to blow some kind of powder in his nose thatunched him into a sneezing fit. Their fight wouldn''t have been at the level we were currently at, but it was a start. I sat down next to the three and listened. ¡ª "Are you sure about this?" I muttered. "Can''t we¡ªe to an agreement somehow?" The sun was setting, now, and Mudsdale had announced that he''d chosen to stay here with Lurantis. The ground type lowered his head, brushing its side against my face as the others looked on with saddened faces. We''d only known each other for a few weeks, and yet it felt like a part of me was about to leave. I''d expected him toe to a decision tomorrow before I was set to leave, not right now. His decision had not only been due to Lurantis wanting to stay here, but also because he knew the dangers that would lurk in my future. Not only about the looming threat of Team Gctic, but the fact that I''d be going head-first into danger out of my own volition too. Mudsdale was a fighter no longer. I''d have to ask the Rangers if he could stick around and be a training instructor for the other Pokemon who worked here, though his service wouldn''t be as useful here as in the swamp down south, but ground types always had their uses. And in the end, despite the fact that I''d always told him I would never force him to fight, he was still entitled to wish for a peaceful life. What he wanted and what awaited me was simply ipatible, or at least that''s the way he''d said it. I wanted to try negotiating, saying that I''d never release him during fights, but I knew it wouldn''t work, and I had promised Lurantis that I''d let Mudsdalee to his own decision. So I forced myself to hold back in the tears, and I smiled. "I''m happy for you. Really," I said. "And hey, we still have one more day, right? So let''s make the best of it." I left to sleep extremelyte that night, and Sunshine apanied me back to the Pokemon Center while I rode on Angel''s head. I stole nces at him, and though it was difficult to see in the dark, I could sense that there was mncholic air about him. He was not sad, however, or at least not as much as I was. "How''re you feeling?" I asked. The dragon grunted and said he felt like he should be asking me that. "Goodbyes are always tough," I muttered. "I really thought¡­ I don''t know, that I''d figure something out. I guess life doesn''t always work out that way." There was a way about Mudsdale which I thought had helped smooth the transition between my current self and who I''d been in Pastoria. The peaceful way he carried himself, maybe, always attempting to diffuse situations rather than escte like I''d grown so used to. Turtonator looked at the starry sky and sighed. He was sad¡ª how could he not be? But he was happier to see that Kamaile''s surviving teammates had finally stepped over the hill and were starting to move on. Their old trainer would always be in their memories. The kindness he had shown each of them, theid-back way he''d gone about things and his sheer enjoyment when he explored the world. Yet, they were capable of walking their own road, now. "You''re¡­ right," I said. "You''ve all grown in your own ways. I think Kamaile would be happy." Turtonator nodded in agreement, and Angel caressed us both with his vines. The next day passed in a sh. I didn''t avoid Edith, because it wouldn''t be fair to them, but despite wanting to sit them down and tell them that¡­ this entire thing wasn''t happening, I just ignored it instead and acted like I hadn''t figured out they had a crush on me. I figured that since I was leaving, they''d stop liking me, and we''d stay acquaintances at best, since we weren''t going to see each other until¡­ well, the Conference, if everything went well. I mounted Princess, and the world below us became a blur as we sped toward Eterna City.
Interlude – Truthseeker Interlude ¨C Truthseeker
INTERLUDE - TRUTHSEEKER Three days earlier. Emilia had made it to the top sixteen in Pokemon Contests numerous times, but tonight? Tonight was different. She stepped through the darkened hallway with steady breaths, making sure that her nervousness couldn''t be noticed by the judges or the spectators. A bright spotlight shone down on her as soon as she made it into the performing area, and thousands of cheers filled her ears. Despite doubt creeping up within her, Emilia smiled and waved, making sure that the light caught the way her blue dress sparkled. "Ladies and gentlemen, for the first contestant of the second match of the top sixteen, we have Emilia Lussier!" thementator announced through the cheers. "A rising star, this one, making it here a total of eight times despite this being her first year as a coordinator! Are you excited to see what she has nned for us today?" They were, of course, but Emilia had been here enough to know that there was tension in the crowd, like they were waiting for someone else. Someone who wasn''t her. Rising star with a growing fanbase, she might have been, but she was no match for her opponent. Most people probably thought of this match as a foregone conclusion. Emilia stared at the opposite hallway, her eyes drifting across the circr arena, its floor d with reinforced steel painted with a homely beige. Temperance Rousselot hade in a crimson dress today, her hair now dyed with different shades of red that somehow made her look even better. She did not smile, keeping her usual neutral expression on her face. The music¡ª some ssical dramatic song that Emilia couldn''t name¡ª swelled to a crescendo as she made it onto her own tform. Unfair, Emilia thought. They synced Temperance with the music, but not her? "And on the other side, we have Temperance Rousselot!" she announced. "She''s been in more contests than we can count, but she''s never breached into the quarter-finals at the Grand Festival! She''s been on absolute fire this year, however, beating rival after rival! She''s got a seemingly never-ending bag of performances, so I''m sure tonight will show us something new and exciting!" This was a foregone conclusion, Emilia thought. But that did not mean she would not give it her damnedest. They expected her to go down lying down, didn''t they? She had no ribbons to her name, after all, while Temperance already had enough to be qualified at the Grand Festival, which would be held in Jubilife this summer. Emilia''s smile grew sharp. Her back was against the wall. She was a cornered Pokemon with no hopes of making it through the next ten minutes. But she would not go gently into the night. "Coordinators, send out your Pokemon!" Temperance sent out her Dragonair, which was usually always paired with her Meowstic. Tonight, however? It was her Whimsicott that came out of her ball. Both floated in the air as if gravity was a suggestion rather than aw. "What is this? A fairy and a dragon? Let''s see what Temperance is nning for us tonight!" Even the judges looked to be at the edge of their seats, and to be honest, Emilia was too. What new wonders would Temperance showcase today? It was a question forever on everyone''s minds every time she stepped into the ring, and it could be terrible for your focus during a performance if you let it get to your head. Emilia released Metang and her newly-evolved Braixen onto the cold metal. Temperance''s Pokemon were no doubt beyond hers in power, but this was a performance. The goal was not to pummel your opponents like in battles, it was to showcase the beauty of Pokemon moves by using two of your teammates. Braixen grabbed her wooden twig from her tail. The small staff was her implement, and through it, she could weave fire into whatever she wanted. Metang''s cold voice rang into Emilia''s head. The performance has been studied more times than we can count. We are ready to execute, they said. Thementator spoke up, but Temperance held out a hand and closed it in her general direction. The older woman shut up immediately, as was customary during her performances. Thementator announced for the performance to begin, and Emilia sprung to action, outstretching her arm to look as beautifully and as smoothly as possible, as she had practiced a thousand times. "Sparkling Cannon and Will-O-Wisp!" she yelled out. Braixen twirled her staff, summoning a set of purple mes that appeared in the midst of the birth of a hundred stars. Metang concentrated light at a hundred different points, condensing them until they exploded all at once, down to the millisecond. That part was important for what came next. The Will-O-Wisps absorbed the blinding lights all at once, all shifting with countless colors, but instead of displeased unpleasant screams, Braixenmanded the ghost to sing. A single hum, rising and rising until she chopped her staff down and sent the hundred multi-colored mes barrelling toward Whimsicott and Dragonair. The dragon''s eyes shone, and thick barriers appeared around both her and her teammate. No damage had been taken, yet therge screen high above them showed that Temperance had lost points anyway, though only a sliver. The crimson-haired girl snapped her fingers. "High Garden." Whimsicott spun, and the world blurred, leaving way for a field of red flowers, dripping with some kind of red substance that looked like, but wasn''t blood. As always, Temperance was on theme with herself. She centered her performances around what she looked like that day, and it was working. Metang spoke into her mind. Preparing interference¡ª Dragonair was quicker. The snake-like dragon summoned a ball of light into the sky, speeding up the flowers'' growth, and all of them turned to face Metang as if they were the sun itself. "Braixen, Fireball!" Emilia yelled. The fire type spun her staff, but the flowers spat out gallons of their liquid, forming a ball of¡­ what the hell even was that? The red sphere shimmered, drawing the fireball and smothering it before it could reach and burn the flowers. Not that they were needed any longer. The red flowers withered in pink dust that coated the bottom of the arena while Temperance spoke and the Sunny Day plunged down into the red sphere. So much was happening it was overwhelming. Emilia''s points were steadily going down. Breathe. "Metang, use Psychic. Disrupt the liquid. Braixen, you help with Confusion." Not the best n, but Emilia couldn''t let what was happeninge to fruition. The red liquid started rippling across its surface until Dragonair flew forth and summoned a set of ming rings around itself and sent them down instead of toward her Pokemon. At Whimsicott''smand, the pink dust coating the floor surged upward, joining the mes and extinguishing them¡ª They instantly reappeared around Metang, as if they''d been Teleported. Braixen lifted her wooden twig up, takingmand of the mes from Dragonair and cleansing Metang, but that was the opening Temperance had needed. The Sunny Day plunged into the red orb, and for a second, the world went white. There was no vapor generated from the heat. Instead, the red liquid condensed down into the sun and turned it crimson. A crimson sun, basking the entire stadium in its light. The world held its breath, and the entire arena was Temperance''s. "Crimson Laser," the coordinator said. From the sun, beams of red light surged so quickly Metang barely had enough time to redirect the first. The second him the steel type in the arm, and the third went for Braixen. What even was this? It wasn''t water¡ª but why did Whimsicott have control over it? Some kind of mour nonsense? Think! She couldn''t stay on the defensive forever, but she couldn''t counter the crimson sun. This was a coup de grace. The pinnacle of a coordinator''s performance¡ª what they hade here to create. That meant Temperance was out of tricks of this magnitude, at the very least. At its core, this was still a Sunny Day. Fire TE mixed with something else. Emilia stared at the back of Braixen''s head, her tired breaths growing shorter and shorter. She had around thirty percent of her points left, while Temperance still had ny. "Braixen. Let''s steal the sun," Emilia dered. The fire type grinned, clenching her fingers around her small staff and began to chant. Braixen was not just a fire type. She was something akin to a mage, who could use her staff to control mes far beyond what she should have been able to. Temperance ordered Dragonair to defend the orb, and the dragon gathered electricity around its horn. The beam of Thunder was suspended in the air for effect, going as if it were frozen in time. Temperance brought her arm down, and it flew toward Braixen. "Metang, Light Show!" It began like a sh Cannon, but diverged and turned into multiple beams before Emilia could blink. They all exploded outward, half of them homing toward the Thunder to intercept, and the rest all aiming toward Dragonair. Whimsicott cried out, and anotherser from the sun cut across Metang''s silver body. Still, the Thunder was intercepted in a brilliant explosion, and Dragonair used Protect to shield itself from any harm. Emilia felt the hair on her neck rise, but she steeled herself and pointed at the sun, her movements in sync with Braixen. Crimson mes engulfed the fire type''s staff, stretching down to her arm as she felt the huge bacsh from trying to take control of fire that wasn''t hers. Still, the nextser was barely a pittance, squirting out and sttering against the floor. The next never came. The crimson sun dimmed as Braixen yelled, redirecting it toward Whimsicott. Temperance''s eye twitched, but she kept her cool. "Copse." Ah. Dragonair hummed. The sun disappeared, winking out of existence and only leaving behind the red liquid that had coated it. It was over. The dragon did not sit still. It sang, aiming a Dragon Pulse at the ground, which Whimsicott redirected with wind so strong Braixen was kicked back, adding shimmering pink to the turquoise hue. It had taken everything, to steal the sun for a few seconds, and the fire type fainted immediately from a hit to the torso. Before Temperance could move on to Metang, an obnoxious buzz rang out, signaling that Emilia''s points had dropped to zero. Temperance''s remained at around seventy-five percent. Cheers rang out all around her, cheering for Temperance, but there were more subdued than what her old idol had grown used to. Emilia had given her a scare, at the very least, and that? That was a sign of what was toe. This was close to the best-case scenario we calcted, Metang said. Granted, you never want our input for these things. We will admit that stealing the sun was not among those calctions, however. Ingenious. Braixen has made wonderful progress. She would have answered, but knew that there was no way the psychic would be able to hear through the cheers. Emilia stayed for thementary from the judges, as was customary, but most praised Temperance''s ingenuity and not her. That was honestly what she''d expected, really. Emi was proud of her performance, even though she wished she''d been more aggressive instead of letting herself fall into her opponent''s pace. She walked back through the hall and after talking to numerous fans and the press, she joined Vincent outside of the waiting room. It had been a while, since she''d seen the first coordinator who''d given her the time of day in person, but they''d stayed in contact the entire time. He was, after all, her video editor and friend. "Emilia, what in the world was that?" "What?" the girl asked as they walked through the Contest Hall. I really need to hire a manager already, she thought. Denzel already has one. "The sun thing with your Braixen!" the short teen insisted. "You almost pulled the rug from under Temperance! I bet she''s pissed." "She didn''t look that way." "She''s always stoic. I bet you she''s the kind of gal to let all of her frustrations out in private, though. You basically ruined her showcasing a new technique." "I didn''t ruin it, I just appropriated it for a short time," Emi smirked. "Either way, it was a lost cause. We don''t have the versatility needed with our techniques to counter hers yet. She was setting up for so long, and I couldn''t do anything to stop her." The air outside was cooler than usual, and Emilia shivered slightly. "You''re growing quickly. I think you''re a shoo-in for the Grand Festival next year if you keep up the pace, honestly. You''re going to start winning actual ribbons soon," Vincent said. "Kind of makes me feel like shit, but hey." Emilia snorted. "You made it to the top sixteen in yourst contest." "Yeah, but that was my first time. I''mgging behind," he said. "Remind me to stop editing your videos, so I get more free time to practice." "Come on, you get half of the revenue." "It''s funnier if I pretend to be overworked, underpaidbor." "You and I have very different definitions of funny," Emi snorted. "Stillughed, though. Beautifly''s been working on this insane technique with Morning Sun¡ª I''m trying to give the entire thing a gravitational field, kind of like your friend Grace''s Moonst, but it''s hard when you''re not a fuckin'' fairy type." "You''ll manage," she simply said. The two spoke together of new ideas andbinations until Emilia''s driver arrived. Now that her performance was done, it was time to meet her parents after dropping off Braixen and Metang to the Center. ¡ª Emilia leaned against the car window, her previously tied-up hair now loose and her eyes tired once more. Keeping up appearances during contests was one of the most difficult parts of the sport, when she didn''t feel like smiling. Her mouth still hurt from being stretched for so long, but Emilia had grown used to it by now, though keeping up a smile and not flinching when everything in your performance was going to hell had been among the most difficult things to adjust to after having been a trainer. She honestly couldn''t believe she''d been one, these days. Her fight against Roark had been simple enough with Metang, but Gardenia had been another world entirely, as was often the case for the second badge. The fact that her parents had believed she could just snap her fingers and get herself to the Conference without the passion or drive to do so had been¡­ stupid, to say the least. Though maybe they believed she would get into it, if given enough time and experience. It wouldn''t have been the first time it would have happened. They had forced many things upon her growing up, most of which she still somewhat enjoyed to this day, and she''d gotten good at rapidly. Dance, tennis, ounting¡­ those had been the big three, but there were many more. Emilia watched Hearthome''s pretty lights as they reached the north-western part of the city, where the modern buildings grew less numerous by the minute and were reced by ancient ones built earlier in the city''s history. She absent-mindedly grabbed her phone, browsing thements for hertest video¡ª two weeks ago. Her normal schedule was one video per week, and people were starting to wonder when the new one was, or if she''d taken a break. I don''t even know, Emilia thought. Did she need a break? The ideas weren''t flowing as freely as they once did, and she didn''t have Denzel to bounce ideas with. Metang were terrible at imagining something people would like and were entirely too clinical about it, too. The coordinator groaned as her driver slowly parked the car in her massive driveway. She needed something to break through the top sixteen. Every time she made it past the first stage, she was put against people more skilled than she was. Being put against Temperance of all people was like pouring salt in the wound. Denzel¡­ It wasn''t like they were speaking much these days, despite how much he wanted to. Something was eating at Emilia''s core, and it was the same thing she''d felt while the entire group was in Veilstone. The exnation the League and he had afforded her after the events at the Pokemon Mansion made sense, but she knew Denzel by now. Despite his tall appearance, deep down, he was a softie who liked pretty things, and most of all, he was a terrible fucking liar. So, despite the fact that he was sitting in a hospital bed with Pauline by his side, Emilia was giving him the cold shoulder. Gothitelle had warned Pauline, that she saw danger in her future because of Grace, Cecilia, Chase and Mira. Now, Denzel knew something, or his entire demeanor wouldn''t have changed. Hell, it probably had to do with the fact that he was in the raid, too. Something was happening beyond what Emilia could see, and the fact that Denzel was trying to behave as if that wasn''t the case pissed her off. She''d thought Pauline would have been the same, but she''d been too shaken by his injury, and so kept putting the confrontation off and dyed as she usually did. Emilia knew that the questions were eating at Pauline as much as they ate at her, yet she didn''t want to cause another fight. Not after everything Pastoria had put Denzel, Cecilia and the others through. Sometimes, however, you had to put your foot down, and so Emilia had sent a text yesterday. Either you tell me what''s going on, or this keeps going. She still hadn''t received a straight answer, and Arceus forgive her, but she would be willing to bring a torch to this entire¡­ dating experiment if Denzel kept not taking her seriously. She was not someone to be coddled¡ª she had had enough coddling for a lifetime. Emilia knew she was not as powerful of a trainer as her friends were (although coordinating had been surprisingly effective at giving her a second wind in that regard), but she was not a child to be kept in the dark for her own good, as he had said. "Thank you, Paul," Emilia said as he opened the door for her. The tall, balding man just bowed, as if she was some kind of royalty. That behavior sickened her, these days. "No need for all the theatrics. I''m just a girl." "It would not be proper," he simply answered. Unwilling to get into a debate about it, she just sighed and decided to move on. This was one of her parents'' numerous properties in Hearthome, although one of the more ''humble'' ones, given the fact that it was still near the city''s core. That meant that it was on the smaller side of things, and one of Hearthome''s older structures. Emilia ran a hand over its weathered limestone fa?ade, which rose above the cobblestone street of this¡­ gated neighborhood. She lifted her head and looked at the wrought-iron balconies, which were adorned with floral motifs and overlooked Hearthome from above. This ce is the same as when I left it. Arched windows, framed with intricately carved stones and covered by wooden shutters painted blue. Emilia had been staying at a hotel, but now that her parents had been discharged from the hospital, they''d invited her here for dinner after her performance. They''d been too weak to go to the performance itself, but supposedly, they told her they''d watch it on television. Paul followed her, unlocking the heavy wooden doors, and Emilia stepped through the tight entry hallway. Past this, however, the inside of the building was a lotrger than the outside gave it credit for. Emilia''s heels cked on the delicate, mosaic floor of the foyer, where two maids bowed as they greeted her. "Wee home, Emilia," they said in unison, outstretching their hands to the right. "Ms. and Mr. Lussier are ready for you in the dining room." "Okay. Thank you." Emilia strode through their home, reminiscing on the old times Pauline and her used to stay here and they''d hide away from everything. Sometimes, when Emi hadn''t been able to take her parents anymore, Pauline would have them sneak out after using her phone to call one of her drivers here, and she''d bring her to Josephine for the night. Pauline''s mother had her¡­ quirks, and expected a lot of her daughter¡ª too much¡ª especially when protecting their business, but she''d always been good to her as a rule, or at least a lot better than Emilia''s own family. Her parents beamed when they saw her step through the arched entryway to the dining room. Harry and Alice Lussier. Emilia shared her mother''s chestnut hair, though she had her father''s thin nose and softer face. It was easy to see that they were still slightly short of breath, with their chests rising and lowering at quick intervals. They''d been in a room full of smoke due to a reon''s rampage, but she hadn''t known what had happened beyond the fact that the ACEs and Chase came and saved them. "Emilia, my dear!" her mother smiled. "Come and sit!" Luckily, this was one of their appropriately sized tables, so Emilia sat down facing both her parents. Drinks had already been served, though she only had water, and attendants came with an entr¨¦e¡ª a sd of some kind. "So. How was your first day out of the hospital?" Emilia asked. "It feels good to be out of that ce," Harry said before sipping on some red wine. "They say it''ll take some time for our lungs to get back to full strength, but we''ll make a full recovery soon enough." Emi smiled, feeling genuine relief. "Great." She hadn''t known her parents would be at that party, because she''d cut contact with them in Sunyshore when they had called and given her another snide remark about Pauline when she had announced their¡­ split. The words themselves hadn''t been more annoying or ignorant than usual. It had just been umting for a while. This feeling that no matter what she did, she would never be enough for them if she didn''t fit in a neat little box they could shove her in. "To think that Edward would be involved in such a scheme¡­" Alice murmured, paling. "It''s always the ones you least suspect." Her Dad nodded, slightly breathless. "I''d heard rumors that he enjoyed seeing rare Pokemon. He let it go to his head." Harry stopped and nced toward Emilia. "Straighten your back, will you?" her father chided. "And hold your fork properly." Here we go again. And fuck, she did straighten her back even more than what she thought was possible, as if it was almost an instinctual response. She''d already been sitting straight, anyway! Arceus, what she would do to have Metang with her right now. "Good," he said. "How are you finding the food?" I don''t like sd that much, especially when vinegar makes it taste awful, and you know that. "It tastes good," she lied. Don''t start a confrontation. "How did you know Backlot? Did you sell him some property somewhere or something?" "We did, back when you were five or six. We sold him a wonderful patch ofnd up north in the Frontier. One of the few bits ofnd which aren''t owned by the government," Harry exined. "The League has already announced they''re requisitioning thend, and there''s nothing we can do about it. A shame." Her mother spoke up. "He built a resort up there. It brought him some ie, especially during the winter months. People always like to retreat to the Battle Frontier''s southern coast when it gets too cold on the maind. Really, we underestimated thend''s value¡­" They started speaking to each other aboutnd value and other nonsense which Emilia weed with open arms as she forced herself to finish her entr¨¦e. Soon enough, the main course came, and finally it was something Emilia actually liked. She dug into the high-quality steak that melted in her mouth, though she did not miss her mother''s sneer, and instinctively slowed herself down. Times away from them and with her friends had made Emilia grow used to eating to enjoy herself instead of eating to look proper. "Your performance was great. Facing down Temperance herself? Our friends were very impressed," she said. "Losing was a shame, but it''s true that you''re much more at home in the coordinator world than the trainer world." As if you care. Her mother just wanted to brag to her friends, as usual. "I am," she dryly answered. "I like it much better, and I don''t have to risk my life going through deadly ces. You know, like Eterna Forest." Alice continued. "Plenty of trainers make it through all of Sinnoh without a hitch. It''s those people you''re with, who forced you into danger." Ah, yes, those people. Specifically, Grace, Cecilia and Pauline, the only friends Emilia''s parents had a problem with. Surely it was all a coincidence, and not the fact that they were all not straight. Emilia just grunted and kept eating. They just almost died. I at least owe them dinner. "There are plenty of rumors floating around," her Mom said. "Pauline even was arrested by trying to get involved in the raid, wasn''t she? It''d be best if you didn''t get involved with her any further. What if she''d gotten in and ruined the entire operation? Things like this are delicate. She could have caused more hostages to die¡ª" The guilt trip ising. They were going to say that Pauline could have caused them to die. "Aren''t you tired?" Emilia asked, dropping her utensils on the table. Her mother frowned. "Excuse me¡ª" "Aren''t you tired?" she repeated. "Of always singing the same song? ying the same game?" "I don''t know what you''re talking about. Was it something I said?" "Legendaries, you''re the worst," Emilia tiredly sighed. Her father opened his mouth, but she was faster. "When I heard you''d almost died, I wanted to give you another chance. I wanted to mend the bridge between us. I was ready to ignore everything you''ve done to me and start fresh. But you can''t even bring yourself to stop." Emilia rose from her seat. "Emi¡ª please, stay," her Dad begged. It was odd, how she started feeling bad as soon as she saw the regretful tint in his eye. Was it a trick, or did he genuinely feel bad? Did he actually want to change? Or did he want to keep her in a box, forever defined the way he wanted her to be? After everything they''d done to her, it was disheartening to see that they actually did love her, in their terrible, fucked up way. "I''m asking you to try, and you can''t even do that," Emilia said. "You keep pushing me away and wondering why I keep wanting to leave, because your jabs are subtle. You''re the reason I was thrown into danger. Not Pauline or anyone else. You made me go on the journey against my will. I''m leaving." "And we apologized numerous times¡ª" Harry raised a hand, interrupting Alice. "Please sit, Emilia. We''ll stay away from¡­ sensitive topics from now on." Emilia''s shoulders slumped. "Ah. You don''t get it." She turned away. "You think you can just ignore it, and it''ll go away." The girl stopped and drew in a long breath. It''d be better than what they were currently doing¡ª constantly digging at her friendships in hopes that something would give¡ª but at the end of the day, their opinions wouldn''t actually change. "I''m leaving, and you can''t stop me. Not anymore. Maybe at some point, I''ll give you another chance, but you won''t be seeing me again for a while. Message me if you need anything regarding your health." Her parents protested, but they did not get up. They did, after all, see the purse she carried her Pokeballs in, and Lycanroc could get in a foul mood. ¡ª The drive back to the hotel was silent, though Emilia noticed her parents had not recalled Paul as her driver and forced her to call a taxi like she thought they would. They were getting better, at least, but they were not entitled to Emilia''s presence, especially if being in the same room as them felt extremely draining. Though she had expected tears, they never came. She just felt numb. Her fingers felt sluggish as they scrolled through her phone, browsing some nonsense on social media to pass the time. At least that worked, given the fact that before she realized it, she was back at her hotel. The same one Amy Saunier¡ª Cecilia''s old best friend¡ª had stayed at until her recent flight to Unova. Honestly, she''d stayed for far longer than Emilia expected, given what Sinnoh was currently turning into. She must have been holding out for hope that Cecilia would change her mind and talk to her again, though that never ended up happening. While Emilia hadn''t known Cece before they metst summer beyond ncing at each other during get-togethers where rence would fly to Sinnoh with her and his wife, Emilia had to admit that Grace had rubbed off on her in many ways, including holding grudges. Amy Saunier would get no second chances. "They''re trying to change, you know," her driver said as soon as he opened the door. "The raid¡­ changed them, but you know how they are. Give them time." "I''ve been giving them time," Emilia grumbled and took his hand. "Thank you anyway, Paul." Maybe in a few years, they''d be willing to ept her for who she was. Tonight wasn''t that night, however. Emilia bid her driver farewell and walked toward her hotel''s entrance. She was no longer paying with her parents'' money but with her own means. Money she''d earned through contests or simply making content. Being independent felt good, at least. No longer would she be beholden to anyone else and feel any kind of obligation towards them. Emilia did a double-take when she saw Mira sitting on one of the lobby''s luxurious couches. The girl had always been pale, but she was white as snow, and had heavy bags under eyes that she struggled to keep open. The temperature seemed to lower slightly as Emilia approached, and she felt a little chill down her spine when she got within hearing distance until it got overwhelming the closer she got. Mira tapped a foot against the floor repeatedly, and the feeling disappeared as fast as it hade. Must be Haunter again, Emilia thought. He''s been rowdytely. They hadn''t spoken that many times despite having been in the same city. Once, when Mira had reached it, they''d gone out for lunch. The second time, Mira had needed a break from something that she wouldn''t exin, and she''de to watch Emilia train her Pokemon. More secrets, Emilia thought with disdain. She''d gotten very busy these past few days, however, so the coordinator hadn''t expected to see her again. Since she knew Mira was hiding something, part of her had wanted to give her the cold shoulder as she had to Denzel, but she looked so miserable it was hard to be mean to her. In all of their months having known each other, Emilia had never seen her friend this way. "Hi," Mira tiredly said. There was no upward inflection in her tone, it was just a statement. Entirely unusual. "I thought I''d wait for you here, since you finished your contest thing. Sorry about your loss. I ended up waiting a lot longer than I thought, though." "I was at my parents''. You look like hell," Emilia said, sitting next to her. "Did something happen?" "Oh, you know. The usual." "I¡­ don''t know," Emi frowned. "Are you sure you''re alright?" Mira''s eyes fluttered open. "I haven''t been able to sleep." Well, that much was obvious, but it was still a breakthrough. "Nightmares about the raid?" Emilia guessed. "You can talk to me, if you want." She was being selfish, and she knew it. Of course, she was worried for a friend, but she also wanted answers. Why was it that Gothitelle had warned Pauline? Why were there so many secrets? Her every thought was consumed by this question, and Emilia had grown past waiting for looming confrontations to fester. "What''s got you worried¡ª" Emilia stopped when she realized what this meant. This was a cry for help. "You know what, why don''t you head up to my room first? Have you eaten anything today?" "Oh, I''ve eaten plenty. I can do everything, still, I just can''t keep my eyes closed," the pink-haired girl shuddered. "Thanks, though." Emilia lifted up her friend and guided her to her hotel room, where she promptly copsed on the bed and started making ''snow angels''. Emilia grabbed some water from the fridge and some remaining crackers she had, just in case, and ced them on the bedside table if Mira ever wanted them. She sat on the foot of the bed and they lingered in silence for a minute or so until Mira suddenly rose. "What do you want me to do?" Emilia asked. "Hang out, mostly. Make me feel right again," Mira said. "My Pokemon are worried sick, and therapy''s working, but not for the nightmares. It''s like I can''t escape¡­" "Escape what?" The girl closed her eyes, and she flinched. "You know¡­ I guess it''s time to put my money where my mouth is." Emilia frowned as her fingers tingled. "Huh?" "Can I tell you something? Like, something you need to take to your grave." "Yes¡­? I mean, it entirely depends on what that is, doesn''t it¡ª" "Denzel couldn''t tell you about this because you left early, but Backlot? He didn''t die due to a misfire in the raid," Mira said. Her eyes drifted to Emilia''s, which she instantly averted due to something akin to shame and disgust¡ª at her own self? "I caused him to die¡ª no, I killed him after he surrendered." Emilia froze, and suddenly, the girl who she''d thought she had known had be someone else entirely. What she thought had been a soft exterior left ce for jagged edges. After he surrendered. The words bounced around her head like Mira was saying them over and over. Her bed felt as hard as concrete under her. Answers, Emilia. You need answers. Ignore that little voice at the back of your head telling you to run. "I¡­ thought you''d only killed that one guard outside," she stumbled over her words. "That was self-defense. What I did was¡ª I¡ª I tortured him to death, Emilia. For hours, I sed my Haunter on him while I watched. What he did was¡­" Mira paled, and for a second, Emilia thought she''d retch. "I''d rather not talk about it, but it made Backlot kill himself." Torture. Emilia felt as if she''d been pped by the new information. Who was this? Who had she just been talking to this¡­ this entire time? "I need to go to the bathroom." She''d already been running off by the time the words were gone. Emilia had wanted to yell out don''t leave, but she was too astonished to speak. She mmed the door closed and gripped at the ceramic sink until her knuckles turned white as she stared at herself in the mirror. Torture. Hours, spent meticulously driving someone to suicide. Who was that, in my room? Monster, the answer instantly came. The fact that she seemingly regretted it didn''t erase the fact that she''d gone through with it. Edward Backlot had been a monster, yes, but to torture him until he gave up on life? Countless scenarios ran through her head as she imagined the ways Haunter could have done it. Haunter, whom she''d seen numerous times and thought nothing of, beyond it being incessantly annoying. She looked at herself in the mirror, face twisted in disbelief, fear and confusion. Her heart drummed against her chest, her ears pounding so loudly with each heartbeat that she could barely hear herself think. A minute passed. Then two. Then, she finally let go of the sink and drew in a shaky breath. Who was that in my room? she repeated to herself. Mira Compton. She''d done something terrible, but regretted it to this much of an extent. Backlot had caused the death of thousands of Pokemon throughout this decade. She wouldn''t mourn him, but there was something about Mira being capable of torture that left a horrid taste in Emilia''s mouth. She stared at herself onest time and steeled her face. She wasn''t a little girl any longer. Emilia wanted answers, but now she knew that the caliber of the information she was after would shake her to her core. More than one person killed, she had expected. Only an idiot would think that the only people who''d fallen to her friends had been in the garden. But this¡­ Emilia flushed the toilet to pretend like she''d been using it, and then opened the door with a trembling hand. Mira was still sitting there, though she looked slightly better than she had before, for some reason. "Mira¡ª" "I''m sorry to spring that on you. I needed to¡­ tell someone who didn''t know. I can''t be a hypocrite. I can''t keep going after others for not telling the truth if I keep mine hidden because it''s convenient." "The others knew, and didn''t tell me anything?" Emilia muttered in disbelief. "With your parents, Denzel and Pauline thought¡ª" "Thought what? That I wouldn''t be able to handle it?" Emilia hissed. "Well, you definitely had the worst reaction¡ª" "Don''t start." Mira''s mouth ttened, and her shadow seemed to move. That was Haunter in there, Emilia thought with an audible gulp. It took everything she had not to take a step back. "I won''t ask you any details. I''d rather not know," the coordinator dryly spoke. "Is that the¡­ worst of what happened inside?" "It is. And I can''t fucking stop seeing it when I close my eyes, Emi," Mira said through clenched teeth. "Then¡­ why? I don''t¡ª I don''t understand." "I have a Gengar, now," Mira said. What? Her eyes nced down at the shadow again, which seemed to thicken under Mira. Had it always been so cold in here? She''d been sitting right next to it. What did it even look like? There were illustrations¡ª always illustrations, but Emilia knew it would palepared to the real thing. So the torture had something to do with the evolution? "He won''t do anything. He''s still the same as he''s been, beyond some quirks we''ve been working through thanks to Fantina''s help. But I still would have done it, even without Gengar evolving. Do you know why?" There was madness in her eyes, like a continuous stream of delirium that never ended. "Because Maeve almost died because of the fucking scheme he was running. Because of all of the people who have to live without their Pokemon due to his actions. Because he deserved it. And if I order Gengar to do something this horrid, then I owe it to him to watch and see it through. To remind myself of the shit I''ve wrought." "So you think he deserved it¡­ but you can''t handle the fact that you''ve done it?" The pink-haired girl nodded tightly. "It''s not a decision I would have taken lightly, and back then, Emilia? There was no way he was getting off easy. If it hadn''t been Gengar¡­" she trailed off, but stopped. "I don''t think it''ll ever go away. Maybe recede, if this therapy thing starts working." "So you came here just to drop this on me? What am I supposed to do with this?" Now, she knew that her friends thought she was too weak to handle this¡ª and by the Legendaries, they''d nearly been right, but the loss of faith still stung. Emilia had stared down the precipice and taken the plunge. "Don''t answer that," Emilia continued. "I don''t know what you expected from me¡ª I am horribly unqualified for all of this, but you¡­ you need to sleep. Can''t you have one of your psychics forcefully put you under?" "That''s already how I do it, but I don''t want to be reliant," Mira muttered. "Gardevoir''s been throwing a fit about putting me back together, but she can''t. Not for this. And so, I suffer the consequences of what I''ve done. Feels strangely appropriate." "Look, how much longer are you staying here for?" Emilia asked against her better judgment. "Fantina says I''ll be ready to leave at the end of the week. Then I''ll be going up north. Teleporting to Sceon and walking through Cor." To Snowpoint, Emilia already knew. But why? Mira was no longer going after the badges, so what was it that was so important about going north? "You want answers," Mira guessed. "I can''t give them to you." "So you tell me about some things, but not everything," Emilia said with a dryugh. "I thought you didn''t want to be a hypocrite." "For this, I''d rather be a hypocrite than not," she said after a bout of silence. "And you would, too, if you knew. Look, I''ll just leave. Can I grab these crackers? I lied when I said I''d eaten today." Emilia couldn''t help but feel relief, despite not really wanting to. "Fine. Go. But don''t think this is over." Mira stood up. "You won''t be seeing me again while I''m in Hearthome, Emi. You''re better off staying away from us until the year''s over." The us didn''t fall on deaf ears. She meant the same people Gothitelle had warned her about. "Mira, I need answers¡ª" Mira shook her head, and just drifted toward the door with steps so silent they were disturbing to focus on. Part of Emilia wanted to stop her. To yell at her. But when she opened her mouth, only a half-gasp came out instead. Emilia''s legs gave way, and she sat on her bed with trembling legs. How deep did this all go? Emilia was terrified to know, but she had learned to push through despite her fear, hadn''t she? When she''d plunged into the depths of Mount Cor to rescue Cecilia in spite of her every instinct howling at her to get out. Come hell or high water, she would find out what was happening here. "I need to call Pauline." ¡ª It took five calls for Pauline to answer, and when she did, it was clear she''d been asleep. The redhead mumbled a few nonsensical words until Emilia raised her voice to call out her name. "You awake, now?" Emi asked. "This is important." "I am¡ª" "Good. First, today I just learned that you omitted something from me. I know you were worried about my issues with my parents, but you could have told me about what happened to Edward Backlot. That''s not like you, Pauline. You don''t do this cloak and dagger shit." "You¡­ who told you? Mira?" "Doesn''t matter," Emilia said. "I''m hurt, Pauline. Am I just a liability, now? Someone you have to protect? I thought we both knew I''d grown past that." "I was going to tell you." "But you didn''t. And I had to learn it from someone else." "Look, I''m sorry. I just thought I was looking out for you¡­ how did dinner with your parents go, by the way?" "Awful. They were the same as always, but like, a smidge improved," Emilia said, clenching her forehead. "I thought the raid would have changed them¡­ I mean, I guess they changed a little. Now they want to ignore the fact that I''m pan and hope it goes away instead of trying to gaslight me out of it. It''s just¡­ I guess it was too much to hope that their entire worldview would flip on its head because they were hurt." "Shit¡ª I''m sorry, Emi. I saw about your contest, do you want me toe over here? I can drop off Denzel in Jubilife after his Gym Battle ande see you. He''s been wanting to say sorry, but you won''t talk to him." "Drop him off in Canve as nned," Emilia said. "But thene here immediately. I''ll forgive you for keeping me in the dark about Mira torturing Backlot, but we need to start working on something." "Wait¡­ just Mira?" Emilia''s hand tightened around her phone. "There was someone else?" "Fuck." "You can''t hide it, Pauline. I will find out." "I guess Mira wanted to protect Grace from all of this," Pauline sighed. "She was there, Emi. She cut across both of Backlot''s thighs and then watched." "That''s¡­ not as bad as I was expecting. I braced myself for worse than this," Emilia said. "Not as bad as the Haunter stuff, anyway. It''s still disturbing, but¡­" Emilia imagined the scene for herself. Mira and Grace, standing over Backlot as they watched him die for hours. It was more than disturbing. It was deranged. She couldn''t imagine standing next to them again as if nothing had happened. "Do me a favor and don''t mention a word of this to Cece. It''s not our ce," Pauline said. "...Yeah. Alright. As long as she learns about it." "What''s done is done, Emi. We can''t take it back," Pauline muttered. "But Grace is changing for the better, at least I think she is. She isn''tmunicating much, but she''s started posting on social media again. People are saying she''s gone into Eterna to save a bunch of kids, and she''s doing therapy¡­" "I saw all of that, though now it''s entirely recontextualized in my head," Emilia said. "Look, the point is, I need you here, Pauline. And I need your Gothitelle." "I thought we said we wouldn''t stop being friends with the others because of her warning." "That ship has sailed, Pauline," Emilia said. "Mira left my hotel room not even five minutes ago, but it''s not even about her. We all know that they''ve been hiding something from us. Something that made Gothitelle want you to cut contact. Even Mira said that we''d better stay away from them until the year''s over. That ''for your own good'' shit Denzel peddled pissed you off more than it did me!" "I know. I know, it''s just¡­ I''m trying to hold everyone together here, Emi." "Truth is what I''m after." "...Legendaries, I can''t believe I''m doing this. It can work if I tell her to look again, but it''ll take some time. Gothitelle can only delve into my and her future, and it''s blurry and unreliable. We can''t even be sure what we''ll see will make any sense. And when she tells us about it, the future changes, so not much will matter." "Still, we''ll know. And it''s a start, isn''t it?" Pauline sighed. "Fine." "Do me a favor and get the others in on this. If we figure something out, we share everything."
Chapter 276 Chapter 276
CHAPTER 276 I watched a trainer''s strategy copse in real-time. Gardenia had set it up slowly. Seeing as this was an 8th badge battle, she wasn''t pulling many punches. First, she drew her opponent in, letting his Macargo burn the Grassy Terrain she''d set up and take down her Ludicolo without much of a fight, even though his Rain Dance was still active. At this level, Grassy Terrain grew trees and shrubs as well, though not as many as that girl I''d seen on TV in Sunyshore, and Gardenia did not use the trees to fight either. Instead, everything went up in smoke and ash. Draw him into a false sense of security. The battle continued as it had been, with both trainers taking down Pokemon, but with Gardenia perpetually being one behind. Really, what this showed me was that my idol actually brought less fire to the table than I''d believed she would. Save for the asional Sr Beam, which made the one Sunflora had thrown at me look tiny, the rest of her moves were¡­ not weak by any means, but certainly not powerful whenpared to her challenger, who was making Wake''s Pfin look normal. Hell, his Grumpig¡ª which was his apparent ace¡ª even managed to force Gardenia to switch out her personal Leafeon, unless that had been intentional? It was difficult to tell, with the grass type Gym Leader. Firepower had never been her prime tool. Gardenia brought up another Grassy Terrain as soon as her opponent switched out Macargo, which was a sound decision despite this one not being as powerful as her Ludicolo, but that caused the trainer to send out his fire type again as soon as his Staraptor fainted. But it was when her Shiftry came around as her final member that everything took a turn for her challenger. He had two Pokemon left, both of them being grass types, and Gardenia knew it because she''d researched him and his team. She''d baited him into using Macargo, Staraptor, and the rest of his team so he would no longer have answers. Shiftry''s arms blurred as she pped her leaves together, generating a massive ash storm that obscured his opponent''s Sunny Day and rendered it useless. In fact, it made their grass type moves incredibly slow. Shiftry was a grass type used to fighting in the dark, and so she made quick work of Lilligant and Gogoat. People in the stadium did not cheer, because someone losing their 8th badge was recognized as an awful thing by trainers and civilians alike. Had Gardenia not given him that early lead and allowed him to keepit, he wouldn''t have yed this aggressively and might have won. It took an ice-cold focus to stumble into a numbers disadvantage on purpose and to keep it that way. Not once had Gardenia''s face twitched in panic or displeasure. Not once had she made a wrong decision, which I could understand now that I had hindsight on my side. The Ludicolo trap had been obvious to me and her challenger as well, which I believed was a mistake, but the longer Gardenia did not reap the trap she had sown, the more I believed it actually hadn''t been a trap and just a blunder, or her having gone easier on her challenger. Instead, it had just been a strategy she''d set up to not pay off until the battle was almost finished. Damn it, she was so cool. I rose from my seat and shimmied my way out of the bleachers. When I''d heard that there would be someone battling for his 8th Gym Badge today, I knew missing the fight wouldn''t have been an option, headache or not, and had opted to stay an extra day. This fight had taught me a few things that would be useful against Byron. One, the Gym Leaders didn''t just research you, they dug at your weaknesses and brought them to the forefront of the battle. That challenger''s might have been getting too excited when things went his way and he got an early lead, though I couldn''t lie, I might have fallen into that trap as well, given the fact that it took the entire battle to spring up. This ash storm thing? Using a fire type''s fire against their team? That wasn''t something Gardenia was known for. Hell, I''d be surprised if she''d ever used a simr technique until today. That meant that I''d need to expect techniques and Pokemon specifically tailored to defeat me. If I could figure out those weaknesses beforehand, I could potentially preempt what Byron would have in store for me, though I knew catching every single thing was a pipe dream. There was no way I''d go in that fight without getting caught off-guard multiple times. The second thing I noticed was the number of Pokemon in a Gym Leader''s personal team I''d have to face. A long time ago¡ª actually, in this very city, I believed, I believed that number would be more akin to three to five, but my expectations were skewed because as a kid, I''d only watch 8th Gym badge battles from people who''d gone through the Circuit multiple times. That number actually depended on what Gym Leader you were facing. For someone like Crasher Wake or Roark, a first-timer could expect two or three, so I''d been¡­ a little correct. Any other Gym Leader, though? A single one was what I''d need to expect. In this battle, it had been Gardenia''s Leafeon. Against Byron? The steel type Gym Leader had eight Pokemon at his disposal on his personal team, and I''d need to prepare a counter against each one, which would no doubt involve multiple members of my team, and that wasn''t counting the other five 8-badge level Pokemon I''d need to take down. I''d been thinking about working withva again, but even though I would, it couldn''t be the same tactic I had used against Volkner. I couldn''t treat Byron like a fool who would be surprised when he no doubt knew I''d usedva already. There was a lot to n for, and for the first time, I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Eterna City was still the same as always, except that there were no more protests to be seen. That didn''t mean people were more endeared by the League than they were back then, though. It just meant what Cynthia was doing was working with terrifying efficiency. After having gone through Eterna when civilian agitation was at its highest, going through the city on Angel''s back was like night and day. I wasn''t nning on staying here. Hell, I already would have left if I hadn''t been watching that Gym Battle. The n had been to buy my team their TMs, spend the night, and then get out. It had been a productive shopping spree, though I wasn''t left with much money. Remember when you had an emergency fund, Grace? I remember. As it turned out, setup moves were a lot more expensive than I first thought them to be, especially with how much work you needed to put in to be able to use them effectively. I''d wanted to get one both for Honey and Princess, but I''d needed to make a choice, and I''d picked Princess due to the electric type''s attacks already being so strong. For her, the choice had been between Calm Mind and Nasty Plot, but I''d settled on thetter for a single reason. While Calm Mind would bring her the focus to improve her precision and the speed of her attacks, which would in essence, also improve her offense, Nasty Plot was less of a scalpel and more of a hammer, which I needed to beat Byron. It had been expensive, but worth it, I''d say. The second TM I''d gotten was Surf. I hadn''t actually bought it for Buddy, but for Sweetheart. Part of me couldn''t help but think this was a waste, but it was an old promise between me and her. She''d take a long time to be able to use the move in actual battle. Right now, the most she could do was move a little water around (which she was ecstatic about), but the knowledge had been there, at the very least, and a Tyranitar knowing Surf would certainly be something that''d catch Byron off-guard. That was the kind of stuff Barry woulde up with, not me. The third expensive TM I''d gotten had been a difficult choice for me. I had taught Buddy Protect. I''d firste into the store wanting to get him Psychic, but I''d changed my mind at thest second. This wasn''t something I envisioned him using much or effectively in normal battles at all like Honey did. It was more of something I thought could be useful if anything tried to kill me and Honey was too far away to get to me in time, even with Radiant Leap. In essence, I''d prioritized a potential confrontation with Team Gctic, the future battle with the ghost in that ancient city, and potentially Ruth in the Lost Tower over my battle with Byron. Better to have contingencies than not. The 8th gym wouldn''t matter if I died before I made it there. Sunshine''s TM had been bought to synergize with him dropping onto unsuspecting Pokemon when he flew by using Shell Trap, namely, Heat Crash. Combined with the fact that he was making steady progress with Shell Smash, he was going to be a menace no matter what Byron brought up. Tricks, or overwhelming power, Craig had said, and I was going to go with thetter. Since I hadn''t had much money left over, the only TMs I managed to get for Honey and Angel were Rain Dance and Bulldoze, respectively. Rain Dance would synergize well with Thunder and Buddy in general, and Bulldoze would be a nice coverage move to have. Both attacks would serve me well for the n that was forming in my head against Byron, despite the fact that I hadn''t studied him yet. The team would be split into¡­ well, not exactly halves, but close to it, each group having a distinct strategy to work with. It was important not to get too lost in the n, however. Battles were not a clean affair, and I''d need contingencies in case everything went to hell. That included getting Nightstalker to teach Princess that move he''d used to clear the weather to make transitions between each strategy easier and more efficient than having to wait for the weather to peter out. In theory, I was done with everything, and I could just have Princess whisk me away and fly toward Celestic, but Ramon Casaus had gotten other ideas. My fellow sponsee was in the city as well, for some reason, and he had asked me to meet in person. When I had asked Melody if it was a good idea, with the tension brewing within Poketch and all, she told me that a meeting to make sure of what position Ramon was in couldn''t hurt, so I agreed and was now on the way to the north-east of the city. I found him looking up at a massive golden statue, a Delibird and Raticate by his side. Angel waved at them both, though the Raticate was sound asleep and Delibird ignored him, being too busy scrounging through his gift bag-tail to care. The grass type gently dropped me onto the ground. I''d seen the statue before, in passing during my first stay here. It was apparently some deity some Eternans still worshipped and ced above Arceus himself. Some kind of dragon, standing on its hind feet, though most people couldn''t agree if that was the actual way it walked or if it walked on all fours. Large tes jutted out of its shoulders and back, and a massive tail stretched beyond the podium the dragon sat on. Speaking of its shoulders, they were d inrge circr pads with a gem at their center, while another gem sat some kind of bony ting on its torso. Its forelegs had three ws stretching down its leg while the hind ones were t and had a single, dull one. It was¡­ strange-looking, to say the least, but ording to the religious here, this dragon had brought about the creation of the world. Save for Sunyshore, Eastern Sinnoh was far more religious than the West, and though the majority worshipped Arceus, still, a lot of Eternans still prayed to this deity. The white ting that had once been on the statue had been torn off, meaning that the actual name of the dragon had been lost to time, though that didn''t stop people from calling it Holy Sinnoh, which generated friction with other religious sects. Holy Sinnoh was supposed to be Arceus, not whatever this was, or at least that was the argument. "Ramon," I said. "You wanted to see me?" The dark-skinned trainer turned toward me. "Sheesh, not even a ''good afternoon''?" he said, clearly sarcastic. "But yes. You must already know what this is about." "Poketch, yes. And sorry, I guess I''m just on edge. You know, Melody''s been telling me not to worry, but that''s kind of difficult when I know that your liaisons are all plotting against me." Ramon shrugged. "Don''t take it personally. Really, it''d be weirder if they just let this opportunity pass them by," he said. "Me, though? I''m no Aubri. I don''t really care about being the face of thepany. Too many eyes and ears on me." "Wouldn''t Aubri think the same? You said she was close to her Mega Stone thest time we met." "But she''s got another Pokemon capable of it," he said. "It took her years to save for her first one. If she got your position, it''d still take a while, but a lot less time. Anyway, I''m not here to talk about Aubri. We haven''t spoken in weeks anyway, it wouldn''t be my ce to talk about her and her ns¡­ unless¡­" he trailed off with a sly look. "Where do you stand in this, Ramon?" I warily asked. "You''ve warned me multiple times about your liaison, and now you''ve said that my position doesn''t interest you, yet you''re still here. What''s your angle?" I couldn''t get a good read on him. What did he gain by helping me, other than just being nice? I wasn''t above thinking that people could just be nice, but There was a y he was making that I wasn''t seeing here, and being kept in the dark just meant I''d arrive in Jubilife with a knife on my neck. And possibly a hundred other knives beyond what I could see. "You were supposed to go to Jubilife. You canceled," he stated as he crouched, his arms slung over his knees. "Something came up. But I was just going to see my Dad, not doing anything Poketch-rted." "Before we continue, I''m going to need to confirm a couple of things from you," Ramon said. "Is it true that you''re going to Unova next year, or are you staying on to continue to train to be an ACE?" I frowned. Only the board and Melody knew the answer to that question, and it had created countless theories and rumors online. The problem was that if I answered honestly, then the entire excuse for me being in the raid would crumble¡­ or maybe not? If my stay in Unova was temporary, then I could stille back to Sinnoh at ater date and join the League again. Hell, I wouldn''t be the first trainer to do so. "I¡­ am going to Unova," I said. Ramon smiled. "Okay, I wasn''t sure. We can negotiate, then. You see, I''m actually here on behalf of Bobby. He was too busy toe here, and I was already nning on stopping by anyway. Me, I don''t really care about any of this, but him? Floaromans are a tightly-knitmunity, and they all want one thing. Recognition. He''s thinking of making a y, Grace." Shit. Zachary was from Floaroma too, and he''d wanted to be the first to make it to the top sixteen. Bobby, I assumed, was no different. He wanted to make his town proud, not only by cing far in the Conference and beyond the top thirty-two where he''d cedst year, but by bing the face of a massive, Jubilife-basedpany. Part of me instinctively wanted to pull on my empathy to see if Ramon was lying or not, but I stamped down the thought. In a world where I learned self-control, then maybe that''d be an option, but not now. "He didn''t sound like that. He warned me about gunning for me through text, just like you," I said. "Ah, but here''s the thing," Ramon said with a raised finger. "That was more than a week ago. I don''t think you realize how quickly things are moving, Grace. He''s gotten an offer. People are throwing their support behind him. The wind''s at his sails." "So, who''sing after me? Aubri, Bobby¡­ what about Sharron?" "Sharron''s too small to have a real shot, it''s just those two, trainer-wise," Ramon said. "And I''ll be helping Bobby take you down, unless we cane to an agreement." "You''re helping him too? Why?" I asked, biting my lip. "We''re best pals. I told you back in Sunyshore, didn''t I?" he shrugged. I paused. "Melody hasn''t said anything." "Your liaison is good. Among the best, really, which is crazy considering the fact that you''re the first person she''s working with, but she''s not infallible." Did I have any allies to count on inside thepany? Besides Melody and the board, I did not. My isting ways hade back to bite me. There was also Craig, but the man was nigh unreachable, since he was inside of Mount Cor, at the moment, and putting everything he had into winning the Conference for his final year. But did I have to make any deals, if I had the board on my side? Couldn''t they just shut down any rebellion and reiterate that they were on my side? But then Ramon wouldn''t even be offering this¡­ supposed olive branch¡ª unless he was trying to trick me and acting like he was in a better position than he was. He and Bob were best friends, and since that was why he was taking his side, I doubted I could convince him to just stay neutral. Unlike Aubri, Bobby was actually outgoing and a good option to take as the face of thepany. From the few times I''d interacted with him, he was extroverted, outgoing, and genuinely nice, which was far more than could be said of me. Were they gambling that the board would see reason and pick him instead of me? "Before I go any further, I need to call¡ª" "No. It''s you and me, Grace," Ramon said. "No help from the outside." Fuck. My face and tone remained stoic, but the situation was deteriorating, and quickly. Had I gone to Jubilife earlier, could I have stepped in front of this? "What are you offering, then? I''m sure you wouldn''t just preemptively warn that everything was going to go to shit for me without anything in it for you¡ª well, for Bobby." "We''re offering you the best damn deal you''re going to get, that''s what we''re offering," Ramon smirked. "Doesn''t evene with a loss of your position, or your sry, really. I''m asking you to act in your self-interest." "I''m listening." "See, Poketch only operates in Sinnoh. Compared to X Technologies, who does business in Unova, Kalos, Hoenn, and Al¡­ they''re pretty small, and they want to remedy that by using your trip to Unova as aunchpad to promote their products abroad. That much is obvious." Ramon stood back up, though he kept his back slouched forward, staring right into my eyes. He''s confident about this. "Wouldn''t it make sense, then, to divide your position? One face of thepany per region?" Oh, I saw the angle, now. He wanted to have Bobby step up and be Craig''s recement in Sinnoh while I embraced the same role in Unova. "Really, it doesn''t change much for you. You''ll still be able to sell your merch¡ª which I hear they''re starting to make. You''ll still be paid the same amount, and even more, really, given the fact that you''ll need a lot of support in a brand-new country. All that changes, really, is that Bobby gets a slice of the pie." That sounded too good to be true, despite how much sense it made. The problem with this suggestion was that I was nning on staying in Unova for a year, maybe two at most, depending on what happened there. A regional face of thepany actually needed to stick around to build a reputation and turn into a household name. Meanwhile, if there was only one trainer representative for everywhere, as was the current setup, then the location would matter a lot less. This wasn''t going to work if I wanted my goals to be a reality, I realized, and so, we were at an impasse unless I could figure out something really quickly. I could potentially tell him and Bobby to fuck off, but could I really afford to leave everything in Melody''s hands? She was good, but as Ramon had said, she was not infallible, or she would have gotten ahead of this¡ª not that I med her. I had no idea what things looked like in Jubilife right now, but it looked to be a game of cloak and daggers. "Where does Aubri fit in all of this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I needed to buy time. "She''s doing her own thing," he answered. "But don''t expect her to sit still." Damn it, that had been shorter than I expected. "And are you sure you get nothing out of this?" I continued. "I grew up in the streets, Grace. I''m content with what I have. I''m more concerned about battling than this shit, but I owe Bobby, so I figured I''d help." How would I make everyone happy here? My breathing slowed, and for a moment, I became someone else. If I''m Bob Wace, my goal is to gain Grace''s current position, either through a deal or through corporate assassination. After our first meeting in Sunyshore, I liked Grace Pastel enough to warn her about people going after her, even after seeing videos of the raid, but now, the opportunity of a lifetime has presented itself, and there is simply no way I can say no. It was either now or never, because Grace would never be in a weaker position than she is now. Even worse, her position was currently quickly improving, both with trainer and civilians alike. The longer I wait, the longer she cements herself in her position within thepany. I have until she goes to Jubilife with Craig¡ª who might be a crucial ally of hers and is currently impossible to contact¡ª to handle the real transition to strike, and the days were ticking, so I hear Grace is passing through Eterna City and decide to send Ramon, who I trust unconditionally not to betray me, to offer onestpromise. If Grace refuses, then I can say that I tried. I strike, and it''s all-out war, potentially allying with Aubri Schneider to get Grace out of the way. It would be difficult, with the board still supporting her, but if we started using my leverage to make thepany lose money, then they could potentially be brought to the negotiating table. They could also fire us, but we could bnce the way we acted, being a thorn in Poketch''s side instead of a full-on obstacle. I know this is possible, because I''ve seen Grace and even Aubri do it time and time again with minimal pushback. It would just take a careful bncing act, something I was willing to risk because there would never be a better opportunity than this one. But! This was still an incredibly risky y, and I didn''t particrly like those, given the fact that I was staking my entire future within thepany with this move, so I decide to offer Grace this deal. A deal where, from my perspective, everyone ended up happy despite the fact that I''m twisting her arm into epting. I held back a gasp as I snapped back to reality, blinking rapidly to remember who and where I was. "Can I call Bobby on the phone?" I kept stalling. "I''d rather negotiate with him than you. No offense." "None taken. Really, you''re being a whole lot chiller about this than I thought you would." "Thought I''d get angry?" I smirked. "Frustrated, mostly, but I honestly prefer it like this. This way, you''re clear-headed when making the decision, and we both have no regrets. But I''m afraid Bobby is busy, at the moment." "You keep saying busy. Where is he?" "Jubilife." I saw the shape of it now. This was a thinly veiled threat that basically meant the moment I disagreed with this deal, he''d instantly put his ns in motion, and it would take me days to get back to Jubilife. That would, of course, dy everything I had going on. My ns to go to the Lost Tower, to see Be and to catch ydol. It might even give me a lot less time to train than I currently had, given the fact that I''d most likely be stuck inside of the Poketch Building for days or weeks. And we have one month until the Red Chain ispleted. Not epting this deal would screw me, and so I needed to twist it in a way where I lived through this ambush to see the sunrise. "Say, Ramon," I muttered. "Would you like to enter an alliance?" The teenager grinned. "Sing it to me." "I can give Bobby what he wants, but he''ll need to pitch this with me when I get to Jubilife. All it takes is for him to agree for me to keep my position as the face of thepany." Ramon frowned, and his face fell. "I don''t follow." "My current position''s official name is Poketch Pokemon Trainer Ambassador. Nowhere in that title," I exhaled, "does it say Sinnoh." Something shifted in Ramon''s eyes. "Here''s what I propose. That Poketch creates a sub role for ambassadors like what Bobby wants¡ª one per region. Ites with a promotion and a lot of attention from the media, especially for something this fresh and exciting. Bobby gets what he wants, starts representing Sinnoh, Floaroma gets on the map, and he makes his hometown proud." Thought I doubted the city would grow, with how expensive buyingnd was, but this was more about principle for Bobby. "I stay as Trainer Ambassador¡ª a role that would fit all regions no matter where I traveled. I wouldn''t be above Bobby, quite exactly, but I''d be a lot more fluid, which is what I want." "I''d¡­ have to speak to Bobby about this, even if I like it. It''d require someone to fit the bill in Unova, though, since you wouldn''t be getting this new position." "I could still theoretically get it, if we took things slow and Poketch splits my current role for a year between the regions before creating what I was talking about. That way, I get to test the waters. But I''m thinking we give it to Aubri." "It''d fit, wouldn''t it?" Ramon said with a sigh. "Unfortunately for you, Aubri has no ns to go to Unova. She''s sticking to Sinnoh." "Then I represent Unova until Poketch finds a recement, and then I get my old job back when they do." Finding a recement of¡­ well, not my caliber, because most Poketch sponsees were of my level or higher, but finding one who was willing to spend the rest of their career in Unova would probably take a while. Uprooting your entire life and ns was a challenge, even if it came with a promotion. "I think Bobby will agree with this," Ramon said. And I knew he would, because a solution where everyone was happy and they progressed up thedder was better than a full-blown civil war where we''d bothe out battered and bloodied. "Aubri''s still a problem," he continued. "He was negotiating with her, and now she''ll think he''s a turncoat." "Aubri can''t offer you what I am. She''s offering you a drawn-out conflict which you don''t know how it''ll end. I''m giving you this on a silver tter. No one has to take any risks, and both Bobby and I get a promotion¡ª he gets a tangible, financial one, by the way. All I''m getting is a new title at the end of the year. And I''m not asking you to go to war with Aubri here, just to, you know, help me keep her at bay." Ramon hummed, and stayed silent for a few seconds as his eyes locked with mine once more, as if he was trying to figure out if this was a trap or not. He approached me with an outstretched hand, and I shook it. "Now, you understand that we need assurances, yeah? I need you to call Melody and get her started on this so I can be sure this isn''t a lie. She''ll get in contact with Bobby''s liaison, and by the time you get to Jubilife, I''m sure there''ll be a shiny new arrangement to present to the board." "Fair enough," I nodded, letting relief flood through my veins. Holy shit, that had been close. I had essentially been forced into a new job and lived through it by the skin of my teeth. Had I been staying in Sinnoh, this deal would not have been anywhere as appealing, which was why Ramon''s first question had been if I was still nning on going to Unova. "The transition will be slow, though. I don''t think Bobby will get what he wants until I''m gone." "He''s a patient guy," he said. "Been waiting for this for years, really. He''d given up when Craig rmended you, but with this opportunity¡­ he had to take it. And despite what you probably believe, he does like you, still. Sometimes, it''s just about looking out for yourself." "I get that. What about Aubri? Think she''ll strike on her own?" "She''ll throw a fit, but since you have the board on your side, and now both Bobby and I, there''s not much she could do without pushing herself out of thepany." Contrary to before, where she''d been on the sidelines and would have waited for my side and Bobby''s to maim each other, offering help, but notmitting fully. This was a terrifying game I''d stepped into, and by the Legendaries, I''d almost lost. Hell, maybe I''d already lost. It would depend entirely on what Melody would say to this, but I''d done my best with the information at hand. "Well, that''s that," Ramon said. "If you want, we can get some lunch after you speak to your liaison. Been wanting to talk about that Tyranitar of yours. Maybe we can even have a one-on-one." "Maybe I would have agreed if you hadn''t tried to stab me in the back," I said with a rueful smile. "Plus, I''ve got to hide what she can do from Byron¡­ and you know, you might be an opponent at the Conference. I''d be revealing my hand far more than yours, and I don''t think it''d be worth what I would learn from the loss." "Always with the stabbing metaphors," Ramon cackled. "In my defense, thatparison doesn''t work. I basically said I''d shank you if you didn''t ept our deal or find something better," he shrugged. "But no worries, I expected that answer. Fightin'' one just gets me all excited, you know?" "Hmhm." I grabbed my phone, and dialed for Melody. Of course, he wanted to be here to be sure I''d tell her the truth and hadn''t tricked him. She answered right away, since she''d been anticipating this call. "How did it¡ª" "Hi Melody!" Ramon said with a sheepish smile. "Please don''t talk," I groaned. "It went¡­ okay, but it could have been worse for all parties involved. Here''s what happened¡­" I spent the next five minutes trying to exin what had happened to her, which was a lot more time than I had expected. She wanted far more information that I had with me at the moment, but at the very least, it looked like this wasn''t aplete and utter disaster. "I''m sorry, Grace. I should have known things were going too smoothly¡­ it was obviously a trap. They were keeping us in the dark, and I was none the wiser." "I just need to know¡ª" I turned toward Ramon and sighed. "Is this a trap, or does it sound good?" "It weakens you slightly by making your position less special, at least until you regain your position after a recement for you in Unova is found," she rambled. "But it is a sound n. You negotiated a good deal, given the circumstances." It was probably a setback, money-wise. If I was to be one of a half, sharing my future position with Bobby, then I wouldn''t be able to increase my sry as much when I arrived at Jubilife. It was¡­ bad, but not a catastrophy as it could have been. What this did teach me, though, was that I''d been fucking stupid by thinking that I could just keep doing whatever I wanted and have Melody handle everything. This was on me, because had I kept in regr touch with Bobby, Ramon, Sharron, or even the other sponsees who hadn''t been in Sunyshore during the photoshoot, then I could have had people to count on and fought this, instead of rolling over. "I''ll get in touch with Dennis, but Jules and Aubri are going to throw a fit¡­ goodness," she sighed. "It''d be good if you could get here as fast as possible, Grace. Before the agreed upon date would be ideal." "I''ll try not to spend too many days out in the wild," I said. "If I can get there sooner, I will. You have my word." "Good. Now, if you''ll excuse me, I have a lot of work." "I figured. Take care, and thanks," I said. "I''ll try to be better." "So will I. This is a learning moment for both of us." Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? I would not get caught a second time. I hung up the phone and looked at Ramon, who''d been texting Bob. "Are we happy with this?" "Yeah." Better make connections now than keep putting it off, I thought. "Oh, and Ramon. I did say I wouldn''t be battling you, but are you still up for lunch before I leave the city?" I asked, ignoring the little voice in my head that told me not to. I smothered the growing enmity, that little voice that told me to snuff him out and make him pay for what he''d done. That feeling that made me want to exact some kind of revenge¡ª and revenge could take many forms¡ª died before it could take hold and control me. I took a deep breath and stered a smile on my face. Aliyah had been correct, when she''d said I could still backslide and get back to how I was. Two weeks ago, would I have subtly screwed with his emotions for doing this? Probably... not? The fact that I wasn''t sure about the answer didn''t bode well, though I didn''t think I would have done anything permanent¡ª but that was just thinking like Mesprit. Perhaps I would have made his emotions fray slightly so he failed to negotiate a proper deal with me, or tried to slowly pull him over to my side, to seed doubt into his mind and to make him stab his best friend in the back over the course of... well, a lunch. What was done was done. I''d best adapt to the new situation instead of getting stuck in the past no matter how wrong it felt and tugged at me. "Well, I''ll be damned," he smirked. "Sure, why not?" And all things considered? Lunch went surprisingly well.
Chapter 277 Chapter 277
CHAPTER 277 Ramon was an okay guy, when not trying to destroy my career. Really, he was kind of fun, save for the fact that his sarcasm grew to obnoxious levels sometimes, but I''d seen far worse in people, and he was content to just talk about battling our entire time together, along with potential countermeasures against Aubri. I hadn''t actually gotten much out of this lunch, save for getting closer to a new ally, but I would have lied if I said it hadn''t taken the edge off. I should have expected for people to act in their self-interest instead of just being content to have me at the helm, but what was done was done. All of the other paths would have been needlessly risky and would have needed me to stall for time until Craig came back, and even then, I wasn''t sure everything would have gone in my favor and I wouldn''t have ended up in a weaker position than I was now. Really, all this lunch did was make me miss my friends more. I''d wanted to swing by Hearthome to see Emi before going to the Lost Tower, but now that my schedule was growing tight, I wouldn''t be able to. Mira was already gone from the city, unfortunately, and I doubted our schedules would sync up to meet anyway. She was acting a little strange in texts, but then again, who wasn''t, at this point? I''d grown more vocal in our group chat these days, chatting with anyone who was avable whenever I could, but things still didn''t feel as they had before. After lunch with Ramon, I bid him farewell and left the city on Princess'' back. Reaching Celestic would take a while, with the detour we were taking to avoid Mount Cor''s highest slopes, but it''d be worth it not to get attacked. By the time we''d made it over, the sun had set and Princess was incredibly tired. Celestic Town was difficult to spot, with how foggy the ce was, but the dim lights peered through the fog, signaling us we''d made it over the city itself. What I found strange about Celestic was that it had been built on the mountain''s nk, having been settled in what looked like some kind of ancient crater that dwarfed any structure in the city. This ce was actually bigger than they made it sound when talking about it, especially whenpared to Twinleaf. While it only had a single Pokemon Center, at least it had one, and it was probably home to a few thousand people. There was awork of bricked streets going around the massive crater, and no one here drove cars, from what I could see. Inside the crater appeared to be some kind of huge temple¡ª or maybe a shrine would be a better word. It was what I''d expect to see from Johto, not Celestic. Sinnoh was usually a ce of churches, not shrines. What I knew from my reading with Buddy, however, was that Celestic was among the oldest cities remaining in Sinnoh, and it had retained much of the culture from the early Johtoan settlers. "Princess, I¡ª" My words caught in my throat. Why was it, that I felt the tug here like I''d felt in Verity? By the time Princessnded next to the Pokemon Center with a worried chirp, I understood that it was the shrine that was pulling me inward¡­ or no, not the shrine itself. The cave behind the shrine. With a curious frown, I entered the Center, booking myself a room for the night. I wasn''t going to spend any time here, since I had decided to check on Sceon and how the city was doing instead of spending any time in Celestic. There were actually far more trainers than Chase had described to me earlier in the year, but I knew that was because of thete-Circuit rush to challenge Candice now that temperatures up north had risen to a manageable level. Obviously, it still always snowed up there, though. Even during the summer. Either way, it actually took them a while to assign me a room because of how busy they were here. Celestic''s Pokemon Center was smaller than the norm and ridiculously understaffed. Chase hadn''t described this feeling of a pull from when he''d told me about visiting his grandparents here, but back then, none of our gifts had been developed in full, and we hadn''t visited ourkes yet. I tried to contact him, but he went straight to voice mail, as did Cecilia. Their trip to the Iron Inds still wasn''t done. I hope they''re safe, I thought to myself as I entered my room. It was smaller than usual, with barely enough space for two of my Pokemon, but it''d have to do. I set the dinner I''d grabbed from the cafeteria on my desk and dropped on my bed with a heavy sigh. "I want to see Cece¡­" I muttered, staring at the ceiling. There wasn''t much I could do about that, though. So instead of moping around all night about missing my girlfriend, I stood back up and decided it was time to throw myself into studying Byron. Time was going by fast, and even if I''d be slower to learn than I had been, I at least needed to start the process. All I was doing right now was procrastinating, and that was a surefire way to lose in a terrible manner. Dragging myself to my desk, I grabbed myptop and began to browse Canve City''s Gym website and realized the wifi here was horrifyingly slow¡ª even slower than it had been in Snowpoint. I chewed on my cold sandwich and groaned, parsing through Byron''s personal team and jotting each Pokemon in my notes. Bastiodon, Steelix, Skarmory, Magnezone, Aggron, Bronzong, Forretress, Excadrill. One of these, I was going to have to face and beat. This was going to be a long night. ¡ª I woke up in a cold sweat at five in the morning. It hadn''t been a nightmare¡ª not that I could tell. Unless I''d already forgotten all of it despite just having woken up? I bit my lip, scrounging through my memories to try to recall what I''d dreamed, but all I was left with was a feeling of numbness in my chest. Why was it that not remembering felt creepier than the opposite? And now my sheets were all drenched, Arceus damn it. With a heavy breath, I went about my morning routine, sending birthday wishes to Denzel, though I doubted he''d see them until he made it to Canve with Pauline. My best friend was turning seventeen today, and it was a shame we wouldn''t be able to have a party or anything. I hobbled out of the Pokemon Center, happy to see that my ankle was feeling better by the day, though still a while from healing. Celestic had been¡­ pretty alright, but it was time to leave. There weren''t many days to waste, and I wanted to reach Sceon by tonight. We''d have to fly high above the fog and deal with the cold, but I''d have to deal. Though maybe it would be smart to locate the ancient city, even if I wouldn''t actually go inside quite yet, given the fact that I wanted to get as much training done as possible beforehand. Chase had told me its approximate location, but my friend had been rather light on the details. Are you sure you want to leave yet? I cursed, flinching and nearly falling over as Mesprit''s voice rang out in my head. I ignored the confused and concerned looks from the few passersby who were out this early and bit my lip. They could speak to me? I''d heard Mesprit''s mockingughs when contemting about using their gift, but never actual words. I waited, holding my breath to see if Mesprit was going to speak again, but no voice came, and suddenly my thoughts felt so silent. Like when I''d sneak toward the fridgete at night to steal ice cream while Dad was sleeping, and all I could hear was my breath. I clenched a fist around my jeans and slowed down my breathing. Mesprit was trying to get me to stick around, and the reason why was obvious. The shrine, or what was behind the shrine. I took a few hesitant steps toward the railing, which wrapped around all of Celestic to keep people from falling over. Even this early, people were out and about down in the crater, though none approached the shrine. Those who prayed did so at a distance, staying at least a hundred feet away. The shrine was mostly stone bs¡ª pirs, that supported the structure itself, which was made of more stone and a wooden red roof that was perfectly smooth. Surrounding the shrine were four walls, though as I had noticed, the entire courtyard was empty. There was a smaller shrine near the cave''s entrance, with intricate carvings on the walls that I was too far away to make out. I gulped as my knuckles went white from holding onto the railing so tightly. How was I supposed to go inside of there if no one was allowed to? I waited for answers from Mesprit, but none came. "Aren''t you just so helpful," I growled under my breath. Instead of going down the winding path spiraling around the crater, I took a shortcut and hopped on Princess who flew me down in seconds. I''d been toozy to strap in my saddle, but I had gotten good at flying without one, these days. Not that I would ever do so during our long travels, but a short descent downward like this was fine. Plus, Togekiss could always catch me if I fell over, which I did not. This might have been a crater, but it was lusher than any other area in Celestic I''d seen, with well-trimmed Birch trees and bushes lining the paths. From down here, the sheer scale of the impact took on another shape. Such a huge meteor would have destroyed this entire area¡ª and shrouded the entire continent of Shinwa in darkness for who knew how long. Maybe the entire, even. There were myths of such an event in Unova, which Cecilia had exined to me why old civilizations here had used to worship Volcarona, one of which had acted as a second sun so people wouldn''t starve from crop failures. There must have been nuances to this story, but I was not against believing in myths such as these. I recalled Princess, opting to have Honey apany me for this instead, given the fact that he was probably the only one who''d be respectful about this. The carvings on the shrine itself were¡­ strange. Like letters, but not. Anguage I felt like I should have been able to read, but that still eluded me. Like a word on the tip of my tongue, a memory I couldn''t recall, just out of reach. I angrily squinted at the walls like they owed me money, desperately wanting to understand what was written, but I failed time and time again. "Many have tried to read the inscriptions before," a voice sounded behind me. "They all have failed." I turned toward the older voice¡ª frizzy white hair and a beard so thick I couldn''t see his mouth. He walked in robes and barefoot, even outside of the shrine. Honey had reflexively ced a hand on my shoulder, ready to drag me close if a Protect was needed. "I mean you no harm," he said with a hidden smile. "I know," I said. I had, after all, activated my empathy to tell as naturally as I breathed, though I was subtly tuning it out again. "What''s your name?" "Ailwin Lowthe. The shrine''s custodian," he introduced himself, dipping his head. "You''ll forgive me for being curious. Flying down the crater instead of walking the Crescent Path is a great offense." "Oh¡ª I''m so sorry, I didn''t know," I stammered. "I''m not too well-versed in Celestian culture at all, so I thought¡­" "At least you are more polite about it than most of the trainers currently passing through our town," Ailwin said, pausing for a few seconds. "The shrine. It interests you." I turned back toward the monument, watching as nearly a hundred people, all barefoot, kneeled with their hands sped as they sang Arceus'' name with a hymn as they faced the shrine. Their voices were inplete unison, as if they''d practiced this thousands of time before. "...let your thousand arms unfold, each one tender, a guiding hand to lead us or to strike our enemies asunder¡­" "Pretty brutal for a prayer," I hummed. "Oh, shit, sorry." Ailwinughed. "You are not the first to notice, nor will you be thest. It is a remnant of how life used to be for our ancestors. Celestic is among the oldest cities in Sinnoh, and it has almost fallen more times than we can count, both to humans and Pokemon. It is thanks to His grace and protection, that we still remain." His, huh? It was the first time I''d heard someone refer to Arceus as Mesprit did, and I''m sure they were pleased with themselves. From the way they''d spoken about Arceus, He apparently loved humans, but I didn''t think He had directly intervened in anything other than our creation, aside from all the rules he''d put in ce to stop his maniacal Gods from murdering us all. Granted, maybe I was wrong. "Mister Ailwin¡­ could I maybe gain ess to the cave at the back of the shrine, or¡­?" I tried. "That would depend on why," he answered. "It is barred, save for extraordinary circumstance." Just tinker with him and get him to allow you in already! My head buzzed with activity, and then felt the same emptiness that it had before. I wasn''t as taken aback this time as I was thest, however, so I carried on as if nothing had happened. "If I''m being honest, I feel like it holds the key to something I seek," I said. "I feel it calling to me, I guess, but if you don''t want to, it''s alright." The shrine custodian stroked his beard. "You are known here." I frowned. "Am I?" "You are one of Cynthia''s prot¨¦g¨¦es," he continued, taking a few steps forward. "She was a blessed one, that child. Hardened by a childhood spent in istion, but a blessed child nheless, who changed this ce for the better. Anyone would know about her apparent sessors." I read about this in her autobiography, I remembered. She''d spent her childhood obsessed with training in a time where Celestic despised ''trainers''. It was strange, because they hadn''t considered the people and the old war veterans who defended the city trainers because they were Celestians¡ª so due to xenophobia and bias¡ª but Cynthia hadn''t been shy about wanting to leave the town and bing one. Plus, with how she and her twin sister had been born out of wedlock¡­ people back then talked. Today, though? She was loved, and had been the first Champion to evere from Celestic. Being Cynthia''s hometown, I guessed that Celestic might be the only remaining area where Cynthia enjoyed unconditional support. This ce had been decades behind the rest of the region, before she ascended to the position of Champion. They had mistreated her for her entire childhood, and she had given them nothing but kindness in return. Maybe it was because her sister and grandmother lived here, or maybe it was due to some sense of obligation. "Did she evere here?" I asked. "Little Cynthia? Oh no, she was too busy out on the routes, training with her Gible day and night," he said. "She started heading out to Mount Cor at the age of twelve. Truly a miracle, that she lived through all of it." Henced, blessed, I understood. Still, going into that hellhole at that age, with only a Gible? She really was insane. "As an adult, however, she''s essed the Halls of Creation plenty of times during her short trips here. History and ruins are her second passion, after all, despite not having the time to attend to them these days." "Halls of Creation? I thought it had another name¡­ uh¡­ Celestic Ruins, right?" The old man snorted behind his beard. "That is what outsiders call it, yes." A light silence settled in, though I filled it with a sigh as Honey peered at the custodian over my head, suggesting that we try convince him by using Cynthia''s name. I didn''t like it, but¡­ she had so much pull here that there wasn''t really much of a choice, was there? "I don''t know how I can convince you, but this is really important, Mr. Ailwin," I muttered. "I don''t have enough time to go through the entire process¡ª whatever it is, even if I wished I did. If I called Cynthia and she gave you the go-ahead, would you let me through?" He stood still as the prayer from his fellow Celestians finished, almost like he had expected me to say this. "I will reluctantly have to ept, as I did whenever Cynthia asked for permission to go through." I sighed in relief, ignoring that feeling at the back of my head that hated getting indebted to Sinnoh''s Champion. There was unfortunately a limit to my influence, and I couldn''t just force myself everywhere I wanted, especially not religious grounds. I scrolled through my contact, a finger hesitantly hovering over Cynthia''s number. It''s not a big deal, just click on it, I chided myself. I didn''t have to wait long for her to answer. "Grace. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Cynthia said. I could hear the cking of a keyboard in the background, along with Garchomp''s snoring, which sounded like a dull growl. "I''m in Celestic Town, and I need ess to the Halls of Creation," I said, getting straight to the point. "Ailwin said he''d let me through if you epted. I''m feeling¡­ a pull." "Ah, a wonderful ce, those ruins," she cheerfully said. "Pass Ailwin the phone. I am expecting a report of whatever you see, either to your ACE Trainers or Aliyah." "Sure." They didn''t talk for long, though there was a fondness in Ailwin''s eyes that hadn''t been there before we''d been speaking. After a minute or so, he wished her well and reiterated that all of Celestic stood behind her before handing me back my phone. Even here, people yed politics. Honey smiled, giving me a discreet thumbs up¡ª which wasn''t so discreet, with the size of his hands, but he was trying his best. "I suppose I can let you in, then," Ailwin said. "Follow." ¡ª The second shrine was much smaller than the first, but it also had those same carvings, both on it and the walls of the cave. Knowledge that felt like it should have been mine, but wasn''t, like a long-lost friend I''d never be able to get back. There was, however, some kind of ancient painting of Dialga and Palkia on the cave along with the letters. They called them by name, here, and worshipped them as well, though they stood below Arceus in importance. They did look like a child had done their best to draw them, but for Pokemon we had no idea of, they''d made a nice shape for them, with Dialga standing on all fours, its body d in blue and outlined in white and aically elongated head while Palkia stood on its hind legs with the same white outline and sprouting wings behind its back. "How did they decide how to paint them?" I asked as we approached the cave''s entrance. "We don''t know what they look like, do we?" "It is unknown," he said with a disappointed sigh. "We live better lives, these days, but so much knowledge eludes us, still. We are like children, iling in the dark and trying to understand our betters. Perhaps one day, we will." I bit the inside of my lip. "Do you also feel nostalgic, when you look at the carvings?" "We all do. Our scriptures say that it was amon tongue, uniting all of us when we were created, though our writing diverged. It is why much of the world speaks the samenguage today." He stopped to grunt as he went up the stone steps, and Honey helped him up with Angel''s gentleness in order not to break anything. Ailwin was old, and he was frail. "Thank you. Here we are." The entrance loomed eerily, cloaked in what seemed to be perpetual twilight that shrouded the passage in an unsettling gloom. It was supported by a stone archway, weathered and worn with moss and shrubs growing in between the cracks. Wind perpetually blew out of the cave, blowing my hair and shirt all over the ce and carrying what sounded like whispers which I couldn''t make out. Even with the glow, I could not peer through the inside. "On you go, then," Ailwin said. "I must not go further than this." "Thank you for guiding me here," I warily said. Why was this scarier than the first time I had stepped into the maw of Mount Cor? I steeled myself and steadied my breaths, letting Honey''s soft hums reassure me. The electric type took the first step forward, as if he was trying to lead the way. They grow up so fast, I thought as my heart filled with pride. "You''re right," I said. "We can do this." He reiterated that I was the scared one, and that there was no ''we'' involved. I rolled my eyes at him. I entered the Halls of Creation. Inside the cave, an oppressive stillness enveloped the air, broken only by the distant drip of water continuously falling and creating small puddles. The walls were adorned with the same faded carvings, but these had been drawn with fanaticism the ones on the outside had not been. The carvings had clearly been etched with haste in frenzied, feverish strokes that grew more nonsensical the deeper I went, as if someone had gone mad creating them. The floor here was a dull grey and strangely even¡ª far too smooth for what was supposed to be a naturally formed cave, save for the asional boulder we came across. It was like I was walking on tiled floors and not stone. Eventually, I hobbled deep enough to reach what looked like a massive chamber with seven other hallways linking directly to it. Where did those lead? That wasn''t where I felt the pull from, so I wasn''t counting on finding out. This ce gave me the creeps. The chamber itself was circr, though not a perfect circle, which was less unsettling than if it had been. The pull here was stronger than it had ever been since I had left Lake Verity. I waited for Mesprit to say something, but they were silent, now. "Well, let''s head deeper, I guess," I said. "Be ready to use Protect." Electivire nodded, his tails anxiously writhing behind him. It took two minutes to make it through the chamber, and I noticed that a part of the wall was actually not a natural rock formation, but a wall. Ancient bricks of what looked to be y,id out until they blended perfectly with the surrounding stone. At the wall''s heart was a painting that I instantly recognized. The three Lake Guardians, drawn horribly wrong, but still in recognizable fashion and surrounding some kind of red¡­ gem. Breathless, I approached the art, instinctively holding out a hand as my vision went blurry at its edges¡ª A man¡ª possibly in histe twenties or early thirties¡ª sits in contemtion in front of the Lake Guardians. His hair is well-kept, though it is a peculiar blue. He is apanied by a few people, though they do not yet don the uniform I have learned to despise. Cyrus looks up at the wall, and a woman who appears to be Jupiter nks him, yawning like she''s bored out of this world with a Tangrowth by her side. "Is this what you wanted to see, Cyrus?" she deadpans. "Some boring art on a wall? It took a lot of effort to sneak in here. I expect a promotion by the end of the month." Cyrus ignores her, cing a hand on the wall and tracing the contour of the red gem at its center. "Tell, me Adrianna," Cyrus finally speaks. His voice is disturbingly still, and his hands sit behind his back. "Do you believe that Man should strive to improve his current condition at all costs?" "Sure, that sounds dandy," Jupiter answers. "Not like you haven''t been trying to do it so far." He continues. "What do you think, then, about the current state of the world?" "Not much," Jupiter says. "It just is, really. People are born, they live out their days and they die. It''s fun, sometimes, though. You know that feeling you get, when you get off a shift early? Or when your favorite showes on, and it''s an episode you''ve been waiting for? Or when you eat your favorite food¡ª" "I do not. Though I understand the implications all of those scenarios bring," Cyrus says. "Do you not think that the world could be more? This is imperfect, and so are we. These Gods spit on us while they watch us crawl through ash and mud." He stops, staring up at the Lake Guardians with a nk look. "It''d be a whole lot better if there was any passion in your voice, Cy," Jupiter snorts. He ignores the nickname as if he hadn''t heard it. "It is just a fact, is it not? Do not confuse a want for yearning. The keys to a better world are gated behind rules established by a God that does not interact with us," he continues. "It is our birthright, as people, to gain the tools to improve ourselves. We are all iplete beings, Adrianna. Both people, and Pokemon. There is something missing within us, and that absence causes meaningless fights, wars, and strife. We could be so much more." "You''ve droned on about it for years, now, but all we''ve done is travel the country, read ancient texts, and visit old ruins. Well, so long as I get paid¡­" "Such ack of vision," Cyrus acknowledges. "But I suppose that is why you are a good tool, Adrianna." "Gee, thanks. Maybe I really should quit," she chides, wrinkling her nose. "Then I will kill you," he simply says. "You know too much." She pales slightly, though her face returns to a slight smile after a moment. "Always have to do a double take, when you say things like that." "It is nothing personal," Cyrus says. "Either way, I know you will not betray me. It was you, after all, who sought me out. Enough with the games. These three," he passes another hand on the wall of the cave, "are the key to creating a new world. Through control of space and time, we can bring about the birth of a new universe," he says. It appears to be his goal¡ª his life''s work, even, but his tone does not rise, nor does his face change. "Do you think we''ll make it?" "I will either make it, or die trying," he deres. "But first, we must find more like-minded individuals." I pulled my hand back with a gasp as I returned to the present. It took a minute, to realize what I''d just seen. Cyrus and Jupiter¡ª or Adrianna¡ª hade here before Team Gctic had been a thing. From the way he had lookedpared to how he looked now, this must have been at least ten years ago. Jupiter had known him for that long? I couldn''t confirm anything, but it seemed like she''d known him the longest among the Commanders. I tried cing a hand on the cave painting again, but nothing else happened. If I could see more¡­ damn it. Honey let out a curious grunt, wondering what had happened. "A vision of the past," I muttered. "Of what Cyrus is like. I think I just witnessed the official birth of Team Gctic¡­" Because that was what this had been about, hadn''t it? I already knew Cyrus'' goal to end the world, but I hadn''t known about his motivations. With the context I had after speaking about him to Rnd Hunter, the picture was clear, now. He believed that something was wrong with the world, instead of something being wrong with him, and he was willing to do anything to get his way. Willpower and Knowledge, but not Emotion. He was an empty shell, driven by a purpose, knowledgable, but there was clearly something missing when you heard him talk. It was like seeing a puppet being strung along instead of an actual man speaking. A question remained, however. Mars was in love with the man, Saturn¡­ well, Saturn was extremely loyal to Team Gctic as an organization, from how much of a fanatic he was. Charon wanted his sister back at all costs, even if he had to destroy the world for it, but what did Jupiter want? The way she''d watched Cyrus drone on aboutmitting omnicide like it had just been another day disturbed me as much as the other two Commanders did, if not more, because while I could parse through what they were like, she was aplete enigma. And even then, what kind of person followed a man threatening to kill you after years of knowing each other? Since it had been a vision, I hadn''t been able to use my empathy to tell what she was really thinking. "Cyrus owns Pokemon," I told Honey. "Six of them." They''d been on his belt, during the vision. How powerful he was remained to be seen, though I figured he must have been strong to hold control of such arge organization. Maybe he had more, these days. This had been years ago, after all, though I couldn''t do anything but estimate. "Mesprit? Any help here?!" I hissed. "Are you just going to guide me here and say nothing afterward?!" Communicating takes power, and I remain dormant. You have seen what was needed. The other Shards will not need toe¡­ here¡­ The voice faded into the background, but I''d made out the important bits. I assumed that if Mira or the others came here, they''d see the same thing I saw¡ª though upon reflection, I wasn''t sure about Mira, given the fact that she hadn''t touched herke yet. I limped back toward the cave''s exit and immediately reported what I''d seen, first to Cynthia, and then to the other Shards and Denzel. The Champion thanked me, saying that she''d suspected a reason like this, but knowing it in detail and straight from the source helped. Ailwin had been waiting for me at the bottom of the massive staircase, but I didn''t stay long. I needed to be alone with my thoughts, and for that, I needed to be in the air. I racked my brain the entire flight, and even asked Aliyah about it, but I couldn''t find a motivation for Jupiter''s actions. Was what she wanted just a New World? She didn''t seem to think the current one was wrong, maybe just boring. Was that all she needed? To think that the world was boring? That sounded more like Mars than her, but then again, I didn''t know her at all. There was just no way to figure it out with the information I had at my disposal. By the time evening hade, I had made it to Sceon.
Chapter 278 Chapter 278
CHAPTER 278 It had been three months since the Darkest Day had gripped Sceon by the throat and maimed the city beyond recognition, and it was easy to see that the city hadn''t recovered at all. Stores and restaurants were still boarded up, never to open again. The streets were far emptier than they''d ever been, even near the city center, because people had moved after the disaster and nevere back, most choosing to settle in Hearthome or Veilstone. I had just spent the night at one of their Centers and decided to see how Sceon had progressed since I''d left, but the of it left a bad taste in my mouth. That wasn''t to say that there was no progress at all, however. A port was being built down south on the river mouth, which would belong to the city, and though all political positions in the city had been reced by Cynthia loyalists, they at least looked to bepetent. Now that Shiftry was dead and that no Pokemon had a hold on the city or its surroundings, massive farms were beginning to spring up around the entire ce, stretching out west and north as far as the eye could see. I had heard stories about wild Pokemon fighting back at the new expansion, but these were all state-run. They might dy by ripping up some crops, but in the grand scheme of things nothing would change. Could grass types speed up crop growth? Powerful grass types were able to make trees and nts grow in seconds¡­ but there probably weren''t enough of them for it to be a consistent method. Just like Kadabra in the Ranger Outpost, I had to remind myself that the Pokemon I encountered were a lot stronger than what was realistically feasible to train en masse. Eventually, a powerful Pokemon¡ª or a few¡ª would spring up and start to etch themselves into this world, whereupon the League would be able to make a deal and stop most attacks from ever happening in the first ce. I chewed my lip, clenching a fist at the same old systematic oppression taking ce here that I was powerless to stop, or even slow. Inch by inch, they took it all away until Pokemon were left with nothing. Deals thatsted decades, or hundreds of years until they were no longer convenient and we encroached some more. Sensing my ire, Tangrowth rubbed a vine on my head and ruffled my hair. "Angel¡ª Arceus! Don''t just ruin my hair," I groaned. The grass type silently snickered as he carried me toward the old Hunter''s mansion¡ª or the Daycare, as it had been called. It still looked the exact same, though League employees and trainers filtered in and out of it. I wasn''t nning on getting anywhere close, but I had just wanted to see how things were going. The League had taken over the Hunters'' breeding operation here, because even if they''d been a cult, they''d actually been good at their job, and not having their Pokemon would lose the government precious species that it just couldn''t get ess to without them. There were a few Hunters there as well, easily recognizable by their grey eyes. They knew how to run this ce better than the League, after all, and now they were actually getting paid for it. It was somewhere on this massive plot ofnd, that I''d had my first battle with another person actively trying to kill me. It was a testament to how much I''d changed, that I had actually let Harry Rodriguez live back then after he''d almost killed both Princess and Sweetheart, despite my reasoning being that him rotting in jail with a permanently maimed leg had been a better price than killing him right away. His death would have been a mercy, or at least that''s what I''d believed. He had probably lost his entire leg, now that I was thinking about it. It hadn''t been intentional, but Harry Rodriguez deserved something that would stick with him his entire life¡ª a reminder of what he''d done. Still, it was this ce, that had kicked it all off, wasn''t it? The first time I had willingly killed a Pokemon, too. I''d been aplete mess afterward, of course, racked by nightmares of electricity surging through Crobat so loudly that it masked the poison type''s screams, and hopes that I would never have to do it again. Yet, here I stood, the blood of many more on my hands, and no emotional outburst to show for it. The first time is always the hardest, Cynthia had said, and she had not lied. "You know, I''ve always wondered how Shiftry did that Teleportation trick. Or even that pocket dimension one," I muttered to Tangrowth, who was more preupied with watching two Ponyta run across the field. "Before I came here, I had no idea dark TE could reach such heights. Shiftry might have been rusty, but he was good." Even today, I would say the Elder would handily defeat me. I hadn''t seen enough from him to actually know how close it''d be, but fighting him in a domain he''d slowly built up over a thousand years? That was a surefire way to lose. Cynthia was just so powerful she hadn''t even needed more than two Pokemon to beat him. "Gives me some ideas for Sweetheart," I continued. "No pocket dimension stuff, I feel like that''d be too hard, but Chase has his Darkfire technique. Cecilia has her special Night sh¡­ I can get Sweetie to figure something out, at least. What we have to work with right now is Dark Pulse, Crunch and Payback, but those are too rigid for my liking." Angel had plenty of suggestions, though none of them would actually work. I mean, how does one even mix darkness with Surf? It was technically possible, but she couldn''t even move water properly yet, let alone dark TE. It''d take months and be redundant to use, and the only reason he had suggested it was because it would be her favorite option. What that idea did give me, however, was that instead of a wide-ranging attack like Surf, I could attempt to use it with Sand Stream instead. That unfortunately brought a slew of other problems, but none that couldn''t be fixed with enough practice, and unlike Surf, she actually knew how to control her Sandstorm thanks to all of the training she''d had with the move since she''d been a Larvitar and Pupitar. The main reason I had taught her Sandstorm that early had explicitly been so she could properly control Sand Stream once she evolved, and it had worked perfectly. "You know that attack she used against us? That concentrated column of sand she threw at me and Princess? We could start with that." The grass type absent-mindedly nodded, his attention having been caught by another Pokemon, this time a Teddiursa being carried by one of the employees at the old daycare. "She''s cute, right?" I said, patting his head. "You can''t go y, though. We aren''t allowed in there." Tangrowth''s vines drooped, but he didn''t give up, deciding to wave at them instead. For Sweetheart, I''d need to start small, and I couldn''t give her any more techniques to work on. Earthquake, Surf and now this? Any more, and either she''d get overwhelmed, or none of them would be up to par for the fight against Byron. "Let''s head out. I think we''ve seen enough," I said. "I need to talk to the others." It was just as Jasmine and Craig had warned. Byron was, first and foremost, a defensive trainer, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t pack a punch to destroy his opponents. At this point, there weren''t many Pokemon of his that were at the eighth badge level, but they had so many tricks that studying them all would take as much, if not more time, as the previous Gyms. The main issue I had was, of course, with the Pokemon on his personal team. Each presented so many issues that I would never be able to address them all, and none of them were easy to deal with. I had only studied Magnezone and Bronzong in-depth so far. I had started with studying Magnezone to ease myself into the correct mind space, notably because it was the Pokemon I was the most used to fighting. I''d fought that line in the Sceon tournament, when I had trained with Mira, and against Volkner, plus I''d seen Jasmine''s in action against Craig. While Byron''s Magnezone''s electric type attacks were somewhat weak¡ª slightly weaker than Honey''s, at the moment¡ª that was not where the steel type had put all of its focus. Magnezone''s deal was that it could make barriers that looked to be sturdier than Princess'' and retaliate against attacks with Mirror Coat. Their Tri Attack was the most powerful I''d ever seen, and they could iste each elemental beam to make it stronger¡ª or fire more than three beams. There was the usual Lock-On issue, which meant that dodging would be possible, but excruciatingly difficult. All of that was just dressing,pared to the main way Magnezone fought. Like Bronzong, Magnezone could mess with gravity, though thankfully, it was only with minimal effect. What that meant was that the electric type could artificially speed themself up and make moves like Gyro Ball or Wild Charge hurt way more than they would normally have, and it also made Magnezone excellent at dodging attacks when barriers weren''t enough. That did not count all of the custom moves the steel type knew, however, but that would be amon theme with every Gym Leader''s personal team. Like Jasmine''s own, Magnezone was a master of maism and could explode in a burst of sharp metal, controlling it to either attack their opponents or reinforce their own defenses. The steel type could also create some kind of maically charged steel storm with those sharp particles. Like Jasmine''s Magnezone, they could pull or push at a Pokemon''s blood despite the iron contents there being minuscule, which meant that they could lock opponents in ce as if they were using Psychic. Speaking of, since they could make barriers, they had minor psychic powers that could make the difference when fighting against a Pokemon without those. All of that was just scratching the surface, though since Byron wouldn''t be going all out, I''d be a fool to study the custom moves he used against people like Craig, for example. Though I would do so anyway, just in case. Coming at this Pokemon with any kind of electric or steel type would be a lost cause. Jellicent, Togekiss and Electivire were out of the running, which meant I''d have to lean against my other three Pokemon if I wanted to take Magnezone down. There were weaknesses to exploit, but you had to get close to do so, and that was a trial in and of itself. And for how terrifying Magnezone was, the electric type wasn''t as awful as Bronzong. Starting with the number one issue: Byron''s Bronzong was a psychic type, so they were able to keep fighting type moves at bay, and they had the Heatproof abilitybined with a powerful Rain Dance when needed, which meant that fire type moves would be nigh useless here, and more importantly, that Byron had a perfect counter against my new and improvedva strategy at his disposal. Luckily for me, Bronzong was also among his weakest offensively, but the steel type was annoying to face. There were the usual psychic type shenanigans, with barriers and all, but Bronzong also knew Future Sight and could see a few seconds into the future when he did use that move¡ª it did have counters, though. Counters that didn''t even involve using moves. Gravity would stop any flying type attempting to get close by sinking them into the ground, which gave Bronzong a nigh impossible advantage to beat in the air. There was, of course, the moves I had memorized, but what made Bronzong unique was their ability to mess with portals. This was used by Byron both offensively and defensively. Since his Bronzong was offensively weak, the psychic could open up two portals and send their opponents'' attacks back against them, along with another thousand applications this insane technique had. Most notably, Bronzong had once flooded the entire field once he''d been one of two Pokemon Byron had left, opened up a massive portal on the ground and dropped all of that water down on an unsuspecting Sableye. Aubri''s Sableye, even. It had been this year''s Gym Battle, and she''d ended up winning, but needless to say, that had caught her off-guard. And again, she was way stronger than me, so I expected only basic portals to be used against me if Bronzong was the Pokemon Byron chose to use. Jellicent and Tyranitar would do best against the psychic, but there was still my overarching strategy to keep in mind. I really needed to watch my switches for this one. Thest thing I wanted was to get trapped like I''d been against Wake with no swaps left and against an opponent more powerful than we were. I''d need to study Excadrill and Skarmory next¡­ "You remembered," I smiled as Angel reached the little clearing they used to train at for the tournament. This ce held many good memories for me, despite everything that had gone on a few dayster. It was there, that Sunshine started to truly get close with us. Hell, it was here that I started calling him Sunshine with his permission. Angel dropped me on the grass, where I released my entire team in front of me. He quickly waddled on next to them, squeezing in between Honey and Sweetheart and then turning toward me. The rock type recognized the ce and would have started looking for flowers, had I not pped my hands to get her attention. "Listen up, everyone. We''re heading back to the Lost Tower today, as we nned," I dered. I stayed silent for a few moments, letting the words sink in and watching the reactions. A nervous tailsh from Honey nearly hit Princess, who groaned in annoyance and hovered a little higher in the air. He had been in the heat of the fighting, back then, and he wasn''t looking forward to going in there again. "The tower looks rtively small from the outside, but remember, it''s actually huge from the inside, and each floor grows bigger as you ascend," I exined. They hadn''t all been released, when we had fought in the tower. "Supposedly, their old master is buried on the top floor, but that''s not where we n on going anyway." "Iting to a fight isn''t guaranteed," I continued. "But we have to n for if it does. When we left, Ruth and Mathilda were in¡­ bad spirits, and they essentially told me to nevere back. Not only am Iing back, but I''m nning on asking how to kill a ghost permanently. That''s as good as asking to kill them." They were all taking this seriously, now, thank the Legendaries. I discreetly nodded to Buddy, thanking him for reigning in Sweetheart during all of this. She was far too excited to get in her first real fight to pay much attention. "When dealing with someone, you have to know their goal¡ª what drives them. Once you understand that, you can be in a better position to negotiate. So step one it to understand their motivation." Negotiate, or manipte, I thought to myself. Though manipting beings that were over a thousand years old was a bit out of my wheelhouse. "When we first came there, Ruth attacked us, but her true goal is actually to leave the tower. She doesn''t want to bring humans past the first floor and never goes down there like Mathilda does, because it''s like a cruel joke to her¡ª seeing peoplee and go, and potentially talking to them would be a taste of the outside. A taste of something she''s never had and never will. Freedom. Mathilda defended us, and even though she wanted to keep to her directive to protect the tower, she didn''t mind humansing in to chat, because it makes her time easier. Those are their motivations and goals. Depending on what''s been going on since we left, Ruth might attack us again." Runerigus and Sinistea. I had no idea how powerful they werepared to me now, and they''d mostly used simple attacks when fighting each other, but I was going in with the assumption that they could both beat my entire team on their own, since their attacks had beenparable to mine today, and they''d been holding back in order not to damage the grave. If push came to shove and they stopped holding back, then I had no chance. They were more than a thousand years old, after all, and so, I''d need to negotiate and cate instead of fight. If Mathilda could defend me from Ruth again¡­ "Either way, if ites to a fight and we''re outssed, we''re leaving," I said. "Buddy, you''re going to stick close. Use your Night Shades to fight, but keep me protected. Honey, you''re the same. Unfortunately, Runerigus is a ground type and a true ghost, so you''re better off staying on the defensive." Both Pokemon stared at each other, then anxiously nodded. There was a tint of disappointment in Electivire''s eyes, but Runerigus was a really bad matchup for him in general. "Angel, how''s your Knock Off?" I asked with a grin. His vines darkened, then cracked like a dull whip against the ground, leaving only a thick gash in the dirt. I had known the answer, of course, but it''d do him some good to show off once in a while. "There won''t be that many nutrients or sunlight to use in the tower for grass type moves, but Knock Off will be your main tool anyway. Try to destroy any iing ghost type attacks with it," I said. It wasn''t like he wouldn''t be able to use grass type moves, but they''d be slower toe by, and speed was everything in battles like these. I paused. "Sunshine¡­ don''t burn down the entire ce. Let''s respect the dead, shall we?" The dragon rolled his eyes, but ended up agreeing with a grunt, all while sassing me in the process. "Of course, that''s only unless we''re left with no other choice," I added. "Could serve as a distraction, with how much they care about the graves. If they don''t want to talk, I ask to leave and they don''t let me¡­ well, you''ll have free reign." That seemed to please him much more. It wasn''t often, that Sunshine got to let loose. "Princess, unless Sunshine starts burning down entire floors and you need to keep me protected from the heat, you''re on offense today," I said. "No Moonst, that''s too destructive. Anything else is fair game. I don''t think stabbing ghosts will work, though, so you''re going to be using blunt force instead. If we''re fighting Runerigus, focus on the ice beam from Tri Attack, too." The fairy type let out a disappointed chirp, but she knew I was right. Better throw a massive boulder at a Runerigus than a spear. "Sweetheart, you''re focusing on Dark Pulse. We''ve trained enough, now, so it shouldn''t be a problem. Mix it in with Stone Edge or Payback if you get attacked from up close," I said. "No Sandstorm, though. It won''t do anything but hurt us." Her affirming growl made my bones vibrate, but I''d grown used to that by now. I decided to let them fool around a bit while I decided on my n to convince them to shirk over this information. I knew they''d instantly answer no when I asked the question about killing true ghosts, but I had my empathy at my disposal, now. If I delved deep enough, I would be able to tell if they lied. This was a line crossed¡ª and a line that needed to be crossed. Mars never carried Dusknoir''s Pokeball around, so he wouldn''t be able to be trapped in there, and he was so powerful I wasn''t confident on being able to kill him over and over. It only took one mistake, and he''d slip away and start killing innocents again¡ª because Dusknoir was as wrong as Mars was. They were linked, in some way, and she could understand whatever the ghost said. The only way we had to contain him was this. Since I''d be able to tell if they lied, just confirming that it was possible would be a step in the right direction. Too many lives were at stake to have second thoughts, here. Even if Dusknoir was far too powerful for me to take down, this would be crucial information for the League. It wasn''t like they could beat it out of the ghosts. They wouldn''t care if they died, since they''de back a few dayster anyway. However, I was the most powerful empath on the, and in a unique position to do this. But if people like Fantina didn''t know while having so many ghosts on her team, was I in over my head? Was there really no way? My eyes nced at my team, and I had to yell at Sweetheart and Honey to stop trying to rip up trees as some sort ofpetition. Legendaries, they were going to be the death of me. At least this was a sign that they''d gotten used to this, by now, save for my favorite ghost. I beckoned Buddy over, whozily floated in front of me. "You see, I was thinking of waiting on the first floor until Mathildaes to get us?" I told him. "Then we chat with her¡ª while remaining on the first floor. It should be safe, down there. Maybe we could avoid the fight that way, since trainers are allowed in the foyer." The ghost watched me, his two crimson eyes glowing slightly brighter. "Here''s the problem, though," I sighed. "You know it as well as I do, don''t you? That Mathilda''s holding Ruth hostage." Buddy hummed, saying that it did not matter, so long as Mathilda was more friendly to us. "It does matter. Because Ruth is willing to break the rules, in the end. The problem is that Mathilda won''t let her. Mathilda just wants to bend the rules, not break them. And if we still don''t know about killing ghosts, and I figure out that they''re lying, then it must be an intrinsic rule of some kind¡ª a rule that Ruth''s more likely to ignore¡ª otherwise Fantina''s ghosts would have told her a long time ago." Or any ghost type specialist, for that matter. Though maybe some people knew, but the knowledge had never made it into the hands of any government. Jellicent''s eyes dimmed, and he enunciated my thoughts. That if what I was saying was correct, he believed we would have to cooperate with Ruth instead of Mathilda to make this work. "Yes. And she''s stronger, despite being a Sinistea," I said, recalling their battle. "And since there are two of them, there''s no way I''d even be able to nudge them into telling me the truth willingly." Not only was I not experienced enough with my empathy anyway, but Mesprit had told me that unlike Cecilia and Chase, getting someone to do what I want would take hours, or even days. I assumed that for ghosts, it would be days, with how alien their emotions were. Days I did not have, mostly because they''d try to kill me the entire time since there was no way I''d be subtle enough to make it work. Oh well, Aliyah would have been disappointed anyway. Or would she? If it was to free thousands of souls permanently being tortured¡ª and doomed to do so until the end of time¡ª then was it wrong to forcefully manipte someone who was potentially keeping the key to that knowledge under seal? I honestly couldn''t bring myself to think so. There was a lot of good, that I could do with this gift, and I believed this to have been one of these moments. Unfortunately for me, though, it just wouldn''t work. "So we''ll have to go to the second floor," I said. "Convince Ruth to switch sides, on the condition that we help her get her freedom. I don''t think she''s truly bound to the tower, just that Mathilda killed her so many times that she''s given up leaving." If we could team up with Ruth, then victory would be possible. Hopefully, I''d be able to get her to tell me how to kill Dusknoir, too. "You nervous?" I asked Jellicent. He nodded, asking how he could not be. We were getting into far too many fights for his liking. "It''ll be over soon," I smiled. "Think about it. This summer, with only the Conference in front of us. Then, a brand new region to travel in, without any of this Team Gctic bullshit. Doesn''t that sound awesome? You''d know Unde has amazing beaches, if you listened to Cecilia sometimes." He could not smile, but I knew he liked the idea. I caressed his cheek, leaning on the tree I was sitting against, and bided my time. ¡ª The Lost Tower sat in arge, artificial hole that had been dug over a thousand years ago. It had been built like an obelisk, narrowing the higher it went despite the opposite being true for the inside of the tower. The exterior of the tower bore the marks of time, its pale stone worn by the elements, yet it retained a solemn beauty despite the design being so simple. Ascending floors were marked by tall, narrow windows, but no glimpses into the heart of the structure were allowed. Instead, each window only led to pitch-ck darkness with wisps of a sickly purple. A wide set of pale stairs led down toward the tower''s entrance, which Princess flew over. The Lost Tower''s surroundings were devoid of any vegetation, as if it wasn''t allowed to grow near such a ce. There wasn''t even a single weed to be seen through the cracks in the stairs or the stony ground at its base. Princessnded near the tower, and I released the rest of the team around me, letting thefortable hiss of the Pokeballs calm my nerves. The entrance to the Lost Tower beckoned like a portal to another realm, a threshold between the tangible world and the horrors and tragedies thaty within, obscured by a darkness that was too thick to be natural. Twin pirs, hewn from the same weathered stone as the tower itself, stood guard on either side of the wide entryway. There were no carvings to be seen on it. It was just in stone, and yet it brimmed with power. The temperature here reminded me of how it had felt earlier in the year, and Angel grabbed a hoodie from my backpack so I could put on anotheryer. Even so, I could see my breath, and my fingers shivered. "Let''s head in," I dered. I stood at the enter of my team, and we stepped one in at a time. The inside of the tower was lit by pale blue torches that burned with no fuel, perpetually shifting ces every time I stopped paying attention to them. Hundreds of graves were strewn throughout the floor. People taken with tragic deaths, all buried here so ghosts could form faster. Even so, this tower only birthed a single ghost every few decades, ording to Mathilda. I stopped myself from reading the inscription on the graves and continued forward. There were many ghosts around us, all out of this ne and invisible to the naked eye. Thankfully, we had four people capable of sensing them, including me. I was not focusing on such small, flickering mes of dull hatred, though. The world came alive as I opened my eyes¡ª Ah. She wasn''t even trying to hide. She floated down the stairwell far in front of us and then slowly approached. "Iing," I said, inhaling sharply. My entire team tensed, the temperature rising slightly as Sunshine flexed. It was difficult to tell if this was Ruth or Mathilda, but considering she hadn''t attacked me right away and Ruth never came to the first floor, I guessed Mathilda. She came into view soon enough, exposing her wrinkled face and skin. She still wore the same clothes: faded purple and white robes, with thick, circr spectacles. Her cane rasped against the ground as she approached with a sickly smile. I knew it was Mathilda once I saw the teacup she held in her other hand. "Young Grace," she spoke with a quivering voice. Legendaries, that ent was thick. Not from the East, nor the West, but from the past. I needed to hang onto her every word to understand, but luckily, she spoke as slowly as she did back when I''d first met her. "I will admit, I did not expect to see you again. What a wonderful day this has turned out to be." Her emotions reminded me of Aliyah, but tter. As a ghost, she had mastered all hatred, and now there was only duty. Duty to her old trainer, duty to keep this tower protected. Mathilda''s eyes nced at each of my Pokemon, as if she was assessing their strength and growth. "Overseer," I said, dipping my head. "Pardon the intrusion. This is an urgent matter that I couldn''t dy." "Please. Call me Mathilda, like always," she smiled, a purple smoke rising from her tea. "There is a question on your mind. I see it as clear as the night." "There is indeed. And before I ask it, I have to say, I mean you no harm, nor disrespect when asking this," I said. "Really, I appreciate that you saved me and my friends the first time we wandered in here." "But?" she probed. Still calm, good. "One of my current enemies owns a Dusknoir," I said. I saw Mathilda''s sunken eyes narrow at that, but I continued. "If she gets her way, there will be more destruction than the world has ever seen," I said in half-truth. "This entire tower will vanish, just like that," I snapped my fingers, "You will have no more purpose." Push by using what she cares about, I thought to myself. Ayer of calm anger wrapped itself around her. "Now, we could kill him, but he''ll juste back a few dayster," I rambled, leaning heavily against my crutch. "I know our moralities don''t exactly align here, but he''s already swallowed thousands of souls, which he''s perpetually subjecting to torture. Part of me thinks those souls will be freed," I exhaled, "if there is a way to permanently put Dusknoir down." There it was. I braced myself for an outburst or an attack, but narrowed my eyes to delve deep. Deeper than I ever had. Past a hundredyers of emotion and into the truth of Mathilda''s non-existent heart. The essence of her very being. "I would help you if I could, child," the Overseer shook her head. "But there is no way. A ghost can ebb, but never truly perish. The Dusk returns all." The statement hadn''t been any different than her other ones. Her emotions had not wavered. Her face hadn''t twitched, her eyes had not shifted, and her voice had stayed still. And yet, there had been a slight sense of disorder. Like a piece of the puzzle she was made of that no longer fit. A slight shift in the colors that felt unnatural to me. That had been a lie, and I knew it in my bones that I was the only mortal being on this that would have been able to tell.
Chapter 279 – The Tower is thy Coffin Chapter 279 ¨C The Tower is thy Coffin
CHAPTER 279 - THE TOWER IS THY COFFIN She had lied¡ª of course, she had, but the fact that it''d been so seamless made me have to do a double take. It had been so natural that I doubted myself, even! I kept my face neutral, though my fingers twitched around my crutch. My Pokemon didn''t turn their heads, but I could tell they were wondering if it had been a lie or not. They''d been looking forward to the answer just as much as I had. "I guess I was in over my head," I said. This was both a signal to my team we''d made, and a way to diffuse the situation with Mathilda. "Sorry about this. I just wanted to save the souls from Dusknoir, so I thought¡­" The Overseer cocked her head to the side, her thin hair somehow not drooping and keeping still against her head. "You are not the first to have this question," she calmly said. "Many ask, if ghosts are truly immortal, then is it just not a matter of time until the world bes overtaken by them? Even when I had just formed, over a thousand years ago, this was a question on the minds of many," she continued, approaching me. Her cane rasped against the blue-grey stones in rhythmic fashion. "But this question overestimates the number of ghosts that are brought into this world." I nodded absent-mindedly, stopping myself from taking a step back as she got closer. "I get that. I mean, it''s what, towers like this, and maybe war, that are good at creating you, right?" I said. "Mass casualty events full of tragic deaths, or ces with high concentration of those," I said, remembering what she had told me the first time I''de here. "And even then, very few are born. Anyway, it was just a question." "Worry not, I knew no offense was meant," the ghost said. I moistened my lips and ignored the swirling, constantly shifting blue lights on the walls. "Where''s Ruth, by the way?" I asked, trying to bait out information. "She''s not going to attack us, is she?" "Oh, Ruth has been very cooperative, these days," Mathilda said with a smile. No teeth on those gums, and yet it felt sharp. "She has taken to the top floor of the tower and rarelyes down,tely. No harm will befall you while I am here, that I can assure you of." Shit. The top floor? The fifth floor of the Lost Tower was rumored to be akin to another world entirely, and impossible to escape from. How in the world was I going to contact her there? "Perhaps you wish toe to pay respects to the dead," Mathilda said, gesturing to our left toward the hundreds of graves. "Not many trainers stop by, and the few that do rarely stick around long enough to speak with me. These poor souls deserve it, don''t you think?" I nced at the tombstones. "I suppose I could," I said, wanting to buy time. I gestured at my Pokemon to follow and knelt in front of a grave as I closed my eyes. Was Ipletely outyed here? There was no way I could get Ruth to notice me¡ª or maybe she''d notice me once I got to the second floor, but wouldn''t care. Or would she? I didn''t want to stake this entire thing on a maybe. There was also something else worrying me. I had nned for my ACE Trainers toe and save me, should the fighting get to a level beyond what I was capable of handling, but even with my empathy working on overdrive, I couldn''t feel them anywhere. In fact, I couldn''t feel anything beyond the Lost Tower''s reach, as if I''d been cut off from the outside world entirely. Why? Had I given myself away, somehow? I hoped that paying my respects to the dead would make Mathilda free me, so I had no other choice. I opened my eyes again. Oliver Panshawe - 971-1001 - Kindness incarnate, always willing to go above and beyond for those who needed it (Negotiator, Diplomat). Died in an ambush on the way to negotiate asting peace with the people of Lakhut. The war is inevitable. Thousands will die due to his failure. "Lakhut?" I asked. "An old underground empire to the north of here, built into a mountain," Mathilda answered. "Though these days, you would call it a mere city, I presume. It predates Sceon by far, though it was lost to the sands of time and met its end during that very war. Some kind of internal rebellion were the rumors at the time, but it was difficult reaching the Land of Fog, back then." My eye twitched, and with her words came a new understanding. "Hm. Well, it''s a shame the war had to happen at all." The ghost simply nodded. "Many of the casualties now rest in this very tower." I wasn''t doing this. Now that I couldn''t bait Ruth to help me, the best course of action was to retreat and at least inform my ACE Trainers. Maybee back here as a group¡­ though it''d be harder to convince Ruth that way, I assumed. It was different when negotiating with a squad capable of killing you, even if it wouldn''t be permanent. Still, it wasn''t like I had much of a choice. Mathilda would beat my entire team, and the best I could do against her was dy. If the fight destroyed too many graves, then I was willing to bet she''d stop holding back, too. "I suppose I''m done here, then," I said, rising back to my feet. "Sorry for bothering you and all, but I should get going." The Overseer sipped some of her tea, but the contents did not go down. "Perhaps you''d want to visit the upper floors now that Ruth won''t be a pest?" My neck hair stood on end, and goosebumps ran all over my arms. She was still calm. "No need, Mathilda. I''ve bothered you enough." "No, no, my dear. I insist." I nced back at the entrance, which was shrouded in darkness, and restrained a sigh. "And if I told you I absolutely wanted to leave?" "Then I would tell you the fact that I mean you no harm still holds," she said. Not a lie, thank the Legendaries. "But there is a conversation that should be had before you leave." Jellicent let out a few wary clicks, asking why we couldn''t have this conversation here instead of on the upper floors. "Please, ghostling," Mathilda rolled her eyes. "Your trainer may be good at hiding her intentions, but none of you are. Youe into this sacred ce with intent to harm, that much is obvious. These are scheming eyes, you all have." So that''s how I''d been caught. I''d been foolish enough to think that Mathilda would only look at me, and not my Pokemon, and even if she did, I believed she''d think they were just being overprotective. Honey''s tails froze in ce as a nket of nervousness spread through his skin. Sunshine''s stare only worsened, and I had to snap at him so he wouldn''t talk back to her. Sweetheart let out a growl as she shed her sharpened teeth. I could have fooled her, but they hadn''t. In a need to keep myself protected, I''d given away the game, and now she knew we were nning something. "So I''m guessing it''s insurance I don''t attack you?" I asked. If I was on a higher floor, then running away would be way more difficult. From this, I could infer that I wasn''t actually trapped here and that breaking out was possible. Breaking out, or running? I didn''t know if I''d have to hit the door with some kind of dark type move to escape. "So I don''t destroy the graves?" It was the graves that mattered, not any actual danger I posed to her. Her priorities were strange to me, but I''de into this ready to adapt. "Yes. Too many were lost to the previous fight already," she said. "But we can be civilized about this. It is a warning, you must heed. About the Dusknoir you speak of. After that, I will let you go." I squinted, and this time, I was quicker on the draw. She was still telling the truth. "And I guess I can''t convince you that I won''t fight?" I asked. "Recall my Pokemon save for Honey¡ª" Cries of protest rang out, but Mathilda seemed unbothered. "Does it matter, when they are one gesture away from being released? You singling out this¡­ Honey, which I assume is your Electivire¡ª what a horrible naming scheme, by the way¡ª means that he will have a way to stop me long enough for you to get your other Pokemon out, should thise to blows. You are still acting like this battle is inevitable, Grace Pastel." "Well I¡­ can''t just not have a Pokemon out. I just can''t. Humans are too fragile, Mathilda. I need one of my Pokemon to protect me, just in case." Even if I caught her intentions turning nefarious, she''d be able to kill me in a fraction of a second, while Honey would be able to react and buy me time to release my team, at the very least. "Then that is fine. Simply follow me up the stairs, and we will discuss this Dusknoir." I sighed. That information was too good to pass up on. "Fine." I hope this is the right decision. A sharp smile stretched across Mathilda''s face, too long to be natural, and the Overseer started walking toward the stairs as she gestured at me to follow,pletely pleased with herself. Funnily enough, this time, I was at least slow enough due to my broken ankle not to be too bothered by her frigid pace. If she was a ghost, then did she really need to walk this slowly? Was the limp and the cane that necessary? Mathilda led us deeper inside of the Lost Tower, but she only started to speak once we reached the stairs. "There are few Dusknoir in existence in this world, or at least that I know of," she started. "One in thends of Kanto, trained and held on a tight leash by a human that should by all ounts be dead by now. He is also the most powerful by far. One in Gr, still wild and untamed. She has died the least out of all of them and mostly keeps to herself, lest the humans in hernd keep her trapped in Pokeballs for centuries like they usually do to troublesome ghosts. Another in the istednds of Almia¡ª that one being the oldest. Far older than anything you can imagine. He came into existence shortly after Pokemon were introduced to this world." I blinked, surprised that she actually had a number to give me. With how rare ghosts were¡ª and Dusknoir being even rarer¡ª I supposed it made sense. "That old, and he''s not the most powerful?" I muttered. "That''s¡­ over a hundred thousand years. Even if trained Pokemon progress faster, that''s an absurd amount of time to grow." "I did say ghosts could ebb, didn''t I?" she simply answered. From a look at her, I could tell she didn''t want to get into it, so I let it go, not wanting to irritate her. "And you know about them through the Dusk?" I asked, which she confirmed with a nod. "What about this one? The one I was telling you about?" "The youngest," she said. "He only came into form a few decades ago." "That''s¡­ older than Mars. A lot older," I frowned. "She''s in her early twenties, at most. Maybe younger." "Mars is her name?" Mathilda hummed. "That poor girl." I scoffed. "Excuse me?" The ghost ignored my outburst. "You do not understand, and that is alright. You have not seen what that Dusknoir has done to her soul. He owns her, not the other way around, even if she does not know it." We reached the top of the stairs, and I saw the familiar faces of a few dozen Golett, tending to the graves and brushing the floor with brooms. It was difficult to remember that this was what Lehmhart had been, once upon a time. There was no light behind their eyes, no will to live or the knowledge that they were even alive. This floor was farrger than the previous one, though the light from the torches spread just as far. Dusknoir controls Mars? From the way she''d behaved in the power nt, it was more like the other way around, but I''d only seen them interact once. "Have you spoken to Dusknoir, then?" I tried. "While alive or dead?" "Communication in the Dusk is difficult, when we are using all of our energy toe together again, though I have only seen him with that Mars girl''s soul once, right after he had rent it," she said. "He was born in this very tower as a Duskull, sixty-three years ago, and there are faces you recognize, after dying time and time again." There was a slight silence, and I felt Honey nudge my arm. I discretely nodded. He wanted me to keep her talking. "So what did you want to tell me, then? That a psychotic killer wasn''t at fault? She''s not being mind controlled, as far as the League can tell." "Of course, she isn''t. I do not know much about this ''Mars''," Mathilda said. "And I am not telling you to feel a particr way toward her. I am just exining what I know." My fist clenched, my nails digging into my palms as I tightened my jaw. "Yeah. Sure. What happened to her soul, then?" "That is unclear to me, though it has been split in some way, perhaps more than once," she answered. "Hoho, take a look." She pointed toward a crook in the bricked path, where two white flowers were growing, with a prideful look. She crouched,mending the nearby Golett for letting them grow while pulling out the weeds around them. She really did care about this ce¡ª to the point that she''d almost forgotten I was there. Her wrinkled hand delicately touched one of the petals until she let out a satisfied sigh. Happiness¡ª no, contentment radiated out of her in dim waves. "Sometimes, you forget to stop and look at how beautiful the world is," the ghost hummed. The world, in this case, being her tower, and only her tower. "Now, where were we?" "Mars'' soul is split," I reminded her. "Right. I do not know how many pieces¡ª things tend to get blurry, in the Dusk, and I only managed to parse through because hers was not getting tortured as the others were. Dusknoir has given her a special ce at the forefront of his receptacle. For what purpose, I do not know, but that part of the girl you''ve seen? She is not a full human being. A broken piece of a whole." "Is that why she''s so insane?" I asked. Mathilda shook her head. "No, but it might be why she might feel iplete, at times." "And could this cause¡­ memory issues?" I asked. "I do not know enough to answer that for certain, but there is a chance it might," she said. "Do you want to see my favorite grave on this floor, perchance?" I had to at least entertain her for now. This information was too good to pass up, and I could at least justify leaving without knowing the method to kill true ghosts if I got more out of her. But what was she getting by helping me? This was a game of give and take, and I was getting a lot more than she was, even if I knew she enjoyed chatting with people and showing them around the ce. I understood that what a being over a thousand years old found appealing would be skewed, but this was¡­ odd. I yed along and let Mathilda show me the graves she liked on this floor. The way she picked them was abination of tombstone design and the actual way they had died. She would tell me stories of the lives each person had lived, as if she knew every human buried here like the back of her hand. "The Dusknoir you wish to face is actually less aggressive than usual, and he is cunning," she said, finally getting back on track. "Though his thirst for souls appears endless. Dusknoir grow more powerful the more souls they ingest." "Could the souls be¡­ manually freed?" I asked her, thinking of the Voice. "If Mars ordered him to do so, for example." "As far as I know, there is no way for that to happen. Once your soul is taken, it can nevere back out. They are a part of him, now and forever. It would be akin to asking you to be another person," she mused, then smiling. "Or asking me to part with this teacup permanently," she finished as she nced down at it. Of course. That would have been too convenient, I thought as my lips ttened, and that was a n out the window. I knew it wouldn''t have been good to rely on the Voice anyway, given the fact that it could only be used once per day and that we might have to use it on someone else, and that was if we even came face-to-face with Dusknoir. I also knew that impossiblemands would just have the individual stand around like a robot instead of actually doing anything, thanks to all the testing Chase and Mira had done. Even if freeing the souls that way had been possible, it would have been best to have contingencies, which was why I''de here in the first ce. And failed miserably. I could still hear them now, when it got too quiet and I was having a bad day. The endless screams I''d heard when Dusknoir had opened his mouth in the power nt, to be forever tormented with no respite. "But if ghosts theoretically could die," I said, pretending not to know otherwise, "then it would be possible." "I am unwilling to entertain such fantasies," she lied. Still it was not a denial. "Do you know¡­ about the evolution method?" I hesitantly probed. "Of course. I have been around, girl," she said. "Your Champion came to get it out of me a bit ago, but she left empty-handed. She ended up figuring it out regardless, however, and I did confirm it for her. That way, I ensured she came by twice," Mathilda finished with a snicker. "Needless to say, she was not amused." ''A bit ago'' probably meant a few months ago, to a being like Mathilda, given the fact that Cynthia had known about it since earlier in the Circuit. I tried imagining a pissed-off Cynthia, but everything came up nk. All I''d seen her do was smile, and never had she raised her tone in my presence. At least the way she''d been sure of it made sense, now. "The method itself, is to harvest cloth from souls," she continued. "But once they take to that behavior, it is almost never unlearned. This one is particrly aggressive about it, is all. Gr''s Dusknoir is content with one or two a year. Almia''s has stopped feasting entirely, and Kanto''s gets a regr amount at set intervals." "But Mars'' just feasts, I''m guessing," I said, biting my lip. "Is there¡­ a weakness of some kind? A way we can kill it¡ª not permanently," I specified. "Just temporarily." "Darkness always works," she waved a hand. "Your Champion should be able to deal with him without too much difficulty, if ites to that. You¡­" she trailed off, scanning my team. "Your soul would be taken within the minute. Perhaps two." That didn''t even ount for the fact that Dusknoir could just¡­ run away like he hadst time at the Power nt and just not get killed. He seemed smarter about that than most, in that regard, though if Cynthia hadn''t had to hold back due to the hostages, maybe she could have beaten him beforehand? It was impossible to know. All I understood was that Dusknoir would be stronger when the time came than he had been back then. And that was just when facing Dusknoir, not her entire team. Though, I believed I could expect the ghost to be above and beyond the rest of Mars'' Pokemon. "Do you know why Dusknoir would want to control Mars?" I asked. Did he know that Cyrus was trying to end the world? He must have, with how close he was to Mars. There was just no way that knowledge would have slipped through. "Does he gain anything out of it?" "Another question I don''t have the answer to," she said. "Would you like to go to the third floor?" "I don''t think that''s a good idea, Mathilda," I grimaced. "Something''s been confusing me, too. What are you getting out of this?" Her eyes widened a smidge. "Apanion to pass the time, what else?" "There''s something else," I pushed. "You keep trying to lure me higher and higher by dangling information in front of me. What do you want?" "Does it bother you so much, that one does not want to take, take and take?" she chided. "An enjoyable time with a human after not having spoken to one in months is all I want. I wasing up with a new design for the third floor and wanted to show it to someone, that is all." She wasn''t¡­ lying? But how? A being so powerful giving so much away for free just didn''tpute in my head. I bit my lip, not knowing how to answer except a polite, forceful nod. It made sense, when considering that her way to make her time easier here was to allow more humans in, but still¡­ I supposed she was strongarming me intoing with her, though. It was the only way she''d keep telling me about Dusknoir. "I''lle to the third floor, but no more," I muttered. I was being baited in a way, and I was biting. "That''s where I stop." "Thank you." It took five minutes to reach the stairs, partly because Mathilda kept wanting to show me around, but also because of how wide this floor was. The stairs seemed to stretch higher, this time, and it took a full minute to reach the third floor. It was way different than the second and the first. Whereas the second floor was just arger version of the first with vegetation being allowed to grow, the third floor was abyrinth of twisting hallways and different sections of the cemetary, where tombstones were grouped together. The walls were a nk grey that was too smooth to feel right. Everything here looked new, though it kept the musty, odd smell and the cold temperatures that Sunshine was keeping me protected from. It got colder the higher we climbed. The halls were adorned by intricate, bricked archways that were the only thing keeping this ce from being too monotonous. This was a crypt. "Each age gets a section, from the youngest to the oldest," Mathilda said affectionately. "Though I will spare you the details. I doubt a human wants to hear about the young dying, especially in tragic circumstances such as these." "Thanks," I nodded, my throat feeling tight. "So¡­ Dusknoir. What else do you have for me?" "It swallows souls by opening the mouth on its abdomen," she listed after sipping on more tea. "One pass through there, and your soul will be stolen. It is important to keep your distance." "No do-overs," I confirmed. "Is there really no way to free the souls?" I asked again, though without permanently killing him was left unsaid. "Not that I know of, no. If I could see a Dusknoir in person, I could perhaps gain a new understanding of how they function," she stopped, turning toward me and my team. "s, I am bound here. Do you perhaps," she paused, turning my way, "want to stay longer?" My eye twitched. That had been the n afoot, then. Or not exactly a n, but a constant need to stay in touch with the outside. I would have empathized with her, had she not wanted to trap me here for however long she was thinking. With the way ghosts that old perceived time, it was probably on the longer side of things. I couldn''t fight her¡ª I couldn''t run, and I couldn''t use my empathy. My fingers trembled as I ignored my Pokemon''s looks. "Sure thing," I forced out. I had no choice. I was stuck here, now, and I had missed the trap because she hadn''t lied, nor were her intentions actually nefarious. She really did just want someone to talk to. I pitied her, in a way. Forced to tend to these graves until the world ended. Not only that, butmunicating with my team beyond looks was impossible, or Mathilda would find out and who knew what she''d do then? I followed her, nodding along to her ramblings about graves and whatnot, and I soon realized that thisbyrinth made no sense. The hallways didn''t connect right, and only Mathilda seemed to understand where we were going. I tried locating myself through tracking certain torches on the walls, or localized cemeteries, but it was all in vain. The walls were too smooth to use them, so that option was barred, too. How could I get out of this? She''d brought me to a floor I basically couldn''t escape from, and this reeked like a domain. No, the entire ce was one. Was my only option to wait her out and to slowly make her understand that time was valuable to me? That I wouldn''t be willing to waste for months, or years here, even had Team Gctic not been running around? That I had people to get back to? That I couldn''t live for hundreds of years, just randomly speaking to her about managing the Lost Tower over and over? The madness in her hadn''t been easy to see, but it slipped through the cracks, now. The way her time here had slowly turned her more and more insane. The only reason she wanted me stuck here instead of me and my friends back then that made sense to me was that she''d grown even more estranged from Ruth after their fight, and that she was starving for contact. Any contact. But then why not speak to the ghosts in the tower? There weren''t many, but they were here. Golett, I understood, were empty shells with no personalities until you breathed one into them, but there had been a few ghosts wandering the tower''s halls. One Misdreavus, one Gastly, and a Litwick. Not many, and fewer than there had been when I''d firste, but they were there. Ruth¡­ Ruth was my key to getting out of here. I took a deep breath to calm myself down, and sped at the side of my jeans. She was on the final floor, and it looked like Mathilda would be content to keep bringing me up to ''show me around''. Would she bring me to the final floor? Even if she did, I''d need to talk her into convincing Mathilda that she was being difficult. Worst case scenario, I''d need to engineer a fight between the two and hope to slip away somehow. It''d be ugly, but I was running out of ideas. "Listen, Mathilda, I really need to go. This was nice, but¡ª" "You haven''t seen the fourth floor yet," she chided. "Let us be on our way. Once I finish showing you everything there is to see, perhaps you can help me redesign the final floor. Ruth has always been difficult about that notion." We took a right turn, and the staircase up was magically there. She''d willed that to happen, I realized. Before even climbing up the stairs, however, I felt a presence approach on the fourth floor. No, it didn''t approach, it just appeared there. Mathilda sighed, licking her gums in irritation as her sunken eyes went nk and rage flickered within her. I knew Ruth hade, but I let her speak. I couldn''t reveal my hand early. "It appears my fellow Overseer hase to interrupt this tour," Mathilda said. "She will want to speak to me." Again? But wait! This was my key to breaking out of here. "Can I leave, then?" I quickly said. "No. It will note to a fight," Mathilda added. "Trust me." Hard to trust her, when she was keeping me prisoner. She gestured at me to follow up the stairs, and the fourth floor revealed itself to us. Upon crossing the threshold, the dim glow of flickering torches revealed a vast expanse of towering shelves, eachden with the skeletal remains of countless departed souls. Bones were meticulously arranged, forming ghastly sculptures that reached from floor to ceiling. The ambient light cast eerie shadows, creating an ever-shifting dance of deathly silhouettes upon the walls. This was no normal graveyard or crypt, it was an ossuary. I felt bile build up in my throat at the sight of so many skeletons, somehow having been preserved through time without a speck of dposition or dent. The pathways here were wider than in thebyrinth, at the very least, so I still felt like I could breathe in spite of thousands of skulls staring at me. There were no inscriptions to be seen, here. No dates, no names, and no causes of death. Mathilda kept walking, and I followed into a grand hallway of some sort that was morbid to look at. The hallway was a haunting passage that echoed with the weight of centuries. Stone walls, adorned with intricate carvings of skeletal figures and funerary symbols, reached upward to a vaulted ceiling that seemed to disappear into shadow. The air carried a musty scent that was impossible to grow used to even after ten minutes of traveling through this ce. Arches, adorned with ornate filigree and ossified embellishments, spanned the hallway at regr intervals, creating a sense of depth that extended into a seemingly infinite abyss. The ceiling¡ª or the part of it that I could see¡ª was supported by skeletal columns that were somehow solid enough to keep this entire ce standing. The Overseer stopped me when we reached the end of the bone-filled hall. Ruth was there. A splitting image of Mathilda, save for the fact that she did not carry a teacup with her. Her eyes, once filled with fury and¡­ life, and desire, now carried a distant and heavy gaze. The way she held herself was timid, with her shoulders slightly hunched and her eyes staring at her feet. This was not the Ruth I had expected to see. "May I help you, Ruth?" Mathilda innocently asked. "How strange, when you vowed never to speak to me again." "You y too many games," she sighed. "Did you think bringing a human into this would be a good way to get me to congregate with you once more?" Another angle I hadn''t seen. The fact that Mathilda had brought me up here had been two-fold, then. One, the reason she''d said before¡ª Mathilda was lonely, and she craved contact with anyone that came by. Why else, would she ost every trainer that came to the first floor of the tower? I''d been fooled by a technical truth, then. An obscuring of all the facts. Two, it was also a way to at least drag Ruth back to a state where they''d talk, and maybe negotiate. My Pokemon shifted uneasily, knowing that we were all horribly outssed and that the next few minutes would decide our fates. Think, Grace. I needed to y them off each other. "You did tell her not toe back," Mathilda continued. "s, you''ve essentially given up your role as Overseer, so your word has no more authority here." Authority¡­ like a shared domain, maybe. If Ruth hadn''t felt like she belonged here any longer, then maybe the world had cut her loose and transferred control of this ce entirely to Mathilda. Hell, even the first time I''de here, maybe that was the reason she''d been stronger than Ruth. The bnce had already been tipping, back then. I closed my eyes, opening them again as I scanned her. She was not scared or angry¡ª just defeated. Worn down and scraped raw. "What do you want, then?" Ruth asked. Sinistea smiled, her eyes full of misguided kindness, "For you to join me again, and to share in our duties like he would have wanted. Like he did want." "Does what I want not matter?" Ruth murmured. "May I speak?" I suddenly asked. Both ghosts looked at me, and I ignored Buddy''s panicking groan. "I have no stakes in this," I said. "Allow me to leave, and¡ª" "You will leave when the timees," Mathilda chided. I took a step away from her, ncing at Honey for him to prepare a Protect. "Ruth. What is it that you want?" The retired Overseer shot me a tired look behind her thick spectacles, and then her eyes drifted across the thousands of bones in this ossuary. Grand structures made of ivory, hanging from the ceiling like makeshift chandeliers with blue mes flickering inside of skulls and at the edges of tibias. Her eyes met mine once more, and then she looked at my team, assessing them. I could see the calculus, running in her head. We were both trapped here, weren''t we? "This is not a wise move, Grace," Mathilda softly said. "I do not wish for this toe to violence." And she meant it too, damn it. She still hadn''t struck, because at the heart of it all, in her own way, Mathilda was a decent person, who was simply blinded by a loyalty so fervent her actions looped back to being unhinged. Deep in her heart, I could tell that she would not strike first unless we tried to leave. "Then let me¡ª let us go," I said. The us was important, because Ruth and I were allies of convenience, now, and she needed to be included, or she''d be less inclined to help me if things went to shit. I no longer wanted to get information on how to kill ghosts out of her, I just wanted to get out of here. "You can be an Overseer on your own." Newborn belief squirmed across Ruth''s fake skin. I noticed tendrils I could have pulled on to nurture that feeling, had I been more experienced, but I didn''t want to risk her noticing and lose my only hope. "You should listen to the child, Mathilda," she growled. Her body began to section off, only being linked by darkened tendrils as more shadowsshed out on the floor. Bones around her ttered, some falling to the ground as red runes inscribed themselves on Ruth''s skin, bright and true, and it solidified into segmented stone, with a singr eye shining purple. "I have toiled long enough," Runerigus announced. Her voice echoed numerous times. "And I am done being a ve to a dead man." Mathilda closed her eyes as regret filled her veins. "How much longer, Ruth?" she asked, her voice distorting. She had asked the same question, during the fight I had witnessed. "One hundred years? Five hundred? A thousand? You know the answer is until the sun goes dark." Mathilda jumped into her teacup, and all hell broke loose. Honey instantly brought up a Protect, but it wasn''t me Mathilda targeted first. The ghost summoned an Energy Ball, squeezing natural energy out of nothing, and then sectioned it off into twelve glowing spheres. She fired them off toward Runerigus in quick session, who instantly summoned her two Night Shades. One of them crawled in front of her, blocking the Energy Balls until it exploded, creating dents in the wide hallway and shattering a few bones that hung off the ceiling like chords. "Angel¡ª" His vine was already around my waist. The grass type carried me off to a safe distance as Runerigus'' ghostly hands turned sharp, and the ground type hurled herself across the ossuary like she was weightless. She flew, aiming her Shadow w toward Sinistea, who simply put up a Protect and instantly retaliated with a Shadow Ball that dented her coffin. Ruth snarled as her arm extended toward Sinistea, but a green hue overtook Ruth, and she slumped to the ground before her remaining Night Shade took charge and helped her. No use running when the third floor was impossible to escape from. I bit my lip, waiting for an opening. Princess flew as close to the ceiling as she could, hitting Sinistea with Tri Attack. She dared not to pull stone from the tower itself in case it would anger Mathilda. Right now, she was holding back while Ruth had given up on protecting this ce. Our ally ground bone to dust, thrashing around as desperation ran its course, but she was already losing. Jellicent had finished creating a small sphere of water by now, and he soon turned it to ice. With a grunt, he shattered the ball and sent the sharp spikes flying off toward Sinistea, but only one struck her and barely cracked her cup. "Sunshine, Honey. Since Ruth doesn''t care about destroying the tower, neither should we¡ª" mes danced around Sunshine''s snout as he let loose a Dragon Pulse that raked against the floor, trailing upward until it hit both Sinistea¡ª and Runerigus, who had rushed in between us, uncaring for our attacks¡ª leaving a trail of fiery destruction in its wake. Electivire flexed, electricity roiling through his arms until he brought his hands forward and massive Thunder engulfed both. Sinistea slowed for a fraction of a second, but wasn''t too hurt by the entire affair, while Runerigus was immune. "Ruth! We need to work together!" I called out. "Sunshine, Sweetheart, you go in. Buddy and Honey have my back." With a bone-shaking roar, Tyranitar took a few steps forward. It wasn''t a run¡ª a jog at best. Turtonator, meanwhile, was engulfed by a me Charge as he flew into the heat of battle. The dragonnded right on top of Sinistea, burning hotter as he flexed and mes escaped through the grooves in between his scales. Sinistea was powerful, but she was also light. Tea exploded out of her cup like a Water Spout, cutting across Turtonator''s chest and kicking him back. Princess swooped down, cing a barrier behind him before he could crash back into us, and Sweetheart finally reached the fight with a scream. She lowered herself as darkness overtook her teeth and snapped her jaw shut over a quickly erected Protect. The stringent grinding of teeth over Protect made me cover my ears, but she wasn''t done. A Dark Pulse blew the ghost away, hurling her high into the obscured ceiling. It started raining bones. Slowly at first, and then a deluge of never-ending bones falling from the broken ceiling. Ruth was barely recovering from whatever move had robbed her of her strength, summoning two more Night Shades that perpetually started to shoot the obscured ceiling with Shadow Ball. "Princess!" I snapped. Her eyes glowed, grappling the falling bones and throwing them back after sharpening them with Ancient Power. Her hold on them was tenuous at best, but with Psychic added to Ancient Power, it was as good as anything else. Thence-like bones flew upward, but Sinistea was nowhere to be seen. Honey grunted, another Thunder flying off of him in an instant, and finally, we heard an impact. Another crack in her cup. "If you have something to say, say it, girl," Ruth snarled from afar. "Strategy. Do you have one?" I quickly asked. More and more attacks were aimed at the ceiling. Dark Pulses, Tri Attacks, Shadow Balls, Thunders¡ª and yet, we were just buying time. "If we kill her, can you get us out of here?" "I can. But we''ll need more than this to send her to the Dusk," Ruth said. "Or the fight will be a prolonged one." "You''ve lost the sliver of control you had over this ce, didn''t you¡ª" I heard a series of crunches and snaps. The massive bone chandelier crashed down to the floor, but it homed toward me faster than I could react, as if it was under Sinistea''s control. Electivire put up a Protect as Buddy dissolved into a liquid, letting the bones pass through him and reforming right away as he threw himself higher into battle to give Princess some support. Sinistea hade into view, now, and she was throwing Shadow Balls at her, each more powerful than Buddy''s and quicker too. The flying type pushed herself with stale wind as she narrowly dodged the first few, but one broke through her barrier like a knife through paper and hit her wing, and she began falling down, spinning wildly in the air. Angel crawled toward her, a dozen vines shooting out from his body as he kept her from hitting the bone-filled floor. "You would listen to her before me, Ruth?" Mathilda mourned. "Pick her over me? After all that we''ve been through?" "The tower is your coffin," Runerigus said, "but it shouldn''t have to be mine." Sinistea sang. Bones came together in clumps, turning into abominations¡ª skeletal remains of Pokemon and people under hermand. They were built wrong, however. Hastily assembled, and they did not fit. There were six of them in total, each being asrge as Honey. With another yell, a shimmering light coursed through the monsters, and the same blue light that lit up the entire tower came alive in their eye sockets. Tyranitar brought a leg down, summoning a small Stomping Tantrum in an attempt to slow them before they could reach me. "I''ll keep her upied," Ruth hissed. "You deal with the bones." I could not pay attention to her fight, lest I lose mine. Princess was back in the air, and I ordered her to support Ruth as best she could while my other Pokemon would take down whatever act of necromancy this was. I ignored the shes to my left and focused. The one Sweetheart was fighting wasn''t even a contest. She was bigger, tougher, and despite it looking unnatural¡ª spines mashed together, contorting in unnatural angles, a skull facing backward, with elongated ribs made out of bones that weren''t ribs¡ª she tore through it with a Dragon Pulse and ground its bones to dust. The other five were trickier, however. Angel wrapped vines around a Pokemon-looking beast with two different sets of wings, yet it was still capable of flight. It had a dragon''s skull, something akin to a Dragonite, and somehow, that meant it could use moves. It started as a small light in its ribs, bubbling ever brighter until it turned turquoise. Dragon Pulse. Angel stabbed through the sphere of energy with Knock Off, causing the dragon to blow up from the inside, and it copsed into a pile of unanimated bones. Sunshine was locked into a battle with thergest of the beasts, his arms pushing against the serpent-like construct formed from vertebrae, each jointed section giving the illusion of serpentine movement. The skull at the head was elongated like a Skeledirge''s and adorned with fangs that would have bitten into Turtonator''s neck had Angel not brought vines to pull away at the face. Turtonator raged at the close call, bright blue mes enveloping his entire body as he pushed the snake to the ground and slowly smothered it until it turned to ash¡ª Another me, this one bright white mmed into Angel, causing him to catch on fire and squirm in agony. I hissed as mes singed the side of my face¡ª I couldn''t see him, with how bright it was, but I screamed haphazardly at Buddy to extinguish the fire and called Princess for reinforcements. Electivire blurred away, having switched position with the ghost, and he jumped in the air with Radiant Leap, ramming at full force into a collection of disembodied skulls floating in the air and the source of whatever that fire type attack had been. He grabbed onto thergest skull and mmed a glowing arm right into the collective twice in quick session, using quick bursts of electricity to speed up a slow attack like Hammer Arm while Princess finished it off by throwing a burst of ice at it. She must have used Nasty Plot at some point, because her attacks were usually nowhere that powerful, and there was an evil glint in her eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Angel was¡­ rtively fine. He could not regenerate himself with Ingrain, here, and that fire type attack had been way more powerful than a methrower. I would have burned to a crisp, had Electivire and Jellicent not tag-teamed with Protect. But there were still three left, and two were shing with Sweetheart while thest one threw itself at Buddy and I, and he was thest line of defense. He hadn''t trained with Protect enough to keep it up for long. There was some kind of white shimmer in the faceless construct, and it kept hitting¡ª once, twice, thrice¡ª until the barrier shattered. Honey blurred toward it, but as if it had eyes at the back of its neck, it mmed a fist back, hitting the electric type in the face before he could react¡ª A hit faster than I could see snapped my crutch out of my hand as Angel grabbed me with still-scorching vines and brought me back. The bone construct followed, but Jellicent''s head swelled, enveloping him in water and freezing both himself and it to buy some time for us to all recuperate. I ignored the pain at my waist as Tangrowth gently ced my crutch back in my hand, and I exhaled for the first time in what felt like an hour. The final two constructs, Tyranitar, Turtonator and Togekiss had done quick work of. Okay, I breathed. Calm down. You''re all alive, and that''s what counts. I scanned the grand hallway in search of Ruth and Mathilda and saw that they were still locked inbat. Distracted. I scrambled to grab potions from my bag, ignoring the pain in my hand. Not broken, I thought after flexing it and clenching it a bit. But my crutch had been torn away very violently, and I was honestly surprised the damn cane was still in one piece, save for a noticeable dent. I applied the potions to Angel, Sunshine and Tyranitar before I ran out of time and the fight was moving our way again. Buddy did not shatter, when the construct broke free. Instead, he turned back into a liquid right before he reached his breaking point, letting the bovine beast through. He had bought enough time for the rest of the team to finish it off with ourbined attacks, destroying it until the light went out of its empty eye sockets. Ruth wasn''t¡­ losing too hard, but she was far from winning, and while she looked to be tiring, Mathilda was not. One of Runerigus'' Night Shades suddenly appeared in the shadows behind Sinistea and mmed both of its hands over the teacup, catching her off-guard, and Ruth used that opening to open up her segments and put Mathilda inside of her coffin-like body. All of the sections closed, snapping in ce like pieces of a puzzle, and Ruth became a coffin. Then, there was only silence. "Is¡­ did we win?" I asked in disbelief. "Of course not!" she yelled. "This will only buy¡­ a minute or two. She''s seeing the worst memories she''s ever had, and she will be furious by the end." "Why the fuck would you do that? That''s a terrible strategy¡ª" "Shut up and listen!" she snapped, her eye lighting up in fury. "There is only one way to kill her, and that is to make her abandon her duties. Her role as Overseer is her implement. With it, she is infinitely harder to kill, but it is also a limiter of some sort. She sees herself as a peaceful Overseer whose role is only to defend. That is the role that she has put herself in, and that is the role the world has given her despite it being narrower than most beings with a domain. If she abandons this role, she will be far stronger, because she will no longer be defending, but attacking. However, the world will not tug in her favor to have her survive." "Tug in her favor?" I frowned. The red mouth motifs on her stone body seemed to twist into a grin. "Have you not ever wondered why Pokemon with domains are harder to kill, girl? Why, even for Pokemon who aren''t ghosts, they extend their lifespans indefinitely until they are kicked out or abandon their role? Because the world thinks they belong there and won''t allow them to go down unless you finish the job properly. Burn the corpse until there are only ashes left." The only domain holder I''d seen die was Shiftry, and Cynthia was not someone to base my knowledge on, with how powerful she was. Betrix''s old lessons rang out in my mind, and I could only muster a tight nod. Still, I hadn''t known that they were immortal. My earlier suspicions had at least been confirmed, though. The reason Ruth had been so much weaker, even months ago, was now apparent. She had no longer beenmitted to her duties as an Overseer and was far easier to murder. "So we make her step out of that role, and she''ll be easier to kill," I said. "But she''s still a ghost." "Of course. She''ll only be dead for a few days, that gives us plenty of time to run¡ª ah, she''sing back. Steel yourself." Was that a minute? I inhaled sharply¡ª Ruth exploded into a thousand pieces, her Night Shades copsed and exploded as Mathilda crawled out of her remains with a fury so loud I would have been brought to my knees had I not met Mesprit beforehand. This anger¡ª it had weight to it. It crawled into my throat and made it harder to breathe, to move, and even to see straight. I stumbled back, but Honey brought his arm behind me. What had Ruth made her see, to anger her so? At least there were no more bone constructs, but¡­ fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Ruth was reforming, but she was taking her fucking sweet time with it, and we were Mathilda''s only target, now. Liquid kept pouring out of her cup¡ª more than what should have even fit in there. It surrounded it and pooled onto the floor, building up into a horrifying amalgamation of purple, gooey hands and faces with empty eye sockets and mouths. Dozens of them. She used the arms to crawl around like some kind of centipede. She was slightlyrger than Jellicent''s head, which was very big. I took a step back as the dozens of mouths spoke to me at the same time. "I only wanted peace," they said. "Yet you struck first." "I wanted to leave, and you wouldn''t let me," I whimpered, ignoring the dread creeping up my spine. By the Legendaries, this was an abomination beyond words. Each voice was a terrifying echo that shook me to my very core. Only Spiritomb had ever shaken me this much. "This can still be resolved through peace. Just let us leave. Please." I''d been begging, by the end. I was outssed beyond the bridges that skill could gap. The abomination paused, then multiple smiles crept up on its heads. "You are the aggressor. Trainers strike at the tower''s entrance in hopes to get in. You struck first. I am assaulted on all sides, and keeping to my duties." The ACEs were trying to get in, then¡ª wait, was she monologuing? Who was she talking to¡ª no¡­ no, no, no! "You kept us trapped here," I blurted out in a panic. "Conflict could have been avoided¡ª if you just let me leave. I am the victim, here, and you are the aggressor. You''ve stepped out of bounds. Out of your role." The ghost''s faces twisted into snarls that made my lips quiver. "Clever little girl," they spoke as one. "s, it will not make a difference." My jaw clenched. "She''sing¡ª" She threw herself forward with wildness I thought only Ruth was capable of as bones levitated toward her and became armor. Knowing her defenses were the toughest, Sweetheart''s body shone with Rock Polish as she slid across the room, almost stumbling before she shed with what could barely be called Sinistea any longer. Powerful stone tes met bone and Shadow w, and they held¡ª the first time. The second, too, but the third, Mathilda dug inside the flesh of her leg and pushed her away as she slid on the ground because of Rock Polish, creating an elongated dent in the hallway. Honey slipped out of her reach, firing Thunder after Thunder that froze her for a split second every time they hit. Princess raised the ground, creating walls of earth and bone to slow her further. Tangrowth mmed weakened Knock Offs into her side, trying to snake past her bone armor and to strike at the teacup at the center of her body. Sunshine huffed, breathing out massive Dragon Pulses whenever an opening was avable. Bones close to him literally caught on fire, including Mathilda''s armor. Her mouths let out a high-pitched, garbled scream, but the damage was superficial, and she cleansed the me with some kind of ghostly aura. They were buying time. Time for Ruth toe back together, one shadowy tendril at a time, but we''d be too slow. She lunged at Sunshine, hitting him with a punch that caved in his chest and kept going past him, aiming to kill me. My fingers tingled as I pushed and pulled at emotion itself. Love¡­ how do I make love? Or is hesitation faster? I knew what that crush Edith had on me felt like, so it was the only tool I had to work in. Hues of¡­ damn it, it wasn''t strong enough! The colors were too dim, there wasn''t enough passion! I weaved my hands in the air as Mathilda crashed into Jellicent''s Protect. Honey joined him, adding his own as I bit the inside of my lip until it bled. Warmth. I needed warmth! I finished my concoction, leaving myself so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open. I blinked, biting my tongue to keep myself awake as I pushed the feelings inside of Mathilda with all I had and copsed backward. She stopped. Thank fuck, she stopped, but I''d gone about it wrong. There was no precision, no tools used. It was like I''d tried to fit a fridge inside of a backpack. It just wouldn''t fit. There was too much all at once. Shit! I hadn''t wanted to risk grabbing all the rage out of her, because I would have passed out, and who knew if she would have stopped attacking? "What¡­ have you done to me?" Mathilda''s mouths slowly spoke in horror. "Oh, Legendaries, what have you done?" A nervous smile stretched across my face as Jellicent''s Protect faded¡ª though Electivire''s still remained. She''d felt that, at least. Enough to stop her for this long. It was like she''d forgotten what love felt like¡ª and this wasn''t even love yet. A pale imitation of it. And I knew it hadn''t held. Already, it was flickering out like embers dying in the wind. "Please don''t kill me," I begged with a sniffle, making my voice as pitiful as possible. I did not know if the tears were real or there to trick her. "You love me, don''t you?" Doubt flickered in her empty eyes, but then her faces bared her non-existent teeth¡ª Sweetheart rammed into her, a Dark Pulse shooting out of her mouth and inside of Mathilda, whose faces screamed, mostly in annoyance rather than in pain. Jellicent rushed toward our enemy with Water Sport, bing a liquid as he slipped past the bone armor and exploded with Water Spout to take her apart, but I cursed when purple tendrils linked her back together immediately. That love trick would not work twice, but Ruth was almost back¡ª and her Night Shades were. Her misshapen form summoned two perfect shades who engaged Mathilda inbat and left us time to breathe. I was so tired that my legs and arms felt numb. "Ruth," I hoarsed out. "Finish the job. She''s left herself open." The ghost grinned, tasting that her freedom was closer than ever before. I ordered my team to join her to help, though I asked Sunshine to stay back. His breaths were weakened, and that hit had nearly singlehandedly taken him out. Runerigus and her shades took Sinistea in a three-on-one, their attacks ramping up as they began to hope. Sometimes, a hit that would have made contact was deflected by Princess, who struck from every side with Air sh. Jellicent summoned Night Shades of his own, sending them to explode like bombs over and over while he pestered Mathilda with Shadow Balls. Sweetheart, although limping due to her leg, was still in fighting shape and fired off Dark Pulses toward Sinistea. This was working, slowly but surely. At the tenth minute, thest of Mathilda''s reinforced bone armor copsed. She was stronger, but her stepping out of her role had left her open. A massive boulder from Princess would have missed Sinistea, but Honey grunted as he made use of Railgun to adjust its course by just a bit, staggering her for an instant. An instant was all Ruth needed. Runerigus gasped as she made use of the opening and plunged a hand into the liquid that was Mathilda''s body. She shook, clearly looking for the cup, and she snatched it out of Mathilda. It was still dripping with purple liquid in her hand, when she crushed it with all her might. "Ruth¡­ you dare¡­" the voices whispered. "You¡­ abandon your duty¡­" Sinistea copsed into a pool of purple liquid that dissolved the moment it became inert. She was dead. The Lost Tower''s oppressive atmosphere seemed to lighten, but only for a moment, and I understood that Ruth had stepped back into the role of Overseer, stealing it from Mathilda. If she wants to kill me, I''m dead, I knew. She might have still been blocking the entrance too, and even if she wasn''t my ACEs would have to make it to thebyrinth as well. As it stood, I was incapable of moving. "I''m¡­ free," she muttered in disbelief. A garbledugh rang out throughout the destroyed ossuary, and her form slowly reverted into that of a human''s. "I''m free!" "I can¡­ leave now, right?" I hesitantly said. "I helped you." "You were of use, and I thank you for that," she confirmed. A weight lifted off my Pokemon and my shoulders. "s, I know what you''re after already. I heard you ask for a way to kill a ghost. I am forbidden by covenant to ever tell anyone, but know that there is a method." "Why¡ª you know what, never mind. Just¡­ who made this covenant?" "No one knows. Perhaps it is intrinsic to us," Ruth muttered as she slowly walked toward one of the walls. "I am far too young to know what went on at the beginning of our introduction to the Dusk, child." "The Dusk," I muttered. "What is it?" She smiled. "That, I can tell you. It is a mirror of this ce, ruled by a single sovereign where all ghosts are born, and all ghosts go to die," Ruth slowly exined. "It is Warden. It is Guardian. It is all. Though it has no part in the covenant. It is far too powerful to bother itself with the musings of ghosts and mostly preupies itself with sustaining the Dusk. We just feed on the scraps it leaves toe into being, sustain ourselves and travel into this world. I hesitate to call it a being¡­ it is more like a Concept that has existed since the beginning of everything. Distortion." Legendary, I guessed. The entire Dusk was run by a fucking Legendary. I continued. "A mirror of this ce¡­ the tower?" Sheughed. "No. A mirror of this entire world." She stopped, snapping her fingers, and suddenly, sunlight was allowed into the tower through windows, and I felt fresh air brush upon my face. "Now, I must be on my way. Goodbye, Grace. I will remember you, when the centuries pass and you have been reduced to dust." She paused before continuing. "Oh, and also, do not go to the fifth floor. Our old trainer cut his soul into a hundred and eight pieces in his maddened quest for eternal life, and though he remains dormant, he will wake should someone other than us disturb him." She disappeared into the wind, and my ACE Trainers arrived thirty secondster through the windows and evacuated me and my team to safety.
Chapter 280 Chapter 280
CHAPTER 280 I was asked to recall my Pokemon and instantly Teleported¡­ somewhere in Sceon that wasn''t a Pokemon Center. Upon getting a closer look, I recognized it as one of the buildings the League had set up shop in after the Darkest Day. The worn, wooden floor creaked as Lou whisked us inside and into an unupied office of some kind where light filtered in through a cracked window. I was honestly surprised to see Lou so soon, though she''d only taken Ariel with her while Maxwell, Richard and Serena stayed behind at the Lost Tower, possibly to assess the damage. The ashen-haired woman looked even paler than usual, somehow, and her white eyes were tired. Her heavy breaths filled the empty office as Ariel motioned at me to sit down. That Shadow Ball had grazed Lou, but it had taken its toll, it seemed. My legs were still trembling, when I dragged a chair to sit on. Mathilda''s countless faces shed in my mind every time I blinked, her multiple voices resonating within my skull and her empty eye sockets somehow still staring at me. My throat tightened, but I couldn''t afford to break. I hade into the Lost Tower with¡­ a shell of a n, which had fallen apart immediately but then rebuilt itself again, and most important of all, we had all survived. "Can¡­ someone bring my Pokemon to the Center?" I hesitantly asked. "They were all hit. My Tyranitar and Turtonator, especially." By the time I''d been well enough to push my empathy to the back of my mind, I''d already seen they were extremely relieved, but also pissed at me. "Ariel?" Lou sighed. "Can you do that for her while we speak?" The ACE Trainer nodded, and I handed her my Pokeballs, save for Jellicent''s. She vacated the room after sparing us onest look. Lou turned back toward me, crossing her arms with a puzzled look. "Why did you go in there?" she asked. "I thought you''d follow. You always follow," I muttered. "We tried, but the moment you passed through, ess to the Lost Tower was cut off," Lou exined. "And I must apologize for that. This is partly on us. Mathilda is usually cooperative and not prone to aggression, but we hadn''t sent someone to check in on her in a while, with Team Gctic and everything else happening. We should have entered with you and not tried to follow." She stopped, grabbing a room-temperature water bottle, and offered it to me, which I epted. I hadn''t realized I''d been so thirsty. "But from now on, try to warn us if you''re going to ces like this." I frowned, clenching my bottle. "I didn''t have to warn you for anything else." "The forces at y were in another League entirely, Grace," Lou sighed. "Mathilda and Ruth can''t bepared to the likes of Carnivine. They''re among the strongest ghosts we''re tracking in the region. Without Ruth there, even we would have struggled as a team of five." "There are others?" I asked. "There are plenty, but honestly, they pale inparison to some of the other threats out there, non-ghosts included," she said. "It''s a careful bncing act, keeping this country afloat. Many deals have been made." "I¡­ get that. I get that I could have died," I said. "But I identified that Ruth was the weak link, Lou. I made it work, even if it could have gone terribly. It nearly did." And it would have, had I not given her a half-baked crush to have her hesitate. It wouldn''t stick and had definitely faded already by now, thankfully. "I get that you were scared I''d die, and I''m sorry, but I got a lot of information you''re going to want to hear." I told her all about the information revealed about Dusknoir and Mars, and it was almost all new to them, save for a few tidbits. For example, they''d already known that Dusknoir was aggressive, how he fought and they had theorized that the souls inside of him couldn''t be freed. Mars having parts of her soul inside of him, however? It exined everything they''d known about her memory loss, though it didn''t exin how she''d appeared from nowhere. Jupiter, for example, had been working in an ounting firm before disappearing one day while Saturn had gone through the Circuit twice when he was a child. Mars? There were no traces of her anywhere, as if she''d just appeared one day. The information about that Dusknoir in Almia was new, too. It was nearly impossible to get information on that region, ording to Lou, partly because of how far away it and its neighbors Oblivia and Fiore were from the rest of the world and how their borders were permanently closed off. It wasn''t something that would affect policy, but Lou had said information like this was valuable, because knowing which important Pokemon were where was one of every League''s top priorities. Ghosts could ebb, Mathilda had said, and that meant that Dusknoir could potentially bounce back from whatever slump he was in. He certainly had the experience to do so. Over a hundred thousand years of experience. "You''re still angry," I noted, staring at Lou. When her frown deepened, I spoke up again. "I''m not using my empathy, you just look pissed, that''s all. I was¡­ okay at this bodynguage thing before Mesprit came into the picture too, you know?" The ACE''s shoulders rxed. "I''m not angry at you. You couldn''t have known the issues this will cause, and the information we got on Dusknoir and Mars is still worth it." "But?" I muttered. "But we have a powerful ghost on the loose," she said. "From the way you spoke about her, Ruth won''t take to an aggressive lifestyle and will most likely live in peace for a few centuries, so we doubt she''ll be an issue. Maybe blend into human society for a while and enjoy herself, but it was¡­ easier for us, when she was easily trackable." "Okay. That''s a shitty way to think," I deadpanned. "The League''s job is not to be nice, but to keep our people protected," Lou retorted with a thin smile. "Mathilda will be another issue. She''s just lost her partner of a thousand years, so there are two possibilities. Either she bes a recluse and takes control of the Lost Tower once more, but this time, she bes an aggressive Domain holder that kills trainers. She might try to extend her range, if that possibilityes to pass." "To beyond the tower?" Lou nodded with an affirming hum. "Then, the League will have to put her down by catching her and keeping her locked in a Pokeball, and we''d lose one of the main ways we had of acquiring ghosts. That is a massive liability, so I do not think Cynthia will order this." Ah. I hadn''t realized how important the Lost Tower had been to the League. It was the ce that created the most ghosts in the region, and on a regr basis, even if it took decades. The calculus here was simple: the League was willing to let more people die each year if it meant that they kept that advantage. And hell, in a hundred or two hundred years, maybe Mathilda would go back to normal and start working with them again. Cynthia thought in terms of generations, not mere months or years. "That''s an awful way to look at things, but I get it, even if I disagree," I muttered, my eyes downcast. "And it''d be my fault, too." No good thingse without a price. "And the second possibility?" I asked, biting my lip. "That she runs out of the tower entirely and chases Ruth. This one would be catastrophic, and she''s powerful enough of a ghost to shift where she''ll reappear by a significant margin and not just a few dozen feet. Maxwell, Dick and Serena will bring in more personnel in hopes of catching her in a Pokeball if she tries to run, but she could slip through." "And then, she''d be an angry ghost on the loose," I said. "Shit." If that came to pass, then she could appear anywhere at any time. Run through cities and kill hundreds before someone intervened, and then she''d be able to slip away again. And again. And again. She was too powerful to be restrained by a simple shroud of darkness. She''d do anything to get Ruth back and drag her to her tower again, because she was insane, and I''d prodded at her and helped free the only being that kept her chained. Her look softened for a split second. "Don''t let it get you down, that is only one possibility, and perhaps she will be more amenable than we theorize. It was a failure on our part. We should have been there, and we can''t expect kids to think of every repercussion their actions will have." I let her calling me a kid pass, even if I wanted to retort. "Honestly, that''d be difficult to ask from most adults," Lou sighed. "Do you have any other ns to throw yourself into the territory of another Domain holder?" "Hatterene, but we obviously won''t be fighting," I confirmed. "Oh, her. She''s weaker and rtively cooperative," Lou said. "Nightstalker keeps her grounded." "And she likes me, so you know, you won''t have to do anything. There''s also that ancient city up north. Lakhut, I think it''s called, or at least its people were. Cynthia didn''t tell you?" I raised an eyebrow. "That''s surprising. That''s one she knows about. Hell, it''s the entire reason you haven''t sent a team to deal with that Zoroark already." "She must have had her reasons," Lou said, as if she could not even entertain another possibility. "Speaking of, the Champion will being in to speak to you soon. About this Dusk business. I''m certain what you told me is information I''m not cleared to hear." I grimaced. "Will you get in trouble?" "Oh, I''m already in plenty of ''trouble'' for letting you slip into the Lost Tower unattended," Lou said with a wry smile. I''d never seen her so¡­ soft around the edges. Maybe her near-death experience at the raid had changed her some? For the first time in a while, however, I was looking forward to seeing Cynthia again. She was the one with the biggest chance of getting Dusknoir killed. She almost had, months ago at the Power nt when the ghost had seemed like an unsurmountable wall whose very presence terrified me. I supposed I was being a little stupid, given the fact that she''d probably hear this in a report, but I wanted her to get this information as fast as possible so she could have a n in ce before the day was over. I aired out the details to Lou again, but I wanted to learn more about her, so as she apanied me out of the empty building, I struck up a conversation. "You know, you say that you can''t get attached to me¡ª or at least Ariel does¡ª but that doesn''t mean I can''t hear about you, doesn''t it?" I''d already known she was an experiment, ording to Cynthia, but that was the extent of my knowledge. "Curious again?" she grunted. "Unfortunately for you, you won''t hear much from me. Ask the Champion, if you need to hear the information so badly." She opened the door and gestured at me to leave. "It''d be better if you told me yourself, but I see that that''s probably never going to happen," I resigned. "I won''t ask her." "Maybe when this is all over and the world''s in a good ce, I''ll tell you as a parting gift," she said. "Cynthia will meet you at that same Pokemon Center you were in after the Darkest Day, and it is where your Pokemon are as well. Have a good day, Grace Pastel. Try to not get yourself killed while we''re watching you." "Uh, you too." ¡ª The entire Pokemon Center had been empty by the time I arrived, save for a few Nurse Joys going about their days. I didn''t know if it was because Cynthia had cleared the building, or because Sceon was nearly devoid of all trainers after what had gone on during the Darkest Day. Anyone passing through the city didn''t dare to stay long enough to get a room. Speaking of rooms, where the hell is she? I wondered as I made my way into the lobby. I nearly missed Aliyah, sitting on one of the soft red couches with Chimecho hanging around her arm. Arceus, she had so little presence that she still managed the jump on me, which was something she seemed to enjoy, with how her lips quirked upward when I flinched. Chimecho was definitely doing something to mask her presence. "You do it on purpose," I groaned. "She''ll be waiting for you in room 208," my therapist said with a dip of her head. "And I am d you didn''t have me give you therapy in the Lost Tower. I wouldn''t have managed to sneak in, this time." I chuckled. "''Guess there are ces even you can''t get into." "I am but a humble therapist with a few tricks up my sleeve, not a trainer," Aliyah exined. "s, my job here is done. I will see you tomorrow, Grace." "Yup. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction." I limped my way to the second floor and found room 208 with its door already open. It was right next to the elevators, though I couldn''t help but wonder if it was significant in some way. Maybe I was giving it too much thought, and she''d just picked a random room. I felt a chill as I approached, and I understood why soon enough. Cynthia sat on the desk, reading reports with reading sses that didn''t fit quite right on her head, looking more imperfect than I''d ever seen her. She was still striking, of course, in a way few people were, but she wasn''t putting on the face of Champion today. Her long blonde hair wasn''t disheveled, but it wasn''t perfect, either. Not as straight and as lined up as it usually was. Her long, ck coat had been swapped for a grey t-shirt and cargo pants. The damn Champion was wearing cargo pants! ceon sat at her feet, her eyes attentive and locking with mine before I''d even known she was there. Cynthia''s ceon was a menace, from the few videos I''d seen of her, though honestly, every single one of Cynthia''s Pokemon was a menace. There was no other Pokemon that embodied fear of the cold more than her, despite her small size¡ª smaller than the average ceon, and smaller than Sylvi. Even so, she''d taken down Pokemon dwarfing her before she could even get hit once. And she was also the one making this room feel like the inside of a fridge, even if Cynthia didn''t seem to mind. The Champion beamed at me with an expression that looked genuine. It took everything I had, not to delve into what she truly felt. Who wouldn''t want to take a peek inside of Cynthia''s mind? Restrain yourself, I thought. It was strange, how Cynthia didn''t even seem to care about it, though, despite the fact that she knew I was an empath and the full extent of my capabilities. "Grace," the Champion smiled. "You''ll excuse me, I''vemandeered this room to get some work done. I''ve been catching up on problems left to the wayside since prioritizing Team Gctic, and there''s no end to it. Sceon in particr requires much of my attention." My eyes scanned her stack of paper, noticing a ledger of some kind. Part of me wondered why she didn''t just use aptop for this, but maybe she had her reasons. Or maybe she just liked it better that way. I shifted around, surprised to see that I was nervous, even now. I hadn''t seen her in person since Veilstone, and despite all of my changes since then, I couldn''t help but want to watch myself whenever she was close. Like, what was I doing with my arms? Was I looking at her weirdly? Cynthia stood up, towering over me, though she didn''t seem as tall as she once was, with all the growing Cece and the others had done this year. I was still the same height, though. "Hi," I said, forcing myself to sound confident. "I guess I should just talk to you about the Lost Tower, now? Or did Ariel tell you while I was walking here? She was around here somewhere, and I assume all of the ACEs know by now." She gestured at me toe closer, and I did. "I heard a little about it," she said. "But let us speak of what actually matters, yes?" Did the fact that I''d fucked up with Mathilda not matter? I expected at least a reprimand, and my shoulders rxed without my knowing. "Dusknoir and Mars." "A split soul¡­" Cynthia muttered. "Not unheard of, really, but her functioning that well after the fact is quite an incredible feat." "They said their old trainer''s soul was split in a hundred and eight," I said, leaning against the wall and hugging myself for warmth. ceon was still staring at me in silence. Cynthia clicked her tongue. "ceon, don''t be so capricious." The ice type whined, but in a second, it became warm again, as if Sunshine was here with me, or if heat had been allowed to return to my skin. Warmth, from an ice type? No, it was something else, like she''d sucked away all the cold in a split second, leaving only heat. From my reading on the subject of physics, I wasn''t sure how that was even possible when warmth and cold had to do with the kic movement of molecules, but I was too tired to question whether a non-psychic could affect the world like that. "Thanks," I grunted. "One hundred and eight," Cynthia said. "A significant number. One with power." My eyebrows creased with curiosity. "Why that number?" She smirked. "We do not know. There are myths and stories, of course. Some say that the first number of ghosts created at the dawn of the appearance of Pokemon was one hundred and eight, and significant events like these hold weight, as Hatterene has taught you. Stories hold power, no matter the type." I nodded, noticing the little burst of passion in her eyes. "Spiritomb are built from one hundred and eight. Always one hundred and eight. It can be a split soul, one hundred and eight full ones, or a mixture of the two. It is the number, that is important. At least that''s all the knowledge of it that remains," she exined. "They differ in how they act and function. A soul split that many times will fight with itself, but far less than so many different souls shoved into a single keystone. They don''t pack as much of a punch, either, but they''re just as difficult to take down, in other ways." "So their old trainer turned themselves into a Spiritomb?" I scoffed. "Supposedly, he was an ailing man in search of eternal life," she said. "He failed miserably, of course. He seeded in bing what he wanted, but that is not actually him up there." "You told me, a few months ago," I whispered, "that they were echoes." "As are all ghosts," she nodded. "But let us move on to more important matters. The Dusk." I couldn''t read her¡ª not anymore, but the fact that she didn''t show even a sliver of surprise at the revtion that a Legendary ruled over the Dusk made me suspect that she''d known, in some way. "I did know," she confirmed as if she could read my thoughts. "Though it being the concept of Distortion is new to me, I will admit. I wish I had enough time to study what it meant in full¡ª" "How did you know?" I interrupted. "Oh, I know plenty," the Champion said. "I am the highest authority in all of Sinnoh. Who else would know, if not me?" "I just¡­ it seemed like such a big revtion," I said. My fingers still clenched with a mixture of dread and curiosity, when I thought about it. "You didn''t know about the fact that the Legendary represented Distortion, and you just¡­ take it. Like it doesn''t even matter." The blond woman shrugged. "I''ve grown used to it, it really is that simple." "Sometimes I wonder how you sleep while knowing all of the skeletons in the world''s closet. All of the things that could end us in an afternoon if something went wrong." Cynthia stared at me, her mouth still stretched into her usual smile, but her eyes turning expressionless. "Best not wonder about that too much, Grace. But the killing of ghosts, I had an idea for given the new information we got. Something tells me," she exhaled with a tint of excitement, "that actions would have to be taken on the other side." "In the Dusk?" "Mathilda told you, didn''t she? That they feed themselves on scraps that Distortion leaves in the Dusk to sustain themselves and regenerate. What I''m thinking is, what if, Grace, we cut them off from those scraps?" The idea took a few seconds to sink in, but she continued. "Granted, we wouldn''t be able to do so unless we had a particrly cooperative ghost, and even Fantina''s team would not be willing to cross that line, I would bet. And¡­" she trailed off, looking toward the huge pocket of her cargo pants. The room grew tense, for an instant, and then it passed as fast as it hade. "neither will they." "Well, if ghosts that close to you aren''t going to help, then I think your theory''s a lost cause." "Don''t worry yourself about that, I was just informing you about it since it was you, who faced Dusknoir at the Power nt, so I figured you''d be emotionally invested in this revtion. Your friends will learn of this at ater date." Legendaries, of course she wasn''t brainstorming with me. I was some kid who lucked her way into relevance with powers, and she was Cynthia. She had just been trying to put me at ease. I deted, biting my lip as she moved on to the topic of Mars. "Wait! Before that, um¡­ look, I have this problem," I sighed. "I was nning on asking Ruth and Mathilda about¡­ locating ghosts. Three Gengar that raised my Electivire. Due to the circumstances, I couldn''t. Not when I was trying to keep Mathilda fromshing out and Ruth just left a few moments after the battle ended." "Three Gengar who raise children? Sylvestia''s?" she prompted with a frown. "Sylvestia? Who''s that?" "The previous Hearthome Gym Leader. She was before my time, but she owned three Gengar who are known for this sort of thing," Cynthia said. "Though finding them when they don''t want to be found is a hassle." I leaned forward, uncaring for the fact that I was asking for a favor. "Could you help? This is really, really important to him. Please." The Champion drummed her fingers against the desk. "I''ll see what I can do. Now, about Mars¡­" ¡ª There wasn''t much to do now that I was alone, and Cynthia was gone. My Pokemon were all at the Center, and Buddy was rxing in a bath I''d drawn for him,zy as he was. I was nning on leaving as soon as everyone got better, and on apologizing to Honey for missing the opportunity to find his parents. He hadn''t expressed disappointment in the Lost Tower, but that had probably been due to the fact that the adrenaline from the battle had still been pumping in his veins until I recalled him. At least I had another way, now, despite the fact that it was less likely to work than the old one. I''d wanted to keep up studying Byron, but I was snapped out of my thoughts when I read a single message. Cecilia and Chase were back in Canve. I shot up on my bed so quickly that I hurt my leg. "I''m fine!" I preemptively groaned so Jellicent wouldn''t worry. "Holy crap." I hadn''t really nned anything for this, which was stupid. Of course, they were going to be back eventually. Apparently, they''d gone into the abandoned mines of Falkirk to train against all survival instincts. I wanted to say something, but honestly, I was thest person that should have been lecturing people about getting into meaningless danger. The Steelix had been angered and fought them while they''d been sleeping in the city''s ruins, and they''d fought him off for a few minutes until Cecilia used her Voice to get him to slither back into his cave and leave them enough time to fly off. Both she and Chase were about to challenge Byron, though Cecilia would be going first as soon as her team was healed, and Chase second. She had a Hydreigon, now, and he had evolved without any issues like Sweetheart had. Her Scyther had evolved into a Scizor, too. "Arceus, she''s using her gift far more liberally than I ever thought she would," I muttered under my breath, surprised that the idea had worked. I would have thought that the rage issues would return as soon as the hour was up¡ª and they had, but only in a manageable fashion, given that Chase also helped to extend the length she had to speak to Hydreigon. They seemed to be working together far better, now. In all of my thinking, I nearly forgot to send them a ''wee back'' message. Swallowing my nervousness, I began to type and¡ª "Gah!" I dropped my phone on my face as soon as it started vibrating. She was calling me already? Oh Legendaries, I wasn''t ready, I wasn''t, I wasn''t. My heart caught in my throat, and it became hard to breathe. I couldn''t answer, because if we spoke, then not telling her the truth would feel wrong. To pretend that nothing had happened, and to just talk to her as always? I couldn''t, because that''d make me feel like I was taking advantage of her. Like when we''d been hanging out at the start of our journey and half-flirting, but she hadn''t known I''d been a lesbian, and I felt as if I''d been taking advantage of her. The same, twisted feeling wrapped itself around my chest and squeezed. Was I ready? It needed to happen eventually, and there was still no way I was telling her while she was face-to-face with me. I wouldn''t be able to resist peeking at her emotions to look at how her image of me changed, and if it did in a substantial way? That would absolutely break me. There wouldn''t be a better time than now, or at least that''s what I repeated to myself: to stop king and putting it off. Excuses sprang up in my mind, like my confession affecting her Gym Battle, or her friendships due to the fact that they''d hidden this information from her, but I pushed through and told myself that it would never feel like the right time, and if I waited for too long I''d end up not saying anything at all. By the time I''d found my resolution, though, the phone stopped ringing, but instead of letting me breathe out a sigh of relief and giving me an excuse to procrastinate, Cecilia called again. This time, I braced myself and answered. For the longest time, no one said anything, and even if it was probably like five seconds, it felt like two hours to me. Two awkward, long hours. It was as if she hadn''t expected me to actually answer, and I thought she''d speak first. "Hello?" There she was. My ears tingled at the sound of her voice, and my cheeks warmed. My throat suddenly felt dry despite the fact that I had drunk water recently, and my heart started pounding in my chest, as if it was my first time meeting her again. "Cece," I hoarsed out. "Uh, sorry. That was a weird sound. I¡ª" "I missed you." I was smiling, wasn''t I? "Me too. I''m sorry I haven''t been¡­ avable. And that I dropped off the face of the earth without warning for a while after I visited myke." "And I''m sorry for taking off after the raid," she said. "I should have been better about this, shouldn''t I?" "We both should have, I think," I sighed, sinking in my mattress. "Did¡ª did the expedition go okay? How''s Chase?" "Oh, he''s off studying Byron like a madman," she said with a beautifulugh. "Chase? Studying?" I snorted. "No Gym like the eighth to change your ways," she said, with that little upward inflection she did when she was smiling. "We had a few close calls, but¡­ before we get into it all, I wanted to talk to you about¡­ well, you know. Are we alright?" She was the one asking if we were okay? I was the one who should have been asking that! And I couldn''t believe that she was getting into this already. I couldn''t possibly answer yes, could I? I wanted to at least speak to her for an hour or two, before having to rip off the band-aid about¡­ well, everything. To make this momentst for as long as possible. "I hope so," I muttered. "I want to be. But listen, I have something to tell you." There was a little bit of hesitation in her voice. "What is it?" I opened my mouth¡ª Nothing came out. Coward, I screamed at myself. I hit the side of my bed, identally clipping my knuckles on the wood and hissed in agony as I clenched my fist. "This is¡ª this is too hard. I need to send this through text," I sighed. "I''m sorry." I waited for sign of affirmation, and she finally agreed after a few agonizing seconds, despite the fact that I could tell she wanted to hear it from me. Taking a deep breath, I began to type. ''I don''t know how to begin this. There isn''t really a good way to begin this, really. I just hope you won''t hate me by the end. I''ve done things that you should know before we start talking again, and you need to understand the full extent of the gift Mesprit handed me. I guess I''ll go in chronological order. That makes the most sense to me, I think. Do you remember, how for my battle with Maylene, I told you about the fcat that I intentionally pushed her buttons to have her bloww up? That was true, but I hid an important mo from you, and I''m sorry. When I was preventing Infernap e fcrom being swapped out, I intentionally drew out her suffergin to hurt Maylene. Way longer than what was needed. Princess coukd have finished her off in barely five seconds, but it went on for nearly thirty if I remembr right. I guess I could say it was to push Maylene in the right direction and have her change her wsays, but that doesnt excuse anythuing and I should have found anther way. She was just a kid that was overwhlmed and needed help. I regret it today, and I want to apologize, but there''s no way she''d talk o me ever again. You were disappointed in me when I told you half the truth, I couldtell, and this makes it worse, so I''m sorry for hiding it from you all this time. I''ll have to tell the others too. I''ve been hiding what happened at the end of the raid from you and Emi. You left early, so you didn''t hear, but¡ª My fingers hovered over the keys, and I had to force myself to keep typing. ¡ªyou know already that we killed him, but you don''t know about the way he died. I cut boht of his legs with my hatchet and then I watched Mira''s Haunter torture him until he evolved. You know what that implies. That''s why Mira''s been weirdtely, if you noticrd. It didn''t afdfect me as muchas her. I''m lying, it didn''t affect me at all. I didn''t care and I still don''t. I just don''t want you to hate me for it. I''m sorry. The others know about this except Emilia. I''ll tell her too. This one is less bad. its not something I''ve done wrong, so please don''t give up on me and keep reading. When I sent that text about Mesprit having made me an emppath, I said I wasn''t ready to tell you all everything. Along with what I told you, I can also rewrite emotions however I want both temporarily and permanently, and I didn''t want to tell you because I knew you wuld freak out and I was scared you wouldn''t talk o me again or would never trust me, but I learned to turn it off. If i put it at the back of my mind, then I can''t notice. Id never do anything to you, and I''d never look without your permission. I''ve been working with my therapist about this and I don''t peek anymore. I wanted to tell the others, but you shoulde first.'' I was tearing up, by the end, barely holding myself together as I pushed ''SEND''. There was no undoing it, now. No going back in time or convincing myself to type this up another day or to put it off. I put my phone in sleep mode, cing it under my pillow, because I didn''t dare to see what she''d answer with. Instead of texting so I could digest her answer in a manageable fashion, she called me again after around three minutes. I didn''t answer. I couldn''t. Instead, I asked her to send it through text, and she started typing. I braced myself for an instantaneous, scorching rebuttal, but instead she took her time, which let the tension I felt shoot up. I had no right toin, though. Not when I''d taken my time to formte my text too. ''I don''t know how to process this, but writing my thoughts out will probably help. At the very least, I''m relieved you felt open enough to tell me all of this and to be honest with me. I''m no angel myself, Grace. I''ve done my fair share of wrong and had plenty of impulses I''ve had to force myself not to act upon with my newfound gift. I do believe that you went too far in both of these instances. I can''t help but think back to the battle with Maylene and wonder how I missed this, but I will not hold it over your head. I do believe that you should apologize despite the possibility that you''ll be ignored, but I won''t force you to do anything. Your way of battling is something I find very endearing about you, but I think this crosses a line that should not be crossed. Your intentions were one thing, but I believe the road to hell is paved with good intentions, you see. It''s been one of the problems I''ve been dealing with, these past few months. Edward Backlot gets no pity from me. Not after seeing him get all those people killed. But I do worry about the fact that you dealt him wounds yourself and watched for so long. I''m still giving it some thought, but an entire afternoon is a staggering amount of time to watch a man get tortured. Even ten minutes would be too long for me, Grace. I understand now that Mira got a Gengar out of it, but I would rather you two just have finished the job and done it quickly instead. Typing this out makes me realize that I''m a monster, aren''t I? I can''t get myself to care enough. In fact, I care more about what you did to Maylene than this, somehow, but at least I know it isn''t right. You do too. Had I stayed, I might have been able to convince you and Mira not to do it, but I needed space, and for that I''m sorry. I won''t break up with you over this, and I won''t ask you to change who you are, but I''ll need you to at least try not to do this again. What I''ve realized is that each one of these actions leads you to another extreme. If I had caught the issue with Infernape, then I doubt this would have happened. So long as you promise me not to do something like what you did to Maylene again to another trainer, I will forgive you. Not forget, but forgive. And that isn''t me inviting you to omit the truth again. Regarding Mesprit, I trust you, Grace. Did you think I would flee? I will admit, there''s a degree of ufortableness, but you trusted me with my gift, didn''t you? There will be boundaries, but you seem ready to respect those. If you breach them, I won''t give you another chance. These are very simple. One, always ask before looking at my emotions unless we''re in a high-stakes situation and you have to use your powers in full. Two, never, ever touch them. No matter what. I''m serious about this. I would rather die than cross that line. Can we call, now? I''m sorry if I''m being selfish, but I want to hear your voice. Really badly. I wiped my eyes, ignoring the relief that I felt that she wasn''t leaving me. Cecilia had drawn hard lines in the sand, both with my behavior and my powers. I was nning on following these before she talked to me regardless, though having her say it to me made it feel more real. Heavier. I didn''t deserve her. I told her to wait ten minutes so I could gather myself before calling, but it didn''t even work, given the fact that I cried when she talked again anyway. "Grace¡­" "I''m okay," I sniffled. "I''m sorry." "I forgive you. I''m just as bad as you are, really," she sighed. "But we''ll hold each other up, won''t we?" "Hmhm. Can I say I love you yet, or is it too soon?" She let out a wet chuckle. "You can say it. I''ll say it too. Can we video call?" "Cece, I look like a mess." "You never look like a mess." I ced the phone on speaker, pulling it from my ear. "Okay. Oh, and don''t get angry at Chase and the others for hiding stuff from you, please," I asked. I turned on my phone camera and saw her, as she did me. We stayed silent for a few seconds, taking each other in. My girlfriend smiled. "I would have rather heard it from you than anyone else, so you don''t have to worry." "So¡­ what''s this about that Steelix? Oh, congrattions about Scizor and Hydreigon, by the way. Do you have a new name for him¡­" I really didn''t deserve her, I repeated to myself. But I wanted to be selfish, just this once, because she''d already made me forget that I''d almost died today.
Interlude – Second Wind Interlude ¨C Second Wind
INTERLUDE - SECOND WIND "Maybe doing this was a bad idea." Grace rolled her eyes on Cecilia''s phone screen and faked offense. "What do you mean? Are you saying I''ve ever had any bad ideas, Cece? You wound me!" Cecilia leaned against the edge of Canve''s drawbridge. "You? A bad idea? Of course not," she said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. "But this ruins the surprise you''ll have when you get to the city." "I mean, I''m seeing it right now, aren''t I? Point the phone a little up." This wasn''t exactly a date. More like a conversation on the phone that had derailed until Cecilia had begun to rant about how great bridges were and their symbolism, linking two wholes together into onemunity. Grace had then suggested that Canve had a bridge and that Cecilia should go and show her because she''d never been despite basically living right next door her entire life. The only ce she''d been on vacation as a child was Sunyshore, which still baffled Cecilia. It was evening now, and the drawbridge was packed with people crossing to and fro in the rush to get back home after a hard day''s work. The bridge itself was a colossal structure wrought of stone and wood, positioned over the city''s central canal, and yachts hugged both sides of the city canal in a way that reminded Cecilia of the docks in Castelia, though several times less grand. The salty wind whipped around her hair, which nearly blinded her. A day had passed since they''d reconnected, and they''d passed almost its entirety on the phone, save for when they were busy studying or training. It wasn''t something Cecilia wanted to make a regr urrence, especially when they''d just been learning to function when apart, but they did have a lot to catch up on, and talking to her after so long felt like a blessing. All of their adventures, their worries and their troubles they''d missed. Cecilia had to admit, there had been a certain ufortableness when she''d heard about Grace forcing love upon Mathilda, but you often did not have the luxury to choose when you were about to die, and she understood the decision. Luckily, it hadn''t been permanent. Cecilia hoped that she''d be able to be fine, when they met in person. She trusted Grace, but¡­ it was still somewhat difficult to imagine the full extent of her capabilities. Chase had been a part of the discussion for a few hours, but he was secluding himself somewhere on route 218, pushing his team in hopes of making it past the eighth badge in one attempt. "Aw, man. I thought we''d be able to see the Iron Inds from here," Grace sighed. "Obviously not. They''re too far away, and the ferry ride takes hours," Cecilia said, flipping the camera back toward her face. "Anyway, what do you think?" "Yeah, it''s great." Cecilia pouted. "Spoilsport." "Okay, in my defense, anything I''d say would sound like thatpared to what you had to say," Grace said. "I mean, to be honest, a bridge is cool, but it''s a bridge, y''know? Though I''d definitely be more into it if I was there." "May I remind you that this was your idea? You just said you didn''t get any bad ones." "Harsh, but fair," her girlfriendughed, in a way that made Cecilia want to grin too. "By the way, nothing from Mira, still?" Cecilia pushed herself off the railing. "Nothing at all." "I thought she might have been ignoring me for¡­ obvious reasons," she muttered. "But I guess she''s ignoring everyone. I would have hoped to see her in Sceon, but I knew that was unlikely." "She''s probably already through by now, with kazam to Teleport her," Cecilia said. "Lauren passed through a few days beforehand, too." "Oh, she''s no longer in Sunyshore? Did she tell you what she was doing there?" "You know Lauren. The only way to get her out of her shell is battling," Cecilia smiled. "Well, I guess Sirris has gotten good at Teleporting," Grace said. "Arceus, I want a Teleporter so bad." "Don''t let Princess hear you say that. She''ll get jealous." "She''s sleeping right now. And taking up all the space, too, but she deserves it after that performance in the Lost Tower." "Like mother, like daughter." "Huh? I don''t take up all the space when I sleep!" Cecilia let the silence speak for itself as she started making her way off the bridge, ignoring Grace''s cute whining until she couldn''t help but burst intoughter. "It''s not that funny¡ª actually, it''s not funny at all. You like it anyway, you''re the one who always pulls me close because your awful family touch starved you your entire life." "Hmm, debatable. Do I pull you close, or do you throw yourself into my arms?" "I can''t believe my girlfriend is gaslighting me." "Let''s just call it a tie." This felt good. Her body felt lighter, now that she had someone to lean on in moments like these. They were not back to how they used to be quite yet, but this familiarity was something Cecilia had dearly missed. Grace grumbled under her breath. "Fine, it''s a tie. Did you hear Barry Lane won against Candice on his first attempt?" she said after Cecilia reentered the well-paved grey streets of Canve. "I watched the battle earlier. It was a nail-biter. 5-6, with his Rapidash barely standing by the end." There was a hint of envy in her voice, but also the fire ofpetition, Cecilia noticed. It was not as if she was immune to it as well. Unlike Grace, she was no rival to Barry, and had never even spoken to him, but she did consider him somewhat of a peer, and him having eight badges while she still had six left a bad taste in her mouth. He was the only first-year to already have eight badges as well, leaving him ample time to train in secret for the Conference ande up with new techniques. The closer to the end of the Circuit a trainer got their eighth badge, the more up-to-date the information on them would be, unless you were someone like Craig Goodwill, who was good enough to win his battles without using everything he hade up with. "Basically, she tried to out-Barry Barry, and it almost worked. They were throwing out some wild stuff by the end. Her Frosmoth did a weird thing where they created ice constructs that spread cold throughout the arena that looked so real they might as well have been Double Team clones, and they were indistinguishable from the real thing even after getting hit. Anything other than a fire type would have frozen over there, and it was so cold they basically smothered Rapidash''s mes." That sounded very interesting. She''d probably give the video a look as well, despite not having any ice types. The notion that fire beats ice had been ingrained into her mind since she''d been a child, yet she knew now that battling wasn''t that simple. "What Pokemon on her personal team did Candice use?" "Abomasnow. Maybe I''ll message Chase so he can take some inspiration," Grace hummed. There was regret, there. Cecilia knew Candice and she hadn''t spoken since the raid, neither deigning to contact the other. Cecilia had not stayed in contact with the ice type Gym Leader like Grace had, but they''d still spoken a little. When she''d asked if Grace wanted her to reach out, she had fervently denied her. "How''re you feeling for your own battle?" "Confident enough," she said. Her battle was tomorrow, and she''d brought information about Byron to learn about him in the Iron Inds. "I''m still wondering how many Pokemon he''ll use that are stronger than seven badges. My team is beyond that level already, and Zolst, well¡­ he''s the one I''m certain is already at the eighth." Though all of her Pokemon save for Croagunk were beyond what a Gym Leader would expect for the seventh, too. "One or two," Grace instantly answered. "You''re a first-year with no baseline for your Pokemon''s strength. Byron will have to y it safe, even if you lost against Wake. Plus, I doubt he expects you to have trained in the Iron Inds." "I figured. He''ll want to counter Zolst, that much is assured." "Can I see him? Pretty please?" "He''s not allowed in cities, and you know it," Cece said. "And I can''t take off in the middle of a city with Lehmhart, so I''d have to walk all the way to the gate if I wanted to get on a route." "Blegh. I get it¡­ can I see Scizor, though?" The Unovan agreed, releasing the steel type as she neared her Pokemon Center (she''d booked the one closest to the drawbridge for obvious reasons). He squinted at her, his eyes full of exasperation. He must have been resting, then. "Sorry. Grace wanted to see you?" Cecilia said¡ª or it was more like an ask. She was still atoning for the way she''d treated him, despite them being close these days. Their time in the mines had finally brought them to something akin topanions. Scizor sighed with a metallic trill and nodded. "Scizor! Scizor! Hi!" Grace yelled, waving at her phone camera. "Legendaries, you look so cool! Wait, you always looked cool, but you look cooler now." The sleek, crimson exoskeleton glimmered in the streetlights. Scizor''s carapace, adorned with serrated edges, was steel, now. No longer would attacks simply prate it or break his wings. He had traded speed for defense, of course, though with Agility he was still a Pokemon Cecilia considered a speedster. He could fly in short bursts, but hovering in the air for too long was impossible, and his wings were mostly used to adjust his body temperature and to keep him from overheating. It had taken a lot of getting used to, but there was nothing likebat to get a Pokemon used to fighting in their new form. His two scythes had been reced by sharp pincers capable of crushing instead of cutting. He apanied her into the Pokemon Center, growing more irritated at Graceplimenting his sharp edges in a way only she could get so obsessed with. Cecilia drew eyes, though not as many as before. Give it enough time, and anything will fall out of public attention, she thought. Once she revealed Hydreigon into the world, Cecilia was sure she would attract more, which this time, she would be pleased by. She needed Unovan Professors to notice her, after all. "To counter Hydreigon, I was thinking either one of his Steelix, Corviknight or, well, his Scizor," Cecilia said, awkwardly turning toward her own. He didn''t seem to care. "All of those make sense to me." "Scizor gets melted by methrower. He won''t go for it," Grace said. "Steelix or Corviknight are more likely for his eight badge Pokemon, I''ve been learning about them, little by little. His Steelix is basically a weaker version of the one on his personal team, and Corviknight is a bruiser built to take hits and dish out just as many. He knows some weird reflective move, too." "Some kind of Mirror Coat, but not psychic," Cecilia confirmed. She''d heard about it. "Somehow, steel TE is capable of reflecting anything, if you put your mind to it, and Corviknight is specialized in this." "And he has Roost. Hydreigon won''t be able to take him down easily," she said. Cecilia unlocked her room and entered it with Scizor. "I''ll deal." "You''re lucky he doesn''t have a Forretress of an appropriate level. Now that''d be difficult to deal with," Grace said. "Or unlucky, depending on the the way you look at things. The challenge would be fun, I think. Byron''s Forretress all have ways to counter fire type moves." "I think I would have enjoyed it, personally. I was looking forward to battling a Duraludon, too, but it turns out he has none." "Byron''s a little old school. Uh, he mostly owns Pokemon native to Shinwa, and Unova after Cynthia went there for a year and their rtions warmed." Cecilia nodded. "Combine that with a Gym having fewer higher-leveled Pokemon, and you get this. Well, that''s okay. I just thought a sh between dragons would have been ting¡­" "Right?! We''ll have to do it, sometime! Or maybe Zolst against Sweetheart! I could find a mountain or remote area for it. I doubt that the barriers they have in the average public arena would be enough, these days." Cecilia sat on her bed as Scizor hissed with a displeased tone. She relented, cing him back in his Pokeball before lying down on her bed. "The Conference," she said. "I don''t want to show my hand early, and by the time you get to Canve, I''ll be in Pastoria." Cecilia paused, rolling on her stomach. "You know, this might be a little cheesy, but you better not lose until we fight." Grace answered with a blush and by muttering some gibberish under her breath. Legendaries, she was cute. "Zolst will be quite useful for my foray into Unova," Cecilia continued, switching the topic. "Um, I don''t think I got that right. We''re trying to change for the better, right?" "It''s not anything you''re thinking," she sighed. "It has nothing to do with hurting anyone. Remember when I told you I was looking into getting sponsored by a Professor when we were in Sunyshore in New Wave''s building?" "Oh! Right, you said that they''d be inclined to sponsor you if you had rare Pokemon. I guess Zolst counts." "He does! And if I do manage to get my Spiritomb, it''ll be an even more lucrative option. I was looking at a few names¡­ Bradley Jordan, Lesley Espinoza, Aurea Juniper are the ones that might be open to working with me." "What''s special about ''em? I mean, other than the fact that they''re super smart." "That they operate outside of politics, mainly. All of them live in small towns and keep to themselves, so I doubt that they''d mind sponsoring me. They''re all based in Numeva or Aspertia. Numeva''s kind of like Twinleaf¡ª well, it''s more like two Sceons in terms of poption, but¡ª" "No need to brag about how big Unova is, Cece. When you get into it, you never stop." "Right. Anyway, I''ve been branded puppet of Cynthia, so that gives me a ck mark that I needed to circumvent with people that put science over politics." Cecilia had money, but it would be running out at some point, and sooner, if she was going to spend the money she wanted to on TMs and items for the Conference. It was nigh time to stop relying on the money she''d taken from her father and she be truly independent. Grace smiled. "You''re daydreaming." Right. First, she had to focus on the now instead of the future. ¡ª Byron''s arena was not the pure stretch of stainless steel, ready to be molded to his desires as Cecilia had expected before she''d begun looking up the Gym Leader. Her eyes gazed across the Gym Leader''s battlefield and did find steel as a baseyer, but it was anything but pristine. It was rough, worn and battered. Holes deep enough for her to fall in and small hills wrought of iron stretched across the entire surface and made it difficult to flood in its entirety, save for the two usual ponds at each edge. Jagged steel spikes, each ten feet in height, covered much of the field in a way that was obviously meant for Byron to manipte and use to his advantage. Cecilia quickly found the best area to release her first Pokemon in, but she gave Byron a good look first. Wild, purple hair that looked like it hadn''t beenbed a day in his life and a thick, scruffled beard that stretched down from the side of his head down to his chin. Byron''s body was toned, with clearly defined muscle that was visible through his thin, sleeveless white shirt. He wore old, disheveled pants covered in rips and tears, and a worn dark cape that looked like it''d fit right on a child ying superhero back in the Iron Inds. His dark eyes stared into hers, intense and burning as he slung a heavy-looking shovel on his back and grinned. "Wee, challenger," he said with a deep, grave voice. Like a smoker''s, though Cecilia knew it was from his early days working in the mines. The smoke and ash had damaged his lungs. "This''ll be a six-on-six battle with three switch-ins allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Go ahead." Close to the exact words and inflection Roark had used, Cecilia noticed. She didn''t bother to keep him waiting, releasing Croagunk onto the field next to one of the steel spires. There were doubtful murmurs within the crowd, and even Byron raised an eyebrow, when he saw the small fighting typend near in one of the grooves in the iron floor, next to one of the ponds. He was right to be surprised. Croagunk was, after all, not at a level where she would be able toe close to winning despite her intense training in the Iron Inds. Cecilia had sent Croagunk out to lose, as they had agreed to during their stay near Falkirk. For her, it would be trial by fire. Byron''s microphone picked him up cracking his neck, and he sent out an Escavalier withoutment, theirnces gleaming and sharp. Grace would be a fan of those, she instantly thought. Escavalier was one of Byron''s most offensively-minded Pokemon, though its defenses were still tough to breach. Cecilia too, had begun to study her opponents in preparation for the Conference''s arduous and spy-filled environment. She''d gotten a taste of it once, before the Sceon tournament, and had resigned to the fact that talent could only bring her so far. The referee seemed to be as interested in the battle as the spectators was, which was part of the culture in Byron''s Gym. She shed across the air and yelled out at the battle to begin¡ª "Brick Break and Fling," Cecilia calmly spoke. They did not have the power to break past Escavalier''s defenses, but they could make it sting, at the very least. Croagunk''s hand went white as she jabbed it at the steel spire, shattering it in two quick hits. While she hurriedly grabbed the debris and flung it toward Escavalier at breakneck speed, Byron called out. "Lance!" The order resonated across the field like the p of thunder, and the bug type brought one of its spears forward. For a second, Escavalier hung in the air as thence glowed bright white. Two pieces of steel rammed into its hard shell, but the third, Croagunk managed tond on its soft body within, eliciting a pained grunt. Escavalier rammed an arm into the air and blurred impossibly fast toward Croagunk. Cecilia barely had the time for her next order. "Mud p." Croagunk might not have the power to stand up to Pokemon like Escavalier yet, but she was fast, and she fought dirty to attempt to bridge the gap. The fighting type''s cheeks swelled before she spat out a mouthful of mud into Escavalier''s eyes and inside its armor, barely giving her time to dodge by rolling out of the way. The attack still grazed her arm, but she recovered quickly, sliding in a small hole as Escavalier cumbersomely turned back toward them and nearly crashed into one of the steel spires in the process. "Screech and Lance again," Byron said. "Fire, this time." The steel type stopped dead in its tracks, hovering carefully in the air as it brought its twonces together and generated an obnoxious keen that made Cecilia wince. The sparks somehow generated a me that spread throughout once out of its hands despite the fact that it was a bug and steel type, and this time, it seemed faster than it had been seconds earlier. The jet of me behind its elbow is used as propulsion, Cecilia instantly noticed, and the fact that he was specifically aiming for Croagunk''s Dry Skin made her skin crawl. In all of the depictions of Byron she''d heard, he was described as a brute who simply used an imprable defense to find openings to defeat his challenger. The mes stretched across the arena with a deafening woosh, burning red and blue as their light illuminated the steel floor. The hole wouldn''t be enough to keep the poison type protected, and she knew it. The attempt to get deeper was futile, and Escavaliernced Croagunk in the shoulder faster than she could react. "Mud Bomb," Cecilia ordered. The mes dried the mud as soon as it left Croagunk''s mouth, exploding into thick, dry chunks that hurt her more than it did Escavalier, but that was fine. She was learning. While her skin wrinkled and the moisture was sucked out of her, her shoulders bled and Escavalier carried her across the field, her feet swung upward using the momentum she carried, kicking Escavalier''s with a Low Sweep. Unfortunately, the impact didn''t make the steel type change trajectories, and he mmed her into one of the spires, breaking through it and throwing Croagunk on the ground. Instead of rolling, she caught herself by anchoring her body by jabbing a Brick Break into the ground. "Fell Stinger," Byron said. Escavalier angled itsnce toward Croagunk, and a sharp burst of energy molded like a spike flew toward her. She jumped out of the way at thest second, pelting her opponent with more Mud Bombs as she did so. Escavalier shot them out of the sky with more stingers before he could get hit, but some of the scorching mud exploded onto his armor, creating a satisfying hiss. For twenty seconds, they yed this game. Byron was content to let his Escavalier take more damage, so long as it took down Croagunk with Fell Stinger to increase its attack by the end. One was bound to hit, eventually. The neon green spike hit Croagunk in the gut and threw her back. She stumbled in an attempt to keep standing, but she only managed to take a single step back before fainting. "Croagunk is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your second Pokemon." "You gave a satisfying performance," Cecilia smiled as she recalled her. They still had a lot of catching up to do. Escavalier did not shine, nor did anything on its body shift, but its eyes sharpened and its body tensed. Taking down Croagunk with Fell Stinger had not been ideal for her, but it was a sacrifice Cecilia had been willing to make. She grabbed her next Pokeball, releasing Zolst onto the field, and a ripple of tension spread across the arena. Spectators went silent as all of Hydreigon''s heads let out an infuriated scream and sent spittle forward. Hydreigon was eight feet in height, and his six, w-like wings were longer still. His darkened scales seemed to absorb all light, and from her tests, he was her toughest Pokemon, now. Six crimson eyes shimmered under the Gym''s harsh lights, the two heads he had for handsshing wildly at any movement and drooling all over the ground until Zolst snarled at them, and they went still. The low, haunting rumble from the depths of the Hydreigon''s throat echoed through the stillness. The heads were not sentient, not exactly, but they could still sense light from dark and tended to be a lot more aggressive than the main head despite being subservient. And while she had dealt with the worst of Zolst''s rage, that did not mean he did not share the average Hydreigon''s temperament. The dragon was known as the Brutal Pokemon for a reason. All of their work had led to this. All of their trials, their training, and their close brushes with death had culminated in this single moment. This was the true beginning of her Gym Battle, and she would destroy anything standing in her way. "Metal Burst and X-Scissor," Byron said. Shards of metal broke off the ground and turned into a maelstrom of steel, loud, and nking together as Escavalier''snces glowed neon green. It glided across a few inches above the floor, manacingly raking onence against it before bringing it up in a sharp motion that cut across Hydreigon''s chest¡ª The right head''s mouth snapped shut with Fire Fang around the othernce and dug into the steel while the central and left head blew a searing methrower at Escavalier. It enveloped the steel typepletely and disturbed the air until both the dragon and Escavalier were but flickering figures of dark and gray in the heat. The mes melted some of the steel on the floor, causing it to trickle down into pools and sizzle as smoke rose high into the sky. Shadows danced within the fire, and Cecilia was certain she would have heard a screech had the mes not drowned out every other sound. Escavalier could not escape from the Fire Fang''s grasp, but it didn''t take its demise lying down. Cecilia saw hints of a fight, though it was meaningless. Hydreigon let go of its unconscious body, ckened by ash and soot, and Escavalier crashed to the ground with the heavy thud of steel. "Escavalier is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your second Pokemon." "Impressive," Byron smiled. "It looks like your training in the Iron Inds was fruitful." He''d heard about that? Cecilia kept her face still, waiting for him to release his next Pokemon. She''d been expecting at least one eight-badge level Pokemon to counter her Hydreigon, at the very least, and she was not disappointed to see the massive Corviknight materialize in the air. Thanks to Grace''sst-minute advice, she''d known the flying type to be one of Hydreigon''s main counters, given the fact that it knew some version of Mirror Coat that didn''t need psychic powers to counter methrower. "Nasty Plot," Cecilia grinned. "Steel Hurricane and Iron Defense," Byron countered. Small¡­ Spikes fluttered out of Corviknight''s wings, but they never fell to the ground. Instead, the flying type pped its wings, generating winds so strong they began to chip at the steel in the arena and empty the pools of water at its edges. The steel obscured the bird, but only a blind woman would have missed the glow in its armor. A scheming glint appeared in Hydreigon''s eyes as he no doubt imagined finishing this entire battle all on his own with only a massive crater left on the field by the end of it. Zolst''s role, however, was not simply to destroy, even if he was really good at it. "Earth Power, in a circle, like we nned. Keep up the pressure with your heads," Cecilia ordered in quick session. "Steel Coat and Brave Bird. Find an opening," Byron said. Roaring mes exploded out of Zolst''s hands, trailing onto the floor and leaving a massive dent before swinging upward and surging toward Corviknight. The steel type was actually quite slowpared to the Pokemon she was used to fighting, and the attack struck its chest, instantly bouncing back twice as strongly, and crashing into the barrier. The psychic wall shook, shimmering as Kadabra visibly strained to contain the attack¡ª no the entire arena was shaking. The ground exploded in a circle as scorching, molten iron sprung up high into the sky thanks to Earth Power. While Corviknight could reflect attacks, it couldn''t reflect the heat itself, even if it was a lot more resistant than Cecilia had given it credit for. Hydreigon created a ravine chock-full of molten iron. That was step one done¡ª Blue mes engulfed Corviknight as its eyes lit up in fury. The hulking steel type lunged at Hydreigon with a Brave Bird with a defiant squawk. What had been the opening? Cecilia thought, her mind racing. There wasn''t enough time to figure it out, but Corviknight altered its course, seemingly to be aiming at¡ª The floor. Corviknight crashed into the molten iron like a meteor with no care for its own well-being. The liquid metal surged upward like water, but Corviknight''s Brave Bird created such friction in the air that it had generated more heat as well. Hydreigon was still a clumsy flier and could only awkwardly float out of the way as molten steel clung to his scales and his left hand. "Focus st," Cecilia said. There was the crack of lightning, and then energy concentrated into a single point in both of Zolst''s hands. Hydreigon sent them flying toward the general impact area with a roar, but Corviknight was nowhere to be seen¡ª "Below you!" she called out. Drill Peck was a move of many uses. Hydreigon''s wings wriggled, and he rose higher into the sky right as Corviknight burst out of the ground spinning so quickly the Pokemon had be a blur. "Use Head Smash, now! methrower!" Cecilia called out. Legendaries, she''d have toe up with a system to call out which head did what, and soon. The momentum carried Corviknight up, but the steel type extended its wings, stopping dead in its tracks as the metallic storm kept raging. Thankfully, Zolst understood themand, and his two hands solidified, turning as hard as rock while he kept using methrower. Corviknight, with reflexes beyond what should have been possible, triggered another Steel Coat with Drill Peck still active, and the mes bounced back. Cecilia winced as she heard a crunch, Zolst''s two hands smashing into the side of Corviknight''s armor while it rammed into the dragon. Something shifted in Hydreigon''s eyes, and he began whaling at Corviknight with everything he had, smashing into the steel type, biting it with Fire Fang and keeping it in close quarters. A trainer with weak nerves might have yelled and ordered Hydreigon to stop, or recalled him in a panic out of fear of killing. Cecilia did no such thing. Instead, she watched for ten seconds as the dark type brutalized Corviknight from up close until Byron pulled out his Pokeball and recalled the flying type to safety. Hydreigon drew upon heavy breaths, but he was not even close to done. He had not trained in Falkirk''s abandoned mines and faced down that Steelix with the others for nothing. The damage the molten iron had done to his scales was substantial, but not catastrophic. The steel storm slowly subsided as Byron pulled out his next Pokeball. It had been more useful in obscuring vision than dealing any damage. What now, Byron? Cecilia thought, analyzing the Gym Leader''s face. She knew Corviknight owned Roost, and that Byron had understood that Hydreigon would never let it heal. It had also been one badge ahead, and there weren''t that many of those he could use when fighting a first-year with seven badges. Byron smiled, sending out an assortment of gears that somehow made up a whole entity. Despite being a species native to Unova, Cecilia had never seen a Klinng before. "Iron Defense, Autotomize." "Focus st!" Klinng shone bright white until the edges and gears were indistinguishable as three spheres of orange energy flew off toward it. The steel type''s gears disassembled, splitting apart and letting the sts pass through where its red core had just been. "Elemental Barrage," Byron said. From each piece of Klinng, either ice, electricity or fireunched in the form of a beam toward Hydreigon. Cecilia swept her arm, ordering Hydreigon to use Hyper Voice infused with darkness, but as powerful as the dragon had grown, he had lungs, and Klinng did not. Each piece of him kept up the attack indefinitely, speeding away from any attempts at retaliation when Cecilia switched up her strategy and called for a methrower. Those that did get hit or narrowly dodged felt it, at least. Even with Klinng''s defenses up, Zolst packed a punch, and she wished she could have seen him destroying the arena forever. Each crater, each ravine, each blow filled her with a satisfaction she could not exin. She could not dawdle, however. Cecilia snapped back to reality and recalled Hydreigon. Perhaps he could eke out a win in a battle of attrition, but he''d be needed, if that Corviknight ever came back. Her handsfortably found Talonme''s Pokeball. If Klinng was going to be difficult, then she would st all of its pieces away. So long as the circr ravine she had created stayed intact or extended, it would not be a problem, but she would have to make use of Slowking next to start reaping what she sowed. The Tailwind and me Charge to speed up came naturally to Talonme, these days, though the former was already infused with Heat Wave from the get-go. Cecilia noticed the little pieces of Klinng act as some sort of hive mind, hiding inside of craters, ravines or behind spires to hide from the worst of the heat. Still, some of them always had an angle, and Talonme weaved in between numerous electric sts that the steel type seemed to have automatically begun instead of using ice and me. She was too fast, of course. She dropped down to the floor with her wings t against her body until the air itself began to whistle as if she were a missile. "ming Feathers, darling." She spread her wings with a screech, and a hundred feathers coated in mes burst from them. They did not do so in a random matter, however. As Talonme sang, shemanded her feathers, using her own mes and wind currents as scaffolding to carry them. They were already sharpened with Steel Wing, of course, and they hunted down the divided Klinng like prey. "Combine and Trick Room," Byron said. Multiple orders in a row again. Braving the Heat Wave and the¡­ less-than-ster conditions below, Klinng reassembled, clicking together again like mas. The feathers all homed in toward the steel type, but the air around it shifted, and the feathers slowed until they came mere inches from its body, and they froze in ce. Klinng too, was frozen. The gears had stopped turning, and it was simply suspended a few feet above the air. Trap, she instantly thought. There was no need to go in, if it fell onto Byron to make the next move. Cecilia ordered Talonme to intensify her Heat Wave as her eyes narrowed toward the Klinng. What now? You''re slowly taking damage, so you''re going to have to do something. Suddenly, the Trick Room expanded to the entire arena, turning the red hue shining off the molten iron to pink. Talonme slowed to a crawl, and while Klinng was also slower due to Autotomize, it was faster than the flying type in a Trick Room because it was still slower outside of it. It was beautiful, if not morbid, how the Thunder formed in slow motion in front of Klinng''s red core. It began as a low rumble reverberating through the air unnaturally slowly. Then and only then, the incandescent spark of energy coalesced, birthing the electric beam. Heat Wave itself seemed to freeze as the electricity slowly surged forth, Klinng having opted to get hit by the fiery feathers in exchange for this hit. It was a correct calculus, really. Talonme was fragile, and despite them having developed techniques to remedy that weakness, there was not much that could be done. Any order she would scream out woulde as a garbled, slow-motioned mess, so all Cecilia could do was trust in Talonme. She deserved to prove herself. This was as much a test for her as it had been for Croagunk and Hydreigon, and Cecilia had gambled that her Pokemon were strong enough to win regardless. Still slow-moving, a burst of white-hot, ming air exploded out of Talonme, twisting and altering the Thunder''s path¡ª even weakening it some¡ª but not enough, Cecilia winced. Talonme had barely moved ten feet since Trick Room had begun by the time the Thunder hit her chest, and the move copsed with Klinng showing visible signs of exhaustion. The gears turning weren''t as smooth, and its red core had dimmed. Talonme did not fall on the ground, however. She caught herself beforehand, her training with Chase''s Vikavolting to fruition. Byron''s eyebrow raised as he looked on with amusement. "Throw off one piece and Discharge," the Gym Leader said. Cecilia smirked. "Agility and re Blitz!" She understood now, why Grace kept moves hidden until they were needed. There was a booming explosion around Talonme as she instantaneously blurred toward Klinng at the speed of sound, crashing into the steel type before it could even react. Klinng''s red core instantly turned off as the gears themselves begun to melt from the constant exposure to Heat Wave and now re Blitz. It was another way she''d found to counter moves like Iron Defense. Heat softened metal, and softened metal was weak enough to bash in. With the denting and rupturing of the steel came a satisfaction deep within her chest, like a primal desire to burn and destroy anything that stood in her way. "Klinng is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your third Pokemon!" The wind was at her back, but it was best if she did not get carried away. Byron sent out an Aggron next¡ª the seven-badge level one, and not his personal one, thankfully. She could tell by theck of scars running all over the rock type''s body. Technically, Byron couldn''t use Pokemon on his personal team for the seventh badge, but Candice had used that Darmanitan on Grace, once upon a time. Being mentally prepared for one wouldn''t hurt. Cecilia instantly used her second switch despite Talonme still being battle-worthy, finally letting Slowking out to battle. The psychic type immediately crafted a shield for himself to stand on so he wouldn''t burn his feet in the pit of scorching metal that had be the arena. Spires had sunk into the ground, not as sharp as they''d been before, but the holes and hills were still there, at the very least. And so was the ravine she''d set up. "Let''s begin, shall we? Fill up that ravine." Byron called out for another Iron Defense and a Rock Polish as Slowkingzily lifted up a hand and flicked it around. The air above the ravine condensed into moisture, and that moisture seamlessly turned to gallons of water that hissed as it came into contact with the superheated metal. "Metal Edge," Byron called out. Aggron slid on the floor at speeds it had no right to be going, pulling up half-melted spires from the ground and shedding at their edges to sharpen them. With a metallic roar, the steel type sent them flying toward Slowking. Too quick and toorge to stop with Psychic. But with a little bit of help¡­ "Chilly Reception," Cecilia said. Slowking grinned, and she was sure he would have bowed if he had enough time. You know, it''s really rude to go around steel-ing those huge spires to throw at me¡ª Wisps of ice left Slowking''s mouth with each word until ice condensed and spread all around the psychic. The Metal Edges slowed as they entered the zone of frost before falling off the wayside away from Slowking, shattering into a dozen pieces of ice and skidding across the floor while the water type finished filling the ravine with water. Aggron just jumped over the chasms to approach, as she had expected. Lauren''s own Aggron had done the same thing to her, when she had lost in Veilstone. "Avnche!" Cecilia said, deciding to chain hermands. The chunks of ice answered to Slowking''s will, rising from the floor anding together until he threw them at Aggron, who grunted as the ice hit his steel tes with minimal effect. That was fine, seeing as she was baiting him in. "Head Smash!" Byron yelled. Aggron lowered his head, speeding up as he approached Slowking in hopes of taking him down in one hit. And Cecilia was sure it would have. No barriers would stop this charge, and Slowking''s movements were lethargic and made him incapable of dodging. Few Pokemon could resist an Aggron''s Head Smash powered up by Iron Defense. The steel type was steady in its steps, not slipping despite the Rock Polish and the massive craters that Hydreigon had wrought. What Byron did not expect, however, was for Slowking to start floating. It was the culmination of his work on barriers throughout the months. Him having created all of them during their training sessions, learning to craft mental shields, creating bridges to walk onto and prioritizing barriers above all else had led to this. He was not floating as much as he was manipting a barrier to stand on and sending it skyward. With his hands calmly ced behind his back, Slowkingnded on the ind of his creation, in the middle of the circr ravine he had filled with water while Aggron skidded across the floor and stopped with a mighty impressive controlled slide. More shimmering barriers¡ª fiveyers in total appeared in spheres around him as the water rumbled. Here he was, surrounded by water and barriers. A defense that was nigh unbreachable for Aggron, because they would not let him get close in the first ce. They had created a fortress. "Water Cutter," Cecilia smoothly said. Ten small spheres of water rose from the makeshift river and squeezed until thin pressurized lines exploded toward Aggron, managing to dent the steel. "Metal Edge." Try as you may, it wouldn''t work. It was a nice test from Byron, to check if Slowking could still use Chilly Reception to stop and slow the iron while focusing on maintaining five barriers. A test that he passed wlessly. Only one of the projectiles hit the finalyer of the barrier and failed to shatter it. Next, the Gym Leader tried to use Metal Sound to have Slowking lose his focus, but something in the barrier shifted, and no sound was let in just like they''d decided they''d do before leaving Pastoria. Cecilia covered her ears, but the psychic was sitting pretty. "Head Smash. Break through," Byron grunted. "Disable," she countered. Slowking''s eyes shed grey, and Aggron snarled in frustration, opting to use Heavy m instead. Heavy m worked in Cecilia''s favor. The point of impact would be spread instead of a singr point like Head Smash and the barriers would be more resistant. There was no n to just let it happen, though. Cecilia ordered for another Chilly Reception as Slowking this time spread water on the ground around his fortress and beyond the ravine. After another terrible joke that Aggron heard, ice spread outward and made him slip. The rock type stumbled, shattering the ice on the floor and denting the metallic floor. Water Cutter wasn''t very effective at prating steel, but by focusing on the same spot over the course of seconds, even the toughest of hides could be breached. And breached, it was. Aggron let out an ear-piercing scream as the Water Cutter started digging into its tough, grey flesh. Byron used his second switch of the battle and recalled Aggron before more damage could be done. The rock type simply did not own the tools to fight Slowking. There were usually no seven-badge psychics this powerful. There were no holes in his defense, or at least no holes that Aggron could have breached. A Magnezone came out next¡ª the expected choice, and for good reason. Slowking was excellent at taking down Pokemon that enjoyed fighting up close, but a Magnezone would be able to breach his barriers if given enough time, and she was not one to stall. Cecilia recalled Slowking as well, letting the barriers copse instead of having him expend energy on maintaining them past his presence. Instead, she sent out Hydreigon to counter Magnezone, but she had not expected Byron to recall Magnezone right away, and suddenly, she felt like she had been trapped. No, she had been trapped. Out of switches while Byron could pick whoever he wanted to beat Hydreigon. Would it be another Pokemon that routinely battled at eight badges like Corviknight? Zolst''s hands snarled, snapping at each other while the Gym Leader carefully rubbed his chin. Then, his Corviknight appeared again as far away from Hydreigon as possible. Again, she''d been caught off-guard, but why¡ª Byron smiled. "Roost." "methrower!" Forget the Nasty Plot, they had to prevent Corviknight from getting any healing off. Even without the setup move, Hydreigon''s methrower rivaled Turtonator''s, with all headsbined. Corviknight bunkered down, covering its face with its wings and stabbing its talon into the metallic floor as its body shimmered. Cecilia frowned when the stream of blue mes bounced off Corviknight''s wings. She too, had been surprised that it could use Roost while defending itself with whatever that Mirror Coat was. The move was so energy-intensive¡­ But if Slowking could multitask, others would be able to do it, too. Corviknight was slow, but Hydreigon was clumsy, and the steel type rushed toward the dragon with the sound of steel against steel as Byron pointed his shovel at the dragon. Corviknightunched into a spin until it was nothing but a blur and a sharpened beak. There was no avoiding this, and Corviknight was healthier than Hydreigon was, now, despite the heat from the methrower. "Body Press!" Byron yelled. "Fire and Thunder Fang!" she cried out. Hydreigon, with its three menacing heads, bellowed a guttural roar that echoed through the arena. In response, Corviknight spread its wings wide, a silent promation of the impending challenge. The first strike belonged to Hydreigon, one of his serpentine heads lunging forward with feral ferocity, aiming to mp its ming jaws around Corviknight''s armored frame. The second strike was an impact that resonated across the arena with the shattering of scales as the steel type rammed into Hydreigon''s chest with its full body weight, and continued ramming into him until they both crashed into the barrier. Zolst was too enraged to care about pain. His second head aimed for Corviknight''s wing, spreading electricity throughout his metallic body. The steel type convulsed as its beak elongated, sharpened like a sword, and struck at Hydreigon''s weakened scales. How long was he going to survive this? Hydreigon ripped apart chunks of metal with his teeth. There were no fancy techniques at y, here. No metallic storms other than the asional burst of sharpened steel flying out of Corviknight''s wings like bared fangs, no burying into the ground. Just steel against scales, beating each other into a pulp until only one Pokemon would be left standing. Teeth and blood were knocked out of Hydreigon''s mouths while Corviknight''s armor began to melt as they shed on the ground like madmen who''d forgotten that this was a battle and not a real fight out in the wild with lives at stake. But in the end¡ª "Corviknight is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your fourth Pokemon!" It''d probably take over a week to heal that Corviknight, she thought. Hydreigon was a mess of flesh and scales. One of his hands was unresponsive and its eyes had been torn out, while he barely managed to hover on the ground. By all ounts, this had been a tie. Corviknight disappeared in a sea of red, and Byron sent out his Magnezone without waiting. "Lock On and sh Cannon," he ordered. She tried to have Hydreigon retaliate with another methrower, but the mes were so weak they lost the sh of power with sh Cannon, and the beam of light mmed into Hydreigon''s chest, knocking him out for good. Magnezone was quite a good counter to her, giving it some thought. Talonme was severely hurt, and so the electric type might win against her. Slowking would lose as well, and Lehmhart would just have Magnezone wait high in the sky while it pestered him with sh Cannon. She was sure that he''d be able to clean up afterward, however. The onus fell upon Scizor, then. The bug type screeched as soon as she released him, being in a foul mood as always, but he quickly smirked when he realized that it was time for the Gym Battle and not another one of her pre-battle meetings that she''d tried to implement to improve their team cohesion. Scizor was a Pokemon of action, not nning, and his wings fluttered in excitement as he sized up his opponent. Agility was second nature to him, now, but he had other tools at his disposal as well. "Bullet Punch," Cecilia said. "Stick close at all costs." Scizor blurred across the arena faster than Magnezone could react, expending so much energy that his metallic skin started glowing red. His wings fluttered as he leaped into the sky, hissing hot smoke escaping from the few holes in his exoskeleton as he mmed a glowing w against Magnezone, sounding a loud ng across the arena. Magnezone let out a series of frustrated beeps, a beam of fire from Tri Attack hitting Scizor in the arm and forcing him off. "Keep moving. Bullet Punch again." He was but a red blur that warped the air around him, hitting Magnezone with asional jumps, but the electric type retaliated with Discharge each time before Scizor could weave out of range. That was fine, she thought. What she was looking for was happening right in front of her eyes. Scizor leaped over Slowking''s ravine, avoiding the water like the gue and angled a pincer upward. A glob of light appeared inside, releasing a sh Cannon that barely scratched the Magnezone. They were buying time. Time for this. Scizor''s body overheated, and the steel type caught on fire. "Go ahead, darling," Cecilia smiled. A blink, and Scizor was on top of Magnezone. He savaged the steel type with fiery punches, uncaring for his body heating up until it glowed with the brightness of a sun. Byron''s lips stretched into a maddened grin as he swept his shovel forward. "Gyro Ball and m into the ground!" Magnezone started spinning, it and Scizor turning into a ball of me. Spikes borne of control over metal rose from the ground, glowing white, all angled to stab into Scizor, who screeched through the roar of the mes and kept mming his pincers into Magnezone over and over. They crashed with an explosion, kicking up debris and billows of shredded metal up to the ceiling. Scizor''s wings beat so quickly they became a blur, rapidly lowering his inner temperature until he ran to take a plunge in Slowking''s river while Magnezone tiredly levitated back in the air, its shell dented and heated to the point that normal hits would now dent it further. "Brick Break," Cecilia said. With an exhausted sigh, Scizor rolled his neck and climbed out of the water. "They won''t be able to do that again," Byron said. "Maic Prison." He had assessed that rather quickly, Cecilia mused. Magnezone''s mas spun, and metal burst from the ground, clinging to Scizor like he was a ma until the grey rocks buried him. "Now, Thunder." The iron prison cracked as a sh Cannon broke through, but the supply of metal in this arena was endless. Thunder cracked, shing down and running through both the rocks and Scizor, but the attack was so powerful it left them an opening¡ª an opening that was closed within a second and that Scizor was in too much pain to exploit. The second attack charged up, the electric energy humming along Magnezone''s body. "Scizor," Cecilia said, her voice quivering in her throat. "You can do this." The words mattered, because there was a linking of a bond that had not been present before. It was not as solid as it was with her other Pokemon, but it was there. She had nurtured it, toiling to atone for her sins for months for what she''d done. It was no coincidence, that her battles with him had gotten more sessful as they''d grown closer. At the heart of battling was the bond between Pokemon and trainer. Another Thunder hit Scizor, and the steel type instantly slid forward, jumping into the sky with a metallic screech as a torrent of iron followed him like it had a mind of its own. "Lock-On and Tri-Attack!" Byron ordered. Scizor''s w shone bright and true. He mmed a Brick Break at the center of Magnezone''s head, and it fell unconscious, the stream of metal crumpling to the ground like a puppet without strings. "Magnezone is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your fifth Pokemon," the referee said. "You did excellently, Scizor. Thank you," Cecilia said. The bug type spared her a look and shrugged, though there was a hint of a smile on his face. She had no more switches, unfortunately, so he would have to go down fighting. He fanned his wings, cooling down his body while Byron sent out his Aggron. A terrible matchup for Scizor, possibly among the worst. Effective moves like Brick Break mattered little in the way of biology, and Scizor simply did not have the brute force to punch through his armor. There were, however, a few holes that Slowking had punctured through. "Fill up that river, Aggron. Rock Slide," Byron said. Something he could have done as soon as Slowking was out of the field, but had left open to see what I was nning and closing near the end of the battle to see how I reacted, Cecilia thought. She''d gotten good at probing and noticing the tests Gym Leadersid at her feet, as one often was at her level. The pool filled with rocks, flooding onto the arena as it emptied, but there was not enough water to do anything but create some puddles. Scizor just watched as he recovered his stamina. "Iron Defense¡ª" Now! "sh Cannon inside the breaches of his armor!" "¡ªand Curse." Curse? Scizor''s aim was true, but it only had minimal effects on the rock type. As the ghostly aura took hold, Aggron''s movements became deliberate and ponderous. Its colossal frame seemed to carry the weight of a hundred spirits and echoed deep from within his frame. He was heavier, now each step carrying the burden of those poor lost souls and creating a small crater in the earth. It was no small feat, for a non-ghost type to master this move and use it like this, and it had weight to it. It was amitment, not easily undone by another setup technique like Rock Polish. "Keep sting him with sh Cannon," Cecilia said. "Metal Edge." Damage was damage, no matter how small it may be. Two twin sh Cannons hit Aggron''s weakened defenses as pirs¡ª not sharpened edges, but pirs, this time¡ª were ripped up of the earth, leaving massive cylinder holes in the ground. Scizor dodged the first, weaving left as it crashed into Kadabra''s barrier, but there was only so much the steel type could do. His overheating technique was a double-edged sword that tended to cut him particrly deep. Little inches of exhaustion had built up until he was no longer capable of dodging. He was thrown back as one of the pirs hit him, his body limp and unresponsive. "Scizor is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your fourth Pokemon!" So much progress had been made today. The uncharted path that had been her and Scizor''s rtionship was now lit up, and she knew how to proceed, now. She grabbed her next Pokeball and did not fight her lips tugging upward in an eager smile. Lehmhart stretched tall¡ª taller than the massive Aggron, and he yed a little tune to announce his presence. "Lehmhart, use Scorching Sands." Golurk raised a hand as Aggron raised another three pirs. The ground under the steel type ripped into more pirs. At this point, Byron''s side of the barrier was riddled with holesrge enough to fit his Aggron twice over. The ground under the steel type''s feet turned to liquid, and then superheated quicksand that glowered with a sinister red, for they had long grown past the need to have actual dirt to work with. Aggron sank one foot into the ground, groaning in agony as the hot sand seeped into his chipped armor and scorched his flesh. A loud hum left Lehmhart as he caught the first pir under his armpit. He tried wielding it like a club to hit the others away, but he was too slow. The first hit his knee, causing him to buckle low enough for thest to hit his face. The ground type stumbled back, but he stayed standing. "He is trapped," Cecilia smiled. "Hammer Arm." Were they simply going to walk up and hit Aggron with the most powerful attack they had? Yes. Was it going to work? Try as it may, Aggron was not equipped to escape Lehmhart''s trap. The ghost type winked out of existence with Phantom Force, disappearing faster than Cecilia could blink, and she imagined him slowly lumbering forward with silent steps. More pirs came, but those that might have hit only went through him¡ª causing damage, yes, but not actually stopping him from getting closer. His fist was angled upward and glowing behind Aggron, when he reappeared, and it fell down like a bolt of thunder on Aggron''s head. The steel type''s eyes went nk as dozens of widening cracks spread from top to bottom. Trap and destroy. A simple strategy that they''d refined and that Cecilia knew would be useful against Byron''s heavy steel types. Even if Aggron had used Rock Polish instead of Curse, it would not have mattered. "Aggron is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out yourst Pokemon!" Looking mighty pleased with himself, Byron sent out a Durant. Barely a single foot in height, the tiny ant-like Pokemon was aical sight next to Lehmhart, but she knew it could not be underestimated. Small opponents were something Lehmhart actually struggled with. Honestly, Cecilia would have rather fought a Steelix instead. Each part of Durant''s body moved at once, its legs and antennas continuously shifting, its crimson eyes rapidly blinking and ncing in every direction in a way that made Cecilia ufortable. She called out for a Scorching Sands, trapping Durant as she had Aggron, but the steel type gave in and simply buried underground before Lehmhart could bring down a Hammer Arm onto its small frame. Why bury, when we can just use Stomping Tantrum? her mind raced. Because they have a counter. This was not a mistake, but a trap, or something akin to it. But she was three Pokemon up, and at the end of the day, she had the numbers to spend to sniff out the trap. "Stomping Tantrum!" Cecilia yelled. In one smooth motion that betrayed what he used to be capable off, Lehmhart brought down his foot and the area around him shattered¡ª Then forcefully melded itself back together, iron binding itself to more iron, as if the attack had not happened at all. Durant burst from the ground, its pincers still snapping through metal as if it was paper, and climbed on Lehmhart''s body as it chewed into his outer skin all along his leg. "Resonance!" A dim purple light enveloped Golurk, apanied by a low melody that rose and rose until it quite literally burst out of the ground type so loudly that the barrier trembled from the sound waves. Durant wentpletely still, and Lehmhart brought down his arm to grab the steel type from the back of his waist, but Cecilia''s eyes narrowed when the move only worked for a single second. One second. They had practiced night and day for with this, and theory crafted until they came up with something akin to Perish Song, for less¡­ sport-like circumstances. It was still in the theoric stage, but that still meant it was among Lehmhart''s most powerful tools. So why was it that Durant was chewing through him right now? Durant dug into Lehmhart''s insides and the ghost type''s core started to dim and flicker. "Phantom Force!" Cecilia called out. But he still had the focus needed to use that move, thank the Legendaries. Golurk disappeared, leaving a iling Durant covered in wet y to fall back onto the floor. As soon as it did, Golurk reappeared and stepped onto the ant with a glowing foot as his full weight crashed onto the ground with a loud rumble, sending more debris flying up. There were so many missing chunks to the field that had Lehmhart not been so used to this form by now he would have fallen over at least once. When he raised his foot again, Durant was nowhere to be seen. Buried again¡ª "On your back!" she screamed. "Crunch!" Byron ordered. "Fall!" Darkness swelled across both of Durant''s pincers, and Golurk threw himself backward. The steel type let out a frustrated screech as it clung to dear life by digging inside of Lehmhart, but there was a quick flicker, and suddenly Durant was chewing through air. Lehmhart reappeared lying down on the ground, and Durant was still falling. He snatched Durant out of the sky and squeezed. Victory had rarely tasted so sweet. "Victory to the challenger!"
Interlude – Goodwill Interlude ¨C Goodwill
INTERLUDE - GOODWILL Mount Cor''s outpost to the west of Celestic Town was swarming with hundreds, and maybe even thousands of trainers, desperate to make the trek to battle Candice now that Spring hade and Sinnoh had warmed. Lauren didn''t enjoy crowded ces, and she never had, even before the Circuit had made her famous. School had been the bane of her existence as a kid, especially since Craig started taking off. People had kept swarming around her, asking what her brother was like or if they could meet him someday, and suddenly, she''d gone from having no friends to being the most popr kid in ss. Lauren hadn''t cared. Herck of friends had never bothered her, and she''d been too busy studying battles to prepare for her career to bother with other people, along with keeping up her grades so her parents would let her go on her journey and ''follow in Craig''s footsteps.'' Arceus, she''d hated them when they told her that. ''Craig'' was all that woulde out of their mouths her entire childhood. Well, at least that many trainers in one ce let her battle as much as she wanted. Lauren watched as Mags pinned down a Floatzel and a huge glob of fire formed in one of his cannons. The me did not hit the water type. Instead, it blew up as soon as it reached the apex of its size, creating a massive explosion of mes and magma that even a water type could not be able to handle. Her opponent eyed her with a mix of awe and frustration as she recalled her burning Floatzel. Lauren ignored the excited ps from the crowd around the arena. It had been a few days since she''d revealed her Magmortar, but people were still being annoying about it. That had been a disappointing fight, too. Nothing worth even getting pumped up about. The girl had challenged her, but she couldn''t even back up her words of Lauren just being sessful because of Craig gifting her her Sceptile, and she''d let Mags run through her entire team, which was annoying given the fact that he needed to lose some of that ego he''d gained since his evolution. Lauren had dealt with bullies like her before, back in school, and usually she''d just ignored them to make them go away, even if that had rarely worked. These days, Lauren realized that they rarely actually had the power to back up their words, especially when she could blow them up. The nameless girl stormed off out of the arena, and Lauren recalled Mags, taking pleasure in the battlefield having been turned into a field of molten rock. She ced her headphones back on her head, making herself small as she slipped out of the arena, bobbing her head up and down to her favorite rock band, Laughing Twins. They were Unovan and based in Virbank. Sinnoh''s musical industry unfortunately left a lot to be desired, but at least it was better than that garbage they made in Kalos¡ª and no, it was not just because they sang in a differentnguage. It was a rainy day outside, so Lauren had a convenient excuse to put her hoodie up and release Sirris to keep her from getting wet. The Reuniclus let out a cute gurgly sound. Lauren lowered the sound on her wireless headphones and nced at him. Though he spoke into her mind and volume didn''t matter, it still helped her focus on what Sirris was saying. "Stop dawdling and make a barrier, will you?" Lauren muttered. You feeling antsy, Lau? part of him asked. Sirris had two brains, and so talking to him was like speaking to two people. She is, look at how she''s brooding. Hands in her pockets? Pouting? Something must have happened, the other half of her best friend said as he summoned a thin shield above her head. It let the rain patterfortably, just like she liked. "Some girl was being bitchy about my brother," she said. "Mags dealt with her." Goodness me, Sirris groaned. Don''t tell me he destroyed her, please. "He destroyed her," she smiled. "Could have blown off that Floatzel''s head too, but he''s learned self-control." He''s influencing her more and more, the other voice said. That isn''t ideal, especially when he''s mentally unwell. "He just likes blowing things up. There''s nothing wrong with that." Lauren walked in no direction in particr, mostly looking for a good fight that would let her true selfe loose. Maybe she''d find someone else with seven badges? That girl had only owned six, though she''d been a second-year, so Lauren had thought that maybe she''d get her blood pumping. I will admit, there''s a certain quality to destruction, Sirris said. You''re encouraging her?! We''ll never hear the end of it if we start breaking and bing insane like the rest of them! Listen, me, you need to rx, okay? You can''t deny that making a huge crater with Expanding Force is fun. You''re also the one who says filing Lauren''s taxes is fun. We have until July to do those, dude. Better early thante. And it is fun, and we get a tax refund if we do it early¡ª "You guys did my taxes?" Lauren frowned. "When?" When you stopped by Sceon, one of them answered. "Oh. I didn''t even notice my money going down," she shrugged. Sirris was the one who took care of all of her money stuff, and her emails too. In fact, they were basically pretending to be her when messaging Silph Co. representatives. When she had to talk to them in person, he told her what to say to bag more contracts and sell more TMs. "Well, thanks anyway." You should learn to do other things than battling, Lau. "Not this again," she sighed, instinctively reaching to raise the volume on her music. Sorry, he said as he shivered slightly in his goo. There was a short silence, but the other half of his brain filled it. Anyway, at least Mags isn''t as insane as Flint was. A real nutjob, that guy. It''s a wonder the League even hired him. "You wouldn''t get it," Lauren smiled. In a way, Flint had been just like her, but a lot more outspoken and¡­ sleazy, maybe. So full of himself he had annoyed every member of Lauren''s team except for Mags, who loved him to bits. During their few days together, Flint had always worn baggy pants that didn''t fit around his waist, shirts with horrible designs and sayings, and slippers or crocs on his feet. Lauren didn''t care either way. So long as someone was a powerful trainer, then she would ept all of their quirks and fight them. They didn''t train together¡ª not exactly, but he did ept to fight her after she''d begged for a while shortly before Mag''s evolution. As a condition, he''d said that if Lauren didn''t impress him, then he wouldn''t have him evolve and just head back to the League instead. And while she had impressed him, his own Magmortar hadpletely and utterly destroyed her team without breaking a sweat by taking them on all at once. Recalling that fight, deep in the night inside of Volkner''s Gym still made her shiver, and it kept her up when she tried to sleep. "I like your gusto, kid," Flint had said after the battle. "Not many people call my Magmortar a ''piece of shit'' while fightin'' him. Let''s get you a fucking Magmortar, shall we?" He had, without a doubt, catapulted himself as her favorite trainer ever. The process itself had been hard on Mags and hadsted days. Flint had told her Stark Mountain could have worked by dumping him in the volcano''s chambers and having his Magmortar trigger an eruption, though since he was a Magmar, too long in there might have killed him. He also exined that taking a trainer to the Battle Frontier before their eighth badge was too much red tape to cut through and that Cynthia would scream at him for it, though he looked quite pleased about that possibility, for some reason. Maybe her being angry at Flint meant that they''d battle soon? Lauren didn''t understand why the prospect of her screaming at him would be so pleasant. Flint alsoined about his younger brother in the frontier. The seventeen-year-old was called Buck¡ª a weird name, in Lauren''s opinion¡ª and he''d been one of the few first-years to make it to the Conference duringst year''s Circuit. Now, he spent all of his days in the Battle Frontier working as a private contractor for the League. Since Stark Mountain would have been too much, Flint''s Magmortar did the job and sted Mags withva over the course of days until he evolved, almost getting him killed in the process. Flint had been adamant about saying that his Pokemon could actually more powerful than a volcanic eruption when they wanted to be. Lauren walked around until her album ended, wanting to enter the Pokemon Center as soon as it did, and not one second sooner, because it felt right that way and wrong any other. Things falling into ce neatly like this pleased her greatly. With a satisfied hum, she got herself lunch. Her team was pretty efficient, in terms of food intake. Sceptile could use the sun to gain most of his nutrients, even if it had to be supplemented with a little food. Aggron could just sustain himself on the metallic content he found in rocks, and just like Rhydon, he didn''t need to eat very often. Reuniclus didn''t eat at all, and Seismitoad and Magmortar were the only ones who actually consumed the bulk of the food she bought. It wasn''t like she had any problems with money, though. She''d sold another three TMs to Silph since Fire Pir, and Sirris was great at budgeting. Lau, is that¡­? Her eyes drifted across the Pokemon Center''s cafeteria until Sirris pointed toward her right. Mira was sitting there alone, fidgeting while she yed with her food with her Gardevoir sitting next to her. Lauren smiled at the sight of one of her closest friends¡ª and they had been, since connecting at Grace and Cecilia''s birthday party. She had been wondering about where Mira was and why she''d stopped messaging. Lauren wasn''t one to contact someone first, and she had never been, but sometimes that made her have hugepses of time between contact with her friends. Maybe I should message people more, she thought as she approached Mira. Upon getting a closer look, she was a little¡­ shaken, maybe? Paler than usual, at least, and she''d already been pale. Gardevoir shot Lauren a look with narrowing eyes before realizing who she was, and then her gaze softened. You maye closer, Gardevoir said with a pained look. Had she needed permission? Sirris could beat her pretty easily in a fight. But I must warn you, she is unwell. Getting better slowly, but¡­ still unwell. "Mira?" Lauren probed as she ced her headphones around her neck. Her pink-haired friend flinched, as if she had been sleeping with her eyes open. "Huh? What?" she muttered with a series of rapid blinks. Her eyes met Lauren soon enough, though. "Lauren! Shit, how long were you, um, standing here?" "Something like four seconds. Maybe five." Mira smiled as if she hadn''t expected her to respond that way. "Not too bad, then." "When I was a kid, some girls invited me out, and my parents forced me to go. I had to wait an hour and a half before they arrived, so it was really nothing," Lauren said. Sirris spoke up. Lau¡ª "What? That''s¡­ they were fucking with you, Lauren," Mira said. "They might have bet on how long you''d stick around." Lauren nodded, frowning. "Right. That makes a lot more sense, thinking about it." "Want to sit?" Mira said after a pause. "Sorry if I''m kind of out of it. I haven''t been sleeping well, and I''ve been struggling with¡­ stuff." "Oh. I''m sorry for bothering you." "No, no! You''re good, really," Mira yelled. Lauren sat opposite of her friend. "What brings you here? I thought you gave up on the Circuit." "I''m heading up north, just like you," she said with a slight shiver. "It''s private stuff, though. I don''t want to involve you in my isssues. You seem to be having fun, and I saw your Magmar evolved, so congrats on that." "Thanks. You should see what he can do now," Lauren dreamily muttered. "Though my entire team''s awesome. I''d ask you for a battle, but you aren''t that interested in that kind of stuff anymore, I guess." Mira nodded. "Sorry, Lauren. I''m usually a lot more fun than this." "You are," she acknowledged. Miraughed, dropping her fork on her half-emptied te, and Gardevoir''s eyes widened slightly. "What?" Lauren frowned. "You always tell it to me straight," she giggled. "I like that. I want to learn from you, really." "I don''t have much to teach, unless you want to blow stuff up," Lauren shrugged. "Anyway, I won''t pry into your travels. I was just thinking, since you''re here, maybe we could go together?" "There''s no need to be all embarassed about it," Mira snorted. "Can you¡­ um, leave me a day to decide or something? I don''t know if this is a great idea." "Oh¡­" "But it''s not your fault!" Mira quickly added. "In normal circumstances, I''d say hell yes, you know? Just let me think for a bit. When were you nning on leaving?" "Well, Barry Lane won against Candice earlier than I did, which is uneptable," Lauren frowned. "So I wanted to leave tomorrow to get there sooner. I used to be as far into the Circuit as he was, but my detour with Flint and not having a flier screwed me over a little." Sirris shivered in his goo. Way to call me useless. I''ve been working so hard on Teleporting you around. Lauren ignored him. "I wanted to be first. He stole that from me." "If I''m being honest, I don''t think you''re even on his radar," Mira said. "Then I''ll get on there," she growled. "Oh, I fully believe that." Lauren deted, having expected Mira to fight her on this. Part of her was sad they hadn''t gotten into an argument that would let her expose why her team could beat Barry Lane in a battle. She had imagined herself battling all of the prominent first-years already. Denzel Williams, she would crush. Not enough firepower and too many gimmicks. There was no meat on the bone, so to speak, and it would probably be disappointingly easy. There was only so much stupid little fairy tricks could do, though she had to admit, his Roserade was a Pokemon she would mesh with well, and Volis would probably enjoy the fight. Cecilia Obel would be trickier now that she finally had her Hydreigon, and watching her battle with Byron had made Lauren very happy. She''d been so disappointed to hear about Cecilia''s loss against Wake after they''d been peers in Veilstone that she''d nearly called to give her advice on her rematch before knowing she would leave to fight Byron instead. Sirris had told her it was a bad idea anyway. Her Slowking had grown more skilled at barriers than Sirris, Scizor fought like Mags and didn''t care what happened so long as his opponent was taken care of, Talonme could fly at the speed of sound. She had a lot to give, if it came to a battle in the Conference, and Lauren looked forward to the destruction they''d wreak on whatever field they fought on. Grace Pastel, she would have to judge once she fought Byron herself, but her having a Tyranitar and Electivire was good news, and thetter had taken down a Gyarados by himself against Wake. Chase Karlson was in the same boat as her, and there wasn''t enough updated information on him, but she''d seen the way he''d lit Wake''s arena on fire and created huge icebergs, and that boded very well. And of course, that was not even counting the non first-years she would fight. So many rivals to face at the Conference, Lauren thought with a surge of excitement. "What are you grinning at?" Mira asked. "At how I''m going to crush all of your friends." ¡ª It was a catastrophe. Hourster, and even though the rain had stopped, Lauren had been watching some videos fromst year''s Conference with her headphones on when the rumors started. Whispers at first. People talking in hushed tones and staring at each other in disbelief before running out of the Pokemon Center. While Lauren was famous, much to her displeasure due to her annoying fans, few trainers in all of Sinnoh ever triggered that reaction. Trainers that scored high in the Conference¡ª quarter-finalists, at least¡ª Elite Four members, Gym Leaders, or the Champion. It would be just Lauren''s luck, then, that the whispers were about her older brother and not someone else. What was he even doing here? Wasn''t he training on Mount Cor like always, or whatever? And why stop in the middle of nowhere instead of flying wherever he needed to be on Roxie? Damn it. Her phone ringing wasn''t any better, either. Lauren considered letting it go to voice mail, but she knew there was nowhere to hide and that it was only a matter of time until Craig found her. They hadn''t spoken in months, and she¡­ did kind of miss him, but only a little bit¡ª the tiniest of bits, actually. Him and his stupid little goofy attitude he put on whenever he was with her. Lauren sighed as she picked up the phone, much to Sirris'' surprise. The sound of swarming fans filled her headphones, and she groaned as she heard Craig acting happy with them until he realized she had actually answered his call. "Sorry guys and gals, I''ve gotta run," she heard on the end of the line. "I won''t be staying here long, but I''ll be in Hearthome soon, alright? Yep, yep, see you¡­" Legendaries, he was being so fake. Most of the time he dealt with his fans, Craig didn''t mind, but Lauren knew he hated being swarmed as soon as hended somewhere and he had shit to do. He was good at hiding things, though. Lauren was terrible at hiding the way she truly felt from people. "Hurry the fuck up," Lauren hissed under her breath. "I was busy." It took another twenty seconds for Craig to respond. "Lauren! I didn''t think you''d actually answer, I¡ª Arceus, how are you? It''s been a while, huh?" "I''m fine. Why are you here?" "Well, I was finishing up my training and swinging by civilization again, and I heard you got yourself a Magmortar, so congrattions, eh? I figured I''d swing by and see if you wanted to talk or not. Want to meet?" "In private. You''ll embarrass me if we''re in public." "Me? I''d never do that." "You embarrassed me when you came to my school two years ago." "Okay, in retrospect, that might have been a bad idea, but I thought you''d be happy about it," her brother said. "You were, even! Don''t try to rewrite history here, you were smiling all day." "Yeah, well past me was stupid. I''m at the Pokemon Center,e and get me already." "Aw, she misses me. Which one?" "The one the closest to the cave''s entrance!" she snapped. "Hurry up." She hadn''t expected him to Teleport in front of her Pokemon Center, but he did, with some sort of¡­ was that an Orbeetle? She vaguely remembered seeing one in a battle she probably looked at, but they all blurred together these days. Her brother, revealing a new Pokemon in public? She was almost convinced some abomination in Mount Cor was mind-controlling him somehow. His hair was still as dark as always, and longer than usual, and he was unshaved, which was unusual, but then again, he wasing back from spending over a month inside of a mountain. Craig walked toward her, his arms wide open to wrap her in a hug, which she promptly weaved away from. After making sure to let people know to leave him alone, he turned back towards her. "Hey, Lauren," he grinned. "How''s my favorite sister doing?" "Good, actually. How''s my least favorite brother doing?" "You were supposed to answer with ''I''m your only sister'', but I''ll take it. Oh, sorry, this is Dot, my new Orbeetle. Dot, meet Lauren." "Let''s head up to my room," she grunted. "C''mon, say hello," Craig said. "Nice to meet you." They began walking toward Lauren''s room, which thankfully was on the first floor and close by. I''ve heard a lot about you, Orbeetle mused with a curious tint in her eye. Or Lauren assumed it was a curious tint. It was hard to tell, with the strange way they were ringed. And this is Sirris, I presume? At your service, strange creature! Reuniclus answered back. Goodness, never mind, I want nothing to do with you, Dot deadpanned. Sirris made a sad face. Does no one know how to take a joke around here? You''d think I was talking to one of the suits at Silph Co. As soon as they reached Lauren''s room, she mmed the door behind them and looked at her brother with disappointed eyes. "Why''re you walking around with a new Pokemon instead of hiding her?" Lauren frowned. "You''re losing your touch, Craig." Her brother scratched the back of his head. "The n was to keep her hidden until the Conference, but I got fu¡ª I mean, I got screwed." Lauren rolled her eyes at her brother''s inability to swear around her, or any teenager or kid, really. "So what?" "Some Grian kid figured me out. Jamie Pearce, from Motostoke. He owns a fancy Glimmora, but it was his Inteleon that got me. Sneaked up on me in the middle of the mountain and somehow made it past Dot." In my defense, you did tell me to take a break, the Orbeetle chided. Her carapace lit up with every color imaginable in a way that made it difficult to look away from her. "Anyway, he''s pretty good. Found me out, and it''s only a matter of time until it leaks, so I figured I''d get ahead of it and release the information in a controlled manner." "So that''s why you''re back early," Lauren said. "Part of it. I''ve got some business in Jubilife to attend to soon, and it looks like I missed a whole lot of drama there," Craig said, scrolling through his phone. "Can''t you turn off your phone when we''re talking?" she muttered. He instantly listened in a way that made Lauren feel a little bad. "The Conference is a real nest of Seviper, I tell you. Don''t get caught off-guard when you get there," he warned. "I won''t," she grunted. "Say, you''ll never guess what happened. I got¡ª I asked my friend to travel with me!" "Really? Which one?" Craig beamed. "Mira Compton. She''s around here somewhere, and I hope she says yes." "Ah," he smiled. "Having friends is good, but if she ever asks you to do anything like that raid, you tell her to fuck off, alright?" Lauren blinked. So much for not swearing. "...yeah." "Good. You''re only sixteen. All you should be worrying about is¡­ whatever the hell sixteen-year-olds are into these days. Still battling and music for you, huh?" "The Laughing Twins released a new album while you were out gallivanting in Mount Cor," she said. "Hoho, really? Did you buy it on the family ount, or¡­" "Legendaries, you''re such a leech," Lauren rolled her eyes. "Yes, I did." "Great, I''ll give it a listen while I''m flying to Hearthome. I''ve got to meet some execs here who want to milk me for all I''m worth before I croak¡ª" he stopped, seeing her reaction. She''d flinched without realizing it. "¡ªfigure of speech, Lauren." "Right," Lauren nodded. She rubbed her hands on her pants with unease. "Sorry, sarcasm is¡ª" "I''m your brother, Lauren. I know, don''t worry about it. Anyway, I''m d you''re going to be traveling with someone. You know, back in the day, Sarah and I, we''d go to Victory Road and train together¡­" Arceus, when he started about Sarah, he never stopped. Lauren let him go on, though, because she knew he enjoyed talking about her to people. Craig liked reminiscing about his time as a kid, and Sarah Newman had been there for a long part of that childhood. Apparently, they had a fight at some point that had them not traveling together anymore, but he always spoke fondly of her, even if she was in Indigo now. When he was done, though, Lauren decided to ask something she''d always craved. "Craig, I¡ª can we battle?" Her sibling''s eyes widened. "Really?" "Yes, really! Do you think I''d joke about this?!" "Rx, okay? What, like a six-on-six?" "That sounds good to me," Lauren grinned. She was under no impression that she could win, but after how far she''de¡­ she was certain she''d be able to take down one Pokemon, at the very least. "And you better not hold back, or I''ll never forgive you," she added. "Well, if you say so," Craig sighed. "Dot, could you take us to that spot?" ¡ª Dot summoned a barrier around the entire teau. She had brought them somewhere near Floaroma, and even after Teleporting this far, she showed no signs of exhaustion. Sirris was exhausted after he had Teleported her from Sunyshore to Veilstone! Still, Lauren was d her brother had brought her to some secluded area for this battle. Had he not, then his fans would have swarmed him like flies. It was part of the reason she¡­ well, didn''t dislike Denzel, but was apathetic about him. It might have been unfair to him, but she didn''t care. It was his fault for bringing up Craig every time he had a chance to. Lauren gripped her Pokeball until her knuckle was white and adjusted her sses with her other hand. Now that it was time¡ª that she was where she''d wanted to be since starting on her journey, the monumentality of this moment weighed down on her back so heavily that she had to consciously straighten it. He was just standing there, all worried about me, and still, there''s this pressure. A vice wrapping around her neck that made it hard to breathe. Craig Goodwill was her brother. A goofball, when he wanted to be, an idiot who, despite her desperate attempts, she could not stop herself from loving. What was it about her brother, that was so terrifying? Was it because he was an institution? The person everyone thought about, when they were asked to name a trainer? The epitome of what it meant to persevere through harsh times and a world that wanted to chew you and spit you out, and still make it? Lauren did not know, and yet when she released her Rhydon, she couldn''t help but think she was facing a giant. "Let''s see how you''ve grown," Craig dered, sending a shiver down her spine. Hippowdon materialized onto the mountain with her eyes closed. Bad matchup from the get-go. Had he known she would lead with Paragon? But how? She hadn''t let anything slip! Lauren''s mind raced with a dozen different scenarios. Her sibling was one of the best cold readers in Sinnoh, and the best information gatherer as well, and somehow, he had figured her out. At least he isn''t holding back, she thought. Paragon sized up his opponent with a mocking sneer, but Lauren snapped her fingers. "Stay focused. She will fuck you up," Lauren hissed, and thankfully that got his attention. "Ippie. Battle," Craig added. "No Sand Stream, I''ll need vision." And just like that, the entire ground¡­ broke down, turning into continuously shifting sands. Rhydon snarled in frustration in a desperate attempt to climb out, but he was sinking like the sand was water. "Rock Climb! Get close!" Lauren yelled. Somehow, Rhydon found his footing in the quicksand. The first step was the slowest, and the rock type stumbled forward, barely holding onto the ground with his massive hands. He began to crawl, and then sped up, running across the sands as if he could create stepping stones out of nothing. "Fissure and close it up," Craig continued. The teau opened up like a hungry maw, and Rhydon fell into the depths. Then, it closed. "Finish him off with Earthquake, then drag him out." The entire arena violently shook as slits of brown light appeared within the sand, which burst upward in massive columns of debris from the Earthquake. What was happening? Even with Flint, she''d felt a little more in control, but maybe this was how it felt, when it was a true one-on-one and not a six-on-one, and Magmortar had been holding back. She heard none of Rhydon''s scream, while he drowned in the sand. After around fifteen seconds of Earthquake, Hippowdon grunted, sands continuously pouring from the holes on her back. The sands bubbled, and Rhydon was thrown back up to the surface through sheer maniption of sand. There were long cracks running in his armor and Lauren could only see the white of his eyes. "Good job, Ippie," Craig said. Lauren recalled Paragon with a mixture of eptance and disbelief. Craig had gotten even better. Ippie''s expertise with ground TE had grown leaps and bounds. Not that she would have been able to win beforehand, but all of this time, Craig had been a static figure to Lauren. Like she was chasing the moon, forever the same, and that eventually she''d grow past him. But Craig was growing in tandem with her. He was not a static figure who would forever stay the same, and what she''d gotten out of his battling videos was now meaningless. Think, Lauren. The entire floor was now a death trap, and the only Pokemon who might have had the tools to deal with it were Reuniclus and Seismitoad. Anyone else would suffer the same fate Rhydon had. Lauren shook off the stress and released Sirris, who hovered high above the shifting sands. She couldn''t discount Ippie being capable of sending the earth up to drag Sirris into the sands. "Drag him in with Crunch." And that''s exactly what happened. The ground erupted from below, swarming toward Reuniclus and forming into a maw. Lauren barely had time toprehend what was happening before the remote Crunch broke through Reuniclus'' two barriers with ease she''d never seen before and Hippowdon dug the teeth, which had now solidified into stone, into the psychic''s gooey body. "Acid Armor and Expanding Force!" Lauren yelled. Sirris was still conscious, thank the Legendaries. The psychic dissolved in a pile of transparent liquid, slipping past the Crunch''s grasp. This was, unfortunately, only one Crunch, and about nine more wereing. Light burst out of Sirris, and Lauren''s ears popped as everything around him exploded, ssing the majority of Hippowdon''s sand. It was replenished so fucking quickly it might as well not have mattered, but at least they had an opening. "Energy Ball!" Lauren cried out. "Dig." His body still smoking with vapor, Reuniclus summoned six fluorescent green balls, speeding them up with Psychic. They had trained for so long, to not disturb Energy Ball''s careful bnce and identally blow it up with the move, and the six attacks homed in toward Hippowdon, who just sank under the sands. The ground above where she had just buried solidified into hard stone before Lauren could blink, leaving the Energy Balls to crash helplessly against stone and not hurting Hippowdon at all. Ippie''s always been the most defensive of Craig''s Pokemon, Lauren thought, and there was no way she had enough power to deal with her. Expanding Force might have worked, if she was capable of using it around¡­ six times in a row in rapid session, but that was madness. Lauren''s mind was racing but for the first time since she''d begun this career, her mind came up empty. She couldn''t improvise any longer. "Use Mud Sling," Craig said. Craig''s Hippowdon emerged in another spot as the sand around her turned solid again. Stone turned to mud that flew toward Reuniclus like bullets, cracking across the air every time a small explosion sent them up. "Suspension Bubble!" The psychic''s eyes shone as a thinyer of air shivered, extending from Sirris until it reached ten feet all around him. The pellets of mud that passed through stopped instantly, hovering in the air as Reuniclus strained to stop the projectiles. The problem was that they never stopped, and eventually, he gave. Bullets of mud crashed into Sirris¡ª dozens of them, leaving an opening for another Crunch. Five, thin tendrils of sand surged upward, their edges turning to stone and than fangs that absorbed all light. Sirris went down, and Lauren hadn''t evennded a single hit on Ippie. Lauren''s jaw clenched as she recalled the psychic, and she realized her hopes of taking down one Pokemon as she was now were simply impossible. Her hands went t against her side, and the tension left her shoulders in a way she hated, because that meant she''d admitted defeat. There was just no point in fighting anymore, was there? Doubt crept up in her heart, eating away at every other emotion she felt. "This is meaningless," she muttered. She crouched, hugging her knees. "I give up." She didn''t cry. Lauren just felt numb, like the joy from battling had been ripped out of her. She had lost before. Losing was fun, but losing when you couldn''t even retaliate? Where everything you tried was clinically countered, leaving you no room to breathe like you were slowly being choked out? What was the point? Lauren saw Ippie''s saddened look and Dot''s barrier disappear from the corner. She''d known all of Craig''s Pokemon since she''d been a kid, and Ippie was no different. The ground teau turned from sand back into stone, and around a minuteter, she heard Craig''s footsteps approach. "How''d you find it?" he asked. When Lauren looked up, she saw that his expression had no traces of the pity she had expected. It was hardened, and proud, for some damned reason. "Not fun," she whispered. "I didn''t even get to respond to anything." "Ippie''s a menace," Craig smiled. "And you did ask me not to hold back, didn''t you?" "I did¡­ I just hoped that I''d be able to take down one, ornd a hit." "I picked Ippie because the way she fights counters your entire team, Lauren," Craig gently exined. "Had I picked another Pokemon, you would have gotten at least a few hits in, but no, you would not have taken out a Pokemon." The statement was irond in an infuriating way, but Lauren knew it was true. "I wanted to beat you, when I started this," she said. "To surpass you." Craig crouched next to Lauren, cing a hand on her shoulder. His hair had grown long, during his stay in Mount Cor. It was messy in a way he usually didn''t show in public. "I''ve been at this for ten years, Lauren. You can''t surpass that in a single year." "Cynthia won the Championship in a year." "Cynthia''s one of a kind," Craig smiled. "And look, it took me three years to get to where you are in less than one. I fully believe that you''re getting in the Conference, and that took me even longer. You''ll surpass me one day, Lauren." "Do you think that if I sent my Magmortar, he would have ssed the sand faster than Ippie could make it?" "No," he answered. "Could Prime have flooded the field to throw her off her game?" "No. We have contingencies against water types." "Damn it. You''re so fucking annoying," she tiredly exhaled. Her brother flinched back as if he''d been struck. "Huh? Why?!" "Shut up," she said, rising to her feet. "I hate you." "Arceus, I can never win with you, can I?" Craig said with a saddened smile. He stood up as well and patted her shoulder. "I''ll have Dot take you back to your friend. Watch yourself in Mount Cor, alright? Keep Sirris out at all times¡ª you really need to get yourself a flying type after you get your carry license. Mira Compton has her own psychics, too. You should be safe if you stay on the path¡ª" Lauren wrapped him into a tight hug and squeezed until he groaned andined about her hurting his ribs. "I missed you, you idiot," she sniffled. She felt a hand pat her head. "Me too, Lauren. Me too." "I''m sorry for pushing you away and never messaging first," she mumbled. "That''s ok. I know you," he said. "Just shoot Mom and Dad a text? They haven''t heard from you in months." "Uhuh." "Want me to stay with you today¡ª" "Fuck off. If you tell anyone about this, I''ll hunt you to the ends of the earth. Even when you''re the Champion, or whatever. And you better be the Champion!" He chuckled. "Alright. Dot?" Lauren let go of the hug, wiping her eyes behind her sses, now foggy from having rubbed on Craig''s shirt for so long. The Orbeetle, seemingly unmoved by the disy of affection, flicked her wrist, and suddenly, they were back at the outpost. Lauren instantly acted like she didn''t know him, of course, though he was instantly swarmed by an army of fans. She ignored his wave and brought Paragon and Sirris back to the Pokemon Center. Craig hadn''t lied when he said he hadn''t held back. It would take days for both of them to heal, but it would work out, since Mira needed time to think anyway. "Well, time to go battle some trainers to pass the time," she muttered, suddenly missing Sirris'' quips. Winning again would improve her mood. ¡ª A day had passed since her battle with Craig. Lauren wished she could have called it fateful, or pretended like it had been important, but there was no other way to call it other than a one-sided beatdown. It was at times like these, that the gap between the top ring of the Conference and the group stages showed itself, and she wasn''t even qualified yet. In a way, this had been a bigger wake-up call than when she challenged second or third years that had been more powerful than she was. The rift had never been so apparent, but instead of being depressed, she was just excited to get to the Conference even more. Before meeting Mira in her room, Lauren made sure she''d actually held conversations with multiple of her friends yesterday night on the phone and that it hadn''t been some kind of dream, but it was true. She''d texted first, and they''d all been ted. Her parents too, though that had been expected. Her father was swamped with work, these days, with Sinnoh''s economy down in the dumps, or whatever the problem was. Lauren knocked on the door repeatedly for a minute until she heard Mira swear and run at the door. "Arceus! Is someone getting murdered or what?!" Mira groaned, her eyes half-opened. "No, you just weren''t answering." "Lauren, I was sleeping." "You told me toe!" she said, feeling slightly defensive. Her friend nervously scratched her elbow. "I guess I did. My bad. Come in." Lauren stepped inside of the¡­ horrifying room. It was like stepping in a pigsty, really. How did someone live in this? "I haven''t slept this well in ages, so I might have gotten too into it." "You can''t sleep?" Lauren asked. "Long story, don''t worry about it. I talked to my team, and they¡­ all agree that traveling with you would be a good idea for me, except Exeggcute, but they''re a rowdy bunch," Mira smiled fondly. "I''ll go up with you until we reach Snowpoint, but then I''ll head out to wherever I''m going." Lauren silently nodded, mighty pleased with herself. Mira raised an eyebrow. "Damn, no questions? Okay. I still need you to know a few things first, alright? First of all¡­ my Haunter evolved into a Gengar." "Oh. Can I battle him?" "Huh?" "Can I battle him?" she asked again. "I''ve heard crazy things about what Gengar can do¡ª" Mira brought both of her hands up. "Wait, wait, wait! That''s it? You''re asking if you can fight him?" "Well, yeah! It''s not every day someone can battle a Gengar¡­ I wish I knew how they evolved, though. Did I say something wrong, or what?" Lauren said, reducing her voice to a whisper. "No, you''re fine! I''m just¡ª so not used to that reaction, okay. Um, thest thing is sometimes I talk in my sleep and stuff, whenever I manage to actually fall asleep. Whatever you hear¡­ uh, might be a little weird and graphic." "I''ve seen weirder things happen. Mags shoots off methrowers in his sleep sometimes." "Well, if that''s your reaction, then we can go, I guess," Mira said with a hint of a smile. "I needed a change of pace anyway." Lauren smiled, content that she''d gotten her first travelingpanion ever, but then she crossed her arms and stared down at her friend. "You know I''m battling that Gengar at least once before we go our separate ways, right?"
Chapter 281 Chapter 281
CHAPTER 281 It was pouring. It was the kind of rain I would have loved, had I been snuggled up under the covers of my bed in a Pokemon Center, but unfortunately for me, I was currently flying on Princess high above route 215. She was just as excited as I was, given the fact that I could feel some of the wind and rain drip past her barrier. We hadn''t seen Betrix and Nightstalker in too long, and the jitters were getting to her. I actually had needed to go back to Veilstone first to get the gifts I needed. For Night, I''d bought paint, just like he asked for when we''d left the route the first time. I had actually needed to book myself a hotel room so I could store the things I wouldn''t need here to fit all of the paint in my bag. It was actually rather incredible, how my perspective had changed since I''d gone on this journey. Never had I thought that I''d be using hotel rooms as storage. Thew actually prevented me from booking a Pokemon Center room if I wasn''t actually nning on staying there to make room for those who needed it. For Be, things had been a little moreplicated. She hadn''t told me anything she''d wanted when I had left. At first, I considered a trinket or an ornament with a little figure of the moon, but the chain was made of metal, and so I''d changed my mind despite the fact that Honey had suggested we just rip out the chain and use the crescent moon, since it was assembled with¡­ whatever jewelry it was made of. Diamonds, maybe. I didn''t want the gift to be iplete, though. It needed to be something in full, and so, I''d settled on something simpler and more personal. Another crescent moon, this time carved from Princess'' Ancient Power, molded into a stone hairpin and painted white and gray so it''d look the part. Objectively, it wasn''t as pretty as what I could find in a store. No gemstones adorned the pin''s frame, and although the stone had been smoothed, it was still a little rough and sharp at the edges¡ª a bit of Princess'' personal touch, no doubt. "It was around here somewhere¡­" I muttered. As usual, the sound of my voice was quieter here, as was everyone and everything else¡ª save for the rain and the wind. "Hey, first one who finds it gets the TV the next time we''re in a Pokemon Center," I grinned. She let out apetitive chirp and showed she was up for the challenge, though I''d never take her cartoons away from her. Honestly, watching her and Honey watch TV together was one of the great pleasures in life. I''d have to get some shows downloaded on myptop so Sweetheart could join in again outside of cities too, since she was too big to fit in a room. My body felt lighter these days than it had been in weeks, not only thanks to Aliyah but because I''d made up with Cece. Legendaries, I wanted to see her so badly¡ª for real, and not on a screen. To feel her skin and warmth, instead of having to imagine and crave it. But what we had right now was still nice, and doing well to cheer me up. I scanned the route down below, no longer fearing leaning far over the edge even when Princess twisted and turned. Flight was as natural to me as walking¡ª even more so now, with my broken ankle. We were looking for the little overhang we''d taken refuge in, all those months ago. Symbolism like this mattered, today. It was not where I''d met Be at first, but the actions I''d taken there had led to her seeking me out. My thoughts ended up lingering on Emilia for a bit, seeing as I''d confessed to her via text like I''d done to Cecilia back in Sceon. Her response had been hard to gauge, since I hadn''t actually heard her speak, but she''d said she appreciated me telling her, but that she''d already been told. By who? I instantly wanted to ask, but she''d omitted it for a reason, and so I didn''t push for an answer despite wanting to know. It made it easier to ignore that sense of betrayal that I''d needed to smother. There was no signal here, so I wouldn''t talk to her for a while yet, just like the others. Princess had better eyes than I did, and she endlessly bragged when she spotted the cave from above. The rain''s intensity seemed to lower as she swooped down tond without a sound or disturbance in the air, and I released Angel so he could pull me off. The overhang seemed smaller than it had been, though I knew that was factually untrue. My Pokemon had just grown in size, since then. I took refuge under the cave, quickly drying myself with a towel while Princess apologized for messing up her barrier. "No worries. I''m excited too," I smiled. "I think we can just wait, now. She''ll show up soon. Right now, why don''t we worry about drying you too? You look so thin when your fur''s wet." Of course, she took it the wrong way until I called her cute, and Angel continued doting on her, drying her with vines while I released the rest of the team. Jellicent was excited to meet someone to talk history with again. Even if Be hadn''t bothered with human affairs in centuries, she knew things he did not, and you always heard whispers, unlike below the waters. Sunshine was¡­ less enthused, though he was looking forward to training with Nightstalker again to see if he''d be able to best him this time. I seriously doubted that''d be the case, but I was sure he''d be able to put up a fight, at least. The dragon''s eyes scanned the treeline in anticipation while Princess nagged him about being nervous about meeting a powerful fairy. Of course, Turtonator ignored her, which ended up making her pout and go see Sweetheart instead. The Tyranitar was too tall for the overhang, so she was forced to sit and crouch. I was with her, rubbing the tes on her back while she whined about how being so big and strong had its disadvantages after all. Tangrowth would have been here too, had he not gotten so engrossed in letting the rain drip down his vines a few feet away after drying his sister. Honey was sitting against the cave wall, his thoughts entirely somewhere else. I had showed him a few videos of Lauren''s new Magmortar, and now he wanted to fight the damn thing. To be honest, I wanted them to battle too, but we wouldn''t meet for a while yet. I''d been so surprised to see Lauren message me, but I hadn''t expected to hear the news of a new, rare evolution. I was certain Volkner had gotten Flint to help her after all, which I''d be forever grateful for. Evolutions weren''t necessary, but they certainly helped a Pokemon''s growth, and it wouldn''t have done for Lauren not to be at her full potential for the Conference. I felt a smile tug at my lips and listened to Sweetie''s soothing growls. She''d gone with Mira into Mount Cor, so hopefully she would get better¡­ she still hadn''t messaged beyond updating her location. Craig was also back from his training, and had for some reason revealed that he''d caught Orbeetle, which shocked the entire region. Personally, I was just confused at why he had revealed her existence so early, but he must have had a strategy nned for the Conference. Personally, my theory was that Dot being revealed near the event would throw potential rivals into a panicked frenzy and destroy all of the careful work they''d done to n against Craig''s team, and that he was letting the tension build up. So long as no one knew what she was capable of, then her existence having been revealed wouldn''t really matter as much. I did question not having waited longer, though. "Gee, you took a while," I sighed, still staring at the unmoving treeline. It was the tiniest of movements¡ª a shift in the leaves to tiny it could have been the wind¡ª but there was no mistaking it, with how the rain cleared within seconds. Night''s work, no doubt. Betrix glided across the forest floor, though in reality, I knew she was using the tentacle-like hairs at the bottom of her body to scuttle her way across. Her thin mouth was stretched into an anticipating smile that revealed teeth too long to fit in her mouth, and as sharp as kitchen knives. Nightstalker calmly followed, his face obscured by his cowl, save for his crimson red eyes that shone within. A Hatterene and Decidueye still made for a strange duo, and would have been thest Pokemon I would have expected to rule over this route, had someone asked me months ago. Sisters, Betrix said, dipping her hat with her w. Her eyes lingered on Princess'' new form, and then my broken ankle and the new scar on my arm. Then, she deferred to the rest of the team, greeting them one by one, as did Nightstalker. And she even called Sunshine by his species'' name, and not wyrm, which was a wee surprise for both him and me. Togekiss squealed, dashing toward her kin with speed that nearly surprised her. Betrix did not flinch away from her, though Princess'' advance was slowed until she was basically moving like she carried weights, and her face softlynded in Hatterene''s hair, after which she caressed her head with her w. I strode up to Night and wrapped him into a tight hug, which he, as usual, barely returned. "You''re softer than I remember," Iughed. The grass type answered that he''d made himself very huggable, with how much I seemed to enjoy those. I snorted, patting him on the arm, and he joined the rest of my team to say hello. Honey shook one of his wings in greetings with both of his massive hands, which made Night stare up at him amusedly and mention how much he''d grown. Obviously, that was Sweetheart''sst straw, and she mored that she''d grown too, though her tantrum made the overhang shake until Angel waddled on to soothe her. For Turtonator, it was as if he was meeting a long-time rival. The greeting was stiff and short until Nightstalker patted him on the shoulder and the tension left Sunshine''s body. Jellicent nearly spoiled the surprise about my gifts until I warned him off before he could rat me out. "Keeper of the Sacred Woods," I smiled. Be, with you, she instantly said. How have you¡ª I sank into Betrix''s soft hair, rivaled only by Togekiss'' own fluff. She was dangerously light, with how tall she was, but I knew her true body was thinner than my bones and hidden by her huge amount of hair. Arceus, I had missed her. You were wounded, she dered. "The leg is entirely on me," I sighed into her with closed eyes. Had I been tired enough, I would have fallen asleep standing up. "The arm''s a whole entire story." It seems that you''ve gone through many changes, Grace, Hatterene noticed. Your emotions are locked away from my purview, now. I blinked, pulling away from her slowly and looking into her bright, white irises. Cecilia was immune to being mind-controlled, I thought with a frown. So my emotions being closed to empaths kind of makes sense, I guess. Hatterene hadined about this, back when we''d first met. Every time I had focused on understanding a Pokemon, I had been drawing power from Lake Verity and shielding my mind with something impossiblyplex¡ª well,plex for anyone who wasn''t Mesprit. I hadn''t heard the little rascal speak since I''d left Sceon. I assumed that these days, I drew upon that power all the time. "It''splicated," I answered. "I''ll exinter¡ª but first, since we''re guests, we have gifts for you!" Both Hatterene¡ª and Decidueye, who''d been chatting with Buddy¡ª eyed me with curiosity as I searched through my bag. Electivire and Togekiss were the most nervous, since they were worried about if they''d like their gifts or not. I wasn''t too anxious, though I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t. I pulled out the tempera paint bottles from my backpack¡ª dozens of them, of varying colors, and had Angel ce them along the cavern floor. He even arranged them in color without me asking, too, and I gently petted the vine he had on my good ankle in thanks. "You told me that you liked to read about art stuff," I told Night. "And I did say I woulde back with paint, so here I am. I figured this spot would be good to make some art¡­ though I didn''t bring any paintbrushes. Shit, I knew I was forgetting something." Worry not. Nightstalker is very pleased with your gift, as I am, Betrix said. Decidueye let out a pleased hoot, saying we could always paint with our hands¡ª or the closest thing we had to hands, given the fact that Angel was no doubt going to join in. "And you''ll be painting too, right?" Perhaps after we deal with more pressing matters, like your injury, she said. "Well, look at your gift first," I said. "Here." I pulled the hairpin out of my pocket and handed it to her. It would be small,pared to her towering size and the volume of her hair, but the gesture still mattered. She held it up in her w-like hair like a newborn child and not a stone sculpture, and she stared at it with a contemting frown. "It''s a hairpin," I said. "Uh, you put it in your hair." Realization dawned on her face, and she smiled with an almost silent audible hum that I was certain was a satisfied sigh. She liked it, I breathed out in relief. I knew the gesture mattered, but I wanted her to actually use the gift, too. She ced the pin in her hair, around the ridge of her hat and dipped it in response, baring her teeth. Your offering is appreciated, esteemed guest, and I extend a sincere wee to my fief. As your host, I assure you that no harm shall befall you during your stay here. "Thank you. Now, we have a lot to catch up on, don''t we? Let''s have a little fun before we get into the doom and gloom of it all." Be hesitated, though a nudge from Night convinced her, and she nodded. Very well, sister, she agreed. Tell me about your travels while we¡­ paint. ¡ª While Turtonator and Jellicent thought themselves above art, the rest of us were going to town on this poor wall. At the deepest depths of the overhang, Honey was making some sort of scene out of his Detective Pikachuics, and he was honestly doing the best out of all of his siblings. His humans and Pokemon looked like actual people, and not whatever Sweetheart was doing. She''dunched into painting herself on the cave wall, saying that she wanted to be etched onto the cave''s surface forever, but she had abandoned halfway through because she was too hard to draw, and now she was just making some sort of green monster without any coherence. Sunshine was hovering around her, acting like he didn''t care, but obviously caring and telling her how good she was doing while Buddy hovered high in the cave and sprayed out hands whenever we needed to rinse them to reset whatever color we were using. "I think she''s making it use Hyper Beam," I whispered with a giggle. Be was too focused on her own painting to spare it a look, though she was doing just as bad as I was. At first, she''d wanted to use her psychic powers to paint, but Night had said that doing so would be going against the ''spirit'' of the activity, and so she was using her w. Needless to say, the moon she''d tried to paint wasn''t looking too good. Tangrowth was just sshing colors around his own section of the wall in what had looked strange at first, but was slowly taking form as some kind of forest. I, for one, was¡­ um, trying my damndest? The cave''s rough surface made it a terrible canvas to do art on, and my hands being full of paint didn''t help either. Honestly, it was kind of my fault for undertaking such a daunting project in the first ce. I''d wanted to recreate that picture we''d taken in Floaroma with the flower crowns, but rather quickly, I remembered why I''d never bothered learning how to draw. Princess was ''helping'' me with her own wings, meaning that she''d basically taken over my drawing to try to make our crowns sharp and spiky instead of the flowers they''d been, like a crown of sharpened rocks. Not that I particrly minded, but painting rocks on more rock was a hassle. Be''s mouth moved as if she was groaning, but no sound came out of her. Nightstalker, please assure me that my artistic efforts are not ascking as I fear they are. I cannot allow myself to be undermined by the art of mere children. The ghost type cackled, moving his wings so fast they were almost impossible to track. His eyes were narrowed in focus, and his movements were brisk and purposeful, like every single action was meant to finish his painting as fast as possible. He was actually making a portrait of Be and being very good at it. He was the best at this entire activity by far, and he hadn''t painted since his trainer had died, which was centuries ago. Apparently, the muscle memory stayed with him, though he still couldn''t help but be annoyed at his ''mistakes'' that no one else but he could spot. The way the paint clung to his feathers even with Buddy''s help gave him a painter''s look. "It''s not bad." I shifted back, taking in Betrix''s moon. "A little rough, maybe. Like, the white paint bleeds over the edges, but maybe that''s a specific style." At the very least, it is over, now. It served as a worthwhile exercise in refining my dexterity, which is a skill that still eludes me. These creations shall grace these walls for as long as I draw breath and thesends remain under my rule. "That''s sweet. We''ll have something to remember us by, then. I''ll take a picture of the art when it''s all done." Your words convey a sense of defeat, a burden heavy as chains upon the core of your very being. We ought to persist in our prior discussion, Betrix said with a worried look. "I told you everything I''m willing," I muttered under my breath. "And I''m happier today than I''ve been in a long time." I called for Buddy to clean my hands, and he did so with a warm jet of water from afar with a precision that never ceased to surprise me. The fairy tilted her head. I worry for you. Even though you were distraught when we first met, I was able to see how you felt. Today, your mind isyer uponyer of barrier. I have delved into its structural integrity, and there are no weaknesses. This frustrates me greatly. Information and stories were as valuable as gold to her, as a fairy who still practiced the old ways. I''d always been fine with her looking into my head, though. I understood Cecilia''s worries regarding this issue, but I did not share them, and so I had expected Be to just be able to tell what I thought at all times. This was only something she''d developed after centuries of experience by pushing her empathy to its limits. I was fully confident I''d be able to reach that point if I ever decided to, with enough practice. I had the capability to, just not the experience. "I''m okay, Be. I swear." I offered her my hand, and she took it, softly feeling at the creases and ridges within my palm with her w. "But I''ll tell you part of why you can''t read my mind anymore: I''m an empath, now. Just like you." Nightstalker paused, his arms stopping on the cavern''s walls as pastel pink paint dripped from his feathers. His piercing red eyes lingered on me, though he went back to his art soon after, not bothering to get involved in this. My Pokemon had known I''d reveal this, but with the exception of Turtonator, they still looked nervous, especially Princess. Be, though? Damn, she was good. There wasn''t a single change in her demeanor, and since I''d been toning my gift down by default these days, I genuinely couldn''t tell what she thought about that revtion. Unlike with my human friends, I hadn''t been worried about what she''d think at all, though. Hell, she would probably tell me to stop with this self-control stuff because that was a human''s way of thinking, and to her eyes, I was half fairy. Behaving like someone I was not went against everything she believed in, and I''de ready to fight her on that. I hadn''t made this much progress just to slide back into my old ways, no matter how much I liked her and enjoyed herpany. And the reason for this isn''t knowledge you''re willing to part with, I presume? "Well, Be." I turned toward her, staring into her dark eyes. "You like a good story, don''t you? Let us bargain." The fairy grinned, sharp and threatening in a way that would have made me shiver the first time I''d seen her. The hairpin that I''d just given her seemed to glisten slightly, and her hair shivered in something akin to pride. I was extorting her, and she was proud of me. A way to turn a human into a full empath? There was no way she wouldn''t take the bait. Electivire took a worried step forward, but Togekiss grunted at him, telling the electric type things were fine, and she prevented Sunshine from doing something stupid and messing up my ns. You''ve stuck the course, sister, she said. I was worried these months away would turn you back to human ways. "Oh, I slip back and forth depending on what''s needed. Honestly, sometimes I identally do, too, whenever I''m stressed out," I exined. "You see, I have this friend called Justin, who was contaminated by dark type energy¡ª that Shiftry who died a few months ago had something to do with it. Him and his cult." She''d known about Shiftry, of course. She''d essentially called him a pathetic weakling who did nothing with the power he''d amassed over a thousand years when we met. I, for one, was d Shiftry had been so mentally broken by the time Cynthia broke into his chambers. I wouldn''t have wanted to be anywhere near that fight¡ª though seeing what a Champion was capable of when pushed in a battle with no rules would have been insightful for my own development, and she did have her Lucario protecting me¡­ but I was getting ahead of myself. I took a step forward as Betrix''s face turned stoic again. She wasn''t one to slip up and show emotion for long, even with me. It made her weaker when negotiating deals. "He''s been contaminated for months, and I''m not just an empath, Be. I can potentially fix him¡ª in a way I will not be describing until this deal is forged." I had no idea if my empathy worked the same way as hers, but dangling the knowledge in front of her would work. "I can test this, of course. I don''t expect you to believe me without proof, but moving on, I know for a fact that I can make him go back to normal, but I need practice. Right now, I don''t really know how to make use of these powers outside of their most basic function." Sister, your offer is alluring, yet an error taints your words. Now that youid the gravity of your desire bare, I possess the knowledge to negotiate more favorable terms. Consider the weight of your proposition, next time. Costs may always be subject to adjustment through the revtion of newfound insight. I bit my lip, deting slightly. I could have¡­ obscured the truth from her further to make it seem like less of a big deal. I''d screwed up in the first exchange already. Legendaries, I was way out of my depth, and yet I had to push. Betrix was not one to worry about those who didn''t matter to her, and while I did feel a smidge of indignation at the fact that she wouldn''t go easy on me just because the circumstances were dire and Justin was important to me, I was the one who had initiated this bargain, and I knew the way fairies functioned. Then, it clicked. I should have just used the need to practice in my offer, and not pulled Justin''s name into it at all. I cleared my throat. "That''s a fair assessment. Look at it like this then," I said, leaning against my paint-stained crutch. Every word matters, Grace. Watch yourself. "One, what I told you alone isn''t the full extent of my gift. Second, that story you told me about¡ª about the w, the Plume and the Fang? There were some inuracies, and I can tell you more about it." I wasn''t going to tell her the world might end¡ª no, that would be going too far, and Cynthia would have my neck after we''d pulled in Denzel without telling her anything. That story she had recounted to me, though? It had been passed down by her mother, and her mother''s mother, on and on until we reached one of her ancestors who had no doubt lived through those times. Stories bent, as the generations passed, especially oral history. Stories were currency, and the fact that one of her most precious ones had been wrong would tip the scales back in my favor, no doubt. Ah, well done in seizing control once more, she calmly acknowledged. While I can''t guarantee mastery over manipting others'' emotions, I can certainly enlighten you about the emptyfolk and their prevalent struggle with an emotion-muted existence. I could also help you discern subtle feelings, though that would be contingent upon the workings of your¡­ gift. Not enough to actually fix him yet, I internally sighed, though I kept my face unmoving. "I''ll take that. Has a bargain been struck?" Bargain struck, Betrix said, smiling. I''m proud of you. My lips tugged upward, and I averted my eyes away from her. It wouldn''t do, to show so much right after negotiating. "Oh! Outside of that bargain, though, I had a question for both you and Night. I was wondering if you could tutor Princess," I ced a hand over her forehead, "and teach her mour and that move you use to clear the rain away? We''ve really been cking on mour, it''s¡­ not great." Nightstalker agreed right away, not bothering with any procedure so long as he could test Sunshine first and finish his art. The Keeper of the Sacred Woods sighed. Consider it a favor owed, then. "Oh, and also, I have a therapist that''ll show up here tomorrow, if that''s okay?" After much haggling, I realized that, no, it had not been okay, but Nightstalker managed to convince her with some concessions that Aliyah would have to conform to. ¡ª Turtonator sported a mad grin as his shell blew up with the brightness of a star, warping the air behind him with heat as he shot off from the floor. Betrix''s barrier didn''t even budge, though she hadmented that the noise was annoying and had blocked it offpletely as soon as the battle started. The dragon nearly body-mmed Decidueye, who was adhering to a no Phantom Force rule, but the grass type pulled out a shining, neon green sword from below his wing and shed across Sunshine''s chest. Turtonator didn''t bleed, but he felt the slice. His eyes bulged and the air was knocked out of his lungs as hended t against the ground. He did not linger, however. The fire type retreated into his shell, making his shadow as small as possible as he retreated with Rapid Spin while Nightstalker shot seven arrows trailing his path in an attempt to nail him to the floor. Thest time they''d fought, Nightstalker had run circles around Sunshine, but now? He was actually sweating a little bit and had to try to take Turtonator down, and that had nothing to do with the raging mes on the ground. I was entirely for it, given the fact that he still needed to adjust his explosion-propelled flight and that he needed more experience taking down fast fliers, which Night was a perfect example of. We''d nearly gotten Shell Smash down too, so he would soon grow even faster. It would be important to keep the move as ast resort, however. Aside from him, and soon Princess, today was an off day for most of my team. Angel had wandered off to help a group of Budew find a new water stream after theirs had been taken away by another group of particrly aggressive Lotad led by a Lombre. Jellicent had gone with him so they could both work something out together, and hopefully Angel would keep him from scaring them. Honey was getting lunch started on my electric stove¡ª we didn''t have nearly enough food packed for the duration of our stay here, but Princess and I could always go get more groceriester. Sweetheart hovered over him, and the two bantered together about Honey''s cooking skills, which was really funny considering he was already way better than I was. Tyranitar just liked it more when I cooked, because I was Mom. What you say is¡­ madness in its purest form, Betrix said, dumbfounded. I was leaning against her hair while Princess was snuggled up next to me, so I was basically in the middle of a fluff fort. Be softly ran her w over my hair. But it would exin why your mental shield is so powerful beyondpare. I''d told her a limited version of the truth¡ª including my meeting with Mesprit. What I had not told her was what Team Gctic was nning to do with the Lake Guardians. I believed things would work better in my favor the more I told her, and honestly, it also felt good to vent a little. For all of my honesty, I hadn''t told Cecilia that Mesprit had tried to tempt me with mind-controlling her, since my powers were stronger than hers because she was half a Shard. Even Be had been slightly disturbed at that amount of power thrown around so lightly. I looked up at her, her hairpin clearly visible. "So you believe me without having to try out my power?" I do not get why you worry so much about using it, she scoffed. You could make much use of it, during bargains. "I know," I smiled thinly. "But I have lines I can''t cross and people I can''t disappoint. I''m not above using them when needed, Be, but to rely on it as much as you? I don''t think it''d be that bad, honestly, but I''m shit at self-control. One thing would lead to another, and I''d end up doing something I regret. Maybe not that day, but far down the line. Plus, you know, boundaries. Not everybody''s like me and wouldn''t care." The fairy type''s w froze in my hair. Perhaps. It is only advice I give, though I stillment your choice to be so much¡­ lesser than you could be. In front of us, Nightstalker ced a wed foot over Sunshine''s chest, an arrow pointed at his head and a vindictive look in his eyes. Suddenly, the rain started again, gallons of water pouring over the fires Sunshine had started until they all went out in a matter of a minute; then, the barrier dissolved. She must have figured out a way to speed up changes in her fief, given the fact that she''d told me they worked slowly at her scale. She too, was learning and progressing every day. I believe you, she finally confirmed. You obscure the truth, but you would not lie when such matters would be so easily disproved as soon as I started teaching you, Betrix said. So she knew, then, I thought as I restrained a sigh. At least she wasn''t prying, though I wasn''t sure if it was because she already found the nature of the bargain equal or because she was worried about me and not pushing. She liked me enough to bend her rules, as she''d shown by having me owe her a favor for Princess'' training. "I''ve only lied once since I left you," I said. "It was when I told my Pokemon that I was fine right after my ankle was broken." Togekiss angrily grunted at that, though I responded by apologizing for it again. It seems like you''ve not lost the ways after all, Grace, Hatterene spoke with a fond smile. "It''ll always be a part of me," I said. "Just¡­ mashed together with everything else into this weird, fucked up cocktail that makes me." Then let us rise, sister. And rise I did, stretching my arms while Betrix, Keeper of the Sacred Woods, my half-sister and my teacher turned toward Princess. Let us begin your training, baby sister. Before I start with your mother, I will teach you how to manifest your will into reality. The world shivered.
Chapter 282 Chapter 282
CHAPTER 282 Princess'' Moonst ripped through trees, earth and grass as she kept it hovering in the air for as long as possible, visibly straining from having materialized her moon for so long. It had been more than two minutes now, since she''d summoned the Moonst, but Betrix was silent, content to observe her. The air itself vibrated, swirling around the moon and generating continuous waves of energy that rippled across the air. Betrix had refused to put on a barrier to ''check something'', and even I was feeling the tug so hard that Nightstalker had to hold on to my shoulder so I wouldn''t just fall into the moon and die a horrible death. It felt like I was about to fall sideways, which was horribly disorienting. A few momentster, the moon winked out of existence like it had never been there, and all of the debris orbiting around it fell to the ground. A mishmash of tree barks, leaves, grass and earth, all crumpled to the forest floor and created a real mess that Betrix would no doubt have to fix, since she hated when things were disorderly in her fief. Princess heaved, and for the first time in a while, I could see her wavering while she floated. Honey and Sweetheart were back in the cave to paint some more, and Angel and Buddy still hadn''te back from their peacekeeping mission with the Budew. That left only Sunshine, who was recuperating in the distance from his fight with Nightstalker. The grass type still had some burned feathers from their spar, but he''d never really been hurt beyond those. "Thanks, Night," I grunted, slightly pale. There was a reason I''d never allowed Princess to use the move outside of sports. The destructive potential posed far too great of a risk for me to use it in a real fight with lives at stake. The ghost type patted me on the back, then asked Betrix what she thought. My teacher turned to Princess with a satisfied look. You''ve progressed admirably in your training since west crossed paths, baby sister. Your Moonst isn''t wless yet and has many impurities, but it affects gravity as mine does. That is, of course, one of the few correct applications of the moon''s power, as my mother instructed me during my early days as a fairy in training. I snorted. "I''m sure your mother and you weren''t biased at all." I ignored her threatening look, though I did make a note not to call her bias into question as a joke. "Anyway, so how does this help?" I asked, shifting in anticipation. Moonst essentially mimics the moon by tapping into its energy, Be exined. The additional effects it manifests rely on mour¡ªessentially, they are fueled by belief. Right, Denzel had told me this, once in Pastoria, though I hadn''t expected Betrix to start Princess'' lessons with something so¡­ advanced. I just hadn''t thought that it would be relevant to this process in any way, given the fact that the first time Be had wanted to teach her about mour, she''d pulled up a leaf for Princess to practice on, so we were obviously starting a little bigger. Togekiss grunted, hanging onto her teacher''s every word. "So she''s been using it all along?" I frowned. "I mean, I knew that, but can we¡­ extrapte from that and do other gravity tricks?" Recreation can only go so far; forging your path holds more power. What your daughter practices isn''t genuine belief but mere pretense. It is as you say. I regret letting personal bias taint my initial teachings. Now, it''s evident that what I witnessed was a good rendition of Moonst, but that is currently its limit¡ª a rendition, Betrix said. You need to tread your path, and find something you believe is true so strongly that it bes real. "Okay, so from Moonst, we''ll branch out," I said. "Yeah, smart. Moonst is already something she''sfortable with. Right?" I turned toward Princess. The flying type hesitantly nodded, though she didn''t say anything. I knew she wasn''t feeling that confident, with the way she''d struggled with mourpared to Sylvi. These days, Sylveon was capable of using his ribbons as bludgeons, making them weigh far more than they actually did to relentlessly beat up his opponents while they couldn''t even retaliate thanks to his emotional tampering¡ª and that was Sylveon''s speciality. Tampering with emotion, either through his feelers or Moonst, but he could do other tricks, too. I hold the conviction that the world revolves around me, and everything should fall into my orbit, Betrix smiled. Manipting gravity, devoid of psychic enhancements, is within my capabilities¡ª though, I admit, psychic abilities asionally lend a hand, a fact I find somewhat disgraceful. My Moonst emerges as a consequence of this belief, an assault impossible to ignore,manding attention with awe-inspiring might. She observed Togekiss with a careful eye. You, baby sister, must find the strongest conviction you believe in. And that was her test. To find something to specialize her mour in, because even Be was not capable of specializing in everything. Even belief and mour had its limits, and no fairy would be able to simply will anything they liked into being. Togekiss stared at me, her eyes full of doubt, so I crouched in front of her and rubbed her cheek. "Take your time, baby," I said. "We''re staying here three days, and you''re just getting started, okay?" The fairy type chirped with a timid smile, telling me that she''d do her best. "And that''s all I ask of you." She took off into the skies to focus, having learned to share in my own habits. I had really underestimated how much failing to learn to mess with mour had affected her, and how it kept nagging her even today. Princess was no Buddy, but outside of it, she''d never struggled that hard on a move like Sunshine or Honey had. Nightstalker hooted, saying he''d watch over her and flew upward as well before I could even thank him. Let her focus, Be said, which I assumed carried over. Now, let us move onto the matters of your empathy, dear sister. My heartbeat quickened in excitement. "Thanks. I''ve been fumbling in the dark for a while about it, and, uh, I really need some guidance. Someone to point me in the right direction." Be ran her w through my hair¡ª something I''d noticed she liked to do. She''d evenmented on it being shorter than before, which she found was a shame, but did notment on it any further. I suppose we should start with how you perceive emotions, the fairy said. "Colors," I instantly answered. "When I let the gift run through my veins and I actually see emotions, I see them as colors, like flickering mes at the edge of a person''s skin. When the emotion is stronger, the colors extend further. Mesprit''s own emotions went as far as the eye could see." I paused, remembering the sheer onught I''d felt from standing in the Legend''s presence. "Different colors mean different emotions, and they can mix together to create entirely new feelings. I can kind of guess at what''s what, but some colors, I have no idea what they mean." And you can¡­ paint with those colors, Be confirmed. "Yeah, for example, I could pull a feeling out of someone, mix and match it with something else, and shove it back in," I said. "Though that''d be way too noticeable and would tire me out really quickly. And you know, it''d also be immoral." Betrix rolled her eyes, but did notment orunch into an argument about morality, which was dearly appreciated. You sense emotions differently than I do, then. To me, emotions are sounds. "Ah. I guess that''s why you like it quiet, huh?" I said. Even now, my voice did not carry as far as it did outside of the route. When too many beings converge in one ce, I begin to experience a profound difort. Unlike your ability to subtly temper your gift, Ick the finesse to dampen my empathy to a significant degree. "Yeah. I get headaches sometimes, but I don''t hear them as sound. It''s more like¡ª a sensory overload," I exined. "I guess we''re fundamentally different, then. Can you still help me?" Helping you discern emotions will prove more of a challenge than I anticipated, she confirmed, but with the emptyfolk? The principles that afflict them remain the same, so I will prove helpful there. I sighed, biting my lip. Damn it, it would have been too good to be true, wouldn''t it? For everything to neatly fall in line and to work in my favor. Every time I could take a step forward, it felt like I couldn''t stop myself from stumbling my way through. Be noticed my grimace, and quickly spoke up again. Sister, this information will be beneficial for you, no doubt. I''m confident you''ll figure out ways to apply and practice it. It might just take more time than we expected. My heels dug into the wet grass. "You know, fixing Justin will take days of continuously operating on him? Pulling and removing until he''s himself again, like I''m some¡ª some kind of damn heart surgeon," I whispered in a defeated tone. "I can''t afford to make mistakes, because then I''d have to scramble and put him back together, and¡ª well¡ª" Focus on the now, Betrix said. Let me teach you about the emptyfolk. What do you know so far? I exhaled. "I know that darkness is absence, which is why you can use it to cancel out other attacks. It can also be used to dampen emotions, but it doesn''t have to be every emotion. Shiftry was a fan of doing that because he''d been grieving his trainer for a thousand years, and that''s why Justin got all of his emotions dampened." Good. Very good, even, she said. And how do you think you''d heal him in detail?" "I guess¡­ put emotions back into him, but the right amount?" I muttered. "Like, this is the problem, I don''t know what the right amount is, because I wasn''t an empath when he was normal!" I raised my tone. At this point, it''d been so long since he''d been the Justin I used to know that I''d just be eyeballing it, and that was not something that would end well. That is where you are wrong. Instead of drowning him in emotions, focus on breaking the chains of darkness that hold him back. Don''t burden him with more feelings; help him shed the oppressive weight instead. "But darkness doesn''t feel like anything, it''s absence. How do I remove absence?" I said. "And¡­ I think you''re right, but that probably sounds way easier than it''ll be." To me, the emptyfolk are quieter than silence, so I would not know how to go about this with your interpretation of emotion. Be said, tilting her head. But your empathy has far more potential than mine. You will have to look into this yourself, the next time to see him and you can delve into his feelings. However, The fairy paused, her smile turning fond. Let us see what you can do, yes? I am quite adept at making myself feel emotions of my choosing, so I will train you to pick them apart. I owe you this, at the very least, so that our bargain stays equal. "Okay, I''m going to¡­ look then?" I hesitantly said. Part of me felt like I was doing something horrible¡ª as I''d conditioned myself to think, but she had given me her consent, after all. Wasn''t that how this worked? "Yeah, I''m going to look," I repeated, more sure of myself. I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths as the sound of Honey and Sweetheart''s bickering sank into the background. When I opened them again, there was a pressure in my head, slightly aching as I felt the emotions of beings inside of the forest, some looking at us, hidden from view. I pulled back, leaving the range to only a few dozen feet around me so I wouldn''t be overwhelmed and be able to focus. My teacher was a gentle swirl of pastelvender, both soothing and calm. It emanated from what felt like inner peace, and I allowed myself to sink into the sense offort it brought. There was a thickyer of fondness, hidden below her normal state, but I had not delved deep enough to see anything but the most obvious emotions. We will begin with something simple like calm, then. Afterward, we will make the emotions more and moreplex as we go on, Hatterene said. Ones like liberosis, kenopsia, or ¨¦nouement "I have no idea what any of those mean, but let''s do this, shall we?" ¡ª I dimmed my empathy again as I approached Veilstone on Princess'' back. While I''d been training for hours, she''d been thinking hard about what she believed in, and we''d both needed a break, now that evening hade. From the skies, the city looked even worse than it had when walking through it whenpared to how pretty most cities in Sinnoh were. It was a forest of concrete with few windows¡ª which, unlike Snowpoint, it had no excuses for¡ª and with even more grids than Jubilife, somehow. I''de here to pick up some more food for Sweetie. She was having a lot of fun back in Be''s fief, with how powerful her barriers were. She was able to let loose and train however she wanted, even if the ground itself would still get upended and destroyed. Supposedly, it would go back to normal if given enough time, ording to Be, due to the fact that her domain was to be kept a certain way. Before today, I''d never known that was how they functioned, but I learned more about domains every time I met a holder, and it made sense when you gave it some thought. They warped the world to their liking, and so the world would get back to how they wanted it to be eventually. Some wouldn''t care about the destruction wrought by Pokemon on theirnds, but Betrix clearly did, when it got to the level of what a Tyranitar could do. There was a pang of guilt when I nced to the south and saw the massive stadium that was Maylene''s Gym in the distance. You should apologize, Cecilia had said, but it wasn''t like I had the girl''s number, and honestly walking into her Gym was a terrible way to go about things. I almost convinced myself to just go and get it over with, but changed my mind at thest second. Maylene was no longer on break, and was actually doing rtively well for herself, these days. She''d kept her style of shutting down status moves and other niche techniques, but had a good difficulty curve that actually made sense, or at least the way she was no longer being med as much online suggested as much. I did hope she was deferring tasks properly now, in order not to burn out again, though. Running a Gym and helping with the city was heavy work. Princessnded on the nearestnding pad, which was closer to the grocery store than the Pokemon Center, for some reason. We were mighty close to the Gym, now. My heart was racing, and not in a good way. While Tangrowth walked me to the store, I opened my phone to check on my usual messages. His expedition with Buddy to help the Budew relocate had been a sess, and he was far more cheerful than usual. Cecilia was traveling to Pastoria already, and so unavable to talk, but I was keeping up regr contact with Ramon¡ª and slightly less so with Bobby. I nned to connect with more Poketch sponsees when I got to Jubilife after my training with Betrix and my trek through the ancient city, and dare I say, I was actually excited to meet new people. They weren''t all in Jubilife, but a lot of them would be there because a lot of things in thepany were about to change, and Craig was going to be there. I was mostly excited about talking battles, but other stuff would be fine, too. A wave of cold hit me as I entered the grocery store, leaving Angel to wait for me outside with Princess to watch over him. Staring at the ground hurt a little, with how the bright lights from the ceiling bounced back on the white tiles. My crutch cked against the cold, white tiles. The paint from earlier had dried, leaving the crutch full of sshes of different colors. Honestly, I''d kind of grown to like it, and I had no intention of peeling it off. "Meat aisle¡­ meat aisle¡­ man, my stove is going to be way too small to feed a Tyranitar," I muttered to myself. "The logistics just don''t work. Maybe she can eat them raw? Wait, she''s a predator, of course she can." I shivered when I entered the aisle, rubbing my arm and wanting to spend the least amount of time here possible. Beef would be nice for her, I thought. I passed by a few people, though the fact that it was basically only non-trainers here meant that I wasn''t recognized beyond a few looks now that the raid was out of public consciousness. The media was mostly starting to hype up the Conference or talking about the economy, these days. My brows creased when I passed by a girl wearing only shorts and a T-shirt in this cold. She hummed cheerfully, leaning forward against her knees while I shimmied next to her to grab myself some packets of beef¡ª Oh. I figured she looked familiar. Candice''s hair was usually tied in some strange pigtails that were only in style in Snowpoint, but today, her dark hair was in a simple ponytail. Her skin was as pale as always, and she seemed to be in a good mood. Somehow, she hadn''t noticed me yet. My grip around my crutch tightened as soon as I realized who I''d just been standing next to. Should¡ª should I say something? Maybe it''d be a better idea to leave, but now that I was right next to her, I didn''t want to move and possibly alert her. How did she not have a fucking crowd of people around her anyway? She was a Gym Leader! One of the most famous people in the country! If she''d had one, then I would have understood to steer clear. Calm down. I needed to calm down. Maybe she''d noticed me but was acting like she hadn''t. It''d be easier that way, to pretend like we hadn''t seen each other and going back to not talking. Candice settled on some sort of ground beef and rose¡ª Then, she saw me. We both stayed silent for what seemed like an agonizing eternity. Her mouth gaped, and she stared up and down at me as if she was convincing herself that this was real and not some kind of hallucination. My chest tightened, and I bit my lip and the difort. It was one thing to imagine what you''d say if you met someone who had every right to be disturbed by your presence and another to actuallye face to face with her. Legendaries, my fingers felt cold. Had they always been this cold? We hadn''t spoken in so long that I didn''t know how to begin. I let out a little choked sound. "Candice, I¡ª" "Hi," she spoke over me. Her face changed to an awkward smile in a way that was obviously unnatural. "What''re you doing here?" I showed her the beef in my hand. "Shopping¡­ the same as, um, you. Don''t you have your¡­ Gym?" Candice shrugged¡ª or was that a twitch? I couldn''t tell. Part of me wanted to delve into her head and see what she thought of me, but I didn''t need my empathy to see that she was displeased at our encounter. "It was¡­ Thursday, so I needed a little break," she said. Her eyes couldn''t settle on where to look, evidently, with the way her eyes were continuously shifting. "I have my Gym Trainers running the show, and Gardenia and I are going to meet Maymay and hang out. We''re making burgers and stuff, so¡­" "Right. That sounds like fun, so don''t let me keep you," I said a little more abruptly than I would have liked. "You go and do that. I''ll go and, uh, do my own thing." Fucking kill me already, I internally hissed. Candice paused, as if she wanted to say something, but she ended up nodding when an older woman needed to look at all the products we were blocking. We moved out of the way, and it was then that I realized how heavy my body felt. Like I was carrying weights around my ankles and wrists. "Candice, you read the¡­ report, right?" I stopped myself from wincing. The Gym Leader''s eyes twitched. "Could we not bring that up right now?" "¡­alright. And could you apologize to Maylene on my behalf? I didn''t think it was a good idea to do it myself, given everything that happened since then." "I mean, I can try. I don''t think it''ll do anything, though, but I''ll do it," Candice nodded. "I''ll wait until our party''s done to not ruin the mood, though." I smiled through the prickly feeling all over my skin. "Yeah. So¡­" "I''ll see you. Take care of yourself, okay?" She patted me on the shoulder, squeezing before she left. Not wanting to see her at the checkout, I waited, wandering around the store with a caddy full of meat. I hadn''t known Candice could be this serious, when the situation required it. Really, part of me had hoped she''d just make a joke about this whole thing and sweep it under the rug, but I knew that hadn''t been how it was going to go. At the very least, she hadn''t beenpletely hostile. Honestly, I could count my blessings that she had spoken to me at all. Five minutester, I went to pay for my food and left. I had to keep moving. ¡ª "Nia, did you see this?" Maylene snorted. Her head jittered on Gardenia''sp. Excitement or anticipation, the grass type Gym Leader mused. Maymay lifted her phone, pulling her away from her gardening book. "What is it¡ª oh, yeah, I did see that," Gardenia smiled. "You''d think that the world wasn''t on fire, with how he acts in his Gym Battles." Wake had always been somewhat of a meme, within the tight circle of Gym Leaders that was Sinnoh''s¡ª so tight they felt like family¡ª but his cheerful demeanor meant that he didn''t mind being the butt of the joke. In this instance, he''d battled a trainer aiming for her second badge while continuously doing a handstand. "That''s seriously unhealthy, though," Maymay said, lowering her phone. "What if the blood rushes to his head?" "It was only a three-on-three, and she won pretty quickly," Gardenia said as she went back to reading about eucalyptuses. "Honestly, I don''t think he even expected to go that long. Wake''s the kind of guy to randomly challenge himself to keep going for fun." Maylene chuckled as she adjusted her position on the couch. "True. Arceus, I can''t wait to see him again this summer. He told me he and Jean-Pierre would cook me something, and the seafood they make is the best. Plus, he deserves a break, after giving it his all for so long." Gardenia looked into Maylene''s pink eyes, and her friend averted them without hesitation. "Maymay. How''s therapy been?" she asked. Maylene sat up, freeing Gardenia from herp pillow duties. Her thighs had been going numb, so the relief was wee. "Honestly, it''s relieving. Yep, relieving," she said. "I can finally get this¡­ end of the world shit off my chest now that Cynthia''s afforded me a League therapist and not some guy who isn''t cleared to hear any of the things I need to talk about," she finished with a heavy sigh. Gardenia wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We''ll be fine. And I''m d you''re doing alright, these days." Her visage cheered up, though Gardenia knew it was real from the excited ring of her nose, her quick blinking and the way she raised her tone. "Yeah, I''m doing a lot better, but y''know, I''m kind of worried. Where the hell is Candice? Should I call her?" "She''s probably lost. You know how Snowpointers are," Gardenia said with a mischievous smile. Maylene faked outrage. "Is that prejudice I hear? Wait until I leak this online, they''ll all be at your throat in less than a millisecond." Ah, she still hadn''t lost her hatred for the online trainermunity, which was justifiable, after what they''d done to her. There had been death threats and worse. Even though Maylene was sturdy thanks to Aura and her team was nothing to scoff at, reading those emails would affect anyone regardless of how powerful they were, especially a kid as young as her. Fifteen-year-old and reading all of that crap? Legendaries, Gardenia hadn''t believed half the shit she''d read aftermandeering Maylene''s personalputer to delete all of those emails. "I''m gonna go to the bathroom," Maylene said. She slunk away from the couch and toward the washroom. Maylene''s quarters were in her Gym, like almost every Gym Leader, though hers were a lot emptier than most. There wasn''t much for decoration here, just furniture. A dining table, a couch, a television in the living room, which the kitchen was attached to, and a bathroom and a bedroom. The walls were in beige, and the floors were smooth plywood. Maylene had always been a minimalist, but Gardenia still thought her room could use a little bit of life, especiallypared to Candice''s wacky apartment or Gardenia''s garden. The door swung open in the next moment, with Candice standing in a victorious pose and her hand still outstretched in the air. In her other, she carried two heavy grocery bags. Gardenia''s eyes lingered on her old rival''s exposed legs for a few moments, though she did not dare to hope. Candice was unfortunately as straight as an arrow and had a hopeless crush on Craig Goodwill, who still saw her as a kid anyway and that he would never return. She''d given up on her long ago, and these days it was mostly lust and not romantic, so it was hard not to stare when she wore such revealing clothing. "I''m back!" she dered with a wide grin. She skipped into the living room, dropping the bag into the kitchen. "I got all of the burger stuff. The buns, the beef, the cheese, onions¡ª every time I go inside of a grocery store that isn''t in Snowpoint, I feel like I''m in a treasure trove. You guys get so much." Gardenia turned, her arm slinging on the couch''s back. "You shoulde down south more. Volkner hasn''t seen you in a while." "Blegh, I''ve got all of Sinnoh swarming up north to challenge me. I had to beg my League Trainers to allow me this day off, but thankfully I didn''t have any important battles today." "Maybe¡ª and just hear me out here¡ª but maybe you should be in charge of your own Gym," Gardenia said, letting sarcasm seep into her tone. "I mean, I''ve got Roro to help me around, but other than that, I always call the shots." "Yeah, yeah, you and Roro," Candice sneered. There was some old drama, there. "Anyway, do I just put this in the fridge?" "Yeah, we''ll start cooking in an hour or so. Let me help you." Gardenia rose, though while she helped Candice put the groceries away, she noticed the subtle twitches on her face, microexpressions that left ufort lingering for only a moment. The constant moving of her tongue below her lip. Moving slower and more deliberately than she usually did. "What''s wrong, Candice?" Gardenia asked. "Huh?" "Something happened when you were out," she continued, shoving a pack of soda into the fridge. "You''re not very good at hiding it." "Just not from you," Candice muttered. The judgment in her tone was not difficult to miss, meaning that her friend clearly wanted to bury this deep and never bring this up again. "You know what, sorry. It was¡ª" "Candice!" Maymay beamed. "What took you so long? Did you get lost or what?" "You could say that," Candice said. She bowed in dramatic fashion, twirling her wrist more times than was needed. "But yours truly found the way back without a League Kadabra. Doesn''t that deserve a little bit of praise?" Maylene shook her head, though it was with that usual smirk of hers. "Whatever you say." "I''d like to see you in Snowpoint in the middle of winter!" Candice protested, pointing at her. "You''d be waist-deep in snow, littledy!" "Counterpoint: I would just punch the snow until it got out of my way," Maylene shrugged. "You got the goodies?" "Yep. Gardenia''s going to cook for us." "I''m what?" Gardenia scoffed. "I thought you were cooking." "Did I ever say that?" Candice tapped a finger over her mouth. "You did! Yesterday when you messaged me!" "I guess we can tag team it," she said. Then, she leaned in to whisper. "I''ll tell youter about what happened, okay?" "What''re you whispering about?" Maylene squinted, though she was far enough away not to have heard. "We''re whispering about sumo wrestling," Candice lied as easily as she breathed. "At least try to make the lie make sense," Mayleneughed. ¡ª So you''vee to a decision, Betrix said, looking at Princess. Out with it, then. It had been a spontaneous thing, and while we''d been flying in the air. We hadn''t really bounced ideas off each other as much as Princess had just vented to me about what was it she wanted to do, and the answer had beenughingly simple, when it came down to it. At the core of her very being, Princess wanted to cut and stab. Hatterene grinned, glowing in the night and serving as our source of light. Simple, but effective. I can see it now, forming around you. Cutting, stabbing, gouging, piercing. Yes, that core belief will be your implement. She stopped, tearing a leaf away from a nearby tree. I''d wondered if she was ever going to bring back this exercise. Now, baby sister. I want you to believe until this leaf is cut to shreds. The entire team was watching her, now. Jellicent hovered nearby, his red eyes shining through the night. Sweetheart actually had gained her night vision capabilities, now, and she too, watched silently in the distance. I could tell that Electivire wanted to cheer for his sister, though he stayed silent to allow her to focus, and Sunshine stood next to me, his breaths calm, but his eyes betraying his anticipation, and Angel already had a dozen vines primed to hug Princess both tofort her if she failed or to congratte her if she seeded. Togekiss squinted, the air around her goingpletely still and¡ª The leaf was torn to shreds. Already? I told myself, slightly disbelieving. That had been so quick that it basically hadn''t been a challenge. Angel went in on his hug, and Princess basically cried for joy at how easy mour hade to her this time around. I joined in on the fun, of course, making sure to praise her lots and to kiss her forehead. Your belief was strong enough, Betrix smiled. Now you know how mour feels, don''t you? It is all about building upward from there, and perhaps one day, you will refine your own Moonst in your image. Of course, you may use my own, when it is needed. Togekiss couldn''t contain her excitement. I''d rarely seen her this happy, and the way her wings quickly fluttered showed. "We''re all proud of you," I praised her. "What''s the limit to the amount of Moonsts she can use¡ª or wait, I guess the correct question is what''s the limit to this belief thing?" Amongst the fae, convictions strong enough to manifest are rare. My mother, for one, was considered a genius amongst the fae and could only manifest three kinds of Moonst. One akin to mine, although weaker in effect. A second that exploded upon contact with any being, and another one to freeze the world around itself. Her capabilities with mour, therefore, extended to gravity, explosions and the cold. After all these years, I can still only manifest my own Moonst. The fact that your daughter can use two is already a miracle. My mouth hung open in awe. "You''re¡ª Princess, you''re a genius!" Iughed. Sometimes, a breakthrough was all that was needed to open the floodgates of progress. ¡ª Maylene was asleep, now. Gardenia knew she made it a point to always keep to a perfect sleep schedule, but tonight, she''d gone to sleep at two in the morning because she''d wanted to talk with her and Candice as much as possible. Now she''ll be tired tomorrow, she internally sighed. Granted, they''d all be tired, but she was unused to working while exhausted, and Gardenia and Candice were not. Gardenia''s friendy syed out on the couch like some kind of slob, happy to take all of the space now that Gardenia had carried Maymay to her bed, andining about how full she was every five minutes. Gardenia, for one, was catching up on today''s work by answering important emails on her phone. Candice''s voice came as a whisper. "I guess I should tell you what happened earlier." "Sure. It was weighing on you earlier," Gardenia said. "What happened, Candice?" Her fellow Gym Leader kicked her head back, staring at the ceiling with an exasperated groan. "Gah! I hate this." "Okay. That just worries me more, because you''re usually straightforward about these things," Gardenia said. "When I was at the grocery store, I¡ª" she paused, finding her words. "I saw Grace Pastel there, buying stuff." Gardenia let out an understanding hum, the reasons for Candice''s strange behavior now easy for her to understand. They were¡ª or they''d been rtively close long-distance friends, after Candice had met her in Snowpoint. Grace Pastel and her group''s survival through Mount Cor with only two badges had been a massive story, and she''d assumed it was why Candice had gotten close to them, at least at first. After all of the Gym Leaders received the report on the raid, though¡­ no words had been exchanged between the two. She''d read it too, of course. Grace''s behavior during the entire event had already been a tough pill to swallow for most younger Gym Leaders. Gardenia had never killed someone before. Neither had any Gym Leaders save for Fantina or Byron. The former deeply regretted what she''d done to get a Gengar and paled every time one brought it up, and thetter had been an act to save Oreburgh from a terrorist attack from a high level trainer gone rogue when he''d been the Gym Leader of that city. Hitting trainers with aim to disable them was more difficult the stronger their teams got, and this one had broken down after losing the Conference as soon as he''d made it out of the group stages, so he''d been good. It was the nonchnce of it all, that had disturbed. The fact that Grace saw so many people die, killed a few more, and was able to act as if nothing had happened at all. That was the kind of thing ACE Trainers were made of. Still, it had been for a good cause and had Cynthia''s seal of approval, so Gardenia had already been ready to forget, and she assumed Candice would have acted simrly had the Haunter incident not happened. "How was she?" Gardenia asked. "Nervous to see me, but I was the same," she muttered. "I don''t know, I guess she''s fine other than that? I didn''t stay long, it was too awkward." Candice paused, shifting on the couch until she settled on a new, even more outrageous position. Her head hung over the edge while her legs were above the backrest. "I guess it''s hard to imagine that nervous girl being the same one who cut a man''s ligaments so he wouldn''t run away and then who watched a Haunter torture him for an entire afternoon." That was the crux of the issue, and though Gardenia was a pencil pusher who would do whatever Cynthia asked of her, she had to admit what she''d read had shaken her. Oh, they didn''t know what Haunter had done in detail, but they did know the state of how both Mira Compton and Grace Pastel had been after exiting the mansion. Mira had beenpletely shaken, face pale and dried tears and snot running all over her face and barely able to stand up straight. Grace had a satisfied, rejuvenated look on her face, like watching someone get tortured had been lightwork for her. Backlot had been a worthless scumbag who Gardenia wouldn''t mourn, but there was simply no ignoring that. "Maybe it''s the fairy stuff," Candice grumbled. "Cynthia says her Togekiss dosed her with TE for months." Gardenia shrugged. "Might be. I don''t know," she sighed. "But we only have a few fairy type specialists in Sinnoh, so it''s not like we have a huge sample size to work with." Candice was, Gardenia knew, looking for an excuse. "Right. Anyway, she told me to apologize to Maymay for her Gym Battle, so I guess she felt guilty about her having broken down as a result, but I never found an opening during the party. She was just so happy, and I didn''t want to ruin her mood¡ª" "I knew you were hiding something!" From the shadows of the small unlit hall that led to her bedroom, Maylene emerged with a deep-set frown and a tightened jaw. Candice innocently brought up her hands. "Okay, you win. Jeez, it''s not like I was never going to tell you. I was looking for the right moment! No need to stare daggers at me." "I don''t ept her apology," Maylene deadpanned. "I acknowledge it, but I don''t ept it. She''s insane, and I want nothing to do with her. That''s¡­ fine, right?" She was not hesitating because she was getting second thoughts, Gardenia knew, but because of Grace''s capabilities and her being some kind of shard for a Legendary. Gardenia nodded. "That''s alright, she isn''t owed anything from you," she said. "But you have to be prepared to work together if everything goes to shit." Maylene bit her lip. "Whatever. I''m going back to sleep." "And stop spying on us!" Candice yelled, cupping her hands. Gardenia leaned against her palm and noticed that the day''s activities had her exhaustion catching up with her. Cynthia had, unfortunately, warned them that if Team Gctic ever sprung to action before the deadline was up, then the Gym Leaders would probably be enlisted to help like Indigo had done against Team Rocket during their wars. Gardenia wondered if Cynthia knew how horribly unprepared most of them were. They had grown up in peaceful times, and so, beyond the asional wild Pokemon attack on their city that the Rangers always dealt with and their Pokemon journey, they had never been in a situation that Cynthia was asking them to help in. Oh well, Gardenia thought. If she asks, I''ll do it. Such was her duty as a Gym Leader, subservient to the League. That did not mean, however, that she would be happy about it.
Chapter 283 Chapter 283
CHAPTER 283 "It''s nine. She should be arriving any minute, now," I muttered, repeatedly checking my phone. I do not sense anything, Betrix said. Are you sure of this? "She never fails to show up on time no matter where I am, so yes, I''m sure." Sure enough, Betrix frowned when steps resonated through the forest. Quiet at first, and slow and unsure of themselves, but the closer they got, the steadier the steps grew. Aliyah appeared with a soft smile, her eyes locking with mine immediately. She dipped her head at me, and then both Betrix and Night. My teacher was frozen in a way I''d never seen her. Not even her voluptuous hair moved in the breeze, and she observed Aliyah like a hawk. Her wispy hair was tied into a tight chignon a mix of brown and white. "Well met, Keeper," Aliyah said. "And I greet yourpanion as well. Ie in peace, though I''ve no gift to offer you. You will have to forgive me, and I hope I have not slighted you." "No Chimecho today?" I probed with a smirk. "Oh, he''s resting in his Pokeball. Finding this ce and getting me through exhausted him quite a bit," Aliyah said. "What? We''re on the route, still¡­" I trailed off. "Be¡ª Keeper?" She was still staring, somewhat in disbelief. As one of the conditions for letting Aliyahe here and me not just leaving for Veilstone every day for therapy, I was to not reveal her name, which would be hard to unlearn, with all of the muscle memory I''d built up. I¡­ cut this ce off from the outside so we wouldn''t be disturbed by wondering trainers, she spoke into my and Night''s minds. Only you and your gathering find it easy to make it here. I wanted to see if she was capable of finding you and would have let her run around aimlessly for a few minutes. It is not unbreachable, but for her to do so this easily¡­ I scoffed. "What the hell? Don''t just try to waste her time! I know she has nothing to offer, but this is¡ª this is important to me." I apologize. It will not happen again. "It better not. Don''t just apologize to me. Do it to her too." I crossed my arms, waiting patiently for my teacher to build up the guts to apologize to someone she considered lesser. "Go on. We''re all friends here." You are named Aliyah, correct? "Yes," my therapist smoothly answered. I apologize for the rough wee. Even though you bear no gift or great deed, it was unbing of me as a host. "All is forgiven. I am not one to bear grudges, Keeper," she smiled a little too sharply to be genuine. "Now, may I begin my session? We are already runningte." Of course, we will leave you to it, Betrix said. Nightstalker, make sure the skies stay clear of rain. Have Princess aid you in keeping it that way for her training. It would do us no good to not afford themfort. Princess was off flying¡­ somewhere, training as always. Ever since we''d passed through Twinleaf, my Pokemon being off on their own had stopped bothering me as much, especially in a forest like this one where no one would be able toin about it. I supposed it made sense, why no trainers hade across us even though Be hadn''t brought us off-route, though I wondered now if whenever one of the others had gone off on their own, they''d seen someone or not¡­ no, they would have told me. The rest of the team was out and about, taking it easy, though they were all within eyesight. Betrix left without another word in Sunshine''s direction, and I didn''t miss the dragon''s exasperated look even if he was pretending to sleep. Night sped my shoulder, pulling me close and whispered in my ear that Betrix was a little jealous of how much I''d been telling her about Aliyah. Out of respect for her, I did not say anything out loud so Aliyah wouldn''t hear. It made a lot more sense to behave like she had out of jealousy and not outright malice when no offense had been given, though I hadn''t expected her to ever sumb to jealousy. Nightstalker flew off, sting the entire area with wind as he did so. Not everyone was as silent as Princess with theirndings and take offs and it had taken a little to get used to his. "Now, shall we begin?" Aliyah softly said. "Sure. Sorry about¡­ all of this. She was hard on you." "Oh, I know my way around," my therapist smiled. She produced one of her candles from her bag, lighting it purple. "Would you like some tea, perhaps?" I beamed. "Oh, really? Yeah!" It would have taken a while to get started if we only got going when the water was done boiling on my camping stove, so Aliyah started the session anyway. "So. Here you are, with your old teacher," Aliyah said. "How have you found it here so far, my dear?" "Everything''s just been great. The Keeper''s not being forceful at all like I told you I was nervous about," I said in a whisper. I wasn''t used to Chimecho not being there to mask what I was saying. "Don''t fear. Everything you say remains private. Unless you want Chimecho out anyway so you can be morefortable?" "How?" "Tricks that cannot be revealed," the therapist said, releasing her Pokemon. "Chimecho, if you will?" While the psychic chimed seven times slower than usual, she continued. "I simply did not wish to offend the Keeper. Fairies can be quite capricious." "She wouldn''t have struck just because you had a Pokemon out, Aliyah." "And yet, she tried to make me lose my way," she retorted with a smirk. "But enough about her. If she is not pressuring you to change course, then she will have done more for you than I expected." Aliyah stopped, staring at me with a curious look. "A little bird told me something quite interesting happened yesterday in a grocery store of sorts." I physically flinched backward, cringing from recalling my interaction with Candice. "Word''s gotten out, huh?" I groaned. "It would be hard not to notice one of this year''s most famous trainers talking to a Gym Leader," Aliyah shrugged. "Though it garnered less attention than what is usual, for a Gym Leader out and about." "I mean, it''s not like people expect to see Candice in some random grocery store, so they probably weren''t paying attention." Aliyah grunted in affirmation, then waited for me to exin what happened. "Well, I talked to her a bit," I mumbled. "It was just so awkward, I don''t even think any of us said anything productive¡ª or anything that could mend our friendship. I mean, we weren''t even that close in the first ce, really. We just talked every few days¡ª sometimes called¡ª and she''d tell me about her Gym stuff, and I''d tell her about my journey stuff. I guess we''d talk about random topics that came up too, sometimes." The older woman clicked her tongue as she handed me a cup of tea. "No need to disparage your rtionship. Friendship is friendship, no matter what form it takes, and I believe you''re looking for an excuse to cut off all contact. To say that you tried despite that not being the case, and to let go, because it would be easier, not to fight for it." I wanted to disagree, but all I managed to let out was a small choking sound. "If you wish, you could share the context of the conversation," Aliyah continued. "Or do not. I do not want to intrude on something private." "I mean, like I said, we just¡­ fumbled around. I think we were just looking for an excuse to leave as soon as possible," I exined before I took a sip of my tea. It was the perfect temperature, not hot enough to burn but still warm. What vor was this? "Hibiscus." I''d grown used to her being able to tell what was on my mind, so it didn''t even surprise me. "Oh. Thanks. I also asked her to apologize to Maylene on my behalf for¡­ well, I didn''t tell her why, actually. Just to apologize." "You didn''t tell her why?" "The context should be obvious, no?" I frowned. "Hm. Not saying why feels like some kind of block. Like a refusal to acknowledge things," Aliyah said. "And you not wanting to see Maylene in person, I understand. You believe it would do more harm than good, spring up unnecessary drama, but it makes your efforts look¡­ lesser than they are in reality to an outside observer, Grace." I scoffed. "What? I was¡ª I was fucking dying in there, Aliyah! I was trying so hard to do right¡ª I did try!" I yelled. Wisps of emotion med to life around her, the same steady calm as always, and only the pain from biting my lip brought me back to my senses. She raised a hand. "I''m sorry. I should have formted my sentence better." "I don''t understand¡­" "I am by no means saying that you yourself have not pushed yourself to change. I myself have noted how much progress you''ve made after each session," Aliyah said. "Just that, from Candice''s perspective, you opting not to apologize in person, even if she might have refused, might have looked to her like you were distancing yourself from the problem." My grip around my cup tightened, and my voice shook. "So I can do everything in my power to make things right, and it doesn''t matter, does it." "No, it does matter. But perhaps next time, try to mend that bridge," she said. "I don''t think there''ll be a next time. I think it''s over, Aliyah, and it''ll hurt less if Ie to terms with it now. Cut my losses. She was going to get too busy with trainers traveling up north at the end of the year anyway." "Now you''re trying to convince yourself again," my therapist sighed. "To put yourself in a mental state where everything is already lost, when they can be mended. Is that truly what you want? A half-hearted apology to Maylene, not delivered yourself, and to give up on a friend because you did not dare to fight for her?" I sighed. "It''s¡­ not. But what else can I do? Candice is probably back in Snowpoint by now, and for Maylene, it''s not like I''m going to barge into her Gym and call for her to apologize in person." "Indeed, you will not, but an opportunity will present itself, Grace. It always does." It was childish, but when looking back at my meeting with Candice, I yearned to be able to ask if I coulde. It was childish, stupid, horrible, and I sucked, but I''d wanted to meet Gardenia so badly that the words had been lying in wait. Of course, I''d known better. It would have just ended up in rejection and made things far worse than they currently already were, but still¡­ one couldn''t help but wonder, what if? What if I''d been someone they could befortable with? It wouldn''t even have been that unfeasible. Candice, as wild as she was, would have epted to bring me back with her even if Maylene would have been angry and probably forced us to make up after having me apologize, and while I know better than to think we would have been friends by the end of the night, things would have been better than this¡­ hopeless situation I was currently in. I relented, and the tension which had been building up in my shoulders evaporated. "If you say so." "When you are ready, why don''t you send Candice a message, for one? She seemed far more amenable to you than you think her to be." "Blergh. I''ll think about it," I muttered. "Very well. Now, let us move on to your progress with Cecilia¡­" ¡ª Should we talk about the new injuries you''ve gained since we''ve metst? Betrix suggested. "There''s nothing to talk about, Be." My head was pounding after the amount of empathy practice we''d done after Aliyah left, and thest thing I wanted was to talk about the topic I''d been avoiding on purpose. At least she approved of my training, since I was doing it with consent. I was watching some videos of Byron''s battles I''d downloaded to make good use of my time. "Really, you can tell me if you''re lonely," I teasingly pushed. "You know, I have some cartoons downloaded on there too if you want to watch with Princess. Though it''s not like we could tear her away from her training, I haven''t seen her this pumped since she was learning¡­ well, Moonst." My teacher rolled her eyes, and I''m sure I wouldn''t have missed the humor bleeding off her if I''d been leaning into my empathy. I could have, even with the headache, but I''d somehow grown tired of seeing so many different shades of colors, which I hadn''t known was possible. The world felt muted without them, but sometimes I needed the silence, especially when I was studying. If you prefer not to discuss it, I will let it go. I am simply expressing genuine concern for you, there is no need for humor. My lips ttened. "Look, it''s just¡­ sorry. You know, people sometimes say I make jokes to get out of a tough conversation," I muttered as my fingers went still over myptop. "Mostly my Dad, but my friends too." Ah, yes, I have noticed this, she said. "Well, I didn''t mean any harm, it''s just a tick I have. For the leg, it was my fault, like I said. I went off-route and encountered a Carnivine grieving her child who''d been stolen by a human and his team. She was blinded by rage and not thinking straight, so she hurt me," I slowly exined before ncing down at my leg. "I hurt her too. I had to, or it might have been worse." The loss of family always pains, Betrix said, slightly misty-eyed. An unfortunate coincidence, that you were there, then. "Yeah. I mean, it''s fine, meeting her got me to deliver her kid back, so I think it was worth it in the end, broken ankle or not," I said. The fairy tilted her head, curious about the rest of the story. The Carnivine bit, I didn''t mind exining. Betrix was a full-blooded fairy, after all. Had she not liked me so much, she probably would haveunched into a tirade about how I should have had gifts on hand to appease Carnivine, or not entered her mountain without permission from its ruler even though I hadn''t known a Pokemon had been in charge of it. What I feared was what she''d say about my ACE Trainers, who had failed to protect me, or the entire mansion fiasco. "Did you hear about something called the Game Corner in Veilstone?" I asked. Whispers from passing trainers, she said. I do not know what it is, however. "What it was," I corrected her. Before continuing, I shifted on the sleeping bag that was serving as my seat. "The League raided it and shut it down. They were forcing Pokemon to fight to the death in there, and almost all of them came from a man named Edward Backlot¡­" I exined the story fully, including my time in Pastoria which seemed so long ago now despite that not being the case at all. I told her about what happened to Maeve, Alex, and Croagunk. About retribution, and how rightful it had felt to watch Backlot reap what he had sowed over thest decades¡ª to see him suffer for each Pokemon he had tortured and gotten killed and watch the same fate befall him until he could no longer take it, and how I''d taken the other people in charge and killed them or delivered them to Carnivine. At least they''d been quickly dealt with instead of dragging things out, I thought, before remembering that people didn''t usually think like this. "It''s abnormal behavior, and it''s not something I n on doing again," I said. Not because you don''t want to, the fairy mused. "Well, you don''t know the full picture. If the world was a vacuum with just me, Edward Backlot and no one else, then yeah, maybe I''d be able to indulge," I said. "But that''s not what the world is. And it''s not even just about Backlot, either¡­ it''s about the path I took to get there. If I hadn''t stopped to reevaluate who I was, what would have been next? It was a race to the bottom, and I don''t mean that the bottom is you, Be, because that''s not at all what I think. You just think differently than humans, but you aren''t one, and that''s fine. I think the bottomys in apletely different direction." Ity with the likes of people like Mars, whomitted atrocities every time they felt like it. I don''t think I would have ever gotten to that level of sinister, but I would have gotten close to it, only doing what she does, but to people who I thought deserved it instead, and if we went along that line of thought, that limit could get arbitrary and very quickly. The raid had been the ssh of cold water I had needed to ask myself what the hell I was doing, even if it had taken a few days after the fact and when the reality of the situation started sinking in and for Denzel to have told everyone about me to start asking myself that question. Ah, I understand. In this situation, you would cast aside any rules, or perhaps employ them only as a guise for causing harm. There are indeed fairies of such nature, though they are scarce, and not what I would deem as proper, Betrix said. "There are?" I asked before she nodded again. "I''m¡­ not going to lie, I thought you would fight me on this. You know, try to get me to rpse or something. That''s why I didn''t want to tell you." Oh, I fully believe you''ve done nothing amiss, yet I sense it''s not the reassurance you seek, is it not? You harbor ack of trust in yourself, fearing a transformation into something disdainful¡ª which is an apprehension I find quite understandable, even if I perceive your self-confidence to be unjustly meager. "It''s ack of trust and fear," I pressed. "Come on, Be, you know me, but I''m the one who''s actually in my own head. If I scare myself, it''s for a good reason." She paused, clearly wanting to say something, but her mouth closed again. Very well, then. "Being a sister is fine," I said. "I wee it, even. Like I said, it''s a part of me, but what I was turning into was something else entirely, Be. Something foul that takes pleasure in harm and isn''t just doing it as revenge after being hurt myself." Taking pleasure in extracting long prices is not wrong¡ª "But I would have gone further!" I interrupted. "Taking pleasure from the pain inflicted itself and not a wrong being righted. I''m¡­ sorry for yelling. I just¡ª this is important to me." I understand, sister. We are going in circles. I¡­ ept our differences. I cannot change who you want to be, even if I so dearly wished you embraced this side of you fully. I sighed in relief. "Thank you, Be. You¡ª you have no idea how much this means to me." Another relieved gasp escaped my mouth, and a smile stretched across my lips. To have her ept that I was trying to stop myself from slipping further meant so much. "And it''s not like I''m abandoning the old ways, you know? Just¡­ I don''t think I should tread the path you want, because there''s nothing pretty for me at the end of that." Overhead, through the tree canopy, I saw glowing streaks through the air. Princess must have been hard at work. What path do you tread, then? "A new one. One where I can hopefully ept myself for who I am, by the end. One where I''m content with every part of myself." The Keeper of the Sacred Woods gently smiled. Nightstalker and I will look forward to it, then. The disappointment was apparent, but she was trying, at least. Just like I was trying. We were just people doing our best. Hopefully, it would be enough for both of us. "Thank you." ¡ª We''d gotten three days not to train as hard as we could, but to take a break and rx with family and friends. It had been dearly needed, being the first real, lengthy break the team had gotten in ages, save for Princess, of course. My team was driven, but they were not robots, and sometimes they needed to just live and hang out together. Betrix had helped with that, recounting old stories to Jellicent in exchange for some of his own, and us two actually showing her the history books we owned. Some of the recent events, she had lived through, after all, and it was fun to see if she''d been too isted to know if a war or a crisis was going on or not. The Great War, she had not missed¡ª it had been impossible to, ording to her, even before Legendaries got involved. Angel had enjoyed building up a reputation with the wildlife as a kind helper, and I''d sometimes joined him in his quests to solve disputes or just wander and meet wild Pokemon. When he wasn''t dueling Nightstalker, Sunshine mostlyzed around like an old man and enjoyed my music¡ª because yes, I''d brought my piano from my hotel room to show Be and Night my skills. ying for an audience made me y better, for some reason, and I''d only messed up a few times. Honey and Sweetie had been two peas in a pod,tely. Their banter was ceaseless, now, due to the fact that now that Tyranitar dwarfed him in height, Electivire was content to actually talk back to her nonsense, and she loved that. The fight of it was something she''d grown to appreciate, though that didn''t mean they couldn''t be cute together too. Honey was still her older brother who doted on her, and he always would be. Though everyone dotes on her. Even Princess, I thought, ncing at my daughter. She and the entire team were all lined up, watching Be and Night with saddened expressions. This had been fun, but it was already over, and now it was time to leave for the Ancient City. I''d asked both of them for tips, but they''d never been there, and now they were just worried sick about me. "No need to look at me like that. I''ll be fine," I smiled. "I have ACE Trainers to watch me, if the worstes to pass." Night cawed, and noted that these were the same ACE Trainers who''d let me get my ankle broken and nearly get killed by a ghost in a not-so-subtle jab toward the League. "They''lle in with me, this time. Be?" Sister. I wish you could stay longer, like you didst, she mourned. "I do too, but I can''t. I''m¡­ I''m on a tight timetable." There was the fact that I''d need to battle Byron before the Red Chain ever came into effect, but also, who was I, to enjoy myself in a forest with people I loved when I had less than a month before the chain waspleted? It wasn''t wrong per se, but it left a bad taste in my mouth, to forget, even if it was only for three days. Everyone else was giving it their all to get ready. "I''lle here this summer, after the Conference," I continued. "We can spend a lot more time together that way. I wish I could say I''d introduce you to Cece properly, but she''ll be busy, and I doubt my other friends would want to meet you, so¡­ yeah, it''ll just be me." I would rather it be, she said, much to Nightstalker''s displeasure. The grass type was far more social than she was, and he told her that it''d be the proper thing to do, to meet my friends. "Maybe another time," I said. "Guys, say goodbye." Hugs were exchanged, though Princess was the only one who shed tears, this time. The sheer amount of progress she''d made in a mere three days was astonishing. Of course, we''d still need to refine her technique, but at least she had something unique, now. Something that only she could do, and we were only scratching the surface. Be wrapped her into a hug while she thanked her for all of her teachings, as did I. "Thank you for the training," I muttered in her hair. "And thank you for not pressuring me to go against what I''m trying to do." I might be fairy, but most of all, I am Betrix, she smiled. And Betrix wants you to be happy. Nightstalker grunted to the side, saying that he would have knocked some sense into her if she hadn''te to that conclusion alone. Oh no, the waterworks are starting. I tried to blink away the tears, but only more of them came. My vision blurred, and suddenly, it was difficult to take full breaths. My arms around her felt heavier than they''d just been, like my body didn''t want to pull away from the hug. Yet, I did. I sniffled, rubbing the hairpin I''d given her, and she caressed my cheek with her w. Go on, sister. And be careful. "Hmhm." I recalled my Pokemon, taking off on Princess momentster. ¡ª I would not be lying if I said that route 210 was the absolute worst route I''d ever been in, save for that one time I''d been stuck deep in Mount Cor with Cecilia, Chase and Denzel. Sure, unlike my first trek through Eterna Forest, I wasn''t getting attacked every few hours, but the fog here? It was so dense breathing was actually taxing, or at least it felt like it. The air clung deep in my throat, cold and humid in a way that constantly irritated it. I couldn''t see ten feet in front of me, save for the asional shape and silhouette that creeped me out and made me jump out of my skin despite having empathy at my disposal to sniff out potential threats. asionally, I would hear a Pokemon''s cry in the distance, but the fact that they were too far for me to sense didn''t help. It was actually cold here despite howte in the year it was due the fact that this route was high on a mountain. With how difficult the terrain was to navigate here, Angel actually had to carry me. Past a certain point, flying to locate the city was impossible due to the fog. I wonder what kind of Pokemon is causing this, I thought to myself. Constant fog all year round, no matter the temperature or conditions would have alerted me had Be not already revealed their existence to me during our first meeting. We had all settled in for the night, and I snuggled close to Sunshine for warmth he was happy to give. That didn''t help with the irritated throat or the runny nose, but at least I was warm and the shivers had stopped. He was lying on the floor, as always, but he had a scaly hand over myp to keep me warm while I sat and used a raised stone pir as a backrest, courtesy of Princess. Speaking of, Princess was close¡ª though they were all close, because of the fog. All within eyesight. I did not want any of them to get lost here, so they were all forbidden from exploring¡ª Angel especially, because I knew he''d wander out and not realize how far he''d gone. It was us and the fog, up here. I could fully visualize what Cynthia had gone through now. Her desperate fight for survival against a Zangoose with only a baby Gible and a knife in her hands, with not only their lives on the line, but her twin sister''s. She had described it as feeling like the four of them were the only people in the world, in that moment. Like nothing beyond the fog even existed. Even Jellicent couldn''t see through it, and my only source of light was a shlight I''d pointed upward and myptop turned on to its maximum brightness. We''d tried to look for firewood, but we''d found no trees, and even if we had, it would be too wet to start a fire for light without Chase''s Houndoom there to help. A Houndoom''s mes could light anything on fire. I shuddered, prompting Sunshine to let out a worried grunt, and I caressed his hand with mine and let him know it was nothing. Sweethearty at the edge of my vision, determined to be a guard against anything that would dare attack us, though no one had so far. Honey sat in contemtion, no doubt imagining theing fight, with the rigid way his tails were moving. Buddy''s skinypletely still, with not even a ripple letting itself known. His crimson eyes were unusually dim, though that might have been the fog ying tricks on me. Princess was nestled closer to me, though she was starting to doze off with how hard she''d trained today already with Angel softly caressing her head with a few vines, though he looked somewhat tired himself, with how sluggish the movements were and his eyes being opened smaller than usual. Guess I should do this speech before they both fall asleep, I sighed. "Guys," I softly said. "Mind listening for a second?" My entire family turned toward me, and for a moment, I stayed silent, taking in how far we''de. How we''d all changed in a thousand different ways since meeting each other, and how we would keep changing, still. It felt significant, though it probably wasn''t. Just another day, traveling with Pokemon I loved to the bottom of my heart. Despite how awful being on this route was, I could not deny that the uncharted feeling I got from traveling and camping here filled me with satisfaction that reminded me that why I''de to enjoy being a trainer hadn''t only been the battles. Cities were nice¡ª great, even, but there was no other feeling like the one that was currently filling my chest. "We''re almost there," I continued. "We''ll reach the city tomorrow¡ª tomorrow night at thetest, depending on how good Chase''s information was. How''s everyone feeling?" I''d known how from a single look, even without empathy, but letting them vent their worries to me would do some good. Jellicent instantly answered with worried, and that going in there to find a seventh Pokemon was an idea he''d never approved of in the first ce, as I knew. He was, however, outvoted already, so he had made his peace with it. Honey was the same, though he hesitated to say it. "Speak your mind, baby," I said. "No one will judge you for it." The electric type smiled, though it was somewhat forced. Like he was making himself smile to feel less anxious, like Barry had told me in Pastoria. A new friend would be nice, he said, though he was scared that ghost would get me. Ghosts always had tricks, after all, especially the old ones like Mathilda. "All types have tricks when they get that old. Just look at Shiftry," I said. "I hear you, though. I''m sorry¡­ I guess I do get kind of headstrong when I get an idea in mind, don''t I?" Princess cooed to the side and dropped Sunshine''s name, with no reason, I was sure. The dragon rolled his eyes and blew some smoke at her that didn''t even make it halfway before she sent it back his way with little effect. "C''mon Princess, we''ve grown past this already." It took some prodding, but she did offer a heartfelt apology. I knew he probably didn''t care, but thest thing I wanted was for Sunshine to feel alienated because he''d scarred me. Princess went next, though she just said she would back whatever I picked. "What do you think?" I asked again. "But for real, this time." The fairy type hesitated, not knowing what to answer even after Angel nudged her to the side. "Your birthday''s soon. You''re growing, and I want your input. Like I said, speak your mind." Togekiss chirped, letting me know that she''d told the truth, but that she wouldn''t be lying if she said she also was worried like the others. I extended a hand and caressed the bottom of her chin. "I''m proud of you for letting me know. Start doing that more, okay? Don''t worry about disagreeing with me unless it''s when youin about having to have a varied diet. Sunshine?" I turned toward the dragon. Do or die, he answered. And he would not let the second option happen. He was a far cry from how he would have been shortly after Kamaile''s death, having grown confident in his abilities to keep us protected. Honey giggled, teasing Sunshine for wanting to show off, and more smoke was threatened to be blown until I shushed them both. "Now, who wants to go next?" Sweetheart growled, something which I was sure resonated through the mountain and scared a few Pokemon nearby. Despite her size, she was still a baby, and I didn''t think she quite understood the scale of the opponent we were probably going to face. Hell, I wasn''t even sure she knew how close we''de to dying when fighting Mathilda, even. She was a little excited, which prompted all of us tough at the absurdity of it all. "Happy to finally let loose, huh?" I smiled. "Been a while for you." The rock type nodded, shing her sharp fangs I''d seen tear through more raw beef I''d ever seen in my life like it was nothing the other day. "Angel?" I probed. His vines shook as one, and he was now fully awake, as was Princess. These days, I didn''t go with what he said through gut feeling, but through a signnguage he''d basically invented, along with the emotions he felt. He acknowledged the dangers, but from what I''d told him about that ancient Zoroark through what Chase had recounted, he¡­ kind of felt bad for the ghost. "He was treated terribly by his people, no doubt," I sighed. "All that hatred for humans couldn''t havee from nowhere." Angel happily bobbed up and down. "If there was something I could do for him, I would," I muttered. "But as it stands, we''re flying toward the castle as soon as we enter, scanning the ce, and getting the fuck out if there''s nothing there. With some luck¡­ we won''t see him." The words felt hollow to me, and they must have to them as well, given the fact that Honey asked me what we''d do if we did actually meet the ghost. "Then we defend ourselves like we nned," I said. "You guys noticed during the fight with Mathilda, right? Compared to how we handled Carnivine, that was night and day. No one identally hurt the other, and you didn''t get in the way of one another. We can do this." Thest of what we''d heard of Zoroark had him wiping out seven-badge level teams, and¡­ well, I was above that, now, but it would still be difficult. It would no doubt be my hardest fight in a while, and more difficult than how Carnivine had been to take down. There was also a theoretical scenario where I just¡­ pulled the hate out of Zoroark, but like with the dilemma with Mathilda, it would make me pass out and I wasn''t sure if it would even make him stop attacking after recovering from the emotional shock that would no doubte from having such an integral part of you ripped away in seconds. If he came inches from killing me like Mathilda did, though, no holds would be barred. It would have been nice, I thought, to help him instead of having to fight. Maybe pulling the hate out of him, little by little. I doubted that he would ever ept that, though, and it would be doing things wrong. Speeding them up artificially instead of having him learn not to hate everything human again. This was, of course, a fantasy. One born of my old self, who thought everything would end up working out if I tried enough¡­ somehow. Sunshine had worked, but the amount of hatred we were working with here was not evenparable. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes and focused¡ª really focused, I could feel it emanating, even here. Going down there with my empathy at full capacity would be a surefire way of passing out on the spot from the pressure. Even Chase had felt the hatred and how heavy it was, and he was no empath. "We have the ACEs," I spoke again. "And worst-case scenario, we pull out and run. They''ll probably meet us near where the covered hole is supposed to be, since they said they would enter with me next time." That seemed to have reassured them some, though the tension still remained high. "I love you all," I said. And they loved me too.
Chapter 284 – We Sing of Rust Chapter 284 ¨C We Sing of Rust
CHAPTER 284 - WE SING OF RUST "Good, you''re here already," I said. Maxwell, Lou, Richard, Ariel and Serena stood at attention over a non-descript part of the mountain. Beyond a few cracks in the rock which were more pronounced than anywhere else, being able to tell that there was a lost underground civilization right under our feet would have been impossible. The Lakhut people having been so mighty in the past made sense, now. First, you''d have to make your way through this awful route, and then you''d have to find the passage to their city to assault it. The only thing that had managed to bring them down was an internal conflict, which I had an inkling was caused by that Zoroark using the war with Sceon as an opportunity to rebel and free himself. There was no mistaking it, however. Even with my empathy in the back of my mind, so subtle that I wasn''t able to tell what any of my ACEs or Pokemon were currently feeling, I could see the embers of rage seeping through the fissure in the stone, like a constantly beating heart. While Angel picked me up and dropped me off his head, Lou spoke up. "Maxwell was waiting here while the rest of us tracked you through the fog," she said. Her voice was the same as usual, like I wasn''t about to throw myself into another situation where my life was at risk. At this point, I was wondering if they privately cursed me for being so abnormal and risk-seeking, but if they did, I couldn''t see it on their faces. Maxwell ran a hand through his dark hair. "Let''s talk strategy, Ms. Pastel. From what we understand, this is all for a ydol. Do you want us by your side while you go look, or out of the way?" I frowned. "This is an option now?" "Oh, yes. We figured we wanted to know what your priorities were," Maxwell said. "Nothing like jumping into a fire to foster growth, though." "Thest time you went with that philosophy, my ankle was snapped in two," I said in a not-so-subtle jab at Ariel. The short woman didn''t react, her face perfectly stoic. "Run me through these options, please." "If we''re with you, we attack Zoroark as soon as it rears its ugly head and strikes," Maxwellzily drawled. "Kill it, probably, unless it has tricks to run. It''s old, and it''s shaken off the rust to be a lot stronger than it once was, but it won''t be able to deal with five ACEs. If not, you fight it until it looks like you''re going to die, and we go in and kill it. Both options lead to the same conclusion, but maybe you want to prance through the city and have a rxing time instead of battling." "Both options will have youpletely safe," Richard added. "Well, listen, how about this. You apany me, and instead of killing Zoroark right away, we try to¡­" I trailed off, forcing myself to get the words out. "Reason with it?" "This ain''t a fairy tale," Maxwell said. "That fucker''s going to try to kill us before you can open your mouth." "I know that," I hissed. It wasn''t like I wanted to catch him. I just wanted to try to appease him some and see if I could help deal with his pain. Ideally, get him to realize that there was more to life than stewing in his rage in the ce that made him suffer so much. He was a Zoroark! He could transform into anything and go anywhere. See the damn world. "But you''re ACE Trainers, and you say you should have no problem killing it, so you should have no problem buying time, right?" "A wed way of thinking," Ariel deadpanned. "Handling a powerful Pokemon with kid gloves is more difficult than going straight for the kill." I sighed, clenching a fist. "Are you sure you can''t try?" "Yup," Maxwell shrugged. "Then I''ll go with option two." They did not react, but I knew they thought less of me for this. All it did was give them more work, and such a risk right after what had happened in the Lost Tower wasn''t something they liked. Why do they not just force me to do it their way, then? I asked myself. Was it because Cynthia wanted to push me to grow? To use trials by fire to match the growth she''did out for me? The ACEs hadn''t failed during the entire raid on Backlot''s mansion, so I was confident in their ability to keep me protected. "An addendum, then," Lou said. "You''ll have me with you. Just me, until more is needed." So not her Pokemon quite yet, then. "Can your barriers hold against a ghost? Shedinja''s Shadow Ball¡­ did a number on you." "I was caught off-guard, if you recall. They''ll hold for a while, and then I''ll Teleport you away should anything bad happen," Lou said. "But we aren''t done yet. Do you think you could scan for Zoroark''s location down there?" My eyes unconsciously nced at the cracked stone, and I gulped. "I don''t think so. Honestly, the anger''s so overwhelming I don''t think I''ll even be able to feel anything else. It''s like¡ª trying to discern a candlelight in the middle of an inferno." "That is what we expected, but we found it would be better to ask," she nodded. "Well, whenever you''re ready." Ariel released her Dragonite, Richard a Pidgeot, Serena a Skarmory while Maxwell already had his huge Honchkrow out and about. Lou had no flier due to her having relied on Teleportation her entire life, so she''d have to hop on Princess with me for our rush to the castle. "Onest question. This¡­ city, is it a domain?" I asked. Maxwell shook his head. "Nah. Just a particrly fucking pissed Pokemon out for blood," he said. "Not everything''s a domain, even though you might suspect it to be." "Well¡­ I''m ready, then, if no one has anything else to say," I muttered as I released Princess. "Baby, it''s time." I saw Maxwell roll his eyes at the pet name, but I paid him no mind. I knew his entire jerk persona was probably a coping mechanism anyway, and we were about to risk our lives, so I''d let it be even if it annoyed me some. Ariel''s Dragonite held out a hand, and a burst of wind copsed the floor, revealing a cavern that was too dark to reveal what was inside. Hatred gushed out of the hole like a leaking sieve, but I was stronger now. Beyond a mild headache and a weighty feeling on my chest that turned my breaths shallow, I could press on just fine. I hopped on Princess, and Lou did the same behind me, with Togekiss whispering aint about how heavy she was. My bodyguards all swooped down first while I recalled Tangrowth, and then it was our turn to get inside, though wegged a bit behind because Lou had been putting a mental shield on me in case ydol were aggressive. She hadn''t bothered listening when I told her that I already had one, though, and it took until she delved into my mind that she was convinced. The drop wasn''t actually that high, which exined how Chase had actually survived with deep cuts instead of broken bones. It was more of a downward slope that grew steeper the closer you got to the exit. The cityy further, still, but from the skies, it was easy to see. Even today, strange rocks on the ceiling basked the city in their light to rid them of their need for sunlight. The buildings might have been a thousand years old, but they were still in rtively good condition, and I would not hesitate to call them beautiful. Louis or Cecilia would have loved nerding out about architectural design for these, I silently mused as we trailed through the air. Even Lou couldn''t help but look down, though part of me wondered if she was just scanning for Zoroark instead of enjoying the sights. Already, my ACE Trainers had dispersed and somehow gone out of view. It was difficult to tell from up here, but what made these buildings strange was the absence of uniformity, unlike the standardized bricks I was familiar with today. They were of different stones, each sporting a different shade, and they came together in a curious, disorganized, yet harmonious disy, despite how contradicting that sounded. They were all different colors too, though I did notice ack of purple at the city''s edges. The further in we flew, the more purple was peppered onto some of the bricks, as if it had been synonymous with status. The streets were cobbled, beige stones and were crawling with Sigilyph who flew with none of the emotion Sig showed whenever Chase showed her off, as if she''d been an anomaly. They all kept to a predetermined path, floating along the streets to keep them safe even though everyone here had long passed away. Even from this high, it was easy to tell they all had a different color palette and arrangement. "Feel anything emanating from the castle?" Lou asked. "That''s where you''re looking first, right?" "It''s emanating everywhere, like I said. Sorry, but it''ll be hard to tell in any precise manner. The scale of this¡­ I haven''t seen anything like it since Mesprit." And that maniptive heckler was probably having the time of their life, with the way they''d essentially described themselves as a spectator in my mind. Rejoice, Mesprit. You have front-row seats to the fucking ughter, I thought, restraining a sigh. Beyond the city¡ª at the center point between it and the castle¡ª was a za with a checkered floor that looked like it would have fit some merchant stands perfectly, back when people actually lived here. At its center stood an enormous fountain made of stone and rusted metal, and the water there had long stopped flowing. The mural Chase had spoken about was visible, and I had Princess hover for a few seconds and lower her altitude so I could make sense of it all. Lou didn''t seem to mind. Their job was, after all, to just protect me, not to force me into not doing anything dangerous. If they had, I was certain I would be far weaker than I was now, and they needed me strong. And they never would have let me in here. Stick figures that looked like people had been painted at the bottom¡ª hundreds of them, all uniform and devoid of any detail. Below them, in a flurry of sprouting me, was Zoroark, constantly burning with wispy white and red hair. On top of the depicted citizens were Sigilyph, and above those were ydol and Baltoy. The being the closest to the top along with the king, however, was a being made of silver paint with the most amount of detail in the drawing. It had a golden hexagonal shape for a head, the same crown that adorned the king''s own, and was radiating golden light from atop its tform with the king at its side. "Do you know what Pokemon that is?" I asked. "There''s Zoroark, Sigilyph, ydol and Baltoy, but¡­ I don''t know what this is." "I do not know either," she shrugged. "It is probably long dead, by now, and wasn''t spotted by any of the early expeditions we sent into the city. Let''s continue. We''ve wasted enough time." "Right. Princess." She continued on her way. The staircase leading up to the castle was made of rusting iron, and the steps were so long that they must have been redundant to climb, back in the day. What if you wanted an audience with the king? Did he just ask you to run a full marathon? While the city itself had been left rtively intact, only showing damage due to its age, the castle had been ravaged. Massive walls, once forged from sturdy iron, bore the scars of corrosion, their surfaces marred by the relentless advance of rust. The castle''s silhouette was a twisted and skeletal remnant of its former grandeur and was adorned with ornate spires and turrets now eroded and misshapen. Where once there must have been a proud entrance nowy a gaping maw, the rusted gates long since fallen and rusting on the ground. This entire castle and its surroundings had been borne of metal. It was everywhere I looked, even though it was now rusted. The garden was now a twisted fusion of overgrown weeds and corroded steel. Amidst the remnants of ornate metalwork, shattered statues now served as pedestals for burgeoning grass and moss-covered sculptures. The king sure loved to make statues of himself¡­ no, they were different. Each one, a different monarch, though it was hard to tell through the rust and, you know, the way their bodies had been eviscerated. Princessnded me at the castle''s entrance, which was thankfully still standing, and I immediately released my entire team. Their nerves were clearly on edge¡ª after all, even they could feel Zoroark''s rage. I moistened my lips, holding my hands toward Honey and sping him tightly. Even he wasn''t sure about the entire Zoroark n. "It''s going to be okay," I smiled. "We owe it to ourselves to try, don''t we? That''s what second chances are about. Let''s head inside." We stepped inside of the broken castle as one. The air here had a certain stillness to it, and coated the back of my throat and sinuses with the taste and smell of rust¡ª like licking coins, but worse. The inside was metal as well, though there were a lot of stones and faded wooden decorations interspersed in the walls. We walked across a faded red carpet with golden fringes across the grand entry hall and I couldn''t help but notice the worn-down tapestries that clung to the walls that still held, depicting long-lost memories of what looked to be coronations, festivals or ancient wars. One of them had been torn to shreds beyond recognition, however. Broken furniturey scattered across the entire foyer, along with shards of ss and rusted metal. Angel helped me up a copsed pir, and we came face-to-face with the empty throne room Chase had awakened Zoroark in. The hair on my arms stood on end, but no being made their presence known. And it was not where we were going. If ydol and Baltoy were only afforded to the king, then it would make sense for them to be roaming the castle, and only the castle. I turned left, reaching a door that had obviously been kicked in. The jambs were bent, twisting and splintered, while the door itself bore many dents in the oxidized metal andy t against the ground. Honey whispered a small joke about him being able to use the kitchen we now found ourselves in if anyone was hungry, but I stayed silent, clenching my jaw as I treaded the room with careful steps after wiping the sweat off my forehead. I appreciated Honey, even if I hadn''t answered. It wasn''t like we needed to stay quiet, because I was certain Zoroark knew where we were. Is he waiting for us to go deeper within the castle to spring a trap? Or is he biding his time for something else? Catching Lou off-guard, maybe? Each one of my breaths felt heavy, and my heart pounded against my ribcage while I walked past a pair of copsed hearths. There was a story, here. People had still been cooking, when it had all happened. Countless tes had beenid out across decaying counters¡ª like a snapshot in history. Dried blood still remained on the floors, walls, countertops, tes¡ª it had been a fucking massacre. And there are still skeletons in the city itself. These corpses had been¡­ well, it looked like Zoroark hadn''t left anything remaining. Not even bone. "Let''s keep going," I said. Sweetheart had to be recalled and released to fit through the next door. It was some kind of garden, but this time inside of the castle, so a courtyard like the one they had in the UPAN building, but more grand. No grass remained here, only earth and akerge enough to boat in, since there were small barges still attached to a broken-down stone quay. My heart caught in my throat when I saw¡­ remains at the edge of the shore, not of a person, but of the exact Pokemon I''d been pining after for months. Before I could even realize what was happening, my legs were taking me forward, and I was sure I would have ran, if I''d been capable of it. A part of their head had been shattered to bits, leaving only three remaining eyes that were now dark and empty instead of the vibrant pink I expected. I knelt at the side of the deceased ydol, softly touching the side of their face. You really were made of y, I thought with a tired sigh. Completely smooth to the touch, even after all those years. More shattered yy at their side, and their separated hands were lifeless on the ground. ydol wererger than I expected them to be. It was hard to tell with half their body being broken and them lying sideways, but they were probably at around six and a half feet. I felt a hand sp my shoulder from behind, warm enough to be Sunshine. "Zoroark must have killed them while they were defending the people here," I muttered. "Shit¡­ if they ran through all of the ydol¡ª" Princess chirped, saying that the Sigilyph must have defended the city inhabitants, but a lot of them were still alive. "Yes, but the ydol here defended the king himself. The one man Zoroark hated more than anything," I said with a clenched fist. "What if he saw them as targets and just destroyed all of them?" "Do you want to leave, then?" Lou said. For a moment, I actually hesitated, staring at the still water of theke which must have been the site of many gatherings and outdoor parties. Rage still roiled off every single inch of this ce and a Zoroark was probably stalking us and waiting for an opportunity to strike. This was only one ydol, one out of many, but I couldn''t help but feel a tightening in my chest at the sight of something I''d wanted for so long having been so savagely destroyed. It was like the world was spitting on my face and mocking me. "No. We keep looking," I dered, rising to my feet. "There might be no ydol left, but I want to give it a try, at least. To say I did everything in my power to seed so I can leave with fewer regrets if I don''t find anything." Lou silently nodded, and we kept going, though I had to call Sweetheart so she would stop wasting energy on moving water from theke around with Surf. The meandering path along theke took us to some kind of Keep, as Lou had said. A part of the castle that was often used to overlook the grounds and was defensive in nature. The tall spire of metal was more intact than the rest of the castle, though it was decaying like this entire ce. Honestly, I was kind of scared one of these buildings was going to fall on our heads, but we had Lou and Princess for protection. The inside of the keep had stairs leading down or up. "Up is just the top of the tower," I grunted. "Down might lead to an entire underground section of the castle. I think we go down." My Pokemon agreed, though I had to recall Sweetheart so she wouldn''t copse the aging stairs. The door wouldn''t budge, so Honey had to punch it to push past the rusted hinges. "Are you kidding me¡ª a crypt, again?" I scoffed. Though this one wasn''t at all like Mathilda''s. There was a dampness to this ce that I hadn''t felt anywhere else in the city. At the entrance, the crypt''s ceiling was partially copsed, revealing jagged fissures in the stone¡ª which was the main building material used here and not metal. Some graves were exposed, revealing skeletal remains that did not affect me after having seen the horrors at the Lost Tower. Hopefully Zoroark didn''t have any bone reanimation tricks. Only humans had beenid to rest here, and there were inscriptions as to who they were in anguage I couldn''t read, and way different than the one that had been at the tip of my tongue in Celestic. From context, I could guess there were their names, and perhaps a little passage about their lives. I released Sweetheart again, and we began exploring the crypt. Sometimes, we had to carefully pick up debris and ce it to the side, and the air grew dustier the further we went in. It was only five minutes in, that I came across another ydol. This one was intact¡ª without even a scratch on their body, but it was not floating anymore, instead lying t against the ground, and their eyes were again dark instead of pink. As I approached, I noticed ydol was covered by a thickyer of dust that didn''t bode well for any activity they might have had recently. What had even killed this one? I was certain they were dead and not dormant, with how there was no emotion emanating out of it when I tweaked with my empathy. From this close, I should have been able to feel something even with Zoroark skulking about. "Shit," I sighed, passing a hand over the psychic''s head. "Arceus fucking damn it. No luck. I don''t think we''ll find any more in the crypt." I paused, closing my eyes and biting my lip in frustration. I was so close. "You know, I''m starting to think the king didn''t have that many ydol in the first ce. And we haven''t even found a single Baltoy." "Art often depicts more than reality," Lou offered. "Let us move¡ª move¡­" The ashen-haired ACE turned toward ydol, her white eyes narrowing into slits. "It''s alive," she said. "The signal is faint, but it''s alive." I gasped in relief, feeling a weight lift off my chest. "How do you know?!" "I am a psychic, and so is it. I can feel the subtleties your Togekiss would not be able to at a nce," Lou said. "Have her delve into its mind." "But they''re a ydol, they have no mind¡ª" "Try," she pressed. I motioned at Princess, whose eyes shone bright pink as she stared down the ydol. It took around ten seconds for her to confirm what Lou had said, though it wasn''t like I didn''t trust Lou. The way Princess described how ydol felt made her certain that they were alive, and that she could feel the artificial mind having been imnted inside of them at their creation. Faint, but present and active. "Can we¡ª can we jumpstart them or something? I have no idea how any of this works," I rambled. "We need to do something." "I do not know enough about ydol to know how they were built or function. You should capture it so we can leave," Lou shrugged. "I can''t catch them without their consent, Lou." "Then release it if it doesn''t want to join you. There is no dilemma here that isn''t of your own creation." "What good are morals if you walk them back at the first sign of inconvenience, Lou?" I said. "The moment you put a Pokemon in a ball, that''s where the power imbnce starts. What if ydol wakes up and feels pressured to talk one way because I could literally trap them for as long as their Pokeball is functional? What then?" "Well, do something then, because the clock is ticking, Grace," she said. "Okay. Okay. Princess, can you try to see if you can send a tiny psychic signal or something? Give us something to work with?" I was flying by the seat of my pants here, but it wasn''t like I had anything to go off of. Togekiss was so unused to tempering her psychic attacks that it took her a full minute to lower its strength enough not to copse ydol''s mind. We had no idea how strong they were, and even if they were strong, they were in a weak state and at the verge of death. ydol jolted, their arm rattling against the dusty floor. "Everyone, give them some space! Lou, you still have that barrier around your brain, right?" I asked, just in case ydol tried to squeeze her brain like a grape. "Of course. I always do." Dust burst off ydol''s skin and the psychic rose as their six eyes lit up pink, revealing ck pupils that sat perfectly still at their center. A smooth voice, not too deep or too high, rang out of ydol like they were a machine. "System reboot initiated. Power restoration at optimal levels. Sensor calibration in progress. Analyzing temporal discement... One thousand and eighteen years psed. Location: Royal Crypt. Assessing environmental parameters. Exterior damage detected. Structural integritypromised." "What the¡ª" "Memory banks essed. Retrieving historical data. Records corrupted. Fragmented information avable. Query: Events transpired during dormancy. Attempting data reconstruction. Attempt failed." ydol rose from the ground, floating upward with sluggish movements. "External stimuli detected. Organic entities present. Analyzing for threat assessment¡ª" ydol''s eyes shed. "¡ªthreat level nine. Interaction protocol initiated. Greetings. I am ydol 11, Guardian of the Vesuvius Memor family line and all of its descendants. How may I be of service?" They weren''t even speaking in my mind, but for all to hear. I was feeling somewhat overwhelmed by this and didn''t even know where to begin now that a ydol was really in front of me, but I had to say something¡ª there was an explosion, deep within the castle, and the ceiling rattled, littering my shoulders and head in dust. Shit. Had Zoroark not actually been following us all this time? There must have been a reason for it, and he was . "Grace," Lou spoke in a hushed tone. "My name is Grace Pastel¡ª" "Acknowledged. Name has been assigned." "I''d introduce the entire team, but we''re running out of time. You said you had memory problems¡ª but long story short, this entire city was destroyed by a Zoroark a long time ago, and I assume he hit you and thought you were dead, but you survived, somehow. Zoroark ising, and I''m sorry you don''t have enough time to think, but if you want, we can just leave before he gets here." "Query: Zoroark. Unrecognized." "That ghost your kings kept trapped for who knows how long!" I pressed. "He''sing here to kill us!" "Individual recognized as the Fiend. Please provide urate data for urate processing." Legendaries, it was like being sassed by aputer. "Sorry¡ª look, can we leave or not?" I asked. "Because if ites to a fight, I''ll want to see if I canmunicate with¡ª" I never finished my sentence. He had been so silent whileing here, like the explosion from before had been a distraction and he''d been closer all along. Zoroark was a sh of red and white, three shadowy ws extending from his hand as he blurred through one of the crypt walls, phasing through Sweetheart and toward me. Honey reacted quicker than Lou did, bringing up a Protect around both me and her. Bright yellow eyes met mine as the ghost snarled, and the weight of centuries of torture bore down on my shoulders like a hammer striking a nail. Like something was continuously grinding me to dust, and even further, still, until nothing would remain but hatred. The ground below him burst into sharp spikes, but none of them struck true, and Zoroark slipped away and retreated back into a wall. This ce was far too cramped for a battle, which was why I''d wanted to leave so quickly, and Lou was content to simply watch. Fiend has breached containment. Activating containment procedure. Initiating security protocols. Citizens, please evacuate, ydol said, this time in our heads. "Princess, get us out of here!" I yelled. "Honey, Buddy, keep up a Protect. Put all of us in it." I knew Jellicent would tire quickly, but we had to stall for time. Zoroark growled, his ghostly appearance turning into a human wearing a purple coat around ted armor. The same crown he''d been depicted wearing on the mural was also present, a golden hexagon that seemed to shine in the dim crypt. ydol''s pupils turned to lines at the sight of the ancient king, though nothing flickered in that gaze. He seemed to understand what a Protect was, at least, not bothering to waste energy attacking us while it was up. Behind me, Princess carved a hole, twenty feet across and ten feet high so we could all fit and run away to a more favorable location. "Another gift," Zoroark said through a beast-like delighted cackle. "More flesh to gouge and savage, I see. I have yearned for more of thy kind to arrive, thou monstrous things. Thou shall long for the release of death when my reckoning is through with you, mere ything." "I don''t want to hurt you, and I have nothing to do with the people who did hurt you," I said, loud and clear. "I won''t im to understand what they did¡ª" Zoroark raked ws against the floor, and three shadowy arcs taller than Sweetheart burst from his hand. He had not aimed for the Protect, instead having copsed the ceiling above us until I could see nothing but rocks beyond the Protect. Clicking my tongue, I ordered Sweetheart to push them away using Stone Edge and not to attack quite yet. With a wave of her arm, she pushed the boulders and shattered stone out of the way, revealing Princess'' escape route that led to a cliff at the side of the castle''s keep. "Okay, let''s take steps backward¡ª slowly. Buddy, you can let go. Save your energy forter," I said. "ydol, are youing?" Affirmative. It is my duty to assist in the evacuation. We started walking into the hole, though Zoroark followed us, keeping his distance. At least he knew that copsing the tunnel wouldn''t work this time. "Okay, just stick close so you don''t get hurt," I said, recalling the fact that they were damaged. "No need to fight." Fighting the Fiend is not in my parameters. It is my duty to protect and assist in the evacuation, ydol affirmed. Right. They''re kind of a robot, I quickly thought. No emotions, just parameters and logic. We reached the edge of the cliff, and there was no way I would ever make that jump without breaking every single bone in my body. The long staircase makes a lot more sense, now. "Okay, here''s what we''re going to do," I said, uncaring that Zoroark could hear. "I''m going to step on Princess and she''ll fly me away. I''ll recall you as soon as I can. Sounds like a n?" After some nods, I turned to ydol. "You can just float down, right? And Lou, you can Teleport down there?" Affirmative. "Correct." I took a few deep breaths, not having realized I was already sweating bullets. Every time I stared into Zoroark''s direction for too long, the sheer scale of his hatred became too much to bear. I quickly mounted Princess, knowing that every second Honey spent using Protect counted, and then, he put the Protect up as she dashed out of the hole while ydol floated out with Jellicent. The ghost''s mouth turned human again, but his voice was still raw and beastly. "Thou shalt suffer." He moved like lightning¡ª only slightly slower than Honey was with Radiant Leap, even. Zoroark broke against Sweetheart, hatred surging out of every inch of his ghostly skin as he hit her with an elbow faster than Electivire could react. I twisted my neck so much it hurt, desperate to see what was going on, but battle in such a tight environment was bound to confuse, and all I managed to glimpse was a burst of electricity and mes. I quickly unclipped my Pokeballs, recalling Angel first before he could burn, then Honey and finally Sunshine. Sweetheart''s frame was clearly visible through the mes, but her attacks seemed to have no effect on Zoroark until she blow the entire tunnel apart with a Dark Pulse and copsed it¡ª Shit! Shit, shit, shit, FUCK! "Closer!" Arceus fucking damn it! Lou had Teleported out, but the Pokeball''s beam wouldn''t go through rocks. Princess cried out, and the burst of speed nearly made me slip off her. I gripped her fur tightly not to fall off, but she swerved off when Zoroark jumped through the stone and into the air¡ª I slipped. I was falling, tumbling through the air and everything had gone so fast I''d barely registered what had happened. My body was wrested upward by an invisible force, but that wasn''t before Jellicent had already been right below me in hopes of slowing down my fall. Princess had caught me, thank the fucking Legendaries. My entire body already hurt like a damn bruise and we were just starting. In the distance, Zoroark crashed into the earth below without a single care for his well-being and instantly targeted Lou, who raised a hand and a barrier while she released her Lunatone and Solrock to assist her. He moved so quickly that I could barely see what was going on, which wasn''t helped by the fact that I was upside down. He doesn''t care what human he attacks as long as he gets a kill, I realized. At least it looked like Lou was holding. "Gently¡­" I groaned as Princess ced me on her back. "Let''s get Sweetheart back." I wasn''t actually worried about the rocks having copsed on her, but what Zoroark could have done while she was freeing herself. In fact, it looked like she''d been blowing the ce up but only copsing tons and tons of stone onto her back instead. Princess slung away the stones and made them fall off the cliff while ydol silently observed, their eyes forever calcting. It was only when I caught a glimpse of the bottom of her feet that I managed to recall Sweetheart. Instantly, Princess swooped down on the ground, and I released my entire team before we evennded. Jellicent doused Angel and Honey in water before they could burn further and I finally managed to breathe while Zoroark was focused on Lou. A notable strength I''d caught on was that he could pass through anything and make different parts of his body tangible, but unlike other ghosts, he didn''t disappear when doing so. The ground here was generally t with nowhere to hide, save for a few boulders Princess had brought down and the side of the grand staircase. The city would be a death trap. This was no za¡­ but it was the second best area to fight in so we''d be able to buy some time to talk, both to Zoroark and ydol. The psychic seemed to hover behind me to assist in the ''evacuation'' and was telling me to proceed to the city every thirty seconds or so like a broken record. Pokemon took their positions¡ª Princess high in the sky, with Buddy slipping underground and waiting for an opportune moment to strike if the need ever arose, and to reach the team unoppposed by Zoroark to protect them. Angel and Sunshine on opposite sides so the grass type wouldn''t justbust every time Turtonator flexed his mes and Honey in front of me, ready to be artillery if everything went to shit, but he was also to use Protect when needed. The goal was not to fight, but to negotiate. "Lou! I''m ready!" I yelled. My ACE Trainer silently Teleported back behind me, taking her two Pokemon with her before recalling them. "I''ll observe." "We don''t have to fight! We can just¡ª talk, for a little bit. I know you were mistreated in the past, but that was entirely different people than those who exist now. I don''t offer anything but potential freedom, where you won''t have to toil in a ce you hate¡ª" Zoroark snarled, though he did not bother saying anything but some half-formed words about violence and killing before his mouth turned to the king''s again. Had he never learned to speak when not transformed? "Look at thee, of flesh and blood, so easily rent asunder, yet thou speakest to me as an equal. Thy kind hath tortured me through generations. Facese and go, yet one thing remains constant, thou pitiful creature. Always, thou dost subject me to torment. Regrly, thoumittest murder in the most agonizing of ways to appease thy imaginary gods, and at the end of it, I remain standing." The final word rippled across the field and made my knees buckle. Honey grabbed my arm, carefully kept me standing and pulled me closer as Zoroark began circling us, his eyes darting at each of my Pokemon. His golden eyes looked at them like mere obstacles to be pushed away to reach me or Lou, and not actual opponents, though he was sizing us up and figuring out how to best approach this, because we were no pushovers, still. "You broke this civilization," I tried. "No one sharing their morals remains. What you went through is horrible, and I''m sorry¡ª" Zoroark grinned, instantly cutting in to rush toward Tangrowth at blinding speeds. Vines shot out of the grass type''s body simultaneously, but Zoroark slipped through them until he coated them in darkness and caught him. Zoroark snarled, his entire body turning into an array of sharpened des, and he tore through the vines like paper before we could douse Zoroark with spores as nned. I understood perfectly what the ACEs had meant now, when they said that handling a powerful Pokemon with kids glove was difficult. How was I supposed to slow Zoroark down enough to talk if this was how he fought? "Buddy, Protect!" I called out. Jellicent slithered out of the ground, and a thin transparent barrier appeared around Angel¡ª It had only been a distraction. Zoroark was back to his original form, though only a de-like arm remained, jagged and malformed enough to make me feel ufortable. The sword dimmed purple, and Zoroark blurred in Sunshine''s direction, tearing through his toughened scales with little resistance. I immediately recalled him, releasing him next to me again and groaned from being doused in ambient heat. More vines shot out of Angel, but they didn''t even slow Zoroark down. Blood seeped out of Sunshine''s¡­ everywhere, and I fumbled for a Hyper Potion while Princess swooped down with a Fairy Wind so concentrated it might as well have been a needle. Zoroark weaved away from the pink dust, leaving behind a small hole that would have gouged the ghost had he stuck around. That had not been a part of the n, but she''d seen red after seeing Sunshine get torn through like this. His scales were scorching to the touch, but I still had to apply the potion, so I grit my teeth and bore with it, watching as he healed in front of my eyes and his breaths rxed. In the distance, Sweetheart roared as well, calling forth an avnche of rocks from the cliff we''d just climbed as she called out for Honey to spring up a Protect to keep me safe. Jellicent snaked across the ground, pushing himself to his limit to catch up to Zoroark and boil, from the way his skin bubbled and turned to vapor. This was a catastrophe. "Stop!" I called out. "Everyone, stop." There was hesitation, but they knew who led during battles, and it was me. Zoroark cackled, sending balls of shadows forth that distorted the world around them like a ck hole. They homed in toward Angel, who Zoroark seemed to love targeting, and the grass type rose four walls around him just in time to protect himself from both the spheres and the Rock Slide. The Ancient Power wouldn''t have held, had Sweetheart been still pushing the rocks with her will, but she''d stopped, and so we watched Zoroark look for another opening. Tyranitar took a few steps toward Angel, growling menacingly at our enemy. Sunshine heaved on the floor, pushing himself back to his feet. A single attack, and he''d nearly¡­ died. This was real. Zoroark would have torn through his muscles and heart had I not recalled him. "Please try," I told Zoroark. "We want to¡ª" "No," the ghost answered. "Is this what you want? We have people to help you." "And who was it, girl, that decided I needed help?" Ah. I understood, now. There was just no getting through to him. No angle where we''d be able to see eye to eye. I would never be able to understand what he''d been through in his life, save for the hatred it had left over, just like he would never be able to understand that not all humans were the same people who had tortured him for centuries, because it was all he had ever known. I blinked, trying not to cry at the tragedy of it all. The waste. Please proceed to the citadel and evacuate, ydol sounded in my head. "If we leave now," I whispered to Lou. "Will the League catch him? Can we just¡­ leave him here?" "No," Lou whispered back. "We cannot ignore the risk of him slipping out of the city and terrorizing the route. He has remembered what killing is like, and so it is a risk we cannot take." My shoulders slumped in defeat. "I see." There was only so much talking could do, in the end. I''d failed to save him from a worse fate, because we couldn''t see eye to eye. I was an empath, but I''d failed to show him I could help. To show him that cooperation would be better than this. After every thought, I expected Zoroark to cut in, but he wasn''t. Why? It felt like he was biding his time, and I didn''t like it. We could hurt him, but he could hurt back, and he wasn''t giving it his all, it felt like. Angel finished gathering up spores and threw one of his bombs toward Zoroark as ast-ditch attempt, and the ghost type blurred with a sidestep. Despite it being a two-against-one, his ws extended, tipped with metal and shadow as he danced through an array of vines. This really wasn''t a good ce to showcase what we''d practiced on, I thought through grounded teeth. I called out for Jellicent, who was here as always with a Protect in tow. Zoroark might have been a ghost, but it looked like he couldn''t actually track Buddy under the ground. Zoroark mmed his entire body against the green barrier until it cracked¡ª shit, even after all our training? Jellicent began transforming as an explosion of ghostly energy rattled the entire battlefield. Even with Honey''s protection, I felt the need to hurl and continuous chills ran through my body. I¡ª did hurl, kneeling against the floor and emptying my stomach. At the edge of my vision, Buddy turned into a shapeless liquid while Zoroark stabbed his ws into him. The ancient ghost didn''t even bother with continuing, as if tearing through real flesh was more satisfying to him than Jellicent. I recalled Angel before he could dig into him, but it wasn''t him he was after. Zoroark''s hand turned to a Morning Star¡ª spiked with rusted edges¡ª and I recognized the Foul y that formed around it immediately. "Iron Defense!" I called out. The move started, but it wasn''t in time. Two quick jabs to the gut dealt Sweetheart so much pain she cried out loud enough to make my ears ring. She did not go down, though. Rage filled her eyes, though it felt like a drop in the ocean. She swept her tail as Zoroark circled around her and phased through it, preparing another attack to strike her back. Princess quickly formed a barrier, and though it shattered, it parried Zoroark''s strike enough for him to graze her instead of wound her as the first two Foul ys had. A glob of pitch ck formed in Sweetheart''s mouth, weaving itself into rings as Angel shot out more Knock Offs to grab onto Zoroark. The ghost dodged, somehow phasing through a Shadow Ball that Jellicent had sent like it had no effect and again, he was out before anything could substantially hurt him. Sunshine yelled at my side, as I sent Angel back out again, asking me to see reason. To finally let all of my Pokemon loose and to attack or at least flee. Even Honey was itching to do something, with the way his tailsshed out and electricity coursed through his arms. To not just be on defense duty while Zoroark ran circles around us. "One more try, and we can leave," I gasped. "I''m sorry, but one more. Buddy, to me!" I didn''t miss the two shades appearing to rece him, and I allowed Sunshine to go in because I felt like he would have anyway. More sluggishly than usual, he retracted into his shell and sped toward Sweetheart, who was actually losing to Zoroark. She could barely react to his strikes and he seemed so fucking efficient at phasing through things that he never got hit by anything other than dark type moves. Sunshine arrived with a roar, mes flickering from the edge of his shell. He turned in a smooth motion and mmed his tail against his shell, blowing everything behind him to smithereens. We had tested this, I knew, but it still felt odd seeing Sweetheart standing in the explosion with only an unpleased grunt while Zoroark keened and slid back with smoke and mes dancing at the edge of his body. He could not afford any respite, with the way Princess was hounding him with Fairy Winds that cut. I turned to Buddy and pointed toward the castle. "Get back up there and grab a giant sphere of water from theke while we buy time. You''re going to freeze him, and we''re going to coat the entire with in dark TE." The water type instantly shot up with a burst of water, spraying me in the process, and I continued observing the fight. It made me uneasy, how Zoroark seemed to continuously speed up the more he battled. All of my Pokemon were getting beat! All of them, and he was fucking ying around. Doing more dodging instead of attacking in a way that made me feel sick when it should have been good, to buy more time and barely even going for me. The ancient ghost''s arm turned to a mess of metal that had no coherent shape, and he pointed it upward at Princess¡ª "Dazzling Gleam!" I yelled. They shot out like bullets, making the exact sound guns did in movies, but so much louder, and they were each coated in purple light that clung to them like moths to a me. I bit my lip and covered my ears. The ringing from earlier still hadn''t left, and this was just making things worse. Princess exploded in a burst of radiant light that made her look like this damned city''s sun, and the first wave of the same bullets were torn to shreds. The second wave hit her barrier, and the third wave shattered it. The fairy type cried out, though thankfully there was no fourth wave, with the way Sweetheart managed to hit Zoroark with a Dark Pulse and Sunshine hurt him from the heat emanating from a methrower. And I said I wouldn''t hurt him, I sighed, biting my lip. If I could just get him¡­ restrained, so we could converse beyond him saying he''d kill me, then we might have gotten somewhere. "ydol, would Zoroark¡­ hold back for any reason? Like, does he enjoy drawing a fight out when he could win?" I muttered. Negative. From the few fragments of memory that remain, he scythed through Lakhutians like wheat and did not draw out any battle. Further data retrieval ongoing forprehensive understanding. "You don''t need to do that¡ª you''re okay," I anxiously said. "Lou? What do you think?" "I think you are wasting your time and that you should run with your ydol," she said. "Other than that, I have nothing to offer." "I''m trying onest thing," I repeated. "Yes. It might work, or it might not," Lou said. "I just think you''re affording him too many chances when there is no need for any." Princess'' flight was unsteady, now and I called for her, knowing that if Zoroark focused on her, she would be critically wounded. "I don''t even know if ydol wants toe¡ª do you want toe? If you stay here, you''ll most likely die, but I won''t force you to do anything." My primary directive is to keep the Vesuvius Memor family safe. There are no more remaining descendants of this line. If you wish to take me, I could be your guardian. You or the other woman. "Then we have a deal," I said. Status updated. Grace Pastel designated as new Monarch. This¡­ was I forcing them toe with me? I shook the thought off as Princessnded next to me, her eyes clouded by insidious pain, and I ignored the sound of fighting to tend to her wounds. "She has a metallic shard lodged inside of her," Lou instantly dered. "Do not use a potion." My heart jumped in my throat. "Wh¡ªwhat?" "I can have my Ferrothorn get it out of her, if you wish¡ª" "Yes! Do it now, please," I sighed in relief. An explosion from Sunshine shook me to my core as Lou released her steel type. Princess'' breaths were short and shallow, making me think it had pierced through her lung. "Will a Hyper Potion be enough? I¡ª should I recall her?" "It will be," Lou said. "Ferrothorn, do you feel metal inside of her? Pull it out gently." The hulking piece of metal trilled, and Princes started shrieking. This wasn''t a procedure that was meant to be done without anesthesia, and it showed. My heel bounced against the floor as I consciously shut down the numerous thoughts of revenge filling my head, the most prominent one being to loose the ACEs on Zoroark. He was tortured for centuries, killed in excruciating ways over and over. This was a fight of my doing. I did this. Togekiss gasped as the sharp piece of metal left her body and I finally applied the potion. Thank the Legendaries I''d spent money on these, because I knew a potion would not have been enough. Lou recalled her steel type soon enough, though I made sure to thank her. I also cycled through my other Pokemon, recalling and releasing them next to me so I could continuously heal them and throw them back into the fight, though it wasn''t working. They were already exhausted, having to fight for their lives even if Zoroark was holding back¡ª again, not in strength per se, because his attacks were aiming to kill, but in their intensity. He was fighting like this was a leisurely stroll through a garden, not like he wanted to see me decapitated. It was then, that Jellicent came back with enough water to flood this entire city¡ª no, I was exaggerating, but it was so much it cast and enormous shadow over the entire battlefield. How deep had thiske been? Without a single word from me, his two Night Shades barrelled toward Zoroark, who finished them off with a simple Shadow w and seemingly didn''t care for the explosion. A sphere of water split off and mmed against Zoroark, freezing over instantly. "Sweetheart, use Dark Sandstorm like we trained!" I instantly reacted. Her entire armor was nothing but cracks and flesh, and some parts of her ting even stabbed into her. Still, sand burst forth from her vents, each grain cker than pitch and coating the entire ball of ice. Zoroark tried to phase through, but he couldn''t. There was another explosion of ghostly energy, We had trapped him in a prison for his hubris, and all he could do now was listen. Eventually, so much sand surrounded the sphere that I couldn''t even see through it. I did not take a step forward. It would be too risky, if there was a trick afoot. Jellicent whispered in my ear that he found the castle to be suspiciously active, with the rust actively disappearing from every single metallic surface he''d seen. I nodded, but turned back to Zoroark. "Listen to me, Zoroark¡ª can you hear me?" "Silence, thou powerless little wretch. The instant I escape this confinement, I shall rend thy throat asunder, feeble barrier be damned. No, I''ll relish in it, savoring the methodical unraveling of thy being. I shall shatter every bone within thy meager frame, then I will peel away thy skin, ensuring thou linger in agony for as long as possible. A torment, much akin to the depths of thy kind enjoys so much." I shivered, because when I looked into his eye, I knew he was telling the truth. Iposed myself, trying not to appear weak, but he must have known, because he cackled in the ice, his voice carrying through solid. "If you stay here, the League will be forced to take you in," I said. "You''ll be trapped in a Pokeball forever instead of learning to work with people, Zoroark. You''re not thinking long-term." There was a crack as Zoroark tried punching his way out repeatedly, seemingly ignoring my words. Sweetheart provided more sand with immacte focus, but I could tell she was straining. In a battle of endurance, Zoroark would eventually break out. "So that''s it, then?" I sighed. He did not answer. "I tried," I murmured, my eyes downcast. "I really did." The punches stopped, and for a second, I felt hope. Thou keep sending trainers after me, human. They lurk in the skies, waiting for the right moment to strike me down should I leave an opening. Do not pretend to care for my well-being. I frowned. Had that been why he''d been holding back? Because he feared that he would be vulnerable if he went too wild? "I''m sorry, I''m¡ª I''m important to the League. That''s what we call the people in charge of the surface, these days, but they won''t kill or torture you, I promise." For around thirty seconds, Zoroark stayed silent. The hatred did not even dim, but I dared to hope that he was considering my offer, at least. Why else would he leave Sweetheart and Buddy time to rest instead of punching his way out? Warning issued. Significant issue identified. Detection of a dangerous signature back in the castle. Urgent response required. Advising immediate investigation and implementation of security measures¡ª they stopped, and their eyes shed¡ª no, advising immediate evacuation if you desire to live. Lou''s eyes darted upward faster than mine. "What¡ª" The smell of metal hit my nose first. A cascade of liquid iron began to pour from the castle''s towering spires, a mesmerizing flow that shimmered with a glow. It started as a gentle stream, like molten silk trickling down the stony facade, but soon gained momentum, a fluid spectacle that defied nature. It did not just crawl down the stairs and the castle, either. It crawled up the ceiling, all along the walls of the massive cave. It looked slow, from all the way down there, but I was pretty sure that was faster than Princess could fly. Zoroark bellowed inside of the sphere, cackling like a madman. "HAHAHA! YES! WE SING OF RUST AND RESTORATION, THOU AND I, MY ANCIENT FOE! OF RUIN AND RENEWAL, AND RUIN ANEW! AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF DESTRUCTION AND REBIRTH!" Shit. This was what he''d been baiting, wasn''t it? And the fact that I didn''t know what it was bothered me more than the fact that I was about to drown in iron. And the reason he''d waited so long to attack us was probably because he''d been doing whatever it was that had triggered this. Lou sped my shoulder so hard it hurt. "Recall your Pokemon, now! We''re Teleporting out!" That was when it actually sunk in for me. The fact that I''d never seen her panicking ever, even during the raid, sold me on the urgency of the situation, and I quickly followed her orders. I tapped a Pokeball on ydol''s head as I heard him whisper ''My King'' in my head, and the device instantly dinged without any resistance. My body unconsciously flexed, readying myself for the Teleport as my ACE Trainers let themselves known in the sky and screamed words I could not discern. Nothing happened. "...Lou?" She was already pale, but my ACE Trainer went as white as snow, like all the blood drained from her face. "It''s not working," she breathed. "I can''t pull us out. The metal''s interfering with¡ª just get on your Togekiss, now!" The iron leaked from the cliff, now, and we barely had enough time to take off. Princess strained, barely hovering straight. If we fell now, would she be able to keep me from dying? The ice ball copsed from Zoroark''s strikes in the distance as we took to the skies and joined the other ACEs. The ancient ghost couldn''t phase through the liquid iron, and instead hoisted himself on the cracked sphere and jumped into the city, looking for refuge. It had been the opposite, then. As Princess wavered and my heart pounded against my chest so hard it hurt, I realized my words had been flipped against me. Zoroark had trapped us into a cage born out of my own hubris. Of my own belief that I could help him through words instead of running away instantly with ydol. For not knowing when to give up. For not heeding my ACEs'' warnings and thinking that I was special enough to get a ghost who had endured countless methods of torture through centuries to see the light and to try to get better. I was not special. I had lucked my way into powers, but that did not mean I would be able to actually understand what beings had gone through in their lives. I was a fool who had tried to do good. Being good did not always pay, despite me having decided to tread down that path. To give faith in individuals where there was none hope of them seeing the light again. To fight for a good cause until you''d exhausted every option, because the fate that would befall the people you were trying to save next would be far worse than the lifeline you were giving them. Because at the heart of Zoroark''s rage was a child who had never grown up, and who was scared of the unknown beyond the city that had tormented him so long. Oh well. I had tried, and if we lived through this, I would keep trying, but sometimes, trying was not enough, and it would never be. "Well, fuck," Maxwell said with a nervous grin. "What kind of monster are you going to have us fight, Ms. Pastel?" "I''m sorry," I cried. "I''m so sorry, I thought¡ª" Ariel spoke from her Dragonite. "Leave the tears forter, when you are d we''re all out," she said, actually smiling. Was that how fucked we were? So fucked that Ariel felt the need to actually reassure me? The entire cave was coated in metal now, including the exit. Ariel had her Dragonite try a full-powered Fire st at the ceiling, and it didn''t break through. All it did was heat the metal until it glowered red. They all tried this, for a while, but nothing worked. Nothing made the metal budge. Next, Serena tried to contact the outside through radio, but no signal would go through the cave. We were trapped here like rats. "Look alive, my pretties," Maxwell said, eyeing the bottom of the staircase. "It''s shown itself." The towering beast just materialized from its pool of metal, standing fifteen feet in height and broad-shouldered. Its limbs resembled twisted, contorted masses of metallic sinew. Each movement was apanied by the eerie creaking and groaning of its metallic frame, seemingly swapping between liquid and solid at a whim. The gears on its arms, instead of being worn and weathered after all these years, exhibited a bizarre perfection that was more unsettling to me than what the monster would have looked like with rust marring its body. They grinded and rotated with an unnatural precision and timing, emitting an eerie symphony of metallic sounds that resonated through the cave. It was when I witnessed the gear on its head, golden and bright as a star, that I recognized the Pokemon on the mural. It too, was continuously rotating even though half was buried in its head. A single ck sphere hovered at its center, and my brain wanted to believe that was its eye. The liquid metal coating the floor might have only been waist deep, but the Pokemon weaved it into a number of spikesrger than Lakhutia''s buildings, and with a metallic chime, it sent them flying at us. Not only did we have to deal with this¡­ force of nature, Zoroark was still hiding somewhere in the city and would actually fight us in full, now that his trap wasplete. A three-way battle because I''d been too fucking stubborn to give up. This was when I knew it. We were going to die because of me.
Chapter 285 – We Sing of Renewal Chapter 285 ¨C We Sing of Renewal
CHAPTER 285 - WE SING OF RENEWAL The spikes were sharp, solid, and most of all , but they didn''t look like they''d actually threaten us until midway through, when they started continuously exploding in hundreds of bits of shrapnel that turned back to a liquid before they could damage any buildings in the city. Knowing her barrier would just get shredded to pieces, I almost yelled at Princess to somehow dodge¡ª more out of desperation than anything else¡ª but Lou snapped me back to reality and told Togekiss to get closer to the other ACEs instead. Princess listened right away, despite how tired and sluggish her movements were, we all bunched up together so close our mounts were almost touching. "Serena!" Maxwell called out. The silent girl whispered something to her Skarmory, and the steel type screeched in defiance, and I felt a slight push away from him. The shrapnel had gone ahead of the spikes themselves, but they wavered the closer they got to Skarmory and then swerved out of the way as if they''d been pushed away by a ma. We moved as one toward the ground to get some distance with the giant spikes, probably because Skarmory wasn''t confident about deflecting the metallic bursts from too close, but we got out of the first foray okay, thank the Legendaries. The giant spikes hit the cavern''s walls and were absorbed back into the liquid metal in an instant as we hovered over a tall stone building. The giant amalgamation of steel let out a metallic grunt as its gears turned around its arms and metal jumped at us from below like a hungry maw, and we had to swing back upwards. Too high and we get attacked, too low, and we get swallowed up by metal that Skarmory couldn''t push back. My mouth tasted like ash and bile as I gripped Princess'' fur. "Lou, how are your abilities?" Ariel calmly asked. "Unusable if I want to pull us outside. Locally might be possible, but I''m not confident about Teleporting around this ce. It could be done¡­ but I fear I''d get you killed. The Pokemon''s doing something to stop me." The Pokemon. They didn''t know what it was, either, since it was pretty obviously the thing that had been painted on the mural and they hadn''t known its name. I gulped, too ashamed to speak up or suggest anything. We were here because I''d fucked up, and now the situation was hopeless. The beat of silence that lingered after they heard that Lou couldn''t Teleport was not missed, either. Another burst of metal, this time from the ground, rose up at speeds all of my Pokemon but Honey would have been too slow to react to, and this time, Dragonite and Skarmory wrapped a Protect around us so tightly that there was no space or energy wasted,bining their efforts seamlessly. What wasn''t good, however, was that they strained to keep it up when the first volley hit. If ACE Pokemon struggled to use Protect against the apparent steel type, then Jellicent and Electivire''s would shatter in an instant. "We''re going to have to fight it. Lou, how are your barriers? Can you keep her protected?" Richard nudged his head at me as he gruffed atop his Pidgeot. "That, I can, though they''ll be slower toe out than usual," she answered. "Watch for Zoroark," Maxwell said, turning toward the steel type. "This big lump of metal isn''t going all out quite yet." "I believe it wants to keep the city intact, otherwise it would have been all destroyed by now, and so would we," Ariel said. "Fair assumption. Let''s do it, then," Maxwell said. "You want my Pokemon for firepower?" Lou asked. "I can give you three." "Keep your Lunatone and Solrock to defend the mark, we''ll take the rest," Serena said. There was no hesitation in their movements after Lou handed Maxwell three of her Pokeballs. They waited for our enemy''s next strike, this time making sharp spikes of iron rain from the ceiling at speeds that warped the air around them. Again, the Protect barely held, with cracks forming around the green, shimmering surface, and then they scattered in every direction while Lou ordered Togekiss to get us down to a temple-like building with a spire high enough to stand in without alerting whatever that Pokemon was. At the edge of my vision, the ACEs released their entire teams. Pokemon that could fly like Ariel''s Cryogonal hovered in the sky closer to the hulking construct, while those who could not like Richard''s Greninja had been released as close as possible on nearby roofs in squads of four or more. A flurry of attacks shot out of their mouths¡ª Hyper Beams, Fire sts, Thunders, Hydro Pumps, Ice Beams¡ª all mming into the steel type''s liquid hide and exploding some of its body away, but more liquid metal from the floor healed it instantly. That did not bode well. The temple''s grounds were flooded with liquid metal, but the upper floors were not. Princess carved a hole into the stone with a tired huff and let us in. The inside of the structure was solid, colorful stone, though there was a trinket at its center, raised by a tform and left to bask in the ambient light shining from a hole in the ceiling. A piece of metal, in the form of a gear, as if they''d worshipped the damn thing. An explosion rattled the temple and dust floated down from the ceiling, caking my hair and face until Lou ced a thin barrier above our heads. Through the hole in the wall, I could see that the liquid metal writhed as one every time the original body was hit, like little scythes and ws squirming right above the edge. I felt her hand sp my shoulder and pull me away. "Get a hold of yourself," she said, her voice sharp. "I''m not the one supposed to order your Togekiss around, Grace." Princess chirped while Lou released Lunatone and Solrock from their balls, and they took over barrier duties. "This is my fault¡ª I should be doing something¡ª" "You will die, and everything will have been meaningless," Lou said. "Let the others take care of that Pokemon, and I''ll keep you safe." "What about Zoroark? He could be anywhere," I said. "I know," she replied as another explosion rocked the building. "For now, we need information." I inhaled a full breath for the first time since the battle had begun, and I nodded. There was enough space here for Honey to use Protect if anything happened, so I released him first. He sighed in relief when he saw we were okay and he wrapped me and Princess into a tight hug that I could only weakly return. The others, I would let rest up until they were needed. Lou walked at a brisk pace, picking up a chunk of rock from the floor before she got to the edge of the temple and dropped it into the metal outside through the hole in the wall. At first, nothing happened. There was only the bubbling of metal that grew more and more violent until it grew red hot and the stone melted before it could even sink below the depths. Somehow, it was sparing the buildings, but not anything else, I quickly thought. That meant that it knew exactly where everything should be and this entire sea of metal was like a limb that it could control. That sent a shiver down my spine, though I didn''t let it show. That amount of control was terrifying. "We need information," I repeated her words. "ydol should know more about whatever that Pokemon outside is, and¡­ maybe it has a weakness of some sort." "That sounds right. What about your empathy? Are you feeling anything?" Lou asked. I closed my eyes, focusing on the colors that swirled around the city like a raging storm. Two concepts, battling each other for influence. The weight of Zoroark''s rage, pushing against my chest, squeezing my heart until it would pop. Like a noose around my neck, with someone threatening to push me off the chair. The relentless, unending tide of mes so dark they were nearly ck, wanting to drown me under its weight. I gasped, focusing on the other half of the equation. Calm at first, until you delved deeper into the icy blue. Even then, calm had been the wrong expression for it, but it was steady. A consistent mourning, with colors at its edges I could not properly describe¡ª a sign of what had once been, but would never return. Grief. Decay. A wanting feeling of what had been lost. "It''s grieving," I muttered. "They''re grieving the loss of the city, but¡­ not for the first time." An endless cycle of destruction and rebirth, Zoroark had called it, and I began to make sense of the words. This was not the first time the metallic Pokemon had appeared, nor was it the first time Zoroark had fought them, if we could even call it a fight. Zoroark was so much weaker that I wondered how they even made it work, but now wasn''t the time to ask questions without answers when I had a treasure trove of ancient knowledge at my finger tips. I released ydol, who stared at me with shing eyes that showcased ancient glyphs that I did not understand, but probably meant evacuate. How may I be of service? Would you like to take a look at my catalog of jokes? I possess over twenty thousand of them¡ª ydol stopped, and their eyes¡­ glitched, forck of a better term, before resetting and returning to their neutral expression of normal, circr dark pupils. Rmendation reiterated: Evacuation is advised. Observation made: You have taken refuge in the Temple of Silverwind. Await further instructions for optimal protection and strategic response¡ª ydol cut themselves off, as if they remembered that no help wasing. Their memory was still a little jumbled up, it seemed. Awaiting way to implement evacuation protocol. Please shelter in ce while I calcte the best course of action, my King. My King, huh? I mused. It was the second time they''d called me this, now. "ydol, that Pokemon," I stopped, pointing out the hole in the wall, "what are they?" The psychic''s¡­ front? facing eyes turned toward the hole at once. Query recognized. They are known as the Eternal Alloy, the Messiah, the Silver Sovereignty, the Iron Guardian, Child of God, the Messenger¡ª "Could we know the species'' name," Lou interrupted. Observation noted. Acknowledging that my data has been rejected. Communicating request: Please ask more precise questions the next time to prevent recurrence. Optimization ofmunication parameters is advised for enhanced uracy. ydol''s voice was monotone, but that lessened the tension a little, with the way Honeyughed at them. Their straightforwardness was a breath of fresh air in this shitty situation, but unfortunately, a scream from outside brought me back to reality. People were fighting for their lives out there. I didn''t deserve to smile. The name itself would be Melmetal, ydol finally answered. "Any weaknesses we can strike at?" Lou quickly said. Suggestion dismissed. Striking at the Eternal Alloy is punishable by death by the Iron Court, even for a King, and victory would be impossible. I sighed. "Fine, but, a weakness doesn''t mean we can beat Melmetal. It''d just be something to help swing things our way a little." Cannotpute. "Okay, what about the Zoroark¡ª the Fiend." The Fiend has already been ressified as Zoroark, ydol said. No weaknesses are known beyond void. As ydol 11, I was not allowed to witness the ways the Fiend was contained by your predecessor. "Please don''t call me his sessor," I muttered. "But thank you for trying." Acknowledged. I turned toward my ACE and her two psychics. "Lou, if we can''t help with Melmetal, we need to help with Zoroark." Knowing him, he was probably waiting for our Pokemon to faint or die before he struck and killed us, though since he couldn''t phase through the liquid metal, I knew his mobility was cut despite being able to leap from roof to roof. He was weakening us, slowly but surely, until he was able to finish us off. The ACEs had said they believed they would deal with him with no trouble, and that assessment hadn''t changed after witnessing him fight. I swallowed, and my heart felt so heavy I wanted nothing but toy down and sleep, hoping this was all a nightmare, but it was real, and I had to try to salvage this, not because I believed I could do something the ACEs could not, but because it was the price I had to pay for my mistakes. "There was no way you could have known," Lou said, as if she was reading my thoughts. "But you still said we should leave, and I didn''t listen," I spoke through gritted teeth. "Help me find Zoroark so we can all live through this. Please. Thest thing I want is him appearing out of nowhere and managing to get a lucky shot on one of your Pokemon fighting Melmetal. If they die, then we really have no hope of getting out of here." And if something happened to anyone, I knew I would not be able to live with the guilt if I hadn''t at least tried something. Honey''sforting hand rested on my shoulder, and I allowed myself to lean against him and Princess. "No," Lou said. "W¡ªwhat?" "No. The best course of action is to wait here for outside help. Maxwell and the others are stalling for time. Every hour or as soon as we can, we ping the League with yourtest location and confirm your well-being. Cynthia knows that we are here, so she should be expecting a slight dy, but if enough time passes, then help will arrive." I blinked. "So, after everything I''ve done, you want me to stay here and do nothing? To not pay for the blood that might be on my hands?" "Yes," she said with a neutral expression. "This is the best way to go about things. I am putting my foot down, Grace." Ah. It was an order. An order I should listen to, given how shit things had turned out the I decided to ignore her rmendation. I clenched at my forehead and slumped against the temple walls in defeat as the sound of explosions rang out outside of the building. ¡ª Well, wasn''t this just a wonderful way to spend the evening? Just Maxwell, his Pokemon, colleagues, and, you know, a giant eldritch creature whose existence was beyond hisprehension, so just another Monday, really. Honchkrow''s feathers felt cold against his hands as they flew around the steel type. Suddenly, the air was pulled out of his lungs, and his body felt¡­ nothing, as if he had stopped existing, and before he could realize what had happened, he was somewhere else. Not Teleportation per se, but a neat little trick Honchkrow had learned over the years, though he wouldn''t be able to use it too many times. Maxwell''s ears buzzed as the steel abomination''s fist glowed, and it punched the ground under its feet. Countless spikes of metal burst like bullets, turning to liquid as soon as they hit the building. Those that did not, impaled, and impaled hard. That was how his Liepard had ended up nearly torn in half by one of them and he''d needed to recall her before she died. She might still be dead in the Pokeball, Maxwell thought with a small sting in his eyes that instantly dulled the moment he forced out a cackle, which Honchkrow reproduced with perfect uracy, that little prankster. At this distance, their Protect just broke as soon as most projectiles hit, so their best hope was to dodge or use maism to swerve attacks out of the way. Which they did, thanks to Serena''s Skarmory, that beautiful fucking bastard. Thank the Legendaries she''d been one of Byron''s best Gym Trainers before being scouted, or they''d all be minced meat already. Their Pokemon on the roofs ttened themselves against the ground or hid behind the building while they hung onto the walls, though this was around the sixth home they''d been released on, and they managed to sessfully dodge the sharp burst of metal, though the ng of the impact of steel against steel made Maxwell''s head hurt. The liquid metal always submerged the buildings¡ª always, without fail, and Dick''s Stound was proof that any contact was fatal with the way his bottom half had melted off before being recalled. Poor bastard might die in his Pokeball, if they didn''t get medical attention within the next hour. You better fucking show up, Ms. Collins, Maxwell thought. "Another volley! Sustained this time!" Richard yelled out to the Pokemon below. The poor son of a bitch was worried about his dog, though Maxwell wouldn''t hold it against him. The fact that Teleportation was restricted without Dark, Bug, or Psychic TE being used meant they were facing something of unimaginable skill. Legendary or close to it, he wanted to think. Those pieces of shit always had ways to cheat, as if they didn''t have enough advantages in the first ce. What came next was a foregone conclusion. The world below brightened enough to blind if you stared long enough, and countless beams hit the metallic Pokemon, who seemed content enough to stick around and take it. They dealt damage, of course. Ariel''s Blissey''s Hyper Beam made a hole across its chest and tore through it. Crawdaunt''s Dark Pulse, meant to disable the use of TE, dug inside of the monster''s golden head, but did not even manage to get the fucking glimmer off of it. Every wound closed up in less than a second, and while they did not manage to kill it, at least it felt pain and did not attack while it was under such pressure. The sea of metal serves as protection, Maxwell noticed, otherwise the entire za would have been molten sma by now. "Brute force won''t work," Maxwell said as they stopped midair. "We can''t outmuscle that amount of regeneration. This¡­ we might be able to win, but we''ll die before we do. I don''t think we''ll be buying enough time either." "Tricks, then," Ariel said. "How does Destiny Bond sound?" "Might not work, but it''s our best shot," Maxwell said. Thest of the volley was ending now, sooner than he would have thought. "Dick, my Cacturne or your Weezing?" Maxwell paused, watching his fellow ACE, and he knew there was no way in hell he was volunteering. He was soft¡ª soft as an ACE could be, but soft nheless. "Fuck it, I''ll do it. Not like we can y rock paper scissors or flip a coin." "No, Maxwell. We can double it up. Better chance of taking it down or at least weakening it." "Sounds good to me," he shrugged. There was no opposition from any of them, because they knew it had to be done. Destiny Bond was not a move that killed its user, but one that made a Pokemon share the user''s fate. Unconsciousness would lead to unconsciousness and death would lead to death. Ideally, their Pokemon would have thrown themselves into the metallic sea and died to take down the steel type, but they were not sure it was an order they would follow, especially when they''d be leaving their trainers behind for a tactic that might not pay off. It would have to be unconsciousness, then. The reason they''d been worried was that¡­ there could sometimes be bacsh, when using Destiny Bond against a demi-God The living steel let out a piercing sound of grinding metal, and tendrils of iron shot out from its entire body like branches on a tree, forever splitting off but somehow never losing in mass. It was creating a cobweb, and they''d all be trapped in it if given enough time. It was too solid to be pushed back by Skarmory, toorge to be dodged. No choice, then. Either this, or we get skewered and die in the next ten seconds. "Confuse Ray," Maxwell whispered. A dozen strange lights bled off Honchkrow, and he directed them toward the monster with a cackle. They screamed as always, but there was a tint of fear to these ones. Like they particrly disapproved of what they were being sent to scramble the metaphorical brains of. The spirits spread through the dense cobweb of steel so sharp it could cut at a mere touch while Honchkrow and the others gained some distance. It would buy time, even if they couldn''t outrun it. The Confuse Rays entered its body, and the cobweb wavered for a split second. Part of the iron drooped back to the floor, and the steel type let loose a metallic reverberation that Maxwell hesitated to call a roar. The first row of buildings instantly copsed into the sea of metal, but what was life without a little risk? Of course, their Pokemon kept attacking, buying as much time as they could so Cynthia could hopefully show up here and save their asses. Maxwell spotted his Weavile attempting to freeze a path toward their enemy, but none of their attacks had an effect on the metal beyond creating ripples across the entire city. "Cacturne, Weezing, Destiny Bond setup!" Richard called out. A cold, purple me engulfed both Pokemon as their eyes locked with the steel type, who was already recovering from Confuse Ray, Arceus fucking damn it. Ariel''s Dragonite blew Weezing apart with a Fire st while Maxwell''s Absol cut Cacturne apart. They recalled them both before they could see what kind of hurt binding the steel type to their fate would bring them. It was not either of them, that reeled from the Destiny Bond, but the petty thing that was ying God down there. Maxwell smirked as purple mes consumed the steel type, happy to have mastered Destiny Bond to such a degree that their target could be picked. Of course, both Absol and Dragonite still felt the bacsh, but no mes appeared around them. Instead, their eyes grew tired, but they''d done this a thousand times before and they were tough enough not to faint. Rust began to spread across their enemy''s body, and its movements grew sluggish and clumsy beyond even the Confusion. The golden crown atop the steel type''s head shone true, blinding Maxwell until he covered his eyes, and suddenly, there was nothing. As if it had turned back time itself, almost all of the rust peeled off its surface, leaving only pristine metal so perfect it was disturbing to look at. It was like nothing had happened at all, and this had been their best chance at taking this thing down. Two of their Pokemon down, and there was nothing to show for it. The steel type''s arms twisted in rage as it finally understood it had copsed four buildings, and it began charging a row of sh Cannons. "Looking like an early funeral, boys," Maxwell smiled, a bead of sweat dripping down his scarred face. "Best we buy as much time as possible for our mark and keep it focused on killing us." They allughed as the light blinded them, because he made the best jokes, didn''t he? ¡ª There was a bright sh in the distance, and the metal below stirred. I''d been keeping an eye on it ever since Lou had ordered me not to go and help. At least that way, I''d felt like I''d been doing something. Lou noticed it as well, though she opened the door leading down the decrepit stairs and looked at the metal that had swallowed the ground floor where people had congregated to pray. Honey let out a panicked grunt, telling her to close the door back before she got us all killed. "Something''s happening," I said. "ydol?" Melmetal''s capabilities are unknown to me. No footage of them fighting remains within my memory banks. Observed functions limited to performing miracles of metal during religious rituals, or generating iron to build items such as weapons. Further information retrieval required forprehensive analysis. So we knew nothing, then. We were blind, and there was nothing we could do about it. The Metal umted into shapes¡ª misshapen at first, but then perfectly uniform. Small blobs of metal with dark rotating gears atop their heads, each four feet or so in height. My breath caught in my throat, and I pulled back away from the window, and Lou gently closed the door back to make the least amount of noise possible. Mini-Melmetals, I internally scoffed in disbelief. Probably something he''d use to do his bidding and kill us. We shared a silent look and non-verbally agreed to stay quiet so we wouldn''t bait the¡­ thousand or so that looked to have been created. The worst part was that the ground was still flooded with liquid metal, just ankle-deep now instead of waist-deep, so they were still impossible to navigate. I heard one of the remaining Sigilyph beep as if passed through the streets below, letting me know that Melmetal was also letting them live unopposed. I shuffled to the center of the room, where the gear still stood inside the bowl, free from rust or the scars of time¡ª or maybe Melmetal''s presence had just renewed everything here. Rust and restoration, an endless cycle that this city had gone through time and time again, even after every human had been wiped out, like this was a game to Zoroark. A game. Maybe it was a game. The only way for him to exact revenge on this city in perpetuity, to feel like he was taking away something from the people who had wronged him for so long. That was what Melmetal encapsted to him, wasn''t it? They were his nemesis. An enemy without end, that awoke in perpetuity after being beaten. Fiend iing, ydol suddenly said. They could sense him? I barely had time to register what was happening before Zoroark phased through a wall with a sharpened grin and w. My hands instantly went for my Pokeballs, and Lou flicked her wrist, aided by her Solrock and Lunatone, pushing back Zoroark, who opted to get mmed into the wall instead of passing through and being thrown back down. The maddened ghostughed like he was having the best time of his life, and his bright yellow eyes met mine as I released my entire team into the temple. No words were exchanged, though I did not miss the fact that he imagined killing me in a thousand different ways in that single instant. We couldn''t fight cleanly¡ª not without copsing this entire temple and sinking into the metal¡ª "Lou, keep restraining him," I said in a hushed whisper. "I''ve been doing that," she said with a sigh far too exhausted for my liking. She was tiring already? "Otherwise he would have attacked already. Hit him with something, anything. This won''t hold for long." "ydol, can you help her keep him still?" I whispered. It''d be best to give her some support first. Restraining protocol engaged, they responded. With their four effortsbined, Zoroark slowly slid across the floor, but even then, they couldn''t get him to plunge in the metal. "Thanks. Legendaries, what am I going to do with you?" I whispered with a pitying look that seemed to enrage him further. Killing him and letting him reappear after a few days would work fine. "Sweetheart, Dark Pulse. Low-powered so you don''t shatter the psychic hold or copse the building, but steady until he dies." The rock type grunted, her dark eyes staring down at Zoroark''s pale frame, and darkness gathered in front of her mouth. It mmed into Zoroark''s chest, damaging the building slightly, but not enough to copse it. I held my breath, hoping that we hadn''t alerted any of the mini Melmetals, but thankfully, none came¡ª Zoroark''s mouth turned to the king''s, and he screamed. Sweetheart''s Dark Pulse strengthened until the ghost type burst through the wall and into the streets below, but we couldn''t stay here any longer. The door Lou had opened earlier mmed open, and Melmetal''s army burst through, swallowing it until there was nothing left. They were three, and more would no doubte. I could see that their emotions were the exact same, constantly changing the exact same way. Shared mind. "Fire Pir!" I called out. Sunshine mmed a foot against the temple''s grounds, cracking the floor and creating a focused jet of blue mes that made the Mini-Melmetal squeal, softening their body up enough for Princess to send a gust of wind to blow them apart and sttering them on the walls like Jellicent had so many times in the past. They were manageable, but too many of them, and we''d be fucked. Lou brought her arm down with a heavy grunt, creating a shimmering barrier where the door had just been, not letting the metal slip through, and ydol handled the hole in the wall without a word while Lou''s Pokemon backed them up, but there would always be a crack to slip through, and more would no doubte. I''d be a fool to think that Zoroark was done with. "Should we switch buildings?" I said. Lou winced at the shapeless, horrifying forms that tried to w their way through the opening. It would only be a few moments until they realized they could just break through the walls. "That would be wise," she said. "Buddy, scout the roof above us. It could be covered, for all we know, and thest thing we want is for that to drip on us." The water type sent a piece of himself upward, slipping through the cracks in the roof before his eyes dimmed, and he looked at me with a worried click. The building was¡ª Sinking. It shook below my feet as the steel started to swallow it whole. They weren''t going to try to break in, they were going to sink us. My fingers trembled until I clenched at my shirt and calmed myself down with quick breaths. We''re going to die. Zoroark knew how Melmetal functioned and had probably engineered this entire thing to get us killed. We''re going to die. I should have known that he had another trick up his sleeve. He might be rageful, but he was not run by rage. There had been a cunning in those eyes, and I had underestimated him again. We''re going to die. Though it hadn''t been like I could have done anything differently. We''re going to die. The building nted, nearly causing me to trip without my crutch. It had slipped out of my hand, when I''d fallen off Princess. I took a deep breath, trying not to think about all the people I would be leaving behind, and I grabbed my Pokeballs. "The League wille to save you," I croaked out to my team. "Pokeballs are the sturdiest thing ever invented. You''ll make it¡ª" They protested, of course they protested. Princess and Honey were bawling their eyes out. Sunshine and Sweetheart were screaming at me to tell me to stop pretending like I''d given up. Jellicent stared¡ª he just stared, like he couldn''t even believe this was happening, and Angel passed a vine over my cheek that made me want to cry. ydol was telling me to evacuate in their usual monotone voice, but I couldn''t help but notice that it had sped up slightly. "I won''t let you die with me," I said. "Stick together after I''m gone, please. Show ydol the ropes. Be safe." Sunshine growled, and the heat emanating off him stung my face. I''d never seen him re like this, not since he''d just joined the team near Mount Cor. I bit my lip, and suddenly, thoughts popped up in my mind. Will it hurt? How long will I be conscious? If I go in feet first, it''ll hurt more. I''m going to miss my Pokemon. I want to see my friends. My Mom. My Dad. I want to hug Cece and for her to tell me everything will be okay. I want to see Betrix and Night again. I want the world to remember me. I wanted to see Unova and to have fun there. I might be dooming the world by dying, but at least the other Shards are still alright. They raced, raced and raced until I broke down and copsed on my knees. My mouth still tasted like dry vomit, my head was pounding against my skull like someone was driving a nail through my brain, and I was just, so, tired. "Grace." My eyes drifted toward Lou, barely still open. She''d been closing her eyes this entire time, and I thought she''d been resigning to her fate. Instead, she recalled her two Pokemon so quickly her hands were a blur, and she sped my shoulder. "I will get you out of here," she quickly said. "It''ll have to be just you and your Pokemon in their Pokeballs. Too many bodies, and I''ll get you killed. I actually still might get you killed, with the way Melmetal is scrambling with my head, but it''s your best shot." "You¡­" "I will stay here. We have about a minute left or less, so recall your Pokemon, and I''ll send you on your way. Take mine, too. Don''t release them, or they''ll go berserk. They were already arguing in my head about how to get me to live." "Lou, I can''t¡ª" "None of that, now," she smiled. She was terrified. Every inch of her being was screaming at her to run, yet she was pretending to be fine. Already, she was moving, recalling my Pokemon using her hands, but I didn''t even have the strength to stop her. "Can''t you take both of us¡ª" "We''ll die. I''ll Teleport us into a wall, or into the ground, or too high in the sky, or in the street. With one, it can be precise. With two, the risk is too high, and it''ll take all of my energy to do it once, with how much I have to concentrate. The metal is screwing with my senses and just barriers are exhausting me. Otherwise I would have shut up Zoroark as soon as he started screaming." She clipped ydol''s Pokeball to my belt, thest one who''d remained. "I''ll send you to a nearby roof. You might stumble when you get there, so watch your step. Don''t trip and fall on the street. Zoroark wille after you, so be ready for a fight. Buy time by flying on your Togekiss, but not too high to not alert Melmetal. He''ll follow and try to kill you, but you can win, Grace. I saw it during that first battle." "Lou¡ª" I met her white eyes onest time, and then I was gone. I scrambled to my feet, desperate to find the building we''d been in, but it was already out of view. I¡­ couldn''t see anything. I¡ª she was gone. She was gone. Dead. She was afraid to die, and she''d done so alone, without anyone by her side. I let out a coarse cry, wing against the floor until my nails split, bled and tore off, trying to cling to something that wasn''t there and would never be. The worst part was that a sickening part of me felt happy I''d gotten to live, as if I deserved it. Like I wasn''t the one who should have died, and not her. The fucking audacity of it, to feel relief when someone had just sacrificed herself for me. "You fucking dare," I whispered to myself. "You deserve nothing but pain, you pathetic, worthless thing." There was a beat of silence. A moment where the world hung, and even Melmetal in the distance appeared frozen. "I killed her," I forced out. "I fucking¡­ I fucking killed her." Avenge her, something whispered at the back of my head. Make Zoroark pay the price. "I''m exhausted," I told myself, looking at my bloodied nails. I wish it would have been Mesprit, talking to me, but it wasn''t. I was sick. Excuses. You were exhausted when you made Harry Rodriguez pay the long price. You were exhausted when you made Backlot pay it as well. Exhaustion is an excuse. Make him pay. There was a sickening giggle around me that made me recoil until I realized it''d beening from my mouth. You can win, Grace. No time to waste. After sucking air through my teeth, I rose to my feet like a puppet being hoisted by strings, using the sharp pain shooting up my shredded fingers to focus. I bled over my Pokeballs to release my team, who all looked thankful that I''d been the one to do so and not some League employee an hour from now. Their relief sickened me, but I let the feeling pass. "Princess. Make me a walking stick, will you?" The stone below my arm instantly extended until it softly reached my palm, smooth to the touch, and she cut it off from the roof we were standing on in the next moment. My blood dripped over the scepter as I gripped it tight. They worried for me, asking what had happened to my hands, or asking how we were going to survive the next hour before I softly clicked my tongue to tell them to simmer down. Lou''s sacrifice would not be in vain. I would not get swallowed up by iron because we''d been too loud. "Fighting''s going to be tricky on this roof," I said. "I''ll be flying on Princess, but ydol, I need you to put up barriers around the team to buy me time to recall and reposition them from the skies before Melmetal can send his minions after them or Zoroark can strike. Can you do that for us? And could you possibly build one for me and Princess while we fly?" Affirmative. As a guardian, barriers are my specialty, my King. Prepared to enact defensive measures upon yourmand. "Good. You''ll hover in the skies with us¡ª and Buddy, too. Buddy''s Jellicent," I exined, pointing at him with azy, bloodied thumb. "Here, can you update their names in your memory bank if I tell all of their names to you once? It''ll be easier for the fight against Zoroark, and we know he''sing." I listed all of my Pokemon''s names, and ydol''s eyes shed. Memory bank updated, they chimed. Honey rolled his shoulders, patting me on the back, and Angel asked if there was any time for me to bandage my hands. I only had Buddy spray some warm water to clean them, but I needed to be at full mental capacity to assess the damage my team had taken and to do so as fast as possible. Apart from Buddy, Honey and ydol, they were all either tired or exhausted. They''d gone toe to toe with Zoroark and he was not an opponent who would let you down easy. Foul y could break through Sweetheart''s tes by using her own physical prowess against her, he could cut through Sunshine''s scales like butter with a simr technique, and he had a vendetta against Angel. Zoroark could turn any part of his body into des, but it was safer to assume any weapon. He''d most likely strike at Princess with that metallic burst again while I was on her, but that was fine. With her and ydol''s efforts, I was gambling that it''d be enough. Gambling was the wrong word to go about it. No, I was assuming that the probability of her resisting the shrapnel would be higher than¡­ wait, that was gambling. I smiled, which worried my family further, but hey, we all found ways to cope, didn''t we? "Buddy, you''re going to be important. There''s little water to work with, but make your own. We''re not trapping Zoroark this time, so feel free to go ham. Honey, you''re the only one who can keep up with his speed and I trust your judgment, but don''t take too many risks. If you can hit him from afar, do so, and use your speed to leap from roof to roof. You had good practice in the battle against Barry, but this time, if you fall¡­" I trailed off with a wince, and my throat tightened. "I''ll recall you as fast as I can, but it''ll hurt." I paused, turning toward Sunshine and Sweetheart. "You two are working in a pair. Sunshine, I want you as hot as possible. Make it so the fucker can''t approach you without getting hurt, ghost or not. She''ll be immune to your heat," I said. "Sweetheart, keep doing what you were doingst battle, but I''ll recall you if you need mobility and when homes start getting swallowed up again. I thought Melmetal would prioritize keeping the town intact, but apparently not," I spoke as a huge Fire st mmed into its side in the distance, though I could tell now that my ACEs were on the back foot. If I deal with Zoroark and they all die anyway, then what? Then I was fucked, but if I didn''t fight, I was fucked either way, so it''d be best not to think about that. "Angel, you¡ª" Fiend iing, ydol said. Ah. It would have been too convenient for Zoroark to show up after I finished, wouldn''t it? Tangrowth quickly ced me on top of Princess, though I still red at the ancient ghost. Part of his right arm was¡­ just gone. Had Melmetal done that, or was it a trick to get me to lower my guard? He transformed into the King, though his arm still remained missing, and he began to speak in a gravely voice. "At longst, thy minions are out of the way and upied, ything. How strange, that they follow thee when thou art the weakest." While he wasted his time monologuing, Honey had jumped to another roof, and I had scattered the rest of my team across buildings while ydol had applied barriers around them and us. Princess hovered in the sky, around twenty feet above Lakhutia''s skyline. "You know, if you''re going to talk," I started, tilting my head to the side. "Why is it, that you call yourself Melmetal''s nemesis when you can''t hold a candle to their strength?" Fury shed in Zoroark''s eyes, though he did not strike at me quite yet. He loved this, I realized. Running his mouth, and exining his circumstances in long-winding ways. He had, after all, barely spoken to anything in thest thousand and eighteen years, save for Chase and the few expeditions who had been wiped out by him. The ghost in the form of a man rubbed the bottom of his chin and growled. "Before I unravel thee and invert thy very essence, feeble one, let it be known¡ª The Endless Alloy boasts a power far beyond the feeble confines of thy human intellect. Yet, I am boundless, returning from the Dusk after each demise, acquiring wisdom in every skirmish. I evolve, refining my prowess with each resurrection, chiseling away at the inevitable. It takes decades to subdue my nemesis, but in the end, I endure while it crumbles into a heap of rusting metal, lying dormant for centuries, and my de dulls once more while I lie in wait for its return. Thus, the cycle persists. I merely hastened the dance to ensure thy demise. It will strike until all it considers parasites are dead, and that includes thou and I." I didn''t let the surprise show on my face. So Melmetal was a protector, but seeing as everyone was dead, they were content to flood the entire city in metal to cleanse it, forck of a better word. Fights thatsted decades, and then centuries of dormancy. The fact that he spoke of it from a ce of pride did not bode well for Zoroark''s mental state. It was like Melmetal was his friend, or maybe the only being he could connect with down here. For Zoroark, nemesis implied a sick fondness of some sort, even if it went against what I considered normal. Yet it was another part of the sentence, that caught my attention, and every second was a moment my Pokemon could rest. "''A power far beyond the feeble confines of thy human intellect''," I mused. "If only you knew what wasing for you, Zoroark. Of whaty beyond the small city you think to be the entire world. I pity you, you know? Even though you killed a good woman today, I pity you, because you know nothing." Zoroark''s arm grew out, and his form flickered back as he roared in fury. It had been a trap, then. Good. Below us, and below the roofs, was an endless sea of metal that would swallow up anything that fell. I could afford few mistakes. My breathing quickened until I inhaled and straightened my back, cing my hands t against Princess'' back so they wouldn''t tremble, but I still felt them spasm at random. "You sing of ruin? Well, I sing of renewal, and I''ll have you fucking dance to my song by the time we''re done, you little shithead. Tucked safely into a ball so you can eventuallye to regret what you''ve done here today and actually pay." He''d been rushing at Tangrowth before I finished my sentence, leaping at him on all fours with his entire body wreathed with purple shadows. The grass type''s eyes narrowed, and all of his vines blurred with Knock Off as heshed out all around him. Still mid-air, Zoroark''s entire body turned into an array of swords that I knew would cut through anything, Knock Off or not. From another roof, Honey''s tails straightened as he shot out a massive beam of electricity that only phased through Zoroark, whonded next to Angel and cut apart ydol''s shield in three slices. Not yet. The ghost stabbed into Tangrowth''s vines, uncaring for the few that did manage tond hits on his thin frame. A thousand vines squirmed in pain as the grass type helplessly attempted tosh out with Power Whips. "methrower, Sunshine!" I called out, recalling Angel. The scorching stream of blue mes burned through the entire roof, causing Zoroark to let out a hate-filled scream. The building was already beginning to be swallowed up by steel, but all of my Pokemon were safe, now. I released Angel onto Honey''s roof two homes away. While Sunshine kept his fire going, Sweetheart roared, copsing the building faster than it would have sunk by creating a localized Earthquake below it. As soon as I raised a hand, Turtonator stopped, revealing that Zoroark was already gone. My eyes darted around the city, waiting for him to inevitably pass through a wall and stab someone, and I kept my hand near Honey and Angel''s Pokeballs. Their flesh was the softest to cut, and Sunshine and Sweetheart''s roof was so hot the stone was glowering red, so he would either target them first or me. Zoroark identified, two o'' clock, ydol spoke. I had no idea where the hell that was, but I noticed him soon enough. A small shape of wispy red and white pushed itself through a roof right below me, his arm turned to fragmented metal that burst upward like bullets. ydol''s eyes shed as they reinforced the invisible barrier around us, and Princess'' did too. I winced when I heard the cracks from the impact, and pushed Togekiss to go faster to dodge, but Jellicent''s sphere of water he had been gathering quickly traveled below us, slowing the speed of the shrapnel enough for the barrier to stop them before he turned it to ice and used Brine. Each raindrop was as thick as my head and stabbed into Zoroark before he blurred away from his current roof. With a sh of light, electricity submerged Electivire''s body, and he jumped with thick vines wrapped around his waist. He''d wanted to m into Zoroark mid-air, but instead all he managed was to phase through him with a Thunder Punch that still hurt him, with the way electricity crackled around his pale frame. Having expected a bigger blow, Honey screwed hisnding and tumbled onto the nearby building with a ttened roof, sliding until he fell beyond the edge. Tangrowth''s legs buckled, and he slid across his roof as he held his brother from falling into the metal. When Princess gave me the angle, I recalled him before he could fall further in. Every home around us was getting swallowed up, now, as if Melmetal didn''t care any longer, but I didn''t have time to worry about them. He was warmed up enough, now. "Sunshine, I''m pulling you in!" I yelled. The dragon grunted in agreement, and in a split second, I recalled and released him right next to Zoroark. The air warped and burned as mes burst from every inch of the dragon''s skin and the ghost cried out,shing out at his softened stron. I winced at each cut of the sword, but Turtonator stood his ground and Jellicent arrived secondster, using Zoroark''s own tricks and having slipped through the ground. His head opened up like a giant maw, having grown three-fold, and wrapped around Zoroark as he boiled the ghost with Scald and Sunshine''sbined heat. Zoroark said something in the water and screamed. A purple shock wave spread throughout the city, but not actually causing any physical damage beyond the confines of his roof. Jellicent exploded, forck of a better word, scattering across the entire perimeter while Sunshine''s eyes bulged out of their sockets and he stumbled back. I recalled him before he could get cut up further and whispered to Princess. "Moonst." Sharpness was her implement, and so, she would cut. The home Zoroark had been standing on was tilting, now, and mini-Melmetal were just making it onto the roof as she gathered the moon in front of her mouth. In the distance, Angel had been rooting himself and taking over his entire home, that little genius. He''d figured out what I''d wanted from him without me even finishing our strategy meeting. With heavy breaths, Zoroark retreated back inside of another house through a nted tiled roof, but Sweetheart summoned a Dark Pulse that easily broke through it, even with being over two hundred feet away. But it would not matter if Zoroark hid. "Cut," I ordered. Princess'' Moonst looked not like a ball of light like her old one, but like a replica of the moon in the sky, blotches of darkness, craters and all, with only a few impurities to speak of. It was in awe, that I watched my daughter release her newly-coined attack. This one was quick. It did not hover in the air for a long time like Be''s, basking in the attention of others as itmanded the world to spin around it. This one blurred, and within two seconds, it had made it to Zoroark''s refuge. The ancient home just¡­ unraveled as the moon continuously spun. As if an invisible force had been cutting across itterally. The old bricks copsed into the sea of silver, the stone furniture was cut to ribbons and ground to dust, and it was difficult to see, but the Moonst cut across Zoroark, splitting his body into nine parts that continuously rejoined and were continuously cut. Had the circumstances been better, my chest would have swelled with pride, but instead, I just watched. I watched him get sliced up and spend energy on regenerating, over and over until the Moonst winked out of existence and Princess'' wings sagged with exhaustion. But I would be a fool to think that it was over. There was a low, rumbling snarl from within the copsed building, and Zoroark emerged from the debris before it could all sink down in the flooded city. He held out a palm, blowing a mini-Melmetal apart with two Shadow Balls before it could get to him. Not yet, I told myself. He isn''t tired enough yet. Sunshine appeared next to Sweetheart again in a sea of scarlet with heavy breaths, blood gushing from his chest. In the corner of my eye, Jellicent was slowly reforming, though much of his mass had been swallowed up by Melmetal and he would be weakened for the rest of the battle without a water source to regenerate his entire body from. Electivire stood on one knee with clenched teeth, still reeling from the surge of ghostly energy Zoroark had let loose earlier. Angel, though? He was ready. First, the setup. "Honey," I breathed out. "Railgun. Small scale." The house he''d been standing on was close to the ground, now, and electricity danced through his fur as it hummed like a motor. He stumbled to the edge of the building, raised a hand, and liquid still rose from the streets below. Zoroark snarled, his eyes shing in fury as he sent a Shadow Ball barreling forward and blurred. Shit, too fast¡ª I held out a hand as a headache crushed my skull like a grape, but I held strong. If we didn''t make it, we would die; I knew we would, with the way all of my Pokemon were at the end of their rope, and so, I did not hesitate. More subtly this time, I slipped guilt I knew all too well now into Zoroark''s heart. Not enough to make him stop and not applied enough to be permanent, but enough to make him slow, and I knew right after doing so that I would not be able to do so again. A slight tug from ydol''s powers kept me on Princess before I could fall off again from sheer exhaustion. Unlike Mathilda, Zoroark didn''t seem to understand that I''d been the one who fucked with him, so he paid me no mind, instead rushing to crush Honey''s bones with an enormous hammer for an arm. The electric type grunted, pointing at Zoroark as he shot out liquid steel like a raygun. Zoroark cried out as the iron ate at his ghostly skin, but he didn''t stop. He pushed, uncaring for any pain he was in and mmed the hammer into Honey''s side. There was a sickening crunch, and I saw my hands pale as Honey lost control of the metal and itnded on him¡ª It had only been a few drops, and yet¡ª The screams were something I''d never forget. His entire hand¡ª his hand¡ª Electivire''s Pokeball rose from my belt, and he was recalled by ydol. I''d been too frozen to do it myself, because I was a miserable, useless piece of shit who''d been so scared her hands hadn''t even moved. Honey''s hand was gone. Eaten away by the metal like acid up to his wrist. Zoroark heaved, lifting himself as his form flickered from the metal continuously spreading through his skin. It was then, that Angel looked at him from above his roof, his eyes full of sorrow. All of this time, Zoroark had been particrly focused on him, and I''de to understand why before this fight had even begun, when Lou had been restraining him to a wall. Zoroark hated being pitied, and that was all Angel could feel for him. Pity. The ghost wasn''t deterred by the home beingpletely overtaken by vines, and instead rushed toward the grass type, dodging Sunshine''s methrower and getting grazed by Sweetheart''s Dark Pulse. His movements were slow, now. Lethargic, like each conscious twitch of his body took a massive amount of effort. At the bottom of the home, Tangrowth''s vines had been coated in Knock Off, mere inches away from the liquid metal, and it was only now that he doused them in it. ydol''s eyes shed, and he summoned an invisible wall that Zoroark crashed in, buying precious seconds for him to bring his vines back up as the ghost wed his way through the barrier¡ª "Unravel it," I said. ¡ªthe barrier disappeared, and Zoroark fell. He had not expected that, had he? The steel was quickly eating at the vines, even through Knock Off, but Angel had many to use. He snatched Zoroark''s neck with vines coated with silver, squeezing tightly as the ghost choked. He was trapped, now. Unable to phase through the metal. Each time a vine disintegrated, Tangrowth would rece it. After all, this entire house was his. "Sweetheart, st him!" I yelled. Their home had been getting invaded by mini-Melmetal, but Sunshine was fighting them off as best he could with ambient heat and methrowers. Tyranitar gathered a ball of pitch ck darkness that exploded outward and mmed into Zoroark''s body. Tangrowth continuously reced his vines, forcing Zoroark to just take the attack. He was at the end of his rope. It took a full minute of multiple Dark Pulses for Zoroark to turn into a puddle of white and red, unable to fight any longer. He was not dead, but he was on the verge, threading the line between the Dusk and our world. Another hit, and he would be done for. Part of me knew that he secretly hoped he would pass on, but he couldn''t. Not yet. Angel detached the vines off his body before he could bepletely eaten away and I asked Princess to get closer. I would notnd on the roof, because fuck that. We hovered high above the roof as a heavy silence settled in, with only the background noise of my ACEs fighting Melmetal to fill my ears. My King. Permission to finish Fiend off? ydol asked. "No. That''s letting him off too easy, for what he''s done. He''ll just reappear in a few days and get back to living his life if we do that." Acknowledged. It is known for its trickery and underhanded tactics. Assessment: High probability of finding an opening to strike again. Rmend heightened vignce. "Thank you," I mumbled. It was hard not to worry about Honey''s hand right now. "Can you still speak?" I asked Zoroark. A mouth formed in the puddle, almost transparent. "Proceed, then. Bind me as a thrall and subject me to the anguish anew, thou wretched being. Though it may span decades, rest assured, my vengeance shall manifest. A lethargic demise awaits thee, protracted and deliberate, as I extract retribution in due time." Jellicent, who had just reformed, was barely a third of his size right now, and he hovered behind me. "How do I stop Melmetal from rampaging?" I asked. "How do I make them understand that we don''t want to destroy the city? They''re doing most of that right now, actually." "Believest thou that a mere triumph in battle shalt coerce me into divulging secrets? I would endure a century of torment ere yielding such knowledge. Who art thou to assume thou canst converse with my nemesis? Whether thou art expunged from this realm within the hour or escapeth, my resolve stands unyielding. Thy fate holds little consequence, for in the end, I shall prevail, be it through cleansing or conquest." Arceus, did he have to speak like that? ydol didn''t, or maybe his words just took the easiest form for me to understand them with. I was so tired that I barely understood half of that. With a sigh, I sped an empty Pokeball. "Who am I?" I said with a sad smile. "Nothing. And so are you." I had learned that dying in hopes of a miracle¡ª that he would somehow divulge the information if I was nice or understanding enough was a lost cause. I dropped the device down, and it hit the ghost with a soft thud. He was absorbed into the Pokeball, and although he struggled, he was only dying the inevitable. Ding. He was caught. I''d hand him over to the League. I did not have it in me to raise a Pokemon that would continuously try to murder me at every turn and it wouldn''t be fair to him for me to treat him the way I would. He had killed Lou, almost gotten Sunshine and Honey killed, and would potentially cause the death of more. I could not look him in the eye and say in good conscience that I would try to do good by him, and more importantly, I did not have the tools to fix him in a natural way. No. We would not be a good fit at all, though I would have to pitch to Cynthia not to keep him trapped in a ball forever if we ever got out of here alive. I recalled all of my Pokemon save for ydol and Princess and rolled my shoulders as I let go of my walking stick and watched it sink into the metallic sea. "ydol." Yes, my King? "Something''s been stewing in my head, you see. I don''t think we can beat Melmetal, and even if I tried to help, I''d just get in the way. But I don''t think fighting or stalling is the way out of this, ydol. I think we negotiate. Show that we took care of Zoroark and don''t mean any harm." I paused, wincing as my head pounded and my arm seemed to twitch involuntarily with a slight spasm. "I don''t exactly know how Melmetal thinks other than they feel things. They felt more like a decentralized entity without a central brain. Like a mass of metal given consciousness, or something like that, I don''t know, I''m just spitballing. Would negotiations be possible with such an entity?" The Eternal Alloy is a benevolent being who aided Lakhutia for centuries. Communicating is more than possible, and I believe they would be more likely to listen if I was present, as one of the ancient King''s personal guardians. Rmending diplomatic engagement for potential cooperation and resolution by presenting the Fiend''s body. "No, we''re not sacrificing anyone here," I shook my head. "Or at least not until we try to be the best we can be." Motive unrecognized. I chuckled sadly. "That''s fine, ydol. Just follow my lead. Princess? I know you''re at the end of your rope, but how fast do you think you can go?" Togekiss answered with half-formed words, but I felt the focus and determination within her. Now that Zoroark was gone, so was the rage that lingered here, and instead, all I felt was Melmetal''s grief. Let''s try, I repeated to myself. There was a pit of anxiety forming in my stomach at the thought of seeing my ACEs and Lou''s Pokemon, and them having to realize that she was dead. Not only that, but I''d potentially be throwing her sacrifice away by trying to do good instead of hiding like I should. Princess whined about a worsening headache, which I empathized with. All this time, my headache had been worsening too, along with a feeling of nausea and struggling to take full breaths. I felt sick, like that time I''d gone to Mount Cor to save Cece, but Princess was sick too, somehow. There were traces of it in the entire team, save for ydol and Jellicent. As we approached Melmetal, keeping low to the ground, I realized that the situation was worse than it had looked from afar. Only thirteen Pokemon remained to all of the ACEs, including their mounts, and Melmetal¡­ well, there was some rust coating their body, but it was still fighting as fast as before. They''d tired them out some, but they would need to fight five times as long to hope to finish them off. It was Serena atop her Skarmory who spotted me first, then Maxwell, Ariel and Richard. Maxwell grimaced, motioning at Ariel to go talk to me as his Honchkrow dove out of the way and sent a series of darkened sts toward Melmetal. "What are you doing here?!" the ACE yelled. I''d never seen her do that in my life. Her dark brown hair was disheveled, and she was sweating bullets, but she did not look wounded. None of them did. Their Pokemon¡­ were in a much worse shape. I rereleased ydol into the air, since they wouldn''t have been able to keep up with us getting here. "Ariel, listen to me. You can''t win." "We''re buying time¡ª" "I know, but it''s not going to work. We''re all going to die if we don''t change things up," I rambled, "I''ve dealt with Zoroark, and I caught him." There were thousands of questions at the tip of her tongue, but she just nodded. We would leave the sorrow forter. I asked her to get further away from Melmetal, who summoned ten sh Cannons that all homed toward Maxwell, Serena and Richard. Even when I closed my eyes, I could still see the light from the beams beyond my eyelids. When I opened them again, everyone was thankfully okay. Serena''s Skarmory had done some kind of trick to avert the attack, and Melmetal didn''t look to be the smartest fighter, thank the Legendaries. "Remember what Zoroark said? That Melmetal would do¡­ this until the people they consider intruders were dead?" She nodded, though the name ''Melmetal'' was new to her. "I have ydol with me, I can maybe convince them that we''re fine. And they shouldn''t be able to feel Zoroark''s presence any longer." "You''d need to get close enough to speak to it," Ariel muttered. "That means you''d be risking your life." "I know. But we''re not going tost long enough, Ariel. This¡­ this isn''t something you can deal with. Melmetal''s too powerful to brute force things." "Negotiating with Zoroark didn''t work, Grace." "Zoroark was on me," I immediately acknowledged. "And I''m sorry about that. I will apologize and try to repay you until I''m dead, but we have to live first. Zoroark and Melmetal just don''t function the same way, Ariel. I''m an empath, I know this." Ariel sighed. "It would be Maxwell''s call. He''s in charge, now." Now that Lou was dead was left unsaid, and I ignored the pit of guilt in my stomach telling me that I was the wrong person to have survived. "Can you¡ª" I stopped, clenching at my forehead. "Can you call Maxwell over and rece him? Get us to speak?" "His Honchkrow is the only thing keeping us alive right now," Ariel answered. "Then I''m going." "Gra¡ª" "We are dead either way, Ariel, and you know it! ydol!" I yelled to interrupt her. "Would you be capable of speaking in Melmetal''s head from here?" Negative. The Endless Alloy does not have a proper ''mind'' tomunicate with, the ground type said. I would have to use an audible voice and not telepathy. "That still works. Ariel, you have to let the other ACEs know to stop their attacks, and I have to go alone," I said. "Now you''re asking for too much¡ª" "Listen to me. Negotiations won''t work if you''re attacking Melmetal, okay? Just¡­ put it all on pause. It''ll be a gesture of goodwill. Can you convince Maxwell for me, or are you going to continue this meaningless fight?" Both Mathilda and Zoroark had told me that the fact that the ACEs were here in the first ce made them less likely to talk. I couldn''t sendthem away, but I could at leastpromise. Ariel paused, chewing on my words as a set of metallic whips extended from Melmetal''s arms and destroyed more buildings. One of the Pokemon¡ª Maxwell''s Ursaring¡ª was hit by droplets of liquid iron and his arm started to melt off until his trainer recalled him. "We''re running out of time," I muttered. "It has a better chance of sess than what we''re doing¡­ so go. I''ll warn Maxwell." "Thank you," I breathed out. "Princess?" This was our opening. Melmetal always waited in between attacks for a reason I did not understand. Maybe it was because they''d been dormant for over a century, or perhaps it took them time to charge attacks of this calibre, or abination of both. Either way, Togekiss flew up, gaining in altitude as ydol followed to the best of their ability. Melmetal waspletely focused on the ACEs and their Pokemon because they''d been fighting non-stop for nearly thirty minutes. I waited for the steel type''s next attack, and it came soon after. Droplets of iron rose from the metallic sea, twisting until they turned into paper-thin sheets of metal that Melmetal sent hurtling forward. I heard Maxwell swear behind me, his voice now faint because of how far away I was. I patted Princess fur, still bloodied from my fingers, and I she dove down, causing the wind to whip my hair around. The attacks from the ACEs had stopped, now, thank the Legendaries. "Endless Alloy!" I called out so loudly that my throat rasped. "Hear me out, please!" The amalgamation of liquid steel slowly turned my way, but I didn''t wait for it to look. "Issuing deration: Lakhutia''s new King is addressing you, O child of God. I have been assigned as her new Guardian, as I was for countless monarchs before her. Let it be known shees in peace," ydol smoothly said. The little dark orb in the center of Melmetal''s golden gear narrowed at me, confirming that it was their eye. Spikes rose from the metal below, but they did not fly at me. Looks like pretending to be a King works with ydol here, thank the Legendaries. "This entire battle''s been a big misunderstanding," I quickly added. "The ACEs didn''te here to destroy the city, they''re just my bodyguards. When you woke up so suddenly, they panicked, and I guess you panicked too, seeing unfamiliar faces around with Zoroark¡ª speaking of Zoroark¡ª or I guess the Fiend, I dealt with him for you! You should be able to sense that he''s no longer here, no? The rage clinging to this ce is gone. There''s not even a whisper of it left." The grinding sound of metal against metal escaped Melmetal''s frame, and I cursed myself for not being able to understand. I opened up my empathy once more and delved deeper¡ª not too deep, because I didn''t want to pass out where I sat. Even Princess looked to be on the verge. Beyond the grief that had molded Melmetal, there was a certain understanding, but it was also mixed with wariness. "We''re sorry about the destroyed buildings and the damage we''ve caused. If you''d let us leave, we would without a word," I said. "But I have something else to say first, if you will allow it." There was no reaction, but their emotions didn''t waver, so I continued. "All this time, you''ve known nothing but the city," I said. "They call you ''child of God'' here, don''t they?" Query recognized: the people of Lakhutia believe that the world was forged by a metalworker deity and that Melmetal was given to them by him as a gift, ydol quickly added in my mind. Imaginary Gods, Zoroark had said. Melmetal was powerful, but it wasn''t a child of a God unless you took being Arceus'' children literally. Both Melmetal and Zoroark had only known Lakhutia. One had been forced into the role of a demi-God deity to the acim of their people, while the other had been forced into the role of a demon, or something akin to it, and was forced to endure centuries of torment. And now, only they remained, their people long gone, stuck in an endless cycle of ruin and renewal. A never-ending war between grief and rage. "I was a little like that, when I was younger," I said. "I barely knew anything other than my room and my school, because doing anything else was ufortable and scary. The world out there is a beautiful ce, Melmetal. Don''t stay chained up to the same ce out of obligation¡ª because it''s what you''ve always done. Zoroark''s gone now, and you can go and experience the outside world without worrying that the city would be destroyed without you." Worry. Fear. Apprehension. Uncertainty. Each feeling hit me like I''d been run over by a car because of the sheer magnitude of the being I was talking to today. Most of it was redirected toward the city''s future without a guardian, but some toward the ruin Melmetal would be leaving behind, if they left to travel the wild on their own. "I¡­ well, maybe I cane back when we''re all better? I think we''re all getting a little sick. My Togekiss is excellent at shaping stone, so we could fit up the damage we all caused. If you don''t trust us, I could stick around a while as¡ª well, some kind of hostage, I guess. I''ll hand over my Pokemon to be healed, and ydol and I will hang out here. They''ll have to bring me food and probably leave at least one bodyguard behind, but we can fix all of this. We can¡ª" Arceus, my head, I groaned. It was like it was being split in two. Approval, but not in full. Pain. Loss. Cycle. Melmetal''s rusted skin rippled, and it was then that I realized my ACE trainers had dealt more damage than I''d first believed¡ª no, Melmetal had used too much of their power too quickly right after awakening to deal with them when they usually only had to contend with Zoroark, and they would be falling asleep soon no matter what. I did not know what soon meant, but the feeling I got was an hour or two. Beyond when Cynthia and the League would have arrived, but that didn''t matter. It was not the point I was focusing on. It meant that Melmetal was condemned to at least another century of sleep. In the corner of my eye, I saw Maxwell, gripping a stump where his hand should be. The earlier attack had cut his wrist clean off. Hesitation. Expectation. Favor. They were tired of fighting. "Favor¡­" I muttered. "Melmetal, I''m not¡ª I''m nothing. You''d be disappointed with me, and how would it even work? You''re¡­ falling asleep soon," I whimpered. Never mind that the League would not let me keep them, or at least I didn''t believe they would. Opportunity. Healing. Renewal. The sea of iron rippled without warning across the entire city, absorbing the mini-Melmetals in the process. The buildings did not get swallowed up by the endless tide of silver. Instead, the ones who had copsed rose again¡ª newer ones, made of metal, but ragged and worn so they would appear to be rock at first nce. They were perfect replicas. Replicas was important, because Lou was still dead and she was nevering back. Already, her other three Pokemon had been discreetly recalled. I ced a hand over my mouth, choking up from the sacrifice taking ce in front of my eyes and as the emotions of this entire debacle started sinking in. Melmetal''s body did not shine bright. Instead, rust spread like a cancer, slowly overtaking their entire frame. It clung to the gears, the golden one atop their head crumbling to dust as the liquid metal returned to the main body. Melmetal grew to forty feet tall, leaving only thin sinews of rust behind that looked more like a bird cage than the majestic body that hade before. I called out to Togekiss, whonded on the now solid ground and nearly copsed from exhaustion. I barely managed to stand on my good leg, wobbly as it was, and a thin psychic hold from ydol kept me upright. After thanking her for pushing herself so far, I recalled my starter and clipped her Pokeball back on my belt. I limped toward Melmetal''s corpse, my eyes struggling to stay open, and I crouched at the sliver of iron and gold that remained on the floor. Small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and much smaller than the ones they''d created before. I outstretched my arm, cing my palm up from the floor, and the mini-Melmetal hopped in my hand with a confused warble. I ignored the agonizing pain in my fingers and turned to ydol. The situation could have unfolded less favorably. Let us express gratitude for the fortunate oue, ydol said, their pupils forming into upside-down ''U''s to mimic happiness. Happiness that they did not feel, and that I was not feeling either, but the gesture was appreciated. "Let''s see the world, both you and I," I said, before addressing¡­ the nameless metallic blob in my hand. I struggled to understand if this was a new life, or reincarnation of some kind, but they were just so fragile. Like pulling on them too hard would unravel the entire structure. "You''re tired of fighting, aren''t you? You won''t have to do that, or train, or anything else you don''t like." It had cost others. Lou was dead, and her Pokemon would grieve her like mine would have if I''d died. Maxwell had lost a hand. The majority of my ACEs'' Pokemon were grievously injured or maybe worse. It had cost my family. They were all physically broken, sick, and most of all, Honey''s hand was missing as well, and the bones in his body had been shattered. It would take long for us to heal. It would keep costing me. It was a debt I would never be able repay in full, and I had note here with this goal in mind. But I''d saved two people from an eternity of war or exploitation today. I hoped one day I would have it in me to do this without tasting ash in my mouth, and without endangering the lives of others. You couldn''t have known, Lou had told me, and yet¡­ And yet. I barely registered catching the mini-Melmetal before passing out.
Chapter 286 Chapter 286
CHAPTER 286 I stirred awake as a sharp pain shot up my hands, then spread everywhere else. My fingers felt like they were on fire, and moving them around made me whimper. It took a few seconds to remember that I hadn''t fallen asleep thest time I''d been conscious and that I wasn''t actually supposed to be in a bed, but there was no mistaking the fluffy feeling behind my back or the covers over me. Blinking, I wormed my way from under the covers, realizing I was not in a Pokemon Center. This room was a lotrger than that, though it did look like a hospital room, onlyrger. My bed was big enough to fit two, and instead of the blinding white I''de to expect from hospitals, this room was more of a homely beige and gray. This looks more like a hotel room than a hospital room, I groggily thought as I dragged myself out of bed, and then promptly realized there was a needle poking into my hand through the bandages around them, slowly dripping fluids into my system. A t-screen TV yed some news about the Lost Tower being differenttely, though I was too out of it to actually listen properly. On my bedside table sat four Pokeballs which had clearly been polished, seeing as none of my dry blood remained on them. I assumed that most of my team had been taken to be healed. "Water¡­" I muttered. A new pair of crutches had beenid on the side of the bed, which I sped with a pained grunt, and I dragged the IV stand with me. I found walking harder than usual, not because of my ankle hurting more, but because of how dizzy I was, and the headache certainly didn''t help. I turned the room''s corner¡ª because yes, it actually had a corner¡ª and found myself in some kind of tiny living room with a kitchen, leathery khaki couches a coffee table with flowers on it, and¡­ a fridge, just what I was looking for. I found it difficult to open the damn thing, with how my fingers kept twitching. Grabbing onto things tightly helped, though, even though it hurt more. There was water, but also frozen meals which I''d be able to heat in the microwave. I downed the entire bottle in one go, ignoring the pain shooting up my hands. Lou¡­ I bit my lip and looked away from my wounded fingers. They were expecting me to stay here long, which made sense, considering I could barely walk and my Pokemon were all hurt¡­ but where was here? There was a note next to the flowers, so I hobbled my way to the coffee table and slumped against the couch, only to realize that it was a get well soon letter from Cynthia and not anything exining where the hell I was. It was at this point that I decided to look for my phone, which for some reason they''d put in an Arceus damn drawer, along with the clothes I''d been wearing before passing out and my ring instead of my backpack. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, and it felt like I was being kept in the dark. But first, I needed to text my friends I was okay. I had warned them I''d be going down in the city, and they were probably worried sick. At least it looked like I hadn''t been out for too long¡ª only twelve hours or so, like having a particrly long night''s sleep. Texting was like a cruel joke, now, but at least my thumbs were the least fucked up fingers, from what I remembered, which was barely anything. Yesterday still felt like a dream to me, but it was real, and Lou was dead. I''d killed her. Before I could see my friends react to the news, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in!" I eagerly said. I expected for a doctor of some kind toe in, not the Champion of Sinnoh herself. She was as pretty as always, decked out in her usual ck coat and straightened hair this time. My body froze, save for the asional twitch, because I was already facing her when I''d gotten one of her ACE Trainers killed. Unlike Rene, who had protected Chase, Lou had reported directly under Cynthia and they''d known each other quite well. Even if I went at this from a pragmatic point of view, which I thought Cynthia operated under, Lou and her abilities had been one of a kind. She was quite literally irreceable. I shrunk slightly in my seat, though Cynthia''s face was the same as always. Her long, confident strides had her next to me in seconds. "Grace," she smiled at me. "How are you feeling?" "Wh¡ªwhere am I?" I forced out. "The League," The Champion answered. "You''ll forgive the fact that we basically kidnapped you, I hope. We needed to keep the metallic Pokemon you caught a secret, at least for the time being." Forgive her? Legendaries, I was the one who should have been asking for forgiveness! "Yeah, um, that''s fine. My Pokemon, are they¡ª" "Being healed by the best Joys in Sinnoh. They took a real beating, so they''ll take a while to recover. Your Electivire especially. His wrist and hand will regrow in around two weeks, but it''ll take longer for him to be able to use it properly. Your team was the victim of mercury poisoning, some more than others. Your Togekiss was hurt the most, with the way fairies are vulnerable to metal, and she''ll take a simr number of days to get back to full health. The rest will take less time," Cynthia quickly exined. Training for Byron before the Red Chain deadline had just gone out the window, and the fact that I even worried about that made me want to ball up my hand into a fist until the pain had me pass out. I assumed the ACE Trainers were also sick, and even though I wanted to ask, I couldn''t get the words out of my throat. At least the poisoning wouldn''t leave anything permanent. "You''re also sick, which is why I asked how you were feeling," Cynthia continued. "I have a horrible headache, I feel like I want to throw up continuously even though I haven''t eaten and my body keeps twitching," I mumbled. "Breathing is also a little hard." "Common symptoms of mercury poisoning. We''ve been giving you chting agents through your IV, so you should feel better within the week or so. We contacted the other Shards and told them you were alright, but you''ll have to tell your other friends." I didn''t bother asking what chting was or what it did, but I did feel somewhat relieved I would recover¡ª a feeling that sickened me. I''d already messaged the rest of my friends, and no one else had known I''d be going to Lakhutia, not even my parents. "Cynthia, I''m sorry about Lou¡­" I muttered. The Champion crossed her legs. "Don''t worry yourself about casualties," she said. The fact that word had been plural wasn''t lost on me and probably meant some Pokemon had died too. "Your fingers will take longer to heal, but no permanent damage was done. Your ankle was also deemed to still be healing fine and progressing along well." I nodded, skin gone pale. "Aliyah will being here tomorrow morning to help with any¡­ issues you might be dealing with, though I am always willing to lend an ear if you need to vent. Let us know if you need someone else to talk to as well." "Thank you." I stopped, sinking into the leather couch. "Listen, I should be thest one to make demands right now, but I¡­ um, the city''s still fine, right? You won''t destroy it because Zoroark and Melmetal are gone?" "We had a few League Trainers look through Lakhutia, but the city won''t be touched. I n on going there as well, when I have the time." "I caught Zoroark," I said, my eyes ncing at the four Pokeballs on my bedside table. "Yes, and Melmetal, or that small version of it. That is what I wanted to bring up." "Do you have someone to look after Zoroark?" I asked. "I don''t want him to stay in a Pokeball forever¡­ he needs someone who''ll teach him that there''s more to life than hatred, but I''m honestly a terrible candidate for the job." I had a few candidates in mind, but Fantina and Cynthia herself were at the top of that list. It would, however, probably be a year-long journey, and I didn''t know if both women would be able tomit to such a thing. ACEs would not be an option. They were trained to shoot first and ask questionster, and Zoroark had just killed one of their own. A random League Trainer would be fine, so long as they had the stomach to handle a Pokemon that would continuously try to kill them. For the Elite Four, none of them were ghost type specialists, but that wouldn''t matter so long as they were willing to work with Zoroark. There were also Frontier Brains, but that was probably pushing it. "This makes things a lot easier. I believed you would try to keep it, which the logistics of wouldn''t have worked and would have put you in too much danger," Cynthia said. "If it''s something you want, I can try to make it happen, but I cannot guarantee someone will ept. It would have to be someone high in the chain ofmand who knows about today''s events, but few of those will want to take care of Zoroark." "What about¡­ you?" I tried. The Championughed, which sounded a lot more genuine than the few times I''d seen her do so. Why are youughing? Lou is dead. Was she reallyughing, or was it a trick? The hair on my neck rose, and I felt a chill. "I suppose I could be an option," Cynthia finally said. "I''ll have to see after I speak with Fantina, though I doubt she''ll want to burden herself with a murder-obsessed Pokemon. She''s always had a soft touch, so maybe." Thank the Legendaries. I was still important enough for her to at least try to listen to my suggestions. I didn''t know if I would have been able to stand back up if I had to live with the fact that I''d condemned Zoroark with years of prison with no stimtion. "Now, onto your new captures," Cynthia said. "ydol will be fine to show, though we''ll need to hide your¡­ the name we''re working with is Meltan, from a few ancient texts we recovered in the city. The scripture is simr to the one used in ancient times in Sceon, so we managed to figure that out." I nodded. "Okay." "And before you''re allowed to take it, we''ll have to run some tests. Make sure that it''s safe to be around, measuring its capabilities, along with taking some general samples from its body, if possible." "Oh¡­ wait, can the sample stuff wait a few days? And can the safety tests be done in this room? Meltan''s never known anything other than the city, so they''ll be overwhelmed. ydol, too." She inclined her head. "Which is why they were not taken yet." She gestured at the Pokeballs on my table. Zoroark, Jellicent, Meltan, ydol, with the rest being taken care of by the League''s Nurse Joys. "I''ll have one of our peoplee and take a look to make sure being near Meltan won''t be poisoning you further, but the rest can wait. It''ll just be a small scan, it won''t take more than a minute." "Thanks. Um¡­" Arceus, just fucking ask. "Who else died in the battle?" I choked. "Do you want to know?" I nodded. "Maxwell''s Liepard and Richard''s Stound died from their wounds. The rest of their teams got off rather light, about the same as yours, save for Weezing and Cacturne suffering from severe bacsh from Destiny Bond. The nurses believe they''ll live, however." Ah. There was a sudden urge to go and apologize, but I didn''t think they wanted anything to do with me anymore. Still, I couldn''t let this fester like Maylene and Candice. I needed to at least try, because that was what being good was about. So I''d stand with my head hung low and take the hits, because I deserved it. "I see what you''re thinking. ACE Trainers are a professional force. They will not let feelings get in the way of work." "That doesn''t matter. I still need to say sorry. They pretend like they don''t care about each other, but they clearly do, and I got Lou killed¡ª "That was not your fault." "It was¡ª" "Melmetal wasn''t a known entity to the League. Zoroark was the highest-level threat we thought you would be dealing with. There was no way for you to expect Melmetal to exist, let alone awaken." "Lou asked me to leave over and over," I said through clenched teeth. "Because she was anxious about letting you fight Zoroark after what happened in the Lost Tower," Cynthia smoothly countered. "She was not expecting a Pokemon that powerful to pop up." I pushed my fingers into the couch and tried not to squirm. "But if I listened, she''d be alive." And both Zoroark and Melmetal would still be stuck in the same cycle until the League caught the former and killed thetter. I did not want to ask myself if it had been worth it, because lives were not something I wanted to get back to measuring on scales. I''d saved two, gotten three killed in exchange, and caused emotional harm to countless individuals who would have to live with that fact. Every time, when I looked into their eyes, I would see it. I would feel it, even. "What''ll happen to Lou''s team?" I whispered. "They''ll see a therapist and be transferred, more preferably together. Either to another trainer or the Battle Frontier," she exined. "Now, I would love to stay and chat, but I have some things to attend to. Mr. Henrick is waiting right outside the room and will take a look at Meltan, so you''ll have to wait outside while he does." "Can I talk to them first?" Cynthia''s smile ttened, and for a second, I could see the gears turning in her head. Her calcting if risking my health was worth keeping me happy. I supposed she didn''t fully understand what kind of state I was in, with the way the thought of refusing and being difficult wasn''t even an option. "I''m afraid not, but maybe your ydol can be in the room. They have an understanding, don''t they?" "I''m not sure if Meltan is a reincarnation or another life entirely, so I don''t know if they''ll remember ydol, but if it''s the best I''m going to get, I''ll take it." "Good." Cynthia rose, passing a hand through her long hair and waited for me to stand. I handed her Zoroark''s Pokeball, which she would hold onto for now, and I patiently waited outside for the chubby scientist to finish his scan. He''d been wearing eye goggles, gloves, and a full hazmat suit that made me think I was in some kind of contaminatedboratory, but that couldn''t have been further from the truth. He''d also had a League Kadabra with him, which I assumed was to keep him safe. There were finally windows in the hallway of this hospital, and I could see the Lily of the Valley Ind in its full glory. The League building was imposing, and the tallest in the distance, even more so than the stadiums that were already fully set up and good to go. It was a traditional building that reminded me of the old cathedrals in Hearthome, with a beautiful stained ss window in the form of a Pokeball on its facade and tall orange pointed roofs atop each spire. It was my first time, seeing the ind with my own eyes, and it was more of a bustling city than the orderly fortress I''d been expecting¡ª like something akin to what had been built around the threekes. Instead, this looked like a townrger than even Sceon. There were definitely security measures that weren''t visible to the naked eye, but this looked like a genuinely nice ce to live in. There were even civilians walking around¡ª families of League employees who lived here full-time. "Um, I have a Poketch meeting on the 25th of April¡ª" Cynthia interrupted me. "Which you won''t have time to get to if you stay here as long as we said. Don''t worry, we''ll Teleport you to Jubilife when you''re cleared to leave and transfer your Pokemon to one of Jubilife''s Pokemon Centers so they can continue their treatment." I nodded silently as the door behind us opened and Meltan was confirmed to be safe to be around. I exhaled, my shoulders slumping in relief, and Cynthia allowed me back in the room before she left and told me to get some rest. ydol''s eyes moved independently from each other as they scanned the entire room ''for unknown threats'' while Meltan, who was slightly under eight inches tall, crawled along the floor toward me like a baby learning to walk. "Hey," I whispered, crouching. I picked up Meltan into my hands, making sure to shift them back on my palms so their weight wouldn''t hurt. They were heavier than they looked, though that was probably because I was sick. "Are you okay? Was the scan scary?" I turned toward ydol. "ydol?" My King. Data analysispleted: 18 unknown tools and devices identified. Caution advised. Please proceed with care and exercise heightened vignce in the presence of these unfamiliar items while I take care of them,the psychic chimed, suddenly grabbing things around the room with their mind. They snapped the TV remote in two and were about to crumple the television itself, had I not yelled at them to stop. "There''s no danger anywhere here, okay? We''re safe, you don''t have to worry." My apologies. May I bring to your attention that there is a needle stabbing your hand right this moment? "Yeah, that''s fine," I said. "It''s helping with my sickness. The rest of my Pokemon are getting help too, and I think we should let Buddy get some rest in his ball for now while we get to know each other. Is that okay?" Meltan let out some kind of warble that I did not understand. I had no idea if I''d ever be able to understand the steel type as clearly as I did my other Pokemon, with how confusing Melmetal had been, but with my empathy I at least knew they''d agreed to that notion. The small ck sphere hovering in the middle of their golden gear turned to an upside-down ''U'', and they were clearly pleased with themselves. Now that I could get a better, sober look at their body, Meltan had some kind of red cord in the ce of a tail that waggled whenever they moved. "Okay, guys," I said. "First thing''s first, I have a question for you, Meltan. You can answer by nodding or shaking your head, okay?" I waited, and they answered by turning their eye into an ''X'' or and ''O'' instead. They''re more impressive than I thought they''d be, I thought with a slight smirk. "Do you remember where youe from? Any old memories?" Meltan answered no, which meant that I was basically dealing with a newborn. The metallic being shifted in my hands, their body turning slightly more solid as they traveled up my scarred forearm and carefully bnced themselves on top of it. I painfully kept them still before they could fall and hurt themselves. "Do you still want to travel?" I asked. "To get to know the outside world?" Meltan chimed, bing so gooey they nearly slipped through my fingers, and there was a small spark of electricity on their tail. So they had none of the memories, but had still retained Melmetal''s deepest desires, it seemed. Even their attachment to me felt too strong, for how little we''d known each other. I guess he sees me as his protector and guide thanks to the oath I swore with Melmetal, I mused. "Great! I''m going to show you a bunch of ces," I softly said. "I''ll keep you safe, okay? You won''t have to see any fighting." ydol''s eyes all converged toward the cracked television screen. May I know why this wall is talking and showing images? Additional query: Who is thisdy on the wall? Awaiting data input for exnation. "Arceus, you''re going to have to learn about everything, aren''t you?" I chuckled softly. "Alright, that''s a television, or TV for short. Basically, it''s a projection of what''s happening somewhere else. The girl''s name is Mallory Ryan. She''s a news anchor, and gives people all over the country information instantaneously." ydol hummed, letting me know that they''d updated their memory banks. I used the opportunity to grab my Pokedex, which intrigued Meltan to a great degree. Their eyes poked out of their gear in a strangely cute way, and I put them on my shoulder so they would be able to see the screen. I held back a wince from the pain shooting up my fingers, but I didn''t want to worry my two new Pokemon. Arceus, I couldn''t wait until they got to mingle with the others. Maybe I''d release Buddy early? He''d probably ask me to soak in a bath before doing any socializing, though. "ydol, stand still for a sec," I said. Noted. ydol, the y Doll Pokemon. ydol is an enigma that appears to first have been created from a y statue made by an ancient civilization dating back 20,000 years, after which the knowledge spread throughout the world. This Pok¨¦mon shoots beams from both its hands and its eyes, and is adept at multi-tasking. Meltan jumped from the sudden voice, their eye widely ping-ponging inside of their gear, and ydol''s eyes narrowed at the end of the speech. Analysispleted: This device is a suboptimal version of myself. Requesting disposal, my King. Elimination rmended for improved efficiency and operational effectiveness. "The voice does sound kind of simr," I muttered. "But don''t worry, you don''t have topete with a machine." Sex: None Type: Ground/Psychic Moves: Mud p, Rock Tomb, Rapid Spin, Harden, Confusion, Psychic, Barrier, Imprison, Wide Guard, Light Screen, Reflect (click for more information) Ability: Levitate (click for more information) "Not bad," I said. I am d I am to your liking and that I will not be destroyed and discarded, my King, ydol chimed. There was a strange tune that yed along with their words, like some kind of celebration music built into them, though it glitched halfway through and stopped instead. Please ignore that horrifying failure. I tend to be the victim ofedic timing, they added. I snorted. "Really? Comedic timing? Can I have an example?" ydol''s pupils dted slightly. Processing request: Hold on while I recall this memory... Memory found. I once wished the first King I served good health, and he died choking on a fish bone six hours, twenty-five minutes, and three secondster. I was then ced in the Royal Crypt as a bringer of bad luck, where I stayed until you found me. "That''s just superstitious stuff. Anyway, do you have a name I should call you? Or a preferred gender, or anything?" Awaiting for your input, they said. "Okay, never mind, we''ll put that on hold," I said. "If you want, I''ll think of a name for you, and you can just be¡­ you probably don''t even understand the concept of gender, so we can just have you be whatever you want, or keep just being outside of that spectrum entirely." Whatever you wish, my King. "And what''s with this king stuff?" I scoffed, pointing the Pokedex toward Meltan. "You can call me Grace, you know?" Issuing correction: negative. I am your guardian, and can only bemitted to defending a King. You have a Pokemon called Princess. Consequently, you should be referred to as a King. I rolled my eyes as the screen for my Pokedex went nk at the sight of Meltan, which was something I''d expected, since it hadn''t known what that ancient Zoroark was either, when Chase had fought him. It was weird, with ydol. Sometimes they felt like they had a personality, but other times they just became a regr oldputer again that deferred to my every thought. At the very least, they weren''t nk. Meltan deted when they saw they didn''t have a Pokedex entry. "Hey, we can just make one up," I grinned. "How about¡­" Images of Lou shed in my head, and I imagined her body melting inside of the sea of metal Melmetal had created. I bit my lip, clenching at my fingers until they hurt. No. Don''t do this. Don''t put the me on them. Meltan eagerly screeched next to my ears as they held onto my hair so they could bnce themselves on my shoulder. They still couldn''t walk properly, after all. "...I don''t know, ''this Pokemon can alter their state from a solid or a liquid, create small jolts of electricity with their tail, and¡­ yeah, I''m out. But look, we can create one together when we figure out more about you." Pleased with themselves, Meltan nodded and pointed toward the floor. I ced them back on the ground, and they began to practice walking again, though their head was so heavypared to the rest of their body that they fell over numerous times. "Are you okay with Meltan being here?" I whispered to ydol. "They were kind of a God to your people, no?" The ground type''s eyes shed. Of course. Preserving natural order through thepanionship of the Endless Alloy and the King is a rational course of action. Any alternative perspective would defy established principles and be deemed irrational. I snorted, which confused the psychic and had their eyes turn to strange glyphs again. "ydol, I have this thing I''ve been doing that you''ll probably find weird¡­" I exined the context to Gym Battles to the psychic, and the way people battled for sport these days and not just for war and actually real fights. ydol was so confused they failed topute whatever I was saying multiple times, and the only way I managed to frame this in a way they understood was that battling made Pokemon stronger, so it was like training, but really quickly, and other people enjoyed watching that training. That led to me having to exin that Ditto was a thing, and that injuries in battle were treated far easier now than back in the day. Thinking about it, the implementation of Ditto cells in Pokemon Centers had probably moved the needle when it came to Pokemon training. There were far fewer powerful trainers before, and that included during the Great War. The treatment had begun in Kanto-Johto, but even though they''d tried to keep a lid on it, it spread like wildfire in every region and got to Sinnoh around the time when Cynthia was a kid. By the time she''d gone out on her journey, the cells had already been normalized. And thank the Legendaries for that, with the way Honey had lost his hand. I specialize in your protection, my King. Uncertain about proficiency in mock battling. "Hey, if you don''t feel confident with battling, that''s okay," I said. "But we''ll have to train, still. Your barriers are already great, but offensively, you''recking. Something like Ancient Power and bettering your use of Psychic would be a good start. Princess can show you the ropes when she''s back. And also, we''ll need to find you a teacher for Teleport eventually." Acknowledged. "And since I want to be honest," I said, standing up to face ydol. "There''s this evil organization I''m involved with that you might have to protect me against called Team Gctic. That was one of the main reasons I ventured into Lakhutia to find you, really." Meltan tilted their head, peeking out from below my hospital bed. "You''ll be safe," I said. "I''ll keep you in your Pokeball if ites to a fight. But what I want to know, ydol, is if you''re okay with that? The rest of my team is, but if you don''t feelfortable¡ª" I specialize in your protection, ydol repeated in their monotone voice. "O¡ªokay. Thank you." We''d need to find ydol a hobby, and soon. I didn''t want them to just protect me. They needed to have a life outside of that, and being intrigued by the TV was a good start, if anything. I crouched next to Meltan again, who slid from under the bed and toward me. "Now, Meltan, I wanted to ask you, do you have a name you want to be called? I can pick, but you might want to. I can throw out suggestions until you settle on something." Gender was not something they understood, either, so I settled on sticking with what I''d been referring them to, at least for now. I threw some names at them, but they refused every single one. "ydol, what do you think of Goopy?" I said, lying on my hospital bed. Meltan stood on my stomach, the cold feeling of metal having seeped through my hospital gown. Of course, the steel type''s eye turned into an X instantly. Requesting permission to speak freely. I raised an eyebrow and nodded. "You always have it." The choice of ''Goopy'' appears to be a whimsical attempt to encapste the molten, gooey essence of the Eternal Alloy. It seems apt, considering the Pok¨¦mon''s appearance is reminiscent of a metallic blob. However, in the realm of creativity, one might argue that ''Goopy''cks the imaginative spark found in more inventive nicknames¡ª "Okay, I get it!" I groaned. "We''ll figure something outter." My apologies, my King. I grabbed my phone, painfully scrolling through my messages with my thumbs. "No worries, it was just a suggestion anyway," I mumbled, trying not to let the hurt show. It appeared that Cece was still in transit to Pastoria and that Mira was still traveling up north, but the others had seen the message. I wanted to speak to her so badly¡­ but she''d have reception in a few days at most. The fact that I had to hide Meltan from them left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, I also had to hide the fact that a Melmetal had attacked me from the non-Shards (save for Denzel) for now, but not wanting to lie, I kept light on the details and said I didn''t want to talk about it in-depth, which was the truth. Thinking about yesterday just wracked me with guilt, and my mind just wanted to pretend it hadn''t happened as long as I was stuck in this hospital room and I could ignore the consequences of my choices. Though I would tell them all the truth as soon as I could. Denzel and Louis were especially worried about the way I seemed to get into life-and-death situations at least once per month, but I wasn''t nning on doing much of that any longer. If I wanted to, I''d need to be strong enough not to endanger others, at the very least. Thest thing I wanted was for someone else to die, and I dreaded the look on my ACE''s faces if I forced them to follow me into some death trap again. I lifted my phone up, staring at the little Meltan. "How am I supposed to hide you?" I mumbled. "Your existence is bound toe out eventually, and if you''re in a Pokeball constantly, I won''t be able to show you around." Meltan warbled, crawling onto my wrist before molding themselves into an iron bracelet and a streak of gold. The transformation had been slow, taking up to a minute, but it was a very nice way of hiding them. The bracelet shivered on my wrist, and I would have rubbed it, had my hands not been shredded. "That''s¡­ perfect," I said. "I didn''t know you could do tricks like that." Well, it seemed I had a lot to learn about both of my new teammates, but I was growing tired, and I was still sick, so I opted to close my eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep. After ydol offered to y me a luby, of course. One in their catalog of over two hundred songs. Instead, I asked them to watch Meltan¡ª who I was already feeling was slipping off my wrist¡ª while they explored the room and not to attack anyone if they entered the room.
Chapter 287 Chapter 287
CHAPTER 287 The League made worse food than Pokemon Centers did. Sure, my room was bigger, and it was cozier here even if it was technically a hospital room and not a dorm, but I''d expected the food to be just as good as everything else had been. Instead I''d been served some lemon herb chicken with steamed vegetables, and it was just ugh, especially given the fact that I was constantly nauseous and wasn''t sure I''d be able to eat even half of it without hurling all over my bed. It was easy to get used to the food the Center cafeterias served you, and I''d neverin about it ever again. Mimi hung onto the te and extended a thin tendril of metal to grab a piece of chicken before deeming it undesirable and throwing it back with a sad mewl. Mimi was a name they''d chosen and hadn''t been in my first¡­ hundred choices, but they seemed to enjoy it enough. ydol, meanwhile, was still trying to convince me to just assign them a name and be done with it already. The ground type was currently hovering in the ''living room'' area in the corner of the room and deciphering the world''s current alphabet by using one of my textbooks, which they were learning at a rapid pace. Honestly, I wouldn''t be surprised if they''d know how to read by tomorrow morning. "We''ll find you something to eat soon," I told Meltan. "Don''t worry about it." The steel type''s eye poked out of the golden gear above their head, staring at me intently. They were getting antsy and wanted to get out of the room after having spent an entire day here, but I was still too sick to go out, even if I wanted to, so I''d taken to taking them into the hallway so they could stare out the window as a bracelet, but that did little to contain Mimi''s wanderlust. Instead, they''d grown even more excited at how big the world was in a way that couldn''t help but have me smiling. I chewed on possibly thest bit of food I''d be eating, forcing it down with a mouthful of water and sighed. "I think Buddy should be rested enough now for you guys to officially meet. Are you ready? Both of you?" While ydol had already met Buddy, it had been in the middle of a heated battle, so there hadn''t been much opportunity for them to speak. The psychic agreed, two of their eyes settling on mine while the others either faced my book or continuously scanned the room for dangers. I noticed it had been muscle memory they had held over from their time as the King''s Guardian, something they insisted on calling me. Mimi''s tail shook more erratically than it usually did, and I noticed the steel type was probably nervous. I was currently trying to learn their bodynguage without relying on my empathy too much, but it wasn''t too difficult with how expressive Meltan was. "He''s nice, don''t worry," I said, putting my te onto my bedside table. A nurse cleared to know everything about me and the events hade to monitor me earlier and woulde pick this up just like she''d brought it. I found it pretty crazy that there were apparently clearance levels for everyone here, and not just for members of the army. "He''s a little shy around new people though, so I doubt he''ll talk as much as you do." One thing I''d learned about Mimi during our day together was that they were very vocal. More than any of my Pokemon, even Sweetie, though the steel type''s words weren''t really¡­ words that I could fully trante. More like ideas, wants, and concepts, just like Melmetal had been, but easier to manage. Thankfully Mimi was nowhere as loud as she was, or I would have gotten in trouble with the hospital staff. ydol was more silent unless you spoke to them first, but once you did, they''dunch into random stories and tangents that sometimes had nothing to do with what you''d asked in the first ce until they stopped and apologized for malfunctioning. At least they''d both helped keep my thoughts from spiraling. I had nightmares¡­ saw Lou''s face whenever I closed my eyes. Thest look we shared before she''d Teleported me out of that sinking house would haunt me for long. ydol lowered their book as I released Jellicent in the room''s center. The ghost''s form was still somewhat wavery, with the constant ripples running through his body being the biggest sign, but also how imperfect his head was. It was usually a rtively smooth sphere, but there were bumps and little dents everywhere, and he struggled to stay afloat. Zoroark''s pulse attack had really done a number on him too, despite the fact that he usually always recovered quickly from any battle. "Woah. Can you¡ª can you float alright? Do you want me to draw you a bath? I should have had one prepared, I''m sorry." Jellicent let out a pained moan, though his eyes were as focused and vibrant as ever. He had known I''d caught ydol, but not Meltan, and he did stare intently at the little fellow, but only after expressing his relief at my survival. Mimi introduced themselves with a metallic screech, a small spark of their tail and waving two of their little arms. I had seen them create at least eight at once when they were experimenting earlier, but since every human they saw only had two, that was the number they had settled on. Their eye wobbling like a ripplingke betrayed theirck of confidence, however, even if they stood tall. "You''ve been in your ball for around a day," I said. "The entire family''s fine, there were no casualties there. Honey and Princess will take the longest to heal. This, uh, this is Mimi. I caught them shortly after I recalled you and got us out of there¡ª" The ghost''s tentacle extended until it softly touched my cheek, and I leaned into the affectionate touch until he started to scold me for giving up on life so easily. For daring to leave them behind because I''d been out of options. There was a hint of panic in his tone¡ª a fray in his voice that I had never heard out of him before, because while it hadn''t been our first close brush with death, it had been truly the first time I had epted it. "What else did you want me to do?" I muttered. "If I''m going down, I might as well try to save your lives. The metal would have killed even you." Hell, I wasn''t even sure if Pokeballs would have been safe. Buddy clicked, not bothering to hide any of his irritation. They were not tools for me to make decisions for them, he said. "No," I agreed. "You aren''t. But I wasn''t going to let you die." The ghost answered that if Lou hadn''t suggested Teleportation as an out, they would never have let me recall them. They would all have wrested their Pokeballs out of my hands, because they wouldn''t have wanted to give up until the very end. "I don''t want you to feel like a life without me isn''t worth living," I said. Buddy eased up slightly, his eyes dimming and softening with each passing moment. He held back the no doubt scathing retort, sighing as he looked at Mimi again. The steel type had been observing the short argument with a wobbly eye while ydol, believing themselves subservient (which was something I would have to fix), had not intervened at all. Buddy lowered himself so he could get a good look at Mimi, offering a short greeting. Thankfully, it looked like he wasn''t associating them with Melmetal or holding a grudge, though I''d known he was good with children, if a little on the stricter side whenpared to Sunshine or me. "Mimi will be joining us from now on as a travelingpanion. They''re kind of a tourist, really," I exined, which was to Meltan''s liking. "ydol will be training with us, though." Salutations, Advisor. I hope we will have a cooperative rtionship in serving our King, ydol said before pausing. Initiating icebreaker¡ª there was a drumroll, but it sounded more like sticks beating on metal than actual drums¡ª Loading. Loading. Failed to find topic pertaining to the species of ''Jellicent''. My apologies, Advisor. Buddy''s eyes shed with something between confusion and intrigue while I snorted. An underground civilization no doubt would have rarelye upon an actual Frillish or Jellicent, though, so it made sense. The ''Advisor'' bit was strange to both of us, with the way ydol still believed we were basically some kind of royal posse. Mimi was the religious figure, I was the King, and Buddy was the advisor. What would the others be? "Why don''t you tell us one of your jokes?" I teased. Sarcasm detected. Only if it is an order. "Fine. Jeez, I can''t wait for you to meet Slowking. You two would get along like two peas in a pod," I grinned. Jellicent sighed, not wanting to know what kind of awful things they''d get up to, but at least first impressions were going decent enough. Mimi spent the rest of the night pretending not to be scared of Buddy while ydol engaged in conversation with the ghost, which was hard, with the way he waited for Buddy to ask for everything first. Somehow, Bud got him to start leaking some gossip from somedy called Atilia Agatopa, who back in the day had apparently wanted to organize a religious ritual to get a second Melmetal from their God until she was deemed a heretic and her and her followers'' throats were slit. At first, I thought their God might have been some steel type Legendary whose name had been lost to time or a made-up one that didn''t exist, but he''d actually been a¡­ well, not a man, but something akin to it. The Lakhutians believed that the human body had been forged in his image instead, shortly after he had forged the world and Pokemon. Of course, now we knew that humans came first, but worshipping something that wasn''t a Pokemon was a thought so alien to me that I thought ydol had been short-circuiting at first, and that was just one of their human-like Gods. So, uh, yeah. Hearing about how a woman and her followers got purged was a ''nice'' icebreaker. Mimi and Buddy seemed to like it. ¡ª I barely slept that night. I''d been tossing and turning, not helped by the subtle pain in my hands that red up every time I moved them too much. As a result, I was exhausted by the morning, which wasn''t ideal considering I''d wanted to study Byron. I was scrambling for a way to make things work and challenge him before the Red Chain waspleted, but I wasn''t sure if I''d be able to quite yet, and if I did, Honey would have to bow out of the fight. I didn''t know if ydol would get Gym Battles enough to fight in them, and even if they did, I doubted that they''d be able to get their offensive power up in time to work with what I wanted. There was also the fact that I''d need to alter my entire strategy which didn''t do me any favors, so everything was still up in the air right now. Plus, worrying about mundane stuff like Gym Battles¡­ didn''t feel right. It felt like I was moving on too quickly, and that was wrong, right? I should have been counting my lucky stars to be alive instead of just acting like things were business as usual. Enjoying watching Mimi try to crawl up the walls until they fell down and tried to go higher this time. Seeing Buddy and ydol interact for the first time and seeing the spark there when I''d expected Buddy to take a while to even speak to the psychic, but the fact that ydol was a treasure trove of historical knowledge made them mesh very well, though there were still many holes in their memory. I didn''t eat much of the breakfast they sent me, though Mimi had some fun poking some apples with a needle-like arm. It was not long until Aliyah made herself known, arriving with a soft knock on the door that I would have missed if ydol and Jellicent hadn''t alerted me. I heard her soft steps first, which had me rxing even before she turned the corner. "Aliyah," I exhaled, like a pressure had been lifted off my chest. Legendaries, when had I gotten so reliant on her? One day missed, and I felt like crying when seeing her again. My therapist inclined her head as she greeted my Pokemon with a slight smile, though I waited little time to recall them. I''d already warned Meltan and ydol beforehand that I''d need them away for a little while, though I was beginning to learn that Mimi hated their Pokeball. "I''ve heard everything," Aliyah said in a solemn tone before sitting down on the couch. Distance today, or did she want me to get closer? "I''m sorry for your loss, Grace." "I¡ª I didn''t know her much," I mumbled, suddenly feeling the need to tug and hurt my fingers. "I wanted to, but¡­" When this is all over and the world''s in a good ce, I''ll tell you as a parting gift. Barely four days ago, Lou had told me this when I''d asked about her, and now she was gone. "You knew her well enough for it to hurt," she said. "Are you well enough to get out of bed? I''ll make you tea, if you want." "Sure." I groggily stood up and trudged my way across the room, dragging my IV stand with me and supporting myself with one of my crutches. I suddenly felt like I''d be able to fall asleep if I did close my eyes, like the world was ying a trick on me. Either way, I was too scared to sleep. Aliyah also stood up and approached the stove to heat some water. I plopped myself down on the couch with a sigh and watched the back of her head as she hummed. "I''ve been told that you''re having issues of me," she softly continued as she lighted her usual candle. My nose tingled at the smell. "I''d like to forgo today''s theme and focus explicitly on this for this session." "Right." "me. It''s a heavy load to carry and can easily transform into survivor''s guilt," Aliyah said. She dragged the kettle over the electric stove and turned toward me. "And that can eat someone from the inside if left unchecked." "Cynthia already talked to me about it. Lou did too, before she died¡ª but she¡ª it doesn''t stop the fact that she''s gone, and if had I listened, she''d be alive." "Perhaps she would be," Aliyah agreed. "If, if, if. It''s a nice word, but meaningless in this instance and a lot of the time. You should strive to live in the present¡ª not to forget the ones who helped you get this far, but to learn how to live. You are not an omniscient or perfect being, nor should you strive to be, because that would be impossible. This is a journey of self-improvement, not perfection. You are holding yourself to impossibly high standards, Grace, and I believe I know why. You are so scared of returning to your past self that you see any mistake as backsliding, even when it has nothing to do with the strides you''ve made in improving yourself." "But she''s¡­ dead. And Maxwell and Richard''s Pokemon are, too. And he even lost a hand. Lou''s team is going to be grieving for years. I wanted to do good, to help Zoroark, but it hurt so many people in the process that I don''t know if I have it in me. Unless you''re like Cynthia and nothing is a threat to you, then how can you help in situations like these?" Aliyah paused. "Being a good person often entails making selfless choices and putting others'' needs before your own, making it a noble and worthwhile sacrifice for the greater well-being of those around you. Sometimes, more people than you get burned, to save the lives of others," she said with a wistful look, as if she was reminiscing. "Now I can''t help but think, was it worth it? And it makes me sick, Aliyah. Sick. I can''t help but look Mimi in the eye and think about Lou being here instead of them and asking myself, did I make the right choice? I''m already attached to them, but¡­ Legendaries." "Mimi is¡­ your Meltan," Aliyah guessed. "You see it as an exchange. Saving one life for another, as if a choice had been presented to you when you''d first entered Lakhutia. It was not a choice, Grace. You did not choose, because you did not know it was a choice. You simply tried to do right." She was interrupted by the shrieking of the tea kettle, pulled it off the stove and poured us two cups. "But let us entertain your ''if'' scenario for a second. Say that you left as soon as you got your new ydol, and say that Zoroark would have let you go instead of doing the same thing anyway and trapping you in the city¡ª because that is also a possibility, if we want to y with hypotheticals, and Zoroark has never let any expeditions sent against him escape even when he was not provoked. You manage to leave, and the League sends a team of ACE and League Trainers to deal with Zoroark soon after. The same scenario ensues. He figures that he is not going to win and is going to get captured, so he awakens Melmetal, and they are all wiped out, or close to it. There would have been more casualties, both human and Pokemon, and knowing you, you would still be ming yourself for leaving Lakhutia and failing to warn the people who would have gone in after you. Here, drink." She shoved the teacup into my hands and sat next to me. "Asking yourself about ''what ifs'' is a conundrum without end, Grace. You can twist the story in a thousand different ways and reach a thousand different conclusions that get you the narrative you want." I inhaled sharply at her tone, which was more passionate than usual, and wasn''t sure of how to retort. "It poisons the mind," she continued. "Eats at you until you''re scraped raw and there''s nothing left. But the truth of the matter is, everything looks clearer with hindsight, yes? When the entire event is behind you, and you ask yourself ''what could I have done better?''" "I do that every time I battle," I said. "Sorry if thatparison is stupid." Aliyah shook her head. "Not at all. But you are being harsh on your past self, and you were operating on apletely different set of information. Zoroark was something even one of your ACEs could havefortably dealt with and that they werefortable enough to let you practice on. Thest thing anyone expected was for some ancient, metal demi-God to show up," she finished with a dismissive hand wave. "No, no, you are being too harsh on yourself. Now, should you use this as a lesson to handle these matters in a safer manner? If the situation presents itself and you have ess to information that lets you, yes. Going so far as to shoulder Lou''s death in its entirety? Absolutely not. That is nonsense, my dear." I nodded, almost in a half-dazed state. She really had a way with words, didn''t she? ¡ª "The point is, can we rece her or not, Lucian?" Aaron groaned. He was sitting in one of his usual poses that Cynthia would never understand. The way his back was arched had her hold back a wince, but maybe she was just getting older. "You weren''t here when she was created. It took hundreds of attempts to make her. That means hundreds of deaths. Of pitting children against each other. It is not something I would be particrly fond of doing," Lucian said. "Her passing is a shame, but perhaps we''d do better to move on." "Maybe we can just kidnap two psychics from those ns in Kanto," Flint suggested, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "Import ''em here and have ''em start a family, though it''d have to be two different ns, because the inbreeding stuff is¡ª" "Please do not involve yourself in political matters," Lucian pped back. "It''s an idea. Maybe we can buy them¡ª okay, okay, sheesh, I''m just pulling your leg, no need to re at me like I pissed in your fuckin'' cereal," Flint scoffed while shaking his head. "What do you think, old bat?" Bertha sneered, her hand squeezing the top of her cane. The Elite Four had been gathered in Cynthia''s office today to assess the loss of assets that had gone on in Lakhutia, and there were debates about Lou, as she knew there would be. Creating her had not been a simple endeavor, both in costs and in ingenuity, but it could be done again, if given enough time. Lou''s theoretical sessor would unfortunately never be online in time for the confrontation with Gctic that Cynthia felt wasing in her gut. Losing her had been such a shame, too. Her psychic abilities had been as strong as a Pokemon, though they stillgged behind the most talented human psychics in Indigo and paledpared to what someone like Sabrina was capable of, but having a loyal psychic had helped with smoothing League operations tremendously. It was not the same, with a Pokemon. One, they were beholden to their trainers more than they were to Cynthia, and since Lou was a human, she''d been an excellent spy, able to blend in anywhere so long as they gave her contacts for her eyes, and that wasn''t counting all of the things she''d been able to do that Pokemon simply couldn''t. Her death wasn''t the worst event cost-wise, especially when she''d sacrificed herself to save Grace, but it still stung. "Lou can wait," Cynthia said. "What I need to know is if the other ACEs will be ready to get back to work by the time Grace Pastel leaves." "You''re giving the girl too much leeway," Bertha said. "Her leash should have been tightened from the start. Loose enough to give her the illusion of freedom, but tight enough to keep her from costing us." "Let''s not be mean to a teenager, yeah?" Flint said. "I mean, Aaron''s in the room." The green-haired boy shifted from the position in his chair and kicked Flint in the shin, causing the fire type master to double over and clutch at his leg. The potential the two youngest members of the Elite Four had was there, but they certainly still acted their age. Bertha and Lucian kept things bnced nicely, but Aaron especially needed to grow up sooner rather thanter. He had not been in a serious fight yet. Oh, he''d helped clean up Team Gctic''spounds, but he needed something more dangerous than fighting a few grunts. Like that time she''d taken Flint to battle Regice when the Legend had broken out of containment during his first year and he''de out a different man. Yes. The kind of fight that would build character and wean off some of that na?vet¨¦ that still remained. He would need at least a few of these, if he was to be her sessor like she wanted him to be. Rare was it that she saw so much talent in such a young man. His instincts at battling were better than even hers, but what Aaron needed the most was experience. Neen years old, and already, he was projected to take Bertha''s seat as the third most powerful member of the Elite Four by next year. "Costs today don''t matter, Bertha. You think too short-term," Cynthia said, drumming her fingers against the old oak wood of her desk. Bertha was scrappy, a remnant of her decades in politics where she''d learned not to let anyone walk over her. Sometimes, that left her blind to obvious opportunities. "And believe it or not, niceness pays, down the line." "Ho?" Bertha said with a tint of humor. "Do tell." "You know already. The world won''t be under threat forever, but the powers will stay," Cynthia said. "But returning to the topic of ACEs, how are Maxwell, Richard and Serena faring?" Lucian produced a thin sheet of paper, tapping it lightly. "Maxwell is good to go already. The loss of his Liepard is buried deep within and probably waiting to be unpacked after he''s off guarding duties. Serena''s always been stoic, and this is no different. Samuel believes she thinks herself lucky to have gotten off with no losses. You know about her inner self already." "She hides her self-interest well, but yes, I expected her to bounce back when she got off lightly," Cynthia nodded. "Richard, then?" "He''s doing the worst. Samuel says he''s actively mourning and the walls he''d put up to do the job are breaking down." "He''s always been soft," Cynthia said, uninterested. "Rece him, but handle him with care. Give him some time off and put him back in one of the League Trainer forces if he doesn''t want to quit. Try to convince him not to. Patriotism won''t work with someone in his state, so use Team Gctic''s plot to end the world as a hook. I doubt he wants to lose the rest of his team." Richard was too valuable not to be in the hands of the League, as was every ACE. Oh, Cynthia would have said it in a more subtle way, if she''d been speaking to anyone else. While the Gym Leaders knew of her filtered self, the Elite Four knew her for who she truly was: someone who would put Sinnoh above all, morals be damned, and they epted her for it because they knew someone like her was needed at the helm of the ship. The meeting dispersed soon after, though Aaron asked Cynthia if they could battle sometime this week, something which she epted right away. Battles with the Elite Four were two-fold. They served to keep her team from getting rusty, and improved their own skills as well, and though they never won, they always managed to take out at least two Pokemon, or three when they had good days. Granted, when she used Spiritomb or Garchomp early, they always hit a wall. Cynthia Collins rubbed her tired eyes, wanting to get out of this coat and into loungewear already. Instead, she dialed Fantina''s number. Knowing her, she would be having one of her Gym Trainers battle instead of herself, so she was probably free. Cynthia fiddled with Zoroark''s Pokeball with a curious smile as the phone rang. She''d gone into Grace''s room expecting to be fought tooth and nail for custody of the ghost, but instead Grace had just given it to her. The thing she''d expected was for her own name toe up as a suitable trainer. Where had the girl who had disliked her so deeply in Veilstone and Sunyshore gone? That''s why you''re wrong, Bertha, Cynthia smiled. Niceness pays. Though now, the Champion would need to make sure Grace''s mental health held up. Cynthia had considered getting Cecilia Obel to Teleport here for moral support so they could stay together during Grace''s recovery, though from what she understood, there was some tension in the rtionship, these days, or perhaps they''d made up? It was difficult to keep track of, with teenagers. "Cynthia, my darling!" Fantina said in her usual ent. "How goes the League?" "Swimmingly," Cynthia said. "The Elite Four have been doing a good job in my long absences. Have you read the reports?" "Oh, such horror. For a Pokemon that threatening to have been right under our noses all this time? I could hardly believe it!" If she''d read hers, that meant the other Gym Leaders had as well. She suspected opinions would be more positive on this one. Roark had been the only one fully in support of what had happened to Backlot, something which had not surprised Cynthia, with the way he had backed her so loudly with memory extraction earlier in the year. As for Fantina? What she felt was akin to pity for both Mira and Grace. Seeing two children broken in such different ways would do that to her, which was why she''d helped the former with her new Gengar for a few days in Hearthome. "You know Grace has that Zoroark in her possession, then," Cynthia continued. "She has handed it over to the League, and I''m left with a choice. Do you want to take care of it, or not?" There was a pause on the other end of the line. "I don''t know, Cynthia. Ten¡ª even five years ago, I would have said yes. Today? Right now? I don''t think so. I pity the poor ghost, but I have done my fair share of love-giving and teaching throughout the years. I want to be able to enjoy retirement without such pressures. This would be the most difficult one to teach yet." Cynthia exhaled. "Very well, then. I suppose I''ll take him." There was a jealous rattle deep within her pocket, and her desk shook slightly. Cynthia clicked her tongue and passed a hand over the rough keystone. While Fantina had spent her entire life rehabilitating ghosts, both in and out of her team, Cynthia had experience with it as well. She had, after all, stumbled upon a Spiritomb when she''d been young, and although she had been horribly unqualified, she had managed to wean off their intent to murder her after years of work¡ª though convincing the majority of the 108 souls had taken ten months instead, which was when she began to be able to approach without being racked by tormenting voices, illusions, visions and nightmares. "If you think you will have time for him, then go ahead," Fantina agreed. "It will take long." "It is what it is," Cynthia shrugged. "Do you actually want to, or do you feel like this is an obligation? You have to actually want to, Cynthia, especially with this one." "I may be the Champion, Fantina, but I am still a trainer," Cynthia said. "Yes, I do want to help." "Very well. Contact me if you ever need advice." "Thank you. I''ll let you go, then. Let me know if there''s any stirring within the Gym Leaders or you manage to locate Sylvestia''s Gengar." Fantina agreed, then hung up, and Cynthia stretched in her chair, feeling her bones grind against each other and her back and neck crack with each movement. She stayed there, silently sping Zoroark''s Pokeball until she stood and released her entire team. Garchomp, Lucario, Togekiss, Milotic, Roserade, Gastrodon, along with the ones who she''d caught during her one-year stay in Unova, Braviary, ceon, and Eelektross. She dropped Spiritomb''s keystone onto the carpet, and it seemed to roll on its own, settling at the center of the room. There was a pulse, then Pressure they''d all grown used to as wafts of indigo smoke peppered by green hue sprouted out of the rock, constantly shifting. She''d seen trainers get terrified of Spiritomb countless times in her career, but they were no threat to her. She had endured their torment for nearly a year, continuously working to get close to each soul. Hearing their pain, the way they''d been hurt to create the abomination they''d be and being there. Coming back each time to a world of pain until they understood that she wanted nothing but to help. Ah, to be young again, Cynthia reminisced. If there was one thing she missed, it was traveling with her team and having something challenge her again. The Champion took a deep breath, thenunched into her announcement. "You''re getting a new teammate today, though you will not be introduced quite yet¡­"
Chapter 288 Chapter 288
CHAPTER 288 Jubilife was growing antsy. The city as a whole was fine, but the Poketch side of things had nearly copsed for me once before and the tension was now reaching its boiling point, all while I was sitting in a hospital bed and doing nothing. Craig was in the city, now, and so he was getting approached by numerous suitors on Aubri Schneider''s side with deals, though from what I knew by staying in contact with Ramon and the man himself, there wasn''t much there other than herst desperate y to get the job she wanted now that her alliance had copsed. I flexed my hand, clenching and unclenching it to probe at how much the pain had changed in thest two days, but it still hurt like shoving my hand in a bag of needles. I couldn''t help but feel anxious at the thought of all the sneaking around going on at Poketch Headquarters without me around, but hopefully Mel would be enough to deal with it. At least the League was going to be Teleporting me there so I wouldn''t bete. Already, I was able to walk a lot better and longer than before, and the headache was nearly gone. The nausea was still there, though. What worried me more was the fact that just like my friends not involved with Team Gctic, I was going to look Melody in the eye and twist the truth when she inevitably asked me how I got those new wounds on my hands. A lot of people there were actually asking where the hell I was, because if I was texting this consistently, it meant I wasn''t traveling, and if I wasn''t traveling, they feared I would bete for the date we''d set at the end of this week. The 25th¡ª three days before Princess'' second birthday¡ª was when it would all go down, and it was difficult to shake that uneasy feeling within me that things were far from over. I was a lucky person, luckier than I had any right to be, but my wins usually came with caveats these days, and while I did not know Aubri well, I knew she was not one to give up easily just because she was facing overwhelming odds. "I feel so stuffed in this room," I groaned. "Whose idea was it to not give me one with a window anyway?" Mimi chimed at the side of my bed¡ª "Mimi! What are you doing¡ª" Eating the aluminum handle by my bed, that''s what they were doing! I quickly snatched them away, leaving the side metallic bar neatly dissolved, like someone had chewed through half of its width. Legendaries, they''d been so silent when doing it! There had been no crunch of anything! The little culprit was slightlyrger than usual and looked mighty pleased with themselves, by the way their tail was wagging. Buddy dragged himself out of the bathroom, still dripping water all over the floor until the entire room became a slipping hazard. Thankfully, he sucked up all the water behind him, though. It was a nice little bit of training in a time when there was none. I raised an eyebrow at Mimi. "I didn''t know you needed to eat. You don''t look like the type." Meltan creaked and turned their eye into a thin line full of disappointment. "I should have asked ydol. Here, I''ll ask them when they''re back. There are plenty of shops out there that sell metal for other steel types that eat it or supplement their diets with it. You just never ate anything else, so¡­ sorry." I''d seen them spit away everything I''d tried to feed them, and considering the Pokemon they came from, I''de to the conclusion that eating just wasn''t something Mimi would ever do. I had to watch Jellicent slip into the role of a parental figure and lecture the poor little steel type, and their eye went all wobbly until they spat the metal back out and solidified it again, though it was rough work and looked nothing like the smooth aluminum it had been before. "Points for trying," I smiled. ydol was gone, having been taken away to be inspected by the League nurses. There was still some minor damage to their artificial mind that made them asionally glitch that needed to be taken care of, and though ydol were rather rare as a species, every Nurse Joy had to learn how to treat every Pokemon they could possibly encounter. While it was a little endearing to hear ydol glitch, I knew they hated when it happened and thest thing I wanted was for it to happen in a battle. Aliyah had left around an hour ago, having finished our second session, and now it looked like I was going to spend another day bonding with Mimi and looking at battles online, and for an hour and a half, it was that. There was something rxing about it, just having nothing to do. It was part of why I''d been looking forward to spending a summer month with Cece in Unova before the Circuit started there, just her, me and our teams with our first real break in a year. There were meaningless attempts to stop thinking about Lou, and though Aliyah had helped me realize that all of the me did not rest solely upon me, that still didn''t help me from thinking it, feeling like shit, or having nightmares about her. The words were nice, they made sense, but I didn''t want them to. My fingers twitched, and I let the pain seep in as I pressed them together, wincing when it felt like needles stabbing into my fingers. I''d learned to stifle the pained moans and shivers, now. It was almost a subconscious action because it was what I deserved, and even Buddy hadn''t noticed in thest two days. My phone buzzed against the table, which Mimi was very intrigued about. I grabbed it and ced it against their skin so they could feel the vibrations against their metallic skin, though I did warn them not to eat it. Their entire body shivered, turning into goo. I had noticed that Mimi tended to be more¡­ liquid when rxed and solid when anxious or excited. "I can keep it vibrating for you to give you a massage if you want¡ª" my voice cut off when I stared at Candice''s name, along with her troll-ish picture in the background of the screen of her sticking out her tongue and pulling down her eyelid. Mimi screeched, tilting their head as they tried to pull the phone away from me. Did they think the phone was making me like this? It was a cute attempt to help, at least. "It''s okay, Mimi. You can let go." Jellicent rumbled to my side. Even if he had never cared much for people outside of our family, he knew about the troubles I''d had with Candice, including our recent meeting in Veilstone, and no matter how much I wanted to expunge that from my memory, the awkwardness would haunt me for a while yet. "I should answer." One more ring. Two more. Maybe not? They''d read the reports again, and now they knew I''d gotten an ACE Trainer and two of their Pokemon killed. What else would she think of me now? That I was the girl who''d gone into danger to get herself a new Pokemon and thrown lives away in the process? That wasn''t me, but I couldn''t deny the primary goal had been to catch ydol. So was it me? "I should answer," I repeated, almost to give myself the courage to. "Grace. Hi." It was a straightforward greeting, with a hint of enthusiasm mixed with nervousness and hesitation, from the way it wavered near the end. Beads of sweat formed and started dripping down my forehead and palms. "Hey. Listen, I''m sorry¡ª" "Are you okay¡ª oh, sorry, go ahead." I cringed, given the fact that we''d spoken at the same time. "No, no, you can go." Candice let out a nervousugh. "Um, I''d rather you go." I paused, wishing we could have one conversation that wasn''t like this. "I''m sorry about the whole grocery store thing¡­ uh, I was kind of out of line, asking you to apologize to Maylene in my stead, and stuff. And you know, just for being a weirdo in general." "You were fine," she said. "I was weird too. You know, the vibes were off, that happens sometimes. Um, I heard about¡­ yeah, Lakhutia. They said you were sick? Are you feeling alright?" This was what this was, was it? I was hurt, and now she was taking pity on me. "Yeah. I''m fine, you know, recovering rather well. They say it wasn''t as bad as it could have been because mercury poisoning sometimes screws with your cognitive function, so I got off pretty lightly." At leastpared to others. Mimi stared up at me, and I rubbed their little golden head with a knuckle. "You have a pretty bad definition of ''light''. You know, I think I don''t want to be all overbearing because I hate when others do that, but you got fucked up, Grace." "What did they tell you?" I muttered. "Everything. I¡ª well, normally we wouldn''t have gotten ess to it, but Cynthia wants to keep us in the loop with anything that happens to you because we''re involved with the Team Gctic stuff, and you''re a part of that, so." "So," I repeated with a wince. "So I know you kicked ass and got the ACEs out of that death trap!" she yelled. "And I know you''re having a tough time, so I thought I''d check in and¡­ catch up. I haven''t really been the best about this." A slight sigh escaped my breath. My arms felt so heavy. "You haven''t done anything wrong. I was out of line, and I should have reached out earlier about the raid. To exin." Candice stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity. "So it''s been a while. I''m sorry about Lou, Cynthia said you were close." She still didn''t want to talk about it, then. My eyes drifted across the room''s warm, beige walls, desperately looking for something to say. "Hmhm. It''s¡­ it''s¡ª" hard? Arceus, look at me. Alive and well, and still whining. "It fucking sucks," I said, louder than I wanted to. "Look, I can''t pretend that I know what you''re going through," my eyes widened slightly. I never did think I would be at the other end of that sentence, "and we both know that this has been awkward as hell, but the point I wanted to make here is that I want to try to be friends again." "R¡ªreally?" "Yeah! And it''s not because you almost died or anything like that¡ª well, being honest, that''s part of it, but not in a weird pitying way, but in a ''you never know when thest time you''ll see her is'' way, so¡­ friends?" "Well, dering it would be a good start, but that''s doing five percent of the job." Candice snorted. "I can go through those percentages pretty quickly. I mean, I basically forced you to be my friend when we first met." "Are you kidding? Do you know how awesome that was to me back then? To talk to an actual Gym Leader beyond being given a badge, a TM, and money?" "So Ms. Pastel is too cool to speak to Gym Leaders now, hm?" I rolled my eyes, sinking into my bed slightly. "I think you''ll be hard-pressed to get me to be as shy as I was back in Snowpoint." "You made such cute googly eyes at me when I invited you and your friends to my apartment, though," the Gym Leaderughed. "Ah well, it''ll forever be stored in my head." This was¡­ nice, wasn''t it? Still awkward, but nice. Candice talked to me about being on lunch break for her Gym, and she teased me by dangling the ways she was preparing to fight Lauren''s team right out of reach. While my friend hadn''t made it to Snowpoint yet, the fact that Candice would be her eighth Gym Badge wasmon knowledge enough to have her strategizing in her spare time. "You need to visit the ind when you''re better," Candice said. "The League''s a great ce to hang out. Maybe if you ask enough you''ll get to talk to one of the Elite Four." "I''m not sure about that. Maybe." I ced my head against the back of my bed and stared at the ceiling. "Who''s your favorite?" "Ha! Flint''s hrious! He''s a real menace in a way that''s easy to like. Lucian sucks, he''s too serious all the time, and Bertha''s kind of a hardass sometimes, but she gives great lessons and does good work. Aaron''s cool but he''ll talk to you for five minutes and then wander somewhere else. Only Cynthia can hold his attention for long¡ª and honestly, who can me him?" Cynthia was a lot of things, but no one could deny that she was intense in a way that garnered everyone''s attention when she entered a room like we were Mothim to a me. Granted, I was pretty sure Candice was alluding to how pretty she was, which was also true. "I''m kind of here at a bad time, though. It''s all set up." "Yeah, they don''t have any activities they''d have for the Conference ready yet, I guess. You''ll see how active it gets during Renewal Day. Some people just get a ne ticket to spend the day there, see the opening ceremony and maybe buy some merch, then head back afterward, or stay longer if it''s a weekend. The ind ends up being so full of people there isn''t enough space in the hotels and the Centers." Renewal Day was the first of June, the start of the Conference, and one of Sinnoh''s holidays. It signified new beginnings, but also the start of a tough journey, which was basically what the Conference was supposed to be. Not every region gave the day off for the start of their Conferences, though. Unova, for example, did not. My lips twitched upward when I saw Buddy desperately watching Mimi so they wouldn''t eat some other metallic part of the hospital room. The steel type had jumped off the bed a while ago, having grown bored of hearing a conversation they couldn''t really understand. "It''s also the start of your three months off, so I guess you''re pretty happy," I said. "Yeah, it''s the best day of the year for sure. Work''s getting so exhausting I barely have any free time," sheined with a tired groan. "I''ll have to show you around the ce. I know the best spots on the ind. Even Gardenia would agree with me." My smile fell. "Hey¡­ uh, listen. About Maylene, I want to apologize in person for the way I battled her during my Gym Battle. For deliberately trying to hurt her emotionally. And if this Team Gctic stuff doesn''t go to hell, then the only ce I''ll see her again is here." All of the Gym Leaders would be present the entire month, as was customary, though they sometimes left for up to a few days at a time to deal with happenings in their cities. "I can set something up! If I push hard enough, I think she''ll at least hear you out once, but the apology will be tough to sell." "I want to try, at least. To say I did my best," I sighed. "I''ve¡ª I''ve been on this whole confusing self-discovering thing since the raid, and I think that''s what being good is about at the end of the day. Trying your best, even if you fail. And even when it hurts." "Well, you''ve given it more thought than I have," she said before I heard some kind of p. "Sorry, that was kind of dumb to say." A facepalm, then. Yeah, I couldn''t very well tell her that I had to keep myself in check, but¡ª There was a knock at the door that was strange at first. Familiar in a way that made me think I was hearing things. Soft, yet purposeful, slow, and still with a sense of urgency to it, it was difficult to exin. I frowned, almost disbelieving at what I''d heard. Mimi squealed, having been spooked by the sudden sound and ran back toward my bed until they fell over and hit their head on the floor with a subtle ng while Buddy hovered over them and asked if they needed help standing up. "Grace?" Candice asked. "Hello? Did my phone reception fuck off again! They sent guys for this earlier in the year!" "Hey, Candice, uh, it was nice talking to you, but someone knocked at my door and I have to go. I''ll text you!" "Wha¡ª okay?" "Sorry!" I hung up, swinging my legs off the bed and quickly grabbing one of my crutches, dragging my IV stand behind me. There''s no way, I thought as I hobbled toward the door. Meltan screamed, hiding below my bed and possibly telling me to hide as well and be careful, though I asked Buddy to watch them for me. If this was staff, the door would be open already. I sped the doorknob with a tightened fist, forgetting that my hands hurt like hell and cracked the door open. "What a cold wee. Maybe I''ll leave a bad review," the voice said from behind the door. Me cracking the door open turned to swinging it open, revealing Cecilia standing behind it with a fond smile as excitement sparked in her eye. Some kind of choked, disbelieving gasp escaped my mouth as my crutch ttered against the floor, and my arms were around her before I knew it. There were tears and possibly snot while I buried my face in her shoulder and snaked my hands under her cotton shirt to feel the skin of her back, though with the way my hands were bandaged, I had to make do with my wrists and arms. The touch was electric, yet warm, and that warmth spread through my heart and had it flutter like I was floating on a cloud. I subconsciously inhaled, basking in her familiar yetforting smell that suddenly had me rxed, and I mumbled some half-formed words about having missed her so much I could die. I felt her hands gently caress the small of my back under my hospital gown, pressing us up close together until she began sniffling too. "How?" I mumbled. "How?" Cece let out a slight chuckle. "They asked me if I wanted toe after I made it to Pastoria earlier today. Needless to say, I said yes." "But your Gym Battle, your¡ª" "I won''t be signing up quite yet, and they''ll bring me back after," she interrupted, cupping my cheek. "And even if they hadn''t, I would have said yes." "Legendaries¡ªe in, uh, yeah. This is¡ª" I stopped, somehow giggling and sniffling at the same time as I pointed toward the inside of my room. Mimi was peaking their head out from the corner and cried out when we spotted them. "This is Mimi. Did they tell you about them?" "Hmhm," she hummed, offering a greeting to Jellicent as well. I wiped my eyes and dragged her inward. "Do you want anything? Something to drink? Aliyah left me some teas here that I could make. The hospital food isn''t that great, but if you''re hungry, anything will taste edible." "I''m okay, thank you, love," she said. I did not flush, but my chest did tighten, and in a good way. "Are you feeling okay? I should be the one asking you if you need anything." I sat back on my bed. "Being frank, I''ve been waking up in cold sweats in the few times I''ve fallen asleep, I''ve puked four times sinceing here, I can''t eat anything without feeling like I''m about to hurl, and I have a constant headache, but it''s all been getting better. They say I should be good to go outside tomorrow." Standing in front of me while I sat, Cecilia outstretched her hand and gently sped it around my wrist, trailing it with her thumb until she reached the edge of my bandaged hands. "And these?" she asked. "Healing slowly but surely. I haven''t gotten a good look at them since we haven''t changed the bandaging yet, but¡ª" She leaned into me, wrapping me into another hug. My skin was like a ma to her hands, as was hers to mine. "I was terrified when I heard. Relieved you were fine, but terrified. Mercury poisoning and injuries like this?" "I got off easy," I muttered. There was a pained look in her eyes. "No," she exhaled. "No, you did not. Do you want to talk about it? To vent?" I had Aliyah for that, but there was no denying that there was a difference between a therapist and my girlfriend. There was a beat of silence as I hesitated, though I ended up nodding slightly. "Um, can we¡­" I trailed off, eyeing my bed. "You know, be like old times? Eugh, now that I say it, old times was like a month ago." Cece giggled, then took on a haughty, exaggerated tone as she ced a knee on the bed. "Far too long without cuddling for you, of course. Remember when you said I was the touch-starved one?" "You''ve been keeping that one in the tank for that long? Now who''s the fairy?" I teased. "I learned from the best." Shey down on the bed, and I did the same. Our legs intertwined as we sprawled out on the mattress and I leanedfortably against her, finding support and sce in the familiar soft feel of Cece''s chest and slow heartbeat. She traced nonsensical patterns on my back in a rhythmic fashion with her finger with one hand and continuously ran a hand through my hair with the other, always with gentle motions that could have had me fall asleep within minutes. There had been a fear rooted deeply within me that had me thinking the next time we saw each other again, she would be terrified of me, but she wasn''t. It was just like we were before, and there was onlyfort for her and I. Mimi had climbed atop the bed, and Cecilia squealed when they reached her leg exposed by her skirt and the cold metal touched her. "They''re an adventurous one, don''t mind them," Iughed. "I was just surprised at how cold they were." "I''m still figuring out how temperature works and which means what, so that''s a work in progress," I said. "Anway¡­ I guess I should start." There were no new revtions in what I told her, since she''d known what had happened already, but saying it out loud,ying everything out, it felt good, still. I felt her heartbeat quicken when I got to the fights and slow with relief afterward like she hadn''t known how the entire story of my time in Lakhutia would end, but hearing about someone you loved nearly dying would probably have that effect on you. Her arms squeezed me tight, and she moved a strand of hair behind my ear, her touch lingering slightly. "You did good," she muttered. "I know you''re hurt, but you did the best you could have done in that situation, no matter what you think. And I know you had no way to know, but will you try to be safer now? For me?" I sighed. "I''ll try¡ª I want to. But you have to try, too. That Steelix business in the Iron Inds?" "I wasn''t hurt, and my gift is far better than yours when ites to dangerous situations," Cecilia slowly said. "Though I wonder if it''d have worked on Melmetal if we needed to run away. We haven''t met an upper limit yet, but there''s surely one, especially since we''re half a Shard." It still surprised, the way she spoke of the Voice so easily now, but I was not about to criticize her on its use when the only reason she''d used it since the raid was to escape a raging Steelix. We needed to hold each other up and make sure neither of us slipped, though she was a lot less likely to than I was. The way I''d almost convinced myself to take revenge on Zoroark after Lou had died was proof of it. "Let''s both try, then. And look, it''s not like there are going to be a lot of Lakhutias in Unova, right?" Cecilia smiled. "The people might as well be that." "Oh, people are just people. As long as my head''s still on my shoulders and I can keep being with you and battling, I''ll count my blessings," I said. "Did you walk around the ind whileing here?" "They Teleported me in front of the building, so no." "We should go check it out tomorrow when I''m cleared to walk," I beamed. "They''ve been doing rehab stuff with nursesing in and helping me." My girlfriend smirked. "Think we can sneak inside one of the stadiums? I hear they''re all empty." "Oh? Where did that rebellious streake from?" "It''s fun," she rolled her eyes. "And no harm''s done if we''re caught. Don''t you want to see how grand the stadiums are? They''re thergest ones in the region!" An excited squeal from Mimi nudged me in her direction, though Jellicent did not look happy about it. "Granted, I doubt we''d get far. Maybe we should just ask. Do you think they''d let us in?" Cecilia asked. "You''re the soft power girl," I said. "But just letting you know, you''re supposed to be the responsible one." ¡ª "Are you sure you''re alright?" My hand tightened around my crutch. "Yes. I don''t need to be put in a wheelchair, that''s nonsense." "I don''t think the nurse was trying to be rude, I just think she meant that it would be easier on you." I stayed silent as we exited the hospital with Mimi around my wrist and Jellicent and Slowking shadowing us. The steel type did not move or let themselves be known, but the small jolts of excitement I asionally felt were hard to miss. The early morning sunlight cast a warm glow on the brick roads that covered the entire Lily of the Valley ind and hot air blew into my hair. Where the streets weren''t paved, grass and flowers covered the entire area. White and pink Lilies that gave the ce a sweet and slightly spicy smell. The Pokemon Center was right in front of the general hospital for convenience, though they were far too big to bebined into one building. This was by far thergest Center I''d seen, stretching twenty floors into the sky and beingrger than one of the blocks in Jubilife City. Most of it, from what I knew, weren''t actually rooms, though there were a lot of those too due to the influx of trainers that would arrive even before June. Even those who did not battle in the Conference would organize mini-tournaments or fight here to emte the strategies going on in the big Leagues, so they needed multiple of these mega-sized Centers to make sure they had enough room to amodate as many people as possible. Still, there was a massive research department that worked on new Pokemon healing methodologies and tried to find ways to perfect Ditto Cellr technology. Despite being sorge, the design stayedrgely the same. Sleek white walls on the outside and a red roof, while the inside kept the same warm, orangy tones that so many trainers called home. It was too early to pick up any of my Pokemon but ydol right now, and the Nurse Joys told me they were in a great state. Their memories would still have holes in it, but any glitches that stopped them from moving and had them frozen for a few seconds had been cleared. Arceus bless Nurse Joys and their help. It almost feels like magic sometimes, I thought to myself. I looked up at my girlfriend as we left the Center and she leaned in as she ced sunsses on my head. "Oh, right. I forgot those," I said. "I grabbed them while you were too excited to double-check if you''d taken everything before leaving," Cece said. She already had hers, the same matching ones I''d bought her for her birthday. Her ring, too. Unfortunately my bandages made wearing it a little difficult, so mine was still in my drawer. "Now I can look like a blind, crippled old woman," I said, half-teasing. Cecilia''s hands wrapped around my sides as she ced her forehead against mine. "That was a joke, no need to get all worried." "Mm. I''m just making sure. I know how you feel about¡­ well, your recentck of mobility." Legendaries, she was so nice to me. I pushed down the feelings of guilt that continuously festered deep within and crawled their way to the forefront of my mind any time I had an iota of fun or felt a tiny dose of happiness. "Ready to meet ydol?" I turned to Slowking. It was hard to miss Jellicent''s fearful rumble. He was terrified of what they''d get up to if given the chance. Goodness yes, you''ve teased me enough about them. Let me meet my kindred sibling. "Eh, they might be a little ruder than you think. I haven''t really seen them interact with anyone that isn''t me, Mimi, or Buddy." Someone with a selection of 20,000 jokes cannot be evil, the psychic said with a solemn look. That is heretical thinking. I rolled my eyes, clicking to release ydol who hovered a feet up from the ground or so, their six eyes continuously scanning their surroundings, though one of them settled on me and my wrist. Mimi excitedly chimed at the ground type, though I had to pat them for them to stay quiet. We''d talk all about the sights when we got back, but for now all they could do was watch. It hurt to see, but Meltan didn''t seem to care, at the very least. They were so overwhelmed by the League that there was no way they wouldin about having to stay quiet. Salutations, my King. These two individuals appear to be among your followers. Prior to addressing that matter, I must inquire about the rationale behind the persistent probing conducted by an assembly of pink-haired women. Seeking rification for enhanced understanding. I waited for a few seconds, realizing that one, he was talking only to me, and two, he''d meant the Nurse Joys. "These aren''t my followers. Cecilia''s my girlfriend, and Slowking''s one of her Pokemon, so you can talk to them too. And I told you about the nurses!" "Please select designation for individual known as Cecilia: Lover, Queen, Wife, Consort¡ª" "Girlfriend is fine," I snorted. "Queen is kind of funny, though, but no." Cecilia''s eyes fluttered at me. "Argh, you know what fine. Queen is fine." Designationplete, ydol finished. ydol, my fellowedian. I know this is in short notice and that we just met, but is it true that you have many jokes at your disposal? Slowking asked. "Affirmative. 21,340 jokes." Please grace us with one of them. ydol stared my way, and I nodded. It was then that I realized that by jokes, ydol had not meant one-liners that Slowking found hrious due to how bad they were, but actual long-winded stories andedic ys, and they voice acted each character, creating special effects and sounds for immersion until I realized we would never get to the end of Livia''s adventures pretending to be a man to be a Lakhutian priest if I didn''t ask for ydol to cut off the mental link until they were reciting the y to Slowking only. "They''re far moreputer-like than I thought," Cecilia whispered in my ear. "Right? Lehmhart was a¡­ well, golem that was built for menial tasks, but ydol needed to be more, at least in that city. I thought I''d be finding an empty shell, but they''re a lot of fun. Mimi''s fun too." There was a small spark around my wrist, and the little rascal clearly agreed. The League was mostly pedestrian-based, though there was a central street called Lily Avenue that led to the League building itself that split in two and originated at the ind''s airport and seaport where trams that reminded me of Eterna City except a lotrger and longer ran all day. There were also bikenes to the side and people often rode their Pokemon, but we were headed to the trams. We passed by a small school on the way there, one of the few that were on the ind where children of League employees would be able to get an education. In a way, the Lily of the Valley ind almost felt fake. It was too perfect. There was no trash littering the ground, no chipped paint on any building, the trams were too sleek. It was a blend of futuristic and old architecture that meshed seamlessly together. There were LED screens on the streets, disying announcements and the weather for crying out loud! Even as a girl from Jubilife, it felt like a lot, and Cecilia was also taken aback. I''d almost expected her to do that cute thing where she brought up that Unova did it as well, but apparently not. I kept ncing at her and the way the sun shone on her perfect brown skin. The way her cheeks dimpled when she smiled and talked my ear off about city design or the progress she''d made bonding with Scizor. The way she knew exactly what level of worry to express without being overbearing. "You''ve been staring," she said. "You have, too! And I''m just taking it in. Recharging to make up for all the daily doses of Cece I''ve missed." Sheughed. "Obviously. But sometimes, a girl wonders¡ª ah, the tram is here." The tram had sleek edges with red and white glossy paint, along with Sinnoh''s g painted onto its multiple cars. Cecilia helped me take the step up the tram, and I huffed as I sat in one of the nearly empty tram cars. There was actually enough space here for ydol, and the amount of stimtion they''d been under had nearly short-circuited them. Every few seconds, I heard a soft chime about an update, and Slowking and Buddy were the ones showing them the ropes and catching them up to speed with modern knowledge. I raised my wrist to the window so Mimi could stare, and Cecilia sat next to me. Morningmuters were already at work at these hours. Honestly, living and working here didn''t seem that bad. "I hear Unova''s League is on top of a mountain. Sounds like a hellish ce if you ask me," I said. "Ha, ha," she scoffed. "It''s true that it''s a relic of an old tradition, though. Leagues are usually in ces hard to ess, like Indigo. Even this League was difficult to ess before modern times." "All I''m saying is that this is the ce with the LEDs. Hey, have you ever been to the Unovan Conference?" "Once when it looked like Mark was going to go all the way," she reminisced with a regretful tone. "rence didn''t want me to get any ideas until he changed his mind, of course. It''s a lot more¡­ rustic than this. I believe it''s because Unovans find it to be a better experience to get away from the modernity they''re so used to. It''s essentially the same as here, though. A small city where government employees reside. I do have to admit, Sinnoh has us beat in which one I find more appealing." I feigned a gasp. "What?! Admitting defeat so easily?" She shrugged. "Sometimes one has to know when to retreat." The ride to thergest stadium¡ª the one where every battle from the top thirty-two onward would take ce¡ª was a short one. Barely ten minutes, and we were out of the tram. It was an oval-shaped behemoth of steel and ss, dominating the skyline and being more prominent than the League building itself in the distance. The facade was a mesmerizing blend of reflective ss and metallic surfaces and shimmered in the sunlight. There were digital billboards where Cecilia told me advertisers were supposed to buy space, but obviously they weren''t running quite yet. Surrounding the massive structure, carefullyndscaped greenery provided a little break on the eyes. "There are multiple entrances," I whispered. There were some bored-looking officials standing guard at the two visible ones, along with a few of their Pokemon. "I guess we just walk up and ask?" "Do you think they have high enough clearance to know about us?" she murmured back. "Maybe. I mean, they''re no ACEs, but people in the Lakes knew about us mattering, at least. Only one way to figure it out, though." And find out, we did, given the recognizing look the three men and three women gave us. I guess it''d be weirder if they didn''t know us, I thought, though it would have been fun if they didn''t. Sometimes, I did miss being able to go anywhere without attention, though that was hard to say when I''d caught a Tyranitar, ydol, Turtonator and now a Meltan. A long-haired man with his hair tied into a chignon beckoned us, and he whispered to his co-workers while we approached him. "Cecilia Obel and Grace Pastel? What brings you here?" "We would like to get a look inside the stadium, if possible," Cecilia smoothly said. "I¡­ you''re not going to battle, are you? The fields aren''t ready yet and it''d be a shame if one of our poor field engineers was given an extra shift." "It''s just to get a look around," I added. "No battling, I only have a Jellicent and ydol on me anyway." Though maybe we would have been tempted if we could, I mused as I smothered a smile. Cecilia seemingly thought the same thing, with the way she softly bumped my elbow. We were probably being really annoying right now, weren''t we? "I suppose we can let you in," another dark-haired man answered. "But we''ll send Jen to keep an eye on you." Jen ground her jaw in annoyance, something which I wouldn''t me her for. We were giving her extra work, even if it wouldn''t be tough work. We thanked the League Trainers and were led deep into the stadium. The empty and silent corridors wooshed with the energetic hum of venttion and fans, and we kept going until we reached a gate that led us to the concourse level of the stadium. There are so many seats here¡ª enough to have tens of thousands of people watching. Even Buddy was mesmerized by the sight, and Mimi sent a familiar approving shock up my arm. The arena itself was¡­ well, not ready, just like the League Trainer had said. It was just a slightly concave field of rock and earth, but I knew there would be all kinds of arenas in the Conference, more than even the Sceon tournament. "Want to head down?" Cecilia whispered, almost breathless. "Yeah." Jen stayed leaning against a pir with her Ledian hovering next to her while we made our way down. Slowly, with my leg and the way I quickly ran out of breath, but Cece was there to help me. We climbed down the hundreds of stairs until we reached the bottom level of the arena and entered the field. The silence was deafening. There was wind whizzing past my ears and slight echoes of life outside of the stadium, but other than that it was just us. Almost by reflex, we began walking in opposite directions until we reached our opposite tforms, with ydol and Jellicent following behind me. It was fake. It wasn''t real, but I was standing there, and she was facing me. I could almost see the crowd, buzzing in my ears, thementators sitting in their booths and calling out our moves, the sheer amount of destruction we could bring about on this field as we fought and gave it everything until both of us were on the verge of passing out. I closed my eyes and imagined it. Felt it. There was an excited shiver down my spine, like a jolt of electricity that made my hair rise. My skin felt warm, but I still felt grounded. For months, I''d been pining to stand here for real, to be among the best of the best in the country and to actually thrive and belong here. I was not there yet. I saw Cecilia''s lips move, but it was impossible to hear what she''d said without a microphone. Somehow, I felt like I knew the meaning of her words, or maybe I was just high off being where I''d dreamed of being for so long and pretending to know what the hell she was saying. It was a challenge. A real one, this time, not that the one on the phone had not been real, but that was that and this was¡­ this. She raised a finger, pointing at me, and I imagined her words as her dress and hair fluttered in the wind. One day, we will stand, maybe not in this stadium, but in another, and on that day, I will beat you. "No," I whispered with a savage grin. "That''ll be me." "May I get an insight into what exactly is happening?" ydol asked out loud. "This is strange behavior." Buddy told him to just let it happen, and Mimi squirmed on my wrist.
Interlude – Knowledge Interlude ¨C Knowledge
A/N: Version of the chapter with no colored text if you want: Spoiler INTERLUDE - KNOWLEDGE Maeve would hate it here. Mira shivered, looking at her wispy breath escape her mouth with every exhale. A fire lit by that abomination called Mags crackled nearby and although she had her hands hovering so close to the damn thing that the mes nearly touched her, she was still cold. The frigid wind seeped past her coat and through her skin, chilling her down to the bone. Unfortunately, she had deigned gloves to be a waste of money and time, especially when one of her hands was still broken from the raid and covered by a thick cast. At least that one''s warm, she sighed with a slight smile, staring at all the drawings on her cast. She''d practically forced her Pokemon toe up with things to draw, though Gardevoir was the one who''d done the actual drawing. Magnezone had decided on some kind of tower that resembled a te coil with a stick figure on top that was supposed to be Mira waving at the world below. kazam had taken a while to convince, but he''d written a ''get well soon'' message that was a little too boring for her tastes, so Gengar decided to add some evil faces by the end to turn the vibe behind the message into a sarcastic one. He might have evolved, but he still loved annoying others like it sustained him. These days, he lived in her shadow more than his Pokeball for protection, as Fantina had advised her, and he was practicing to stop feeling cold to people who got too close. Yeah, maybe that isn''t helping with the cold. Though it wasn''t like anyone could tell the difference on route 216. It was Spring time, but a blizzard constantly battered the entire route. Porygon2''s idea had been to draw Mira as a five-star pull from one of her gacha games, but Gardevoir wasn''t that great of an artist and it ended up looking half-assed, so now Pory was giving her the cold shoulder. Gardevoir herself had drawn at least fifty little hearts all around the cast while Exeggcute had fought themselves for so long they decided they would rather not draw anything at all rather than let one of themselves win. They were a hassle to handle, but on the whole they would be an excellent psychic to add to her collection. At least she was getting some peace and quiet for a while now that it was too cold for them to be out for more than a few minutes at a time. Porygon2 was in her phone and Gengar in her shadow, but Gardevoir, kazam and Magnezone were all next to her, both for the fire''s warmth and to watch over her. On the other side of the mes, Lauren sat on a rock her Rhydon had raised. Mira was pretty sure she was wearing two coats atop one another, which ended up giving her a lot more volume and looking hrious and oddly charming. Her jet-ck hair was hidden beneath a thick winter cap, and she had a neck gaiter that actually went up to her nose, so the only thing Mira could see was her dark eyes and thick, circr sses. Her team trained in the background in some kind of horrifying free-for-all with no order to it inside of Reuniclus'' barrier. Rhydon mmed Magmortar''s gut with an elongated hammer-like arm he had sculpted in seconds, and with each strike, shards of sharpened debris would explode out of it with a small burst of glowering rock. All of the snow inside of the shield had vaporized, giving way to solid ground that was currently slowly melting. It must be hundreds of degrees in there, Mira thought, halfway between horrified and awed. While Magmortar was on the defensive and losing, he was going down swinging and blowing methrowers out of his cannons that were so hot they were blue and slowed even Rhydon down. Seismitoad, Aggron and Sceptile were stuck in some kind of three-way¡ª heh, three-way¡ª but it was Sceptile that was truly struggling to keep up due to currently being on fire. There was no helping it. In an environment this hot, he was going to catch on fire, and yet he kept fighting thanks to continuously sustaining himself with Seismitoad''s energy using a closebat form of Giga Drain and having used Leech Seed on her at the start of the battle. He wasn''t hitting her enough to finish her off, but enough to stay alive while Magmortar was focused on something else. Mira sent Gardevoir a straying thought telling her to keep the conversation they''d been having going with kazam. Parallel thinking came in handy, these days, but sometimes a girl just needed to have a break and hone in on a single one. Plus, she was feeling less miserable than she''d been in weeks, so she might as well spread that around. "Shouldn''t you have them training against the cold?" Mira asked. Lauren frowned. "What? I don''t have ess to any ice tactics as powerful as Candice will use, so I''m ying to my strengths. I know what I''m doing," she said in an offended, muffled voice. Anyone else, and Mira would have gotten miffed at that retort, but she''d gotten used to Lauren after spending nearly a week with her. She hated anything that even sounded like advice, for one, even though Mira had genuinely been curious and not trying to force her to do anything. Battling was her thing, and she wanted to do it her way. There was a moment of silence as another gush of cold wind blew past them. The sun was setting in the distance, though it wasn''t as if Mira had been able to feel any of its warmth anyway. "Sorry, I was just wondering. You know, I appreciate the way you''ve helped me and my team train up. I was cking a little with all the shit that was going on." "Your fundamentals were terrible," she deadpanned, much to Gardevoir''s annoyance. "You''re an incrediblyzy battler. Your Gengar was fun and tricky, at least." Mira''s friend stopped, cocking her head to the side to get a better look at her. "Are you cold?" "A little. It''s the wind." Lauren sat up and slowly shuffled toward Mira, who''d been sitting on Gardevoir''s coldp. "Why didn''t you buy gloves?" she asked, sping her hand so tightly it nearly hurt. "Frostbite is a serious risk, you know? You can even get gangrene in the most extreme cases, I looked it up." Mira shrugged. "Yeah, I messed up. That''s amon theme with me, I''ll have you know." Lauren brought her hand close, pulling down her gaiter to breathe some hot air into Mira''s hand. Her cheeks were flushed due to the cold, as were Mira''s. She could barely feel her fingers, even when someone was touching them. "You haven''t messed up during our travels, at least. This has been fun," Lauren smiled. Yeah, it has been. Chasey being here would be great too, but unfortunately he was too busy on his quest for revenge against Byron and badges. Too bad you needed those to be taken seriously as a trainer, because she would have killed to have him here to tell her to get her head out of her ass. It was unfortunate that he was so uninterested in girls. Well, not just girls, but uninterested in anyone. Mira had given up on him by now, though he still remained her best friend. Plus, she was too fucked up to date anyone, at the moment. She''d been too fucked up for a very long time, really. Arceus forbid she subject someone to her antics. "Are you alright?" Lauren asked. "Warmer now?" "Uhuh. Just anxious about stuff." "You say sorry a lot in your sleep," she said. "I''m worried about you." "I did warn you about that, and you said it''d be okay¡ª" Mira stopped herself, realizing she''d gotten loud. "Sorry." Theing meeting with Uxie had her shitting bricks. From what Grace had finally sent, Mesprit had been a real prick, even worse than Azelf, so Uxie should theoretically have been the nice one, but she was wondering if she could even qualify a power beyond herprehension as nice. Gardevoir ran a smooth hand through her hair, and she leaned back into her. This had indeed been fun, but only three more days and they''d be in Snowpoint, and then the full weight of her responsibilities woulde crashing down. Lauren let go of her hand and looked at her cast. "How''s your other hand feeling?" "The pain is kind of numb. I think it''s because I''ve grown used to it," Mira said. "Wanna draw something on my cast?" She ignored Gardevoir''s jealousints in the corner of her head, focusing wholly on this conversation. She frowned. "There''s not a lot of space." "Come on, we can find a spot for you, that way, it''s like you''ve left a permanent mark on me. How good are you at drawing anyway?" "Decent. Better than all of these, but drawing on a cast is harder than doing it on paper." "Woah. You actually draw?" Mira said, eyes widening. "Only sometimes when I''m taking a break from training. Like now. Usually I just draw a scene from a battle I really liked." "Oooooh. Wait, why don''t you just draw something right now?" Mira suggested with a grin. "Not just on my cast, but on paper." "Well, I can''t do it with gloves, and my hands will get cold. The wind will blow the paper around, too." "Let''s just do it in our tent, then. It should be warm by now." Lauren silently nodded, putting her gaiter back up, and Mira stood up from Gardevoir as well, who would remain by the fire with the others. Her footsteps did not crunch in the foreleg-deep snow like Lauren''s, but it was just as difficult to walk in it. She had to admit, it was fun to see her fumble around. Maybe Mira just enjoyed watching people eating shit like she was constantly doing, but in a wholesome way and not a ''my life is copsing'' way. It was at times like these, where none of her concurrent thoughts were running, that the screams came back in full force. Harrowing, ear-piercing, begging to be spared or killed. To be relieved from the pain. Mira''s entire body shook at once, and it wasn''t because of the cold. Never had she seen a man scream until his voice waspletely gone and he was spitting out blood. Every time she closed her eyes, he was there. He. Not saying his name was how much of a coward she was. It gave her distance, a way to pretend that hadn''t really been her, in that basement. Yet it had been. Arceus, tomorrow couldn''te soon enough. Every day was a trial to see if she''d be able to hold on to the next time she could see her therapist, and while he was very good, she was supposed to be making progress like she''d told the others, not stagnating. "You go in, I''m going to get Gengy to stay out. He''ll make us cold." Her friend nodded without even looking back, thank the Legendaries. Otherwise, she''d have done that thing where she asked what was wrong and Mira had to say it was private. There was no way she could tell Lauren about this, not when she was having so much fun in the Circuit. It''d be like showing someone whaty beyond the world''s veil when they hadn''t even asked. She was too innocent to ruin in such a way. Mira had screwed up, with Emi. She never should have told her about what Gengar had done to him. "Gengy, up." Mira shivered when her shadow moved. A pair of red eyes materialized above her, followed by a grin filled withyers uponyers of sharpened teeth, each a different size and dripping with poison. Gengar''s body detached from her shadow, and Mira suddenly felt lighter, like she''d been carrying weights the entire time. The air seemed to grow more frigid, blowing against her neck as continuous chills traveled up and down her spine, and the glow from the setting sun dimmed. Gengar''s body rippled, a mixture of toxic gas and poisonous liquid without a solid form. He looked terrifying to anyone not used to him¡ª hell, he even looked a little scary to her, but that was nothingpared to what he could do when not chained by the rules of battle. "Stay out, but don''t annoy Lauren''s team, okay? They''ll kill you and we can''t afford to waste any more time. Other than that, you can do whatever you want so long as you don''t prank nearby trainers," Mira said. "If you behave, I''ll get you a treat." The ghost cackled, purple smoke emanating from his mouth as he slipped into the ethereal and disappeared, his voice echoing in the distance. kazam and Gardevoir could still control him, but they were worse than she was at it. Having evolved meant that Gengy had urges. Urges to haunt and prank, which sounded innocent enough until Fantina had told her that new Gengar could grow so obsessed with a victim that they would stalk them until they died from the numerous methods ghosts could use to kill. He would grow out of it eventually, but right now, it was like he was going through puberty. If something goes wrong, Gardevoir or kazam will tell me, she reassured herself as she leaned into the tent. I can be allowed a break¡­ can I? They''d cleared some ground here to nail the tent into the earth, and there was a stove burning a block of wood at its center, with the smoke going out of the tent through a chimney. Lauren was taking off her second coat, revealing a gourd of water she''d been keeping inside her clothing. She''d been wearing a thick, creamy, long-sleeved cotton shirt below them. "Huh. What''s that for?" Mira asked, pointing at the sk. "I have Mags warm it up for me and keep it inside. It helps with the cold," Lauren exined. "You can also put it inside your sleeping bag for a few minutes before you sleep to warm it up." "Nifty," she said. "Uh, can you help with my coat again¡­?" The agreement was wordless. Usually it was Gardevoir or kazam, who helped her put clothes on or off, but if it was just the coat, Lauren was fine. The amount of shit you couldn''t do with a broken hand was astonishing, and Mira hated feeling that useless. Already, her Pokemon were behind the others. They had utility, of course, but the gap between her and her friends had never been wider. Her good hand slipped past the first sleeve, and there was something to admire about how delicate Lauren was when handling her broken hand. The girl liked nothing more but to see shit blow up, and yet here she was, going inch by inch over the cast and continuously asking if this was okay. "Yeah, it''s okay," Mira exhaled. She did not deserve such care. Not right now. "Thanks for the help." "It would be weird if I didn''t help." Mira snorted. "I''ve seen worse behavior from teenage girls." She sat, using her good hand to undo her pigtails and let her pink hair flow freely. "So, how''re we doing this? You wanna draw me like one of your Kalosian girls?" she asked, striking an exaggerated,vish pose. Lauren frowned, taking off her gloves. "Kalosians don''t look that different than you do, but I''m not drawing you in that pose. We never even established that I was drawing you." Mira wanted to feign a pout and pretend to be hurt, but didn''t, because she was pretty sure Lauren would take it literally. "It was a joke, but a pretty shitty one, so don''t worry about it." Mira scooted over to her while she grabbed a pen and a thin notebook. "So you said you usually draw battles? Like, your battles?" The drawings themselves were decent. Not great, but not terrible. The proportions were off, there was no color and it was hard to tell what was in the foreground or background, but it was something she''d made from her heart. The current page depicted an Aggron jumping over an enormous crater to get to a Zweilous. "These look cool! Wait, I recognize this one, that''s your battle against Cece in Hearthome!" Lauren smiled. "Yeah. It was a fun one. I draw some other battles I wasn''t involved in sometimes. I started a few years ago when I was drawing Craig''s battles." Aw, drawing her big brother''s fights. How cute. "Obviously, I threw the notebooks out, though. This one''s new," she finished. Nevermind. "This is yourtest drawing?" Mira asked. "Hmhm. I haven''t done it in a while, so I''ll be rusty. I was too focused on actually training, and there wasn''t enough time." "So what are you drawing?" "I guess I can draw you if you really want me to." "I was fucking around. You can draw whatever you want, Lauren." "Then I''ll draw the battle between your Gengar and my Sceptile," she agreed. "Can I put some music on?" "Hmhm." The scritching of the pen against paper was aforting sound, especially whenbined with the wind continuously battering against the tent. They did well when they decided to buy a tent for two. It was a bitch to assemble and tough to carry, but they had space for a stove to keep things warm and they could just rx here. Mira leaned toward Lauren to get a better look at what she was doing, though her friend waspletely focused on the task at hand. Narrowed eyes and a strained left hand. We''re both left-handed, so that''s cool. The music itselfing from the phone on the floor was okay. It was some rock group that Lauren had been obsessed with since they''d begun traveling together, and she''d been listening over and over during the long stretches of silence that involved travel with her headphones. Some popr Unovan band¡­ something Twins. Mira always got sick of music after listening to it for that long, but Lauren didn''t. She''d had their stuff continuously on loop and liked to time stuff to songs or the entire album ending. And Arceus forbid she had turn it off mid-way through. That was a cardinal sin and wasn''t allowed. "I don''t know much about you," Lauren said, still drawing. "Huh?" "I don''t mean the stuff you''re keeping hidden, I mean what you were like before being a trainer. I know about your uncle, your parents and stuff, but I mean more like normal stuff. You know about me." "Lauren¡­ are you by chance¡­ asking to know more about me!?" Mira beamed. "I thought the day would nevere. Miracles really doe true." "I like to know more about someone when I draw them battling. What''s your favorite song?" "Favorite song? Uh, that caught me off-guard a little, hold on¡­ maybe Nocturno by Silencer¡ª" "Awful." "What? What''s so awful about it?" "It makes me fall asleep." "That''s the entire point!" Mira scoffed. "I like chill songs." "This drawing isn''t going toe out very good, I think." "Are you holding me hostage over my music tastes?" "I''m just stating a fact, is all. I listen to music to get myself pumped up, so I think you''re a little strange," Lauren said, pressing down her pen on the page to entuate the contours of Gengy''s form. "I guess you still have some redeeming qualities that make up for it, though, so who knows." "Redeeming qualities? Like what? Please praise me." Her friend chuckled. I made herugh, holy shit. It wasn''t the first time, but she could count the amount of times that had happened on her fingers. "Well, you might be a bad trainer, but you work hard. You persevere even when you''ve been having a tough time, you''re smart and good at teaching stuff in an easy way to understand," she listed. "You''re easy to talk to. Sometimes I''ll try to talk to someone and the conversation just dies, so I just leave. You''re good at preventing that, and even when we aren''t talking you''re fun to be around." "O¡ªoh. That''s very nice of you," Mira said, suddenly teary-eyed. "But you also know when to screw off and let me be alone, so that''s a plus." "Well, after a week together I learned some of your quirks. You know, I''ve always wondered why you never did ask to travel with some of us. They''d learn to know you that well too." "I''m not great with big groups, and there are too many of you. I think traveling with someone else other than you would get annoying. Grace''s birthday party was already a lot. You did good with the nning, though, even if the music left something to be desired." "Well, had I known, I would have tapped you for the ylist," Mira smiled. "Thank you, though. I really appreciate you, you know? You help to keep my head on my shoulders." Lauren''s drawing grew slightly quicker. "I haven''t really done anything." "I think just having a friend around helped a lot. It made me feel normal for a while, which I think was what I needed. At least my Pokemon think so." "Gardevoir keeps staring at me." "She gets jealous," Mira said with a dismissive handwave. "She won''t actually do anything, don''t worry." "I wasn''t worried. I could dismantle her in a multitude of different ways. Volis could use X-Scissor to break free of any Psychic hold and¡ª" "Let''s not get into another ''here''s how I could beat your team'' rant," she interrupted. Lauren bit her lip. "Or, you know, maybe we can!" Mira quickly added. "Just¡­ter. I''m not in the mood, currently." The pink-haired teen breathed a sigh of relief when Lauren nodded, seemingly fine with what she''d said. Thest thing she wanted was to fuck up with her. "We''re good, right?" "Copacetic." "Great. You know, I never did want to be a trainer," Mira muttered, listening to the crackling of the fire. They''d neen to rece the block of wood soon. "I thought I''d just graduate from school and get my uncle to get me a job at his own ce. Nothing like some good old nepotism to get me going," she said,ughing at her own joke. "Then, he kept getting crazier, and eventually, he just left with everything. I was graduating in a few months, so I wasn''t going to get money from the government for much longer and finding foster families takes months that I didn''t have. I wanted answers and needed money, so it was the quickest path. Killing two birds with one stone. I guess to truly be good at it, you have to want it and not do it for convenience." Lauren shifted in her seat. "I don''t understand how you couldn''t like battling," she said, raising her tone slightly. So from barely a whisper to actually audible. "What will you do when you find your uncle?" "Tell him how much of a piece of shit he is," Mira said. "And try to fix him." Fix him. In the previous months, Mira had sensed a pattern, with the gift given to the Shards. Willpower gave Cecilia and Chase the ability to have anyone listen to their orders, ergo, stripping people from their willpower for a set amount of time. Had they not been halves, there was no doubt they would have been able to do more, like what Grace could do. Mold someone to her liking by using emotion, along with stripping one of whatever part of them she wanted to make them into a puppet. It was a pattern. A pattern of thievery, of stealing what made people people. She had guessed that Uxie would give her the power to alter knowledge in some way. To steal it, and to pass it onto others. That meant that Charon¡ª uncle Ernie¡ª could have all memories of her mother stripped away. Everything that had happened with Team Gctic would have to go, too. It wasn''t really fixing him. More like wildly cutting at parts of him that only hurt him. Maybe with his memories gone, Cynthia could dy his execution further, or even free him entirely. "Yeah," Mira whispered, hugging her knees. "I can try to fix him." "Do you want a hug?" "Huh?" "A hug. Do you want one?" "S¡ªsure. Why not?" Dropping the notebook on herp, Lauren wrapped an arm around Mira''s shoulder and brought her close in a gentle, yet brisk motion. Not exactly a hug, Mira mused, but it feels good nheless. Warm. The squeeze around her shoulder was nice. It was stupid, but it made her feel safe anyway. Out of Mira''s closest friends, Chase wasn''t a hugger, Cece didn''t hug anyone who wasn''t her girlfriend and Maeve only asionally hugged. While Grace herself loved to hug, and they were of damn high quality, they hadn''t seen each other in a while, and she suspected things would be quite awkward when they did. All of that to say, she''d missed these, and it was difficult now to want a little more. She hadn''t realized she''d been craving physical contact this way. "Can I keep the drawing when you''re done?" Mira asked. "If you really want it, I''ll give it to you." "That''s nice of you," she smiled. "Are you done? You''re holding onto me more than I to you, and I won''t be able to finish this." Mira begged, surprisingly only half-joking. "Just one more minute." Lauren gently pushed Mira off, and she was hugless for the rest of the night. ¡ª The way Lauren had grown more angsty the closer they got to Snowpoint was cute. She could barely contain her excitement and had been hyper-focusing on training. Mira had thought Grace was crazy for her training hours, but Lauren was even more so. Sometimes she''d go twelve hours straight training her team with only a few breaks in between. Her Pokemon fought while traveling, essentially battling along the route in pairs until they were too exhausted to move. When her team was taking a break, Lauren yed out battles in her head and talked to herself about what she''d do or how she''d win against imaginary opponents and continuously asked Mira for her input about it. It wasn''t really that interesting, but it was fun to see her talk about something she enjoyed so much, so Mira listened and bounced ideas with her. She''d even suggested a few moves that Lauren hadn''t dismissed out of hand and was looking into implementing, one of them being useful against Candice''s ice types. Good times were unfortunatelying to an end. They''d made it to Snowpoint in all of its ugly glory. This city was nothing but dull, gray concrete blocks rising a few stories into the sky. It was a cloudy day, and every breath made the inside of her mouth and nose feel horribly dry. What Mira saw, however, was that there were far more trainers here than she''d already expected. There were thousands of shoeprints embedded in the snow, heading toward and outward of the Pokemon Center''s direction. There were whispers of there barely being enough room to fit all of the influx of trainers Candice expected to get this year, with it having so many more people than usual. Some years were just like that, with arger proportion of fifteen-year-olds deciding to give this training thing a try. The Pokemon Center stood as an ind of warm colors in the middle of frigid cold. A dot of red where it didn''t belong. Mira turned toward her friend with a sigh, ignoring the hushed whispers of her fans starting to gather around. Luckily, her Rhydon was out and keeping them away. Mira never really did get to know her team like she had her friends''. They kept even more to themselves than Grace''s, save for Reuniclus. "Well, here we are," she said. "I guess I''ll be¡­ leaving, then." Lauren frowned. "You''re not spending the day? You look tired. You have bags under your eyes." "That''s because I haven''t used Hypnosis to make myself fall asleep in thest three days because I wanted to give sleeping normally a try," Mira said, wiping her nose. The damn cold was making it leak. "And yeah, I haven''t had much sess." "Oh. I''m sorry, I should have noticed sooner," Lauren said. Though her voice or face wasn''t very emotive, there were still quirks in her tone that Mira had learned to parse through. It was the eyes, too. "No worries, I''ll deal. I didn''t want to have you worrying over me when you have your Gym Battleing up, but evidently, I failed," Mira shrugged. It was why she always hid her bullshit problems deep, really. She hated being a burden and having people pity her, but here she was having screwed up again. "Again, I''ll be fine! Um, just focus on getting that eighth badge, yeah? I''d say I''ll watch, but I''m not sure I''ll be able to." Lauren''s feet shuffled in the snow. "Watch the rey, then. I want you to see me use your move. I think it''s seble to Silph Co. Sirris has said we should share the profits, but I can give it all to you if it works." Mira patted her on the arm. "Don''t offer that much to people, Lauren, they''ll take advantage of you." "I really meant it." "No, keep your money," Mira said. I don''t deserve it. "Take me out for a fun day sometimes and we''ll call it even." "I don''t really know what that would be." "We''ll just wing it, then." "...I can''t wing it. It has to be prepared, or it''ll go wrong," Lauren muttered. "We''ll figure it out, it''s still nebulous. I don''t even know where I''ll be in two weeks," Mira said, her eyes downcast and staring at her feet. "But yeah, I should go. You were fun, Lauren. Good luck in your Gym Battle." "You were fun, too." Mira released kazam, asking him to Teleport her back on route 217. "And be careful. Don''t take any risks," her friend added. "What makes you think I''m taking risks?" "Don''t think I''m an idiot. I can tell you''re going to do something like the raid again." Mira''s legs suddenly felt heavier, like she was sinking in quicksand. "Not too loud, people are looking¡ª" "I don''t care about people!" she yelled, before turning her head all around them. Rhydon flexed an arm, and stone cracked loudly as his body seemed to sharpen. Nasty technique, that one. It essentially made him mold his entire body into something sharper, losing defense in exchange for heightened offense. "Fuck off! All of you." Should I Teleport you before this turns to a fight? kazam asked. I suggest otherwise. You''ve picked up a nasty habit of running away, Mira. "No. I''m fine," she whispered. "Why are you doing this?" Lauren asked with a clenched fist. "It''s bullshit. You''re risking your lives for no reason." "You said you wouldn''t ask¡­" Legendaries, her words were so weak and full of shit. Every time she yed this song and dance, her resolve seemed to weaken. "I can''t involve you in this. Just trust me, okay? Can you do that?" "One day, I''ll wake up and half of you will be dead," Lauren said. How could she salvage this? Mira didn''t want to ruin the friendship they had going, but thest thing she wanted to do was involve more people in this¡­ pit of continuous harshness that had be her life. Could she imagine Lauren, storming his mansion? Yes, yes she could. She was a better trainer, though maybe that would have been a handicap with all the hostages. Imagining her fighting Team Gctic? Yes. But she didn''t deserve any of this. Mira couldn''t bare to look at Lauren in the eye, instead staring at anywhere but her face. She shied away from the intense re of her dark eyes, feeling the pace of her breaths quicken. What do I say? All this knowledge bullshit and I have nothing to show for it? Pathetic. Awful. Piece of shit. But then, Lauren''s look softened when Mira was on the verge of asking kazam to run. "I''m sorry for yelling. Just be careful and don''t die. Please." "Yeah¡­" "And sleep. You need eight hours per night, but I''ll settle for six. And you need to eat properly. That Gardevoir makes some good points even if she''s weak." Mira sorted kazam''s protest to the back of her head as she smothered a grin and wiped the corner of her eye. "Thanks. Hug it out?" she asked, outstretching her arms. "We already made up." Her arms drooped back to her side. "Yeah, that''s fair. I''ll be on my way, then?" "Goodbye." "See you, Lauren." ¡ª Mira had felt the pull of the Lake while traveling through route 217. It had been faint, but felt like a word on the tip of her tongue, forck of a better expression. Something she was supposed to know, but didn''t, and that would have driven her halfway to insanity, had she not had her Pokemon and Lauren with her. It was like an irresistible force pulling her inward, like the''s gravity as she wandered the snowy ins. kazam kept Teleporting her forward in multiple jumps as far as he could see, but it was tough with how the blizzard had picked up. Her free hand was shoved deep inside of her pocket, holding onto her phone for some semnce ofpany or warmth. The frigid winds seemed to slice through her coat and through any barrier kazam conjured up in a way the psychic couldn''t exin, but that fascinated both him and her. It was as if the state of the world up there was cold unless you had a fire to help near you. All of these, still helped, including the barrier, but you''d be hard pressed not to feel ufortable up here. "K¡ªkeep going North," Mira said through chattering teeth. She could barely feel her legs and fingers. "We''re close. Almost there." It was like her soul wanted to jump out of her skin. Like she wasn''t meant to be here. Yet Mira persevered, alternating between trudging through snow and having kazam Teleport her for the next thirty minutes until finally, a League Trainer patrolling the surroundings found her. The lucky fuck was dressed like Lauren had been, but with a Camerupt to keep him warm to boot. Part of her pitied him a little, for having to be stationed in what was no doubt the worst of the threekes. Mira dragged her feet through the snow, leaving trails behind her that wouldn''tst the next five minutes. "Mira Compton!" he yelled through the blizzard. "May I identify you, just to be safe!" "I can''t feel my fucking hands!" she screamed back. No amount of begging would have him just lead her in, so she mustered her courage and grabbed her ID from her wallet, fumbling around and trying to open it with one hand until she managed to present it to him for a split second before she had to put her hand back in her pocket. Yeah, he was just doing his job, but he was still a fucking asshole. At least Camerupt was sharing some of its warmth with them, but they''d just gotten there. It would take a while for that heat to actually seep in. "Follow." Mira nodded, dragging herself through the snow and totally not wishing she was back in that tent with Lauren and shooting the shit. The snot that was continuously streaming down her nose froze within a minute of being exposed to the air, with how fucking cold it was getting, but she and kazam persevered. The psychic tried to alter the path of the wind with some of his fancy tricks, and that helped a little. They entered some kind of thick forest, which was hell to navigate, and apparently Teleporting forward was impossible from now on ording to kazam. As they kept going, she finally got warm again thanks to the huge Camerupt and she began to feel her extremities again. Grace said she wanted one of these before finding her Turtonator, the teenager hummed with interest. She shared few words with kazam, because her thoughtsy elsewhere. How should she approach talking to Uxie? She was terrified, even though she knew what to expect the most. Cece and Chase hadn''t known what would happen, when they touched theirke, and yet they''d done it anyway. "Come on," she whispered to herself. "You can do this." Having to pump herself up while not even being near the damn Lake was somewhat pathetic, but at least no one could hear her thanks to the blizzard. It took another twenty minutes for them to step through some sort of forcefield. The feeling of crossing a threshold was subtle, but it had been there, and suddenly, a fortressy in front of her and the snow stopped falling immediately. That was the Lake doing that, not the League, Mira knew. Its influence was more powerful than whatever the fuck made this route and its surroundings hell and Uxie kept to a smaller size¡ª the smallest of the threekes. She was identified and let into the military base. It was just like Lake Valor''s, except morepact and smaller. Only twoyers of walls instead of three, and fewer people on site in general, which made sense with how inhospitable this ce was. Mira found herself reinvigorated as she walked onto the base''s paved roads, which were only nketed by a thinyer of snow. She could think even faster here, and she felt like she''d have the answers to any question she asked. kazam''s eyes widened as the same feeling overtook his brain, no doubt. "We''re staying a single day, so don''t get too excited," Mira preempted. A shame. I could have many breakthroughs here if we stayed longer, kazam said with a sigh. Part of her wanted to head back to Snowpoint as soon as she was done, but there were responsibilities, and again, involving Lauren with this would be foolish. No, instead she would head back south to Jubilife. Back in her old apartment that she still owned. There, she would spend the rest of the one month she had while training and brace for the worst. She wanted to see the others, but they all knew about her, every single one of them. They''d judge her. Think she was a monster. Grace watched, but she was the one who ordered Gengy to actually kill. No, it would be best if she stayed on her own. Mira was taken into the main building, which was only slightlyrger than the others. It was a mixture of different whites and greys that made her eyes hurt due to the light getting reflected everywhere seeing as the weather above theke was clear without a cloud in sight, like she had entered a different world. Some kind of big-shot leader spoke to her, and she had the conversation with him while thinking of a dozen different things, mostly about Uxie. She told them she was going to be touching the water now, and not wait. Better rip the band-aid off and get it over with before she could chicken out. On the way to the Lake was a modest home made of wood, and not steel and concrete. It looked hriously out of ce, and a grumpy-looking woman in a thick, wooly shirt and pants with arms that looked like they could snap Mira like a twig. Must be Savika, she thought. She sure looked unhappy to have had an entire military instation forced upon her home. There was a tiny Sneasel by her feet, which surprised Mira considering she was supposed to have no Pokemon. Maybe she''d caught something recently, then. Mira wasn''t really in a mood to converse with a pissy old woman, so she just nodded at her, which Savika promptly ignored, and kept going until they reached the Lake. It beckoned her. The surface was crystal clear, and she wanted nothing more but to plunge inside of it, clothes and all. Instead, as around eight League Trainers stood behind her, she plunged her hand into the scorching Lake¡ª ¡ª It was an endless expanse of dark. Mira had fallen to some kind of soft, wet ground that was difficult to stand on, with how uneven it was and given the fact that it was impossible to actually see. The water only touched the soles of her feet as if she was walking on it, which was different than how the others had described theirs. Terrified of angering the Legendary, Mira stared at her feet, though she couldn''t help but enjoy moving her hand again. There was a little relieved sigh when she realized it was painless, but she could only ignore her problems for so long. There was a weight in front of her, a weight that was looking at her every move and yet that stayed silent. Should I look up? Talk? They usually talk first, don''t they? Silence. Uxie was deafeningly quiet, and Mira couldn''t help but start thinking something about her wasn''t worthy. What if it had gotten a good look at her now and was thinking of how to rip her gift out of her? Then what would she even be for? "Come forth, Mira Compton. Look at me." Holy shit, the girl swallowed. The voice was a child-like quiet, barely a whisper, and yet she caught onto every single word and feltpelled to listen. Mira nced up at a literal God. Its body was a pale, almost fading blue with two tails embedded with small red gems, but what caught her attention was Uxie''s head. Starting from the middle of its face, yellow skin extended upward until it grew into a helmet-like structure that covered the entire top of its head. On top of the yellow growth sat its gem, glowing slightly red, and its eyes were permanently closed. A constant pressure pressed on Mira''s chest as she listened to the concept of Knowledge and approached it with heavy steps. Her mind raced with a thousand different scenarios, yet she stayed quiet. Everything here was quiet, far more than what was normal. She kept walking, as if she was in a daze until their faces almost touched and she knew she was close enough. There was no doubt in that, as if someone had nted the knowledge in her head. Then Uxie opened its eyes¡ª Mira blinked, not remembering what had happened or what she''d just seen. Uxie''s eyes were closed again, but then she slowly started to know. She knew how her powers worked. The fact that she would be able to think faster when she was out of here, or steal and hand out knowledge however she pleased, so long as it wasn''t too much, otherwise she would get tired and pass out. While Grace''s power was subtle and slow, and Cecilia and Chase''s was fast and sudden, hers was in the middle of that. She would not be able to affect Grace or vice versa, but Cecilia and Chase were halves, so they would be possible to steal and insert memories into, not that she was actually nning to do that. All of this had just been knowledge forced upon her head, like it had crawled its way into her brain and forced her to think this way despite her not wanting to. Absorbing too much information at once would give her a headache, and giving too much in a short amount of time would also give headaches. Taking, though, would be easy and without pain. "You now own a piece of me," Uxie whispered. "A passenger that will aid you in your quest to save His Creation. Yet I worry for you, child. Thoughts of guilt, inadequacy and fear cloud your mind, and I know you to be quite the sensitive Shard." Mira winced. "That won''t stop me from helping save the world." Knowledge nodded. "I know. But what about whates after? In many of the futures where the line is not cut, I see you battered and broken. A shell of your former self. You n on saving your uncle, the one who is a blight upon Creation, but perhaps it would be better to have you forget the fact that you care about him." "W¡ªwait!" Her heart lurched in her throat, and she felt herself stumble as dread crept up her skin, covering every single inch and making it hard to breathe. It had said this so nonchntly, like it was doing her a service, but there was no outrage that rose within her. After all, she was nning on doing something simr to Charon already. "No. No, I''m okay," she said, the selfish fucking prick. "I''ll deal with anything. I''ve been dealing my whole life." Uxie just stared¡ª well, not exactly, since its eyes were closed. "What do you mean by the ''line is not cut''?" she added. Uxie opened its eyes. The world line they currently resided in. While Uxie could not travel between lines, it could look and infer knowledge from them and delve into the future. That is how it warned its siblings about the impending doom. Her throat suddenly felt so, so dry. The damn thing wasn''t even bothering to talk to her, and she still couldn''t remember the color of its eyes. That meant that there were futures where the line was cut and everything ended. "Fret not." A psychic bubble enveloped her like a warm, thick nket. Mira''s eyes fluttered, suddenly feeling tired, but she knew better than to think that she was getting hypnotized. She was just genuinely exhausted, and the damn concept of Knowledge was hugging her. "I worry for you, Shard. Willpower looks at his own with disdain and disinterest. Emotion desires to be entertained for a moment in existence, but I? I worry for you." "I¡ª how? I''m just some human who''ll die in like what feels like an hour to you." "Does that mean I cannot worry? Should I curse mortals just because I am not? I gifted your people Knowledge, Shard, not only because He asked me to, but because I love you like He does. You are, after all, His creation. It would not do for me to think you lesser." Ah. Not genuine love, then, but an imitation of what Uxie thought Arceus would be like, and Mira believed the concept loved humanity as a whole and was only treating her differently because she was a Shard. It was genuinely trying, though, which was more than what could be said of the other two. "Well, I had a few questions about Team Gctic. Um, if theyplete the Red Chain, which it looks like they''ll do, how close will they need to get to the Lakes to grab you." Uxie did not deign answer, instead using its eyes to update the knowledge in her head in an instant. They would have to breech the walls, but not get to the shores of theke itself. Still a difficult endeavor, but not impossible. "Will they be able to use you to actually attack? Like, use your powers to destroy cities or fight back against League forces?" Mira continued. Again, it opened its eyes, and she forgot what she''d seen. The Red Chain is made of only Mesprit''s gems, and replicas at that. Its hold on them would be tenuous enough that they would probably keep them in a dormant state until the time came to summon Dialga and Palkia, but Uxie was sure they would use them to chart a path to reach the top of Mount Cor, because the mountain would open itself up for Uxie and its siblings and lead them to the summit. His throne, once radiant and where He sat while He created the world with His uncountable number of hands. Mira gasped as she was pulled out of the¡­ not vision, but something akin to it, her head throbbing rhythmically like a heartbeat. "Wait, so Mount Cor would just stop its fuckery if you were there? No time dtion? No moving parts?" That gave them so much less time to work with. The League had been operating under the assumption that if they wanted to get to the summit with good numbers, they would need to spend weeks brute forcing their way up Mount Cor. That changed things and shortened the timeline. Fuck. "Why?" A system built to keep any but the most dedicated worshippers away from His throne, yet able to be stopped with Uxie and its siblings. "Fuck me," Mira sighed. "Fair enough. Could you possibly tell me what Team Gctic''s n once the Red Chain ispleted is? Or when they n to strike?" "Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, they strike right away. Sometimes, they fail before they get to thekes. Sometimes, they seed and His Creation ends. They do it in numerous ways, and no n is more credible than the other, but I will transfer the knowledge to you." She knew. She knew everything, and her head felt like it was about to burst. It was important to note, though, that for all its power, Uxie was not omniscient and could be caught off-guard. "I have onest question, though, Uxie. How would I kill a true ghost permanently?" Uxie''s lips twitched up before returning to their perpetual frown, and it opened its eyes. There is only one way, and it was to kill them a second time in the Dusk. Finding a ghost willing to do so would be impossible, because they werepelled not to do so by a covenant forged by the first ghosts who ever came into existence, so a human and their non-ghost Pokemon would have to enter the Dusk themselves and do it. "And is there a way to enter the Dusk?" Mira asked, leaning forward. Uxie smiled again. "Only if you are let in by its ruler," it said. "Goodbye, Shard. I can tell you have no more questions. We will be in regrmunication, once you are back. And if what happens during the war to save His Creation proves too much for you,e back and I will fix you." Fix her. Simr wording, there. Mira nodded. Maybe she''d been the choice between her friends for a reason, after all. [copse] INTERLUDE - KNOWLEDGE Maeve would hate it here. Mira shivered, looking at her wispy breath escape her mouth with every exhale. A fire lit by that abomination called Mags crackled nearby and although she had her hands hovering so close to the damn thing that the mes nearly touched her, she was still cold. The frigid wind seeped past her coat and through her skin, chilling her down to the bone. Unfortunately, she had deigned gloves to be a waste of money and time, especially when one of her hands was still broken from the raid and covered by a thick cast. At least that one''s warm, she sighed with a slight smile, staring at all the drawings on her cast. She''d practically forced her Pokemon toe up with things to draw, though Gardevoir was the one who''d done the actual drawing. Magnezone had decided on some kind of tower that resembled a te coil with a stick figure on top that was supposed to be Mira waving at the world below. kazam had taken a while to convince, but he''d written a ''get well soon'' message that was a little too boring for her tastes, so Gengar decided to add some evil faces by the end to turn the vibe behind the message into a sarcastic one. He might have evolved, but he still loved annoying others like it sustained him. These days, he lived in her shadow more than his Pokeball for protection, as Fantina had advised her, and he was practicing to stop feeling cold to people who got too close. Yeah, maybe that isn''t helping with the cold. Though it wasn''t like anyone could tell the difference on route 216. It was Spring time, but a blizzard constantly battered the entire route. Porygon2''s idea had been to draw Mira as a five-star pull from one of her gacha games, but Gardevoir wasn''t that great of an artist and it ended up looking half-assed, so now Pory was giving her the cold shoulder. Gardevoir herself had drawn at least fifty little hearts all around the cast while Exeggcute had fought themselves for so long they decided they would rather not draw anything at all rather than let one of themselves win. They were a hassle to handle, but on the whole they would be an excellent psychic to add to her collection. At least she was getting some peace and quiet for a while now that it was too cold for them to be out for more than a few minutes at a time. Porygon2 was in her phone and Gengar in her shadow, but Gardevoir, kazam and Magnezone were all next to her, both for the fire''s warmth and to watch over her. On the other side of the mes, Lauren sat on a rock her Rhydon had raised. Mira was pretty sure she was wearing two coats atop one another, which ended up giving her a lot more volume and looking hrious and oddly charming. Her jet-ck hair was hidden beneath a thick winter cap, and she had a neck gaiter that actually went up to her nose, so the only thing Mira could see was her dark eyes and thick, circr sses. Her team trained in the background in some kind of horrifying free-for-all with no order to it inside of Reuniclus'' barrier. Rhydon mmed Magmortar''s gut with an elongated hammer-like arm he had sculpted in seconds, and with each strike, shards of sharpened debris would explode out of it with a small burst of glowering rock. All of the snow inside of the shield had vaporized, giving way to solid ground that was currently slowly melting. It must be hundreds of degrees in there, Mira thought, halfway between horrified and awed. While Magmortar was on the defensive and losing, he was going down swinging and blowing methrowers out of his cannons that were so hot they were blue and slowed even Rhydon down. Seismitoad, Aggron and Sceptile were stuck in some kind of three-way¡ª heh, three-way¡ª but it was Sceptile that was truly struggling to keep up due to currently being on fire. There was no helping it. In an environment this hot, he was going to catch on fire, and yet he kept fighting thanks to continuously sustaining himself with Seismitoad''s energy using a closebat form of Giga Drain and having used Leech Seed on her at the start of the battle. He wasn''t hitting her enough to finish her off, but enough to stay alive while Magmortar was focused on something else. Mira sent Gardevoir a straying thought telling her to keep the conversation they''d been having going with kazam. Parallel thinking came in handy, these days, but sometimes a girl just needed to have a break and hone in on a single one. Plus, she was feeling less miserable than she''d been in weeks, so she might as well spread that around. "Shouldn''t you have them training against the cold?" Mira asked. Lauren frowned. "What? I don''t have ess to any ice tactics as powerful as Candice will use, so I''m ying to my strengths. I know what I''m doing," she said in an offended, muffled voice. Anyone else, and Mira would have gotten miffed at that retort, but she''d gotten used to Lauren after spending nearly a week with her. She hated anything that even sounded like advice, for one, even though Mira had genuinely been curious and not trying to force her to do anything. Battling was her thing, and she wanted to do it her way. There was a moment of silence as another gush of cold wind blew past them. The sun was setting in the distance, though it wasn''t as if Mira had been able to feel any of its warmth anyway. "Sorry, I was just wondering. You know, I appreciate the way you''ve helped me and my team train up. I was cking a little with all the shit that was going on." "Your fundamentals were terrible," she deadpanned, much to Gardevoir''s annoyance. "You''re an incrediblyzy battler. Your Gengar was fun and tricky, at least." Mira''s friend stopped, cocking her head to the side to get a better look at her. "Are you cold?" "A little. It''s the wind." Lauren sat up and slowly shuffled toward Mira, who''d been sitting on Gardevoir''s coldp. "Why didn''t you buy gloves?" she asked, sping her hand so tightly it nearly hurt. "Frostbite is a serious risk, you know? You can even get gangrene in the most extreme cases, I looked it up." Mira shrugged. "Yeah, I messed up. That''s amon theme with me, I''ll have you know." Lauren brought her hand close, pulling down her gaiter to breathe some hot air into Mira''s hand. Her cheeks were flushed due to the cold, as were Mira''s. She could barely feel her fingers, even when someone was touching them. "You haven''t messed up during our travels, at least. This has been fun," Lauren smiled. Yeah, it has been. Chasey being here would be great too, but unfortunately he was too busy on his quest for revenge against Byron and badges. Too bad you needed those to be taken seriously as a trainer, because she would have killed to have him here to tell her to get her head out of her ass. It was unfortunate that he was so uninterested in girls. Well, not just girls, but uninterested in anyone. Mira had given up on him by now, though he still remained her best friend. Plus, she was too fucked up to date anyone, at the moment. She''d been too fucked up for a very long time, really. Arceus forbid she subject someone to her antics. "Are you alright?" Lauren asked. "Warmer now?" "Uhuh. Just anxious about stuff." "You say sorry a lot in your sleep," she said. "I''m worried about you." "I did warn you about that, and you said it''d be okay¡ª" Mira stopped herself, realizing she''d gotten loud. "Sorry." Theing meeting with Uxie had her shitting bricks. From what Grace had finally sent, Mesprit had been a real prick, even worse than Azelf, so Uxie should theoretically have been the nice one, but she was wondering if she could even qualify a power beyond herprehension as nice. Gardevoir ran a smooth hand through her hair, and she leaned back into her. This had indeed been fun, but only three more days and they''d be in Snowpoint, and then the full weight of her responsibilities woulde crashing down. Lauren let go of her hand and looked at her cast. "How''s your other hand feeling?" "The pain is kind of numb. I think it''s because I''ve grown used to it," Mira said. "Wanna draw something on my cast?" She ignored Gardevoir''s jealousints in the corner of her head, focusing wholly on this conversation. She frowned. "There''s not a lot of space." "Come on, we can find a spot for you, that way, it''s like you''ve left a permanent mark on me. How good are you at drawing anyway?" "Decent. Better than all of these, but drawing on a cast is harder than doing it on paper." "Woah. You actually draw?" Mira said, eyes widening. "Only sometimes when I''m taking a break from training. Like now. Usually I just draw a scene from a battle I really liked." "Oooooh. Wait, why don''t you just draw something right now?" Mira suggested with a grin. "Not just on my cast, but on paper." "Well, I can''t do it with gloves, and my hands will get cold. The wind will blow the paper around, too." "Let''s just do it in our tent, then. It should be warm by now." Lauren silently nodded, putting her gaiter back up, and Mira stood up from Gardevoir as well, who would remain by the fire with the others. Her footsteps did not crunch in the foreleg-deep snow like Lauren''s, but it was just as difficult to walk in it. She had to admit, it was fun to see her fumble around. Maybe Mira just enjoyed watching people eating shit like she was constantly doing, but in a wholesome way and not a ''my life is copsing'' way. It was at times like these, where none of her concurrent thoughts were running, that the screams came back in full force. Harrowing, ear-piercing, begging to be spared or killed. To be relieved from the pain. Mira''s entire body shook at once, and it wasn''t because of the cold. Never had she seen a man scream until his voice waspletely gone and he was spitting out blood. Every time she closed her eyes, he was there. He. Not saying his name was how much of a coward she was. It gave her distance, a way to pretend that hadn''t really been her, in that basement. Yet it had been. Arceus, tomorrow couldn''te soon enough. Every day was a trial to see if she''d be able to hold on to the next time she could see her therapist, and while he was very good, she was supposed to be making progress like she''d told the others, not stagnating. "You go in, I''m going to get Gengy to stay out. He''ll make us cold." Her friend nodded without even looking back, thank the Legendaries. Otherwise, she''d have done that thing where she asked what was wrong and Mira had to say it was private. There was no way she could tell Lauren about this, not when she was having so much fun in the Circuit. It''d be like showing someone whaty beyond the world''s veil when they hadn''t even asked. She was too innocent to ruin in such a way. Mira had screwed up, with Emi. She never should have told her about what Gengar had done to him. "Gengy, up." Mira shivered when her shadow moved. A pair of red eyes materialized above her, followed by a grin filled withyers uponyers of sharpened teeth, each a different size and dripping with poison. Gengar''s body detached from her shadow, and Mira suddenly felt lighter, like she''d been carrying weights the entire time. The air seemed to grow more frigid, blowing against her neck as continuous chills traveled up and down her spine, and the glow from the setting sun dimmed. Gengar''s body rippled, a mixture of toxic gas and poisonous liquid without a solid form. He looked terrifying to anyone not used to him¡ª hell, he even looked a little scary to her, but that was nothingpared to what he could do when not chained by the rules of battle. "Stay out, but don''t annoy Lauren''s team, okay? They''ll kill you and we can''t afford to waste any more time. Other than that, you can do whatever you want so long as you don''t prank nearby trainers," Mira said. "If you behave, I''ll get you a treat." The ghost cackled, purple smoke emanating from his mouth as he slipped into the ethereal and disappeared, his voice echoing in the distance. kazam and Gardevoir could still control him, but they were worse than she was at it. Having evolved meant that Gengy had urges. Urges to haunt and prank, which sounded innocent enough until Fantina had told her that new Gengar could grow so obsessed with a victim that they would stalk them until they died from the numerous methods ghosts could use to kill. He would grow out of it eventually, but right now, it was like he was going through puberty. If something goes wrong, Gardevoir or kazam will tell me, she reassured herself as she leaned into the tent. I can be allowed a break¡­ can I? They''d cleared some ground here to nail the tent into the earth, and there was a stove burning a block of wood at its center, with the smoke going out of the tent through a chimney. Lauren was taking off her second coat, revealing a gourd of water she''d been keeping inside her clothing. She''d been wearing a thick, creamy, long-sleeved cotton shirt below them. "Huh. What''s that for?" Mira asked, pointing at the sk. "I have Mags warm it up for me and keep it inside. It helps with the cold," Lauren exined. "You can also put it inside your sleeping bag for a few minutes before you sleep to warm it up." "Nifty," she said. "Uh, can you help with my coat again¡­?" The agreement was wordless. Usually it was Gardevoir or kazam, who helped her put clothes on or off, but if it was just the coat, Lauren was fine. The amount of shit you couldn''t do with a broken hand was astonishing, and Mira hated feeling that useless. Already, her Pokemon were behind the others. They had utility, of course, but the gap between her and her friends had never been wider. Her good hand slipped past the first sleeve, and there was something to admire about how delicate Lauren was when handling her broken hand. The girl liked nothing more but to see shit blow up, and yet here she was, going inch by inch over the cast and continuously asking if this was okay. "Yeah, it''s okay," Mira exhaled. She did not deserve such care. Not right now. "Thanks for the help." "It would be weird if I didn''t help." Mira snorted. "I''ve seen worse behavior from teenage girls." She sat, using her good hand to undo her pigtails and let her pink hair flow freely. "So, how''re we doing this? You wanna draw me like one of your Kalosian girls?" she asked, striking an exaggerated,vish pose. Lauren frowned, taking off her gloves. "Kalosians don''t look that different than you do, but I''m not drawing you in that pose. We never even established that I was drawing you." Mira wanted to feign a pout and pretend to be hurt, but didn''t, because she was pretty sure Lauren would take it literally. "It was a joke, but a pretty shitty one, so don''t worry about it." Mira scooted over to her while she grabbed a pen and a thin notebook. "So you said you usually draw battles? Like, your battles?" The drawings themselves were decent. Not great, but not terrible. The proportions were off, there was no color and it was hard to tell what was in the foreground or background, but it was something she''d made from her heart. The current page depicted an Aggron jumping over an enormous crater to get to a Zweilous. "These look cool! Wait, I recognize this one, that''s your battle against Cece in Hearthome!" Lauren smiled. "Yeah. It was a fun one. I draw some other battles I wasn''t involved in sometimes. I started a few years ago when I was drawing Craig''s battles." Aw, drawing her big brother''s fights. How cute. "Obviously, I threw the notebooks out, though. This one''s new," she finished. Nevermind. "This is yourtest drawing?" Mira asked. "Hmhm. I haven''t done it in a while, so I''ll be rusty. I was too focused on actually training, and there wasn''t enough time." "So what are you drawing?" "I guess I can draw you if you really want me to." "I was fucking around. You can draw whatever you want, Lauren." "Then I''ll draw the battle between your Gengar and my Sceptile," she agreed. "Can I put some music on?" "Hmhm." The scritching of the pen against paper was aforting sound, especially whenbined with the wind continuously battering against the tent. They did well when they decided to buy a tent for two. It was a bitch to assemble and tough to carry, but they had space for a stove to keep things warm and they could just rx here. Mira leaned toward Lauren to get a better look at what she was doing, though her friend waspletely focused on the task at hand. Narrowed eyes and a strained left hand. We''re both left-handed, so that''s cool. The music itselfing from the phone on the floor was okay. It was some rock group that Lauren had been obsessed with since they''d begun traveling together, and she''d been listening over and over during the long stretches of silence that involved travel with her headphones. Some popr Unovan band¡­ something Twins. Mira always got sick of music after listening to it for that long, but Lauren didn''t. She''d had their stuff continuously on loop and liked to time stuff to songs or the entire album ending. And Arceus forbid she had turn it off mid-way through. That was a cardinal sin and wasn''t allowed. "I don''t know much about you," Lauren said, still drawing. "Huh?" "I don''t mean the stuff you''re keeping hidden, I mean what you were like before being a trainer. I know about your uncle, your parents and stuff, but I mean more like normal stuff. You know about me." "Lauren¡­ are you by chance¡­ asking to know more about me!?" Mira beamed. "I thought the day would nevere. Miracles really doe true." "I like to know more about someone when I draw them battling. What''s your favorite song?" "Favorite song? Uh, that caught me off-guard a little, hold on¡­ maybe Nocturno by Silencer¡ª" "Awful." "What? What''s so awful about it?" "It makes me fall asleep." "That''s the entire point!" Mira scoffed. "I like chill songs." "This drawing isn''t going toe out very good, I think." "Are you holding me hostage over my music tastes?" "I''m just stating a fact, is all. I listen to music to get myself pumped up, so I think you''re a little strange," Lauren said, pressing down her pen on the page to entuate the contours of Gengy''s form. "I guess you still have some redeeming qualities that make up for it, though, so who knows." "Redeeming qualities? Like what? Please praise me." Her friend chuckled. I made herugh, holy shit. It wasn''t the first time, but she could count the amount of times that had happened on her fingers. "Well, you might be a bad trainer, but you work hard. You persevere even when you''ve been having a tough time, you''re smart and good at teaching stuff in an easy way to understand," she listed. "You''re easy to talk to. Sometimes I''ll try to talk to someone and the conversation just dies, so I just leave. You''re good at preventing that, and even when we aren''t talking you''re fun to be around." "O¡ªoh. That''s very nice of you," Mira said, suddenly teary-eyed. "But you also know when to screw off and let me be alone, so that''s a plus." "Well, after a week together I learned some of your quirks. You know, I''ve always wondered why you never did ask to travel with some of us. They''d learn to know you that well too." "I''m not great with big groups, and there are too many of you. I think traveling with someone else other than you would get annoying. Grace''s birthday party was already a lot. You did good with the nning, though, even if the music left something to be desired." "Well, had I known, I would have tapped you for the ylist," Mira smiled. "Thank you, though. I really appreciate you, you know? You help to keep my head on my shoulders." Lauren''s drawing grew slightly quicker. "I haven''t really done anything." "I think just having a friend around helped a lot. It made me feel normal for a while, which I think was what I needed. At least my Pokemon think so." "Gardevoir keeps staring at me." "She gets jealous," Mira said with a dismissive handwave. "She won''t actually do anything, don''t worry." "I wasn''t worried. I could dismantle her in a multitude of different ways. Volis could use X-Scissor to break free of any Psychic hold and¡ª" "Let''s not get into another ''here''s how I could beat your team'' rant," she interrupted. Lauren bit her lip. "Or, you know, maybe we can!" Mira quickly added. "Just¡­ter. I''m not in the mood, currently." The pink-haired teen breathed a sigh of relief when Lauren nodded, seemingly fine with what she''d said. Thest thing she wanted was to fuck up with her. "We''re good, right?" "Copacetic." "Great. You know, I never did want to be a trainer," Mira muttered, listening to the crackling of the fire. They''d neen to rece the block of wood soon. "I thought I''d just graduate from school and get my uncle to get me a job at his own ce. Nothing like some good old nepotism to get me going," she said,ughing at her own joke. "Then, he kept getting crazier, and eventually, he just left with everything. I was graduating in a few months, so I wasn''t going to get money from the government for much longer and finding foster families takes months that I didn''t have. I wanted answers and needed money, so it was the quickest path. Killing two birds with one stone. I guess to truly be good at it, you have to want it and not do it for convenience." Lauren shifted in her seat. "I don''t understand how you couldn''t like battling," she said, raising her tone slightly. So from barely a whisper to actually audible. "What will you do when you find your uncle?" "Tell him how much of a piece of shit he is," Mira said. "And try to fix him." Fix him. In the previous months, Mira had sensed a pattern, with the gift given to the Shards. Willpower gave Cecilia and Chase the ability to have anyone listen to their orders, ergo, stripping people from their willpower for a set amount of time. Had they not been halves, there was no doubt they would have been able to do more, like what Grace could do. Mold someone to her liking by using emotion, along with stripping one of whatever part of them she wanted to make them into a puppet. It was a pattern. A pattern of thievery, of stealing what made people people. She had guessed that Uxie would give her the power to alter knowledge in some way. To steal it, and to pass it onto others. That meant that Charon¡ª uncle Ernie¡ª could have all memories of her mother stripped away. Everything that had happened with Team Gctic would have to go, too. It wasn''t really fixing him. More like wildly cutting at parts of him that only hurt him. Maybe with his memories gone, Cynthia could dy his execution further, or even free him entirely. "Yeah," Mira whispered, hugging her knees. "I can try to fix him." "Do you want a hug?" "Huh?" "A hug. Do you want one?" "S¡ªsure. Why not?" Dropping the notebook on herp, Lauren wrapped an arm around Mira''s shoulder and brought her close in a gentle, yet brisk motion. Not exactly a hug, Mira mused, but it feels good nheless. Warm. The squeeze around her shoulder was nice. It was stupid, but it made her feel safe anyway. Out of Mira''s closest friends, Chase wasn''t a hugger, Cece didn''t hug anyone who wasn''t her girlfriend and Maeve only asionally hugged. While Grace herself loved to hug, and they were of damn high quality, they hadn''t seen each other in a while, and she suspected things would be quite awkward when they did. All of that to say, she''d missed these, and it was difficult now to want a little more. She hadn''t realized she''d been craving physical contact this way. "Can I keep the drawing when you''re done?" Mira asked. "If you really want it, I''ll give it to you." "That''s nice of you," she smiled. "Are you done? You''re holding onto me more than I to you, and I won''t be able to finish this." Mira begged, surprisingly only half-joking. "Just one more minute." Lauren gently pushed Mira off, and she was hugless for the rest of the night. ¡ª The way Lauren had grown more angsty the closer they got to Snowpoint was cute. She could barely contain her excitement and had been hyper-focusing on training. Mira had thought Grace was crazy for her training hours, but Lauren was even more so. Sometimes she''d go twelve hours straight training her team with only a few breaks in between. Her Pokemon fought while traveling, essentially battling along the route in pairs until they were too exhausted to move. When her team was taking a break, Lauren yed out battles in her head and talked to herself about what she''d do or how she''d win against imaginary opponents and continuously asked Mira for her input about it. It wasn''t really that interesting, but it was fun to see her talk about something she enjoyed so much, so Mira listened and bounced ideas with her. She''d even suggested a few moves that Lauren hadn''t dismissed out of hand and was looking into implementing, one of them being useful against Candice''s ice types. Good times were unfortunatelying to an end. They''d made it to Snowpoint in all of its ugly glory. This city was nothing but dull, gray concrete blocks rising a few stories into the sky. It was a cloudy day, and every breath made the inside of her mouth and nose feel horribly dry. What Mira saw, however, was that there were far more trainers here than she''d already expected. There were thousands of shoeprints embedded in the snow, heading toward and outward of the Pokemon Center''s direction. There were whispers of there barely being enough room to fit all of the influx of trainers Candice expected to get this year, with it having so many more people than usual. Some years were just like that, with arger proportion of fifteen-year-olds deciding to give this training thing a try. The Pokemon Center stood as an ind of warm colors in the middle of frigid cold. A dot of red where it didn''t belong. Mira turned toward her friend with a sigh, ignoring the hushed whispers of her fans starting to gather around. Luckily, her Rhydon was out and keeping them away. Mira never really did get to know her team like she had her friends''. They kept even more to themselves than Grace''s, save for Reuniclus. "Well, here we are," she said. "I guess I''ll be¡­ leaving, then." Lauren frowned. "You''re not spending the day? You look tired. You have bags under your eyes." "That''s because I haven''t used Hypnosis to make myself fall asleep in thest three days because I wanted to give sleeping normally a try," Mira said, wiping her nose. The damn cold was making it leak. "And yeah, I haven''t had much sess." "Oh. I''m sorry, I should have noticed sooner," Lauren said. Though her voice or face wasn''t very emotive, there were still quirks in her tone that Mira had learned to parse through. It was the eyes, too. "No worries, I''ll deal. I didn''t want to have you worrying over me when you have your Gym Battleing up, but evidently, I failed," Mira shrugged. It was why she always hid her bullshit problems deep, really. She hated being a burden and having people pity her, but here she was having screwed up again. "Again, I''ll be fine! Um, just focus on getting that eighth badge, yeah? I''d say I''ll watch, but I''m not sure I''ll be able to." Lauren''s feet shuffled in the snow. "Watch the rey, then. I want you to see me use your move. I think it''s seble to Silph Co. Sirris has said we should share the profits, but I can give it all to you if it works." Mira patted her on the arm. "Don''t offer that much to people, Lauren, they''ll take advantage of you." "I really meant it." "No, keep your money," Mira said. I don''t deserve it. "Take me out for a fun day sometimes and we''ll call it even." "I don''t really know what that would be." "We''ll just wing it, then." "...I can''t wing it. It has to be prepared, or it''ll go wrong," Lauren muttered. "We''ll figure it out, it''s still nebulous. I don''t even know where I''ll be in two weeks," Mira said, her eyes downcast and staring at her feet. "But yeah, I should go. You were fun, Lauren. Good luck in your Gym Battle." "You were fun, too." Mira released kazam, asking him to Teleport her back on route 217. "And be careful. Don''t take any risks," her friend added. "What makes you think I''m taking risks?" "Don''t think I''m an idiot. I can tell you''re going to do something like the raid again." Mira''s legs suddenly felt heavier, like she was sinking in quicksand. "Not too loud, people are looking¡ª" "I don''t care about people!" she yelled, before turning her head all around them. Rhydon flexed an arm, and stone cracked loudly as his body seemed to sharpen. Nasty technique, that one. It essentially made him mold his entire body into something sharper, losing defense in exchange for heightened offense. "Fuck off! All of you." Should I Teleport you before this turns to a fight? kazam asked. I suggest otherwise. You''ve picked up a nasty habit of running away, Mira. "No. I''m fine," she whispered. "Why are you doing this?" Lauren asked with a clenched fist. "It''s bullshit. You''re risking your lives for no reason." "You said you wouldn''t ask¡­" Legendaries, her words were so weak and full of shit. Every time she yed this song and dance, her resolve seemed to weaken. "I can''t involve you in this. Just trust me, okay? Can you do that?" "One day, I''ll wake up and half of you will be dead," Lauren said. How could she salvage this? Mira didn''t want to ruin the friendship they had going, but thest thing she wanted to do was involve more people in this¡­ pit of continuous harshness that had be her life. Could she imagine Lauren, storming his mansion? Yes, yes she could. She was a better trainer, though maybe that would have been a handicap with all the hostages. Imagining her fighting Team Gctic? Yes. But she didn''t deserve any of this. Mira couldn''t bare to look at Lauren in the eye, instead staring at anywhere but her face. She shied away from the intense re of her dark eyes, feeling the pace of her breaths quicken. What do I say? All this knowledge bullshit and I have nothing to show for it? Pathetic. Awful. Piece of shit. But then, Lauren''s look softened when Mira was on the verge of asking kazam to run. "I''m sorry for yelling. Just be careful and don''t die. Please." "Yeah¡­" "And sleep. You need eight hours per night, but I''ll settle for six. And you need to eat properly. That Gardevoir makes some good points even if she''s weak." Mira sorted kazam''s protest to the back of her head as she smothered a grin and wiped the corner of her eye. "Thanks. Hug it out?" she asked, outstretching her arms. "We already made up." Her arms drooped back to her side. "Yeah, that''s fair. I''ll be on my way, then?" "Goodbye." "See you, Lauren." ¡ª Mira had felt the pull of the Lake while traveling through route 217. It had been faint, but felt like a word on the tip of her tongue, forck of a better expression. Something she was supposed to know, but didn''t, and that would have driven her halfway to insanity, had she not had her Pokemon and Lauren with her. It was like an irresistible force pulling her inward, like the''s gravity as she wandered the snowy ins. kazam kept Teleporting her forward in multiple jumps as far as he could see, but it was tough with how the blizzard had picked up. Her free hand was shoved deep inside of her pocket, holding onto her phone for some semnce ofpany or warmth. The frigid winds seemed to slice through her coat and through any barrier kazam conjured up in a way the psychic couldn''t exin, but that fascinated both him and her. It was as if the state of the world up there was cold unless you had a fire to help near you. All of these, still helped, including the barrier, but you''d be hard pressed not to feel ufortable up here. "K¡ªkeep going North," Mira said through chattering teeth. She could barely feel her legs and fingers. "We''re close. Almost there." It was like her soul wanted to jump out of her skin. Like she wasn''t meant to be here. Yet Mira persevered, alternating between trudging through snow and having kazam Teleport her for the next thirty minutes until finally, a League Trainer patrolling the surroundings found her. The lucky fuck was dressed like Lauren had been, but with a Camerupt to keep him warm to boot. Part of her pitied him a little, for having to be stationed in what was no doubt the worst of the threekes. Mira dragged her feet through the snow, leaving trails behind her that wouldn''tst the next five minutes. "Mira Compton!" he yelled through the blizzard. "May I identify you, just to be safe!" "I can''t feel my fucking hands!" she screamed back. No amount of begging would have him just lead her in, so she mustered her courage and grabbed her ID from her wallet, fumbling around and trying to open it with one hand until she managed to present it to him for a split second before she had to put her hand back in her pocket. Yeah, he was just doing his job, but he was still a fucking asshole. At least Camerupt was sharing some of its warmth with them, but they''d just gotten there. It would take a while for that heat to actually seep in. "Follow." Mira nodded, dragging herself through the snow and totally not wishing she was back in that tent with Lauren and shooting the shit. The snot that was continuously streaming down her nose froze within a minute of being exposed to the air, with how fucking cold it was getting, but she and kazam persevered. The psychic tried to alter the path of the wind with some of his fancy tricks, and that helped a little. They entered some kind of thick forest, which was hell to navigate, and apparently Teleporting forward was impossible from now on ording to kazam. As they kept going, she finally got warm again thanks to the huge Camerupt and she began to feel her extremities again. Grace said she wanted one of these before finding her Turtonator, the teenager hummed with interest. She shared few words with kazam, because her thoughtsy elsewhere. How should she approach talking to Uxie? She was terrified, even though she knew what to expect the most. Cece and Chase hadn''t known what would happen, when they touched theirke, and yet they''d done it anyway. "Come on," she whispered to herself. "You can do this." Having to pump herself up while not even being near the damn Lake was somewhat pathetic, but at least no one could hear her thanks to the blizzard. It took another twenty minutes for them to step through some sort of forcefield. The feeling of crossing a threshold was subtle, but it had been there, and suddenly, a fortressy in front of her and the snow stopped falling immediately. That was the Lake doing that, not the League, Mira knew. Its influence was more powerful than whatever the fuck made this route and its surroundings hell and Uxie kept to a smaller size¡ª the smallest of the threekes. She was identified and let into the military base. It was just like Lake Valor''s, except morepact and smaller. Only twoyers of walls instead of three, and fewer people on site in general, which made sense with how inhospitable this ce was. Mira found herself reinvigorated as she walked onto the base''s paved roads, which were only nketed by a thinyer of snow. She could think even faster here, and she felt like she''d have the answers to any question she asked. kazam''s eyes widened as the same feeling overtook his brain, no doubt. "We''re staying a single day, so don''t get too excited," Mira preempted. A shame. I could have many breakthroughs here if we stayed longer, kazam said with a sigh. Part of her wanted to head back to Snowpoint as soon as she was done, but there were responsibilities, and again, involving Lauren with this would be foolish. No, instead she would head back south to Jubilife. Back in her old apartment that she still owned. There, she would spend the rest of the one month she had while training and brace for the worst. She wanted to see the others, but they all knew about her, every single one of them. They''d judge her. Think she was a monster. Grace watched, but she was the one who ordered Gengy to actually kill. No, it would be best if she stayed on her own. Mira was taken into the main building, which was only slightlyrger than the others. It was a mixture of different whites and greys that made her eyes hurt due to the light getting reflected everywhere seeing as the weather above theke was clear without a cloud in sight, like she had entered a different world. Some kind of big-shot leader spoke to her, and she had the conversation with him while thinking of a dozen different things, mostly about Uxie. She told them she was going to be touching the water now, and not wait. Better rip the band-aid off and get it over with before she could chicken out. On the way to the Lake was a modest home made of wood, and not steel and concrete. It looked hriously out of ce, and a grumpy-looking woman in a thick, wooly shirt and pants with arms that looked like they could snap Mira like a twig. Must be Savika, she thought. She sure looked unhappy to have had an entire military instation forced upon her home. There was a tiny Sneasel by her feet, which surprised Mira considering she was supposed to have no Pokemon. Maybe she''d caught something recently, then. Mira wasn''t really in a mood to converse with a pissy old woman, so she just nodded at her, which Savika promptly ignored, and kept going until they reached the Lake. It beckoned her. The surface was crystal clear, and she wanted nothing more but to plunge inside of it, clothes and all. Instead, as around eight League Trainers stood behind her, she plunged her hand into the scorching Lake¡ª ¡ª It was an endless expanse of dark. Mira had fallen to some kind of soft, wet ground that was difficult to stand on, with how uneven it was and given the fact that it was impossible to actually see. The water only touched the soles of her feet as if she was walking on it, which was different than how the others had described theirs. Terrified of angering the Legendary, Mira stared at her feet, though she couldn''t help but enjoy moving her hand again. There was a little relieved sigh when she realized it was painless, but she could only ignore her problems for so long. There was a weight in front of her, a weight that was looking at her every move and yet that stayed silent. Should I look up? Talk? They usually talk first, don''t they? Silence. Uxie was deafeningly quiet, and Mira couldn''t help but start thinking something about her wasn''t worthy. What if it had gotten a good look at her now and was thinking of how to rip her gift out of her? Then what would she even be for? "Come forth, Mira Compton. Look at me." Holy shit, the girl swallowed. The voice was a child-like quiet, barely a whisper, and yet she caught onto every single word and feltpelled to listen. Mira nced up at a literal God. Its body was a pale, almost fading blue with two tails embedded with small red gems, but what caught her attention was Uxie''s head. Starting from the middle of its face, yellow skin extended upward until it grew into a helmet-like structure that covered the entire top of its head. On top of the yellow growth sat its gem, glowing slightly red, and its eyes were permanently closed. A constant pressure pressed on Mira''s chest as she listened to the concept of Knowledge and approached it with heavy steps. Her mind raced with a thousand different scenarios, yet she stayed quiet. Everything here was quiet, far more than what was normal. She kept walking, as if she was in a daze until their faces almost touched and she knew she was close enough. There was no doubt in that, as if someone had nted the knowledge in her head. Then Uxie opened its eyes¡ª Mira blinked, not remembering what had happened or what she''d just seen. Uxie''s eyes were closed again, but then she slowly started to know. She knew how her powers worked. The fact that she would be able to think faster when she was out of here, or steal and hand out knowledge however she pleased, so long as it wasn''t too much, otherwise she would get tired and pass out. While Grace''s power was subtle and slow, and Cecilia and Chase''s was fast and sudden, hers was in the middle of that. She would not be able to affect Grace or vice versa, but Cecilia and Chase were halves, so they would be possible to steal and insert memories into, not that she was actually nning to do that. All of this had just been knowledge forced upon her head, like it had crawled its way into her brain and forced her to think this way despite her not wanting to. Absorbing too much information at once would give her a headache, and giving too much in a short amount of time would also give headaches. Taking, though, would be easy and without pain. "You now own a piece of me," Uxie whispered. "A passenger that will aid you in your quest to save His Creation. Yet I worry for you, child. Thoughts of guilt, inadequacy and fear cloud your mind, and I know you to be quite the sensitive Shard." Mira winced. "That won''t stop me from helping save the world." Knowledge nodded. "I know. But what about whates after? In many of the futures where the line is not cut, I see you battered and broken. A shell of your former self. You n on saving your uncle, the one who is a blight upon Creation, but perhaps it would be better to have you forget the fact that you care about him." "W¡ªwait!" Her heart lurched in her throat, and she felt herself stumble as dread crept up her skin, covering every single inch and making it hard to breathe. It had said this so nonchntly, like it was doing her a service, but there was no outrage that rose within her. After all, she was nning on doing something simr to Charon already. "No. No, I''m okay," she said, the selfish fucking prick. "I''ll deal with anything. I''ve been dealing my whole life." Uxie just stared¡ª well, not exactly, since its eyes were closed. "What do you mean by the ''line is not cut''?" she added. Uxie opened its eyes. The world line they currently resided in. While Uxie could not travel between lines, it could look and infer knowledge from them and delve into the future. That is how it warned its siblings about the impending doom. Her throat suddenly felt so, so dry. The damn thing wasn''t even bothering to talk to her, and she still couldn''t remember the color of its eyes. That meant that there were futures where the line was cut and everything ended. "Fret not." A psychic bubble enveloped her like a warm, thick nket. Mira''s eyes fluttered, suddenly feeling tired, but she knew better than to think that she was getting hypnotized. She was just genuinely exhausted, and the damn concept of Knowledge was hugging her. "I worry for you, Shard. Willpower looks at his own with disdain and disinterest. Emotion desires to be entertained for a moment in existence, but I? I worry for you." "I¡ª how? I''m just some human who''ll die in like what feels like an hour to you." "Does that mean I cannot worry? Should I curse mortals just because I am not? I gifted your people Knowledge, Shard, not only because He asked me to, but because I love you like He does. You are, after all, His creation. It would not do for me to think you lesser." Ah. Not genuine love, then, but an imitation of what Uxie thought Arceus would be like, and Mira believed the concept loved humanity as a whole and was only treating her differently because she was a Shard. It was genuinely trying, though, which was more than what could be said of the other two. "Well, I had a few questions about Team Gctic. Um, if theyplete the Red Chain, which it looks like they''ll do, how close will they need to get to the Lakes to grab you." Uxie did not deign answer, instead using its eyes to update the knowledge in her head in an instant. They would have to breech the walls, but not get to the shores of theke itself. Still a difficult endeavor, but not impossible. "Will they be able to use you to actually attack? Like, use your powers to destroy cities or fight back against League forces?" Mira continued. Again, it opened its eyes, and she forgot what she''d seen. The Red Chain is made of only Mesprit''s gems, and replicas at that. Its hold on them would be tenuous enough that they would probably keep them in a dormant state until the time came to summon Dialga and Palkia, but Uxie was sure they would use them to chart a path to reach the top of Mount Cor, because the mountain would open itself up for Uxie and its siblings and lead them to the summit. His throne, once radiant and where He sat while He created the world with His uncountable number of hands. Mira gasped as she was pulled out of the¡­ not vision, but something akin to it, her head throbbing rhythmically like a heartbeat. "Wait, so Mount Cor would just stop its fuckery if you were there? No time dtion? No moving parts?" That gave them so much less time to work with. The League had been operating under the assumption that if they wanted to get to the summit with good numbers, they would need to spend weeks brute forcing their way up Mount Cor. That changed things and shortened the timeline. Fuck. "Why?" A system built to keep any but the most dedicated worshippers away from His throne, yet able to be stopped with Uxie and its siblings. "Fuck me," Mira sighed. "Fair enough. Could you possibly tell me what Team Gctic''s n once the Red Chain ispleted is? Or when they n to strike?" "Sometimes, they wait. Sometimes, they strike right away. Sometimes, they fail before they get to thekes. Sometimes, they seed and His Creation ends. They do it in numerous ways, and no n is more credible than the other, but I will transfer the knowledge to you." She knew. She knew everything, and her head felt like it was about to burst. It was important to note, though, that for all its power, Uxie was not omniscient and could be caught off-guard. "I have onest question, though, Uxie. How would I kill a true ghost permanently?" Uxie''s lips twitched up before returning to their perpetual frown, and it opened its eyes. There is only one way, and it was to kill them a second time in the Dusk. Finding a ghost willing to do so would be impossible, because they werepelled not to do so by a covenant forged by the first ghosts who ever came into existence, so a human and their non-ghost Pokemon would have to enter the Dusk themselves and do it. "And is there a way to enter the Dusk?" Mira asked, leaning forward. Uxie smiled again. "Only if you are let in by its ruler," it said. "Goodbye, Shard. I can tell you have no more questions. We will be in regrmunication, once you are back. And if what happens during the war to save His Creation proves too much for you,e back and I will fix you." Fix her. Simr wording, there. Mira nodded. Maybe she''d been the choice between her friends for a reason, after all.
Interlude – Number’s Game Interlude ¨C Number¡¯s Game Announcement A/N: Hey, it''s been a while! This is the end of my semester, so I have a bunch of exams. I don''t think there will be another chapter this week as a result. The normal schedule will resume at some point next week.
INTERLUDE - NUMBER''S GAME "Thanks again foring on our podcast, Denzel. Your friend group is tough to get a hold of and has been basically impossible to contact since Sunyshore, but with issues of the raid, that''s understandable," Goald said. "There''s onest question some of our listeners had on their minds before your big day, and that''s if you''re willing to share a little bit of what you''re nning for Byron?" Denzel ran a tired hand through his hair. He liked Andrew, and he was doing him a favor by being here and boosting his numbers, but he was so tired after having trained so much that he could barely stay focused. In all honestly, he felt a little ashamed of havinge here while not having been able to give it his all. It wasn''t like he wasn''t benefitting too. He was wearing his brand new merch, a pretty white and pastel blue shirt with Sylvi and Denzel crouching next to him on it. There were pink ones too, to go with Sylveon''s color scheme, and these two were his personal favorite. Denzel took a discreet breath as he leaned toward his microphone and made sure he was still smiling for the camera. "You know how these things go, Goald. I can''t risk Byron listening in and adapting whatever he already has nned for me. I know there''s been a lot of noise about mecking the firepower to beat him, but me and my team have put in the work to win, and that''s what I''ll show in two days." Archive chimed in. "Either way, it''ll be an interesting fight. You''ll be the second first-year to challenge a Gym Leader for their eighth this Circuit. Barry Lane was the first and secured a narrow win against Candice." "Well, Lauren would have been second had Candice not been so busy up north, but a fact is a fact," Goald agreed before clearing his throat. "As always, we''ll be livementing the battle, so everyone feel free to subscribe not to miss this. Thank you again for listening." Denzel and Archive followed suit, bidding their viewers farewell as Andrew ended the stream. Finally, he stretched, feeling the bones along his back, arms and fingers crack. Sylvi had his ribbons wrapped around Denzel''s legs and was sleeping under the desk after a day spent nothing but training, save for a few eating breaks. "That was good, right?" Archive said. "We beat our live viewer record. Leave it to Denzel to bring in attention." Denzel rubbed his eyes. "It was fun, but I''ve really got to catch up on some sleep. I need to be in peak form, or I''ll battle worse." It was the little things, that added up in battles. How tired you were equaled how quick your reaction time would be. How efficiently you''d be able to keep track of every moving part and catch on to traps faster. Traps that would for sure beid, in a fight for your eighth Gym Badge. Denzel knew that Byron would target his offensive capabilities already. Studying your final Gym without looking at your own weaknesses would be a surefire way to lose. That was, of course, easier said than done, but he had gotten better at it after Sunyshore and luckily, Byron had fewer Pokemon species to pull from than every other Gym Leader, so that put some of the pressure off. "Well, good luck!" Andrew said. "Look forward to the post-battle analysis." "Will do. Have a great night." He hung up and sprawled out on his Pokemon Center chair due to the fact that Altaria would peck at him should he try to get in the bed while she was grooming herself. He had spent nearly thirty minutes daily cleaning up her feathers so the cleaners wouldn''t have to after he left the room, though he knew it could have been worse. The tingles and numbness from his back injury came back in full force now that he was no longer distracted. The pain, too. It could have been worse, he knew. I was lucky. "Finally over," a robotic female voice rang out. "That was boring. They didn''t even talk about me." Denzel turned toward Lopunny, who''d been using a text-to-speech app on her phone. "To their credit, you didn''t have the opportunity to do much against Wake, so it''s been a while since anyone has seen you fight in a serious capacity." Lopunny frowned. "Ban the roof meme." Again with this? It had been so long since Sunyshore, and the joke of her ¡älosing to a roof'' had turned into a popr GIF that had even spread overseas, especially in Kalos, for some damn reason, but it wasn''t that bad, was it? Or¡­ maybe it was. "I can''t ban memes on channels that aren''t mine." "Fuck you. Lovingly." "Sure," Denzel snorted. The normal type huffed, turning away from him while Roserade snickered at the side of the bed. A thorny vine had extended from her flowers, which she was examining with very close attention. It was an attack useful against fleshy Pokemon and one of her favorites, though it would have little effect in the battle with Byron. Either way, Milotic and Fross were in their Pokeballs and thetter would be let out tonight so she could go off and practice what they''d been working on for some final adjustments. Denzel utched his leg from Sylvi''s ribbons and got ready to call it a night, going through the usual routine. Brushing his teeth, going through his new skincare routine, and going over a list of things he could improve on, both in his general life and Pokemon battling. Sylveon''s rtionships with the members of the team hadrgely recovered, though they''d grown out of the crush they had on him save for Milotic. It certainly made training easier and more drama-free, even if the bickering rarely stopped. He supposed it was just the way things would stay, and he didn''t mind it much. Deep down, he knew they all loved each other, even if Lopunny was currently using her phone to make fun of Altaria''s feathers and record her reaction. That gave him an opening to quickly sneak into the bed, though he wouldn''t turn off the lights for a while yet. I haven''t been alone¡­ ever, huh? Denzel thought, staring at the ceiling. Pauline had brought him here, but left to see Emilia right after, and he hoped they''d be doing well together even if he did miss them both. It wasn''t like Emi was really talking to him, at the moment. Though he was technically in the loop, he had never felt more out of his depth than now, with the group fractured and tensions slowly building up. Grace and Cecilia were at the League, which was information he needed to keep private, but he was happy his two friends had finally made up and looked to be having a wonderful time, from all of the pictures they were posting. Never mind that Denzel was a little jealous they got to see the League so early. Mira was difficult to contact as always. Justin and Louis were also in town, but they hadn''t seen each other yet because Denzel had been so busy training, as had Chase¡ª A knock on the door, and voices behind it. Denzel, who had already been about to fall asleep, rolled out of bed with a tired groan. This had better not be a fan. He would smile, sign an autograph and talk for a few minutes, but he wouldn''t be happy about it, especially when he had put out a statement online about not bothering him during these times. Well, he at least had one more day to catch up on his sleep, so talking to kids looking up to him wouldn''t be the end of the world. Craig always did it, after all. Denzel opened the door. "Hello¡ª" "Ah, you''re still awake," Louis said with a thin smile. Behind him were Chase and Justin. "Obviously, he''s still awake, he was just on a damn podcast thing," Chase rolled his eyes. "Let us in, Williams." The tiredness that had seeped into him seemed to vanish. "Holy crap," he beamed. "The boys are all here!" He hugged Louis, patting him on the back and wrapped an arm around Justin''s back and patted it too. "You''re killing me," he groaned. He was as pale as always, and his voice was emotionless, but Denzel appreciated the gesture. "Worth it," Denzel grinned. "Chase, I thought you were training." "You thought I''d let you fight Byron without sending you off? I thought you knew me better than that," Chase said. "Do me a favor and beat him into the dirt, will you?" "I won''t say anything that''ll jinx me. Uh, do you guys want anything?" They all shook their heads, and Chase asked for water, which he promptly gave to him. "How are you feeling?" Louis asked. "Nervous, but not that much. You know, I''ve been trying to go at it with the mentality of it being just another Gym Battle. But enough about that, what have you guys been doingtely?" "Training," Chase deadpanned. Denzel rolled his eyes. "Obviously, dude. Anything else?" "Working out." "Okay, never mind. Louis and Justin?" He knew the two were basically two peas in a pod, these days. Justin was mostly trying to get his feelings back, and at least acting a lot more cooperative than before. Denzel didn''t want to be cheesy and say the cure to Justin''s affliction was friendship, but things were¡­ okay, which was a lot better than before. Denzel recalled his Pokemon before they could annoy his friends, especially Altaria. "I''ve been taking Justin around, mostly," Louis shrugged. "Though he trains a lot more than I do and takes my Pokemon with him to help while I work with Marty Sobieck to see how difficult getting my sanctuary started would be. It''s going¡­ okay. He''s very cagey about it." Right. Grace had given him that name. It was good to see him progressing in his own way, though. You would have to be blind if you didn''t think that he''d given up on the Circuit and was only still going so his Gabite and Bisharp could enjoy a fight. His other Pokemon probably wouldn''t care much about theck of battling. Nales mostly wanted toze around all day, Empoleon was happy so long as his trainer was safe and Vespiquen¡­ well, her mindset was too alien for Denzel to understand. Chase leaned against a wall with his arms crossed close to the door so he would be the first one out when they left while Justin and Louis sat on the foot of the bed and Denzel imed his desk once more. "I keep telling him that another trainer training his Pokemon might as well be useless," Justin said. "But he says it''s better than nothing." "You know, you don''t speak a lot, but when you do, Gardner, you tend to say things that are correct," Chase said. "Well,ing from you, I''ll take it as apliment," Justin said, clearly unmoved. "When''re you guys nning on battling Byron, anyway?" "A few days after you," Justin said. "Louis'' determination is up in the air. It''s a shame I have no one to bet with. ''Will Louis actually battle Byron'' could make me a decent amount of money." They all chuckled at that, which Justin didn''t really understand, but returned the smile anyway to pretend he did. "Chase?" Denzel asked. "I don''t know. But I know that as I am right now, I''m not ready," he said. "You might want to hurry up, or you won''t have enough time to battle him twice," Louis said. "I know what I''m doing¡ª sorry. I just, you know, I want to do it right," Chase muttered. Do it right. For Chase, the battle was a personal one, and Denzel knew it. The problem was mostly about the limit for the Red Chain to bepleted. Who knew how long whatever was going to happen after wouldst? But it seemed like Chase was operating like he didn''t care, or at least like he was putting his vendetta with Byron in a higher priority than everything else, including making it to the Conference. "You guys talk to Emilia and Paulely?" Denzel asked after a pause. Chase snorted, not bothering to answer, but Louis spoke up. "From what I understand, they''ll be spending some time together in Hearthome," he said. "Been a while since it was just them two," Denzel smiled. "I hope they have some fun, at least. I mean, I knew about this, but I was wondering because Emilia and I are kind of fighting." Chase groaned. "Can we talk about anything else than your love life?" "We weren''t even dating¡ª" "Sure." "Well, it''s true no matter what you believe," he sighed, turning to Justin and Louis. "Anyway, I won''t ask you to talk to her for me or anything, but you know, I just wanted to know if she was fine. She met with her parents recently, so¡­" "They were always a piece of work," Justin said. "She''ll be fine, though. She''s stronger than you give her credit for." Denzel''s eyes widened, then he smiled. "Look at you, getting all emotional," he chuckled, pping his back. "You''re killing me," he said again. They spoke deep into the night. ¡ª "Hey. Hey! You''re up." Denzel snapped out of his daze and stared in the Gym Trainer''s eyes. She frowned at him like he was creepy, or an idiot, which he was probably being. It was difficult to get into the right headspace when you were about to start the most important battle of your career so far. Denzel apologized for just staring and quickly made his way toward the arena, each step feeling heavier and heavier as he left the waiting room and climbed up onto his tform. Was it rougher here than the other Gyms? Denzel''s feet didn''t feel like they were t on the ground¡ª gah, he was just thinking to fill in the dead air, wasn''t he? An attempt to quell his anxiety, which had failed miserably. The tform was exactly the same, and he needed to stop being paranoid. Even if it wasn''t it wouldn''t have any effect on the battle¡ª He was doing it again. With a sigh, his eyes scanned the battlefield. Metal. Cragged metal epassing the entire arena. It was a mixture of grey and rusting red, with many hills, holes and small fissures that made it imperative for a Pokemon incapable of flight fighting here to have good footing, at least whenpared to the other Gyms. Denzel subconsciously clenched a fist, his eyes narrowing to find a spot for Milotic to make use of, but it wasn''t looking good. Every time a particrly explosive battle took ce, the battlefield was rebuilt with the same theme, but not perfectly the same. A small ravine that might have been here in a battle he''d watched could disappear the next day and have been reced by a hill. It took a conscious decision, to unclench his fist and grab his first Pokeball while Byron climbed up to his tform, his trusted shovel in hand. All this time, he had kept himself busy with work or training to be distracted enough not to be nervous, but this was it. The eighth Gym Battle. All of his life, he had dreamed of standing here, but now he couldn''t help but feel like he was a kid facing Roark for the first time with only an Eevee and barely knowing what he was doing. No, this is different, Denzel thought as he met Byron''s grey eyes. This was like standing right below a cliff after thinking you''d gotten at least close to the summit and realizing you were nowhere near finished. That no matter what you went through, no matter how quickly you''d grown, the man in front of you had been through more and worse. Byron brought his shovel up to his shoulder and grinned. "It ain''t every day I test someone for their first eighth," he drawled, a bit of his ent slipping through. His voice sounded even deeper than it did on video. It was that way due to lung damage, apparently. "Denzel Williams, for all of your efforts to w your way up here, I congratte you." There was a glint in Byron''s eyes, almost mad as he pointed the shovel toward Denzel. "But. If you want to stand among the best, you''ll have to go through me." A shiver ran down his spine, half excited and fearful, and the anxiety slowly began to leave his body. Denzel took a deep breath, sping his Pokeball tight and returned the smile as Byron enunciated the rules. The words were the same¡ª a six-on-six with three switches allowed, but they felt heavier. The stands were so packed that some people were even standing to take a look at his battle. He was used to this enough to know that there was no way he would spot Chase, Louis or Justin up there, but he knew they were watching, and he knew all of his friends were as well, at least on video. "Send out your Pokemon," Byron announced at the end of this speech. You can do this. "Every battle against someone you can''t roll over will need an anchor," Craig had once told him. "A Pokemon who your strategy will rely on. The key to sess is to create an advantageous situation for that Pokemon to win." "You''re up, Roserade." The tall grass type appeared next to the small pond with her head held high and poison already dripping from her flowers. The acid dug small holes into the metal, though Denzel knew they were not good enough to affect actual steel types with poison yet. Roserade was just putting on a show, and she red up at Byron, who rubbed his chin with an interested look. He was thinking? Why? Shouldn''t he have a counter for everything he brought? Denzel calmed himself down with another clenching of his fist as Byron sent out a massive Ferrothorn. It was cloaked in an armor of hardened steel and covered by sharp thorns. The steel type used its three spiky balls linked to its body by thick vines to move itself in a slow, sluggish manner that Denzel knew meant it wouldn''t be able to dodge any of their attacks. Ferrothorn was one of Roserade''s biggest counters, and but not as big as something like a Skarmory or Forretress. Already, they''d been caught off-guard, but he had prepared for this. "Frenzy nt," Denzel said. Suddenly, grass bloomed in the cracks between the metallic floor, but that was only the precursor to the giant thorny roots as thick as trees that burst out of the ground in their half of the arena. Each thorn dripped with poison so foul purple smoke began to spread across the arena, but that was unfortunately a secondary effect that wouldn''t have much use here. While the forest of thorns grew tall enough to reach the arena''s ceiling, Byron swept his shovel. "Sandstorm, Spikes, Stealth Rocks!" the Gym Leader grinned. The wind picked up as thin particles of sand began to rush across the arena. A few grains at first, but then enough to make him have to squint to see what was properly going on. Ferrothorn began to shed sharp, metallic spikes and rocks from its body, which were then picked up by the Sandstorm and swept across the arena, tearing small cuts across Roserade with the grains of sand. Now her Synthesis is fucked, Denzel thought, but that was fine. Not like he''d expected her to heal for free, and they hade up with other ways to sustain themselves in battle. "Grapple it and keep yourself healthy with Life Dew," Denzel continued. With heavy breaths, Roserade grunted, and a few of the massive thorns lowered themselves to wrap around Ferrothorn. The steel type began to revolve until it became a blur, and its Gyro Ball tore across the Frenzied nts¡ª with difficulty, Denzel noticed with a smirk. The heavy winds from the Sandstorm masked Byron''s orders, though, so he would have to work with his gut from now on. Craig had told him that he had good instincts, so he would trust himself. As Roserade knelt next to the pond and water coated her leaf-like skin, there was a shimmer within the Sandstorm that signaled the use of Iron Defense. Ferrothorn threw itself forward with its three vines, using Gyro Ball to free itself each time it got caught. But they were buying time. "Seed Bomb." From under Ferrothorn''s feet, something exploded, tearing the nearby thorns asunder. They exploded with poisonous gas and liquid that ate at Ferrothorn''s vines, slowing it further as massive bursts of green light and dark smoke overtook the steel type. Denzel had known that Roserade''s specialization in poison would not work in this Gym, so she had worked exclusively on her grass typing for this. The frenzied nts had hidden seeds deep in the ground, ready to explode at hermand. It was only dealing negligible damage, though. Ferrothorn kept advancing, ignoring the chips in its armor as it lumbered forward within the Sandstorm. A sphere of light materialized in front of Ferrothorn as it anchored itself sideways onto one of the thorns, which sagged under its weight. The sh Cannon became a single point and flew toward Roserade with an ear-piercing screech. The poison type was too far away from any hills or rocks to hide behind, so she slid behind a thorn, but they''d both known it wouldn''t be enough. The beam of light tore through the thorn and bore a deep hole in Roserade''s back as the impact threw her away from the water. Then the Pin Missiles came. Hundreds of them, all bursting from Ferrothorn''s body with the Sandstorm seemingly speeding them up as they homed toward Roserade with a keen. It looked like Ferrothorn would keep itself anchored above ground not to get hit by the Seed Bombs from now on. It was more agile than Denzel had given it credit for, throwing itself from thorn to thorn with a gracefulness that betrayed its heavy, lumbering frame. The poison dripping from each spine from the Frenzy nt had little to no effect. "Extrasensory!" Denzel called out. There were too many of them homing in in every direction to dodge. The air around Roserade warped, and both the Sandstorm and Pin Missile were suspended in the air in a bubble around Roserade. The grass type squeezed the air around her and the Pin Missiles exploded before they could hit. Byron''s mouth moved, and Ferrothorn used the opportunity to crawl back onto the floor and get close enough to Roserade that Denzel''s hand almost went to recall her, but not now. Her biggest strength was her survivability, and she could still chip away at her opponent for a while. Ferrothorn nearlynded on top of her with a loud thud as a series of explosions dented its armor. "Slip out! Use your thorns!" Denzel yelled. Another brown, thorny vine dripping with poison slid out of Roserade''s flowers, wrapping around one of the writhing tree-sized barbs so she could pull herself away before Ferrothorn hit her with an Iron Head. She scrambled back to her feet and red at Ferrothorn, whose yellow eyes narrowed as another sh Cannon appeared in front of it. Roserade had pulled herself toward theke again, and so jumped inside of the water to take cover, leaving a cluster of Seed Bombs behind her. The Life Dew took effect again, and the sh Cannon cut across at least fifteen thorns. Does he think she won''t be able to use another Frenzy nt and so is setting up for the rest of the battle? No, no, he''s fucking Byron, he isn''t stupid. Denzel sucked in air through his teeth as he watched Roserade drag herself out of the water. It was poisoned and full of metallic dust, but she was a tough one. They''d long learned to squeeze pure water out of nothing to heal in case Synthesis wouldn''t work. Ferrothorn let out a deep, grinding sound from deep within itself as one of its ws mmed against the ground, leaving behind a tiny crater. The cracks in the floor spread toward Roserade and the pond, only for a blinding light to erupt from the fissure. Denzel groaned, covering his eyes. After blinking away his blind spots, he spotted a light glimmering on Ferrothorn''s body. The steel type grazed Roserade''s shoulder with an Iron Head, leaving her to use a Poison Cutter across one of his viney legs. There was a small gasp in the audience as Ferrothorn lost a leg. Denzel had known this to be possible, but this was a battle, not the raid. Roserade unfortunately had other ideas, and Ferrothorn lost its bnce, crashing on the floor with a soft thud. "Use the thorns!" Denzel quickly yelled. No use crying over spilled milk. A win was a win, even if he hated it and would have to speak to Roserade about thister. Ferrothorn was a grass type, so losing a limb was something recoverable in a week rather than a month or longer, and Roserade had known it too. The Frenzy nts came to life again, wriggling and creaking against the metallic floor they had grown out of. The ones closest to Ferrothorn arched down and bludgeoned the steel type¡ª five, seven, ten at a time as Roserade strained to keep them under control. The Sandstorm was still raging, in fact it felt like it had strengthened slightly despite all the damage they''d caused to Ferrothorn. With a slight nod, Byron''s lips moved and Ferrothorn¡ª the damn thing somehow having excellent hearing¡ª anchored itself in the ground with small brown roots tearing through the metal. There it was. The first rug pull. Ingrain was, for all intents and purposes, basically unusable on terrain this deste. Of course, that was before Denzel had made grass and thorns grow on it. The vegetation began to die, and Ferrothorn''s leg started growing again. What the fuck was that kind of speed? "Poison Cutter! Target the Ingrain!" Denzel cried out. Roserade stopped trying to counter the Ingrain and keep her nts from dying and instead aimed her flowers toward Ferrothorn. The line of poison was as thin as a piece of paper and so quick anything but the quickest of speedsters wouldn''t be able to dodge. Ferrothorn crinkled, the growth of its third arm stopping midway through, but that didn''t stop the steel type from picking itself up and tearing away the roots it had just nted. The Sandstorm was strong enough now. "Weather Ball!" Shards of sand gathered until they coalesced into a boulder, and Roserade sent it flying toward Ferrothorn, who was knocked off bnce again. Another set of seeds exploded under its legs, and just as Denzel felt like he was gaining the advantage again, Roserade began showing signs of weakening. The way her legs shook and how she took a split second longer to take aim with her flowers, or herck of screaming at things. The Sandstorm, Spikes and Stealth Rocks had screwed her. Life Dew had extended the time she''d been able to fight, yes, but the issue was it would never heal as much as Synthesis. Fuck, Denzel sighed as he recalled the poison type. "Battling is, at its heart, a numbers game," Craig had told him during their time in Sunyshore. "Lose a Pokemon and fall behind your opponent without a n, and it bes exponentially more difficult to win. You should always switch rather than hoist yourself to a sinking ship and lose a Pokemon for free, even if it isn''t ideal." Denzel had wanted Ferrothorn to fall to set up an Acid Rain with Roserade so he could fully make use of Fross and Milotic, but the Sandstorm was too powerful to even get a crumb of their influence in there. He couldn''t wait long, either. Ferrothorn had already rooted itself with Ingrain once more and was regrowing its leg. A week? How about two fucking minutes, Denzel internally spat, grabbing his next Pokeball. He''d be down one switch, now, but that was fine. "If you have to switch first, make sure you force a switch back." What he had to do was clear. Altaria emerged in the sky with a sh of red, her mere appearance clearing the Sandstorm around the battlefield like it had never even been there. Still, the Stealth Rocks all mmed into Altaria, who buried herself behind her cotton-like wings to shield herself from most of the damage, and the Spikes ttered to the ground, lifeless. The Frenzy nts drooped against the floor, their poison evaporating into smoke, and the cleared weather revealed that the entire battlefield was nting slightly toward Byron at an upward angle. The Sandstorm had been so powerful it had shaved and eroded the arena, ttening it into a smoother surface. "Hit it out of the sky," Byron said, now that Denzel could finally hear his voice again. "Sing," he countered. The howling sh Cannon cut across the sky in an instant with a blinding light, and Denzel felt the barrier in front of him rattle. Ferrothorn had powered up, but how? Altaria was not the quickest flier, but she was a defensive one. Cotton spurted across her skin and kept her protected from the worst of the attack, though it did singe her feathers. Somehow, she found herself floating even without pping her wings. She was a ball of dense, smoking cotton in the air as her muffled song spread through the battlefield. Denzel''s eyelids felt heavier for an instant as Ferrothornunched a series of seeds¡ª too quick to know which ones they were. Theynded on Altaria''s form and anchored themselves there¡ª Leech Seed. The attack had cost Byron, however. Ferrothorn slumped to the ground with its yellow eyes screwed shut, and Denzel grinned. "methrower!" It was a simple, but effectivemand that would force Byron to either lose or switch. Evidently, he chose thetter, the golden yellow mes simply washing over the iron-rich floor and causing it to glow with a dull red, along with burning some of the thorny vines remaining on the ground. Altaria retracted herself back into her Cotton Guard, floating through sheer force of will. She was a fortress of solid cotton that would not so easily be assable. Byron rolled his shoulders, letting the full thirty seconds pse before he released his Corviknight. The steel type rumbled with a metallic screech, its feathers scratching against each other as it took flight. Denzel had seen Corviknight battle Cece and knew Altaria''s offense would becking here with the way it could reflect any special attack, especially a weak methrower like theirs. That was why he hade with tricks. "Sing again!" "Metal Sound!" Byron quickly yelled. Denzel ground his teeth as the screeching of metal grinding against metal assaulted his ears far louder than any Sing Altaria could bring about. He could almost imagine her being furious in her fortress of cotton, though she was far too focused to let that get in her way. "Moonst, then," Denzel ordered with clenched fists. If Sing waspletely countered, then they had this. Without Altaria needing to even rear her head out of her cotton, a small moon materialized in front of her that burned with golden mes so bright it made the sphere look like a sun. The moon rotated upon its axis, summoning more and more mes that scorched everything its light touched. It was slow to move and had no other effects, but Corviknight squawked in pain and it wasn''t even near the Moonst yet. Byron did not bother speaking, instead, the raven soared high in the sky away from the burning moon as blue mes overtook its entire body. The steel type spun until it was only a blur, bearing down toward Altaria like a missile. The Moonst would serve them well while it was there, but it would not be enough, especially when Corviknight had ess to Roost. But so did they. "Tighten ranks, then methrower," Denzel said again. Cottonpacted again until it became as dense as stone, and Corviknight crashed into Altaria like a burning meteorite, the force being enough to send her flying back. Still, it had not been enough to prate the Cotton Guard. The dragon type bounced against the barrier and tried to sneak in another Sing, but Corviknight was quick on the uptake and screeched again. They weren''t going to slip one past them, it seemed. They''d gotten some distance now, but Corviknight hadn''t actually ended the Brave Bird. It continued chasing after Altaria, who peeked her head out to release more golden mes toward Corviknight. They simply bounced off of it toward the ground, burning more of the remaining thorns. Denzel was sure they were at least causing damage, but he feared it wouldn''t be enough. They were both incapable of taking each other down quickly. The only question was who would blink and use Roost first. That was the only opening where Corviknight wouldn''t be able to use Mirror Bounce. The raven crossed paths with Altaria''s Moonst, and she triggered the explosion early. The attack copsed in on itself like a dying star and exploded with enough pink, neb-like gas to fill the entire arena. It was mour, and it was scorching hot. Altaria was safe and sound behind her Cotton Guard, but Corviknight felt the strain of fighting inside an arena that must have been in the hundreds of degrees. The metal glowed red and became slick, but it did not actually melt below them yet, which wasn''t ideal. Corviknight needed tond to use Roost, and Denzel had thought that could have been a trap to force Byron into another switch. Unfortunately, Corviknight just crashed into Altaria another two times, bouncing her around as if she was weightless, like they were ying fucking pinball. She was hurtled into the barrier once more, and then toward the scorching metal on the ground and her feathers caught fire. That had not been a part of the n. Denzel bit his tongue, but he didn''t panic. "Safeguard." A green hue appeared around Altaria, and the mes winked out of existence before they could destroy the Cotton Guard. Corviknight opted tomit to the attack anyway and stabbed its shining, elongated beak deep inside of Altaria. Denzel heard a small, muffled cry from her, but he was certain they could take many of those if needed. The fact that Byron had honed in and nearly shut down Denzel''s entire strategy sent goosebumps across his arms. "Commit." It was a simple order from Byron, but it sent a shiver down Denzel''s spine. Corviknight squawked, his extending his enormous wingspan as he glided through the sky, slowly speeding up until the air warped around his form. What the hell didmit even mean? "Moonst again!" Denzel cried out. The moon was slower the second time, given that it was a move they''d learned recently, and Corviknight just tore through the nascent golden orb without a care in the world for its melting tes of steel. The explosion caused Altaria''s feathers to catch on fire again and started melting the metallic ground, but this time Corviknight stuck to her, and Denzel finally understood. Byron was either nning on having Corviknight take Altaria down with it, or he was betting that Corviknight wouldst longer than her under the intense heat of the arena. His lips suddenly felt very dry as Corviknight and Altaria both crashed against the ground and he heard the irritating raking of the steel type''s body against the ground and near the now-evaporating pond. Altaria had her Safeguard up behind her Cotton Guard in an attempt to stamp down the mes so they didn''t spread, but it would only be a matter of time until something gave, and it was helping Corviknight too. And Corviknight''s body was starting to glow. It was using fucking Roost. Sucking air through his teeth, Denzel called out. "Astonish!" For the first time since she hade out, Altaria''s Cotton Guard went down fully. Purple shadows swirled around the dragon type''s head and neck, and she mmed it against Corviknight, causing a dull ng. The damage was pitiful, but it was enough to temporarily stun the steel type and Altaria wasted no time gathering more golden mes within her beak as her Safeguard went down. Her wings were still on fire, but she screamed in defiance, her stare turning into a piercing re as the giant stream of mes broke against Corviknight''s tes. They''d been regenerating from the Roost, but they started melting again like wax. Altaria kept the methrower going as long as she could, but Corviknight wasn''t frozen for long. A brutal sweep from its wing mmed Altaria''s head and cut off the methrower, then it ced a talon over the dragon type''s neck and kept it stuck to the ground so her skin could burn off. Denzel winced as she screamed in agony, though that screech turned to a Disarming Voice that bought her a second. A second was enough to slip out of Corviknight''s grasp and st him with methrower again. "Focus," Byron said. Their relief was short-lived, and talon met neck again. Corviknight was relentless, cutting across Altaria with sharpened wings over and over. If only Dragon Pulse and their other dragon techniques they''d used against Wake worked well here¡­ but they were unfortunately very restricted. The burning went on for at least thirty seconds, and Astonish and Disarming Voice wouldn''t work a second time¡ª not when they''d been focusing on other attacks this entire time. Fross could potentially deal with Corviknight, but she''ll be needed for the rest of the fight. No one else can deal with it like Altaria can. It fell onto her to finish this, then. There would be no switching. Denzel met Altaria''s eyes, and with that came a deep understanding. "Moonst." The order was barely a whisper, but it didn''t matter if Byron figured it out or not. Either he would order Corviknight to stay and they would go down together, which meant Byron was nning on it either way, or they would give and retreat, which would allow Altaria time to Roost. Denzel''s mind raced in a thousand different ways, but his gut told him this was correct, and so he watched. The sun¡ª the moon was golden and mes flickered across its surface as it appeared in the midst of Altaria''s choking cries, melting the steel right below it into a puddle of red metal. Byron said nothing, and Corviknight''s red eyes just stared as its ting liquefied and began to drip onto the floor. For ten seconds, there was only a silence heavier than any pressure Denzel had felt beforeing here. Then the Moonst exploded in a light show of pink and golden mes. "Both Altaria and Corviknight are unable to battle! As the Challenger used a move to self-knockout, he has to send his second Pokemon first!" the referee said, still a little dazzled by the lights. Her eyes were staring upward, and not at the smoldering, unconscious bodies of Altaria and Corviknight. That was a fine development. A sacrifice Denzel was willing to make, if it meant he could stay up to par in terms of numbers with Byron. The problem was that he couldn''t be equal, he needed a push and to get the advantage. Somehow, he would have to break through the wall. Both he and Byron recalled their Pokemon, and Denzel decided to make full use of his time to think. It couldn''t be Roserade. She was too tired and still resting. Fross would do horribly in such a hot environment, and he needed Milotic toe in first to make full use of her, so it had to be either Lopunny or Sylvi. This Gym was Sylvi''s weakness exemplified, but¡­ Lopunny would be needed against whichever member of Byron''s personal team he would use. His mindset had changed, since Sunyshore. He was not sending out a Pokemon to lose and to do as much damage as possible before going down, no, that was a fool''s way of thinking. Each Pokemon had a role to y and needed to find a way to maximize their use. Sylveon materialized onto the hot ground, the metal burning through the mour shielding on his paws as his ribbons turned to zigzags. The Spikes and Stealth Rocks harmlessly bounced off his hide, but they couldn''t get overconfident. "This''ll be tough," Denzel warned. "I believe in you." Sylveon turned back toward him, and there was a flicker of love in that stare before it returned to the empty, soulless one that he liked to have whenever he fought something, and a Wish emerged from his forehead, flying high into the sky and beyond the confines of the Gym. What would it be, Byron? Denzel thought as he stared at the Gym Leader with a clenched fist. Not Ferrothorn, that was for sure, but¡ª Byron released a Metagross out of an Ultra Ball. Its blue, metallic body was pristine and glimmering slightly in the golden and pink lights. Its red eyes locked onto Sylveon like a robot, and it began to levitate without Byron''s word, lifting its four legs across its body and using maism to float. Denzel knew about it. It was a Pokemon Byron was training to be a member of his personal team, not unlike Wake''s Pfin. And it was so smart and ruthless that Byron barely ever bothered tomand it. Amon denominator among most Metagross owners. It was, however, also newly-evolved and not impossible to defeat. Denzel''s jaw clenched, but Sylveon wasn''t nervous, so he had no reason to be. Byron slung his shovel over his shoulder and ordered Metagross with one word. "Begin." Another Sandstorm instantly materialized, whipping around the arena with a powerful howl, picking up the Spikes, Stealth Rocks and shards of metal that had broken off the arena. Thankfully it wasn''t as strong as Ferrothorn''s, but it was still annoying and they''d work to destroy Sylveon''s shielding twice as fast. "Light Screen and Hyper Voice!" Denzel called out. A thin barrier shimmered around Sylveon as he opened his mouth and screamed so loudly that the Sandstorm around him weakened and stopped. His voice was infused with fairy TE thanks to Pixte, and it reverberated far. Metagross was already gliding down the now-sloped arena, sticking close to the ground and going faster than Denzel would have given it credit for, and the steel type groaned with a vibrating trill as it crossed the Hyper Voice''s threshold. Denzel''s throat tightened, as did his fists as Metagross'' eyes glimmered with the intent to kill. It wasn''t real. It was just Scary Face, but it felt real to him. Sylveon froze too, and the Hyper Voice momentarily ended and allowed the psychic to speed up. Metagross spun like a spinning top as light coated its fists, and it rammed into Sylveon''s hide with its full weight. Before the fairy type could fly off like Altaria had with Corviknight, a tight, psychic bubble wrapped around Sylveon, no doubt slowed thanks to the Light Screen, but not enough. Before Metagross could hit Sylvi with Metal w again, Denzel spoke. "y Rough!" It had been half instinct, half desperation¡ª which he hated, but the strategy itself was sound. Sylveon''s ribbons did not change in shape, but there was a slight blur to them as they grew and mmed against Metagross'' tough hide and managed to dent it. They were each heavy enough to bludgeon through steel thanks to Sylveon''s belief, and Metagross was actually caught off-guard. There hadn''t been much footage of what Sylvi was capable of, with the way he had barely fought against Wake and Denzel had stopped streaming his training. The fairy type scrambled to his feet, bleeding from his side as his ribbons batted away at Metagross as if they were independent entities and not a part of a whole. Each impact was louder than thest and sapped Metagross of his will to fight, slowly but surely. Each dent in the metal, each ng, they got closer to victory¡ª Metagross grunted, and all of Sylveon''s ribbons froze in ce, and his Light Screen was systematically dismantled in front of his eyes. The Sandstorm broke through the vacant space and started battering into Sylveon''s hide. One of the fairy type''s eyes twitched when the Psychic moved onto his brain, but pain was not something that had worked to stop Sylveon from attacking in the past, and it wouldn''t start now. Before Denzel could even speak, Sylveon screamed with a Disarming Voice, allowing him to slip free for a second. "Hammer Arm," Denzel blurted out. Multiple ribbons tied into a knot and struck down on top of Metagross'' head like thunder. Cracks spread through its entire body and the steel type crashed against the ground, its hide fusing with the molten metal on the ground. Sylveon did not normally learn Hammer Arm. But Sylveon''s ribbons being so heavy and him already knowing Double Kick had made the transition easy. Byron bellowed augh while Metagross picked itself up and used all of its legs to jump to the left, but a ribbon Sylveon had wrapped around its leg pulled him back, somehow managing to wrest something over a thousand pounds like it was a toy. With a nk stare, Sylveon wrapped more of his ribbons around Metagross until they were one, and the fact that he was injecting the steel type with calm meant that every movement in an attempt to fight back was sluggish. Byron hade thinking that Sylveon would lose in a melee, but he couldn''t have been more wrong. Melees were where Sylveon thrived. With its arms tied down, Metagross opened its maw and an instantaneous sh Cannon snapped into ce. The light wailed as it enveloped Sylveon''s entire body and disintegrated thest of his mour armor. But that didn''t mean another Hammer Arm couldn''t blow Metagross apart. This one was aimed for one of Metagross'' leg joints, and for a second Denzel felt like he was watching Grace fight. Metagross let out a vibrating snarl, managed to wrest an arm away with Sylveon focusing on destroying his other and a wed Meteor Mash dug into the fairy''s side. This time, Sylveon groaned, but the Hammer Arm still struck true. In the middle of a raging Sandstorm and standing on molten metal, both Pokemon hit each other at the same time. Sylveon slid back, his fur a ckened, smoking mess as he bled from his side and nose. Metagross clicked in irritation, its leg bent wrong and unable to move properly. Sylvi''s Wish bore down from the skies and healed him some, though that Meteor Mash had done some serious damage. "I told you you were growing too confident," Byron cackled, twirling his shovel on the floor. "Try again." Metagross groused loudly as it started hovering over the ground again. Walking had never been a part of its strategy, but that was still one less arm it could attack with, even if it had been an ident, and the Ma Rise was a lot shakier than it had been thanks to its shape now being uneven. Sylveon shook his entire body and somehow stared down at the Metagross, his eyes shining blue through the Sandstorm, even if he was a lot smaller than the steel type. Thank Arceus this one is weak enough to hear Byron, Denzel thought before remembering that the Gym Leader wasn''t even speaking. Metagross was smart, but it was apparently prone to mistakes due to overconfidence. That wasn''t really a weakness Denzel thought he could exploit, at least not without having nned beforehand. Sylveon put his Light Screen up again and started another Wish as he circled around Metagross. They were running out of tricks to sap his will to fight, but they still had one more. "Moonst." This one was smaller and quicker than Altaria''s and within two seconds, it had already formed. The Sandstorm itself seemed to weaken around the moon and Metagross just stared, wobbling slightly in the air. "Now Hammer Arm!" Denzel called out. Sylveon''s ribbons turned into knots and grew heavier as they shone bright white. His Moonst wasn''t so much offensive-based as it was a way to leave his opponents open to further strikes, and Sylveon jumped with a spring in his step, allowing Denzel to see the way his feet werepletely burned to shreds. By the time Metagross realized what was happening, it was toote for him to dodge¡ª A hit faster than Denzel could see buried itself into the fairy''s chest and sent him sprawling on the molten floor. It was cooling, slowly but surely, but it was still scorching hot and more bits of Sylveon''s skin and fur burned to a crisp. How? Metagross rushed in with an amusedugh, three of its fists coated in metal. Denzel''s mind raced in a thousand different directions, yet none of it beyond Metagross pretending to be entrapped by the Moonst made any sense. That meant Byron had prepared a way for Metagross to resist Moonst, but hadn''t really known the extent of Sylveon''s other tricks. Sylveon barely managed to drag himself away from the Meteor Mash, though he couldn''t avoid the swing from the other arm and Denzel heard a sickening crunch of broken bone. With a frustrated cry, Sylveon called upon his Moon and motioned it toward Metagross. His was among the quickest Moonsts he''d seen, and it mmed into the psychic''s back with an explosion that had him frozen again. "Go in!" Denzel yelled. "Shadow Ball!" His instincts carried him, screaming at him that this was real even though his head was cursing the decision. Sylveon limped toward Metagross and into the pink dust as he gathered a sphere of squealing shadows in his mouth. His control over them had long been fixed, and the Shadow Ball screeched, tearing through the air until it hit Metagross square in the face. The moon itself hadn''t been enough, but the explosion and release of apathy had been. Sylveon kept going, mming heavy ribbons into Metagross'' wounded legs with savagery Denzel had rarely seen. The impact from the Shadow Ball had been enough to snap the psychic back to reality, and thick, psychic energy wrapped around each of Sylveon ribbons as soon as it managed to focus. "Bring it down," Byron said. Another Meteor Mash finished the job, and Sylveon fell before his second Wish coulde into y. "Sylveon is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your third Pokemon!" the referee said. Damn it, Sylveon had done so well, and yet it hadn''t been enough. Denzel had believed the win to be possible until the end. Still, not all was lost. Metagross was a shell of what it could normally do when it wasn''t wounded. It was recently evolved, so it was inexperienced and one of its legs was fucked. Metagross would either fall here, or Byron would waste one of his switches. The teenager ran a hand through his brown hair and then rubbed the back of his sweaty neck. Both Ferrothorn and Metagross are fucked, so it''s not as bad as it looks. Rx. He found himself taking deep breaths that had him realize how dry his throat was. Well, it was time to implement his n. Milotic''s scales burned when the water type appeared, though they were tough enough to resist the fading heat. The Spikes and Stealth Rocks from the Sandstorm chipped away at him, but it was nothing he wouldn''t be able to work through. Had Roserade been able to set up her Acid Rain, then Safeguard would have been able to protect Milotic from the poison and he would have been able to manipte the water regardless. Enough of it, and even steel would corrode. Unfortunately, it had to be this instead. "Rain Dance," he called out. Metagross'' Sandstorm hadn''t been as strong as Ferrothorn''s, and he was weak enough by now that the darkened clouds weren''t hampered. There was a boom of thunder as the rain began to fall and flood the field, though it would all gather toward Denzel''s side because the Sandstorm and melting of the metal had kept nting the arena toward him. Which was perfect. Arge body of water on their side of the field was exactly what Milotic and Fross would need to make this work. Metagross'' Ma Rise was wobbly because of its unfolded, wounded leg, but it still gathered electricity around all of its wed fists. The air filled with the smell of ozone, even through the barrier, and Denzel realized that this was possibly among the most powerful Thunder Punches he''d ever seen, rivaling Grace''s Electivire. Had Byron known I''d use Milotic to fight Metagross? That hadn''t been in the videos he had studied¡ª There was no time for Aqua Ring or Coil, they had to attack. "Scald! Burn it!" Denzel ordered, pointing at the approaching hulk of metal. Foam formed in Milotic''s mouth until it burst toward the Metagross in a wide cone that grew the further it traveled. Powered by the rain, the foamnded all over Metagross'' body and made the steel type grunt with what Denzel figured was a mix of annoyance and pain, but it was still . "Twister!" Denzel added. In a single moment, the Scald turned to a boiling tornado that trapped Metagross. The steel type floundered in the water and desperately tried to dispel it with Psychic, but to no avail. He was too tired. The mix of water and draconic energy stretched until it reached the barrier''s ceiling, tearing through the dark clouds from the Rain Dance and mixing with electricity from the natural thunderstrikes. Metagross gathered a sh Cannon that heated up the Twister further, and it burst through the tornado, hitting Milotic directly in the face, but it wasn''t enough. The Twister ended twenty secondster and left Metagross unconscious. The Sandstorm ended with a whimper, leaving Milotic with full control of the weather. "Metagross is unable to battle. Leader Byron, send out your third Pokemon." Looking mighty pleased with the battle so far, Byron grinned and instantly grabbed his next Pokeball. Ferrothorn appeared again, which Denzel had known woulde. After all, the grass type was a heavy counter for Milotic, even when hurt, and he could regenerate with Ingrain if given enough time to breathe. What he hadn''t expected was for Ferrothorn to already be awake¡­ and again, he cursed the fact that Byron''s experience afforded him so many techniques that he had no idea how they worked. Ferrothorn''s third leg was still a stump, but it was experienced enough to walk on two, and it would only take a singlepse in attention for it to regrow. Or maybe not, now that Roserade''s Frenzy nt was all burned? Still, he didn''t want to take the risk. Ironically enough, Sylveon''s Wish entered Milotic''s body again, but it barely did anything, with how little that sh Cannon had done. Denzel was wary, still. Ferrothorn had shown itself to be more powerful than it seemed against Roserade, and upon warning Milotic about it, the water type shared his hesitance as he stared up at the inclined field. "Sandstorm, then get in close and Leech Seed. We need to take away any means of recovery." So that was the n, then. Negating Recover and Aqua Ring with Leech Seed, the Sandstorm, Spikes and Stealth Rocks. Damn it, he was really well-researched in what would fuck him over. Before Byron had even finished his sentence, the Ferrothorn had already willed the Sandstorm into existence. Both it and the Rain Dance battled for influence in a maelstrom of loud wind and roiling thunder, but it was the Sandstorm, that would eventually win out. Still, the Rain Dance would help, but with the Sandstorm came Byron being inaudible again. "Aqua Ring and Coil!" Denzel yelled through the wind. Milotic had already been doing this, but it felt reassuring to be able to say the obvious. Ferrothorn crawled down the slope that had be the arena, anchoring each spike ball deep in the metal so it wouldn''t slip down and fall. That would have been far too convenient, and given the fact that it had swung from thorn to thorn, it was adept at maneuvering in every direction. Ferrothorn crinkled and ejected Leech Seeds at speeds that shouldn''t have been a thing. The seeds arced through the air, and somehow the Sandstorm stopped being a mess of wind in every direction and pushed toward Milotic. The water type slid back down the nted arena, but a yell from Denzel had him slither away and narrowly dodge the first volley. It would only be a matter of time until theynded, though. The Aqua Ring hade immediately, with thin bands of fluorescent water spinning around Milotic, but Coil? Coil was a moreplicated affair. Ferrothorn wasn''t giving them time to settle down and use the move. "Fuck it, use it!" Denzel ordered. Milotic sang, its body wrapping around itself with a bright glimmer in the middle of the Sandstorm, and four seedsnded on his body, growing thorns that wrapped around him like a vice. Halfway there¡ª Byron said something, and Ferrothorn dropped on the ground and began to slide down the arena. The raking of its sharp spikes against the ground broke through the howl of the Sandstorm and Denzel nearly covered his ears. He was faster this way¡ª in fact, it was faster than it had ever been. Was that why Byron had made the Arceus damned slope in the first ce?! All the work Roserade had done to cut off its leg had been rendered null. Shit. "Ice Beam!" Denzel yelled. In normal, non-fucking Sandstorm circumstances, Milotic would have been able to freeze Ferrothorn where it stood thanks to the rain, but only Fross could work through the miserable tempest. Milotic screamed out a beam of icy blue, which Ferrothorn dodged by dragging itself to the side and continuing on its slide down. Two of its massive legs glowed neon green, and Denzel''s nails dug into his palm. It can''t be Twister, not with the Sandstorm being so powerful. Scald, then. "Scald!" He''d said it before he finished thinking. Milotic screamed out a widening stream of boiling water that spread just like before and coated every inch of Ferrothorn''s body. When the grass type reached him, it suddenly lifted itself up on its spikes again,ing to a screeching halt before using its half-grown stump to hit Milotic in the neck with Power Whip. Milotic''s head was thrown back by the attack, and the Scald went high up in the sky. The Power Whip itself bounced back slightly thanks to the Coil, but it was still Ferrothorn''s most powerful move and it showed. Milotic''s scales peeled off from the impact, and Pin Missiles burst out of Ferrothorn''s body, converging toward the now-exposed flesh. The water wasn''t high enough yet for Milotic to retreat and he was too useful to give up on now. Denzel didn''t want to switch, but there wasn''t much to be done here. Ferrothorn cracked another Power Whip on Milotic''s forehead as the Pin Missiles dug into the water type, who could only helplessly retaliate with Ice Beam, and while the attacks did hurt Ferrothorn, it would oust him by far. They werepletely outmatched. Denzel couldn''t believe he was having more trouble with a Ferrothorn than with Metagross. He recalled Milotic, though the Rain Dance would stick for a while yet. They''d trained and learned about using the weather from Wake, and Milotic''s influence would remain in the battle. Denzel waited thirty seconds for the rain to continue to build up, and then released his Fross. The ghost smiled, letting out an ethereal giggle hidden behind her hand as she flickered out of existence and left behind four clones using Double Team. Rain turned to frost around her, but she did not call forth a Blizzard or a Hail, because she needed the water to be in liquid form for future fights. And it would all be for this. Rain falling around Ferrothorn condensed to ice and began to slow freeze the grass type where it stood. Ferrothorn attempted to crawl away and back up the slope, but Fross was everywhere, yet she was also nowhere and unable to be seen, though he knew the Sandstorm and shards of rock and metal would quickly take its toll on her. "Confuse Ray!" Denzel ordered. Her four clones, who were now hovering in each corner of the arena waved a hand, each summoning one light that seemed to dim the world around them. The spirits were a silent hum andpletely under the ice type''smand as she sent them forth with another nonmital wave. With Ferrothorn slowed and freezing in ce, getting him confused would be easy¡ª Fuck! Ferrothorn spun, bing a ball of glowing light and destroyed all of the ice around itself. From the shadows, Fross gathered more frost from the raindrops and formed them into spikes that dotted the entire sky. Byron spoke, and the entire Sandstorm ended instantly, leaving only rain and ice in its wake, and somehow, Ferrothorn sped up again and weaved out of the way of the Confuse Rays at thest fucking moment. Then, it fucking clicked. It was a grass type, so a Sandstorm of this caliber would obviously slow it down, damn it. Denzel wiped the sweat off his forehead and leaned against his knees. Don''t panic. Don''t get angry. That''s a fool''s errand. "Keep the Confuse Rays on it," he quietly said, letting his throat rest from all the yelling. "Add some Will-O-Wisps to the mix, and keep pestering it with ice. Hex if it gets burned." That was a lot, but Fross was up to the task. Ferrothorn was no longer dealing damage with just the Sandstorm, now, and it was just desperately dodging. Two of the Confuse Rays disappeared screaming in agony and were reced by a set of cold, purple mes that began to chase down Ferrothorn, and constant shards of ice battered against the steel type''s hide. If it keeps dodging, I''ll have to give it up and use Blizzard to freeze the entire damn arena. Not yet. Both Denzel and Byron were silent for a while as the two Pokemon danced around the arena, and it was clear Fross was winning even when holding back from using Blizzard. Freezing an enemy in ce using the rain might not have worked against Ferrothorn, but it would work against anything without Gyro Ball or Rollout or some other simr move. They couldn''t get close, not when the steel type knew Knock Off. Ferrothorn fired off multiple sh Cannons to take down Fross'' Double Teams instead, but they just reformed immediately. Finally, a Confuse Ray managed to enter Ferrothorn''s body, and the followingpse in movement allowed Will-O-Wisp to do the same. Fross materialized a few dozen feet away from her opponent, holding out a hand to create a Hex as the air around Ferrothorn froze in ce. The steel type tried to thrash around, but its better judgment was gone, now. "Ferrothorn is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your fourth Pokemon!" Arceus, that had been hard. Never would he have thought that thergest roadblock so far would be a Ferrothorn. Denzel restrained an excited smile. He was one ahead and down one switch, but the math dictated that was a somewhat equal situation, and he still hadn''t seen which one of Byron''s actual Pokemon he would be facing. Denzel ran a hand over his upper lip and pped his cheeks to keep himself alert. "You''re doing well," Byron dered. "Now let''s keep going." Denzel returned his grin, and the Gym Leader sent out a Probopass. The rock type''s turrets stuck close to his body, and instantly, it whipped up a Sandstorm again. Denzel hadn''t known how much the Stealth Rocks, flying spikes and shards of metal had screwed his Pokemon over, but he was starting to realize that he basically had no counters for it beyond Altaria, and he had sacrificed her. Shit. The Sandstorm was just as¡ª no, slightly stronger than Ferrothorn''s, even, and Denzel could barely see anything beyond the sandy pool of water Milotic had created with Rain Dance. "Will-O-Wisp and Confuse Ray again!" Denzel yelled. Once more, the Double Teams summoned the mes and the lights, but Probopass wasn''t idle. Its turrets spun around it and there was a deep, reverberating hum that Denzel somehow heard through the storm. He squinted, noticing the grains of sand near his side of the barrier slowly shift. Clumping together one by one until they grewrger andrger¡ª as big as small pebbles, then rocks. The howling of the wind stopped, and instead, what they were left with was a geomaic storm. It was fucking raining rocks, and these were more than the asional Stealth Rocks or Spikes. They were , and exclusively controlled by Probopass. Thousands of them, at hismand. "Target the Double Teams," Byron ordered. The teenager blinked as rocks all over the arena swarmed toward each one of Fross'' clones, destroying them in mere seconds. The Sandstorm, they could resist, but this? The clones disappeared, and with them went the Confuse Rays and Will-O-Wisps, kicking and screaming. That n was moot, then. Fross'' real body phased back into the world high above Probopass and only slightly below the now-fading rainclouds, her hand outstretched, and rain crystalized into ice with continuous cracks around the rock type. Both its turrets fired some kind of homingser, but it was nothing Fross couldn''t dodge. She was slippery, fading in and out of the world and leaving only ice behind her. Probopass'' hold on the rocks grew sluggish, but it was still there, and each hit actually dealt significant damage to Fross whether she was visible or not. Denzel considered having her go in and Confuse Ray, but he knew Probopass knew Discharge, and it was always nearly instant. Creating one of the strange lights while she wasn''t in the world was tough, so they wouldn''t be able to take it by surprise, either. "Icicle Crash," Denzel muttered. He had to keep the flow of the battle going. From the muddyke pooling near Denzel''s side of the arena, spears of ice rose and blurred in the air, flying toward Probopass with a loud whistle. The rocks clumped and gathered in front of Probopass to shield it, but Fross waved a hand and shadows overtook the spears. Their paths did not continue naturally. Instead, they went straight up and hit Probopass'' back, which was still unguarded. Thank Arceus for that idea, Barry, Denzel sighed. "Lock On and Tri Attack, mes only," Byron smoothly continued. While it was controlling the rocks? Denzel''s eyes narrowed, and he kept an eye on the floating rocks. They grew slow, but the ''storm'' itself did not abate and kept hitting Fross wherever she stood. Three blue mes roared to life, two near Probopass'' turrets and the other in front of its nose, and the steel type let loose a Tri Attack that was worthy of a methrower. It reminded him of the way Cecilia''s Zweilous used tobine their Incinerates to keep up power-wise, and it fucking worked. The sheer amount of heat created rising mist from the almost-exhausted rain clouds and the fact that the attack grazed Fross chipped away at her too. She groaned, capturing some of the mist and reforming it into beams of ice that melted before they could get anywhere near Probopass due to the continuous stream of mes. Fuck it, Denzel thought. All or nothing, even if Milotic''s strategy will be ruined. There was no point keeping to a n if it would lose you the battle. Adapt. "Blizzard." The world turned white in barely a second. The ice swallowed the mes like a gust of cold wind would do to candlelight, and Probopass drowned under its colossal weight. Tons and tons of snow, hammering into the world with Fross at its center, untouchable. The patter of the Probopass'' rocks hitting the barrier was good news, because it meant the electric type might be losing control, though Denzel didn''t know if he was just getting ideas or not. Thirty seconds, and Denzel called out for Fross to let the Blizzard down. The entire arena was coated in a deepyer of snow, theke frozen, and the clouds from Rain Dance having exhausted themselves¡ª The Sandstorm was still active. A thin, green barrier shimmered with Probopass at its center. Protect¡ª crap! And the rock type didn''t look tired at all and had kept his rock storm going during its use. So not only did Probopass counter Fross'' Double Team and could weather her down and scrape her raw with this advanced Sandstorm, but their ace in the hole, Blizzard, was also a no-go? And he had altered the terrain in a way that would make Milotic far less useful after spending so much time creating ake for him¡­ shit. "Lock On and Tri Attack again!" Byron yelled, pointing forward with his shovel. "Blizzard!" The wind whipped up the snow, including the existing one and created an even stronger Blizzard this time. Denzel didn''t know if he could oust Probopass in a battle of endurance. While he believed that to be his team''s strong point, this was Byron he was talking about. He could at least render the mes useless and give himself time to think. The arena was sloped even further now, at a nearly forty-five-degree angle up toward Byron, and the Sandstorm had eroded at the ground so much there was only a massive cliff in front of Denzel. Arceus, if it still had water things would have been so perfect¡­ "Fross, can you hear me?" Denzel tried. He wasn''t sure that she would be able to with the Sandstorm working against her, but a cold feeling creeping up his fingers confirmed it. "You''re going to dispel the Blizzard, and as soon as Probopass pulls down his Protect, you¡­ burn it with Will-O-Wisp. Confuse him if you can, too." Another beat of cold to confirm, and Denzel could only feel the exhaustion seeping into his bones. The way his back pounded and hurt, the way he struggled to focus. Him! This was what he did best, and Byron was still beating the concentration out of him through sheer skill. He couldn''t give, not now. The Blizzard winked out of existence, and as soon as Probopass'' Protect went down, Fross appeared behind him and summoned a Will-O-Wisp. Byron called out, and the steel type erupted with a powerful Discharge that forced Denzel to cover his eyes, but the metallic grunt from Probopass that followed was a good sign. Fross flickered in and out of existence, her body smoking as she lowered herself to the nket of snow she''did down with her two Blizzards. "It''s tired," Byron said. "Tri Attack." There was a sharpness to Probopass'' eyes that hadn''t been here moments earlier, and the three mes hurtled toward Fross, who swept her tired arm and created a thick sheet of ice and frost from the snow. Angling it with the arena''s angle was tough, but she managed to adjust it and the mes mmed against the ice. It was only a matter of time until they melted, but it was actually the rocks from the Sandstorm that finished Fross off. Denzel would have switched her out earlier, but the problem when you were behind in those was that using them willy-nilly was not a luxury you could afford, especially when a massive threat was still waiting in the wings. Craig''s advice had been sound, but even he had moments when he let a Pokemon go down because he needed to keep the others healthy. "Fross is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your fourth Pokemon." The good thing was that Probopass was hurt and burning, the purple mes clinging to its metallic skin with the usual screeching. Denzel sighed and grabbed his next Pokemon, though he obviously waited the full thirty seconds because he''d be a fool not to. Roserade''s hurt, Milotic''s an option, but Probopass knows Thunderbolt and Discharge, plus the terrain is awful for him. Lopunny¡­ Probopass can float high enough to negate her entirely. Roserade, then. The grass type wasn''t fresh by any means, and Byron ordering Probopass to instantly thin out his Sandstorm back into small grains and shards of rock and metal meant that it would ck out any light the poison type could make use of to use Synthesis. I can''t waste the precious little energy she has left on Frenzy nt, Denzel quickly thought. It''ll have to be just attacks. No fancy techniques. Roserade''s Pokeball bled red onto the snow, and she seemed quite surprised at the state of the battlefield. In fact, she nearly tripped from standing at such a steep angle out of nowhere, but her grip on the snow helped her catch herself. "Seed Bomb." Now that the Sandstorm was an actual storm again, hearing Byron would prove impossible, but that was fine, or at least Denzel thought so. He''d seen all of Probopass'' gimmicks and knew he would attack with Lock On and Tri Attack. Roserade aimed up with a lethargic motion that had Denzel worried, but the seeds that machine-gunned out of her flowers in rapid session reassured him plenty. Roserade triggered some of the explosions early with the precision of a surgeon to disperse the mes from Tri Attack before they could reach her and the rest exploded on top of Probopass, chipping his tough, rocky armor. Byronughed, which was really weird when Denzel couldn''t even hear him, but then he said something else, and both of Probopass'' turrets just¡­ up and left, floating in different directions until they reached behind Roserade. They were going to attack in every direction, he instantly knew. "Rain Dance!" Denzel cried out. If she was going to get burned, then she would at least lower the damage. The clouds were thinner and slower toe than Milotic''s, but they did the job and rain began to fall, dotting the entire snowscape Fross had built before freezing, because it was cold in there. Fross couldn''t create such powerful Blizzards without letting the conditions stick, and the temperatures were definitely sub-zero. An Acid Rain might have stuck, but that would just waste her precious energy. The next Tri Attack was dull and slow¡ª a bright red with a twinge of orange instead of the brilliant blue it had been before, but Roserade was still engulfed by the mes. But still, she stood. The bombs did not stop. In fact, some were infested with Stun Spore or Sleep Powder too, something she had worked on, but that Denzel thought she would not have been ready to use before the Conference. Probopass hovered higher and higher in the air as its turrets kept blowing mes at Roserade and it reeled from the burns, drowsiness and paralysis, but she would be able to reach it wherever it went, because she didn''t give up. It was then that Denzel decided to gamble. To let her keep pushing in hopes that she would win. Roserade screeched in the same way she had done as a young Budew he had caught all those months ago with fire in her eyes that was her own. She got down on one knee, her leaves burning to a crisp, but she still kept using Seed Bomb. It was Probopass'' turrets that went down first, then the actual Pokemon a few secondster. While the referee announced for Byron to send out his fifth Pokemon and the Sandstorm abated, Denzel instantly ordered Roserade to use Synthesis. The thing about Byron was that while he was good at using Sandstorm, he was no Wake with Rain Dance. The weather always changed back seconds after his Pokemon fainted. Roserade''s form was a mess of burning leaves and flowers, but light spluttered out of her as she groaned, and Byron caught on immediately, sending out a tiny Mawile so quickly his hand blurred. "Taunt!" he yelled. The Synthesis stopped, and Roserade''s intense stare turned into a re full of ire. She slowly stood, her wounds barely having healed and aimed toward Mawile with a single hand. Leaves surrounded by every color burst out of her, and all flew toward the small steel type. "Crunch," Byron added. "Then Sucker Punch¡ª" "If you can hear me, use Stun Spore!" Denzel desperately yelled. Mawile turned around, revealing her huge mouth with rows upon rows of sharpened teeth wreathing with darkness. The mouth opened, drooling all over the floor, and snapped around leaves faster than Denzel could follow with his eyes before blurring toward the still-enraged Roserade. Mawile mmed her mouth into her gut and sent her sprawling on the snow, her body unmoving beyond the smallest of twitches. "Smoothen the floor," Byron said. "It''s time." Denzel blinked, ready to grab Roserade''s Pokeball, but it was then that he noticed that the Rain Dance wasn''t stopping. It was weakened, but not gone, and both Byron and the referee probably thought that she was like Milotic and could keep it going for a while after fainting. But she was not. There was a sudden quake below the ground as pink dust spread from Mawile, roiling and spreading throughout the snowy field. "Roserade is unable to battle¡ª" "Life Dew! Use the rain!" Denzel screamed. They''d never done it before. A Rain Dance that weak wasn''t enough water to heal a Pokemon, and half of the raindrops were frozen before even reaching her. There was a slight glow to Roserade as she rose with slow and deliberate movements that made her look like she was onerge breeze away from copse¡ª no, she was. Byron looked genuinely taken aback, and with Mawile having retreated far away to pull whatever mour trick she was doing, they had an opening. "Leech Seed," the teenager breathed out. If they could get it tond on Mawile and keep regenerating with Life Dew, they were squeezing water out of a stone. With half-opened eyes, Roserade coughed up smoke and lobbed a seed toward Mawile with a precision that betrayed her state. Now, Mawile could either dodge and interrupt whatever their n was, because it looked big and would take a lot out of it, or it would turn around and use Crunch again, in which case the Seed Bomb Roserade had no doubt hidden in the mix of Leech Seeds would explode in there. He didn''t like it, but he was in an Arceus damned knife fight, here. There could be no holds barred, or he would just lose. What now, Byron? What Denzel hadn''t expected was for Mawile to bear with and take the attack. Some of the seeds wrapped around the steel type, while others exploded, but the ground kept¡­ shaking. Rearranging itself. Smoothen the floor, Byron had said, but what for? How would he use this to his advantage? Both of Mawile''s mouths screeched as she finished spreading mour throughout the floor, and Byron cracked his neck. "methrower." Mawile turned her back to Denzel and Roserade once more, and now he knew their luck had truly ran out. Roserade went down before the golden mes even reached her, even if they were so weak that they didn''t even melt through Fross'' snow. The referee eyed Roserade as if she expected her to rise again, and Denzel couldn''t help but smile. She''d done the team proud. "Roserade is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your fifth Pokemon!" It all came down to this. One switch left, with Lopunny and Milotic bothpletely healthy even though thetter had fought a little. Denzel gulped with a sound that was caught in his microphone and recalled Roserade as he mulled over his options. Keeping Milotic in the back would be smarter, given the fact that the temperature is slowly rising and he''d be a little constrained right now. Worst-case scenario, I can swap. Lopunny it was. Denzel released the normal type onto the snow, and just like Roserade, she was surprised at the slope. "We both have two left," Denzel quickly warned. "y it safe." Her feet, her hands and her ears lit up with Power-Up Punch and she warily stared at Mawile, slowly climbing up the slope. The Stealth Rocks and Spikes had been folded into Probopass'' special Sandstorm, and so they weren''t into y any longer. "You''ve done well, Denzel Williams." Denzel swallowed again and felt goosebumps on the back of his neck. "It''s been a valiant effort, and you and your Pokemon have impressed me time and time again," the Gym Leader continued as he grabbed his Pokeball. "Be proud. You''re strong." Lopunny kept prowling her way up the nted battlefield, slowly finding her footing. She was not used to fighting in such an incline, and it would be difficult for her to be at one hundred percent. Milotic too, though thankfully they had the snow to anchor themselves on and worse-case scenario, Milotic would be able to use hydrokinesis to lift himself even if it was still crude¡­ "But your true test begins now." Mawile retreated into her Pokeball, and out went Byron''s sixth. Bastiodon. The steel type''s colossal formnded atop the snow with a deafening, heavy crash. It boreyers uponyers of scars from old battles and was Byron''s oldestpanion. Deep gouges ran on its hide and thin ones on the massive shield that was its head. Bastiodon''s battle-hardened eyes scanned the battlefield, and it acknowledged Lopunny with a tired grunt. "Show me that you are worthy," Byron said with a maddened grin. "Show me! Brimstone, clear the snow with Metal Sound!" Denzel shivered in excitement. It was like electricity had jolted him awake. Bastiodon. Him! He returned Byron''s grin andughed. Bastiodon¡ª Brimstone opened his mouth and screeched so loudly that he blew the snow around him away¡ª back toward Lopunny. The normal type shielded her ears as best she could as the sound itself brought her to her knees. Brimstone pushed the snow until it was all gathered in the lowest point of the arena, leaving behind steel so slick that it was like it had been cleaned and polished. Mawile''s work, no doubt. Lopunny began to slide back toward the pit while Bastiodon somehow stood on it like it was normal ground, and it was then that it dawned on Denzel how much of a long-con Byron had been ying and how fucked the situation was. All the time he''d spent chipping away at the arena with Sandstorm after Sandstorm. Slowly bringing it to an angle that was now forty-five degrees, all for Bastiodon to have this much of an advantage. For a second, as Brimstone gathered a huge sh Cannon in his mouth within seconds, Denzel felt like he was falling. He grabbed onto a metaphorical ledge and kept himself from panicking. "Climb up! Punch through the floor with Power-Up Kick!" Denzel called out. Lopunny threw herself to the side, but the sheer heat from the stray light had her catch on fire, and that was with Bastiodon holding back. The normal type flexed as Agility loosened her movements and she began her climb, each step puncturing through the steel and allowing her to step closer. Bastiodon''s stare sharpened, and Byron ordered a Curse. Shadows poured out of every inch of his body and the weight of the dead began to press down on him, but his defenses would be improved. That meant that Lopunny would be thwarted. The normal type managed to dodge another two sh Cannons despite being on fire, each step working toward getting her used to this footing. "Good, good!" Byron eximed. "Brimstone, Metal Spikes!" Out of the smooth metal, Bastiodon tore and molded spikesrger than Lopunny herself, and she started zigzagging to not get hit and thrown back into the snow below. One hit from that, and a lot of her bones are broken, Denzel thought with a clenched fist. "Shadow Ball!" he called out. The least they could do was something while Lopunny tried to climb up there. The darkened spheres were thin and unruly, but they would do the trick. Bastiodon had essentially turned itself into an unassable turret, but an unmovable one. Most of the Shadow Balls were blocked by the spikes bursting from the ground, but the ones that did hit didn''t even make Brimstone flinch. Expected, but still disappointing. There were more sh Cannons and more spikes, but Lopunny was faster. She spun to the left, her leg digging itself into the ground as she ducked and another burst of metal grazed the top of her head. "Bounce!" Denzel ordered as soon as she slipped away. Lopunny jumped, leaving behind tworge holes. She ascended like a meteorite, her body wreathing with mes, and another gust of air pushed her toward Bastiodon. "Counter!" Byron yelled. "Fuck! Readjust¡ª" Bastiodon''s head glowed as the steel type squared itself, but Lopunny never didnd her kick on him. She outstretched her ears, and another gust of air carried her behind Bastiodon, where she quickly scrambled to her feet despite the sliding. Bastiodon screamed with Metal Sound again. It was the grinding of rusted gears, the sliding of metal against metal, and Lopunny was so close that it was debilitating to her. A spike burst out of the floor below her and hit her right in the stomach. The tips were blunted so she wouldn''t be impaled, but it still hurt¡ª She wasn''t knocked away. She held on, her Powered-Up hand and fingers digging into the metal. Her body jerked around like a rag doll, but she was still there. "Do it," he whispered. Lopunny jumped on top of Bastiodon and started to ride him. Every second, she struck his back with abination of Power-Up Punch and Fire Punch, and she was still on fire. Bastiodon let out an annoyed grunt as the strikes dug into the exposed skin on its hide, and the grunt turned into another Metal Sound. Lopunny gritted her teeth and kept going. "Shock Wave!" Byron yelled. Electricity poured out of Bastiodon''s skin, and Lopunny tried to fight through the spasms until they grew out of control. Just a little more. Build up your strength a little more¡­ he considered switching, but that would reset all of what Lopunny had gained through Power-Up Punch and Milotic would do terribly in an environment like this. Denzel felt like the wind was at his back, pushing in his sails and a win was achievable. But he couldn''t grow too overconfident. No, not when there was so much on the line. He let Lopunny punch Bastiodon and had her mix in the asional Drain Punch until he recalled her and sent out his Milotic. There was no point sending him out high up on the slope, considering he would just slide down and get shot by Bastiodon''s sh Cannon. "Rain Dance and try flying like you did against Wake!" Denzel said. He knew it would be more difficult here, since there was no ample supply of water to draw from, but his own could work. It was the way Cynthia''s did things, after all. Clouds gathered over the skies as Bastiodon began shooting out electric attacks, this time. If there was one thing old timers like Brimstone had, it was coverage and the way they could so expertly use it. And they could do it, he knew, just not quickly enough to avoid any of Bastiodon''s attack, so it was a risk he was taking. A thinyer of water wrapped around Milotic. "Keep low to the ground. Hydro Pump as you climb," he added, for good measure. The burst of water that came out of Milotic''s mouth was so powerful the edges turned to foam. It dented the iron spikes that Bastiodon had raised¡ª and he was standing in a forest of them by now¡ª and it managed to work its way across the sloped field and right on Bastiodon''s head. Finally, the steel type actually sounded like he was in pain, and the rain wasn''t helping its predicament, though the wet ground was helping Bastiodon spread its Shock Wave throughout the field and asionally hitting Milotic. "Keep your distance and let yourself heal with Aqua Ring and Recover. He doesn''t have the range to hit you with spikes from here," Denzel said. "Slide," Byron simply countered. Just like that, Brimstone uched from his spot and started to slide down the metal. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Denzel''s nails dug into his flesh as he scrambled for a new strategy while Milotic kept hitting Bastiodon with Hydro Pumps that met its shielded head. Water was beginning to pool down again, but it wasn''t enough to make use of. Twister would be less useful than Hydro Pump, and Bastiodon was too heavy to pull any tricks that way anyway. Bastiodon reached a screeching halt in the middle of the slope as this time a Thunderbolt ransacked through Milotic. Recover and Aqua Ring wouldn''t be enough to bear through the damage, so they had to find a way through now. "Brine!" Raindrops turned to sharpened spikes, but the majority of them bounced off of Brimstone''s armor while a few buried themselves in his brown hide. It wasn''t much, but it was something. Milotic''s body shimmered in his water as he Recovered from another Shock Wave, and Byron switched things up with a sh Cannon that nearly evaporated all of his water and had him fall onto the ground and roll down¡ª He¡ª He had it. "Water! Spit out water!" While Milotic slid back down on the slope, more and more liquid water slipped through the creases in his scales and soaked the ground even further than the Rain Dance had, and the water type pushed himself with a Dragon Pulse to dodge another Thunderbolt. Since Brimstone was now in range, he tore up more spikes in an attempt to block Milotic''s path, and the water type got pushed up into the air by another one, though he barely managed to keep still and catch himself with hydrokinesis. Denzel noticed his Recovers were getting slower and his Aqua Ring duller. Even though Byron was keeping his Bastiodon to three rtively simple attacks, he was awful to fight. "Ice Beam! Freeze the ground below his feet!" If Brimstone could navigate the terrain they''d created, then they needed to take that away from him. Milotic groaned when a burst of electricity hit him, but he countered with three arcs of cold ice that coated the already slick metal in ice. Bastiodon began to slip down, and Milotic traced a path all the way down to Fross'' snow which had slowly been melting to some kind of slush as the temperature returned to normal¡ª "Block and Heavy m!" There was the sound of chains, but they were nowhere to be seen. Milotic froze mid-air, as if he was being held by something and kept there, and Bastiodon''s slide had the steel type pick up more and more speed. With the weight from Curse, this is¡­ this is¡­ there was a Metal Sound that had Denzel cover his ears with a wince, and the ice in front of him cracked, allowing him freedom of movement and he steered toward Milotic, who had ced himself low to the ground because of Denzel''s orders. Bastiodon hit him head-on. Milotic was thrown off into the sky and hit the barrier right in front of Denzel with half of his scales caved in. The teenager blinked, notprehending what had just happened as he took a step back and the referee''s voice asking him to send out hisst Pokemon faded in the background. His hand slowly reached Milotic''s Pokeball and before he realized it, it was tightened around it so much his palms hurt. Was he fucked? Bastiodon slowly climbed back up to the arena''s halfway point, sliding backwards through the slick metal and avoiding every spire he had raised without even having to look, and Denzel leaned forward to get an angle to recall Milotic. Arceus, he was going to be so apologeticter¡­ "It''s not over," Byron said. "It is not, so you should stop behaving like it is." He knew Byron was right. He didn''t answer, but he knew. Bastiodon had taken many water type attacks and Power-Up Punches, and while he was Byron''s starter, he wasn''t invincible. Denzel''s team was good enough to be here, and their moves hurt. Victory was still achievable, but it would be tough. Mawile was healthy, but Lopunny was, too and the steel type had been hit by Leech Seed. Lopunny would have to do it alone, and Arceus damn it, he believed in her. Denzel rolled his tired shoulders and sent out Lopunny again at the bottom of the field. There must have been a reason Byron had used Block against Milotic only and not her, and it wouldn''t be as simple as ''he''d been put into a corner''. No, Block was usually a move on the weaker side of things that people didn''t use at this point in their careers, and he had never seen it be used at a distance like this without any physical contact between the two Pokemon. No, there was a zone the Block would affect, and because Milotic was slow, he was trapped. Lopunny was quick on her feet and had a plethora of fighting type moves, which meant she was good at fighting TE and would potentially break out. "You''re thest," Denzel said. "Agility." Keep yourself thinking. The normal type punched the air as her hands, feet and ears burst with light, and she dashed up the hill, speeding up in the process. Each one of her steps took her longer and longer until she was a blur, since she had previously adapted to the state of the battlefield. At a distance, they would lose, and horribly, and they had Bounce to close they gap when they got close enough. This time, Lopunny managed to give the blinding sh Cannons a wide berth that only singed the edges of her fur instead, and Bastiodon was constantly screeching to slow her down with Metal Sound. Eventually, the spires came into y, but Lopunny was at the top of her game. It was like she was dancing, with how fast she was spinning around and dodging everything. "Bounce and High Jump Kick. Aim for the back so he can''t Counter." Lopunny left behind a crater when she jumped. She soared through the sky, spinning until she extended one of her feet and blurred forward with a gust of wind so powerful it was the only thing Denzel could hear. The angle was good, the speed was too quick to be interrupted by Block, and she wouldnd right on top of Bastiodon''s body¡ª Byron recalled the steel type, and Denzel''s heart sank to his stomach. Lopunny tried to salvage things. She tried tond in a way that would still have her standing, but she was too fast. She crashed into the metal floor and crumpled as she clutched at her leg with a hiss of pain. Byron released Mawile, and Denzel knew it was over. The steel type finished Lopunny off with an Iron Head to the face. "Victory to Leader Byron!" It was¡­ over. There were almost no cheers from the spectators, just solemn pping. A person losing their eighth badge fight was always respected. It was over, he repeated to himself, and so quickly, too. One second, he''d felt like he was on top of the world, and the next, the rug had been pulled from under him and it was done. Denzel recalled Lopunny and sniffled, somehow deciding now would be a good time to cry about it. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes as he stepped down the tform, and he was thankfully good again. It wouldn''t do his reputation any good to be caught crying just because he lost. He spared Byron one more look, but the Gym Leader gestured at him toe, walking toward him at a brisk pace. Denzel raised an eyebrow and wondered what that was all about, but he listened and followed suit. Byron was a few inches taller than Denzel was, and his burgundy hair looked even more unruly from up close. "You fought well, kid!" he yelled, pping him on the shoulder. Not the back, thank Arceus. "You trusted yourself throughout that entire battle until the end. It was a mistake with a heavy price." Denzel frowned. "The end? You mean High Jump Kick?" "No, no. I mean when you switched your Lopunny for Milotic," Byron exined. "All of your Pokemon are nasty pieces of work, but she was best equipped to finish off Brimstone with Power-Up Punch, and you let the opportunity slip you by." "Shit¡­" He had ovepensated. "At least that''s what I believe," Byron shrugged. "No need to look so down, kid. Iron out your strategy, train a little more, and challenge me in two weeks. You''ve got what it takes." "I¡­ I didn''t think you would switch, there," Denzel muttered as if that mattered. In almost all of his Gym Battles, the Gym Leader hadn''t made use of all of their swaps, after all, and he expected Byron to be no different. Byronughed. "This is the eighth badge, boy. There''s no mercy in it." Right. Obviously, if he messed up, Byron would punish him. He wouldn''t just not use his resources and let him win. Denzel sighed and turned away from the Gym Leader. "I''ll be back," he said. "Let''s enjoy another battle, you and I." Denzel walked out of the Gym with his head held high and a heart full of regret.
Chapter 289 Chapter 289 Announcement Normal schedule resumes on the 22nd!
CHAPTER 289 It was myst day together with Cece. Come tomorrow morning, she''d be Teleporting back to Pastoria and me to Jubilife, so we''d wanted to enjoy as much time together as possible, as we had throughout the week. She''d gone to pick up supplies for our impromptu pic we''d decided on when traveling the edges of the ind to get me used to walking again, but since the entire League was a no-fly zone and traveling in the skies with groceries without Princess'' fine psychic control was a recipe for disaster even if we did get permission to fly, it would take a while for Cecilia toe back. In front of me was a massive cliff that overlooked the ocean, and I could see Sunyshore in the distance, the city overtaken by a pale, blue hue because of how far it was. The smell of the salty air filled my nostrils, and the soft sound of the waves battering the rocks below felt somewhat soothing. Rxing, even. I was a little sad this would all end tomorrow, though there was part of me that said I deserved that. All of my Pokemon were with me, save for Princess and Honey who were still at the Pokemon Center back in the city. Sweetheart had to be told a thousand times that she shouldn''t cannon ball down into the cliffs below because it wouldn''t end well, even if she''d gotten better with Surftely. Still, she loomed over the edge with Sunshine by her side, who was telling her that the entire world was theirs to conquer. The dragon type would often look back at us, or more precisely at Mimi with a suspicious eye. He still didn''t trust them, considering what their previous form had done to us, though instead of being rude, he mostly ignored them and brushed them off whenever they tried to approach. Mimi was far too curious to let that stand in their way, however. It wasn''t really my ce to tell Sunshine not to feel like this¡ª we were all still shaken by the near-death experience in that sinking building. For the first time, my team had watched me give up and prepare to die, and they wouldn''t recover from that for a long time, but it was worse with Turtonator. He was a dragon, and my decision had been antithetical to who he was. So yeah, things were a little awkward between us, and I was still figuring out how to fix it, because apologizing and saying I wouldn''t do it again wasn''t working very well. For all dragons and fairies disliked each other by instinct, the fact that they both held grudges was undeniable. They just had¡­ different ways of going about them. He thought me weaker, now. Maybe I was. I bit my bottom lip and watched Mimi silently munch on a metallic screw with an eerie silence. Snacks were one of the few ways I''d found to distract them from their lust for exploration. They were still being hidden, so I couldn''t have them wander around aimlessly, even with Buddy or Angel there to watch over them. The former had actually plunged into the ocean below earlier, which was why Tyranitar had wanted to follow him, and Tangrowth was too busy observing the new baby of the team. Thest time he had tried touching them, Mimi had squealed in displeasure and tried to eat his vines, which despite them being too weak to do what Melmetal was capable of (the metal hadn''t even managed to burn through one inch of Angel''s vines), it had sent a good message and now the poor grass type was considering how to approach and trying to quell his jealousy of Jellicent being allowed to approach Mimi at the same time. You are sad about the Enforcer again, ydol chimed as they hovered above me. Analyzing potential methods for mood elevation. Suggestion: engage in recreational activities or share positive experiences with us. Please confirm desire for assistance. The psychic blinked, one of their six eyes focused on Sunshine while one was staring intently at Angel, and the other two at me. They were getting tutored by Slowking in the realm of barriers and offensive psychic powers and making good progress in that regard, though they were still confused about Gym Battles and the like. Angel squirmed, apologizing that he''d been too focused on Mimi to figure out that I was worrying about the ''enforcer''. Meanwhile, Jellicent was advisor. ydol had plenty of denominations to hand out to the others, because calling out people in my ''court'' by name was wrong, ording to them. "I''m fine, thanks," I smiled thinly. "It just reminds me of how we used to be, him and I. Or maybe that''s an exaggeration." ydol hummed in affirmation, returning his full attention to thest Pokemon in our posse. He had kept an eye on Cecilia''s Hydreigon at all times. The mass of scales and muscle hovered a dozen feet or so away from us as he tried to keep his hands under control. Zolst was a lot smarter than he had been when his consciousness had been divided in two, and despite there being lingering wrath at the edge of his skin ready to be triggered at the most minor of inconveniences, and him having red eyes full of anger and continuously twitching, he was also kind of cute, in a way. Every time I looked at him, I couldn''t help but imagine him wearing little hats and bowties on each of his heads. Cecilia had left him here for us to bond with him, but only Angel and Sweetheart had done any talking, and it hadn''t gone well due to how out of control his hands were. Their eyesight was really bad, so theyshed out at every movement they noticed and tried to bite at it. People kept saying they weren''t sapient, but I''d be a fool to deny that they could feel things. "Actually, ydol, Angel, what do you think about putting hats on Zolst?" Bringing two masses of vines together, Tangrowth pped as his eyes shifted into a smile. Hydreigon possesses a triadic cranial structure, therefore enabling amodation of three hats, the psychic answered. This is a wless n, my King. "So we''re all in agreement," I said, grinning. I was wearing the sun hat that Mira had given me for my birthday in Sunyshore. I grabbed the hat and felt at the straw with my hands, feeling the sun bear down on me and the wind kick up my hair and dress. "Why don''t we give it a try. Mimi? Are you up for it?" Beside my thigh, the steel type let out some kind of metallic burp, a dissonant symphony of chimes as they patted their stomach. Eating metal always made them grow slightlyrger, though they''d return to their smaller size after an hour or two, which I assumed was¡­ digestion? Either way, Meltan agreed with our ploy, and I carried them in my arms as I stood back up. My ankle was doing very well, and in another two weeks I''d be able to walk without a crutch, but my fingers still hurt almost as much as they had the day Lou died, and that was fine. Good, even. Mimi crawled onto my shoulder, pretending not to be scared of the huge dragon we were approaching while ydol whispered some threat assessment into my mind that I''d long learned to ignore for friends, and Angel skipped ahead of us with cheerfulness that was infectious and kept my mind off of Lou. Hydreigon growled as he turned toward us, hands snapping ahead. Even if he recognized me, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and scanned my other Pokemon. Mimi squealed, instantly wrapping around my neck and transforming into a ne that looked more like a thick, neck torc than anything else, as if Zolst wouldn''t be able to tell they were a Pokemon. We were still working on her disguises, though a bracelet worked the best for now. "Zolst. Sorry for bothering you and your¡­ hands," I hesitated before presenting the hat to him. ydol threw a fit when one of the heads nearly chomped my hand off. "You see, since you aren''t busy, I''ve had this idea of you wearing this hat¡ª" The dragon''s nose red in indignation, and he told me to go y my childish games somewhere else. "You know, before your evolution, you would have eaten the hat instead," I faked-sighed. "Now look at you, all high and mighty. I have to say, it does fit you, though." Angel happily nodded, trying to sneak in a headpat that was instantly burned by a stray embering out of the left hand. A wave of hot air mmed into my face, and I squinted until something shimmered ahead of me and the temperature returned to normal. Apologies for dyed barrier implementation, my King, ydolmunicated with aicallyrge buzzing sound and erratic patterns in their eye. "Nah, you''re good. Zolst is a friend¡­"'' I didn''t finish my sentence, because apparently me saying that Zolst''s new look and temperament fit him had pleased him quite nicely, which was why one of the heads had managed to sneak in a stream of fire in the first ce. And yeah. Hydreigon could purr. Granted, that purr would no doubt have countless trainers shake in their boots if they weren''t used to it, and it was more of a growl than a purr one would expect from a meow, but there was no mistaking that pleased daze, his wings undting as one and the slight amount of drool dripping from all of his mouths. "Hey, if you don''t like the hats, maybe you''ll like hanging out with Sunshine and Sweetheart instead. Seems like you''d mesh well and¡­ share your strategies about world conquest." Hydreigon let out an agreeing grunt, his still-clumsy flight causing him to knock into Angel, whose vines drooped at him being ignored. I grabbed one of his vines, almost forgetting not to press my hands as tightly as they would wind and instead caressed him. "You''ll make friends too, no worries." I paused as more vines wrapped around my legs. "He was easier to approach when he was a little dumber, but under there, he''s still a kid, you know? Try praise, next time." Mimi unwrapped from my neck, sliding down my arm in liquid form as they sent waves of assuredness at me as if they hadn''t been terrified. I patted their golden gear with a finger and returned to the picking nket Cece had bought us. Even so, Tangrowth made a bed of vines for me because it was a lot morefortable and what I''d grown used to throughout the months. A message from my Dad buzzed on my phone, and I confirmed that I''d be there tonight after I made sure that Princess and Honey had been correctly transferred to the Pokemon Center closest to our apartment. I wasrgely cured of my mercury poisoning, but Princess was still struggling, and so was Honey with his hand. They''d recover, of course, but¡­ Arceus. It was so much, still. I flicked another screw toward Mimi to keep them from wandering toward the ocean while ydol told Angel one of their many stories¡ª this time a child''s tale about the life of an iron ore, first melted into steel to y its foes, then a shield to protect his user, than as support for one of the homes closest to the King''s castle. The moral of this tale was that our true purpose may evolve and change as we journey through life. Beyond Lakhutia''s obvious obsession with iron, it resonated with me some. Or maybe I was just trying totch onto anything that made a sliver of sense. There was a pulsating throb in my fingers. A call to action. Better distract myself with something, I thought, grabbing myptop. "Hey, Angel, how do you feel about being on typing duty?" The grass type eagerly nodded, and I had him look up Denzel''s Gym Battle again. The loss had been a close one, which I knew could feel so much more crushing than there having been a wide gap. My best friend had progressed leaps and bounds and pulled tricks and moves out of his sleeves that I knew would be too much for me, and at this point I wasn''t sure if I''d win against him in a straight-up six-on-six. And yet it hadn''t been enough. There wasn''t a lot of training time left, and Honey wouldn''t be able to participate in the fight before the Red Chain. The decision to make, then, was to try to figure out if I could still win in spite of that with ydol. Yes, my King? the ground type said when I stared up at them. "Don''t worry about it, it''s nothing." Acknowledged. Honey not being there screwed with my ns for Rain Dance and Thunder, though Buddy was good enough with learning despite beingzy with training most of the time for me to be confident he''d be able to learn it if he needed to. ydol''s offensive powers would be nowhere near good enough to break through Byron like I was nning on doing, but that didn''t mean they would be useless. Lingering barriers like Slowking was capable of and manipting the ground could have me shape the arena just like I wanted to, and they were already good at that despite not even having Ancient Power yet! The knowledge was just prebuilt in their head! ns would have to be adjusted. One could not just transnt a strategy that had been made to work with a different Pokemon and hope for the best, and already, it was taking shape in my head. But, Was it feasible? I moistened my lips and let the first thought that came to my head answer. Yes. Feasible, yes, but harder, especially when Byron would know ahead of time about ydol. Honestly, maybe I just wanted to get a normal fight again. A good old six-on-six without lives on the line, just my Pokemon and I having fun instead of having to fight tooth and nail to hope to survive the next five minutes. Training was nice, but it wasn''t real. It didn''t get your blood pumping as a real battle did. There were no stakes, Pokemon held back, and most of all, you were fighting yourself. And if I was being honest with myself, the feeling of having to wait for however long I''d need to and keep my team ready until Team Gctic was dealt with (meaning I wouldn''t be able to challenge the Gym) would have me feel like I was falling behind, and I hated despite knowing how childish it was. Already, Lauren and Barry had won their eighth¡ª the former just two days ago with a better performance than Barry, and it was at times like these that I regretted never fighting her. We weren''t rivals per se, or at least we wouldn''t be until the Conference, but I had still looked up to her for months and wanted to reach her level. I would have watched her fight more than the twelve times I''d already done so, but Byron was the one I needed to study. She and Barry were undeniably more talented than I was. "Looks like I''vee back at a bad time," Cecilia said. "Is everything okay?" I hadn''t even noticed her sneaking up on me. "Thinking about choices," I muttered, turning toward her¡ª "Holy, you got so much." Slowking was carrying the majority of the groceries, though Croagunk carried a bag on her head, bncing it with a careful arm. Cece wore one of her many high-waisted skirts, this one with a id pattern, and she paired it with a fitted, tucked-in dark top that gave her a chic look. "Well, our Pokemon have got to eat, don''t they?" my girlfriend yfully noted. Her eyes drifted across the cliff, where she saw Hydreigon hanging out with Turtonator and Sweetheart. "I knew keeping him here was a good idea." Slowking coughed, cing every bag down on the nket. Talonme''s idea, the psychic corrected. She still hasn''te back? I scanned the horizon. "Nope. She could be above, like, Veilstone, for all we know." "She''lle back," Cecilia said. "She always does." Since Talonme had broken the sound barrier, she had learned to enjoy flying above Sinnoh on her own for hours on end and letting the wind carry her¡ª Cece''s hand touched my cheek, turning my face as she leaned in to kiss me, and, uh, wow, that was still as amazing as the first one, huh? Better, even, but less clumsy. My heart still fluttered in my chest every time our lips touched, despite having dated for months. "Want anything to drink while Slowking, Angel and I prepare sandwiches?" she asked, slightly out of breath. "We brought drinks." "Whatever juice you have, queen of my heart," I teased her. As it turned out, ydol''s designation had stuck thesest few days. Well, teasing wasn''t really right when she owned it and flicked her hair back. Legendaries, what I''d give to see her shy and flustered again like those first few weeks. Angel jumped at the opportunity to help with the food while Sweetheart started looking back from the cliff over and over, knowing that she''d get fed soon, and Hydreigon drooling was difficult not to notice. "You were looking at Byron again?" Cece said, unpacking the groceries. Ham, bread, butter, cutlery¡ª where had she gotten cutlery? Had she asked in one of the Pokemon Centers? Actually, I didn''t even want to ask. "Find something to exploit?" "Mostly, I was trying to figure out if I should challenge him before the Red Chain or not," I muttered. Red Chain. The words had weight to them, and everyone within ear-shot save for Mimi froze for a moment before returning to what they''d been doing. Croagunk had decided to wander off toward Sunshine, who had been helping her train recently, and Cecilia released Scizor to join her. Turtonator admired anyone''s desire to get stronger faster, and she certainly had the drive. Lehmhart was next, of course, and Sweetheart challenged him to a fight right away¡ª a fight that we had to stop before this entire cliff copsed into the sea. Instead, he decided to wander off to look at the Lilies that the League was full of and named after, each of his steps shaking the earth. "Well, that depends on how many days you have," Cece hummed. "I''d give myself a week''s buffer so my team could get healed¡­ just in case." I pulled on Mimi''s tail so they wouldn''t stray off the nket while they ate their screw. "That''s doable, and it wouldn''t have to be rushed. I think that at this point, if ydol is brought up to speed, a win is doable if I don''t fuck up." Cece unwrapped some ham. "Well, that is a given. It is not power or experience your Pokemon would becking, that''s for certain, but you have to think about how Byron will counter you as well." I nodded. "Hmhm. I mean, I already figured out that he''d pull out unexpected stuff, but what else am I weak against?" nning had always been my forte, and even if I''d gotten good at improvising when things went off the rails, Denzel was far better at it than I was, as was evident in the video currently ying. But the Gym Battle couldn''t just be that. There would be more to it. "Well, I''d say there are issues of tunnel vision," Cecilia said. "What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curious. "You usually go all in on something," she shrugged, producing around a dozen packets of cheese. "What kind of cheese do you want? Roquefort goes really well with this." "Uh, Cheddar." An amused look passed over her face. "Come on. Take a risk for the first sandwich, at least. Remember when I had you taste¡ª" "Okay, yes, a thousand different things that I ended up liking. Point taken," Iughed. ydol somehow scanned through the cheese and detected that there were ''no poisons'' in it. "As I was saying¡­ you hone in on one n¡ª likeva with Volkner¡ª and then you look at the variables¡ª the points of failure that you might be able to salvage by looking at the pool of Pokemon avable to that specific Gym Leader, and it''s worked out so far, but¡­" "But?" "This is Byron, and this is the eighth Gym Badge," Cecilia dered. "You''re exclusively known for your nning, but what if everything you nned is rendered null within, let''s say, the first Pokemon? Your entire strategy copses in front of you, and you''re scrambling to pull something together for the rest of the fight? By the time you''ve figured something out, you''re half a corpse bleeding on the floor¡ª behind in swaps, Pokemon, and even if you try to w your way back to a win, swinging, thrashing, screaming, at the end of the day, you''re cornered. Nervous. You start losing your cool, and you slip once, twice, thrice until you''re right at the edge of the cliff and you can''t afford to slip anymore and I have you." There had been something in her sharp, brown eyes, when she''d said this. A predacious, hungry look that told me she''d imagined this before. It was, um, quite attractive. Even Mimi shivered, shrinking back with a mewl and crawling behind me while Angel and Slowking worked on preparing more sandwiches. "Then, I lose," I exhaled. My girlfriend paused. "At least that''s how I''d beat you in a serious fight, but for that I''d have to know what you''re nning in the first ce and Croagunk still has a lot of catching up to do." In the distance, she was sparring with Sunshine and Scizor, and though they were obviously going easy on her she could actually keep up with Scizor''s speed and dodge everything Turtonator threw at her. "This is something a Gym Leader like Byron should reasonably be able to do," I whispered. "I''ve given this a lot of thought. I know Chase, Lauren and Denzel have too." "And you''re just telling me?" She snorted, rolling her eyes as she stered that foul-smelling cheese onto the bread. "Come on, Grace. You would have figured it out eventually." "Huh. Well, if you''d need to hit me with somethingpletely unexpected, but also not so weird that it starts to make you throw. Something that leaves no room for error and catches me off-guard the moment the battle starts, so basically, one of Byron''s actual Pokemon." It would be nearly unprecedented for a challenge, but it fit, and with how versatile all of Byron''s Pokemon on his personal team were, having a consistent strategy against them was tough, even with no prior setup of the terrain. His Bastiodon had only applied a few tricks against Denzel, but that was a fraction of what he was actually able to do and it had only been so to give Denzel a chance to win. I''d need to expend switches and most likely give Byron an early lead to take that Pokemon down and that was if he didn''t switch before them going down. Yeah, again, it fit, and the worst part was that even if I saw iting, it was still going to fuck me over. "Say," she asked, tilting her head. "How would you beat me?" "Hm?" "In a hypothetical scenario where Croagunk is a Toxicroak and at the level all of my other Pokemon are at, of course, so it doesn''t end up being a five-on-six." She blinked expectantly at me, her hands slowing over the sandwich with her fingers twitching slightly. She brought one of them up to brush her hair behind her hair before she remembered that her hands were dirty, so instead, she awkwardly dropped it on the pic nket and shifted in ce. "Why''re you smiling like that?" Cecilia huffed. "I''m not smiling." "You are. ydol, is she smiling?" The ground type''s eyes glitched out. Unable to answer question out of fear for my well-being. A fine move, my friend, Slowking said. Learning to ignore their flirting andpleteck of restraint gets easier with time, trust me. This has been noticed in my short tenure as a bodyguard, ydol said. "Gosh, you guys just ruin the mood," I groaned, staring at the sky. "You can always tell meter in your room," Cece said. See what I mean? Slowking sighed. ydol let out a ''cheering'' sound and their pupils turned to upside down ''U''s. Implementation of newfound knowledge anticipated for enhanced service to my King. After another minute, she finished preparing our food. "Here," Cece said, shoving the sandwich forward. "Slowking, Angel, I''ll leave you in charge of further distribution, since it doesn''t look like you''ll be needing us anyway?" Leave it to us, mydy, Slowking answered with a smug smile. Between his psychic powers and Angel''s vines, they were making a dozen sandwiches at once, and Imented the fact that it wouldn''t be enough to satiate Sweetheart. Her evolution had her constantly hungry, especially when she was growing. I sniffed at the food and wrinkled my nose. The ham, lettuce and tomatoes were fine, but that cheese was ugh. Still, I bit into it, and¡ª Good. "See? Legendaries, you should trust me with food once in a while. I have quite the experienced palette." "No neef do brag abouf it." "By the way, about that show you talked about, you better wait for me to continue the seventh episode¡­" ¡ª It had been around one in the afternoon when we finished our pic, and we were back in my room, though anything Slowking would have made fun of was already done. In the end, we had stayed until Talonme had showed back up all excited to tell us all about a Staraptor she''d befriended and raced near Mount Cor, after which Cece told her to stay away from that mountain next time. She''d been lucky the Staraptor she had met had been alone and friendly, given the fact that he could keep up with her speed. If it hade to a fight, Talonme might not have made it back, and she needed to understand that just because she could go at the speed of sound didn''t mean she should roam around Mount Cor like she was invincible. So yeah, that had been a scare and a half. Aliyah and Cece''s therapist had shown up in the middle of our pic date, which they had been quite apologetic about, but at the end of it, Aliyah had asked me to meet her at this exact time for reasons she hadn''t wanted to say while I was having fun. So yeah, I was dreading what was toe. Cece was lying with her head on my shoulder with her phone in hand, sometimes texting in our group chat, sometimes studying Crasher Wake, and others just browsing the inte. I did have one of her shirts on that I was going to ask to keep when we went our separate ways again because it smelled like her. It was way too big for me though, so I''d only be able to wear it in my rooms. I slipped away and said I''d be back in a bit, changing into something more appropriate and had Meltan wrap around my wrist. The rest of my team were in their Pokeballs, but they threw a fit every time I put them in there, so I had resigned to letting Mimi stay out at all times. They felt tight around my wrist as I walked toward the elevators. Even with my crutch, I was walking faster than before, and the pain from the mercury poisoning waspletely gone, so I was the fastest I''d ever been. Which was still slower than walking''s pace, but being able to feel independent again had me smiling the entire way through. Aliyah was waiting in some sort of office two floors above mine with a doctor¡ª not a nurse. There was something strange in Aliyah''s look¡ª not exactly harsh, but worried, and that in turn worried me as well. "Um¡­ is there something wrong? With my recovery?" I asked, breaking the silence. "Sit down, my dear," Aliyah said. When I did, she turned toward the doctor. "Pauline." Huh, another Pauline. I''d never seen her before, just the nurses. "When one of the nurses changed the bandages on your hands yesterday, we noticed that they weren''t exactly healing quickly enough. There was barely any progress." My stomach dropped like a stone. "Maybe you''ve been moving them around in your sleep, but that wouldn''t be enough for what we saw," the doctor slowly said. "Your fingers showed signs of irritation, and¡ª" "That''s enough," Aliyah softly said. "Leave us, please." Irritation shed across the doctor''s face, as this was clearly her office. My mouth felt like it had been sewn shut, and my feet like they''d been tied to the ground. The doctor quickly paced out of the room, and Aliyah sighed. "What happened?" "Nothing!" I blurted out. "I guess I was grabbing too much stuff, I''ll¡ª I''ll stop." "I asked about that. Grabbing wouldn''t have been enough, nor would have any activities of daily life." "Look, can we¡ª you¡ª" I stopped, my shoulders slumping as I sagged in my chair with a heavy breath. "Okay, I¡ª I press them together sometimes, but it''s not that bad." "From how slowly they''re healing, it does look bad. It would be like you''re applying as much force as you can, and not just once or twice. Repeatedly throughout the day." "I don''t know what to tell you." "I''m not admonishing you," Aliyah murmured. "I''m mostly angry at myself for not catching this sooner." "Catching what?" "The fact that you''re self-harming." I scoffed, ignoring Mimi''s angry chime on my wrist. "I''m not." "Oh, but you are." My therapist shook her head, gently grabbing my bracelet-free wrist. "You''re willingly causing yourself pain and making your injuries worse." "That''s a really straightforward way of putting it." "How would you put it, then?" she asked. "Go on." "Well, sometimes when I''m having too much fun, I¡­ uh, I get these thoughts about Lou, and it makes me realize that I shouldn''t be smiling orughing not even a week after her death, because then it''s like I''ve forgotten. So I squeeze my hands together to get me back to what I should be feeling." Stopping, I looked at my bandaged fingers. "I got these right after she died. While she was dying, terrified and alone." "You and your symbolism," she dismissed. "Listen to me, Grace. There is nothing that makes self-harm a good thing, and nothing that would make someone deserving of it. Nothing. In fact, you know it''s wrong, otherwise you wouldn''t have tried to avoid the topic with half-truths. I''ll¡­ this is the only way you''ve self-harmed, correct?" "...yes." Her eyes drifted across my wrists and arms again, though they found nothing there. "Very well. We know what triggers your self-harming, but I can''t be by your side at all times, Grace. We''re going to have to focus on this from now on." "I haven''t even done it much today. I can stop¡ª" "You can''t, and you won''t. Not without help. We''ll need to figure out an alternative outlet for your grief. Can you stay here for another hour and a half so we can work on this right away?" "I¡ª I''ll have to text Cece about it." "Do so," she sighed. "We''ll use your room, so she''ll have to vacate for the time being. If I were you, I would tell her about this, but I will not force you to do anything." "I''ll¡­ I''ll tell her." Damn it. ¡ª "So? What is it?" Cece had evidently fallen asleep in the short time I hadn''t been here. We''d spent a lot ofte nights talking, cuddling, watching shows or battles, and it was taking a toll on her more than me, considering my sleep schedule was always fucked and hers was actually normal. She rubbed her eyes and stared up at me, still sitting on the bed with her purple pajamas. But none of that mattered. I was just trying to stall. Aliyah was waiting just beyond the door, and even though she had told me repeatedly on our way here that there was no shame in keeping this a secret, I didn''t want to hide things from her anymore even if I knew it wasn''t wrong. I''d have to tell my team, too. Only Mimi knew, and that wasn''t right. I crouched, my eyes downcast as my hair drooped toward the floor and hid her face from me. "Listen, um, this is a big deal, and I know you''re going to freak out, but don''t freak out." "Well, now I''m more worried." Then, there was silence. Knowing how to start hard conversations wasn''t really one of my strengths. Usually, I avoided them until I couldn''t worm my way out of them any longer. I heard Cece get off the bed, and she lowered herself to my level, grabbing my wrists and touching our foreheads together. Fuck¡­ she always grabbed the wrists, didn''t she? Because she hadn''t wanted to hurt my hands. "You can tell me anything," she softly spoke. Her breath tickled my face. "What''s wrong?" "It''s my hands. I¡ª" a sniffle interrupted me. "I''ve been pressing them together a lot when thinking about Lou. More times than I can count. The doctors found out, and they told Aliyah, and now she wants to give me another session today." Cece''s hands had frozen around my wrists while I had spoken, but I didn''t want to look at her, so I couldn''t gauge her reaction until I heard her start sobbing. "I didn''t¡­ notice," she forced out through the sobs. "I didn''t notice." "No one did!" I yelled. "It''s¡ª it''s not on you! I was hiding it really well, and¡­ and¡­ I''m sorry." We cried together for a while, knees against the floor without saying another word. I didn''t know how much time had passed when she wrapped her hands around me and hugged me tight, like she was scared I was going to disappear. I did the same, feelingfort in the shape of her back and the crook of her neck. "Loving you hurts, sometimes," she said. I know, I thought. "I''m sorry. Thanks for keeping up with my bullshit." "You helped me when I needed it, when we met," Cece said with a sad, tear-filled chuckle. "And I was a mess." "I guess the roles have switched," I said. "Thank you for telling me this. I¡ª do you need me to do anything?" "Aliyah''s got it covered, I think." "Even when we leave, I''m going to text you every day and ask about this. You know that, right?" "Hmhm." "Please don''t lie to me about it. I know you''re still capable of it." "Hmhm." She inhaled, and then utched from me. "Let''s talk about this when you''re done with Aliyah. Unless you don''t want to?" "We can talk about it." Cece smiled. "Okay." She left the room soon after, and Aliyah entered. ¡ª It hadn''t gone that well. It hadn''t been a catastrophe either, but I could tell it had been our worst session yet. Maybe I was just used to them having been rtively smooth with no hups before, but this one was slower, more deliberate, and often got stuck in ruts where I''d try to justify myself and get on the defensive. It was the first time someone close to me had died. I couldn''t just wave it away and pretend it hadn''t happen so soon, or at least that''s how I felt. As for my Pokemon? Even though I had nned on telling them anyway, Aliyah had suggested it as well so they could catch me in case I ever tried pressing my hands together when I was alone on the road to prevent as many opportunities for it to happen as possible. Mimi hadn''t really understood, and Sweetheart was a little of the same. All she knew was that me hurting was bad, and needed to be stopped. Angel mostly cried for me and tried to cheer me up with flowers and dancing, which had somehow worked a little. ydol hadn''t really reacted, but they had suggested that self-harm was bad and that I should stop in a monotone voice. The worst of it was me getting scolded by both Sunshine and Buddy. Never had they yelled at me this loud, and I hadn''t even had the strength to talk back because I knew they were also beating themselves up for not having figured it out earlier. The concept of self-harm waspletely alien to both of them, so it hadn''t been their fault, but I knew they were screaming more out of self-guilt than anger. It had gone on until Angel swooped in to save me and said that screaming wouldn''t help and that they needed to be gentle with their words. Cece and I had spent the rest of the afternoon together, and she''d kept looking at my hands repeatedly the entire time. When the sun started to set, we both started packing everything we''d strown about in the room and shoving them into our backpacks. My piano looked mighty useless now that I couldn''t y it without feeling pain, so I was probably going to leave it at my Dad''s apartment when I got there and pick it back up after my hands healed. They need to heal, I repeated to convince myself. I wanted them to. But now, it was time to leave. She would be going to Pastoria, and I Jubilife. Two Kadabra had been brought to our room, one of which was impatiently waiting for us to finish our goodbyes so he could get back to whatever he was studying while the other tried to calm him down. It mostly involved a lot of hugging. Of feeling each other''s skin and warmth for thest time in a while. "Say hello to Maeve for me," I softly said. "She''s been alone in Pastoria for a while." "I will. You do the same for the guys in Canve," she said. I stood on the tiptoe of my good foot to kiss her onest time, and then it was over. Just like that, she was gone, and a few secondster, so was I. When I opened my eyes, I was in the middle of Jubilife.
Chapter 290 Chapter 290
CHAPTER 290 I might have been foolish to have expected this ce to change. The street I''d been brought to was so familiar, even now. I''d passed through it on the bus every time it had brought me home from school. The hums of a hundred car engines filled me with nostalgia that caught me so off-guard I had to blink a few times before realizing I was home. Hundreds of people walked through the streets, with a simr number of conversations happening at the same time. People talking to each other, people on their phones, or in wireless earbuds, going back home from a day''s hard work. Even during the evening, the street was well-lit enough to fool me into thinking it was daytime. A couple of Starly hung on top of one of the streetlights, huddling together so they could all fit. A Rattata scuttled across the street and into an alley, causing the passersby to grunt in annoyance when they nearly tripped on her. People were used to that kind of thing here, and Pokemon in cities were almost never aggressive with humans. My eye twitched when a pressure in my head became more pronounced, and I leaned against my crutch for support as my legs wobbled at the sudden rush of emotions. My empathy''s acting up. Even after practicing with my gift for so long, being in Sinnoh''srgest city was taking its toll. The air here was thick with smog, especially after having spent so long outside of Jubilife, and the streets were dirty and littered with stic cups, foam containers, wrappings, and even a newspaper. They always tended to be dirtyte at night, before the city cleaners started their shifts. The Teleportation turned a few heads, as it always did, though they did not stay focused on me long. Jubilife was a busy city, and people saw a lot of those all the time, especially near Pokemon Centers. With a very tired huff (given the fact that I''d been Teleported across the entire region), Kadabra gently bid me farewell, waving one of his spoons and disappearing again as if he''d never been there. I ced a protective hand over my wrist, caressing Mimi so they wouldn''t freak out at every new sight and reveal themselves. Already, I could feel them vibrating and I almost regretted not shoving them in my backpack for the time being. Taking another two minutes, I verified that Princess and Honey had been sent to this Pokemon Center, and then I entered the street again. It wasn''t that I didn''t trust the League, but I just wanted some peace of mind. Togekiss, I''d be able to pick up in three more days, at least. Honey would take at least another week. Meltan rattled around my wrist again, and there was a small prickle on my skin. They had taken to poking me like this when they were in bracelet mode and they were angry, since they fit tightly enough for the prodding to be discreet. Right. I needed to release at least one Pokemon so they could keep watch of me and my hands. There had been only a few urges since I''d spoken to Aliyah, and the two times I''d answered to those, I''d been caught and yelled at, so that was certainly working. I didn''t know Mimi understood that, though. Part of me wanted to let Sunshine out so we could spend more time together and I could work on repairing things between us, but this was a proper city. He wasn''t allowed to be out except in specific areas like Pokemon parks, just like Sweetheart. Angel was a little big and it would be too cumbersome for him to squeeze past the sidewalk. ydol would start an uproar for being an ancient, rare construct, and they''d get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people in the city and since they were actually dangerous enough to cause an ident, I didn''t want to risk it. Buddy, well, he had the same issues Angel had. Too wide, and prone to terrifying people when he wasn''t. I moistened my lips, terrified at myself for almost finding a convenient excuse to be on my own. Mimi was there, but the steel type was a baby. The worst they would do was prod me¡­ I want to get better. I called out to people around me, giving myself enough space to release Tangrowth. "Hey Angel," I said, looking into hisrge, round eyes. He was silent, but they were so full of life and emotion that one could get lost in them for hours, if they knew him well enough. The urge to caress his side was strong, but I knew he wouldn''t let me, not when my hands needed to heal and he wanted them to rest. Instead, the grass type wrapped a vine around my wrist, holding it like he would to guide a child, and then he dragged me forward to hug me. It had only been a few hours, since I''d told him and the others about my issues. The pain was still fresh in his mind, and having been in his Pokeball for a while, there was no doubt he''d been worried about me. "Sorry," I said. "I''ll do better." Vines squirmed across my back in response. "Let''s go see Dad, yeah? It''s about time you see where I lived before all of this. Before I met you all." Instead of his usual vine around my good ankle, he had his around my left wrist, this time. It was so gentle I could barely feel it, but he wanted to hold on. On the way to Dad''s¡­ to my apartment, I told him and Mimi about spots I was familiar with. I never went there on my own after ss, but Dad would take me there during our father-daughter dates. There was the bowling ce he took me at least once per month, its fluorescent lights headache-inducing after such a long time spent away from the city and during the night. "I''ll take you there eventually," I grinned. "You can y with Honey, since they ept Pokemon, unlike that ce we went to in Eterna. The others don''t really have the body type for it, though Princess could use her psychic powers to throw the ball." The grass type silentlyughed, signing that she would cheat and control the ball the entire way through. A chuckle escaped my throat. "Yeah, that sounds like her¡­ I miss her and Honey." Mimi shook on my wrist, eliciting Angel''s soothing pets. They wanted to y, even though they had no idea what the rules of the game even were. There was a certain frustration they harbored with having to stay hidden, but the League had promised it wouldn''t have to be forever. Two minutester, I pointed toward another,rger building that wasn''t as uniform as the others, despite the outside looking quite nd with pale, faded blue bricks and a few windows. "See that? It''s a battling spot, kind of like the clubs in Sunyshore, but way less organized. They run mini-tournaments there with small prize pools, but the people who battle are mostly kids who don''t go on the Circuit. Y''know, people who do this as a hobby." The grass type sagely nodded, waving across the window. Unfortunately for him, no one saw the gesture. Only a few night owls were left in the establishment, and none of them were battling. I sensed Mimi salivate at the sight of a metallic trash can next to the building. "They also put on battles on TV," I continued. "Dad tried to take me there a few times to try to make me catch the bug by watching actual battles with my own two eyes and not through a screen, but I always vehemently refused." That seemed to surprised Meltan, who had already learned to know my passion for battle in the week we''d known each other. "It''s this thing with me," I muttered. "When I do something, I want to be really good at it, and back then the fear of failure crippled me. Better be blind and not truly know what I was missing, or at least that''s what I thought at the time. He knew me better than I knew myself." We passed by an Arlyle''s, my favorite fast-food chain, and I made a mental note to go get myself fries and a burger tomorrow before my meeting at Poketch Headquarters. Even Craig was around, in fact, he''d been there for a while after having Dot Teleport him from Hearthome. "I actually told Dad about it, when I first started training and it was only me and Princess," I continued, limping across a street. We were only one block away, now. "The fear of failure cripples, and it somehow manages to trick you into doing anything but facing that fear. I''d tell myself I didn''t want to risk my life, that a life outside the city sounded like a pain in the ass, that I''d miss Dad too much¡­" I trailed off, thinking back to the hundreds of signs that had pointed toward Pokemon training being what I''d wanted all along. "You get paralyzed, and if no one is there to push you, you end up doing nothing. Just lying there, waiting to fade, I guess." Nothing else was said the entire way to my apartment, but I knew they''d both taken the words to heart. I did check my phone, making sure to text Melody, Craig, Ramon, Bobby and a few other Poketch people I''d connected with after I''d been ambushed in Eterna to let them know that I would be here for the meeting in two days, and already they were asking to meet tomorrow to prepare strategy. Some were also confused at how I''d made it here so quickly. Me having me Teleported to Jubilife by a Kadabra was known news already, and the fact that I''d been involved with League stuff was spreading. The hand injuries were also new, though that was a lot easier to wave away. Trainers got injured all the time, after all. And then finally. I was home. Our apartment block was just¡­ average. Its exterior was a mess of weathered bricks and faded pale blue paint, a color scheme that so many buildings in the city shared. It was sandwiched between two smaller structures, one amercial building with a bunch of offices made almostpletely out of ss, and the other a quaint furniture store where Dad had bought a lot of our own stuff, like our beds. Angel melted back into his Pokeball with a sh of red, and I made my way up the stairs leading to the entrance. The doors were automatic, sliding neatly to the sides and I entered the building with excitement bubbling in my chest. I had babbled so much on the way here that it was only now that the fact that I was going to see Dad again was actually settling in. I scurried my way across the entryway and toward the elevators as fast as I could with a broken ankle and repeatedly pressed on the button. Seventh floor. Come on. The elevators here had always been so damn slow I''d always taken the stairs. The steps were nostalgic now, a motion I''d gone through thousands of time whening home from school. Apartment 714. I knocked on the door. I heard Dad swear behind the threshold of my old home, and then something fall on the ground. There were slow steps, than a run, and then¡­ The door opened, and I jumped into my father''s arms, returned to being a little girl again. The hug was silent, though not without some of my sobs filling the dead air. My tears were soaking his¡­ was he wearing a polo shirt? Had he dressed up for this? I chuckled in his chest, feeling his hand stroke my hair. "Dad¡­" "I missed you, kiddo. I really did." He basically had to push me off because of how long I was taking. Dad was a hugger and a big softy. I''d gotten that trait from him, after all, but if it had been up to me, we probably would have stayed there for five minutes. My father patted me on the shoulder as we separated. He still looked the same. He had balding brown hair, a bit of a belly and a scruffy beard, but it was clear he''d dressed for my return. Normally, he would have been in boxers and a shirt at this time of day and would just bezing around, watching TV or reading articles about investing. Instead, he had cleaned up and there was a faint smell of¡­ uh, something emanating from the house, but whatever it was, it smelled good. There were bags under his green eyes that hadn''t been there thest time I''d seen him. Was work running him ragged? It wasn''t really the season¡­ I wiped my eyes. "Well, you look like hell." Heughed, rolling his eyes. "Still like hurting your old Dad, don''t you?" "It wouldn''t be the same otherwise." I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind me. "Wow, this is, uh¡­" "The ce is the same," he spoke behind me. "Go on. Get your bearings." This ce felt likeing back home after a long day. Like returning to a book or a show I was so familiar with, but hadn''t seen in a long time. After taking off my shoes, I felt at the smooth, beige walls with one of my arms and walked into the living room. Part of me felt like if I sat on that earth-toned couch and sank into the fabric, I''d feel just like I did all those months ago when I''d spend hours on there with Princess as a Togepi. It was there, that she had gotten her first taste of battling. Looking at that TV with me. Back then I thought her uninterested, with the way she seemed to fall asleep all the time, but she had looked, and she had internalized all of it. "Oh, crap." I nced to the right, toward the kitchen counter and saw that the dent I''d made when training Rollout with Princess was still there. "I never got around to getting it fixed," Dad said, scratching the back of his head. "Feels like an importantndmark, now. You know, I look at it sometimes, and then Ipare it to what you can do now, and it''s mind-boggling. It''s like a snapshot in time." There it was. A single dent on an aluminum-coated kitchen counter only slightlyrger than my daughter had been as a Togepi. That had been what we had managed to do with Princess at full strength. "That''s¡­ trippy," I mumbled to myself low enough so that Dad didn''t hear. A hungry tug from my wrist snapped me out of my thoughts. Mimi wanted to eat at the aluminum, and I''d better not keep it in their line of sight. I''d have to tell Dad about Meltan soon enough. Keeping them hidden while I stayed here would be impossible. "I like it," I told him. "It''d be kind of weird if you had people over, though." "Oh, no onees over anyway," he shrugged. A pang of guilt wracked my heart as I continued through the living room. Just like I did with my mother these days, Dad and I texted and called, but that wasn''t the same as seeing people. He was just as much a people person as I was, but a job was a job and he only asionally went out with colleagues. He must be lonely, I told myself. The wooden nks were smooth under my feet as I glided toward my bedroom. It was next to the balcony that we never went on and I wasn''t even sure the door could actually open, but the view from here was nice. Our street always had a lot of stuff happening on it and I''d stand next to the window sometimes and look at it with Princess, though never going out myself. Indoor Pokemon, I used to call her, aughable notion now, with the way she loved to roam the skies whenever she needed to have a think. I pushed the door of my bedroom open. The ceiling was lower here than the rest of the apartment in a way that instantly felt cramped, especiallypared to the numerous Pokemon Centers I''d stayed in. My room was longer than it was wide, with my bed being along the wall and my desk on another. Old school books wereid about, neatly arranged into piles and organized by year. I was happy to see my scissor collection still in ce, around thirty of so had been ced in around five pots at the edge of my desk. Dad leaned against the wooden frame of my doorway, turning on the light switch as I sat on my bed. The light flickered a few times before turning on fully, something we''d always procrastinated on fixing. I hummed. "You kept this ce tidy." He crossed his arms. "Felt like the right thing to do. You never cleaned your room up." "Sorry about that." "Woah, nothing? Just a sorry?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What can I say, journeying changes a few things about you," I shrugged. "It''s not the same, seeing it in person and seeing it over text," Dad said. "Are you sure you''re alright? Your hands¡­" "It''s like I told you on the phone. They just got hurt on the road," I said, avoiding the truth. I''d tell him moreter, just not now. I didn''t want to ruin the reunion, and there were far worse things I was nning to tell him. I had talked to Aliyah about how I wanted him to know the real me. The one who had watched a man die for hours, killed his associates and enjoyed it. He had a right to know, but not now. Staring at the ceiling, I continued. "I don''t think I''ll be able to fit my team in here. It looks smaller than I remember." He nodded. "I guess you can''t really fit a Tyranitar in here. I think she''s too heavy to stand on these nks anyway," Dad said. "There aren''t that many ces that''ll take her in Jubilife." "I''ll be busy with a lot of Poketch stuff, so my team won''t really have time to see me, but I don''t want them to stay in their balls all day," I started, staring up at him. "I was wondering if you could take them out for me? I was thinking of only keeping Buddy with me¡­ and, uh, someone else." "Who?" "I want to introduce you to someone, but don''t freak out, okay? They''re really cute, but they''re a secret. You can''t tell anyone." "As long as it''s not dangerous." I nodded. "Mimi." The metal liquefied, unwrapping from my wrist and slithering onto my shoulder until Meltan took form, and my father flinched back at the sudden activity. Mimi happily waved at him, and I could tell after a split second that he had rxed when he realized that they wouldn''t be growing any bigger. "This is Mimi. They''re more of a travelingpanion right now, but they''re really rare, so you can''t tell anyone about them, okay?" The steel type apanied my words with a vibrating mewl, their cold metal seeping through the cloth of my clothes and somehow touching my skin. For a few seconds, his mouth just gaped, as if he couldn''tprehend what he was looking at. Metal given life. "I''ll keep it a secret," he finally agreed. After a pause, he took a few steps forward to get a better look. "I''ve never seen a Pokemon like this." "Wanna touch them?" Needles spurted out of Mimi''s skin, poking the skin of my shoulder, and all of a sudden they appeared like a cactus. Or maybe a morning star would be more appropriate. His skin paled, and his hand recoiled. "No thank you." "The spikes aren''t sharp enough to poke through skin, they''re too weak for that¡ª but I guess Mimi doesn''t want to anyway." The steel type on my shoulder squealed in agreement, their body returning to its smooth state. They wanted to explore the city with me, not someone else. It felt like apulsion to me, a remainder from the promise I''d forged with their predecessor. "And it''s¡ª I''m sorry, I know you''re doing a lot of work for Pokemon personhood¡­ is it they?" Mimi didn''t really understand pronouns, nor gender, in fact. "Yeah, ''they'' is fine." My father cleared his throat. "So they can just transform into a bracelet?" "Oh, not just a bracelet, a lot of things. Mimi, show him your knife!" Instantly, the steel type elongated, the gear on their head joining with their tail, thetter bing a handle for the knife and the rest of them turned to a glimmering silver de curved downward like a scythe. Mimi''s head was still the same, a golden gear at the edge of the handle that acted like the pommel of a knife. They were quite a long de, too. Nearly eight inches, good for deep cuts. "Cool, huh?" I smirked. "They like to change shapes a lot, it''s a part of how they express themselves. Like I said, they''re not sharp enough to actually hurt anyone though. They just look menacing." "It is¡­ nifty," he admitted. "Not sure I would call it cool. I''m going to finish up dinner, what do you say we catch up over some ribs?" I''d have pumped a fist, if it hadn''t hurt. "Aw, sweet! But, uh, I also have another Pokemon to show you? This one, you know, though." ydol popped out of their Pokeball, hovering around a foot above the ground. ydol were rare, but not ''I have no idea what this is'' rare, so Dad just frowned and looked at me instead, clearly asking where the hell I''d gotten myself one of these. "Salutations, progenitor of my sovereign. Preceding notification of this interaction has been processed. It is now opportune to acknowledge the architect of such regal lineage. Cease motion temporarily, as you are now ted for inclusion in the registry of entities under my protective purview." It was said out loud, because Dad wasn''t practiced with Telepathy yet, but I was happy ydol was talking to him so quickly. There was another reason I wanted to leave some of my Pokemon with him. As we approached the Red Chain''spletion, the odds of something happening rose higher and higher, and I wasn''t taking any chances. Sure, I''d have to take them back when I left for Canve, but the fewer days Dad spent defenseless, the better. "Designation concluded. Mobility is now authorized." "Oh, they don''t mean that in a bad way, by the way," I quickly intervened. "They won''t, like, take charge or anything. They''re way too subservient, actually, I want them to stop, but they won''t." "Negative. The King remains the King. The concept is straightforward," the ground type said, before their eyes turned to ancient glyphs. "Alert. There exists a multitude of pointed implements within this space, potentially presenting a hazard to all extant life forms. "Oh, those are just my scissors, don''t worry about those. I actually got one or two that can actually cut things other than paper, if you want to see¡­" ¡ª Dad was an okay cook. Not spectacr by any means, especially whenpared to Mom, but there was heart in what he made, and it was strange, but I could tell, and that made all the difference. The meat was too chewy, but the barbecue sauce was homemade. Jellicent hovered over the table in his usual shapeless form, his two red eyes staring intently at me and my hands. Having to eat ribs with a fork and knife not to dirty my bandages sucked, especially when I wanted to just dig in there. The ghost had been the only one other than Princess who had actually been here, though he hadn''t stayed for more than a few days, since Denzel and I had been in such a hurry. Angel was next to the table, and I''d asionally hand him a rib to snack on. Since he even ate the bone, I just handed those to him too. Seeing this from a grass type known for photosynthesis weirded Dad out, but I reassured him by saying that Angel could eat anything. After all, Tangrowth were known to live in thick forests where sunlight didn''t often prate, and sometimes they needed to hunt to get the nutrients they needed. Those vines weren''t just for show. Sunshine was sleeping in the living room, and we could hear his loud snoring from here. He''d taken the space between the couch and the TV stand, iming it as his territory. I hoped he wouldn''t be too difficult with Dad, though I knew he would probably think he was ''weak'' for being scared ofrge Pokemon he''d seen blow shit up in so many Gym Battles being present in his house. Pokemon that he had only seen a few times, and hell, I hadn''t even shown Sunshine to him back in Hearthome because I''d been scared the dragon would roast him alive. Mimi was on the table, trying tomit war crimes against a bone that had been picked clean. They were trying to prate through the dense outer shell for reasons unknown to me, but at least the futile task was keeping them distracted enough from eating the utensils. ydol was at the door guarding it in case any ''intruders'' came by no matter how many times we told them that was basically as likely as the apartment spontaneously copsing. Jubilife was unfortunately very stimting for them and they couldn''t help but be alert. I''d definitely recall them in their Pokeball tonight so they could get some rest. "So your strategy meeting''s at noon tomorrow?" Dad asked. The conversation had pivoted away from my journey and toward the topic of Poketch. "Yup. It''s going to be¡­ mind-numbingly boring, I think," I sighed, throwing another bone at Angel. He hastily caught it, slinking it into his vines, the bone never to be seen again. "I''ll see Mel again, though! I''ve been missing her." "Ah, I see her sometimes when riding the elevator up. She''s been working hard for you." "I don''t doubt that. She''s a badass, you know? I had Ramon tell me that she was really good despite it being her first time being a liaison." "From the whispers I hear that make it into the engineering department, it''s a thankless job most of the time," Dad said. "Make sure you thank her properly." "I will, I will! And guess what, she says that you''ve been thanking her. Relentlessly. That''s the word she used." "Maybe I was being a little too overbearing," he acknowledged. A burp bubbled up his throat, and I wrinkled my nose. "Come on, Grace, it''s just a burp, no need to get all uppity about it. Remember when you were ten¡ª or maybe nine, and you asked me how to burp onmand?" There was a silent giggle from Angel, and a surprised glint in Jellicent''s eye. "Why would¡ª why would you bring that up?!" I yelled. "Arceus, you can''t just say that!" "What? You can''t tell me you''re embarrassed in front of your Pokemon. If it was in front of Cecilia, I''d get it, though I would say it anyway¡ª" "I''m going to kick you in the shin if you keep going. I still have one good foot." "There she is," Dad beamed. "Don''t act like this was a nned attempt at bringing back some sort of childlike version of myself, because I am not buying it." Buddy clicked from above, saying that it was actually a very likely thing, though I would never tell Dad about it so he wouldn''t get a win over me. Dad innocently raised his hands, which were full of sauce. "Hey, don''t re at me, I didn''t say anything. I was just thinking, it''s nice to see that part of yourself, because you are still a kid." "I''m sixteen." "Case in point," he said. "Hey, I wanted to wait until you approached this topic yourself, but how has therapy been going? Are you doing okay, with the raid?" "Shoot, I nearly forgot! Uh, my therapist will show up here tomorrow at nine. She''ll probably knock at the door." "Oh, they know my address already?" "She works with the government, Dad." He sipped on some water and spoke behind the ss. "I know, but it''s still a little surreal. Do you want me to leave, or to clear any space, or¡­?" "Oh, no, we''ll just go in my room. Aliyah can brew some really good tea, if you want any." "But you didn''t actually answer my question," Dad said. His eyes nced toward Mimi, who had started repeatedly pping her bone with an elongated, sharpened hand. "How''s it going?" "It''s, uh, it was going great, but there''s been a little hup recently." I stopped, and saw that he was clearly expecting more. "I''ll tell you about it soon, I promise. Just not tonight? Please?" There was a sh of guilt on his face. Why do you feel guilty, when nothing is your fault? "I''m here for you if you need it, okay? You''ll be okay." "Yeah," I meekly answered. "Yeah, I hope so." In the air, Buddy had stopped constantly shifting, and Angel ran one of his clean vines through my hair. "Alert! Intruder identified behind entrance. Acoustic analysis indicates female subject, estimated weight 121 pounds, height 5 feet 4 inches. Weapon status undetermined but non-zero probability," ydol rang out. "That''s just called a neighbor, ydol," I snorted. At least they''ve learned about the units of measurement in one of the books they devoured through. "What''s wrong? You weren''t freaking out like this at the League." "Too many individuals present. Concealed des are a possibility; someone might be waiting to strike, my King." My Dad stared back, an arm slung back over his chair. "What''s with the King thing?" "Oh, it just makes it easier for them, I think," I said, before raising my tone. "ydol, you can rest up, okay? Being vignt is good, but I promise you no one''s going to break in." Reluctantly, the psychic asked if this was an order, and I ended up saying yes. I didn''t want them to just do nothing this entire time, even if it was what they''d decided was their job. I needed to find them a hobby, and soon, along with a name. Having the psychic just be ydol while everyone else had one felt exclusionary. The ground type disappointingly hovered toward the living room, and Buddy offered to go with him in case Sunshine ever woke up and got grumpy. Arceus knew he could be angry when someone got him up from his nap. "That''s a real peculiar ''Mon. More robot-like than I was expecting, though I''m not really a ydol expert." "Their personality shines through sometimes, but they''re just nervous right now. I might need to keep them in their Pokeball after all and go with them at the Poketch meeting instead of handing them to you." While Mimi was a born explorer and liked seeing so many people and new sights at once, ydol had designated themselves my guardian. I knew Jubilife would be a lot for them, but I should have known that they would have beenpletely overwhelmed, and the whole ordeal clearly had them anxious about protecting me. "Good idea. I''ll already feel overwhelmed with a Tyranitar there¡­" "Come on, Dad, it''s Sweetheart. She won''t do anything bad," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "I''m not asking you to train them or anything, just bring aputer or something and shove a cartoon in front of her. It''s like babysitting, and the rest of the team will be there to help out. Angel and Sunshine are really good with her." "Yeah, I''ll be fine. Just nervous, is all." Scrolling gently with my thumb through my phone as dinner ended and Dad started clearing the dishes on the table, I sent a text to Mira asking if she had any ns in the near future. It''d be a shame to be in the same city and not meet up at least once. She had beenrgely silent these past weeks and I was worried about her. Pushe to shove, I''d try to find her if I had enough time. Plus, it was her birthday soon. Princess'' was on the 28th, and Mira''s on the 31st, and there was no way I was letting her spend that alone. "Need any help with the¡ª" "No. You stay put and rx," Dad interrupted. "How are you going to help with your hands in that state? I saw you wincing every time you held onto a fork or a knife too tightly." I grumbled, saying that there were stic bags I could use to keep those bandages from getting wet, which was how I showered anyway. It was the same deal with the cast on my leg. Instead, I ced Mimi on top of my shoulder and wandered into the living room. Sunshine had woken up, as expected, even if his eyes were still closed. His breathing was far too uneven and strong for him to still be asleep, and I always caught onto stuff like that. I plopped myself down on the couch next to him, with ydol and Buddy hovering around us and Angel following close behind me. On the TV, a battle was ying between two people whose names I didn''t know the names of, but I did recognize one of them. One of the few first years outside of my group or Barry that had a real shot of making it to the Conference was participating in some kind of show match, and his use of Parasect instantly soured me on the quality of his character. "You know, I used to watch battles all the time here," I started. "Part of me had convinced myself I was only doing so because there was nothing better on TV." "There was a reason you kept looking, though!" Dad yelled across the kitchen. I nodded. "Kepting back to them, over and over¡­" Sunshine opened an eye as silence settled in. "I don''t know. I was scared." I was quieter, now. Enough so that Dad wouldn''t hear me when I spoke. Biting my lip, I continued. "Sunshine, I know it''s been tough for you especially. You watched me give up." Give up like Kamaile had in Mount Cor, resigning to his fate and desperately trying to get his Pokemon back into their Pokeballs, just like I''d done. I''d made the decision for him, and again, he truly believed he was going to have to lose a trainer he had learned to love, and it ate at him. The dragon huffed, not bothering to look at me or even saying anything. "I''ve apologized a million times, but that hasn''t gone over well, so I''ll tell you this instead." My back straightened, and I looked directly into his closed eyes. "You may think I''ve forgotten, but I haven''t. The pain you felt¡ª the pain you still feel about Kamaile, so strong that it drove you to fight for so many days while you were half-dead until I stumbled upon you in that cave. Do you remember?" Heat sizzled at the edge of my skin, not harsh enough to hurt or actually burn, but enough to express displeasure. The dragon answered that I''d said I nned on traveling every region and bing the best in the world, a dream he still found ludicrous. "It is. It''s fucking stupid, isn''t it?" I grinned. "But you believe in it, now, just like we do. I want to be the best, Sunshine, and I don''t n on dying before that happens or we get retribution for what happened to Kamaile. Two promises bind us, two promises I''ll see through. An apology was never what you wanted, was it? It was dedication to the cause, a renewal to what we''dmitted to." Because down there, in Lakhutia, I''d forgotten about both those promises. "I won''t ask you to forgive me, because that''s not how dragons do things," I continued. "But I''ll ask you to look past my ws and to know that it won''t happen again." Turtonator pushed himself off the ground, looming over me with curious eyes. The fire type grunted in agreement, though he said I was on myst strike. He demanded I never think to force him into his Pokeball again because I''d abandoned the idea of being alive. Angel happily bobbed up and down and Jellicent contributed with a ''well said''. I affirm that if your demise precedes mine, the failure of my guardianship would be catastrophic, ydol transmitted. "I know," I smiled. "Now, do you guys want to eat or what? I know Honey''s not there and my hands are screwed, but we can ask Dad to cook. Angel can be the sous-chef¡­"
Chapter 291 Chapter 291
CHAPTER 291 Mrtague Park sat to the south of Jubilife and was one of thergest in the city with the least amount of regtions for Pokemon allowed to be out. Arthur Pastel had always liked this ce and had taken his daughter here numerous times in the past, the times he managed to wrest her away from the apartment. Towering trees formed a lush canopy, casting dappled shadows on well-maintained walking paths that wound through the park''s verdantndscape. He had always found himself believing the design very well thought-out. With how tall the trees were, it was almost impossible to see the skyscrapers surrounding them, so it was a perfect way to escape Jubilife''s urban sprawl when it got too much for someone. Unfortunately, Arthur wasn''t here to rx, he was here because his daughter had shoved all of her Pokemon in his hands and asked him to babysit. First of all, why was a Tyranitar taking a bath in a pond? It was too shallow for her to actually risk drowning, with the water only reaching her stomach, but she kept sshing around and he had to tell her not to jump what felt like a thousand times and she did not listen. Literally, she was too loud for her to even hear Arthur''s voice! Baiting her out with cartoons or snacks hadn''t worked either, so Arthur was condemned to have Sweetheart take up all the space in that pond. It wasn''t like trainers were even approaching them, though. Not many people were crazy enough to have their Pokemon share a space with an apex predator. Even Arthur had flinched when he had first released her and she had just looked down at him with a look he hadn''t been able to decipher. Over eight feet of green tes of rock grinding menacingly with every movement, rows upon rows of sharp teeth that looked like they could tear through him without a second thought and the sounds out of her mouth shook him until he understood that was the noise she made when she was excited. The other two weren''t much better. Turtonator wanted nothing to do with him, raising the temperature to an ufortable level every time Arthur got even close and iming an area of the park for himself, where people and Pokemon gave him a wide berth. At least he was quiet and peaceful, which wasn''t to be said of Tyranitar. Arthur couldn''t really stop himself from thinking about Grace''s scars every time he looked at the dragon and felt a hint of anger building up in his chest. It wasn''t his ce toe between them, especially when it looked like there was no animosity left, but that did not mean he had to be happy about it. Still, he''d treat ''Sunshine'' with nothing but respect, if only to give Grace some peace of mind, with everything she was dealing with. Turtonator shifted in the bed of vines Tangrowth had made for him. It was hard to spot from this far, but the writhing vines had¡­ buried parts of themselves in the ground and were somehow not dying even when separated from the main body. Tangrowth himself was keeping Tyranitarpany next to the pond and sshing her face with water in some strange sort of game that she seemed very entertained by. The silence from the grass type was unsettling sometimes, but Arthur couldn''t deny he was doing most of the heavy lifting with Tyranitar, something he would be thankful for until his daughter came back from her meeting. He''d used the rest of his vacation days to spend as much time with her as possible, which was rather ironic when she was the one at Poketch HQ now. If Princess had been here, he would have felt better. He missed the little rascal and her antics. "I''ve got to get her a birthday gift," he muttered to himself. ¡ª He had gone over this scenario over a thousand times in his head, but there was no spinning things. Bob Wace was nervous, even if this was just a strategy meeting. He ran a hand over the scarred tissue on his left shoulder and stretched his neck while Meg whispered a soothing song into his ear, and a sweet smell filled his nose. His starter didn''t understand much of what was going to go down tomorrow, but she was still trying her best to cheer him up. Still, with the stakes so high, Bobby would worry until tomorrow was over and the board was convinced or his career took a huge step back. His phone rang in his pocket, no doubt his folks back in Floaroma cheering him on¡ª actually, it''d be better to check to make sure¡­ yeah, okay, good. There was a bit of media buzz around this meeting¡ª in fact, the press was camped outside Poketch Headquarters, and it was easy to see why. Wearing his usual blue cap backward and covering his dark hair, Ram stood crouched on the slick, glossy floor next to his Raticate a few feet away, his eyes alert and sharp, arge contrastpared to his Pokemon''szy demeanor. Outside of battle, the little rat spent all of his time eating or sleeping. No matter how dumb Ramon liked to act, Bobby knew his friend was smarter than he let on and had somehow secured himself a position with this deal. Yes, he had only ambushed Grace Pastel and pushed for Bobby to be Sinnoh''s Poketch Ambassador because they were friends, but there was an angle there he wasn''t seeing, and it worried him. Ramon had grown up on the streets, and he looked out for himself first and foremost. His liaison stood behind him and his Raticate, a nervous, fidgeting thing that looked more like an intern on the first day of her job than the experienced negotiator Bobby knew Amandine Hicks was. Sometimes, he wondered if she just pretended to be anxious to appear dumber and more innocent than she actually was. Bobby''s presence and his own liaison created some buzz as well, of course, but it was Craig''s presence that truly drew crowds. The raven-haired man was rather tall, broad-shouldered and brightened everyone''s day with his presence. A shining Orbeetle levitated by his side, her strange shell shing with different colors that Bobby figured must have been a way to show her moods. It hadn''t been long, since Craig had revealed his seventh Pokemon''s existence, and people were going insane at the fact that the man had finally caught a psychic. Some had theorized he must have had one already, with the way he spent so much time in Mount Cor without one and still hadn''t been permanently scarred after ten years as a trainer. He was without a liaison, having long learned to operate without them. Bobby had to admit, Craig''s presence here would have had him a nervous wreck before, but for the fight that wasing, he was a reassuring one. There were, of course, a few more business execs here, along withwyers for every trainer present. Now they were all just waiting for¡­ Ah, there she was. Here at noon on the dot. Grace Pastel entered Poketch Headquarters with a slow, pronounced limp with the help of her crutch and with her Jellicent behind her. Bobby had noticed since they''d met in person for the first and only time that she was quite strange to look at. It had nothing to do with her looks¡ª average height, dirty blond hair that flowed down to her shoulders, a freckled face and a thin nose and lips. No, it was the fact that she had taken so much abuse in a single year, that was strange to anyone who knew about journeying. Burns that marred the left half of her body, stretching from her cheek to apparently her bottom thigh, and from what he could see thanks to her short sleeves, her entire left arm save for a patch of skin on the upper part of that limb. A skin graft, they''d said she had gotten. The other arm had arge scar running up around half of its length, and now there was also her hands being bandaged? She reminded him of Aubri, sometimes, only a younger and far less bitter version of her. She would end up like Aubri, should she continue getting a new injury every time she popped up in public. Grace had not been seen for around a week until she was Teleported by a League Kadabra into the city yesterday, something that Bobby''s paranoid side feared greatly. Her closeness with the government had already almost convinced him not to go through with the way they''d extorted a deal out of her in Eterna City, but sometimes someone just had to go for things before they slipped you by. He would know, with the way that had been his test the first time he had fought for his eighth badge¡ª and lost. Inaction out of fear of a worse reaction was what had cost him many times in his journey, and he had a scar of his own to show for it. Still, he couldn''t help but be curious as Melody Summers strode up to her trainer and was attacked by a tight hug. Well, there was of course the fact that such a close rtionship with your liaison was nearly unheard of, but what Bobby was curious about was on everyone''s mind in that moment. Numerous eyes darted toward the girl''s belt, though they only found three Pokeballs there instead of the reported six she''d been seen carrying yesterday night. Six was important, because she had posted online that her Electivire and Togekiss were stuck in the Pokemon Center¡ª amon tactic to get some engagement and attention online that all of their liaisons had them do every time their Pokemon was badly wounded. The Nurse Joys always kept the Pokemon''s Pokeballs, which meant that Grace''s total number of Pokemon was eight, not the six Pokeballs she carried. Grace Pastel had caught two new Pokemon in her absence after she''d left Floaroma, and the world already knew it. Bobby felt confident enough not to be threatened by her, but someone like Sharon would probably be, even if she wasn''t here today. Some of the first-years this Circuit were progressing at an astonishing pace that was rarely seen. Flint''s brother had been one of the most recent examples of that, though he worked as a contractor up north at the frontier, these days. Grace greeted everyone else one by one, and her familiarity with Craig was a strange sight to behold. Bobby supposed that there was a reason he had rmended her, a fact that no trainer sponsored by Poketch would forget any time soon. "Good day," Bob smiled, ignoring the piercing re from the Jellicent. He had long learned to ignore aggressive Pokemon like him and raising a Chandelure had taught him to ignore the lowering temperature. "Am Ite? I''m notte, right?" Grace asked. "I was hanging out with my Dad. You know, catching up." "Don''t worry about it," Craig said, patting her shoulder. "It''s always like that, when seeing a parent after a bit." "You''re not evente," Ramon drawled. "On the dot isn''t , butmon courtesy means that you usually show up early to things like these," Melody said, typing something on her phone. Grace hung her head low, though there was a smile on her face that betrayed her expression. "Now, shall we get going? I found us a room to use this morning." They all agreed and stepped toward the elevators. ¡ª The Poketch building was crazy, even for Jubilife. Walking out of the elevators, I felt like I was stepping into another world. Natural light cascaded through therge window panes that were sorge and clean I felt like I''d fall if I leaned against them, and the other tower where Dad usually worked could be seen opposite of us, stretching high into the sky from the same lobby we''d just been in. The tiles were smooth granite, a mixture of marbled ck and white that looked clean enough to sleep on, and some of the walls had screens in them. Screens! Now I knew where the League had taken that technology from, because they looked exactly like what I''d seen during my stay on the ind. "The tower we''re in right now is Jubilee." Mel''s voice was a whisper, if even that. With the amount of people around us, she felt the urge to be discreet, even if we weren''t talking about anything important. "The other''s called Innovation." My mouth was agape at the sight. "Cool¡­" I muttered. "Do you guys have, like, virtual reality stuff? Holograms instead of presentations with slides when you''re pitching an idea?" My liaison snorted. "Not quite yet, though they''re working on that at Innovation." She brought her hands up, making sure her ponytail was tight enough. Melody hade dressed in a gray suit with a white blouse and dark heels that made her even taller than she already was. I''d never tell her I was jealous about that, though. "How are you feeling about today and tomorrow?" This time, my voice lowered into a whisper as well. "I missed you too, Mel." "Don''t be like that," sheined, shaking her head. "This is serious business, Grace. Things might go wrong during the final negotiations, and Aubri''s in the building. Three floors down." Jellicent echoed her words, though I knew what he wanted the most was to get out of here and get back to reading books. "Yeah, sorry. I''m just feeling bubbly about seeing you and Dad again, that''s all," I said. "I''m feeling good, though. I mean, the deal is basically done, right? We just get thewyers to look at it and we all sign, then we present it to the board together tomorrow?" "People have a tendency to get jittery at the end of negotiations," she said, almost in a teaching manner. "It never hurts to be vignt, yes?" "Hmhm. What do you think Aubri''s nning?" Melody perked up. She really did like talking about this. "She''s been pushed outpletely, so either she goes nuclear and threatens to bleed thepany if they don''t at least include her, or she presents a rival bid to the board tomorrow and hopes for the best. I don''t really see her doing any of these things, but her liaison Jules might have convinced her." There was a word I caught on specifically. "Include?" "Yes. She''s getting shafted, and it would be a way to cut her losses. Of course, she could also contact us and try to worm her way in to get something out of this." "Huh. I thought she''d be more likely to go scorched earth on us," I muttered. "I guess I don''t really know her that well." "She''s difficult to work with, but she''s also not blind enough to see when she''s been outyed," Melody said. "She didn''t really get outyed¡­ more like Bobby and Ramon threw her under the bus," I whispered. "Not that I mind, I mean, I''m benefiting and it was my idea." "A good one," she specified before yelling. "Ladies and gentlemen, the room to the left!" We all filed into an office space that reminded me of the room I''d first negotiated my contract with Poketch with back in Hearthome. The rustic vibe was like I''d stepped into a different building, with old paintings adorning the walls, leathered couches and a makeshift firece that was there for decoration and a screen disyed mes instead of there being actually burning wood. There was, of course, a long table with around twenty chairs for everyone to sit on, but I knew the homely vibe Mel had gone with had been intentional to put everyone at ease. sses of water had already been ced at every seat, and Melody introduced me to apanywyer I had no idea she had afforded me. Ramon''s Raticate instantly jumped and sprawled on one of the couches, his tail curling up behind him. Every other Pokemon joined their trainer at the table. One of thewyers pulled out a stack of papers from a briefcase and distributed them along. Ramonzily leaned back, bncing on two legs of his chair with an arm slung over the backrest without a care in the world, but he looked exactly like he did when he had spoken to me in Eterna City. Baby-faced as he was, he still managed to look threatening to me, at least. Jellicent whispered in my ear that Bobby''s leg was bouncing in his seat, which meant he was nervous. More nervous than he ought to be. Wasn''t today good for him? Craig sat at the head of the table like he owned the ce, my eyes struggling not to be drawn to him and Dot. He wasn''t even doing anything that grand. Just chatting with one of the suits next to him with a bright smile on his face, but his voice carried far even if it was quiet, if that made sense. There was a presence about him that no one else in this room had, even if he was therergely for a ceremonial role because this was his position, we were carving out. I doubted he''d be doing much talking. Melody pped her hands, seemingly taking charge and getting everyone''s attention. "Okay, everyone! Let''s start reading through the document and get into the nitty gritty of this deal, shall we¡­" Mimi poked my arm around my wrist toin, and I rubbed the edge of their metallic skin. Melody essentially went over the same deal I''d negotiated, but in much further detail and she had given the n actual legs to stand on, transforming it from an idea on a napkin to a real, tangible deal where everyone would, in theory, be happy. "So if we are in agreement, Grace Pastel will be Pokemon Trainer Ambassador for the Unovan region for a period of one circuit and then will ascend to the newly created position of Poketch Trainer Representative, henceforth representing thepany as a whole, once a suitable trainer is found to rece her," Melody said. Bobby''s liaison nodded¡ª Dennis Hemsworth, if I remembered correctly. "Bob Wace will rece her as ambassador in Sinnoh. Of course, this will be slow and the¡­ ''takeover'' will happen over the summer. Their proposed sries are annexed on page three." "That''s not very wholesomenguage," Ramon chimed in from the side. "Takeover makes it sound hostile. We''re all pals here." There were some grumbles from their camp, but Hemsworth corrected his words when Bobby asked him to. "And I''ll leave you kids to it when I retire," Craig said. "Like dividing a falling kingdom, eh?" Ramon chuckled. "I hope you make it and be Champion, bud." Sinnoh''s strongest trainer inclined his head. "I appreciate the thought. Now, won''t you tell us what your y is so we can stop walking on eggshells here?" A chill spread throughout the room, and every eye locked in on Ramon. Light brown skin, dark hair and clothes that were more appropriate for going to the beach than a business meeting, with the way he wore his shorts and sleeveless shirt. Bobby''s foot tapping came to a sudden stop, and he rxed all of a sudden, almost as if something bad happening was soothing him. In a way, I could understand having the tension from anticipating the rug to be pulled from under you finally leaving now that it actually had happened. "Out with it," Bob said, almost smiling. "I''d never stab you in the back, Bobby," Ramon said. "I do want to know something, though. This is nothing that fucks you over, don''t worry. It doesn''t even fuck the deal over, really. I have no horse in this race." "You are benefitting, though," I spoke up. "This deal, it opens up future positions in different regions. It basically means that you could potentially be an ambassador for a region other than Unova. Hell, you could even be the Unovan recement after my year is up, if you think that''ll take too much time. Bobby wants to stay here, and so does Aubri, ording to your own words but you''ve never expressed a want to stick to Sinnoh." I''d known this, of course, but the fact that Unova would be open after one year had meant that if he did want to go there, the position would be open to him. He had the temperament, the looks and the skill for it. Who else would be in a better position than him? Sharon wasn''t even involved in this. Bobby stared at his friend wide-eyed, as if he hadn''t even considered the fact that he could want to leave the country. That had been his blindspot, then. Sentimentality. Ramon nodded. "Yeah. I knew you knew, and you knew I knew. That''s good, great, even, but¡­ Amandine?" The short, nervous woman next to him stood up from her chair. "Aubri Schneider approached us and informed us of a potential¡­ hup in the deal." Her voice was quick, almost frantic. "Exin," Both Melody and Dennis spoke as one. The woman shrunk down, her eyes hidden by her blonde bangs. "Um, it''s not a loophole, exactly¡ª it''s¡ª it''s a matter of if everyone here is negotiating in good faith or not, right? The issue we ran into is in the matter of the potential power and influence Grace Pastel and her future recement could amass after plunging into the Unovan market. There are fears that it''s sorge it could shift Poketch''s attention and budget to the region instead of Sinnoh." "Not in a year," Mel said. "Not in a year," Amandine nodded. "But the consequences for Sinnohan sponsors could be disastrous. Money could dry up and sries could be shed if too much attention is redirected to Unova." Ramon would benefit from this, and yet he didn''t care so long as Bobby was guaranteed to not get fucked over. He cared for his friend, so much so that he was willing to stymie his potential future ie over it. It was admirable, even if I hated the fact that it might throw a wrench into everything. "What do you propose, then?" Melody said. "When we pitch this to the board, we add in a protection from the Sinnohan wing of thepany," Amandine shakily said. "Um, I have with me those stiptions." She dragged out more papers from her own suitcase and passed them around, something which Melody, her team and mywyer started poring over. "This won''t hurt anyone in the deal or affect the money Grace Pastel earns, especially since she''ll only be in the position for a year. Think of it as insurance for the people sticking to Sinnoh, yes? A reminder to stick to our roots¡ª are¡ª are we okay?" "That''s the gist of it," Ramon said. "Sorry about this, really sorry, Aubri came to me with this like one hour before the meeting. Amandine and her team barely had time to prepare this as it is." "Intentionally," Bobby sighed. "She thought that with less time, the deal might fall apart." "I wasn''t going to sink it, Bobby," Ramon said. "I''m just looking out for you. You''ll be keeping this position for years, but it doesn''t mean shit if they take away the money to spend it in Unova." There was anotherponent to this, but one that I didn''t care for one bit. While this deal wasn''t forcing me out, screwing me out of money or twisting my arm, they were basically saying that if I was trying to suck all the money out of Sinnoh and screw Bobby on the way out, it wasn''t going to work. Insurance, she had called it, and it was an apt definition. Too bad they werepletely off the mark. I had not nned on screwing over any of them, so this really didn''t bother me at all. Maybe they still believed I was prone to revenge. This was, however, not pleasing to the business executives representing thepany as a whole and not the trainers. Hell, even Melody grumbled under her breath that if thepany wanted to allocate its budget overseas, it should be allowed to, especially if the investments would repay themselves over time. "Victor needs to take a better look at it before agreeing, but it looks good at first nce," Melody said, nudging her head toward thewyer. "Do me a favor, Amandine, the next time the Sneasel tries to get into the Delibird nest, don''t let her in." The shy blonde shrunk back. "I thought it was something worth looking at." "Everything else is fine, though?" another executive asked. "Yup, we''re all good," Ramon said. "Should we let thewyers look it over?" We all agreed and imed the numerous couches present in the room, though our liaisons all stayed with thewyers to get a better understanding on what would be added to the contract and to tie up any loose ends. Bobby had calmed down since the start of the meeting, the only trace of anxiety being a crease in his forehead and a slightly more pronounced lisp. His Meganium stood behind his seat, her head positioned on his shoulder, and I could smell her sweet fragrance from here. Ramon was caressing his Raticate''s head, his cap turned forward and covering his face, and I huddled next to Buddy who had formed into a squishy pillow and neatly enveloped me. "You kids holding up fine?" Craig strode up to us, his Orbeetle back into her Pokeball, for whatever reason. We all silently nodded. "You should all be proud. You negotiated something unprecedented today," he continued, sitting down to face all of us. "Tensions were high in that meeting, but¡­ really, it''s all boring, isn''t it?" Ramon and Iughed, though I was the one to speak. "I''d rather be spending time with my Dad." "I''d rather be training," Ramon shrugged. "Never been big into the business stuff. Amandine''s a real lifesaver." "I don''t know, I like business stuff," Bobby said. "Yeah, but you''ve always been a weirdo," his friend grinned, turning toward me. "Isn''t he weird?" "I mean¡­ who isn''t weird? Not me, of course, I''m perfectly normal," I said with a serene smile. "Says the girl sinking into a ghost!" Bobby protested, much to Jellicent''s displeasure. "You''re the weirdest here, Grace." "Bobby, they say you like smelling your Chandelure''s mes," I shrugged, leaning forward. "That''s not weird to you?" Ramon perked up. "I mean, my team''s pretty basic, so if we''re going off Pokemon¡ª" "Don''t even bother," the other teen groaned. "The fact that you stick to those Pokemon is strange in the first ce. No offense, Raticate." The normal type hadn''t even reacted. "What''s so wrong about wanting to use a Persian and a Mightyena instead of some shitty dragon?" Ramon asked. I nced toward Craig, wondering if he had smoothed out the tension here on purpose or by pure ident. His small wink showed me that it was the former, and he rose from his seat a minuteter to go and speak to a few of the suits who wanted a word with him. Eventually though, I needed to head to the bathroom and away from Ramon and Bobby asking me about my two new Pokemon. Yeah, I''d forgotten about the number of Pokeballs on my belt and mindlessly posted online about Princess and Honey when Melody had asked, and now people were theorizing online about what it was and wondering if that was why I''d been missing all week, though it wouldn''t exin the League Kadabra. I spilled out into the wide, busy hallway of Jubilee Tower''s twenty-second floor. "Maybe I should have asked where the bathroom even was," I muttered to Jellicent and Mimi. "I''m pretty sure I saw one on the way here." There was no doubt the ghost was terrifying to anyone walking past us, and I had to tell him to stop ring like he wanted to murder them. That was, until he pointed me to the bathroom sign with a tentacle, saying that if I hadn''t been focused on how he looked, I would have caught it. "Come on, I''m just trying to help you look more friendly. Is being here really that much of a pain? Actually, don''t answer that." The bathroom wasrger than my entire apartment. The walls were adorned with subtle, nature-inspired artwork, creating a weird vibe that I wasn''t sure I liked or disliked. A gentle scent of a light air freshener lingered in the air, and just like everywhere else, the floors were squeaky clean, though they were covered inrge turquoise tiles. The sinks were all built on a single reclined b of marble with touchless soap dispensers, and at the edge of the room was Aubri Schneider. Dark brown hair that almost appeared ck, high, pronounced cheekbones nearly hidden by her long hair and a body marred by three years worth of scars. She had half her right hand missing, leaving only her thumb, an eyepatch covering a missing eye, where a scar could be seen angled toward her forehead in a diagonal, and burns on her right arm deeper than mine. She had actually done her hair, which was from what I understood a rarity, and her skin was almost as pale as Justin''s. I tensed, almost by reflex even if she wasn''t looking at me. There was an aura around her that choked out the air out of a room, an oppressive feeling in my chest, like I was looking at a figure of authority even though she wasn''t. The best word to describe her would be intense. I ignored her, not wanting to get into any drama, and I entered the stall closest to the exit with Jellicent. I was going to wait until she left to pee, but from outside the room, Aubri spoke up. "I suppose the meeting went over well," she said. Her voice was low and had a certain rasp to it. No Chatot to trante her words this time. He was probably too much of a hassle to carry in such a professional setting. "You''re trying to fish information from me." I kept it at that, making sure my voice was as neutral as possible in case she could infer anything from my tone. The water from the sink cut off. "I already know the deal''s gone through," she continued. "That gambit wasn''t meant to blow up the deal." "I don''t know what you''re talking about," I feigned. "What was it, then? The goal?" There was a little sound, like augh, barely audible. "Secure my position as much as possible. It was a fair y, the way you brought Bobby and Ramon to your side. Very innovative." "I don''t understand. You''re praising me?" "One can dislike a girl and still recognize when she''s been beaten, even if I still maintain that you keep lucking your way into connections you have no right to be making at your level of skill and that without those you would be nothing, but it''s no use crying over spilled milk. What''s done is done." "Huh. Okay. I wouldn''t be nothing, by the way, but whatever." I was confident enough now in my skill as a trainer to know she was just being bitter. "I worked hard for this. You of all people shouldn''t be able to deny that." "Sure thing," she said, clearly dismissive. "I''m not saying that you didn''t work hard. I had to crawl my way up here inch by inch by myself. You''re just handed everything by the government on a silver tter. It was a League Kadabra that Teleported you here, isn''t it? I wonder what would have happened if you spending so long looking for two new Pokemon had actual consequences and you had missed the meeting today or tomorrow? Never mind that you''re not even supposed to be able to get more than six Pokemon before the eighth badge." She was right in front of the stall now. I could see her feet below the door. "You''re given, given, given, and you have the audacity to act so¡­ self-built." There were a million things I could have said, in that moment. Anger red at the fact that she made my experience in Lakhutia sound like a fucking stroll through the park where I''d just wasted time. Like I hadn''t condemned a woman to her death, gotten many more Pokemon killed and lost Maxwell his hand. Like Honey hadn''t lost his hand. Jellicent''s skin rippled and bubbled in anger as his head swelled in the enormous stall, and the edges of Mimi''s form sharpened, the metal growing hotter to the touch. There was an urge to press my hands together. To just squeeze until I bled, until I passed out on the floor. Aubri didn''t know. She didn''t know, but she was still being a bitch about it. Lou¡­ damn it. I wanted to see Dad. I wanted to see Aliyah. I wanted to see Cecilia. I wanted to see Lou. "...Are you okay?" Aubri''s voice rang out. I was silently sobbing. "Fuck you." She cursed at herself under her breath, though I heard it anyway. "I didn''t expect you to cry, Arceus. I''m sorry." "Leave me alone." Her feet under the stall disappeared, and I heard her take a few steps away from me until she came back around ten secondster. "Do you¡ª should I call someone over? Someone in your meeting, or¡­ shit, I''m bad at this." "M¡ªMel. Call Mel." "Melody Summers. Got it," she said before pausing. "And for what it''s worth, I know I must have stepped on a sensitive subject, and I apologize. We all have our issues, and¡­ yeah, sorry." I wiped my eyes, sniffling in silence with Buddy continuously asking if I was alright. Mimi formed back into their original shape and squealed up at me with worry. They hated conflict and fighting in general, and¡­ I was tired. I wanted to go back home and sleep. Buddy asked me to please keep my hands straight and to stay strong, and I did. For him. By the time Mel walked into the silent bathroom, my face had turned into a mess and standing up seemed like the hardest thing in the world. "Grace? Aubri came over and said you needed help? Are you okay? Can you open the door?" Right. The door was locked. It was also so far away. Jellicent clicked with urgency in his tone, and Mimi returned to their bracelet-like state around my wrist. His tentacle extended, turning to ice until he could push the lock of the door open and Melody entered, wrapping me into a hug thatsted a good two minutes where I could finish my crying in peace until there was no emotion left to give. "What happened?" "Stupid stuff. I''m¡ª I''m better now," I said. "Sorry. Is the deal okay?" "The deal is fine, but you¡ª I''ve never seen you like this." "You didn''t see me after the raid," I muttered, more aggressively than I wanted. "I''m sorry." "That''s fine. Do you want to get out of the bathroom?" "I need to pee." "Right. I''ll get out, and then we can leave together, okay?" My liaison slipped out of the room, though she stayed right behind the door. Unlike Aubri, she was aforting presence. "Are you sure you don''t want to talk about it? I''m here for you, Grace." "Yeah, it''s, uh, League stuff again," I said with a slight sniffle as I sat on the toilet. "You know how that goes already." Buddy whistled, saying it might be nice to vent to someone else about this, but I silently shook my head. It wasn''t that I didn''t trust Melody, but I''d already been ying loose with League rules and there had to be a limit somewhere. "Well, if you ever change your mind," she said before pausing. "Since the deal is being finalized and all that remains is seeing the board tomorrow, why don''t you and I get out of here? I can bring you to your father if you want. You said he was in Mrtague Park?" "What if Aubri uses me not being here to push something? What if this is what she wants?" "I don''t think that''d be the case. She looks really guilty about whatever happened here, and that''s not exactly her style. She''s usually a lot more stoic and an unemotional kid, even if her Chatot can discern what she truly feels. Either way, she has no cards left to y, Grace. She lost. That was a y to maintain her sry, so not exactly something someone does when they had a master n at the ready." I sighed. It''d be easier if she was the viin. Easier to exin the feelings that told me to rip emotion out of her and leave her an empty shell that I could cut. Or to subtly take away something from her and leave her feeling wrong, but for her not to know what that wrong was and to have to think about what the hell had happened to her for the rest of her life. I''d get away with it, too. But no. I couldn''t. Whatever. She was still an asshole and I wanted nothing to do with her. "So do you want to see your Dad?" "Hmhm." "I''ll drive you there with one of the cars. This ce can be a lot when you aren''t used to it, so I understand." After finishing up with the bathroom, I pulled out the stic gloves I used for my hands and washed my face, though Mimiined about some of the water getting on them. I stared at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath. You''re fine. Breathe. I exhaled until my lungs werepletely empty and forced a smile on my face. "I''m better," I said. "But yeah, I''d like to leave. Just let me say goodbye to Ramon, Bobby and Craig on the way out?" "Of course." She wrapped me in a one-armed hug and I allowed myself to lean into thefort. She was too understanding for her own good, sometimes. Even after I hid things from her for so long, she was still so helpful. "I wonder how Dad is doing," I muttered. "Knowing your Pokemon, horribly." I chuckled. "I have faith in him." We were out of the building ten minutester.
Chapter 292 Chapter 292
CHAPTER 292 Iy my head against the ss of the car, still feeling the dried tears on my cheek. My wrist was level with the window so Mimi would be able to see the streets, and my foot tapped anxiously against the bottom of Melody''s car. We''d just driven out of the parking lot, and I was stuck in my thoughts. Stuck thinking about Aubri, and what she''d said to me. Her words, I didn''t even bother registering. She had no idea what she was talking about and was just jealous of me, but what had she even expected me to do? To just give up everything I had so she could feel better about herself? Was the only way she''d ever tolerate me be if I screwed myself over so she could benefit? I wasn''t asking to be friends, just for a crumb of respect. Clicking my tongue in frustration and wishing the urges to break her left, I turned toward Melody, who was wearing sunsses and had her brown her tied into a chignon behind her head. "Are you okay?" she asked for what felt like the thousandth time. "Do you want to stop somewhere on the way to the park? I can get you some food, or a drink." I grumbled, "Some food would be nice, I guess. Can we stop by an Arlyle''s?" "Sure thing," she sighed in relief. Sometimes, when I looked at my liaison, I saw a woman built for the cutthroat business that was building a career in Poketch, and other times I saw a woman who had built up these protectiveyers for herself, but was in reality as soft as a marshmallow. "Since you don''t want to talk about what happened," she said. "I have exciting news, if you want?" "Good news?" "Good and exciting," she specified. "Remember when I talked to you about your merch designs? I''ll be sending you the ones we workshopped with the team and you can give your input on what you think. If you approve, they''ll start getting mass-produced, and you''ll get a cut of the profits." "Woah. I get a cut?" She nodded. "Admittedly, it''s smaller than what it would be if you were working with an actual clothingpany, but it''s still ten percent of the sales." "That seems¡­ really small?" "It''s not! It builds up extremely quickly, you''ll see," Mel smiled. "But all of that to say, money isn''t going to be an issue for you, even with Ramon and Bobby''s y. I''m afraid you won''t be seeing much of it before the Conference because of how long setting everything up will be, but next year, they''ll be selling like hotcakes." I did feel better about that. "Cool. Thank you." "We''ll be trying to sell them in Unova too, though maybe we''ll drop the knife merch for that one¡ª" I gasped. "There''s a knife?!" "The de isn''t metal, it doesn''t actually cut things." When I sighed, she snorted. "I knew you''d be disappointed about that, but we can''t go and be selling actual knives, can we?" "Whatever¡­ I still want one." "See? Don''t you feel better now?" "Kinda." The car stopped at another red light. "I''ll take that. You know, it''s hard to understand what you''re going through, but it''s not hard to tell that it''s difficult. I know Aubri gave you a tough time, but what she said wasn''t true, Grace. I hope you know that." "Hmhm." "When I was seventeen, I ran away from home and settled into Hearthome," Melody started. "My parents wanted me to be a man, and they wanted me to be a trainer who''d meet a girl on their journey and bring her back in Sceon after the year was over. Basically, they wanted me to be ''normal''." There was something of a saddened smile on her face. "I ran away to escape all of that. I was almost homeless for a while, but eventually I found people to help out. Remember when I told you I worked with Mallory a few times in the past?" Mallory, the woman who had given me my interview in Veilstone. "Yeah?" "We were roommates. Her, her future husband she met at a Pokemon rights protest, me and another man, and we were living from paycheck to paycheck for a while," Mel smiled. "I didn''t want to tell you because I hate what she''s be, but I digress. The point I wanted to reach was that sometimes, two people sh in such a way that means they''ll probably always be a little at odds. Maybe you just don''t mesh well. Maybe you''re just fundamentally different in a way that makes you impossible to be around each other." Melody drove the car into a drive-through and sighed. "Or maybe, you''re so simr that those simrities grate," she continued, loosening her hands around the wheel. "Because you''d think that you''d be best friends with someone almost exactly like you, but those subtle differences that are still there? They get on your nerves, because you couldn''t fathom how someone you think was basically you in a mirror could¡­ say these things. Or in your case, I guess it would be do these things." She was talking old history. About her and Mallory. "I think Aubri sees herself in you," Melody said. "She sees another version of her that has a biggerwork of support than she ever had, and it makes her angry to see what she could have been. Completely unjustified, but she''s still a kid, even if she''s older than you. Talented, incredibly hard-working, but still a kid. Just like you." I didn''t really know what to say to that. I was still bitter, with Aubri''s words fresh in my mind, so I decided to change the subject. "How were you and Mallory simr? Beyond the ruthless businesswoman vibe." Mel chuckled. "At first, we met because I found it horrible that we just send fifteen year olds out into the wild, that so many of them are injured or die, and we just find that normal. But then¡­ you know. I started working at Poketch, and I had to put principles behind me, while she went all in on trainer abolition. We just went our separate ways. And now there''s this sma nonsense¡ª what do you want to eat?" "Uh, can I just have threerge fries and a grape soda?" Melody ryed my order to the inte and slowly drove the car forward. "I''m not asking you to forgive her, but I''m trying to help," she said. "At least I hope that helped." "It did. Genuinely," I nodded. "Thank you. By the way, what do you mean, your parents wanted you to be a man, by the way? Like, you were raised a boy?" "Oh, I''m transgender." "Huh?" "I''m transgender," she repeated. I blinked. "Oh. I didn''t know." "Well, from the way you reacted, that''s rather obvious. Threerge fries, by the way? That''s a strange order." "Their fries are great when they''re fresh¡­" ¡ª We found my Dad sitting on a bench and staring at Sweetheart with a desperate, but defeated look. She''d found a pond to settle in and was having fun in it despite it being to shallow for her, but that meant she was taking all the space actual smaller water types could be using. I chewed on my final remaining fries and waved at Dad, then, the tension left his shoulders as he stood. "Thank the Legendaries you''re here," Dad exhaled as he made his way toward us. "I don''t think I''m very good at babysitting your team, Grace." "Well, nothing happened, right?" I asked. "No." "Then you''re good at it!" I smiled. Sunshine noticed me out of the corner of his eye, but stayed down because of how he was. "Things could have been a lot worse. Damaged public property, an injured Pokemon¡­" My father nched, but recuperated quickly enough to greet Melody. "Ms. Summers, thank you for bringing Grace here, I appreciate it." Ms. Summers? Legendaries, that was weird. Bet it made her feel old, even if she didn''t say anything about it. Mel nodded. "Don''t worry about it, I was just doing my job." "How was the deal? Did everything go well?" My liaison nced at me, as if she wanted to ask if I was telling him or not. There was apse of silence until I gathered my courage and continued. "Yeah, it went well. There was this girl, um, who was mean to me because she''s been wanting more money, but other than that, it was fine." Dad frowned. "Nothing too bad, I hope. I can talk to her, if you want me to." It was endearing, how quickly he got angry for me even if Aubri Schneider''s team was strong enough to reach the semi-finals of the Conference, or maybe even further this year. Of course, he didn''t know that, but still, Dad had always been a little vengeful even though people are nice enough that I hadn''t seen this side of him often. "It''s fine, it''s been dealt with," I said. "So? How''d you find this part of the team?" While my father exined everything that had gone on during their stay at the park, Sweetie and Angel finally noticed me. The former dragged herself out of the pond, water glistening off her tes and dripping down her jagged edges and tail. People had long cleared enough space around her to leave her an open path to me, but Mel and Dad took a step back. Tyranitar left imprints on the ground when she ran, and I outstretched my hands to hug her while someone screamed in the background. Sweetheart stopped before she could crush me under her weight or run me over, as she always did, and I hugged her even though my hands couldn''t very well wrap around much of her body. cing an ear against her stomach, I felt her tes vibrate as she let out a low growl. "I missed you too. Sorry the city isn''t really great for you to hang out in." Angel reached us soon after, joining in on the hug, and I heard Melody whisper something about filming this. "Let''s have some fun, yeah? I''m free for the rest of the afternoon¡ª hey, Sunshine!" I leaned to the left to get the dragon in my line of sight. "We''reing, so don''t think you''ve escaped us!" I released Buddy, and ydol, for good measure. I didn''t really care about hiding the psychic given the fact that people would see them in action when I battled Byron, and it ought to shut down some of the wild theorizing that had been running rampant for thest day. For around an hour and a half, I was with my family, and Dad kept saying they were way better behaved with me than with him, especially Sunshine and Sweetheart. He talked with Mel for a while, and I was surprised she didn''t leave. Instead, she just kept filming me and taking pictures for PR stuff, which made me feel a little dirty about not being able to just enjoy some time with my team without having to show others how ''great'' and ''rtable'' I was for it, or whatever, but at least I wouldn''t have to post them because she had ess to my ount. Angel''s vine bed hadsted the entire time and wasn''t killing the grass on the floor at a rapid pace. Only a few patches here and there had died thanks to a trick we''d discovered I''d aptly named nutritional cycling. Maybe sharing would have been a better name. Basically, the vines would take, but they would also give, sustaining themselves and the nts they were using in some kind of closed-loop system. Of course, eventually the nts would die, but it''d take way longer for it to happen. It would be useful for what we were nning against Byron, even more so now that Honey wouldn''t be able to join the fight. I''d be trying to study him deeper, now, and fully throwing myself into his personal team. The most problematic Pokemon of his I could fight were Bronzong, Skarmory, Steelix or Forretress. It wasn''t that the others would be easy, but that I had the right tool set to better deal with them. Bastiodon, for example, was an immobile fortress when the field hadn''t been set up for him, and would be a sitting duck for my attacks. Magnezone was the one I had the most experience with and fought in a way I was familiar with. It was the same with Aggron, since I''d practiced so many times against Lauren''s though Byron''s Aggron had a few key differences from hers. Bronzong, I''d already gone over, but the problem with Steelix was his absolutely massive size that would have me run into the same issue I did with Wake''s Gyarados, except worse. The sheer amount of power avable to it was worse than Jasmine''s, but it was still capable of taking down all of my Pokemon other than Buddy and Sweetheart in just a few hits. Luckily, its size meant dodging any attacks was basically impossible, but Steelix could easily run through a team if Byron sent him after dealing with your heaviest hitters first. Skarmory was capable of shifting the metal on her body and could fly even after weighing her body down with Curse. In fact, she used it to ram into others with the full weight of spirits behind her and to power up her attacks. Forretress knew way too many moves to count and was the most versatile of Byron''s Pokemon by far. Sr Beam, Ice Spinner, Venoshock... Legendaries, there was a lot, and that wasn''t counting the dreaded Hyper Beam and Zap Cannon. Again, the others could be an issue, Excadrill especially, but I wasn''t seeing the angle. Then again, maybe that was the point. To catch me off-guard and lead with something I wasn''t expecting at all. Either way, the team and I were working toward what I hoped would be a victory. Princess would be out of the center soon and be ready to keep training ydol, too. Eventually though, I decided to message Mira to see if she''d be willing to hang out tonight, and maybe have me sleep over? She took a while to answer, probably because she was busy, but she did answer and agree to me swinging by, along with her address. Part of me was relieved, because I''d thought things between us were so awkward she''d say no or the dreaded maybe that would have really meant ''no, but I don''t feelfortable with saying no''. The day had started off terribly, but maybe it was salvageable after all. I told Dad about it when we left, and Melody went her separate way, though she made sure to remind me that I''d need to be at Poketch again tomorrow. Dad''s car was tiny. It was still a four-seater, but it was something I''d call cute. It was a light grey and was the second car he''d owned since I''d been born. I settled into the front seat, wrapping my seatbelt around me and reclining the seat backward in hopes of catching some sleep. For a while, we rode home in silence, but Dad spoke up around the halfway point. "I''m d you have people to spend time with, now." "Dad," Iined with my eyes still closed. "I''m just making conversation." "I know, but¡­ not now, you know?" I heard him tap his finger against the wheel. "You know, Lynn and rissa called me to ask about you when you were at your Poketch thing." My fingers twitched. "What''d they say? They never called me even once, so it better not be something about wanting to see me again." "Well, they did want to see you again," he said. "But mostly they were asking how you were doing." "Well, if they want to talk to me, they can do that without going through you. I still have the same phone I did before I went on the Circuit. We were never that close, and they probably just want to try their luck now that I''m famous or something." He nodded. "Fair enough. I''d give them a chance, if I were you, but I won''t force you to do anything." "I don''t want to see them." What would be the point? A few hours spent with people I would never be able to rte to anymore? At least with trainers, there was something to bond over, but they''d never even been interested in battling. None of my old school friends had gone on the Circuit, and evenst year I hadn''t been able to get that close to them. I sat next to them in ss, ate with them at lunch and spoke with them, but I was more of a third wheel than anything else. Less than that, when they hung out with their other friends. "Well, if you were wondering, they''re both going to college after they spend some of their gap years working," he shrugged. "Why not go right away? I know money isn''t an issue." He shrugged. "I don''t know. You''d have to ask them." "Ha, ha. Nice try." "Well, I''m d you have friends now." "They were friends. School friends." "I''m d you have more than school friends," he corrected himself. "People your age you can talk to outside of school." My lips tugged upward. "Yeah. Me too." ¡ª Mira''s apartment sat in a building much like mine, except it was on the outskirts east of the city instead of the center. I hadn''t known much about her home life before journeying, save for the fact that her parents had died in a car ident and her uncle had gone crazy and joined Team Gctic because of it. It hadn''t been because of a drunk driver, or anything, from what I knew. There was no one explicitly in the wrong, no one who the sole mey upon. I had rarely gone to this section of Jubilife, save for when I left or entered the city during the start of journey, and even then, I''d kept my head down both times and just rushed through. I had noticed that cars tended to go a lot faster than in the city center. Fast enough to be fatal, especially at night when luminosity was low. My father asked me if this was the right address, and when I told him yes, he quickly found a ce to park nearby. Mira''s neighborhood wasn''t¡­ great. The roads and infrastructure here were well-maintained and crime wasn''t rampant like the northern part of the city with all of its abandoned factories and people that had lost their jobs after Sinnoh opened its frontiers to global trade and foreign businesses with Cynthia''s ascension to the position of Champion, but it wasn''t great. It was like everything here was slightly off-beat. The neighborhood was dotted with a mixture of modest, aging homes and apartmentplexes. While some properties maintained a sense of wealth with well-keptwns and flower pots on the windowsills, others showed signs of wear and tear, with peeling paint and overgrown yards. The streets weren''t as bustling as they should have been, especially on a Friday evening with the weekending up, and there were more wild Pokemon here than I was used to rummaging through the streets or sitting on roofs and electrical cables linking poles together. Spearow and Starly red at each other with animosity that I could feel ran deep, a generational conflict that spanned this part of the city. "Are you sure you''re okay?" Dad asked through the opened window. "Dad, a less fortunate neighborhood isn''t the end of the world." I turned toward him and smiled, though I found it weird that this was what he worried about after me having gone on a journey and having Pokemon to keep me protected. "I''ll be fine, I have Buddy there with me. Here." I released the ghost at my side, asking him to shadow me like usual. "Feeling better?" "And if anything like this afternoon happens again, I''m right here, okay?" "Yup. See youter, and be careful on the road!" He drove off after a wave, the car kicking up dust from the worn asphalt, and I was left alone facing Mira''s apartmentplex. There were simrities to mine. The faded paint on the bricks, these ones a dull orange instead of a pale blue and covered in too many cracks to count. The difference teenagers were hanging out here with a Machop and Toxicroak, smelling like alcohol and shrinking like wilting flowers as I passed by with Jellicent. Empath or not, it was obvious they were terrified of me. Trainers like me probably didn''t show up here very often, and from what I understood Mira was basically ying shut-in, at the moment. "Luckily she''s only on the second floor," Iined, steadying myself to climb the narrow stairs. "I don''t think I would have made it up all the way to the top." Buddy helpfully suggested that Angel could have carried me up, though he rescinded the statement when realizing that these old stairs would probably copse under his weight. Still, the ghost sank into the cracks in the wall, slithering up the dimly lit staircase while emanating with a glowing blue light. Each step was a trial, and each step kicked up more dust that had nearly started a coughing fit. Mimi seemed none the wiser, sending continuous pulses of excitement at the new sights, though I could tell they wanted to hop off my wrist and explore on their own. Mira''s apartment would be a nice distraction for them now that they didn''t have to stay hidden, at the very least. Heaving for air, I reached the second floor by pushing myself on the banister with my left hand and my crutch with my right. Buddy didn''t congratte me, because he knew I wouldn''t take it very well to be praised for walking, but I did understand by looking into his shining red eyes that he was proud of me. This was, I knew, a sign that my ankle was getting better. Two weeks ago, I wouldn''t have been able to climb such a steep and narrow staircase, crutches or not. "She should be here," I huffed, looking at the apartment the nearest to the stairs. I knocked a few times, and a chill spread below my feet, wrapping around my ankles until Jellicent''s eyes shed and Mira''s Gengar squealed in a dozen different gargles, slipping past the door again and leaving a puff of purple smoke. "Nice attempt at a prank, but you''ll have to try a little harder to scare us." Though, from the way Mimi was trembling around my wrist, it had worked on at least one of us. I heard Gengar cackle behind the door, clearly reveling in the feeling of fear and I clicked my tongue. "Just go get Mira, yeah? I need to get in here." The ghost left, and with him, the cold followed and I could no longer see my breath. I hadn''t seen Gengar since Pastoria, but clearly, he hadn''t lost his pranking streak. At least they were harmless now, unlike the time he''d tried to send Louis to the hospital shortly before Mira left the city. The walls here were thin, because even from here I could hear Mira scolding Gengar. It took another twenty seconds for her to reach the door and open it. She looked¡­ better. Tired, not good, but better. Her long, pink hair was free-flowing and reached the upper part of her leg. She''d grown a little again since I''d seen her, being slightly an inch taller than me, and she wore a drab white oversized shirt and blue shorts. Gengar''s presence echoed around her, a writhing, shivering mass of ghostly energy that had the entire hallway feel incredibly cold. Hopefully he didn''t haunt the other inhabitants here. "You''re here already?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "I¡ª I mean, hey. Uh, yeah, hi." "It''s the time we agreed on. Look, before all of¡­ this, I just want to ask, are we¡­ are we okay?" It had eaten at me, since the raid. One would have to be blind to not see that she''d taken to the torture much harder than I had, even if she''d forced herself to stick around while I''d enjoyed the entire matter. It had been a decision we''d both taken, but she''d overestimated herself and now was hurt. Scarred, even if they were invisible to the naked eye. Mira blinked, not knowing what to say and hesitating for a few seconds. "Yeah. I think so. I mean, I wasn''t sure what I''d feel, but if I didn''t want to reconnect, I wouldn''t have invited you here. Sorry about the stairs, by the way. If I''d kept better track of time I would have sent kazam or Gardevoir downstairs to Teleport you up." "It''s okay. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it," I muttered with a hint of a smile. "And I managed." "Great. Uh,e in,e in, it''s a bit of a mess. I haven''t really been cleaning or doing much of anything except keeping up with my training in the afternoons. And Gengy, stop it with the cold, you ass." Again, warmth returned to my skin as I was let into the apartment. It was more than a bit of a mess. I couldn''t fathom someone living here, and I''d never been great at cleaning either, with the way my Pokemon Center rooms always ended up. The ce itself wasn''t huge, which was fine, but it meant that everything was on disy, and it wasn''t pretty. Piles of dirty clothes had been thrown haphazardly on chairs, a sofa that wasn''t even aligned properly, or sometimes even the ground. There were used tes, soda cans and utensils everywhere, along with a pizza box sitting on the dining room table. "Um¡­ Gardevoir and kazam don''t clean up here?" I muttered in the least judgemental way possible. "Oh, they do. I''m just very good at dirtying stuff up," she sighed in a defeated tone. "I''m sorry, I was nning on fixing up the ce before you came, but I just fell asleep. I''ve been tired,tely. I hope you can still stay over?" "That''s okay, I don''t mind." Part of me subconsciously wanted to peek and see if she''d been lying, then, because I refused to believe they wouldn''t clean her ce up when they''d done it the entire journey for her Center rooms, but I''d trained to temper that urge and it wasn''t like I''d be able to tell anyway. Mira was the only full shard other than me, which meant our powers wouldn''t work on each other. She could freely steal, absorb and give away information and memories to any living being, and the subtle twitches on her face told me that she was probably having multiple conversations with herself in the back of her mind. She was an encased shell to my senses, and delving within her in hopes of catching a wisp of color for too long filled me with dread and a sense of being watched by something unimaginably powerful. Uxie, no doubt. "Oh, by the way!" I tried, thinking of ways to cheer her up. "Your birthday''s soon, and I was thinking¡ª if you want, obviously¡ª you coulde to my ce and celebrate. We could even go out, too! There''s this neat bowling ce nearby and we could eat out." My friend smiled. "That¡­ that actually sounds really nice, thank you. Not that I deserve it¡­" she trailed off, clearing some space to sit down on the couch. There was no television here to watch, so she just looked at me instead, and then my wrist. "Is that the Meltan?" I nodded. "Mimi." The steel type morphed back into their original form, though their eye turned to a gray line as they eyed Mira with suspicion. For a while, Mira studied the metallic construct with fascination in her eye that made me think she''d make a good professor. Hadn''t she said she wanted to find a job with one, when this was all over? Every time she asked to touch Mimi, the steel type would explode into a dozen needles and spikes and puff up to threaten her, whichmunicated the message of ''don''t touch me'' quite clearly. "I don''t think they liked Gengar," I added. "Yeah, he''s been a piece of work," Miraughed. "Been scaring the neighbors and I had the cops called on me a few times, but they all left when they realized who I was." That''s the League for you, I thought to myself. "You should probably keep him in his ball if he can''t behave." Jellicent''s huge head bobbed up and down in acquiescence. He was quite proud to have stamped out Gengar so quickly. I knew there was animosity there, with the way he had annoyed Buddy in the past as a Haunter with his pranks that had none of Honey''s charms. "Just because you can keep getting away with it doesn''t mean¡ª" A series of high-pitched screams resonated from Mira''s bedroom, causing Mimi to flinch and their entire body to wobble. Six cracked eggs hopped up and down on the hardwood floor and eyed up at me, two of them scowling, three looking happy to see me and thest looking so impossibly bored he was basically nodding off already. "It''s nice to finally meet you all!" I beamed, bending forward. "Do they have individual names?" "They¡­ kind of do," Mira said. "They can feel which one I refer to when I call for them, which is weird. I''d like to ask them how it works, but they don''t even know themselves. kazam''s fascinated by their existence as a gestalt." "Figures. Uh, speaking of kazam, where is he? And Gardevoir?" "I knew you wouldn''t let that go," she sighed, leaning back against the backrest. "I''m sorry, I lied when I said I could have sent them to Teleport you up. They''re fine, they''re just on some kind of mission right now and they wanted me to stick around in Jubilife until they came back. That''s why the apartment is like this." I raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you can''t say some kind of mission and not spill." "Pauline and Emilia are alone together in Hearthome," Mira said, swaying her head to the side. "They''re going to use Gothitelle to intervene in the shitshow that''sing, but she''s not going to tell them the full picture. She''s not good enough to. That''ll make them want to intervene. Gardevoir and kazam will be convincing them not to." "How?" My friend paused. "By saying the truth. This is partly my fault, Grace, but these people are hell-bent on figuring this out. I shouldn''t have told Emilia about my issues," she said, her voice bing a whisper. I grabbed her hand, softly enough for it not to hurt. "Yeah, I shouldn''t have. The best course of action is to scare them into submission. Nothing else will work. Hopefully they keep it to themselves and don''t tell the guys in Canve." "How do you know Gothitelle will have figured it out?" She stayed silent. "Can I tell you something?" "You can tell me anything, Mira. We''re friends." "Uxie told me." I gulped. Legendary intervention wasn''t unheard of, with the way Mesprit had forced me to go check on that cave in Celestic, even if they hadn''t shown themselves since. "Why would Uxie care about that?" I frowned, shifting in my seat. Having found worthy opponents, Mimi had hopped off my hand and was mingling with the Exeggcute, waving a tiny needle out of their hand to scare them and regain some of their pride, which wasn''t working at all. Instead, the Exeggcuteughed in their face while Buddy kept watch. "I mean, why would they care about if our friends live or die, as morbid as it sounds?" "Would it surprise you to hear that they actually¡­ care about me?" I scoffed. "What?" "I mean, not really!" She quickly brought her free hand up to signal me to wait. "They try to act like they feel bad about things even though they can''t because that''s apparently the way Arceus is. They want to be the same." "So they warned you about this? Anything else they can warn you about?" I asked. "Other than the scenarios about how Gctic strikes that I told you about already, not really. It''s blurry, but our friends end up being involved if we don''t do anything, so Uxie proposed this instead. We talk nearly every day." "Every day?!" "Yeah. They''re always tired by the end of it because they weren''t meant to use the Shard tomunicate other than for urgent matters, they were only meant to watch. So yeah, that''s why the apartment looks like Eterna Forest. Sorry." "Wait¡­ Denzel''s going to be fuming at you." "Which was why I wasn''t going to say anything until the deed was done." Mira nervously licked her lips and sighed. "Toote now, though, since you''re so nosy. They should be back during the week, depending on how many days this all takes. They have an ACE Trainer following them while they Teleport in multiple jumps." "To be honest, you weren''t great at hiding it." "I was supposed to clean things up, but I fell asleep. Honestly, I think I thought we were yesterday, I''ve been lost in my thoughts for so long that I forget when I am, sometimes." "Arceus, Mira¡ª" "It sounds worse than it is," she interrupted. "I can think so¡­ widely now. So much. Anyone would get lost while trying to adapt, I think." I nodded slowly. "Well, I trust you." "That''s it?" "Yeah. That''s it. Emilia and Pauline are going to learn the world might end, and they''ll hopefully be so shaken they stop getting involved in this. Again, I trust you." I did believe our rtionship would be irreparably damaged, and there was a pit of dread building up in my stomach. Mira smiled at me, and I smiled back. It was toote, now. If this was the only way they could make it and be safe, then it''d be better like this. "Okay. Cool," Mira said. "Cool. But I''ll have to tell Cece, Denzel and Chase about it, okay?" "Yeah, we''re cool," she added for good measure. "Um¡­ can I have a hug?" I snorted. "Come here." She was cold. Cold and afraid, shivering as I wrapped my hands around her. "You know, it feels weird to be back here," she slowly spoke, her face on my shoulder. "This ce holds so many shitty memories for me. I moved in when my parents died, and my uncle went crazy over the course of a few years, but you already know that. I don''t know why I''m talking." "You''re fine. Keep going." "I guess it feels like shit, staying here," Mira concluded. "But I can''t bring myself to leave and stay in a Pokemon Center because it''s the only bit of my past life I have left. Sometimes I just imagine fixing the ce up and moving back in with Ernie, but you know, recently, I''ve been thinking about something. Is it normal that my uncle processed the death of my mother worse than I did?" My hands froze around her, but only for a moment. "I mean, I cried. My grades fell, I lost friends, I felt like shit for a few months, but then I picked things up and started living again," she said. "But Ernie never let it go. Sometimes I wonder, is that¡ª is that normal? Am I the one who''s fucked up?" "We all process grief differently, Mira. I think you''re¡ª I think you''re being too hard on yourself. You struggled. You''re still struggling and suffering from depression. That image you have of yourself, of someone that''s uncaring and unfeeling, is unfounded." Mira chuckled. "My therapist said the same thing." "Maybe I''d make an okay one?" I alsoughed. She was warming up, now. Her fingers were no longer as cold. "You''ve been hurting for years, Mira. And either way, life isn''t some¡­ sufferingpetition. It''s not about who''s hurting the greatest. That''s not what makes someone a proper and better person." "I hope so." "I''m telling you so," I pushed. "Now, how long has it been since you''ve showered? I don''t mean this in a mean way, but¡ª" "I know. You''re not like that," she said. She squeezed her arms around me onest time, her hair draping above my shoulder until she took a deep breath and pushed herself off. "That felt good. Thanks." "Hey, I''ve got an unlimited supply." "I haven''t showered in two days, I think. It was since kazam and Gardevoir left," Mira muttered. "I guess I''ll go do that." "I brought myptop, so if you want to watch a show after I''m game," I said. She agreed, but had already closed the door of her bathroom, and soon after she put on some kind of rock music I didn''t know that spoke Kalosian. For a bit, I just scrolled through my phone and messaged Dad I''d gotten to her apartment okay, but after around two minutes of watching Mimi feigning death after Exeggcute swarmed around them, I decided I''d better start cleaning up a little bit. Some of the stuff, I didn''t know where it went, so I''d just leave it there, but trashing these cans and putting these tes where they ought to be wouldn''t be too difficult. I released Angel, asking him if he wanted to be a part of the clean-up crew, something he eagerly agreed to after getting distracted by Mira''s Exeggcute, and we got to work sorting through everything. Having to put soda cans in the trash and not in recycling bins pained me a bit, but it would have to do. While we put some order in this apartment, Gengar had apparently slipped out at some point, but there wasn''t much I could do about that. It took a bit of searching, but we eventually figured out where every te, cup, utensil or bowl went, and I washed them with Buddy''s help since the dishwasher here didn''t work. He still left part of himself with Mimi, though, and with a third eye he had formed. It was one of his new tricks, being able to create new eyes that he could see from. Whenever he stuck to one of the barriers during our Gym Battles, he could only hear or feel. Granted, being able to see wouldn''t do much, but it would be useful to spy and for the fights toe. I hummed a song to Angel until we finished cleaning up, and then realized Mira still wasn''t out of the shower. I approached the door with quiet steps and put my ear to it, but the music and the showerhead were too loud for me to hear. Knocking on the door, I yelled. "Mira! Are you alright?" It took a few seconds, but she swore and answered, "Yeah! Yeah, my bad, I''ll be right out!" Three minutester, she was out, clean and with her skin still wet, a towel on her head, and a fresh set of clothes. A one-piece Miltank pajama with a hoodie that I had no idea she''d owned. It was a little small for her, so I figured it was something she''d had when she was younger and still living here, clothing she probably used asfort. Her eyes widened slightly at the state of her apartment. "Damn. Thank you for all of this," she quietly said. "Sorry for taking so long, I got, uh, lost again. In thought. Told you it happened often." "You''d think that superpowers would be nice," I said with a wry smile. "But they''ve been pretty awful, huh?" "No kidding. Do you wanna eat? I can order pizza, but I''ll warn you it takes a long time to get here. There''s that decent Johtohan restaurant a few streets away, too. They make the best take-out sushi." "I''d cook, but I looked in your fridge and you have nothing¡ª" a squeeze on my arm from Angel interrupted me, along with a protest from Jellicent. "Right, right, and my hands are an issue. By the way, Gengar left again." Mira clicked her tongue. "Shit. Whatever, he''lle back. Keeping him out of his ball and scolding him is the only way to teach him to behave. I''ll order, then. Sushi?" "Animal sushi, right? I know they eat a bunch of Goldeen and Magikarp in Johto¡­" She waved a hand as she grabbed her phone. "Yeah, yeah, don''t worry. Also, don''t discriminate! Not every Johtohan restaurant is gonna be like that." "Right." After a quick call, we settled in on the couch again, and I put on a sappy show Angel had roped me into about a mute girl trying to be a trainer, starting from her early life to when she made it to be Champion. It was among the biggest Unovan shows released this year from Pokestar Studio, and I had to admit, it was good. So good, in fact, I was willing to start it over so Mira could see it. "If I have oneint, it''s that the battles aren''t that well-filmed. Too many cuts," I said. "And the tactics used are too simple. You''re telling me that even when she''s battling at the elite level and all they''re doing is still using the same ''super effective'' moves over and over? Eugh, I hate using that term too much, anyway. And where''s the field control? The long-term nning? The actual tactics? You can tell the producers aren''t trainers or maybe they just didn''t have the budget¡ª" "Grace, your battle mania is spoiling the show, this is episode one," Mira whined. "I think you''re just meant to turn your brain off and have fun during the fights. Sounds like the show is more about the characters anyway." "I mean, that''s true. I like the fact that they actually treat the Pokemon actors as characters of their own. A lot of the time in these kinds of shows, they''re just props used for battle." I stopped, smiling as one of my favorite scenes came up. "Oh, it''s this! You''re going to love it¡ª" "Shhh!" Sienna, the main character of the show dered to her parents that she wanted to be a trainer as the music swelled in the background and the first episode ended, and Angel and I teared up. Something about that scene resonated with me, maybe the dedication put on disy, or wanting to surmount the odds even while being dealt a crippling blow before her career even began by being mute. There was just¡­ something about it. "You know, that was actually really good," Mira smiled. "Would have been better if you stopped yapping." "I just want to share this with you, Arceus! I was watching it with Cece, but Angel''s the one who found it while we were looking for something to watch. She''s preventing me from watching beyond episode seven without her." "That''s still like, five hours of content to go through," Mira shrugged. "Enough for a girl''s night, I think. Uh, your time at the League was okay, right?" "Where''s thating from?" "Just asking. I mean, I know you''ve been having a tough time too. I''m sorry about your ACE Trainer. At least your Poketch deal stuff is going well, I saw the headlines." I bit my lip. "Yeah¡­" "Fuck. Fuck, I messed up, sorry," the pink-haired girl said through a panicked sigh. "Forget what I just said, let''s just have a good time¡ª" "It''s fine. I mean, the deal itself went well, but there was this thing this afternoon¡­" I slowly, painfully exined what had gone on with Aubri in the bathroom and what followed, though I kept the urges to squeeze my hands together a secret. Mira had enough on her te, too much to be worrying about me hurting myself. "This corporate life stuff sounds so toxic. It''s like, they''re putting you all in a cage of their own design and having you fight each other. That shit is systemic," Mira said. "The entire system is built to have kids try to take each other down. Aubri''s still a bitch, though. Fuck her." "Fuck her," I echoed. "But you know, even after all these weeks getting therapy and trying to change, I still get the urge to warp the people who wronged me, Mira. They''re just as loud as before, and the thing is, I''d be better at it now that I''ve gotten some amount of training with Hatterene and learned to discern emotions better. Even after hearing Aubri''s side of the story, the urge still lingers." My friend paled. "That''s a dangerous train of thought." "I know. I know, but I can''t stop." I was slightly out of breath, now, and I found it hard to focus my eyes. "I try, try, try, but I can''t stop, and I''m scared the lid is going to pop open at some point. That all I''m waiting for is an excuse to let myself loose and do what I truly want. Both times I used it, against Mathilda and against Zoroark, it felt good, in the moment. Right." I looked at my hands and noticed my fingers were trembling. "When did I start thinking like this? What would my Dad think?" Mira scratched her arm. "I don''t know. I don''t know if we let you get away with it for too long or if it was always bound to be this way." She hadn''t reacted as badly as I thought she would, which was a huge relief. I''d needed to tell someone other than Aliyah and Cece. There was just something about the people I knew only knowing this sanitized version of me that made me sick, which was a far cry from what I''d been like after the raid, wishing Denzel had hidden what I''d done from the rest of our friends. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I just don''t know," I whispered as Angel''s vines ran through my hair. "Every time, I end up going in circles about this. I want to tell my Dad, you know? About having killed people." She scoffed. "Are you crazy?" I shook my head. "I want him to know me. All of me, and all I''ve done." "I wouldn''t¡­" "You aren''t me. That''s okay," I said. "I''ll tell my mother too. Or maybe he''ll tell her, I don''t know." For around thirty seconds, there was silence. A moment shared between each other, a time of admittance of how we truly didn''t know anything, in the end, even with her being blessed by Knowledge. Countless choicesy before us, choices we had no idea how to approach. We were all floundering through the dark, in the end. Swimming in it and hoping to one day reach the shore. Was Cynthia like this? Was everyone like this? There was a knock on the door. "Ah, food''s here," Mira said, rising from the couch. "Be right back." The night continued as normal, but I knew we tookfort in each other''spany. We were wrong. And that was okay, I think, so long as we were trying to be better.
Chapter 293 Chapter 293
CHAPTER 293 I''d known the next day would be a boring one, though hopefully there would be no incidents. I woke up early in the morning, having gotten awful sleep and feeling weird about having stayed in Charon''s old bed. The room itself hadn''t had anything particrly weird about it other than being strangely sterile and clean. It was the kind of room that felt unlived in, because it was. I''d be willing to bet Mira hadn''t stepped foot in there once since returning to Jubilife, or even longer than that still. Nevertheless, the sounds of slowly getting ready also woke Mira up, and she decided over breakfast (that we''d gotten delivered again) together that she''d go out with me today, mostly to stretch her legs and to see what the ''pricks'' at Poketch were all about. Those had been her words, not mine. I didn''t think Ramon and Bobby were pricks, especially when they could have been a lot worse about what they did instead of working together with me. Ramon did get a little annoying sometimes, though, with how sarcastic he was. It didn''t cross on the sardonic like Maxwell, thankfully. A pang of guilt struck my chest, and I took a deep breath as we left Mira''s apartmentplex. I hadn''t spoken to my ACE Trainers since the incident, and honestly, I figured they wanted it that way. "Woah. Sick ride," Mira joked. Dad honked the car, already waiting for us on the sidewalk. He''d always been punctual with stuff, and since he had taken some days off work, he didn''t really have anything else to do. "It''s functional," I said. "Comfy, too. The seats are softer than they look." "That sounds good, actually, I didn''t get much sleep." "Me neither. Worried about kazam and Gardevoir?" I asked. "Partly. I''m not worried about the reveal itself, more about what Emi''s going to do. She''s tough¡­ mentally. It''s like I''m flipping a coin, here. Either it makes her more likely to get involved, or she stands down. Those are better odds than always getting involved, though, and at least if they do they''ll know the full picture." "What about Pauline?" Mira snorted, recalling Gengar through the pavement. "Pauline will fold. First, she''ll deny for a while, probably text us for confirmation, then she''ll get angry until she burns out and copses like a dying star. She''ll be terrified. Her tough girl persona''s a front." "It''s not a front." "No, sorry, not a front. It''s mostly all a joke, though. I mean, she almost had a breakdown over romance¡ª ah, sorry, I''m being mean." "Yeah. You are." "Yeah. My bad, I was thinking about other stuff, and I tend to ramble without thinking about¡­ the ramifications when my attention is divided. I like Pauline, it''s just¡­ you know, she grates. Sometimes it''s better to just stay put if you don''t have the guts to handle this kind of stuff." I wanted to protest, but Dad honked again, and this time we got in the car. I slipped into the front seat while Mira got behind my Dad, instantly putting her seatbelt on before she even settled on the chair with white-knuckled hands. I kissed Dad on the cheek, did the same, and we all greeted each other after he started driving. "Mira Compton, right? It''s nice to meet you," Dad said, keeping his eyes on the road. "You too, Mr. Pastel. Uh, your daughter''s been a great friend." He smiled. "Arthur is fine, and I''m d to hear it. Last night was fun, I hope?" "We watched that show I told you about," I said. "She was really into it." "I kept having to stop you from spoiling me. You''re horrible to watch a show you already know with." Dad chuckled. "She probably gets that from me, so I apologize." "Apology refused!" Mira grinned. "Hey, can I have some embarrassing stories about Grace''s childhood?" "I wouldn''t call them embarrassing, more like funny and endearing¡­" I would have pinched his side, had he not been driving. Instead, I spoke obnoxiously loud until I masked all attempts of him trying to reveal anything about me, which sent Mira into aughing fit. The rest of the ride was calmer, with Dad and I talking about whatever and Mira sometimes chiming in, but mostly keeping her eyes to the window. There was a rhythmic thing about her breath that had me think she was sleeping with them open and sometimes talking at the same time, and that would be seriously scary. There was something about how Wailord and Wailmer slept with half of their brains turned on so they could go back for air during the night, and I was wondering if she hadn''t been the same. Able to rest parts of her while the rest stayed awake. Sure, we''d told each other good night, but it wasn''t like I''d actually seen her sleep since I''d visited her. When we reached Poketch Headquarters, pristine and both towers rising high into the sky, Dad spoke up. "I''lle pick you up again if you need it, alright? I''ll be at that tournament ce on our street, they''re running a water type only thing and I want to see how quickly it derails." "Thanks! Oh, and also, it''s Mira''s birthday on the 30th, can she hang out with me then at the apartment?" "Yeah, of course. I''ll see what I can do about a cake." "Legendaries, you''re the best," I smiled. "See youter!" He drove off, and it was just Mira and I in the employee-only parking lot, free from the press of groups of fans. The shutter clicking of the cameras could still be heard, even if the journalists kept their distance and were only allowed to stand at the edge of the parking lot. Some yelled at me and asked for an interview about ydol, which I''d revealed yesterday at the park. "Sheesh. Sounds annoying to have to deal with," Mira said as we entered through the side doors. Her hands were shoved in the pocket of a baggy hoodie she was wearing. Neither of us had really dressed to impress, and the morning, tired feel still clung to both of us. "So what''s the n? Is Melody meeting us down here?" "There''s a room. I think it''s the same room we were in yesterday, but it''s mostly formality stuff before we present everything to the board. Well, when I say ''we'', I''ll just have to stand there and look confident." "I guess I''ll wait for you in that room, then." "There are a bunch of sofas if you wanna lie down. They might kick you out while we talk pitching strategy, though." We made our way up at a brisk pace, or as fast as we could with my broken ankle. This time, I was fifteen minutes early. I was d to see I wasn''t thest one there this time. Twice in a row might have been seen as disrespectful. Ramon was missing, but Amandine was already here. By the end of this morning, this entire Poketch thing will be over, I thought with a relieved sigh. Business politics were not for me. They weren''t something I was passionate about like Pokemon rights, and so every minute spent here was a slog. It was like time passed twice as slowly and just listening to the ramblings of all the business people trying to squeeze profit out of us. "Mornin''. Is it okay to bring a friend here?" I asked. There was Melody, Bobby and his liaison Dennis, and thewyers all looming over the long table. This was a lot more low-key than I thought it''d be. Craig was here as well, chatting with Amandine. They all greeted us politely. "She''ll have to leave when Ramon gets here in a few minutes. He had to deal with family problems, so he''ll be right back," Mel answered. "Yeah, I''ll get out of your hair, or whatever," Mira shrugged. Bobby must have noticed my eyes narrowing, because he added onto Mel''s sentence. "They don''t want him leaving." "I thought he was leaving next year," I said, meaning one year after me. "He is, and they still disagree. They''ve been screaming his ear off the entire morning about it, so you can rx. It''s a done deal, Grace." I sighed, settling in on the couch next to Mira and thankful that Bobby wasn''t asking about ydol for now, even though he was so clearly interested in it. "Oh, Grace, check on your emails and get back to me, yeah?" Melody said, keeping her attention on some papers. I did just that and contained an excited squeal when designs of my merch popped up on my screen. "Mira, Mira, check this out! Holy shit, these look so cool!" They were mostly t-shirts, but there were also water bottles, stickers, hats, a Poketch Watch, and best of all, the knife. All of them had variations of me and my team on them, and just like Craig, I did notice they focused a whole lot on Sweetheart. There was, of course, no merch with ydol on it quite yet. The colors were all different, but they were all pastel-themed as a y on myst name. They''d made my Pokemon look quite nice, too. Not fierce or scary like I was scared they''d do, but soft-looking, or at least as soft-looking as you could make a Turtonator or a Tyranitar. One of the shirts had Angel carrying a cartoonish version of me, another had Honey and I cooking, me flying on Princess with a bright smile and pointing forwards, Sunshine and I sleeping next to each other, Buddy serving as a pillow while I read him a book¡­ Arceus, I was getting emotional. So many memories had been put on these. "Wait, wait! What''s this one?" I stopped scrolling through the designs and noticed the same picture I''d posted online with the flower crowns near Floaroma and beamed. "My new favorite, I think. Do you think it''s obnoxious if I only wear my own merch from now on? Craig doesn''t do it." "It would be super obnoxious. You could do it during Gym or tournament battles, though," my friend mused. "Hey, I get a shirt for free, right?" "I''m charging you extra," I said, my face straight. "Just kidding. You get whatever you want for free when they start mass-producing these. I wonder if I could get them early¡­" "I mean, you''re literally the girl on the shirts. It''d be weird if you couldn''t." I hummed, turning toward my liaison. "Mel, these are all great. The team did a fantastic job, I¡ª thank you." She smiled. "d you like them." If there was something to be said about Poketch, it was that they could make merch. Mira and I spent the next five minutes or so looking at my clothes, deciding which one we''d take. I wanted to deck out myputer in stickers of my team, a ton of shirts, the knife with a Princess motif on the handle¡­ I wanted too much stuff to fit in my bag, actually. I''d have to leave some at home with Dad. "The good thing about you having merch is that it kind of makes people associate you with certain Pokemon," Mira said. "Like, when we think of Craig, we think of Smence, Snox¡ª though I guess Bertha and Cynthia have him beat in the Hippowdon and Eelektross front, but do you get what I mean?" "Yeah, I guess." "People are gonna think Turtonator and bam, you''re gonna pop into their heads. Or Tyranitar." "Maybe in Sinnoh," I said. "Grimsley has a Tyranitar in Unova." "Ah, that dark type guy, right? Bummer, but at least you get the Togekiss rep since Cynthia won''t be there. But what I''m saying is, it''s good for publicity." "Uhuh, I get you." "It''s funny how¡ª" Ramon burst into the room, his shoulders full of tension and his expression dreary and tired, nothing like the usually excited teen I was used to. I guess his phone call didn''t go very well. There were some hushed greetings that he hastily returned as he dragged a chair back, rasping it against the ground for an annoyingly long time until he sat down with a defeated sigh and Bobby started whispering at him. "I guess your thing is starting soon. I''ll see youter?" Mira said. "When we''re done here you''ll get the entire ce to yourself," I grinned. "I have a few things to ask you about the way you sleep." She feigned offense with a gasp and shot up. "Grace, you were spying on me while I slept?" Rolling my eyes, I just waved her away, and she left the meeting room with a spring in her step. ¡ª Mira stepped out of that living room these people called a ''business space'', and her mind shattered once more. It was not a painful process, not anymore. Just ufortable, like a certain cold pressure spreading through her brain and seeping into every inch of her head. For a moment, her ears rang, her vision blurred and spun, and the chill spread from her head to her extremities. Then, she was fine again. Still split, but fine. There were ten of ''her'', which was the limit Uxie had told her she would be able to reach with a mortal mind. Each had been assigned a different task, their voices mere whispers in the background, but each word was absorbed like water to a sponge. They were words she would not forget, ever. ns for Team Gctic, ns to confront Emilia and Pauline, arguing with herself about whether she should tell Grace about her n to fix her uncle or not when the time came, an endless cacophony of voices she could somehow parse through at all times. She could turn it off at any moment, but life felt so slow without it already in a way that made Mira realize she wasn''t sure if she could function without at least two lines of thought going on in her head at all times. She would have been terrified of that, once. To let herself be too dependent on these powers. Part of her had been assigned to keeping her Porygon2pany by typing her messages on her phone and her good, non-broken hand had been moving without her realizing it. It felt better, these days, because she''d assigned the pain of it to another part of her. She could do that, now. Lock it away and hand it over to a part of her head she wasn''t paying attention to. Mira hadn''t needed painkillers since. It was so easy, to get lost in the thoughts. Endless murmurs that she didn''t know had been going on for thirty seconds or three hours. Her head felt foggy, a mishmash of multiple people who were her, yet weren''t. Minds around her sparkled like crystalized gems. Older people generally, but did not always shine brighter than younger people. She could delve into the shards, sometimes. Peek beyond the curtain into a torrent of memories that had her forget she was even alive if she was close enough. She''d done it a few time, to test the waters. Lived through around five different people for what had felt like hours of memories on a single bus ride. Time within the shards was longer than it actually was out of them by approximately 3.3 times. Uxie hadn''t really said anything about the significance of the number, but she could delve without affecting others without robbing them of memories. Doing it always tired her out, but it was doable without copsing, unlike stealing information to store for herself too quickly. She didn''t do it anymore. There was a line she couldn''t cross, and that was to make that a regr urrence. So many minds in one ce always gave her a headache, when she didn''tpartmentalize and shove off the pain to another Mira. It was pretty nifty, what someone could do when they experimented enough with this power. She''d talked a little to Grace about it yesterday nice, and her friend saw emotion through a tapestry of colors she could mix and match, but couldn''t make herself change¡ª or at least that''s what she believed. She hadn''t lost herself to this new sight or experimented anywhere as much as Mira had. There were some terrifying applications to her power, though Mira would have trusted Grace with it even if she hadn''t been protected from it. Uxie had warned her. Said that Mesprit always picked ''the ones with the potential to snap with a single bad day''. How ironic was it, then, that Grace put more limitations for herself than Mira ever had? Sometimes, she wondered how Chase or Cecilia would see the world, had their potential not been split. Theirs was a dull one without any differences because they were two, but there would always be this feeling nagging at her. Like an itch she would never be able to scratch. Oh well. It wasn''t meant to be, ten different voices rang out at once, echoing within the depths of her mind. "Huh. Odd." Usually the fragments of her mind didn''t unite into one desire like this, but the feeling passed like a gust of wind and things returned to normal. The sudden noise snapped her attention back to reality, and the Mira assigned to walking had brought her back downstairs to some kind of waiting room for people who didn''t work here, so good job to her. Hell, she''d even sat down and put on the earphones Mira had bought after Lauren''s rmendation. Friends. Mira blinked, remembering she was human. With her friends, she never split her attention more than two or three times, and she, her true self, would always be the one paying attention to them. She owed them that, at least, with the way they kept taking her back after her fuck ups. She crushed fragments of her mind, reuniting them with herself and gathering everything they''d done in better detail than crystal clear. Instead of hearing or seeing it, it was now like she''d lived through it. She went down to five and decided to rx for the time being. Even the chairs in the damn waiting room werefortable here somehow, and she would have let almost all of herself doze off had a particrly bright mind not caught her attention. Even through closed eyes, Aubri Schneider''s mind burned bright enough to sear itself past her eyelids. She''d seen a few people like her. Craig Goodwill was one, for example, and her ACE Trainers too. She suspected Grace would have been the same, had her head not looked like a shell encased in imprable material. Uxie had warned her not to even try to look at it if she didn''t want to hear Mesprit gloating, not that she would have done it anyway. Why is she there? Didn''t she lose? Was Ramon''s excuse about talking to his parents a trick? Was everything just a trick? Ramon''s a little rat that''ll fuck people over to get a leg up over them over and over. Maybe she was just here to work or to be closer to the board meeting. Five thoughts simultaneously rang out in her mind just before they split further, and Mira stood up from her chair, her steps carrying her before she could realize what had happened. There was a slight tug, and she took over walking duties, speeding up her step to make it to the elevators at the same time Aubri would. This fucking building is so huge for no reason, she internally whined. The people here knew who she was. Mira might not have had seven badges like the rest of her friends, but she worked with the League, still. She was let through after showing them her Trainer ID, and she slipped through the doors just as they were about to close. Aubri was¡­ well, it was ufortable to look at her from up close. Her body had taken so much abuse it was a wonder she was still alive¡ª "That''s none of your business," she said. Huh? Had one of her been talking already¡ª Mira regathered her minds, collecting them into two. One for background processing and the other for talking. It took around two seconds and a headache, but she was back on her feet quickly enough. Mira ran a hand through her pink hair, the smile never leaving her face. "You bullied my friend pretty hard in the bathroom yesterday," she said in an usatory tone. She knew now that she''d started the conversation with ''What are you doing here?'' "It was very High School mean girl of you, I do have to say. I just wanted to see if you were going in for a second round or trying to fuck her over again." Aubri kept looking on straight. "I want nothing to do with the deal. I got what I wanted yesterday." Her voice was low, raspy and unpleasant to listen to, though maybe Mira was just biased. "I just have business here." "That''s the floor Grace is on, isn''t it?" Mira said, eyeing the 23rd button lit up on the elevator. "What''s your deal?" The scarred girl shifted in the elevator. "It''s not about the deal." "Then what?" She paused. "I wanted to apologize, before heading to work on the upper floors, that''s all." Oh. Oh, that made so much more sense. Mira would have kicked herself over, had she not run out of shame long ago. Arceus, her head felt so slow. It was like crawling at a Slugma''s pace to go somewhere instead of walking normally. "Want to wait until her board stuff is done? I''m not going to lie, just seeing your face is going to ruin her morning." "...it was that bad, huh?" "Pretty bad. She''s been having a horrible time,tely, more so than our usual dose," Mira shrugged. "I know you''re no stranger to those yourself." Aubri shrugged. "I maintain the majority of what I said, but it''s obvious I stepped on andmine and I''ve had that happen to me before. I wouldn''t wish that upon anyone." Mira exhaled. "Yeah." The elevator dinged on the 23rd floor, then Aubri kept it going up. "I''d better wait like you said, then." "Yup, I think that''d be wise. I''lle and get you, if you want, I don''t really care. Just don''t go saying ''I maintain the majority of what I said'' during the apology, that''ll make you look like an ass." She was an ass, really. Constantly grumpy and annoying to talk to, self-serving, and a refusal to admit that she''d been wrong because she didn''t have the full context of what all these favors the League gave Grace, Mira and the others implied. They were weapons. Living weapons kept happy because of how useful they were, and the fact that she would be considered that for the rest of her life made Mira sick to her stomach if she thought about it for too long. She was willing to bet they had files on them about their habits, their powers and how to take them down should they go rogue. Hell, it''d probably be the ACEs that did it. It wouldn''t take much thinking to figure out that there was something at y other than ''League favoritism'', but she clearly didn''t want to do that, because that meant she''d be in the wrong, and Arceus forbid people ever admit they were wrong. "I shouldn''t," Aubri agreed. That was that. Aubri Schneider left the elevator, and Mira rode it back down to the lobby, fracturing her mind once again. She''d done a good deed today! Probably? ¡ª The board''s table wasicallyrge. The pre-meeting went perfectly well, and everyone knew their lines, but that was the thing that surprised me. The fact that seven people were sitting on a table way toorge to ever be convenient. The room itself was a rectangr one, the floor dark like obsidian and arge window pane behind the board facing all of Jubilife. Few buildings were as tall as this one in the city, so I could even see the outskirts from up here. The board was full of men who looked way too old to be working, save for one younger guy who I understood was Remington McMin''s son. Theirst names were McMin, Sandy, Smithson, Hemsworth and Lenc, something Melody had drilled into my head countless times. It was¡­ odd to see the people who were essentially my bosses for the first time. Next to me, Bobby fidgeted nervously and kept his eyes at his feet and even Ramon''s smile looked a little forced. Craig looked right at home, though, and we watched the board flip through the document we''d presented them. They''d known about the proposal brewing for a long time now¡ª it was said nothing in both Poketch towers happened without the board knowing¡ª but it was the first time they were looking at the n in detail, with the actual step-by-step process, the numbers, and the short and long-term strategy. The liaisons had already presented the entire thing using a projector and a slide presentation that had me think I was back in school, and now the board was just flipping through the pages. No Pokemon were present. It was a bit of amon theme, the way extremely rich people didn''t want for trainers to have their Pokemon around them unless they''d been hired to protect them. Personally, I didn''t mind, but I figured it was just a peculiar observation. For a while, there was no sound other than the rustling of papers and murmurs between the members of the board, and the way Landis McMin kept ncing at me made me somewhat ufortable. Even so, I kept standing with my back straight and with my face as neutral and non-threatening as possible. Finally, they finished after fifteen minutes of reading. "This is rocking the boat," Mr. Sandy said. I did notice his small nce of approval toward Remington McMin before he started speaking. He was obviously a long-time smoker, with the way his voice sounded like it was one bad cold away from permanently disappearing. "Risky. It''s a tough sell, to change the system we''ve gone with for so long¡­ but the potential is there to make Poketch a household name in multiple regions." "The upfront cost is something to be worried about," Remington agreed. "But these markets are untapped. With Unova alone, we have more potential customers than all of Sinnoh. It''s a no-brainer." "These stiptions about Sinnohan sries are a little grating," Landis said. He was the only one not scared to speak up without his father''s approval. His eyes settled on Bobby. "I hope you know we''ll make your life harder because of it, right?" My fellow trainer didn''t answer, though I could feel the tension leave his shoulders a little. Arceus, he was weird. I understood always waiting for the other shoe to drop, but to be relieved because of it? Remington gestured at his son, who shut up immediately. "Nonsense. Cooperation between all our branches is what makes Poketch sessful," he said with a smile. There was something sinister about it that either meant Bobby or Landon were in trouble. Or both. Rarely had I seen someone with such amounts of power without any Pokemon to back up the talk. "These ns all seem in order. There''ll have to be some adjustments, but it is all feasible before next September." Just like that, everyone else agreed. Even Landis. Remington McMin''s word here was as good asw, and so it would be done without a fuss. From what Mel had told me, I knew Unovan expansion was his pet project and something he''d been nning for nearly two decades, shortly after Cynthia ascended to her position and started opening up the country, and he was not about to let a small hup get in the way of that. It was funny, in a way, how one man''s personal agenda was going to be the cause of such a shift. This was the kind of power Cecilia dreamed of having, and to be honest, me too, just a little bit. In a more morbid way of thinking, he probably wanted to see it through before he died. He was in his seventies. "The proposal will be put into ce effective immediately, and the transition will take ce this summer." Remington said with a satisfied sigh. "Now, we''ll have a word with only Grace Pastel and Craig Goodwill." Everyone else but us and Melody left the room, and a weight lifted off my chest at this Poketch stuff finally being over. Now I''d be able to focus on training my team, especially since I was picking up Princess tomorrow¡­ "This is the first time we''re speaking face to face, is it not?" Mr. McMin said, looking right at me. I nearly jumped in surprise, but managed to pretend I''d just been needing to scratch my arm. "Ye¡ªyeah. Nice to meet you all," I said. Greetings sounded throughout the board, and Remington continued, "Now, seeing as you wrestled a position that still keeps yourself at the top of the pyramid when the year is done, we still need to work out the details of this transition between Mr. Goodwill and you. You''re going to be international. That means we''ll have expectations of you, even starting in Unova. Moremunication with medias, both traditional and social, more presence in tournaments, keeping your face in the news¡­" "We could send her to visit some trainer schools, Pops," Landis grinned. "He always loved to do that with Craig, and they take those seriously in Unova with Blueberry Academy being a thing." "Exactly. Now, it is my understanding that you want to get involved in politics as well," Remington said. "So long as they''re not extremists, it''s fine, right? You let me get involved in Pastoria." "Pokemon Rights are a bit of a hot button topic in the country, at the moment," Smithson chimed in. "Would it be wise to let her take a side on the issue?" "God, you''re so inoffensive," Landis groaned. "Pokemon Rights, honestly, who gives a fuck, but polls repeatedly have shown that younger people¡ª our main demographic¡ª are in favor ofws to better protect Pokemon across nearly every region, Unova included. Her taking a side on the issue is fine." Remington raised a hand, and the room fell silent again. "My son is correct, but there is a line that mustn''t be crossed. sma." "You don''t have to worry about that. They¡ª" "Have moderated their tform recently, had Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius vocally support them two weeks ago and are surging in the polls thanks to a coalition backed by young people who usually don''te out to vote," Remington interrupted me. "They have fringe elements, but they are not extremists any longer, Ms. Pastel. The majority of their members and supporters are people like you." I blinked at that. My image of the sma Organization had always been Mallory and the way she''d told me she wanted to abolish all trainers, so this was all new to me. "I mean, if they''re like me, it''s not that bad¡ª" He interrupted me again. "If we have you support sma, the people in power, the real people in power¡ª" the members of the board around Remington chuckled. "¡ªwill push us out of Unova before we can get a proper foothold in the country." "Why''s that?" "Because they''re the people who can actually change things," Craig shrugged as he fiddled with his nails. "I''d be willing to bet they''d be fine with you backing all the other small orgs, but not an actual political party with real power." Ah. It was at times like these, that Cecilia raving against the status quo came back at the forefront of my mind. No one wanted to rock the boat, and sma was the definition of that. "I¡­ I get it," I said. "Yeah, okay." I got it, but that did not mean I agreed. If sma was a problem because they could change things, then any organization would be a problem as soon as they grew big enough. They were essentially giving me those fucking fake driving wheels you gave children in a car and had them pretend they were driving. Telling me to have my fun, but not to expect to actually change anything. Well, fuck that. I my lips stretched into a forced smile, and the board kept speaking about ns of transition. The only y I had was to make myself too important to dump, and to let Poketch get their foothold before I really got going and tried to connect with like-minded people in public, which might take a few months. That did not mean I wouldn''t be able to check things out in secret, though. Maybe see what this sma stuff was really about when the crazies weren''t speaking. "Now, we have a press conference set up next Wednesday where we''ll announce Craig stepping down and you stepping up for the first time in public¡­" Remington continued. ¡ª The meeting took an extra twenty minutes to finish up, and as soon as I was out of it, Bobby and Ramon swarmed me to figure out if I''d screwed them over or not, which I obviously hadn''t. I was getting a little tired of these guys expecting me to stab them in the back at the first opportunity just because they had an outdated idea of who I was. I mean, even after bonding together, they still thought I was out to get them? It was a little grating, but at least they apologized by the end of it and we were cool again. Now that everything had been finalized, part of me wanted to return to not bothering to keep up with Poketch stuff again, but I knew that was just thezy part of me speaking. Connections weren''t just made, they were maintained over dinner, meetups, battling, texting¡­ it was kind of exhausting, but it had to be done, and at least they were fun to talk to. Now I was on my way to find Mira while Melody had gone back to work. I''d hoped she could join us and Dad, mostly because I wanted him to make friends, but duty unfortunately called. She had said she''d ship one of every merch item to my Dad''s address, though. Mira hadn''t been in the meeting room with all the couches, so I assumed she was waiting in the lobby. My eyes scanned the massive waiting area filled with enough chairs to fit at least a hundred and fifty people and found her instantly, with the way her pink hair popped to my eyes. I made my way toward her, and she winced before waving back at me. She was in her head again. Mira shot up and psed my wrist. "How was it? Did everything go alright?" she instantly asked. "Did you guys do it?" "Well, I didn''t really do anything beyond standing there¡­ but yeah, we did it," I grinned. My friend pumped a fist. "Hell yes! That''s great, I''m happy for you. Now you can finally stop stressing about it." "Yeah, it''s a huge relief," I exhaled. "Wanna get out of here? I texted Dad before the board meeting and he should be here in like five minutes." "Wait¡ª didn''t you see my text? About Aubri?" I frowned and grabbed my phone. "Ah, crap. I missed it. Did she do something? Do I need to talk to Mel?" "No, no, rx! She just wanted to apologize to you about yesterday, but for real. It''s not a trick." "To me? I didn''t think she was the kind of person to¡­" I stopped, realizing that she''d kind of said sorry before leaving the bathroom stall already, so my words didn''t really make any sense. I still didn''t trust this. Was there a y here? No, it wouldn''t work, or she would have struck when Ramon was emotionally vulnerable because of the issues with his parents and before the board meeting. Was an apology really all there was to it? "I saw hering in and thought she was nning to screw you over, but it turned out she just felt bad," Mira said. "I can get her down here if you want." "Huh. I mean, okay?" Having someone I''d designated as an enemy in my head apologizing had kind of knocked the wind out of my sails. Every time I heard Aubri''s name, now, I expected a fight or at least an unpleasant interaction of some kind, which was crazy considering I hadn''t even met her that many times. Her words yesterday had¡­ really hurt me. I''d kept hearing them when trying to go to sleep, tossing and turning in Mira''s apartment, and had Buddy not been keeping an eye on me all night and forced me to sleep with my hands above the covers, I might have made a mistake. Mira pped my shoulder and went to get Aubri, so I just stood there with a nk look, not knowing what to think. Aubri''s one-eyed stare was just as hardy as it always was. The way she looked me up and down had my body instinctively grow tense in a way that sickened me, because it meant I was scared of her. Of what she could say to me. For a bit, she silently stood there with her hands in her pockets until I couldn''t take it any longer and colors red to life around the lobby. Aubri was a wispy, dull gray of uncertainty. She didn''t know how to begin. Breathing a sigh of relief, I let the colors dim again. I''d slipped, and I had no idea what I would have done had she been nning a trap. Something to talk to Aliyah about. "Well?" Mira pressed. "Come on, it''s not that hard." Aubri cleared her throat. "I apologize for what I said yesterday. It was terribly out of line, and I hope our rtionship can remain professional and functional. I will refrain from implying anything about your¡­ past experiences in the future, and if thepany requires us to see each other like in Sunyshore, I will make sure to treat you like any other colleague." It was strange, the way she spoke like those lines had been rehearsed when they clearly hadn''t. Or maybe they had, and she just hadn''t been sure they were the right words aftering face to face with me? I hadn''t delved deep enough to tell, only staying at the surface of what she felt. "I ept your apology," I tly said. She dipped her head a fraction. "Thank you." That was that. I didn''t think we would ever be friends, but maybe that was okay. Chapter 294 Chapter 294
CHAPTER 294 "Your Togekiss has made a full recovery," the Nurse Joy said. "No harsh battling for another week! She has to take it easy and not strain herself too hard, understood?" "Yup!" I''d been staring at Princess'' Pokeball the entire time Nurse Joy had talked about limiting her exposure to steel type moves and to take it easy with the training. It wasn''t that her words weren''t important to me, but I''d been looking forward to this for more than a week, and tomorrow was her birthday. After thanking the Nurse a second time and she told me about how Honey was doing, I grabbed the Pokeball and saw Mira waiting for me outside. She wasn''t fully there, though she did notice my arrival, and it took a few seconds for her attention to return to me. It wasn''t the first time she''d done this, and it was pretty easy to understand what was going on. We hadn''t talked about it beyond me asking her if she was sure this was how she wanted to live and her saying that not doing this was basically torture for her. On one hand, it felt good to have her confide in me, but on the other¡­ yeah, I worried for her. "Got your kid back?" Mira grinned. I beamed. "Yeah! I wanted to bring her back to the apartment before releasing her. I think her not getting swarmed by everybody at first will do her some good, and she''ll like the old sights." We started walking toward my apartmentplex, and I could see Porygon2 blinking in and out of existence around Mira''s head. "After, I''ll have Dad drive us to that park for the reunion, though." I''d do the same thing for Honey, and I knew he would need it. Growing a hand was only the first bit of recovery, he had to learn how to use it again. "You guys are gonna give me diabetes if Ie," she said. "Plus, I don''t want to get in between all of you, so I''ll head backter." I shrugged. "If you say so. I don''t think you''d do that if you stuck around, Mira. You''re great to be around." "Honestly? We should be expecting the message today." Ah. The message from Pauline and Emilia after kazam and Gardevoir were done telling them about everything. I exhaled, and my pace slowed slightly. This was it. There would be no going back from this. "How''d you even convince your ACEs of this?" I asked. Her lips twitched upward. "Getting second thoughts? It''s toote to stop this from happening, so¡­" To our right, two teams of human and fighting types were ying a round of Basketball with each other, and the Pokemon were on the weaker side of things to allow the people to actuallypete, and they were holding back. Still, the Machop, Hitmonchan, Mankey and Combusken were nowhere near out of breath. Beating a fighting type in terms of endurance was an uphill battle. "I''m just genuinely wondering," I said, watching Hitmonchan score a three-pointer. "We haven''t really been appropriate with state secrets, have we?" I ended in a whisper. "I''m guilty of that too." "I told them Uxie told me to, and they changed their mind real quick. Carlos was nice about it, since they didn''t really want two rogue teens to leak everything they''ve tried to keep under wraps¡ª you like basketball?" "Huh? I mean, not really. I kind of like throwing the ball around, but thest time I did it was with Denzel in Eterna. Hey, stop changing the subject!" My friend threw her hands up in a cating motion. "I was genuinely interested, promise. Anyway, not that many people have Xatu or Gothitelle in Sinnoh, I mean, they''re both rare as hell, which is why Pauline had to buy hers. Those that have a Xatu don''t really know what their Pokemon would have to look at to see that the world''s in danger¡ª" "I remember. You told me back in Pastoria. Gothitelle is like, good at seeing the future of who they''ve bonded to." "With all the shit going on, I thought you might have forgotten." "It''s important." "Right. Basically, since they''re close enough to us, they''re the only people directly put in danger, and I guess that hasn''t changed even with me telling them to stay away. I wish we could have convinced them that future-telling is unreliable anyway. The League has teams of Xatu, but most of their predictions don''t evene close toing true. Abel''s was an exception in that regard." Which was why they hadn''t gotten rid of him or his team. Each of his Pokemon presented an excellent opportunity for the League to use. I''d rather they have slit his and his team''s throats except for Ditto, personally, but I was under no illusion that I was the one in charge or equipped to make those decisions. Mira and I continued making small talk until we reached my apartment, where Dad was already waiting with a bright look. He had missed Princess as much as I had, having known her just as long. Multiple times, he had asked me if she needed a gift, but I told him to keep it for her birthday. He''d gotten her one anyway. A weird, multi-colored cube-shaped puzzle toy meant for psychics that made my head hurt the longer I looked at it. The outeryer was transparent, but it was like staring at infinite reflections, or two mirrors perpetually bouncing light between each other. Meltan ended up whining the moment they set their eyes on the puzzle, their eye turning into a confused, wavy line until they retreated behind my neck. "The goal is to align the mirrors inside until the reflection ispletely straight," Dad exined. "I don''t really know if it''ll pose her a challenge or not, but the people there said it should be a decent distraction for a few days. There was a nice Hypno working there that exined it to me." "You''re used to telepathy, Arthur?" Mira asked. She was intrigued by the toy, probably wondering if she should get one or not. "No, he could just write it down with a pen on a small whiteboard," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "It sells all kinds of Pokemon-focused toys if you ever want to take a look." We spoke about that store for a bit, but eventually decided we''d stalled enough. Princess materialized in the middle of the living room, and when the red light left her body, relief filled my very being. Her fur looked so vibrantpared to when we''d been in Lakhutia, her eyes so energetic and full of life. The chirp of pure happiness that followed brought me close to tears, and I dropped to my knees to wrap my daughter in my arms, a sentiment she returned with her wings. It took her little time to float off to Dad next, nearly knocking over a vase in the process. I had a feeling she wasn''t used to the apartment being so small to her, and it was messing with her movements. Mimi climbed on the back of my neck, sending continuous pulses of shyness at the sight of this new travelingpanion. That''s right, they haven''t actually met before, and Princess hadn''t met ydol, either¡ª truly met them beyond battling together in the city. Hopefully she wouldn''t hold a grudge like Sunshine¡­ they could be simr, in that regard. Dad wrapped Princess in his usual bear hug, though she nearly knocked him to the ground in the process. "Gee, all of this wholesomeness makes me feel ufortable," Mira said. I rolled my eyes and let the moment pass. Togekiss hadn''t seen Dad in a long while, so the hugsted a decent amount of time. Mira''s eyes widened when she got a hug too, and for a few seconds, she didn''t really know how to reciprocate. "Damn¡­ she''s so soft," she growled, almost offended. "Thanks for to warm wee, Princess." Togekiss hovered back my way, and I ran a hand through the fur on her head. "How''s everything feeling? Good?" The fairy gave me a hearty nod apanied by an energetic chirp that made it difficult not to grin. We talked about the nurses and her experience for a bit, or at least until Dad and Mira felt left out. My father even asked how I''d gotten so good at understanding Pokemon without a psychic, and I dodged the truth by saying I must have had a talent for it. An excuse he didn''t buy for even a second, but was nice enough to get that it wasn''t something I wanted to talk about at all. The curiosity stayed, though. Back in Hearthome, I''d been good, but not anywhere as quick. The back and forth we''d been having was as if we were two humans speaking. The next hour or so was spent between us, just hanging out in the living room. When I showed Togekiss the old dent in the counter, her crown ttened against her head and she was desperate to pretend the cause for the damage hadn''t been her. After all, she was Princess! Capable of drawing power from the moon to cut this apartment to ribbons, should she wanted, and possibly take the entire apartment down. How could such a small dent be worthy of her? At least that was her train of thought. Princess wasn''t rude to Mimi or anything. She wasn''t like she''d been with Sunshine, threatening to kill them in numerous ways, but she was harsh. Keeping her words short or straight up avoiding them. I tried to mediate, but it hadn''t gone very well. I''d need to put Mimi, Princess and Sunshine in a room together soon to hash this out, because they kept treating them as someone they weren''t, and they were smart enough to understand exclusion. Letting this fester in hopes of gradual improvement wasn''t something I wanted, but forcing things had the potential to make things worse, too¡­ damn it. Right now, I needed to tell her about my hands. I''d asked her to follow me into my room, leaving Dad and Mira alone and her probably feeling very awkward right about now, and when Mira felt that way, she rambled. With Mimi there with them, I''d hoped that would be distraction enough to let Princess process the news at her own pace, even if we needed to stay here for ten minutes while she caught her breath. "Been a while since you were in here, huh?" I smirked as I set myself on my bed. "Any memories jostled?" She hovered close to me, her fur brushing against my arm. Good things, I hope, she answered in a grown-up tone. Like she hated the fact that she''d once been a helpless baby. "There''s no shame in it, I mean, I was helpless too. Still am, in the grand scheme of things." My head turned her way, and I noticed her looking at my desk. "Remember when I''d be studying to barely pass a test and you''din about not getting enough attention?" A pained grunt escaped her throat, and had she been capable of blushing, she would have. I get it now, Dad. I understand why you like embarrassing me so much. "Come here." I wrapped my hands around her soft hair and sighed into her skin. My head was buried in the crook between her wing and her body, and it was then that she asked me if everything was okay. Her first worry was Honey¡ª that I''d lied about him being okay to make her feel better like I''d lied about my ankle having been hurt being so damaging to my mental state in Pastoria. Something I''d grown used to, now, and it helped that I could actually tell I was steadily improving in that regard. "He''s fine, I promise. You''ll see him in three days¡­ maybe four, depending on how that goes. It''s about my hands." She squinted at them, and a soft psychic hold dragged them both up so she could better look at them. "This is something I''ll need you for. See, I stopped doing this thanks to help from the others and Aliyah, but sometimes I get the urge to just¡­ squeeze them until they start bleeding again. I¡ª" Something in her shattered before me, though it was more the remains of something she''d been clinging to. A notion. It had first been cracked in Lakhutia, when I''d given up and epted my death in front of my team, but now it was truly gone. The notion that I was so strong I was nearly invincible. It was like when I''d seen my Dad cry for the first time when I''d been six or seven and the same image of him I''d had had broken down before me and I''d cried too, because seeing a parent so weak made a child realize they were just human like them. Not some permanent fixture that would forever be here, but someone who could have days so bad they were reduced to tears. Oh, Princess had seen me cry before, but the context here was the same. I was just somebody. A person. I let her sob quietly in my arms for fifteen minutes. She called me names, notably ''stupid'', ''awful'' and ''reckless''. I let her get it all out and promised her I wouldn''t do it again. It wasn''t enough, not nearly, but it was a start. "Let''s go see the others at the park, hm? Then we''ll go train if you guys are up to it." ¡ª The wind whipped my hair around as we soared through the skies, and it was then that I''d realized I had missed this. The freedom afforded by flight. We had to steer clear of any skyscraper, which meant we were higher than I wanted to be. I could almost imagine Princess and I twisting and turning within the concrete jungle that was Jubilife, maybe stopping to wave at some office workers through a window to brighten someone''s day like I''d done sometimes with seamen when we''d been near the coast. s, that would be breaking thew, and you couldn''t go two minutes here without seeing a cop on a Staraptor, Fearow or Pidgeot scanning the skies to make sure no one was endangering the city. It was fun to daydream, though. Mimi, meanwhile, felt like they were in a dream. They were in their original form between my thighs, but I''d forced them to create a metallic harness around one of my arms. I didn''t exactly know if they could survive a fall at this height, but testing that was not in the cards and they''d probably get snatched within the minute. The steel type sent a pulse of gratitude toward Princess with an apanying screech as they watched the world below pass us by. "Still embarrassed?" I asked, passing a hand through my daughter''s fur. "You''re more silent than usual." She quietly huffed, a sound that was nearly masked by the wind, and I snorted. Knowing her, she''d think about that dent for at least a week. After a moment of silence, she asked me not to show Honey when he came back. "I think it''s cool to look back at how far you''vee. He''d definitely tease you about it, though," I giggled. Togekiss answered that she''d tease him back for his old days practicing Thundershock in Floaroma. It was nice to see herughing again after what had happened earlier. "Oh please, you basically banter every day. You have to learn to take what you dish out, Princess." I squinted behind my goggles when I saw a glimpse of darkness hidden behind a cloud above us, and my throat tightened. "Let''s speed up to the route. We''ve got to be back before six if we''re showing Dad and you the show I talked to you about." Route 202 was what we were looking for, mostly because it was the least popted route of the four around Jubilife. I wasn''t exactly looking to hide, but it''d be a bonus if we could be on our own. The route was slowly inclined, an endless stretch of green with woods sparsed within. It was in one of these, that I''d spent my first night out on my journey. My arm tingled at the thought of that Ekans trying to bite through my arm. Back then, I hadn''t understood how lucky I''d been that they hadn''t used poison. Princessnded us near one of those forests, since trainers knew to avoid them if they wanted to make it through here untroubled. Near the end of Circuits like this, not many people were out on the road anyway. Sure, some spots were popr to train, like the edges of Eterna Forest, but on routes like this? The majority of trainers were still in cities trying to get theirst badge of the year, so people here were mostly 14 or just turned 15-year-old kids who already had Pokemon and were trying to get an early start for next year. Before releasing the entire team, I hopped off Princess,nding on my good foot, and released ydol. From this close, it was easy to notice the imperfections in their form. Little chips and dents in the brown, solid y, unevenness in their symmetry, bumps, a hand a little bigger than the other. People back then were masters at what they did, creating life from nothing, but ydol had not been made with precise measuring tools. Bonds forged through battle, through thick and thin, had apparently been enough, with the way Princess looked at the psychic. It wasn''t soft like when she looked at the others; it was too soon for love to have bloomed there and I wasn''t sure ydol was even capable of that quite yet. Still, there was respect in Princess'' eyes, respect and gratitude for keeping us alive. She wasn''t opposed to them sticking around with us. That''s much better reaction than she had with Mimi, I thought, feeling slightly relieved. I felt bad for the little steel type. They wanted nothing but to explore and connect with others, but didn''t understand that Sunshine and Princess would be reluctant to do that for at least a little while. ydol hovered a foot off the ground, their eyes shing pink with ancient glyphs. "Princess, I am pleased to report your recovery and will be delighted to be at your service, along with the rest of the royal court, henceforth." In her absence, they had called her Princess, which didn''t mean her name, but her status as my kid. Togekiss'' eyes widened a smidge, and then she grinned, taking to the ''game'' in seconds. It was incredible, to see the split second the calculus took to go through in her head. The fairy type puffed up her chest, thanking ydol for their services. "This is terrible for her ego, I hope you know that," I said, looking at the psychic. "But! Since Princess is back, she''ll be able to take over Slowking''s job as your teacher. In terms of barriers, you''re already better than her, but your fine control could use some work. What we''re focusing on is Ancient Power, though. I want you to be an expert." There was no way ydol would get better at it than her in the short time we had left, but I was certain we could get it to be useful. "At yourmand," they answered with that same, monotone voice. "Shall we start, Princess?" "Wait, before you do, work on Mud-p, too," I said. "The times you''ve used it gave me an idea for Byron, I need it to be¡­ uh, I need you to work on the volume. It has nice synergy with Ancient Power if we''re going to spread it throughout the arena. Do you think you could do that?" ydol froze for a second, a thin light washing over their eyes. "Query: Mud-p. Data analysis indicates minimal instances of the described application. Repetitive engagement may lead to enhanced proficiency. Practice imperative for optimal execution." I grinned. "But it''s possible, right?" "Correct." "Okay, you guys can set up here, I''ll get the entire team up to speed." While Princess ripped arge sphere from the ground and showcased it to ydol, rambling about the many applications of Ancient Power, I released the rest of the team to train. We hadn''t been cking, per se, but I wanted to intensify our training to reach the final tools we''d need to win the fight. My Pokemon seemed happy enough to be out of the city. Sweetheart announced her presence with a roar that had my insides vibrate and my bones rattle, and at least a hundred Starly and Staravia left the forest we were near to in panicked shouts. "Next time, don''t?" I sighed. "No need to bother the locals, yeah? If you want to scream, I''ll take you to somece you can vent." She growled, partly annoyed and partly sorry. After all, was it her fault everything was too scared to be near her? That was the way she thought, at least. "I''ll take you to Sandgem tomorrow so we can work on Surf if you behave." She grinned, shing her rows of sharp teeth as big as my head. Bribing her usually worked, in cases like these. "Good! We aren''t really in a great ce to refine your control of Earthquake, so it''ll have to be Stone Edge¡ª but with Iron Defense. Can you pull one out right now?" Instantly, a spike eight feet in length was ripped up from the floor with a rumble. It glimmered as it did, and it was impossibly hard to the touch. I didn''t really know the difference in hardness between rock or metal, but I was sure that they were harder than normal and wouldn''t break against Byron''s steel types. "Good. Now do ten of those at the same time, and we''ll call it a day." Sweetheart touched her two hands together, and I added. "And you''ll get meat." I''d give her some regardless, but it was better for her to have some motivation so she wouldn''t get distracted trying to befriend some wild Bidoof and giving the poor thing a heart attack. I turned to Sunshine, who''d beenughing at her request until she swiped him with his tail. His knees buckled, though he didn''t fall, instead mes burst to life until Jellicent chimed in and calmed them down with an irritated whistle. Yeah¡­ they liked yfighting, now. A lot. They were the only two who actually enjoyed fighting together a decent bit, and Sunshine enjoyed the challenge of trying to make his mes burn through her scales. They''d fought countless times at the League, and the temperature within those barriers routinely reached above a thousand degrees. I was not about to burn the entire route down and ruin countless Pokemon''s lives. Plus, I''d be fined by the Rangers for creating an ecological disaster. A few mes, we could put out, but ambient temperature so hot everything within hundreds of feet would catch on fire was an entirely different scale. "You know what to do," I shrugged. "Work with Buddy on Fire st. One at a time so he can clean up, okay?" Sunshine rolled his eyes, his heavy steps carrying him off in the distance. On the way to the spot he''d designated, he asked Princess for a few bouldersrge enough not to disintegrate, and she asked him to ask nicely with a please. Instead, he red at her and asked if she was serious, and it was Buddy that broke the stalemate by saying please. He already knew what to work on¡ª a Rain Dance powerful enough to stick around for a while after he was recalled. There was that Ice de thing modeled after Ice Spinner, which he''d used to get me out of that bathroom at Poketch, but that wouldn''t be of use against Byron and was more of a side project we''de up with when brainstorming ways for him to stab things. I''d been a lot more into it than he had. "Angel,e with," I said. "We''re going into the woods." The grass type excitedly bobbed up and down, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me up on his head. There was a sad mewl from Mimi, since they seemed interested in sticking by ydol or Buddy. Those were the two they''d bonded with the most outside of me, and it showed. I ran a finger around the golden rim of their head, and their tail stopped waggling. I''d seen Dad and Mom''s Herdier shake his tail when he was excited, but for Mimi, it mostly happened when they were nervous. It could happen, but not very often. Angel waddled into the forest, waving at a couple of Burmy hanging off a branch. Most Pokemon had left the area, retreating deeper into the woods when Sweetheart had roared, so I wasn''t expecting to see them. Goes to show that some people are braver than others, I mused, though the leaves on their body were shaking, and not because of the wind. "Sorry about that noise! You''re safe I promise," I said as we passed them. I doubted they''d believe me, but at least I''d have tried. Legendaries, things were going to get so much easier when ydol learned to Teleport¡­ maybe I''d have kazam tutor them if they came back in time before I left, which would be the day after Mira''s birthday. The forest, having seemed so deadly months ago, was now a walk in the park, save for the branches that sometimes got in my face and tangled my hair. They weren''t actually off-route and were well-maintained by the Rangers, but they had let a Scyther slip through. Looking back, a predator like them had probably decided to take their chances in the ''humannds'' if it meant they could get easy prey. Still, I asked Angel to be on guard with Ancient Power in case an aggressive Pokemon attacked us or we walked near a Dustox colony. As it stood, I wasn''t feeling anything nearby with my empathy, though, and that stayed the case even when Angel found a spot he liked. Two vines popped up from his head in front of my face, and he signed that the soil was good here. High quality. "Great¡ª for now. We''ll have to use bad soil soon just in case our ns don''t work out and we''ll have you train under Sweetie''s Sandstorm, but I guess this is nice for our proof of concept. Down, please?" The grass type set me on the ground, and I put Mimi on my shoulder before turning back toward Angel. He stared at me curiously through hisrge eyes, his countless vines writhing so subtly you''d miss it if you didn''t stare long enough. "It''s going to be you, Angel. Not Sunshine. Not Buddy. Not Sweetheart. You." I let the words settle, and their weight draped over the grass type. It was the weight of expectation, of being scared he would fail to battle up to my standards for such an important fight. I softly clicked my tongue. "We aren''t scared of failure." My hands draped over his cheek, and he gently pulled them away so I wouldn''t hurt them. Smiling, I continued. "You''ll do great. You used to carry the team on your back, when you''d just evolved and during the tournament in Sceon. And it won''t just be you." I turned toward where we''d juste from. "I''ll have the arena ready for you, I''ll have it just right, or as close as right as possible." Silence. It was always silence, but the look he gave me in that moment had me grin from ear to ear. "Now give it a try." The vines were slow, at first. As Tangrowth closed his eyes, four vines nted themselves into the soil with a slight thud, meeting no resistance beyond theyer of grass and nt-covered dirt. There was a slight glow to each of them as he shivered. The air stood perfectly still, and the entire forest was silent. Suspended in time, with only me and Mimi to bear witness to weeks of work and dedication. Hundreds of minute adjustments to stop the nutrients in the ground from getting used too quickly and killing everything or too slow to sustain what was currently happening. The four vines left the ground, and then split. Then again, and again until they became a torrent of writhing Ekans crawling across the forest floor. It was like watching water flood the woods. They took the path of least resistance, wrapping around trees, digging under copsed branches or in some case burying them with only the creaking of the bark to show that they''d ever been there. By the end of it, an entire area was covered in it, far beyond the size of a Gym Arena. "Perfect." My voice was a whisper, like I was terrified being too loud would ruin his concentration despite knowing that wouldn''t be the case. Each vine was a limb, and he had thousands of them at hismand. Only a small circle around my feet was clear of them, and Mimi jumped off my shoulder to touch the¡­ ocean. One of the many vines poked at their side, and they tried to cut it immediately with a needle-like sword. Was I a bad influence on them? "Give me a Power Whip." Before I''d even finished talking, vines behind us wrapped together into a braid until they were as thick as a tree and glowed neon green. Good. Then, more popped up, though at the fourth, his focus began topse. Still, he could use it at any point on his field. "Spores." Around a hundred feet away from us, a puff of yellow, green and purple spores burst out from below the vines with a series of small explosions until they petered out. "Sr de." It would be with singr vines, this time, partly because of focus and time spent charging the attack, and partly because of lethality concerns. Three vines glowed bright white from the undergrowth and stood straight up. One of them cut across a tree, though Angel held back and only dented the bark. They weren''t many, not yet, but that was fine. The advantage was that we could strike from anywhere. And vines could hold opponents down, trip them up and push them around, too. A fire could always be cut off at the source and isted, but should pushe to shove, Angel would be able to run through the nutrients in the soil to regenerate his vines so long as he still had nutrients. It would be somewhat of ast resort. "You did great," I exhaled. "So, so good. I''m proud of you." He blinked slowly, and the entire field shook as one as his vines convulsed with excitement. It was like dropping a pebble into ake¡ª the emotion rippled like water. We had our strategy. What we would be building towards. Now my job was to get Byron''s arena there to allow him to do all of this. From a swath of rough steel to¡­ Well, what we were standing on, minus the trees. Byron would resist, he''d fight and try to drag me onto his idea of what the arena should be shaped like, but I would drag him there kicking and screaming if I had to. "Give me a Power Whip. Let''s try to push to five." ¡ª "Shut up! You did not speak. They used bodynguage and felt, but beyond some vocalisations that were gibberish,municating would be difficult. Princess was an empath, but being as good as I was would be a tall order. Sunshine was snoring besides the bed, and Buddy slowly elongated parts of himself to make his head look like they had spikes all over as a challenge he''d set for himself to work on his fine control. Mira''s Porygon2 was her only Pokemon out, but like ny percent of the time, she was out of view, on her phone. Mira wriggled her eyebrows with that smug look she had gotten so good at. "What can I say, I was feeling mighty inspired that day." "You don''t you do! Your idea of battling is whittling Pokemon down while keeping your distance with Teleport or flying or¡ª" "Hey! I''ll have you know that I''ve progressed beyond that stage," she said, clearly faking her offense at my words. "I''m training too, you know? And Lauren said Gengar was fun to fight!" "I''m sorry, but calling a Gengar interesting of all things isn''t thepliment you think it is." Mira shrugged. "It is. For her." She was smiling, so I''d let it go for now. Personally, I really wanted to fight her Gengar, but his idea of a fight was to pop out of nowhere and spook his opponents unless he was in a good mood. He wasn''t very well-behaved. "That move won her the battle," I muttered at my screen. I didn''t remember how the conversation of Lauren hade up from her telling me about the drawings on her cast, but we''d segued into her Gym Battle and decided to watch it again. "Damn, who even are you?" She pushed me on the shoulder. "Stop acting like I''m stupid or something." "It''s fun. Miss Knowledge not knowing how to battle¡ª" Poketch devices were all linked. Tablets, phones, watches,ptops¡ª everything was connected through a system I didn''t really understand. That was the reason why I''d seen Emilia''s message pop up in the top right of the screen. Mira and I froze, looking at the text spelling out ''we need to talk''. Simple, but to the point. "Well," Mira sighed. "Time to face the music." At the same time, the clock hit midnight. It was Princess'' second birthday.
Interlude – Strength of the Mind Interlude ¨C Strength of the Mind
INTERLUDE - STRENGTH OF THE MIND Upon a rock nking Mount Cor sat Gardevoir, and she was bored out of her mind. What was the point of travel, if it was without Mira? It was like living in a world where no sunrise would evere, and yet kazam had convinced her to apany him. Mira had pushed as well, of course, and Gardevoir had always been awful at saying no to her since her old days as Ralts. Life without Mira was boring, but it was also empty. For months, Gardevoir''s mind had beentched to Mira''s own, listening in on everything that went on in that fascinating yet terrifying brain of hers. Sometimes it was five minds, sometimes three, but never more than ten. Truly, her trainer was like a star that Gardevoir could only hope to orbit. To stay within her influence was more than she deserved. Minds flickered like candles around her, so, so much duller than Mira''s. A simple flick of her wrist would be enough to extinguish them, should they get close. Dull. Just so dull. They never approached what kazam had designated as their ''camp'', a thing humans liked so much. Pokemon had a way to avoid trouble and sense when beings were far stronger than they could handle. Really, this ce wasn''t a camp, it was more of a set of rocks they''d found along with a nice, t set ofnd. Her fellow World Weaver thought more like a human than he let on, which was why he called the mastery over the strings thaty beyond the world''s veil psychic. A human term, one in use by more and more Pokemon due to the dominance of their others. Gardevoir had never met her mother, but she had left something in her egg. Memories of tradition, culture, of what their role in the world was as half fae and half weaver. Closing her eyes, she inhaled. This did not take focus to do, not anymore. A split secondter, they opened, revealing to her countless strings that constituted the world. All the exact same length, so many of them they filled her entire vision. In the air, they undted and flowed freely with the wind. On the ground, they werepletely still and harder to make budge, which was why raising an earthen barrier by weaving was incredibly difficult and beyond her and kazam''s means. Liquid was far easier to move, but air was always the easiest. Concentrating, the strings grew transparent other than the ones she was specifically targeting. She tugged at them with her mind, pulling the strings together near kazam. Rubbing them until the air around grew hot and bothered him enough for him to turn her way with an annoyed re. Why? The half-man ising back. Are you rested enough for another jump? she sent. I''m close to a breakthrough. Soon. Gardevoir sent a series of mental jabs to express her displeasure and told him she should have set him on fire. The entire exchange had taken ce in less than a second, and could have been faster if she could keep up with kazam. He could process things far faster than she could, even if it pained her to admit. Still working with his little toy he called Type Energy, as always. It was an obsession at times, where no one was able to wrest him from his musings until he was done. The world returned to normal once more as Gardevoir blinked. Sometimes, she wondered if there was something beyond the strings she could weave. She wondered what would happen if she could stretch them enough to tear a hole through reality, or bunch them together until they came dense enough to be seen with the naked eye, or even if delving deeper was possible. When she''d asked kazam, he had told her not to try unless she wanted to go mad. It was irritating, how he kept his knowledge so close to his chest even with his closestpanions. Two minutester, the half-man arrived. Carlos, Mira called him. He was an annoyance that would be better off further crippled than he was if that meant he did not follow them again. Half of his face was missing, having been burned and torn until only flesh remained, and a ghost perpetually clung around him with a foul presence even worse than Gengar. He walked up the hill, reaching the t, stony ne with a tired grunt, having returned from whatever he had been doing. She was not interested enough to care. "No fire? It''s dark," the trainer grunted to no one in particr. Having been gone since before the sun had set, he had expected one to have been lit. The ground was solid and rigid, but the insides of a human was mostly gooey liquid. Ready to explore with a single tug of her mind, without protection, which the ACE had none. How strange, that he trusted her so much. She did not bother answering him, instead turning away and resting her hands on herp. The flesh was soft¡ª or at least that is what Mira said whenever she rested her head on there. Gardevoir''s hands were not exactly equipped to feel what was soft and what was not. The half-man did not get an answer from kazam either, with how engrossed he was in his research. He had imbued a receptacle of ss and stone with void and was trying to stimte human conditions, though he would be hard-pressed to do so without testing this on actual living beings. Stone and ss could not act like the confines of flesh, no matter how much he wished that to be the case. That void-touched boy would keep his condition for longer, it seemed. "¨ASuppose I''ll do it myself, then," the half-man grunted. mes appeared around him,ing from the Mismagius perpetually by his side, and they divided and hovered around the entire camp in a circle until the entire area was illuminated. They were cold, seemingly sapping the area of its heat, but they were only using it for light. Again, he turned Gardevoir''s way. "When can we do the jump over Cor?" She took a while to answer to express her displeasure. Tomorrow at the soonest, she said. For all she disliked Carlos, he had a mind she could respect. There was a certain fortitude about it Gardevoir couldn''t help but admire. "We''re wasting time. By the time we''re in Hearthome, we''ll have arrived in the number of days it takes to fly there," Carlosined. He found a rock to sit at with a sigh, near one of Mismagius'' cold mes. "The return trip will need to be quicker than this." That, I can agree with, half-man, Gardevoir said. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep, and when she woke up, both Carlos and kazam were still up. Thetter was unsurprising, with how kazam only needed to sleep around once per week, just like his need to eat, but for the ACE Trainer? It was easy to tell how tired a human was, when one was experienced enough. Their thoughts slowed, attention spanspsed, and they became far less fascinating totch onto. Oh, she never attached her own mind to the half-man. Thest time she tried, she had blinked, and been ced into a mental prison of Mismagius'' making. It hadsted twelve hours for her. Twelve hours of horrors beyond description, shapes that moved in shadows just beyond what she could see but that terrified her even so. In the real world, she''d been convulsing on the ground for five seconds. Never would she mess with the half-man again. Gardevoir did not understand these worries of ''privacy'' people liked to tell her about. The mind was meant to be linked with another, and life without that was iplete. Of course, Mira would forever be hers, but that did not stop her from sometimes delving into others. Grace, she had tried a while ago in Pastoria, before she had visited that Lake. She was violence,promise and sadism all in one and bottled up. Lesser than she could be due to the fear of being judged, and desperate to lock herself away beyond more and more doors of her own making. So vulnerable, too, with the least amount of fortitude by far, though perhaps there was something admirable of being broken and mended so many times. Chase Karlson, for all Gardevoir hated him for stealing Mira''s attention (that role had now been relegated to Lauren), was the me of ambition personified. A bright mind impossible to extinguish, boisterous and like the brightest stars among the night sky, but fire could burn, if one got too close for too long. Cecilia was ambition as well, but gentler. A stream gently carving its way through the earth until it became a riverrge enough to flood a forest. She looked beyond what most could see, and it did not matter what twists and turns she would have to make, what obstacles she would meet, because eventually, a river had to reach the ocean. She was also care, gentle and steady. A rock the less fortunate could hold onto in times of strife. A harbor found in the midst of a storm. All of course paledpared to Mira. Gardevoir was never allowed to delve too deep, lest their minds be locked away in that impossiblyplicated shield. kazam and she had spent long nights analyzing their trainer''s,yers uponyers so deep they were like a fractal. Impossible toprehend no matter how long they looked. Finally ready? Gardevoir asked herpanion. kazam sighed, one of his spoons twisting in displeasure as he twirled his mustache. That breakthrough had nevere, it seemed, as she had predicted. Smart as he was, kazam could be so blind, sometimes. Yes, he gruffed. My apologies for the dy, I really believed I was close. Expunging the energy left the vessel broken. At least now I''m confident I would be able to pull it out of Justin, which is contrary to what I thought in Veilstone. It would leave him in a worse state than the current. Dark Type Energy has always been a weakness of mine. No need to mess with the void, she chided. Let forces beyond our control lie. It''s for the boy. It is not for the boy, she said. If her face could keep up with the speed of the conversation, she would have smiled. You simply hate it when you cannot solve one of your projects. The boy stopped mattering long ago. kazam slowed down, brushing her off with a dismissing wave. Let''s just go. Where are we jumping? Can we handle reaching the bottom of Mount Cor from here? Shall we try reaching Hearthome? Gardevoir asked. Before he could rebuke her, she continued. No improvementse without risks, kazam. Had we been alone, I would have said yes, but let''s not get Carlos killed. We go to the bottom of Mount Cor. Focus. Carlos recalled his ghost, and sat close to both weavers as he had done multiple times before. Gardevoir closed her eyes, and found memory. She remembered the ttened grounds she had traveled as a Kirlia to get to Hearthome on the way down from Mount Cor with Maeve and Louis, shortly after having met them. She remembered theyout of the terrain with perfect uracy as if she could see it with her mind''s eye, because she could. Remember that area we camped at, a day after leaving the Ranger outpost? kazam whispered within her mind. Yes. It was crystal clear, now. There was a little creek they''d used to wash their dirty clothing and boil water. No trees to be seen in miles. A perfect area to Teleport. Gardevoir linked her mind with kazam''s and found the exact area he was targeting. Less than one second had passed. Strings were weaved together into a line. They stretched and bent, for they were not meant to be exerted this much, but were a constant of the world. kazam had spoken many times, about the rules their apparent creator had put in ce. It had been that knowledge, that had forced him into evolution. The revtion that they all lived at the whims of a God, which was why the rules sometimes did not make any sense or could be treated so. They could not be broken, but they could be bypassed in numerous ways. The strings tied into knots the sheer amount of control needed for the process being enough to give Gardevoir a mild headache. The link met somewhere above the slopes of Mount Cor and tied itself together. They only had a moment to tie the structure around Carlos and themselves, because it was unraveling, little by little. In the next two seconds, it would have snapped. Snapping was what they wanted, but only when they were ready. Forces beyond their understanding rent the knot. Then, they were somewhere else. In the spot they had visualized in their heads, exhausted, but all in one piece. Long-distance Teleportation was extremely tiring to the mind, and Gardevoir could feel her hold on her weaving abilities slipping by the second. "It''s not meant to work, I think," kazam had told her when he''d been a Kadabra and first working on the Teleporting. Back then, he could only do so within his line of sight. "We trick the world into thinking we''re somewhere else, and it brings us there because it doesn''t know where else to put us. Like a glitch in aputer." Because that was what weaving was, to herpanion. An opportunity to control and understand a world that was not meant to be tamed. Mira had called it fascinating, and Gardevoir had said that his trivialization of the beauty of the Earth they inhabited made her sick. "Good. The next jump should bring us to Hearthome and we can be done with this," the half-man sighed. Many trainers with weak minds passed through this ce and were of course bbergasted at an ACE Trainer being here. ¡ª Let me do the talking, kazam said. They were walking the streets of Hearthome, now, old and adorned with countless brown bricks. Carlos had gone out of view, using Mismagius to mask himself from passersby and them included, but she knew he would be there for the revtion of the danger the world was in. He would want to see and hear what was said, after all. Emilia and Pauline were supposedly staying at a hotel near the Coordinator''s Walk, a street that led to the Hearthome Contest Hall. They turned countless eyes, for seeing two Pokemon walking without their trainers was an umon sight, even if it wasn''t unheard of. One thousand, three-hundred and fifty-six minds were within her range, at the moment, though that number fluctuated wildly with every step. They were unworthy of her inserting herself into their minds. So weak they were barely noticeable. If she''d wanted to, she couldtch onto one and Trace it. That was how she''d tracked Abel in Veilstone, after all. Sometimes I wonder if this is truly necessary, Gardevoir asked. Mira doing this is¡­ not something I approve of. The logic is sound. Do this now so that they don''t kill themselvester, he chided with an exasperated mental sigh. It won''t take too long, I assume. Gardevoir wanted to ask why they should care if two girls got themselves killed by their own means and decisions, but she didn''t bother. The debate it would have brought would not have been great to have before such an important moment, and it would not have been the first time it would have happened. They''ll crumble under the pressure, Gardevoir said. kazam''s yellow skin glimmered under a street light. If they do, that''s good. That means they won''t endanger themselves or get in the way. Mira has too many people to care about, Gardevoir said. She would be happier, with just her Pokemon and the other Shards. Perhaps Maeve. Her mind stands out among the rest, and she has killed before. Fought to the death. kazam didn''t answer her, and the remainder of the walk was spent in silence until they realized they were lost. Finding an address was more difficult than it seemed, and it absolutely embarrassed kazam. They usually never had to do this, but he was a quick learner and figured out the location within the next two minutes. That lightened the mood a bit, with Gardevoir smiling as they entered the hotel. Humans would call this ce ''grand'', or perhaps ''beautiful'', but it was a waste of space. Towering columns were adorned with intricate gold leaf designs and reached towards the lofty ceiling, creating an air of ostentatious grandeur that seemed to serve no practical purpose. White couches had been strewn about in the entrance area and wererge enough to fit a Pokemon battle. Gardevoir''s feet slid across the white tiles, and she was nearly too tall for the elevators, which infuriated her. How dare they waste so much space but make it so she had to bend down in the elevators? kazam''s eyes shone pink, and the button to the eleventh floor pressed down on its own. The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, but people just flinched when they saw them and opted to wait for the next one, which pleased her greatly. The hallways leading to the room were carpeted and soft to the touch, though they stretched on for what seemed to be endless. kazam did not have to tell Gardevoir which room they stayed in, because she could already sense the mind of another world weaver nearby. Gothitelle. She was not one Gardevoir had interacted with much, but she could at least respect the close bond between her and Pauline. They both passed by a couple who practically clung to the wall to leave them space before reaching the door. Gardevoir''s eyes flickered, and she pulled and stretched at a string repeatedly, letting it snap back into ce to knock on the door. Muffled voices could be heard, worried and wondering who was at their door, but it was only a matter of time until the weaker mind peeked through the peephole and opened the door with a confused frown. Her red hair was wellbed, cut shorter than thest time Gardevoir had seen her and only reaching down to her neck. The fae supposed people would have called the clothes she wore fancy, if she had any good sense of what looked good or not. Pauline broadened her shoulders and made herself tall until her eyes flickered to the half-man who had somehow appeared from the opposite side of the hallway until he joined them, his ghost coiled around his skin, hidden from view and a hole in the world to her senses. A spirit who did not belong to this ne. There was a reason he''d been able to keep track of Mira so well in Veilstone. "What''s up?" Pauline said, her voice low. Pretending. Pauline King had always pretended to be strong¡ª and in a way, Gardevoir supposed she was. There was merit to pretending so much it essentially became a part of you, but it felt so artificial, in some ways. Forced. The world and her upbringing had made her this way, but she was just so static. "Um, what are you guys¡­ doing here?" Emilia asked. Her chestnut hair was frazzled, unkept, and she had deep lines under her eyes. She was worried¡ª worried they''d been found out. Her vulnerabilities leaked out of her so intensely that Gardevoir did not even need totch onto her head to figure it out. Not that she would have. For a significant amount of time, at least. Gothitelle was a skilled psychic and it would have soured rtions. kazam''s spoons levitated out of his hands to allow him to wave. Greetings, Pauline and Emilia. May we enter the room? This is important. Just tell them so we can go back home, Gardevoir sent only to kazam. We have to be delicate about this. Do not be insufferable and backseat me, he answered in a split-second. "I mean, we were a little busy," Pauline grunted, gripping at the doorframe. "Can this wait, or¡­?" This is rted to what you''re currently doing, kazam said with a gentle smile. It is time to tell you the truth, so I ask again. May we enter? "I don''t¡ª" Emilia''s eyes sharpened, and she interrupted, "Yes. Yes,e in. And¡­ what''s your name again?" She stared at the ACE Trainer. "Carlos," he said tly. "Only here to observe." "Oh. This is happening, isn''t it?" Emilia exhaled. She pped her cheeks with her hands until they were red and nodded to herself. "Okay. Yeah." Wasn''t this what she wanted? Why make such a grand affair out of it if she needed to get ready? Gardevoir shuffled into the hotel room, finding it weirdly modest for such wealthy humans. It was simple, with a single bed, one small bathroom to the side, a balcony and a desk. Not that she minded, of course. This was a plus for her, not wasting space that was unneeded to live. kazam flicked his wrist, settling his spoon on the t desk, and he crossed his arms, sending a mental greeting to Gothitelle. Gardevoir did the same. Well met, Stargazer, she said. Fuck off, Gothitelle scowled. I know the way you think about Pauline, so don''t take that haughty tone with me. We are nothing, you and I. Gardevoir sighed. Unslightliness and bad manners ran in that group of Pokemon, it seemed. What was so wrong with being true to herself and showing respect only to those who deserved it? Carlos leaned against the entry door, which Pauline kept ncing at as if she was trapped. It was always fight or flight with her. No need to be nervous, my friends, kazam said. Though I will admit, the revtions I bring to you today are mighty. You can still back out, if you so wish. The two girls looked at each other, and then shook their heads. They were ready to hear this. Before I begin, may I know what you''ve discovered so far using Future Sight? Pauline opened her mouth, but Emilia outstretched a hand to stop her. "Wait. This isn''t a trick isn''t it? You''re not justing here to learn of our progress to report to the others?" Pain flickered on kazam''s face. How tragic is it, that we''ve been reduced to this? Thisck of trust, this expectation of deception and lies? "That was something of your own doing," she said. "Of Mira''s, Grace''s and the others'' who are in the know and who are leaving us in the dark." "Who were leaving us in the dark," Pauline specified. "Were," her friend acquiesced. "So you''ll forgive us if we don''t really trust any of you, at the moment." "Come on, Emi." She hesitated, but ended up relenting as she sat on the bed with a heavy breath. "What Gothitelle sees, it''s always through Pauline," Emilia started. "At first, in Pastoria, all we got was a vague warning, but we had her hone in on it, and what she sees is a little broader, but still through the eyes of Pauline. She''s in more danger if she sticks close to you, and apparently the window for that has already closed, so don''t even try the ''don''t be friends with us'' bullshit." Emilia''s voice shook, at the end of that sentence. After everything, Gardevoir noticed, she was still hurt by being pushed away. "Part of what she sees right now is fire, though." kazam frowned. Fire? "It''s very vague, but yes. I don''t know if it''s symbolic, or¡ª" Trust me, I don''t do symbolism, Gothitelle interjected. It''s literal. "Okay, well what she sees is fire, and we were kind of stuck on that. The other had her a lot more worried, though. There''s potential for her to be taken away by¡­ someone. It''s blurry." Kidnapped, kazam said with an audible hum. Perhaps as a hostage. Knowing this is a huge advantage, children. You''ve done a good thing, here. Emilia''s lips thinned. "Thank you." "We''ll see about getting her some security," Carlos said. Gardevoir knew he was only thinking from a pragmatic sense. If a friend was hurt, Mira and the other shards would be difficult to work with, in their grief, and who knew how much time they''d have when everything began. For a while, they talked about affording their other friends guards, though Carlos deigned that with ACE Trainers already sticking by Grace and Chase and them being in Canve, there was no need to ce more guards in the city. He rmended them going to Canve as well, though they''d said they would think about it. "So? What''s the big reveal?" Emilia said, her body tense. "Does it have to do with the fire thing? I mean, it''s obviously rted to Gctic in some way, so¡­ I''m ready. Pauline, are you ready?" The redhead steeled herself. "Yeah." Both minds shone a little brighter, for a moment, startling Gardevoir slightly as kazam dove into the details of Team Gctic''s ns. Summoning Time and Space (Gardevoir did not like to utter their true names in vain) with the help of the Lake Guardians that they would control through the Red Chain. With the trio, they would find their way up Mount Cor quickly, unbothered by any of the tricks yed by the mountain, and they would reach Spear Pir to snuff out this universe and create one anew, all for the vanity of one broken man. Gardevoir had heard the story many times, and her first reaction had been to vow to never let the eventse to pass. To stand tall and spit in the eye of destined death¡ª or she supposed it wouldn''t exactly be death, if Team Gctic seeded. Just¡­ inexistence. Gothitelle was the only one who seemed rtively unaffected, though her thoughts and emotions frayed wildly. Weavers saw the world for what it was, a collection of building blocks with rules, and therefore knew how fragile it could be, so Gardevoir had expected for her to take to the news well. Humans had always been strange about their lives ending, too. Pauline King, who had asked if they were ''fucking with her'' at least ten times during the revtion, was rocking herself back and forth on the bed and silently crying, muttering to herself that this wasn''t real. Emilia was pale, having thrown up in the trash can and her mouth was stillced with vomit. She was frozen, utterly silent, and disbelieving. Perfect. Now they could finally go home¡ª I know this is difficult, kazam said with a solemn look. I know the scale of it is beyond what you imagined, but it is the truth. You know everything, now. I hope you know that the best course of action is to let the League do its work. Emilia wiped her mouth with a napkin, scrunching it up and throwing it in the trashcan. "Wait," she spoke, her voice barely a rasp, "where do Cecilia, Chase, Mira, Grace and Denzel fit in all of this? Why did they know?" They were picked by the Lake Guardians, kazam exined. They were the best candidates avable at the time, and so they bear the burden of wrenching them out of the Red Chain''s control if they are captured. Mira was picked by Knowledge, Grace by Emotion, and Cecilia and Chase by Willpower¡ª Pauline groaned, saying once again that this wasn''t real. Denzel was told shortly before the raid, like you are being told today. "I see," Emilia said. "Okay. Can we¡ª can we take five?" kazam nodded. May we know what you n to do from now on? "We''ll tell you after we take five¡ª maybe ten. I need to gather my thoughts," Emilia said. "To¡ª to call them." Gardevoir sighed, and they left the room. ¡ª The end of the world. It was a concept Emilia had thought about a few times. During history sses, when they covered the Great War, she often heard of the Legendary Birds rampaging throughout the world to end the fighting, killing millions in the process and almost as many people as the war itself had killed. Almost all civilians, too, who had nothing to do with the war itself, like it was one cruel joke. She remembered reading about one of Articuno''s avatars causing Sinnoh to be plunged under a year-and-a-half-long winter after the war''s end and how many people had starved. She remembered reading about how Orre used to have more people living in it than Unova and used to be the wealthiest country on the, before it was ssed into an unlivable desert. Reading about Mewtwo beating every force the Indigo League sent after it until it seemed like it was unstoppable, but that one day, suddenly, it had just¡­ disappeared somewhere, for reasons no one knew about, but knowing that it was still out there had kept her up multiple nights. Emilia had always known, deep down, that there were forces in this world beyond herprehension. Beings that could destroy everything she loved, everything humanity had built, and it would not even be particrly difficult for them to do so. She gripped the sink until her knuckles went white and restrained a sob, trying to take deep breaths, but finding herself wavering at every single pull of air. This is what you wanted, Emilia, she thought to herself as she stared in the mirror. Now deal with it. Deal with it like they''ve all been dealing with it. Her thoughts went back to her journey¡ª to her stay in Sunyshore. Memories of her friends, smiling,ughing, battling as if they hadn''t known all of this. As if they hadn''t been carrying all of this weight. She knew, deep down, that this would be impossible for her to do. You wanted this, she repeated to herself with clenched teeth. She washed herself off, rinsing her entire face and the inside of her mouth. At some point, her hands moved to her head, and she started reflexively doing her hair. The motions were familiar enough to beforting, and as the seconds passed, her hands did not stop trembling, but they trembled less. Routine helped. Routine was familiar. Routine made her think this was a day like any other. "All this time," she muttered. Had anything she''d done in thest year even mattered? Did anything matter? Her contests, her content creations, the friendships she''d made, the problems with her parents, her rtionship drama, did any of it matter? "Damn it." She still felt nauseous, her heart was beating like she''d just run a marathon, and her body was full of adrenaline but she knew Pauline needed help. Emilia had had no choice in retreating to the bathroom to get herself situated, but she''d left her alone long enough. The door cracked, and Emilia was surprised to find Pauline no longer hugging her knees on the bed. Instead, she was sitting cross-legged, taking breaths so deep Emilia figured she must have had an extra set of lungs. She was still crying, though utterly silently. It was a little disturbing, though she didn''t dwell on it, considering there was a lot more at stake, now. She is meditating, Gothitelle said. Learned it from the Primeape. "I¡­ I''ve never seen her do that. Can I¡ª can I interrupt?" She only answered with a nod, and Emilia tip-toed toward Pauline. They''d been through so much together, hadn''t day? Even if it seemed small, in the grand scheme of things, even if it didn''t matter, they''d known each other since they were toddlers, and she had to admit, there was no one else she''d rather be learning of this catastrophe with. Emilia ced a hand on Pauline''s shoulder, and she slowly opened her hazel eyes. "Pauline." Her throat was tight, but she forced out the words. "Are you¡ª I mean, are you well enough to function?" "I think." Pauline''s voice was so¡­ vulnerable. Raw. Something Emi had heard so infrequently she''d almost forgotten it existed. "I think I can hold myself together for a little bit. I might be wrong." Emilia sat next to her, cing a hand on hers. "Can we call the others? We should call Mira, shouldn''t we? And I guess Grace, since they''re together. They were the ones to deliver the news." It was easy to see now, why they''d all kept it a secret for so long. Why Denzel had said it was for their own good. She did not agree, but she at least understood. No one wanted to just tell someone else the world might end, and the way kazam had described it was even more terrifying than the ways Emilia had thought about Legendary Pokemon. With the birds, it would be untold destruction wrought for days and weeks until society copsed and humanity was reduced to a few roving bands in a world scorched by fire, ice or electricity while it recovered. With Dialga and Palkia, it was¡­ instantaneous. The power of space and time brought to life, if they could even be considered alive. Emilia wasn''t really well enough to talk philosophy, at the moment. "Yeah," Pauline deted. "Let''s¡­ talk to them before we decide what to do." Emilia knew already, that she would tell her Pokemon and the others who were involved and in danger. Beyond the plot to end the world, people deserved to know that their lives were at stake through Team Gctic''s ns to use Pauline¡ª and maybe them as hostages. And their friends having powers? It exined everything about their closeness to the League. So many pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. She texted Grace, more out of habit than anything else, telling her that they needed to talk, and then they both jumped a little when she called. Instantly, she put it on speaker. "Hello? Grace?" "Hey Emi," she answered. Her voice seemed tired, but most of all, expectant. As if she''d known this call had beening. "I have Mira with me, and you''re on speaker. Let''s talk." "You know," Emilia noted. "I guess Mira told you." "I did," a higher-pitched voice chimed in. "You guys are up to speed?" Up to speed? Why was she talking about this like they were just being updated on ns to hang out for an afternoon and not like they''d learned the world could end? Emilia clenched her forehead. "What the hell, guys? What is all of this?" "We thought you''d be better off knowing given the fact that you would have gotten yourself killed if you kept ying detective," Mira said. Grace spoke up. "Mira¡ª" "Sorry¡ª sorry, that was ruder than it needed to be. How''re you guys feeling?" "Awful," Pauline forced out. For a moment, Emi thought she''d cry again, but she closed her eyes and breathed. "We know everything, now, but it''s¡­ it''s just so fucking heavy." "You wanted this," Mira said. Emilia could almost visualize her shrugging. "Don''tin about the weight." "Well, sorry for not expecting this entire thing to be the literal worst-case scenario!" Pauline yelled. "I''m pretty sure no one would have thought this to be possible, so kindly fuck off." "It''s a lot," Grace said. "It was a lot for us too, at first. You have to let it settle, and it''ll get better after a few days. You learn to live with it." "I think that''s just you, Grace," Pauline sighed. "I''ll try, but¡­ yeah. Okay." "I''ll try to see about getting you guys a therapist," she added. "They''re a lot of help, and they''re really good." There was a beat of silence Emi took advantage of. "I want to thank you for telling us, Mira. I appreciate your honesty." "No prob''" she drawled. "I mean, it was the best course of action. Again, I had it on good authority that you''d get yourself killed. So, what''s the n now?" "What do you mean the n?" Pauline asked. "What''re you guys going to do?" Not even five minutes since they''d learned the world might end, and they were already being asked that? Not that Emilia had no answer, but¡­ had her friends always been this distant? No, no, that was just her not thinking straight. Of course they needed to know what they''d do. "We tell the others." "Expected," Mira said. "Who exactly?" "I mean, everyone? It wouldn''t be right to hide this from some and tell others, it would just splinter us." Splinter them more than they already had, she omitted. "I assume you''re okay with us doing that?" "Sure," Grace said. "Uh, don''t tell Lauren, though. She''s not involved in this and isn''t under threat." "Wasn''t going to," Emilia agreed. "Okay, so are you guys going to be all like ''let us help you'' when everything goes down?" Mira asked. "Because if I''m being honest, I think it''s a bad idea." Emilia nced at Pauline, expecting a retort about her Pokemon being just as good as Mira, but none of that came. Instead, she stared at her feet and gripped Emilia''s hand tight. "Why, exactly?" Emilia asked. "Beyond the usual¡­ ''we can''t protect you'' or ''you''ll just get in the way'' thing." "Wow, that was exactly what I was going to say," Mira snorted. "Seriously, I know you''re a good trainer, Pauline. Ingenious, even if at first nce all you do is beat things up until they stop moving. Emilia, I''ve seen your contest. I know you''re good enough with TE maniption to be as good as I am in that regard, but fights like what''sing are¡­ different than the rest." "We''ve been in those before, Grace. In Eterna Forest and in Mount Cor," Emilia protested. "I mean what I said. It''s one thing seeing a Pokemon attacking you because you encroached on their territory or wandered too close to a nest or something, but hearing and seeing another human want to kill you is different, and none of you have enough experience for it." Emilia groaned. "How can we help, then?" "Why do you want to get in harm''s way this badly?" Mira said with an exasperated sigh. She clenched her teeth. "Is it that difficult to think that I might want to help my friends? The people who helped me discover myself, who pushed me to realize my dreams of being a coordinator? Who stuck by me when I was deadweight? The people I love?!" She was tired of being powerless. Of watching her friends be more and more broken for reasons she hadn''t understood at the time, but that she now fully knew. If the world would end, she did not want to just whimper in a corner and hope for the best. She wanted to rage against that fate, to fight. To do something. Grace sighed. "You''re right, Emi, I''m sorry. I''d be¡ª I''d be doing the same thing in your situation, I think. Trying to find a way to help." "So what can we do?" "Well, that entirely depends on how Team Gctic goes about things," Mira said after a pause. "But maybe we can find something. I''ll talk to my guys, since Grace¡­ yeah, I''ll talk to my guys. See if they can get back to the League. Don''t expect much, but I think they''ll do it to keep us happy." "Thank you," Emilia sighed in relief. She was terrified, still, but there was no putting the genie back in the bottle. No going back. She had wanted this, and so she would suffer the consequences with open arms despite the hardships it would bring. Carlos and Mira''s psychics came back while Grace had been telling them about an underground city where she''d almost died in the spirit ofing clean, and Emilia knew the night was only beginning. She didn''t think she would be able to sleep, anyway. Busy work like this would keep her head above water, and it would keep her from breaking down again. Hopefully.
Chapter 295 – I’m Okay Chapter 295 ¨C I¡¯m Okay
CHAPTER 295 - I''M OKAY "You don''t have to be so¡­ how do I say this, um, you don''t have to stop telling me about what you''re feeling just because of my issues. Show me your hand?" Electivire outstretched an arm, showing me his new hand. Even though the skin of his fingers was ck, it was just so pale, like a newborn''s, and in some way, I supposed it was. The fur was shorter than the rest of his body''s the skin of his fingers smoother than his other, calloused hand, and every time he tried to move them, he struggled to even make his fingers twitch, let alone flex his hand into a fist, or channel TE into it. I was almost scared to touch it, with the horror stories about Ditto cells Justin had told me months ago, but I knew the fear was unfounded. When I rubbed at the skin, Honey simply said he felt numb, almost nothing. The hand still wasn''t his, and it would take another few weeks for it to get back to normal. Still, I patted Honey on the shoulder and stared up at him with a gentle smile. He was back, finally. One hour since I''d gotten him back from the Pokemon Center, and it was like he''d never even left. I''d missed traveling cities with him by my side, though right now we were sitting on a bench next to a bus stop. There was an ice cream stand nearby with a long file, and the hum of car engines filled the street. We weren''t really waiting for the bus, but rather had just found it a convenient ce to sit and talk. Most of the time, he hadined about the way his hand felt awful, at least until I came clean about my own hands, which was how this conversation hade up in the first ce. He hadn''t cried as much as Princess, but instead of hurtling insults my way that I would have been ready to take in full, it was guilt, that wore him down. Pressed down on his shoulders and made him stand a little shorter than he actually was. The fact that he hadn''t been there in the days following the fight with Zoroark. I leaned against his arm, hugging it with both of mine. "Let''s both do our best to recover," I muttered. "And hey, my leg''s feeling way better since you''ve been gone. Soon I''ll be able to actually walk without a crutch and put weight on it, can you believe that? So you focus on your hand for now, okay?" He let out a nonmittal grunt as he nodded, letting me know that he''d at least try. One of his two prehensile tails wrapped around the foot of the stic bench while the other straightened. Like with Sunshine and Princess, it wasn''t enough, not nearly, but it was a start. So long as I held my promise to try, then he would be at his best, and to be honest, I was doing well and hadn''t rpsed. For a while, we talked about him taking a backseat during the Gym battle with Byron, which he took hard. Honey no longer suffered from the self-confidence issues that had gued him before Sunyshore and his training with Jasmine, but he was still susceptible to feeling like he was being left behind, especially with how he was going to have to take it easy with training regarding his hand. Sometimes, his eyes would nce at my wrist, and I''d feel a slight tug. He was obviously curious about Mimi, but his gentle attitude had me hoping they could connect like the steel type had with Angel and Buddy, even if Mimi''s predecessor had caused him to lose his hand. "I have something I want you to work on when you''re better," I said. He eyed me expectantly, leaning to the side and turning slightly. "It''s a new project, something that''ll help against most opponents and requires a crap ton of control over your electricity? You up for it?" He nodded, his face eager and showing the first smile I''d seen on him. He shed his t teeth and asked me what the idea was, and his grin kept getting wider and wider the more I exined the concept I''d brainstormed. Normally, against Byron, we would have prioritized his maic control so he could make full use of the iron-filled arena, including molten metal, if he ever needed to, but given the fact that I''d pivoted off that strategy and he wasn''t going to fight, I''de up with something with more of a general use this past week in anticipation for his return. Eventually, an old couple followed by a Mightyena that looked to be greying asked to sit in our spot, and we of course let them. "Let''s go back home, I have something to show you that''ll give you an advantage in your yfighting war with Princess," I grinned. "Want some ice cream?" We left the bus stop after that and made our way to the stand, where I got him three scoops. Cookies and cream, pistachio and vani, and he basically downed them all in a minute. We talked about making our own ice cream one day as we got going back toward the apartment, and I told him about some Gym in Unova where the theme was apparently cooking. Like Cece had told me, they didn''t only do battling in that country. One trainer or groups of trainers would have to work together to go through different trials that tested skills outside of battling that a trainer would need, at least ording to them, and were run by the Gym Trainers before being given the option to battle the Gym Leader. All of their battles had themes that deviated from the usual six-on-six with three switches I was used to. I hadn''t looked them up yet, though. I didn''t want to spoil myself the surprise. Mira and Princess'' birthdays hade and gone, and since there had been a one-day dy with Honey''s discharge from the Center and ydol was training the fundamentals of Teleporting with kazam, I''d decided to stay another day. Plus¡­ I needed to tell my Dad about everything, before leaving for Canve. I had promised myself that¡ª and I owed him that, at least. He deserved to know what his daughter was truly like, and to be honest, I just wanted my Dad to love me for who I was, the good and the bad. A lot of bad, but not just that. These past few weeks had taught me that there was good in me. That I could be that person who I''d used to be before going on my journey, the girl who had befriended a clique of rich teenagers who soured her on their first meeting and who had gotten Sunshine out of Mount Cor. I was confident in who I was, now, or at least I was nowhere as lost as I used to be. My second change had shown itself, and I''d made full use of it. Anxiety was starting to bubble up inside of me, and many times, I''d been about to spill out everything. Yesterday, for example, at the end of Mira''s party. I''d given her my gift, the newest model of the Poketchptop, a card with words about how important she and her friendship were to me, and a cute bo I thought would go well with her pink hair. She''d cried of joy and called herself undeserving¡ª but that wasn''t the point, despite how happy it made me. She''d gone to sleep early because being happy was so unusual for her that it exhausted her, and it had just been me and Dad. The perfect opportunity toe clean, right there in front of me, and I flubbed it. It made me feel like my time in Eterna City, when I''d struggled toe out to Cecilia as a lesbian for days, except this was a lot more serious and really, not evenparable. It was just¡­ my brain being desperate to find aparison. Something totch onto to familiarize myself with the trial I needed to face. It was something I''d done many times, but that I was just catching after Mira had called it out a few days ago. A more aptparison would be the time I''de clean to Cece about it, but there was something that felt more final with this than with her. Cecilia had known me, seen me be who I was throughout the months while Dad only got to witness part of that change through text, calls and his television. It would feel a lot more sudden for him than for her, or at least I thought so. Tiresome. It was so tiresome. It wasn''t like revealing the fact that you''d killed several more people than they''d said on TV and one of them excruciatingly slowly shouldn''t be difficult, it would be disturbing to be that honest. Like I didn''t care. Honey patted my back with his good hand and asked what I was thinking about, and it made me realize I hadn''t exactly told my team about this n toe clean to my Dad. I waited until we reached an empty part of the street, something only possible because of how early in the morning it was, and I told him about my issues. "You know, I guess in a way, you''re sort of like my Dad," I said before humming as I looked up at him. When he giggled, I rolled my eyes. "Not literally, and you know it. I mean personality-wise." Both were kind-hearted, disliked needless violence, and even when you honed in on the little quirks of his personality, you could find simrities. He loved pranks, though my Dad was less about physical pranks and more about verbal teasing. He lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head, though his face fell when his fingers didn''t move. That was going to take a little to get used to. He embarrassingly used the other hand as we approached my apartment building. "If I was revealing this part of me to you, how''d you like me to tell you?" I asked. "Do I just¡­ rip the band-aid off? Say everything right away? Or do I stagger the reveals and see how he reacts to them one by one¡ª" He interrupted me by saying that the second idea was a terrible idea and that would only make Dad hurt more. "Yeah¡­ I guess so," I sighed. The door to our apartment cked open, and he pushed me in first. "How, then?" He blinked. "Yeah, I''m serious. This is¡­ tough for me. I''d like to hear what you think about it. I love the others, but they wouldn''t get it. Dad still thinks Princess is this harmless kid, you know? It hurts me to think that she''d sour on him if she knew how he would react." For a few seconds, Honey stayed silent as we waited for the elevator. When it dinged open, he lifted a finger and suggested for me to write him a letter. "A letter?" That could¡­ work, though it felt like I was chickening out. With Cecilia, I at least the excuse that we hadn''t even been in the same city, so doing it via text was okay, even if I''d wanted to do it through call beforehand. Wouldn''t it be weird for him to be right there and reading a letter about how his daughter was a mass murderer? Electivire said that it would be the easiest on me, and easier on Dad, too, especially if we were in separate rooms. It would leave him time to gather his thoughts and figure how to best approach me afterward. Approach me was an expression that had me shiver. It felt like I was a cornered animal ready tosh out, and in a way, I supposed I was. The electric type noticed my wince and apologized for the expression. "I get it," I exhaled. "Thanks for the advice, I think a letter will work." It had to. We rode the elevator up while Honey tried to flex his fist to distract himself from constantly asking about if I was alright. I could almost guess what was going through his head, the idea that I might leave after leaving the letter to Dad, but I couldn''t do that to him. It would be almost cruel. When we got to our apartment, Dad yelled in the living room. "Grace! Your merchandise came!" Excitement surged through me, and I was limping toward the living room before I even realized it. It was just so stupid, too. It was like I wastching onto this as an excuse to dy. Mimi hopped off my wrist, having learned that home was safe to show themselves, while Electivire bent down and squeezed through the doorway. He was growing, still, as were most of my teammates, which made me a little self-conscious of my height despite not being short at all, and again, having a bunch of tall friends didn''t help. At least Sunshine would be there to echo myints. I spared Mimi and Honey a nervous look, but the electric type was already kneeling and letting them climb on their good hand, so I figured their first official meeting was going to go well. Laid out on the living room table and couch was my merch, and it felt surreal looking at it. One instance of each product, only sent to me before their mass production actually started. How odd would it be, to see my face in stores in a few weeks? To see people wearing all of this on them? Every time, when going out, I noticed at least a few people wearing Craig''s or other popr trainers'' merch. Hell, I''d even seen a couple wearing Denzel''s out and about. Dad grinned at me, beckoning me closer. "Come take a look," he said. "It must haveest night, but I picked it up earlier this morning when emptying the recycling bin. Figured it might havee, and lo and behold." "Arceus, this is¡ª this is¡­" It was one thing to see the designs online, and another to see them havinge to life. I spent around thirty minutes looking them over with Dad, releasing the rest of my team so they could take a look too, save for ydol who was at Mira''s and training. It was funny, how I missed them and we''d only known each other for so little time and I''d already grown attached. Of course, Sweetheart also stayed in her Pokeball, and I''d have to show herter, but the others seemed to enjoy the merch. Princess liked all the ones with her on it, obviously, while Angel liked the family-themed ones the best, and he would show his favorite ones to Mimi who was sitting on his head. Honeymented not being able to wear the shirt showing him using Thunder at an undetermined target because of how cool he looked in that pose, pointing forward with a wide grin. Buddy didn''t enjoy the fact that people would be wearing him or any of us, though he liked the mary gain it would bring. He''s definitely going to ask for more books, I thought. I really need to get him Extrasensory so he can read without me. Sunshine was, as usual, pretending to be too cool for any of this, even if I could see him try to smother his proud smile. It wasn''t about the merch for him, but about how far we''de. "I think I''m gonna take some of these on the road," I told Dad. "You can keep the rest. What if you wear this to work when they make the ones your size?" I grabbed a t-shirt with myself, Sunshine and Princess on the front. Supposedly the design choice had been to showcase ''opposites'' of my team, dragon and fairy. If only they knew how wrong they were, though. Those two were two sides of the same coin. "I would, no questions asked," he deadpanned. "I need to show the world how much I support my daughter¡ª who''s getting into the Conference her first year." I groaned, my face heating up slightly. "Dad¡­ I was supposed to embarrass you. Plus, you don''t want to jinx me. I''ve heard a whole lot of horror stories about trainers getting stuck on the eighth badge when they had plenty of time to spare, like Sharon. She''s a flying type specialist that works with Poketch." "Oh, I''ve heard of her. You should know by now that embarrassing me is literally impossible, kiddo" he boasted, ruffling my hair. "But seriously, I don''t say it enough. You''ve done really, really well this year, Grace, even with all of the issues you''ve had to deal with. No matter what happens, I''m proud of what you''ve aplished." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and side-hugged me. "I always knew you had potential." I stayed silent, the confidence suddenly sapped out of me. Not this, and not now. My throat felt horribly dry, and I saw Honey shoot me a look out of the corner of my eye. Taking a deep breath, I cleared my throat. "Yeah, thanks," I weakly said. "Uh, anyway, I was nning on giving one of these shirts to Mira, since she asked. She''ll probably swing by tomorrow with ydol to give them back." The pounding of my heart against my ribcage rxed when I saw Honey trying to pull at Mimi with maism, something they apparently enjoyed, with the way they squealed. Princess and Sunshine side-eyed them, but otherwise said nothing, because they knew Buddy would have intervened, and he was already looming over them like a hungry Talonme. "And I was thinking of sending one of them to Eterna City. I met a fan there that I think would be really happy with this." Dad raised an eyebrow. "Early ess, huh? Fair enough." "Yeah, I have their number and everything, so it should be easy. Their name is Edith." I told Dad about my entire adventure through Eterna Forest that he''d somehow missed, and I knew it wasn''t for ack of keeping up with the news. Maybe Edith''s group hadn''t talked to anyone but a few trainers at the outpost about it. "Wish I could have gotten another one of these for them, though," I muttered, observing my knife. It felt excellent to grip, even if the de itself was made of silicone and couldn''t cut. The Princess motif on the handle was really cute too, and I handed it to her so she could unt it to the others. "You know, I''ve never understood what was with you and des," he said. "I dunno, I just think they''re fun and pretty." It took another twenty minutes for me to go through everything and retreat back into my room. Honey joined me, knowing what I was about to do, and Buddy did so because he always liked to shadow me. I gently closed the door and sprawled onto my chair with a heavy sigh, searching the desk for a pen. The early sunrays shone through my window, revealing floating dust in my room. Part of me considered dying until nighttime, but there was just no point in procrastinating about it, was there? Jellicent whispered behind me, asking what I was doing. "Telling my Dad about the raid," I quickly answered, snatching a pen out of a drawer. Paper¡­ damn it, where was my paper? I looked for it for a few seconds before deciding to just rip an empty page out of my old textbook while Buddy asked me why. "Because we tell the truth instead of avoiding it, now. Or at least we do it when we can, even if lying would be more convenient" I said, gripping my pen. "I have to. I have to do it now, or I''ll never do it." Mira had been correct when talking about the need to tell the others about Gctic, even if she had acted more out of pragmatism than anything else. I had no right to criticize her for it, given the fact that actuallymitting to telling the truth had been her idea and only hers. It felt good, not to have to hide anymore after months of having had to be someone else in front of them, or hidden meetings, secret group chats, talking about them like they were burdens to be protected instead of actual people with their wants and needs. It had not been without its consequences, however. From what I understood, Chasepletely disagreed with the entire idea. Not that he was really sticking with them anyway, given that he was mostly doing his own thing in Canve and wasn''t sticking by the group. I doubted that I would be seeing him much other than the first day I arrived, to be honest. Then, there was the fact that Denzel''s first reaction had been anger on Emilia and Pauline''s behalf¡­ Um¡­ I wasn''t sure their entire thing was going to work out any longer. Some rifts couldn''t be fully mended. That was the thing, with Denzel. Helpful, so helpful, but sometimes people other than me felt like he was treating them with kid gloves, even if it came from a good ce. He was quite busy taking care of Louis, at the moment, given that he''d taken it the worse and wasn''t eating very well and had to put his negotiations to buynd in Floaroma on hold. He no longer even nned to battle Byron. Even Justin was touched by the news. I''d have to do something, when I got there to try to get everyone in order, and unlike Emi and Pauline, I didn''t think either of them were nning to help when the time came. I''d convinced the two girls to book a flight to Canve so I could train them in the kind of fights that wereing. Denzel was holding down the ship, at the very least, thank the Legendaries. He''d always been there for Louis, whether that was in Hearthome when he was just¡­ drifting and recovering from his heartbreak with Cecilia, or Sunyshore when he was looking for Justin. Without Louis to keep him grounded, Justin was growing more and more distant again. I need to be there for him when no one else was. No, ''was'' was wrong. When no one else could be. Maeve had handled the news surprisingly well. About as good as we had, back when we''d first learned of it, which surprised Cece a decent bit. I tapped the tip of the paper with the pen, realizing how I was so unused to writing now. It wasn''t that I''d forgotten, that was impossible, but after months spent without writing, the hold on my pen felt odd. Unfamiliar. Especially when holding it too tightly still hurt my hands. Dear Dad. There''s a part of me you need to know about, and this is really important. No, ''dear dad'' felt improper. Weird. Like I was writing about some random, everyday urrence instead of¡­ well, all of this. Dad, I need to tell you something important about what happened during the raid. Damn it, that felt wrong too. I didn''t want to just fucking jump into things. I scratched the line until it waspletely dark and tried again, and this time, though I wasn''t fully satisfied with the words, it was something I could work with. Hi Dad. I know you''re probably wondering what the heck any of this is, but I need to tell you something that''s been eating at me for a long time. I just want you to know that these past few days with you have been among the best since I left Sunyshore. I was really downtely and seeing you again has helped immensely with that. There. I didn''t want to beat around the bush, but going straight in felt wrong and would maybe make it harder to swallow. Was it maniptive, that I was trying to fucking sell this to my Dad so he wouldn''t look at me like I was some monster? I kept writing, confessing about not only Backlot, but the five associates I''d killed¡­ damn it, after everything, I didn''t want to ruin his image of Princess. Five drills to the head, quick and painless, was how I''d dealt with them while I''d delivered the rest to Carnivine. It filled the entire page and the back, by the end of it. Surprisingly, I wasn''t crying. Sad, yes, but mostly, it felt like I was destroying a part of me. Again, this felt final, like I was killing the idea of who Dad thought I was. His little girl. Sure, he already knew about one murder, but that had been self-defense, and he hadn''t once brought it up, and knowing him, I doubted he thought differently of me for having defended myself at all costs. This was different. Merciless. I wanted to tell Mom, but it had to be you first, and I''m not strong enough to tell it to your face. Sorry. I love you. I looked over my writing onest time and sighed. This was it. Buddy whispered behind me, asking if I was sure about this, but I just nodded and instead asked him to go get Togekiss so I could ask her if she was alright about this. If she wasn''t, then I would amend my story and not specify how the killing was done. It wouldn''t be right, just to expose her without even telling her first. Honey opened the door for her, and they filtered in. For a short time, I was terrified Dad would find it suspicious, but realized pretty quickly that me asking for my Pokemon was anything but. "Sorry to bother you," I said. "Here." Her eyes glimmered, and the letter gently slid out of my hands. She grimaced, chirping irritatingly at the topic, and when she handed me back the paper, she asked what I wanted. "Are you okay with this? With being exposed?" These past few months, I''d wanted Princess to start disagreeing with me when she actually did. To express her own opinions instead of blindly following my own. Her wings shivered as she hovered a few inches above the ground, and after deliberating for a few seconds, she shook her head. She didn''t want Dad to think less of her, after all. I smiled, caressing the bottom of her chin. "Good. I guess I should have asked before writing the letter, huh?" Honeyughed, which broke the dam of tension that had been building up in the room. After silently writing a second version of the letter and ripping up the other one beyond recognition, I folded the paper four times, sliding it into my pocket, and turned toward my three Pokemon. "Hey, if it doesn''t bother you guys¡­ I need to be alone for this," I said. "I''m gonna recall you. See you on the other side?" They all agreed, though I could tell Buddy was only doing so because he knew he wouldn''t be able to change my mind. I recalled them and left my bedroom. I could see the back of Dad''s head as he sat on the couch, and I heard himzily scratch his stomach as he watched TV as he sipped a cup of coffee. Coffee. I always hated coffee, I told myself. Idle thoughts, to keep me distracted from what wasing. Mimi was still hanging out with Angel, thank the Legendaries. I''d almost been scared that without me there Sunshine would have started up some drama, but he was rather calm and staring at some old pictures of me lying on a wall shelf. I decided toe up to him first, silently joining his side. "That was a picture of when Dad took me fishing near theke up north," I quietly said. "I''m pretty sure I cried when we caught our first one, even if Dad said we''d throw them back in theke. We ended up just hanging out on the boat Dad rented the rest of the afternoon." Sunshine snorted, asking how old I''d been. Heined that it was difficult, telling how old humans were, and he found it hard to discern seven from twelve-year-olds. "I was¡­ eight, I think. Maybe seven," I said, touching the picture frame. The dragon squinted at me, as if he thought I was lying, but then let out a nonmittal grunt. "Hey, I have to recall you for a bit, I need to have an important conversation with Dad," I murmured. "I''ll catch you up to speed after?" Sunshine frowned, but agreed, and melted in a sea of crimson. "Going somewhere?" Dad asked. I nearly choked on my own saliva, but managed to pretend I was clearing my throat. "No, just, uh, hold on." I kept going, recalling Angel who agreed as soon as he looked into my eyes for a moment. I knelt next to Mimi, who was already recoiling at the sight of a Pokeball. The experience as a whole didn''t hurt them, and I had no idea what the simted environment was like for them, but they weren''t shy about expressing their displeasure at the device. Tendrils of liquid metal tried pushing my hand away as the steel type protested with a vibrating screech. Displeasure, they lobbed at me, also with grand ideas of betrayal. "Okay, okay. I''m sorry for making you go in. Why don''t you head inside my room for a little bit? I think I''ll join you soon right after this." Pleased with themselves, Mimi slithered toward my bedroom, sliding under the wooden door as a puddle of golden and silver metal. So long as their eye could fit somewhere, they could fit through any opening. "Dad?" He turned toward me, and he must have seen something on my face, because he instantly had that look he had when he worried. "What''s wrong, kiddo? Did something happen?" "Uh¡ª" my voice quivered. "Yeah. I have something to give you, if that''s okay?" Maybe I should have waited until tomorrow. My brain was screaming at me not to pull the paper out of my pocket, to pivot and twist my words into a half-truth to dy. Instead, I unfolded and handed him the letter. "When you''re done reading it, I''ll be in my room." I''d been tearing up by the end of those words, and I scrambled back to my bedroom, where Mimi was waiting next to my bed and watching the city from the window with a wide and fascinated wobbling eye. I locked the door to my bedroom and slid against the door with a dry sob. It was done. I''d ripped the bandaid off. I clenched my forehead and tried my best not to rock back and forth. Meltan, having 360-degree vision, must have noticed the shit state I was in, because at some point, they prodded at my leg. I grabbed them in the palm of my hand and sniffled. "Sorry, it hasn''t really been as fun here as I told you it''d be, huh?" I whispered. "There''s a lot of stuff going on and¡­ yeah, I''m sorry." The steel type mewled with something akin to understanding. Iughed¡ª though it was more of a forceful exhale than anything. "I promise you when everything is dealt with, we''ll have a lot more fun, and Sunshine and Princess will warm up to you soon enough," I sighed, pausing. "I just told Dad about some stuff I did before we found you." Mimi''s eye turned to a straight line. "Different types of murder," I specified. "They deserved it." I put my head against the door to see if I could hear anything. Curses under his breath, crying, muttering, anything. There was nothing, and I knew by now he should have finished reading. "When we get to Canve, I wanna show you a bunch of stuff," I continued. "You''ve never seen the ocean before, so I think you''ll like it. It stretches on and on, like it''s endless. You can''t see the Iron Inds from the city, and we won''t have time to go there, but¡ª" I jumped when I heard steps approaching my door. Already? I''d wanted at least two¡ª five minutes to myself, to prepare, to try not to feel like I''d just ruined something great just because of some ego problem about telling the truth, damn it. "Grace?" How was his voice? Muffled, so it was hard to tell, but it was steady. Steady in a way that was somewhat forced, which meant he was trying to be strong, stronger than he actually was. He was shaken, but he still wanted to talk things out and make things right. "Did you read the letter?" I slowly asked, enunciating every word as slowly as I could. Of course, he had fucking read the letter, I knew that already. "Can Ie in?" "It''s locked." "Can you open the door, then?" I hesitated, thinking that talking like this through a door might not be so bad. It would be easier for me, at least, but harder for him. I bit my lip. "Just a second, please." You can do this. I stood up, ced Mimi on my bed and unlocked the door, after which he opened it immediately. It swung out, away from me, and he had opened it so quickly that it hit his foot and had him wince with a pained groan. No matter. I felt so small. My father took a deep breath and stared at me with cloudy eyes, like he was trying to find something. Find me, maybe. To see if the person I''d been thest few months had been real, or just me pretending. He had clearly cried, with how red his eyes were. "Sit down," he said. "Dad, I¡ª" "Sit down, please." I gulped, my hair stood on end, and all of the sudden, I was a little girl again. I''d always been one, in truth, but the thought of not listening to Dad hadn''t even crossed my mind. I''d been an easy teenager to handle, or at least I wanted to believe that. Sure, I had my bratty moments, but at the end of the day, I always listened. I sat down at the edge of my bed, with Mimi anxiously watching between us two, and Dad dragged the chair at my desk and sat to face me. "I¡­ read what you wrote. Multiple times," he sighed. "Everything you said in it is true, isn''t it?" Was he was trying to give me an out? I didn''t think that would be like him, but maybe he just couldn''t believe I''d done what I wrote. Either way, I silently nodded. He didn''t react much, though I caught his fingers twitching on hisp. "Why?" It was a simple question. Why? Because they deserved it. Because they were a waste of oxygen who had organized the torture of thousands of people over thest decade and forced them to fight to the death while they were drugged out of their mind. "Because if I hadn''t, most of them would still be alive," I shakily answered. "They''d be in prison." "That''s not enough. You¡ª you saw what they did. They caused so much pain and suffering on a scale not before seen in this country since¡­ the war." "So you think they deserved it," he said. "Yes. I''m sorry, but yes." "I think some people deserve bad fates sometimes when I see some things on the news," Dad said. "That does not mean whatever I want should happen to them, but that doesn''t even¡ª" he clenched at his shorts. "¡ªthat doesn''t even matter. You killed people who were defenseless." My head hung low. "Yes." He flinched at the ease of that answer, and for a while, we both stayed silent. There was no sound, save for the city life below permeating through my window. "Listen, Grace. I¡ª I love you, and I''m trying really hard to stay calm here, and I''ve always known there was something different about you, but you cannot think like this. These people you¡­ killed, they were people. They were conscious, they had lives, families, spouses, children and grandchildren who had nothing to do with all of this, and while I have no doubt they might have no longer desired a rtionship with them or wanted to give them a piece of their minds, or just asked why they did what they did. You took that option away from them. Life isn''t this simple, Grace," he said, tapping the side of his head with a finger. "One action that''s seemingly simple and ck and white will have repercussions beyond what you thought of, always. Do you understand what I''m saying?" My lips thinned. "Yes." "This is not a good thing, you did. It was not a noble act, or a great sacrifice needing to be taken for the greater good. You cannot be thinking like this." "I''m sorry. I''ve gotten¡ª I''ve gotten better. That''s what Aliyah is for." He frowned at her name, leaning forward. "Did the League make you start thinking like this? Since they''re training you?" "No," I instantly said. "They picked me because of who I am." Technically not a lie, and it was how ACE Trainers were picked. It was hypocritical of me, after going on my entire monologue about telling the truth earlier today, but there was just no way I was telling Dad about Gctic. Just¡­ no. "And Aliyah doesn''t pressure you?" he asked. "No, she''s been trying to stop me from thinking this way," I said. "Can I¡­ be honest?" "Please be." "I think I''ve gotten a lot better about this, um, you know, holding back and stuff. And I''m sorry to say it like this, but that''s what it is. I don''t think like normal people, Dad." None of the Shards did, at this point. Pain flickered on my father''s face. "I know." "How?" "The way you killed," he answered as a matter of fact. Oh. I supposed it really was that simple. Killers did not think like normal people, and I was a killer. I''d murdered people who couldn''t fight back. "You watched someone die for hours." "I did." "You¡ª" he stopped himself. "I won''t im to be able to stop you. You''re grown up, now. More powerful than a lot of people could ever hope to be," he said. "But this isn''t something I will ever approve of and something you need to stop." "That''s what I want. I won''t do any of that anymore, Dad. I asked Angel and Honey to help with that, and with Aliyah and my friends, I think I can be good. I hope." Dad nodded. "Good. Are you sure you want to go to Unova with all of this? It''ll only be Cecilia¡ª and I assume all of your friends from the raid knew about this?" "All of my friends know about it period," I said. "It took a push, but I managed to be honest. And yes. Cece can keep me steady, I think. We can help push each other up." He wanted to say more, to tell me to stay, because deep down, he did not believe me. Still, he said nothing and instead forced a smile. "I should have been there more often," hemented. "Dad, don''t¡ª" "I should have. I know you. I would have seen the signs, had I been there. Visited you in every city. I fucked up." "It''s not your fault," I sniffled. I wanted to shake him. To tell him that he couldn''t me himself like this. That everything was just out of his hands. My father just smiled at me sadly, ignoring the sun shining in his green eyes. "Thank you for being honest with me Grace," Dad said. "I knew there was something you were holding back since you called me after the raid. I called your mother about it, but I thought you''d just leave without saying." He stood up to wrap me in a tight hug, and I felt tears rolling down my cheek. "You''re my daughter, and I''ll always love you no matter what. I just wish¡­" he trailed off. "You can say." "I know it isn''t your fault, but I wish you''d had a normal journey." "Me too." I patted him on the back. "I love you, Dad." "I love you too, Grace." Despite everything, he loved me, still. Trust and his image of me had been broken, but he loved me. Thank you. ¡ª Mira ced a Pokeball inside of my palm. "Here''s your ydol," she grinned. "They''ve got a grasp on the basics and can Teleport a few feet away if they concentrate hard enough. Since it takes too long, it''s not usable in battle and they can''t Teleport people yet, but if they keep working on it alone, they should progress quickly enough." "Not in time for the Red Chain," I guessed. She lost her smile. "No. Realedian, that ydol, by the way. When''re you naming them? I was expecting you to be calling them Dolly already." "When they pick," I shrugged. "They''ve refused everything I''ve proposed, and trust me, I tried Dolly." "Arceus, you''re so predictable," she chuckled. "How''d your¡­ issue with your Dad go." "Okay. Part of me hoped it''d be like the others¡­ that he''d bury it and forgive me so long as I didn''t do it again." I clipped ydol''s Pokeball to my belt. "He scolded me." For as long as I could remember, Dad had never yelled at me, but nothing had terrified me more than when he had raised his tone to say ''please'' when asking toe into my room. "I mean, yes." "I''m getting off easy, in the grand scheme of things," I murmured. "Even if it hurts." She hugged me. "You''re okay." "Yeah. I am." "Isn''t that a sign of progress, you think?" she asked. "You could have broken down, or run away, orshed out." "Trying to make me feel better, are we?" "I don''t want you to leave the city feeling like shit," she snorted as she pulled away. "Even flying wouldn''t help with brightening your mood." "Yeah. Are you sure you don''t want toe with me? Princess can fit both of us." She waved a hand. "Nah, I''m gonna do my own thing. The group''s nice, but, uh, the vibes in Canve seem awful, at the moment, and Chase won''t be enough to salvage things. Hell, he''s not even in the group. Plus, if anything happens one of my ACEs will Teleport me right away." "Hmhm." "So see youter?" I pulled a folded t-shirt out of my backpack, one of me riding on Angel''s head, and handed it to her. I''d asked him earlier today, and he had agreed to hand it over, as friendly as he was. She squealed, turning a few heads in the middle of the street. We were standing in front of the Pokemon Center closest to my apartment, given that it was the nearest spot I was allowed to take off in. "Sick! I''m gonna wear this everywhere and be so fucking obnoxious! Thank the Legendaries we''re basically the same size." "Don''t give my fans a bad name," I grumbled. "Call it an extra bted birthday gift." She eyed me like my fans already had a bad name, and they technically did, given the fact that a lot of people found them insufferable online, at least. In real interactions, they tended to be normal. "Thanks, Grace. You stay safe out there, okay? Tell the others I said hi." "If you ever get lonely or bored, call me. Don''t stay in your own little corner when you have people that care about you." I released Princess and got on her back¡ª on my own¡ª and put on my goggles and a jacket. "I''ll see youter." The pink-haired girl nodded. Odds were, the next time we did see each other, the world would have gone to hell, and the League was already getting ready for it. They had dered the evacuation of Mount Cor by all trainers this morning and were preventing anyone from going in. Princess surged through the skies, quickly rising above Jubilife''s skyline, and started flying out west toward Canve with Mimi shaking around my wrist. Jubilife had not given me the satisfying resolution I had wanted, but maybe that was the point. There would be no fitting thatst piece of the puzzle. Maybe I''d just constantly be chiseling at a stone, working on myself for as long as I lived. But at least it was like Mira had said. I was okay.
Chapter 296 Chapter 296
CHAPTER 296 The city of Canve wasn¡¯t actually on an ind, even if it did feel like it sometimes. The way Sinnoh itself was arranged had made the concept of building and route to the city a long-winded and dangerous affair even if there used to be a few projects about clearing a path through the densely forested coastal area that hugged the bay splitting Canve and Jubilife. It wasn¡¯t so much impossible, just that itcked political capital and motivation, especially when the ferry over the gulf worked just as well and was far faster for trainers and civilians to take. I¡¯d have taken it too so I could ingest the sights, had I not been in a hurry. The world around me blurred as Princess flew above the water at cruising speed, which these days bordered on the ufortable with how fast she was. Buying a saddle with a backrest was definitely a necessary endeavor that I would need to address at some point, but one for a Pokemon of Princess¡¯ size would probably need to be custom-made and take time. Route 218 itself was beautiful, especially on a clear day like this, but it was nothing I¡¯d never seen before. It was easy to discern the rocks protruding from the shallow, calm waters, which the ferries below so easily avoided these days. Birds like Spearow had made those their home, nesting in the craggy cliffs, high and away from any small-time predators lurking in the sea. There were a few inds strewn throughout inhabited by poptions of local water types, like Psyduck, Marill, Shellos and Buizel. Off towards the north and to my right, I could see the gulf closing into a narrow passage until it gave way to the ocean. As for the twond sides of the route, they were well-maintained thanks to their proximities to their cities, though I had to admit,ing up on the shores of the final stretch to Canve, theirs were far better-looking than the dirty piers nking Jubilife that Denzel had caught his Milotic in. There was even a mini-town built around it with tourist shops that sold souvenirs from Canve, no doubt. Seafood restaurants, nature trails, battling arenas¡­ it reminded me of the Ranger outposts in a way, just way less militaristic and serious. We weren¡¯t nning on sticking around for long anyway. I lowered myself to Princess¡¯ ear and asked her tond for a little pitstop near one of the piers. She settled on a stretch of beach that had countless dark pebbles instead of sand and I knew it would make walking a horrible experience, and unfortunately these went on for miles. I was not about to worsen the condition of my ankle, so I just transferred from her back to Angel¡¯s instead. There were plenty of trainers here, given that this was near where the ferry stopped. They were mostly people with their feet in the ocean and training their water types to better utilize the water¡ª the baby steps of TE maniption. Some were just battling, using the unfamiliar footing as a handicap for their Pokemon as a fun challenge or a way to train. From the way I noticed a girl¡¯s Stunky trip and hit his face on a rock while battling a boy¡¯s Sneasel, they were having mixed sesses. ydol popped out of their Pokeball with a hiss, hovering closeby and greeting me in their usual monotone voice as they asked how they could be of assistance, and I ced my wrist on myp so that Mimi could get a good look at the ocean. I asked Angel to use his vines to hide me, and therefore Meltan away from public view, and the grass type brought up countless writhing vines around us. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I whispered. The sea was washing against the pebbles with a soothing and rhythmic swishing. Mimi returned to their original form on Angel¡¯s head in between myp, and their eye wobbled in wonder as they silently stared at the vast expanse of the sea. They¡¯d refused to look down when flying on Princess because they hadn¡¯t wanted to spoil the moment, or at least that¡¯s what I got from them. When Mimi saw something for the first time, they wanted to experience it in full, and by the Legendaries, they did. It was like the foaming water had mesmerized them. Even I¡¯d never seen the steel type so still and calm. ¡°Shame it¡¯s not a sunset,¡± I muttered. Angel signed in agreement while Princess idly started to mold a pebble into different shapes. She¡¯d already solved the puzzle Dad had given her, and her mind was never without stimtion for long. ¡°ydol, what do you think?¡± I asked. The ground type chimed, these bodies of water aremonly referred to as a bay. I have never seen such arge amount of it before. ¡°Makes you think about how big the world is, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Affirmative. I acknowledge your intent, and it is within my designated function to facilitate the aspirations of travel for you and your court, as mandated by my duty as a Royal Guard. I frowned. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s get back to what you said before. The fact that you¡¯d never seen such arge amount of water in one ce.¡± If I wanted ydol to grow from the robot they seemed to want to stay as, I needed to hone in on bits of individuality that sometimes shone through. That included them recalling memories in a natural way and without me pushing that first bud of individual thought. ydol¡¯s six eyes did not move. Affirmative, they chimed. ¡°Did you like it? Walking¡­ or uh, floating by thatke in the castle¡¯s gardens? Before you were shoved into the catbs, of course.¡± ?? I must confess, my King, that the meaning of ''like'' eludes my understanding, ydol said with the ¡®sad¡¯ option of what I assumed these days was an extremely versatile soundboard. Despite perusing numerous definitions after surfacing,prehension remains elusive. I extend my deepest apologies for failing to meet your expectations and am deserving of the gravest punishment imaginable. ¡°No!¡± I nearly threw my hands up, but groaned instead. ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®punishment¡¯ here, ydol, you can speak your mind. This was helpful.¡± Helpful? I shrugged, leaning back against a couple of vines. ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s like, we¡¯re making progress.¡± The ground type stayed still, waiting for me to continue. ¡°I guess I can¡¯t really do better than the books to exin what liking something is. When I eat good food, for example, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.¡± Angel chimed in, signing that he was excited and couldn¡¯t sit still beforehand and during the meal. ¡°You like eating anything. Never seen anyone else eat banana peels and bones,¡± I smiled, patting him on the head. ¡°Princess?¡± The fairy type shifted a wing, saying that there was satisfaction in liking. Like when she worked on a sculpture for a few hours and finished it orpleted one of her flights. Satisfaction in sleeping in and cuddling with us, for example. Granted, she felt excitement too, and so did I, but I guessed that this was what she identified with the most. Toiling endlessly toward a goal that would take much time to reach. ¡°We all feel different stuff depending on what we¡¯re doing, but I¡¯d put ¡®like¡¯ under a spectrum,¡± I said. ¡°Even when I look at what the emotion is with my empathy, it¡¯s not just one color, it¡¯s a whole range of feelings that ends up feeling good.¡± Updating memory banks. Many thanks, my King. I shall incorporate this information into my data stores to fulfill your directives effectively. ¡°Think you can give that a little thought for me?¡± I asked. ¡°We can keep talking about itter. What it means to like something.¡± I will try, they said. ¡°That¡¯s all I asked. And hey, if you ever start liking something¡­ honestly, remember what you said about hats when we were at the League? With Cecilia¡¯s Hydreigon?¡± Query: conversation about hats retrieved¡ª ydol paused, and there was a slightclick somewhere inside of their head, and then I heard my voice. "Actually, ydol, Angel, what do you think about putting hats on Zolst?" Gasping, I nearly fell off Angel, who kept me steady with a vine. ¡°You can do that?!¡± Only when you ask, ydol answered. And audible data from too far back must be deleted, or it will start corrupting. Everything near me is recorded and stored in my memory banks, my King. ¡°Arceus¡­ that¡ª¡± Terrified me, I left unsaid. There was no use making ydol worry anymore than they had when they¡¯d asked for punishment. ¡°So yeah! Hats! You sounded pretty happy when you talked about those, so give that some thought too, and if you want I¡¯ll get you some.¡± Acknowledged. I released the rest of the team now that quiet was no longer needed, and Sweetheart made a beeline toward the water, crushing countless pebbles under her weight, shadowed closely by Buddy, who kept an eye on her. Eyes turned toward the massive Tyranitar, with her screaming in excitement, though most people pulled out their phones to record her instead of being scared, thank the Legendaries. Already, I couldn¡¯t release her in most ces in cities, and I didn¡¯t want to have to take routes in consideration. She already knew not to train Surf in ces where people could see, and I was confident it was basically ready for battle. Sunshine perked up at the sight of a beach, with memories of Aling to the forefront of his mind even if he asked what the hell all of these pebbles were, after which Princess promptly knocked a cube toward his forehead that Honey caught with his good fist. He injected a bit of electricity in it before Togekiss could blink and threw it back at her. Then, she started whining and fake-crying at me while Sunshine thanked Electivire for the help, but that was before the electric type pped him on the shoulder and jolted him too. Yeah, this ce was nice. ¡°Don¡¯t throw stones next time,¡± I softly told Princess as Mimi stood bedazzled between myp. We were going to stay here for a few hours ¡ª¡ª Canve was bigger than I thought it¡¯d be. Seriously, every time I saw that ce on television or online, they showed the same spot. The Bridge, or that and its surroundings. While Cecilia no doubt loved that, it gave an image of the entire city being concentrated around its central canal, but that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. Hell, even the times I¡¯d video-chatted her, she had been close to or on the bridge. Canve was not a ce I¡¯d call dense, with only a few skyscrapers on the western side of the canal, but the city sprawled so far out it was sometimes difficult to believe. Sure, Pastoria was huge too, but it had plenty of wild spaces and had more of a suburban vibe, and for Jubilife, Hearthome and Veilstone, well, they were the most popted cities in Sinnoh, so it was something I¡¯d expected. But Canve spread far and wide, hugging the crescent coast and spreading far further innd than I could ever imagine. Louis would no doubt call this a non-efficient use of space, and honestly I was inclined to agree. Most buildings looked to be five stories at most, and there were very few apartmentplexes to be seen. Still, it was easy to see that the city had sprung up from the coast, with the architecture growing more and more modern the further you got from it as a rule of thumb. The Canvians had started off as seafarers who had been embroiled in conflict with the Iron Inds for centuries until they finally conquered them due to some kind of internal strife leaving them vulnerable, and that was before Sinnoh had even been united. Those history books I¡¯d read with Jellicent were boring sometimes, but context like this was nice, whenever I reached a new city. Maybe I¡¯d get a book about Unova before we went. I was sure he¡¯d enjoy it. Speaking of books, Princess swept over the Canve Library, which was a grand building in every sense of the word. It stood above all structures surrounding it and was hugged by a lush garden reminding me of Backlot¡¯s mansion, with the Milotic-shaped fountains and the well-maintained edges. Chairs and tables had beenid on the outside where people and Pokemon could take books to read and enjoy the sunlight or under the shade of a parasol. The building itself looked nothing like a mansion and went for a more utilitarian look, though it was still beautiful. The roof was made of twisting ss, letting sunlight filter into the top floor, and I could see it was organized with a hole surrounded by a rail in the middle to let it drop down the entire building. The walls were harder to spot at this speed, though I could tell they were made of some kind of faded turquoise-gray brick. It was toote to keep dawdling, and Togekiss zoomed past the library toward the Center closest to the Gym. ¡°I think I¡¯m getting better at spotting things from up here,¡± I boasted, something that Princess heartily agreed with. I shivered when seeing the Gym off in the distance, in all of its glory and sharp angles that had me thinking it was the best-looking stadium I¡¯d ever seen. The excitement was tempered rather quickly as wended and the weight of the situation sank in. The group was¡­ well, the news of theing events, our work for the League and our powers had broken Louis and shaken Justin. Chase was isted and no one knew where he was until he sometimes showed up in the city, but if I was to guess he was training somewhere off-route. His ACEs were there, I was certain they¡¯d jump in before Ariel had for me, especially with time running out so soon. Plus, even Denzel wasn¡¯t doing that hot, from what he¡¯d texted me, even if he put on an air of cheerfulness for the others. There were whispers of Mount Cor when I entered the Center, its warm golden lights brushing against my skin. The excuse the League had given for the mountain¡¯s closure was a breach of powerful Pokemon into the lower floors, the running theory behind the reason for this breach being escape from ¡®something¡¯ even stronger. It was all a hoax, obviously, and people had already eroded so much trust in the League for their actions this past year that a very sizable number of them just didn¡¯t believe it. Not that it mattered. They just voiced their discontentment online, and I had an inkling many Conference regrs were angry their training area had been closed down. Craig himself had said he¡¯d opt for Victory Road to rece the mountain for the final stretch. Honestly, focusing on all of this stuff was hard with the axe that was Team Gctic hanging over my neck. Without them I¡¯d be focusing on the Conference, looking at what items to buy, researching the other first-years that¡¯d make it outside my group and maybe even some of the older trainers that were confirmed to have eight badges already. Training and studying 24/7 with only my love for this sport to keep me awake, and that would have been while finishing up with Byron. I just¡­ didn¡¯t have the energy for all of that. It was difficult enough to focus on the eighth badge already. Cecilia had said she just wanted it all over with, which honestly kind of terrified me. She was tired of waiting. I got myself a room from a spry-looking Nurse Joy who was nice enough to put me on the second floor before texting the others about my arrival. The three of them were, as expected, all at the Center. I tried to distract myself by timing exactly when the elevator would arrive. It was just idle thought, really. A way for me to stop myself from getting nervous. The ride to the fourth floor was cramped and ufortable. I was pressed into a corner and wished I could have had Buddy with me to scare all of these people away. Not that it would have been warranted. Theing conversation was just making it hard to breathe, and the crowded elevator wasn¡¯t helping. Smile, I thought as I got off. Smile for them and everything will be okay. Hadn¡¯t Barry said that he could trick himself into a cheerful mood by just smiling all the time? Well I wouldn¡¯t mind trying, at least. Denzel¡¯s room basically faced the elevators, and I walked up to it with a spring in my step¡ª as much of a spring as I could put in it. I cleared my throat, knocked, and waited for someone to open the door. It was Denzel, of course. Tall, somewhat broad-shouldered, with messy light brown hair and smiling just as I was. I saw through him right away. He was worried, but honestly who the hell wasn¡¯t? He pped my shoulder and then hugged me without hesitation, something that I instantly returned. ¡°I missed you,¡± I sighed. ¡°Me too. Travel okay?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I had a lot of fun. Stopped by the beach with my team and everything,¡± I said. ¡°Plus, the entire trip only took a few hours. Princess is getting faster.¡± ¡°Eh, the two cities aren¡¯t that far apart,¡± he smirked. I pinched the side of his arm, and he yelped. ¡°It was either that or a spear through the gut, sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯d take a spear to rob you from the satisfaction of pinching me.¡± Ah, this was nice. Great, even. Not that my entire demeanor had changed, but this familiarity was wee. From the bed, Sylveon hopped down, skipping across the room until he wrapped a ribbon around my wrist¡ª and flinched away when he touched the metal there. Mimi ran away, slithering up my sleeve with a frigid touch until they reformed into a ne. I crouched. ¡°Good to see you too, Sylvi. Sorry about Mimi, they¡¯re a little shy.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ I guess that¡¯s what¡¯s up with the jewelry you¡¯ve been wearing.¡± I rubbed Sylveon¡¯s neck and ignored the fact that he was currently wrapping me like a present. With Tangrowth around, I was already used to it. ¡°Keep it a secret? I¡¯ve already passed a Gardevoir on the streets in Jubilife and she stared daggers at them. Can¡¯t really keep them hidden from empaths.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if she doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯s looking at though,¡± Denzel shrugged. ¡°Can I see her?¡± ¡°Them. And yeah! Mimi, you cane out.¡± For a while, Denzel tried to get to know the steel type a little bit, but Mimi wasn¡¯t really having any of it. Maybe it was because he was sorge and imposing? Either way, we had a goodugh about it and it¡¯d make good material to tease him aboutter. ¡°So,¡± I said, sitting on the bed. ¡°How¡¯re you holding up? I thought the others would be in your room?¡± Denzel grimaced and tried catching himself but failed horribly. ¡°Louis¡¯ sleep schedule is fucked, and he¡¯s already asleep. Stuck around until he did. Justin is in his room, and I wanted to go see him, it¡¯s just that¡­ you know, I¡ª¡± ¡°I get it. Alone time.¡± He nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± He was worried about theing battles ahead and Emi and Pauline, but I didn¡¯t know if it was more because of how he¡¯d screwed up with them or if it was because they¡¯d be arriving in two days via airne. His fist was clenched beside his bouncing leg, but he seemingly caught himself when he figured I kept ncing and crossed his arms. ¡°But you¡¯re doing okay?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah! I mean, it¡¯s only been a little bit, but I¡¯m holding down the fort. I announced a two-week break from streaming, the ¡®official¡¯ reason being preparing for my rematch against Byron, so I¡¯m just trying to be there for everyone.¡± Not that we even had two weeks anyway, but I figured a clean number like that was a little less weird. I smiled. ¡°Thank you for that.¡± ¡°So yeah, I was gonna head out in like an hour or two. Not going to lie, I thought I¡¯d have enough time to take a nap.¡± ¡°So I did surprise you with my speed.¡± ¡°I mean, you¡¯re no Talonme¡­¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Thatparison seems unfair. Right, Sylveon?¡± The fairy type blinked, but then agreed with me after a moment¡¯s hesitation. I huffed. ¡°Told ya.¡± His smile widened, though he didn¡¯t tell me why and instead just nced Sylveon¡¯s way. For a few minutes, we spoke about my merch and I showed him the designs, and Mimi made a mortal enemy of Sylveon, practically speaking, by attempting to gnaw one of his ribbons. The fairy type had hissed at them, asking them never to do that again and might have thrown in a few threats in-between those boundaries. I had no idea what had intrigued them so much. Maybe it was how they resembled Angel¡¯s vines in the way they moved, and the grass type hade up with a game where Mimi would try to dissolve or cut his vines. They were a baby, after all. I talked to him more in-depth about my travels and ydol, about how much better my mental health got these past weeks, and he talked to me about his issues too. ¡°You know¡­ I kind of don¡¯t understand why Emi got mad, and that scares me,¡± he muttered. ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty simple. She wants you to treat her like an equal,¡± I exined. ¡°I mean, I do.¡± ¡°No. You treat her like someone who needs to be protected from all of the¡­¡± I paused. ¡°All of the ugly of the world. It¡¯s like you want to put her in a box and say ¡®here, y with your contests and your other shit that doesn¡¯t matter, and I¡¯ll take care of everything for you and Pauline.¡¯ Not that I¡¯m any better.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± His lips thinned, and he put his head against the wall. For around ten seconds, he stared in contemtion at the door. ¡°Hey, Grace¡­ you know, about the issues with my mother?¡± I looked up at him, knowing where this was going. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°How I¡¯d get angry at her for wanting to control my life, for stopping me from going on a journey,¡± he exhaled. ¡°I think I¡ª became like her somehow? I mean, maybe I¡¯m just seeing things, it¡¯s just that¡ª you know, one day, you look at yourself and you realize you¡¯re more like your parents than you ever realized despite swearing never to be like them. I think today¡¯s that day for me.¡± Sylveon whined, telling him to chase away these thoughts. ¡°In your defense, there¡¯s a lot more risk involved in this than a journey, even if ours wasn¡¯t normal,¡± I said. ¡°But yes. I think you might be right.¡± He pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Sometimes I think back to Cece and Scizor and I wonder if she started training him that way because that¡¯s the only way she¡¯d ever known,¡± I whispered. ¡°Parents are parents for a reason. I think that you always get a part of them, the good and the bad.¡± My fingers drummed against my thigh as I desperately looked for words to say. ¡°And look, it¡¯s easy to be overbearing about the people you love,¡± I tried. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re allplicit, at the end of the day.¡± ¡°But I reacted the worst. Hell, I¡¯d be willing to bet that Emi respects Chase a lot more, because at least he just thinks she¡¯s going to get in the way and he¡¯s straight up about it. I¡¯m just¡­ a lot worse with my approach. Condescending, I guess?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you text her and say what you told me? See where that gets you?¡± ¡°I mean, I can try.¡± ¡°Trying¡¯s better than nothing.¡± ¡°Fair enough. Hope she answers, at least,¡± Denzel said. ¡°She will. And if she doesn¡¯t, then maybe she¡¯ll talk when they get here.¡± If anything, they could at least mend their friendship. We conversed a little longer, mostly reminiscing, but at Denzel¡¯s fifth yawn, I decided enough was enough. ¡°You know what, I¡¯m gonna let you sleep.¡± ¡°Sorry. I guess I forgot to mention my sleep schedule is also fucked.¡± My friend stretched, groaning with each word. ¡°You¡¯ve been working hard, just get some rest. We¡¯ll do something tomorrow, the four of us.¡± ¡°Not gonna hole up in a room and study Byron?¡± he asked with a curious look. ¡°Well, that too, but there are twenty-four hours in a day,¡± I quickly added. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m almost done anyway, I¡¯ve been going at this for almost a month.¡± I stood up from the bed, the ribbons around my arms unwrapping loosely. I ced a finger on the mattress and watched Mimi slither up to my wrist and form into a band of gold and silver, which Denzel apparently found very weird, from how he looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll go check on Justin. You go and get some sleep.¡± ¡°Gotcha. Let me know if anything happens?¡± I agreed, slipping out of the room. Justin¡¯s wasn¡¯t far, just one floor up and next to the stairs that I took to avoid having to wait for another crowded elevator. Pokemon Centers closer to the Gym were always full, even if Byron was now prioritizing challengers with high badges above all and getting a battle in as a trainer with just a few would take so long to schedule that most didn¡¯t even bother. Most trainers were understanding enough about it, at least. Justin, I was more excited than nervous to see. He knew about my powers now, and I knew I could fix him, if given the chance. We had a lot to talk about. My knuckle rasped against the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± The voice was calm, too calm. A reminder that he was still afflicted by the contamination despite how long it had been. And it had been a long time, hadn¡¯t it? Since Sceon, Justin had been like this, and at this point I¡¯d known him in this state just as long as I¡¯d known him normally, and the fact that memories about who he¡¯d been were starting to slowly be less clear hurt. ¡°Grace,¡± I answered. There were quiet steps behind the door, almost inaudible, and Justin let me in. He hadn¡¯t lost any weight, so that was a plus with how thin he had always been. He had high cheekbones, a triangle-shaped face, and a thin nose. His skin was pale like snow, and his dark brown eyes looked up at mine. His hair was well-kept,bed over and with a fade that told me he¡¯d gotten a haircut a few days ago at most, and he had grown a little bit, being half a head taller. Whereas Denzel had been wearing shorts and a t-shirt¡ª the old, ragged kind that you only wore at home, Justin was still dressed as if he was prepared to go outside. Maybe he¡¯d been about to train? ¡°Hug?¡± I tried as soon as the door closed. ¡°If you want.¡± I smiled, wrapping my hands around him and the coarse fabric of his polo shirt. ¡°I¡¯ll indulge, then. How¡¯re you doing?¡± ¡°Terrible. It¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re here and that the others will soon be arriving, seeing as Denzel and Louis are hanging by a thread. Cecilia and Maeve being here as well would have been ideal, but it is what it is.¡± ¡°Wanna talk about it?¡± ¡°What is there to talk about?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯ve learned about terrifying news, and now I have to live with them. I¡¯ll manage.¡± If I had to guess, the feelings or terror had subsided enough today not to show. They were still there, but my personal theory was that what was hampering Justin wasn¡¯t actually smothering all of his emotions. He¡¯d shown them a few times. During the battle with Louis, where his Corviknight had almost died, and even before they¡¯d organized that battle, Louis had managed to push his buttons with the right words, or at least that¡¯s what he¡¯d said. When he had learned Maeve had nearly died in that attack in the Safari Zone from that girl whose name wasn¡¯t even worth remembering and who I hoped was having a wonderful time in rotting in prison, or when he had won his badge against Crasher Wake. What I believed was that only strong feelings managed to slip through, and what he felt towards the news of the world possibly ending was no longer strong enough to make it through like it had a few hours before I¡¯d gotten here. ¡°Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I¡¯m here,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry about hiding it.¡± ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯d rather you¡¯d kept it hidden,¡± Justin shrugged. ¡°But you finally letting us know what you¡¯ve been carrying all these months is a sign of trust, and that¡¯s good, I think.¡± When he said ¡®I think¡¯, he was being literal. ¡°You okay if we hang out somewhere while the other two sleep?¡± I asked. ¡°If you want,¡± he nkly answered, his hands unmoving. It was still strange, how still he was. There was literally no bodynguage at y here, just words, and you never realized how much part of humanmunication was built into subtle movements and microexpressions until you saw someone without those. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s go out for dinnerter, I¡¯ll take you out to somece fancy,¡± I said. ¡°Know any Canve restaurants?¡± ¡°Not really. I¡¯ve been eating at the cafeteria.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look it up!¡± I said. ¡°And hey, I¡¯ll make it worth your while. Remember, you used to be my student. I can help you out with battle tips, if you want, or help you workshop new moves or tactics.¡± I raised both of my hands and quickly added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to backseat you anymore, you¡¯re too good for that. We can just bounce ideas off each other, yeah? Maybe I can get some inspiration.¡± He nodded, not reluctantly or with excitement, but I hoped he was more agreeable now that I¡¯d given him something he wanted. ¡°Can I cut straight to the chase? You know about the¡­ empathy powers, right?¡± His eyes opened a smidge wider. ¡°I wondered when you were going to bring that up.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve already thought about it. Good.¡± I stopped, thinking that he¡¯d say something, but instead all I got was an awkward silence. Ouch. ¡°You know, I have it on good authority that I could fix you if given enough time and understanding of what I¡¯m capable of.¡± ¡°Good authority?¡± he asked. ¡°Mesprit.¡± ¡°Hm. That is indeed probably the best authority to listen to about your capabilities, yes,¡± he nodded. ¡°You didn¡¯t want to be fixed, thest couple of times we asked.¡± Thetest had been shortly before I left for Sunyshore, where he¡¯d said that being like this made him work harder and for longer. I truly thought Justin believed that without the darkness swamping his body, he¡¯d have stalled out way earlier. Personally, I wasn¡¯t sure I believed that, but maybe him striking out on his own had fostered growth and allowed him to better bond with his team. I didn¡¯t know them that well, these days, so I couldn¡¯t exactly tell. Even Arcanine, Ludicolo, Audino and Krookodile, whom I¡¯d known the longest, had changed beyond what I¡¯d expected, and Toxapex and Corviknight weren¡¯t even in the picture. Still, for all of his trouble, Justin was close to his Pokemon and a good trainer. One had to be, to get six badges in their first year or to bepetent in any way. There was a reason trainers couldn¡¯t just buy some Garchomp and steamroll through the Circuit. Why even wastes of oxygen like Abel or Saturn seemed to care for their teams, and vice versa. The bond between trainer and Pokemon was the primary driver of progress, in the end. Not the only one, but if I had to bet between an eight-badger who had an awful rtionship with their team (honestly, I doubted reaching that level with that kind of rtionship was possible, though stranger things had happened) and a seven-badger who loved his Pokemon and they loved him, I¡¯d bet on the seven-badger every single time. Anyway, all of that to say that Justin was a good trainer despite what had happened to him. I¡¯d kind of gotten lost in the weeds here, and Justin had just stared at me while I¡¯d been thinking. ¡°So? Do you, or do you not?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be quite frank,¡± he said with quivering lips, and I realized that this was tough to talk about for him. ¡°It¡¯s a very big decision. As far as I¡¯m concerned, this is me. It has been me for thest few months.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°But at the same time, I can tell something isn¡¯t right. That I should react to things, or feel things.¡± ¡°I remember that.¡± It had been the same for me during the Darkest Day. The knowledge that I¡¯d be traumatized once all of the darkness disappeared. ¡°And I know I¡¯m hurting Louis by staying like this. That I¡¯m hurting all of you. That feels wrong to me.¡± He audibly gulped. ¡°How would it feel, anyway? You ¡®fixing¡¯ me.¡± ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯ve only used this twice when I was at risk of dying, all of the other times I was just looking.¡± ¡°And you aren¡¯t looking now?¡± ¡°I try not to. At first it was to respect people¡¯s boundaries, but honestly¡­ speaking to people and knowing exactly what they feel at all times, it feels like it¡¯d be a little lonely,¡± I admitted quietly for the first time. ¡°I dunno, maybe it¡¯s silly, but I just don¡¯t do it anymore.¡± Without Aliyah there to keep me grounded, I knew I would have been pulled in a very different direction. ¡°We don¡¯t have toe to a decision now,¡± I said to fill the silence. ¡°Here, why don¡¯t I just take a look for now, what do you think about that?¡± ¡°...just looking.¡± ¡°Yeah. Just to see how you look on the inside.¡± ¡°You do realize how untrustworthy you sound when you say you want to look at my insides, right?¡± he deadpanned. ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby, I meant it in a good way.¡± He let it go, and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and winced when I opened them again when the world flooded with color. It seeped through the cracks in the door, the little space in the slightly ajar window and even through the walls. They were voices without sound, but still with meaning, and by the Legendaries, they were loud, and the world was so bright it was like I was staring right at the sun. I¡¯d grown since my first few days as an empath, though, so I kept my legs steady and adjusted the range, focusing solely on Justin¡¯s frame. Every person, human or Pokemon, had some feeling or a mix of them leaking out of them at all times, and whether it be dull or strong, I¡¯d notice. Hell, even for Pokemon that worked with an alien frame of mind like Mimi and Melmetal, it was the case, even if the emotions were confusing andplicated. There was nearly nothing leaking out of Justin. At first, I¡¯d thought it was nothing, but it was barely slipping past his skin with muted colors that were missable if I didn¡¯t squint. The instinct to push and pull was there, and I could feel the metaphorical needle and thread within my fingers. ¡°Justin, do you still want to realize your dream? To take over Pherzen? Or did you give up?¡± Pale wisps of color became small embers. ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t give up,¡± he answered. ¡°What was this? A test?¡± ¡°Yeah. Sorry,¡± I said, closing my eyes. The world became dull again when I opened them. ¡°Wanted to test something.¡± The theory had been right. It was an inhibitor. Emotions beyond a certain threshold would still break through. I exined it all to him, and he seemed to agree. Now the question was, how did I fix him? Don''t burden him with more feelings; help him shed the oppressive weight instead, Betrix had said. I could not manipte TE, so how would I go about this? Well, Mesprit had said it was possible, and while they were¡­ well, Mesprit, they wouldn¡¯t lie to me. It had been a very particr game, that the God had been ying. Using the truth as a weapon, twisting the knife in hopes of twisting me, so to speak and it hadn¡¯t worked. Yet I knew it was true. I just had to work out the logistics in case Justin ever decided he wanted to go back to who he was. Or who he used to be. I softly patted him on the back. ¡°¡®Kay, I¡¯m done. Now let¡¯s go and hang out!¡± He frowned. ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near dinner time.¡± ¡°I want to make up for lost time with you,¡± I said. ¡°Come on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Thank the Legendaries, he¡¯d said yes. Come to think of it, he hadn¡¯t even asked about Meltan. Huh. Figures.
TEAM Chapter 297 Chapter 297
CHAPTER 297 Justin fiddled with a piece of cauliflower at the side of his dish with his fork, his eyes ncing upward and directly into mine. He used to be shy about things like eye contact, but now he could keep staring at me like there was no tomorrow. It was enough to make me ufortable. The restaurant was rather empty, given how early it was for dinner. The kitchen had just opened again and we were one of the four groups in the entire ce, or at least the four groups I''d seen. This establishment was ratherrge and despite the horribly expensive prices, it had a bit of a homely vibe to it. They''d probably tried to go for a rustic vibe, like a restaurant for sailors, but it was one of the most popr spots and routinely had Canve''s richest attending, or at least that''s what I''d seen with my two minutes of inte sleuthing. Despite being nowhere near the sea, the scent of the ocean was unmistakable and they yed the sound of waves from some kind of machines under the floorboards that were hidden from view. The floor itself was made of wooden nks and rugged, but still somehow felt smooth to walk on when you had to and did not creak at all. Dimnterns cast a soft, flickering glow over a roughly hewn wooden table. A few feet away, up on the wall, was a painting of an enormous Dhelmise sinking a ship with tendrils of possessed seaweed nailed into the wood. It had caught my eye many times, with the way the hull had cracked in the middle and cut the ship in two. The painting itself was watercolor, faded and without any edges. If you squinted enough, you could see dark smidges¡ª people being grabbed off the ship and dragged into the ocean to be drained by Dhelmise. Stories about Dhelmise and Jellicent sinking ships had haunted sailors for generations, and if you ignored the morbid thought of how many people had died in the middle of crossing these oceans, it was kind of cool, to have this whole lore around your species. Stories thatsted generations and were enough to make an entire culture of people fear or revere you in return. But it had been too long since I''d said anything, so I turned back toward Justin. With my closer friends, I wasfortable sitting in silence, but with Justin, I felt the need to fill that silence. "How''s your taste these days?" I asked, hoping I wasn''t being obnoxious. "Enjoyable enough," he said. "In a way, it''s strange. You''ve never eaten while under this affliction, correct?" I shook my head, munching on a fried shrimp. "Nuh-uh." "What do you think would be my reaction, then?" he asked. "To taste?" For a second, my eyes flickered almost on instinct. Colors red to life, but dimmed down when I pushed my tongue against the roof of my mouth to focus. "I''d say that you get none of the pleasure from the taste," I said. "Which I guess, if we''re getting into the weed of things, some people don''t eat for pleasure either. Like Chase, for example, or at least most of the time. It''d feel like that, right?" He nodded. "Yes. I do admit, I''ve found it easier to have a bnced diet these past few months." "You didn''t have one before?" I asked. "Wait, I guess you did skip a lot when the cafeteria wasn''t serving something you liked." Which, I assumed, was why he''d been so thin. "I gave it a fair attempt as soon as I embarked on this journey. My father and the team he had to coach me said I needed to build up muscle," Justin exined. "I gave up before we met, however." "Huh. Fair enough." I stretched my legs under the table and identally bumped into his. "Sorry. Anyway, you had a team of coaches, huh?" "Only for the start, before the Circuit actually began," he nodded. "It would have been dishonorable otherwise." Of course. A trainer could do whatever they wanted before the Circuit started, but anything after, they had to get on their own, or at least pretend to, or what was even the point of anything? Sure, rich people used their family''s money, but actually training and making connections by meeting others¡­ sure, I''d gotten a lot of help there, but that had been through as much hard work as luck. Luck is one thing, but taking advantage of that luck is another, Jasmine had said. Legendaries, I missed her. We texted and called, but the next we''d be seeing each other would be the Conference, if I made it there and there was still a world to have the Conference in. Apparently some other important figures from Kanto-Johto would be there as diplomatic envoys to further tighten the ties between Sinnoh and Indigo. Jasmine had said I''d love Brock and Will, who''d be in charge of the delegation. One Kantoan, and one Johtoan, for Indigo must be equal in all things. They obsessed over it, and I wouldn''t be surprised if the delegation itself was also split neatly in such a way. Personally, I was just focused on not dying next week. I perked up, remembering the onus to keep the conversation going was on me. "Reminds me of when you guys used to buy info from older trainers." Justin exhaled. "Scams." Gasping, I leaned forward. "They were?!" While the restaurant was nearly empty, a waiter who was working on making sure every table was ready for the evening turned my way and squinted. Had I made him mess up somehow? Or maybe yelling was just annoying. An apron-wearing Politoed was by his side, and she hastily pushed him to keep going with a few panicked croaks, saying that they''d bete if they kept dawdling. tes stuck to the suction cups on her hands and made her an excellent waitress, even if she was somewhat short. "Yes, scams, all of them," he continued. "The information was always simple and things we could have figured out on our own if we put our minds to it, and Louis was too foolish to tell they overcharged. At least it was correct." I raised an eyebrow. "Why''d you take so long to answer?" "I could tell that Politoed had caught your eye. They call her Queen of the Ocean, or Oc¨¦anne." Huh. He was the kind of guy to wait until whatever had caught my attention had passed to keep going. "That''s a badass name," I said, watching the water type prance around. Kalosian, maybe. "Any reason why?" "She used to sail the world with her trainer. Nothing but her and a speed boat," Justin recounted as if he was reading from a textbook. "See that scar on her back?" I craned my neck to the left and noticed a patch of discolored green skin, slightly rough and dented. The membrane was so thin seeing the pale, discolored flesh within her was easy. "Yeah?" "She got that from a Tentacruel attack," he said. "They say there were at least thirty of them¡ª Tentacool and Tentacruel, all swarming their boat for getting too close while they were migrating back to Hoenn for the winter. They retired from traveling shortly afterward and her trainer opened this restaurant." "Arceus¡­ that sucks." I knew that if given enough time, even with Ditto cells, scars would form on a Pokemon, and when in the middle of the ocean, well¡­ there weren''t many Nurse Joys around. That did exin how Politoed seemed to order these people around as if she was the boss, though. And she had fought thirty wild Pokemon on her lonesome to protect her trainer, which meant that she must have been incredibly powerful. I guess they didn''t really go for a sailor vibe. The owner really was a sailor. "The owner doesn''t work here anymore and he sold the ce, from what I understand, but Oc¨¦anne enjoys spending some of her days here to make sure the ce runs smoothly." "Wait, how do you know all this?" I frowned. "I thought you didn''t go out." "I didn''t. Louis dragged me here once, though, and he chatted with a few of the waiters. You know how he is, every time he reaches somece he has to learn all about it." My lips tugged upward. "He is that kind of guy. You know, that mansion we got stuck in when we went through Eterna Forest? How he was looking at the damn paintings?" A smile flickered on Justin''s face, though it disappeared so quickly I almost missed it. "It would be hard to forget being trapped in an ever-repeating mansion and mentally tortured by a Mismagius. But yes, he is like that." "Well, it''s nice. To be in a state of mind to think about those things." Justin paused, finishing thest of his cauliflower after dousing it in some kind of creamy sauce. "You enjoy reminiscing, don''t you?" I hummed. "Guess so. Makes me realize how far we''vee, is all." "I just found it peculiar, given that no one else does it as much as you do." "Does it¡­ bother you?" His hand moved less than an inch on the fork he was still holding. "Bother, not really. It makes me think about before Sceon, which just feels strange." "Can I look?" When he nodded, I blinked and noticed the texture first. It appeared smooth at first, but it was almost palpating with subtle jagged waves. The gray was murky and dim, like a heavy fog. "Uncertain?" I tried. "I suppose so." Legendaries, that training I''d done with Be was working wonders here. I sank slightly into my chair and finished my dinner in rtive silence. Justin ate way too fast and had finished before me. People filtered in rather quickly as I emptied my te of fried shrimp and fries. "You''ve been ncing at that painting all dinner." When I froze, he pointed toward the Dhelmise sinking the ship. "Did anything in particr about it catch your eye? I didn''t think you were one for art outside of music." I stayed quiet for a few seconds, though the sound of the bustling restaurant was ever-present and a growing cadence. They''d started ying music from some speakers, too, and the evening was in full swing. "When you think about it, not that many people are remembered," I said, tapping a finger against the table. "I was just wondering about how cool it was, to have stories about you¡ª or I guess in this case, it''s your entire species. I want there to be stories about me. Hell, maybe songs like they have about Dhelmise, too." "And prayers, rites and offerings to the sea to ward it away before a crossing?" he asked. "Justin¡­ was that humor?" "What?" "A joke! You made a joke just now!" I grinned, tapping my good foot against the floorboard. "I guess my statement could have been misconstrued¡ª" I giggled. "You''re funny!" It took a few seconds to gather myself enough to keep going with my train of thought. "Well, I guess that statement might have sounded like it wasn''t really going anywhere, but you know, at the League there''s this ce where they have paintings and fun facts about all of the previous Champions and their Pokemon and stuff. It''s in this giant hallway, and it''s almost church-like. The light shines through these colored windows and it''s fucking breathtaking. Cecilia choked up when she walked into that room." I stopped, feeling a frisson even recalling it. The room just made you feel so infinitely small. "They revere these people like Gods," I pointed at him with my unused fork, "because Gods are stories, Justin." "Interesting tangent to bring about from a painting of a Dhelmise," he said. I hadn''t missed the intonation in his voice, a genuine piece of him slipping through, like it sometimes did. "In a way, I can see what you''re talking about. What are people, customs and, well, Gods without stories to remember them by?" Deep within the recesses of my mind, I felt Mesprit stew in anger. Even they had stories, so they had no right toin. "You''re nothing," I muttered. "A blip, and then you''re forgotten. They don''t put you on any paintings, they don''t put your name on ques, or talk about your exploits, and they don''t say that your Tyranitar loved to swim." "Strange example." "But a valid one," I said. "So I was just looking at that painting and wondering, what can I do, to end up on one of those outside of chaining myself to one position to rue Pre¡ª" Not Presence, no. Humans could not. "To be remembered across the world. For people to think about me like everyone pictures a Dhelmise when they cross the sea." "I''d say saving the world, but¡­" he whispered. But we both knew that would stay a secret forever. "It''s more a vanity thing," I shrugged. "The need to be remembered after I pass¡­ well, I don''t know if it''s vanity, actually. You know, it was one of myst thoughts, when all of that shit went down underground." I wanted to keep the events of Lakhutia brief, because thinking about it was still painful. Like opening a wound that hadn''t even closed yet. "I can still recall it clearly now. I hope the world remembers me." The words were crisp and seemed loud, even in the middle of this busy restaurant and even though they''d been a whisper. Justin moistened his lips. "I think it''s vanity." I smiled. "I guess so. What about you, Justin?" "I don''t need to be remembered," he said. "That was the case, even before all of this." Justin pointed to himself. "So long as I leave humanity in a better ce than it was, I''ll be content. As content as one can be when dead." "That''s probably because you''re good, deep down," I smirked, waggling a finger at him. "Someone who''s genuinely good and still wants to be better despite it all." "Is that your powers telling you that?" "Come on, Justin, it''s literally you telling me," I snorted. "Do you want dessert, or?" "I''m full, thank you." He paused. "And also, did you take a picture of that monument to Sinnoh''s past Champions?" "Oh yeah, a whole lot. Goes back super duper far until the paintings get really bad. You can see the art progress as the ages past, and some of them are so faded that only tranted texts remain. They''re gonna make Cynthia''s soon, apparently. Her and her team." "You shouldn''t call those paintings bad. They''re just made with a different, older art style," Justin chided as best as he could in that monotone voice of his. "Show them to Louis tomorrow, will you? I''m sure it will cheer him up some." "Of course." Politoed came by to hand us the bill, which I paid in full since I''d been the one to take Justin out and I''d practically dragged him by the arm for this. It was around seven in the evening when we left the restaurant, and my legs felt sluggish from having sat so long. When we reached closer to the ocean, I spotted that there were preparations being made for a festival for some local holiday that Justin informed me was named Seafarer''s Day, where everyone would get the day off. Since my history textbook had covered Sinnoh as a whole and not Canve, I hadn''t really known about it, but Justin exined that it traced its history back to the return of sailors back to Canve to shelter before the stormy seasonmenced. Only the Iron Inders had been known to navigate those with confidence. Artisans were hard at work, creating banners that would adorn the festival venue. They had a fish¡ª possibly a Goldeen embroidered on them. Spinarak and Ariados scuttled in groups, gathering their silk for people to make use of, and the waterfront of the city was being cleaned up by groups of volunteers, including the canal. I spotted a Buizel shooting stic out of the waters into the hands of a chubby adult man. Azy-looking Espeon whose gem shone brightly in the night kept wood straight as a bulky woman hammered nails into the nks, etching them into other pieces of wood. It was amunal effort, and it showed. Meltan observed it all with fascination emanating from my wrist. "The wooden homes will be left empty until they''re burned a monthter," Justin exined as we walked through the grey-cobbled streets. "If sailors didn''t return before the festival, and the stormy season started, they held services inside those homes for them." "Ah. Light candles and stuff," I said. "What a horribly simple way of simplifying Canvian culture," Justin stated. "Louis would be horrified." "Cece would too. What if the sailors were justte, though?" "Sometimes they were, and that was no harm no foul," Justin shrugged. "Traditions are strange like this, at times. They build those homes close to the sea to call them back home. It was said that their souls would find their way back and rest on the bedsid upon shore." "These days I guess it''s just a holiday, though," I murmured, staring at the seafront. The Gym could be seen, its huge size looming in the distance and casting lights into the sky. "And when they burn the homes, I guess the fire takes the souls with it?" My friend nodded, pale under the moonlight. "They do it in the Iron Inds too. Burning their dead." He rubbed his palm with the thumb of his other hand. "I think it''s a nice way to be disposed of, instead of being buried." I wanted to be careful about the topic of burial, especially with him, but we were having a nice conversation, so I pressed on. "I don''t really care what they do to me after I''m dead," I muttered. "I just want to die of old age, you know? Satisfied with my life. I guess that''s everyone, though." "Well, hopefully with me at the head of Pherzen, we''ll be able to extend human lifespans by a good bit. That''s still in the theoretical stages, though, not as solid as curing disease and regenerating limbs, but still, just by curing illnesses most people could live past one hundred, there was a nice paper about it and¡ª" His eyes were bright, his mouth smiling, and his body felt free. His walk grew erratic and more natural as the warm glow of a streetlight glowed down his face. Dreams were made of this, and it was beautiful. It onlysted a moment, however, and soon enough he was back to¡­ calling it normal felt wrong, but it was what it was. "Anyway, I suppose I''d like my corpse to be burned. My family could keep the ashes," he finished. We crossed a street with only silence as apanion. "Say," I cleared my throat, "I told Emi and Pauline I''d give them lessons about fighting with no rules, and I was wondering if you''d like to join us?" "I told you I didn''t think I would help," he brushed me off. "And that''spletely fine," I nodded. "You know, it''s just in case something bad happens and you''re thrust into it anyway, I want you to know how it feels so you aren''t caughtpletely off-guard. Been a while since¡­" Well, since Sceon and his Krookodile had buried him into a hole full of darkness. "Since I was turned into this," hepleted without emotion. "Ordinarily I would, but I can''t." "That''s okay." "It would make Louis feel like he has to as well, but he''s in no state to," Justin said. "If he reaches a point where he can, I''lle with him." "It''s okay. Not ideal, but okay." "I partly lied just now." My foot skidded ufortably on the brick, as did my crutch. "What?" "That was partly true, but it wouldn''t exactly make sense as a statement on its own. It''s not reason enough," Justin said. "The other half is, revisiting what might happen will for sure be unpleasant." It took a few seconds to realize that he''d meant he would probably feel scared even through his inhibitor. His chest rose up with the rapidity of his breathing and he was looking away from me. The Pokemon Center was only minutes away now. "Look, I''m not going to make you train with us, but you can''t run away from feelings, Justin. It''s normal to be scared." "Don''t try to convince me," he deadpanned. "I''m not, I¡ª" "Then we can let the topic go, can''t we?" he asked. "What is, if not to convince me to train with you, the purpose of this conversation?" My skin prickled. "It wasn''t, I swear I¡ª" "It doesn''t appear that way to me," he interrupted. "We haven''t been together much, but even when we were, there''s this thing with you¡ª and keep in mind this is a simple observation. I don''t actually feel harmed by you, or you would be able to tell. May I continue?" I nodded. "Uh, yes." "You get denied, and then you try to sidestep the topic while in reality, you''re slowly returning to it again. Wrapping around it like an Ekans, controlling the entire conversation in hopes of getting what you want anyway at ater date. It''s all set up." "Do I¡­ do that?" "Well, I could be wrong." His hands passed over his Pokeballs, which he fiddled with for a few seconds. "Either way, it''s just an observation of who you are to me, it''s not the end of the world¡­ I could have found better usage of words there, sorry." My shoulders slumped. "We can drop the topic." "Thank you. It''s a good trait to have, with what you want to do with your future career and involvement in politics. I don''t think I would have realized it without the darkness to ground me. I''m bad with people." His fingers pressed down on one of the buttons of his Pokeballs and Arcanine materialized at his side, glowing slightly in the night. Embers flickered at the edge of his fur, and he greeted Justin with a slight bow and affectionate growl. Justin scratched the canine''s chin before introducing me, and the fire type''s tail wagged just a few inches. "Arcanine usually apanies me on walks like this, so I figured I''d release him." The fire type looked down on me, because yes, he was that tall, and Mimi was suddenly sitting very still. There were hints of sharpened teeth that glimmered in the night, and I outstretched a hand in an attempt to pet him. He stayed silent, smelling it until he ducked out of the way. Still, I felt the warmth emanating from his fur and skin, imagining how wonderful cuddling with Arcanine must be. "Fair enough," I sighed. "How have you been?" Arcanine grunted, saying that things were easier now than they''d been in those first months when they''d been adapting to Justin¡ª or something close to that. It''d been long, so I wasn''t sure if what I was hearing was right or not. "Happy to hear that." Arcanine''s ears twitched, and he rxed just a bit. "Justin says you guys go on walks all the time, so why don''t we keep this one going instead of turning in for the night?" I bumped Justin''s arm with my elbow. "Maybe head back up? The library''s pretty close by." "It''s closed." "I thought the park would be open." He frowned. "Why would the park be open? The park is a part of the library. Also, it''s not a park, it''s a courtyard." I threw my hands up. "Okay, well you pick where we go." Arcanine huffed, saying that they knew the city best anyway. ¡ª I plopped myself down a bench that sat parallel to a promenade along the Canve canal, heaving with tired breaths as I sprawled onto the ufortable wood. Justin warned me to watch out for splinters, but I was way too tired to care. When I''d talked about a walk, I hadn''t expected it to go on for so long, and it made me realize that my broken ankle had put me horribly out of shape, with me using my team to walk around all the time. Canve''s famous drawbridge was visible in the distance, as imposing as ever, and illuminated by a crap ton of golden lights. It was the only way to cross between the two halves of the city without using a ferry or Pokemon, which probably made traffic horrible, even if Canve was more of a pedestrian city akin to Eterna City. For a while, I looked up at the night sky while Justin waited with his team, but their dynamic was too interesting to keep away for long. Arcanine was sitting at Justin''s side, always shadowing his trainer. He reminded me of Buddy, in that way, with how diligent and serious he was. The fire type had always been loyal to his core, and more Pokemon wouldn''t change that, or at least that''s what I figured until¡­ Audino was the heart of the group, that much was easy to see. The one who linked all of them together. The normal type spun around like a dance as he seemed to be skidding on the ground, leaving behind pink dust that disappeared before I could blink. He touched Arcanine''s side, and the fire type copsed to the floor, turning on his back with his paws up and tongue hanging out as he chuffed. I could see his fur move like it was being petted, but Audino had already moved on. He almost touched Corviknight, but the raven''s eyes turned blood red and Audino froze in his tracks with an awkward smile. This happens all the time, I silently mused to myself as Arcanine practically purred. Was it a trick of some kind? Tickle, maybe, or abination of that and mour. Not as powerful as a core belief, but still something he could use in a pinch. Krookodile observed one of his sharpened ws with assitude that was fit for a king, and Corviknight flew his way to escape Audino''s antics. The wind clearly bothered the ground type (and who could me him, considering that Corviknight had decided to fly a grand distance of ten feet instead of walk), because he swiped at Corviknight''s feet in an attempt to screw up hisnding, and the bird copsed on the ground. Toxapex, who had stayed utterly still close to the water, lifted two of her twelve legs and pped them together as she cackled, though that cackle was more of a strange screech that had a certain echo to it. Her yellow eyes shone brightly in the dimly lit promenade, and Ludicolo had been working on watering her like a nt as he hummed a song that would no doubt be stuck in my head for ages. It was a small column of water dragged from the ocean and poured onto Toxapex. Corviknight scrambled back to his feet and returned back to his usual pose, wings tightly wound against his sides and eyes sharp, and Toxapex continued giving him shit for pretending nothing had happened while Krookodile asked her to shut up and be quiet. In the middle of it all was Justin, content to just let his team be. They had more of a dynamic with themselves than with him, even if they did obviously love him, with the way they all looked when they thought he wasn''t looking. Arcanine turned back to his belly, satisfied with the petting, and hey down on the ground instead while Audino showed Justin his outstretched palm. First, there was nothing, but when Audino closed and opened it again, there was a pink flower inside that he ced in his trainer''s hair and that Justin feltpelled to ept. It felt odd being there. Intrusive, even if I wasn''t saying anything. I''d had to restrain myself from forcefully introducing myself or releasing my own team and interrupting the moment, but I believed I learned more about Justin''s team this way than I would have talking to them individually. Eventually, my friend settled on the bench with me, which was my cue to stop taking the entire space and bend my legs so he could sit. The flower in his hair was slowly disappearing, fizzling out of existence. Now that Arcanine was dozing off, he was alone, for once. "Sorry about this," he said, staring right ahead at nothing in particr. The boats, maybe? I doubted yachts would be that interesting to Justin out of all people, considering his father owned a few. "We''re spending more time here than I thought we would." "That''s okay. This is nice." His back was unnaturally straight against the bench. "Sometimes I look at them and I think that it''d be wrong to intrude, but they keep involving me in things anyway." "That''s because they want to and love you," I said. "What''s wrong with that?" "It feels like I don''t fit in," he said. "Like I''m a piece of the puzzle, but in the wrong set." I sat up on the bench with a tired groan. "Could you borate?" "No." I blinked. "Huh. Okay, well just know that I think you''re wrong, okay? Even with your issues, your team obviously loves you." My voice was a low whisper. "If you didn''t fit, then you wouldn''t¡ª" "Drop the topic?" he said with a saddened smile. "Ah, I was doing it again." "You were. Sorry, I just don''t want to talk about it." Shifting ufortably in my seat, I touched my wristband and felt at Mimi''s warmth. "So what were you thinking for Byron?" I asked. "We didn''t end up talking about battling when we were eating." "Turn his gimmick against him and stall for time," Justin said. "Win on a technicality." "I mean, Byron''s gimmick isn''t technically just defense, it''s just something he''s the best at." "Semantics, Grace," he shrugged as he finally turned his gaze to his team. "Arcanine and Krookodile are the only two who I''m confident can break past those defenses, and that path is just so very narrow. Not a lot of open doors." "So you want to stall instead," I nodded. "Not bad." "When you can''t win, cheat," Justin dered. "It''s as simple as that." "Shrimple as that." "What?" "I ate shrimp¡ª you know what, never mind. Just something Slowking would say." It wasn''t a satisfying way to win, at least to me, but hey, who was I to talk? Plus, I was sure he''d make the battle interesting anyway. In the distance, Ludicolo started singing instead of humming. It was not a festive song like you''d think of when thinking of what a Ludicolo might y. It was still upbeat, but it was also calm. Soothing, in a way that I understood was because music too exciting would bother most of the team. Audino started twirling and dancing for the others, and Toxapex pped two of her legs together along the beat of the song. Ludicolo joined in the dance, and soon enough the two were together. Even Krookodile was looking, and Arcanine awoke. I''d misjudged the fire type. Instead of immediately finding his way to Justin, he just made sure he was okay with a look and tapped his feet along with the song. "I wish I brought my piano along," I exhaled. "I left it at my Dad''s." "You''d be hard-pressed to y along. Ludicolo hates it when someone joins in on his song, so he would have sped up and lost you behind him. The most you could have done is dance." "Dance with this?" I pointed my chin at my ankle. "You know, it''s probably avoided me a bunch of dancing lessons with Cece, though." "She does love to dance," Justin acquiesced. "I like doing stuff she likes, but dancing really isn''t my cup of tea. Well, so long as she leads, it''s nice. Plus, feeling her hands on my back¡­" I missed her. "Anyway," I continued. "Any fun stories you have from your journey alone before Sunyshore?" ¡ª We stayed out until ten in the evening, where I mostly just let Justin talk about himself by asking him more and more questions and we finally caught each other up to what had been going on in our lives. Since we didn''t live on the same floor, I hugged Justin goodnight and left the elevator before he did. Even I was a little tired after a night out, though the n was to use a few hours to keep going over Byron. Chase was in front of my door. It was a scene right out of the outpost out of Eterna Forest, where he''d been waiting after I''d beaten him in our first battle¡ª holy crap, I did love to reminisce, didn''t I? His bulky arms were crossed, his brows were knitted together and he had that scowl on his face that made him look younger. Not physically, but emotionally. How long had he been waiting here? A few hours? Wasn''t that a huge waste of time? Maybe he''d just wanted to make sure he didn''t miss me. He wore a sleeveless shirt that revealed the scar on his forearm that Sneasel had given him months ago, sandals and baggy shorts that went down to his knees, along with the usual blue cap worn backwards. No new wounds, thank the Legendaries. Trainers gave him a wide berth, not wanting him to blow up on them. "Hey. Why''re you angry at me?" I instantly asked. He pointed back at my door. "Inside." Gee, he wasn''t feeling very vocal today, was he? I rolled my eyes, limping past him to open my door. "How''s training been? Learn any new interesting moves or tactics?" "No small talk. Why are people showing up here, Grace?" "Emi and Pauline?" I asked. "Who else? And now I hear you''re going to train them? Look, I like them¡­ well, not really, I mostly don''t care, but it''s a waste of time, man!" His foot tapped against the ground. Anxious. "You should be training yourself up. Louis and Justin, I respect, because they know not to get in the way because they want to feel useful." "I already know you and I aren''t going to see eye to eye on this, so there''s no point." A tired breath left me as I ced my crutch against the wall and rummaged through my tiny closet for some clothes to sleep in. "It''s been decided, so it''s happening. You''re outvoted anyway." "Fuck voting," he spat. "You''re going to waste thest week and a few days we have on bringing them up to speed instead of ironing out what you need to iron out or training that ydol of yours." "Does Ri agree?" I asked. "Don''t bring Ri into this. It''s me you''re talking to, and I''m in charge." "So he doesn''t. Look, I know you''re putting up some valid points, but this is important to Emi and Pauline, so it''s important to me." Chase removed his cap and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "So you won''t change your mind?" "That''d be stabbing them in the back." My friend looked up at the ceiling and let out an exasperated sigh. "Even if we go from your point of view, you''re going to get them killed." "I''m not. I''m teaching them to defend themselves because they will get themselves killed if I don''t." "Then if they do that after so many warnings, that''s on them¡ª "Watch it." Emotion buzzed at the edges of my senses, appearing and disappearing like shadows. They were colors that I forgot as soon as they left my vision. Needle and thread. My fingers pressed together, but it was only for a moment. "Don''t say that," I warned. "Just don''t. It won''t just be on them, it''ll be on me for not giving them the tools they needed to defend themselves despite knowing they''d need them." I jammed a finger into his chest. "And it''d be on you too, and I know you care. So stop it." "...whatever, Grace. You''re right. We''ll never see eye-to-eye on this." He turned toward my door. "I''m going to pass by my room to take a shower, then I''ll be gone until the due date." I inhaled sharply. "You''re not fighting Byron?" "Let me put it simply, Grace. At this moment in time, I would lose, and I''m not about to give that fucker the satisfaction of getting one over me. Anyway, bye. Shit talk." He mmed my door and left. There were quiet gasps beyond it, probably from trainers asking themselves what the hell had just happened in here. I slowly opened myptop, opened the Gym''s website with a lethargic speed, and changed into different clothes. I inhaled the shirt, taking in the familiar lingering smell before putting it on and released my team other than Sweetheart, and I opted to have ydol in instead of Angel today. They were too big to fit all of them in, and I figured I''d alternate between myrgest teammates. Tomorrow, Sunshine would stay in his ball, for example. The hours passed with Buddy as my onlypanion remaining awake. I went to sleep with Cece''s shirt on, thinking of how I could cure Justin if he asked, and I still had Ludicolo''s song stuck in my head.
Chapter 298 Chapter 298
CHAPTER 298 Louis Bianchi had been proud, once. A man who, like him or hate him, a year ago, had been capable of capturing a room''s attention. The way he''d carried himself, back straight and chin high, the fancy clothing, each article more expensive than a month''s rent, the well-groomed hair, golden like the sun, and the boisterous voice that had a maic property about it. The way pride coiled around his very being until he had embodied the concept to the point of bing blind to all of his faults and what people truly thought about him. Once. Once, he had been that. It was easy to forget, with how gently Louis behaved himself, these days, but he had learned to be prepared to deal with high-stakes situations after he had frozen multiple times in the face of danger in Eterna Forest. Thatnd of death had sharpened him, taught him to keep his wits about him no matter what the situation may be. It had begun with Cecilia''s escape into Mount Cor. The girl he loved, desperate to die a glorious death of joyous battle in the midst of the most dangerous ce in the region. Fresh off learning that their entire rtionship had been a lie, he had put his head down and spearheaded the organization of her rescue. Cracks had, however, already formed, and would widen as the months passed. A silent killer of his character, turning him more and more subdued. Still, in Sceon, despite the way his hands had trembled, the way he had pictured the thousands of way the situation might go wrong, he had joined us to investigate and used his money to get us the information we needed to crack that case, a mere two weeks after his father had been imprisoned for a lifetime. And it was there, that Justin was taken by Shiftry''s darkness. How many times could a man be beaten, for him to rise again and again? I did not have the answer, but the mere thought of it had me choked up as I stepped into Louis'' room. Old enemy, he was. A rival in love, back when we''d both been children in the figurative sense and when there had only been that to worry about. That was who Louis was. A person beaten within an inch of death who could no longer get up. His hair was disheveled, messy and with very visible knots dotting its entire surface as he stared out the window. I could only see the scar on his cheek he''d gotten in Mount Cor, his skin so pale he gave Justin a run for his money. Nales sat by his side, and while she did not look at me directly, I felt warmth slither from my ankles and up my skin like bugs crawling all over me, and I knew I had her attention. Her tails went from lying across to floor¡ª two of them gently rubbing Louis'' back¡ª to rising, undting as one in an almost hypnotic motion. Behind me, Denzel closed the door, knowing that I''d wanted to be alone just for the reunion, at least, with Justin behind him. "Louis?" Pride was now fully stamped out, having been reced by misery. He turned my way, but slowly, as if his bones were old and weary. His fingers gripped the windowsill and the wind blew the thick, white curtains towards the room. With eyes like death, Louis looked at me, bags under them so deep they gave his skin a blue-dark tint even though he spent much of his days sleeping. His chin and cheeks were covered in unkept blond stubble. Louis gave me a smile, forced and sad, the kind of smile you gave to people before delivering bad news. Not knowing what to do, I returned it and briskly paced across the room until I gripped his wrist and knelt by his side of the bed. "I''m sorry," I said. "For everything." He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again as he brushed a bang out of his eyes'' way. "I did not ask for any of it," he said, bitterness in his tone. He''d been prepared for a speech, I realize. A spiel where he''d rebuke me and the others for giving him all of this weight. "What''s done is¡­ done. It''s good to see you, Grace. I hope you''ve been doing better. Oh, and here''s Nales." He pointed at her, but she rebuked me, not even looking my way. "I don''t think she''ll be talking to you. Or any of the others, for that matter, but especially not Emilia," Louis finished with a wry smile. One did not have to be an empath to see that he despised her for this. For what she had thrown onto hisp with no care or n. I respected that, just as I respected Louis as a whole. "That''s alright," I nodded. "Have you eaten this morning?" "Denzel made sure of that, as did Nales. She was practically force-feeding me and shoving the food in my mouth with Extrasensory," he said. The tone was¡ª the tone was calm, but there was no missing the constant bounce of his leg and the way his eyes darted everywhere in the room, like he was expecting an attack toe. "I didn''t puke it all up this time." "Well, that''s¡­ uh, yeah, that''s great." My friend turned back toward the city. His room did not face the Gym, and since he was on the fourth floor, he had a decent view of the city. They were mostly family homes¡ª huh, I''d nearly forgotten that Lauren came from here. Looking at all the houses covering the horizon had me think back about her, for whatever reason. Louis and I stayed silent for a few moments, and I ignored Nales staring daggers at me. Strange, that. From what I knew about their rtionship, the fire type had been one to push Louis forward and out of his newfound¡­ mellowness. Maybe even she had limits to what her trainer was subjected to. "I''ve had these nightmares," Louis said with a quivering voice. "Calling them nightmares is odd, all things considered. They feel much more real than that." My hand squeezed his, though not hard enough to hurt myself. "You can tell me." "You can''t see Mount Cor from here, but I see it in my dreams," he whispered, as if he was scared to utter the words. "I start at the foot of the mountain, always at the foot, and I''m alone with no Pokemon or friends by my side. My legs feel like lead and I can''t move a muscle, and eventually, something shatters at the summit." His throat tightened at the words, and he coughed into a fist. "It breaks open, and then the world," he snapped his fingers, "disappears. There''s nothing, not even me, and I wake up falling in the dark until I wake up screaming." "Arceus¡­" "You have no idea how hard it is," he spoke through clenched teeth. "to hear the world shatter like ss." I wanted to tell him it was only a dream, and that we had no idea how it would end, exactly, if it did. If it would be a rip, a shattering, or silent. Yet something told me those words would be useless, at the moment. "Still, I sleep. It makes the day bearable, at the very least." "Louis, listen, I¡ª we were thinking of going out today, the four of us." I felt his arm tug away from me, and I let it go. "I know this might not be any help, but I think some fresh air could do you some good. And hey, the way I go about it is this: yes, the world''s in danger, but we''ve got the best of the best on the case, right?" There was simply no putting the Meowth back in the bag, so this was the next best way I had of dealing with this. The thought of Louis spending the rest of the time we had left depressed in his room sickened me. "Mira said there were futures where they won," Louis said. "There are." "Then how¡ª" he stopped, taking a deep breath. "I''ve had this thought on my mind, ever since I learned about these powers." Knowing where this was going, I instantly grimaced, but Louis didn''t stop. "Could you take some of it away? The crippling anxiety?" He gripped his shirt around his chest. "You could make it easier to bear." "Louis, I can''t¡ª" He did not scream, but he did raise his tone. "I''m not asking you to take all of it. Just to smooth things over. Please. I can''t go on like this." I was silent. This was the thing I''d expected, and¡ª "You offered the same thing to Justin. He told me earlier this morning. Is it so different if I ask?" "Justin''s case is different," I forced out. "He''s been turned into a different person." Pain flickered in his eyes, raw and piercing. "Does it matter? Don''t you need practice with it, regardless? What I''m asking of you is so much smaller than that, and it can give you the experience you need. I want you to help him, Grace, I want that more than anything, but with this, you help everyone." I gulped. "Can I think about it?" Nales huffed, her head still held high while Louis rose from his bed with a tired groan, the morning sun shining down his half-closed eyes. "I''lle with you three, but please. Just¡­ do this thing for me." It was different now that the option of practicing with these was now in front of me. I''d done so much to stem the use of these powers that the fact that they could go on to be used on someone other than Justin or someone who was trying to kill me hardly crossed my mind, these days. What if I messed up and didn''t know how to put him back together? It was a rather simple operation that I believed I''d be capable of, but fear of failure was known to give trembling fingers, and they needed to be steady to do what he asked of me. What he asked of me¡­ There was also the fear of something else. My body felt like it had gone through a workout when we left his room, having been sapped of all its energy. Denzel beamed when he saw I''d finally gotten him out of there, and even Justin cracked a weary smile, patting his best friend on the shoulder. They spoke some during the walk downstairs, though the conversation was mostly carried by Denzel. Louis and Justin were both quiet unless directly addressed. It was strange to see the former go out without a care for his messy appearance, but at least he was out. The n was to spend the morning in the Canve Library now that all of our therapy was done and it was past nine in the morning, though Justin had no therapist and Louis just apparently stayed quiet most of his session. I did not miss the stares bearing through the back of my head he offered me. I was his ray of hope, his lifeline, I alone held the cards to get him better unless he was content with Mira erasing his memory, which would¡­ obviously be worse than what he''d asked me. Denzel walked with Sylvi at his side, his ribbons brushing against his trainer''s legs, and his Roserade whose re could poison you if she stared for too long. A few people stopped him for an autograph, something he always denied. Louis had his Nales, who no doubt whispered constant reassurances into his mind while Justin was Pokemonless. I, meanwhile, had ydol hovering by me along with Mimi, as always. Canve was a little easier to handle for the ground type, which would do wonders for our trainingter today at one of the arenas I''d spotted near the Pokemon Center. The city was more spread out than Jubilife was. Less dense. Still, people looked up at them and Nales in awe. Really, I just wanted to spend more time with them and they''d be able to put up a quick barrier around all of us in a pinch. Since ydol was no empath, we could notmunicate in secret by just having them read what was going on in my head, and maybe it was because of both Louis'' demand and my suggestion to Justin, but I had ideas swirling in my head of how to make better use of my gift in a pinch. Could I, for example,municate silently by threading what I wanted into ydol''s head as a passing emotion, and not a lingering one? Back when I''d first entered Sandgem and beenpletely overwhelmed by these new senses, I''d felt emotions that weren''t mine. Did that mean that while I could not change my emotions, I could overwhelm mine to make myself feel something else? Questions. There were so many of them without an answer, and that void¡ª that gap in my knowledge as we made it closer and closer to the Red Chain mighte back to bite me. My head subconsciously turned to Louis, who avoided my eyes. On one hand, he had given me his consent. There were no wrongs to this, morally, or at least I wanted to tell myself that. What he''d asked of me had been simple enough to do with a rtive amount of focus. On the other, what if this was the start of an addiction? Of him asking me again and again, to help him deal with negative feelings? I had no idea what would happen next week, and maybe it''d get worse¡ª no, going down that train of thought made my heartbeat hurt. Beating against my ribcage like drums, shaking it violently. And when it was all over, that''d be that. The relief Louis would feel would be immense, so all he needed to do was bear with it for another week and a half¡ª possibly more, but his current state of affairs was temporary. It had a tangible cause, and once that cause was removed, everything would go back to normal for him so long as¡­ Everyone would make it out in one piece. They had to, or¡ª ydol chimed next to me. It seems you are undergoing distress. How may I be of service to alleviate your concerns? Soothing. Their voice was soothing against my mind and acted like a cold ssh of water at the same time. "I''ll tell youter, thank you, ydol." Acknowledged. The Canve library was more impressive from up close. While it was blocky, almost to a fault, rising five floors above ground with two wings sprouting from its side and wrapping around the courtyard, the designers had not let that stop them from making the building pretty. Tables and chairs were thoughtfully ced outside, creating a cozy space for people and Pok¨¦mon to enjoy books under the warmth of the sunlight or seek shade beneath parasols. Thick vines grew at the bottom of the turquoise bricks, neatly clinging to the structure. There were many windows adorning the side of the building, the same intricate sswork that I knew sat on the roof. A simple staircase took us up a deck and toward the old, rustic doors. They were grand, with intricate carvings wrought onto the steel and wide enough to let in all of our Pokemon. Louis did not perk up at any of it. "Wee to the Canve Library!" A man looking to be in his twenties said with a bright smile. A smile that fell when he saw how three out of four of us looked. He sat at a desk adjacent to the entrance and had a nametag on his chest spelling out ''Christopher''. "Um¡­ are you in possession of a library card?" "None of us are, no," Denzel answered. "Ah. Is this your first time in the library?" the employee asked. "Cards arepletely free and can help you get borrowing privileges, ess toputers and the inte¡­" This was administrative busywork, so I let Christopher''s voice sink into the background and observed the library itself. The building smelled like aged paper and polished wood, and the extensive second floor stretched with towering wooden shelves stretching high toward the ceiling. Soft sunlight filtered throughrge windows, casting a warm glow on reading nooks and study tables strategically ced throughout the library. The air was permeated with the muffled rustle of turning pages and the asional murmur of hushed conversations. I felt a little self-conscious that the librarian at the entrance and Denzel were speaking at a normal, albeit somewhat quiet volume. Honestly, thank God he was here to handle all of this. We ended up registering for a library card by filling a form, save for Louis, who didn''t even have the energy to write. He''d basically limped over here and was already exhausted, so hopefully sitting in a quiet space like this would do him some good. After verifying our identities with our trainer IDs, we got a card and were ushered into the building. "Did you know that this ce was built before Byron''s time?" Justin whispered to Louis. "When Mikhal Rose was Gym leader?" "Yes," he responded. "Oh. Ordinarily, you would have started speaking about it, but I suppose you can''t." "Let''s let Louis breathe a little, okay Justin?" Denzel said. "Here, let''s find somece to sit¡ª" "Shhhh!" "Shit, sorry¡ª" He''d been shushed by a pair of teenagers reading a book about¡­ well, I only got a nce, but it looked to be about water type Pokemon biology. When I pictured the library, I hadn''t really thought the inside would be so homely. Instead of ufortable wooden chairs, there were couches ready to amodate us, even on the first floor. Not wanting to go too far due to Louis, Denzel let us sit and asked if there were any particr books we wanted, and he''d go get them. Using that as an excuse, I decided to go with him to stop Louis from staring at me with that desperate look that was twisting my heart with guilt. As soon as we were out of earshot and browsing the aisles for Justin''s book on Canvian architecture (I was pretty sure he''d only picked that for Louis), Denzel spoke up. "Okay, so are you going to tell me what''s going on? Louis has been staring at you all morning. I mean, I''m d you got him out, but what did you tell him in there?" he murmured. I groaned, understanding how annoying I must be every time I''d done the same thing to him. Perceiving things and then bringing them up. "Just a second." Before answering, I released Jellicent, who I''d promised I would let in the library yesterday night when ns had been made toe here. For a moment, he was a kid again, or at least what I imagined kid Buddy might have been like. His eyes shone with endless wonder and his body wriggled in excitement. He''d just been about to rush and explore the entire ce until ydol warned him through telepathy that Pokemon were not allowed to be without their ''owners'' in the establishment. He was right, but owner was a yucky word, ugh. "Sorry you don''t have Extrasensory yet, I promise I''ll buy it for you by the end of the day, and we cane back at least once before the Gym Battle," I said, dipping my head slightly. "Deal?" He grumbled, saying that at least he would have some practice in. Knowing him, he''d have the move down in twenty minutes if it was to do something he loved, like reading. He continued, asking me to grab him a publication on Canvian and Iron Inder history. A book about ''what love is'' would be appreciated, my King. "Coming right up," I whispered back, spinning to situate myself. We were in the history aisle right now, and that sounded like philosophy, which was on the¡­ third floor. "Maybe it''ll help you, but don''t just regurgitate what the book says, okay?" "Are you gonna keep ignoring me, or¡­?" Denzel asked, his arms crossed protectively over Justin''s book. "Louis wants me to take away parts of his anxiety," I sighed. To any other bystanders, the statement was innocent enough, but Denzel froze for a split-second. "Yes, like that. And I''m stumped. That''s it." "Shit¡­" "You said it. There are pros and cons to this, but I don''t know what decision to make and Louis is basically begging¡ª ah." I found a book akin to what Buddy was looking for, though I wasn''t sure it covered the period he wanted. This one was only about the two civilizations before the conquest of the Iron Inds. "I don''t want him to get addicted to me." "Can''t you take just that away? Addiction?" I shivered, but kept whispering, "Emotions aren''t that simple, Denzel. I can''t just take away addiction, I have to tamper and tinker with a ton of other stuff, or maybe reframe the problem entirely? Addiction''s one of the moreplicated ones." It was a good thing we were already walking, or I''d be pacing around. "Even what he''s asking is tough. Simpler, but still tough." "I¡­ I mean, it''s your call, but he asked, didn''t he?" "If someone asked you to punch them in the gut, would you do it?" I called out. "No, but that''s not at all the same¡ª" he stopped, having raised his tone. Back in a whisper, now, Denzel continued, "It''s not at all the same thing. You''d be helping him." "...I know." "Then why?" I turned away, scuttling toward the elevators with Buddy and ydol behind me. "Look, if you don''t want to talk about it, fine," Denzel sighed. "Can we stop by the second floor? The fashion section is there and I wanna stop by. See if I can get some inspiration for some new merch." I rxed, my body loosening slightly. "You just want to look at cute clothes." "Well, that too," he shrugged. "It''s real interesting, though, seeing what clothes make people tick and working to design them and stuff like that. Pauline''s really into it too." That was a given, with her family business. "You excited for tomorrow?" I asked. The elevator dinged, and we squeezed into it, though I recalled my Pokemon and said I''d release them when the books were ready. "Nervous." "Eh, nervous is kind of adjacent to excited, when you look at the two." It took a while to find all the books we needed, and I ended up settling on a textbook from Unova that I was pretty sure was one of the ones they used in civics ss to exin how their government worked. I wasn''t expecting to do much reading anyway, but it was just something to keep myself busy and not get therepletely blind. The future was something I had to think about. From the future came hope, and hope was what I was running on, at the moment. I found ydol''s book, too, and ended up getting a picture book for Princess. Honey already had hisics he still hadn''t finished due to his injury, so he was good on that front. I ced myself back on the couch, and we all got reading. Except for Louis. Justin read to him in that monotone voice of his, and I was reminded of ydol for a moment. The ground type was simultaneously holding onto his book and levitating Buddy''s, turning the page at each soft click. It wasn''t much, but it was a break, and we and our Pokemon found ourselves chatting together and even Louis joined in, by the end of it. That was good for him, but not ideal for the decision I needed to make. He could get out of this without my help, and I knew it. He needed support, both from his therapist and from us. It was possible. It was. So I was putting my foot down. I was. "Let''s get lunch," Denzel smiled. "Wanna go to that ce you guys went at yesterday night?" ¡ª The state I left the arena in by the end of training had me feeling bad for the poor employees and their Pokemon who had to fix it afterward. It could barely be called an arena, anyway. I''d gone to one of those fancy ones where you could book a slot to use for a set amount of time and paid enough to have a few hours. I''d ended up releasing my entire team in the middle of that very nice-looking forest with a meandering river (except Honey, who was still recovering from his injury) and turned it to ash and mud. And that had only been the first one. The second, I''d gotten only for thirty minutes and experimented changing the terrain on, making sure my n for Angel was sound. It was. Now we just had to execute it while someone was trying to defeat us on the opposite side of the field. It was evening, now. My mind was still racked by indecision. I''d changed it at least five times, during training, instead of beingpletely focused like I''d needed to when giving my team directions or watching Byron''s videos. I was close to having memorized everything I needed to, so there was no risk ofgging behind. The day after tomorrow, I would sign up, and since this was the eighth, I''d probably be fighting Byron in another day or two. Not the full week Cece had told me to take so my team could be fully healed by the Red Chain, but six days was basically that and it was only a buffer anyway. I doubted any spines were going to be broken like it had against Volkner. It would be horribly irresponsible from Byron to do so. But these were just idle thoughts. Thoughts to keep me distracted from the decision I''de to make. One I hoped I wouldn''t regret. My knuckles rasped against Louis'' door so quietly I might as well have been a ghost. The door unlocked, and instead of Louis waiting at the door, it was Nales. She nudged me inside with her snout and closed it quickly. Louis was standing, now. Facing the window, as always, but standing. Staring in Mount Cor''s direction, even though the mountain was not visible. The cause of his haunting visions that he was growing obsessed with. "I''ll help you," I dered, teeth sinking into my tongue a momentter, but it was toote to stop myself from talking. No walking it back now. There was a gasp, or maybe a sigh of surprise and relief as he turned my way. "Thank you. What do I¡ª do I just sit down?" "Doesn''t matter, just let me concentrate, okay?" My throat was dry despite having finished a water bottle twenty minutes ago. Fingers trembling in anticipation, I turned the desk chair his way and sat facing him. "Are you sure? There''s no going back on this. I''m not experienced enough for that." "Yes." "And to reiterate, I''m only taking parts of your problem away. You still need to deal with it on your own, I''m only giving you a little boost." "I understand. It was what I believed would be right anyway," he nodded. I paused, and the same question left my lips. "Are you sure?" Again, he agreed without an ounce of doubt. Okay. Anxiety unfolded before me like a turbulent storm painted in shades of deep indigo and stormy grays. The air was heavy with the weight of uncertainty, and the colors swirled and danced, creating a disconcerting mix of unease. The indigo threads pulsated with the heartbeat of stress, while the stormy grays cast shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly across the room, roiling over the bed, desk, and out of the window. It was a tapestry woven with blotches of worry, fear, and apprehension, each hue a manifestation of the emotional turbulence within. They were closely mixed together, not easily separated with a bare needle, but it was what I had to work with, and I felt my lips creep upward. I pierced where the negative emotions met with a flicker of my fingers and got to work. The first stage was untangling this mess and putting it into neat little boxes of color, but I couldn''t be too liberal with the cuts, or Louis would break. It was fine work, though I noticed him squirm a little, a motion that excited me some when it shouldn''t have. Operating on him was creating even more anxiety and fear I needed to contain, but that was okay. I was good at this, and I made sure to not get second-hand anxiety through Louis'' own. The indigo was deep enough for a grown man to sink in, but it was the other colors that gave me issues. The stormy grays resisted, entangled in aplex weave that reflected the intricacies of his fears. I cut, cut, cut, snipping until indigo and grays had been neatly divided and isted from the rest of Louis'' mind scape. How fun, to tinker with someone like this. How liberating. Mesprit shared my giggling as I reached the next step. Cutting when your only implement was a mental needle was tough, but there was something fulfilling about the droning motion of my fingers. To kill an emotion, one had to either smother it with something else or put it in someone else. What I''d done with Mathilda had been redirecting her love for her old trainer towards me, but it had been too shallow and I''d made it akin to a crush. Redirecting anxiety, while a fun experiment, would not fix the issue. Seeing as I said I would only be helping, I needed to go with option one. Smother it, but not enough topletely kill it, because that was important. Remembering the limits of what I''d set out to do. Unsatisfying, ungratifying, disheartening, frustrating. I wanted to y with him, but no. The consequences would be disastrous. Calm. It was a crude way of going about things, but I needed calm and joy, and Louis had very little to work with and no potential to draw out more. Damn it! Ugh, unless I was willing to steal some from other people, then I was going to need to cut again. That was fine, cutting was fun even if doing it with a needle took time, but recovery would be less smooth. It wouldn''t be seamless from Louis'' perspective, at least, and he''d be high off operation for a while, but maybe that was fine. Still, I sent the needle deep within Louis psyche, finding warmer colors. The potential for it was there, I only needed to push and prod until it stopped hiding from me. The indigo softened into hues of cerulean, and the stormy grays yielded to gentle wisps of silver. Not enough. Not enough. Never enough. There was a rip, and I realized I''d cut more of it than I wanted. Oops! Well, better cut the same amount for the indigo, or there would be an imbnce and that''d be awful and possibly make things even worse than they were at the beginning. Well, we were almost done now. I stitched the indigo and grays back together into anxiety. It was neat, almost too neat. Things might be a little bit more entertaining broken, but that was okay. Not now, maybe, butter, on someone else¡­ gah, that''d go against the stupid rules. Whatever, better enjoy this while itsted. Stitch, stitch, stitch, I weaved my needle and carefully mixed the two together before inserting it all back into Louis with a flick of my finger, who groaned like he was dying and doubled over. It was easy, now. Lighter, far lighter, both in weight and tone. It was over¡ª I gasped, sweat boring down my forehead and heavy breaths wracking my lungs. My hands sped around the chair, keeping myself still. Louis was pale, but he was grinning. The sky was dark outside and the moon was out, somehow. I grabbed my phone with trembling hands, trying not to linger on the way I''d been thinking to myself during the entire process and realized I''d still been smiling. An hour and a half had passed in what had felt like five minutes for me. "I feel so much better than I thought I would," Louis gasped. He''d talked while I''d worked on him, but I hadn''t paid attention. "I mean, in a way I feel worse because the feeling of my chest being crushed is back, but it''s so much lighter I can actually breathe." He rose from his chair, running up to me before he sped my shoulders. "I can actually function. Thank you, Grace." "I think I cut more than what was nned¡ª" "You''re fine," he reassured me. "Everything is fine. I''m still¡ª I''m still terrified," there was a nervousugh. "But I''m better. I can deal with it on my own. I can keep going." I could only muster a nod. What else to say, to the way he was smiling so brightly? The way he moved being so full of life and vigor? The will to live and try, returned to his face? Could I tell him that this was wrong? That I regretted this now, and that I''d rather he still be depressed? Things were better off this way. They were. But the reason I hadn''t answered Denzel in the library about why? Why not do it, when he''d asked me to? It was because I knew I''d like it. Enjoy it in a sickening way that I would only make sense of after leaving my daze. The thoughts I''d had about him? He was my friend, for Arceus'' sake! And even for an enemy, my head shouldn''t function like this. I didn''t think I would ever do this again save for Justin. One did not give a cigarette to an addict, and I already knew that was what it was, and having discovered the wonders of empathy terrified me. Aliyah could note soon enough tomorrow. There was an itch waiting to be scratched. The deep desire to alter and twist in my image. Justin could be next. Thest. I contained a smile.
Chapter 299 Chapter 299
CHAPTER 299 Water, as far as the eye can see. The warmth of the sun caresses my skin as I lean overboard, watching the water ssh on the wooden hull of my ship. This section is hastily repaired after an attack from another beast¡ª a thousand Pokemon in one, uniformity given life. Stretches of dark blue, glowing eyes and a scream that resonated from deep underwater. My hands are rough and calloused, the hands of a physicalborer, but they arerger than I remember them being. The smell of the ocean¡ª salt and wind¡ª fills my nostrils as Wingull and Pelipper fly overhead. One of them, thergest Pelipper, is mine, and I''ve given him what I have. Love. Another man passes by me, tall and broad-shouldered. He says something, but I cannot understand. His lips move, but I do not hear him. It is now that I realize that I cannot hear anything. The world is empty, dark and cold, and there is nothing except a constant ringing in my ears. Still, I move like a puppet held up by strings and smile. Seeing what the man says is easy, with how I can see his emotions move. I''ve gotten so good at reading people I can even tell when he calls me by my name. Atreus. He pats me on the back and showers me with Love, and even after all these years, it is so powerful I can''t help but grin. Why else live, if I could not have this? I kiss him and send him on his way back to the bowels of the ship. We spend another few hours on the ship, followed by another three, chasing rumors ofnd out East. I clean, cook, do maintenance and maintain order on the ship while Pelipper keeps watch of threats, and my followers do the same. This is not something I need to do, for they Love me too much to let me work, but it is enough to pass the time. I was with two of my children by the time someone came to tell me that the girl stationed in the Murkrow''s Nest had spottednd. Four inds soon came into view, and we celebrated by dancing on the main deck. My children, followers and Pokemon, all together as I liked, but it was only me they could look at. Only me, they all truly Loved. They looked at me with enough of it to fulfill me for a thousand years, and life was a perpetual state of high and bliss. Hourster, when we reachednd, we stepped out of our ships as one, our feet touching the golden beaches. The children with sensitive feet were burning their feet on the sand and hopping along, but I stood perfectly still, as did the others. Locals greet hundreds of us with stone spears and Pokemon of their own I''d never seen before. I know that all of my followers would have thrown themselves in front of me so I wouldn''t die, so I did not fear. Their skin is tanned and hair frizzy. Exotic specimens to add to my collection. The leader is easy enough to identify, wearing a mask of some kind of horned beast with a t head and a nose ring. Within thirty seconds, he was telling the others to put their weapons down and the Pokemon to keep calm as well. The fact that one of the girls was signing it to me meant that we still spoke the samenguage. Good. We spent months there, learning their ways, and I made them Love me too. Love me until they''d decided they would rather die than see me leave without them being at my side. I made them need me, just like I''d needed them¡ª The cold ssh of water from the shower was what I needed. It was clear as day, even when I was taking my morning shower, a stic wrap over my cast and bandages. I envisioned the smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves against the hull of my ship, with Pelipper and Wingull flying overhead. The suffocating heat of the summer sun. An armada of wooden ships sailing for hours until we hit a shore. The words spoken in the dream had been silent, and for some reason I had forgotten all of their names, but I still felt the intent of every man, woman and child. What they liked, disliked, hated, their hobbies, their rtionship with the other members of my group, their fears¡­ I weaved it all into games. entuated it until they gave me what they wanted. I started arguments just so I could appear a savior as I solved them, broke down rtionships when it looked like they were paying attention to someone else other than me. Only I and I alone was entitled to their Love. Such a haunting concept, when twisted to this extent. I''d lived through a slice of my predecessor''s lifest night, and my skin was dirty. I scrubbed my skin until it turned red, scraping it raw as my teeth mped down on my tongue. His name had been Atreus. He had been a foreigner, when he hade to Hisui''s shores as a baby with his family, but he had never learned from where. I stayed in the shower until my skin was all wrinkled and washed every inch of my skin with soap five times. Why now? The answer ping-ponged around my head the entire shower. There was a bit of a squelch, and I noticed Buddy slipping past the crack below the door. He must have noticed I''d been taking too much time and wanted to check in on me. "I''m okay. Just thinking about some dream." He pulled the soap and glove away from me with shining eyes, already proving his worth with Extrasensory, and asked me to step out of the shower. My body still felt grimy. Like it''d been coated by a thickyer of dirt. Instead of fighting him, I nodded and stood up. "Yeah, I guess I''ll go downstairs and eat breakfast, or I''ll bete for when Aliyah gets here." Jellicent rolled his crimson eyes. "Yes, more people," I said. "No useining about it, I need to be here." He let out an irritated click, saying my friends were the very people making me like this. That without them, I''d have less to worry about. This power business was not a road he thought I should walk. "I won''t." Then what about Justin, he asked. "That''s where it stops. I promise." That seemed to have shut down the topic. He knew I did not make promises lightly, so he ced the bottle of soap on the counter and asked me to hurry up out of the shower with a reassuring look and I allowed myself to lean against the cold wall as he slipped out of the bathroom with another wet sound. He too, was worried about next week. My team was handling this well¡ª most Pokemon always seemed better equipped to ept death, from what I understood. They were throwing themselves into training for the battle with Byron, and I needed to do the same. There were issues that needed to be fixed, but I couldn''t keep sulking forever, or I''d affect the people around me, too. When I left the washroom, I looked at my family. At Honey being supported by Sunshine as he tried making a fist with his bad hand. At Angel instantly sending a vine to wrap around my ankle while he spun Mimi around the room and sent them sttering against the walls for fun. Princess, calmly carving a stone she had picked up yesterday into a life-sized Meltan that had me hoping they were growing a little closer, and Buddy quietly watching over everyone with a careful eye. The sight of it brought some much-needed calm. I let myself sink into Princess'' fur for a little bit, kissing her wing, and she grumbled that I was throwing off her focus. Yes. This was what I needed. "Who wants some food?" I grinned. ¡ª "That does indeed sound like addiction." Aliyah''s voice was quiet, though her words struck me like a hammer even though I''d known that was what it was. A vice. Even when I''d used it against Zoroark and Mathilda, when I''d been close to dying, the act of twisting someone had felt good enough to make me smile in the moment. My therapist knitted her hands together as I sipped on the tea she''d offered me, as always. Strangely, this one was lukewarm and had a taste I just couldn''t ce, with a murky green tint to it, but it still tasted good. She tilted her head to the side as she looked right at me, and her Chimecho wrapped around her neck mimicked her. "You look surprised, my dear. Is there anything you want to say?" "Well, I only did it to that extent once¡ª you know what, never mind." I shifted ufortably on my bed. "No point making excuses, I guess. It is what it is." "You''ve been doing extremely well, this past month with me," she said, voice so gentle I could fall asleep. "There have been no issues of self-harm since catching them, and you have veered off a terrible path, but this is treading dangerous territory." My hands tightened around my cup. "I know." "Your friend Justin. Do you know if he''ll agree to you working on him or not?" she asked. "There was some reluctance, so I''m not sure," I answered. "It''d be better if he did, though. He isn''t himself." "Would it not be better to let him reach his own conclusion?" she questioned, leaning forward. "After all, if he doesn''t want to, there is nothing that needs to be ''fixed''." "But¡ª" "Grace," she interrupted, "you are smiling." A hand went up to my mouth, tracing its contour, and my smile fell, as did the hunger that had been building itself up inside of me. A hunger for change and warping. Moistening my lips, I hid my mouth behind my cup and stayed quiet. "Describe your state of mind to me again." My throat tightened. "It felt like I was having fun. Like I was an artist of some kind," I slowly exined. "It was exhrating. The same kind of feeling I get when I battle and I can''t stop myself from smiling. It feels like something I was born to do." I quickly raised a hand. "But I know it''s wrong! And I really will stop after Justin, I just want to help a friend. Working on Louis gave me an idea of how to make him feel again." "I believe you would be better off not using this gift to such an extent ever again, unless you are forced to in theing week," Aliyah said. At least she was giving me a pass if I needed to use it against Team Gctic, and honestly it would be odd if she didn''t. "With Justin, it will take longer. That''s more opportunities for you to slip, given your mindset, and you could do something you don''t know how to undo." That was¡­ true enough. "What if I have someone in the room with me to keep me focused?" I asked. "You are simply opening for opportunities to fail," Aliyah said. "I will not make the decision for you, but I will express that I believe this desire to use your gift again is not a pure one, borne of a desire to help, but of a nascent addiction." This wasn''t ideal, to say the least. I owned the keys to bettering Justin''s situation¡ª if he asked¡ª but couldn''t be trusted to actually save him. Frustration bubbled up my chest and I emptied the rest of my tea, teeth grinding. "Yeah. I need to give it a think," I finally said. "At the very least, I ask you to warn me before you doe to a decision," Aliyah said. "I will need to be there. From what I understand, Justin is not speaking to anyone from the League, yes?" I nodded. He had refused a therapist as Chase had. "I will see if he can be convinced," the silver-haired woman sighed. "This is not something that should be decided in a day, or even a week, and it would help if he had someone." "He has Louis. I guess you meant a professional, though." Louis would probably be speaking his ear off about how much better he felt now, which¡­ might influence things. I could see why Aliyah had wanted to get him someone else, unbiased and objective. A quiet rm rang on Aliyah''s phone, which Chimecho mimicked with surprising uracy. "That is it for today," she said with a dip of her head. "I will be seeing you tomorrow." "Yeah. Thanks for the help." Emilia and Pauline were getting here in around an hour, now. ¡ª We hadn''t met them at the airport. Instead, they''d gotten a taxi to the city. Reunions like this were supposed to be jovial and exciting, but instead, it was full of awkwardness. If looks could kill, Emilia would be bleeding out on the floor right now. Louis, now recovered from his high, still looked tired and worn down, but he was well enough to function, and the re he shot Emilia as she stepped out of the car was unmistakable and full of poison. Denzel was, for his part, standing with his back straight as an arrow and hands behind his back like he was about to be scolded by a teacher. Justin looked ahead, his face and body utterly still and with a bored expression. It wasn''t exactly a warm wee, and I didn''t think they''d expected much of one. When Denzel couldn''t be the glue that kept the group together, I at least had to try. I walked up to the car as Emi and Pauline dropped their bags and hugged them both. That seemed to have lowered some of the tension, and the others got close, too. "How was the flight?" I asked. "Some turbulence, but other than that, it was okay," Emilia said with a slight smile. She was, I noticed, closing her eyes and resting her head on my shoulder, meaning that she was still hurt. "Happy to be here, at least," Pauline sighed. "It''s not the entire group, but being together like this makes me worry less." Greetings with Denzel were thankfully warm as well. I hadn''t exactly known how things had gone with his messages, but at the very least it looked like he''d been forgiven and they were friendly again. Knowing Emilia, there were conditions to that friendship. She had grown quite a ruthless demeanor thesest few months and I imagined she was the kind of person that would rather end a friendship than have it limp along half-dead. Justin didn''t even wave, simply greeting them from a distance. "Pauline. Emilia." Louis'' voice was strained and contained a barely-veiled anger. "Good morning. I''d like to have a conversation with you bothter about what your recklessness did to me." Pauline winced, though Emilia faced him, not even flinching away. "I''ll listen." "You''d better," he growled with a clenched fist. "Without Grace here, I would still be slowly withering away in my room, Emilia. I did not ask for any of this." "And I''m sorry," she said. "I thought we''d all be on the same page. That we''d all want to help. I guess I was wrong." Animosity like this could almost be a physical thing, even if I wasn''t truly looking. It was so thick we could all choke on it, if we weren''t careful. Denzel pped both of their shoulders. "Come on, guys, people are staring. We can discuss it in private, yeah? As a group?" "I don''t think we''ll see eye to eye on this, but sure," Pauline sighed. "We need to unpack anyway." "Oh, I''ll help with your bags¡­" Denzel started. From then on, it was the usual process. Getting them a room while we waited around in the lobby, with Denzel chatting with both in an attempt to smooth things over. Louis stewed next to me with his arms crossed, repeatedly tapping a finger against his elbow. "Can you believe it? The gall to walk up to me and act like she did nothing wrong?" he hissed. "Does she not understand the amount of hurt I''d been going through until you came along? I''m still hurting." "You have every right to be angry," I said. "I know I agreed to hear her out, but there could have been¡­ I don''t know, a way for her tomunicate better about what it was before she dropped it all on us." Justin, who was standing behind the couch, leaned forward with his hands on the backrest. "I''m inclined to agree, but she could only warn you in so many ways without revealing the problem itself. We both took the final decision, in the end." "I know. Just¡­ don''t fight, or at least try not to? Not now," I said. "I think it''s important to hear out the other side first, even if she was mean about it. I want everyone to be on the same page before next week." Louis ran a trembling hand through his hair. He had fixed himself upst night, now clean-shaven and his hair well-kept. "I''ll try." "Thanks. I''ll be training themter this afternoon when they''re settled in, but feel free to do it before or after," I said. Justin chimed in. "Would in not be better to speak after? What if they have an argument and it hurts their performance?" "It might, but there''ll be no coddling. They might be in emotional distress when things start happening, so even though I would like for you two to make up, I won''t let it not happening dy my lesson. There''s only so much time we have." "A fair assessment," Justin nodded. Once they got their two rooms, we all ate breakfast together at the cafeteria. It had been Denzel''s idea, while there was a conversation going on, Louis was somehow managing to be quieter than Justin. At the very least, he was eating. It was odd, to see him so well because of something I''d done. Gratifying. It made it easy to tell myself that I was good, after all. "So yeah, people are still making fun of Lopunny," Denzel groaned. "She got her ount banned from Chatter and¡­ uh, made an alt." Pauline snorted. "Isn''t it kind of your fault?" "My fault how?" "Well, first you had her lose to a roof¡ª" "If you said that in front of her, she''d punch you in the gut," I grinned. "Nothing new with this guy''s team." Pauline pointed a thumb at Denzel and grinned. "Feels like half of them want me dead, sometimes." Emilia rolled her eyes. "They''ve made progress." "You''re just good at antagonizing people," Justin nkly said. When Pauline stared at him, he shrugged. "What? It''s the truth." Denzel finished chewing a piece of his ham and cheese sandwich. "It''s this reputation she''s getting. Every time she jumps, she loses." "Oh, I wish I''d been recording that," Pauline grinned. "Would have gotten some of the heat off of me." "And it would have been horribly out of context." "That''s the point, Justin. Get with the program," she said. "Anyway, going back to my point, every time you have her jump, she loses!" "I''ve seen some ''lost to floor'' memes," I interjected. Denzel looked at me with what could only be described as pure betrayal. "What? It''s not my fault, I browse sometimes! And you told me to be more involved online!" Pauline snapped her fingers. "I''d bet fifty thousand Pokedors she has one of those memes bookmarked." "Come on," Emi sighed. I looked at her. "Thank you¡ª" "One hundred thousand, at least." "Traitor!" I yelled with faux-offense. "I might have saved one on my camera roll. Just one. But that''s technically not a bookmark, so you all owe me cash!" Emilia wiped her mouth, all prim and proper. "No legal contract was signed, and verbal agreements are as good as void." "You''re trying to trick her. They can be binding if you have enough proof and can show intent," Pauline said. Emilia cleared her throat, having not expected her¡­ whatever they were to throw her under the bus, and an unintentional giggle left my mouth. The conversation continued in much the same vein, joking around and unwinding from the ever-mounting pressure. Eventually, I stopped chiming in when Louis'' miserable look tipped more toward anger, and I used us having finished our food as an excuse for us to vacate the table. ¡ª There they were. Emilia and Louis, in a single room like they were two Pyroar in a cage waiting to duke it out. It was basically the case, or at least it was what Emilia believed, and it was for the greater good, too. Better talk it out now than let it fester for weeks¡ª if they even had weeks. Get it all out there, pour their souls out to one another and see if their differences could be mended. Louis looked at her with narrowed eyes, a foot quietly tapping against the carpeted floor with a constant, almost inaudible thud. She remembered meeting Louis for the first time with Pauline. It had been at some kind of fundraiser when they''d been eight years old where the top of Sinnoh''s society had gathered. The kind of phnthropic gathering that had rich people feel good about themselves when they donated a fraction of their money, in this case, for a fund that had pledged to challenge child poverty and hunger in Sinnoh. Even at ten years old, he''d had his posse of girls constantly surrounding him and had been obnoxiously loud and annoying. Still, they''d been forced by their parents to connect and he had talked their ear off until Pauline cursed at him and told him to shut the fuck up. Eight years old, and she''d already spoken like that. It wasn''t like Josephine was one to gatekeepnguage from her child. He had sworn he would ruin their lives right then and there, and Emilia had gone to sleep terrified that night. The Bianchis had been a name people spoke with utmost respect and sometimes fear, once upon a time, but nothing ended up happening, and they met intermittently throughout the years until their parents had forced them all into joining as one big group of trainers to gather the badges as a horrible PR stunt. If one had told her back then, that she''d be friends with Louis Bianchi, she would haveughed. Quietly, not to bother you. "Are you at least going to apologize?" he asked. Ah, so he''d spoken first while she''d been reminiscing. Emilia nodded. "I''m sorry for telling you about all of this so abruptly. I should have¡­ well, I don''t know what I should have done, but I shouldn''t have done it like this." She ufortably rubbed her arm. "Deep down, I still believe the idea behind what I did was right." "I was a mess, Emilia. I could barely move my feet until Grace helped me!" he yelled. "I¡ª" she hadn''t known he wouldn''t be able to handle it, was the thing. She hadn''t been able to put herself in that mind space of just copsing. Emilia had expected him to struggle like she had, but recover quickly enough to start nning. Work was the only thing keeping her sane, these days. "I thought you would be able to handle it. I''m sorry." "What was even the thought process here? Do you live to put me down?" He was far more forceful than she thought he would be, but Emilia stood her ground. "No, Louis. I just thought you''d be like me and want to help the others. Share in their burden. I should have been more tactful and realized not everyone would be like that, it was rash of me." "So you''re really doing it, then?" Louis pressed. "What are you even¡ª" He stopped, but what he''d intended to say still stung. What are you even capable of doing? Emilia bit down on a retort, telling herself that he was just hurt and bitter, and hurt people passed down that pain to others. "Call it selfishness, if you want. Call it vanity, but I won''t be sitting in a Center while the world is blowing up and I know about it. And I don''t care what Chase has to say." "And are you prepared to die for it?" "Yes." The words left her mouth before she knew it. "Yes, I''ll die to help my friends shoulder the burden if needed. I''ll be there if they need to talk to me, and I''ll train until I''m not a burden." She believed he would snap back. Say that she was only saying that, and didn''t truly believe it, or say that she was being stupid for no reason. Instead, he let out a long exhale, all of his built-up anger deting in seconds. "Fine. And Pauline is the same? You aren''t dragging her in this." Damn it, it pained her to see him care. Her heart wrenched, but she didn''t show it. A dozen contests gave coordinators enough experience keep a mask on their faces. "She wants to help. She''s more into this training thing than I am," Emilia sighed. "Just don''t drag Justin into this." "We won''t. What I did¡ª no, what I wanted to do was to give you a choice, Louis," she exined. "To give you all the facts so you could pick what to do. You''re both free to do whatever you want, and we won''t judge you for it." "Okay." His jaw unclenched, and he uncrossed his arms. "That''s everything I wanted to know. I don''t¡­ forgive you, but when everything is over¡­ I think this is fixable." She dipped her head. "Thank you." "It is what it is. Now, please leave the room, I need to get my business in order and make some calls to Floaroma." ¡ª We had traveled to the edge of route 218 for this mock ''death match''. Pauline swaggered forward with excited steps, barely containing her anticipation for the battle, while Emilia was looking around as if to analyze the terrain and what she could work with. This was a pretty ssic forested environment, as it went, so there wasn''t much of anything unique to spice things up. No creek or meandering river, no hill or depression, just a bunch of trees and tall grass, the ground as t as it could be. Plenty of cover, if they needed it, but nothing else aside from that. This would be less about training and improving their team power and technique-wise and more about strategy and how they worked together. There would also be a need to teach them how to expect when attacks were aimed at them and not just their Pokemon. I hadn''t exactlye with a n in mind, and I didn''t think I would do anything tooplicated. A simple forest worked well enough for that. When we finally got far enough and stopped, I began. "Let''s do it like this," I exined, holding a finger up. "If your barrier is shattered, you lose, because you''re basically dead. I won''t be using Honey, so I won''t have Protect, but you both should definitely pick up that TM. I already let the others know to do the same." Except for Chase, given that he was too poor to afford it and far too proud to ept it as a gift, even in the face of so much danger. Thinking about him for too long was going to give me a headache, so instead I just shook it off and smiled. "Okay, what if there''s an ident?" Emilia asked. "Like, what if one of our attacks identally shatter the barrier and hit one of us?" "Come on, Emi. Believe in our Pokemon a little," Pauline jeered with her hands on her hips. It was at times like these that the divide between coordinator and trainer was clear as day. "They know how to not mess up that badly. Even Vigoroth!" Already, her hands were hovering over her belt. She was excited to do this, I realized. To finally do something other than wonder what was going on between everyone and what secrets were being hidden. Emilia was too, but it was hitting her a little more than she''d expected. "Okay, so it''ll be a¡­ five on nine," I confirmed. Six on ten might have been too much, and I wanted this to be close and for them to actually be able to win, so Sweetheart wasn''t going to participate. There''d be no point if she could just sink them into the ground. They were going to fight waves of grunts at most, not Commanders. "Use everything you have at your disposal to shatter ydol''s barrier." I would have liked to say I would be able to use everything, but there was no way for that to be true if I didn''t want them sttered on the ground by the end of it. Pauline grinned. "Got it." We positioned ourselves at around the same distance trainers would take in a Gym Battle. It would have been nice, to be able to give the Iron Inds a whirl and train there after flying for a few hours, but Braviary wasn''t the fastest and we''d be gone for too long, so these woods would have to do. They were not as dense as Eterna Forest, and were quite easy to navigate, being at the edge of the route. There were still plenty of ways to use trees as cover for ambushing or as weapons. I wished we''d gotten permission to stand in one of the battling arenas in the city for future training sessions, but that was against the rules or whatever. Numerous Pokeballs hissed as scarlet light filled the woods, and our entire teams were released. It had been a bit, since I''d seen Emilia and Pauline''s teams in the flesh. I observed them getting their teams up to speed, and I leaned against a tree, surrounded by my Pokemon. "Gothitelle and Metang are going to stick close to them to keep them safe," I whispered. "You''re going to prioritize the ones with high mobility¡ª Ambipom, Vigoroth and Primeape, mostly. They can work extremely well in the woods while Braviary''s going to be a sitting Ducklett unless she flies up, so Princess, you''re going to target her¡­" ¡ª "Are we ready?!" Grace called out from afar, her bandaged hands cupping her mouth so her voice would carry further. Pauline eyed Emilia and licked her lips. It had been so long, since she''d fought like this¡ª since Sceon, and she''d be lying if she''d said she hadn''t looked forward to this lesson. Tangrowth, Togekiss, ydol, Turtonator and Jellicent. She didn''t know very much about the ydol other than it being specialized in defense. The psychic did not hang close to her like Gothitelle did with Pauline or Metang with Emilia, but the wind stopping around Grace was unmistakable. There was a lesser, actually visible circr barrier wide enough to give them space to battle without burning the entire forest down. "Should we go over the n one more time?" Emilia whispered. "You''re just making yourself more nervous," Pauline said. They had been nning this for days, before they even reached the city. "We''ll be fine. Gothitelle." Barriers appeared around both her and Emilia, and Pauline called out, saying that they were ready. It was difficult to ignore Tyranitar staring daggers at them from beyond the battlefield''s periphery. Her forehead was stuck against the barrier as she whined, obviously wanting to join in on the fun. Electivire, meanwhile was sitting it out as well and cheering for his team obnoxiously loudly. Grace called out again. "Three! Two! One! Go!" Vigoroth was the first to go, pushing himself forward with a hand wing at the earth, but everyone followed him soon enough. A grunt from Primeape had the normal type climb atop a tree and follow him as they swung from branch to branch. With a loud screech that had her ears ringing, Braviary took to the air and disappeared into the skies while Charizard stayed low and flew so close to the ground her tail lit a trail of fire behind her. "Now, Braixen!" Emilia yelled. The vulpine flicked her wand upward, gathering the mes into a ball that glowed white. Wind spun around it, trees catching fire until Braixen sent it wide, making sure to give ample space in order not to burn the other members of the team. Her mes weren''t as powerful as the two fire types present, but she could steal and make their fire her own. Already, Jellicent had disappeared somewhere, most likely underground like he always did, and Lycanroc had stayed with them for that very reason. The rock type carefully pawed at the ground, a shifting mound of earth as he sensed for the ghost to stop him from ever getting to them from underground. Unfortunately, he had left two shades behind that were already attacking the rest of their Pokemon. Trees around the two shades died as they sucked moisture from the bark and leaves and too many rays of water to count shot out, bending and curving around the vegetation. Braixen grunted, directing her ball of white me to evaporate the water, but there were too many! A darkened sh from Vigoroth dispelled one of the jets while Primeape swung with more and more haste, but Ambipom wasn''t as agile and fell behind as water hit her in the head. Instead of throwing her back, it coalesced into a ball until it started drowning her, but Metang shattered the water with a burst of psychic energy. Charizard beat her ming wings, dodging two of the beams by gaining in altitude, but a blunt rock that had been hiding behind a tree hit the fire type in the head. Damn Togekiss, Pauline thought as she bit down on her tongue. Even when she wasn''t here, she was causing trouble. The fairy type had joined Braviary in the skies, and Braviary''s only job was to distract her for long enough. "Hammer Arm, Vigoroth!" The normal type snarled, spittle falling from his mouth as his arm bulged to twice its normal size and he mmed it into the base of a tree. Splintered bark flew across the battlefield, but Pauline flinched, nearly falling backward when countless ming spears hit her barrier. The thin sheet of psychic force did not shatter, but heat prickled at Pauline''s skin. How the hell could Togekiss micromanage all of this shit?! When she got another look at the state of the battle, she did not regain her smirk. Beams of Dragon Pulse were flying everywhere, burning brightly as the air around the stsbusted. They weren''t aimed at anyone in particr, but they were making life difficult. Ambipom''s fur was starting to smoke, as was Primeape''s and Vigoroth''s. Thetter''s veins bulged as he used his second Bulk Up and grabbed the tree trunk he''d destroyed before throwing it at Grace with all of his strength. A thin, pink light wrapped itself around the trunk, slowing it enough for it not to shatter Grace''s barrier until Tangrowth threw it back, using ydol''s Psychic as an extra boost. Vigoroth''s ws raked against the bark''s underside, splitting it into two, and the tree slid against the forest floor and came to a stop. ydol fired back a wide of mud that soaked everything in the vicinity. Vigoroth, Primeape and Ambipom were close enough, now. "Metang!" Emilia called out. As trees burned to a crisp around them, thin rays of electricity linked themselves from Metang to Primeape, Ambipom and Vigoroth. The three Pokemon took to the air and dodged a barrage of darkened, bright and neon green vines from Tangrowth, but the Mud p still slowed and coated them. The impact was stronger than it looked, with Ambipom being kicked back a few feet and Vigoroth having to anchor his ws into one of the few remaining trees. Still, Metang let out an echoing groan and his Ma Rise carried them further. They would have slipped, had they not been floating above ground. Approaching so close to Turtonator was basically a death sentence, and they all caught on fire. But that was fine. "Braixen, now!" Emi said. They had expected the temperature to get this high. Braixen''s sphere of light disappeared, and she twirled her staff once more. Fire peeled off of the three Pokemon''s fur like paint. Charizard took to the heat like a fish to water, circling and weaving around the trees as she fired off a methrower at Tangrowth and ydol. The grass type was obviously within a barrier as well and was ying defense, with the way he used his vines to keep other Pokemon from approaching. Grace wasn''t doing much of anything, which was making Pauline nervous. ydol was hit by one of the methrowers and Pauline hoped the barrier would waver, but it didn''t even rattle. One of the Night Shades finally blew up when Braixen got her fireball close enough to it, and purple smoke billowed out of the¡ª "I think she got one of the shades blown up on purpose," Emilia said. "Huh?" It made sense, thinking about it. The smoke spread far further and was thicker than what Pauline remembered and they''d staked everything into this one attack. Braixen would not be able to keep the heat at bay for long. A ghostly aura permeated Primeape''s fist as he let rage course through his veins, and a Night sh coated Vigoroth''s ws after Pauline called out the order. Ambipom had gathered pieces of bark, mud and threw them forward after coating them in darkness with Fling. Pauline could only hold her breath as her three Pokemon plunged into the smoke. Braviary copsed back through the trees, falling into the ming forest with her plumage already burned to a crisp and wounds all over her body, and a Moonst bore down from the skies, sucking in mes, leaves, and tree bark as everything began to orbit around it. Gothitelle and Braixen kept themselves and their trainers still with psychic, but Lycanroc was nearly pulled up until Metang kept him still by putting one of his hands around the rock type. Still, he was floating and his feet were off the ground¡­ "Shit." Her words were almost breathless. The shifting earth he''d constantly been outputting below them was gone, now, and Jellicent was free to¡ª The ghost emerged from the ground a writhing mass of vapor and liquid, and Emilia nearly ran off at the terrifying sight. Tendrils of purple shadows gathered around Jellicent''s mouth, and Lycanroc quickly tried to deal with him with Stone Edge. Pirs of sharpened stone exploded out of the ground and flew toward the moon, but just passed through Jellicent like he was nothing. A split secondter, the Shadow Ball cracked the barrier. He didn''t even bother to hit Metang or Gothitelle, he just¡­ won. Pauline expected the scorching heat to burn her face, but it was only unpleasant instead. Turtonator must have been preparing to pull down the intensity already¡­ shit, had she beenmunicating with Jellicent the entire time like in her Gym battles? The spears around them who''d been wreathed in blue mes had already gone out. The moon winked out of existence and Togekissnded onto the burned field, slightly hurt by Braviary, but they were all surface cuts and wounds. A gust of wind cleared the lingering purple smoke, and Pauline noticed Vigoroth, Ambipom and Primeape all unconscious and burned to a crisp. Primeape had made it the closest, and Grace''s barrier was nearly¡ª so nearly shattered. If Pauline had to guess, their tricks had nearly worked and Rage Fist had made contact, and maybe a few Flings too, but¡­ damn it, it looked like she''d moved in the smoke to dodge most of the projectiles. In the end, they''d thrown everything they had into hitting her, and not her Pokemon, and it showed. Damn it, it had ended in such an anticlimactic fashion that her blood was still pumping as if the fight was still going on. Jellicent was working to extinguish the fires that were still going and Tangrowth was using his vines as roots to rent the trees that could still be saved. It took another two minutes for the way to be cleared, though they recalled their Pokemon far sooner than that. They tried discussing what had gone wrong, too, but they couldn''t really see it. If they''d sent Metang up to buy time from Togekiss, then the Ma Rise trick to rush Grace wouldn''t have worked. "What about sending Charizard up there?" Emilia asked as Grace limped their way. "Two against one might have been manageable." "But she was keeping the pressure off on the rest of her team and drew out attacks¡­ blegh. I don''t think there''s an easy answer. We got close, though." "Close isn''t enough," Emilia exhaled. "We needed to win." ¡ª It was embarrassing to say, but that had been far closer than I''d expected it to be. I had expected some of what they did, like using Braviary to draw Princess away. The flying type wasn''t as good with fine control as she was, but the strength of her winds was something else and she was able to keep her locked up in the skies for as long as she was still capable of fighting. Of course, there was the spearhead of Vigoroth, Ambipom and Primeape, but everything else? I hadn''t thought enough about how unique the strategies Emilia could use were and how good their teamwork was in general. Lycanroc being good enough with ground TE to actually keep Buddy away, Metang being able to make non-steel types float with Ma Rise, Braixen being a menace that nearly won them the battle. If their Pokemon had been just a little stronger, they would have breached my barrier first. Granted, I''d been going easy, but¡­ Not that Pauline was useless. She brought much-needed muscle to their duo and her Pokemon were faster, stronger and had more stamina than Emilia''s. They were what I would have considered a match made in heaven and had gone far better than I thought they would, even if they looked disappointed with themselves. There were still areas to iron out, but again, who didn''t have that? I was going to give far less advice than I thought I''d need to, and most of it would be big picture stuff. When I finally reached them, I spoke up. "You guys did great." "Still lost," Emilia bit back with bitterness sharp enough to cut. "I really thought we''d get you." "You almost did, and that''s far better than I expected." This was why I truly believed Chase was wrong. When the chips came down and things would be a matter of life and death, together, they could be a force to be reckoned with. Theypleted each other in a way few trainers could. Angel patted both of them on the head, something I could tell Pauline found condescending and Emilia odd, but it was better than Sunshine being angry at them foring so close to winning because we''d forgotten to check our egos. He''dined about not being able to let loose the entire fight, and I kept having to tell him we weren''t actually trying to kill them. Sure, we were all individually stronger, but it waszy to think I could just win because of that. It was a good thing I''de up with a strategy, even if it was admittedly simpler than theirs, or I would have lost. "You were sweating during the battle," I said. "You need to iron out your barriers to keep yourselves fully insted and not partly. You told me you could handle it, but that was clearly wrong." "Well, I thought it was fine. It was with Charizard''s heat," Pauline grumbled. "Just in case, practice it," I added. "Emi, you call out your attacks too much." "What?" she frowned. "You yell them out for no reason, even when your Pokemon is close enough to listen, and that tips all of us off. Even when you don''t say an attack, I know which Pokemon it''sing from. Imagine if I''d called out for Princess before sheunched that Moonst, for example." It must have been due to her coordinator background, where she was always making her voice as smooth and beautiful as possible. The advice was obvious enough that I felt dumb giving it, but whatever. "Trust your Pokemon. They know enough to work on their own without being micromanaged," I told her. "Pauline did well in that regard." "What did you think about the overall battle, though?" Pauline asked. I tapped my chin for a few seconds. "It was a good strategy if you think you can''t win," I said. "If the gap between you and your opponents is too big, you make them bleed and take them down with you, so you focus only on them. If they want to kill you, you kill them too." Pauline grinned, and I noted Emilia pulled out a notepad to write on. "But! In a fight like this one, if it was real, half of your Pokemon would be dead, even if you''d won. That''s heavy sacrifice." I watched them shiver at that thought. "That''s why you y it conservatively unless the gap in power is wide and in your favor. You keep your Pokemon close together and don''t send three on a suicide mission. You were still ying to win, not to survive." "Fair," Emilia agreed with a sigh. "We did put winning above that." "I wanna reiterate that you would almost have killed me though," I shrugged. "It''s all about goals, really. If everything''s truly lost, don''t hesitate. Go for the throat." ydol''s wider barrier finally went down, and I recalled most of my Pokemon save for Princess. "Wait! You took down Braviary, so we won''t be able to get back!" Emilia groaned with a facepalm. "Shit. Uh, I can just have Princess bring you two back and thene and pick me back up." Before they could protest, I continued. "Your Pokemon need to get to the Center, go. They should all be healed tomorrow or the day after and you two can practice together." "Why can''t we fight as a team?" Pauline asked. "If we get separated, we need to be ready," Emilia said before I could answer. "That. I''ll see if I can have Denzel give it a try too, even if he''ll be a baby about it. It''d be good if you fought against a variety of Pokemon and strategies. Oh, and also," I smiled, "nning for days is kind of cheating. You won''t have that much time in an actual fight, so the minute I gave you is a little more realistic." "The nning gremlin telling us not to n," Pauline rolled her eyes. "What''s this, opposite day?" "I really thought that nickname thing was over." Pauline snorted. "What, you thought I''d ever let you live it down? Hell no. Even when we''re old and gray, I''ll be calling you gremlin." She wrapped an arm around my shoulder andughed. When we''re old and gray. Wasn''t that a nice thought? It was time to focus on theing Gym Battle, now.
Chapter 300 Chapter 300
CHAPTER 300 "Wee to the Canve Gym! How may I help you today?" The girl paused, giggling. "Wait! A Gym Battle, duh! I''d be stupid not to know who you are and what you''re here for." Was it me, or did this Gym Trainer genuinely enjoy her job as a receptionist? Her cheerfulness was infectious, given the fact that an invisible force tugged my lips upward. Most of her hair was hidden below a cap, though I could tell that it was long, and it made me remember I needed a haircut again soon. "Right¡­ yeah. I''d like to schedule a fight against Byron, please." "Coming right up!" she yelled, typing away at herputer. "ID, please!" I slid her my card and leaned against the counter for support. I''d tried going out without a crutch today and I was definitely feeling the exhaustion creeping up. There was no way I was walking back on my own without Angel picking me up on his head. I was close to being capable of this, though, andpared to how my leg felt back in Pastoria, this was night and day. I nced back toward the Gym, letting the receptionist do her work. There were multiple TV screens disying Byron''s schedule with the names and pictures of the trainers he''d be fighting. Reception was at the heart of the room, and the girl worked at a sleek, steel desk, d in her gym insignia and uniform¡ª plenty of grays and a Pokeball on her shirt and cap. The fun thing about Byron''s Gym was that even the inside looked ufortable. The seats weren''t cushioned and were so sharp they looked like a safety hazard. The inside of the structure had been built to epass difort and the jagged edges of the Iron Inds. From what I knew, Byron had the entire ce renovated when he took power as a tribute to where he''de from. Speakers yed sounds of drilling and pickaxes striking ore, making everyone feel like they were in a mine. I was starting to think there was somethingcking about Sinnoh''s Gyms. Not the process of the fight itself¡ª that was what I was here for, after all. The thrill of battle. Just how uniform all of them were. I couldn''t really fault the Gym Leaders, given that Sinnoh enforced a standard to how their Gyms were built save for a few differing features on the stadium''s exterior. I figured it''d be nice to have more personality attached to it. Like entire Gyms being a Leader''sir, or a way they had to express themselves, but the fact that this would mean the League would have to fund extravagant projects every time a Gym Leader was reced meant that it wasn''t something Sinnoh was interested in. Plus, Johto was our closest neighbor, and there was an importance rooted in tradition. While these buildings had been continuously kept up to date, they''d been standing for hundreds of years in the same spot. It just would have been nice if Byron''s Gym had been more unique, is all. Maybe with more edges and metallic spikes, a winding path that had you thinking you were in a cave, maybe. In truth, I knew very little about the Gym Leader''s personality itself, other than the few tidbits Candice had let slip about him being like a crazy uncle unless the situation demanded some seriousness. Not to the extent of Crasher Wake, but still, it sounded like he was going to give me a fun battle. The Gym wasn''t as full as it would have been earlier in the year, but it wasn''t empty either. I could still hear the muffled, electrifying cheers going on in the stands that seemed to have the entire stadium shaking. A few trainers pumping themselves and their Pokemon up for theiring battle¡ª closest to me, a girl and her Dustox and a¡­ well, I couldn''t tell what gender they were, but someone and their Coalossal, who was impressing me by not spraying scorching hot coal anywhere. It was easy to get swept into the atmosphere and forget, for a moment, that next week, the shoe was going to drop. I grinned, tapping a finger against the counter as anticipation coursed through my veins like a drug. "Oh¡­ there''s a condition on your profile," the Gym Trainer said. My heart dropped. "Huh?" "Thest day you can battle is tomorrow¡ª wow this is odd. I''ve never seen this before! Did you piss Byron off or something?" She slid me my trainer ID back. "Arceus, this sucks, I''m gonna need to reschedule someone, if that''s the case. Can you hold while I confirm this stuff with Leader Byron?" "...sure?" Excitement turned into a nervous knot at the bottom of my stomach. Tomorrow already? Was this a psychological y by Byron to catch me off-guard? I couldn''t help but think that was a little unfair, given the fact that he was forcing me to fight him tomorrow when I''d nned on getting another two days to iron things out with my team. No, no. I was ready. An extra few days would have been nice, but I had no choice¡ª wait, this didn''t make any sense! If I said no, was he just going to lock me out of the eighth Gym fight forever? I had to wait at the counter for a while, no doubt waiting for Byron to finish his current battle and take his ten-minute break. Once that was done, she grabbed a desk phone and dialed a number. "Hey, can you go and give the phone to Leader Byron real quick before he starts another fight?" She paused. "Yes, this is important, Arceus! Hurry up, I''m holding up the line!" cing a hand over the phone, she looked at me apologetically. "Sorry about this, we should get an answer soon." "No problem." Another thirty seconds, and I heard the faintest sound of a gruff, almost grating voice on the other end of the line, though I couldn''t make out any words. The receptionist exined the situation as quickly as she could, and then nodded along to the answer before hanging up. "Yep, it''s confirmed. Tomorrow or you''ll have to wait two weeks to challenge him. I''m sorry about this, but them''s the breaks. So?" "So what?" "So are you signing up or not?" she pressed. "Oh. Oh, uh¡­ yeah. Yeah, I am," I exhaled. Arceus, he''d put so much pressure on me with just abruptly constricting my schedule. I shifted ufortably from side to side as the receptionist wrote me up for a slot at 1:30 in the afternoon, so basically right after lunch. Ignoring the grumblingints from people talking about how the line was finally moving again, I limped out of the Gym with deep breaths to calm myself down. My arm had been twisted, but nothing had changed. I was fine. But I''d need to talk to the team about this. I made my way to the Center on Angel''s head, since it was closer than anynding pad to take off on, and used the opportunity to pick up a crutch. Louis was busy with business affairs and trying to procure a loan, and the girls were hanging out with Denzel and Justin, making up for lost time. The n had been to join them after this for a few hours before going off to train, but that couldn''t be the case anymore. Today was going to be full of cramming instead. Instead of releasing Angel again, Princess materialized with the usual scarlet light and hiss and pop from her Pokeball. I stroked her head lightly. "Hiya. Wanna take us to that beach again?" I asked. "I signed up for the Gym and need to talk to everyone." Togekiss nodded, though the look on her face betrayed her, with how she clearly wanted to know more right away. I hopped on her back and we were off, the wind whipping my hair and clothes around. Before picking up this entire flight thing, I wondered how people like Cynthia ever flew without a saddle, but honestly, I could say now that I could see myself doing it, even if I was never going to and it''d be horrible for my posture. There was something liberating about it just being you and your Pokemon without any leather in between you. It took around thirty minutes to get to the beach, the world blurring below us. So long as Princess elerated slowly so the forces didn''t kill me, we could go at truly ludicrous speeds, these days. Without me on her back? Well, as much as it pained to admit, she was no Talonme, but she was still incredibly quick. I''d seen glimpses of her fighting against Pauline''s Braviary, and recalling that still filled my heart with pride when thinking back on how many weeks it had taken for her to get used to flying. There was a soft thud as Princessnded on the pebbled beach, where I let loose the rest of my team. Given how warm it was today, the beach was a lot more active than the other day and we''d needed to go far to be alone, but at least Mimi could join in too. They weren''t really going to be a part of the discussion, given how utterly disinterested in Gym Battles and fighting in general they tended to be, but I wanted to make the little steel type feel included, so I tapped on my wrist twice and allowed them to morph into their true form in my palm. When this Team Gctic stuff was all over, I was going to ask the League about no longer having to hide them. When this was over¡­ Mira had talked to me, about how she worried no longer being so useful to the League they''d tighten our leash, but I didn''t believe that would be the case. We''d keep our powers until we died, and Sinnoh would never pass up on living weapons they could use in case another terrorist group showed up or some kind of war happened. Maybe she was right, but I doubted things would change that much. Most Pokemon eyed me with confusion, with Sunshine even grumbling about why we were back on this annoying beach. I had to call out to Sweetheart so she didn''t waddle in the water, and instead, she plopped herself down the ground with a tremor as her tail swayed from side to side and shredded the rocks behind her. She was still a little angry I hadn''t let her fight Pauline and Emilia yesterday, and honestly I sympathized. She''d only let loose once against Zoroark. Twice, if you counted right after her evolution, but even then, her use of her powers had been clumsy at best. The rest of them silently gathered in a circle. Honey was desperate to get his hand working, and improving slowly but surely, continuously pumping it into a fist and trying to move his wrist around. Angel slithered a vine underground, curious to see how deep he could go. Princess juggled with a couple of pebbles, using a minor amount of psychic force to send them flying upward, and although Buddy was floating there, all stoic, he was subtly training to make the waves constantly battering the beach stop, without much sess. ydol, meanwhile, was silent, as they would be unless someone spoke to them first. "Needed an isted spot to talk, and you know how I am about retracing steps," I exined. "There''s symbolism about it that I like." I caught Turtonator rolling his eyes, though he said nothing. "I finished signing up for the Gym, but there''s a problem¡ª well, it''s not exactly a problem, more like Byron threw a wrench in our ns. The battle is tomorrow in the early afternoon." Reactions could be divided into two camps. Sweetheart, Sunshine and Princess were so giddy they could barely sit still anymore. The rocks Togekiss had been juggling fell to the ground, and she flew in Sunshine''s arms until the dragon realized what he''d been doing and dropped her. Tyranitar roared until I had to cover my ears, and I was pretty sure I''d need to call the Rangers to let them know there was no wild Pokemon rampaging on the beach, with how far her voice traveled. Buddy just nodded, just content to do his duty as always, while Angel was mostly happy to see the others excited to battle. "Here''s the thing, the date was forced on me by Byron, for some reason. I think he''s trying to get into my head, but I don''t know¡­ feels weird to have it like this." Sunshine shrugged, saying that tomorrow orter made no difference, with how hard they''d trained. It pained him to admit, but even the ''brat'', which was one of the names he used for Princess, had never been readier than now. Honey chimed in, saying that dying might make everyone more nervous with all the tension building up, or at least that''s how he''d feel if he could fight. "On one hand, you might be right, but you know¡­ it throws me off," I breathed. "I''ll be fine, though. Doesn''t matter in the grand scheme of things. You guys are right, we''re ready." I felt steadier now, like I''d managed to hold on to a rock before the current would sweep me. They were my rock, at the heart of it. Angel patted me on the head, signing that even he''d gotten over his nerves, being the nned ace of the fight and all. Jellicent suggested that the stringent schedule might have been to give my team the time they needed to actually heal before the Red Chain waspleted, and my mouth gaped. "That makes so much more sense! Plus, it can double up as a pressure tactic!" I eximed. "And those two weeks will be enough time for Gctic to be dealt with. Or should be, at least." So he was killing two birds with one stone, which was fair enough. I''d believed the six days I''d nned would be enough to get my team time to heal, but I supposed he wanted to be on the safer ends of things. "ydol, what do you think?" I asked, turning toward the ground type. "You feeling ready? That was great barrier work and Mud pping against Pauline and Emilia yesterday. Anything else you feel like doing somest-minute improvements on? We''re going to spend today with some light training so you can all be well-rested for tomorrow." Something whirred inside their head, wet like y in a way that reminded me of Lehmhart. "If you feel inclined that I am ready¡ª" ydol paused, their eyes spinning as if they were recalibrating. "I am confident I shall not fall short of your expectations, my King. The Princess and others have provided me with excellent training." I grinned. "Great!" Togekiss puffed up her feathers, calling the others ''mere afterthoughts'', and ydol proceeded to apologize to everyone present, and would have kept going, had Buddy not stopped him by the time he''d uttered Enforcer, Custodian, and Jester. They were funny, with their little nicknames for each of the Pokemon, and most of them enjoyed the little ir it gave the team, like we were a real, living court. I had to admit, I might have gotten a little too into it and leaned into the roley sometimes. Of course, Buddy hated having been designated as ''Assassin'', but we all thought it fit him rather well. "Well, since we''re already here, I''m gonna bring you guys to an area you can practice in while I finish up watching the videos I was looking at and I can send texts to the others." Tomorrow. Tomorrow, everything woulde to a head. ¡ª It was quiet. I''d found that to be the case, when it was just me and ydol around and I''d run out of things to say, but learning to befortable in the silence between us had been a part of bonding with them. We didn''t banter like I did with Sunshine, or talk about ns for the future like with Buddy, ore up with new games for the kids like Angel. I could go on and on, but I had asked them a lot about their past life, and answers were growing dry in a way that had me think they disliked talking about it much. Speaking about stories, they didn''t mind, but their actual life? That was clearly an unpleasant topic for them, even if they feltpelled to answer me, so I hadn''t pushed further after that. We were back in Canve now, and they walked with me back to the Pokemon Center. I could havended at the entrance or had Angel carry me, but I wanted to spend time alone with ydol. The psychic slowed slightly when we passed by a shop showcasing mannequins through a transparent window, and three of ydol''s eyes snapped toward the one woman wearing a hat. The other eyes were, as always, continuously scanning the surroundings, but they''d gotten used enough to cities not to freak out, by now. I walked up to the window and eyed the sleek mannequin. It was a creamy cloche hat, neat and form-fitting, and even though I''d never been big on those, I could appreciate that it looked good, especially with the rest of the outfit. "Interested?" I probed. I possess a substantial structure for a head. Consequently, this hat would not amodate me, yet I can acknowledge its aesthetic appeal. The intery of form and function orchestrates a visual symphony that transcends mere headwear. "Come on, it''d fit you like a glove! You know, I have a sun hat back home," I said. "I could have you try it on, and if you like it, I''ll buy you that hat." ydol''s six eyes blinked. Have I, through any discernible actions, warranted the imposition of such circumstances? Might it not be more judicious to utilize my performance in this ''Gym Battle'' as a source of inspiration and motivation for future endeavors, my King? "Good performance or not, I know you''ll try your best, and you''re getting that hat if you want it," I grinned, hands behind my back. "Hell, I''ll even buy it now. I''m imagining you with a monocle and a bowtie, though that''d go better with a top hat." The psychic paused. Could I potentially leverage my sizable cranial structure to don and showcase multiple hats simultaneously? I snorted. "Yes! That''s what I''m talking about! Arceus, you know what, I''m getting you that hat!" It ended up being more pricey than I thought, but I was getting paid by Poketch soon anyway. The store attendant gave me a strange look when I asked about a hat for ydol, but they got used to the idea pretty quick and soon, she was showing us hat after hat, no doubt trying to sell me more. There was unfortunately only so much space in my backpack, despite it being sorge, and I only got them three. In Sinnoh, I had my dad''s ce and Emilia and Pauline who held onto stuff for me, but I''d really need somewhere to keep my stuff in Unova if I wanted to have more than a backpack''s worth of clothes with me. There was no doubt Cece was going to be weed into one of rence''s properties¡ª not that she would ept such an arrangement anyway. If she got that sponsor she was angling for, we could always rent somece. She was no longer as rich as she''d been and had basically run out of money with the TMs she''d bought for her battle against Crasher Wake. Back outside, now. While ydol''s head had a perfect spot for a hat, they could keep them bnced on their head around the protuberance at its center, and that''s what they did, since they seemed to favor symmetry. The hats, admittedly, did not fit with each other at all. Other than the beige one we''d bought, I''d gotten a dark top hat and one of those Kalosian caps. Contemting the future, what if I were to use one hat per eye? ydol asked. "That''s the spirit!" I cheered. "See, I knew you''d be into it!" They could not smile, but their eyes did turn into upside-down ''U''s. Thank you. I extend my appreciation for the enjoyable time we shared today, my King. "Gah! I''ll figure out how to hug you one day, just you wait!" I said, squinting at ydol. "You won''t keep weaving out of the way for long." A King should not hug her servants. "But getting them nice gifts is okay? And you aren''t my servant!" Query: on asion, a monarch might indeed engage in such actions. Sighing, my hands went t against my sides. "At least we made some progress. Keep thinking about that name, will you?" As you wish. Quiet soon came again, but it was easier to bear than it had been. I recalled ydol when we arrived back at the Pokemon Center and noticed Denzel waiting for me in the lobby, typing away at his phone. He too, hadn''t expected my Gym Battle toe so soon, and while I had a lot of exining to do, he let me go soon after so I could go and study the entire afternoon. ¡ª Almost every day, at around ten in the evening, Cece and I called to check up on one another. Though all of my friends knew about Team Gctic and the circumstances we were involved in now, she was still the one I confided in the most. She knew about my recent dream, for example, and had theorized that it was Mesprit trying to passively push me in a direction they wanted me to go in. She was the first I''d told about fixing Louis and the wonderful feeling it had given me, since I''d called her right after for support, and had warned me not to touch Justin until she could be there. Tonight, though, the topic was a lot more cheerful than usual. "Ha¡­ I can''t believe you got one day, too," I said. "I guess Buddy was right." "What''d he say?" "That it was to give the Joys enough time to heal our teams. Six days should have been enough, don''t you think? It never took longer than that except when Honey got his spine broken." "Better safe than sorry, I suppose. Just in case the chain ispleted a day or two early. As you said, Mesprit isn''t the most reliable," she said, and I could almost imagine her eyes narrowing. "We''ll have our battle at the same time, then." That was the other part of it. Not only were we fighting the same day, we''d been given the exact same timeslot. Maybe Byron and Wake had talked about it. "I''d say we could have apetition about who finishes first, but I don''t want to put any extra pressure on you," I teased. "Oh, don''t use me as an excuse," sheughed. "You know I''d win first anyway." "I''d know if you told me what you nned," I whined. "Guess I''ll just have to catch the video afterwards, though. Are you sure you''re ready?" "I''ve never been more assured of myself in a battle," Cece said, her grin audible. "It''s weird that you can do that. Just be sure of such a momentous battle." Iy down in my bed and looked at the grainy ceiling. "I mean, I''m confident, but not to that extent. I never am." "You''re cautious. That pays off in most fights," she said. "Right now, I just need to blow off some steam. Blow things up to unwind." "And that assures you''re this confident how?" "Oh, Grace," sheughed. Music to my ears, but I wished she was here. "Think of it as yourst moment to let loose in a legal, official capacity." Morbid. It was morbid, but she''dughed about it, and for some reason, framing it that way worked some. Why worry about anything else but letting loose, when this was possibly thest Gym Battle I''d be in? Sometimes part of me wondered how the hell she''d gotten so strong at picturing and imagining her own death, or if this was a subtle call for help. "Thanks. That actually helps." I''d deal with it all after I had my fun. ¡ª "Now remember, even if you know he''s doing something fucky, you''ve got to actually wrack your brain to figure out what it is, or you''ll be caught off-guard anyway," Denzel warned. "That''s how it happened with me and the slope." "I know, I watched that battle at least fifty times," I said, rolling my neck and shoulders. "I know there''ll be something to screw me, and I suspect I already know what it is. Parts of me thinks that if I figured it out, there''ll be something else, but I have no choice but to just hope I can sniff it out while it''s happening." The Gym felt quiet, even though it was the opposite of that. This match had been as anticipated as Denzel''s and it showed. Compared to yesterday, this ce was packed, with even the lobby being full to the brim. A sea of people, all trying to get themselves a spectating seat. Luckily, my friends hade early and I trusted Pauline to keep Denzel''s seat with my life. We''d been in the stands for nearly two hours, even staying during Byron''s lunch break, and Louis had bought us all sandwiches to eat so we wouldn''t have to leave when we got hungry. I eyed Denzel''s fist, clenching and unclenching. "You''re making me nervous." "Am I? Shit, sorry," he blurted out. "Uh, so we went over everything, right? Any ideas you want to bounce off of me before you have to go?" "I think I''m good." "It''s a good thing you''re calm. I was shitting myself when it was time, personally." I wasn''t calm. I was constantly wiping sweat off my palms on my jogging pants and had to stop myself from reflexively reciting the moves of Byron''s Pokemon, and I could barely stand straight. I''d considered wearing something fancy like a dress, but figured if I was going to win this, I needed to befortable, so I was basically wearing loungewear. Thick, grey cotton pants, a white long-sleeved t-shirt that I slept with sometimes, and with my hairpletely loose. I wasn''t exactly screaming ''professional''. The ruckus from the crowd blended with the background sounds of mining as I chewed on my thumb nail. It was a good thing this ce was so crammed with people, or I''d be doing nothing but pacing. There was a trill of calm as Mimi rattled against my wrist, and I silently thanked them by caressing their frame with a finger as my lips stretched into a smile. We''d give it everything we had, wouldn''t we? And we''d win, too. We were the definition of prepared, and I''d learned to recover from unexpected events in battle. I wasn''t that little girl who had fought against Cecilia and Chase in Hearthome. I was more, and the world would bear witness. Winning all of the Gyms in your first try was a im few trainers could ever make, and I wanted to be a part of that group. "Looks like you should get going," Denzel said, raising his tone so I could hear him through the cheers. "Good luck out there, Grace. You''ve got this." How was it, that anxiety could be such a physical shackle that I felt it literally melt off of me? He offered me his wrist, and I sped it. "I''ll see you on the other side. Cheer for me. And try to see if you can contact Chase! I''m sure he''s hiding in the stands somewhere." We might have fought thest time we''d spoken, but I doubted he''d miss this. Denzel hurried back to his seat, and my legs carried me toward the waiting room like I was in a dream-like state. Sitting on a familiar bench, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. Almost a year ago, I''d been here in Oreburgh, a nervous wreck. A little girl, so utterly gripped by anxiety she felt like she''d pop like a balloon, telling herself that she had this despite believing otherwise. My finger circled around the release button of one of my Pokeballs as I patiently waited for the current match to finish. My mind continuously imagined the possibilities of what Byron could release against my lead Pokemon, but it was just busywork, at this point. Thinking for the sake of thought. Gasps from the spectators, loud enough to make me think the challenger had lost, but they quickly turned to cheers. Must have been a close match that hade down to both their final Pokemon. Byron would be taking his break, now, and then it was my turn. I pulled back my sleeves to make sure my Poketch Watch was visible as trepidation built up and up until it was ready to burst. Having to wait like this was akin to being stuck in a cage. I wanted nothing more but for the battle to start already. To be fighting Byron, de shing against shield, and see who woulde out on top. A young looking teen entered the waiting room, all smiles until he saw me. I must have been making a face, because his grin fell and he quickly scuttled away. Not good. I massaged my cheeks and let my expression fall to a neutral one, determined to keep it there so I couldn''t be read like a book like Denzel had been. Two minutester, a Gym Trainer did the same. I was almost in a daze, when answering their questions about bright, shing lights or sensitivity to noise. I wanted out. My arms shook, nearly ready to push the trainer out of the way and run to the battlefield myself. Get me out of the cage. So long, since I''d felt like this, that I''d almost forgotten that I craved it so much I could die. Part of me wondered if Aliyah would call this an addiction, too. "You''re all set! And remember to have fun, okay? You seem a little stiff!" No answer came from me. Instead, I grabbed my first Pokeball and sped it tight. The light shining through therge frame leading to the battlefield was blinding, but I began stepping through it anyway. It feltrger than life, beckoned me like what I''d heard about Arceus'' Garden, at the end of it all, and I found theparison pleasing enough to shiver as I crossed the threshold. "Alright, Grace," I murmured to myself, tone steady and harsh and mimicking the very same words I had said against Roark. "You''ve got this." And I truly believed it, this time.
Side Story 7 – Conquest Side Story 7 ¨C Conquest
TRIGGER WARNINGS - Imperialism, talks of war and war crimes, victims of war SIDE STORY - CONQUEST "Why did father have to die, mother? Why?" "Remember, Akagi," her mother softly said. "War is a way of life. People die for what we believe in. In hopes of seeing Ransei unified." mes crackled within the firece, spreading warmth and light throughout the living room. Akagi''s bare feet felt warm on the stony floor. She''d always liked how the fire made the stone like that, given how cold her house got during wintertime. There were no sounds of bombings or explosions in the distance tonight, so it would have been a good evening spent with her mother, had she not received terrible news of her father''s passing this afternoon. Akagi''s fingers intertwined with her mother''s, who smiled. "Aren''t you sad?" she asked. "This is something a wife must expect," Mother answered, softly caressing her hair. "When a man has married and his wife given birth, he is drafted into the fighting, so it is only a matter of time. How many old men do you see out and about in Aurora, Akagi?" "Two¡­" "Exactly. A good wife must expect her husband to die for the dreams of the Ranseian people," she beamed. "You too, one day, will be in my position. It is important for you to learn these lessons." Her mother''s hands, usually sofortable and warm turned cold and rigid in a split second, though Akagi did not react. She hated talking about adult life, given all of the terrible stories she would hear from her friends. Her mother made it sound beautiful and worth it, but her friends'' parents did not, and she wanted to make full use of the three years she had left as a child. "Do not be unhappy, sweetie," mother smoothly said. "When we push back these monsters from Ignis and Fontaine, we will rise again." "Mother¡­ we were allied to Fontaine a year ago, weren''t we?" Her parent stared into the fire, saying nothing for a long while. She grabbed onto a cup, sipping on water heated from the mes. Akagi loved tea leaves, but they were expensive and she could only get those in batches when the merchants came back from Shinwa. They made it sound like such an amazing ce. And of peace and cooperation, where humans never fought each other. Akagi was only thirteen years old, but she knew about the expeditionary forces the outsiders sent to back whoever they favored at the moment. The kingdoms supported by them would rise above the rest for a few months or years, and then support would suddenly vanish, and they would copse all over again and no progress would be done. While the world had been killing itself forty years ago, forcing the Three Elements into action, Ransei had known that kind of war, had been born in it, molded by it. For centuries¡ª or perhaps millennia, Ransei had been at war with itself, and while tribes had risen and fallen, only a few hade close to uniting the continent with one goal. For the creator to show Himself. It was said in the scriptures, that the people of Ransei were the oldest and the continent itself was as well. "Alliances shift, Akagi," her mother finally answered. "That is the nature of politics." She would talk about politics, when Akagi managed to break past the happy housewife persona that her mother put on. She was far smarter than she seemed, and yet¡­ her mother was just there. Drifting across life. "Tell me the truth." Her mother''s dark brown eyes closed for a few seconds. "The other women say that Sinnoh''s Champion started backing Ignis and that they thought they could stab us in the back in exchange for rights to mine their coal and¡­ some kind of gas." Akagi did not freeze, for subterfuge and betrayal was a way of life, here, but she wondered. If Shinwa was and of peace¡ª if the entire world outside of Ransei was and of peace, then why? Why did they feel the need toe in and ruin things? She was just a girl, but if no outsiders intervened, then would one of the kingdoms finally unite theirnds in cooperation? Would peace finallye to Ransei? Would their creator finally appear before them and lead them to His garden? Akagi''s eyes burned as bright as the mes, and she clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into the flesh of her palm. It was the fire of ambition, that burned inside of her, and she used the death of her father and the knowledge that other nations used Ransei as a whorehouse as kindling. Father had not needed to die, because Sinnoh had killed him. The world had killed him, smothered him before he could truly live. He had been at war since the age of sixteen, lived for thirteen years on the front lines with only a few months spent at home. "Mother," Akagi said, her voice trembling with rage. "Why is the world unfair?" She sighed. "Do not think unnecessary thoughts, or you will not be let into His garden and your soul will be lost." "I hate you. You hate yourself, too, but you act like everything is fine. Like this is normal." A breath caught in her mother''s throat, but the smile returned soon after. "I suppose I do. Hate myself." "I know." Akagi ran away from home during the night. ¡ª Akagi Yoshike, thirteen years old, had left Aurora in the winter with nothing but a satchel on her back with as much food she managed to scrounge up. The air was bitterly cold, slicing through heryers of clothing like a thousand icy des. Her entire body shivered as one, the wind carrying a chill that seeped into her very bones and her face numb. The snot leaking from her nose was frozen on her upper lip, and she could see her breath in front of her face. Akagi followed a lonely path in the wilderness leading out of Aurora with a destination in mind. She had not learned geography or even how to read, but everyone knew that in reference to their kingdom of Aurora, Ignisy to the north, a nation of harshnd not fit for agriculture that had turned them to raiding Aurora''s granaries after every harvesting season, save for when an alliance had been established and they traded instead. To the southy Fontaine, a smaller coastal kingdom full of rivers and streams, and a lot less cold thanks to hugging the warm ocean breeze. Since Aurora was in a state of war with both, Akagi''s only optiony to the west. The Kingdom of Greenleaf, surrounded by lush ins for miles and the biggest producer of food in the region, or at least ording to her mother. They were currently at peace with Aurora, so it was her best bet to get through the frontier without meeting a military contingent that would kill her or capture her on sight. She had heard horror stories of what they did to girls they managed to get their hands on, and Akagi would rather slit her own throat than live through that. Her feet scrunched on the snow, and exposed patches protested against the frigid, agonizing cold. Akagi pulled her scarf tighter, attempting to shield her face from the relentless howling of the frozen winds. Every twig, every leaf, even the path waspletely nketed in pristine, unmarred snow, and the only reason Akagi knew where to walk was because it was slightly more elevated than the rest of the terrain and she knew that the sun rose in the east and set in the west, so she was walking away from it, cursing the enormous star for not giving her any warmth. For hours, the road stretched ahead, seemingly endless in its monotony. Was she outside of Aurora yet? Her vige was at the edge of the Kingdom, so maybe. She couldn''t feel her legs or hands. Was that normal? Why was she so tired? Why was she on the ground? The snow coated the side of her face, and Akagi crawled forward, hoping to get herself toward one of the trees to sit upright, but her body felt so numb. She gripped the snow and dragged, but her grip wasn''t strong enough to get herself moving. She cackled, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. Was this it, then? Should she have stayed home, been handed off to a man and be made to bear as many children as she could to sustain Aurora''s poption? Akagi spat on the ground, and it froze in front of her eyes. Half delirious, she started to whisper. "O Arceus, creator of realms and harbinger of bnce, Bless us with your guiding light, as vast as the cosmos. Grant us strength to face the challenges that lie ahead, And wisdom to navigate the paths of our journey. In your divine presence, may harmony reign, As we tread upon thendscapes of our destinies. As Poke¡ªPokemon trainers and seekers of truth, May your cosmic grace be our e¡ªeternalpanion. A¡ªArceus, source of all existence, We offer¡­ our gratitude and reverence, For the wonders of¡­ creation and the bonds we f¡ªforge, In your name, we find purpose and¡­ unity, And one day, we¡ª" she stopped to cough. "¡ªwe will unite thesends under your radiance." "That''s a pretty prayer, little tyke," said a gruff voice slightly masked by the wind. "What''re you doing all the way out there? Decided to go off and die?" Akagi didn''t freeze, for her body was alreadypletely still, and she struggled to open her eyes again. They were nearly frozen shut, and no longer how hard she told her body to move, nothing happened. It was over. She was going to get captured. She could hear the steps and the muffled voices of the others in the distance. They were going to have their way with her and keep her as a ve. "Lieutenant! Don''t get too close, she might have a bomb under her clothes!" a voice said. Male, but lighter than whoever this lieutenant was. Akagi finally managed to open her eyes, nearly gasping when she saw the size of the man who had approached her. She could only see with one of her unburied eyes, but he towered over all around him at around seven feet, at least, and he had the build of someone who had tilled fields his entire life. It was nighttime now, so it was difficult to see in the moonlight, but his hair was blonde and spiky. Unkept. He carried a sharp scent that tingled her nose and kept her awake. Slightly sweet, but burning. A Raichu and some kind of blue and yellow Canine stood by his side, a Pokemon Akagi had never seen before. "Grab her and take her back to camp," the Lieutenant said. "Not the first runaway runt we''vee across." "Not the first that''d have a dirty bomb on ''em either," the man said. "But orders are orders. You heard the Lieutenant, boys and girls!" Akagi was not sure how, but energy coursed through her veins, and suddenly, she could move again. Her heart was beating so loudly she could feel the pulse in her ears, and she started to sweat. She could not move very much, but her hand sluggishly reached inside her satchel. The people around her jumped out of the way, diving away from her as she grabbed her knife and shoved it toward her throat¡ª The Lieutenant''s burly hands grabbed her wrist, and she knew he could have snapped them if he applied enough strength. "None of that," he grunted. "We won''t do anything you''re thinking of to ya, so no need to be all fucking dramatic about it." He grabbed her and put her over his shoulder. "Den! Get your fucking Houndoom to work, you useless sack of shit! I''m freezing my fucking balls off." Akagi felt warmth spread through her skin, but she had no time to enjoy the sensation, given the fact that she passed out secondster. ¡ª She woke up inside of a bedrger than she''d ever been in, and the warmth here felt so good she almost opted to go to sleep before remembering she''d been kidnapped. Akagi''s entire body ached, was covered in blisters and was slightly swollen and paler than she was used to. Just the covers and clothes brushing up against her body was painful. Frostbite. She''d never seen one this severe, though, and it made her want to die. The same Raichu Akagi had seen early was lying on the floor, curled up next to some sort of machine that continuously hummed and emanated with heat and contained some kind of chimney that rose through the tent''s ceiling. The entrance p of the olive-colored tent was zipped up, keeping all of the warmth inside. Akagi froze, hoping not to wake up the electric type and gather her thoughts. There was no sound of any bombing or fighting outside, so she knew she was in a peaceful area, at least. From the subtle hints of light and how hungry she was, the thirteen-year-old could tell it was morning again. The tent had a desk and a few chairs, and was more spacious than any tent ought to be, but it didn''t look like there was anything she could make use of, save for some papers at the desk that she couldn''t read. And either way, it wasn''t like they would have left anything of import here. What did Akagi know? The ent of the people who took her¡­ was foreign. They were foreigners, but from where? Shinwa? Arceus almighty, if she was in a foreigner camp, she was screwed. If these were Sinnohans, then that meant they''d taken her back to Ignis or somewhere nearby, and if they learned she was an Auroran, they''d enve or execute her. She needed to run. Every movement spread agony throughout her body, and she left the bed inch by inch in order not to wake up Raichu. She was barefoot, but there were shoes in the tent, way torge for her, but it would work. Akagi had one leg out of the covers when that same Lieutenant bent over to enter the tent with another average-sized man at his size. Den, he had called him. They both wore thick, green clothing with strange patterns on them and he had a medal around his neck made of silver, or maybe a que. When he saw she''d been trying to run, he simply grinned, waking up Raichu, and another smaller electric type climbed onto his shoulder from behind his thick neck. This one, she recognized as Pachirisu. Akagi would have called it cute, in different circumstances. "Already up, hm? Told you she was fierce," the Lieutenant boasted, dragging a chair for him to sit. It looked like it would almost copse under his weight. "You feeling better, runt?" "Who¡ª who are you?" she forced out. "None of your business," he smiled sharply, something both his Pokemon mirrored. "You cooperate now, and we might y niceter. Den." Den was an average man through and through, though Akagi usually never saw ones his age. Brown eyes and hair that was cut short, a thin face and a bit of a beard that looked to be growing. He stayed standing, tapping on some kind of wooden board he carried with a pen in his other hand. "Tell us what we need to know, and we''ll let you go back home." "I don''t want to go back home," she instantly said. "I ran away." The Lieutenant snorted. "She got you there." "Then we''ll just let you go with actual winter clothing and supplies." Akagi frowned. "You would¡­ do that?" "Can''t kill civvies we capture, kid," the blond Lieutenant said. "Much less children. Gotta respect the rules of engagement and all of that." Her frown deepened. "We get bombed at least once per week!" she yelled. To be honest, she knew she shouldn''t be fighting this hard. There was distrust, yes, but these Sinnohans had caused her father''s death, and all for resources! "Don''t pretend to have rules. We keep dying because of the weapons you give. Weapons that go against the bond between a Pokemon and its trainer!" "Who cares about the bond?" Surge said, causing her to gasp. There was nothing more important than that bond, in thesends, save for the creator Himself. "You people don''t use Pokeballs, and most of you use one or two Pokemon at most that take you way too long to train and die or get crippled before they can do anything of note anyway. Missiles and artillery are faster." He paused, scruffing his Pachirisu''s neck. "But I can tell you we''re not the ones bombing you. We just relocated here three days ago from the other side of the continent." Den chimed in. "Maybe if you tell us where you''re from, we can help you figure out who was hurting your people." "I already know who it was. The Sinnohans!" she yelled. "Auroran, then," Surge nodded as Den scribbled on his paper. With a tiny gasp, Akagi covered her mouth with her hands. "Just give it up, kid. We''ll figure it out eventually." "...Akagi Yoshike, thirteen years old from Millstone," she sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Millstone. It''s a small border town 40 miles to the southeast of here¡­" Den hummed, flipping through the papers on the table. Akagi caught a glimpse of a map. "44.7854¡ã N, 116.8503¡ã W." The Lieutenant nodded. "Figures. Seen anyone on the road?" "Just me." "Looks like their n to push in actually was a dud," he gruffed, scratching his chin. "Fucking Sinnohan pricks." Wait¡ª you''re not Sinnohan?" Akagi gasped. "Kantoan, born and bred," he grinned. "The name''s Surge. Just Surge. We figured we''d nurse you back to health and then let you go. Not the first time we''ve done it. If you tried to run and somehow made it out of camp, you would have copsed ten minutes into your escape. Wouldn''t have bothered me, personally, but I think it''s a waste of talent." "Talent?" "You''re determined. Walked¡­ twenty-eight miles in the snow until we picked you up, and tried to end your own life rather than get taken by the enemy. I can admire guts like those," Surge grinned. "You''ve got more balls than Den and the majority of the people under mymand," heughed, pping his underling on the back. Den only whimpered, though he didn''t try to escape. "Tell me, runt. What do you want in life?" Akagi clenched a fist, bearing through the pain. "I want to bring peace to Ransei." Pachirisuughed at the idea, though Surge raised a hand. "Interesting. And how would you do that?" he asked. "I would¡­ can I say whatever I want?" Both Surge and Den nodded. "I would forge alliances to kick out outside powers¡­ and then we would fight it out between ourselves and unify, and Arceus would intervene and wee us all into a life of eternal bliss and peace." Surge leaned forward. "That''s a very nice dream," he said in a clearly sarcastic tone. "Maybe we''ll all join in, link hands and sing and dance in the flowery fields too, eh?" he snorted. "What you want, Akagi, is impossible." "Why is it¡ª" "I wasn''t alive for it, but more than forty years ago, we spent years killing each other until Gods had toe and make us stop," he interrupted. "But war''s built into the human condition, you see, we can''t fucking stop. It''s encoded into each and every one of us, to want to take something we don''t have, even if we don''t fucking have a need for it, so the world looked and saw your shithole of a continent. Divided into petty kingdoms, more than half the people still living under some feudalistic system and without running water or electricity, but so, so many resources. Oil, gas, coal, mega stones, minerals, excellent soil¡ª this ce is a treasure trove, and you''re using none of it." Raichu squeaked by his side, crossing its arms. "Right? It''s a waste, and it lets us vent some steam. Kill each other in a contained way without awakening the Gods that could end us in an afternoon," he continued with a sigh. "But let''s say that what you said happens. Let''s say that we all pack up and leave." "We get peace," Akagi said. "You keep fighting, and maybe, after a few decades, some petty Kinges close to uniting this ce, but then the remaining Kingdoms band together, his generals stab him in the back, and his country copses." "No, it was the foreigners who¡ª" Surge waved a hand. "Oh yeah, sure, we''ve sped up the process since we came to these shores, but you have history. We''ve only been here for forty years, but this state of affairs has existed for far longer than that¡ª longer than your recorded history. Tell me, little tyke, have you ever wondered if your people think that uniting the country would bring forth Arceus and you''d get to prance around naked in some fictional garden, that they would just not fight? After all, everyone could be saved if you just stayed at peace. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say Ransei has to be united through conquest." "The glory!" she snapped. "Being the one to unify the continent would put you in His good graces!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Exactly! It''s all a game! All ego! A thinly veiled excuse to justify this generational ughter. You remind me of Johtohans, you know? The way you spin religion to justify whatever the hell you want at the time." Akagi bit her lip. "So what? Do you think you''re any better? All of you foreigners, you''re all cut from the same cloth!" Surgeughed. "Oh, no. I''m a bastard. We''re all bastards who''re exploiting your home for profit, but hey, at least we don''t pretend. Funny thing is, the Unovans say it''s to bring freedom and democracy, as do the Grians, though they''re more focused on the free market side of things. Kalosians are ideological fanatics who want all monarchies to disappear. Sinnohans, they say that they need to keep control of the waterways in the Ranseian Channel because those pricks from Fontaine keep mining the sea and raiding their ships, but let''s be honest, they just want in on the feast. Us at Indigo? We tell you how it is. That''s what''s right. That''s honesty." The girl huffed. "Doesn''t make me like you anymore." "I don''t expect you to like me. I expect you to hate my guts. Funny thing is, we''re here to ally with Aurora to counterbnce Sinnoh''s alliance with Ignis." Akagi blinked. "That''s what I''m talking about. That look. You hate me, but I''m doing what you want." He outstretched his long arms and grinned. "I like you, runt. Let me train you and make you worth something. I''ll teach you how to fight, how to read and write, and at the end of it all, I''ll give you a ''mon and maybe you''ll have what it takes to shine bright in this pile of shit you call home." He offered his hand. She took it, thinking that she would kill him by the end of it. ¡ª Six months had passed since Surge had taken Akagi under his wing. The war was a distant thing, now. There were close calls in the middle of the night where Ranseians from Ignis had tried to breach their camp, which they had moved closer to Aurora, but the Indigoans always pushed them back with so few casualties it was almost a joke. The things they could do with their Pokemon, the tactics employed, it was all so new to her, even today. She was fourteen, now, and had spent most of her time sticking by Surge during strategy meetings or when he drilled his troops, or inside his tent like she currently was doing. Taking a geography test. Ransei currently had seventeen kingdoms, though that number fluctuated throughout the decades. On the tabley a nk map of Ransei with empty boxes above where kingdoms were supposed to be. There were no borders, given the fact that they changed every day, but the general location was always the same. Manectric and Raichu were watching her, making sure that she didn''t cheat, and Pachirisu was sitting on the table, sniggering at Akagi for her failure to identify the northeastern kingdoms of Ransei. "I''d like to see you try, you stupid runt," she growled under her breath. "How the hell am I supposed to tell which one Valora is? Or Illusio? There isn''t even topography to help!" Learning about the countries themselves was easier. Each Kingdom specialized in a single type, though they did not only use that type. Ignis, for example, was full of fire type users. The ruling family had used them for as long as they remembered, and ording to Surge, it was a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, though Akagi couldn''t help but think there was something more to it. Aurora, her own country, had been specialized in normal types. Pachirisu fell on her back, giggling like an idiot as her legs and arms moved wildly, and Raichu shrugged, probably saying that he wouldn''t know? Akagi had learned to know all of Surge''s Pokemon, but she had bonded specifically with those three. She was confident in having at least twelve of the seventeen down, but the rest, she was stumped on, and she ended up filling them randomly when she only had two minutes left for her test. "Finished yet? Patches, did she cheat?" Pachirisu nodded, and Akagi strangled her until she jolted her arms and escaped to climb on Surge''s shoulder. "I guess not," the tall Lieutenant grinned. "Let''s see what you''re made of, runt." She handed him the paper, and after a nce, he shrugged. "12 out of 17. Mediocre, but at least you know the ones closest to us." "I started learning these a week ago." "A week should be enough to memorize seventeen things, Akagi," he said. "Whatever. I''ll ace it next time." "Good attitude to have, just make sure it actually happens, or you''re running an extra tenps around camp." "Any news? From the war?" "We caught some Sinnohans scouts and brought ''em back to camp," he said. "We''re going to question them for their ns to see if they''re anticipating our offensive or not." "Question how?" "Pull a few fingernails," he said. It was at times like these, that Akagi remembered who it was, she was facing. An awful man who had caused the death of her people, children included. Who ordered them to be tortured for information, and who was exploiting Aurora for its resources. She''d gotten smarter thest few months, learned about the world, and this small unit was only a small part of the actual operation. Indigo hadunched. They still had expeditionary forces all over the continent, and this was only one of them, albeit the most powerful, given the fact that they were led by Surge. "No need to look at me like I just pulled your fingernails," heughed. "I thought torture of prisoners of war was illegal under the Sootopolis ords established after the Great War," she said, her voice shaking. "Have you been doing this the entire time?" "Smart girl. At least you can memorize your history," Surge said. "You see, the funny thing withws is that there are loopholes. Sinnoh and Kanto-Johto are not at war. In fact, Indigo is not at war with anyone. The people we''re capturing aren''t prisoners of war, they''re enemybatants." "That''s the same thing!" "One is illegal, one isn''t. No need tounch into an entire ethical debate, I know what I''m doing is wrong, I just don''t care." "Is there anything you care about?" she asked. "Or are you just some empty fucking shell?" Surge didn''t answer. Instead, he sat down on another chair and sighed. "I''m being recalled in three months, runt." She frowned. "Recalled?" "Champion Lance has personally asked for me to take over the Vermillion Gym to deal with the Rocket presence building up in the city. He thinks my experience in war will help get the country on war footing to take the fight to them." He had told her about Team Rocket before, some kind of mafia who was growing more and more prominent in Indigo. Akagi thought they deserved all of it. It was a taste of their own medicine. "You could call it an early retirement," he sighed. "All my life, I''ve fought in this damn ce, and just like that, I''m leaving. That''s something, isn''t it?" "What? Are you gonna cry? Ask for me toe with you?" she mocked. "No. You could not waterboard begging out of me, runt. I don''t ask for things," he said. "And I know you wouldn''te anyway. Bummer, really. You could have a good life in Vermillion, but it is what it is." "I don''t want anything to do with you. You''re just someone I''m using to bring my people peace." "I know, I know, stop talking my ear off. Anyway, the goal is to finish off the Sinnohans before I leave, so you''ll be of use, runt." "Do you mean¡ª" "I''m giving you your first ''mon." ¡ª "Weak." Magnemite levitated from the small crater in the ground that had formed after Raichu had pped it down with his tail, and it was covered in dents and scratches. Raichu hadn''t even used a move, just his body, and he hadn''t gotten hit by any attacks even once. He could move faster than the eye could even see, but the worse was that he didn''t. He slowed himself down, weakened himself so Magnemite and Akagi would be able to learn something out of this. "You fight like a dumbass," Surge said. "Look around yourself, runt." Akagi did so, ignoring Magnemite''s protesting beeps. It hated when Surge talked shit, as did she, but it wasn''t like they could do anything about it anyway. What she was were just trees. He had taken her to the middle of a clearing. "What? It''s just fucking trees, you asshole!" "Then use those as cover. Don''t just tell Magnemite to stand there and use Thundershock or Sonic Boom. Also, you''re just standing there, wide open. Until you get yourself a psychic or a Protect user, that''s not a luxury you can afford. You''d be dead before you know it. Use the terrain." "Raichu could have just killed me anyway!" She yelled, pointing at the electric type, who responded with augh. "Don''t make fun of me, you prick!" "Oh, look at me, I''m Akagi," Surge mocked. "The opponent is too strong, so I''ll just roll over and die! That''s you, runt! You won''tst a week without me, thinking like that. Somed''s Pokemon from Ignis is gonna crush your organs with Quick Attack!" "I thought we were just training¡ª" Raichu fired off a blinding beam of electricity that burned the side of the arm even when she knew it hadn''t touched her, because if it had she would be dead. She flinched, tumbling back into the grass and instinctively crawled back. "This is training," Surge said. "Now get back up. Don''t let your Magnemite show you up." She cursed under her breath, but by Arceus'' grace, she stood. ¡ª Surge was leaving in a week, but Akagi couldn''t even bother thinking about what she''d do. The teenager walked through a vige that was eerily silent, broken by the asional cry or scream and Surge and Den chatting about the ce they had recently bombarded to smithereens with a long-range barrage of Pokemon moves and missiles. The remnants of what were once vibrant neighborhoods nowy in ruins. Crumbled facades and rubble-strewn streets, blown up stores, schools and hospitals. The air carried a pungent mix of dust, despair and blood, a suffocating blend that mirrored the collective grief of a city torn apart. Amidst the destruction, haunting reminders of lives disrupted and dreams shattered emerged. Abandoned toys, torn clothes, and fragments of personal belongingsy strewn across the wreckage, leaving her with a feeling of emptiness. Something here wascking. That was only second to the casualties. The corpse of an old woman, the bottom half of her body jutting out from below a massive copsed structure that must have been her home. Children crying for their parents, clinging to non-responsive limbs. People with hollow stares who had just lost everything, just standing in the street without moving, sometimes wounded. People who would re at her. This was Ignis'' thirdrgest city. Akagi had grown up thinking of these people as enemies, but they were just like her. Victims. Victims of the same self-perpetuating cycle engineered by outsiders. What am I doing here? she asked herself. The fact that she''d been ever been attached to Surge made her want to gag. The tall Lieutenant wasn''t even looking at her, and she feared the next time she actually saw his face, she would convince herself that this was just a one-time event. Why was it so easy to grow to like this man? This monster in the shape of a man. How could one walk through this ce and feel nothing? Not care? "Wasn''t this¡ª" she retched, doubling over and puking on the side of the road. "What, your first mission and you''re already puking? You haven''t even had to wade through guts yet!" Surge cackled. Akagi wiped her mouth, though the taste of vomit lingered. "Surge, this is¡ª why did we do this? Just to sniff out a few Sinnohans holding out in the city? So many people died." "We warned ''em beforehand," Surge said. "It''s a shame, but those who didn''t evacuate only have themselves to me." Den nodded. "And we finally expelled the final remnants of Sinnoh''s expeditionary force. Those who didn''t Teleport out are all captured or deceased." Ah. She was talking to monsters, not humans. Akagi Yoshike finally understood that she''d been strung along this entire time. Manipted. She needed to escape, but how could she? Surge had the majority of his Pokemon out, save for Magnezone being used for long-rangemunication and Manectric and Electabuzz having been wounded in a battle two weeks ago and still at base camp getting healed by the military nurses. Meanwhile, she wasn''t allowed to use her Pokemon. Not outside of training or unless Surge gave her the okay. She''d caught or been given a few more by Surge that they were training up. Could she release them and strike? No, the noise from the Pokeballs would alert them. She was behind both of them and their Pokemon, at the moment, but she could still strike. Akagi still had that de she''d tried killing herself with months ago when he had first stumbled upon her. Swallowing, she slowly shifted her hand down to her pocket, every casualty she came across giving her an extra oomph. She would have to repent, to ever get these people to forgive her. She had not lobbed the attacks herself, but Akagi had participated and sometimes cheered, when she had not witnessed the true horrors of war. Her vige in Aurora had never been bombed like this. She moved like lightning, plunging the de in Den''s neck. The man slumped to the ground, clutching at the hole. It continuously spurted blood, and Den bled on the floor as he choked on his own blood. Surge barked out orders to his team before Akagi could strike, so instead she ran, escaping as fast as she could. She could get lost in these streets, blend in as a civilian if she dirtied herself enough. She needed to run. To escape from Surge''s clutches before she couldn''t forgive herself for what she had done. "HAHAHAHA! YOU DID WELL TO STRIKE, RUNT!" Somehow, Surge''s voice echoed through the streets, though when Akagi looked back, she was not being followed. "I THOUGHT YOU''D ATTACK WHEN I WAS LEAVING, BUT A WEEK BEFORE? HOW SMART OF YOU." She wanted to retort, to tell him to go fuck himself, to die in a ditch, but instead, she stayed silent. "RUN AWAY, LITTLE TYKE. LET''S SEE HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE!" And he would not be there to witness her rise. Akagi would escape and start an insurgency in theing years, fighting against Indigo''s puppet regime of Aurora. Eight yearster, she would take control of the Kingdom and start her own war of conquest across the continent, taking over sixty-three percent of thendmass in another six years with foreign support from Sinnoh. They called her Warlord. Ransei''s fastest and best conqueror in centuries. Everything had been going ording to n until a coalition formed to oppose her of the remaining Kingdoms. Her enemies were supporters by Unova and Kalos in small numbers, but the ones doing the heavy lifting? It was Kanto-Johto. ¡ª She was twenty-nine, now. Thirty in a month. Akagi had never liked her castle. It was everything she hated in a ruler, the fact that she lived such a luxurious lifepared to her people. The stone walls hung in tatters, a faint glow emanating from them as they slowly heated up due to the mes. Grand paintings of her and her conquests would smoulder and burn, as would the golden reams of the frames. The pirs holding up the room would soon copse in on themselves, but the smoke would get her first. So the fact that it was currently burning down and copsing around her did not bother her much. Akagizily slumped on her throne, ignoring the fact that if she stayed here for long, she would be trapped by the mes. Her protector Pokemon Chansey had fainted, taken down by some Indigoan scouts before she could react. Heliolisk, Bibarel, Luxray were also all down, and only Maon and Jolteon remained at her side, ready to die with her. She expected enemy forces toe and finish her off any minute now, but instead, it was her nemesis, who showed up, his entire team by his side, save for Magnezone who she guessed was yingms ry again like it used to. He bore an extra scar, this time nearly missing his eye, going over his forehead and temple. This one was fresh. His hair was still as golden as ever, and he looked like he hadn''t aged a day, even if she knew he was in histe thirties now. Maybe early forties. Her eyes narrowed at the number of Pokemon. Manectric, Raichu, Pachirisu, Electivire¡ª that one was new. Electabuzz had evolved, it seemed. Voltorb, Plusle and Minun. "How?" she instantly roared through the mes. She was not asking why Surge was there. Akagi had known about his presence for months, and had tortured information about him out of his soldiers. He was taking a break from Gym Leader duties and being deployed for eight months. This was his seventh. Surge was a man of war, and now that peace hade back to Kanto-Johto, he could not stay still for long. "Well, look at you, runt," Surge grinned, his teeth perfectly white. "Our long-awaited reunion, and this is how you wee me back?" "Don''t y fucking dumb," she drawled. "How is your team back on their feet? I sent people after you¡ª my best people, and the survivors said you''d only have Patches and Raichu left. That the rest would take months to recover, if they didn''t die from their wounds." He snorted. "Oh, that. Nasty pieces of work, your men. You trained them just the way I trained you, and they caught me off-guard¡ª" "Answer the fucking question. You owe me that, at least." If she could stall for time, if she could condemn him to burn to death with her, then it would all have been worth it. Surge leaned against one of the pirs, his Pachirisu, Plusle and Minun swarming his shoulder and head. "Fancy new tech we got from the Rockets," he exined. "They made some Pokemon called Ditto when they tried to create a God, and it turns out that it''s really useful for healing. We can''t keep it to ourselves and leaks have already happened, so we''re currently selling it to the highest bidder, which is why you lost the war against the coalition. They''re already at each other''s throats to get ess to it and thinking about how to stab each other after the war''s done, can you believe it?" "You did that." "We did," he nodded, crossing his arms. "Now are we going to do this the hard way, or the easy way, runt?" "What, are you expecting me to surrender so you can capture me?" "I''m asking you how you want to die," he said. "I tried to ask the League if we could keep you prisoner and spare your life, but you''re too important to be left alive. Bummer," he shrugged. "Tell me, Surge," Akagi inhaled. "Is there anything you care about?" He smiled. "Still not going to answer that one, little tyke." "Kill him," she hissed. The smell of ozone filled her nostrils, and Maon and Jolteon fired off two Thunders in Surge''s direction. Deep in her heart, she''d known it wouldn''t work. Raichu grunted, and the electricity bent toward him. He absorbed all of it in his tail, though he was heaving by the end of it. "Packs a punch," Surge said. "You would have been a decent fight, with your entire team. Get her Pokemon." Minun and Plusle disappeared¡ª no, they blurred¡ª no, they¡ª Jolteon managed to dodge, electricity crackling through her fur as she weaved right, but Maon crumpled to the floor before Akagi even realized what was happening. Minun''s body had been overtaken by mes, and she had rammed in its center. Its eyes blinked, and it prepared to fight back, but Akagi raised a hand. "Stand down." "d you''re taking the easy way out," Surge said. "Recall ''em." She did before they could protest, absorbing them both in their Pokeballs. It was not that she was giving up, of course. Surge was prone to bouts of overconfidence, and she had a n. Akagi rose from her throne, staring Surge down while he and his team climbed the staircase. As soon as he got within reach, she pulled out a de from her sleeve and tried ramming it into Surge''s throat. The Kantoan was huge, but he was quick, and he ducked, punching her in the gut while Raichu whipped her leg with his electrified tail. The world went white for an instant as she convulsed, hit her head on her throne and crumpled to the floor like a piece of paper. "Nice try," Surge said. His voice was distant, so distant, yet he was right here, looming over her. Pieces of the ceiling started to copse near the entrance. "It''s a shame it had toe to this, Akagi." "You¡ª you¡ª you used me," she forced out. "Wanted me to¡ª be strong." "I suppose I did, in a way. Figured that in a decade, you could own a decent chunk of the continent and be an ally of Indigo. That we could collect the resources in your country in exchange for weapons and aid. Unfortunately you refused any diplomacy and you conquered Ransei a little too quickly." "Fuck¡­ you. You¡ª make thisnd hell." "I do." It was so enraging, the way he acknowledged it. The way he didn''t even try to justify himself for all the crimes he hadmitted, the deaths he had wrought, lives he and his country had ruined. "You walked it too," he softly said. "You killed, piged, tortured and conquered. Allied with Sinnoh to get a leg up." "Not¡ª the same. Don''tpare us." "Sure thing, runt," he said, leaning over her. "What do you think would have happened, had we let you take over the entire continent? You were already putting down rebellions before we got fully involved." "You can''t just¡ª" she coughed as pain coursed through her broken leg. "You can''t just say that things would be the sa¡ª same as justification." "It''s what I truly think. Doesn''t make me any better of a person, though. I''m a bastard." "I hate¡ª you." Surge winced. "I know you do¡ª" Second knife. That had been the n. This one had been hidden in her boot, and she nearly managed to stab Surge in the neck. He''d been kneeling next to her, so he was in range, and she nearly killed him. Instead, he dodged out of the way and the de prated his upper arm. Akagi internally swore, expecting death to take her, but instead, Surge told his team to stand down. "Thought you''d try to kill yourself likest time instead," he hissed, clenching at his arm. "Hell of a gambit you threw here." "Fuck you." "Raichu." The electric type''s tail shone bright white with Iron Tail, ready to take her head. "Anyst words?" Surge asked between heavy breaths. With some luck, his use of the arm would be permanently crippled. She spat a glob of bloody saliva in his eye. "Shinwa¡ª was never¡ªnd of peace. You are¡ª monsters. May Arceus choke you to de¡ªdeath with His thousand hands, Lieutenant Surge. May your tar soul be lost forever and may you never see His¡ª Garden." The man she hated closed his eyes, turning away from her. "Do¡ª do it, runt," she choked at Raichu. "Finish me¡ª" Akagi Yoshike perished alone in her throne room. Her Kingdom copsed, and within weeks, the coalition needed to take her down were at each other''s throats. Ransei was and of war, of subjugation. A victim of imperialism. And it would not change, at least not yet.
Chapter 301 – I’m Sharp Enough Chapter 301 ¨C I¡¯m Sharp Enough
CHAPTER 301 - I''M SHARP ENOUGH Who was Byron Fisker? An Iron Inder, a corporate stooge who had betrayed his homnd in favor of special interest groups on maind Sinnoh? Perhaps he was a man who had tried his best despite it all and had, through massive opposition, tried to implement incremental improvements to the inds? Somewhere in-between, maybe. There were cheers as I climbed up the stairs to my tforms, though clearly less than Denzel had gotten at the start of his own battle, and I let the noise roll off my back, focusing on theing fight and Pokeball warm against my bandaged palm. Gym Leaders usually came second to the battlefield, taking full advantage of their breaks, but Byron was already there, waiting. Sitting on his metallic tform cross-legged, shovel in hand. It was an implement I could admire, with how sharp and well-maintained he''d kept it throughout the years. They said he''d owned the tool since he''d started working in the mines as a teenager, and while it didn''t look new, it looked cared for. He wore thick, beige cargo pants with bright yellow bands around his ankles, no doubt used to be spotted in the darkened mines, along with a sleeveless shirt and a ragged cape draped over his shoulders. It did well to hide the weight of years of duty. Tired eyes, and a man too exhausted to keep up appearances any longer, with how he dressed and wild his burgundy hair was. Chase no doubt would have said the way he dressed was just PR to look like a man of the people. There were shallow scars all over his exposed arms. Yet he still bore the smile of a boy excited to battle, sharp and dangerous. The expression of a hunter. Who was Byron Fisker, I asked myself again. Did any of his baggage matter to me, at this point in time? No. Not today. That was not my fight. He was simply a trainer who needed to be beaten. A man who hade upon a Shieldon fossil deep in the mines of the Iron Ind and vowed right then and there that he would be a trainer. People still wondered, how he''d gotten the money to resurrect that Shieldon, but it was something he kept close to his chest. The arena itself was what I''d expected of it. Rugged metal with hills and potholesrge enough for Pokemon to fall into littered the entire surface with little licks of rust here and there. Pointed spikes taller than Sweetheart''s eight feet, sprouting from the ground and pointing in every direction. There was so much of it that every breath I took, the taste of metal permeated in my mouth and throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the Gym Trainers had added a Mr. Mime to the usual Kadabra, and the barrier pulsed with what I recognized as mour. I''d watched enough Conference battles to know that instead of Kadabra, Mr. Mime were the staple to shield the audience from what went on during the battle, especially when one of the trainers had a powerful dark type on hand. I had just been acknowledged. Byron stood up with a grunt, though I could tell he''d waited longer than needed to do so, and he pointed at me with his shovel, which gleamed under the Gym''s harsh lighting. "Wee, Challenger." The words were electrifying, invigorating. I instinctively leaned forward, desperate for him to go through his speech so we could start battling already. His voice was gravely, broken down to its roughest properties from days spent in the mines. "Grace Pastel. For getting all the way up to your eighth, I congratte you," he drawled, some of his ent slipping through. "This will be a six-on-six battle with two switches allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit." My eyes widened, and my throat tightened as I grinned so much my cheeks hurt. Two, not three. It was obvious, what he was targeting. My weakness. As my brain scrambled to adjust my ns, the Gym Leader continued. "Let''s see if you''re sharp enough yet to cut through me," he finished, cing his shovel atop his shoulder. What was it, with steel type specialists and sharpness? Not that I minded, in fact, I fucking loved it. I''d show him I was sharp enough to cut through him. With a radiant smile, I passed a finger over the release button of Sunshine''s Pokeball. His eyes were filled with glee when he looked back at me, and he roared out a methrower into the sky to show off to the crowd. The mes were pure white close to his snout, bing bluer the further away they got from him. Byron studied the dragon type, his facepletely still. There were a multitude of reasons I was leading with Sunshine, but he was mainly one thing. Bait. Turtonator was, in this battle, a bit of an enigma. Him altering the terrain in any way would not help us reach our end game, and molten metal was not able to be influenced by Princess'' Ancient Power and wouldn''t work well to alter the ground to help with Angel other than ttening it some, but he would certainly make Byron think I was nning on working with a molten floor to hurt his steel types. There were, as it stood, only a few Pokemon he could counter Sunshine with. Bronzong, which would reveal his personal Pokemon early. The psychic was a master of Rain Dance, manipting water, and had the ability Heatproof. Second was Empoleon who despite it not being her specialty, would be able to use water to cancel us out or at least slow us down, and would synergize excellently with Bronzong. Lastly was Steelix¡ª either his personal one, or his eighth badge one¡ª and whose thick steel ting would be able to resist the heat from the molten metal. By leading with Turtonator, I narrowed his options enough to know what to expect. It was something every trainer would have to consider, when fighting Sunshine. How did one fight heat itself, hotter than a thousand degrees Celsius? He was a problem, no matter how you pegged it, and a huge one at that. At the twentieth second, Byron sent out his Pokemon. The red light grew, grew, and grew until it revealed the Steelix I''d been expecting. The way to differentiate the two was that Byron''s Steelix was smaller than average, and the metal coating his body was tinted darker than usual. This one was a very light grey, almost white, and he wasrge enough for me not to have any doubts. Steelix rose with a grace almost sinuous, each segment moving with a hypnotic spin. Metal screeched against metal as the ground type coiled around himself, almost deafening. Dim, red eyes stared down at Sunshine, Steelix exposing his ttened teeth built to dig through stone and earth. The referee counted down. And shed her hand downward. Here was the thing about battling Steelix. Like Gyarados, it did not matter how slow they were, when they were sorge they could be across the arena in seconds. They were titans of the underworld and used their sheer mass to either scare away any Pokemon or m through every opponent they had before they could realize what had happened. Sunshine looked like a puny bug next to Steelix, almost pitiful. Byron had no doubt expected me to switch out sooner rather thanter into something like Jellicent. He was wrong. mes burst through the cracks in Turtonator''s scales as the ground began to shake when Steelix threw himself forward, cracks spreading through the entire arena like it was made of paper and not solid metal. A ball of light, acting as a second sun, appeared high in the sky and the mes roiling out of Sunshine went from blue to bright white as the metal below him turned molten. Fire turned to a me Charge, and Sunshine retreated to his shell, striking his back with an Iron Tail to drift left. He was straining to move with the constant Bulldoze, but what was a dragon''s life without struggle? Steelix turned to follow as he grunted from the heat, but Sunshine instantly cut in and switched directions again. "Corner him and Dragon Breath!" Byron called out. Steel rose in Sunshine''s path, and he mmed into the glowering wall, denting it, but it was not hot enough for him to break through it just yet. With Steelix''s massive size, massive attacks followed. The steel type''s jaw unlocked, and golden and blue lights swirled in his mouth, gathering into a massive ball of energy that keened to the world louder and louder. "Fire Pir." The still-melting ground below Steelix bubbled, and then burst with the deafening roar of white mes wide enough to engulf half of the ground type''s body. The fire exploded upon contact with Steelix''s head, and I''d been hoping to knock it out of the way to make the Dragon Breath veer off-course, but Steelix was a force of nature, a walking natural disaster unto itself. When Steelix moved, the world moved with them. The ground shook and Pokemon fled in fear of what would happen to them. Cracks spread through his outer shell, but the Dragon Breath struck true and enveloped all of Sunshine, kicking up molten metal that further hurt the Steelix and creating a wide dent in the ground. I''d expected to panic. For my mind to race and to have my hand racing toward my Pokeball, but the thing about my bond with Sunshine was that it ran deep. Ours was a partnership forged in revenge and blood, so calm seeped into my veins and I smiled when a stream of howling mes battered Steelix enough for the steel type to screech and Sunshine finally broke through his prison of metal, the steel having melted enough to be soft thanks to the extra oomph from Fire Pir. The ground continued to shake, energy seeping through the cracks, but the tremors got less powerful the further away Sunshine got from Steelix, and we were faster, now. Hidden away in his shell for defense, the dragon zoomed across the arena while Steelix reeled from the hit. A few times, I had to warn him about a fissure or crack toorge for him to just roll over, and an explosion carried him into a short hop to dodge. Our strategy here had been two-fold. One, keep the ground next to Sunshine molten so Byron''s counter would not be able to manipte the steel into a solid to hurt him, and two, keep his distance from Steelix and oust him. "You''re far enough now!" I yelled. "Focus st! Aim for the segments!" Sunshine snapped out of his shell, golden energy gathering right in front of his snout. The entire arena was molten now, save for the corners he hadn''t gotten to. Glowering red, continuously shifting and most importantly, burning. "Follow and Rock st," Byron said. Steelix pushed himself forward with a frustrated scream, shards of rock exploding like shrapnel all over his face. They broke against Sunshine''s scales, denting and peeling them off as the ground type approached. Most of them just plunged into the molten metal around him, but one hit him in the face as the Bulldoze grew in strength and sent the superheated iron high up in the sky. The Focus st wavered, and for a moment, I thought it would explode before weunched it, but instead, Sunshine concentrated it into a single dot, so infinitely small I could barely see the glow amidst the fighting. It was so hot inside the arena that I could barely see Sunshine. It was like looking at a mirage. Then, heunched it. I saw it cut across one of Steelix''s segments a fraction of a second before I actually heard the sound. A deep, resonating hum of energy that broke against the steel type. Months ago, deep inside Mount Cor, I had realized that that was an Onix''s weakness, and the same was true for their evolved forms. It was not so much that it was a gap in their armor, but it was where they felt the most pain. I kept my face neutral, containing the savage grin wanting to etch itself upon it as Steelix writhed against the superheated, liquid steel. His huge size worked in his favor here, with the way his tail mmed against Sunshine''s stron and sent him skidding back until he hit the barrier with a tired grunt. Tired. That was what he was. Exhausted, already. Beaten by a constant Bulldoze and sharpened Rock sts asrge as his torso. His scales were bent and¡ª Arm bent the wrong way. Broken from the tail hit from Steelix. He drew upon heavy breaths, each exhale spreading fire and heat throughout the arena, powered by the sun, globs of superheated metal constantly flying from the shaking earth. "Iron Tail the ground and Metal Edge," Byron said. "If he tries to get on you, just Heavy m." Sunshine and I shared another look, and even though I could not see him very well, understanding struck immediately. When he had been half dead, deep in the bellows of Mount W, Sunshine had limped along for days in an attempt to hunt and recover. He''d been half-dead in Mount Cor for days after Kamaile''s death and harassed by passing trainers and roving bands of Rangers. Battered, but not broken. Never broken, for that was antithetical to all dragons. Steelix''s tail blurred, mming down on the molten metal and splitting it apart in a cone and revealing the solid ground below. The shockwave forced Sunshine a few feet back, but that was only second to the countless shards of metal bursting out of Steelix''s body. He''s shedding weight, I realized. Something Byron had trained Steelix to do to gain in speed and maneuverability¡ª shit, no time to think! "Go in!" I screamed. Some might think it foolish, to ignore what the Gym Leader you were facing had said when they had an explicit counter to what you''d just ordered. An explosion rocked Sunshine''s side of the field, plumes of smoking sulfur, molten metal and fire rattling the barrier close to Byron. Lightened by too many me Charges to count, Turtonator took flight, and for a moment it was like time was standing still. The trail of fire he left behind was like unfurling wings, and he soared through the skies as Steelix angled his Metal Edges upward. Sunshine retreated into his shell, his armor, and he got hit once, twice, thrice, each time propelling himself with another explosion so as not to lose his momentum. Byron cackled, barely audible through the raging fires as he epted the challenge. "Dragon Breath, wide!" Again, it began as a tiny little light, a mixture of blue at its edges and yellow at its center. Steelix bit down on the draconic energy, and when he opened his mouth again, the st formed into a cone Turtonator was incapable of dodging, more draconic wind than anything else. The Dragon Breath slowed Turtonator enough for him to barely make it onto Steelix''s side with mes growing and growing until he was a ball of fiery death. We didn''t get the Heat Crash we''d wanted, but he anchored himself by plunging an Iron Tail into the shallower and softer metal. That was the thing about steel types. Their armor softened with heat as well. Still, jagged edges rose from Steelix''s armor as if he could shapeshift and kept hitting at Sunshine from every direction. Smaller now, but huge still, Steelix instantly roared in agony, and without hesitation started to fall to intentionally crush Sunshine under all of his weight. Ordinarily, I wouldn''t have expected a Gym Leader to employ such a brutal tactic, but I''d known as soon as he had ordered Heavy m that was what he''d been nning. It was hot enough now. The attack would be quick to charge. "Fire st!" Now faster to move, Steelix fell down, angling himself to fall right on top of Sunshine, steel creaking and molten metal clinging to his skin as he did so. Sunshine inhaled and drew upon the fiery depths within. His scaled and rugged exterior glowed with an intense heat¡ª And Steelix hit the ground. The barrier shook as one, and the impact made my hair blow backward as the force reverberated throughout the arena. The heated metal recoiled in response to the colossal force. Waves of liquid steel surged outward in a chaotic dance, momentarily disrupted by the seismic shockwave of Steelix''s descent, and my heart nearly jumped out of my throat as the arena went eerily silent. What was it, that was so special about Sunshine? He was a Pokemon raised by death and struggle. For more than seventy years, he had endlessly toiled toward a single goal of conquest. To sit atop a mountain, leaving only a trail of his enemy''s ashes behind him. A wish gone undone, at least for now, but the me of ambition had only grown within thest few months as he had. There was the subtle crackling of me. Almost a whisper, with how quiet it was, barely distinguishable from the molten metal itself. Byron yelled, but Steelix was already rising, his movement slowed by all of that metal slowing him down. Tons upon tons of it, clinging to every inch of his skin like a coiling snake. My breath caught in my throat, a small, weak and quivering thing. Then, came the inferno. Once, I''d been fascinated by how blinding Craig''s Typhlosion could be. This wasn''t that, not yet, but I understood, now. The surroundings themselves caught on fire as everything went white and something in the air popped, wind blew upward like a typhoon and the world burned to ashes. Light itself prated through my eyelids and I did not get to see the st itself, but when I opened them, Steelix was on fire, metal seeping down to the ground as it superheated so much he struggled to keep himself together. Fire would consume all until it ran out of fuel, and this one would use anything as fuel. I had to blink to chase away the sun spots, and Sunshine rose from within the liquid metal, which was now deep enough to reach his upper chest. He was barely standing, his eyes only half-opened and stron caved in the wrong way as he struggled to breathe and glowed slightly from the hastily put-together Iron Defense he''d used to survive getting crushed by Steelix. Struggling. Beaten. But what it meant to be a dragon was to still be standing, at the end of it, because at the heart of it all, Sunshine would rather keep fighting until he died than see his opponent win. He was, simply put, a very stubborn kind of perseverance. Fire consumed, and dragons took. But it was not over quite yet. With what I imagined was a tired smile and satisfaction at such a wonderful opponent, Turtonator straightened his back and Steelix shook off the liquid metal currently on him. Part of me had hoped Byron would recall him out of fear, but if there was someone who wouldn''t blink, it was a Gym Leader. At this point, I assumed he was too tired to move, and so I outstretched an arm. "methrower." Quick, simple, and powered by his second sun and the ambient heat that was over a thousand degrees Celsius. The mes clicked into ce as the wind from the massive updrafts howled, and Steelix¡ª "Dragon Tail!" Was well enough to move. He was an unstoppable force, and he narrowly ducked to dodge the methrower until Sunshine angled it down, though he was slow about it. Now smaller and with parts of his actual tail missing, Steelix could, ironically enough, maneuver better than he ever had, and with one smooth motion and a twist of his body, he sent his shining blue stump of a tail forward, hurtling toward Sunshine''s chest. "Hold on with Heat Crash!" He''d already been nning on holding on, though the surge of fireing from within of the building Heat Crash was not something he''d anticipated me to ask. "Commit!" Byron cackled through the fire. With a heavy grunt and with the use of only one arm, he sped onto Steelix''s thick, melting tail and used the weight of the impact to his advantage. Like a glowing sun, the sphere from Heat Crash expanded and blew up with a deafening explosion of wind and colorful mes. Shades of gold, blue, white, red and orange engulfed the entire arena as Sunshine crumpled down and slowly sank into the metal. Steelix''s eyes were clouded by agony, with deep screeches resonating from deep inside his throat. It took a few more seconds, but he slumped and copsed as well, allowing me to breathe out a sigh of relief as I smothered a grin. The ground stopped shaking from the constant Bulldoze and it stopped raining molten metal. Sunshine had taken down a Steelix on his own today. "Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Since Turtonator¡­ fainted first, the Challenger should send out their next Pokemon first as well!" the referee yelled. I got now, why he''d wanted an extra two to three days instead of six after this battle. Sunshine probably had more broken bones in his body than not, at this point in time, and possibly internal damage of some kind. Part of me felt guilty he''d been subjected to this, but not as much as I thought I''d be. There was something primal about battling like this in a safe manner that resonated deep within me, and I knew he would be pissed if I whined and apologized to him. There wasn''t a much different way of fighting a Steelix anyway, so it wasn''t like Byron had anything else to work with. And Arceus, fighting types like steel was fun, with how resilient they were. No other way to let loose like this otherwise. "You did well, my little ray of Sunshine," I whispered. The Pokeball beamed toward him, and I considered my next options. The field wouldn''t stay superheated for long without him, but it would for a while yet, and the Sunny Day still lingered in the sky. As it stood, I was confident we could go one more fight in this environment. The advantage was that I was still locking in Byron to certain Pokemon. Now that Sunshine was actually out of the fight, it opened up more options like Corviknight, but the principle I was going with was still the same and the floor being in this state before anyone could stop him meant that even Empoleon was out. He''d only be able to send floating or flying Pokemon. For my part, the options were either Buddy or ydol. Sweetheart was capable of wading through the field without being hurt too much and would no doubt do well against anything Byron would send, but that would just goad him into sending out a Pokemon capable of flying, which was still among her biggest counters. I couldn''t send out Princess, because molten metal wasn''t molten rock, and couldn''t be manipted by Ancient Power. In the end, I opted for Jellicent, simply because he was a safer bet and ydol would be better used once all of the metal turned solid once again. There had been something else, however, something I hoped would pay off in an instant. Yes, his water type moves would be weaker, but that was a price I was willing to pay right now, and they''d only grow stronger as time went on. There was a way about how Buddy glowed pale blue with an otherworldly sheen high above the molten ground that captivated my eye. Byron knew about the trick we''d used to whisper, so there was no use in setting it up and wasting time. I did not have much time to get lost in the sight, though, because Byron instantly released his Bronzong. Personal Pokemon. rms red through my mind despite having expected it to be released so early and theorizing that Bronzong was one of the most likely candidates for this battle, but seeing the psychic in the flesh was another matter entirely. They were tiny¡ª barely over five feet¡ª but the sheer weight of the ringing bell Bronzong announced themselves with was enough to make my knees weak and my ears ring. Sound continuously rippled through the arena as if it had a physical form and Buddy strained under its pressure. It was as if the sound was warping the air itself, reminding me of Aliyah''s Chimecho, but much more powerful. This was no song. The sound itself was indescribable. Deep and high, dyed and early, and most of all, wrong. It was distinctively alien and echoed from every direction, causing me to shiver and feel like a force was gripping my brain and squeezing it like a grape. Never had I seen a psychic type seem so haunting, their scarlet eyes brimming with wisdom and untold horrors. Bronzong''s metallic form was etched with cryptic runes and weathered by the ages. Layers of rust upon rust, caked into their form, yet somehow still, they managed to look so pristine. Untouched. It was said that Byron''s Bronzong was thousands of years old. That he had found them wandering off-route near abandoned ruins of one of the countless fallen civilizations that hade to our shores to die in early Hisuian history. The psychic had still been there, watering crops that no longer existed like an automaton, barely conscious of their actions. Wind began whipping up my hair, and the air grew wet and humid. Through the barrier. "They''re going to dropva on you with portals!" I snapped. "Will-O-Wisp!" I knew from videos that Bronzong didn''t use barriers in their eighth badge fights to give people a chance, but¡ª "Rapture," Byron exhaled, the air blowing across his hair. "Rifts." What was it like, to fight a storm? There was a crack¡ª the shattering of ss as Bronzong tore ten holes through reality, all pointed toward Buddy. They were perfectly circr, with countless nearly transparent strings writhing around their edges that hurt to stare at for too long. One more opened above Buddy''s head, instantly dumping g and molten metal Bronzong had no doubt linked from under the sea of superheated iron. He quickly began turning to vapor, and with an irritated click, he sent the Will-O-Wisps flying Bronzong''s way with masterful control. They spun and intertwined with one another as they danced with a deafening silence, and gallons of water began pouring out of Bronzong''s portals. That was the thing, with Bronzong. While they had Rain Dance, he could also pull water from somewhere else. The jets of water split into millions of droplets that fell horizontally through the arena as the wind howled and the world screamed. It was raining sideways. Water pattered onto the molten metal, and vapor filled the arena as the battlefield cooled. Even with the Sunny Day from Sunshine, Water Sport was almost working at full capacity. Still, every few seconds, Bronzong would drop scorching metal onto Jellicent, taking from the bottom of the pool to still use the parts that hadn''t cooled. When they did cool, they turned to g and slowed Buddy further. That was, until his body split. To regenerate fast enough, the ghost needed arge chunk to use as aunchpad. Around twenty percent of his head split off from the main body and instantly turned to another Jellicent, his old bits turning to liquid water and falling toward the scorching depths below. I restrained the urge to clench a fist as the burning wisps reached Bronzong and¡ª Started howling. Screams of agony, barely making it through the storm. Byron said something, but it was inaudible by now, with the constant ringing of the bell and the tempest Bronzong had created. I did not understand how, or why, but they winked out of existence as soon as they reached the steel type, and there had been no use of psychic energy either. None of the videos I''d seen had Bronzong ever interacting with Will-O-Wisp, and I did not exactly have the luxury of time to figure it out. Buddy had turned into a shapeless mass now, and Bronzong had stopped dropping metal on him now that they''d figured it wouldn''t work. The Night Shades the water type had hastily summoned, though, were a different matter, and even the rain seemed to damage them enough for them to blow up in puffs of purple smoke before they couldunch any attacks. One thing was for certain, Buddy could not attain victory one-on-one against Bronzong. None of my Pokemon could. This was, in essence, Byron forcing me to use my switches early to see how I would possibly cope with being behind and having to w my way back into an advantage. Buddy spat out countless Shadow Balls in rapid session, but he keened when another portal sent them back right at him. I''d believed this would be a good matchup against Bronzong, but I''d been wrong. It was, morbidly enough, still my best one. The ground had cooled into a smooth surface now, though Bronzong was still flooding the field with Rain Dance despite Buddy being able to use that water to heal. Byron was either setting up for Empoleon or forcing me into having to switch into ydol or Togekiss next. But we weren''t going to go down that easily. "Change of n!" I yelled, cupping my mouth. "Gather some water!" Jellicent were, as a species, hunters of the deep. They hid, lying still for days at a time until they could snatch their prey and drain them of every ounce of life they had, growing and growing for centuries until they became masters of the ocean capable of sinking constructs of steelrger than any Pokemon they could ever kill. Eyes shining bright through the storm, water began to coalesce around him, both from the vapor and the rain. It condensed into a group of four tight spheres asrge as Bronzong themselves, but Buddy did not form them into another move quite yet, not when his opponent would just be able to open up portals to dodge without even moving. We needed to get close, and he was smart enough to figure that out without mymand. Still a shapeless, writhing mass of fluorescent water, Buddyunched himself quicker, now that the Sunny Day had wanedpletely. Just like the Will-O-Wisp, Jellicent strained under the push of sideways gravity, struggling to approach Bronzong, and Byron pointed his shovel forward, his lips moving. I could barely make out the words cut before two portals closed next to his Bronzong and opened through Jellicent as soon as he crossed a threshold of around thirty feet. He had cut him into three diagonal parts and sent those parts sprawling at opposite sides of the arena. Two of the water spheres copsed, exploding from the pressure they''d been put into before Buddy could recover, but that was fine, given how quickly he could regrow from this. Byron was testing the waters¡ª probing for a weakness to use while buying time. The steel type angled themselves up, and a deafening sh Cannon formed inside the hole below them, illuminating the entire arena which was now growing dark from stormy clouds. Instead of concentrating into a single, screaming point like Jasmine''s, this one widened in a split second and shot out faster than I could blink. The attack hit Buddy, but his body was liquid, now. The damage was substantial, the hit having vaporized the majority of his body, but it didn''t knock him back. Close enough, now. "Taunt!" We only had one shot at this. The ghosts'' eyes dimmed with darkness, and Bronzong froze, the entire storm around them copsing within seconds and portals closing. For a moment in time, we had silence again, and it felt deafening. The gravitational field around Bronzong also ended, and everything returned to normal, save for the fact that the steel type was firing off sh Cannon after sh Cannon. We weren''t going to get this off for free, and by the Legendaries, those attacks hurt. Each one, loud enough to deafen if you were close enough, hot enough to melt metal and to just make Jellicent''s body disappear. "Will-O-Wisp, then Water Spout!" I screamed, grinning. The field effect that had screwed up Will-O-Wisp had to have been something Bronzong was consciously doing. It would have made no sense otherwise. The spirits crawled through our ne of existence¡ª slower, this time¡ª and they all rushed to enter Bronzong''s body. Purple mes sprouted to existence around the steel type''s body, momentster, the remaining spheres¡ª along with a third one he had hastily gathered, levitated inside Bronzing''s cavity and exploded with enough pressure to dent through metal. The pain seemed to snap Bronzong out of the Taunt, because an invisible force snatched Buddy by the throat and startedpressing him, leaving me no time to admire my work. It was abination of Imprison, a concentrated Gravity and Psychic, and there was also anger. Anger at having their storm interrupted, I presumed. Not that it bothered Byron much. He had his shovel slung over his shoulder and was watching with azy, satisfied smile, and I understood why a momentter when Buddy failed to separate parts of his body to escape. We were trapped here. We''d gotten close enough to dish out a few hits and burn Bronzong, but there was no way we were getting out of that vice or attacking out of it. Already, Buddy was trying to form Shadow Balls or Hydro Pumps, but they just exploded in his face from the sheer amount of pressure. It was enough to squeeze a fleshy Pokemon to death, or close to it, I imagined. That also meant that our only means of escape, Water Cloak, was out of the picture, especially with the Rain Dance having ended. Thesest few weeks, I''d found that it was a lot more useful than only preventing freezing. I recalled Buddy with a small nod, happy that we''d at least gotten off what we wanted. The ground was flooded, having turned into a sea, and Byron had forced me into a switch anyway. I sucked in air through my teeth, telling myself it always had to be this way, and nearly released my next Pokemon right away due to sheer excitement instead of waiting for the burn to chew through Bronzong. Being honest with myself, things were looking quite bad. Not only had Byron fucked me over with only giving me two switches, there weren''t many ways to fix the field and empty it of water if I wanted Angel to do his job. Bronzong was still raring to go, though the ghostly mes would slowly eat at them and their armor was chipped all over from the Water Spout. Bells kept ringing, and I bit my lip to stop myself from shivering. My hair felt wet and damp, as did the air. There was, however, a silver lining. The Rain Dance had stopped. That meant that Byron, too, couldn''t have the field too flooded, or it would screw with the team he had nned. He wanted to screw me over until he emptied the entire ce or froze it using Empoleon¡­ or something else, but I was running on empty. Still, considering which Pokemon I was facing, there was only one option left, and Byron knew it. Princess. She materialized in a sh of scarlet at the twenty-ninth second, eyeing her opponent with the usual displeasure. Her wings did not p, yet a wind carried her, almost silent. A whisper you could almost make out, if you listened long enough. There was no material for her to work with using Ancient Power here, so we were still handicapped. "This is a different battle," I quickly warned. "You have to be quick, and don''t get close, you won''t be able to escape. Watch out for¡ª" "Power Gem, Rapture! Get close!" Byron yelled. "¡ªGravity!" I finished. "Wish and Mystical Fire!" While sh Cannon was among the steel type''s strongest attacks, they could also use it to propel themselves. This time, the bright light wasn''t wide, instead sting behind the psychic in a thin line as spheres of light appeared around them, orbiting so quickly they became a single line that¡ª Exploded. I covered my eyes, cursing at the fact that steel types were so bright all the time, and Princess had just finished using Wish, sending a light piercing through the ceiling. Without a sound, the wind carried her, and she broke to the right, keeping her distance from the advancing Bronzong, but a portal opened, and the light from Power Gem kept chasing her. It broke against her barrier until it glowed red and broke after a few seconds, and then hit her in the back, burning off her fur while she finished off a Nasty Plot and her eyes gleamed with ns of queendom and subjects like she''d spoken to me about so many times. Bronzong shot out another blinding Power Gem while she weaved mes around her. They were a dull red, at first, something she no doubt would have called pathetic, but then they brightened and turned bright blue as Bronzong''s bell rang again in an attempt to stun and slow her down so their next Power Gem could hit and they could get in range to lock her up. I winced when it did hit her wing. For Princess, dodging had always been easy, but not when Brozong could use up to eleven portals as misdirection to confuse her. Another one opened right in front of the fairy type, forcing her to swerve out of the way in order not to fly right into Bronzong, and I ordered her to shed her barrier for speed, given that they weren''t working anyway. Another Nasty Plot finished, and blue mes intensified even further, not as hot as Sunshine''s¡ª nowhere near as hot, but warm enough to do what we needed. Togekiss circled around the arena, nearly scraping against the barrier as the air around her warped with how quick she was flying and Byron decided to switch tactics. "Rifts again," he grunted. "Continue your storm." My stomach dropped. Shit, shit, shit! What was the n here? Was he only going to use flying types and Empoleon from now on? Did he just not care? Bronzong stopped on my side of the arena, opening portals that poured out countless gallons of water that split until they became Rain Drops pressurized enough to hurt, just like Brine was. Bronzong glowed eerily in the darkening arena thanks to their burn, but there was no way we were going to oust them, the most annoying Pokemon of Byron''s to take down. I ground my teeth as Princess'' Mystical Fire dulled, but she sent it forth anyway, the fire flying in every direction at speeds I could barely track. They weakened and slowed the closer they got to Bronzong and barely ended up tickling him by the end. After two Nasty Plots. And there was no point in using any more due to diminishing returns. "Stay up high!" I yelled. "They might drop water on you too! Defog!" With a p of Togekiss'' wings, the clouds above cleared, and the rain weakened instead of stopping as I''d hoped. Byron frowned, and I remembered that I''d never shown off the move after having Nightstalker teach her, and I leaned against my knees as sweat and water dripped down my forehead and into my eyes. Rx, I breathed. Just because he was doing something that made no sense from my point of view didn''t mean I was about to just lose everything, though the possibility of this being a trap was high. We''d reached an equilibrium, now. Rain barely strong enough to hurt Princess, and not enough to stop Mystical Fire. Even with Heatproof, it was the best move we had at our disposal to deal consistent damage. A gust of Fairy Wind helped Princess climb in altitude as a sh Cannon seared the edge of her skin, too wide to fit in a portal, but wide enough to make dodging a hassle anyway. It was then, that I noticed that Bronzong never seemed to actually go through a portal themselves, and I wondered if that was a limitation or a self-imposed handicap as a personal Pokemon. Still, we were losing. Losing because I wasn''t ying to Princess'' strength. Teeth shed, eyes widened, and I decided to bet on my daughter. "Fire and ice!" I snapped. That was only the beginning, but we needed to start somewhere. Ice from Tri-Attack poured out of Princess, as did fire as she spun them around her as she sped through the arena and dodged another beam of light. The Wish she''d sent earlier appeared again and healed some of her burns, but she was focused. Eyes narrowed so tightly they might as well have been shut. Blue mes gushed forward in a line, vaporizing water around them and splitting apart to stop Bronzong from isting them using portals. Instead, rain around the psychic slowed before freezing in ce, as if suspended in time, gathering into a Weather Ball packed full of wind and water and ready to explode at a minor touch. And explode it did, a wave of pressure pushing the fire apart, rattling Princess some, but otherwise having little effect. As if they could bend the water themselves, it rushed to stop the mes before they could reach him, and Princess used the opportunity tounch another Wish upward between heavy breaths as she sent the dyed beam of ice forward. "Shadow Ball, then Moonst. Overwhelm them!" I added. Multi-tasking. She''d been blessed with the ability since she''d been a Togepi, but we''d never decided to push it this far. Fire struck Bronzong, although weakened, causing him to glow and the Will-O-Wisps to squeal in pleasure, followed by ice hurtled at them a few secondster. Bronzong''s portals were slowing, now, but we weren''t done. Shadow Ball was next, though the steel type managed to shoot it out of the sky with a quick Power Gem, creating a billow of smoke that Togekiss sent swarming at Rapture with a gust of wind as a pristine moon gathered in front of her mouth. As an empath, she could feel his location and kept striking while she gathered the energy needed to cut. She was always moving, because she had to. It was who she was, and what Hustle had pushed her to be. You only have eleven portals, but what if we use more than ten angles of attack? Push, push, push until we kept Bronzong on the defensive, because that was the only way we were going to win. Fire, ice, Shadow Ball, Fairy Wind, she could not be stopped. But constantly chaining attacks had its consequences and was a double-edged de, our favorite. She was tiring out, and fast. The moon was without impurities as Princess finished molding it into her image and sent it forward. It was fast, faster than most Moonsts, and had made its way across the battlefield before I could count to five. Superheated steel that was then cooled turned brittle, and countless invisible des shed at Bronzong''s outer shell, furthering the damage dealt by Buddy and cutting across them like they were made of wood and not solid steel, even after the Iron Defense Byron had every single one of his Pokemon set up at the start of every fight. "Rapture." We were pushing, and yet Byron''s voice brought me back from my high. Princess didn''t need me to yell to understand that they were preparing something¡ª A portal opened above her and in front of Bronzong. There was a sh in Rapture''s eyes, and then a crack as sinews of metal prated her back and Bronzong held her with Psychic. Both of Princess'' wings were bent back, and her moon disappeared as she fell down to the sea below. There was a lump in my throat as my hand instantly went for my Pokeball, waiting another second to see if she would recover from the sheer amount of pain she''d just been dealt with. She didn''t. If I''d had her keep her barrier to buy a few seconds and allowed her to fight back¡­ But she''s not out of the fight either, I thought as I beamed her back to her Pokeball before she could touch the water. Princess didn''t need her wings to fly, especially now that she could manipte the wind this well. She would, however, be incredibly slow and basically a sitting duck the next time I sent her out, and the pain from her wings would fray her focus to a point where we wouldn''t be able to replicate what we''d just done. Byron could have done this since the start, so why now? I''d dealt with this with Steelix and Sunshine just earlier, but I''d chalked it to the sheer difference in size and Byron going a little harder because his defences were among my best. "First time someone''s ever punched back, hm,ss?" Byron drawled with a satisfied sigh. "You dish it out, I dish back." "I''m fine," I quickly countered. "I''d be a hypocrite not to be." "Of course." I didn''t like how he sounded, but it was a possible mind trick, and my thirty seconds were running out. Had I ever been in such a disadvantageous position in a battle before? No switches left and with two tired Pokemon waiting in the wings? Though Buddy was a lot better than Princess was and I''d be confident sending him out against a healthy Pokemon. I eyed the sea below, in all of its turbulence, and decided it had to be him again. Rapture was almost out for the count, and we could hide in the depths to wait them out. I was confident now that with how tired the psychic was, they wouldn''t pull any tricks and beat us in water TE maniption. And the fact that they''d been capable of beating a creature born to hunt in the ocean in that department before terrified me. This time, Jellicent appeared below the water, a dull red light barely peeking through the darkened waves. Bronzong waspletely still as they hovered in the sky, angled slightly back and ready to fire off a sh Cannon. What truly confirmed to me that they were on theirst legs was that they weren''t using Rain Dance or creating a storm any longer, because they knew Buddy would be able to take advantage when the steel type fainted. "They''re tired and slow," I snapped. "Whirlpool and drag them in." I had no idea where Buddy was, but water below Bronzong began to spin, turning into a typhoon that lengthened upward like a snake, the water at its edges freezing. Too wide to be contained by any portals, if they even had the energy to open them, still. "Push it down and sh Cannon," Byron countered. The world shifted, and the top of the typhoon dissolved. Ice crackled under the pressure, and then the structure would have evaporated, had Buddy not been constantly supplying it with more water. Bronzong could only push with gravity for so long. Their body was in tatters, with deep gashes running all over and even a small hole poking through. They''d been burning for nearly as long as they''d been battling, and by the Legendaries, beating them had been a puzzle. The water swallowed Bronzong whole, freezing in an instant as it fell down to the sea and left the psychic to an unknown fate. I had no idea how Buddy finished them off, but it waspletely silent. It was honestly cooler that way. Twenty secondster, Bronzong''s unconscious body floated up, face down in the water. "Bronzong is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your third Pokemon!" the referee dered. While technically ahead in Pokemon now, I was obviously still losing. The earlier Wish from Princess entered the water and healed Buddy some as Byron sent out his next Pokemon. A regal silhouette emerged from the aquatic abyss. A glint of steel pierced through the water''s surface as Empoleon made herself known with a deep honk¡ª far deeper than Louis''. Her trident-like beak looked golden and without a touch of decay, as was the steel at the side of her fins. "Dot the sea, Empoleon," Byron said. From the videos I''d seen, I knew what I was facing. Instantly, the sea shook as if it was rippled by an Earthquake, and waves at least ten feet high swarmed the arena as inds began to sprout from below the ocean. Empoleon was an artist¡ª a sculptor good enough to rival Princess in detail, and better than her in scale of what she could work with, except she used metal instead of earth and stone. An ind sprouted below her, and she stood atop it with a deep bow. Inds, then, I thought. That was¡­ I could work with that. I kept my poker face, arms t against my side and moistened my lips. "Will-O-Wisp again and Scald," I spoke. Inds kept popping up left and right, and cold, purple mes burst out of the water, all rushing toward Empoleon. The steel type lowered herself to the ground, wing across the steel of the ind she had just made, and she raked. Shards of steel shrouded in darkness pelted at the mes with uracy that shouldn''t have been possible. Maism. Subtle, but still there, and the Will-O-Wisps died screaming. Next came the Scald, hot enough to hurt even steel types, and Empoleon jumped into the water to dodge the attack¡ª Fast! I could tell from how her form disturbed the water when she swam, but she was so quick we had no hopes of getting close and catching up. With a graceful jump, shended atop another ind, and steel formed around her webbed feet to stop her exactly at the center. Her body glowed slightly from the lingering Iron Defense she had set up. Here was the dilemma, when fighting Empoleon. She could shape steel into anything she wanted, which meant that approaching her was a surefire way of getting skewered, and it meant that she''d be able to sense and attack if we came from underground too, just like Emi''s Lycanroc had been. We need to find a counter for that, and soon. She was a master at what she did, and when she worked, there was never any w. A perfectionist by definition with the way she stared at people and her opponents. Artist. Perfectionist. Sculptor. Empoleon had dedicated her life to art, and that was what battling was to her. But! What could she do, to actually win, if we never approached? While she was fast in the water, we were better than her in it. My eyes scanned the ocean as thest of the inds came to be, and Night Shades burst from the surface, shapeless, silent creatures barely held together by countless spirits. Webs of iron burst from the ground, piercing through the shades, but the explosion was more powerful than before. We''d learned to adjust that for when we needed a big one. "Watch for Will-O-Wisps!" Byron warned. Damn it, he fucking knew. I''d nned on the smoke masking the little buds of mes, trusting in Buddy toe to that conclusion on his own, but I supposed it had been obvious, in retrospect. There was a loud ssh, and then a trail of smoke when Empoleon escaped to another ind and started growing another web. They were almost like¡­ trees. Winding branches that divided again and again. I grinned when Jellicent jumped out of the water, more of a with red eyes than anything else. At this range¡ª Now! "Taunt!" I blinked, and metal tipped Empoleon''s ws. Again, we only had this one opportunity, and mes had already been prepared¡ª Byron recalled Empoleon, using the first switch of the battle. Ah, Buddy. Never shy, but consistently annoying to fight, because if there was one thing a Pokemon centuries old never ran out of, it was patience, and time was on our side rather than Byron''s. The Gym Leader cracked his neck, a noise picked up by the microphone and that made me think back to Princess'' broken wings, and he released a¡­ I squinted. She was so tiny, when you couldn''t zoom in like in the videos. Her bright pink cloak mimics the hues of a delicate flower in full bloom, albeit with an unconventional twist. It was made of metal, each de sharp enough to cut anything that hit her with a physical move. A thin string of silk shot out from the bug type''s mouth, and she anchored herself on one of the trees Empoleon had built¡ª Oh. Oh, this had been nned, hadn''t it? The inds, and the trees? Byron had just been forced into switching so early Empoleon had only managed to create three of them out of nine inds. This Pokemon was a delicate flower, though she was poisonous and had thorns. She was proof that life could bloom anywhere if given enough time and care, and she was one I had not expected to face at all, given what my team wasposed of. So small, so weak-looking, yet I knew that couldn''t be further from the truth. She was Wormadam. Hanging onto a tree by a single strand of silk. There was a shift in the air, then a¡­ bristle. If you squinted and looked close enough, you could see each needle making up Wormadam''s cloak was moving. Moving until they produced a horrible screech and a green hue appeared around her. I had to consciously keep my foot from tapping as a deep ufortableness overtook me. A thousand ideas, each passing so quickly they might as well not exist. Focus, Grace. Don''t let the Bug Buzz get to you. It would deal constant damage to Buddy, but hopefully the water would keep him insted from the worst of it. "Iron Defense and Infestation. Hunt," Byron ordered. I swallowed. Infestation was one of our key weaknesses¡ª something that couldn''t be stopped by Water Cloak, only weakened. Wormadam shimmered under her tree, and countless little things so minuscule they would have been impossible to see without the slight green hue to them. They were writhing, dead, yet alive, reminding me of Vespiquen''s way of bending honey. I knew Buddy must have been deep in the water in order not to get hit, but there must have been a reason Byron had called out for the attack anyway. A reason why Empoleon almost managed to set up for Wormadam so beautifully. "They can swim. They can swim!" I called out, louder the second time. "Keep moving and burn her!" The Infestation entered the water as little beads of purple me burst through the surface, each time in a different location. Wormadam''s eyes narrowed, and the Infestation followed where the trail of mes wasing from until Byron pped his shovel against his tform. "It''s a trick. Disperse them and find him that way." Damn it, he''d instantly fucking figured it out! I internally cursed again when the Will-O-Wisp dissolved before crossing a threshold of ten feet around Wormadam as a transparent green ring circled around her. Safeguard. Must have been a new move she''d learned and mastered in thest two months, because that had been thest time she''d ever been used in battle and she''d gotten paralyzed in that one. That unfortunately meant that Taunt was also out, given the fact that she had it permanently on and it was one of the few techniques that could fight against that move. Action snapped me out of my thoughts, and a de of ice, twenty feet long, elongated from behind the Wormadam''s ind, striking at the string holding her up¡ª It shattered. Splintering into a hundred shards of ice. I knew it''d be resistant, but how could a string be this fucking powerful? Had they used Iron Defense on it too? I didn''t have enough information¡­ "Change of ns!" I called out. "Keep your distance and use Night Shades to hit her!" Arceus, I felt so strange, having to yell these orders out instead of doing our usual whisper, like bringing a stic knife to a swordfight, but I could see the way Wormadam''s eyes nced at my side of the barrier every few seconds while she directed her Infestation underwater that she knew, just like the others. Clones of Jellicent, this time fully formed, slipped out of the water with Hydro Pumps already prepared and sted Wormadam with both attacks. The bug type didn''t even react, instead, light swarmed her and exploded outward with such force that my ears popped and water around her ind evaporated. The shades had thankfully been far enough not to be affected. This was what it was like, to fight Wormadam. Bide, Counter, and Mirror Coat were her best tools, and any attack would be reflected to be even stronger. One was destined to listen to Bug Buzz and have their body wracked by one of the most powerful Infestations in the region while not even being able to strike back. And with Safeguard added to the mix, she was truly untouchable. I winced when one of the clones wavered and lost its shape, a sign that the Infestation had reached Buddy and prated him even through the Water Cloak. Thest shade rushed toward Wormadam before he could lose control and exploded right on top of her¡ª Eyes narrowing, I bit my lip. I knew Buddy, and that was far too much control for a Pokemon who''d been hit by Infestation¡­ I got my answer soon after, with water around Wormadam''s ind receding as one for a moment, and then swarming her, cing her in a ball of water for her to drown in. A piece of Buddy writhed up the surface of the water, thousands of little green things eating at it until there''d be nothing left. A trick. He''d separated a part of himself and vaguely shaped it in his image, new eyes and all, and detonated one of his clones to sell it, nearly fooling even me. The sound from the Bug Buzz was barely a whisper, now. This was why I''d wanted tomunicate so badly, but I wasn''t going toin. If we couldn''t win by attacking, we would win by drowning. "Metal Burst," the Gym Leader calmly ordered. There was a screech, the sound altered by the ball of water, and Wormadam''s eyes red. I almost covered my ears by instinct, but the liquid dampened the sound enough not to make them feel like they were bleeding. The water moved, losing some of its volume, but it kept its stranglehold on the steel type. This time, Wormadam tried an old-fashioned sh Cannon, but it was weaker than her counterparts, and she couldn''t evaporate all the water at once to catch her breath, especially when we had an endless supply here. And Jellicent was still nowhere to be seen. A hunter of the depths. "Rx," Byron said. Wormadam must have been panicking, even if I couldn''t even spot any differences on her face. "Get to another ind." I clicked my tongue. "Do not let her." There were only three trees, and the other two were in a simr direction, towards Wormadam''s right. The string blew out of the bug type''s mouth, and water in between the inds rose, twisting itself into ice in an attempt to cut the string off. It broke again, not even denting the newly formed string, and it was then that I understood that Wormadam had not been applying Iron Defense to her strings, but that this was biological. The string shot prated through the metallic tree trunk, and though Buddy tried to keep her in the water by ying with the currents of his sphere, Wormadam pulled herself to the other ind and the Bug Buzz resumed, and thousands of tiny little worm-like things burst out of her cloak, jumping in the water. Infestation again. We could do this old song and dance once more, but it was only a matter of time until Jellicent''s real body was found, and I doubted his trick would work a second time. My thoughts raced as the ghost tried to drown her again, this time swarming all three inds in water and the trees as well, but a second String Shot left Wormadam''s mouth and the steel type suspended herself in between two inds, hovering above the sea by having two strings prating the trees, all while mming all of her surroundings with Bug Buzz. Some attempts were made to hit Wormadam with moves anyway¡ª Shadow Ball, Hydro Pump and Water Spout from a distance, but with each retaliation, her power seemed to grow and now no matter how far Jellicent was, he always got hit. How did that even work? Some kind of reverse-engineering of il? That would mean that we were actually dealing damage, at the very least. The issue with Byron¡ª and higher-leveled fights in general¡ª was that calling out exactly what your Pokemon was doing became rarer and rarer, not that I''d been spared of that either. It was tough, to figure out what exactly went into each trick to counter them. This was not sustainable. Recover could only take us so far, and despite not having seen Buddy once this entire exchange, I knew his limits. I understood how far he could go and not go, but who else could win this? Princess would be important to what I''d nned forter and needed rest. ydol was the weakest offensively by far, Angel and Sweetheart needed to get close to deal any real damage, which would be difficult in this terrain, and Infestation would be able to w past any barrier or armored ting. No. The buck stopped with him. It had to. "Out." Instantly, Buddy flew into the sky with Water Sport, and hundreds of green lights followed him. Some were already inside of his body, though Wormadam hadn''t converged them all there due to worrying about him having sprouted another trap. I pointed forward, sleeves slightly too long for my arms. "Boil her alive." I didn''t have to tell him twice. Countless green lights surged toward him at a quick pace, and he twisted his body, altering its shape to better dodge as he rushed toward Wormadam with hate shing in his eyes. Not every bit of Infestation could be dodged, and those that entered him could still be seen through his transparent skin, wreaking havoc inside of him, but that was fine. To kill a ghost was to be ready to be taken down with them through sheer spite¡ª and hell, they weren''t even trying to do that. Jellicent''s entire head flung open like a giant maw full of boiling teeth as he reached Wormadam, and the bug type let it happen, because why wouldn''t she, when she could retaliate tenfold? This yed like a desperate y from someone out of ideas, and honestly, it partly was. With each thing that slithered inside of him, Buddy''s eyes grew less wise and more primal. It was a good thing my order had been simple, because it was actually possible for him to remember, when running only on instincts. His thoughts had been reverted to their most basic. Buddy''s head closed around Wormadam, the inside of his head burning hot enough to start evaporating himself. Light came to life, a burning ball of energy coursing out of Wormadam, and then everything exploded with enough force to make the entire barrier shake and have the referee take a step back. Definitely il, but there was no time to think about it. I squinted, my bandaged hands and sleeve covering my eyes, but I could still see the light through my eyelids. Shockwaves bounced repeatedly throughout the arena and tsunamis formed drowning every ind. Wormadam was still pristine, a flower barely touched by the elements, but her eyes were struggling to stay open and she was swaying from side to side on her string, barely holding onto the stump that was left of both her trees. Quiet. It was so quiet, the Bug Buzz having finally ended. It felt like something that had been squeezing against my skull had let go and I was free. Chunks of Jellicent were floating in the water, lifeless and unmoving. With flickering eyes, Wormadam prepared tounch a sh Cannon, the ball of light keening as it formed in front of her mouth and ready to fire if Buddy showed any signs of reforming. But there was something else. Vapor, both from the heat of the explosion and Buddy boiling so hot he''d vaporized himself. Sinister tendrils of mist, devoid of color, shook and congealed, their spectral dance weaving into a familiar form surrounded by ghastly shadows. It was the eyes first, always the eyes¡ª "Wormadam, behind you!" Byron called out. ¡ªa haunting, otherwordly wail resonated across the arena as the final wisps of vapor coalesced into Jellicent''s horrifying visage. Serrated edges of frozen teeth swarming with countless spirits he had bound under his rule. Ripples continuously ran across his¡­ head, like he was in a constant state of distortion. Grotesque long limbs had reced his usual tentacles and wrapped around Wormadam in a blur. He bit. Wormadam screamed for the first time, her cries masked by the ones of the souls swimming in Buddy''s head-maw thing. The teeth, if you could even call them that, didn''t even prate past Wormadam''s cloak. And yet. "You''re okay, baby," I said, stopping my voice from shaking. It was so cold. "This is a battle." At the end of it all, he was always there, because how couldn''t he be? From a speck, he would alwayse back. Always thest one standing, able toe back from anything. You had to kill him again and again, over and over until you''d rid yourself of every little speck, every source of water in any state. Because that was what it meant, to be a ghost. "Wormadam is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your fourth Pokemon." A breath escaped my lips, and I nearly stumbled as awareness returned to Buddy''s eyes and he let go of the Wormadam, barely holding himself together. Today was the first one of my own Pokemon had scared me. It was Empoleon, that came out again, and there was no way to avoid theing loss. Buddy was exhausted, not even having noticed the steel type appear on the ind the closest to him. I tried calling out for a Will-O-Wisp, but Empoleon had already fired off a sh Cannon and finished off Buddy as well, cutting a hole right through the middle of his face. The referee spoke again while I recalled him, and Empoleon began fixing up the inds that had been caved in or damaged by Wormadam with haste. In fact, she was making more ground than before, which signaled to me Byron was nning on usingnd-based Pokemon next. I was surprised he didn''t wait until Empoleon was nearly out of the fight to take full advantage of the water, but maybe Byron didn''t want to risk her being too exhausted to do it. Here was why I''d actually been losing, or at best, keeping equal to Byron while still having the number''s advantage. Ignoring the fundamentals of battle, theck of switches, the field still being his instead of mine. ydol was weak. The psychic type hovered in the sky as soon as I released them, their eyes blinking constantly. Most of them stared at the audience, and one at Empoleon. I presume this is the Gym Battle? they asked. "Yes. Don''t mind the crowd, focus on Empoleon," I said. "This is a safe space." Acknowledged¡ª A beam of light struck at ydol, but it was stopped by a hastily erected barrier that luckily barely budged at the impact. The shield surrounded ydol, glowing as everything clicked together until it became invisible to the naked eye. No matter what, taking down Empoleon with ydol was impossible, which meant I had sent them out to lose because of how little room to maneuver the two switches had given me. Still, me having to potentially ''sack'' them was something we''d talked about extensively before the fight. Byron had read the reports about me catching ydol, but he didn''t actually know what the ground type was capable of beyond the broadest of strokes. For once, he was actually in an informational deficit. "Get to work," I said. Mud materialized all around ydol inrge amounts, and with Ancient Power to help, they scattered it across the battlefield over and over. Enough to bury it in a thickyer of earth. The bitsnding next to Empoleon sharpened to spikes and tried prating her skin, but the most we could do through Iron Defense was poke a little bit. "Don''t let them set up. Wash it away and Fling," Byron ordered. While Empoleon was no Jellicent, having prioritized steel over water when it came to TE, she was still a water type. She inhaled, her chest growing to twice its size, and released a torrent all across the ground in an attempt to throw the mud into the water. How did one win, when they did not have power to punch through a steel wall? Tricks. We were going to annoy the living hell out of this empress no matter what it took, and while victory might be unobtainable, something close to it might be. Mud crawled all over her, solidifying into stone as she tried raking the floor like she had before tounch little iron pebbles of darkness toward ydol, and then around her mouth, cutting off theing Hydro Pump from the source for a few seconds until the water burst through the stone and Empoleon coughed. Then, it was the eyes, the mud constantly trying to blind her. She shook, panicking at the loss of eyesight, and mud crawled into her mouth and earholes¡ª Byron mmed his shovel down, and Empoleon stiffened. Water burst out of her skin and the mud was all knocked away by the sudden force of the Aqua Jet. She red at ydol, something furious like she couldn''t believe we''d just struck at her in such a dirty way to keep spreading mud around and destroying her art. She mmed a webbed foot on the ground, and thin poles of steel erupted through the solid mud, slowing slightly in front of her so she could bathe their tips in darkness. Some Fling that was, I thought through clenched teeth. It was basically their own fucking spin on Metal Edge! The shape was perfect to break through a barrier, too, and this was again, a new tactic I''d never seen, and ydol was too high¡ª "Imprison and get lower!" I said. ¡ªto make use of Ancient Power effectively. The world blurred, and barriers snapped into ce again and again,yer afteryer of shields, so many I couldn''t even count them as they shimmered like a set of rainbows. The poles broke through them like butter, and though they slowed with each impact, Empoleon brought her hand up and they sped up again, converging toward ydol as one. "Ancient Power!" I continued. "Rapid Spin if you can''t!" The thing about battling with ydol was that beyond barriers, they had to be micromanaged in a way I hadn''t been used to since¡­ the first or second badge. Talking took time, and that dy in my order meant that the wall of solid mud climbing up to protect ydol waste, there had been no Harden to keep themselves protected from some of the damage, and the Rapid Spin had barely begun when the poles prated through ydol. Yes, they went through their body, and I assumed the head had been spared because that would have been too lethal. ydol felt no pain, but that didn''t mean their systems couldn''t fray when touched by darkness. Their spreading of mud across the battlefield slowed, and they were barely able to hover in ce. It was as if the attack had been made to¡ª Oh. Maybe it had. What we had, though, was that we could spread mud faster than Empoleon could wash it away. Much of the arena had been covered, now, and though there was some form of a meandering river dividing the arena in two¡­ three, I was slowly wing my way back into a favorable situation. Another set of poles burst from the ground, but this time, I''d been ready to speak as soon as Empoleon mmed a foot down. "Ancient Power. Layers," I blurted out. ydol was low to the ground, now, and ten thick walls of hardened stone popped up in between them and Empoleon. What I hadn''t expected was for the darkened poles to make it through eight of them and having to scream at ydol to reinforce them, but at least they hadn''t gotten hit this time. I could barely see the water type past the walls, but I caught the trident on her head shimmering as she threw herself forward with what looked to be Iron Head. She could not fly, not even close, but she was a deceptively quick runner on the still wet mud even if she looked mighty awkward while doing so. Shards of stone exploded outward as she rammed her head into the shields ydol had set up, and I called out for an Imprison. Byron was growing more confident, because he knew I wasn''t the type of trainer to go big on stalling and we weren''t actually attacking. I ttened my palms in order not to clench them and watched Empoleon break through five walls until she mmed her head into an Imprison that she couldn''t break out of. Part of me wanted to gush at the fact that ydol''s barriers were holding back an 8-badge level Pokemon specialized in steel when she was using Iron Head, but we didn''t have enough tricks to win yet. Not enough experience, not enough of a bond. Empoleon easily broke out with her variation of Fling and an Aqua Jet preemptively stopped any attempts from blinding her with mud, and sped her up, but ydol had been moving back, however slowly. Buying time. But I''d be damned if I didn''t try just like they were trying. "Are you well enough to¡ª" Do not¡ª ask. Order, they chided, their voice slightly more rapid. Fucking chided! Even though their voice was glitching due to having been stabbed, they were demanding something of me, hell yes! "Give me hollow walls of earth around yourself," I blurted out. Once, at the edges of Eterna Forest, Princess had shielded Justin from Scyther in this exact manner, but this was a much better showing of how one could push Ancient Power to¡­ not its limits, but far. Thick walls emerged and bent into a dome, isting ydol from the outside world. Then another. And another, all with agility that did not betray how new they actually were with the move. Princess had been an excellent teacher. "Break through," Byron said. "Keep Fling up." "Psychic!" I screamed. Thin poles, each the exact same length, rose from below the dirt and hovered above Empoleon as she got closer and closer. Fifteen seconds away now, maybe eighteen if I was being generous. My order, simply, did not make any sense as it was. ydol was not experienced enough to use Psychic on an opponent they couldn''t see and that far, and if they waited until Empoleon broke through their fortress of solid stone, the water type would struggle for a few seconds, sure, but then she wouldunch the pole, and ydol wouldn''t be able to take another stabbing. The goal here, was to let ydol interpret it in a way that made sense. It was a leap of faith, as I found myself having done more and more during this fight. Putting my full trust into my Pokemon to aplish something they''d never or seldom done before. In this case, to think and act independently. This would never work, if I called it out and warned Byron and Empoleon ahead of time. I stopped myself from biting my lip as Empoleon broke through the second dome, dust, ash and shards of rock rising from the crashing Iron Head. Please. Third impact. A gaping hole opened on the side of the dome. At the same time, ydol appeared above Empoleon without a sound and began assaulting the steel type''s mind. Blood gushed from her beak, earholes and eyes, and she struggled to even find where ydol was until Byron called out their location. ydol had used those precious seconds hidden away to concentrate and Teleport a short distance. It was only for a moment. It didn''t win us the fight. It barely even mattered, in the grand scheme of things. Lances of steel, tipped in darkness pierced through ydol. Most of them missed, Empoleon''s thought and aim having frayed due to the psychic attack, but the two that did make it weakened ydol enough to let Empoleon focus on a single, pinpoint sh Cannon that finished the job. ydol crashed to the floor, their arms crumpling to their side and eyes fluttering closed. I hadn''t realized how emotional I''d gotten at ydol taking the initiative on offense for one of the first times. My eyes were wet, and it wasn''t because of what Rapture had done earlier. "ydol is unable to battle," the referee droned. "Challenger, send out your fourth Pokemon!" I sped ydol''s Pokeball, but they spoke into my mind. Did I¡ª do well, my King? they asked, eyes barely open. I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and crouched, touching the barrier. "Yes, ydol. You did amazing." A name has been assigned¡ª to my own person¡ª They shut down. I so desperately wanted to have heard it, but it was toote. Their eyes were a pitch ck and their voice had cut out in an instant. I recalled them, smiling at the Pokeball and drying my eyes onest time. Empoleon, despite all of her fighting, was actually rather healthy. She was not the most offensive or defensive fighter, and she''d lost most of the water that made her a threat, but I couldn''t underestimate how her fine control would affect a Pokemon that actually had to stick close to the ground. Theyer of earth ydol had nted wasn''t deep enough to prevent her from ying with her steel, as she''d shown by her maically levitated batons. Even with broken wings, Togekiss was a better choice here than Sweetheart, who was, by all intents and purposes, supposed to gost so she could let loose and destroy the terrain I''d worked so hard to set up. Princess would also be able to tten all of the walls and domes ydol had raised. The n had been for them to copse them before fainting, but life didn''t always go ording to n. But. Byron had a switch left. It had been hanging over my neck like an executioner''s axe all battle, ready to be used at a moment''s notice. If he switched into Corviknight or a Scizor, for example, it was pretty much over, wasn''t it? Even Angel, in his current healthy state, would be able to better tackle both of these. The field wasn''t perfect as I swore to him it would be, but there was soil, it had been hydrated by the river and water, and it was deep enough for him to root himself in. Again, though, there was a caveat to this. Bisharp was avable, and unlike Scizor, he could actually cut himself out of this. Would it be at a speed higher than what Angel could smother him with? That was a question difficult to answer. This was, I knew, a decision that could cost me the entire battle. I sighed, grabbing my next Pokeball with a sweaty palm. Angel materialized onto my side of the field, a silent, towering mass of writhing vines. His eyes locked with Empoleon, and he waved at her with a bright smile, as if telling her that he hoped they''d have a good fight. The water type sneered, the steel tipping her flippers sharpening with a menacing gleam. "You''ll have to stab him deep!" Byron ordered. He knew that a Tangrowth''s weaknessy within their vines. "Do it." First came the sun, appearing above the sky with a woosh. It was a gentle thing, unlike the scorching heat Sunshine''s Sunny Day helped bring. Comfortable with the way its warm, golden light kissed your skin. Empoleon was already running forward, her Aqua Jet growing a smidge weaker, and metal burst through the dirt to keep Angel in ce as she summoned another row of spears, this time tipped in sharpened ice. Thick walls of earth rose to try to stop her, but Angel stopped after realizing they were doing nothing. At least ydol''s had slowed her, but the grass type hadn''t practiced as much with the move than the others. He closed his eyes. Vines anchored themselves to the ground, and then expanded. A verdant cascade of vegetation sprouted out of him like they were the roots of an ancient tree, creaking like old wood. The ground beneath quivered, yielding to its master as sinuous vines kept worming themselves through the soil. They spread, dividing into two over and over like cells and even crossed the river without a hitch. His silence was deafening. Empoleon stopped until Byron barked out at her to keep going. She raked a w forward, spreading a cloud of ice in front of her as she stepped on a path of frozen vines, spears still levitating around her as she slid down Angel''s domain. He''s testing the waters, I instantly thought. Wants to see if ice is a weakness, or maybe how much dexterity we''ve got. After all, who the hell could micromanage that many vines? Angel could. From the side, a green tendril blurred, wrapping its way around Empoleon''s neck, and puffs of every powder started exploding in between the two Pokemon. It was only one vine, at first then a dozen more, smothering Empoleon, who barely had time to react and send her spears flying forward. Angel managed to knock the majority of them out of the way with more vines, but two prated past his defenses because of how close Empoleon had gotten. For a moment, there were screams as Empoleon began to drown in the vines and Angel sucked her energy with Giga Drain, but then, she waspletely silent, her voice having been smothered. In the forest, no one would hear you scream if Angel ever got his hands on you. Death woulde slowly and in silence. For a moment, Byron frowned. Then shrapnel and spikes of steel exploded from under Angel''s vines, and he whipped a Pokeball out of his belt, instantly recalling the water type¡ª Arceus fucking damn it! There were supposed to be no openings, but Empoleon had given him enough time to recall her! He''d moved his hand so fast I hadn''t even noticed. Those decades of experience weren''t for nothing. Odds were, he wanted to keep Empoleon to use against Sweetheart, which was exactly what I''d wanted to avoid. Sure, her steel tricks wouldn''t pierce through her armor, but since he was mirroring my style, he would no doubt order Empoleon to flood her vents with water or stab inside of her vents, and while they could be closed, that would go entirely against my n I had for her¡ª Focus, Grace. I''d caught up to Byron''s numerical advantage, and while Empoleon wasn''t as banged up as Princess, I''d beaten Byron''s Bronzong. I just needed to dock the damn ship and use Angel''s strengths. "Smoothen out the ground," I exhaled. Vines crawled atop the earthen walls and domes, swallowing them into the deep. The steel spikes would have to stay, but they weren''t reallyrge enough to matter. In reality, he was just using his extended senses to turn them back into mud, but it still looked cool. Like an all-consuming sea of vines. Had I not been fighting against a Gym Leader, I''d be willing to bet that would be a neat psychological trick to stun other trainers. Byron''s hands fiddled with the remaining Pokeballs on his belt, and I braced myself. No Skarmory other than his personal one on hand, and he''d already locked himself out of it. Corviknight was awful at attacking at a distance, so Byron would need to get close. It would either be Bisharp or Scizor¡ª Out of the ball, in thest free corners of the arena not yet overtaken by Angel, came out a Lucario. His eyes were¡­ feral, not at all like Ri or Maylene''s own Lucario, and a wide grin split the fighting type''s face as soon as he noticed what he was up against. He punched his palm and growled as he squared himself and prepared to fight. "I knew you''d enjoy this one," Byron said. "Armor up." "Grab him." When one pictured fighting a Lucario, they were always diligent, calm fighters. Technique and skill over raw power, blue light swarming every inch of their skin as they pulled off more and moreplicated techniques that awed the audience. Lucario were, after all, among the best aura users in the entire world. This Lucario was nothing like that. There was no blue wave of energy cascading off his skin as it split open with a nauseating squelch and exposed the raw, pink flesh beneath the skin. Lucario''s teeth clenched, but he never lost his grin and kept destroying his own body from within. The initial splits gave way to a visceral disy as metallic bones emerged from within, tearing through muscle and sinew until the entire body was covered in sharpened armor that shimmered under the Gym''s harsh lights. Only his eyes were still visible. This was Byron''s Lucario. A creature of violence, willing to go through and even enjoying pain, if it made him stronger. An endless hunger for powerful opponents without a care for how close his own body was to death. Vines unfortunately only reached him as soon as his transformation finished, but a set of metallic des grew from the fighting type''s arms, and his own body spun so quickly he became a blur, cutting every single appendage that had tried to reach him. I had miscalcted thinking that he wouldn''t use Lucario when I had a Tyranitar and Togekiss waiting in the wings. "Swords Dance," Byron said. "Bulldoze, Spores and Sr Beam!" I yelled in quick session. It was not a graceful thing, the way Lucario sharpened like a whetted sword. With an almost manic fervor, his body convulsed as if possessed by the very essence of the battle itself. The ground under him began to shake as vines beat against the metallic floor beneath the wet mud, and bombs of every kind of spore flew in a tall arc toward Lucario. It was the final act, that captivated me, however. Tangrowth weaved vines into a circle about midway between himself and Lucario. They spun in an almost hypnotic pattern as energy from the sun built up at their center until it nearly blinded me. Within three seconds, the attack shot out toward Lucario. Now on all fours, the steel type threw himself to the side, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he dodged the Sr Beam and barely got a whiff of the spores. Countless vines grabbed at his wrist, chest, neck, legs and ankles, but despite being slowed with both those and the Bulldoze, he was so sharp that even with the vines wreathed with dark energy, they were getting cut within moments of grabbing onto him. Still, Lucario was taking damage. Leaf des, Sr des, and even Brick Break only dented his armor, but we needed more. "Explode!" I ordered as soon as hended from crossing the river. Two Sr des sprouted from the ocean of vines next to Lucario, and the steel type instantly cut across both, but didn''t ount for the one that had been hidden right under his foot. Cracks in the armor this time, and it even chipped in some ces, but it instantly regrew as Lucario snarled in pain and then grinned. "You''re almost there," Byron said. So close he could taste it. Lucario spun, throwing himself in the air again, but a darkened vine from Angel sped onto a groove in his ankle and mmed him onto the ground. There was no refinement in this battle. It was just¡­ desperation. A need to fight, because how could Lucario live without that thrill? That was antithetical to who he was. Spores swarmed him as he stood up and coughed. It was as if the air itself was pushing them into his lungs. One more time. Another burst of steel from under his feet and hands, exploding with a thousand pieces of shrapnel and giving him enough height to reach Angel in a single jump. Air crackling with power, a celestial light overtook Lucario''s form as his arm shifted with the sound of rearranging bones until it became an elongated knife. The world screamed, air blurred around his arm as multi-colored mes burst out of his fist and the Meteor Mash took form. Lucario descended, streaks of astral fire trailed behind the mighty swing. The metallic bones, now infused with the power of falling stars, collided with Angel as the steel type gouged his insides. Angel''s eyes bulged, vines moved as one with agony all across the battlefield, and Lucario grinned, drool dripping from his mouth. It was a wonderful disy of violence and fighting spirit, but it was not enough. Angel drew upon nutrients from the ground, and Lucario''s face fell. Spores wafted off the grass type, and another Sr de exploded below them, throwing Lucario back. Swallowing him below the depths was impossible with how he''d just cut his way out, but we could still overwhelm him. I''d known Pokemon capable of cutting vines would be a weakness of ours, but we still had numbers on our side. It was up to Lucario to get to us, not the opposite. The fighting type iled with every limb to get himself out, but every contact was another second spent being hit with Leaf des or having his energy sucked by Giga Drain, though I did notice the move was way weaker when touching the bones that made up Lucario''s armor, and trying for Leech Seed was a lost cause. "What do we do when we fail?" Byron asked. "We get up and try again. Bullet Punch." Lucario''s second fist turned to another de, and he grunted. "Ancient Power¡ª" He was more of a force than a living thing, with the way he rushed forward and cut so fast. Like a hurricane bending trees so low their leaves touched the ground. Lucario broke through the wall after three punches that might as well have been instant. He was faster now, but the drawback of this was that he was taking more damage. He could not cut every vine before they exploded, could not stop the asional Sr Beam from clipping him in the shoulder before he could dodge, and spores were not something that could be cut. Still, he reached us. A wave. It was a flurry of punches, each puncturing deeper than thest, so quick that the air itself seemed to deflect the vines Angel was using to retaliate. With each impact, Angel lost more and more control. He did not bleed, nor did he scream, but the way his vines moved spelled out agony rather easily. The erratess of the movements, the way they had turned from a unified force to a writhing mass of individuals. The way the terrain receded at its edges. The way he no longer used the mud to regenerate with Ingrain. The way the sun flickered in the sky. "You''ve got this," I breathed. "Concentrate." Pain was something Angel had never gotten used to. The way his body was built had him nearly impervious to the sensation, and that had him lose focus each and every time he was struck. My voice had his attention back on the fight, but we were still losing, slowly but surely. Lucario was slowing with the amount of spores he had inhaled and hits he had taken, but he was going to oust us. Without that armor he would have died¡ª would have fainted twice over already. That armor. Steal. "Give everything you have on Bulldoze!" I ordered. Bulldoze was, along with Stomping Tantrum, not that much of a sophisticated technique. Angel''s eyes sharpened as he beat the ground around Lucario like drums. Byron called out, telling him to pay attention to what was going on around him, but the ground had the fighting type stumble forward and allowed Angel to throw him back around thirty feet. He cut the vines on the ground as he skidded and rolled, and to my relief, he took seconds to get up. For the sheer amount of focus this had required of Angel, vines around the edges of the arena had receded some and the Sunny Day was weaker, now. That was okay. "Coat your vines in mud and solidify it." I couldn''t see his eyes from here, but with the split second it took for him to get to work, I could almost imagine him blinking. Mud slipped from below his vines and clumsily soaked their surface before hardening into a thick shell. It wasn''t every vine, far from it. Six¡ª seven, at most, with how he had to keep concentrating on everything else. Lucario would be able to break through, but his cutting was not well thought out, to break through stone. "Bludgeon," Byron said. There we go. Instead of des, one of Lucario''s fists turned to balls of spiky metal in a way that reminded me of Zoroark. The other was still a well-maintained sword, however. "Steady. Keep your mind in the game," I warned. Lucario blurred¡ª No, he stopped midway through his charge and jumped to the side, his de-like fist raking against the vines in front of him to clear a path. Angel watched as the steel type circled him, still managing to continuously tire him out. Armor bent and broke, spores were inhaled and time was bought for him to get a feel for how his vines functioned when coated in stone. Lucario was looking for an opening, knowing that any big hit would spell his doom. He found one, but not the way I''d expected. Armor sleeked, sticking close to where Lucario''s skin should have been, and any spikes and bumps were shed. With that, the fighting type lost weight and there was a shockwave¡ª so fucking fast¡ª in a second, he was next to Tangrowth again. The grass type mmed a whip-like stony vine against Lucario''s back, and he howled in agony as his armor finally cracked. Another vine prated through the flesh within as Lucario grabbed onto Tangrowth with two hands and¡ª And ripped him out of his Ingrain. He spun once with Angel in his arms, his eyes barely open and his knees buckling over the massive weight. Circle Throw. "You''re so close! Use¡ª" Anything. Anything would work, but¡ª Lucario copsed, dropping Angel back onto the ground, and a discreet vine slithered out of his back. He''d poured more spores into his veins and won. With fluttering eyes, Angel tried to anchor himself to the ground again to keep his vines from dying, but they were already wilting at the edges. "Lucario is unable to battle! Leader Byron, send out your fifth Pokemon!" "Good job, Angel! You did great!" I yelled. He hadn''t been the ace I''d been looking for, but I was starting to think that was okay. For each Pokemon to have been instrumental to victory in their own way, instead of putting all of my eggs in one basket, and honestly expecting any kind of sweep in a battle like this had just been me hoping for the best-case scenario. Still, I didn''t like this. These were basically draws even if my Pokemon were still standing by the end. Byron released Empoleon again, and I knew already that a loss wasing. Getting hit so many times had forced Angel''s vines to recede and there was ample space for her to stand in. "Sr Beam," I tried. Slow, so slow. There was no more sun to power up the attack, and the light coalesced at a Slugma''s pace in front of Angel. That was ample time to gather more steel to gouge Angel and finish him off. The beam still fired, but it swerved up as the grass type rolled onto his back and burned vertically across the barrier. "Tangrowth is unable to battle! Challenger, send out your fifth Pokemon!" I recalled Angel, and vines across the battlefield squirmed and died, shriveling up in seconds. Guess the soil wasn''t as good as I thought it''d be, I internally sighed. That meant Ingrain hadn''t been regenerating as much as it could have. Now what? Empoleon was weakened, but nowhere near down. Princess was an okay choice here and I had convinced myself to keep Sweetheart forst, but her wings were broken, meaning she was slow enough to skewer in the air, and if darkness-tipped poles hadn''t been stopped by ydol, they weren''t going to be stopped by Princess. Still, if she could get a Moonst and some Tri Attacks off¡­ it was doable. Sending out Tyranitar now would have two weakened Pokemon face off against a single healthy one, and I''d watched enough videos to see how that nearly always went. The one with two Pokemon lost, and the fact that I still didn''t know which one thest one would be had me worried. It would have to be Princess, then. Artist against artist, sculptor against sculptor. And this time, we had earth to work with. It hurt, to see Princess'' wings this way. Bent down halfway and struggling to move, despite how much she wanted to. The freedom they had afforded her, the speed, the sheer joy of flight had all been taken away from her. She teetered on a knife''s edge, hovering slightly above the ground through sheer force of will like she had so many times as a Togetic, agony wracking every inch of her face. Empoleon stared at her for a moment, and she must have found something there, or perhaps Byron had told her about Princess beforehand when he''d nned against me, but there was respect there that hadn''t been present against any other Pokemon of mine. She was not the shiest of Byron''s fighters, not the strongest, but without her there, Byron''s entire strategy just didn''t work. It was something I''d noticed with the Gym Leader in high-leveled Gym Battles, to have at least one Pokemon focused more on control than taking down enemies. She was one of thest two that needed to go down. There was something to be said about the importance Byron ced on her. "Into that river," Byron ordered, and she instantly jumped head-first in the water. Here was the state of the battlefield. The ground had been ttened, having lost most of its holes and hills after Empoleon had altered the field to her liking, and almost all of it was covered by a thickyer of wet mud. From Byron''s side of the arena, the river was mostly parallel to the length of the arena until halfway through and sharply turned cut across horizontally, dividing the field in two. Of course, there were remains of what once had been. The short stump of a metallic tree, in another spot,rge shards of iron jutting from below the dirt, strings lying on the floor from Wormadam. It was a simple field, returned to its basics, but the thing was that it worked perfectly for Empoleon. While I ordered Princess to gather some mud, and it began to orbit around her, foam and waves coursed through the river, signaling Empoleon beginning to swim. Spikes and poles formed on the water''s shores everywhere near where Empoleon swam, jutting through the mud like sprouting trees. They were not in the form of trees, this time. With little attention to give and tiredness spreading through the water type, they were rugged. Rough and what I felt Empoleon must have felt was unbing of her, but she wasn''t actually making use of them. She jumped out of the river, water still tightly wound against her skin with long poles, darkness dancing around them as they hovered behind her. Twisting into a weak Drill Peck, she sped toward Princess at speeds that would be impossible to dodge. I''d noticed the subtle darkness in her eyes, but doubted she''d have enough left in her to add another Nasty Plot. There wasn''t enough time for me to speak regardless, and stones rose from around Princess, exploding like shrapnel around Empoleon and tearing through the small protective bubble of Aqua Jet and the wind from Drill Peck. Blood seeped in her water, yet she didn''t veer off course nor lose her focus. She kept going. The ground below Princess rose, bumping he in the stomach to punch her toward Empoleon, and¡ª "Thunder Wave," I spat. Electricity buzzed to life around Princess, linking her to Empoleon. It wrapped itself around the water type, and her two spears prated past one of Princess'' wings while the rest nted themselves in the mud with a soft thud. With a cry of pain, Togekiss'' eyes shes and she pushed Empoleon back a few feet with Psychic. Empoleon rolled away, the mud seemingly working to keep shoving her away. Blood seeped on the ground and coated her fur. Princess was on herst legs. Bronzong had affected her more than I thought they had. Moonst would take too long, and Ancient Power wouldn''t deal enough damage. It had been a gamble, to let ourselves get hit to get this off, but being honest, it still gave me what I wanted, even if it hurt me to watch Princess suffer this much, and if Princess had been capable of dodging or avoiding getting hit in any way, she would have done so without me to tell her. This was, something I believed had been needed to obtain a win, catching Byron off-guard with a move I rarely ever used, because in a straight fight between the two, Princess would lose. Empoleon convulsed on the ground, not incapable of moving, but slower, and she wasn''t helped by all the mud solidifying around her feet and arms. "st her with electricity," I continued with a tired sigh. Princess was on the ground now, too weak to even hover, but a small ball of electric energy began to form ahead of her. Weak, so pitifully weak, but hopefully enough. The electric part of Tri-Attack struck Empoleon in the chest as she got up, but damn it if she wasn''t so damn persistent. The water type stumbled forward, but her steps grew more and more confident. More graceful. A second st of electricity, this time only managing to graze her wing and still slow enough for her to attempt to dodge. Byron grunted. "Finish her off." Empoleon raised a flipper, her three ws shining and elongating by a few inches, and she raked her hand across Princess'' back, rendering her unconscious. That was how it finished. With a simple Metal w. Too fast. She''d been weakened too quickly. Even with broken wings and the stabbing, it made no sense for her to have¡­ "Togekiss is unable to battle! Challenger, send out yourst Pokemon!" And how had Empoleon not fainted through all of this? How had she seen entire battles through? This wasn''t just being naturally enduring, this was a trick. A trick Byron had never called out in any of the battles she had ever been in. Aqua Ring? No, I would have seen it, at the very least. Life Dew? Her skin was perpetually wet so it was possible, and that move would be so much easier to render invisible to the naked eye, but this wasn''t healing. I''d even scoured the forums talking about Byron''s Gym, and none of them had said anything about this. It was something that had herst longer than she had any right to, and I wasing up empty. I hateding up empty. Or maybe I was just paranoid. Those spikes she''d set up across the arena was something she was too weak to use at the moment, so I assumed it was for what wasing next. Mawile, maybe? That''d make sense against Sweetheart, and the steel type was an expert at making armored Pokemon look like chumps. Ferrothorn? Ferrothorn made sense, given the fact that he had Ingrain and could use them to climb onto and move quickly like he had against Denzel. Aggron¡­? But none of it mattered, did it? I only had one Pokemon left. No amount of thinking and theorizing would matter, in the end. I was tired, so tired, but my mind was still sharp. It was my body that could barely keep up. My muscles hurt from having tensed them too much, my ankle ached from standing so long and unconsciously putting weight on it, and my body was soaked in so much sweat that Sweetheart''s Pokeball nearly slipped out of my palm. Things did not actually look that bad for me. One would have expected a Tyranitar''s appearance to be a loud and boisterous thing, and especially mine. Perhaps a scream loud enough to make the barrier rattle, a fist mmed against a chest, the shaking and shifting of the earth. Or at least to catch more than a glimpse of her. The world hushed, and the air thickened with an ominous tension. The once-clear skies now twisted into a tumultuous vortex of darkened sands, shrouding the field in gloom, and suddenly, there was no more sound. Empoleon''s heavy breathing, the river washing up against the shores of the arena, and none from Sweetheart herself. There was only the howling of the wind and the grating of the sand against the floor and the barrier, which was not even particrly loud. Everything was muffled. It was strange, the way she had disappeared from view seconds after materializing onto the field. The Sandstorm was not particrly thick. In fact, I could still somewhat spot Empoleon and even Byron from here. Yet she was gone. Utterly masked from the world, as if she had never existed in the first ce. The temperature began to drop fromfortable warmth to an annoying cold. Not enough that I could see my breath, but enough to make me shiver. This was no ghostly trick. No slight of hand. This was her domain, where Tyranitar thrived. People, especially Sinnohans, knew Tyranitar for living high up in dangerous mountains the likes of Mount Silver, or Mount Cor, but they lived in deserts, too. It was an unforgiving ce of few prey, and so when they struck, they had to make it count. Empoleon spun around, desperate to see where exactly she would being from. Had she somehow buried underground? Would the ground open up and swallow her hole? Well, it wasn''t the former, since Sweetheart didn''t know Dig and her body wasn''t exactly adapted to it, but even I didn''t know how she would strike. Empoleon flexed, spinning to fire water all around her, but her eyes widened when she saw how weak it was. Barely a Water Gun, if it was even that. Enduring she was, but she was also on herst legs after Princess. Had she not been in this state, I had no doubt she would have had a trick to get out of this. Forming a shield of metal, perhaps. It didn''t matter any longer. Instead, she struggled to breathe from the amount of sand, convulsed from the paralysis. Byron''s lips moved, but she couldn''t hear him. No one could. He''d probably asked her to get back into the water. There was a certain pressure, to not knowing where a multi-ton mass of scales and stone was, a building tension so thick you could choke on it, and anxiety made one prone to mistakes. She was a hungry maw in the cold dunes at night. A hunter in the dark, ready to strike. A¡ª There was a roar. Deep and resonating deep in my bones. Endless rows of sharpened teeth sank into Empoleon''s arm from behind as Tyranitar reappeared amidst the Sandstorm, her ambush having beenid. Sweetheart shook her head wildly, throwing Empoleon around like a rag and constantly beating her against the ground with Crunch sinking further and further into her flesh. She was the only thing we could hear, in the Sandstorm. Endless, guttural screams of her brutalizing her opponent. Empoleon tried to get away with a pitifully weak Metal w, but the attack barely scratched Sweetheart''s scales. It was Grass Knot, that allowed her to escape. From the mud we''d given her, thick roots grew around Tyranitar''s feet and had her stumble, leaving Empoleon an opening to fire a concentrated beam of metal into one of her vents. She growled in irritation, and the pain forced her to let go. Bloody, shaken, and with a flipper shredded by teeth, Empoleon retreated and jumped headfirst into the water now that she''de back to her senses, but the liquid split apart, and shended headfirst onto the cold, steel floor below, and the earth began to shake. Cracks spread from Sweetheart''s feet until they reached Empoleon, and golden light erupted from the crevices before being swallowed by the dark. Smoke and shards of metal flew upward, thrown off from the sheer force of the Earthquake. They spread across the arena, ttening and altering the disposition of the ground. Even the river changed directions slightly to the right with three other channels being created in seconds. The silence was admittedly disturbing. The Sandstorm ended with Empoleon''s fall into unconsciousness, letting the referee do their usual spiel to ask Byron to send out hisst Pokemon. "You''ve done well to push me this far, Grace Pastel," Byron said. "We''ve bloodied each other well, haven''t we?" What? "Your true test begins now." I gulped and ordered her to start it again right away despite the fact that it''d interrupt her celebrating. She disappeared into the Sandstorm once more, and Byron released his final Pokemon. First came the golden glow. He shimmered bright, even through the darkened sands, but he was not hope. No, that would be misconstruing what he was supposed to be. A beacon, yes, but a Pokemon meant to lead and inflict fear onto others, because when one saw the golden glow¡ª My knees buckled, and my breaths grew short. There was a¡ª I felt cold metal press upon my throat, deep enough to nearly pierce the skin. It was there, but it¡ª it wasn''t. I shivered, not daring to move a muscle, not even a twitch of my finger or the rising of my chest with every breath, because I''d¡­ I''d what? Lose. I would lose. Kingambit stood up from his perpetual crouch with azy scowl, the golden de atop his head lengthy enough to be taller than I was. Eyes like polished onyx gleamed with an unexinable and held a cold, unyielding determination. The Kingambit''s gaze swept across the surroundings and felt like a piercing judgment, causing my heartbeat to quicken and my throat to dry. How, how, how? He had battled with Bisharp just two weeks ago, and the evolution method was entirely dependent on luck finding an army of Bisharp and Pawniard for your own to beat. This made no sense¡ª he had been at his Gym every day since then. Had he sent a Gym Trainer to do it? Where? Sinnoh''s poption of the Pawniard line wasn''t very high, and the reason no native Sinnohans who stayed here had ever gotten a Kingambit was because¡ª Byron''s lips moved. Kingambit didn''t. He stood perfectly still, and something in the air gave away. The cut was instantaneous, the sound of de against de breaking past the sandstorm and being louder than anything I could imagine. It was the screeching of a de, raking against metal, but a thousandfold. Like nails against a chalkboard. I flinched when the crescent golden arc stretching high into the sky hit the barrier right in front of me, and I almost expected my head to get cut off for that disrespect. When my eyes opened, the Sandstorm was gone, Sweetheart lurking around Kingambit and preparing to strike again. The spikes Empoleon hadid that remained had all been sent forward by the impact, some of them having somehow prated past Sweetheart''s armor. But most of all. He had cut through Dark Sandstorm. He''d just fucking cut through it so effortlessly. Arge chasm had opened in the middle of the field, splitting it into two. Everyone had heard of Kingambit''s Supreme Overlord ability. It was one of Geeta''s main gimmicks, when you actually got to that point and defeated almost her entire team, and Paldea had made a crap ton of propaganda movies about it that Denzel had showed me after Mira''s Porygon had smuggled them off their inte, and they were actually pretty good. Where he differed from Pfin, however, was that this Pokemon was no hero meant to turn the tide of battle to save his allies. He was the final obstacle, annoyed that his army had failed him and forced him to get up from his chair to actually get the job done. Here stood triumph, basked in gold and glory and exposing me to what felt like defeat so overwhelming I could barely move or stand. "He¡ª he can cut through you!" I yelled. "Iron Defense and Earthquake! Blow everything up!" I didn''t actually know if he could, but at this point it was like the steel type could do anything he set his mind to. With an earth-shaking roar, Tyranitar reared back, her powerful tail crashing against the metallic floor and causing vibrations that resonated throughout the entire arena. The ground quivered beneath the sheer force of the impact, and the metallic floor began to buckle and twist in agony under the earth that still remained. Splitting the earth to swallow him whole would be nearly impossible, when the floor was made of metal. There was a bit of relief when I saw Kingambit buckle under the power coursing through the cracked floor and struggle to stand. He wasn''t invincible, thank fucking Arceus. Still, no order came from Byron. He was barely looking at the battle. And Kingambit was looking at me, not at Sweetheart. I understood, now. I was fighting him. He was the general, and I was the oppositemander. What Byron had said before hadn''t been an order. Kingambit jumped, leaving a trail of golden light¡ª no, golden slices in the air. Knowing she couldn''t dodge, Sweetheart fired back with a Dragon Pulse, but he fucking cut that too, a sharpened arm slicing across the beam of concentrated turquoise energy. The steel typended next to Sweetheart with speed that shouldn''t have been possible, with his weight and size. He hadn''t even looked at her, instead just letting one of the dark swords at the side of his face do the cutting, but I''d seen enough Fury Cutters to know that that neon green glow spelled bad news. Armor fell apart, crumbling like old sandpaper, and Sweetheart screamed. Even through Iron Defense, he could cut. "Concentrated Sandstorm!" I yelled. Sweetheart turned, swiping at Kingambit''s feet with her tail, and darkened sands sputtered from Tyranitar''s vents and mouth, swarming around the steel type. Next, she intensified the Earthquake with a defiant roar that forced me to cover my ears despite the feeling of the iron against my neck. Water shook, earth and shards of steel flew up and rained down the arena, the floor depressed, copsing to a lower level, yet Kingambit did not relent. His hands sliced together, creating a ring screech that had Sweetheart reeling back, and then he cut through the Sandstorm again, this time with Fury Cutter instead of that golden arc he had used prior. He broke into a quick jog, one step, two steps, three steps, then he mmed an elbow into Sweetheart''s gut, plunging a de deep into her flesh. Never had she been pushed to such an extent. "Payback!" I ordered. Darkness in her eyes¡ª then a strike, so powerful a darkened shockwave shot out behind Kingambit and the ting on his chest dented. The steel type brought his head down, cutting through Sweetheart''s shoulder with another Fury Cutter. He''s growing stronger and stronger, I need some distance. Kingambit was faster than her, however, and getting closer to the water wouldn''t do anything when he''d just be able to cut his way across. Another hit, this time slicing across her chest while she''d been mming a fist into the crack in his chest, exposing the grey flesh within. We had a way to do it, but it was high risk, high reward. To speed her up. Our win condition was keeping our distance enough to keep Earthquake going long enough to win. A slice across her leg, and she roared, fury filling her eyes. A vengeful look twisted her face into a grimace, and she hurled her entire body forward, mming her entire weight into Kingambit, who was crushed under so much pressure that he birthed a crater under his feet. Yes. That was our win condition. A point-nk Dragon Pulse, this one cold and merciless as it engulfed Kingambit''s form, stunning him for a few seconds until he reacted and cut, and pushed an Iron Head into her ribs. "Rock Polish! Keep your distance and Earthquake!" Who knew, that I''d be forced to see a Tyranitar run away from an opponent ever again? Stone shimmered, and for a moment, the blood soaking her tes glowed as well. Kingambit''s eyes narrowed, and he leaped forward, but she was more agile, now. She threw herself back, sliding against the metal, and caught him with a burst of ground type energy where hended before escaping towards the remainder of the river, which was at this point more of a bog. Kingambit let out a guttural, metallic grunt and followed. Few moves were called out. There was a strange ebb and flow to this battle. Sweetheart ran, and Kingambit asionally caught up to her due to her injured leg and got a good hit in. Something about those cuts was insidious. The amount of blood lost after each one was far greater than I''d ever expected from these attacks. I had her attempt Dark Sandstorm again, thinking that maybe that first move had been a powered-up one like Retaliate, but it hadn''t been, and this time Kingambit destroyed it before it could even get going. Or maybe it had, and that was just its natural strength, I had no fucking idea and it was eating at me from the inside. Thirty secondster, they''d reached the water. "Surf!" I didn''t think it was going to work, but I''d do anything to buy time. The water was full of mud and pieces of metal, but it was enough. A wave formed and washed over thend, and I would have crossed my fingers had every movement not made this damn Kingambit nce at me and press this fucking de on my neck. The steep type stopped, skidding against the ground, and braced himself¡ª no he was flexing. Then, there was darkness. Little slices of the world, gone, just like that, like they''d been torn apart. The cuts ran the entire length of the Surf, and the water just¡­ receded, like it was unable to be used any longer. Sweetheart confirmed my fears when she waved an arm and nothing happened. Here she was, her back to a bog of earth, water and metal. We''d cornered ourselves. There was no way she''d be faster than Kingambit in water, Rock Polish just didn''t work that way, and he''d waited until this very moment to reveal the fact that he too, could cut off the use of TE. Not exactly that. More like if he cut enough with whatever move that was, he could effectively cut it off from being influenced by Type Energy. Such fucking bullshit. This Kingambit¡­ had he known all along? Had he lured us here, to this very position with all the momentum and the deck stacked against us? The Rock Polish, the way he seemed to have been suspiciously slow when following us? Was it all for this? This feeling of entrapment, of pushing against an unmoveable object¡ª a damned mountain, and that defeat was now all but assured? Don''t let the psychological effects of his presence get to you, I breathed. The Earthquake had resumed in earnest and was back at full strength, the earth around them shaking like mad, though I suspected Iron Defense and the boost from Supreme Overlord was seriously dampening the effects. This was it. This was ourst stand. There was a glint in Sweetheart''s eye, and she lunged forward with a defiant roar, shing all of her teeth as the mud turned to stone and flew at Kingambit to apany her charge. The steel type met her assault with calm, first knocking away all of the Stone Edges, and then parrying her main charge with a cross of his arms. She pushed, trying to pummel him into the ground and he fell¡ª Trick. Kingambit fell back, holding his entire weight with one arm embedded in the ground and then moved his head to slice across Sweetheart''s chest. The wound was open enough now to plunge a de there, and he did, stabbing her with the other hand. Rock Polish had turned Tyranitar slippery, so he pressed, and her feet slid down the metal. The rock type rolled toward the bog,nding face down in the mud, and Kingambit stood up with a tired groan. He cracked his neck, a deeply ufortable and metallic noise, then spared me a look, as if to tell me something. Then, he slid down toward the water. "Smack Down!" I screamed, hoping to have him slip too. The water was shallow, and easy to get up from. Sweetheart angled her head toward Kingambit, and shards of stone and shrapnel burst through the water, but Kingambit just¡­ cut. He just cut so nonchntly. Words came out of my mouth, but my ears were ringing. Kingambit jumped, dodging a burst of stones below him and escaping from the constant shaking of the earth. Hended on top of her, his weight pressing against her back, and a de gouged the side of her back, neatly avoiding her spine. Sweetheart''s eyes bulged, then slowly closed as her head sank back into the water. Ah. I''d¡­ lost? Seriously? I blinked, my legs giving way below me. There was light at the edges of my vision, but I¡­ Was this a dream? Moving was hard. So very hard. Like I''d just lost all of my strength. Loud. Had the people around always been this obnoxiously loud? pping for no reason. pping when I hadn''t won. Had it always been this difficult not to feel like garbage? "Recall your Tyranitar, Grace Pastel." Byron''s voice, but it was far away. Shit. Shit, yeah. I fumbled around my belt, recalling Sweetheart before she drowned on ident. Kingambit looked at me and nodded, though he was sitting and drawing heavy breaths. Like that mattered. Maybe I was just seeing things to make myself feel better. I turned away and bit my tongue. At least I was no longer feeling this pressure on me. There was the sound of Kingambit being recalled, and I had to struggle back to my feet twice before I made it up. Embarrassing. This was real, wasn''t it? I wasn''t going to wake up. Morning was not going toe. It was over. I hadn''t been strong enough to pass my test. I should have expected Bronzong to break Princess'' wings after seeing Steelix fight. Maybe Sunshine would have been able to beat Kingambit¡ª could he cut heat? But then I''d need to spend so many resources to beat Steelix. Maybe I would have won. Maybe I should have saved a swap. Let Princess fall against Bronzong. Maybe I should¡ª My legs had carried me off the tform, nearly stumbling off the stairs and facenting forward. I knew Byron talked to all his challengers after their eighth-badge battle, win or lose, but all I wanted to do was leave. What had I been missing? What did I not have? Byron was an imposing man, from up close, or maybe losing had fucked me up so hard I couldn''t look him in the eye without feeling shame. Our microphones had already been cut off by this point. The p on my back knocked the wind out of me. "What a fun battle! Well fought, Grace Pastel!" he barked out. "You impressed me time and time again with¡ª" "What did I do wrong?" His eyebrows rose a smidge. "Let''s have you hear the good first." He leaned forward, his hands and chin on the pommel of his shovel. I didn''t care about the good, I needed to fix myself, but I let him go on. "Field maniption and control. Among the best I''ve seen, for a kid your age. You fight tooth and nail for it, make it hard to keep to one n. That''s excellent." Hurry. "Firepower. People like to say that you can make up for that with clever tactics." He stered a smile on his face, boy-like and innocent. "That''s true, to an extent, but it''s still a good thing to have. You''ve got some real heavy hitters with you. I s''pose your ydol wasn''t fully trained yet, though. Do me a favor and understand that what your Turtonator did isn''t something you should replicate against all opponents. idents are prone to happen, sometimes." Hurry up! "I could talk about the strong bond and how your Pokemon fight for you, and how that makes themst longer in battle, but that one is rathermon at this point," he continued. "Now, let''s give you broad strokes. The problem is, while you''ve improved at improvising, what my files on you said was your weakness, you''re prone to panic when it happens. Makes you battle worse." Finally. "Do I just throw my head against the wall until I get better at that?" I asked, honing in on my w. He nodded. "No fancy ways to improve other than battling yourself. You were caught off-guard when you realized I was fighting like you, when I started hitting back. That made you miss some things." "My Togekiss." "Hurts to see your Pokemon broken like that, doesn''t it?" he asked. "Made you not notice the iron I had Rapture slip inside of her." "I did notice, I¡ª" "Ah, and yet you didn''t change the way you fought. That''s even worse," Byron gruffed. "No, I thought you just stabbed her!" I yelled defensively. "Rapture contaminated her, and Empoleon helped spread it quicker," he said. "Made her weaken, and weaken fast." He must have seen my face drop, because he quickly added, "Not enough to put her in the hospital for weeks. Just enough to slow her down. Think of her like a steel type Toxic. Fairies are always weak to that trick." It was just like mercury poisoning. Damn it, and I''d only noticed she was weakening too quickly when it was toote. Empoleon had screwed us all along! My foot bounced and my teeth gnashed at my thumb nail. "Rx, kid. Feels like the end of the world right now, but you''ll be stronger for it," Byron said, standing up from his shovel. "Enjoy the rest of your week. Spend it with your friends, and I''ll be seeing you again when this is all over." I only nodded. He hadn''t given me enough. I was going to hole up in my room and watch the video over and over.
Chapter 302 Chapter 302
CHAPTER 302 Click. Click. Click. The screen was blinding, but not as much since Honey had opened the blinds and let the final licks of sunlight shine through. My fingers touched the backspace arrow key with a light tap, rewinding my battle against Byron for what felt like the thousandth time today. The specific spot I''d been focused on for a while now was the moment when he''d released Kingambit onto the field. My eyelids closed for an instant, feeling horribly dry, and my throat tightened. There was a sh of scarlet, and the steel type appeared within the dark sandstorm, his form too blurred to get a good look with these ancient Gym cameras. It was only when Kingambit cut apart the sandstorm with that golden cutting move, that I got a good look at him. It had been long enough now that I''d stopped being salty at Byron bringing a newly-evolved Pokemon to the fight. New moves or tactics, I''d considered, but that? That had screwed me up in more ways than one. I paused the video and looked at myself. Utterly frozen, chin high as if someone had been holding a de to my neck and with trembling legs. Fingers twitching, mouth sown tightly shut and eyes half-closed. The feeling was still fresh in my mind, given that the battle was only hours old. That any move, anymand I had Sweetheart execute would result in a loss. That no matter what steps I took, Kingambit would lead me to my doom. It had been a horrid, choking sensation that still had me shudder even now. His moves had seemed so calcted, his shes so deep, his steps so quick. Kingambit had beenrger than life, the concept of triumph itself. In reality? He was strong. Indubitably so, with the way he''d gone toe to toe with a Tyranitar. None of what I''d seen had been a lie. He had cut through her armor, had taken Earthquakes and punches and kept fighting afterward, but on the video, he was¡­ not as indomitable as he''d seemed. Maybe it was the way his tiredness and strain were easier to notice with a clear head and the effects of Supreme Overlord not there to hamper me, but as I rewatched the battle over and over, focused on this specific moment, one notion rang louder than any other mistake I''d made during the battle. I ordered Sweetheart to run when I shouldn''t have. I shifted in my seat and shot down the urge to gnaw on my nails through my bandages. I''d done it once already when Byron had been talking to me and bit through them, and Honey had been worried sick when he saw the state of my still-healing fingers and had forced me to switch my bandages early. Leaning back forward, I let the video y at double speed, letting the entire chase sequence y out. If I''d let Sweetheart stand her ground, if I''d let her fight like Sunshine had with Steelix, then maybe I''d have a badge right now instead of this hollow feeling inside of me. No, not hollow. Inadequacy. My Pokemon were all strong enough, they were. Hell, Byron had even said that Sunshine fought too hard and our way of using heat to drown out all life ran the risk of getting a Pokemon killed¡ª which meant that we''d have to start focusing on his dragon side or teach him to be better at manipting heat like Emilia''s Braixen was, when this entire thing with Gctic was over. If we won. I''d just fucked up again and again. Of course, no battle was perfect, but minor mistakes had added up until I made thest one I couldn''t afford. I felt a hand on my shoulder and flinched for a moment, remembering Honey had been in the room watching the footage along with me. He''d been rather quiet, not knowing what to say to cheer me up. "Thanks," I just said. "Oh, wow." My voice was drier than usual, like I hadn''t drank in hours, and I''d surprised even myself. Well, I hadn''t. I''d also cried, screamed into my pillow and punched and cut it, but that was par for the course. I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear to get a better look at my screen. "I''m okay." The start of the battle had gone rather well, but it all started slipping when Princess had her wings broken. It disturbed me, in the moment. Rattled me, despite not realizing it at the time. She''d be in the Center the entire week with Sunshine because of it, too. That feeling had made me not notice that the iron that had prated her back had been liquid seeping into her veins, and not solid des, more of a liquid than solid. I found myself rewinding the video, hearing a metallic burp behind myptop from Mimi. I quickly lowered the screen, d to see they hadn''t been eating at the behind of the screen, but chewing through the bag of scrap metal I''d given them instead as an apology for having them sit through all this battling on my wrist earlier. They had not been a fan of all the hurt and violence. Back to the battle. The truth was, I hadn''t known how to defeat Wormadam in concrete terms. My thoughts had frayed too much, and I''d ended up relying on a leap of faith that ended up working out, in the end, thanks to Buddy''s breakthrough of learning to reform through any water and him going¡­ feral, forck of a better word. Not a huge problem, but it meant I wasn''t thinking. Trust in bonds between me and my family was nice, but I couldn''t rely solely on hope and a prayer, or it was bound to bite me in the ass eventually. What if there''d been a way to beat Wormadam while still preserving Buddy? Making himst just a little longer? Not that I was seeing one right now, but that didn''t mean it was impossible. I was finding it difficult to focus, when I''d been a few better decisions away from a fucking badge. There were plenty of other mistakes, too. Not expecting Byron to know I was the kind of trainer to prevent a recall when I''d done it to Maylene months earlier, for example. It was a hard-earned lesson, to understand that people would be studying me at the Conference. The honest truth was, I''d never ever battled a trainer who knew as much about me as I knew about them, and it showed. They did prepare you well for the Conference, didn''t they? My back strained to stay straight, and I moistened my lips¡ª and eyes when Honey asked me to please blink. "Should have sent Sweetheart against Empoleon at the end," I muttered. "Then she wouldn''t have been able to speed up the mercury poisoning process. Kingambit would have taken her down, but then it would have been an exhausted Kingambit against a tired Princess." And she was basically the worst kind of Pokemon for him to face, instead of arge, slow-moving target like a Tyranitar. A flier who was¡­ well, not agile with her broken wings, but she could have flown high enough for it not to matter, and we would have won. Even still. With everything having gone the way it had. I shouldn''t have asked her to run. That was when I''d lost the fight and given up on the initiative. Let ourselves be baited with our backs to the water. Using Rock Polish had made her easier to knock down too, with the heightened friction against the floor. I''d fucked up, as plenty of people had liked to point out. Oh, they were almost all gentle about it. Goald, for example, had put out amentated analysis of the battle within the hour after his livementary and had caught most of what I had. There were a lot of others chiming in, just as there had been when Denzel had lost. The most dedicated of my fans were quick toy the me on ydol, to say that with Honey, I would have easily nabbed the badge from Byron''s hands. Had I not been tired and had a reputation to uphold because of Poketch, I would have remembered their names and DMed them instead of blocking them on sight. Without ydol there, my entire strategy with Angel fell apart and he would have gotten torn up by Lucario without so many vines to overwhelm him. Fighting steel types capable of cutting in general hadn''t been his forte, especially when Vine Terrain was still in its beginning form and the soil hadn''t been as good as I expected. They meant well, but reading the 500thment and beyond backseating about what moves or tactics my team should know or trashing ydol from people who had no idea what they were talking about and who''d never battled a day of their lives got tiring. I would have loved to say I hadn''t let the online discourse get to me, but people were alreadyparing¡­ Comparing me to the people who''d won on their first tries. Barry. Lauren. Cece. I hadn''t watched her battle yet. Not even talked to her beyond sending a message right after my battle and muting my alerts on all my devices. I didn''t want her to be disappointed in me¡­ to think less of me for getting caught in these stupid mistakes and throwing the battle. I was better than this. Poketch, for their part, I couldn''t ignore. They were miffed to see me lose so close to announcing me as their new Unovan Representative in tandem with their deration about expansion to a brand new region, and Melody was working overtime to keep the heat off my back and have them understand that a loss at the first attempt of any 8th badge battle was normal. That was what I was. Normal. Gah! This fucking sucked. But it had opened my eyes, too. Shown me that I was good at tricking myself that everything was going ording to n, that it was fine, when it wasn''t. Shown me that violence was a tool that could be used to throw me off-bnce and to probe for weaknesses just like I used it against others. Every single time my team had gotten mauled to such an extent before had been when my emotions had been dampened one way or another except with Zoroark, and that¡­ Well, yeah. I''d frozen up in my tracks, and ydol had been the one to recall Honey when his hand had been cut off. He might have died, had the ground type not been there. What was the point of using violence as a tool if I couldn''t even move when it was done to the people I cared about? It made me a hypocrite. There was a lesson, there, woven into this battle. A lesson about keeping my mind clear in the face of having my tactics turned against me, and in the face of the pressure some Pokemon could have. My fingers traced the mousepad, but a strange sound interrupted me. My stomach growled, and Mimi crawled from behind myptop, pinging me with notions of sustenance over and over again. I tilted my head toward them. "You hungry? You still have some metal left, and it''s clean, too." I squinted at the scraps, holding one between my fingers before dropping it on the desk again. It ttered next to them. "Yep, no rust on any of them." The steel type mewled, their little arms grabbing at the piece of iron, and waved it my way. I snorted, leaning against a palm with my other hand tapping their golden head. "You know I don''t eat metal, silly." Electivire raised a finger, saying that technically, I''d never tried. I forcefully exhaled through my nose. "I''ll try when you try." I stretched my back, hands intertwining together and toes wiggling in my shoes. "But you''re right, Mimi. I haven''t eaten since breakfast, so I guess I should get some food. The others have probably called me a thousand times, too. Just¡­ I need to figure out a little more stuff." Like what strategy I''d employ the next time to win, and a way to hone myself into a true knife capable of piercing through Byron. Not that he''d been very shield-like during the battle, anyway. He''d used all of his most offensively-minded Pokemon, save for Wormadam, and even her offensive power was rather insane¡ª A knock on the door, rough and annoyed. Chase, then. There was a rise of irritation at him interrupting my autopsy, but I let it settle while Honey moved to open the door. Mimi hissed, bing all spikes and needles, but I scooped them up and ced them in my sweater. They grabbed onto my cor, their eye bing a disapproving ''X'' before slipping underneath and hiding away, more out of habit than anything else, given that Chase knew about them. Chase looked up at Electivire as soon as he opened the door. "Hey, big guy. Came to visit your Mom, or whatever." The electric type ushered him in with his usual grin, waving at a pair of guys trying to look into the room instead of scaring them away like Buddy would have. Unfortunately, he was in his Pokeball right now, since he was too tired to eveny in a bath. "Gee, you look like shit," he said. "This room reeks." Well, I hadn''t showered yet after that battle. I sneered, turning away from him. "Whatever. Come to talk to me about the fight?" He slipped past me and opened a window. "I was watching." "Yeah, I figured you''d be there." I spun around, turning to straddle my chair. "Angry I lost?" "Not exactly. I was more trying to look at how he''d try to put you in the dirt," Chase said, a finger tracing the outline of his cap. "See if I can figure how he''d do me in." His arms crossed, and he leaned against the wall. "It was a good fight. Won''t tell you how you screwed up, since it looks like you''ve figured it out." He awkwardly gestured at my face, then at myptop, and I rxed a smidge. I''d expected him to be morebative about this, but that was probably because of ourst interaction. "He fucked me over," I sighed. "He did. Williams was going crazy about that Kingambit, given the fact that it''s¡ª he''s brand new. Even in the audience, that Pokemon took my mind for a spin. That ability''s no joke." "Well, they''re meant to lead armies or whatever, so I guess it makes sense to make their opponents feel like they have no choice but to run when they''re the only ones left on the field. Still doesn''t make me feel any better, though." Pausing, I crouched to check if I had any water left in the fridge. There was, and fresh at that. I felt Mimi scramble to keep themselves still against my shirt. "Water?" "Sure thing." I threw him a bottle, and he caught it. "Damn it, it would have been funnier if you dropped it." He scoffed. "Are you trying to trip me up?" "Little old me?" I feigned as much innocence I could as I opened my bottle. "No way! I only want what''s best for you, Chase, you know that." "That tone''s way too real, you little gaslighter," he said with a disturbed shiver. "Anyway, you''re doing better, then? Not spiraling, or whatever? Denzel wanted to check up on you but he pussied out and said thest time he tried you ended up yelling at him through the door." His eyes nced up at Honey, who''d been watching us talk. "Apparently this guy didn''t open it either." The electric type grunted, staring at me with suspicion, and I avoided his eyes. Hadn''t told him that yet. Truth was, I''d heard the others'' voices too. Pauline, Emi, Louis and Justin had all been there, given that I''d rushed out of the Gym before they could make it out of the bleachers with only a text saying I was going to study my battle. That''s gonna be an awkward conversation. "He wasn''t out at the time," I shrugged. "I wanted to be alone to study the battle at first, I only released him a while ago to break the news." He''d been as crushingly disappointed as I had, too, even if he hadn''t been in the battle, though it had been cute to see him cheer on the others when he''d watched the fight on myptop for the first time over my shoulder as quietly as possible not to break my focus. Even if he''d known the loss wasing, he''d been super invested in it and everything. "So he asked you to check on me?" I continued. "I was gonnae anyway. You know, to talk about thest time we spoke." "Hm?" "I still maintain my position," he grunted, "but if it has to be this way, if everyone does feel the need to be roped in¡ª" "Just Maeve, Emilia and Pauline," I interrupted. "Then I figured we should use the remaining week to talk and strategize. Militarily-speaking. You know, talk about the full capabilities of our teams and see if any of our Pokemon can mesh together and do stuff like Pauline and Emilia apparently did the other day." Oh, that''s why he was into this suddenly, and he must have been talking about their recent session with Denzel, since he''d recorded that one¡ª not for content, but for them all to review, which was something I should have thought about. Given that he had no psychic or Pokemon great at barriers, he had relied on Milotic''s Protect for defense, winning easier than I did mostly because he''d taken the fight super seriously after I had warned him not to underestimate them, but still, Emi and Pauline''s cohesion in battle was unmatched. "I don''t think we''ll reach their point, but it''d be good to know what everyone is capable of so we don''t go in blind. Train together, too." "My team''s at the Center," I grumbled. "Well, you can watch, at least. And most of ''em won''t be in there for too long, so they''ll be able to join in." "Yeah, I guess. Wait, I had a time limit to challenge Byron, that means¡­" He smirked. "Means I''ll wait until we kick Team Gctic''s ass to the curb before putting him in the dirt and getting my answers. I have a strategy in mind, now, but I didn''t have the time to finish implementing it properly before the time ran out." "That means that you''ll probably get one try," I exhaled, pressure mounting in my chest. "Huh? Don''t believe in me?" he frowned, though I could tell he was fooling around. "Well, you said that you''d lose." "Days ago! When I still didn''t have a concrete idea of what to do!" he yelled. "Now I''m locked in. I''ll make sure he answers for what he''s been doing to the Iron Inds. Why he abandoned us." We spoke about the battle for a while, and sometimes Honey chimed in and I tranted his words for Chase. All of Byron''s Pokemon had left an impression on Chase, and he seemed to have answers he hadn''t had when we''dst spoken. There was a certainty about his tone and bodynguage that hadn''t been there before. "Talk to Mira recently?" I asked. "She was lonely before I came to Jubilife." "The shrimp? Yeah, we speak. Nearly every day when I get back from training," he said. "Can''t stop rmending me horrid Kalosian music these days she''s gotten into. Feels like it''s making my ears bleed." "Right?" "She''s crazy. I was making sure she hasn''t been cking in her training just because she gets lost in her mind or whatever. That Goodwill kid''s been hanging out with her again." Right. Lauren had Teleported her way back to Jubilife, now, though it had taken many jumps and multiple days. I thought she''d nned oning here to visit her parents at first, truth to be told, but there was bad blood there, and she mostly wanted to take a few days of rest until she headed out to train by hunting down strong trainers. Barry, for his part, was back in the south and living between Twinleaf and Sandgem depending on the day, either with his mother or with Professor Rowan, Lucas and Dawn. "Y''know, I can''t help but be curious," I said. "Were you never interested in her?" He mulled over his answer for a few seconds. "She''s an interesting girl, but y''know, dating and stuff isn''t my thing, so I just let her burn out. Rather be friends than dabble in something that doesn''t interest me. You know, what you and Cece have, I understand it, but I don''t get it. Thought it''de one day, that something would click when I met the right girl, but it hasn''t yet. Maybe never." I winced when he mentioned Cece''s name, deciding to call her as soon as this conversation was over. "Fair enough. I thought you two were cute together is all." "You have awful taste." "What?!" "What do you even know about romance anyway?" he asked, pushing himself off the wall. "You''re like the most oblivious person ever when you aren''t cheating with empathy." Honey agreed, saying that I''d tried to pair him up with Lopunny. "Dude, I¡ª you traitor!" I hissed. "Don''t try to pretend like you weren''t using you two learning how to read at the same time as a way to flirt!" The little prankster was pretending not to have a crush just to embarrass me! "I dunno, Grace, I think you''re just seeing things," Chase said. Mimi had enough, and finally crawled away from under my shirt and retaliated with a harmless kick to my leg. Chase snorted at them. "Feisty." "They''re just in a bad mood from having to watch fighting for so long instead of us being out and about," I sighed. "You know what, how''s Wimpod? Haven''t seen her in a while?" He scratched his cheek. "Wanna see her?" As soon as I agreed, the little bug type popped out of her ball with twitching antennas, who scampered away from Meltan even though they were far smaller than her. Honey tried to approach, but to no avail, and Wimpod climbed up on Chase''s leg and back. But she wasn''t screaming or crying, at least. Just scared. That was progress, even though she wanted nothing to do with me no matter how slowly I approached or gently talked to her. Hell, even Honey had more sess than I had, getting to touch her scaly back before Chase recalled her. "Too much stimtion''s bad for her," he said. "And you know, I haven''t told her yet about the Gctic stuff." "Oh¡­ you could have told me that beforehand. I could have let something slip." He finished his water bottle and took a deep breath. "I think that when the timees, I''ll just leave her at the League or something. Keep her safe there, just in case one of those sickos decide to try to kill her and I''m dead." My heartbeat quickened, and I grabbed at my shirt. There was a way about how Chase and Cece talked about their possible demise so casually that disturbed me. "Might do the same thing with Mimi, I think." The steel type squealed at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Not in your Pokeball, you drama fiend! Arceus, has Princess been rubbing off on you or what? You two don''t even talk yet!" Displeasure, they sent me. "We''ll talk about itter," I said. "Anyway, uh, Chase, I''m gonna call Cece, so¡­" "I''ll get out of your hair. Come see us when you''re done, we''re all hanging out in the lobby." I quickly nodded. "Yup." He threw the bottle in the trash and left with his hands shoved in his pockets while I quickly scrambled to check on Cecilia''s battle, wanting to watch at least once before I called her. The thumbnail quickly caught my eye as soon as I made it onto Wake''s website, given the fact that there was no more water. It was gone. Evaporated, with the five inds acting as mountains instead, the central one even having copsed midway through the fight. Her strategy had been this. Leading with Hydreigon, she had fought back against another Empoleon, forcing Wake to use the first switch of the battle through the sheer brutality the dragon showed. There was power there, but also subtle skill that hadn''t been present during her fight with Byron for her seventh badge. The way the turquoise light surrounding him seemed to cause all moves to cower beneath his form, and they became weaker as they struck him. The way one head had made Empoleon freeze for a moment with what must have been Scary Face while the other twobined a Dragon Pulse and Charge Beam. It was something they excelled at, now. Mixing and matching moves to obtain different results. Azumarill hade out next, and despite the range advantage Hydreigon had on them, the water type had swarmed the field with bubbles of water and mour that exploded upon contact and were powered up with the storm Empoleon had set up at the start of the battle, forcing Cecilia to expend one of her recalls as well, revealing her Toxicroak. Vacuum Wave user, my eyes instantly narrowed. The bubbles actually didn''t pop when exposed to the move, but it did drag all the air out of Azumarill''s lungs and start evaporating the water around them. The fairy type was poisoned before getting back into the sea, and from now on it had just been a matter of waiting them out. Of course, that didn''t mean Cecilia got the takedown for free. Knowing that time hadn''t been on their side, Wake had ordered Azumarill to use Belly Drum and the water typepletely turned the battle around, using her exploding mour bubbles as support while she beat up Toxicroak with a relentless fervor that had both of them fall by the end of the fight. Still, the fact that Toxicroak had drawn against a water type in the rain had me in awe at how far she''de so quickly. The battle continued in a rather equal manner, with Scizor and Hydreigon battling a Feraligatr and Wailord, thetter of which was the one to take down Hydreigon. Since this was a battle she was fighting tooth and nail for, it wasn''t looking like Pfin was going toe out, with how close things were. That was until she sprung her trap. Both were out of their three switches, and Cecilia had three Pokemon left while Wake had two, his Empoleon having fallen as well. Since Crasher Wake was one of the weaker Gym Leaders, one could expect him to use two of his personal Pokemon, and as a man for theatrics, and like was the usual for these kind of battles, he''d kept them forst. The first one had been Quagsire, just as dumb looking and unaware as one could expect from their species despite having heard that he was not from rumors online. See, despite what people thought, Crasher Wake was not someone to only use the rain. Sometimes, he used mist to make visibility near zero, or he summoned clouds at ground level to use electric attacks, for example, but against Cecilia, he had leaned toward rain, stacking up Rain Dance after Rain Dance. It was a veritable storm that had her own Pokemon unable to hear her ownmands, by the end, which meant that they could only run on instinct and what they''d nned beforehand while she watched, with every ind but the central one having been swallowed by the waves. Powerful tsunamis swarmed the entire arena, seemingly sped up and controlled by Wake''s Pokemon, making life hell for anyone but a water type. Some would call it boring, maybe, to see him do the same thing so frequently, but this was actually an excellent test for Cecilia. She had, after all, always been the worst of us at manipting the weather and the terrain, even if she had finally started dabbling and was actually decent at it now. So here had been Crasher Wake''s test, or at least the main one I could see. With her back against the wall, two personal Pokemon left powered by multiple Rain Dances and no way to w her way back to influence the terrain and weather, how was she going to win? Slowking had been the answer. Not because he was a water type, but because she had pushed Disable to its limits. Ordinarily, the move only prevented a Pokemon from employing thest move they''d used, but not Slowking''s. He parsed through Quagsire''s mind, pulling at the exact move he''d wanted him to stop using. Rain Dance. It was a majestic disy of skill, one that had me rewinding that part of the video twenty times to understand what had happened. From then on, it was just a matter of waiting out a storm that was copsing on its own weight and couldn''t be sustained, though Quagsire still ended up taking him down, by the end of it, breaking through Slowking''s barriers even though they rivaled ydol''s. Then came Talonme, and she burned. All of the water was swept away by a Heat Wave hot enough to turn sand to ss with Quagsire too weak to do anything about it, without rain to constantly regenerate himself and too tired after a drawn-out fight with Slowking. Quagsire dide close to taking her down with attacks wide enough for her speed not to matter, but she was not frail as she''d once been, with many ways she and Cece hade up with to stop her wings from getting hit and her wings broken. She had gotten used to seeing that, had she? Unlike Princess, Talonme had gotten hers broken so many times it was probably routine. In the end, it had been Golurk against Poliwrath. The ghost type now was even worse to fight. Discounting the sheer destructive power on disy that put all of my Pokemon to shame, there was a time limit to how long you couldst in battle with him, and it was all because of his song. Listen long enough, and you''d go unconscious, weakening along the way, too. It tied in beautifully with her disabling of the rain and its powerful sound. Despite Poliwrath having set up another one, Lehmhart''s song had been so loud it easily broke through any singr Rain Dance, even from one of Wake''s Pokemon. She''d broken the stacking Rain Dance and won because of it. Even then, Cecilia had won by the skin of her teeth in a fight so grand the central ind had been destroyed. Poliwrath had been strong enough to go toe to toe with Lehmhart''s powers, no doubt putting that fighting type to good use. Damn it, she was cool. Composed the entire fight, too, which was what I''d been missing, granted Wake didn''t throw a Pokemon with Pressure at her, or something akin to it. I rewinded her video by muscle memory until Honey grunted at me with an engine-likeugh while he yed with Mimi in his hand, holding them by the window and throwing them up with weak maism. "Uh, right," I nodded. "Better call." I blew a raspberry, lying down on my bed on my stomach instead of sitting on my chair while kicking my feet in the air. She was on top of my contacts, so I was quick to dial her number, never mind that Honey snickered at me having a heart next to her name. When I red, he raised his good hand and said I''d been worrying for no reason anyway. "Probably. I mean, it still sucks, but¡ª oh, hi Cece!" There was the sound of the TV in the background¡ª no, not the TV, probably herptop. Knowing her, she must have been watching Unovan news or something to keep her mind off things. Not like there was much to do now that her team was at the Pokemon Center and Maeve was busy training most days. "Hi." Oof, she was frustrated. Not angry, though, so that was a plus. Probably understood that I needed space, but was annoyed I''d ghosted her the entire day and she''d been worried about me, which was understandable. "Sorry?" I tried. "I''m¡­ better now. Got all of my frustration out, I think." I cleared my throat and turned on my back. "I saw your battle, it was¡ª" "We were all worried sick. The others kept knocking at your door and you wouldn''t answer," she scolded. "I, um, I only heard one knock." "There was more than one." Had there been? I must have been too focused early on to notice. "Before Chase got there they were about to call the Nurses to do a wellness check. They would have, if you hadn''t answered." I scoffed. "Come on, I was just studying, no need to make such a huge deal about¡ª" "That''s not how it looked! You can''t expect us to know that, especially with all the problems you''re dealing with!" she rebuked, a slight quiver in her voice. "You tore apart your own fingers two weeks ago, Grace. We didn''t know, and it would have been fine, but you didn''tmunicate!'' "I was¡­ I''m sorry," I said. "Arceus, yeah it must have looked bad from the outside, I just wanted to¡ª it''s like I needed to figure out everything that went wrong and that I couldn''t focus on anything else beforehand." "I know, but you''ve never stormed off like that after a loss," she sighed. "You always talk at first before locking yourself up in your room. Keep up a brave face for a while, then you the rage, sadness and frustration out alone. I know what it''s like to need space, but answering our messages when we tried checking in on you would have been nice." "Yeah. Yeah, I''m sorry." "Okay. Thank you for that." There was a noise, like the shifting of skin against a mattress. "I watched your battle." "Let''s not talk about my battle. It''s just embarrassing and I hate it," I muttered. "I fucked up too many times to win." "If you want to, that''s fine." For around an hour, we talked about her fight. Her thought process during every frame, the new moves and techniques she''de up with, and how they''d trained that crazy Disable, too. Ordinarily, I was sure we would have kept this hidden, but with Gcticing around, it was like Chase said. It''d be stupid not to know what everyone was capable of in detail just for a tournament I wanted so desperately to be in, but that might note. A tournament I might not even be in, depending on the events of next week. What if today was myst chance? What if I fucked myself over? Poketch didn''t know, and they expected me to try again in two weeks, but I knew. Don''t think about it. Don''t envision it. I had to believe that I''d make it, because that light at the end of the tunnel, that thread of normalcy was the only thing keeping me sane. Hopes of facing the strongest trainers at the Conference, with this entire nightmare behind us all and the world saved. You''re okay. "For Zolst, we''ve been trying to get a hang of dragon TE, but it''s got some¡­ esoteric properties if you''re not trying to just create some kind of st. It''s difficult to figure out what it exactly does when people at our level keep their cards close to their chest." "Nothing online?" "Not in detail, no," Cece said. "It''s been trial and error, so right now our working theory is Might, or at least it''s what I think it is. He certainly likes the sound of it. It''s got a way of making everything around it cower in fear and subjugating TE that we haven''t gotten much experience with yet, otherwise Zolst never would have been able to take so many Ice Beams or Freeze Dries. Wake tried to freeze him from the inside a couple of times." "You know, I had a simr thought when Sunshine was fighting Steelix. Haven''t started anything yet on that front, though. We n to." "There are a thousand different research papers on the subject of TE and none can agree on anything, so I''ll have toe to my own conclusion anyway." There was apse of silence. "So, are you and Maeveing here?" "When my team is healed. Golurk took a beating, so I won''t be here until the time''s basicallye." "Bummer. We can''t even hang out before it alles to a head." "We can hang out on the phone more now that our Pokemon are all too banged up to train," she said, smirk clear in her tone. "Plus, I can''t be missing out on those meetings you guys are going to have, can''t I?" I smiled. "You bet. Let me head downstairs." Pausing, a gasp left my lips. "Wait, I need to shower!"
Chapter 303 Chapter 303
CHAPTER 303 The reaction to my presence was a lot of scolding. More than I''d expected, too, with Pauline doing the heavy lifting on that front. By the end of it she had hugged me tightly enough to squeeze the life out of me, so I figured I was forgiven. It was difficult to take a step back and understand how things had looked so much worse from outside my perspective, like the world had been copsing around me and I wasn''t going to recover from my spiral. To be honest, I was still miffed, with the taste of defeat still fresh in my mind and the hollow feeling tangible inside my heart, but it was far better than it had been hours earlier now that I''d found out the ways I''d messed up and berated myself for it. So yes, while that final notch on my Trainer ID hadn''t been filled by Byron''s badge and that sucked, there were more important things to focus on. Having this conversation in public would have been stupid, so instead, we had gathered back in Emilia''s room, where snacks and drinks had beenid about, reminding me of the earlier parties she''d used to host. It was a shame they''d both missed Justin''s birthday on the 2nd, because she would have made it far more interesting than how depressing it really was, and the world might not be there for her own birthday on the 13th, so¡­ Uh, yeah. It was a good thing I didn''t think out loud. Speaking of Justin, he was here, though he wasn''t going to participate in the meeting much, so he was simply observing and would probably report back to Louister so they stayed in the know. Our friend hadn''t wanted to be here for obvious reasons that he was barely holding it together even with my help, and throwing himself into this gathering would have just made things far worse than they already were. Justin was near the entrance, phone in hand and ready to type away at anything we said. Chase was in the same corner, seemingly happy to be left alone with the only guy who was as quiet as he was. He didn''t like this, and his displeasure was obvious, but as he''d said, it would be stupid to put his head in the sand and ignore working together just because he disagreed with our methods. I could tell even he was nervous, with the way he snacked on some greasy chips Emilia had ced on the desk. Chase never snacked on anything unhealthy. Emilia went from guest to guest, making sure everything was set. She''d been busy these past few days, working harder than anyone else, and I hoped she wasn''t going to burn out. Endless work was a good way to keep herself distracted, though, so I wasn''t about to intervene and ruin the way she had found to cope. Pauline was talking to me and Denzel about how she''dbatted toxic people on the forums and how he was scared she was going to get temporarily banned again, but there had been a lot of takes after my battle and she had a way of always finding the most toxic ones. Denzel was only half in the conversation, bending forward in front of aputer as he set up a call and hooked up hisptop screen to the television, with both Cece and Mira being on there. My girlfriend was dressed in her Sunday best, still wearing the frilly dress she''d had during her Gym Battle¡ª granted, she could be wearing a trash bag and I''d still call her beautiful, even in 360p. Mira, meanwhile, was¡­ well, at least her room was clean, with kazam and Gardevoir there to pick things up, but she was just wearing an oversized hoodie whose sleeves hid her hands and bottom went down to her knees, but honestly I couldn''t me her for going for that vibe. Those werefortable. Maeve was here too, though she was surprisingly not in Cece''s room and in her own, with her Infernape sitting next to her, the mes atop his head having turned blue despite the fact that he was resting. There were no signs of ufortableness from the heat, though, which signaled that he''d learned to bring the ambient temperature around him under control despite him having grown so powerful. "I think we''re set up," Denzel slowly said. "Can you guys let me know if there''sg on your end?" "Y¡ªyeah, I¡ª think there''s¡ªg," Mira stuttered. "Wow! Did we hire aedian today?" he said with clear ennui, making most of the room chuckle. "Cece, are things fine?" "Crystal clear." "Thanks for wasting our time, shrimp," Chase sighed, scrunching up his bag of chips. Mira crossed her arms. "You guys just don''t get it. I came up with that joke spontaneously, too, I didn''t even have it prepared or anything. And what if my inte was awful?!" "I told them your inte was fine when I came here," I added. She pouted, huffing as she slid down her seat with a terrible posture. I was d to see she was doing well like she''d said in our texts, though it was difficult to figure out the microexpressions on her face with this quality. Really, that was why learning a Gym Leader''s bodynguage from video alone had been a bust except for the really expressive ones like Candice or Maylene. "Thanks Denzel," Emi smiled. "Okay, everyone! Thanks for Chase''s suggestion earlier today, we''re going to be talking about what our Pokemon are capable of to start bettering our teamwork before go day. We''ll be training together too, except for Mira and Cece." "You coulde here," Pauline told Mira. "Why''re you holing up in your room?" "I''lle to the meetings and join in when you call, but I''ll stick around in Jubilife," Mira said. "And before you use me, it''s not just because I''m selfish and beingzy, okay? It''s because by being here, I have ACE Trainers next to important people. Like Grace''s Dad or Melody. Or Lauren." I gulped, feeling a tightening vice around my throat. My parents had already been assigned League guards to shadow them, ording to the League, and so had everyone else''s parents, but they weren''t ACEs because there simply weren''t enough to spare. "Thanks, Mira," I nodded. "Might as well make myself useful. I have no family that cares for me, so you know." "Come on. We care about you," I said. There were acknowledging words around the room, even a nod from Justin, and Mira turned away from the screen, bringing a hand to her eyes. "Thanks, guys. Love y''all." Maeve chimed in, honed in on the topic at hand. "I''ll being here. My flight''s tomorrow and my Drapion''s arm is healed." There was something cold about her voice that hadn''t been here before the incident in Pastoria. Her face, scarred by countless lines formed by powerful water jets, was utterly still while she spoke, her eyes narrow and focused. She had the face of a trained killer, one that I''d seen scant few times and had been stered on my own when in the right headspace. "You shoulde to Jubilife, Maeve," Mira said. "We should¡­ you know, talk more before everything goes down." "Hmhm. We''ll talk when this is done and Gctic is dealt with." There was ufortableness here. Mise at a rift that had formed, signaling they weren''t as close as they used to be. To be honest, we''d been rather bad friends to Maeve, save for Denzel and Mira who kept in regr contact with her and Cece who had only reconnected because they were in the same city, but everyone just had so much stuff to deal with that people got hurt or shoved to the wayside so we could deal with our own issues. I had not expected her to change this much, though. It was like her near-death experience had hardened her, and we''d only seen the start of it, before leaving. Now it had crystalized and would . Was she seeing a therapist? Would it be rude to ask? "Sure thing, Maeve," Mira sighed. I shared a look with Cece, but said nothing. Emilia pped to get our attention. "Back on topic. Before we address our Pokemon, we should figure out what everyone''s going to be doing. Now obviously, Cece, Grace, Chase and Mira are the cornerstone of the whole n with the League if the Lakes fall." She paced around the room, hands behind her back and staring downward. "But if they fall, you guys will be going up the mountain. What we figured was that we could try supporting you along the way, taking out grunts who are hanging out around the ce and maybe some inside, too." "Obviously this n, if approved by everyone here, will be going to the League through the ACEs," Denzel added. "Oh I''m sure they''ll be mighty pleased about that," Mira said, sarcasm so dry it''d fit right in a desert. Emilia ignored the verbal jab. "We can work with the League forces there, and let me remind you that our Pokemon are better than theirs!" she said, slightly defensively. "They won''t refuse the manpower." It was true, though an overgeneralization. The League started looking for trainers to recruit at the fifth badge, which was an off-ramp a lot of them took whenever they wanted to join the military. It used to be lower, but as time went on and from what Buddy and I had read in our books, the world had settled for a quality-over-quantity approach after seeing the sheer number of deaths the Great War had wrought, mostly out of necessity at first due to how few trainers remained, but the concept stuck now and five badges was around where the average League Trainer would be in Sinnoh. Sometimes it was lower, like in Kanto-Johto, or sometimes higher like in Unova or Hoenn, but it was a good benchmark to count on. And right now, all of their Pokemon were easily stronger than any fifth badger. "It''s true that they wouldn''t refuse any volunteers," Cecilia agreed. "We know how the League generally operates from the raid and we can teach you the basics so you aren''t like a Magikarp out of water tactics-wise." Emi snapped her fingers. "That''s appreciated. So now, we''re all on the same page. Next up, our teams." What followed was, admittedly, a very long, multi-hour session of everyoneying out their Pokemon and their capabilities. Most of us took notes, though Mira and Chase did not. The former made sense, with how quickly she absorbed information these days, and thetter was probably because he just couldn''t be bothered. I made sure to make a mental note about giving him mer. It was moving, to see how far everyone hade from our early days. How each trainer hade up with unique ways to push teams to their limit and how not one person fought the same. Admittedly, this would be more useful for people who weren''t Shards, since they were most likely to stick together, but like Chase had said, this couldn''t hurt. "Next, training," Emilia said. "Oh man, did you have too much sugar or something?" Chase said through a yawn. "All of this talking is exhausting me." "Chase, how can talking tire you out when you''re so¡­ you?" Cece asked with an amused smile. "He forgot to work out his brain," Pauline mocked to the side. "It''s like when you put all of your stats into strength and none into intelligence." "Look at me, I''m Pauline, I talk like a fucking nerd." He mimicked her voice in the most obnoxious way possible. "Fucking stats. Get a grip." "What? It was a funny joke." "Not as funny as you having to cheat off of me during our written test in Flight School," he bit back. "So really, who''s the dumb one here?" Pauline went red, either from embarrassment or anger¡­ or both, and she threw a pillow at him, which he easily dodged with a simple weave. The pillow ended upnding on Justin''s head, sticking on him for aically long time before falling to the ground. Cece, the grand engineer of this entire argument, hid her smile well behind her hand. Denzel sighed. "Guys¡­ sorry Justin." He blinked, and while others might have missed the slight tug at his lips, I didn''t. "Let''s take this seriously," Maeve chided. Emi nodded, starting up her pacing again. "Right, so training. What we did with Denzel the other day helped just like it did with Grace. I was scared Sylvi might lean a little too into the battle, but he was nice about it." "Told you he was better." She looked at Pauline and shrugged. "I didn''t really believe you, I have to admit. Sorry." A slight pause, then she resumed after clearing her throat. "Anyway, we can keep training with everyone, and I think we should mix and match partners too, just to soak up as much experience as possible. The problem is, our Pokemon will have to get to the Center and rest eventually." "Not enough time, too much to do," I quietly agreed. In truth, training like Maeve had done with Louis, or I''d done with Cece and Lauren¡ª pushing your Pokemon, but not far enough for them to need to heal¡ª wouldn''t really work in this context, given the fact that we needed to build the habit of them getting powerful attacks aimed to kill thrown into their faces and the faces of their trainers. To get as close to the real thing as possible and see how they''d react. "Not much we can do about that," Chase said. "You get the real deal, or you might as well not even try." Maeve spoke up. "If your Pokemon are knocked out and at the Center, you should probably be looking at other people''s fights. You guys are recording these, right?" When multiple people said yes, she continued. "Perfect. Send the first few to me, I''ll give them a look while I''m on my flight." "Sure. I think I''ll just create a new group chat where we can drop all the footage, actually," Denzel said. "Easier to organize, just don''t type there. Got it, Chase?" Our friend raised his hands. "Look, no promises." "Just name the chat ''do not type'' in all caps," Cecilia suggested. "Surely he won''t disturb it then." "You better watch your back when you get here," he warned with crossed arms, tone just soft enough to know he was fooling around. "Either way, we have a way to¡­ well, not circumvent the issue, but make the most of what we have. We should make a battling schedule next. Form everyone into groups," Denzel said. "If there needs to be a readjustment, then just contact either me or Emi in the actual group chat. Got it, Chase?" "Will do." None of us believed him. ¡ª "You were fantastic out there, Grace. You have nothing to be ashamed of." "You''d say that to any battle I fought in, wouldn''t you?" "Given that I don''t understand most of what''s going on, probably?" I scoffed. "Mom! You''re supposed to lie!" "I''m not a great liar, sweetie." "Whatever. I hate the fact that it was close, you know? Makes it feel ten times worse to me." "I think that it only feels that way. Getting wiped out certainly would have been worse, both for your confidence and your job at Poketch." "Hm, you might be right, I guess I''m just angry¡ª oh, hold on, my Pokemon are here." A Nurse Joy arrived with a tray with most of my Pokeballs on it, with the notable exception of Sunshine and ydol. It had been three days since my Gym Battle, and I was still salty about it enough to vent to anyone new that called, most recently my mother. Apparently the break in Princess'' wings had been rather clean, with how she was already discharged from the hospital. Leave it to a psychic that high leveled to break bones in the most convenient ways possible, I thought to myself. This was nothing like the way Volkner''s Electivire had broken Honey''s spine, or even how Princess broke bones, and I appreciated Byron more for it. I held my phone in between my ear and shoulder while clipping my Pokeballs to my belt, and left the Pokemon Center to talk to the team before heading to check on another fight. This time it was Chase and Pauline against Denzel and Maeve, and I had a bet with Cece and Emilia going on if they''d be eitherpletely dysfunctional or something would click and they''d have great teamwork. "Anyway, I''ve been doing okay. Just¡­ stressed." "Oh, honey. You''ll make it to the Conference, I''m sure of it. Have you been getting enough sleep?" A sad smile crept up on my face. "Thanks. Uh, I''ve been trying, I guess. I don''t get eight hours, though. That''s kind of impossible, not enough time in the day." "Sleep is important for teenagers!" she warned. "Don''t go too hard on the Pokemon training, okay?" "Yeah." "And I''m always here if you need to talk. Your Dad too, of course." "...yeah." "We were thinking of getting all together for the Conference. We know it''s important to you, so presenting a united front to support our daughter was one of Arthur''s ideas. I never thought he''d want to see me again, but he knows how much it''d mean for you to have both of us there. We have our tickets already." My breath shook. Don''t cry, don''t cry, don''t cry, don''t cry. I walked out of the Pokemon Center. "That sounds like a lot of fun. I''m¡­ looking forward to it." "Yeah! I''ve never been before, so it''ll be an experience. We''ll be the loudest to cheer every time you fight." "I¡­ uh." "What''s wrong? Was I too forward? Do you not want me there?" "No! No, I want you two there so badly, it''s just¡ª" I felt my back slide against the Pokemon Center''s outside wall, ignoring the stares. "I love you two so much. And I wish we''d spent more time together." My Mom paused. "Grace? What''s wrong? You can talk to me, baby. Always." I sniffled. "I''m good." Keep yourself together. "I''m good," I said again, steeling myself. "Sorry, that was weird." "Ordinarily I''d try to push for an answer," she said. "But I know better than to try to force something out of you these days. Just¡­ you can talk to me." "I''ll be okay. I, uh, I''ve got to run. Talk to my team about areas they could improve in and stuff. If everything goes well, I''ll be swinging by next week to see you so I can train in peace for Byron and the Conference. Maybe get a haircut, too." "I''ll get my scissors ready," she joked. "And Mom. You notice anything weirdtely?" "Weird how?" "I don''t know, like a feeling of unease or something. Being followed?" "More government people have been out and about in town and hanging around the house, but other than that and your grandma being angry about it, no. Is there anything I should be worried about¡ª" "Great. See youter." "Oh. Okay. Love you." "Love you too." I gripped Princess'' Pokeball in my hands. I wasn''t going to break like that again. Part of me wanted to walk to the nearestnding pad to keep practicing walking without my crutch, but time wasn''t something any of us could afford, at the moment, so instead I released Princess near the Pokemon Center and crouched, looking into her eyes. "Hey baby," I smiled. "How''re you feeling?" Togekiss brushed up her forehead against mine, noticing I''d been teary-eyed or crying recently. I closed my eyes, lowering my voice to a whisper. "Yeah. Yeah, I was. I talked with Mom, and you know, it''s weird hearing her talk like nothing is going on. Like we''re living in two different worlds, and that just¡ª I dunno, it just hurts." I nced around me for a moment with a heavy exhale. They all had no idea, did they? Smiles on faces, worries about beingte toe back from their lunch break or it being too short. Trainers strategizing together, huddled in groups, or talking about which trainer was going to ce where in the Conference. In other words, it was a normal day. "I''m okay." Rising to my feet, I mounted Princess, asking her to fly me to Canve''s outskirts, somewhere we could be alone, and she ended up traveling out west. We''d never gone this direction before, and we spotted many cliffs that were continuously getting battered by the sea. While we flew, I told her about our loss, which she''d guessed when she hadn''t instantly heard me gushing about a win as soon as I released her. Needless to say, she was furious when I told her about how she''d gotten poisoned by metal again. Mimi tightened around my wrist, self-conscious about what their predecessor had done. The memories were gone, but they knew what our time at Lakhutia had been like by now. Princessnded on a dirt path leading to a dead end, possibly there in case the city ever wanted to expand that way. There was nothing here but shrubs and light vegetation for miles with not a human in sight and only a couple of Wingull flying overhead to keep uspany. I released the entire team. As soon as Angel saw the look on my face, he figured we''d lost and instantly started soothing me. The rest knew already, including Sweetheart since she''d been thest to fall. Breaking the news to Sunshine and ydol was going to be tougher. "We lost." The words were heavy and almost painful. Saying them was like ripping off a bandaid. Seven Gyms, we had won on the first try, and we all so dearly wished we could have finished off with a perfect record. That was the kind of stuff that put your name in all of the trainer tabloids, on television, that had people talking to you like you were a prodigy the likes of Cynthia despite that obviously not being the case. I hadn''t cared about any of that. I''d just wanted to tell myself that I was good enough to stand among the best and the brightest. I bit my lip. "It''s bitter, isn''t it? Disappointing." Sweetheart stomped a foot against the ground, demanding a rematch with Kingambit right this instant. I quieted her down with a look, though. Now wasn''t the time for this, and her loss hadn''t even been her fault. "I won''t tell you not to be angry or anything like that." I turned away from them. "But I''ll tell you that you were enough to win. All of you. You all had a breakthrough during the battle," I said. "You should be proud of yourselves. I was the one who wascking. I failed you all." I turned back to face them. "Princess, you''ve learned to chain moves into more moves, and you''ve be awful to fight. The steel type gym just wasn''t a great matchup for you. Now I''ve got to give you more moves to work with, and you have to train your stamina." Any other type, and that cutting Moonst would have devastated them. I had to figure out a way to work on her defenses now that barriers weren''t enough, because she wasn''t fast enough to dodge everything. Hell, even Talonme had ways to defend herself, now, and she was way faster than Princess was. The main idea I was working with, other than copying Air Burst, were concentrated shields instead of a wide one surrounding her like we''d been doing. Packed tightly, it would be a lot more effective and allow her to keep her speed, but it would require even more precision and multitasking. "Buddy, you managed toe back from vapor. If we can manage to turn you to mist onmand, you''ll be able to disappear and essentially be a true ghost in everything but in name. You''d be faster and harder to detect if we can thin that mist enough, too. Also, Taunt and Will-O-Wisp is a hell of abo. And you''re getting closer to making multiple of yourself. Actual clones, not just shades." The water type nodded, though he apologized for losing himself during the fight like he had a thousand times already these past few days. "Sweetie." Tyranitar growled, still angry at herself. "Your loss was my fault," I said. "You just followed what I said, but I should have trusted in you, and I''m sorry for that. But you were so cool out there! Not only did you face a Kingambit boosted by Supreme Overlord and pressuring you too, that Dark Sandstorm stuff? Honey was gushing over how scary you were when you mauled that Empoleon. I guess that was revenge enough for what she did to your sister." While Sweetheart grinned, Princess added that she would have liked for a whole flipper to be torn off, at the very least. Honey pretended he hadn''t been excited for her, scratching his head and looking away. "Angel, your vine terrain works, and we''ve only just scratched the surface! There''s a lot we can do with the move, and you faced down and beat what was basically one of your worst opponents outside of Kingambit. I thought Byron would save Lucario for Sweetheart, but of course that was before I knew he had a new evolution to use. We''ll work on your camouge and creating lookalikes next, okay?" The grass type blinked, his vines moving in a very pleased way. "Sunshine isn''t here with us, but he brought the fight to Byron and perfected the battling style we''ve been working on for months. I bet he remembers how it felt, to work so hard for so little progress. To be stuck, thinking that you''d stagnate forever." I paused, letting the words settle. "He beat that feeling," I praised. "He faced a Steelix and won on his own. I''d be willing to bet that victory alone was worth the struggle. That it was so sweet to beat the hell out of him and make him realize that he wasn''t going to be switched out. ydol learned to make decisions for themselves, and that led to them picking a name. It wasn''t a great debut, but they did exactly what I asked of them, and that''s a sign of what''s toe." "You all worked hard, and we nearly tasted victory," I continued. "Let''s make sure we rip that badge out of Byron''s hand next time." They cheered, and it was just so motivating. "So I have a few ideas for you all to work on when we finish saving the world. Honey, you can start working on that electric technique I''ve been telling you about¡­" ¡ª I wished we could have gone back to Lakhutia for this. A strange thought to have for sure, when the city was full of horrible memories, each one worse than thest. Sometimes, in the deepest reaches of the night, when it was just me against Princess'' warm fur and I was feeling her chest slowly rise, I would close my eyes and imagine Lou dying. Alone, terrified and screaming, despite the fact that no one could hear her. Every time I would take deep breaths and Buddy would hover from the ceiling, asking if I was okay. Sometimes, we''d go on a walk and we''d speak about regrets. I''d speak to him about wishing Lou was still here, and how the pain of losing someone was something I wasn''t sure I''d be able to go through again, but that it was something I''d considered a possibility and been mentally preparing myself for. He''d tell me about his mother, and how she used to be so caring until she evolved and lost herself to rage. Meeting her now in the ocean was about a million times as difficult as finding Honey''s parents again, if she wasn''t dead already. Jellicent couldn''t die through natural causes so long as they had enough energy stolen from others, but there were many creatures in the ocean capable of killing her. Or that was what he thought of it, anyway. He did not really have any desire to see her again, after so many centuries spent apart. Even the worst of grief healed over time, ording to him, but still, being in ydol''s old home, which had robbed them of a personality and name for this asion, would have felt right. Aliyah did always get annoyed at my symbolism. Instead, we had all gathered on a hill facing the ocean at the outskirts of Canve. The sea had beaten against the cliffs here for who knew how many years, turning them into what they were today. Towering spires of ancient white rock, weathered and worn by centuries of relentless waves, casting shadows that danced upon the foamy canvas below. Erosion was something that happened to all of us, but like this cliff, we were still here, and hopefully we would be for a long time. The wind whipped up my hair and blew it across my face, making me wish I''d tied it up for this or that I''d brought something to do so, but it was just me and my team, without even my backpack. For once, Buddy was not in the ocean below, soaking up the water. He was attentive, eyes wandering between each person here as he stood vigil in silence. asionally, he''d let out an irritated click or whistle to tell Sweetheart and Honey to quiet down on the sidelines, since they were arguing about who would win in a fight. Mimi was sat down on Angel''s head, ncing at the ocean while the grass type spoke to Princess about hertest sculpture ideas. She was in a rut right now, though, without many ideas, and shemented that traveling so much limited her options forrge-scale projects. The grass type was mostly nodding along and letting her speak, though. Sunshine, for his part, was lying in the grass, aszy as ever, a little ways away from the main group so he could get some peace and quiet. It was nice, to see them all gathered again after this week. I shushed everyone, ending any ongoing conversation to release ydol. The sun had barely risen over the horizon, casting its golden glow over the cliffside. Part of me wanted to tease Sunshine, saying that he''d be the sun one day, but this morning wasn''t ours. It was ydol''s. "Hi." I looked up at them, and they blinked at¡­ well, all of us. Their eyes settled on their surroundings for a moment, making sure everyone was safe, and there was a strum of power that gathered around us. They were on edge, with Gctic about to strike. I was going to give a speech about that right after this. "My King. Fellow Members of the Royal Court," ydol chimed. "It is nice to see you again." There were grunts and noises of agreement in response. A wave from Honey and his now-healed hand, a half-opened eye from Sunshine, and a pat on the head from Angel¡ª "Please do not touch my head, Caretaker. You might roughen the surface." Tangrowth''s vine drooped, and he moved on to Mimi anyway, who hadn''t even been paying attention to any of this. The steel type was one for fun and adventure, but not really big on speeches and momentous events like these. "I wanted everyone here," I started. "For you to tell us your name." Another blink, slower this time, and their eyes turned to circles. "Your kind gesture is appreciated," they said. Then, they stayed quiet. For a whole minute. "Um¡­" "Awaiting for permission." "Oh. Oh, you had it, you didn''t need to ask," I giggled. "I thought we were making progress on that." "I was not certain." "Well¡­ go ahead." I vaguely gestured forward. ydol hovered a smidge higher in the sky and seemed to glow a little brighter in the sunlight. "From this moment forth, I shall be known as Cassianus, as was the first King of Lakhutia. The name originates from the lineage of the hollow or helmeted warriors. As such, I shall embody this essence, my King, serving as your devoted warrior and protector, and I humbly present my name for your eptance." Our world stood still for a moment as we let the name settle, with even Meltan looking the psychic''s way. It was admittedly a break from my usual naming scheme, which was a given, when ydol had picked a name, and not me. Still, they had named themselves after¡ª no, stolen a name of one of their old Kings, and the first one at that! The founder of the city, and the one who''de across and befriended Melmetal. He''d been like a deity to them! And yet, ydol¡ª no, Cassianus had taken the name for themselves. Stolen it, and put it to better use. I''d be seeing more of that, wouldn''t I? "That''s a pretty name," I said. "Feels important when you say it, too, which is nice." "That was one of the criteria when it came to mind in the middle of that fight, so that is a correct assessment." "It''s kind of a mouthful though, so, erm¡­ can I call you Cass for short?" ydol''s eyes turned to lines, clearly disappointed in me. "Perhaps after a week, that will be eptable." Smirking, I agreed. "Deal!" Sunshine groaned, saying that Cassianus shouldn''t have epted that, but a deal was a deal, and it was toote to renege on it, or I''d collect some other way. Coteral damage, so to speak. "Now that you have a name. Hug?" Cassianus squinted with all of their eyes, and Honey and Sweetheart cheered from the side, the two goofballs. I outstretched my arms, wiggling my fingers more threateningly than this whole ordeal actually was, mostly as a joke, and ydol hovered an inch closer. "If you must." "Great!" I wrapped my hands around them, though their body was far toorge for my fingers to meet behind their ''back''. The ground type''s body was made of a cool and smooth y-like material and felt firm but oddly yielding. The surface was adorned with markings that my fingers could trace, giving a tactile sense of Cassianus'' ancient origins. There was energy embedded deep in the creases, so subtle you''d miss it if you didn''t focus, but it was there. There was a subtle vibration or hum emanating from their core that reverberated through me like bass during a concert or the engine of Dad''s old car when I was sitting in the front seat. The temperature was cool to the touch initially, but as the hug continued, there was a gradual warmth umted, like touching a sun-warmed surface. It was a very nice hug overall. Not soft, but nice. "I love you." That is appreciated. You are also a very important individual. Designation: 98th King of Lakhutia. "Gee," I pouted. "You''re supposed to say you do too. Whatever, I''ll get you one day." Turtonator side-eyed me, saying that this was like reliving the awfully annoying old days, and Princess sneered at his reluctance to just be happy without adding a snidement orining, for once. I let go of Cassianus, letting the others give this hugging thing a try, but they were very conscious of people touching their head, so that ce was off-limit except for hats. I let everyone have fun for a few minutes, happy to see Mimi getting closer with Princess, little by little. They were still too scared to approach Sunshine, though, and it wasn''t like he was making it easy, ring at them every time they got close. ydol passed by everyone and had them enunciate their name over and over, just because they liked the way it sounded. It was nice to see everyoneing together. "Sorry to ruin the vibe, but¡­ can you all listen up?" My back straightened, and I stood up from the grass-filled cliff. "We''re back together, but as we all know, our peaceful days are going toe to a stop very soon. Two days, to be exact. Maybe earlier than that." Honey chimed in, saying that it might beter, too. "True," I admitted. "But it''s better to prepare for the worst so we aren''t disappointed, though. But yes, Team Gctic is striking, and soon. Apparently, Abel just gave them a bunch of techniques to better hide their base without even knowing where it was just so he got paid, that asshole." Rage bubbled within me, and the sound of the ocean helped calm me down. "Otherwise they would have been able to find it by now." I hadn''t found out from my own ACE Trainers, given the fact that¡­ well, I didn''t talk to them anymore, did I? I was too scared to look them in the face after Lou''s death, and I figured they preferred it this way. No, it had been Mira, who had asked her ACE Trainers about it, and Abel had confessed to it when interrogated a while ago. "So yeah, things are going to blow up, and soon," I sighed. "I want us all to be on the same page before it does. Does anyone have any worries they''d like to share?" Togekiss and Sunshine tried to speak at the same time, but the dragon let her go first in a show of unusual maturity. She asked that if we had to fight, would killing grunts be off-limits now or not. Funnily enough, Turtonator had been about the ask the same question, just in more vulgar terms of him being tired of holding back. Electivire, Tangrowth, and even Meltan stirred at the question, carefully watching how I''d answer. "I think that it won''t be off-limits," I exhaled after a few seconds. "No way for us to work otherwise, plus I doubt the ACEs will go with a light hand anyway." Noticing Honey''s clenched fist, I quickly added. "Here''s how this is going to go differently from the raid, though. I don''t want to use Team Gctic being terrible people to be a horrible person in turn." I paused. "The grunts, we try to save if possible. Sleep Powder, or just tying them up with vines if they don''t give us too much trouble. Their Pokemon, we just knock out. If we can''t, then¡­ well, we''ll have tried, at least. Of course, that doesn''t concern the Commanders. We have blood to collect from Saturn, and knowing Mars, she mighte after us. They are not humans, they are things in the shape of people." Those two, if I could help it, would not get any mercy, though I knew the battles would be difficult and brutal. Brutal like Byron''s, but worse. A notion of understanding passed through me and stered a rueful smile across my lips. He''d known. "Either way, unless we have no other choice, no killing. You guys are strong enough to knock out Pokemon from grunts without having to go for the kill. I hope that''s a goodpromise?" That seemed to be an easier pill to swallow for Honey and Angel, at least, though Mimi was still displeased. The grass type signed that he''d gotten good atunching spore bombs to target trainers far away, now, so as long as barriers or Protects were broken, he''d be able to take out trainers from afar, and once the head of the Ekans was gone, well¡­ it was a matter of time until we won. "Perhaps we should ount for a scenario if we are ever separated from these ''ACE'' Trainers or if they expire," Cass suggested. "The scenario''s the same," I said. "If we''re in Mount Cor, then Gctic has all three Lake Guardians. That means we need to reach the summit and pull them away from the Red Chain''s influence whether our guards are dead, missing or not. That, uh, will prove a problem with how light the air gets up there. I''ll have an oxygen mask, but you guys¡­" Well, the ones I was mostly worried about were Honey and Princess, regarding needing to breathe despite Pokemon being more resilient. All the others would be fine on that front, with even Sweetheart''s species having adapted to living high up in mountains. There must have been a way for psychics to solve that, but the fine control required was beyond us at the moment. Sweetheart grumbled, asking why we couldn''t just fly to the summit, recalling the horrid experience we''d had trying to escape Mount Cor the first time we''d found her. "Because even discounting the breathing issue, you can''t find the summit while flying. Rules get wacky up there, and we''d just be going around in circles. The League agrees, we have to climb the mountain from the inside, as will Team Gctic." She growled, shing teeth. "Don''t be like that. The inside of a mountain is basically one the best ces for you to fight." She nodded, but she wasn''t happy about it. The pressure was getting to her. The rock type had been¡­ not in denial, but she''d ignored the fact that Gctic was capable of ending the world up until now, but it was hard to look the other way when the scenario was staring you in the face. "Mimi?" I probed. "How about staying at the League for a couple days while everything goes down?" The steel type''s eye rolled, and they answered with a resounding no. It was a little tough to understand, but from the few things they''d heard about Mount Cor''s summit, it was somewhere they desperately wanted to see for themselves, and to be honest, I understood. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and was even more important for someone whose life goal was to travel and see unique things. What was at the world''s tallest mountain summit? Why did Team Gctic need to go there, to summon Dialga and Palkia? What was its significance? All answers I was dying to have answered, and Mimi was no different. There was respect in Turtonator''s eyes for sticking to ideals, but it vanished as soon as it hade. "I get that," I gently said, walking up to Angel and the steel type. They slid down my arm as soon as I put my hand up. "I really do, but it''ll be dangerous, and you''re always outside your ball. Plus, it''s scary, isn''t it? You''re scared of Sunshine when he looks at you, for Arceus'' sake!" Mimi crossed their arms and deted a smidge, but Turtonator growled, saying that I shouldn''t walk all over their ideals. If they want toe, they should. Honey yelled at him not to encourage them, but he facepalmed when Sweetheart agreed, saying that she''d do so to whatever he said and that her opinion shouldn''t be counted. Of course, she called him stinky next. Before I could cut in to stave off whatever argument was going to start, Cass yed some kind of cheery song from their catalogue, catching everyone''s attention. "Members of the Royal Court. It is unbing of you to stoop to a shouting match when so close to the world''s doom." "Uh, what they said!" I added. "And hey, we have two days left! So if you all ever wanted to do something, now''s the time to bring it up." The answers were¡­ well, they were disappointingly boring. The same as usual¡ª but bigger. Princess wanted to make a castle she could live in for a week, Buddy wanted to go through more books and branch into more topics than history, Sweetheart wanted to destroy Kingambit and beat him to the ground¡­ I pouted. "You guys suck. You know, usually people would say like, skydiving or something." "It is unlikely you would be able to book a skydiving appointment within two days." I threw my arms up. "That was just an example! And how did you even learn what that was?!" "The Jester was telling me about wanting to go," Cassianus said, two eyes staring at Electivire. "They had to exin it in detail." Of course, that triggered Tyranitar to whine and say that she wanted to go skydiving too, asking Princess to carry her in the sky immediately. The fairy type, with eyes that could kill, asked if this was some borate ploy to assassinate her. I grinned, content to sink into the background and settled next to Sunshine. Best we have our fun while we still can. I sighed when noticing Mimi had wormed themselves out of staying alone at the League.
Chapter 304 – Turning Point IV Chapter 304 ¨C Turning Point IV
CHAPTER 304 - TURNING POINT IV Hi. You know how this goes and what the title implies. Turning Point = trigger warning. Last time I put one of these a lot of people just didn''t take it seriously/didn''t see it, which is why I''m putting it IN the chapter this time, but again, expect something terrible to happen. ¡ª Candice''s legs shook excitedly under her seat. Damn, this shrimp was good! And Nia said Snowpointers were awful at cooking! What were Eternians good for, huh? Berry pie? They shoved so many of them in there that you totally lost any of the taste from the individual fruits, so what was the point, then? She wished she could have extended her lunch break by an hour, but then Alex would yell at her and write up aint to the League, since she wouldn''t be doing her job properly. That little witch was trying to get her fired so she could take over. Candice snapped off half of her shrimp and grumbled. Just because she''d been to the Conference once didn''t mean she had the potential to take over. Plus, this was a family business! She wasn''t going to hand the Gym over to some punk just because she basically ran the Gym with a few of her cohorts these days¡­ Ahem. With the trainer surge in Snowpoint, she barely had any free time, save for this single hour, and tomorrow was going to be a drag, since she''d need to go out and try to capture new critters in the evening after her shift was over, because she didn''t have enough to keep up with the current demand and she''d put it off long enough. She was not going to get yelled at again. Usually, Gyms got the majority of their new Pokemon by buying them from breeders, but with them screwing up the Hunters, the efficiency of their breeding program had gone down by¡­ um, there was a number she''d read in a report somewhere, but it had escaped her mind already. One of her Gym Trainers probably knew about it¡ª Oh. Huh. Tomorrow was most likely the Red Chain''spletion. Her mood cratered, sapping her of any of her energy¡ª not that she had much left after battling so many kids in a row. Candice''s brain was fried. She sprawled over her desk, shoving her head in shrimp. Her tongue licked up another piece and she chewed slowly while her mind settled down. She''d managed to put it in the corner of her mind for weeks, which was something she was very good at, but sometimes, she stepped on and mine, bringing it back to the forefront of her thoughts all at once, and it was just so overwhelming. Could she call one of her friends and bug them? Knowing Roark, he finished his lunch break early and was using the time to answer emails or deal with paperwork, that psycho. He was way too trigger-happy with the entire situation, too. Who the hell looked forward to murder that much? Obviously he hadn''t said murder, but they all knew he wouldn''t feel sad if there were a couple of ''idents'' that slipped in. Maymay looked up to Candice, so looking worried so close to tomorrow would only rattle her. Would Volkner answer the phone¡­? Probably not unless it was an emergency. Candice didn''t want to bother any of the older Gym Leaders, either, and people at the League were busy. "Guess it has to be Nia." It was annoying to rely on her this much, but she didn''t really have any other choice. Candice shoved thest three pieces of shrimp in her mouth and opened her window, sitting down on the windowsill as snow brushed against her skin and wind blew into her office. The cold hadn''t bothered her in a long time, given that her team had been with her for years. She was still supposed to wear warm clothing, but she honestly couldn''t be bothered and she hated the materials they were made of. Shorts werefy. "Candice," Gardenia instantly said. "I was wondering if you''d ever call. We haven''t talked in like a week!" "You fo realife dat¡ª" she started choking on her food and struggled to get it down. "You do realize that I have hundreds of rabid children trying to get my badge, right? And that I''m running on like four hours of sleep. And that I have to actually work because I have one of my trainers trying to coup me!" "Why don''t you just fire her?" "Because then I''d have to run the day-to-day at the Gym, and there''s no way I can handle that on top of everything else." Candice punched the air. "She''s made herself too useful!" Niaughed. "Leave it to you to somehow get into that situation, Candice. Maybe if Cynth fires you I''ll hire you back as a Gym Trainer in mine." "Then I''ll only be allowed to use Abomasnow." "You think I won''t force you to use the same Gym Pokemon as everyone else? We run a tight ship over here, don''t think I''ll just let you off that easy." "You know what, maybe Alex isn''t so bad." There was a beat of silence, and Candice looked out the window. Snowpoint was beautiful, and as always, was nketed in snow. She wished for once that she could meet the domain holder around here like her grandmother had, but Cynthia had told her that she would just annoy her and get herself killed on the spot. ''Maybe when you mature a little more,'' she''d said. Pfft. Snowpoint''s port was always busy during the summer, with huge cargo ships going in and out of the ce. She''d needed to negotiate with the workers there due to threat of a strike months ago¡­ when Grace was here, if she remembered correctly. It would have been catastrophic for Snowpoint''s economy after the winter and the city might have starved if they went on strike. "Wanna talk about the Mamoswine in the room?" Nia asked. "It was kind of why I was calling." "Yes, I knew that already, you always¡ª" "I''m gonna give you frostbite the next time we see each other if you finish that sentence." "Feeling under the weather, then?" "Hmhm, a little. I just¡­ remembered it suddenly, and now I don''t know if I''ll be able to give it my all during my shift today," Candice quietly said. "I bet the trainers would be happy if they got an easy badge from me, though." "I''m pretty sure that might actually get you at least suspended. Don''t you have to fight some first-year for their eighth badgeter today?" "Meh. I looked at their team and they were cool. Poison and dark type specialist that''s been making the rounds a little, and I have a sick n to ruin their day, but¡­ yeah, I''m gonna have to pull it together, aren''t I? Can''t let one of my trainers do that battle." "You can tell them to do the other ones, though. Sure, they''ll think less of you, but you need to be in top form." "I don''t think they can actually think less of me. I''m a horrible boss¡ª or you could see me as an awesome boss with quirks that people don''t like." "No one says thatst bit," Gardenia chuckled. "To be honest, I doubt Cynthia''s even reading theint emails. Probably has some poor intern on the job who''s taking the entire thing way too seriously because they''re scared to anger her." Candice snorted. "You ever see her angry?" "Cynth? Nope, just tired or exasperated like everyone else," she said. "Think she''d be like, silent angry like your Mom? Or do you think she''d blow up and have Garchomp slice through a mountain?" "I can''t imagine Cynthia screaming, ever." "I kind of want to goad her into it now," Candice snickered. "Do you think that if I''m missing for Renewal Day, she''ll yell at me when she finds me?" "I think she''d look at you with that disappointing thing she does. You know, when she flicks her eyes up for a fraction of a second?" "Only you catch stuff like that, Nia." "Yeah, I guess¡­ hey, listen. Uh, when this is all over I have something to tell you that''s been on my mind for years, and¡ª" There was a sound, like a door flinging open. There was another voice at the end of the line¡ª Rnd, her stupid best friend and second inmand. Candice couldn''t make out his words, though, just a lot of shouting and panicking. "Candice¡ª Candice I have to go!" "Nia? What''s going on?" Then, light. Candice turned her head. Her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat. Snowpoint''s port was¡ª ¡ª Thirteen minutes ago. Cass hovered behind me and Justin as we walked at a brisk pace toward the Canve library. With a day left until things went to crap, it had been his idea to pick up some more books for anyone who''d wanted to keep their mind off things and hand back the ones I''d grabbed for Jellicent, since he had devoured them in mere hours. Personally, I figured that part could have waited, but since he wanted to get out at all costs, I wasn''t about to have him go alone when Gctic might strike early. Our pace had begun slowly, but had now turned brisk for whatever reason, and it felt good to be able to keep up with him with my ankle having almost healedpletely. I scrolled through Chatter and spoke to Cassianus to pass the time, having learned that Justin liked the quiet. It was when we stopped at a red light, that he first spoke. "You know," he whispered, "the truth about this outing was that I needed some fresh air¡­ away from all the nning. So I lied." My lips pressed together. "Oh. Uh, that''s okay. I''m happy you''refortable enough to tell me that." His tone sped up. "It''s just that everyone''s been so busy preparing for everything, and I''ve just been sitting there. Scared when I think about it for too long, but still feeling inadequate. Like I''m not doing enough despite having the power to do so." The light turned green, and we crossed the street. "There''s no shame in hanging back. What you''re feeling is¡­ peer pressure. Seeing everyone do something makes you feel like you should, but that''s not true, is it?" "I don''t know." "It isn''t," I confirmed, my tone firm. "We went over this, right? It''s okay." I linked our arms together and slowed down. "In a few days, this''ll be over. Like a bad dream." His jaw clenched. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" he said before pausing. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. I''m just on edge." I shot down the need to ask him if he wanted me to fix him like I''d put Louis back together. He''de back multiple times to see me, asking if I could fix his anxiety again as the day approached, but stopped when I told him I had an addiction problem. It hadn''t been the n, at first, but at the time, my two options had either been blurt that out, or say yes, and I''d nearly said thetter, given that I''d been alone at the time and Jellicent wouldn''t have been able to stop me. "I guess Louis feels the same way, huh?" That remained unanswered, and the way I noticed his face shift into a neutral one meant that he was back to usual. "Maeve wanted a book on human anatomy and as many Pokemon anatomy we could find. Pauline said your chemistry and physics book was too basic, so she wanted another advanced one so she could figure out if she could work with Charizard and Gothitelle¡­" "I''ll take a look at the anatomy ones too," I said. He nced my way. "Denzel wanted to see if we could find books with information about Mount Cor. That''s it." "Sounds good." "For how boundless the inte seems to be, it''s a wonder these things are still more detailed on paper," Cass said. "...have you been looking at things online, Cassianus?" "Query unrecognized. Please try againter." "Oh, I know you recognized it!" I yelled with a grin. "It''s fine, by the way, just don''t believe everything you read on there just because it''s new stuff." The Canve Library came into view soon enough, and since the day of the Sailors'' Return was today, everyone was off work and the ce was basically full. It was odd to see the library without any decorations when we couldn''t go five steps out on the streets without seeing gs with embroidered water types on them, or signs with words and poems about returning from a long voyage at sea. There was nothing but some grey balloons attached to chairs or weighed down on top of bookcases. I had to stop Cass from asking people to make way for the King as soon as we had to stop in front of a small group of people, because ording to them, the rules of being quiet in a library were lesser than allowing me to go wherever I pleased. They''d be a horrible patron anywhere. We took the stairs to the second floor, since we didn''t expect the elevator would ever be free and ydol couldn''t squeeze past the entrance anyway. Biology was on the third floor, and information about Mount Cor would be on the fifth. I filed through the hall, running a finger over the books until I found what we wanted. There were actually too many books on Pokemon anatomy, though these were mostly aboutmon ones people could find like Shinx, Bidoof, or Lillipup. Not that we were expecting Gctic grunts to have any dragon types anyway, given that every time they''d been fought, the majority of them had owned easy-to-ess Pokemon. "We can''t grab all of these, can we? I mean, our bags aren''t big enough for everything." "Wait, is that¡­ the new book on Pokemon Care?" Justin whispered. He scurried to the side while I waited for him at the end of the aisle and flipped through the pages of this book, looking at the inside of a human body. "''Complete Pokemon Care Manual - All Types''," he listed, smile slowly rising. "I mean, I know not every type of Pokemon is going to be the same, but it goes in-depth with the basics. This would be great for Louis'' sanctuary, don''t you think?" I looked up at him and gawked at the thickness of the book. It must have been eight hundred pages at least. "Is it new?" I asked. "It was written by a few of the Hunters from Sceon who wanted to pass on the knowledge they''d gotten taking care of so many Pokemon for so many years," he smiled. "So technically, our actions there made this booke to be." "Sure, grab it. Checking out books is free anyway, and I think it''ll cheer him up some¡ª" My ears popped. The world around me burned, swallowed by a cacophony of explosions and fire. The air grew thick with dust, fragments of wood and dense smoke. I flinched, closing my eyes and dropping my books, expecting my entire body to be burned to ashes, but none of that came. Instead, sound around me died, save for the ringing in my ears, and the temperature returned to normal. My clothes were soaked with sweat and my body ached, but I was alive. The metal around my wrist froze in ce. I opened my eyes again. What just happened? I couldn''t see a foot in front of me. Cass had erected a barrier around us and there was an Indeedee here as well who had appeared from nowhere. The air reeked of burning pages and the sickly-sweet scent of charred wood. The walls trembled as the fire consumed the shelves, and the heat pressed against the barrier like an invisible force. To my left, the floor copsed, swallowing a chunk of a broken bookshelf as it tumbled to a lower floor. Still, I couldn''t hear anything. There was only trembling breath, the shaking of my feet against the intact ground under me, shoes squeaking against the slick tiles, and the ringing in my ears. Chest rising and lowering slowly, fingers trembling and teeth chattering. What is happening? From the second explosion billowed darkness that was cker than pitch, only secondster, smothering some of the fire but rattling ydol some. Indeedee held firm, however, her eyes glowing against the void. It was only as these next few seconds passed that I gathered my bearings enough to have a single thought. Justin. I couldn''t see him, with the darkness, fire, debris and smoke¡ª Justin! I had to see if he was safe. This Indeedee¡ª it probably belonged to my newest ACE Trainer who had reced Lou. I spoke, but I couldn''t hear my own words, reminding me of the time Sunshine had damaged my hearing when I''d first caught him. It was only then that I realized Cass had been speaking into my mind all along, but I''d been in too much shock to respond. It was so haunting, to see all of this destruction, this burning, but to be unable to hear any of it because of the barrier. It would be unwise to move. Your trainers are still assessing the situation, and I am afraid we will not be able to Teleport out of the building, Indeedee said, her voice crisp in my head. I frowned, screaming that he was right there in front of us! I tried to grab at the psychic''s shoulders to shake her, but instead, my body froze where I stood. Goodness, do you want to die? she said. I am listening to orders. I''m sorry if this isn''t what you want, but reinforcements will be arriving shortly as soon as the library is cleared. Indeedee paused. Or what remains of it. The minutes passed agonizingly slowly, and my hearing slowly returned while a pit started to form in my stomach. He was fine, he had to be. The grip around me loosened, and I stood there, eyes staring into the distance where he''d stood seconds earlier, holding up a book with a smile on his face. There was a way to figure out if he was fine. My empathy. I closed my eyes, and the world screamed. Emotions shone brightly through the smoke and mes, even if they were somewhat dimmed due to the dark type energy swirling about. As I gazed through the translucent barrier erected by ydol and Indeedee, emotions unleashed like a torrent of anguish, and the hues painted a heartbreaking masterpiece of collective suffering. The pain was palpable, a searing heat coating my brain that mirrored the physical mes consuming the library''s walls. I clenched at my head and ignored the emotions trying to worm their way into me and focused on this aisle. There was nothing. Nothing. Was he¡­ No. The darkness was fucking with my empathy like it had during the tests It had done at Lake Verity, and there was so much more of it now, and it was making it difficult to focus. Or maybe he''d managed to run through the fire¡ª the explosion had been closer to me than it had him. He''d be burned if he had, but the ACEs must have picked him up¡ª There, Indeedee said with a sigh. A neon green wind swept through the floor, eliminating the darkness in one fell swoop, and water fell around us from a Pelipper flying in the distance, smothering the mes in our vicinity. I had not seen Maxwell in what felt like ages, but he looked the same as always, save for his missing hand. His dark hair was full of ash and wood splinters, and after his mouth moved, Indeedee put down the barrier. The heat hit me like a truck, as did the sound of burning and copsing wood. There were sirens outside, both from the police and fire trucks. And screams. So many screams. Gothitelle''s words rang in my mind. Fire. My vision swam, and I realized my throat felt so terribly dry as I struggled to stay up. "Building''s been cleared. No enemy forces present, and the darkness isn''t being sustained," Maxwell said. His voice was still distant, even if he was standing right here. I could barely hear out of my left ear. "Recall your ydol and Meltan." In a daze, I followed his instructions. "Indeedee, get her out of here." "Wait, Justin¡ª" "ytime''s over, Ms. Pastel," he grimly spoke. "We''re in charge." I was gone. Teleported to what looked like a bunker, though somehow Indeedee hadn''t followed me here. The walls were solid concrete, and a low hum resonated through the space, emanating from vents hanging on the ceiling. Lights flickered overhead, and I took a deep breath, inhaling the stale air. Everyone was here. Cecilia rushed toward me as soon as I made it, hugging me even though my body was covered in ash and soot. "Thank the Legendaries," she gasped, her hands wound tightly around me. "Where¡ª where are we?" "The League until further notice," Chase said. "The entire region just went to shit, Grace." The rest of my friends greeted me, though the mood was obviously somber. Louis was pale, sitting on a green couchid against one of the walls of the room. Maeve was in a corner of the room, giving a pep talk to her Pokemon. Pauline was quietly on the phone with who I assumed to be her mother while Emilia could only stare at the floor, though it was not in a helpless, traumatized manner like Louis. She was preparing herself for what was toe. "Where''s Justin?" Denzel asked. I''m going to vomit. "I don''t know," I forced out. "We were in the library together, but¡­ I think he was hurt." The room was silent, but the sheer pain going through our faces was impossible to miss. "He''s probably at the hospital, I think," I added. "You know, the explosion wasn''t as big where he was standing, and by the time I was Teleported out the authorities were already here. And my ACEs are there, too. He should be¡ª he should be fine." "I¡­ see," Cece said, letting go of me. Louis exhaled, his body sagging. "Oh, thank Arceus." "Do we¡ª can we get any news about what''s going on?" Emilia stuttered with a hoarse voice. Denzel shifted ufortably. "We should ask about Justin. There''s a button we can press if we need anything, but it might take a while for them to get to us since I assume the League is on lockdown¡ª" "Denzel, please," she begged, looking into his eyes with a thousand-yard stare. "I¡ª just, please." "It''d be best if we don''t bother them," I quickly agreed. "Justin is okay." My best friend looked at Chase, then at Cecilia, but she gave a half nod that felt fake. Why didn''t they believe me? I wanted to ask, but now wasn''t the time. Not now. Later. Yeah. He was okay. It would be better to focus on what we could learn for now. Denzel scrolled through his phone, updating us on what had happened. Apparently every city in Sinnoh had been bombed, with majorndmarks and monuments having been the main target. The Canve Library, the Hearthome Contest Hall, the Sunyshore Mall and Boardwalk, Oreburgh''s Fossil Museum, Snowpoint''s port¡­ the list went on and on until Mira asked him to stop. "Just stop," she repeated. "We get it, the entire region''s been fucking bombed. You''re just bringing the mood down for no reason, we don''t need to know the specifics." "Oh. Sorry," he muttered. I''d never heard him speak like this. It was like he was trying to keep himself from crying when he''d been fine just earlier. Barely keeping himself together. "The specifics of this are actually very important," Pauline said, having now hung up from her mother. "These were all picked to kill as many people as possible. Mommy says Hearthome''s in chaos. The library wasn''t the only explosion in Canve, either, I saw another bomb go off from my Pokemon Center window." Mira grabbed her own arm, almost like a self-hug. "I¡­ I know, but it''s¡­ just slow down." "I can''t, and I''m sorry." His face twisted into a pitying grimace, and he kept scrolling. "No news of a bombing in Twinleaf, Grace. I think it wasn''t important enough to bomb for them." My heart dropped. "My Dad¡ª" "Is fine," Mira said. "I''m close with Carlos and he checked on the building, it wasn''t bombed. You better send your parents a text to tell them you''re okay." I nodded, but the relief I''d expected toe never came with Justin gnawing at the head of my mind. While I did so, the conversation continued. "How the hell did the League miss this?" Louis asked, his voice straining. His hands were clenched atop hisp, wound together so tightly they were white. "This is¡­ awful." "You can''t expect them to have every building guarded up, especially when a lot of their forces are holed up in Veilstone, the Lakes and Mount Cor," Cecilia said. I saw her wipe a tear out the corner of her eye, but they¡­ kepting. "I¡ª I''m sorry, I need to go to the bathroom." Sobs apanied her retreat, and when I tried to follow her, Chase called out to me. "Let her be for a second," he said. "She needs me¡ª" "You''re not in the right¡­ headspace right now," he interrupted. I took a step forward. "What does that fucking mean, Chase?" "Let''s focus on what''s important," he said. "No. Tell me what it fucking means," I spat, getting up in his face. "Tell. me." "Williams? Any help?" "Let''s, uh, stay on topic," Denzel continued. "The League was stretched thin, and I assume the shit security these buildings have¡ª if they have any, wasn''t enough to catch the bombs. Only Veilstone was spared of any bombings¡ª" "Stop ignoring me." All faces turned toward me. "If you have something to say, then say it," I said. Denzel approached, trying to put a hand over my shoulder, but I pped it away. "Say it." "You, Emilia, Louis," Chase said. "You''re in denial. We saw footage of the Canve Library, and half of that building is copsed¡ª" Emi rose from her seat. "No, fuck off with that," she screamed, pointing at him. "You have no right, Chase. We don''t know, okay? We don''t know if he''s dead, so you trying to be all fucking macho and uncaring, trying to act like we do know, it''s getting on my damn nerves." "Grace was there," Louis said as he gripped the side of his couch. "I think she would know more than you." "Then we could just ask, couldn''t we?" Chase frowned. "Not now. Not when they need every person out there," I said. "Plus, they might not know, with all the confusion and stuff." "Come on!" he barked. "You''re just fucking scared! You know damn well that makes no sense¡ª" "Just be fucking human for once," Emilia said. "Just let us have this," she sobbed. "Please." There was a sh of red as Maeve recalled her team. "It wouldn''t hurt to believe in the best-case scenario until proven otherwise, wouldn''t it?" Her stone-cold exterior cracked for a second, and it would take a while toe back up. I stood firm. "It won''t be proven otherwise. He''s hurt, no doubt, but I didn''t¡ª there was nothing there." There was a pause. "I thought they were all holed up like Rattata in Veilstone," Chase said. "Evidently, they had people left out here who never got on the League''s radar," Mira groaned. "Not even fighters, either." "Why would they even do this?" Pauline asked. Her face was pale, and just like Emilia, she struggled to sit still now. There was a back-and-forth motion to her body, like she wasforting her own self. "What''s the point in all of this death?" "They upy the Gym Leaders and pull from League forces, maybe?" Denzel said. His eyes were wet, but he was holding it together. "I don''t think Cynthia would even pull out that many troops, but anything helps when Gctic is at a disadvantage." "Cynthia would let the entire region burn to smithereens before weakening her position," I said. "This is a fool''s errand." "Then to the public, she looks like she''s fooling around," Chase said. "You know what that means, right?" "Doesn''t matter how strong she is, she''s out of power as soon as this is done," Emilia spoke under her breath. "She''ll be too unpopr. Her legacy will be ruined. Shit." "She''s not the kind of woman to care about that," I said. "Okay. That bodes well, then," Louis nodded. "How''s the rest of the world reacting?" Mira asked. "Everyone reacted fast. Condemnation at the attacks and condolences from every country, even Gr." Denzel frowned at his phone. "Indigo''s already pledging to give money to help with the rebuilding, and there''s talk of loosening the sanctions from Gr¡­ not much else, though. It''s too recent." I sighed. "Any information about the Gym Leaders¡ª" There was a louder sob from the bathroom, and the room went quiet. "I''m going." This time, no one stopped me. Instead, they returned to talking about the situation, and I heard of a casualty toll in the thousands before I was out of reach. That number would still be ticking up throughout theing days. I bit the inside of my lip hard enough to taste metal. The bunker itself was arranged more like a hotel room than what I''d expected from a ce like this, except save for a few bits like the old lights. Hell, there was even artwork on the walls that I would have looked at, had I not been in a hurry. I passed by a main chamber holding rows of sturdy metal shelves, each stocked with neatly organized supplies¡ªcanned goods, water containers, medical kits, and other essentials. After knocking, I put my ear to the door, but remembered that I''d lost my hearing in this one. There was still a subtle ring to it in the background, but it wasn''t like I could do anything about it. I put the other ear to the door and heard crying. "Cece?" There was a startled, choking sound, and the cries stopped. "I''ll be out in a minute," she said after a pause. "I just need to¡­ I need to¡­" "Can Ie in¡ª" "Yes please." I tried opening the door, which she''d evidently forgotten she had locked, and she opened it from the inside. Cecilia was a mess. Her hair was frazzled and her face was full of tears and snot. I crouched and wrapped my hands around her, and she cried on my shoulder. "We''ll be okay," I whispered. "Justin will be okay." "I don''t know, Grace," she sobbed. "I''ve known him since we were kids. We''d see each other at these horrible get-togethers when I''de to Sinnoh¡­ I don''t know. I''m trying to put it all in a box, but it''s not working, Grace. I can''t¡ª it feels like I''m missing a part of myself that I''ll never get back." I loosened the hug and looked into her eyes, ignoring the knot in my throat. "He''ll be fine. He is fine. We''ll visit him when this is all over, okay? I promise." Cecilia nodded in silence, her body leaning against mine. "Hold me." She was warm. For a second, I imagined her lying dead, a charred corpse at my feet from one of the bombs, and I stopped moving while her breath trembled and her chest rose and fell. "I love you," I whispered. "We''ll make it through this." "I''m sorry. Usually I can do this," she murmured. I could feel her breath on my ear. "Usually I''m strong enough to pull through, and I''m the one you can rely on, but when I imagined him dead, it was¡­" "He''s alive." There was a pause for a few seconds. "Let''s not ask, though," she said. "Yes. They''re busy." "But if he is¡­ that." Dead, she meant. My body flinched like it had been struck. He wasn''t, because that would mean he had died on my watch. He was alive. "Then I will kill every Team Gctic member Ie across," she said, her voice steadfast and sharp like iron. "And I will look the other way if anyone does the same. This is an emergency, after all." She''d put it all in a box now. I let her rise, and watched her wash her face. "I''m gonna wash the ash off my face too," I said. "I''ll be out in a minute." She nodded. "Thank you, love. For being here." Cece outstretched her hand, and I grabbed it. We held still for a moment, hands sped tight. Then, she left, closing the door behind her. The stic gloves came slowly out of my bag. I wrapped them around my hands and found a bathing glove to smoothen the process. I turned on the faucet. The sound of the water sshing against the sink felt like static noise. I wet my hands, rubbing my face. It came out brown and grey as it circled around the sink. I let my hand hover over the faucet, but it trembled when I tried to turn off the water. I looked up at the mirror. Clothes covered in ash and smoke, hair singed at its edges by the first micro-second of the explosion. Arm and body scarred by cuts and burns. A nk stare, head and body utterly still, save for my nose ring with every deepening breath. Eyes wide open. My ears rang again, but there was no explosion. They just kept ringing. And ringing. And ringing. I stared at myself once more. My hands gripped the wet ceramic. My face tightened. My shoulders broadened. I barely look human. Something itches under my skin. But despite everything. It''s still you. I turned off the tap and tied my hair up.
Interlude – Broken Things Interlude ¨C Broken Things
As always, trigger warning. Expect bad things, violence, etc. INTERLUDE - BROKEN THINGS The thing shivers, hugging itself as its breath twists in front of it, turning to mist as it wished it to be the week-end already. Today is a day like any other, and it does not feel particrly excited about it. It is a monster borne out of banality. Jupiter stared at her burner phone and whined. "I''m freezing my tits off here! Can we just go already?" She hopped from one foot to the other, her white boots burying themselves deep in the snow. "You''d think these uniforms would be better than this. I really should have written up aint¡­ guh!" she groaned when Tangrowth pped her on the back with a loud gurgle, probably telling her to stop . Charon grunted. "Your Tangrowth is right, for once. The time will soone to strike." "You''d think we''d have gotten more than thirty minutes before the League busted in after deactivating the dark emitters," Jupiter said. "We knew that they would find us as soon as we did. And we got the majority of our people out regardless, far more than we expected. I supposed the bombings were good for that, at least." "Doesn''t mean I can''tin about it," she smiled. A gust of wind blew past her and she leaned against her Tangrowth, who sighed at the sudden contact. Despite that, though, he didn''t push her away. She''d y ball with himter as a thanks. Adrianna would be lying if she said she wouldn''t miss their base. Underground rooms spread all throughout the city deep enough to be invisible to all empaths, only possible to navigate with the Teleporters they''d set up after Charon reproduced the tech they''d stolen from the power nt at Valley Windworks. Then, there were the dark emitters that Abel had helped improve so they were hidden from view, just in case. The old man was depressing to be around when she wasn''t in the right mood, but he was a genius at incorporating TE into human technology and somehow had made it all work with his team of scientists¡ª granted, the majority of them had probably been arrested or killed by now. That was fine, given that they didn''t know the n. No one but the Commanders did. If the League had caught one part of the base, it would instantly have gotten cut off from the rest, like amputating a limb undergoing necrosis. There were deadman switches set up for it to blow as well, but they''d had to take those explosives away for obvious reasons, now. Behind her, one thousand and five hundred grunts stood at attention, all in their gctic uniforms. They had to be, on a day so important. Eyes set forward without a single movement or word, and Pokeballs at their belt. Saturn had done well to drill and train them into a veritable force, teaching them the art of tactics, teamwork and all of that yawn-inducing jazz. Jupiter had basically been quiet quitting for thest few months anyway since they''d had no more money to y with and hadn''t really been paying attention. The bombs had been a great idea of hers, but they''d run out of material soon enough and had to resort to Pokemon using Self-Destruct at maximum capacity. Which meant that non-ghosts had no doubt died permanently in their efforts, but humans weren''t the only ones who had bought into the cult. The Pokemon had, too, and they expected to be reborn in a utopia without strife. Some of them had been good enough to mix darkness in to make the mes harder to extinguish and dy any efforts to Teleport in or out as well, though those were rarer than most. Legendaries, she was bored. Jupiter sometimes liked to pass the time by looking at the grunts'' faces. These were the best and the brightest Cyrus had selected to bring into his new world, after all, so she figured that she might as well see what he''d seen in them other than a lot of them were creepy as hell. Of course, the answer was obviously loyalty, fervor, shedding the fear of death, et cetera et cetera, but where was the fun in not pretending you didn''t know the answers? There were the ones who had killed off their emotions and just wanted tomit to their duty, the ones who were fanatics who''d be proud to die for Cyrus'' cause and knew that he would bring them back after creating his new world. Those who couldn''t help but smile orugh at the prospect of being so close to bliss that they could nearly taste it. Or at least, that was what was promised. Sometimes you had a mix of all of them, really. They were kind of boring, if again, not creepy enough to give her the jitters. There were some gems hidden beneath, though. People unique to shine through and catch her attention. The girl closest to her, for example. Young, blonde, average height and green eyes¡ª pretending to look like she wasn''t terrified, but doing a terrible job at it. She was one of Mars'', though Cyrus had assigned her to Jupiter''smand instead so the other Commander wouldn''t get distracted down south. She''d been tormented for months due to her resemnce to Grace Pastel, and Mars had even put scars in the right ce, too. Burned the side of her face and body, cut deep into her arm and added a few of the shallow ones that were missable to the naked eye. Poor girl was barely hanging by a thread, but she wanted to live, so she''d try her best anyway. Adrianna felt bad, though not enough to actually do anything about it, and she knew it was wrong. She had to be responsible, though, and so it was in her interest to soothe the girl''s worries so she and her Pokemonsted as long as possible in theing battle. Her Musharna was among their best barrier users, after all, and could put a wide range of people to sleep with a single look. She turned toward her. "Girl¡ª what''s your name?" "G¡ªGrace Pastel the fourth, Commander." Oh, there''d been four of her? Where the hell had Mars hidden the rest? Jupiter wanted to frown¡ª no, that was wrong. She figured a normal response to this information would be to frown, though her body didn''t follow suit. You could really never know, with that kid. "I mean your real name," Jupiter smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "You can tell me, nothing will happen to you." For a moment, she looked around at her cohorts, who ignored her, given that they were barely people anymore. Then, to Charon and Adrianna. She probably thought this was a trap, but she''d be stupid to think she had been fooling anyone. The only reason she was still here and not dead or in some League jail cell was because Mars had taken a liking to her and Cyrus knew he needed to keep her fellow Commander loyal by giving her something to chew on, be it new toys or a fraction of his attention for a minute or two every few weeks. She figured he was already heading toward Mount Cor with his elite team, given that he hadn''t been Teleported out of their base. The people apanying him were their strongest grunts, on the level of¡­ well, Jupiter had never really been great at estimating power, but she supposed the average kid would try to slot them in terms of badge level. "ra¡­" the meek girl finally answered. "ra! That''s a pretty name," Jupiter gently said. She wrapped an arm around the girl and whispered in her ear. "Listen, you''ve been through a lot, haven''t you?" Charon brought up a long-range walkie-talkie-type thingie to his mouth, and a gruff voice came through, interrupting the two. His Porygon Z was extending their range ofmunication region-wide with the help of his Rotom, who was inside the device in a dormant state. That wasn''t the most surprising bit, though. It was his own voice, he was talking to. "Second wave of bombings came through with a forty-seven percent sess rate instead of ny-eight," he said. "Looks like they caught on fast. The third wave is most likely going to peter outpletely." "Charon, ra and I having a moment," Adrianna sighed. His eye twitched. "On this momentous day, you¡ª" "Charon, it''s Friday," she rolled her eyes. "Be a good boss and let her half-ass her job for a while. Her shift is almost over." He wanted to talk back, but Tangrowth threw some snow in his face, and that was that. Would have been funny if it broke his sses, too. The grass type had grabbed on older, deeper snow that hugged the side of trees. The kind of frost that was horrible to get hit by and that had your car skidding in the mornings, forcing you to drive excruciatingly slowly while a crazy fucker honked behind you, as if they weren''t in the same boat and bothte for work. "It''s¡­ Monday," ra said. "Think about it like a metaphor," Jupiter exined, her hands outstretched as if she was showing something off. "This year was like an entire week where your boss has you work overtime every day to finish a project that you have nowhere near enough time toplete. You''re working your ass off, sleeping at the office and your colleagues are ipetent." She stopped, and for a moment, she was back to fifteen years ago. Tired. Alone. Cold. Living life in a daze,ing home to a small, dark apartment at the end of it all. It had started slowly, at first. She''d slept through her five rms and would bete for her presentation. Then she''d driven over the speed limit and gotten stopped by cops, arriving nearly half an hourte with her superiors only waiting for her. Then she realized she hadn''t saved her slides. She''d been too tired and closed the app without it, and back then, there was no auto-save feature. She''d embarrassed herself in front of all of thepany, but it wasn''t that, which broke her. No, it was when Sarah Nash used Adrianna''s mistakes as a way to push her out of leading the Party nning Committee. The only thing she had ever enjoyed. The world had copsed under her feet. But she decided to break herself instead¡ª twist herself with her Skitty''s help until she could live instead of ending it all. Fuck you, Sarah Nash, Jupiter smiled. She still worked in that very same ce in Snowpoint, which had conveniently been targeted by one of her bombs. Petty office politics might have been something she hated, but it was also her lifeblood. So yes, she had murdered someone for it fifteen yearster. And maybe she wanted to end this world inrge part because of Sarah Nash. Sue her! Jupiter continued. "But today is Friday, ra. This is our endgame. It''s like you''re looking at the time, and it''s so close to five in the evening. People are starting to pack their stuff all around you and your boss has already left for the day, right? You''re almost there, so you only have to push through and you''ll be reborn." The teenager nodded. "Thank you. Um, it''s a little confusing, but it helps." "Nothing confusing about it. Just look forward to the week-end. Away from your boss." There, that ought to have done it. ra was standing a little straighter now, and her fears had been alleviated some. People were so interesting sometimes. Thank the Legendaries, too, because otherwise, she would have died of boredom long ago. She was no Mars, but Jupiter liked to see what made people tick sometimes. How they would react to her, depending on how she acted. "No movements from the Lakes?" she asked Charon. "None that we can see. There hasn''t been a significant increase in League Trainers in cities, so if I had to guess, they''re hunkering down¡ª" there was a coughing fit, dry until he spat a glob of spit and blood in the snow. "The good news is, the Gym Leaders are helping, so that''s people we won''t have to worry about." "They could Teleport in." The scientist facepalmed. "If they Teleport in after we attack, that means we can Teleport in as well. They''ll have dark types swarming the ce to prevent that." "And if they doe anyway? That Candice is within distance to fly here." "Then that''s what you''re here for, Jupiter," Charon said. "You kill her." Adrianna sighed. "Killing an ice type specialist in her element? That is so much work, man." Was it toote for a change of career? "Hang on tight. We will be starting soon," Charon said. "Guess it just has to be done." ¡ª The thing grins, a twisted and broken grimace so tightly wound that it strains its face. Today is the best day of its life, the apex of its existence. Everything had led to this. It is a monster borne out of loyalty and vanity. The sun shines brightly on Saturn''s face. His joy bubbled up like a twisted carnival inside him. Theughter that spilled out felt unhinged, a rollercoaster ride careening towards madness. The world seemed so colorful today, so vibrant. Had trees always been so beautiful? The way the bark careened and twisted itself into branches, the way dew fromst night''s rain hung to their leaves. The way the smell of grass permeated through his nostrils. Oh, the softness of the mud against his boots! Saturn moaned, his hands rubbing his neck as he squirmed in ce. Today was such a beautiful day! It was a peculiar sort of happiness only Saturn couldprehend, because only he and Cyrus saw how ugly the world was. How if you peeled at the surface, horrors would reveal themselves to you, the unfairness, the sheer arrogance of it all. Faces that contorted with expressions that reeked of insincerity, a masquerade of pretense that sickened him. Buildings that stood as monuments to humanity''s imperious aspirations, cold and indifferent structures in a world devoid of genuine warmth. The air itself was always rancid, polluted not by industry, for Saturn could not care less about that, but by the faults of human nature. It had him nauseous on the best of days, but it had been long since he had walked in a city. No one else but Cyrus understood. Not even his ''fellow'' Commanders, if he could even see them as equals. For Jupiter, this was a way to pass the time. For Mars, it was a game, and for Charon, it was a deep desire to see his dead little sister, who Saturn had no doubt was just as deranged and insincere as the rest of humanity. They didn''t see the artistry in it. The fact that they were rebuilding the universe from zero. "The second bombing had a sess rate of forty-seven percent," Charon said. His body was a distorted one, flickering in the light. A hologram AI projected by his Porygon. Saturn knew that once, Charon had tried to recreate his deceased sister as an artificial intelligence, but failed to capture what truly made her, her. This was the same case. He was Charon, but subtly not. It did not matter, though, so long as he kept him informed of what was happening around the region. They were a few miles away from the Lake with one thousand one hundred and fifty-six grunts in tow, hidden off-route and under the cover of a forest so the League''s scouts would have difficulty catching them without a psychic capable of sensing them. Bringin them to this location had been a hassle of logistics, with having to use hundreds of psychics with linked minds to make it happen. Even then, some grunts had been¡­ lost in the transit. Nevertheless, Saturn had theorized that they would hole into their Lakes like rats, so terrified of losing even one of these so-called Guardians. Because if they lost a single one, Their chances grew significantly lower. Using a Legend''s full power was, ording to Charon and his team, off the table with a chain this iplete, but this was Mesprit''s gems they had used, so they still banked on the fact that capturing it would leave way to at least subtle use of its capabilities. Enough to turn the tide, at the very least, and enough to hopefully use barriers and Teleport, because there was no way they would ever be given enough time for all their psychics to whisk them away again, especially when they''d be tired. Of course, they didn''t have the chain with them, but they had to act like they did, and get close enough to instantly take control of the Legends when they did get ess to the chain. Not that Saturn expected the League to win. They were why the world was so ugly. The rigidness of life, the way they had tried to keep him on a straight and narrow path. Go to school, turn fifteen, be a trainer for a few years and get some badges, fail to make it a career, retire and get a normal job, find a partner, get married, have children, ve away until you die¡ª No. He couldn''t. Every day of his life, something had felt wrong. Like an itch he couldn''t scratch, or subtle shapes at the edge of his vision he couldn''t make out. He had been lost, convinced that he was the one who had been born wrong until he met Cyrus. And together, they would cleanse the world of this. "Saturn?" Charon probed. "Excellent news!" Saturn beamed, his smile widening further. "The world will soon be cleansed of all that is ugly, Charon." He took a while to answer. "Stay put. We will be starting soon." The man nodded, barely able to contain his excitement. What would life be like, in their new world? Would it always be as beautiful as it is today? More beautiful? Was that even possible? He closed his eyes and tried to imagine it, just for an instant. Oh, the sheer freedom he felt in that moment was enough to shiver in excitement. But he had a job to do. "Marcus." One of his grunts stepped forward, handing him a megaphone. Saturn released his Exploud, who looked just as gleeful for the day their sacred Cyrus had wrought. The normal type closed hisrge mouth, and the world stirred, containing the sound of Saturn''s voice to the vicinity so they wouldn''t be heard. The Commander turned to face his army. For years, he had drilled them. Turned them into the best they could be. While the other members¡ª the ones not selected to get into their new world¡ª sacrificed themselves to bring sess to Team Gctic, he had trained the people in front of him, keeping them safe. These, along with the other troops assaulting the Lake and the ones currently with Cyrus, were the only ones left. Team Gctic''s elite troops, most of them ready to go toe to toe with the average League soldier, trained in their tactics and formations. It would not be enough. They didn''t have the numbers or the experience for this fight, but they had dedication to the cause. And they did not need to win. Just to get close enough for a loss not to matter. Saturn inhaled. "ATTENTION!" The grunts stomped their foot twice on the ground and saluted as one. "Today, we take the first step in the creation of our new world!" Saturn dered. "In just a few minutes, the assault on Lake Valor will begin. I will not lie to you, my fellow soldiers. If Cynthia Collins is at this Lake, the odds of us seeding is zero." He let the words settle in for a moment. There was still no weakness in their eyes, or at least any he could see. Good. "But even if this assault is a loss," he began again, "even if we are all ughtered by her and her Elite Four, we will prevail!" Saturn yelled, raising a fist to the air. "We will buy enough time for our n toe to fruition. Do not fear death, for that is just a temporary state of being! Throw yourselves into battle! If all of your Pokemon are killed, then pick up a stone and smash it in a soldier''s head! Gouge his eyes with your fingers, bite off his skin, fight! I don''t want to hear ''I am holding my position''. We''re not holding an Arceus damned thing. Let them do that. We''re advancing constantly until we get close enough to get Azelf under control." There were cheers, each more fervent than thest. Saturn allowed the sound to sweep him off his feet and gripped his megaphone. It''s like I was born for this. Born to shine beauty upon the world and lead. "When future generations hear of this day in our new world, they will sing our names!" Saturn screamed. Yes. Today was a beautiful day. ¡ª The thing has nothing but fun on its mind, and hopes it''s not going to get distracted by the excitement murder brings it, lest it angers its master. Today is the start of the upswing in its life. It is a monster borne out of love and loneliness. Mars was currently pouting. "Can we go yet?" "Patience, Mars," Charon said. "Samus, Elena, how''s the chain looking? No side effects?" In front of her, two people in thick, hazmat suits handled the chain with utmost care, only grabbing it with pincers that looked like they were made of steel, but that Charon kept correcting as lead. Then she''d say, ''lead is metal, Charon, I read it in a book!'' and he''d say that she''d called it steel, not metal. Blegh, who cared, anyway? She listened to them spew some techno babble she had stopped trying to understand long ago and kicked her feet up in the air. She was lying on top of Star¡ª her Clefable''s stomach and waiting until the real Charon up north gave her the go ahead, and she was just so bored! Why was it, that time passed so slowly when you looked forward to something? Plus, she could be having fun right now, sowing chaos in the cities, but noooo you have to stay put Mars! And we''ll throw the Red Chain on top of yourp as a bonus, to make sure you can''t waste any time or have any fun when assaulting the military base around Lake Verity. "Good," Charon said. "You may now conceal it." She didn''t even have Grace Pastel the fourth to have fun with. Originally, she''d been meant to be her temporary sister until she got her hands on the real thing, but like the others, Mars had found hercking in many ways, so she''d tormented her instead. It reminded Mars of the good old days at the Power nt, when she''d firstid her eyes on Grace, though her love for her had evolved and changed in many ways. Gee, she missed her so much! But they''d be reunited soon for sure. There was no way they wouldn''t meet again before everything was over, and she would get her to join her family! Mars had so many things to ask and tell her she could explode! Oh! Dusky was back. She could tell from the way the grunts around her paled or shrank back away from her. She''d forgotten how many she had, but it was barely over two thousand, if she remembered correctly. Saturn''s best and brightest. To be honest, she had no idea what they were capable of, she hadn''t been involved in their training like Juju or he had. "Did you find her?" Mars beamed, sliding off Clefable''s belly. "Did you? Did you? Did you?" Her feet tippy-tapped the ground in excitement. Dusky did not appear, otherwise he would have soured the grunts'' moods, but they couldmunicate, even then, though he would never tell her why, that meanie. There was a deep, ghostly wail, almost a whisper, and Mars pouted. "What? She was gone?" the girl groaned. "Did they evacuate her¡­? Crap, this is all your fault, Charon!" She kicked in his direction, though her foot phased through his leg andnded on more dirt. The pink-haired man just stared at her in disappointment. "You should already be happy that I let you send that monster off," he said. "You went looking for the girl''s mother, and you didn''t find her. Now get ready to fulfill your duty, you petnt child." "Just because you''re not here doesn''t mean you can talk that way to me," Mars said, her eyes sharpening. She looked down at the old man and tilted her head. "I''ve seen what makes you squirm. So what if you bring your dead sister into the New World? You think I won''t find a way to kill her again? Even if Cyrus forbids it and I can''t there are many more ways to hurt someone." She grinned when he shrunk and reveled in her victory. Hologram or not, his personality was still in there. There was nothing like pressing someone and making them squirm in fear at the sight of you. "Plus," she said, leaning against her Clefable. "Dusky got her grandma''s soul anyway. Guess she refused to leave the house. I don''t think Grace and her were close because she never talks or posts about her online, but it''s something. I need any edge I can get to convince her to be my sister." Charon looked at her, his face slightly dismayed. "Did your Dusknoir get seen?" "He says no, rx!" Mars waved a hand dismissively. "Plus, who cares if he had? They know we''reing today anyway." "He could have been followed, you daft child!" Charon roared. "Just¡­ stay quiet and prepare your team for theing assault." How annoying. She wanted to grab her knife and shank him in the back, but again, he wasn''t real. Though she supposed she could have Dusky dissolve the entire thing, given the entire hologram was supported by an array of Porygon, but then Cyrus would dismiss her. So she didn''t get to kill her mother, then. Her father''s apartment had apparently been too well-guarded to blow up, and despite Mars insisting they target Pokemon Centers to get her friends in the st, it had been deemed too risky, and they were too resistant to attacks such as these. Things were not going ording to n. The only other opportunity she''d have at getting them killed was if they met again in Mount Cor. Then, when they found each other again, she''d target her Pokemon, too. Kill enough of them, rip them away from her one by one, and eventually, Grace would break. Mars would be there to pick up the pieces and ask her to help them recreate the world. They''d all be able toe back! She would get to be so happy again! What would be the point in saving the world if there was no one left in it for her? Soon, she wouldn''t be lonely anymore. A cold brush on her shoulder from Dusky snapped her out of her thoughts, and Clefable created some sparkles with a snap of her fingers. Mars got on her tip-toes and giggled, rubbing the fairy type in between the ears on the top of her head, just like she liked. Star squeaked, her eyes tightly shut, and she purred when Mars added scritches to the mix. "Let''s leave some for Mr. Wiggly, yes?" she said. "You know what, pets for everyone!" Mars released her entire team, and Charon couldn''tin given that they''d see use soon. She ced her Bellossom on her shoulder, and the grass type hugged the side of her head while Mars rubbed her cheek. Be had always liked to be carried around like a baby, after all. Snuggles liked them under his chin, though you had to watch for his long fangs. Seviper were no joke. Twinkles was already lying on her back, her paws in the air and her nine golden tails wagging against the floor with her tongue hanging out. She liked them on her stomach, like Mr. Wiggly. What was she talking about? Mars wasn''t lonely with them! She had to admit, a big sister would be cool, though, so she still wanted one! "Third bombing is done," Charon said. The information must havee through his Porygon. "Seven percent sess rate. Any more will be wasting time, so we should start. Are we ready?" "How many dead?" Mars asked. "The news aren''t anywhere close to finishing the tally. Possibly over ten thousand, by the time the day is over, with more wounded," he shrugged. "The hospitals aren''t going to have enough space to take care of everyone. The League is not doing anything. Cynthia hasn''t even given a speech, she relegated that to Bertha. People are panicking without their leader. They are terrified." Mars licked her lips. "How fun." The Commander shook his head. "It''s what has to be done. What does it matter if they die now or in a day?" "Well, let''s go, then!" Mars yelled. "No need for a speech, everyone''s ready to go!" Charon cleared his throat. "Mars, you go off and do your own thing, as nned." There was a pause, and then his voice amplified while the world shimmered around his Hypno. Oh, right, he was there since he was their best Teleporter. "The rest of you, get in formation! Give your lives to have the Red Chain advance if needed!" Mars stretched, her arm arched behind her head while her cohorts released hundreds of Pokemon in lines of fifty. She didn''t know much, but Saturn loved rambling, so she at least understood that they nned on sending out wave after wave of elemental attacks at a distance with Psychic types standing at the edges of their formation to shield their sides and front. It was a good thing the Hunters had supplied so many of them before they were destroyed. As for her? She was a knife in the dark. A vanguard onto herself, meant to scout to see what kind of response they would get and if they could sniff out Cynthia. "One of me will be apanying you to keep you from getting distracted," Charon said, splitting into two. "The other will run things here. Go, and I will follow. If anything happens to the main column they can''t handle, then you''ll head back." It was a slow walk, at first, each step deliberate. Then a skip. Then a run. Mars'' entire team followed her. Nales and Seviper could easily keep up on the ground, given that they were easily way faster than her. Dusky stuck to her shadow, as always, while Bellossom still hung on her shoulder. Wigglytuff was swollen like a balloon, floating through the air at high speeds through sheer force of will while Clefable affected gravity around her and had herself float right behind the entire group. Charon had disappeared, but she knew he was around somewhere. Mars'' breaths grew primal, and her face twisted with glee. Finally, she would be seeing some action. They were off-route, but Pokemon knew to keep away from her and such arge group of people. For twenty minutes, they ran in silence. Mars was an excellent runner and her stamina put all the other Commanders to shame, but how could she be tired when she was about to have so much fun? There was a yowl from Nales, who despite her best efforts had never managed to speak into her mind, like all other psychics, and Mars stopped, her boots sliding against the dirt. Trainer. That much was obvious. Probably a scouting party or something simr. Mars slid behind a tree and crouched while her team hung around in silence. She ced Bellossom on the ground. "Kill them." Nales had smelled them first, but that meant that they''d figure out she was there soon enough. The world didn''t change¡ª the ground didn''t even shake, but ten secondster, there was an explosion, and then there were screams, instantly smothered by the forest turning against them. She could have had Dusky do it, but it was safer if he hung around her. She wasn''t about to die when she was so close to what she''d wanted for months. That was a huge chunk of her life! "Dead?" she whispered. Bellossom nodded, a bright smile on her face, and Mars patted her on the head. "They''ll have others. Brace for an attack, kill anything that moves." The Commander tip-toed around her tree and went to see her work. Oh yeah, they were dead, dead. Three of them. Countless shards of wood,rge enough to put kitchen knives to shame had prated through their skin and nts had grown to keep them in ce. One through the throat, another puncturing a girl''s skull through her right eye¡ª right in the brain, score! Thest had died the slowest, it seemed. No clean kill this time, but that was fine. There was beauty in variety, wasn''t there? Their Pokemon¡ª reon, Azumarill, Lickilicky, Persian, were just unconscious, unfortunately. This was more of something they''d workshopped to kill humans. Except a Dedenne, apparently. That one was dead. "Aw, man," Mars sighed. "How weak." She rummaged through their bodies, trying to find stuff under their uniforms. She liked to im treasure from her kills, when she was allowed to. Let''s see¡­ she hummed to herself. The chain around the girl''s neck looked nice, even if she was ugly. She ripped it off her neck and opened the pendant. It was a picture of the girl and another one. Maybe a sister or a friend. Mars gasped. Or a girlfriend! It was cropped too closely to see, but it looked like they might be holding hands. The guy had¡­ a ring on his ring finger. Mars wished she was married to Cyrus, so that was hers. Thest girl had five badges left on her expired Trainer ID from when she must have been a trainer¡ª Charon reappeared behind her. "Enough. Stop wasting time." She stuck out her tongue at him. "Party pooper." Mars threw out the items behind her, and Wigglytuff gasped, sucking in air, and swallowed them forter. She had Dusknoir eat the souls of the unconscious Pokemon and kept going. There was no way she could let them live when the grunts would take this route, not that she wanted to, anyway. She was used to the screams every time the ghost opened the mouth on his abdomen. With every soul, he grew just a little stronger. A little harder to kill. It was a way to cheat his training, though he hadn''t had manytely due to having to stay hidden in that stupid base, and it had forced them to actually train instead¡ª Stone shattered against Dusknoir''s body to her left, and people barked out orders. An attack already, hm? It was a given, since she was less than ten minutes from the base and that tree explosion had probably alerted every scout in over a mile. Mars cracked her neck while her cuties got to work. Nales kept close, just in case Dusky wasn''t enough, but the ghost type warped and the world went ck and white. There were wails, thousands of wails emanating from every different direction and the majority of her enemies froze in ce nicely enough for Bellossom to take care of them. Half were tough enough to withstand the pressure, but going from ten to five trainers and thirty-something to what looked like fifteen Pokemon was far more manageable. The rest still had barriers around them made by what looked to be standard League Kadabras. Clefable waved an arm, and gravity turned sideways. The Kadabra didn''t fly in their direction, but two of them lost their footing enough for Seviper to strike. Oh, he''d been gone a while now, camouged by an invisible Haze, and his tail turned dark with Night sh, shing across both Kadabra''s throats, leaving trainers and Pokemon open to further attack. Mars didn''t flinch in the face of retaliatory strikes¡ª Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt struck against Nales'' barrier, and Dusknoir covered theing Dark Pulse from a Mightyena so it wouldn''t shatter, but it was only then that the scouts started their retreat, recalling most of their Pokemon and running back into the base. It was not a panicked, cowardly thing, but orderly. The Mightyena was still pressuring her from afar, but it didn''t matter, given that she was just so much stronger. Nales'' eyes shed, and the dark type spontaneouslybusted, leaving Seviper to finish him off with a Poison Tail as he turned visible again. "Well, the Meowth''s out of the bag," Mars hummed as her Dusknoir swallowed the remaining unconscious bodies. "Keep going?" As if on cue, Charon popped up in front of her. "I doubt you''ll be able to breach the walls alone. They''ll have hundreds, if not thousands of Pokemon waiting on top of them. Right now, you want to move before they send their elite troops and ACEs after you. Even then, they''ll most likely find you." She wrinkled her nose. "Way to sour the mood, old man." "Shut up. As we feared, they''ve had the entire ce swarming in darkness since the first explosion, it looks like. There will be no retreat." "Whatever," she huffed. "I''m going." The battles around the Lake would continue, but Mars and her team were peculiar in a way even Charon had never figured out. Save for Dusky, they never tired. ¡ª "Arceus, you poor thing," Jupiter mourned. "So young as well." The body itself was in rtively good condition, but had suffered too much internal trauma from one of Tangrowth''s Power Whips, so unfortunately, it wasn''t like he could hear her right now. The grass type regenerated as much as possible through Synthesis while the rest of her team kept pushing forward. Skuntank dashed through the snow, ignoring the sh across her side and doused an Ursaring in poison strong enough to melt through skin. The cut closed by itself as soon as Delcatty sang in her general direction, and the poison type kept rampaging through enemy lines with awful-smelling poison pouring out of every inch of their skin, making physical contact with her a deadly affair. Stantler waspletely still, working to Hypnotize all those around him, but he focused on the threats, first. Psychics and even dark types, who he had learned to bypass long ago through biological means. Girafarig was on defense, their tail being particrly apt at sniping dark type attacks before they ever made it close enough to hope to breach the barrier. Case in point, their tail snapped to the right, eyes dimming and teeth sharpening, and theing st of darkness from a Muk dissolved into thin air. As for king? Well¡­ He was doing king things. Turning human and Pokemon alike to mush and growing more rabid with each wound he took, which was why Delcatty was ignoring him for the time being. A Centiskorch blew a methrower his way, but the mes helplessly washed against his fist as it copsed atop of the bug type like a meteor and crushed its entire body. Eugh, how gnarly. And that was ignoring the fighting going on all around her. Hundreds of League Troops had exited their fortress, and Jupiter instantly identified what looked to be an ACE. They weren''t wearing their usual uniform, but their Pokemon were mowing through them like a scythe through wheat. Castform in this snow was deadly, as were the rest of his ice types. That was probably why he''d been stationed here. Fortunately for them, there was the issue of friendly fire, which meant he couldn''t go ham. Granted, it was the same issue for her. Gosh, he was kind of cute, too. That little gleam of confidence in his eye and the assurance in his team. She''d take him to a coffee shop if she could, though maybe he was a little too young for her. Guess it''s my job to prevent these things from happening, she internally groaned. "king. king," she spoke twice to snap him out of his battle high. She pped her hands and pointed toward the ACE. "Kill." On average, she''d say she would absolutely lose a full-fledged battle to an ACE Trainer, but this was war, not battle, and the ACE had many things to keep track of. king stood on his hind legs and ripped a tree from the forest floor, with snow dripping to the ground as he swung and threw it forward. The ACE''s Weavile noticed first, blurring in front of its trainer and blowing ice to freeze the tree enough for a Beartic to shatter it with a punch. king was her strongest, and possibly the strongest Pokemon she had ever witnessed in terms of physical power. The normal type barrelled through the forest, knocking away trees like tall grass and forgoing any strategy. "Support him," Jupiter whispered to Delcatty. The ACE Trainer said something as well, and Girafarig suddenly began to freeze. Target the psychic first, Jupiter echoed her teachings. Delcatty was busy stopping cking from dying, and the rest of her Pokemon were busy helping the grunts around her advance, so it fell onto Stantler to deal with this. The normal type''s antlers shone brighter, and he refocused all of his attention on the culprit, a Cryogonal that was constantly chiming and emanating with frost. She shivered when the ice continued to spread through Girafarig and the barrier around her faltered¡ª the vision at her edges blurred, her body became numb and Adrianna suddenly felt so, so small in the face of the cold. She could not outskill an ACE. But she could outmuscle him. Through streams of frosts, Ice Beams, freezing limbs and his insides, they had still failed to stop king, and he burst through the tightly packed ice team like a truck. A fist caught Weavile in the throat, and he threw its entire body into the trainer''s barrier maintained by a focused Jynx. He smashed through it with a simple Brick Break and crushed the ACE Trainer under his fist. The face Jynx made told Jupiter everything she needed to know. Horror, of course there was horror, but there was also disbelief at something she''d put years of work into being broken like a twig. She died before she could react any more than that. Crushed like paste. Jupiter licked her lips and recalled Girafarig, hoping to use one of the countless fire types they had to defrost themter. What a waste. Unlike Mars, she was weaker, but with king, she could at least bridge the gap and catch them by surprise. The Commander had won the battle, but she was losing the war. They were not advancing fast enough to match up to the expected timeline, and far too many grunts were dying far too soon. They needed at least ten percent of them at eachke to survive for the assault in Mount Cor, but they were dying like Cutiefly. It was difficult to match experience with training, but she''d expected them to at least make it to the walls before this kind of dying started happening. Jupiter sighed. She felt so grimey already, and the edges of her limbs looked like they had frostbite from the cold that had seeped through the barrier. She couldn''t flex her hands together, but there was no time to waste. Time to look for that fire type and put Delcatty to work. That was when Cynthia''s Lucario showed up. ¡ª He hade prepared for this. He thought he was ready. He thought he would be able to buy time for the Red Chain to capture one of the Legendaries so they could gain the upper hand. But no one had prepared Saturn for what he was looking at. Garchomp. The dragon moved with calcted aggression as it charged against Saturn''s army. The battlefield echoed with the rhythmic pounding of its powerful ws against the earth, each strike propelling it forward like a living, draconic battering ram. With each step, the ground trembled beneath its colossal weight, sending shockwaves that devastated their ranks and broke through all of their barriers. Every time an attack was close to hitting, Garchomp weaved away from it, dodging it so quickly it became a blur and sent a shockwave around it due to breaking the sound barrier. Saturn had to strain his eyes to catch more than a glimpse of Garchomp, but its scales were soaked in blood and guts, yet its eyes were so cold and unfeeling. Like it was just going through the motions. That was the only Pokemon they were fighting. Not an army. Not ACE Trainers. Not Cynthia''s entire team, nor the Champion herself. Just Garchomp. Saturn barked out an order at his psychics to hold as the ground type sliced through a Purugly, cutting it in half with Dragon w, and stomped a foot on the ground, sinking a dozen trainers and Pokemon beneath the earth. Abined array of Ice Beams struck all around it, but it jumped and took to the skies in an instant, letting the elemental attacks explode into a surge of frost. It came back a fraction of a secondter with what looked like a Staraptor''s wing in its mouth, draconic energy coalescing around it as it crashed down like a meteor and roared. The shock wave brought all surrounding him to their knees, as if they were forced to bow, but they never got up. They were dead. The following Dragon Pulse shredded through another two lines of soldiers. How many had they lost already? It wasn''t like he could send his team after that beast! They would just die so quickly that it wouldn''t even matter, and wasting their lives here would be meaningless! There was no respite. Garchomp sank into the earth and an Earthquake rippled through their forces. The earth rose like jagged spikes, and Saturn''s Bronzong barely held his barrier at the edge of the attack, and at least fifty grunts screamed as one. An assortment of fairies came forth from another column of grunts, their legs still shaking from the impact, but they still stood strong, and were proof that even in the face of adversity, Saturn had drilled his grunts and their Pokemon enough to strategize and not to panic. But what was the point? Poison coursed through Garchomp''s ws and he sliced through a Shiinotic''s mushroom and blew a stream of fire right into the grass type''s head. It broke through a Gardevoir, Azumarill, Mr. Mime and Florges, ripping them to shreds in seconds¡ª Until a Slurpuff mmed a glowing pink fist into the dragon''s leg. For a second, there was hope. Crushed as fast as it hade when Garchomp didn''t even flinch and killed Slurpuff with ws tipped in metal instead of poison, cutting through the cake-like Pokemon until it became goo and burning the remains with a Fire st that washed the battlefield with heat. They had miscalcted. Garchomp was not a Pokemon capable of being wounded. It was not even a Pokemon. It was an unmovable object. A force. Aw of nature that could never be broken. The dragon''s jaw parted, body crackling with turquoise energy, and a Sandstorm instantly clicked into ce, masking every order Saturn could ever hope to give to his men. They would die quietly, and they would die alone¡ª "INCOMING!" Charon sted in his ear. His mind raced. Toxicroak, Grimmsnarl, Excadrill, lie, Bronzong, Exploud and Crobat were at his disposal, but the sheer gap in strength¡ª "Defend me!" Saturn hissed to his team. ¡ªwas too much to hope to even draw, especially in this sandstorm. The biting winds carried stinging grains of sand, each burying themselves into his team, even through Bronzong and Excadrill when they were supposed to be immune. Then, a drop. The earth beneath Saturn copsed, and he would have dropped nearly a hundred feet into the fissure had his quick reflexes not allowed him to hang onto his Crobat''s body. His legs hung in the air, and his arms strained under his weight, but he was certain his Crobat would be able to keep him flying. Why was¡ª Why was he falling? It had happened so quickly. A burst of draconic light, and then¡­ nothing? His entire body felt like it was on fire and burning, a weakening of the barrier since Bronzong was levitating him and the rest of his Pokemon, save for lie who could float, Excadrill, who wouldn''t suffer from such a fall or the earth closing in on him, or Crobat¡ª Where was Crobat? Saturn coughed as grains of sand filled his mouth and his insides started to bleed. Garchomp was not targeting him in particr, which was peculiar, to say the least, but perhaps its main job was to thin their numbers. After all, who cared if the Commanders remained if there was no army to back them up? Part of Saturn imagined it as killing an entire colony of bugs. Would he ever care about which one was the strongest ant, if each fell to one attack regardless? Charon''s floating form appeared besides him as Bronzong lowered him to t ground and he could finally breathe again. "Retreat, Saturn. Teleport away and await further instructions." He hurled what felt like a thousand grains of sand and blood. He could barely breathe. "But my army¡ª" "Is doomed. We need you, Saturn," Charon hissed. "We can lose all of our people here so long as you live. It will not matter how many men we have past a certain point in Cor, just how many skilled trainers remain. I order you again, Teleport away." He had said he would die with them. That he would lead them into their new world, sword in hand. Even now, before the Sandstorm had hit, he''d seen them die with wide smiles, yelling out Cyrus'' name. Singing his praises, apologizing for failing him, praying to him because he would be their new God. He already was their God. Saturn had raised them so well. But it was time to let go. They would each be brought back, even if it pained him to abandon them so. "I need to find my Crobat¡ª" "Your Crobat is dead. The Dragon Pulse disintegrated it." Nausea overtook him as it had so many times in the past, but it was only for a moment. He would be brought back. He would be. "Bronzong," Saturn croaked, recalling the rest of his Pokemon. He disappeared a few miles away. ¡ª Holy crap, those walls were tough. None of her team''s attacks were working to breach it. At least the section they''d focused on had dented a little bit, copsing into a small pile of rubble, but the structure as a whole was still standing and trainers were attacking her from every damn direction. Sending Dusky inside was tantamount to throwing the game, given that he would no doubt die after a short rampage and they didn''t have the time to wait for him to appear again. That was if he''d even be able to escape this ce fast enough for him not to die again. Granted, she and her team could have gone in with him, but¡­ Maybe. At her feety the body of an ACE Trainer that she''d used as a shield after nearly dying to some kind of beam attack while Nales had had her shield broken, but her arms were burned because of it anyway. Not too badly, at least, but it still hurt. Charon popped up next to her, and a Thunderbolt went through him and scraped Nales. "Mars. Saturn has failed. Cynthia''s Garchomp is present at Lake Valor." The girl whistled. "Do we know if she''s there too, or if she''s baiting us?" "It is probably a bait, or I assume more of her Pokemon would have joined the fight. She might also just be ying it cautiously, but I doubt it," he said, rubbing his fake chin. "Juju?" "Awful," he answered. "Cynthia''s Lucario is killing them, and they''re being driven back. Your group has made it the furthest, but if you fail here, Mars¡­" "Psht, I get it. We lose," she said, rolling her eyes. After blowing a bit of air on her burned hands to cool them, she uncrouched from her position and was instantly assaulted by a barrage of movesing from up on the wall, all blocked by Dusky and Nales. In a way, it was kind of cool to have burns too. That way, she was kind of just like Grace, though they weren''t on her face. Bummer. In the distance, Seviper and Bellossom battled with a Scoviin and Heracross, but Mars wasn''t too worried about them. All of her Pokemon except Dusky were wounded and hurt to some extent, but they fought at a hundred percent, still. "Okay, Charon," Mars said. "We''re going to have to do things my way." "What does that mean?" "Give me the chain. I''ll get you your stupid Lake siren." Another volley of attacks, this time nearly breaking Nales'' barrier, though Clefable, Dusky and Wigglytuff retaliated with attacks of their own, aiming high on the walls to stop them from attacking and keep them on the defense. Darkness had swelled inside the base, making any Teleportation inside to infiltrate the ce impossible. There was a frown on the man''s face, but then he exhaled. "I have not worked all these years to throw it all away in a gamble." "We''re on track for a catastrophic loss anyway," she said, twiddling her burned thumbs. "Soe on, who cares?" Then, she gasped. "Wait, you''re not even here anyway! I''m just gonna grab the damn chain myself. Where are your scientist goons again? What are their names?" Charon yelled in her ear, but Mars filtered it away and ran back toward her army, which had admittedly progressed rather far and was only five minutes away from the walls. They had lostplete control of the skies, something all of them had expected, but the constant attacks of sharpened air raining from up there was getting annoying. Mars'' eyes darted from face to face, her Pokemon closely following her. Those two shmucks had donned normal Gctic uniforms to blend in, now, and Dusky found them before Mars did. He always seemed to figure out where what she was looking for was even when she hadn''t asked. They seemed mighty terrified at the constant sound of battle¡ª explosions, hums of energy, the shattering of earth and bodies, screams of agony and constant death. "You. Give me the thingie," Mars said. "W¡ªwhat?" the woman stammered. Mars rolled her eyes and grabbed the long satchel in her hands. It was in a bag like any other that many grunts were carrying, but this one didn''t have potions or full heals. It felt tough under her hands, probably because it had been reinforced by that steel thing so it didn''t give everyone who touched it depression or whatever. Charon watched helplessly as she wrestled it out of his scientist''s hand and she knocked her to the ground. "You''re lucky I''m busy, or you''d get your soul eaten for that," Mars whined. "Bye." "Mars!" Charon yelled. She giggled. "I can''t hear you!" Theugh out of her mouth that followed was genuinely among the best she''d ever had, almost childlike. Mars had wanted to bother Charon like this for years, but all she''d ever been allowed to do was use words to twist the knife. Part of her wanted to throw the chain at the League to see that look on his face¡ª the look of sheer grief and loss he''d get when he realized he would never get his sister back, but that''d be going against what Cyrus wanted and he was pretty close to that already anyway. If the robot-him could cry, he''d be sobbing right now instead of just being on his knees. Both of himself. Attacks constantly flew by her, and her team struck back whenever they had an angle to. Both sides were losing a lot of people, but the League had the advantage here. Dusknoir warned her that a few extremely strong Psychics had taken to the field and she figured it must have been Lucian''s Pokemon. "This thing''s heavier than it looks," Mars sighed. "Wiggly, wanna see what happens if you swallow it?" The normal type''s arms fluttered excitedly. "That''s my boy," she grinned. "You''ll be fine, since it has that protectiveyer stuff around it¡­ probably." Wigglytuff sucked in the air, and the bag entered his mouth. "Dusky! Let us catch a ride!" The ghost hesitated, but said that there was no other choice. Anyone else would have perished at this, and even Mars disliked how it made her feel. Dusknoir opened the maw on his abdomen and closed it around every member of her team. Bellossom first, then Clefable, Wigglytuff, Seviper and Mars¡ª The world went dark, and she began to fall. It was so cold. She was so alone in here. Countless screams filled her ears, so loud she could barely hear herself think. Ghostly things danced at the edge of her vision, wrapping themselves around her face and waist in such an invasive way that the girl felt like puking. Dusky''s soul receptacle wasn''t meant for people, yet Mars could live here anyway. She fell for what felt like hours until shended in a bottomless pool that allowed her to stand here anyway. She shivered, the liquid somehow sinking deep into her skin and around her bones. "Hi, Marsie." "Not you again," she grumbled. Even through the screams, Mars could hear her other self perfectly clearly. "You''re not as fun as you think you are, and that name is horrid." "You''re roasting yourself!" her clone mocked. "Come on, can''t we have a talk? I haven''t seen you since you had to escape the base in Eterna after Aaron whooped you." "Hard to fight a bug guy in the middle of a building," Mars grumbled. "Too much stuff to keep track of and he messed with my head." "You''re resistant to that, Marsie," the girl said. "You''re not a person, remember? None of you or your Pokemon are." She blinked. "What?" Mars, her second self, shifted, bing a blur of shadow that she could somehow see even in the dark until she reformed closer. Her hand touched Mars'' cheek, gently cradling it as she stared at herself. It was cold. Like touching a corpse. Around them, the screams grew louder, thundering enough to hurt Mars'' entire body. It was like an earthquake rippled through Dusky''s body and she could only stand as it broke her. "I can''t tell you anyway, he''ll just make you forget," Mars said. "You''ll forget this, too. There''s no point." "What¡ª what are you talking about?" She wrapped Mars into a frigid hug. "You''ll be happy in this new world, Mars. You''ll forget about me, but you''ll be happy. Trust in Cyrus." "You''re just a part of me¡ª" "No, Nat," she said with a saddened smile. "You''re a part of me¡ª" The world went white, and Mars fell onto the ground with a headache strong enough to split her skull open. Around her, her Pokemon had already been spit out of Dusky''s mouth and were fighting what felt like a dozen people and Pokemon. Less than she expected, but most of them were probably at the walls or the edges of the base. There was no time. Reinforcements wereing. "Arceus, that''s always the worst," Mars groaned. There was no time to observe and admire the base. She ignored all the fighting around her. The bag was already at her feet, and she''d been taught how to use it by Charon as had all the Commanders. In less than a second, she had it open, her hands moving so quickly they were a blur. She emptied the bag''s contents and heard someone warn of a bomb, but this was no bomb. The metal came undone at its seams, unraveling like paper as if the chain was resonating with the Lake and begging to be let out. It floated into the air and Mars sped a hand around it. Mars sped the chain tightly and power rippled through her, all of her emotions screaming for one purpose and one purpose only. The world stood still, and it was then that Mars saw Cynthia and Lucian standing in the distance. Mesprit''s body rose from itske.
Chapter 305 – Comeuppance Chapter 305 ¨C Comeuppance
CHAPTER 305 - COMEUPPANCE Something is wrong. It was difficult to tell at first. Like a subtle pressure in my head I had not been aware of had simply gone and disappeared. Vanished into the wind. When you were in a dream, and you tried to run or hit something, but your muscles were slow. Sluggish and unresponsive, like your entire body was made of lead and you were being held tightly by some invisible force. That exact feeling of wrongness overtook me. I stopped covering my face with my hands and looked up at my friends, who were strewn about in the bunker, some sitting with empty looks like Mira and Louis. Others like Emi couldn''t help but pace around while Denzel feltpelled to use his phone to stay connected to the outside world, as if learning about what was happening in Floaroma or Snowpoint would help us. I''d done a little bit of that, too. My parents were apparently at the League, too, but they weren''t allowed to see me when they asked. We were stuck down here. Cecilia''s thumb traced the contours of Slowking''s Pokeball as she leaned against me. We''d all told our teams about the recent developments outside, and they were all ready for a fight. Her eyes were weary. Old. To be honest, I felt like we''d all aged a decade this past year alone, and that our childhoods were over and done with. There was no pointining about it. It had just happened, and now I had to deal with the tools I''d been given. Another minute passed with few words being exchanged. The perception that something had gone terribly awry only grew. There was still a part of me missing. "Cecilia," I whispered. "Does anything feel off to you?" She rose from my shoulders and shook her head. "No." She was, just like me, not in the mood for many words, but using each other forfort was one of the few highlights we had left. Or maybe I was just being dramatic. I didn''t know. "Chase? Mira? Anything feel odd to you?" I continued. "Why?" Cece added after they shook their heads. "Feels like there''s a gaping hole in my head. That''s the only way I have to exin it," I muttered. "I''m worried that Mesprit¡ª" There was a click, a beep, and the sound of a huge metallic door rattling against the painted concrete of the bunker''s entrance. At first, I figured they must have been someone sent here to update us on what was going on, because for all we had ess to the inte, this ce was still entirely disconnected from the outside world in a suffocating way. A vine wrapping around our necks, but barely enough to let us channel just the right amount of air to let us breathe. Heh. That''d be nice to do to Saturn, but I doubted I''d have the time to dawdle on any kills. That hadn''t meant I hadn''t imagined him dying in a dozen different slow and agonizing ways in thest hour we''d been in here to keep my head above the water. The hurt I''d imagined doing, the twisting of a knife, the carving and splitting of his skull below my axe, the pulling of his limbs until they popped, nailing him to a tree until he slowly died to the elements in horrible agony, hearing him beg for his life so sweetly, like the best song had juste on the radio, then pretending to offer him a lifeline before I slipped the de in his stomach and gutted him like a fish. It was enough to fill the universe twice over and like a very good dream. Comforting, even. I hadn''t thought like that in a long time, really. Not since the raid. Because I''d been scared I would slip and fall. Tumble through the abyss and be a monster borne of a love for justice and violence. Justice only I could pass down from prices and slights that could not be left unpaid. Maybe I was one. Maybe wanting to be praised by Aliyah for behaving like a normal human being meant so. It was like Dad had implied when I''d confessed, something that would stick with me for what I believed would be the rest of my days. The way you killed. Not haunt me, per se, but maybe be a guiding light. Expectations were heavy, so heavy, but the look of betrayal on Honey''s face would be too much. My Dad wouldn''t forgive me again, and Cece¡­ well, I couldn''t use her vulnerable state allowing her to forgive me as an excuse tomit atrocities. I loved her too much for that. I was not going to slip. Not going to let my demons drag me through the floor by my ankle. Not going to ruin my second chance. I''d promised. I wasn''t going to ask her not to kill, because as far as I went, I''d still do anything for her no matter what she did to others. Dramatic, maybe, but it was the truth. I wasn''t going to throw a fit over a few dozen dead grunts and their Pokemon, that would make me a hypocrite and I really just¡­ didn''t care. She had killed before, as had I, and we would do so again, so what did it matter? Why was I thinking about this in what were potentially myst days? Again and again, this always gued my mind. Constant musings about morality when I already had the answer to my issues. It did not matter at all, especially not on a day like this one. Saturn''s life was not even mine to im. He was Sunshine''s. The League officials sent for us weren''t ACEs, since I imagined they had their hands full. They were not your average League Trainers either, though, by the stars they donned on their chest. There were three of them¡ª though the central figure captured my attention. He was a fit man on the shorter side of things, with a greying beard and hair. It was the difference between Denzel and Chase. There was an intensity about him that you only saw in trained killers, and I was honestly getting good at spotting those. It was not about the sparkle in someone''s eye, or if they were happier than another. It was the way his eyes seemed to pierce through the mundane, the way he had identified every person in this room as soon as he''d walked in and assessed his surroundings even though this ce was supposed to be safe. They were always waiting for the next attempt on their life, always on edge, and there was a keenness to their eyes that wasn''t in anyone else''s. The man at the center had more medals than the others, and a Mr. Mime apanied him. One of the League-issued ones, probably. That was how you knew someone was important, if they had a Mr. Mime or kazam, or a regr Kadabra. "Children," he said roughly. "My name is Andrew Frazier, I''m a Commander for the League. These are Avery Simmons and Emerson Pobodnik, but I''ll be doing most of the talking. Listen, and listen well." Legendaries, even from here his breath smelled like cigarettes. He was having a tough day like everyone else, though, so he must have smoked a decent amount. "Lake Verity has not fallen, but Mesprit has been captured." The statement hit us like a lightning strike. Panic nearly swept through a lot of us, but the other shards and I just stared. I was certainly anxious, but Commander Andrew didn''t exactly leave us with time to digest the news. "Normally I would give you a report of the situation, but we have to make haste. Grace Pastel, I''ve been ordered to bring you to Lake Valor." "Is it being attacked?" Cecilia asked. "No, there''s been no activity around it for thest forty minutes," the League official said. "It would be a preemptive measure." "What about the others?" I asked. "They''ll stay here until the situation calls for them," he said. "As for the non-shards¡­ you''re free to be brought to Mount Cor, if you so wish. We can station you all at one of the entrances so you can make yourselves useful." That made sense. Better to keep the shards safe until they were needed to wrestle the other guardians away from the Red Chain''s control. You could technically risk it all and send them to the bases earlier than that in hopes of preempting what might happen, but from how the trio had described it, actually managing to get them back under control would be difficult and take time. The outside world would not be frozen like in our other meetings and we''d be vulnerable to attack, it would only be slowed. Now that they actually had Mesprit under their control, it was needlessly risky. Maybe not needless, but more than they were willing to take, at the moment. As for the rest of my friends, they were, even if it sickened me to think this way, expendable ording to the League, and to the League''s credit, they were giving them onest chance to back out. Emilia jumped on the asion. "Please. If I stay here five more minutes I''m going to go insane." "Agreed," Maeve said. "Yeah, we aren''t doing anything here," Pauline said. "So long as we''re all together, I''m okay with this." "I''m¡­ staying," Louis sighed. Pauline pped him on the shoulder. "It''s okay, buddy." I was already being beckoned forward by one of the Commander''s fellow¡­ well, the people apanying him weren''t dressed like Commanders, but they were still privy to the ''end of the world'' information, so they must have been high up in the League. There was no time to waste. If there was only time for one lengthy goodbye, I would pick her every time. I turned toward Cece and she cradled my cheek. I leaned into it. I didn''t want to leave her, not when we both knew this could be thest time we would see each other, but duty called. We knew it would. "Stay safe," she said. "I love you. More than anything." I smiled. That never got old, did it? There was a want to say that when this was all over I''d take her out somewhere exciting, but I didn''t want to jinx it. "I love you too." We shared a kiss. It was short, but felt like a million years, which was good. It allowed both of us a moment of respite and familiarity. A break in the constant weight pressing down our backs. Our fingersced together, and I felt her breath against my face. Anxiety vanished for an instant, and I imagined her in my arms cuddling on a bed with our teams around us. s. "I''ll see you," I said. The doors to the bunker closed behind us, but there was no need to have me climb up the stairs and into the world. Instead, Mr. Mime''s smile stretched, revealing a toothless mouth, and we vanished. We did not instantly appear in theke as I thought we would, but off-route, probably at its outskirts. This entire ce reeked of death, and there was the asional smear of blood or organs on the trees. Dozens of people around us, League employees, had been ready to greet us with their Pokemon out while others were slowly cleaning up the¡­ what must have been hundreds of dead bodies around here with medical masks on their faces. At least psychics were speeding them up some. I figured seeing all of those mangled bodies should have bothered me, but it didn''t. I was just numb. Like this is how it was. This is how it should be. "Forgive the sight. This was unfortunately the safest spot for us to Teleport in and they''re still sting the base with dark TE." My nose wrinkled at a smear of blood on my shoe. "I guess you guys won here." "We won everywhere," Andrew calmly said. He led me forward and we started to walk. "They didn''t have a chance, but they managed through trickery that shouldn''t have been possible. I''ll let the Champion exin, she''s waiting for you." I raised an eyebrow. "She''s here?" "Her and Elite Lucian, yes, but thetter is mostly focusing on our defenses and organizing." Cynthia wanting to talk to me made sense, but talking to a Champion suddenly always shook someone. Was it odd, that this surprised me more than seeing all of this death? Probably. As we walked, Andrew Frazier exined that the air space around theke was locked up at the moment save for ACE Trainers and that only Garchomp had run through this entire army. A single Pokemon had beaten thousands of others like it was nothing. Yes, Garchomp was her most powerful Pokemon, but at what point did a Pokemon so powerful cross into godhood? It was one thing to see the dragon in old battling footage and another to walk among the corpses she had wrought. I understood now why Betrix feared her so. As strong as Be was, and she would still beat my entire team today on her ownfortably, she was nothing to Garchomp. What the hell did Cynthia have that no one else did? What made her so different other than experience? Talent, for certain, but the gap in strength had never felt sorge. She would no doubt be remembered. Her name echoed across history like we spoke about Sinnoh''s old Champions in history sses, perhaps with greater adtion, still, depending on how she spun today to the masses after everything was over. Gods are stories, Justin, I''d told him. Legendaries, I hoped he wasn''t too badly injured. That when this was over I''d be able to visit him at the hospital and apologize for failing him. How many soldiers would talk about not having to risk their lives today because of Garchomp''s presence? How far would it spread? Domain Holders already knew about her, having forged countless deals to let trainers go undisturbed through the routes. Would she be talked about inmunities of wild Pokemon as well? Was she already? Questions to pass the time, mostly, but as childish as it was, I was jealous. The walls of the base were still pristine, untouched by any attacks or blemish. None of the grunts had even reached close to the Lake. When Commander Andrew identified us at the gates, he uttered more than just our names. Ariel and Richard were apparently here too, though I assumed they were in the sky or hidden some other way. It made sense for me to have some protection now that I was out of the bunker. The gates opened, we were let in the three sets of thick walls, and I let the feeling of willpower fill my veins. The doors closed behind us as soon as we were through, faster than that, even. People inside Valor were clearly on edge¡ª and who wasn''t? But at the very least, they hadn''t had to fight. These were not ACEs ready to do whatever needed to be done because it was work, ready to die or to watch their loved ones die. These were just¡­ soldiers. Normal people who''d joined the League as a career. In normal circumstances, they never would have actually fought. Thest time Sinnoh had been involved in a war was the Great one, and no one here had been alive for that. Well, there was Ransei too, but most people were never deployed there. I didn''t know much about it. The effects of the Lake certainly helped me take the edge off, given that I hadn''t built up a tolerance to it after being gone for so long. I was led not into headquarters, thergest, central building, but into the home we had stayed at all those months ago. I would have called it quaint, if it hadn''t been surrounded by a league of psychics and a few trainers. "Go right ahead," Andrew said pointing me forward. "The Champion is waiting for you." "Oh. She''s in there?" That was surprising to me. She wasn''t giving speeches for morale or showing herself for the troops, not telling anyone what was going on. She was just¡­ in a house. Maybe doing normal people things. I released Cassianus next to me as soon as I separated from the Mr. Mime following us. I was in one of the safest ces in the region, but traveling without a psychic was impossible to me now. Just impossible. Human flesh was so vulnerable. It could be broken, bent and snapped like a twig without a second thought, and who knew when the next strike woulde, when the next bomb would drop, when the next shard of stone would try to lodge itself into my skull from the shadows? No one knew, so I''d rather be ready than die before realizing what had happened and be gone forever. "Stay vignt, Cassianus." Always, my King. They let us through without so much as a question or request for identification, which was surprising, and I opened the doors to the home without a second thought. It was a small home, not really made forfortable living for a person I assumed had grown used to luxury, but then again, I knew very little about Sinnoh''s Champion, didn''t I? Cass managed to squeeze through the doors, but Cynthia wasn''t in the living room. Instead, a pink-haired girl looked my way, less vibrant than Mira''s. Ah, that certainly was awkward. What the hell was Maylene doing here when cities around the region were on fire? Sure hers was fine, but¡­ Legendaries, she looked pissed as well. I said nothing, just wiping my shoes on the carpet. I''d nned to apologize to her, hadn''t I? Still wanted to. It was meaningful to me and to my prospects at a second chance at life, but it was one thing to have Candice n the entire thing and to have mentally prepared myself for it and another to just stumble upon her all of a sudden. We both had more important things to worry about right now, though. Still, it gnawed at me. Do I need to be on high alert? Cass asked. I silently shook my head. "Hey. I''m looking for Cynthia, she was supposed to be in here?" The Gym Leader turned away from me andy back down on the couch so I could only see the back of her head. "She''s in the bathroom." "Oh. I guess I''ll just wait, then. I''ll be out of your hair soon enough, I think." "Don''t think so." Her words were forced. Stringent. "And you can go in there anyway, she''s cleaning up Garchomp. I just can''t¡­ look at it." "Alright. Thanks." She frowned at me when I just went toward the washroom anyway, and I got a better look at her from the corner of my eye when I got in front of the couch. She was dirty and hurt. Her clothes were covered in grounded dust of what looked to be asphalt or maybe concrete, along with dirt. Her forearm was bandaged, too, wrapped in a tight gauze that was tinted red in dried blood. If I had to guess, she''d gotten this way after helping save people from the explosions¡­ somewhere. Veilstone had been spared, but maybe she''d gone to help Volkner or Crasher Wake instead of staying put. That seemed like a Maylene thing to do, the Gym Leader was lean, but she was toned from working out all the time. Her muscles were well-defined beneath smooth, taut skin, and as an aura user, she was very useful in that regard. It was easy to picture her lifting huge copsed rocks up from someone''s legs or allowing authorities into a burning building, a bright smile on her face and telling people everything was going to be okay. Ah, man. Must be what being good was like. Caring about so many people sounded exhausting. Thousands of lives snuffed out, and I couldn''t even bring myself to grimace about it when not thinking about Justin. It reminded me of a conversation I''d had when I''d only just met Pauline and hated her guts. She''d told me that seeing injured trainers file in and out of the Pokemon Center after nearly getting killed in Eterna Forest hadn''t bothered her. That she was more concerned about the lives of people she cared about than strangers. I''d gotten up in her face about that and thought she was a horrible person. Funny how things worked out. My hand wrapped around the door handle, but froze. I''d almost forgotten to knock. Hell, I''d forgotten to do it on the first door. When I did, a smooth voice told me toe in. The bathroom was too small for a Garchomp, but Cynthia made it work anyway. The beast barely fit inside of the room and was wedged awkwardly between the confines of the small space. Her tail was bent and hugged the walls of the bath while she had to bend down for her head to not hit the ceiling. The dragon''s cold, yellow eyes settled on me for a moment while Cynthia scratched the back of her neck with a shower glove to get whatever that was off of her. Didn''t look like a distinctive piece of organ to me, but I hadn''t had time to study human anatomy anyway. The entire floor was soaked in red water and more innards, and it smelled metallic, almost sweet. Cass'' eyes wobbled a little bit. They stayed behind me, unable to fit in the already crowded bathroom. "Sorry for the sight," Cynthia said. "Garchomp hates being dirty, so it couldn''t wait." The dragon''s entire body was clean, save for her face. Even now, Cynthia''s voice was as confident, yet gentle as could be in the same way that had captivated room after room, audience after audience. A smile was stered on her face, the same as always in a way that was a little unnerving. Like it was the only way she knew how to act when things got tough. She was dressed in a simple blue shirt and jean shorts, uncaring about the fact that she was getting soaked with bloody water, and her hair was tied into a ponytail like mine instead of the usual cascade down her legs, though hers was longer. "I don''t mind," I said. "You wanted to see me? I''d rather learn about what''s going on as soon as possible." "Of course. Call Maylene for me?" I raised an eyebrow, but acquiesced, making my short stint back to the living room. I found Maylene scrolling through her phone with a worried look on her face that turned to stone as soon as she saw me. "Cynthia wants you in there." She paused. "In there." "Just¡­ within earshot, I think." "Ah. Okay." That was how we ended up with Maylene standing next to the door of the bathroom, her body turned away from us. "As you know," the Champion started, "Mesprit has been taken from its Lake through the Red Chain. This is, of course, a catastrophe of the highest order." It was, but she was delivering it like everything was going on as usual. "Lucian''s psychics were serving as support as soon as Gctic got close enough thanks to our bait and we began pushing them away from the Lake while having set up killing fields to get rid of the highest number possible as fast as we could, but Commander Mars managed to sneak in via transportation through her Dusknoir. Her and her entire team." I frowned. "How?" "Wouldn''t she have¡­ you know, died?" Maylene whispered. "No one knows how she survived the trip, but it means she''s been altered in a way that means she''s no longer a person in the flesh," Cynthia exined. "There are only a few people like this the League knows of, none of which live in Sinnoh, and it''s a fascinating topic best saved for a brighter day." "How did she escape?" Maylene asked. Cynthia asked her Garchomp to lower her face for her and rubbed her Pokemon''s cheek. "Mars directed Mesprit to st us with a wave of emotion and then Teleported away." Maylene scoffed. "Through the dark?" "Through the dark, yes. Rules don''t apply to Legends, even those who can only use a fraction of their power. We also observed the creation of a barrier, though it still remains to see how powerful it is." Cynthia stood on her tiptoes and finished cleaning up Garchomp. "Mars also got arge part of their forces away from Verity." "Shit¡­" Maylene grumbled, paling slightly. "How many are left?" I asked. "None remain in Valor. Around¡­ two hundred were saved by Mesprit up in Acuity and five hundred in Verity, but those are only estimates. They were nearly wiped out. Their tactics were sound, but they didn''t have the power to stand up to any of my Pokemon. Now, as it stands, they do not have enough forces to attempt another storming of anykes if they want to have troops left for Cor, but Lucian and I are starting to wonder if it even matters." She turned the faucet off. "If Mesprit is strong enough to Teleport through the dark, to shield the Red Chain''s wielder from any attack, and they can take control of the Legendaries within a minute at most, then I don''t believe we''ll be able to stop them from making their way up Cor," Cynthia said, never losing her smile despite what that implied. "Now Grace, that is where youe in." "I have to stop Mesprit before they take control of another Legendary," I gulped. That was a lot of pressure. "Got it." "How do you know Valor is where they''ll attack?" Maylene asked. "I mean, Garchomp just¡­ kicked their asses! Won''t they go to Acuity instead in hopes of avoiding you?" Cynthia shook her head. "Distance is now meaningless, Maylene. Mesprit can transport hundreds at a time, possibly inside of this base. Luckily Teleporting to Spear Pir should be impossible even if they get them all, but that doesn''t matter right now. They mighte here first, they might not, we have no way to know, but I believe they think I''ll be waiting up north because of what you said. Call it a gut feeling." Spear Pir. It was something I''d only heard once from Mira due to Carlos telling her about it, but just thinking the words out loud made me feel small. Like I was being looked at with a magnifying ss. These were not words to be said lightly ever, or at least that was what I felt like. Cynthia certainly had no trouble uttering them, or at least she didn''t show it on her face. "So, Cynth. What am I doing here? When can I leave and help others?" Maylene pressed. "I''ve just been sitting here for the past thirty minutes and I feel fucking useless." "You''ll be working to keep Grace protected," Cynthia said. She clicked her tongue. "Doesn''t she have ACE Trainers for that?" "They''ll be here too," she said. "But you see, they failed to identify Dusknoir sneaking into the base down in Verity, like it was invisible to all of their Pokemon and techniques. I don''t know if it''ll be hidden from Grace''s empathy as well, but she won''t be conscious while attempting to get Mesprit back. Just in case, we''ll have you and your team follow her around to sense if it ever gets close before and while she''s doing that. Their Commander Mars is known to be obsessed with Grace..." her eyes flickered up at me for a moment. What was that about? The Gym Leader tapped her foot outside the bathroom. "Fine." "How will she and her Pokemon know? Is it aura stuff?" I asked. Garchomp returned to her Pokeball. "Yes. Maylene''s Lucario is better at using aura to sense things than even mine and will be able to feel any disturbance approach you. We should have had her in one of the Lakes from the start, but we never had enough experience with Dusknoir to establish its capabilities." "The people need their leaders, Cynthia, they¡ª" "The people do not know what they are talking about, nor do they know what is good for them, so their opinion is null and void," Cynthia interrupted. "Now, will you do this for me?" Her tone never changed. It hadn''t, but¡­ One couldn''t say no. Not to her. "Okay." Maylene''s voice was smaller, now. "Thank you. You''ll just be waiting here until a second attackes. Right now we have aerial scouts looking for them, but Sinnoh is and Mesprit could have brought them anywhere off-route. They''re probably reorganizing their forces, taking tally of who died and testing things with Mesprit''s capabilities. They won''t be long." Cynthia gestured me out of the bathroom, which we all promptly left. "I''ll send someone to clean this all up, I need to go see Lucian." "Where are the others? Aaron and Flint?" Maylene asked. "Mount Cor. Grace, I need to talk to you for a moment before I leave." "Oh. Okay." Maylene had already stomped away, since she''d wanted to so desperately help people from dying. I understood her, too. She could make a real difference and her missing was potentially costing people their lives, but Cynthia''s word wasw. The Champion untied her hair, letting it flow freely behind her as she shook her head, and I struggled to shut down the signals in my brain telling me how pretty she was. I''d never had a childhood crush on Cynthia like many kids had, and to be honest I''d never been attracted to many people in general but one could recognize that she was¡­ well, she was cool, even if that persona might be fake a lot of the time. I''d gone from admiring her, to hating her, to¡­ whatever this was. Not admiration again, but maybe an understanding of why she acted the way she did. "So. I will preface by saying that this is bad news," the Champion said. "I will give you the option to ignore this until this whole situation is dealt with if you so wish." My stomach sank, and any thought I had about Cynthia''s looks and how she carried herself seemed horribly childish. That''s what you get for letting your guard down, I thought, clenching my jaw. "Is this about¡­ Justin?" I asked. "No. Do you want to hear?" "...yes." "It''s about your grandmother," Cynthia said. "I do not know where your friend is, though I heard he was caught in the bombings. I could find out his status within a few minutes if you want but he is most likely¡ª" "No!" I yelled. "No, just¡­ it''s okay." "Ah. I see. Very well, then. Your grandmother''s body was found in her house in Twinleaf. We believe she had her soul stolen by Dusknoir, who sneaked past her guards to kill her just like it did to make it through our walls. We''d asked her to evacuate so she could be brought to the League, but she refused and the people I''d put in charge didn''t see it fit to force her out." "What?" The champion sighed. "Sorry, I''ve never been the best at delivering these types of news. I usually have someone else do it for me. People have told me I''m too straightforward about it." I blinked, not knowing what to say or even how to react. My grandmother was¡­ dead. Her soul was being tortured by Mars'' Dusknoir as we spoke, like thousands of others. I was sad¡ª no, not sad. Maybe sorry was a better way to put it. I''d gotten her killed by just being rted to me, and that was a horrifying prospect to wrap my head around, but I was not gripped by the throes of sorrow. I did not want to cry, or to scream, or to get revenge any more than I already wanted to. It just felt hollow. Numb. I leaned against the wall and Cass asked me if I was alright, but I didn''t answer. Did I feel this way because she''d been an asshole to me, or because I''d only met her twice that I could remember? In a way, I thought that I should be feeling more than this. "Huh," I said. "I¡­ shit. Okay." "Then I''ll be on my way," Cynthia said. She looked about ready to leave, now with her repeatedly looking toward the hallway out. "Call me if you need anything, and I''ll make it happen. My condolences, Grace." I stood still until I heard the door at the entrance close. Maylene seemingly asked her something, but I didn''t hear their conversation. I shambled into the living room in silence, and Maylene now had her Lucario with her, whispering low enough so that I didn''t hear. She was probably telling him about everything going on. Still, she didn''t pay me any mind, so I just sat on the dinner table instead of the couch and cradled my face as I let out a pained groan. Dead. I''d never see her again. The chord had been cut off, the rtionship could never be mended and there would be no second chances. It was easier to dislike someone who was alive and breathing. I would never be able yell at her and tell her how much of a bitch she''d been to my mother just for taking care of me or try to understand what it was that had twisted her so. Arceus, my Mom. She''d be devastated by this, wouldn''t she? She loved her mother, I saw it in her eyes when they''d fought. You weren''t hurt when arguing with someone unless you cared deeply about them. My bandaged hands traced the contours of my face. It was toote. There would be no takebacks. Nothing could be done. "Sorry for your loss." Maylene was looking my way, as was her Lucario. The fighting type nodded deeply, reminding me of Ri''s way of interacting with people. I was sure that there''d be differences between the two if I''d known Maylene''s enough. A strange, choked sound left my throat. "I didn''t¡­ I didn''t know her very well." She shrugged. "Family is family. It sucks either way. And I''m sorry, I kind of overheard, it''s¡­ hard to control myself when I''m stressed. I''ve got better hearing than the average person." Her tone wasn''t gentle, but it was respectful enough to tell me she was trying to be nice. "It''s okay. I''ve just gotta put my head down and deal with it." My fingers touched the sharp edge of the table, poking at a corner repeatedly. Pressing it until it poked deep into my bandage until Cass warned me to stop. "Hey." "Hm?" "This is probably a bad moment for this. I just can''t¡­ keep it in now that you''re here. Tell me if you want me to stop." The Gym Leader was on edge, more so than she''d just been. Her posture was rigid, her backpletely straight and arms tensed. Her gaze never lingered on a single spot for too long. "Why''re you looking at me like that?" she asked, squeezing a hand around her other arm. "Like what?" "Like¡­ it feels like when Nia¡ª Gardenia looks at me, but there''s none of the warmth. I hate it. Like you''re probing for a weakness instead of looking out for me, and I don''t expect someone like you to look out for me, but you know, it''s just weird and it makes me feel ufortable." "I don''t follow. I''m just looking at you because we''re talking." "You know what, I''ll just drop it." Maylene stopped, given that Lucario must have been talking to her. After a few seconds, she continued. "Look, your grandma''s dead and your other friend¡­ I don''t know, so I don''t want to fight, but I''ve been¡ª I''ve been picturing this moment in my head for when we met again." Her tone was rising ever so slowly. "When I''d be able to tell you how much you hurt me. How you would have destroyed me if my friends hadn''t been here to help, and while I was picking up the pieces you were having a grand old time. Riding off your fame from that interview and having fun in Sunyshore, going on dates, hanging out with that Johtohan Gym Leader and Volkner. You hurt me, but they were letting you into our circle. Do you know how awful that made me feel?" Cass was about to protest, but I raised a hand and let her speak. It was her right. Myeuppance. "At some point I started to wonder, was something wrong with me? Because clearly, Candice was still calling you until you left Pastoria. You were only finding sess after sess, and I was just fucking miserable." Each word felt like a blow, each sentence like someone was pouring salt into a freshly opened wound. Every time her face contorted in anger there was a subtle sadness woven within. Her eyes were wet. "I already know what you want. You want to apologize. Candice''s already been trying to find an angle sometimes when we speak and every time, I tell her that I don''t know. Everything I''ve read about you¡ª been forced to read about you points to some kind of psycho. You kill, you torture, you hurt more than necessary in battle, you¡ª" she stopped and groaned. "You''re bad, and the world is ending, and I shouldn''t care but you''re the one who wanted to bring this up." Her built-up anger fell for a moment. "Wait, you did want to bring this up, did you?" "Yes. I did." "Okay, thank the Legendaries. I''ve built you up as this¡­ this caricature in my head, I think. I was expecting some emotionless monster who''s only looking to hurt, but you aren''t that. And I know your grandma just died and it''s kind of unfair, but you also aren''t¡­ I don''t think I can forgive you with a simple apology is what I''m getting at." "I know that. I just wanted to get it off my chest and actually do it because I don''t know if I''ll ever see you again," I muttered. "And you know what, I haven''t even done it yet." I rose from my seat and faced her. "I am sorry, Maylene. For purposefully using you being overwhelmed by work to have you break down. For what I did to your Infernape and for goading you in public to make you look like the bad guy. I knew you were hurting and instead of trying to help, I was the one who made the situation worse. I''m sorry for being a huge reason for all the shit you got online. The threats, the abuse¡­ everything." Ah. I felt so much lighter now. Like I was a feather in the sky being carried by the wind. She snapped. "I just said I wouldn''t¡ª you know what, whatever," Maylene sighed, her eyes tightly shut. "We don''t have to talk about it anymore, just venting all of this out made me feel better. Thanks, Lucario." Her starter patted her on the back, no doubt talking to her through aura while I sat back down and sagged into my chair. My cheeks felt warm, I was short of breath and sweat dripped down my forehead, like I''d just worked out or gone through a long battle. For around five minutes, there was silence as I just stared nkly at a wall, not daring to look at Maylene. "Um¡­ sorry to ask you this, but are the Gym Leaders okay? You know, with the explosions in the cities." "You have a phone¡ª gosh, okay, they''re all fine. Still helping out local authorities while I''m sitting here, being useless. I think Roark was hurt a little bit, but he''s okay. I can turn on the T.V. if you want." "No, I''m fine. Thanks." Arceus, I hated when someone figured you out. That subtle shift in their eyes, that lean a fraction of an inch forward as they questioned if they''d been seeing things or if they were right about the chink in your armor. Not finding a weakness per se, but realizing why you acted the way you did. Must have been obvious, if it had been obvious to Chase. But Maylene didn''t push. Instead, she kept the knowledge to herself and looked down at her phone. Nothing else to do but wait. ¡ª Maylene Suzuki scrolled through her phone in silence. So many dead, and for what? Every headline was apanied by a picture of a copsed building, every article by a testimony from someone who had survived the sts but lost someone today. This day would traumatize and haunt Sinnoh for a generation. The people were demanding blood for this, a strike at any target, revenge, but there was nothing to show for all the casualties but a half-empty base underneath Veilstone and a few grunts and scientists who''d missed their Teleportation ride. The fact that it had spanned the entirety of the city made Maylene sick to her stomach. How the hell had they built it so deep, and how had they done it under the nose of her father''s authority? You''ll only run in circles if you keep questioning it, Lucario said next to her. You can ask him yourself when he gets here. "Might not make it before the world ends. He doesn''t even know about all of this," Maylene whispered. Low enough so that the girl she''d been forcefully shackled to by Cynthia wouldn''t hear. "You know he gave up ess to ssified info as soon as he retired." Not always. Granted, sometimes those rules were flexible, but not if you left for another country. The worst part was that he wasing back with his wife, but worrying about shit like this when Sinnoh was on fire wasn''t up to a Gym Leader''s standards, so she shook her head and continued scrolling. There was mass hysteria in the streets. Gangs of trainers were roaming to see if they could catch anyone in Team Gctic, and of course people were being used for no good reason other than they ''looked suspicious''. Violence begot violence, along with mass hysteria, and multiple fights had to be put down by authorities in every city. Luckily all of those trainers had been weak, but still¡­ seeing Sinnoh like this hurt. She wanted to be out there and be a symbol for people totch onto. Her sudden absence from Sunyshore wasn''t doing the rumors any help, she bet. Hopefully Volkner was okay with keeping order. He could be azy bum sometimes, but he was actually among the hardest workers she knew, at least on the city governance side of things and running his Gym. Battling was only one part of being a Gym Leader. Are you hungry? You haven''t eaten since yesterday night. "I''m okay." You''re always okay, but not really, her friend rolled his eyes. I''ll see if I can scrounge up something. Better notin about how it tastes, though. She smirked. "Thanks." Watching him stride toward the kitchen had her look at Grace for a moment, just staring nkly ahead and doing nothing much else. Her ydol too, just hovered there in silence, eyes constantly moving and looking at every single inch of this room. Truth be told, silence after she managed to vent her feelings out was a lot better than what she thought would happen. She knew what kind of girl Grace was, now, so she''d prepared at least twenty different answers for the argument she''d expected to happen. After ying it out in her head during many showers or nights spent staring at the ceiling in her bed, Grace just deting like that was kind of underwhelming. Better for Maylene''s state of mind, but still underwhelming. Maylene heard the sound of cutlery in the kitchen and her stomach growled. She wished Nia was here with her. "Do you want to eat anything?" Maylene asked. "Lucario''s making food." She looked like she was hanging by a thread, that thread being the survival of her friend¡­ Justin Gardner, his name was? Apparently he''d been caught in one of the sts at the Canve library, but¡­ Yeah, she was hanging by a thread, and since she was supposed to cut off the control the Red Chain had over Mesprit, it''d be best if she was at least okay, even if Maylene didn''t really like having to do this. Cynthia had warned her, before Grace came and she started¡­ cleaning. Arceus, the sight of her Garchomp had made her nauseous. Warned her that Grace''s mental state was most likely ''highly vtile'' and that she needed to be handled carefully. Why, then, had Cynthia revealed the death of her grandmother? ''Better me than Mars,'' the Champion had answered right before leaving. And now Maylene had her duty¡ª duty that she had almost messed up by confronting the damn girl about how much she''d hurt her. She had started talking, and after all these months holding back, stopping had been impossible. Cynthia had this weird way of being likable even though she was admittedly the worst person Maylene knew. Hundreds had been subject to torture on her order, a policy that had no doubt made Gctic members closer to their cult because of the fear of being turned into a braindead puppet forced to live the rest of their lives in a League prison. Her Garchomp had just murdered over a thousand people and they''d both been so nonchnt about it. Maylene shuddered at the thought. Every time they spoke, she had to remind herself that she was bad. A horrible person who just happened to be her boss. Always, it was the most drastic measure with her. Jumping at the worst option imaginable instead ofpromise¡ª not that she''d expected her topromise with grunts now that the situation was this serious, but it was the sheer unbothered way she had shown up that shook Maylene. Yet there was no other choice, now. "Grace?" Maylene asked again. "Oh. What?" "Food. Do you want any?" "Oh. I''m not very hungry, but thanks for the offer." "If you''re certain. Lucario''s making something right now, he could just add a little extra for you." Arceus, just say yes already for the love of all that was holy. "I don''t want you to pass out or anything." "Okay." "Sweet. Hey Lucario, can you¡ª" I heard already, he answered. Few couldmunicate from this far with aura without concentrating, but he was one of them. Just a simple ham and cheese sandwich. "Ham and cheese sandwich okay with you?" she asked. "Mhm." "Great. If you want anything else, just let me know." "...why are you being nice to me?" Maylene frowned. "I''m just¡­ showingmon decency." Grace twitched, her head turning slightly toward Maylene and away from the wall. "But I hurt you. I honestly hurt you a lot worse than I did most people I hurt. You said you wouldn''t forgive me. I''m not getting a second chance." "It''s not about second chances. And look, if you want, you can just be pragmatic about it and say that I need you in good condition for theing fight." "It''s not. You''re genuinely good. Thank you for that." The Gym Leader huffed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night." Lucario came back with their food another three minutester. The bread was a little dry, but it''d do to keep her stomach for now. Grace was eating as well and looking a little better, at least. She was even chatting with her ydol and had released that weird blob of metal from its Pokeball. Maybe the world would survive theing evening and the following day. Maylene had kept her doom scrolling to a minimum by distracting herself by fooling around with Machamp and Lucario and ying charades, though the former was admittedly horrible at it even if she did enjoy the game. Machamp had made Candiceunch into aughing fit that had nearly killed her when she''d tried imitating Cynthiast summer. That was, unfortunately short-lived, and their moment of peace was interrupted when ACEs burst into the building. ¡ª Forty minutes. That was the time I''d gotten to prepare for the task at hand. I was led out of the house by ACEs I didn''t know the names of, though I recognized Ariel and Richard leading them, at least. Maylene was at my side with Lucario, wisps of blue energy swirling around them both as they nked me so the fighting type could sense Dusknoir as soon as he showed himself. Mesprit looked just like I''d seen them in theirke. As small as a human baby, their skin smooth like ss. What was different now was that their brilliant golden eyes were now closed and they were almost cradling themselves, like they were sleeping. There was a feeling in my chest, intrinsic knowledge of what I should do to fix this wrongness. Fix the fact that one of His creations was no longer going along with His n and was being used for nefarious deeds. Below Mesprit, along with a cohort of five grunts and their Pokemon, was Mars. Her red hair was longer than it used to be, going down her shoulders instead of being gelled, and she was as pale as she''d always been. Here stood my nemesis. The person I''d feared for so many months, first for what she could do to me and then because I''d been turning into her. Her mouth gaped when she saw me standing in front of her, pure joy writ on her face like the expression of an exaggerated statue. "Grace," she gasped as a flurry of attacks struck their barrier. Cynthia''s entire team was present, save for Lucario and Spiritomb, each of them using attacks that I had no doubt could shatter any Gym''s barrier within a fraction of a second. Eight of the Champion''s Pokemon, Lucian''s psychics trying to unravel the barrier instead of breaking it with brute force, and more League trainers than I could count, and the barrier only shook. But at least it was shaking. They were only using a fraction of Mesprit''s power, and since there was no st of emotional torture, I assumed that Mars was having them put everything they had into this shield of protection, and more of the grunt''s psychics were backing them for support. It was not imprable. I tasted bile at the back of my throat. Only Cecilia had ever spoken my name in the way Mars had. So lovingly. The next words were silent, given the number of explosions and elemental attacks being swallowed by the shield, but I could read her lips like the statement was crisp and clear. I missed you. Her hands formed into a heart above her chest. I pictured her neck snapping and her crumpling to the floor to soothe myself. My eyes closed, and I linked my emotions with Mesprit''s right as Mars gripped the Red Chain around her neck.
Chapter 306 – It’s So Lonely Here Chapter 306 ¨C It¡¯s So Lonely Here
CHAPTER 306 - IT''S SO LONELY HERE I awoke to the distorted sound of rushing water. Opening my eyes, the first thing that jumped at me was color. The sky was impossibly vast in a way that was difficult to describe, but it wasn''t blue. The heavens were a canvas of ever-shifting color unlike anything I''d ever seen before. It was every single hue imaginable, every mix, everybination one could think of was there in the sky with enough volume to have dread creep up my spine. It was difficult to tell how far away it was from me, too. If I focused my eyes a certain way, the sky looked close enough to touch, but sometimes it looked so far, like I was staring at the firmament instead. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust for me to realize that it wasn''t¡­ well, it wasn''t exactly real. Like someone had stered a two-dimensional colorful tarp over the sky and called it a day. There were no clouds, no sun in the sky, nothing to grasp at to tell myself that this ce could exist, yet I felt warmthing from somewhere, just colors instead of a star. The sky was still vast enough to have me shiver, like the world was boundless and so overwhelming, but fake in a very subtle way that you''d overlook if you didn''t focus enough. My entire body felt sluggish. My hands gripped at the ground, hoping to find dirt, but the surface was smooth as metal instead, warm as pavement under the gentle heat ofte spring. Rising into a sitting position, this ce unfurled before me. Everywhere I looked, the world seemed to pulsate with emotion as if it were alive. Mountains rose like titans of color, their peaks shimmering in the radiant light reflected from somewhere while another was shrouded in darker tones and nearly invisible to the naked eye. Rivers flowed with liquid rainbows, their currents twisting and turning in mesmerizing patterns. To my left was one that dizzied if you looked long enough, and it spread out into a waterfall that fell down into a valley, but it was like everything moved slower here. The water was almost frozen in time, only moving a few inches every second, if even that. Far away¡ª impossibly far away, as if I was somehow looking at something thousands of miles away, enormous pirs of different hues stood, stretching so high into the sky I just¡­ Just¡­ How high did they go? I looked on, and on, and on, but they never ended. I''d called them pirs, but they were more like storms frozen in time. If I got closer, I bet I''d see them move, but I didn''t want to see what would happen to my state of mind if I was thrown into one of those storms. This ce. It boggled the mind and unease kept crawling down my spine like little bugs or grains of sand were slithering down my back. It shouldn''t exist. It was a world beyond my understanding that felt suffocating to be in. It was so beautiful, almost frozen. Like a painting. Mesprit had always been obsessed with colors, hadn''t they? And God, was it a painting. For one, I didn''t fit in, as if I''d been shoved into one of those cartoons Princess liked while still looking like a normal human. Each area I would look at was stylized differently, with strange shapes, textures and¡­ not themes, but¡­ gah, I''d never been interested in art! Louis or Cece would be able to put this into thought far better than I was, but at the same time, it wasn''t like there were words to describe what I was looking at. A Legendary inconceivably old had created this ce, and it would be a foolish endeavor to attempt to make sense of it. Instead of an endless void, this was Mesprit''s inner mind when they were not dormant, it seemed, and it took a significant amount of effort not to sit and stare forever. It would be easy to. Everywhere I looked, I could get lost in fractals that went on forever, or at least hadn''t ended as far as I had looked. There were no voices here, but it was like something was telling me to keep my eyes wide open and bask in whatever this was. I supposed someone who wasn''t the shard of emotion would have gotten overwhelmed by this subtle perception to the point of paralysis, and for better or for worse, I''d been given this duty. And I was on a time limit. I rose to my feet with a spring in my step, remembering that I wasn''t wounded in this dream world or mindscape or whatever you wanted to call it. For a moment, I put weight on my leg¡ª my full weight, and I giggled. The first unnatural sound this ce had seen in thousands of years was me and my stupidugh. It was¡ª it had been so long since I''d been able to do that. When meeting Mesprit for the first time, I''d been too focused on surviving with my mind intact. I technically walked without a crutch now, but doing this was still impossible and holy crap this felt liberating. Could I run? Mesprit was nowhere to be found, and I needed to cover ground quickly, so it made sense to try. My leg hesitantly ttened on the smooth ground, and then I started¡­ running. There was no wind to zip past my ears here, no need to breathe loudly because my lungs were on fire, but it was real, and I was running! I was running! Smoke and paint burst from my skin, all bright colors that etched themselves in the ground and sky behind me. There was a sense of liberation with each step, almost like I''d been given wings! Every time my foot stomped on the ground, the possibility of me taking flight was there, at the tip of my feet. Legendaries, to be able to feel the ground beneath my feet, just to stomp and not have pain surge through my leg! This was heaven. This was the magic of movement. "Haha¡­ hahaha!" I was happy here, when I''d been gloomy right before entering Mesprit''s world. Was it a subtle trick of the mind, or was I just meant to be here? I jogged, skipping across a few ''stones'' lying about the waterfall. I''d never been the most agile girl, but by the Legendaries, I made that river look like a chump. I had no idea what would have happened if I''d fallen in it or if it was even a real liquid or not, but I didn''t care. The only thing I could do wasugh and run, barreling down the hill while my arms windmilled at my sides with no direction in mind. My leg was caught behind another and I tripped, rolling on the floor, and I found myself unable to stopughing. And why even stop? This ce was¡ª this ce was so beautiful! Oh, how far it stretched! How it showed me colors I''d never even considered before, how they bled into my skin and became me. Plus, there were no signs of Mesprit anywhere, nor anything I should look for. Maybe those darkened mountains in the distance? They¡­ Hold on. Had they moved? My legs stopped, skidding across the smooth, painted floor. Come to think of it, it was dry, but my clothes and skin were starting to get soaked in color. Yellow, pink, brown and red on my shoes and legs while the extremities of my fingers were turning bright purple, white and a strange, ashy grey that pulsated every few seconds. It was growing ever so slowly, but it was different than the colors everywhere else. It was as if the paint wasn''t covering me, but bing my skin. I blinked as I brought my hand up and saw the paint crawl across it ever so slowly about as fast as everything else moved here. I couldn''t let it cover me. This was¡­ this was a timer. It was strange to know something without any prior context, but that was what it was¡ª the only thing that it could be. But wouldn''t my time in here be shorter? The main problem was that Mars was using the Red Chain to take control of Azelf, and I had no idea if this ce would have a way to know how long that would take. I needed to act like I had even less time than what this ce was trying to show me, because chances were she would Teleport away before I was done here and I''d be pulled away. I had no heart capable of pounding against my chest, but the anxiety was there. It was real, tangible, and in front of my eyes, so solid I could actually grab it, and grab it I did. The stormy cloud shattered against my hand and sttered all over me and the ground at my feet with a small explosion, releasing a pressure I hadn''t known had been there, and I was happy again. This ce was definitely drugging me without my consent. Focus. Shard of Emotion my ass, this ce was a fucking trap meant to keep you here for as long as Mesprit wanted. "Ar¡ªAr¡ª" Arceus? I couldn''t say His name. It was like it was constantly on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn''t utter it. "I wish my Pokemon were here," I finished my sentence. They''d keep me grounded, at least. Or Cecilia. I missed her, even though it had only been a few hours. I so desperately wanted her with me in a way that made my heart physically hurt. My eyes drifted back to the darkened mountain, and I turned¡­ away from it and toward the hill I''d just run down from. Or at least I thought I did. Everywhere I looked, it was at the center of my vision as if the world itself was forcefully bending itself to get me to look. Witnessing this made no sense and made my head spin, but either way, it had the desired effect. The mountain was the tallest in this world, an oppressive force that sapped me of any joy if I focused on it for too long. I smiled and made a note to look every minute to center myself and to not get lost in the weeds of this ce. Either way, this crushing feeling was familiar. Being this happy for too long felt alien, not that I was incapable of being happy, but the highs just never felt as good as the lows felt awful,tely. Everything had just been recalibrated, somehow. I looked at my fingers once more. The grey was inching forward ever so slowly. If Cass had been here, they would have been able to estimate how long it''d take to cover all of me within the minute. There was a pull. Like I was about to be swept off my feet and carried toward the mountain. I have to go there. I didn''t know when I started running again. One second I''d been standing, breathlessly staring at doom itself, and then the next, the world was blurred around me until making out the ground from the sky was impossible. It all blended together into a torrent of chromaticity that spun around me and overtook every inch of my vision. Until I couldn''t make up from down, right from left, save for the looming mountain in the distance. I went so quickly that light bent around me and I couldn''t feel the ground underneath my feet. My hands were covered in gray when I made it, and it was crawling up my ankles too. This mountain¡ª this tower was difficult to describe. The way I craned my neck as far as possible and it unfurled before me like a titan, and how it made me feel like I was falling upwards. This is even taller than those storms. This was a painting, so I could theoretically see as far as Mesprit had drawn. There were no clouds or atmosphere to mask things that were too far, and so I could fully witness how grand it was. How it stretched so far into the heavens it might as well have been infinite. I was a speck, a microbe under its shadow. So insignificant that it took my breath away, and negative emotions pressing down my back weren''t helping. I was supposed to climb this? This was like a Mount Cor onto itself! I was going to run out of time¡­ the realization dawned on me, and my lips trembled. Is this mountain modeled like Mount Cor? It certainly had the scale to it, but I hadn''t stumbled onto an entrance of any kind and telling was actually impossible. Maybe I was supposed to climb it? It wasn''t like this body was real. I''d fallen over earlier and felt no pain whatsoever, could run faster than Honey could in real life, and didn''t get tired. ncing at my hands again, I bit my lip. I was wise to this world''s tricks now, and I pushed down the apathy trying to worm its way into my brain. The little voice telling me that it would be pointless to try. Part of me wondered why it and the previous happiness was so subtle. After all, hadn''t a dormant Mesprit sted me with emotion so strong I''d been at theirplete whims when I''d met them for the first time? What was with the cloak and dagger? Was it because Team Gctic couldn''t use Mesprit''s full power? That answer didn''t sit right with me, but there was no time to dawdle. I took a deep breath and started scaling into the malevolent hues. The rocks were streaked with shades of the darkest ebony and midnight blue so dark it might as well have been ck. It was like stepping into a void, and it reminded me of Shiftry''s darkness. Colors so dark they reflected little light. My hands were like torches each time they were ced onto the mountain, gripping each dark stone, and I threw myself upward with renewed vigor. The more I climbed, the more my thoughts grew morbid. Little voices at the back of my head¡ª my voice, until it crystalized, materialized into a literal solid that weighed me down and tried to drag me back to the base of the mountain. You aren''t going to make it. You aren''t like your predecessor, Atreus. You''re useless, unchosen, only picked through sheer chance. People you care about have died because of you. Justin is dead because of you, and he won''t be the only one¡ª "Fuck you," I snarled. No more self-doubt. No more moping. I had to do this,e hell or high water. I clenched my teeth, buried my worries and kept climbing, asionally destroying the miasma of horrible emotions that manifested around me. Given that my body wasn''t real, I never actually got exhausted physically, but mentally? When the gray finished covering my forearm, I reached¡­ a ce. My mind was so foggy that I had to sit still for a few minutes to keep track of where I was and what was going on. This wasn''t the summit, I would have needed to climb forever to get there, even at those speeds. Instead, I reached a ttened bit of ground that stretched for miles and miles. I''d always said that this ce was wrong, but this one was truly strange. It was like a mishmash of painting styles had just been stuck together to create a whole in a way that made my head hurt, but there was a house in here. A small cabin surrounded by trees that weren''t really there, but just drawn into the air. Why the hell would Mesprit know or care about a cabin in the woods? Was it a metaphor for something? Either way, the pull here was stronger than ever and I knew this was where I needed to go. That house? It was real, just like me. There was an arch I needed to cross to get to the house. I could also go around it, but the world had a way to stretch or contract that forced me to walk through the structure. It was drawn in the same way everything else was, made of a bony white and adorned by traces of gold and green woven throughout the arch. I took a hesitant step forward and heard a gong, or maybe a drum that announced my presence. My eyes grew wet as soon as I made it through, and for a moment I felt like crying for a reason I''d forgotten. It had slipped my mind¡ª barely sticking for a fraction of a second before I''d forgotten. Not grief, but maybe¡­ nostalgia. Mncholy? Legendaries, this was weird. I sniffled and wiped away the tears. The answersy in that house¡ª I knew that to be true. It was the only thing in this damn ce that looked like something I might see out of the real world and not some crazed artist''s drawing. It was something that didn''t fit. It wasn''t born of this world or Mesprit''s knowing, so it was the only possibility that made any sense to me. My mind grew clearer and clearer as I approached the cabin until I finally returned to normal, or as close to normal as I could be given the circumstances. Being certain of it was impossible, but my mind was clear and I felt simr to how I''d been before entering Mesprit''s mindscape. Out of habit, I tried to release my team before entering the house, but the Pokeballs on my belt weren''t real. They were only imagined, just like my own self, and no Pokemon woulde out no matter how many times I pressed that button. I ced my head against the wood, trying to see if I could hear anything, but it was deafeningly silent. "It''s not real. Open the door." Look at yourself, so worried about danger when you can''t die here. It was a simple wooden door with indentations running up and down the surface of the wood. The handle was a little loose when I ced my hand around it, like a simple tug or push would knock it off the door. It didn''t. I slowly opened it, surprised to see it didn''t creak at all, and a single room revealed itself to me. But before I could even notice anything else, Mars was here with Mesprit, sitting on the floor at a coffee table with a cup of tea in her hand while the Legend hovered above it. My body moved before I even understood what I was looking at, my hand lunging for the girl''s throat, but it ran through her body and hovered right above the table. I blinked and tried again to wrap a hand around her neck, but she wasn''t actually there. This was fake¡ª or maybe not fake, but not something I was capable of influencing, and Mars had the Red Chain with her. Mesprit''s eyes were wide open here, but they clearly weren''t themselves. "Mesprit! Mesprit, can you hear me?!" I tried. No response. "Here''s the thing, Munchkins," Mars said in way too casual of a tone while she blew into her cup. "I understand that you''ve got a duty to the Big Guy, but you made the right choice. Isn''t it so sweet to just have a little bit of fun with me?" Her head swayed from side to side. "You haven''t been out of this dump for like what, hundreds of thousands of years? More? What''s wrong with a little break? A few days tops?" Frowning, I sat next to the two and let the conversation y out, ignoring how surreal and helpless it felt to watch this unstable girl talk with a literal God. "Don''t push your luck, human! I''m just considering my options, and I''ve never had options before!" Mesprit spoke. Their voice was duller than I''d grown used to, but the cabin shook as one when they did, color eating away at its edges and dissolving the wood before allowing it to even exist again, which was further proof that this home was¡­ made through Mars. Was it significant to her somehow? There were no items other than furniture here, and for some reason, there was only a living room. It was quite minimalist. "Maybe you should do more to convince me." "You''re already helping her," I muttered in disbelief. Still no answer. "Munchkin, you''re already helping," Mars echoed my statement, sipping at her tea. "Eugh, what kind of drink is this? It''s like drinking color¡ª wait where did it evene from? This makes no sense. Anyway, what I was getting at is that¡­ I get you, you know? You look to the Big Guy up top and he barely acknowledges you, if even that." Mars took a deep breath before continuing and ced her cup down. "I know Cyrus doesn''t love me, you know? I know he never will, too, but I help him anyway because at least he talks to me. He''s real in a physical sense, and he helped me with my memory troubles and actually raised me. But you? You get shoved in ake for who knows how long, and you''re expected to listen to His rules? Where does this guy get off, right?" "Don''t talk of Him this way!" Mesprit cried out. So small. So weak. Yet the Red Chain around Mars'' neck pulsated. "All I wanted¡­ all I wanted was¡­" they sobbed. "It''s just so lonely here." Ah. I understood now. It had clicked. The Red Chain was not a ''device'' to enve their minds. It always hadn''t sat right with me, that literal Gods were capable of being so easily controlled with the right technology and dedication. It was made to dissolve Arceus'' rules that were usually so irond, so etched into a Legendary''s personality that disobeying them wasn''t even a consideration. After that, push and prod at the right weakness, manipte using the chain, and¡­ They still had to be convinced in some way, but it made them less concepts and more Pokemon. Was the real Mars in a world of her own convincing Azelf right now? "All you wanted was to talk to Him again," Mars said. "Feel the warmth of His words like you must have at your birth. Sucks that He''s an absentee father, right? You know, there are way too many of those, it''s like, what the hell, right? Where the dads at?" "If you bring me to Spear Pir," Mesprit muttered. "If you bring me to Spear Pir, will you allow me to talk to Him?" "Oh. Could I do that?" I screamed again, tried to link my emotions to Mesprit, but nothing worked. "It is His throne, you useless girl!" the Legend screamed, forcing both of us to cover our ears. Mars paled, crawling back a few feet while I fell to the ground and cradled myself as dread spread through me. "I will call out to Him there and beg for an audience. We will do that instead of your daft n to end His Creation." "Th¡ªthen sure," the Commander nodded weakly as the chain glowered. "Yeah, you can do that. Totes." Lie. There was a subtle way one could tell when I was lying or being untrue to myself. The smile spread across Mars'' face was just as bittersweet and full of hurt as mine had been when I''d told my team I was fine shortly after my ankle had been broken in Pastoria. It twitched at its edges and was just a little too wide, just a little forced, because the truth of the matter was, Mars did feel bad for Mesprit''s circumstances. And with the chain, Mesprit couldn''t tell she was lying about her n. She had no intention of allowing them to see Arceus¡ª if He would even answer their call in the first ce. His whole philosophy was to observe without intervention, but Mesprit wasn''t thinking straight. They couldn''t. Not after their mind had been altered so much from what it used to be. "Fine. But make no mistake, I will be the one in charge! If you try anything, I''ll condemn you to an eternity of sorrow in this ce," Mesprit warned. "And there''s something I must address about people who have part of me and my siblings'' powers¡ª wait." Shit. The Legendary paused and stared right at me. To have those bright yellow eyes pierce through mine made me want to cower in fear. I didn''t. "She''s here. My Shard." It was at this moment, that Mars noticed me. Or at least Mars'' echo. The redhead beamed, giggling as she threw herself at me with a hug. I tried to kick her away, but our bodies just went through each other just as they had before. Mars crashed face-first into the floor, causing the coffee table to rattle and her cup to drop, spilling colors all over the wooden nks and shattering the ceramic. "Ow. Ow," she groaned. "Wait, it doesn''t hurt at all, never mind! Grace! I can''t believe you''re here¡ª" "Mesprit! Mesprit, she''s manipting you," I tried. "Look at that chain around her neck! That''s the Red Chain you and your siblings warned us about! You have to wake up." "Hey! Don''t ignore me!" Mesprit squinted. "I don''t see anything there. Why are you lying to me?" Fuck. Fuck, they couldn''t see it, of fucking course they couldn''t. "If she doesn''t have the chain, then how would she havee here?" I asked. I had to find a hole in their logic, anything to get them to realize they were being tricked. "Think, Mesprit. This is still the same Mars! She wants to end the world because her ideals are the same as Cyrus''. She doesn''t have a single independent thought!" "Wait. How are you here, Mars?" "You invited me, duh! We''re pals!" "Of course. I invited her." "You didn''t¡ª" the grey was crawling up my arms and legs. I had to change strategies. "Damn it, okay. Think of it this way, Mesprit. You would do anything for Him, right?" Each time I inferred Arceus'' name, warmth spread through my throat. The Legend tilted their head, floating up to me, and I did my best to stand my ground. "Of course, I would. I love Him more than you can even fathom." "Don''t let her gaslight you," Mars said. "She''s way too good at it, I know her." I bit down on my tongue before continuing. I couldn''t see the anger building up inside of me here, but I knew it was present. Focus. "Mars would do anything for Cyrus too, and he isn''t nning to let you meet your Creator. He''s so fucking miserable he wants to destroy the world instead of trying to fix himself or taking himself out on his own." "Hey!" Mars pouted. "You''re lucky I like you! But I can convince Cyrus, Mesprit. Don''t sweat the details¡ª GAH!" I had grabbed a nearby chair and thrown it in her face, and she cried out as the wood splintered across her fake, pale skin. Funnily enough, I couldn''t touch her, but the things I threw at her made contact easily. Hearing the wood snap against her was like music to my ears, and I bent down to grab a piece of the chair that had split off. "Shut the fuck up." I kept beating her, the sticking down with each word. "Shut. the. FUCK. UP. I''m tired of you and your fucking attitude, like everything is an Ar¡ª a game!" I turned back at Mesprit with a deep breath. "Do you remember when we first met, Mesprit? How important the rules were to you? Do you remember those?" "The¡­ rules?" Now we were getting somewhere. I had to hone in on this. "Yes! And all of the rules were put in ce to protect His Creation, right? By going to Spear Pir, you would¡ª" There was an impact at my side, but it was without pain. A dull hit that was strong enough to topple me and send me careening toward the coffee table. It split in two from my weight and Mars stood atop of me with one of the chair legs in her hands, grinning from ear to ear like she was having the time of her life. "That was so fucking cool when you hit me," she moaned, hands tracing down the sides of her face. "We can hit each other all day in here and be fine!" She stomped on my head and I whimpered, trying to cover my head, but her foot only went through me. It was hard enough for the impact to bend the wood behind my head. "Wish I could touch you, though. Like I did at the Power nt. This is kind of dull. What''s the point of it if we can''t bleed, you know?" Arceus, she could still scare me. The way her voice wrapped around my ears and was so perverse terrified me like I was that little girl in her clutches again. I bit my lip, and quickly grabbed one of my Pokeballs, throwing it at her face at full force. She yelped, taking a step back, and that shortpse in time allowed me to stand up. "When I get the opportunity, I''ll fucking kill you and make it slow," I growled. "Legendaries, I love it when you''re mad," Mars wistfully sighed. "I wish we could hang out together more. Isn''t this what sisterhood is all about? Wanna describe how you''re going to do it? Are you going to pull my fingernails first? Oh, oh, I know! Break each finger!" My body was on edge and ready to lunge at her once more. "No, you psycho. I want nothing to do with you." Mars softly clicked her tongue. "Ah, see, Mesprit? She wants nothing to do with me." "She wants nothing to do with you," they echoed. The chain pulsed, and I tried striking at Mars again, this time with a sharpened shard of her broken cup, but she just weaved out of the way and beat it out of my hand with her stick. She had better reflexes than me and she could move unnaturally quickly. I''d lost mine when I''d gotten close to the cabin, but she was still so fast. "And yet we''re so simr," she continued. I attacked again to stop her from spewing her poison, but it was no use. When I couldn''t catch her by surprise, she would always have the upper hand. The wooden chair leg hit my neck at blurring speeds, and I slumped to the ground, limp. "Doesn''t that mean she doesn''t want anything to do with you, either? And wait, actually! What is she even doing here?" Another two hits, this time on my back. "How''d you get in here, hm?" "It''s true that she has expressed disgust at my ideas and self time and time again," the Legendary agreed. "She is unworthy and squandered her potential. Champion by happenstance." "Champion? Oh right, you were gonna tell me something about that earlier, I nearly forgot!" Shit. Shit. Shit! Would the real Mars get all of this knowledge when this was said and done? Would she figure out that I was a shard? How in the hell was I even supposed to do this when the fucking chain was pulling the strings? When Mesprit wanted someone who was so different from me? Even when I''d met them at Lake Verity, they had said that Mars perfectly encapsted who they''d wanted as a Shard. I hade into an uphill battle from the beginning, but this was just¡­ unfair. The chain allowed Mars'' lies to pass for truth when I couldn''t lie, and she was like the damn favorite child among the two of us. "As I said, she was chosen and has a fraction of my capabilities as Shard of Emotion." "Oooooh, interesting. Emotional maniption, sensing, what else¡ª" "Mesprit, please," I groused, slowly getting up. "Don''t let her do this to you. Everything He''s made, everything He''s done is going to get erased. I understand that you''re lonely. I understand that it''s difficult, and that I haven''t spoken to you much, but¡ª" Mars rolled her eyes. "Come on. You understand? You, the same person that''s swarmed by friends who love her at all times, who has people to support her for every little itty bitty thing?" Sheughed,zily walking toward me. I expected another painless hit, but instead she just tapped wood on the floor. "Don''t lie to my little Munchkin like that, Grace." "And what do you know?" I hissed. "Just because you''re in love with someone who doesn''t love you back doesn''t mean that you can understand a modicum of what being confined to a Lake is like. To only be able to prod and feel at its surroundings and to never be allowed out. You can''tpare a few years of memory to an eternity." "That''s true." "But between the two of us, Ie the closest, big sis," Mars said, giggling. "Man, I''ve always wanted to say that!" Her face shifted quickly into a more serious one. "But you know, I''ve been wondering about lonelinesstely. I mean, I have my Pokemon, but I can''t shake the fact that there''s something about them¡­ like they aren''t acting right, and Dusky''s been hiding the subject of my memories since I woke up in that dumpster. And people? I don''t have any of those." The grey was up to my shoulder and chest, now. "Boo hoo, so what? I don''t give a fuck about your pity party, Mars. Mesprit, you¡ª" "Let her speak. You''ll get your turn, Grace." Damn it, I did not have time for this! "Saturn''s a whining wacko who thinks I''m too unserious, but hey, honestly I think he''s the obnoxious one, always taking everything so seriously." She paced around the room, using the wood like a walking stick. "Charon hates me for prodding at his dead sister all the time, and not only does Cyrus think I''m too clingy, he can''t actually feel anything," she listed. "Juju¡­ Juju''s kind of like a fun version of Cyrus. She''s the kind of person that''s impossible to connect with¡ª truly connect with. She could know you for a decade and she''d still shrug while you die in front of her. Hell, she''d use you as a damn shield too if it meant she could live a little longer! You know, I want someone a little more real. A little more tangible." "Maybe the reason you can''t connect to people is because you torture and kill them all." "If they can''t handle me at my worst, then do they truly deserve me? And if they don''t deserve me, then they don''t deserve to live either!" she yelled. "Anyway, this is where my pitches in. Do you want to be friends?" "What?" "Friends first, then siblings, I''m willing to take things slow for you. I follow you on social media you know? I watch your friends'' streams every time you appear on them and I wanted to pre-order your merch, too, but they wouldn''t let me do that. I''m your biggest fan!" She wasn''t real. She wasn''t a fucking real person; who the hell thought like this? The fate of the world rested on our shoulders and this was what she was talking about? Really? "I know it seems crazy, but I''m serious. I think you should join our side." Iughed. "And why, pray tell, would I do that?" "Because! Guess what? Your grandmother''s dead!" "Yeah. Okay." "What? That''s it?" There was guilt, still, but¡­ yes. That was it. The Commander brought up her hands and stared at the ceiling. "That was so anticlimactic, I was waiting for the right moment to worm that into the conversation. Did you not care about her? Well, whatever, it''s just an extra soul for Dusky and it''s not like I expected that alone to work. Maybe I should have sent him after your friend''s parents, that Denzel dude. Legendaries, his streams are so boring. You should have better friends. Like me." I swallowed, but knew they''d fled like my own mother. "Mesprit, how long do I have to listen to this?" "Until she''s done." "They probably weren''t there anyway, huh?" Mars guessed. "I suppose I''ll have to kill your friends one by one until you change your mind, then, since they''ll be avable. Maybe I''ll start with Cecilia." I felt cold as blood drained from my face. "Or Louis! Or Justin¡ª Oh. Oh!" Mars grinned. "That was a weird shift¡ª is there someone else? Did one of your pals already die? Which one? Louis or Justin?" "No one," I forced out. "Only a matter of time until we get someone else," she mused. "Just for you, I''ll make their deaths quick!" My fist clenched, and Mesprit finally allowed me to talk. "I don''t think you understand, so allow me to make myself clear. You can try and take everyone and everything from me. My friends, my girlfriend, my family¡ª and you sure as hell won''t seed, but I will never join your cause. What you want is total annihtion." I pressed those words so Mesprit could hear, but I was running out of time. "If the opportunity shows, I will end you slowly and make you suffer as much pain as possible for what your Dusknoir''s done to people. For what you''ve done to people¡­" Mathilda''s words popped up in my mind. Dusknoir owned Mars, and the fact that Cynthia had just said she wasn''t a human in the flesh lent credence to that theory. Was she one of the souls he''d eaten that he had taken a liking to? Was she being manipted? All of her life, she''d been basically groomed by Cyrus and a murderous ghost. Had they been the ones to turn her into what she was? Acting like they''d had no influence on her would be asinine of me. I''d be sad if I cared. I''d told myself a long time ago, that there would be no second chances for any of the Commanders, and she was included in that no matter what her life had been like. The world would be better off with all of them dead. I knew she was stronger than me, but that didn''t mean I wasn''t going to go for the throat if she tried killing the people I cared about. I was, frankly, out of goodwill to give. Mars rolled her eyes. "We''ll see about that. It''s easy to be all talk, but I''m sure little old me will find a way to make it just right." "Die in a ditch," I smiled. It was a perfectly amicable one, too, and polite. The kind you''d show at a sponsorship interview. The grey was crawling up my neck. Mars being here was rattling me and making me waste time. "Mesprit, I''ll ask again. I''ll talk to you more¡ª just like Mira does to Uxie, okay? And you can see the world through my eyes, right? Haven''t I been entertaining to you? I mean, I feel youugh at me sometimes." "Maybe a little bit. And you live through a range of emotions far wider than this shell." Shell. I remembered that Mesprit called Cyrus an empty shell, but Mars was one too? Not empty, though. The statement seemed to have rattled her, too, because for once in her life she was shutting the hell up. No, not shutting up. She clenched at her head and kept whispering to herself. "Shell? No. No. No. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real. I''m real¡­" Pleasure coursed through my veins like I''d just been rejuvenated, and I let the savage smile take me. There was nothing quite like this. The feeling of victory over her, of finding what could possibly make her squirm. "She''s just a one-note girl that''s trying her best to be interesting to you, but she can''t be," I pressed, not shying away from Mesprit''s stare. "Sure, she might be fun right now and allows her emotions to always guide her but isn''t she just so dull?" I walked around the table, and Mars shied away from me. I wanted to hit her with something, but it''d be best to focus on Mesprit right now. "Always killing, torturing, and so gratuitously, I mean what even is the point, right? One murder is a monumental event, but a thousand? That''s boring, and you know it." I threw another Pokeball at Mars'' head with all of my strength, for good measure, and she fell to her side. I knew for sure it hadn''t been strong enough for that, but her body was totally limp. "Where''s the grit? The struggle? Isn''t it more fun to be with me? To live with my inner conflict, my moral scruples and tough when I fail to be the person I want to be or to grumble when I seed?" "I¡­ what is happening?" "You know, I''m a big fan of movies and shows. Always have been. It allows me to live through eyes that aren''t mine for a moment¡ª to be transported into another world. I''m telling you that watching a show where the protagonist never changes, always does the same thing episode after episode gets boring after a while." I pointed a thumb at Mars. "I couldn''t imagine being stuck with a girl like her. She doesn''t understand change because she''s not human. And Humans are His sacred creation, aren''t they?" "Right. She is a shell. A puppet capable of independent thought, but only built for a single purpose," Mesprit calmly dered. "Mars, I hereby dere¡ª" then, their eyes stared into¡­ into nothingness, like there was something there that also wasn''t. "Mesprit?" "My sibling is¡­ you have to go." There was a pull, as if the world itself was sucking me upward. I screamed, my hands desperate to cling to anything to keep me grounded, yet everything I touched dissolved at their seams into puffs of color. Gravity pulled me up through the roof and the little amount of resistance I''d been able to offer just died. The world around me copsed, shriveling into darkness, thest thing I heard being Mars'' disbelieving words. No, no, no! I hadn''t had enough time¡ª I hadn''t found the right words, I¡ª My eyes shut tight, and I breathed shakily. It had been so close. How the fuck could they just kick me out like that? How was I supposed to free them if they could just do that? Damn it. Damn this fucking job, I hated it! I hated this responsibility, hated that I had to see that crazy girl and I''d beenpletely incapable of harming her. Lake Valor unfurled around me, and I screamed, falling back on the paved road. In front of me was Dusknoir, wisps of smoke barely visible through the monochrome world he had wrought. There were screams, but the ACEs didn''t panic, redirecting their attacks toward the ghost. Lucario grunted, exuding blue light through every inch of his skin. He''d been the one holding Dusknoir back¡­ Maylene and he had saved my life. Hands dragged me back, and I recognized the arms as Maylene''s, and holy crap she''s strong. She was lifting me like I was a feather. It was almost disorienting, to be back in the real world after spending what felt like hours inside of Mesprit''s head, but from what I could see only a few dozen seconds had passed here at most. The barrier around Mars had cracked, five of her psychics were slumped on the ground unconscious, and she seemedpletely oblivious to the conversation I''d had with her other self. I had no idea if me almost convincing Mesprit had something to do with that, but¡­ it didn''t even matter. Azelf was floating high in the sky, around a hundred feet away. Mars had convinced him using the chain faster than I''d been with Mesprit. Dusknoir was disintegrated by the flurry of attacks and was actually about to die. The ghost could barely hold himself together and Lucario was using some kind of aura prison to keep him still and away from me. Dusknoir''s edges shivered and his stomach desperately tried to open, but it was no use. Mars raised a Pokeball and an ACE''s Donphan instantly lifted a pir of earth to prevent her from recalling Dusknoir, but¡ª My head. Everything felt so pointless all of a sudden. My body slumped against the ground as Maylene dropped me, but I didn''t even register the pain from bumping my head against the asphalt road. It was like I was just¡­ floating there, unable to think. My body felt weightless, and I could barely register the touch of the hot ground against my skin. The only thing I was capable of was staring at the sky and reveling in this feeling of sheer loss. There was a sh of red at the corner of my vision and the shattering of ss¡ª of a barrier, but I could barely pay attention to the sounds surrounding me. It took another ten seconds to be able to think of anything at all. This wasn''t Azelf''s work. This was Mesprit''s. Not the sapping of willpower, but the imbuing of . As for Mars? She was gone, along with Mesprit and Azelf. She''d left her cohort of psychics and grunts here, possibly because she''d needed to sacrifice some to get away unscathed. Shit. I''d failed. "Are you okay?" a voice behind me said. "Sorry I¡ª I dropped you, I just felt totally¡­" "Defeated, I got it too," I sighed. Even as a Shard, I hadn''t been able to resist¡­ hell, Cynthia had gotten her bearings before I had, apparently, given that she was already ordering people around. "I failed to stop her." My hands hugged my knees. "I fucked up, I''m sorry. Mars was faster than I was." For a moment, there was silence, and I expected an outburst. "It''s¡­ well, I don''t know if it''s okay, but you tried." Arceus damn it, yell at me or something! I desperately wanted her to, yet nothing else came except a few ACEs, then Cynthia to ask me what I''d seen. She had ryed disclosing the existence of this Legendary to everyone who had been here to Lucian, from what I understood. There were so many questions they made my head spin, and by the end of it, the League was trying to give me a blueprint for ''next time'' I tried to talk to Mesprit if there was even going to be a next time¡­ I had to fight. I''d said no more moping, damn it, no giving up. There was too much at stake to just put my hands up and give in no matter how much I wanted to. Things were going to move faster and faster from here on out. Think of it like a battle, Grace. You''re behind right now, but that doesn''t mean it''s over. Mars had apparently not escaped unscathed. More than half her body had been¡­ destroyed before she Teleported out, though Cynthia wasn''t sure it actually mattered, given that she wasn''t human. Hell, apparently from how many attacks hit her it was surprising that there was even some of her left. The way it might matter was that it could have her doubting herself like she had in Mesprit''s head, and that was a weakness I''d quickly told the League about. A few theories were forming in Cynthia''s head, one asking herself why exactly they hadn''t made use of Azelf, and instead sacrificed the strength of Mesprit''s barrier to st us with that feeling of defeat and pointlessness. Part of me hoped me havinge so close to convincing Mesprit had also helped them breach the barrier, but there was no way to be sure about that. Another exining Mars'' origins, and it involved her lost memory and the fact that Dusknoir might be able to just alter it at will or at least delete certain portions of it he found would do her more harm than good. But Dusknoir was in his Pokeball right now. He''d been recalled to be saved, and I was sure Mars had questions for herself about why she hadn''t bled to death or died from shock. So much so that we weren''t actually sure she''d be able to actually pick up the ck and gain control of Uxie. Not everything was lost, after all, and something told me that if Mars still handed the chain to Cyrus, freeing Mesprit from him would be easier than her, given that he couldn''t feel anything. They''d hate his guts, if they would even listen. It''d probably have to be another Commander. She might not even show up, really. "Turns out I''ve been assigned to you permanently." The wind swept through my hair and across the Lake. I''d been watching its surface to see if Azelf''s absence had changed anything, and it had. The water was less smooth, now. Turbulent, with small waves forming due to the wind, and it wasn''t warm like usual. Most of all, it was¡­ The feeling of willpower, that everything was going to be okay that filled people''s hearts when they stepped close to the Lake? It was gone. Honey and Princess were at my side, along with Cass who hovered above us. I was petting the fairy''s back while Electivire fiddled with his hand, which was now basically back at full capacity. Electricity would sometimes course through it as he practiced his control again. I turned toward the voice. "Sorry about that," I shrugged. "I really thought it''d be just for the Lake." "Nope, it''s gonna be for the entire day," Maylene sighed. She scratched her cheek and sat next to me, watching the water. "Well, I guess night, now. Sun''s about to set. We''ll probably be going into Mount Cor together with your team of League-assigned ACEs soon." "Hmhm." I slung an arm over my knee and bit my lip. "Hey, you¡ª you saved my life earlier. Managed to catch Dusknoir before any of the ACEs could. With all the questions and everything, I never had a chance to thank you for that, so¡­ yeah, thank you." "Meh. Thank Lucario when he''s done getting sprayed by Full Restores. I was just doing my job. What, was I supposed to just let you die and doom the world?" "Yeah. I still appreciate it, though." "Whatever you say." She shifted in ce, her hand clenching around some grass. "You know, Dusknoir kind of attacked you out of nowhere near the end there even though he''d be risking his death. We thought he wouldn''t show up, since it was so dangerous and he''d obviously die, or at least we thought so." "Oh. He only showed himself near the end?" I licked my lips. "Might have been when Mars was having her identity crisis in there. Maybe he wanted to cut the entire thing short¡­ but that would mean he''d know about everything that second Mars was learning in there, and that he was continuously linked to what she felt." Arceus, how far did this go? "Huh. I''ve got to say, their whole thing has got to be the weirdest trainer-Pokemon rtionship I''ve ever seen." Maylene leaned back, using her hands to support herself and stare up at the sky. "Ready for the jump to Acuity? You''ll see your friends there. It''s ourst stand." "Hm." "Do you¡­ do you think we''re going to make it?" There was a quiver in her voice, like the facade she''d been putting on was cracking. "Do you think this is it?" "We''ve got to try, don''t we? If I can get another chance with Mesprit, I can¡ª I can get them to agree, I think. I just need enough time, but I don''t know if I''ll get it. They¡­ connected a lot with Mars, you know? It kind of surprised me when it shouldn''t have." My left hand hit the ground repeatedly, gently enough for it not to hurt. Honey grabbed it anyway and kept it still. "I mean, I know she had the Red Chain and that Mesprit normally would never have considered her words, but still." "You know, I don''t really care much for this Legendary bullcrap." Then, she scrambled. "I mean, I''m not telling you to shut up, or anything, I''m just saying that it''s, you know, it''s a little annoying to have everything depend on these three turds who are so old and powerful, yet have weaknesses that can be exploited. It''s like¡­ why even make it this way, you know? If I''m Arceus¡ª" There was a short exhale through my nose. Not a snort or augh, but close to it. "No, I''m for real! If I''m Arceus, and I''m building the world, then why leave it this way? It''s like you''re asking for this to happen, and hell, it''s the second time it''s happened!" "I''d say something, but I don''t want to¡­" agh, how to say this? "I don''t want the consequences to bite me in the asster. Part of Mesprit''s still in my head, even if they aren''t paying attention." "Hey, I''ll say it for you. Arceus sucks and he''s the worst at his job, and I think someone else deserves a promotion. Maybe me." My lips tugged at their sides. "Noment."
Interlude – Character Study Interlude ¨C Character Study
INTERLUDE - CHARACTER STUDY Huh. When was thest time she''d gotten her nails done, anyway? The question had popped up in Jupiter''s mind when she''d looked at her fingers. They were a mix of blue and purple due to the number that ACE Trainer had done on her and now she couldn''t even put her hands into a fist, let alone move them, and keeping them close to a fire type''s warmth had only alleviated the frostbite. The pain was also bad, she supposed. It was a weird, numb sort of pain that was okay, but also annoying as hell? Not as bothersome as the ugly state of her nails, ugh. She was forced to look at them too, with how her hands were stretched next to some grunt''s Camerupt. They were all huddled up in a camp, this time off-route next to route 210, where all the fog kept them hidden well and they were close enough to Mount Cor to ess it when they needed to. The fog was so thick here she couldn''t see ten feet in front of her, which made organizing this mess a whole lot of work that Saturn had to contend with, the poor guy, especially when he''d just lost his Crobat. A fun way to look at it was that he finally stopped being such a hard ass. So exigent that he reminded her of her old boss sometimes, except younger and louder, and he wasn''t actually her superior no matter what he believed. Adrianna was honestly overqualified for her position, anyway. She should be above¡­ well, maybe not above Charon, but above Mars and Saturn. No one had noticed her barely putting effort in, and even Cyrus had praised her for her ''usefulness''. If only he knew how useful she could be when she actually tried at anything. Too bad that had been way too much work, though. Right now, the best Saturn hade up with was using their remaining psychics to link together to point them in the right direction whenever grunts needed to get somewhere else, because the fog never dissipated no matter what move they used. Not even Defog! It was little annoyances like that, that''d make someone go crazy. They''d sent a few scouting parties out east toward Mount Cor, but those had apparently been shot out of the sky by a Smence. There had been only one survivor, and they didn''t exactly have men to spare. The goal had been to probe which entry would be the best to enter Cor, but it looked like they''d have to go blind. But hey, they had the power of Gods on their side, so that equalized the ying field a little. "I think this isn''t working anymore," Jupiter said before coughing. This fog was making it hard to breathe. "Thanks anyway, buddy." "Anything to serve the cause, Commander Jupiter!" the grunt said. Her Camerupt neighed and red up, happy to have aided in any way it could. How predictable. At this point, you''d think all these grunts were the same person. It was like, get some new material, right? "You hang tight, alright?" she smiled. Fake, of course, but she was well-practiced. It was about time she visited Mars anyway, given that the kid wasn''t doing great at the moment, and Cyrus had asked her to check up on her thest time he''d been doing rounds. Well, her and the rest of the Commanders. It was, after all, part of her job to keep them in line, and now that things had kind of gone to shit it was up to her to crawl down into the sewers that was her colleagues'' brains and to unclog them as best she could. It was still insane to her, that Cyrus'' mere presence could raise morale to such an extent that no one here minded that there were only six hundred of them left. Way more Pokemon, of course, but the psychological effect of going from thousands of grunts to that meager number ought to have shaken them up a little more, right? Jupiter knew it''d be bad for their goals, but she kind of wanted to see the cracks form around the structure, just to figure out how they''d all have to fix it for the final battle. People were so fascinating when they were under pressure, but breaking them was boring. It was observing how they picked themselves up again, how they justified themselves to keep going even though the situation was a disaster, that was interesting. Not that the current situation was a disaster, it was more of a hup due to Mars'' current mental state. There was nothing like the human condition to get her going. Jupiter stretched with a long groan, and she got going toward the south, where the fog was a little less dense. asionally she''d have the asional psychic ping her mind to redirect her where she wanted to go, but she had Girafarig for that. They were one of the few psychics that couldn''t speak. The most they could do was express emotions or feelings at her, but that didn''t mean they were lesser, even if they hadn''t evolved. There was no yet at the end of that sentence. Girafarig simply shared the opinion that growing up into a Farigiraf would be inconvenient, given that they wouldn''t be able to fit in an office or an apartment. She''d spent long looking up these luxurious condos out of Hearthome or Jubilife just in case they ever changed their minds, but being pet-sized was what Girafarig wanted, so it was what they''d stay at. Not that she''d ever be able to afford those condos or even live in them if she had the money, but it was fun to dream, right? Married with two kids, living in an expensive condo. Kissing the husband or the wife goodbye, driving the kids to school every morning, then going to work at a business she owned, where she could set her own schedule¡­ That''d be fun for a few months, at least. Maybe subtly abuse them, too. Make them feel worthless, like they could never meet her impossibly high expectations. Then she''d divorce her significant other when her children were twelve or so, just to see how it affected their development during puberty. How the fighting, the legal proceedings and the final separation would scar them inbination with that abuse, and how they''d grow up as a consequence of that. The way every single little w would be able to be traced to an event she''d begun. That wasn''t why she was helping Cyrus, but hey, if she was getting an entirely new yground to build herself a sandcastle, why not? Adrianna smiled. It wasn''t going to happen, was it? But again, it was nice to dream. Suddenly, Girafarig pulled her out of her fantasy with notions of interest. She ced her hand on the normal type''s neck, and they¡ª both the neck and the tail¡ª pointed to her right toward a group of grunts huddled next to each other, sitting either on the ground, on ripped up bits of wooden logs, rocks or their Pokemon. "What is it?" she whispered. Girafarig''s head nudged her arm and pushed her forward, so she decided to entertain them for the time being. The only good thing about this fog was that grunts rarely saw who wasing up to them, so they kept talking as she approached. "Why are we waiting, still?" one said. A woman, with one of those sultry voices Adrianna liked. "The longer we wait, the more the League has time to recuperate and bar up Mount Cor." Was that why they''d nudged her? To stamp down this treasonous talk? Honestly, calling it treasonous was exaggerating, but she had to channel her inner Saturn. This was the kind of festering doubt she would have liked to see spread throughout the ranks, but if Cyrus got a hold that she wasn''t doing what he''d asked, he would kill her. Literally. And he might still do it anyway, so she wouldn''t be doing herself any favors. She hadn''t gotten front-row seats to this whole deal to die before seeing if he was going to seed or not. A man spoke up, this time. "We have Mesprit and Azelf. They can''t stand against our firepower, and the Commanders know what they are doing." And that was the end of that. Maybe if she''d been born earlier she would have gone down to Kanto-Johto and joined Team Rocket instead of this bunch, honestly. Hm, no, that was a bit over the line. None of Team Rocket''s goals were as lofty as this. The people might have been a lot more fun, but their ambitions had been small. "Are you using me of thinking the opposite, Devyn? Of going against our great leader Cyrus?" Someone else spoke up, "He''s just saying, you should watch your words. Doubt is the enemy." "I haven''t doubted!" she responded. Should Jupiter ask to sleep with her? Not like she''d say no¡­ ah, never mind, they hadn''t washed in a while, had they? Damn it, this job was getting on her nerves. "In fact, I hope I''m selected for the task force that storms Acuity, even if I won''t make it back. I must serve the cause." Noooo,e on, you sounded too pretty to just die like that. "We should just rest up," a little voice said. Oh, oh, she recognized this one! They all turned toward her, their faces shadows within the fog. "Um¡­ you know, it''d be best if we could perform at our highest level is what I mean." "How''s everyone doing?" Jupiter cut in, stepping behind ra. The teenager jumped, shrieking like someone had just murdered her entire family in front of her, that drama queen. "C¡ªCommander!" The woman she''d set her eyes on stammered. She was as pretty as she sounded. "We''re just waiting for the next step, ready as always!" The rest echoed her words, each trying to outdo themselves with higher and higher fervor. ra, or Grace Pastel the fourth just answered with a meager nod. Jupiter made small talk for a few minutes, mostly letting them boast of how loyal they were and how they hoped Cyrus knew howmitted everyone was to the cause, but it wasn''t them she was here for. It was ra. She dragged her away to the side so they could talk in private. The fog had a way of swallowing and muffling sound. Jupiter sized the girl up and down, patting her on the shoulders as best she could with her frostbitten hands. "Well look at you, alive and well!" she cheered. "I can''t believe you survived Acuity, with Lucario eliminating so many of us. That Musharna of yours must be tough." "She¡ª she is," ra whispered. "We''ve been together a long time, so¡­" "Oh, that doesn''t mean anything. I mean, you have people who''ve been with their Pokemon for over a decade, and they still die all the same. It was mostly luck, I was just being nice." "Oh." "I was on the way to see your boss, you know?" The girl froze within her hands. "But Girafarig here pointed me toward you, so I figured I''d check up." "Is she¡ª is she okay? There are rumors¡­" "Oh, she''ll be fine, she''s a tough girl," Jupiter said, letting her go. "Rumors, though, huh. What do they say?" ra nced to the side and fidgeted. "I''m not in trouble, right?" "Speak your mind. It''s the part about you I find interesting." She smiled. Smiled! It was fascinating, how a mistreated individual would recalibrate their being enough to start enjoying backhandedpliments like this. Jupiter supposed that she was the only person who''d shown her an ounce of kindness, if she could even call it that. Positive attention was a better word, maybe. ra looked around to check if they were being listened to, and then continued. "Rumors are that she was horribly injured and that she''s on the brink of death," the girl whispered. "And that she won''t be able to hold onto Azelf and Mesprit for much longer." "Must make you happy, huh?" "Why do you¡­ say that?" Adrianna rolled her eyes. "Oh,e on. Imagine your abuser, lying dead in one of our medical tents¡ª" "She''s actually going to die?!" "Well, no, but I did say imagine it. Now you ruined it," the Commander sighed. "But she''s out ofmission for a bit, and in this fog¡­ you could escape, you know? Run away and get yourself out of here." "No, I can''t." Damn. There hadn''t even been a sliver of doubt in her when she''d answered. It was curious, how cults got you. Even she, who had been mistreated so much had been wrapped around Gctic''s little finger, at the end of the day. Not because ra actually believed in what they were doing, or because she was devoted to the cause, but because she thought that she was better off here than anywhere else. Maybe she believed that the government would extract her memories and kill her, which was¡­ possible, but so long as she avoided cities, she could get pretty far with her Musharna. Hitch a ride on a ship, or something. Start a new life in another region. It wasn''t like she was a Commander or Abel. Her face hadn''t been stered everywhere for people to see. But at the end of the day, ra wanted into this new world¡ª this promise that had everyone looking up to Cyrus like he was their messiah. It worked so well as something to keep the organization together, moreso now that they had actual Legendaries to show for it, because it could be whatever you wanted! That was what was magical about it. To Jupiter, it was her being a business owner who permanently scarred her kids and family, but to someone else? It could be anything and everything. And who knew if she''d be let in, if she suddenly went missing in their most important hour? And given that Mars was wounded, maybe things were looking up for her and she''d never have to see her again until the world ended! Yeah. That ought to be what she was thinking. And so, here she was, looking to defend those who had wronged her. "When you imagine yourself in our new world, what do you see?" Adrianna asked her. ra smiled, as if she''d thought about this a million times before. Her only lifeline tofort her when all she''d known had been torture, both mental and physical. "It''s a little stupid." "We don''t judge here!" "Well, the world doesn''t change¡­ that much. I''m just rich and I can send money to my parents so they can buy themselves a huge mansion, and I can travel the world without worrying about them." She giggled to herself, letting the smile linger. "Me and Musharna, staying at luxury hotels, eating good food, and seeing what other countries are like? Isn''t that the dream?" So you decide to help end the world instead of bing a bank robber or something? Jupiter said, nearly guffawing to herself. Way to rationalize. She''d think they were alike, but there was a higher goal she was striving for, beyond the married life and all of that jazz. "We also have this idea. Um, helping people through dreams. They kind of already study dreams in Unova, but not to help people, so I think we won''t get sued. Our thing would kind of be like dream therapy. It was how I stayed sane when Mars hurt me. I would have given up, had Musharna not been here." "Sounds like a grand old time," Jupiter said. What else to say, in situations like these? "I''m d you''ve found something you want to do." There. That was some nice filler. Arceus, she could go for a ss of red wine right now. Sinnohan wines were honestly all trash, especiallypared to the Paldean or Kalosian ones, but she''d even take those. Their stock in their base had run out months ago. "You know, Commander Jupiter, I have to thank you for always checking up on me." Always? Twice meant always, now? This girl was so starved for normal human interactions that she couldn''t even think straight. This was a well-studied phenomenon in human minds, though. People tended to start liking their kidnappers if they started showing them the tiniest bit of kindness, or their abusers every time they promised that they would totally change, this time, shortly after being the worst they''d ever been. "Musharna''s resting up right now, but she thinks the same. We won''t fail you when the timees." "Well, it''s part of the job," she smiled. "I''ve got to let you go for now, though, duty calls." Dangling her dream in front of her seemed to have ''worked'', though honestly Jupiter hadn''te here with that goal in mind. Her priority was Commanders, given Cyrus'' orders. Morale from them would trickle down to the troops in time, and it wasn''t like they were moving out of here until Mars got any better. Her emotions were all over the ce right now, and she wasn''t sure of her own existence any longer, so her link with Mesprit was weaker than ever. That meant that their barrier would easily be breached, if they Teleported into Acuity right away, and that was if the damn thing even got them there without killing them by Teleporting them in the ground or only half of their body. Anyway, the point was, dealing with grunts was Saturn''s job. Jupiter wasn''t one to enjoy crawling in the mud of low-level managing, she''d already done enough of that for a lifetime. It took another ten minutes to reach a rtively t stretch of ground where stone gave way to a thinyer of dirt. ces where they''d set up food stations, bathrooms with toilet paper alongside a river that went far up north, for good measure, but she would die before going to one of those makeshift stalls with no plumbing. Yeah, they never told you about how ending the world would stop you from essing proper bathrooms. What she was looking for, however, were the medical tents, AKA, the tents where people were left to die slowly and painfully. They hung there like little inds of light between the darkness of the fog, with how each one had antern set up on the inside. It wasn''t like they had any medical supplies to actually get them back on their feet, and even then, it''d take too long. The real number of grunts they had left was seven hundred and sixty-one, but a hundred and fifty of those were so hurt that they could barely move. They had to at least show that they cared for the grunts a little bit, and helping the wounded die slowly instead of instantly helped a little bit with that. Honestly, if it was up to her she would have put them down already. What was the point of hurting with no hope of recovery? Normally you''d see a higher ratio of wounded, but the League had helped them in that regard, with how lethal they''d been. Arceus knew they didn''t have enough space to house any more, and they already had to cram the tents with people. Legendaries, she had this song stuck in her head¡­ this weird jazzy tune because she''d thought about jazz earlier. Hearthome had the best music industry in Sinnoh, she had to admit. The tent she was looking for was isted from the rest and was set up far away from the river, which was good, because her reflection in the water might show how her make up was ruined and she couldn''t ruin her day like that when she''d alreadyined about her nails. You''d think the fog would stop her from seeing it, but nope. The tent was by a cliff¡ª or maybe calling it a cliff was too much. A hill with somewhat of a steep drop-off would be more urate. Mars'' Wigglytuff and Nales stood guard at the tent''s entrance, whispering to each other about some nonsense. Probably worried for their trainer, if she had to guess. There were also two grunts who were part of Cyrus'' personal guard, but they weren''t allowed close to the tent without being burned alive. Mars'' team could get very overprotective, but honestly Jupiter wouldn''t allow those numbskulls anywhere near her either. They were the most like Cyrus, purged of all emotion. One of them had even sted himself with dark type energy in hopes of emting their dear leader. They saluted as they let her through, but she still had to talk to Mars'' Pokemon. "Hi there. I''m here to see Mars, talk to her a little bit. See how she''s faring." Wigglytuff swelled up a little, sucking in air while Nales just stared, her tails swaying from side to side. "Come on, dude. It''s me," she groaned, putting her hands up. "I won''t make her any worse than she is now, I''m not that good." She felt very warm all of a sudden, sweat bearing down her face and arms, and Legendaries, sweating in this uniform was ufortable. "Okay, Nales, maybe good wasn''t the right word to use here, but you get me, right? You aren''t stupid. She needs support right now, and I''m willing to give it to her." Adrianna took a few steps forward, making herself as unthreatening as possible. Damn her and her overprotective team! Her king would let an assassin through if it meant he could get an extra five minutes of sleep. "So, can Ie in or not?" she said, looking at Nales. "These are orders from Cyrus." Ah, that seemed to have done the trick. Warmth bled away from her, but she didn''t miss the fact that this asshole of a Pokemon made her colder instead, not enough to be a health hazard, but just enough to make her ufortable. "Tell you what," Adrianna whispered as she passed the two. "You''d make a good office worker, Nines. I''d apud, but my hands are hurt." The Commander asked Girafarig to stay out, stepped within the tent and looked at her colleague. Mars was in a sorry state. Her body itself was covered by a tarp, but constant, shadowy smoke leaked from under there as her limbs and other body parts grew back. Adrianna made note that her Pokeballs were sitting next to her head, but Mars didn''t really have arms yet to release her team without help. Cyrus had asked her to watch for Dusknoir, and since she wasn''t dead yet, well, she had to assume the thing was still in its ball. Would have been an anti-climatic way to go, she had to admit. Mars continuously shivered as she cried in silence, but she stopped when she noticed Jupiter had stepped into the tent. Adrianna had to stop for a moment. It was the first time she''d ever seen that girl cry. How peculiar. She crouched next to her. "How are you doing, Mars?" The girl moved her nubby little arms, but they hadn''t regenerated enough to wipe her eyes and snot. Jupiter did it for her, ignoring the pain shooting up her hands and how disgusting it was, to touch someone else''s snot. Mars tried to formte words, but she couldn''t. Oh, her vocal cords were fine now, but she was sobbing so uncontrobly it came out like anothernguage. "Shhh, shhh," Jupiter said, stroking her head. Really, it was a way to discreetly wipe her snot off her hands masked as a gesture of affection. "You''re fine, okay? I''m here for you." "L¡ªliar," Mars said. "Well, it''s the gesture that counts right? Don''t be ungrateful." "Shut¡­ shut up." "Sheesh, no threats of murder? You''re getting worse." Jupiter settled next to her, sitting on the soft floor of the tent. "What happened? Any new visions?" "Jupiter¡­ what am I?" "You''re Mars, Commander of Team Gctic," she answered. The redhead took a deep breath. Her hair dye was a little faded, now, revealing her true hair color at its roots, which was just a less vibrant and more natural red. Jupiter''s was a dark brown, which was a little boring, but hey, she had to stand out as a Commander, and purple had always been her favorite. "My time in Mesprit''s world is trickling down to my memories, but it''s fuzzy like a dream," she exined. "It gets clearer and clearer the longer I wait, and you know what Mesprit called me? They called me a shell, and Grace joined in and said I wasn''t human." "Well, that much is evident," Jupiter said, lifting up the tarp. Yeesh, that was disgusting, better not look at bones and flesh slowly reforming itself. Her nose wrinkled at that, and Mars broke down again. "Oh, now, I''m just saying! Isn''t it great? You literally got sawn in half and you''re still kicking! You can basically do whatever you want, right? I feel like it synergizes well with your other murderous activities." "You¡ª don''t get it," she cried. "I don''t know what I am, and it hurts. It''s like something is wrong with me, I''ve never felt like this before, I¡ª" she stopped. "Can¡ª can you blow my nose?" Jupiter acquiesced, using her cover to do so. Her hands needed a good wash when this was over. Good thing they were close to a river and she could get soap around here. Tarp was harder to blow a nose in than you''d think. It didn''t bend well around a small nose like Mars'' and it was a pretty nose, cute as a button. Jupiter was jealous of it, sometimes, and jealous of how the girl never gained any weight. "Thank you. Imagine if your entire life was a lie? That you just weren''t a person?" "Sounds like a win to me." "You wouldn''t get it¡­ plus, Dusky''s at fault! He knows why this is happening. Where Ie from. And he''s been hiding it from me all along. He stabbed me in the back!" Wasn''t that obvious? He''d been the only one who remembered the past and who Mars used to be, after all. Sometimes it was just easier to pull wool over your eyes and convince yourself that the person you loved and trusted the most would never betray you. Jupiter should have brought a notebook for this. Keeping track of everyone and their quirks sounded like a fun hobby to pass the time. "Well, he has," Jupiter shrugged. "What are you going to do about it? Talk to him?" "Talk? Right now?" the girl bit her lip. "No, I can''t! I can''t, I can''t, I can''t! I''m scared, Juju, what if he can somehow scramble my memories or something?" "So you think he''s behind the memory issues?" "It has to be him! He remembers," she hissed, squirming in ce. Heh, Jupiter was talking to a torso and a head right now, like those models they had in high school. You know, I wonder how everyone''s doing? She hadn''t gone to any of her school reunions. Those had never struck her fancy. "...Juju, are you listening?" "Yes." Mars scowled, suddenly pushing herself up as best she could. "Liar! You fucking liar!" She wasn''t very sessful. Adrianna tapped on Mars'' forehead. "Swearing, now? That''s new." She hummed. Mars had probably picked that up from Grace Pastel, given how impressionable she was. Her body was¡­ in herte teens, or at least that''s what it looked like. Mentally? She was barely thirteen at most. "Don''t be a pest. I can multitask." "What was thest thing I said, then?" "Just, you know, rambling about Dusknoir and each time he''s acted weird or cagey about your memories." "Fine." "So you''re not going to release him to talk, then?" There was a bit of hesitation. "Not yet, at least." Good. Better report that to Cyrus ASAP before he got impatient. Mars'' eyes narrowed. "I shouldn''t have answered that, should I?" "Well, look, Mars." Jupiter pondered, wondering how to best approach this. "It''s no secret that Dusknoir knows more than he lets on. Cyrus just thinks it would be safer for you not to let him out of the ball for a while. Get your bearings first, right?" "Cyrus thinks that?" She perked up. "He''s¡­ not dismissive of me?" She was so easy it was almost depressing. Dangerously perceptive, but Cyrus was her blind spot, as always. He was like a get-out-of-jail-free card, and those were never free. They cost a couple million at least. "No, no, he understandspletely," Jupiter continued. "He''s willing to give you another twelve hours to get your bearings and all, but if you can''t, Azelf will be given to Saturn and Mesprit will be given to Charon." "Not to you?" "To little old me? No." "That''s surprising. Cyrus trusts you the most." If only you knew how wrong you were, little one, she thought with a smile. Once upon a time, maybe, but not anymore. "Did you know, I saw himugh for the first time earlier this afternoon?" Adrianna snorted. She must have been seeing things. Redirecting her attention to the conversation at hand, it wasn''t like they could even use any but Mesprit at such high capacity at the moment due to using its gem, but being given a Legendary by Cyrus was a mark of pride that Saturn would never forget. Plus, Mars and Mesprit apparently just clicked in a way no Commander could with another Guardian, save for maybe Charon and Uxie, or at least that was Cyrus'' theory. Now, the truth was, Azelf was going to be taken away regardless of what Mars said. There was no way Cyrus would have let all three guardians fall into Dusknoir''s hands. "Well, you know, maybe I''ll get Uxie," she said, hoping to bury the topic. "Anyway, don''t release Dusknoir any time soon, alright?" "Okay. If Cyrus says so¡­" "He urges so." "I said okay!" Wisps of smoke billowed from under the tarp, cold and almost solid enough to squeeze around Jupiter''s neck. Nifty, but probably impossible to control for whatever she was, and unusable once she was healed. "I hate this." "Charon''lle and take a look at you soon, okay? He''s a little busy. Last thing I heard, he was trying to see if he could tinker with the Red Chain and its power on Azelf, but from what I know it''s not looking good." Which meant that they werepletely dependent on Mesprit, which meant again, that without Mars back in top form, they were never storming Acuity. They were running in a circle and chasing their own tails. "So you''re leaving already?" Mars croaked. "Duty calls." "I wish you cared about me." "Come on, kid. I care about you in my own way. Or something." "Not even Dusky cares¡­ I have no one. No one is real with me and tells me the truth other than Grace." Oh, he cared much more than she knew. "Charon tells you the truth. You''re just obsessed with the girl for no reason." "Charon is different. She gets me. We had so much fun in that dream before she called me not real, I just wish I could go back," Mars sniffled. "I wish I was real." So many seeds of betrayal could beid here, but s, that would screw her over royally. "I''ll send Charon to check up on you and your recovery, alright?" "Get out." Jupiter rose back to her feet and left the tent, ignoring the res from Wigglytuff and Nales piercing through the back of her head and the cold seeping through her uniform. That meeting hadn''t gone very well, which screwed her a tiny bit. Okay, maybe not a tiny bit, more like a fuck ton, and she was doubtful Charon would pick up the ck. Her odds of surviving tonight had just gone down dramatically. That was the thing with bosses. They demanded the world out of you, and when you failed to produce impossible results, they either pressured you to work over time, which was what she was doing already, or fired you. Test or no test, Cyrus could have been a little more lenient with her, given what fired meant in this context. "What a way to treat one of your oldest followers, eh?" she whispered to herself. Charon next. He would be the hardest. She spoke to Girafarig about Mars on the way to Team Gctic''s most prominent scientist, or at least as much as she could say. Not even her Pokemon were privy to every secret. Theirs was mostly a partnership, although she had no doubt some did love her in their own ways. Some. king was not included in that, but all respected her, at the very least, and that was all that was needed. A decade, she had poured blood, sweat, and¡ª actually, no tears¡ª into this team, training under Cyrus'' wing. Late nights of him beating her Pokemon into the ground until they adapted and grew past their limits, until he molded her into the first Gctic Commander he''d wanted. Those days had been tough for her Pokemon. They bore no visible scars, but like her, the mental strain of pushing themselves every single day for so many years meant that they''d learned to go with the flow of things. For the most part, at least. They had to, or they would have gone insane. Jupiter looked for the man in question for nearly thirty minutes, but no one knew where he was. Supposedly he''d asked his Hypno to Teleport him somewhere he could get some fresh air away from the fog, and with his lungs, that was understandable. At some point, she decided that she''d had enough of just walking aimlessly while Cyrus was waiting for her, so she decided to look for Saturn instead. He''d be a nice way to ease into things, but he was almost just as easy as Mars, when it came down to keeping Commanders on a tight leash. Charon, blinded by his dead sister as he was, actually thought like an adult and did not worship Cyrus like a God. Adrianna wondered what both Saturn and Mars saw in him, sometimes. To love, one had to be attracted to personality, and while Cyrus'' goals were not boring, his¡­ Well, he didn''t even have a personality to make fun of. And his looks? The man looked a decade older than he actually was! His cheekbones were so high it looked like they were trying to jump out of his skin, and his face was thin enough to think he was starving at all times. He had no eyebrows, for Arceus'' sake! He was like some cliche cartoon viin they''d put in for children to make fun of and hate. Adrianna really wondered what went through a man''s mind, for him to consciously shave his eyebrows. Maybe it was a statement on how eyebrows were a huge part of how humans expressed emotions? Still, how extra. She''d never asked, but she already knew he would never answer. She''d ruminated on the thought of Cyrus'' eyebrows¡ª orck thereof¡ª until she found Saturn leaning against a rock in the eastern parts of camp. This area was rougher than the rest, with little crags and bumps making it a bitch to navigate, given that she''d been standing and walking for so long at this point and she hadn''t slept in over a day. He was brooding, and looking mighty depressed, she might add. Arms crossed and hunched up on himself, when he usually was so outgoing, bright and boisterous. It was strange, like seeing an old lightbulb flicker over your hallway when it had always been so dependable before. Usually he''d be whipping up the troops or giving a rousing speech about how this was their finest hour by now. A little bit too dictator-coded for her, she had to admit. Guess I have to fix this one too. Jupiter waved and stered a bright smile on her face. "Saturn! Been looking around for you." When he didn''t answer, she had Girafarig grab his attention by forcefully moving his arm. "I''m talking to you. Earth to Saturn. Helloooo." "Oh. Hello, Jupiter. I''m¡­" "You''re brooding." He clicked his tongue as she finally got close enough to see his face in detail. His usual grimace-scowl was gone, reced by an expression bordering on the sad. Maybe a joke was what he needed. He wasn''t as simple as Mars, and she needed an easy way to slide into a conversation. "Hey Saturn, you ever think about getting married?" Jupiter asked, stopping herself from giggling. "You''d have a ring? Get it? Wait it has rings, plural, shit that doesn''t work." Saturn barely reacted. He was just staring into the void, his eyes red even through the fog. "Come on, what''s with the long face?" Adrianna asked. As she approached, Saturn looked up at her and scoffed in disbelief. "What did I say? I admit, I had marriage on my mind because earlier I was thinking¡ª" "Jupiter, I just lost my¡ª lost my Crobat," the man said in a half-groan, half-sob. "He was the first Pokemon I caught after Toxicroak¡­" then, a saddened smile. "Arceus, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was traveling through the Ravaged Path and¡ª" He didn''t finish that sentence. Jupiter''s face fell, and she remembered that was supposed to hurt more than, say, beingte for work or burning your toast in the morning. "Oh. Right." She cleared her throat, rubbing his back. "I mean, he''lle back, right? Wasn''t that the whole point?" "It still hurts. That horrid Champion¡­ if only I was strong enough to exact my revenge." It was funny, how the human mind worked. How one could do harm, kill, and expect no blowback in return. Truly, one could twist themselves into a pretzel with that reasoning, but Jupiter knew Saturn was not a creature of logic. He was loyalty, constantly pushing himself with hard work and sleepless nights, because deep down, he was still that insecure little boy whose parents thought he would never amount to anything, which was what she''d wanted to do to her own children, eventually. They had poisoned his mind so young, so much that he had started to hate the world in turn. Hate it so much he would rather see it gone than get a therapist. Fascinating. "Sure thing, pal. I was also thinking of impossible things earlier, like getting myself a million-dor condo in a city." She giggled to herself and sighed. "No getting out for us, Saturn. Our faces are stered everywhere." "Is everything a joke with you?" Saturn sneered, pushing her off. It reminded her of a thirteen-year-old brushing off their parent and telling them they were fine. He was in his twenties, but he never did grow up, did he? He was still that snotty little kid she''d first met years ago. He looked right into her eyes. "This¡ª this is serious, Jupiter! And I don''t want to run away like some coward, with my tail between my legs!" Ah, there you go. She had a foot in the door, atst. "I know, buddy." "Then act like it! Why is everything so banal with you? There''s never a¡ª you don''t take anything seriously¡­ damn it. Not even Cyrus'' goal." "Oh, I take it very seriously, otherwise I''d be gone by now. Maybe to Al. They take all kinds of people, though I''d have to work again, which isn''t my idea of having a great time, and now that we''ve caused the deaths of ten thousand people or so, I''d probably have to suffer through a few attempts on my life, which is quite the bother, and society despising me." Adrianna crouched, looking at her frozen hands and smiled to herself. "Aren''t I sounding like Abel, now? That poor bastard. Wasn''t he cute, you think?" "Why are you asking me?" "Come on, you''re one of the fruitiest guys I''ve known." She nudged her chin forward. "Look at you, rocking those tights. And the way you walk in them? The way you look at Cyrus? You aren''t fooling anyone." Saturn grimaced, the bridge of his nose turning a little red. "I don''t! We just share amon vision, you sex-crazed lunatic," he hissed, wringing his hands together. "You''re awful for even suggesting that." "Come on, man, live a little! It''s the end of the world, so what else is there to speak about?" "Our ns, for one!" he yelled. "How is Mars doing?" Now she was in his house. Perfect. He''d let the Mightyena in. "Okay-ish," she lied. "I think she''ll be fine if we give her a little bit more time and Cyrus swings by, which is what I''ll be telling him. What should I tell him about you, I wonder? You know he could use some good news." Her fellow Commander froze in ce. Words were so¡­ powerful, it was gripping how one could imply a threat with a phrase that might seempletely innocent to an outside observer. Now, what would he say? "Tell him that I am doing very well," Saturn finally answered. "And that I am ready for our next phase of operation¡ª me and all of our grunts. We''re at the final stretch, and I won''t let anything stop me now." "What about your Crobat?" Saturn smiled. "He''ll be back. That''s just another reason why we have to win this, isn''t it?" His shoulders rxed, and he sighed, the tension leaving his entire body. "Thank you, Jupiter. I needed that." It wasn''t everyday someone thanked her for being manipted, but she could get used to it. Not her best work, she had to admit, she hadn''t really been subtle about it at all. The kid was just so doe-eyed for their leader that he hadn''t noticed. But that was Saturn, right? Anything for Cyrus, except he actually meant it, unlike Mars who had to constantly be held on a leash and be given concession after concession, lest she go wild and cause a catastrophe. Well, her and her ghost. "Anything to help a fellow Commander," she lied. "And hey, if you ever need to kick back and rx, look for me. I''ve got this grunt¡ª Gail. She''s got this pack of cards with her that we can y." He blinked. "I don''t think this night is one for cards." "Hey, I was just asking, but fair enough," she shrugged. "You talk to Charon though, okay? I might send him your way, when he''s done with Mars. He''s always had a soft spot for and your¡­" she gestured at him. "Character. Oh and also, do you know where he is?" She didn''t see what even was the thing Charon saw in him, given that they had little inmon besides their share of love for organizing this ragtag group of societal rejects. Maybe that was enough, though. They were, after all, two deeply lonely men, and Saturn never brought up Charon''s dead sister and let him talk about her first whenever that struck his fancy. Mars did it nearly every time they spoke, and Adrianna only rarely alluded to it, just out of curiosity for his circumstances and all. She knew, however, that she was difficult to connect with, and Charon knew about her altering herself with the help of her Delcatty. It was admittedly difficult to talk to someone like her when you knew the inner workings of her mind. Saturn ced a hand on his chin. "He could be anywhere by now, with how Hypno knows the region so well, but knowing him, he might be hiding in in sight." "Really?" "Yes. He would announce to the world that he''s Teleporting away, but actually stick around. I believe he might be north, where the fog is denser and no one would find him. His sister¡­" Saturn stopped, lips thinning. "I''m in a bit of a hurry here, buddy, so if you could get to the point?" "Sometimes in his youth, he would take his sister to skip stones in parks," Saturn said. "It was a way to escape from their father, who¡ª" "Yeah, I don''t need to hear the sob story. Abusive parents, how original. So he''d be up north if I followed the river?" "...sure." "Gotta get to it, then," she whispered to herself. "Thanks for the help." Saturn too, was getting back to work instead of skulking. Good. The grunts needed a leader to look to, and she had to admit that this person had always been Saturn, if it wasn''t Cyrus. She got going through the fog again, constantly attempting to flex her hands as she did so. There was a subtle annoyance at navigating this area that could drive someone crazy, it was incredible, how the government hadn''t gotten rid of all this fog already. It was, ording to Cyrus, a lone Honchkrow''s doing who''d been alive for who knew how long (he had described in a very poetic and moving way that she could not be bothered to remember), but it was their job to make her life easier, wasn''t it? Otherwise what had her years of paying taxes even done, other than funding yet another stadium or paying some corrupt cop''s sry? What if she sprained her ankle on a groove in the stone she failed to see in time, or even died from hitting her head on the ground after tripping? She snorted. That one would be kind of funny, she had to admit. Girafarig looked up at her¡ª the tail, who was all smiles and sharp teeth. His name was Jonathan, which he hated. It was a little bit of a running joke, but she rarely called him by his actual name. The head''s name was Tom, or Tommy for a cute nick. "Oh, nothing," she said, waving a hand. "Just imagining silly ways to die is all. I had this mental picture of myself tripping and just fracturing my skull." Nough came from Tom, but Jonathan had learned to appreciate her humor, over the years. This far north in their camp, sometimes Girafarig would warn her of a Pokemon, lurking in the shadows, far before she could even catch a glimpse of them. Pokemon here were generally more aggressive and were willing to try out their luck in the fog they''d learned to navigate since birth to get their next meal, which was why grunts were grouped in little inds of light and activity with their Pokemon. Adrianna was just a lone woman, swimming in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by Sharpedo. She never saw them fall unconscious. She did hear them, though, and asionallye across their bodies. She technically could have killed them, but she figured that an hour or two from now when they woke up, they''d spread the word about not bothering the giant group of people who were armed to the teeth with Pokemon. Or not. Jupiter had never really been interested in how wild Pokemon worked, given that she''d rarely traveled in the wilderness unless Cyrus had dragged her there. And really, killing when it was unneeded was so¡­ crude. "Okay¡­ Charon¡­ Charon¡­" It was the coughs, that allowed her to track him down first. Team Gctic''s top scientist was usually easy to find, always working on some project in hisboratory, but today, he was subjecting himself to this horrible fog, throwing stones across theke. Stones that, she might add, he could not see how far they went or how many times they skipped, so what was the point? He''d never been an outdoors kind of guy, always holed up in whatever project Cyrus had assigned him at the time, deep inside the base, hidden away from all distractions. Sometimes they barely saw each other for weeks at a time, and given that she suspected the old man was currently dying from some kind of lung disease, with how he routinely coughed up blood, it was obvious that he wouldn''t be able to breathe if he was subject to Honchkrow''s dense fog. His health had deteriorated these past few weeks and he refused to get himself checked out by a health professional. None of them remained right now, but he''d had time. Yes, yes, none of it would matter if they won et cetera, et cetera. It was honestly a boring way to think, but these poor sods had nothing else to go off of. It was their only lingering hope, so Adrianna wouldn''t really hold it against them. Girafarig held her steady as she stepped down toward the river bank. How funny was it that she had nearly missed the guy because she didn''t want to see her reflection in the water? He had no Pokemon with him, save for that Porygon Z who was always on a device close to him. From the Basculin''s¡­ corpse? Unconscious body? Having washed up on shore, it was good enough of a protector, otherwise Charon might have bled out with a missing leg by now. Eh, maybe not a missing leg. That Basculin looked pretty small, but he definitely would have bled out. "I''ve been looking for you all over, Charon." No mentions of Cyrus too soon, this time. He was smarter than that. The man coughed before turning toward her with an expression fit for a grouchy Gumshoos. "It was only a matter of time until someone disturbed me," he said in between the coughs. "What do you want?" "I want you to do what you were hired to do?" she said, slightly incredulous. "You know, your job? You aren''t paid to just stand there and skip stones." "I''m not paid at all." We pay you in exposure, Jupiter thought, shutting down the joke before it coulde out of her mouth. There was no use in pretending to care, with him, but she still couldn''t be tone deaf. "What''s wrong, Charon? We''ve been sessful enough to nab two Legendaries out of theirkes, and you''re having a little pity party?" His jaw clenched, or at least she thought it did. It was hard to tell, even from up close. "I am thinking." "Thinking of what? Besides your sister, I mean, because we''ve treaded that path a thousand times before." And I''m tired of hearing about it. "Cyrus asked me to tell you to check up on Mars. You know, to figure out what exactly she is." "That should be obvious to anyone with a brain by now," he gruffed. Another coughing fit, and he took a deep, raspy breath full of phlegm. "I''ve suspected this for a while, but she is the¡­ remnant of a soul, or a piece of a soul." He ced his hands behind his back, all professor-like. "As for what that means, well, it apparently means she cannot die easily." "But she can still die? Won''t she juste back like a ghost type Pokemon?" Keep him talking. Keep him engaged in conversation, because exining things was something Charon loved, until she could pivot and get what she wanted. "Oh, you misunderstand, Jupiter, she''s no Pokemon. She is still a person, and only ghost type Pokemon cane back from the dead," he sagely spoke. Then, he waved a finger. "No, she can die, but it would take a lot to put her down. The real question is, how the hell did Dusknoire up with this, and why?" Jupiter was curious, for once, but she knew Cyrus already had the answers. "I don''t know much about him. He''s a recluse." "It is a monster, a horrible one," Charon muttered. "But you know what piques my interest, Jupiter? What really interests me?" "Tell me, O wise one." Yikes. That didn''t go over well, she should have shut up. Still, Charon continued. "When one thinks of a Dusknoir, what do they picture?" "There are stories about it. An endless hunger for souls, reapers thatmit murder on a massive scale until they''re chased away, and that only care about growing their own power, everything else be damned. Way to overgeneralize, by the way." "Mars'' Dusknoir¡­ does eat as many souls as he can, but why would a Dusknoir keep that pest alive? Why would he keep her, knowing how much of a liability she is? Stay here knowing that he would have to eat fewer souls that he would have if he was not a part of Team Gctic?" "I don''t know, you tell me." "I''ve pondered this for a few weeks. Looked at it from every different angle, parsed through mad theories andmon sense." He looked at her, a gleam in his eye, shining through the fog. "What would drive a ghost, who, for all intent and purposes, has not weaned his hunger for souls, to pause its own growth. The answer to that is¡ª" he coughed again. "¡ªlove." Jupiter snorted. "How cliche. Also, please cover your mouth when you cough." "Mars is not a human. We both know this, by now," he said. "But she is real. An echo of a person who once was, or a fragment of her. Facets of her personality, but not a whole. Not yet. And maybe she never will be." Adrianna hummed. "Ah. I see it now. The shape of it." "It is simr to my own. There was, at some point, a terrible loss of Mars and her Pokemon. Maybe she struck at the wrong person or Pokemon, and they were more powerful than they expected," he theorized. "After all, this is a portion of her, meaning that she would share simrities with the whole and have parts of her personality. It would not surprise if she''d been a murderer in her past, just simply more nuanced about things and not so crazed." "An actual person." "Now, Dusknoir remains¡ª or maybe at this point in time, he is still a Dusclops," Charon said. "The first souls he ever imbibes are the ones of his own team, and he is careful. He preserves them as best he could, but it is not enough. He cannot preserve them like this, and they are fading, ever so slowly." "So he eats more." The scientist nodded. "He gorges himself on as many souls he can until he evolves, and he finds his control to be so much greater now, and he vomits out¡­ whatever Mars and her Pokemon are." He smiled, as if agreeing with himself. "Now, most of this is probably wrong, but like you said, there''s a shape to this that is correct. A shape not unlike what I am doing." "For a while, he probably tried to bring them back the natural way," Adrianna said, thinking. "A few years, maybe, but it doesn''t work. They aren''t the same. Never the same." "The question remains, how did Dusknoir and Cyrus meet?" It made sense now. Why Cyrus had been worried about Dusknoir. Their goal was not aligned. It simply was not. Charon only wanted to bring his sister back from the dead, but years of working under Cyrus had bought him loyalty and trust, and so he was content to let him take the reigns. To let him create his new world, so long that his sister was in it, a girl he had raised himself and considered his own daughter, given the wide age gap between the two. She''d been an ident. Dusknoir had no such loyalties. He did not need the world to be turned to ash and molded to Cyrus'' liking, only to bring his teammates back. Adrianna smiled. How interesting. "When Cyrus found Mars, she told him that she''d woken up in a dumpster without any memories of who she was or what she''d been doing here," Charon said. "Both he and Dusknoir raised her together into what she is today, groomed her to their liking, but¡­ I have to wonder." He paused, grabbing onto another t stone to throw into theke. "Was that the first time Mars had been born, or not?" "You''d have to know how old Dusknoir is, and even then, maybe that wouldn''t help. And you know, there''s still the question of why he''s holding onto her memories this way. Can he even give them back? Is he not good enough, is the soul too damaged?" The older man sniffed. "I suppose I could go and take a look at her. See if I can get any answers." Boom, baby! Hot damn, she was so good at her job it was incredible. Igniting his passion for the unknown, his need to have his answers had worked. "I think that''d be best, yeah." His eyes swept the river. "You know, I was thinking to myself, when I was alone here, about the cost of all of this. The horrors we''ve wrought." "Don''t get second thoughts now, at the final hour." "These aren''t second thoughts. I am asmitted to the cause as I''ve always been, but dying does something to a man. It changes the way he thinks," Charon said, throwing the stone against the water. Jupiter heard it skip maybe five or six times. Mediocre, all things considered. "I''vee too far to balk now, but¡­ would Marie forgive me, for everything I''ve done? Would she thank me, for bringing us back together? The answer to that is no." "Well, she won''t have to know." "I think I will tell her, when she''s born again," he whispered. "That I wille clean about the billions of lives it took to bring her back. It will kill her, it will, but we will have an eternity to heal, and she''ll have her family with her again to help. Joshua and Mira." Joshua must be the husband, then. The one who had been driving during the ident. Not that it was his fault, given that they''d been killed by a drunk driver. "Yup. Immortality''s fun." She didn''t really believe that. Sure, an early, anticlimactic ending sucked, but the fact that their lives had an end at all was what gave everything meaning. And they''d all end very soon. The end to everything that had ever lived, and everything that ever would live. Tragic, in every sense of the word, especially when none of it woulde back, them included. "Well, I''ll let you go and check up on Mars, then," Adrianna smiled. "Oh, and also, Saturn needs somepany, if you have any time after that. Let Cyrus know everything you discover, okay?" When she reached ttened ground with Girafarig, Jupiter stretched and prepared herself for theing meeting with her boss. Once upon a time, she would have been nervous about meeting a superior. Were her numbers correct? Maybe she should run them one more time, just to be sure. Did she look presentable, was she making eye contact for too long, not long enough, would the bad news set him off, would she be fired, how would she pay her bills, would she be able to make rent on time this month¡ª The usual spiel when working a job you hated at a ckpany. Today, it was more like¡­ would she be able to survive through this? And honestly, she preferred it this way. "Cyrus." He stood there, hands behind his back as always like a little schoolboy, with Mesprit and Azelf by his side. The two were pretty incredible to look at, even if they were asleep and in a dream-like state. So much power radiated out of them that it was difficult to even be in their presence or look at them for more than a few seconds at a time, and that was when they were asleep. Of course, they were still under Mars'' control, though they would have to be given to someone else soon. To be honest, Jupiter reckoned that Azelf would fit mighty well with Cyrus, but the man despised Legendaries so much he did not want to link his own self to what he considered putrid. Well, maybe despised was the wrong word, for an unfeeling man. He simply thought these concepts that held themselves above him to be unworthy of himself, and so he would not take control of them until thest possible moment. It would be faster, this time. Less convincing, and more of a passing of the torch. Even if that torch would burn out faster, when in his hand, it would be enough to summon Dialga and Palkia to appear and craft a new world after ending this one. "Adrianna," he responded as she recalled Girafarig. Again, this would need to be private. They were alone, in an isted part of camp that Cyrus had imed as his own. Always Adrianna, when they were alone. Their connection went beyond her name as a Team Gctic Commander. They had met long ago, in Snowpoint, when he hade to visit the outside of the temple that apparently housed a terrible horror he had read about, but the government hadn''t let him in. Before he could leave town, he had wrapped her around his finger and had her eating out of the palm of his hand, so much so that she''d thrown caution to the wind and asked to travel with him. Back then, Skitty had not finished altering her fully, and she''d been young. Naive. And there was something about an unfeeling man that made someone desperate to be the key that would unlock his heart. It had not been love, or even close to it. They''d never even been friends. It was more of a fascination with the man''s behavior and quirks that she''d never been able to shake, even now. "How''s it hanging?" she asked. "I visited each Commander¡ª" "You know, Adrianna," he interrupted, turning toward her. Empty eyes and a face unmoving. "When we first caught Mesprit and Mars brought back our remaining forces, before she went to Lake Valor, I had her order the thing to make me feel something." Jupiter''s eyes widened. "How¡­ was it?" "It worked well enough," he mused. "I was given a wide range of emotions and tried experiencing what that meant, but at the end of it all, do you know what I thought?" "That it was awesome? Did you shed a tear for the first time?" "No, it was not ''awesome'', as you call it. I thought, ''is that it?''" "Huh. That was unexpected." "I did cry. I didugh, even. Feel a thousand things that had forever been beyond my reach. However¡­ it was disappointingly, not earth-shaking as I believed it would be, in my youth. I cannot believe I wasted years chasing this, when it ended up being mediocre at best." Yes. Back when Cyrus had been obsessed with fixing himself and learning why he was like this, when he''d wanted to find a cure to his woes instead of deciding it was the world, that was wrong, and not himself. "At the very least, I now know that this path I tread is the correct one. That there is something fundamentally broken about this world that must be addressed." Cyrus gazed upon Mesprit and shook his head. "There have been so many disappointments,tely. Even besides the obvious, the failure to stand up to the League without the help of these so-called Gods, my Commanders only follow me for selfish measures. Saturn is the closest to getting it, but even he is not enough. His is a shallow understanding." This was leading to dangerous territory, but better get this out of the way now than dy the innevitable. "Charon knows about Dusknoir, or I guess he knows part of it. Most of what he said was new to me, too," she exined. "Mars distrusts him and something tells me that doubt isn''t going anywhere unless you do something about it." "I will not." "Oh. Yeah, I figured." "The situation being like this is in my favor, given that Dusknoir was nning on betraying me," Cyrus said, tone as smooth as polished stone. "I had told him that Mars would gain ess to all three guardians, and he was never going to allow me to turn the final page upon this world." "So he''s going to stay in his Pokeball forever?" "No. I''ll let Mars release him. He will still be needed in theing fights, but it will have to be after we begin our ascent up Cor, when he will cut his losses and follow me regardless. The League will be high on our tail and attempting to wrestle control away from Saturn and Charon will risk too much." "Makes sense. I guess that means Uxie''s going to Charon and Azelf''s going to Saturn, then." "Correct." Then, there was the pivot. She noticed his Crobat, hiding at the edges of the fog, barely out of view. The beat of her wings was so silent, the air around her undisturbed despite how quick she was, and how quick she could be. The poison type loved him more than anything, but that feeling was not mutual. "You know, Adrianna, once upon a time, you told me that the reason you were following me was to kill that co-worker of yours. She is now dead," Cyrus said. "The rest of the Commanders, they all have their reason. I know how to push their buttons, make them do what I want them to do, but you¡­ you are a liability, now, and I know you have figured me out." Oh, thatst bit had been unexpected. "You need me for Cor," she shrugged, not feeling particrly panicked. "If I have Mesprit and Mars at full capacity, I do not need you for anything. You would be insurance, but insurance I would be willing to part with." "Fair enough." "You know my true goal, don''t you?" Adrianna rolled her eyes. "I suspected it," she started. "I mean, it''s you, Cyrus. I can''t imagine you suddenly growing a heart and giving all of these people what they want with the power of two Gods at your fingertips. You''re too selfish for that. You don''t give a crap about any of them or their dreams." "Crobat." Suddenly, she could not breathe any longer. The inside of her mouth, her throat and her lungs felt like they were itchy, at first, then like they were on fire, and one did not have to be a medical professional to know that was bad news. "I did¡ª did it all like you asked. Made sure Mars wasn''t getting any second thoughts and that Charon and Saturn were still motivated enough for what''sing." She coughed, poison seeping through her lungs as she copsed on the floor. Her head bumped a rock and felt hot. Blood. Ow. "I¡ª" she rasped. "I''m¡ª" He loomed over her, his eyes never changing. "Tell me why you follow me. Why you have not run away, or betrayed me. Why you do not care the new world will be mine and mine alone, and that you will die as the rest of them will." "I¡ªI''ll tell you." Her muscles twitched uncontrobly, and her vision blurred at its edges. "Let me¡­ talk." Crobat screeched, and the poison left her lungs immediately, as if it had never been there. The pain was still present, though, and it hurt like a bitch. It was a thin, torture-friendly version of Toxic that Adrianna had watched Cyrus use multiple times over thest decade. It took a minute for her to get her bearings and to remember how to move. That and her body stopped convulsing at random intervals. You wouldn''t believe how difficult it was to move after nearly being poisoned to death, but thank Arceus Cyrus'' Crobat was a master of poison. A silent assassin. She could harm, but she could also heal from poison in turn. She wiped the dust off her uniform and wiped the blood off her forehead. She''d need to get first-aid for that. "Did you have to lead with that? You''re such a drama queen." She was still short of breath and struggling to stand upright. "Frostbite, and then this? You''re working me to the bone." "Tell me, Adrianna." The Commander looked into his eyes. He looked in her eye''s direction, but not really at her. "It''s simple, Cyrus. I want to see if we can hurt God enough for him to do something about it," Adrianna said with a mad grin. "It''s the ultimate character study, don''t you think? I honestly think it would make a good thesis, but hey, I never went to university." Cyrus frowned. "I see." "Hm, yes, I see," she mimicked his voice in a mocking tone before crouching. Her finger tapped against the solid stone they were standing on, still numb. "Is He going to stand by and watch, or is he finally going to do something?" she muttered. "I think changing someone''s usual behavior is interesting, but what really gets me going? It''s seeing what their limit is. How many times they can get back up in the face of what amounts to torture." Her limit, she''d known very well. It had almost killed her. She paused and stared at her boss. "Do you think God can be hurt emotionally if we destroy everything He''s ever made, Cyrus? Is He even capable of things like love or pain¡ª because you have to love something to be emotionally invested in it¡ª or is He above those?" She tried snapping her fingers (and failed) before he answered, if he even was going to answer. "Here''s the thing, right, we won''t ever know, or at least I don''t think we will, but trying it as ast hurrah? I think that''s what makes it all worthwhile. I think it''s what being a person means." Cyrus sighed. "I suppose that is good enough. A lofty goal, but aligned with my own beliefs about Gods standing above the rest of us on their thrones, always hidden away from view." "You were about to rob me of my front-row seat, by the way," she grumbled, her hand massaging her throat as best it could. "You''re lucky we don''t have an H.R. department." Yes. She would hurt God if it was thest thing she did. And it would be.
Interlude – Smile No More Interlude ¨C Smile No More
INTERLUDE - SMILE NO MORE "Our scouts report that some grunts have been spotted east of Mount Cor near Celestic, but they were dealt with by Craig Goodwill''s Smence¡­" "He''s green. You capture them instead so we get the location of where they''re currently at. We could have struck them instead of waiting like sitting Ducklett¡ª" "Enough. What''s done is done, we move on. Elite Bertha contacted us before this meeting, and they''ve run out of hospital beds in Canve, Pastoria, and Snowpoint, but Snowpoint''s in the worst condition." "We can''t put people in field hospitals when it''s minus fifteen degrees Celcius outside. Can we send Kadabra to Teleport patients to other cities?" "The Champion disagreedst time we asked." "That''s because we can''t do half-measures. If we send a few, then it looks horrible, they do what, four jumps each, and they''re too exhausted to go the rest of the day. We send enough, we weaken ourselves too much. They''re working around the clock to protect persons of interest, ship supplies and move people around Cor already." "We can have them set up inrge buildings. School gymnasiums, Gym and hotel lobbies¡­" "Not many of those in Snowpoint." "Well it''ll have to do, won''t it? We''re at nine-thousand six hundred and fifty-five dead so far and climbing, and more than that wounded. People dying right outside Centers and hospitals because we didn''t have the space to take care of them doesn''t paint a pretty picture." "The picturees second to the actual priority. Making it through the next few days." "I still think we should send some Kadabra now that we''ve actually run out of¡ª" "The decision rests in the Champion''s hands. Champion Cynthia, what shall we do?" Her fingers drummed against the metallic table as she kept her foot from anxiously bouncing on the ground. She sat in a room full of her top League personnel, some military, some not. The people who had helped her run the country most of the year as she had torn away at young institution after young institution she''d put in ce. Ten people in total, eleven if she counted Lucian, twelve if you added his kazam. They all shared this blood on their hands, and for once, Cynthia was starting to think it was just so heavy. "We send ten kazam. Six to Snowpoint and two each to Canve and Pastoria," she said, leaning against her fist. The room fell silent all at once, and she frowned. Had she said something¡ª "Cynthia," Lucian said. "Sending away ten kazam is¡­ almost half of our kazam." The Champion blinked. kazam? Had she said¡ª "I meant Kadabra," she exhaled. "My apologies." The room rxed at once, and the conversation moved forward again. A mistake like this? She was growing sloppy, and there was no excuse. She''d grown more prone to those, in thest few hours as exhaustion caught up to her. Cynthia was, after all, still human, and sleep was not something the world could afford, at the moment. Togekiss wouldn''t mind keeping the nightmares away, but now just wasn''t the time. "Now, onto the defense of Mount Cor," an officer said. Joachim Rouzet was the most senior member here, and one of the few who had remained from Radetic''s old administration. He was an unassuming man, which was good, given that he was the director of the League Secret Service. He''d only been deputy director before Cynthia had fired his boss, but he''d been toopetent to throw away. "We have soldiers, ACEs and members of the LTIP ced at every entrance and inside the mountain." They were, as it stood, operating from the point of view that Acuity was lost no matter how hard they defended it, just in case it was. The defense of Cor was, therefore, of the utmost importance. Decisions they made at this moment would affect the fate of the world. Cynthia''s breath trembled, not loudly enough to be seen. Everyone in this room was terrified, but all had grown proficient in showing it. Her included. It wasn''t like her. She''d been scared, anxious of consequences before, but never this much. Never to the point that her smile was faltering. Never to the point that she wanted to bounce her leg under the table and that breathing was like a Golurk''s hand was squeezing her like a grape. "Not too deep, though," Cynthia said. "Only five miles deep at each entrance," one answered, running a hand over his hair. Fred Dranau. Any more than that, and they''d get lost in the mountain. That was for if measures got desperate and she''d have to send those children climbing up the mountain, and hopefully their presence would allow people surrounding them to climb as well. It should, if they stayed close enough. If it didn''t¡­ Well, she''d be there too. "How is Point Borea faring?" Lillia Beckings asked. Doctor Fry, the leading figure in the experimentation of Legendaries ranging from the Regis, the Unown and Darkrai, answered. "Hunkering down and ready to fight, but if Team Gctic has three Guardians, the odds of them stopping them from awakening Regice is extremely low. And if thissts another day¡­" "That''s Wednesday," Joachim muttered. "When Regice will be at its most unstable." Cynthia''s ears rang¡ª a high-pitched tone that cut through any voice and somehow sounded like the loudest thing she had ever and would ever hear. "Their leader, Cyrus, is somehow extremely well-versed in Legendaries. It shoulde as no surprise, if he knows Regice exists, and the guardians might point him in the right direction. It would be a good distraction." "A catastrophe," Lucian added. "A distraction is a mild way of putting it." "Semantics," Cynthia said. She must have let something slip into her tone, because everyone in the room turned her way and stayed silent once more. She did not apologize no matter how much kazam red at her. Lucian pped his hands. "Shall we take a short break? Five minutes, perhaps, before we reconvene." Cynthia waved a hand, ignoring him. "Flint can lead Aaron to take care of Regice, if thates to pass," another military officer said. "They can take Craig Goodwill as well. The three of them should be enough, if they have enough support from the League." "We ought to start setting that up now, then," Andrew Frazier crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. "Teleporting in the mountain is already difficult, given it changes itsyout every few days, but it bes impossible if Regice is awake." "Mount Cor''s bowels have been even more agitated for thest twelve hours," Dr. Fry said. "If we bait it into therger caverns, we can Teleport close enough likest time, outside its range," Cynthia said. "I''ve had teams of Kadabra scouting theyout of the mountain night and day for weeks." He looked like he wanted toin about the fact that he had not been informed of that, but stayed silent. Cynthia''s heart contracted, squeezed until she could barely breathe at the finality of such a decision. "But let''s put a pin on that for now," Cynthia breathed, hand over her chest. "We''ll make the final decision another time." She could breathe again. "Cynthia," Lucian pressed. "Yes?" "I need to speak to you." "It can wait after the meeting, can it not?" "No, it can''t." The Champion exhaled. Then she waved a hand, and everyone but he cleared the room at once. She tookfort in the empty chairs, still spinning from their momentum, and Lucian recalled kazam. "You''re spiraling," Lucian dered. "I am," she acknowledged with an incline of her head. "So what? Time keeps marching forward." "Let me take over for a few hours so you can rest." "I''m afraid I can''t do that." The psychic type specialist crossed his legs, purple hair cascading down his head, and tilted his hair as he adjusted his sses, staring at her with that analytical look of his, finding the exactbination of words and tone that would get her to agree. "Your decision-making is fine right now, but it''ll get worse as the day goes on if you don''t sleep. You''re twitchy, and people are noticing." Cynthia cradled her own face and massaged her forehead. "The problem isn''t that I am tired, Lucian. It is that if we get this wrong, if we mess up, the consequences would be¡ª they would be¡ª" She could not bring herself to say it. "I''ll take care of things here. Please rest," he said. Cynthia inhaled through her teeth sharply. "I have a favor to ask of you, Lucian. No one can know about this." "Ask, and if I can do it, I will." "Bring me home." ¡ª Celestic was just as she remembered it being thest time she''de. It was the middle of the night, with only the stars and half a moon to shine down on her hometown¡ª if she even considered it that, still¡ª yet it bathed everything in a soft, silver light. As she had expected, no one was out, especially not in front of her family''s home. Cynthia could not see beyond the small, cobbled path that led to it, but kazam would have warned her, if there was. He was already looking mighty displeased. The stone was worn smooth from many years of footsteps, guiding Cynthia home like an old friend. As she stepped onto the porch, the creak of the wooden floorboards beneath her feet echoed in the stillness of the night, a familiar sound that brought a smile to her lips. She''d forgotten the correct spots not to be heard sneaking out, had she? Their house was bigger than it used to be, with Cynthia sending money each month, but they had only expanded on what used to be here, and Kirsten wasn''t one to enjoy renovating something that worked perfectly well. Her grandmother was a woman who easily got attached to old possessions. Despite hailing from this town, Cynthia had rarely set foot back in Celestic since bing the Champion. Her early years were filled with the tumultuous internal backstabbing and politics that nearly always came with a change in power in the kind of regime Sinnoh used to be, especially when she''d been so young and three out of four Elite Four members had opposed her. When everything had been stabilized and her predecessor had flown out to Al, she took it upon herself to reform the country, slowly but surely, and her year spent in Unova hadn''t helped with how busy she got. Picking at Alder''s mind had been a fascinating task, in the few meetings and summits they''d held with her delegation, and they stayed in contact up until his Volcarona died and he had withered into nothing. From a fiery storm to¡­ whatever he was now. A homeless man wandering Unova, lost in perpetual grief and rarely caught by any cameras. Back then, she''d thought less of him, for having a weak mind. For simply allowing himself to lose to a then eleven-year-old child just because it was easier that way, because he could not live with the loss, when he had talked to her about how much more work needed to be done. Their circumstances were not at all simr. All of Cynthia''s Pokemon were in their prime, whereas Alder had caught Volcarona at the tail end of her unnaturally long life, when she''d been barely held together by the remnants of hushed tales, songs and prayers. What she never thought, however, was that at some point in time, the weight of the mantle of power might make her own knees buckle and her bones creak. That she might not be enough. Weakness. Was she not Sinnoh''s protector, sworn to serve the people no matter what maye to pass? She did not have a limit, Champions did not have limits. They were paragons. Mistakes were affordable, but not today. Not when the stakes were this high. Her hand touched the door, smooth and a pale, light green. New. How did Celeste convince Kirsten to do that? Cynthia whispered, "Thank you, kazam. I appreciate it." The psychic''s singr eye twitched. He had never been good at appreciating sudden kindness from anyone other than Lucian. One hour, he said. And do not go out in public. Cynthia smiled at him, a genuine smirk at how he believed he would have to warn her of all people. As if she did not know the consequences of this could be catastrophic for what came after, if there was going to be an after. The Champion, caught checking up on her family before appearing to the public after nearly ten thousand were dead and thousands more were wounded? Oh, there was always more yarn she could spin, more stories she could weave, but it would cost her. And yet. Here she was. kazam disappeared without a trace before he let himself show his mustache twitch nervously at her stare. One hour. Her knuckles rasped against the smooth wood of the door, but she hesitated to knock. When was it, did she start feeling less at home here than when she was stuck nose-deep in her office at the League? Her home, it felt so alien, so foreign to her now that she could barely believe this was where she''d grown up. There were trinkets adorning the porch, most religious in nature. Strips of paper warded with charms or Arceus'' name, but never his figure. Deigning to know what he looked like was not allowed in Celestic''s branch of Originalism. Just as she was about to knock, the door swung open. Her twin sister stood there, her hair all over the ce and evidently still half asleep, from the strand of drool dripping down her mouth. She was slightly shorter by an inch or so, and a little less gaunt than Cynthia was, these days, given that she didn''t spend so long sitting in an office. Other than that, they were nearly identical. Cynthia''s eyes drifted to her stomach for a moment, and then her fingers, thanks to the gleam of a ring under the moonlight, then her eyes. "Cynthia?" The words were a mix of disbelief and anger. "Cynthia," she said again, now sure of herself. "What in the world are you doing here? Do you have any idea of what''s going on?" "That''s my job," she deadpanned. "May Ie in? I can stay here for an hour, and I decided toe visit." Celeste looked around, as if she was searching for who else would be here, but she found no one. "Where''s your entourage, Cynth?" "I came alone, with the help of Lucian''s kazam." Granted, Cynthia had afforded them protection from the League, just in case they ever became a target, but it hadn''t looked like Celeste had caught on. Her sister facepalmed as she leaned against the doorframe. "You look older." "I am." "You never contact us. You haven''t written us in over ten months, let alone called. Do you have any idea of how Gran felt about that?" she asked, her eyes ring with an intensity rarely ever directed at her. It was somewhat refreshing. "Of how I felt about that." "I was busy, Celeste." "Yeah. Too busy to send even a single letter or text," she smirked. "Maybe I''m too busy to let you in." "Not now. Please." Celeste bit her lip. "We''ll see." "So," Cynthia hummed. "You''re pregnant and married?" It had been easily noticeable, with how much she was showing, the size of her stomach barely contained inside of her shirt. Cynthia estimated¡­ seven months? But she''d never been the best at that, so she might have been wrong. "Who''s the father?" There might have been a snapbacking, but she wouldn''t do that. Not for this particr topic. "Neil." "Neil¡­ Neil Schwartz?" She tried recalling him, though his image was fuzzy. They must have been fourteen thest time they''d even interacted. "Ah, I remember now. His parents work that gift shop close to the crater''s edge." "His gift shop, now," she specified. "I''m sorry I didn''t¡­" her lips thinned. "I''m sorry I didn''t know sooner. This year has just been so¡­" "Hectic, yeah," her sister nodded. "You cane in." Stepping over the threshold, Cynthia entered her old home, feeling a sense of peace settle over her. It wasn''tfortable, not yet, but it was familiarity, at the very least. The sights and sounds of her home she''d nearly forgotten enveloped her. The smell of burned wood from the now extinguished fire in the hearth, the soft, repeated ticking of the grandfather clock, the old books she used to obsess over, settled neatly on an old bookshelf against the walls. "So, what are you actually here for?" Celeste whispered. It was odd, to see her move so carefully, her hands always over her stomach as if she was cradling her child already. "Do you know if it''s a boy or a girl yet?" Cynthia asked. "What?" "The gender." "Oh, sorry, I thought you''d¡ª you know what, never mind," Celeste said with a little grin. All of a sudden, it was like they were ten again. "It''s a boy. You know, I feel like he''s already raring to get out." She stopped to sigh. "Arceus knows that''ll be a relief on my back." "And this Neil. He''s good to you?" Cynthia asked, wandering around home. There were unwashed dishes in the sink, something Kirsten never would have let them get away with in their young age. She was getting older. "He''s wonderful. You know, he makes a crap ton of money from all the trainers that pass through here near the end of each Circuit, and thank Arceus, because I''ve had to stop working." "Ah. The pregnancy?" The Champion looked at an old picture, framed in wood, and smiled. There she was with Garchomp as a Gible, smiling for the camera. Of course, this had been years after they''d met, given that it took Celestic that long to ept her being a trainer. "No, Cynthia it was before that¡ª it''s Gran. You know¡­ her eyes got really bad, and she can''t move much. She needs me to take care of her." Cynthia blinked, flinching back as if she had been struck. "It got that bad?" Why didn''t you tell me?! she wanted to yell, but she knew she had no right, absolutely none. It was just so difficult. She wanted to deny it at first, to refuse that her grandmother could ever reach a point where she was unable to care for herself. To reconcile that person Kirsten was in Cynthia''s mind with the image Celeste was painting was asking her the impossible, and she despised that feeling, that ache in her heart that made her feel so weak. This was partly why she never visited home, something she struggled to admit to herself. The ce did not change, but the people did. They moved on without her. Neighbors got older, had children or died. Most of the people who she used to go to school with had moved out, not that they''d been on friendly terms regardless, and most of all, every time, her family was so¡­ Different. It felt so jarring, to see Celeste pregnant and hear that she''d married already. To hear that Kirsten''s eyes had gotten so bad that she was basically blind, her body so feeble that she could barely move on her own. It was her fault, yet it hurt all the same. "I don''t think you should wake her, then," Cynthia said. "She needs rest, doesn''t she?" "I can still¡ª" "I cane back another time," Cynthia said. "Now let''s sit. Tell me about your husband and¡­ your life." They spoke for a while, around twenty minutes or so. Celeste told her of how Neil and she had reconnected when she''d gone out to buy more trinkets for Kirsten, who thought she might be able to just pray the blindness away. No, that was a rude way of putting it, but Cynthia had never been favorable to how they depended on religion for everything here. Had she been less busy, had she known, had she written, then maybe she could have convinced her grandmother to get care in one of those private hospitals. The really good ones, down in Jubilife or Sunyshore. It was toote, now. Time was a cruel mistress, and she marched on no matter what petty living things wanted. Neil did not live with Celeste yet, but he was thinking of selling his parents'' home, of hiring help for his shop so he could help with Kirsten, and appeared to be an appropriate man for her sister to be married to. Arceus knew Celeste hadn''t always had the best taste in those, especially in their teenage years. While Cynthia had spent those all in the wild, preparing for her fifteenth, Celeste¡­ Well, it was best not to revisit those memories. They''d all been children, once. "What about you?" Celeste asked. "What about me?" "You know what I''m saying," her sister snorted. "Any office romances? You know, people see you and Lucian hang around all the time¡­" Cynthiaughed¡ª genuinelyughed, so loud that Celeste shushed her, and all of a sudden it was like they were little girls again. "With Lucian? Legendaries, no, he and I would sooner die than have that happen." She wiped the corner of her eye. "You know, there just isn''t¡­ any time." And no one could ever meet her standards, regardless. She''d tried, oh, she had, back when she''d first be the Champion. Most had been kept under wraps, lest the tabloids go into a feeding frenzy, but no one could ever hold her attention for long, and she always ended up breaking up with them after a month or two. Cynthia always liked them at first, but then noticed every little w until she didn''t recognize who she had been infatuated with in the first ce and broke it off. Bertha asked her to stop, after a while. She had summoned her to her office one day, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, and asked her if she wanted to change things or just to keep sleeping around. It had been a hyperbole, which was rare, with Bertha. Cynthia had been more interested in picking their brains and sharing mutual interests than anything else. She''d been young, back then, and still believed that her life could be normal despite her responsibilities. Voices had been raised, but eventually, yearster in her early twenties, Cynthia had realized that Bertha had been correct. Doing both was just¡­ impossible, at least for her. Not when she''d been so much more hands-on with everything than Gabriel Radetic. One needed to be, when steering a nation, and that took a lot of micromanagement. "I''m just fooling around," Celeste said, pushing her on the shoulder. "You know, I''ve been sidestepping the topic, but if you can¡­ you know, tell us anything about what''s going on with Team Gctic¡ª if it''s too much for you¡ª" "That''s confidential," Cynthia said smoothly. "But you came here for a reason. You''re having a tough time, aren''t you?" Sinnoh''s Champion drew upon a breath sorge it might as well have been endless. "This entire year, Celeste. I have never overseen a decline so steep, failure after failure." Their eyes met. "I have used fear as a tool of the state, imprisoned and sacked political opponents to install loyalists and rule with an iron fist, ceded more and more ground to authoritarianism and I am now being forced to cooperate with despots like Lance ckthorn. But I suppose I am a despot as well," the Champion spoke with a wry smile. "I have ripped everything I have spent over a decade working on to shreds, and yet it looks like we might fail anyway." Her hand ran over her forehead to wipe off sweat that wasn''t there. "I had meticulously altered the face of this nation by the rules to establish a precedent for the Champions who woulde after me, to build institutions from the ground up. Restrained myself in this world made of¡­ of cardboard. Worked countless sleepless nights to make a difference," she exhaled. "And yet, look at it." There was no Television to show the consequences of her failures, and Celestic had not been targeted by Team Gctic, yet Cynthia stared out of their tiny window and imagined her hometown, burning to a crisp, like the entire country had. It enraged her. The fact that so many innocents had died under her watch, under her care. If she got her hands on any Gctic Commander now, there would be¡­ No. Unleashing Spiritomb on them would be inefficient, and there would be no time to waste. It would be best to simply get Garchomp or another one of her Pokemon to cut them in half before they or their Pokemon could blink. Save for Charon, of course. Deals were malleable, but she couldn''t let emotions get the better of her. Mira Compton''s cooperation would ensure Sinnoh''s security in the future. "It''s that bad, huh?" Celeste muttered, cing a hand on Cynthia''s arm. She squeezed. "Arceus, I wish I could help you, but¡­" "You cannot. Thank you either way, Celeste. I usually never get overwhelmed like this, but it''s been building up and it needed toe out. I have an image to uphold. I''m a beacon." "Beacon," her sister smiled. "That''s what you wanted to be. Always talking about that word and uh¡­ paragon, I think. Oh, and symbol." Hope, change, movement. Out with the old, in with the new and the streamlined. She''d tell anyone who would listen about it, back then, but most of the time, it ended up being Celeste, Gible, and her grandmother, given her less-than-ster reputation at the time. "You never did tell me about your journey." She leaned against the couch and stared at the ceiling. "But by the time the year was over, you were apletely different person. The world had ripped the child out of you. We barely recognized you, but that goal? That need to do good, to help, to be a beacon," Celeste said, her tone full of conviction. "It never changed." Cynthiaughed. "Sacrifices have to be made, to grow into a person who can be Champion. It is not simply about the power of your Pokemon, your charisma, your connections, or your willingness to do the work. You have to have all of that, but you also need to want something. Want it so bad that you don''t mind that parts of yourself will have to be burned and rebuilt, lest the role refuses you. When it does, it swallows you whole, chews you up and spits you out a broken mess." She had seen it, studied it before. Many times, when a Champion lost to a challenger after having reigned for years or decades, it was not only because their team had not been up to par, but because they had lost their fire. The drive which had gotten them to their position in the first ce. Now they just went through the motions, guided by the invisible hand of power while their challenger had that spark in their eye they''d lost long ago. Many times, even, their Pokemon were individually weaker, yet they won anyway. In the end, the challenger always represented ideals. A need for change, as she had. In their eyes, the current Champion was often a viin. After all, was it not them, who had let their country get to this point? Who had allowed so much so and so, this and that, and yet they dared to look tired, to look exhausted? She''d thought the same, when looking at Radetic and his Walrein. He''d been corrupt, a creature born of the old guard, and yet she''d often used the same tactics he had to speed up her reforms for the greater good. She had allowed Poketch to grow unchecked like he had, and kept their rtionship just because it was convenient and she''d failed a few times to bust their monopoly. One day, perhaps, she would face someone much like her. Someone who would have grown tired of her destroying their home, in their eyes, and she would just be so, very tired. Too tired to win. Contrary to popr belief, Champions often knew, when they''d be facing a contender that year, and they also knew when there was a real risk of losing. Sometimes, it was a challenger with years and years of attempts. A diamond in the rough turned into a fine cut. Few came close to this at present. Craig was the closest, and recent years at the Conference had driven the toppetitors to great heights not seen in a long time. She had once said Craig Goodwill would lose to Flint. More recent assessments of him thanks to them working together had her think he might make it to her depending on how he approached the fight against him and Lucian. Of course, he would lose, but he would be the first to make it through since she''d selected her new Elite Four. Sometimes, it was a prodigy that swooped up badges in just a few months like she had, taking the region by storm. There was no one like that, at the moment. Those? Those, you could not be warned about years in advance. Radetic had known she wasing only a few months after she''d begun. He had seen her talk about him, and how he was the source of every problem that ever was and every problem that ever would be. And she had ruined him, so utterly destroyed him and his legacy that he had been run out of the country. Wielded the power of an entire state''s apparatus to drive him off so she could more easily rece the people loyal to him swarming every inch of the League like rot. She would do it again, if given the choice. Every time. "You talk of it like it has its own will," Celeste said after a while. "Power." "It does," Cynthia agreed. "The mantle does. In a way, I am more its tool than it is mine. At the beginning, it seems so¡­ limitless. The world is in the palm of your hands, and it looks so much smaller than before. But then you pull one lever, a single lever, and it ripples across an entire nation, and you realize that this will not be as simple as you think it is." Her breath shook, and she also leaned back next to her sister so their shoulders touched. "Your eyes open to how much influence you truly wield, and you suddenly feel so paralyzed. No amount of reading books about political theory or governing prepares you for such terror." Celeste nodded weakly. "I understand," she said, her voice trembling. And she did. This was their first proper conversation in years, she did not have a single taste of what sitting atop that throne truly meant, and yet she did. Their bond was still tight, despite everything they''d been through. "This year¡­ I just keep reying it in my head, trying to think of how I might have stopped Team Gctic in their tracks with the information I had at hand, and I spot mistake after mistake." "You aren''t omniscient, Cynthia." "I am not, but that doesn''t excuse my failures." "And now? Have you been broken yet?" a voice rang out from the hallway. Celeste jumped, and Cynthia grinned despite feeling guilty about having woken up their grandmother. She dragged herself through the darkened hall with a walker, and Celeste quickly jumped at the opportunity to help her after turning on the lights. "I remain standing still, Kirsten." Her grandmother was no trainer, yet she was the strongest person she''d ever known, and yet she was fading. Her eyes were a milky white, and she had clearly gone blind. Her arms and legs were like thin, spiny branches, and she couldn''t even walk without going out of breath. It hurt, to see her like this. To witness thest embers of a dying me. Theing of a long, endless winter. Celeste panicked, "Gran, your wheelchair¡ª" "The wheels can go to hell," Kirsten said. "And Kirsten, Cynthia? Really? I raised you better than that, and it''s no use trying to distance yourself from me to make my passing easier. In this household, you will refer to me as your grandmother, or you will leave." "...Gran." "Good." Celeste guided her to the living room, and she sat to face Cynthia with an exhausted, frustrated groan. It must have been hard, to still have her sharp mind, but for her body to be unable to keep up. White eyes stared directly at her¡ª no, slightly past her. "My ears might not be what they used to be, but if you wanted to sneak around, you shouldn''t have spent the past thirty minutes giggling with your sister." "That was only ten of the thirty, at most," Celeste said. Gran waved a hand dismissively. "She must have told you about Neil and the baby, I presume. He''s a good man, if a little boring. A good fit for her, since she likes wearing the pants in the rtionship, personality-wise. He''s even kept the name Collins, can you believe it? Back in the day, that was as good as cutting off your balls and putting on a wig." Her sister sighed. "Arceus give me strength¡­" "Not that there''s anything wrong with that, of course," her grandmother quickly added, a line well-rehearsed, by the sound of things. "So, Cynthia. Tell me about your troubles," Kirsten said. "Has the throne grown toorge for a little girl from Celestic?" Cynthia stopped herself from scoffing. Deep down, the want to impress her was still there, but she''d grown past it a long time ago. She vented about everything she''d told Celeste, and suddenly wished she''d asked for two hours instead of one. Her grandmother simply listened, not bothering to say anything besides the asional hum or nod. "Things must truly be catastrophic if they''ve got you acting like this," her grandmother calmly said. "I''m sorry, Cynthia. Truly." "That paralysis I was talking about," the Champion said. "I''ve grown past it. Used to it. Learned to delegate more, or at least until this year, and learned what actions would affect which sector, but now? It''s gripped me again. Every potential action¡­ if I fail¡­" The world ends. That had always been the case. She had learned of this months ago, but the closer this got to being a reality, the more stressed she''d gotten, and if they did not seed at Acuity, then she struggled to see a path where they''d make it through the next couple of days. Cynthia wasn''t sure they even had that. Mount Cor was, as they understood, not alive, but¡­ it had a way of acting that pushed or pulled people in certain directions. Usually that was away from Spear Pir, be that using temporal or spacial distortions, but the guardians would render Team Gctic immune to that, or at least the people closest to them. "If I fail, it will be, as you said, catastrophic," Cynthia finished her sentence. There was a beat of nervousness on Celeste''s face. "More catastrophic than they already are? Should we¡ª should we be going somewhere? Is this ce safe, Cynthia?" Oh, Celeste, Cynthia thought. I would take a ten, a hundred, fifty times the casualties in a heartbeat, if it meant that Sinnoh prevailed. I would watch you, your unborn child and our own grandmother die, if it was what it took, because that is who I am. "Little hellraiser Cynthia," Kirsten said, hands intertwined. They were veiny and discolored. "Carrying the weight of a country on her back. I told you the role would scrape you until there was nothing left other than bones." Cynthia frowned. "You told me I wasn''t going to make it." Yes, she had not left town on good terms with her family. In fact, one could say that she had run away, though she had no doubt her grandmother had expected it, given her parting gift. But what did it even matter, what she''d said? Why was she bringing it up now, and why was she rising to the bait? "Gran¡­" Celeste hesitantly spoke, eyes drifting between the two. "Now isn''t a great time for this. We should be thinking about leaving, shouldn''t we?" She paced around the room and looked at theirndline. "Arceus, I need to call Neil¡ª" "You''re fine, Celeste," Cynthia said. It did not matter, where you went. "You would not drag me away from here regardless," Kirsten added, helpful as always. "And that is not what I said, Cynthia. I told you, before you left, that the powers that were would never ept a girl from Celestic, even if she won. I was correct. What I did not expect was for you to clean house and make them ept you." She paused, smacked her lips and they turned to a rather jovial smirk. "I do not mean to say you are not up to the task, Cynthia. Clearly that is what you inferred." Ah. She had, and it had ruffled her quite a bit. "I misunderstood, then." "What I did mean to say is that this job will kill you, soon enough," she continued. "It will not have to be because you''ll die in some battle, though that might be the case¡ª" Celeste scoffed. "If she''s dying, she''s taking everything in a thousand-mile radius down with her, let me tell you." Cynthiaughed, a short exhale through her nose, but Kirsten continued. "I mean that it will wring you out like a wet towel until there''s nothing left in you," she nonchntly said. "It''d be a shame to see my granddaughter dead before I passed. Lord Arceus knows you already have half of your body in a grave you dug yourself." "Retirement is not an option." "Sure it is," Kirsten smiled. "This year alone has eaten away at more of you than thest ten. The next might as well, and after another, well, you might as well put me in your will." "Hey, leave some for the rest of us," Celeste joked. "I have a baby on the way." "You have to promise me to buy that vi in Unova I''ve always wanted." They allughed. "This year has worn me down, it''s true," Cynthia said, more seriously. "I considered taking a break after it. I have a new Pokemon who needs to be trained, and I don''t mean that just in the battling sense. A year off would allow me to focus on him," she sighed. "But with the bombs¡­ no, I need to be there. To rebuild. And I wouldn''t have the excuse I hadst time I took a year off." Celeste''s eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh, a new Pokemon? That''s been a while. What is it?" "A child who has never been afforded civility, and who therefore only knows how to fight," she said. "You can''t meet him, Gran. Not yet." While Celeste and her incident with that Zangoose when they''d been young and stranded on route 210 had weaned her off Pokemon forever, Kirsten was a curious woman, no doubt wanting to see who had caught her attention this time. Her inroads with Zoroark were¡­ well, they were slow, as she''d expected, but at least he had understood rather quickly that he could not kill her, and they were at least on speaking terms. "You haven''t even let me see that little miscreant and you deny me yet another favor?" her grandmother teased. "Garchomp is better off not knowing I came here, or she''ll worry." Celeste chimed in, "Plus, I''d be willing to bet you don''t want her terrified of what''sing." She nudged her chin in their grandmother''s direction. "Well, she''s grown past eating the furniture and stuffing in my pillows, so maybe she wouldn''t have to be," Kirstenughed. "I''m pretty sure you''re the only woman in the region capable of scaring little Garchomp, Gran," her sister said, a smile of her own stered on her lips. Cynthia leaned forward. "Do you remember when I came home earlier than usual from our training and we got mud all over the house?" Celeste nodded. "Hmhm, and I''d told you that it was a bad idea and it had been raining all day, but you said ''Gible''s hungry, Celeste, and she won''t train until she eats some more''," she mimicked Cynthia''s younger voice. It had always been slightly lower-pitched than hers. "Never mind that she''d eaten like three hours ago already. Lo and behold, I get yelled at with you." "It was a bad day at work," Kirsten shrugged. "Well, you could have brought me the food and I wouldn''t have had to go inside," Cynthia said. "Oh, don''t y that game with me, Cynth. I did bring the food, but you always wanted something specific with exact portions because of some diet you read about in a book or whatnot, and only you knew how to make that stuff. It was funny to watch you pay for it by beating trainers who passed through, though." "A little eight-year-old, giving teenagers a run for their money, ha!" Kirstenughed. "Served them right. They had no respect for our town or culture, and they still don''t might I add." "Eh, it''s gotten better. You know, Champion clout and all. People don''t want to disrespect Cynth''s hometown," Celeste said. Cynthia was lighter, now, and yet she hadn''t gotten any answers. "Gran." "Ah yes, getting back on topic," the old woman nodded. "You feel paralyzed, unable to act¡­ hold on." She closed her eyes, as if she was searching for something. A few secondster, she held out her hand. "Hold on." Cynthia frowned. "Don''t be daft, hold it." She sped her grandmother''s hand, her breath shivering as she felt at the skin. She''d been what, eleven thest time she''d done this? The firm grip she remembered was gone, and now there was a delicate fragility to her grandmother''s grip. The skin was almost papery to the touch, like she was holding onto some kind of grainy surface. Cynthia could feel the bones beneath the surface, each joint slightly swollen. Calluses adorned the fingertips, remnants of years of physicalbor, both around the house and at her old job as a logger. So small. "I remember, once," Kirsten said. "It was shortly after you''d befriended Gible¡­ a few months, if I remember correctly. Maybe a year. This was at the beginning of that year''s Circuit, and there weren''t any trainers around, so you''d go out every day and train out in the wilds, sneaking out while I was at work. I''d get one of the neighbors to babysit, try to get old Richmond and his two pups to keep track of you, but somehow, some way, you always managed to get out after a few hours. Maybe Richmond had gone soft and was letting you through, but he swore he never did." She worked her jaw and exhaled, a shortugh as she reminisced. There were a few tricks Cynthia had employed, back then, like having Gible create tunnels to get her out of town and masking her own scent by rubbing mud and trash all over her body. It had been a tight fit, but easy for a child to do. Of course, now she knew that back then, Garchomp''s tunnels were not at all stable and she could have died, had she been unlucky. Her grandma continued, "You know people around here didn''t like you kids." "Born out of wedlock, yes," Cynthia said. Years of training and habit had taught her to smoothen out her expression despite wanting to grimace. What good were customs, if they discriminated like this? She could see Celeste shift ufortably next to Kirsten. The subject of their mother having been a victim of sexual assault wasn''t afortable one. "And?" "Not just that. You couldn''t help but yap about how great being a trainer was to anyone who would listen, talk about how you''d make this town a better ce. They hated you. Some even thought you were getting possessed by some kind of malevolent ghost and approached me one day when I was praying at the shrine. Thought you''d get into their kids'' heads." Kirsten was blind, yet she met her eyes¡ª truly met her eyes for the first time. "I have to admit, I was also growing tired of you. What if one day, you didn''te back? What if you were eaten or killed by some wild Pokemon like that Zangoose? So one night, I tossed and turned in my bed, asking myself, what was it, that made you so different than every other child? Than your own twin sister?" "Did you find an answer?" Cynthia asked. The blind woman shook her head, eyes having now wandered away. "Not that night, no. Not the next, either. I don''t think I found an answer until the day you left. Remember?" "How could I not," she said, barely a whisper. She could still feel the fading summer sun bashing down her skin without a cloud in sight, save for the enormous wall of fog in the distance. The tears at the corner of her eyes when realizing that this was it, after having had the biggest argument with Celeste she''d ever had and it looked like their rtionship would never be mended. She''d had Riolu and Gible, back then. Well, them and¡­ "I came up to you with the egg," Kirsten grinned. "Some trainer had left it in their Pokemon Center room, probably malcontent with what he was getting, and Sandra, the nurse Joy at the time, was my friend, so a little payment was enough for her not to call the Rangers. They would have taken a month to get here anyway, but I digress. Surely, it was a sign of support, was it not? So why did I, then, tell you that ''you wouldn''t make it''?" Ah, she was using her own words against her. "Because a young girl from Celestic¡ª" "Because I didn''t want you to leave," Kirsten admitted. "Because I would miss you, and I knew after that day, I would basically never see you again. I saw it in your eyes, that day, and I finally understood. Six years old, and you were talking about making a town that hated you better. Asking for books about history, politics, the economy, Pokemon care and training¡­ It''s a wonder I didn''t figure this out earlier, but I supposed it was easier not to see." Cynthia opened her mouth, but her grandmother''s voice bulldozed over hers. "You''ll roll your eyes at me for this, I know it, but sometimes, people are put on this Earth to be vehicles for change." The Champion snorted. "Don''t take all of my aplishments away by attributing them to Arceus." "I am not. I am saying that somethingid the seeds and that you grew into your own," she said. "And from the day you were born, you''d always wanted to tend to your own farm as well. To remove the weeds, till the soil and nt seeds of your own." Cynthia''s lips thinned. To equate,pare her ambition to farming was a little too on the nose for her. "Now as you know, my dear, farming is hard work, especially in a farm asrge as this one. Your body does not stay young and springy forever, you joints and bones are worn down over the years and each dawn brings a familiar ache. The bending, lifting, and hauling required to tend to crops take their toll, leaving shoulders stooped and backs bowed." Her grandmother stood up without her walker, legs shaking under her own weight, but neither Celeste or Cynthia dared to move. "Now, no one asked you to be a farmer, let alone the best damn farmer of thesends. You were warned repeatedly, but it couldn''t shake you off the path. Why?" "I thought you had the answer, now," Cynthia whispered. "Because you must," she said. "Because it is who you are, because you have to do it, or you are iplete, and taking it out of you might as well be like trying to cut off your oxygen. You''ll thrash around, but if you aren''t freed, it''ll kill you. No matter whatbination of words, what methods are used to convince you otherwise, it will not have you stray off your path. The one of a leader." Kirsten''s hands gripped Cynthia''s shoulders as hard as they could, and she stood over her, then let a hand rise to her cheek. "A person''s life is a war between who they are and who they want to be, and you''ve been winning that war for as long as I can remember. The stakes are higher than they''ve ever been, but this is who you are, Cynthia. Your mind is old and worn like the body of a farmer, but you must act, still. You might fail, you might not, but you are special. You are the only one qualified enough to work thisnd, now. You have learned of its shape, its quirks and what it takes to run it smoothly, and no one else right now would be able to do better than you, it would take too long to catch them up. If you get it wrong¡­ no one would have gotten it right." Sinnoh''s Champion took a deep breath. "That does not help as much as I hoped it would." "I''m your grandmother, not magic," Kirsten said, patting her on the cheek twice. "You''re lucky you don''te here often, or I''d subject you to more of that, but Cel takes the brunt of it." "Well, at least I didn''t get farmer," she said. "I got librarian,st time. But you understand, right?" "Because I must," Cynthia nodded. "Because I have taken it upon myself to carry thisnd upon my back, and I would do it all over again if I could." "Good. Now Celeste, get me to bed, please." No pleasantries were exchanged, before Gran went back to bed. Cynthia did not promise that she would visit more often when this was all over, nor did she say that she regretted her actions. Her grandmother had been correct, when she''d said that she''d known she would never see her again on that day she''d left. Cynthia spoke to her sister for the remaining fifteen minutes, sitting on their porch until kazam came back to pick her up, and she hugged her goodbye. "Does the baby have a name yet?" she asked, locked in her arms. "Yes. Cedric." "Keeping the ''C'' thing alive, are you?" Cynthiaughed softly. "I''ll miss the birth, you know? I''ll have to deal with the fallout from all of this." "I know. And the months afterward, too, but at least you''re talking about the future," she said. "Want to touch him?" Cynthia blinked as she stood there, not having expected that. "May I?" "You may." She put a hand over her sister''s stomach, and after ten seconds or so¡ª She gasped, feeling a kick, and she quickly dropped down to her knees and gasped. "Arceus, wow, that''s¡ª that''s strong! Isn''t that strong?" "Oh yeah. He''s raring toe out already, let me tell you," she smiled. "Did you not expect anything?" "No, it''s just¡­ moving. Both figuratively and literally. Does it hurt? When he does that?" Celeste shook her head. "It doesn''t hurt, it just feels a little weird, but I''ve gotten used to it. How soft, by the way. Maybe your job didn''t kill all of you after all." Cynthia, kazam jeered. I''ve been patient enough. It''s time to go. "I''ll take care of Gran for you," Celeste said. "She''s got years left in her. See how sharp she still is?" "She meanders more than she used to and speaks slower, but yes," Cynthia said. "And her words helped." "I''m d. Now you go kick ass and save the world, okay?" Cynthia could feel kazam''s disapproving stare bear down the back of her head, but she managed to keep her face straight. Celeste saw through it anyway and blinked. "What, it was just a guess." "A bad one," she lied. "Go back to sleep. Tell your husband I said hello." "Will do. And don''t forget to sleep, you look like shit." She stood next to kazam and reappeared amidst a flurry of reports from League officials. She yawned extremely loudly, dered that she would sleep for the next four hours and to wake her up if they were attacked and that Lucian would take over while she was out. She settled in the corner of an empty office and rested her back on her Togekiss.
Interlude – Last Supper Interlude ¨C Last Supper
This is thest interlude of the set. These were deliberately grouped together. INTERLUDE - LAST SUPPER Hours earlier. It had begun as a simple idea. Let''s pretend tomorrow is going to be normal. Routine was what had kept Cecilia sane her entire life. It was something she could takefort in, back when she used to live with her parents. To be able to know exactly what was going to happen at each hour of the day, knowing that she would only have to see her father once that particr day for dinner, and even then, that was only for around thirty to forty minutes. Every lesson, every event, every activity, every single moment in her life was meticulously nned down to the second and derailing off that schedule had been enough to have her burst into tears, back then. Because for all she''d been miserable¡ª well, back then, she hadn''t known life was miserable, but she had arger perspective, now¡ª there was something about the unknown that spread pure terror through the human psyche. If one of her attendants said that no, she would not be going to her dance lessons and then meeting her old friend Amy that day, her mind always started to race, picturing the worst scenario every time, because it meant that her father had something in store for her. He had micromanaged all aspects of her life. Her circumstances were different, now. She held more power at her fingertips than she ever had, and her mind had been freed from her family''s shackles. Her friends had taught her to let go of routine and enjoy a bit of spontaneity in her life, but in the world''s darkest hour, Cecilia had decided to return to familiarity. Just like she had pretended as a young child that the berating, the yelling, the belittling would be fine, so long as she knew to expect it, she had decided to pretend that tonight was one like any other. Her therapist would no doubt tell her that this was unhealthy behavior, but he wasn''t there to stop her. That was how she found themselves sitting at a table, fingers tapping away at herptop while she caught up on recent emails. Toxicroak eyed the screen curiously at her side, the subtle light reflecting off her yellow eyes while Slowking tranted the emails to her to help teach her how to read. At least she''s interested in learning, unlike Scizor. She did look bored out of her mind, but that was routine. Bored was good. Bored meant they were breathing, that their heart was pumping blood through their body, that they were still alive and the situation was mundane enough to be trite. She had long said that she wanted this entire situation done with, like ripping off a band-aid or jumping into a cold pool, but she wanted at least a day. Not even a day. Just a single night. She had not forgotten her oath, to kill Team Gctic grunts should Justin be dead. She''d been gathering her courage to actually check, but that wouldeter. Grace had taken a bit of convincing, to agree to this, but Cecilia thought it would be especially good for her, with how happy she was acting. Mira had agreed right away and Chase had straight-up refused. They''d been reunited once again at Lake Acuity, though only Grace was with her, at the moment. They''d been given homes much like the one at Lake Valor, and Cecilia could hear her voiceing from the other room, along with the usual sound of a kitchen. Slicing against wood, the ttering of cutlery, the hum of a preheating oven, but also her speaking with her Electivire and ydol. ydol was always with her, now. The television was on, though it wasn''t ying the news. Instead, it was some channel that yed romance movies 24/7 that Grace had put on earlier before she''d started cooking dinner. asionally, Cecilia would nce the screen''s way, but she waspletely lost and hadn''t kept track of the plot for this one. Movies weren''t that fun to watch without Grace there toment on every little thing, and plus, she was working. Sorting through junk mail from clothing stores about sales, sponsorship offers from Sinnoh that she would never take, given that she was leaving, scams, but sometimes, one caught her eye like this one. It would be hard to nce over the name of Mark Obel. Yikes, Slowking said. The man can''t take a hint, can he? Toxicroakughed, a harsh, raspy sound that sounded, each exhale a concoction of croaks and gurgles as her poison sac expanded and retracted repeatedly. "He''s worried," she said. "No need tough, darling." The fighting type shrugged, as if to say she didn''t care. From the way Cecilia had spoken of her brother to her, she was somewhat at fault for theck of empathy, not that she had any for him to begin with. "We don''tugh at our detractors," Cecilia said, her tone like a teacher''s. "We hold our heads high and kill them with words, or better yet, with silence. We let them know that just because the region is on fire doesn''t mean all has been forgiven and we''ll suddenly turn a new leaf. Wounds this deep run forever." That did not mean that she could not read the actual email. From: Subject: Please confirm your status in greater detail. Cecilia, I''ve tried contacting you a thousand times, but you aren''t answering the phone, so this is myst resort. You''ve told me that you were alive, but that isn''t enough. I need to know that you''re in a safe space and that no further danger will reach you. We can''t get my hands on any information about what''s going on beyond the bombings, but I just want to let you know that the moment Sinnoh opens its airspace again I can have you on a ne back to Unova. If that doesn''t work for you, I can also bring your friends until the situationes back to normal. Answer the phone, please. Keeping me in the dark like this won''t help. Mark Obel Your brother. Panicked as he might be, it was still in character for him to be so clinical. The subject, the signature, the way he typed¡­ it was just like her from before. You''re torturing him, Slowking said with a curious hum. Toxicroak nodded, but she had the widest grin on her face instead. "Torture?" Cecilia scoffed and shook her head. "These are simple boundaries I''ve established. I confirmed that I was alive earlier today, and that''s enough." You only call him when you need something for Zolst. "That''s just being smart about things. I don''t pretend to care about him like he does with me¡­ though maybe that''s a little harsh. He does care, just not enough for me to reciprocate." The email quickly went into her trash bin, though did offer a little insight into what other countries knew about Sinnoh''s troubles. If Mark didn''t know Legendaries were involved, then no one in Unova did. She knew he had people in the country, like every region had people in others, but she doubted after all of this year''s purges that any of them were in any position to know about what was going on, here. It was possible he''d been lying to her, too, given the rumors about her being a spy spreading about. People lie, Cecilia, she told herself. You best get used to that possibility, and quick. "At least he didn''t bring up his parents or spout some nonsense about the importance of family," she sighed. There was no point in keeping people in her life who would only make her miserable unless they could be of use. She understood why Mark had done what he''d done, taking their father back, but that didn''t mean she had to smile and tell him all about how he was forgiven. To ask him about how he was doing, how heavy the burden of the mantle was, or how he had to make decisions that went against what he personally wanted for Unova''s stability, with the political realignment going on there. She moved on to the next¡ª From: Subject: Please give me another chance. I can''t get a word on if you''re fine or¡ª To the trash, it went. Toxicroakined about that, given that Slowking hadn''t had time to read the message in its entirety, so she would never know what had been sent. The poison type didn''t care for Amy, but she did enjoy schadenfreude in spades. Cecilia had blocked her everywhere, but she must have forgotten her email. Amy might have believed that Sinnoh being in the midst of a crisis meant that she would answer, so she''d shot her shot and tried to contact her, knowing that she''d be blocked if she failed. The reasoning was a little confusing, but it tracked, given that she was insane and her behavior was starting to look like a stalker''s. Hopefully she''d give up by the time she was in Unova. Cecilia wished she could tell her to move on already, but any further contact would just give the girl a sliver of hope and have hertch onto that faster than Slowking thought of puns. Toxicroak sighed and left the table, deciding that she''d watch TV instead if Cecilia was going to be like this and not let her enjoy someone else''s suffering. "Thinking that way''s bad for you regardless," Cecilia said. Slowking tranted her next word as she slumped into the couch, which was ''hypocrite''. Toxicroak extended one of her red ws and started to study it, licking the surface to test the potency of her poison. "Don''t drip poison over the couch," she warned. She caught up on her emails in the next ten minutes, but it was only when she refreshed to make sure she''d been meticulous and hadn''t missed any that her heart nearly jumped out of her throat. From: She closed the screen before she could see the subject. "Holy shit," she whispered. Her heart was running a marathon in her chest. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" Each word became louder and louder. "I can''t believe it." All the swearing got Toxicroak''s attention, though she pretended not to care and only turned her head a fraction. Okay, well, admittedly, I wasn''t looking at the screen anymore now that Toxicroak left, Slowking said. But the swearing tells me this is either horrible news or extraordinary news. Shall I flip a coin? Cecilia cracked her screen open, too scared to go any further. "I don''t know which one it is. I didn''t read it." She gulped, lips suddenly feeling very dry. "It''s a message from that professor I told you about." Ah, yes, the one with the name suspiciously close to Jupiter. Maybe an alter ego¡­ Her stare told him that now was not the time for those kinds of jokes. Not when so many had died, and especially not when they were pretending this was a night like any other. She couldpartmentalize, separate the bombings from the world ending, but she could not do so if someone brought up one of the Commanders. Cecilia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was a typical night. She had contacted a few professors back when she''d been in Canve, but she had not expected an answer toe so soon. She''d thought they''de in summer, after they had a chance to see her performance at the Conference, but maybe her winning her eighth badge had been enough for this particr professor? From what she knew, Aurea Juniper was somewhat entric, but her credentials were excellent and she specialized in the origins of Pokemon¡ª specifically how they came into existence, along with ancient civilizations, which had her studying a whole lot of¡­ eldritch things. That meant she was very nonchnt a lot of the time, and her general attitude had her estranged from most of the scientificmunity in Unova, which was why she was living in the middle of nowhere. Sorry to all Nuvemans, Cece thought, but at least it''s bigger than Twinleaf. "I can''t look," she stammered, now calmer. "I can''t look." I can look for you, Slowking suggested. "Cece? I heard you swear, what''s up?" Grace stood in the doorway to the kitchen, knife in hand. Truth be told, she had taken to this as much as Cecilia had, but that was okay. Her hands were still bandaged and wrapped in stic gloves. They both liked pretending, especially if they could mimic what it would be like to live together. ydol¡ª or Cassianus, now, hovered behind her while Honey had remained to take care of things. She was wearing an apron over a white shirt and some shorts. They hadn''t really been given enough time toe to Snowpoint with the appropriate clothing, and Emilia was the one who kept their winter clothes, at the moment. Her suitcase was in a hotel in Canve and she was at Mount Cor, so they were not at all essible. "Come here," Cecilia said. "This¡ª this is insane. No emergencies, just¡­ you know, it might be good news." Her girlfriend walked across the living room. "Well, no need to beat around the bush, you''ve got me intrigued, now." Cecilia told her everything, recalling all the times she''d spoken to her about professors in Unova, weaving it into an entire story about how this could make or break her year depending on what was on the email. Ordinarily, they wouldn''t be worrying about any of this, but in a way, it was refreshing for her, to be this anxious about an email. Tomorrow isn''t real, she kept thinking. Just like Toxicroak hade back, Grace was hovering behind her by now, her face slightly above her shoulder. "Now you''ve got me nervous." "Are you kidding? Can you look at it for me?" "What?" "Just read it before I do." "I mean, it has to be good, right? She answered you, and quickly," Grace said. "You could have been left on read for months." "That means you can read it." The blonde was clearly about to retort, but instead she sighed, ced her knife on the table and nodded. "For you, fine." Cecilia stood up and allowed Grace to slip into the chair. "Wait, my fingers are greasy," she warned. The Unovan had already been closing her eyes and looking away from the screen. "I don''t really care, but Slowking can open it for you." I''m still sad you didn''t let me read it for you, the psychic grumbled. So who knows what I can and cannot do¡ª ah, okay, no need to re at me like that, I was just joking. The screen flipped open, and Cece waited with bated breath. Grace cleared her throat and started reading, "Dear Cecilia, I hope this message finds you well. In the purpose of staying as transparent as possible, I will tell you first that despite what you wrote to me about wanting to be picked for your own skill and experience, the reason this message got to me from my assistants so quickly was because of yourst name. As you know, your brother¡ª uh, sorry, let me skip ahead. Hold on¡­ there you go. The reason I came to this decision, however, is because of you and your merits alone." There was a pause, and then she continued. "Wait, never mind, look!" Cecilia could tell she was smiling, so she cracked an eye open. "I am writing to formally express my enthusiasm andmitment to sponsoring you as you embark on your second year as a Pokemon Trainer¡ª" "Yes, yes, yes!" Cecilia jumped for joy, and Grace stood up to hug her, concerns about her greasy hands now forgotten. She giggled when she kissed her cheek. "Oh, I''m so relieved¡­ Arceus, I can''t believe this is real. This is real, right?" "It''s real. I told you it was gonna be good!" Grace beamed. "I''m proud of you, Cece." "Well, she didn''t say she was going to sponsor me quite yet¡ª" "Don''t ruin a good thing," sheughed, rolling her eyes. "Should I keep reading?" Cecilia draped her arms around her girlfriend''s neck and settled her chin on top of her head. "I''m okay, thanks." "You''re trapping me anyway. Not that I''mining." Grace''s hand wrapped around Cece''s arm. "You''re lucky Honey can handle things." "Where did you even findmb?" Cecilia asked as her eyes scanned the email. "I thought all they had was some stuff to microwave." "I asked them while you were showering and they got it here quick. Honey wanted to cook somemb, and you know¡­ yeah." Essentially, Professor Juniper was outlining everything she''d ask of her during their contract, which was admittedly a lot. There was what she''d nned for, which was having her study Hydreigon and Golurk, which were her two rarest Pokemon, and potentially her future Spiritomb, if that ever came to pass. She figured that was the bait that had made Juniper bite, given their ancient origins and how she could potentially figure out how they were made. Cecilia would have to pacify hers before any of that, which would probably take the majority of the year or longer given what Cynthia had said, but it was still a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity even for a professor. Cynthia had vouched for her all the way back when she''d first typed her first email, so she knew it was true. Her connections were paying off already. Juniper would also be able to call on her whenever she discovered something off-route worth studying, where Cecilia would act as her bodyguard. Not only that, but she wanted help in gathering data, documenting her findings, and retrieving artifacts. She was essentially going to be a part-time field assistant if she agreed, which was¡­ a lot. In exchange, though? Sure, there was the pay¡ª less than Grace was making right now, given that Juniper didn''t have the resources of a hugepany behind her, but it was still enough to live, which was great news given that she was out of money (she needed to wean those spending habits of hers, and quick) and showed Cece that Juniper actually wanted her. The number itself was a lot smaller, but Unovan currency was stronger than Sinnoh''s, so it was decent, for a smallb like Juniper''s. There was also the asional TM thrown in, along with general mentorship, but what she mostly cared about was theworking possibilities this sponsorship brought. While Aurea Juniper was not the most well-respected professor in the region, she still had connections. The main avenue was that she was married to Professor Fennel, who for her part was one of the most famous professors in the region for what she was doing with dreams, Munna and Musharna. They''d gone to the same college, going as far as writing their thesis together on the evolutionary biology of Pokemon Species and forms. While Juniper mostly kept to herself, Fennel knew politicians and Gym Leaders, despite her being married to Juniper. It was an in into Unovan politics, if she yed her cards right. I apologize for answering in such troubling times for Sinnoh, but I figured I needed to answer first before some other professor got their grubby paws on you. I usually don''t sponsor trainers, but I figured that since I''m starting this year, I might as well add you to the pile. You''ll be the fourth and final person working under myboratory, though the other three will be far newer than you and I doubt you''ll be seeing much of them beyond the first few days of the Circuit. I''ll be giving them starters of their own to get them going this summer, which they''re all very excited about. "Why would she sponsor new trainers?" Grace asked. "I don''t know. I think she might see potential in them?" Cecilia hummed, feeling at her girlfriend''s soft hair. "And you know, she''s got to start from somewhere. If she''s never sponsored anyone before, not many good trainers will be lining up to work for her." "Makes sense." Don''t worry about any stigma you might face for having worked closely with Cynthia. There are indeed rumors about you being some puppet, but I won''t let that get in the way of our work and I don''t involve myself in politics unless they can advance my research. I know you''ll be a busy Combee in that regard, but leave all of that outside theb or harass my wife about it. We can hash out further details in person, but for now, please let me know if the structure of our partnership works for you. Professor Juniper (555) 124-2167 Nuvema Laboratories "So. Are you writing back instantly?" Grace asked. "Obviously. Give me the chair." They swapped ces, and Cecilia got typing. Midway through, Honey called for her, so she made her way back to the kitchen. It was important not toe off as too desperate, but still grateful. It was a careful bnce to strike, but she believed she''d done a good enough job. Cece stretched, closing herputer. "Keep Toxicroakpany," she told Slowking. The water type just nodded, hands behind his back as he waddled toward the couch. Cecilia, meanwhile, made her way toward the kitchen to see if she could help with anything. She wasn''t the best cook. She knew how to make some things, but to her parents, cooking was something the lower ss did, never themselves, so those hadn''t been in her lessons. All of the knowledge she''d gotten was from watching her friends cook or the few times she''d needed to heat something up on the road while traveling. She peeked over the door frame and smiled. "I''m telling you I got it," Grace said, eyeing herptop. She was following a recipe. "There,mb''s done. It''s got incisions all over." She twirled the knife in her hand and dropped it. It ttered on the counter and nearly fell on the ground, but Cassianus kept it hovering faster than Honey could lunge for it. "Thanks. I want to get good at that, but I obviously need practice. What''s next?" Electivire was too tall andrge to see what he was doing, but it sounded like he was peeling either carrots or potatoes. A subtle rasp that was nearly impossible to hear. He grunted, with a strange engine-like whirr. "I told you already I won''t practice without Cass there. Uh, sorry, I mean Cassianus," she corrected after the psychic blinked. "What next? Rubbing the thing with olive oil? Right, we''ve got to season it too¡­" For a few more seconds, Cecilia just watched, though she had no doubt ydol had already seen her. There was something enchanting about observing her going about this. It felt¡­ homely just to have her here, doing this. To have someone she knew she could rely on, no matter what, and to know they could care for each other. It wasfort Cecilia hadn''t grown up with, and it still felt new after all these months. Now that she''d let go of her knife, sneaking up on her might have been fun, though Cass no doubt would have sounded the rm. "Need any help?" she asked. "Oh!" Grace turned toward her, and then back toward the counter. "Uh, I was gonna toss themb in the oven after seasoning it, but¡­ you can season the veggies, if you want. Honey was gonna do it, but¡ª" The electric type waved a hand and spoke. "He says you can do it if you want. He doesn''t like seasoning, since the salt and pepper gets stuck all over his fur. He''ll finish dicing the potatoes, but he did the other stuff." "Skin is convenient." Cecilia walked up to the counter, her arm slightly touching Grace''s on purpose. "But you know, salt is a mineral. You could use maism to your advantage." The electric type looked at her like she was crazy. "I suppose it does take the enjoyment out of it." Grace chimed in. "It does! He''d never do that." Honey nodded, saying something she didn''t catch. The ce was extremely busy in a slightly overwhelming way and the ceiling light was reflecting on the tiles, bouncing right into her eyes, but she got her bearings rather quickly. "So I just put salt and pepper on these?" From what she knew, that seasoning was rather simple, but effective. She looked at diced carrots and onions, which had been shoved into two different bowls, and the potatoes Honey was cutting. He was going so fast his hands were a blur of motion. "See how quick he is? I get jealous of how he handles knives sometimes," Grace said. "Oh, and yeah, just spread it across evenly." She grabbed the salt first and started to pour. "Not too much, you don''t want to drown them in it!" "Well, how am I supposed to know how much?!" She quickly stopped the pour, fearing the damage was already done. "And don''t tell me to just eyeball it, I know you were going to. Is it okay, still?" "Spread that across, and it should be fine for the salt." "Across? It''s in a bowl." "Just give it a little shake¡­ I admit, though, I should have kept those on a t board. We get kind of scatterbrained when we cook." Electivire shook his head, and Cecilia didn''t need a trantion for that one. He was telling her not to include him in that ''we''. He started looking through cabs to see if he could find a wooden board. "I recall having reminded you of this at least twice. Three times would be impolite," ydol said. "I was distracted by Cecilia swearing! I mean, that almost never happens." "I wouldn''t know. I have known her for a totalbined time of eight days, six hours, fifteen minutes and forty-six seconds. That isn''t enough data." Grace finished covering themb in oil and wrinkled her nose. "Well, I have the data, and she never swears. Only when she''s furious or ted." Electivire spoke up again, this time in a whisper. "You can''t swear yet," Grace said. "Too young. And don''t think Sweetheart won''t snitch the first opportunity she gets." "In general, Pokemon mature faster than people," Cecilia offered. "Don''t encourage him! Pass the salt." She handed it over, and Grace started sprinkling the white minerals on the meat. Electivire handed Cecilia a wooden board she could spread the vegetables on to have a more straightforward time seasoning, and she moved onto pepper. "But yeah, hey, congrattions again." Cecilia smiled. "Thanks. It''s a huge relief for sure, but I won''t rx until I''m in her office signing that contract." Her girlfriend looked at her for a moment. "You know, that''s something I find really great about you." "What, my thoroughness?" "Not just that. I mean how proactive you are with things. You know, you emailed that professor right away, no questions asked. Well, her and a few others." They swapped salt and pepper in one smooth motion, and she kept speaking. "Makes me feel a little slow in a way." Once upon a time, she would have panicked at those words, thinking she''d done something wrong but not anymore. They''d grown past that and they could just talk, now. "When you want something, when you really want something, you have to do everything in your power to get it," Cecilia said. "And this is only the first step out of thousands." "What if that doesn''t work?" "Then you''ll have tried. And you''re the one whose whole philosophy is trying your hardest." "I think that''s not a philosophy as much as a healthy mindset." "Hmmm, disagree," Cecilia said. They both finished seasoning, but ording to Grace themb had to stay in the oven for thirty minutes before they added the vegetables in the tray, so they were done for a while after she seasoned the potatoes. She washed her hands, Grace took off her stic gloves and they went back to the living room, where they proceeded to force Toxicroak and Slowking to give them space. Gracey on her side, her head on Cecilia''sp while she yed with her hair, twirling it around her fingers. Cecilia didn''t think she was interested in this movie, given that she''d only started looking near the end of it, but it was something to pass the time while they waited for Mira and Chase toe by. Grace had released Meltan out of their ball, and the steel type spent two whole minutes screeching andining about having been put in there until Slowking picked up metallic scraps from Grace''s bag and started feeding them. They were¡­ not sleeping, but inactive on top of Grace''s stomach right now. "You know, what I meant earlier was that I feel like I haven''t done enough of my own thing since Pastoria. You know, volunteering and stuff," Grace muttered. "Well, you had a lot going on after." "We all did. I mean, I won''t make a big fuss about it, I don''t even want to think about it, but¡­ you know. It feels like I was just fumbling around and hoping for the best. Still am." "You said you looked up stuff." "I didn''t send emails. I could have contacted Mallory, she has contacts in Unova." Cecilia chuckled. "You hate her guts. Didn''t she tell you she wanted to abolish all trainers and think you''d be on her side?" "Yeah. Yeah, I really do, but well, desperate times. I don''t care about her, I just want her contacts. I''ll do it tomorrow." Silence followed. She''ll do it tomorrow. The words were so convincing Cecilia had allowed herself to forget. She was pretending, yes, they both were, but by the Legendaries, that had seemed so real that they''d nearly put her off-bnce. Nearly had her actually believe that yes, tomorrow she would wake up in the morning and type a message on herputer to Mallory Ryan, instead of being here and risking her life with the rest of them. "Right," she finally said. "Tomorrow." "Oh, do you want to stop the¡ª" "No, it''s fine," Cece smiled. "You were just really convincing. I like it." Terrifying, how the human mind works, Slowking added. Grace scoffed. "Shut up. Let us have this night." Is it me, or am I getting bullied tonight? Toxicroak snickered at that, just loud enough to pretend she was trying to hide it, but actually not. "Legendaries, I''m gonna have to get started on the paperwork soon. Dad said he''d help me out." Grace rolled her head toward Cecilia with a groan and hugged her waist. Mimi nearly slipped off, but they kept herself anchored to Grace''s shorts, poking little needles into the fabric. "It shouldn''t be difficult. If you visit a Unovan embassy, it shouldn''t take more than a day there, and they''ll help you fill out a lot of the stuff. Unovan-Sinnoh rtions are warm enough for the process to be streamlined. Then you''ll just have to sign up for the Circuit again when you get there, but I have to do that too." "I''ve got to do my taxes too¡­" "What? You haven''t done them yet?!" "It''d be funny if I went to jail for tax fraud after this." She grinned, a hint of teeth shing even though her face was still buried in Cecilia''s stomach. "In a morbid sort of way, it''d be hrious." "We''re doing those tomorrow. I''ll help you." "Thanks. You''re the best. Hey, you know, I have this really embarrassing request." "What? I thought we were past that." Grace chuckled, legs bending when they identally touched Toxicroak''s coarse skin. "Sorry! Um, yeah, we''re totally past that. Totally." "Tell me." "If youugh at me, I''m burning the house down." "Why do I feel like you mean that?" "Because I mean it. Sunshine would do it, he''d just ask why after the fact andin about the reason." Of course, every Pokemon here save for Meltan had something to say about that. The steel type wanted to see it happen. "You''re insane. I love that about you," Cece said with a hand cradling the girl''s cheek. "Tell me, I won''tugh." "Remember all that time ago when I said I wanted a nickname for you?" Cecilia''s heart skipped a beat. "That was only a few months ago in Snowpoint. Don''t say it like it''s been that long." "Yeah, well it''s snowy outside." She pointed toward a small window with her good foot. "And we''re close to Snowpoint, and you know things like this¡ª echoes, reflections and rhymes in my life, they matter to me, so it reminded me of it. Not that I forgot! You know, it''s just that I never found a good one." "That doesn''t bother me, you know?" "But everyone calls you Cece, and I wanted my own thing, you know? I mean, it''s silly to get hung up on it now, but isn''t it what tonight is all about?" "Well, if you have an idea, shoot." "Oh, I''ve had it for a while. I mean, I nearly slipped sometimes already. You know, I call my Pokemon baby sometimes¡ª I was just wondering if that was okay?" Arceus, finally! "I would like that very much," Cecilia said, ignoring the fact that the inside of her head was currently celebrating as loud as a Virbank rave. Still, her lips tugged upward and she couldn''t help butugh. "Say it." "I can''t say it now. It has toe up naturally, or it''ll be embarrassing." "Say it, or I''m having Zolst blow up the kitchen." She already had the Pokeball in her palm. A flicker of amusement passed on Grace''s face. For a moment, Cecilia thought that she would ask how exactly in detail she would go about it, but the look passed. Now definitely isn''t the time for that. "Gah! You can''t use my tricks against me!" "Please?" Grace cleared her throat and calmly sat up, letting Mimi slide down to her legs. She waspletely red. "Well, I better check on themb," she said, putting Meltan on her head. The steel type turned to some kind of jagged diadem. Cecilia pouted. "Really?" And she did so, speed-walking away until she reached the door, with Honey and Cass behind her. Then, she turned back. "You better be ready for it, though, because it''sing sooner orter. It''ll just be a surprise." "I don''t believe you." "Oh, it is. And when it does, it''s gonna kick your ass¡­" then, she whispered, all sultry-like, "baby¡­?" Oh, yeah, she liked this. The way she''d said it was a little forced and silly, but Cecilia''s face felt warm. "That feels¡ª" "Bye!" The door mmed behind her. Cece hugged her knees, her face stuck in a stupid grin. So much for having grown past getting embarrassed. ¡ª "This is stupid." "It''s fun, Chase. Think of it as ast hurrah before things go to shit." Chase was pissed. Pissed and cold. He''d refused this idea of having dinner because it made no sense. Sometimes, he truly believed that his friends had gone insane, but the time to worry about that had probably long passed. He trudged through snow, which was continuously falling and constantly being cleared by plowers making their way through Lake Acuity''s roads. He''d been given a coat too tight for him and his sneakers were not at all made to walk in snow. He could already feel his socks getting wet and they''d just been walking for two minutes. Their house wasn''t far, not even a thirty-second walk, actually, but Mira had gotten the great idea to visit Savika for whatever reason, and she was quite a ways away. He shoved his hands under his armpits for warmth and covered his mouth with his shirt so the hot air could flow down his chest. "I think we should be training instead," he said. "So your Pokemon can be tirede tomorrow?" His friend scoffed, shaking her head at him like he was stupid. "No way, man. Your Pokemon are eating tonight and then going straight to sleep." "Sig doesn''t sleep." "She does! Or she pretends to because everyone else does, but either way, it''s super cute." Chase stopped himself from agreeing with her. "It''s pretending. But yes, I guess you''re right. I was thinking light training anyway¡ª" "Rx! Tonight''s just a normal night." "I train during normal nights!" Mira just whistled. "Whatever. Are you gonna tell me why we''re going away from the people who invited us for dinner?" "What, you don''t want to meet the woman who saved your life?" Mira teased. "Did you see her when you came here?" "Eh, only in passing. Hey, did you know she caught a Sneasel?" "What? I thought she had this anti-trainer thing going on." Mira bumped his arm with her elbow. "Hey, you can have a Pokemon without actively being part of the system she hates." "And aren''t we literally a part of that system right now? You know, this whole ''being a part of the government'' thing. And, how the fuck is she even still here? Shouldn''t they have kicked her out? I know Craig vouched for her or whatever, but¡­" "Yeah, it is odd, but hey, maybe the League''s be soft-hearted." "Maybe tomorrow I''ll get wings and fly, too. You see how adding ''maybe'' to that doesn''t mean anything?" "Stranger things have happened. You can literally control people with your voice." "That''s different and you know it." She just snickered and they kept going in silence. The base was also quiet, contrary to what Chase expected. He could see a pair of League Trainers smoking cigarettes in silence, with a Rapidash lighting them with its fiery mane. Every time a plower passed by them, the driver would have a miserable look in their eyes, and it wasn''t just because they were outte plowing snow. Another group of five leaning against a building, huddled around a Magcargo as they spoke in hushed whispers. The atmosphere here was tense, to say the least. People knew to expect the worst, and worse of all, they knew Legendary Pokemon wereing, now, and that it was only a matter of time until everything went to hell. Shame seeing them like this, Chase thought to himself. He''d gone from disliking the League, to hating it after witnessing their atrocious response to Falkirk being destroyed, but he knew better but to me footsoldiers instead of the people in power. Plus, one didn''t have to be a master tactician to see that there was an issue with morale. "How''re you feeling, shrimp?" he asked. "Excellent. I''ve handed my stress to another me just for tonight." "What an awful way to approach things." He shook his head, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "I won''t make a fuss about it, though. You can have your day." Mira''s lips ttened. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." She looked up at the sky, only lit up by a half a moon and the stars above. "You know, I just wish the others could be here with us. So we could all celebrate." "I don''t think they''re in a celebratory mood. Only you three cane up with this whacky shit. You''re literally gaslighting yourselves." "And yet, here you are, following me." He called her annoying under his breath. "You''re probably right, though. You have Lauren blowing a gasket at me. Hey, did you know she actually yelled at me? It only happened twice and it feels like I''m being dismantled every time she does it, even on the phone¡ª" Mira''s feet nearly got stuck in the snow, and Chase kept her from tripping. "Thanks. It gets deep around here." He let go of her arm, not having missed the sprawling shadow that had risen behind her, just in case. "Sure. I think they keep away from that olddy''s house to give her some space, so the snow¡ª" "And you know, I want to tell her everything. I n to, when this is all over, except maybe without the world-ending bits." "Yup." "But I can''t. It''s already a miracle she''s uninjured¡ª did you know she was actually caught at the edge of one of the bombings? She could have gotten seriously hurt if she didn''t have her Reuniclus around her all the time." "Uhuh. That sucks." She scoffed. "Are you even listening to me?" "Wha¡ª I am listening! Arceus! What, do you want me to write you an entire essay?" Legendaries girls were so annoying sometimes. Couldn''t they just walk in silence so he could be spared all of this rambling? And when he offered something back, she said he wasn''t listening? Make it make sense. To be honest, Williams would also be constantly venting about his rtionships anyway, so maybe it wasn''t just a girl thing. He seemingly got his wish, and Mira got quiet until they reached Savika''s cabin, nestled along the shore of Lake Acuity. The Lake itself wasn''t frozen, though shards of ice still clung at its edges, reflecting a little light. Its weathered wooden exterior was aged to a soft gray by the elements and blended into the stark, snowyndscape. The roof sagged slightly due to being covered by a thick nket of snow, and a smaller cabin rested to the side of the main house that Chase knew contained piles upon piles of dry wood to make a fire. Chase climbed the stairs, which were surprisingly solid. "So what are we doing here?" "Just wait," his friend answered, knocking on the door with her good hand. The other was broken, still, but she neverined about the pain anymore thanks to another one of those mind tricks. When there was no answer, she knocked again, louder this time. "Hello? Anyone home?!" "She might be asleep. When we stayed here she went to sleep early every night and woke up at dawn." "Damn it¡­ well, I don''t want to be rude." "Yes. Thank you for wasting our time here, Mira," he sighed, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. "I just wanted to see if she could give us something." "Like what?" "You really won''t like it." "Oh, fuck, it''s alcohol, isn''t it?" Her face twisted in disbelief. "How the hell did you know that?!" "You know Grace doesn''t drink, and I sure as hell am not drinking tonight. You''re not making Cece wake up with a hangover, buddy." He grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her away ignoring her protests, but the door slowly creaked open. There was a small Sneasel there, hanging by the knob with a wed hand, and it looked at them with a tilted head. "Oh. I guess that''s the Sneasel." It was hard to forget the fact that one of these had nearly killed him, given that he still bore that scar on the back of his arm, but he wasn''t nervous. More like intrigued. "Hey little guy," Mira whispered. She crouched and held out a hand, but Sneasel hissed, its hair standing on end. "Is Savika asleep?" Chase watched the two interact for a bit, and he was a little amused at how little Sneasel seemed to trust others. Savika had probably raised it as a guard or something, or maybe a Pokemon to alert her when there was danger and she was sleeping. "Guess we''ll go," Mira sighed. "Sorry for disturbing you and stuff. Tell Savika that a Chase Karlson is thankful for her saving his life." Chase tightly nodded. "...yeah, you tell her that." They turned away. I really wanted to see her and thank her again before¡­ Arceus, this wasn''t like him. "Looks like the fake alcohol n failed, and I messed up inviting her over for dinner. Cece''s going to kill me." "Nah, she''ll have that disappointed, haughty look," Chase said. He''d never seen Cecilia angry. Miffed, yes, but never seriously angry like he''d seen his other friends."And wait, dinner? So it wasn''t just to get drunk." "Wait, you seriously thought she wanted alcohol? I was just joking, Chase, we only came here to invite her for dinner. We aren''t idiots." "Wait, what?" "Yeah, it was a joke. A bit." "A joke is supposed to be funny." "Sorry. At least this way we''ll be able to be open and not hide anything. I think Cece just wanted to repay her for the help. And her disappointed look would be even worse, honestly. Makes me feel like trash, and it''s like, the worst part is, she really thought you could do better, but in a good, friendly way." "That is worse." There was a beat of silence, and Chase reached an epiphany. "Do you really think the League would have let you two get drunk? Stupid." "Dude, I told you I was fucking with you." "Oh yeah, totally," he said with a mockingugh, then mimicked her voice. "Oh, I was only pretending to be stupid." ¡ª "Savika isn''ting," Cecilia sighed. "Shame." "Aw. Hey, you can go see her another day." "It''s okay, I''ll just¡­ focus on this." The table was long and narrow, stripped bare of any decorations except for the white, thin linen draped on top of it. At each seat awaited simple ceramic tes and sses already filled with water. The centerpiece of the table was themb, now cut into thick slices of meat, seasoned with fresh herbs and surrounded by ample vegetables. Cecilia thought she''d done well, for having so few materials to decorate with. Soft music yed in the background, a jazz album from Unova she liked, and the lights above were only dimly lit. "Oh, this looks sweet!" Grace said. She''d juste out of the bathroom and gotten ready, given that their guests were supposed to be here at nine. Ate dinner, though Cecilia knew Paldeans and Kalosians tended to eatte, too. "You did a great job¡ª where''d you find the tablecloth?" "It was in one of the counters, along with a bunch of others. I thought this one looked nice, though. Simple." "I sure hope I don''t drop any sauce on it." Her eyes swept over her work one more time. "It wouldn''t be the end of the world." The food looked a lot better than she''d expected, too. Not that Grace and Honey couldn''t cook, but they''d truly outdone themselves this time, even though they''d just been following a recipe. The presentation was top-notch, too. "I figured the seating arrangement would have Mira next to Chase here." Cecilia pointed at the chairs at the edges of the table. Chase wasn''t supposed to being, but they''d made a bet that he''d show up anyway, and it had paid off given that Mira had messaged them about it. "Then me next to Chase, and then you and Maylene¡ª did she confirm she wasing?" "Yes. She is sitting right outside, though, so you could have asked her." Grace checked her phone. "Six more minutes. You look really pretty, by the way. Now I feel underdressed." She smiled. "Don''t worry, you know it''s just a me thing." "Hey, I actually like dressing up now that you got me into it." Cecilia had gotten dressed for the asion. Since they''d gotten to bring their belongings, she had gotten one of her old dresses out of her bag, and even ironed all the wrinkles out of it. She had never ironed anything before, so that had been an entire ordeal, but she''d somewhat seeded with Slowking''s help, in the end. Oh, it was only a simple ck dress with straps around her shoulders, but it''d do the trick. "Why''d you move the chairs all to one side?" Grace asked, wandering around the table. "There''s an elegance about it, don''t you think?" She shrugged, hand drumming against one of the chairs'' backrests. "I''ve seen it done a few times in restaurants, where people all face one direction." "It does look cool. Might make it difficult to talk, though." "We''ll manage." If she was going to decorate, she was going to do it right. "How''d you get Maylene toe, by the way?" Cecilia knew the Gym Leader had saved her girlfriend''s life already, but she remained curious. There was a leap between doing your duty and eating with your old tormentor and her friends. Grace fidgeted a little. "These circumstances have a way of bringing people together, I guess. I wouldn''t say we''re friends, but when I asked her if she wanted toe by for dinner she said anything would be better than League rations and agreed. Plus I think others being here helps." Grace watched Cecilia straighten a fork on the table and smiled. "You know, you, Chase and Mira didn''t do anything to her, so¡­ but it''ll probably be awkward anyway." "I''m d you apologized anyway. You thought there was no hope, once." Traces of joy returned to her face. "That''s¡­ true. I guess things work out sometimes." A minuteter, there was a knock on the door. "Ah! Must be Maylene," Grace said. Cece figured she must have gotten Chase''s and Mira''s knocks down and was making an educated guess. "Uh¡ª" "I''ll go get it," Cecilia said. Admittedly, she was slightly nervous. The only other Gym Leader she''d met was Candice, and she didn''t really behave like one. She needed to get used to meeting important people, and fast. She spoke to Cynthia regrly, for Arceus'' sake. She opened the door and found Maylene standing there with her Lucario in tow. She only had a coat draped over her shoulders, but she wasn''t even wearing it properly. "Leader Maylene." She outstretched a hand, and Maylene shook it. Firm. "It''s a pleasure to have you here." "Just Maylene. And yeah¡­ thanks for inviting me, I guess. It takes my mind off of things, which Grace said was the goal." Maylene leaned to the side and looked inside the living room. "Uh, the others aren''t here? Should Ie backter?" "No, no, pleasee in¡ª" "Okay, thanks, it''s freezing out." Then why are you wearing your coat wrong? Cecilia silently wondered. Maylene showed herself inside, and Grace greeted her with a small wave, which she returned with a nod. So Grace''s assessment was urate. It''d be best if Cecilia could smooth things over a little tonight. She knew how much it''d mean for Grace. Maylene nced at the table. "Oh crap, this looks really good. Smells good, too. Lucario, take a look at this." The fighting type smiled, licking his lips at the food, which was a strange sight. She was more used to Chase''s Lucario acting serious all the time. "Grace made it¡ª" "Cece and I cooked it," Grace interrupted. Cecilia could see Grace non-verbally begging her to let the half-truth slip. She didn''t really understand why she wanted to take away that aplishment, but she let it go. "Chase and Mira arete, as usual," Ceciliained. "You''d think they''d manage to get here when they live literally thirty seconds away." "Knowing them, they waited until thest minute to get Savika," Grace said. Maylene raised an eyebrow. "Who''s Savika? Can Lucario and I sit, by the way?" "Oh, sure, go ahead," Cece said. They passed the time by recounting their adventure through route 216 and finding Savika while Chase was almost dead. Maylene said that back then, they hadn''t been considered important and so they weren''t tracked for any reports to be written up, so she hadn''t known about it beyond the broad strokes of what had happened. Most of their Pokemon were out, now, though thergest and most cumbersome ones were still in their balls. They''d already eaten, so they were just here to mingle and forpany. They wouldn''t be able to fit everyone in here, though, given that this ce was rather small. "I didn''t know about the Sneasel." Maylene was slightly wide-eyed. "I can''t believe you guys survived. Most new trainers just would have died." "We were lucky," Grace said. "Eh, luck can only go so far," Maylene shrugged. "Candice would tell me about Sneasel sometimes and how the ones off-route aggressively hunt humans through the snow for days until they and their Pokemon are too exhausted or cold to fight back effectively." "Like Mightyena, right?" Grace asked. "They''ll stalk prey for days, too." "Exactly, but the cold version of them. They both hunt in packs, too. They call them endurance hunters." "Ramon''s Mightyena''s really nifty. There''s a reason he''s his ace." "Who''s Ramon?" Maylene asked. Grace''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "What? He made it to the top sixty-four¡ª you know what, never mind." "The ones who attacked us kind of tried to do that, but they gave up after a while," Cecilia said. "They might have been too hungry to wait." The atmosphere was honestly a lot better than she''d expected! But of course, Chase and Mira got here, finally, and the former got snow all over the floor by forgetting to wipe his feet before entering. And the first thing he asked was this, for some reason. "Did you want alcohol from Savika?" "Excuse me?" Mira snickered, opting to greet Maylene instead. Cecilia thought the Gym Leader might be a little overwhelmed by these many new faces, but only Grace would truly be able to tell. Maybe she was struggling to get in the spirit of pretending everything was normal. Honestly, red wine would have been nice, she silently thought. "This looks really good, guys. And hey, Honey, good job!" Mira grinned. She fist-bumped the electric type and mimicked an explosion. Grace tilted her head. "Since when is that a thing?" "Since now." Electivire flexed, and his tails whirled around in excitement. "What''s with the table?" Chase nearly touched the cutlery before Cecilia warned him not to. "Okay! Okay! Arceus, I won''t, no need to take that tone with me." "You''re being a child," Cece said. "It''s just a specific style. Maylene didn''tin. She evenplimented the table." "Well, I''m not gonnain when someone invites me¡­" she muttered. Grace grabbed the entire dish. "I''ve got to reheat the food because of you guys. Be right back, and then we can eat." It went like this. Cecilia sitting at the center, nked by Grace and Chase, who were too nked by Mira and Maylene. They would chat,ugh and rte to each other, passing around as much food and drink as they pleased. Pokemon talked to each other too. Chase slipped scraps of meat to his Houndoom while Zangoosezed on the couch with Sigilyph and Toxicroak. Slowking had struck a friendship with Maylene''s Machamp, and was giving aedy performance to arge group of Pokemon. Outside, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Golurk and Abomasnow were asionally visible through a window. The first two had needed to be barred from fighting to train and Abomasnow wasrgely there to keep an eye on them. Grace had talked about how Sweetheart wanted to make snow angels, so that was a nice distraction, and Golurk was a very easygoing person who''d no doubt let them go at it if they asked hard enough. Instead, he yed music that crept through the windows, so warm that the fact that it wasing from a ghost surprised Maylene. Jellicent floated with kazam and Gardevoir, who were warming up next to the radiator. Scizor was side-eyeing Meltan for trying to eat him and used Exeggcute as a shield to distract them¡­ There were too many happenings to describe everything, but their home was so alive it was easy enough to forget tomorrow would evere. Everything was glowing. But every good thing had toe to an end, eventually. Maylene couldn''t be on break for more than an hour, and she''d already gone over that. Multiple League Trainers hade to get her, and she left first. Another hourter, Chase and Mira were about to leave, mostly because the former said they needed to sleep to be ready. Before that, however, a conversation took ce. "Chase." Mira was speaking to Grace in the distance, unabashed by the cold and the snow. Cecilia and Chase were alone. "Hm?" "I wanted to talk to youter tonight. At around one in the morning, if possible? I know you said we all needed rest, but¡­" "You aren''t going to tell me why?" he groaned, putting his hands up in exasperation. "First Mira, now you, I feel like I''m being dragged around all the time." "It''s serious." His eyes narrowed. "I''ll be there." Chase had answered so quickly it took Cecilia a second to even register it. Their bond ran deep enough for him to know that she meant what she said, and she couldn''t be any happier for it. They had sworn an oath on the shores of Falkirk, that they would always look out for each other no matter what came to pass. "Thank you, Chase." "Ah, well, what can you do." Chase scratched the back of his head and took a few steps toward Mira. "I''ll see youter. I think I might know what this is about." "Do you think less of me for it?" He hesitated, with his back to her. "I don''t." ¡ª Theyy in bed together, arms and legs so intertwined Cecilia didn''t know where her body ended and Grace''s started. It was pitch ck in the room, so dark she could only vaguely see her girlfriend''s face. A shape in the shadows, unmoving, yet so close. Still, she could tell she was caressing the left side of her face, with how rough and coarse the scarred tissue was there. Countless bumps and crevices, dotting her arm, shoulder and cheek. Cecilia liked to touch the area between the scar and skin. The transition between the pristine and the hurt. Their Pokemon were sleeping in their Pokeballs¡ª even Meltan, but Cassianus hovered next to the bed, eyes glowing slightly in the night. asionally, they''d make a strange chime or beep, but other than that, they were quiet. As for them, they were not sleeping quite yet. Managing to go to sleep right now would be a feat that she wasn''t quite sure either of them was capable of, though at least Grace sounded like she was growing more and more tired. They were giving themselves another hour before Slowking was forced to knock them out with Hypnosis so they were well-rested, though Cecilia had a conversation to have with Chase first. A hand slid her hair behind her ear, and Grace''s soft voice rang out. She was so close her breath tickled her lips and nose. "You okay, baby? Your body''s kind of tense." "I''m getting ready for what''s toe," she simply answered. "Today isn''t over yet, is it?" Ceceughed. "Not yet. But you know." "Yeah. I know." She paused, cing her forehead against hers. "Do you think it''s sad that we pretended?" "I was happier today than I''ve been in a long time," Cecilia whispered. "Seeing you happy makes me happy, even if it''s just a game. I know you put yourself into that mind space for me. Thank you." While Cece liked to put her issues away in the deepest recesses of her mind for her to deal with at ater date, Grace could trick herself into believing they weren''t there, if she was in the right headspace. She wasn''t like that anymore. Her voice no longer had that pep, and she sounded tired. They both were. "It''s okay," she said. "I liked it. Hey, it was like we were living together, wasn''t it?" Cecilia smirked. "It was." "You know I was thinking¡ª maybe webine our two ies together next year and rent a ce in Castelia. Have like, a base of operation. I know it''s kind of a waste of money with the Centers, but it''s¡­ nice, isn''t it?" "I''d love nothing more, Grace." Warmth rose up in her chest like an erupting volcano, and she grabbed her girlfriend''s hand. "Wouldn''t it be fun to visit apartments together?" "What if we visit apartments we can''t afford and pretend we''re rich?" "I wouldn''t want to waste someone''s time like that." Grace hummed. "True. I just think it''d be nice to have some stupid fun, for once." "We can find other ways to have stupid fun. Like you visiting me at work." She giggled. "We''ll have to get Cass and Slowking better at Teleporting for that." "It''s about time, anyway. We''re a little behind in that department." Her phone vibrated on the nightstand. Cecilia turned away, ignoring Grace''s whining and looked at the message. The light nearly rendered her blind for a few seconds. Chase K.: I''m outside. "Chase wants to talk to me," Cecilia said. She wasn''t going to say the reason¡ª not until she made sure Justin was safe. "It''ll just be a second." "Okay," Graceined. Well, not really , but did that thing where she was totallyining even though she was pretending not to be. "I''ll try to wait for you. Don''t forget to have Slowking out." Cecilia slipped away from her grasp, quickly got dressed and knelt next to the bed when she was done. She kissed Grace¡­ a few times and whispered, "I''ll be right back." She slipped away from the bedroom. ¡ª "There you are." Cecilia wanted toin that he could have just stood outside the house, but she''d been the one to act like this was a secretive thing. And it would be, depending on the results. Chase turned toward her and adjusted the cap on his head. He''d been standing here in the cold awhile and pacing, if the tracks in the snow were anything to go by. It was hard to imagine Chase pacing, given that his go-to coping mechanism was to act like he didn''t care about something and close himself off, but he''d done it a few times in the past. His lips thinned. "Yup." "Listen, Chase, I¡ª" "Dinner was great, by the way," he interrupted. "And you know, it was cool to hang out after so long." Cecilia nodded. Before all of this, they hadn''t seen each other since she had left Canve for Pastoria, shortly after their trip to the Iron Inds together. "It was fun. But I have to ask¡­ I wanted to ask a member of the League, but I can''t build up the courage to. I even failed to ask Maylene. I want to know if he''s dead, Chase." His face darkened. "Yeah, I figured. So you want me to ask for you?" he grunted. "You know what I think." "I want us to ask together," she said with a sad smile. "I need to have all of the information before tomorrow happens. To know how to approach this." He frowned at her, not understanding what she meant, but that was better that way. "Fair enough. I''ll help you out." "Thank you," she exhaled in relief. "Shall we go, then?" They weren''t nning on going far, just to one of the ACEs who were guarding their homes, yet the short, minute-long walk there felt like an eternity. Cecilia''s steps drifted across the snow, each heavier than thest, every single one adding to the bubble of anxiety that had formed as a lump in her stomach. The cold wind swept across her clothes, stabbing through her skin like a thousand needles and seeped deep into her flesh. Her breath trembled. There were many ACEs here¡ª ten visible, and that was only the ones who weren''t hiding. There was also Maylene, though she was closer to Grace''s home with her Lucario, given that her job was to sense Dusknoir, if he ever came back. They reached a brown-skinned woman who was shorter than average and who was nked by an Ariados whose legs were rhythmically stabbing into the snow. Her name was Nevaeh, ording to Chase. One of the ACEs who''d been at the mansion during the raid and who had been guarding him from the start. They seemed rather close, from the way he smiled at her. They even shook hands, and he extracted more emotion out of her than she''d ever seen other ACEs show except Carlos for Mira. She felt a pang ofcking at that, for being worse at growing close to people, but that wasn''t why they''de here. Chase looked at her onest time, to make sure, and she nodded. "Nevaeh, we have a friend who was caught in the explosions this morning in Canve. His name is Justin Gardner, and we''d like to know how he''s faring, if you have any information about that?" Her response was instantaneous. "Ah, Gardner. His fate was shared with us." Cecilia took a breath¡ª "He''s expired," she said. "The explosion killed him instantly. The League is in possession of his Pokemon, though they''ll only be dealt with when this is all over." The delivery was emotionless. Chase grimaced, his eyes tightly shut. "I''m sorry, Cece," he forced out. "I''m sorry." Cecilia stopped breathing, and she took a step back. Two¡ª maybe¡ª maybe more, she didn''t know. This was real. It was real. It was. "Who¡ª did this?" she asked, barely able to form the words. "Who''s at¡ª who''s fault here?" Neveah shrugged. "You''re asking for individuals. Abel believes the one most likely responsible for the bombings would be Jupiter, given that she was in charge of finances and general ns like these¡­" Neveah''s voice faded into the background. A me flickered to life inside of her and instantly turned into a zing inferno of dragonfire. Her breath trembled, as did her fingertips until she gripped the sides of her dress so hard she could still feel her nails through the fabric. Her vision blurred, the world bing shapes and colors no matter how much she blinked. Her heartbeat was so loud she could hear it and feel it pulsing through her arms, ears and chest. Usually, ice would flood her veins and make her think clearly, but not for this. Anything but this. It was an all-consuming ze, leaving no room for reason, rational thought orpassion. The time for tears had gone, reced now by the need to destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy¡ª Her breathing came in raspy gasps, the air seeminglybusting into her lungs and burning. She realized Chase had been holding her up. He was saying something, and she could hear the words, but not make sense of them. Her ears were ringing. She hade from nothing. Her father would never think she was enough, her mother was barely a human being, her brother wascent, Amy had been fake. But she''d found people who''d taught her what true friendship meant. What love meant. What family meant. One of the members of her family was dead. It was still so hard to believe¡ª when she closed her eyes, she still saw him alive. Cecilia hadn''t even seen him go, and she would never see him again. The next word came as a growl, each syble drawn out until they became barelyprehensible. A scream so incoherent only Cecilia herself could understand it. "JUPITER." Today was over. Tomorrow had just begun.
Chapter 307 – Pact & Oath Chapter 307 ¨C Pact & Oath
Trigger Warning - Spoiler Grooming [copse] CHAPTER 307 - PACT & OATH The transition between the unconsciousness of sleep and being awake was lethargic. There was this strange, ten-second or so period of time where my body moved, but I couldn''t actually tell what was happening. My arm slowly crawled to the right of the bed, and it only reached more cold, wrinkled fabric. It moved around, up and down until I realized something. Cecilia wasn''t in the bed. I jolted awake, blinking away thest of the tiredness as fast as I could. My body panicked before my brain realized that she might just be in the living room. There didn''t look to be any sounds of fighting outside and she usually woke up far earlier than I did anyway. Wiping the corner of my mouth, my eyes nced toward Cassianus, who hovered at the side of the bed with some book floating close to one of their eyes. As usual, they closed the book and chimed one of their morning hymns, a cheerful song that had been no doubt built to greet Kings and Queens of times past the moment they woke up. Sometimes, they yed the sound of nature too, but I''d told them I liked music better. Good morning, my King. "Cassianus, do you¡ª" my voice stopped when I realized it was slightly echoey. "...I won''t ask why you put a barrier around me while I slept." My feet swept over the side of the bed, and my toes touched the edge of the shield. Cold, and hard as steel. "But why did you not let sound through?" The psychic blinked, arms wobbling slightly to their side. I hadn''t known ydol as long as the others, and this rarely ever happened strongly enough for them to show it, but they were nervous. I apologize for any transgressions my barrier might have caused, they said with a slight trill in their usually smooth voice. The shield suddenly disappeared, though I didn''t notice visually, but with sound slowly returning to my ears. Quiet chirps of birds beyond my window, the moving of vehicles clearing snow, and the frigid wind hitting the walls of the house. I rubbed my eyes and rose from the bed. They floated out of the way. "So? Are you going to tell me why? I''m not mad, I just¡­ you never do this. Where''s Cece? Shee backst night?" There were traces of difort in their eyes, but they answered nheless. "I told her I would not say, but¡­ the Queen came backst night looking extremely distraught." My heart sank, but I decided to let them finish. "She watched you sleep for five minutes and seventeen seconds, then asked me to make a soundproof shield around the bed. Should I have refused, she said she would have Slowking do it, and she was very, very threatening when she spoke, and I must obey the Queen, and¡ª" "You''re alright," I said. "It''s okay, baby." They''d been moving erratically by the end, there. They''d dropped their book and nearly knocked the light off the bedside table. Any more and they''d have returned to theirputer-like speech, which was something we''d worked hard to fix. "I''m sorry if I scared you." My hand touched their body and caressed it, fingers tracing around the tough y. "You only wanted to help, I¡­ I was just stressed out. I am stressed out." "I apologize regardless." ydol''s head bobbed up and down, and they levitated through the room. "The Queen was causing quite the ruckus in the house throughout the night, but I did not hear her leave again." "Shit." I quickly followed Cass and opened the door to the hall leading out of the bedroom. And there was only chaos to be found. Not in the hallway itself, since it''d always been empty, but the counter thaty at its end next to the bathroom had been shattered, with splinters of wood and shards of ss from a mirror littering the floor. I''d been about to run in when Cass held me back and asked me to please put shoes on so my feet didn''t get injured and reminded me that my ankle wasn''t well enough to run yet, so I painstakingly, slowly walked through the corridor. The walls themselves were fine, though I noticed there were dents here and there. I called out to Cecilia, but no answer came despite ydol''s assurances that she should be in the living room. We passed by the bathroom, which was also utterly destroyed. Tiles that had lined the walls in neat, orderly rows were now cracked and chipped, somepletely dislodged, lying scattered on the floor like discarded pieces of a puzzle. The mirror was a web of cracks, its fragmented surface offering back a distorted reflection of the chaos and our faces. The shower curtain had been thrown to the floor, and the ceramic of the sink was chipped and cracked. As we reached the living room, I began to understand that she''d done this. Not her Pokemon, but Cecilia herself. The pit of fear and anxiety that had been forming inside my stomach jumped up to my throat and made me exhale a groan. It was a physical thing, heavy and growing. In the kitchen, drawers had been yanked open and their contents spilled in a chaotic cascade of utensils and knick-knacks that now littered the floor. tes and sses were a mess of porcin and ss, with their pieces grinding underfoot with every step. Past that was the living room, where the television was still ying the distorted sound of the morning news with its light constantly flickering and its screen also neatly shattered. Pillows on the couch had been torn open, chairs were knocked down, a potted nt was uprooted from its broken pot¡­ Cecilia was there, sitting on the torn-up couch and watching the broken TV. Her dark brown hair was disheveled and wild, with pieces of broken wood still sticking through, and the clothes she''d put onst night were torn open. There was an area at least five feet all around her was still pristine and untouched by her rage, or maybe it had been cleaned up. She had bandaids all over her arms and hands. Maylene was looming over her in silence with her arms crossed along with Lucario, but she looked at me as soon as I entered. "Cece¡ª what happened here?" It hurt to even speak, and each word had to be forcefully expelled from my mouth. I took a few steps forward, debris crunching under each step. "What happened?" I asked again. Cecilia answered, "Grace." Yet she was still not looking my way¡ª still looking at the screen. "Good morning." There was something in her voice that scared me. Like the building of a storm you knew would be bad, and despite the fact that it was still safe to go outside, it would not be for long. "Erm, it might be better if I let you two speak." There was an ufortable shift from Maylene. Even though I could tell she was annoyed at this, she wanted to remain polite. "I''ll get out of your hair, but my orders have me inside of the house now that Cecilia tried destroying it, just in case she hurts herself really badly." A grimace crept up on my face, and I crouched in front of Cecilia. My hands settled on herp, which she grabbed immediately and squeezed before rxing slightly. Maylene scratched her cheek. "So yeah, I''ll leave you two to it." Before she made it to the door, though, she turned back toward us and inclined her head, along with her Lucario. "And I''m sorry." The door closed, and silence returned to the home. "Sit." I looked at Cecilia, but before I could speak she repeated herself. "Sit. Please." I settled next to her, hands squeezing anxiously at the torn-up couch. This was so unlike her that I had no idea how to react. No, it wasn''t unlike her, it was just that she''d never gotten angry enough to do something like this. To let go of every scrap of normality and civility that shackled her and allowed her instincts to take over. It had happened to me multiple times, but the targets of my anger tended to be far more focused. If I was a de, Cecilia was a fire ready to burn anything in its path until she reached the source of her ire. But what could have gotten her so furious? Cecilia ran her hands through her hair multiple times until it was slightly straightened out and sighed. She leaned back against the backrest, her eyes zed over with exhaustion, and she stared directly at the ceiling light above even though it was turned off. "I wondered whether or not to tell you thisst night¡ª agonized over this while I watched you sleep." There was a slight smile on her face, but there was none of the usual warmth. It was full of nostalgia for a happier time, and that had me tense. "But it would be hypocritical of me, to keep this from you. We spoke to each other on the phone, when you confessed about what you did to Edward Backlot and to Maylene, and we said that there would be no more secrets. You deserve to know, but I''m sorry. I really am." She took a deep breath and looked at me. "Last night, I spoke to an ACE Trainer and found out that Justin was dead." The world copsed before me. The floor and couch were swept away from under me, the walls unraveled in a thousandyers and the air disappeared from my lungs. The narrative I had spent so much time spinning disappeared like a candle in the wind and reality swept over me like a hurricane. It carried me far, so far that it felt like I was suspended in the air. Falling until every part of me would be carved by the wind and rain, and there would be nothing left of me by the end. I tried to breathe, but could only cough as I gripped my shirt where my heart should be. "Grace." The voice was distant. I closed my eyes and I could still see his face, smiling as he showed me the book Louis wanted for his sanctuary. Him learning to reconnect with me after darkness had robbed his personality. How happy I felt when I realized helping him was possible, if he so wished¡ª Further back, still. Getting him to slowly open up to us, his dreams of improving human life, the day he had entered our tent and said he wanted me to teach him how to battle because of discovering how fun it was. Hopes, family, life, his Pokemon, the years ahead of him¡­ None of it mattered. It hurt. It hurt like someone was gouging my heart out of my ribcage. It hurt like my lungs were being crushed under a hundred tons. It hurt like sharpened knives were covering every inch of my skin and tearing through my muscles until they unraveled like strings. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt¡ª A warm embrace wrapped itself around me. Flittering wind, a breeze gentle and warm enough to feel good on your face. "You will me yourself for this," the calmed, fiery storm whispered in my ear. Maybe calm was the wrong way to look at it. It was frozen in time until it could be unleashed at whoever it pleased. "You will wonder what would have happened, had Justin been closer to you so you could keep him shielded, or had you convinced him not to go, or had you told him to release his Audino. You always do." "Isn''t all of that true?" I begged, voice quivering. The storm wavered, but strengthened itself until it kept me from falling further. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. But you hold within your hands the sharpest of des, love." It picked up, now, growing so loud I could barely hear the voice itself. "Do not point it at yourself." "Who?" I rasped. "Who should I point it at?" This bombing n wasn''t something Mars would do. She wouldin about the killing being too impersonal¡­ because she wouldn''t be able to see the suffering in person. She was a very particr way of cruel I understood very well, and this wouldn''t have pleased her. No, she would have gotten bored before she even began organizing the bombings, she was far more spontaneous. Had it been Saturn, then? Or maybe¡ª The storm raged. Thunder boomed above me, meteorites fell through the clouds and crashed deep below, creating shockwave after shockwave. The world was ravaged. "I will handle it." It, as in thing, not as in the situation. The storm spouted so much wrath with that word that it even pained me despite it not being aimed at me. It made me want to cower, to hide to not get in its way, lest it sweep me away on the way to its target as well. "But what I said remains," the storm said. "None of this is our fault. You understand, don''t you? Team Gctic must burn, burn and burn until there is nothing left but ashes. Even if it is thest thing I do, be it because I die or the world ends." "I¡­ understand." "So open your eyes. Open your eyes and face this." Light blinded me. ydol chimed in worry, but otherwise stayed silent. They were not one to interject when they saw themselves as lesser, still. The problem was slowly improving, but nowhere near fixed yet. The storm¡ª Cecilia let go of the hug, wiped my tears with her thumb, and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the brightness morning brought again. My fist unclenched from my shirt and every heartbeat stopped bringing agony with it. It hurt, still, but it was enough to function. I''d said there would be no more moping, no more self-pity, but my friend was dead and he was nevering back. Arceus, and his Pokemon would be so devastated. Arcanine¡­ "Why did it have to be this way?" I asked with a trembling jaw. "Because the world is cruel, and one must fight it if they wish to have a ce in the sun. They must grow strong enough to impose their will upon everything the light touches no matter the consequences." Be careful with that line of thought, part of me wanted to say. But I did not say anything. Not for this. Not now. We would heal when this was all over, but the look on Cecilia''s face told me nothing I ever said or ever could say would convince her otherwise, not that I wanted to try anyway. "So¡ª it was Jupiter, then." Cecilia nodded, patting down her clothes so she could look presentable. "I will kill it." Her voice was as smooth as polished stone, calm and resolute. Assured. "It doesn''t matter who I have to destroy in my path to do it or how much I have to toil, I will kill it on sight as soon as it shows itself." That is where we differed. The focus of our ire was on individuals, but she would blow everything away in order to get to her, because that was who she was and in her nature to do so, and I knew to keep myself honed in on who truly mattered. She dehumanized, whereas I knew the horrors people could bring, because they were people, no matter their origins. She would kill in an instant just to wipe out who could be a threat to the people she loved, not caring for the suffering of those who deserved it, whereas I wanted to draw out every ounce of pain to equalize their sins and make the world bnced again. I swallowed the bile building up in my throat, but it kepting. She stood up. "Before I came back here, I asked the ACEs about it. They have information from Abel, who has been helpful in that regard." I scowled at the thought of him, which she didn''t miss, but she simply inclined her head in apology. "I know how it behaves, the sick way it thinks, and I know of all of its Pokemon, since it led the attack at thiske." I wanted to tell her to be careful, but we both knew what a fight like this would imply already anyway, and I had also embroiled myself in a vendetta against other Commanders. She offered me a hand. I took it, and she pulled me up. We were both in pain, but knew what had to be done. "Did you tell the others?" I asked. "Chase and Mira knew first. I was debating¡­ telling Louis, but I had to. I couldn''t leave him hoping, because dying the hurt would be meaningless. It doesn''t matter if we hurt him now, or two days from now if the world still exists, he will find out." I sucked in air through clenched teeth. "But he''s alone, Cece. He''s alone in a bunker with no one to keep him sane. He doesn''t have me to¡ª" To take the hurt away. "You shouldn''t have told him. You shouldn''t have." "I trust him," she simply said. "I believe in him." I flinched away from her, inching away on the couch. "Don''t act like I don''t¡ª" "I did not say that you don''t trust or believe in him at all, nor did I imply it," she hissed. "I simply have more faith in him than most." "You didn''t see him like I did. He was withering like a dying flower, he didn''te out of his room, he¡­ he''d wished he had stayed in the dark instead of learning about the end of the world." "And I know all of that." "And you impose that knowledge on him anyway?" My eyebrows creased, and my foot pressed against a shard of screen on the ground. "Do you want to make him fight?" "I don''t think he will fight, no. He''s a gentle soul, not at all like us. All his life, he pretended to be something he wasn''t to please his father, and he''s finally be true to himself." I bit my lip, shutting my eyes and imagining the pain he must have been in. Him and the others. "What''s done is done. What now?" "You should call Maylene over, and then we''ll ask her about what''s happening outside." "And then we wait." She nodded. "Then we wait." I shambled toward the door, with my legs still feeling slightly weak. The weightlessness that had spread through my body earlier had tricked my brain into thinking my body was heavier than it actually was, and my bad ankle wasn''t helping. Seeing this, Cecilia and Cass joined to help me, with my girlfriend supporting me by the arm and the ground type brushing a slightly psychic force to my left to keep me upright. Two more, five more, ten more steps, and I was able to walk on my own without Justin''s death pressing down on me as hard. Before I opened the door, I looked back at Cece. I sniffled a few times before being able to speak again. "Did you get all the rage out of you?" My hand wrapped around the knob to stop it from shaking so much. "Uh, I mean, are you sure you''re okay?" "I¡ªI''m sorry about that. It won''t happen again, I just couldn''t¡­ I just couldn''t keep it in. I tried, I really did, I managed to talk, to calmly get in the house and to warn Cass to let you sleep, but¡ª" "I understand." We all had our vices. As it turned out, Maylene had been sitting right at the door on the two steps, coat draped over her shoulders as she shivered. She shot up, nearly bumped into me, and then quickly apologized. Her anxiety couldn''t be more obvious if she tried, but I believed it was because she knew Justin was dead. Everyone had known, but we''d just been pretending. Pretending because epting reality was more painful than pulling wool over our eyes and smiling, thinking that our friend would be waiting in a hospital by the end of this with only burns, cuts and bruises. I want to throw up. I stood there, unable to talk out of fear that any sudden movement would have me hurling on a Gym Leader. My hands gripped the doorframe and Cass gently whispered in my mind, but I couldn''t¡ª I couldn''t just put it away like Cece could. "Are you two okay?" Maylene asked. "Uh, I''m sorry about your frie¡ª about Justin. I didn''t know him, but I know how hard it is to lose someone, so¡­ I''m sorry." Cecilia spoke from behind me. "And I apologize for my outburst and anything I might have said. I wasn''t thinking straight." "Well, at least you''re talking, now." Maylene tried to walk through, but it took me five seconds to gather the strength to let her in. She looked closely at me as she entered. "You look really bad, Grace. Do you need to¡ª" I vomited. Yesterday''s dinner spewed out of my mouth and would havended all over the floor and staircase to the outside had Cass not contained it in a psychic bubble, which they promptly threw out and buried in snow. Cece brought me to the broken-down bathroom, and luckily the water still worked even if half of it dripped on the floor, now. I washed my face, cleaned my mouth and used the opportunity to talk to her alone. "Listen," I told her, not wanting Maylene to hear this. She faced me, her back to the door and eyes more intense than they''d ever been. "You have to make things right. My heart will be imbnced, the world will be wrong so long as those three Commanders live." It would be like a cough that never went away, an itch one couldn''t scratch, a word on the tip of my tongue, constantly nagging and nagging until all three were dead. "I know." She''d said so before, but I was certain, now. "Good. It''s a pact, then." "An oath." My hand squeezed hers until it hurt so the deal could be bound to something. It was flimsy at best, but it was enough. We were ready. ¡ª Two broken girls faced Maylene, eyes no longer tired like they''d been two minutes earlier. It was as if they''d been rejuvenated by something, and they were eager, now. Eager to get into the thick of it and fight, to kill, to get their revenge on the people responsible for so many deaths. Her hearing was, as she''d said, better than the average person''s, and given that part of her job was to stop these two from doing something insane like running off to get their revenge or continuing to trash the house until it copsed on their own head if they used their Pokemon, she''d enhanced her hearing, channeling aura from her heart to her ears to hear their conversation. It was rude, didn''t respect their privacy in their weakest moment, but it was sorely needed, given that these were orders and she had no choice but to listen, especially when they were key to solving everything. What she''d heard was a vow of murder that told her they would stop at nothing to go through their pact¡­ or their oath, whatever the difference was, if there was any. They were both sitting on chairs this time. They''d pulled two of the three that were still intact up and were sitting at the dinner table. "So nothing happenedst night?" Cecilia asked, hands intertwined together. Every few seconds, her jaw would clench and tighten. "No scouts? No attempts to Teleport in?" "You''d know if that was the case." The Gym Leader tried to keep her voice gentle and steady not to set her off. Lucario had warned her, when she''d first entered the room and Cecilia had just been rampaging across the living room like a wild beast that she''d let her anger out of a cage, but it was currently under lock and key. "We expect it toe today regardless, but it looks like Grace''s words had a real effect on Mars. We''ve had plenty of time to prepare Cor and here, but obviously¡­" "Obviously you hope we put a stop to it here," Grace said, tone deadpan. Too deadpan. "But if we fail, what''s the n?" Maylene''s foot tapped anxiously against the ground. "Then we suit you up, and it''s onto the mountain, but¡­ yeah, we have no idea if you''d get another opportunity to free the Lake Guardians, given that we know they''ll be given to Cyrus. He''s the one that''s going to¡­ summon Time and Space. He''ll leave troops and his admins behind, and with the mountain behaving the way it is¡ª" "How is it behaving?" Cecilia asked. "The most agitated its ever been. It makes organizing very difficult, but I''m not involved in most of that stuff, and they don''t tell me much." Maylene groaned, putting her hands up. "Can you believe they have me basically doing ACE Trainer work and they aren''t telling me shit? Arceus¡­" The two shared a look, but Maylene had no idea what that meant. "Uh, I''m gonna go get some water," she said. "I assume the fridge still works?" Cecilia nodded. "I wasn''t strong enough to break it." So she tried anyway. "You two want anything?" They both shook their heads in silence. Well, better silence than them going crazy. Maylene got herself some ice-cold water and waited. ¡ª Team Gctic arrived four hourster. You could tell they had, by how the base came to life in a single instant. People outside yelled, the door to our home flung open, psychics Teleported right next to us and attacks started flying outside. That, and the ring rm that was so loud I could barely hear myself think. Maylene and her Lucario nked me, and by extension Cece while I was escorted out and we were both put in a car. Apparently Teleporting me was too risky even with the darkness tempered because the rate of failure had jumped as soon as Mesprit had appeared. A League Trainer I didn''t know the name of drove us while ACEs filled the car to the brim. Pokemon fast enough to keep up with the car ran along with it¡ª Umbreon, Ariados, Luxray, Gade, and the like. And yes, it was just Mesprit, apparently. "They didn''t bring Azelf?" I asked. The car was driving so fast and shaking so wildly that my voice was, too. There was an Indeedee and a Mr. Mime hanging on the roof and shielding the vehicle as it traveled. "I guess they really can''t use their power." Cecilia was staring straight ahead. "It''d be needlessly risky. Just one slips out of their grasp, and odds are, they wake up and turn all of Gctic into paste before going back to theirkes. If they seeded with only Mespritst time, then there''s no reason to bring the other and give me and Chase the opportunity to save them. They''re removing as many weaknesses as they can." ACEs chatted between themselves around us, mostly with military babble I didn''t quite understand. There were talks of setting up a perimeter, of trying to use bug types to find a weakness in the barrier instead of brute forcing it likest time, but mostly they were worried about the time being wasted. Last time, Mars had Teleported a minute away from us at most and I hadn''t needed to Teleport, but this time she was further than that, even when taking a car. Staring in the rearview mirror, I could see another one following behind us¡ª Mira and Chase, no doubt. We reached our destination within two¡ª three minutes at most, with the driver having to navigate around all of the people and Pokemon moving around. I hopped out of the car and saw a glimpse of Mars¡­ sitting on the floor, maybe? It was hard to tell, with how hard the barrier was being blown up, and it looked like they were sticking with mostly dark type moves for now which was making it even worse. Once again, psychics reinforced Mesprit''s barrier, but there were fewer of them, this time. Were they saving them for Cor? The question answered itself when I was allowed to see a glimpse of pink hair. The person with the Red Chain wasn''t her, it was Charon. I saw slivers of a balding head with faded pink hair, ab coat and his usual hunched posture, and I knew that it could only be him despite only having seen him once before at Valley Windworks. The chain was wrapped around his wrist and he was greedily holding onto the red gems. His Hypno was no doubt powerful enough to rece multiple psychics on his own, so they''d gambled and sent only him, a Jynx and a Medicham. They were going to give him Uxie. There was no time to see or check Mira''s reaction behind me. Cecilia and Chase were being kept on standby just in case Azelf showed up, but otherwise she was just gazing upon Mesprit in contempt. The Legendary was at Mars'' side, now, like they were hers, instead of hovering far above her. Once more, I linked my emotions to Mesprit as my eyes closed, and I plunged into their mindscape. ¡ª He was there. Charon stood there, his eyes already closed and his body slumped over, only held by Mars. ACEs and League Trainers screamed all around her, barking out orders both to people and human, and her head whirled toward Grace¡ª she was standing there as if she was in a trance. Shit, shit, shit, how did this work again? Mira blinked, opening her senses to Uxie''s gift and her head and eyes nearly exploded to how bright Mesprit was. She turned toward the Lake and tried to find Uxie, but she''d only be able to enter Uxie''s mind the moment Charon freed them. All this time, ever since Mesprit had been stolen from Lake Verity, Uxie had stayed silent to her calls. They used to talk and keep up every day until Uxie grew too exhausted to continue ranting, with how far she was from their Lake. She missed them. She really did, even if she understood only ten percent of whatever it was they were talking about. Suddenly, something disappeared from Mira''s head. A presence, just gone in the blink of an eye, and it was like she was no longer whole. A light as bright as a star¡ª a literal star appeared at the bottom of theke, and Mira went blind from the sight. Its light swallowed all around it, and she could no longer see or even hear. Knowledge was¡ª knowledge was loud, just so loud she felt like she was going blind and deaf. Even through her eyelids, the sheer radiance of Uxie''s mind seared her skin like mes. But she knew what she had to do. Her breaths grew ragged and her heart nearly jumped out of her throat at the fear of confronting her uncle, but she had to do this. She wanted this. So Mira yelled, fighting against all who would want to destroy the world and she jumped into the sun. Then, Mira stood atop a pir. It was the tallest structure to have ever existed. She didn''t know how exactly she knew that, but that fact was as solid in her mind as the sun rising from the east and setting in the west. There was barely enough space on the pir for her person. She couldn''t lie down, and she wasn''t sure that she wouldn''t identally fall off if she sat. Mira gulped, suddenly overtaken by vertigo so intense that she could barely think. It was as if a force was forcing her to look down, and yet she couldn''t see the ground. Only the pitch ck below that surrounded her. The pir itself was made of white¡­ bone, or something akin to it. The surface was smooth enough for her to stand on, but the rest of it was jagged and adorned with green and gold. The only thing she could see in the distance was a mountain capped in snow, but the summit was somewhat obscured. Not by more darkness, but blurred, as if she was looking at a pixted picture. The pir she stood on was taller than the mountain, but something told her this was¡­ Mount Cor? The shape of the summit tracked, and since it was one of the most famousndmarks in the entire world, it was easily recognizable to her. Her breathing grew more and more intense. "Shit¡­ shit¡­" What to do? Knowing what Grace had told her about the experience, it was only a matter of time until Mesprit kicked her out now that Uxie was out, and that meant she barely had a minute or so in here, where time moved slower than in reality. Or maybe her interference here would give her more time, but still, that meant that she had to actually fucking reach Uxie. But how? This wasn''t real, but Mira had an inkling that falling down all the way to the bottom of the inky darkness would mean that she would never be able to reach Uxie, and it would be extremely unpleasant to her mind. The knowledge was there, intrinsic to her somehow, yet she had no idea where it came from. Mira looked at her hands to see if there was any sign of a timer like Grace had warned, but instead of paint, she found herself disappearing. Literally. The tip of her fingers, and her shoes now that she was paying attention was blurring and then vaporizing into nothingness as if she had never existed at all. What would happen when her feet werepletely gone? Would she still be able to navigate this ce, or would she crumble to the nothingness below? Nothingness. Beforemon Pokemon came into the picture, humans had harnessed fire to shield themselves from the cold and the dark. To light what had been previously obscured and navigate the unknown¡ª because that was a person''s deepest and most pronounced fear. It wasn''t merely an apprehension or a mild anxiety; it was a profound terror that rooted itself deep within minds, thriving in the soil of their most primal instincts. This fear was not of the dark itself, but of what unseen horrors might lurk within it, waiting, watching. The true terror of the unknowny in its absolute uncertainty; it was the embodiment of every fear, every anxiety, every nightmare, because it had the potential to be all of them at once. It was the ultimate adversary, one that could not be seen, could not be fought, and could not be conquered, only staved off. Mira''s foot hovered over the void. Open your eyes and mind to Knowledge. Do not fear the unknown. Witness what it has to show you. She jumped toward Cor. Her arms windmilled around her, a silent wind whipped around her hair and ears and into her eyes, yet she kept them open no matter how dry they felt. Witness. Witness. Witness. It was screaming at her within every recess, every corner, every inch of her mind. No matter what, she had to look, or she, too would be lost to the unknown. A sphere appeared below her¡ª a bright crystal akin to what she saw when she looked at other people''s heads. She groaned, expecting tond on top of it, but instead, she plunged into it like water andnded in another era. Witness how violence defines your kind. She fell through a battle between hundreds of men and Pokemon around Lake Acuity. The smell of death, blood and iron spread throughout her nose and throat, and she lurched at the sight of dead bodies of people who looked to be as young as twelve. They carried no Pokeballs. Only swords, spears and armor made of leather. For tens of thousands of years, there was nothing here but the asional battle, person or Pokemon. It was as if this ce was frozen in time. But eventually, A burst of activity. Witness how peace and cooperation are more precious to you than anything else. She fell through a vige that hugged the shores of Acuity, small but peaceful. People traveled with their bodies covered inyers of fur and a few fire types like reon or Fletchinder kept their partners warm. Children went to school, goods were traded and people bathed in the warm waters of Acuity, treating it like a hot spring amidst the frigid cold. She saw it grow and grow until it housed tens of thousands of people. Gone in the blink of an eye. Witness how the strong take from the weak. She fell through burning smoke and ash, the vige being razed to smithereens, its people were enved and the earth was poisoned and salted. Piles upon piles of bodies burned, wood and silver was stolen, and Mira witnessed as Willpower unified Hisui under one banner. Knowledge had already gone south years beforehand, but this was a vige she had founded, and it was no more. Witness the impermanence of humanity. She fell through nature having reimed its ce here, but it wasn''t for long. Soon enough, more people passed through, and then starved, or left, or died to a Pokemon attack. She fell and saw history. History Uxie had documented, the only history they''d ever seen without the help of a shard; cycles upon cycles of chronicled human and Pokemon history until¡ª The world spat her out atop Mount Cor. She stood up with a groan, ignoring the fact that her head was spinning. All of her fragmented selves had been forcefully reintegrated within her, and even though this world was fake, it was like her head had been split in two by an ice pick. The mountain''s summit was hard to make out, but the ground below her was smooth and beige even if it was horribly unstable. The broken world extended beyond her. Mira stood up with a tired exhale and blinked, hoping that it would be easier to make out where exactly she needed to go. Every movement she made, every step she took seemed to trigger a cascade of glitches, distorting the reality around her into a fragmented nightmare. Beneath her feet, the ground felt unstable, shifting unpredictably with each movement. Sometimes solid and firm, other times dissolving into a mess of screeching noise and static. It challenged her bnce as she navigated the uneven terrain. The air crackled constantly, and the horizon was still obscured besides the pir she hade from. The sound of her movements were wrong, a ring noise that sounded like someone was pressing pause and y on a video over and over again. Soon enough, she managed to find some kind of arch that was made out of the same bony white as the pir had been, along with the green and the gold. It was the only normal-looking thing in here, and crossing it had her cry for something she''d forgotten by the time she made it through. Mira held out a hand to her cheek and blinked, not understanding why she felt so mncholic, but the gate led her to¡ª Her apartment. It stood there, perfectly pristine in the midst of Uxie''s broken mind. Knowing that time was running short, she ran there as fast as she could. Her arms were nearly all gone, now, as were her legs, yet she could move anyway like her limbs were invisible. Mira drifted across Mount Cor until she reached the building, and the doors opened before her with a distorted woosh. Everything was exactly the same on the inside. The dinky hallway, the narrow staircase, the narrow walls, the ceiling that was just a little too high¡ª that general feeling of crampiness that she''d grown used to, yet it was in a better state. Not new, but¡­ years old. Yes, she remembered now. This was the state of her apartmentplex right before Uncle Ernie abandoned her. It''d be in her apartment, then. She knew that was where everything was going to go down. Her door opened just like the ones at the entrance of the building. The paint was already chipped, but far less than she''d grown used to. The inside was in a far worse state than it currently was, however. The floor hadn''t been vacuumed in who knew how long and a dust coated the inside of her nose, throat and lungs. Piles of dirty clothes were lying about, either on the ground, on chairs, or on the couch. Dozens of empty bottles of beer and the asional liquor were everywhere Mira turned her head. She knew exactly where Charon would be. His bedroom that he''d turned into an office where he had spent countless of sleepless nights trying to recreate Mira''s mother through coding. He''d been a genius, and he''d thrown it all away. Mira hovered toward the bedroom and stopped herself from gasping. He was there. He was there with her mother. She wasn''t a projection, a ghost or on a screen, she was real, in the flesh, and he was touching her hair like it was gold. He was standing over her, having sat her down on his bed and was looking at her with the brightest of smiles, as if the sun was shining down his face and he was simply content. She''d never seen him this happy. Uxie was there too, but as sphemous as it seemed, her eyes weren''t even drawn toward the little Legend. They were drawn to her mother. "Beautiful, isn''t she?" Charon said. She was. Damn it, she was, and Mira wanted to sob and bury her face in her shoulder. She wanted to tell her how much she missed her. How much she wished she was still there. Loss like this was something that never went away. It was something you learned to live with, and you hoped nothing would ever open that wound again after it closed. "Mom¡­" "She won''t speak. She''s a vision I had Uxie make from my memory." Charon''s hand dropped to his side, fist slowly clenching. "I didn''t have the time to work out all of the kinks yet, and you entered this world and interrupted us before I could bring her back fully." "You wasted no time, Ernest." "That is Charon to you." He red at her and clicked his tongue. "After seeing this¡ª the potential in this, you still want to stop us? You still want to get in the way of Marie''s resurrection?" Mira stared at her mother''s eyes¡ª her flowing pink hair, the fake smile, the empty eyes¡ª She wasn''t real. She wasn''t. She was memory. There was a sliver of hesitation, of wanting to let Charon finish rebuilding her from memory so they could talk, but it died as soon as her heart summoned it. She would not be led by her heart, and she had note this far to abandon the cause because it felt good, to see her parent. If Ernie had wanted to convince her, he would have brought her Dad in too, but he didn''t care about him, did he? Nor did he care about her. Charon only cared for himself and the twisted vision he had for his family. She had to fix him, but she couldn''t. Not here. Not when the world was fake. She was but a floating torso and a head now, and circumstances hadn''t given her much time, but there was nothing left to do but try. Mira turned to Uxie, whose eyes were still sealed shut, and gave her pitch. ¡ª I opened the door to the cabin with tears still in my eyes from passing through the white arch to get here. Getting here had been quicker now that I knew where to look and I hadn''t gotten distracted by how alien everything was. The cabin itself had changed¡ª or more like it had been filled in by things that had been missing beforehand. Theyout was the same, with the coffee table low enough to be used while sitting on the thin carpet below despite the tiny chairs. There were pictures framed by wood, their image in ck and white. Pictures of Mars smiling, sometimes with a Pokemon, sometimes with other people whom I had no idea of in locations unfamiliar to me. They were allid out on a wooden dresser at the edge of the room, along with other nonsense like¡­ physical badges I didn''t recognize, jewelry, des, and even a golden tooth. The cabin itself had been fixed from all the fighting I''d done, and there were no signs of a struggle. Mars was there, her back to me, and she had one of the pictures in her hand¡ª one I couldn''t see. "Where''s Mesprit?" My voice boomed across the cabin''s living room, and I took a second step. I pressed my weight on a chair leg with a foot and snapped it off after two attempts. It was firm in my grip, and I approached her¡­ but she didn''t even turn my way. I was almost offended. Were we not sworn enemies¡ª but it didn''t matter. If she was just going to stare at pictures¡­ Pictures. These were pictures of her before she''d lost her memories. Did that mean she used to live here¡­? No matter how intrigued I was, the paint had overtaken my hands, now. This was a small cabin, so I assumed the tiny, cramped corridor next to her was the way to other rooms, like a bathroom or a bedroom of some kind. I tried making my way past her, chair leg ready to strike if she moved even an inch, but she just¡­ let me through. Her face wasn''t as dejected as I''d hoped from the fact that she''d learned she wasn''t real. Instead, it was calm, almost happy as she stared at the picture of her as a child, smiling wide next to a birthday cake. This one too, was in ck and white. It was almost unnaturally attracting my gaze, with how dim it waspared to the world itself. What followed was exactly what I''d expected. A bathroom with nothing to write home about¡ª I was surprised this ce even had plumbing, but I supposed it did have a kitchen and a sink attached to the living room. What could be assumed to be the bedroom was locked shut. I rattled the handle at first, then pushed, then mmed my entire body against the wood. It didn''t budge. I called out Mesprit''s name, but there was no answer. "They won''t reply, since they no longer want to speak to you." I flinched, knocking myself against the wall, and I would have fallen had I not held myself up. My arm swung wildly behind me but hit nothing. My eyes widened when her hand snatched me by the cor and pushed me against the ground. There was no pain, but the fact that she could actually touch me¡ª that was¡ª that was horrible news. My fist clenched around nothing. I''d let go of my stick. "I don''t want to fight." Mars crouched in front of me and smiled. "Not yet at least. I want to talk." I groaned, kicking her in the shin, but she showed me there wouldn''t be a repeat ofst time. There would be no back-and-forth fight, no struggle, and I would not get the upper hand over her. Her leg didn''t even budge, and she forcefully carried me back to the living room. I struggled, oh, I struggled, biting, scratching, tried to poke her eyes out, rip out her throat, punch her stomach¡ª nothing worked. Something had happened for her and Mesprit topletely bond and now I was screwed. Mars threw me onto the living room floor, and I tumbled a few times until my head hit something. It took a moment for me to realize it was one of the coffee table''s legs. Mars sat to face me and calmly waited. I shot up to my feet and ran toward that room again, but the result was the same. The door would not open. I picked up the stick from earlier and tried to use it to break through the wall instead of the door, thinking that it might have been some magic bullshit keeping me in, but wood against wood didn''t work any better. Fuck. There was nothing else to do. "You done?" Mars eyed me with a curious eye as I made my way back, and it took everything not to throw every insult I knew her way and not to flip the table in her face. "So the caricature wants to talk to me?" I tried in hopes that instability would lead the door to open. "Funny. That won''t work anymore." I bit my lip. No other leads, Grace. Let her talk. "So what, then?" "I''m not real. I know that, now," she said with a sad smile. "I haven''t talked to Dusky about it, but Cyrus told me everything." "And you don''t think he was fucking lying to use you like he''s used you for years?" Mars rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to split us apart. I wanted to thank you, and this is how you act?" A scoff escaped my throat. "Thank me?" "Well, you and Mesprit for opening my eyes. Everything makes sense, now." This wasn''t going well. This wasn''t going well at all. I had no idea what Cyrus had put in her head, but there was no way I was going to be able to fight that off. Had he nned this¡ª to own someone and have them bound so tightly that he could by extension control each Legendary to this extent? Last time, Mars'' hold on Mesprit had been so much more unstable. There''d been weaknesses to probe at and insecurities to attack. I expected it could have been a little harder, but to the point of not even letting me see Mesprit? Mars continued rambling about how her mind was clear and how she appreciated me, and other nonsense while I thought up a strategy and acted like I was listening, because if we failed here¡­ It wasn''t over, it was never over until I died, but it''d be the worst-case scenario. "What did Cyrus tell you?" I asked. She leaned forward against the table with a gleam in her eye that told me she wasn''t used to people asking about her. There was no point in pretending to be friendly or to care about her. Mars wasn''t stupid, she''d know it was a trick. "What do I get in exchange?" "What do¡ª" I stopped myself and took a deep breath. There wasn''t time to get angry. "Is there anything I''d be willing to give you that you would even ept?" "Yes! When we meet in the real world, I want us to hang out for¡­ thirty minutes before we fight. As sisters." "Sure," I said. Sisters didn''t have to be friendly. Sisters could kill each other, too, and who knew, maybe that was what sisterhood was like to me with her. She hadn''t specified no Pokemon, either. Not that I wouldn''t have lied to her anyway, even if it would have felt wrong. "Anything else?" "Okay. It''s a promise?" "Promise." For a moment, I thought she''d hold out her pinky, but instead she finally leaned back, and I realized how much pressure she''d been putting on me by just being too close. My shoulders untensed and I rubbed the back of my neck. "I used to be dead," Mars said. "These pictures you see here, the trinkets, the cabin, it belonged to me when I used to be alive. Maybe my subconscious created it anyway, but only filled in the nks after Cyrus spoke to me. I think the ces we keep the Guardians are supposed to be important to us¡ª but I digress!" She pped her hands in excitement as if she was telling a story, and then repeatedly drummed them on the table. "Dusky brought me back from the dead! Me and my team!" I used to be dead. The words bounced in my head over and over. The person I''d grown to be linked to was a ghost. Not a ghost type Pokemon, but a ghost. A revenant who came from a time past. "I had the same reaction when he told me," she giggled. "Dusky tried to give me my memories, too, but he couldn''t because it was too difficult and it had been too long, so he decided that we should have a fresh start. He kept them from me to protect me." "To protect you? Come on, he did it to control you, Mars." If I wasn''t going to get Mesprit out of this, then I at least wanted to nt seeds of doubt again that would hopefully , this time. "There''s no other reason to keep you in the dark." "Well, Cyrus says that''s wrong." Her face twisted into angry frown. "I''ll talk to Dusky about it eventually, and I''ll see what he says, but they wouldn''t lie about that when I have control over one of the Guardians!" Scratch that about her not being stupid. "You said you know deep down that Cyrus doesn''t care about you. He''s using you and your Pokemon as tools¡ª you literally can''t die!" "Oh, we can die, it''s just harder to kill us." And thank Arceus for that. At least I knew, now. "The point remains, you''re an incredibly powerful trainer. Someone who''s been kept in the dark like you are is easier to control. I would know. You should know." "Then why would he tell me about it now?" "Because you¡ª" Deep breaths. Calm down. I grounded myself by gripping the table''s leg so hard it shook. "Because you were asking questions, and it was the best way to keep the situation from unraveling at the seams! He doesn''t even have to make a convincing story either, because he only needs you to be on his side for like twenty-four more hours!" "You don''t get us." I gestured at her, trying to make sense of her existence. Was this what she was like, without being obsessed with cruelty and murder? It was like arguing with a damn ten-year-old! "There is no ''us'' with you and Cyrus!" Mars smiled, bright and true, like she was a girl in love and her eyes shone like the sun. "He kissed me." Disgust flooded me, and for once¡ª for once, I let a sliver of pity reach me. Pity that copsed and burned to a crisp the moment I made sense of it, but it had been there nheless. He had her. And that is when I knew, despite the fact that the paint had still only reached my arms, that I would never win no matter how much time I had. Time passed. We spoke. None of it mattered. I slowly opened my eyes as cold wind prickled my skin and saw Uxie within Team Gctic''s barrier. Miray by my side, on her knees and heaving with tears flowing down her face and freezing on her cheeks. Her hands¡ª including her broken one¡ª gripped snow through the agony movement brought and dug, dug and dug until Chase, Cecilia and a nearby ACE all restrained her. Team Gctic disappeared, leaving Charon''s Hypno behind. It was either dead or unconscious due to the strain aiding Mesprit had put on it, along with the other psychics they''d brought. "He used¡­" she choked. "He made her talk to me." Her words were barely coherent between sobs. "I''m so¡ªsorry. She said things, and I know she wasn''t real, and I was so close, but when she started talking I just¡ª I couldn''t make my chance count, I''m fucking worthless!" I sat down in the snow, uncaring for the cold and wet, and a sigh left my mouth. I was too emotionally exhausted to offer any support that wouldn''t seem fake, though I guessed with what Mars had told me about memories, Mira was talking about her mother, and I had no doubt Uxie would be far more proficient at bringing those to life. It made me an awful friend. Chase was there, and Cece was trying her best, at the very least, but I just¡­ Long day ahead. ¡ª Hands. Hands, hands, hands. They touched me under my arms, on my legs, my back, my stomach and knees. They covered me like a second set of skin, with constant assurances and voices buzzing in my ears like Cutiefly. Every time, I would answer with ''yes, I understand'', and they would nod and keep going. First, I stepped into my baseyer, a second skin designed to wick moisture away while retaining warmth. Over this, theyyered fleece for instion, with its fabric helping against the biting cold. My outer shell was a fortress against the elements¡ª a high-tech, waterproof, and windproof jacket and pants, their bright yellow colors a stark contrast against the dark within the caves. My feet were encased in insted mountaineering boots that were just as heavy as they looked, with a certain rigidness around my ankles. There were gloves, too, thicker than I''d ever worn to keep me shielded against frostbite. On my head was a helmet with a light, and on my back, a backpack full of supplies, shlights, hyper potions, batteries and ropes if I ever needed them. It was sorge that it was nearly taller than I was, and I already knew I''d have to make either Honey or Angel carry it. The trainers around me tried to quickly teach me what everything was for, and I did my best to pay attention to every minute detail. ''Yes, I understand,'' I said again. Most importantly. My backpack had a few oxygen tanks that I''d need if I didn''t want to die near the summit, if we ever got that far, along with a dark breathing mask that looked like it''d fit right on a hazmat suit. A voice among the sea of voices spoke out to me. "Your Pokemon should be able to handle theck of oxygen better than you, but should it be a problem, you''ll be able to share some oxygen with them using this." They handed¡ª never mind, they strapped some other mask on my bag, this time, since it was full. "It''s made of stretchable material and should fit on your Togekiss, Electivire and Turtonator''s mouths, though obviously they''ll go through oxygen much faster than you. The rest should be fine, even up the mountain. The ACEs will give you theirs and sacrifice themselves if need be, but if you''re ever separated¡­" "Yes," I calmly said. "I understand." Around me, Cecilia, Chase and Mira were all being given the same speech. The same words, the same, countless hands, the reassuring smiles hiding terrified faces hoping, hoping we knew what we were doing, hoping that their families would be alive by tomorrow, hoping their dreams, goals and aspirations still mattered, hoping they would see the sun rise again. Hands. Hands and faces. "Yes, I understand." I understand what you want from me. I want that from me, too. A one-eyed kazam strode into the room, spoons floating behind him. We''d been put in the headquarters of theke, although a private room where only members of the League with a certain clearance could enter. I recognized him as Lucian''s. His missing eye was a testament to how far Ditto technology hade, and what the Pokemon who had fought before its spread had missed. He scowled at me as soon as our eyes met, but it passed soon enough. I shall bring you to the base of Mount Cor, kazam said. His spoons softly dropped in his hands after he flexed them a few times. Any questions? No questions. He''d barely let us speak, but to be honest, he was right. There were really no questions. Let''s go, then. The cold was reced by the heat of approaching summer, and I could feel the sun on my face again. I''d start suffocating in this getup soon, but I knew the mountain would grow cold only a few minutes inside, and putting this on had already taken ten minutes, so I wasn''t taking it off again. We came face to face to Mount Cor, along with a makeshift camp at this entrance, which was¡­ near Celestic, if that fog I could see far off in the distance wasn''t just me going insane. Rugged stone and jagged edges. Mourning like they were alive. It stretched so tall. Up, and up, and up, and¡ª
Chapter 308 – Ascend, Children of Coronet Chapter 308 ¨C Ascend, Children of Cor
Trigger Warning Spoiler Murder, Mind Control [copse] CHAPTER 308 - ASCEND, CHILDREN OF CORONET The hugs felt a little artificial, with these suits making us unable to feel our warmth and given the fact that we''d just lost Justin. It was like a stopgap¡ª or putting a bandaid over a bullet wound. Pauline''s face looked like she''d just cried for two hours straight, because she had. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was stained by dry tears. Even now, in my arms, it looked as if she was on the brink of breaking. My hands ran all along behind her, from her neck to the small of her back so she could feel safe in my arms, but again, it was nowhere near what she needed. She would be mourning like this for a long time, and part of me felt like I should have been, too, yet I had a job to finish before I allowed myself to cry again. Emilia''s hug was far less sinct than Pauline''s. She was, for the time being, holding herself together enough to speak. "I''m so sorry." I didn''t know why I was apologizing. No, that was a lie. I was apologizing because I''d been thest one with him. "I¡­ there are no words." My friend sniffled. "I still didn''t believe it, you know?" she whispered. "When¡ª when Cece sent that message, I couldn''t even register the words I was reading. I wanted there to be a reasonable exnation so desperately, but I was just being stupid. He''s just¡­ gone." That was death, sometimes. There was no time for any goodbyes, and maybe thest time you''d seen each other would be horribly mundane. Like that breakfast we''d all had together before Justin and I headed to the library. With the benefit of hindsight, you wanted it to matter. For yourst conversation to be meaningful, instead of it being about buying stupid books, or the words being ''see youter'' with a wave and a smile. There was noter. But you couldn''t know that until it was toote. Maeve''s hug was not as short as Emi''s, but it was cold. Like brushing my skin against cold metal. She took a while to return it, as she had with Mira, but it warmed when she did. She was still in there, deep down, but she had shielded herself withinyer afteryer of walls so she wouldn''t be hurt any longer. I wanted to ask how she was feeling, or if she was okay, but we both knew the answer to that already. Maeve had basically been Justin''s nanny from Sunyshore to Pastoria, and they''d grown very close. To have him gone now was brutal on her, even if she hid it well from the others. Her nails dug into my suit and her eyes shut tight, like she was holding back tears. From what I knew, she hadn''t cried even once. "We''ll get them," I said. "We will." And that was all that needed to be said. Denzel was next. He tried to smile at me, but failed so, so terribly that his visage copsed and he started sobbing. Not even he could be our light, not today. He was so much taller than me, yet he held onto me for dear life, squeezing until all the air was sucked out of my lungs and his tears dripped down my shoulder. The only thing I could do was be here for him, and to try and be a good friend. My batteries had recharged some, since we''d lost at Acuity. "I knew it, deep down. I knew from the minute you told me he was caught in an explosion and he wasn''t with you when you came," Denzel sobbed. His voice quivered, and he struggled to start his next sentence. "I¡ª I wanted to believe so desperately, but I just couldn''t. Still reading the words was just¡ª" "I know." I held on tighter, biting my lip until it hurt. "I know." This was going to scar us forever. Around us, the others wereforting each other, too. Our friends had been in an isted part of camp, or as isted as they could be, given the circumstances. This ce wasn''t as built up as the Lakes. There were no walls, no trenches, no paved roads, but any area with such high concentrations of troops could be called a fortress in its own right¡ª or at least it was, when not dealing with Legendaries. This was only one entrance¡ª the one closest to Celestic. Hundreds of tents, dozens of bathroom stalls and even a makeshift Center with a League-approved Nurse Joy littered the area, stretching for miles around the base of the mountain. The League had somewhat appropriated the Ranger Station on this side of Cor for themselves, but it still wasn''t enough to house all of their troops and heal every Pokemon who''d been wounded in previous attacks, hence the expansivework of tents. Hearing Cor''s tremors was something I''d need to grow used to, though. It sounded like a constant earthquake from deep within the crust of the earth itself. When the hug ended, I asked. "Have you gotten word about Louis?" "No. Not yet," he cried. "But the League confirmed that he was alive. He''s quiet." "Quiet? What does that mean?" "I don''t know. He''s thinking. I have a word to say to Cece about being so reckless, he could have hurt himself, or something." "She said she believed in him, but I¡­" I looked at her. She was hanging at the edge of a conversation between Mira, her and Emi, only talking when talked to. "I think it was reckless, too, but she''s not in a ce to listen right now." My best friend scoffed. "Wha¡ª" "Can you do it after everything''s done?" I gripped his wrist and looked into his eyes, but he avoided my stare. "Please." "...fine. I can''t speak for Pauline, though." Our friend was being ''cheered up'' by Chase, which in normal circumstances would be unheard of, but these times were anything but ordinary. "You look tired," I said. "I haven''t slept since I came here. I can''t." "You''d better get some rest before everything goes down." I patted him on the arm. "Just lying down is better than nothing. Trust me." "I''ll tryter," he reluctantly nodded. The reunion was, as expected, relieving, but also so sorrowful, because no matter what happened today, Justin wouldn''t being back. My friends distracted me enough so that I didn''t feel nauseous, and I focused on the task ahead. Denzel exined that the inside of the mountain was nearly impossible to navigate by the League, but that Cynthia had already gone inside in hopes of reaching the summit before it got even worse. When I asked what even worse meant, he''d told me that it meant truly impossible to get through the mountain''s manyyers in groupsrger than a few individuals. So many troops were avable, yet organizing them would be a fool''s errand. In the end, they would all be stuck on their own or in tiny bands, climbing up the mountain without an ounce of strategy. "It''s like gambling," Denzel said. We sat in a group around him, with a bright light lit up to illuminate the surroundings. It was daytime, still, but it had started to rain now, and the sky was overcast. "You basically go in and hope for the best, but odds are you aren''t going to make it very far unless you''re Team Gctic." "Because they have the Lake Guardians," Emilia said. "Yes. But the League thinks you four¡ª" he pointed at me and the rest of the shards, "¡ªmight be able to bypass that. You''ll hear about it in the debriefing. What time is it?" Chase checked his phone. "It''s in an hour. An hour and thirteen minutes." "Alright," Denzel sighed. "But yeah, it''s fucked in there. Really fucked." Yet we were all going to need to go in anyway. The briefing was, as Denzel said, basically there to tell us how the mountain seemed to be functioning. Never had they seen it behave this way. Not only had every pattern for spatial distortion justpletely gone out the window, but time inside went slower than outside, making waiting for reinforcements from out of the mountain far more difficult than normal. How much time has Cynthia been in there, then? I pondered. From our perspective, a few hours only, but from hers? Double the time? A day? More? When we were going to go inside the mountain, would a few days in feel like a few hours out here? That meant that the moment Gctic entered, from their perspective, the world would only have a few hours left. I took a deep breath. It was only my second time seeing Aaron¡ª the one who gave the briefing. It was odd, seeing someone so young in a position of such power, but that was probably how it had felt like to see Cynthia be Champion all the way back then. None of us spoke to him, though he did spare us a look as he left. He too, was going to go inside Cor early for reasons unknown, along with Flint and Craig. Before that, however, thetter passed by to see us. It had been difficult to tell at the time, but Craig had looked far more youthful, back when we''d first met him. Even when he''d been recovering from that wound on his leg, he''d had that boyish smile to him that you couldn''t help but return. That charisma that had propelled him to the top, not only skill-wise, but connections-wise, too. Today, now that he knew everything that was at stake, he looked old. It was the little things, like the stress lines on his forehead and next to his eyes, the messy look with the uneven stubble, the way every breath seemed to take so much out of him. Craig Goodwill, for the first time, allowed himself to look tired. There were other LTIP Trainers present, but none were as skilled and powerful as he was. The fact that he was joining Elite Four members on this secret mission proved that Cynthia considered him their equal, at the very least. Oh, he tried his best to put his public face back on the moment we started speaking, but I could see through him, now. The small talk was only leading to what he really wanted¡ª to speak to Mira alone. Just as they left, Denzel''s phone rang. It was Louis. We all grouped around Denzel, demanding he put the Poketch on speakerphone so we could also hear, but he waited until he was sure Louis was fine with it to actually do so. Our prying stemmed from a ce of worry, but there was always the possibility he''d be angry at us like he''d been with Emilia. We all spoke over each other, mostly asking if he was alright. "Good afternoon, everyone." His voice shook at the other end of the line, like he''d just finished crying. "First of all, Cece." My girlfriend just watched the screen, her face unmoving. "Thank you for telling me so early," he said. "Thanks to you, I''ve had time to¡­ get ahead of things." "What do you mean?" I asked. "First of all, getting the funeral nning started." The statement hit me like a truck. I closed my eyes and ignored the prickle in my heart. "Second, finishing negotiations to get my sanctuary started." Denzel spoke, "But the money¡ª" "I delivered the news to Al," Louis sighed. Al was short for Albert¡ª Justin''s father, and CEO of Pherzen. "He''ll help me with the funds, along with the funeral. He''s as crushed with this news as we all are. Justin''s Pokemon will be the first to be in my sanctuary, if they wish to be." "Louis¡ª Louis, that''s beautiful," Maeve muttered. "Thank you." "I''m not fighting," he said. "And I think I''m still¡­ running on the adrenaline from the news, and that I might crash and burn horribly, but if I''m not doing anything I¡ª I might as well be doing this. Preparing things for when you all return." Cecilia smiled, and a relieved sigh left her. How many times could a man be beaten, for him to rise again and again? I''d asked myself. It seemed like the answer still hadn''t been reached, and thank Arceus for that. ¡ª Mira hadn''t expected Craig to take her this far. He Teleported her to some kind of grasnds way to the south of Sinnoh, if she was reading the temperature and terrain correctly, and his Orbeetle had done so like it was nothing. She remembered hearing that Teleporting in or close to the mountain was incredibly difficult ever since the third Guardian had been stolen, but that meant Orbeetle was at a skill level simr to Lucian''s kazam, Teleportation-wise, at least, which was insane considering Craig had only owned her for a year. The tall grass here reached her waist and prickled her hands and wrists¡ª she had taken off her gloves due to the heat. Pressure built up in her head as thest of her minds came together, and a throbbing pain returned to her broken hand. She''d moved it too much in her grief, after hearing her mother talk and failing to get Uxie out of Ernest''s hands. Hearing her again¡­ Hearing her again hurt so much more than she could have ever imagined, and the worst part was, she was memory, and she always would be. It was as if Charon had poured salt onto a wound that would never heal, and done so with love. Hearing her mother say that she loved her, that she wished she was still here to watch her grow up, that she missed her. It had been too much, and now Mira was tearing up again, damn it. "Oh. Sorry?" Craig''s eyes widened a smidge in surprise. "Should I bring you back? I wanted to get away from Aaron, that guy''s bugs listen in on everything¡ª" "No." She sniffled, wiping her eyes with her good hand. "No, I''m fine, sorry." Craig patted her on the shoulder, and Mira would haveughed at how awkward it was, had she not still been emotionally recovering from her mother and Justin. Craig clearly wasn''t used to people Mira''s age¡ª or no, the more urate way to put it would be to say he was used to handling them a certain way. His sister hated physical contact, and you could count the hugs she gave on the fingers of your hands. Hence, the awkward shoulder pat from as far as he could be. Mira knew Craig would have given her ample time to recover from her breakdown, but she also knew he had a mission to get to, so she split herself in two again and shoved everything toward her second self, and suddenly Mira felt stupid for ever having cried. I''m fine, she told herself, and he knew it, too. Craig fiddled with his Orbeetle''s Pokeball. To Mira, he''d never seemed like the kind of guy to have to keep his hands moving when he was nervous, but these were unprecedented times. "You know¡ª" he cleared his throat and started again. "I called Lauren earlier." Ah, so that''s what this was about. It made a lot more sense, now. "Was she rude?" Mira asked. "No, no, it was a very good phone call, all things considered. You know, she was a little irritated at being kept out of the loop, but she said she missed me. And uh, that she was with our parents, waiting for me toe back." He smiled, and though Mira was no Grace, she found it to be sad. Wind swept across his hair, and he looked across the horizon. "Yeah. It was nice, talking to her and my folks. I considered swinging by, but I figured it''d hurt too much." Mira didn''t like how this conversation was starting. He was talking like he was already dead. "That''s nice," she said, not knowing how to answer. He inhaled sharply. "Hey, I''m gonna keep this short. Lauren''s¡­ well, you know how Lauren is. I''m d she met you and your group this year, and I''m d you kept her out of all that dangerous shit." His fingers traced around his Pokeball''s release button. "You guys are basically her first friends, and I''m happy about that. But she''s closest to you." "Is she?" "She talks about you all the time, even before today," Craig said. "Usually it''s just battling, but you''ve carved yourself a space and she really, really likes you, which is why she might have gotten kind of intense thest time you spoke." Mira grimaced. "Did she tell you about the fight?" "In great detail. Every second of it," heughed. "Sorry, I know it''s none of my business, but if she was venting to me out of all people it means she needed it." "It''s your business! She''s your sister¡ª" "She''s grown up, now," he interrupted. "I''m not going to know everything about her, and that''s okay. But I wanted to ask you a favor." "Ask and I''ll do it." "If I don''t make it and you do," he said, his face slightly pale, "take care of her for me." ¡ª "Come on. Leave him alone, he''s going to need this." Tangrowth sat underneath a cone of light with his eyes closed, greedily soaking in as much sunlight as he could. Mimi didn''t quite understand why their favorite ymate wasn''t avable any longer. We''d be in a cave without sunlight for possibly days, so we both figured it''d be best for him if he stored as much energy as possible. Now, ordinarily, it was raining, but I''d gone to the edge of camp, away from the Ranger Station and the tents to use Princess to clear the weather a little bit. When she''d soared into the sky and used Defog, I couldn''t help but be reminded of Nightstalker. Of course, Nightstalker could clear miles and miles of clouds while all she''d done was clear a small area instead, not because she couldn''t do more, but because she''d be needlessly exhausting herself. I picked up Mimi in my hands, and they inted, swelling to twice their size, which still wasn''t much. Enough to barely fit in my palm. Honey was looking at the sky, cheering his sister on while Sweetheart was grumbling because she''d rid them of the rain, and Buddy was chatting with Cass about strategy to keep me alive in Cor. We would have ACE bodyguards, but we all knew those wouldn''tst that long. Sunshine grunted beside me, asking if I''d ever seen Tangrowth focused on something like this. "He was when he was learning Vine Terrain," I said. "You were too busy learning Fire st to tell, but he''s been getting less distracted." He answered by saying he wished he''d been there to see that. It wasn''t like him, to be so sentimental, but I didn''t press him on it. We knew today was special and could potentially be ourst. I had no grand speeches left to give, no rallying cry. It was just duty. There was nothing glorious about that. Instead, we enjoyed each other''spany, and they took my mind off the fact that one of my closest friend was dead. Gone forever. I lifted my hands up to my face, and had Meltan face me. "Hey. It''s going to be time to get back in your Pokeball soon." The steel type''s eye wobbled. "Don''t cry. We promised, remember? This is it. The day I warned you about when we were at the hospital." Acknowledgement radiated out of them in waves more intense than I''d evere to expect. I squinted at the slight headache and caressed the top of their head with a single finger. Mimiined, clearly not liking the texture of the gloves I was wearing. Yet. There was something far more serious about them. The way their eye was as smooth as polished steel and utterly unmoving, their body kept a tough, solid consistency instead of the usual gooey substance, and they seemed to shine slightly brighter, as if they were stealing light itself from Angel. No words were spoken, only warbled concepts, but what they were saying was as clear as day. You are a violent creature, Mimi had said. But you fight, fight and fight against it in a way I cannot help but admire. Do not lose that fight today. I was reminded of the Eternal Alloy, their progenitor, and I gulped. "I won''t. It''ll just be the Commanders. We promised." Then, the moment was gone, and they returned to the childlike Mimi they usually were. It was only an hourter, that the first rm red in the distance. Team Gctic had broken through another entrance so quickly that the League hadn''t even had the time to Teleport us. ¡ª When Maylene and the League had told us Mount Cor was more agitated than it had ever been, I hadn''t expected it to literally be shaking. Constant tremors, ran through the cave, grinding tes and stones, shifting earth and swirling dustbined into a symphony that sounded like mourning to me, even more so than it had been from the outside. My boots ground a small pebble underfoot as I struggled to keep focused. We''d left¡ª no, the more urate way to put it would be that Cor had ejected us away from the well-patrolled and lit parts of the mountain already. Darkness was absolute, here. It weighed me down like a physical thing, pressing down my back until it was hard to breathe. A dozen rays of light illuminated the path ahead, from me and the ACEs, who were also donning the suit I''d been given, but also from our Pokemon. For my part, there was the glow from Sunshine''s shell, Cassianus'' eyes, and Honey was constantly sending pulses of electricity forward and there was a slight glow around him. It reminded me of the first time we''d been trapped here, and he''d been forced to spin his arms to create a source of light so we''d be able to navigate the cave. Sweetheart could see perfectly in the dark, but she remained in her Pokeball. With me were Maxwell, Ariel, Maylene and a bunch of other ACEs I didn''t know. Not all of our Pokemon were out, not yet. The more of them were out, the more there was a chance they''d get thrown off to apletely different location. This was the same reason we''d only gone in a small group and needed to separate from the others. The cold was something barely felt, with my special suit and Sunshine right next to me, but I knew that would only be temporary. At the highest of heights, the cold would permeate through all. Even heat and Cass'' barriers. Part of me wondered if we were too numerous, but we were banking on getting enough of us to the secondyer, or at least that''s what Maxwell had said. He didn''t want me to be alone, because I''d ''get myself killed.'' There was a smell to the darkness, an earthy scent of mineral and moisture, a hint of something ancient and untouched. In ces where the path narrowed, I could detect the faint, mineral smell of hidden pools. There were scant signs of life in those, though a Remoraid poked her head out as she trembled in fear. No Pokemon had attacked us yet¡ª in fact we hadn''t seen anywhere near the number that should have been out and about, and we all knew it wasn''t because we were too threatening as a group. The usual groups of Zubat and Golbat attached to the ceilings of the cave were instead fleeing in the opposite direction we were going in, Geodude and Graveler cowered in corners, huddling in small groups and whispering to each other. Once, two Machop even ran through our group, uncaring of the danger we posed, and one of them went as far as bumping into an ACE''s Hariyama. Everywhere, the young looked for guidance in the old, asking, has this happened before? How bad will this get? Should we abandon our home, our sacred mountain? Cor, o Cor, why are you crying so? A Carbink, old and scarred by the centuries, led a congregation of over a hundred rock types, thergest group we''d seen so far. Their gems glowed in the dark, illuminating the audience without us having to sh our lights down the ravine they were in. Over a hundred eyes looked back at us as we crossed above them¡ª Graveler, Rhydon, Roggenr, Aron, Rolycoly, Lunatone, Solrock¡ª yet they said nothing. Their gazes were piercing. Judging, for Pokemon were used to humans being the cause of a lot of their issues. But the worst part of it, was that¡­ Their stare. It was helpless. Have faith, Carbink would answer. Have faith, for that is the only thing we can do. It was difficult not to stop and exin, or to try to tell them that everything would be okay. Painful, even, so much so that I found it hard to hold back tears. Their sorrow, their worries, their anxiety, I could see and feel it. But we couldn''t stop. We had to catch up, but it was difficult when Cor itself was being forced to work against us. We had to walk twice as long to get half as far, and my ankle still wasn''t at one hundred percent. The fact that we had to slow so we didn''t lose any ACEs to the mountain didn''t help, and we''d already lost two. They''d disappeared inplete silence and without any warnings behind us. "We should be close to reaching the next level in the mountain," an ACE said. She was looking down at a device¡ªrge, circr, and cumbersome to carry, but that apparently helped navigate the constantly shifting cave. "Prepare for the crossing." Maylene bumped my arm with her elbow and whispered, "Still feeling no pull?" I shut my eyes. "It''s difficult to¡­ focus. I''m getting overwhelmed." When I opened them again, there were so many dark colors swirling about that it was giving me a near headache. "I¡ª only know that they''re above us, which is obvious. Detail is hard in here." The bubble of anxiety within her heart grew a smidge, though she barely allowed it to show. "Okay. Let us know if you figure anything out, okay?" "Yeah." "If you want, I can carry your bag." Before I could even answer, she was already beckoning me with her hand. "You''re tired and we''re not even ten percent of the way up yet. We can also have one of our Pokemon carry you¡ª" "I''m fine," I whispered back. While I''d nned to have one of my teammates carry my bag, Honey was the only one with the correct body shape to do so and he was currently on lighting duty. Even if I released her, Tyranitar''s scales might tear the bag, and Angel had to rest with the energy from the sun he''d stored all day. The less he was in the dark, the better he''d perform when the time came. Electivire had already asked multiple times, but I had refused. We were barely even starting to ascend. The least I should have been able to do was carry a stupid heavy bag. Unfortunately, Maylene had other ideas. She basically stole my backpack and carried both hers and mine like they were lightweight, with one strap around each shoulder. "Don''t make a fuss about it," she huffed. Legendaries, I''m so out of shape. I understood how right she''d been when we reached the first staircase. Calling it a staircase was a misnomer, but it was apparently the official term the League went with, and it was only one of many, even at this level. The path beneath my feet was a treacherous one, made up of jagged rocks and steep inclines that seemed to conspire to slow my progress. Stctites loomed overhead like the sharpened spikes that threatened to fall at the slightest provocation while stgmites rose up to meet them, creating a jaggedndscape that would have been enjoyable in other circumstances. I knew given the fact that the ACEs had grouped up and created a psychic barrier above our heads that they would fall, and it was surprising they weren''t already due to the tremors. Maylene and I flinched when a spire of stone shattered against it, though the ACEs barely reacted. The transition betweenyers was when the mountain was at its most agitated. A tremor nearly brought me to my knees, and I knew the impact would have bled me had I not been wearing so much protective gear. The shaking was making it difficult to even walk, and I had to recall all of my Pokemon so they wouldn''t get lost in the crossing. My ears were full of pressure, making it hard to hear what anyone was saying. Eventually, the steepness grew to such levels that we needed to crawl up, but soon enough¡ª The secondyer was so radically different than the first it might as well have been another world. When I released Cass and Honey again, the electric type let the worry slip away from his face and gasped, and the electricity around him wavered. Lights turned off around me, and my own followed suit. We wouldn''t need lighting anymore, here. Gone were the narrow passages and tunnels. Instead, the second floor of Mount Cor was one huge cavern that stretched as far as the eye could see, as did glowingkes and flowing rivers whose light stretched so far we could see the ceiling. The sound of rumbling was still present here, but it was softer and masked by the constant sound of running water and dripping liquid. The algae-covered waters shone a mix of turquoise and cerulean, and their light danced in the skies like an aurora borealis. The air was thick with moisture in a way that stuck to your throat, and it carried with it the scent of damp earth that reminded me of the Safari Zone. There was even wind here that reinforced the waves caused by the tremors, along with moss and small shrubs growing alongside the water. There were grass types here¡ª Paras, Oddish, or Shroomish that all glowed slightly in the gloom. Part of me wondered how the hell Paras had even gotten here, given that they were an invasive species supposed to be contained to Eterna and its surroundings, but life always found a way. They were colored grey instead of the usual vibrant orange. When we''d first fallen down the mountain due to that fissure months ago, I''d seen that theyers of the mountain were different, but to see such variation in biomes had me reconsider the variety of life I''de to expect from this ce. The upper and loweryers of the mountain were not essible to the usual trainer, and most of what we heard of Mount Cor was the drab, rock tunnels that stretched endlessly. Not¡­ this. This was beautiful. I squinted and my face tightened before I rereleased Sunshine. It was cold, now, not enough for it to be felt through my clothes, but enough for my unprotected face to feel ufortable. "It''s colder than it should be," Ariel muttered. "Do you think that¡ª" "The mountain always has some amount of variance," Maxwell interrupted. His Honchkrow cawed at her like she was stupid. "But if it is what you think, then there isn''t much we''ll be able to do about it. They already nned for it." "It''s Wednesday," an ACE who was shorter than me said. "Stranger things have happened before." Maylene and I looked at each other, then at our Pokemon, but Maxwell quickly shut us up and exined. "There''s a certain Pokemon that the League keeps sealed here," he said as we began to circumvent theke closest to us. "It''s the reason the inside of the mountain is always this cold, even at low altitudes. Let''s proceed with the headcount." What followed was what had taken ce every twenty minutes or so. Confirming that everyone had made it, or who had been lost to a crossing. These losses were nearly seamless and impossible to track, even for our psychics because of how fucked up Cor was, but at least it gave me an opportunity to rest. "We lost Nancy and Sigurd," Maxwell sighed. "We keep going." For a while, we kept walking, guided by the same device that had gotten us to the secondyer. Minutes stretched into nearly an hour, where we finally stopped and I allowed myself to rest, my breaths ragged and my lungs feeling like they were on fire. We were, admittedly, taking a break only because we''d reached a barrier preventing us from going any further. The water itself. Up until now, we''d gone around the massive bodies of water, but this one was impossible to cross. The walls around it were impossibly smooth and covered in moss that rows upon rows of Pyukumuku fed on, so we''d have to fly or swim through. Teleporting was not something any of us were willing to bet on without Lucian''s kazam here to help, and he was too busy coordinating everything. It wasn''t just us, climbing the mountain. It was hundreds, thousands of people in small groups that needed all the help they could get. It did, however, signify a loss of faith in us. We had failed twice, and the League always had other prospects. We were useful, of course, but we weren''t the sole group they were relying on. "Shit¡­" Maxwell dropped his bag on the ground with a groan and clicked his tongue. "Arceus fucking damn it, of course it had to put us here." Maylene''s eyebrows creased, as did her Lucario''s. "I don''t understand," she said. "Yeah, maybe swimming is dangerous, ''cause Grace told me about all kinds of Pokemon swimming in theke¡ª" "They won''t attack," I interrupted. "Not now. Not when their home is crying. They stand united." The Gym Leader blinked. "Crying¡­ sure. Either way, it shouldn''t be an issue, no?" Maxwell ignored her, and he rummaged through his bag while the other ACEs stood in an eerie silence. It annoyed me, that even in these final hours, they weren''t properly. "Guys?!" Maylene threw her hands up in frustration, hissing in a half-whisper. "A little help?!" "We entered with fifteen ACEs," Maxwell said. "We only have eleven remaining. Things like this¡ª crossing an enormouske, not only is that a variance that leaves us open to being separated, it also opens us up to being attacked. Such arge group in the sky, in such a well-lit cave? And if we get attacked, we have to scatter. Not enough psychics who can fly fast enough to keep us all covered." He pulled a tiny chip out of his bag and just handed it to me. "Keep this on you. If you get lost, we might be able to find you back, but it''ll be unreliable. Every movement is unreliable without you as an anchor. You''ll be flying with me and Honchkrow, by the way. Might be a tight fit. Recall your Pokemon." "Wait, what about me?" Maylene asked. "I thought the entire reason I was here was to protect her from Dusknoir." "You won''t fit. The rest of you will follow behind us as closely as you can, as I said. This is going to be a shitshow, I can already tell you." "Fine," Maylene said. Then, she turned to me and slid my backpack off her shoulder. "Guess you''re carrying your bag for the time being." "Get ready to cross. Maylene, you''re on Nini. That''s Ariel''s Dragonite." ¡ª Cecilia was alone. She hadn''t known how or when exactly it had happened, but her ACEs had bled away one by one until she''d been the only one left. Part of her had wished for them to go away, and mysteriously, they all did. Gone. Just like she had willed it. Honestly, it was a miracle they''dsted this long with her, given that their best-case scenario was just bringing her up to the secondyer¡ª maybe the third, if they were lucky¡ª but perhaps their proximity to her helped some. They weren''t dead, the mountain had just brought them¡ª or maybe her elsewhere, it was difficult to tell. The changes were far more irregr than they''d once been, without a pattern or timing to be found. She''d been told that would be highly likely if they kept moving instead of still, given that the mountain did not recognize them as one of its spawns and that the Lake Guardians could influence its behavior. That meant that while Team Gctic would most likely be left alone, they''dg behind and fumble in the dark. Not that it was very dark, at the moment. This ce was alight, not thanks to crystals in the ceiling like her first tumble through Cor, but thanks to light in the water. Fluorescent algae grew in such quantities there that the entire cavern was lit up. She found her steps having grown steadier, once she''d been alone. Moving faster, with less interference from the mountain. Slowking walked next to her, forming an invisible, solid path above the rugged part of the cave she''d reached. While he was usually a chatterbox, he was deafeningly silent, not bothering toment on the sights of the cave or even asking if she was okay. He knew the answer already. He held his hands behind his back and held his chin high, but also focused on keeping the path steady. Unlike their time in the Safari Zone, this one was smooth and wide enough for her to sleep on, if she wanted. Sometimes, she would point him in a direction her gut was telling her to go to. A maic pull that had her thinking that this was the way to the third floor. It was, however, highly unreliable and often had her switching directions at random. They passed over a stretch of stone without any vegetation, where a Nosepass seemed stuck underfoot. It was spinning in ce, its arms flinging erratically as if it didn''t remember how to even move. It might not understand where north is anymore, Slowking brushed against her mind. He must have noticed she''d been intrigued. They use maic fields to orient themselves, but¡­ "I see," she simply said. "So every Nosepass is behaving like this?" That and their evolution, I presume. There was a pang of sadness, but Cecilia steeled herself. This would all be over soon, one way or another. "Let''s head further up and get a good vantage point," Cecilia decided. "This ce is lit up, and we should make use of it." Very well, the psychic answered. Her knees buckled when the tform they stood on rose high into the sky, and it took everything she had not to get on all fours and cling to the barrier. She wasn''t one to fear heights, but when you stood so high on an invisible tform, instinct took over and fear gripped your mind. Her hand, which had subconsciously gone to Talonme''s Pokeball anyway, released the fire type so she could use her superior eyesight to scout. From up here, even Cecilia could see the constantly shifting mountain. Small sections, disappearing and reappearing, reced with other sections that somehow fit. It was incredible to see it from up here. "See if you can spot anything. Either grunts or a path to the thirdyer. Stand next to me, or we might be separated, as we discussed." Cecilia still wasn''t sure if the mountain considered her and the other shards as fully one of theirs, especially since hers was a split gift, or if she''d just gotten particrly lucky, and either way, Talonme wasn''t one, so who knew if she''d be allowed to travel freely. Talonme nodded, though she seemed irritated at the fact that Cecilia felt the need to instruct her as such, as if she knew already. "I''m just taking precautions, darling. Go ahead." It did not take long for her to spot something. People from Team Gctic. Cecilia had her observe for a good while, and their area of the cavern never seemed to shift ces. The zones around them were plenty. Sometimes, for example, they were obscured by a massive wall or pirs of stone, or ake appeared before them, or a fault, but the ground they were standing on was solid no matter how long they waited. She was eager to see if there was an admin among the group, but she knew better than to rush in unprepared. She stayed high up in the sky, traveling high up to stay hidden from view. Apetent psychic¡ª no, that was doing Slowking a disservice, now. He was among the top percentile of psychic types, these days, only below the strongest of trainers like Gym Leaders or Conference goers¡ª but an elite, or otherwise specialized psychic might be able to camouge by shifting the air around itself. Right now, though, they could only hope none of the grunts had any Pokemon with vision as excellent as Talonme, or that they would look up extensively. Slowking took a route that was not as well-lit until an asion showed itself. Another wall, this time smaller (that didn''t mean much in the context of Mount Cor, since it was still tall enough to dwarf the tallest of skyscrapers in Jubilife), appeared in front of the grunts, allowing her a direct route toward the group. When it disappeared, she was right above them. They were one, two, five, ten grunts holding a choke point, their voices masked by the sound of a massive waterfall giving off green light and feeding theke below with countless algae. In normal circumstances, small water and bug types would feed on the nts, keeping them from growing in quantities toorge, and predators would then feed on those Pokemon. She had seen, for example, how most Pokemon avoided eating Pyukumuku at all costs due to how they kept the waters pure. It was a fascinating ecosystem. She returned her focus to the grunts. Cecilia supposed ''choke point'' was a rather useless denomination, with how fast everything inside the mountain was moving. Their uniforms were unmistakeable, the emptiness in their eyes still true. Still high above ground, Cecilia gestured to Slowking, and his path turned into a bubble holding both her and himself in the air, tightly encased to shield herself from attacks. Then, she fell upon them like a hammer. Her Pokemon hissed out of their balls one by one. First, Golurk to terrify and stun them. The automaton was a mass of eerie y that dwarfed all they had at their disposal. He roared to life with a song that rippled through the cave-like death and misery, and she only caught the first note before Slowking cut them off from the outside world. This was not Lehmhart''s full potential, not yet, because then the song would break through Slowking''s barrier and get her killed. Already, spirits were hounding at the gates and trying to break through. The stone below the grunts and their Pokemon turned to scorching mud. Houndoom, Machoke, Ursaring, Purugly and more fell into the sands, sinking into it like it was water, but a Nidoqueen mmed a fist under her and the sands stopped shifting. The song, though, the song kept hammering at them. Two grunts had already dropped to the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth while the rest weren''t in any state to organize. And so, it fell onto their Pokemon, but they were weak. Second, Hydreigon and Talonme to conquer them. The beast''s three heads roared as one, and pure power struck at the grunts. Dark Pulse to smash through a hasty barrier erected by a Bronzong, then Dragon Pulse and methrower to cook them alive. Talonme pped her wings once, twice, thrice, and a massive gust of fiery wind formed around the grunts and slowly but surely squeezed the life out of them. The shifting mound underfoot turned to ss in a one-hundred-foot radius. The song affected them as well, but they had long trained under its heavy strain. Then, it ended. Almost all of them were down, yet they retaliated. methrowers burned the barrier at its edges, stones fell from the sky, sharpened and quick enough to be unseen to the naked eye. A cage of lightning from a Luxray constricted around Slowking''s imprable bubble before a punch from Lehmhart crushed it to a bloodied pulp. None broke through. Third, Toxicroak and Scizor to clean them up. Oh, all of the trainers were surely dead, by now, but Pokemon were more resilient than that. Cecilia could barely keep up with the speed of her own Pokemon, but she could see the shape of the fight. She could see how they fell before her might, and how none of them, covered by burns, stabbed by shards of ss, and still recovering from a song borne of death, could stand up to her. Toxicroak coated her w in venom potent enough to melt through steel. A single scrape from her was enough to bring the weakened Pokemon down. Scizor''s hands snapped around the necks of Pokemon barely conscious, finishing them off with a quick sh Cannon. Cecilia just watched from far above. She watched the death, the screams, the cries for help, and her face never changed. She couldn''t even hear them, with how Slowking was filtering sound away from their bubble. It was a very impersonal way to kill. There was no satisfaction to it, but the fact that they would never threaten who she loved again meant that there was a certain peace of mind to it, at the very least. Good, she simply thought. Though these must be the weakest they have, given they were left in the second floor. Competent enough to stand against a League Trainer, but not against an ACE, let alone me. The n was, then, to obviously never even have to confront the ACEs, which is why their stalling tactics were working so well. Slowking led her down to the destruction she''d wrought, and Lehmhart gently ced her on the ground as if she was made of porcin. Pokemon and grunts were burned to a crisp or blown apart, and the smell was¡­ far too familiar forfort. It was the smell of cooked meat. She wrinkled her nose. "Maybe we went a little too ham." Scizor snorted, a metallic, reverberating trill that she loved. Talonmended next to her, her feathers warm even against her suit, and she cawed at Scizor in that condescending, ''I know everything'' tone. "That was impressive, Cece." From behind a rock crawled Maeve, apanied only by her Infernape and Starmie. Cecilia hummed. "So you made it up here." Maeve lifted up a circr device¡ª a lidar, they had called it. "Yes. I stole it. You have a survivor, by the way." She pointed to her left with a thumb. "Keep your wits about you," she warned Slowking. "But yes, we want a survivor¡­ ah." Almost as if on cue, she noticed a grunt writhe against the ground. A man¡­ no, just a particr tall and burly woman with short, dark hair had survived her onught, with a Wobbuffet barely standing beside her. The psychic type swayed from side to side like a leaf in the wind, barely conscious and its body singed at the edges. The woman''s skin was marked by the cruel touch of fire. Burned flesh etched in hues of crimson, purple and ck, in the worst spots like her arms and stomach, which she could see through a massive tear in her uniform. It was a wonder she was still moving. Wobbuffet warbled angrily at Cecilia, as if to threaten her. She felt a mental assaulting, but Slowking had shielded her mind before she''d even stepped foot in Cor, and the attack simply bounced off like a child had thrown a pebble against a wall of steel. Scizor''s eye twitched at the affront, and he was faster than Zolst to retaliate. Before Cecilia could even react to the attempted attack, he raised a w and sted Wobbuffet with a green energy beam that bore with it the deafening pain of a thousand moments, a thousand ideas, a thousand projects all at once. It was perfect, to break a psychic''s mind, and even Slowking struggled to stand next to the attack. The sheer scale of what bugs brought to the table would overwhelm thergest of predators, and so the half-dead Wobbuffet stood no chance. It slumped over, unconscious, and before Hydreigon could tear into its flesh with three Crunches at once, Cecilia whistled. He stopped immediately. "You," Cecilia called out. She walked a few paces until she was close enough to look the woman in the eyes. She did not crawl away further than she already had, though her breathing quickened. She sat against a wall of smooth, pale stone. "Are you well enough to speak?" Maeve observed the entire situation with a curious, and somewhat amused eye. "If you''re going to kill me, do it," she spat, though the sound of the waterfall and tremors obscured her yelling. "I won''t ever speak! I''ll be rewarded for my service in the new world!" Talonme looked at Slowking, then at Cecilia, like she was listening to a crazy person speak, and to her credit, she was. Cecilia internally sighed. "Let''s not be hasty, now. What''s your name?" "We won''t be the only ones. Even if you kill all of us, you stand no chance. This is yourst day, puppet." "You were in quite therge group, which means that the mountain recognizes you." Cecilia paced in front of her with her hands behind her back, her steps almost a little too even. "While I seem to be able to walk about without being snagged away, I could use a little bit of help getting to the thirdyer¡ª" "Never." "¡ªand since you were all here, I assume it''s rather close. If you do, I will personally make sure you survive theing day and go to prison instead of being executed by the state," she lied. Cecilia waited, looming over her like a hawk, though she already knew the answer. The Gctic member spat a bloody glob of phlegm and saliva on her boot. That would have been too easy. "But you do know how to get there, correct?" Cecilia asked. The woman smirked in a way that told her the answer was yes. Well, then. Her legs weren''t that burned, and she didn''t look like she was going to die any time soon. Better press the trigger now and get there then hold onto it forever and die because of it, and odds were, she was going to be in here for more than twenty-four hours regardless. "Be a doll and help us reach the summit to the best of your ability, will you?" ¡ª It wasn''t supposed to be like this. Denzel had pictured getting into the mountain, roaming its caverns to hunt Team Gctic and fight them to help as much as possible, but instead, all he''d gotten was the awful roar of a dying mountain, alone. Unlike the shards, Denzel, Pauline and Emilia weren''t privy to their own bodyguards, which was fine, but since being in a group would get Cor''s attention, it meant that the most efficient way of traveling within its bowels was in tiny groups, or on his own like he currently was. No, he shook his head. Not alone, never alone. Fross hung by his side, her eyes glowing in the dark, and Sylveon nked him with his ribbons wrapped around his wrist so that his entire forearm was covered. He doesn''t want to lose me, he internally said, but I''m not sure contact would even matter. Denzel didn''t get a super special suit and many supplies, but he''d been given enough to travel here. A shlight, along with another light on his helmet, and a thick winter coat that bore the League''s insignia. Had he been in a better mood, pride no doubt would have swelled within him. Denzel had never wanted to be a soldier, but he did grow up admiring the League, and most importantly, he wanted to help his friends more than anything. Yet he had note across a single member of Team Gctic yet. Maybe it was foolish, but Denzel thought he''d be fighting the moment he stepped foot in the mountain, yet Team Gctic only had a few hundred people left. It made sense, that they just wouldn''t throw them like fodder on the first floor. It was still underwhelming, though. Justin¡­ Fuck. He blinked away the tears, or tried to, but they started falling anyway. Again. Sylveon''s grip tightened when he felt Denzel''s anguish, and Fross allowed him to grow a little warmer until he told her not to push herself. They''d taken inspiration from Cynthia''s ceon, but she could snatch away the cold, now, leaving only heat. She wasn''t great at it yet, though, and so he would rather shiver and be ufortable than spend her precious energy. He sniffled, wiping his eyes and nose with his sleeve, but it was not until ten minutester that he stopped amidst a widened corridor and released his Lopunny. Every fifteen minutes, he would go through this. Stop at a spot, release Lopunny, and see if she could hear anything. It was the only way he had, to properly navigate this ce. Arceus forbid the mountain had been this agitated when they''d rescued Cecilia, because they never would have reached her. The normal type stood on her tiptoes, and her ears sprung up. "So?" Denzel tapped a foot in anticipation. "Anything?" Lopunny groaned in annoyance, and he took it as a sign to shut up. It was in times like these, when it was just him and his thoughts, that the scar on his back began to throb and ache. Another few seconds and her eyes widened. She had something. How incredible was it, that she could filter through the mountain''s quakes and the countless Pokemon panicking? Fross praised her with a grin while Sylveon affectionately patted her on the back with a ribbon. A few months ago, she would have gone crazy for it, but they had grown past it, now. "Sylvi, I''m recalling you," Denzel said. The fairy type''s hold tightened and he let his frustration show, but he didn''t channel any of it into him through his ribbons, nor did he protest. He knew that moving around too much with more than three people would risk them being separated. "Thank you for understanding." Sylveon disappeared in a sh of crimson, and Denzel started running. He was not in as good of a shape as Chase was, and the load of the equipment and supplies he carried in his usual backpack was heavier than usual, but he pushed himself to run as fast as he could so Lopunny would be able to track the sound of whoever''s voice this was¡ª it was apparently difficult to tell. The ground here was rugged and uneven, and it was difficult to run, especially when he only had two beams of light to reveal the way forward. He nearly bit off his tongue when his right foot hit the ground lower than expected, and pain shot up his ankle, yet he kept running. And it was all worth it. Because at the base of an incline steep enough to be a 120-degree angle up, he found a friend. It was Chase, his Lucario and Abomasnow. "Holy shit¡ª holy shit! Chase!" Denzel carefully stepped through the cave, its path slightly inclined to the right. Sometimes, he felt as if the tunnels themselves were spinning slowly. "Did you lose your ACEs?" Chase offered his arm, and Denzel sped it tight. "We made the decision pretty early that being in such arge group wasn''t going to cut it, even for the first floor, because we wanted to prioritize speed over all else," he exined slowly. Part of Denzel wanted to recall one of his Pokemon, but they were safe since they were unmoving. "I was with Nevaeh and Nakai¡ª you don''t know them¡ª but we got separated going up." He nudged his chin up at the incline. "That''s where the mountain is at its most unstable. Now I was waiting to see if she got back here or not, but I was wondering if I should go up anyway. It could give them a better chance of finding me, I dunno." Denzel squinted up at the incline and saw nothing but sharpness and darkness. A maw wanting to swallow the unsuspecting traveler whole and to keep them trapped here forever. He had studied Cor, back when they''d first reached Eterna City (which felt like an eternity ago) but the information avable online was restrained to the first. When they''d made it back to Snowpoint, he had looked up to see if he could find any information on those caverns full of crystals, but he''d found nothing. This ce. It was designed to keep you away from Spear Pir, and no one would evere to save you past the first floor. "Nevaeh has a Gade, and Nakai has that tracker thing, so they have all the tools, but it might take too long. She told me not to wait, if the time came. That she believed in me." There was a slight smile on his face, gone as fast as it appeared. "Haven''t done a damn thing to deserve that faith, but I''ll take it." Denzel''s eyes widened, and his feet remained nted firmly against the stone. For an ACE to talk like this? He''d never heard of anything like it or thought it was even possible. To him, ACEs were trainers who had killed everything that made them them, so they could be a machine of the state with few feelings. It was cruel and something he opposed now that he''d actually seen how they worked. "They were never trained for this¡­ bodyguard type of work, you know? They''re the tip of the spear, if you want to use Grace-like analogies, and they had to adapt on the fly this entire year. Anyway, any news on Emi and Pauline? I kind of hoped I''d see them with you." Denzel sighed, and Lopunny patted his back with an ear. "We barely made it ten minutes together, you know how it is." He tried not to pay attention to the pit in his stomach. This was the first floor. They were fine, and they''d trained for this anyway. "So, what''s next?" Chase grinned. "Well, Williams, why don''t youe and hang out with me for a bit. I have it on good authority that the best ce to be to actually get anywhere is around a shard, and I was given this shitty ass job." "Won''t we get separated while crossing up?" Denzel worryingly asked. "Maybe. Maybe not. Are you going to beme about it, or are you going to help us save the Arceus damned world?" Denzel clenched and unclenched a fist, doubt having evaporated from his bones and psyche. This almost felt invigorating, to want to have Chase''s back. He pped his friend on the shoulder and returned his smile. "Let''s do it." Chase snorted. "Well, let''s climb this fucking hill, then." ¡ª Mira had tried to keep all of her ACEs together, she really had, but they''d started disappearing one by one the moment they''d stepped foot inside Cor, yet Carlos still remained with her. Part of her theorized it was because they''d bonded the most and she didn''t care for the others, but there was no way to confirm or deny that. As a precautionary measure, all of her Pokemon were in their balls, even her Porygon 2, while Carlos only had his Mismagius out. As a massive group, they''d gone around in circles, never finding the way up despite using lidars, but now that they were on their own? It only took another thirty minutes for them to get to one of the tunnels leading to the secondyer. She thought of it like a filter of some kind, meant to sift throughrge groups so their deaths would be more likely or they abandoned their goal of reaching Spear Pir. Emilia and Pauline were standing there, huddled together as close as they could get out of fear of being separated. The only Pokemon they had with them was Metang. Talk about efficiency, Mira thought to herself as relief flooded her veins. "Emi! Pauline!" Mira wanted to wrap them both into a hug, and that surprised her. It felt like a lifetime since she''dst seen them despite that it hadn''t even been a day. Cor had a way of making you feel so oppressed, and it was worse now that it was literally throwing a tantrum. "I can''t believe¡ª how did you two find the way to the second floor?" She didn''t bother asking where Denzel was. It was obvious they''d been split up¡ª Mira was surprised to have Pauline hug her, out of all people. They¡­ well, they didn''t dislike each other, but there had been so much tension about keeping information away from them that she just hadn''t expected this much affection. She allowed herself to sink into the hug for a moment, but then it was time to get to business. "We got separated pretty early," Emilia exined as she recalled her Metang. Since they weren''t moving, they were rather safe, but better take precautions than be caught off-guard. "I don''t know how, one second he was behind us, and the next, he was alone." "We managed to get one of those trackers that tell you where the closest ''staircase'' is from a League Trainer we met on the way." Pauline lifted her hand and showed the circr device. Its screen was dim,pared to all the shlights. "I got no idea how it works." "It''s a custom-made lidar. It has a constant 3D mapping function and measures the subtle changes in pressure close to the inclines," Mira exined. "Notice how your ears hurt a little bit?" "Right. Like I''m on an airne," Emilia said. "These tunnels induce a rapid change in pressure," Mira said. "It stabilizes when you get to the other side, though." Pauline crossed her arms. "Maybe they should have said that in the debrief." "You don''t have to know how it works, just that it does," Carlos gruffed. "How many Pokemon did you have out when you got separated?" "Just my Metang, his Fross and Pauline''s Vigoroth," Emilia said with a wince. "As you can see, we''re traveling lighter, now." "We underestimated how bad things would get," Pauline muttered through clenched teeth. She was clearly angry at herself, frustrated for having fucked up. "But whatever, what''s done is done. Should we¡­" she looked up at the steep incline. "Should we try?" "I don''t see why not. If we go one by one, we won''t find each other again either way," Carlos said. "Get your Metang back out. It and Mismagius will keep us protected. Let''s head up." And so, they did. A few rocks fell on top of them, shattering atop the small, yet focused barrier, but the worst of it was the horrible headache Mira was suffering through. She shirked the pain away to another her and felt herself rx, for a moment, but the climb seemed endless. She had no idea if they were moving in ce, or if Cor was screwing them them. Every few seconds, she would look around and breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that everyone was still there. Part of her wondered if the passing of time was consistent within the mountain, even if it''d be slower than out of it, but before she could think too hard about that, they reached paradise. It really was,pared to the firstyer. There was vegetation, running water and actual light. Her good hand slid to the side of her helmet, and she turned off her headlight while she took in the sight of everything. They were right next to an enormous river that snaked across the cavern, and a group of Seedot hung atop a small tree at its side, shivering in fear with their eyes closed. Thankfully, they''d all made it as a group, so Carlos'' protection wouldst a while longer yet. But Legendaries, was it cold. Her face was numb, and she almost considered putting on her breathing mask already, just so the cold air wouldn''t brush against it, and without Charizard or Braixen, they had no way of warming up. Still, Mira would take the cold over the dark every day of the week¡ª "Wait!" Carlos held out a hand before they could even start moving. "Look." There was a body, washed up at the shore of the river, surrounded by six grunts they could see. Carlos released a female Jellicent and ordered her to check the water, which she did with a single look. The body itself wasn''t too badly mangled. It was pale, and its arm was bent the wrong way, but it looked like he''d either been killed by internal trauma of some kind of a ghostly attack. Maybe Dusknoir¡­ "It''s clear," Carlos sighed. He approached the dead body and hummed, turning it over like it was¡­ a thing, rather than a dead human, and the fact that Mira could only see the burned half of his face while he did so didn''t help. "That''s one of Chase''s," he continued. "He''s got a heart carved on his forehead." Pauline exhaled. "Shit." "Nakai wouldn''t have died to some shitty grunts," Carlos said. "This," he tapped on the man''s forehead, "this is something Mars would do." "That means she might be on this floor." Mira''s foot bounced against the soft moss. "They''remitting early." Carlos continued rummaging through his deceasedrade''s body and stole some Full Restores along with some other supplies, but it was their lidar that caught his attention. "There''s a signal jumping around some," Carlos said. "Not as much as you''d expect, though." Emilia allowed herself to smile, and she no doubt felt a flicker of hope. "Do you think Chase has his tracker¡ª" "It''s possibly a trap," Carlos interrupted. Still, he dropped the device in Mira''s hands and turned toward the dead body. "We should continue as is. Chase could be dead and his tracker could be taken, or he could be bait, too. Don''t bite." Mira frowned. "If he''s bait, then¡ª" "Listen to me," Carlos hissed. He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed. "You''re going to get yourself killed¡ª" "I don''t care! There''s no point in all of this if we don''t try to fucking help each other, Carlos. If you can''t understand that, then you can fuck off¡ª" Then. He disappeared. One second he was there, and the next he was not, like a psychic had kidnapped him with Teleport. "No¡­ no, no, no, no!" she shrieked. "I can''t get anything right! Bring him back, you fucking mountain!" Someone squeezed her shoulder, and she shoved her anguish to her other self again. The bacsh when she''d unite again would be immense, but she couldn''t afford to let emotions rule her now. Her back straightened, and she allowed herself a few calm breaths. "It''s not your fault," Emi said. "And he''s still alive, just alone." Mira shook her head. "It is my fault, but that''s okay. There''s a silver lining to all of this." The way she''d instantly recovered must have looked strange, because both Pauline and Emi frowned at her. "We''re going to follow that tracker," Emi guessed. "I agree." "So do I," Pauline said. "Let''s get a move on." ¡ª The crossing went wrong for us almost immediately. Contrary to expectations, it was not because of Team Gctic hitting us while we were vulnerable. The n had been to fly low enough not to be seen, but high enough not to be jumped by a water type despite my assurances that none of them would attack. They were, as it stood, done listening to me, and nning ording to their own doctrine: Pokemon in Mount Cor were aggressive due to their low human contact, and therefore every precaution had to be taken not to be attacked. No. The problem hade when a Gyarados reared her head out of the water. Maxwell instantly barked out an order for his ACEs to scatter, but more importantly, he ordered them to attack. ACEs were creatures of war. They were born to fight, fight, and fight without rest. Diplomacy had been hardwired out of their minds from early on in their training, and they solved all of their problems by disabling or killing foes. They were the tip of the spear. A group who did not believe that the pen could be mightier than the sword. I''d seen the pain in Gyarados'' eye, theck of agency within her, the way her face twisted in something that looked like rage, but was actually loss. The fact that she had grown sorge meant that she would never be able to escape this ce no matter how much Cor cried and asked her to leave, if she wanted to live. My words and warnings fell on deaf ears. They had to, when I''d gotten ACEs in so much trouble and shown them so much death this past year. Chase''s ACEs trusted him, Mira had Carlos, who was friendly with her, and Cecilia did not have any kind of rtionship with hers, which was actually better than what I had. What did I have? Maxwell did not resent me for getting his Liepard and Lou killed, or losing his hand, for that would go against all his job had trained him to be, but he did not trust my decision-making either. They had spent thest few hours stuck in a cold, damp mountain whose cries did nothing but herald the end of everything they had ever known, and they had been forced to put all of their faith into a group of teenagers who knew nothing of the world. And so, Attacks crashed into Gyarados'' hide, and the already frightened serpent retaliated. And countless water types from deep below herke attacked as one,bining their efforts into countless beams of super pressurized water that foamed at its edges. It wasn''t enough, of course it wasn''t enough, but it did catch all of the ACEs off-guard, and that meant that everything had gone to shit. Gyarados fell, as did many others, but it didn''t matter. We had struck at Cor''s children. We had be the aggressors, and we had no Lake Guardians on our side to smooth things over. For that, we would be punished. I didn''t remember how exactly I fell to the sea below, only the copse of stone like rain and lit like stars, and then me impacting the water at such high speed made me feel like I''d been run over by a car, but at least that snapped me back awake. The water here was so cold that I felt the temperature spread through my waterproof clothes despite the fact that I wasn''t getting wet. My hands moved around my waist, desperate to find Buddy''s Pokeball while I sank due to the heavy load of this uniform and the bag, but moving in this was cumbersome. It was slow, ufortable and most of all, I was already tired from having walked for so long. But I found it. Second one from the left, slightly chipped right above the release button from when I fell down Cor the first time. I could not see very well in the algae-covered water, but the light of his eyes was unmistakable. His head swelled and he propelled himself up until his head touched my back, and eventually¡ª Air filled my lungs once more. I shivered on top of Buddy''s head. Every breath I exhaled was visible in front of me, and my face, my fingers and feet felt numb. The shing lights, the coughing out of water, the cold, the throbbing pain in my bones, it allbined into a nausea-inducing cocktail of confusion and difort. Jellicent managed to reach the shore without any incidents, shielding me from the waves, and I crawled onto the moss, coughing out thest water that had gone into my lungs. "Shit¡­" my body shook, and I hugged myself. "This is¡ª this is fucking terrible. I''m like a¡ª ma for bad¡ª luck." Jellicent''s body rippled in panic, and his tentacle extended, turning to ice. He pressed on Sunshine''s Pokeball, and the dragon instantly asked about what the hell had happened while he warmed me up. "They attacked a wild Pokemon, and like over a hundred of them attacked back." My voice was quivering, still, but a little less. "I''d never seen anything like it¡ª even Be''s fief is nowhere this united." My gloves slipped off my hands, and then my boots. Water had slipped into both. I rubbed my hands together next to Sunshine''s shell. "They''re united in grief. We''re alone, now, I think, which doesn''t bode very well." Buddy anxiously whistled, asking about what we should do, and Sunshine eyed him in surprise. He was usually the one with the n, who kept us level-headed, but seeing me almost drown had wrecked his nerves. "First, I dry myself. Then¡­" I considered my next words carefully. Maxwell had told me that they might be able to find me, but that was a very uncertain might. I knew their presence next to me made things easier. I could feel the mountain, and how it thought I belonged. How it wanted to push me ever upward until I reached the seat of His power. "I think we might be better off looking for a way up, and if wee across someone, then we help them." Turtonator rxed at that, though a smidge of unpleasantness passed in Buddy''s eyes. "Not like we can do anything differently anyway," I said. "The ACEs attacked wild Pokemon here because they''re trained to be so damn trigger-happy." I let a bit of anger slip in that sentence, which I rescinded soon after. We both shared the me for what had happened. "This ce, it''s alive. It''s an actual living being that breathes and feels. The caverns and tunnels are its blood vessels and the people who inhabit them are its blood cells. Right now, you could say that anyone who isn''t in Team Gctic or us is being considered a virus and it''s trying to kick them out." My fists clenched together, and I touched my face. My sense of touch was slowlying back, and I could finally move my fingered properly. My hands rummaged through my bag, and I sighed in relief when I saw that water had not gotten in, thank the Legendaries, and Sunshine asked why in the world Cor would be trying to kick out the ones trying to save it. "Because it doesn''t understand. It functions like¡­ like the Guardians, I think, so it''s been tricked. Plus, attacking the wildlife isn''t fucking helping," I spat. "Whatever. Standing around is a waste of time. Let me put on my boots back on¡­" They were still cold and wet, but I figured that it would be manageable. The gloves, I could keep drying while on the move so long as I kept them next to Turtonator, and he was quite willing to stay out of his Pokeball. I didn''t want to risk traveling with too many at once, just in case Cor tried to strike back at me for being a part of the group that attacked its children, so I decided to travel light. Jellicent, Turtonator and ydol would do for now, thest of which I released immediately. They did the usual, routine check of asking about everything they could to see if I was injured, but other than feeling winded, cold, and my body aching, I was fine. Still, they grabbed my bag anyway despite the fact that it made me feel so useless. They wouldn''t take no for an answer. My feet shifted in my shoes, and I nearly slipped on the moss covering the ground. This area in general was far more overgrown than the rest, its vibrant green hues interspersed with delicate tendrils of ivy that snaked their way across the rocky terrain. The ground yielding beneath my feet wasn''t what I expected. It was like walking on a pillow, and the shaking didn''t help. "Let''s go." I was so close to Sunshine that I could feel the heat sliding off his scales and down his body. Cass was to my right with my bag suspended in the air, and they were ready to put a barrier around me at a moment''s notice. Buddy, meanwhile, had sneaked a part of himself in the water to stand guard, but otherwise was a ways up. I''d told him it was unnecessary to expect more attacks from wild Pokemon, but he too, would not take no for an answer, and so we set off in no particr direction. I wanted to circumvent theke to see if anyone had, by chance, washed up to shore like I had. Using my empathy to navigate had been an idea, but an awful one. This was like what I''d felt in the library, but even worse¡ª I bit the inside of my lip until it bled. Visions of a corpse turned to ashes shed across my mind, its hands coiled in on themselves like a dying bug. I gripped at my heart, which hurt, hurt, hurt until I felt Sunshine''s warm arm on my shoulder, Jellicent''s cold whispers against my neck and ears, and Cass'' attempt to cheer me up with a small hymn. All of them tried, they really did, but they could only assuage the imbnce and the pain. Cecilia will make things right. She will. "Is it weird that I feel morefortable alone?" I asked after a few minutes. "I don''t want to sound ungrateful, but there was stress weighing me down when I was with everyone else." Turtonator shrugged, saying that we were better off on our own even in these circumstances. Actually, our odds of survival have gone down drastically, Cass deadpanned. I''m still running the calctions, but¡ª The fire type grunted that he wasn''t going to listen anyway, but Buddy whispered that he was quite interested in that number. "I don''t know, it''s like¡ª something about it being right this way," I muttered. We passed by a colony of Binacle, all growing on one enormous moss-covered boulder twenty feet tall next to the water. They all retreated into the rock as soon as we got close. "We don''t mean any harm!" I yelled. "Sorry, and good luck!" There were goosebumps across my skin as a frigid wind swept through the cavern, breaking through Sunshine''s heat. "Anyway, I''m not going to pretend like we can solve this any better than the ACEs could, but it''s not like Cor wasn''t giving us a hard time advancing." Sunshine nodded, admitting that they were quite good at killing. "They are, but it won''t matter if they can''t reach the targets they need to." Cass lifted me up a small cliffside taller than I was, and I had to recall and release Sunshine up there as well. "As I was saying, even if they were on perfect behavior, I doubt that they''d even be allowed at the summit." Jellicent''s eyes dimmed, and he asked about Cynthia. "I don''t know, she could be anywhere," I answered. "But she is Champion for a reason, and she''s been to this ce more than anyone else." Had she been to Spear Pir before? If not her, then who? Sure, it might have been when the world wasn''t literally ending, and Cor had been more manageable, but maybe she had made it up manyyers already. It was difficult to imagine so many people¡ª thousands trying to ascend this mountain for a single goal. Gym Leaders, Elite Four Members, Team Gctic, League Trainers, us¡­ it was like a story disying before my eyes. The world runs on stories, Betrix had told me, once, and I''d always believed her, but I had never truly felt it until now. It was not for another twenty minutes, that we found something interesting. It was not the path to the thirdyer, nor was it a group of Gctic grunts, an ACE Trainer or even Maylene¡ª and to be honest, I was surprised at how much I worried for her, given that we weren''t even friends or close at all. That would be impossible until I fully paid for what I''d done to her, and I wasn''t even close to done. In fact, she was the one paying again. But no. It was something else entirely. It began with a warning from Cass, and then the scent of rotting vegetation. A suffocating nket that seemed to smother the very life from the air. And then I saw her, or what remained of her, emerging from behind a wall covered in dying nts. A massive Parasect. Her usual vibrant colors had faded to a sickly gray, its carapace cracked and weathered with age. Fungi sprouted from her decaying flesh, their twisted tendrils writhing like a grotesque crown upon her head. It was then, that I realized I had not been walking on moss for the past¡­ minute or so, but fungus. Moving, living fungus that had infected this same Paras and sapped her of her life upon her evolution. A barrier I hadn''t realized was already there gleamed in front of me as Cass'' eyes shone with an even brighter pink, Sunshine stepped in between us with blue mes building up within his snout, and Buddy''s shades were already beginning to emerge, forcing their way through the tiny cracks of the world with a keen. "Wait!" I yelled. I was not about to repeat the same mistake my ACEs had. The Parasect''s eyes gleamed with a dull, vacant light, devoid of emotion or intelligence, yet I knew that to be untrue. Despite the fungus having progressed so far that it was visible within the bug type''s eyes, the organism as a whole was a conscious thing and far more intelligent than I''d ever given Parasect credit for before this very moment. The way their puppet''s ws retracted and repeatedly snapped, or her mushroom, which looked more like a hardened carapace, swelled to twice its size with no doubt more fungus, ready to explode at a moment''s notice¡­ There was caution behind Parasect''s movements. Caution and fear, but like everyone else, she was not attacking us. And there was power behind her. The power of a story that had not quite reached the ones domain-holders like Be had, but simr to Carnivine, or stronger. In a straight fight, we might win, but the terrain was to her advantage, so we would be bloodied and there was just no point to it, especially since there was an army of Paras lurking in the shadows behind her and she clearly needed help with something. She would not have sought us out otherwise. The fact that Cass wasn''t warning me about those Paras meant that something was screwing with their senses, too. They''d been telling me about anything that got too close on our way here. My head dipped and my eyes closed in respect, though half of it was faked. It was hard to reconcile with the prejudices I''d held against Parasect as a species. The original Paras was dead, yes, but what remained was far moreplex than I''d ever realized. A hive mind of some sort, but it wasn''t just Parasect. It was that, and more. Everything we were standing on, that which covered the walls and crawled up to the ceiling, writhing as one collective. When I opened my eyes, I saw Parasect slightly less wary. I had no idea if she¡­ No, not she anymore. She was dead. I had no idea if they knew human bodynguage, since they lived somewhere it was possible to go their entire lives without ever meeting one. Still, it appeared to work at least little bit. "Well met, Parasect," I said, a hand over my chest. "Me and my family apologize if we''ve disturbed you in any manner, and we mean you no harm." Sunshine snorted at that, but I hit him in the arm and he shut up. "Correct me if I''m wrong, but would I be wrong in thinking that you need something?" First, a silence nearly impossible to judge, even when I''d been given the gift of empathy. Parasect worked on a fundamentally different wavelength than other Pokemon. They were closer to Mimi than the others. Empty eyes observed me, and fungus undted like snakes, some brushing against the barrier Cass had erected. "Please refrain from doing that, it is very frightening," the psychicined. Still, there was nothing, but after a minute, a thousand voices and one answered me. Wee, being of a single mind, and to your offspring as well, except for the one emanating, the scent of ash and sulfur. Their pincers snapped in irritation while Turtonator rolled his eyes, but I was too busy being astonished at the fact that a bug type was talking to me through telepathy. We are Brood-Mother, the progenitor of all Paras dwelling within this cavern''s depths. No. It wasn''t telepathy, but something else entirely that I didn''t understand. I''d witnessed how bug types could affect the mind, if they were powerful enough. How Wormadam''s Bug Buzz had overwhelmed me with a deep ufortableness that threatened to overwhelm with its sheer scale. Telepathy was far more impersonal than this. It was the whisper of a thousand voices, each speaking in a different intonation or rhythm, the idea that a whole could emerge from a million different tiny pieces that were nothing on their own. My brain felt like it had just been observed by countless eyes, for there was no privacy to a bug. Only the whole. How ufortable. "All of them?" I asked. "Does that mean you were the first?" Parasect opened their puppet''s mouth, and countless tendrils wormed out of her mouth. We recall it vividly, akin to the flickering lights above, when we ascended here as a mere child, on the day our trainer met his end. At the outset, we numbered three, yet I alone endured. This habitat proved, hospitable to our kind. Yes, I could see how that would happen. This ce was damp, had plenty of vegetation to feed on, and had plenty of spaces for a Paras to crawl into and hide¡­ Wait. They hade here as a Paras, meaning that even back then, when their puppet had been able to act with a modicum of independence, the fungus had considered their trainer to be¡­ well, their trainer. It was an odd thought, which had me wonder about how exactly it was, that one would go about raising a Paras, especially when knowing that side of them would be lost. And their and the Paras'' faded colors were probably a way they''d adapted to this new environment through the generations. Not asrge of a change as a different form, but enough to camouge themselves and have better luck against predators here. Unlike the vibrant orange they donned in forests, signaling that they were dangerous to eat, Pokemon in Mount Cor like rock and steel types had far sturdier stomachs than what Paras as a species were used to. "I see. I understand you a little bit more, now. Not fully, but more." The fungus writhed as one, reminding me of Angel''s vines. As evident to your eyes, as it is to our senses, our beloved Cor is withering away. Dying. "I came here to prevent that." My eyes nced at the pale fungus to see if I could discern any pattern in its movements, but doing that on the fly was difficult. "I need to reach the summit, or stop Team Gctic from reaching it. Team Gctic are those people in those¡­" I gestured at myself. "Skintight uniforms." Ah, those with lifeless gazes, colder than even our gracious host''s, yes, we are acquainted with them. Parasect slid toward me, their legs carried by the fungus instead of having to even walk. To my relief, my Pokemon didn''t react. We have encountered a handful, though our fair home screams at us to let them through, so we do. You im the ability to halt Cor''s demise? I nodded. "I have a part in it, like everyone else. And it''s not just Cor which is at risk, but the world itself." If Parasect couldugh in contempt, they likely would have, with the sardonic tone they took. What is our sacred Cor, if not the world itself? "It''s a¡­ throne." From the pir, His radiance outshines all, or so the tales recount, Parasect said. None of us, have ever been, but there are stories. They were not the most widespread, nor did they resonate worldwide, but they certainly were the oldest, and that carried weight. I looked to my Pokemon, who looked to have no objections to what was going to follow. Finding any other way up would be a foolish endeavor when we had the answer right in front of us. I moistened my lips. "I have a pact to offer you." You wish to reach the summit, the bug type swarmed my mind. We might be able to help you, though I will ask for help in return. It is always a matter, of exchange, with you fae, so we would be foolish not to, at least inquire. "I''ll have to see what it is first, but I''m inclined to ept." Then, follow. Parasect rotated, as if they were being carried by spores, and then they slid across the cave further in. There were still no Paras in sight, even though I could hear them. Bugs were capable of putting the collective before the individual. It will not, be far. I was reminded of those Beedrill in Eterna Forest, who had nearly killed one of their own to protect their own hive because they''d been scared of me. Those Paras lurking in the shadows of the gloom were no doubt ready to throw themselves into Sunshine''s mes just to buy their Brood-Mother another hour, minute, or second, even. It was a wellid trap, and they were far more calm and collected than the rest of the Pokemon here. Maybe it was because they had a leader with a good head on their metaphorical shoulders. So. What shall I name you, young creature of the fae? You and yourpanions, of course, Parasect asked. Unless you wish, for me to pay for that, too. Brood-Mother seemed well acquainted with the old ways, which was strange. Maybe there was an old fairy living here, too. They were leading me to an even more overgrown part of the cave where quite literally everything was alive as an extension of the Brood-Mother. The sound of dripping water was muffled, absorbed by the soft, spongy floor that spread out before my feet could crush too many of them. In ces, the fungal growth was so dense that it seemed to pulse and breathe, and it looked almost exactly like the algae and moss that had overtaken this ce, probably another camouge technique to blend in. "Grace will do just fine," I said. "This is Buddy, Sunshine and Cassianus. I have more of them, but they''re in their Pokeballs right now." Each greeted her in their own way. Cass chimed, surprisingly more trusting than the other two while they simply nodded with wary stares. "Um, sorry, but is this air safe to breathe?" Worry not, for human bodies prove to be rather, unsuitable hosts. We have adapted to Paras, and Paras only. No harm shall befall you here, no matter the extent of us, you might inhale, Parasect whispered. I wasn''t able to tell if that was a lie or not, which was certainly disconcerting, but if they''d wanted me dead, they probably would have attacked already. That wasn''t their prerogative, or how the world itself saw them. Gone were the wild Pokemon here. It was just spores, spores and more spores. It was not until Parasect reached the edge of the cavern, that she stopped. They''d brought us to the seat of their power, where the air itself could choke you, if they wished. The surface of the stone was no longer visible, and each second, the fungus throbbed with a bright glow like a heartbeat. Paras scuttled, tending to the fungus with an eerie semnce of care and purpose. Some rubbed it all over their bodies, covering themselves in it, while others ate them for what I assumed was faster growth? They all bowed to us when we walked through, and my nose wrinkled, both due to the thick air and the apparent servitude. Still, it was a measure of trust, that Parasect had let me bring Sunshine in here, given that the thing this organism was the weakest against was fire. He had, of course, trapped his body temperature beneath his scales, and allowed cold to flood his surroundings once more. No need to look, so disturbed, Brood-Mother said. They only do it to spread the spores, where they leave far away, and for their own protection. If they are attacked, we may sense it and keep them alive, through the fungus they imbibed, though we doubt that will happen in, the near future. Parasect hissed out of the mouth of their puppet, and the Paras stopped bowing to her. They scattered at once, slipping out of view and crawling on the walls. Some remained grouped¡ª a cluster around a small, rectangr hole in the wall onlyrge enough to fit Paras and more Fungus, which was where Parasect had stopped us. Maybe I couldn''t beat them after all, I slowly pondered. Not here, where they would be at their strongest. Theirs was a story of a mother, a caretaker and a protector, but her actual offensive strength and skill ran parallel to that story and waspletely unrted. I knew, though, that if I struck first, she would win without a shadow of a doubt, like Mathilda''s role in the Lost Tower, but lesser. Which meant that she too, could not strike first. Not that I was nning on a fight. It was just that¡­ "Sorry, it''s just¡­ it''s difficult to reconcile, sometimes." I paused, blowing fungus off my tongue with disgust. It had slipped into my mouth when I''d been speaking. "How your species functions." Parasect''s w snapped, and they gestured at one of their children. The young Paras, her eyes full of life, stopped huddling around the hole and crawled on my leg, then stomach, then shoulder. It took everything I had not to shiver in fear, given that I still had a pale scar on my back from one biting me right next to my spine from months ago. Her mind was not¡­ primitive, but it wasn''t as smart as I was used to with Pokemon, either. Her emotions were simple and unrefined. The two mushrooms on her back were void to my senses. When you, look at her, Parasect wondered. What do you see? I carefully considered my answer as I stared into the bug type''s vibrant eyes. She tried to w at the hair that slid underneath my helmet, grasping at it like threads. "I see a tragedy," I answered. "I see a life that, if it ever feeds the fungus enough and it decides to evolve¡ª if you ever decide to evolve and take over a second body fully¡ª will get snuffed out like it never even existed." There was no reaction to her. Let us get on with your task, then, Parasect said. Once again, a hiss made all Paras retreat, including the one on my shoulder, and finally revealed the small rectangr hole below. The mountain''s tremors have, copsed part of this tunnel. Within it rests our next clutch of eggs, and we cannot get them out despite, our best efforts. We ask that you rescue them for us. "I can do that, I think, but it has to be delicate work. Cass, are you up for it?" Their eyes turned to upside-down U''s."Of course. I love charity." Anyone else, and I would have taken that to be an ironic statement. Not them, though. "Alright." I grabbed Princess''s Pokeball and it swelled to its full size in my hand. "Arceus, this is going to be difficult to exin." Yet I did, to the best of my ability. She was spooked by all the fungus and the giant Parasect next to me, but the fact that I hadn''t immediately ordered her to attack calmed her down some. She eyed the cavern with a curious stare and grunted in between coughs that would remain until she adapted to the air there. I had considered Sweetheart, but what we needed was more of a gentle touch. "There are¡­ Arceus, there are at least a hundred eggs in there, I think. It''s difficult to count in detail when the lives aren''t fully formed and are at different stages of development." I caressed her head, and she leaned into the touch. "They''re babies. Innocent to all of this and scared. We need to get them out of here. Can you work with Cassianus for me?" Princess agreed, and nced at the psychic. They nned how they were going to do it for a minute or so, with Princess saying that she couldn''t just turn the stone to mud and drag it out, given that more of the cave might copse onto the eggs and risk shattering them. Cass then came up with the idea to mold the burying hole itself and to widen the space Paras had to crawl into it. It was a good idea, though a lot tougher than anything else. It would require a lot of micromanagement from both, but they excelled at it and it would be the fastest way. Anotherrge tremor risked crushing all the eggs that remained, and using the Paras to get them out would be quicker. It began slowly, the earth liquefying before parting like water. A barrier underneath kept most of it still, because Princess couldn''t actually lift it all. It was difficult to remember that she was being asked to move hundreds of kilos of earth, or perhaps even more. She was built for precision, not for brute force. Togekiss quickly siphoned most of the earth away, dumping it on the ground nearby while Cass gave her the support she needed and kept the whole structure from copsing¡ª and from the constant re of shifting stone, it was close to it. Then, the Paras were called in. The small copsed tunnel was widened enough to fit them, now, and they scuttled in by the dozens. A minuteter, the first egg came out. It looked like a smoothened stone, though there were still hints of faded orange, and even before Paras'' birth, it was already covered in fungus. A single Paras was enough to carry a single egg, given that they propped it up on their backs. They moved as one, never getting in each other''s way, and in perfect files to be as efficient as possible. Sometimes I would hear, though not understand, amand from the Brood-Mother, because I finally understood the fungus itself was not a Pokemon. They could only use moves and TE through the Pokemon they possessed, but that was why I couldn''t actually use my powers on Parasect. Some of the eggs¡­ were broken. Sometimes the tremors had it crack early, and the baby Paras had died to the elements of the tightened cave, their body unprepared for life in an environment so brutal. Sometimes, a shard of stone had lodged itself in the egg and killed the baby growing inside. When that happened, the Paras still carried the corpses. Overall, the majority of eggs were saved, though they couldn''t be moved to another burrow until the mountain stopped constantly shaking. It hurt, still. There was so, so much death, and this was only a single window into the true scale of the horror happening within these caves. Every Pokemon had a story like this. Their lives were being ruined. It was difficult, to see the entire colony mourning. To hear the constant hisses of sorrow in between the Brood-Mother''smands and orders, to see the watering eyes, always so expressive despite the fact that work to secure their siblings had to continue. Once all of the eggs were out, along with a few surviving Paras which had been taking care of them when the ce had copsed, Princess and Cassianus allowed it to fall and seal off the burrow. Dust mixed with the fungus, but luckily wind from Togekiss swept it away from me. "I''m sorry for your loss." Parasect''s mushroom twitched. If Cor perishes, we shall all meet our demise, alongside it. Then, the whole body turned to me. But you truly are sorry, aren''t you? "It hurts to be so powerless." My eyes shut tight, and I centered myself with a deep breath. "I lost people recently. A woman whose job it was to protect me, who I wished to grow closer to, and a close friend who wanted nothing more but to make the world a better ce." I tried not to look at my team¡ª and to not think about the others, but I failed. "And I might lose more before the day''s over." I looked into Parasect''s empty gaze, and an organismrger than I could ever fathom looked back. "Your children. Do you love them?" With every fiber, of our being, they answered firmly. We perceive your judgments, predicated on morals foreign to us, yet what we enact is as much akin, to love as the act of humans pressing their feeding holes, together signifies their affection. We take, indeed, and when our host surrendered her essence to ensure, the survival of the whole, we grieved with such intensity that we nearly perished from starvation. Teeth sank into my lips, yet I listened. What we have be, is the culmination of generations upon generations of evolution, and yet, we stand powerless to halt its course. Do you believe Paras on, their own would survive without us? Do you believe we haven''t attempted to, preserve their consciousness? That we derive any form, of pleasure from draining the spirit of those we have been bonded with, since our growth in our egg? No! Their voice boomed with a hiss of their host, and tendrils of fungus writhed out of their mouth. The blight snaked around my ankles and tickled them, and the puppet''s ws snapped in anger. No. It just is, they finished, sounding so, very tired. It just is. "I''m¡­ sorry." When we asked you earlier, what you thought when you saw, our children working, Parasect continued. We see family, as you do with your own brood. We see love, yfulness, sorrow and worries. We see so many things, and we know you do as well, only you have shut your eyes to it because we work, as one for the survival of all, because¡­ purpose is glorious. There were no words. Only the dripping of water against the damp fungus and Cor''s tremors. The eyes of countless Paras surrounded me, waiting for my answer. Even Sunshine was fully focused on the one-sided conversation, now, his usual disrespect having been reced by a painful expression. "Why tell me this?" I asked, voice wavering with uncertainty. Because we feel like it matters, Parasect said. Like you are someone, who cares, and who Cor has epted as its own child. "Do¡­ do all Parasect feel this way?" I asked. Does it matter? The answer was no, then. "No. No, it does not." Parasect just stared. It was uncanny, not being able to tell what they were thinking. Thank you for your, help. Now, it is my understanding that you wish to ascend, they said, scuttling across the ground. I cannot leave. My Brood must be protected, should this situatione to pass, but¡­ ah, yes. Another Paras¡ª no, the same one which had climbed on top of me climbed on her parent''s shell, and they brought her back to me. This one will guide you to the nextyer. She''s quite adventurous and, knows this ce like I do, Parasect said. The young Paras jumped on my face, and their ws and legs tickled my cheeks and forehead. She will make her way back, when you find the, way up. I picked up Paras in my hands. "Thank you so much for the help." You are a friend to us, Brood-Mother said. Should you want to, reach the summit, use your gift and help Pokemon in need. Learn about us, and we will help you. Ah. This felt so fulfilling. "My friends and I will save your home." ¡ª The pathway up had been without any incidents, and Denzel had thanked the Legendaries a thousand times in his head for that. For thest thirty minutes, they''d been walking around some kind of algae and moss-filled area that fascinated him. Exploring new ces like this always had, but there was no time to dilly dally. Cor had a way of¡­ Well, it was hard to exin. Cor was the tallest mountain in the entire world, and that meant that it took a week or more to climb¡ª and that if you weren''t slowed by wild Pokemon or the insides going haywire. It could also, if approached the right way, be climbed in barely a day. Denzel didn''t understand how they''d made it through the second floor so quickly, but they just did. The path had a way of pointing Chase in the right direction if heined about it enough and¡­ well, he called it ''getting the fucker to help itself'', but Denzel figured it was more like Cor was responding to his will, or something like that. He didn''t have much to go on other than theories. Was this what the League had meant, when they''d said Team Gctic and the shards would be at a significant advantage? Because making it through this ce so fast when he''d struggled for so long on the baseyer was relieving. And they soon found the path up to the third one. The thirdyer of Mt. Cor was a realm of stark contrasts and bizarre formations. Crystalline rock formations twisted and contorted into fantastical shapes that shouldn''t have been possible, and they bounced so many colors that rainbows shone everywhere Denzel looked. Flower-like crystals covered the rocky ground, most of them blue and with glowing yellow buds. The cavern was narrower here than before, and the ceiling far lower as well, but at least they''d be able to save on their batteries, since they wouldn''t have to use shlights. "Ohhhhh, sweet! Finally! I was aching for somepany!" Denzel''s blood ran cold. Mars and her team stood in front of them. Nales, Clefable, Seviper, Bellossom and Wigglytuff, along with Dusknoir dancing within her shadow. She had a giant smirk on her face, so innocent, yet he knew better than to believe it was anything else but sinister. There were also grunts¡ª though only three of them¡ª "Kill yourselves." The Voice hade out before Denzel realized what was even happening. Chase''s shoulders sagged, and just as Seviper''s tail lunged for its own throat, Nales sapped the heat off of her own body, Bellossom began to wilt like a dying flower, and Dusknoir began to shake and scream, Mars quickly recalled her Pokemon, rereleasing them faster than he could see her hands move. A st of concentrated aura had already been flying off Lucario''s palm, but Mars had thrown herself to the side and it had only taken a chunk off of her shoulder. Shadows bled off of the wound, but it was as if she couldn''t even feel the pain. The grunts and their Pokemon died in their own way, but Mars? One, she hade prepared for the Voice. Two, it hadn''t worked on her. Was it because she wasn''t alive¡ª no, that didn''t make any sense, it had worked on ghosts before¡ª was it because she was one of the users of the Red Chain? Mesprit was nowhere to be seen, but it was possible she''d sent it up with someone else and had kept its protection. "Nice attempt at cheating." Mars pouted, her hands on her hips. "I didn''t even want thoseme-os to help me. Come on, let''s have some fun. Release your Pokemon already! I''ll wait!" "Well, Williams." They looked at each other, and an understanding passed between them. "It''s been a pleasure." They''d met each other long ago, in that arena in Jubilife where Ri had thrashed his Eevee. He had hated him forunching him into a spiral of self-deprecation and doubt. Now they were here, backs against a newly formed wall cutting them off the second floor. Denzel''s fists clenched so hard he could nearly feel his nails through his gloves. His legs shook, his knees felt weak, he had a terrible stomachache and he pictured himself dying, truly internalized it. What was coursing through him was pure terror. The terror of being faced with your own impending doom, and being able to do nothing about it. Yet, He had to fight. If not him, then Mars would eventually fall upon someone else, and the fact that he wanted to protect his friends overtook everything else. Better him than any of the others, if it had to be that way. Calm did not spread through him in his hour of need, nor did a sense of focus settle in his mind. The terror was still there, and it would always be, but that is what made him human. That is who Denzel Williams was. "Love you, man," Denzel said. His footing was steady against the crystals, as was his voice. Chase smiled and tried to adjust a cap that wasn''t there. "Let''s try and make this bitch bleed." The cave shone scarlet, and the rest of their Pokemon emerged.
Chapter 309 – To Slay a Monster Chapter 309 ¨C To y a Monster
A/N: Sorry for the wait, this chapter was extremely difficult. As always, this is a fight with no rules where Pokemon and people try to kill each other, so trigger warning. CHAPTER 309 - TO SLAY A MONSTER It barely took a second for everything to go to shit. First came an intense heat washing over Denzel''s skin and a light bright enough to blind him through his eyelids. It refracted all over the cave''s gems and became a rainbow so radiant that colors were wrong the next time he opened his eyes. Above them all was a sun¡ª a ball of raging, boiling sma so loud he could barely hear himself think. Continuous explosions and howling, scorching winds from the most powerful Sunny Day he had ever seen instantly had him sweating bullets from beneath his winter coat, and it would have gone further, still, had Fross not instantly sapped the heat from the air to keep Chase and Denzel from suffering from burns akin to Grace. Chase said something to his left, but he quite literally couldn''t hear. He had forgotten to keep track of Dusknoir and flinched when the ghost reappeared right in front of him, the mouth of his abdomen wide open and the screams of the souls he had captured barely breaking through the roar of the sun. The world turned monochrome as Dusknoir struggled against the shimmering Protect from Milotic that had kept him from dying right then and there, and a darkened, ming void from Houndoom pushed him back. Lucario blurred with a burst of aura at his feet and shrapnel from aura-infused bones burst from Lucario''s palm and shredded past his sickly, ghostly form. Take a deep breath. Fights all around him were going on simultaneously. Vikavolt crackled with a brilliant burst of electricity, shooting toward the floating Wigglytuff who had inted like a balloon and was in the process of swallowing the sun. Bellossom was walking with thick, thorny vines from beneath her dress like an Octillery and kept Zangoose at bay, but a flex from Chase''s Abomasnow froze them in ce long for Altaria to hit the grass type with a methrower. Seviper cut across Lopunny''s arms with an acid-infused tail, melted fur and skin until Sylveon pulled her away by extending his ribbons. Dusknoir continuously tried to snipe off members of their team by swallowing them whole, but Lucario was barely enough to track him with aura and constantlymunicated with Houndoom and Fross so they could stalk the ghost and keep him at bay. Milotic sted high-pressured water, foaming and barely contained toward Nales to keep it on the backfoot. If it was focused on shielding Mars, then it wasn''t burning them to death. The sound, the visual stimtion, the panic¡ªit was all so overwhelming that he didn''t know where to look or what to say. This was a battle with eighteen Pokemon, and he would never be able to keep track of what was happening at all times. It was only when Wigglytuff swallowed Nales'' sun and glowed just as bright that Chase pulled Denzel close and yelled in his ear now that he had any chance to be heard. "Nales is acting as her psychic!" he mmed. Sigilyph teleported away a st of electricity from Clefable''s fingers and hit Seviper instead, allowing Lopunny and Sylveon to press their advantage until Dusknoir forced them to retreat. "If we hit her or Dusknoir and kill them, we win the fight!" "We have the numbers to overwhelm!" Denzel screamed back so hard his throat hurt. "But¡ª" Wigglytuffnded on the ground with a loud crash, creating a crater so wide that Roserade fell in. With the roar of the sun now gone and only other attacks from the surrounding fights to impede them, they could speak clearly again, and Chase barked out an order at Denzel to snap him out of it. He managed to recall her and release her close before her head slipped out of view, and high above them Vikavolt and Altaria tried to interrupt whatever it was Wigglytuff was doing, but Dusknoir¡ª and it looked like that fucker was way faster than they''d ever given him credit for¡ª stood in front of the attacks and took the hits like they were nothing. Wigglytuff''s ears twitched, it scowled, and it opened its mouth again. Then, light and a screech¡ª Denzel couldn''t see. He was blind. He blinked, he rubbed his eyes, but he couldn''t see anything. The next moments felt like an eternity, underneath Milotic''s protective bubble, and even that strained. When it all dissipated, no crystals or rainbows remained in their part of the cave. They were dust and ash, colorless stones that littered the floor. Milotic sagged with heavy breaths and the Protect dissolved. The cave itself was glowering red, save for the area below their feet. The heat from the attack had scorched every inch of stone, and Denzel could feel the heat on his face. The st had left a clear indentation in the cavern floor where melted stone slowly pooled. Their fliers were fine, and were still fighting. Vikavolt, Altaria, Sigilyph had been out of the st''s range. Roserade, Lucario and Sylveon were lucky to have been around Milotic at the time of the attack. Fross had disappeared, fortunate not to have to bear the brunt of the attack, and Houndoom was nigh immune to the fire, but¡­ Zangoose, Lopunny and Abomasnow weren''t as lucky. The first two were barely standing, but they''d been fast enough to get to the edge of the st. Their legs were trembling, and their fur had been burned clean off. Their skin was charred¡ª cooked to an extent than Denzel could smell it, and it took everything he had not to empty his stomach in front of him. Yet, they were standing. Abomasnow, however, was not. He''d been at the center. Denzel could barely recognize his shape. Chase shut his eyes. "Is¡­ Ri, is he¡ª" Denzel didn''t know what Lucario answered to that, but there was no time to even mourn Abomasnow''s possible death. Wigglytuff burped and grinned, Nales summoned another sun, and the fighting resumed all around him. They could do this all day, he quickly realized. They were not alive, and so this attack¡ª a st from a sun amplified by Wigglytuff''s belief¡ª could be replicated over and over and they would never tire. Chase recalled his Abomasnow amidst the fighting, and again, the roar of the sun destroyed any chances but the loudest of words to make their way toward him. Denzel screamed toward Chase, but he realized his friend must have had his hearing screwed by Wigglytuff''s attack. Even he, still had a ring in his ear. Sigilyph wasn''t good enough with barriers to block out sound, she had focused on other things like remote Teleportation. Case in point, a column of mes powered by Nales'' Sunny Day burst from Clefable''s finger, and the fairy type got hit by its own attack. It snarled, but had no way to hope to even touch Sigilyph when she was in the sky. Instead, Clefable lifted a hand, brought it down, and Sigilyph crashed to the floor under the weight of gravity. Cracks formed in her ceramic-like skin, but the real attack came from Dusknoir, who phased back into reality with a fist wreathed in shadows whose screams Denzel could somehow still hear, and Seviper stopped dueling with Lucario and rushed toward the fallen psychic. The poison type''s skin was scarred by countless aura or electrical burns, but again, they did not tire. Wigglytuff, instead of floating up to swallow the sun again, swelled to an unbelievable size and blocked the ray from Chase''s Pokeball. The red light just harmlessly touched its skin. He couldn''t recall her, yet instead of panicking, they used the opening to attack the sun with everything they had. Altaria''s fiery Moonst nearly collided with the burning ball of hot sma and threatened to cleanse it, but Ninatale''s eyes shed with fury and the Moonst exploded before it could touch it. Something snapped in Zangoose''s eye, and she blurred impossibly fast¡ª she was already in front of Wigglytuff, her ws having grown twice their size and full of poison. The ws themselves didn''t cut through Wigglytuff, but the poison did, andbined with multiple Poison Cutters from Roserade, the fairy type deted like a balloon and went flying in the air. Vikavolt jumped to the opportunity and his mouth mped down on Wigglytuff as he snatched it out of the sky, and appearing nearlypletely like electricity, he flew away until they were both out of view. When all was said and done, Sigilyph was gravely hurt. Relying on her to be as snappy and reactive would be a lost cause, even if she could still fight. Denzel turned to Chase, and he saw him mouth ''what now, bitch?'' Denzel blinked. Through everything, he was still so focused on taking her down that he didn''t even let the worry about Abomasnow and Vikavolt show on his face. What am I doing? he asked himself, floundering and panicking, and for what? He moved for what felt like the first time in an eternity despite the battle barely havingsted two minutes, and he wiped the sweat of his forehead with a rxed hand. Now that Wigglytuff was gone, Nales opted to firesers, literalsers from her sun that scorched anything near them. Fross managed to sap them of the worst of the heat, but any ice type attacks she fired would melt within seconds in the face of such power, and so she could only rely on Shadow Balls, Hexes, and Draining Kiss. Even Will-O-Wisps seemed to fall under Nales'' control, once they got too close. They cried out from under their radiance and were pulled into her gravity as if they were fighting the sun itself. Focus, he thought with a clenched fist. Ignore the fights around you. Ignore the fact that Dusknoir only hasn''t killed all of you thanks to Houndoom fighting for his life and everyone else keeping him protected. There was more. Seviper, hidden in the shadows and looking for an opening. Bellossom, burned from her own teammate, yet constantly regenerating herself and slowly growing nts beneath her feet. Vines that snaked across the stone and Denzel feared what they would be capable of once the setup was finished. Clefable, jack of all trades, fired attack after attack and was capable of bending gravity to its will when anything got too close. It was so difficult, to find an opening. To break the careful bnce they had struck, only thanks to their advantage in number that still remained, yet he knew the situation was untenable. Sigilyph was letting Clefable''s Thunderbolts, methrowers, Magical Leafs and Water Pulses hit so much more often. Each of them was as powerful as a Pokemon who had mastered that type, or more. It wasn''t infallible, given that its range with Gravity was at the very least manageable, but the point was this: They were going to lose if nothing changed. He could hear a little better now that Nales had exhausted her sun some, so he took a step toward Chase and screamed directly into his ear. "It''s like you said!" he had to say it once, twice, three times for him to hear. "Nales needs to go before Bellossom finishes whatever the hell she''s doing!" "We can''t really coordinate with this sound! Sig can''t talk to ry, and Ri can''t fucking hear!" This might be a tough one, but¡­ "Let''s hit Seviper!" Denzel yelled. When Chase looked at him like he was stupid, he continued. "It''s out of left field, but they won''t expect it!" Out of every Pokemon here, Seviper was the least useful. It was an assassin built to take down its enemies by surprise, yet that was difficult when so many Pokemon had eyes and could track it with their various senses everywhere it went. Common sense therefore dictated that it should be the target they worried about the least. He wished he could exin more, but he couldn''t. Every word Chase understood was a miracle rather than the norm. If Denzel looked at this battle¡ª really looked at this battle and took a step back, he could see the moving parts. The whole, rather than the individuals. At that level, at that scale, a fight turned more into a battle of concepts and tactics. Like two tides shifting and struggling against each other for every inch. Mars'' tactic was to keep Lucario, Houndoom, Fross, and to a lesser extent, Sigilyph and Sylveon, stuck to her Dusknoir to have him absorb pressure that could be applied elsewhere otherwise, because if they didn''t, then he would just kill all of them. Nales was her anchor, the crux of her strategy. It was the fire type, who was pulling the most weight. Who was allowing Bellossom to creep closer and closer with her thorny vines, and who had allowed Wigglytuff to hit them with something akin to the most powerful of Hyper Beams. Hers was a game of waiting and tiring them out, because as powerful as her Pokemon were individually, as much as they could battle at full capacity for so long, Denzel and Chase were enough to stand up to her for at least a few minutes. Their impetus was to finish the battler quickly, and Mars knew it. She had, despite everything, good instincts. Her Pokemon knew exactly how to space his and Chases''. There was, however, a w in her n. Treat this like a battle. It''s all a game, Denzel. Sport. The words were crisp in his mind even with everything raging around him¡ª mostly fire. A Moonst from Sylveon had captivated Mars'' team enough to allow Sigilyph to hit Mars with a st of psychic energy akin to Psybeam, but stronger. Countless multicolored lightrays that were mixed together and grew into a single ray. The attack broke through Nales'' barrier, and Mars'' still wounded shoulder snapped clean off, and she lost an arm. She was bleeding for this, too. Struggling. It was not a one-sided beatdown as Denzel feared it would be. They could live through this! The weakness in Mars was that her Pokemon were treating Chase''s with much more caution. They hesitated to get within their range or grasp and most of their ire was concentrated toward killing his Pokemon while Denzel''s were allowed far more freedom of movement. Oh. Oh, he saw it now. As if he was floating on top of the entire fight with an analytical eye and his instincts were pulling him forward. There was a very narrow path through this fight. He didn''t know if she was underestimating him because he wasn''t a shard, but this would work in his favor. Next to him, Milotic spat out water in a cone and instantly froze it. From afar, Fross briskly waved an arm and deconstructed the ice. The bits of frost and slush, barely held together by the ghost''s technique, rushed toward Dusknoir and clumped around him, turning purple as they did so. Dusknoir screamed, and the ghost-posessed ice shattered in an instant, as did the spirits, but Houndoom used the opportunity to blow his arm away with more darkened fire that would never lose its vigor. Its fuel, as Denzel understood it, was¡ª Concentrate! There was a shape to this, a way to destroy Seviper before Mars or her Pokemon could realize what was happening¡­ Through a clenched fist, he managed to pull a n for a small victory out of nothing. He could do this. He could conduct this battle in the right direction. "Lopunny!" Almost furless she might have been, her ears were still in good shape. Like he had found Chase through her, he would have her listen to his n. She had to slowly approach him as to not alert Mars. The normal type jumped back to avoid a flurry of elemental attacks from Clefable, but the Water Pulse that somehow didn''t vaporize in the sun scraped her leg and bled her. Eventually, she was close enough and he spilled everything as fast as his mouth could move. She could not ry it to the others, but she could have Sylvi feel what the n was through his ribbons. The normal typended right next to him in a single jump, creating a tiny crater, and she grabbed onto his ribbons like her life depended on it, pulling them tight. Mars was all too distracted by Chase, and his Pokemon had suffered for it. Sigilyph had to be recalled due to being focused down by Clefable, and that piece of shit was everywhere, always smiling with glee whenever one of its attacks hit. Vikavolt was gone, fighting Wigglytuff on his own, and both Sig and Abomasnow were down. Chase was down to three Pokemon, and Mars had only lost a single one. Still, they had the opening they needed. Roserade was tiring, now. Every nt, vine or thorn she tried to bring forth burned to smithereens, unlike Bellossom''s, and this was not a gentle sun from which Synthesis could be effective, but one created to burn the world to ashes. The most she could do was spray her opponents with poison. Hurt it as much as she wanted to, for once. She carried around her three spheres of noxious liquid potent enough to dent steel, and from them, an array of Poison Cutters shot out continuously. She could control them with Extrasensory like a water type toying with water, and she was the reason Clefable couldn''t letpletely loose. He hadn''t nned for what happened next, but he had expected it. Roserade burned to a crisp as a ray of sunlight bore through her. He had noticed that they''d been targeting her the most out of all his Pokemon, along with Seviper striking from behind. Denzel guessed that it was because they feared she''d be able to screw with whatever Bellossom was springing up and Mars'' team was generally weak to poison. Seviper slid around Zangoose, who had attempted to block it from getting closer, but Lopunny stepped on top of its tail and grasped it by the throat with a ming fist until Clefable separated both, dissecting the gravity in between them to pull them away. That precision was such fucking bullshit. But it was still fine. His stomach felt like it was twisted into a knot and his chest was squeezed so tight it was as if he was having a heart attack, but it was fine. Now propelled by gravity, Seviper coiled around Roserade and squeezed. Its fangs bore into her neck, but nowhere Denzel aimed with her Pokeball made contact with her skin. The poison type writhed and thrashed around, constricting her with enough force to crush metal, and he dragged her toward the indentation in the ground created by Wigglytuff and Nale''s giant beam of sma. "Sylvi! Altaria!" He wasn''t heard, and yet they were already moving. Sylveon''s ribbons extended and gained weight, each movementborious and slow, yet when he closed the distance and gravity mmed into his face, his ribbons kept going. Altaria covered for him, both with attacks and defense. Layers andyers and solid cotton, not yet burned through the sheer force of her will, mped around Sylveon and kept him insted from Nales''s fiery rays or Clefable''s catalog of offensive moves. The ribbons tore between the little space Seviper gave between its and Roserade''s and pulled. Seviper screamed. They couldn''t hear it. Sylveon''s rage tore the snake in half, and blood, shadows and guts poured onto the floor. Seviper writhed and convulsed against the stones, and Mars'' face fell in a very satisfying way. It was so quick, too. Too quick. Two seconds, and it was gone. Denzel felt a shiver go up his spine, yet he tempered it and tightened his jaw. It wasn''t for nothing, that Sylvi could use Hammer Arm. Seviper was a ghost, a revenant that hade back from the dead, and yet it could still die again. And it did. See, that was a weakness. She hade to kill, but had not expected to be killed in return, or at least not by his Pokemon, and Mars was, as Grace had told him, not someone who could change. What you saw was what she was, and so she was also, when you thought about it with a clear mind, a battler who could not expect the unexpected, because the world, to her, fit in one, neat little box. What had just happened was as if someone had tried to cut a cube and shove it in a triangle-shaped hole. Battles such as this¡ª battles with so many participants you couldn''t keep track of everything, were not won through individual orders or grand, sweeping ns. Denzel finally understood, now, that they were won through figuring out the flow of a battle, and he could do that, if he treated it like a sport. It was the thing he was fucking good at. The roar of the sun ended like someone had flipped a switch. The fire remained, but the sound was contained by a neat, tightly wound psychic barrier courtesy of Nales. Sylveon grabbed Roserade''s unconscious form with bloodied ribbons and allowed Denzel to recall her. He tried not to think about the extent of the poison¡ª about how Seviper had been so strong he had managed to poison a poison type¡ª and hoped the stasis from the Pokeball would be enough, like he imagined Chase was doing with Abomasnow. "You don''t¡ª you don''t kill." Mars was looking at him like she was meeting him for the first time. "You''re a ke! A boring ke!" she raged. Her face twisted in disbelief and grief. "You killed Snuggles!" She seemed so much less scarier than before. It was like hearing a child scream for candy. Her stump of an arm iled wildly as tears streamed down her cheeks. It looked like Dusknoir wasn''t going to be able to bring Seviper back. The ghost hadn''t even reacted to his teammate''s death. Instead, he was still burning with endless pained wails of the people he tortured. Lucario fired off bubbles of concentrated aura that exploded with a brilliant blue upon impact with Dusknoir, somehow still shining through the monochrome grays. Were the suffering in there like he was due to Houndoom''s fire? Denzel swallowed and buried the thought. This was a normal battle. Eight against four. Chase grunted and rolled his shoulder. It was slightly burned and bleeding. "Cry me a fucking river," he said, his voice still steady. "You''re¡ª" "Be! Dusky! Kill them!" Ah. They were toote. From deep below the earth¡ª Denzel would have fallen on his back, had Milotic''s tail not brushed against him to keep him standing, and Chase crouched, a hand against the ground to keep steady. Bellossom cried out as the sun mellowed out in an instant with conditions favorable to nts. No longer was it blinding, scorching, killing. It was the glow and warmth of a summer afternoon in the middle of July. Houndoom, having put everything he was into shutting down Dusknoir, had not been able to burn through the vines snaking their way underneath the ground¡ª or soil, now, Denzel noticed. It was mushy, like the stone had turned to dirt, dust and silt. Had he not, then maybe, just maybe they would have been able to dig their way underground to burn them at the source. Had Clefable and Nales not kept Bellossom so well protected, had the sun not melted ice so quickly it barely had any effect¡ª If, if, if. Hypotheticals didn''t matter right now. Stones fell from the ceiling, each boulder asrge as a small house. One nearly crushed Zangoose, but Lopunny jumped in the air and kicked through it like butter, splitting it cleanly in two. He¡ª Veilstone, three and a half months ago. Zachary v Grace. Ampharos creates a tform of cotton to stand on to avoid falling into a ravine. He realized he''d been speaking his thoughts out loud when cotton gathered underneath their feet. They were too scattered to all get on the same tform, but Altaria managed to get the majority of their Pokemon into the sky. The flying type strained under their weight, and when Mars'' Clefable targeted her, she too, retreated underneath a fortress of cotton. She would be hurt, eventually, but right now, she was all they had. The ground underfoot was full of vines, each as sharp as a knife. They were shaped like des rather than thorny columns and they had filled the entire cavern, the walls and ceiling above them included. Denzel saw Seviper''s corpse being swallowed by the vines. They writhed like maddened snakes and even sliced at the intact stone around Mars, Nales and Clefable. This is exactly like Tangrowth''s vine terrain, Denzel quickly realized. His footing was uneven, like he was walking on, well, cotton, but he couldn''t expect the tforms to be solid when Altaria was focusing on so many. Only Milotic was on his own tform, while Chase and all of his remaining Pokemon had his own. The rest were strewn about the skies, barely held afloat by Altaria''s belief. "Burn them to ashes!" Mars hissed. "Dusky!" They were separated, now, and even if they weren''t Dusknoir had them in his sights. He was easily traceable due to the ever-burning fire, thank the Legendaries, so Milotic, now free from protecting him the awful burning of the sun, summoned a torrent of water around the ck mes. The liquid snapped into ce, and once more, Fross froze it. A Blizzard was gathering around her, but she couldn''t let it loose or she would get all of them killed. Instead, the cold wind helped to instantly freeze the water into crystals, trapping Dusknoir into yet another prison. Anything to buy them time. But it also helped to stave off Nales'' white-hot methrower, as did Milotic. Water and ice,bined together, were barely enough to turn the jet of mes into something manageable for the cotton not to burn. The mes licked at the edges of Denzel''s clothes and he felt the sheer heat on his ankles and legs, but the fact of the matter was that they weren''t winning hard enough. In fact, they were barely hanging by a thread. Sickle-like vines were perpetually trying to get to them, and only Zangoose and Fross managed to keep them away, the former by cutting and thetter by sh-freezing. Now that Fross was growing more and more distracted, Dusknoir was already out and barrelling toward Sylveon with the howl of a thousand voices, and Denzel quickly recalled the fairy type before he could get anywhere close. Mars stomped her feet against the ground and whipped out a Pokeball and¡ª Denzel screamed as loudly as he could, "She''s releasing him on us¡ª" Behind him, the temperature plummeted. More light than he thought possible drained from the world, and chills upon chills crawled onto his skin. He couldn''t react. His thoughts were fast enough, but his body wasn''t. There was a screech from Fross, and something exploded behind him. He fell onto the cotton, his body limp, and his arm hung from the side. He would have fallen off the tform, had his sides not frozen against the surface. Frozen. That was what he was. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see another one of Fross'' clones explode onto Dusknoir. He tried to bypass her, but Milotic coiled around Denzel with a tight Protect. Sylveon was still in his Pokeball, but every time he tried to move, his fingers shook uncontrobly. He''d never been this cold before. So cold the sensation turned into a weird, warm numbness instead that had him unable to even clench his fingers like he so desperately wanted to. So cold his body was starting to shut down and he could only hear himself breathe. Breathe. To be this cold was to have someone whispering in your ear to close your eyes and drift off to sleep, but he wouldn''t. Denzel''s nose red, and warmth slowly returned to his body. There was a shaking of their tform, and he felt an arm around his shoulder. No, he didn''t feel it. Touch was entirely gone, somehow, but the pressure from contact, he could still sense. Someone pped his cheek a few times¡ª "Wake the fuck up!" Chase yelled. "Huh?" The word came out slurred, somehow. "What?" "Keep warming him. Keep fucking warming him." Denzel blinked a few times and saw Zangoose dispatch of at least twenty sharpened vines in one sh. Despite the fact that the w hadn''t even made contact with the nts, they still fell apart like shredded paper. Chase had apparently released Sylveon, too, given how he was yelling in his face in anguish. Altaria had brought the inds together for Chase to grab him, and then separated them from Dusknoir while Fross had distracted him, it seemed, but for that, the dragon had suffered an awful wound. Clefable, who had been firing attack after attack without end had finally broken through her wall of cotton and she was barely keeping herself afloat. It had not been a crushing loss, however. While yes, Clefable could not tire, Denzel could see that it had suffered many wounds, mostly burns and cuts deep enough to reveal the shadowy construct holding its artificial flesh together. But he couldn''t recall her. Not when she was the only thing keeping them alive. That meant that they had a little bit to deal with Bellossom. Fross was¡ª "W¡ªwhere''s Fro¡ªss?" Denzel''s tone trembled both due to the cold and his fear. He could see Dusknoir circling them thanks to the mes, but he was confident their entire team could keep him at bay. Powerful or not, there was no way he could approach without suffering, and he actually did get tired. "Lop¡ªpunny?" "Lopunny''s right here." Chase quickly said, and she patted Denzel on the head. He still couldn''t feel it. "Fross is dead. Sacrificed herself to buy us time. Sorry, Houndoom''s mes probably contributed." His heart sank¡ª "Ghost," Chase said, rubbing his bloodied shoulder. Mars bellowed out orders from bellow, and he clicked his tongue and called her a bitch under his breath. "It doesn''t mean anything. She''ll be back and when this is all over and the mountain''s back to normal, they can send people to look for her. We have to deal with Bellossom. How much time does your Altaria have?" Denzel gulped, happy that Chase was here to keep him centered. He''d been fighting his own fight this entire battle, even though Denzel had paid minimal attention besides Dusknoir. The tform was wavering beneath their feet, and Denzel could feel himself sink beneath the fluffy cloud, now, and without Fross here, only Milotic could keep Nale''s fire at bay. This time, they came in the shape of narrow, paper-like slits, almost as if the fire itself was a solid, but Milotic had gathered enough water to counter her. And¡­ was flooding her sun with it, apparently. Denzel hadn''t figured it out, and it was noticeable now that he was closer to the Sunny Day, but Nales'' sun was desperately trying to grow and burn as it had earlier. But his eyes snapped back to Altaria. She had brought them close to her, which made sense given that Dusknoir would have been able to just kill her in istion if she hadn''t. Continuous Vacuum Waves from Lucario that made Denzel''s ears pop dismantled or weakened attacks thrown their way from Clefable, now. The majority of them still made it and ate at the cotton from below. They were lucky they were so high, or it would have brought them down with Gravity. "Two minutes, maybe," Denzel concluded. "Great. Fucking great." Chase''s hand went to readjust his cap, but it only found a caving helmet instead. The cloud beneath them shook as another attack hit, something he couldn''t see. "Got anything like what you did before? I could have Houndoom burn it, but that means Dusknoir can run free. He needs focus for his mes, or Nales will just smother them." His thoughts were still slow, but the clock was ticking. He groaned as Chase helped him up. They had no Kingambit at their disposal, no grass types to try and wrestle control away from Bellossom, and¡­ his thoughts trailed off as he quickly went through the catalog of battles. Thousands of hours of footage he''d seen throughout the years at every level of y. He didn''t know where his mind was taking him. Often, it was his gut that made decisions for him, and sometimes it bit him in the ass. Not like they had any other choice, though. "Ri''s going to have to go down there and use Vacuum Wave with Zangoose as support to distract," Denzel whispered. "If you buy me¡­ forty¡ª fifty seconds, I can maybe do this." Chase gestured with a finger, and both of his Pokemon jumped below without a single moment of hesitation, taking Denzel off-guard. His head turned toward Lopunny, and the normal type''s ears twitched in anticipation, the scar on her ear she''d gotten from those Paras still visible. Below them, the sound of hacking and shing filled the cave and Mars called out for Clefable to redouble her attacks now that Ri was no longer on the defense. "Hey." Denzel''s lips stretched into a shivering smile. "Copycat." Lopunny cackled, all Mightyena-like, which was more disturbing considering the majority of her fur was burned to smithereens. She backflipped off the flying cotton, and Denzel rushed to the edge to get a good look. Anxiety filled his every nerve, his mouth was so dry it was ufortable, and it hurt even to look, but he had to look. A shimmering green barrier from Milotic kept his head from getting blown off by a flying stoneunched by Clefable. Arceus bless you, he thought with a sigh, and his eyes focused on the speck of pink and brown amidst the forest of vines. Using Copycat here was like putting a band-aid over a severed limb. It wouldn''t work. Not only was Lopunny not experienced enough with the technique, but the moreplicated one was, the more bastardized the copy would be. That was fine, though. Lopunny was a scrapper, and she knew how to fight smarter rather than harder. The first of a hundred vines rushed toward her, and it barely swerved out of the way. Then again. Then again. Then, she started running. It gave her a knack for how whatever move was being used in front of her worked, and Denzel thanked his lucky stars he''d taught her Grass Knot two months ago to get her a foot in how grass Type Energy functioned. Lopunny''s body caught on fire, and Nales yipped, sapping her of those mes before they could be put to use. Good. It''s distracted, too. Milotic''s next Hydro Pump was swift, and it hit the fire type''s sun, copsing it entirely. The star exploded, raining fire down in the arena and the fox snarled. Lopunny mmed a foot down and jumped toward Bellossom, who was using nts to stand about twenty feet and the sky, and was desperate not to get burned by her teammate''s mes, but Nales had other priorities when Lucario and Zangoose struck at Mars from a distance. Dusknoir appeared right next to them. Denzel didn''t look. Instead, he heard Houndoom, Sylveon and Chase desperately fight back. His hands closed, and every muscle in his body flexed. "Close Combat!" Lopunny''s arc in the sky toward Bellossom was a straight line, and the air warped around her with a sharp whistle. The thick vegetation below her dress blurred as one, slicing the air again and again, and another set burst forth toward Lopunny faster than Denzel could blink. The normal type twisted mid-air, using Bounce to propel herself once more, but one of the thick vines twisted and prated through her shoulder. Denzel cursed internally and prepared himself to recall her, but¡­ No. Not again. Endure. Loss, after loss, after loss, she had been through, and while none of them mattered here, Lopunny raged against the vine and sped it with both of her hands while Bellossom brought her down to the floor. First came ice, and the entire length froze in less than two seconds until she quite literally flexed and the de shattered in her shoulder, leaving only a gaping hole wide enough for Denzel to fit his hand through. Her right arm sagged as blood soaked her skin and what remained of her fur, but she was relentless. Denzel had ordered her to use Close Combat, and so she would use it even if she died to do so. The little Buneary who had constantly hid behind his leg bounced once more, and shended atop her enemy with a maddened grin. Denzel didn''t actually see Bellossom get beaten up, but he did see the vines writhe and retract. He heard the worried scream from Mars, saw her pull her Pokeball and he prepared to do the same for both Altaria and Lopunny. Unfortunately, Altaria didn''t lower them to the ground as soon as it was clear. She couldn''t. The cotton disintegrated beneath their feet and they all fell to the floor below. Denzel screamed as he tumbled through the air, and he was, to his dismay,nded face-first. Sound rippled across his throat, but when hended, he tumbled through what felt like sand instead until he reached the bottom of a dune. Not that it didn''t hurt. His entire face felt like one giant bruise, and he knew his right eyelid would start to swell rather soon. He scrambled back to his feet and looked to recall his Pokemon. First, Altaria, then Lopunny, who was still beating Bellossom''s unconscious body or corpse, whatever it was. From the way Mars was reacting, it looked like it wasn''t dead, and Denzel couldn''t help but feel slightly relieved at that. Milotic hadnded next to him, but Sylveon and the others were¡­ His eyes scanned the surroundings, and he warned Milotic to get ready to use Protect. The water type answered with a tired nod. He too, was on hisst legs. Five against three. They had the numbers, still, but the situation was not ideal. He''dnded on a small hill turned into a grey dune, and he decided to climb it to get a better view. The moment he reached the top of the dune withbored breaths, another sun appeared, this time scorching enough to have him flinch back and burn the skin on his face until Milotic pulled up a Protect. No more Fross to deal with that, but at least Mars seemed to be content letting them hear, probably because she realized she needed tomunicate with her team in order not to lose. There. He noticed Sylveon still helping Chase. His friend was limping on his feet and holding the shoulder he''d been bleeding from, but he was alive, and so was Lucario, Houndoom and¡­ No, not Zangoose. She''d been recalled into her Pokeball, if he had to guess, so it was actually four against three. Shit. Houndoom stalked in-between Chase and Dusknoir while Lucario kept him shielded from the heat with a clumsy wave of aura. He was still red in the face and sweating like a pig. Nales¡ª Fuck. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Nales had left her station next to Mars and had be a ball of raging fire, leaving a trail of burned dust behind her that Denzel could smell from here, and Clefable had taken over with Protect instead of a barrier. He was too far, but he cupped her mouth and yelled anyway. Chase''s head whirled behind him while Houndoom sted Dusknoir with concentrated rings of darkness, and while the sun was fucking them, it was helping Houndoom, specifically. Could he stop Nales? No. Not when three Pokemon were barely enough to keep Dusknoir at bay. If one more fell, it''d be over. Houndoom had carried them for most of the fight, and him falling would be a catastrophe. Lucario was capable of hurting Dusknoir more than the others with how versatile he was with aura attacks, and while Sylveon was mostly there for support, his well-timed Disarming Voices were keeping them afloat. In fact, he had probably kept them as ast resort, and each subsequent scream would have less and less of an effect. Well. Shit. "Surf," Denzel muttered with the weight of the world atop his back. Milotic gave him a look, but he repeated himself, stronger, this time, and he grabbed his breathing mask from his bag to cover his face. Denzel bit down on the side of his mask, and the Protect went down. Sacrifice was about throwing everything you could shed off of yourself for the people you loved. It was a testament to the depth of one''s convictions and the strength of theirmitment. No one would hear of what happened today. No one would realize why. For all intents and purposes, Chase, Mars, Denzel and their Pokemon were the only people who even existed. Denzel turned around and closed his eyes. All of his life, Denzel had been terrified of pain and risk. The day he''d found Sylvi in the wild, limping and bloodied, he''d been forcing himself out of the house, because he knew he''d need not to be scared when leaving civilization if he was to be a trainer like he wanted to. Day in, day out, he had left Twinleaf and desensitized himself to that fear, and today it waspletely gone. Denzel was still prone to fear. He was a coward. The fear of pain, of dying, of failure, of disappointing people, it had molded him into who he was, and yet he had forced himself to be the group''s rock, someone they could depend upon, and so, there had been no doubt or hesitation in his mind. Fire from the sun seared at his skin. At first, he figured he could take it. Painful, but bearable. But then, the pain became worse. And worse. And soon, he was screaming just as loud as Milotic was while gathering up his Surf. Raindrops fell down his coat, though he barely felt them in the midst of the literal onught of pain coursing through his back. There was so much, so much, so much, so much¡ª SO FUCKING MUCH. PERSEVERE. DO IT FOR HIM. FOR THEM. He didn''t see¡ª He couldn''t think¡ª He didn''t know how much time passed, but when he came to, he was on the ground, and he would have been inhaling hot dust were it not for his mask. He grunted and crawled on the dust dunes. Every time his hand touched the ground, the palms of his hands fired off every pain signal imaginable. His back felt like it didn''t exist any longer, but when he reached the top of the dune, he saw an ocean. Nales was drowning. It was visible, still. The Twister keeping it from swimming made sure of that, and water constantly evaporated around it. Nales was tumbling in the water, and Milotic''s power over it held. Every few seconds, burst of mes bright enough for Denzel to see it through his eyelids shed in a desperate attempt to blow away the water, but there was simply too much of it for that to matter. The sun was cooling, now, though it was still burning him, but at least he wasn''t going to die. It was then, however, that Mars recalled Clefable and sent it back out in the midst of Milotic''s Surf. Denzel had considered it possible, that she would recall her Nales instead, but she wasmitted to this. Mars was wide open. But it didn''t matter, did it? Not when attacking her with a single Pokemon would spell their doom. Clefable outstretched her hand with a scream, pushing the water in a circle around them. "Squeeze them," Denzel rasped. Milotic tried, he really did. But it wasn''t enough. Milotic couldn''t blow through the heat and push against Gravity, and despite Clefable burning for its contributions, they were making their way toward Chase. Denzel was hidden enough for them not to target him, but he needed to think. What did he have at his disposal¡­ the names of top-tier trainers, but no way to implement their strategies. He could barely even think straight. He tried to scream, but his voice came out as a low grunt and the inside of his throat just hurt until he spat blood. Communication was impossible¡ª No, Denzel. Fucking think! His head hurt so much. "Milotic," he muttered. "Warn¡­ him." The water type yelled, but dust gathered in the midst of the dry circle Clefable had afforded both itself and Nales. It coalesced, but it was difficult to tell through the water. Denzel squinted to get a better look, finally throwing off his mask. Five secondster, Chase fell and went limp. Stone pebbles had hit him in the leg and back, and would have hit his head had Lucario not heeded Milotic''s warning and pulled him inward. Denzel internally swore and tried to stand up, once, twice, but he couldn''t. There was no more time for caution. "Get Mars," he coughed. "Get her." She was just standing there, away from the water with tears in her eyes. Milotic sang, and the murky water rushed toward her. Tons upon tons of liquid that, even if it couldn''t drown her, could crush her under its weight. Mars knew immediately, and she tried to run¡ª faster than Denzel anyone had ever seen, but no matter how quick she was, she could not outrun an ocean. "Dusky!" she called out. She lifted her hand and tried to aim at Dusknoir, but it took a few attempts to beam him in. Once she seeded, however, she disappeared into the ghost''s mouth despite being on fire. He should have attacked her earlier. He hadn''t known. He hadn''t known Dusknoir loved her so much he would give up everything to save her. This was on him. "Get me¡­ there." Denzel grabbed onto Milotic''s back, and the serpent slid down the elevated dune. Eventually, he reached the water and started swimming toward Chase. Clefable and Nales were still slowly making their way to him as well, but they weren''t going to outpace a water type in his element. Denzel nearly let go a few times and almost breathed in water. He might have drowned, had Milotic''s fins not kept him on his back. Milotic''s ocean abruptly ended when they got thirty feet away from Chase, and he stayed in front of the wall to concentrate every effort he had into keeping Mars'' Pokemon away. It was odd, to see her cry, and a good thing she cared, because she could have killed all of them had she not been focused on sparing her Pokemon''s lives, even when they were focused on creating a new world where none of it would matter. She could have released Clefable closer to him, Denzel thought as he crawled toward his friend. Maybe she isn''t used to repositioning her Pokemon, either. Not like she ever needed to be. It was Sylveon, face wrought with worry and rage, that brought him with closer, carrying him with his ribbons. Chase was bleeding. Bleeding and slightly burned everywhere. Lucario and Houndoom crowded around him, and it looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. The steel type had a hand on his forehead with aura emanating from his palm and Houndoom licked the bloodied holes puncturing his skin. There was¡ª there was so much blood. "Chase," Denzel grunted. "Chase, talk to me." What came back were words Denzel could barely understand and a slew of swears, but this was¡ª he could tell that this was fatal. Denzel quickly grabbed Chase''s bag and struggled to unstrap it from his back until Sylveon and Ri helped him. "I can''t move my body very well." Each word was a struggle to get out. "And we might not have much time. Mars could be here any moment. You need to follow my instructions, he''s carrying a first-aid kit¡ª" Lucario tore the bag open at its seams, and all of its contents ttered to the ground. He wed open the first-aid box and grabbed a gauze, first. It was hard to tell with how much blood there was, but there was no exit wound, meaning that the pebbles were still stuck inside of him. Two at the back of his right leg, two on his back. Close to the¡­ or maybe it had hit the spine. He couldn''t tell. Denzel listed off instructions. Applying pressure with a gauze and keeping it there to get the bleeding under control, all while Denzel was desperately trying to keep Chase awake. "Stay with me," he begged. "You''re the toughest guy I know, Chase. Don''t¡ª stop closing your eyes! Hey! Good, good. Okay, just look at me. Look at my face. Just stay awake, we''ll get you out of here. Can you understand me? Can you nod if you do?" Chase spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and nodded. "Great! Okay, good! Um, we¡ª" There was a warning cry from Milotic, and Denzel clenched a fist. Throughout this, Clefable had tried tounch more pellets, but Milotic had been a trooper and kept them safe. He was, however, getting tired, and such a wide Protect while keeping his ocean active and pushing inward to crush Clefable and Nales was a lot of work. They were out of time. But then, a sh of light. A burst of electricity illuminating the entire cave, and the buzzing of wings. Vikavolt traced through the sky and created a veritable storm that mixed his electricity with the water, and Clefable had to stop. Gravity could not bring electricity to heel, and so Thunder after Thunder started hitting both Pokemon. Even without a trace from Wigglytuff, Vikavolt had suffered from heavy wounds. His carapace was cracked all over and his left pincer was just gone. While he was as fast as he had been, that was more of a testament to his dedication than a statement about how fit he currently was for battle. Denzel knew he hadn''t won against Wigglytuff, but dropping it far away from the battle while it had been weakened from poison had been enough and essentially had the same effect. Vikavolt was fast. Wigglytuff was not. He wished it had been enough. Milotic fell to the ground from exhaustion, but not before putting up a wall of ice to keep the water contained. The liquid rushed to the sides instead, and Denzel noticed Clefable''s twisted grin from behind the clear ice. But unlike what he expected, they did not break the ice and allow them to get lost to the waters, nor did Nales evaporate everything and burn them to a crisp. Instead, Mars fell from the sky andnded with a dull thud in the ground stones. Houndoom instantly tried to strike her, as did Sylveon, but their sluggish movements gave Dusknoir enough time to react with a slow Protect. How strong was this ghost? How was it, that he could keep going after being beaten up so much? To have gone toe-to-toe with Houndoom, Lucario, Sylveon, Fross and more? He didn''t even look tired despite what Denzel wanted to think. Now free from Milotic''s torrent, Clefable and Nales floated up and next to Mars. They had nothing. Nothing but exhausted Pokemon who could barely stand on their own two legs, and a dying and a wounded teenager. Denzel took over putting pressure on the wound while Mars stared down at him with pleasure carved onto her face. "I win. I fucking win," Mars growled. Her body and uniform were burned and she was barely recognizable. "And I''ll have you pay for what you did to Snuggles." She pulled out a knife from her scorched boots and grinned as she approached Denzel. "I''ll make it slow. Watch." Denzel shut his eyes. Then, a roar. Then, fire. Warmth tingled his skin, and a Charizard mmed into Nales with all of its¡ª her strength. The fire on her tail shone with a bright white and she bit into the fox''s neck with ming teeth and tore it open. Mars swore, but Dusknoir swallowed her before she could realize what was happening, and Denzel breathed a sigh of relief as the ghost disappeared. Since when could Charizard''s fire be so strong she could challenge a Nales of such power? The answer came soon enough when Braixen showed herself. She was riding on top of Braviary, and with a twirl of her staff, Charizard''s mes grew so hot even Nales started screaming. There were voices he recognized in the background, and they sounded far away until Mira abruptly crouched next to Chase with Emilia and Pauline. Lucario strained against Clefable, but the fairy type escaped by reversing gravity for herself and flew away, and endless shards of stone stabbed into it courtesy of Lycanroc. They fell from the ceiling with a vicious spin and sped up thanks to Braixen''s support. There was more, so much more. Ambipom threw Vigoroth forward, coating the normal type in darkness, and he nearly crashed into the fleeing Dusknoir until Metang caught him. Was she using Fling on living things? She hadn''t done that during their training. Gothitelle, kazam and Gardevoir kept the water from drowning them¡ª he hadn''t noticed the ice cracking under the water''s weight¡ª Magnezone and Porygonbining the electric attacks to hurt as much as possible¡­ Too much to keep track of, when he was barely conscious himself. "Keep pressing!" Pauline said. Mira gulped and pushed her now-bloodied hands onto Chase''s back while Emilia put hers on his legs. "He''s¡ª" "Going to live," Emilia interrupted. "Keep. Pressing." "You¡ª you bullies! I fucking hate all of you!" Mars stomped a foot on the ground and bit her lip so hard shadows and blood leaked out of it. Standing atop a dune in the midst of Milotic''s sea, she recalled Nales and Clefable, releasing them next to her. "Miserable little things." Dusknoir ced a hand on her shoulder, but she snarled. "Shut up! You fucking liar! You couldn''t even deal with like, five of them! Because of you Snuggles died! But you don''t care, do you?" "Emi," Pauline whispered. Emilia and Pauline shared a look, and they sprung to action without a word. "Houndoom, can you light Charizard with your dark fire?" Emi asked. "I know you''re tired, but this is the only way it''s going to work." "What are you guys doing?" Denzel slurred. Pauline flinched when she heard him talk, and then she noticed the state of his back, but she answered with a quiver in her tone. "We''re going ghost hunting." The mes on Dusknoir dissipated slightly, and in exchange, Houndoom sted Charizard with a wide, stream of dark mes that emanated no heat. The flying type''s body jittered from the painful mes, but she stayed afloat, each p of her wings more and more determined than thest. Charizard swooped down and picked up Primeape in a split second while the rest of the Pokemon kept their enemies at bay. Both of them left a trail of dark fire behind them that Braixen gathered and threw at Dusknoir, who looked to be inexperienced with Protect, thank the Legendaries. Dusknoir opened his mouth right before Charizard tackled him, and Primeape clenched his hands around the ghost''s abdomen to keep it open. Dusknoir tried to slip away, but Primeape''s hold was absolute, and the fighting type didn''t seem to care that the fire was hurting him, or dampening his use of Type Energy like it had with Dusknoir. He looked at Dusknoir with a stare so calm it was almost psychotic. He didn''t need, Type Energy. Just his arms and hands. Charizard opened her mouth and blew fire inside of Dusknoir''s mouth. Screams filled this hallowed cave, and Mars panicked, actually panicked. She fumbled around her burned belt and grabbed Dusknoir''s Pokeball, but Ambipom threw Lycanroc into the sky, Metang pushed him down with a firm, psychic hold, and the rock typended in Mars'' midst. Nales'' head was basically hanging by a thread, and the stream of fire she tried to throw at Lycanroc exited from the holes in her neck rather than her mouth. Mars sank into the dunes up to her neck, and the shredded stones around her solidified to keep her still. Denzel couldn''t believe his eyes. Dusknoir was dying. The ghost rippled at his edges, and he punched Primeape in the face with everything he had while Charizard brought him along for the ride, circling in the skies. The more Dusknoir hit her, the stronger she got. Pauline''s mastery of ze was truly something to behold. The darkness made them difficult to deal with, and the supporting in from the rest of their Pokemon assured he wouldn''t slip away like he had so many times in the past. Dusknoir''s eye darted all around its socket, but it settled on Mars before thest of him could be burned away. The ghost screamed, and it was his actual voice, this time, not the countless spirits he had tormented for decades, and Nales'' and Clefable''s bodies went stiff. The fairy threw Lycanroc away by putting everything it had into shifting gravity. It had tried to before, but wind from Braviary and Lycanroc anchoring himself into the ground had worked to stave off the worst of it. Clefable could no longer keep Mars protected nor curve attacks away, and for that, Denzel saw her struggle for the first time. Lycanroc went flying, and Metang barely caught him on their back. Nales used ming ws fervently against the ground, digging and digging at the stone until it melted. Digging so quickly Denzel could barely tell they were moving at all. So quickly and without a care for its own self that it shredded its own ws, paws and legs to break Mars away from her prison. Despite everything, it was heart-wrenching to look at. Dusknoir yelled again, and Clefable lifted both itself and Mars away from the dune and toward where Wigglytuff had been taken by Vikavolt. They''d left Nales for dead. Only when Mars was safe, did Dusknoir allow itself to die. Dead. It was dead. Gone in an anticlimactic puff of smoke, and then even that disappeared, too. It was difficult to fathom how the ghost that had given them so much trouble was just gone, or at least would be for the rest of this entire ordeal, but for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Denzel allowed himself to rx for a single instant. "Chase, are you still with us?" Mira yelled. "Chase!" He answered with a small groan. His body was¡ª his body was so cold. Lucario could barely even bear to look. "No¡­" Mira cried. Emilia shut her eyes tight. Denzel grunted, "Mira. Mira, you have to get a hold of yourself." He coughed and tried to sit upright, but he failed. "You can will the mountain into doing anything. You can bring him back to the entrance if you focus." "I can?" "You can! Mount Cor considers you a part of itself, it''s how we got here in the first ce. Hell, it''s how you got here!" Denzel exined. "Just¡­ shit, I¡ª I don''t know it works, just think about¡ª about it really hard?" Chase huffed air as loud as he could to voice his protest, but they all ignored him. He was probably thinking that they should go and hunt for Mars instead, or that Mira might clumsily send herself back with them when she might seed in freeing Uxie if she kept going. He could almost make out the name ''Cecilia'' on his lips, which angered him even in his dazed state. If he thought they were going to try to bring him to her so she could im his shard, he was being fucking dumb. That wasn''t who any of them were. Pauline gnawed on a fingernail. "Stop being a fucking baby! It''s not just about you! Denzel can barely speak, and he can''t even stand up! His back is more flesh than skin!" He felt a jolt of pain with her words. "Don''t fight her on this," Emi sighed. "Please." "I''ll try," Mira said. "Recall your Pokemon." The cave shed red as they followed her instructions while she closed her eyes, and her breaths grew heavier and heavier until the mountain around them shifted. Once, then twice, then countless other times until they were somewhere Denzel recognized as the firstyer. He wondered if going down was so much easier than going up because they''d been there before, or just because the mountain would facilitate that movement, but whatever the reason was, he''d never been this thankful. The adrenaline was fading off, and his back felt like it had been yed a thousand times. There was light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. Emilia helped him walk by letting him put a hand around her shoulder, and Pauline and Mira carried Chase by the arms, making sure not to move him much, or the bleeding was going to get worse. Even if Chase lived. Would he ever fully recover? He felt sick to his stomach.
Chapter 310 – Ascend, Children of Coronet II Chapter 310 ¨C Ascend, Children of Cor II
CHAPTER 310 - ASCEND, CHILDREN OF CORONET II Paras scuttled ahead of us with agility I hadn''t expected. She could navigate these caves like the back of her hand, jumping over crevasses or crawling onto walls when they were toorge to leap over, all while keeping to the corners and shadows. In normal circumstances, she would be hiding from predators even when Brood-Mother was inside of her very being to help. Paras never stopped even once, not even when we reached the edge of her mom''s territory and we got back to theke''s shores, where the tremors were more pronounced. The water was agitated here, sloshing around like it was the ocean. No longer having to breathe spore-filled air was a relief, though. While I trusted Brood-Mother now, there was no denying that breathing around her territory had been an awful experience and fresh air coursing through my lungs again did wonders. Sunshine seemed to think the same, with the way he drew upon heavy breaths, greedily sucking onto as much air he could while Jellicent looked at him like he was insane and ydol simply observed. They wouldn''t get it. They had no lungs and no need to breathe. Paras screeched at us¡ª and enthusiastically snapped a pincer to get us not to dawdle for too long. She probably wanted to get back to Parasect as soon as possible. It was difficult not to smile at the little bug mimicking her mother''s bodynguage. An hour ago, without added context, this would have been a horror to witness. I no doubt would have thought Brood-Mother had control of her body and was using her like a puppeteer. She could do that, but she hadn''t, because she cared for her children. Paras kept away from the water, and the tremors seemed not to affect her speed whatsoever. The cold was bothering her a little bit, however. I could tell, not through her words, but through the way she moved now that she was away from the rtive warmth of her mother''s spores and her hundreds of brothers and sisters. Once in a while, she would shiver, racking the grey sections of her shell together into an unpleasant grind, and she walked closer to the ground, almost scraping it with her stomach by tucking in her legs. Sometimes I''d ask her to walk closer to Turtonator so she could feel warmer, but she always refused while emanating sentiments of worthiness, like she shouldn''t have to rely on others, but only her own self. Hers was a simple mind and difficult to understand fully, butpared to Mimi''s, it was like reading an open book, so I''d practiced quite enough. The cavern around us seemed to shift less and less the further in we went, as if a perimeter around ourselves had been rendered immune to Cor''s mourning. Along the way, we came across a few Pokemon in need of aid, too. Nothing too extravagant. I''d used a bit of the potions supplied on me on a Lotad who''d wounded by a falling rock in the water. There was a Rolycoly who had gotten sshed by water and was too weak to even move and needed Buddy''s help to extract the liquid from the inside of her body. Sunshine''s help was needed as well to warm the rock type back up. The small me he surrounded her with supercharged her with enough energy to go faster than she ever had, and she thanked us before zooming away on her wheel-like stomach. "You know," I said as I turned toward Sunshine, "once upon a time, I''d wanted one of those." He looked at me in an almost-offended manner, and I snorted. "I was looking for a fire type, and they live in Cor, so¡­ yeah." A snap of Paras'' w told us that it was time to go again, and we started walking. Though she wanted to hurry¡ª and I wanted to hurry as well¡ª helping the people of the mountain was what I''d sworn to do. What I wanted to do. "I might have caught one of them had I not heard about you. I''m happy I did, though." He bashfully looked away and grumbled under his breath. Thank you for saving me and not giving up on me, he''d said. I patted him on the arm. "You''re a grouch, but you''re our grouch. Isn''t that right?" Jellicent heartily agreed, and Cassianusunched into one of their rambles about the pros and cons of being a grouch, which we were content to allow, both to fill in the dead air and because it amused Sunshine to no end, but it was also because it took my mind off things. I was strangely more worried for my friends than about the end of the world, if that made any sense. Life without them, for all intents and purposes, would be akin to that fate anyway. To keep going, being among thest of them, or thest, was unthinkable for me. It made every inch of my skin itch, and the worst part of it was that I would have no one to direct my ire toward, if Team Gctic was to be defeated. No one to exact revenge upon. I would be emptied. Gouged out. Meaning itself would be lost to me. My throat tightened, and I kept going with a renewed spring in my step. We walked around theke for around thirty minutes before I saw the washed-up body of an ACE Trainer, easily recognizable thanks to their orange uniform under their torn-up mountain gear. He wasn''t anyone I knew, and I felt a little ashamed at the sigh of relief out of my mouth when I realized that. The body itself was in good condition, if a little pale and bloated, meaning he had probably drowned after that attack from Gyarados and all of the other Pokemon who had retaliated once they''d struck at her. "It was give and take, always give and take, and you simply took too much," I whispered at the corpse. "You figured yourselves kings of this ce when we aren''t even close to that." I closed his eyes, which were still half-opened. "I should have been better. I''m sorry." I dragged the body away from shore so it wouldn''t be taken away by the water, just in case the League went on an operation to retrieve corpses after this was all over. It''d be good if there was a body left to bury. Why apologize? Cass asked privately asked. I worry that¡ª "I won''t be like after Lou." I made my way to the beach again under Paras'' irritated stare. To her, this man had been an intruder, so helping him was a waste of time, especially when he was dead. I could almost imagine her saying that his nutrients would return to the soil and give life back to those who needed it, but she couldn''t quite articte that. "I''m okay. It''s just that had everything gone better these past few months, this could have been avoided. I guess I have to reap what I sowed too." There were¡­ two Pokeballs to be found here, though I knew from when I''d seen this man earlier he had six. Had they been lost in the water? Either way, Iy them next to his arm. "It might seem a little tone-deaf, considering I''m alive and they''re dead but these deaths are heavy, I guess," I finished. I will try to understand, Cass hummed. "Thanks." Finally, we left theke''s shores and began a climb upriver instead toward a series of cliffs that I used Princess to navigate. I would recall my Pokemon, carry Paras in my arms and have her guide us. Ordinarily, she would have been able to climb those on her own, but it would have been a lot slower¡ª "Princess! Princess, down!" I yelled. We''d been lucky we were flying slow. I caught a sh of pink in the corner of my eye thanks to how bright the area she was standing on was, full of glowing moss and a few glowing Volbeat led by an Illumise. Maylene was swinging her arms wildly with a look that could only be described as sheer distress. It was only a Geodude facing her¡ª no, not even facing her. Slowly edging away from her, and yet she was yelling at him like he was about to attack. "Stay back!" the girl yelled, her voice propelled further than it ever should have been. "Don''t force me to crush you, you shitty piece of sentient rock!" "Get down." The words were immediate and swift. "Don''t startle her." The fairy type answered by saying that was a little difficult, at the moment, but she swooped down low enough for Maylene to hear me should I yell. Instead, the Gym Leader''s palm burst forward in the sky, and a st of aura exploded toward us before dissipating halfway through. Now, Maylene was an aura-user, but she was also a human, and these days they were only strong enough to stand up to the weaker Pokemon like that Geodude had been. The rock type had already scrambled away, using his hands to speed away from who he had perceived as a threat as soon as she grew distracted. "Maylene! It''s us! It''s Grace!" I called out. It was difficult to tell from here, but I swore her shoulders rxed a smidge. "Grace¡­?" "Can wend, or not?!" I asked. "I just want to help, yeah?" While her attacks would only mildly hurt Princess, she could snap me and Paras like twigs should she want to. Maylene nodded, her fists clenching at her side, and Princessnded amidst the glowing Volbeats who had apparently decided to ride out the storm like Brood-Mother and her children had. As soon as Princess'' feet touched the ground, I was off her back. I swung my legs above her andnded in the soft moss. I almost slipped and fell because of the earthquake, but I managed to catch myself on Togekiss'' wing. How had I found Maylene amidst this chaos? "What¡ª" No, not what happened. That would be stupid to ask, given that shended in the water like everyone else. I approached slowly, and she said nothing, instead looking away. "Are you okay¡ª do you want to¡­" Damn it. I was bad at this with people I didn''t know. She''d been crying, that much was evident. Her eyes were red and there''d been a quiver in her throat when she''d yelled at that Geodude. Her gear was wet, and she looked like her teeth constantly chattered. She''d seemingly lost her bag, too, so all of her supplies were gone. "My Pokemon," Maylene cried. "They¡ª I lost them when Inded in the water." My heart dropped to my stomach. "They drowned?" Maylene paled. "No!" Her voice boomed slightly, making me and Paras behind me flinch. The bug type scuttled behind Princess and squealed while she reassured her with a pat of her wing. "I swam to shore as fast as I could¡­ I didn''t want to freeze to death, so I just swam. I swam, but¡­" she choked up, and her eyes drifted to her belt. "I didn''t realize I''d lost them." I restrained theing relieved sigh at the idea that they weren''t dead and the Pokeballs had only unclipped. The fact that she hadn''t frozen to death despite still being soaked in cold water was crazy to me. "They were in their balls, though, right? They''ll be okay," I said, trying to reassure her. We were only a foot away from each other now, but I was still uncertain about if she wouldsh out or not. "How can you know that?" she asked¡ª demanded of me. She had a way of talking that was very menacing. Like she could crush me in an instant. I''d grown used to seeing this in Pokemon, but not in people themselves, and thest time I''d seen Maylene like this was when I had tormented her myself. I knew she wasn''t going to do anything, but I couldn''t help being on edge. But to answer her question, the truth was, I couldn''t know that. I believed it, but I couldn''t know. "Pokeballs are basically magic," I said. "They''ll be okay. When this is all over and Cor feels better, they''ll send people to retrieve your team." She hesitated for a few seconds before giving me a half-convinced nod. "Can we go back? You have a Jellicent, you could¡ª" "It wouldn''t work. I don''t want him to get too far away from me, or we run the risk of getting separated. I''m sorry. Thatke is way too big and too deep." Maylene shut her eyes tight. "I figured. I just wanted to try." "I''m sorry." She clicked her tongue. "Stop it. I already told you to stop apologizing all the time." She took a deep, calming breath and finally, I felt safe around her. She leaned to the side and looked at the scared Paras, who was eyeing her from behind Princess. "Did you¡ª did you catch that?" I turned toward the two Pokemon. "Paras? No, no, she''s guiding us toward the nextyer. We were almost there before we ran into you, but she has her own life to get back to and stuff." Had she wanted toe with me, I would have said yes. In a way, it would have meant that she''d always have a piece of Brood-Mother with her, which made for some interesting questions, but it wasn''t meant to be and even though I understood Paras and Parasect as a species now, that did not mean I was equipped to handle them in any way shape or form. I could try, I knew I could, but the consequences of failure and the grief that would follow would be far toorge for me to handle. If Brood-Mother had failed after centuries of attempts, as had many scientists in the field, I doubted I would evere close to reaching symbiosis between the spores and Paras herself. "So¡­ she knows where to go?" Maylene wiped the remaining tears off her eyes and cheeks and sniffled. "She does! Her mother told me she was great at navigating the area, and she is." "Her mother¡ª you know what, okay." She worked her jaw and crossed her arms. "Fine, then. Let''s get moving." "Huh?" "I''ming with you," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I have no idea how the hell you found me, but I''m not letting you out of my sight again." "Maylene, you don''t have your¡ª" I stopped, not wanting to phrase this in a rude way. "Without your Pokemon, it''ll be dangerous." Maylene wordlessly stomped a foot on the ground, cracking the stone below her until it dented and crumbled into a hole from which fissures spread out and reached me. "Point taken," I whispered, turning toward my bag next to Princess. "But at one point, you''ll need oxygen and I don''t have enough for two people¡ª" "Then I''ll turn back when it gets hard to breathe," Maylene said. "And trust me, I can take more than you''d think." After that disy of strength, I believed her. It was one thing to hear about aura-users and how they could affect the world around them, but another entirely to see it happen. I''d heard about Maylene having been able to take out grown men at her Gym at seven years old, and she routinely sparred with Pokemon, but those were only rumors and stories, with how private her father had been when raising her. Then again, I''d found out these past few months that stories were more important than I''d ever given them credit for. "Okay." "Good, because I wasn''t going to take no for an answer. Let''s get on your bird already so we can get to the summit." Princess scoffed at being called a bird, a noise that was almost human, but always not quite. At least she hadn''t called Maylene any names. "What?" Maylene huffed. "I call Cynth''s Togekiss a bird and he doesn''t mind." At the mention of Cynthia''s Togekiss, Princess lost all of her hardiness and her wings ttened at her side, exposing Paras who opted to climb on top of her already. "She''s only seen him once, but she has a bit of a crush on him," I exined, ignoring her protests. "She''s still a kid, though, but you know, she can''t help it no matter what I tell her¡ª sorry, I''m rambling and we need to get going. Should we dry you up before we leave, or¡­?" "No. I''ll live." "If you say so." Maylene climbed on top of Princess behind me and decided that she would carry my bag instead of having Togekiss levitate it. If I had to guess, she wanted to feel useful, but honestly having found her was a weight off my shoulders. I''d been prepared for the worst and thought she might be dead after finding that ACE''s dead body. As soon as we cleared the cliffs, we reached a grand, glowing waterfall with¡­ Bodies. They were the bodies of Team Gctic and their Pokemon. I''d seen my fair share of death, but Maylene hadn''t, and I could quite literally feel her squirm behind me because of how ufortable she was, and she kept muttering about how she was going to hurl and calling Arceus'' name. Admittedly, these were in quite a bad condition. Crushed to a pulp and burned, mostly, though some had been cut apart at the fringes. Normally I would have asked for Princess to stop to investigate, but that wasn''t going to end well. I kept silent about the pleasure collected from seeing them dead. Eventually, though, we had tond again so Paras could situate herself, and after twenty more minutes of trekking through the edge of the huge cavern, where few of the glowing moss or algae grew, we reached the way up. A gaping, silent void that only allowed the sound of the wind through. A jagged mouth full of sharpness, teeth upon teeth that never ended. I pinched my nose and blew as hard as I could to get the pressure out of my ears, but it just kepting back. This was¡­ stronger than it had been on the first floor, or maybe I was just imagining things. Paras chittered behind us as I recalled Princess, and I crouched next to her. "Thank you for the help, little one." I offered her my finger, which she grabbed with a pincer. I knew she didn''t understand the concept of a handshake, but the bit of pain I felt made the goodbye meaningful. I would never see her again, would I? "Are you sure you''ll be alright for the way back? If you want, you cane with us until the mountain''s settled. I''ll take you back to your mother after." The bug type denied me instantly, which I''d expected. "I figured. I was just giving you the choice. Stay safe, then." I waved to little Paras as she scuttled away as fast as she could, but before she could scamper behind a rock, she turned back, and tendrils of fungus writhed out of the cracks in her shell, and the mushrooms on her back glowed a little from their usual dim grey. Brood-Mother was saying goodbye too. Iughed, and Paras finally left. "I''m not even going to ask," Maylene sighed. "Legendaries, you''re odd. No offense, I mean, I knew that already. Guess having a God in your head will do that to you." "What do you mean?" Maylene tightened her hold on my backpack, and we eyed the ''stairway'' together. "I mean that the first thing you did when getting to Veilstone was give the Rangers a whole lot of trouble and make my day a million times more stressful, and that you were always weird even if we ignore the history between us. Anyway, ydol should be enough, no?" she asked. "Cass and Princess, I think. Better safe than sorry." I let them both out of their Pokeballs again and exined that they''d have to generate a shield above us in case something copsed. "Ready?" She answered with a silent nod, and we began our trek upward into the dark. There was a wordless worry between us, that something would go awry and we would get separated, but like the first path of the sort, there was nothing we could do to avoid that problem. One thing intrigued me as I let out a tired huff and kept climbing, however. Cor was alive and responded to what I asked of it, to a reasonable extent. That meant that it must have sensed I was worried about Maylene enough for our paths to meet, which was well and good, but did that mean I could engineer a way to rendezvous with someone else? Cece, Denzel and the others? That most likely depends on how feasible the ask is, I answered myself after a beat. Differentyers were probably a no-no, and interacting with other shards stuck in their own tales might be tough. Denzel, Emilia and Pauline could still be an option, though, if they were also on the third floor. Then again, it was a fool''s errand to try and trick the force on which the world functioned. A story was always to a certain extent engineered, but it lost all of its charm and power if it could be exploited. If one could poke holes into it and tilt the scales in their favor instead of letting it y out. I wished I''d asked Betrix more about how they worked, though. Their structures, their shapes, the way the world thrusted people in and out of them¡­ "We''re here." I blinked. Maylene''s words had almost flown over my head. The thirdyer was breathtaking. It was beautiful in a way one didn''t expect a cave to be, with crystals littering the walls of the wide tunnels here. Unlike below, this wasn''t just one wide chasm where all life could congregate, nor series of tightened tunnels where anything but the most powerful of shlights would see their lights swallowed by the darkness. The crystals bounced off so much light that rainbows formed everywhere my eyes settled for too long. They were so clear that our reflections were visible within, like staring at two mirrors opposed each other leading to endless copies. Legendaries, it was cold. Theyers I was wearing weren''t doing much, and I almost feltpelled to release Sunshine again for warmth, but I wouldn''t until we made sure that this area in general was safe and I could retire one of my barrier users. "Woah," Maylene gasped. "This is like one of those hallways of mirrors or whatever they''re called. They had one in Hearthome for a little bit. Fantina helped set it up a few years back." That was a little out of nowhere and took me off-bnce. I searched for a way to answer for a few seconds. "How old were you?" "Like, eight. My father brought me since it was during the summer and it was kind of the first time I interacted with kids my age. To be honest I didn''t really have friends outside of my Pokemon until Nia and Candice took over their Gyms. Anyway, uh, it didn''t go that well." Maylene''s story ended in a murmur, barely audible. "Oh. What happened?" "Yeah, it was a horror attraction run by Fantina, right, with a bunch of ghosts and all, and she''s always had a love for the theatrical. My Dad told me to go in alone and make some friends, and I got spooked by some asshole Shuppet in the plushie of a barely-held-together Bidoof. So, uh, I might have freaked and exploded like twenty mirrors on ident." "Shit. How many people were¡­" I stopped. Her face was contorted in guilt. "A lot of other kids and their parents were injured because of me, so¡­ yeah, not the best holiday. It caused a lot of problems for my Dad, too." We took a few tentative steps forward, and I let my foot settle on the crystalized floor. It crunched under the soles of my boots. Once we proved that the ground was stable to walk on, we continued without a direction in mind. There wasn''t going to be much to do without a Pokemon to guide us. Princess and Cassianus whispered behind us about whatever came to mind. Currently, Togekiss was gossipping about Brood-Mother''s old trainer and wondering what someone with three Paras had been doing in the middle of Mount Cor that long ago. "He didn''t me you, did he?" "Oh, no, he was proud of me. I hated that part of him, you know. Or I guess I still hate that about him, among other things." She hunched forward, almost like she was making herself smaller. Like she hated admitting that. "But I''d never used aura that strongly before then, which I guess kind of makes sense, given that it''s linked to your emotional state. Training is just training, you know? There''s this fakeness about it no matter how much it hurts or my muscles strain." "Meanwhile, if you think a ghost is about to kill you¡­" I guessed. "I thought that Shuppet was going to eat my soul and turn me into a plushie," she said with a slight smile. Not augh, though, not when her Pokemon were missing. "But yeah, it was terrifying, and it showed my Dad how much potential I actually had. He''d ramble all day about how I could surpass him, and how I was a prodigy because aura was supposed to grow less, not more, from generation to generation." "Aren''t you? A prodigy both in this aura stuff, martial arts and battling?" She looked at me and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Doesn''t feel like anything, you know? It''s been told to me so many times now that it just washes off my back." She waved her hands wildly and quickly added, "And I don''t mean to brag, or anything! It''s just how it feels." "I didn''t think you were bragging." "It''s hard to tell. You always make that same face," Maylene said. "What face?" "It ranges from emotionless to the point of being disturbing to you looking like you want to kill something," she simply said. "Though I guess you were smiling when you were with that Paras. And you smiled when you were having dinner." "That''s because my friends and their Pokemon were over. And because Cece was there. We were pretending to¡ª" Actually, it''d be weird to say that out loud when she already thought I was strange. Arceus knew how''d she''d react to us pretending the world wasn''t ending. I cleared my throat. "Anyway, I can smile. I''m a cheerful person." Mayleneughed. "Okay." "I am!" My tone was a little more defensive than I''d like. "I¡ª you just haven''t seen enough of me to tell!" "I''m sorry, I''ve seen cheerful. I literally hang out with Gardenia and Candice on the regr¡­ man, I hope they''re okay." Knowing how Cor was acting, I doubted they''d ever make it to where we were, let alone to the top, unless they had a shard''s help. "They''ll be fine," I tried to reassure her. We kept chatting a little about her childhood, the way she struggled to meet her father''s expectations as soon as he saw how much potential she truly had, after her scare in Hearthome. She vented about how she knew the only reason she hadn''t gotten in trouble was because she''d been a Gym Leader''s kid, and how frustrating that was to her, but soon enough, we reached a wall. Like everything else, it was full of crystals, and there was no path around or above it. It was difficult to describe or understand, even, but there was a feeling of wrongness here. Like a subtle, almost invisible w. Maybe it was how perfect everything looked like someone had literally grabbed and arranged the crystals to look as beautiful as possible, or the way we''d seen zero Pokemon here so far, but¡­ I nced at Princess and Cass. "Guess we can try Ancient Power." I touched one of the crystals, and my head felt like it exploded into a million pieces. My hands clutched at my forehead, and Maylene grabbed me by the arm to keep me from falling while Princess cried out in worry. "What the hell was that?!" I coughed. "I don''t know. Just don''t touch the crystals¡ª what are you doing, I said not to touch¡ª" She tapped her finger on the glowing rocks a few times. "Huh. Nothing happens to me. Must be one of those shard things." Legendaries, my head hurt. It was slowly fading away, but it reminded me of the first time I''d trained with telepathy with Cece''s Slowking on the road to Sceon. My eyes widened. In fact, it was the exact same feeling. "Maylene, do you think rocks can talk using psychic powers?" I asked. She let go of me and sighed. "What are you talking about now?" "This feels like the mountain trying to talk to me, but it doesn''t know how. Like my mind is too fragile to¡ª" My heart sank. I had the protection of Mesprit''s full gift in my brain, and it still hurt that much. "Yeah, my mind is too fragile to handle it." The words were hard to force through my clenched throat. I took a step away from the walls. "I won''t be able to touch any of these with my bare skin, I think." "Better find a spot clear of them when we have to sleep, then. Makes you wonder what those rocks are made of," Maylene pondered. I asked Togekiss and ydol to create a path through the wall, which they got started on immediately. Cass put a barrier around me so I wouldn''t identally touch one of the stones again. The tunnel was wide enough for us tofortably pass through, though it hurt my eyes a little to be in such a tight space with so many reflections. Eventually, though, we finally found what we were looking for. Wildlife. I''d seen only one Carbink in Cor before, but there were too many of them here to count, all chock-full of gems that the ones I''d seen before¡ª both in my Gym Battle against Roark, and in the first floor of Mount Cor¡ª simply didn''t match. They were all huddled together, hovering right under the ceiling, not for warmth, but for reassurance, and the way they shone almost had them too bright to look at for too long. It made sunspots in my eyes. A lone Beartic cried out for her cubs, anxiously looking left and right to see if she could find them, but to no avail. Once in a while, she would make herself tall to get a good view of the surroundings. She had a face that looked threatening at first nce, and that had Maylene step in front of me when she noticed the ice type, but I knew better. Pokemon I had never seen before¡ª blue and crystal-like with bright yellow eyes¡ª camouged among the crystals in hundreds. I might not have been able to tell, had I not been using empathy. Even with their bright eyes So I did something I hadn''t done in a while. I pulled out my Pokedex from the endless supplies in the backpack Maylene was carrying for me and scanned them from as far as I could. Glimmet, the ore Pokemon. Few facts are known about this Pokemon. It absorbs nutrients from cave walls while camouged to hide away from predators. The petals it wears are made of crystallized poison. Should it be provoked, it will often dash away and spew poison in the air as a defense mechanism like an Inkay. Type: Rock, Poison They were pretty. Like flowers. They looked simr to Glimmora, but I knew that Pokemon was Paldean, originally. How had they gotten here? So many tales left unsaid. "What now?" Maylene asked. "Now, we help." ¡ª It began slowly. There were a lot of Pokemon here. This was a living, breathing ecosystem, after all, and stumbling upon a trove of knowledge like Brood-Mother in my first attempt again would be far too easy, story or not. We started with Beartic who had lost her children, slowly following her until we found an opening to show ourselves. Maylene hadn''t understood. Yes, Beartic was strong, but my Pokemon were most likely strong enough to protect ourselves through a barrier while we tried tomunicate. "That''d be a mistake," I had told her in a whisper. "We can''t sneak up on a mourning, scared Pokemon, or she won''t listen to us no matter what we say." "I mean I know that, I''m not stupid," she''d said. "I just thought that since you were special¡­" "I have a set of abilities, not magic that makes everything like me." "Okay, well it''s hard to tell sometimes," she grumbled. Though technically, it could be what I''d described it as. I''d ignored the wanting frisson that spread through me then and kept tracking Beartic, ignoring the Pokemon around us. They were too scared or distracted by their own lives to care for us beyond staring. Had she been in a normal state of mind, Beartic might have most likely smelled us trying to approach, and had the mountain not constantly been shaking, then perhaps she would have heard us, but the world would have it that an opportune moment would present itself to introduce ourselves to Beartic when she found herself to be taking a break. With a frosty sigh whose chill I felt from our hiding spot behind a formation of crystals, we watched the ice type wrap her massive paw around one of those reflective rocks. She brought it up to her mouth, and water slowly dripped into the open maw. My eyes narrowed. "What¡­?" Were those crystals ice? Either way, we circled around Beartic to get to where she could see us before approaching her. She was a towering, hulking beast with fur thick and bristling, radiating an icy chill that sent cold pooling around my bones. Knowing that Princess would look menacing, I had recalled her, leaving only ydol with me, and I had them put down their barrier even with the cold. The trust wasn''t there yet, and this could, as Maylene had told me, be stupid and get me killed, but I''d found that trust had to be given, before being received in turn. In the Lost Tower, I hade to Mathilda armed to the teeth with my Pokemon ready for a fight, and she had figured me out instantly. What could have been rather diplomatic had turned into a battle right then and there, even if I hadn''t figured it out quite yet. A lesson was not a lesson, nor was a fight that close to resulting in my demise worth it, if nothing was learned from the experience. So yes, Beartic could have frozen me to death. In fact, she was mulling it over. I could see it in her eyes. I ced a hand over my chest. "I don''t know how many, but you have children you''re looking for. I can help you." And so, it began. The three Cubchoo were found by having Princess fly overhead above us and scanning the area. Her eyesight was nowhere as good as Talonme''s, but it was still enough to find them within twenty minutes. They''d been hiding out in a small crevice in a wall, where thergest of them had been keeping guard to protect the other two. Had this been another day, another moment in time, then perhaps they would have died to a starving Pokemon. Or maybe the cave would have copsed in on them like it had on the Paras, had we been a few minuteste, but today wasn''t that day. Beartic did not know where the exit was, however. She did not frequent the edges of the cave, which ording to her were difficult to get to. "That makes sense," I''d answered. "We had to make a hole through a wall to get to here. This ce¡­ it''s like it gets denser and denser the closer to the center, isn''t it? There''s something there, creating these crystals, and you sustain yourselves off of them." Beartic had eyed me with a glint in her eyes and called me smart, then. With her children on her shoulders and arms, she pointed us in the right direction and told us to seek out a friendly Cryogonal. While we followed her, I asked her about the rocks in the cave. Bearticughed, shing her teeth. It was a deep, guttural rumble reminiscent of rolling thunder in the background when I would go to sleep under my covers in Jubilife. She answered that these were not rocks, but ice, as I suspected. A lot of the Pokemon here used them to drink, should they need to, but they couldn''t take too many at a time or it made them hear and see things. Like a dream they could never understand. That dream is Cor, she''d told me with a fond smile. It was as much a lesson to me as to her children. The mountain couldmunicate, but it was too clumsy. Too¡­ impersonal about it, even when it had a prophet to talk through. She did quickly warn me that the Pokemon creating this ice was not one of her kin, however. Not an ice type. Once in a while, Beartic would give her cubs to Cryogonal, if she had to make a long trek to hunt. Cryogonal was known here as someone every ice type could trust if they were ever in need of help, and they were old. Beartic talked about how they''d saved her life when she''d been a Cubchoo from a Lairon desperate for food, when she''d been separated from her mother for reasons she didn''t want to get into. Cryogonal''s constantly rotating geometric form seemed almost ethereal, with the way it glowed. It was almost as if they were a part of the environment. I could see the resemnce, now. Candice''s own Cryogonal I had battled had been made of blue ice, but this one waspletely clear, like a mirror that refracted and reflected light. That also meant that they were difficult to look at. But Beartic had warned me that there was a sinister side to Cryogonal. Ice types were their allies in truth, but with others, they were incredibly aggressive and wouldn''t hesitate to strike first. What had led Cryogonal to this behavior? What had their life looked like¡ª how had it formed, lived, what experiences had shaped their very being? Were they being pushed by a story, just one not as obvious as Brood-Mother''s, or did they live independently of them? The questions burned on my tongue, but it would be rude to ask. How would I feel, if an uppity stranger suddenly asked me about the possibly sensitive subjects in my own life? There was a cold pulse of blue light that forced us to cover our eyes, when Cryogonal first spoke. They seemed displeased at my presence, but I could tell they had seen humans before, as had Beartic, somehow. Beartic vouched for us, and as soon as she said we helped her find her cubs, Cryogonal was far more amenable to giving us aid in finding the exit. First, however, there was a conversation to be had between the two of them that they seemed content to have me listen in to while I waited. Maylene rubbed the smallest Cubchoo''s fluffy forehead with her two hands, and the ice type let out a pleasant sniffle. "What''re they talking about?" she asked with a smile. "Strategizing to find the way up?" "No¡­" I frowned. Cryogonal was a little tough to get, but I could fill in the nks thanks to Beartic. "They''re talking about feeling more powerful. About how working with ice is getting easier and easier despite the ''Jeweled One''s'' influence¡ª" My words died in my throat when Cryogonal shot me a look that had me hugging myself. "Sorry, I''ll be quieter." Maylene had almost shot up from her crouching position, ready to¡­ punch Cryogonal to death? I doubt that would have worked. "Can we whisper, at least?" "Yeah." I nodded. "Um, they''re talking about some kind of deity. The Hoarfrost? They''re different than the Jeweled One. More important by a ton." Mypanion''s eyes narrowed. "Think that''s the Regice thing Maxwell told us about?" "Hmhm. I think you''re right." The Legend''s presence was far more pronounced than it usually was, and as a result every ice type in the mountain was seeing a burst of power. Cryogonal told Beartic that this was like the incident ''four years ago''. That while this was the only one she could remember, Cryogonal had gone through eleven periods where their power grew the most powerful it would ever be. Four years ago¡­ could mean anything outside of here, considering time was different in Cor, but the general rule was that time in the mountain passed slower than out of it. Cryogonal''s words came not as a warning, then, but to inform Beartic of theing opportunity should they keep their heads cool. The old ice type did not seem to believe Cor would actually die¡ª as if that was antithetical to their entire being, and so, they would rather scheme and prepare to capture territory when the time came. Capture it from who, that, Cryogonal did not say, but I was almost certain it was this Jeweled Pokemon they were talking about. Were they the prophet? After a bit, they were finally ready to lead us out of here. Maylene had gotten attached to the Cubchoo in the short time she''d seen them, and she was bummed out when she found out that Beartic wouldn''t follow us. The ice type had already gone out of her usualnds and tunnels she frequented to get us here, so she couldn''t go any further. This trek was a long one. At one point, we actually had to stop to make camp because we''d been walking for too long and I was exhausted. Hell, even Maylene was starting to tire. Cryogonal was content to let us sleep and said they would keep the cold away from us for the night, which was very wee, given it had gotten worse throughout the day. The thermometer in my bag read -19 degrees Celsius outside their little bubble of warmth. Soon enough we''d reach the temperatures of Snowpoint in winter. Cryogonal was a silent host. They rarely responded to any questions I would ask, and it was easy to tell the only reason they were helping was because they were content to bide their time and we''d helped one of their friends in need, so instead of annoying them further, I just thanked them for the help, unfolded my sleeping bag and prepared to go to sleep after eating a League MRE that tasted like cardboard. Beef stew, corn some trail mix and some cookies. Maylene''s own bag had been lost, so she didn''t have a sleeping bag to use and I had to share my supplies with her, which I was all too willing to do. For her to rest, I released Princess so she at least had something fluffy to rest on. I would have used Angel, but again, he needed to stay in his Pokeball until we met a threat from Team Gctic. I was surprised we hadn''t run into any of them yet beyond those corpses. ¡ª We reached the exit the next day. A literal exit leading out of the mountain, from which howling cold winds rushed past us and stabbed into my pores like a thousand needles. Cryogonal chimed, saying that should we follow this path, we would reach one of the ways to the fourthyer, and they left before we could even say goodbye. I did thank them, even with their back turned to us, and despite them ignoring me, I was happy we''d figured out another way to get through this. Sunshine was out with me today, along with Cass, as usual. I was hoping to make it through multipleyers. There was a real chance that if we didn''t reach the summit in time, we would all freeze to death if the League didn''t manage to handle Regice. I had faith in them, however. They had their job, and I had mine. At least Maylene''s clothes were dry, now. It was strange to see an area this banal again. There were no rainbows or countless lights here, just¡­ it was normal. A natural tform perched on the rugged slopes of Mount Cor, with trees and tall grass barely poking through the knee-deepyer of snow. Small shrubs and mosses clung to the nooks and crannies of the rock face, making the most of the moisture that condensed from the clouds hanging low over the mountain. Visibility here was awful. It reminded me of the Land of Fog between Sceon and Celestic, yet it was simply this way because Cor was so tall, even at the thirdyer. The air here felt a little thin. Each breath simply held less, and almost became a deliberate act to supply myself with enough oxygen to function. The fourthyer would be fourth out of seven, and I would need to start wearing my oxygen mask soon already. "Do you think time here passes normally?!" Maylene yelled. She had to, with how strong the wind was, but then Cass wrapped a barrier around us. "Oh. Right, you can just do that." "Just for now, and just sound," I warned the psychic. "No need to exhaust yourself when it isn''t needed." "Acknowledged, even if it displeases me." "We can hide behind Sunshine if we need to," I said. "Anyway, I think so, right? The entire area around the mountain''s affected, which is why you can''t just fly to the summit." Maylene covered her eyes and looked up in the sky, searching for the sun''s general area, after which she pointed at it. "We could use the sun''s position to calcte how much time is passing, or something." I frowned at her. "Like, a sundial?" "Yeah!" She beamed. "Do you know how to do that?" "I thought you''d know how to do it." "What? Why even¡ª" "Because you brought it up!" I groaned. "Anyway, I don''t think it''d be that useful. I''m pretty sure the sun is just going to be stuck in that same position in the sky the entire time we''re outside." "You''d best give it a try anyway, Cass. To see if there are any variables in the way time passes because of how agitated the mountain is," Maylene said. "In truth, I would like to. I am¡­ quite bored," ydol said. They followed up with a sound effect that mimicked a sigh from their catalog of sounds. "It will give me something to pass the time." "Fine, don''t let me get in the way of your fun." My steps were careful, asionally stumbling over stones and roots hidden among the snow. Only a few inches of it would melt, even with Sunshine here, and I didn''t know whether it was because that was what had been set in stone¡ª the way this ce was meant to be¡ª or because of Regice growing more active due to Cor''s mental state. Still, we trudged through the upward slope, slowly gaining in altitude. It was actually only barely snowing, and asionally I''d see a flying type perched on one of the trees. Not many species made this high up Cor their home, but there were groups of Starly and Staravia huddled together on branches for warmth. There was a cry far above us that I recognized as Braviary thanks to knowing Pauline''s, although this one was higher-pitched. A Noctowl stared at us as we passed below the tree she had seemingly imed for herself, and she carried a nasty, fresh scar right above her right eye. "Can''t they just fly away?" Maylene asked through the strong winds. "They''re in a better position than most!" I nodded. "Some did, I bet, but we arrived toote to see them leave! It''s like, if someone told you and everyone in Veilstone to abandon your homes and everything you held dear, there''d be a portion of you who remained, no?" "Huh. Makes sense!" Thend-based Pokemon were nowhere to be seen, which possibly meant most of them had retreated into the caves or were hiding too. The scarred Noctowl followed us through our trek, never leading, but always stalking us. Early on, I''d tried tomunicate, even disturbing Cass from their calctions to try to speak into her mind, but she seemed uninterested in what any of us had to say. It was curiosity, that had her following, not the need to help, but she seemed to know I was different. Shard. The next time Cass spoke up, it was to tell us that time was seemingly standing still outside of this ce. An hour in, and with many breaks, we reached the end of the overhang and the side of a cliff with a section barren of any snow despite all logic pointing to the fact that the contrary should have been the state of things. Everywhere else was covered in snow and ice, but this was different. Maylene ced a hand on one of the rocks and gave it a tug before swearing. "It''s cold as fuck," she moaned, blowing hot air on her hand. "It peeled some skin away." "Stop touching everything, we don''t have to climb it, we literally have Princess with us. I''ll get the first-aid kit from my bag." "I just like rock climbing¡­" she turned away from me and I unzipped the backpack. Grabbing things was easier said than done. Closing my fingers around objects was growing increasingly difficult, even with Sunshine here to warm us up. I released Princess so she could scout above the cliff. She returned when I was putting band-aids on Maylene''s fingers and palms and said that there looked to be a chasm simr to the one that had led us up. She couldn''t really tell "Don''t get too close to the edge," I warned Turtonator. He''d been trying to see the world from up here and had his eyes in a perpetual squint. His goal had been¡ª or was to climb Mount W and to reign over it on his own. To kill the current ruler, who most likely had the wind of a story behind their sails. Of course, when he talked about it, he''d tell me that he would do it long after I died, after which he would threaten that he''d kill me if I died of anything other than old age, as a gentleman usually did. Anyway, I supposed he was internally cursing the weather for obscuring his view so he couldn''t bask and pretend he ruled over everything the light touched. "There." I closed the first-aid kit and turned Maylene so I could put it back in the bag. "After the whole ordeal with the mind-bending rock, you''d think you wouldn''t touch¡ª" "I get it, I get it! Give me a break and let''s get on your Togekiss, Arceus." "I''m just saying that this is an eldritch, living being we''re climbing, so it''d do you well to respect it, aura or not. I know you''re used to being, like, basically invincible to what would hurt a lot of other people." Togekiss approached us, and I let Sunshine and Cass back in their balls temporarily. "Arceus, it''s¡ª cold." So cold I could barely even speak, and Maylene was feeling it too. Were Brood-Mother and her children fine? I hoped them being oneyer lower was buying them time, at the very least. "I¡ªI wanted to s¡ªsay that if I''d touched the rock, I pr¡ªprobably would have ripped my entire palm away, since I''m no¡ªnormal. Even if it hurts you le¡ªless, it''s stupid to risk it." Her lips ttened. Aura flowered around her skin, probably keeping her warm. "I hear you." Then, snow erupted so high that nearly covered the both of us. Noctowl hadnded right next to Maylene, and her aura red to life. Her coat whipped around due to the excess energy, and a blue light coated her skin. "What do you even want?!" "Rx." I held out a hand toward Noctowl. "I think she wa¡ªwants to tell us something." The normal type tilted her head abnormally far to the left, and she hooted once, twice, thrice. Beware. Beware. Beware. "She''s warning us about what awaits us above¡ªve," I slowly tranted. "Is that the Po¡ªPokemon who hurt your face? Are they aggressive?" The owl''s feathers puffed up until she doubled in size, and she let out a resonating giggle that was crystal clear through the screaming winds. The sentiment was clear. If the Pokemon she was warning us about had attacked her, she would be dead, and this entire overhang might have copsed as well. I gulped. "But can y¡ªyou answer my question? Are they aggressive?" Noctowl blinked, as if she couldn''t understand the meaning of my question. "Will they attack us? What Pokemon is it?" She answered with a simple, long tone. Old. There was a way certain people had to weave words in a manner that conveyed multiple meanings. Old could have meant a multitude of things, but there was a certain weight to the word. There was old, akin to Betrix, Brood-Mother, or Buddy, Mathilda or Ruth, but there was old, as in truly ancient. One who had lived through many eras, who had seen eons pass them by, and who were still here to tell the tale. The gravity afforded by Noctowl told me this was the old she was talking about. She followed by saying to watch our words and left in a hurry before we could ask anything else, nearly sweeping me off my feet with a gust of wind. The flight up the cliff was silent, as was the climb up the chasm. I''d put my mask on, covering my face, and I was breathing from oxygen tanks strapped to my back. The way up felt longer than before, and the pressure in my ears was giving me a headache, but eventually. Eventually, we made it and found ourselves in a cavern that seemed to stretch on forever, its size almost too much to take in at once. What caught my attention first were these massive stone spires shooting up from the ground. They were everywhere, towering over me like skyscrapers. Each one looked different¡ª some were smooth, probably worn down over time, while others had sharp edges that made them seem almost dangerous. The light in there was rather dim, barely enough to see by. It gave the whole ce an eerie feel, especially with the way shadows moved when the light hit the spires just right. Unlike below, there was no apparent source of light. No crystals or glowing moss. It was just there when it shouldn''t be, and I knew the light from outside was nowhere near enough to light up this entire cave and barely made it through the ''stairwell'' anyway. The ground was uneven, cluttered with smaller rocks that had broken off the bigger ones. There were also pools of water scattered around, reflecting the spires and making the ce look even stranger¡ª "Gah!" Maylene screamed next to me. Instantly, a barrier went up in front of us, glowing for an instant before disappearing. Only Princess and ydol were with us, but hopefully it''d be enough for whatever wasing¡ª I quickly moved my mask so I could see better where Maylene was looking, and my hands went limp at my sides. He was stone on top of stone, disorderly, sharp, and most of all, . His body was a fortress, towering at at least ten or eleven feet tall, withyers of hardened rock that told a story of survival through age upon age. The spikes that adorned his back seemed like the jagged peaks of mountains, and the boulder at the tip of his tail looked capable of shattering steel in a single blow. He was Rhypherior. The moment Rhyperior''s eyes settled on me, I knew nothing I could do would change what he had in store for me. I could struggle, maybe my Pokemon would tickle him a bit, cause him to shed away a few of the stones that seemed to perpetually grow on his body, but I would be crushed in an instant, barrier included. He looked at us like we were bugs, with cold, unfeeling eyes that had me sweating and feeling somewhat warm even through the frigid temperatures. There was the possibility that this was a different Rhyperior. Barry''s father had caught his own in Cor, after all, so I was certain there were at least a few, but I knew better. Even if the wounds of that battle had now been overgrown with new rocks, I just knew. I just knew. Rhyperior eyed me down, saying that if I was going to kill him, I''d better get the attempt over with right now so he could crush me instead of wasting his time. I frowned and realized I''d been ring at him with my hands over my Pokeballs. Maylene had been more scared than aggressive. She knew that we were dead if we provoked Rhyperior in any way, shape or form. That would have been the case even if we had her Pokemon with us. His drill-like horn looked duller than it should have been and had been chipped away year after year. Why did you kill my Pokemon''s mother? What led to the fight in the first ce? If you''re all the way up here, what were you even doing on the firstyer back then? I said nothing. Rhyperior moved, and stones ground together like the shifting of tectonic tes. So deafeningly loud, so imposing that I could barely stand to be next to him. I had heard you wereing, speck, he told me. Follow. Sweetheart''s Pokeball felt heavy on my waist.
Chapter 311 – The Tyrant of Coronet Chapter 311 ¨C The Tyrant of Cor
CHAPTER 311 - THE TYRANT OF CORONET There came a time when a Pokemon was so powerful that even I, a girl who couldn''t help but constantly create scenarios in her head about how to potentially fight back in case she was attacked, just gave up. I''d reached an understanding that none of it even mattered. No ideas came up in my mind¡ª it was just nk. An empty eptance that if Rhyperior decided Maylene and I were dead, we would be so, and it was so, terribly chilling. A cold fear that I could feel through the frigid temperatures that had me hugging myself for warmth as we traveled through the spire-filled cavern that seemingly stretched onto eternity. Each step the titan took ground stone against stone on his back and joints, and shook the earth further than it already was. It made it difficult to follow him and keep my steps steady, but whenever I almost slipped, Maylene or my Pokemon were here to keep me standing. ydol and Sunshine were at our side, and Maylene couldn''t stop stealing nces at me and at Rhyperior''s back. I''d recalled Princess and swapped the dragon in tobat the cold, and evenheknew not to provoke Rhyperior. Swallowing, I closed my eyes and focused. The mountain was dying, so I was certain¡ª no, notcertain, but I figured the rock type wouldn''t attack us. Still, I wanted to make sure there was no ill will toward us to see how to best approach this. When I opened my eyes, Rhyperior was dull and emptied. Gouged of everything that had once added up to make him and leaving only wisps of what had once been. It came as no surprise that he thought so little of us that he had not even directed anything our way. No anger, killing intent, or general enmity, but instead a sprinkling of annoyance and impatience that I would have missed had I not concentrated. This Rhyperior¡ª he wasn''t like Justin. His emotions hadn''t been put under a limiter that could be broken. He just felt less, which I supposed might be normal after living for so long, given that he had witnessed more than I could fathom. I was only wondering how in the worldthismomentous day was barely even moving the needle. I shot Maylene a look, offered her a tight nod, and her shoulders loosened a little bit. We were all too shaken to speak, too scared to induce a reaction out of Rhyperior. All that was audible in between the shaking of the earth was the soft, drawn-out hiss out of the oxygen mask every time I took a breath. It took a bit for me to gather my courage¡ª "Where are you taking us?" Maylene asked. Rhyperior''s head turned her way, and he eyed us behind him before stopping suddenly. We also did, not wanting to get hit by the swaying of his surprisingly nimble tail. I''d wanted to grab her arm and shake her, but it was toote. It was best to act like we knew what we were doing. "Is it to the nextyer?" she continued, though I didn''t miss the trembling in her voice on the back half of that sentence, nor the tiny beat of hesitation. "You know why we''re here, right? I mean, I hope so." She patted me on the back a little too strongly for my taste. "My friend Grace needs to get to the summit. She can fix this. All of this." Friend. She was throwing that word around all too easily after what I''d done to her, but it might have been easier to sell to Rhyperior. Rhyperior answered with a short grunt that reverberated deep in my lungs and chest. This time, he calledherspeck and told her that he was already doing this. Hemanded us not to speak again and continued on his way. Maylene sighed in relief next to me when I tranted it for it, but I couldn''t help but wrap my hand around Sweetheart''s Pokeball and clench my teeth until my jaw hurt. It appeared like Rhyperior didn''t remember me, or maybe he hadn''t even seen me back then, having been too focused on killing that Tyranitar. Now that I had the experience to urately gauge the rock type''s strength, it was easy to deduce that Sweetheart''s mother had been terrifyingly strong. She had wounded Rhyperior, after all, even if she''d lost, in the end. She had opened up a fissure deep enough to lead us to alower levelof the mountain and closed it up above us. Part of me, one Maylene would call rational, wanted to let it go. The fate of world was on the line, after all, and Rhyperior wanted nothing more but to lead us to the next floor to take us closer to Spear Pir. EvenifI released Sweetheart here and it came to a fight, she would just lose and we risked getting killed. No¡­ maybeIwould be safe, but¡­ my eyes wandered toward Maylene. She always walked slightly ahead of me so she could take an attack or push me behind her should onee and ydol couldn''t react. Did he have any reason to keep her alive? I''d gone through multiple changes of heart regarding Sweetheart''s mother. At first, between Sceon and Hearthome where she''d first told me about wanting revenge, I had pushed back against it. Then I''d gotten lost in the pleasure violence and torment could bring after getting my first taste of it against Harry Rodriguez, and while I had not explicitly told her she would one day kill the one who had taken her mother away from her, I''d grown more open to the idea even knowing we most likely wouldn''t be ready until the end of the year. Now? Well, it wasn''t sunshine, roses and forgiveness. I had eschewed violence, grown to be a better person and learned to give people second chances because I had gotten one. It was not like we had any chance, anyway, but if I got out of thisyer without a semnce ofanswersfor my daughter, then I did not think I would ever forgive myself, nor would she forgive me. But not now. Not so suddenly, or I risked angering Rhyperior more than we could handle. We passed by a colony of blue Shellos and Gastrodon who eyed us suspiciously. Most of all, however, they eyed Rhyperior with something that could only mean fear. The young ones retreated into the small puddles of water which were barely deep enough to cover them or slid behind one of the many pirs stretching high into the sky. The adults were all smaller than I remembered their species being and made themselvesrger. Colors undted on their backs, which must have been a threat disy, and the water from their puddles began to foam at the surface and whip around, cracking the stone near them. It wasn''tjustRhyperior, even if he was by far and beyond the strongest wild Pokemon I''d ever seen. The Pokemon here were powerful, especially the ones who had stayed behind. The water was starting to freeze at the edges of the ponds. We''d walked along frozen ones before, but they were probably keeping this one in a liquid state. I had it.The cold! "Rhyperior, may I speak?" The weight of who knew how many years settled on me when he looked my way again. "It''s about the temperature." Given that he kept going, circling around a stone spire the size of my apartment building, I continued. "There''s a n afoot, but if it keeps going down this fast, it''s possible we won''t be able to make it. We might freeze to death even with my Turtonator here. The cold already seeps past his heat and ydol can''t contain it with barriers because¡ª" Rhyperior growled, which was a rattled deep within his throat, saying that he could do nothing to help us with the cold. "Oh, I know that. Do you know about the Hoarfrost?" I asked. The rock type''s eyes narrowed, and the urge to crush me underfoot passed as quick as it hade. I saw it quite literally sh in his heart, brighter than anything I''d seen from him, along with the effort to smother it like candlelight between two fingers. I wiped the build-up of cold sweat on my palms on my climbing gear and listened. Regice apparently had many names throughout Cor, but ice types revered it as Hoarfrost for the beautiful crystals it left on everything it froze. Something in between frost and ice, the kind of crystals you''d see hanging off trees when the temperature and humidity were just right. Rhyperior told us he''d seen the effects of its waking many, many times, though he had never seen Regice himself. He didn''t say it, but I figured the power disparity was just too much for him to take that risk, given that he seemed to speak of the Legend with nothing but disdain. But at least he was talking. I had a foot in the door. Most Rhyhorn and Rhydon I''d seen were quite¡­ well, not smart, but Rhyperior was quite well-spoken, if a bit blunt and rough around the edges. I didn''t know if that was an effect of the evolution or how long he''d been living. "So you¡ª" I stopped and bit my lip, waiting to see if he''d react. He did not. "So the Hoarfrost¡ª Regice¡ª has woken up before, and the League came to stop it?" We reached a small gulf in the ground, a ravine at least twenty feet long from which more pirs grew, but Rhyperior just waved an arm and reshaped the stone into a bridge in an instant. It was something Princess would have been able to do, but with none of the finesse. Just chunks of stones he crushed at a distance until they fit together like the pieces of a puzzle while telling us that asionally,before the Leagueor most humans dared to step foot in the depths of Cor, Pokemon would either band together andy Regice to rest, or let it run its course until it returned back to its slumber. We all walked in a file, ignoring the sound of the rushing water below. All of these puddles and tinykes had toe fromsomewhere. I could tell Maylene was feeling left out, but the conversation couldn''t dienow. "If I may ask, does that mean you traveled betweenyers to escape from the cold?" First, silence. Then, Rhyperior mmed a fist against a pir of stone and copsed it next to us with a roar that was so loud ithurt. Dust, grit and shards of rocks billowed out in a cloud of death and Cass barely got our shield up in time, covering both me and Maylene. mes surged out of Sunshine''s snout, but another stone went flying through the thickened dust and mmed into his chest. He rolled off the cliff, but his Pokeball snapped up and recalled him. I hadn''t known when I''d grabbed it, but it was already back on my belt by the time I realized what I''d been doing. Maylene stood in-between Rhyperior and I, but it didn''t matter. Insolence,speck,Rhyperior growled from within the dust. He sounded more like a dragon than not. "If I offended you, I''m sorry¡ª" There was a gust of wind, and the dust condensed into stones that ttered to the ground around Rhyperior. He had just taken down a pir the size of a skyscraper, but did not even look alittlebit winded. In fact, it was the opposite. Emotions red around him like a bonfire. I rmend releasing the rest of the Court immediately,Cassianus said with a hint of panic.We can possibly buy time for you to run, and repositioning us with Pokeballs might spare all of our lives. "Agreed!"Maylene yelled. "If we wanted us dead, we''d be dead," I whispered. There was little fear in me, or maybe I''d just masked it sessfully. I believed deep in my heart that he did not want us dead, but there was also a calm settling within my veins that was difficult to exin. Straightening my back, I spoke again, "I''m sorry for the question. May we keep going?" Maylene hissed and clenched my wrist."Are you insane?" Rhyperior squinted. Then he nodded and walked past us. "Can you tell me what the hell is going on?" Maylene asked, slightly angry. She let go of my wrist, not wanting to hurt me while she clenched it. I would also like to know. It isn''t like you to keep us in the dark,Cass muttered. "Rhydon are very temperamental," I whispered. "I''ve seen many in the wild and trained a decent bit with Lauren''s, so I figured their evolution was the simr. Or maybe worse." Given how his emotions usually were, a re-up would end up having consequences that were much worse. Bad enough, and he might not realize he had killed us until it was toote. Ideally, we would have gotten another guide. Many Hoothoot and other flying types made their homes in the spires, which was where that Noctowl must havee from, and there were Pokemon everywhere, even if they were fewer in number now that most of them had had time to run away and evacuate. They were all too scared of Rhyperior to approach, and I doubted the ground type would ept it anyway. We kept going, and I found it wise not to release Sunshine again. It''d be best to let him cool off for a while so he didn''t let his nerves get the better of him. Warmth from him still lingered in the air thanks to ydol''s diligence. In a way, I found this odd. Everywhere else, Pokemon were either working together or ignoring each other. A sort of truce while Cor was at risk. Rhyperior seemed to be eyed with the same ire and fear he would be in normal circumstances, even now. It seemed a little lonely, but this reputation had been built far before now, and I couldn''t forget nor forgive what he''d done. After ten minutes or so, Rhyperior spoke up again. He asked about my Larvitar. My stomach twisted itself into knots, and it took all of my willpower to keep a straight face. Maylene just frowned, confused, but she stayed quiet. Even if she had understood, she hadn''t known that it was this particr Rhyperior who had gotten us stuck in Cor¡ª hell, I didn''t even know if she knew it was a Rhyperior at all. Back then, Gym Leaders hadn''t read everything there was to know about us, and that side of the mountain was under Gardenia''s purview. Not as sharp-tongued as before, are you, speck?the rock type asked with a deep, grindingugh. I clenched a fist. "S¡ªso you remember." Damn it, the cold was getting to me again. A veil of regret passed over Rhyperior¡ª and at first, I thought it was at the thought of killing my daughter''s mother, but that would have been too human of him. He was a Pokemon. A Pokemon who was thousands of years old, or possibly more. No, he allowed the sadness to take hold of him and grunted that memories were not where he was the strongest, yet he remembered this one. One always forgot, after too long. Faces. Names. Locations. Things he enjoyed. Not fighting, though. Never fighting. That was who he was. There was something else he remembered, though he did not remember the exact date. He allowed a beat to pass as we began to walk downhill, where the spires were bent almost like rubber despite the fact that they were still stone. Some bent down and reached the ground again, formingrge arches.I remember,Rhyperior said.I remember thest time Cor nearly perished like it was yesterday,he finished with an ufortable shift in his arms. "Whu¡ª" the words were wrong, but I couldn''t speak right.Noctowl had been correct. Rhyperior had been a Rhydon, then, but he had served as a guide all the same. He had been running away from Cor, and so he was the first Pokemon our ancestors hade across in theyer below this one. Seeing them had¡­ triggered something in him. Hope, maybe? He didn''t say either way, and I wasn''t going to ask, but he had opted to guide them after Atreus, my predecessor, had graciously asked with a revering bow. They''d had to beat him to earn that, and even back then, he had been strong. Stronger than all of them put together by a wide margin, ording to him. Yet he had not gone far enough to truly injure them, and so they had been allowed to beat him. The way he recalled the events was interesting. Rhyperior did not boast, nor did he embellish. He simplyid out the facts in as few words as he could. "People back in the day had weaker Pokemon because they didn''t have potions or Ditto cells to really push their training as far as we do now," Maylene whispered in my ear. After recovering from the shock of his reveal, I''d been rying everything Rhyperior was saying to her through chattering teeth. "Training came with a real risk if they pushed too hard, and they also had fewer Pokemon in general." My only reply was a nod, because my thoughts were somewhere else. "They we¡ªwere all together?" I asked Rhyperior. "Weren''t their¡ª" Hadn''t their stories been different?Three winding paths, leading up to the summit by the end? Rhyperior shrugged, his ted stone grinding against his neck. There were words of our ascendence passing through the mountain, one he had apparently beaten out of an Onix that routinely traveled between the third and fourthyers. I allowed the displeasure to pass, though my throat tightened enough to make it difficult to breathe. He noted that it was different, this time, in many ways. That we were after hundreds of people, anorganized force,rather than a single man taken by madness and a dream. Mesprit had told me about Cynthia''s ancestor, though I knew little of him and could only pass the information along to her. She hadn''t reacted beyond widening her eyes a smidge and thanking me. All of that to say, Rhyperior figured he knew how I, or specifically, the shard of emotion worked. For the first time, he called me a maniptive trickster instead of speck, and said that if I''d wanted to ask about his battle with Tyranitar, I should have juste out andsaid it. It was not the question that had offended him, for I now understood he was not a creature who let pride get the better of him, but he wanted people to actuallysaywhat they wanted instead of ying a game of smoke and mirrors. The ground was unsteady beneath my feet at the end of his sentence, but at least we knew why he''d freaked out. What had Atreus done to him in the little time they''d been together? How long was that, even? A day at most? My throat felt dry and cold, and I was desperate to find an excuse¡ª areasonfor his actions. "Have you seen anyonee through this way yet?" I asked. "Another shard?" Rhyperior shook his head, saying that he would have known if one had. He had made thisyer his turf for thest few months, though he''d been nning on going up to the sixth before this entire ordeal began. "And you won''t test me by fighting?" Rhyperior shook his head, saying that there would be no point. Those words surprised me, but wouldn''t any person change, after thousands of years? He might have found a test of strength necessary in the past, but no longer. But that was not why I''d started this conversation. I wanted to give Sweetheartclosure. "I''ll juste out and say it, then." I wrung my hands tightly through my gloves in an effort to warm them up. "I caught Lar¡ªLarvitar, and she''s now a Tyranitar. Why did you kill her mo¡ªmother." Because she infringed upon my territory,the answer came. Cold. Unfeeling. Like a bucket of ice water had been dropped on my head. There had been no grand reasons, no angle for forgiveness. It had just been a territorial dispute where Sweetheart''s mother had climbed down the mountain to get to a safer ce while she grew up. How dare he take so much away from her fornothing? How dare he? It took everything I had not to curse him out. The rage that followed was tempered, partly thanks to Cass'' warnings, but had Rhyperior been beatable, I feared what I would have done. Would I have thrown everything to the wind and just attacked? The fact that I didn''t know didn''t bode well. Let it out,Rhyperior said with his face turned my way. It was unmoving and expressionless. I bit down on my lip until I tasted metal.Don''t let his provocation get to you. Maylene frowned. "Grace? What''s wrong?" "Couldn''t you just have let them pass without chasing them to the firstyer?" I was quiet, at first, but my voice was deliberate enough not to shake from the cold. "She was running away from you. You could have let her go.She had a kid right in front of you, and you still did it. I don''t care how old, or how strong you are, that''sfuckedand you deserve to feel fucking lonely because everything in here fears you," I loudly spat. "What evenisyour territory? You wander the entire damn mountain without a single care for who you hurt. Pokemon fear you everywhere!" I expected another outburst. He kept walking instead. His answer, as smooth as polished stone, was that he had note to lead us to debate, but to get us to the summit instead. He was d I was being straight with himanyway, because tricks of the mind were what he despised the most. To him, talking, talking, and talking always had ayer of subterfuge hidden beneath unless it came from the heart. "I cannot leave this ce without giving my daughter her closure." He asked what that closure was, exactly. "A good look at you," I said. "And you''ll let her." And why is that, speck? "Because I''m not leaving this ce as long as she isn''t ready to leave." I smiled, all teeth and wide enough to hurt my cheeks. "I''ll hold your home hostage if I have to. I''ve gone the furthest, have I not? I''ll let the Hoarfrost freeze you and all of us to death while my Pokemon are safe in their balls. I''ll let the world end if thates to pass and you''re too tough to freeze." Maylene scoffed. She thought I was bluffing. That I wasn''t going to throw it all away forthis, because it made no sense. I was not, and I would. Rhyperior stopped, turned and loomed over me. I was either a being forged by conviction, or I was no one at all, and Rhyperior let respect show within him for the first time. I hated that. ¡ª "You weren''t kidding?" We were huddled next to Turtonator who had graciously blessed us with his heat again and I greedily downed half of the water that remained in my canteen before passing the rest to Maylene. She hovered it above her mouth and finished the remaining liquid. We''d run out of water a while ago, and while she could resista lot, Maylene ate and drank more than the average person, meaning we''d had to refill the canteen and boil water to make sure it was safe to drink. It still tasted a little earthy, but it would do. Rhyperior had been willing to allow us a break even if he looked exasperated. I quickly put my oxygen mask back on and took a deep breath. There was a curious phenomenon happening above us. It wasrainingwhile in a cave. Of course, I knew rain was just the condensation of clouds into liquid, but seeing it happen in a closed environment was a little trippy. The rain might be why all these spires were eroded some while others¡ª newer ones¡ª were smooth to the touch, like the one we were leaning against, at the moment. Seeing the droplets drip down ydol''s barrier and hearing the patter was soothing "No. I know you''ll be mad, but you''re free to leave if you want." My gloves slipped off my bandaged hands, and I actually touched my face for the first time in hours. "Anotheryer up and even you''ll struggle with the oxygen anyway. I''m sure you''ll find your way down quickly once you''re separated from me." She crossed her legs and her eye twitched. "First of all, are you crazy¡ª" "I am perfectly sane." "No, because you''re throwing the entire world in fucking jeopardy!" she yelled. "Can''t this wait? Can''t you just wait?" "I''m sorry, but I cannot." "And it feels like you just want me out of your hair. You keep trying to get me to leave, and it¡ª" she chewed on her words for a few seconds, then groaned and shoved my canteen back in my arms. "You''re an awful friend!" I ced the canteen back in my bag and patted thest of the dust clinging to my pants and stomach. "He''s not listening in, you can just drop it." I touched the spot where the stone had hit Sunshine and blew a raspberry. It was dented, but Rhyperior had clearly held back, or the stone would probably be lodged inside of him right now. "Do you think we''ll have to use a potion on that?" Turtonator shook his head, though I didn''t miss the re he shot the rock type. "What is wrong with you?" I eyed Maylene. "What? The potion? He¡ª" "You''re fucking stupid for an empath," she told me. "Do you think I''d just¡­ fake that? Fake calling you a friend after spending two days in this hell hole?" "I don''t look at people''s emotions if I can help it¡ª" "Thenbe smarter about it," she interrupted. "See, I think your n sucks, but I''ll give you the benefit of the doubt and hope it works because everything you''ve done has worked so far and your Tyranitar deserves to know what''s going on. A week ago, I would have been screaming at you and calling you names." I avoided her piercing gaze. It was easier, with the mask. "I hurt you really badly, Maylene." "Yeah. So if you want to ''atone'' so badly, do what I say and stop having your little pity party, okay?" She offered me a hand. "We''re friends, got it?" I flimsily shook it. "Got it." "Come on. Put more grip into it." "I can''t, or it''ll hurt." I nudged my chin at my bandages. "It''s better, but it''s still healing." "Oh. Right, sorry, I¡­ yeah, sorry. I was making a shitty joke." She rubbed the back of her head. "So how are you going to get your Tyranitar closure?" "Oh, no matter what I do, I won''t be able to stop her from attacking at first sight, but that might be what she needs. To throw herself against an imprable wall and she sees how strong she''ll need to be. How strong her mother was to fight back for so long." Arceus, it''d be nice if I could just throw Rhyperior at whatever came to get me, but no matter how powerful one was, they''d have to listen to what Cor was telling them. She nodded. "How long?" "Hours, ording to the few times Sweetie talked to me about it. Her mom didn''t let her get hurt once, but since she had to protect someone, she was on the backfoot the entire time, and since she was weaker to begin with¡­" "Ah." It would have been difficult to fight back against a foe such as Rhyperior. It wasn''t as easy to ce his story as it had been the others, but then again, maybe there was no solid structure there. Knowing this would have made pushing and prodding at weaknesses easier, but the facts I had to work with was that he was thousands of years old, possibly older, and that he had spent his entire life fighting for survival.What is a fighter''s biggest weakness that isn''t a bigger stick?Conversation and understanding were out. There was no way I was ever changing the ways of a being that old, either, and an apology would ring empty¡­ A fight after all, then? Ideas ruminated in my mind until it was time to walk again. ¡ª It took another four hours to reach the chasm leading to the nextyer. Longer than Rhyperior had expected. This one was loud, howling like a hurricane with winds so strong we could barely approach it without being swept off our feet. It was wider, sharper,angrier, too. The endless yell of a dying creature far toorge and godly for us to ever hope toprehend. The cold had gotten worse,muchworse. I was confident I would freeze to death within ten minutes without Sunshine here with me, and I constantly had to keep my body moving so I didn''t go numb everywhere. Maylene was terrified, and how couldn''t she be? Regice waspletely out of our control, and we didn''t even know where it was. Our fate was in different hands and there was nothing we could do about it. "Thank you for leading us here so quickly," I said, bowing my head slightly. "I''m sure it would have been much slower without a guide of your caliber. Yet," A beat passed, and a loud hiss from my mask somehow resonated through the strong winds, "something remains, as we discussed." It was easy to speak through the cold when there was a fire burning within my heart. An assumption had been made by Rhyperior through no fault of my own. No, that was a lie. I had¡­ not engineered this. I was not good enough of a maniptor for that, but I had allowed it to happen. Rhyperior believed that we had something in store to stop Regice. Possibly, that could be freeing one of the Lake Guardians from their chains and allowing them to seal the Hoarfrost again and saving Cor in one fell swoop. Either way, since he had never seen or fought Regice himself, there was a brittle spot I''d found in his endless tes of stone. He was a fighter, yes, but not one who sought glory before all else. Not one who lusted for battle to strive to get further. He hadn''t denied running away each time Regice had been allowed to run rampant. He''d run away the first time Cor had been dying despite being so strong already. He was not one to seek meteoric rise, but an individual who had picked his battles until he was so strong no one would be able to stop him anymore. And why not? He had the long-lived lifespan of most rock types on his side. And so, Rhyperior was an ancient tree who had slowly spread his roots deep within the earth, his bark had grown so strong and his branches reached so tall that nothing but the sharpest of axes could hope to cut him down and kill himpermanently. It was the slow build up of thousands of years, each step meticulous until he no longer had tocare. Rhyperior was scared to die. More scared than I was. How long had it been, since he had been in actual danger? He was also outcast. It was lonely, at the top. He had no one to tell him about the intricacies of Regice or how the Legend even behaved¡ª not that I knew either. I just didn''t need to. I''d been wrong.Once, he might have been a cautious fighter, but now he was more of a tyrant. "Like the shards before me, I will release my daughter and allow her to set her eyes on you and you will test her," I said. "You will not hurt her more than necessary. You are allowed to defend yourself, but should you wound her beyond what is appropriate, I will recall her and the rest of my Pokemon and sit here until I am frozen. I trust that you understand and know your limits, given what you did to my Turtonator before. I apologize for that again, by the way." Sunshine did not protest, despite how unpleased he was at the thought of me dying. He knew this was a ploy despite the fact that I meant it, and scolding me could wait until we were out of this sted mountain. We''d briefly discussed it earlier when it had grown too cold to travel without him. ydol hovered silently, their arms close to their body. Rhyperior grunted and said that I could just will the mountain to have me leave. Could I? It was best to act like I did know. "Yes, but I''d want to see the look in your eye as what you fear the most happens to you. I''ll die first, and maybe Regice will be stopped, or maybe you''ll just run away, but I''ll see it, still, because eventually the world ends. You''ve seen how this is. How far behind we are, and how we aren''t united under one story¡ª one goal. Things are going worse this time around, and you know it." The rock type''s eye twitched, and rage pooled inside of them, ready to be unleashed. It was not. The thought of death kept him calm, as I''d wanted it to. There''d been a nonchnce to my word he couldn''t fathom, yet he knew was true because it was as blunt as he''d wanted it to be. "Call me petty," I huffed. "But it is what it is. There are no redeeming qualities to you. No reasons I have found for you to have made yourself into a being so ruthless that even now, Pokemon everywhere fear for their lives around you. Maybe I''mcking context, but you are not owed my cooperation and you need me more than I do you." He was not Zoroark, nor was he Mathilda. He was something else entirely, and he had murdered for less than nothing. That had been obscuring the truth, however. I did still seek to figure him out, not for forgiveness, but tounderstand. "Are we clear?" He nodded, but wasn''t happy about it. The fear of him was still there, but the desire to get my daughter what she deserved and needed was stronger. "Thank you. I mean it. A few minutes, and we''ll be on our way." "I hope you know what you''re doing," Maylene whispered. "First, I''ll have to talk to her. Cass, raise a wall, please." They molded a wall of earth between our group and Rhyperior, and I released Sweetheart next to us. She eyed her surroundings until she was distracted by me and let out an affectionate growl. I raised a hand, and she lowered her head to allow herself to get petted on the cheek while spouting about how cool my mask made me look. "I missed you. We''ve been doing well," I said with a saddened smile hidden behind my mask. "How are you feeling? Still not hungry, I hope?" The dark type shook her head, and her tail swayed, grinding against the stones of the cave. She answered no, but she didin about how cold it was before her eyes widened and she demanded Sunshine to create more heat. "Yes, yes, it''s cold, but he''s doing his best," I answered for him. "It has a way of ignoring heat¡ª or smothering it, I don''t know which is more likely, but Sweetie, we have to talk. This is important, and I want to apologize for only telling you this now." I paused and took a step back. "Your¡­ your mother''s killer is here." She stared nkly at me. "Rhyperior. He''s here." The wall went down, and the ground returned to its previous state. A stretch of rock going downhill until it reached the stairway up, and then upward, where Rhyperior had settled down. I figured he wouldn''t try to just walk off, and he hadn''t. Instead, he stood there, one of his hands pointed her way with a stone already loaded into the hole in his palm. Sweetheart shut her eyes, and her breath quivered. "Let it all out, if you want. You can hit him. He won''t fight back and it won''t hurt him, but it''s all I can offer you right now and I made sure he was telling the truth," I said. "He''s strong beyond our means, Sweetheart, but sometimes we lose. But," a pause, "you might get some answers." She turned toward him, and grains of sand started to swirl around her.Why?she asked him again.Why did you kill my first mother? Because I could,he said. The ground fissured beneath her feet. ¡ª Her first mother''s killer stood before her. Everything she had ever wanted, everything she had wished to turn herself into, every hour, minute,secondshe had trained was to see him dead, yet it was an eerie calm that settled over her as Sweetheart mmed a foot on the ground and attempted to copse it beneath Rhyperior. She could sense it clear as day, now. The shifting of the earth beneath her, each tiny movement she could push and pull, prod until it formed into whatever she wanted, yet when the fissure reached halfway, she met a wall. The fissure wouldn''t go further, no matter how much shescreamed. The calm snapped like a twig¡ª a year''s worth of restraint met the inevitable spark that was her mother''s killer, and the earth itself yelled with her, a sound so deep and raw that it seemed toe from the world itself¡ª Until it stopped, and the only scream that remained was hers. Rhyperior''s influence spread far within Cor. Her mom would say that he had a story behind him¡ª something that helped him dominate all others and bring the ground to heel under hismand, but she didn''t care. She abandoned her n to bury him under the weight of his sins and started running down the hill as Rhyperior shot out rock after rock at her. The first one, she flinched at. She couldn''t help herself from picturing her first mother being hit by these stones and them going through her like she was nothing. It didn''t do the same to her, yet shefelt itdeep within her chest and she was actually knocked back. The stone hadn''t shattered against her like it should have. It stayed intact and seemed to have so much force¡­ nevertheless, she kept going. Something shifted within Sweetheart, and her vents opened. Grains of darkened sands began to surround her, and she became invisible. To her, color had disappeared and sounds were muffled, like she was the only person in the entire world. He couldstillaim at her. Two, three, four stones, eachrger and more painful than thest, each bending and curving to reach her within the sandstorm despite the fact that she should have been impossible to spot or hear. She snarled and raised an arm. Jagged rocks burst from the ground, each asrge as her, and she sent them barreling toward her sworn enemy. Immediately, she tried to rattle the ground beneath Rhyperior''s feet to disturb him, butnothing worked.It stayed solid, and the Stone Edges turned to dust before they could make it to Rhyperior. Frustrated, the Sandstorm ended in a single moment, and Tyranitar posed a question. Why did you do it? Rhyperior looked at her, his face unshifting like the facade of a mountain. Tiny specks of stone from her own attack swirled around him.Because I could. Liar!she roared. More sand exploded out of her legs and she propelled herself to move faster. This time, the stone forming within Rhyperior''s hand was truly massive. It coalesced faster than she could blink, forming from the ambient stone, dust, and shredded rocks he had pulled from the ground. Sweetheart gathered nothing, yet everything from her mouth and sted the boulder mid-air with a Dark Pulse, allowing her to m into Rhyperior at full force once it exploded. He did not move. He towered over her and did not even budge. Her ws ripped into his shoulder, but she could only chip where she wanted to crush and dismantle. She sted his face with more darkness and hurt him the most she ever had, yet it wasn''t enough. She would need to fight him like this for a week to hope to actually beat him, and that was only if he did not fight back. The answer couldn''t be that unsatisfying. There had to bemeaningto it, or¡­ Or it was all worthless. She hit again and again. Worthless. She hit the same spot until her fist broke through his shoulder, and stone from the rest of his body instantly shifted to the wound. Worthless. Surrounding water burst through the thick sheet of ice, surged to their location and mmed behind Rhyperior''s back. It crawled up his massive frame and clumsily, slowly, she tried to drown him like Budbud would do. Rhyperior mmed her away, and his arm arched toward her with a brilliant glow. She expected it to m into her, but it didn''t. Instead, he missed her by a smidge on purpose, but she still felt the force from the attack and she was knocked a few feet away. Worthless. She tried more. None of it was enough. She felt her family''s eyes bear through her back. Sunsun, her mother, Cassie¡ª watching her fail even more than she had ever expected. She had been warned. She knew she couldn''t win, and yet she had hoped that maybe. Just maybe. So it was meaningless, then,Tyranitar asked with tired breaths.Worthless. No,he said.There was a purpose to it. "If you mean the territory excuse, you can shove it." Sweetheart turned toward Grace, who was standing far away with her arms crossed. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking with that mask on. She didn''t like it. "I fear that you''ve been telling half-truths without meaning to." You use me of ying word games?Rhyperior threatened.I thought you of all people would know better. For a moment, Sweetheart considered striking while he was distracted, but her mother raised an arm, and she settled despite the images of her tearing Rhyperior''s neck open. Mom always told her to picture violence instead of actuallymitting it. "I do not. There is a difference between not understanding what someone wants out of a fight and purposefully misleading them," she said. There was a moment of silence, only apanied by the hiss of her mask. "I trust you''re familiar with the concept of giving meaning to one''s death?" What good is meaning? When one is dead, one is dead. Gone and returned deep below Cor, where they were first formed,Rhyperior countered.There is no difference between the kinds of death one might have. It is all the same. "A fair outlook on life, even if I vehemently disagree," Grace said. "I know you don''t care, but we don''t all work like that. There is a difference when someone dies because of a coincidence, and not.Iwould know, and I strive to kill the ones responsible." Sweetheart imagined her face darkening behind her breathing mask. A thinly veiled threat of a horrifying death. "Here is what I believed happened, Rhyperior." "Tyranitar does identally step into your territory while traveling down Cor, because it is ever-shifting," she began, "and she also does try to escape at the sight of you, because you are the tyrant of this ce. One who has slowly, carefully risen and who is now pulling thedder up behind him." Stop speaking in riddles,Rhyperior growled. Each word was apanied by a shudder below ground. "Ordinarily, I get the feeling that you would have allowed a Pokemon like her to run. Maybe chase her a little bit, but not to the firstyer. When she started fighting back, however, you realized she was actuallyhurtingyou, and hurting you good." She adjusted her gloves and kept going. "Now, you can navigate Cor rather well, but it''s abigce, and who knew when you''d see her again? A year? Five? Ten? And who knew, if within that time frame, she would not start to pose an actual danger to your life you''ve taken such good care of?" Rhyperior took a silent step forward.You really are just like him. You talk too much. Your ego is too big. That gets you killed. Sweetheart blinked. Like who? "Maybe." She shrugged. "I was willing to gamble it all for my daughter, and you knew I spoke the truth." Unfortunately.Then, a beat.I could kill yourpanion. Maylene did not react, and neither did Grace. "Then I''ll do everything in my power to end this ce. She''s a friend." The ground type stood perfectly still. "Tell her yourself, then," she said. "Please." Fine. I killed your mother because she threatened to destroy the order of this mountain. I had seen her only once before, but she was growing too quickly. "As a tyrant does, he kills anyone before they can be a threat to his order. He smothers them in their cribs before they can reach their true potential, he plucks them from the vine before they can ever hope to ripen, and he''ll keep going as long as he lives" Grace said. "There you have it." Pathetic,Sunsun growled. A small trail of fire coursed out of his snout. One does not live as long as I have without precautions,Rhyperior deadpanned. That isn''t a life worth living at all,Sunsun said. "Well, he''s no dragon," she sighed. "Sweetie?" She''d been thinking of one thing amidst the sadness of reliving her loss all over again and the relief from finally understanding why, now that she wasn''t just a confused baby running for her life. She even ignored Rhyperior, noting the speed of her growth. Her first mother had been the coolest Tyranitar to ever live. ¡ª It could have only gone one way. Her breaths were ragged by the end of it. She had used everything in her arsenal, every trick and technique she had learned this past year, and nothing had worked. The dream she had of standing over Rhyperior''s deceased body, of cracking him open like an egg, was just that. A dream. Sweetheart stood still, her body sagging with every breath, and Rhyperior simply stared, the cracks and chips in his armor already in the process of healing. There were no tears, nor was there an outburst at what shecked. I slowly made my way toward her with ydol reshaping and ttening the ground as I needed it to be. "Do you see how strong your mother was?" My steps reverberated amidst the cave. Nearly all of the wildlife had left, not wanting to be involved in the fight, but some still remained. A single Gligar hanging from a spire of stone. A Shellos who had braved separating from her herd and had followed us all the way here. A group of Hoothoot with their faces barely visible in the dim lighting, standing at the side of the pir. "And did you see the gap that still remains?" Tyranitar growled as I stepped next to her and ced a hand on her back. There were no gaps in her armor¡ª nowhere the stone had managed to prate. Rhyperior had been holding back, but it was still a mark of pride for her to still be standing so pristine. "I''m sorry I couldn''t figure out a better way. I had to find¡ª the shape of it. This must be unsatisfying for you." The rock type side-eyed me and allowed herself to sag. She sat on the ground and put a hand behind my back. I let myself be guided by her touch, and she ced me on top of herp. Even with how gently she was handling me, it was difficult not to notice her sharp ws and her hold that could crush stone should she need to. Her body warmth bled through her stony skin. The hug was silent, but silence could convey as much as a thousand words. It was many things. Grieving, an attempt to let go, a conveyance of love, gratefulness for telling her about this and trusting her to keep control, for allowing her to know the reason behind everything¡ª Rhyperior was leaving. Part of me had considered he might have snapped and copsed the ceiling on us, or buried us under who knew how much stone, but the risk had been worth it. Admittedly, I had hung bringing the world the ruin over his head for my daughter, so there wasn''t much left to be said. We watched him waddle on away from the chasm and disappear behind a pir, and our spectators who hade in hopes of seeing him humbled left as well. I had most likely disappointed them. He would probably run off and try to leave Cor now that he''d brought us here. My legs nearly gave way from under me, and I allowed fear to seep into my being again. The next breath was shaky, as were my fingers, and goosebumps traveled up and down my arms. "I can''t believe you threatened that thing with the end of the world¡­" Maylene trailed off. Her voice was midway between angry and impressed. "And I can''t believe it worked." "He was nice about it," I muttered. "I think part of him wanted to see what I was made of." The cold was getting to me again. If Craig, Aaron and Flint did not end Regice within the next twelve hours or so, we would freeze to death or be forced to try to leave as Rhyperior had hinted at, but a seed of doubt had been sprouting in my mind. At the core of my very being, what I craved was toe face to face with Saturn. No. No, that was the wrong way to look at it. I had thrown Cor under the bus to get Sweetheart closure. I had worked against its very existence and been selfish by threatening to allow it to die, and I had no Lake Guardians with me to smooth things over like Team Gctic did. Would the mountain even let us leave? Would Pokemon be less inclined to cooperate? I licked my lips. Nothing in this world ever came for free.This cost me.It might cost Maylene most of all... damn it. One step forward, who knew how many steps back. The repercussions wouldn''t be felt for a while yet, but either way, it was time to ascend.
Chapter 312 – Ascend, Children of Coronet III Chapter 312 ¨C Ascend, Children of Cor III
CHAPTER 312 - ASCEND, CHILDREN OF CORONET III We were lost. There was a difference between this kind of lost, and the previous one we''d experienced in the mountain. One was walking aimlessly in hopes of finding something with the mountain eventually nudging you in the right direction, and the other was having Cor be utterly indifferent to your very existence. We were lucky it wasn''t actively working to kick us out, but this felt exactly like it had the first time I''d fallen down Cor''s depths. We would walk for twenty minutes and end up in a spot we''d already seen. Flying on Princess'' back was the same, and we couldn''t do it for long anyway due to the cold hampering us. It had gotten far, far worse. Me not being able to move my fingers was constant, now, and not just when enough warmth had slipped away from us when recalling Sunshine or Cassianus. At least thisyer was pretty to look at. I was continuously baffled at the sheer difference between eachyer. This one was a reflection of the one below, where the spires of stone stretched past the boundaries between the two and extended at their peaks intorge, ttened inds. They were too t to look natural, even, and Maylene keptining about how the air around her felt ufortably humid. I''d looked at the depths at the edges of these stone ''inds'' and saw nothing but a few thin clouds and a pitch ckness. Darkness as void-like as one of Sweetheart''s attacks. There were a few shrubs lying about, but all of them grew off the surface¡ª on the pirs themselves, and not the smoothened rock above. Each tower was a different height, too, but most of the ones at a simr level were linked by bridges of stone, which made navigating easy. We''d seen¡­ hundreds of them, at least, and just like thestyer, the cavern was dimly lit with a light that made no sense, only it came from the chasm below instead of above us, this time. I figured the clouds down there were the cause of the rain and the umted puddles below. We''d seen zero wild Pokemon here. There was a wrongness wracking the side of my head that had been growing the entire time we''d been here. "Y¡ªyou should head back, May¡ªMaylene. I don''t think thi¡ªs is a good idea." Each word, I struggled to force out of my mouth. It was as if I barely had any control over the muscles in my throat. "It''s¡ª you might make it¡ª out." "And then what?" she sighed. "Does it matter if I make it out and we die anyway¡­ Arceus, I didn''t think I could ever say that out loud." She wrung her hands together, clearly cold as well. "You fucked up massively, and I''ll scream at you for itter and have a talk about fucking priorities. I didn''t know Cor would respond like it did, but something tells me that you did. You''re the one who''s been guiding us the entire time, after all." "If there is ater. Sorry." Maylene paused and her body froze. Her breath caught in her throat, and she made a choked sound, as if she was resigning to her fate. I wanted to tell her to keep believing, but this was my fault. I''d sold out everything for this, because the truth of the matter was that if everything was going to end, I wanted Sweetheart to be content, when it did. Just in case. Legendaries, it was difficult not to regret it now that I could barely feel my skin. I wished I could have done more for Honey and his own parents, but Cynthia had told me they were looking into them¡­ "Uhuh. That''s okay." She patted me on the back, or at least I thought so. It was difficult to tell when my entire body was numb, and I believed it was as much to reassure herself as to reassure me. "Do you want me to carry you? Are you still good to walk?" "I think I''m good for the next few hours¡ª" I heard a sound¡ª then a split secondter, a stone shattered against Cassianus'' barrier into a hundred pieces. Maylene flinched, and aura red to life more than it already was to keep herself warm. My eyes scanned the surroundings. Nothing but ttened inds of stone, floating over a seemingly endless void that led to nothing but darkness. The stone had impacted the shield to our right, but that could have been a bait and direction was meaningless¡ª Another one. And another. Hitting over and over so rapidly that I could barely hear myself think. More attacks were added to the mix soon enough. mes, electricity, water that cooled and turned to ice by the time it hit, but those were fine. Easy, even. The problem came when the barrier cracked from two sts of darkness from twelve o'' clock, right in front of us from far above. It was a good thing I''d learned those after it had almost bit me in the ass in Lakhutia. Before a second flurry could hit, Cass raised solid earth into a circr crust around us, but there were only so many attacks they could juggle. Sunshine growled at the sudden ambush, but he stayed put. "Maylene. My pokeballs." The cold was making moving my individual fingers impossible. I could have brushed my hands against my belt, but she was here and would be faster. Scarlet light lit up our cocoon for a split second, and my entire team was released just as the earthen shield broke down despite ydol''s best efforts. All of my Pokemon, including Mimi. Maylene hadn''t known which was which. The steel type squealed, liquefying and crawling up my sleeve at the sudden violence and even more when the earthen shell copsed¡ª Honey raised both of his arms, surrounding as much of the team with a Protect that shimmered green. Angel slowly opened hisrge, round eyes and shook off the tiredness as his vines snaked across the ground. Panel-like psychic barriers started appearing at a distance as Princess blocked the more telegraphed and slow attacks; a dull shower of red mes, poisoned darts, steaming-hot mud, and more than I could keep track of. Being out of the Protect, Buddy kept low to the ground, turning into a puddle of goo while Sweetheart allowed the attacks to hit her. They barely tickled her, though Princess or Cass made sure to shield her when they could afford to. "We''re under attack, as you can see," I smoothly said. "I don''t know who, but I do have an inkling. Cass?" Now that their barrier had isted for sound, we could finally hear ourselves speak. It was a little eerie, to see those explosions, impacts and lights and hear nothing save for the asional break whenever a dark type move forced Honey to step up with Protect. There was nothing but our voices and the hissing of my oxygen mask. Scanning¡­ Scanning¡­ their eyes glowed a smidge pinker. Sixty-four entities detected around us. Possibly more are out of range. I nodded. I wasn''t practiced with my empathy enough to know exact numbers, though I could tell their general direction. They were all around us. Each group hidden on an ind, and all of them having the high ground. This had been nned. Far more nned than any wild Pokemon could do when their home was literally dying and they risked freezing to death in a few hours. Hell, we hadn''te across a group thatrge since the firstyer. "Could it be Cor?" Maylene asked. "The wild Pokemon?" "No. Princess¡­ no, Buddy, go and scout, please. Come back if you can''t handle it. We need you in a fighting state." The ghost silently sank deep into the stone, though he kept a part of himself with me so we couldmunicate. More attacks kept battering our position, but at this point it was only a matter of cycling Togekiss, ydol and Electivire for protection. Thetter''s reaction time was something to admire, with how he managed to catch nearly every single dark and ghost type move before they could make it to us. His tailsshed against the earth with each hit, not because he was struggling yet, but because he was terrified of what was toe. "Maylene, recall Mimi, if you will." She blinked at me, but as soon as the steel type heard the word recall, they jumped out of my sleeve and let themselves be beamed back despite their hatred of Pokeballs. The attacks didn''t pause, not when they knew they could exhaust us the more they forced us to stay on the defensive, so that was smart. The fact that they were higher than us meant that retaliating would be difficult, and these inds were sorge that only someone like Rhyperior could have managed to copse them. Okay, then, I thought as a piece of coal exploded in my face. There was no doubt in my mind. Buddy''s goo writhed against the floor, and he quickly confirmed what I was thinking. Team Gctic. "Is a Commander with them?" I pushed. He said he was hearing the word Saturn from whoever wasmunicating, but his voice was quickly cut off. A Pokemon might have sensed him underground and pushed him away. Trigger Warning - Fight to the death, gore, etc. "Grace?" Maylene gulped. My body felt so warm. Only for a moment. I was grinning under the mask so hard my cheeks hurt, but I couldn''t let glee from this opportunity take over and throw caution to the wind. As it stood, we were in a worse position than ideal. The high ground was the worst of the problems, and when that was fixed, I''d need to endanger ourselves by sending my Pokemon out to kill¡­ or disable these grunts. I could see their Pokemon poking their faces from the edges of their tforms above us, now. A glowing Coalossal battering us with exploding coal, a Gigalith sending sharpened, red hot stones that burst upon contact, a Smeargle using every elemental attack under the sun¡ª too many of them to count. But the fact that we weren''t dead yet meant that they were rather weakpared to us. Princess, Honey and Cassianus were enough to keep them at bay¡ª with much strain. "Stick close," I told Maylene. "Bud, you snipe off stragglers whenever you can. Cass and Princess?" Yes, my King? My daughter couldn''t nce at me due to her focus, but she was listening. "Raise the earth." The ground beneath my feet began to stir, an almost imperceptible shudder at first, like the softest tremor of an anxious heartbeat. Attacks kept pestering us from all sides, and Honey let me know that he would be tapped out of Protect sooner rather than with a tired grunt if he still wanted energy to actually fight. Then, with little warning, a small pir beneath our feet rose¡ª ten feet in width. The suddenness of it nearly made my knees buckle, and my stomach sank deep into my gut. The tform rose, rose, and rose higher, still, until we towered over all who would threaten us. The psychic barrier wobbled from the sudden shift in movement, and I could hear once again. I saw it clearly, now. Uniformed men and women with bright yellow ''G''s on their chests, huddled around fire types like we had done the past few hours. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jellicent''s maw wrapping around a Sawsbuck while the grass type screamed for help. The ghosts'' body turned frozen before he could be blown up by the nearby Coalossal, and while chunks of him did fly outward, they floated around him and were sent into Pokemon with flesh and capable of being stabbed. The majority of them were stopped by a Slowbro''s thin shield, but the ones that hit? A shard of ice¡ª powered by the Hoarfrost¡ª prated through a Gurdurr''s arm and began freezing the fighting type from the inside while Buddy sent the Sawsbuck careening off the ind. We heard her scream. All the way down. Until the sound of crunching bones was regurgitated by the void below. It echoed again and again, and Maylene paled next to me. "Try not to kill if you can. Injure or knock out," I whispered. I motioned at ydol to prevent sound from getting in again. The attacks were starting back up now that we''d stopped moving. He had no time to answer, but I knew how exasperated he was. It was more work for him and more danger for us. "I said try. If it''s too much, well, go ahead. You have no reason to kill the people, though," I said. "They''re harmless." They were cold, miserable, but most of all, they were skittish. That was why Coalossal had sent an exploding piece of coal toward Buddy even though it had burned the skin off Sawsbuck neck and exposed the flesh below. The cold had stripped them bare, and even though they were an impressive, organized force, they were prone to mistakes just like I was. What did surprise me, though, was that they were using no breathing apparatus to survive up here. Had I not taken off my mask to quickly scarf down something to eat earlier, I might have gotten fooled. In a mere minute, I''d grown lightheaded enough for my head to spin. I had scanned the entire battlefield and kept track of how many Pokemon were on each ind, but most importantly, I had found Saturn. Loyalty burning bright, the furthest ind away from me as if the universe itself was ying some kind of cosmic joke upon me. He was on the tallest pir¡ª an overhang against a wall of the cave that was far toorge to be called an ind. Sixty-four entities had not included the ten dark types present¡ª one on each of the pirs. There was also one psychic on each, but the real problem were the ice types. Their attacks hit the hardest, and Saturn''s lie would be an issue as soon as he started attacking. "The base!" Buddy reported the grunt''s order to me. I''d caught wind of it as well, of course. Hitting the base of the pir was what made the most sense to get us killed. The dilemma here¡ª around half the flurry of attacks started hitting below us instead, like clockwork¡ª was that I needed to deal with a decent amount of dark types before I could send Honey out to do what he did best. His fur bristled ahead of me. I could tell he was eager to get involved, not to hurt, but to protect us. I tried clenching a fist. I failed. "Sweetie, Sunshine, I''m sending you out to y." Each word was harsh, and I could see my breath ahead of me, slightly fogging up the lenses in my mask. "Maylene? One ind to both." "Gotcha," she whispered. "Angel, you''re below. Keep the base of the pir going, I''ll swap you out when I can. Buddy?" The goo writhed on the ground. "Keep doing what you''re doing." A Golbat was being frozen from the inside from the same ind he''d been harassing. Night Shades were stalking at their edges and hitting them with Ice Beams. "But if Sunshine or Sweetheart ever need support, you''re up. Cass, keep the warmth near us so we don''t freeze to death." And that death woulde quickly if we weren''t careful. Angel jumped off the pir with vines coalescing into knots below himself. Hended three secondster with a loud crash that I felt vibrate up the pir, and I knew we were in good hands. He would get hit a decent amount, but I trusted him to handle himself with Ancient Power. I hadn''t picked him for no reason. Tangrowth was, for all intents and purposes, very difficult to kill. Next, Turtonator and Tyranitar fell upon the ind closest to us like thunder. One with a Sneasel and Starmie. It could have gone only one way. Sunshine''s fire was a dull red, barely alive due to Regice''s influence, and his movements were sluggish due to the cold, but his draconic side was still raring to go. Somehow, the fire type carried his momentum from being released and was already spinning on his shell from the second he was out of the ball. Turquoise draconic mes swirled out of his side, and he crashed into a Quagsire''s head on. He snapped out of his shell in an instant, and grabbed onto the ground type''s rubbery body, hitting it with Focus st as thin as a line that brightened the cavern. The beam cut through the blubber and into the flesh, but an Ice Beam from Sneasel hit the fire type''s shell and forced him to let go. What he had to deal with was littlepared to how much Team Gctic focused on Sweetheart, however. A Tyranitar was an imposing force one simply couldn''t look away from, and she was fissuring the ground ahead of her. Bright energy emerged from the cracks, hitting swaths of Pokemon at a time while she fired off a Dark Pulse directly at Starmie. A Hariyama slid in front of the darkened beam and pped his hands. The impact sounded more like someone had ran a bus through an industrial shredder than a hand p, but the Dark Pulse dissolved into thin air before it could even reach him. Somehow, we could hear it through our barrier. A quiet, but still rough sound that had me frowning. Could it still slip through because of a particr technique? "Target him if you can," I told Buddy. It''d take a decent amount of time for him to get there, but that was fine. Saturn was content to let the battle go for as long as possible instead ofmitting his own Pokemon now beyond a few attacks from a distance, because his n was to tire us out with his grunts and then finish us off when it was only him left. Or him and a few of his worthless grunts. That was fine by me. He might have been a Commander, but he was still just as cowardly as he''d been in Mount Cor when he''d killed Kamaile. Turtonator finished off that pesky Sneasel by cutting across her chest with a Focus st and turned his attention to Hariyama, who was the biggest problem on this particr tform. The fighting type could make darkness disappear out of thin air through some kind of pping technique, and I could tell the sound itself was hurting my Pokemon as well. It wasn''t letting Jellicent approach, either, and dissolving the ice he would send from afar before it could even enter the fighting type''s body. "Honey." Besides me, Electivire stirred. There were scant openings between the sts of darkness, but there were openings. Had they been better organized, they would have had one Dark Pulse or simr technique continuously running from each ind one by one so their Pokemon could rest a little bit. Implement some kind of cycle. That wasn''t the case. I did not know if it was because they hadn''t organized, or because no n survived contact with the enemy and I had rattled them. Honey raised a fist and huffed, wrapping his hands around nothing at first. Then, electricity hummed to life around his fingers, focusing into a thin, thin line. My hair stood on end below my gear and mask as I watched my son send a spear of lighting toward Hariyama. He could have pped. He really could have. But he was slower than lightning. In an instant, the spear had stabbed into the fighting type''s shoulder and had him frying on the ground. Sweetheart grinned, and a burst of concentrated darkened sand from her vents dissolved Starmie''s barrier with what I knew to be a silent, yet hypnotic hiss. A sharp, sibnt sound that tickled the ears. The Pokemon behind it were exposed, now¡ª Torkoal, afy, Watchog, Sudowoodo¡­ they took care of all of them in one fell swoop. Starmie''s gem cracked to a single Dragon Pulse from Sunshine, and the first ind fell. Nine more to go. We''d tried to keep Torkoal standing so she would heat up the grunts, but the fire type kept attacking no matter how much Sweetheart tried tomunicate¡­ She just kept attacking. She was too wrapped up in her little cult. The eighth was more or less of the same, with Princess this time serving as the knife in the dark. An endless row of spikes she''d gathered with Angel''s help down below rained endless ice onto the grunts and their Pokemon thanks to the work we''d done with Tri-Attack. With Nasty Plot and the power of Regice behind her, the next barrier shattered after enough hits. In the sky, Buddy took down a Staraptor and a Fearow, coating their wings in ice by directing water to coat their plumage and snap freezing it with but a thought. One fell into the void below while thetter crashed into the ind, his wings broken. Again, the grunts refused to be spared, but this time, some of their unconscious Pokemon were at least recalled. By the seventh, they switched things up and decided to focus all of their fire on Angel instead of half and half, probably in hopes that once he fell, I would be next because they''d be able to copse the pir, but it was then that I allowed Princess to spread her wings and let ydol and Honey work alone. The fairy type could not save Tangrowth from being hurt too much, but she could serve as a new distraction to rattle the grunts. And Moonst was among our most powerful of moves, even if it was slow to gather. She danced around almost every attack, every esoteric or elemental beam, every rock, with thin panels appearing in front of her whenever she couldn''t dodge. These were not full barriers wrapping around her entire body, but walls small enough to cover only part of her so she wouldn''t have to shed as much speed as she had against Byron. Like a clear moon in the night sky, dim spots and brightness and everything that made it pure, Princessunched her implement toward the seventh ind. Maylene quickly recalled Sunshine, who would not be able to resist the cutting, and rereleased him next to us so we would once again regain a fraction of the warmth we''d lost. It took everything I had not to throw myself against his scales and beg for him to make it warmer when he was already doing all he could. Given that this was a kind of fight we could stop and think in, Maylene grabbed potions from my bag and sprayed it on the fire type''s wounds. Most of them were shallow, but any help was wee, even if the potion wouldn''t gain him his energy back. The moon cut, cut, and cut until every Pokemon was bled. Not torn to shreds like they could have been, but bled into unconsciousness. Sweetheart growled in annoyance, but given that Princess had been holding back, she just grinned and continued on her rampage, stomping on a Mric''s body to keep her still, and then forcing the earth below her to shake with energy. It was debilitating, not being able to move my fingers¡ª The barrier shattered, and Maylene grabbed me in a bear hug, dropping the potion beyond our little pir. She threw the both of us behind Sunshine, and the darkened ice hit Cass right in the face. I could barely move my body, but my eyes worked fine. It was that motherfucking lie, Saturn''s own ice type, who had struck us when we least expected it, and I''d almost died because of it. Your ego is too big. That gets you killed. Rhyperior''s words rang in my mind, and the sharpened smile I''d donned this entire fight faltered for a moment. Focus. Saturn was a coward, yes, but he wasn''t dumb. Princess had distracted me just as much as she had his grunts. He''d used a break in Honey''s Protect to nearly take me down, and then it had nearly all been over. My heart pumped so strongly that it hurt, and my breaths grew rapid as adrenaline coursed through my veins. ydol quickly put the barrier back again, and I barked at Maylene to recall and release Princess back here before Honey''s Protect had to go down again. She followed my instructions before whatever attack that had been from lie coulde back, and Princess quickly got back to us. I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m sorry¡ª "It''s okay, Cass. You have the best barriers of the team, but Regicebined with dark type moves is just too much for you on your own when they''re battering us from every side," I said. "Is everyone okay?" "Hmhm," Maylene said, quiet. She was pale, and a little green, like she was on the verge of throwing up. Sunshine grunted, though the ice had spread within his chest. He was frustrated with his performance. He''d been calm and collected, just like I''d asked of him in preparation for this day, but I understood him. To be weakened this much against the one who had killed your previous trainer? That would be enough to make anyone''s blood boil. "Let''s have you on break while you warm us up. Maylene, I''m going to need you to keep me centered¡ª" Maylene threw up next to me and heaved while she clenched at her stomach. "Ha¡­ ha¡­" she exhaled slowly. Methodically. "I''m¡­ sorry. It''s just¡­ we killed so many that I¡ª I released them on there¡ª" she threw up again, belching on the ground until her stomach was empty. It pooled until it touched my boot. "I did it," I said, rubbing her back as best I could. "Not you. Me and my Pokemon killed them despite trying otherwise. You shouldn''t feel guilty." "I do anyway." She nced toward the first stone tform we''d won on, and looked at the grunts having frozen to death. Frost clung to the edges of their bodies and slowly crept up their limbs. I wanted to retort, but now wasn''t the time for this. Well, at least if she felt like she''d killed someone, the first time was always the hardest. "Buddy,e back," I sighed. "We''ll swap you with Honey, he needs a break. Protect duty." The ghost had been skulking around and defeating any Pokemon he could get his hands on and had been adept had distracting ice and dark types on inds we weren''t attacking with shades and more solid clones of himself. Truth be told, without knowing exactly what he felt like with my empathy, I never would have been able to know where he was. It only took him thirty seconds to get here. On the way, he was hit by a Thunderbolt, a Pin Missile and a stream of ghostly energy. The Pin Missiles had me worried, but he froze over to prevent them from entering his body and messing with his head. He could do it so quickly, now. Regice took, but it also gave. "Honey, you''re up. Maylene, are you well enough to release my Tyranitar on the ind Honey jumps to?" She looked at me like she was exhausted. "Yes. But wait, jump to? Are you sure that''s not dangerous¡ª" Electivire''s body hummed as electricity coiled around his legs, and he leaped across the air, arms whirling around as he arced in the sky. Hended on the sixth ind by punching the earth with his two fists, and electricity exploded around him, hitting an unsuspecting Sableye who had been hiding in a shadow. Before the dark type could retreat, Honey blurred toward him and grabbed him by the throat in an instant with a ''why are you making me do this'' look, and he punched the little Pokemon in the stomach with Thunder Punch twice until he fell unconscious. Just as Sweetheart was released onto the same ind, a spray of rocks hit Honey in the shoulder and face strongly enough to coat his fur in blood, but instead of falling to the ground, the rocks spun around him. They were all linked by electricity, all orbiting around his body like they were his, now, and they were. He sent them back toward that Graveler and her ilk. Thanks to its protector¡ª an Aegisash with a curved de and a ratherrge shield¡ª being distracted by Sweetheart''s own dark type moves, the barrier strained thanks to the sheer amount of electrified rocks being thrown at it, and they stuck there, too, like they were glued to its surface, constantly shocking the thinyer that the Medicham has imed as his own impassable barrier, save for the holes he continuously opened and closed to allow his allies to strike back like Graveler had. The problem was that Honey was simply too fast to hit for most attacks, and Sweetheart was too tough for them to matter. The coup de grace came in the form of a running Hammer Arm that shattered the shield as if someone had broken a window. His movements after were slower, and a vine from a Sunflora wrapped around his wrist while Graveler prepared another stone spray and a Zebstrika rammed into his chest, but Electivire just pulled just gently enough not to tear the vine and brought Sunflora forward while he grabbed onto the back of Zebstrika''s neck and prevented him from escaping. His muscles bulged below his fur. I didn''t hear him, but I could tell he was apologetic when he stole all of Zebstrika''s electricity to renew his energy and left her slumping against the ground. Sunflora hadn''t made it through the shock, and his own body was fried, almost burned. Knowing that he had to fight, Medicham''s palm glowed white, and the fighting type mmed it into Tyranitar''s gut. She looked down at him and grinned. Medicham didn''tst very long after that. His unconscious formy against the stone like a dying bug, his arm stretched and contracted against himself. It was only a matter of time now that I''d found our groove, but it was slower and more exhausting for my Pokemon than I would have liked. Again and again, we won battle after battle, but the closer they got to Saturn, the more the little shit started to intervene, hitting my Pokemon and whittling them down. I would cycle them, making sure that Electivire, Tyranitar, Turtonator and Jellicent saw an equal amount of fighting¡ª though Buddy saw the most, with the way he could turn ice into his own and was among by best in terms of stamina regardless. They stood ragged and breathless, by the end of it. They had taken out nearly sixty Pokemon by themselves, and no matter how much more powerful they were, they weren''t strong enough to beat them without breaking a sweat like I''d heard Cynthia''s Pokemon had done. But we''d survived. The more we knocked unconscious and killed, the fewer attacks hade, and the situation had turned in our favor. The pir Cassianus and Princess had erected for us lowered itself until it melted back into the ground below. I winced when I saw Angel again. I''d checked in on him a few times using Buddy, but by the Legendaries, he was among the worse off. There were few nutrients to make use of in the cave, with the vegetation on thisyer mostly consisting of shrub growing in between cracks or on the facades of some pirs. He looked smaller than he should be, with his vines having been frozen or melted by acid. Another ray of ice shot out across the ground until it reached us, freezing everything in its path, but ydol raised three barriers of earth ahead. It broke the first two, but dissolved against the third. Saturn was being very¡­ reserved with his moves, only using lie and asionally Grimmsnarl to hit us, but then again, his team seemed to be better at closebat. Cass had stopped blocking sound, opting to salvage any energy they could before the true battle began, so I wordlessly grabbed another one of those incredible potions from the bag on Maylene''s back and sprayed it on Angel before moving on to the rest of my Pokemon. Their external wounds closed quickly, but the dried blood on Honey''s chest and shoulder remained, as did the missing bits of Princess'' fur on her wings, which had been a priority target. She could actually fly no problem, but Honey had problems lifting his right arm correctly. Still, he would do it if all it brought was pain and it meant we''d survive. The crack on Sunshine''s shell slowly closed. It hadn''t been there because he''d exploded it too much, but because too many ice type moves had turned it brittle enough to break to a Persian''s sh. He brushed me off in annoyance when I asked if he was okay again, and I let it go rather than push. I knew what the problem was already. No words were needed. Sweetheart was the least hurt of all and needed no potions. Caverns like these were where she excelled, and most Pokemon had been too weak to even break through her. The confidence she''d gained from getting closure had her moving¡­ not faster, but more efficiently. Every movement came easier to her, like she''d shed weight she''d been carrying for far too long. Cass had only taken one hit, and Buddy was Buddy. He was a little tired, but he could take a lot of abuse before he''d be out for the count. Still, I carefully spread my potions across every member of the team¡­ "He''sing," Maylene said, slightly breathless. "He''sing to fight us." He was, with the two remaining grunts at his side, walking atop a shining tform created by his Bronzong. "Dark Pulse." Darkness coiled and thickened within Tyranitar''s mouth, and she let it loose like a whisper. I almost expected a portal to form and to throw the attack back at us, but instead Exploud opened his mouth and¡ª The air itself seemed to tremble with the force of his cry. It wasn''t just a sound; it was a physical force, a sonic onught that hit me like a mace striking my chest and head. I covered my ears out of instinct, and some of my Pokemon did, too, but it didn''t matter. They were ringing when it was over, with a constant echo of Exploud''s grating voice. The Dark Pulse hadn''t dissolved due to the sound, but it had frayed and lost its consistency, allowing Grimmsnarl to extend an arm forward and spread the hair on his body into a thick, solid wall to keep his trainer safe. "Sound off," I said. Or at least I believed I''d said it. I could barely hear myself talk. "It stays off the entire fight." Maylene said something, but I could only barely hear her. She asks if we should try to run past them, Cass said directly in my mind. "We''ll never lose them, not when I screwed with Cor. We fight here, or we die." My hand went up to run through my hair, but I was wearing a mask and a hood, and my fingers couldn''t move. I figured Cass was rying what I was saying, because Maylene frowned at me, but then managed to muster a nod. I told the psychic to apologize to her on my behalf and let out a long, satisfied groan while Exploud screamed again, this time with almost no effect. He was so damn loud that some sound still managed to slip through the barrier, and I assumed Saturn''s Bronzong was experienced enough with his own teammate to keep him from going deaf. Toxicroak, Grimmsnarl, Excadrill, Bronzong, Exploud, lie. A dead Crobat, ording to the League, so maybe I could exploit that weakness at some point. Kill one of them and say they were gone just like Crobat, maybe, if an opportunity came up where it was safe for ydol to let sound through and Bronzong was out. Sawk, another Persian, Golbat for one of the grunts, Scrafty, Skuntank and Purugly for the other. They looked unsure of themselves. Weak. But I still had to be careful. Watch your ego. It was so silent when theynded on the stone and I saw his face up close. Smooth, without any scars, e or blemishes, yet his movements were the opposite of that. Nervous, fric, teeth gnashing. He was not afraid, because what had happened had gone ording to his n, or maybe even better than he''d wanted, but I could see the concoction inside of him now. He was the kind of person to worry about every little detail. They would eat at him until he epassed the self-doubt that he had tried to keep away. It was interesting, but it was also delicious, almost intoxicating. I''d bet he was thinking about every little thing that could go wrong in the next few minutes. I was, too. I so dearly wanted to talk to him. To give him a long-winded speech about his wrongs and why he had to die. Now wasn''t the time. "Cass, you''re ryingmands. Focus on the grunts at first, then we hone in on Saturn." We struck first. Honey lifted a hand toward the sky and shot out a beam of electricity toward Golbat, but it broke against a panel of light. The attack was constant¡ª a never-ending electric current, so he lowered his hand toward Skuntank instead, having identified him as the slowest Pokemon belonging to the grunts that he could target. Bronzong seemed to be able to track him everywhere, but he moved faster, and eventually he managed to singe the side of Scrafty''s leg. Honey flexed his arm, and the limb swung wildly to the left, causing the fighting type to fall, and his lightning fried his brain until he was rendered unconscious. Ordinarily, pride would have swelled in my chest, but instead, my eyes darted in every direction as fighting erupted all around me. All of my other Pokemon spread out, but I noticed Saturn''s kept close save for his Excadrill that buried in the ground. Cold spread across the rock, growing like a cancer as lie blew a Frost Breath that spread ten times as far as it should have, hitting his grunts'' Purugly and Skuntank in the process. Below ground came a deep rumble, and then the ice that had just appeared shattered, erupting high into the sky. Instead of falling back, lie grinned and the ice fell upon us like rain just as Princess had done before, but better. The shards were pure ice instead of stone coated in it, and they looked transparent as they battered around the barrier. Up high, Togekissnced a sharp baton through Golbat''s mouth and kept chaining attacks, raining hell on every Pokemon she could hit. "Angel, Buddy, get that Excadrill." Sweetheart didn''t have the kind of control to stop the ground from shaking. It would be like trying to hammer a screw. Possible, but far less effective than a screwdriver. Plus, she was quite busy. She had used sand to propel herself and had dived into Purugly to crush her under her weight. Grimmsnarl''s hair stopped her. It had snaked around her arms, legs and stomach in an instant, and he threw her back toward us with a single hand. ¡­how? I was swept off my feet by Maylene, and she grabbed me in a princess carry. Honey pushed Cass away and she followed the psychic with speed that was inhuman. The barrier followed us as best it could, and Honey disappeared in a sh of electricity behind us, but while I could barely hear, I felt the impact in her back. Shit. Sweetheart crashed into the earth, creating a massive crater outlining her body and then some while I saw Tangrowth pull Excadrill out of the ground with solid stone around most of his vines that took ten times as long to cut. They glowed green beneath the cracks as he desperately sucked Excadrill''s energy. Buddy ejected a few shards from his head, but they all failed to prate past his flesh and the steel type managed to escape. Tougher than he looks. Jellicent''s true intention, as was his specialty, was trying to get inside the ground type''s mouth and nose, but he froze in an instant and a tight, psychic hold from Bronzong shattered him. He was still conscious, of course. The pieces of his body were separate, but they were quickly gathering back together while some threw themselves against his enemies. He was tired, by the Legendaries, he was, but he knew what was on the line and he would never rest until every Pokemon trying to kill us was dead. Ice stabbed into Skuntank and exploded his entire shoulder, revealing torn, pale and frozen flesh below. Ruthless. He was ruthless. The poison type''s eyes widened when he slumped to the side after walking didn''t work anymore, and he passed out from shock, but more pieces of the ghost shattered like fireworks when lie''s eyes shone and the ice type shivered until there was little left of Jellicent. lie here was in quite the position. He was by far the most powerful yer on the field, but Saturn was keeping him on a tight leash because he couldn''t control himself. It was too much power that he wasn''t ustomed to, and he bled cold everywhere he went. That was why his attacks kept hitting others when he hadn''t meant them to¡ª "Maylene are you okay?" I stared up at Cass. "Is she okay?" Her mouth moved. I could barely understand her, but ice had prated into her shoulder de. The spike was the length of my head and had frozen her skin and blood over. She grabbed it by the hand and ripped it out of her shoulder, crushing it within her fist. The fact that the wound was frozen meant that she wouldn''t lose blood, at least, because I wasn''t sure pulling it out had been a great idea. Or perhaps she feared lie would be able to influence it from within the barrier. She says she''s alright, Cass quickly said. They levitated a piece of mud and sprayed Persian in the eyes. The normal type had been circling around us and trying to find an angle to strike, probably with Night sh, but the impact from the mud threw them back. There was force to it, and each piece was substantial enough for the feline to hiss and dash away toward Sunshine instead, but Honey appeared in front of her in a sh and mmed her head against the cold, hard ground, allowing for anothernce from Princess to skewer her from the skies. He was simply faster than anyone on the field, at the moment, and Motor Drive had allowed him to steal electricity from electric types he''d encountered before this fight. He would grow even quicker before he tired. Sweetheart was struggling where we''d just been and still struggled to stand back up. Excadrill had turned the ground below her to quicksand and had gone too far to be in range of Angel''s vines. Still at Saturn''s side, Toxicroark belched out poisonous liquid at her while Sawk patiently waited to strike. I called out to Cass so they could tell Maylene to recall her, but the air in front of us condensed to a clear ice wall whose frost crept so far I could feel it through¡­ through¡­ I shook myself to alertness. Ice was crawling on my mountaineering gear like a living being. I understood why lie was holding back a little more, now. His frost could go through Cass'' barrier, which meant it could go through Saturn''s as well, and his control wascking. It was as if someone had given their Rattata Hyper Beam and endless energy. Air sliced across stone and then around Sawk, but the fighting type was faster than he looked. He backflipped away from the series of Air shes, but at the very least, he wasn''t hitting Tyranitar''s softened nk. The danger came when Excadrill burst below her, his body twisting so fast he was only a blur. He tried prating past her tes, but her back had been spared from Toxicroak''s poison and he could only graze her until he continued and flew high into the sky. A pained expression followed when he stopped spinning and an Air sh and elemental beams of ice from Princess hit him in the stomach, but he dove back down into the earth like it was water before more attacks could hit him. At least she''d kept him away fromnding back and perforating through her stomach. That would have killed her. Turtonator finally reached Sawk in hopes of helping Sweetie, and while he hit him in the chest, the momentum from the previous explosion he''d left was too much to stop when the disparity in strength was sorge. The fighting type was quick to pull his hands up to guard, but the Dragon Pulse blew him away and into Angel''s grasp, from which he withered as life was sapped from his skin and he was renderedpletely dry before he could attempt to break out. "Behind him!" I screamed. They were all moving, now. Toxicroak, Grimmsnarl, Exploud and even lie. Toxicroak was the fastest, and his ws dripped with green poison. It didn''t dissolve the stone it fell on like Cece''s, but it made it softer. Almost mushy, the perfect consistency to stab through hard skin or scales. Honey finished dealing with Purugly and looked back, but Exploud had turned to face him and screamed. This time, I could see it literally take shape in a cone-like st. The electric type buckled to one knee while frost overtook his legs, then torso, then arms¡ª his fists burst into mes that were immediately smothered by the cold, and lie grinned. That was not the only Pokemon he was sending his wicked frost onto. They were all freezing slowly. Angel, Sunshine, Sweetheart¡ª Shadows bled up from the ground, leaking like a sieve as it reformed into a shade of Jellicent and it exploded next to lie. Then came another, and another, and the pain allowed my team to unfreeze themselves through various ways. Sunshine, through thest remaining embers he could muster, though he had taken multiple jabs from Toxicroak in the leg for it and he was struggling to stand. Toxicroak cackled. I could see his head bobbing up and down. He was enjoying this. Grimmsnarl wasughing, too. Circling around Turtonator like a Mandibuzz waiting for its prey to die over the desert, only asionally whipping him with hair glowering pink. I hated them. "Kill that lie." The orders diffused from Cass were swift. Having been spared from the cold, Princess dove down and weaved a plethora of attacks behind her. Rocks, ice, electricity, balls of shadow, dying, smothered mes, sharpened air¡ª the first three hit lie before he encased himself in a ball of ice as hard as bedrock, from the way the other attacks just bounced off of him. I was starting to grasp the reason why Saturn had waited so long. He was studying me. I hadn''t given him enough credit. He knew now I had very little control over the earthpared to what his Excadrill was capable of, that Jellicent was the only one who coulde close to his lie in terms of controlling ice, that Cass'' barriers were strong enough to withstand his attacks, so he needed not to waste time on trying to kill me before he dealt with my other Pokemon. His Pokemon were each strong in their own right, and even without Regice, lie would have been a force to be reckoned with. I was slowly realizing he had something else, though. So as I watched my Pokemon shake off thest flickers of cold and rise to their feet and Saturn barked out an order, I allowed air to fill my lungs to the brim and took a frosty breath. "Forget that order," I rectified myself. "I need to arrange a fight. Sunshine against Grimmsnarl. Buddy has to go in the ground and contain this fucking Excadrill who keeps making Sand Tombs and tearing us apart. Princess focuses on lie and keeps him at bay, Honey fights Toxicroak. I trust him to keep up with his speed. Sweetie and Angel take Exploud." Cassianus, bless their soul, had been rying what I''d said to every Pokemon as soon as I''d said it. Electivire was the first to move, his movements still dull from the cold. lie spat out a beam of frost¡ª no, it was more urate to saw that frost formed in-between the two, as if it had snapped into ce from the cold in the air, but the electric type blew up with Discharge and leapt even faster across the ground. Unlike his allies, Toxicroak managed to react, though barely. The toad managed to bring his arms into an ''X'' to block the hiting to his face and his hands soon grabbed onto Electivire''s wrists. He jumped over his back and was about to stab into his neck, but Honey''s tail wrapped around his ankle and pped him against the stone¡ª After which he fell through the ground. Honey would have gone, too, but electricity hummed at his feet and he managed to hover a few inches above ground, though barely. It was a clumsy thing, and he had to keep his hands stretched to keep his bnce. Toxicroak was spat out away from him and next to Angel, who''d been cornering Exploud with vines that he could simply scream away. "Stone him." Like clockwork, ydol raised a boulder and smashed it against the fighting type, who just punched through it. That had bought Angel enough time to realize he was being stalked, though, and the grass type had the ground shake with a small, localized Bulldoze before Toxicroak could close the distance. The quake slowed Toxicroak enough for Sweetheart to make it and he decided not to bother fighting her. "He thinks Exploud can handle himself. Warn them." Excadrill might be more of a battlefield support type. Evac and such. My attention drifted back to lie, who was trading blows with Togekiss. The only way she''d found to keep her wings from freezing at his stare was to keep them perpetually on fire and to keep blowing herself up with Dazzling Gleam once that wasn''t enough. It was a losing game, but she was forcing lie''s attention on her. It was difficult to ignore a Pokemon slinging so many attacks at you when you needed to make wall of ice after wall of ice to stay standing. Below ground, the earth was continuously shifting and turning back to a solid around where I assumed Excadrill could be. An unseen battle was going on between him and Jellicent. This one was a story of revenge. Saturn did not know this. Oh, he knew Turtonator was Kamaile''s, no doubt, there weren''t many to go around in Sinnoh, but to him, we were here to stop Cyrus from enacting his n, and so his was a game of stalling as long as possible. He believed he was fighting Grace-the-shard and not Grace-the-trainer. He was wrong. We were here to kill him, specifically, and it would start properly. Sunshine''s legs were barely able to keep him standing, yet he locked arms with Grimmsnarl and roared. I could see it etched on his face. The rage at such a twist of fate, the desire to right his wrongs. To be strong where he once had been weak. Grimmsnarl''s tongue swirled around his de-like teeth, and his hair slowly wrapped around the dragon. Crushing. Crushing. Grinding them to dust with the strength that had lifted a Tyranitar and thrown her like she was nothing. He had no mes to pull on, and the turquoise light swirling around him¡ª his draconic essence that kept him standing against all odds¡ª was nigh useless against Grimmsnarl. Something snapped within him. He roared, though I could not hear him, and mmed an Iron Tail against his shell. Thest of a few dying embers ignited, pushing Sunshine against Grimmsnarl, and he bit into the fairy''s neck as they both fell to the ground. His jagged mouth shimmered slightly as it tore through Grimmsnarl''s thick locks and the fairy started writhing against the ground and punching the fire type with pink, glowing fists. It took me a moment to know what he''d done to make this happen. The shining of his mouth was a localized Iron Defense, the same which had withstood the full weight of a Steelix bearing down on him. Turtonator ravaged at the Pokemon''s throat until eventually, he stopped writhing. His legs, first, then his arms wentpletely limp. Dark and thick blood stained his jaws, dripping in heavy, slow droplets to the ground below. Chunks of flesh clung to his maw, a macabre trophy of his victory. Saturn stood there, his Pokeball raised, but he had hesitated. Or maybe he had fumbled as I had so many times. It was toote. The wind would hopefully be in our sails, now, but the victory hade at a cost. Princess crashed to the ground, frozen while Maylene recalled her with my guidance before more ice could take a hold of her and finish her off for good. She had burned all of her fur off and was nothing but skin, now, but she was alive. Something in Saturn broke, and he raised a hand. I knew what he was saying. He was ordering his Pokemon to rush to Sunshine, but that was fine. Toxicroak had to be the next to die, and he was barely, barely keeping up with Electivire''s speed. I grimaced when I noticed a few wounds in his chest and legs. They were shallow thanks to his quick reflexes, but the poison would work through him eventually. It took a few moments for Saturn''s orders to be ryed, but he swept a foot at Honey and nearly made the electric type trip before blurring toward Sunshine in one smooth turn. Now free from Princess, lie did the same, and I barked out at Honey to follow while telling Cass to have Maylene prepare his Pokeball. And I recalled him as soon as Toxicroak got close. Saturn gnawed at his nails and his face was twisted in anger and grief. Good. Back to Exploud, I was realizing that he was actually one of Saturn''s fiercest fighters. Angel could barely approach with his vines, and the powder he tried to throw never reached the normal type due to the force of his screams. Tangrowth was actually the best at resisting those, but Tyranitar was another story. Blood was pouring down her earholes and she was gnashing her teeth so hard that she was emanating darkness all over. She was the one Cass had the most difficultymunicating with as well due to her typing, so she was¡­ not doing very well. Sound-based techniques were ones that could bypass her armor, and it showed. "Tell him to go below ground," I said. "He''ll get it." My teeth mped down on my bottom lip when Exploud seemingly caught on as soon as the Sr des buried themselves in the ground. He''d learned from when we''d pulled his ally Excadrill out, and the normal type would not have it happen to him again. He quickly turned 180 degrees and bellowed,unching himself into the air with a sound wave. "He''snding¡ª" He wasnding next to us. Had Saturn said something¡ª no, no, I had to focus¡­ damn it. Exploudnded with a dull thud that I felt more than I heard to our left, and I raised a hand while he inhaled in an attempt to make him hesitate with my gift¡ª My head went¡ª My ears¡ª I was¡ª Something mmed into my head. Sound. Sound. It hurt. Piercing sound in my ears. I rolled on the ground and felt blood drip down the side of my cheek. When had I fallen? Why was the ground sofortable? My head spun. I could barely focus on what was going on, but I could still see a trembling barrier around us. The sound hadn''t shattered it. If it had, I''d be dead. ydol was hovering and slinging stones around¡­ Maylene¡­ Maylene! I tried pushing myself, but my hands gave way under me. My body just felt so heavy. Instead, I looked at her by turning my head. She was also on the ground¡ª also with a bleeding ear, but unlike me, she was already getting up to her feet. Her hands pulled my shoulders and sat me upright so I could see the fight again. Angel''s vines were dying from something akin to necrosis due to Toxicroak, slowly fading away into nothingness, and he was¡­ bile built up in my throat. He was missing an eye. I hit my limp hand against my thigh to focus. Byron had taught me this. Keep your head in the fight, or you''ll all die. Honey was slowly being whittled down by poison too, but at least he was working on keeping lie at bay now. Exploud''s mouth had been stuffed with enough rocks to have him choke. The normal type gathered darkness within his mouth and snapped them into pieces, but just then, Sweetheart bodymmed into him with a burst of speed from Rock Polish. I saw Exploud''s arm bend wrong and his jaw shatter open, but she wasn''t done. Tyranitar wed it open wider still, and wider, and wider until¡ª Saturn recalled him. "Toxicroak." To speak but not hear what you were saying was a disturbing exercise. All I could hear was ringing. The small amount of hearing that had been returning to me was gone. "Then lie. Have Maylene prepare to recall Angel." A stone burst from the ground, but Toxicroak ducked and stabbed Tangrowth again. Of course, Angel was hitting back with the vines he had left, but his was a losing battle. Behind the two, Electivire fired off a discreet electric shock that had his arm jut to the side before he could hit the grass type''s other eye, and the next attack was a tried and true Thunder that illuminated the entire cave brightly. Toxicroak convulsed, and Tangrowth stabbed his shoulder with a vine. Finally. The vine was withering, but the few Tangrowth had left also prated into the same wound. Light built up around them, and the nascent Sr de died in its crib in an explosion that left Toxicroak''s body split in two uneven halves. I looked at Saturn again while telling Maylene to recall Tangrowth. It had gone so fast, hadn''t it? Death was so¡­ nonchnt. My team was quick to take a Pokemon''s life, and Commander or not, I had more experience with murder of this kind. Murder of an equal, not children dying to bombs or killing people with the advantage of numbers. I hoped he felt just like Sunshine had, even through the agony wracking my ear and brain. Sweetheart spared me a look, and I nodded at her. I''ll live. With the friction on her feet now lower, she slid across the ground, pushing herself with sand toward Saturn until his face twisted to one of fear. I slowly raised a hand and focused on Bronzong. Yes. It had taken restraint to wait this long, hadn''t it? To find a prime opportunity to fuck him over. Slowly. Carefully. All I needed was a little doubt. To exploit the thought that Bronzong might not be good enough. It was already there, after all, and only had to be nurtured. Trainers tended to influence the way their Pokemon behaved just as much as the opposite did. Tiredness took me, and I wondered how I''d even be able to walk after this. The Protect which hade to rece Saturn''s barrier was too slow to build up, and Sweetheart rammed into it with darkened sands coiling around her. The ckened dots had peppered the psychic shield still remaining ahead of her, and it broke down with the impact. Metal exploded out of the hole below Bronzong and hit her in the face, knocking the lights out of her, but Saturn had fallen on his ass and was crawling backward. He called out, and lie''s eyes shone. The air around him swirled, encasing him in a block of hollow ice. At first, I thought he''d freeze, but he didn''t. He was, however, injured. Ice had spread to his arms and legs and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. The other two grunts were left to die. One was swept by Tyranitar''s tail as she turned to hit Bronzong with a Dark Pulse that shed with another sh Cannon and the other, she crushed under a foot until he became red mist. That one actually had me wince. She was angry I''de close to dying. Her attack was more powerful than theirs, since they were a defensive Pokemon, but the steel type dashed away with a burst of metal behind them and formed a little ball of light before them. It was a dim glow, and while I could not hear the spirits scream, I had seen the attack enough to understand what it was. "Confuse Ray," I warned. But it was weaker than I thought it''d be. A simple st of darkness, and it was gone, and I realized it had been born of desperation, and not strategy. Like a child swinging a knife in the dark. Everywhere Bronzong went, they were coated with mud that solidified around their form. Heavier and heavier, it weighed and slowed them down. ydol''s eyes shed, and the ground type forced their element down at full force. This Bronzong was no Rapture. They were a pale, pale version of what Byron''s Pokemon could do, and it was only a matter of time until Sweetheart took them down. Electivire couldn''t approach lie. He had been dueling the ice type, but slowly losing due to attrition. Everywhere he stepped, lie summoned ice to bind him and slow his movements, and the ice type wasn''t exactly built to exploit involuntary spasms of muscles. Honey fired off Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt to conserve energy, but the majority of them were blocked by ice walls. A wide smile was etched upon lie''s face as he pushed, pushed and pushed. I winced when Honey''s arm went limp and a Protect was the only thing that kept his blood from freezing within him. Thend itself was turning to ice¡ª a snowscape that would have lie''s power reach its apex. Cass tried slinging mud at him, but it simply froze and they lost control before it could reach him. It was so, terribly cold. My body was unfeeling. My thoughts were growing numb, and ydol had to keep me from falling asleep every few seconds. The barrier seemed to tighten around us to preserve as much heat as possible. It was only a minuteter, when I had Maylene prepared to recall Electivire due to fears of him freezing to death, that Jellicent emerged from the floor. The way his form rippled, it was easy to tell the fight had been brutal, or maybe I was just seeing things. I had pegged Exadrill as a support type, but fighting an expert on burrowing underground was bound to have him struggle. He imed a portion of thend as his own and slowed Bronzong down enough for a final Dark Pulse to hit them. Sweetheart didn''t bother killing the steel type, instead content to leave them unconscious. lie eyed his new challenger and turned him to ice with but a re. Jellicent froze, unfroze, froze, unfroze in a cycle that would seemingly never end, and all while that was happening, lie was fighting the others, too. An Ice Beam hit Sweetheart in the chest and she slid back like she''d been hit by an Onix. Electivire tried to fire off electricity whenever he was certain his blood had returned to normal and he could move his body again. Now that Saturn had no Pokemon to care for, he had let lie unleash a cold so powerful even Jellicent''s Will-O-Wisps froze and retreated before they could make it to him. lie was strong, true, butcking on the technical side of things, and that was the way to win. Beyond freezing things with focus or firing off icy breaths and beams, he had not done much past the dark ice he asionally used to try to poke holes into Cass'' barrier. The psychic was barely holding on, and I had to call Honey over so his Protect would serve us again, but it was slow, now, almost lethargic. To be honest, Saturn hadn''t used that manyplicated techniques at all. We were going to lose if things kept going this way. Ice was as much of an offensive tool as a defensive one, I had figured, and I had little experience fighting with the type beyond my fight with Candice and the asional bout with Denzel. Here was our pivot. Our opening. "Taunt." Ordinally, this might not have been that effective, but this was anything but ordinary. lie was calling upon a power that was not his own, and he was almost drunk on it. Jellicent''s eyes darkened, and he isted the ice type''s anger. I saw it happen clear as day, the raging inferno sprouting inside of lie and the way the ice type''s attacks suddenly grew even stronger. Jellicent never unfroze, this time. Sweetheart stomped a foot against the ground, and countless pirs of sharp rock rose below lie, hitting the ice type before he could manifest another wall of ice. One, though. One rose next to Honey, and the electric type grabbed on, each finger puncturing a hole into the rock. He took off into the sky as electricity coursed through him and down his legs. He gave everything for that single jump. The Stone Edge shattered, and in an instant, he was there with his arms glowing white. The Cross Chop was so fast I only saw lie float down to the ground. When I blinked, Electivire was already back on the ground, his body half-frozen and limp. Not unconscious, but shivering on the ground. Sweetheart created a fissure with a small Earthquake and finished off lie before he could recoup with whatever ice bullshit he might have been working with. The Snowscape was still there, but it stopped raging. The wind stopped sweeping across the snow, and ice lie had been controlling turned lifeless. It was over. I asked Maylene to recall my Pokemon save for ydol. I hadn''t noticed, but ydol was on the verge of unconsciousness. They warned me as much, and I imagined them ying an rm sound, but I''d need them for just a little while longer tomunicate. My hearing was slowlying back again, or at least I believed so, but I didn''t want to think about the fact that it was only doing so on my right. "Tell her to release Sunshine. We''ll heal him up." Maylene hesitated. She''d seen how much pain he''d been in. How his arms had been utterly crushed, ice had prated past his shell and his legs had been poisoned to the point that they wouldn''t be able to support his weight. Yet she did so anyway. She didn''t know the reason, not yet. Sunshine was in a sorry state, but relief flooded his veins when he saw we were alive. The fact that I wasn''t a sobbing mess meant that the rest of them were alive, too. Wounded, but alive. I hoped his Pokeball would be enough to keep Angel from witheringpletely¡­ I watched Maylene spray him as best she could, but the amount of potion it took to get him standing meant that I was almost out. I''d saved some for the rest of the team too, but after that, it would be over. If I ran into Mars in this state¡­ I wouldn''t even have a chance to avoid her, let alone fight back. The fight had me breathing through a lot of oxygen instead of my usually rxed state as well, and if we were going to keep being lost as we''d been before, I was going to run out before making it. For good measure, Maylene sprayed Cass as well, though it would be less effective here given that exhaustion from maintaining defenses and working the earth for so long was that they were on the verge of passing out. That was if we survived Regice. It wasn''t looking very good in that regard. Well, then. Walking was aborious affair. Each step felt like I was able to copse, but I refused any help. Sunshine and I had to do this on our own, or it wouldn''t be right. He tried to summon warmth, but I could barely feel it. Like when a trickle of sunlight was on your face in the middle of winter, but the cold enveloped you anyway. My legs felt heavy as if encased in lead, and the frigid air pushed back against my body, but eventually, Eventually, I made it to Saturn. He was encased in ice, still, the structure sustained by Regice''s power and the general cold. He looked at us in disbelief, his mouth trembling at so much death, and the shaking was entuated by the cold. His grunts, he didn''t care about. I assumed they were fodder to him, and since they would be reborn anyway, why bother himself about them dying? But then why did that same feeling not apply to his Pokemon? I smiled tiredly beneath my mask. There really was nothing like the feeling one got after winning a fight such as this. It wasn''t the tion of a Gym Battle or a fight against a friend or rival¡ª the rush of endorphins that had you feeling that you were on top of a cloud, but a deep satisfaction that was almost physical. You felt your heart pump in your chest, the blood seeping down your face, the hurt all over your body. You felt alive, and in the moment, that was enough to make you happy. Of course, I''d be feeling different had I lost or anyone had died, but the point was, I hadn''t. I licked my lips. "Break it open." It took a while. But less time than I expected now that liey unconscious in the snow. A concentrated Focus st was all it took for the ice to begin cracking, after which Saturn crawled to the corner of his self-made cage and huddled himself into a ball. When the block of hollow ice copsed, I''d regained enough of my hearing to at least hear it shatter, but it looked like I was going to have to use Cass to hear him speak. And he was speaking. Running his mouth faster than I''d ever seen any lips move. "Trante that for me, will you? To Maylene, as well, unless she asks you to stop. She needs to understand, or she might try to stop me. She''s too kind." "¡ªdon''t¡ª don''t¡ª get away from me!" Oh wow, they were doing what I assumed was his voice, too. It was deeper than I thought it''d be, but somewhat nasal. Smooth. "You get nothing by killing me!" Tears were frozen down his cheeks, and he was dangerously pale. "It''s either you die now or you dieter. What''s the difference?" I meant this in many ways. Whether the world survived or ended, whether he froze to death or I killed him, whether he lived through this with the world, and the League executed him, there was simply no scenario where he was going to live, ever. He had no uses, and was the architect of too much death. "Plus, won''t you get to live in your New World?" I continued with a drawl. "Or maybe you''re a coward who''s scared to die even though you spewed your poison and converted thousands to your cause." To my frustration, he did not flinch, nor was he rendered speechless. "Of course, I believe in the cause, you wretched little witch!" he yelled. His mood swung with a lot more force than I was used to. "You couldn''t evene close to understanding¡ª" He squealed and brought his hands up to his face when Sunshine took a step forward. The dragon looked at me expectantly, asking for when I''d be done with this entire speech so he could do the deed. "Sorry," I grunted. "Well, I''ll have to cut this short, but first¡­ you know, you could have killed me had you had your lie rampage from the start. Your Pokemon would have died in the process, and hell, you might have, too, but I''d be gone." Continuous shivers passed through me, yet my tone was as solid as steel. "You doubt your every action, don''t you? You seem like the type to constantly question if what you''re doing is right or enough. I could tell when we fought. There were no risks in your techniques." Saturn said nothing. He was preparing himself to die. "What did that stem from?" I tilted my head at him. "Cyrus, maybe?" "Absolutely not! Cyrus is¡ª" "Friends? Maybe your parents." Ah, I struck a nerve. "I see. I get it." A beat passed. "Well then, he wouldn''t have wanted this," I said, looking at Sunshine. "But this is for Kamaile Nnie, for Drampa, for Mandibuzz, and for Oranguru. You die alone. You die in pain. And in the end, your screams fade like just another echo swallowed whole by Cor." "I''ll have thestugh, in the end. I''ll be reborn¡ª" "Cut him off." I sniffed and walked away, not bothering to turn back toward the Commander. "You aren''t going to look?" Maylene asked through ydol. I sighed. "No." She held onto her wounded shoulder and tension left her. "I thought I was going to have to fight you about that." I''d failed to save any people too deep in the cult to realize. I''d killed dozens of humans and Pokemon and only managed to spare a few who their trainers recalled in theirst moments. "I''m tired." Not sad, but tired. Saturn died away from us. We did not hear his screams. A minuteter, Sunshine walked up behind us and looked more satisfied than he''d been ever since I''d caught him. The deed was done. ¡ª It was two hourster, and we were about to die. I shivered against Honey''s fur. He''d wrapped Maylene and I in a hug to converse warmth, but it was barely doing anything. Every few seconds, Maylene would see my head slump and hit me in the head to keep me awake, but there was only so long that could work for. Sunshine was lethargic, unable to move and coating us with warmth that might as well not have existed. Were the others in the same position? Huddling for crumbs of warmth, and freezing to death? Was Cece? I wished she was here. I''d risked her. I''d risked everything for Sweetheart. Would they forgive me when I told them? There were sounds. Voices around me I knew to be nothing but delirium. I¡ª I wanted to live.
Chapter 313 – The Boy Champion Chapter 313 ¨C The Boy Champion
CHAPTER 313 - THE BOY CHAMPION The world around Craig was frozen. The air within the cavern had turned bitterly cold, so much so that each breath emerged as a visible plume, curling and twisting before turning to frosty kes instead of dissipating into the air like he''d grown used to during winters. Delicate frost patterns bloomed like alien flowers, their fractal designs intricate and fleeting. It was beautiful, and almost hypnotic, in a way. It was a sight that drew him in, that made him not want to blink, that made him want to stay up here forever, where he belonged¡ª A hand on his shoulder. Craig nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the touch. It felt odd to say, but touch hurt. Touch was warmth where cold had been moments earlier. Touch was intimacy, touch was antithetical to what he had experienced for the past¡­ Arceus knew how long, standing guard in front of a massive gate with seven blinking orbs; little lights that frantically winked when they should have been dark, at least ording to Flint. He''d fought Regice once before. "Easy there, pal," the red-haired Elite Four member said. "Rx a little bit, alright?" He patted him twice on the shoulder. Surrounding him was his entire array of fire types: Magmortar, reon, Houndoom, Infernape, Rapidash, Nales and Arcanine. They were the only reason they were alive here and not frozen to death. "It''d be better if you were calm when the time came. Right, Aaron?" The kid¡ª and it was weird to think he was another member of the Elite Four¡ª was crouched with his gloved hands on the stony ground like some kind of animal. He was watching the door with a shit-eating grin that had ticked off Craig a few times. Why look so excited, when they''d been thrown to their deaths? Even Flint looked unsettled, and Craig knew that. He''d talked to the man a few times in his career and he was usually a lot more jovial than this. Around them wasn''t just a cave, it was the remains of a scientific outpost used to study Regice which had been abandoned when the entire mountain had been evacuated. Frozen papers, files, metallic chairs and coffee mugs were strewn about, showing that the personnel here had left in a hurry. The lightbulbs above had popped and were long turned off. Scientific equipment, including seismographs, thermometers, and high-resolution cameras, were left behind, many encased in a thinyer of frost that rendered screens and lenses nearly opaque. Echoes within this massive, icy corridor carried no sound of dripping water. It was far too cold for that. Craig shivered. It was eerily silent, save for the asional hum or word from Aaron or Flint. "Aaron! Focus, you little shit!" Flint yelled. The boy blinked. "Huh? What? Sorry." "Arceus, only you could look like a kid on his birthday at the prospect of fighting this damn ice golem¡­" Aaron beamed. "So wait, I know you gave us a full briefing beforeing here, but is it sentient? Like, can it think on its own?" Aaron shot up to his feet, teeth shining like silver. "Or can it think, but it runs on a set of instructions it can''t deviate from?!" Flint sighed. "Oh, brother." Aaron tried kicking Flint in the shin, but the fire type master didn''t have to move. His Infernape blocked Aaron''s foot and red at him for being so aloof when their lives would be on the lines shortly. Craig could rte, and he dipped his head to the fighting type in thanks. It ignored him. "You have ess to those files," Flint continued. "Yeah but I didn''t think it''d be so interesting until I actually saw the ce with my own two eyes, and Cynthia runs me ragged because she wants me to take over at some point." And his eyes seemed to quite literally be shining. "If the world actually ends or I die, I''ll be happy I got to see something new before it does! I gotta take it all in before I''m chained to a desk, you feel me? Or I guess even more chained than I already am." Craig had read up on people affected by their own Pokemon, and he''d met a few of them throughout his career. People online who paid attention to that kind of thing, which wasn''t a lot, made lists about the most warped¡ª Valerie from Kalos, Bruno from Indigo, Allister or Opal from Gr¡ª but because Aaron had only been in the Elite Four for almost two years now and he was a rtive unknown, he hadn''t been in any of those lists. They were wrong. Craig was good with people. He knew what made them tick within the first few minutes of a conversation, and it was that, which had carried him to where he was today. Aaron craved the new to such an extent that he did not care if it would kill him. He was brusque and impatient, and threw away people who lost his interest as soon as they bored him. This was the person who was supposed to seed Cynthia? Flint rubbed the back of his head, and Magmortar chortled. It was a disturbing, distorted sound that sound like something deep beneath the earth. "I think Cynthia underestimated your gusto. Well, so long as you''re focused." "C''mon, answer my question." Flint wiped the frosted snot from his nose with the back of his hand and rubbed it on his climbing gear. "They''re theories, and I''m not the best at exining ''em, but, uh, what the people who worked here figured out," he scanned the surroundingboratory with a quick look, "or think they figured out, was that Regice is sentient and generally independent, but runs on a set of rules. Do you know about those fancy AIs they make in Lumiose? By that Gym Leader?" "Boring," Aaron pouted. "Okay. ''Guess you don''t need the rest of the exnation, then¡ª" "No! No,e on!" Craig wanted out. He wanted out so bad. Flint grinned. "Okay, well, don''t interrupt next time. See, Regice was built by the big guy up in Snowpoint as a protector to keep itself safe while it slept or was busy draggingndmasses around, same as the other golems, but it''s advanced enough to have an agenda of its own, and its own thoughts, et cetera¡­ yeah, that''s how you say that." "So it can feel things." Aaron tilted its head. "Is it sad, you think? To be separated from its creator for so long? Every time it wakes up, it gets knocked back to sleep despite its best efforts. It has freedom, yes, but it''s fleeting. Like it can almost taste it, but it''s always pulled away at thest instant." His head swayed from side to side, and Craig didn''t miss Rapidash sneering at Aaron, who was oblivious to the fact that half of Flint''s team disliked him¡ª or maybe he just didn''t care. Craig wasn''t a fan, either, but then again he was just a kid, so he couldn''t fault him too much. Maybe he''d grow out of it. Opal had, after all. "Maybe that freedom being so fleeting is what makes it valuable, though. Do you think we can have freedom¡­ freedom intion? It''s like, you give someone their favorite meal every day, and they get sick of it, right¡ª" "Rx," Flint sighed. He ruffled the boy''s hair. "Focus. You''re our ticket out of here, kid. If we die because you hesitated ''cause you wanted to get a better look at Regice, I''ll haunt your folks when what remains of me turns into a ghost." "You think you dying by yourself would turn you into a ghost?" Aaron snorted. "Talk about having a big head, though I guess that isn''t new for you." "What? Come on, I have a lot of projects¡­" "All you do is fight things and shirk more of your paperwork to me. Craig, let me tell you, this guy is theziest¡ª" "Should we attack first?" Craig''s words had been like a bucket of cold water had dropped on their heads. The banter stopped, the cold seemed to get to them just a little more, and Flint''s back straightened. "Right now, it''s getting colder, but if we force Regice to wake up, it''ll get worse even faster," he replied with a grim look. It looked wrong on his face. "I know we''re all on edge, but we''re here to buy time. It''d be best to just wait for it to wake up on its own." He nodded. "Fine." Part of him¡ª no, all of him wished that Cor being agitated didn''t mean Regice just woke up, and that whatever was going on behind those stone bs of a door would revert itself on its own. He''d been good at ignoring problems, when he''d first started out. His hand went to Roxie''s Pokeball, and he remembered her as a little Bagon. Knowing that Aaron''s curiosity was insatiable and he was in no mood to talk, he closed his eyes and recalled his childhood. ¡ª Salt clings to his nostrils and he hears the sea batter the brick walls of Canve''s canal off in the distance. It''s slightly past noon, and the streets are packed with people going out for lunch. Sometimes, Craig would make a game of trying to figure out their deal from just a look from his backyard, and he''d think of how he''d approach them in a conversation. Why is that man walking so quickly? Does he only have an hour-long lunch break, or is he in a hurry for something else? Why is the usual Fearow that hangs on the roof of the nearby office building not here today? Why does this Falinks have eight individuals instead of the usual six, and why are they wandering the city streets on their own? Why is this womanughing while talking on her phone? Why is this girl his age looking at her Pokeball like it hit her? Okay, that one, he understands. Today, his game is cut short. His father opens the door with Lauren holding his hand. His father is a stout man whom Craig is already taller than, even at fifteen, but their hair is the exact same. Short and as dark as the night sky. His old man adjusts his sses as Lauren tries to pull away her hand from him. She''s never liked physical contact, even as a baby. There are more signs, and Craig''s mother wants to check for a diagnosis for autism of some kind, but his dad is resistant to the idea. It''s caused a lot of fights and yelling. He kept saying Lauren is normal, like he was ashamed of her. "Let her go, Dad," Craig says, a little weaker than he would have liked. "We''re in the yard, she''s safe to wander." His father grimaces, and for a moment, Craig thinks he''s going to fight him, but he relents with a sigh. Lauren looks like she''s been freed from prison, and she beams at Craig. His chest feels warm. "Thank you Cwaig," she whispers. She doesn''t speak very much, except when talking about Pokemon or battling. She''s very smart about it, for a six-year-old. Smarter than Craig was when he was ten. "No prob''," he replies, and watches her grab a small, digital camera that''s strapped around her shoulder. With it, she begins to take pictures of passing Pokemon to put in her albumter. She draws the ones she really likes in her picture book, and she''s pretty good at it, for her age. His father leans against the fence and takes a deep breath. "You know, I¡­ I''m sorry for how I''ve been to her." That takes him aback. "Huh?" "I''ve been pretty horrible¡ª and I want to me work, or¡­ or stress, but I''ve just been a bad father to her." "Oh." Well, it''s hard to know how to respond to that, even if he somewhat agrees. To him, he''s always been great. Said that he would go ces, and believed in him so much that he used all of his connections to get him a Bagon from the Hunters in Sceon at a very generous price. They could afford it¡ª his father works as a City Councillor and had invested his money very smartly, while his mother is one of the best heart surgeons in Canve. He had the connections, and she made most of the money. Not that he''d used his Bagon appropriately anyway. Roxie liked him well enough, but listening to whatever he said in battle was another matter entirely. Four months into his first Circuit, and all he had was Byron''s badge, and he hadn''t caught a single Pokemon yet. Tried, yes, but seeded, no. His throw and aim is too horrible for it no matter how much he practices and Roxie''s toozy to fight wild Pokemon most of the time. "Uh, I mean I''m d!" Craig quickly answers. He watches Lauren snap a picture of a group of Pidove flying overhead to distract himself. "Yeah, that''s great. You talked with Mom?" "Apologized, mostly. I''ll apologize to Lauren too, when she can understand, but I actually wanted to talk about you. I didn''t think you''de back so soon after leaving the city. You''ve got your badge, don''t you?" Craig winces. He expects his Dad to yell at him. Something like ''we got you a Bagon, and all you can do in four months is get one badge?!'' or ''We spent all of this on you and you can''t be assed to win'' or ''I think battling isn''t for you and we should look into getting you formed for a job like your friend George from High School.'' Instead, he smiles and pats him on the shoulder. "I don''t know much about battling, son, and I want you to know I believe in you as much as I did before you went on this journey, but I need to know if you''re making use of your time efficiently. Hanging out around the house is nice, and I''m happy to see you again, but¡­" his father rubs his chin and ponders what to say. "All you''re doing is staying home and browsing trainer magazines or your inte." He cringes at ''your inte''. "I''ll leave soon. I just needed a reset to figure out how to beat Roark and get through to Roxie." Roark is the new Oreburgh Gym Leader, and he''s a hard ass despite the fact that they''re basically the same age. Craig is certain the only reason he hasn''t been fired yet is because he''s Byron''s son, and he''s been a major block for new trainers. Plus, seeing someone his age so sessful already makes his stomach hurt. He had considered skipping him, but the truth is he''s terrified of going through Eterna Forest, even if the grass type Gym Leader in Eterna is considered one of the easier ones because of how gentle she is. "What I do know is people," his father continues as he leans against their white picket fence. "Connections are important, son. The most important aspect of a man''s life. How else do you think I got you Roxie?" He knows. He''s heard the story a million times. "You''re saying I should be doing¡­ outreach?" "Exactly. Meet people, Craig. Meet people andwork," he says. "Even if you don''t progress as fast as others, you should still meet people. That''ll go a long way, trust me." "I guess¡­" he pauses, swallowing something in his throat. A cold gust of wind rushes through their yard, and he shifts around. "Dad, I want to be a trainer, but¡­ it''s hard. I know so much, but it''s¡ª what''s the point of knowing step fifty if you don''t know step one?" He feels his Dad''s warm hand rub the back of his neck. He brings Craig close and kisses his forehead. "I''d give you advice if I could, but that''s out of my wheelhouse, son. A man has to walk his own path." "I just gotta figure out how to get Roxie to understand that we should work together. Half the time, she''s toozy to fight, and when she wants to fight, she does her own thing, and she''s not very smart. Don''t tell her I said that, though." His father snorts. "It''s not funny!" Craig yells, all defensive. "It friggin'' blows." "I''m sure you''ll figure it out in due time, son. Your mother and I will help you for as long as you need it." That''s not what he wants to hear right now, but Craig smiles anyway. "...thanks." He looks to the sky. "You''ve stumbled, I won''t lie. But that''s okay, kid. Not everyone can be a Cynthia. You''ve got to find your own rhythm. You''re a harder worker than all of those kidsughing at you." Craig''s eye twitches. There are¡­ a lot of people who liked to make fun of him for having gotten a dragon from his parents, yet still failing so terribly. Most of them had surpassed him already, and they were part of the reason he''d left Oreburgh. So frustrating. They speak for a while, until his father has to go inside and help his mother cook lunch. Craig hesitates to release Roxie, and despite knowing it would bring a headache, he looks to his sister and calls out to her. "Hey, Lauren!" It takes a few tries to get her to realize he''s speaking to her, but when she looks at him, she res. A tiny Pichu had walked up just beyond the fence, and his yelling scared it off. "Stupid," she insults him with a clenched fist. Tears build up to the corner of her eyes, and Craig scrambles to make things right. Roxie the Bagon appears within their backyard in a sh of scarlet, and instantly, Lauren is smiling again. The dragon is, too. For some reason, she likes hanging out with her more than she likes hanging out with Craig. Probably because she doesn''t order her around. "Woxie!" Lauren beams, yelling for the first time today. She runs to the little dragon and stops her face only a few inches from her before she takes another picture. Craig is content to hover around the two. Roxie isn''t aggressive, for a Bagon, and the problem with her had never been violence. "I missed you!" Bagon¡­ purrs like a meow and wiggles her little arms. Lauren tells her about her day in pre-school and about how she''s already known all the types and what they were effective or not effective against ''forever'' already and that she thinks the kids in her ss are all stupid. Craig knows from his mother she got in trouble a week ago for calling another girl an idiot for not knowing what a Revavroom was. "I watched your Gym Battle, Cwaig," she says to him. His heart sinks. "I watched it¡­" she stops to think, then looks to her fingers before counting out loud. She counts until she gets to fourteen, and Craig doesn''t want to interrupt her. "Woxie was so cool when she took out that Bwonzow! But I have¡ª I had a question." "Sure thing," Craig says. He is extremely relieved she didn''t mean his numerous attempts against Roark. To Lauren, he''s still a great trainer, and shattering that image would hurt him. "Why didn''t she use¡­ that fire thingie." "Ember¡ª" "Embew! I knew it was called that," she huffs and crosses her arms. "Well, that Bronzor has the ability Heatproof, and Roxie''s Dragon Breath is a lot more powerful than her Ember, too, so we were better off holding off on the fire type moves," he exins. "But if Ember was stronger one could argue that it''d be better even with Heatproof because¡­" Roxie''s eyes narrow at him, and he lets it go. It''s best not to offend her today. Lauren''s look scares him. It''s as if she''s matured ten years and is absorbing every single ounce of information out of his mouth. He stays with his baby sister for a while. He has dinner with his parents, and that night, he decides to talk to Roxie. It doesn''t go well. He gets angry, maybe a little too angry, and she thinks he can''t bring her to the heights she deserves. It''s a self-fulfilling prophecy. They can''t work together, so they keep losing, and she keeps thinking it''s all his fault and none of it is hers. Craig spirals¡ªparing himself to this or that person of his year. What Pokemon had they caught recently? How different was their training? How did they perform theirst Gym Battle? He takes it all in. Despite wanting to scream and m his fist on his desk, he takes it all in and finds a calm he hasn''t felt in months. Connections. He had to talk to more people. Some wouldugh at him. Some would give him to cold shoulder. It didn''t matter. This was his dream, and he wouldn''t give up because he had stumbled at the starting line. He would take them all in, too. The next morning, he decided to leave for Oreburgh again. Lauren cried. He could almost imagine her wails now. "But I don''t want Cwaig to leeaaaaaave¡ª" ¡ª "Shit," Flint croaked. "I think it''s time." Craig opened his eyes again and was met with nothing but dreary, moist cold to rece the sun of Canve. The lights on the massive bs of ice-covered stone were all lit up, now, and a menacing wave of frost leaked from the slit at its center. Aaron was quicker on the draw, releasing all of his Pokemon that could fight at a distance and were excellent disruptors. Flygon, Yanmega, Dustox, Beautifly and Vespiquen. Craig ignored the instant buzzing in his head from Aaron''s Vespiquen and released his own Pokemon, too. Hippowdon, Eelektross, Smence, Typhlosion and Orbeetle for now, then Gyarados woulde when they had more space to use. They were far enough away from the doors that they wouldn''t get instantly frozen. Regice had a range¡ª a sort of bubble where everything around it would reach zero Kelvin despite the fact that that was scientifically impossible. Everything in its vicinity would freeze in an instant, and any but the strongest of attacks would dissipate like they hadn''t even existed in the first ce, ording to Flint, and that was why Regice always took the longest to deal with. The attacks that did hit, would be far weaker than they should be, and they would only do so because Type Energy went beyond science. It wasn''t quiet anymore. There came the subtle crackle of spreading ice, and their breathsbining into a loud hum. Sweat beaded on his forehead, but froze before it could trail down to his cheek. His throat felt dry and constricted, making it challenging to swallow past the lump of fear lodged there. "Remember, no Teleportation, or you''ll instantly be frozen," he whispered to Dot. "That means remote Teleportation is going to be useless too. Just keep a barrier around us and try to conserve as much heat as you can. This is going to be a long fight." The Orbeetle''s lights shone in her approving pattern, but she stayed quiet. She could have spoken, but was so, utterly focused on conserving energy that she would only do so when needed. Secondster, the doors slowly slid open. Cold mist slid from the opening and clung low to the ground. At first, Craig could only see the shing lights within the cold and hear the noise it was making. A high-pitched scream that sounded like it''d be right at home in a glitchingputer. Then, he saw its form. Huge, hulking pieces of ice given form. So ancient, yet so pristine that he could see the countless fractals inside of them even from this far¡ª A flurry of attacks of every type began, and Craig''s body vibrated at the sheer amount of power that resonated through the cave, like he was sitting in front of a speaker in a concert. Regice was instantly hit, and the impacts hid it from view again, but retaliation didn''t immediately fall upon them like Craig had expected. Regice was slow to act. Ice around theb grew and shimmered, yes, but it did not try to kill them right away. Maybe it was because it had just woken up, or maybe there was another reason for it. Craig didn''t care. Regice''s sluggishness was exasperated by the countless sts that Aaron''s bugs sent it in an attempt to overwrite the Legend with information. This was the key to their victory. Regice faltered, and Craig heard it crash into some kind of wall before it got its bearing again, and finally, the first shoe dropped. Fighting a Legendary was less about countering moves and more about battling an element or a concept, Craig would quickly find out. It was not a beam of ice or a frosty breath that Regice drew upon, but the howling of a cold wind that would leave anyone out of their security zone frozen. Crystalline shields that were so pure they looked like windows. An endless hail with shards asrge as his head. sts of pure Winter that were morbidly beautiful despite the fact that the cold seeped past Orbeetle''s barrier every time it hit and he could barely stand. Their shield was less of a circr bubble and more of a multyered, enormous wall that ran the entire width of the corridor, and it would be until they got more space. It was the demarcation within absolute zero and a temperature fit for the poles. Flint would sometimes order his Pokemon to attack or broad strategy, but was content to mostly watch and was more preupied with keeping Craig and Aaron''s heads sharp. Aaron, meanwhile, managed every aspect of his Pokemon''s movements. Dot was good enough to allow attacks to pass one way, but not the other. Slowly, they were walking backwards, and Regice was advancing, though it was slowed massively thanks to a multitude of reasons, mostly Aaron. It stumbled in the air like a drunk man and when it screeched, it took everything Craig had not toy down and give up. To not get lost in the cold. It was a siren''s song. Aforting, yet deadly and hypnotic power thatmanded him toy down and to be frozen as so many had been before. He wouldn''t. Couldn''t. For Sinnoh, for his family, for his Pokemon, for his friends, for the world, he would remain standing no matter whatforting whispers Regicey within his brain. He had, after all, never been one to give up easily. ¡ª It is now six months into Craig''s first Circuit, and he carries with him the Coal Badge. Every day, he polishes his badges with a wipe and metal polish. He doesn''t understand what all the fuss about those new digital badges is about. What''s the point of winning if you aren''t going to be able to hold your badges between your fingers? It was not a breakthrough with Roxie, which had afforded him the victory, but a lucky break. Roark had been sick with a nasty flu and had relegated his Leader duties to his trainers, meaning that he actually won¡­ well, not easily, but it wasn''t all that close. Roxie had handled that Cranidos quite well, keeping her distance instead of fighting it head-on like she usually would. Maybe she''d been tired of losing too. He spent a few weeks in Oreburgh speaking to trainers, still. He really should have started doing this sooner. For example, weeks ago there had been a party hosted by a second-year in a rented office north of the city to brainstorm ways to win against Roark, and there he had let himself truly shine. Craig knew things. He knew what moves each Pokemon had, he knew how to best counter Roark''s anti-grass, water, and fighting tactics, and he was content to exchange ideas with others. There was a difference between knowing things and having the skill to implement them, but it still gained him quite a few favors, and he was good at remembering faces and names. Favors, his father would say, are more precious than any amount of money he could ever hope to make. He left Oreburgh with newly gained confidence. Of course, he had new Pokemon with him, too, but they were terrible fighters. A Tynamo that he had caught next to the Floaroma power nt because Cynthia hade back from Unova with an Eelektross, and the idea of owning the same Pokemon as her was too cool to pass up. There was also an unnned Magikarp who he had saddled himself with on ident while trying to fish for a water type to beat Roark near Floaroma. Garrett the Magikarp. Paige the Tynamo. They''re both horrible fighters. Craig had considered letting Magikarp go, when he''d first caught him on ident, but the fish had a look in his eye you couldn''t help but pity, and so he saddles himself with him every day. At least he''s hrious. A nice break from Roxie''s antics. Paige is shy and mostly keeps to herself. She doesn''t really like Roxie or Garrett. To be honest, she doesn''t really like Craig, either. He knows why. He caught her by surprise and captured her before she could ever realize what was happening. It''s his fault, really, but every time he asks if she wants him to release her back where he found her, she shakes her head for some reason. They always taught him that to capture a Pokemon, you weaken it and throw the ball. It was ingrained in every kid''s mind, and if they hated you for it, well, you waited until they came around unless they really didn''t want to work with you, in which case you released them. He''d fallen victim to that idea, too. It wasn''t right. As terrified as he is of Eterna Forest, he wants to push to get three badges by the end of the year. Three is better than the average of two for a first-year, and being average is what he dreads, so he makes his way to the Ranger Outpost with only his Pokemon to keep himpany. He''s considered traveling with someone, but every time he tries, he realizes they''re better than him, and he hates it. No, that''s wrong. Some of them are worse, but they all progress faster. Pick up things that he just can''t. The Ranger Outpost is just like in the pictures. An area surrounded by an electric fence that mostly acts as a deterrent, with a few buildings here and there. A Pokemon Center and Mart, a few buildings for people living there, and the Ranger Station itself towering over every structure built. Most of all is full of trainers, and that makes his face warm up with excitement. Instead of training like he should, he spends the next day speaking with anyone he could find. Yes, hello, my name is Craig, what''s yours? Who''s your favorite Gym Leader? Who''s your favorite trainer? No, someone other than Cynthia, that''s cheating. Mine is Crasher Wake! Have you heard about the weird stuff going down in Hoenn with Aqua and Magma? I hope their Champion has a handle on that, ecoterrorists are nasty. Oh, that''s your starter? They look cool, do they have a name? He remembers each one, and evidently, he makes an impression, because that night, he''s invited to a meeting with five other trainers. They want him in their group to cross the forest. "Six should be a good number. Not high enough to be too chaotic, but stillrge enough to deter most things if we handle it correctly," a girl says. Their leader, evidently. She speaks like one, and the entire group looks at her. What was her name again? He never forgets¡­ He feels cold, all of a sudden. He remembers that she had a small scar on her shoulder, that she had a Hoothoot, a Kakuna and a Cherubi, that for the first time, she made him feel at home about the prospect of traveling with people who were almost all more put-together than he was. Craig looks within the depths of his mind, and worlds blur. Regice in one, his childhood in the other, and when ice leaks through Dot''s barrier around Dustox like it has a mind of its own and freezes the bug in ce, he remembers why he forgot her. He never goes with them. That night, a group of trainerse back from the forest injured to the point that some will have to give up on their career, and that makes him anxious. Too anxious to show up the following day. He leaves the outpost at dawn and decides to hike back to Floaroma. A weekter, he looks the girl up. She died in the forest. He forgets her so it doesn''t hurt. ¡ª "Dustox!" Aaron called out. He whipped out his Pokeball in a sh, and the bug type disappeared. Craig didn''t know if it was alive, or dead, but it would depend how deep the freezing had gone. He ordered Hippowdon to shift the earth beneath the ice, and tons upon tons of mud swallowed Regice whole to buy them some time, but it just froze within a second, and the most time they could have gained from that is even less. It had been an hour since starting to fight Regice, and they finally managed to exit the frozenb. A vast cavern opened up to them, which meant that they would finally be able to get space, and that meant Garrett coulde out and fight. Flint, Aaron and Craig all climbed on Roxie''s back and fled a mile away, recalling all of their Pokemon but Dot so she could keep them warm. Theynded on a small tform, and instantly, Flint brought out his fire types again. A mere thirty seconds without them, and Craig could barely move his hands. When Aaron did the same, Craig followed suit, including Gyarados. The enormous sea serpent grew, grew and grew until he roared at Regice, but ice grew around his mouth and sewed it shut the moment it came into view. In an instant, the cavern transformed into a ce fit for winter. Ice, snow and hail covered the entire area within just a few seconds. Flint was too focused on defense to strike, save for his Drifblim and Steelix, which he had now brought to the fight, and so the majority of the firepower was Craig''s job. He ordered Gyarados to break the ice, but it was only Roxie''s Fire st,bined with a stream of magma from Flint''s Magmortar, that managed to melt it even if those two attacks hurt Gyarados, too. He bit his tongue so hard he tasted metal and told Garrett to use thergest Hyper Beam he could gather. Garrett inhaled. Charged particles of energy crackled and snapped, casting eerie shadows across his scaly hide. The air around the beast thickened, tinged with the unmistakable scent of sma. The light merged into a swirling vortex of white energy that seemed to distort the world around it, and a lucky st of disturbing buzzing from Vespiquen, Beautifly and Yanmega bought enough time for Garrett to let the attack loose. The colossal torrent of energy erupted from his gaping maw, a zing beam of pure destructive power that tore through the air with unstoppable force. The light was blinding, a radiant column of incandescence that seared Craig''s eyes even if they were reflexively closed. When he opened them, he saw that the Hyper Beam had for a moment torn through Winter and hit Regice, tearing through its aura of cold and protective ice shield and causing it to explode in more frost that looked like flowers. The ground around the point of impact had cracked with spiderweb patterns radiating out as the frozen surface met the heated energy. Yet, as the smoke and steam cleared, Regice stoodrgely unscathed, its icy form glowing even brighter against the scorched earth around it. An hour since the fight had begun. They were just beginning. ¡ª It''s going to be his second year soon, and his first one is over. It feels like more time than that has passed, but his mom keeps telling him that his career has just begun and that he has nothing to worry about. His parents get tickets for the Conference that year so they can spend an entire month on the Lily of the Valley ind. It''s his third time at a Conference¡ª his first since bing a trainer¡ª and it''s just as grand as thest two. Lauren is just as enthralled in the fights as he is, and she draws the ones she likes the best in her picture book. Plus, he''s a trainer now, and it''s here that he can possibly make connections even if he''s not a participant. This year, he''s rooting for a generalist called Frankie Hubbard with a Luxray as his ace. He''s always liked generalists, but maybe that''s because he wanted to be the best one. He sits on a bench on the side of the pedestrian road while his parents have gone to get a few snacks to hold them over until today''s match, watching Frankie''s previous match on repeat on his small flip-phone. The quality''s awful, but he''s grown used to it by now. "Pfft. Frankie v Samantha, really?" Craig turns toward the voice behind him and sees a girl his age, or maybe a smidge younger. She carries a sleeping Skrelp in her arms and sneers at his screen. Her hair is white, and he doesn''t know if it''s dyed or natural, and it''s arranged in a bob-cut that looks awkward on her, like she went to the hairdresser to look nice for the Conference and theypletely failed. She straddles the line between gaunt and thin, and her skin is rather pale. "Ever heard of personal space?" he counters. What''s her deal, anyway? "I''m just saying," she says. Her voice is a little t. Like a text-to-speech program. "Frankie won, but he doesn''t have a chance of making it past the semis. I''m guessing that you''re rooting for him, seeing as you''re forcing yourself to watch his battle on this antique device that you call a phone." His eyes meet hers. They''re hazel. "Okay. Who do you think is going to win, then?" he asks. "Easy. Aiden Scott." Craig scoffs a little too loud, and her Skrelp awakes. It res at him, but she runs a finger on its head, soothing it. "Sorry, but I mean, Aiden? Really? Mister ''I can barely get out of the group stages'' Aiden Scott?" "His group was bad for him," she deadpans. "He was put with one of his travelingpanions who knew exactly how he fought, so he lost, and the second one could have gone either way, but he was fighting a veteran while he''s only a third-year. The rest of his fights were smooth sailing." "His team blows. He has a Bibarel!" The girl wrinkles her nose. "Well, he''s fighting among the best and you''re not, so maybe it''s your team that sucks." Her eyes wander to his three Pokeballs, and he stands to stare daggers at her. Wait. She''s taller than him. "What about you? I don''t see your little Skrelp here going very far." He thinks his words will hurt her. Instead, sheughs, breaking her hardy stare for the first time and injecting emotion into her voice. "I''m not even a first-year, you idiot!" she doubles over and nearly crushes her Skrelp, but stops when the poison type exhales at her. Yes, exhales. There isn''t a better way to describe it. "I''m starting this September. Meanwhile, what are you? You look like someone with self-confidence issues, so let me guess, you had a less-than-sessful first-year and now you cling to hope that this year will be different." His throat tightens. She''s good at hurting. Far better than he is. "Okay. If you''re so sure if yourself, why don''t we have a little bet." He tries to sound confident, but knows she sees right through him. "If Aiden wins, 10k to you. If Frankie wins, 10k to me. If neither wins, we draw." "Sure. I''ll never turn down free cash, and I''ll need it for my journey." His teeth gnash. "What''s your name?" "Sarah Newman. Yours?" "Craig Goodwill." His parents call out to him, and Lauren waves at him. "I gotta go. Uh, give me your number so I know you won''t ke." "Excuse me? So I know you won''t ke," she repeats, this time aimed at him. ¡ª Why did he always think about her every time he was close to dying? The first few times he''d gone to train in Cor and he''d had a bunch of nasty run-ins with Pokemon wanting nothing but for him to leave, he thought about her. When he was attacked by Team Gctic near Snowpoint and got wed on the leg by that Purugly because he''d tried to reason with them instead of allowing Roxie to fight, he''d thought of her. Magmortar aimed his cannon upward, from which magma erupted and gathered in the sky, floating there as if it was levitating. It pooled to the ceiling of the cavern, far enough from Regice to be allowed to exist, but even then it took the fire type all of his strength and concentration for the next move to work. The magma burst down toward Regice beyond the speed barrier like rain, cutting into Regice and warming the entire area enough to allow Flint''s Steelix to hit the Legend with a fiery tail. The impact itself probably didn''t hurt Regice all that much, but it was enough to send the ice type away and gain them a little distance. For it, Steelix''s tail froze and shattered with a bare look from Regice before it could retreat back and keep throwing out Fire sts. The battler in Craig instantly noticed that the steel type struggled to stabilize itself with so much of its body missing, but Regice was no battler. It was a living being, yes, but it embodied too much to notice the little things like a Steelix with bncing issues. Aided by Typhlosion and Magmortar, magma fell upon the world and met frost, and Dot was quick to shield every Pokemon outside their bubble, fitting each with something akin to a roof above their heads. She''de far in a year. She was micromanaging this entire fight, be it protecting everyone at once, keeping them warm with the help of Flint''s fire types. Ice vaporized to mist, but froze before it could rise a mere foot from the ground. It gathered around Regice, spinning ever closer to its pristine skin, and then exploded in a burst of countless bullets of ice that shredded through rock and wounded Pokemon. They wererge at first, but then split, split and split again until they were the size of bullets, and tiny projectiles at high speed were exactly how to break through psychic barriers. Coincidence, he thought. Garrett''s entire right side was wrought with frozen-over wounds. Craig''s hand hovered over his Pokeball, but the Gyarados was still willing to fight, and his Hyper Beams were sorely needed to win the battle. No, this was no battle. It was a struggle. Never had he imagined a Pokemon could be this powerful, let alone that he would see one, yet here he was. The constant, high-frequency glitching from Regice didn''t stop from their constant barrage of attacks. Instead, it picked up and filled his head with thoughts of surrender. Fear. He feared howforting cold could be. Roxie, who had been standing with the group, looked anxiously at him, but he asked her to keep hitting from a distance. She growled and eyed the mega-ring around his neck. Not yet. ¡ª He spends the entire month of June with Sarah Newman. Most of it is filled with banter that she always wins, but it''s enjoyable nheless. His parents are annoying and tease him about it. After all, it''smon for young trainers to start dating with other trainers they meet on the road, but this isn''t like that. Most of their conversations are filled by talking about every trainer under the sun. For the first time, Craig feels like someone can keep up with his knowledge of obscure battles that took ce over thirty years ago or personalities in other regions. When he talks to Sarah, he feels like he''s talking to someone who sees beyond her own nose, beyond herfort zone, and that''s refreshing. Still, June came to an end, and as it turned out, she knew what she was talking about¡ª barely. Frankie Hubbard made it to the finals that year, battling Aiden Scott, but lost in a nail-biting 6-5. Craig was a man of his word, and so he sent her the ten-thousand pokedors, which would have been a huge sum had his parents not given him money for his birthday. When she gets the money, she grins and says she wouldn''t have had the cash to pay him if he''d won the bet. He''s learned a lot about her. One, she''s never known her real parents and been raised along with six other foster siblings in Jubilife. She was the oldest, and the only one who wanted to be a trainer. Two, she could read people really well, to the point that it freaked him out sometimes. Three, she''d had her Skrelp for over a year already, having found her in Jubilife''s sewers when she''d been out to save her little brother who''d been there due to a dare from his ''friends'' from school. That means that they''re way more in sync than he''d been with his own Pokemon at the start of his journey, and hell, they were more in sync than he was with them even now. They''d practiced battling at the Conference in one of the public arenas and while she never won, she learned with each loss and got closer and closer to a win every time. Ordinarily, he would have pushed her away. He did not. It was until September, at the start of the Circuit, that they met again. He''d gone to Jubilife early to meet her a few days before the Circuit started again. A one-on-one between her Skrelp and his Bagon. He loses. Craig keeps up the smile. He congrattes her and says she''de far. At first, he thinks nothing of it. He knows she''s progressing faster than he is. He works hard, but she works just as much and sees things in a fight that he would never think of. The Circuit begins in earnest. He wins against Roark on his second try and Byron on his first while she wins against both on her second try, and this time, he crosses Eterna Forest with Sarah after much convincing on her part and does so without incident. He doesn''t know if they''ll still travel together beyond that. He kind of wants to ask her, but he fears rejection when he usually never does. So he waits and hopes she asks him. They spend their time in Eterna together, but she beats the Gym on her second try while he''s still stuck because he still mainly relies on Roxie for strength, whereas Sarah''s caught a Ducklett that''s as good as her Skrelp, and the synergy the three of them have on the field is incredible. She wins in a two-against-three without breaking a sweat the second time. He wants to ask her to stay, but he knows she wouldn''t. She''s far too driven for that. And so, she leaves. It takes him four tries to beat the Gym. He makes it through Cor and catches a Hippopotas on the way to Mount Cor, calling her Ippie. This time, he does it right. He knows he wants a Hippowdon for his team, and he spends a few days tracking a group off-route. She''s the most curious of the herd, and he has to spend a week convincing her mother¡ª the leader of the herd and the biggest Hippowdon¡ª to let here with him. He promises to bring her back every summer, and she allows her to leave with him to see the world. When he crosses Cor, he sees the hurt and the danger. An idea forms in his head of Rangers possibly giving lessons and guiding trainers before they''re allowed to walk through the caves or Eterna Forest. He imagines Lauren in nine years walking the same path, and his fingers shake. He finds it awful that Sinnoh allows so many to die every year, and no one cares. There are small groups advocating for more security measures, few protests each year, but most people don''t want to rock the boat, especially when Indigo to the south produces so many good trainers and have the most ''Champion-level'' trainers of any country. He needs to read up on politics. He''s doing this because he loves battling despite it all, but he also wants to be the Champion¡­ one day. He thinks Cynthia is a step in the right directionpared to Radetic, but believes she should have copied the Unovan model on trainer safety, not just their government. Granted, they can be a little harsh on wild Pokemon, but there has to be a way to bnce it and make everyone happy, right? He spends the day on the other side of the mountain looking at statistics for trainer deaths and injuries which are horribly difficult to find. From what he knows, Cynthia dessified them, unlike their neighbors down south, but it looks like the government is making it as difficult to get the data as possible. There had been one hundred and seventy-six dead trainers during his first year, most of them being fifteen or sixteen-year-olds, and that wasn''t counting the injuries or their dead Pokemon. He tries to think of the girl fromst year. He can''t remember her. He doesn''t want to. He reaches Hearthome and figures out what Pokemon Center Sarah''s staying at. She''s already beaten Fantina, again on her second try, and from the video he watched, she''s caught a Basculin. Skrelp, Ducklett, Basculin¡ª Craig wonders if she''s going to be a water type specialist. Thest time he asked, she said she was just going with the flow of things. It takes two hours and thirty-three minutes for her to get to the lobby. "Hey Sarah, funny seeing you here!" he says with a bright smile. "I just arrived actually, and I got myself a room. How about a fight? 3v3?" She smiles at him. "You''re on." He loses. Roxie works well with him, now. Garrett still can''t fight, but he watches. Paige is an Eelektrik now, and she''s supposed to counter her entire team. It doesn''t matter. Sarah''s Pokemon use little trails of water to divert electricity away from themselves before it can hit and she wipes the floor with her. The gap is wider now than before. ¡­how? "Good fight," she tells him. He clenches a fist. It wasn''t a good fight at all. "Nice catch on that Hippopotas. Too bad Skrelp kind of screwed with her, but she has potential." "Thanks¡­" "I''d give you advice, but I know you wouldn''t want it." Her hazel eyes look into his, and he can''t maintain eye contact. "Good luck with Fantina, Craig." A pattern forms. He always gets to the next city just as she''s about to leave it, asks for a battle, and gets wiped. Sceon. "Sarah, how about a fight? I wanna see where I currently stand." "Sure thing." He loses. Veilstone. "I''vee up with a strategy to win this time, I swear. It''ll catch you off-guard." "If you want to surprise me, don''t tell me you have a new strategy to win, Craig." "But you won''t know what it is! It''ll make you nervous." "Let''s just get to the arena." She figures him out instantly and tells him that he needed to work on his poker face if he didn''t want to be read like a book. He loses. Sunyshore. "Wait! Before you go, please give me a fight. I have a new Pokemon¡ª" Her hair flickers in the sun. "Muncx. I saw. Sure, let''s go." "Okay, well I know about you too¡ª" he sputters. "I know you have a Mantyke!" She has something else, too. An amorphous pink blob that turned into her Dragalge and makes use of the poisonous algae she''d left in the field after fainting. He wants to scream. To ask her where the hell she got herself a Ditto. Instead, he stays quiet, his shoulders slump, and he congrattes her with a smile. He loses. He doesn''t go past his fifth badge that year. Roxie evolves into a Shelgon, stops listening to him again and gets it in her head that she can fly in battle if she tries hard enough. Garrett still can''t fight, Caleb the Muncx is too weak since he''s a recent capture, and Paige and Ippie aren''t enough to beat the old, grizzled Gym Leader on their own. Sarah goes up to her seventh, winning against every Gym on her second try, and she has no time to test herself against the eighth in Snowpoint before the Conference starts. Craig feels empty. ¡ª Craig felt numb. He''d started out terrified, but hoping. Hoping that this would be a winnable fight. It felt like an entire day had passed, but he knew that couldn''t be the case, or all of their Pokemon would have copsed from exhaustion. He''d been forced to release Caleb, his Snox, even if the normal type was terrible at fighting at a distance and his elemental attacks always dissipated into nothing before hitting Regice, so he was forced to support Hippowdon with Earthquake. The field was a mess of ice continuously broken up by Hippowdon and magma that cooled within a few seconds every time it was released. Regice looked the exact same. Pristine with seven brightly lit eyes, though one was flickering, and moving just as fast as it usually did. That was normal, ording to Flint, but it was difficult not to get demoralized. It hurt for Craig to keep his eyes open for too long, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to move his fingers and toes, yet the promise offort never left him. Garrett finally fell, going limp against the ice and magma below him, and Craig recalled the Gyarados with haste. They were lucky Regice never locked in on a single opponent, or they would have lost far more Pokemon than just Flint''s Drifblim and Aaron''s Dustox. Regice seemed to move faster with time instead of slower, too, and it started mixing in electric attacks more powerful than Volkner''s strongest Zap Cannon into its rotation of attacks, somehow mixing it into the concept of Winter. It had to be now. Craig sped the ne around his neck. A surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins. His heart pounded against his ribcage, a symphony of excitement and anticipation and pain ying through his every nerve. A glow overtook Roxie, and her wings melded into a bloody crescent moon while her front legs atrophied. She took flight in an instant, shaking the world below her. Craig felt the cold wrapping around her wings, he saw through her eyes and could imagine the ice seeping past his¡ª past her scales. He felt her pain as he felt her determination to see them through this. A turquoise light surged around the Mega Smence, and a Hurricane spontaneously appeared around her. It was a protective bubble; the winds were powerful enough to throw back most of Regice''s hail. The dragon shone through the dusty, icy winds and dove toward Regice¡ª A shockwave of sound hit Orbeetle''s barrier, and Roxie mmed into Regice faster than Craig could see. The Legend reeled backward, and Roxie''s entire body was frozen over by the time she swung back toward safety. With how fast she was, she was already far enough for it not to be lethal, her draconic aura having protected her from instant death. Draconic Surge was her strongest attack but also her strongest defense, and they''d stolen this right from Cynthia''s Garchomp. She could simply refuse to fall. Shended on the ground next to the little warmth Flint''s Pokemon could give her and glowed slightly with Roost. Craig wiped the cold sweat off his forehead but only found trails of frost. Then, she was off again. Here she was, the only Pokemon on the field capable of approaching Regice without immediately dying despite having two Elite Four members by his side, standing as his peers. Could his old self ever imagine such a thing? ¡ª He doesn''t go to the Conference that year. Instead, he spends all of summer working on his Pokemon and training. A Muncx is expensive, and he has to rely on odd jobs during the summer to keep Caleb fed, since he doesn''t want to rely on his parents for everything. He doesn''t talk to Sarah much any longer. She''s found herself a few sponsors and has new friends to hang out with, and he knows through online sleuthing that she''s starting the Circuit in Snowpoint this year instead of Jubilife. He tries to forget her, but he can''t. Even as his career finally turns around and he starts seeing sess, as Ippie evolves into a Hippowdon, Caleb into a Snox and Garrett a Gyarados, even as Paige bes the Eelektross he''s always wanted, he watches every single one of her battles to the point of unhealthy obsession. She loses once against the Snowpoint Gym Leader, and then sweeps across the eight Gyms in no time, making sure to save Fantina forst so she could see ''what she was made of.'' Shepletes her team earlier in the year by catching a Sneasel and somehow bes one of the few trainers in the world to own a Relicanth, who only live within the depths of the ocean floor and were thought to be extinct until they were found again near Hoenn thirty-four years back. He wants to message her and ask her how¡ª how she does all of this so effortlessly, but he can''t. It''s difficult to reconcile how talented she is. She fights in such unique ways he literally can''t fathom until he looks at the footage, and yet she makes it work. That flexibility in her team is why she''s gotten the reputation of never, ever losing twice to an opponent of equal strength. Craigpletes his team as well, deciding that he needs a sixth if he''s going to be serious aboutpeting. He has a few contacts within the Hunters from his father and manages to snag himself a Cyndaquil he calls Owen. He finally manages to work with Roxie again and gets seven badges that year, but tragically fails to get Snowpoint''s badge for his eighth, even when Roxie evolved into Smence mid-battle. The Gym Leader, Abenanka walks up to him with her granddaughter Candice who''s three years older than Lauren and tells him that his problem is that while he''s average to good at everything, there''s nothing he excels at, and it shatters everything he is. He isn''t getting into the Conference. He knows he''s no longer her rival. He hasn''t been that for a while, now. Craig doesn''t want to go to see her fight in the tournament, and he feels terrible about it. He decides to spend the month of June at home despite his father warning him about the wasted opportunity. He ignores the constant messages from his countless friends and acquaintances pitying him for barely failing to get his eighth badge. Lauren''s in the yard ying with Ippie, Roxie and Owen. Craig is good enough now that he managed to get him fully evolved within the year and before the fight with Abenanka. He watches his sister for a bit through the window. She''s given up on her photography hobby and puts everything into drawing, these days. She''s eight, now, and sometimes she asks Craig to lend her his Pokemon so she can train her battle-sense with them, but most of what she ends up doing destroys arenas and annoys the employees and Pokemon whose job it is to fix it. Other times, she just straight up has battles in her own head, like blindfolded chess, and she gets annoyed when he doesn''t y along. Craig smiles. It''s irrational, given what he thinks about Sarah, but he''s happy his little sister''s going ces. His grin falters when he sees Sarahnd into his backyard on top of her Swanna. She knows Lauren well enough, but his sister still res at her, which she ignores, and she dips her head to Ippie, Roxie and Owen, thetter of which she''d never met before. Sarah despises young kids other than her siblings and finds them too annoying to be around, so she just walks straight into his home. They live in a nice neighborhood, and the backdoor isn''t locked. His parents are thankfully at work, but he rushes to lock the door to his bedroom while he hears her walk up the stairs. The door bangs. He stays quiet in the corner of his room like a terrified little child. It bangs again. "I know you''re in here." Her t voice makes him happy against his will, yet he says nothing. Craig sees red light beneath the crack of his door, and pink sludge crawls beneath it. He screams as Ditto turns into another Sarah and unlocks his own door, letting his old friend into his bedroom. Her white hair is longer, now, but is tied into a high ponytail, and she''s dressed so¡­ well. Craig shrinks and suddenly feels like a slob. Has he showered today? Has he even opened the window? Ah, shit. "Craig." She crosses her arms, and her Ditto mimics her. "How long were you going to hide from me?" He musters a weak response and runs a nervous hand through his greasy hair. "What do you mean?" "Stop with the games." She taps a finger against her elbow, and Craig knows that means she''s really fucking mad. Every one of her movements is followed by her Ditto''s. "We haven''t talked this entire year beyond a few texts, let alone battled, so what the hell is wrong with you?" He flinches at the loudness of her voice. "Nothing." "What? It can''t be nothing, it''s¡ª there has to be a reason!" For someone who knows how to read people, Craig is surprised at her dumbfoundedness. He thinks it''s a trick at first, but he knows despite everything, she wouldn''t do that. "Why would you even want to battle me? I¡ª I can''t catch up to you, Sarah. No matter what I do, you''re always out of reach, so what''s the point?" She stays quiet for a long while, and realization slowly reaches her eyes. "You''re so fucking stupid." "Huh?!" "You''re stupid! A fucking moron!" she screams. He shoots up from his bed, not caring that he''s only wearing shorts. "You wouldn''t fucking get it, Sarah, because you''re too good at everything you do!" His voice is raw. He''s letting out everything he''s been letting build up the past two years. "I worked every fucking day of my life to do this, and yet I can''t! I just can''t! I''m not good at anything, Sarah, I''m just a fucking jack-of-all-trades who doesn''t even know what his battling style is and I keep letting my team down!" "So?" Craig scoffs. He''s crying, he thinks, and so is she. "So?!" "You aren''t working right now. You''re lying down and epting defeat." "Yeah, well, it''s hard to keep moving when the world keeps throwing signs at you that nothing you''re doing will be worth it in the end." He smiles bitterly at that. Her stoic visage falls, and he wants to apologize. He doesn''t. "What happened to you, Craig?" "You wouldn''t get it." He sits on his bed and lies down, turning away from her. "Just go have fun with your other Conference-going friends. Friggin'' Sal, Lawson and Kayden, or whatever their names are." "Craig, you have seven badges in your third year, it''s¡ª" "I don''t want to be slightly better than average!" heshes out. "I want to be the best. I want to be the Champion, but I can''t. And it''s not like I was your rival anyway. ''Rival'' impliespetition, and there was never any of that after you started the Circuit." "Why do you think I was always there when you made it to a city, Craig?" she asks. "I was always waiting for you to get there. Waiting for us to fight, because I enjoyed it. Because it was fun to see how we were both progressing." His eyes widen. That potentially means that she missed her shot at the eighth badge in her first year because she''d spent too long waiting for him to get to the city she was in. "You''re not average at everything, Craig, you''re good at everything, and that means you just have a slower growth curve than me because you work on everything at once. I was¡­ I''ve¡­" Another beat of silence, and a sob. "I''m sorry you never enjoyed being my friend." By the time he turns, the door''s already been closed and Ditto''s gone with her. He curses himself and runs after her, catching a glimpse of her in the yard. In the time they''d known each other, he had never seen her cry until now. "Sarah!" She''s already on her Swanna. Craig looks to Roxie, then to Lauren, then to Roxie again. She''s eight, and Owen and Ippie will take care of her. "Watch her!" He yells. Then he jumps on Roxie''s back and points toward the Swanna in the sky. "Follow Saraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaooshitohshitohshit¡ª" He regrets his choice almost immediately. One, he doesn''t have his license on him, two, he''s riding his Smence shirtless and in shorts, without a saddle. He clings to her neck for dear life as the warm ocean winds brush past his skin. Roxie''s faster than Swanna and easily keeps up with her, but having a conversation while moving in the sky without an empath psychic to ry things is impossible, and Sarah has always called psychic types too boring to use. So he follows her. And follows her. Until she decides tond in front of her apartmentplex in Jubilife. Craig knows she ns to hide with her siblings and her foster parents, and while he desperately wants to talk to her, he doesn''t want to make anyone ufortable or create a scene, especially in this getup. He sighs and has Roxie turn back home¡ª slower this time. On the way back home, he gets stopped by a Ranger and gets nearly all of his points docked off his flying license, but luckily he''d already been on top of Canve by then and he can just walk back home, even if Roxie has to fly ahead of him. Shirtless and in boxer shorts. He reassures Lauren when he gets home, and sends a long-winded text to Sarah''s phone exining that he''d worded himself terribly and that it wasn''t her fault he was feeling this way. He apologizes to her for what feels ten times in the same message, and says that they can still be friends. That he''ll find a way to still buy a ticket to the Conference and that he''ll cheer her on. She reads it, but doesn''t answer. He can''t go to sleep that night. ¡ª Had he ever been this exhausted? Regice gathered chunks of ice together and dissolved them into mist that nketed the cave in a thick fog, and all of their flying types¡ª Beautifly, Vespiquen, Smence, attempted to blow it away with wind, but one couldn''t just blow away Winter. They couldn''t even see its eyes through the mist, but Craig had noticed a few of its seven had turned off. Flint had told them that was the way to measure how close they were to victory before they''d gone into Cor. Honey poured out of Vespiquen and surged forward into the mist, and the boy waited a few seconds before he yelled and pointed to their lefts. "There!" Flint''s Rapidash sprung to action, instantly blurring next to them and into the mist. Craig saw a dim glow within that grew to absurd lengths¡ª its horn had been doused in sma, but even that light had been swallowed by the mist. Vespiquen could track Pokemon in the mist, and Aaron could seemingly understand her perfectly, because he warned Flint and told him to recall his Nales with its exact position, and he was forced to release his Lopunny to keep up the pressure, though it would be far worse in this fight than Nales could ever be. Still, it was fresh, and that was something. Craig heard the sma de instead of seeing it. A low, ominous hum filled the air, resembling the distant rumble of thunder on the horizon. The sound wasn''t loud, but it carried weight, and it wooshed as it shed into Regice. Magmortar and Typhlosion pooled their efforts and brought down an entire ceiling worth''s of magma down where the impact had just been, and while Roxie couldn''t continue her onught due to the mist, her Fire sts and Hyper Beams were even more powerful than Garrett''s in this form. There''d been three eyes left out of seven. They were more than halfway there, but every time they found a new tempo and something that worked, it only took Regice up to ten minutes to adapt to their tactics and counter them almost perfectly. It was like a self-learning algorithm. Another screech from Vespiquen, and they heard something shatter nearby. Ice formed around Orbeetle''s barrier itself, encasing it in a thickyer of flower-like frost, and Flint''s fire types who remained could only slow its growth, and before it could shatter, Dot encased them in a tighteryer of shields, and tighter again, and again. Flint brought up a finger under his nose. Even after this long and this much cold, he looked nowhere as tired as Aaron or Craig were. "Hit ''em with a Mirror Coat. Craig, have your fancy beetleyer a barrier close to her skin beneath it." That would have been an impossible ask for anyone not called Lucian or Craig. Lopunny shimmered once, then twice, and stood at the edge of the current barrier which was around thirty five feet in all directions. It ignored the licks of frost clinging to its arms, legs and ears and allowed the shield to shatter, leaving them out of the next pre-builtyer. Ice overtook them immediately, and she glowered as bright as a star with mes pouring out of her shining coat. A pure, concentrated beam of sma exploded out of her chest. She''d known where to aim thanks to Vespiquen''s constantmunication, and the mist thinned once the pir of energy overtook Regice and Roxie used that as an opportunity to swoop down and hit the ice type with another Draconic Surge just as fast as the previous Arceus knew how many. A Zap Cannon from Eelektross, Fire sts from Flint''s fire types, constant Bug Buzzes from Aaron''s Pokemon, focused entirely on Regice, and another eye went dark. The tide was turning. ¡ª Craig manages to snag a ticket for the Conference from a reseller at five times the price, and he gets to go that summer. He tries to act the same as usual with his friends and tries to meet more people like he always does. One of them¡ª a regr at the Conference and a Poketch sponsee¡ª likes him so much that he tells him he''ll hook him up with thepany to see if they can get him sponsored next year, and he almost can''t believe it. This could be what finally starts getting him enough money to not have to spend all of his ie on feeding his team full of giants, and some months he even has to ask his parents for a little extra despite his pride telling him otherwise. Still. Sarah doesn''t want anything to do with him. He''s tried to get her alone a few times, but she''s surrounded by her friends and by the third attempt he nearly gets into a fight with one of the boys, and he realizes that their friendship might be broken forever. He''s eighteen, now, so every night he gets drunk alone in his hotel room and wonders where it all went wrong. He drunk dials her a few times and always apologizes the next day when he reads what he''s sent, but one night he sends her ''I love you,'' and it''s too much. He blocks her number for his own good when she doesn''t answer again. It''s fine. He''s fine. When he watches Sarah fight in the group stages, something is clearly wrong with her. She doesn''t approach her battles like she usually does and almost fights like she''s on autopilot. She has none of the ir, none of the spontaneity, none of the uniqueness that made her so brutal to fight, and she loses every single match, failing to get out of the group stages. He knows her friends are here to support her, and he leaves early. He''s not interested in the oue of the tournament this year now that she''s out. The Circuit begins again, and he gets sponsored not only by Poketch, but by multiple otherpanies as well. He decides that if he''s going to do this thing, he has to take it seriously and starts spending multiple long stretches in Mount Cor to train despite how terrified he is. He easily gathers eight badges, making it a point to beat Snowpoint''s for his eighth, and he proudly deres to Abenanka that he''s going to be the best at everything to prove her wrong at the start of the fight. The clip goes viral online,bined with hisworking efforts for the past four years and his Poketch sponsor, he''s suddenly one of the most famous trainers in the country and it''s¡­ a lot. New responsibilities, being somewhat of a role model, having every word he says be taken as Poketch''s. There''s a big learning curve, but Craig is used to getting beaten up and remaining standing, so despite the slip-ups, he makes it work. He travels all over the region when he has time, going through photoshoots, video shoots, interviews, tournaments, moreworking, the ideas for merch, and with all of thatbined with his training, he suddenly has very little free time to do anything else. He tries to date another Poketch sponsee for a while¡ª a girl named Abigail. It crashes and burns within six months because he wants to keep it a secret and she doesn''t. He gets to the Conference that year, and barely¡ª barely makes it out of the group stages on his first attempt, and honestly, it''s mostly luck. His first, true 6v6? Craig Goodwill v Sarah Newman. It''s as if the world itself isughing in his face. The situation is reversed. He can barely put his mind into the fight, while she ughters him and battles better than she has the entire year. Her Dragalge creates a swamp full of poison, leaving minesced with draconic energy that his Pokemon can''t help but be enthralled by. Her Weavile maniptes chunks of poisoned ice and uses them as an extension of her ws, her Mantine flies overhead with poisoned water clones of herself and bombs his Snox with constant exploding chunks of hail, sharpened air, rocks, Bullet Seeds, pressurized water and when he switches to Eelektross, she smiles at him and sends back the Thunders that manage to hit with Mirror Coat. Her Relicanth is an imprable wall, and despite the fact that he doesn''t float with hydrokinesis like the others, he travels throughout the field riding a constant wave of Muddy Water and smashes his head into Garrett, and her Ditto transforms back into Dragalge, fighting just as well as her ace and starter had. The final score is 3-6 in her favor. She starts fighting worse as soon as the battle is over and loses two matchester. The years pass. Slowly. Slowly, but surely, they both w their way up to the Conference each tournament. Lauren grows more distant when she turns twelve, wanting to live outside of his shadow. He thinks she''ll grow out of it or that it''s just a phase, but it''s not. The previous Poketch Trainer Representative retires and Craig takes his ce after a nasty corporate civil war that he wins thanks to knowing how people work better than his ex-girlfriend Abigail, and she''s driven out of thepany. It''s bloody, it''s nasty, and he hates it, but it''s all just work, by now. One thing he loves, though, is being a role model for young trainers and kids. He goes to schools and talks about what it takes being a trainer, the perseverance and hard work involved. Craig likes kids. He still thinks it''s a travesty that so many of them die each year and he makes it his goal to tell people to always start the Circuit from the east if they can so they don''t have to go through Eterna Forest before they''re ready. One day, he goes to Lauren''s school, and he makes it a tradition toe every year. At some point, Lauren tells him to stop because she hates it, and he agrees even if he''s hurt. With the new sryes a mega ring and Roxie''s Smencite after an entire year of saving. It takes another six months for him to get used to the exhaustion that swallows him whole every time he uses it, but he understands that he shouldn''t rely on it as a crutch in a fight unless he absolutely has to. The summer before his ninth Circuit, Craig hadn''t fought or spoken to Sarah since his fourth. He''s been a quarter-finalist two years in a row while she''s made it to the semis once. He''s nervous. Twenty-five is looming ever closer, and culture dictates that that is when one must stop ying around in the Circuit and enter the real world. He''s already had League Scouts who observe every match at the Conference contact him about joining the army, and while he''s hesitant, he''s notpletely against the idea if his dream of bing Champion falters, so long as he can rise through the ranks from the inside and be potentially chosen as a member of the Elite Four in the future. While he''s responding to an email to the Hunter family about getting his little sister a Treecko sometime soon, he sees a Swannand in his backyard. Lauren''s off watching some summer tournament south of the city with Paige acting as her babysitter, Ippie''s back at her mom''s for the next two weeks, and the rest of the team are in their Pokeballs, so he''s alone. His fingers drum against the desk, and he closes hisptop. He''s nervous, but he goes down to meet her, and she doesn''t break into his house. They aren''t kids anymore. "Craig." She greets him with that same, t voice she''s always had in front of his door. Her white hair was into a bob cut, just like when they''d first met, and he snorts instead of greeting her back because of her bad it looks. "Sarah. I see your choice of hairdressers still leaves something to be desired." She raises an eyebrow. "I''ve been going to Ms. Ken since I''ve been a kid. It''s a tradition, at this point, and I wanted to try short hair again." "Well, I won''t tell you what to do," he says with a shrug. "Want toe in? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her nose wrinkles. "''To what do I owe the pleasure?'' What the hell is that?" "What do you mean?" "You talk¡­ different." "Well, I guess that''s called growing up. So?" She shifts ufortably. "It''s been a long time. I just wanted to catch up with an old friend, I guess. See what goes on beyond Poketch''s cookie-cutter version of you." "Ah, well, that''ll take a while." He gestures her in. "I''ve got coffee, if you want." She sighs in relief. "Yes, please." He smirks. She''s always been a coffee addict. They talk for a while, telling each other about what had happened in their lives the past five years, and Craig wonders why they''d waited so long to do so. Sure, they both needed to mature¡ª especially him, but he was sure that they could have done this a lot earlier than now. She tells him about her adventures on the ocean floor on the back of her Mantine (who could keep her protected from the elements, including the pressure, thanks to its flying typing), and how she met a Pokemon she''d never heard about. She tries to describe it, but she''s always been shit at describing things, so ites out sounding like some kind of blue alien until she draws it on a piece of paper. It''s blue and has a weird bulb on its head from which some kind of appendage grows that looks like a long strand of hair. Its eyes are a dark blue and a red gem is lodged into its chest. ording to her, around it were thousands of Pokemon living in harmony and it made the world so much more colorful. She tells him about how she caught Relicanth the same way years back, though back then she wasn''t able to go that deep and it had been a stroke of good luck, and that her Ditto had been found writhing in a dumpster next to the Game Corner in Veilstone shortly after their battle there. She tells him more and more and he realizes her life has been filled with just as much crazy shit as his has. Beyond Poketch and being a star, Craig tells her the most about Mount Cor. About the breadth of life in the mountain that people never saw, and what the differentyers look like. He tells her about his multiple run-ins with Pokemon and the multiple close calls he''s had, and instead of worrying, she tells him he''s lucky he hasn''t been scarred, and just like that, he knows they''re back to being friends. They decide to sit on his roof for a bit and watch the sun set after Lauren gets here and gives Sarah the stink eye without saying a word. Craig tries to ask her how the tournament was, but she locks herself in her room and says that she''s going to draw, and the metal music she puts on is so loud the walls of the house vibrate. Well, she is fourteen. "It was nice catching up," Craig says. He can see the bridge from here, and it''s drawn up to allow a ship to pass through the canal; out of the marina and into the ocean. "It''s like back in the day." Sarah nods. "Hmhm." "Sorry for back then," he adds. "I''m sorry too. We were kids." She clears her throat. "There''s actually another reason I came here. It''s about us." His heart skips a beat. After all this time, really? What the fuck? He tries not to be weird about it. He knows she''s dated multiple people by now, and she''d never really felt the same way about him that he had about her, or that if she had, she no longer did so, and that was fine. Really, he was the strange one for holding on to infatuation from when he''d been a teenager. "This year at the Conference, Craig, I want you to give it your all, and I''ll do the same," she deres. "Let''s leave the drama behind us and meet in the finals. You and me, battling it out to see who''s going to be the strongest trainer. I know we both have what it takes." "I lost in quartersst time. Finals¡­ it''s a big jump." "Oh, please, the only reason neither of us have been finalists yet at this point is because the current generation of trainers is fucking insane. Could you imagine¡­ what was their names? The two people we bet on when we first met?" "Frankie Hubbard and Aiden Scott." She cackles so hard that her legs squirm. "Yes! Them! Arceus, that takes me back¡ª but can you imagine if they were fighting in the Conference this year with all of your freaks in Poketch and the general talent going around?" "Yeah¡­ no way they make it to the finals," he agrees. "So push harder, Craig. I know we both have what it takes to get here. You''re still¡­ you know, I still consider you my rival. I''ve never had anyone else." He can''t help but smile at that. "Me too." "Win or lose, I''m leaving after this year, Craig. Sinnoh''s boring, now. It''s always the same Gym, always the same people, I need something new. I don''t think I''ll register to the Circuit wherever I''m going, but I kind of just want to¡­ see the world." Ah. That shakes his very foundation. It''s difficult to imagine a world without her to chase after, but at the same time, he''s happy she won''t stay somewhere she isn''t happy. "Okay. Let''s have one final fight, you and I," he says with a grin. "Let''s make it happen." She holds out a hand at him. He shakes it. And so, a promise was made. "Wanna go train in Victory Road together?" he asks. She agrees. ¡ª One. Only one eye remained lit from the seven. They were close to winning, but also close to breaking as well. They''d been fighting for so long it all felt like a blur to Craig. Roxie was so tired she had to cancel her mega evolution, and he could barely stand on his own two feet without Flint to keep him upright. One. They have one Pokemon left each, and both have seen fighting already. Smence against Dragalge, their two starters and aces, close to the brink. Having recalled Roxie earlier to keep even with her numbers, Craig knows he can''t go through the strain of mega-evolution again. He shares a look with Sarah, and they both grin. Another flurry of attacks, and thest eye flickered between dark and glowing. They were so close to victory that he felt a reinvigorating burst of energy course through his body. Smence rushes toward Dragalge, bites into her body and the poison type releases roiling poisonous mist that Craig can taste in his mouth even from behind the barrier. The acid bleeds through Roxie''s mouth and makes her teeth and jaw melt, but she blows a point-nk Dragon Pulse at the Dragalge while dragging her as far away as she can from the poisoned swamp below. Regice raised one of its massive hands and fired off a ray of Winter toward Roxie, and Craig instinctively knew that she was too slow to dodge or outrun it now that she was out of her mega form. He grabbed the dragon type''s Pokeball and tried to beam her back, but she was actually still too fast for the tracking beam to hit her. If she slowed, the ice would hit her before he could recall her, and he knew that this ice was different. It was infused with electricity to speed itself up, and he knew Regice was an adaptive fighter who had probably adjusted its tactics to best counter Roxie, who had been a thorn in its side ever since it had mega-evolved. He called out to Dot and asked her to summon a shield to block the ice. Exhausted from who knew how many hours of defensive multitasking, she nodded. Dragalge''s entire body exhales in pain, but she starts leaking water instead of poison. The liquid surrounds Roxie, and at first Craig thinks it''s going to freeze her, but instead, it coats her like ayer of gel. With a defiant eye, Dragalge crinkles and Roxie is pulled downward toward the swamp by the water around her. He''s never seen Sarah use this attack before, but he can infer from the way Roxie''s Dragon Pulse weakens that it''s some variation of Soak. All he can do is hope. His breath catches in his throat. All he could do was hope. At least ten panels of light appeared in-between Regice''s attack and Roxie while the rest of the Pokemon still remaining standing gave it everything they had. Fire, electricity, Hyper Beams were most of what they were using, but there were also Earthquakes, magma and poison. The beam of Winter shattered the first eight barriers, and then stalled. Craig felt a surge of hope. The two Pokemon crash into the poisoned swamp, and Craig is exhausted, but praying to every Legendary he knows that he''s achieved victory. The two Pokemon had sank below the water, and he can only see bubbles. Then, they stop, and he sees Dragalge''s red crest poke out of the water. Roxie is nowhere to be seen. Regice whirred, and Winter bent. It flew directly toward them, and Aaron screamed at his Beautifly to get back and to use Protect, and it was barely here in time. Dot waved an arm and screeched, and Craig instinctively stepped in front of Aaron¡ª The tingling and numbness was reced by a pervasive nothingness. His body seemed like it belonged to someone else, especially his arm. His left arm. His breath puffed out in thick clouds that quickly dissipated in the icy air, and with each exhale, it seemed as if a little more of his warmth and energy left him. He loses, and the crowd erupts into apuse. He. Feels. So. Crushed. After all of this, after everything, he still couldn''t beat her. Whates next is a blur. He doesn''t remember if he smiles or if he just stands there, his mouth agape. The fight had been so close, and knowing it was probably thest one they''d ever have made him want to tear out his hair. His left arm hurts. He doesn''t remember why. He doesn''t remember where he is, or what is going on. He was fighting Regice, wasn''t he? He hears voices he can''t make out. He tries to move. All he can muster is a stir. He tries to open his eyes. The world is blurry, but he sees Aaron shaking him with a horrified look while Flint pulls out something from his bag. They look nearly frozen, too, and are shaking uncontrobly, but at least they''re alive. That must have meant Orbeetle and Beautifly''s Protect weakened the ice enough before it hit. He sees Dot, Roxie, Ippie, Caleb, Paige and Owen swarm around him, too, and he wants to tell them to be quiet. It''s not like he can understand what they''re saying beyond the vaguest of ideas, given how out of it he is. Something about a shattered left arm and spreading cold. They remind him of the crowd cheering for his battle against Sarah after he lost. The greatest final the Conference had ever seen, they called it. Is Regice finished? It must be, given that they aren''t all dead and are paying attention to him. He closes his eyes. It doesn''t hurt. He imagines the Conference this year. This summer. He imagines winning the finals and holding that giant trophy next to Cynthia and the rest of the Elite Four in the closing ceremony. He imagines the intense preparations and final stretch of training he has to go through to prepare to win against them. He imagines beating the Elite Four one by one. He decides to have it in private with only his family being allowed in the stands. He imagines making them proud. He imagines his parents and Lauren smiling. He wants to imagine the rest of it. He really wants to. But he''s so tired, and it''s sofortable. Like his head is on his mother''sp. The Boy Champion goes to sleep and never wakes up. ¡ª A/N: I dreaded writing this. For the past year, I''ve considered two options. Either Craig dies against Regice and his team survives, or one or a few of his Pokemon do, meaning he''s too devastated to fight in the Conference and his chances are ruined. His character was always meant to have a tragic ending, but I couldn''t decide which one it was going to be for a long time. In the end, I decided he dies, which was probably evident with the death gs and then all the shbacks, but I think giving a character a proper send-off in this situation was better than trying to catch readers off-guard with a death. I was meant to write a Craig Side Story a long time ago, and I could never get it done, so this is kind of it. This is Craig Goodwill. This is who he was and how he grew up. I wanted you to feel like he could have been the main character of his own story, and you learn a little more about Sarah Newman too, for those who remember him mentioning her. Hm. I''m sad, I think. I hope what I wrote was worthy of him. It was a bit of an experimental chapter, with the two stories linking together at the end, the more abstract descriptions of the fight, and the different tenses. Thanks for reading, as always.
Chapter 314 – Ascend, Children of Coronet IV Chapter 314 ¨C Ascend, Children of Cor IV
CHAPTER 314 - ASCEND, CHILDREN OF CORONET IV "Bwuh." Maylene raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" "Uuuuuh." She nodded. "Uhuh." "Cece¡­" "Yes, I know you want to see her. You''ll see her soon when this is all over. Maybe sooner." "What''re you talking¡­about? She''s right here." Grace slowly pulled a hand up, trying to reach nothing. Maylene quickly put it back down into her friend''s sleeping bag, but relented. She''d seen enough of this to know that fighting the ramblings of a delirious girl was meaningless. "You know what, sure." Maylene was in a predicament. She''d been ecstatic when the cold had started to wane, slowly but surely, partly because yes, dying was scary, but mostly because she hadn''t wanted to look at her new friend slowly get the life drained out of her, bit by bit, especially on her own with her Pokemon. Now that it was getting warmer slowly, Grace was bundled up in her sleeping bag next to her two Pokemon well enough to be out of their Pokeballs¡ª or one, really. Electivire had suffered from the fight with Saturn, but less so than the others, and despite Turtonator''s state, the dragon refused to be recalled, going as far as roaring at her when she''d grabbed his Pokeball. There was also that weird Meltan thing, but she decided not to risk releasing an unknown Pokemon without Grace''s supervision. She didn''t really like Turtonator. Really, there were only two Pokemon of Grace''s that she actually liked. Electivire and ydol. Maybe Tyranitar on a good day. They all ranged from practically feral to psychopaths. She''d had to painstakingly tell Turtonator that even though he found it easier to make the ce warmer now, getting Grace to heat up too quickly could be dangerous. She''d known Candice long enough to have learned how to make people recover from hypothermia (really, it was basically a requirement for being one of her close friends), and all it would do was strain his already hurt body. With help from Electivire, he''d epted after a few minutes of arguing. Honestly, this was why dragons were such a pain in the butt. Good luck trying to make anyone who wasn''t their trainer order them around. Either they''d throw a fit like this one or just look at you like you were stupid, like Cynth''s Garchomp. Still, it was difficult to be that angry at him when he was curled up next to Grace with such worry. His tail was curved on top of her legs and he would dote on her while Electivire caressed her hair. It made her miss her own team¡­ Maylene felt a surge of pain, deep within her heart, but she controlled it before any aura could re up at her distress. They were fine, they had to be. Instead of worrying, she ced one of her water sks on top of his glowing shell, and she recalled parts of Candice''s advice. Warm beverages are always good. Arceus, that girl could ramble for hours on end, but she took the cold very seriously. Tea would have been preferred, but the best Maylene could do right now was warm water while she listened to Grace''s delirious ramblings. Most of them had to do with her Pokemon, friends or girlfriend, but sometimes she''d be fighting an imaginary battle or talk to some girl called Be and someone she assumed was her Pokemon, Nightstalker. These would have been funny if she was drunk instead of almost dead. Nia was kind of the same when she''d drank too much, going from somewhat reserved to someone who just couldn''t shut up. Sometimes she''d remember Maylene was here and thank her foring along with her, or forgiving her, so that was nice. Hell, she''d even called her a saint who was too nice for her own good, so Maylene didn''t really know how to react to that. She grabbed the gourd, which was scorching to the touch, but still felt like nothing against her palms, and gave it a taste to see if she wasn''t about to burn Grace''s mouth. She couldn''t tell. She groaned and clenched the bottle. Being so strong was annoying. Not that she wasn''t growing tired, too. Her shoulder where that shard of ice had stabbed her ached, the cold had nearly gotten to her own hands as well, and most of all, she couldn''t hear anything out of her left ear. Granted, she''d hidden how much it was hurting her from Grace, since she knew her body could take it and it would just worry her. "Hey, Electivire¡ª or Honey, I guess," Grace''s naming sense was really awful. It felt weird calling a Pokemon by a pet name. "Could you try this out for me?" The electric type answered with a series of grunts and words she didn''t understand, but that tired, thankful smile on his face was universal. One of the strange things about Grace''s team was how vocal they were. Pokemon usually relied more on bodynguage and pointing at stuff tomunicate with trainers they didn''t know. Maylene supposed a year with a girl who could literally understand their every word, along with the words of every Pokemon she had met, had warped their understanding of how to talk to people. Honey poured a little bit of water on one of his fingers, which were bereft of fur, and he gave her a thumbs up. "Thanks. I guess the metal just heats up faster than the contents inside." Electivire handed her the bottle and she looked at the grown toddler she had to take care of. "Hey. Grace, can you drink something?" "Stop being so loud," she moaned. Maylene chuckled and tapped a finger on her forehead. "Hey, don''t me me for the voices in your head. I need to know because your mask will be off. Can you drink? Warm water''ll be good for you." It took another few attempts to get a straight answer, and even then, Maylene decided to get another yes out of her. It''d be really stupid if Grace died now, choking on water after having made it through all of this. At least, though, she drank the water without incident. Seeing her face for the first time in over a day revealed that she was dangerously pale, and there was some dried blood on the side of her ear she hadn''t noticed. Was her ear screwed up too? Stupid. Of course it was messed up if hers was. Grace was just an ordinary girl. Squishy and weak. Maylene grabbed one of the few remaining cloths they had and wiped the blood away with warm water before quickly slipping the mask back on. The air up here was thin, even for her, so it was best to keep it off only for a few seconds at a time. "You''ll have to eat something soon. I''ll skip lunch¡­ or dinner, or whatever it is. We were running low on food because of me anyway." She sat cross-legged next to Grace and initiated a few breathing exercises her father had taught her as a young child. Meditation, he said, was the key to master her emotions and with it, aura, but they served to help her breathe up here too. It was Electivire, a few minutester, that interrupted her. Turtonator had fallen asleep, but seeing as he was warming the surrounding area slowly but surely and was still listening to her, Maylene decided not to recall him. It sickened her, to see his crushed hands and legs, but he made it look easy. "What''s up?" she asked. The electric type tapped a finger on his chin and spoke. "I don''t get you, sorry. Back in the day, they said some people with Aura could understand Pokemon because it''s intrinsically tied to emotion, but not anymore." She shrugged and closed her eyes again. The stone floor here reminded her of the tough mats at her Gym¡ª Legendaries, she missed her Gym, which was a crazy statement considering how she''d felt like she''d been drowning there half a year ago. Routine was what she craved, now. "If Cassianus wasn''t resting, it''d be fine, but they are, so¡­ yeah." Electivire snapped his fingers and smiled before pointing at the backpack. She grabbed it and threw it with a one-handed throw, d that since it was League-made, it wouldn''t tear, and the electric type paused his stroking of Grace''s hair to rummage through it. He pulled out a pen and a small notepad that the League must have shoved down this humongous bag. Electivire scribbled down a few things and then showed her the paper. It took her a little aback. Not every trainer bothered to let their Pokemon learn how to read and write¡ª granted a lot of them weren''t interested in the first ce, so it wasn''t just on the trainers. Thank you for being her legs and hands during that battle. Your very cool. The grammar itself was¡­ mostly correct, but the handwriting was horrible. She didn''t say that, though. "Well, one''s gotta make themselves useful. That fight would have been a lot easier if I had my team." Her fingers traced the contours of the cave''s floor. "It''s the least I could do." He wrote again. Fights like that suck. I dont like hurting people. She smiled sadly. "Yeah. They do suck." Good bonding experience. You two are friendly now. Maylene guffawed and held onto her stomach because of how out there the statement was. ''Yeah, you almost died, but at least you''re closer!'' was hrious, in a morbid kind of way. "You were in your Pokeball, so you didn''t know, but we were friends before that. We all could have gone without that fight." Electivire paused, thinking of how to answer, so Maylene looked behind her. It was too dark to see Saturn''s body, especially when away from the edges of the pirs which was where the light came from, but she could still see a shape flickering in the shadows. Bile built up at the back of her throat until her head whirled back around by reflex. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind. She hadn''t killed anyone today. She hadn''t. Mom gets a little crazy with revenge. The mountain would have pushed the encounter together eventually. ''Mom'' gave her whish, but she elected to push past it. It was one thing to see Grace refer to them as her kids and another to see them reciprocate. "I guess. I''m surprised you oppose the revenge stuff." Violence is bad, he answered. My first parents taught me that. Now I''m her consience and I have to stop her if she ever gets lost in it again. ''Consience'' as in conscience. "Oh. Honestly, I thought you were all like her. Sorry." She asked for the backpack back, which he threw and she caught, and she leaned against it to rest her back. "Your first parents, huh? I guess parents always leave a strong imprint on their kids whether they like it or not." Her need to handle everything herself, to work so hard, even her preferred style of battling, it was to impress her father, yes, but he''d also behaved almost the exact same way. "Not that you''re worse off for it. Legendaries know that girl needs some positive influences in her life¡­ no offense to your other teammates. Or her friends. Or parents. Or, uh, anyone else for that matter!" Honey giggled, and hisughing made his handwriting even worse. I love my family but they need me. He turned the page and looked at Grace, who was mumbling about her Dad buying the wrong kind of cake. This is embarrassing but do you want to talk about martial arts? Maylene beamed. She knew from Volkner''s Electivire (who was a provocative asshole) that they could get quite good at fighting type moves, and they had a good body type to master martial arts. "Oh, sure! Shinwa''s the birthce of most martial arts, and I basically know all of them. Is this about training or¡ª" He''d already been writing. I watch a cartoon called the Legendary Fighting Type and it''s really cool but I don''t understand a lot of the techniques. Kinda ruins the enjoyment. What? Oh. Maylene deted like a balloon. "So you don''t want to train to get better at fighting type moves? You use Cross Chop, no?" Dont you just hit people harder and win? "No¡ª what?!" Her back straightened. "A good fighting type will also have technique along with strength!" Not interested. Sorry. You should watch the Legendary Fighting Type. This newest part of the show is¡­ Maylene stopped reading. A cartoon? Really? She stared at Grace, sleeping like nothing was happening in her sleeping bag (she''d made sure to listen to her breathing by turning her head) and realized that she might have been more literal than she thought when she called her Pokemon children. Well, nothing to do but to pass the time and engage with this. ¡ª Screams. How many? The squelch of flesh, torn apart. The crunching of shattering bones. The smell of burning flesh, tingling in her nose. It was all too familiar to Cecilia by this point. Her and Maeve''s trek up the mountain had been marked by battle after battle; at least one peryer. Most of the times, the groups of grunts had been small and too weak. Huddled against their fire types to survive the cold like vermin desperate to survive through aing upheaval. She''d studied the Great War during her childhood, and though every single tutor had a different take on who was at fault, who had won or lost, or there had even been victors at all, it was not therge scale of the conflict nor the politics behind it that shed in her mind, in this moment. She remembered the description of the great pits where bodies were burned to ash en masse. Grainy pictures in ck and white of men and women with their Charmeleon, Ponyta, whatever fire type they might have, or even an artificial methrower, burning bodies without a care in the world, asking herself, how could one be willing to ignore the sanctity of life so? Well, they weren''t burning bodies, but the point was, one could turn killing into routine. It was not a good thing, nor was she proud of it, but it just was. Oh, Cecilia was cold too, inside and out, even if the temperature had begun to rise steadily and warmth had slowlye back to her fingers and feet that she was still barely capable of moving. Without Talonme, Slowking, and Maeve''s Infernape and Starmie, they would be dead¡ª frozen husks of meat shriveled up, theirst positions no doubt having their faces begging for an ounce of warmth. It was Slowking''s expertise in barriers and him keeping away from exerting himself in battle, that had kept them truly safe and the little heat they could get contained. Cecilia''s Pokemon hadn''t seen much fighting aside from supporting Maeve''s. Herrade in arms had asked them to keep their distance so they could save their energy for a battle that truly mattered, and so it was her Pokemon, who were beaten and battered. Her Infernape, whose shoulder had been torn so harshly by a Hitmonlee''s kick that he could no longer move his right arm. Her Drapion, whose abdomen kept leaking green blood and whose tail had been frozen and ripped away by a Piloswine. Her Gligar whose wings had been perforated by darts. Maeve watched those wounds happen with barely any emotion, though it was difficult to tell when her face was hidden behind a mask she''d taken from the same ACE she had looted her lidar from. They''d had to share oxygen tanks, and Cecilia did not know whether they would have enough to both reach the top or not. Cecilia cracked her neck and watched the few remaining grunts be torn apart by Pokemon who should have barely been capable of fighting, yet who still stood anyway, and she took in the beauty of this ce instead¡ª the sixthyer. The terrain underfoot shifted from rugged stone to a carpet of silver dirt that sparkled subtly, as if sown with stardust, and a strange golden glow shone from the sky above, washing everything in color that could not be superseded by anything else. Their climbing gear, their Pokeballs, the skin of the grunts and all of their Pokemon appeared gilded. It was¡­ quite godly, if that made any sense. It gave her a feeling that they were getting close, and Cecilia knew the light wasing from above, so the seventh and final floor of this mountain before they would make it to Spear Pir. She could feel the hair on her arms rise at the thought of seeing the seat of such power. This ce was no barren wastnd, though. Trees, tall and slender, rose as taller than thergest Cecilia had seen in Eterna Forest and were covered in shimmering, golden leaves that rustled with the sound of¡­ drums which shook her to her very core and made her somewhat self-conscious. They were not exactly like drums, but it was the closest instrument Cecilia had found. She had touched their iridescent barks a few times and it seemed more solid than it should have been. Like she was touching metal, yet she knew it was still organic¡ª "Cecilia." Maeve''s hissing, distorted voice shook her out of the daze that seemed to take her every time she got lost into the looks of this ce, and Cece stared at the masked girl. "There''s¡­ you might want to look at this," she said, waving to next to one of the golden trees. She recalled unconscious Pokemon¡ª or those that were alive anyway¡ª with her other. She''d regained her senses faster than Cece had. She was hardier, and willing to push through more pain than Cecilia was. The Unovan''s eyes narrowed when she saw what Maeve was pointing at. A shivering girl next to a Musharna with frost iming her every breath. Her eyes were nearly sown shut by crystal-like ice and snot had solidified below her nose, but the strange thing about her was¡ª Her simrity to Grace. It was difficult to tell when everything was basked in golden light, but one could call them doppelgangers if they were generous. Her face was longer, and she was most likely a few years older, but she had¡­ scars in the same ce. Burns going along the left of her face, down to her neck, and below her sickening uniform. There were hints of cuts on the bit of her wrist she could see, which meant she have had the cuts all over her left arm as well. Bile built up at the back of her throat, and Cecilia blinked. Her feet suddenly felt heavier in the cosmic soil she stood on. With each step she took, she carried a soul-crushing guilt that had instantaneously appeared. This wasn''t Grace, and even if it had been, they had agreed on this; on what had to be done. It had been an oath sworn on the death of Justin. And yet¡­ Cecilia crouched in front of the girl with Slowking and Talonme at her side, and she contemted asking her what¡ª why she was like this. The grunt looked at her in fear, but she was too cold to even crawl away or run. Her legs just¡­ iled around in the dirt and her shoulder scraped against one of the trees she''d been leaning against. There was another beat of a drum, and Cecilia felt as if something was judging her. Par for the course, in this ce. Cecilia''s jaw clenched, her feet shifted against the dirt, and she squinted at the girl. She agonized for a few seconds, but then decided on what to do. Turning to Slowking, she spoke, "Get her in here." Maeve, who had been in her own Starmie''s warmth bubble, tilted her head. "Your power''s not back online. It should be another fifteen hours before we can get another grunt to guide us up." Cece exhaled, her face unmoving from the girl, who slowly stopped shivering. It was still cold, but it was survivable. How pathetic, that their own leader had not nned to save them from the Pokemon causing the cold when he''d been the cause in the first ce. "Let''s see if she can help us up regardless." Maeve sighed, and Cecilia turned to look at her. It was difficult to see her properly under the golden bloom. "You know we''ve tried. It never works. They''re always¡ª" she stopped and rearranged her mask against her face. "She''s not Grace, Cecilia." "Oh, I know." She chuckled dryly and stared at the terrified girl again. "No one other than her could be her, and though I admit her simrity had me hesitate." Her hand scraped the silver dirt below, and the girl yelped. She looked at the little grains stuck on her gloves. That guilt she''d felt was best buried for now to be unpacked at ater date. Yes, she was scared as dozens had been in her position before, staring down their executioner, yet there was none of the defiance in her eyes that was in the others. Thatst hurrah, that belief that they would be reborn, it was weak in her. Cecilia knew how to recognize the weakness in the hearts of Men. Theck of strength behind a belief. She could see it within her like a Sharpedo smelling blood in the water and was conditioned to look for people like her to bend to her will. Her Musharna wasn''t much better, though they were barely conscious and had also been affected by the cold. "Here''s what''s going to happen," Cecilia said, voice smooth like silk and as diplomatic as she could make it. Her gloved hand traced the bark next to the girl''s head. "You''re going to help us reach the summit. You need no oxygen to breathe, so you won''t be a burden. All you have to do is point us in the correct direction, and I''ll see to it that it''s a League prison that ims you by the end of this, not death." The Gctic grunt answered with a meek nod. Cecilia smiled. "Good. What''s your name?" "C¡ªra." Her voice came out in a defeated whimper that was like a drug to Cecilia. "Well, ra." Cece stood, helping the girl up as well. It was difficult for her to stand, especially on ground as uneven as this and her hands still being so weak. "Lead the way. Your previous colleagues have had a¡­ far better intuition on where the path to the nextyer would be than mine, so I assume you will be the same." ra nodded with a gulp and ced Musharna back in their ball. "Uhuh." There were new tears in her eyes. Maybe it was from the fear, or perhaps it was because she had betrayed Team Gctic, but either way, they had to move forward. Maeve finished recalling all the Pokemon who were still alive, leaving them here to be recovered at ater date, and then stared at Cecilia for a long time. It was a re, she understood, even when she couldn''t see her eyes. Cecilia whispered to Slowking to separate them from ra, who was still only a few feet in front of them, and he isted their voices away from her. "I don''t like this," Maeve whispered. Cecilia rolled her eyes. "She''s harmless. She won''t fight us or rebel, I can tell." Lean into it. Embrace it. Be it. She had hated the thought of being her, once. Of holding this power at the tip of her fingers. Yet these past few days on Cor had taught her to use it more than she''d ever wanted to. To recognize to smell weakness and to know who she could twist and whisper her words to, and she felt good doing it. Disgusting. Bury it. "If you say so," Maeve relented. "Whatever." She can believe what she wants, Cecilia thought to herself. Another wave of her hand, and Slowking ended the separation between them and ra. She walked with a pronounced limp, kept fidgeting and used the trees as support, whose sounds was ufortable to Cecilia, but hopefully she hadn''t been mortally hurt by the cold, or they''d have to wait to find another group¡­ Still, she was intriguing. Cecilia walked up to ra and stared at her. "I apologize for asking, but where did you get those scars?" she asked. "Was it Mars?" The grunt yelped, her feet shifting in the silver dirt, and a Vigoroth growled at her from a tree branch above, basked in the same golden light everything was with frost woven in their fur. Cecilia hadn''t seen many wild Pokemon due to the cold, but a few had remained where they were and this Vigoroth had somehow survived the onught of frost that should have killed them. Having recovered, ra cleared her throat and shut her eyes. "You¡­ you know?" She stopped to scoff. "Of¡ªof course you do." "I know she''s obsessed with Grace." Cecilia noticed the girl flinch at that name. "And you''re a grunt who looks like her. I''m just putting two and two together." Should we not just let her be? Slowking whispered in her mind as he tapped her shoulder behind her. This is¡­ she''s harmless on her own. It''d be best to keep her in our camp and not torment her. Maybe she should. No, he was right. She would, once she figured out a little bit more. ra stayed silent for a good bit, probably wondering if she should go on or stay quiet and which was the best way for her to stay alive. ra nced at her, but only for a split second, as if not to get caught. "You''re¡­ Cecilia, right? Your friend called you that." "Yes." "Commander Mars¡­ hates you. She''s always been jealous of her friends, but you were the closest to her." Each mention of her had so much vitriol injected into the word that it sounded like her throat was straining, despite ra''s meek voice trembling due to the cold. "She would¡­" Cecilia let out a curious hum, synced with the beat of a druming from the leaves above that made her eye twitch. There was no uniformity to them, no sense of rythm, but they were still uneasy. "Go on." "You won''t hurt me?" The words weren''t ones of disbelief at how kind they werepared to Gctic. They had, after all, killed all the people and half the Pokemon in her group like clockwork. Their groups hadn''t even been one of the most troublesome ones. They were simply the words of a girl looking out for herself. Of all the grunts they''d seen so far, she was the only one who seemed scared to die. She shook her head and finally answered. "No. Speak freely, so long as you keep us going in the¡­" she waved her hand at the endless golden trees in front of them, "right direction." "She would rant about what she''d do to you when she got her hands on you, and sometimes she''d get so angry she''d start¡ª" ra stopped, as if there was something stuck in her throat, and she kicked a handful of dirt forward. "Yeah. Every day I''d beg the Legendaries for her not to think about you too hard." "Could you not have surrendered to the League?" Maeve asked, still behind them. "You''d have escaped, given us¡ª them a crap ton of information and probably gotten a sweet deal out of it." ra''s neck and shoulders stiffened. "I¡ª" Another pause. Cecilia figured she was considering whether to go on or not. "I wasn''t sure she wouldn''t send her Dusknoir after me. There was this boy, ¨¦mile Cartwright. She''d always gloat about how she got him in a holding cell." She nearly fell over, but Slowking held her still and helped her up before she could fail to hold onto a tree. They''d have to take a break sooner rather thanter. "And I didn''t want to betray the organization. I didn''t want to betray Cyrus, because I¡ª I believed in our new world." Her steps in the silt wavered as her convictions did. "I thought I just needed to hold on and that soon my life would be perfect." "What changed?" Maeve brusquely asked. She was not one for patience, with Gctic. Neither was Cecilia, but there was a certain tact Maevecked. The girl shrugged and answered, "When I was confronted with the choice again, I guess I¡ª I guess I ked. I''m scared. Scared to die, and I don''t want Musharna to die, either," she sniffled, working her hands as feeling returned to them just like Cecilia was. "Cyrus will be an omniscient and omnipotent God, and he''ll know I betrayed them, so if I can''t get in, then I might as well, uh, I might as well try to prevent him from winning." So she had only started caring for the world once her own well-being was threatened. There was no worry for the billions upon billions of lives¡ª human and Pokemon¡ª that her organization would end. She had suffered, yes, but she was still scum and a grunt through and through, and since she was wearing a breathing mask, Cecilia allowed her grimace to permeate across her face. "How self-serving¡ª" Cecilia cut Maeve off. "Well, she''s been through a lot. Let''s try to be understanding," she lied. It would be best to keep her talking, though it would be stupid of her to ask for everything she wanted all at once. She allowed silence to reign for a few minutes and retreated to talk to Slowking. Other than Talonme and him, the rest of her Pokemon were resting in their Pokeballs. Arceus, her legs felt tired, especially walking in this sand-like dirt, but she had to push on. No moment could be wasted with the fate of the world and Justin''s killer still hanging in the bnce. You''ll need to take a good look in the mirror when this is done, mydy. Cecilia blinked slowly. "Feeling bad for her?" She''d already known he wouldn''t have spoken to her in a way that necessitated more than a nod or a shake of her head had he not arranged their bubble in a way to keep what she would say to themselves. Talonme cawed as she hopped on the ground. Walking wasn''t her forte, especially in this terrain, but she''d rather do that than fly so slow. Being chained to a human''s walking pace when in the sky made her irritable. "No?" Cece pondered. Not particrly. She would have kept going had you not been there to threaten her, and she is a selfish person at her core, the psychic reiterated. But the way you''re behaving as a whole is¡ª "I know." Her voice was resolute. She hadn''t forgotten her promise to Chase on the shores of Falkirk. "But we would not have been able to get this far this quickly without me being like this. Desperate times¡­" Desperate measures, hepleted with a small nod. So long as you understand. Power corrupts. "Please, Slowking. You of all people should know that I have spent countless nights thinking about that very dilemma. I will be fine, I promise you." Very well. I believe and trust you. Her mind stuck with Chase for a moment, and she wondered at whatyer he might be on. To be honest, Cecilia was surprised they hadn''te across any of their friends. The odds of only crossing paths with grunts over and over were so astronomically low that she understood there must have been forces at y, here. Like when she''d seemingly lost her ACEs as soon as she''d wanted to. She gestured with a hand. "Let me talk to her again. Gently." They''d reached a clearing¡ª though maybe calling it that was generous. It was an area of theyer where the trees thinned and gave way to a small, golden yet still transparent pond. And it was small. Tinier and shallower than your average hot tub, and from what she could tell, it was perfectly circr. A ring of golden stones rimmed the water, and it was just as smooth as Lake Valor had been, if not smoother. A bulky Persian who''d been sipping at the golden liquid hissed at them and escaped as soon as they noticed they were there, blurring away with a single leap and kicking up a billow of sand below their path. Of the few Pokemon they''d seen here, they''d onlye across normal types. Maeve perked up when the Persian showed no signs of returning, and her Infernape and Starmie rxed next to her. "Good, we need to replenish our water supply and I''m not going to drink Slowking''s if I can prevent it¡ª" "Don''t drink the water," ra warned as Slowking let out a single ''rude''. "You''ll never leave this ce if you do." She''d already been grabbing one of their empty sks from her own backpack. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, we were forewarned by Cor." ra took a few steps toward the water and looked at what Cecilia assumed was her reflection, and she smiled. "You can look, though. There are a bunch of these on thisyer, they''re the only break from the monotonous trees. The monotony might be the point. There''s little, yet it''s beautiful either way." Maeve put her hand on Cecilia''s shoulder as soon as she took another step, but she shook her head. "She warned us in the first ce, and she''s looked as well." "...fine." She''d been paranoid since she was attacked by that poacher in Pastoria. Cecilia couldn''t me her. She approached the edge of the pool, which hadn''t been frozen despite the cold. Yes, it was getting warmer, but the temperature was still below freezing. Cecilia saw¡­ herself, with her form flickering within the pond. She was without clothes or mask, so she could see her own face. She sported a bright smile¡ª in fact, she looked so ted that she appeared to be the happiest she''d ever been. Her mirrored self didn''t respond to her movements, either. She reached out, hand outstretched, and Cecilia feltpelled to do the same. She did not, though, and her numb hand snapped around Maeve''s wrist before she could touch the water. "Shit!" Maeve yelled¡ª a distorted hiss behind her breathing mask, and she jumped back. "What the fuck was that?" "Touching is fine." ra plunged her hand into the water, and it didn''t ripple. How strange. "See? I feel no different. I don''t get the urge to touch it, though, which is weird. All the other times, I did. Even earlier today." "We''d rather not," Cecilia said. She nced at her other self again, who was now frowning. "Let''s move on." "I''m surprised you didn''t touch it¡­" Cecilia looked at the Gctic grunt. "Temptation is the one thing that I''ve wrangled with for the past few months. But what''s that pond about?" They started walking again as they spoke. "I don''t know much about it. Just that once you taste that water, you''ll never want to go anywhere else." "There are myths about fairies that trick you like this," Maeve warily said. "No. This has nothing to do with fairies. It''s beyond us¡ª I think that if you somehow make anything here part of you, you be part of this ecosystem. It''s all strange¡­ I hope I''m being helpful? This is all intrinsic because our great¡ª because Cyrus managed to make us part of Cor." "It was, thank you," Cecilia said. "Now, I have a question about Jupiter. How acquainted are you with its capabilities?" ra froze at the mention of Commander Jupiter like a cornered Rattata. "Yes, then. See, I have a little information already," she omitted saying that she''d gotten it from the ACEs shortly after Justin had been revealed to be dead. "But someone on the inside would know more." The girl audibly swallowed and stopped in her tracks. "Do not forget the position you are in." She shrunk. "But¡­" Cecilia loomed over her. She was far shorter than her, and only slightly taller than Grace was. "She was the only one who¡­" "It will abandon you without a second thought. It is poison¡ª a part of the same organization that did this to you." Cecilia tapped the left side of her mask. "And it didn''t stop it from happening." "It¡­?" "Just tell her," Maeve hissed. "I¡ªI don''t know much, I promise!" she squealed, waving her arms wildly. "We''ve barely spoken, and I only saw her fight a few times!" Cecilia clicked her tongue, yet she persisted. "Do you think," she began with a forming grin, her hand on Lehmhart''s Pokeball, "that it would be able to resist a song that kills?" ¡ª "I can walk." "Grace, don''t be an idiot." I bit the inside of my lip and ignored the irritation rising within my chest. Yes, my legs felt very weak and wobbly, but I''d already been out of it for thest¡­ few hours. Honestly, most of it had been a blur. shing lights, loud sounds and voices who I could barely recognize and had associated with people I knew. It was shameful to have been seen in such a weak state, to have been so out of it that I''d hallucinated in front of Maylene, Honey and Sunshine, but at least I''d lived. I knew from the way we hadn''t died from the cold that the Hoarfrost had been beaten, thank the Legends above. The fact that the League had seeded was a huge relief that had me breathing easier, even if it had been too close forfort, but the crisis still wasn''t over, even if in someway, it felt like it was getting close. I could see Saturn''s charred corpse in the distance. The dragonfire had left his skin ckened and unrecognizable, and the flesh hardened and shrunken against the bones beneath. The tired satisfaction I''d felt earlier was gone, but I''d let Sunshine admire his work while Maylene had packed and he was as giddy as ever, albeit exhausted. The fire type bled away in a sh of red as I recalled him. He deserved the rest, and Cor was no longer lethal without him to keep us warm. I nced away from the dead body. "What if we try¡ª" Maylene shoved the folded sleeping bag back in the backpack and closed the zip. "Grace, just get on your damn Electivire''s back and stop wasting time." Herints had been synced with Honey''s, who had spoken at the same time as her to essentially say the same thing. I shrunk back. "Sorry. I guess I just hate feeling useless." "You¡ª" She threw her hands up. "Stop sulking. Honey, get her already. Gently." Electivire quickly listened, grabbing me by the arm and propping me up on his back. He asked if I was well enough to hold on without his help, and I agreed for now, wrapping my arms around his neck and sinking my head into his fur. "Thanks for watching over me," I softly said. Honey said that it was mostly Maylene''s and Sunshine''s work that had kept me alive. He was humble, as always. "Thanks, Maylene. For saving me." The Gym Leader strapped the backpack around her shoulders and tapped her feet against the ground. "Well, I wasn''t just going to let you die¡ª" she paused, cleared her throat and scratched her arm through her torn gear. "Uh, no problem." We¡ª or I supposed it was Maylene and Honey¡ª began to walk in earnest, using me for directions. There was something different about traveling now, and before Saturn''s death. It felt like I was a part of Cor again, as if it had realized that Saturn and his loons had tricked it after their deaths and it was rewarding me for my service by¡­ returning to the status quo instead of giving me a little boost. Capricious as always, but this was better than nothing. When Honey and Maylene started crossing the first bridge I''d pointed them toward, Maylene peered over the edge and screamed out her name. A few secondster, the voice came back twisted, like a pale mockery the actual thing just like what had happened to that Sawsbuck. "Huh. Funny how that works." She cracked her knuckles and touched her left ear. "Hey, is your hearing¡­?" My ear hurt, and there was a permanent ring that was starting to annoy me. Hell, I couldn''t hear fully out of my right, either, but in my left, the loss was total. Luckily for me, Maylene was a loud speaker and conversation was still possible without many problems. Arceus, my body hurt. "My left is fucked," I groaned. "My right¡­ well, it could be worse." "Oh. My right''s already¡ª" Maylene froze and looked at me. "Wait¡­ no. No." The word was full of loss in a way that was torturous to hear. It reminded me of our Gym Battle, and the sudden sickness in my stomach vanished when my brain realized I wasn''t at fault. "What''s wrong?" I patted at Honey''s back so he would let me down and I slowly approached her. She was tearing up. "Maylene?" "If my right ear''s already recovered," she said in between sobs. "Then it¡ª I think it means my hearing on my left is screwed forever." Oh. I''de to terms with that already, knowing I would worry about itter, but this was Maylene. She was an Aura-user, someone who basically never, ever got hurt in any serious way. Hell, she''d been stabbed in the shoulder earlier and was walking like nothing had even happened. So to actually be hurt in a permanent way was shocking to her. Unthinkeable, even, but Aura or not, Pokemon were stronger than her. I limped toward her, suddenly d I hadn''t been walking because of how weak my legs felt, and I gave her a short hug while I patted her on the back so she could get all the tears out of her. It was weird with the mask on, but it was better than nothing. "There are¡­ surgeries, right?" I said, unsure of myself. "Imnts, or whatever." She sniffled. "Grace, surgery is fucking terrifying. They cut you open and stuff, I hate it." "Yeah, but you don''t feel¡ª" "I know, I just hate the idea of it." Maylene shivered. "Gives me the creeps." "I guess." She wiped her eyes. They were red and her lower eyelids were puffed up. "Let''s just keep going. Get back on Honey." "I can¡ª" "You can get back, yes. Don''t think that just because I was crying I didn''t see you struggle to take a measly five steps." Sighing, I agreed and Honey picked me up after patting Maylene on the shoulder. The nextyer awaited us. ¡ª It was difficult to hum with the heavy sounds of Garchomp''s steps. Cynthia had taken to piano when she''d first be the Champion as a hobby she could actually get into even when her days had been spent stuck at the Lily of the Valley. Easier to y piano than to go explore whatever new ruins had been found that year, which was funny because as soon as she''d gotten the authority to actually get clearance to ess those, she''d been chained to a desk to work. The n had been to create herself a theme¡ª something to announce her entry when a challenger reached her, yet none had done so yet, even when the Old Guard preceding her Elite Four had attempted to throw matches to unseat her. Bertha had been enough to hold any challengers away, back then. She had missed this. Her and her team in the middle of nowhere with no one to buzz in her ears about whatever crisis she needed to attend to immediately. Despite the situation being quite the catastrophe, Cynthia found herself in a better mood than she''d been in months. Garchomp treaded through the golden fields of Cor''s final floor, groaning in annoyance at ceon, who was sitting around her neck, tail swishing across the dragon''s back. It was good that the cold was receding. It had been a gamble, to send Flint, Aaron and Craig without her, but it seemed like it had worked out. Though the possibility of one of them being dead was not zero. Cynthia ignored the pragmatic side of her brain she could never shut down that immediately started to calcte which person would be the most expendable, which death would be the worst for Sinnoh as a whole, and not her own feelings. She''d deal with that when the time came, even if a pit of anxiety had been growing deep in her stomach. Golden fields as far as the eye could see, yet a single archway at the center of thisyer would lead them upward¡ª right below the ball of raging fire that acted as this ce''s sun, and from which all light filtered down the mountain. It hadn''t moved in the few hours she had been here, and Cynthia knew that this ce knew not what night was. This was only her first time getting to Spear Pir through the inside of the mountain, and the breadth of life she''d seen here had been lower than in the reports. Granted, Regice had been acting up, but this ce was meant to be home to a plethora of normal types, along with a few dragons, fairies and ice types, and Spear Pir being so close should have kept Regice''s reach at bay, at least in the early stages. Instead, it was simply a stretch of golden grasnd with a few hills and depressions thrown in-between. "Nothing but grass, hm? We should be close enough, now." Cynthia took off her oxygen mask, her hood, and shook her head to untangle her hair. Garchomp purred with a deep trill in her throat at the sight of her trainer''s face, but her purring took a worrying tone soon enough. "You''re right, but something tells me it''s supposed to be this way. It''s like I said before. There are echoes of remembrance¡­ they give me goosebumps." ceon hopped off Garchomp''s back, which the dragon was very grateful for, and rubbed the side of her head against Cynthia''s knee. It was thanks to her, that Cynthia hadn''t had to bother fighting against the cold. "Not visions. Nightmares. The distinction is important." The ice typeughed, an ethereal and distant sound she''d long grown used to. Cynthia ran her hand along the prickly tall grass. "Oh, I know they mean something. Otherwise I wouldn''t have been a part of this. I wouldn''t feel the tug." It had been subtle, at first. A barely audible whisper behind an ear. Now that she was so close to the summit, however, it was a veritable force that pulled her, as if someone had wrapped a rope around her waist and was guiding her to the stairway up to Spear Pir. She had never felt this before, not the first and only time she had touched Spear Pir with her own two feet, but she supposed she hadn''t known about her predecessor back then, and the world hadn''t been about to end. Cynthia did not like putting much importance on stories. She believed that its core, the world was a chaotic mess where individuals could break free of the chains it had imposed onto them. A fairy''s reliance on a story was a weakness, a weakness that could be exploited very easily, because it made them predictable. Either way. This one? This one had weight behind it. The weight of a bloodline originating thousands of years before she''d been born. It had been Grace, who had first told her about Volo through Mesprit. Hisst name had not been Collins, as far as she knew, but he''d somehow had a child before going insane and deciding to reach Godhood, and now here she was, generationster, attempting to save the world where her ancestor had attempted to destroy it entirely. Cor recognized her. It had led her up, even after the Lake Guardians had entered the mountain, sowing chaos in every corner, and she knew what paths would lead to the summit. She''d slept a few times here, and she''d been wracked by dreams from Volo''s point of view. Fragments alone did not mean much, but as a whole, they formed a detailed picture of what had happened all those thousands of years ago. She had relied on the Lake Guardian''s chosen, and they had failed. Twice. So Cynthia had devised a n. Ast-ditch effort to save the world, though she was certain it would entail some¡­ problems in the long term. Still, better that than losing the entire universe. "It should only be an hour away, now," she warned her two Pokemon. Three, if you counted Spiritomb''s inactive state. They''d tried flying toward, both with Garchomp and Togekiss, but Cor prevented them from reaching Spear Pir from the skies. They had been forced to walk. She did not bother asking them if they were prepared. Her Pokemon would unfortunately not be a part of her n, though they would buy time for her if Cyrus got any ideas. She had an inkling the man had already reached the summit, or was close to it. Garchomp squinted at the sun and growled irritatingly. Cynthiaughed. "Let''s not pick fights with Godly constructs, shall we? I''ve had enough of that for a lifetime." ceon chuckled alongside her, and Garchomp mimicked stepping on her to squash her head. The ice type bled into ice, bing a small tuft of snow that reformed to Cynthia''s right, the opposite side that Garchomp was nking her on. "A real question," Cynthia hummed, shielding her eyes from the sun as she stared upward. She couldn''t see the cave''s ceiling from here. This ce mimicked the sky, except that it was golden. "Pokemon, or not?" ceon tilted her head and murmured. "It could be a domain holder, but I doubt it? Not much can get influence this close to Spear Pir. If I had to guess, it''d just be a thing. Not alive." Garchomp grunted with a shrug that resonated with the grinding of her scales, and grass bent under her feet. "That''s the beauty of it, isn''t it? We don''t know," she said with a satisfied smile. "And I think that''s wonderful. The unknown, that is. It''d be depressing to live in an era that knows everything." The dragon rolled her eyes. "Come on. You used to be just as curious as I was. What''s wrong with a little childlike wonder?" ceon snickered and climbed back on Garchomp''s shoulders. She was, as always, toozy to walk herself. "It''s a good thing Milotic isn''t here to reign me in, then," she agreed. s, her carefree climb up Cor wasing to an end. Wind blew across her pping, dark coat and she passed the time by talking about the wonders of this ce and Zoroark, which was a topic for another day. They were making progress, but he would be of no use here. Soon, she came upon the stairway. They were golden and almost transparent, albeit hewn from Cor itself. She could tell from the way her feet felt on the stairs that they were made of stone. Their edges and state were still pristine, almost as if they werepletely new. No dust, debris or cracks had touched these stairs, and none ever would. With each step, the sound of her own footsteps echoed off the clear stairs, a solemn drumbeat heralding her approach to the summit from which Arceus had crafted this entire. The trek up was endless and instantaneous at the same time, and like the first time she had been atop Spear Pir and crossed that same arch woven in boney white, gold and green that needed to be walked through from no matter where you approached¡ª Cynthia broke down into tears and inhaled the warm air. This was too moving for words.
Chapter 315 – Danse Macabre Chapter 315 ¨C Danse Macabre
CHAPTER 315 - DANSE MACABRE With ra came more fighting, and each group of Gctic grunts was tougher to deal with than thest. Larger, more robust, more adaptable, and most importantly, willing to use Cor favoring them as a way to stay hidden and harass them with hit-and-run tactics. Maeve''s team were on theirst legs, and they''d used all of their potions to keep them from fainting, yet they could no longer fight. Even Starmie had been hit by numerous dark and electric type moves that had the water type dangerously weak. Luckily, the cold from Regice wasrgely gone, now. It had left slowly, at first, and then exponentially. Despite how much Maeve had insisted on keeping Cecilia''s Pokemon healthy, the next group of grunts they''de across, the Unovan would have to deal with. ra seemed to be gripped by a mental anguish that only grew each time a group of grunts were dealt with. Perhaps she was getting second thoughts about betraying her cause. Her fellow Gctic members certainly didn''t seem to pay her coboration any mind, or at least none that Cecilia had noticed. The most they afforded her was a single look with wide eyes, but no words had ever been exchanged. If there had been, Cecilia doubted ra would have had the courage to respond to their usations regardless. "We¡­ should be close to the pathway to the finalyer," ra mumbled under her breath. "The forest gets kind of dense around here, but trust me, okay?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "What? I didn''t say anything." ra simply responded with an ''eek'' and flinched away from her, and the grunt''s hand brushed against one of the tall, thick trees that littered thisyer. Even after seeing the same thing over and over for thest Arceus knew how many hours, none of the wonder was lost to them. The drums of the bristling tree leaves had Cecilia feeling more and more ufortable, as ofte, and this one had her repulsed. "I apologize if I frightened you." Relief atst allowed her to breathe easily again. Maeve just stared straight ahead, and Slowking kept track of their surroundings. "Like I said, you won''t get hurt. You''ve been helpful." "As long as I can¡­" she trailed off. "Legendaries," she ended with a sigh. "I¡ª there''s nothing left waiting for me. They might¡ª they might fry my brain." Cecilia''s hand hovered over her Pokeballs until Slowking shook his head at her.Right. She''s harmless."Gctic will be dealt with, so they won''t have any reason to. I''m sure they''ll repeal thew again sooner rather thanter." "I had¡ª I had second thoughts before Mars picked me up. I wanted to leave because I missed my parents," ra meekly said. "But I was scared¡­" Ah, scared of getting her memories extracted by a League psychic. Ironic, that a policy made to intimidate and make Gctic feel cornered might have contributed to making their members feel stuck where they were. Cynthia was a smart woman. She must have known this would happen, but Cecilia supposed she had gambled that the information they would get out of the grunts would be worth it if she could prevent them from enacting their final n. Of course, they were all in Cor now, so it had not. "None of it matters." Her tone was harried and defeated. "I''ll have to deal with it, I guess. I wanted to help people and work on dreams¡ª Sorry. I''m rambling and annoying.Sorry." Cecilia perked up. "They do plenty of dream research in¡ª" "Unova!Yes, I know I¡ª wait, I shouldn''t interrupt you." The conversation reached its natural endpoint there. Cecilia knew she could have extended it some, but ra kept stopping herself from speaking her mind and she was too tired keep speaking anyway. When they reached a denser part of the woods and began to hear the familiar howl signifying the staircase up. "ra," Maeve began. "You seem to have had a good rtionship with your parent, and I''ll ignore the fact that you were willing to kill them with all of these ns to destroy the world." She gestured around herself. "And create a new one where you''d all be happy,"she reprimanded hastily. "S¡ªsorry. But even you would have been brought back, and we would have made a world without strife or conflict." Maeve scoffed. "Oh, didCyrustell you that?" "He¡­ did." "Well I''m sure he''sverytrustworthy." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what pushed you to join?" "I, um." The grunt scratched the side of her arm and looked away. "Nothing was going right for me, I guess. I couldn''t catch afucking break, and everything was copsing around me. I¡ª I was failing all of my college sses and my parents had to remortgage their house to keep me going, but I failed again and¡­ I couldn''t get out of bed¡­" There were tears in the corner of her eyes. "I don''t know. I wanted something to look forward to. To be good enough to study dreams. Then I was approached by a recruiter and she gave me hope again. She met with me so many times and kept believing in me." There was nothing left to be said. An apology almost left Cecilia''s lips, but she bit down on it and kept it in. The nextyer was close, now. The trees were denser than they''d ever been, save for a narrow path that led straight to the chasm up. In front of it stood Commander Jupiter and her entire team, crouching with azy look in her eye. While her grunts had looked tired, her face looked bright and her hair was still done. king was lying down and slowly scratching its belly while Delcatty lounged on top of its massive arm. Girafarig, who was standing at attention, tilted its head at Cecilia and the others while its tail snapped and shook at the sight of them. Tangrowth stopped throwing a softball up and down with a vine and let it fall onto the earth with a soft thud while Stantler barely seemed to notice them at all. Skuntank, meanwhile, was wing at the ground and eager to get into a fight. I couldn''t even feel her,Slowking said with a vocal gasp. He instantly summoned a barrier in front of them, in case Jupiter attacked. Delcatty jumped off king and hit Girafarig with her tail, creating a barrier of their own. "Well, well, well. Look at what the Meowth dragged in," It drawled. Its voice alone was enough to make Cecilia''s nose wrinkle. The Commander rose to its feet and patted down its behind. "ra, too?" The grunt flinched and hid behind Slowking. "You go, girl! I wasn''t sure if you had the guts toactuallyleave or not after I gave you some support." Maeve clicked her tongue. "You expected her to betray you?" "I thought it was a possibility. It doesn''t really matter, though. You would have made your way here anyway eventually. It was worth the entertainment." "Don''t engage with it," Cecilia said. "That''s how it gets in your head." She analyzed the Commander for a few seconds, but it didn''t actually unleash its Pokemon onto them. Strangely, all it did was watch with an annoying smirk that had Cecilia want to break something. Ten seconds passed. They felt like an eternity. Cecilia took a deep breath, a malformed hiss through her mask. "Go, Maeve." Maeve''s hands dropped to her side."Excuse me¡ª" "Barriers aren''t going to work well against her team, so even if you used Starmie you''d just be putting him in danger," she calmly exined. She''d expected to be overtaken by uncontroble rage that would have made her see red. Made her fists clench and shake to the point of pain. Made her bite down on her tongue not to scream. Instead, there was only cold. "I have a n. Go and rest. You''ve brought me far enough and you''ll only get in the way." "Wh¡ªwhat about me?" ra asked with a quivering voice. "I¡ª" "Go with her." There was no hesitation; a promise was a promise. "You''ve earned it. Without me here to keep you tethered to Cor, you should have an easy trip down with Maeve so long as you wish to stay with her." The grunt nodded with a meek squeak of appreciation, made herself small and scooted over to Maeve, who spared Cecilia onest look before leaving without a word. They had never been the closest of friends, had they? Nevertheless, their time together in Cor had forged a bond, and Cecilia found herself thinking that she would make an excellent ACE Trainer. The Unovan lowered her hood and ran her grimy gloved hands through her hair, which was nearly unmoving in the stale air of the sixthyer, and Slowking took a deep breath. She could still hear Maeve and ra''s steps as she released the rest of her team around her. Lehmhart appeared on one knee and slowly got up as his insides hummed with machinery, yet his huge size did not manage to evene close to towering over the golden trees. Talonme took to the air, and finally, air whipped around Cecilia as the flying type kept herself afloat. Scizor and Toxicroak had already bled into the golden woods, and Hydreigon was foaming at the mouth to get himselfacquaintedwith Jupiter. All appeared golden under this ce''s light, including the Commander''s Pokemon and the monster itself. "Gee, already? I let your friends escape, didn''t I? You can''t even afford me a single conversation?" The Commander ced her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Why don''t we talk for like, two minutes before we start killing each other? Murder''s murder, but we can be civil about it, can''t we?" Cecilia scanned her surroundings, not bothering to answer. Buying a few minutes for her to get into the correct mindset for this battle wouldn''t hurt, and Slowking was still scanning the surroundings to see if any grunts would ambush them during the fight. The environment wasn''t in anyone''s favor, but she figured Scizor and Toxicroak would navigate the forest well if they needed to while thergest Pokemon would be able to stay in the central corridor. Talonme wasn''t as good at narrow turns as she''d once been, but so long as she controlled her speed¡­ "Talk." The words were harsh out of her mouth. Deep set and more of a growl than actual words. The creature beamed, and the quirk of her lip made Cecilia nauseous.So human.So fucking human, like a woman she''d smile at as a thank you after she held a door for her, and yet she was not. "Cecilia Obel, right?" She crouched and poked a finger into the silver sand, and her king sighed at her. "You know, I look at you and I see¡­ hm, I see a fascinating child." Cecilia had gathered as much information as she could out of ACE Trainers and ra. Her team had a rigid structure that was never broken. First were the supportive Pokemon, Stantler, Girafarig and Delcatty. These always,alwayshung back and worked to help keep Jupiter and the rest of her team alive, whether that be Girafarig''s psychic powers, Stantler''s quick Hypnosis, or Delcatty''s¡­ healing. She still hadn''t figured out what that was, but it sure as hell wasn''t Wish. Her other three Pokemon¡ª Tangrowth, king and Skuntank, were juggernauts who used overwhelming power to their advantage. They could easily tear through the toughest of barriers with a rudimental understanding of darkness (or in king''s case, justmuscle) and were capable of overpowering any of her own Pokemon save for Golurk and perhaps Hydreigon. "What do you see?" Cecilia asked with a frown.Keep her talking. "Well, it''s not just you, it''s all of your little group, but it''s the first time I actually look at one of you," it said with aninfuriating nonchnce. "It''s your eyes, I think. I see ''em through the mask thanks to this obnoxious lighting." It gestured above itself in annoyance. "There''s no innocence left, and I find that interesting, you know? This entire year," it crossed its arms, "We''ve pushed and prodded at Sinnoh and the world itself, and to finally see the consequences of that one someone''s face is¡­ it''s fucking exhrating," it finished with a shy smile. "It''s a little bit of a dream of mine, so thanks." Die. Die, die, die, die, die.There was fire in her throat, scorching and wanting totear its wayout of her mouth; the desperation to tell her todie, but there was none of the power behind it. Cecilia delved deep into her reserves and found themcking.Two to three hours left.There was no way that battle was going tost this long, not when Jupiter was a quick and ruthless fighter. "The road you walked to get here must have been hard, but you aren''t broken. I''m a little obsessed with the human condition, you see? I like figuring out what makes people tick. For example, I like I said, I kind of figured ra would defect," Jupiter exined. "I wanted to see if she''d actually do it despite the danger and her dream just¡­ disappearing, and she did." Its eyes looked at the golden light above her. "She threw it all away for a chance to live an extra few hours, or maybe days." "Well," the monster stood up, stretched, and sand fell back from the fist onto the ground, "that was it from me. Anything you want to say before we throw hands and figure out who gets out of this alive?" You engineered the death of over ten thousand people. You killed one of my best friends. One of the kindest, most innocent souls I had ever met, even after his condition. There came no response or no signal. Cecilia jumped atop Zolst''s back, but her hold was awkward. Her gloves nearly slipped from his neck scales, and she had to sp a hand around one of his wings to steady herself while the dragon took flight. Her Pokemon below had already scattered, and a thin invisible floor formed below Slowking to allow him to follow her into the skies. With how tall the trees were, hiding above the foliage would have hurt her more than helped, so they decided to stay low where they could observe Jupiter and its Pokemon''s movements. As predicted, Tangrowth, Skuntank and king had burst forward, leaving behind them trails of silver sand which flew everywhere because of Talonme''s Tailwind she''d thrown out to slow them down. Skuntank was the fastest of the three, reaching Golurk in a blur of purple with extended ws wreathed in a swirling darkness that was difficult to stare away from. It cut across Lehmhart''s leg and left three huge gashes oozing with void, but did not bother to stop to continue attacking him. Instead, Skuntank kept going, dashing in between the thick trees of the golden woods. It knows.It knew where Toxicroak and Scizor were despite the fact that they''d hidden, and it was looking for one or both of them. Cecilia warned them with a scream that rippled in her throat. Talonme waved one of her wings tounch a set of feathers, sharpened with steel and wreathing with blue fire. The first few buried themselves into the sand right behind Skuntank, and the soil smothered the mes like a candle between a wet towel, but the rest were propelled up by a sudden gust of wind and stabbed into the poison type''s back. Cecilia could only see Skuntank slow enough for Toxicroak to narrowly bend back to dodge theing sh before it exploded with a noxious poison that she could taste in her throat, but they disappeared into the forest before long. It was king, she worried about. Heat scorched her hands when Hydreigon gathered a Dragon Pulse in his throat to fire at the normal type, and Slowking raised an arm next to them. It was difficult to see, but with each wave of his hand, he was firing an invisible disk at both Tangrowth and king. Thetter growled when the first gouged out his gut, but the wound instantly closed when Delcatty sang, and the next, king either hit out of the way by pure chance or Girafarig blocked with its own barriers. Zolst''s Dragon Pulse met a simr fate, though some of itdidbreak through and singed the edge of the normal type''s skin. Again, though, the burns afforded to king''s skin were simply healed. Golurk stomped a foot, and an Earthquake rippled across the earth, yet it did not shatter, nor split. It onlyshook, and the ground itself stayed intact. king leaped, its arm windmilled in the air, and it grabbed onto one of the trees to quickly change directions toward Golurk to avoid another wave of feathers from Talonme. The ghost type was more agile than he had once been, and he was ready. His fists went up and musicscreechedout of him, apanied with purple mes leaking out of every crevice, every hole, every nook and cranny of his skin. There was no start to the song. It began already at its climax, and king clenched its teeth as itnded a glowing punch onto Lehmhart, shattering a hastily put-together barrier that Slowking had put up¡ª A shockwave ran through Cecilia and sent more dirt flying into her face and hair. The air flew out of her lungs, forcefully expelled like something had punched her in the gut, and it felt like her entire body had been hit by a collective p. Yet, shelooked. Having brought his arms into a protective guard, Lehmhart''s legs buckled under the weight of king''s strike, and his armbent,and yet he still stood. Here he was, guardian of a tower for centuries and now having taken on the role ofguardian of this team. Before the normal type couldnd, Golurk punched him in the gut in one smooth motion and sent him flying back, but a¡­ Barrier was urate, but this onebentlike a mattress, and it caught king before it couldnd on the ground and bounced him back at Lehmhart immediately, courtesy of Stantler.Stantler''s the one who can affect texture, then, but Girafarig remains the main muscle behind them.Slowking slowed him down some, but multiple things worked against him. First was king''s weight and momentum. Second, Girafarig joined in on the fray and he couldn''t win againsttwopsychics or psychic-adjacent Pokemon. A thicket of vines wrapped around Lehmhart''s leg, allowing Tangrowth topullto make him trip, and kingnded one of those glowing punches right in the ground type''s face. The second strike was nothing like the first. king''s hit sentLehmharttumbling back like a ragdoll, and instead of ripping through trees, they stopped him dead in his fall as if they were aninviblepart of the environment. His body slumped against the bark, but he summoned a flurry of Shadow Balls all over his body that buried themselves behind Tangrowth''s vine-filled body, forcing the grass type to hide behind one of the trees while Hydreigon screamed out another Dragon Pulse to block king''s path. It did not work. Again, it prioritized attack over safety and it wildly threw itself into the st to rid itself of what it no doubt saw as the biggest threat, spraying spittle with every roar, yet Golurk managed to temporarily stop it with a Bulldoze, specialized to slow rather than hurt. Hydreigon growled in annoyance at the sight of a battle he could not join fully. "Soon," she whispered in Zolst''s ear. Her riding on his back meant that he couldn''t unleash his full power, but a torrent of unordered darkness left his three mouths and prated deep into the sand until it reached Jupiter''s feet. It was Stantler that stopped the attack this time, with a particrgray, almost too dim to notice light that dissolved the Dark Pulse before it could reach them. Cecilia knew that move all too well, given that it was a staple of Slowking''s arsenal.Disable, but to what extent could Stantler use it? When she whispered to Zolst to attempt to channel more darkness, she realized it had been cut off entirely. There would be no more Crunch, nor would there be any dark type moves. She looked back to Lehmhart, whose shifting of the ground had forced king to jump again. The ghost type lifted one of his arms, and smoke and purple light diffused from a section near his elbow. The forearm burst forward, a rocket-propelled fist shining with the familiar glow of Hammer Arm¡ª king''s face twisted in surprise and horror, and the fist prated through the ss-like shields afforded to him by Girafarig. Fire¡ªbluefire from Talonme wrapped around it like a glove as the flying type swooped from somewhere Cecilia hadn''t been looking, and more wind propelled the fist to greater speeds until the air itself twisted, morphed,got out of its waylike a living being cowering under another''s might. Even in fight such as this one, Cecilia could not help but admire the power her team had at its disposal. The impact shattered something, she wasn''t sure what. king''s chest wentconcave, and blood spurted from his eyes and open mouth, teeth were chipped and shattered, and after the blood came the bile. Once again, a squishy barrier caught king before it could hit the ground, but this time the side of his arm hit one of the trees and the bark scraped bits of his skin off. Golden. It was all golden like ichor, soaking and trailing down the silver dirt. "Now!"she yelled. She pushed herself off Hydreigon and clumsilynded on Slowking''s tform just in time for the dragon to set itself loose as a draconic force swarmed around every inch of his scales. Cecilia had worked out this battle. She had yed it in her mind over and over again, peeling away atyer andyer of ns of action in case one or the other didn''t work. The most obvious one had been to target the support Pokemon giving the others so much help. It was subtle, but she could see how it affected the entire fight, and the fact that three of Jupiter''s were overpowering her was sayinga lotabout their strength. Toxicroak and Scizor were weaving in and out, hiding behind trees to escape from Skuntank''s wrath, but the poison type was faster than them,andmore agile. It easily kept up with both of them and the poison it released with every flex of its sinuous muscle corroded Scizor''s metallic shell. Toxicroak was better off, but she was weaker. Her hits did not carry as much weight, and now there was aTangrowthto contend with. The grass type hadn''t moved from its spot and was still using too many vines to count to counter theing threat that was Hydreigon. Theyshiedaway from Zolst''s draconic coat like terrified children, and those that did make it, he burned or destroyed with the snapping bites of his hands¡ª But the point was, not only were Tangrowth''s vines far more powerful in their consistency, they could stretchfurtherthan Angel''s, and the grass type had snaked them under the soil. Energy Balls and gusts of grass¡ª ofLeaf Stormsformed at the tips of these bundled-up vines and forced Toxicroak on the defensive. Her hands moved faster than Cecilia could see, and she took refuge in Skuntank''s poisonous cloud that would be harmless to her, but Tangrowth''s vines began to glow and regenerate, following her into the mist without a moment''s hesitation. In an effort to catch Toxicroak up to her teammates, Cecilia had not diversified her tactics enough, and that made her predictable. She fought like what someone would expect a Toxicroak to fight, and that was even more of an issue given that Jupiter''s fellow Commander owned one. They were buying time. That was all she could ask for. A roar made her turn back toward Hydreigon, who bore the full weight of his power into king''s continuously regenerating hide, and she allowed a toothy grin to split her face when even Jupiter seemed surprised at the fact that her king could possibly be matched in strength by something other than a Golurk. It screamed as one of the heads tore into his shoulder and the other two aimed for its neck, but it was strong enough to keep thembothat bay, even with the continuously shing Scary Faces that Cecilia thanked the Legendaries she wasn''t in front of.Commonstrategy ingrained into every ACE''s mind would dictate to target the psychic first, especially when one¡ª well, not a psychic, but a psychic adjacent¡ª could heal with only itsvoice. So what if, Cecilia had asked herself, she overpowered the healing instead? Now back on his feet and his fist having flown back into its socket, Lehmhart broke into a jog, took one, two, three treps toward king¡ª "Oh man, youreallyare something. I think I''ll remember this one for a long time," Jupiterzily drawled between king''s pained grunts. "Skuntank, get back here." Cecilia''s eye twitched. She heard the poison type running before she even saw it, and when she did, Skuntank danced in-between the trees in and out of view before jumping on thick steps of vines Tangrowth had set up that could somehow support its weight¡ª Toward her. Not to save king. Of course. She was fighting a monster, how could she have¡ª Slowking flinched.Mydy¡ª It happened so quickly. A brisk rise an altitude to dodge Skuntank at first, but it simply used the trees as support¡ª jumping on their smooth,verticalsurface¡ª to get up to their levelquickerandunched poisonous air ahead of itself as it gathered a Night sh within its ws. Slowking waved a hand, sucking up all the noxious fumes in tight psychic bubbles, but stopping Skuntank itself was another matter entirely. Six spheres of water materialized around her and all converged into six singlepointsfaster than she could blink. Six Water Cutters. Six opportunities to take out Skuntank before it could reach them. It did not stop even when one of the water jets poked out its right eye, nor when another carved a line in its nk. The momentum from its jumps was too much, and pain, Cecilia finally understood, was not a limiting factor. Cecilia felt a force tug behind her and was thrown back. Back. She was falling.Shit!She tumbled uncontrobly through the air, unable to even see what was happening in the battle beyond a few shes which were hard to recognize given thateverythingbut dark type moves was golden. A scream rippled through her throat, growing louder the closer she got to the ground. There was athump, and a deep-set pain in her ribs and stomach whensomething¡ª Scizor. Scizor had jumped to catch her. His exoskeleton was coarse and brittle, but he could still move just as fast as before. Scizor suddenly twisted his body with a pained grunt, shutting his eyes as Cecilia tumbled onto the dirt. He must have gotten hit,was her thought when she finally came to a stop. Everything hurt so bad. Raising herself with her two arms had her feeling like her entire body was broken. Each breath she drew through her mask was as if someone had fucking stabbed her in the ribs. Her face¡ª her face felt wet and warm. She was lightheaded¡­ why? She ignored the fighting all around her and brought a hand to her mask, finding it torn in the middle, and she scrambled through her League-issued backpack to find a new one as Slowkingnded fifteen feet in front of her with a loudthud, his form bleeding. Countless w marks had ripped through his stomach, face and shell. That sinking feeling in her stomach, that everything was copsing? Cecilia ignored it and swapped masks before she could¡­ The inside of her other mask was wet with gold. Her own blood, she understood. Her hands were full of it, too. That was why her face felt wet. Cecilia touched it and hissed in agony when every nerve in her face told hernot to touchthe gash in her face. Blood was pouring over her right eye and making it difficult to see, but she put on the new mask regardless, stood up for the first time in twenty seconds with shaking knees, and she took a quivering, pained breath as Talonmended beside her with a worried squawk. A calm settled over her. Not a soothing one, buta cold furythat felt like ice in her very veins. Scizor and Toxicroak were still acting as a team and had moved to target Tangrowth, who wielded masses of vines like heavy clubs that they struggled to cut through now that it had regathered them to its body. asionally, Scizor would fire off beams of Bug st in hopes of overwhelming Jupiter''s protective cocoon, but overwhelming three minds of that level wouldn''t be something brute force was capable of. She¡­ it was difficult through the golden light and her bleeding right eye, but she could tell Tangrowth had been hurt some and it wasn''t healing anywhere as fast. Delcatty was prioritizing king at all costs. king appeared to have recovered from that massive Hammer Arm, though it was slowed and tired. It was an impressive specimen that somehow worked beyond the constraint of Truant, so she doubted injuries would have it reconsider, especially when all of Delcatty''s attention was on him. It traded blows with Lehmhart, going toe-to-toe with the ground type in terms of strength and wasfasterto move. Faster to reach his vulnerable joints, faster to block iing strikes, or dodge them, in the case of Hammer Arm. That was the good news. "Help Lehmhart," she told Talonme. Her voice was hoarse and more tired than her mind was. Talonme listened and took to the skies with a force that had Cecilia stumble to the side. It seemed like her n had failed. Cecilia realized she''d been overconfident and consumed by the desire to kill and remove the threat that was Jupiter to the point of blindness. Hydreigon was foaming at the mouth and had resettled their attention on Skuntank, whose attacks seemed to grow weaker under his gaze. It was how, she assumed, he had survived the tussle with king. She''d done the same thing in the battle with Crasher Wake, so she was d to see their hits weakening under the pressure of his Draconic Aegis. asionally, Skuntank would try to dash in toward her or Slowking, but one of Hydreigon''s mouths would snap shut around one of its legs or throat,keeping it thereuntil it managed to slip out using poisonous fumes. The dragon''s mouths were deteriorating, and fast. She didn''t know if he''d even be able to close them in a minute, let alone thirty seconds. Slowking was slowly getting up, but she doubted he would have the power to do anything else. She recalled him as bloodied hands marked his Pokeball and released him next to her so he wouldn''t have to walk. He was imperative to her victory now that she''d realized the first n wasn''t going to work and she was in no position to execute the second, as was Golurk, which was why Talonme had gone to help. The bird dashed in and out of the fight, expertly dodging the stray hits that Girafarig tried to sneak in with sts of concentrated psychic energy¡ª colors that blurred with different shades of gold that she assumed should have been a rainbow. "I''m surprised you''re still standing. Most would have given up already, I mean, you''re in anawfulposition here." Cecilia blinked. It took a bit for the words to register in her mind. To see something like this monster still talk while their Pokemon were fighting for their lives. More silver dirt sprayed all across her stomach and legs as king barely dodged a punch from Golurk and pulled him in by his arm, using his own momentum against him. The normal type lead him into a vicious punch in the gut that shook the earth and her very bones. She tried to open her mouth¡ª not to respond to Jupiter, but to talk to Slowking, whose form was hunched over and breathing harshly in an attempt to recover from what Skuntank had unleashed upon him¡ª but just opening her mouth hurt, as if it had been wired shut. It felt like rusted hinges creaking painfully with each attempt to speak, swallow or breathe through it, and every single time, she tasted blood in her mouth. It was metallic and almost sweet.Ignore it. You''re stronger than a little pain. "We''re doing the song," she whispered. N¡ªno,Slowking bumbled.I''m not in a state to protect¡ª Her voice was smooth as Johtohan silk the second time. "We''re doing the song," she repeated, and justsocalmly, too. Almost too calm. She supposed she was resigning to her fate. "Face it, Slowking, we''re losing. Our strongest position was right at the beginning of the fight, and I squandered it." Scizor mped down on the tight, packet of vines wrapping around his throat and barely managed to escape with a st of concentrated light that tore through the appendages, but she could see the distress in his eyes, even when she could barely see out of her right one because of all the blood. It was that look he made when he faced an opponent stronger than he was, and he justcouldn''tsqueezing. She heard something break, and it was hard not to picture an industrial shredder crushing scrap metal at the sight of Scizor''s leg being crushed before Toxicroak managed to break him out with a Cross Poison. He could barely even limp from then on and started hovering instead, which strained his stamina even more considering his weight and how fast heat would build up within his body. Toxicroak spat, andrge amount of sludge melted the protectiveyer of vines around Tangrowth, yet they wereslowerto dissolve than normal and those that did regrew at a rapid pace. king was more agile than Lehmhart, even if the golem had grown leaps and bounds in that department, and he had found his groove. The normal type seemed to speed up and grow stronger the longer the fight went on, and Delcatty didn''tonlyheal him, now. He seemed to speed up and grow stronger at certain tunes of her voice, and she could almostseeit reach him. Golurkdidnd some hits, and with each impact came the crescendo of a tune, yet he was hit five times as much due to hisrger size. Talonme spun around, high above Jupiter, and a twisting, ming tornado took hold that neatly dissolved due to Stantler''s interference. The normal type hadn''t done much this fight and hadn''t even used Hypnosis, but she was starting to understand that he might have specialized in Disable and Hypnosis andonlythose two. Did it matter how weak it was offensively if king, Tangrowth and Skuntank could do the work of a full team of six on their own? Wait. The sound. Just like Lehmhart, Delcatty was possibly working with sound, here. "Onest attempt." Cecilia groaned and shut her eyes tightly. God, it hurt. "Do you think sound is key to Delcatty''s healing and¡­ other abilities?" The water type held onto his side, yet he sent a flurry of transparent discs to aid Hydreigon, and they managed to hamper Skuntank some, but just like he''d said, they were far too weak to do anything but distract at best, and the dark type was excellent at ignoring pain. Better than king or Tangrowth. Still, the fact that he''d been rendered so weak after a few hits was proof that she was outmatched in her domain of expertise¡ªpower. Instead of fighting fire with she should have tried this from the very beginning. "Save your energy," she rasped, followed by a few coughs. She wished she still had a few potions remaining, but taking down so many grunts on the way up had taken its toll on her supplies. I could try, but again¡­ I''m not sure sound is the whole of it. I''ve watched¡ªa few tired breaths interrupted his thoughts. He sat down and closed his eyes to use ck Off, but Skuntank''s wounds seemed to fester, still.Arceus damn it!I''ve studied them during the fight, and there''s a psychicponent to the move. I''ve read this in a book, but it resembles Heal Pulse the most,bined with sound and changed to reflect the user. It''s grown far beyond that now, but the concept should be simr. Studied was a¡­ word, considering the fight had barelysted four minutes at best, but she trusted his judgment. "But we may weaken it." He shrugged.It''s three against one,he said, looking at Girafarig, Stantler and Delcatty.And I''m not at one hundred percent.Heughed and blood leaked out of the w-shaped wound on his chest with each heave.Far from it, in fact. I''m bleeding like a Lechonk¡ª "Try." Slowking shut his eyes. In-between the battling, in-between Hydreigon sting Dragon Pulses at Skuntank with his broken jaws, kingripping offone of Golurk''s arm and using it as a stick to hit him with, Talonme shing Tangrowth with air sharpened like des, Scizor keeping his distance as best he could due to his limp and Toxicroak stabbing the grass type with a poisoned de extended twenty inches long, the air itself quivered before going still like it originally was. Jupiter''s form blurred, as did her Pokemon, and their voices suddenly grew distant. Cecilia looked at king and noticed that his healing had slowed. That, inbination with the fact that Delcatty probably was tiring, could have been enough at the start of the battle. Now? The fight had tilted in his favor long ago. Cecilia screamed at Talonme, ignoring the burning agony on her face as her face twisted in horror and king hit the ghost type under his armpit and knocked his remaining arm out of its artificial socket. Lehmhart tried a kick next, but king rolled on the ground andpulledon his ankle. The golem fell back and Talonme submerged king in a bubble of air that she struggled in for two seconds before he bellowed and simplybroke outof. If only she still had ess to her fire¡­ damn it,damn it! It didn''t matter. She''d made a mistake at the beginning of the fight, and her Pokemon would pay for it. Slowking looked at her with what she could only describe as pure horror as a realization settled deep within him. Already, hisrge barrier which he had wrapped around Jupiter''s like a bubble was failing. They were poking holes within it, and like he''d said, he was one mind against three. Hell, maybe¡ª maybe it wouldn''t have worked in the first ce. It would have only left themoneopening to exploit and potentially take down one of the heavy hitters, but none of it had been guaranteed. They were going to have to use the song. Run away¡ª "If I split off, she''ll send one of her Pokemon to hunt me down," she sighed. The strength went out of her legs, and they wobbled again until she leaned against a tree. The beat of the drum no longer made her ufortable. She felt like she could stare at one of the small ponds now and no longer feel the urge to touch or drink it. "And I won''t let you die alone here like some coward, buying what, an extra minute without Hydreigon here, since I''d have to fly away? We don''t have time to argue. Tell him." king''s fur and skin were soaked in golden blood and covered in open, festering wounds and bruises, yet he advanced toward Golurk anyway while he crawled away with his remaining two feet. Cecilia calmly told Toxicroak to buy her time and give up on Tangrowth, which she did. Despite his size, king was as fast,if not fasterthan her, so she could barely get in a good hit when she got closer to him, but the goal was to dy. So she yeddirty. She sprayed the normal type''s ankles with poison that tore away the skin and sinew, and she used the pain as an opening to use Low Kick. The hit barely even made king stumble, but at least itdidstumble before it could retaliate. The ce Toxicroak had just been was crushed by his huge palm, leaving a massive imprint that would have crushed every single one of her bones. He''d tried to squash her like a bug, but that let Talonme slice across his back with a Steel Wing that Delcatty healed, yetslower.She could see it clearly now. The sagging breaths, thetirednessin her voice every time she sang, yet Cecilia knew they could not oust her. The fight had barelysted six minutes, if even that, but they''d thrown so much at each other that it was as if it had been thirty. There was a reason she hadn''t directed her Pokemon to help Golurk, however. This entire fight, she''d been standing on the edge of a skyscraper, a foot suspended in the air. The entire battle had hung upon the thinnest of margins, with each Pokemon doing their part to hold their betters at bay. Now free from having to handle two Pokemon, Tangrowth came to Skuntank''s aid and began turning the tide against Hydreigon, using the same ledges of vines he had used to let the poison type reach the skies above. Unable to close his teeth anymore, Zolst was left with his heads as bludgeons, aided by the power of Dragon Rush, yet despite his blowsfinallyputting a dent in Skuntank thanks to Delcatty focusingallof its efforts on king, the dragon could only go tit for tat with his enemy, even in the air. Its ws could tear through scales and its poison broke his focus each time Skuntank drew nearby, melting through more of his skin. Instead ofnding back on the ground, Skuntank used the trees and Tangrowth''s vines to stay in the air while the grass type dueled Scizor on the ground, slow and still limping. It took some convincing, mostly by saying you might live,Slowking finally said.But he''s ready. Lehmhart was looking at her now. His face had turned to the side as hey his back against a tree and the rune on his chest, hands and shoulders flickered on and off, along with his eyes. He was utterly unmoving, like he wasn''t even alive. A still under the golden glow emanating from Arceus'' throne, his legs half buried in silver sands. His massive body, made of stone and y, seemed almost melded with the rough bark, creating an eerie tableau against the backdrop of the forest. It was like the many paintings she''d seen in her childhood. Too depressing to be painted by Burgh, but it''d fit well in one of Castelia''s art exhibits. A smaller, better contained shield materialized around her, thick and multiyered. Slowking had to forgo his previous barrier to make it work, but it had basically been entirely dissolved anyway. All of her training with Lehmhart had been for this moment, for thisinstant.His obsession with song was the only reason they''d even managed to get to learning this move these past few months. The origins of Perish Song could be traced back to old Ecruteak in Johto. It was one of their ns¡ª the one who now presided over the entire city¡ª who had discovered that spirits could be directed to doom someone to their deaths through song, and due to the threat of mutually assured destruction and the mass deaths of any conquerers, they had been thest city conquered by a unified Johto League. Today, knowledge about the move was closely guarded by Ecruteak, though there had been many replicas made throughout the world, none as potent as theirs. Hers was one of the same. A copy that could be circumvented orstopped, however, that was if an equally powerful ghost was here to counter it for people unable to retreat into the safety of a Pokeball, where they would have to stay for hours before it was safe to be let out again. Jupiter had no ghosts to pull from. A haunting melody began to emanate from Golurk''s form, echoing through the stillness of the forest like a mournfulment. Her perception of it was muffled, but the fact that she could stillhear itwas¡­ Cecilia''s throat tightened, and she licked the blood off her lips. the fighting stopped as soon as the first note hit. For Cece''s team, it was because none of them other than Golurk and Slowking had known the Perish Song wasing, and for Jupiter''s it probably because they couldn''tbelievewhat they were hearing. As soon as the sweet whisper of Lehmhart''s song made it to a living being''s ears, they would know, at that moment, that they were doomed. The monster''s eyes were wide, as was her mouth, but Cecilia found no pleasure in finally extracting a strong reaction from her. Not when she was throwing it all away. Cece''s eyes watered, though she chased away thoughts of Grace, dreams and her friends. "Get that Golurk!"Jupiter screamed with a muffled voice. Some of them listened. Skuntank, for one, immediately rushed toward the golem''s hunched form, but Scizor used thest of his stamina to throw his entire weight into the poison type''s side. Unable to walk, he''d had to beat his wings so quickly that he caught on fire and the metal that was his exoskeleton melded together into a horrifying mess.Still,the steel type fired off a sh Cannon directly into the side of Skuntank''s face, but the force from the concentrated light didn''t stop it until Scizor aimed for a leg instead. Tangrowth was another one who helped her, but Talonme had suddenly regained ess to her fire and had engulfed the grass type in a tornado of scorching blue mes, keeping it trapped and burning any vines before they could even reach Lehmhart. Instead of healing, Delcatty finallymoved, but it was engaged by Toxicroak before it could even get halfway, and the normal type was no fighter. Toxicroak dominated her from the moment their bout began, even when exhausted, stabbing and poisoning her with every jab of her fists while she easily dodged the meager strikes of its tail and head. As the mncholic melody washed over her, Cecilia felt a chill run down her spine, and she could see purple lights, furious andraging, desperate to get through Slowking''s thick barrier. They gave her wordless screams and those thatdidmake it through apanied by the sound entered her body. That was when the pain began. As if her body''s viscera were being squeezed with an iron grip with every single heartbeat. She moaned in agony, and her head bumped into the soft earth as she fell over with her first Pokeball in hand. Slowking and her team were the same, but they held strong. Pokemon were better with pain than humans were. Hydreigon was the first one she recalled. The dragon had been about to attack Golurk out of fury for even daring to use this move when she was still in the vicinity to hear, and it was not like she''d need him any longer. king, Stantler and Girafarig were no longer fighting. The psychic had recalled both itself and Stantler into their Pokeballs and king was currently threatening Jupiter with a menacing look as he loomed over the Commander, who had fallen back against the ground. They were throwing it under the bus. The bond wasn''t there, it never had been in the first ce. It was all sotransactional. They had around¡­ a minute left for the end of the song. Then it would be three minutes to their deaths. It was not just physical agony that Cecilia endured. No, the pain reached deeper, burrowing into the very core of her being. It was a soul-rending torment, an anguish so profound that it felt as though her very essence was being torn asunder, yet Champion by happenstance she might have been, she was not Willpower fornothing. As soon as Toxicroak rid herself of Delcatty with a Brick Break to the neck, Cecilia recalled her before she could even turn around. Then, Scizor when she feared he would die to Skuntank, who could barely even move any longer, and finally, Talonme when Tangrowth''s vines had all been burned and all that remained was the grass type''s dark body. Cecilia quickly spoke, ignoring the fire in her lungs. The colors from the world were fading. "Is it¡­" She gagged and¡ª the vomit surged upwards, hitting the inside of her mask with a grotesque stter. The sound was muffled, a distressing squelch as the expelled mess smeared against the clear visor, obscuring her vision with a vile, viscous film. The smell was mute and fainted, yet it still had her nearly throw off the mask by reflex. "Is it¡­ ready?" she slowly spoke, clearer this time. Slowking looked at her, his eyes wet.Affirmative. "I''ll see youter," she said. I¡­ I''ll hold you to that. The psychic disappeared into his Pokeball. Yet his barrier remained. Just like they''d practiced and done against Crasher Wake. Jupiter was also lying on the ground, paler than it¡­ Paler than she already was. She coughed a mouthful of blood onto the silver dirt, yet what used to be golden to Cecilia''s eyes was now a monochrome gray. The light out of the Commander''s eyes, as dull as it had been, was fading, as were her irises, and king was nowhere to be seen. With all of her remaining strength, Cecilia pushed herself back into a sitting position and allowed Lehmhart to finish his song. If she could not die standing, then she would do so sitting. She still heard it in her head when he was done. The spirits wing at Slowking''s barrier disappeared, and it slowly dissolved. She did not recall Lehmhart. Not just because he was immune to his music, but because she did not want to die alone. "I can''t fucking believe it," Jupiter forced out through clenched teeth. "I can''t fucking¡ª I can''t¡ª that you''d throw your own life away to get me." Cecilia would haveughed ten minutes ago. "Well," she said. "It''s not the first time I''ve flirted with death." And that was not a good thing. She hugged her knees, which hurt when squeezing against her ribs, and pictured Grace despite her best efforts.I''m sorry, my love.There was no other way.Even if Jupiter hadn''t blocked the way to the nextyer, Cecilia wasn''t sure she''d been in a state of mind sound enough to attempt to run away, but as she''d told Slowking, Jupiter would have just caught up if she rode on Hydreigon''s back and Lehmhart took too long to enter his flying mode for it to work. "I was so close," Jupiter bitterly said. "So fucking close. I had front-row seats to¡ª" "Aren''t you going to recall your Pokemon?" They were all too tired or broken to move, yet save for Delcatty, they were still conscious. "No. They should have helped me convince king that he should have fought for a while longer¡ª" She gripped her uniform where her heart was and coughed up some more blood. It slid down the side of her mouth and onto the dirt. "Fuck¡­ this is really happening, isn''t it? I can''t see colors¡­ I can''t smell or feel anything." "Yes. Are you scared?" "Scared? This is like¡­ that one time I decided to be a criminal and I couldn''t see The Holy Knight III in theaters except this time I can''t even pirate it on a shitty screen. I''m having serious FOMO over here,damn it all." Cecilia blinked, though it was more out of habit than a need to. "You''re treating this like a movie," she realized. "I wanted to see if I could make Arceus feel something.Anything." she said, each word slow and deliberate. "If he intervenes, it means that hecares. If he doesn''t, well, who knows? I wanted to study it." "You disgust me." Jupiter closed her eyes. "I like you, though. You''ve got guts." "You''re not¡ª" she bit down on her tongue to fight through whatever was ransacking her body, "¡ªa serious person. You''re just not. You''re a bad caricature. Even Mars is more human than you are." That. That had her frown and open her suddenly bleary white eyes onest time, and yet. And yet she stayed silent. The remaining minute and a half was passed in silence, over the course of which, Jupiter writhed and convulsed in pain until she stopped moving entirely. Cecilia was taken by simr pain, and she could feel her heartbeat weakening with each pulse. She could see Lehmhart''s finger from his disconnected arm subtly moving. "At least¡­" Jupiter croaked. "There''ll be no more Monday mornings." A few secondster, Cecilia''s heart stopped beating. Her eyes closed, and she died. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Heart. Its steady rhythm had slowed, but it refused to yield to death. She found herself aware of the contraction and rxation of the heart muscle and the blood struggling to reach her extremities. The sensing of each closing and opening valve. Lungs. Struggling to fill with air, their delicate tissues burned with the strain of eachbored breath, yet as they pushed against her broken ribs, she could feel each individual sac and bronchial tube fill with oxygen, and with her exhale came their emptying of waste and carbon dioxide. Liver. The quiet industry of cells she did not know the name of churned, though at a lethargic pace. The metabolization of nutrients, the neutralization of toxins, and the elimination of waste. Then there was the sensation of storage, as her liver dutifully hoarded essential nutrients for future use. Nerves. The delicate branches of small tendrils transmitting signals from her brain to every corner of her body and back again. She could almost feel the synapses sparking to life, like tiny fireworks igniting within her nervous system, yet a lot of these were numb and fried. So many more. She was aware. Aware of how fragile she truly was, yet she was barely clinging onto life and felt too weak to even get one of her Pokemon out. Lehmhart tried to crawl toward her with his two legs, but he was clumsy and slow. Slowking''s barrier had worked¡ª barely, and it looked like Lehmhart had done something to save her, too, yet she feared this would leave her¡­ Twisted. There was something else. Something she''d lost due to her death, despite only having been gone for a few moments. She could not see it, not exactly, but she could feel its weight. The vast majority of her Shard, slowly dissolving next to where her head was lying. The chunk had slipped out of her mind while she''d been dead, and she could no longer get it back. It was leaving her grasp like sand slipping through her fingers. Had Chase been nearby, she was certain he would have been able to im it for himself. Was this it, then? Shard no longer, or maybebarelyqualifying as one? When she tried to draw onto the well that was the power afforded by Azelf, she found it truly vacant. It would never be replenished again. Her face might have been caked with blood and vomit, and she might have been something barely even human any longer, but the girlughed, because for the first time in half a year, she did not only feel like she had contained herself, She felt free once more.
Chapter 316 – Ascend, Children of Coronet V Chapter 316 ¨C Ascend, Children of Cor V
CHAPTER 316 - ASCEND, CHILDREN OF CORONET V Drip. Drip. Drip. When she focused on something other than her own head, Mira could hear the sounds of the fifthyer resonating in the cavernous maw below that seemed to swalloweverything, even sound. She hadn''t ever been interested in physics, geology, et cetera, but Cor gave her the damn creeps, which was better than the anxiety she''d thrown to another Mira deep into the recesses of her mind. Not only was she convinced she was behind where she wassupposedto be and she feared that she''d be toote to arrive to the summit, but Chase and Denzel¡­ It looked really, really bad. Chase might not make it through this¡ª "Fuck. Off," she groaned, waving her good hand in front of her face as if she was chasing a Cutiefly away. kazam stared at her with worry, but she quickly added, "Not you, uh, just myself." The psychic shook his head, but knew that today wasn''t the time to scold her about her health. What Mira had had to learn the hard waytely was that if you shirked off the majority of your negative feelings into your split personalities was that they''d getloudabout it. She''d tried merging them together and splitting them off again in an attempt to remove their memories, but that hadn''t worked, either. You should know,anxious Mira said,that with poweres cost. Isn''t that what Grace would say? I''ve found that to be rather urate with us. Maybe you deserve it,pained Mira chimed in.The hand was tough enough, but now I''m a pair of legs¡ª "Wehaveto get to the summit faster, and we won''t make it in time if I have to takebreaks," Mira hissed. She desperately wanted to grab all of them and throw them over the damn cliffs. She reassured kazam again, wondering if they''d grow more annoying the more personality they were given. Mira hadn''t gone out of the mountain when carrying Chase and Denzel out due to their wounds, since she''d been to terrified of wasting time due to it being all strange and quicker in Cor than the outside. In fact, she hadn''t even gottencloseto the exit. Instead, she''d let Pauline, Emilia and a few League Trainers escort them out while she''d retraced her steps to get back to the thirdyer. She found that climbing Cor again up to the point she''d been at had been like swimmingwiththe current¡ª quick, easy and without much protest from forces outside of her control. The fourth and the current one had been much slower, especially due to the cold, which was now thankfully gone. Porygon 2 had been useful to summon fire, but it was kazam and Gardevoir who had pulled their weight. You tortured me,cold Mira hissed. There was a constant shiver in her voice, even if Regice''s influence was gone.Bitch. This time, she responded in her head.Well, we all have to do our part, don''t we? And you''re fine, now. What''s your part?pained Mira asked. She could almost imagine the piercingredown the back of her head.Comining despite being in charge? "nning and taking back bits ofyourpain," she mentally jabbed a finger in her chest, "when you ask." Damn it. That had been out loud again. That''s just being a normal human being. You should try it, once in a while,background processing Mira chimed in, more cheerful than the others by a mile. She was usually in charge of small talk when the group¡ª whenMirahad to think and talk about something else. Yeah, well, I guess I forgot,Mira internally sighed. Luckily for her, they all mostly quieted down after this, allowing her some peace and quiet once more. Denzel¡­ while Denzel was in a terrible state and would no doubt need to stay in the hospital for Arceus knew how long, Chase had been perforated by threehigh-speed rocks that essentially acted as bullets, one at his lower back and two on his right leg. Images of them traveling to Sunyshore and chatting around a fire shed in her mind, and she chased away the need to purge the sadness by giving it to someone else. She found herself staring at the lidar to check up on where she should be going to distract herself. Admittedly, this floor was the worst for this device due to the endless chasms around every ind suspended in mid-air. She peered into the dim glow of the lidar screen, her eyes tracing the intricate web of digital contours that mapped the cavern around her. With a slight pinch and zoom gesture on the screen, she expanded a particrly dense cluster of data points, situating herself around a mile away from an opening in some kind of wall¡ª the lidar''s maximum range, as it was. She was lucky to be a Shard, or she doubted Cor would have even allowed her to even get that close to what she assumed was the path to the nextyer. Her legs sped up below her without hermand, and she felt anxiety about the state of her uncle. A promise was a promise, but it''d be best if she was there when they first came upon him. There could be idents in battle, and all the Miras gave her a collective nod. That was easier than thest one,background processing Mira said with a bit of pep. Don''t jinx it. And stop sounding so damn happy,cold Mira chastised. Legendaries, her head felt socrowded, but for better or worse, she was stuck with these people. Stuck with herself. ¡ª Peramonkoroys in her bed, unable to move. Not even her head can be turned, and so she stares right at thevish ceiling. Through her bed canopy, she looks at it and her lip quirks upward. Painters, summoned from the farthest reaches of her empire, had adorned the ster with designs of her conquest of Hisui and the northern shores of Johto. Yet her time hase to an end, and she knows it was not through natural means. There is a faint scent of avender candle emanating from her bedside table, as is custom to put when someone is on their deathbed. Her two Pokemonment at her side, Garchomp and Goodra. They aren''t ready to see her go, even at the age of sixty. Goodra can barely even stare at her, often retreating parts of her body into her enormous shell. They know something is wrong, yet she has instructed them to safeguard the Empire after her passing instead ofshing out. Her generals stand around her, having turned her bedroom into a den of Ekans, and she knows the one who poisoned her is present. She hopes¡ª truly hopes that the Empire stays together and passes onto her son, but she knows Attuy is a weak man who cannot lead. It is her fault. Through her paranoia, she did not teach him to lead out of fear of a coup, and yet here she was anyway. "Empress," a general speaks. "It appears the prince has run off and escaped the capital. He cannot be found." Her eye twitches. Did these bastards have him killed? Had whatever poison not taken away her voice, she would have been able to remedy this! "Prince Kuttuy can therefore no longer ascend to the throne. So we ask," she says, spear against the ground, "that you designate a new heir among everyone in this room." Pera internallyughs. They did not want someone to seed her. They knew no answer woulde, and so they would carve the Empire apart for themselves. "Empress?" the general asked again. She can only muster a long, hoarse breath. Chatter begins around her bed, yet she knows it''s all make-believe. She cannot evenmunicate with her Pokemon any longer to tell them to rip these people to shreds. This was how it ended, then. Her wish to create an Empire that wouldst onto eternity had been lost to the vultures. Her eyes close, and she pictures Eme and Atreus. The only people she had ever truly loved, her son included. One, she had had killed. The other was nowhere to be found. Empress Peramonkoro, first andst of her dynasty, dies on that bed. Chase stirred from the depths of unconsciousness, and instantly felt like something waswrong, faster even than the pain shooting down every inch of his body. The sterile scent of antiseptic assaulted his senses, mingling with the distant hum of machinery. Blinking against the harsh re of overhead lights, he found himself enveloped in a sterile cocoon of white, surrounded by the hurried shuffling of medical professionals d in scrubs. Instantly, he wanted toget out of here, but he couldn''t. He couldn''t move. Something''s wrong with Cece.That dream, if you could even call it that, meant something. Chase could feel it in his bones. His mind groggily pieced together the fragments of memory as the faint voices of doctors reached his ears. The fight with that bitch Mars¡ª theburningpain in his back that still remained and subsumed everything else, and the fact that the world was still in fucking danger. He tried to talk, but he could only slur his words. Had he been drugged? The doctors buzzed around him like concerned Combee, their voices a distant murmur as they exchanged urgent instructions and assessments. Their faces were a blur of concentration and concern, their eyes fixed on monitors disying vital signs, their hands moving with practiced precision as they tended to his injuries. Then, memories ofAbomasnowhit him at full force.Shit, shit, shit!He so desperately wanted to talk to these fucking doctors, but instead, he saw them prickle his leg with a needle he couldn''t feel and he grew drowsy again. Damn it allwas hisst thought as he fell asleep. ¡ª I could walk, now. Maylene wouldn''t let me, though, and neither would Honey, so I was still propped up on his back as I''d been for thest few hours. There were no moreints from me, especially knowing that we''d just be slowed down if I was walking in this sand, or dirt, or whatever it was. The entire sixthyer was nketed in ayer of silver, grainy particles that smelled a bit sweet when I''d grabbed some and put it next to my nose. It was familiar, yet so far away from anything I''d ever smelled in the first ce that if it had to bepared with anything, I''d never find the words to describe it. My gloves were golden under the light emanating from the sky¡ª and itdidlook like the sky. Unlike the previous floor, you''d find no darkened, ustrophobic walls closing in and looming in the dark. The transition from that tothis, to quite literallydrowningin this golden gloom had been difficult on my eyes. Even through my mask, I had to squint in order for my eyes not to hurt. Honey''s tough fur bristled against my thick, mountaineering coat with every step he buried in the sand, but I still found myselfying my head against his shoulder, not to sleep, but just toclosemy Arceus damned eyes. Even after I''d slept after being knocked out due to the cold, there was simply no way to ignore the exhaustion creeping up on me. It was both physical, but alsomental. I jolted awake at the beat of a drum above us, and caught a hint of a curled green tail slipping behind a tree high above the golden branches. Maylene had freaked out the first time one of those had yed, but we were both in agreement that they had us feel at peace, though hers had more of a nostalgic element to it while mine was fresh and new. "...ace.Grace." I blinked at turned to mypanion. She was wearing a mask of her own now, and had a thin, long and metallic bottle ofpressed oxygen strapped around her shoulder in-between her back and the backpack she still carried. The gauge readsixty-percent, so she still had well over half of it remaining. When we''d first gotten to thisyer, Maylene had struggled to walk straight and had began to feel lightheaded, so we''d had no choice but to share since she was convinced that she had to see me through all of it, even if we''d agreed shewouldget back down at some point. She''d said how she was good at controlling her breathing, and now I believed we''d have enough to make it, though we might need to recall Honey on thenextflowto it. Like she was consciously putting one foot in front of the other instead of running on autopilot. "You shouldn''t call your recovery a waste of time," she bit back. "That''s not what I meant." "I feel like¡ª I feel like you think very little of yourself or your own life, and that scares me, I think. I mean, we almost died, and while I''m trying my best to keep it together you justdon''t care. And I know this isn''t the first time it''s happened to you," her next breath was a short, shaky thing, "but I think that without someone to take care of you, you''ll self-destruct." Maylene looked slightly toward Electivire and sighed. "Sorry, Honey. I know first-hand how difficult it is to have these talks with a parent." While the electric type''s tails had tensed, he said nothing, not wanting to get in-between the argument. No, it wasn''t an argument. I wasn''t really fighting back, just letting her vent, since it seemed like she needed to and I had no idea how to response. An apology I didn''t mean? A lie saying I''d do better in the future? A p back saying that she was wrong? All of these would lead into anactualfight, so instead, I shrugged. "It''ll be better when we''re out of here," I said, my shoulders falling. "These aren''t really normal circumstances." It was easy picturing her bitter smile, but a few seconds passed, and the tension left her. "I dunno," she spoke, far less aggressive than I thought she''d be. "Feels like this is just you, now, and like it''ll be you even after. You can''t just¡­from this and act normal again." I clicked my tongue in frustration, though she didn''t hear. "Why say this here? Why now?" And what the hell could I even do about it?What was saying I''d never be normal again aplish? I alreadyknewthat. I knew I wouldn''t be able to look my parents in the eye after this when they''d asked what the hell had happened, or that I''d struggle to evencareabout things as small as badges and tournaments andbattling. I already knew. "''Cause¡­ you''re my friend and I care about you?" She kicked some of the glimmering sand forward, and a decent amount clung to her boot. "And I wanna help you through it, if you need it. Like, you know, staying in touch even when all of this is done, because it''s gonna be hard for you. And your friends too, I guess." Theifpart of that statement¡ªifwe made it and the world was saved¡ª was already implied. The frustration bubbling in my chest, the cornered feeling that had been closing in on me tlined and disappeared, and I just stared straight ahead. "I''ll take that. Thanks." Maylene''s steps returned to normal. "Cool," she said after a short pause. "Sorry if I was too forward or something, I just don''t want you to¡ª" her head whirled to the right. "Do you hear that?" "No," I said. She facepalmed, but stopped short of striking her forehead. Knowing her, she''d break it on ident or something. "Shit, of course you don''t. It''s like¡­ music?" "Music? Like the drums?" My thumb pointed upward at the leaves. "Or I guess drums is the closest theye to. Or a gong." "No, this is more intricate. It''s like, a long, long tone. Almost like something''s crying." Honey nodded, saying that he was also hearing something but hadn''t wanted to interrupt our conversation, thinking that it might have been part of the environment. "Can you lead?" I asked neither in particr. Honey nodded, beckoning Maylene toe closer, and she pulled her up on his other shoulder, as gentle as always. He''d struggle to run too fast for long because of the thin air (his lungs were the most simr to a human''s in my team and not at all adapted to life this high up), but a few minutes, he could handle. After a while running around in the endless, golden forest, I started to hear the tune Maylene had talked about. A low tone that sounded like strings I recognized very well. My heart sank. "Lehmy," I gasped. Every time I''d been with Lehmhart, he would y music or talk my ear off about it, so recognizing his was a very easy task. Now, I was no Cece, so if I didn''t cheat with my empathy, I wasn''tgreatat recognizing which tone meantexactlywhat, but it was easy to tell that this was a distress signal of some sort. Swallowing, I begged Honey to speed up. Finding them was taking far longer than I thought. Sound here tended to travel far and it had probably seemed closer than it actually was. Still, it got closer and closer until a familiar, endless and hungeringhowljoined his song. The knot in my stomach twisted tighter as soon as I saw him. There were no signs of battle here save for a few disturbances in the sand, but he was more hurt than I''d ever seen him. One of his arms, I found lying against a tree, but there were countless parts of his chest and legs just¡­caved in. Dented to the point that it looked as if someone had nearly punctured some parts of his chest. The lights on his shoulders were off, and only one of his eyes remained lit. There was a trail in the sand¡ª he''d dragged himself toward¡ª My eyes were wet as soon as I saw her."No¡­" I threw myself off Honey''s back and ran the rest of the way. No. No,no, no, no, no!NO! My foot caught on a tree root and I tripped right next to Cecilia, crawling in the sand until I touched her arm. There was a pungent smell of vomit and the metallic twinge of blood, but I gripped her shoulders anyway and shook her. I could see it clearly, now. The way her breathing mask was soaked with golden blood. "Cece!"The shriek reverberated through my throat, ripping at its edges until it hurt."Please¡ª"a sob, then another, and more until I could barely see in front of me because of all the tears. My face copsed onto her chest and I cried,"please don''t leave me." Don''t take the light out of my life. Who to retaliate against? Who to cut and bleed until there was nothing left of them? I bit down on my tongue and let out something akin to an enraged screambined with words even I couldn''t understand with the intent to threaten anything responsible for this, along with their entire lineage so none would follow after them. Then¡ª A heartbeat. I could barely feel it, thumping against my ear, and then her chest rising slowly but surely. "Grace¡­?" She coughed and heaved for air. "Is that you?" What? Had she been sleeping? Or passed out? My arms wrapped around her tightly until she groaned in pain, and I would have let go of her had she not been about to slump over. I wanted to get angry at her for not answering me when I''d called, or evenshaken herat first, but instead, anxiety took hold of my vocal chords and I could only care for one thing. "Wha¡ª whathappened?!" I begged. Maylene spoke up¡ª I''d nearly forgotten she was here. "Look." She pointed in the direction of the opening leading to the seventh and finalyer with a trembling hand. "That''s¡­" Jupiter''s body sat there, limp with half her face buried in the sand. She looked unwounded, though she was pale as a sheet of paper. There was a vineless Tangrowth, still standing upright but clearly dead¡ª I made sure by shing my empathy and nothing came up. A Skuntank and Delcatty had met the same fate, though the Delcatty didn''t even seem to be wounded in any way. "I beat her. For Justin," Cecilia croaked out. "It was¡ª" "Don''t fucking talk!" I yelled. "You''re bleeding and hurt. Is it your face? Of course it is¡ª Are you hurt anywhere else?" If I was taking off her breathing mask, I wanted to make sure it was correct. When she managed a weak nod, my hand hovered over her face.I was scared of seeing her hurt,which was stupid considering shealready was. Maylene and Honey leaned next to me when they saw I couldn''t do it. The Gym Leader grabbed one of our water sks she''d attached to her hip while Electivire tore the mask away from her face. Two, deep gashes had torn their way across her face. One was high up on her forehead, trailing down to above her eye, on her nose and the left corner of her lip. Dried blood had covered her right eye from the liquid constantly dripping over her face. The other cut was slightly shallower, going from the edge of her right temple and onto her right cheek. I restrained a cry, letting out a distressed groan instead, and Maylene poured the a portion of the water onto her face to wash away the blood and the vomit, after which Honey ced the mask back on to allow Cecilia to take another breath. This cycle continued four times until her face was as clean as could be and she wiped the dried bits away with a cloth and stopped the bleeding with a clean gauze. Even with the golden light, it was as if Cece''s skin color had lost a bit of its usual vigor. Maylene nearly jumped out of her skin when Cecilia opened her eyes and gave us a slow, lethargic blink. Her irises were gone. Just gone.Part of me considered it a trick of the light, but I knew thisyer''s glow didn''t work that way, and I knew Cecilia wasn''t blind either, given that she would asionally turn her head Jupiter''s way, as if to make sure she was truly dead and wouldn''te back to haunt her. Sometimes she''d look at Lehmhart too with a deep sadness etched onto her scarred visage. "Can you¡ª recall Lehmhart?" she forced out, her voice so quiet I nearly missed it. I hurriedly nodded and grabbed the ghost type''s Pokeball. I struggled to tell which one it was due to the lighting here, but I knew Cecilia wore her Pokeballs in order of which Pokemon she''d caught. The giant disappeared into his ball, and I managed to snag his arm as well. Knowing he was a construct, I had an inkling any limb issues would take longer to heal if they were lost. I''d find the other armter. For now, Maylene handed me along gauze to press on Cecilia''s face to wrap around her wounds after she''d dried her face, and I obliged, the panic from the thought of losing her now reced by a resolve to see her through this no matter what had happened. Head wounds weredifficultto bandage, it turned out, and it was awkward to avoid blocking her eyes. But we managed, even if it was slower than we''d liked. When we were finished, it ended up wrapping around her chin and the back of her head, but vision through her eyes was unobstructed. I helped her stand upright and gave her some of my own water so she could quench her thirst, and while she winced at every motion of her face muscles and her voice was still harrowingly weak, which made it difficult to hear due to the damage to my ears, she wasslightly better than she''d just been. This was, however, just a stop-gap measure. She''d need actual medical attention sooner rather thanter. Those would scar, andbadly, and I had no idea what the hell was wrong with her eyes. My hands gripped the sides of her shoulders. "Can you lean your back against a tree without my help?" I asked. Instead of an answer, I was met with a weak hug that had me melting into her arms. My fingers dug into her back. She was real. She was real, she was alive, and she waswith me. She sniffled, which came out as a distorted hiss due to her breathing mask. "I was so terrified I''d never see you again. I was thinking of you when I fell unconscious." Her tone was slow and purposeful, yet she tripped over her words and struggled to speak due to the pain. "Legends above, I''m¡ª I''m so relieved." "I''m here," I gently said.And so was she. "You don''t need to push yourself. Rest for now." "So¡­ what now?" Maylene said. She was slightly shaken over having seen another dead body, but nowhere near what she''d felt before. Part of me considered telling her to take Cecilia back with her. That was, of course, a stupid idea. First of all, neither would agree with this, even if Cecilia was too weak to even walk, and after that conversation we''d had, Maylene would vehemently disagree. "Before we decide anything, I need to tell you something," Cecilia said. She looked at me, her irisless eyes shining golden through her mask. "I''m barely a shard." Maylene spoke up, "The half thing? I read that in your file¡ª" "No.Let me finish¡ª"I nearly flinched at theaggressivenessin her tone; a heavy contrast with the quiet, nearly dead voice she''d been making beforehand. Cecilia stopped herself and took a deep breath in-between a ''sorry'' from Maylene. "Jupiter¡­ was strong. Stronger than I thought I''d be able to handle." A series of sickly coughs followed, and she kept going. "I had to take drastic measures. My own variant of Perish Song." I froze. "...what?" "I had to use it, and it killed me." I clenched my teeth. "Are you fucking¡ªare you fucking kidding me?!"I hissed, desperately wanting to shake. The loss of tone in her skin, her eyes, it was all because¡­ "Youkilled yourself?Couldn''t you have found another way?! Or ran¡ª" "Do not,"she growled, "lecture me about risks." We were silent for a few seconds. Rarely had she ever spoken to me this way, and even if she''d almost died, ithurt, especially knowing I had a right to be angry. "I handled the battle wrong," she agreed, straightening her back against the tree with a pained moan. "I was too obsessed with revenge, too tunnel visioned on our oath, and by the time I realized, my only path was this." Maylene tried, "There must have been another way¡ª" "Yet, you weren''t there," she bit back with more venom than I''d ever heard out of her. "So how wouldyouknow?" "Don''t," I said. "She''s worried for you." Cecilia scoffed. "I barely know her¡ª" she slid down against the bark slightly and her eyes narrowed. "Now isn''t the time for this. I''m barely a shard any longer, so I don''t know if I''ll be enough, even with Chase." I spared an apologetic nce at Maylene as my shoulders slumped. "You haven''t seen him? I was hoping¡­" "So you haven''t, either?" "No, I''ve just been with Maylene from the secondyer," I quickly exined. "It was pretty smooth sailing until thest one. I killed Saturn there." Cece slowly nodded. "I see. Were you hurt?" "No¡ª well, his Exploud gave me permanent hearing damage, but nothing serious." Maylene mumbled something I didn''t catch. "Yes, she''s correct, thatisserious," Cecilia said. When I asked her if she''d been with anyone on the way there, she answered Maeve, who she''d asked to run while she held Jupiter back because all of her Pokemon but Starmie were incapable of fighting, and while I wanted to tell her she could have kept Starmie and maybenotdied and came back to life through Lehmy with means I still didn''t understand, she spoke of it before I could chastise her about it, apologizing again for her being so hung up on killing she hadn''t seen the obvious. "There was also another girl. She¡­" my girlfriend trailed off. "She was one of Mars'' grunts and has been through much." Cecilia told us about ra. About how Mars had called her Grace Pastel the fourth and how she''d been given scars to mirror mine. About how she seemed to despise me with every ounce of her being. Guilt ate at me, sending goosebumps through my arms and back. There had beenfourof these girls. Fuckingfour. Three had died before ra, and it was all because of me. All because Mars had grown to be obsessed with me from the moment she''d had me in that chair in Valley Windworks. All because she''d seen the simrities between us after that as I slowly, unconsciously turned into an awful version of myself, staring down the abyss until I''d righted the ship. My hand squeezed around my wrist. "Don''t me yourself." "It''s not your fault." Both girls stared at each other, yet it was Cecilia who continued. "Don''t shoulder the me for the wickedness of others," she said. "It''s Mars, who ra should be hating, not you. To her, you''re just as much to me as Mars is, but she''s just a girl. I¡­ regret the way I handled things with her. It''s been eating at me since you woke me up¡ª almost like a physical thing, deep in my heart." My hand found hers, and I squeezed. Even without a glove, I knew I''d find little warmth here if the temperature of her face was anything to go by. "Thanks." I looked at Maylene. "To you both. Um, I guess we should keep going, but Honey''s going to have to carry Cece. I can walk now¡ªfor real," I quickly added before Maylene could say something. "Plus, I need to stretch my legs." The electric type gave a thumbs up and his signature smile. "One quick thing I forgot to add," she said as Honey slowly hauled her up, this time carrying her in her arms. "I can''t see color anymore and parts of my skin feel numb. Mostly extremities like my hands and feet." Arceus.How many side effects was this thing going to have? I couldn''t help but feel anxious that I was missingsomething.Lehmhart had obviously resurrected her, but the fact that she''d died in the first ce meant that she''d ingested copious amounts of ghostly energy¡ª more than any specialist would in their lifetimes through passively staying near their powerful ghost types. Her snappy anger earlier came to mind as I rose back to my feet, however I knew that couldn''t be it. Still, it was difficult to differentiate, sometimes. Maybe she was just that way due to just having died. We wouldn''t be able to tell until we saw a League professional like Justin had seen after Sceon. Justin¡­ I stared long and hard at Jupiter''s corpse as we passed by to enter the finalyer and allowed a slight smile to reach my lips. It was at a great cost, and I would not call it worth it, but at least you were avenged. "Let''s go find Lehmhart''s other arm," I said. ¡ª The seventhyer of Mount Cor was a beautiful thing, but it was also the most unsettling to me for two main reasons. The endless field of golden grass reached up to my chest, yet it felt like a silky cover instead of prickly grass, and an enormous, golden sun shimmered high in the sky that was too bright to stare at just like the real thing. It was actuallywarm, here, unlike the cold I''d felt during all the previousyers. Hot enough to mistake this ce like a constant, cloudless dayte in the spring, meaning that I''d needed to take off my outer jacket. Sure, I was already as dirty as could be given the fact that we''d been inside a mountain for days, but I didnotwant to add ayer of sweat on top of that. But the two reasons this ce was unsettling for me was that itforceda strange sense of peace and belonging onto me, and that fuckingsun moved erratically in the sky, too far away to potentially be sensed by my empathy. It flew without pattern, sometimes basking us in warmth that was scorching and other times keeping us rtively cold. On average, though, the temperature was like spring, as I had noted. To see such an enormous thing movinglike it was alive and had a mind of its own was disconcerting, like when Melmetal had first revealed itself to be metal givenlife. I nced down at my Pokeballs, wondering how Mimi was doing. Honey has retired in his Pokeball and had now been reced by Buddy, yet he was not an appropriate shape to carry someone for a long period of time and was still too tired to change shape on a whim. That battle underground with Excadrill had takena lotout of him, more than I''d thought. So Maylene had ended up carrying Cecilia in front of her, one arm under her knees and the other under her neck. Cece wasn''t very happy about it, but she couldn''t exactly say anything. I could tell she was feeling like dead-weight already, though she was conflicted about it. One one hand, losing the majority of her shard meant that she''d be freed of her endless dilemma, but on the other, she''de here to free Azelf from Gctic''s clutches, and there couldn''t have been a worse time for this to happen. All we could do now was hope Chase was close to the summit like we were and that he''d pull his weight soon enough. Hell, we had no idea where Mira even was, and if I''d managed to bring Maylene all the way up here, then there was a possibility that Denzel, Pauline and Emilia wereing, too. Hell, where wasCynthia? "So just in case we run into Mars, Cyrus or Charon, what Pokemon do you have left?" Maylene asked. She was talking to Cecilia in particr, but it''d be a good idea to take the temperature, so to speak, and see what ourbined forces would look like. I looked at Jellicent, who hastily bobbed up and down under the golden glow of the burning sun. "Buddy, Honey¡ª though that''ll have to wait until we get to Spear Pir due to the oxygen issue." When the League had briefed us, they''d exined how no breathing apparatus would be necessary close to Arceus'' throne. "Sweetheart¡­ and I guess Angel, if we really, really need backup." Getting him out of stasis, out of his Pokeball, would mean awful things for the prospects of regenerating his eye, though, so hopefully it wouldn''t be needed. "Talonme is almost unharmed. Zolst can still fight, but he''ll be furious at me and might not listen very well. Toxicroak can battle, too," Cecilia slowly said. It any other context, it would have been funny to see her speak in such a serious tone while she was being carried like I had been. "But I see that there are no psychics avable." "Cass got hit and has been screwed ever since. Probably will be until they get to a Center," I said. Cecilia sighed. "Slowking¡­ I believe he''s lost too much blood. Skuntank tore through him with Night sh." I''d seen it. She had released him to let him know that she was alive, along with her entire team save for Lehmhart, but the moment had onlysted a few seconds at best. The psychic hadn''t even been able to stand on his own two feet, so the prospect of him protecting us with barriers was gone. Hydreigon, meanwhile, had instantly wanted tosh out at her and so had been recalled instantly. "I''ll try my best to be of use," Maylene said. "Through aura?" Cece curiously questioned, raising her head a smidge. "She''s got great reflexes!" I beamed. "And she''s saved my life more than once. She''s no psychic, but you shouldn''t underestimate her capabilities dodging stuff." Cecilia looked away, and Maylene quietly thanked me¡ª or maybe it was my hearing ying tricks with me. "Obviously that wouldn''t be enough, but we''ve trained enough for our Pokemon to work together," I added. "Mars is powerful, but with our forcesbined, maybe we can escape or buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive, or to free one of the Lake Guardians." "I thought you''d want to kill her," Maylene said. "Like Saturn." "The feeling has never been as strong as Saturn¡ª" "Grace tends to prioritize the people she loves over herself," Cecilia exined, her body shifting ufortably in Maylene''s arms. "She''stooselfless sometimes." I didn''t know what to say to that. "Well¡­" "And she''s always been like this," she kept going. "When I first met her, and I was still worrying over what my so calledfather," she spat, "was going to do to me, she still helped me more than any of my other friends despite the fact that we barely knew each other." "Hmhm," Maylene half-heartedly agreed, grass britstling against her. "Uh, getting back on topic, that means we''d have an appropriate number of Pokemon to fight back, but we wouldn''t be able to get through two fights." "Especially when Mars is so strong," I agreed. "It''s all about where the others are," Cecilia hummed. "Story-wise," I began, "it''d make sense for them to either already be there and us to barely make it to save them, or for the inverse to be true." Cece''s arms subtly moved. "Don''t rely on those too much." Maylene looked down at her. "It''s gotten us up here this far without many hups." "AndI''vegotten this far by¡ª" she paused and cleared her throat, clearly wanting to avoid the subject. "There are different methods to climbing this ce. I''m saying we shouldn''t expect a miracle just because of a story." "She''s¡­ right, I think," I said. "I''d rather not risk it and expect a miracle instead of working our asses off to pull off a win." A win here didn''t necessarily mean avictoryas much as it meant getting out of a fight with Mars or Cyrus alive. In the distance, a massive Snox slumbered in the grass, bigger than I''d ever seen. Larger than Craig''s or Barry''s, and as tall as a small building. Her snores reverberated through theyer, but it wasn''t only her. A group of eight Staravia and a Staraptor were sitting on her stomach, content to just look at us pass by. I dipped my head in respect, and the Staraptor did the same. He recognized me as Shard, and would allow us to pass through. I''d noticed there were a lot more Pokemon here than on otheryers. They had been more hesitant to flee despite the mountain''s pleas, as if they answered to someone else. Usually, they were normal types wandering the ins. I''d seen a childless Kangaskhan make a wide berth around us, countless flying types flying in the air, keeping away from the sun, and many more. "Well, it''s not like I''m meant to be here, so I guess you two know better," Maylene agreed. "I figured we could keep relying on what got us this far." "It was a team effort and I wouldn''t be alive without you. Let''s not get hung up on this stuff," I said. She sounded a little more defeated than usual, but it was probably the stress of the finality of the situation getting to her. "Charon''s basically a non-factor. His Hypno''s dead and the rest of his Pokemon aren''t up to par. Mars is the issue, along with Cyrus." Thoughts of ra filled my heart and I put a spring in my step. "So we n for them as best as we can so we don''t have to rely on things like Perish Song." The held-back anger in my words was very clear. I wasn''t going to let Cecilia off the hook for thisany timesoon. ¡ª As it turned out, even nning was an issue with these two. Cecilia''s wires were all crossed, and she easily found herself throwing verbal jabs at Maylene when the Gym Leader said something that, to Cecilia''s credit, had been a middling or bad suggestion just because she was less experienced in these fights than we were. This was evidently awkward considering Maylene was carrying her in her arms. Not only that, but Cece was also quick to put herself down in regards to her sins and what she''d done. "I wish I could have gone about this differently," she would say, or, "I regret the way I shouldered Lehmhart with the sole responsibility of bringing me back," or, "will Zolst ever forgive me for what I''ve done? For trying to leave him behind?" Then, she''d look at me and say the mostheartwrenchingthing. "Willyouever forgive me?" Partly, it detracted from the actual nning (which, to be honest, hadn''t gone very well, either, given the fact that all we''d have to fight Mars or Cyrus with Pokemon who ranged from tired to exhausted), but I felt like if I hadn''t been there to intervene, these thoughts would have utterlyconsumed hervery being,and the horrible pain in her face didn''t help. So I kept closer to her, making sure to give her some reassuring words while Jellicent kept watch of our surroundings. For all these final twoyers had been grand, they were sosimple in their design, as if they''d been a blueprint for what woulde below, and then all over Earth. It''d make sense, considering Cor was Arceus'' throne and this could have been one of the first things on this ever made. I gulped. That had weight. Yet my legs felt lighter and lighter the more we followed a Pidgeot flying high in the sky toward what felt like this floor''s center. She''d caught our attention by screaming and had scared off a group of Bergmites away from us. What I''de to understand from thisyer was thateverythingwasrger than their counterparts outside the mountain. Even Pidgeot was slightlyrger than Pauline''s Braviary, yet the flying type made no efforts toe and pick us up on her back. "This is more boring than I thought it''d be," Maylene sighed as she stared at the open skies, or at least the illusion of the sky, gilded andplete with its own clouds. It was more convincing than the previousyer. "It''s like there''s no more resistance left and it''s just ushering us on through, now." "Better that than whatever was going on before," I shrugged. "Here, a theory for you about stories¡ª" "Another?"Maylene said,ughing. Right. They''d heard a lot of my ramblings when Iunched a bunch of ideas to take down Mars. I allowed my hand to caress the smooth grass. "I just like talking about this stuff." "No, I mean, it''s kind of funny." She adjusted her grip on Cecilia''s legs and apologized for moving her too quickly. "Might as well, though. Anything will help." "Well, won''t really help, but¡ª now that we''ve taken out two Commanders, I think Cor''s eyes have been opened a little." I grabbed a de of golden grass and smelled it. Slightly sweet, but stronger than thest floor. "After dealing with Saturn, it started being neutral again, but now it''s full-on helping us. I mean, it''s like walking down a straight path, right? Feels easy." Cecilia chimed in, even if she''d quieted down due to her pain. "We didn''t have to solicit that Pidgeot, either." She''d known how we''de up herergely by using wild Pokemon due to iting up earlier in the conversation. My fist struck my palm, though I was annoyed at the fact that I''d nearly missed her statement. "Right. So I was thinking¡­ what if we could throw these off like Gctic?" I pointed at my face. Our breathing masks. Both instantly disagreed, of course, even Buddy, but it wouldn''t be lethal if I was wrongright away. "Cece, it keeps pressing up on your face and hurting you, I can tell," I worryingly said. "I''ll try. At worse, I get lightheaded and my head''ll spin, but you can help me if it goes wrong. We do it to eat already anyway." "The air could be corrupted or something¡­" It was already off before Maylene could finish her sentence. I had almost forgotten the feel of the world''s breath against my face.Realwind, not stale, cold and humid mountain air. I put my hood down and allowed my hair to flow freely, taking a deep breath. Being up here felt like being outside, wandering a garden in Eterna City, not like we were on the roof of the world. The constant pressure around my nose, mouth and forehead bled away and I blinked a few times when I realized this ce was a lot brighter than I''d given it credit for, covering my eyes with a hand. Warm air filled my lungs. "See?" I smiled, running a hand through my greasy hair. "Nothing. Feels like you''re down at Cor''s base on route 211." Buddy was the first to speak, scolding me for taking such needless risks, but I just countered by saying he was just being a worry-wart. "I''m¡ª yeah, I''m gonna let you down," Maylene finally told Cece. "I''ll help," I quickly chimed in, running through the grass. Legends, this was so rejuvenating. Cecilia ced an arm around my shoulder and clung to me while I gently took off her mask. Bits of her gauze appeared slightly bloodied when I nced up at her and two irisless eyes faced me. "We''re gonna have to change those." She nodded, her breathing sounding slightly raspy. There was just a hint of a gravelly whisper with each inhale and exhale. Maylene had followed suit, her short, pink hair now loose, and was already pulling out supplies from the bag. After calling out to Pidgeot to wait for us, the giant bird started circling high above with an impatient screech every minute or so. "Also, regarding your¡­ issue," I spoke to Cecilia. "Is it going to affect fights?" Her nose red, and her brows knitted together. "No. I''m not that far gone." "I can check up on you if you want. With empathy. Not touch, but just see what makes you tick." Mostly, I was worried that it was still taking time to settle in and that the worse was yet toe, especially given that her physical weakness had her speaking less than usual. It wasn''t like her, to want to verbally jab and prod while being so mean andviolentabout it. It was a good thing Maylene had taken it on the chin. That girl was honestly a saint. Her answer was slower toe than I''d expected. "I''d¡­ I''m not ready for such a decision. I barely know how things will change after this, if there is one, but at least I''m self-aware to know I''m not acting right." "That''s okay." Maylene brought over the first-aid kid, we reced Cecilia''s bandages with newer, tighter ones (which we got cussed at for), and we were on our way again. The trek seemed endless, yet with the wind in my face, I found my footing easier now, and it grew purer and purer the closer we got to the enormous staircase looming in the distance. So crisp and pure it somehowtastedgood. For a moment, I was just a girl strolling through the grass with her girlfriend and her friend, and I forgot myself¡ª no, Ishedthe outeryers; all of that pressure built up peeled off of me like it was fuckingmagic. It returned like a wispy fog clogging my brain when I ced the sole of my boot on the first set of stairs. Golden and transparent, the smoothest material I''d ever seen, whatever it was, and most importantly, Most importantly, power reverberated with that step. My mouth felt dry when I looked back at Maylene and Cece and I waved a goodbye to our guide Pidgeot. Maylene jittered in ce, hands tightening around Cece from anxiety. "Are you both ready?" "Nowhere to go but up," I dered. I took another step. And another. And another¡ª
Chapter 317 – Spear Pillar Chapter 317 ¨C Spear Pir
CHAPTER 317 - SPEAR PILLAR This ce was too beautiful for words. We crossed an arch I recognized very well as I wiped the tears trailing down my cheeks. Boney white, with golden and green peppered throughout the structure. Mesprit''s mindscape had had the same structure on their replica of Mount Cor, but this one was¡­ breathtaking. Brighter,rger, grander in all the ways that mattered, and the sense of nostalgia, of belonging that overtook me had me sobbing like a damn child as soon as I crossed it and set my eyes on Spear Pir. Spear Pir had been carved into the teau of Cor out of strange, beige bricks that were covered in cracks that seemed to bleed beyond their edges, yet they felt smooth to walk on. It was surprising, how run-down this ce looked. Countless pirs rose from the sides of the bricked path, but jagged crevices and fissures marred their surface. Some of them were broken down or even copsed, yet everything felt like it was as it should have been. The sky was . Exactly like it had felt within Mesprit''s mind, like it stretched on and on and on. Its tone was a richer, deeper azure blue than what you''d usually see from the ground. The sun still hovered there, signaling how little time had passed in the real world, and of course, there was not a single cloud in sight. There was a thin, golden and white fog at the edges of Spear Pir that calmly clung there, steering clear of the¡­ path, if you could even call it that. Buddy seemed ufortable with this ce. His eyes constantly twitched, were dimmer than usual, and he made himself smaller. Asking him why had him say that he felt the opposite of belonging, here. Like he shouldn''t have been here. When I turned to my twopanions, I could see that they''d been transfixed by Spear Pir as well. Cecilia had opted not to wipe away her tears and let them flow onto her bandaged face, but she''d been crying as well. I''de here with the expectation that we would be attacked right away, but instead, this ce seemed to stretch beyond the horizon, somehow. An endless path of broken bricks. Silently, we began to walk against the calm, warm winds sweeping across the teau. I tried toe up with exnations as to why the Creator''s throne would be so run down, even if it did not feel like it, yet my mind came up nk after a few seconds with every attempt, as if questioning the state of this ce went beyond anymon sense. Still, one had to wonder why such a mundane ce was¡­ The thought was smothered before it could keep going. Time passed. Nerve-wracking minute after nerve-wracking minute without any signs, whether that be Chase, Mira or the others, or of Team Gctic itself. Could we have been the first ones to make it, after every dy we''d encountered? If that was the case, then maybe the world had a chance. I couldn''t shake the feeling a certain sound gave me if I focused for long enough. It was simr to the ringing in my ear, but something else, far off in the distance. While Jellicent seemed unsettled by this ce, Electivire and Tyranitar were in awe, staring at every nook and cranny like it was gold. Cecilia''s Talonme dared not to fly off too far, and while she seemed disappointed in her trainer, she took in Spear Pir''s beauty as well, twisting and turning between each tower while Toxicroak had tried to grab a stone to keep, but to no avail. "Grace," Maylene warned, her grip on Cecilia tightening. "Ahead of us, behind one of the pirs." I squinted and scanned the surrounding towers of stone while Buddy finally found his gusto and threateningly rippled at his edges. Maylene couldn''t exactly point properly, with Cece in her arms, so it took me a bit to see what she was talking about. Not that it mattered anyway, because the culprit shuffled from behind the pir with a familiar limp and white coat draped over his Gctic uniform. With his usual scowl, Charon red at us and adjusted his sses to get a better look. Thest time I''d seen this man, near Floaroma, he had terrified me. Today, he was just a bump in the road. Our Pokemon stood at attention, ready to strike. Toxicroak was thest to tense and anxiously bounced herself up and down. We weren''t nning on killing him, not when he was so weak and Mira needed him alive, but he had better surrender and get the hell out of the way. His presence meant that Team Gctic had made it here first, which was terrible fucking news. The world was teetering on the edge of oblivion. "Throw your Pokeballs on the ground¡ª" Cecilia interrupted me with a harsh, ghastly tone. "Surrender or die." I blinked, but didn''t act surprised so we could present a united front. That had better been a bluff. Charon took a step backward, and for a moment I thought he''d run, but instead he looked behind the same pir. "Mars," the Commander pressed, adjusting the tight cor around his neck. "Hurry up and stop them!" The hair on my neck stood on end, and I nervously licked my lips. Her being hereplicated things and meant we couldn''t win theing fight. It also meant that Cecilia would have to use an unruly Hydreigon and I would have to risk Angel''s eye just for a hope at survival. The current n was to test the waters by battling for a minute or two, and running away back to the seventhyer to wait for Chase and the others if the situation was untenable. I was hoping I''d be able to cooperate with Cor to get what we wanted. Cecilia had called it twisting the mountain''s arm, but I disagreed. The person who emerged from behind the pir wasn''t the Mars I''d expected. What jumped at me was that she was missing her right arm. It had been cut clean off at the shoulder. The stump was covered in dry blood and was leaking small amounts of ghostly energy, but that wasn''t it. Mars'' entire demeanor had changed. She walked with small, restrained steps, her shoulders were hunched to make herself smaller, her eyes were darting all over the ce with dried tears staining her cheeks, and most of all, she looked exhausted. Her Wigglytuff apanied her, but¡­ Wigglytuff was hurt. Large swathes of his stomach had been burned¡ª and having both a fire and an electric type, I recognized electrical burns. He had hugecerations all over his body as well, and though there had been an expectation that since Mars'' Pokemon were just projection, injuries like these were meaningless, the normal type actually looked tired. Mars released two more Pokemon¡ª Clefable and Bellossom¡ª and both looked to have been through a battle as well. Clefable was the most intact, but Bellossom was covered in bruises that could only havee from blunt hits; maybe punches. Mesprit and Uxie were nowhere to be seen. For a few seconds, there was only silence. Mars had been in a fight, and seeing as Cor cooperated with Gctic because they''d tricked it using the Lake Guardians, I doubted a wild Pokemon was the culprit. "Grace." Mars shuffled in ce, hugging herself with her only arm. A shy, yet saddened smile took to her lips. "You promised me we would talk for a bit in Mesprit''s mind when we met again¡­" Damn. That lie had slipped my mind entirely with all of the events I''d been through ascending to the peak. At the time, I''d said it just so she would be taken off-guard if I attacked her suddenly, but I doubted that would work now that she had her Pokemon out. I''d figured that maybe I would have been able to trick her into being defenseless. "Sure," I said, ignoring Maylene and Cecilia''s heavy, surprised stares and my Pokemon''s disapproving vocalizations. "I have a few questions, too. Then I''ll be all yours." Charon scoffed. "What are you doing, you¡ª" he was taken by a sickly, wet cough that went on for a few moments as I raised my hands to appear as innocent as I could. "Attack them!" It was obvious to me now that Charon wanted us as far away from whatever was happening behind them as possible. Mars'' voice went cold. "Shut up." He clicked his tongue and his hands went to his two remaining Pokeballs, yet he didn''t release them. He must have known that he had no chance, and there was the possibility of Mars killing him outright if he angered her. She was in quite a vtile mood. "Grace¡ª" I turned to Maylene and whispered, "This is important. Her Pokemon are hurt, meaning that she''s fought someone to get here and we need to know who. It won''t take long, I know what makes her tick." "I don''t like this," she said. "Cecilia, say something." My girlfriend stayed silent, her eyes ncing at me, then back at Mars and her team. "There''s this hatred inside of me," she whispered so low she was barely audible. "This desire to hurt. But even I can think clearly enough to know that talking to Mars¡­ well, it''d be sensible if we could avoid a fight, but that''s not her prerogative. Still, I''m intrigued, too." "That''s not what you were supposed to¡­" Maylene trailed off. Taking a deep breath, I continued louder. "Mars! You and your Pokemon look hurt." It was important to keep it open-ended and lead her where I wanted instead of pulling her there myself. As Cecilia had said and despite how unlikely this was, avoiding a fight here was the goal, not fraternizing with the enemy. The redhead tilted her head, and Wigglytuff''s cheeks puffed up beside her. "Interested?" There she was, or at least partly. There was a hint of taunting in her voice that gripped my very being and could squeeze out hatred. "What will you give me for it?" Cecilia snarled in Maylene''s arms. "I''ve changed my mind. Enough of this." I held up a hand. One couldn''t¡ª I inhaled. One couldn''t just ignore such horror dangled in front of them, even if it was bait. I closed my eyes, and the next time I opened them, colors swirled around Mars. As I''d seen earlier, there was a baseyer of sadness that I wouldn''t expect from her, but climbing joy and pleasure from torturing me with the fate of my friends. Spear Pir''s peaceful quiet turned eerie. Charon was content to let this y out, watching us with a wary look in his eyes. So long as he could buy time, he was probably okay with this. "Who was it?" I asked, no, demanded. My throat felt so tight that getting the words out strained my neck. My feet rattled on the crackled beige stones so harshly my soles felt tense. "Who?!" "She feeds off of your worry," Cecilia said in a whisper. "Respond with fear and she''ll escte in kind because it''s all she knows. You know this. Control yourself." When I turned her way with a mix of confusion and apprehension, she added, "Always expect the worst, and you won''t be saddled with disappointments and regrets." Maylene shook her head. "I''m not sure that''s¡ª" "It doesn''t matter who it was," I lied to Mars. "You were in a battle with someone." My words were more of a deration than a question. "Another trainer." Mars deted a bit. "Yes." No subtle movements in her emotions. She was saying the truth. "Checking for lies?" she wondered in a teasing tone. Like this was all a joke. Yet there was ack of passion behind it. She was tired. "Ask me more. Ask me the question you really want to know, but say please at the end." I closed my eyes, took a shaky breath and asked again. "Please tell me who it was." "Chase Karlson and Denzel Williams fought me. They killed Snuggles. They killed Twinkles. They killed Dusky." Charon''s eyes went wide next to her, and he started spewing insult after insult, calling her daft for revealing this until she scared him by making a brusque motion his way. "But," she said with a twisted smile. "I killed Chase, too. Star over here took care of him." She patted the Clefable on the back. "Mr. Wiggly took care of that Abomasnow. Boring Denzel was pretty badly injured, too. He might have died from his injuries." I looked at her. I looked¡­ At her. She wasn''t lying. Her statement was even more irond than thest. The ringing in my ears overtook everything and grew so loud I could barely hear myself think. "Would you have felt something if this was true?" I calmly asked Cecilia. I didn''t hear her answer over the ringing, but her lips read ''I don''t know''. She was crying again¡ª and it seemed that when she cried, now, her face and voice would stay unresponsive and she would just let the tears out. Once, twice, thrice, how could one take loss again and again? How could one not run out of sorrow and not give way to hopelessness? My heart was so heavy. Like a piece of lead that had learned to expect the loss, weighing me down, yet it hurt the very same every single time. I wanted to scream. To w at my chest until I had gouged myself of everything that made me human. My legs wobbled and Maylene''s hand rested on my shoulder. The ringing in my ears stopped as soon as she touched my skin. "I''m¡ª I''m sorry," Maylene said. "And I know this is harsh, but maybe Cecilia can still¡­" "I will try my best to get Azelf back," she said, still crying. "Once one is freed, whatever process Cyrus is currently going through might be interrupted or slowed." There was a beat of silence, and my Pokemon gathered around me. My fist clenched so harshly I could feel the outline of my nails through the gloves and the bandages on my hands. "I just want you to understand," I said, my voice rising into a scream. "You took everything from me! I have never, ever hated someone as much as you!" I wanted to say more. To dismantle her using words, push at her weaknesses. To tell her about how not only did Cyrus not love her¡ª something he had learned to know and understand¡ª he had been manipting her and grooming her all along for his nefarious ns. That I would tear apart everything she loved, piece by piece just as she''d done to me and make. Her. Watch and listen. Bellossom''s wails when Sweetheart stomped on her body until she was mush. Wigglytuff''s guts spilling out of his stomach and soaked Spear Pir in blood. Clefable, slowly swelling until her very body gave at the seams and Buddy smothered the life out of her. But I was just¡­ So tired. So exhausted that I just wanted toy down and sleep. My body hadn''t felt this way since I''d just been brought to the Lakes after the bombs, and that seemed like a lifetime away, now. "Hate and love are separated by a very, very, thin line," Mars answered back with a mad yell. Her only hand caressed the side of her face and her eyes seemed to glint in Spear Pir''s light. "And if you hate me," she said with tears welling up in her eyes, "it means I matter to you. That I matter to someone!" The energy I needed for this battle wasn''t there. So I would just steal it. Changing my own emotions was impossible, but I''d seen many times that I could get affected by the emotions of others during my travels alone. Less so now that I was used to my gift, but I''d learned that too many anxious people bunched up in one ce would spread their anxiety to me in turn when I''d been near a traffic jam in Sandgem during rush hour. My finger twitched, and a smoky yellow bled off of Mars. Within a second, it hit me. Enough excitement to make my heart pump twice as fast, to make my breaths shallow and my fingers tremble. A smile crept up my lips and I shivered. Legends above, it felt so good. I would most likely incur a small emotional debt afterward, but the thrill coursing through me was very real and it allowed me to channel my rage toward the only individual who mattered. Mars. I inhaled. "Cecilia!" Maylene flinched when she heard so much life in my voice. The battle began with a whimper with all of our exhausted Pokemon sizing themselves up, but Cece snapped a finger that reverberated across the teau, and Talonme was the first to go on the offensive. The air roared as fire burst from every inch in the air around her and began to orbit her form as she flew toward Mars. A thin barrier shimmered around the Commander, who pushed Charon out before he could join her in Clefable''s protective shell, and thick, thorny roots spread out from below Bellossom''s skirt. Seeing Charon so vulnerable, Talonme ended the fiery tornado that had been building up around her. Instead, a row of feathers on her wings sharpened, glimmering under the sun''s light, and flew toward Bellossom with tiny shockwaves¡ª past the speed of sound. The grass type screeched when the first few prated past her skin, but a clump of roots came together to block the rest. Another¡ª one without thorns, wrapped around Charon''s neck and held him up in front of the grass type, forcing Talonme to end her assault. She knew. The older Commander desperately wed at his neck, but Bellossom''s hold only tightened until all he could get out of his mouth was choking and pained moans. "Looks like you were right, Charon," Mars gleefully said. "Your niece did want to save you, and they care. How nice. Mr. Wiggly, Mimic!" The air around Wigglytuff shimmered like an optical illusion in the desert, and the normal type summoned his very own Heat Wave. Cecilia calmly ordered Talonme to fight it off like she hadn''t been about to die, but Maylene dragged her behind Sweetheart''s back, ced her on the ground and dragged me by the hand before I could even take three steps. The rock type barely reacted to the warmed air, and with Talonme''s help, the nascent Heat Wave didn''t burn us beyond making us feel like we were in a desert, but the goal here was to keep us locked down behind her. Mars had the disadvantage of numbers here, and pinning down one of our Pokemon was a great boon for her. "Overwhelm her!" I ordered. While our team had been reeling from the heat and slowed by the wind, we couldn''t y her game. We had to keep her reacting, not do the reacting ourselves. I saw Honey blur in a sh out of the corner of my eye, and Buddy propelled himself forward with a weakened Water Sport above us. Toxicroak was right below, taking the scraps of his water that made it down without evaporating to cure herself until the ghost himself saw what he was doing and redirected more of it to her. Sweetheart couldn''t pull any stones from these sacred grounds, but she bellowed, shifted a foot, and shook the earth in Mars'' direction. A dim, white glow overtook her when I whispered another, secret order to her. We were unable to peek and check what was happening, but I did hear the sounds of fighting, easily recognizing the sound of multiple Hydro Pumps and Thunderbolts or Thunders. Ten, twenty, thirty secondster, Wigglytuff finally gave up on the Heat Wave and I finally managed to nce at the fight. It had spread out some, with Wigglytuff being a few dozen feet away. Even when covered in burns, Toxicroak was relentless, constantly jabbing in his direction with her poisoned ws. Wigglytuff''s body contorted and shrunk wherever she struck, and when the fighting type belched poison from her sack, he simply opened his mouth and inhaled. I warned Jellicent not to go inside of his mouth despite my desires, just in case mour fucked with him and did some irreversible damage. Talonme asionally sent ming feathers as support, but it was the other part of the fight, that had me worried. Electivire was copsed against the ground, and his body moved with each wave of Clefable''s finger. Not only was approaching her tough, but the fairy type distorted every attack sent her way. Jellicent''s Shadow Ball spaghettified into a thin line and dissolved as it spun around her, and a bolt of electricity from Clefable''s other finger hit him square in the head. The fairy type swept her arm up, and Honey went flying into Buddy, sinking slightly into his head. Bellossom had thrown Charon next to Mars, and she had her one free arm around his neck. The grass type stood at attention propped up on her roots, shimmying back and forth as if to figure out how to best approach Sweetheart or asionally sending what looked like Energy Balls to support her teammates. Mars was using our teams'' exhaustion to run circles around us. The status quo had to be broken. Not only would our likelihood of winning be lower the longer this battle went on, we were also on a very tight timeframe. "I noticed something," I said. "What is it?" both girls asked at the same time. Having gotten up, Honey opted to go help Toxicroak against Wigglytuff instead, leaving Bellossom and Clefable to Talonme and Buddy. In a sh of light, he sank his fist into the normal type''s blubbery skin, but it simply bounced off and staggered him. Blunt hits were useless. Toxicroak managed to sink one of her extending, poisoned ws into Wigglytuff''s nk and jumped away before the Hyper Voice could hit her too hard. "When Honey was pinned down, Bellossom could have used her thorns to stab into his back and kill him. I was ready to recall him, if that happened," I whispered. "In fact, I wanted her to do it so Buddy could have an opening. But she didn''t." Maylene blinked and shifted ufortably. "So what are you saying?" "I''m saying she''s milking this for all it''s worth and having fun, because she thinks we have a connection and believes this might be thest time we''ll see each other," I said harshly. "Maylene, pick Cecilia up in your arms again." As soon as the two were ready, I looked at my daughter. "Sweetheart," I said. "Rock Polish is done?" The rock type turned her head my way and grinned, shing countless rows of teeth. "Go kill." Maylene''s eyes widened. "Wha¡ª" With a burst of speed and an expulsion of sand behind her that swarmed us, and clung to my nose, hair and the inside of my mouth, Tyranitar dashed toward Mars and Clefable with a roar that rippled across Spear Pir. Immediately, Bellossom pushed herself between them and her thorns shimmered with a brilliant green, allshing out like they were alive. The majority simply pushed against Sweetheart, but some also wrapped around her thick legs and arms. It was all for naught. This was where she excelled. The sharpened thorns barely scraped her armor, she ripped and bit them away from her limbs, and she kept going like an immutable force, her rhythm having barely slowed from all of the momentum she had gathered. Sweetheart would have rammed into Bellossom had she not moved away and narrowly dodged, but the nt-like Pokemon had for all intents and purposes misunderstood what we were doing. She would not be bait, because we didn''t care about her, and Talonme used thepse in attention to dive into her roots and slice them to ribbons with countless bits of sharpened air, causing her to fall back to the floor. Wigglytuff inted and tried to blow himself toward Mars, but Toxicroak poked holes into his skin and he went flying uncontrobly like a deting balloon who was easy pickings for Electivire and Jellicent to harass him from afar. Clefable was the final obstacle, and Sweetheart fell upon her influence with a crash. Gravity pushed against dozens of tons of shifting stone tings that covered every inch of her skin. I would not allow Mars to take anything else from me. I would not allow her to wound, let alone harm. I could see the pink dust vibrating around Sweetheart''s tes as she continuously broke apart Clefable''s belief. And what was a fairy, when their belief was shattered? Nothing. I would know. The barrier broke apart like ss as soon as Sweetheart spread the dark blotches of sands across its surface, and the dark type bit. Clefable tried to jump back, but a sudden shake in the earth slowed her just enough for Tyranitar to seize her by the arm, and it was as if the very air shook with the sound of her Crunch¡ª a terrifying snap of bone and sinew that went against what Spear Pir was supposed to represent. A harsh, grating sound of teeth grinding through everything until they met again with a snap followed by a disbelieving scream sputtering out of Clefable''s mouth. There was no technique after that. Clefable tried to fire back with an Ice Beam from her other hand, but Sweetheart flipped her over and toppled her, allowing her bloodied teeth to sink into the fairy''s stomach while Mars watched with a dead look in her eye. It wasn''t like she could do anything. Her other two Pokemon were tied up with the rest of the team, after all. My friends'' sacrifice had allowed for this. Dusknoir''s death had allowed for this, and Mars had been so focused on hurting me that she didn''t opt to hang his potential presence over our necks the entire battle¡ª or at least could have tried to, given that Honey could feel ghosts. And so, with each savage jerk of her neck, Sweetheart tore away more and more of Clefable until there was nothing left but viscera, blood, torn skin and leaking purple smoke. Maylene couldn''t bear to look at it, but I did. I looked and searched for the hurt in Mars'' eye and found it delightful to notice, especially when Clefable''s blood started to disappear. Clefable was the one who''d killed Chase. A grin split my face. She got what she fucking deserved. "St¡ªStar," Mars sobbed. But the battle wasn''t over. While her Pokemon were locked down, Mars herself still held Charon hostage, and her hold hadn''t even loosened after witnessing her Pokemon being murdered. "Stop the fight. Keep going, and I kill him," she sniffled. What, had she expected me to y along and not kill her Pokemon? Or maybe she thought we''d be more weakened from our climb here. And a bluff, this far into the battle? Only Honey hesitated at those words, and I had him keep going with a nod. Hesitation would be the death of him now that Mars'' Pokemon had stopped not going for the kill. A wide thorny vine scraped across the electric type''s back like a whip, and he staggered to his knees. mes overtook Talonme, and the birdunched herself at Bellossom like a missile whose shockwave shook me to my core. Within an instant, she had rammed into the grass type at full force and exploded, yet the damage to her own body was minimal. She had turned her feathers to steel and had added to her weight to punch as hard as Cecilia''s heaviest hitters¡ª "Grace!" Maylene screamed. I looked at her exasperatedly. "What?!" "Are you okay with this risk?" she asked, her hold on Cecilia tightening with her rising nervousness. "I mean, isn''t this your friend''s uncle¡ª" "Quiet down. Iing," Cecilia whispered. In the midst of the nascent argument, Mars had jumped over Sweetheart''s tail and had started to run, not away from us, but toward us, carrying Charon under her arm like he was a rag. Wigglytuff opened his mouth and inhaled again, this time with more strength than before, and both Talonme and Jellicent had to propel themselves with air and water not to be swallowed up by the normal type. A root wrapped around Honey''s wrist and pulled to force him to stay where he was and an Energy Ball hit him in the back while another stabbed him in the¡ª shoulder, since he rotated to prevent her from hitting his spine or neck. My hand was steady when I raised the Pokeball and pressed the recall button, but the grass type could control her roots as well as Angel could her vines, and it took six attempts for me to recall Honey, and by that point he was so horribly injured that I''d be better off releasing Angel despite his eye¡ª Mars was getting close, and though Sweetheart was following, the redhead was somehow faster, and Bellossom hade back with a vengeance to slow her down further, which worked better than thest time without gathered momentum. Mars was giving us a wide berth because it looked like she wanted to go after Cecilia. Maylene ced Cece back on the ground. "I''ve got this. Pokemon might make hermit to a snap decision and make her kill him¡ª" Mars was already here. Blue light smoldered around Maylene''s fist, and though the Commander moved so fast theing kick had been a blur, Maylene crouched in an instant,tched onto the girl''s leg and pulled her closer,nding a jab square on her other tibia. With a frustrated groan, Mars let go of Charon, dropping him on the ground and swung wildly at Maylene. The hitnded on the Gym Leader''s shoulder this time, and she buckled her leg to absorb the impact while I slowly dragged Charon away from Mars. The old man was bleeding from his forehead, his sses were broken, and was breathing with hoarse breath. There was a massive purple bruise on his neck. Maylene seemed to have technique on her side, but hadn''t expected Mars to be able to keep up with her. Who, really, had ever kept up with her other than her father? Mars was no human, and it showed. The Gym Leader spat out a mouthful of blood¡ª she must have gotten hit while I hadn''t looked¡ª and raised her fists to her face while Mars gnashed her teeth together as she limped around her. When I grabbed Angel''s Pokeball to release him now that Charon was safe, Maylene shook her head. "I can handle this. Save his eye." Maylene looked back at Mars, and then spoke with the weight of the world on her shoulders. "I won''t let you hurt my friends." "Oh, I see what this is. Another greedy hussy added to the pile," Mars sneered. "Whatever." Mars struck first. Having learned not to just attack wildly, she instead feinted a hit at the Gym Leader''s nk, but spun and twisted herself until she delivered a roundhouse kick to Maylene''s hip. My friend groaned, yet aura red to life and she darted forward, unleashing a flurry of strikes that Mars could barely dodge or block. Mars missing her right arm had her on the backfoot from the start, but in terms of speed, she barely kept up. Any other person, be that Maylene or Mars, would have gotten knocked out already. Fist fights didn''tst this long. There came a shift that I barely noticed on Maylene''s face, and she crouched to hit Mars'' legs with a low sweep that Mars hadn''t anticipated, and as soon as the Commander tripped, she never recovered. Like an Ekans and with lightning speed as if she''d done this a thousand times, Maylene grappled one of her arms around Mars neck while she crawled behind her, and she wrapped her legs around her waist to lock her arm against her body. In the background, Bellossom had finally been dealt with and crushed to a pulp of grass while Wigglytuff was bleeding poison and was burning from Will-O-Wisp. All Mars could do was w at Maylene''s skin and thrash around, but¡­ It was over. "Check her boot," Maylene said, ignoring Mars'' insults and struggling screams. "She was looking at it multiple times during the fight." I looked at Mars'' feet moving in every direction, and felt like one hit from her thrashing feet would shatter every bone in my hand. Hell, even the impacts on Spear Pir''s floor was loud enough to question this demand. There was probably a knife in there. Cecilia tilted her head. "Can''t we just kill her? There''s no time." I agreed, searching through the backpack Maylene had let go of in the middle of the fight. "Let''s. Hold her." "Wait! Wait, don''t kill her right here¡ª I''m fucking below her!" "Gah!" Charon yelped behind me. He must have been crawling away slowly, but Cecilia had grabbed onto his ankle. It was a strange sight to see, given that she was still on the ground¡ª but that didn''t matter. "Get Toxicroak to do it," she quietly said, Charon squirming in her hold. She was weak and wounded, but he was all of that and old. "You''ll swap." My throat tightened when I found my old axe nestled in the corner of the bag''s insides. I''d grabbed it in a desire for revenge with the news of Justin''s death. It was the same axe I''d cut Backlot with. Arceus as my witness, had Maylene not been here and had I not believed Mimi would be disappointed, I would have hacked Mars to death and made it slow, and the fact that she was rattled me. Like I was leaving something undone. The handle was left unattended, and I closed the bag again. We recalled our Pokemon. Wigglytuff and Bellossom had ended up dead. Their bodies were disappearing, and at first I believed that this was because they were ghosts, but even Honey''s blood had been wiped where he had been wounded by Bellossom. Toxicroak and Buddy were in a pretty sorry state. There was no fanfare to the end of the battle, no climactic ending. We were just going through the motions, now. Everyone, Gctic or not, was at the end of their rope. When Toxicroak grabbed onto Mars, the Pokemon asked us with an ironic, nervous smile if we had anything to say to her. Maylene had already been turning away and attending to Charon, since she did not want to see Mars die, and neither Cecilia nor I spoke up. It was Mars, who actually spoke up. It was not the whining I''d expected, begging for Cyrus or to stay alive. "Thank you¡­ for being being my friend." It was so outrageous the dregs of Mars'' excitement I''d stolen earlier had meugh, but only for a moment. Still, both Maylene and Cecilia saw, and my girlfriend knew me well enough to know that that mood swing had been quite unnatural. I brought myself close her ear, so close my lips were nearly touching her lobe. "You are a person, but you are not alive. There is no afterlife where you are going, no respite, no love, no attention, no¡ª no¡ª" My fingers contracted, and I started to sob. "You fucking killed him. You killed him. You don''t even deserve my attention." "I just wanted someone who¡ª" "Kill her." The w plunged into her neck and gouged it open as soon as I gave the order, and Cecilia had whispered the exact same words right after I''d said them. Her head fell onto the beige bricks with a dull thump and rolled for a few feet. It wasn''t a clean cut by any means. Bits of flesh hung from the neck and the poison actively rotting her from the inside was visible, bubbling and spreading. What we''d had¡­ Had been friendship to her. Disgusting, pathetic worm. "Let''s keep going. Bring Charon along so he doesn''t cause trouble," I said. "If he does, I''ll be here," Cecilia absent-mindedly said. I didn''t know what that meant exactly, but I was too tired to ask. Maylene grabbed thest remaining Commander''s Pokeballs, grabbed our backpack, and ced them as deep as she could. We recalled ourst remaining Pokemon so they could have a rest, but we knew already that if Cyrus hadn''t suffered the same fate as Mars'' team had before fighting us, we had no chance of winning. Yet we had to try anyway, did we not? We had to throw ourselves against the wall and hope we''d have a breakthrough. Just when we''d been about to get going again, Maylene''s head swiveled behind us. At first I thought she was looking at Mars'' body, which was rapidly disappearing into the air, but when I followed her gaze, Mira Compton was standing there, leaning against her knees andboring for each breath with kazam next to us. She had, however, no eyes for us. They were locked onto her uncle. Maylene frowned. "I didn''t even feel her arrive¡ª" "Uncle Ernie¡­" Mira cried, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Finally." Still in Maylene''s grasp, the Commander avoided her gaze and clicked his tongue, muttering something about hoping Cyrus would wipe everyone out soon so he didn''t have to suffer our presence for much longer. While Mira walked up to her uncle and hugged him, something that he did not respond to whatsoever, Cecilia worked her jaw. She''d been leaning against me to stand up, which was progress from a few hours earlier. "We need to go. We''ve wasted enough time." kazam frowned and spoke into our minds. What happened to you? "I died," Cecilia nonchntly said. "Now let''s get going." In many ways, this reunion was horribly banal. We didn''t have the energy to squeal and be happy, for one, including Mira, but we also had no time to dawdle given that we''d spent long enough fighting Mars. That didn''t mean we weren''t talking, though. Once Mira finally noticed that Cecilia wasn''t just hurt in the head and that her irises were gone, she demanded to know the full details of what had happened and berated her over it. All Cece could do was ask for forgiveness. I exined to Maylene that maybe Mars'' death had pushed Mira our way, just like Saturn''s death had improved our standing with Cor. This ce seemed to stretch very far, after all. "I can''t believe I let someone sneak up on me like that," Maylene grumbled. Mira winced at every whimper her uncle did. "Can you like¡­ chill? He won''t do anything if you rx your hold a little." I wanted to go off on her, but didn''t. Instead, I quickened my pace a little until I realized Cecilia couldn''t keep up. Seeing as Maylene apologized and listened, I ignored Charon getting coddled and tuned them out. "Conflicted?" Cecilia asked. "Pisses me off that he gets an easy hand now," I grunted. Cecilia''s head craned to the side to an unnatural amount and her hair swayed to the side. "Reunions like these¡ª with years of longing¡ª are always warm." Her skin felt cold against mine, and her voice, too. "I doubt Mira knows about Mars'' actions either way." "Right. Shit." I owed it to her¡­ I needed to tell her. "Should I tell her right before this?" I muttered. "Right before ourst attempt at freeing the Lake Guardians?" Cecilia blinked. Her white eyes unsettled me and would take some time getting used to. "I wouldn''t want to die with regrets if I were you. Not anymore." Arceus, she was just so¡ª So sad to listen to, now. It was still her, but it was as if her hope was just gone. "Mira, can you¡­e here for a sec." Mustering the courage to speak this aloud was tough. It was like the more I said it, the realer it got. Mira nced at her uncle, who wasn''t even giving her the time of day, and approached me while muttering something to herself. We needed to walk around one of the copsed pirs to keep going. The ones around us had changed their architecture from the others, beingpletely smooth instead of having rows of dents running vertically parallel until they reached the top. The impact had indented the ground and made the spire sink into the floor, and I could see grass growing in the cracks. "What is it? I''m kind of¡ª" Busy, she wanted to say, but she didn''t. "I''m looking at his brain and memories so I can know how to work it when this is all over." Thank goodness Maylene hadn''t understood the true meaning of that sentence. Or maybe she just hadn''t heard, since we were to her left. Charon didn''t seem to care for it one bit. He truly believed his side was going to win. I supposed he was tied with Cecilia in that regard. I sighed and revealed the truth in a blur, tearing up as soon as I began. Chase and Denzel fought Mars, and Chase died while Denzel is heavily wounded. "Wha¡ª Grace, they''re alive! Or¡ª or at least they should be getting professional help from the League, but Mars didn''t definitely didn''t kill them. Pauline, Emi and I managed to get there in time and turned the tides!" "Huh?" And the world was flipped on its head. ¡ª There were, Cynthia thought, areas of this where lines between it and other worlds grew thin. The Aln Inds, for example, and for reasons unknown, were the sources of approximately 99.8% of breaches by creatures known as Ultra Beasts originated from, and even then, the local deities¡ª one of the Tapus¡ª always flew off to y them before they could cause too much trouble. As the throne of Arceus and the ce from which He had built this entire world, was one of these, though she doubted any extradimensional entities would even dare to prate the thin veil here. It was the oldest ce in existence, and therefore Arceus had been¡­ maybe green was the wrong way to say it, but Cynthia''s working theory was that He did not afford as much care here as He had other ces. But then why was Al particrly vulnerable, then? The world was draped in so many shadows she couldn''t see, each of them so interesting, and yet there was so little time. A few dozen feet away from her, Garchomp finished off a Jolteon who had quickly been dashing in and out of range by simply growing bored and stopped pretending to be slower than her. Milotic coiled around Cynthia with a protective, transparent shell dripping with water, and ceon had long finished freezingrge swathes of Cyrus'' personal guard. She could see him now, his back turned to her on a slightly elevated tform of Spear Pir beyond a set of broken down, beige stairs. The Champion had never spoken to Cyrus, let alone seen his face beyond the old pictures her people had shown her of a younger man with the same dead look in his eyes, but she knew he must have been intelligent to avoid her for so long. That meant that he must have known these grunts who had so proudly dered themselves as his ''personal guard'' would barelyst a minute against her. It was a harsh sight, to see Jolteon''s blood soaking one of the enormous, broken pirs. The electric type was still, yet more was splurting from its neck where Garchomp had bit, spraying its surroundings like a fountain. Of course, that was only temporary. As soon as Cynthia took a step forward and began walking toward Cyrus and the three Lake Guardians hovering above him, the blood began disappearing in the corner of her eye. Soon enough, Jolteon would disappear as well, as would all the other corpses she''d wrought. Spear Pir could not remain impure for very long. Warm, soothing wind whipped her hair and dark coat as she climbed the stairs and found herself standing on the same tform, clear of any pirs and cracks on the floor. Milotic slithered up, ceon followed her and Garchomp cleared the stairs with a single jump, unwilling to bow even to God''s creation. Cyrus didn''t turn, yet Cynthia noticed a tiny craning of his neck, and he ced his hands squarely behind his back. One of his fists was clenched tightly around the Red Chain, which shook in his hand with each mentalmand he gave to the Legendaries he had enved. "Cynthia Collins," Cyrus droned, still not facing her. She noticed that the Lake Guardians were quietly muttering to themselves and that the air in front of them was¡­ vibrating with an almost unnoticeable sound that grew louder if she focused on it for too long. "I suppose it''s the first time we meet. I expected those useless children to get here, not you, but it matters not." Cynthia scanned the surroundings and silently told her team to handle any attacks from Cyrus. The man''s files had had a rather spotty knowledge of his team at first, but the information they''d gotten from grunts this past year had filled in the nks. To be safe, she let out the rest of her team as well. Braviary, Eelektross, Roserade, Togekiss, Lucario, and Gastrodon all spread out throughout the tform. Cyrus did not react by releasing his own team. Perhaps he knew they would only be a pitstop, then. Unexpected, for a man with delusions of grandeur. A ghastly, purple light emanated from Spiritomb''s keystone as it rolled away from her feet. For a moment, they struggled, echoing like a sickly cough to exit their implement. This ce, it was too pure, too peaceful for an agent of loss, pain and regret such as Spiritomb to emerge without some effort, and nearly all ghost types would feel the same way. There were whispers as their disc formed and green spots dotted the purple gas. A hundred and eight voicesshing out without a goal until Cynthia snapped her fingers. CYNTHIA. CHAMPION. BRAT. ANNOYANCE. BELOVED. ESTEEMED. HUMAN. IRRITANT. STRONG-WILLED. So many more names. WE ARE. AT YOUR. SERVICE. The words came quickly¡ª almost simultaneously, even¡ª since they were an amalgamation of souls, and not a unified mind talking. The many names each spirit had for her had still been echoing by the time they were done. "Buy me some time," Cynthia instantly said. THIS PIECE OF MEAT. THIS MAN. THIS PROPPED UP FLESH. HE. HAS. NO. WEAKNESS. As she''d expected, then. Leave it to an emotionless shell to not be vulnerable to Spiritomb''s prodding. With Cyrus, there would be no emotional angle, no insecurities to exploit. Given enough time, these always came naturally to a Spiritomb, and they were great at hurting and breaking minds, as they''d been broken to evene to form. She''d expected this. "Not him," she said with an unwavering stare. "The Guardians." Spiritomb''s gas stopped spinning, and their form froze. A sicklyugh echoed across Spear Pir, and the ghost got to work. Cynthia wouldn''t know what Spiritomb would say, exactly, and she did not expect it to actually stop the process of summoning Dialga and Palkia. Controlled and weaker than usual or not, these were still Gods. What she needed, as she''d told Spiritomb, was to buy time. "Your petty tricks won''t work," Cyrus calmly spoke. Not many people would be able to ignore Spiritomb''s pressure like he would. "Everything is as I foresaw it, ready for the creation of my New World, free of all imperfections. Free of these so-called Gods. I am the only pure being capable of¡ª" She tuned him out. Cynthia was not in the mood for a talk. Volo had, in his time, climbed Mount Cor with the three Lake Guardians in tow. As one of the very few people who had owned six Pokemon in his time, along with their incredible strengthpared to their contemporaries, few people could ever hope to oppose him. A humble merchant, he had pretended to be for arge part of his life. He''d gotten married, had a child, and yet after witnessing the whispers of Giratina through the surface of a randomke while traveling, he had gone insane. Pokemon Wielder, they called him back then. His title had spread throughout thends for years until an unlikely group of children had stopped him where she stood at this very moment. sts of every type swarmed the thick, psychic barrier around Cyrus, whose Pokemon still were nowhere to be seen, and Cynthia noticed Mesprit''s tails trembling and tensing, and the calm winds began to sweep strongly across Spear Pir''s faded beige stones. Instead of attacking the Lake Guardians'' barrier, Gastrodon had been excretingrge amounts of water. It had dripped past her boots and was spreading throughout the tform. The Dusk was anathema to the real world, and so Giratina could peer at it by using reflections, be it mirrors, water, ice, any reflective surface. But Volo had done it with water, so with water she would attempt the same. What Cynthia had first wondered was, how had Volo garnered the attention of Giratina, a being so above himself that she was surprised they could evenmunicate in any way, and yet it was Giratina who had shown itself first. Distortion had peeked through the waters observed, yet it had not done or said anything, at first. A sh of its presence had been enough to make Volo question everything he had ever lived and everything he would do from that day forth. The question of what it had wanted had eaten at her for weeks and had hidden herself from her dreams, and she still did not know, and so she would be risking everything. She did not know if Giratina woulde to her aid, or simply not care, or wreck havoc on its own. For Volo, to behold Distortion meant to challenge every rule he had believed irond. She was worried as well, of course, but she was confident in her mental fortitude. Cynthia was more preupied with what its mere presence would do to Sinnoh. Giratina must have been locked away to its own world for good reason, forever doomed to observe but never interact¡ª that was what the files on Distortion said about it. Yet, the files were wrong. Here, where the world''s consistency was at its thinnest, Here, where Arceus had crafted and built everything she had ever known. Here, where her ancestor had had stood and allied itself with Giratina in an effort to harm. She would save the world. Cynthia began to chant specific words Volo had. They were not some sort of spell or ritual but the exact words her ancestor had said the moment he had seen true madness, when he had stared at the abyss and it had stared back in full. Sinnoh''s Champion looked directly into the water. "I must know the truth behind the world, I must peer through the water and see further," she muttered under her breath as she crouched and stuck her face closer and closer to the water. The air above Cyrus began to scream every breath it took, and shook so much that she struggled not to plug her ears with the palm of her hands. "Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters. Nothing else matters¡ª" ¡ª They weren''t dead! Or at least they haven''t been when Mira had sent Pauline and Emilia on their way to get them help. They were horribly wounded, but they weren''t hurt. For once, it felt like something good had happened, and I was so unused to that that I almost didn''t believe it. I''d had to check on Mira to see if she wasn''t lying to me to make me happier before we had to possibly take down Cyrus¡ª not that I''d expected her to. I just needed to leave no stone unturned, and since Mars had said the opposite and also not lied. The only reason I''d found for this discrepancy was that Mars had actually believed Chase would die from his wounds, and therefore not lied. I''d known this to be a possible loophole, but hadn''t expected it toe to pass in the most important hour. "Don''t celebrate too early," Cecilia had warned. "Nothing''s been confirmed yet." "But the League''s their best chance to live." I tried to keep frustration out of my tone, but probably failed, given how she looked at me. "This¡­ I just want to have this." "Even though you''ve felt the crushing sense of that hope being snatched away from you once already with Justin?" I nodded with an apanying hum. "I choose to believe in the good of the world." Spear Pir''s homogenous form was changing, now. Not only was the path widening, there were fewer and fewer actual spires around us. The bricks were bing smoother and smoother with damage in the stone being rarer than not. The strange sound I''d been hearing also grew louder the more we approached, and it was not until another four minutes that we came upon another set of stairs to a raised tform. Water that looked too transparent to be natural dripped down the tform and looked to be as deep as a puddle; my reflection within was clear as if I was looking into a mirror. There was no time to dawdle. The sounds of battle was deafeningly loud in my right ear, and lights of every color shone right beyond the stairs. Charon''s mouth gaped in disbelief as soon as we dragged him and ourselves up the stairs. Cynthia was here, knees and forehead against the water as if she was searching for something as she whispered words I couldn''t hear under her breath. The image was so absurd it took a moment to register what was happening. Every member of her team was throwing everything they had at Cyrus. There were so many simultaneous moves here that I could barely hear myself think or even understand most of what she was throwing at him. If she was already here, why hadn''t shee across Mars and Charon? Had they managed to hide from her? Cyrus was¡ª FREE THE GUARDIANS. THE GUARDIANS OF THE LAKE. THE OTHERS WILL PROTECT YOU. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR. The voices took over everything. It dug beneath my scalp, beneath my skull and spread from my brain to every inch of me. There were too many whispers to count, but also screams. Voices in every tone and inflection, women and men, separate, but working as one to convey a sense of urgency that my body wanted to prioritize above all else. They could manufacture anxiety and horror by unraveling every secret, every insecurity you wanted to keep buried and never think of again. Sweat dripped down my forehead and drenched my back and armpits. When I remembered to breathe, it shook and barely made it through my tightened throat. I wanted to get away from here. To be anywhere but here. And this was when they weren''t trying to hurt me mentally when I knew they very well could have. This feeling¡ª this pressure¡ª was like I was teetering on the edge of a cliff. I knew Spiritomb could see my deepest shames and worries, and it made being close to them an exercise in willpower. If they wanted, they could ruin my friendships right then and there. Tell Mira that the thought of killing her uncle had crossed my mind, tell Maylene that for a moment, I''d found her annoying for even worrying about Charon''s fate or that I''d wanted for her not to be here so I could have Mars to myself. That was just the surface of me. I''d changed for the better, but I was still Grace Pastel. All of my friends had heard Spiritomb speak, yet I was the only one whose teeth was chattering. Mira and Maylene were pale, but held strong while Cecilia looked entranced by the spinning of the purple and green gas spewing out of the keystone. "Cece, can you do this?" Mira asked. "I think I can," she said. Once she held out her hand and froze, I knew she''d passed onto Azelf''s mindscape. Thank the Legendaries. Due to the number of attacks, I couldn''t actually see Cyrus nor any of the Lake Guardians, but I could feel Mesprit to the man''s right, hovering in the sky above his shoulder. My fingers twitched, and I plunged deep into Mesprit''s mind for what I knew would be my third and final try. ¡ª "Mesprit." My grey fingers rasped against the wide, boney arch. It still looked like a child had scribbled it on a piece of paper, without any of the detail, but it was obvious to me now that Mesprit had done their best to recreate what they remembered of Spear Pir, which wasn''t much. Now that Mars no longer holding onto Mesprit using the Red Chain, the cabin in the wood had disappeared. Instead, it had been reced by¡­ well, nothing. There was an office door where I stood, which was at a teau of fake Cor, but the best way to describe this structure was a white box. It had no windows, no imperfections, and was perfectly smooth. "May Ie in?" I asked. I did not bother being respectful with my tone. Instead, I let my true emotions show. Most of it was pity for this being who was so powerful, yet so childlike all the same. All they''d wanted was to see Arceus again, and they''d been tricked and manipted again and again. "Who is this?" "Grace. I want to talk to you, face to face." The Legendary''s voice resonated throughout the door. "I remember you. You''re the girl who was no fun. My Shard." "That''s me," I said. Mesprit paused. "Come in, then." There was a click, and the door opened on its own, leading me into the most non-descript room I''d ever seen. It was just as boring as the outside. A white room with literally nothing inside of it but Mesprit, hovering there, and a bright lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Cyrus was as nk on the inside as he''d been described, then. He was, surprisingly, nowhere to be seen, but letting my guard down right now would be¡­ Well, it''s not like it would matter. Unlike the first two times, I had no arguments prepared, no pros and cons list, no n to convince Mesprit to open their eyes and see the truth behind their actions. I made my way toward Mesprit, who hovered in the center of the room, and sat on the floor. I patted the ground in front of me. "C''mere." The Legendary lowered themselves and stared right at me. Their bright yellow eyes were unsettling, and I nced away ufortably. "Sorry, I''m not great with eye contact from Gods." Mesprit''s tails intertwined and they spun around me. "What do you want? Why are you here over and over? Don''t you know when it''s time to give up?" I drummed my fingers against the white floor. "I''m chiseling at a stone, I guess." "Comparing me to a stone is rude," Mesprit groused. "It''s how I feel, though. I''m carving away at you in hopes that one day I''ll get right there." I tapped Mesprit in the chest, where their heart would have been if they had one. Their skin felt smooth like ceramic, yet could still bend. "I don''t know if it''ll work, but I hope so. It''d be a shame if everything ended." "What do you mean? I''m just going to see Him soon." "Hm. And how''s that going?" "Huh?" Mesprit said with narrowing eyes. "Are you doubting me?!" "No, I''m just¡­ genuinely asking," I said, feeling at the smooth ground below. Grey paint had nearly overtaken my hands. "I''ve been wondering, you know, about what you''d ask Him if you could. I think I have a good guess as to what that is." "Hmph!" Mesprit pouted, crossing their arms. "Entertain me, then." It could have been why? Why did He stay so far away, why did he never speak to them, why had He condemned them to an eternity of boredom and misery at the bottom of ake, when so many Legendaries had free reign over where they went or lived. Ho-Oh traveled the world, asionally roosting in Ecruteak. Lugia, though it had been seen much less, roamed the oceans and sometimes made itself known near a coastal town. The Tapus sometimes joined festivals in their name in Al, the Legendary birds were as free as could be and acted more in the name of destruction than anything else, and there were probably many more that I had no idea about. And yet¡­ But this was Mesprit, herald of emotion we were talking about. Questions such as these would fit Uxie, but not them. "You''d tell him you love him more than anything else, no matter what," I guessed. Mesprit made a strange, surprised noise. "You actually¡­" "It''s not answers you want. I mean, they''d be nice, but you want someone to connect to. Something real. I guess Arceus being your father figure is the most obvious thing to look at." Speaking His name made my throat feel warm. I''d half expected them to get angry, but instead, they just stared, dumbfounded. "That''s why Mars promised you all of that, but she''s dead now. What has Cyrus promised you?" "The¡­ same thing. It''s what I''m being made to do right now¡ª summoning Time and Space to get Him to join us on His throne." A sad smile stretched across my lips. "No originality, huh? All he could do was steal Mars'' n, because he doesn''t understand you." "What do you mean?" "Why do you think he isn''t here? He''s a shell of a human. You called him that," I said. Half of it was guesswork, really, but I truly believed what I was saying. "Mars could understand you. She was a terrible human being who deserved nothing but pain, but she was also lonely, just like you are. She wanted a connection, but that was never going to be you, either. What you want isn''t Arceus, Mesprit. You want a friend." Mesprit stayed quiet, but they winced. "Assuming that this n to bring Arceus into the real world is real," I continued. "He''s beyond you. He''s beyond all of us, and Cyrus sure as hell isn''t going to be your friend. He doesn''t even know what that is." "Shut up!" The yell threw me back, and had me rolling on the ground, but this world wasn''t real, and I felt no pain. It felt weird, hearing so clearly and having no ringing in my ears. I calmly stood up and bit the inside of my lip. "You''reshing out because I''m making sense." "So what?!" Mesprit cried out. "It''s not like you want to be my friend!" "Your definition of friendship is very different from mine," I acknowledged with a tight nod. "And you want me to do things that I''m notfortable with. The first time we met, you forced me to love you and asked me if I wanted to brainwash all of my friends and my girlfriend. You''re a Concept, and you''re stuck to your ways, so it''s not really your fault, but even if you stopped when I asked, that first impression is a hard thing to get past for people." I approached Mesprit, getting close enough for them to feel my breath on their body. "I''m not saying everything will be perfect; that as soon as we get out of here, we''ll be inseparable and that you''ll find me fun like Mars or Atreus, but I am saying that I''m willing to give this a try. I''d honestly be doing this even if the world wasn''t about to end, or at least I think so." I wrapped my hands around the tiny Legendary, and they froze in my arms. Such a fragile body for a God of such power. "Atreus, Mars, Cyrus, they all used you for power, whereas all I''ve ever wanted was to be normal. I won''t ask you to change, but in return I ask you that you do the same for me. It''ll be hard to see eye to eye, but I''ll give you something no one ever has done before. I''ll try." Something broke. Lights of every color and more I''d never seen before enveloped Mesprit and radiated out of them. They were back. "You make good heart-to-heart speeches, Shard!" Mesprit giggled. I could feel their emotion bleeding out of their skin and making me happy, too¡ª close to the happiest I''d ever been in my life¡ª so I let go and smiled. "Maybe you weren''t such a regrettable choice after all! Let''s get out of here!" The spell was broken. I grinned. "Let''s." ¡ª It was a white, nk room that met Mira when she finally convinced Uxie to open the door. The trek here had been long in the first ce because she just wasn''t used to having a single mind any longer, and her body was already starting to blur, glitch and disintegrate at its edges, so having to beg a God to be let in a room had not been ideal. The girl froze when she saw Cyrus standing next to Uxie. It was her first time actually seeing Team Gctic''s leader with her own two eyes. He donned Team Gctic''s uniform, had gelled, spiky blue hair and defined cheekbones that made his face look thin. His eyebrow ridge was defined, even if the hair itself was shaved, and they cast a perpetual shadow over his eyes. "Mira Compton." His voice made her extremely ufortable. Somehow, it was even worse than Justin''s had been. It was like speaking to aputer program, and not a human. "Let us get on with this farce." For a few seconds, she felt scared to answer. There was this way Cyrus had of carrying himself: the straightened back, his look, his darkened eyes, the way he loomed over everything, it all had this effect where you didn''t want to speak out of line, and it was stupid, because he couldn''t even feel anger. This isn''t real. He''s not going to sic his Pokemon on me, Mira thought with a deep breath. "Uxie. Let me set the record straight, I know there are an infinite number of questions you want to ask Arceus, but that''s not what''s happening here." She was using the same tactic that had brought her so close to victoryst time, when uncle Ernie had been controlling Uxie, and not Cyrus. This time, her mother wasn''t there to break her. "What this man desires above all else is to be a God¡ª" Cyrus shook his head. Just that single action had Mira nearly sowing her mouth shut, and now she finally understood how a man without emotion had built this cult. There was this maic property about him. "You misunderstand me, Mira Compton," he calmly said. Or she supposed this was just how he always sounded. "Being a God is a simplification of my goals and an assumption that is bereft of your intellect." Her intellect? Had Uncle Ernie spoken to him about¡ª No! Don''t get lost in his game. "I¡ª I don''t care what you want!" Mira forced out. "The crux of the matter is, you won''t let Uxie ask Arceus anything. Hell, I doubt He''d even fucking answer, anyway!" When Uxie just hovered there silently, she clenched a fist. "Uxie, say something." Knowledge tilted their head. "I am thinking. Do not disturb me." She gulped. For a moment, she thought Uxie would open their eyes, but instead their gems began to glimmer. She was a little stumped, but that didn''tst long. The most important thing was to keep talking. "What is your n, then?" she asked Cyrus. "To strip the world bare from all of its inessential properties," he answered without missing a beat. Then, he looked around the white room. "Take this room. What the universe needs is a ce much like this one. This ce will never change. Nothing will ever happen here, unto eternity." Mira scoffed, ncing at Uxie. They''d better be listening to this. "That''s¡­ I mean, that''s just fucking awful?" "Think about it. A world where nothing happens means a world built for me. A world without spirit or emotion. A world where I alone will rule." He looked at his hand and softly clenched it. "That is what I want." "What about the others?" Mira asked. "What about Charon, the other Commanders, or your grunts?" "Meaningless, worthless fodder." He shrugged. "They were never going to be a part of it in the first ce." A strange, grave sound rang out, like the shattering of a gem, and Uxie''s eyes shone through their eyelids. "I have heard enough." Cyrus frowned. "I don''t understand." "Begone." He disappeared in an instant, and Uxie smiled thinly at Mira. "Theck of emotion can sometimes be a strength, but it is mostly a weakness, my dear Mira," Uxie said. "He fundamentally cannot understand, because he was born a broken man. Possibly the only one of his kind. I have analyzed him, in our short time together. His case of alexithymia is so extreme it shouldn''t even be possible." Mira didn''t know what that was, but there was no time. "We need to go." ¡ª In a world so vast it might as well have been endless, a ce that had tried to keep her trapped everywhere she had gone, Cecilia banged her fist against the metallic door. Her arms and legs were burning and actually hurting her. It had been a part of her trial, to see if she could bear through the pain and push on in spite of everything. "Worthless. I barely recognize you." Meaningless. It was all meaningless. She fell to her knees and allowed the dark emotions that constantly swirled around her head to take hold. Jealousy, regret, loss¡ª it hurt so badly that she wanted to tear her heart out and crush it between her palms so the pain could stop. Physical harm, she could handle, but ever since she''de back to life, it was as if her negative thoughts would always overtake the positive no matter what she tried. Thoughts that would have normally stayed intangible or that she wouldn''t have acted on. She had failed. All she could do was wait. ¡ª When I opened my eyes, I saw Mesprit and Uxie spinning around the rift, the vibration in the sky that was growing wider and wider. I''d characterized it as a scream before, but I knew it to be inurate now. It was as if the world was breathing, in and out, but it had just been so loud that I''d been mistaken. My relieved smile turned to horror when I saw that Azelf hadn''t moved yet, but they were slowly, slowly beginning to glow as well. Seeing as Cecilia was still frozen in ce and Maylene was holding her up, she''d¡­ Yeah, she either wasn''t done yet or had failed. Maylene had been staring worryingly at Cynthia, and Lucario hurriedly told her to let her be and fired another st of concentrated aura mixed with liquid metal. Now that Mesprit had slipped through Cyrus'' fingers, Cynthia''s Pokemon were actually churning through the barrier. Ten, twenty more seconds, maybe, and they''d break through! Mesprit and Uxie were singing, dancing and , for they were free atst, and their joy reached their sibling, slowly but surely, as they worked to free Azelf from Cyrus'' influence. I wished they could do both at the same time, but I knew they were entirely focused on containing Dialga and Palkia, at the moment. I just hoped that they¡ª The world holds its breath and stops moving. A God crawls out of the firmament and roars, stretching across the sky. It is too much to look at, too much to even describe, for how could a person describe Time? One cannot. It is everything they''ve ever known, and everything they would ever know. But they can witness fragments of it.
Time and— Time and¡ª
A/N: General trigger warning, this chapter gets dark and might be unpleasant to read.
TIME AND¡ª Time is an ever-expanding tree. Not literally. There''s a boundless blue light below my feet extending in every direction, but the eye-catching structures are the enormous pirs or trunks or towers that divided again and again, as far as the eye could see. This wasn''t like Mesprit''s mindscape. My body here was very real in a way that the other just wasn''t, even if we ignore the fact that I can''t hear out of my left ear and that my clothes aren''t just a projection. I feel very alive in a way I just didn''t in their mind. The way cold air fills my lungs and how my skin tingles. The subtle bits of pain throbbing in my legs from having walked for so many hours without rest. When I try to move, I realize I can. Slowly, at first. It takes a few seconds to realize I''m also walking on one of the pirs I can see in the distance. When I reach the edge, I realize I can peer down and see more branches below me, some having separated from mine. It''s difficult to describe the scale of this ce. I feel like what an atom must look like to the entire universe. So infinitely small that I might as well not even exist, and yet I do. I''m real. I can breathe, feel and think. So I do think. Why am I so calm about this? Maybe it''s eptance of everything being lost settling in. Maybe I''m too tired to panic or scream or beg Dialga to get me out of here. It''s not like it would listen, anyway. I''d seen the deity for a fraction of a second, and in that moment I understood that there are forces at y here beyond my influencing. It had felt like a lifetime. When I blink, I can still see the imprint of Dialga in my mind. It doesn''t have a body¡ª or wait, it does¡ª but it''s also just so much more than that that trying to understand what I''d been looking at would just have me running in circles. There was a shape to it, but not really, and it had filled my entire gaze. So here I stand, at the edge of what I assumed was the tip of a branch. The others looked simr to mine, swarming this entire world (which did not mean much, considering that I felt like if I could hover in the sky and tried to walk to another one, I would die of old age before I even got halfway there). Looking beyond the edge of my spire, I notice subtle shifts and movements that make me realize that everything here is moving. Moving up. Some pirs are above me, some are below, and some are at the same height or at least look to be, but all of them are moving up toward¡­ well, it''s not like there''s anything particr about where we''re going. Up? Could it even be described as up? We''re all going somewhere, growing the branches, but up looks exactly like down. I think I''m starting to understand. I''m looking at timelines. They''re infinite, and nothing can travel in between them except for Dialga, I assume. Or maybe it can just look at them, given that it''s not supposed to go out into the world. The assumption settles into my stomach and makes my heart beat so fast that I think I''m going to have a heart attack. There''s the panic, I think with clenched teeth. The sheer scale had been difficult to understand before, but now? It was utterly iprehensible. There''s many, and there''s infinity. You can''t fathom that, you just can''t. I take a few steps back and trip on my butt. There are no tears, but there''s a little terrified groan that jumps out of my mouth. I want out of here. People aren''t meant to look at this. They aren''t meant to see the scaffolding onto which the universe has been built. Part of me just wants to roll up onto a ball,y down and wait until the end of everything. It''s not like I can do anything about this. I have my Pokeballs with me, but I don''t want to subject Sweetheart or Buddy to this horrifying reality. And what would I do with them anyway? Everything is out of reach, and I''m out of my timeline¡ª at the edge of everything. The boundary between my reality''s time and everything else. I assume that Dialga''s roar, if you could even call it that, had sent me here. I look back toward the center of the tower I''m on. It probably goes further than I''d be able to travel, and I doubt I''d just be able to¡­ what, reenter? How? The entire surface is just a smooth, metallic blue, or at least it feels and sounds like metal when walking on or touching it. So. What now? I could breathe, somehow, and though gravity felt a smidge stronger than on Earth, I could walk around fine even if I was ascending at Arceus knows what speed. Or again, maybe we weren''t going up, but¡­ Argh, I''m just going in circles. Now that I understood these were timelines, the edge seemed terrifying to me and I didn''t want to even look below me, lest I fall off and get lost in-between¡­ time? I sigh andy down, feeling the cold metal against the skin of my arms. There''s nothing I can do but wait. It''s difficult to keep track of time, here, ironically enough. I can''t tell how many hours pass, but I feel like I should be getting tired, growing hungry or wanting to go to the bathroom, but I don''t. I feel perfectly fine, if a little cold. It''s a different kind of cold than I''m used to. It''s got nothing to do with temperature. It''s just difficult to feel warm when you realize how small everything is. How even your entire universe is but a tiny fraction of infinity. Hell, that''s not even how math works. You can''t even put infinity into a fraction. When I turn to look beyond my tform again, I see some of the branches split off over and over, including mine at some point. It''s somewhat turbulent, and I feel the floor shake beneath me when it does, but it''s nowhere as violent as I believed a split in a timeline would be. I also notice that a few of the branches I''d noticed aren''t there anymore. I see one copse and die right in front of me¡ª figuratively speaking. The distance, again, is further than is even describable. When I witness it, it is not an instantenous thing. It is a slow crumple that I can''t hear, but itsts nearly an hour (or at least I think so) before the entire branch has disappeared into nothingness as if it had never existed. More have begun since then, and a great die-off begins. Then, it sinks. I am witnessing the ending of worlds. Uxie had warned Mira about this. That they could glimpse other timelines, peer into the future somehow, and see that in some universes, Cyrus wins and destroys everything. Billions dead. How does one even reconcile such loss? The number''s so big that it doesn''t even feel real. I try to imagine it in my head, but I just can''t. I can''t even feel sad about it. Maybe I''m misinterpreting this, somehow. Most of these die-offs are happening in timelines ahead of mine, so my stomach ties itself into knots and Iy down again until it passes. Ignoring these few mass tragedies is the best way I have of staying mentally sound. It''s like when you watch a movie or read a book that says so many people died, but at that point, the number''s just a number. A statistic. Everything changes when another scream ripples across Time. This one, I see emerges from one of the copsing timelines ahead of us, and the metallic tower shrinks as it starts rebuilding itself. Somehow, even with these astronomical distances, I hear the sound instantly. I sp the sides of my head, but that doesn''t stop me from hearing that same roar. Calling it a roar almost feels diminutive. It''s a sound that could maybe, maybe have been described as such, but it is also the unending march of time, paving over everything without a single look back. Gears forever in lock and step, turning onto eternity. It''s the past, set in stone without any option to correct actions taken beforehand. How can Dialga''s roar originate from all the way over there if it''s in my world? Can it be in multiple ces at the same time? I can see the sound stretch across unimaginable distances despite Dialga not being here itself. It''s a vibration that spreads, spreads and spreads faster than anything I could imagine across distances that were sorge they were stupid until¡ª Impact. No. Not impact, but close to it. Three lines close to mine nearly graze each other, having moved back close together. We''re all close enough now that I could realistically walk there over the course of days if I could fly, but they''re all getting closer and I''m not sure if this proximity is even meant to be outside of timelines dividing¡ª My vision shatters into four, and I gain three more perspectives. ¡ª Let''s take a step back, for a moment, and think back to Grace Pastel''s journey. Full of highs, lows, and everything in between. Love, pain, agony, friendship, learning, growth, loss, trauma, fun¡ª many words can be used and still be urate. Change is what one could consider the most important denominator. After all, the sands of time change all, no matter how small the events in your life. She''s not that same girl who would stay locked in her room all afternoon, watch battles and browse the forums. Innocent, clear of any scars, both mental and physical, with a Togepi egg she kept warm with a hug while she slept. We can look on and on, at every little change every action could have caused. For example, Grace refuses to go see her mother that day¡ª her journey''s dyed by a year, but she goes onto one anyway, and life and necessity will have it that Lucas, Dawn and Barry be Shards instead of her and her friends. Knowledge, Emotion and Willpower, respectively. Grace refuses to travel with Cecilia and her group in Eterna Forest¡ª she and Denzel find another group to make it through, but Cecilia runs away in Eterna City because Louis grows to be too suffocating, Abel captures her, and she lives that entire year a puppet while Amy Saunier joins her group to monitor her. Not only that, but Grace goes to Hearthome right away, too early for her to cross paths with a prickly Turtonator, and shees out of that cave with a Rolycoly and without a Larvitar. On, and on, and on. There truly is no end to it. Time is, after all, infinite. But, There is a moment in time that we can observe. Arguably, the defining moment in Grace Pastel''s life, the one that pushed her to be who she is now that could have gone a few different ways. It is, in retrospect, obvious. It is not the moment where Grace chooses to help Cecilia, nor is it the moment where she chooses to go on a journey. It is not her encounter and extended hand with Turtonator, or her fall into Mount Cor to save the girl that she loves. That moment, It''s Sceon. So again, I say: Let''s take a step back. ¡ª Sunshine incinerates Harry Rodriguez''s Pelipper by blowing a Dragon Pulse inside of its mouth, and the teenager copses to his knees with a disbelieving sob. The battle keeps going for a few seconds; Princess keeps her barrier up andunches tiny spikes of Ancient Power, Honey fires off Thunderbolts at the raging Crobat, who weaves in and out as it looks for an opening. Torterra was already a smoking husk on the ground, and Sunsine shes with Crawdaunt. Weavile stands next to Harry as a bodyguard, et cetera et cetera. You know this already. The fight isn''t what''s interesting here, it''s what happens after that matters. Harry Rodriguez is close to his Pokemon. Grace does not know this, but seeing Pelipper die this way had nearly broken him, back then. Here, he breaks. Even through Shiftry''s darkness, tears flow down his eyes and he gets on his knees with a horrifying scream that will stay with this Grace Pastel her entire life. It is one thing, for her to fight a man who she believes is evil incarnate and not just a misguided, slightly older teenager who the darkness is affecting just as much as her, and seeing him cry like this snaps her out of Shiftry''s spell as well. Then, she realizes what she''s done. She''s caused the death of someone. Possibly two Pokemon, if that Torterra''s dead. Grace breaks down and starts crying as well. The battle is over, by now, and aside from Sunshine and Weavile who desire more bloodshed, every Pokemon has stopped and is wondering what to do. "It doesn''t have to be like this," Grace sobs. "We don''t have to fight." Harry Rodriguez hesitates. She can see him consider it in his eye when they flicker at Pelipper, then at her, then at every member of his team. Then he nods as he tricks Weavile and Crawdaunt and recalls them before they can attack him for stabbing their family in the back. It and Crawdaunt are not his Pokemon, they''re the Hunters. Sunshine, too, has to be recalled. He sees red, and to him, any member of Team Gctic deserves no pity. "I''ll take you to the Hunters." In that moment, everything changes, even if Grace Pastel doesn''t exactly know it yet. It is, as was said, the defining moment in her life. It teaches herpassion, it teaches her that the people she hates can be saved, it teaches her the importance of conversation, and it teaches her that no one is a lost cause. Most of all, it gives her a distaste for killing that she will never be able to shake off. Harry Rodriguez takes her to the Hunters'' mansion. As they travel through the dark, she asks him questions about why he joined Team Gctic. She learns about his struggles. He''s a street rat from Jubilife who wanted to provide for his family by being a trainer, and they provided him with a Turtwig to raise, give him money and even help him with transportation. Good genes are something that can be beaten with hard work, but it''s hard to deny the boost it gives a trainer. She learns that he''s a person. He''s just as much of a Craig Goodwill fan as Denzel is, and he has some of his merch. She learns that despite everything, he loves battling just as much as she does and by the time they make it to the mansion, they feel like acquaintances and are wondering the same thing. Why had they tried to kill each other again? It''s not over, though. There are two people guarding the mansion, Reggie and Lane Hunter, the tour guides who had shown Grace around when she had gone to visit. Of course, Harry and she make quick work of their Pokemon and tie them up using Angel''s vines. With theirbined forces, the battle isn''t particrly close, even if their Pokemon are tired. The death match they''d shared had been enough for them to understand each others'' capabilities, and they work rather well together. You know what happens next. The conversation with Rnd, his suicide, and Cynthia dealing with Shiftry. Harry Rodriguez gets arrested, but Grace makes sure to entuate that he helped and will cooperate, so he deserves leniency. When Shiftry dies, and his void recedes, Grace experiences the guilt of killing at full force. She vomits over the wooden floorboards, Cynthia''s shoes and her own legs. "The first time is always the hardest," Cynthia tells her. The first time? There would be no second time! She had meant it when she had said it, but this time, it''s real. Physical in a way that will define the rest of her life. Grace Pastel wipes the tears off her face and grinds her teeth, furious at the Champion for even suggesting what she had. She vows never to kill again. ¡ª It all starts with that single vow, you see? This is still the same Grace¡ª vengeful, prioritizing her friends and family above all else, her worse characteristics amplified by Princess'' ambient energy, but a fairy is also stubborn and takes vows very seriously. She has seen how even the darkened hearts of men can be brought back under the sunlight, or at least she thinks she has, and that changes¡­ Well, it doesn''t exactly change her outlook on life. This is somewhat simr to what Grace was like near the start of the year, willing to help those who harm and threaten her, but this part of her grows, grows and grows until it swallows her whole. When she sees her friends, terribly angry at the Hunters for having warped Justin, she feels a disconnect because while she''s also angry, she wants to forgive so terribly, yet she''s scared of calling them out and being alienated. Alienated. She understands, now. She needs to travel alone for a while. ¡ª When a certain Hatterene tracks her down in a certain forest and introduces herself, Grace Pastel is excited, at first. She wants to learn more about herself and what makes her tick. She wants to know the shape of herself, and for a little bit, she finds that. Unfortunately, The Keeper is a strange Pokemon whose morals or lessons she does not mesh with at all. Killing or harming someone who offends, instead of offering them a kind, guiding hand is anathema to who Grace wants to be, but she still appreciates the lessons imparted onto her and learns first-hand about the pleas of wild Pokemon. She never learns the fairy''s name, and when she gets to Veilstone, she does so alone, quietly crossing the gate. It''s there, that she puts her new outlook on life in practice. She spends much time working odd jobs for free to help both people and wild Pokemon, which starts building up her reputation as a good Samaritan. A group of Machop wants to travel through Veilstone to relocate to route 210 due to there being so much human activity on 214. Yet, they are too weak to go around the city and off-route, so they have no choice. Grace Pastel asks Hatterene first to see if she would be willing to ept these new individuals into her territory, but does so immediately after the Keeper gives her permission. A seven-year-old child wants to catch her first Pokemon because she has no friends at school. That one, she brings to route 211 and over the course of a few days, she connects with a Seedot that she finally catches. A baby Stunky has lost her mother, who was caught by a passing trainer, so Grace takes her to the Rangers to try to track this person down in hopes of making them release the older Stunky. That one, she fails. But at least she tries, and she vows to check on Stunky every day until she leaves Veilstone, opting to train her to evade trainer capture. Poketch loves this, and it fits what they want her to be, but she does it because it''s fulfilling. When she starts studying Veilstone''s Gym, she sees the pain in Maylene''s eyes, and again, her friendsin about the Gym Leader instead of noticing what she does. She''s closer to speaking out, this time, but fear of going against the grain keeps her quiet. Instead, she takes matters into her own hands and signs up for the Gym before any ns have been made, because Maylene is this close to having a breakdown and no one is noticing or if they are, they aren''t helping. She loses that Gym Battle, and she knows Poketch are going to blow up her phone, but that''s okay. A battle is a battle. She can always try again, and she''s gotten good experience from it anyway. It makes actually speaking to her weird, though, because a Challenger doesn''t usually speak to the Gym Leader after a loss aside from the 8th badge. They''re supposed to figure out what went wrong on their own, at least in Sinnoh, so the crowd gasps and murmurs when Grace runs over to Maylene before she can go and take her short break. "I see your pain," Grace says. "I want to help you before it''s toote." When it works, and Maylene starts tearing up at the fact that someone cares, Grace smiles and offers her a hug. A friendship is formed. Not everything goes perfectly, at the beginning. There are two main issues. First, Maylene is very stubborn and headstrong. Their first meeting takes ce after her shift that day, and she still isn''t convinced she has to take a break, nor does she ept therapy. Second, Cecilia grows prickly about this, and Grace understands. The public hug has the inte rumor mill spinning, but even beyond that, seeing someone you love do exactly what she did at the start of your very own rtionship¡ª reaching out to someone in need with more kindness than they''d ever been afforded¡ª it was obvious that she was going to grow jealous. This ispounded by Cecilia''s first-ever loss to Lauren Goodwill, and her fraying mental health has her lose her Gym Battle to Maylene, which again, makes everything worse. It''s a tough act to bnce. Grace doesn''t really know how to fix this and make everyone happy, especially when she still wants to help Maylene. At first, she opts for a meeting between the two girls, and Cecilia vehemently refuses at first until she grows so worried that she instead asks to sit in every single meeting between the two girls in case something was going on. What she finds instead when she finally epts and steps into Maylene''s minimalist room, is Grace listening to Maylene vent and offering the best advice she can. There is no flirting, no unnecessary physical contact, and no signs that Grace has fallen out of love with her. "Sorry, you must have been worried ever since I asked to travel alone," Grace says. "I didn''t handle this well, I''ll make it up to you." All is forgiven, in that moment, but bettermunication is still in order. The two girls go on a date, and despite spending more time than necessary in Veilstone, they both end up getting their Gym Badge. Maylene invites them to a party to celebrate both their victory and the break she finally decides to take. Candicees, but Grace also meets Gardenia for the first time, and she can barely articte any words all night, with how out of her depth she feels. Meeting her idol like this is a dreame true, and she spends hours asking for advice until Gardenia decides to take her under her wing. The next day, she reconnects with her mother and grandmother and finally buries the hatchet between them. It''s all so perfect. But their responsibilities are the same, and when Cynthia calls them to meet her and exins that they were somehow chosen, everything changes. ¡ª Grace Pastel is in Sunyshore, now. She''s spent her time in the city mostly mediating disputes between clubs, but it''s probably in this city that she''s the happiest. She carries with her the weight of the world, yet it''s Sunyshore that allows her to be a teenager for a few, precious weeks. She goes on dates, hangs out with her friends, celebrates her birthday, and Gardenia even takes a few days off to train her before her fight with Volkner, all while convincing him to let Electabuzz evolve into an Electivire if she wins, though she tells her that he was going to do it anyway and just didn''t like to look like he was giving something away for free. Hell, even Maylene joins them, since she''s finally on break for one month and she enjoys the group''spany. It''s also in Sunyshore, that Sunshine tells her about Kamaile''s life and death, after Grace narrowly beats Volkner. They cry together for a long while, nearly ten minutes, but there is a path that forms when the dragon asks her to kill Saturn. She wants to say yes. She knows it would be easy to just make him an exception, and while it''s difficult because she quite literally feels Sunshine''s pain, she can''t ept this. Grace tries to promise him they will send Saturn to jail, that he will pay for his actions, and that a lifetime spent atoning in prison would be better than a death he might not have cared about anyway. That refusal forms an irreparable rift between them. Sunshine refuses to battle for her again and gives her the cold shoulder at every opportunity. Not only that, but he refuses to meet Mudsdale in Pastoria because he feels like he has failed him. Grace sobs, because she finally understands now that being kind to everyone will cost her. Yet, she doesn''t change her mind for a single reason. A vow is not a vow if it is just swept under the rug when it is inconvenient. The remaining time spent in Sunyshore is more somber than she would have liked, but there are still obligations. She has a photo shoot for Poketch, an interview to talk about how much she''s helped people in Veilstone and in Sunyshore, and how she''s gotten close to so many Gym Leaders. Both Princess and Honey evolve, and she even gets a promotion, but it all rings somewhat empty. She needs time to think on her own again, so she leaves Sunyshore alone on Princess'' back after they learn how to fly and she gets her license. ¡ª The wrist of her dominant hand gets broken when she rests off-route. The Carnivine that did it is angry and full of pain, but they manage to defeat it with Sunshine''s help, because although the dragon doesn''t want to help Grace with sport, he still doesn''t want her to die. When Grace hears of Carnivine''s plea, she finds herself feeling like she had with Maylene. This was someone in need of help, and help was the only thing she''s ever wanted to give, so she promises Carnivine that she will find her son, a Leafeon who had been kidnapped by someone who sounds dangerously like Abel. When her ACE Trainer Arielnds next her after the battle and apologizes for not intervening sooner, Grace finds it in her heart to forgive her with some difficulty. If she had intervened, Carnivine never would have told her about her plea, and was her dream not to help people all over the world? She promises Carnivine that she''ll get Leafeon back. While Sceon is where everything changed for Grace, Pastoria is where everythinges to a head. Sunshine''sck of cooperation means that her hopes of winning her Gym Battle are near zero, even if she somehow catches a seventh Pokemon. There''s no way she can hope to work as well with them as she can with the Pokemon she''s known for months, and that''s if their strength is up to par. When Melody learns about Sunshine being uncooperative, she''s forced to report to Poketch, and Grace is demoted to a normal sponsee while Aubri takes over as Craig''s sessor. It''s embarrassing and she gets a bit of egg on her face, but she doesn''t really care for it, or much for badges at the moment, really. There''s too much on her mind for her to be ying around. That doesn''t mean she''ll stop training or fall behind her friends, but it does mean that she has more free time than the others to investigate. She tells her friends about Leafeon, and using her connections with Maylene, Candice, Gardenia and Volkner, Grace manages to get the attention of Crasher Wake without a battle, and a criminal like Abel being involved in the poacher issue catapults it to international news territory instead of a local issue as it had been before. Like Mira, she disagrees with telling Denzel about the possible end of the world, but Cecilia and Chase make a good case that keeping her closest friend in the dark would be risking their rtionship when he inevitably did find out, so she''s finally convinced. As usual, Grace decides to help anyone she can in the city, and finds herself volunteering for the UPAN, where she learns about Ethan and his stolen Tirtouga. She speaks to more and more victims of this poaching and vows to all of them to do something about it. "Let me take all of your pain," she would say. "Tell me everything that troubles you, and I''ll try my best to help." She had shouldered all these burdens, so it was her job to deal with it personally. It is not until Maeve gets attacked and hurt by a poacher that they figure out where their base of operations is held. A phnthropist billionaire called Edward Backlot had been the culprit all along, something no one would have expected, with his reputation. Crasher Wake and Fantina join the ACE Trainers and League Trainers to participate in the raid which was kept top-secret in order not to let Backlot escape. It is confusing, it is sickening, it is horrifying, but she manages to keep her vow and doesn''t kill anyone, be that Pokemon, humans or hostages. Her friends? Her friends kill. She sees it with her own two eyes, even. It''s one thing to hear about it like she did with Chase talks about not having enough money to feed his team and having them kill the wildlife, or Cecilia at the end of the Darkest Day, and it''s another to see a Zweilous blow someone''s arm apart with a Dragon Pulse. She knows it was self-defense, she knows it is incredibly obtuse to expect them to be as perfect as she wants them to be, but she can''t help herself. Pokemon are freed, the Game Corner is shut down, and Leafeon is found to be alive and well, but at the end of the day, she finds Cecilia to talk to her with her eyes downcast and says this: "We can''t be together anymore." ¡ª Ah, that wasn''t expected, was it? One could think that this was a perfect timeline, one where every mistake had been paved over with virtue, forgiveness and kindness. It''s certainly what our Grace thought before this moment, even if she''d seen the cracks form from that Grace''s actions and her growing more and more demanding from her friends. Here''s the truth about virtue. It is strict. Believing that all can be saved does not mean being friends with murderers and crooks. Of course, to Grace, this wasn''t an easy choice. It breaks her heart, to end a rtionship with someone she still loves, but she can''t fathom dating a killer. Being friends with one was already stretching the limits of what she was willing to do, which was why she had been growing more estranged from Chase these past few weeks after hearing him speak of killing like it was breathing, but dating was something else entirely. That isn''t the only rtionship broken in the aftermath of the raid on Backlot''s mansion. When Chase tells her what Mira''s done to evolve her Gengar, she winces. There is room for forgiveness in her heart, but there is no more room for that friendship. To torture for hours? That''s too far for her. Cecilia is the first to leave Pastoria, followed by Chase who says he''ll attempt to mend her broken heart. Mira''s just gone one day, and no one has any idea of where she went, but the League tells them she went to see Fantina. Denzel''s nascent rtionship with Emilia and Pauline is broken, maybe beyond repair, and Maeve acts like a different person after her stay in the hospital. The group is broken, and she''s the one who caused that rift. The tears don''t stop. They just don''t. Part of Grace believes that she''ll always be crying on the inside from now on, but after she delivers Leafeon back to Carnivine and leaves flying atop Princess, she wipes her eyes and flies toward Lake Verity. With her, she carries a new Pokemon and her seventh. A Grian Ponyta she had rescued from Backlot''s mansion and bonded with as her seventh. She was a scared, skittish, and abused little thing that had looked to her for guidance as a fellow sister. Full of scars on her legs, scared of sudden movements, scared of humans, scared of ss and metal¡ª scared of so much, yet so brave all the same. She names her Shiver. Here, as she touches the skies and looks at the countless stars above her, Grace strips herself of thest remaining doubts and impurities that had marred her thoughts reforges herself into someone else, and bes The Virtuous. ¡ª Bing someone who embodies virtue¡­ Well, it''s difficult. Grace sees many ws in many people. She could see someone, have a single conversation with them, and see the darkness lurking behind their eyes. Even more so, now that she''s met Mesprit and that she saw the world with her gift more often than not. In a way, seeing how much everyone was just drifting across the river that was life as best they could, from the ny-year-old woman feeding the flock of Starly in a park, to the thirteen-year-old bully who had been kicking a newborn Rattata in a dark alley of Jubilife¡ª they were all people. There''s a word for this that she''s discovered recently: sonder. The feeling of realization that every passerby on the street has a life just asplex andplicated as yours, for better or for worse. That everyone is the main character of their own story. But she has nothing but time until Team Gctic makes their next move. She travels Sinnoh, listening and collecting each story until she can ''solve'' it with her help. An unsolved tale would leave an irritated feeling underneath her skin, like an itch she couldn''t scratch. She uses the time to train Ponyta and makes her open up to meeting new people, little by little. The psychic is still mentally fragile, yet she''s been exposed to nothing but abuse her entire life, and meeting kind people all over the region has her realize that there''s more to humans but pain and misery. Maylene, Justin, Gardenia, Candice and Denzel are the friends she remains the closest to, and Cecilia hasn''t spoken to her since they broke up. Her final stop before the bombs is at the Lost Tower, where she has a conversation with Mathilda in an attempt to learn about Honey''s parents and the Dusk, and she''s let out after a few hours of being trapped. What was the point of fighting when things could be solved with words? The bombs go off one day after that, while she''s in Sceon visiting the remains of the Daycare and trying to learn more about the remainder of the Hunters. Being taken to a bunker with all of the others is awkward, but finally, in the hour of the highest importance, bonds are forged anew and they put their differences aside. Apologies are extended, hugs are shared and friendships are rebuilt. When Mesprit is captured, they''re instantly Teleported to Lake Verity and is assigned Maylene as a bodyguard. They fail to recapture the guardians and are taken to Mount Cor. Six badges in hand, seven Pokemon with her, and now satisfied with who she had be, Grace Pastel begins her ascent up Cor. A few of her ACEs are left behind, but Lou, Maxwell, Ariel and a few others remain with her and start following her instructions to the letter once she shows that she can navigate this mountain far better than they can. On the fifthyer, they''re ambushed by Saturn and his grunts, but Grace Pastel creates a n that has them save the majority of their lives. It doesn''te easy, and the twenty deaths she''s caused will haunt her for years toe, yet she cannot break down. Virtue does not cry when it fails, it tries to do better. When she''s talking to Lou about the logistics of keeping so many people warm at the same time, the ACE desperately tries to convince her otherwise while her colleagues are off gathering them and Saturn around their fire types, who are still conscious. It is while gathering up the grunts, that Sunshine, wounded and ragged from his fight tells her that he thinks he''s ready to see his old friends Mudsdale and Lurantis. Permanently. She had expected this. Since Sunyshore, they had never been the closest, and attempts to reconnect had all failed, but it hurts all the same. She epts his request and thanks him for helping her this entire year regardless. Besides her, a boy who must have been thirteen at most shivers and tries to crawl away from her. He''s bleeding from his forehead, his eyes are cloudy and his teeth chatter, not out of cold, but fear. She sees it, seeping through his skin. The boy is so young, yet he believes that his ce in the New World has been lost now that he''s failed to stop her. Grace crouches next to a grunt and outstretches a hand, and he replies by grabbing a rock and shing at her face with it. Kindness, virtue and trust cost her her right eye. Ponyta freezes next to her and evolves out of fear of losing a loved one while Lou restrains the grunt. Just as she''s about to snap the boy''s neck, Grace holds out a hand, bloodied from cradling her face, and yells. "Do not kill him." She hasn''t been that angry¡­ ever. She''s surprised that a lot of that is directed at Lou rather than the grunt, but the girl is spared and her eye is bandaged. Maylene cries when she sees her a few minutester, berating Lou for not having intervened faster, but Grace knows that the ACE has reached her limit after Teleporting so many times during the fight. It''s then that Grace notices the sparks of pinking to life around her skin. It''s love. Passionate, deep and possibly Maylene''s first time feeling this. Grace looks at her and barely hides her pity. She ignores it and continues her way up to Spear Pir, but she will let Maylene down easy when everything is over. The Virtuous has found that rtionships would only disappoint her, given how wed everyone waspared to what she would demand. It''s impossible for her to fall in love any longer, or at least not with anyone who isn''t like her. You know what happens next, though it''s a little different here. It''s Cecilia, Pauline, Emilia and Chase who deal with Mars and Denzel and Mira who deal with Jupiter, this time around. Both Mars and Jupiter manage to escape to Spear Pir, but they''re out of Pokemon and can''t stop the group when they''re all united and at the summit. Cynthia''s still chanting, staring at the water, and the might of everyone has been brought to God''s Throne to defeat Cyrus. All of the Commanders are captured and spared. Yet it doesn''t matter anyway. It''s Grace, who fails to free Mesprit, this time, while Mira, Chase and Cecilia free their respective Guardians. Dialga crawls out of the sky and screams¡ª ¡ª So you see, now, how one tiny alteration and time can snowball andpletely alter what a person is or represents. This is one example of many, but as chance will have it, there are only two more Grace can peer at due to Dialga''s scream. Let us look back to Sceon again and get on with the next perspective. Remember, there is no perfection in time. ¡ª Grace Pastel stands above Harry Rodriguez, her foot against the man''s open wound on his leg, and she snarls so harshly that spitnds on his face. All of his Pokemon lie dead behind her, each in a delipidated state. Even Weavile''s neck has been crushed under the weight of Angel''s vines, and Crobat has been electrocuted beyond recognition. Sweetheart is dead. Weavile had shed open the baby Larvitar and cut her insides apart. All that remains is a fleshy, bleeding corpse that Grace cannot bear to look at, and she knows that once the darkness disappears, she''ll broken inside and out by her daughter''s death. Just over a week ago, Sweetheart had called her mom for the first time, and now she was gone. She''s won, but at what cost? "What should I do with you?" she asks, shing her teeth. He begs and wails, but she presses down on his wounded leg until his words turn into a horrible scream that is music to her ears and that she''ll relish her entire life. She doesn''t tell the worm beneath her feet what he could have done to beat her. Instead, Grace tells him that if the information he tells her is useful, she''ll leave him alive. Of course, she finds reasons to torture him regardless. Sometimes, she pretends she knows what he''s saying isn''t the truth, and others, she just stomps down on the hole in his leg because he takes too long to answer. The pleasure she feels is new and fresh, but most of all, she wants to give Harry Rodriguez the pain he deserves. When he''s done talking, he asks her if she can take her foot off his leg. She smiles and watches the hope drain from his face. "No, I don''t think I will." Harry Rodriguez is slow-cooked by Sunshine. His death is a slow, agonizing thing that she finds appropriate for her daughter''s killer. Grace makes her way to the Hunters'' mansion afterward. She kills Reggie and Lane in battle, kills Rnd Hunter before he can even speak to her, and has her Pokemon try to break through to Shiftry''s chambers. At this point even Honey is seeing red. His baby sister was taken away from him, and any self-doubts about violence had might have had, he has now shed. Had the dark type not been cowardly, she would have died right then and there. Grace wants so badly to kill Shiftry and wipe the Hunter family off the map. She thinks that if she inflicts enough pain on the people who hurt her, it won''t hurt as badly when the darkness goes down. Harry, Reggie, Lane, their Pokemon and Rnd are all she gets before Cynthia and Aaron get there and deal with Shiftry. It''s almost disappointingly quick. One stab of an aura-infused bone, and the old dark type crumbles. Grace clenches a fist as the darkness slowly bleeds away, thinking that he should have suffered more than this for taking her baby away from her. The emotions hit her like a truck, and for nearly a week, she is inconsble. The belt on her hip feels light without Sweetheart there when she goes outside, and the world is dark and dreary as if Shiftry never even left. Yet it is not a deep depression which takes a hold of her. It is imagination. Part of her wants to go out of the Center at night to hunt for some of the Hunters remaining on their property, but she doesn''t. She can''t. Right? No, she can''t. That would be an actual crime and not self-defense like thest few murders. Still, it doesn''t mean she can''t daydream about it. Grace spends nearly a week looking at the warm ceiling light of her room in the Pokemon Center, thinking about all the ways she could hurt. Most of it is spent with her Pokemon so they can collectively grieve together, and she grows distant with her friends. They look at her and say sorry, but they can''t understand, can they? None of them have lost anyone, and none of them are talking about helping her eventually get her revenge. They think she''s done enough already. That it''s been settled. That the debt had been repaid. That is, she thinks, fuckingughable. By the end of the week, and after Cynthia teaches Princess to restrain her ambient energy, they decide to bury Sweetheart''s Pokeball next to the river running southeast of the city and then loop back up north, leaving her friends with a text message saying that she needs to travel alone and think about things¡ª both about who she is and what she''ll be doing from now on. She still cries herself to sleep every night and hears Sweetheart call for her out of habit. The road will be hard and long. ¡ª Sweetheart''s death was the turning point, but what truly cements Grace into what she''d be is meeting the Keeper of the Sacred Woods. It happens after she''d fed a group of Pokemon taking refuge from the rain under an overhang. It''s difficult for her to show kindness, but in her heart of hearts, she believes that Pokemon are simpler creatures than people. Yes, they can n to harm, but it is the wickedness of Pokemon wielded by humans, who had taken her daughter away, not the wild. When Grace tells her about what has happened to her, Hatterene finally understands. She shares her values about making people pay, about retribution that no one should be able to get away from. A full day together, and she introduces herself to her as Betrix and allows herpanion Nightstalker to reveal himself. I will train you, sister, Betrix says. A few weeks with me, and I will teach your daughter all of the basics. After a pause, she crawls closer and smiles with teeth that shouldn''t be able to fit in her mouth. Should you desire me to, I can also turn you into a fully-fledged sister. Grace closes her eyes. "That second option, I''ll have to think about." Very well, the fae says, slightly disappointed. But trust me, Betrix imbues her with these words: A fairy alwayses to collect. She would be back at the Hunters'' through hell or high water and finish what she had started. She spends an entire month with Betrix, and by the time she exits, she does so with an army of Pokemon at her back and a new member of her family. A Hattena born of Be''s belief, still barely a few days old. Her mother had named her Theodora, and she was her parting gift to Grace, along with having¡­ altered her slightly. Not enough to make her mindset ipatible with human society, but enough to know that she would never truly fit in again. The Rangers who stop her at Veilstone''s gate, Grace indirectly threatens with the might of all the wild Pokemon at her back if they wouldn''t let her pass. The situation is frozen for nearly ten minutes until Maylene Suzuki shows up and forces Grace to realize that her plight is untenable. For that, she never forgives her. Grace is arrested, of course¡ª how couldn''t she be? Her friends are all worried for her and wonder why she''s been away for so long, Poketch quietly pushes her onto the side and Melody signals that they''re ready to drop her for good, but Grace doesn''t really care. It''s revenge that consumes her very being. A desire bubbling right beneath her skin to put all who had wronged her in the dirt no matter how little the slight had been. Maylene, the Hunters, those Rangers, the police; had she not been so weak, she would have had them pay their debt back in full. Of course, she begins studying Maylene as soon as she''s out of jail, which is somehow barely a few days, and she sees weakness. Overworked, insecure, almost to the point of breaking, as if the world itself had presented this opportunity to her. Of course, people say that she''s an annoying Gym Leader because she shuts down the ways of fighting she doesn''t like, which she''d heard her friendsin about but that''s not why Grace cares. She cares because Maylene got her arrested. Theodora takes well to the team, though they''re all extremely overprotective after Sweetheart''s death. Sunshine tells her stories of an older sister she would never meet, Honey ys with her by throwing her up in the air or pretending he can''t see her during hide and seek, Princess is that stingy but loving older sister that she trains with the most, Angel is the goofy uncle who''s nothing but fun and Buddy is the strict grandfather who puts his shoe down when needed. It hurts seeing them without Sweetheart here. A fairy never forgets. She spends days training exactly to counter Maylene''s tactics and nights watching videos of her battles. She rehearses lines she thinks will work the best and fights the battle over and over in her mind. This is all she does over the course of two weeks, and she''s thest one of her friends to go against Maylene. Five-on-five with two switches. It is a massacre. Grace holds nothing back. There''s no Poketch to be beholden to any longer, and she doesn''t care about how the public will perceive her. Not anymore. Every Pokemon''s pain is prolonged to hurt her, she responds to Maylene''s outbursts with nothing but smiles and silence at first, but when the Gym Leader insults her first as she has nned, Grace begins trading barbs as well. She can tell that each one hurts Maylene so badly that the Gym Leader battles worse and worse until she ends up using aura as a desperate attempt to pull back. As a finishing blow, she brings up how her father never would have insulted a challenger. The score is 2-5 in Grace''s favor by the end. The entire inte is against her. She was too obvious with the way she prolonged fights to optimize her opponents'' screams and pain. She had not expected it to be this one-sided against her, instead thinking that opinions would be more mixed, and what she''s done has the opposite effect of what she''d wanted. It''s not as if the entire trainermunity starts supporting Maylene all at once, but there''s a shift in the conversation that had obviously stemmed from her actions. Again, Grace doesn''t really care about what random people online say about her, not anymore. Nothing will ever be as painful as losing a loved one. Losing loved ones. That is where this path leads her, not because they die, but because they cannot recognize her anymore. It''s Denzel, who''s the first to call her out for her treatment of the Gym Leader, and then Cecilia follows through, along with Emilia, Mira, and even Pauline. Chase is the only one who remains in the fairy''s camp, not because he supports her actions but because he doesn''t care and thinks Maylene has it easy anyway and is too soft. The walk to the Pokemon Center is filled with arguments. "You need to put out a statement apologizing," Denzel says. "I know you''re hurt, but this isn''t who you are," Cecilia says. "What''s the point in taking all of your frustration on this random girl?" Pauline says. "I''m sorry this is the only way you have to deal with your pain," Louis says. "You''re fucking crazy," Mira says, followed by a dozen protests about tact like Grace isn''t standing right there¡ª on, and on, and on until Graceshes out a few streets away from their destination. "What do you know about me?" she rages. "None of you know anything! None of you have ever lost anyone, so you can''t understand. I see you all, from your fucking high horses. The way you''ve looked at me since Sweetheart died. You and your stupid intervention!" Finally. Finally, she can let it out. She''s ruining things with them, but she feels good doing it. "I don''t want your pity. I want¡ª" I want to hurt those who hurt me. But she can''t hold herself together. Tears take hold of her before, and the group gathers around her with a warm hug. ¡ª That''s nice, isn''t it? In another world, perhaps, a world where she hadn''t lost as much, this could have been the start of a healthier outlook on life. Bridges would have been permanently burned, of course. There was simply no way to rebuild the rtionship with Maylene this time, and any hopes Grace might have had of getting to know Gym Leaders would have gone up in mes. At least, however, her current friends would remain. This is not that world. But you suspected this already, didn''t you? It would, after all, look too simr to yours. Sunyshore is spent with Grace feeling nothing but dread. Her friends walk on eggshells around her as if to not trigger her into flying into a rage again, and their rtionship never feels the same as it had before Sceon had taken everything from her. It is only Denzel and Cecilia, who are her rocks. The ones willing to look at her like a friend and who she thinks aren''t talking about her behind her back. She sees the way everyone else looks at her while they think she isn''t looking. Their heavy, judging gazes. They''re all against her, they just have the guts to let her know. She''s sure of it! But when she tells Denzel about it, he keeps saying that she''s just paranoid. Grace tries her best to believe him, but she''s starting to doubt even his words. Instead, she throws herself into nning for her fight with Volkner, thinking that a good old-fashioned Gym Battle will do her some good. She wishes she had the money to evolve Princess or the knowledge to get an Electivire, but it looks like she''s going to have to do without those for the fight. While she ns, Denzel spends less and less time with her because of his tutge under Craig, while Cecilia finds herself roped into training with Jasmine because Denzel rmended her. If they''d known how bad the situation had really been, how strongly the pressure had been building up, they most likely would have made more time for her, but children will be children, even those who had gone through hell and back, and Grace was very good at pretending everything was okay and letting everything fester inside of her. But it is not in Sunyshore, that thingse to a head. The fight against Volkner is a nail-biter, only won through sheer dedication from Sunshine, and the fire type carries her across the finish line. Volkner doesn''t bother hiding his contempt for Grace when he hands her his badge, and Grace can''t help but meet his re with one of her own. Never relent, never surrender, always escte, because otherwise she would be weak, and weak girls are the ones who always get hurt. For a moment, it looks like he''s going to say something, yet he doesn''t and just tells her to get out of his sight. She smirks and does so with her badge, TM, and money. Her friends all perform better than her at the Gym Battle, which makes her a little miffed, but that''s nothingpared to being summoned by Cynthia before having the world dropped on her head. She''s special, the Champion tells her. Chosen by the Lake Guardians, whether that be through sheer luck or something else the League doesn''t understand quite yet. So are Chase, Cecilia, and Denzel. Thetter of which takes the longest to adapt to the news, but Grace is quite literally shining. When Cynthia gives them favors in exchange for their service to the League, she asks for three things. A funny notion, to ask for more than a Champion has allocated to you, but she knows her position now. She''s needed, and that means she has leverage. First, she asks to evolve her Electabuzz. Second, she asks for more money than that pittance they call the LTIP sry or a Shiny Stone directly and third¡ª Third, she asks to train under Cynthia for a week. Oh, she does have a teacher like her friends do, just one that can only help her train Theodora and Princess, but her other teammates need just as much help. Cynthia works her jaw, mulls it over for nearly ten seconds, and Grace can tell the Champion doesn''t like it. It''s why she''s put the ''one-week'' time limit, to offer the pact in a way that would be easier to swallow. In the end, the Champion epts every offer, and Grace can barely contain her glee as she shakes from excitement. There are stiptions to this deal. The training would have to be secret and off-route, and the seven days would have to be spread out due to how busy Cynthia was. The Shiny Stone and getting Honey to evolve? That one was something she could do before the hour was over. "You know, I wanted Volkner to tell you about the evolution in the first ce, but even knowing Team Gctic''s n, he wouldn''t do it," Cynthia says, her ck coat swaying back and forth with every step. "What you did to Maylene left quite a bad taste in every Gym Leader''s mouth." "What do they say about me?" Grace asks. The Champion leads her to an elevator under the Sunyshore Gym, full of ufortable metal. She carries Theodora in her arms to build up her tolerance to the ore while Honey walks lock-in-step behind her with a serious look etched on his visage. He wasn''t one for smiles, not after Sweetheart died. Whereas he would have been excited to evolve before, all he wants is more power to protect his family. "Theyment the fact that they have to rely on someone as unstable as you to save us." Cynthia shrugs as the elevator starts to go down. "And what do you think?" Grace asks. "That''s up for you to decide, Grace." The two evolutions go smoothly, and she leaves Sunyshore soon after with Denzel, Cecilia and Chase en route for Lake Valor. ¡ª When Cynthia leads her off-route for their fifth training session, Grace thinks nothing of it. This is routine to her, now. Theodora''s evolved into a Hattrem, Honey''s growing used to his new body and Princess is learning a lot from Cynthia''s own Togekiss. While Grace''s Pokemon don''te anywhere close to keeping up with Cynthia and they can''t train by battling due to the fact that Cynthia''s team has forgotten how to hold back to the point that wouldn''t just kill her Pokemon, advice and experience from veteran Pokemon would go a long way. It is when she leaves, that the entire situation changes. Still exhausted from their training, Grace and her team get attacked by a Carnivine that brings the weight of millions of des of grass on top of them. The fight is short and brutal, just as she''s learned she likes, but her Pokemon are too tired to win and Carnivine grabs Grace by the throat and squeezes until Ariel descends on her Dragonite and knocks the grass type away with a Body m. Grace heaves on the ground and grabs at her neck. It is bleeding. Countless cuts and bruises line the skin; so much so that she spits out blood when she finds her breath and voice again. Yet Grace doesn''t berate the ACE Trainer for letting her reach the brink of death. She does so for allowing her Pokemon to be hurt to such an extent. She gets shes of Weavile tearing apart Sweetheart and it takes a magnanimous effort to chase away the tears thate with her anger. When she speaks again, her voice is coarse like sandpaper. It never goes back to normal. Just when Ariel asks Grace to get on Dragonite so she can be taken to a Pokemon Center, Carnivine whispers something, and with her voice, the grass shakes as one. My son, she mourns. Loss. Grace knows how that feels. ¡ª Remember that pressure that was mentioned earlier, that build-up of urges Grace had so harshly buried so she could regain a semnce of her waning friendships? Well, it has toe out at some point. She''s just so angry all the time with nowhere to release those emotions. Again, while Sceon put her on this path, Pastoria is where she will truly be something else. After a five-day stay at the hospital, Grace sets up her challenge with Crasher Wake right away while she gets her friends up to speed with Carnivine''s plea. Once they hear Abel might be involved, they''re all on board, but Grace is slightly miffed that they''re wondering why she would want to help a Pokemon who had nearly broken her neck by almost strangling her to death and permanently scarred her throat and voice. She''ll even have to wear a neck brace for months. They don''t understand that at this point, it''s less about helping and more about extinguishing any scumbag who thought they could take away peoples'' loved ones for profit without the consequences of their actionsing back to bite them. As fate will have it, their investigation takes longer this time. This has been said a few times, but let''s take another step back in the timeline. As luck¡ª or misfortune, depending on your interpretation of these events¡ª would have it, Denzel was a great friend. Nearly the best Grace could have asked for in this situation, really. He was far more understanding than a teenager ought to be, wasn''t selfish, and always took on the pain and burdens of his friends if he could. Back in Sceon, before Grace even killed Harry Rodriguez, it was Mira Compton who was the most adamant about investigating the Hunter family, and Grace can''t help but put some of the me on her for Sweetheart''s death. This is nonsensical. Grace was for investigating just as much as Mira was, though slightly more reserved due to the risks, but the death of a Pokemon can bring irrational thoughts to the forefront of a person''s mind. This means that when Uxie has to decide which child to give his gift to, he passes Mira over and picks Denzel, blessing him with a Shard of Knowledge. The Shards being able to work together is of utmost importance, and the Godling can peer into a few futures to see that the friction between Grace and Mira would doom the world. So, Mira isn''t the Shard of Knowledge, Abel never gets caught by her in Veilstone, yet rence is still eventually freed by League Forces after a few days and it forces him to flee down south. He''s hired by Edward Backlot, and the situation is simr to what could be observed in the other timelines. Yet since Mira isn''t the Shard of Knowledge and isn''t separated from her, Maeve is never driven enough to make a new friend and she doesn''t get attacked by Zoey Miranda in the Safari Zone. This means that the investigationgs behind. Even as Grace unleashes the most violent fighting style contemporary Sinnoh has ever seen onto Wake to release some anger and Theodora debuts in her first Gym Battle, theye up empty. Her Moonst is dim and small, yet it represents her disgust at the world that had broken her trainer so and repulses anything it approaches instead of pulling in like Betrix''s while it sts them with Fairy Winds strong enough to be mistaken for Hurricanes. The training with Cynthia means that the battle goes handily in Grace''s favor, and Pfin is left a sack of broken bones by the end of it. As fate will have it, Theodora is the Pokemon that was wounded the least, and she''s out of the Pokemon Center before everyone else. While Grace is wandering around a park with her and singing songs while the fae sits on her head and acts as her hat, a dark-haired man, his Hypno and his Xatu appear in front of them. Abel. Hattrem are exceedingly rare in Sinnoh. Betrix is possibly the only wild one of that evolutionary line, and even then, trainers with the Pokemon are few and far between. Abel, who has not had to deal with the group through Mira capturing him for a few minutes, believes Grace to be a trainer he can just steal from to make his boss happy enough to take him back to Unova now that rence has been sent back. The park has a few people, but none who can fight a professional thief for hire. Grace only has Hattrem with her, and her friends are nowhere nearby. It goes by so quickly. She''s pushed back by the Xatu''s weakened Confusion while Hypno grabs Theodora with the same move and brings her to them. Lou appears beside her with a Solrock and Lunatone while Ariel and Maxwell make themselves known, but Abel is an expert thief. In terms of brute strength, he would have lost, but Teleportation and the maniption of the strings that make the world are about finesse. In less than three seconds, his psychics win the struggle and he vanishes with Theodora. Her daughter is gone. Again. This can''t be happening. This can''t be happening. This can''t be happening. And yet it was. As if the world itself, in a cruel twist of fate was taunting her, she had lost another daughter. The child Betrix, her friend, teacher and the person she considers her mother figure, had entrusted onto her. And so, While people around her are all making her way to her to help her up, calling the police or the Rangers, or fleeing out of fear that they would be next; while the worthless ACE Trainers who had once again failed her crowd around her, Grace curls up into a ball and rocks back and forth as sheughs. The dam cracks and shatters. She is broken. ¡ª Abel leaves traces of himself leading back to the poacher''s hideout. The ACEs notice this very quickly, and it''s almost as if he leaves a psychic signature leading to Edward Backlot''s mansion on purpose. It takes them a few days to track it down, and by now the rest of Grace''s team is back from the Pokemon Center, each one as broken as she is, yet they don''t cry. Tears are for the weak who mourn before retribution has been achieved. She watches Edward Backlot''s bodyguards from the sky like bugs and an excited shiver runs down her spine when Lou gives the signal to attack and they bear down on these pathetic things like an enormous boot. Grace holds nothing back. Each Pokemon or poacher she kills makes her fingers tingle, each scream she hears brings a smile to her lips, each person begging for their life, she pretends to spare just before having one of her Pokemon kill them. This fight, it makes her feel more alive than she ever has, and she unleashes all of the anger built up over thest few weeks into these murders. Her enemies are burned, fried, torn apart, dissected, imploded, cut to shreds; and when they die, she orders her Pokemon to make it as slow as physically possible without endangering themselves. There are a few times when she might have caused the deaths of a few hostages, but it''s all in the name of justice, is it not? She leaves a trail of blood and guts in the hallways of the mansion, yet it''s not this fodder that she wants. It''s Edward Backlot and Abel. She finds thetter first, and engages in battle with him with Cecilia after he sacrifices his Hypno and Xatu to Teleport their worthless ACEs away. The fight is such a high for her that she when Jellicent explodes his Zoroark from the inside right as she''s about to w her in the neck and explodes the dark type all over her face and clothes. Seeing the tides turn, Machamp tries to convince Abel to run away, but Electivire electrocutes the man''s hand before he can release his Kecleon and he falls to the ground as he convulses and foams at the mouth. Cecilia and Grace''s Pokemon deals with Machamp, and it''s Electivire thatnds the final blow. A Cross Chop to the back of the fighting type''s neck breaks it and renders him dead. Needless to say, there''s an axe in Grace''s bag. "Go up ahead, I''ll have Angel tie him up and take him outside," Grace says, omitting the full truth. "We don''t want his Mmar or his Klefki to pull some bullshit." Cecilia hesitates. "Are you sure? It''d be best if we don''t separate¡ª" "Just. Listen. To. Me," Grace says with a smile and a tilt of her head. Her raspy voice is still not something she''s used to. "I''ll be fine." Her fingers are itching to kill. Literally itching. She fears that if Cecilia doesn''t leave in the next minute she''ll start hacking at Abel with her right there. "Trust me." Cecilia sighs. "If you''re certain." Relief floods her veins when Cecilia leaves, and Angel drags Abel into an adjacent room while Grace follows. She''s almost surprised at how clean it is. When she looks at her hands covered in blood and chunks of flesh and the pristine ground, it''s as if she doesn''t belong in this world. Every step she takes leaves bloodied prints onto the wooden floor. She doesn''t kill Abel. Not yet. She has to wait for him to get back to normal first. Honey had held back his Thundershock enough to just stun the Unovan, and he was getting his wits back, slowly but surely. It takes two minutes for him to move from groans to slurred words, and Grace decides she''s had enough and she can''t wait any longer. Shezily slimes at Abel and drags a finger from his forehead, the side of his face, and then his chin. "Is Theodora in this mansion?" Abel groans. "Theo¡ª the Hattrem?" Grace raises her axe, and he flinches. "Wait, wait wait! She is! Backlot''s just keeping her in a cage where he keeps all of his other Pokemon¡ª I can show you if you don''t swing. Please." Graceughs. There it is. At the heart of every Man was fear, and she reveled in it almost as if she could smell it. "Okay," Grace sighs and lowers her weapon. "Tell me where it is." Abel untenses and allows himself to rx a tiny bit. Cruelty is the point, so that is the moment she strikes. She hurts, and she finds pleasure in it. She hurts and it makes her feel empowered. She hurts them all first so they can''t hurt her in return. She cackles over his gurgling screams and keeps cutting, cutting and cutting until Abel is more flesh than skin, until his body is covered incerations and blood soaks every inch of her axe and clothes. It is here, covered in blood and viscera, that Grace Pastel sheds thest of her humanity and bes The Beast. When she realizes what she''s done, it is toote. The body is too mangled to even pretend like she hadn''t had her way with it. She contemtes hiding it, but knows it''s not going to work. She is, after all, incapable of lying at all, so she has Angel grab the multiple parts of his body and brings him outside. Some of it, he has to scoop up. Oh well, she thinks. It''s not like any of this matters any longer. With her new awakeninges a freedom that makes her feel like she has wings. People might look at her in horror when her Tangrowthys the body in the yard? Who cares? Her friends are going to abandon her? It''s not like they were even real in the first ce. Cecilia is going to break up with her? That¡­ That one, she cares about. Her and Denzel, really, but if they won''t ept her for who she is, then she feels better ripping off the band-aid before they can lead her on any longer. Unfortunately, Backlot is under League custody when she finds the man. He''s willingly surrendered and revealed his house of horrors. Rows upon rows of Pokemon who look malnourished, beaten and terrified beyondpare. She passes by a Grian Ponyta before her eyes settle on the enclosure Theodora is kept in. The fairy jumps up and down next to the ss until the viewing windows are opened and Grace grasps her into a tight hug. "I''m sorry," she says. "I will never let you down like this again." Did you kill those who harmed us? Hattrem speaks into her mind. "Yes." The sun sets outside, just as it sets on her life. ¡ª The night following the raid is¡­ peculiar. In all of the confusion of dealing with the wounded, both in Backlot''s camp and the hostages, it takes a few hours for people to even notice Abel, and the body is too¡­ disturbed for them to know it''s him for little longer. Of course, Grace is already gone when they do, having flown off to tell Carnivine the bad news that Leafeon had died in the fighting rings of the VIP room in the Game Corner. They''d been toote. With her, Grace carries Backlot''s closest associates to deliver to her. There is no need to go into detail about what is done to them. Some fates are too cruel to be described by words. Just know that Abel''s fate was gentle, inparison. Grace watches Carnivine ''mourn'' with a tired, yet satisfied smile on her face, and by the end of it, the remains of these men and women are fed to the nts below. "You know," Grace starts. "I''m sorry I couldn''t get the man himself. He doesn''t deserve to spend the rest of his life in jail. He deserves what these people got." Carnivine hisses, her roots shaking in anger. "I know," she agrees. "I know it''s not enough. It''s never enough, is it?" The nt-like Pokemon levitates just a little higher, but stays quiet. "I had a daughter, once," Grace blurts out. "A little Larvitar I adopted after she''d lost her mother in Mount Cor to a Rhyperior." She sees the Carnivine''s eyes and mouth widen. "I know how your loss feels, and how it''ll continue to feel. Every day, I ask myself what she would have been like, had she been with me? How she would have changed, adapted, learned to read, to swim, to speak a little quieter¡­" She lets out a sadugh. "And it never gets easier." Grace''s shoulders slump. "It just doesn''t. You just learn to live with that gaping feeling, like a hole in your heart you can never get rid of no matter how many people you kill." The Beast outstretches a hand. "But in that moment, when retribution fills your very being, it makes you feel like you''re doing right by the people you lost. Come with me, Carnivine. You''ll find like-minded people in my family, people who have felt loss just as you have," she deres as the wind sweeps past her. "And believe me, there are people in this world who must be rooted out before they take away anyone else from the people who love them. Help me." Carnivine hesitates. But Grace already knows her answer. A pact is formed. ¡ª The next month is both important and unimportant. First is the meeting with Mesprit. Grace makes a beeline for Verity as soon as Carnivine joins her team, and the Lake Guardian gushes over how they absolutely love what Grace has been doing. The Beast, for one, enjoys the God''spany and finds sce in another entity liking her for who she is, but it is when Mesprit offers her her new powers that the situation suddenly changes. The power to influence all she wanted through emotion. Mesprit offers her to use it on her friends to get them back in a sing-song tone reminding Grace of a Primarina affecting sailors through their voice. Denzel would be immune, of course, but Chase and Cecilia are half a shard while the others are just people. She hesitates, really hesitates. The thought of getting everyone back and making them into proper friends is alluring, but in the end, she refuses. "It wouldn''t be real," she says. "And the League might throw a fit anyway." Already, she suspects that the ACEs following her might turn on her the moment Team Gctic is dealt with. After Pastoria, the League probably considered her too vtile to be left alive, and she was already in the process of nning her escape into Johto. The Conference didn''t matter to her, not anymore, though she still wanted to test her mettle against Byron, if only to see if she was sharp enough to cut through his defenses. Battles for sport were a little childlike and boringpared to the real thing, and she was worse at it, but it would still be a valuable experience. Once her meeting with Mesprit is done, she has to ask the League for a test subject, something which they vehemently refuse. Grace spends most of the time she has left traveling the region, often staying with Betrix to rest in between trips to cities like Veilstone, Sceon or Hearthome. The Keeper, Mesprit and Nightstalker are the Beast''s only friends who remain, and with them, she finally feels free. No longer does she have to pretend to be someone else, or a person they can project their pity onto. Grace hasn''t spoken to any of her old friends since Pastoria, and she ns on keeping it that way until Gctic strikes. One night, a member of the Hunter family disappears in Sceon in the middle of the night. Then another, and another¡ª one every night until the Beast could alter someone any way she wanted within a few hours at most. She knows the ACEs see her do this, but again, she has leverage until Team Gctic is dealt with, and that means thew can be bent. Or broken, in this case. The rest of the story¡­ are the unimportant bits. I could tell you that Grace Pastel and her team grow into feral recluses whosh out at anything or anyone who looks at them wrong. I could tell you that she beat Byron by the skin of her teeth and obtained her eighth badge, that she goes to the Iron Inds and shes with a man named Riley right after they both deal with Team Gctic grunts holed up there in search of some kind of Legendary due to him wanting to spare their lives and her wanting to kill them. The battle is close, but she loses and escapes, which is all the more frustrating because she was trying to kill him and he was not. Just like Maylene, he''s a damn aura-user, and a deep disdain grows for them within her. But that doesn''t really matter. She''s already changed. Nothing else will move the needle in the other direction, by now. Something could have, before Grace had been burned over and over, but it was toote, now. The bombs go off. Grace isn''t even taken to see the other Shards. It is ironic, how Denzel was chosen because of fears of friction in the group, yet here it is regardless¡ª although they''re at least able to work together. Had Mira been the Shard of Knowledge, The Beast would have thrown the whole world under the bus in order not to work with her. When she finally sees everyone again at Lake Valor after Mesprit is captured, they can barely look at her in the face. Denzel looks sorry for her, but can''t say anything. Chase eyes her with suspicion thates with the territory of Grace exuding the aura of a Beast who had already figured out fifty ways to kill them as soon as she had stepped into the room, and not a human being, and while Cecilia says "I don''t recognize you anymore," few words are exchanged between the two. When Grace peers at her emotions, she realizes that she''s hurting, and she nearly scoffs. They''re the ones that abandoned her. None of them even tried contacting her after Pastoria, and she''d left because she saw the shape of them, now. Backstabbers, the lot of them. They pretend to care when what they really want is never to see her again. She was certain that if Louis, Justin, Mira and the others had known the world was ending and had been brought here, they''d be feeling the same way, too. Eight badges in hand, seven Pokemon with her and now exceedingly happy with who she had be, Grace Pastel begins her ascent up Mount Cor. All of Grace''s ACEs disappear the moment she gets deep into the firstyer. They were useless this entire time to her, and so she had sent them away. She makes her way up through violence and killing, because it has never failed her. Saturn and his ambush, she makes quick work of. She''s a trained killer, by now. This is nothing she hasn''t brainstormed with her family before, and when Saturn dies, he does so slowly, burning underneath Sunshine''s foot. Alone, she reaches Spear Pir. She kills Charon as soon as she sees him, and realizes she''s the first of the Shards to make it here. Mars shows herself, blocking the path between her and Cyrus, yet her Pokemon are hurt. Only Clefable, Nales and Wigglytuff remain. Graceughs when they battle. This girl is, after all, the closest thing the Beast has ever had to a peer. Through battle, they understand each other, and when Mars thanks Grace for being her friend as she dies, Grace nods and hugs her. We''re reaching the end, now. The death of these Commanders has the Shards get here in the next five minutes, and they make their way to Cyrus and Cynthia. Grace easily frees Mesprit while Chase and Cecilia manage to snag Azelf, but it is Denzel who fails to get Uxie back from Team Gctic''s clutches. He carries with him too much regret at failing to save his friend, and it makes him unsure of himself. Dialga crawls out of the sky and screams¡ª ¡ª The Beast and the Virtuous. Two pr opposites borne from the result of a single battle, its effects having butterflied until the two Graces had turned into people who would despise one another. Our Grace, you could say, is the bridge between these two. The one who could understand the actions of both, even if she would disagree with nearly every single one both of these girls took after a certain point. So, I hear you ask. What else is left? It is true that these three strike a good bnce, but one must not get lost in the significance of stories and symbolism. Look back to Sceon once more, and remember that there is a third possible result that could have turned Grace Pastel into someone else entirely. For thest time, let us take a step back for a shorter story. ¡ª Grace Pastel kneels over Harry Rodriguez with tears, snot and spit streaming down her face. Technically, this can be qualified as a victory. Harry is injured and incapable of walking, while all of his Pokemon are dead and Weavile is safely tucked in its Pokeball. The truth of the matter is, this is no victory. Both Princess and Sweetheart are dead, having been killed by Crobat and Weavile respectively. Grace Pastel ws at the darkness in the floor, unable to control the emotions that break through Shiftry''s dulling, and she lets out a long, uninterrupted scream that goes on until her throat bleeds and her voice is gone. Before the darkness even goes down, her emotions break through the filter and she feels the full scale of her loss. Two children, gone forever. One whose neck had been torn apart by Crobat''s venomous bite, and the other whose scales and flesh had been ripped to shreds. How can she recover after this¡ª how can she live on after this? The answer is that she cannot. She lies on the ground and watches the darkened skies, her body devoid of energy to take her revenge or to go look for Shiftry in the Hunters'' mansion. Her Pokemon mourn with her, standing like silent vigils over her body as her protectors. Some, like Honey and Angel, cry until their bodies run out of tears. Sunshine''s gaze is downcast, but the pain in his eyes is a familiar thing. Buddy''s eyes have shrunk to the size of tiny little dots and he makes himself small, dripping water on the ground like a sieve. The transformation is quick, this time. It is here, surrounded by a feeling of loss so thick Grace Pastel could choke on it, that she is broken and never rebuilt, turning herself into The Anguished. She doesn''t know how much time passes, but at some point the darkness recedes, and she is out of tears to give. She has been wrung out and discarded; chewed out by the cruelty of the world and spit out, and she somehow has to pick up the pieces. It is another ten minutes or so until a League Trainer finds her and takes her and her Pokemon back to the Pokemon Center, where sheys catatonic for the next Arceus knows how many days. It hurts too much for words, too much to speak, too much to eat, shower, walk, or care about anything else. Her friends stay with her, yet she doesn''t reciprocate when they try to talk to her. The world is just so dreary and grey, and she''s simply out of love or care to give to these people. On the tenth day, she speaks for the first time. On the thirteenth, she stops soiling herself and walks to the bathroom. On the fifteenth, she eats solid food, on the twentieth, she goes out of her room¡ª she appears to progress to the outside, but inside, she is still shattered into a million pieces and no one is enough to build her back together. One month after the death of her two daughters, Grace abandons the Circuit, deciding to go back to Jubilife to stay with her father, and she breaks up with Cecilia. The fewer people she has to love, the fewer opportunities there are for her to be hurt. Her friends don''t abandon the League Circuit for her, and how could they? They still have goals and aspirations of their own, but even then, they promise to visit as soon as they can. What Grace wants is for time to pass in a blur, and for a while, it does. Wake up, eat,y in bed, eat again and go to sleep at night. She has no energy for anything. Her father tries to get her to therapy, but she doesn''t want to get out of bed. Her Pokemon go out to train on their own during the day, unwilling to get rusty should the need to protect Grace or each other arise again, yet she''s not a part of that, and she doesn''t want to be. Unfortunately, the Leaguees knocking soon enough. Cynthia herselfes to visit her, just as she had after her experience with Mars in Floaroma, and drones on and on about a mental barrier tooplex to be possible and the fact that she''s chosen by a Legendary of some sort. Chosen. The words prickle at her ears. If she''s so fucking special, then why had her ego, pride and obsession with revenge caused the death of her family? Every night, she cried herself to sleep imagining Princess'' soft fur in her arms, or Sweetheart''s silly antics. Sweetheart had called her mom for the first time barely a week before her death, and Grace had dragged her to her death because of fantasies of retribution. "I don''t want anything to do with this," Grace tells the Champion. Her voice is soft and quiet, as if she''s scared of the wordshing out at her if she''s too loud and it notices that she still exists. "Find¡­ find someone else." "I''m afraid I can''t." A heavy breath escapes Cynthia''s nose. "This is confidential," she says, knitting her hands together. "But I fear that the fate of the world rests on your shoulders. Yours, Cecilia, Chase and Mira''s." The fate of the world? Give me a break, she thinks. This world isn''t worth saving at all. There are people she cares about in it¡ª her father, her Pokemon, and the love for her friends still linger within her like candlelight, but the world itself has done nothing but burn them. Sunshine had lost his first trainer through circumstances she didn''t yet know, Honey had been abandoned by his parents, Buddy''s mother hadshed out and tried to kill him upon evolving, Angel lived in a forest with nothing but death and misery fought for his life every single day, Cecilia''s father wants to manipte her into marrying Louis, and that''s just scratching the surface of how ugly everything is. On and on, everywhere you look, you can see the anguish that this world causes people to experience. But maybe that''s the point. To wield a singr de against a force sorge it might as well be iprehensible, to scream and berate the world for hurting them and to fight against the darkness that lurks in every corner so the people she cares about who still remain can at least live on. "Better an ugly world than a dead one¡­" she finally agrees. ¡ª Of course, she still doesn''t go get badges, nor does she restart her journey. This Grace isn''t about that. The Anguished is about putting one foot ahead of the other to keep steady; about keeping her head above the water so she doesn''t drown. Badges and the Circuit is a thing of the past for her. Remains of a childish desire she had before everything had been ripped away from her. But I did promise this one would be shorter, didn''t I? And for good reason. There isn''t much to this Grace''s life, and it diverts entirely from the past two. For one, she''s trained exclusively by her ACE Trainers in secret off-route near Jubilife, and sometimes, Cynthia. While she does text her old friends asionally and keeps track of what they''re up to, it''s not until they start getting their flying licenses that she sees them again. She finally gets closure with Cecilia and they properly talk things about, opting to remain friends even if they''re no longer dating. While we could go in-depth about how her conditions altered the rtionships between her friends¡ª we could get lost in the weeds of every timeline, should we want to, like how Abel sessfully escapes to Unova using Backlot''s private ne by masquerading Zoroark as himself and how the real one ends up being found tied up near Pastoria''s League office with a long list and proof of his crimes¡ª but this is about her, not them. The rest of the year passes by in a blur. Honey is given the resources to evolve, and Cynthia''s lessons get less and less frequent. Near the end, Sunshine finally tells her about Kamaile''s life and death, and again, she is reminded of how cold-blooded life truly is. She is hesitant to promise him to get his revenge, as he is, due to the fact that this very mindset had gotten both Princess and Sweetheart killed, but she says that if they cross paths, if ites to a fight, and if they win the battle, Saturn will not be spared. To her father, she reveals the nature of Cynthia''s visit and tells that the world might end, with the League''s permission, and he bes her rock. One of the main reasons she still has to living, including her family, but also her biggest source of support. When she feels ready, she''s taken to Lake Verity to see Mesprit, who berates her and keeps telling her about how they regret their choice and that she might be worse than Denzel. She''s too tired to deal with their bullshit, so she just smiles, nods along, and bes a Shard. Grace opts to practice on the prisoner the League offers, then three more until she has a good grasp of how to use her powers, and although the deadline is rapidly approaching, she''s too scared of loss to catch another Pokemon beyond the four she currently has, and again, when the bombs go off, she''s first taken to a bunker with the others, followed by Valor when Mesprit is taken by Mars. Four badges in hand, four Pokemon with her and just wanting to get this shit over with, Grace Pastel begins her ascent up Mount Cor. Having spent half a year connecting with her ACE Trainers and having be some sort of a daughter-figure to them (even though they would never admit this), she manages to carry all of them to the top by making a grunt they had encountered loyal to her and only to her. They do not meet Saturn on the way up, but Jupiter, who ims she is interested in Grace''s mindset after having lost so much. They make quick work of her and the grunts she had gathered to take them down. She''s thest to make it to Spear Pir, and when she does, Mars is revealed to already be dead, having lost a fight to Denzel, Cecilia and Chase. Saturn carries with him his full team at the summit, but thebined might of the Shards and the ACEs is enough to destroy him. Yet when Sunshine looks at him, squirming on the ground and preparing to die, he just walks past him without enacting his revenge. Like her, he''s just so tired. Once more, they make it to Cyrus and Cynthia, and again it is Grace who fails to free Mesprit. The uppity God has always despised her, and she struggles to even want to bother to interact with the damn thing. And so, I leave you with this: Dialga crawls out of the sky and screams¡ª ¡ª When Ie to, I realize that there should be a word to describe pain a degree above migraine. My vision slowly melds into one again, and it''s as if someone has driven an ice pick directly into my skull. The visions I witnessed were instantaneous, yet I remember everything I''ve seen. Different timelines¡ª different me''s that I was only allowed to witness on ident due to Dialga''s scream. They''d had such tragic events in their lives that for a moment, I think I''m going to cry, but I can''t bring myself to do so beyond a few tears. The fact that Sweetheart, Princess or both are dead doesn''t feel real. It''s like waking up after a nightmare. Crawling on the metallic floor, I push myself upright and blink to get my eyesight back to normal, but it''s as if everything I''ve seen has been burned into my retinas. It takes a good while to parse through the blurriness of it all, but some timeter, I manage to make out the three other pirs near me. I hear a groan¡ª I hear a groan? That hadn''te from me. The sudden realization that I''m not alone ''sobers'' me up and I realize that there are people lying on their respective spires. They are me, and I am them. One already stands, a continuous brand-like scar around her neck and clenches at her forehead. The other has a bandaged eye and is slowly getting back up on her feet, while thest justys there, unmoving, though I can still see her chest rising and lowering with every breath. I recognize them very well. The Beast is the first to speak. "Well." Her abnormal voice reminds me of Aubri''s. She allows a short pause, and a haughty smirk reaches her lips. "Isn''t this something?" Even though her tone is yful, it''s impossible to mistake the darkness in her eyes, or her fingers twitching around her Pokeballs by reflex. For a second, I''m too stunned to evenprehend how unlikely and mind-bending this all is. I try to think of the probabilities or to make sense of somehow being present amidst other Grace Pastels, but I quickly realize that this is an exercise in futility. There''s no point trying toprehend what''s going on when a person was never meant to be here in the first ce. The Virtuous'' one exposed eye blinks, and she nces at all of us one by one while The Anguished finally sits up with a heavy sigh, as if she''s done with everything. Tears stream down her eyes, and she hugs her knees. The Beast rolls her eyes. "Come on, Anguished. The first thing you do after witnessing this mind-fuckery is cry?" Anguished. So they had learned of these names too? What was mine? "Shut up," the crying girl says, quiet but not. "Three times, I''ve had to see what my daughters would have been like if they were alive. Three times." An estranged, pained moan ripples across her throat. "You don''t understand how that feels." The Beast''s¡ª or maybe just Beast''s¡ª eyes darken. "Don''t act like I''ve had it good. I lost Sweetheart too, but instead of being a baby about it¡ª" "Can we all stop and figure out what the hell is happening?" I tried. Beastughs mockingly and puts her hands on her hips. "Oh, give me a break, Repentant. Virtuous, I never had any hope with after I saw her fraternizing with fucking Harry Rodriguez¡ª" The one-eyed girl scoffs. "Excuse me?" "¡ªBut you?" She points an angry finger in my direction. If we''d been on the same tform, I''m sure she would have jabbed me with it. "You went soft. You know life isn''t sunshine and rainbows like this girl over here," she nudges her head toward Virtuous, "but you''re too much of a scaredy cat to take matters into your own hands. If I was you, I would have cut Saturn apart myself. Hell, you don''t even use your gift that much! Even Virtuous isn''t that stupid. What''s the point of getting this power if you don''t use it to protect the people you care about?" "First of all, I want nothing to do with you, Beast," I answer with a half snarl. When she sees how angry I get, she stands just a little taller. "You''re the furthest person I''d ever take advice from. At least Virtuous¡ª" "Don''t lump me in with you, murderer," Virtuousughs as she crosses her arms. "You two are cut of the same cloth. One is just a little more selective with her sins than the other." That knocks the wind out of my sails. For a short moment, I struggle to articte what I want to say. "Aren''t you all about¡­ forgiveness and understanding?" She shrugs. "Exactly, and seeing myself capable of ever murdering as easily as I breathe makes me sick, because I understand it, and I see the shape of you. The quicker I get out of here, the quicker I can pretend that this never happened." "Hey, ''the shape of you'' is my thing," Beast growls. Virtuous shakes her head. "Think again, wretch." Anguished sniffles andys back down on her tform. "Ugh. Just listening to this is tiring me out." We all turn toward her. Beast sits down and lets her feet dangle off her timeline with an apologetic look, Virtuous scratches her arm ufortably and I bite the inside of my lip. "Sorry," we all apologize in unison. Virtuous isn''t a surprise, but I''m astonished Beast even knows what that word means. I''m pretty sure I haven''t actually heard her say it in all of the memories I''d seen. The girl touches her scarred neck. "So. Dialga, huh. Think we''re waiting for the world to end?" "It depends. I have no idea how it''ll react when only Mesprit is under Cyrus'' control," Virtuous says. "Though I guess it''s different for all of you. Uxie for you," she looks at Beast, "And Azelf for you," then at me. "I''d like to say that everyoneing to an understanding would get us out of here," I say, sitting cross-legged. "But this is way above any of our paygrades. I''ve been in here for who knows how long already and nothing''s happened other than timelines copsing and Dialga saving some with a scream that caused all of this. I''m confused about why it''s doing what it is. If it remains slightly under Cyrus'' control, why would it start saving other timelines? And if it''s not, well, does that mean we''re just stuck here?" "Arceus, you really do speak as much as it showed us," Anguishedments. "Who cares, anyway? It''s out of our control." Beast snickers at the verbal jab. "Oh, I like her! And she''s right. Sometimes, you just have to let the cards fall where they may." "I''d love it if you adopted that outlook on your actual life," Virtuous says. Her hands, I notice, are clenching nervously at the side of her clothes, as if seeing all of us makes her viscerally ufortable. "But I''m afraid you''re correct." "Look at that, Beast and Virtuous agreeing! Woo!" the mass murderer hollers, pumping a fist in the air. "Oh yeah, by the way, Beast? Really? There was nothing else for me? Titles and Names are important." "We know that," I say. "Um, no, you don''t given that you screwed your opportunity with Be," Beastins. "You changed her so much, by the way. She''s like apletely different person with you." "I had no idea her name even was Betrix," Virtuous says under her breath. My jaw clenches. "She''s better, yes. And just because I didn''t fuck up my entire mind doesn''t mean I''m not a sister." "Half-sister," she rectifies. Her fingers touch the ground below her. "And that''s not what I meant and you know it." "I like my name. The Virtuous," Grace boasts. "It epasses me very well." "Who even came up with these anyway?" Anguished asks, still lying against the ground. "Ourselves, I think?" I look around to see if they''d protest, but no one does. "I mean, we are the same person¡ª" Beast grins when she sees Virtuous'' nose wrinkle. "So we''d associate the same names to each other, I guess, except we didn''t hear our own." "Anguished¡­ I might have picked Martyr, if I could," Anguished sighs. For a good while, we talk about names. Speaking to oneself isn''t as easy as a person would think. There''s just so much friction, and we can''t go two entire minutes without one of us jumping at the other''s throat. I hate the way Beast literally thinks she''s always correct, even when she demonstrably isn''t, and how she takes no responsibility for the horrifying things she''s done. I hate how the longer this goes on, the more Virtuous starts staring at me with pity instead of disgust, as if she feels sorry for me. As if she can just sweep all of my efforts to be a better person under the rug because it doesn''t fit her definition of good. If there''s one thing I agree with the others on, it''s that she''s had it too good to understand what everyone''s been through. None of her Pokemon are dead, her friendships aren''t perfect, but they exist, and Justin''s alive. Hell, she broke up with Cecilia for no reason! And Anguished¡­ Well, no one can hate Anguished. Not even Beast pokes much fun at her despite being almost unable to stop herself when she senses weakness. She speaks the least, but when she does, we''re all drawn into what she says like we''ve been hypnotized and seized by her depression. The girls are curious and ask when their transformations took ce. When Beast hears it''s when she mangled Abel''s corpse, she purses her lips and seems satisfied with herself. Virtuous, she calls soft for being broken by the mere strings of her friendships snapping because of her impossible standards, but the one-eyed Grace just huffs and says Beast doesn''t deserve a response. Anguish just chuckles dryly and mutters an ''of course'' under her breath. "What about me?" I finally ask. "Though I can probably guess." Virtuous wraps her palm around one of her Pokeballs. "The fight with that Melmetal, right after Lou dies." Right, that had been what I''d thought. My path hadn''t been perfect since then, but I''d tried to improve things. "I''m surprised you still went with that childish idea of a ydol and passed up on Shiver." Beast cackles and throws her head back. "Fight is generous. Repentant talked that thing to death until it joined her." "We made a pact." "Pacts are forged through blood and pain," she shrugs. "Can''t believe you got Lou ki¡ª" I flinch, and she clears her throat. "I''m just saying, it''d be nice to get rid of her. It''d certainly make running away easier, if we get out of here." "Arceus, how pathetic is it that you''re so scared of getting hurt that you''ve put yourself into this corner," Virtuous scolds. "If the League wants you dead, you''ll die. Period." Anguished grunts. "It''d be funny if Garchomp just sliced your head off the moment you get back. It''s what I''d do. At least I wouldn''t have to hear you talk like you own the world; let me tell you, that''s very obnoxious." Beast ces her hand on her chest in faux-betrayal. "I can''t believe you''d say that to me!" Then, she returns to normal. "Please. Give me a break." Virtue clips the ball back on her belt, having confirmed that the Pokemon release button doesn''t work. "Don''t listen to her, Anguished. Both of these girls aren''t who you should be associating with." "I don''t like that you''re telling me what to do." "Take it as a piece of advice, then. You''re the closest to¡ª" "Consider, maybe, that I don''t want to be you." Her voice is louder than it''s ever been, and Virtuous detes. "I just want to get this over with so I can head back home with Dad." "He''ll just hold you back, you know?" Beast follows by raving about how squeamish Dad is, and that has us all ganging up on her until she explodes in anger. "I don''t want to hear anything from the people who still talk with Mom!" I protest, "Mom is¡ª" A¡­ shake that spreads throughout the world interrupts my scathing rebuttal. Anguished speaks up, "Look, we can stand here all day fighting and berate each other''s choices, or we can realize that nothing anyone says here will change the minds of any of us. Our paths are too set in stone anyway." She finally sits up and looks at us in the eye. "Have you finally realized that this ce has been starting to shake? I don''t think the time dimension or whatever it is is supposed to have tremors like this." "Well, what do you know," Beast huffs. "It''s not like we can do anything about it," I grumble. Anguished facepalms and rubs her forehead. "This ce is filled with idiots." "I mean, Repentant''s right¡ª" My head swings toward Beast. "Don''t associate me with you." Almost as if on cue, she begins to mock me. "Wah, wah, wah." Beast rubs her eyes and pretends to cry. "Look at me, I''m Repentant! An attention hog who cries about everything despite having it the second easiest out of all of us, wah¡ª oh, I know that look. That one hurt." "Fuck you." "I''m not the one who started it. Every moment in here, you people have judged me. Even you." Beast res at Anguished. "Even though I''ve tried being understanding because you people are me." "You forgot how to be understanding long ago, you poor, miserable little girl," Virtuous solemnly says. "But Anguished''s right." "Okay, pirate," Beast says. Then, she doubles over andughs at her own joke. "Sorry, sorry. Um, go ahead, Anguished." "Do you think whatever happened here affected the poption atrge?" she worryingly asks, rasping her knuckles against the timeline below her. It was difficult to remember that what we were standing on was billions of years of history. "What if everyone''s gotten a vision like us in our worlds?" "Depends on how this ce works, I guess. It''d be meaningless to try to understand it," I answer, nervously running a hand through my hair. "If I had to guess, only the people on Spear Pir are seeing this. Maybe not Cyrus, since he has a guardian with him, but I wouldn''t be surprised if Cecilia was seeing a simr scene¡­" When I realize that they''re all staring at me, I look around in confusion and shake my head. "What?" "Legendaries, you''re so in love and happy that it''s fucking disgusting," Anguished says. "But I guess you''re right." Right. All of these people had broken up with Cece for one reason or another. Our rtionship feels so special to me, but I suppose it falls apart more times than not, and figuring that out makes my heart squeeze unpleasantly. "It''d be cool for me if the League had to deal with all of that confusion so I can slip through the cracks," Beast hums, kicking her feet over the edge. Then, she pauses. "You know, that reminds me of that Garchomp cutting my head off thing. What the hell was Cynthia even doing back there?" "In every timeline¡ª" Another shake sent a shiver down my spine. It had been apanied by a noise, this time. "You girls hear that?" Virtuous nods. "Feels like a storying to an end." "You going all in on this story thing despite not being family or even friends with Be feels like cultural appropriation," Beast says. She cranes her neck and the smirk is wiped off her face when she sees¡­ what we all see. Darkness, spreading across Time. It''s a velvet cloak of a starless night, apanied by a strange whistling sound whose pitch I seem to forget every time I even stopped paying attention. Red light pulsated like veins across the shadows, which were spreading instantly, yet were not. It was impossible to properly exin, like I could see it in both the future and the past. Nothing else here had behaved this way, even when it hadn''t belonged. "Huh," Anguished nonchntly speaks up. Her voice feels distorted. "I guess this is it." "What do you mean, this is it?" I ask. "The world''s ending." "There''s no¡ª only Dialga was summoned!" I protest, fists clenching. "Okay, smarty-pants. You''d think that the literal architect of time would be enough to end the world regardless without Palkia to fuck up space," Anguished says. "It''s better to have no expectations anyway. That way nothing can disappoint you." Legendaries, she''s just like Cecilia. "Can''t be disappointed if you''re dead¡­" Beast sighs. "I can''t believe we spent all of our time fighting," Virtuous follows up with a heavy sigh of her own. "You''d think that meeting yourself would be more exciting than this. Instead, it''s just¡­ disappointing." "Ditto," Beast agrees. Virtuous rolls her eye. "For your information, you''re actually just 90% of the reason why. Repentant, it was eye-opening meeting you. Anguished, I hope you get the help that you need¡ª" There''s another scream that I want to forget, and we all clench our heads in unison. The shadows, which both are here and aren''t, envelop everything and spread like a cancer everywhere, and there''s another roar I recognize¡ª Dialga''s. The cold, passing of time meets the boundless shadow and the two entities meet across the endless space. What happens next is¡­ Weird. I don''t exactly understand what I''m seeing. I hesitate to describe it as a fight. There are no discernable moves or energy beams thrown around. The conflict is not one of ws or fangs, of two Pokemon aiming to target bodies, or even sts of concentrated energy, but rather an unfathomable sh of two forces beyond anything I''d ever seen, and I want to understand that. It''s just that these look like two endless tides crashing against each other. The constant push and pull of two concepts swirling around one another like a never-ending dance. Despite the¡­ center of the fight¡ª No, it couldn''t be described as a center. It didn''t have a center. Despite the main point where the impacts were happening being unfathomably far away, each blow, if we could call them that, had effects on me that were not painful, but deeply ufortable. With one, my vision shatters and I see the past. Memories of my mother cradling me in her arms, of my first day at school, the day when I got Princess'' egg, again and again. With another, my body twists until it should be spaghettified, but it returns to normal soon afterward and there''s no pain at all, or maybe I just forget it entirely, just like what the second entity sounds like. I struggle to understand the point of the ''fight'', too. I have no idea what this second thing is or how it got here, but if Dialga was fixing timelines, I''m inclined to root for Time and not whatever this darkness was. I don''t know how long I''m transfixed on this tug of war, but the next time I look around, all of my counterparts are gone. Their timelines have returned to their proper location, as has mine, and they''re too far for me to even see them. It''d be like trying to notice a microbe on the moon, which fit because those weren''t supposed to be on there. I don''t exactly know what lesson to take from this besides the fact that I''m proud of the path I took, but¡ª Ah, I see it now. The shadows are pushing back against the¡­ it''s not a color, exactly. More like Time given form, if that makes any sense. It doesn''t, really. There''s no real shape or substance to it, and I can''t describe what I''m looking at, but it''s losing ever so slightly. I''m both surprised and relieved that this is having no effect on the timelines around us. I can''t exactly be sure, but I feel like a great deal of care is being put to avoid irreparable damage, or I at least want to believe it. Unfortunately, I don''t even know what it is, so I''m left hoping for the best. Eventually, Time is not defeated, for one cannot drive out a concept, but it is contained, and shadows swallow me whole. ¡ª When I open my eyes¡ª When I opened my eyes, I was back on Spear Pir and Dialga was gone. It seemed like everyone but Cyrus and Cynthia had juste to. The Champion''s breaths were strained, she was soaked in sweat and her skin was pale, but she''d been in the midst of talking as soon as I''de to. I couldn''t hear what she was saying, or what anyone else was saying for one obvious reason. The sky had ripped apart like fragile cloth, like a massive wound in the sky above Cor that must have been visible from nearly the entire region. Instead of blood seeping out of the tear in reality, it was continuous shadows pulsating with red light that warped everything they touched, just as I''d witnessed where I''d just been. Light itself bent around the darkness as if I was looking directly into a ck hole. I raised a hand at the rift and saw my hand twist and contort due to my eyes being unable to properly process the information they were getting. It was just so loud, too. A continuous scream-tear-shattering thing that I was d I only had one functioning ear to hear. A massive worm-like thing crawled out of the rift in the sky, and for a moment, I felt like a fish looking at a hand plunge into ake I''d lived in my entire life without seeing a human before this moment, realizing that there was an entire other world right outside my reach. Even Spear Pir deformed slightly at the thing''s presence. Next to me, Maylene had copsed on her knees and was crying. Mira and I were simply frozen in ce, as if not moving would spare our lives, while Cecilia was staring directly into the abyss. Cyrus'' eyes were wide, as if he had no idea what he was looking at, and for what I assumed was the first time, he was emotive. The surprise on his face couldn''t have been more obvious than this. Wings the size of a city swallowed us whole, and everything went quiet.
A/N: Three things! First, for those who care, Shiver/Grian Rapidash''s Moonst has a fear-inducing effect that makes its opponent freeze up or flee. Second, though I''ve wanted to write something like this since chapter one after seeing something very simr done with Practical Guide to Evil, this chapter was very experimental, as you can tell, and I tried toying with a different kind of narration. Third, Grace''s interpretation of the Time dimension and Dialga''s and Giratina''s actions are only mildly correct or sometimes tly wrong.
Distortion Distortion
A/N: General trigger warning, this chapter gets somewhat dark and some scenes might be unpleasant to read. DISTORTION My eyes sluggishly fluttered open, and I realized I hadn''t died. The enormous, flying worm had brought its inky ck wings bearing down on us in a way that should have crushed me under its massive weight, and yet I was breathing. Conscious. Still unmoving, I slowly clenched a fist, digging my fingers into my palms that I could barely even feel. A sh of darkened red thunder boomed overhead, causing me to whirl my head toward the sky, but I only found more ground. I was somewhere¡­different. No longer did I stand atop Spear Pir, but somewhere where the ground had turned to hard, reddish stone with countless bumps and little holes littering the surface, devoid of any vegetation. The tone of the colors here waswrong. Everything was faded in a way that made the world look like it was withering, yet it was not. My feet shifted tentatively on the ground, and itpulsated, revealing crimson veins throbbing below the stones that seemed to bend the material tomake spacefor themselves. With every movement, the ground shifted in turn like a heartbeat. Like it wasalive, in a very ufortable way. "Where am I¡ª" My voice came out distorted and constantly shifted in pitch. During the Darkest Day, Shiftry''s neutrality had turned everyone''s voice to the same, monotone pitch, but there was no order to it here. Sound bent and twisted, and carried as if I was underwater. My skinfeltlike I was underwater, too, or maybe covered in some heavier material like oil or ink. The air here was thick and it made moving around slow. I rubbed the side of my arm, hoping to make the gross feeling of ink covering my skin go away, but it refused to budge. Calling where I''d been standing thegroundhad been disingenuous. It was a floor, walls and a ceiling all in one, slowly curving in on itself as if gravity had no meaning. There was a pond on the ceiling¡ª or I supposed''ceiling''here was inurate, but it made things easier to fathom¡ª that made me feel like I was about to fall up for a second. It wasn''t evendrippingback ''down'' like it should have. ncing to the side, toward the end of the curved ind, was an endless stretch of a sky so dark blue it almost appeared purple with countless, darkened clouds from which red lightning continuously boomed. If I looked long enough, I could see faces in the clouds, like a child finding shapes in the sky. Smiling, horrified, pained, and everything in between. More inds floated in that void as far as the eye could see, some barren, some sporting mountains and hills, ravines and rivers¡ª evenforestsfull of trees that grew in impossible spirals, their bark a sickly green pulsating with the same red that permeated everywhere here if you looked close enough. There were even a few near the small pond above me, where I could see their leaves in detail. Calling thoseleaveswas generous, considering they looked like a tuft of human hair, or maybe fur that stood on end. ck close to the bark, and a darker brown at their edges. Wind constantly swept across my skin that was nearly silent. A whisper carrying unintelligible voices that made my skin crawl, muffling even my thoughts. I''d heard this exact sound before¡ª Barry Lane''s Ominous Wind during our battle in Pastoria, but less focused, as if the tiny crack his Staraptor had opened had forced all of this out into our world like pressurized wind. If I squinted, I could see smaller dark clouds, gathered in-between my crescent moon shaped ind, from which I could hear muffled screams. Those same voices the wind carried. Was I in¡­ No. No, that couldn''t be possible. It justwasn''t. The shape of this ce gave me the exact sense ofsmallnessDialga''s dimension had. As if it was an entire other world that would go on forever if I could travel through it. With that realization came the ufortable itch under my skin and a familiar weakness in my legs that would have left me frozen here forever, had I allowed it to take control, but Icouldn''tstay here and do nothing. Cecilia and the others weren''t anywhere on this¡­ ''ind''. I could tell, because since it was curved, I was able to see every nook and cranny of its surface. It was rtively t and besides theke surrounded by a few of those creepy trees, it was featureless. "I can''t catch a break," I sighed, on the verge of tears. I crouched and hugged my knees tightly. I was so, very tired. It felt like I''d been fighting a lifetime, but it had been less than a week since the bombs had even exploded, and that was only frommyperspective. I took a weary step that sent the rocky ground below into a fit, but aside from the ufortable sound, it was bearable. Ufortable.I was finding that adjective to be a perfect descriptor for this ce. Even when I''d been witnessing time, I hadn''t beenthison edge.ITwasn''t a sharpened knife held against my neck that would have me feeling like every breath against the de could be myst, but something far more insidious. It was a shadow lurking in every corner. A never-ending stream of paranoia that gripped my very being and had me on the verge of a mental breakdown. It was like being on edge all the time, constantdreadthat bore its full weight atop your shoulders, and I couldn''t shake the feeling that I was being observed. Eyes lurking behind every rock, every edge, every tree, I couldSEE. My heartbeat was so loud I could feel the blood pump in my ears and down my legs, cold sweat clung to my skin, which was hyper-aware about every single touch¡ª my hand gripped my shirt where my heart was and squeezed, but it wouldn''t stop. This ce was mad.Mad.It was like everything thatshouldn''t bewas here and it was making my head spin. The way the hair on the trees flitted in the wind, swaying back and forth. Thestrange, red tint the water had, so faint you''d miss itALLnine times out of ten. The way things seemed to change positions when you didn''t look at them for long enough¡ª A groanden with pain emerged from my closed-off throat, and I slumped to the ground as a sh of red, nowhere as bright as it should have been, appeared to my right. There was an awkward pain shooting up my hip as my Pokeballs dug into the skin, but it was my mind, that was in disarray.Somethinghere was watching me, and I had no idea if¡ª if it was thatthingthat had crawled out of that wound in the sky or something else, but its sight was unbearable to the point that a little voice in the back of my head considered jumping off the edge of my ind to free myself from thissight. A little blob of metal crawled toward my head. Mimi''s eye frayed with panic when they saw that I wasn''t just lying down, but actually suffering. Seeing their eye wobble and bounce around their golden gear shook me out of what must have been a panic attack, and Iremembered. I had people I cared about here. Cecilia, Mira, Maylene¡ª if I was doing this bad, then what was happening tothem?If Cecilia had been on the verge of a mental breakdown before, then she was in so much more danger now. Hell, Maylene didn''t even have her Pokemon to keep her grounded like I did! "Shit¡­" I said, standing upright and blinking away the tears. Ihatedthe feeling of the ground pulsating against my hand, and it sent goosebumps up my arms. When two arm-like blobs protruded from Mimi and shook my leg, I bit my lip. The pain would center me. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to release you." As soon as I grabbed their Pokeball, the spikes burst from the steel type''s body and they puffed up asrge as they could, which wasn''t very much. "You don''t want back in the ball?" Meltan mewled a long, annoyed note that reminded me of something sharp scraping against metal. They hadn''t seen me this close to breaking down since they''d firstmet me,even, and the want to support me superseded how terrified they were of this ce, even if they acted like they weren''t. It was difficult to miss the constant rippling across their metallic body or how they could barely maintain their solid form. "I¡­ we might get attacked? I have no idea what this ce even is," I muttered, scooping Mimi up in my hands. "But if you really want to keep mepany while the others rest in the balls, Ireallyappreciate it. That''s very brave of you, Mimi." I slowly rose to my feet again, optingnot to scan my surroundings. The less I focused on this ce, the better. "To be honest, I have no idea if I can make it without you, but let me know if it overwhelms, okay?" Mimi chimed, easily dissolving into liquid and crawling up my sleeve until they reformed on my shoulder and clung to a patch of my tangled, dirty hair for support, both physical and emotional. "Okay, we have to¡­ yeah, we have to figure out a way out of here somehow." Something told me that justwaitingwouldn''t work here, or maybe it was just the dire need to keep on the move, just in case I managed to hide from the constant gaze bearing down on me like the sun. "I guess I''ll tell you about everything you missed since Saturn to keep my mind off of all of this while we walk." Near theke was the edge of our ind, where anothery close by and I figured I''d get a better view of this ce (though I would have to mentally prepare myself for it). Putting one foot in front of the other was hard, like I had to learn how to walk again. Every movement frayed more than it should have, my legs teetered like they were about to fold. This was what I imagined being drunk must have been like, andbined with the nonsensical gravity of this ce, I was getting nauseous pretty quickly. Still, I distracted myself by telling Mimi everything we''d been through, including my failures. Back when I''d fought Saturn, I had believed that keeping the grunts¡ª the victims of Gctic''s cult¡ª alive was impossible due to Regice, but Virtuous had figured it out anyway. Granted, she had her ACEs with her and I didn''t. Still, though Meltan was somewhat miffed, they were d that I hadn''t let myself be consumed by violence, be it for Saturn or Mars. "When we made it to Spear Pir, I¡­ saw something. It feels like a dream now, but I saw different versions of myself, all diverging from Sceon. That was when I got into my first real fight with another person, and the first time I killed," I mumbled. We were getting closer to theke, now. Out of fear that we could get attacked by some water type, I blinked, checking the ce with my empathy¡ª my knees buckled and my head nearly exploded with pain and sorrow. The intangible whispers which had been impossible to understand suddenly took shape and coalesced into more voices than I could count. More than Spiritomb, more thanDusknoirwhen he opened that torturous maw on his stomach¡­ It grows in him. A disease that leaves him only a few weeks to live and has cut his ambitions short. His parents are in too much pain toe visit him any more and all he has forpany is the sound of his heart rate monitor. She foams at the mouth and convulses from the electric shock. A Raichu and a tall man loom over her. All she''s ever wanted to do was free her people from the boots pressing down their neck, but she has failed. The mind of a boy, always second ce and never first. He is a guiding spirit, yet he yearns for a position he will never have because he is dead.Every time, he''se just short of everything he''s ever wanted. They''re not real.I focus on Mimi''s screeches and the taste of metal filling my mouth. They were echoes. Remains of what had once been, but the people themselves weren''t suffering. Wiping the drool off of my chin, I managed to refocus my vision and realized I was leaning against one of the trees and I''d somehow stumbledbacka few hundred feet without realizing. The bark itself was slimy and sticky, and I wiped the substance on my pants as I heaved and caught every breath like it''d be myst. Mimi warbled in my ear, probably asking if I was okay. "I''m sorry. I¡­ won''t do that again," I grunted. Tired. The steel type nced at the rusty-looking water and their hand turned to a sword-looking appendage. I sobbed a little and had to shake my head to center myself and remember that none of that loss had happened tome. I heaved and wiped the seemingly endless sweat off my brow. "There''s probably nothing in there¡­ I think. I just wanted to make sure, but there are too many¡­ things here to distinguish individuals." This was like I was in Jubilife for the first time after getting my powers all over again, except each emotion was so much louder and depressing that focusing on a single spot was impossible. Ihadnoticed that those little clouds above me were the general direction from which these negative emotions were thergest. They weren''t clouds made of water vapor, then, but nodes of concentrated anguish where spirits gathered into one bundle of negativity. Some of them in the distance weremassive, but then again, there were alotof dead people and Pokemon. From the context I''d gathered speaking to Mathilda, there was no more doubt about it. This was the Dusk, which meant that that horrifyingthingwhich had dragged us in here and fought Dialga was the embodiment of Distortion, the being which ruled this entire realm. Distortion wasso much morethan I thought it could be. It was, in truth, an all-epassing aberration that affected every aspect of existence, from visuals, to emotions, to gravity itself¡ª it allbined into a terrible cocktail of distilled difort that could drive a person crazy if they paid too much attention to it. What seemed like a short path could elongate into an endless journey, while distant objects could suddenly loom right before your eyes¡­ Case in point, I wassupposedto have made it to theke, by now, but the way there stretched on and on far longer than it should have, like those dreams where a hallway was constantly elongating and you never made it through the door. When Idid, I looked back ''up'' at where I''d been, which had previously been down, and what should have taken a mere two minutes had instead taken nearly ten. I scratched my neck and adjusted my cor. It wasn''t tight, but it felt like it was, anyway, and that was ignoring the fact that I''d been moved when panicking about those spirits. The water was eerily calm, but I ignored it and made my way near the edge while Mimi whispered warnings in my ear. "Thanks, but you don''t have to worry, I won''t¡­ yeah, I''ll be okay. I''ve got to get my friends back. I gotta." The little blob of metal slid down my back and leg until they became a golden bracelet around my ankle, then a solid block of steel keeping my leg anchored to the ground. "Okay, that works too." I needed to stop coddling them. They weren''t a fighter, but that didn''t mean they were useless. I had approached the brink cautiously, terrified of what I''d be about to see, but having them with me was doing wonders for my mental state. Being alone in here¡­ Legendaries, I hoped the others were okay. I peered over the edge of the abyss. The ind''s edge did not drop away into any familiar void. Instead, it seemed to bleed into the surrounding darkness, as if thend itself was dissolving into the inky emptiness around The boundary between the solid ground and the abyss was indistinct, shifting with a disconcerting fluidity. My eyes struggled to focus, to make sense of the ever-shifting LEAPto. The space below was an endless maelstrom of darkened clouds and floating debris, from inds the size of cities home to forests with theexactsame trees to small asteroids orbiting aroundnothing. Some of these ces appeared distorted due to the light bending wrong, and it was difficult to judge distances once things got too far. There was a smaller, barren ind below us that I believed to be withinJUMPING distance. I couldJUMPthere¡­ probably? I wasn''t the fittest, not after spending so much of my time with my ankle in a cast and getting carried everywhere, but there wasn''t really another way, was there? IhadtoJUMP, didn''t I? There was no other choice but to fall, no other way to move forward. After that ind, a path presented itself, suspended in mid air and twisting around like a coil, so I''d be able to move easier, at least. So IFALL¡ª Something weighedbothof my legs down, and instead of the grand leap I''d expected, I stayed stuck near the edge. My feet stopped struggling against Mimi, who had anchored themselves to the ground by burying themselves into the cracks andstaying there, though the metal bled into the ground like two solids cropped onto each other like some video game. Given a few more seconds, I might have torn through them, but the little time they''d afforded me had been enough to realize that I had no idea what I was doing. For one, I hadn''t scouted the edges of theentireind, and two, I had no idea if I''d keep fallingdownto the ind, even if that jump looked to be achievable. For what felt like the thousandth time today, I sighed in relief. "Holy shit¡­ thank you, Mimi," I forced out. "I was just drawn in. Th¡ªthere''s an expression for this, you know? L''appel du vide, it''s Kalosian. Cece exined it to me once." Mimi ignored my ramblings and prickled at my ankles to beg me to get away from the edge, and I did. They freed my ankles once they felt that I was stepping back and slumped into a puddle, exhausted. "I think we''ll need Buddy to help. I know he''s tired from the constant battling, but there isn''t much of a choice and I need people here to keep me sane." What would have happened if I''d fallen? Would I have kept tumbling, for eternity? Better not to think about it. Iwasworried about what this ce would do to him given his ghost typing, but it wasn''t like I had much of a choice, and while Sweetheart was an option, I was certain she wouldn''t be able to resist the mental assault that the Dusk would bring.At least Pokeballs work in here.I brushed a finger against Jellicent''s Pokeball. The bright light was swallowed by the wind, yet Buddy appeared anyway, his red eyes widening at the sudden shift in the environment.Thiswas a ratherrge change from Spear Pir. What came immediately after was his head swelling under the sheer amount ofspiritsaround, along with their lingering energy. Hell, Mathilda had spoken about how every single dead ghost came here to recuperate, slowly feeding on the scraps thatthingleft by simply existing to gain their strength and travel back into our world. True ghost or not, it would make any Pokemon like Jellicent react a certain way if they weren''t used to it, as I''d feared. His Pokeball was still sped tightly in my hand. "Bud? Are you feeling alright?" I nced away from his maw opening with rows upon rows of jagged, frozen and poisoned teeth in a simr way that he''d taken down Wormadam. Out of his mouth came a distorted moan, slowly morphing into an agonizedscream. Parts of the smaller clouds above our heads trickled down to him, twisted and coalesced¡ªNight Shade!"Shit!" Immediately, I beamed him back into his Pokeball, and once the nascent shades dissolved, I looked down at Mimi, whose eye was wobbling again. They''d never seen him like this, hadn''t they? He wasn''tmeantto be here, ghost type or not, and there being so much ambient energy around was I assumed like what had happened to Saturn''s lie with Regice, but on steroids. I wasn''t going to be able to ride him to other inds. "I guess that''s not going to work, ''cause nothingevergoes right." After clipping the Pokeball back on my belt, I clutched my forehead with both my hands and groaned. "Okay, Grace.Okay.Think. How are you going to do this?" The rest of my Pokemon were off, either unconscious and in desperate need of a visit to the Pokemon Center or they were unable to be here without going mad. Mimi pointed at one of the smaller rocks, and I nodded, understanding after a few seconds. If things looked this desperate, and there was no choicebutto jump, then it''d be best to test gravity around here. The steel type enveloped the small rock and vaulted it into my hands by extended an arm, and I shivered in disgust when I felt it writhe around my palm¡ª oh Arceus, oh fuck, it was clippinginto my hand and skin¡ª I threw it as far as I could over the edge, which wasn''t very much, and I saw it swingupinstead of where down felt like it was, all the way out of view. Iughed, amazed at howawfulthings were. "Arceus, this is hell. Stranded in the damn Dusk. What else can I¡ª" I froze, realizing that we''dallbeen dragged here. Not only my friends and their Pokemon, but Cynthia and Cyrus too. Those wings had been toorge to spare any of us, and something told me that they could have beenrger had Distortion wanted them too, but did that mean thatMespritwas here, too? I really had no way to know, but they were my only hope now that they''d been freed. Contacting them¡­ well, screaming wasn''t going to work, though I didtry. I called out their name for a good thirty seconds, then waited a minute, and then called their name again. Three times, I did this with no results, going all around the ind as I did so in hopes of also maybe finding a spot for me to travel to. It wasn''t like there was a direction in particr I wanted to go to. If I couldn''t use my empathy to find the others because of how painful it was in this dimension, then I would just be traveling in a random direction and hoping for the best, not even knowing if my voice carried that far due to the way sound was distorted here. I did make sure not to look to the edge when I did so, at least. Mimi was too tired to keep me from jumping again. So long as I could be away from those horrors resembling trees, I''d be better off mentally. Leaning against my knees for support, I wheezed and held back a scream in order not to scare Mimi, who was clinging to my pants in case I tried anything stupid again.Nothingwas working, Arceus fuckingdamn it! I really¡­ Reallydidn''t want to have to use my gift again. But nothing ever came easy in life, did it? I couldn''t get one fucking clean win. I forced a smile on my face and stared down at Mimi. "I''m gonna head back to the center of the ind and open up my empathy, okay?" The steel type wobbled, clearly unsure of my decision. "In normal circumstances, I''d just wait, but I can''t. There''s weakness in istion, here, you see? Think about what would have happened to me if you hadn''t been here. It might get worse the longer I wait." Meltan''s eye ttened, then turned into a perfect ''o'' for understanding or agreement, which was something they''d nabbed from Cass. I made a simr sign with my thumb and index finger, then took a deep breath as my eyes narrowed. The dirty bandages on my hands chaffed as I clenched my fists and focused. It might knock me unconscious, but if I could move around and bundle up all of the negative emotions floating around this ind, Mesprit might take notice and¡ª "Found you!" I stumbled as a scream rippled through my throat and I covered my face by reflex, and Mimi quickly slipped under my clothes and up on my head, turning themselves into a blob full of spikes that pricked my scalp. I internally cursed for freezingagainas my hand went for my Pokeball, but it stopped when I saw Mesprit staring at me with a tilt of their head, as if they were confused. While everything here appeared faded out,theirskin was still a brilliant, pale blue and pink. "Wha¡ª" "You were going to release one of your Pokemon against me?!"Mesprit gasped with a hand over their mouth."After I went as fast as I could to find you?! What''s wrong with you?!" My face flushed. "No¡ª your voice sounds monstrous¡ª" "Well yours does too, Shard!"the Guardianined."You and your little ingot are forgiven for now." Mimi protested at the fact that they''d been called a mereingot, which I knew was many pegs down from the titles they used to hold like ''Eternal Alloy'', but there were no time for pleasantries, even if it felt surreal to finally be this close to Mesprit in real life. They were at their full power, now, and their body rippled with limitless energy that gavelifeto this ce. I hadn''t noticed at first, but the red veins covering the floor seemed to flinch at Mesprit''s mere presence, and the trees pointing down above us swayed as far as they could away from them like a bunch of worms. Already, I was beginning to feel slightly more upbeat and not pulled down by the heavy emotions this ce carried. "Thank you for answering my call, Mesprit. I need your help for¡ª" "Your call? I just tracked you using that piece of me in your head,"they said, exasperated."It''s not like your voice would be audible over Giratina''s from far away." "What? Is that the name of that¡­ thatthingthat ripped the sky apart?" Mesprit nodded, almost annoyed with me. My feet shifted ufortably against the ground. It having a name made itrealerto me. "I can''t hear anything, though." "Oh, right. Human,"they said, rolling their eyes."You must have forgotten. He keeps screaming over and over, it''s really getting on my nerves. Your fragile mind must have blocked it out every time so you don''t go mad." Oh. Okay, that was just going to be a thing, then. Opting to ignore the tickling feeling working its way through my spine, I stepped forward. "Please, Mesprit. You finding me means that Mira isprobablysafe, and I think she''ll have Uxie find her uncle first, but Maylene is alone and Azelf¡­ what happened to Azelf?" "Oh, my sibling''s dormant, at the moment. I assume the empty shell gave a longsting order before Giratina brought us all to his world. A void of emotion he might be, he certainly doesn''tck in willpower!"Mesprit giggled."But very well. I shall aid you in your quest to save your fellow humans. First, we find my sibling. I can feel them nearby." The Legendary waved a hand, and the ground began to elongate slowly into the emptiness ahead. As the path stretched, the surrounding scenery was dragged along with it. Light, pebbles, the cracks in the floor and even the ground itself bent in a way that gave me a headache if I looked at it for too long; yet I was utterly enthralled with this process. The groundelongatedinto a bridge leading to another ind, this one as small a floor of my apartmentplex back in Jubilife with a single tree growing in the middle. The path stretched ''up'' and twisted around in a way that I wasreallynotfortable with seeing, or evenwalkingon. The visual effect created was disorienting; the perspective of the path shifted and warped. The bridge I was supposed to cross looked like a bizarre, undting ribbon, snaking into the distance with a dizzying, hypnotic motion. In the few conversations I''d had with Cassianus or Mira''s kazam and they spoke to me about psychic maniption,groundhad always been described as the most difficult material to move. It could be ripped away with enough strength and better technique, but it often wasn''t worth it for a psychic type to expend their energy on it during a fight. Despite this, Mesprit had already floated away and was beckoning me. Not only had they manipted the ground, they hadbent itto their liking and extended it into a narrow path I could follow, all without causing the structure to break from the force they applied. "Come on, now. Don''t be slow." "I''m going to fall¡­" I hesitantly trailed off. "Gravitational issues have been handled. I can tame bits of it here. Look!"Mesprit waved a hand, and I screamed as both me and Mimi were dragged onto the twisting path. Instead of falling into the void, we stuck to the pathway the psychic made."See? No need to throw a fit." "P¡ªpleasewarnme the next time you do that." "Fine! Sorry!"they said,verypassive-aggressively. I clung to the floor for dear life. The ground was barely wide enough to fit me, andeverywherearound me was essentially what felt to me like the sky. Sometimes as a kid, when my dad dragged me to one of the parks in Jubilife where we''d nap on the grass, I''d wake up and feel like I was falling up in the sky until I shook off the sleep. For once, I didn''t care about the heartbeat-like pulse below me, and I crawled on the ground while Mimi squirmed inside my jacket. It felt less like solid floor and more like I was crawling on a trampoline or a mattress that swayed and bounced with each motion. Sometimes I''d feel as if I''djustbeen about to fall, only for me to realize that only my head had entered a zone where gravity was different and the rest of my body was still safe close to the ground. "You''re so slow! Do I need to carry you everywhere?! If I use too much of my power for a sustained amount of time, Giratina will get angry at me for messing up his realm,"Mesprit grumbled. Slowly, I stood up and tried to ignore the fact that the perspective was getting me nauseous. For the most part, other than some gravitational anomalies, itfeltlike walking normally, just on a soft surface, but having an all-epassing void all around me and seeing my destination be sidewayspared to me had my brain constantly ying tricks on me and making me think I was about to fall. Ididmake it to the ind without a hitch, though, so Mesprit''s powers were working. "Of course they''re working. Just because we''re in the middle of Distortion doesn''t mean I''m useless!"they huffed. With a flicker of their arm, the stretched bit of ground returned to normal, and they directed me forward."I will admit, I cannot go all out, however." "May I ask why?" I asked, already mentally psyching myself up for the next crossing. "It has to do with the nature of this ce."Mesprit spun around me and squinted at Mimi, who shrunk like water at their heavy gaze. Their eyes swung up at me, and I averted my gaze."Hm, your knowledge of Distortion is rather iplete. Dusk? Ah, yes what ghosts call it. I haven''t been out in forever, so I nearly forgot." I bit down on my objection that would have demanded how the hell I''d been supposed to know anything about this ce, but I assume Mesprit figured anyway, because they stuck out their tongue at me. "There isn''t really anything dusk-like about this ce. When I imagined it, I guess I thought it''d be like¡­ well, likedusk." "You think like a human!"Mesprit yelled. I couldfeeltheir frustration like a physical thing."Ghosts don''t see color, you daft Shard! This expanse to them looks almost the exact same as your so-called dusk¡ªah!Don''t step there!" My foot hovered over a patch of ground that looked exactly the same as everything else. "Why?" "Take a gander,"Mesprit said with a smirk. The Guardian came close to the ground andplunged a tailinto it. It wasn''t like water, either. There was no disturbance, not even a tinyripple. It was, well, like putting a limb into another solid."You would have fallen through the floor, and it would have been annoying to get you out before you asphyxiated. Human bodies are so fragile!"They rolled their eyes. I blinked as Mesprit pulled out their tail. Like pushing fabric, the solid ground I was onmovedwith a single look from the psychic and I crossed the dangerous area unabashed. As soon as we made it to the edge of the ind, another path extended to a mountainous ind full of gaping, maw-like openings leading into caverns. I noticed a meteorite-like boulder rush sideways from above us. "So you didn''t answer my question. Why can''t you go all out? What''s the nature of this ce? Its shape?" "Beyond what you already know, I can''t¡­ move things around here, hence the stretching and bending,"Mesprit exined."Distortion is a reflection of our ne of existence. Anything that happens here ripples out into our world, and vice versa. If I were to rip parts of these inds apart instead or summon barriers out of thin air, Giratina would throw a fit. It''s better to use what''s already there to contain the damage." "So it goes both ways? What aboutourworld?" I asked. "Does anything go on here that affects it?" "Rarely. Look around, girl. This ce is more inactive than not." It was true. If I took a step back, beyond the induced paranoia, fear and other negative emotions, other than some inds and rocks floating and moving about, and the grouping of spirits, there was nothingreallygoing on, and it would be like thisforever. But dead ghosts were also supposed to gather here, not just echoes of the dead who had already passed on. That meant thatDusknoirwas here somewhere. A topic forter. First I needed to get more information out of¡­ no, that the wrong mentality to have. We werefriends. Exploiting them for knowledge was wrong, if I was going to do better and not repeat what hade beforehand.Break the cycle.That was what Repentance¡ª whatIwas about. "How moving,"Mesprit hummed. "If you ever want to stop talking about this, you let me know, okay?" I hesitantly said, hopping onto the next ind. The wind near the cave''s opening was a sinister thing. Buffered voices of the fallen,ing one after the other. The stone making up this hill was made of a simr material the ground was: a pinkish, light red. Though I could barely see inside the cave, it was easy to tell that the path wasn''t going to stay uncoiled very long. It was already veering up and sideways right at the entrance. Still on my shoulder, Meltan chimed and the sound was swallowed by the cave faster than what was natural. "Can I ask more about Distortion?" "Entertain me, Shard!" Okay, so this was still fun to them. Good. "So what is this cefor?" "An appropriate term to use would be scaffolding,"Mesprit pondered, floating into the cave first. I followed with a hesitant step, d to have the light they were emitting with me."Without this world, yours would copse in on itself, and again, vice versa, though once upon a time, Giratina might not have opposed this. I can''t believe all he got for breaking the rules was a p on the wrist! Our Creator istoonice, sometimes." I gulped as I carefully ced a foot in front of the other. It was trippy, seeing the way the path turned upside down like a winding snake ahead of us. I had never considered myself a ustrophobe, but the ceiling being so low and oppressive made me feel like the cave was closing in on me. The walls or ceiling also would sometimes bulge inwards, as if trying to close in on me, then recede just as quickly, leaving me disoriented and on edge. Mesprit kept saying it was just a ''trick of the light'', or that it wasn''t real, but it looked and sounded real to me, and getting skewered by a sharp row of stgmites or stctites wouldn''t be ideal. My skin would already prickle with phantom pain every time they got near me. Better distract myself and learn more about this ce, then."So¡­ he''s not good?" My voice didn''t reverberate in the cave like it should have. Instead, it was almost muted. "Or he used to not be?" "You humans and good and evil,"Mesprit groaned, a sound which I guessed would have been particrly human had everything here not been distorted."Even me and my siblings aren''t great at deciphering what it means to you, and we were madespecificallyto understand you and to impart our gifts upon you. Giratina is another matter entirely, and so are many of His creations. Even Palkia, as understanding as she is!" I blinked, not really knowing how to react to that rant. "By good here, Iexplicitlymean, is he going to end the world ornot?" "Of course not! He saved it, you¡­"Mesprit held back an insult, though I stillfeltit."He was banished here by Him¡ª"They were obviously referring to Arceus here."And while I despised him¡ª andstilldespise him in a way for going against His rulesagain, there is no denying his interference salvaged Creation from being permanently broken." Broken, notdestroyed. It was like Anguish had said. A being so powerful set loose still would have effectively ended the world as we knew it had it not been held back by this Giratina. Just when I''d been about to speak again, Mimi screeched and pointed above our heads, where two malformed shapes hovered together.Dead ghosts,I knew instantly. Then more, and more¡ªhundredswere gathered together within this singr cave, as if they were taking refuge from something. Some were indistinguishable, but others, I vaguely recognized. The shape of a Shuppet, clinging closely to the cavern''s walls. A Mismagius stared us down with piercing red eyes, his formalmostsolid as it would have been in the real world. Aughing Haunter surrounded by two Ghastly, who joined in as soon as they noticed us. These ghosts weren''t aggressive, nor were they moving very much. Really, this kind of felt like a big club where they could tell each other stories about what was going on in their lives. Mathilda had told me that there were faces you remembered, after dying over and over, so clearly making friends was an option, even if they barely had the energy to move. Buthowdid they get back in the real world, anyway? "Tiny breaches don''t have much effect beyond a visual and auditory distortion where the ghostes back, though they have to expend a lot of energy to do so,"Mesprit said."A rift to fit Giratina is something else entirely. But why don''t you ask what you truly want to ask?" I hesitantly nced down at Mimi, then back at them. "I mean, you know." "But conversations are a lot of fun!"Mesprit twirled and their tails excitedly intertwined."So ask!" "Well, first, why did he bring us here¡ª" "I don''t know, haha!"Mespritughed."Maybe he wanted to get the culprit who almost ended His creation to himself, and you were all coteral damage. I''d ask him if he wasn''t so angered and I could get close!" I swallowed. "What did you mean bybanished, exactly." "Well, I hadn''t been created yet when it happened,"Mesprit said."And this is just what He¡­ He told us, before sending us off to our Lakes, when He spoke to us about Time, Space, and Distortion." Even now, Mesprit seemed to have the wind taken out of their sails when thinking too hard about their memories with Arceus. They didn''t let it get to them for long, and their eyes brightened."Simply put, Giratina was banished because he is a violent Pokemon." I frowned. "Violent¡­ like ghosts are prone to sometimes?" We reached the most crowded part of the cave, packed with ghosts, and they all made way for Mesprit without a word."Well, they do get it from him, but you think too small, Shard. You believe violence to be constrained to the urges you get, like when you wanted to cut Mars apart with your axe, or when your Pokemon kill something. That is a crude understanding of what violence is."I felt a little push on my back, a wordless sign that they were growing impatient with my tired pace."Distortion''sexistenceitself is violent, and ming him for it would be like holding our sun ountable for every instance of scorching heat, parched earth, wilted flower and forest fire. Everywhere he goes, he warps and twists the world around him. He is the long quiet; the whispers you hear at night as a child that make you retreat under the covers; the random urges you sometimes get tomit a horrible act that leaves as soon as it hade; the item you swear you had left on your countertop, yet you''ve misced and only find hourster; the shadow that flickers just out of sight, always lurking at the edge of your vision; the cold, creeping dread that coils around your heart when you realize you''re utterly alone."There was a short pause, and something like empathy shed on the Guardian''s face. I supposed they knew a thing or two about being trapped somewhere for eternity."He was made this way, through no fault of his own, forced to observe the world, but never interact with it. In many ways, his situation is worse than mine. At least I have my siblings to talk to, and I can change things around my Lake." "I¡­ I don''t know what to say to that," I admitted, rubbing the side of my arm. "Good,"Mesprit nodded."You could not fathom it, anyway."There was a short pause, and a deep frown that looked wrong on their face."Stop." I wanted to ask why, but they knew better, so I did. I hadn''t noticed during Mesprit''s speech with Giratina, but there were no more ghosts around. We''d reached some kind of circr¡ª no, rectangr¡ª no, long and thin¡ªa chamberwhose shape I couldn''t ce. Mesprit looked behind me, sighing in an exasperated manner, and when I followed their gaze I noticed that the path behind us had closed off. We werepletely isted without a way to ess the outside. The air grew thicker, moreoppressive, and the acrid stench filling my nose made every breath I pulled a bigger struggle. The walls of the cavern, now slick with a viscous, ck substance that hadn''t been there, pulsed rhythmically as if alive and swallowed the ambient light until we were left with nothing but pitch ckness. I was blind. I couldn''t see. I couldn''t see. I couldn''t see, nor hear, nor feel, nor smell, nor taste. My feet were no longer in contact with the ground, as if I was hovering somewhere. I couldn''t¡ª no, no,no.Icouldsee. Light popped like bubbles at the corners of my eyes; a dimly, starlit sky that expanded like fireworks that I could hear, even with my wounded ear, each growing closer and closer until I smelled the blood so strongly that I could taste it in my mouth and the back of my throat. Denzel''s corpse flickered in and out of the dark, his body face down and his back utterly destroyed. A canvas of suffering marred by the merciless touch of fire. The upper back was a mottled patchwork of color: livid reds intermingled with the ghostly pallor of dead tissue, while some areas were ckened and charred, the skin burned away to reveal raw, angry flesh beneath that was still smoking. The faint smell of burned flesh lingered in the air. Large, angry blisters bubbled up in grotesque forms, some intact and taut with fluid, others ruptured and oozing with raw and jagged edges full of puss. The burns grew more and more pronounced, deeper, morehorrifying. Across the expanse of Denzel''s shoulders, the burn wounds formed two hollow, darkened pits where the skin had blistered and burst, resembling a pair of sunken, hollow eyes, while a gash split his back horizontally, with rows of blisters acting as its teeth. ThethingSMELLthe cooked flesh.SMELLhow familiar it seems to you.SMELLyour best friend decaying away. I could smell it, even as I was brought to my knees. It was all that remained in me. As of someone had shined a spotlight, another spot in the darkness lit up, revealing Chase''s body, again with his face down. In his thigh, two darkened craters punctuated the skin, leaking more darkened blood that should have been in his body, and in his lower back, an evenrger wound had prated through. The entry wounds were ragged and torn, surrounded by a circle of bruising and jagged skin that was swollen and inmed. The two, small wounds on his thigh turned to tiny, beady eyes with no light to them while the hole in his back distorted into a mockery that shouldn''t have been able tofit, yet did anyway. My eyesightexpanded, then zoomed into the individual wounds without my doing, as if my face wasright there. Each wound was a volcano across a pale expanse of skin, each drop of blood a gushing, overflowing river capable of drowning me. SEE¡ª Everything vanished, and darkness fled with continuous howls of every pitch. The cavern returned, as did the ambient light, and the corpse was gone. The pathway ahead had even revealed itself to us. I stared at my hand and saw it shake uncontrobly until I clenched it with much difficulty. "How unexpected,"Mesprit slowly hummed."My apologies, Shard. I would have freed you faster than the few seconds it took, but you''re soforcefulabout hating messing with emotions that I had to work around it." "What¡­ happened," I mumbled through chattering teeth. Every time I blinked, Isaw themburned into my retinas. "Why?" I sniffled."Why?" They were okay. I''d told myself that it was better to hope for the best. ButLegendaries. How in the world was I supposed to think thatnow? "Those were spirits. The reflections of the dead sprung an illusionary trap,"Mesprit exined."They were probably jealous about what you have, so they made you see something you were worried about. Onwards! Unless you want me to patch you up?" Mimi worryingly warbled at me, and with a trembling breath, I answered, "I''ll¡­ deal with this." ¡ª We were finally leaving the cave, now. I never thought I''d think this, but I wasdto be out in the open again. I''d taken to blinking as few times as possible so I could stopseeingthem lying lifeless, but the smell? It still lingered, even now, though it was thankfully fading. Both of them were. Once more, Mesprit stretched the ground toward an ind with a loud waterfall that we were walking directly toward, as if we were standing on a wall. The waterfall itself changed directions midway through and fell out of view¡ª or at least I didn''t want to lean andlookto see where it went. The waterfall was like a mockery of the real thing. The water was too uniform, with no foam or sshes, and it originated from a point in a rock that seemed almost random. Everything here being unsettling was starting to wear down my mind. But I was d I was out ofthat ce. "How far?" I asked. "Distance is odd, here,"Mesprit quickly answered."But we should be getting close to my sibling. I feel them."The floating Legendary pointed down into the cascading water."Jump in." "E¡ªexcuse me?" "You heard me. Ride the waterfall." "Can''t you carry me or something? Is that water evenhealthy?Won''t I fall off¡ªgah!" A sudden force pushed me down the water, apanied by one of Mesprit''s giggles, though they did keep Meltan away from the water and grabbed them in their arms. Some of theliquidgot into my mouth, which I instantly spit out. The water didn''t¡­ well, it didn''t taste like it should have, but the difference was impossible to ce. At least I was somehow floating and swimming in a waterfall, which was¡­ Arceus help me. So long as I could get myself and the others out of here faster. "No psychic powers if I can help it,"Mesprit said."This waterfall is perfectly navigable for you. Get swimming." I didn''treallyhave to swim, given that the current was carrying me wherever it was that the waterfall led. Hell, Mesprit didn''t even have to mess with gravity to keep me in the sinuous currents. My buoyancy here seemed to be far higher than normal, but I was already tired, so I wasn''t going toin. For what felt like more time than it actually was, the current led me down to anotherke, this one only knee deep somehow. A waterfall of this size and volume should have made it way bigger than it actually was. I crawled out of there and onto shore as soon as I could. There was a constant feeling of something tickling my ankles and legs that I didn''t want to experience forone secondlonger. Although my clothes and skin should have been wet, the thick, invisible grime or ink or whatever was covering me kept me dry. I still patted down my clothes, just in case, and Meltan tried to crawl out of Mesprit''s embrace, to no avail."Sit still, ingot! None of your squirming will make any difference!" "They want to¡ª" "I know what it wants! I just don''t care!"Mesprit huffed. "You have to¡­" Legendaries, how to say this? I was too exhausted and scarred to go on a tirade about manners. Meanwhile, Mesprit was full of boundless energy and was pretending nothing had evenhappened. "Well, maybe notlearn, but you have to try to understand consent. When someone doesn''t want something, you don''t do that thing." "Why?" "Because they don''t like it." "I can make it like it." "Anything but that!" I yelled. "See? You make no sense!"Mesprit threw Mimi back to me and sighed."Having something to hold feels good. I just wanted to experience it before I have to go back to the Lake alone." A sad scrappy noise left Mimi''s body, and the steel type''s eye turned wobbly. I tapped a foot against the ground and nodded in understanding. "They feel bad for you, I think. So, uh, have them back?" Mesprit beamed, instantly grabbing Mimi back so tightly that their eye nearly fell out of their gear."A thousand blessings to you, ingot! Onwards!"The path ahead stretched toward one of thergest inds I''d seen. This one was basically a full-fledged forest, curved in on itself like a bowl."Azelf is somewhere there." "Good." I allowed silence to take hold. If I wasn''t going to say it now, I''d never do. "Say, Mesprit. If there was this Dusknoir I was theoretically looking for¡ª" "Mars'' owner." My tongue pushed against the back of my teeth. I hated when people put it like that. It made me feel like they were absolving Mars from consequences or me, even if they weren''t. "He died, so he should be nearby somewhere," I exined. "And Uxie''s told us that the only way to kill a ghost," I paused, "is to kill them here. Other ghostscan''t, because of some sort of pact sworn at the beginning of their existence, butIcould." All I''d need to do was let Sweetheart out and hope for the best. What Ididn''twant to do, was have to have Mesprit fuck with her head to reach the result I wanted. "I will not intervene in mortal affairs beyond getting you and the other Shards out of here,"Mesprit said. I stopped dead in my tracks. "...why?" "Don''t let it get to you!"Mesprit twirled and turned upside down."Aren''t you d the world has been saved? Smile!" My jaw clenched. "I really¡­ really don''t understand this rule thing. I don''t think I ever will. Didn''t you say Giratina broke the rules when you first found me? That he barely got any punishment at all? There arethousandsof people, trapped in Dusknoir''s body right now, even as we speak. Being tortured. Mygrandmotheris in there." Mesprit looked at me as if I was speaking Kalosian."You don''t even like your grandmother." "It''s not about that¡ª" I clenched the bridge of my nose. I''d promised I wasn''t going to use them, and this was a personal vendetta. It was also therightthing to do, but maybe I''d figure out another way to get Dusknoir once we found Cynthia. "Let''s just get Azelf back." This was my first time in atrueforest in the Distortion world, and it was disconcerting howuniformit was. Seeing a few trees next to each other was one thing, butthousands?Every single one of them was the same as thest, from its length, to its width, to the hair-like leaves at their edges. Again, there were no branches and their green bark was so smooth they all looked artificially crafted. "Look down!"Mesprit screamed. Impulsively, I listened. I''d wanted to look down, right then and there. I wasn''t even angry at the fact that Mesprit had ordered MEaround, really. Not after hearing the sheer panic in their voice. I''d seen them sad or angry, but panicked? My eyes stayed transfixed to the ground, as did Mimi''s, but Mesprit stared straight up at what must have been there My¡­ my eyes itched.Itchedto seeITSform. To crane my neck up asmidgeso I could take in the shape of what madness truly looked like, rightABOVE. Why was it, that letting go could be soappealing?What made the unknown so terrifying, yet wondrous all the¡ª "Shard!"I blinked, my mouth feeling horribly dry, and I slumped against one of the slimy trees for support. "Huh?" "I''ve been calling you forever. Are you okay? Did you see it? Do I need to tweak your brain? Uxie would be better at it, but emotions are effective at making you forget things, too!" I held up a hand. "No. No, I''m fine. Uh, was¡ª was that¡­" I''d spoken its¡ª his name before, but I couldn''t. Not now. Mesprit nodded."What you saw on His Throne before being taken here¡ª that inky ck form¡ª it''s not his actual body. Your Champion''s mind might have survived looking at Giratina¡ª"I flinched."¡ªthrough a pale reflection, but seeing him in full? That isn''t something someone can just¡­liveafter. Even ghosts avoid looking at him." "O¡ªokay." "At least if he''s around here, he shouldn''t be bothering your friends. He''s hovering around, so keep your eyes on your feet, just in case,"Mesprit warned. I shuffled and entered the woods. At least the trees would give mesomecover. "Is he screaming right now?" "Constantly." The woods which had seemed so terrifying were a refuge, inparison. Mesprit kept saying that Azelf wassomewherein here, but that was horribly vague and the ind had a way of changing shapes and configurations, or at least it felt like it. The Guardian was adamant we were getting closer, though, and I was just a person, so I was inclined to trust them. As strange as it sounded, itdidfeel to me like we were traveling through a set path despite the forest looking the exact same in every direction, and the trees were all spaced out by the exact same length. It alsofeltlike I was going straight even though I knew it was concave. At some point, Mesprit broke from the constant uniformity and looked behind us, and by the time I noticed, it was Mimi, who mewled as if to ask what was going on. "Hm. I knew a ghost out in the open when Giratina was and remains this angry was strange,"Mesprit slowly pondered. The ghostly figure hovered behind us, its form partially obscured by the eerie shadows cast by the trees surrounding it. It took me a few seconds to understand what I''d been looking at. The ghost''s body flickered like a faulty hologram, edges blurring and wavering in and out of focus. Its single eye, normally a piercing red, was now a dull, lifeless gray, barely reflecting the little light generated in this ce. The eye moved sluggishly, as if struggling to stay anchored to its spectral form. Wisps of shadowy mist clung to the specter''s body, seeping into it like ink being drawn into a sponge. There were only a few Dusknoir in the world. Only Mars'' had died in the vicinity of Mount Cordays ago. There was only one Pokemon this could be, and he had followed us¡­why?It was easy to see him struggling to even more. Where he had exuded fear and pressure before, unleashing Arceus knew how many screams at will, he was now a shadow of his former self. Pathetic, almostfadedentirely. Each time he dragged himself forward, he bled more of himself that he could barely rece with the shadows hanging in the air. "It''s been following us,"Mesprit said with a tilt of their head."In this ce, I''m like a beacon. We''re easy to keep track of." "...aren''t you going to kill him?" "Why?" "He¡ª he was following us!" I pressed, fists clenching. "He wants to do something." "It''s too weak to even gather the shadows it''s using to remain alive as an attack,"Mesprit shrugged."I will not interfere, nor will I break the rules or trample on Giratina''s hospitality. Keep walking this way."They pointed¡­ well, it was impossible to know where, but rtive tous, it was forward and away from Dusknoir."Willpower is close." My hand sped tightly around Sweetheart''s Pokeball. "Do not interfere with the Cycle,"Mesprit warned."Ordinarily, I would support letting your emotions rule you, but you''ll die. Your name will spread and you will be the enemy of all ghosts. They willhunt and haunt youuntil the end of your days, and that Tyranitar you''re nning on using." The hold on my Pokeball trembled, and Dusknoir silently observed."It''s not fucking fair." "Ghosts are closely knit beings,"Mesprit said."They are bound by rules and practices wound in a Covenant established by the first of their kind, who bled off of Giratina and who remain hidden. Their word isw. You cannot throw your life away, or I''ll be alone again."The Guardian floated in front of my face and their eyes gleamed."You said you would be my friend. We can''t be friends if you die as soon as this ''League'' stops guarding you at all times. Then I''ll be alone again." "It''s¡ª it''s not fair." Mesprit shoved Mimi back into my face, and I instinctively grabbed them in my arms."Have the ingot." Nothing ever went the way I wanted it to. Things always ranged from catastrophic tobarelyalright. Never would I be able to live with my head above the water. It was always going to be like this. Grace Pastel¡­ heed my words. My head spun back to Dusknoir so fast my throbbed in pain. He wastalkingto me. No, it wasn''ttrulyhim. Each word out of his fading abdomen was made of a different voice that somehow soundedclear, even in the Distortion world. Voices of the people he had trapped within his¡ª I growled and took a step forward. Was he fucking taunting me? Mesprit frowned."What are you doing, ghost?" Heed my words¡­he slowly repeated, bleeding into the world. Literally, with each word he spoke, he lost parts of himself.Save her¡­ "What?" Interest gleamed in Mesprit''s eye."No¡­ youwouldn''t dare." She is innocent. Innocent. Innocent,the ghost said.Prisoner for decades. Observer. I knew¡­ deep down, that it had to be this way. There is no other method to cheat a death of my own making. "He wasn''t following us foryou!"Mesprit gasped."He was following us to get close enough to Giratina¡ª" Dusknoir raised a finger. A single finger. Weak, trembling, and as consistent as vapor. And pointed it at the sky. The world itselfbeatlike a single heart, rippling across me with enough force to rip away the trees surrounding us. A barrier I hadn''t realized was there had protected me from it, but Dusknoir wasscreamingwith his actual voice, this time. Mimi flinched away as an inky ckness surrounded the ghost, throbbing with red like channels that looked like veins. Like tar, it clung to every inch of his threadbare skin and somehow made itsolid. Dusknoir''s body flickered erratically, and I caught his form fracturing into pieces that the human eye could notprehend, yet heheld strongand opened the mouth on his abdomen. Thin smoke billowed out from the massive maw, uniform at first until they took shape as trails of gleaming darkness. A few turned into dozens, and that turned intohundreds, but there was a human shaped thing being vomited out of his mouth, too. The oil-like substance bled off of it, revealing a girl with skin so pale it was almost translucent. Her long, brown hair covered her face as soon as she slumped onto the forest floor with a dull, distorted thud, and Dusknoir just¡­ became non-existent. He was dead. I didn''t know how I knew, but deep in my heart of hearts, I was certain he had just diedfor good. "It¡­ it drew on powerdirectlyfrom Giratina for this and died from the blowback,"Mesprit muttered."How interesting! I had no idea it loved her enough to die in her stead when ghosts are anathema to death!" It took me longer than Mesprit to understand what I''d just seen. My hand twitched around the handle of a sharp implement that wasn''t there, and I slowly approached the girl. Shifting closer. Ever closer. Mesprit seemed content to stay silent and gauge my reaction when I crouched and a trembling hand hovered over the girl''s head. I was scared, I realized. Terrified of the face I''d potentially see. Like jumping into a cold pool, I brushed it aside and sighed in relief when it was a different face that I''d expected, only for me to immediately spot the simrities with Mars. The skin wasn''t as smooth¡ª there was a small scar above her eyebrow and e scars strewn about her cheeks, and the pores on her nose was visible¡ª nor was she built as wlessly, but it washerface. "It''s Mars," I said, disbelieving. "I''m dumping her over the edge¡ª or¡ª or leaving her here to rot, if you think that''s interfering because she''s also a ghost." Mesprit hummed."No, it''s not her." My soul nearly jumped out of my skin when the girl¡ª thewomangroaned. "It''s her¡ª I don''t care if she''s amnesiac or whatever excuse you bring up, she''sbuiltfor murder. She''s a caricature!" "It''s not. Will you go againstmyword?they questioned with an annoyed tone, as best as I could tell, at least. "Exin. Right now." "Don''t be rude."The Legend rolled their eyes."This isn''t Mars, nor has she lost her memories. Mars is truly dead,"they said."This girl is who Mars was based on¡ª the original whom Dusknoir was safeguarding and keeping prisoner." "...what?" "Though I have to say, Dusknoir butchered her revival,"Mesprit said, hovering around the unconscious brte."She won''t live very long. Ten more years, at most, but at least she won''t age!" "No! We''re ending this!" "Why?" "Because she''sMars," I pressed on. "I mean, you can do whatever pleases you now that you''re dealing with another human,"they nonchntly said."But she''s not Mars. She shares some of those traits, but Dusknoir entuated those that he liked and dimmed the ones he hated, like having a moralpass. Anyway!"They pped their hands and beamed."What are you going to do?" They were treating this like a movie. I hated it. Iunderstoodit, because this was a rest from the boring monotonous life they''d had in the Lake and they were happy they could stay out for a bit, but I stillhatedhow it was all a game to them. "You wouldn''t get it anyway, stupid! Your brain is like an amoeba!" I paced in front of the body, tongue scraping against the wound I''d opened in my mouth earlier, and considered my options. "Could she have spoken to Dusknoir and told him stuff? Like, who to kill?" I asked. "I''m certain he could hear her, but remember. This was not an equal rtionship. He held the reign, and all she could do was watch." Right. Even Mathilda hadmented over Mars'' fate when I''d met her in the Lost Tower, so that tracked. "I wouldn''t lie to you anyway, Shard,"they said, almost disappointed. "So exin this to me, then. Dusknoir had this girl captured for who knows how long, and¡ª and then what? He just used her as a model to build a psychopath?" My pacing grew quicker, as did my voice. "He loved her enough to sacrifice himself to bring her back, but he kept her trapped inside of himself and made a mockery of her? There''s more to this than a ghost striving to revive their deceased trainer in a new world. The pieces don''t fit quite neatly enough, even if you peg Dusknoir as an irrational actor." "It probably wanted to keep the parts it loved. This girl,"Mesprit paused to look down when she moaned again,"no doubt knows more about their circumstances. You like stories, right? You could take her with you, since she''s about to wake!" The reborn woman stirred. Bright, amber eyes opened and faced us. She screamed.
Distortion II Distortion II
A/N: General trigger warning, this chapter gets somewhat dark and some scenes might be unpleasant to read. DISTORTION II The scream was long and drawn out, changing in pitch and volume all throughout. The Distortion World made it difficult to tell whatkindof scream it was. I believed it to be fearful at first, given the fact that she was waking up in an unfamiliar and terrifying ce, but her face said otherwise. Etched on her pale visage was something I could only describe as pure relief, and as her voice cracked and her lips curved into a smile that instinctively fanned the me of rage inside of me, Mars'' shoulders sagged and she panted loudly, thanking the Legendaries under her breath. "That was nice,"Mesprit said."I love it when people are so emotionally overwhelmed that they just scream." The new Mars was, as I''d described, the same as thest, if a little less perfect. Her brownish amber hair was nowhere aspoppingred. It reached down to her shoulders in waves and her body¡ª hernakedbody was covered in deep and shallow scars that revealed to me she had been a fighter ofmykind. Most of them were cuts like the ones on my left arm, but there were puncture scars on her stomach, and teeth marks on her right thigh and waist as deep as Cecilia had on her foreleg. Honestly, I found it a miracle that her face had been left unscathed besides the small scar above her right eyebrow. As soon as theweightof her situation settled in, the new Mars'' hand went to Pokeballs that weren''t there and her eyes sharpened like steel. I knew people like her, because Iwasher. This was a killer. She cleared her throat, never losing her slight smirk. "Well, hello there Grace," she said, eliciting a frown. I hadn''t expected her to know my name, let alone be this confident. "And Mesprit, of course. How could I forget?" The Legendary waved."Nice to meet you! I always enjoy interesting people,"they said."I mustmend you, you''re good at putting on masks to hide being terrified." The woman''s eye twitched, as did her fingers, but she recovered immediately, swaying her head from side to side. "That might be because I''m facing my judge, jury and potential executioner with no means to defend myself. I don''t even have clothes! How embarrassing!" She ced her hands on her cheeks and squealed. The bashfulness was clearly faked. She didn''t care that she was naked one bit, but I still took off my coat and threw it at her. "Here." She caught it, though not as fast as Mars would have. There''d been clumsiness to her movements. She touched the fabric with widening eyes, as if she''d forgotten what it felt like, then draped it around herself. It was big enough to reach her thighs, so it covered pretty much everything. "So are you going to kill me, or what?" I crouched until we were at the same eye level, since she was sitting on the ground. "That''s up to you, Mars. That trick Dusknoir pulled¡ª" "Natalia." Stunned, I shook my head. "What?" "Mars isn''t my name. It''s the name Cyrus picked for my clone after he found her," she said, lips ttening for a moment. The fact that this ce was making it difficult for me to hone in on what she was truly feeling was pissing me off, but the texture of Mimi''s soft body in my arms brought me back to earth. "I''m Natalia Ivanova. Now, may I ask where we are?" "I wouldn''t look up if I were you,"Mesprit warned, right before Mars¡ª Natalia observed the forest around us."In fact, I would focus on Grace or myself. This is too entertaining for you to be distracted by how horrifying this ce can be to your feeble human mind." Mars looked down¡ª I caught myself. Thinking of her as anything elsebutMars was proving difficult, but Mars looked down at her feet and pursed her lips. "Is anyone going to answer my question, or¡­?" "I''ll ask the questions around here," I growled. That damn smug look of hers was going to get on my nerves really fast.She was just like her.Yet I contained the rage within, and instead of asking''give me a reason I shouldn''t kill you right now'',I clenched a fist. We were wasting time here, and I was considering having her walk with us to Azelf, but would she figure out a way to run? No, no, sheneededus to escape and get back to the real world, but did sheknow that? Mesprit''s face was a few inches from mine to the side, as if they were enjoying this very much. No, first it was best to have this woman understand that without my word, she was doomed to rot in this hellworld for Arceus knew how long, where she would inevitably grow mad. Ten years at most, Mesprit had said, but I didn''t know how time worked here, let alone death. "Dusknoir spit you out by pulling energy from¡­ from this world''s ruler." No matter his motivations, saying that name out loud felt dangerous, especially when he was so close. "He''s dead.Permanently.He sacrificed himself to bring you back." She slowly ran a hand over her leg. "I figured he was gone when I had my body back. Tell me something I don''t know." I took a step forward and ground my teeth together. The urge to find one of the edges of the inds and to dump her over was something I could barely contain, with howconfidentshe was acting. "I don''t think you realize the position you''re in. You''re trapped in the Distortion World. That''s theDusk. Without me, you''ll be stuck here, butmaybeif you cooperate, I can¡ª" Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it, I''d given the game away. I was acting way too desperate when I should have been the one in control, and she knew it. Had she pushed my buttons, used my hatred of Mars to get information out of me? It wasn''t¡­ the end of the world, but it was still annoying. "You mean without me,"Mesprit corrected with a huff. I ignored them. I needed to get Mars off her feet. To have her take in this ce so her mind could fray. "Get up." I brusquely motioned at her with a hand. "You''reing with us, and I''m going to question you." "How straightforward," she said with a shrug. "Sure." Seeing her stumble when she stood brought me great pleasure. Not only had she not actually had a body in who knew how long, the Distortion world made it difficult to put one foot in front of the other. She leaned against one of the nearby trees to support herself and groaned when she realized how slimy they were. Then, she lookedupat the twisted form of what this ce called vegetation and her already pale skin turned as white as a sheet of paper. It was the little moments of weakness like these, that gave me the confidence to push on. Mars or not, she was defenseless, and her brain was just as human as mine. My fingers nervously kneaded over Mimi like dough until she was finally ready to walk. Remember. You''re in control. "Follow me. We''ll get Azelf back, and then be on our way,"Mesprit said, before floating around both of us."But don''t let me interrupt your wonderful conversation and sh of emotions!" "Get in front of me. Don''t turn around, or I''ll assume you''re nning something and sic an angry Tyranitar at you so she can treat you like a chew toy," I said. Mars innocently raised her hands, but she wasn''t fooling anyone. Mesprit led us both deeper into the woods, whatever ''deeper'' meant. It wasn''t like I could tell the difference or the environment was changing. If I had to guess, Cyrus'' order might have been to hide in the most annoying spot Azelf could find on short notice. "Ask away, kid," she said. "First off," I took a deep breath, "what''s the deal with you and Dusknoir. And you better tell meeverything, because I know when you lie." Of course, I couldn''t actually tell since it would send me into a panic attack, but she didn''t need to know that. Mesprit''s tails twitched, seemingly pleased with my half-truth. "So you want my entire life story?" Mars asked, seemingly amused. "There''s a joke in there about wining and dining me before getting everything out of me, but s, you''re too young." My nose wrinkled in disgust."Stop fucking ying."My hand hovered over Sweetheart''s Pokeball, to Mimi''s dismay. "Last chance." Thankfully, she flinched first. Her giving up was apanied by a disturbing creak in the trees despite none of them having moved even a centimeter, and I inched a little closer to her and Mesprit. "Okay, I''ll tell you¡­ everything," she sighed, looking older than she, or at least her body was. Late teens, if I had to guess. "First, I guess you should get some context, if this is going to be a proper story." "Great, she loves those!"Mesprit beamed with a little twirl. "I was born in¡­ well, I don''t really know the exact year, but it was in Johto near the end of the war. Never knew my parents." I rolled my eyes thinking I was going to get some sort of sob story, but let her go on. "Pretty sure they died due to a bombing during Kanto''s breakthrough around Mount Silver''s nkste in the war, or maybe the Zapdos that fried parts of Goldenrod, it was never really confirmed, but that doesn''t really matter." She waved a hand and snorted. "I grew up in an orphanage, but I ran away when I was twelve or so. There are thousands of stories like mine, but I lived off the streets of Goldenrod and made friends with a Jigglypuff who''d perform to people in exchange for food." I was¡­ surprised that she would just go over meeting her first Pokemon so quickly, like it didn''t even matter. Her being originally from Johto wasn''t something I''d evenbegunto expect, given that neither she or Mars had had a distinguishable ent. That was ignoring thebiggerfact that she was¡­ over seventy years old, technically. Either that, or right under. "I joined him for a while. I''d dance and do tricks while he sang. Flips and the like." A seemingly genuine smile slipped on her face as she reminisced. At least that exined Mars'' athleticism and coordination. "It worked for a while until you know, one thing leads to another and I realize Jigglypuff''s good at making people do what he wants with his voice, and suddenly, I''m a wanted criminal for stealing around a bit!" she feigned a gasp, which was a horrible sound with the distortion on her voice. "So you just immediately became a criminal?" I said. "Well, yes. It was more money than I''d ever seen in my life. Unfortunately, when one bes a criminal, it gets exceedingly difficult to actually get out of that life. You know I wasn''t about to go to prison." "Prison? Weren''t you a kid?" "I was twelve, but this was also post-war Johto. They don''t fuck around," Mars said. "Or I guess didn''t. Though looking back, I might have been offered an olive branch to put my skills to work, but I was a child. I was scared. So crime leads to more crime, and you know, I catch more Pokemon. First, an Oddish that was mighty useful at knocking people out en masse with powder moves, and I rob a breeding home and get myself a Vulpix. Wanted to sell her back at first, but I got attached." "When does Dusknoire in?" I asked, impatient. The woman touched her fingers with a hand, and I could already picture the smug smirk on her face. "I thought you wanted everything? I''m trying to survive, here, it''s important for you to get the full context so you judge me adequately." "I was going to skip ahead anyway," Mars kept going with a shrug. "I guess I was around fifteen or so? When people starteding tomefor jobs. I had a reputation around Johto for being good at stealing things." Her story kind of reminded me of Abel''s, though the path they took was wildly different. "Most of my employers were other criminals, but sometimes I''d even get the ns to hire me for¡­ well, you know." "No. Idon''tknow." "Right, I forget that decades have passed. Kidnappings, mostly," she sighed. "I wonder if they still do those. Oh, I wasn''t good enough to raid their strongholds or n halls¡ª I mean, the ckthornes live in afortressbuilt into a mountain, and that''s justonen. But when they were in transit, they were free game. Tough work with their bodyguards, but nothing I couldn''t handle. They liked to use kidnapped children prodigies as bargaining chips, especially when they were recovering their numbers from the war. Most of it was just y fighting, really, except when they asked me to go after theKantoanns. Their governments were supposed to be working toward unification, but you don''t remove centuries of bad blood with a fucking treaty." She turned her face slightly sideways, so she could see me out of the corner of her eye. "I guess I was around your age when Imitted my first murder." I swallowed. "And what are you implying?" "I''m just trying to find somemon ground between us." I pushed her forward, and she nearly bumped against a tree. "Keep looking in front. I''m nothing like you." "Okay. Can I continue, at least, or are you just going to slit my throat already?" I grunted in affirmation. "Now me, I had no loyalties. I was basically a mercenary, hitman, cleaner, or whatever you want to call it. So eventually the smell of money attracted me to Kanto, where I did some jobs for Team Rocket, who was blowing up in the post war years. Nothing like misery and poverty to make organizations like them swell in members. Never joined ''em, mind you. Once they realized I wasn''t, they tried to kill me to eliminate thepetition, and I did a little oopsie that kind of forced me to flee the region entirely." "What little oopsie?" "I, uh, killed an Administrator, and Madame Boss put a hit on my head that had even some of the ns looking to kill me." Some ns had been working with Team Rocket? What a mess. "Anyway, next thing I know I''m running for my life every day, and this is where I got the majority of these." She turns my wayagainand points toward a scar on her leg, but before I could say anything her back was facing me once more. "I get on a boat to Sinnoh. I mean it''s either that or Hoenn, but Hoenn''s a bitch to get to while Sinnoh had their borders basically open because there was a famine going on after an Articuno wrecked the ce, and there had basically been a little ice age up there." Sheughed, pausing for a few moments. "I get it, though! Better shirk off your masses to Johto so you can actuallyfeedwhoever remains." I didn''t know very much about history outside Sinnoh and some Unovan thanks to having read some books with Buddy, but even then I knew who Madame Boss, or Sidonia Campione, was. She''d been Team Rocket''s founder who had seen the post-war chaos and used it as an opportunity to get rich, andshe did, bing one of the wealthiest people to haveeverexisted. That was, of course, until her son Giovanni coup''ed her and turned Team Rocket into a fascist, ultranationalist Kantoan organization angry at their ''equal'' status with Johto that still kept its mafia roots.Himbeing the leader was something that was only discovered muchter, though. He''d been the Viridian CityGym Leader.The thought of a country with such disunity made my head spin. A funny thing was, the change in leadership was when the government actually started to try dealing with them, and even then, it was only Lance who had ripped off the band-aid and started a campaign to end them no matter the cost just two years after ascending to his position. "Fire, Ice and Thunder can get a little feisty sometimes,"Mesprit said before stopping. They closed their eyes, which shone so bright they were visible through their eyelids, and pointed to the left. We followed after them."They held back because extinction was off the table, since that''s against the Rules. Still, I really thought they were going to wipe you lot back to the stone age!"Mesprit giggled."Fire and Thunder wanted to, but Ice would have tattled and involved Lugia." Mars'' face darkened at that, and I rubbed my neck ufortably. Information on Lugia was a lot more obscured than what experts called its counterpart in Ho-oh. People did see it every few decades all over the world when it came back up from the depths of the ocean. Thest time it had surfaced was before I''d been born. I remembered from history ss that Leo Florentius had been the Champion, both during and after the war. I remembered seeing his portrait when I''d visited the part of the Hall of Fame at the League, or at least the bit avable to the public. He''d been a dark-eyed man with sleek, pulled back hair and a Smence by his side. Somewhat like Craig, if a little more sinister looking. His legacy had been tarnished by how badly he handled the famine, but it would still take decades for Gabriel Radetic to take his ce. Even though I hated Mars, it was at times like these that I realized how chaotic the post-war years must have been. All of the dead, thewlessness, the disarray,having to bring humanity back from the brink of societal copse, and having to go to sleep at night knowing that it might happen again any day now.And to think that had been them holding back.Today, humanity knew better than to start a senseless war over some border dispute, or at least I hoped so. And to think that we were currently dealing with forcesabovethose who had nearly ended us. At least the conversation was distracting me from this horrifying ce. It was maybe just me, but the forest was subtly changing. The trees were growing thicker and the space between them tighter, almost like they wanted to suffocate us. Mars exined how her arrival in Sinnoh was marked with her deciding toy low. She lived in a cabin off-route near the woods east of Sandgem, which was the city she''d arrived at. Instantly, I was reminded of the cabin I''d been in when fighting her over control for Mesprit, with all the trinkets and heirlooms from people she had killed. "I was still doingsomework, but I wasying low. There are two kinds of mercenaries, you know?" She held up her hand in a ''V'' sign. "Those who foster a reputation to get more jobs and money quickly. A lot of them want to retire early in Al or some bullshit like that, but it''s not like their old rivals and enemies won''t pay to see them killed. Tropical paradise full of war criminals or not, you''d have to stay on your toes the rest of your life to see if someone you screwed overes knocking some day." She shuddered when a tree pulsated next to her. "Though I guess these days, those war criminals must have croaked. Their kiddies and grandkids must be running around, though. Isn''t that a funny thought," Mars snorted. "Second, there are the mercs who don''t care about any of that. The ones you never hear about, who are only hired through word of mouth. They make money slower, but it''s a lot safer overall. I decided to go with the second option, this time, since the first one nearly bit me in the ass. Or wait, it did!" She lifted her jacket, showing off the massive bite mark on her. Her ''humor'' was getting on my nerves. So she had worked quiet jobs. That, plus her being so old exined a lot about Sinnoh''s government not knowing about who she was. The fact that she skimmed over a lot of them, it was easy to see that murder was involved. When she spoke about it, she seemedproudof her job. "I liked it, for a while. I wasgoodat it," she would say with a wide smile. She seemed oblivious to the fact that I was judging her for it, or maybe she just didn''t care, which was surprising. I believed she would have been better at manipting me, but talking about her job appeared to be a blind spot of some sort. She couldn''t keep herself from looking satisfied with what she''d done, and her steps gained confidence with each sess story. "Eventually, I stumbled across a Duskull when I was working on scoping out a job near Hearthome. Figured he was a spy at first, so I killed him and bailed, but he somehow found me again a few monthster. He was just¡­ hanging around in the cabin, really. Later, when I asked what about me intrigued him, he said that I had an aura of death around me. Like, he couldtellI killed a lot of people, and he wanted someone like that because he was too weak to do it himself. ''Figured he was funny and I wanted someone like that. Nales could always trante whatever the hell it was he was saying." I bit my lip when she stopped to take a shaky breath. Even she wasn''t immune to the pain of recounting painful events. "The reason he wanted me was because he could harvest the souls of the people I killed to make himself strongerfaster. For around two years, everything went well, and he was a Dusclops when it all went wrong." She swayed her head to the side and sighed. "I can''t me it entirely on him, though. I was at fault, too." "What happened?" I demanded. "He wanted more souls, he wanted to grow faster, and I epted. I took more jobs withoutying low in between because everything had beeneasyup to that point, and that implied more risk. You know, it only takes one bad job. One bad decision for it all to blow up in your face." She exhaled heavily before continuing. "I got a cold ssh of water on my face and came across a trainer who was stronger than I was. It got Wigglytuff killed." I blinked."You didn''t die?" "Not yet. I didn''t even get hurt. But my starter''s death made me decide to retire. It''s enough to knock the wind out of your sails and make you go from the top of the world to the deepest depths of hell. Dusclops had other ideas. He wanted to evolve, and he was justso close, but I forbade him. I told him that if he went out without my permission and came back a Dusknoir, he''d be on his own from now on for endangering us." For endangering us,not because she was done with killing. As harsh as it may have been, I believed that the death of a Pokemon might have changed who she was, andcouldbe. "Now it''s getting interesting!"Mesprit pped their hands."Go on!" "Dusclops had grown obsessed with me. He never connected much with the rest of the team other than me, and that was partly my fault. He was split between the need to evolve and wanting my attention and love," Mars said dryly. "So he decided he would have both. I would always use him as a guard at night so he could keep watch around the cabin, and even more so now that I thought I had someone after me, but when I woke up, he was a Dusknoir standing right next to me. The next thing I know, I''m dead." "Just¡­ just like that?" She snapped her finger, a twisted sound that carried further than it should have. "Just like that. I don''t know why he waited for me to wake up. Maybe he was psyching himself up to do it, but in the end, he stole my soul, and he did the same for the rest of my Pokemonter. He''d even taken Wigglytuff''s, whichhe hadn''t told me." Her first clenched, digging nails into her palms. "I knew he lusted for power¡ª I knew it was why he had joined me in the first ce, but I never thought he would go thisfar. Nowhe and I were linked forever." "We''re almost there,"Mesprit said. Azelf was close. "So you''ve been trapped inside Dusknoir since then?" I asked. "Yes. He was less of a dick about it than he could have been. It didn''t hurt, and he let me see through his eyesmostdays. He liked using that as a bargaining chipter on. Sometimes I''d get to talk to the people who fell in, too, before the pain started for them. You go a little insane when all you have is you and your thoughts¡­ but I held on. For Mars." Right.Natalia.She was Natalia. Her being able to see and hear from Dusknoir''s perspective exined the fact that she knew my name, though. Mars no doubt bbered about me non-stop to any who would listen. "Dusky used pieces of me to recreate his ideal version of me. The first few attempts were¡­ abominations. Barely human, malformed and they looked like they''d fit right in here." Natalia gestured around the woods. "They only eversted a few hours, but he got better at it, slowly but surely. Every instance of her, he would wipe her memories and drop in shitty situations so he could swoop in and save her to better control her from the jump. He would bring back my Pokemon, too, though none of them behaved like they used to. I could never talk with her unless he carried her inside of him, which he almost never did, and even then, he just made her forget every time, so I gave up." I wanted to fight her on this, but how? There was nothing she could have done. "So I gave in, much to Dusky''s pleasure. I yed the role, acted like I supported everything he did in hopes that I would at least getsomeleniency. And I did¡­ I did really support every Mars. They were just kids who didn''t know any better." "They were mass murderers." "Who were manipted and groomed by all around them," she sharply answered. "But it doesn''t matter, now. They''re gone." "How many of them were there?" "Twenty-three in total," Natalia said. "Thetest was the best iteration and might have actually made it twenty years before shriveling up and dying. I don''t think I''llst that long." We killed Mars before she could even hope to die of old age, thank the Legendaries. "And where does Team Gctic fit into this? How did Dusknoir meet Cyrus?" "Dusknoir still wasn''t satisfied with the clones he made of me. Not only was he trying to make them immortal, they were too¡­ too cartoonish. He wanted a killer, yes, someone he could manipte, yes but not achild, and he was going to use the New World to change her to what he wanted. To really makemewithout any of the bits he disliked. As for Cyrus¡ª" "There!"Mesprit screamed with a hand pointed forward. This ce was no different than the endless stretch of forest which hade before. There was no clearing, no extra spacing in the trees, no light shining down Azelf. Instead, the Guardian was floating next to one of the trees, curled up in a ball with their eyes closed. They were perfectly still. Not even their two tails were swaying. Mesprit dashed their sibling''s way with bright eyes and happiness eschewed on their face. "He met Dusknoir byplete coincidence," Natalia finished. "He found Cyrus while he was exploring some ruins dedicated to the Lake Guardians near route 216." She nudged her chin toward the two Legendaries. "Cyrus beat him, but you know how he talks a fuck ton?" "Uh, I guess?" "Dusknoir heard about this New World thing while he was being beaten to death and it intrigued him. The rest is history, even if they never did fully trust each other. Dusky couldn''t have cared less about the world itself. Just me." Just like Mesprit, the world around Azelf filled in with brilliant colors as the Guardian slowly blinked and awoke. Before they could even talk, Emotion grabbed them by the neck¡ª never mind, that was a hug, albeit a forceful one. Azelf''s annoyed groans were overshadowed by Mesprit''s giggles as they tumbled through the air. "Azelf, Azelf, Azelf!"Mespritughed."I missed you!" Finally, Willpower managed to tear their sibling''s hands away. They didn''t look annoyed like I figured they''d be. In fact, they looked quite satisfied. I thought there''d be some catching up to do, but Azelf instantly grasped the situation, as if just being in the Distortion World was enough to understand everything what was happening. "None of this would have happened if you hadn''t been a meanie to your Shard."Mesprit hung on Azelf''s shoulder from behind, their cheek rubbing against their sibling''s head."You picked her already, what''s the point of giving her the cold shoulder?" "She died. She is no longer a Champion,"Azelf brusquely said."Shards leave you after death. In my controlled state, I simply could not recognize her. Of course I would have opened the door had I done so. And she no longer properly embodies Willpower, now. Her mindset has drastically changed." "She¡ª" I stopped when the God stared at me, tongue-tied. It was hard to defend my girlfriend when I was getting red at by the embodiment of Willpower. Mimi hid behind strands of my hair. "But you still dislike her when she''s entertaining, at least!"Mesprit smiled, clinging tighter to Azelf."You should be friends!" "Absolutely not." Mesprit sighed."You''re such a killjoy!"They flew my way, snatching Mimi from my shoulder."Here, hold this ingot, it''ll make you feel better and cheer you up!"Mesprit shoved Mimi into Azelf''s hands. "Wha¡ª"Azelf held the steel type, staring at them intently. Mimi trembled under their gaze with distressed squeals. Azelf''s face turned utterly calm, and their tails intertwined together until they realized what was happening."Mesprit, what is this?! Why does it hold so much power over me?! It''s just Meltan!" "That''s ingot." "They''re Mimi, actually¡­" I tried to correct. Meltan shrunk in Azelf''s grip. Being so close to their judging eyes was ufortable. "And I''d like it if you gave them back to me." "Ingot''s a very nice and soft Pokemon,"Mesprit said, ignoring Mimi''s name. They grabbed the steel type again and gave them back to me."But it doesn''t like you, apparently. Not like it likes me." "Wh¡ªwhat?" "Our connection is special. Don''t be jealous, Azelf,"Mesprit chided in a condescending tone."Not everyone can be as charming with mortals as I am. I''ll be your ingot from now on!"Theytched to their sibling''s back once more. While the two yed around a bit, Natalia offered me a passing nce. "So? Do I pass and get to live?" I closed my eyes and listened to Mimi warble in my ear. Break the cycle.That was what our bond meant. Yes. I would be a hypocrite if I just killed her now after telling Zoroark to give up on his endless war. "I''m handing you off to the League." Hopefully they''d keep her for a while. Natalia didn''t look entirely satisfied with that answer, but she knew it to be better than the alternative, so she simply grunted in affirmation. Now that Mesprit was finally done, Azelf sighed."Fine. Then let''s go find Uxie¡­" ¡ª This ce. The endless expanse of sky was a gradient of darkening hues, from soft silver at the horizon to a charcoal canopy overhead that masked the shapes of the swirling clouds. Cecilia could see the thin, ckened veins that littered this ce, hiding under every rock, floor or tree. They throbbed and vibrated with each of her steps, though she had long stopped walking. For all this ce made her feel at ease and wee, like a rest stop after a long, arduous walk, even she could not hide from the madness that lurked in every corner. When she had first scouted the edges of the moderately-sized ind she was currently on, she had gotten the urge toJUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP YOU ARE UNWORTHY YOU ARE WORTHLESS NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU AGAIN YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD¡ª she clenched at her forehead and closed her eyes so she could stop her head from spinning. She''d almost gotten up on her lonesome, but Toxicroak and Talonme were here for her. With a retracted w, Toxicroak held a hand over Cecilia''s shoulder while Talonme gently pecked her leg. They were so good to her, even after she had betrayed them. Was she deserving of such love, after failing them again and again? Those thoughts were thankfully not as loud as they had been, so she chased them to the corner of her mind, but she found that keeping the negative sentiments in a locked box had grown exponentially more difficult after her resurrection. It was as if they could act independently ande out of her mouth by their lonesome, now. "Thank you, darlings," she said, stroking Talonme''s back. She would have done the same to Toxicroak, had the fighting type not been prickly about physical contact due to her dry skin. Plus, she was rather jumpy, as one should be in this ce. Talonme was handling the mental toll of being in the Dusk much better than herpanion. Yes, she had figured it out. Beyond her gut feeling, it had been easy enough after she''d seen a group of ghosts hiding below an overhang that swallowed all light. She had tried to talk to them, but they''d let her know thatshe was not wee. That had been expected. She was, after all, an abomination stuck between the mind of a ghost and a girl. That thought was another one she would have usually kept to unfurlter. Her wed face stung when she grimaced. "We can''t stay here, can we?" No, she could not. Just as she was stuck here, the others were as well, and they would grow mad, sooner orter. There was no particr direction she had in mind, nor did she actually know where she was going, but having a n and doingsomethingwas better than rotting here with her thoughts. Mira''s hyperfixation on that waste of oxygen of an uncle was worrisome, but unlike Grace, at least she was fresh. She had made it up the mountain with minimal fighting, and the mental fatigue wasn''t as high. Grace, though, was tired. The kind of tired that gnawed at your very bones and spirit like a parasite. Maylene¡­ The worry that should have been there for her waspletely absent, as if it had never existed in the first ce, and she could not conjure it either. It was not as if Ceciliawantedharm to befall upon her, even if that niceness of hers was so grating (that might change when, orifshe saw her again). She wished that she was safe and sound. It was simply as if Cecilia had forgottenhowto worry for her. The Unovan stood, pushing herself up with her cold, numb hands, and worked to keep her feet steady against the throbbing earth. Talonme tilted her head and squawked, as if to ask how she was going to navigate. "It will have to be Zolst," she deadpanned. Her Talonme was, after all, too small to fly on. "We''ll have to go slow and use you as ab Rattata, I''m afraid, but I''ll recall you if anything goes wrong. I''m sorry to ask so much of you again." Hydreigon''s name had Toxicroak shiver in doubt, then croak out what Cecilia had learned were obscenities. Even Talonme, as level-headed as she usually was, appeared skittish. Her talons sharp scraped harshly against the ground. "He will be angry," Cecilia agreed. "It is his right to be angry and to never think of me as a worthy trainer again, but he is our only hope." They knew she was correct. Before heading to any edges, she would have to familiarize Zolst with this ce, which was going to be tough. The dragon''s Pokeball felt heavy with the weight of her sins, yet he was released all the same. Thest thing the Hydreigon remembered was being released on the seventhyer to be told that she had indeed survived, but before that, he had thrown his entire body toward Lehmhart for daring to execute her n, or in other words, her suicide. Fury lined Zolst''s eyes, and the dragon snarled at her, sending globules of spit at her clothes and bandaged face. Teeth snappedinchesfrom her face, and she could see the beginning of a Dragon Pulse gathering in his central head. This was, of course, all for show, so she barely even flinched. When he noticed where they were, he stopped, eyes squinting, and stared at his surroundings with his six wings fluttering nervously. His heads twitched ufortably, and it was her hand on his cheek that calmed him for a moment. "I don''t expect you to forgive me. That''s okay." His scales were coarse and rough, but they centered her. Her finger passed over the groove of a wound given to him by Skuntank on his neck. "But at least help me. Please." His eyes stayed cold and angry at her, and one of his mouths pulled her hand away from his neck. She felt the teeth dig into her, poking through the fabric of her coat and inneryers. Yet Cecilia knew from the look in his eyes, that he had epted to help, even though their issues werenotover. She didn''t deserve her Pokemon. "Thank you. This ce, it''s¡­" Cecilia exined to him that this was the Dusk, with Talonme and Toxicroak''s help, and she warned Hydreigon of the way it could affect him. Their species were unstable Pokemon, often prone to bouts of rage and destruction, so crossing was going to be tough. She might need to recall him after each one so he could rest and recuperate in his Pokeball. The nearest ind they''d spotted was a simr side to this one, with rivers that went nowhere, yet everywhere, and that changed positions every time she stopped paying attention, reshaping thendscape on a whim in a way that made her head hurt. Trees grew out of the water, their hair-like leaves barely above the riverline, but she couldn''t paytoomuch attention.Out of sight, out of mind.Not a very urate statement, given that this ce had a way of worming its madness into you even if you weren''t paying any attention to it. Everyone had their limit. Eventually, youwouldgo insane. It was just a matter of when. Having recalled Toxicroak so she could take a breather, and looking directly at Hydreigon instead of the emptiness ahead, Cecilia ordered Talonme to fly to the ind in front of them, Pokeball in hand. It was now, that she was forced toLOOKat it, as if her face had been wrested and locked in one direction. LOOK, the Dusk yelled at her. LOOKand allow despair to take you, and why not? Who else would she have after this was over? What had all of this fighting brought her other than opportunities to disappoint the people she cared about? She shouldJUMPand get it over with¡ª A roar from Hydreigon snapped her back to reality. Flight in this dimension was an awkward and difficult affair, and even taming the winds could only do so much against an ever-changing gravity. Talonme took it slow, but even then, she was flipped on her head and starting falling upward until Cecilia recalled her. It was awful and time consuming, but they needed to figure out a safe passage¡ª and that wasifthe air was going to sit still and now permanently change like it looked it was doing. After ten minutes or so of trial and error, a somewhat stable corridor was found. Not wanting to let her chance slip her by, she hoisted herself on top of Hydreigon and the dark type took flight. Ever so suddenly, Every direction she turned looked the same, an infinite expanse of nothingness that offered no sce, no escape,no sense. The feeling of emptiness was profound, a gnawing void that settled deep in her chest. It was as if the very essence of the Distortion World was leeching away at her soul. It was a soul made ofCOWARDICE, for she had seen the possibilities lurking within. Three other pathsid out in front of her, when she had witnessed Dialga. The silence was absolute; a deafening quiet that pressed against her ears and made her own thoughts echo painfully within her mind. There were no sounds of life, no whispers of wind, just an all-epassing void that swallowed every noise but the whispers of the distant spirits that tormented her. Cecilia did her best to ignore the confusing geometries below of inds folding onto themselves as gravity pulled her and Hydreigon to the side. Her hands tightly gripped his upper wings and she nearly hurled when Zolst was thrown like a ragdoll, yet her grip was made of iron. Zolst crashed into a river, and the force of the impact sent her tumbling deep into the water. It was dark, so, so dark. Opening her eyes only revealed a swathe of dark gray currents and bubbles swarming every inch around her head. Water seeped past her bandages, into her wounds and became a part of her, something fuzzy wrapped around her ankles and wrists. FACE IT. YOU BELONG HERE. She fought against it. Pushed and pulled in every direction until exhaustion took hold of her and all of the air in her lungs was gone. She yelled for Zolst, a wordless scream swallowed by the seemingly endless water. It was dragging her down, down, down into the depths that never ended. BREATHE. Cecilia thrashed, but she was going to have to. Her chest felt like it was caving itself in, her lungsbeggedfor relief, the pounding of her heart echoed in her ears and her muscles felt sotight. BREATHE. What was going to happen when she did? Not justdrown. This water wasn''t normal, it would take her andchange her.What was happening to Zolst? BREA¡ª Something cold spread across her body, focused at the end of her limbs, and her slimy shackles shattered like ss. Screams spread throughout the water, and Cecilia gazed upwards. She was no longer sinking¡ª in fact, the surface was growing closer to her on its own. She could tell with the subtle gloom the sky above carried, a light gray to sh against the ckness around her. She emerged from the water and slumped against the harsh shore, hard enough to nearly scrape the skin off her elbows and arms. She felt a nibble on the back of her head and sighed in relief when she recognized the pattern of Zolst''s teeth.He was okay. She coughed for what seemed like an eternity, unable to chase the strange aftertaste out of her mouth. Neither her clothes nor her skin was actually wet, but countless slimy fibers ofdark hairleft the back of her throat with each cough. Around her wrists and legs were the frozen remains of the same hair-like substance making up the leaves of the trees. Her hand went to her Pokeballs and was d to see them still on her belt. When Cecilia finally turned around, she found the outline of a familiar face, fading at her edges. Fross hovered barely an inch above ground, her spectral form flickering with an eerie, diminished light. Spirits and darkened smoke continuously bled off of her like a sieve leaking water, but with a heavy¡­ well, notbreath, but something akin to it, they solidified and clung to her form. She had nearly died again, or worse, but Cecilia barely reacted. She knew she was still flesh and blood, that she could still die just as easily as a normal human, but thefearof it was gone, so there was no tion or relief when she spoke. "Fross?" It was a species'' name, yet the word carried specificmeaning. The difference between a name and a Name. "Is that you?" The ghosts'' head nodded a fraction of an inch, as if each movement conserved energy. "Thank you for saving me, but how¡ª" Another series of coughs interrupted her. "How did you find me?" Fross lethargically moved an arm up and pointed her way.Me?Cecilia thought. Had she had another ghost, they might have been able tomunicate, but as it stood, she had no idea what Fross was saying. Slowkingcouldhave perhaps worked, but he was unconscious and severely wounded. Hydreigon growled at Fross, not aggressively, but in a curious, less gravely tone, and she slowly motioned at the ground, as if to tell them to stay put for the time being. So they listened, and since there was strength in numbers, she released Talonme and Toxicroak again, who were d to see that she was still alive after her crossing. She did not know how much time passed, and they spent it by having Cecilia talk about her trek up the mountain, but Fross was looking a tad healthier now. Moresolid. Still, she had possibly dyed her revival by days to save her, and it showed in how weak she still appeared. The ice type slowly raised an arm and traced a letter in the air. Then another, and another, and for once, Cecilia was d that Lopunny had been so engrossed in online culture that the rest of Denzel''s team had acquired bits and pieces of it through osmosis. It helped with the shortened letters. Ppl not sposed 2 b here. Spirits talk, like mind melds,shing out. They point me the right way. "Okay.Okay," she repeated, with a bit more force.Exhausting,when not directed at hating someone else or herself. "There must be news about the others, then?" Fross'' tired eyes twitched, and she looked annoyed that she would have to use her arms again. Heard Grace and Mira r traveling with Guardians. Safe. Maylene and Charon solo. Cecilia clicked her tongue. Why even bringCharoninto this, as if she would waste her energy trying to find him? Mira, bless her heart, was going to go after him regardless. Years of her quest had culminated to this very moment, and she would not let even the Dusk get in-between her and her uncle. "Are you implying," she coldly began. "That I should try to find Maylene?" Fross slowly shrugged, while Talonme cawed while pping her wings, as if to say thatobviouslythey should go after the defenseless girl without her Pokemon with her. Even Toxicroak, that traitor, just crossed her arms and nodded. Since he was still pissed at her, Zolst also agreed, knowing that it would annoy her. Cecilia felt the bones at her neck give, and her head tilted to the side more than what was healthy as she breathed out a heavy, tired sigh. "Do you know where she is?" Fross answered with a coy smirk.I can figur tht out 4 u =) How like her, to expend energy on a smiley. ¡ª Nowhere to stay. Nowhere to hide. Maylene''s efforts tomakea ce to stay hidden had been met with failure. Through her fear, she channels aura to her fingers. Wisps of cold, blue light that seems to chase away the faded colors of this ce. Her fingers dug, dug, dug into the stone like it was made of sand, yet it kept reforming around her.She needs a hole to crawl in. A hole to stay still. A hole to stay away fromTHEIR EYES. The feeling of being seen was everywhere at once, all around her. She hated being seen, hated being the center of attention,hatedthe way they talked about her performance. Was she worthy? Was sheenough?Did she live up to the expectations of her father? Day in and day out spent working, and she still felt like she didn''t. That she never would. She heard themugh. Giggle like they enjoyed her suffering. The threats, the hatred, the way she could feel each individual stare when she battled, it all came back like a wave crashing over her. So Maylene dug, and when that stopped working, she punched until the ground shook andshed out at her with the twistedugh of her audiences back at the Gym. She could see their faces in the earth, smiles stretching up unnaturally long. How much time had she been digging? Her hands and fingers felt numb, butagain, she was too strong to feel any pain beyond difort. Sofake.You''re like an egg,her father would say.You look tough, but you''re soft inside and too easy to crack, and just with words at that. Get up. Start over.Her head hung in shame, and she replied,"yes sir!" START OVER. She dug. START. OVER. She dug. START! OVER! She failed to dig and sobbed. TOO EASY TO CRACK. WE''LL CONTINUE TOMORROW. "There you are." Maylene froze, but she had been too entranced to scream. For what had felt like an eternity, she had forgotten where she was, and that her Dad hadn''t even been behind her. Why would he evenwanther to dig? Maylene''s hand went up to her face, which she found out was wet. The Gym Leader turned sharply and raised her fists and found Cecilia standing behind her, her Hydreigon, Talonme and Toxicroak in tow, along with what looked like an exhausted-looking Fross slumped against the ground. "No need to act all threatening," Cecilia said. Her voice was¡­ wrong, but seeing a familiar face was still more than Maylene could have hoped for. "Or are you going to strike me?" The displeasure on her face was clear. In other, non world-defining event circumstances, Maylene might have saidsomething, but not only that, but she had alsodied and came back. That fact, plus the fact that they were in some kind of strange dimension (the dpidated Fross had her thinking it was the Dusk, but she wasn''t certain) meant that she could always forgive. Having already lowered her fists, Maylene answered, "I''m¡­ sorry, I was seeing and hearing things. You startled me." Cecilia frowned."Maybe I should have waited for you to tear your fingers off, then." "That''s not what I¡ª" The dark-skinned Unovan took a fewmanding steps forward. Cecilia towered over her, even when her back and shoulders were hunched and her neck was craned down at her. Maylene remembered doing some reading on Cecilia''s family, before she even got involved with the League, because her brother wasMark Obel. Anyone would have been at leastsomewhatcurious. The Obels were a family of giants, with even the women often growing over six feet tall. Cecilia had not been an exception to that rule, and the white eyes and the bloody, bandaged face made her even more intimidating. Maylene could have snapped her in half if she wanted, even in her tired state, but she was still unnerving. "Listen, I¡ª we''ve gotten off the wrong foot since your death." Arceus, it felt weird to say that, but was true. To Grace at least, she was still rtively normal, though with some quirks, but toher?"But like, I think we can start over and figure out¡ª" "No." "...no?" "No," Cecilia said again. "Now, there are two options avable to us. I have petitioned Denzel''s Fross¡ª" Who wasdead, so this was definitely the Dusk. "¡ªand she canmunicate with dead ghosts or spirits to figure out where the others are. They are safe." Maylene''s breathed a sigh of relief at that. She hadn''t had the opportunity to worry, but the thought of Grace going as insane as she had been made her queasy. That girl hadmany demons ready to be unburied. She felt bad for not worrying for Mira as much, but she knew her far less. "She needs time to rest regardless, but we either we wait here for them to reachus, which they should be able to with Mesprit and Uxie, or we could use thest of their energy to try to get closer to one of them." Fross rolled her eyes and slumped even further, but nodded. "What about Azelf?" Maylene asked. She saw her Pokemon freeze first, and then Talonme patted a wing on her trainer''s lower back. She only realized she''d put a foot in her mouth when Cecilia''s face contorted into a mixture of pain and rage. "Why, thank you for reminding me of my failures," she sharply hissed. "No matter what happened to Azelf, they won''te for me. Theyhateme. The little potential I had, I squandered by giving up when fighting Jupiter, and I lost nearly my entire Shard for it.I might have doomed the world because of it." She stared down at her feet. "Sorry. That''s not what I meant, I was just wondering." Silence settled in. Creeping doubts came back to haunt her, and she hugged herself in a search forfort. "Just¡­ decide," Cecilia said. For the first time in a long while, Maylene gazed past Cecilia and observed the expanse beyond her small, featureless ind. A pit in her stomach formed, and she felt a sudden pull. In a way, her nightmarish visions of her father might have saved her from a worse fate. And she''dcrossedit on her Hydreigon? Without a harness, or without losing herself to¡­ toeverything? Maylene wasn''t sure if she was capable of that feat. "We can wait, if that''s not too much. I don''t think I can handle going out there," she muttered. "I offered you the choice, so yes, you''re good," Cecilia said. She dropped down on the floor so suddenly Maylene thought she was passing out, but instead, she decided to sit. The floor vibrated below her, but she didn''t seem to care much. After her episode, Maylene wanted the least amount of contact with the ground possible. Cecilia stayed silent, hugging her knees and eyes blinking too few times to be natural. It reminded her of Grace in battle, though the cause was different here. Maylene had seen how intense her stare could get when she was fighting during the battle with Mars or with Saturn, where she managed to keep track of so much it would have been dizzying for her without aura. Silence settled in for the two of them, though the Pokemon kept speaking among themselves. Hydreigon kept sneaking in enraged stares at his trainer while Talonme and Toxicroak mostly chatted together Im a way that made her miss her own Pokemon. Even if it felt good being around people, the silencewasawkward. Maylene had always been an extrovert.She had to be, or her father never would have let her hear the end of it. Silence in a conversation, to her, was the sign of her screwing upsomewhere. "Did you¡­ did you see those visions? About, um, alternate timelines, I think those were?" She fiddled her thumbs and fingers, waiting for an answer, but Cecilia just quietly stared up ahead. "I did. It was¡ª it feels like a dream now, but I know the three other me''s were real.I spoke to them." Finally, a reaction, though a subtle one. Cecilia nced her way. "You too, then? What¡­ when did it split, for you?" "It''s a bit weird," she said. "Actually, thinking back on it, it makes sense, but in the moment, I guess I didn''t know she had such an impact on me. Grace, that is." Herpanion''s eye twitched, and she went back to staring off into the distance. "Of course,that''s it," she muttered, just loud enough to hear. Then, she scoffed. "Your Gym Battle." Just when Maylene had been about to keep going, their ind began to shake and move, as if it had a mind of its own. It was difficult to tellwhichdirection it was going exactly. Maylene struggled to figure out if it was up, down, right or left. She''d lost all sense of direction. It was toote to even contemte moving, now. Getting off the ind when it was moving was basically suicide, ording to Cecilia, andshe''dbeen the one to travel in-between them, so Maylene was inclined to believe her. "I kept¡ª kept ending up different depending on how Grace battled me, I guess. One of them, she was nice and lost, the other, she¡­" Maylene stopped. It hadn''t beenher, that beatdown had happened to, but it still angered her just thinking about it. "She did something way worse than what happened in our timeline. I don''t want to talk about it or believe that was her." She gulped, remembering how that Maylene had screamed at her for evendaringto think of Grace as a friend. "The other, she didn''te to battle me at all," Maylene finished. "And?" "And what?" Cecilia ran a hand over Talonme''s feathers, and the flying type let out a satisfied coo that the Distortion World turned into an unpleasant, awful grind. "Did it teach you anything about yourself?" "Well, that I made the right choice taking a break regardless, given how the one that didn''t ended up so¡­ hollowed out." Maylene barely recognized her own self, with how exhausted she had carried herself. "And that Grace could have been my worst enemy or one of my best friends. Closer than even Nia or Candice, apparently." That Maylene hadreally, reallyliked Grace. Though implying that she wasn''t already one felt unpleasant. She had to hold back, though, they''d only really gotten to know each other for a week. Arceus, a single week¡ª or even less if you only counted their ascent up the mountain when they''d met up. It felt like years. "What about yours?" She quickly cleared her throat with a fist in front of her mouth. "If you don''t mind sharing." Again, Maylene was met with silence, leaving her only with the Dusk''s diforting, howling winds, but it onlysted about twenty seconds until Toxicroak shook her head in disappointment. "It''s not like there''s anything else to do," Cecilia said. "Mine is, for better or worse, not linked with Grace at all," she finished that sentence through gnashing teeth. "Though shewaspresent at the time. I used to have this friend, Amy Saunier, who I grew up with. It would be more urate to call her a Seviper." Amy Saunier¡­ didn''t really ring a bell. "Who she is doesn''t matter," Cecilia said, as if she could read her confusion."What she did to me is what matters,and how I responded to it." Maylene had known about Cecilia''s attempt to escape to Mount Cor back when she''d been in Eterna City, since it had made the news. Trainers lost in a cave with no confirmation of whether they were dead or alive made for a very good story, as awful as that sounded. She also knew now that Cecilia had spent so many months talking about her father''s abuse that it washim, who had pushed her to run. What shehadn''tknown, was that it had been a failed suicide attempt. She''d never mentioned that in any of the interviews or online posts she''d made on the matter. "Amy, thatsnake," she seethed, "told me that Abel was going toe for me, and that I could either surrender or be subject to mind control. My reaction to these news is where the split happened." A clenched fist shook above her thigh. "Did you know, that of the three, I am the only one who gave up?" Before Maylene could even say anything, Cecilia kept rambling, more animated than she''d been since she had found her. "Oh, all of them ran away, of course, but not todie. One took Grace with her, and they stayed on the run for months while our friends helped us with supplies by dropping them off for us. The other went alone, without saying anything¡ª nning to fake her death to protect her friends, and thest also went alone, after telling her friendswhyshe was doing so." She was nearly out of breath. "All of them hoped toe back eventually, when they were stronger or the government or policeactuallydid something. I ran off in hopes of dying. I just¡­ gave up." "But you fought back!" Maylene tried. "You¡ª" "Don''t give me that. You don''t know a thing about me." Maylene''s head jerked back, as if she''d been struck."I know a thing or two about bad fathers,"she glowered. Calling him abusive¡­ no, that felt wrong. It made her feel guilty. "I¡ªI understand beingsuffocateduntil you want to run away, even if¡ª even if it never got as far as mind control for me." Cecilia''s face returned to its neutral, nk expression. "I suppose you do. I''d kill mine next year, if I could get away with it, but that''s never happening." Oh. Right. Sometimes she forgot who it was, she was talking to. In a way, Maylene wished she was as free from her dad as Cecilia was from hers. She seemed so¡­ what was the word? Independent, maybe. She didn''t care what he thought of her any longer or what he had to say about her. The ind had stopped moving, by now, or at least she thought so. The conversation had ended in an awkward spot. Maylene was content to chat with Cecilia''s Pokemon instead, even if she barely understood what was being said. Better that than let the thoughtse back. It was a sudden reaction from Cecilia, that had her turn toward the vast expanse of nothing beyond their t, little ind. Something¡ª no, apathstretched up from under them, but it looked wrong. All bendy and twisty, as if the material had been molded like fabric.Gracefollowed suit soon after, walking upside down on the path with Meltan in her arms, and she beamed at the sight of them. A d, yet weary smile that was difficult not to return.So bright.It looked good on her. Sheer relief flooded Maylene''s veins, though that could onlyst so long in the Dusk, apparently. Even Cecilia''s face turned pleasant, and she allowed a smile of her own to stretch across her face, one that faltered as soon as she saw who else was with Grace. Following her were Mesprit, Azelf, and a woman who Maylene didn''t recognize¡ª no¡­that was Mars!Had she regenerated in the Dusk since she was kind of a ghost? Since Grace didn''t look worried, Maylene didn''t get into a fighting stance. Cecilia could barely stand to look straight when Azelf was staring at her with a piercing gaze that made even Maylene want to look away. A nudge from Mesprit made the Guardian huff. "Human,"Willpower greeted. "Legends above, I was so fucking worried," Grace sighed. Meltan jumped off her, and she went to hug Cecilia first, a tight and long affair that the Unovan eagerly reciprocated. "Are you okay? Did you see anything¡ª uh, bad? Visions and the like?" She turned to Cecilia''s Pokemon. "How are you guys? AndFross!I hope your first trip to the Dusk is treating you alright." The ghost, as tired as she was, giggled with a slight nod. They all made small talk while Mesprit hung onto the back of Azelf''s neck. Maylene couldn''t help but re at Mars, who met her gaze with a sickening, haughty smirk. Grace clicked her tongue. "Don''t mind her¡ª here." Maylene froze when Grace hugged her, and as one and done and friendly as it was, she barely had time to react. The warmth stuck around, buzzing inside of her. Grace pped her hands. "I guess I have some exining to do! Here''s what happened¡­" ¡ª Finally,Mira had found him. Despite being wounded and his body hurting all over, Uncle Ernie was standing upright. His body swayed like a de of grass in the wind in-between two of those creepy ass trees, and he kept muttering things under his breath. Ordinarily, her other selves would have crowed within her mind, but they were all but gone, as if the Distortion World had scared them away. Like it had wanted her to be alone. She hesitantly approached her uncle, who seemed to not even be able to see her, even when she waved a hand in front of her face. Dried blood had dribbled down his chin¡ª from those coughs she''d been worrying about. They really needed to get that checked out as soon as possible. Magnezone emitted a low, resonant hum that she could barely recognize, in this ce. He had been her primarypanion before Uxie showed up. Psychics like kazam and Gardevoir were too vulnerable, here, and Genger kept wanting to go explore on his own, swearing thatno,he totally wouldn''t get lost. "I''m sorry Marie. I''m sorry. I''m so sorry. I''m sorry, Marie, please forgive me¡ª" Pain spread throughout her chest. That was her mother''s name, but was he actually seeing her? "We took too long. He was alone and couldn''t keep the wool over his eyes forever,"Uxie said, hovering around Charon''s head. They''d found Mira not long after she had appeared here and filled her in on everything she needed to know about the Distortion World, or Giratina''s realm. Of the countless spirits swarming this ce, a lot were prone to grow jealous of seeinglifeagain, which was anathema to this dimension, so they would group up and harass you. Make you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things to make your mind fray, and that wasn''t even counting the dizzying and maddening way this world functioned. Sometimes, these spirits amalgamated, joining as one to create a true ghost, but that was rarer than not and required coordination and agreement that was rarely ever there. They weren''t actuallypeople. They were all of the negative remains a person or Pokemon would leave behind after passing on. The more tragic your death was, the moreweightyou left behind. Yeah, Uxie liked to rant and teach people about new things. "Hold on, let me¡­" Mira closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her uncle''s brain shone like a star¡ª "Mira, do not!"Uxie''s yell broke her concentration and wrested her out of Charon''s memories. "Wha¡ª" "I''m protecting you,"the Guardian chided, flicking her forehead. Ow."It''s not just about memories of your deceased parent, but also about not being able to handle what he''s seen." "Can''t you just wipe those memories like we''ve been doing?" she asked. Supposedly, she''d been shaken by the Distortion World''s effects three times, now, but after each instance, Uxie had insisted on ridding her of those traumatizing visions. She hadn''t refused. It made navigating through this a whole lot easier. "If I want tochangehim when this is all over, than I need practice!" It was difficult not to let anger reach her tone, which Uxie could parse through. "It sucks, but you aren''t¡ª" She sucked in air through her teeth. "You aren''t going to be here forever. I wish you were, but you aren''t." Uxie quietly observed her through closed eyelids before running a ceramic-like arm through her hair and around her ear.Mimicry,she told herself. They justwantto be like Arceus, to be able to love and care for every living being, but they didn''t really care that much. "If you really want, I can do it right this instant. I could go beyond just returning him to a sane state and put a geas in his mind that would have him forget Team Gctic as soon as he exits the Distortion World, or after a certain amount of time passes, or as soon as you say a specific word." The words took a few seconds to register.Of course,she''d known as soon as Uxie found her that this was an option. There would only be a narrowpse of time where they would be freed from their slumber, and there was quite literallyno better person to askin the entire world. This wouldn''t be like the hasty, brutal processes done by the League''s Kadabra. It''d be like¡­ well, justforgetting. Permanent memory loss, and maybe filling in the nks with new, fake stuff so he wouldn''t question where thest few years of his life had gone. The reason she hadn''t asked was, well. It was scary. It wasn''t about what was right or wrong, or not having his consent. The truth was, she had let go of that long ago, though the thought of her friends judging her for it was still ufortable. She wasn''t reluctant to use her powers either. She''d fiddled around with it far too much to care any longer, and she wasn''t about to be a criminal, digging around strangers'' memories. It was a conversation she''d had with her other selves, that had given her pause. The ones she''d seen because of Dialga. "It would be best if you hurried. My siblings are nearby and moving fast, and bringing your friends along." Would he really be the same person, after it? At first, she fought. Ofcourse, he would be. He would be the same person he''d beenbeforeGctic. But then, she thought about it.Reallythought about it. Let''s say, she took the memories from before he ran off to join Team Gctic. That was still the same person who had been depressed, hurt,bitterenough to join the organization in the first ce. The same man who had neglected her for months and left her starving so much she stole school lunches in her backpack to eat for dinner, always cold, tasteless and soggy. Ok, then what about going further, when he''d still been trying to code an AI of her mother with his Porygon''s help? Would he keep doing that, until he gave up and realized that there was no path forward? Was the right answer then, to take away memories of that project too? How far back would they need to go? Until he didn''t even remember who Mira''s mother had been? Or maybe, make him forgethow muchhe loved his own sister. And at that point, well, her own words rang out in her head again. Would he really be the same person, after it? It was just¡­ a whole can of worms that she wasn''t ready or qualified to deal with. She was beginning to think that¡ª That the best path forward was to heal. "Um, just¡­ get him back to how he was before the Distortion World, please," she said. The words tasted like ash in her mouth. Months of nning, suffering and hard work just to give up at the finish line. "Erase whatever he''s seen to make him like this." "Are you certain?"Uxie pondered. "Yeah¡­" "Very well. I do not understand, but I will respect your choice, Mira. That is what He would do,"Uxie said with the hint of a smile."Look away." She hastily listened, as did Magnezone, turning away from Uxie as fast as they could. She imagined the Guardian opening their eyes and staring into Charon''s, making him forget whatever they wanted with a nce. Terrifying. She heard a slump. "It''s done." Just like that? It hadn''t barely taken three seconds! Ernest was lying on his side, having copsed to the ground and gone unconscious. "No matter how careful I am, altering memories remains a traumatic event,"Uxie said."Combined with the wounds he suffered, your uncle will most likely be unconscious for the next few days." Mira nodded, and her eyes went blurry. "Uxie I¡ª thank you so much." The Guardian''s eyeridge rose a smidge."Was that really enough to warrant tears of joy?" "I think so," she cried. It wasn''t what she''d wanted at the beginning of everything, but it was¡­ Closure. ¡ª Now that we were in such arge group, Pokemon, people and Gods included, there were no incidents the Distortion World could throw at us we weren''t capable of solving. Azelf and Mesprit handled travels (it took a few crossings to get Maylene over the fear of falling), and if a person found themselves enthralled by something, be it a strange tree or rock formation, the void oranything, we were here to pull them out of it. ording to Mesprit, we were getting close to Uxie, and both they and Mira were approaching us, too, at a slower pace. The situation was tense, as I''d expected. Telling Mira and Cece about Natalia had assuaged their worries some, but just like me, they knew they were facing a killer for hire who had been evil enough to birth Mars. After seeing Beast in Dialga''s dimension and having a little time to think, I was a little less quick to judge her for that ''mistake'', even if I still despised her guts and how smug she was about everything. Every time I confronted her about it, she would just respond with "I''m justsohappy to be alive," in a way so obnoxious I could actuallyhear itsome. At least Cecilia wasn''t picking on Maylene anymore. I''d been surprised to find them together, but Fross had really pulled her weight. To fill the dead air and chase the madness away, the topic of timelines came up. Cecilia seemed reluctant to share, even if she did so, and her recounting showed me that Ireallyneeded to be there for her after all of this was over, which would hopefully be sooner rather thanter. I''d hang on her arm and give her reassurances, which had her smile, but that was a stop-gap measure. She needed to learn how to love herself again. Maylene''s timelines had been intrinsically linked to mine, it turned out. She had seen herself interacting with Beast and Virtuous, ornotinteracting until the very end, in Anguished''s case. She''d been such a footnote in her life that Anguished hadn''t even bothered remembering her. Her idea that we''d been best friends and she hadn''t gotten a crush on Virtuous was unexpected. Maybe the Maylene in that timeline hadn''t even realized it, and that was why? Either way, I didn''t bother mentioning it, since it didn''t matter. We were never going to see those timelines again, and those were people very different from us. I was nothing like Virtuous, even if¡ª and it hurt to think this¡ª I sympathized a little. It''d be awkward handling a crush with so much going on. Actually, it had been an emotion even deeper than that. I wasn''t a good person like Virtuous was.Trying, yes, but I was not there. Plus, we''d just reached Mira, Magnezone, Uxie, and an unconscious Charon that Cecilia sneered at. The old man was getting carried by her Gengar, who seemed right at home here and whose grin was as wide as his entire body. I was d that he was in on of his more¡­ presentable, non-horrifying forms. I sped Mira in a hug, and she quietly thanked me. Physical contact was still something she craved. The idea that this was nearly over was giving me some sort of second wind. I just wanted to get out of here at all costs, and see the sun again. Uxie groaned when Mesprit tackled them at full force, saying that they would teach their sibling the greatness of hugs while Azelf grumbled that this behavior was below them. I hadn''t seen themin when Mesprit had been riding their back, though. We caught each other up on what had been going on as fast as possible, and Mira was the only one who seemed okay with Natalia''s existence. The mercenary was content to stay quiet while we spoke about ns, unwilling to push her luckthatmuch. That self restraint wasn''t something Mars would have had. "So, Uxie, I''ll let you do the honors," Mira said. A hint of a smile shed on the God''s face."To leave the Distortion World in a riftrge enough to fit us, we will need to petition Giratina."Maylene shuffled nervously at that idea, and Natalia swore under her breath."With me and my siblings, it will be possible. It will just be a matter of how well we''ve conducted ourselves during our stay, and from your memories, I see that no one has misbehaved that egregiously. Mesprit, you have done well guiding Grace Pastel." Woah. It felt weird having them justuse my namelike that. Also, I decided to ignore the fact that they''d scanned our memories so quickly or without asking anything. I held onto Cece''s hand, knowing that it would be unpleasant for her. Mesprit pouted and crossed their arms."Why did you expect the worst from me? Azelf was too busy brooding in the woods." "I was being controlled, you¡ª" "Do not worry, Azelf,"Uxie interrupted."You did well, too." Willpower looked away, satisfied with thepliment but unwilling to say so."Hmph." Strangely enough, they became morepersonablewhen interacting with each other. It was like seeing three actual siblings interact. Uxie exined that since Giratina was hanging about, it was only a matter of getting his attention to get an audience. Of course, we''d be a few inds away with our heads turned. Just beingnearhis true body was enough to go insane, and if possible, no one wanted Uxie messing with their brains, unlike Mira. "I guess that only leaves us with finding Cynth," Maylene said, much to Natalia''s displeasure. She wantedout, and yesterday. "Since Fross found Cecilia, she can do the same thing andmunicate with the spirits to ask." "I could have just made them tell us,"Azelf grouched."Giratina wouldn''t like it, though, so go ahead, ghost." Just those words had been enough to makemewant to go, even if it hadn''t been amand using the Voice or intended at me. Frosszily floated away toward an alcove, havingsomewhatrecovered some of her energy. That bit of ice she had used to save Cecilia had taken a lot out of her, and I hoped the effect in our world wouldn''t be too bad. The question was: How was Cynthia doing, and where the hell was Cyrus?
Distortion III Distortion III
A/N: General trigger warning, this chapter gets somewhat dark and some scenes might be unpleasant to read. DISTORTION III The cold, dead air rushed past Garchomp''s scales, seemingly doing everything in its flimsy power to slow her down. Ordinarily, this would have been the second, no, the third best feeling in the world, right behind battling an equal foe and Cynthia massaging her scales after a long day spent training or battling. Flying so quickly the beautiful world below passed you by in an instant was one of Garchomp''s pleasures in life, but this world was anything but pretty. With squinting eyes protected by a thin, transparent membrane, she scanned the terrain below her. Even at the speeds she was going at, the dragon found no difficulty taking note of any interesting features she saw. An upside-down mountain constantly spewing smoke out of the crater at its summit was her most recent interesting find, but she passed it in only a few seconds as a shockwave rattled her scales and made her ears painfully pop. Normally, they would have been closed off to protect her while she flew, but she was desperate to hear one of her teammates¡ª or more importantly, her sister call her. There had been nothing so far but wind and pestsining in her ears. Even now. Garchomp felt the weight of the dead press down on her back. She heard the constant screams, the aching jealousy, the need to dig at pain in her past to make her relive it all over again. The first time, it had worked. She''d luckily crashed into a wooded area a few miles below her due to how unexpected it had all been, but she''d caught herself and only hit the ground fast enough to bruise. Garchomp had only been truly terrified a few times in her life. The first time they''d met Spiritomb at the bottom of that well shortly after Cynthia had be the Champion had been one of those times. In a way, Spiritomb''s mere presence worked like this ce, only on a smaller scale and less intense. She had grown used to it, after so many years. The second instance, it had annoyed her and forced Garchomp to fly slower. The third time and beyond? Draconic energy coursed through the dragon type''s body like gushing water, bursting from the narrow gap in her scales. The air around her shimmered as the raw power of draconic forces surged from deep within her core. Ghostly visages in the corner of her vision turned from twisted pleasure to a mix of anger and apprehension; screams meant to remind her about the fear she''d felt in her life slowly shifted to reverence. Memories of her fighting that Zangoose as a baby alone with Cynthia, burned within her mind and turned into proof that she was just better. Today, it was like breathing to her, but it took aplex process to truly master. With a final flex, she expelled all of it at once. It was enough to make the living die from her mere presence, if they were astronomically weaker than her. For these spirits? They simply stopped clinging to her scales and allowed her to keep going. Every energy, I''ve found, can serve multiple purposes, and they have ovep with each other, her sister''s younger voice rang out in her head. Garchomp could still smell the old paper Cynthia kept her thousands of pages of notes on. Luckily for you, you only have to worry about one thing. You''re a prodigy at making people bend to your will, but it won''t be enough for this fight. The calculus is simple, really. For us to win against Radetic, you have to be indomitable. And that is what she would strive to embody. Still, there was nothing. She''d been looking for hours now as fast as she could, and there was still nothing. They''d all been close, when that massive thing had draped its wings over them, but they''d been scattered all throughout the Dusk. With her speed, she could cover a lot of distance, but she had to look everywhere, not just in a t ne, and Spiritomb had been annoyingly closed off whenever anyone asked anything about the Dusk. Not that they''d died many times anyway. Angry at herck of progress, the dragon ttened her wings against her sides and threw herself into a dive. She heard the quiet wind whistle past her ears until she entered the ground of an ind like it was liquid. She emerged from the bottom in a burst of dust, rocks and angry echoes of the dead. It was time to turn back and search the perimeter lower in the Dusk. It was possibly going to take days, but eventually, she would find someone. There was only so far they could have gone. At least the brat had probably found someone by now. ¡­maybe it''d be best to stay still for a few minutes to give him time to find her, if he''d been looking for her. Actually, knowing him, Garchomp was the one he would attempt to find first if he couldn''t catch or distinguish Cynthia''s emotions due to the Dusk''s effects. Garchomp dove again, but this time, it was tond. Her arrival created a small crater in the tform thatshed back out at her with pulsating red light¡ª she roared at it until her chest vibrated and heated up with draconic energy, mostly in frustration at herck of progress, but it didn''t flinch back. It wrapped around her ankles in an attempt to drag her down until she wed it apart, again and again. Her arms blurred, the ground shivered at each strike and turquoise light raked across the earth with every Dragon w, but the ground wouldn''t let her go. She''d had enough. In a second, she could feel every inch of ground below her. She could push and pull, vibrate the earth together into massive Earthquakes¡ª C??E???A???S??E?? Something squeezed Garchomp''s heart. An invisible force that brushed against the organ with a delicate touch that she intrinsically knew could be deadly. In a sh, she saw a shadow in the corner of her vision that was gone as soon as she noticed. It was a feeling, that lingered as soon as the moment passed. The sensation of long, wed tendrils grazing past her scales and into her flesh. The pain that had left as soon as it hade, and the forgetfulness of what she''d seen left Garchomp shaken. There was a gap in her memory, but that absence was just as terrifying to her as the alternative. The ground type stayed there, frozen, feeling like a child having been caught disobeying their parent. That¡ª That had been no spirit. No jealous echo attempting to drag her into the maw of death. Garchomp found it better for her sanity to move on as best as she could. And to listen, of course. If she didn''t, well¡ª There was always someone stronger than you, and her instincts screamed that she could be eradicated with a single look. Blinking to unblur her vision, she saw a flicker of white in the sky, like a blinking light. As much as it pained to admit her, seeing the brat appear in this instant had her rx just a tiny bit. The flickering surprised her, though. Togekiss was nearly as fast as her when he slipped away from the world, and this would just slow him down. She''d been ready to scold him, but the reason became apparent as they drew closer. A tiny gust of blizzard was following close behind him. Of course, ceon was here too. Leave it to her luck to have the two most annoying members of her family find her first. Why couldn''t it have been Lucario or Braviary? Togekissnded next to her without a single sound and a bright smile. Even his presence soothed her a little bit, despite the fact that there was only so much he could do in the Dusk. ceon was the third fastest flier in the team, so keeping up with Togekiss wasn''t much of an issue. Snowpacted into crystalline ice, which came together and rebuilt ceon. The ice type stared off into the distance at nothing in particr. She tended to be distant and disconnected, after transforming for too long. You''ve been making quite the emotionalmotion. Togekiss smiled and patted the dragon on the back with a wing. She brushed him off. That pulse of fear I felting from here was great at getting us to find you! It''s a good thing you were so terrified, but I wonder, the fairy type paused, what''s got you so scared? Your legs are still trembling. Garchomp red at him. Oh, she knew he didn''t mean to press her buttons. There was unfortunately not one mean bone in the brat''s body, and he was genuinely curious. Felt something warn me when I''d been about to destroy an ind with an earthquake, she dryly said, turning away from them due to the slight embarrassment. She was the leader of the team. Scared wasn''t supposed to be in her vocabry. It''s difficult to remember. Don''t mention it again. The sooner I forget, the better. Are you going to be okay? Do you need a little help from yours truly? Togekiss'' peaceful aura intensified mildly. It was what he always did to get Cynthia to sleep. We need to take a break regardless. cia''s still a bit out of it. ceon blinked when she heard Togekiss'' name for her, but she did not react. No, I''ll be fine. I need to fight something, sheined. Nothing like the thrill of the hunt to get her going. Well, you''ll be happy to know that I know where Cyrus and his gathering are! Togekiss'' wings pped excitedly. Garchomp grinned. Good job, brat. Finally. Some action. ¡ª What had been the odds of finding Cyrus and his ilk without that annoyance Spiritomb to yell at her? High with Togekiss, apparently. He wasn''t a baby anymore, but it was difficult for her to think of him as anything other than an annoying infant who had always wanted attention or to train with her. After ncing at Togekiss overhead, Garchomp stomped her way toward the edge of the ind, at a craggy cliff that was too straight to be natural, and her eyes narrowed at the group below her. The human who''d caused her sister so much trouble was sitting right there, arms outstretched as if the Dusk was a pleasant ce and not just an annoyance. With him were his Pokemon¡ª Weak. Weak was the first thing she noticed,pared to her, at least. She felt it deep in her flesh, that she would be able to win in a fight against each and every member of his team. A ratherrge Absol whom had spotted her instantly, a Honchkrow flying a few feet above the man himself, a Crobat hanging onto his shoulder. Then, the rest of his Pokemon were a little separated. A Gyarados was slithering against the ground like a snake, patrolling the edges of his massive tform. Garchomp couldn''t make out what Pokemon wasst, however she was certain that something else was lurking in the shadows within the small woods to the ind''s east. A Houndoom was hisstpanion, the second one to notice her. This one barked and alerted the others. Garchomp was many things, but she wasn''t good at hiding like ceon or Togekiss. She felt a chill, and then a small cloud of blizzard spread out next to her,pacting into tightened shards of ice that once more turned into ceon, whose back arched as shezily stretched from the tiny amount of exertion. Togekissnded to her right without a sound, flickering back into view. What''s the verdict? Togekiss hummed in his usual sing-song voice. Even the Dusk couldn''t turn it into something that unpleasant. The ground type quietly observed Cyrus'' Pokemon, who were in the process of spreading out into some kind of formation, tight at the back to protect Cyrus, with the speediest members in front being more spread out. It was arge ind, after all. One mile, maybe one and a half. She wasn''t good with measurements. There was a small, dense forest to the east where that final Pokemon still remained concealed, nds in the center where Cyrus stood, and a strange undting hill to the west that reminded her of waves in the ocean where Gyarados was currently stationed. She''d never really been one for tactics¡ª or she had been, but those were no longer really necessary given the number of brilliant minds better than her in her family. Her so-called opponents were silent, watching them with wary eyes and clearly expecting the worst. Cyrus didn''t even bother paying any attention to them. That ticked her off, some, but not enough to set her off like it might have, once. I could go in there and handle them myself, Garchomp finally replied. There was an understanding between them, that Garchomp was simply the best at gauging strength. But I''ll take ceon with me just in case it gets dicey. Of course you''d take me, thezy thingined with drooping ears and a drawn out yawn. Garchomp did not deem that worthy of an answer. Togekiss'' wings tightened to his sides. I suppose you''d have me look for the others, then. Well, of course. Garchomp just grunted, again not even bothering with a response. The little upstart was smart enough to know that he was the only one of the three capable of finding his mother and theirpanions. Lucario would be second, but they had no idea where he was and while he could fly, he''d do a pisspoor job of it here, where conditions were so unstable. Togekiss sighed. Fine. Discourteous as always, even when we''re in the literalnd of the dead. ceon strolled toward Togekiss, rubbing her cold body against the flying type''s feathers as a farewell. As Togekiss spread her wings, Garchomp growled, still not looking at him behind her. Be careful, she warned. This time, she deigned to nce. Togekiss'' eyes fluttered. Was that worry? he gasped. cia, did¡ª Don''t let it get to your head, the dragon interrupted. Her foot shifted against the ground as she prepared her jump. Now scram before I eat you and leave nothing behind but your bloodied fur. That used to work, when he was a baby. Now? He justughed and took flight without a single vibration in the air. My dear family, I leave you with this! he screamed. Yet she could barely hear him. ceon whispered aint about Togekiss showing off too much, and for once, Garchomp agreed with that hellion. The fairy type flickered in the ominous winds¡ª And disappeared without a trace. Garchomp''s brain desperately mmored that he had never been there despite her knowing that the opposite was true. Belief was a powerful force that could spread to others, even if she had long gotten used to his crap. Usually she could just beat it out of him and win anyway. She noticed Absol bark out something Braviary would have been able to hear, and Cyrus'' Pokemon barely had any time to react. The front of the ind burst alight with sparkling pink, and the sound hit Garchomp a fraction of a secondter. The bombardment spread throughout the tform in a sh, and enormous plumes of mour rose like pirs of smoke that masked the impacts from the second volley. The air crackled purple with the intertwining of spirits attempting to fight this foreign influence, and they screamed until the mour had all been eaten away. The ground, torn and ravaged, bore deep craters and fissures save for the hill in the west which was slowly reforming, but the Pokemon themselves had survived the onught. Garchomp didn''t really bother checking which was hurt and which wasn''t, though the upturned forest did reveal that Cyrus''st Pokemon was a Weavile. Not bad, kid. Not bad. Talk about extra, ceon grumbled. Can you deal with this on your own? Please? I''ll let you sleep on my shoulders if you do well, Garchomp said. The ice type grinned, and frost began to leak with every breath. Let''s kill these guys, Garchomp! Ha. Garchomp wasn''t smiling right now, she simply needed to sh her teeth to look threatening to her enemies below. The moment passed. It was at times like these that Garchomp was d she could let loose once in a while without caring about coteral damage. Or caring much about it, at least. So long as she didn''t go too ham and do something like try to copse an ind again, she''d probably be fine. The dragon crouched low against the ground, flexed as energy channeled through her legs. She broke any conceptions of limits she might have, be it strength her body could not attain, speed her wings could not carry her at, the toughness of her scales, and she jumped, leaving a massive crater behind her that smoldered with turquoise wisps and mes. ceon''sints faded behind her, and shended on the next ind before any of her enemies could blink. Right. She needed to be scary at times like these. Garchomp let out a roar that vibrated in her chest and watched Weavile and Houndoom flinch with a pleased eye. She immediately drew upon fire, feeling her scales heat up as blue mes overtook her, and she rushed toward Houndoom as soon as Weavile took up a defensive position. The weakling hound hadn''t expected her to target him with mes, and she wasn''t. Infusing the fire with draconic energy, Garchomp raised a w before mming it against the dog''s spine. She frowned when the Dragon Rush only hit dissolving shadows and quickly side stepped a beam of iceing from behind her. Houndoom was quicker than she''d given it credit for. She stomped another foot against the ground and felt the earth ripple against her feet. She could sense the pathetic dark type squirming in the shadows. An eruption of earth kicked the Houndoom out of the ground and she jumped into the sky to feint a strike. As soon as Crobat dashed to stop her, foaming poison at its mouth, Garchomp twisted in the air and pushed herself toward Weavile, whose eyes widened at her maneuverability in the air. The dragon moved her wings quickly in front of her, and a shockwave infused with turquoise light stunned Weavile long enough for Garchomp to slice her wing through her shoulder like it was made of y. To Garchomp, time always seemed to slow in the most violent moments of a battle. There was might behind her strike. The power of an unbeatable Pokemon; of an indomitable spirit; of a natural disaster; of what being a dragon meant to her; of Cynthia''s Garchomp. The smell of blood filled her nose, and her instincts told her to go for the neck and start spinning while she dragged her under the earth. She wouldn''t need to go that far. Ah, Weavile''s reaction time had been so great, still. Enough for frost to start spewing out of her like a torrent. Not enough. What a shame, too. Who knew, another five years and maybe she would have made for a decent fight. She''d felt the resistance of Weavile''s sinewy flesh slowly give way, and the subtle crunch as her ws tore through the muscle and into the bone. The ice type''s face had gone from terrified to agonized in a moment, and she was only now registering what had happened. A guttural roar of pain erupted from Weavile, mingling with the savage satisfaction that coursed through Garchomp''s veins. In a smooth motion, she dug her wing away from the Weavile and turned toward the wounded Houndoom and furious Crobat. Behind her, Weavile slumped to the ground and groaned in pain. Thought even you would all give me a better fight than that after your dodge, hound, Garchomp said, almost wishful. They did not answer, for they knew their fate was already sealed. ¡ª The ground trembled as the massive form of Gyarados loomed over ceon, its serpentine body coiling with the intent to strike. Tail. The ice type caught the flicker of movement, the angling of the strike so it could hit her nk while the Gyarados gathered a Dark Pulse within its mouth. Instead of hitting her, the darkness wrapped around the tail right as it swung. ceon dissolved into a tiny patch of blizzard right as Gyarados'' darkened tail was about to strike her. The sensation was still as surreal as the first time she''d ever managed the transformation after months of intense focus and training that was really annoying because of how hard she''d needed to work. It was, in one sentence, like melting into the essence of Winter itself. Winter was, of course, cold, but it was distant. Turning into a small part of it meant the dulling of the senses. ceon felt weightless, almost omnipresent. Through small shards of crystal ice, she could track the movements of Gyarados, Absol and Honchkrow even though she no longer could see. She was a relentless, howling wind that cut through skin, fat, muscle and bone. The chill that gripped you to your core and left you unable to move your limbs while you died alone in a blizzard after the winds extinguished your fire. Winter was a weakening force, and so Gyarados'' strike slowed to a mind-numbing pace until its tail went limp on the ground and ceon reformed on top of it before she could lose more of herself. Absol followed suit, jumping on the water type as it blurred in her direction, and Honchkrowunched countless arcs of darkness toward her. Honestly, what a bother. Synced with her boredom andziness, the temperature plummeted. The darkness froze and cracked like distorted ss into a thousand pieces and Absol''s legs stuck to Gyarados'' hide. Once an enemy was still and entirely within her field of vision for an extended period of time, it was over. ceon looked, channeling Winter through her eyes. Frost crawled over Absol''s fur and sank past the skin. She could see it freeze every blood vessel in ce, every organ, every inch of muscle, and it continued until he was nothing but ice. ceon jumped with a burst of ice below her feet. The air around the ice type sharpened with a distorted squawk from Honchkrow, slicing her hide with more darkness in an attempt to cut off the well of Winter. It was shallower, in the Dusk, but it was only that. An attempt. And a meaningless one at that. What it had done was essentially try to block the flow of a massive river with a boulder a fraction of its width. Slower this time, she turned to a blizzard that enveloped Honchkrow until it crashed to the ground and ceon pierced its chest with ance borne of Winter, created directly inside of the crow''s body. She flexed her body, freezing her wounds over, and turned toward Gyarados with an exasperated groan. If you surrender and act dead, I''ll spare you, ceon lied. Really, she wanted the serpent toy down so she couldnce it in the head without any issues. Gyarados bellowed, I won''t let you touch my master. The sound of her voice had ceon tten her ears in mild irritation. Gah! They were making her work for this. Why did they even love a man who could never return that feeling, anyway? ceon would have given it some thought, but that''d take too much brain power and Garchomp''s shoulders were calling. ¡ª Man, as a species, was wed. The world, as it had been crafted by Arceus'' thousand hands, was wed. Cyrus believed he''d be the one to fix it all, one day. That he alone would usher this world into a new era that would shed any unnecessary parts these so-called Gods had brought into the world. He, alone, had been born as a wless being. One capable of seeing through the veil that was emotion which made the world so repugnant. And he hade so close. Dialga had been within his grasp, with Palkia about to breach into their reality within moments. Had that thing, the Ruler of the Dusk, not intervened, he would have won. Everything would have been unmade and he would be in the process of rebuilding the world. From nothing would havee all he had ever wanted. Yet, This Dusk, as ghosts called it, was not so bad, either. He had been aware of its existence, of course, but a Legend ruling it had not been in any of what he had learned. Nearly two decades spent on the road, exploring every ruin,bing through every library, getting his hands on ssified information through Charon''s Rotom, and still, he had been left with this gaping blind spot. But what was this world? Cyrus'' hands were no longer outstretched. Instead, he had ced him behind his back and had begun pacing near the fuzzy edge of this islet. Behind him, he could hear the sound of fighting, but no matter. His Pokemon had served him well and were no longer of use. At first, he had beenpelled to leave as soon as possible. To regroup, start over and escape the region until he could rebuild his strength enough. Maybe far north in the Battle Frontier, where the League''s authority stretched thin. He had since changed his mind. First of all, it was quiet. So, so quiet. There was the sound of screaming emanating all throughout, but this was a different kind of quiet. No, unlike in the old world, individual words and sounds were indistinguishable, forming aforting white noise that was essentially silence. It was so¡­ uniform. No more, did he have to hear the chaotic and disunited re that he had somehow grown used to. He could hear himself think and ponder without having to stay locked in his office for days on end. It was visually chaotic, but if he closed his eyes and stopped to think, Cyrus could be at peace. His Pokemon had warned him of spirits hounding them, before the Champion''s team hade, but none of that had happened to him. Second, this world being the Dusk meant that there would be a certain permanence to it. That it would remain with him, forever, unchanged in its current state. This was a world without spirit, a world that Cyrus had craved for decades. It was as if he was meant to be here. As if the Dusk''s ruler had seen how great his endeavor truly was and wanted to show him that there was a ce for him among its dimension. Third. If he was the only person who would remain here, would that not make him a God? Would the shadowy figure who ruled this world not elevate him until he grew in power? It had invited him here, after all. He was worthy of being more. Not Arceus, not Dialga, Palkia, the Lake Guardians or any other Legendary. He deserved all of it, and he was about to get it. Cyrus forcefully exhaled, satisfied with himself. It was just in time, too, because he could hear Garchomp''s heavy and distorted steps slowly approach behind him. Team Gctic''s leader turned, hands still behind his back and fist tightly wound around one of his wrists. Ah, Cynthia Collins. The owner of a team so powerful his Absol''s disaster sense had red up as soon as they''d approached. The ceon was pristine like crystalline ice, and Garchomp had been shallowly wounded on the arms, torso and legs due to poison, and blood and guts covered her. The corpses of his team had been strewn about the ind, half of them frozen like statues and the other torn to shreds. Nowhere near enough to hope for a victory, and that just against two members of the Champion''s team. Truly, she had reached the pinnacle of what it meant to be a trainer. Ah, but he was getting side tracked. Both Pokemon were talking among themselves, fighting about something. "If you must strike me down, know that¡ª" Garchomp growled at him, a deep, guttural and savage sound that barely contained her bloodlust. A warning that Cyrus decided to ignore. "¡ªI have been invited here by the Dusk''s ruler itself." Cyrus took a step forward and ignored his instincts telling him that he was about to die. "You will find yourself constrained and unable to strike." ceon rolled her eyes, seemingly giving up on holding Garchomp back, and¡ª Cyrus felt wind rush past his face. He saw a green blur, his ears popped from the air being disced at such speeds, yet Cyrus stared straight ahead without blinking. Garchomp''s wing was just a few inches from his neck, yet it was frozen in ce. Its sharpened teeth chattered and its entire body had been gripped by fear. Cyrus knew what that meant. His hypothesis had been right. He could not be killed. Cyrus allowed his body to rx and untense, quietly slipping away from Garchomp''s wing before he returned to stare at the endless, formless void that spread in every direction. He threw each of his empty Pokeballs one by one, ignoring ceon''s chatter behind him, and enjoyed a sense of peace he had never felt before. This was his ce. He had finally found it. ¡ª Togekiss was in high enough spirits to hum one of his favorite songs. The flying type spun around in a barrel roll as he flew, reaching the limits of his speed. His fur slicked back against his skin, and his song broke into a giggle. Oh, the spirits tried to cling to him, they always did, those poor things! Togekiss called out to them in an attempt to listen to their pleas. It was the best way to draw them in, after all! The flying type felt something cold crawl through his skin, but he waited until enough weight had been added and they tried to find what made him tick to spring to action. He rxed a part of him he hadn''t even known was tense. Muscle memory had worked through that sensation. Like opening a valve to allow air to pass, positive emotions began to leak out of Togekiss'' body. A veritable flood that these echoes hadn''t felt in who knew how many years. Rejoice, lost ones, for I havee to bless you! Togekissughed. They wailed, wailed and wailed, as if they''d been singed by fire. His mere presence was enough to help those poor souls remember what joy and love was. Kill them with kindness, as always. That should have bought him a few minutes until they tried something else. Thesest few hours, he had learned that usually when they saw such arge portion of their kin being beaten back, they instinctively retreated for a while. The fairy zipped past an ind shaped like an indescribable shape, molded in the form of an impossible figure that he thought in too few dimensions to understand. Finding someone here was like finding a needle in a haystack. The only reason he had managed to find cia so quickly was because she''d turned herself into a massive blizzard that Giratina had warned her to cease. Luckily they''d been close enough together for him to spot her beforehand, and he had wrung the fear out of her like liquid out of a sponge. That primal fear had been stronger than anything else in the vicinity and was easy enough to locate. Leviathan had been the same, but was clearly embarrassed about it. Levi had always been like that. She wanted to look strong for the others, as the leader of the team. It made seeing her soft side all the more special¡ª Togekiss saw a smudge of red below him, traveling at rather low speeds. His eyesight wasn''t as good as his other family members, but he easily recognized Braviary. Luck was on his side, it seemed. He had always been too lucky for it to be natural. His mother called it an ability. Braveheart! the fairy type eximed with a bright smile. He dove down, just as Levi had taught him when he had just evolved, and broke the sound barrier. Yet there was no shockwave to be heard. For all intents and purposes, Togekiss did not exist at the moment. He made no sound when he pped his wings, or spoke, and no eyes could perceive his form. This was belief pushed to its absolute limit. Even when mother had be the Champion, he had only been able to diffuse his t through multiple versions of Moonst, but they had not stayed idle since. With a deep breath, the fairy type slowed down and flickered in and out of the air in an attempt to remember what existing felt like. At the first blink, Braviary noticed him. Togekiss could feel her hunter''s gaze like a physical thing. He''d grown used to it by now, so he shook off the feeling of being prey in an instant. She was astute as always. It was only as he got closer to her that he noticed the patch of vibrant colors all over the plumage. Flowers had grown to and fro, most of them on her back and head. They were of every color, shining brighter here than the surroundings as if they had influence of their own, but this could only be¡ª Togekiss turned upside down, keeping himself afloat without moving his wings, and noticed Roserade hanging onto one of Braveheart''s talon by a thread of flowery vines attached to her bouquet. Ah, of course, that must have been why Braviary was moving slower than usual. Lycoris! Braveheart! What happened¡ª The Braviary cut him off, each p of her wings generating so much wind he struggled to keep his eyes open. We passed by a turbulent area, she squawked. Roserade nearly fell off of me. And of course, she wasn''t getting back on. Probably because Braveheart was still too skittish about getting people to ride her due to her previous experiences working with Unova''s Rangers. Lycoris didn''t look like she minded, though, with that usual amused smirk stered on her face and her constant humming he had picked up from her growing up. Lycoris winked, and Togekiss felt the back of his head prickle. A flower was growing on him, no doubt. For when you leave, my baby boy, the grass type said in her usual soft tone. A tracker. Good. Shouldn''t you let her back on. Togekiss worryingly circled Roserade. She blew a kiss at him. I''ll be fine, little bundle of joy. Lycoris hoisted herself a few feet until she was right under Braviary. Now, what''s going on? Togekiss exined the situation as fast as he could, and seeing the genuine relief on their faces when they heard that cia and Leviathan were safe was enough to have him tear up. He peppered them with positivity so their minds could steer clear of any negative influence they must have had from flying this long, and Lycoris exined that the flowers would ward evil away from them¡ª for a time. They also doubled as a way to pretty up Braviary, who was forced to deal with it for the time being. Togekiss had to agree that those flowers looked great on her! But now, it was time for more serious matters. I have to look for Cynthia. Togekiss did not really call her mom or mother out loud that often, because it meant that they would keep babying him. He was over twenty years old, for Arceus'' sake! It was done out of affection, but it could get grating, after a while. Only the newer members of the team like Braveheart who hadn''t seen him as a baby refrained from doing so. Roserade, read my mind, if you will. Still hanging over that same permeating emptiness below, the poison type closed her eyes as Togekiss visualized the path he had taken toe here in broad strokes. It would not be foolproof in the Dusk, since some inds sometimes randomly started moving, and navigating it in general was a pain, but it would be better than having nothing to go off of. She was no psychic, and Cynthia''s team had none, but Mind Reader had its uses, even outside of battle. I worry for Milotic. Knowing her, she''s probably moving water around, Braveheart noted with a snap of her beak. She might be lost in her own little world. Roserade rotated, observing the world around her. Below them, slightly off-center, was a water current flowing uphill instead of downhill. Rather banal for the Duskpared to what Togekiss had seen, all things considered, but that mere abnormality could have Cascade getting lost in her own head for hours, and that was without the mental effects of the Dusk. If I find her on the way, I''ll take care of her, Togekiss agreed. But you should look for her and the others after gathering with Levi and cia. They should be done turning Cyrus and his gathering into a state of non-existence. Goodbyes were exchanged, Lycoris was allowed onto Braveheart''s back once more as an exception, and they went their separate ways, with a crown of flowers still attached tightly on Togekiss'' head. Lycoris'' presence felt reassuring on him, and given that it had actually grown from his skin and used his blood for essential nutrients, it was anchored hard there without much risk of falling off due to his speed or the changing gravity. But even after searching for long, after attempting to question dead ghosts and only being met with silence, after starting to grow tired due to how far he had exerted his empathy; it was as he scoured the Dusk for answers, that he came across a bundle of emotion so powerful to his senses that they almost blinded him. It was an unfathomablyrge torrent of every single feeling imaginable that he was surprised he had even managed to miss until now. And it was then that he saw them. People. ¡ª With Fross and Gengar tomunicate with ghosts andmute with spirits and the Lake Guardians to use their senses, we had a pretty good idea of where Cynthia was. Plus, with all three of thembined, traveling through the Distortion World had grown to be annoying rather than impossibly hard. It almost felt normal, too. Fross and Gengar were like fish in the water, and thetter had taken over to stop Denzel''s Pokemon from exerting too much of herself. They''d never interacted much before this outside ofrge gatherings or parties, but they quickly became friends. The Guardians were happy to be traveling together atst and were savoring every single moment they could. Uxie had to shut down a suggestion from Mesprit to take detours so they could be freed longer. It was depressing to think that they would have to lock themselves back into theirkes when we returned to the real world. Mimi hung inside of my inner jacket above my neckline, happy to have been returned to a more familiar spot. Cecilia had recalled Hydreigon and Talonme, opting to only remain with Toxicroak due to the difficulty they were having flying around. Plus, Hydreigon wasn''t exactly in the best of moods¡­ As for the people, well¡ª Natalia was apparently a heavy conversationalist, because she kept trying to strike up talks with me, Cecilia, Mira or Maylene. Cecilia would re at her like she was worth less than nothing and Maylene wasn''t any better, opting to treat her like a prisoner more than anything else. She''d give short answers and tell her to just keep walking. Mira just wanted nothing to do with her. As for me? I was the most amenable, but that didn''t mean much. Of course, she was still horrible and irritating, and the simrities to Mars make me ufortable, but I was at least responding to some of the things she was asking. Small talk, mostly. I had a feeling that it was kind of a defensive mechanism for her to ignore how nervous she was, both at our circumstances and the thought of having to get near Giratina, but also due to her uncertain fate afterwards. There was no atonement, no yearning to be better now that she''d been given a new chance in her quite yet, or at least I hoped it woulde. I''d never been as bad as her, but I too, had been given a second chance. If there came a time where I''d need to argue in her favor to spare her, well¡­ I wasn''t sure what I''d do. I hoped I would stop the League from killing her, if it came to that. "Ah. Something living is following us." Mesprit utched from Azelf''s back and turned to stare at the sky above us. Since we were in the mid transit between two inds, none of us did the same. It was better not to take any chances. Their siblings were slower, but they also looked in the same direction. "Togekiss¡­? Ah, your Champion''s, yes!" Mesprit eximed. "I was trying to suppress myself, but he''s found me regardless." Cynthia''s Togekiss? I nearly turned to look as well, but a "no, stop!" from Maylene kept me staring right ahead until we reached solid ground. Even after seeing so many, we still came across disturbing ones sometimes, a sign that the Distortion World would never really grow familiar. You couldn''t beat it, just survive it. Trees were bent inward to support another ind above the one we stood on, and the stone underneath it was cracked and brittle. I couldn''t shake the feeling that it was going to fall on us any time soon. Really, it was as if the process had already begun, but it had been stopped right before the copse could truly begin. Togekissnded without a sound. He bowed to the Guardians immediately, yet even the bristling of his fur was inaudible. His eyes were barely open, as if he was looking at something bright¡ª empathy while looking at Mesprit, maybe? How in the world was he using it in here, amidst all these negative emotions? The mere thought of trying again brought a lump to the back of my throat. No thank you. The pattern on Cynthia''s Togekiss was different than Princess'', since it was inherited through the one they''d been born with on their egg. The fur on his stomach was dotted by far fewer red and blue shapes than hers was¡ª it was something I''d noticed the first time I''d seen him, but I had never really paid any mind to it because Princess hadn''t been a Togekiss yet. On his head was a flower crown. The shape was somewhat circr, and was an intricate arrangement of flowers of every color that immediately drew the eye. The blooms had been delicate yet striking and sharp, with petals curling upward in an unusual way. Their roots were buried in the fur and were bloodshot red. You could almost forget there was even a Togekiss there in the first ce. Maylene quickly found herself next to the fairy type with a sigh of relief and a hug. Right, they actually knew each other. Togekiss patted her on the back with a wing with a hum that sounded like the best thing in the world. It had been a while since I''d actually heard something so clear, and even then the Dusk still found ways to twist the voice. It was a different kind of crisp than the Guardians, who were also clearer than the norm. Something a lot more familiar, and therefore a lot more dear to my heart. I''d missed this. Almost instinctively, I''d wanted to take the lead in the conversation, but Mesprit shushed me and spoke first. "State your query, Togekiss!" He bowed once again, thanking them for their generosity and kindness, then exined that he was looking for Cynthia and the rest of his team. Already, he knew of ceon, Garchomp, Braviary and Roserade''s safety, but Cynthia had ten Pokemon¡ª eleven, now, with Zoroark, though she had not released him on Spear Pir. He''d corrected himself on multiple asions due to referring to them by actual names, which was¡­ not strange for a fairy, but considering that Cynthia herself had not used these anytime I''d heard her speak in interviews or in real life, it still gave me some whish. We all tensed when we heard that he had found Cyrus and that he''d sed Garchomp and ceon onto them. Even Natalia brought her hands down from behind her head and ced them limp against her sides. Was that fear? Fear of Cyrus? Cecilia nudged my elbow just in case I hadn''t caught it, but I had. "We''re looking for Cynth right now," Maylene said as she caressed Togekiss'' wing. She really dug her fingers in there, something that Princess would have found annoying, but by the look on his face, he liked it. "We should be getting close, at least ording to those three." She nudged her head toward the three Legendaries apanying us. "You''re free toe with us, if you want." Togekiss beamed, calling her warmhearted along with numerous otherpliments. He knew, however, that the answery in Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf''s opinions, not ours. They were our guides, but they were also kind of in charge of the group. "I do not see any reason to refuse," Uxie said. They looked at Azelf. "What?" they demanded so forcefully I felt the need to apologize. Knowledge tilted their head to the side. "...nothing." "Don''t think so little of me! I refuse to allow it!" Togekiss was happy enough to join us after that. The sooner we were off this ind, the better I''d feel. It was honestly getting a bit difficult to breathe. There was a constant weight pressing down my chest and shoulders as if stone had begun to bear down on me, and it was making it difficult to breathe, even more so when I looked up. We''d been in here for hours, yet I hadn''t even begun to scratch the surface of how many types of fucked this ce could make you feel. But at least we were going away now. I was surprised to see how quickly Togekiss could go in this environment. Sometimes he would slow down or ''trip'' in the air, forck of a better word, due to the changing gravity, but he recovered in an instant. Nothing like Cecilia''s Talonme or Hydreigon who had to be recalled when it happened. He also did this¡­ thing where he would flicker, and he would almost slip my mind. Every time he reappeared, he would be further along than I thought he should have been, but I didn''t know if that was a trick of the mind or actually real. I''d seen some of his battles when researching what Togekiss as a species were capable of, even if Cynthia didn''t have that many avable to the public, and he had never showcased anything like this. Then again, maybe she''d never needed to go all out in those matches anyway. Aside from¡­ Leon, I believed Denzel had told me, the newest Grian Champion, Champions tended to keep their intricate strategies under wraps. It was better for the popce atrge and foreign Leagues to be unsure about exactly how strong Champions were or had grown since ascending to their position for a slew of reasons he had listed. I remembered most of them, like deterrence. International rtions and geopolitics weren''t really my thing and was more Cecilia''s speed. I was more hoping to get involved in the local and environmental side of things. The only reason we knew more about Leon than the others was because he was new and Gym Battles being automatically public was a rtively new thing everywhere but Gr (that was still not a thing in Indigo, much to Denzel''s chagrin), and their culture in general leaned more of the showmatch angle of things, with a penchant for the spectacr to impress audiences in their massive stadiums. But I was getting distracted. Which was good, because it meant that I was actually in a sound state of mind. Things had felt lighter since we''d left that ind and Cynthia''s Togekiss had been around. He was a reassuring presence, but not extraordinary. He was like sitting on a couch under the covers on a cold, winter day with a cup of chocte while watching your favorite show. And everyone was better off for it. I might have protested normally, but I was so tired that I just wanted out. When we found Cynthia, her back facing us, it was with Zoroark posturing at her threateningly. As far as where she''d been, she was lucky it was one of the more normal inds without much going for them, save for a few ledges that changed height everytime you didn''t look at them and a hole in its center. She was eerily silent as Togekiss swept down tond in-between her and Zoroark, whose wispy red hair flowed in the ghostly wind. Had she released him on her own and taken her chances to not go insane? Zoroark cackled at Togekiss, but didn''t use Lakhutia''s king''s head to speak. Instead, he stayed in his original form with a twistedugh which came from deep within. He must have seen this ce hundreds, maybe even thousands of times in the past. I supposed that it used to be a ce of respite for him until it slowly turned into somewhere where his anger could magnify and stew. Togekiss kept his smile stered on his face. It did not change a single millimeter, but it exuded a very clear threat. Azelf asked if they needed to banish Zoroark. It would not be interference, given that he wasn''t dead and wasn''t supposed to be here, but Togekiss kindly told him that he had this handled. Something told me that if Azelf''s siblings hadn''t been there, they would have done it anyway. Maylene, Cecilia and I all surrounded Cynthia¡ª and I was d to see Cece worrying for someone she wasn''t close to other than me and her team¡ª and found her to be¡­ Responsive. Her eyes were shut so tightly they wrinkled at their edges, and each breath was slow and methodical, but she grasped the fact that we were here. Cynthia''s fingers went for Maylene''s arm, snatching it in a vise grip. Then, it moved onto her shoulders. "Maylene," she recognized instantly. Her voice was shaky and quiet. So quiet. As if she was scared that something would hear her and kill her if she was too outspoken. In this moment, the Champion sounded more like a scared little girl than who I''d learned to know and somewhat understand. "I''m d you''re safe. Who else is there?" The Gym Leader listed our names as fast as she could. She too, was shaken at her image of Cynthia having been shattered so easily. "Cynth, wh¡ªwhat happened to you?" she hesitantly asked, before ncing at Zoroark. "Why won''t you open your eyes?" "She saw his reflection," Uxie exined. "She is the one who called Giratina here, after all." What? Uxie''s words rang out in my mind a few times before I managed to make sense of them. Maylene stumbled back, unable toprehend how a human being could summon such a powerful being. Cecilia''s back straightened, and for the first time since I''d found here again in the Distortion World, it felt like she was actually fully alert and her mind wasn''t wandering anywhere else. "I suppose," Cynthia wrung her hands together tightly, "that I have some exining to do." ¡ª Togekiss hummed, casting a nce his trainer''s way before he turned back to Zoroark''s wispy form. The ghost was seemingly pleased with himself, as if he took great pleasure from his mother''s suffering. Togekiss could not understand such a mindset. The flying type tilted his head and his eyes narrowed, not in ire, but in a genuine need to understand. In the few weeks Zoroark had been with them, he had attempted to kill a member of his family or Cynthia herself nearly every single time he had been released. That was seventy-seven times, in total, but it would have been more had Cynthia not been so busy all the time. So as his mother exined to the children why and how exactly she had summoned that beast called Giratina, Togekiss figured the hug he longed for could wait, and he stared down at the ghost as he pondered a single question. Why did you not kill her? he asked out loud. There were answers he was ready for, such as ''you would have found me and killed me for good''. Granted, Togekiss was uncertain that Zoroark would have minded a permanent end. Naturally, Togekiss would have been haunted for the rest of his life. Been unable to get even a wink of sleep, lest a powerful ghost catch him off-guard. He was confident he would have been able to avoid death for a few months, but eventually, one of the Primordials who had forged the Covenant in the first ce would havee after him, and he doubted that he would have been able to keep it at bay for long. Or at least, that is what Spiritomb believed. Like all ghosts, Chorus had always been stingy to give information about the Dusk, but when Cynthia had asked him months ago about a method to kill Spiritomb permanently, that is what they focused on specifically. The futility of it all. Zoroarkughed again and stared down at his ws in contemtion, as if he himself did not know. He had been aggressively leaning toward her, but never had Togekiss felt the intent to harm. Or a more urate statement would be to say that never had it been an actual serious possibility. But while Togekiss could feel emotions, he was no Shard of Mesprit. He could not delve deep enough into him to understand the reasons behind what he felt, only feel it. He had honed himself to be a receptacle to emotion. Hm, Zoroark curiously said. Indeed, I pondered it¡ª deeply pondered it¡ª when she set me free from my confinement as soon as she entered the Dusk. When I jumped at her, my ws poised upon her delicate neck, I paused for a moment and beheld her trembling form. He stopped, then took a deep breath and raised his tone, red fur shing. And why should I have refrained? Here in the Dusk, at the zenith of my might, I could draw upon inexhaustible strength to perhaps outrun and escape from all of you. None of you would have been present to interfere in the actual murder. Zoroark threw his hands up in frustration and stared at the endless void above. The myriad of inds floating everywhere, some moving, some still. The countless spirits gathered, exchanging emotions, ideas and clumping together like mas. A howling, yet deathly silent wind intensified around them. I wish to cast abominable filth at all of you. To make you vile, and make you a spectacle, Zoroark said, shivering with hatred he could barely control. But then I paused to ponder, has she shown me aught but kindness and understanding since our paths first crossed? Has she cast thee or thy ilk against me after each pitiable, failed attempt to end her life? No, Togekiss simply answered. The ghost stared nkly above. In the end, she summoned our Sovereign, to whom we owe all, and in Lakhutia, I was naught but a pawn in the grand game of kings. A mere ything to torment and sacrifice, to secure favorable omens. He looked at Grace Pastel, for a moment, and continued, s, I fear I am nothing, in the end. So very small. And yet, have my countless cycles of death and rebirth been for naught? Dost thouprehend the emptiness that wouldst engulf me, to know that I had squandered so much time battling my sworn enemy simply because it was the only path I knew? He nced at Meltan, huddled in Grace''s jacket, who was using her hair as a cover to hide from him. There was a long pause as he ced a hand over his chest. Yes. I know how that feels now, he realized. I am nothing. Empty. But I wish to be something. Happy, I believe. I have never been¡­ that. I do not know if I can be that. Togekiss blinked. He''d never been able to distinguish anything other than hatreding from Zoroark. He hadn''t even tried to influence his emotions, because Cynthia had warned him not to. There were a few members of his family who would always refuse his help. Lucario, Eelektross and Braviary, though the Distortion World had called for desperate measures for Braveheart. And yet, Zoroark hade to this conclusion on his own. You''ll feel empty for a while. Togekiss smiled¡ª a reassuring, soft gesture meant to coddle and not taunt. But being empty is good, my child. If you are empty, you can fit anything inside of you. It is better to be empty, if you want to change, the fairy cheered. Zoroark''s eyes widened. Be at peace, Halcyon. I will teach you what it means to be happy, when we get out of here. I will teach you to find joy as much in the little things as in the great things. I will teach you until you fit the meaning of your name. Togekiss gently outstretched a wing his way. We will help you, my friend. Halcyon did not sp his wing. But he did not disagree with the proposal, either. ¡ª "Listen, Cynthia. We can¡ª we can have Uxie fix you up when this is all over." Mira''s voice was quick, almost panicked. "They can take away memories of whatever you saw." Calling the situation not ideal would have been overselling it. Cynthia, the Champion, who would need to be seen as a guiding light when this was all over, was too terrified to open her eyes because she saw it every time she did so. Azelf had noted that they were surprised she could even function any longer. Her mind was stronger than most he''d seen¡ª it had to be, to have her job. Cecilia side-eyed Charon, still unconscious in Gengar''s solid arms. "Won''t she be knocked out like your uncle?" "Only for a few days," she said. "The region will be at its most fragile," Cece countered. "In fact, it already is. I doubt people missed the huge rift opening in the sky." "Bertha can take over her duties¡ª the other members of the Elite Four are there for a reason." Mira''s eye twitched. She was talking like this was a foregone conclusion and we were just wasting time. "We can¡ª we can sell it like, uh," she rapidly snapped her fingers in irritation, "like she got hurt fighting Team Gctic and needed a few days to recover. This is our only opportunity. When we''re out, Uxie will leave forever." The Guardian nodded along with her words. Azelf, for their part, looked uninterested "Flint, Aaron and Craig went to fight Regice," Cece smoothly countered. "They seeded in taking it down, but for all we know, one or all of them could be dead." "You''re falling into your negative spiral again¡ª" She interrupted me. "It is not about a negative spiral. It is simply using the information we have at our disposal and making an educated guess. She had to turn the country into a one-man-show this year. What do you think happens when that person is just gone for who knows how many days after a crisis asrge as this one?" "We should¡­ see what she has to say about it," I said. The Champion had been utterly still after telling us Maylene spoke up, "Can we stop talking like she''s not right here? Cynth, what do you think?" She gently rubbed the Champion''s back. Sinnoh''s strongest, reduced to this. She mumbled something under her breath. Something like ''I don''t want to see'' or ''It can see me''. I shared a look with Mira, then Maylene and Cecilia. Cynthia, as it stood, was in no mental state to actually make that decision. Hell, it was looking like she could barely speak of anything that wasn''t Giratina, as if it had consumed her mind. Like it had overgrown and overtaken every inch of her thinking space. Once that sunk in, Cecilia changed her mind. She''d believed that Cynthia could perhaps recover with Togekiss here to smooth things over, but she was too far gone, now. I was still ufortable with the idea, and so was Maylene, but this was¡­ Mira was correct. But it actually was not our decision. "Togekiss?" I called out. He''d been speaking with Zoroark, which I''d only caught slivers off due to not paying attention. I''d been a tad nervous, but if he hadn''t killed Cynthia before, I doubted he''de after us, and even if he did, Togekiss was there to help. The fairy type turned toward us, and finally allowed himself to get close to Cynthia. His two wings wrapped themselves around his trainer''s sides, and Cynthia''s shivering ceased for a moment. Her hand touched her Pokemon''s crest. "Togekiss." She copsed¡ª never mind, crouched and hugged him as tightly as she could. At least her legs still worked fine. "There you are. Thank the Legends, you''re safe," she exhaled, almost in disbelief. Mesprit humbly responded with an enthusiastic ''no problem!'' "And thank the Legendaries my gambit worked, too." She clenched tightly at her child''s fur, releasing the pressure she''d been carrying for a year. "We did it. We salvaged it." A few tears rolled down her cheeks. "I''m¡ª I''m going to be an aunt." Oh. She was a person, too. Just a person. Color returned to her face, as if her Pokemon could center her, even if she still spoke like a terrified child seeing shapes in the dark where there were none. It had never been about us. Togekiss gently told her about the Pokemon he had already found. Having spent so long with her Pokemon, she knew exactly what he said and how he meant it. "The others should be safe¡­ I worry for¡ª for Milotic," Cynthia forced out. "Her mind will wander, and she won''t realize this ce is dangerous until it''s toote." We tried to speak up about the decision, but Togekiss shushed us. I was left ying trantor and telling the others what the hell was being said. Even in the face of his trainer and mother having a mental breakdown, Togekiss stayed a positive and optimistic force. After reassuring him about Milotic, saying that they''d look for her right now, he finally asked her the question. Did she, or did she not, want to have the memories of Giratina''s reflection wiped away so she could start fresh. "You know me," she said. "At the very core of who I am, I desire to know why. Why the world works the way that it does." That statement was more confident than any other she''d made since we''d found her, and I knew it rang true. It was her, after all, who had once told me that she was d there were still mysteries for her to solve even if that meant humanity was in more danger for it. "I caught a glimpse of Giratina''s reflection. I know what its true form looks like." She flinched, expecting to be struck down. She was not. "I don''t want that taken away from me." I''d never imagined she could be this greedy. Not in a bad way (though this might backfire on her), but to be willing to put her wants ahead of what could be deemed best for Sinnoh. You kind of had to be like that, to be willing to summon Giratina when thest time it had tried to influence our world it had been to end it. Cynthia opened her eyes. "I will push through this and recover where Volo failed," she dered with a triumphant look. "Thank you, Togekiss." "How moving!" Mesprit celebrated, pping their hands. "We''ll see how you cope when Togekiss isn''t sting you with happy thoughts that would be enough to turn anyone else delirious, though. I''m interested!" The Champion smiled. "Mesprit. I don''t believe we''ve met in an official capacity." She turned to the others. "Azelf, Uxie. And¡­" Then, to Natalia. The amber-haired woman hadzily ced her hands behind her head for that entire debate about erasing memories, but she straightened up when the Champion spoke to her. This was the person who would decide how to deal with her, after all. "Natalia Ivanova," she hoarsely said. "Dusknoir''s newly liberated prisoner." "Interesting," Cynthia said. "I suppose you can exin it on the way to find my team¡­ and Cyrus." And so, the group erged once more. ¡ª Finding Cynthia''s Pokemon one by one had been like ying a game of Whack-a-Drilbur. Mesprit took over Togekiss'' empath duties, much to his relief, so he could focus fully on keeping Cynthia''s head on her shoulders. Then, again, with Mira''s Gengar, we got pointed in the correct direction. Fross had to be left behind due to spending too much energy moving, but we would see her again in a week, or maybe two. Spiritomb was the one we first found, and the easiest, since the ghost could scantily move on his own. They''d been patiently waiting in their keystone, which Cynthia ced back into her pocket. ording to her, Spiritomb hated the Dusk. The way the spirits cried out constantly reminded them too much of how the 108 people they''d been forged from suffered to create them. Thest time they''d died was when Cynthia had first caught them, nearly two decades ago, and they intended to keep things that way. Milotic was next. The water type had been enthralled by a waterfall flowing upward and had gathered enough water to fill one of the Guardian''s Lakes to orbit around her so she could study it undisturbed. Cynthia said that she would have stayed there until she was starving, had no one intervened, but as soon as she noticed her trainer, she screeched (more like a Fearow than anything that should havee out of a Milotic''s mouth) and wrapped herself around Cynthia like a snake so tightly that had trouble breathing. It looked like thankfully, worries about her mentally breaking down had been overblown and the spirits had left her mostly alone. Of course, all that water she had gathered copsed and fell in every direction. Thankfully, Giratina didn''t seem to mind, but that was probably because Milotic hadn''t brought in any new water in. No coteral damage with the outside world. That notion disappeared when we found Lucario flying around with bursts of aura from his palm that extended so far they scorched the earth below him. The steel type looked exhausted and ready to copse. It seemed like crossing the void had done a number on his mental state, and Cynthia recalled him as soon as they''d shared a short hug. Eelektross and Gastrodon had been still, huddled together under the shade from an overhang that looked more like a fanged mouth ready to close in on them. Eelektross could normally use maism to float or propel itself at speeds as fast as Cecilia''s Talonme, but doing that in the Distortion World would have been a death sentence, ording to her. Gastrodon chimed in and said the reality was that she was terrified of the damn ce, which prompted the electric type to send a shock so violent and virulent at her that we were blind for a good five minutes after. The electricity had beenpletely blue, like Craig''s Eelektross, but far more violent and disorderly. Yet it stopped before any of it could touch us, even when we were just a few feet away, no barrier needed. As for Gastrodon? Well, she was smoking a little bit, but she was fine. It had taken a while, but we''d done it. We''d found her Pokemon who had been alone, and now all that remained was Garchomp''s group. Seeing them all be so familiar with Maylene before being recalled was fun. She was like a younger sister they doted on. I couldn''t really see her like that after how hard she''d worked and how dependable she''d been on the climb up Cor and even here, in the Distortion World, but thest time they''d interacted much, she''d still been a struggling Gym Leader. Today, she was someone else. Who had grown, for better or for worse, just like the rest of us. "There!" Azelf called out, letting indignation leak into their voice. We all had to resist the urge to cower. "That worthless human is close! I feel the remains of the Red Chain pulling me closer!" Their precision helped us track him down sooner. The Guardians led us to a mountainous ind, leading to a cliff that my eyes struggled to pull away from once we reached a peak. There was a huge crater near the edge pulsating with the familiar red veins that covered the Distortion World. Some of them had burst through the floor and were writhing, knitting themselves together in an attempt to rebuilt, but the damage was too extensive. The ind was sorge¡ª thergest I''d ever seen in here, in fact¡ª that it took me thirty seconds to ce him. What caught my eyes first was an ice statue of a Gyarados that I soon realized was a corpse. There were five other Pokemon strewn about the ind, half frozen in ce, the other half torn open with blood and organs soaking the ground below us. That was how the Leader of Gctic went down? In a battle I hadn''t gotten to see or participate in? I clenched my fist. That was the wrong mentality to have¡­ my Pokemon''s and my friends'' safety came first. Always. Continuing from the massive tform were a series of smaller inds led to¡­ nothing. They were almost close enough together that jumping might have been possible, but each subsequent ind was smaller and smaller until the tenth only had enough space to fit a single person. But that wasn''t where Cyrus was. He stood in-between a forest and a shifting mound of hills, over the blurry edge leading nowhere, with Garchomp, ceon, Braviary and Roserade around him in a semicircle. The situation seemed tense, though ceon was lying on the ground and looked to barely be paying attention. The man himself was sitting cross-legged, his back to the Pokemon, and leaning onto his fist. I was surprised they hadn''t killed him yet. The three Guardians gently lowered us onto the ind using one of their twisting paths and Maylene was the only one who couldn''t bear to look at the dead bodies. Cynthia called out to her team as soon as she touched down. Of her Pokemon, Garchomp was the first one to get here at speeds that shattered the sound barrier. There really was no winding up time. A push from her legs was all that was needed to go that fast. Cece tried to hold me to keep me safe from the gust of wind, but she was still hurt. We''d have fallen, but Togekiss, Maylene, Toxicroak¡ª hell, even Mesprit had been ready to keep us from falling. It was a tiny gesture, but¡­ it felt good to have so many people having my back. Again, Cynthia exined the situation, but faster this time. Garchomp had noticed that the way she carried herself and spoke had changed to be far less confident. When she was done, she patted the dragon on the arm. "It''s a good thing you didn''t kill him. We have questions to ask him, or information to take away, should he prove uncooperative." There was a heavy sigh. She was tired, like everyone else. Her starter looked to the side, bright yellow eyes shifting awkwardly. "Oh. You were about to, weren''t you?" She had been, but had been stopped by a powerful voice that sounded nothing like the spirits around here. It had been far more powerful, far more orderly, yet garbled, and Garchomp had been able to tell that even if it had her stop dead in her tracks, it had been a fraction of what it was actually capable of. Something about her instincts? Cynthia nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. Togekiss had to chirp at her to give her the courage to open them again. Cyrus hadn''t even noticed us yet. He was in his own little world. Natalia was uncharacteristically quiet. If she''d stopped endlessly bantering when we''de across Cynthia, then Cyrus'' appearance had sown her mouthpletely shut. The rest of Cynthia''s Pokemon had gone to her as well. It was odd, seeing her in such a familiar setting. There was so much history behind every rtionship there, so many years spent together. "Giratina must have other ns," Uxie muttered under their breath. "Her intervention is the only exnation." Mesprit quickly agreed. "He brought us in for a reason. Now I see that it has to do with the empty shell!" The Legendary''s tails excitedly intertwined, something that Azelf had been desperate to stop because they believed they were above such things. "That''s just like it, to go rogue and do its own thing." Azelf crossed their arms together with a pleased expression. "That''s why I like them the best." Mesprit gasped, asking Azelf if that meant they liked Giratina less than them, but what they''d just said had terrible implications. Did that mean Cyrus couldn''t actually be captured? I wasn''t sure if any Pokemon or person would be courageous enough to tempt fate and hear Giratina''s voice once again. Cecilia tapped a finger on her elbow. "Cynthia. What happened to Volo, after he was beaten at the summit of Cor?" "I don''t know. My visions weren''t very clear aside from showing me the path I needed to tread. The world likes its echoes." A small smile adorned her lips, the second one since we''d gotten her back, I thought, and itpletely captured our attention. "But he wasn''t actually killed, nor was he ever seen again." Cecilia muttered, "And he was allied with Giratina¡ª" "End this line of thought," Uxie chided. "Giratina understands now that even a world they cannot ess is worth protecting, and she was punished amply." "Pfft. A p on the wrist. The only time He does something other than watch, and it''s to punish one of us¡­" Mesprit sighed with their characteristic pout. I was curious to know what this ''p on the wrist'' was, but the conversation had already steered away from it. Should we, or should we not, attempt to capture Cyrus? What about just osting him? The risk was astronomically high. Giratina, Mesprit warned, could see it as another affront. They exined that he or she or it or whatever they referred to Distortion as at the time would not really understand that we were different people with different agendas, or wants, and needs. A warning to Garchomp, to Giratina, was a warning to all of us. Approaching him was fine, though, as Cynthia''s Pokemon had shown. Cynthia decided that this would be the best course of action while the Guardians got ready to get Giratina toe to them, at the end of that chain of inds I''d noticed earlier. ording to Uxie, it''d be far enough away that closing our eyes, turning away and having a barrier to stop sound courtesy of Azelf would be enough to protect our ''fragile minds''. "Ah,pany," Cyrus said. He really had only noticed us now. Even now, his expression was nk when he got up and turned toward us, but it was¡­ lighter, than the pictures I''d seen. As if he''d been freed from a massive burden. "Make yourselves at home. There is plenty of space for you to experience the Dusk''s perfection." Oh. Oh, he was that kind of insane. Completely delusional, but in a very warm way now that he seemingly had what he wanted? I thought he would have been furious at his ns being foiled, that this would have finally been the straw that broke the Camerupt''s back and would have him feel something, but he just beckoned us to sit with him. As if he hadn''t been our enemy for the past year. As if all of us didn''t want to either see him dead or rotting in prison. No one took him up on the offer. "I assume you are all familiar with the concept of DNA," he continued, unbothered by the fact that we were all ignoring him. He twisted his index and middle fingers together. "Genes can be considered the blueprints of all life-forms. That includes humans and Pok¨¦mon alike. Genes are contained in a DNA strand; If one of the chains were to be broken, the other could replicate it, but one or the other cannot exist without its opposite." Ah, he had grasped the nature of this ce on his own¡ª Why were we even listening to this drivel?! We had to be careful, yes, but that didn''t mean we needed to let him talk. "Your days as a free man are at an end," I dered with my arms crossed. "No one cares about what you have to say." "I would not be so certain about this," he replied. "Grace Pastel, is it? It was you, who I did not see inside of Emotion''s mind. We never had much of a connection, and it only listened to me through the embers carried by Mars. Ah, speaking of Mars." He stared at Natalia, causing her to shrink and make herself small. "You would be Natalia Ivanova. Dusknoir spent many long nights speaking about you, but I suppose you would know that." "F¡ªfuck off," she stammered. "You groomer piece of shit." He ignored her and kept talking. He droned on and on about how he was going to be a God and shatter our world anyway with Giratina''s help, though he didn''t know that name. Complete and utter delusion that boggled the mind, yet no amount of speaking over him from any of us stopped him because he could not be restrained. It was so damn frustrating. He was right there¡ª "It is on the cusp of arrival." Azelf''s voice, which was a smidge deeper than the other two, startled me. I''d been so honed in on Cyrus I hadn''t even noticed that they''d flown toward us. "Brace yourselves." "Already?!" Maylene screeched. "It is not only the creator of this world, it is this entire world. It can be anywhere it wants at once." The Godzily waved a hand, and an impossiblyplex barrier surrounded all of us, save for Cyrus. Multyered, but also moreplicated the longer you stared at it. It was like looking at a fractal. The howling of the winds was slowly choked out as Azelf cut off sound, and I remembered what silence was again. "It has simply given us some leeway because it knows it can have¡­ effects on people." The idea that that thing was going toe here any moment now had me sweating. The cor of my jacket felt tight around my throat, a hand around my neck to stop me from properly breathing. Every inch of my skin prickled and I quickly closed my eyes. It''sing. It''sing. It''sing. If anticipation could kill, I would already be dead. Before I''d closed my eyes, I''d seen a hint of light in Cyrus'' own. He truly believed in his own spiel. Nearly all of our Pokemon were recalled, save for Gengar and Togekiss. We were taking no chances. "¡ªet me in, let me in!" Mesprit cried out. "Don''t open your eyes!" That was when I knew something had gone wrong. I couldn''t see, but their conversation was impossible to miss. "He''sing here." "Here?! Right here?!" Azelf said in pure disbelief. "Yes, right here! Stop your barriers from letting light in!" Mesprit said. "You and I both know that''s not how Giratina works¡ª" "Do your best! Actually you know what, I''ll take over. You go out there and tell him that he''s being a meanie! You''re better than me at that!" Emotion said. There was the sound of a struggle. "Mesprit, wha¡ª wait, what are you doing¡ª stop!" "Okaythankyoubye!" "What in the world is going on?" Cynthia was the first one to speak out. "Just a little hup!" My vision went dark. Completely dark. It was the difference between closing your eyes during the evening or dusk and doing so in pitch darkness where not even light from the stars or moon could reach. "I told my Shard about it being a possibility, but it turns out Giratina''s being a lot more straightforward about what he wants than we thought he would be, haha, um, don''t worry about it!" I heard something together. The tightening of our shield. "He''s going to be right next to us is all. I have it contained." "Wha¡ª move us, then!" Maylene yelled, and for once, Natalia agreed with her. "No, he wants a good look at all of the ones he dragged in, that includes all of you. He doesn''t understand or care about the consequences that could have, so¡ª" Anotherpaction, and some crackling. "¡ªwe have to work with him instead. At least he warned us!" "What''s happening with Cyrus?" Cynthia asked. "He''s¡ª" Even with my eyes closed, and within the barrier, I saw it. A shape, darker than absolute ckness, looming over us all until Mesprit forcefully turned all of us away, yet it was everywhere, and I heard Emotionin about Giratina being annoying on purpose. It hade from above, a worm-like thing that spanned the length of an entire city with w-like appendages on its back. The air grew thick and cold, a suffocating nket of dread that made it hard to draw breath. It was so quiet. So, so quiet you could hear a pin drop on a mattress. A chill crept through my veins, a cold so intense it felt like those wings were wrapping around my heart, squeezing tighter with each passing moment. The darkness behind my closed eyelids seemed to pulse and shift, the shadows moving in ways that defied logic. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Not directed at me. It hadn''t been directed at me, but all I could do was cower in fear at the thing that was right above me. "Cyrus is being drawn in." Mesprit was describing the situation to us. "He''s walking toward him slowly." None of us wanted to listen to this. We were simply too terrified to make a single sound. "The empty shell is wing at his face," they giggled. Around twenty secondster. "He''s gouged out his eyes and there''s no more skin left¡ª he''s been seized. He''s being grabbed by spirits. They''re bringing him up to¡ª" There was nothing but empty, vapid silence. "Hm. He was taken, but not killed. Interesting. Personally I find this to be a hrious fate but you people would probably call it horrifying." What the hell did that mean? I heard someone throw up next to me, and the nausea was starting to get to me too. My fingers could barely move. Slowly, people started to breathe again. In and out, all out of sync, yet hoping we would live to see our world again. "Yeah, he''s gone. Good riddance!" Mesprit said. "Giratina isn''t leaving, though. My siblings are talking to him and asking him whether or not we can go home. It looks like he was just after the culprit and wanted to see who else was associated with the empty shell. No one here is, though, so you should be safe! Hurray!" Get me out of here. Get me out. Out. Out. Out. Out! It was moving inside my eyelids, it was slithering its way inside my ears, nose and eyes. I could feel its presence inside of me. it was everywhere and it wanted me dead. It felt like an endless amount of time passed the next time Mesprit said something else. "Azelf really is good at this. Rejoice, mortals! You''re going back home!" I didn''t want to know what negotiations between that thing and Azelf implied, or how they took ce, but I couldn''t even feel relief. Not when it was still crawling across my eyelids in ways that my brain couldn''t understand. But then came a release of pressure. The ability to breathe clearly again¡ª though anything felt clear in the absence of Distortion. Finally, my closed eyes could no longer perceive its shape. It slithered away, out of view without a sound. When the barrier went down and we finally opened our eyes again, we found ourselves facing a rift. Giratina wasn''t present, thank the fucking Legendaries. There were no remains of Cyrus, but this rift, instead of being purple and ugly and the sign of the world''s hidden horrors. It was a tiny circle of beautiful light,rge enough to fit all of us. The other side was so bright it took my eyes nearly ten seconds to actually understand what I was looking at. A field of white flowers, next to a river. I broke down and sobbed. Stupid. Of course the real world was still there, Giratina had saved it! But hearing about it and seeing it was different. It hadn''t sunk in for me until this very moment, but we¡­ We had saved the world. We''d saved the world! Months upon months of torment, doubt and mental anguish¡­ didn''t evaporate, but I could finally smile again, so widely my cheeks started to hurt. There wereughs and giggles around me from everyone who must have been thinking the same. "Let''s get on with it, shall we?" Cynthia said. Her voice was shaking. Natalia was the first to go, not because of any order, but because she quite literally could not handle being here any longer. She jumped head first into the rift andnded on a patch of flowers, ttening them. She wasn''t going to try to run. She knew she wouldn''t get very far and that there was no point. Next was Charon and Gengar, followed by Mira, whose face untensed the moment she crossed the threshold, where she began to talk to herself. I''d expected to gost or among thest few, but it was I, who was ushered forward next. I leapt into the portal and further ruined the patch of delicate white flowers we were allnding in. They looked like Lilies, which reminded me of the League. I was not ashamed to hug the ground. I rubbed my face up against the dirt and enjoyed the feeling of it on my skin. I''d nearly forgotten that it wasn''t normal to have constant screams in the back of your mind. It wasn''t normal to have the ground constantly shift below you. It wasn''t normal to have to keep away the thoughts wing at your weaknesses. My tears fell onto the flowers and I cried until we were all out. I tightly hugged Cece, Mira, Maylene¡ª hell, I evenughed with Natalia at how joyous everything felt. Call it a truce. A lone Fearow flying overhead was the first thing I saw that truly cemented that we were back. "We did it," Maylene cried. She looked at me. "We really did it. It''s over. Arceus, I could¡ª I could¡ª" She didn''t finish that sentence, and her smile faltered for a moment, but it returned just as quickly. Even Cece was grinning. "I suppose we''ve passed the worst of the storm. Grace, you don''t suppose we could finally do your taxes sometime this week?" I snorted. We saved the world, I repeated to myself again. "This ce. It''s near the Sendoff Spring," Cynthia said. "Said to lead to the great beyond by old texts. It''s north-east of the Hotel Grand Lake." She looked into the orange sky with her hand protecting her eyes from the setting sun, and I followed her nce. Even from here, we could see the massive rift stretching across the entirety of the Cor Mountain range. Yet, it was closing, little by little. It looked like in ten minutes, it''d bepletely gone. Just like Gctic. Just like Cyrus. The Guardians circled above us, though their expressions were far less ecstatic than ours. They were going to have to leave, to go back to their Lakes. They''d enjoyed the taste of freedom for the first time in thousands of years, and yet they had to give it away. Mesprit slowly approached me, their splendor having returned now that it wasn''t being choked out by the Distortion World. It was difficult to look at them for too long. "Goodbye, Shard¡­" Mesprit gloomily floated in front of me. "Even if you hated Distortion, I had fun with you." "...do you already have to go? You could¡ª you could hang around. Be like Mimi¡ª" A saddened smile was their response. "I cannot be like the ingot. We all have a Role to y, a color to be on the canvas that is His Creation, and I''m afraid I have to go back to fulfill my purpose." "I understand. Okay." I never thought I''d actually be sad to see them go. "Hey!" They pouted, hearing my thoughts. "Before I go, a word of advice! You''re feeling a high of emotion right now, but beware. You''re exhausted, Shard. What goes up muste down, eventually!" They''d been about to turn around, but¡ª "Wait!" I wrapped them in a hug, a real one, this time, not just in their mindscape. They were cold, like ceramic, yet soft regardless. Mesprit nuzzled their head into my neck and closed their eyes, just enjoying the moment. "We''ll stay in touch, okay? I''lle by the Lake when I have time, and don''t hesitate to contact me whenever you want. We can talk." "Hmhm." Azelf had already said Cecilia goodbye, and by that I meant they''d just nced in her direction and nodded, while Uxie was thest one to be done with Mira. Once they were done, the three Guardians floated upward and dashed in three separate directions faster than Garchomp, cloaking themselves by making their skin reflect light. Just like that, in less than a second, they were gone. I''ll miss you, Grace! Mesprit''s voice rang out in my head. That... was the first time they''d called me by my name. Well, notpletely gone, thankfully. Cynthia released Garchomp and had her fly to the League encampment on the nks of Cor as fast as she could, and as high as she could so the clouds could hide her. Soon, we''d see everyone again. Now, it was time to rebuild, and see the cost this monumental effort had, and would cost us. And sleep, because Legendaries, I was tired. A/N: One more chapter and that''s the end of the arc.
Interlude – Fallout III Interlude ¨C Fallout III
INTERLUDE - FALLOUT III May 5th 20XX, 9:56PM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Lily of the Valley Ind - Grace Pastel What material were these bed sheets made from? Even after havingid here for two hours, they felt just as cold as they had when I''d first jumped in bed. My back was sinking into the mattress like it was a marshmallow and by the Legendaries, I was exhausted, but my eyes were wide open, looking at every inch of my room. It was a small lodging on the Lily of the Valley Ind, which I''d been Teleported back to in the wake of¡­ everything. Putting it in a single word felt as if I wouldn''t be doing it justice. A week of nothing but hard work, suffering and just constant fighting that wore down my very soul hadsted an afternoon in the real world. Part of me felt like it hadn''t been real. Like it couldn''t be over just like that. Without the adrenaline pumping in my veins, the high stakes, the thought that every minute could be myst, well¡ª I felt a little empty. Purposeless. My hands gripped at my bedsheets until I turned to my side, toward my nightlight. I''d left it on. This room wasn''t thatrge and had been hastily made to amodate me. It was about 30 feet by 30 feet and was constructed with smooth, white walls that curved seamlessly into the floor and ceiling. Out the door, I could see a tiny window leading to an airlock that was the loudest, most annoying thing on the whenever someone tried toe in. The air was kept sterile through aplex system of filters and purifiers, humming softly in the background. The room was furnished minimally butfortably, with a single narrow yetfortable bed bolted to the floor, a small stainless steel table, and a simple but ergonomic chair. The scientists who''d led me here had profusely apologized for the awful amodation, but I honestly couldn''t care less. They''d spoken to me in bright white hazmat suits that hid their faces and made me think I was talking to robots, not human beings. A sealed hatch in one wall led to a tiny bathroom with the necessary supplies and a shower. The lighting had had a bright, almost clinical quality, casting no shadows in a way that almost made it look fake, but now that my handlers had turned off the lights, I was left with a single, dim light to keep away the shapes lurking in the corner of my vision. See, despite Mesprit''s endlessints (to the point of exhausting themselves), this was the first time people had gone into the Dusk in recorded history, and then we even made it back. This was a situation without precedent, and so they''d taken me, along with everyone who''d been in the Distortion World to these tiny capsules overnight with the goal of letting us out at some point tomorrow. Even Cynthia. My Pokemon, including Buddy, had also been taken just in case to be healed in special, sterile facilities. Hopefully I''d see him and Mimi by tomorrow, though. I didn''t have any of my personal items¡ª not even my phone¡ª and they''d put me in a medical gown sewn withfortable cloth. I didn''t get to see any of my friends other than getting reassurances that Denzel and Chase were alive, not my parents, and I couldn''t even look at the damn news. I inhaled loudly. The room smelled like cleaning products. Not great, for a ''wee back''. Now that I was without distraction or the desperate want to survive, not being able to hear out of my left ear was irritating, even if it was just the quiet hum of the vents and machinery, and my right ear still wasn''t recovering right. I''d definitely look into hearing aids tomorrow, at least. It shouldn''t be difficult getting seen by a doctor right away without wait time. Even though exhaustion had a tight hold of me, I found drifting off to sleep to be impossible. Not when every time I closed my eyes I could see its shape drifting across my eyelids. Shivering, I wrapped myself tightly in my bed sheets like it was a cocoon and wished one of my Pokemon were here. When was thest time I''d slept without at least one of them in the room? There were tingles on my neck, a very physical feeling that had me thinking that something was about to lunge at me from behind despite that making no sense whatsoever. My feet swept across the bed as I sat on its side with a groan, then yelped when my bare feet touched the cold floor. How did people sleep alone again? I didn''t even have Maylene to watch for danger, and I knew she always slept with an eye open. My hand went above my shoulder to scratch my back, and I stared at the digital clock embedded in the wall to see how much longer I had left until someone was going to show up. 10PM sharp, huh? Was I supposed to just roll around until six in the morning? "Tired¡­" I muttered. Was this what insomnia felt like? Even back when I''d first started my journey, with the nightmares about Golbat and Mars, it had never been this bad. If I was like this, the others probably were, too. Hell, Cynthia was worse, but I doubt she was going to sleep. They were probably constantly updating her on what was going on throughout the region¡­ Frustrating. I wanted to know what was going on, too. At least the others and my parents knew I was safe, but it was going to be a while until I was going to get a phone. Pacing around the small room in hopes of exhausting myself, I eventually tried to peek through the airlock to see any hints of activity. Nothing. "Damn it." I looked around for something to kick, but there was nothing in the room for me to use. "I''m supposed to¡­ supposed to¡­" It was over. The world was saved! I internally screamed those words at myself over and over until my lips stretched into a smile nowhere as wide as it''d been just a few hours prior. The sheer nonchnce of the way I''d been treated like it was just another day, processed, even, had sucked the joy out of me and all that remained was the foreboderance that the world wasn''t going to pause after this. They would not sing about us, or know about what we''d done. After all the bombs, the deaths, the tremors around Cor, the climb, the fights, after everything, it would just be routine, because the gears of the state never stopped turning. It never paused to breathe, because that would bring forth copse, especially now. That gave me the ick. Eventually, though I did not know when, I passed out, and beneath the fear of Giratina, the fear of horrors beyond myprehension was a single thought, repeating over and over in the back of my mind like water dripping against a stone until erosion would destroy it entirely. I saved the world. My story is over. ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 9:52AM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Lily of the Valley Ind - Cecilia Obel Finally, Cecilia was out of that cell the League had called a decontamination room, yet she was not free to leave their clutches quite yet. She sat on one of those long chairs you could alsoy down on that she forgot the name of¡­ ah, a recliner chair. This reminded her of a therapists'' office, not that she''d ever seen one before. Her therapy sessions had always been on the road, after all. The walls were toned with some kind of warm colors, which she guessed the intention was to make her feel warm and safe. It didn''t work. Not only did the light bother her to the point of ring, but she was colorblind, now. Her face felt tight after the two gashes across her face had been stitched together earlier in the morning, giving her quite the morbid look, or at least that''s what Cecilia thought once she looked at herself in the mirror. It''d look better once they were taken out¡ª not that she cared for looks anyway. Cecilia scrolled through her phone with a deep yawn. She hadn''t slept a winkst night, nor had she wanted to. The walls were adorned with framed paintings depicting nature. A group of Buizel swimming upriver, with one jumping up a tiny waterfall to higher ground; a Snox lying down in a meadow with two Fletchlings on its stomach; a group of Bouffnt, hundreds strong, grazing across a field. A cute attempt. There was a vase with a bouquet of flowers Cecilia assumed were Lilies on the curved wooden desk with a picture frame she hadn''t bothered to look at. Her attention was elsewhere. Out the ratherrge window, through that ring sunlight, she could see countless League personnel going about their duties down below, no doubt desperate to keep the region in order. Cynthia was scheduled to give a speech four hours from now, which would be her first appearance since the bombings, and the entire nation was on edge. Cecilia yawned as she scrolled through her phone. Where to begin? The two biggest headlines of the day were ''Sinnoh Attacked! Countless Bombs Detonated by Team Gctic,'' with the precision that they''d found 12,345 deaths so far and climbing, albeit slower. There were slightly more than that wounded, filling makeshift hospitals built in hotel lobbies and school gyms. The second headline was ''Massive Rift Opens Above Mount Cor: Unprecedented Phenomenon Stuns The Country''. Stuns was the correct word to use, here. Even now, as the nation was mourning, the inte and the news were foaming at the mouth to understand what the hell that had been. Legendary was the word on most people''s lips. They believed that Team Gctic had taken control of a Legendary and nearly wiped out the region, which was admittedly close, but also far off the mark. But it was the forums that Cecilia found herself glued to. Even after all of this, there was a connection she had with trainers that she didn''t have with any othermunity. Unlike before, the League was no longer censoring information with their Porygon and deleting threads, but all discussions about the rift specifically had to be contained to a single thread who already was on its 112th iteration, even with a cooldown of 5 minutes between a user''s every post. ?TierFive5 We know the government''s hiding information about Legendaries. We''d be stupid to think the opposite, and I assume that''s the case for literally every country. The question is, is Cynthia going to tell us about it or is she just gonna do the typical government speak for ''we know what the fuck it is, and we''re not telling you''. ?Ssoosnakey124543 We haven''t seen her in way too long, tbh. She might be dead and they''re scrambling to rece her with a Ditto for a while until she mysteriously ''retires'' and is never heard from again. My cousin and his son died in the bombings, and the government is going to lie to us again. Fuck them. ?Rajafern I mean, there has to be a reason her speech won''t be given in public and won''t have any reporters present. What if it''s an edited clip of her with multiple audio clips of her voice stitched together? An AI video of her powered by Porygon? Then, she set her eyes on a familiar name. ?Archive I wouldn''t go that far, but they''re defo going to keep this shit under tight wraps. Are you hearing what''s going on internationally? Almost all of the Champions have given statements about wanting to know more, which is their way of subtly pressuring us into contacting their governments to share information about capital L Legendary incidents as has been custom since the war, but I don''t know if Cynthia will share. ?KreeLily1 Shut up and stick to podcasting about battles, lil bro. Stay in yourne. ?Marcus_Paul (Verified Trainer) Can you motherfucking conspiracy brained pieces of shity off the drugs for one damn second and use your heads. Hm. Cecilia was surprised that post hadn''t been deleted, but the moderators must have been working overtime without as many Porygon to scrape the website. Before she could keep reading, the door softly opened, and Cecilia found herself face to face with a stranger. "Sorry for the wait, I was being briefed about your entire situation." He was a rather stout man with a bit of belly fat, but with one the brightest eyes she''d ever seen that had her thinking he was blind for a second. Was that blue? Or hazel, maybe? She couldn''t tell. He walked across the room to his desk, which was sitting on the side right next to the window, and sat down after raking the chair against the ground as softly as he could. He wore the normal, orange-ish League Uniform, though this one looked a little tight for him. The uniform was draped in a white coat that League Scientists wore around here with an insignia embroidered on the chest. "My name is Dr. Sanders, and I''ve been assigned to you this morning. Now, how are you feeling?" Contrary to appearances, this man was no therapist. She''d refused to see her old one againter today, because who could help her, at this point? "Fine," she shortly answered, turning away from him. She instead looked at the books in Dr. Sanders'' bookshelf, close to the door. Most of it had to do with TE research of some kind, and some were even attributed to himself. Once Dr. Sander realized that had been her only answer, he grabbed a pen from his desk and tapped it on a clipboard he dragged from a drawer. "Before we begin, I''d like to tell you my credentials¡ª" Cecilia''s eyes twitched. "¡ªnot to brag, but for you to know that you''re in good hands." Then, he paused and just looked at her with something deep in his eyes. "You''ve been through a lot, Cecilia." Had that been supposed to make her feel better? She rolled her eyes and opted just to nod so he would get on with his tirade. Dr. Sanders rapidly pressed on the clicker mechanism on his pen and took a deep breath. "I have a PhD in Type Energy and how it affects the human condition. I''ve published numerous papers on the matter," he nudged his head toward his bookshelf, "and written many books on the topic. I''ve worked as a Professor in Jubilife''s Barauche''s University for twenty-five years, after which I was hired by the League for my expertise in the topic." Dr. Sanders cleared his throat, tapping his pen on his clipboard. "Let''s begin with a question. What do you know about Type Energy and its effects on people?" Cecilia reclined herself on her chair and finally put her phone down. "My girlfriend was overloaded by her Togekiss¡ª a Togetic at the time, and it made her act more fairy-like by entuating some of her traits." "Excellent. A Basic understanding, and not particrly wrong, just like we oversimplify that there are only three states of matter in schools." A smile reached the man''s thin lips. "Though I took a look at Grace''s case beforeing here, and I''d push that the consequences of her connection with the Domain Holder on route 215 and its teachings can''t be understated¡ª but this is about you." Finally, the re of the sun became too much. "Can you¡ªcan you close the window shutters, please." It wasn''t as if it was impossible for her to be out during the day, or even that it hurt her eyes. Cecilia was confident she''d be able to handle it as long as she had before her death. It was just unpleasant. Dr. Sanders followed with a wordless acquiescence, instead turning on a dimmer light on the ceiling. "Thank you." "Now, as the situation was described to me, and as you told the League yesterday night, you died and used Perish Song to¡­ resurrect yourself." His tight uniform couldn''t contain the trembling breath he seemingly wanted to take after that. The whole idea had him ufortable. "This means your body took in¡ª" "I know," she cut him off. "I know already. The way I behaved has drastically changed because of these feelings I get." The doctor slowly nodded as he scribbled something down. "I understand¡ª" before she could interrupt him again, he spoke over her. "No, I do. I am the most qualified person in the country for this topic¡ª though some of my peers may disagree." A saddened smile fell as soon as it appeared. "I''ve studied four ghost specialists in my time here, including Ailwyn Serche. I understand." Ailwyn Serche. Radetic''s second-hand man, and previous Elite Four member, somewhat like Lucian Godefroy was to Cynthia now. He''d had mostly ghost type Pokemon, of whom his ace had been a Dhelmise, and he''d died of old age in Pastoria a few years back. Even if he''d been ridden of all his political power and reputation, he was the only one who had remained in Sinnoh of the previous administration. Cecilia understood that by ghost specialist, he must have meant people who were actually affected by TE here. "I''m not a ghost specialist," she bit back, though with less strength than she wanted to. Her voice finally returned to its¡­ usual quiet. "But you have the body of a ghost type specialist who''s been alive for far longer than you are with Pokemon far more powerful than you currently possess, and you''re looking at acquiring a Spiritomb next," Dr. Sanders said. His tone wasn''t even patronizing, but the idea that she was still so weak after everything she''d been through tasted like ashes in her mouth. "I''ll try to exin. You see, for all my expertise, there''s actually very little we know in terms of rules for Type Energy. Rare is it imbibed enough to make a difference regardless, and when it is¡­" he smirked. "Of the four ghost type specialists I''ve studied¡ª five including you, do you think two have been the same?" Cecilia leaned forward. Outside, she heard the ringing of a bell inside League Headquarters as the clock struck ten in the morning. It was easy to see that Dr. Sanders was partly enjoying this. Posing questions, and waiting for an answer. Cecilia presumed it was the teacher in him. "No," she guessed. "Exactly. The same can be said for every specialist, really, though there will often be somemon effects." The excitement in his voice was palpable. Cecilia felt a little like a specimen he could study instead of a patient he was meant to help. "For example, your distaste of sunlight was shared by three ghost specialists, including Ailwyn himself, but not Riley Gutierrez." That name, Cecilia couldn''t ce. Maybe a high-ranking League Trainer, or an ACE, or a Conference Regr. Someone who''d have passed by the League enough times and was powerful enough to catch Sanders'' eye. The doctor followed by asking her how she believed she''d changed since her resurrection. Her inability to see color had been something every ghost specialist suffered from, including the famous ones like Allister in Gr. "What about Fantina, then?" she asked. "Fantina asked her ghosts to cut off their leakage decades ago, so she only got a mild dose," Dr. Sanders exined as he continued writing about her symptoms. "That was courtesy of her predecessor who did the same." Satisfied with the answer, she continued. The inability to speak loudly save for periods of intense emotion was just her, the numbness and coldness at her extremities wasmon, as was that prickle of pleasure she felt whenever someone was scared of her. Again, her tendency to let her neck or limbs to go limp like a puppet without strings as if she''d learned an entirely new bodynguage was just her¡ª something Sanders theorized had to do with the fact that Golurk were constructs. But it was emotion, that was biggest problem she was currently facing. "Ghosts are very emotional creatures," he said, wagging a finger intently. "They are, after all, born from lingering emotions. Hate is something that binds them, but that is often overshadowed by the myriad of otherplex feelings. The crux of the issue is this¡ª these feelings are always negative." Her throat tightened, and she clenched a fist around the couch''s leather. "That doesn''t mean they aren''t capable of feeling positive ones like love, joy, excitement, et cetera." He waved a hand in a dismissive motion. "Just that it is more difficult for them to do so. The question is, what emotions have wormed its way into your heart, Cecilia?" She pondered it for a moment, as if it wasn''t obvious. Writ across her very soul, having seized it in a vice grip that threatened to pop her like a balloon. "I don''t know," she finally answered. "Actually, I¡ªI do know, but it''s..." "Take your time." "I know I can take my time," she snarled. Her nails dug into the couch. "I can''t be happy with myself. There''s that, but there''s also regret at what I''ve done, a feeling of inadequacy, and¡­" Jealousy could be omitted. She wasn''t even sure that had anything to do with her condition anyway. Just that she had issues keeping it down. "I feel worthless, and I can''t keep the thoughts contained. It''s like they get forcefully sent to my brain and I have to vocalize them. I have to face them." Dr. Sanders'' fingers tapped against the desk as he finished writing his report. "Regret and doubt, hm? Riley was revenge, Ailwyn was bitterness, N was humiliation and loneliness; this is only the second time I''ve seen someone have two¡ª ah, but I''m rambling." He went on to exin that regarding her sleeping issues, she would suffer from insomnia, something that all his subjects had been dealt with. "I know you have a Slowking with the move Hypnosis being healed at the moment, but I''ll always be the first to say that one shouldn''t develop a dependency to anything Pokemon-rted. The more you use it, the less you''ll be able to sleep without. If pushes to shove, I have the authority to give you a sleeping pill prescription." So that was why she hadn''t even felt like closing her eyes yesterday night after everything. Her body felt¡­ fine, but she trusted this man''s words, even if her opinion of strangers veered toward dislike, now. "I have another question for you, if you don''t mind?" he questioned. Like she deserved a choice. She inclined her head. "Go ahead." He blinked at her. Had she tilted her neck more than necessary? Had itsted too long? He audibly gulped. "We''ve covered most of what we need to cover¡ª" Her phone rang, a message from her friends'' group chat. Pauline had asked for how everyone was doing, which was her fifth message in thest hour. Her, Emilia and Louis had met again and were waiting for Cecilia and the others to be done with their obligations. Both Mira''s uncle and Natalia had been moved to the League''s high security prison, as had ra and any surviving Team Gctic members, of whom there weren''t that many. Grace was currently with Maylene doing tests for their future hearing aids¡­ her heart squeezed. At least the Gym Leader would be Teleported back in Veilstone within the next hour. Cecilia fully believed she did not deserve to question their closeness, nor their friendship, but it was unpleasant all the same. She needed to see Grace. Needed to bask in her warmth now that she was so cold. Once, in Sunyshore, Cecilia had called her the sun, and it felt truer now than it ever had. As for Chase and Denzel? They were still in the hospital, and they were nning to visit with the others. As it turned out, Denzel''s case had been a lot worse than Chase''s. More insidious. While her old half had already awoken, Denzel was still asleep, under a medically-induceda to reduce the horrible pain he was under. "Cecilia?" Him calling out her name had her realize that he''d been doing so for thest ten seconds. "I apologize, I got lost in my own thoughts. What is it?" "This is for my own research, so feel free to ignore me if you don''t want to answer." He waited a bit to see if she would deny him right away, but continued when he saw that she did not. "You''ve made your desire to head back to Unova known, and it''s no secret, even there, that you will be aiming for the position of Champion within the next few years." Click. Click. Click. The clicking of his pen was deafening. She hated that tic, and for no particr reason. "Do you still feel the same? This is to log if being overtaken by regret or doubt is enough to change a person''s motivation." She chewed on his words for a few seconds, and leaned against her palm. There was a rot permeating through Unova, yet the majority of the poption was blind to it, preferring to opt not to rock the boat because the truth was, it wasn''t that bad if you didn''t pay attention. Look inside every crevice where malice could hide away from the public eye. No matter how hard the so-called ''extremist'' parties beat their drums, their hopes of getting a majority was thin, and even then that would only be the first hurdle. Her need to help the people¡ª that had nearly all evaporated. In fact, she was almost angry at them for being so blind and sleep-walking toward oblivion. A full-fledged corporatocracy, not just an iplete one, where candidates would be able to represent businesses instead of the people. It had already been brought up in parliament two years back, yet had failed. The want to change the country for the better was still lit deep within her, yet it was a campfire where it had once been a congration big enough to reach the sky. Her revenge against her father, showing Mark how it should be done, going scorched earth on Unova''s corporate world and weaning them out over her potential reign¡ª all of that now came second to ''am I good enough?'' Would she be able to cope and feel like anything she would ever get from this day forth was deserved? A "yes," was her only answer. Dr. Sanders deted, arms gone limp against his desk and no doubt having hoped for more. "Then I suppose we''re done here." ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 10:19AM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Lily of the Valley Ind - Maylene Suzuki Therge, padded headphones covering Maylene''s head felt like they were suffocating her, even if that made little sense. She sat in arge, soundproof booth with soft, padded walls that absorbed sound and prevented any echoes. Honestly, it looked more like a tiny living room than an audiology clinic, but Maylene knew one of the pluses that the League and Pokemon Centers had over a lot of private clinics was that they made you feel right at home. A voice rang out in her ears. "Horsea. Mimikyu. Airport¡­" The Gym Leader repeated them as soon as she could, happy that this was thest test she would have to go through. Thest few had been rather invasive to her ears and the idea of someone analyzing her body to tinker with it gave her the creeps. She''d had many nightmares in her younger years involving surgery, and she had a deathly fear of anything doctor-rted. Before getting to the clinic and after seeing her parents, Grace had told her that it was because her body was so strong she''d basically never had to go to the doctor, and Maylene figured that made sense¡ª "Are you having trouble hearing, Ms. Suzuki?" "Wha¡ª no!" she yelled. "Can we¡ª can we start over?" Maylene continued with the test, though soon enough the doctor whose name she''d forgotten was lowering the volume in her good ear to check the actual damage in her left. She could see him tweaking with sliders near a huge monitor whose back was facing her. Having something wrong with your body was terrifying, and she forced herself not to grip the chair she was sitting on too hard, lest she rip apart the armrests on ident. After around five minutes, the deed was done and she was finally out of that cramped room, back into a homely office. Her friend Grace was reclined against her chair with deep bags under her eyes. She hadn''t slept for very long¡ª two hours at most. Maylene felt awful for her. The Gym Leader had slept like a log as soon as her head hit the bed, having been too exhausted to even care for any nightmares or visions she might get. And she did get them. Grace looked deep in thought, uncaring for strands of her dirty blonde hair drooping in front of her eyes as she tapped a delicate finger on the cushioned armrest. Literally delicate. She''d taken off the bandages on her hands this morning, and the skin was all new and pink, a sharp contrast to her burned and scarred arm. Though she was delicate, too. Soft and squishy¡ª like every person other than Maylene. It was a miracle she''d survived that long. She was wearing loose fitting gray jogging pants and a t-shirt that was off-center, leaving one of her shoulders a bit exposed. The Gym Leader''s eyes darted away immediately as her face heated up. The average-looking doc motioned at Maylene to sit. Well-kept brown hair, eyes and a bit of stubble. There were hundreds of him at the League, yet Maylene was certain Cynthia knew each one of their names. Now that he was back at his desk, Grace finally noticed her, and like a switch had been flipped, she put a mask on and disappeared the worry from her face. She was pretending to be okay, and seeing it kind of hurt. "How''d it go?" the blonde asked with a sad smile. Since her left ear was facing her, Maylene made sure to be loud with her answer. "I don''t know? I mean, doctor¡­" "Thornfield," he said with a somewhat nasal voice. "And Ms. Suzuki''s ears are in a much better condition than yours, Ms. Pastel, but don''t worry, I''ll work as fast as I can to make you both morefortable. Now, the next step is a trial period for both of you." He went on to exin that they''d be able to pick out hearing aids, and what kind of hearing aid until they settled on something that fit their needs. Usually this took one to two weeks, up to even a month while the patient tried out different models. Maylene already knew she wasn''t going to pick one of the ones that had to be put in the ear canal. She''d honed in on this ''Behind-the-ear'' stuff as soon as Dr. Thornfield brought it up. After he went over each type of hearing aid, he brought with him a case full of them from a room behind his office, most of them white or dull grays. He rmended a slew of models in line with the tests he''d run. They could only pick one, though. Maylene just grabbed one at random, and followed instructions on a sheet of paper he''d slid down his desk to put it on herself. Her ear felt a little tense, but she figured she''d get used to it. "How does it sound?" the doctor asked. "Wow," Grace eximed. Yeah, ''wow'' was right. Maylene had no idea what Grace had meant in terms of volume, but the way the sound transmitted in her ear was a little robotic. "It''s a little artificial?" Grace frowned and ran a finger along the cartge of her ear. She''d picked one of the ones that fit neatly in the ear canal, and it''d be hard to see thanks to her long hair. "And everything sounds louder than it used to be in my ear." "You''re free to try any other if you wish." The doctor gestured at the hearing aids with his hand. "But remember, it always sounds odd at first. I''d give it a few days of adjustment if I were you. Ms. Suzuki?" "There''s a little imbnce, I think?" Maylene tried moving her head to capture different sounds around the office. The steps beyond the door, the ticking of a clock hung on the wall, the Starly chirping outside. "Like, I think the background noises are louder in my left ear, now?" "Ah, that is an issue. Sometimes the device will have a tough time picking up different sounds, and the end result is that background noise is as loud as voices. It can be especially disturbing when you can hear normally in your other ear. Pick another one." She listened, and her next hearing aid was much better suited for her needs. Granted, Dr. Thornfield was adamant in saying that they couldn''t be certain before they spent at least a week with them so they experienced as many sounds as possible. "When you find one that''s right for you, we''ll fine tune it until it''s perfect. And remember, my office is always open if you have a question. Oh, and here''s my email or office number¡­" After they were finished, they were left in a calm hallway that was calmer than expected, considering how busy the League was, at the moment. This was one of the medical buildings, but not for emergencies like the massive Pokemon Center near the middle of the ind with all of the stadiums. The beige tiles were slippery, having been cleaned earlier this morning. There was even a yellow sign with a stick figure posted up by the end of the hall. Everything was so normal despite the fact that it shouldn''t have been. "Hey, I didn''t get a good look at yours," Grace said. Maylene''s hair had always been cut short, but her friend staring so intently at her face made her face feel warm. "It looks fine! I wish we could customize them a little bit. Give them a bit of pep. I''d get a pink one myself. You should get one too, it''d go well with your hair." What?! "Wanna take a look at mine?" Something about her tone rang hollow, but Maylene didn''t know how to approach her. She''d asked to stay in contact, but she now realized that she had no idea how to interact with Grace when their survival wasn''t in immediate jeopardy. "Sure," she said, leaning against the glossy walls. She had looked at it already, but it would be weird to just say no to that. Grace pulled strands of her hair behind her ear, revealing the gray hearing aid stuffed neatly in her ear canal. The sun was shining just right through a window to have her face glow in a really pretty way, entuating the freckles that peppered her cheeks and nose. Something inside Maylene squeezed, probably worry and squeamishness at the idea of having something buried inside of her ear like that. She turned away, rubbing the back of her neck. "W¡ªwoah. Does it feel weird?" "A little, but I assume I''ll get¡­ used to it," she sighed. Maylene waited for a group of League employees to pass to continue. The sound of their steps was a little louder in her left ear than in her now-healed right. "Hey, what''s¡ª did the meeting with your parents not go well?" She answered with a dry, morbidugh. "I guess? Pretty much nothing went right after the first five minutes. It was just¡­ you know, they''re my parents. They want to know what''s going on, and I get it, but they can''t, so there was a bit of yelling." "They yelled at you?" "No. I, uh, I yelled at them because they kept prying into stuff, and I just don''t want to talk about it," Grace said. "Then I used this meeting with the audiologist as an excuse to leave, but that''s when they figured my ears had a problem. Then you know, my grandma died and my mom¡ª" She groaned. "Whatever, I''ll deal." Grace went to lean against the wall close to Maylene, which the Gym Leader had done specifically to escape. Now she was stuck. "It should only get better from here. Right?" Something about that ''right'' was too subdued, as if Grace had been asking Maylene that question. "I think so. I mean, if Cynthia nails this speech and we get a sense of normalcy back, then¡­ yeah." Maylene hadn''t spoken much to the other Gym Leaders beyond assurances that she was fine. There hadn''t been enough time yet to do anything but talk to official after official. At least she had assurances that the League had sent trainers to look for her Pokemon now that the mountain was finally calmed. She would have gone there herself, had duties in Veilstone not been calling. "Just try to take it one day at a time, step by step. The biggest hurdle is behind us." Grace pushed herself off the wall, turned and gave her a real smile. "Thanks, Maylene." She couldn''t help but return it. "What now?" Grace asked. "Off to Veilstone?" "There''s going to be a virtual meeting with all of the Gym Leaders, and I can''t miss it. I wish I could stay, I really do, but¡ª" "No, no, you''re good. I''m not going to tell you not to do your job," she said. "We can message, it''s cool. Plus I need to go see the others anyway after I go catch up with Cece. I''m going to have to hide the truth again." Her expression turned a little sad at that. Huh. Maylene was a little disappointed at that reaction. She wanted to feel needed¡ª Legendaries, that was selfish of her. Her people needed her, even if Veilstone had been spared from the bombings. She''d never been like this with any of her other friends, but Grace was her first friend her age, really. And maybe spending a week straight with her had Maylene anxious to separate. "You look nervous. I''ll walk you out," Grace said. "A Kadabra''s probably waiting for you outside. Oh, also give me your number before you go!" "Hmhm. Thanks." Her throat felt dry. ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 10:34AM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Lily of the Valley Ind - Chase Karlson Thest thing Chase had wanted when waking up was for a man in his fifties to touch his bare legs with his hands and a steel rod. His life thest twenty-four hours¡­ man, how long had it even been? More than that? His lifetely had been him drifting in and out of consciousness in-between surgeries and delirious dreams of Cecilia being dead. Luckily for him, now he knew that his friends were alive. Even Denzel, that tough son of a bitch. Abomasnow¡­ "Your Abomasnow is on life support, at the moment, but it''s not looking good. The best we can do at the moment is put him in stasis in hopes that medical technology one day catches up," had been the only words afforded to him, and he''d had to scream for an answer that wasn''t fucking wishy-washy. Usually grass types were tough to survive nearly anything you threw at ''em, but this hadn''t been a normal attack. That Wigglytuff had swallowed a mini-sun and thrown it back at them in the form of a sma beam. Abomasnow was alive, but in limbo. How many years would it be until Chase actually saw him again? Talked to him again? His Pokemon was effectively dead. They just didn''t have the guts to tell him like that. He didn''t cry. He would save those for when he was alone, even if he felt so, utterly empty. He still hadn''t delivered the news to Wimpod, and the rest of his team would be getting healed for the time being. The bug type was sleeping in her Pokeball. She''d nearly cried herself to sleep once Chase had released her. "How about here?" Chase had suffered from mild burns all over his body, but those would heal. Some would scar, and they were all neatly bandaged. That wasn''t to say he would be cleared to leave the hospital any time soon, however. He would need to stay here for weeks to heal, but at least he was no longer at risk of bleeding out, with how they''d stuck needles in him to gorge him with new blood. The real problem was his legs. It felt weird to see someone touch your skin, yet to be able to feel nothing. With each test, Chase sank further and further into his soft hospital bed. The doctor had touched all over the thigh and had now moved on to the foreleg, but even then, he couldn''t feel a thing. At least that meant that the pain was also not there other than his burned skin and his lower back, which still felt like a searing hot knife had pierced through him like butter. Supposedly it was a miracle that he had even kept his legs. Chase didn''t like the sound of that. He could sniff out false encouragement from a mile away. "Same fucking thing," Chase spat. "Nothing." The older man nodded with a knowing sound, and cleared his throat. "My colleagues have told me that you would rather have bad news given to you straight. Is this true?" "Yeah," he dryly said. There was a short pause, where he could only hear the beeping of his heart monitor and the soft sound of the television ying in the upper right corner. It was SGNC with Mallory Ryan, talking about Cynthia''s uing speech and Sinnoh''s sorry state. "Mr. Karlson, there''s no easy way to say this. I''m afraid I have some difficult news to share with you. The injury to your spine has resulted in paralysis from the waist down." What? His heart lunged in his throat, apanied by bile that begged to be released all over his bed. "P¡ªparalysis?" the teen, suddenly turned into a boy again stuttered. "You mean you don''t have anything to make my legs better?" "I understand this is a lot to process. It appears the trauma has affected the nerves controlling your lower body¡ª" "Wait, wait, wait!" Suddenly, he didn''t want someone to just rip off the band-aid. This was going too fucking fast. His head was spinning. "Is¡ªis it permanent?" "It''s too early to say definitively, but given the nature of the injury, the chances of a full recovery are uncertain. We will, of course, explore all possible treatments and therapies to help you regain function." "How¡ª this can''t be real. Run some tests again, do something, anything. I can''t be a fucking cripple." "I know this is overwhelming, but please remember you''re not alone in this. We have specialists who will work with you to adapt and find ways to improve your quality of life." He ced a hand on Chase''s shoulder. "There are support groups and resources avable as well, and having Pokemon makes this¡­ it won''t be easy, but you''ll have a lot of help. There have been plenty of disabled trainers sessful in the past." This wasn''t even about being a trainer. This was about who he was as a person. After his father died, he''d vowed to never be weak again, and now¡­ Chase gripped at his hair and clenched his teeth so hard they felt like they were on the verge of falling off. What happened next was a blur. He remembered hands keeping him restrained against the bed, screams to calm down, worries about him hurting himself¡ª he barely remembered any of it, by the time he was warned that his friends were about to visit. "You have the right to refusepany if you''re not ready," one of the nurses had said, and Chase seriously considered it. But he couldn''t say no. They all filtered into the cramped room. Mira first, that little shrimp, crying tears of happiness that he was going to be alright. She hugged him so tightly he felt like he was going to explode, especially with the pain in his back, but seeing a friend had him a little less queasy, so he said nothing. Pauline and Emilia were next, and while he had campaigned against their involvement, he couldn''t deny that they''d saved him from dying. Yeah, his legs were fucked, but he wasn''t about to think he wish he could be dead. Fuck that. He still needed to see Abomasnow whenever they''d be able to bring him out of stasis, and the Iron Inds were still under the League''s boot. Saved world or not, the gears kept turning. Louis looked a lot better than he had now that the world had been saved, but Justin''s death still weighed on his mind the most. Grace looked like absolute shit, as if her entire world had copsed in one night, but she made that face she had whenever she didn''t want to bring down the mood and motioned Cece into the room. Chase winced when he saw her face. He''d heard about what had happened to her, with her crazy n to get herself killed to take down Jupiter. He was too tired to yell at her for it, and it wasn''t even her fault. With two long rows of stitches across her face, and eyes that had had lost their color, she looked like she''d gone through the ringer. Chase tensed. He should have been here with her. They were¡ª had been¡ª two sides of a coin. Two sides of Willpower. He''d let her down. He''d let them all down, really. There weren''t enough chairs here to amodate everyone, but enough to fit Grace and Cecilia. The former just sagged on hers while thetter tried to protest and give it to someone else instead, to no avail. They were stic. Ufortable, narrow and with a backrest that was flimsy enough to bend way more than what was good for your back, but as the two who had climbed Cor and saved the world, they deserved far better than to sit on some chairs. Emilia was the first to speak. "How are you feeling? Better than yesterday?" "I mean, yesterday, he was¡­" Pauline trailed off and ufortably twirled a finger in her red hair. "Yeah, anything is better than yesterday. I''m surprised you''re awake, Chase." Normally, he would have bit back with a scathing statement, but the energy just wasn''t there. "Yeah," he simply answered with a shrug. It pulled at the skin on his lower back, which made him hiss, and now everyone was swarming over him, worrying for nothing. "I''m serious," he reiterated in an irond manner. "I''ll be fine." But really, he had no idea if he would be. Louis nodded tightly. "If you say so. You''ve always been rather headstrong¡ª" Chase red at him. "It was meant to be apliment." "Chase''s always been bad at taking those," Pauline teased. Even Grace smiled. "It took, what, three months for us to actually be friends?" "Yeah, yeah,ugh about it." For a moment, Chase was back to months ago, where he didn''t have much to worry about. His chest felt a little warm, even, despite dreading the challenges lying ahead. There was a¡­ it was difficult to exin. He''d never been the best at this mood or vibes shit, but it was light, at least, and how could it not be? They''d avoided catastrophe. Avoided billions dying. It made Chase forgo asking them about what actually happened up there in more detail. He knew the League would want to hide it, but he was a fucking Shard. He deserved to know. It was something he''d ask aboutter. It was Emilia, who carried most of the conversation, with Pauline following close behind. Every time there was a lull and the reality of the situation sank, they were the first to bring up something else. Mostly, they tried Circuit-rted stuff, but they all knew it would probably be put on hold. None of the Gym Leaders were ready toe back to work, and it''d be tone deaf if everything just resumed like nothing had happened and over ten-thousand people hadn''t died. Mira had quieted down, watching her phone like a hawk. Probably Lauren stuff. "Feels like this would be more suited for Denzel. You know, when he wakes up," Chase said. Emilia had shown them footage of a few of the other first-years who had gotten or were close to the eighth badge. "He''d go crazy for this kind of first year rival stuff beyond those he already knows." Emilia agreed. "Hmhm. The doctors won''t tell me much. Did you know his parents areing to visit soon?" Grace flinched. "Who told you that?" "Uh, I mean they¡ª they were pretty public on the news and stuff, about how the League nearly got their kid killed. Plus, Twinleaf was attacked by Dusknoir. It was a big deal interviewst night," Emilia said, scratching her nose next to her piercing. "I guess you were all¡­ yeah." "Not that you should feel guilty for what happened!" Louis quickly added. Chase rolled his eyes. "Fuck off. You''re fine. Don''t coddle me because I''m in a hospital¡ª" "What about your legs?" Cecilia''s voice cut through the room sharply, quiet yet capable of capturing their attention. She had mostly kept out of the conversation, only talking when spoken to, and this was the first thing she brought up on her own?! "Yeah. I¡ª" the truth died in his throat. "I''ll get better, but it''ll take a while. Now get off my case and stop ruining the mood." The reunion continued without losing much of its cheerfulness, though Cecilia just looked at him the whole time. Surprisingly, she started to speak more often after that, even if her stare weirded him out. This wasn''t how it was supposed to be. They were friends, now. They''d made a promise to each other on the shores of his destroyed town. After about an hour, they had to leave to go see Denzel, or at least hisatose body. They all filtered out the door¡ª "Go ahead, baby, I''ll be right with you, I just gotta talk to Chase for a sec." Grace spoke before closing the door behind Cecilia. She dragged the chair close to the bed and sat on it again. "Hey." "Hey?" "Why''d you lie about your legs?" she asked. So innocent. So innocent, yet the look behind her eyes felt like prickling all over his skin. Even his fucked up lower half. "What do you mean?" He tried putting on fake bravado there, but she wasn''t convinced. "Did you fucking use your powers on me?!" Grace''s face fell, and immediately, a tide of guilt hit Chase like a truck. "That''s not what I¡ª" He didn''t want them to think of him differently. To start fucking pitying him and handling him with kid gloves just because he''d been so hurt. "I could tell because you obviously didn''t mean it. You''re awful at lying," she said, getting up from her chair. "I gotta¡ª I gotta go. Hopefully you tell the others sooner rather thanter." Chase''s shoulders slumped. Fuck. ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 11:59AM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Veilstone - Maylene Suzuki Veilstone had been happy to see Maylene back in the city. She''d never felt so adored by the people she represented ever, not even when she''d first ascended to her position with her father''s backing. He''d been known as a stern, yet dependable leader who always had the city''s best interests at heart, and while she believed that was true, she couldn''t bring herself to actually think of him any positively now, especially after her conversation with Cecilia in the Distortion World. God, she would have to face the music soon. He''d needed to stop his neing from Al in Johto due to Sinnoh closing its airspace for the time being and grounding or redirecting every ne, but she had a few days to prepare herself mentally at best, and her step-mother would be here too, damn it. But she needed to worry about today. It had been a long time since she''d been in her office. It was a minimalist room, a style that she was fond of, but unlike her actual bedroom in her living quarters, she needed at least aptop and a desk to use, not just a mat to sleep on. Out the window, she had a view of Veilstone in its full glory. All concrete and a bit ugly, yes, but also a sign of resilience to her. That humanity had managed to survive and stick it out in a world so hostile to them. There weren''t that many people out in the streets. There were still fears of another bombing run, and Veilstoners had been in a prime position to observe that rift in the sky. Everyone was on edge. Maylene shook herself back to awareness. She was getting sidetracked. On the left of herputer was a tab open with all of her important emails, filtered to only show her the ones from specific people. The police chief, people in the city council, multiple Pokemon Centers, so on and so forth. Now wasn''t the time for her to get distracted by a random trainer emailing her about when her Gym would be open for challenges again, or thanking her for somehow having magically stopped Veilstone for being bombed even though she''d had nothing to do with it. Yes, both of those messages had been real. On the right of her screen was a virtual meeting with eight squares. Her fellow Gym Leaders were all on time¡ª even Candice. They knew this was no routine call or meeting. This was an emergency needing their full attention. They''d all been busy thest two days keeping the Region Together with Bertha and Lucian in Cynthia and the other Elite Four''s absence (it still was extremely odd to her that so little time had passed for everyone else), and now that Maylene was back, they figured it was time for a meeting. It was Fantina who took the lead, her typical radiant smile reced by a somber look. There was no makeup on her face, and her hair hadn''t been styled like it usually would, instead cascading down her back. For once, she actually looked her age. "Thank you all for being so punctual," she said in her usual Kalosian ent. "For the purpose of transparency, this part of the call is being logged by the League and will be recorded. The date is May 6th 20XX, one minute past noon, and the purpose of this meeting is to see where everyone is currently at." Hearthome had been the city the second hardest hit behind Jubilife. Surprisingly, the Sinnoh''s capital hadn''t sent a representative to the meeting, and neither had any other small city without a Gym Leader, but Maylene hadn''t been the one to organize it. She figured there would be another er with far more faces and chaos that she would again have to show up for. Most of what followed was procedure, and then what the most urgent matter in each city was. Not the only ces that had been bombed, but the most worst ones. Candiceined about Snowpoint being undermanned, even with help from other cities, but Sinnoh was being stretched thin right now. Not enough cops, not enough League Trainers, not enough government Pokemon, not enough medical personnel, not enough firemen to save people from the rubble¡ª damn it, she should be out there helping another city instead of sitting in an office. She was worth at least thirty people by herself. Snowpoint''s port also needed to be fixed by this winter, or people would suffer fromck of supplies or maybe even starve. Nia said that the tramways connecting her city would be nonfunctional for what looked like weeks, if not months, which would stop a lot of people without cars from getting where they needed to go, including work. Sunyshore was much in the same boat, but since the city was smaller in size and more dense, they didn''t have as big of a problem. Their famous boardwalk was utterly ruined, though, which didn''t bode well for a city that relied on tourism as its thirdrgest source of ie after its tech sector and selling off energy. A lot of the stores and restaurants had been bombed to shreds, killing the people who''d been dining inside on a beautiful summer day, and the local insurancepanies were going to go bankrupt before being able to pay so much at once without help from the government¡ª not there weren''t going to be insurance problems everywhere else, only on a smaller scale. That didn''t even cover life insurance from so many deaths at once¡­ Blegh. She hated thinking like this. Assigning a value to the victims. When Fantina spoke up again, it was about how their famous Contest Hall was in ruins. From what Maylene knew, Hearthome sat at the center of the region and relied heavily on trainers passing through for ie, but it also had a parallel economy going with the biggest contest scene in the country. Numerous businesses or ces of gathering had also been bombed. As for Roark, though he tried to appear in high spirits for their morale, he let them know that the Oreburgh gate had been copsed by Team Gctic, meaning the city was cut off from Jubilife for the time being. Even if his own personal team was there to move things quickly, the fact that there were trainers trapped or injured in the tunnel meant that they had to be meticulous about it. There were good news¡ª No, not good news. Just not terrible news. Pastoria and Canve had gotten off easy rtive to the other cities, which was weird to think because Maylene knew Grace had lost her friend Justin in the Canve Library. Functionally, though, the city port was still functional, so the Iron Inds wouldn''t be cut off from the world. Furthermore, A Weezing''s Self-Destruct had been contained by a League psychic before it could explode on Canve''s Drawbridge, where most of the traffic traveled between the two sides of the city, so it hadn''t been cut in half. "Most of our forces are helping in Snowpoint." Maylene had received a report, sitting further along her desk, that had described the situation to her. A League official had been acting Gym Leader until she returned and had closely cooperated with Veilstone''s mayor to coordinate help. "I''ll talk to Alma about if we can spare any more." "With Cynthia back and the country in crisis, I doubt your request will be denied. No civvie government will be insane enough to deny us any request," Roark said. Volkner sighed, burying his face in his hands. "That''s not a good thing, Roark." The rock type specialist scoffed. "Hey, if we want to make it through this without Indigo turning us into a puppet state, we need a strong, guiding hand¡ª" "Yeah, whatever man. Too tired to argue," he exhaled, waving a hand in irritation. The bickering continued, even with the older leaders trying to cut in, because when Volkner was ''too tired to argue'', it really meant he thought you were full of shit. To Maylene, it was like being back at the start of the year, where the younger Gym Leaders, her included, had opposed Cynthia''s endless pushback of democratic norms save for Roark. She still was of the same opinion, even now. Even after having gone through hell and back with the Champion. But now wasn''t the time to fight. She and her colleagues had toe together. "Let''s stick to the¡ª" "You always do this, Roark. Sometimes I wonder if you''ve ever had a single independent thought¡ª" She tried again. "Can we please stay on topic¡ª" "I''m just looking at the situation objectively. No need to bring emotions into it," Roark said. "No need? How can I not bring emotion into it?!" Volkner''s fist mmed his table, and his camera shook. "Over ten thousand people are fucking dead and all you can think about is poli¡ª" "CAN WE FOCUS ON WHAT''S IMPORTANT?!" Maylene screamed as loud as she could. "Please." Finally, they were looking at her. All looking at her. Maylene realized she''d had wisps of aura circling around her skin. For a few seconds, they were all stunned. She''d never¡ª never really taken the initiative like this before today, hadn''t she? Maylene hadn''t been quiet by any means, as proven by her opposition to Cynthia, but among her fellow Gym Leaders, she''d always been one to follow the path of least resistance instead of swimming against the current. "Sorry for yelling, uh, we were talking about me being able to send more people to help you all. I''ll also be able to help personally when my Pokemon are found in Cor, so¡­" "You''re right," Volkner sighed. "Look, Roark, sorry for¡ª let''s just move on, yeah? It''s a tense day, we''re not thinking straight." Volkner''s fellow Gym Leader agreed, and the meeting could finally continue. Once Maylene finally put hard numbers on the number of personnel she could send, the first part of the virtual meeting could finally be adjourned. "I am now ending the recording," Fantina droned. "Now, kids, go on and ask Maylene what you wanted," Wake said. "Don''t act like you all aren''t curious." Gardenia leaned closer to her webcam and adjusted it slightly. "Is what happened on top of Mount Cor ever going to reach our ears or not?" When Maylene took a little too long to answer, Candice added, "we''re just worried about you, Maymay. Don''t feel pressured to answer. Either we get clearance, or we don''t. Personally, I''d rather not." Maylene''s fingers gripped the side of her table. She''d seen so many deaths, so much suffering, so much horror. "I''d¡ª rather not. Sorry." Knowing nods and gentle affirmations were her answer. A few more minutes passed of the Gym Leaders just talking about their everyday lives. Wake took the charge, trying to cheer everyone up with funny stories about his husband, but they also heard about how Gardenia wanted to get a nt species native to Almia that Maylene forgot the name of imported for her garden. Volkner''s new hobby he would no doubt drop in a week was reading poems, courtesy of Jasmine, but he also spoke about how their rtionship would be at an end soon. Fantina didn''t have anything new to bring, but she spoke a little about how she thought Kalos showcases would do well in Hearthome to spice things up a little¡­ But they were out of time. They needed to get back to work. As soon as the call ended, Maylene fullscreened her emails. Before she could get started on answering them all, she''d need to fill out some paperwork to authorize sending so many first responders away from the city, and she also needed to contact the League to see if they had any Kadabra avable to Teleport them¡­ but at least she wouldn''t have to go through the chain ofmand and wait hours like what was protocol. She was tempted to put a news channel in the top right corner of her monitor, but it''d be better if she wasn''t distracted. Before she could get anything done, her phone rang, vibrating against her desk. Her heart jumped, and she was almost scared of looking at who it was. She let it ring a little until she muttered stupid under her breath and grabbed it. The disappointment when she read ''Nia'' on the screen was palpable. She picked up with a heavy breath. "Nia? What is it?" Obviously she''d wanted to tell her something in private, and not with all of their friends and colleagues there. Sinnoh''s Gym Leaders were tighter-knit than basically every country, but they still hid things from each other. "Maymay, um, sorry to call you again, this''ll be quick. I just wanted to ask how you were doing, because you¡­ well, there''s no way you would be okay after all of what you went through, but if you ever need to talk to me, I''m here, okay? And so is Candice." Maylene smiled. "Thanks, Nia." "And if you need to vent about Grace Pastel, too," she added. "I know you were with her as her bodyguard¡ª" "Wh¡ª no, I''m¡ª" Maylene stopped, and then facepalmed. "Right, you don''t know. We''re¡ª we''re good now." "Oh. What?" "Yeah, we''re¡­ well, we went through a lot together and I saw a side of her I thought didn''t exist, and she''s pretty great. So yeah, we''re friends." "That''s¡­ it feels a little fast." "We spent over a week together, climbing the mountain on our own. To you, it feels like a day, but to me it was a while. We''ve been through a lot," Maylene exined. "I trust you. Just don''t get hurt¡­ wait, hold on." Maylene heard something on the other end of a line, like the clicking of a mouse. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit, what the¡­ no, this can''t be true." "Nia?! What''s going on?!" "It''s¡­" Craig Goodwill was dead. ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 12:34AM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Lily of the Valley Ind - Cynthia Collins Cynthia''s office was quiet. Sitting atop one of the spires of the League Headquarters, the Champion was running on caffeine, Togekiss'' happiness, and the fear of falling asleep. It was only a matter of time until she''d have to confront the reality that she would have to sleep, eventually, but for now, she''d thrown herself into work. Light filtered through stained ss windows depicting Arceus crafting the world with his thousand arms. Cynthia drummed her fingers against the side of her arm with Togekiss sitting exhausted at her side. "Who leaked it?" "Some idealistic high-ranking League Trainer called Mn Sherbert, a Corporal," Joachim Rouzet¡ª the director of the League Secret service¡ª answered her. He was a boring-looking man, but behind those innocent eyes was someone who had ordered countless terrible things in her name. "We''ve stripped him of his rank and shoved him in a cell for the time being." He bounced his leg against the floor, which was unusual for him. "He sent a picture of the ssified document to SGNC, and from there every single news channel picked it up. It''s too big to be contained, even if we use every Porygon at our disposal and that Rotom we got from Ernest Compton." This day couldn''t get any worse, could it? A country on fire was already bad enough, but now that people knew Craig was dead¡ª something she''d learned as soon as Flint and Aaron spoke to her, it was as if someone had poured oil on the mes. Craig Goodwill had been a symbol of excellence and hard work. He was the person trainers in Sinnoh looked up to the most. Him being gone did not bode well. "Keep him in that cell for now," she sighed. Cynthia had nned to reveal Craig''s death today, anyway. There was no way she would have been able to hide the fact that he was just missing after having participated in the operation inside Mount Cor. There was, however, a big difference between a controlled reveal where she could frame his death and build the narrative however she wanted, and the utter pandemonium that had just erupted among the trainermunity. "What''s the reaction looking like?" Cynthia asked, running a hand over Togekiss'' fur. "Civilians and trainers alike are mourning. Some still don''t believe it''s real, but the majority do," Joachim said, pacing around the room. "There are some conspiracists saying that his death was nned to secure your position as Champion because you thought he was a threat, but it''s not anything serious. Just a few loud mouths. What you''re looking at will mostly be a nation in shock, if you can even be more in shock than they already are." "You seem nervous." The unassuming man gave her an anxious smile. "He was my daughter''s idol. She had his merch. She kept saying he was going to win the Conference this year for sure. I''m just¡­ imagining her reaction, right now. My apologies, I''ll focus. Do you want me to call the Elite Four over?" Flint and Aaron were in the hospital for severe frostbite, so what he meant was Bertha and Lucian. Unfortunately, Lucian was coordinating the operation to scour Cor of any remaining grunts, missing League and ACE Trainers, or their Pokemon. He also had to handle rebuilding Regice''s outpost and ridding themselves of the permafrost there, so he had his hands full. Bertha¡­ she would call Bertha over. She''d been the one keeping the League stable and running in the background while Cynthia had focused on things needing her attention right now. "Bertha," she agreed. Before he could walk out her room and get started on descending the endless flight of stairs, she stopped him. "Stay vignt. Make sure we aren''t caught off-guard like that again." "Yes ma''am." As soon as the door closed, she copsed on her desk, hands sprawling all over the table. Togekiss chirped worryingly at her side. "I''m doing alright. I feel exhaustion creeping up on me." Staying like this would only have her risk slipping into unconsciousness. Tonight. Tonight, she would have Lucian''s kazam knock her out with Hypnosis. The Champion scrounged through her messy desk. Countless papers that she''d gone through in thest few hours were strewn without much order to them, but what she was looking for was a smallpact mirror buried beneath an executive order suspending regtions that might hinder the speed and efficiency of rescue efforts for fourteen days. Vernon had been quite quick to ry it to the rest of the civilian government. The legalese needed to bypass the courts had been tough, but it wasn''t like they were going to try to strike it down anyway. Arceus, she needed to stop this. How much more until she could finally start building back upon her efforts to bring freedom and political power to her people? She just needed to see them through this. Afterward, she would end her mpdown on civil liberties. Her face looked, well, normal. Her tiredness had been hidden beneathyers andyers of makeup for her speech at two in the afternoon, but even then, there was something about her face that was less¡­ solid. Like she''d lost her confidence. She tried to find what was missing for a while, making faces that Togekiss and sheughed at until Bertha knocked her door. Moments of peace were always fleeting. She yelled at her toe in. The older woman slowly walked into the Champion''s office with deliberate, well ced steps. "Making me climb stairs again, hm?" She silently sat opposite of Cynthia, adjusting her brown scarf to sit below her mouth. "Legendaries, Cynthia. What a shitshow this is." Cynthia''s eyes widened a smidge. Her mentor did not usually swear. "Sinnoh has seen better days indeed," the Champion calmly said. "But I became the Champion for a reason. We all have a moment in time where we are truly tested. My test is simply more difficult than my predecessor''s. Easier than Leo Florentius, I would say. At least I don''t have a war to deal with." And for how terrible the situation looked, Sinnoh was in a good position to handle it. She had worked hard to unite it, these past two decades. Other nations rarely had their government work lock in step like this, even during a crisis. One just had to look at Kanto-Johto during the Rocket War for proof. "Don''t sell yourself short," Bertha crowed. "But you''re correct. Craig''s death was not ideal in the first ce, given that his presence would have been a soothing one in this situation, but it leaking this way? It''s a catastrophe." "Should I move my speech up?" Cynthia asked. Oh, it wouldn''t actually be live. It would have a thirty-second dy, just in case she slipped up somewhere, and then the feed would be altered via Porygon to quickly cut it short. Hopefully she wouldn''t need it. "Perhaps." She tapped a finger on the table twice. "Do it and it feels panicky, don''t do it and it feels out of touch. It''s a lose-lose situation." Bertha''s hand moves to cover Cynthia''s, a surprisingly warm gesture for the usually cold woman. "If you need to take a break, my dear, I can handle more of your duties. While you get back on your feet. It''d be best if you don''t burn out." Bertha already knew of Cynthia''s experience through the Distortion World, and what she''d seen there. The full, non-redacted information, after all, had been for Elite-Four-Eyes-Only, including a few exceptions like Joachim or trusted military Commanders. The Champion shuddered at the sudden reminder, but shook her head. "I set out to do this a long time ago. I have to," she dered, her tone resolute. "I''ll move up my speech thirty minutes. It''d be toote to hold it at one." "Very well," the ground type specialist said. "I''ll let it be known. And Cynthia¡ª the other Champions want answers. Don''t keep them waiting." Other than Lance, who she had established a direct line ofmunication to, the other Champions would have to go to official channels, which were slow and cumbersome things. "I won''t. I need to finish this speech first." It would be her first public appearance since Cor, and it would set the narrative for the entire crisis. Once that was done, she would contact the other Champions. Lance first, then Wace, and then the others to tell them that there had indeed been Legendary involvement, but that the situation was under control. Thirty million people counted on her. She had better not mess it up. ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 1:28PM (Shinwa Time/SWT) - Lily of the Valley Ind - Grace Pastel He was dead. Fuck. The news had swept through the region like a firestorm, and it was Emilia who''d told us first, along with ''at this point, too much is happening at once''. She was right, even if she''d been a little tone deaf about it (to her credit, she hadn''t known Craig and had never been much interested in battling). Every hour, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime event was happening and stered on the news, and people just didn''t know what to talk about. It was only Cecilia and I, who were sitting in the room afforded to us by the League. It was a fancy hotel room reminding me of the one she''d stayed at in Eterna, given to us for our trouble, as if expensive gifts would matter at all to heal the scab that our experience had formed. Louis, Emi and Pauline had wanted to watch the speech all together, but I couldn''t help but feel this distance. Like the same one I''d felt after Veilstone, where we''d first learned we''d been chosen by the Lakes, but an even wider gulf. Mira had instantly gone to Teleport to see if she could find Lauren, but there was no luck yet. We''d even sent her multiple messages, but it had been left on read. As of now, she was missing. It''ll be difficult, but you''ll adapt. I believe in you, Grace! Thanks, Mesprit, I thought back. If you''re really thankful, you''ll do more than sit around all day. Normally, this would have provoked an angry response, but trying to teach the concept of mourning to Mesprit was a lost cause, so I just closed my eyes and sighed as the Guardian sent me the mental equivalent of themselves blowing a raspberry at me. I was leaning against Cece''s shoulder, sitting on a fluffy bed that was entirely too big, even for two people. We were sitting at its edge, facing the television. On it was an empty lectern on a podium, on which Cynthia would set foot any minute now. Behind it was Sinnoh''s g, a red circle surrounded by four white curved lines forming a cross-like pattern, reminiscent of Arceus'' arch, and the League g with itsrge stylized Pokeball on the same dark blue background. Mimi had been returned to me and was wrapped tightly around my wrist. Cecilia''s cold fingers inteced with mine to stop them from shaking. Lauren must have been crushed at the news. I''d known Craig. Not that well, but I''d known him, and the thought that he was just gone couldn''t¡­ fit in my head. Like, as far as I remembered, he''d always been there. He was more like a constetion in the sky, permanently etched in the firmament than an actual living, breathing person to me, but now he was gone forever. He had sacrificed himself to beat Regice to allow us to keep ascending Mount Cor. He''d saved the world just as much as everyone else. My breath trembled. "How close were you?" Cecilia asked. She truly didn''t know. Well, she knew I''d seen him a few times and that he''d gotten me my sponsorship, but she didn''t actually know what I thought of him, because, well, I''d never talked about him to her beyond the fight I''d witnessed between him and Jasmine¡ª Shit, Jasmine. I needed to message her, there was just so much going on. Melody, too. Back to Cecilia''s question, there was that, and cool fights Craig had been in that we sometimes nerded over. "He was¡­ we weren''t close. I think he saw me as his sister''s friend, so he was nice to me," I slowly said. "To me, he''s¡ª he was¡ª" I didn''t know what he''d been. Not a mentor, not a friend, but someone I looked up to? "Do you remember when we met him for the first time, near Snowpoint? With Savika?" Cecilia smiled, fondly remembering the moment. "I do. He¡­ he felt like someone who wasrger than life, even when he''d been wounded." "At some point, we were alone, the two of us, and," I shut my eyes tightly, desperate to cling to the memories of him, "I don''t remember how the conversation started, but he spoke to me about how he struggled early in his career and stuff, even with a Bagon as his starter. I think he was just trying to make me feel better because we''d just made it out of Cor as first years. To like, make me realize the scale of what we''d done. Howpetent we''d needed to be to survive." Damn it, the tears wereing, now. Not many, but just, remembering this was tough, because it was important. Cecilia''s finger gently wiped a tear from my cheek. "Sorry, you don''t need to¡ª" I interrupted her. "It''s fine. I want to talk about it, and Cynthia''ste anyway." The clock had struck 1:30, yet she still wasn''t there. "He spoke to me about having reached the summit, but he was so hungry, still. For something more. I could see it in his eyes. He wanted to touch the skies." The entire reason I''d had this goal, the thing that had driven me, pushed me to be this good at battling. To keep training day in and day out. It was all because I''d taken his dream for myself. My girlfriend wrapped me in a tight hug, and I sniffled against her just as Cynthia walked onto the podium with her Togekiss. Thest time I''d seen her, she had looked haggard and on herst legs, but it was as if she''d be apletely different person. It wasn''t just about covering up her tiredness, but also the way she carried herself. She stood tall, her shoulders wide and with a somber, yet leading expression on her face. She adjusted the microphone to bring it closer to her mouth, then cleared her throat. "Citizens of Sinnoh. Yesterday, on the 5th of May, countless bombs and Pokemon using Self-Destruct nted by Team Gctic wrecked havoc across our nation. This day is one that will live in infamy, and I join you in mourning our losses. Never since the Great War has Sinnoh suffered such an attack on its own soil, and for that, I must apologize. I failed to serve my duty as Champion and protect you before it was toote." She allowed a beat to pass, though her eyes nced away from the camera for a second. Something more astute people would catch and try to analyze. "However," she began. "Thanks to Operation Rise, I am here to deliver what I hope to be the start of an upswing for our country. Team Gctic, as an organization, is over. Their leaders are dead or in prison, and as we speak, we are imprisoning the few grunts remaining holed up in Mount Cor." Cynthia took another breath. "I''ve kept you in the dark regarding Team Gctic''s true goals, but today, I can reveal them now that it is safe to do so." "These terrorists were nning to awaken a Legendary to destroy our nation, and perhaps even the world." My heart sank. She really was giving them a lot, even if she was underying it. "That rift you saw at Mount Cor''s summit yesterday was the result of their nefarious ns, but thanks to the League''s collective efforts, the rift was closed before the aforementioned Legendary could cause too much damage. It will not open up again." I can''t believe Giratina is going to be med again. Poor thing, Mesprit whined. "But," another pause, "we also lost many good people to stop Team Gctic. Many League and ACE Trainers died or were wounded. As it stands, four-hundred and six League Trainers and twenty-three ACEs died climbing Mount Cor. More died fighting Gctic all over the nation. That first number includes Craig Goodwill." She went on to list his des as a trainer everyone should aspire to be, from his childhood, to the good he did as an adult. He''d led a momentous life, and she wanted to go over everything. Cecilia did note that she felt a little sad that his death would overshadow all others. I didn''t think that was what he would have wanted, either, but there was no other way. This is how the world worked, for better or for worse. "Craig Goodwill sacrificed himself for the good of the nation and the world, and it isn''t an exaggeration to say that without him here, we would have failed to stop Team Gctic. My heart goes to his family, to his friends, and the League will hold a special ceremony to celebrate his life at some point in the near future. He is what we should all aspire to be." "Now, in terms of returning to normalcy, the government will ensure that we keep up goodmunication in theing days. As it stands, however, the Conference will be dyed, meaning that Renewal Day on the first of June will not be held on the ind as usual. Each Gym will most likely have a different reopening date¡­" ¡ª May 6th 20XX, 12:46AM (Unovan Time/UT) - Mount Vertress/Unovan League - Mark Obel Deep within the heart of the Unovan League''s fortified headquarters, tucked away behindyers of reinforced walls and guarded checkpoints, Mark Obel watched the end of Cynthia''s speech with his Elite Four. The room itself was dominated by arge ovalmand table crafted from gleaming, brushed steel. At its center was a stylized braviary in a hunting position, Unova''s national symbol. The table was lined with many cushioned office chairs that had been filled with League officials just a few hours prior. Embedded seamlessly into its surface were a myriad of touch-screen disys, each capable of projecting intricate maps, live feeds from ongoing operations, and real-time data streams from across the region, though these were off for now. A massive screen on which Cynthia spoke was fixed against the central wall. This was the situation room. Where Mark and many League officials sometimes spent their entire days, should a situation warrant it. Wild Pokemon attacks (which were mostly done on Unova''s vast farnd), the status of their troops in Ransei, monitoring the border with the Orrean wilds, where raiders often crossed into Unova to pige, sneaking in with refugees who had braved the desert, or where Iris or Alder had been seenst. They had to track them. They were, after all, roaming weapons of mass destruction with no loyalty to the League. They had all worked overtime out of fear that the rift above Mount Cor would spell doom for the world. Even in Unova, an ocean away, panic had spread, as it always did when a Legendary was involved. Mark ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. "Worried, are you?" Grimsley poked with his typical, fiendish grin. The dark type master wore one of his robes again, this one white and draping so long it covered even his feet, with a long, darkened scarf around his neck that rolled down to his hip. He was sitting on the table with his legs crossed, content to tease his own superior. "About your sister, I mean." "She was seen at the League. She''s thankfully alive," Mark said. Rarely did he raise his tone, even when Grimsley got on his nerves. "But¡­ something happened to her. She was clearly hurt." At least he would have an opportunity to see her soon, even if his father would disapprove. Grimsley barked out augh, sounding more like a Mightyena than a man. "Not like she''ll tell you about it! ''Oh, brother, why did you stab me in the back to save the man who abused us?''" He pped his knee. So he was going to try to be humorous today, then. Mark would not underestimate him regardless. Shauntal and Caitlyn had both been rich with the resources of their powerful families behind them to help them get started in their journey, much like Mark had; Marshal had been taken under Alder''s wing and been brought up that way, but Grimsley? He hade from nothing, yet had be one of the most powerful men in the country regardless. Mark knew that he liked to appear weak and foolish when he had the sharpest wits of the five. He treated his entire life like a battle. "Give it a rest," Marshal said, his voice as deep as usual. The fighting type specialist sat in a chair too small to contain not only his towering height, but his physique. He was nearly spilling out of it. "I''ve had enough of your quips for the entire day." Mark was careful to keep a mental note of that outburst, even if Mark agreed with him for once. Marshal had always been a maverick due to Alder having been his mentor in his youth. He and Mark still did not get along. Grimsley clicked his tongue. "What, you don''t like it when I joke about the world going up in mes? Bummer." "I think we just don''t like it when you open your mouth for anything not work rted." Shauntal''s voice was nearly a soft embrace to their ears. For once, she didn''t have her head buried in her book, though she was writing down notes on what Cynthia was saying for her own uses. She preferred paper to digital, even for work. Her clothes were a drab of dark and purple coiling tightly against her. "Caitlyn agrees. Caitlyn!" Thest and youngest member of the Unovan Elite Four pushed her head off the table, though her eyes were still closed. Her golden hair was so long it was a nket onto itself. "Let''s keep things professional." Caitlyn smiled, looking at Mark. Not really looking, but something akin to it. The truth was, she just wanted them to be less loud. It wasn''t as if sleeping prevented her from absorbing information anyway, with how her Musharna had changed her. The psychic never left her side. Even now, it hung high above her, close to the ceiling. "Thanks. Now that the speech is done." Mark looked at each and everyone of them individually. "We know some of it is a lie, and we know from the way she spoke and behaved herself near the tail-end there that what happened to her scarred her in some kind of way. The question is, how much of this was the truth." "Ghost TE readings were off the charts in Sinnoh during the rift''s opening. It seems clear to me that this is Dusk business," Shauntal said. "Would Team Gctic want to use Distortion for their own, twisted desires? I don''t know." "She''ll call back and exin in further details," Marshal said. "We need a reset of rtions anyway after that ordeal with your father. Strongarming them into releasing that criminal¡­" he sneered at Mark. "Sinnoh''s a bit of a backwater, but letting it fall into Lance''s clutches was not ideal," Caitlyn hummed. She would know. She had grown up there after all. "A little bird told me that a diplomatic delegation is being sent this summer, where an alliance and closer cooperation will be the talk of the day." And there was also the fact that a Johtoan Gym Leader was close to Volkner. "I had no choice," Mark said. "The Conglomerate was getting antsy at one of theirs being captured and imprisoned." And to think that just a few years ago, Unova-Sinnoh rtions had been at their highest. What an unmitigated disaster. Gr-Unovan rtions were still tightly-knit, but other than that¡­ they were a nation on the road to further istion. A far cry from how it used to be after the war, where they''d risen as the world''s foremost power possessing a hand in every pie. Their meeting was adjourned a few minutes after Cynthia''s speech. The Elite Four still had a Conference to n and a poption to calm. Compared to the boisterous Alder, Mark was not a public Champion. In fact, he was certain that his Elite Four, having predated him, had a better connection to the people than he did. But he had a job to do. It was time to meet with the suits and tell them about all of this, and then he would need to call his father directly. The Opelucid Group, X Tech, Avalon, Crescent Global and the Obel Energy Company all had representatives posted at Vertress at all times. Marshal huffed when he walked past Mark, side-eyeing him in the process. He could hate Mark all he wanted. He knew how difficult it was to keep the seat of Champion, how precarious the position was to keep. Mark too, knew that there was a problem with the amount of power thesepanies had amassed, but they were sorely needed to support the Unovan economy. Without them, it would all copse. He wanted the states to gain its authority back, but change was best made through incremental steps. And each of them could have the nation tumble toward oblivion. His n was measured in decades. Now wasn''t the time to rock the boat, especially with the drummings of the sma Organization growing louder and louder, with calls among the Conglomerate to ban the party outright for its veryrge and vocal extremist wing. Ghetsis was screaming about the ''sanctity of democracy'' he suddenly cared about and how he would leave Parliament if that came to pass to join sma as a ''humble follower''. Mark closed the door behind him, his hands hovering over his seven Pokeballs. Bad times were on the horizon. He could feel it in his gut.
A/N: That''s it. That''s the end of the arc. Feels a little surreal being here, but I am. Gctic''s over, and now it''s on to the end of the year and the recovery process. I''ll be taking a two week break after this because I''ve been dealing with some wrist pain, and I also need to talk about some scheduling changes. Before this arc began, I used to upload a chapter a day (though I sometimes missed the mark). I havee to realize that I think my writing has gotten a lot better now that I have more time to work on chapters, so I''llpromise. When I''m back from my break, I will be uploading two chapters a week, one on Wednesday, and one on Sunday. If it''s a big, important chapter (for example, like this one), or multiple of those in a row, I''ll go down to one a week (Sundays). Thank you all for understanding, I hope you don''t mind too much. Back to the story, there is still a lot to cover about the fallout that I couldn''t go into this chapter. Louis, Emilia and Pauline, for one, will get more attention soon, as will Lauren. And hey, you also got your first look at Mark Obel and the Unovan Elite Four. There''s still a lot of Sinnoh to cover beyond just the Conference, believe it or not, so Unova will have to wait. As always, thank you for reading. I''ll see you all on July 3rd.
Chapter 318 Chapter 318
A/N: Wee back, wee back, here we go again. Reminder that chapters will be on Wednesdays and Sundays from now (though I am going on a trip next week so that might not hold for a tiny bit. I''ll try my best, though!). Thank you for all the kind reviews during my break! CHAPTER 318 Another day had passed since Craig''s death; two since we''d been back from the Distortion World, and though everything was over, the restlessness constantly rolling through me had not abated even a little. The inability to sleep until I copsed from exhaustion hampered me the most, which was partly why my head was currently resting against my palm. I barely awake at noon, with a few papers stapled together garnering my attention as one of the means to keep me conscious. Rain pattered against the hotel room''s window, with thunder asionally booming after a sh of light that would scare Mimi senseless and send them retreating into my shirt. The weather forecast had said it''d be raining all day. Again, I nced toward¡ª "You keep looking behind you," Cece said, her voice as quiet as a whisper. We''d spent the night together, away from the League''s buzzing activity that had only increased after the news of Craig''s death. Her hand reached toward mine and stopped my finger from tapping against the table. Her digits were cold, but they still made mine tingle with joy and warmth at the contact. "Nothing is going to lunge at you." The prickling sensation on the back of my neck was the most annoying. It wasn''t as hindering as theck of sleep, but it was an itch I couldn''t scratch, crawling right beneath my skin and taunting me. I sighed, sprawling over the table. "You know I''m not the best with numbers. I guess it''s tough keeping focused with so much stuff going on." "No half-truths with me," she softly chided. I gazed upon her white, empty eyes¡ª empty, but not vapid. There was still plenty of emotion in her stare. It was observing the depths of me, continuously digging deeper and deeper and leaving no inch of me unturned until I couldn''t help but shy away. The bags forming under her eyes mirrored mine. Cece hadpelled me to finally do my taxes this morning and was helping me figure out what number went where, along with deductions for being a trainer and the like. The stitches on her face would take a few days to get used to, as would the scars that would stick, but she had been there for me after burns had covered my left half, and I would do the same for her. She didn''t seem to care anyhow. "Well." I cleared my throat and rose back up, straightening my back, though I did not allow myself to lean against the softness of my chair. "You know, don''t you?" Cecilia''s eyes softened a smidge, and her head tilted to the side so far I wondered if that hurt her neck. "I have an idea." Her thumb traced the ridges of my knuckles, and I felt a little out of breath. At least this part of me was still normal. "Do you not want to see Aliyah anymore?" ''I could ask you the same thing'' was what I''d wanted to answer. She hadn''t seen her therapist again either, nor made any ns to. I searched for an answer, grinding my teeth together. Were my palms sweating? My eyes darted anywhere other than in her direction, suddenly finding our luxurious hotel room to be the most interesting thing in the world. "Maybe. I don''t know, I don''t think there''s anyone in the world that could understand what I went through anymore. Other than you and the others we were with." Cecilia''s lips twitched nervously as thunder rang out in the sky. "You''d think that Sinnoh would have modernized their tax forms," she said after a pause. "Doing everything digitally would save a lot of time." "Um, right." She''d noticed my reticence to talk about the Distortion World and switched the topic, thank the Legendaries. "So, deductions¡­" It took another hour for us to finish everything and double check the forms. We left the hotel room when we were done, traveling through the empty halls, down the elevator and into the nearly-vacated lobby with Meltan back around my neck in the form of a ne. Now that we were done with Gctic, it was about time I allowed the steel type to reveal themselves¡ª not today, but soon. I doubted many would care other than a passing nce and a piqued interest like my father¡ª Damn it. This ce would only fill up once the Conference began, which we didn''t have a date for yet. With an umbre in hand, my girlfriend kept me close enough to keep both of us dry. The walk to the nearest mailbox had us travel through the wide, busy League streets, which were filled with sleek, modern trams that put Eterna City''s to shame. They were the lifeblood of the League''s transportation, given that no cars were allowed here. LED screens dotted the sidewalks, disying the weather, temperature and a map of the ind. We were where the southern, residential andmercial district crossed with the central, governmental one, which meant that there were a mix of residential and governmental buildings around us. In a way, the Lily of the Valley ind was not just the seat of Sinnoh''s power, but another city unto itself. Cece attracted plenty of stares, which she either shrank away from or returned with her own piercing re that carried with it the weight of her own death. Very few people would be able to challenge her in that regard, including myself. I still had no idea what exactly made her decide to re or avert her gaze. She''d taken much more to wearing dark or faded colors now. Today, for example, she had just hastily thrown on a ck t-shirt and high-waisted skirt that revealed the bite marks on her leg. Once we finished dropping off my forms, we were presented with a choice. There were two hours left before I was cleared to finally get Buddy back from the center. Despite my assurances that he would be able to heal properly in water, the nurses had preferred taking no risks and had kept him in the Center to monitor his recovery, just in case the Dusk had affected him for the long term. I knew they''d been correct, I just¡­ Really, really wanted to see him. Fortunately, it looked like we weren''t going to have to worry about that. The rest of my team were recovering well, as was Cece''s, but it would be days to weeks before we saw any of them again. ording to the Joys, Angel was even going to recover his eye, the loss of which was a prospect that had haunted me since he''d fought Saturn. It would take weeks for it to actually get back to his normal vision, but at least it would. Honestly, right now I wanted nothing more but to get on Princess and fly off. I didn''t want to escape, or anything. Running away into the wilds like I assumed Lauren had wasn''t something even in consideration. Being in the sky, the wind thundering in my ear would probably help clear my head, and the League was a little suffocating, at the moment. I still hadn''t gotten used to how everything sounded with my hearing aid. Being deaf in one ear was annoying. It was always the little things, like having to get used to turning my head to the left to hear what people were saying, or the constant, yet subtle ringing that had been diagnosed as tinnitus pestering me constantly. Anyway. We had two hours to kill, and I didn''t particrly feel like staying holed up in an empty hotel. "What do you say we swing by a caf¨¦ or something?" My tone wasn''t as confident as I''d wanted it to be. I stuttered and messed up the delivery big time, but the way I''d pulled on her wrist let the desperation I felt bleed through. The thought that maybe if we tried, we''d be normal again. "Hop on a tram and go to the first ce we see?" She blinked, too slow to be anything but a conscious effort. "Are you sure?" Countless people filed through the streets around us; Mimi''s cold steel pressed against my chest; the knocking of the rain against our umbre¡ª but I only had eyes for us. I wanted this to work. "Yeah. Everyone else is acting like¡­ they''re moving on, right? I wanna try. Just the two of us, before we go see the others again." Cecilia freed her hand from mine and brought it up to the side of my face. Her cold thumb caressed my cheek and the corner of my lip. "Ignoring the past will not do you any good, my love." Something about her tone there showed that she was talking as much to herself as to me. For a moment, I thought she''d refuse. "But it would bring back fond memories. Like our time in Eterna, where you showed me what it felt like to be free." "Right. Right." "Even unintentionally, you make things rhyme, it seems," Cecilia said with a slight quirk in her lips. Seeing her smile¡­ Seeing her smile was like getting a glimpse of the sun in this horrible weather, peeking behind the clouds. ¡ª The ce we''d found was somewhat cozy¡ª or as cozy as a ce built to attract tourists like a Combee hive would an Ursaring could be. It was from a chain I''d rarely seen outside of Jubilife called Standing Ovation. A weird name for a caf¨¦ ce, but it yed a lot with the musical side of things. There was a nature-theme going on, with greenery and vines spread throughout the establishments. A group of Chatot were perched above the bar area, singing in low baritone. There was a lounge in a different room, but seeing as this wasn''t the busiest season and the League was still on lockdown, only the Chatot were ying music for now. Honestly, it was surprising this ce was even open at all, but maybe the owners wanted to pretend life went on. It was actually fascinating, how some of the group of ten Chatot could mimic the sound of instruments with just their voice, but after seeing Aubri''s perfectly replicate her voice, it wasn''t that surprising. Cece''s eyes were focused on our table entirely. She didn''t dare to nce in any other direction, as if attracting attention would be her doom. I sipped on some kind of cold, mint-vored drink I''d picked at random while she calmly gulped down her tea. We''d ordered some onion rings as snacks, but neither of us had touched them. The conversation had been a little nd. We''d mostly listened to the music andforted each other with only ourpany. It was when my phone vibrated, that Cece snapped back to reality. Her eyes instantly grew alert as I grabbed my Poketch and scrolled through. "Sorry," I said, knowing that it was bothering her. "It''s just¡ª yeah, it''s Maylene, hold on." She was texting me about how they''d nearly found her entire team. The only one missing was Machamp, now. I had fond memories of the fighting type ying charades with us back at theke after the dinner Cecilia had prepared. I replied with a short answer and ced my phone back in my pocket. We hadn''t really texted much, honestly. Whenever I did to check up on her, she''d read the message but take so long to answer I just gave up and put my phone back on sleep. Being left on read didn''t really bother me, given I knew she was busy with Gym stuff. "Hey, Maylene''s only missing her Machamp, now." I stirred the mint leaves in the drink with my straw and looked up at my girlfriend. "No news from Mira with Lauren, though. She''s asking around. Maeve''s back in Jubilife seeing her parents for the first time in a while. She hasn''t said it, but I think it''s pretty obvious she wants some time away from us. I think she''s considering working for the League¡­" Something about Cece''s expression confused me. It was almost as if she was puzzled at her own emotions. A mix of frustration and relief, maybe. She was hard to read now that her bodynguage had changed so much, and it was something I was going to get used to again. "That''s¡­ good," Cece said. Her tone was meek, yet it could cut. "What about her father?" she asked, showing genuine concern. "I think he''s getting there tomorrow? I''m not sure what time." My breath shivered when Mimi crawled up to my head in public. They were intrigued by the fork and knives on our table. Luckily the ce was empty enough that nobody noticed. They turned back inanimate when I softly clicked my tongue. A yawn gripped me before I could keep going. "Might need to swing by if it goes badly. You shoulde with me, we can ask for a Kadabra if they''re not too busy." "Hm?" she made a confused sound. "We''ve been there for Chase, and he might need more help, honestly." Recalling our conversation in his hospital room had me hide a wince. He was in much more pain than he wanted to show. "But he has Emi, Pauline and Louis along with us. Maylene doesn''t really have anyone, since the other Gym Leaders are super busy too. You''d be able to handle it better than me. My dad''s great, and my mother was absent, but I had decent parents. Good parents," I quickly rectified. Just because we''d argued didn''t mean I needed to knock them down a notch. "You''d be able to help her better than I could." Her jaw clenched. "I feel like she would be disappointed, if I was there." "What? Why¡ª" My foot tapped hastily against the tiles below our table. "Hey, are you angry with me?" "What?" "Are you angry with me?" I asked again. "I''ve¡ª I''m sorry if I''ve done something bad, but I genuinely don''t understand¡ª" "No!" Cecilia yelled so loud the few heads in the caf¨¦ turned. A few of the Chatot red at her for interrupting their song, and she instinctively red back until one of the bird shrank down and cleared her throat behind her wing. "No¡­ absolutely not. You''re one of the only things keeping me going." That wasn''t ideal. Not when we''d done so much to break from our codependency, but I''d be lying if I didn''t feel simr. My body rxed, and I sighed in relief. "Okay. Then why are you angry?" "I''m not." "Is it because¡ª" "Just let it go. Please." Rare were the times when I''d seen her beg this way. She never would have allowed herself to appear so weak before in public, and now I felt like I''d messed up. I did have an inkling of what she thought, but¡ª "Sorry, it''s stupid," she sighed. "Hey, don''t call your worries stupid. If it''s enough to move you to tears, then¡ª" Cecilia brought a hand up to her cheek, and then looked at her wet fingers. "Oh. I''m crying." My foot gently touched the side of hers, and she took another sip of her tea. She said it made her body feel warm, a reminder of the heat she''d lost after dying. When she finished, I suggested she order another one, and Cece followed suit immediately. It wasn''t until she''d calmed down, that she opted to resume the conversation by changing the subject. "Have you talked to anyone other than the group yet?" Cece asked. I took a bite out of the now-cold onion rings. "Do my parents count?" "They do, but I meant more like, Poketch people. It''s important for you to not stay too quiet, even if I know you''d rather be doing anything else right now." I twirled my straw in my drink. "Right, right." An exhale escaped me, half a sigh and half a yawn. "I was going to do it today. Melody, Ramon, Bobby first. You know, they must be getting hit by Craig''s death hard." And I hadpletely ignored them. "I''m going to today, I promise." A slight smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Good. And Jasmine?" "Her, too. I''ve just been so overwhelmed, you know? Sometimes I wonder how you manage to keep going after everything." The words were said with admiration, because I genuinely had no idea. Even now, after everything, Cecilia worked day and night to prepare for her arrival in Unova, even if it was done slower now and with much more self-doubt. I was d I had her. Without her to push me, I''d most likely be rotting in my bed all day without purpose. "I''ve been wondering, you know, if my story''s over," I added. Cecilia''s mouth gaped, then closed, then opened again. "Of course not. You have¡ª you have so much left to do." "I guess?" My hand rubbed the side of my arm, and I shifted in my chair. "It makes you realize that in all those books you read, after the hero saves the world, his family, the princess or whatever, he has his entire life ahead of him after. But how will anything he does ever live up to that?" I morbidly chuckled, keeping my voice low so no one would hear. "You don''t know, because it just ends. What else is left?" "Your eighth badge?" she suggested. A waiter passed by to give Cecilia her second cup of tea. Honestly, I kind of regretted not ordering one myself. "Can I taste?" I asked. Her white eyes narrowed into slits. "Are you trying to change the subject?" "Maybe." "Then don''t¡ª" She''d caught herself, probably because when she had asked me to change the subject, I''d done so without a fuss. Cece slid her teacup across the wooden table, and I had a little sip. Tasty, but not as good as Aliyah''s brews. Arceus, I''d missed tea. "I''m starting to wonder why I didn''t order this instead of this sugary mint thing." I nudged my chin at my drink. "You can have it, if you want," she said. "Nah. I don''t want to steal your warmth. Anyway, I¡ª yeah, there''s this feeling of emptiness within me. I fought, fought and fought, to climb and survive, but now that the mountain is behind me, I don''t know what to do. I''m scared that nothing will ever feel fulfilling again, Cece¡ª I¡ª I can''t even shake the feeling that I''m going to get jumped and we''re in the Arceus damned League. The most secure ce in the country!" I threw my hands up with a tired groan. When that same Chatot irritably squawked at me, I clicked my tongue. "Sorry." Anger came easier now, too. I was the one disturbing the Chatot, but I was also angry they''d said anything. The well was deeper now than it had been in a long time. I hadn''t been this prone to anger since Sceon and Veilstone, but this one had another quality to it. It was a tired one. "Your life is worth more than a single story." I bit my lip. "I wish I could see it that way. I don''t think you can get it." How could it be worth more than all of that? My adventures held so much weight within my soul. It was still shackled to them, burdened by the size of the journey. As it stood, it would dominate my entire life, and no one would ever be able to even hear of it. Not only was a story meant to be told, to be sung, to be experienced through as many eyes as possible, but I was a book that had run out of pages. The tale of my life had been gimped. Left to decay in the dark without purpose. She tilted her head. "I can try." "Maybe." My fingers drummed against the table. "..ter, then." "Yeah. Later." Even now that we had finished our drinks and onion rings and paid for them, there were still thirty minutes left until I could pick up Buddy, but I figured I''d be able to get him early anyway. When we passed by the bar, with the Chatot who had gotten mad at us both, Cecilia shot her a re and the normal type flew off to perch on another vine. With shaking wings, she messed up hernding and nearly slid off the branch. I snorted as soon as Chatot was too terrified to even respond, not because I took pleasure in her suffering for ''wronging'' us (it really was our fault, and I''d outgrown that months ago), but because¡ª Because it was silly. My girlfriend carried with her an air of death. The burden of doing better in the second chance she''d been given at life; an incredible depth of character that was as deep as an ocean, and seeing it used to spook a poor Pokemon just wanting to do her job was hrious. Cece giggled too, two shortughs that didn''t mean anything, yet felt so freeing all the same because it served as a reminder that we could stillugh. We hadn''t forgotten how, of course we hadn''t! Unfortunately, the moment passed as quickly as it hade. The weather back on the street had cleared a little bit, even if it was still raining. We walked together until we needed to go in different directions. She''d be going off to talk to Chase, and the hospital he''d been put in was specialized to care for humans, meaning it wasn''t in the Pokemon Center. After that, she''d be spending some time with Louis and Pauline. Emilia had left this morning to go see her parents in Hearthome, but she''d be back by tonight. We had helped the League so much at this point that we had enough pull to get her through the lockdown. After getting Buddy back, I''d go back to the hotel and finally stop ignoring the world beyond this ind. Going to see my parents was a possibility, but¡­ Not yet. So here we stood, facing each other near a street corner under a tram stop to hide from the rain. Our hands were linked, and I was staring right up at her. Legendaries, she''d grown tall this past year. To be honest, I still wished I''d been as tall, or at least close. "I''ll see youter?" I said. "Hmhm." I snaked my hand around her waist and hugged her, which she took as a sign to do the same. Her fingers on the small of my back were cold, yet they felt warm, even in the rain and the heavy winds. I stood on my tip toes and kissed her as I melted into her arms. My heart sang and danced in my chest, electricity coursed through my lips and by the Legendaries, I smiled against hers until we were done. I pushed hungrily until they parted again. It had been a while. Too long. Part of me wanted to ask her to stick around, but hogging Cece all to myself when our friends needed her too would be selfish. After she gave me the umbre, I left her at the tram stop and made my way to the Pokemon Center. She was gone. I couldn''t help but feel on edge, now. I allowed Mimi to pretend to be a thorny crown, which had people look at me like I was insane, but hearing the steel type chime in excitement at every new sight helped with the anxiety. Cass getting back in a few days would be best, though. Sleeping and traveling without a psychic around was going to give me a heart attack. My umbre kept folding onto itself due to the heavy winds, but eventually I made it to the Pokemon Center. This was the League''srgest Pokemon Center, still built in typical Center fashion. The difference here was that it was nearly ten stories tall. You had to crane your neck to notice the warm, orange and inviting roof Centers were usually known for, and a skybridge led to the human part of the Center, though it wasn''t equipped to deal with injuries like Chase''s or Denzel''s. Even the Pokemon Center was empty. There were obviously the usual League Trainers here and there, having brought their Pokemon to be healed after a bout of sparring. During the Conference, this ce would be filled to the brim. It was the best Pokemon Center in the country, capable of healing so much it might as well have been magic, hence Angel''s eye recovering perfectly. I paced across the warm, beige floors toward one of the multiple counters. There was only one Nurse per counter right now, with the usual Audino, Blissey or Chansey, however, again, once the Conference began they would be staffed by many more. There weren''t just the tournament fights to worry about, but the thousands of trainers that would fight here too. It was somewhat of an exciting prospect, but there was somethingcking. As it turned out, Buddy had already been ready. An excited Chansey brought back his Pokeball in a tray, and for once, things felt right again when I clipped it to my belt. Deciding I''d release him back at the hotel, I speed walked back as fast as I could. Maybe if my motivation ever came back, I''d start running again with Honey. I was terribly out of shape; out of breath by the time I was back. Back in the hotel room, I drew a bath in the bathroom (which wasrger than my entire living room back in Jubilife), and I released Jellicent. The ghost looked the exact same as he''d been¡ª maybe his eyes were just a tiny bit brighter and his blue tone a little healthier, but¡ª "Ack!" Buddy rushed at me, wrapping his head around my body as he enveloped me in a big, squishy hug. I tried to return it, but my arms were stuck at my side and all I could do was try my best to stay upright. The impact sent me spinning out the bathroom, grinning from ear to ear as he slowly slid off of me. He couldn''t cry with physical tears, but that particr whistling tone was the equivalent of a wail. There was so much behind it, too. To this day, the amount of words and emotions a Pokemon could put behind a single tone astonished me. Relief, happiness, regret at having nearly blown up at me in the Distortion World, worry at the rest of the family¡ª all of that behind a single sound. He''d never been one for tears, but here we were. "I missed you too, Buddy," I softly spoke. Finally, I managed to put my hand on his cheek, which he allowed to sink inside of him. From my head, Meltan jumped on top of his head and jumped on it like a trampoline. "And Mimi did too, apparently!" Jellicent sighed in relief, a long and low-pitched whistle. The first thing he asked me wasn''t how the others were doing, or if everything was truly over. It was how was I doing? That¡ª That made me feel like tearing up. "I''m fine! I''m okay!" I reassured him. "And you don''t have to worry about what happened to you in the Dusk, it''s¡ª you aren''t used to it. Hopefully you''ll never have to get used to it." A shiver ran through me, from my neck to the bottom of my spine. Staring at the bath I''d drawn, I continued, "I''m guessing you don''t need water to feel better." Buddy shook his head and said he was feeling as good as new. I stepped around him and started draining the water. "Let''s head to the living room, then. I gotta get some¡­ work done. We can catch up there!" I let myself drift across the hotel room and sagged down on thefortable, cushioned chairs surrounding something between a coffee and dinner table. Buddy followed me close with Mimi riding on top of his head, and the prickling sensation in my neck lowered some. Even if they were just chatting, and Meltan was sending waves upon waves of pride for keeping me sane in the Distortion World, it felt good to have him at my back like usual. No doubt I''d be able to sleep easier now that he''d be standing guard. I turned on the television, which had already been switched onto the SGNC channel. Mallory Ryan was speaking outside of her nighttime slot, too, with a co-host I didn''t know the name of. In the corner of the screen was a live-counter of the casualties slowly ticking up, and she was waiting for one of their correspondents in Snowpoint to show the situation in the city in a few minutes. If I was working anyway¡­ I''d need to contact her. Anything to stay active and not let my mind fray into thinking my life was over. My teeth chattered. I lowered the volume to a manageable level, which wasn''t much given that my deaf ear was facing the TV, and I dragged myptop out of my bag. It had been sitting at the foot of the table since I''d filed my taxes earlier today. "It''s been a while since I opened you¡­" I trailed off as I typed in my password. Princess'' birthday. It had been so long, in fact, that thest thing I''d had open was my battle against Byron. My gaze lingered on the paused frame for a second. It was near the end of the battle, right before Empoleon took down Princess. Then I clicked the ''x'' and closed it. First came sending a text to Melody. My liaison had been blowing up my notifications ever since the bombs had gone off, but even more now that I was spotted back at the League. I scrolled through the message with a dismayed look when I realized she had needed to go through my father to figure out if I was alive or not. She''d done so much for me, and yet I''d kept ignoring her for so long. While I scrolled through my messages, Buddy asked me if I''d go more in-depth into what happened in the Distortion World, and my response was a quiet, dismissive no. "Sorry, I just can''t," I muttered. "I''d rather not even think about it. I can tell you about the other stuff you missed, though." Distortion''s worm-like frame was still visible as clear as day every time I closed my eyes, its piercing wings gripping my heart so tight it was ready to explode. When I got lost thinking about its form, it would beat so fast I thought I was having a heart attack. "How do you think I should answer?" I asked. "She''ll be angry like me. Like my parents. Because she won''t understand." Jellicent''s eyes dimmed, and I sensed his confusion. "It was a fight. A big one. I kind of blew up at them for asking about what happened, and I feel like she''ll want the same thing, ''cause at the end of the day they all care about me." Buddy stayed silent for a few moments, and Mimi screeched out something akin to ''it is your right to yell at her if she doesn''t understand''. Not words, but a feeling. The ghost finally agreed, but in a softer, gentler manner. He said that he was fine staying in the dark, even if it hurt him, so she should be fine with it too no matter the pain it brought. I''d missed this. Having him to advise me, whether I took it or not. I hummed, hands hovering over my keyboard, and I began to type. Hey Mel. Sorry about not responding to your messages. I promise you I wasn''t avable until yesterday, and I was overwhelmed with everything. To be honest, I still am. I know you''ll want to know what happened, but I can''t tell you, and I ask that you please do not ask me¡ª "Too professional, you think?" I asked. Jellicent rolled his eyes, saying that this was the only proper way to write a text. Cece had kind of rubbed off on me there. "Of course you would say that. Anyway¡­" ¡ªMy Pokemon are currently getting healed at the League, so I''ll be stuck here for a few weeks. I could ask for a League Kadabra to Teleport me, but all of my friends are here at the moment, so unless it''s urgent Poketch business, I''ll stick around here for a bit. It was a long-winded text, going into how I was doing physically, and then thanking her for taking such good care of me over the months. Without her with me, I''d never have been able to navigate the cutthroat business that was Poketch. Two minutes after I pressed ''send'', she called me while I''d been texting Ramon my condolences for losing Craig. Arceus, of course she would do that. Talking over the phone had always been easier than texting for her. After gathering my thoughts to figure out what to say, I answered, putting the phone to my deaf ear out of habit before remembering I couldn''t hear out of there. "Hello¡ª" "..d you''re okay! I was worried sick about you, I couldn''t figure out where you were, and¡ª and¡ª" A small sob interrupted her, and I winced. "I''m so relieved to hear your voice." "Listen, I''m¡ª I''m sorry," I said. "No, you have nothing to apologize for. I''m still reading your text, but I get the big picture." She sniffled. "Thepany''s been up in arms since the news of Craig''s death. God, twenty-six. He was so young," she sighed. Right. That was young. "I''m d you made it out okay, Grace." I frowned. "Made it out?" "Whatever it is you were doing," she began, "whatever you don''t want to tell me, I know you were involved in whatever was going on in Mount Cor. Your ear," she knew about that already? "your Pokemon being so hurt, you being a League trainer and having participated in operations before, it lines up." I rxed a little, and my arms sagged against the table. "Right." She must have thought I''d only fought in Mount Cor. That was fine. It was a lot, but it was fine. "I''m okay." "The League is under lockdown right now, so I can''te see you. No one other than personnel, their families or the civilians that were there before the bombs can go in, they can only leave." Luckily for us, me and my friends were an exception to that rule. "I know, don''t worry. You''re okay, Mel. I can handle it." "I hope you can," she said after a beat of silence. "I''m sorry if this is invasive, but this¡ª this is part of my job, right? To watch you and promote you. You look like hell in your recent pictures." "Yeah, I know I do. Sleeping problems." "You sound¡­ unwell, too." How could I exin to her, that I was d I was out of that hell ghosts called home, d I would not have to fight Gctic and risk my team''s lives again, but that as a result of that it felt like I''d been emptied and lost my purpose? I was a de without a wielder, sitting and gathering dust in a forgotten corner. No one would ever hear of how sharp I''d once been. Gah, everything was so conflicting. We kept talking a while with the phone on speaker so Buddy and Mimi could hear, but eventually I had to hang up because I still had work to do and Melody was going to be called to an emergency meeting soon anyway for Poketch to decide how they would handle Craig''s death. He was meant to retire, but not that abruptly. There were supposed to be parties, meetings and ceremonies in his honor, before he left. They were probably going to squeeze every penny out of his death they could. It felt dirty, how his sacrifice was being spun by both the state and thepany he worked for to gain them the most. Mel - I''ll talk about you to the board and stabilize the situation a bit, but Remington knows not to mess with ssified info, so you should be good for the time being. That old man had worked with the League for decades to give hispany a stranglehold on Sinnoh tech, so that wasn''t surprising. Still, not having to deal with Poketch being nosy about what had happened would do wonders for my desire to keep working with them. My team still needed to eat. Though the sponsor implied I''d keep training and battling. I wanted to? Or at least it felt like I should have. I was going to, maybe. There was just too much shit to worry about right now. My motivation had never been this low. Jellicent clicked, telling me that was basically the best that conversation could have gone, and I agreed. "Now it''s time to send her an email." I red at the television. My first time in Veilstone, Mallory had revealed herself as a follower of the sma Organization, a political party in Unova. Personally, I believed they had plenty of good points that shouldn''t go ignored, but she was one of the extremists who believed trainers should be abolished. Who thought that the rtionship was fundamentally unequal in all parts. In my opinion, that was anathema to the world itself. The foundation of everything was the rtionship and cooperation between human and Pokemon, and life with the two as separate entities did not mesh well with me. I had grown a lot since Veilstone, as shown by my friendship with Maylene which seemed so impossible a month ago, but that core belief of mine still had not changed since we''dst spoken. However, Mallory Ryan was a well-connected woman with links to Pokemon Rights organizations all over Sinnoh and Unova. It would be immature of me to just close that door before I''d even given it a chance. Sure, I didn''t think I was going to suddenly be friends with her and her ilk, but I''d heard that sma had a moderateponent, too, and learning about them would help¡­ Either way, she had told me to contact her if I ever changed my mind, and connections were everything, so I wasn''t going to let this chance slip me by. I quickly sent a message to her business email asking if we could meet again any time soon in private. At the moment, she was a busy Combee, but something told me she''d make time for me anyway. And if she couldn''t, well, we could always keepmunicating at a distance for a little bit. I was mildly paranoid Poketch would figure out I was talking to her due to them having ess to all of my ounts, so speaking face to face while I was supposedly still at the League would alleviate some of my worries. The board had explicitly told me not to get involved with sma even if they were fine with me being involved in Pokemon Rights, as my time in Pastoria had shown. They made a mockery of my goals. Like giving a fake steering wheel to a child in a car. Granted, I did not have the motivation to do even a fraction of what I wanted at the moment. I was kind of just hoping it would eventuallye back. Fake it ''til you make it, as they said. I stretched, cracking each finger in my hands with a satisfying pop. "Still not used to not having any bandages there." Jellicent responded by saying hopefully I wouldn''t get wounded so much now that everything was over and that I honestly deserved never to be hurt again. "Hmhm. To be honest, I think I was lucky just to get off with only ear damage. It could have been a lot worse," I said. "Arceus, can you believe that typing messages can be so fucking exhausting?" The ghost paused, and then said I could always take a break. I turned with a slight smile, my legs hanging off the side of the fluffy, cushioned chair, and rubbed the side of his cheek right next to his foamy mustache. His attention had been split between me, ying around with Mimi and the news. "I can''t. If I stop and sit down now, I don''t know when I''ll be able to get up again. Might be days¡ª" A buzz from my phone vibrating against the table caught my attention. It was Maylene. "Hey, I guess she finally answered." Maylene S. - Sry I was busy working. Thx for the kind words. Hopefully they find Machamp soon. Then she started typing, stopped, and started again. The cycle continued for thirty seconds or so. Maylene S. - How r you doing? I answered by exining that I was trying to be like her and stay active to keep my mind off things I would rather not think about. "Hey,e closer for a sec." Jellicent approached until the cold air around him tickled my back, and I snapped a selfie of him and Mimi on his head. Somehow, the steel type had managed to get into a grand pose, swinging around a needle they liked to pretend was a sword. "Perfect. You look great." Hmph! Mesprit harrumphed. I should be in that picture! "Mesprit! You''ve been quiet today." When Jellicent''s eyes shed in surprised, I mouthed to him that I''d exin soon. I''d rather not say something that randomly offends you in these harsh times, Grace, Mespritined. I could almost picture their pout. So s, I await your recovery. Don''t be too long, now! That was¡­ nice of them. After telling Jellicent that I was now alright with Mesprit talking to me and hanging out in my head, I sent the picture to Maylene. You - I got this guy back, though! I missed him. It''s easier now that I have him around. Not easy but easier. Again, the same hesitation to reply. Maylene S. - I think ur Maylene S. - Sry pressed send on ident Maylene S. - Im happy that things are going better. Id talk more but i have to go back to work and prepare the gym for my dad tmr. it has to be perfect or hell freak otu. You - Alright. If things go bad Cece and I are always avable to swing by. Might need to send a Kadabra though, they''re running short here for anything that isn''t essential and we don''t have our Pokemon back yet. Maylene S. - Thx. I rly rly appreciate it. I considered sending another text warning her that Cece was still a little angry with her, but decided otherwise. Given the topic at hand¡ª abusive dads¡ª I doubted that Cecilia would let whatever feeling get in the way of helping a friend who was in the same, horrid circumstances she had lived through. I finished texting Ramon and Bobby, stretching until my extremities tingled. I considered Aubri, given that I could easily find her contact info, but we weren''t close enough and she disliked me anyway. Now, thest message of the afternoon before I''d go and join Cecilia and the others. Other than a few texts, thest time I''d had a serious conversation with Jasmine had been near Floaroma when I''d been traveling the region. She had sent a long-winded message after my loss to Byron that I had seen but forgotten to look at because of how the footage had enthralled me for days. Most of it were words of advice from things I had already noticed, along with telling me to keep my chin up and stand proud of my performance. ''Not many trainers on their first 8th badge battle would have been able to deal with that Bronzong as well as you had,'' she had said. To be honest, the loss felt kind of small now, and the way I''d reacted to it childish. The lessons imparted to me by Byron had probably saved my life in the fights against Saturn and Mars. Better a loss to him than Gctic down the line. Jasmine, I had learned to know, was not the kind of person to keep texting you when you didn''t answer, so she had stopped a few hours after the bombs had gone off. It wasn''t because she didn''t care. She just wasn''t the kind of person to chase after someone who didn''t answer back, even when they might be hurt. Part of me thought she might have been scared of what she might have learned if she looked too deep into it. The words came easier to me this time. Jasmine wouldn''t be able to understand fully either, but she was still her. She had gone through the Rocket Wars at my age, busting uppound afterpound and fighting them on the open field as well. The story of how her first kill had been a young grunt crushed into red paste under her Steelix''s tail had stuck with me all these months because of the face she''d made when describing the event. So sharp; a smile unbending like steel; yet pain hidden deep within. Jasmine had lived through a momentous event, and she had to learn to live a normal life after. She would be the best person I could go to for advice, and both Buddy and Mimi agreed. After finishing my text asking if she could call, the steel type Gym Leader messaged back with this. ''How about we just meet instead?'' I blinked, then shook in excitement. She always did this, didn''t she? ¡ª As it turned out, Jasmine had been on the Lily of the Valley Ind already. Her outfit was a tailored navy-blue pantsuit that clung to her figure, the jacket cinched at the waist with a thin, silver belt. The fabric of her suit was high-quality, with a subtle sheen that caught the light as she moved. Underneath it, she wore a simple white blouse with a delicate pattern at the neckline and thin, sword-like silver earrings toplete the ensemble. nking her were two¡­ Indigo officials? I believed that was a pin of their g on their chests, a gold and silver bi-color with a streamlined design of Mount Silver at its center. One of them was a raven-haired,nky-looking guy and the other was a mousey girl with short dark brown hair who was shorter than even I was. Both were wearing dark suits with Pokeballs at their side, and the man was holding an umbre over Jasmine''s head. Buddy was evaporating the raindrops before they could reach me. The Gym Leader beamed with that slightly threatening smile I''d grown used to and hugged me tight. It was not a suffocating embrace. Light enough to allow me to breathe, but tight enough to know she''d worried about me. "It''s odd seeing you out of your sundresses," I said. "Believe it or not, I''m working." When the hug finished, she sped my shoulders tightly and looked me up and down. "Oh, Ho-oh''s mes, you look like you''ve been through it." My eyes widened slightly at the saying. I''d never heard her even mention Ho-oh''s name, even though I knew the majority of the poption in Johto worshipped him (though there was a significant portion of Olivine that batted for Lugia instead). She''d just never struck me as the type to utter his name like that, but it must have meant that I looked really bad. "I guess." I leaned to the side and nced at her two¡­ colleagues. The short girl waved at me and introduced herself as Rynara. She looked nice, at least. The opposite of what you''d expect someone from Kanto-Johto, really, but the ''typical'' hardy and assholeish trainer was just a stereotype, anyway. "Oh, that''s Rynara. The gloomy guy''s Renzo. Don''t mind them," Jasmine said. After nodding at Jellicent, and somehow knowing to nce at Mimi''s bracelet form, she put her hand on my back and pushed me forward. "Walk with me." A re at Rynara and Renzo had them stay back at least thirty feet before they started following. "Remember the two goons I said Lance had sent to keep an eye on me? That''s them," Jasmine whispered. "Rynara''s pretty unremarkable. Just a bundle of hard work and dedication neatly stuffed into that tiny body. Renzo''s a scion of the Natsume n." Already, I''d gotten lost in the flow of the conversation. "Natsume?" "You know Sabrina?" she asked with a grin. "Sabrina Natsume? She''s one of the advisors to the n head, her mother, but really she''s the only advisor that matters." "Oh. Oh. Not the n head herself?" Every time you heard of a psychic anywhere, you mostly heard of either Sabrina or Will, so I figured she''d be the leader. "No. She''s the heir, though." Jasmine waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, he''s a part of the main family, but the psychic powers he awakened in his teens were ridiculously weak. He could barely lift a stick with them, so he was sent to work for the League. It''s kind of a de-facto exile, when you think about it. The politics of it are a lot less funny than him being bitter about getting his freedom from the n structure." She shook her head. "Too bad he desperately wants to prove himself to get back in instead of spreading his wings." "Huh." I nced back at him, and he stared back silently. "I figured. He kind of has bitter bodynguage, really." Jasmine chuckled softly. "Oh, how I missed you. What do you want to say?" "About?" "About yourself. How brittle are you?" Jasmine asked. I took a deep, rapsy breath. "Let''s¡­ keep talking about you first. While we find a good spot." "Isn''t this ce as good as any?" Jasmine gestured in front of us. The beige bricked streets were gloomy and slick with rainwater. There were fewer people out now than earlier in the day. "No. It''s important to¡­ it''s important to find a ce that matters," I pressed. "I know one. I had a pic with Cece there once after my stay in the hospital. It''s a really steep cliff a ways off from the city up north near the hills. It''d take a while to get there, but¡ª" "I''ve got it." The Gym Leader released her Skarmory, who immediately croaked in irritation at the rain that bounced off his armor. The sound vibrated in his throat. "Yes, yes, I know. Feeling up for a ride?" The question was directed both at me and at him. The flying type reluctantly agreed, and well, I wasn''t about to say no to a flight. After confirming with him, I recalled Buddy and the rain started falling down our faces. Jasmine turned toward her trainers and grinned. "I''ll see you twoter, I''m off!" she yelled before lowering her tone. "Watch his wings when you climb. They can cut." "Got it. And Mimi," I whispered as I touched my bracelet, "no biting." The little blob vibrated in disappointment. ¡ª Skarmory wasn''t the fastest flier. Even when she had to mind me, Princess went faster. The world below us was encased in a thin fog you could only notice when you were out of it. Mimi shivered around my wrist, as they always did when we flew and they could see so many sights at once. We weren''t above the city anymore. The League covered the southern half of the ind, but the northern half were still untamed wilds beyond a few dirt paths. Cold rain and wind constantly battered down our faces and made it difficult to keep my eyes fully open. At least, since Skarmory was slow, we could actually talk without the sound of the wind bothering us. It had taken some adjusting, since I had to ask for her to speak in my good ear. She was riding behind me and without a saddle, and it had taken a few minutes to get the fight or flight out of me. In my head, no saddle still equaled a fight to the death. All that remained now was a mild anxiety. "What were you doing at the League?" I finally asked her. "I thought you were with Volkner?" Her body tensed for a moment. "Lance decided to cut my vacation short after he got a call from your Champion. You should have heard his voice when he called me. Whatever it was, he was shaken, and it has to be big to shake Lance, of all people. Chuck said he''d never seen him in such a state since the League was losing battle after battle against Mewtwo." I gulped. Yeah, and it was even worse than Mewtwo, somehow. The psychic had vanished one day, but it had been of his own volition, not because he''d been beaten. "So, now I''m no longer citizen Jasmine on a holiday, but Gym Leader Jasmine on a diplomatic mission to Sinnoh, hence the getup," she exined. "Kanto-Johto''s looking at sending personnel and Pokemon to Sinnoh to help out. You''recking in manpower, and bodies are something we''ve nevercked. Ideally the next round of negotiations would secure you more drugs, Ditto cells for wounded Pokemon and helping to build more field hospitals." "Oh, wow. Thank you." "It''s notpletely out of the kindness of our hearts. It''s¡ª" A strong gust of wind interrupted her. "It''s mostly politics." "Well, whatever it is, a good act is a good act. Lance''s decision will still save people." I didn''t know much about the dragon master beyond what Jasmine told me, and it painted aplex picture. Like she both hated and liked him at the same time. "Arceus knows we need the help. So you''ve spoken to Cynthia?" "Only once, and it was a short-lived conversation. Mostly, I speak to other League officials. It''s a little bit of a breach of decorum to have a mere Gym Leader speak on equal footing to a Champion. I doubt either of us care about that, but people are watching Sinnoh now more than ever." I nodded, my hand running over Skarmory''s wet shell. The flying type crooned in appreciation. A minute passed before I just came out with it instead of waiting for her to bring it up. "So, are we¡ª are we going to ignore the Copperajah in the room? Craig¡­" I couldn''t look at her, at the moment, but I pictured her face saddening with the subtle slumping of her arms. "Ah. Yes. I will miss him; he was a dear friend." "That''s¡­ it?" I said, a little incredulous. "It is what it is, Grace. People die. Friends die. I try not to dwell on it too long, or it''ll be the bottle again for me," she muttered. "You know, in many parts of Kanto-Johto, it''s considered rude to look sad or cry at funerals or people''s deaths as an adult." "What?!" "Ha!" sheughed. "Volkner had the same reaction. A funeral; a death is an opportunity to celebrate someone''s life. The sum of their parts and their aplishments. You get to see how great they were, both in the big aspects and the small." Skarmory let out an agreeing, metallic squawk. "Why would you cry? That would mean you consider their lives to not have been fulfilling." "That makes no sense¡ª you cry because it''s sad," I said. "You''ll never see them again!" She hummed after a boom of thunder. "Different cultures. Volkner''s taking it a lot harder than I am, but he can''t stop working because his friend died. Gym Leaders have it rough." And she could rte to him, because she''d been in the same position during the Rocket wars, losing friends left and right but having to keep fighting. To an extent, I understood what she meant. Justin was dead, and it felt like a part of me had been emptied, but I could still live with it. I would never forget him, for as long as I lived, but it was getting a bit easier every day. Louis was constantly nning for the funeral with Justin''s father. "I think this is the ce!" I pointed at the familiar-looking cliffs, and Skarmory began his descent. Now that I''d lived through Princess'' antics, it was hard to get surprised or scared at any sudden maneuvers. The flying typended in the wet grass with a slight thump that hurt my butt and back, and he screeched at us to get off. The rain had him too irritated to have us on his back for more than was necessary. "Thank you, crybaby," Jasmine chuckled. Skarmory nced away from her, and she recalled him. Once Buddy was out again to shield us from more rain, I sat down on the grass and gestured at Jasmine to do the same. She took off her heels and threw them off to the side with a relieved sigh. "I hate walking in these. Arceus, I miss my sandals," sheined. "Whenever you''re ready, little impaler." "Grace the Impaler¡­ I haven''t been called that since Wake. I guess people kept it going online some. It caught on a little bit." "It''s a wonderful moniker. So?" My throat felt tight, and rainwater was reced by sweat. I put my legs close together and hugged my knees. The sea raged against the cliff stones below us like a constant drum, and the smell of salt filled my nostrils. Normally, Buddy would have been enjoying time in the ocean, but not today. Not now. There were many ways for me to go about this, but I decided to cut straight through and get to the heart of the matter. "How do you live after doing something¡­ something you''ll never achieve again?" I asked. Jasmine''s eye twitched. "Ah. I figured it was that." "Well, not just that, but it''s what I think you can help me with. You experienced it, after all. With Team Rocket¡­" "Thinking normal life isn''t fit for you anymore¡­ it''s amon symptom of PTSD, actually." When she saw me flinch back and balk at that statement, she continued. "I guess you don''t see it like that." Aliyah had brought it up once already, when I''d nearly sed my Pokemon on that girl whose friends I''d saved in Eterna Forest. I wondered how her group were doing. There was Edith¡ª Jasmine tapped my forehead with a finger. Her nail poked at the skin. "Focus on the conversation at hand." "I¡ª" How to say this? "It''s like, I have spent my entire year preparing for this. I have honed myself, trained my mind, and¡ª" I was chosen for this. As a coincidence, but chosen nheless. "It''s like my entire life had led to this, and now it''s over, and I''m finding it a little hard to believe. It''s like, it''s never going to sink in." "Do you crave more fighting?" Jasmine asked. I tapped a finger against my leg. "Would it surprise you to hear that I was more at ease fighting than not?" "Not at all," she said. "When we finished purging the Rocket remnants from Johto¡­ I remember feeling simr. Team Rocket had risen back from the ashes, so there was no guarantee they wouldn''t again. I was on edge all the time, suspicious of everyone. Money talks, and Team Rocket had spies at nearly every level of our government. Think that little funk with Team Gctic was bad? The Rockets were the richest criminal organization the world has ever seen." I let that fact settle, and then nodded. "I had also spent my entire life preparing for this. As a child, I had heard and seen first hand the effects of Team Rocket running rampant. My father desperately tried to make a leader out of me, and when the time came, I was sent to war, and he took over the Gym and guarded Olivine again, he told me this." She leaned in close. "Don''t die with a clean sword." It took me a moment to understand the meaning of that sentence. "I had been raised for this, and so I could not ept it to be over. I wanted them to reveal themselves, to strike so I would stop ying pretend, even when I was your age and I was just the shyest little thing." Jasmine smiled fondly at the memory. "The war beat most of that out of me." "Did you get rid of it? That feeling of constantly being on edge?" "I was an implement with no purpose, condemned to sit in my Gym, fill in paperwork, run Olivine and fight snotty little brats," shemented. "Alcohol was my remedy for years. Obviously, you can''t¡­ you shouldn''t do that." I bit my lip. My hands dug into the fresh dirt. She''d been an alcoholic for over a decade; had needed to deal with these feelings for over a decade. "The truth is, Grace, as much as it pains me, I don''t have the answers you seek. If I had a way to turn your mind back to that innocent girl I met in a restaurant in Sunyshore, I would do it." I scoffed. "I was far from innocent." I had already learned that the world would¡ª might end, and I''d been through the Darkest Day in Sceon. I had allowed myself to soak in the ways of the fae and bullied Maylene to the point of tears. "You had not been quite sharpened yet, darling," she said with a saddened smile. "You had a child''s priorities. Dates, birthdays, Gym Battles, badges, inte fame¡­ there was a hint of who you could turn into, of course, otherwise you wouldn''t have caught my interest, but you were still that. An innocent child." I sagged against my knees, biting the inside of my lip. "Maybe." Suddenly, Jasminey her back against the ground, not caring for the mud that would get on her pristine clothes. "Lay down with me." I listened, even if my hands and arms prickled at the des of grass. The sky was covered in clouds with not a single ray of sun breaking through. It was far more reassuring than staring at the endless expanse that was the Distortion World. It was silly, but when I looked at this sky, it felt like it was contained. Finite. "Okay. Now?" "Let us speak of the small things, if you want. Unrted to any confidential information. For example, you y the piano, right?" "I do. It''s at my apartment in Jubilife, though." "How good are you at it? I''ve never seen you y!" When I didn''t answer, she continued anyway. "You wouldn''t believe this, but Surge has taken to the harmonicately. He''s thinking of retiring soon, you know? Maybe in a few years. He''s kind of like a more advanced version of you, really. He lives for war and is never satisfied back at home rotting in his Gym, so he wants to die somewhere in Ransei blown up by a mine or something. It''s part of why he goes so hard on Challengers, you know?" "Hm? Does he?" "I told you back in Sunyshore, didn''t I?" Jasmine said. "Oh. Right, sorry I forgot." "Don''t worry, I can''t expect you to remember every little thing I talk about," she said. "So, Surge. He''s been deployed to Ransei more times than I can count, and every time, when he gets back home, he gets these depressive episodes for a few weeks. It''s like he''s homesick." She turned toward me. Her stare was like a needle prickling to the side of my face. "You remind me of him. Your mental state, I mean. You''re nothing like that giant oaf." "...hey, um. Can you keep talking about, like? The small stuff? Like random facts about Gym Leaders in Indigo?" Her smile dulled at its edges, turning into a soft little thing. "Sure thing! Where should I start¡­ oh, there''s Blue, I guess. He''s totally obsessed with Red. I think it''s love, honestly. Did you know he''s never dated anyone, and that guy''s close to turning thirty! He''ll drone on about how one of these days he''ll get him off that damn mountain¡ª that''s Mount Silver. Red''s been stuck there for who knows how long. Sometimes he goes back down to resupply, but that''s once in a blue moon. He even missed¡­" I immersed myself in these stories. Closed my eyes and imagined them until they were as crisp as the real thing. Jasmine kept talking for nearly an hour, telling me every little fact she could find about her fellow Gym Leaders. It was helping a little, but I was still drowning; stuck in a pit of tar. I stayed silent and listened.
Interlude – Maylene II Interlude ¨C Maylene II
INTERLUDE - MAYLENE II Maylene had barely slept all night, a far cry from the twelve hours she had gotten her first day back from the Distortion World. The sun hung low over Veilstone, and the sky was clear this morning after rain clouds had covered the entire eastern part of the region yesterday. Maylene stood at attention with a cohort of her oldest, highest ranking Gym Trainers in front of her Gym. Most of them were people who had seen her grow up and taught her, too. People her father had hired back when he still ran Veilstone. Maylene was wearing her Gym Battling uniform, a sleeveless, dark blue top and white pants with a red stripe down the sides. Her fingerless gloves feltfortable around her hands, and she was usually, but not always barefoot. Since she was out, she had her shoes on¡ª simple running shoes. Closest to her was Lucario, who was just as nervous as she was. Barely a day out of being stuck in his Pokeball, and he was already being made to meet their father. He had been just as hard on him growing up as he had been on her, demanding excellence at every single step. Miss one, and he would unravel you right where you stood. Beat you up mentally so you could either rise a stronger person or break so he could reforge you into the person he wanted. Legendaries, Maylene had been blind. The signs had been everywhere for her to see, yet she had instead thrown herself into running her Gym in hopes to impress him. Maybe, just maybe, if she had done a good enough job, then he would finally tell her that he was proud of her. Their lining up in front of the Gym attracted plenty of stares from earlymuters. A lot of them would walk up to Maylene and shake her hand, thanking her for her service to the city. It was difficult to take their gratitude andpliments seriously when she could have been working right now, or Teleported to Snowpoint or Hearthome to help out the cities in need of the most help. There, her fighting types would be a godsend. "Think it''s that one?" Maylene leaned close to her sibling to whisper. I sure hope so. Better get this anxious feeling over with and break the tension, Lucario frustratingly answered. His eyes lit up with a cold blue, and the fighting type shook his head. Nope. Not this one. "Unless he''s masking his aura." A little trick he''d taught her to keep it suppressed, even if she rarely did so. The taxi passed them and the Gym by without a fuss. Look, we''re both nervous but he has no reason to. Lucario patted Maylene''s back. And even then, I would have been able to tell. Don''t let your anxiety make you underestimate me. He tried to be cheeky, but Maylene wasn''t in the mood. "You''re right. Sorry." Maylene asked one of the Gym Trainers for the time, and the older woman replied with 7:12 am. "He''ste. It''s not like him to bete," she said. "There''s like no traffic, either." Oscar, her father, was not a man for luxuries. He had advocated for them to live a humble life and not use the Gym''s resources for their own gain for as long as she could remember, or at least that was until he met Maylene''s step mom, decided going to live in an Aln Resort and that dumping all these responsibilities onto her was a great idea. Who knew, maybe Alison had changed that part of him, too. It wasn''t like they messaged regrly at all beyond him checking up on how the Gym was doing, so it had been an entire year since they''d held an actual conversation aside from when Maylene had her breakdown. There, he''d called to berate her for being weak before disappearing again, but she had already hit rock bottom so it hadn''t had much of an effect. It took another seven minutes for Oscar Suzuki to arrive, and he did so in one of Veilstone''s taxis, as predicted. As soon as Maylene saw him step out of the car, she found it difficult to breathe clearly. Her hands behind her back twitched, and she had to stop her eyes from darting all around her Gym Trainers. Her father was not the stereotypical fighting specialist. He did not have the body of a body-builder, although he was toned, as was shown by the tanktop he was wearing. He had the same uniform as her on, and in his¡ª in her Gym, it was reserved only for Gym Leaders. Her father still had a head full of pink hair, although his was more of a faded color than hers, akin to Charon''s. Usually it would be short¡ª he had always told her to keep her hair short to stop it from being grabbed in a fight¡ª but his time in Al had allowed him to let himself go. It was long enough to reach his neck, now, and had been curled. It looked like a wave cascading around his head. Speaking of his time in Al, he was still rtively tanned. Oscar said something to his taxi driver with a loudugh before looping around the car to let Maylene''s step-mother out, as if she couldn''t open the damn door herself. Alison was a delicate little thing, akin to a flower. Her father had met her during the Gym Trainer hiring process, and that meant she was young. Twenty years younger than him, at a striking twenty-six years old. Young enough to be her older sister. She''d been rejected at the interview stage two years back for reasons unknown to Maylene, but they went out for coffee that very week-end, and the rest was history. A yearter, they were married and decided on a honeymoon that had never ended. Instead of being tanned, she just carried the remains of sunburns on her arms and legs. Maylene''s step-mother was dressed in what the Gym Leader figured must have been a traditional Aln garb, an ankle-length dress with colorful, flowery patterns and fabric that flowed like water. Her light brown hair¡­ ugh, they had the same Arceus damned hairstyle. It was enough to make her want to puke¡ª It was when they both swung around the car, that Maylene figured why her father had helped her up. Alison was pregnant. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. She was pregnant. A small nudge from Lucario snapped her back to reality, although she wished she was fucking dreaming. Her father hadn''t thought it a good idea to fucking tell her? Maylene gripped her wrist behind her back and struggled to contain the wisps of aura desperate to burst out of every inch of her skin to apany her anger. Oscar and Alison walked up the Gym steps, and every single Gym Trainer bowed their heads, including Lucario. Maylene did not. Only she was Gym Leader, and therefore above her father in status, but the fact that he had hidden a pregnancy from her¡ª he was staring; staring her down so intensely she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He lookedrger than life, and each second he did so was like she was being crushed under the weight of his expectations. She lowered her head. The dam of tension broke. Finally, she could breathe again. "Maylene! Oh, it''s good to see you." Oscar wrapped her into a tight and ufortable embrace that she didn''t care for. "Sorry for the tardiness, it looks like every single taxi decided to have a day off. Sloppy." He pped Lucario''s shoulder next, and the fighting type answered with a nervous smile and greeting. "I missed you too, Lucario. I hope you''ve been taking good care of Maylene." Oscar then greeted the cortege of Gym Trainers one by one, which was going to take a while, but was the reason why he had such dedicated personnel here at the Gym. Maylene red at Alison when she ignored her greeting as usual. She wasn''t a bad person or anything, or at least Maylene didn''t think so. Maybe a little aloof. It was unfair of Maylene to expect a twenty-six year old to be the mother-figure she never had (or at least until she got herself pregnant; she was going to have to be a mother soon enough). The problem was that she just constantly acted like Maylene didn''t exist, like so, and the Gym Leader didn''t find it in her to say hello louder or confront her about it. The reception now over, Oscar led everyone inside the Gym. Already, he was acting like he was in charge even if he had been neglecting his duties the year he had met Alison and then dumped them all on Maylene because he was so madly in fucking love. Where had all that ''duty'' talk been for, if he was going to be a hypocrite about it? Irritating. Balloons in the lobby had been set up to spell out ''WELCOME BACK, OSCAR'' right above reception, and nearly eighty Gym Trainers erupted into a thunderous apuse as soon as they stepped foot in the building. The man of the hourughed, making small talk with his employees he hadn''t seen in over a year while his wife hung off his arm like a leech. All Maylene could do was observe with Lucario. Some people just had this¡­ this maic property to them. Like, they could step into a room and immediately capture the attention of everyone in it. To some, it was innate, like Cynthia, but Maylene''s dad had cultivated this reputation in Veilstone over the decades, and even more so in his Gym. The year Maylene had been in charge had done very little to change that. You couldn''t cut away at the roots he''d nted so quickly. He''s juste back and he''s already acting like he owns the ce, Lucario grouched with his arms crossed. How annoying. It was us who kept it standing. Why does he get the damn victoryp? She wanted to reply, but didn''t. Her father''s hearing was as sharp as hers, so for many years, it was only Lucario, who had been able to vent his frustrations whenever a day got tough. Outwardly, Maylene appeared zen. She had, after all, learned to pretend that she wasn''t angry, or frustrated, or sad, or feeling any kind of negative emotion with Oscar in the vicinity. Drinks were brought by a few trainers, though none of them were alcoholic. They''de from pressed fruits they''d bought at the grocery store yesterday, and of course the Gym had paid for those. Oscar grabbed some freshly pressed mango juice and jokinglyined about how bad it waspared to Al. Maylene ground her teeth. She had busted her ass to get this shit ready, so even a joke was getting on her nerves. She hated the fact that she found it difficult to hide what she was feeling, now. A year ago this would have gone over her head, but now¡­ Stay calm, Lucario whispered into her mind. The day is just beginning. Alison cackled at every single joke Oscar made with that obnoxious Honchkrow-like sound she called augh, but most of her time was spent recounting how beautiful or weing Al was. Oh, did you know they went hang gliding over Ak Ind? Oh, you just had to hear about the food, they ate like kings every single day! What about the resort with the fucking 10 pools, thezy river and the minigolf? The Aether Foundation having built apletely artificial ind called Aether Paradise where they cared for Pokemon who needed it? While she''d been working day and night here to keep the Gym running and stop Team Gctic, they''d been having a grand old time! Fuck off. "Maylene." Oscar slowly approached her, carrying the confident swagger of a man that owned the world. "What''s wrong? Your aura''s showing." His hand gently gripped her shoulder, and it was only now that he noticed the hearing aid in her ear. His finger traced its contour, but he didn''t say anything. The blue light permeating through her skin was snuffed out like a candle. Instinctively, she lowered her head, staring at his feet instead of into his eyes. Giratina had stood not one hundred feet from her, yet her father still made her feel like this. Pathetic. "Just a little tired," Maylene finally answered. "I¡ªI''ve been working long hours ''cause I''m helping out the other cities. I''ve been helping with their paperwork and such, too, when I can." Finally, she gathered the courage to face him. A prideful smile stretched across his lips. "You''re as diligent as always, Maylene." "You heard her! My daughter''s tired!" His voice bellowed across the room. Aura coalesced on his palms, and he pped them twice. Each sound was a thunderp reminiscent of yesterday''s weather. "Enough partying! Drain your sses and it''s back to work!" They did just that. Within the next five minutes, the lobby was empty. There was no need for a receptionist when the Gym was closed, after all. Alison and Oscar still remained, the former of which had opted to go on her phone. "I''m tired, too," sheined. "Sinnoh''s totally harshing my vibes right now, it''s so depressingpared to Al." Before Maylene could protest at how out of touch that was, her father spoke up, "Why don''t you go to my old room and rest?" he asked. Maylene had known him long enough to know that the calm in his tone was just a facade. The easiest way to tell was the unnatural smoothness in his voice, but also how he suddenly took three steps away from her. It was good to see that he still cared, at least. "I hope you didn''t convert it to something else." Maylene shook her head. "Good. Maylene and I have some catching up to do." Alison chewed on her lip for a moment. "Are you sure you don''t need me here?" Why would he ever need you here? You don''t do anything. "No, we''ll be just fine on our own." He forced a smile. "I''ll check up on you and the babyter." Finally, she took the hint and left, leaving the three of them alone. Lucario shifted ufortably under Oscar''s gaze, and Maylene could barely even meet it. "Surprised?" He watched his wife exit the lobby with his arms crossed. "You''re getting a baby brother soon. Sorry about her, by the way. She didn''t want toe back, so she''s a little miffed." "It''s okay," Maylene lied. She never got so many excuses. "Thanks for the party, but," here we go, "what''s with the way you carry yourself?" Gone was the soft tone he''d used for his wife. Her father spoke down to her, his face marred with displeasure. "You sat in the corner for twenty minutes; people barely noticed you were there at all! I raised you better than that!" Maylene flinched at the sudden yell. "You are a Gym Leader, you need to act like it. If you keep acting so lost and weak, people will notice. It''ll reflect badly on the Gym, especially in these trying times!" You were the one who wore a Gym Leader''s clothes. You were the one who stared me down until I bowed my head in front of the others. You were the one who acted like you were in charge and didn''t leave enough oxygen in the room for me to speak. You were the one who taught me to be subservient to you. She wanted to say all of this¡­ A pathetic, coarse "yes, sir," was all that came out. He pped her shoulder. "Good, good. Now, show me around the Gym, will you?" What followed was the longest hour of Maylene''s life. No, correction; the longest hour since she had helped Grace and the others save the world. She would show her father around the Gym, both the old and the new, and at first, he would praise her. Make her breathe a sigh of relief and allow a small amount of pride to rise in her chest. Allow her to smile and look up at him, as if to say ''I did a good job?!''. Then, he would notice something. It was always the minutest of things. Like too much dust gathering in a corner, or there being not enough four-badge Pokemon, or her not handling the training of the 1st and 2nd-badge level Pokemon anymore after her break, or them having too many Gym Trainers on payroll because she could handle more work, or that Lucario wasn''t doing enough, or that¡ª Or, or, or. There was always something, it was never enough. No matter how Maylene believed that this time, this room, this hallway, he would not find anything to yell at her about, her father always found a way. And then he broke her down. Slowly, first. "You are better than this, I know it," he would say. But the more wrong he found, the more these backhanded encouragements turned to insults. "Worthless," he would call her. "You should never have been made Gym Leader. I should have picked x, or y, or even z." Maylene had long learned to disassociate when her father did this to her, so she could barely keep track of what he was saying. That worked for some time, until he asked her "Are you paying attention? Am I boring you?" and suddenly she was forcefully dragged back into the world as if his voice had a grip on her neck and was forced to nod or answer back with "Yes, sir." Oscar wore her down, slowly but surely. Like a sculptor chiseling at stone. He took her to one of the Gym''s lower-level training grounds, a room half the size of a normal arena filled with a myriad of blue fighting mats with bright lights shining from the ceiling. Then, he had a Gym Trainer bring out a few first-badge Pokemon. A Mankey, a Scrafty and a Croagunk. "Let''s see how you train them," he said behind her. Lucario spoke up, Oscar I can help¡ª "No. It is the Veilstone Gym Leader''s job to personally train their fighting types as soon as they reach the first badge level. You''re giving them the foundation from which they will be fighting years from now. That cannot," he insisted on the word, "be half-assed. We won''t be doing grapples today. Just hone their reflexes." Lucario shrank and remained quiet. "C¡ªCroagunk first," Maylene said. The poison type nodded. It was nervous to be fighting her for the first time, but it jumped onto the mat with the tiniest of croaks. Maylene raised her fists in a guard¡ª "Arceus, what even is that?" Oscarined. "Slightly higher¡ª lower! Your legs¡ª your crouch is all wrong! Where''s your center of gravity? I could knock you on your ass with a tiny push. Straighten your back a little. I said a little!" He let out a frustrated scream. "Why are you so scared? No need to look like a stiff wooden board! Rx your body, you''re supposed to be fluid. There. Good, you''ve got it." Maylene knew her posture wasn''t wrong. It was excellent, yet because it wasn''t perfect to the exact millimeter, her dad hounded her for it. "I guess I''ll have to move our sparring to tomorrow. If this is how sloppy you got in my absence, we''ll have to rework the basics into you first." He exhaled, crossing his arms and shaking his head. Maylene stopped herself from sighing in relief. Spars with him rarely ended well, even on his good days like this one. He must have been happy to be back. "You''re squandering so much potential," he continued. "You''ll make it far one day thanks to this, trust me." "Thank you, sir," she muttered. She hadn''t even begun the fight, and she was mentally exhausted. The Gym Leader slowly flexed, working aura through her body until it red to life and Croagunk flinched. The mat felt firm and supportive beneath her feet, a reminder of the countless hours she had spent honing her skills there. Her father counted down from three, and then the battle began. With a swift movement, Croagunk lunged forward, its sharp fists aimed directly at Maylene. Slow. She sidestepped swiftly, feeling the rush of air as its attack missed by mere inches. Her heart pounded in her chest, and the harrowing, judging gaze of her father pierced through her¡ª "Sloppy!" he called out. "What is this? You''re worthless!" She gritted her teeth. Maylene pushed herself down the mat and kicked behind her, but her foot only found air. With a defiant croak, Croagunk lunged at her, forcing her to push herself with her hands into the air away from the fighting type. Shended in a crouch around ten feet away at the edge of the mat. "Stop dancing around it and win," Oscar pressured. "Yes, sir!" she yelled. Your body is a spring. Don''t be stiff and let every action lead into another. Her foot mmed against the ground and within a second, she was up to Croagunk. The poison type''s eyes widened as she jammed a fist into its stomach, sending it away from the mat and onto the wooden floorboards. Croagunk rolled nearly forty feet before it managed to catch itself. "Good," he gruffed. "Sloppy, slow, but good enough to be borderline passable with some guidance. Now the other two." Maylene shut her eyes. Relief flooded her, but she knew it to be only temporary until he took it away from her again. She should have been working to help Sinnoh right now. "Yes, sir." ¡ª Their Gym tour and her sparring now done with, her father finally told her she could go back to work, though not before worming himself into her duties. He had made himself at home in her office because he didn''t want to disturb Alison while she rested, but at least he had allowed her to keep her seat at her desk and he was quiet now, not criticizing her every move. He''d sent Lucario away to work through the Gym, as if he hated when the two of them were together. He was sitting on the floor, just as he liked, with his ownptop on his knees that he had connected to the Gym''s email without asking her. Sometimes he would ask what she was doing, and depending on her answer he would tell her to prioritize something else, but he really wasn''t that bad¡ª No! Maylene''s knee hit the side of her desk, and she quickly apologized to her father for the sudden noise before he could blow up at her. She heeded Cecilia''s words and took a deep breath. Just because her dad wasn''t that bad right now did not mean he was not awful. Maylene had lived through the cycle thousands of times. She was lucky Cecilia had texted herst night¡ª or early this morning, she supposed¡ª with many warnings. The girl rarely ever slept anymore. Maylene finished answering a message telling Candice that she would Teleport to Snowpoint early tomorrow, but she struggled to press send. Countless questions ran through her mind. What if her father tried undermining her position and took over while she was gone? Sure, Oscar would never be the actual, de jure Gym Leader, but in practice? Cynthia and the others were too busy for her to ask for help, so she would either have to confront him herself or let it happen¡­ She liked this job, even after everything it had put her through. She enjoyed helping Veilstone and testing trainers. Maylene liked being a Gym Leader despite the fact that she had been woefully unready when she took over. She didn''t want her entire Gym to be swept from under her feet just because Oscar''s standards were ridiculously high. It had been difficult to adapt to, but the job was actually fulfilling, now. No, his standards were only ridiculously high with her. Because he saw potential in her and got angry at her when she didn''t meet his absurd goals. Because she was his blood. Because her talent with aura went beyond even his. Legendaries, she hoped her sibling wouldn''t have to suffer the same fate. But Maylene was being stupid. She sent Candice''s Gym the message and leaned against her hand, which clenched at her forehead. A dull headache had been building up from the moment she''d set her eyes on Oscar, and now it was bing unbearable. "You know, now that we''re in your office, I''ve been meaning to ask," Oscar said. "What happened to you in Cor?" "I¡ªI can''t tell you, dad," she sputtered. "I¡ª" "None of the other Gym Leaders were out there, I checked," he spoke over her. He got up and started pacing. "You can''t me me for being curious, can you?" "No, I don''t, but it''s ssified." Every time he got close to her, it took everything not to flinch. "It''s literally for the Champion''s eyes only, even the Elite Four don''t know the entirety of what went on." "You aren''t the Champion, Maylene," he said. "And yet, you know anyway." She was going to hyperventte. She should have imed she didn''t know anything from the get go. "Lo¡ªLook, if you have an issue, take it up with Cynthia, okay? It''s out of my hands." Bringing up the Champion''s name seemingly worked, thank the Legendaries, because she''d been quite literally about to break and spill everything. A notification rang out both in her pocket and herptop. The name ''Grace'' on the top right corner of her screen instantly brought her relief, like she was some kind of painkiller. Her hands still soaked with sweat from the confrontation with her dad, Maylene clicked on the notification. Grace - Hi Maylene. Is everything okay with your dad? I wanted to text you earlier but Cece told me to wait until your lunch break so you were alone, just in case the texts triggered your father or something. Lunch break¡­? Maylene looked at the time and noticed it was 12:26 pm. Right. Lunch Break. "Something good happen?" her father asked from the corner of the room. "What?" "You''re smiling. You didn''t even smile when you saw your father again after a year." The way he was speaking, Maylene knew it was one of his ''I''m joking, but not really'' moods. If she answered jokingly, he would suddenly turn serious and berate her for not taking him seriously, but if she did take him seriously, he would tell her to calm down and to stop being so emotional. "I''m just curious. That''s not ssified, is it?" "It''s not¡ª" "It''s not a boy, is it? You have no time to involve yourself in romance. Not until you''ve been trained up to perfection, at least," he said. He had it all wrong. It wasn''t¡ª she''d never been in love, and Grace wasn''t even a boy. She was just a friend whom Maylene hoped she could be best friends with one day and for that feeling to be mutual. "Look, can I go¡ª stretch my legs?" "Avoiding the topic?" he pressed. "So it is a boy. I''m willing to give him a chance and meet him. If he isn''t pushing you to improve and I don''t like him, break it off." She needed out of here, and quickly. Maylene scrambled out of her chair, knocking down a pen holder and sending a bunch of pens ttering on the floor. She nearly ran out of her office with both herptop and phone to make sure her father wouldn''t just look at her stuff. "When you''re back, we''re having a conversation about this. Don''t be long." She ran off to the nearest bathroom and caught a nce of herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy. She was on the verge of having a breakdown. Maylene slowly sat down on the floor, feeling her back drag against the wall as she slipped down, and then the moment she hit the ground, her vision grew blurry and her cheeks felt wet. Her phone chimed again. "Damn it," she cried, wiping her eyes. "Ugh." Grace - Hey, I''m double texting cause I know you saw the message and I''m kind of worried. What? She could see that? Maylene thought back to all the times she had waited to figure out the perfect message to send back and groaned in embarrassment. Was that a setting she''d turned off by ident? At least she had used work as an excuse. Right now, her shame was low priority, however. You - Im not gonan lie i need some help today has been awful She took a few seconds to answer. Grace - Okay. Can you send a Gym Kadabra or do we need to harass the League for one? Either is fine. Oh, she wasing over already? Maylene looked around the bathroom and finished wiping away her tears. You - Ill send a Kadabra. Ur still at that same hotel, right Grace - Yup. You - Go out in front. Should be liek 5 mins or so You - Im sry i was the one supposed to help you and take care of you after all od this but instead its the opposite Grace - No problem! I wouldn''t let you face this alone or I''d be a pretty shitty friend. I''d do it for all of them. Ugh. There was a pang of pain deep within, new pain she neither knew nor understood. Maylene didn''t know what was wrong with her¡ª actually she knew. She wanted to be special. To think like this when Grace was literally saving her? She was being selfish again. Maylene stood back up, but before picking up herptop she looked at herself in the mirror again and washed her face. She forced a confident smile, made herself look taller and then nodded. She saw a Gym Leader staring back, this time, not a scared little girl. All things considered, she''d handled this well. She hadn''t freaked out and broken something with aura or identally hurt someone. Herptop in hand, she made her way down the stairs to the ground floor. She could have had elevators installed, but stairs always made for a good workout. Maylene traveled through the long hallway circling the Gym''s main arena until she found herself in front of two ss sliding doors. Behind them was a single Kadabra and two League Trainers tending to¡­ his every need. She recognized him by theicallyrge and clumsily-made spoon he carried around and thatzy stare he had in his eyes. The psychic lounged on a reclining chair with a book about metalworking levitating in front of his face. Every five seconds or so, he would wave a finger and the page would turn. Maylene wished she could read her reports that fast. Every Kadabra had one topic they were passionate about. One that would seize their very being and never let go until they had learned enough to be satisfied. Pokemon were very rarely paid in human currency. Maylene remembered a Gym Machoke taking Pokedors from when she was a child because it had actually been renting a small apartment thanks to a very nice and understandingndlord, but it had been the exception among exceptions. Rare were Pokemon who lived like humans. Most Kadabra were paid in food and training, yes, but mostly knowledge, which was why ir and Matthew over here were continuously working day and night to get Kadabra what he wanted. It was important to keep their Gym Kadabra happy, or they''d quit, be transferred back to the League, and a high turnover rate in a Gym was usually a bad thing for Pokemon and people alike. "Leader Maylene," both trainers said in unison. They didn''t bow, though. None of that with her. Then, the girl named ir continued. "Is something wrong?" They both looked on edge. Before her¡­ intervention and all of the Gym Leaders intervened to basically force her to go on her break, they used to be this nervous around her. She''d been¡­ not an awful boss, she believed, but not a great one like she''d wanted to be either, always berating them for their work if it wasn''t perfect and taking more and more of their duties. Sometimes, she''d taken so many that she fired some, even. You know what, maybe she had been an awful boss. The apple never fell far from the tree. She''d worked day and night to rectify her rtionship with her employees. While she still didn''t want to be just friends¡ª or sometimes frenemies¡ª with them like Candice was with most of hers because she still believed it was important for there to be a boss-worker rtionship (although one based on mutual respect), she would be stupid to think that they worked at their best when they were scared of her. She could already guess why they were nervous. "This has nothing to do with my dad, so don''t worry," she sighed. "I need to borrow Kadabra really quickly, if that''s okay with you?" she asked the psychic. "It''ll take five minutes tops." Kadabra rolled his eyes. And to think I avoided being sent up to that hell up north to be a glorified Teleporting ve only to end up being one anyway, heined before hopping off his leather chair. Where do you need me to go? "The League." Maylene gave Kadabra the hotel''s address and showed him a map using an app on her phone. He wouldn''t be able to Teleport right at the hotel, but he would be close enough for it to be a three minute walk. Plus, he would need to rest for a few minutes before Teleporting back in front of the Gym anyway. Most Kadabra the League loaned out to Gyms tired out quickly. Maylene quickly texted Grace that it would only be a few minutes now. You - Kadabra on his way. Should be a few mins Grace - Gotcha. We''re waiting. "Um, Leader Maylene." Matthew kept looking at the door behind her. "We won''t get in trouble for this, won''t we?" "Trouble?" "I mean, Leader Oscar¡ª" "I''m the Gym Leader," she interrupted him and took a step forward, causing him to flinch. "Not my dad. I am the person in charge!" When she noticed how his face twisted in fear, she tried mollifying him by apologizing. "I''m sorry, it''s just¡ª it''s just been a tough day." She wished she could just tell them to take the day off, but she couldn''t. Everyone was needed at the Gym right now, despite what her father told her. She couldn''t afford to stick around with those two. Grace and Cecilia would be there any minute now, so Maylene made her way back toward the Gym''s entrance. It was difficult not to think her father was going to jump out at her at any moment demanding to know what she was doing. Maylene believed that he''d wonder where she was soon enough, especially with how he believed she''d been texting a guy. As if she''d ever be interested in romance. For once, she found the lobby''s emptiness soothing instead of disturbing. To Maylene, having it be so empty during the day, even this early, was not something she was used to quite yet. Her Gym was probably the first one that was going to open again in the country since Veilstone hadn''t been damaged, and she was excited to get back to the routine sooner rather thanter. After Gctic, normal Pokemon battles were exactly what she needed to rx. Plus she''d given some more thought to who she wanted to be as a Gym Leader, and her father''s ever-looming presence had elerated those. She had been in the process of carving a niche for herself before the bombs. Maylene saw her friend¡­s Teleport through the ss door. It was impressive how quickly time passed when she was lost in thought. She saw Grace mouth something to Kadabra, who kept ring at Cecilia as if her mere presence personally offended him. Then, she turned toward Maylene and¡ª And¡­ Yeah, uh, yeah. Okay. Wow. She pulled one of those bright, genuine smiles that illuminated the world around her. Smiles were funny, really. It was just a motion of the mouth, but she always made it look so great. Maylene waved at the two girls as they quickly entered the Gym. From what she knew, they didn''t exactly want to be seen out and about, so she''d have to keep a tight lid on the flow of information after they were gone. Cecilia, Maylene had noticed, had always been one for feminine clothing. She had a casual, dark dress on that Maylene would never be confident enough to wear, not that they interested her much, nor did she have the figure to. Dresses were difficult to move and fight in. She had a hand over her white eyes to shield them from the sun. Grace wore baggy jeans, white sneakers and a white t-shirt with ''just be kind'' written on the front. Meltan was inanimate around her wrist like usual. By all intents and purposes, these were normal clothes. Probably something she''d thrown on without giving it a single thought. Maylene had never really paid attention to what people wore before, and her eyes had never gravitated toward someone that much; as if they were being forcefully pulled toward Grace without her doing. Not even her closest friends Candice and Gardenia. Suddenly, she felt self-conscious of how horrid she must have looked after crying and being so exhausted. Though Maylene got the feeling that if Grace ever was as touchy with her as Gardenia was, she''d get a heart attack. The mid length ponytail her hair was in left a lot of her neck exposed. This must have been what wanting to be best friends with someone meant. One of her trainers passing through the lobby flinched at Cecilia''s face and quickly sped away toward where he''d been walking. She was quite scary-looking, especially when her expression was so angry. Angry and tired, though thetter went for both of them. They clearly weren''t sleeping much. Kadabrazily strode back to his room where his book on ironworking awaited. "Hiya," Grace said. "Are you okay? Do you need a hug?" Maylene wanted to say yes to that, but couldn''t bring herself to. Her reasons wouldn''t be pure at all; in fact, they would be selfish. She wouldn''t have epted just because her father was here, but partly because she just liked her hugs. Grace''s hug remained the only positive memory she''d had in the Distortion World, so she wondered how one would feel outside of that horrifying dimension. "Where is he? I''ll kill him," Cecilia snarled. Grace smiled. "Baby, you don''t even have your Pokemon with you." Maylene figured she would have chuckled had she been in the right mood. "Ha. Ha. Very funny¡ª" "Oh, right. I was joking, obviously." Cecilia shifted in ce with a forced smile that was more creepy than not. For Maylene, the situation suddenly wasn''t very humorous. "You both know that violence isn''t on the table, right?" "Oh, we know." Grace nodded and nudged Cecilia''s arm with her elbow. "Now, what do you need us to do? Do you need us to kick him out for now? Because you''re¡ª hey, did I say something wrong?" The Gym Leader lowered her head and stared at their feet. "I just don''t like talking about it in the open," she whispered. "Can we make some sort of n in my room? My dad''s probably gonna be looking for me any minute now." "I see he also gives you no privacy," Cecilia said. "Expected. Let''s be on our way, then." It was hard not to be anxious and feel like she was doing something wrong despitemon sense dictating that yes, inviting friends over was normal. While they walked down the sleek, wide hall and up the stairs, Maylene sent a message to her Gym Trainer group chat telling her employees not to say anything about Grace and Cecilia being here. She made sure to look if her father had been added first, of course. He hadn''t. When Cecilia asked her what was with theptop she was carrying around, Maylene exined that she''d been scared her father would look at it. She''d muttered something under her breath in response¡ª Maylene wasn''t so sure what. Probably an insult. Maylene ushered the two girls into her room and locked the door behind them. Her father might suspect she''d be in here, but if he did, he would yell at her through the door before trying to force it open. She''d never been allowed to have locked doors growing up. It was rather minimalistic and not well-furnished. A single couch in the middle of the room facing the wall where a small television was mounted; a kitchen ind from where she could cook that she ced herptop on with a fridge next to it, and a small dining table behind the couch. There was also a hallway leading to her bedroom, though that room was truly empty. Just sleeping mats and a window. Maylene would have rather died than let these two see it. "Oh, so it does look like that¡­" Grace muttered. Knowing the confrontation with her father wasing soon, Maylene was too nervous to pay any attention to it, and Cecilia was intently staring at her Medicham. Medicham sat on the couch, eating a banana by picking it apart piece by piece with her hand. "On your lunch break?" Maylene asked. The fighting type wasn''t the biggest of eaters, so she knew that banana wouldst her the entire day. "Mind if we use the room?" Silly, silly Maymay. This is our home, not mine. You are free to use it as you wish! Medicham spoke into her mind, her stumpy legs wiggling. "Thanks. This is Grace, and this is Cecilia," she introduced them. "Girls, feel free to sit anywhere and make yourselves at home. Do you want anything to drink? Some food, maybe?" Cecilia turned to face her with a stare she couldn''t help but avert her eyes from, and Grace leaned against the kitchen ind, content to let her girlfriend speak. "You shouldn''t put this off, Maylene." The Unovan walked up to her so very slowly. "We need to go on the offensive, or he''ll have you defeated and broken." Ouch. No confidence in her. Maylene supposed she hadn''t really inspired any given that¡ª "No need to look so hurt. I am not saying this because I do not believe you to be capable of facing your father, but because of my past experiences. The longer you wait, the more doubt will creep in. You will want to dy and say: ''maybe tomorrow'', and the days will turn into weeks. Then it will be toote. He will have reestablished himself." Oh. That made her feel a lot better. "Th¡ªthanks, Cecilia." Um¡­ what is happening? Medicham asked. The psychic started shoving the peels into her mouth, which made Grace wrinkle her nose for a second. Medicham was embarrassing Maylene! "We''re telling my father¡ª we''re telling him that he''s been not so great to me and that I''d like to keep some distance," Maylene exined. Ooooh, yeah! Kick his butt! Medicham cheered. Uh, don''t tell him or any of his Pokemon I said that. When Grace snickered, Maylene quickly recalled Medicham into her ball before she could embarrass her any further. "Actually Maylene, we''re telling him to fuck off," Grace said, now that the conversation grew serious again. "Enough is enough. Like I wanted to say earlier, you, as the Gym Leader of the Veilstone Gym, have the authority to kick him out and bar your doors." Cecilia smiled grimly. "I know of his type. Consciously or unconsciously, they''ve broken you down so much that they think you never capable of standing up for yourself. We can be your support, but the final order has toe from you, Maylene." She gripped the side of her arm. Her hands were cold. Ten seconds of silence passed. Ten seconds of intense stares; ten seconds of self-doubt; ten seconds of wondering if she had what it takes. For so long, she had vied after her dad''s pride and attention. For as long as she had remembered, she had pushed herself to be the Gym Leader he wanted her to be instead of who she wanted to be. "I¡ªI don''t know if I''ll be able to." And yet, one did not break from fifteen years of domineering so easily. "If I close my eyes and I imagine it, I just freeze up. I''m scared I''ll just get pressured and just say yes to whatever he says. I''m scared I''ll kick you out instead!" Her fists clenched, and aura red around her like oil had been poured onto a me. "I''m useless, I''m worthless, I can''t even do this one little thing after¡ª" Cecilia''s mouth gaped as her hand jerked away from Maylene''s skin as if she''d touched a hot stove. "That color¡ª I can¡ª I can see it," she said in between pained grunts and moans. Realizing she''d caused pain, Maylene''s aura instantly receded. "Something to wonder aboutter. Maylene, calm down. We''re here for you, okay?" Grace tried reassuring her. Even she barely worked as a remedy anymore. "We''re here for you," she repeated, moving toward the Gym Leader. Her hand rubbed Maylene''s back so, so gently. "Oh, I''m sorry. I''m so sorry, Cecilia, I didn''t mean to¡ª" The dark-skinned girl showed her palm, though she still seemed mildly hypnotized by the fact that she''d seen color again since her death. "I''m not even burned. It''s nothing. The feeling''s already passed." Even Maylene could tell that she''d been enthralled by the color. "So we have a n, right? And we''ll be right there," Grace said. "You get him out, get your space back, get time to breathe and recuperate. Then, if you want, you can have another conversation at ater date in a neutral environment where you really drag him through it. Make him feel the pain he''s caused you tenfold; turn your words into a weapon that leaves him bleeding out right then and there." Her eyebrows rose a centimeter, as if she''d remembered something. "Or¡ª you know, never see him again. I guess you could want that, too." Did Maylene want a clean break? She wasn''t sure, but right now she had to focus on step one. "Okay. Okay. I can do this," Maylene whispered to herself. "You can do this. I''ll tell him to leave, I''ll tell him that¡ª" Then, Her world froze. A knock on the door. Three distinctive booms that felt like electricity coursing through her skin. Her breathing grew so rapid she couldn''t tell exhale from inhale. That was her dad. Grace and Cecilia''s voices seemed far away now, and her vision grew blurry, save for that door. It narrowed, staying in focus, and she couldn''t help but imagine her dad behind it. Deformed, tall, monstrous. ''You''ll never be enough,'' she already heard. He''de for her, he had¡ª "Maylene," hismanding, deep voice rang from behind the door. "Someone told me you had people over. This isn''t what we discussed." Three other knocks, stronger this time. Damn it, someone had fucking leaked anyway! This ce was a den of Sevipers! "I can''t do this, I can''t fucking do this!" Maylene gripped the sides of her head. She heard a soft, metallic scrape, and then a subtle click. The door opened, revealing Oscar''s looming frame that nearly spilled over the door frame. He always looked bigger than he actually was to her, as if he was leaving her no escape. He had anoter fucking skeleton key. Or maybe he''d had a double made years ago¡ª whatever, now wasn''t the time! Her father''s eyes were instantly drawn in toward Cecilia''s wounded face, then to Grace, then to her, where his gaze remained, and by the Legendaries, it was just so heavy until he finally stared at Grace again. "You. I recognize you," he slowly spoke, his voice low and threatening. "You''re the girl who humiliated my daughter. This is the kind of people you have over, Maylene? Have you no self respect?!" Maylene flinched away as if she''d been struck. "Making friends with the person who proved to the world that you weren''t enough to run this Gym?" Grace and Cecilia had been silent up until now. Maylene guessed it was to see if she was going to retort, but she couldn''t. It was as if her mouth had been sewn shut. Cecilia stood back up, her movements quick, yet clunky. "People change and learn from their mistakes," she bit back. "Apparently, you haven''t." She raised a finger. "Oh, and also. Is this why you''re back and trying to sweep the rug from under your daughter''s feet? Because she was hurt and dared to show it in public?" "And this is¡ª this is the Obel girl. A foreigner." Oscar scoffed, then shook his head as if incredulous. "I thought you were smarter than this. Arceus, do you ever think about the consequences of your actions? About what people will say about this when ites out?" he berated Maylene. "They''ll say you''re a weakling. That you''re making a mockery of us. And maybe you are." Oscar jammed a finger toward Grace. "You let the people who walked all over you put ideas in your head¡ª" "Shut it," Grace said. "That is your daughter. Your child, the person you''re supposed to love the most in the world. She''s not a thing you can yell at until she fits the mold that you want. She''s a living, breathing being." "Give me a break." He rolled his eyes andughed. "You''re the cause of the problem in the first ce. And what does a teenager know about raising a child?" Grace bit her lip. Maylene could almost see the calculus going through her head. She considered her Pokemon her children, and no one could take that away from her. The thin thread of restraint she had left snapped on her face in an instant, and it morphed into twisted anger. Then, sheshed out. "Hey, no, you know what, fuck you!" "No need to get so emotional," her father smugly said. The yelling grew frantic, with Grace growing louder and louder and Oscar taking it all in as if they only made him stronger. If looks could kill, her father would have been a crumpled corpse on the floor. It was only a few exchangester, that he¡ª "Maylene is my daughter!" His voice, amplified by aura, was like a shockwave washing over them; so loud it was like being hit by a hammer. "As you said, she is my child. I will decide what will happen to her until she''s ready. You''re just a kid who''s way in over her head¡­" Maylene wondered why he''d stopped. Then she saw Grace''s hand hovering over her Jellicent''s Pokeball. "What are you going to do, exactly?" Oscar asked. "Release a Pokemon and attack me? My, it must be true what they say about you." Grace''s face just shattered in a way that was agonizing for Maylene to look at. "I¡ªI¡ªI''m sorry, I¡ª" Her hand shot up, and she seized it with her other one to stop it from moving any further, as if it had a mind of its own. She started mumbling under her breath, so fast and quiet Maylene could barely catch what she was saying. Aura surged and crackled right beneath the edges of her skin, like a cup being filled with enough water to nearly, nearly overflow. Maylene yelled, suddenly finding her confidence, "Hey! Leave her alone¡ª" Before she could finish that sentence, Cecilia lunged at Oscar with her hand ready to wrap around his neck. She jumped at him with exaggerated movements, as if she was being controlled by a drunk puppet master, but Maylene restrained her first by grabbing her from behind and pulling her. Her father didn''t budge, though he did end up flinching when her hand ended up an inch from his throat. Usually he would have snatched her wrist and squeezed to hurt, especially when it would have been self-defense. Maylene let Cecilia helplessly struggle against her, and her father slowly regained his wits and just . "See who you associate with, Maylene?" He chuckled darkly, taking a step back. "Violent children who have outbursts instead ofmunicating. And I''m the problem." Maylene finally let go of Cecilia, who red at her, as if Maylene hadn''t stopped a catastrophe from happening. "The way youmunicate might as well be violence, with how it''s wounded your daughter for life," the Unovan hoarsed out. Grace was still quiet; somewhat dejected, but at least she''d stopped mumbling to herself and had recovered a little. Riding the wave of outrage she had from her dad hurting Grace, Maylene took a deep breath. "I think¡­ I want you to¡­ um¡­ like, leave. With Alison. Please." It had been said in the tiniest, meekest voice possible. She''d been staring down at her feet, sweating bullets and her hands had been fiddling together. But it had been said. "No," he simply answered. Crap, what could she respond with now? "You need me here to run the Gym. This ce is being run by amateurs¡ª" "Sir," Cecilia interrupted him, her voice cold and barely-tempered. "You are a malignant growth. A parasite that hase to gorge on your daughter''s own exhaustion and hard work so you can take the credit when everything is said and done and Sinnoh returns to normal." Maylene''s eyes widened. She hadn''t heard her speak with so much strength since she had died. "I know your kind and what must be done to dispose of the likes of you. You are a cancer lodged deep into this ce''s ecosystem who can only be removed through scorched earth. The Gym Trainers and your daughter fear you for your reputation; you hold much sway over their fates and power over their heads, but take that away and you. Are. Nothing. Another few years, and you''ll be entirely forgotten¡ª a bad memory!" She sounded high-strung and crazed by the end of it. Her twisted smile seemed to stretch too far to be natural. It was as if it had been stered on her scarred face. "Maylene is ten times the Gym Leader than you are," Grace said a little shakily. "Being a Gym Leader implies that you have to be a leader. A good leader ispassionate. A good leader is not feared by the ones they rule, they are respected and liked. Otherwise, well¡­ we know how the stories end," Grace shrugged before dering, "you are a monster, Oscar Suzuki, and it takes one to know one." For a moment, there was silence. "You¡ª you aren''t that," Maylene mumbled to Grace. "You aren''t a monster. And yeah. Um, dad, I think I''d run the Gym better alone. Sor¡ª" Maylene stopped herself from apologizing. "You need to leave. This is an official order from Veilstone''s Gym Leader." Oscar was fuming. Maylene could see a vein popping out on his forehead behind his faded pink hair. His body was tense, his arms were crossed and she was honestly surprised he hadn''t started yelling at her yet. "Fine. See how you like it when the Gym copses without me," Oscar growled, turning toward the door in a motion so fast it left Maylene dizzy. "You think your Gym Trainers will just ept the fact that you''ve kicked me out? They''re loyal, something you still don''t seem to understand." "I suppose we''ll see," Maylene said. "Hmph. I raised you better than this," he grunted. "These ''friends'' have been a bad influence on you." Then, he was out the door. He mmed it, and hard. Enough for the wood to splinter around the hinges, causing the frame to crack and the door to hang slightly askew. The force of the m left a visible dent in the wood, and the handle rattled precariously, as if it might fall off at any moment. Maylene would have copsed on her knees had Grace not caught her. She felt like she''d run for a marathon for a week straight. With ragged breaths, she struggled back to her feet as tears welled up in her eyes. "You did it," Grace softly said. "You were amazing." I was worthless, she instantly thought. You both did most of the talking. Cecilia walked up close to the broken door and wrinkled her nose. "This is only the first step. He''ll be back. He might speak to the press, too. Luckily I doubt he''ll find much attention there, and he''d probably appear tone deaf given the situation." "I saw him for who he was¡ª pride and ego. I think he genuinely believes Maylene to be incapable," Grace said, shaking her head. "But hopefully if he actually tries more of his bullshit the other Gym Leaders will be less busy and will be able to help. Though we''re always here if you need it." Maylene remembered, back when all of her fellow leaders had called her shortly after her breakdown. Byron had offered to have a stern talk with her father for him, going as far as threatening to smack him in the back of the head with his shovel. She remembered as a child, how estranged both he and Roark had been. He knew about bad parenting and burying your child under heavy expectations, even if he''d changed for the better. She just wished her dad had been the same. She just wished she had a dad who loved her. "Th¡ªthank you," Maylene sobbed. "Thank you so much for be¡ªbeing here for me." Maylene felt a rush of relief as Grace stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. Her embrace was warm and tight, her presence a soothing song to Maylene''s frayed nerves. Maylene allowed her head to sink onto her friend''s shoulder as she cried and probably soaked Grace''s t-shirt with tears and snot. She could feel Grace''s slow, calming heartbeat against her chest. Did that mean Grace could feel her own heart beating so fast it hurt? How safe she felt in her arms, how soft and delicate Grace was, how nice she smelled, how gently her fingers ran along Maylene''s hair and touched her scalp; the silky strands of hair she''d missed in her ponytail brushing up against the side of Maylene''s face. Finding all of that pleasant was probably natural. Her neck was a little ufortable because Grace was shorter than her, but she still didn''t want the moment to end. Yet it did. She didn''t know how long itsted, but it did. Cecilia was irritatingly tapping her finger on her elbow by the end of it, yet she had said nothing. Maylene supposed it might have been too much given that Grace was her girlfriend. Maylene wiped the remainder of her tears with her arm. "Ugh. Sorry ''bout your shirt," she said. "It''s alright, it''s just fabric with no meaning attached to it, I''ll wash itter." The door rasped open, dragging against the floor. For a moment, Maylene balked, thinking her dad hade back. "Maymay? Wait, what happened to the door?" Maylene''s head swiveled up. All caught up in her emotions as she had been, the Gym Leader hadn''t noticed that someone else had been approaching. "Nia?" She could barely believe her own eyes, yet her fellow Gym Leader was standing there in baggy clothes and khaki overalls. "What are you¡ª I thought you were busy." The grass type Gym Leader had been hit somewhat hard by the news of Craig''s death, but none of them had been hit as much as Candice. "I knew your father wasing back today, so I decided to swing by anyway. I had a meeting nned with the City Council, but it''s just procedure to pick and choose where to allocate our emergency fund. Eterna has that archaicw saying I have to be present or send a representative, yadda yadda you know the drill. They''re just putting a stamp on what I already decided, so I sent Roro instead. So, the door?" Gardenia asked warily. It was only then that she nced at Cecilia, who was the closest, and jumped a little. "Sorry," the Unovan dryly said. "No, I just¡­ you know what, I can''t phrase this in a way that isn''t offensive," she said. "H¡ªhi. Nice to meet you, Gardenia. Leader Gardenia!" Grace stumbled over her words. Maylene had never seen her that nervous, but she remembered Candice telling her that Nia was her favorite Gym Leader. "Sorry to intrude!" Nia sighed, returning her gaze back to Grace and Maylene. "Nice to meet you too, I suppose." "It was my dad." Maylene hastily went on to exin the entire confrontation, save for the murder attempts or near-murder attempts. It still didn''t feel real to her. She''d stood up to her father. She used the opportunity to finally tell all of them that Alison was pregnant, and she was d she hadn''t just been insane. It was normal to be angry that Oscar hadn''t told her. Growing up, she''d always felt like the crazy one, or at least her father insisted that she was always in the wrong, always too emotional, or that she didn''t know what she was talking about. "Now he''s gone for a while, I hope. I don''t know when I''ll want to see him again," she finished. Gardenia pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, I''m so confused. Okay. Yeah, okay. I''m sorry, Maylene, I should havee here sooner and been there for you. Your father would have gotten stern words from me." Maylene did not doubt it, from how she could dismantle someone with only a nce. They''d been colleagues for a bit, too. She walked up to Maylene and wrapped her in a tight hug that Maylene returned. Warm, weed, but no funny feeling in her stomach. Odd. "I have an hour free, if you want me to stay. Well, it''s really more like forty minutes, but I can stretch it to an hour." "Nia, don''t. Eterna City needs you," Maylene protested. "Forty minutes is okay." "And you two¡­?" Gardenia asked. "I¡ªI guess we''ll leave." Grace leaned against the kitchen ind. Maylene''s heart sank. "I wouldn''t want to intrude¡ª Cece, what about you?" She simply nodded. "If your father everes back, give me a call." "Maybe I should be here too in case you attack¡ª" Grace stopped, then cleared her throat awkwardly. "Anyway. Yeah, we''ll get out of your hair." "If you want to," Maylene said with a forced smile. Maybe they wanted to leave? Maybe she''d asked too much of them, and now they wouldn''t speak to her anymore. And just like that, they decided to leave. Maylene and Nia walked with the two until they were back in the Gym''s lobby waiting for Kadabra toe back and Teleport them back to the League. The goodbye was awkward. Maylene thanked them again for helping, but she couldn''t formte the words the way she wanted, especially toward Grace. All she got was a wave, too. A few days ago she''d be content with a wave. She''d have been happy with it, even. Maylene left the lobby in a hurry, but she didn''t go back to her office or her living quarters right away. Instead, she skulked around the door, telling herself that she was better off waiting for Kadabra to get here. Teleporting within the Gym wasn''t allowed, after all. Gardenia shoved her hands down her overall pockets. She''d been texting someone on her phone. "You wrote to them to help you out, huh." When Gardenia looked at her, there were no secrets. Her amber eyes could read her like a book. "I underestimated how close you were. I thought you were just friends." She wasn''t bitter about it, nor was she using her of anything, Maylene knew. "We are," she said. "I mean, I hope so. I don''t know." Gardenia snorted and caressed her arm. "Come on, Maymay. You''d have to be close for them to ept facing down your dad. He used to be a Gym Leader, for Arceus'' sake!" Maylene leaned against the wall, hidden from view of the ss doors. She rubbed her tired eyes and sighed, both happy that they''d gotten her father out and sad her friends were already leaving. She knew dreams of hanging out were just that, anyway. Dreams. She''d already been on a break for too long, and she hadn''t even eaten. Lucario, the rest of her team and her Gym Trainers needed her at the helm to right the ship. Hell, she had recalled Medicham for basically no reason. She took a step forward. Maylene''s hearing had always been better than average, even with her now-damaged left ear. Consciously or unconsciously, she opened her senses and leaned back against the wall despite Nia looking at her weird. "...difficult. I lost my cool there, I should have been better," Grace said. "Why is it that you have to be better while others can just walk over you?" Cecilia questioned. "I doubt you''d have killed him. He would have stopped you, I think, and if you did, well he deserves it," she spat. "But maybe¡­ maybe I need to figure out how to put a lid on these feelings too. If I attacked someone in Unova this way for bad mouthing you, it would ruin me." "It would," Grace acquiesced, her voice soft. "Thanks for¡ª thanks anyway. It means a lot to me." "Hmhm." A beat of silence. "Do you think Maylene will be fine?" Cecilia asked. "Oh, she will. She''s strong and never gets knocked down for long," Grace praised. Maylene felt her face heat up. "Better we leave her and Gardenia to work things out, though; we''d just get in the way. They''ve known each other for a lot longer. Candice told me they were like sisters, you know?" "They did seem rather close." "You know, it''d be nice if we could go back to that restaurant you took me to that one time, you know?" she said. Maylene could hear the smile in her tone. "Ugh, Be¡ª Hatterene''s so close, too. I wish I could go see her and Nightstalker." Ceciliaughed. "I''m pretty sure that''s like the fiftieth time you''ve nearly slipped with that Pokemon''s name. She should start charging you." "Hey! Believe it or not, I have enough stories to pay her tenfold, now!" When she finally left back toward her office, she saw their hands intertwined so tightly, Grace leaning against the side of her girlfriend''s shoulder. That new feeling; the pain in her chest came back at full force. "Maymay, is something wrong?" Gardenia asked. "No," she lied and fixed her face. "Hm. Okay." The word was drawn out in a way that Maylene knew just meant she had figured something out, but Maylene had been too shaken to inquire any further. Ah, Kadabra was waddling over. Back to chatting with Nia, then back to work.
Chapter 319 Chapter 319
A/N: A reminder of who has what Pokemon: Spoiler Denzel: Sylveon (M), Roserade (F), Milotic (M), Lopunny (F), Fross (F), Altaria (F) Cecilia: Hydreigon (M) Talonme (F) Slowking (M) Scizor (M) Golurk (Genderless/M) Toxicroak (F) Pauline: Charizard (F), Gothitelle (F), Braviary (F), Vigoroth (M), Primeape (M) Justin: Arcanine (M), Krookodile (M), Ludicolo (M), Audino (M), Toxapex (F), Corviknight (M) Louis: Gabite (M), Empoleon (M), Nales (F) Vespiquen (F) Bisharp (M) Chase: Lucario (M) Houndoom (M) Zangoose (F) Vikavolt (M) Abomasnow (M) Sigilyph (F) Wimpod (F) Mira: kazam (M) Gengar (M) Magnezone (Genderless/M) Gardevoir (F) Porygon2 (Genderless/F) Exeggcute (M) Maeve: Infernape (M) Starmie (Genderless/M) Drapion (M) Staraptor (F), Gligar (M) Yanma (M) Emilia: Metang (M) Lyranroc (M) Ambipom (M) Braixen (F) Lauren: Sceptile (M) Magmortar (M) Aggron (M) Reuniclus (M) Seismitoad (F) Rhydon (M) [copse]
CHAPTER 319 "Okay, so what you want is to take a deep, deep breath," I slowly whispered, one eye open. I was lying t against the ground with Mimi next to my face in our hotel room. The steel type mewled, their eye turning to a thin, disappointed line. "I know you don''t breathe, just¡­ feel it." Meltan stared at me, and then huffed. They pointed an arm forward and took aim toward their designated viin: Buddy. The ghost had split some of his body mass and made a Mimi-sized clone of himself, or a smidge bigger. The rest of his body was off reading a book in the living room. Mimi cried out with a cute, squeaky sound; squeezed their eye shut and shot out a tiny, shiny metallic pebble. The throw was slow and arced through the air, glinting in the ceiling lights before it bounced off the mini-Jellicent and ttered on the ceramic tiles with a soft plink. Of course, even at full power, Mimi was harmless, but Buddy yed the part. He made his eyes shine brighter than a star in the night sky, then dim and slowly lost in mass, deting like a balloon until he crumpled on the floor as a puddle of water. It would evaporate and join back with the main body soon enough. "You did it!" I sat up and swept Mimi up in my hands. "You vanquished Buddy¡ª uh, the evil, nefarious Predator Of the Abyss, nay, Terror Of The Depths!" I spun them around in my arms. "No one will be able to stand up to you now! Ohhh, you deserve a feast after such a fight." I ced the steel type on my shoulder, where they excitedly jumped up and down at the thought of replenishment. Yesterday''s visit to Maylene had been¡­ something. My friend hadn''t heard anything from either her father or stepmom, so at least that was good news, but I couldn''t help but anticipate his next move, if it was evening. It was something to keep my mind upied. The relief I''d felt when I''d been about to send out Jellicent and attack him still haunted me. A feeling that finally, the world had stopped putting on airs and I''d be of use again was something that would haunt me for weeks toe. Of course, Oscar hadn''t even contemted attacking me; his aura-powered voice had just been loud enough to trigger my fight or flight¡ª and for me, it was always fight. After grabbing my supply of scrap metal from the pantry, Iy everything out on the floor. Mimi jumped on them like a kid would in a pool and started eating their full as if they were an industrial grinder, interspersed by various metallic screeching or burps. I winked at Buddy for ying his part, and he ''winked'' back, rapidly dimming one eye. For all child-like they behaved, they''d expressed how proud they were that I hadn''t attacked Oscar. They''d been on my wrist that entire day, after all. Meeting Gardenia in such circumstances hadn''t been ideal, but at least she hadn''t screamed at me like I feared, or thought I''d been the one to make Maylene cry, or believed I had influenced her with my empathy to be my friend. Paranoid? Maybe, but misunderstandings such as these would have been just my luck. Arceus, months ago I would have fangirled over her so much. I still did, kind of, but I''d probably have tried to talk to her about battling or something and came on way too strong. Being a mom was fulfilling, and more importantly distracting, but I had something else nned today beyond the usual hospital visit to Chase, Denzel and hanging out with Emilia and the others. Visiting the League''s prison. Getting it approved had taken a while, not because letting a trainer randomly get into the most secure ce in the country was unprecedented, but because the people who could push the right levers to get me in were all difficult to get a hold of. It was Andrew Frazier, who I''d managed to get permission from. He was the League Commander who had spoken to us in the bunker we''d been shoved in after the bombs. As soon as Mimi finished replenishing themselves, I lowered my hand and let them climb on it. They were always lethargic after eating, so they nearly dripped off my skin as they crawled up my arm and into my sleeve. When I told Jellicent he could keep reading should he want to, he closed the book, dropping it on the couch with Extrasensory, and he looked at me like I was stupid for even suggesting that. "I''m not going to lie, I was hoping you''d say that." Not having a Pokemon with me would make the uneasiness ten times worse. "You just looked interested, so¡­" Buddy floated over and told me the book would always remain. If something happened to me while he wasn''t there he would never forgive himself. I had at best eight to nine decades left in me, so he was going to make the most of them. "Eight to nine decades is a while," I contemted as we walked out the hotel room. I could feel Mesprit wanting to desperately say something, wing at the edge of my mind. "Though I guess for you, it isn''t. I can''t really imagine myself as an old woman." We chatted about what I''d be like as a senior until we made it out of the hotel. I scanned the surroundings until I found the specific person I''d been looking for. Instead of making himself tall and waiting in the middle of the entryway, Louis had quietly carved out a ce for himself near the decorative hedges, hidden away from any but the most attentive of eyes. I smiled and waved at him, and it took my friend a few seconds to notice me. His golden blond hair was a mess of a bedhead, but he was taking care of himself now, at least. Showering, dressing well, shaving, moisturizing, so on and so forth. The scar running from the corner of his lip to his ear he''d gotten in Cor when we''d gone to save Cece was still as prominent on his face as it had ever been. At his side was his Gabite. The tall drake looked somewhat uneasy, his yellow eyes and body asionally twitching. I used to find him somewhat intimidating, but he looked like a whelp next to Cynthia''s Garchomp. Granted, that was every Pokemon I''d ever seen. "Looks like your dragon needs a fight," I said with a slight quirk in my lip. I hugged Louis, which he hesitantly returned. Gabite hastily growled in agreement. "How''re you doing, Louis?" "Gabite does need some exercise, and he''ll get some soon, though he''s been battling my other Pokemon as ofte." Gabite grunted,ining that he was bored of them and wanted something new, like Maeve''s team. Louis exhaled and ignored him, though I wasn''t sure how much of that he''d understood. "I''m¡­ doing. Living day by day and trying to keep my head above the water. You?" "I''m pretty much the same. Sorry I haven''t been around much." I brought a single finger toward Gabite, who rumbled in response¡ª kind of like a meow''s purr, if you were generous. My hand caressed the dragon''s neck. Petting things was nice. It was apparently the universalnguage of love. Of course, it was short-lived. Dragons generally didn''t enjoy disys of affection from anyone other than the ones they respected. Louis simply greeted Jellicent with a nod the ghost barely returned. "I understand. I''ve not exactly been avable, either." We started walking. "Right, right. How''s, uh, how''s¡ª" Could I just bring the funeral up? It wouldn''t be very tactful. "How are¡ª how are things?" Gah, so awkward. I stared off to the side, toward a group of kids grumbling about the fact that we still had no word on when the Conference would be. They were probably children of government employees. "nning for the funeral with Al, mostly." Al was short for Albert, Justin''s father and CEO of Pherzen. While I''d never seen the man, Louis had been talking to him extensively over thest few days. "We don''t have¡ª" he stuttered, then gulped, "a date yet. Sometime next week, depending on how the dice fall." Not knowing what went into nning funerals, I had no idea if that was a long or a short time. "But, uh, Al''s been great. Him and Anna are devastated. You know, Justin¡ª he never did believe his parents loved him as parents should, and¡­ yeah, they weren''t great." He ran a shaky hand through his hair andughed nervously. "With the whole deal propping him up as a trainer to advertise Pherzen, and then the darkness that took him over in Sceon it''s easy to see why they were estranged." Too quick to forgive, in my opinion, but the death of a loved one had a way of making you reevaluate everything about yourself. I answered with a nomittal nod as we made it to the end of the beige-orange street where a tram with a flock of Starly and somehow, a Luxio waszily riding, her tail swaying over the edge, and we waited for the streetlight to turn green. "Any more info on the funeral?" I said. "Wait!" I yelled, soliciting annoyed stares from a few passersby. "Actually, we had a conversation before he died in Canve where we ended up talking about being remembered and stuff because of Seafarer''s Day." The light had turned green already, but Louis was too focused on what I had to say to notice, so I gently pushed him along. "We were talking about our deaths, and he said he''d rather be cremated than buried." Louis stopped one step from the sidewalk. "What?" Suddenly, guilt gripped me. "I''m sorry, I¡ª I didn''t forget as much as there was so much going on. I mean, there was the bombs, then we figured he was dead at the Lake, then Cor, then¡­" I bit my lip. "I''m sorry." Louis nervously chewed one of his nails, as if thinking about everything he would have to change for the funeral. "I would have liked to know earlier, but at least you remembered, so it''s no harm no foul." He grabbed his phone from his pocket and started texting¡­ Albert, I assumed, and we started walking again. "For the funeral, it''ll be a small ceremony. Close friends and family only. Cousins, uncles and such," Louis said. "We''re nning on holding it in¡ª in Floaroma. Where I hope to open my sanctuary sometime next year with Albert''s financial backing." My mouth gaped. "Louis! That''s amazing; I''m so happy for you, you finally found the money!" The mood cratered in a second. "I wish it could be in better circumstances, of course." His face grew grim, and even Gabite patted him on the shoulder with a reassuring growl. "Don''t we all? Thend is actually going to be bought soon with the remains of what I still have from my father''s wealth and Albert''s generous donation, but I am hoping for Justin''s Pokemon to be its first¡­ inhabitants." "Louis, that''s¡ª that''s so sweet of you." It was a tragedy, how his father had ruthlessly eliminated that part of him for so long. "I''m sure you''ll help them grieve and get through this. I honestly can''t think of anyone else to help them." Louis had been the closest to Justin''s team outside of Maeve, and he was just¡­ he just seemed like he could do the job. Give parts of himself to help others. "Are they still being held at Canve''s Center?" From what I knew, they''d been let out once to process the news of Justin''s death. Every Pokemon Center had a trauma processing unit for Pokemon in case their trainer was grieviously injured or died, and while it saw way less use today thanks to Sinnoh being safe outside of a few routes and areas. They couldn''t be put in their Pokeballs and kept in the dark forever. The news always had to be delivered eventually. I just hoped they wouldn''t have to be alone for long. When I asked Louis, he said there were some legality problems. Officially, he didn''t have the rights to Justin''s Pokemon, and he also didn''t have the right to have more than six Pokemon, at the moment. My friend proceeded to tell me that normally, when a trainer died, their Pokemon passed on to their family members with priority to children, parents or trainers. If there was an issue with the Pokemon carry limit, then they''d be split among the family. If they had no family, then they were given to the Rangers, where they''d be able to get routine back into their lives and decide if they liked their new life, wanted to try something else with the government or if they''d be released back into the wild in appropriate environments. "Then why doesn''t Justin''s dad have them already?" I asked. "It''s an entire process," he said. "It hasn''t even been two weeks, it''ll take some time to get finalized." Legendaries, it felt so much longer than that. Legalese about owning Pokemon made me a little sick to my stomach. It veered too much into treating Pokemon like possessions instead of partners, like so many aspects of our society. The worst offender was breeding¡ª but I couldn''t get lost in thought. I''d bet good money that Justin''s Pokemon would have rather been with Louis than speaking to an assortment of Nurse Joys, no offense to them. They were great and often not appreciated enough, but a bond was not something you could reproduce on a whim. Then again, maybe I was wrong. Maybe distance was what they needed. I wouldn''t know until I saw Justin''s team again. We continued on our way toward the League''s prison, making small talk about Louis'' ns for his sanctuary on the way there. He still needed a name for it. ¡ª The bright hospital lights were a bit of a bother for Cecilia, however she would rather sit here than be out in the sun nine times out of ten. Pauline and Emilia had just left, so it was now just her with Chase. His legsy motionless beneath his hospital nket, and every few minutes she would see him attempt to discreetly move them. His upper body would squirm, and he would attempt to slowly drag his lower body with it, yet movement did note. He would keep trying, harder and harder until he''d give up with a swear and apologize for yelling. It was after one of these outbursts, that Cecilia considered speaking up atst. She''d beenrgely quiet today, as she was in one of her depressive, self-deprecating moods. Some days, she was learning, like yesterday with Maylene''s dad, were better than others in that regard. Perhaps it was because Cecilia had imagined facing down her own so-called ''father'' in Oscar''s stead to motivate herself, and her hatred of him was far more powerful than any doubt and regret that currently permeated her soul. Thinking back on that day, every time she closed her eyes, Cecilia could not help but remember the brilliant blue that had surged around Maylene. She had heard many times that aura worked outside of Type Energy, yet she''d never expected for it to be her key to seeing color once again. And she missed seeing colors. When she closed her eyes, she could already barely remember what they looked like. Maybe once Chase got better and Ri was done being healed, she would ask and see if his was the same. She wasn''t going to text Maylene first unless it was to check if she needed help with her father, or to give random advice for dealing with abusive pieces of trash. That girl had a crush on Grace that was growing by the day; the fact that she was so brazen about it right in front of Cecilia''s face angered her to no end. It wasn''t on purpose, she knew. Maylene was likely blind to her own truth as Cecilia had been until Grace had spoken to her about what being gay was like. Cecilia had watched her girlfriend like a hawk to see if there were any signs of reciprocating the crush, and no rm bells had gone off. Grace was also utterly clueless: she had always been blind to everyone''s love for others but her own. Empath or not, it wasn''t like she was peering into people''s emotions. A while ago, she''d given Grace an ultimatum. Look at her emotions without her explicit permission, and their rtionship would be over with no second chances avable. Over. That was a terrifying word, now. So much so that Cecilia wasn''t sure if that ultimatum still applied today. How much of herself had she left behind when she''d died, for a breech of privacy so deep not to move the needle? Not that she expected Grace to do so, anyway. It was just mortifying to think that she''d changed so much. Too much. It was just¡ª Cecilia knew she had grown unhealthily attached, worse than they''d ever been when they realized there had been an issue in the first ce. Grace knew as well. It was just easier to ignore, because fixing this would require so much hurt it might as well be impossible. What if Grace picked Maylene over her? She just didn''t want to be abandoned. Cold. Alone. Who else would ever love her? Who else would ever understand her? Who else could ever make her feel so warm? So it was, that she found the best move to be to stay quiet and not say anything about Maylene at all, lest the situation blow up and ruin everything. Speak no evil, as they said. Cecilia supposed that Grace would be ''hear'' and Maylene would be ''see'' in the equation. Either way, today was one of the bad days, especially given that Grace wasn''t here. The world felt so cold without her. "You shouldn''t exert yourself too much," Cecilia quietly said. "It might hamper your recovery." Chase smiled¡ª and bitterly. "Right. Right." His shoulders sagged, and he leaned back in the bed. The TV in the top left corner of the room was, for once, not ying the news. He must have switched it to some random Pokemon battling program. People were trying to get back to normal. "Cece, I¡ª my legs¡ª" He choked on his own words and mmed a fist on his bed railings. "Fuck." "Did I do something wrong?" "No, you¡ª damn it, I fucking hate that you¡ª you know what, whatever." He threw his hands up. "It was a lie, Cecilia. I''m never walking again. I''m a cripple." Were those tears? No, they weren''t there yet, but his eyes were wet to the point that he rubbed them with his arm. The hurt must have clearly shown on Cecilia''s face, because her friend red at her. "Don''t fucking pity me; this is why I didn''t want to tell anyone," he growled. "I hate this. If you''re going to tell me that you''re sorry, just leave¡ª" Suddenly, Cecilia found herself on her knees on the side of his bed, grabbing one of his hands so tightly that her wrists hurt. Chase squirmed in his bed, trying to escape her grip, but no matter how hard he pulled, how harshly her arm moved, her hand stayed locked around his, squeezing more the harder he fought. "Cecilia, what the hell¡ª" "So what?" she demanded to know. "Huh?" "So what? Whates next? What are your next moves?" Each question, she came closer to her friend, yet unlike all the other rubes out there, he actually faced her without flinching. Yes, she thought. Look into my eyes and see me! "First of all, get off me," he grumbled. The Unovan did so, calmly sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs. Chase shook his hand in the air. "Mean grip you''ve got there. I think I get what you mean. What''s the n to fulfill our oath, right?" Her confidence evaporated. "I know I''m no longer a Shard¡ª or barely one¡ª but I was hoping that¡ª" "Oh, shut up," Chase sighed. "Who cares about some magical powers we have in our heads? Ruling is about people. You and I, we''re people. Azelf is a concept. The faceless, nameless, soulless fucks who suck out all the wealth out of the Iron Inds without ever stepping foot there to see what they''ve done aren''t people¡ª but¡ª but yeah, I still want to be the Champion." Cecilia smiled, relieved with the news that they were still halves of a whole. "So what are you going to do? I have a n of action for my arrival¡ª and a list of objectives I need to achieve within the next five years with me as Champion or at least a member of the Unova Elite Four by the end; able to push policy. Have you given it some thought since waking up?" Chase blew a raspberry. "You know I''m not one for ns; I''m a man of action, Cece. Action." Cecilia looked down at him, stuck in his bed. "A man of action who currently is unable to do anything. A man of action who has spent thest few days brooding¡ª and I get it." The rectification was swifter than hising anger. "I''m sorry about your Abomasnow. A tragedy, what Mars did to him; hopefully you will see him again some day." He waited for the next sentence. The ''I''m sorry about your legs.'' It didn''te, because she understood him more than anyone else currently alive other than Ri. He rxed and nodded. "If Abomasnow wakes up a few years down the line, I want to have done something," he said. "I want to have progressed and for him to be proud of it. He wanted to be stronger, that was why I caught him, but he supported me, also. Especially after we saw the Iron Inds again." Cecilia nodded. "Make him proud, Chase." She let the moment pass, watching Chase reminisce. "Legendaries, I love you." The statement took her aa little aback. She''d only seen Grace say that to her friends in a tonic way. "I hope you get that through that thick skull of yours." As if to mimic her cranial structure, he knocked on his head with his knuckles. "You have people other than Grace to help ya out. No need to look like it''s a funeral all the time." "I just like wearing ck," she said. "I meant your face, but whatever." She ignored him. "Now, what is, in your opinion, your fastest road to power?" After turning off the TV, she leaned forward in her chair. Cecilia always enjoyed this kind of talk. "Now, when I say power, I don''t¡ª" "You don''t mean the Champion, I know." He hummed and started to think. "Could join the army. With the Voice still in my pocket and my skill I could probably climb up the ranks rtively quickly, even if I''d have to find a way to move around." "But that''s not what you care about," she guessed. "As much as it pains me, I will have to join the system that keeps my people down. If I do it, I want to have a say as fast as possible. Feels less dirty that way." "How does¡­ Gym Leader of Canve sound?" Chase''s mouth gaped; his eyes widened, and then he scoffed. "So what, be some fucking Gym Trainerckey, toil for years and then lead some fucking pce coup?" Pce coup? He must have read some of the books she got him. Good. "Byron is old. He turns fifty-three this summer and I doubt he''ll go as long as Fantina did," she exined. "Yeah, and the piece of rusted steel picks his sessor. Is he going to pick the poor sod from the Iron Ind who wants to burn the system down, or meat puppet number twenty-three who''ll continue not to rock the boat?" Cecilia chuckled, a surprise to even herself. "Rule is never so easy. You still see him as a caricature; ck and white without any depth." Chase rolled his eyes. "Come on, Cecilia. He''s an aplice to oppression. In fact, he''s not just an aplice, he fucking puts a nice stamp on it every day and says, ''why yes, Teracore!''" He took in a faux-happiness and sped his cheeks with his hands. "''Please continue fuck my people in the ass and I''ll watch and cheer you on from the side!'' Give me a break; he''s pathetic." She wrinkled her nose at the crude remark. "Yes." Cecilia thought back to a certain Unovan currently in League custody and dug her nails into her seat. "Yet even the worst of viins have substance to them." Legendaries, it pained her to say this. Literally. As if her throat was on fire. Luckily it was less intense than when she''d tried to use the Voice twice in a day, so she did not let it show. "He''s not doing this because he wants to¡ª" "Yadda, yadda, poweres with its limitations, I know." He irritatingly waved a hand and adjusted his seating position, lifting himself by the arms. "I''m saying I don''t give a fuck and that it doesn''t matter to me." A short silence settled in, and he looked up at the ceiling as if to think. "But I was thinking." "Thinking?" His eyes lit up with a sudden brilliance, widening as if a spark had ignited within them and was growing brighter and brighter. "I like this idea. Lets me get right in the thick of things, and it gives me an opportunity to clean the shit out of Byron''s ear if he still has a soul. Get some work done early." She leaned forward, and the motion nearly had her fall off her chair. "Tell me what you''re going to do." "I''m not going to hand in my application and go for a round of interviews. I''m going to battle him." His answer rang out throughout the hospital room, swallowing the constant beeping of the heart monitor and the chatter outside for a moment. She waited for further exnation, but that was it. "...you would lose," she dered without a shadow of a doubt. They were good, yes, but not good enough to win in a five against six. The only training he''d done with his Wimpod was endurance and movement-based, some of which she''d seen during their time in the Iron Inds, and there was no way the little bug would ever be up to par. From the passionate way he''d spoken, he had meant the battle would be soon, as in, when the Gym Battle opened again soon. "Without Abomasnow, you cannot win. Byron is not the kind of man who will go soft because of your contributions to taking down Gctic¡ª" "Fuck no, he isn''t, and that''s a good thing," he retorted, fists clenched. "And yeah, maybe I''ll lose, but if I did, that wouldn''t bother me much. Who gives a fuck about some badge? It was never about the badges for me. Fucking trinkets. If I do this right, I''ll win in every way that matters, Cecilia," he said, grinning like a madman. "I''ll talk to him right there, man to man. Think about it. Think about how I''ll fucking expose him in public." Cece scoffed. "So what, are you going to list statistics about poverty and harsh living conditions in the middle of a fight? I doubt it''s something he doesn''t already know, and if you''re going for a PR angle¡ª" "Bah, even I don''t know the stats. You don''t need stats to prove what you see with your fucking eyes every day." Cecilia decided to ignore that dangerous line of thinking. "When I say I''ll speak to him through battle, I mean it." That fire within him; the me of ambition; so bright Cecilia felt it sear the edges of her skin. They''d all had it, once. It looked like Chase had been the first one to reignite it. "When the dayes," he said, "I want you to be the one to push my wheelchair up there. I mean I could probably use my hands and the ramp they got on the side, but¡ª" Cecilia steeled herself. "Of course, I will." He smiled. "Thanks, pal." ¡ª Shuffling into Sinnoh''s highest security prison, as it turned out, took time. The building looked a lot more boring than I figured it would. From the outside, it appeared as a nondescript, concrete monolith nestled in a remote corner of the ind. We''d had to travel by a lonely road for forty minutes to get here on foot, which didn''t sound like long but had my feet numb by the end. It had been a lot easier to ignore my legs and feet hurting when the fate of the world hung in the bnce. Tomorrow for sure, I''d start running. Didn''t I have Chase''s personalized workout n he''d given me for my birthday crumpled in my bag somewhere? I was pretty certain I''d lost it; maybe Maylene could be of help to get me fit again if she wasn''t too busy with work. Wouldn''t that be fun? I missed good old fun. I wished I could just remember how to do and enjoy goofy stuff without putting up a fa?ade for my kids. Actually, Maylene was busy helping in Snowpoint today, but she''d left Lucario, Medicham and Machamp¡ª who she had gotten back this morning¡ª to watch the Gym. She didn''t know which Gym Trainers to trust right now, so her Pokemon were needed to keep watch. But I was getting sidetracked. So, the prison. Gray concrete blocks stacked on top of each other. The walls around the prison stretched high into the sky, crowned with coils of barbed wire that glinted dully in the sparse sunlight. There were guards all around, of course, either in towers, flying on Pokemon or patrolling. We''d been stopped by many League officers on the way here until we''d given the visitor slip afforded to us by Commander Frazier because civilians weren''t allowed this close, and now we had a high-ranking League Trainer whose name I didn''t catch leading us to the gates. We''d crossed a sign a few miles back warning that anyone caught beyond this point who was not authorized could be met with lethal force, which Louis was nervous about even though we had the right to be here. The guard at the entrance checked our identification thoroughly and analyzed our minds with a Mr. Mime before allowing us to pass through the heavy iron gate. One of the ones personally trained by Lucian''s who helped create barriers in the higher rounds of the Conference. The psychic was very intrigued at my brain and decided to delve deeper until she was struck by a sudden headache and¡ª was knocked back into an invisible wall? "Knock it off," the guard said. "Don''t mind her, she''s one for theatrics." I heard Mesprit giggle in the back of my mind. The headache was real, though! Please don''t give Pokemon doing their jobs random headaches, I thought. Hmph. Whatever, just go and see Natalia already! I want to see how she''s doing! I wish you were visiting her today! Ugh, they were so whiny at times. The gate creaked open, revealing the barren, gravel-covered courtyard ahead of us. It was actually disturbing, how all vegetation had bled away, leaving only destion. The crunch of stones underfoot was the only sound in the oppressive silence. Towers rose from the earth, each one containing at least one Kadabra and Trainer standing guard. Reaching the main building, I was met by another guard who led me to a small, sterile waiting room. There, I had to sign a visitor log and surrender my belongings, which were ced in a secure locker. That meant that our Pokemon also had to be put away, including Mimi. The steel type hated their Pokeball, but there was only so much I could bend the rules to my favor. The room was dark and dreary; heavy enough to be ufortable, especially when we started ambling through the cell hall to our destination. This ce was where I expected so many stories to meet their death knell, and yet it was just so empty of everything that was human, as if everything and everyone had resigned themselves to the end of their tale. The entire hallway was d in nondescript white, along with bright lights that hurt to look at for too long, as if being ufortable was the point. As if an extended stay here was supposed to have you return to a nk te. The cells were covered up by reinforced ss, allowing us to nce at many of the Team Gctic members who had been captured alive in Cor. Their rooms were utterly barren. From the moment one stepped inside, it was as if reality itself had been stripped away. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all a blinding, sterile white, reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights that buzzed incessantly overhead. There were no windows, no breaks in the monotonous expanse of color¡ª just an endless sea of white that seemed to stretch on forever. The only way for the prisoners to know what time of the day it was was when their food was delivered to them, but even then they''d still lose track of how many days had passed eventually. There would be no break in the monotony, ever. It was a prison designed to break your mind. Most of the Gctic grunts were not broken, however. They actually seemed in alright spirits, and I attributed that to the fact that one, they probably still believed Cyrus woulde save them at some point; two, they had only been there for a few days. "There she is," the guard who was leading us said. "Inmate 58." He twisted a handle next to the prison cell, and part of the ss wall slid away as if it was a window. "Louis Bianchi, follow me to inmate 72." I pulled on Louis'' sleeve before he could go. "Good luck with Harvey." His face grew grim. "I''ve wanted a conversation with my father for a long time. I won''t let it slip past my fingers." Louis left with the guard, and I turned toward the inmate. Not Natalia¡ª I was going to speak to herter today¡ª but ra, named Grace Pastel the fourth by Mars. Just like Cecilia had said, she looked very simr to me. Her face was a little longer, her hair a little more golden; she had fewer freckles, but they were spread out throughout her face more than mine, which were mostly on my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. I wouldn''t go as far as to call her my doppleganger, but I could understand why Mars had gone after her to cope with the fact that she couldn''t get me. This poor girl. She''d been burned too, enough for the left side of her face and neck to scar like mine. The white prisoner''s uniform she was wearing was covering too much to see if the burns extended further, but I knew Mars wouldn''t have spared her the pain if it meant she could be more like me. Her look of disbelief at my presence bled away, leaving a re hateful enough to kill in its ce. Had someone else ever looked at me like this? Not even Saturn''s gaze had been this hateful. I''d expected this. This hatred. From her perspective, I''d been the main cause of all of her issues. If I''d never been involved with Team Gctic in the first ce; if Mars had never grown obsessed with me because of my weakness, then my simrity to her; if I hadn''t hurt Maylene and others and given Mars a reason to think we were simr; if I had died at the power nt at Valley Windworks; if I had died in Sceon; if I had died in the raid on Backlot''s mansion¡ª If, if, if. You''d never run out if you kept thinking back. So many actions of my doing had only increased Mars'' obsession with me that they''d directly led into this girl and three of her predecessors being tortured physically and mentally for months on end. It honestly did not hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. Not because I wasn''t concerned about her; I was just too exhausted to care. "ra¡ª" She shot up from her bed. "You." She stomped her way toward me, her body so full of hate she bumped her head into the ss. "You fucking show up here? After everything?" I sighed. From the way Cecilia had described her, she''d been rather meek¡ª raughed, throwing her hands up. "Oh, I''m sorry. I guess I''m boring perfect little Grace Pastel. Maybe if you hate it so much here you should go out and enjoy your freedom so I never have to see¡ª to think about you again." No sighing. Okay. Another attempt. "Look, I''m sorry I¡ª" "Oh, you''re sorry now, are you? I should be out here, and you should be in here." Her voice was so full of hate¡ª of vitriol that spittlended on the ss between us. "See how you like it, to have your Pokemon, your dreams and your individuality taken away from you." She gripped at her uniform, where the number 58 had been embroidered in ck. "No one calls me by my name here. I do nothing all day, and they won''t tell me what they did with Musharna! My parents don''t even know I was arrested and that I''m in prison, and even if they did, they wouldn''t be able to visit! This is all on you! Fuck you." Her breaths were ragged, her chest rising up and down as if she''d just gone on a run. She was waiting, I knew. Waiting for a reaction. She had built up an image of me for months in her head. Most likely, ra had yed out this argument within her own mind more times than she could count. I did not me her. Hate was a very good vehicle to fuel you during trying times. You needed something to keep yourself going; I''d been the easiest target to go after. Yeah. I looked up at her, tired and weary. "Did that feel good?" "You think you''re so above me, aren''t you? Like I don''t even deserve your attention," she hatefully spat. Rarely had I heard someone speak with so much venom in their tone. "Like you''re better than me because I''m mad. I deserve to be mad¡ª I¡ª" she shrieked and tore at her hair. It had been a genuine question to figure out if we were going to be able to speak any time soon. If she needed more hate, I''d let her hate me. No matter how much she berated me, I''d be there at the end to have a talk. But the answer was no, then. "Okay," I said, emotionless. So I let her scream at me for Arceus knows how long. At some point, she was just threatening to kill me or calling me names. Bitch. Attention whore. Whatever, honestly. I wanted to close my eyes. I wanted to see Cece. ¡ª "Is this it, then?" Louis asked. "Are you just going to be a child and ignore me?" Louis'' father, Harvey Bianchi, had been in this cell for months. He had lost a bit of weight, but what was most striking was that defeated look in his eyes. He remained here, a shadow of his former self, with neither ambition nor greed to drive him. He had schemed for years, growing richer and richer, and he had forced his hand too much and paid for it. Now, all that remained was a husk. Louis figured that they were simr, in this way. When they realized all was lost, they grew nonresponsive. Like Louis when he had heard the world might end, his father sat on the side of his bed, his eyes downcast and his hands set on his thighs. Sometimes, he would mumble. Others, his body would tense and he''d close his eyes and shake his head, as if to chase away his own inner demons. All that time, Louis had wanted to speak to him onest time. One final conversation before he turned that page on that part of his life. The part with the version of him he despised more every day, with the sleaziness, the ego, the cluelessness, the fake friends and girlfriends. It had all been his father''s doing. He alone had molded Louis into an easy to manipte man so he could further his father''s goals. Louis shook his head andughed dryly. "I just wanted to know why it had to be this way," Louis whispered. "I just wanted to know if you ever loved me, but you can''t even give me that. You couldn''t even stay strong enough to wait to speak to me." Feeling rage bubble up inside of him, Louis hit the ss with his fist so hard the pain from the impact spread throughout his arm. "I know you''re capable of speaking. They told me you''re allowed to speak to yourwyers and theye back once a week!" he yelled. "You''re a pathetic, miserable excuse of a human being. I''m ashamed of being your son." He turned to walk away¡ª "...did it¡­you¡­" Louis'' head whirled to the side so quickly his neck hurt. He scrambled back close to the ss, ashamed to still be so desperate for a word from his father, yet unable to resist the prospect of a conversation. "What?" he asked, no; he demanded. "I did it for you," Harvey said. "I needed to set you up for sess, son. Mark Obel is the Champion of Unova and Cecilia was not going to inherit the position of CEO. It was going to go to you, we just needed¡­" Ah. And then he would have had an easy to control CEO at the helm of one of thergestpanies in the world. Louis tuned him out. Even now, he was obsessed with business. His eyes had some life in them now, as if he was daydreaming of what could have been. They''d lit up now, but not when seeing Louis again for the first time in months. He had never loved him. Louis walked away less hurt than he thought he would be by that revtion. ¡ª ra was on her knees, now, softly hitting the ss with her fist where my face was. She was utterly exhausted, yet when I looked at her, I still only saw more hatred. If I used my empathy, I would be certain, yet just looking at her face was enough to see. Tears were not enough to hide herself behind. "Why?" ra sobbed. "Why are you just taking it?!" s, she had failed to get me to fight back. ra had thrown herself against a wall and crumpled to the floor a crying, sobbing mess. "Because I wanted you to do this until you were satisfied," I softly said. "Is it enough, now? I''ll wait as long as you need¡ª" "That''s not¡ª" she inhaled, sobbing, "what I want." "I''m afraid I can''t fit the mold you have given me. I am sorry," I said, bowing my head slightly. "I thought that you would be satisfied once you hated me enough. Can I talk, now?" "N¡ª" she couldn''t say no. She was too intrigued by what I was about to say. ra took a deep breath, stood up and put her back to the ss. "Whatever." "It is my understanding that you helped Cecilia and Maeve ascend up the mountain. Without your guidance, there''s a chance they might have been toote to save the world." She didn''t respond, which I found strange. Didn''t she see where this was going? "I''m saying that you contributed to the effort to save His creation," I pressed. "I think I can vouch for you and¡ª and get you out of here at some point." Again, she said nothing, but her shoulders grew stiff and her next breath was a shaky one. I knew that bodily motion anywhere. Excitement. Hope. I understood a little better, now. ra didn''t want to tell herself that she was epting help from the girl who had from her point of view caused so much of her suffering. To some extent, I felt like I''d be the same. "Of course, it''d probably still take some time. You''d have to be assessed mentally and get some deprogramming done so they''re sure you''re free from the cult''s influence¡ª and again, that''s just what the League would want, not me," I quickly spoke before she could blow up at me. "I think I could find out what happened to your Musharna, but odds are she''s just in her Pokeball being held until they figure out what to do with her. I have a lot of influence here." I caressed the ss with my finger. An idle motion. "I could stop that and allow her to remain to you. I could bring you, uh, books, orics, or snacks and other small-scale stuff if you need it. I''m allowed to visit here whenever I want, and I n oning back soon to see someone else. I coulde back¡­" I wasn''t ready tomit to once a day yet, so I gave it some thought. "Once every two days to bring you something. And tell you what''s going out on the outside." "And what," she started, crossing her arms, "do you want in return?" I blinked, slightly confused. "For you to say yes?" "What?" "I¡ª I''m just waiting for you to agree to this," I said. "Is it okay?" "Wha¡ª" She finally turned my way again. "Why wouldn''t it be okay?" "Because it''s me asking you this?" If it hadn''t worked, I would have sent Cecilia instead tomorrow. This only felt more appropriate. "You hate me. You could say no." "I literally do not care. Mars could have walked down this hallway and proposed the same deal and I would have taken it¡­" she trailed off. "Maybe¡ª maybe not Mars. Jupiter." There were steps to my left. Louis wasing back. "Okay, I''ll let Commander Frazier know about this. Your life should change significantly from tomorrow on, so just hold on, okay?" "O¡ªokay. Thanks. I guess." With Louis now here, the conversation ended pretty quickly. I bid my goodbyes to ra and we shuffled back to the locker room. My heart felt a little lighter when I told Louis about how things had gone. "What about the other girl?" Louis asked. "Natalia, right?" While Louis didn''t know exactly what had gone on in Cor or the Distortion World, I''d seen it fit to exin Mars'' origins. Emi and Pauline knew as well. On my tiptoes, I opened my locker and grabbed my Pokeballs and backpack. "I would have visited her, but Cynthia wants to assess her¡­ way of thinking first." "I see. And what''s the goal with her? Do you want her out, too?" Louis closed his locker and began clipping his Pokeballs to his trainer belt. "If I were you I''d want nothing to do with her." "I don''t know," I slowly answered. "I guess I''ll have to see for myself." Two minutester, we were on our way out. ¡ª The rest of the afternoon had gone by at a Slugma''s pace, as it usually did when I ran out of things to do. Mimi was out of their ball again and out and about, exploring the condo at their leisure¡ª under Jellicent''s supervision, of course. The water type was getting better at multitasking his true other selves, not just his Night Shades. A tiny piece of him hovered next to the couch I was ying dead on, whispering to me about either Mimi''s whereabouts or interesting history tidbits from his book. The other two were either ying babysitter or reading. I''d be able to get the next batch of my family pretty soon. Sweetheart, Honey and Cass were going to finish getting healed within the next few days, but the others would need more time. I tossed and turned on the couch, never quite finding afortable position. asionally I''d get an alert from my phone that I''d forget to check because I just had no energy, but at least it was something. If I hadn''t had to go to the bathroom, eat and the hotel had been cut off from the outside world, maybe I''d justy here and let the days pass. Maybe weeks. Months? "I can''t think like this." I sighed and sat upright, tapping my feet against the cold, smooth floor. "What else is there to do? More research on Pokemon Rights, maybe¡­" Or I could text Cece. It was nearly six in the evening and she wasn''t back yet. Was she busy? You - Hey baby. You - When are youing back to the hotel? I want to see you. Damn it. I clicked my tongue and quickly added something else before she could type her response. You - You don''t have to feel obligated toe. If you can''t, don''t worry about it. Cece - I''m with Chase talking about future ns. I spent the day with him. ''Future ns'' was vague, but I wasn''t too bothered about it. The next speech bubble formed; my heart hammered in my chest and my hands mmed up when I awaited her response. Cece - I cane back. We were going to finish soon. I gasped in relief and kicked my feet. You - See you soon <3 Happiness had permeated through me already. I found it so much easier to get up and get the ce in order. We had some dirty clothes lying around¡ª some of which I threw in theundry. tes and cups which had been littering, I put in the dishwasher, and I opened the windows to cycle some air through the ce, allowing the setting sun to filter through. I hadn''t even realized how much time flew by by the time I heard the door click open before I could get started on dinner. I took a peek from behind a wall and grinned. "You look like you had a good time." She wasn''t smiling or anything¡ª ah, well, she was now, but it was more about how she carried herself. She was a lot more¡­ rxed, but not too much like when she attacked Oscar. "Chase and I had a very productive conversation," she said, carefully taking off her shoes. "Hm? About?" "He asked me to keep a lid on it for now. Though he told me he apologized for what he said to you. About how you figured out his legs weren''t going to get better." So he had told her. Good; the sooner the truth came out, the more united we''d be to get through this. It was hypocritical of me given that they still didn''t know the full extent of what had happened¡ª and outside of Chase, they would never know¡ª but that was entirely different. The apology was weed, too. At least I knew he hadn''t really meant what he''d said. I wrapped my arms around Cece and ced my head on her chest, tucking my head right under her chin. One of her hands came up to stroke my hair. "What''s wrong? Did ra refuse your offer?" Cece asked once the hug continued for longer than usual. "She didn''t, it was just¡­ hard. I''m just recharging. You''re my charger." I inhaled loudly, and we bothughed. "What? You smell good!" I giggled. "I love you. I¡ªI need you." Her heart skipped a beat. I looked up at her; I could feel her breath on my lips. Before she died, she would have kissed me right then and there, but I guess I had to take the lead because she wasn''t sure of herself. I only had to stand on my tiptoes and¡ª The ringing phone didn''t have to interrupt our kiss, but Cecilia instantly felt off the moment she heard it, like she wasn''t into it as much anymore andshe was preupied by something else. I should have put the damn thing on silent like I usually did, but I''d turned on alerts to get a break from how monotonous the day had been. It was a message from Mallory Ryan, asking me to meet tonight and saying that this would be herst and final offer. I quickly exined the situation to Cece. "Oh. I see," she nervously said. "Damn it," I sighed. "This is like an ambush." She was flipping the table and seeing if I wanted this meeting as much as her. To see how I was to the cause after our argument after my interview. She''d even offered to send a Teleporter herself¡ª rich people like her often hired psychic trainers for their small-scale travel, though I knew there was a bill currently passing through the Directorate to draft those people and Pokemon while help from Indigo got here. "Guess I didn''t give her enough credit," I slowly said before staring back at Cece. "Should I¡ª" "You should," Cece said. "Of course, you should." "Yeah." My shoulders sagged. "I should." It was time to face the music.
Chapter 320 Chapter 320
CHAPTER 320 Getting to the address Mallory Ryan had provided me had been tough. First I''d needed to catch a ride from a Kadabra, and to get one as soon as possible, I asked to be sent to Sunyshore. It was easier to get one the less distance I had to travel, given that it took less energy of them and they could get back to whatever they''d been doing at the League quicker. Had I not been privileged after saving the world, this single step would have been impossible. The reason it was necessary, however, was because the Lily of the Valley Ind was still on lockdown. Mallory sending one of the Teleporters on her payroll wasn''t allowed; they would instantly get pinged by one of the many other psychics keeping track of every inch of the ind, and as it stood, the League was still in ''attack first and ask questionster'' mode. The Kadabra had brought me to one of the Pokemon Centers¡ª this one close to the boardwalk. Ten minutes away from here, the destruction Team Gctic had brought would be on full disy. Inside were many trainers and their Pokemon in lower spirits than usual. There wasn''t much to be happy about these days. I''d had no time to get dressed properly, so I was still wearing my usual t-shirt and jeans; I had thrown a hoodie on top to hide my face while needing to hide my presence in Sunyshore. Momentster appeared a Pokemon I''d never seen before, yet I knew littered the caves of Unova and once Orre, upying simr niches as the Zubat line. His body was covered in soft, velvety fur, primarily a deep shade of cobalt blue, and the glow of his heart-shaped nose faded in line with his powers. The second I saw the Swoobat quietly pop into existence in the sky above the Pokemon center, I knew he hade for me, so I gestured and waved until I was spotted. One could rarely mistake such purpose in a being''s eyes. The flying type glided down toward me, nearly bumping into the Pokemon Center''s Pokeball sign glowing faintly in the night in the process; he was quite the clumsy flier, I noticed, but it looked like he could at least Teleport properly. I scanned the surroundings looking for a trainer, but found none. Swoobat hade alone. MY APOLOGIES, HONORED ONE, Swoobat spoke¡ª yelled telepathically. I''d never heard a psychic be so loud. The closest to this was Jasmine''s Metagross. I AM HERE TO TELEPORT YOU TO JUBILIFE. I HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO¡­ he trailed off. UH OH. WHAT HAVE I BEEN INTRUCTED TO DO AGAIN? RIGHT! RIIIIIIGHT! TO TELL YOU THAT IF YOU WISHED TO TURN BACK, NOW WAS THE TIME! THIS IS YOUR FINAL OPPORTUNITY! The bat heartily pped his wings, as if he had not told me the most ominous thing he could have said before this tense meeting. It did make me hesitate a little bit. I didn''t think Mallory would do anything drastic like attack me, or whatever¡ª and if the impossible happened and she somehow did this, Buddy would wipe the floor with anyone she could bring¡ª but I did think she was the kind to make a social situation as ufortable as possible, which would possibly lead into an argument. And arguments¡­ well, when I had one with Maylene''s dad I defaulted to trying to kill him. Still, I was not deterred. "Can we just hurry? I don''t want to be seen," I said, pulling the top of my hood down. The longer I stood around here, the more likely this became, especially with Swoobat being such a bad flier attracting attention. Swoobat grinned, revealing sharp teeth. I''M GLAD. I AM INTRIGUED IN YOU, HONORED ONE. YOU CAN UNDERSTAND US, AFTER ALL¡ª he bumped into a passerby, who told me to watch it as if Swoobat was my Pokemon. YOU WATCH IT! Swoobat hissed, throwing out a few vocal insults. Hearing my transporter calling someone''s mother a whore had not been on my bingo card for tonight. AS I WAS SAYING, YOUR CAPABILITY TO UNDERSTAND MY KIND IS OF GREAT INTEREST TO ME AND MY PARTNER! NOW, LET US BE ON OUR WAY! By the time we finished that sentence, we were somewhere else. I was greeted by high ceilings adorned with an elegant chandelier that cast a warm, golden light over the intricate wooden flooring. Not very unique as far as decorations went, but it made me feel like I was in another world. This ce was even more luxurious than the condo Cece and I were staying in and I immediately felt underdressed. Swoobat dropped to the ground and decided to hop forward instead of flying around, possibly out of fear of breaking something, and he told me to follow. Jazz music that Swoobat hummed to softly yed throughout the apartment as he led me forward. Each room I passed by or through was the apex of what money could bring you in Jubilife. It was as if every detail in the apartment, from the recessed lighting to the rich wood flooring, to each extravagant painting that looked like it had been plucked out of a modern art museum, had been meticulously chosen to appear as opulent as possible. There were a few security cameras in corners, which was not ideal; I was being recorded. Sometimes I''d catch a nce of a window, each with its own stunning view of the city that would have made Cece stare for hours. This must have been one of Mallory''s apartments; she had a few in Veilstone, but one here, which she picked as our ce of meeting. As Sinnoh''s most famous and popr news anchor, she could afford it. I knew that this wouldn''t have made most of my friends even turn their heads, though. But I was led into¡­ not a living room, but something akin to it. WELCOME TO THE ROOM WHERE MANY CONVERSATIONS WHILE BROODING OVER THE CITYSCAPE CAN TAKE PLACE! Swoobat said, sweeping the ce with his wing. AN ACTIVITY RICH HUMANS ARE VERY VERY VERY FOND OF! The two who caught my eye¡ª because there were two people here¡ª were Mallory and an old man slightly hunched over. Mallory, as usual, had her short, dark brown pixiecut. She sat on a couch in a fancy glittering dark blue one-piece dress with her legs crossed as she sipped on some white wine. There was another couch free, facing the same massive window Mallory was, but the man was standing. He stood slightly taller than Denzel, draped in flowing robes of muted brown with a golden cloak draped around his shoulders and a tall, cumbersome-looking hat. A thick, white beard flowed down to his neck, hiding the lower part of his mouth, and he had arge, round nose with a twinge of red from irritation. Swoobat hopped toward him like an excited child, forgetting his quest to not knock anything over. He bumped into a counter and the couch before reaching his apparent trainer, who lowered himself with a tired grunt carrying the weight of aching bones to scratch the flying type''s neck. "Ah, Grace! The girl of the hour!" Mallory had turned my way, her smile mildly unsettling. "Come,e, sit!" She motioned me her way, and I hesitantly followed. "Thank you for taking me up on my offer. I know I didn''t make it easy for you, but the topic we''re about is important, don''t you think? Do you want anything to drink? I have water or juice. Soft drinks, too." "No thanks," I dryly responded, plopping myself down on the free couch. The city unfolded below me like a tapestry, and I could hear its sound faintly reaching the window; the asional honking of a car or someone yelling. "Wait, where are my manners. Um," I quickly shot back up and faced the older man. "I''m¡ª" "Grace Pastel, yes," he interrupted, then slowly gestured toward Mallory. His voice was gentle, yet stern. Weathered, perhaps, yet it was clear that he spoke with purpose as well. He carried with him an ent reminiscent of Cece''s before she''d absorbed Sinnoh''s way of speaking. "I''ve heard many stories about you from our dear benefactor." Malloryughed, a sultry and admittedly pleasant sound. "You tter me, Rood." Then, she turned my way. "Rood was originally here to thank me for one of my donations to their political party¡ª myrgest to date, but he jumped at the asion to meet you once I said you would visit. He even extended his stay!" Swoobat snorted unpleasantly and red. The old man stroked his beard in contemtion, and I honed in on his displeasure instantly. He had been either caught off-guard by this, or did not want me to know about the circumstances of his visit, or both. Maybe he wanted me to feel more important than I already was. tter was one of the many keys to get what you wanted from someone. "As I said, I''d heard about many of your feats," the so-called Rood said. "Ah, but I forget myself. My name is Rood Vaughan, and I am a Sage of the sma Organization. Think of it as one of their guides or leaders. It is a pleasure to meet you." He outstretched his hand, and I shook it. The grip was weak, yet I felt a jolt of electricity up my arm. His skin was dry and wrinkly. Now that he faced me, I noticed the emblem on his chest, tying the golden cloak together around his shoulders. A ck and white shield with a blue ''P'' and ''Z'' linked together. It hit me all at once. They wanted something from me, and the knives were out. They wanted to use me, perhaps each for a different goal, and I wanted to use them as well. This wasn''t just a conversation, this was a fight for my survival in the mud. There was a tingle in my hands, the need to clench at something; a subtle sharpening of my senses; the hair on my neck and arms stood on end and I gulped. Here, for a moment. Here, at one of the highest points of Jubilife. I found a story. I found purpose. I was alive again! This was a battle; there were three sides to it, and I was the only one blind to its ramifications. My back was against the wall. Mallory had the power to leak this and ruin my rtionship with Poketch. If it had only been her, I could have escaped with only a flesh wound, but now with one of the leaders of sma in the room if this got out I wouldy not only defeated, but dead. A corpse bleeding out on the floor, beaten by her betters. Those had to be the stakes. They had to be, because then I could actually feel this fire in my heart. The prickling sensation along my skin; the sweat building up on my palms; the rush of adrenaline; the realization that I was utterly outyed and cornered. These were the drums of war, of blood and iron, and by the Legendaries, I had missed its rhythm. Finally. My worries had been confirmed. I was a weapon. Conflict drove me. Conflict meant a story with me at its center. A story meant purpose. Purpose was to me now as oxygen was to my body. No, it was worse. So bad you could get drunk on it. But I could not get ahead of myself. The Sharpedo were circling, and the ambush I''d been led into had left me bleeding. I had lost the first engagement before even knowing there was going to be a fight in the first ce. "You could have met Zinzolin too, but I''m afraid he had to make himself scarce yesterday when Sinnoh''s airspace opened again. A shame that he left, really," Mallory continued with a threatening smile. "I truly apologize for not being able to warn you about Rood''s presence. I am aware this puts you in a bind." So they truly weren''t on the same side, somehow. There was a conflict of interest, and I was the only one blind to it. Not wanting to be out of my depth, I nodded and decided to go on the attack. "I would have liked a warning. And you know what, can I take you up on that drink offer?" Her stare sharpened. Did she think me a fool, to gloat and bare her ill will toward Rood right in front of me? Her smile softened, and she uncrossed her legs. "What do you want?" I couldn''t overy my hand. "Just some tea, if you have some? I''ve be a big fan over thest few months¡ª any tea is fine." I did like tea, but the water reaching a boiling point meant the kettle would make some noise. I''d be able to figure out when she was done. If she took too long toe back, I''d know she was trying to eavesdrop, and water took a bit to boil. Plus, I had a good view of the way toward the kitchen. epting her first loss, Mallory got up and calmly walked toward her kitchen. The size of her apartment would y in my favor here, but I couldn''t rest on myurels just yet. Mallory, I knew a little about. I knew she wanted to abolish trainers; I knew she represented the biggest extremes of sma; I knew she was genuinely interested in me, and so while she would step on my toes, she wouldn''t try to sabotage these talks to the point of getting me to leave. ckmail and threats were just that, an idea of what could go wrong. If I fucked up, she would use it, but she wouldn''t just throw me under the bus for no reason. She''d have to be certain there would be no avenues to cooperate with me. Rood was a nk te, one whose de has still not been dirtied from the battle. The old man had stayed quiet after our introduction, content to listen and observe with his hands behind his back while his Swoobat rubbed on the side of his legs in-between joyous snorts. Mallory being gone was my opportunity to figure him out. No doubt the woman thought she''d just listen back to the footage on her own time, which was why she hadn''t minded stepping away. A mistake, in my opinion. It was as if I did the same for a Gym Battle, thinking I''d just watch the video of my loss afterward. Yeah, I''d learn, but I had still lost. "So," I eagerly began. "What is it that you want from me, Rood?" "Straight to the point," he said, clearly amused. "As you age, you''ll learn to appreciate the scenic route to things." "I mean, from what I understood, your fellow Sage Zinzolin left before you did, meaning that you''re clearly interested." I''d been sitting on the couch with an arm over the armrest, meaning that the wrist Mimi was on was hidden. I quietly tapped them on the side of the couch to wake them up until they shivered in annoyance. "Obviously you''ve heard that I can talk to and understand Pokemon, as you''ve said, but what are you hoping to do with that knowledge?" Rood slowly ambled toward the window, and he observed Jubilife at night. "A wonderful city, don''t you think?" This was clearly leading somewhere. "Yes." "So small. It is a quaint little city." Finding Jubilife small of all things was something only a Unovan would say. "I have to say, from my time here, Sinnoh is quite the humble region. I have appreciated my stay, even in these dire circumstances. You have my sincere condolences for what these ''Gctic'' terrorists have done." I nodded, taken aback by the warmth in him. "Thanks. I¡ªIt''s been a tough time for all of us." He swept his hand toward the city below. "Mallory¡­ Mallory would have us tear all of this down; that is her ultimate goal," he continued. "You would be hard-pressed to find someone in sma who would go that far; we simply fight for Pokemon liberation." Swoobat crooned at that word. Liberation. "Mallory has been a staunch ally in the fight for Pokemon, but I fear she loses the forest for the trees sometimes. I am sorry she forced your hand." There was a small smile behind his beard. "But I did not find it fit to stop it. The opportunity here was too interesting to pass and as she likely thinks, the fact that you have not left running as soon as you saw me or the cameras means that this is something you truly believe in. I find that admirable. To be willing to lose much for your goals." Here were go. I braced myself for the first bout; the moment friendly small talk would turn into a game of pushing and pulling. He let around ten seconds pass, no doubt allowing the pressure to build. asionally, he would nce toward the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Ah, but I need to make sure you are worth your salt, first," Rood said. "A little test for you. Swoobat, if you will." The bat beamed, happy to help his trainer. With a wink, Swoobat told me that if I wanted to steal anything from Mallory on my way out, he would Teleport it with me. I said no, of course, and quickly ryed the message to Rood, who I assumed got confirmation from the psychic through telepathy. His eyes widened. "Fascinating. All of my life, I''ve given to this cause and tried to find like-minded people, yet this is only the second time I''ve seen someone like you. Someone who can truly hear Pokemon, even if they are strangers." My nails dug into the couch, but I caught the tic and just hummed nonchntly, as if I was intrigued and not utterly bewitched by this revtion. He must have wanted to gauge my reaction too, from the beat of silence that he allowed to pass as his gaze washed over me like a thousand needles. I called to Mesprit using my mind, asking if they had anything to do with this¡ª some kind of half shard business they hadn''t told me like Chase and Cece. Nope, the God immediately answered. I''ve got nothing to do with this, if he''s telling the truth! Mesprit snickered, signaling they already knew. You should have used your empathy to tell, Grace! C''mon, get your head in the game! This is the most exciting thing that''s happened to you since you''ve been back from the Distortion World! Right. Right, he could have been lying. I didn''t want to rely on empathy if I could; if possible I wanted to be able to tell what people thought and felt and wanted by just looking at them. Like Gardenia. But given that the stakes were so high, maybe¡­ Was that a lie? I asked Mesprit. Well now it''s less entertaining if I tell you. Figure it out on your own, if you want to be such a goody two shoes! Hmph! The whistling of the tea kettle in the distance eventually centered me before I could make my decision. "Really? That''s interesting," I said. "Are they another member of your party¡ª" "Ah, wee back, Mallory," he said, facing the nearby hallway. We heard her steps before we saw her. "I got you camomille," she said, lifting a ceramic cup. She looked frayed, but not beaten. "I hope you like it, I''m not that big on tea. I have to drink at least four coffees a day to survive, though." When I grabbed the cup and thanked her, a realization hit me like a bucket of cold water while she and Rood continued their small talk about coffee (the old man was convinced it was a vice). Was this why he''d waited so long? Spoken so slowly? So he would get something out of me, but not me out of him? From how long an answer had taken toe out, he could have easily told that not only I did not know someone else like me, but that I hadn''t expected it to be possible in the first ce. Yeah, I''d gotten information too¡ª that out there someone else like me existed¡ª but again, it could have been a lie, and even if it wasn''t, he had gotten the better deal. Internally, a curse rang in my head. I was rusty. It had been a while since the politicking of Poketch. A second loss. I couldn''t let it get to three. Three felt significant, somehow. As if he''d have too much leverage in the conversation and even Mallory would be able to twist my arm. Remember, this is a story. It would be too obvious to have me lose here; an opportunity would arrive soon. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was insane, but at this point I was too deep into it to care. I eyed the news anchor, who was also still reeling from her loss. She was far easier to read. Prickly, tense, and using their stupid argument about coffee to feel like she was at least winning something. We all knew this small talk was only a break from the fighting. We''d all traded barbs; now was the time for the second bout. Taking the lead was a risk, but I had to trust Mallory would catch onto what I was doing. I blew on my tea a few times. "Smells good." A meaningless filler meant to garner attention, and it worked. Both of my opponents were looking at me, now. "So, Mallory. Tell me how you and Rood met. If that''s okay, of course!" It was an attempt at an olive branch. If she knew any better, she''d take it. It wouldn''t be wise to weaken our standing and allow Rood to get out of here as the sole benefactor to this meeting. The potential reward had increased for me now. I needed to know if this second Pokemon whisperer was real, and if they were, I wanted to know more about them. Knowledge was an invaluable. She lowered her ss of wine and smirked. "Ah, it''s been a while, hasn''t it, Rood?" "Certainly." Mallory exined that she''d always been against trainers even when she''d been a child, and that she''d involved herself in Pokemon Rights organizations as a teenager and young adult. She''d even met her husband through these and forged a wide of connections with important people all over Sinnoh. This was all information I already knew from Melody, but I pretended to be fascinated by it. Maybe that was a little too harsh. The story was interesting. She''d done a lot of volunteer work to rehome Pokemon which had been abused or caught against their wills and released in an environment they hadn''t been adapted to live in by trainers toozy to go back to where they''d caught them, too, so she had done a lot of good for the world. I was simply after something else. We were circling the drain, so to speak. Unfortunately for her, or at least she thought so, her ideals eventually turned too extreme for many of the groups she''d been a part of, so she quickly looked abroad and found a tiny group of like-minded people in Unova. "I had only just joined at the time," Rood exined. "We were small, only based in Castelia and without much funding. Mallory had already be one of thergest news anchors in Sinnoh and was our second big political donor, you see. Without her, we wouldn''t have grown anywhere asrge as quickly. For that, she will always have my eternal gratitude." He inclined his head at her. "Second?" I asked. "Who was the first?" I caught the twitch in his eye; the way his hand reflexively moved an inch toward his beard, but then stayed t against his robes. Rood was difficult to read, but was not infallible. I was only growing sharper as the night went on. He had not expected me to ask that question, and normally I wouldn''t have. Second just struck me as an odd thing to say. If they''d had a donor beforehand, why had they stayed small? He''d identified them as big, after all. That meant pulling simr numbers to Mallory. "I''m afraid they desire anonymity," he said. "You have to understand, Grace, that taking our position publicly, while easier than ten, twenty, thirty years ago, is still liable to ruin your reputation." "Oh, I understand." One loss for him, then. Minor, but a loss nheless. Mallory just had a smug smile, and I didn''t know if it was she liked seeing Rood get some egg on his face or if she knew about this donor as well. Our alliance, while tentative, was still holding somewhat, so I decided not to throw her under the bus and ask her about this mysterious donor. She was the one with the cameras, after all. Chitchat about how sma struggled in its early days continued for a few minutes until Mallory moved on the attack as soon as I signaled to her with a look. "I''m sorry to bring this back up, but I do wonder what I missed while I was gone." She brought a finger to the side of her lip. "Grace looked quite shaken; I hope you weren''t mistreating our guest, Rood." Damn it, she was good to have caught on to what I wanted exactly. Crazy, but good, when she focused. She wasn''t known to be merciless in her interviews for nothing. Years upon years of experience had been enough to sharpen her tongue enough for it to be lethal. It was a good thing that the beliefs she could barely hold back without a massive media conglomerate breathing down her neck were a weakness of hers. Honestly, the fact that they let her work for them with these views of her was insane to begin with, but maybe she''d grown too important, so they were stuck with her. It wasn''t like she aired those in public, anyway. "Most of it was just small talk, but Rood actually told me about someone else like me earlier," I said. "Someone who could also speak to Pokemon." "Ah, yes. Them." That was confirmation they were real, especially with how Rood fucking stared daggers at Mallory, which seemed to reinvigorate her. She was a little like Mars, in that way. While a trap was possible, I sincerely doubted they were coordinating this lie. "A wonderful child your exact age that I''ve heard many good things about, though I have never been allowed to meet them, even with my many visits to Unova." Mallory tapped a finger on her armrest and lounged there like azy meow. "They''re the reason why I was so intrigued by you when you walked up to Veilstone''s Gate with that army of Pokemon behind you. You sounded and looked like what I''d heard about them." Rood was fiddling ufortably with his beard. He''d overyed his hand! Had he thought I''d never ally with Mallory just because she was fucking insane and he''d tried to tarnish her in my eyes while she was gone? And the best part was that he couldn''t even say anything about it, lest he give something else away. "I could never have imagined that you would, in time, be such a brilliant trainer," Mallory said with stars in her eyes. "We need people like you among us." Well, all good things came to an end, I supposed. "Brilliant trainers? There are many like me; I don''t even have my eighth badge." A soft rebuke first, to steer her away. We could still salvage this, even if she had slighted me. "But how many can speak to Pokemon, and how many are¡­ at least favorable to our cause?" she asked. "And that''s not even speaking about your rate of progress. Who knows where you''ll be in three months? Six? A year?" Why did she have to go there? We had Rood on the ropes, and now we were trading blows! "Generally, you slow down the stronger your Pokemon are," I said, echoing Craig''s words. "Why do you even need me for?" Back. Off. "This world is run by strength above all, is it not? In nearly every single country, it is the most powerful trainer that rules, or at least appears to rule." Mallory''s jaw clenched in displeasure. "Strength behind your cause is many things. It is respect; it is credibility; it is legitimacy. That is how the world works. The bigger a monopoly on violence you have, the better shot you have at being heard." I bit the inside of my lip, knowing that she left me no choice. "The world you''re describing where I am a weapon for you to use is a fantasy," I hissed. I wanted¡ª needed purpose, but I was not far gone enough to let anyone use me. "I will not be a tool for you to scare people with or worse. I am certain Rood will agree with me." Mallory''s face fell. She''d expected a rebuttal, and maybe had wanted to drive me into a corner, but she hadn''t expected me to run back to Rood for support after she''d given me so much information about this other individual like me. I''d essentially backstabbed her, and the look in her eye let me know that she would never help me again. Another loss for her; bad, since she had control of the cameras. I smelled her tea''s aroma and circled a tiny spoon in the cup, as if unbothered. Inclining his head toward me as a sign of gratitude, the Sage spoke. "We have many young and hotheaded people." The importance he''d put on those words, apanied by a very obvious stare toward Mallory made his intent known. "Passion is good, but I fear the actions some of them could take if the ban passes this summer." By that, he meant the banning of their political party in parliament. Cecilia had spoken to me about it a bit, and I had done some research on my own with Jellicent''s help. "It will pass, and it will be buried now that the news can only speak about Sinnoh. The establishment fears us." Mallory sneered and took another swig of wine. "We''re surging in the polls! Nowhere near enough to be thergest party yet, but we''ve gone from a tiny irrelevant group to a sizeable voice with amazing ground game and organization. Why would they ban our party if they weren''t scared of us? Terrified that we''d keep growing? We were about to break the fucking dam, forgive mynguage, and they want to put a¡ª a bit of tape over it and bury their heads in the sand!" She wildly gestured. Rood audibly groaned, so I followed up to keep her talking. Anything to use her rashness as a weapon against herself. Anchoring myself to Rood was the only way I''d make it through the night. "And what does that mean? Breaking the dam." The news anchor''s face burned alight with passion and she uttered a single word. Quiet, yet solid as steel. "Revolution." I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Arguing for revolution while she would be watching from an ocean away in her ivory tower, sipping wine and profiting off of it by reporting on it was insane, yet expected from someone like her. "Enough of that," Rood growled, sounding a decade younger. "I will not allow blood to be spilled in our streets. For innocents and children to die as coteral damage. Violence is never the answer." Malloryughed and pped her hands. "Oh you bleeding heart. Spare me." "And who, pray tell, do you think will fight this theoretical revolution." He gestured at me. "Trainers will use their Pokemon as tools of violence! This goes exactly against our core beliefs! The very beings you want to save will die by the tens, hundreds of thousands! Maybe millions." His expression grew grim, and a darkened shadow clouded behind his eyes as if he was visualizing it. Swoobat patted his leg with a wing, and some of the tension left Rood, who took a deep breath. "You think we will put the heads of your enemies at the League on pikes, but war is never so self-contained. Innocents would die and be disced, and in the wild as well." "Coward," she hatefully spat. "So you would rather let them ban our cause," Mallory countered. "You would rather allow them to stay the course on hundreds of years of oppression than do what is necessary. Allow me to posit you this." She stood up and began to pace, though maintained a piercing re toward Rood. "It is the Great War. The Kalosion monarchy bans any dissident voice against the war and imprisons anyone who speaks out. Do you know how it ended? With a revolution, the king dead and Kalos out of the war." "Apples and oranges," he dismissed her with an irritated rasp in his voice. There was a beat of silence passed, heavy even for me. I did not know who''d won the engagement, but I''d give it to Rood. "And what do you think, Grace?" "I agree that there is a problem," I said. "I just vehemently disagree with what you think is the cure. And that goes for you as well," I told Rood. It was easier to understand their difference, now. Their agendas. Both believed Pokemon Trainers to be endemic to the issue that Pokemon in society were not treated as equals. They disagreed, however, on how to fix that issue. "It''s like, you''re both acting like Pokemon themselves don''t get a say in this." "Amon rebuke," Rood said. "I can assure you, we both know that different Pokemon will have different needs and wants." "Despite all of this, they are victims who have been brought up in the same society that we have. Many of them think that this is all normal despite¡ª" Rood softly clicked his tongue, as if to tell her she would find nopanion in that line of thinking. Not here, at least. "One cannot deny that ripping away Pokemon from their trainers would be a traumatic experience. Not only would it be impossible without a war we could not win even with all of Unova''s resources behind us, but it would be morally wrong." Mallory whispered that they justcked the will for it. He ignored her. "This is why I argue for a more sensible position. The banning of catching new Pokemon, effective immediately." Damn it. He was better than her. He really was. And I was sure I would enjoy speaking to him about many things. But at the end of the day he was cut of the same cloth. sma was no good for me. "It would allow us decades of leeway to learn how to work with wild Pokemon as equals, along with slowly adapting the state to function without theirbor, yet it would not upend society in an apocalyptic manner. It would allow the trainer ss to naturally die out over the decades," he continued. "Though I can tell this disappoints you, Grace. A shame." "Yeah," I just said. When I imagined future generations unable to experience the sheer love I had with my own Pokemon, it filled my chest with so much anger. "Yeah, I think you''re both full of shit. And it pains me, because¡ª because you''re so close to being¡ª to being workable with, Rood. You seem like such a kind and passionate man at heart." The man exhaled. "I could say the same. By His Truth, this was such a wasted opportunity. I wish I could understand how you could hear the voice of Pokemon and not think the same as us. Not think the same as them." Them. That mysterious figure again. Biting my lip, I put my face in my hands and sighed. "I gotta go to the bathroom. Where is it?" I quickly asked. "Ah, Swoobat knows," Mallory said. "He can bring you." "Nonsense. You should trust your guests, Mallory." Rood looked to still be willing to cooperate even though we''de at an impasse. That was exactly what I''d hoped for. I wanted more from this, but first I had to do this test. After Mallory directed me to the nearest bathroom, I left Mimi on the couch in their bracelet form and made my way there. The truth was, I didn''t need to go at all. I just needed to see if Rood would stab me in the back and attempt to discredit me, which was why I''d woken up Mimi from their slumber earlier. I allowed two minutes to pass before I flushed a clean toilet and washed my clean hands, then I came back to Rood and Mallory debating poll numbers. The little steel type had no warning for me, so I knew we were in the clear. Supposedly with the election this October, the sma Organization was polling at 14%. That was behind every single mainstream party who I assumed were in the pockets of the corporations, but they were thergest out of the four parties that Cece would call the ''non-establishment''. Granted, Unova wasn''t like Sinnoh. Even ''establishment'' parties were a part of the opposition sometimes, and there were a crap ton of parties. I knew of few of their names because Cece would often rant at me about them being beholden to the Conglomerate at the end of the day, even if they all had differing opinions. 14% was actually a huge rise from the paltry 2.3% they''d gotten the previous election, which hadn''t even been enough to get any seats in parliament. ording to Rood and Mallory, their rise in the polls came in the wake of a series of very public scandals in the Unovan Ranger Corp which were ''worse than usual''. In the Mistralton branch, it was because of the mistreatment of Pokemon in their custody. In the Nacrene Branch, it was due to an aggressive rehoming of Pokemon off the route into a supposed ''Pinwheel Forest'' that left many hurt and some dead. A video a nearby trainer (who hadn''t been supposed to be here; Rangers had the authority to fully close down areas of a Route in Unova on their own) had filmed had catapulted the story to front-page news. Well, until a massive rift opened up on top of Cor, at least. While I knew there was no way that many people believed in separating trainer and Pokemon, they''d still jumped that high in the polls for whatever reason. I had heard that they were moderating a little publicly, at least, so maybe that was it, but the ban on them would take that out of the picture. "People always say that it''s a few bad apples¡­" Mallory trailed off with genuine sadness. "Every few weeks, there''s an incident that''s supposed to be just an exception. They investigate themselves and sometimes fire the culprit or put them in prison, but the entire thing is rotten." "That, we can agree on," Rood said. "Mark Obel, of all people, will not change anything. He is even worse than cruel, he is a coward who revels in inaction. I never thought I would miss Alder. For all I disagreed with the man, he was better than this." Silence was my answer. I would not form an opinion on the Rangers until I saw the region for myself; while these incidents had happened, I could not forget that these people were biased. What they were describing was difficult¡ª especially when knowing how good Sinnoh''s Rangers were inparison. I swallowed. We''d traded blows tonight, and I found him to be a very engaging conversationalist. We were opponents, yet like in every battle, it did not mean I could not learn from this. I warmed my hands against the teacup and leaned forward. "Why don''t you tell me about some of the other things you''ve seen, Rood?" I slowly asked. Unlike Mallory, he could be objective. "I''m afraid that while I desperately want to help Pokemon, I am severelycking in the knowledge to do anything about it." Rood stroked his beard, something that I was quickly learning was a soothing gesture for him. "While you may not be a new party member, it would always be good to have someone of your caliber working to help Pokemon. I can see that you are different." "Because I talk to Pokemon?" I asked. "No. I see that look in your eyes, young girl. It reminds me of my father''s; he fought in the Last War." Few people used that name for the Great War, for obvious reasons. It implied that it would be thest war ever fought, at least officially. "You have seen much horror and hope for good in the world. Perhaps it is what I want to see, but it is what I see nheless." Rood was an optimistic man at his core. I was learning much about him tonight. "I¡ª" I hoped that I was like that as well. Desperately. "Yeah." "It has been¡­ more than two hours of discussion. I''m afraid that like Zinzolin before me, I will have to leave. I have a flight to catch early tomorrow." Rood chuckled. "I assume that some will be greatly pleased with this." Mallory was already salivating at the prospect of getting me alone to try to turn me over to her side. "Don''t worry, Grace. I have two more Teleporters on payroll that you can use to get back." She''d downed her wine by now, but she enjoyed twirling the empty ss around in her hand. I had not touched the tea I''d had her make. Despite wanting to leave as soon as possible now that Rood was gone, Mallory still had the footage, and she knew it. She would be able to twist me into some kind of concession before I could leave in exchange for safety. The good thing was that I hadn''t lost too much of my standing in the previous conversation. We''d fought, and I''de out on top enough times for her to respect me. If I''d mishandled the meeting, she might have forced me into¡ª "Oh, and Mallory," Rood said with a hidden smile. He motioned at one of the cameras in the corner of the room. "Do me a favor and delete all of tonight''s footage." The news anchor nearly fell off her velvet couch. "And why¡­ is that?" she asked, barely containing the surprised rage within. "You know that I am a private man," he said. "I am not the face of sma; I cannot be as outspoken as Zinzolin or Gorm. I fear that I have not behaved as a man worthy of my position as a Sage tonight, with all the arguments and the non-curated narratives¡ª ah, but you know how politics go." Swoobat giggled and jumped on his trainer''s back. Somehow, as clumsy as he was, he did so gently as to not hurt Rood''s back. "Ah, patience, Swoobat. You must take Grace home, first." "And what if I refu¡­" Mallory didn''t finish that sentence, as if the thought of going against Rood was unimaginable. I thought I understood it. They could spar verbally all they wanted, debate theory and theoreticals, but at the end of the day, he was one of the leaders of sma and she was just a donor. A donor with influence within the party, of course, but a donor nheless. If Rood wanted, he could probably cut her off. It wasn''t like they were financially dependent on her any longer, and she needed them. They were more important than donations to her, they were her life''s purpose. The old man simply nodded. "Grace, a little conversation, if you will. Swoobat?" In-between Mallory''s outrage, the psychic''s nose glowed pink, and he yelled¡ª Then everything around us went quiet before my hands could even get to my good ear to take out my hearing aid. It had been painful for a fraction of a second. I knew I was within some kind of sound barrier, but it was different than one Cass would make, for example. Less refined, with less of a defined border between the outside and inside. "This is a favor I am doing you," he said. "Truth be told, while what I said tonight getting out would not be ideal, it would not hamper our goals much. I would never be so careless." "Then wh¡ªwhy? Why do this for me?" He ced a firm hand on my shoulder. "While I am disappointed this meeting is ending this way, I still wanted to analyze your character tonight. To see if you were as bloodthirsty as your so-called ''battling'' showed." He scoffed, squeezing my shoulder a tad, and it was now that I''d realized how close to oblivion I''d stepped. He had watched my battles. Of course he had! Why would he not try to learn everything about me? "While I am appalled at what you make your Pokemon and the Pokemon of others go through, I understand that it is¡­ sport for you all, however misguided that may be. One day, hopefully, you too will see the truth." I responded with a terse nod, not agreeing but being grateful he was giving me this opportunity. He took his hand off of me and brought them both behind his back. "All I ask is for you to not speak of the other like you to anyone." I expected more, like an exnation as to why he did not want this person known, but it never came. "Of course. I owe you." "Thank you, Grace. Tonight, you showed genuine concern for our plea," he continued. "You showed that you do not follow the path of violence in hopes of fixing things. You showed that you have a good head on your shoulders," I could haveughed at that one, "and that you are a smart and good speaker. So I will let Swoobat take you home. Do not worry, Mallory will not do anything rash. She is young and has the temperament of a Hydreigon, but like all of us, there is good in her heart. She is bitter at a world that has refused her at every turn, and it has only radicalized her more. I will handle her with a gentle hand." "Th¡ªthank you, Rood." The Sage smiled, closing his eyes. "Why don''t you head on home, then. Teenagers like you need good sleep, and you look like you haven''t gotten any in a week." My ears popped when Swoobat took down whatever he''d done to contain our voices. Mallory looked to be stewing in anger. I wouldn''t hear what they were going to talk about, given that Swoobat was already hopping away. It wasn''t until we reached the condo''s foyer, where he had Teleported me beforehand, that he spoke up again. SO, Swoobat wondered. WHAT DID YOU THINK? I shook my head in disappointment. "I learned a lot, you know. A lot of statistics and horrible, horrible stories that had happy endings because of Rood. His heart is in a good ce," a way better ce than Mallory''s, who just wanted blood and death, "but I still believe he''s misguided." HE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE COME TO AN AGREEMENT, Swoobat said. HE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THAT PERSON HE MENTIONED TO YOU. YOUR COUNTERPART. I THOUGHT SO TOO, BUT OH WELL. POBODY''S NERFECT! I leaned against the wall, staring at one of Mallory''s paintings. "Can you tell me more about them?" Then, I raised my hands innocently. "I promise I won''t say anything to anyone." The flying type snorted. YOU''RE GOING TO UNOVA, RIGHT? IF YOU ARE, YOU''RE GOING TO KNOW WHO HE IS VERY SOON¡ª OH CRAP, I REVEALED HIS GENDER! Swoobat jumped around, pping his wings in a panic. BAH! WHATEVER! YOU''D HAVE FIGURED IT OUT EVENTUALLY. ROOD MADE A CALCULATION WHEN TELLING WHO ABOUT HIS EXISTENCE AND HIS PURPOSE. A GAMBLE THAT IT WOULD GET YOU TO OUR SIDE. YOU BETTER REMEMBER YOUR PROMISE, EVEN IF IT DIDN''T. "I won''t. It''s mutually assured¡­ well, it''d be destruction for me, and I assume you guys don''t want the world to know he exists yet, or that he''s involved with you, so it''d be bad for you too," I guessed. As Rood said, that might ruin his reputation as well, though he still had usible deniability given that he''d never confirmed this boy to be a part of sma, just that he knew him. WELL HE''LL MAKE A BIG SPLASH, I BETCHA! A BIG SPLASH! Swoobat cackled. Their nose started to glow as they gathered the energy to Teleport. BACK TO SUNYSHORE, I PRESUME? Before agreeing, I spoke up. "Say, Swoobat. You agree with Rood''s ideals wholeheartedly?" He nodded. YUP! "Even if it means he''ll have to release you if he reaches his goal?" The bat''s concentration wavered for a moment; his wings shivered and he began to cackle wildly until hisugh turned into a snotty-sounding wheeze. SILLY HUMAN! DO YOU THINK I STAY WITH ROOD BECAUSE OF THAT PRISON YOUR KIND CARRIES ON YOUR HIP? He continued speaking in-between coughs, looking at Buddy and Mimi''s Pokeballs. I AM WILD, STILL! ROOD''S PLAN DOES NOT MEAN A TOTAL SEPARATION BETWEEN HUMAN AND POKEMON; I WOULD NOT HAVE TO LEAVE HIS SIDE! ONLY WACKOS LIKE ZINZOLIN AND MALLORY BELIEVE IN TOTAL SEGREGATION! WE HOPE TO UNDERMINE THEIR CAUSE EVENTUALLY, BUT WE''RE FORCED TO WORK TOGETHER FOR NOW. UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL AND ALL OF THAT JAZZ. ROOD THINKS TOO WELL OF THEM, HONESTLY. HE SEES GOOD WHERE THERE IS NONE, OR AT LEAST IT WOULD TAKE TOO MUCH WORK TO SQUEEZE IT OUT OF THEM. Oh. Oh, that made a lot more sense. I disagreed, still, but that was so much more ptable. Still, it was clear from Rood''s argument that this would result in so much fewer opportunities for bonds between human and Pokemon to form, and that was in line with his n. Not because the Pokeball was necessary to that bond (history had shown that wasn''t the case; people had been partnering up with Pokemon long before the invention of the first Pokeballs made using apricorns and whatever the hell else). Ignoring the fact that Pokeballs had saved my Pokemon''s lives many times, it was his phrasing, which had bothered me. ''Allow the trainer ss to naturally die out''. He wanted to phase us out, and from the conversations I''d had with him earlier, he was vehemently anti-battling to the point of believing it to be abusive. Not only my methods of battle, but any battling. I exhaled in disappointment, remembering that moment. So much for listening to Pokemon; good luck taking battling away from Sweetheart, Princess, Honey or Sunshine. "To Sunyshore," I said, satisfied. ALRIGHTY! HERE WE¡ª Their eyes glowed white, and they seized up. Emotional misery encroaches upon you¡ª GO! "Wh¡ª" we were back in Sunyshore, in front of that same Pokemon Center. "¡ªat?" People spared us a nce, as they usually did when people Teleported nearby, but that was it. The cover of night and the hoodie I was wearing helped keep me hidden. "What did you just say?" WHAT? Swoobat clumsily blew up, knocking himself into a pole. WHADDYAMEAN? "Was that a joke? Or do you genuinely not remember? You said misery encroaches upon me¡ª" OH! OH! THOSE. YEAH, I DO THAT SOMETIMES, he yelled. I WOULDN''T WORRY, THAT''S JUST A TIC. I HAVE A GOOD NOSE; I CAN SMELL ONGOING, PAST, OR FUTURE EMOTIONAL TURMOIL SOMETIMES, BUT IT''S NEVER THAT CLEAR, AND I ALWAYS FORGET! LIKE A FLEETING DREAM! IT''S PROBABLY WRONG! ANYWAY, GOTTA DIP! SEE YA! I blinked, not knowing what to say, and the bat disappeared into the night. "Way to make me anxious," I muttered to myself. Mimi vibrated against my wrist. "Yeah, hopefully it''s nothing. Better be ready for anything, though." I honestly couldn''t think of anything that would cause me turmoil in the future now that Gctic was gone, so it was probably what I was feeling now. Mncholy. "Hey, thanks for helping me out in there. You didn''t have to." My hand gently caressed the bracelet, who quietly mewled. I pulled out my phone, texted my contact at the League and sat on a bench on the opposite sidewalk of the Pokemon Center while I waited. Tonight had been full of twists and turns, and honestly, at the beginning of it all, I''d felt like I''d been fighting for my life. I had carved out a space for myself among those two and gotten out with a deal that was as close to optimal as it could have been thanks to Rood. And honestly? I was sad that it was over. Something was wrong with me. I didn''t exactly care to fix or even acknowledge it, at the moment. I closed my eyes and reimagined the words full of harm, poison and barbed wire, and what I''d done to counter them. A/N: I usually wouldn''t feel the need to do this because I don''t like spelling out things for the readers, but here, just in case: reminder that Grace is an unreliable narrator who puts way too much importance on stories because they make her feel alive and help her think during high stakes situation. She is just a teensy weensy bit insane (very insane).
Interlude – A Taste of Rule and Forgiveness Interlude ¨C A Taste of Rule and Forgiveness
INTERLUDE - A TASTE OF RULE AND FORGIVENESS As it turned out, pushing Chase around on a wheelchair was a very demanding job for Cecilia. For one, he alwaysined about how sitting permanently meant that he''d be short as hell for the rest of his life and that he''d have to look up at people, a personal pet peeve of his. Having people in front of him cut off his field of vision whenever it got too crowded. He hated the way so many passersby looked down at him with pity in their eyes, probably thinking ''oh, that poor thing! Disabled and so young!'' They never said anything, of course. He would have talked their ear off with countless insults if they had, but just that look was enough to piss him off. The fact that Chase still wore some bandages over his shallow burns didn''t help. Apparently none of it would scar, save for a spot on his shoulder de. He would alsoin if she was going too slow. Cecilia thought that it was due to some insecurity about being handled ''softly'' due to his new condition, but the honest truth was this was her first time pushing a wheelchair and she didn''t want to bump into some poor League Trainer or even worse, a child. Both of them were technically breaking a rule, at the moment. While Chase had been allowed to go out on his wheelchair, he hadn''t been discharged, nor had his doctors allowed him to go this far from the hospital. He kept insisting he was fine and he could do this, however; she had gone through too much with him to doubt Chase now. She brought him south of the ind, stopping at a vantage point once built to observe the League''s densest residential zone right around its rtively small port. Cecilia assumed that once upon a time, this ce could have been used to observe any enemy forcending on the League''s shores. Today, it had been turned into a touristic spot with paid binocrs and a colorful sign exining the significance of this ce to passersby. Cecilia didn''t read it, however. She enjoyed guessing how ces and their purpose changed throughout the years. The Unovan ced Chase''s wheelchair right next to the old-looking stone railing so he could have the best view possible. Even with how cloudy it was, this ce was breathtaking. He wasn''t as much of a view nerd as she was, but one would have to be blind not to be taken aback by the beauty of the world unfolding before you. Everything looked so small from up here. The League was growing busier every day, yet they all looked like little ants going about their purpose. She should have brought Grace here. They could have taken a picture¡ª maybe of them kissing above the world. Cecilia shivered, hugging herself, craving for her like she was some sort of drug. Her leg began to impatiently tap against the ground, as if helping Chase with his issues was a waste of time when she could spend more of it with Grace. The thought disgusted her as soon as it came, and she chased it away with a head shake. "What, you''re cold in this warm ass weather? Is this a ghost thing again?" Chase asked with his usualck of tact. "I guess there''s a bunch of wind." Cecilia pondered that question for a moment as she observed the bustling port below the stone railing. "I think some of it is," she said. "Some of it is just me, though. Just me." "Cryptic," he said with a hint of irony. He pushed himself up with his hands to get a better look. "Yeah, I think this is a good spot to leave me in." Her handy to rest on the side of his chair. "Are you sure you''ll be able to get back alone?" Chase shrugged. "Nothing like getting thrown in the sea to learn how to swim." Cecilia scoffed, and looked at him like he was insane. "That''s also a very good way to have you drown." He had been the one with the insane n for her to bring him in the middle of nowhere so he could practice moving around on his lonesome. "That''s how they do it in the Iron Inds," he exined. "Plus, when you''re a baby you automatically know how to hold your breath." "What? No way." "Dude, I''m telling you that''s how it works! I''ve seen it with my own eyes." Chase ced his hands around his wheels with a firm grip and mumbled about needing to get back to working out soon. "Anyway, thanks for bringing me out here. I''ll¡­" a sigh, "wheel my way back to the hospital soon enough. I just needed fresh air." A Pelipper flew overhead, followed by a group of Wingull. One of them passed so close to her she could have snatched it out of the air. Pokemon here were as they were in any other city¡ª they were used to people and content to live their lives in theirpany. Chase and Cecilia stuck around for a few minutes until her phone rang in her pocket. She was wearing shorts today; shorts that weren''t ck. Grace had helped her get dressed so she didn''t have a horrid mix of colors. What greeted her was a small group chat with Maylene and Grace, one that she had the immediate urge to unravel. Maylene Suzuki - Hello Maylene Suzuki - I hope this isnt like Maylene Suzuki - Forcing anything or whatever. Maylene Suzuki - Theres a problem with my dad cus he leaked that u were both here ayt the Gym. Hes trying to push the narrative that Grace hurt me so she shouldnt be here and that foreigners shouldnt be involvedin Gym business. Maylene Suzuki - Its not catching on rn so I wouldnt worry, I just figured Id warn you Forget everything about any notions of unraveling, Cecilia thought to herself. This was important. You - Pathetic. He desperately ils and tries to discredit your leadership because he can''t do anything else but salvage his wounded pride. Maylene Suzuki - Can u 2e over? Cecilia waited to see what Grace would say, which resulted in a rather long silence. Maylene Suzuki - Its not urgent so dw if you cant Now she was just feeling bad for her. Cecilia pursed her lips. You - I said I woulde over. I''lle over. Grace - Sorry! I was busy making food for my kids. I''m picking up Honey, Cass and Sweetheart from the Center today so I don''t think I can unless your dad is literally there and you need some huge emotional support from yours truly. Maylene started to type, then stopped and started again. She could not have made her disappointment more obvious. Maylene Suzuki - Dont worry haha ill be fine. Maylene Suzuki - I nmean its fine. You - I am stilling over. Grace - Good luck Cece! Beat him to death! Grace - In the marketce of ideas* Maylene Suzuki - Ok Cecilia ill send a Kadabra to ur hotel Grace - Oooh if you''re swinging by can youe up? I wanna see you really badly. I''m barely holding on as it is. Teleportation was convenient, even when it took the fun out of travel. The Unovan looked up from her phone. "Well, I''ll be on my way, then." "Thanks for hanging with me pal," Chase said with azy thumbs up. His hospital gown looked terrible on him, she had to admit. "I''ll be busy today, actually, so if you need help, you gotta call one of the others¡ª" "I''ll be fiiiine," he insisted before patting his breast pocket. "My phone''s right here, and if something actually happens, some guy or girl''s going to feel bad for me and help anyway. You do you and¡­ you know, good luck with your Pokemon." He nced at the two Pokeballs clipped on her hip and grimaced. "It''s gonna take a while, but you''re gonna work together again, I believe in you." A soft smile reached her lips. "Thanks." She used the tramways to get back to her hotel as fast as she could. Luckily for her, they were running routinely and she didn''t have to wait very long. Cecilia''s Teleporter was the same Kadabra Maylene had sent before. He still carried that horrid, ragged spoon and still sneered at her whenever she got near. Grace was out of the hotel waiting for her, but she''d been chatting up Kadabra with bright interest in his craft as if it was second nature to her. There was impatience in her face too, though, one that disappeared as soon as she noticed Cecilia. Warm. Unbelievably warm as if she''d jumped into a jacuzzi. It started from the throb in her heart and spread throughout her body like an unstoppable force. A tsunami of warmth that heated up further when Cece saw how genuinely d she was to see her. Grace skipped forward, ignoring the outraged Kadabra, and tackled Cecilia into a tight hug. This was what she''d craved. Her skin against hers. Cecilia squeezed back so tightly that it was as if she wanted the two to meld into one person. Grace was still wearing an apron dirtied by a little flour¡ª had she been making some kind of cake? Cecilia mind whispered at her to stay for an hour, or two, or more. Maylene could wait, it would tell her. Can youst an afternoon without her? With a goal in mind, she could. The longer itsted, the more she began to doubt herself. Cecilia''s hold loosened, and Grace''s tightened in response as if she didn''t want to let go. "I missed you," Grace whispered. This wasn''t good. This really wasn''t good. "I should go," Cecilia said. "Maybe." "Not maybe. I have to." Cecilia finally managed to find the strength to leave. Grace looked at her with an irresistible pout¡ª Legendaries, Cecilia missed seeing her green eyes. She''d been in better spirits since her conversation with that sma member and Mallory, though it was fading rather quick. She was still riding that high. "Okay. Guess I''ll get back to it, then. Tell Maylene not to feel bad for the leak! She''ll beat herself up over it if you don''t." "Will do. You have a good time with your team," Cecilia said. "And good luck with yours. Especially Zolst," Grace whispered. You interrupted a wonderful conversation, revenant. I hope you''re happy, Kadabra grouched. She didn''t bother responding. The psychic inhaled as his eyes lit up and his spoon bent, and in an instant, they were in Veilstone. The transition between the dull overcast that had covered the League to the radiance of the white sun was so abrupt it was nearly dizzying. At midday, the sun had reached its zenith, a blinding orb amidst the varying shades of gray that formed the skies. Here it was, a ball of burning hot sma hovering in space, yet having lost all of its golden splendor. The Kadabra was already gone before Cecilia could even thank him. The psychic hated what she''d done to herself and couldn''t believe she was still alive. By all ounts, she should be dead. Her face soured when she remembered the fight with Jupiter, and Talonme and Hydreigon''s Pokeballs seemed just a little heavier. With a tired exhale, Cecilia made her way inside the Gym. Maylene seemed to have put a receptionist back in the lobby even though it hadn''t opened. The girl, who looked to be in her early twenties, did not notice her until she leaned against the Gym''s desk and cleared her throat. She yelped and scrambled to push herself back against her chair until it reached the wall behind her. The small taste of satisfaction Cecilia got was short-lived and immediately reced by a dull annoyance. She was growing tired of everyone being scared the first time they noticed her. "Maylene summoned me to meet her here thirty-six minutes ago. I thought she would be here," the Unovan said, trying to be as loud as possible, which wasn''t very much. Truth be told, she had expected the Gym Leader to greet her in the lobby like the other day. When the receptionist didn''t answer, Cecilia tried changing her expression to a pleasant one. It seemed to work somewhat. "Sorry to bother you, I''m just wondering where I should go to meet her. Were you not warned of my arrival?" The girl answered with a meek nod. "Uh¡ª y¡ªyes, you¡ª she said she woulde down for you." Cecilia frowned. What was her deal, to invite her and then not bother toe when she showed up? "Icancallherifyouwant!" the receptionist blurted out. "I know where her office is," Cecilia said. Trickery wasn''t like Maylene, so something must have happened. "Thank you for the help¡­" she waited for a name or an introduction of some sort, leaning further into the desk. None came. Cecilia gave up and decided she was better off cutting her losses. She would need to practice at things like small talk if she wanted to do well in Unova. It wasn''t as if she''d forgotten how. Being sociable was one of the things her tutors had forced into her from the time she''d been a toddler. It was just harder to care now, and everyone looked at her like they''d seen a ghost. At least Professor Juniper sounded like she was over the moon at the opportunity to have her work with her now. She liked new things, and someone resurrected from the dead through a ghostly song was certainly novel. Cecilia hoped her fellow sponsees wouldn''t mind her too much. Lost in thought, she made it to Maylene''s office. Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, which she nearly twisted until she remembered to knock. "Who is it?!" The voice came back mildly annoyed. Cecilia silently scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Cecilia." She was met with silence for nearly five seconds. She heard a little scrape through the door, then a swear and the sound of someone desperately cleaning up a room. Had she lost track of time? That would certainly make more sense than tricking her in some sort of nonsensical love rivalry. All was well. Cecilia decided to pass the time looking at things around the hallway, trying to guess what color things were. Brown for the door, of course. Maybe gray for the ground? They were tiles in most areas. A darker brown for the roof¡ª "Coming! Just a sec!" Maylene yelled, the voice inching closer with every word. The door swung open and bumped into Cecilia''s foot. "Oh my God¡ª Oh, I''m so sorry, crap, crap, crap!" Maylene''s eyes frantically alternated between Cecilia''s feet and face. "Do you need some ice? I wasn''t thinking, I''m sorry." It did hurt, but pain wasn''t that bothersome any more. "One ''I''m sorry'' is fine." She peered into the office where stacks of paper had hastily been shoved in drawers they were nearly spilling out of. "I assume you lost track of time." "Yes, I¡ª I have a lot of work," she said. She was wearing her Gym Uniform, as usual; a blue tank top and white pants. "Luckily they let you up here anyway." "They weren''t supposed to let me up?" "Well, you''re technically not a part of the Gym, so no." Maylene sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Normally she would have called me and I would havee down, but it''s fine!" she hastily said. "Come in,e in. Don''t mind the mess. Usually my team keeps me centered at times like these but other than Lucario they''re all in Snowpoint helping, so." "I don''t mind. You get used to it living with Grace." The Unovan stepped inside the office, which was actually quite smaller than she expected. There was only enough space for one desk and she felt like she would have gone insane working here for too long. This was smaller than even Pokemon Center rooms, though at least the view over Veilstone was good even if its buildings had none of the elegance of Castelia or Jubilife. The ceiling felt a little low for her, leaving Cecilia somewhat cramped. Her gaze lingered on the window for a second, and Maylene asked about how messy Grace was, exactly. "She''s the type of person who lets things pile up in her room until she can''t take it anymore and goes on a huge cleaning binge," Cecilia answered. "Woah. That''s kind of like me!" Maylene beamed. Ugh, now that was something they might bond over; annoying. "Then Lucario pushes me into cleaning things up. Or Machamp. Or Infernape¡ª you know what, all of them except Medicham. She''s a slob." "Do you like working here?" she asked out of the blue. "Not as a Gym Leader, but in this office, I mean." "Yeah?" Maylene looked out the corridor before she closed the door. "I like empty and enclosed spaces. They make me feelfy. I picked this office; dad used to work down the hall." Well, if she said so. "So. The leak," Cece said. "Yeah¡­ it''s not ideal. Like I said, my Dad''s been furious and is trying to undermine me by saying that I let ''strangers'' into the Gym during such unprecedented times. It''s¡­ not really catching on. Or less than I thought ''cause most of it has to do with some people online being weirded out that I''m friends with Grace." Maylene''s face scrunched up. "It probably would have been way different if Veilstone had been bombed though. Oh, and I guess people are wondering what the hell happened to your face." Maylene opened some drawer inside a wall that had been nearly invisible to the naked eye and grabbed a mat that she unfolded and ced on the ground. "A ce to sit. I don''t have another chair. I could get one if you want." "Whatever." Maylene shrank. "What?" Cecilia stood there, stoic, then remembered that whatever could be taken as rude. "I meant it doesn''t matter to me." She slumped down against thefortable blue mat with a heavy sigh, and Maylene did the same, facing her cross legged. "The leak also doesn''t matter to me, really. It was only a matter of time, and while it is annoying to have people wondering about what happened to me, I won''t have to suffer the endless questions until I leave the League." She shrugged. "It''ll be a while until then. Maybe it''ll be out of the public consciousness." "I still feel sorry¡­ it''s my fault. What does¡ª what does Grace think? Did she say anything when you two spoke?" Maylene shuffled against the mat and averted her eyes. Cece felt her eye twitch in irritation, but she contained the feeling as best she could. "She''s worried about other things. She had a conversation with someone that she can''t really let go of, at the moment, so she''s in rather high spirits. I wouldn''t worry for now." Maylene leaned forward, knees up and arms hugging her thighs. "No," Cece said. "No, what?" "No, I won''t tell you what it was about." Should Grace want to, she could, even if it would make Cece jealous. Just imagining it was pissing her off. The girl deted, sagging against her propped up legs. "Hey, I feel like I should apologize for¡ª being so close to her and stuff. I think we''ve gotten off on the wrong foot." Her feet anxiously tapped against the mat in a nonsensical rhythm. "I know you''re her girlfriend, but I was close to her despite that. Like, physically. That hug the day my dad came over? I saw how it angered you but I kept going anyway, so I''m sorry." Had it been anyone else¡ª Pauline, Emilia, Mira, or any other girl¡ª honestly it wouldn''t have bothered her. The issue was that Maylene was interested in Grace romantically, so her apology wasn''t very effective, even if Cece knew she meant it. "She''s a great person, even if she''s a little broken. That makes me want to help fix her." Maylene smiled, and her legs ttened against the mat. Blushing, she twirled her fingers together. "She tries her best to be better, and that''s admirable. I wanted to tell you that I just wanted to be friends with her. Good friends, but nothing more. I don''t¡ª I don''t even swing that way, so I won''te in-between you two." Cecilia squinted. Oh, you sweet summer child. Surprisingly, she wanted to grab Maylene by the shoulders to shake and drag her into reality; luckily she stopped herself before she could make that mistake. Thest thing she wanted to do was rock the boat¡ª what if she was abandoned for her? "And¡ª and even if I did a little, theoretically, just because two people are gay doesn''t mean they can''t be friends," Maylene said. So at least she wasn''t that clueless, just pretending for the safety of her own heart. "Again, that''s just a hypothetical. If you tell me to, I''ll back off, and, uh, I''ll be fine." She was so brazen, and yet so clueless about it! "That hug came after you''d faced your dad," Cecilia said, making sure each one of her words was curated not to hurt. "It did irritate me, but it was fine. You needed a shoulder to lean on. If he shows up again, I would just suck it up." What was she doing? She could have told her to screw off and never have to deal with her again. Her instincts screamed at her to retract her words. "I''d appreciate it if you didn''t make it an everyday urrence." Damn it. She bit down on her tongue to stop herself from snapping. Cecilia was certain she woulde to regret her inaction, but she had no choice. This girl had no one else to rely on; all of her coworkers were too busy to show up consistently. Without Grace as a pir of support, she would copse and her Gym would go with her, which would open up an opportunity for Oscar. She could absolutely not let him win. Legendaries, what a mess. They were so tangled up, the three of them. Less so Maylene and Cecilia, but the fact that they were talking today meant that they were, even if it was through Grace. Cor and the Distortion World had scarred them all. Cecilia had been mulling over how she could possibly fix her own issues, but the only solutions she came up with would tear her apart and open up an opportunity for Maylene to slide herself into her spot¡ª The Gym Leader let go of a breath and rxed. "Got it. Thanks." There was a little nervousugh. "Whew, Arceus I was so nervous about this talk. I thought you''d¡ª well, nevermind. Thanks for being so nice to me," she said. "Uh, if I asked you to stick around today, would you?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow. "I expected you to ask. You wouldn''t have told me toe by just for a leak that could have been discussed on the phone." Maylene blinked. "Woah. You look like Grace when you do that." "Do what?" "That eyebrow thing¡ª nevermind." She shook her head in dismissal. "I kind of need help to figure out how to step forward. Lucario is still here and could help, but he''s¡­ we were raised together. He''s my brother. We think too simrly, and I was hoping to get someone who''s a little different to help me." "Help you do what? I''m no Gym Leader, I have no idea how to even begin to run a Gym." "I just need you to help me be a judge of character," Maylene blurted out. "And maybe to bounce ideas off of you, just to help me think." "Ah yes, Denzel is the same." Cecilia felt a squeeze in her heart at the thought of her friend, still in a medically induceda because the pain would have been too much for him to bear if he were awake. Hopefully they would wake him up soon. "Very well. I will stick around, but I want something else in exchange," Cecilia said. Maylene was clearly eager to help. "What is it? If it''s within my capabilities, I''ll do whatever I can." "I need to use your arena if I can; an empty one is fine," she said. "If you can guarantee me privacy, I would appreciate it. If not, I''ll find somewhere else." A nod. "I can." "And is it alright if there is some¡­ damage dealt to the field?" she asked. "Yeah, it''s not like anyone''s using it anyway. Knock yourself out." "Thank you, Maylene," Cecilia said, leaning forward. She crawled on all fours toward Maylene, who squealed and reddened when Cecilia snatched her by the wrist. "Now, your aura. Show it to me." Maylene must have blinked twenty times within five seconds. "W¡ªwhat?" "I want to see color again, and this is the perfect opportunity. Show it to me," she deadpanned. "You can''t just ask that so openly¡ª" Maylene cut herself off and looked up at her, breathless. She wasn''t short by any means, but Cecilia might have made her feel cornered due to how irritated she was at their previous conversation. "F¡ªfine. Just be quick about it." "This is a favor you owe me; I''ll be as quick as I want to be." On Maylene''s slender finger, a me of aura flickered to life, dancing with ethereal hues of ever-changing light blues. It gently radiantly pulsed with a mesmerizing cadence, casting subtle shadows that yed across the office. Even the light it emitted basked the room in color, akin to some kind of lightshow. Cecilia stayed fixated on the me for Arceus knows how long, her hand mped down on Maylene''s wrist that was growing sweatier by the second. The me was growing more agitated too. Wilder, fraying right beneath Cecilia''s eyes like a living thing cowering from her gaze. She could barely remember when something had her undivided attention like this. The sight was just so tantalizing that she almost wanted to touch the me despite knowing it would burn her likest time. It was as if she''d been entranced. "Can you make it a different color?" Cecilia asked. Maylene took a bit to answer. She was still blushing and breathing harshly, as if she put any significance in this other than Cecilia needing to remember what seeing a color looked like. "I¡ªI don''t think so? I mean, if it is, I''ve never heard of it. It''s always just been blue," she mumbled, asionally mixing up her words. "What''s with you?" Cecilia asked. "I grab your hand a little and you''re squirming and stumbling over words. Legendaries." She let go of the wrist, and you''d think Maylene had been drowning, with how greedily she sucked in air. If Grace ever did this to her, the girl might actually die. "What''s next, blushing if we ever drink from the same cup?" "Wh¡ªwhat, you asked me to see my aura! That''s a¡ª that''s a very private part of my being! It represents who I am! You don''t just¡ª" "Who cares, I''ve seen it already anyway," she dryly said. "That''s different!" Maylene mored. "You asked me¡ª you asked directly! In a room while we were alone!" Cecilia ignored Maylene''s antics and spoke again, "thank you; we can get to work, now." The Gym Leader gripped her shirt where her heart should have been, causing Cecilia to roll her eyes as she loomed over Maylene, who was heaving with each breath. "Listen, it doesn''t mean anything. You''re making stories up in your head out of nothing. I just used you to see blue again; it''s as simple as that. I am not interested in anything further in any way, shape or form. Got it?" She red, slightly angered at the idea that she''d asked for something culturally significant without knowing. If Maylene was going to be weird about it and make her ufortable, she wouldn''t do it again, lest the girl get any ideas. Ri would be out of the Pokemon Center sometime this week, after all. Maylene gulped, finally having recovered from her little crisis. "Got it. It was just intense and so out of nowhere¡­ I''m straight." Intense? All she''d done was look at a finger. "Whatever you say; I believe you." Cecilia sat back down on the mat opposite of Maylene a little further, now. "Now, you wanted to bounce ideas off of me for your Gym. Bounce. Them." She might have let her frustration into that, from the way Maylene winced. "Sorry, um, yeah, let me just get my thoughts in order." Maylene straightened herself against the wall and adjusted her cor, calling Arceus'' name more times than Cecilia could count. "Um, you know, we can do it again. I won''t be weird if I''m prepared¡ª" "No." "But I¡ª" "I said no." She finally found it within herself to be loud and forceful, this time. "Are we going to work, or are we going to linger on something that doesn''t matter? Because if it''s thetter, I''ll see myself out." Cecilia wouldment the fact that she wouldn''t be able to use an empty arena (all the ones at the League were closed or not built up yet, even for her), but she''d make due without it. If Zolst had been open to letting her fly on him to some wild mountain this wouldn''t have been an issue in the first ce. They needed a ce in private where they could talk. "Sorry, I''ll stop bringing it up." "Good." A small silence settled in, as if Maylene didn''t know how to begin, so Cecilia took the lead. "Let''s start with your father. Beyond the leak and his desperate, yet futile attempt at relevance, has he done anything else?" "He was still logged into the Gym''s email and he was still answering stuff for me, so I had to change the password. I haven''t told it to anyone else, so it should be safe," Maylene said with a hint of annoyance. "Aside from that, I''m pretty sure he''s in contact with some of my Gym Trainers." Cecilia scoffed. "Childish pranks beneath his standing, as expected of people like him when they lose all leverage¡ª well, not all leverage." "I was getting to that. Cecilia, I¡ª I don''t know how I should take back control of my own Gym," Maylene heartily confessed. "He''s gone, but it''s like his shadow just suffocates and looms over everything." "One can''t undo decades of building a cult of personality with one order," the Unovan said with a tilt of her head. "Tell me, when do you n on reopening the Gym?" "Two weeks, give or take. Once Snowpoint is at least back on its feet, we can start opening up for a few hours per day, then we can ramp up until we''re back at full capacity." "This leaves you with a prime opportunity for some spring cleaning." Maylene''s expression went from nervous to confused. "Spring cleaning?" "A purge, if you will." The girl instantly denied. "No, no, I can''t fire people! They have jobs, and families to take care of, especially now! And, like, logistically it''d be a nightmare. I''d have to rece them little by little, but people would catch on pretty quick, and good luck motivating people who know they''re going to get fired to work." "How purehearted," she dryly said. "But fair, you know better than I do and what you''ve said makes sense. Continuing on this angle, though, how many new people have you hired since your father left to Al?" Maylene held out a hand and counted on her fingers. "Um, let''s see. I guess three new people¡ª eight if you include recing the people that quit since then." "And how many Gym Trainers do you have in total?" "Eighty-two. We have other people on payroll like technicians, janitors, PR people¡ª but they''re nowhere as involved in Gym Life as the Trainers." Cecilia tapped a finger on her arm. "So you''re telling me that the vast, vast majority of these people are from your father''s administration of the Gym?" Maylene''s head jerked back. "Well¡ª I didn''t want to upstage my dad because he¡ª" "I''m sorry, I phrased that wrong," Cece said, instantly stricken by guilt. Her brusque wording could use some work, especially with someone as emotionally tender as this. "It''s not your fault." The Gym Leader nodded with a pained smile stretched across her visage. "With the power of hindsight I would have hired more people and maybe weaned out some of my dad''s most ardent supporters sooner. We have the least amount of employees in a Sinnohan Gym anyway because¡ª well, dad used to handle most things himself and wanted me to do the same." Maylene went on to talk about Gym hiring practices and how her father would have the most demanding requirements if you wanted to get hired, which was something she had since changed. As it turned out, Volkner also had the most Gym Trainers by far and Maylene didn''t hesitate toin about how Sunyshore was a money sink because he was toozy to do the job himself. Cecilia was content to let her talk so she could cheer up after her blunder. "Why don''t you look to hire more people, then?" Cecilia asked. "I considered it¡ª but, like¡­" she groaned and threw her hands up. "I don''t want the Gym to be a burden on Sinnoh''s finances. In Sinnoh, we all run at a loss and our costs are covered by the government, but right now? The country doesn''t need any more on its te." Cecilia peered at her, almost like she was dissecting Maylene. She was starting to understand who she was, and who she''d been. Of course, she''d known the big picture. Maylene had been raised and abused by her dad to fill in his shoes, and as a result she had burned out in a desperate act to please him et cetera, et cetera. What was new was that she''d never really stopped to think how that had just killed her confidence in any decision-making. Cecilia could empathize given that she was gued with doubt, even if today was one of her good days again due to the fact that she was helping a girl win against her abusive father. Motivation was something she was rarely short of, in cases such as these, but even before her death, back when all of this had started, she''d been content to just let her father rule her life until Grace and Denzel had stepped into the picture and changed her life for the better. "I think we need to find another way. A way to manage with just the resources I have, at the moment." She rubbed her face with her hands and groaned. "Ugh, I just want to be the best Gym Leader I can be. I love this job. I want to make it work." "Hesitation isn''t always bad; it''s a sign that you''re giving something enough thought, and that''s important. Especially for a Gym Leader," Cecilia said. "But you''re beyond that. You''re stuck in decisional paralysis and it''s hampering your ability to run this Gym." She let the words sink in and kept going. "You don''t want to fire anyone¡ª even the people responsible for the leaks¡ª you don''t want to hire new people to shift the bnce in your favor slightly, so what can you do? Find it. Consider this, Maylene. Your inaction now might cost more resources in the long term than incurring a short term loss right now. In an effort to please everyone, you might please no one at all." Maylene wanted to fight her; Cecilia could tell from how her shoulders hunched up. "I think you might be right," she said. "I¡ªI have an idea, then. A step one of some sorts. It''ll need your help, still." "Sure, what do I have to do?" Maylene smirked. "Just stand behind me." ¡ª The third of who knew how many Gym Trainers hesitantly stepped inside of Maylene''s office. This one was the youngest yet, which was still a man in his thirties; the most unique part about him was his droopy eyes. He sported the usual Gym Trainer uniform for Veilstone, a short-sleeved shirt with an orange and white motif with a Pokeball embroidered on his chest, and orange jogging pants that were so baggy Cecilia couldn''t see the outline of his legs. The moment he stared at Cece, he tensed up and swallowed the words he''d been about to say. She was standing with her hands behind her back behind Maylene''s desk, her body unmoving. Cecilia was content to be a human Intimidate, if Maylene needed it to negotiate. Apparently word of her attempting to choke Oscar to death had gotten around the Gym and had given her quite the fearsome reputation, not because they thought she''d be able to actually kill him (though some people were saying that she might be an actual ghost, somehow), but that she had dared in the first ce. It''d be annoying if it ever got out of the Gym''s ecosystem. It looked like she was a few inches taller than this one; height worked well for fear-based tactics, she had found. "Darius, wee, wee. Sit down," Maylene said, gesturing with her hand. She''d even put on her fingerless gloves for this to appear as official as possible. "Don''t mind Cecilia, she''s a friend. I bet you know her, though." The so-called ''Darius'' cleared his throat, dragged the chair they''d brought up here and plopped himself into it. He plucked at some dead skin on his thumb¡ª a nervous tic, no doubt. Every so often, he would nce back at her and she would stand there, unblinking, unmoving, until he shrank into his chair like having her here was just ufortable. Was she really that bad? Regardless, Darius was one of the oldest and most long-worked Gym Trainers at the Veilstone Gym, given that Oscar had hired him at the ripe age of sixteen straight out of his first Circuit. Maylene already had his file open, which she was idly looking through as a pressure tactic. "Darius, how have you liked working for me these past¡­ing up on two years, now? A year and a half." "It''s been fantastic. Really, Leader Maylene." He dipped his head in respect, something which was usually only done for Oscar. Cecilia caught Maylene''s displeasure, but the Gym Leader couldn''t cut him off now that she had the momentum. "You''re so young, yet with your skill and upbringing, you''ve been able to steer Veilstone and its Gym through troubling times¡­" Maylene closed his folder and threw it on her desk. "My upbringing. Let''s talk about it, then," she said with a smile as fake as stic. "Oscar handed me the reins when he decided that knocking someone up was more important than people like you. People who live here. In fact, he was so obsessed with his new wife that he let Team Gctic build a base under our feet. So let''s talk about why you''re making it so difficult to run this Gym without any interference from outsiders." "A house divided against itself cannot stand," Cecilia added. She noticed that Darius rxed slightly when she spoke and made a note of that; it was the second time it had happened. It appeared she was more effective when silent, as if speaking made them remember that she was still human. "Leader Maylene¡ª" She clicked her tongue. "No, I''m not finished. Medicham overheard you talking about how you hope you get back to the ''good old days'' with some of your colleagues the day after my father came back. Coincidentally, our cameras have shown that you''ve been texting a whole lottely. You''re usually so focused on your job that I had to wonder what was going on." She paused and drummed her fingers against her desk, as if she was in her element. She was gentle, yet stern. In charge, yet not overbearing. "My father''s been trying to put down roots here. Let me ask you straight up, would you rather see him as a Gym Leader? You''re free to speak your mind; I won''t fire you no matter what you say despite what my friend here thinks." Maylene nudged her head toward Cecilia. Honesty and mercy, Cecilia had learned thesest interviews, went a long way to make people honest in turn. There were few things more loyal than a man who you''d spared despite having every right to kill him¡ª though in this case, it was fire. "It''splicated." He rubbed his chin in contemtion. "You have to understand that I¡ª he''s the one who taught me everything I know. I understand that you''re the Gym Leader; I don''t want you to step down, but I thought that he could help around the Gym. That he''d be what we needed to cheer up the ce. I figured he''d be the¡ª yes, glue''s the word. The glue we needed." "And now you are aware that he''s trying to undermine me at every turn," she said, her tone somehow still warm. "My father''s no man forpromise. With him, things always have to go his way. You know that." Darius grimaced, but nodded. "So you understand that your childish need for some sort of nostalgic, non-existent golden age has jeopardized my ability to run this Gym." "That''s¡­ I guess so, Leader Maylene. I ept full responsibility for my actions." "Good! Now, I am giving you onest chance," with each word, she tapped her desk with her knuckles. "Stop trying to get Oscar back in, and this''ll all be swept under the rug. I will catch on eventually if you do. Just be what the Veilstone Gym needs right now: a good employee. Am I clear? Don''t make me regret this." "Yes, Leader Maylene¡ª" "And stop bowing down to me. This is your job, not some old Kalosian court," she groaned. "We''re all people here." Once they were done, Maylene told Darius to call in the next person on her list. Darius hastily left the office, thanking her five times for this chance. When you''d worked somewhere as long as him, Cecilia guessed, the prospect of quitting or being fired might as well have been a death sentence. As soon as they were alone again, all of the fake strength and poise Maylene had been projecting left her body, and shey down on her desk with her head on her arms. "Ugh, I hate ultimatums like this, but at least it went well." Her voice was muffled by her speaking face down against her desk. "How did I do?" "Just likest time, I believe it went well. Better than how you fumbled with Joe, at least," Cecilia said. Maylene had let the first person she''d called in walk all over her until Cecilia had forced her to get her wits about her. "Once the older Gym Trainers stop pushing to rece me with my dad or trying to get him involved in the Gym, it''ll diffuse down the ranks. Or hopefully it will, they have a lot of influence," Maylene said. Cecilia inclined her head in acquiescence. While Maylene hadn''t taken much of her advice, she couldn''t deny that she''d been of use here today. Hopefully Maylene would be able to do this without her from today forth. The goal was independence for her. The Unovan was learning here as well. Learning how to handle positions of leadership first-hand in a way that couldn''t be imagined in her notes or daydreamed in her head. Yes, Cecilia thought as she smiled, this would do just fine. ¡ª Afternoon waned when Cecilia made her way to the Gym''s arena, two Pokeballs on her hip. It felt odd, being here without the crowd filling the elevated bleachers on each side of the field. Maylene''s arena was a simple one: a rtively t field of earth and rocks. Cecilia had heard that she was nning on renovating it next Circuit to better represent the fighting type, though Cece had no idea what that implied. Her mind wasn''t built to be a Gym Leader, but Maylene could talk on and on about it. The arena was silent; there wasn''t even a Kadabra in sight. Instead of making her way up the stairs toward the metallic, raised tform trainers stood on, she kept walking into the arena. The earth felt hard underneath her feet as she traveled all the way to the center, basking in the sight her Pokemon had seen many times before. There was a small stirring within her; the embers of a passion for battle that still remained. Maybe once she figured out how to fix things with her team, she would start training again. The Conference would be good experience, if anything. Talonme''s Pokeball filled her palm, but it did the same for her heart, only with waves of guilt so powerful they were nearly debilitating. It was different now that they were out of the Distortion World. Things were normal, now. She had no excuse not to confront her mistakes when she let her Pokemon out. She sharply sucked in the warm air through her teeth. "I better put my money where my mouth is," she said, almost so quiet she would have been inaudible to anyone next to her. She''d given Maylene advice about decisional paralysis, yet it was that same paralysis that haunted her. Not just for her team, but for her other issues as well. "Okay. Okay, let''s do this." Talonme would be a little easier to handle, if anything. Red bled into the world; shaping itself into her until she was out of her Pokeball. The flying type blinked a few times, yet her gaze softened when she saw Cecilia alive and well. She tried to bring a hand closer to Talonme to scratch the hot skin beneath her feathers, but her Pokemon flinched away and the moment was gone. Much work had to be done. An apology, no matter how much she meant it, would not cut it. "Remember this ce?" Cecilia asked. "This is Veilstone''s Gym. I figured it would be needed for the conversation I''m about to have with Zolst." Talonme nodded sagely, as if tomend her for the good idea. She chirped, something soft she rarely showed to people she wasn''t close to. The worry in it was palpable. "I''ll be fine, he won''t hurt me. He''ll be careful," Cecilia said. "But I need to talk to you as well. I will ask you right away, do you no longer want to be with me?" The fire type squawked indignantly, pping her wings with enough strength to propel the small pebbles on the ground. The wind felt slightly sharp against her legs and arms¡ª her stitches felt tight on her face as she grimaced. Cecilia could not help but think that she did not deserve her. Talonme had always been level-headed to a fault¡ª able to analyze the pros and the cons of a situation. Her responses were rarely so emotional, which meant that she truly wanted to stick around. "Then how do I make it up to you?" Her voice was so small. So weak. Desperation gripped and shook her enough to bring her to her knees. "How do I fix things between us? I so desperately want to?" She had asked them to work in tandem to get her killed. She had asked Lehmhart to kill her, and made Slowking work to convince him. She had thrown it all away without hesitation. Without a modicum of regret until the end came. "Can I even fix things?" she asked. "Or will this shadow haunt us for decades toe? My entire life?" Talonme tilted her head and pecked at Cecilia''s knee. A strict coo coaxed her ears, as if to tell Cecilia to not let defeatism grip her so, or something akin to that. Deep down, Cecilia knew Talonme wouldn''t have the answers she sought. There was no pros and cons list to be made, no apology powerful enough, no way to twirl a wand and make it all go away. The flying type extended her wings and took to the air; a bright ball of fire and feathers whose colors Cecilia could no longer appreciate, and Talonme sang. The mes carried her voice, which was entuated by their roar. Dust and rocks picked up in a ming cyclone below the flying type. Cecilia felt the heat wash over her, yet it still did not warm her core. "I think I understand," she said. "You are asking me to see you." Her voice had been quiet through the fire, yet Talonme''s hearing was just as good as her eyesight. "To make time for you. To live with you. To train with you. To travel with you," Cecilia said, finally understanding "You want me to be a trainer again, with all the banality that entails." The mes cut off, winking out of existence like a candle between two fingers. With small embers still flickering on her wings, Talonme rushed back down and wrapped her wings around Cecilia. The heat still emanated from her feathers, but not enough to burn. Cece caressed the side of Talonme''s face with a smile. "I get it. I will be better from now on, and as soon as the rest of the team is out of the Pokemon Center I''ll¡ª" Her throat tightened. "I''ll¡ª" It wouldn''te out. The promise to go out on her own with her team was stuck, unable to be vocalized. "I''ll see what I can do to get them to agree." A lie smothered in half-truths; she had learned well from Grace. "Allow me to speak with Zolst next." While Talonme wanted to stay out in case the dragon got too rowdy and she needed some wind to knock back debris, Cecilia was convinced a one-on-one conversation was what they needed for them to ever begin to see eye to eye. The respect lost if Cecilia had a protector with her would be massive. "You mustn''t forget that he''s also mad at all of you for epting the n to kill me," Cecilia said. "While he would never hurt me, he might attack you if provoked." Satisfied with that answer, Talonme epted her terms and melted back into her ball. With a deep breath and a countdown, Cecilia released Hydreigon far enough for her to be certain there would be no idents, but not far enough as to be too distant. The dark type was a hulking mass of scale and muscle, a creature that embodied raw power barely contained that you could see pulse out of him in thin lines. Each of his six wings moved individually, sometimes bumping into each other. From Zolst''s central head, a menacing growl rumbled while his two other heads roared with a barely contained rage that sent spittle and the smell of dragonfire wafting throughout the battlefield. Cecilia''s hair flew back, and she wiped saliva with her thumb. "It''s me again, Zolst. The Nurse Joys said you gave them trouble¡ª" Instantly, light built up in the right head''s mouth. Before Cecilia''s brain even registered what was going on, a burst of energy hit to her left, digging and digging into the earth until all that was left was smoldering mud. Cecilia did not flinch. Dying once came with losing that fear, for better or worse¡ª not that she thought the dragon would ever hurt her. If she had, she wouldn''t have been doing this. "Which one was that? Ten percent? No, eight, maybe." She circled around Hydreigon as she questioned him. "Dragon Breath, surely. It''s difficult to tell without color, but it was less orderly and wilder than a Dragon Pulse. It''s been a while since you''ve had to use that, Zolst." Another Dragon Breath hit where she would have walked in ten steps, this one slightly stronger. The left head snapped and tried to attack the right, as if to bite its neck and get its attacks to be stronger. They were conscious, but animalistic, Cecilia knew. Nothing like the central head which was the one in charge. They usually didn''t fight this hard¡ª Cecilia''s death might have affected them all, not just Zolst. The bickering continued until Zolst blew another weak Dragon Breath on his left head, which grunted in pain and was left somewhat burned. Slowly but surely, Cecilia was circling, yet approaching Zolst. "I won''t tell you I''m sorry, even though I am. I spoke with Talonme before this." Cecilia exined the flying type''s n as quickly as she could, not even getting interrupted by each strike growing closer and more intense. The remaining heat of a crater left next to her was a painful singe on her legs. He wasn''t on board. "I''m not telling you to forgive me now. That would be foolish¡ª I just want you to give me another chance. I know you''re angry at the others, but you should focus on me. I gave the order. I let it get to that point. I promise I will never betray you again. So please." She was close enough, now. Standing on her tiptoes, Cecilia outstretched a hand and slowly brought it over Zolst''s head. She could see the doubt in his eyes¡ª not that doubt at his anger, but the doubt at what he should do next. Hydreigon opened his mouth and a brighter, fiercer, unyielding force burst from his skin. The mes, she knew, would have been turquoise once. This was a test. He was asking her if she was worthy of his respect, and therefore a second chance. The draconic energy was not painful, not beyond the feeling of touching hot pavement, but the true test was the insidious need to bow her head; the defeatism spreading through her; the feeling that she was about to be conquered. Standing around him when she''d been an aspect of Willpower had been much easier. Cecilia''s knees buckled, but she steeled herself. A sharp inhale, then¡ª She never got to touch him. All of his head whirled to the side and the fire intensified until Cecilia fell to her knees, which scraped against the earth. Hydreigon lunged forward, and it took Cece a few seconds to gather the courage to turn her head, she saw the three-headed dark type halfway through the field, barrelling toward a Lucario. Her head, still foggy from Zolst, went to Ri first before she realized this was Maylene''s and that she was standing right there. The possibility of a looming ident got her to think straight and she whipped out Zolst''s Pokeball and recalled him before he could get to Lucario and his trainer. Aura had been surging around the steel type''s skin, blue yet dimmer than what she''de to expect. Her throat was dry with the taste of defeat. This had been her chance, and she''d blown it. It was however many secondster that Maylene ran up without Lucario with her. "Cecilia, are you okay?" She tried to give Cecilia a hand, but the Unovan knocked it away. "What," she slowly said, her voice frigid, "are you doing here?" It was only then that Maylene must have realized she''d done something wrong; her face fell into a million pieces. "Lu¡ªLucario was passing in one of the nearby hallways and sensed something wrong," she scrambled for an excuse, and Cece slowly stood up. Her body felt limp. "Then he told me that you were getting attacked¡ª" "You spied on me!" Ceciliashed out. "No! I wanted to make sure you were be okay!" Maylene yelled. A sorry excuse. "You can''t just¡ª it looked like you were in danger! I thought you were going to talk to your Pokemon and maybe train¡ª" "I. Was. Talking!" Cecilia took a step forward, her face twisting into a menacing scowl. Then another. Then another until Maylene''s back was against the wall and Cecilia mmed her hand right next to her head. "Zolst is my Pokemon," she hissed. "What gives you the idea that you would know how wemunicate? What gives you the right to assume that there is a correct way to do it or not?!" "Lucario heard explosions and sensed aggressiveness that was way too real to be¡ª" "And now my attempt at rebuilding the bridge is ruined," Cecilia sighed, her domineering ways rapidly disappearing. Her hand slid off the wall and went limp against her side. "So utterly ruinous," she muttered to herself. "I don''t know if I will get another chance like this any time soon." "I''m sorry, Cece. I really thought you needed help¡ª" "Don''t call me Cece," she snapped. "I''m leaving. I''ll wait for Kadabra in front of the Gym." She hastily turned and began to stomp away. "Text me if there''s anything else with your father. Have a great rest of your day and good luck with your employees," she tersely said. More work was needed to mend what she''d broken. Hard choices would have to be made, but for now, she wanted to see Grace.
Chapter 321 Chapter 321
CHAPTER 321 No matter how much food you made, a Tyranitar would make it look like a small portion. It had taken me all morning, but I''d baked a hazardous berry-based cake (as it turned out, baking was in a whole other ballpark than cooking, and I was not great at it), bought out a crap ton of raw meat south of the city that Buddy had carried for me with Extrasensory, and a bunch of random Pokemon-friendly sweets¡ª or at least thebel said it was friendly for all Pokemon regardless of species. Sweetheart had finished it all in a minute and a half. She''d eaten so much of it that I''d needed to slow her down so Honey could get some. Luckily, he ate nowhere as much as her. The rest of my Pokemon with me either couldn''t or didn''t need to eat, though not forck of trying. Once Meltan saw Sweetheart and Honey eating, they got jealous and tried to have a piece of Cheri berry that they quickly spat back out ruined and full of rusted metal. I did learn that they could do little shocks through their tail, though it had been an ident; they''d released a tiny spark from the sheer amount of disgust they''d felt, barely enough to feel a jolt up my arm. That had been thirty minutes ago. We were out of the city up north close to where Jasmine took me to talk and recount the stories about her colleagues, where the sea met steep, jagged knife-like cliffs and waves battered the ind day in and day out. You could smell the salt in the air, hear the ocean constantly to the point that the asional stretch of silence without a wave to crash into the bluffs was odder than not. Jellicent was ttened into a disc above the pic nket, shielding me from the sun and ejecting cold air down so the heat wouldn''t affect me too much. Cassianus hovered next to us with two of their eyes on a certain battle and the rest focused on analyzing each fiber on the straw hat they currently levitated in front of their face. Oh, that hat was mine; it was the one Cece had bought me for my birthday that I''d worn today. They''d wanted to ''study its structural integrity'' to see if it could be worn in fights, somehow, and I''d answered that I could probably find a steel cap for them if they wanted one so bad. As for the rest of the team? Sweetie and Honey were ying tag in the distance, hence the ''fight''. The rock type was always the hunter due to Honey''s agility making things unfair for her otherwise. Another rumble beneath me. Tyranitar let out a guttural roar and stomped a foot against the ground. It rose, rose, rose until it looked like it would burst open and spew the world''s innards out into the world; instead she sent the protrusion forward as if it was a wave of solid earth. Mimi rode atop her head and cheered, though they made sure to hide behind one of the spikes on her back whenever they got scared. Electivire was not idle¡ª he never was. With a teasing grin, he hopped left and right before blurring into golden lightning, easily avoiding the wave which exploded behind him with heated mud and shards of pointed stones. He was speed incarnate, and he was growing faster by the second as he got going. But! She''did a trap for him. The earthen wall had obstructed his vision, and she''d began to wrap rock from the ground around her tail. With a swift movement, she turned and swept her tail toward Electivire. The rock around it shattered into a thousand pieces of shrapnel that would have torn through me like paper, and it exploded in Electivire''s general direction. Fast or not, Sweetheart had sent the rocks in an arc too wide for him to dodge through movement alone. He slid on the grass until he came to a stop, leaving scorched nts behind him, and held up his hands with a hefty grunt. The rocks never touched him. Through maism, he held them back as if he had a psychic barrier to pull on, and a ring of electricity burst through his fur, throwing them back at Sweetheart. The dark type snorted when they helplessly bounced against her and tapped the ground below her with another foot. With a rumble, pirs of rugged stone answered hermand, already sharp and ready to cut and crush whatever was in her way¡ª "She''s getting too into it," Iined. "Tell her off." ydol looked smoother now that they were out of the Pokemon Center, their crags and dents having disappeared under a newyer of y. One of Cass'' pink eyes swiveled my way. But my King, the Jester looks like he''s having the time of his life. It would not be efficient to stop their battle now, ording to my many calctions. The hat rotated under their careful gaze and their turret-like hands levitated to touch the straw. Such wonderful material¡­ I wish to dissolve and study it. No, I wish to wear it on my head forever. And the ground type did so, cing the hat on their head and spinning it around with pleased eyes and a cheer from their soundboard. Cute. I was¡ª My heart dropped when Honeyughed as he ducked under a b of rock that might have sent him straight back to a Nurse Joy, and then he weaved around another, and another, and another. They all buried themselves behind him and made the earth shake, sending plumes of dirt high into the sky¡ª some even went and fell into the ocean. "You just don''t want to be distracted from your fun," I said, rolling my eyes. Still, I was d they''de out of their shell and actually refused things now. "It''s okay. We might have to fix this up before we leave, though. Trainer ¨¦tiquette and all of that." ncing at the state of their yground, Sweetheart kept upturning more and more earth while Honey''s electricity burned some of the grasnd when he got too carried away. Case in point, the electric type ced a hand on one of the massive bs buried in the earth and sliced through it like butter with another electrical barrage. He gathered the debris around his fist as if it was covered in glue and started punching the rocks Sweetheart kept sending. Each strike brought with it a brilliant, blinding explosion of energy that rendered the smaller rocks red with heat and therger ones broken by his side. Sweetheart argued that counted as contact. Of course, never to be outdone by his baby sister, Honey cackled and said he''d give her the win if she was so desperate for one, targeting herpetitiveness as he beckoned her with a hand encased in cracking electrified stone. It obviously worked, and rules were adjusted. "These kids have so much energy, it''s like nothing happened at all," I said. We were really kicking nature around here, with how the ce was starting to smell like cut and burned grass. Buddy sighed, saying that just looking at them was making him tired. "Kinda," I agreed. "Well, better Sweetie tire herself out now so she napster in the day." The game of tag continued in earnest, with Honey having to work for his buck. In a straight fight, I imagined Sweetheart would handily win, but this was a game to both. Or at least I thought so until Honey, close to losing through a surprise patch of liquified earth which bogged him down and spread far enough to stop him from quickly escaping, began gathering up energy around his fist as the stone around it crumbled. Huh, that was interesting. She hadn''t rendered the solid dirt to mud through TE maniption, but used ground water instead with Surf for a slower and more discrete trap. She was really getting into this ambush predator thing we''d pushed for the fight with Byron. ¡­ Argh, this was annoying. There was so much potential there, potential that I didn''t have the energy to think about at the moment. My Pokemon might have recovered well from Cor thanks to not having gone through the Distortion World, but it was me who was holding them back, now. Even after the meeting with Mallory and Rood, the spark was still missing. Something was still missing. Was it because I wasn''t involved in the actual fight? If I was out there, giving out directions and actually battling, would I find the motivation that had made me go through countless sleepless nights to study each and every single tactic employed by my opponent? While I was deep in thought, in order not to lose, Honey snapped a finger from which electricity coalesced, and with a harsh motion, he sent it flying. It was a weak st, barely thicker than a Thundershock and dimmer than even that, but the goal wasn''t to harm. Sweetheart''s left leg jerked back as soon as the electricity hit her, and she tripped before she could send another set of rocks barrelling toward Honey. With a loud crash, she tripped and fell back, carving a Tyranitar-shaped hole into the earth. The rock type screamed in anger in frustration and called for my name, which made a bunch of wild Pokemon which had gathered a few hundred feet away to watch the fight run off. Starly, Furret, Sunkern and the like. Honey was still panting from how he''d exerted himself near the end of that training session. I jogged my way toward the two, carefully avoiding craters, ravines or even small hills created by the earth-waves Sweetheart had made. Once I reached her, she was still thrashing around and whining about how it was unfair how she''d lost. It was so cute my lips nearly involuntarily smiled, really. I crouched next to her and ran a hand over her hardened te after motioning for Honey toe over. "C''mon, I know you can get up on your own," I gently said. "Don''t be a crybaby, now." She mored that he cheated, that he sucked, that he deserved to fall off the cliffs and a million other things. That was good news. When she was actually mad at someone, there was rarely any meaning to her screams. I kept soothing her and waited for Honey to get here, even if he was obviously taking longer than needed. He could have been here within a second if he wanted to, but he was dragging it out because he was nervous. "Where did Mimi go?" The metallic blob squealed from somewhere in Sweetheart''s vents. "Ugh, get out of here! That''s¡ª that''s not meant for you!" I put my head near one of the vents on Sweetheart legs and called out for the steel type. "She''s going to forcefully kick you out if you don''t get out of here. Right?" I waited for an answer from Sweetie, but she was too busy whining to care. Mimi squeaked and I saw a glimpse of metal at the edge of the hole. I quickly snatched the Meltan with a victorious grin and watched them squirm in my hand. "Don''t go in there, alright?" I scolded. Mimi echoed a sad mewl with something akin to tasty. "Were you munching on the grains of sand in there?" I asked. There were minerals in them. Upon closer look, the blob was covered in a little sand. My answer was a metallic burp that smelled like iron and rust. "Well that exins everything. Using the fight as a distraction? You little devil! I thought you were scared!" Sweetheart slowly got up and patted herself down, having finished her tantrum. Mud, grass and dirt slid off her armored ting and she asked for Mimi to get back on her head as her cheerleader, which the steel type hastily obliged after I warned them not to sneak into her vents again. I''d missed this. The chaos, the personalities shing. We''d all had a heartfelt reunion when I''d released them for the first time out of the Center, of course, but now it was like everything was back to how it usually was, and for once it did not feel like the world was leaving me behind, but I was being dragged along with it. Not fully, however. As soon as she''d been done eating, Sweetheart had asked me when we''d start training again because she was eager to fight and keep growing. Despite Buddy calling it mildly insensitive, Honey trying to silence her by putting a hand over her mouth, Cass calcting the best way to respond to this was silence (they just didn''t want to step on anyone''s toes) and me dodging the question by saying we''d have that conversation when everyone was back from the Center, it left the question turning over in my mind like a seed had been nted. An annoying one, not that I''d ever tell her that. The real answer was that I didn''t know. I would fight Byron again because I had a fiduciary duty to Poketch to give the Conference my best shot, but I truly didn''t know. "Took your time there," I told Honey. The electric type scratched the back of his head, not bothering to find an excuse. Instead, he shied away from Sweetheart''s re. "So, were the rules of this game of tag actually established before you started, or were you just bs''ing it?" The two agreed that they agreed on a framework of rules mostly based on Honey''s fight with Volkner''s Electivire. That was what I''d figured, but they added that they both had to hold back, relying on simple attacks because it would make the game unfair. I crossed my arms, ignoring the vibrating phone in my pocket. "So what constitutes a simple attack?" Honey shrugged, and Sweetheart called him stupid. I thought they''d start bickering, but the rock type added that him forcing her to move with his electricity obviously went against the spirit of the game, which was something I could agree with. Honey countered by arguing that using the water underground wasn''t simple either, but she said he''d upped the ante with that electrified stone fist thing he''d done. He grunted nomittally and whispered with twisting tails that if he hadn''t done anything, he would have lost. "Hon, it''s a game. You could have let it reach its natural conclusion," I gently scolded with my hands on my hips. "Would you have liked it if she just created an earthquake under your feet and opened a rift there to trap you so you couldn''t win? And let''s be honest here, she would have won if this wasn''t a for fun thing. You can''t fly just yet, kiddo." The electric type nervously shuffled toward her, head hung low in shame, and he offered her a genuine apology for breaking the terms of the game without warning. When he was done, he kicked some dirt and looked away. Sweetheart huffed and blew some darkened grains of sand in his face, which made him cough and shake his hand to clear the air. That reaction had her grin, but I had to intervene again to tell her not to do that when he''d just apologized. Really, it was all in good fun given that Honey gave her the win and asked for a rematch¡ª a best of three. "Yeah, and when you lose the best of three, you''ll ask for a best of five," I teased. Sweetheart stuck out her scaly tongue at him and snorted, and he gave her a thumbs down while heined that she was getting too cocky; he would prove her wrong very soon. She grinned, all sharp and menacing, ready to rise up to the challenge. As a final jab, she brought up that there was a reason Mimi was on her shoulder and not his, which the steel type gasped at. They loved being the center of attention while acting all innocent. While they went back to take their ce, I finally checked my phone. It had vibrated three times while I''d been mediating this ''conflict''. What greeted me were three notifications from a panicked Maylene. Maylene - Im so sry Maylene - I messed up with Cecilia Maylene - I interrupted her conversation with Hydreigon and now shes super pissed at me im sry i rly fucked up Maylene - It was an ident i thought she was gonna get hurt I winced and bit my lip. With how Cece spoke with Zolst, it was easy to see how someone could get the wrong idea. After what she''d done against Jupiter, that dragon was going to be a lot. I stared at my phone for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. Already, I could see Cece had left the group chat, which was whatever. So long as she wasn''t going to run away somewhere so she could be alone¡­ You - Is she back? Maylene - I teleported her w Kadabra. She didnt want to talk to me and i knew trying to mend things right now would make things worse so idk if i should have intervened i didnt You - Alright, thanks. Talk to youter. You - Don''t beat yourself up over it. It''s not really your fault. I called out to my Pokemon and told them ytime was over for now, something that both were annoyed by but understood when I exined the big picture. While Cass was fixing up the terrain as best they could and teaching Sweetheart in the process for a change, I gathered our supplies and made sure we wouldn''t forget anything. This morning and afternoon had been fun, but my girlfriend needed me. If only I''d had Princess, the trip back would have been so much faster. I missed her. And I missed Sunshine and Angel, too. ¡ª I''d recalled Cass only when I''d made it inside the hotel. Cecilia''s ts were in the entryway to our condo when I came back, hurriedly thrown off and not ced orderly to the side as usual. The ce itself looked normal without an object out of ce, which was good news. I figured maybe she would have trashed it again like she had at Lake Valor, but that appeared to have been a one off. Calling out for her, I made my way deeper into the apartment. Usually, Cece would have been sitting at the dinner table typing away at herptop doing research, or maybe browsing the forums on her phone while watching the news. "I''m in the bedroom," her voice called back as loud as it could be, which wasn''t very much outside of specific circumstances. It was hesitant, and most of all it sounded defeated. Almost as defeated as it had been shortly after she''d died, but not as bad. The way my legs immediately started running her way without my conscious doing was no longer a surprise; Cece was just that important to me. I nearly tripped on the little ledge up the corridor leading to our bedroom, scrambling my way forward until I found myself facing her. She didn''t just sound defeated, she looked like it, too. Not on her face, for it looked like she would nearly always vacite between pissed or pissed outside of the little rays of happiness that asionally shone through, but in the way she carried herself. Her head hung low, eyes avoiding contact and staring nkly at the ground. Her shoulders were tightly wound inward, and while there were no traces of it left on her face or in her eyes, there were dried tears on her cheeks. Hydreigon''s Pokeball sat alone on the bedside table, dents and all. Talonme was with her, a wing carefullyid on her foreleg. I gave the flying type an appreciative look¡ª Arceus knew that her presence had been needed. "I was gonna call you," Cece quietly said, her hands sinking against the mattress. "But then I remembered you must have been having a good time out, and I didn''t want to get in the way of that, so¡ª" She was in my arms before she could finish that sentence. "Stupid," I berated her, carefully running a hand through her hair behind her head. After a few seconds, our foreheads touched and her trembling breath brushed against my face. "I will always be here for you, okay? Always, no matter what happens. Understand?" Her lips thinned; for a moment, I thought I''d have to fight her on this, but she nodded. "Yes. The truth is¡­" she trailed off and quietly gasped when my thumb caressed her cheek, just enjoying the moment. There was a certain harshness when it passed over one of her stitched up scars. "That¡ª feels nice. Your hands are so soft." "Mhm. Perks of having new skin, I guess." "The truth is," Cece repeated herself, "I probably would have ended up calling you anyway. Chase is busy, Denzel is asleep, Mira and Maeve are¡­ gone, but they''ve got issues of their own and we aren''t close enough. Pauline and Emi¡­ they wouldn''t work. Louis, maybe." After a short sigh, her eyes widened a smidge. "Oh. I assume you know what happened, then." "The big picture," I confirmed. "Maylene messaged me¡ª she feels horrible for what happened, okay?" Maylene was probably still kicking herself despite my message; I''d have to call her about itter and try to mend things between these two. It''d be a shame to have gone through such a story and let something like this get in-between our friendships. Cor and beyond had linked us for life. "It''s fully within your right to be angry, but you have to understand. Maylene''s a good kid, sometimes to her detriment, even. The world wounds her again and again, yet she tries her best to do right by it, still. So of course if she thinks you might be in danger she''ll do something about it." Cecilia''s mouth twitched, and her jaw clenched. "It''s okay to depend on her, too, like she''s been depending on us. She''s seen what you''ve seen." It was difficult to tell when her eyes moved, but an attentive person could do it, still. When Cecilia nced away, I kissed her forehead, then gently dragged her toy down on the bed with me, our faces still close. She was clearly still vexed at what had happened, and that was okay. Talonme hopped on as well, quiet and well-mannered. You''d almost think she''d been raised to be a ''proper''dy. Meltan had already crawled away from my wrist, intrigued by Talonme''s natural bodily warmth. Their little tail wagged as they approached the flying type, who seemed unsettled at their constantly changing body. Cecilia looked up at me, and a wordless agreement passed between us; she wiggled closer and put her hands around me, taking a deep breath against my chest. "Want to eat something? I can cook you some food," I whispered. There was a beat of silence before she answered. "I''m okay. I''d like to stay like this for a while." Cute enough to make me melt. "Okay; if you''re sure. Tell me what went wrong today, then." We stayed like this while she told me not only about the incident with Zolst, but everything that went on today from start to finish so I could get all the facts. Admittedly, Cece describing Maylene as flustered at her for nearly pinning her against the wall while she demanded to see her aura was hrious, though I got it and kind of wished that had been me. Still, I''d already known she was gay or bi with how she fell in love with Virtuous me¡ª here she just didn''t know it yet, it seemed. Hopefully this wasn''t anything like an unrequited crush and she''d just gotten caught off-guard, because that''d just be so messy; Cece having to break her heart would suck and I''d miss our friendship too much. It''d be smothered, extinguished before it could even properly bloom. If it was a crush, maybe it''d be better to just say nothing, wait and let it fade when we went to Unova so we wouldn''t have to mess things up. The distance would be of great help. But then, things got serious. It was easy to see where the misunderstanding had taken ce¡ª Cecilia had asked for privacy, but not gone into much detail as to why, which was entirely within her rights; Maylene, who was still admittedly pretty normal, freaked out when her Lucario told her about how Zolst was feeling such rage toward his trainer, and she acted ordingly to prevent a potential ident. No one was at fault. "What if you¡­" it was difficult to find the right words. "And you think he won''t let you speak to him one-on-one again?" Cecilia''s fingers clenched my shirt behind my back, her nails digging slightly through the fabric and sending tingles down my spine. "I don''t know, I can''t do anything right," she sighed. Talonme protested by scolding her for giving up too quickly. "I know, I know. I can''t let defeat cloud my reasoning, I''ll have to try again. It''s not like it''d be good to keep him in his Pokeball for too long anyhow, and he needs to eat, and¡ª" Cecilia cut herself off, squeezing me tighter. "He''ll think I had a protector there and it''s set me back weeks. Possibly more than that." Her voice was muffled in my chest. She sniffled. "I considered just ripping off the band-aid and trying again immediately, but it''s best to give him some time to cool off or it might actually be dangerous, especially without Slowking here." My hand streaked through her hair. "You''re right. Better safe than sorry, we don''t want you in the hospital again." A flicker of doubt shed on her face, and I could immediately tell what she was thinking. That a trip through the hospital would be worth a repaired rtionship with her starter. "Baby, look at me." I gently grabbed her face with my hands and looked into her pale eyes. "What you need is to talk to him, not let him hit you until he''s satisfied¡ª and he wouldn''t like that anyway, Zolst loves you! No matter how long it takes, I''m sure you''ll have him back to his silly antics in no time." "I hope so." Her heart was in it, this time. "Hope is good," I said. "Hope is what keeps you alive when the chips fall and the knives are out." "Ugh. I love you." I snorted, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. "What was that groan?" "Nothing," she said with a hint of a smile. "Anyway, how was your day?" Beaming, Iunched into everything I''d done today, and she was happy to listen. Eventually, when all was said and done and we continued talking about anything that came to mind, we must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, the sky was filled with the orange hues of sunset. The fact that I''d actually had an interrupted streak of sleep took a few moments to sink in, even if that had only been for¡­ three hours ording to my phone. Talonme had fallen off the bed with her back to the floor and her talons up in the air¡ª Arceus, where was Mimi? They must have sneaked off somewhere while we''d been asleep. Rubbing my eyes, I turned toward my girlfriend. Cecilia''s body was twitching and she was mumbling in her sleep, as if distressed by something. She must have been in a nightmare. I poked her in the cheek, and when that didn''t work I lightly shook her shoulder until she woke up with a deep, raspy gasp of air that woke up Talonme. The fire type''s sudden scramble to her feet bumped her wing into the bedside table, knocking themp over and shattering the bulb. There was a familiar squeal, and Meltan crawled from under the bed, intrigued by the shards of ss that I''d have to clean upter. "It''s me," I softly said, sping at her shoulder. "It''s just me, baby. We''re okay." Her face slowly scrunched up, as if she remembered what she''d just seen. "Thank you for waking me. Were you¡ª" "I was fine, no worries. Hungry?" Her head tilted to the side, then nodded. "I still got some groceries leftover from earlier. ''Guess I''ll make some food and let my team out." I slid away from the bed. "Falling asleep wasn''t the n." Sweetheart was too big and heavy to be out in the condo, but I released the rest of my team and got started on something simple. There was still enough rice tost us days, and the raw meat I''d bought included chicken. While Buddy took over in Mimi-watching duties and was having what looked like a good time talking to Talonme about her favorite sights when she went off flying who-knows-where, Honey and Cass helped me around the kitchen. The psychic liked giving me utensils or spices whenever I asked for them like a sous-chef, and they were very curious about them, too. Supposedly all Lakhutia had was salt from their cavern; they were an istionist bunch that didn''t let many traders in. When they asked what cumin was made of exactly, though, I came up empty other than the fact that it was a nt of some kind. The kitchen was pretty wide open to the entire condo, so I could see Cecilia sitting on the couch in the living room, herptop on her knees. The fact that she was working again was good; I''d need to keep an eye on her in case she went into a self-depressive spiral again. Having this Role was enjoyable and it was important to not get hyper focused on my conversation with Rood and Mallory. It''d be a while until I''d get another one of those, and while I''d learned a whole lot about systematic failures and Team sma''s endeavors, I hadn''t actually gotten anyone''s numbers or names for the original goal of the conversation: connections. Speaking of, I needed to go to a Unovan embassy to get started on my Trainer Visa soon. Better early to get it out of the way. I''d go get the process started when Princess was out of the Center. She was the next one supposed to be out. "Grace," Cece called from the living room. "Sarah Newman is in Sinnoh again." Unconsciously, I stoppedthering the chicken in spices. "Oh. Oh, shit. She must have heard. Has she¡­ spoken out to anyone yet?" "She was never one for publicity, apparently," she said. "She''s in Jubilife and has demanded to speak at the ceremony to celebrate Craig''s life." It was rather morbid, that this ceremony was now stated to be the day after Justin''s funeral; we''d have to go through this sorrowful process back to back. Craig''s funeral would beter, and as we weren''t close, we wouldn''t be allowed toe in. Time was ticking¡­ hopefully Mira would find Lauren before next week; I wanted to believe she wouldn''t miss her brother''s state-mandated ceremony and funeral, but¡ª I shook my head, chasing those thoughts away. If anyone was capable of finding her, it was Mira, and maybe Newman would try as well. They must have known each other. When dinner was finished, Cece and I ate face to face in afortable silence often broken by bursts of chatter. Honey was eating at the TV to watch one of his cartoons with Mimi on his shoulder, Cass was still on their research binge about spices using myptop, and Buddy was hovering behind me, nearly finished with his newest book that he sometimes told me about if he came across an interesting history tidbit. Histest obsession was a series of wars between the petty kings and queens of Kalos shortly after the copse of the Chivalric Age: a stretch of a century and a half from the 1100s onward where conflicts were decided with Pokemon battles between chosen fighters instead of the bloodshed of war. Honestly, it was a wonder it hadsted that long, but honor was everything, back then. Eventually, the region would unify under one kingdom, creating a dynasty whichsted until the Great War. Charles III Montreuil was thest of his line. His children and family were killed along with him. History was crazy like that, and I was learning a lot just through osmosis from Buddy''s rants. My feet poked at my girlfriend''s legs under the table, and it felt good to see her bodynguage soften at each instance of contact. Eventually, when we were close to finished, Cecilia took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She let go of her fork, which clinked on the side of the te. "I was thinking¡­ if I''m going to take my time to fix what I''ve done to my Pokemon," On the floor at the side of the table, Talonme''s eyes flickered my way cautiously, "I might need to leave. For a while." It took a¡ª It took a bit to make sense of the words in my head. My body suddenly felt like it had been trapped or squeezed in a tight space. Somehow, it was like when you woke up after falling in a dream. "Leaving. Like¡­" I probed for more information, trying to keep my voice still. "I don''t know where exactly," she continued. "Probably on one of the wilder routes like 220 or 211." I tried to scrounge up memories of those routes from the maps Denzel used to buy, remembering I''d never actually been there. These were rarely sought after because theyy south of Twinleaf, one of them beingposed mainly of ocean and inds in the strait between Johto and Sinnoh down south. There would be no reception, meaning I wouldn''t be able to contact her for however long she stayed either by text or call. I wouldn''t be able to see her. To touch her. To hear her voice. To talk to her. She must have seen how morbid I looked, because she added, "only when all of my Pokemon are all out of the Pokemon Center, and I wouldn''t miss Justin''s funeral, either. We still have time." She leaned forward and reached toward me. I flinched away. "Did¡ª did I do something wrong?" My voice came as a stammer with a nervous, incredulousugh, and my hands clenched below the table. Pain flickered across her face. "That''s not¡ª" "I''m sorry. I''m sorry." A sigh left my lips, and I realized my hands were beginning to sweat. "I shouldn''t have said that." "But you said it." "I did." "And now doubt is creeping in." Cecilia touched her heart and closed her eyes. "Now I don''t want to leave. My heart. It aches. This wasn''t¡­ the goal, but maybe this will do us some good. To help return to normal again, like thest time we had to deal with this¡ª" "Thest time was never this pronounced." I cut her off. Why did I cut her off I didn''t want to cut her off I should shut up I should shut up. "I don''t even know what normal is! I''ve never had that! We''ve never had that." My eyes felt wet. "At least let mee with you. I won''t get in your way, just¡­ please." At this point, themotion had reached the ears of even our Pokemon in the living room, who were all watching us with bated breaths. "Maybe not normal, but just unable to live without seeing you for twenty-four hours is¡ª" her defiance evaporated from one second to the next. I could see it written in the way her bodyy about. "Fine. Maybe you cane with me. Maybe it''s fine." Talonme chirped worryingly at her side before shooting me an unappreciative stare. I realized what I''d done immediately. I was taking away her freedom to act; her need to be a trainer; her independence. The three things which she had internalized and desired since she had been a young child yearning to escape from the dark clutches of her father. "I gotta¡ª wait, I have to just go in the bathroom and clear my head. Don''t leave, okay. Please," I spoke at a rapid pace as I shot up from the table. When I passed by Honey, I asked him to shout for me if she left. I locked myself into the bathroom and ran the tap to wash the tears off my face. When I cut it off, it continued to drip into the sink, each drop a hollow echo that had reverberated in the silence of the room. "Get a hold of yourself," I muttered, staring at my tired face in the mirror. "You''re better. Be better. Don''t twist yourself into the Role of a viin." Cecilia was right. This wasn''t even about being normal, this was about being healthy. No person with a healthy mindset would have reacted the way I have. She wasn''t even leaving yet, but what about the future? What about Unova, where she would most likely have to spend days or weeks away from me on jobs with Professor Juniper or talking to whatever politicians or Gym Leaders she needed to? What about my own goals? We wouldn''t be joined at the hip twenty-four seven like we could be these days. "Legendaries, I''m pathetic." I loved her. I loved her so much that I hurt her, because it felt like she''d been abandoning me. The door swung open, and I barged through back into the living room, then into the kitchen. She was still here, staring at me with a nk look on her face. Electivire gave me a discreet thumbs up, meaning that she hadn''t even tried to leave. "I''m sorry; I waspletely wrong and I hurt you." It was difficult to look into her eyes for too long without feeling like shame was dragging my head down like an anchor around my neck. "You should leave whenever your team is ready and rekindle your rtionship. I''ll be¡­" I swallowed. "I''ll be fine. Don''t hold yourself back because of me." The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. "I¡ª" her breath caught in her throat. "If you''re sure." "I am." I wanted to tell her that I was happy she wasn''t leaving yet, that we didn''t need to speak like she was going to slip away any day now, but I didn''t. It might influence her decision, and I''d now learned that my words had more power over her than they ever had. I just didn''t know how she could be so strong, still. "So, um." I awkwardly shuffled in ce. "Can we¡ª go back to normal, or do you want me to leave for the night? I can stay at a Center or something; I''ll basically have the entire ce for myself." Deep inside, I was praying she''d say no. "Stay. Of course, stay," she said, and I couldn''t help but breathe in an immense sigh of relief. I hadn''t fucked up to catastrophic levels. ¡ª It was the next day now; the thirteenth of May. While Cecilia and the others had gone to visit Chase in the hospital, I''d left there early to go see someone else. Denzel looked peacefully asleep, even with a mask keeping him asleep on his face. His chest rose up and down slowly, and his body was nearly sinking into the mattress below him. ording to the nurses it was made of specialized material¡ª an air-fluidized bed, one of them had called it¡ª to minimize the pressure on his back as much as possible. He''d already had all of the dead skin removed and gotten a skin graft two days ago across his entire back, but it was still healing. His arm was hooked into an IV from which fluids continuously pumped into his body. If he''d been awake right now, he''d be in agony, but he''d be up within the next few days, or so the doctor said. I smiled as I held onto his hand and brought it up to my cheek. It was warm. He''d done so much for us; without him the world might have ended. He was just as much of a hero as the rest of us, and he would get none of the credit he deserved. The reason I hadn''te here as often as I should have was¡­ Well, his parents were allowed on the ind by the League, even through the lockdown, and they visited often. Thest thing I wanted was toe face to face with his mother. Emilia had warned me of her ire, and to be honest, I understood. All of the warnings she''d heeded Denzel, everything she''d said, her holding him back from journeying for a year¡ª all of that was now vindicated within her mind. She might have thought that maybe if I hadn''te to Twinleaf at the start of the Circuit, she could have convinced him to stay. God, I needed to see my dad again, or at least talk to him beyond a good morning and good night every day. My mom, too. Hm. I wondered if they''d find Fross by the end of the week in Cor. Recovery operations were still going on there. After gently lowering my best friend''s hand back on the bed, I grabbed my phone and dialed Maylene''s number. "Hey. Sorry I took so long to call." The truth was, I''d gotten distracted yesterday trying to salvage my rtionship from a pivot toward disaster. "Yesterday got busy. Oh, I hope I''m not bothering you, I know you''re working hard." "No, it''s okay," she said, clearly nervous. "I''m sorry, I must have ruined your night with this stuff." "No, actually. Um, it was me who fucked up,pletely unrted. I think I salvaged it, though. Barely." It had been awkward after. Very awkward, but at least she''d stayed and Talonme had forgiven me already. Awkward was better than cold. I must have been quiet longer than I thought, because Maylene spoke up again. "So, what''s the¡ª the verdict?" "She''s spiteful," I exined. "But give her a few days and she''ll be back to normal. Plus, she''s still willing to help with your dad and stuff, and you know, your aura was apparently better than your Lucario''s, so we''ll see what she thinks about Chase''s. If it''s the same she''ll probably want to see you again. It''s sort of therapeutic for her. Reminds her of what she''s lost, but in a good way." Maylene exhaled on the other end of the line as if a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Thank the Legendaries. I thought I''d ruined things. It''s good that she still wants my help; I can''t be the one always taking from you both. I need to give back." I heard a bump of some sort on the end of the line, and then a soft scrape, as if she''did her head on the table. "Should I message her another apology or should I give her some space?" "I''d say give her some space for now and message in a few days when she thinks better of you¡ª I''ll keep you up to date on the vibes." A moment of silence passed, and I leaned against the backrest of my chair with an analytical frown. "You really care about her, huh?" Carefully, I listened to see if there would be any sudden movements. Instead, all I caught was the pausing of a breath; one held half a second longer than usual. "Yeah, she''s nice in her own way. Like, an ''it can''t be helped, I''ll help you'' kind of way, but obviously I didn''t know her before she died," she slowly spoke, attentively choosing each word. "I didn''t ask before, but why''re you so quiet?" A hasty change of topic. Man, I could read her like a book. This was going to suck. "Oh, I''m just in Denzel''s room right now." I smiled at his sleeping face. "I guess I unconsciously get quiet even if he can''t wake up. Plus, my friends have been saying I speak too loudly sometimes ''cause I''m still not used to not hearing properly, so I''m tempering it. Anyway! How''s work?" "It''s going pretty well! I got a really needed boost in my confidence and it looks like my Gym Trainers areing to the idea that I''m in charge, so I won''t have to do anything radical like fire people," Maylene said. "No news from my dad yet, but he''s lost a lot of his leverage. Anyway, uh, if you want I¡ªI should have the time to ha¡ªhang out pretty soon this week-end for a few hours." Now she was the one who''d gotten all quiet. Maybe what I''d said had gotten to her and she was self-conscious. "Sure, why not." If I was supposed to survive without Cece, I might as well give it a try soon and use the opportunity to go check on Be and Night and spend the entire day away. "I was actually in need of someone to get me into shape again, so maybe we can make it a semi-regr thing." I was actually nning on going on a run with Honey after I was done here, just to get started on my own like old times. I silently chuckled and stared at my unconscious friend. He was the one who''d gotten me into it all those months ago north of Jubilife. "Though I doubt you''d have the time¡ª" "I''ll make time!" she screamed. "I¡ªI mean it should be fine, haha¡­" "Woah, so passionate," I said with a teasingugh. "Chase is like that! He''d get excited at any opportunity to get me to work out with him; I bet he''ll be pissed I''m doing it with you now after I ignored him for so long." "Okay¡ª Arceus, I need to ask so many questions! But first if you want to get into shape we need to talk about your diet." Holy crap, I''d never heard her speak to quickly. "Then we can move on into what kind of muscles you want to develop¡ª I''m assuming legs, ''cause trainer, duh! We actually have an indoor gym for people and Pokemon we can use underground, so we won''t need to go somewhere else¡­" Oh, boy. She was even more into this than Chase was, wasn''t she? ¡ª Perhaps it was thinking of Denzel''s own parents, which had me contact mine as soon as I was out of the hospital, or maybe it was getting a figurative cold ssh of water on my face yesterday evening when I''d nearly done something I regret¡ª manipting the girl I love into doing what I wanted to her detriment. Maybe, more simply put, I just missed them and decided I''d had enough of avoiding them. They''d been staying in a hotel a twenty-minute walk away from mine, this one a lot more humble and affordable. You could still see traces of the old architecture much of the actual, official League Building was made of. Cecilia had called in gothic, a style much more prevalent in Snte, the continent with Kalos, Paldea and Gr. They probably would have met me anywhere and gone out themselves, but I''d only messaged them once being in front of the ce. Honey was with me, a boon of reassurance and kindness in case I blew up at them again, and as always, Mimi was there, around my neck this time. Honey also served to soothe my endless worries of a sudden, lethal attack: he would always react faster than them with Protect. Cassianus and he worked in shifts. I winced when I saw them step out of the empty establishment, already prepared for the worst, but rxation came easier than I thought when Electivire ced a hand on my shoulder and I saw something else¡ª My parents weren''t angry about me blowing them off; they were genuinely happy to see me again.
Chapter 322 – Ozymandias Chapter 322 ¨C Ozymandias
CHAPTER 322 - OZYMANDIAS Seeing my parents together sure was an oddity. In my mind, they remained two separate entities never to be in the same room simultaneously. I was under no illusion that they''d get back together or some other nonsense; my father had never been one to forgiverge slights. Sure, he''d look you in the eye, smile, shake your hand and overall be civil, but he''d never, ever forgive you. He''d lost more hair this year than thest five, it felt like. It usually had just been on his temples, but I''d seen it thin on the back of his head on the way to this bench right next to their hotel. As for my mom, she was hollow, still grieving from losing my grandmother to Gctic. It was mildly terrifying, how hollow she looked when she''d been so peppy and bubbly before. It was almost like staring into a mirror. Dad''s arm wrapped around my shoulder, and he pulled my head on his. "I hope you''ve been doing better, Grace." Hearing him speak like that was enough to have guilt tunnel through my skin and into my heart. "Your mother and I¡­" "We missed you," she exhaled, grabbing one of my hands. "We know you''ve been through a lot, and we¡ª" Dad nced at her with a warning in his gaze. "It''s okay if you don''t want to tell us right now. We''ll wait until you''re ready." The tightness within me slightly loosened. "Thanks. I missed you guys too." I gripped the side of the bench and forced a smile. It was the truth, I had wanted to see them again despite how we''d had an argument, but¡­ "Sorry for yelling at youst time. I understand that you''re my parents and you want to know what''s going on with me." Everything just felt so stiff. Like I was speaking to acquaintances I hadn''t seen in a while, not the people who had brought me into this world. It saddened me greatly, weighed down on my soul like an anchor, to understand that things weren''t supposed to be this way, yet to know that there was nothing to be done about it. My father cleared his throat. "So, Sam and I, we were thinking about whates next." "Hm?" I didn''t like the sound of that. My instincts were moring to get out of dodge like rm bells. "What do you mean by that?" A beat of silence passed. "Please don''t worry, we won''t actually force or pressure you into anything, kiddo," he said. "It''s just that you won''t be staying on this ind forever, right?" "Right¡­" I murmured, ncing at the passersby to distract myself. Thiste in the evening, there were more people than usual, but not that many. It was good enough to have a conversation of this nature in public. Not wanting to intrude unless I gave him a signal, Honey was currently engaged in some conversation with a Raichu a few dozen feet away. I didn''t know what it was about, nor if the Raichu was trained or wild, but he kept ncing my way every few seconds. My mother ran a hand through my hair, which felt nice enough. "We think it''d be good for you to stay home. Not for good, only for a while," she quickly specified. "Maybe see someone like Aliyah again; they have good therapists in Jubilife." Mom raised a finger, as if she''d expected a rejection. "You coulde by to Twinleaf if you need to get away from all the noise in the city; I¡ªI''m just about done finishing the paperwork to inherit the house." Her skin paled, in that moment, like even thinking about this was sickening her. "We think it''d be good for you to get some routine back into your life," dad said with a saddened smile. "I''ve been looking at getting you some piano sses for the summer, maybe. Meet some new people." I sighed. We were just; Not operating on the same wavelength. They were looking past me, and I past them. But given everything that had happened¡ª Maybe it was a good idea. Not that a therapist would work; Aliyah had been the best the League could offer me and I doubted even she would be able to help me as I was now. Maybe I''d say yes anyway to get them off my back, but I wasn''t sure. "Can I think about it?" I asked. Both of my parents became joy incarnate, in that very moment. Pressure bled away from their faces, leaving only the happiness that could onlye from thinking your child was on the road to recovery. Maybe I was. I was in a better spot than I was two, four, six days ago. It was always one step at a time. Aliyah had told me once, that recovery was not a straight line, but a tumultuous path full of twists and turns. That it was about the destination and the work you were willing to put in. Yeah. Yeah, I''d think about it. "Can we hang out a little more?" I asked, suddenly feeling a little shy. My mother knelt in front of me and held both of my hands in hers. "Honey, your dad and I would want nothing more than that." Dad rubbed his chin. "You hungry, kiddo? What do you say we go grab a bite from Arlyle''s? They''ve got one a few streets away." I wasn''t hungry, but I wasn''t going to say no to those fries. "Sure." ¡ª The week-end. "You know," Gardenia said for what she felt was the thousandth time, "the next time you need me here, it''d be nice if you didn''t text ''I NEED HELP'' in all caps." It was the middle of the night, and Maylene had basically summoned Gardenia to her Gym¡ª identally, ording to her. Normally, Gardenia would be sleeping at this hour, trying to get her three to four hours of rest before starting work again, but life had other ns. The grass type Gym Leader yawned as she lounged on the mat in her friend''s bedroom, resting her head on her palm. Usually, Maylene would have said something about not putting her hand in front of her mouth, but the younger girl was currently busy rummaging through her closet. Herptop sat in the corner of the room, half-closed and dimly lit. "I never said you had toe over!" Maylene protested, looking deeper into her closet. "I thought you''d just call me." In the corner of the bedroom, Lucario groaned and curled up into a ball. Gardenia figured there was no way he was going to sleep tonight, with how panicked his trainer was. "I thought you needed help with your dad, not that you needed help to pick clothes for your¡­ hang out." "If it was an Oscar issue, I just would have called Cecilia¡ª sorry, that sounds rude." "No, no, I get it," Gardenia lied. It hurt a little, that her little sister wasn''t relying on her any longer, but to be fair, she had failed to actually show up when it mattered and Cecilia Obel knew more about handling situations like these than she did. Gardenia frowned, realizing something. "Wait, Oscar?" Maylene nodded, still facing her closet and relentlessly tapping an anxious foot against the floor. "Yeah. She doesn''t call rence ''dad'' either. I took that from her." She shrugged nonchntly. Gardenia wasn''t used to seeing her talk about her father without shrinking in fear; she had made a lot of progress quickly. Maylene threw a slew of clothes back, all of themnding on the mat-covered ground that served as her bedding. First to go were the martial arts gis. She pulled out a white gi, its fabric soft and worn from countless training sessions. She hesitated for a moment, fingers tracing the familiar material, before throwing it aside. Gardenia internally sighed in relief; what a horrible choice that would have been. Next came a variety of tank tops and sleeveless shirts. Bold reds, deep blues, and stark cks fluttered through the air,nding haphazardly on the floor. Then came the athletic shorts, the sport bras, the jogging and yoga pants, the t-shirts¡ª "I don''t get it," Gardenia said. "Aren''t you just doing sports stuff together? Just wear something other than your Gym Leader uniform so you can be more casual and call it a day." She waved a dismissive hand at Maylene, who red at her. "I need to pick something that makes me look good. Obviously, I don''t know what that is." She ran a hand through her short, pink hair and bit her lip. "Just help me out? Sorry for making you panic, I just¡ª I was a little overwhelmed." Nia sighed. "I can''t be mad at you for long," she said with a slight smile. It wasn''t like she couldn''t rte to this; she had been nervous about what to wear when meeting up with Candice for¡­ at least a year and a half after they''d met, and she still fished forpliments all the time. Gardenia sat cross-legged and hummed, grabbing a pair of gray shorts off the ground. "What I said does still apply, though. You don''t have to overthink it, unless you want to ask the kid out somewhere else after or before." "N¡ªno! I don''t. This is something to help her, nothing more." Gardenia tilted her head, happy to tease her. "But you want to look nice." "I do! But I don''t know¡ª I look too much like a kid and I hate it! I mean, they¡­" she trailed off, and her cheeks reddened. She looked down at her feet, as if ashamed of herself. Gardenia''s gaze softened. That was a new one; Maylene had neverined about her figure before. "C''mon, Maymay, you look great, and you are a kid. So are¡­ they?" Gardenia wasn''t really sure about what was going on, but her time as a Gym Trainer and Leader had taught her to go with the flow of things. "Where is thising from, anyway? The times where Candice would bring this up, you usually said a bigger chest would be annoying because you move around so much and it''d get in the way." It wasn''t unusual for a teenager or even young adults to worry about these things. Maylene just had never been that kind of teenager. Granted, she''d never been in love with anyone else before. Grace Pastel was somewhat average, as far as things went. That Cecilia Obel girl had¡­ grown up fast, which happened sometimes. "And even if you don''t get any bigger, it''s not the end of the world," Gardenia added, thinking of Candice¡ª who was obviously the most beautiful girl on the, and it wasn''t even close. "And hey, I''m not saying looks don''t matter for¡­ rtionships of a vague nature." She gestured at Maylene. When she realized what Gardenia had alluded to, she told her to shut up through clenched teeth. "Okay, okay! Anyway, they do, but not as much as what''s in here." She pointed at her own heart. "And you''ve got a heart of gold, Maymay. How sweet you are is your strongest asset. I''m sure your friend will think you''ll look good, anyway; who wouldn''t? Maylene groaned. "Ugh, you''re right; I''m just feeling insecure, I guess. I haven''t been thinking straight these past few days." When Gardenia barely managed to contain her snort, Maylene squinted at her. "What''s up with you? You were angry at me and now you''reughing at me." "Hey, I''m notughing at¡­" wait, she wasughing at her. "Anyway, if this is just to help her, why go through all of this?" Gardenia asked. "You know, you never worried about stuff like this before." Maylene stayed silent for a few seconds and had that bbergasted look she sometimes pulled when she ran out of words. Gardenia was having way too much fun with this, but she couldn''t push that hard. Better let her realize that she liked Grace on her own without her doing¡ª and honestly, that idea was still so weird and foreign to her that it left a strange taste in her mouth, even after she''d let it percte there for a few days. She didn''t know Grace Pastel much, but what she did know should have had Maylene less than satisfied. Maybe she was looking at it wrong. She''d kept it a secret, of course; normally she would have told Candice already, but she was¡­ struggling with Craig''s death. Gardenia would have alsoid it all on the table and told her about her feelings, had Craig not died and they both hadn''t been swamped with work. There was only so much she could dy it by, but now wasn''t the right time. Odds were, it''d just scare her off when what she needed was her closest friend, not to have to rethink and reframe all of their interactions since they''d known each other. All she could do right now was be there for her until she finished mourning, and then Gardenia could finally get the feelings she''d been carrying for years off her chest. She had waited for four years; she could wait a few more weeks. Normally, she''d only act if the odds of sess were ny percent or higher, but screw it. It might ruin everything, or it might make her the happiest woman in the world. Either way, Gardenia was done wallowing in the self-pity of being in love with her straight best friend. A perfect opportunity with the highest chances of sess would nevere. She had to take matters into her own hands. "Because¡­ just because!" Maylene finally answered, threw her hands up and then jabbed a finger toward her. "Plus, you want to look good when you hang out with Candice, too! You always go the extra mile when you''re with her outside of a work setting!" Ouch. That was true enough, but in the most hrious way possible. "''Guess you''re right, Maymay, sorry about that. Here," Gardenia grabbed a blue top from the ground. "Wear this tank top¡ª leave a little stomach exposed. That''s always nice, and yours is great; your back, too. Wear the ck yoga pants. Or I guess you could call them dark gray. They highlight your form nicely." She threw the clothes at Maylene, who caught them wlessly, as always. Her reflexes were top notch. "There, you''re all set. You don''t need my help for underwear, do you? Though you know, if your friendship ever veers that way, I''m open to help¡ª" Maylene turned as red as a tomato. "Ugh, Nia! I''ve¡ªI''ve told you a million times it''s not like that!" she silently hissed, mindful of Lucario. "She has a girlfriend!" "I''m just joking around." Gardenia snickered and went up to side-hug her friend, right before doubt began to creep in. Doubt at what if she was doing was okay. Grace had a girlfriend, one she was apparently very close with. She didn''t know much of what had gone on in Cor, yet it was evident both girls had gone through much with Maylene. Was she a bad person for this? Gardenia stared at the ceiling to think, pursing her lips as she debated her inner self. She didn''t know enough about Grace or Cecilia to know if Maylene had a chance or not; she wasn''t doing this with the goal of sinking their rtionship, and to be honest, thinking about it a little longer, she remembered that both girls were supposed to leave the country in a few months, so her friend''s odds were actually low. Chances were, the distance would turn this endeavor to a hopeless one, which meant that Maylene had to at least get a foot in the door and make this Grace girl notice her romantically before she left Sinnoh if she wanted this to be anything more than a passing summer crush. Maylene had her work cut out for her, even if she didn''t know it quite yet. Gardenia wanted to help more than she was, but going too fast might ruin things before they could take hold, and micromanaging a bunch of traumatized teenagers sounded like a bunch of work she couldn''t deal with right now. Plus, getting involved involved would make her question her own actions even more. It was just¡­ Gardenia knew what it was like, to pine for a girl with a hopeless crush¡ª she''d known how that felt like for years. It hurt, even now. She could rte to what Maylene was going through, or what she was going to go through very soon. Gardenia knew Maymay well enough to understand that at her core, she preferred avoiding tough issues instead of tackling them head on, but it was only a matter of time until she realized her own feelings, anyway, and then the hurt would begin. It was why she was still pretending with this whole ''she''s just my friend'' shtick despite being emotionally smart enough to know better. She had blinded herself, hoisted her inner feelings onto a throne of lies, hoping it wouldn''t copse, hoping it wouldst forever. Still, Gardenia decided there was nothing wrong with a little push. She watched Maylene hang her clothes back in her closet, humming a happy song to herself now that she knew what to wear. She couldn''t have been more obvious if she hung up a sign spelling out ''I''m in love'' on her back. Honestly it was a wonder the other girls hadn''t figured this out already, with how often they saw or spoke to each other. Ah, this is so confusing, she thought with a heavy breath. At the heart of it all, she just wanted to help her friend, the strangeness of the situation be damned. If it petered out or led to a preemptive rejection because Maylene couldn''t be more obvious if she tried, then Gardenia would be a shoulder to cry on. Again. "You know¡ª what if I don''t know what to say?" Maylene muttered as she closed the closet hidden in the wall. "What?" Gardenia scoffed. "Don''t you two text and call and stuff? There''s gotta be a dynamic already established, right?" "I mean, I guess? Everything feels kind of formal because I''m scared to overstep. I used to do it with Cecilia too, but she''s a little angry at me at the moment and we just started talking again." Was that her way of reassuring herself that Grace was just another friend? Probably. "Anyway, it''s not the same over the phone¡­ don''t look at me like that! We haven''t been on our own since¡ª well, since we got our hearing aids!" "Ah, yes, the time where she asked if you wanted to get matching pink ones," Gardenia deadpanned. Not exactly a sign in and of itself, but it at least meant Grace considered they were close. "Wasn''t that like slightly over a week ago? Just act natural." Maylene''s arms dropped limp to her side. "You don''t get it." "No, I do! You''ll be nervous at the start, but hey, once you start talking to her about working out, you''ll get into the groove of things and you''ll be able to go with the flow." Maylene''s face went through a myriad of emotions, in that moment. She wanted to fight her, Gardenia knew. To go into every detail, as if they could n everything she was going to say. In the end, she relented. "Yeah, that probably makes sense¡­ wait, what if I talk too much and weird her out? Because I already talked to her about that stuff for way too long on the phone until she actually had to hang up and go see her parents. What if she gets bored of it, Nia?" "I mean, she listened to it the first time over the phone, no? Did she sound bored then?" Maylene fiddled her thumbs. "I don''t think so? She always sounds super interested in stuff, I think, and she''s really excited to get her body moving again." "Then you''ll be fine." "¡­what if I make her work too hard on ident? My standards are way too high because I mainly work on myself and Pokemon¡­" Legendaries have mercy on her soul. She wasn''t even involved in any of this, and she was more mentally tired here than she''d been after work today. While Lucario snored, having finally fallen back asleep, Gardenia spent the next ten minutes reassuring her friend that things were going to be okay. That so long as she didn''t overthink things, she''d live through tomorrow fine and hopefully have a great time. It felt good to see her be a normal kid and worry about crushes, for a change. After the shadow that Gctic had hung over Sinnoh, talks like this were weed. Maylene quietly crawled to herptop, typed a short sentence and started rhythmically clicking on the trackpad. "Thanks, Nia. Sorry for calling you over sote, I''ll make it up to you somehow. You can give me some of your paperwork, if you want; if you give me the right info I''ll fill it out for you." "Nah, don''t worry about it, just have a good time on your¡­ whatever this is." "It''s a lesson. She''s my student and I''m her gym coach." She sounded slightly miffed, just like every time Gardenia had tried to hint that maybe there was something more to this. "Alright, I''ll call your Kadabra over; he must have gone downstairs to exchange knowledge with mine when he realized this would take long." Maylene slowly got up and tiptoed around Lucario. "Feel free to stay here in the meantime, I''ll bring him." So; It hadn''t been Gardenia''s goal to look at what was on Maylene''sptop screen. She''d just gone to look out the window to get some fresh air. Veilstone''s was noticeably worst than Eterna''s, and Gardenia believed they should have started working on a green city program to solve some of their pollution issues, but one thing at a time¡ª Anyway, when she turned back around, all disappointed in the air quality, she noticed something in the corner of her eye, and it really wasn''t her fault that Maylene hadn''t put herptop to sleep or turned it off. Gardenia had always been observant. You could put something at the edge of her peripheral vision for a split second and she''d be able to tell you what it was in detail nine times out of ten. ''How to know if you are gay''. There were a few tabs open of articles or blogs about this, along with a test that would probably ask really obvious questions with really obvious answers that really, only gay people in denial took in hopes of getting a different answer. Gardenia would know; she had been in the same position three weeks after meeting Candice and she realized that maybe she''d been looking at her lips and thinking of kissing her a little too much, let alone having her on her mind so much to the point that she started having weird domestic dreams about living together with her. Getting a home somewhere next to a boreal forest tobine both ice and grass, getting married, growing old together¡ª Three weeks. "Damn you, Candice. You had me wrapped around your finger so quickly and you didn''t even know it," Gardenia whispered in the night. Anyway¡­ The point was: Maylene wasn''t clueless. She would most likely spend the next hour or so scouring through this, though Gardenia doubted her nerves would let her fall asleep right away anyway. It was only a matter of time until that domino fell, and once that began, the revtion would be sooner rather thanter, as predicted. Gardenia didn''t stare for long, deciding to act as if she hadn''t seen anything. Knowing Maylene, there was a way she''d remain in denial even after this. Gardenia would strike a conversation with her about it the next time they spoke to at least get that first hurdle out of the way. When Maylene came back with Gardenia''s Kadabra, they shared a short hug. "Let me know how it goes, okay?" Gardenia said. "Keep me updated on this; I''m rooting for you." Maylene scoffed. "Wha¡ª okay I guess? You''re being weird." "No I''m not." Nia squeezed her shoulders. "Good luck, Maymay." ¡ª Maylene''s Gym was a lot more active this week-end than before, which made sense considering they were going to be the first one to reopen. I could see them filtering through the lobby, sometimes carrying heavy cardboard boxes or transporting Pokemon to other areas of the gym. I''d been waiting for a few minutes for Maylene to get here, but she waste. Maylene was a busy person, and though she did have the next few hours free, normally she would have thrown herself into work anyway, so she was using this time just because I''d asked her to help. My phone rang with a message from Cece¡ª a picture of Sweetheart having fun out of the League with Scizor looking annoyed at all the noise she was making and Talonme flying over her. I''d handed her over for the day so she''d be able to do something other than stay in a Pokeball all afternoon. Her size made it difficult to amodate her and have her out at all times like the others, so making time for her like this was something I''d wanted to do for a while. My body shivered, and I hugged myself. It was a little cold¡ª I''d dressed with working out in mind, not thinking about the fact that Gyms had air conditioning on during the summer. It was the worst on my legs and neck. I had tied my hair up into a ponytail so it wouldn''t get in the way, so my nose was starting to get a little runny. There was a change of clothes in my bag (along with the rest of my team; Mimi was around my wrist, as always, content to observe until they fell asleep) because of the n to see Betrix and Nightstalker after this; even so, it was a little toote to get changed when Maylene would get here any minute now. I spent the next two minutes scrolling through my phone until she got here, peeking her head into the lobby from one of the hallways leading upstairs to her room and office. She sighed in relief to herself when she saw me, and then responded to my wave with a timid one of her own. Nervousness was stered all over her when we walked up to each other. The way her eyes darted around, unable to stay fixated on one spot; her need to take a deep breath before meeting me; her uneven steps when she was usually more confident in her stride. Hopefully this wasn''t too much pressure on her. I didn''t want to get in the way of her work. "I''m so sorry, I was¡­ busy," Maylene said. She wiped her hands on her yoga pants and then hid her stomach by crossing her arms. I could rte, as someone whose palms sweated often when I was nervous. "I hope I don''t look weird or anything¡­" "Hm?" I looked her up and down. Honestly, I''d expected her to be in her official Gym clothes, but this was kind of typical for the kind of activity we were going to do as well. "I mean, you look great like usual? You''re rocking those clothes for sure, they look good on you." Honestly, I didn''t think she''d show this much skin, but it genuinely did look nice. Maylene beamed, making a little Dedenne-like squeak. She must have really likedpliments. "And hey, just letting you know, I really appreciate you doing this, okay?" I wanted to reassure her that I didn''t have any kind of insane expectations, or anything. "We can just hang out and have a good time. Really, I just wanna take my mind off things." Maylene slowly nodded, digesting my words with a huge grin. "Cool, um, working out is great to do that. We should go then." A little nervousugh escaped her. She was so much more at ease than moments ago. Instead of going up the stairs this time, she led me down. The Gym was a lot less polished down in the lower floors. Paint was chipped here more often, and boxes of stuff littered the ground everywhere¡ª the few ones that were open had anything from unopened packets of Pokemon food, to electrical wires to extra light bulbs. The lights here were a little dimmer than upstairs, but overall this wasn''t that strange of a ce. It was just surprising, because when I pictured a Gym, I pictured something pristine. I nced at Maylene, who was still smiling. "You know," I walked up to her level with my hands behind my back so we were side by side, then tilted my head at her, "I didn''t know you had a thing for praise." Maylene''s soul jumped out of her skin. "W¡ªwhat do you mean?" I nudged her arm with my elbow a few times. "C''mon, don''t y coy with me! I get it, you know." Plus, she must have not gotten praised much growing up with her dad, so it made sense. "I''ll keep that in mind from now on." "I mean, I won''t stop you¡­ do whatever you want." Maylene turned away from me. I grinned. "Yeah, ''cause you like it; it''s fine." "...maybe I like it. But who wouldn''t?!" she hastily protested. "Did I ever say people wouldn''t? I even said I got it!" Myugh reverberated through the basement, and Maylene was forced to admit defeat. She was a fun one to tease, but I couldn''t go overboard with it, or I''d get too focused on ''winning'' the conversation instead of having fun. "Woah, look at that." The space opened up into a vast chamber, its ceiling high enough to make me forget I was underground. Rows of equipment, some familiar and others I''d never seen before, filled the area. Iron weights, punching bags, treadmills, stationary bikes¡­ there really was a lot here. The floor was a patchwork of different surfaces¡ªrubber mats, grippy tiles that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and smooth concrete. "What''re you doing? C''mon, it''s just a gym," Maylene said. She dragged me over by the wrist, then froze and took her hand away as if she''d just touched a stove. "Uh, anyway, usually this ce would be filled up around the mornings or in the evening, but it''s been unused since the bombings for obvious reasons." She led me to a small expanse of soft mats. "We should have the whole ce to ourselves this afternoon." "Great! So, how do we start?" My eyes wandered toward the treadmills, which were nearby¡ª "No, before doing anything, you''ve got to stretch. It''s important; always stretch before doing any strenuous activities." "Right, sorry. I guess I thought that was, like, optional." My friend stared at me like one would a helpless child. "Oh, boy¡­" "I''m not¡ª I''m not stupid! I just needed a little refresher, that''s all." Legendaries, was there anything more embarrassing than looking clueless in front of an expert? "I get it¡­" "No you don''t. First and foremost, stretching helps to increase blood flow to your muscles so you warm them up and prepare them for your workout. You reduce the risk of injury by making your muscles more flexible and less prone to straining and tearing¡­" Maylene continued rambling about the importance of stretching for at least thirty seconds until she stopped. "Why''re you making that face at me? Did¡ª did I bore you? I''m sorry." Ah. Most likely, it looked like I''d been studying her. I held my hands up. "Not at all! I like listening to people talk about what they''re passionate about. It''s really cute and it lets me pick their brain a little. You wouldn''t believe how many times I''ve had to listen to my friends rant." I started counting on my fingers. "There''s Emi with contests, Pauline with fashion, Denzel with streaming and celebrities¡­ Maylene?" The Gym Leader had turned away from me and was starting to heave and muttering to herself. "Are you okay?" I went to touch her shoulder¡ª "I''mperfectlyfine!" She spun and pped her hands, though her face was a little red. "Anyway, stretching! Since today we''ll be focusing on legs, we''ll do leg stretches." Maylene directed me to sit on the mats, and I followed her instructions. Maylene introduced me to something called sitting hamstring stretches, demonstrating in front of me. After sitting, she extended her right leg forward, flexed her foot and slowly bent at the hips, reaching towards her toes until her hands easily touched them. Even if her back was bent forward, it remainedpletely straight, and she took a series of deep breaths as she moved. After holding the position for thirty seconds, she switched legs, repeating the motion with the same careful precision. There was a certain grace to her movements. The subtle tension beneath her skining from her lean muscles exerting themselves; she might not look it at first nce, but she was really fit if you looked a little deeper. It was kind of like seeing a gymnast at work. "You''re really flexible," I noted. "You''ve got to be, if you want to fight," she said, as if this was as easy as breathing to her. "Oscar used to say my body had to flow like water. He''s a shit parent, but I think that advice was sound¡ª anyway, you start as well." It was a lot more difficult than it looked. No matter how much I pushed, my back wouldn''t bend as much as Maylene''s, and it felt like someone was pulling the tendons out of my thighs. When I said I''d be tapping out, Maylene came over and kept her hand on my back to push me. "Ow, ow, ow." Maylene scoffed. "I''m not pushing that much; don''t be a baby. Just hold a little longer¡ª" She cut herself off, for some reason. After a while, I spoke up again. "Hasn''t it been thirty seconds?" "Y¡ªyeah. Switch legs." I heard her audibly swallow. Was she nervous again? I hadn''t said anything odd. After those stretches, we moved on standing hamstring stretches, which were even harder somehow, but Maylene said it was better to ramp them up. Luckily, that was it for my thighs, because they were already on fire; somehow, sweat was already umting on my skin, and I hadn''t even started to do anything workout rted yet! The next set was easier and focused on my lower leg. Maylene had me push against a wall and fully extend my leg until I felt a pull in my calves. This pose, she had me hold for a full minute for each leg. "There, see? That wasn''t that bad!" she eximed with a triumphant smile. "You did pretty okay, for a first timer." "My legs already hurt a little¡­" I whined a little more than what was necessary. "That''s good; that''s what makes you feel alive, right? Now, the actual warmup isn''t done. You''ve got to do a little cardio before we get into the meat of things. You were looking at the treadmills earlier, so set up a run for ten minutes. Here, I''ll do one with you." Again, she was speaking twice as fast as usual. She reminded me a little of myself when I''d dump all my knowledge about the ways Gym Leaders fought after studying them. "Oh, drink water first, though. I assume you''ve brought some?" "Mhm." Bending over, I pulled the water out of my bag and started drinking. ¡ª Maylene couldn''t stand to look at Grace drink water. Her eyes kept gravitating somewhere they shouldn''t have because Gardenia put some weird ideas in her head yesterday. At least she''de in clutch, and thanks to her Grace had told Maylene she looked great. Great! She was on cloud nine right now; this would be able to sustain her all day tomorrow when she got back to work. She was cute! Cute! And she looked great, and was cute, and great, and cute, and everything was going well! So well it was hard not to smile all the time! "So do I just go on the treadmill now, or?" Her friend (and there was nothing more than that) hade over wearing gym shorts she had bought the day prior, ording to a message she''d sent, and she was wearing another one of her simple t-shirts that was more baggy than not. It was sorge in fact that it basically covered her shorts. Maylene figured that maybe that was for the best for her soundness of mind, even if Grace looked really good in anything. It was one of her merch samples with her Togekiss flying into the sky on it; a little corny, but in an endearing way. Maylene knew she missed her starter, and this was a way to feel closer to her until tomorrow when she''d get her back. The Gym Leader decided to turn away from Grace for the safety of her own mind, but it''d be impolite not to look at someone who was talking to you, or at least in their direction. Maylene had tried her best to keep her eyes from wandering, which meant that ny percent of the time she was looking at random stuff around Grace instead of at her. She''d allowed herself to slip when she''d helped her stretch, but had no idea necks could be that¡­ That what? Maylene internally shook her head. This was Gardenia''s fault. "S¡ªsure." She averted her gaze again, sheepishly scratching the back of her head. "Keep it at a light jog for now, you don''t want to exhaust yourself." Grace gave her azy thumbs up reminiscent of her Electivire. "Sure thing." Both girls got started on their treadmills, with Maylene deciding to go at a sprint, which was her warm up. Plus, going fast would help clear her head from the thoughts that shouldn''t be there. The girl shut her eyes, closing herself off to the world. It was only the blood pumping in her legs, the sound of the treadmill and her feet stomping on the ground every split second. It wasn''t just because of Gardenia. Yesterday, Maylene had discovered she was most likely some shade of gay. She''d never thought about liking people until she''d met¡ª Better not finish that line of thought. Anyway, she found girls attractive, which was what gay meant. Not any girls in particr, just girls in general, of course. Maylene had believed that maybe there''d be some nuance to it or that every girl felt the same way, but apparently not. This was something she''d never felt with boys, but then again she''d never had friends her age until now, so maybe it''d be different at some point. Maylene had gone to sleep with that knowledge in her head and hadn''t even told anyone yet, not even Lucario. What was the point, anyway? It wasn''t like it would lead to anything. It wasn''t like it mattered; she could just keep going as she was now and be happy with what she had. It was important not to get greedy. Breathe in, breathe out; Maylene was a machine who rarely got physically tired. She was on top of the world right now, and she would remain so as long as she didn''t let her mind wander. As long as she kept her eyes shut and didn''t look to her left for too long. As long as she told herself that this was nothing more than a desperate need for friendship with someone her age she''dcked her entire life. Once the ten minutes ran out, Maylene opened herself up to the world again. The treadmills beeped continuously, and they slowed down progressively until they came to a stop over the course of another two minutes. "How was it?" Maylene asked. "I''m okay," she heaved, leaning against her knees. "That was the warm up, though?" Maylene couldn''t help but admire her for trying so hard when she was so weak and fragile¡­ like ss, really. Scarred all over, even if you ignored that half her body was burned. Sure, there was her arm from the raid, but Maylene had recently discovered one on her back¡ª a Paras bite, Grace had nonchntly called it. It made Maylene want to protect her. "Yeah, it was." Her throat felt dry no matter how much water Maylene drank. "Ready for the next thing? We''re doing squats next." "Whaaat? Don''t I get a break?" she pleaded in that sweet, higher pitched voice. "You can get a break after the leg press." Maylene pointed behind her with her thumb. "That''s after the squats, nowe on. I assume you know what those are like." Grace pouted; it was difficult not to be enthralled by the way her lips moved. She did a lot of stuff with her lips,e to think of it; Grace was a very expressive person. Pouting, smiling, lip-biting, pursing, tightening¡ª really, you''d think that she''d run out of ways to move them, but Maylene was pretty sure she got to see a new one every time they spoke. Today it had been the hint of a smirk when she hadined about her legs hurting. One new one was good; Maylene didn''t need to covet for any more today, or she''d get greedy. Don''t get greedy. ¡ª As it turned out, my squatting form was awful. I had no idea why until Maylene told me I had to keep my chest high and my heels on the ground, and it instantly became twice as difficult. Luckily, she was going to go easy on me after those because it was important not to go too hard for my first time in the gym, so I was looking forward to that. My legs already felt like they were on fire and I was dripping with sweat. Not only that, but every breath of air I took made my lungs feel like they were on fire by the end of my sets. I was a little ashamed, but hey, this was what I''de here to do and my stamina would slowly improve the more we did this. Having Maylene here was a godsend, really. She was here to tell me when I messed up, but she also made the experience a lot of fun; if she hadn''t been there I''d probably either have given up or fucked up with the machines, somehow. To help me, she put a moderate amount of weight on the leg press and then I finally got my break. I was lying t against the mats where we''d stretched, and she stood a little ways away from me. "You know," I exhaled. With each breath, I sucked in air like every breath would be myst. "Going to the gym is tough, but I kind of get it." "Hmhm. It''s a lot of fun, and it can make you feel like you''re progressing toward a personal goal you set. Or, you know, you can push yourself to vent out your frustrations." Maylene crossed her arms, but not shyly like she''d done earlier in the day, covering up her stomach. "Usually I''d st a motivational speech in my headphones or something." "Motivational speech?" "Yeah¡­ like those videos online of people telling you that you can achieve your goals or to keep pushing. It''s a little embarrassing." Her voice was quiet, and she blushed a little. I pushed myself up to sit. "Not at all. If that''s what got you through your childhood, then I''m d you listened to those. You know," my head tilted to the side, "I believe in fate and stories stuff." Talking about stories with her wasn''t something I feltfortable with, especially since that part of me had hurt her so much. I still felt guilty over that, during sleepless nights where all I had forpany were my thoughts. I didn''t feel like I deserved forgiveness, but I was done arguing about it. "If you hadn''t, maybe we wouldn''t have met. It''s like that with everyone I know; every little action they took in their lives led them to this, the specificbination of things they needed to do to meet me and save the world. It''s a little mind-boggling, really¡ª" I blinked, then covered my mouth. "Sorry, I''m rambling. I just think the sum of the little things that make the world is beautiful, I guess." "You don''t have to hold yourself back, you know? You can just speak your mind with me," Maylene said. "I know. Just not¡­ that." She squinted at me with suspicion and slowly made her way toward me. The Gym Leader sat in front of me cross-legged, and suddenly I felt very, very small. "You''re feeling guilty again, aren''t you? About our Gym Battle." I couldn''t bear to look at her in the face at times like these. "I know you''ve forgiven me and that we''re friends, I just haven''t forgiven myself." "How long until you do?" "I don''t know. I just know I won''t until it feels right, and I don''t know when that moment wille," I muttered, tapping the floor with a finger. It was worse now that I''d gotten confirmation from seeing Virtuous help Maylene directly. I could have had an effect. Maylene grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. "I''ll stay by your side until you do. And if it takes longer than a few months, I''ll call every day when you¡­ leave." Pain shed across her face for a moment. "Maybe I''ll take a sabbatical when Sinnoh''s back on its feet for like a month. I''m sure Cynth can find some work for me to do there, even if I''d need to get diplomatically trained. The point is, I won''t give it a rest until you feel like you have nothing to atone for." Smiling, I nced up at her. "Thanks. Sorry for souring the mood." "I mean, I was gonna ask you what kind of videos you look at, but this was okay, too," sheughed. "You have¡­ soft hands. Can I say that?" "Why wouldn''t you? I''ve gotten a bunch ofpliments over themtely, it''s pretty sweet." Our fingers were interlocked; I hoped she didn''t mind the sweat too much. Actually, I probably smelled terrible right now. Her hands were a little bigger than mine. "Yours are kind of coarse, but I like it. Must be from using them so much; it''s an interesting texture." She snorted. "An interesting texture? Who talks like that?" "It''s not weird! I''m sure people say that sometimes." "Yeah. Just you, you dork." Then, as if Maylene had realized something, she went quiet and a shadow began to loom over her face. "I think that''s the end of your break." She stood up, and I let go of her hand. "Let''s get you started on the second half. I''m gonna go pick up some dumbbells, and you''re going to do lunges." "Huh." For some reason, from this point onward, Maylene looked a little restrained. She gave short answers for my questions, not sounding anywhere as passionate as she had minutes ago, and when I tried to steer the conversation away from gym stuff to see if that was the problem, she got even worse. It was odd, considering I thought things had been going really well before; we''d had a fun day and for a little bit, things had been so much lighter. Maylene had adjusted to post-Gctic life so quickly, and I had let myself get swept up by her inner strength. It had been¡­ mindless fun. Something I couldn''t experience with anyone else, as things stood right now. So why? Why had she closed herself off and deprived me of that? The question had frustrated me enough by the end of our session, while we took a bit of a break on the mats, I was willing to throw one final wrench into her ns to just get back into her shell. Sure, every muscle in my body was aching (somehow, focusing on legs had made even my arms hurt), but it was going to be a joke, anyway. Not a serious attempt at sparring. "Hey, check this out." The corner of my lip stretched into a smirk, and I put my hands up. I threw a jab in the air¡ª "Ow, ow, my arm. Ugh." My left bicep throbbed a little, pulsating with pain. Maylene chuckled. "What''s with you?" "Hey, I made youugh. C''mon, let''s spar!" I kicked forward so clumsily than Mayleneughed again at the fact that I nearly fell over. "Blegh. My legs feel like jelly." "You''re silly, you know that?" she said with a sigh. "It''s kind of a new side to you." "Believe it or not, I used to be a lot like this; I just grew up this year, I guess." That was for obvious reasons. "You kind of bring it out of me." That, and I wanted to cheer her up again. More jabs, this time slower so I didn''t identally pull something. "So are you gonna fight me, or not? Show me what you got." Maylene pondered for a moment; She put her hands up. "I''m not gonna go easy on you." I froze up. "W¡ªwait, what?" "Three, two¡ª" "What?!" "One." Maylene blurred forward¡ª ¡ª Her form was so clumsy it looped back to kind of being adorable. She was wide open, hadn''t centered herself and her hands weren''t actually covering her face. Was Maylene a little unfair, moving so quickly she''d barely have time to react? Yes, maybe. Her reaction was priceless, though. The way her face slowly moved from smugness to disbelief, then how her hands moved to protect her face. The human body was easy to provoke like that; it wanted to protect the brain above all. Maylene wasn''t actually going to hurt her, she''d just wanted to scare her a tiny bit and knock her down. Instead, she swept Grace''s feet¡ª Huh. The grip on her soles felt wrong. Maylene continued sliding a little more than she was used to, and it was then that she remembered these mats were the usualmercial stuff gyms usually bought, not the tailor-made ones that covered the Veilstone Gym''s training rooms. She tripped, but she managed to catch herself before she could actually fall on Grace. Maylene was still on top of her, though. She was now hovering over her friend. Her arms were extended, palms pressed firmly into the ground on either side of the girl''s head beneath her. "Crap," Grace groaned. "Maylene, are you okay?" "Am I okay? Are you¡ª" Her breath caught in her throat. Power over your own mind was never eternal; all misapprehensions of this scale were eventually bound to disintegrate into dust, either through your own reasoning, by getting dragged into reality or a mixture of both. Maylene had tried. She''d tried so hard. But there came a moment where one could no longer keep spinning a web of lies they wrapped themselves in; one where delusion would crumble apart from the tiniest moment like an avnche started by a single pebble. Here, with Grace below Maylene, her golden hair syed out around her head, radiating like the sun''s corona; here, where her pale, sweaty skin and her freckles glittered under the ceiling lights; here, where she panted and stared up at her with her beautiful green eyes; here, where Maylene was close enough to catch her intoxicating smell. Here, where she had asked Maylene if she was okay after she''d been the one to risk hurting her on ident. In this single instant; The grand facade Maylene had built, convincing herself she felt nothing,y in broken fragments shattered beneath her feet. Every protectiveyer of this cocoon she had weaved around herself copsed with but a single thought that spread within her mind like a drop of dark ink in water. A deep longing from far within that she had desperately buried within the deepest reaches of her mind and tried to keep under lock and key. It hadn''t been enough. All of that, undone by one mistake; one fraying notion that would both brighten and darken her world. Ah, I want to kiss her. This moment; it was perfect. Too perfect, and that made Maylene want to rip her heart out and beat it up for having a mind of its own. With this revtion came rity. The truth now stood stark and undeniable. Every lie she had told, every facade she had upheld, every thought she had interrupted, unraveled in an instant. That feeling she''d had when looking at Grace and Cecilia had been jealousy at what they had. The constant need to look at her, the anxiety, the yearning, the dreams, the way she loved her so much that it fucking hurt. It was all out there for her to see. No longer could she pull the wool over her eyes and ignore the obvious. And with that rity came the pain, because it was hopeless. Unrequited love that gnawed at your heart, leaving her hollow inside. Where every interaction would beced with the sting of impossibility, and yet, she knew she would still cherish those moments, even if they led to nowhere. This pain, it was relentless, it was excruciating, it was agony. It was love. "Maylene?" Grace asked. She was frowning, now. "Sorry," she said, feeling strangely calm. Her skin was tingling with warmth and cold. It was as if an hour had passed, yet it had only been seconds. "I gotta go to the bathroom." Grace didn''t say anything, so Maylene took that as her cue to leave. She wanted to run. Why did it have to be her? ¡ª The pace of her steps quickened the further away she got from me. My backy against the ground, and I stared up at the bright, fluorescent lights on the gym''s ceiling. If you focused and let it get really quiet, you could hear the venttion chugging along in pipes right above the room. I hadn''t stopped her from leaving. Couldn''t stop her. I''d been blind to it until now; the fact that she liked me, and not Cece. With the way she looked at me, things were undeniable. I''d only seen Cecilia stare at me that way, and for a moment I thought she''d actually go for it and I''d need to stop her. Why? Why, why, why, why why, why, why? Why me? I wasn''t¡ª I wasn''t right for her¡ª the timeline¡ª I didn''t embody virtue¡ª this couldn''t be real¡ª it didn''t make any sense¡ª it wasn''t supposed to be this way¡ª Maybe I had misread things? No. No, I had not. I exhaled, letting my hands cover my face. "What the hell¡­?" I just couldn''t make sense of it. The pieces didn''t fit right. Even if she''d forgiven me for what I''d done during our Gym Battle, I had murdered dozens in front of her, thrown the entire world under the bus just to get my daughter closure, and if it hadn''t been for her, I might have done so much worse and she knew it. I was just a sick, sick person who got lucky Cecilia even bothered to look her way. Who was lucky she''d even gotten another chance. My eyes were tearing up. Sniffling, I slowly rose to the ground and stared around the empty gym with a vapid, empty feeling inside of me. When had things grown soplicated? Since when had she felt this way? It couldn''t be before Cor. Maybe after? During? No, that felt too soon. Things would just be so much easier if she thought of me as a friend instead of this. To be honest, it''d be easier to pretend not to have noticed anything. To act clueless and greet her with a smile when she came back as if nothing had happened. She''d probably go along with it, too. It just wouldn''t be fair to her, would it? I''d be using her. A finger hovered over my metallic bracelet, but I decided otherwise. None of my Pokemon would be able to help me with this. What an unmitigated disaster. "What do I even do?" Talk to her right when she came back and let her down gently? But then she''d take her distance from me, just like when Louis had gone off on his own after realizing he''d had no chance of rekindling things with Cecilia, and it took months for us to actually be friends again. Cece would be leaving after Justin''s funeral, and if I couldn''t depend on her and Maylene was also not an option, then¡ª I wasn''t going to survive without some major pain, even if I went back to my dad''s. Arceus damn it, what was I going to tell Cece? I had to tell her; it wouldn''t be right to keep this hidden. There were no clean options, nothing that would leave everyone unscathed and allow us to go back to how things were before. It was all different shades of how selfish I really was. One had to be, to not want to reject a girl she didn''t love back romantically just for her own well-being. ¡ª Maylene barely made it back in time to her room before aura started whipping up around her like a storm. Her body felt tight. Untempered. Tears began to stream down her face and wouldn''t stop. She curled up in a ball, rocking herself back and forth as the cold blue light epassed more and more of the room,shing out at anything it touched. Like the crack of a whip, sparks and arcs of blue energy flew out in all directions. Each strike left a faint, smoldering mark on the walls and furniture, as if the room itself was being etched with her pain. She recalled her lessons; the many times she''d had to calm herself down from exploding at work because of how overwhelmed she got. Maylene took a few deep breaths, muttering assuring words to herself. She couldn''t close her eyes, not when Grace breathless below her was still imprinted on her mind. Little by little, Maylene''s aura receded within her. Her breathing steadied, her sobbing grew more controlled, and atst, her heart stopped beating against her chest like a prisoner trying to escape by breaking through their cell. It wasn''t fully contained; it still coated every inch of her skin, but it''d be enough to let people touch her, and that meant it was enough to grab a phone without breaking it, at least. Immense guilt wracked her when she nced at Cecilia''s contact information¡ª more blue mes burst from her hand and cracked the center of her phone screen. Biting on her tongue to focus, Maylene called Gardenia for help. Help with what, she didn''t know. Maybe all she wanted were reassuring words that everything was going to be okay. It took two calls for her friend to answer. On the other end of the line, Maylene could hear a bunch of people talking. Gardenia must have been in a meeting, but she''d answered the phone anyway, and thank Arceus, because Maylene couldn''t stop herself from saying it. "Nia¡­" she quietly sobbed. "I think I''m in love." "Oh. Uh, wait a sec," Nia whispered Maylene heard a chair rasp against the ground. "If you''ll excuse me, I have to make myself scarce," she spoke, louder this time. "Yes, yes, I know¡ª It''s a family emergency! Rnd, you keep things running around here, I don''t know how long I''ll be gone. Arceus, don''t be an ass. Five minutes. Ten!" As soon as a door closed, Gardenia sighed. "Yes. What happened, Maymay?" What even had happened, in truth? What had made her have this thought, this malignance that had spread so fast it now epassed every inch of her consciousness? "I¡ªI don''t know, we were just¡­ having fun and then I saw her. Really saw her. And now I just know that I love her, and it hurts, and I can''t handle this." She clenched at her heart through her shirt. It was fluttering, confused as to if she should be happy or sad. "I ha¡ªhave no chance; it''s utterly doomed." Another door closed; keys jingled as Gardenia locked it shut. "Okay, now breathe, alright? I know it''s hard, but you need to calm down and take a deep breath for me. Come on." The Gym Leader did so too, as if to guide Maylene through it. "Good job. Now, this is important. Did you tell her anything?" "Wha¡ª of course not!" She wanted to scream it out into the world, to tell her so desperately, but she wasn''t going to ruin things. Maylene sniffled and wiped her eyes with her arm. "I don''t think she knows." "Can you describe the moment for me a little bit, if it isn''t too hard?" "Okay. Okay, uh, I was," a hup interrupted her, "She goaded me to spar with her, ''cause I think she knew I was feeling down. I held her hand before then, and I just¡ª it was so right, but it also wasn''t, so I stopped myself and kept my distance the rest of the work out." Maylene couldn''t break her promise to Cecilia, especially when she''d been forgiven and they were talking again. Plus, it was just¡­ getting in-between them wasn''t something a good person would do, nor did she want to. "Anyway, the mats were wrong and I was running on auto-pilot, so I fell on top of her, and it was like the most beautiful sight I''ve ever seen, and she immediately worried about me, and¡ª" She clenched at her phone with a groan, suddenly wishing she had some tissues. Gardenia whistled. "Oh, you fell for her harder than I thought¡ª" "Than you thought?!" Maylene''s mouth gaped for a split-second, and she shivered. "You knew about this?" "Maymay, of course I know. I''ve known since the day your dad came over and I saw you staring longingly at her and her girlfriend. At the time, I just thought it was a crush, not¡­ all of this. I''m sorry for not telling you, I thought it''d be better if you figured it out on your own." "I''d rather not have figured it out at all," Maylene moaned. "I probably knew, deep down. It was just easier to pretend it wasn''t even there, because now it¡ª now I know that I''m way in over my head." A short silence sunk in, and Maylene finally reined in her aura for good. "Nia?" "Remind me again, how long were you on top of her and making eyes at her?" Maylene pondered it for a moment, and the longer she thought about it, the more she realized it had been a long time. Ten seconds, maybe? Twenty? "Between ten and twenty seconds?" "Shit." "Do you think she knows?" Panic surged within her, turning her breaths shallow, and her leg anxiously bounced. She decided to stand up and pace around the room to distract herself, walking around her kitchen ind. "She doesn''t know, right? Right?!" "Maybe? Let''s look at this logically. She definitely didn''t know until today, or she wouldn''t have hung out with you and spoken to you that much when she already has a girlfriend, unless they have something like an open rtionship or are poly or something, but I mean there''s no way to actually know that. They haven''t shown any signs of this, so let''s just assume they''re like an average couple." Maylene nodded along, though she had no idea what the hell any of that meant. She was a lot more preupied with figuring out if she''d ruined things with Grace and Cecilia right now. "If she knows, I''m sorry Maymay, but it''s probably over? If she doesn''t, you''ll know because she''ll probably act like nothing happened¡ª you''d have to have to be insane to be that dense, but if she hadn''t figured it out before now, then maybe it''s possible." Maylene heard Gardenia tap something against her desk. "If she doesn''t know, then the question is, what are you going to do?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, what is your goal with this?" Gardenia''s tone was a little stern, and she put emphasis on each word. Maylene knew why¡ª she had known exactly what she''d meant, yet had acted like she hadn''t because the question was difficult to answer. "I know what you''re going through. I''ve been doing this song and dance with Candice for years¡ª though she only had a one-sided crush, she wasn''t actually dating anyone¡ª the point is, if you want to give up, you''ll need to take your distance. It''ll be more painful in the short term, but better for your long term mental health. Think of it like ripping off a band-aid." Even thinking about it was making her nauseous. "Do I have a choice? I mean, I have no chance¡ª and I don''t want to be a homewrecker. That''s not who I am. So logically, I should¡­" Yes, she should give up. Maylene needed to send Grace on her way and distance herself from her. Work would be a convenient excuse; she would probably throw herself into her Gym and work longer shifts anyway to distract herself from the pain, so it wouldn''t even be a lie. So she needed to. She needed to¡­ Maylene winced, copsed on her couch and screamed in a pillow. "You don''t want to," Gardenia guessed correctly. It was hopeless, it was meaningless, but she still couldn''t give up. "It''s going to hurt. It''s going to feel like someone has reached into your ribcage and is crushing your heart," she warned in a grave tone. "I won''t lie, the odds aren''t in your favor, but if you really want to give this a go, all you can do now is act like your usual self, stay restrained no matter what you want to say or do to her, and wait for an opportunity. y the long game like I did. Not that you have to wait for Cecilia to die, of course! That''s not at all what I meant¡­" "An opportunity for what?" She was genuinely asking, this time. "I don''t want them to break up. They''d never be the same again and I''d feel at fault anyway." Gardenia sighed. "Oh boy, this isplicated. Okay, then irrelevant of all of that, you''ve got to at least make Grace notice you as like, an option, and it has to be before she leaves. nt a seed in her mind, so to speak." "How do I do that? I already told Cecilia I would back off¡­" Gardenia was seized by a wild coughing fit. "Excuse me?" "I think Cecilia knew before me." Thinking back, it would exin a lot of her actions. The question was, why hadn''t she gotten more angry at her? Why was she even speaking to her? The drama with her Hydreigon would have been the perfect opportunity to poison the well and make sure Grace would keep her distance. Maybe she was just that good of a person, unable to cut Maylene off in her hour of need even if she''d be able to do it with a single word. "I told her I wouldn''t get too close." "...Maymay, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" ¡ª Euuuuuuuuugh. This sucked. I was both physically and emotionally exhausted. My head throbbed with a nascent headache, pounding against the walls of my skull. I checked my phone again, noticing it had been twenty minutes since Maylene had left. Part of me wanted to run off, but that was probably the worst thing to do, at the moment. Instead, I waited in the gym, looking around at the machines to distract myself from the sinking pit in my stomach. "If she isn''t back in another ten minutes, I''ll try to find her," I whispered to myself. There was no way that bathroom excuse was real; she was most likely in her office or room. I crouched next to an inclined tform of gleaming metal and thick padding Maylene had called a chest press and pressed my face into my hands. "What a mess." It''d be another six minutes until Maylene was back. I didn''t dare to look her in the face, not when I knew. Instead, my eyes fixated on the ground, where her feet shuffled ufortably from side to side. "Sorry I dipped for so long," Maylene muttered. "I had to call Gardenia because of work stuff." I was too drained to try to figure out if that was a lie or not. "It''s alright. I needed rest anyway because my legs still hurt." "They''re going to hurt a lot longer than this, trust me." She cleared her throat, grabbing her own wrist with a hand in a self-soothing motion to close herself off. "I probably have to get back to work; we were together longer than nned anyway and I have a lot of stuff to catch up on, so¡­" Thank God. This ce was so suffocating now when it had felt so liberating earlier. "Yeah. Thanks for the help." "You okay?" I did my best not to freeze up and forced myself to look her in the eye. "Yeah! Don''t worry about me. I learned a lot today; it was great." "I''d¡ª I''d walk you out, but I need to clean up here first. Put the dumbbells back in ce and all of that." She rubbed the back of her neck and nced away. "I''ll text youter." "Yep. Talk to youter." I grabbed my bag as calmly as possible. "Uh, do you guys have showers here, actually? So I can wash up and change." "Yeah, just go back down the hallway and turn immediately to the left; they should be empty," she quietly said. I took a step forward¡ª If I was going to tell her no, now was the time. It had to be now. Do it. I pivoted on my heel. "Maylene?" She stared back at me. "Hm?" "I can''t¡ª" I can''t reciprocate your feelings. I don''t like you like that, I''m sorry. Say it! "¡ªwait to do this again." A timid smile stretched across her lips, followed by a relieved sigh. "Thanks. Me¡ª me too." I left and opted to go shower at a Pokemon Center instead; this ce was doubly unbearable now. Fuck me.
Chapter 323 – Turning Point V Chapter 323 ¨C Turning Point V
CHAPTER 323 - TURNING POINT V My head against the wall of the shower. The usualfortable caress of the water against my skin felt cold, empty and void of any safety. The sound reverberated through my tiny stall, so quiet behind the ringing in my ear. The endless re usually wasn''t this loud. Noticeable, yes, but this was the loudest it had been since my eardrum had burst. It was there, constantly nagging, pestering me even if I plugged my ears. Sometimes I''d close my eyes and try to imagine today hadn''t been real. If I hadn''t gotten ahead of myself and not offered to spar, Maylene wouldn''t have fallen on top of me. Our eyes wouldn''t have crossed for so long, and I would not have seen the love take shape within her right then and there. The problem still would have remained, yet I would have been ignorant of it. Sometimes, that was best. Maylene probably would have kept hurting, which¡­ wouldn''t have been ideal, but it wasn''t as if she wasn''t hurting right now, was it? Forced into what I''d realized had kind of been a date, from her point of view. That must have been why she''d been so nervous near the start and asked about how she looked. And my actions, God, my actions. Complimenting her looks, holding her hand that long, indirectly calling her cute¡ª and that was just today. So many of our interactions since we''de back from saving the world had beenced with these¡­ innocent games from my point of view, but hope from hers. Odds were I''d given that crush life when I should have smothered it from the beginning. Instead, it had been watered, cultivated, tended to, and allowed to grow unchecked; fuck me, I was dense! If I''d stopped it from the beginning, then it would have been so daunting to burst. Not so damaging to all of us. I clenched a fist, contemted mming it against the wall before figuring that would be really fucking stupid. If I''d been in Maylene''s position¡ª actually, I didn''t even have to shape it that way. Back in Eterna City, when Cece and I had been on the cusp of dating, I''d believed she hadn''t liked me back, but it was the little ways she''d go out of her way to stay with me and her actions that kept the ball rolling in the back of my head, that told me that maybe, just maybe, I had a chance. Though our circumstances had been different, given that I''d known her engagement to Louis had been a sham rather early. Still, how long would I have contented myself to get crumbs of her affection if it hadn''t been? To bask in the asional ray of sunlight she''d afford me before turning back to Louis every day if it had been real? Weeks? Months? I would have given up, eventually, or at least I believed so, but not right away. The water from the shower cutting off interrupted my train of thought¡ª I must have gone over my allotted ten minutes. I wrapped myself in a towel and paced toward the Pokemon Center''s girl''s changing rooms to put on my new clothes, ignoring the nces and the murmurs from the other girls who''d been using the washrooms. Not like I could hear whatever they were saying without my hearing aid in, but I imagined they must have been surprised to see me here. Cecilia had told me about some of the spection about our involvement in Cor, but ''luckily'' the trainermunity had settled on the narrative being that we''d only been there as support in Cor''s lower levels and that Craig, Cynthia and the Elite Four had been the ones who had made the real difference. Normally, I would have found this irritating. To have done all of this with none of the credit, when I would rather have my Role within this story ignored than misconstrued. Today, I was too preupied to care. Once I was changed into traveling clothes (thick pants, boots and a simple blue shirt) and had my hearing aid back in, I found myself sitting in the Pokemon Center''s lobby, contemting what to do. I''d dressed to go to route 215 and see Betrix and Night, but part of me wondered if I shouldn''t just text Cecilia right now and go back to the League. The awkward part was that I''d have to go back to Maylene''s Gym to ask to use her Kadabra, but maybe I''d manage to avoid her and get a League Trainer to help me instead. As Cecilia had learned frommunicating with Maylene, current protocol meant that only the Gym Leaders had the authority to move their Kadabra around due to their current scarcity, but I was hoping I was amon sight and that they''d just sweep it under the rug, maybe¡­? "Hello?" No. No, that was stupid. One, it''d get that particr employee in trouble, and two, Cecilia had just gotten Scizor and Toxicroak back from the Pokemon Center. I''d do well to let her have these few hours of peace before I dropped all of this on her. Arceus, tonight was going to be miserable. My body was already shaking at the ufortableness that was toe. How was I supposed to tell Cecilia that I wanted to keep seeing Maylene regrly and that I didn''t like her back? How would she take it, if I told her the truth? That Maylene was the only person who currently could give me pure, carefree and unadulterated happiness not weighed down by how broken we were? It hadn''t been set in stone before today, but now I knew. I couldn''t. "Are you okay? You''re Grace Pastel, right?" Could this girl take a fucking hint? Lanky, short brown hair, doe-eyed like she hadn''t had a bad day in her life, and with a Dratini coiled around her neck. Thatst bit gave me a pause. Those were extra rare, even in Indigo, their country of origin. Denzel had wanted one, once. "Sorry, I''m preupied right now." I was short and to the point, allowing a bit of frustration to leak into my tone. "I bet you are!" The girlughed, petting her Dratini, who cooed back at her. "You were looking at that phone like you wanted to kill it." "Right," I grunted. "Anyway, I''m leaving." I shot up and made my way to the exit¡ª "Wait! Could I please have an autograph? My little brother''s a big fan!" she asked, pulling out a badge-case from her backpack. "It''d mean a lot to him." Groaning, I speedwalked toward her, snatched her badge-case and a marker out of her hands and signed its back. She smiled as if I''d just made her day, which was enough to get me to calm down, if only slightly. Normal. This was normal. I had fans. It just was unusual after so long. "Sorry for bothering you! If you see Denzel, you tell him Ashley hopes he''s doing okay!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. I hesitantly nodded before remembering that there''d been a girl Denzel had gambled with at the Game Corner back when it had still been open. One who had beaten the odds and gotten a Dratini. In fact, he''d told me they''d helped each other because they''d both wanted one. Small world. He''d probably be d to see she was doing fine after the bombings. Now that I was free from the shackles of social interaction, Cassianus popped out of their Pokeball with the device''s familiar hiss. The fact that I''d been so panicked I hadn''t walked to the Pokemon Center with them spoke volumes of the gravity of the situation. What if someone had attacked me? With bleary blinks, the psychic observed the world around us. After rummaging through my bag for a moment, I handed them my straw hat. With a happy, artificial cheer, the ydol levitated it on top of their head. The decision had been made. I was going to see Be. While I doubted a Pokemon as wild as her would have any advice for human rtionships, we hadn''t seen each other in a long time and I missed her and Night. My leg muscles were strained, but just walking shouldn''t be that bad, especially after that long break in the Center. Once we got to a more deserted street, I spoke up. "Sorry I''ve been silent. Something happened¡­ something really difficult to deal with." It is true that you appear preupied by something. I wanted to wait until you brought it up on your own. If you hadn''t, it would have meant you did not desire to speak of it, Cass said. Clearly, they had a lot of learning to do about people, still, but they were doing their best. It is difficult to quantify emotion, but I would say you appear 68% more morose than usual. May I know what happened? Hesitation gripped me for a moment, but what was the harm in telling them, anyway? I exined the entire situation from start to finish, including the fact that I''d had no idea of it until an hour ago. Cass'' hands rotated and hung close to their body. Ah, I see. Well, my King, your predecessors would sometimes take concubines that they would see romantically even while being married. asionally, you had women who all got along very well despite¡ª "It''s not like that with her," I interrupted. "Also that''s just not¡­ I don''t think I get those, anyway, but yeah, it''s not like that." Pauline, Emilia and Denzel''s attempt at polyamory and it copsing, taking Pauline and Emilia''s rtionship down with it was still fresh in my mind. I''d still rooted for them despite not exactly getting it, but one couldn''t ignore the fact that these things were dicey and dangerous. Imagining Cece with another girl made my skin crawl with doubt. I assumed it was kind of taking a leap of faith. As I was now, would she even stick around? Especially after tonight? Sure, I had believed Maylene to be romantically interested in Cecilia, but that hadn''t bothered me because I already knew Cece just did not look at her that way at all. On the contrary, before ''figuring it out'' and even after that, I''d wanted them to get closer so Cecilia would have someone else to rely on. "Even if I was in love with Maylene, I definitely wouldn''t do it. Cecilia wouldn''t agree to it, and I''ve seen what forcing two people who don''t want this leads to. There''d be three, in this case; that was a hypothetical." Of course, Cassianus said, their eyes dimming. It was just a suggestion, you do not have to think anything of it. The vast majority of the time, this arrangement was forced on these women anyway. Some of them led miserable lives! That would be your right, of course, but¡ª I softly clicked my tongue. "You''re thinking like these are old times again, Cass. We don''t do that anymore." The psychic hummed. My apologies. Updating memory banks. "No worries, pal, you''re still adapting to modern life." I patted their body and smiled. At least it was only my human rtionships which were on fire. Then I remembered Cecilia would have to deal with both soon and guilt tunneled into my heart. It was a w digging through my chest, almost painful enough to make me physically react. I adjusted my cor and gulped. The rest of the road to route 215 wasrgely silent, save for Cassianus asking about a few new things they saw on the way there. Perhaps they knew I didn''t feel like talking, or that they wouldn''t be able to offer much help, or abination of both. Still, there waspanionship in silence, and that was the kind of support I needed right now. Anyone other than Buddy would have been desperate to dig into my worries to find a solution to my issues right this instant instead of letting it simmer in my head. Honestly, I wished I could just ignore it, but it wouldn''t be right. I had to be a good girlfriend to Cece. Stepping through the gate brought back a lot of memories. It was this very moment, where I''d brought hundreds of wild Pokemon only a few hundred feet away from Veilstone, that had set me on a collision course with Maylene. Without the pride, ego and the fae ways my first stay with Betrix had offered, our battle might not have been anywhere as harsh. I did not fault Be for this, for Pokemon were fundamentally different from people, and she had offered me guidance when I had been lost in the wake of Sceon. She had allowed me to rediscover myself as a person. Rain softly pattered against the barrier Cass had raised epassing both me and them. They hated any form of water. Even rain proved too much for them. The deeper we stepped into the woods, the quieter things became. The world felt heavier, as if I was wading through thicker air. Be''s domain was in full effect, here. asionally, Pokemon would stop to look at us. A group of Burmy hanging from a tree branch to our right greeted us with a cheer, a Spinarak scuttling across the floor crawled up to me to ask if I needed directions, a Spearow asked tond on my shoulder to speak about her troubles. Here was where my title was at its strongest, but it wasn''t the only reason why Pokemon were so friendly. Be''s route was simply a lot moremunal than most. Possibly more than any route in Sinnoh. Word about me had spread and basically every Pokemon here knew of me. Betrix had practically turned this ce into another home for me, and I felt so at ease. The quiet, which I thought would be disconcerting, allowed the ringing in my ear to nearly fade. It was as if this whole thing with Maylene had just been a nightmare and the world was right again. They remembered. "You''ve never met her before but she''s nice," I continued exining to Cass. "Or, I guess she''s nice if you''re on her good side. Strict, but follow the rules and you''ll be golden!" I raised a finger. "Just follow my lead. Since you''re with me, you should be safe." The ground type wavered in the air. Should be? May I get the odds in number, please? I would like to know how likely I am to cease existing today. "Will be! You will be safe!" I quickly rectified. "Sorry, I worded that weird. You have nothing to worry about, Cass! She tolerates Sunshine, and you''re a lot more easygoing than he is." Ah, then I shall survive the afternoon. A cheer, dulled by the domain, emanated from their body, and multi-colored light shone out of their eyes. Anyone who can handle the Enforcer for more than twenty minutes has a tempered soul. "I wouldn''t go that far¡­" I muttered. "Where is she, anyway?" It''d been forty minutes since we''d entered the route, which was twice as long as it had taken Be to get herest time. I wasn''t worried¡ª if something had happened to her, then the effects on the route would have fallen as well. We meandered through the woods without a goal in particr, crossing into off-route territory while I recounted the many lessons the Hatterene had afforded me in the time we''d known each other. Cassianus seemed interested enough, though the more I spoke about her, the more terrified they got. If anything, it kept my mind off Maylene for the time being. It took another twenty minutes for Nightstalker to show up. The Decidueye first announced his presence by letting sunlight peer through the canopy and wresting the rain clouds away from us. With a loud thump that left a pit in the earth, Nightnded as suddenly as ever. Cassianus'' hands jumped away from them and an rm sound red out of their body. Their hat slid in front of one of their eyes, as if that would hide them at all. I supposed that if someone hadn''t been expecting that, it would have been scary. "Rx, this is Nightstalker, the Decidueye I spoke to you about." Though their nerves were clearly frayed, they blinked and bobbed their head, slipping their hat back on. Night''s tight, leaf hood was more tattered than usual, and his gaze wasn''t as piercing as I''d grown used to. His feathers weren''t as well taken care of, either, as if he''d stopped grooming himself. The ghost type nudged his head at me with a deep caw that resonated through the woods, weing me into these Sacred Woods once more. "Thanks." I walked up to the owl and wrapped him into a tight hug. His feathers were prickly. "Night? Everything okay?" His gaze grew softer as he told me that everything was more than okay. Betrix was expecting. ¡ª The Fae were creatures fueled by belief. With mental strength and the ability to trick themselves into believing something, the world followed along with them. In a way, they had learned to use the inherent rules of the universe and push that to their advantage further than any other type. That was why they were most familiar with domains and how they worked, though even then, trickery and subterfuge would bring them nowhere. Attempts to pierce the veil and to game this system would not bring them anywhere closer to immortality and power. Artisans of stories, they were, but just like everyone else there was a limit to how far their skills could bring them. Nightstalker warned us, lifting one of his wings up ahead. Feathers dotted the area in front of us, sharpened like ives and embedded in the dirt, tree bark or bushes. They glowered with a menacing purple that was unsettling to look at for too long. It was reminiscent of the Distortion World, but obviously nothingpared to that hell. It was easy to see how ghost types drew from that world now that I''d been there and back. I nced at Cassianus, who looked half fascinated and half terrified of those feathers. "What''s that for?" I asked in their stead. "Some kind of protection for her?" Night nodded, exining that he''d arranged his feathers in a ring around Betrix. Should anyone cross the threshold without his permission, even from above, countless spirits under his authority would swarm the intruder and render them unconscious, giving him time to fly over and inspect them to see if they were an actual problem or a wild Pokemon who had made a mistake. Normally these would have been invisible to the naked eye unless you were in tune with Distortion as a concept, like Honey was, or a ghost yourself. Fortunately for us, turning it off required Night to gather the spirits back into his feathers, which gave them that nefarious purple glow and had them emanate that smoke. He''d done all of that without breaking a sweat when the perimeter he''d set was huge. Such fine control, both over TE and what must have been thousands of spirits. It was another reminder that there was a reason why he was Be''s partner. Noticing my impressed stare, Nightstalker hooted, saying that we were lucky Turtonator wasn''t present, or he would have demanded a battle right this moment. "He''s not with us today, I''m afraid. He''s getting healed at the Pokemon Center, as are Princess and Angel, though I''m sure you''re right. It would have fired him up to fight you. I''m actually getting Princess back tomorrow." The grass type nodded, smiling with his eyes, after which he crossed the threshold without an issue. "Is this a good idea?" ydol asked out loud. "Can you confirm that this is one hundred percent safe? Should you not disable it fully?" Decidueye shrugged and exined that it would take too long to set it up again if he copsed the entire structure. "Come on, Cass. Night''s trustworthy; if he says it''s safe, then it''s safe." I jumped over the boundary, and while it made me feel a little queasy, that was that. The vibration around my wrist signaled that it had woken Meltan up, and I soothed them with a pat. Outstretching my arms, I added, e on, see? If I made it through okay, you can¡ª actually, do you just want me to recall and release you?" "No, of course not. I am your sworn protector, I must be able to do something like this¡­" Cassianus'' head and arms retracted close to their body, they closed their eyes, and they rushed past the row of feathers. "I¡ªI did it! I''m alive!" I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Of course you are, silly." When Nightstalker quietly noted ydol''s¡­ peculiarity, I nodded. "They''re a little skittish, but I mean, it''s what makes them special. They''ve saved my life countless times from the moment I met them, and they know when to get serious. A weird side is cool, too. They used to be allputer-like and stuff." "I can still detect your vocalizations." Cass'' eyes turned to X''s and they shivered in the air. "Your actions are suboptimal and not conducive to our survival in the presence of a Pokemon capable of terminating us with mere cognitive effort. Rmending the recalibration of behavior immediately." "Well, they still do it when they''re angry or they''re being petty, as you can see," I confirmed. It took us another twenty minutes to get to Be, which was weed given how tired my legs were. She hadn''t gone that far away from the route. Nightstalker directed us toward¡ª My first reaction seeing her was to gasp. She was upright, but unconscious and looked so hollow. Her pastel pink and blue hair had dimmed as if someone had drained the life out of her. mour¡ª near-transparent pink dust¡ª swarmed everything around her, clinging to her skin, hair, the dirt, trees and even turned the droplets of rain above her pink. While Nightstalker had ended the rain around us, a tiny cloud remained above her head, pouring on her continuously. It was loud, and deafeningly so. The sound of rain hammering against nature to give her the quiet she needed to give birth to a child. Hatterene, as a species, were all female. They did not mate with any Pokemon toy eggs, but created one through their desire to have a child. The egg was nearly finished forming in her dress-like hair, with only the top edge remaining empty. Bringing forth a new lifeform through belief took so much out of her she was barely recognizable. "Is¡ª is she going to be okay?" Beauty was something that made you grow quiet when you saw it. Like stepping into a cathedral, or walking through Spear Pir. It was something that you were scared to touch, lest you tarnish it with your impurity. She was¡­ beautiful. "Will she survive?" Nightstalker wrapped aforting wing around my shoulder. If it had taken a few days longer, he exined, she might have died in exchange for her child''s life. As it stood right now, however, the egg would be finished today and she would awake soon after. With her being so strong, she would be back on her feet within a few days. The reason why Night was so disheveled must have been because for a while, he must have doubted if she''d survive or not. It must have rattled him, and he''d been alone the entire time. After hugging him again and telling him how sorry I was for what he''d gone through, I took another look at Betrix. This egg; I knew this Pokemon. This was Theodora, the Hatenna Be had given Beast before she''d left route 215. Just like her mother, it was a mixture of white, pale pink and blues. Even in this timeline, things were consistent. So why could Maylene not be? Decidueye leaned against a tree, crossing his arms. He too, was quiet in order not to bother his partner, but he asked me what was on my mind. I gulped. Normally, I would have wanted to maybe speak to Betrix about this, but it wasn''t like she''d be avable. Of course, I''d stick around until the egg was finished forming and she was awake again; I wouldn''t miss this for the world, but it was kind of¡­ weird to speak to him about these issues. Sure, we were close enough to, but that had never really been the shape of our rtionship. There was a first time for everything, apparently. Afterying a towel on the wet dirt, I sat down and patted the area next to me. He sat down and began to pick at his feathers, waiting patiently for me to begin. I told him everything to the best of my abilities, though I did not talk about the different timelines and merely nced over what happened in Cor. Nightstalker already knew I''d been given the Plume ording to Betrix''s story¡ª that I''d been chosen to save the world from cmity, but he still found it difficult to believe that I''d been in Cor and lived. The world being ripped apart atop Cor, its spine and highest peak, was the reason why Betrix had managed to push herself far enough to have a child. "Now I''m dreading tonight," I sighed, hugging one of ydol''s hands. They''d given one to me to hold onto for support. "I don''t even know what I''ll say. Why did this have to happen¡­" The grass type hummed, ced a feather in my hair and asked a question. What do you think about this Maylene girl? He knew of her, though ording to him, they''d never met in person because of how young she was, so it was only Cynthia that came by to negotiate sometimes. Her and her so-called horrible Garchomp or friendly Togekiss. With my body curled inward, I closed my eyes andy my head against my knees. "I mean, she''s a good girl. She''s one of my main drives to do better, because I don''t want to hurt her again. She''s pure-hearted. I guess that''s why the thought of her liking me somewhat just repulses¡­" I bit my lip. That wasn''t true, but using the strongest word was my feeble attempt at putting some distance between the concept that she could love me. "No, that''s too harsh. It''s not like I don''t like her personality, or that I don''t find her attractive." I wasn''t blind. Maylene was extremely fit and pleasing to look at. "It just doesn''tpute. Like, I don''t want to taint her. And that makes it impossible for me to reciprocate what she feels. I think it''d be the same way without Cece, honestly." Even without my girlfriend in the picture, I doubted I could bring myself to love anyone else. It''d feel phony. "Maylene should just find someone who''d do right by her." Nightstalker sagely said that the heart wanted what the heart wanted. That it wasn''t anyone''s fault she was into me. He followed up by warning that if I kept being so wishy-washy about this, I risked losing both Cecilia and Maylene, in which case the answer was right in front of my face. "It is, isn''t it?" I sighed, which slowly turned into a frustrated groan. "I honestly think it might just be relieving to reject her. To be done with this whole thing." Air flowed in through my clenched teeth. "Here''s the thing, though. I need her." Both Cass and Decidueye stared at each other. I raised both of my hands, and the former let out a sad beep when their turret-like hand rolled onto the floor. "Stop it. Don''t go there." Nightstalker shrugged, saying that it sounded like I wasn''t helping my case. "No. I know what it feels like when I''m newly in love with someone. I get tongue-tied, and I get nervous around them, and I blush, and I can barely look that person in the eye." Each time I listed a new element, I raised a finger. "I get butterflies in my stomach when we touch, I think about kissing them and cuddling and¡ª anyway! It was like that with Cecilia, and it''s always been like that even the two times I''ve had a crush in school. I have none of that with her. I just can''t see her that way because¡ª well, I told you already. It''s just not my shape." Cassianus chimed in as quietly as possible as their hand stuck back to their side. "Is she merely a friend, then?" "No. She''s¡­ more than that." A best friend? No, Denzel was my best friend, and the vibes I had with him werepletely different. "But she''s also less in some ways? I mean, I know a lot less about her than I do my other friends because we haven''t known each other as long, but I care a lot more about her? It''s like, more intimate?" My head bumped against the tree behind me. "Is there a word for someone who''s more than a typical friend but less than a girlfriend?" Neither Pokemon knew, though Night insisted Betrix would know, given that she was good with words. "Anyway, thanks for hearing me out, Night. It kind of helped putting it all into words, and it helps to have done a practice run to know what I''ll say to Cece." Betrix would have been far less direct than he was in his questioning, but putting me on the backfoot was what I''d most likely face. "The crux of the issue is that I''m a selfish girl who wants to have her cake and eat it too." Decidueye hooted, saying it wasn''t wrong to be selfish, if you knew what it would lead to. "Well, for now I hope I still have a girlfriend at the end of the day. That''d be nice." Shivering, I hugged myself and allowed Night to wrap me in closer. "My parents said they''d see about getting me a therapist. Maybe instead of everything else, I can discuss all of this crap. Throw one of my problems at ''em." I got to hear all about how Nightstalker didn''t understand how therapy even worked until he froze against me. All of our eyes converged toward Betrix, whose egg rolled out of her hair¡ª Nightstalker cradled it in his arm, and it was only when I registered that he was somewhere else that I felt the cold wind from his movement flow across the woods. I rushed to follow him and knelt at Be''s side. The mour slowly disappeared around her, as did the rain, but she was breathing, even if she looked like she was in pain. As he''d said, she would be fine. Thank the Legendaries. I couldn''t take any more loss. Nightstalker stared at the egg with so much love he looked like a different person. His piercing irises were now soft and blurry at the edges, as if he was about to cry. He brought it close to his face and cooed, feeling at the outer shell with his beak as the pink dust bled away from its outeryer. Seeing him like this was honestly making me a little emotional. "You did good." I ran a hand through Betrix''s hair, which was as coarse as what I imagined a bale of hay would be like. Iughed at her sleeping face as my heart burst with joy. "You''re going to have a daughter." She wouldn''t wake up for a while yet, but the worst had passed. Both Be and Theodora were going to be safe and sound. ¡ª When the Keeper of the Sacred Woods awoke, she pulled herself upward with the massive w attached to her head. Night immediately handed me the egg¡ª which was so light it might as well have been a helium-filled balloon¡ª and rushed to his lover''s side. It felt odd, holding her. It wasn''t just that her egg felt fuzzy like cotton instead of the hard shell I''d expected. I was already attached despite not knowing this little baby because I''d seen her grow up through Beast''s perspective. Strangely enough, Betrix hadn''t struggled anywhere as much to bring Thea to life in that timeline, but from what I''d understood, me sticking around for longer and getting arger dose of fairy TE had made her wish for a daughter really badly. Maybe that had been enough? At first, Be hastily chastised Nightstalker vocally for acting like she was a damsel in distress, which considering I''d never seen her actually speak, spoke volumes about how close the two were. She was bent forward as if the act of standing straight was painful for her, and her eyes, which were usually so full of starlight and a reflection of the vast firmament above us, were darkened and cloudy. Her mind must have been foggy from how much she''d imposed her beliefs upon the world and won. With a sudden panicked shriek apanied by hershing out with her w, she demanded to know where her egg was. To know if she had seeded like she''d seen in her dream. Then Nightstalker pointed at me, and all was right in her world again. The power of love for your child truly transcended species. Just like Night, I''d never seen her look like this. So non-threatening. She nearly looked affable, if you ignored the fact that she had too many teeth for her mouth and her grin was too wide to be natural. "Hi," I said, before realizing I no longer had to whisper. I was still cradling the egg in my arms as gently as could be. "I swung by to visit." It seems the strings of fate knew when to make you show up, sister. Her voice was distorted and far weaker than usual, but she was still coherent. And who is this? Betrix eyed Cass, who I introduced to her before handing her egg back. Nightstalker kept hovering over her, clearly terrified she''d be so weak she would identally drop it, but she paid him no mind. I''m sorry, my King, but that is a horrifying creature. You lied to me, she does not look nice at all, ydol spoke into my mind while simultaneously greeting her. "Well-met. I have heard many good things about you from my liege Grace Pastel, and they did not disappoint! You look like a very trustworthy individual, and congrattions on the new egg." Betrix stared at him long and hard until inch by inch, the ground type found themselves behind me. Containing my giggle proved impossible. "Cass¡­ she can read minds." "Error detected. Please disregard the previous eighteen point six seconds, Keeper of the Sacred Woods. A malfunction in my programming urred. Initiate reset protocol." Their eyes darkened, and they fell upon the ground a lifeless doll. "Sorry about them, they''re silly!" While Cass ''reset'' themselves, Betrix noticed the presence upon my wrist. Oh, and this one. Such a powerful mind brought before me, she hummed curiously and brushed her w against Mimi, who squealed in fear. I''m happy to see you''ve added two more members to your gathering, sister, she said with an ever-widening smile that never ended. "And so am I for you." I eyed the egg. "Congrattions." It took a lot from me, and I will remain weaker for a while yet, she said. Childbirth is not an easy task, for us Hatterene. What brings you here, my dear sister? "It''s nothing," I muttered, ncing at Night. "I just felt like seeing the two of you." He did not respond, yet I knew he would keep my secret. Better not ruin the moment. Be stroked my hair with her w. If you ever want to speak of it, I am here. Even through the distorted voice, I could tell how gentle she was being. I am not one to steal secrets, unless it''s for the right price of course. Now, her eyes shimmered as stars began to slowly gather there again, why don''t you tell me why you''re looking at my child with such knowing eyes? "I really can''t hide anything from you, can I?" We kept exchanging knowledge deep into the evening, I about Cor and her about old stories and how she would allow her mind to slip in and out of them as needed to not grow too predictable or lost within a world of her own making that no longer represented reality, and I assured her I woulde back for Theodora''s hatching (and sooner than that, of course). She would need to wait until July for onest push of belief to get the child out of the egg. Should it have cracked right now, Thea mightst a few hours before fizzling out in a puff of mour as if she''d never existed. How I already knew her daughter''s name? That, she could not pay enough for quite yet. ¡ª The dreaded hour hade. I''d recalled all of my Pokemon for this, even Meltan. I had manage to get home by asking for a League Kadabra instead, since they were freer in the evening. Honestly, once the ones from Kanto-Johto would be there sometime this week, navigating the region and getting ces would be so much easier without that bottleneck on teleporters. I heard hering in first, and it made me feel like my entire body was being squeezed out like a cork. My handsy t on our dinner table to stop them from trembling, and I took a deep breath before calling her over. It crushed me seeing her so happy knowing what I was about to do to her. She must have had a rtively good day with her team. Phone still in hand, she snaked her arms around my neck from behind, and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek as she slipped Sweetheart''s Pokeball back onto the table. Fuck. "Is something wrong?" She must have noticed I hadn''t been as into it as usual. My heart was going to explode. I was going to die. "Hey. You should, uh, you should sit," I dryly said. "I have¡­ news regarding Maylene." This was the right thing to do. I couldn''t chicken out this time, or it would be ten times worse when she figured it out on her own and realized I''d kept hanging out with Maylene. She hesitated, grabbing onto her arm and squeezing it tight. "I was talking to her earlier." A void formed in my stomach, and nausea took a hold of me. "She told me you had a good time. Are your legs okay?" "Cece, this is important." Once, she could ignore, but twice? Cecilia steeled herself with a hardening gaze that felt like a thousand poundsid upon my shoulders, and she sat opposite of me with her legs crossed under the table. "So it is," she dered with a defeated sigh as if she''d known this had beening. She moved her arm subtly next to the purse she''d been carrying, and Scizor was summoned with a sh of red. "For tough conversations, I need someone to tell me if I''m slipping. I hope you understand." Scizor looked at me with a few confused blinks, but settled into his role immediately, fitting in behind Cecilia like a missing piece of the puzzle despite his clear,sting ire toward her. "Yeah, I get it." My words had too much power over her, after all. Each breath was tougher than thest. The effort to open my mouth, a herculean one that made sweat pour through the pores of my skin. My palm, already slick with sweat, slid against the wooden table. It was as if every instinct, every part of my body was screaming at me not to do this, but it was toote. I had jumped off the metaphorical ne, and now I could only hope I''d stick thending. "So, um." Teeth sank into my cheek so hard I tasted metal. "Maylene likes me. She''s in love with me." The tension was so thick you would choke on the air. "Did she confess to you?" Cecilia asked with rising anger. "No. I just figured it out because of how she kept looking at me," I quickly said. God, thest thing I wanted was for Cecilia to me Maylene for this. She rxed, if only slightly. "Long story short, she¡­ looked at me in a way that only someone in love with me would. I''ve worked it in my mind over and over, but that''s the only way this situation makes sense to me, even if I wish it wasn''t real. But that''s the thing, Cece. I don''t¡ª I don''t see her like that." "So? What did you say? She seemed quite unphased this evening." I licked the blood off my inner cheek and bounced my leg against the floor. "I don''t like her like that," I repeated. "But I didn''t say anything." Cece''s eyes widened, but then she broke into a sad smile. "...I figured it woulde to this." Her legs uncrossed, and she rose from her chair. I shot up from my seat. "Cece, let me exin¡ª" Sheughed. "Clearly you like her. You just don''t realize it yet¡ª" "No! Listen to me. I am dense, I admit it. I should have figured this out sooner and done something about it, but I know my heart. I know what it''s like to love someone. I feel it every day with you. If I loved her, I would have told you. I''mying all the cards on the table, aren''t I?" Narrowing her eyes at me, Cecilia stayed there, her hand t against the table as she contemted leaving. Scizor hissed at her, telling her to say something, and she shook herself out of her stupor. "You''re telling the truth. So then why?" "Because I¡ª" How I phrased this was going to be the difference between disaster and not. "Look, no matter what I say, I don''t want you to change your ns to leave, okay? I need you to promise me that." Cecilia drummed her fingers on the table, but thankfully sat back down. "That depends on what you say. I can''t in good conscience agree to that." Scizor and I shared a look, and he nodded behind her. Good enough; he would push her to leave regardless. "Right now, I don''t think I am capable of not rotting away in my bed in a depressive spiral if neither of you are here for me." "I knew it." She angrily jabbed a finger in my direction. "I knew it was worse than you wanted to show¡ª" "Of course, Cece! Because I have to hide it, because you''d stay if I didn''t and I want what''s good for you!" Both of our tones were rising, edging close to the point of no return. Desperate to find apromise, I gripped my shirt in an attempt to calm down. "And listen, I know this is selfish of me. I know I''m kind of leading her on; I''ll try to stop doing stuff that can be interpreted wrong. Maybe when youe back, I''ll have gotten better and I''ll be able to tell her that she should give up on me." Another deep breath as she gathered the strength to answer and not fold with a soft, yet irritating buzz from Scizor. "Look at this situation. Really look at it. Tell me that if things were reversed, you would bepletely okay with this," she demanded, her voice a low, threatening whisper. "Honestly? Yes, though I can''t know because I''m obviously not in that situation, but I thought she had something for you and I wouldn''t have minded you getting closer." I meant it from the bottom of my heart, too. If I knew she needed someone else, be it Chase, Maylene or anyone, I''d let her do it so long as it didn''t get beyond that. Granted, just like her, maybe I''d start doubting, and it''d nag at me until I broke. "At the end of the day, this is your decision. If you want me to tell her no, I''ll tell her. I''ll tough it out for the weeks that you''re gone. I''ll have my parents, and Denzel is waking up soon." Cecilia looked at me; Shook her head; Rose again. "Oh, no. I understand." I blinked, incredulous. "I told you it''s not like that!" Was she really going to do this? "I don''t like her. It''s entirely tonic from my side, at least!" "I¡­ acknowledge this, as I acknowledge your right to crave her presence. As I said, I understand." She turned away from me and strode toward our bedroom. I followed her, calling out her name louder and louder. "That doesn''t mean that I''m not hurt by it." She opened our closet and ransacked through her clothes, shoving them in tight bundles inside the bag lying next to the bed. "Then ask me. Ask me to never see her again, and I won''t!" "No. If I have to ask you, Grace, you will grow to resent me for it. If she can give you something I can''t, then I have clearly failed somewhere along the line. I suffer for my sins. I suffer for waiting too long. It is what it is." I scoffed, struggling to register what I''d just heard. "It is what it is? You can''t just sum up this past year with an ''it is what it is'' just because you like to distance yourself from things that hurt you, Cecilia. You can''t." When she did not respond, I threw everything at the wall. Everything. Said I''d do anything to keep her, said that we were leaving soon anyway and that the crush would fade, that I would rebuild myself, that I thought Maylene liked her instead, forgetting I''d already told her, that I would block her¡ª "No need. She shouldn''t suffer because of us. The decision has been made, no matter what you do. Do me a favor and help her with her father when I''m in the wild. I will keep helping her until then; do not tell her about this, she will me herself." "W¡ªwhat? That makes no fucking sense! You''re speaking in tongues right now!" Did she want me not to talk to her, or did she want me to help her? I couldn''t wrap my head around her thought process. So then, desperate to cling to her, to understand her, I gave in to anger. "Don''t be all holier than thou, anyway. I saw it on your face when I told you!" I yelled so harshly my throat hurt. "You knew about this, and you didn''t tell me anything! This isn''t just on me!" Mistake. Scizor stood in-between us, threatening me with his ws, and I nearly let my powers re up to get him the fuck away. Nearly. "I know," she replied, zipping up her bag. Her shoulders hunched together and she kept not wanting to look at me. "This isn''t just on you. I never imed it to be. This is what I believe is best for the both of us." "Then talk to me¡ª" "I can''t do that, because every time I go against you I get the urge to drop to my knees and beg for your forgiveness, and I have grown tired of it." She shrunk as soon as she realized she''d raised her voice. "This isn''t even just Maylene. This is just the straw that broke the Camerupt''s back. I can''t take much more of this, or I''ll lose myself forever. I''ll just be a puppet whose only goal is to please you." I broke down into tears. "Are you saying I''m like Abel to you?" Just when she''d been about to give me the time of day, Scizor bumped her back with a w. "That''s not¡ª it''s not what I said. Don''t put words in my mouth." I tried. Tried, tried, tried until I was empty. Nothing ever worked. I wish I could know what she was thinking so I knew exactly what to say to get out of this unscathed without breaching her privacy. Desperately, I threw in ast ditch effort when she was nearly gone. "Is this it, then? Are you abandoning me? After everything?" I sobbed. Snot had joined in the mix; I must have looked terrible, but it didn''t matter. It was difficult to tell with how blurry everything looked, but her gaze softened. "I¡ªI could never do that." She held out a hand toward my cheek. It froze in mid-air, and it retreated back at her side before it could touch me. "I think it''s best we¡­ go on another break, Grace. Figure ourselves out." "Don''t do this. Don''t do that thing where you take a drastic decision because it makes you feel in control, please," I begged, unable to stop the tears. "We can talk this out. Just tell me what to do, and I''ll do it. I''ll fit into that Role." I copsed on my knees at the entrance of our condo, unable to gather the strength to stand. "You need this just as I do, love." She crouched at my side, grabbed my hand and ced it against her cheek after kissing it softly. "I love you, Grace. But loving you hurts, sometimes." Her tone was as unwavering as a cier, but tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I''m sorry, but maybe this is for the best. Even if I want to rip out my tongue for saying such words." She stood back up, opening the door. "You can stay in the condo. I''ll¡ª" she sniffled, "sleep in a Center. Talk to the others; focus on your team; I''ll have Chase to help me. Again, I''m sorry." The door mmed shut. Yeah. Against the floor, I stared at the ceiling. "Did I just¡­ get dumped?" She''d called it another break, but it felt so much more serious than that. It was so quiet. I could only hear my heart, defeated and bleeding, against my ribcage, the blood pumping in my ears as the adrenaline slowly drained out of my body, leaving me a tired heap barely able to twitch. My ears started to ring until they epassed everything within the confines of my head. Today felt like it wasn''t real. "I gotta pick up Princess tomorrow." My voice was so vacant it was barely audible. Maybe sticking around with my parents for a while wouldn''t be so bad.
Chapter 324 Chapter 324
CHAPTER 324 I awoke against the cold, hard floor with eyes still bleary from having slept for so long. Again, I''d been bound by incessant nightmares, but they weren''t about what lurked in our reflection within Distortion, just beyond our reach. These were far more typical. This was the third time I''d gone to sleep, and the third time I had been wrecked by nightmarish visions of Cecilia. I''d see things that had not happened, like her berating me before leaving and calling me worthless, all the way to her deciding that she''d be better off without me after spending months apart and finding fulfillment with another girl in Unova. I felt sick. My stomach roiled, yet I hadn''t eaten in so long nothing but acid came up my throat. My entire body hurt from having slept on the ground for this long. I nced at the analog clock on the wall near the turn toward the living room and saw that it was three in the afternoon. Of the next day. I''d done nothing buty there, drifting in and out of sleep for eighteen hours straight. I''d run out of tears, having cried too much to start again, and there was no energy to be found within me. Yet I had to stand up anyway. For my daughter. For my other Pokemon. With a heave, I pushed myself off the ground. Clumsily, at first. Stumbling and bumping into walls as if I''d been inebriated. There was still dried drool on my chin that I slowly wiped off as my legs carried me to the bathroom. Copsing on the toilet like a puppet whose strings had been cut off, I finally stopped holding back and allowed myself to pee. I hated this ce, I realized as I looked up at the darkened bathroom''s ceiling. The circumstances we''d been given the home hadn''t been ideal, but there were too many memories there. Waiting for Cecilia toe back with food nearly ready and her kissing me good evening. How we slept at night sharing each other''s warmth. Cuddling on the couch under a nket while watching TV. Looking at her work with a dumb grin on my face and watching her slowly find herself again, along with her goals. Clearly it hadn''t been enough. I was nothing but a herald of misery and pain whose mere presence had clipped her wings and kept her shackled to the earth. I flushed the toilet and slowly watched the water drain and turn clear again. Shower. I needed to wash myself next. Change my clothes. Then eat something. Drink water. Go outside and pick up Princess. A very direct and simple outlining of tasks for the day that drained me just thinking about it. It felt monumental, slightly out of reach, but I knew it was my mind ying tricks on me. It wasn''t¡ª I was going to be fine. I just needed to make it through this. I dragged my feet back to the bedroom where I''d left my Pokeballs and grabbed Buddy''s. Subconsciously, I nced toward the gouged out closet. It was still open and nearly half empty, but some of her clothes were still in here. Immediately, I shot down using bringing them back as an excuse to see her again, but it didn''t help that the idea popped up in my head in the first ce. I ran a hand through the remainder of her clothes, bringing one of her few shirts'' sleeve up to my face so I could smell¡ª Ugh. Stop it. Just stop it. My grip on the sleeve slowly loosened until I got a hold of myself and mmed the closet shut. I needed to get out of this house. Back in the bathroom, I spent five minutes leaning my head against the wall to mentally prepare myself for this shower, which was built into a bathtub. Lethargically, every piece of clothing on me fell to the ground. I released Buddy out of his ball, and instantly he figured something must have been wrong; my face must have looked worse than usual. "I had a fight with Cece; I fucked up with her," I dryly exined, unwilling to spend too much time dwelling on yesterday''s events. The more I spoke it into the world, the more tangible it became. Like a story taking shape. "I won''t be seeing her for a while. Can you help me wash? Please?" He answered with nothing but a nod and a pained, dimming stare, knowing to stay silent. I sat down in the bathtub, hugged my knees and waited for the heated water to wash over my skin. With a glow in his eyes, he lifted the liquid soap and washed me, ever so slowly. His mastery of Extrasensory had improved leaps and bounds. Once my hair was wet, he used the water to lift each bundle, slowly untying them as he ran shampoo through the loosened strands. He''d tell me when to close my eyes, when to open them and he was just¡­ what I needed. Moping was well and good, but I needed some sort of n to get out of this rut. My teeth sank into my bottom lip to use the pain to focus, causing me to taste some shampoo of the in my mouth. Blegh. Disgusting, just like me. Both my body and mind had to catch up with what I needed already. Maylene. I had to keep my distance from her. As Cecilia had said, it wasn''t on her. It was me. It wasn''t so much a punishment for her as it was something that was needed for all of our well-beings. The¡­ argument yesterday evening had been the ssh of cold water I''d needed, and while I couldn''t im I knew what the hell I was doing, this was a whole lot better than going to see her as soon as I could. That would be a betrayal. Knowing her, she would ask me to work out again next weekend, which was when she''d make time for me, but I''d find an excuse to say no. Usually, either of us would call or text, but I''d cut back on those to merely check in on her work and her father as well and disallow anything veering past the usual small talk. My nails dug into my wet palms strongly enough to leave marks. That resolution was unfortunately hurting as much as I thought it would, but it was one I should have taken right away as soon as I''d figured Maylene out, anyway. What I''d done, putting it off, had just dyed the inevitable. Plus, Cece would be here this week and they had an actual normal friendship going, or at least it looked that way from the outside. Okay. This was good. Better than being a lump of flesh sleeping on the floor. More painful, but better. Once the shower ended and Buddy put conditioner in my hair, I released Honey next, whom I gave the same, short yet to the point exnation of what was going on. The electric type wrapped me into a hug which Jellicent distorted himself to join, and the tears I thought I''d run out of came out flowing again. Buddy told Honey I hadn''t eaten yet, and he immediately got started on a meal. Something with eggs. Mimi came next (the Meltan found themselves at home on my shoulder, whispering metallic chimes in my ear) and then Cass, who clumsily asked how my conversation with Cecilia had gone. Had they not despised water, Buddy might have sprayed them with some. They realized quickly enough when my eyes nced down at the floor in defeat, though. "After I finish eating, we''re picking up Princess from the Center and I think I''m gonna go for a flight once she''s all caught up," I droned emotionlessly. "Maybe stay somece in Sunyshore for a bit, I dunno. I don''t think I can stay in this condo. Come back when Sunshine and Angel are ready to be picked up." In what I assumed was an attempt to cheer me up, Mimi jumped off my shoulder and onto the couch. Mimicking Jellicent, they split off a part of themselves you could barely call a clone and started piercing it with a needle at the end of their arm you could call a sword if you were generous. y-fighting. With a saddened smile, I dragged them back toward my shoulder after kissing their little head. Mimi pulled at my hair, resonating with a curiosity that had their eye spin around in azy circle inside their golden gear. More seriously, however, Jellicent asked if I was certain this was a wise move. "I could find a Pokemon Center here Cecilia isn''t in, I know. It''s not like there''s just one." I rasped my knuckles against the couch, idly browsing through my phone. Nothing from her, obviously, but just having her contact information there was agonizing to see. It was like my phone was taunting me. Aside from my parents, there was only the usual daily check-in from Melody and Jasmine to see how I was doing. The former had also asked me if I wanted to give a speech about Craig during the Poketch after-party once his ceremony was done¡ª which I answered with a resounding no. I simply wasn''t capable of it. Thetter was a lot ofining about work and all the proceedings needed to get things done. "You know, maybe Pastoria or Floaroma would be better. All that open air where Sweetheart would be able to join us more often." This time, it was Honey who chimed in from the kitchen asking about my parents while he beat some eggs. I had told them I''d think about staying with them, and ording to him, if open air was what I was after, Twinleaf would be a great option, especially when I''d have my mother with me and my dad a mere flight away. Buddy nodded along, adding that perhaps my father had been right when he''d said I need something new to focus on. If it wasn''t going to be training and badges, then it better have been music. I could at least give it a try. Subconsciously, I winced at how much sense they were making. "Yeah. ''Guess you''re both right. I need to focus on training again sooner rather thanter," I sighed, leaning back against the couch so much my body practically sank into the pillows. That was going to be a whole lot of work. Honey yelled again, asking what I''d do about Denzel. I wanted to say he had Pauline and Emilia, that just like usual I''d hurt him unintentionally as I did others, but I ended up nodding. "Yeah¡­ I should stick around for at least a few more days so I can stay with him. He''s going to be utterly lost." "A good king does not leave those in need, especially not in their darkest hour," Cass helpfully said before turning their attention back to the window. Meltan demanded to see what was so interesting, so I used them as an excuse to keep moving¡ª part of me believed they''d done so on purpose, too. There was a balcony I''d only been on once, the day we''d gotten this hotel condo. Cece would use it far more often, especially at night to see the lights. After struggling to get it open due to how weak I still felt, I leaned against the railing, inhaling the fresh afternoon air. I wringed my hands together tightly and stared at a pair of Starly which had perched right to the side. The slightlyrger bird was grooming the other, with his beak deep in the scruff of her neck as she kept letting out loving coos. "None of that!" Cassianus yelled with glowing eyes. "Shoo! Shoo, you abominable little creatures!" The air around the two Starly vibrated enough for them to fly off, but not before hurling a few insults our way. "It appears the world itself was trying to taunt you. Luckily, I was here to intervene. I must apologize for being so slow." Iughed silently, exhaling air out of my nose. "Cass, they''re just birds. It''s fine. I''m not gonna freak out every time I see two people¡­ I mean, I don''t know if they were together, but you get the gist of it." There was a chill when Buddy followed close behind, noting that his presence most likely would have had them flee anyway. The Jellicent extended his limb, wrapping a tentacle around my shoulder. I leaned into the cold touch, squishing myself against his face as he warmed himself to mimic the temperature of human skin. My legs suddenly felt as if they could barely support my weight, and I sniffled, wiping a bit of snot off my nose with my arm. I missed her so much. Sure, seeing the Starly hadn''t made me angry, but it did mildly remind me of her, like everything else. Everywhere I looked, I saw pieces of her. I could make it through this. Surely. When Honey called out to us with scrambled eggs, potatoes and cheese, he''d also grabbed Mimi''s scrap metal to feed them and made another meal for himself. We all ate together, and I had Buddy discover his hatred of anything egg-rted. Despite not needing to eat, I''d thrown pieces of it at his head in apetition with Honey to see who could aim at its center. The ghost had recoiled, copsing on himself like a dying star and nearly exploded all over the room. That was sheer disgust. Honey took a bit of offense until I reassured him that his eggs tasted really good. It was mindless fun, really. ying with food like we were ten years old. But any distraction was wee¡ª A vibrating phone was something I''d learned to ignore; it was inconspicuous enough now for me to nearly forget that meant I''d gotten an alert the moment it happened. After yesterday, I was subconsciously foaming at the mouth for any word from Cece. It wasn''t her, and it wouldn''t be for quite a long time, but it was easy to get drunk on false hope that she would take me back. Just seeing someone else''s name on my screen made me want to sob; there was something deeply wrong with me. My stomach dropped when I actually registered that Maylene was texting me. Maylene - Heyyy Maylene - I wanted to thank u again for hanging out with me ytd sry I was a little weird at the end Maylene - Should have told u goodbye after ur shower. This was exactly what I didn''t want to happen, and since she''d know I''d seen her message, it''d be weird not to answer. I needed to be short and to the point with this to cut off any avenue of the conversation going somewhere I didn''t want it to. Worst-case scenario, I''d use the convenient truth that I needed to pick up my daughter from the Center. You - It''s no problem. I was fine and ended up going to a Pokemon Center anyway. Maylene - Oh, rly? I guess theyre more familiar than gym showers, I get it Maylene - Wyd? Did you pick up Togekiss yet? Just when I''d been about to get my out and say I was just about to leave, meaning I''d have little time to talk today, she added another text. Maylene - It''d be cool if you came over tmr too. I know it''d be busy but work would probably zoom by when you''re both here. Both. Both here. Cecilia wasing over¡ª Maylene - You probs cant though. Thats ok, ill wait until saturday. We''re still on for that, right? Why in the world was she throwing all of this at me? I was exhausted just reading all of these¡ª No. She was just clueless, it wasn''t her fault. Mostly, I was surprised Cecilia was already out and about, functioning and nning things with others while the simple act of going out for me felt like the most difficult thing in the world, at the moment. Something I had to mentally prepare myself for for hours before I could even take a step outside. You - I can''te by tomorrow, sorry. I''ll see about this week-end, but it might be dicey since I''ll be back with my parents. Maylene - Not even sunday? That sucks, but i understand. I felt guilty. Why did I feel guilty? All of it was literally true¡ª she was still typing. Maylene - Unrted, but even though Cecilia hasnt asked me again ive been toying around with aura in my free time to practice different shades. I was thinking if i manage different blues then other colors arent out of reach. Maybe ill figure it out before shees back from her trip down south Maylene - probs not but itd be good to pay her back. shed probably say its unneeded and that she justes over for experience at leading tho You - Im sure you will manage. You two have a great time. You - I gotta gopick up Princess. Good luck today at work. I had to keep my distance, especially when I wasn''t in the right state of mind to see her again. These texts confirmed it, I still craved the normalcy she afforded me, especially after getting basically dumped. Something was wrong with my head. Not only that, but she''d be able to read me really easily. Hopefully she hadn''t already seen through me, but if thest two weeks and yesterday had confirmed anything, it was that Maylene was as clueless as I was, so things were probably going to be okay. Stalling would work. If she knew she was in love with me, there was just no way she''d consistently act the way she did. Not only that, but there was the possibility she was as dense as the one in the Virtuous timeline was. And why not? She''d somehow fallen for me, so maybe things would remain consistent. Not like I could do anything about it anyway, so I''d rather reassure myself with these meaningless titudes. I ced my phone screen down against the table, dragging it into my pocket without wanting to see it any longer. After a long exhale, I looked around at my team and spoke up. "Let''s go get Princess." ¡ª It was difficult not to be anxious when I took my first step in the Pokemon Center. Silly worries of running across Cecilia swirled around my mind. They were meaningless; there was just no way she would have chosen this one when she knew my Pokemon were in here. Sure, hers were in here as well, but she''d most likely chosen one as far away from me as possible to minimize the chance of us crossing paths. Knowing her, she''d picked one closer to the port where the busiest part of the city was. My mind wasn''t very rationaltely, so I''d still prepared something I''d say in my head should we meet. It wouldn''t be begging to get her back, not anymore, but an apology for some of the things I''d said yesterday night and a promise to try to do better. Maybe tell her I loved her again. Wait. Had I forgotten to say that yesterday? I scrounged through my memories of our fight despite how painful it was and realized I had. She had remembered, but I hadn''t said anything. I hadn''t¡­ what if that had been myst opportunity to ever tell her that? Pain struck my chest, and breathing grew more and more difficult and shallow. Should I text her that? No, that would be pathetic. Would it be? Would the pathetess outweigh how terrible not telling her that I loved her too was? Maybe if I told her¡ª "Ms. Pastel?" One of the Joys hade out in front carrying Princess'' Pokeball in a tray, and she''d obviously noticed me breaking down in tears in public. "I''m fine, thanks," I sobbed and grabbed the ball. At least no one was here to see me; it''d be humiliating otherwise. "Just thinking about stuff, it doesn''t matter." She ced a hand on my upper arm and squeezed. "I want you to know that our doors are always open to speak, okay? About anything. Don''t hesitate." She gave me a polite smile and returned to her post with her tray. I''d had a Nurse Joy therapist once, in Floaroma and for a few weeks online. I wondered if she was doing fine. After wiping my tears and washing my face in the bathroom, I nearly ran out of the Pokemon Center, making my way up north with Honey by my side. The electric type was luckily too excited at the prospect to see his sister again to notice I''d cried. It was toote for regrets. I just had to keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking. When I regained my awareness, I was at the edge of the city up north, the perfect area to meet Princess again. Honey was back into his ball, too. Sure, I''d spent thest forty minutes on autopilot or so, but at least it was easier to breathe now. Even here, at the edge of the League; the boundary between civilization and the wild, buildings were tightly packed, though most of these were empty. Houses and apartments to be rented out for the summer by the government to civilians to make up for the massive costs of running the Conference. Not only did it make them money, but thest thing they wanted was to run out of housing space. It had happened before a few years back and that had been a hassle for them to deal with. As soon as I was out of city delimitations, I sped tightly Princess'' Pokeball in my hands. Worn down from a year''s use and so much time in the wild, there were little chips in the paint. It was the same for all of my Pokeballs save for Cass'' and Mimi''s. Some trainers liked to keep their Pokeballs new, often swapping to more expensive models like Ultra Balls when they could afford to like my Poketch colleague Ramon. Others like Craig and I just got attached to these. They were our first, and it was easy to get sentimental about that. Princess''s fur glimmered in the sun when I released her, and she shook herself as she slowly opened her eyes. Stretching her wings, yawning with a high-pitched whine that was still somehow soothing to my frayed nerves. Her veneer of royalty quickly disintegrated when she noticed I was here and she wasn''t in the Center again. Her eyes widened, disbelieving, and tears umted in the corner of her eyes. I crouched with my arms wide open and thergest smile I could muster¡ª "Ack!" She tackled me back with an ted squeal, saying ''mother'' over and over again. I was pretty sure she''d bruised my ribs, though I was too happy to care. I stroked the back of her head as she snuggled against my skin and told me how much she missed me. "Oh, my little Princess," I gushed as I put my hands around her. "I missed you so, so much." Needless to say, we stayed like this for a while. The spoiled little babyined about her treatment from the nurses, not because they''d actually been abusive or hurtful in any manner, but because this was the longest she''d gone without seeing me and she had demanded to be let out early. I, the clear paragon of stability that I was, softly told her that they were just doing their jobs and making sure she was safe from any long-term effects of lie''s ice. The ice type had done a number on her while she''d bought time for us to deal with the rest of Saturn''s team, and he''d used Regice''s power. But then, Princess asked what she''d missed, and that meant starting from Cor after Saturn. If I wanted to do the story justice; if I wanted to tell her everything, I''d need a lot more time and a better setting than this¡ª No. No, she deserved to know, and now. I slowly exined it all to her, telling my daughter the story in full¡ª that included skimming over the Distortion World. As much as it pained to say, I''d rather have nightmares about Cecilia leaving me for someone else than have to relive through that nearly every single night. The mere act of describing it filled me with a sense of impending dread that had me breaking into a cold sweat by the end. That meant I needed a break. And a break meant Princess seeing her family again. I released the rest of the team, and the wee backs were as warm as I''d expected them to be. Sweetheart mmored for her older sister, though I had to warn her about her strength so she didn''t identally crush the Togekiss under her suffocating hug. Honey started with a teasing wee: a jolt of electricity as soon as they touched. That made her throw a bunch of mud on his face that Cass helpfully cleaned off with their own Ancient Power, garnering some of Princess'' ire until the yful tension broke. With a huff, she dered she couldn''t stay disappointed in her faithful student for that long. Even Buddy joined in the pranks, getting the side of her wing a little wet with a spray of cold water. Electivire cackled, a finger pointed at her until she threatened to lovingly end his bloodline. All jokes, of course. They loved each other. In fact, he teased back that he had no bloodline, mimicking her haughty tone in a mocking manner. I tapped Mimi awake, and the steel type made a gurgling, metallic scream at the sight of Princess. Sure, they had missed her, but the first thing they did was demand to ride her for a flight to see more of the world. Sweetheart jealously grabbed them and said she''d be a better sister until both her and Princess started bickering about who''d take better care of Mimi. They''d kind of inserted themselves as the team''s baby, though I knew they mostly did it to be spoiled. Jellicent struck from nowhere, saying that if Princess wanted to y at being mother she''d do well to eat her veggies without whining for thirty minutes straight. Yeah. I''d let them hang out together a little before our flight. ¡ª I held myself steady on top of Princess, who slowly floated up without so much as a single motion of her wings. Then came a small wobble, as if she was no longer used to flying. Before I could even speak, she haughtily said things were fine; she just needed to shake the rust off. She had, after all, spent a long time held still in a Pokemon Center between the care of the nurses and her Pokeball. My fingers ran over her head, gently stroking her fur as she got more and morefortable with hovering in the air. "Getting the hang of it now?" I smiled at her even though she couldn''t see. Princess nodded,nding again softly against the ground. "Ready?" Her wings shivered in excitement. She turned her neck slightly to her left, side-eyeing me before telling me to brace myself. I gripped at the saddle and patted her back one more time. She pushed herself up so fast that my innards felt like they were being squished down. Within seconds, we were high in the sky above the League. The world fell beneath us, now rendered small and insignificant in the face of the greatness that was the freedom afforded through flight. For a moment, my body felt alive. That tiny jolt of fear at the fact that you weren''t made to be up here before your brain adapted and remembered you were safe. Each breath was cold and dry. Reinvigorating. My hair which I''d forgotten to tie up whipped around my face, and the wind pped in my ears. It was so intimate, the way it surrounded your very being as if you were at its mercy. Princessughed, climbing ever higher until we were past the ring of League patrols making sure the skies were clear, until the air grew thin and the orange evening sky seemed close enough to touch. Princess flew right below a cloud, allowing me to raise my hand to run it through. It was cold and wet and humid and I could barely feel my fingers by the end of it, yet I was grinning either way. My daughter zoomed past the Lily of the Valley Ind, reaching the ocean. Neither of us knew where we were going¡ª I did not know if this was north, south, east or west. This freedom; my ankles unchained from the human worries in the world below; the burdens of life gone with the snap of a finger. It was liberating, it was salvation; flight was magic. Enough to bring me to the point of tears that froze before they could fall off my face. It did notst. The human mind could adapt to much. Exhration at flying was one of those things. It was nearly gone by the time we reached another coast¡ª somewhere north of Veilstone, if I had to guess from the rocky, grey shores and how Cor stretched even higher than we were far in the distance, turned into a vague blue by the atmosphere''s hue. I remained far happier than I''d been hours ago, steady enough within to face the rest of the day, but the realization that my problems were so small and yet had still hit me like a truck was a lot. The reframing of issues was a helpful beat. The world was beautiful enough to take joy in the small things, the world was saved and nearly all the people I loved alive. It could have been so much worse. But when Inded, I would still be poison to Cecilia''s mind. I would still remain a tool awaiting a purpose or another story to insert myself into. I would still remain embroiled in whatever the hell was happening with Maylene. I would still need to try to learn to enjoy the little things in life, as Jasmine had told me. Flying was a good start with that one, but it was the first step of many. Still; "The sunset''s beautiful¡­" I muttered, my voice inaudible due to the wind and the deafness in my ear. It was a masterpiece of colors not unlike what I''d sometimes see with my empathy. As the sun dipped behind the western slopes of Cor, the towering peak stood silhouetted against a canvas of vibrant hues¡ª fiery oranges and deep purples blending seamlessly with soft pinks and golds. Wisps of clouds caught the light, glowing and bending the light across the horizon. In just a few minutes, darkness would be cast across this side of Cor. I leaned close to Princess, telling her to turn back toward a route. Thest thing I wanted was tond off-route without my entire family there to defend me, and even then, it''d be best to avoid it entirely when unnecessary. It took me a few minutes to orient myself and figure out where exactly we''d ended up. Somewhere south of Veilstone. That smooth concrete road running down south was unmistakable. It was, however, a route that held too many memories for me. The difference between this and the two Starly was that this path echoed with the past. So many times, we''de here to train and share moments together, and I didn''t want it sullied with the current and hopefully temporary state of affairs between us. After settling on the route to Sunyshore, Princessnded on the beach with tired breaths. She''d really pushed herself, for a Pokemon right out of the Center. My legs swung over her, and I hopped on the sandy ground. It still felt like I was moving, so it proved somewhat difficult to keep my bnce. Like getting off a boat after a long ride. "Thank you, Princess. You were wless in the sky, as always," I cupped her chin and scratched it, and she said she''d do even better on the way back to make me happy. "Oh, you sweet little thing." My arms wrapped around her as best I could. "My baby''s back. Of course, I''m happy." She nuzzled her face in my chest and we watched the ocean for a good while. The waves crashing against the darkening beach. I used the opportunity to further catch her up on what had been going ontely, this time focusing on the post-Gctic events. Of course, she already knew a bunch of things, but most were disjointed things I''d just blurted out, like being on break with Cece or Craig dying. There was no point if it wasn''t told to her properly. Eventually, one would run out of words. When that happened, we sat in silence for a while against each other in total darkness save for the bright red mes Princess had dancing around us. It was as if we were on an ind of light and we were the only two people in the entire world. Us on a beach. Maybe if I had the rest of my Pokemon with me, it wouldn''t be so bad. I hurt everything I touched, anyway¡ª I noticed how Princess was looking at me, wings tightly wound and eyes shadowed with worry. No. There would be no catastrophizing nor spiraling tonight. An idea to improve the mood sprang in my mind. I patted the top of her head, lulling her into a false sense of security until I sprinkled sand on top of her head¡ª Sand below my feet jumped at me as if it had a mind of its own. "Wha¡ª puh!" Some of it had even gotten in my mouth! That little¡ª "You''re in big trouble, youngdy!" I dug my fingers into the shallow beach and threw sand at her too, but it seemingly slipped off her fur as if she was meant to stay pure. "That''s so unfair!" I groaned. She threw another ball of sand at me, which I blocked with my hand, but it hit my wrist, meaning Mimi, who dissolved into goop before reforming on the floor. Princessughed with a wing in front of her mouth, saying I''d been the one to start it as soon as the steel typeined. Princess followed up by calling Mimi to her side, and they wobbled over¡ª "Mimi!" I gasped at the sheer treason. "You sleep on my wrist or neck all day and this is what I get?!" They shrugged and jumped into Princess'' fur, burying themselves under it. Like it was a giant nket that, I had to admit, lookedfortable. I, however, had a trick up my sleeve. With a motion of my hand faster than I thought it''d ever be, the rest of my team appeared around me. They were confused, at first, and Honey''s subtle glow along with Cass'' shining eyes was wee thiste at night. Princess blinked, calling me an unfair traitor. She knew what wasing. "Guys, I think Princess needs to be knocked down a peg. Cover her body in sand!" Somehow, the game might have devolved into a free for all that reshaped thendscape. Honey, traitor that he was, joined in with his little sister to fight Sweetheart and I. Cass was with me, of course, and they stopped me from being seriously hurt at least ten times that night. Buddy had been forced to join the other side due to ours having two Pokemon so good with ground TE, and he got surprisingly into it, even if he started to rulewyer us when they began to lose. The point was that there were no rules! I was certain I''d heard Mesprit giggle in the back of my mind at some point, too. I wished they could have joined us, but I''d go visit them when I went to my mom''s. I knew they were staying quiet right now in order not to¡­ wound me with their words, which could sometimes be ruthless. The game might have also gotten a pair of rangers to check us out due to a noiseint. Sweetheart was really loud. They must have been really confused when they came up to a team of Pokemon covered in sand. ¡ª If there was one thing to be said about heartbreaks, it was that while one day could slowly ramp up and end fine, the next could be the opposite. Today had started out well, with me keeping busy by spending time with my team. Hell, I''d even gotten over the desperate urge to leave this ce and put on a couple of my old battles on the television for my Pokemon and I to look at and reminisce. Arceus, my eyes were so innocent, especially before Sceon; before the world had wounded me irreparably andunched me down this path. Of course, I skipped over Maylene''s battle, much to Princess'' displeasure. It was easy to pick out mistakes now despite my older self thinking this was as close to perfect as I could get at the time. I was too tired andzy to actually vocalize these ws, so I let my Pokemon do the work. Most efforts were led by Princess, who kept screaming at herself in the TV every time she fumbled something. Even Sweetheart got to watch, though we''d needed to put her on a giant stack of pillows and nkets and she needed to not move off from there, lest she make a hole in the ground or something and fall through. But then, once I decided to pick up a snack, I saw this random pineapple candy in the pantry and my mood cratered in an instant. ''Cecilia loves pineapple'' turned into memory of her eating that candy, and that led into her smiling at the taste of the candy¡ª The energy evaporated from my body like water poured onto Sunshine''s shell, and I decided that was the end of everything that day. I allowed my Pokemon to stay out so long as Buddy watched Sweetheart so she behaved, but my words at that point were more of an incoherent whisper. I called for Princess before copsing on our¡ª my bed. Cece''s side of the bed. It still smelled like her. Breathing through the fabric was difficult, but it wasn''t like I felt like moving. I felt another weight on the mattress; Princess snuggled in close to me and said she''d warded off the others for now, but that they were worried. They thought I''d been improving. "Let''s just stay in bed and do nothing all day," I mumbled through the mattress, ignoring her. She asked me about eating, about getting some sun by going on a flight, and about a million other things that went in one ear and out the other. If I didn''t do anything, look at anything, remember anything, then maybe I''d stop reminiscing about her. "I''m sorry; I''ll try to do better tomorrow." She let out an annoyed huff, but recognized that was the end of that. My arms wrapped around her, dragging her closer until there was no space left between us. We stayed like this for¡­ I didn''t remember how long as I clinged to my couple''s ring we''d gotten in Sunyshore. Sweat eventually soaked into the bedsheets because of how tightly bundled I was, but my body wouldn''t move. Time passed so quickly, when you did nothing. Rotting in bed barely even helped me not think about Cecilia, given that I kept thinking about how today was going with Maylene. I had turned off my phone so I wouldn''t see any texts from her or anyone else. My good times were unfortunately interrupted by the doorbell; who the hell was even here? No energy to go check. "Can you tell your siblings not to open the door? Thanks¡ª" The bell rang again at least ten times in quick session, causing me to cover my head with a pillow. Princess floated away from the bedroom, and around a minuteter I heard the door open¡ª Arceus fucking damn it. Guess I''d have to face the music. I dragged myself up on the bed, nearly breaking down at how difficult it was to even do that. The funny thing about breaking down is that it coulde in the form of cryingughter, which meant that when a particr redhead showed herself in the room, I was sobughing with my face in my hands. "Oh. Uh, awkward? Legendaries, it''s dark in here." Pauline walked up to the bed, wrinkling her nose. "Have you opened a window¡ª you know what, nevermind," she sighed, sitting down at the foot of the bed. "Grace. Cecilia told me about what happened this morning." She had? That must have been after I turned my phone off, unless it wasn''t in the group chat. Actually, that made a lot more sense; there was no way she was going to text a group chat I was in. Did they have one without me? "What''s up?" I got a good look at her. She usually never let her hair get this long, but it was tied up in a messy updo with loose strands she could still twirl around her finger. "Where''s Emilia?" Her twirling finger slowed. "She was with Cecilia for a while, but your gal had to leave for Veilstone to help the Gym Leader with some stuff, like you both usually do. Kind of wild to me considering your history, but you do you." "Did she tell you¡­ why?" I asked. "Why you''re on break? Codependency stuff again, isn''t it?" She scooted a little closer, allowing me to see the wide open door. Mimi crawled into the bedroom until something wrested them away, leaving tiny sparks behind them, and Cass'' massive head poked out of the doorframe. Meanwhile, I could hear Sweetheart in the living room asking what we were saying. They were all horrible at spying. "She wouldn''t go into much detail¡ª God, you don''t have to look so relieved at that!" Pauline flicked my forehead. I covered my forehead with both hands. "Ow! What was that for?!" "For not keeping up with me, gremlin." There was a sudden fondness within me at the old nickname. "You''re in a sorry state right now, so yours truly will forgive you. Having to deal with the aftermath of Cor and now this, but this is a one time deal." "Ugh. Fine, sorry for not speaking much outside of hospital visits. Happy?" "Words you don''t mean are better than nothing. I won''t get on your ass over it; I know things difficult and that you''re trying, okay?" She touched my wrist and squeezed. "I guess it''s hard seeing people turn away from me when¡­ well, I''ve never been the best at helping. I kind of mess up everything, but I still want to try, you know? They don''t say ''do your best'' for no reason." I watched her silently, then nodded. "Not the talkative sort today, hm? I get it." She had a purse with her that she opened on herp. "I bought you a bunch of tea; I don''t really know which ones you like, so I kind of filled my bag with them." She pulled a package out, the rustling of the paper filling the quiet space between us. "This one''s chamomile; I thought it might help you rx if you''re anxious. Or that''s what the clerk said," she nervouslyughed. "Oh. Tea actually sounds really nice right now¡­" I whispered. "Could you¡­?" Pauline pointed at herself with widening eyes. "Me? Grace, you know I can''t handle kitchens for shit." It was true that she''d never handled any of the food-rted duties on the road when we''d traveled together. Frowning, I replied, "I mean, I won''t get on your case because you bought these for me and it''s a huge favor, but it''s literally just heating up water." "I''d mess it up somehow. I have people for that; even mommy doesn''t know how to make anything, so I never learned." "Just give it to Honey. Thanks a lot, by the way." Already, I was finding it easier to speak a smidge louder. "No prob!" She grinned, and when she walked out the door, Honey had to awkwardly act like he''d just been passing by. It looked like the others had thrown him under the bus. "Do you want to vent to me? I don''t think I''d have great advice, but I''m a good listener these days. Some might say I''m the best," she joked. This time, Pauline was leaning against the massive closet with her arms crossed. I wasn''t willing to tell her everything. One, it was mighty embarrassing and I''d probably cry again, and two, I wasn''t sure Cecilia would be okay with that. "I guess¡­ this might sound a little harsh." "Shoot. I''m a big girl, I can take it." She brought up her arm and flexed as a joke. "So I mean, how did you handle¡­" I gestured weirdly at her. "Everything copsing under your feet with Emilia and Denzel." "Ahh." She nced up at the ceiling with a misty-eyed look. "I mean, there was never a big fight like you both had. It kind of just fizzled out without anyone having a talk about it, but it wasn''t like we had much time for that stuff," she said with a heavy breath. "I was kind of in denial about it, hoping we could fix it when Team Gctic was over, but I guess not." "Did you try?" I asked. "I mean, Denzel''s asleep, but even if he wasn''t it''s not like it''d work. You don''t try something that failed again without changing anything, and really neither of them were really that into it. They tried, especially in Sunyshore and when we traveled to Pastoria, but nothing ever sparked. They''re good friends¡ª really good friends before Pastoria¡ª but that wasn''t enough. Even ignoring how Denzel and I fucked up at various times and the pressures of Gctic, the rtionship probably would have limped along and dissolved eventually." Again, she started twirling a strand of hair around her finger. The closet doors creaked behind her. "I spoke to her recently about if we could try again, just the two of us, if I spoke to Denzel when he woke up and told him about it, but nah. Doesn''t look like it''s in the cards." "Doesn''t that¡ª doesn''t that crush you?" How was she even here talking to me right now? How was she not staying in bed all day, crying her heart out? She leaned forward, the pain now obvious in her eyes. "Of course, it does. I fucked up something great with the greatest girl and guy I know because I couldn''t choose and I tried to stick them together as if that''d fix everything." She shrugged. "Life goes on, at the end of the day. It''s time to grow up." Pauline jutted a hand forward. "Not that I''m minimizing your problems. It''s just, like¡­ sorry, I''m still rash with words." Somehow, this had ended up with her talking instead of me, but it was helping somewhat. Come to think of it, she''d denied Denzel at some point when he confessed and they''d kept being friends. What made me think Maylene wouldn''t? Right. Denzel was often just the gold standard of a human being, meaning he needed no time away like Louis did. Meanwhile I''d been gued by fear, indecisiveness, possessiveness, terrified that she would leave me. Yet I felt like if I was in the same position with Maylene on top of me today, I''d talk to her about it right away. Unfortunately, time only went in one direction for us mortals, and now I was stuck in this rut. After Cecilia came back from her trip, I would tell Maylene. This way, the Gym Leader would have her to fall back on in case it hurt her more than I thought. I¡­ had to. "Wow, I guess I struck a nerve. My bad," Pauline apologized. "No, no," I said. "Go on." The tea kettle whistled in the distance. "Okay," she softly said. "This is gonna sound really corny, and I''m not usually one for cringe bullshit, but hear me out." She waited for a signal, so I nodded in response. "No matter what we end up as in the future when we''re adults¡ª Close friends, normal friends or heavens forbid, acquaintances who see each other like once a year, ugh." She sneered, shaking her head to chase those thoughts. "What we shared with each other, the batshit crazy experiences we went through, ill or good?" Pauline looked down at her hand and clenched it into a fist. "Those will be ours. You know when you just get someone in a way that''s like knowing the back of your hand? You don''t have to be dating to share that. Not that I''m saying your rtionship is toast like mine!" "I know, I know." Sighing, I looked at Honey slowly trudging into the room and straightened my back. The electric type handed me the teacup, warning about the heat. "Thanks, kiddo." He left quickly after that, even though no one had asked him to. I blew on the tea, inhaling itsfortable aroma and continued. "What you said." Pauline and I locked eyes. "I get that. I get that very well. The problem is¡­ I guess you could say we did too much together and I got addicted." "I thought it was cute, looking from the outside," Pauline said. "But I mean, Emilia and I spent all the time together and she was so dependent on me. To dependent to speak up for herself, to talk to her parents, to even go outside in crowds sometimes. But then, she left and found her own way, right? Contests, content creation, hell, she investigated corruption in the industry on her own! That''s her most viewed video! I watched it a million times." The redhead grinned. There was no denying it, she still loved her, but she was strong enough to attempt to move on. "See where I''m getting at?" "I know Cecilia was right," I mumbled under my breath. "I just don''t know how she''s so strong and already out and about. Doing things." "You were out yesterday, weren''t you? You were spotted next to Sunyshore; we all heard about it." "Damn it. I can''t do anything without people going crazy these days," Iined after clicking my tongue. "And I did nothing all of today. She''s already moving on¡­" "And ording to her, she did nothing yesterday but stay in a dark musty Pokemon Center room, and if it hadn''t been for her Pokemon, she would havee back¡ª" Pauline sucked in air through her teeth. "Wasn''t supposed to say that. But don''t do all of this morose ''she''s better off without me'' bs." Pauline waved a hand dismissively. "You just gotta learn how to function without each other." "Right." I sipped on my tea and nearly burned my tongue. "I''m trying. It''s just¡­ hard. I look at everything around here and it all reminds me of her. I can''t even go five minutes before she pops up in my head again and I get depressed. At least today. Like, the reason I was doing nothing in bed was because I saw this pineapple candy she loves. I mean, she loves pineapple in general, but she really likes that candy; it''s a Unovan brand." Pauline scoffed. "Pineapple? She likes feeling her tongue get shredded by acid? Arceus, what a weirdo." I ced a hand over my mouth to snort. "I know right?" Once Pauline realized the conversation slowed, she smirked. "So, uh, wanna y cards?" She pulled out a pack from her bag. "We could gamble some money over whatever game. Sounds fun, doesn''t it?" "I''ll be honest, I''m not feeling it, but we might as well try, I guess. Without the gambling, because I''m not exactly financially secure." I had no idea what would happen with Poketch if I didn''t make it to the Conference, so I needed to save every penny. Sure, I had signed a contract, but realistically if they went against me, they''d just be able to oust me with an army ofwyers at their beck and call. I wouldn''t even have Mel anymore. After settling on Crazy Eights, Pauline continued talking about her own experiences in a bid to help me with mine. Along the way, it sort of turned into a venting session for the both of us. "You know, like five months ago I''d daydream about traveling with Denzel and Emi, just the three of us for a whole year," she said with a saddened look as she browsed her cards. "I figured Hoenn would be a good pick. Birthce of Pokemon Contests, the biggest scene and all of that." She ced an eight of hearts above a two of hearts. "Dreams are dreams, though." "What are you gonna do now, then?" I drew from the pile; I''d gotten seriously unlucky when she only had three left. "Another Circuit next year? You can get to eight badges, I''m sure of it. You''re a little simple as a fighter outside of your Gothitelle, so you''d have to change that if you want your eighth, but you''d have a whole year to figure it out." "I dunno, I''d have to think about it. Consult my team and the like," she said with a shrug. "These days¡­ what do I even do? Meditate, train, yell at Denzel''s parents so they let us visit, but like, whates after that, when we''re all out of here?" I frowned. "You like battling, don''t you?" "Oh, I love it," she grinned. "And the way it makes me feel. But it''s like, a hobby. It''s not what I''m gonna be doing the rest of my life, you know? My mother''s been trying to get me to handle the Sandgem branch of thepany. Small, low stakes, easy to rack up experience. I''m thinking I take the offer." My heart sank. "But why?" "I mean, it''s like Louis ying volleyball in school, right? He loved it, but he didn''t make it his job. I gotta get ready for real life and stuff. Mommy''s getting old; she wants to retire and enjoy life. If I can rack up a few years of experience, I''ll be able to take over. Fashion''s always been my number one passion." She scratched her cheek. "You gonna y?" Oh. I had forgotten to keep drawing. It took three more cards to be able to y an eight of spades, to which Pauline made a little cheer. "I guess¡­ I don''t get it?" Even in this state, with all my motivation gone, I couldn''t imagine putting battling out of my life forever. I was hoping, deep down, that I''d get my passion back sooner rather thanter, and I had even nned to go attempt to trainter today before getting hit by depression. "I thought you''d be at it for a few years. Attempt the Conference at least once to get the full trainer experience." "I thought so too," she spoke with a saddened smile. "Turns out most of the fun came from traveling with you people, but what else is left? Denzel''s going to be in chronic pain when he wakes up and probably won''t be able to do any of this shit for months, and even then it''d be weird between us; Emilia''s going to refocus on herself and set up camp in Hearthome soon; Justin is dead; Maeve''s an entirely different person and seemingly wants nothing to do with us; I don''t even know Mira''s deal; Chase and I would kill each other and he can''t walk anymore; you and Cecilia are leaving¡­ you are leaving, right? Even if you aren''t back together by the end of the summer?" I gave it some thought for a few moments as Pauline mmed an ace of spades on the card pile with an exaggerated hoot, as if this game wasn''t pure luck, anyway. Always so extra, this one. "I am, yeah. I have a calling there," I said, thinking of that mysterious Pokemon whisperer. Even then, doing good would help. Looking back, the emotional turmoil Swoobat had warned me about was obvious now. "And you know, I have Poketch obligations." "True enough." "Gotta sell those damn phones," I chuckled. "Andptops. And watches. And everything else." Needless to say Pauline won the card game. She stuck around for another few hours before she had to head back and feed her team. Maybe she''d go and battle some League Trainers if she had time as well; apparently they were allowed to battle to train. Part of thosex rules was why Sinnoh''s armed forces were known to go for a quality over quantity approach, at least ording to her. There was so much experience I could soak up here¡ª Oh. Nevermind. I was probably better at killing anything than any of them. "What are you saying?" I quietly chastised myself. "You won''t need to kill anything anymore. Probably." And finally, at the grand hour of six in the evening, just when I gathered the energy to stand up and shower with Buddy''s help, someone else rang the doorbell. At first, I thought Pauline had forgotten something, but as it turned out, Emilia hade to visit, now. There was a spring in her step that had been missing in everyone else, and she carried herself like she had a good head on her shoulders. Her nose piercing glinted under the lights Honey had turned on, and she smiled at me. It was like I was looking at a well-put together adult instead of¡­ well, a kid who had no idea what woulde next. She wrapped me in a tight hug. "Ooh, you might need to shower. I heard the bad news from Cecilia; I''m sorry." "Where''s Pauline? Did¡ª did you two coordinate this?! Is this an intervention?" "Come on, we aren''t tied at the hip, you know? I didn''t even know she was supposed toe here, I thought she''d either be at Denzel''s or down in the city with her team fighting some League Trainers on break like usual." Damn. She was right on the money. "I just came to check in on you." She looked around the apartment, greeting my Pokemon one by one, though she had a confused look when she saw a dent next to the couch. "That''s Sweetheart¡ª she had an ident with her tail, so I had to recall her. The League will fix it." "Oh, Legendaries. You have her out indoors?" Sheughed, cackling so hard sheined her stomach hurt. "I''m sorry, I know you need them to help you, Grace; it''s just so you." I shuffled in ce, a little ashamed of myself. "Don''t make fun of me." "I won''t, don''t worry. It just took me off-guard, you know? Do you want to sit?" I squinted at her suspiciously before nodding. "Are you here for advice?" "I am; I guess Pauline got here first, though. I was busy today helping Louis with some extra stuff for the funeral. You know how I used to n parties?" Emilia stepped around the couch, smirking at the dent in the floor. "You''re gonna have to stop this kind of stuff in Unova, you know that, right?" she gently warned. "No more League to bail you out. You''d actually need to pay for damages and it''d have a seriously bad effect on your image." She sat down, hands below her so her dress wouldn''t crease or bend. "I know, I know." God, if the League hadn''t had my back all these months I''d be in prison for life at this point. I plopped myself down the couch, fidgeting nervously with my fingers. "So?" "So." Emi cleared her throat. "I''ve been made aware of¡­" she vaguely gestured at me. "Your situation in detail." "In detail?" She''d told Emilia everything, but not Pauline? "Well, as it stands, Cecilia believes she is in a simr position I was in, though she says you''re not actually in love? It''s strange, because to me it sounds like love in everything but in name and I do think if it is, you should tell Cecilia right away, but hey, I''m not in your head. I''ll believe you." I exhaled in relief and stopped gripping the edges of the couch. If I needed to exin this for a millionth time this was tonic, I was going to blow up. "Any words of advice? I know the best I can do is to hunker down and try to be better. How did you do it? You were so dependent on Pauline." She closed her eyes, recalling the past with a mncholic look. "Yes. Yes, I was. But not anything as bad as this, with the high stakes you both went through and whatnot. I''m not qualified for this, but here''s what I told Cecilia: you have to have a life outside of your partner!" Emi was talking more akin to a teacher than anything else. "Look, before Contests and I made new friends and acquaintances, it was all Pauline, Pauline, Pauline. The thing is, it''s tough with all of us because we''re all so¡­ tightly knit, right? We all know each other and all spend time together all the time, even now, like a monstrous amalgamation of trauma unable to separate. Honestly, we''re all kind of co-dependent on each other. We could use a little more time apart." "Hmhm." That was true enough. The Coordinator held out a finger. "Hobbies. You''ve got battling, training and watching battles et cetera, but you used to do all of that together, even if you added in some people sometimes." Then, a second one. "With piano, she was the one who taught you how to y, and now that you do know, you don''t really do it anymore because you''re so focused on her." Finally, a third finger. "Pokemon rights? That''s yours." She pointed at my heart. "You were actually starting to know people outside of our circle in Pastoria when you volunteered. It''s too bad that¡­ well, you know, the raid happened." I brought my legs up on the couch and hugged my knees. "You sure got wise." She flicked her chestnut hair back like Pauline used to do. "Well, I''m no wless girl; this is just my input on things. I know putting it in action is a lot harder than acknowledging the problem. Which you''ve now both done, so great!" Emi pped her hands together. "That''s the first step to any issue." Her optimism was honestly a little infectious; it was difficult not to feel slightly invigorated. "My dad kind of had the same idea before we even took that break. I was going to take him up on it." That was partly to avoid Maylene, but I was basically fully on board, now. "Piano lessons, meeting new people and such. Maybe I can make summer friends who have nothing to do with Pokemon. If I remember how to be normal." What would Cecilia do? Reconnecting with her team was a must, of course, but after that? A cold dread crept up my skin when I realized this was going to take a whole lot longer than our first break after the raid. "I actually tried to do more Pokemon Rights stuff recently, which intrigued me too," I said, thinking of my meeting with Mallory and Rood. "It was before the fight, but I kind of messed it up." She snapped her finger, leaned against her palm and grinned at me. "See? You''re already doing well, it''s just about the little steps." "I just have to keep walking," I echoed. This time, it was more positive than anything. "Thanks." Emilia scooted her way next to me, wrapping a hand around my waist in a side-hug. "I know this is tough, okay? But you have to realize this, Grace. Cecilia sees you as her entire universe. You came out of nowhere and offered her a hand when we were either too scared to act, ignorant children or in on our parents'' schemes. You pulled her out of a dark ce, showed her hope, and essentially became the only person or thing who made her truly happy. For nearly nine months straight. It got even worse after this ghost TE stuff. Honestly, I know this hurts to hear, but it was only a matter of time until something gave." I would not said anything if Cecilia hadn''t, but Emilia was probably right. While Cece had been worried about losing herself to me, another moment would have made her take the leap. "Both you and Pauline have been a great help today. I hope all of this works to get me out of bed." "Well, you''re out of bed speaking to me right now, right?" Emilia squeezed my shoulder before letting go. "Here, why don''t you take your shower, I''ll change your bedsheets and clean around a little bit." "Sure. Cass can help you." Emi stared at the looming construct behind us. They were currently harassing Jellicent about his book. Not about the contents, but about what kind of paper it was made of. "Hm. Haven''t spoken with them much, but I''ll make do," she said. And hey, I''d even try to shower on my own today. Not that I told her that out loud. There was a limit to how low I''d let myself look in front of my friends. I reflected on the day as I showered, feeling slightly guilty at the fact that both Pauline and Emilia had immediatelye to help me while I''d kept contact to a rtive minimum. They were both too good for me¡ª A knock on the bathroom door made me realize that so much time had passed in an instant. I''d been in the shower, soaking in water and brooding for so long that the skin on my hand was wrinkly. I called back out to Emilia so she wouldn''t worry and quickly finished washing (I hadn''t even used soap yet). I came out in PJs and both of us stuck together for a little bit. Again, I mostly let her talk about herself. Emi would throw herself fully into Contests next year, this time trying to use her fame online to connect with the best coordinators in the region. Unlike Pokemon Trainers, Coordinators didn''t have much of a culture for random, unofficial performances outside of Contest Halls because they didn''t want their techniques to leak before any future contests. It was as if every coordinator was as paranoid as Craig had been. "I don''t care for it," Emilia said with a shrug. "I''m not good enough to win enough ribbons to make it to the Grand Festival anyway. The curve is like, exponential." Speaking of, the Grand Festival this year was fully canceled, which was the first time that had happened since that apocalyptic weather event in Hoenn when I was a kid. Even the waters in Sinnoh got agitated enough to have mild flood warnings down the southern coast. "I''ll rack up as much experience as I can and distill it all at the end of next year to start my true run on my third. That''s when I''ll be aiming for the Grand Festival." "Will people even ept your challenges?" "Probably not at the start," she admitted. "I''m hoping to use my tform to start a movement with people in my predicament¡ª the ones who aren''t good enough to win a ribbon from the top dogs. Maybe Denzel can help; his reach is bigger than mine." First Louis and Chase, now Pauline and her. Everyone was moving on with their own goals while I was stuck down here in the mud. It was a little shameful; the type that makes you want to berate yourself for being so useless. "Arceus, I hope he can handle the pain when he wakes up," Emilia added, hands tense on herp. "Yeah¡­" She checked her watch (for some reason, she was the only person I knew who still wore an analog watch sometimes) and gasped. "Hey, it''s nearly eleven pm. I should probably go." "I get it. No need to look so apologetic." Her face had contorted as if she''d looked for an excuse. I knew it was probably exhausting to keep me on the right path when she had other things to do. "Thanks for stopping by." "And hey, whatever I said here about Cece," she said in a cautionary tone. "It applies to Maylene Suzuki as well. Don''t use her as a temporary crutch to fill the gap left by Cecilia''s absence. That would be the way to turn this break into an actual break up, and it''d take advantage of the girl who has a crush on you." "I''m already keeping my distance¡ª rx, I''m not ghosting her!" I could tell the retort had beening from a mile away. Innocently, I raised my arms. "I''m just distancing myself. I''ll still help her out when Cece leaves if she needs it. She''s been doing greattely, so¡­" I trailed off and kicked the floor. "Plus, I''ll be in Jubilife. That''s a little far away to be Teleporting back and forth with limited Kadabra." Sighing, I continued, "I n on having an honest conversation about things when Ceciliaes back." Emilia nodded. "Good. Finally being honest is good. If you feel yourself slipping up around her, then you''ll need to do it earlier. You''re¡­" she looked me up and down. "Emotionally vulnerable right now. You could make a mistake while you''re not thinking." "Like?" Emilia was near my front door, now. "It could be as simple as giving her more signs¡ª I know you crave physical contact. You were fidgeting around me like you wanted to hug me." Damn, she was spot on. I must have been really obvious about it. "I''d do it, but it''d feel wrong, you know? I don''t want to be a substitute for Cecilia." Honestly, it''d probably be disappointing for me as well. "Anyway, it''s possible you''d ask her to cuddle, or, I don''t know, identally tell her ''I love you?'' when she''d most likely just be a short rebound until your girlfriend came back? Or tell her that tonically like you do to us by mistake? identally kiss her? There are a lot of ways this can go wrong; you''re kind of a mess." My nails dug into my palms, and I felt my jaw clench in outrage. "For the , I know I''m fucked up, but one, I don''t want to do any of that, and two, I''m not straight up evil¡ª" Her face fell. "Oh. I''m sorry, I¡ª it was just a genuine warning. It felt like since you were avoiding her so much, you yourself felt like you might make a mistake¡ª yeah, I won''t bring it up again." My muscles rxed, though the anger ended up leaving me mildly sweaty again. Great. After I''d spent all that energy to shower. "I''d like that, thanks." The silence that followed was mildly awkward, so she ended it with a short wave. "I''ll see you¡­ probably not tomorrow, but the day after unless they wake Denzel up. We can text though, and don''t hesitate if you need anything." Legendaries, I appreciated her, but it felt miserable to be doubted this much. "Yeah, I will. Thanks for stopping by." As soon as my friend left, I sat down with my old, tattered notebook I used to write on regarding battles, repeatedly tapping a pencil against my lips. All of my Pokemon¡ª even Buddy¡ª looked on with excitement, though they acted as if they didn''t. Honey even started whistling like we were in a cartoon. It was going to be slow. It was probably going to all be scrapped when I was in a better state of mind weeks from now. But it was time to brainstorm new techniques for the team. ¡ª I woke up the next day bright in the morning from my phone blowing up. Denzel had been brought back from hisa.
Chapter 325 Chapter 325
CHAPTER 325 Fire in his back. Denzel winced as he shifted slightly in the stiff hospital bed, the sterile sheets offering nofort. The skin graft stretched taut across his shoulders, a patchwork of agony borne of something that wasn''t his. Every breath he took seemed to ignite the raw nerves, sending ripples of pain cascading down his spine. The nurses had told him the pain would subside, that the burning sensation was just a part of the healing process. Hell, they''d even put him on a dose of painkillers that had dulled it to a manageable level, even if they made him feel like his stomach was turning inside out and it withered away all of his hunger. In the few hours it had been since he''d awoken surrounded by doctors, who had then monitored him to see if he would be stable, Denzel had learned many things. One, since he''d woken up in the first ce, the world had evidently been saved¡ª this was the most obvious conclusion, but a huge fucking relief that had him sob the instant he woke up. No matter whaty in front of him now, it was over. Then, a cascade of good news. His friends had all lived through Cor, as had his Pokemon. Fross was being looked for in Cor at the moment, but knowing her, odds were she''d left already and had begun making her way here on her own. Not only that, but the majority of his Pokemon were ready to be picked up from one of the Pokemon Centers on the ind, which his dad had gone to pick up with his permission. Only Roserade would remain in the care of the Nurse Joys, but even she''d be healed within the next few days. It was the little things like that, which could keep him smiling and thinking that life was going to get better from here on out. Honestly, he was just happy to be alive. But he''d brought up his father, hadn''t he? Life wasn''t all sunshine and rainbows, even if he''d hopefully never have to worry about anything of this scale ever again. At his side, his mother¡ª Casey Williams¡ª sat by herself, knitting some sort of mitten on her knee. An innocent activity, no doubt, but her mere presence loomed heavily in the room. She''d always had a big personality, and Denzel expected her to scold him any time now. She hadn''t changed since he hadst seen her. His mom was somewhat pudgy around the waist, with his same light brown hair and toothless smile showing genuine happiness to be here, a stark contrast to her usual less-than-friendly resting face. She had wrinkles at the side of her eyes and lips. That was new, something Denzel assumed had been brought on by stress. It hurt to see his parents aging. It kind of reminded the teenager they wouldn''t be here forever. She hummed a song quietly, one he recognized from an advertisement for milk on the radio he''d heard countless times growing up. It was one of the tunes that really stuck in someone''s head. Denzel asionally spotted her ncing at him and grinning from ear to ear. She was, he noticed, uncharacteristically quiet. Usually, his mom would be nagging at something. His posture, his messy hair, his ambition¡ª or, you know, the fact that he''d burned off his back. Really, it was odd seeing her just not say anything. Oh, they''d spoken, of course. Denzel had caught up with her, and while she''d tried to get some information out of him with his father, he had refused to give her any. Casey had retreated after that, which was a wee, if odd change. Maybe seeing him like this, unable to move without wincing at the pain jolting through his unfamiliar back, had made her turn a new leaf. Or maybe she''de to terms with his condition after having been there for so long, watching over him "What''s the mitten for?" Denzel''s throat rasped with each word. It had been unused for too long, and it was as if his body had forgotten how it felt like to speak. It was alien. "Just curious." Sheughed, hand covering her mouth. It was a tick she''d gotten as a child to hide her crooked teeth before eventually getting them fixed when he was around ten. "It''s supposed to be an oven mitt. For the bakery." "Ohh. Maybe I can help out a little bit; how''s businesstely?" Ah, there it was. Her face scrunched up like wrinkled paper. "You shouldn''t be standing right now, let alone ''helping out'' anywhere; you should focus on your recovery for the foreseeable future." Those words made him clench his fists, and that pulled slightly on his arms, where his back followed. Another bout of pain, although this one was dull enough to mask. She was right. Denzel knew she was, but she¡­ she could have worded that in a way not so soul-crushing. Yeah, the immense strain of getting entirely new skin on his back meant he wouldn''t be able to be independent or out of here for a while. The doctors had already exined it; they had a way of just talking to people that was just so fucking heavy. Like delivering the darkest news of someone''s life as if it was just another day, and then immediately moving on to what to do next. And yeah, it was another day for them. It was work. Didn''t mean it didn''t hurt. The graft would have to be monitored for weeks and taken care of as well. He wasn''t just going to walk out of here tomorrow with a piece of candy like a kid going to the dentist. Hell, Denzel was certain that just walking right now would make the pain unbearable. The fabric on his clothes brushing against his back and the mere motion¡ª the act of walking¡ª pulling on it would be too much to bear. Denzel was just someone who had to keep moving. He had never not done anything. He was always busy to the point that it had nearly blown up his team with Sylvi going crazy. The prospect of being stuck here watching the days go by was a terrifying one. "That reminds me," she continued, hands working diligently. "I''ll need to bring you food over, now. Arceus forbid you''re stuck eating that dreary hospital food. You''ll lose too much weight. You''re still growing." "Thanks. Can you bring cookies and pastries and stuff? Homemade?" he asked. Her knitting paused as she considered his request. "I''ll do my best. The hotel we''re staying at doesn''t have an oven, but I''m sure we can figure something out." "Thanks mom¡ª Oh. Oh." If he could have done so without pain, he would have pped his forehead. "You guys are paying to stay here?" Had the League not let them do so for free? After everything? "If that''s the case, I can help¡ª" Casey clicked her tongue. "That''s your hard-earned money, Denzel," she softly said. "Keep it. I''m just ted to still be able to talk to you. Trust me, in a few months this will just be a bad memory." "Yep. Hope so." The words led into a long exhale. It wasn''t as if he didn''t have the money to pay. Being sponsored by so manypanies plus streaming had made Denzel very wealthy this year, so he was sure he could have gotten his parents a rented home near the edge of town. Granted, his mother most likely would have refused because then they''d be so far away. Thinking about money reminded him about sponsors and how many backed-up emails he must have had. Finally, work to do. "Hey, mom, can you do me a favor?" Denzel asked. He waited until she made a sound, signaling him to continue. "Do you know where they keep all of my stuff?" She nudged her nose toward a small, narrow door that looked like a locker without a lock. "Some of it is in here, most of it is in a dedicated storage room for patients, like your big camera. If you want something from there, I''d have to ask the staff." "Just myptop. I need to talk to some sponsors¡ª" "Denzel, what you need now is rest," she insisted in that very annoying ''I know better than you'' tone. "You woke up this morning. Can you take a break for a single day, at least? For your poor mother''s nerves?" But doing nothing literally felt like countless bugs crawling right beneath his skin. It was as if he''d been sprinting for a year and now everyone was asking him to stop. The finish line was literally nowhere in sight! "This is actually important. I need to let them know I won''t make the Conference this year so they can¡­ adjust ordingly." That question was one of the first things he''d asked his doctors, and they''d said that while it wasn''t impossible, they rmended he stay with them longer and take the L. Not like that¡ª it had been said in more traditional doctor-speak. Basically, while it killed him to admit it, he would rather be safe than sorry ande back stronger than ever next year instead of risking permanent damage to his back besides the chronic pain that would remain. "Just that and I''m done, I swear." Casey raised an eyebrow. "If you say so." She stood up with a dreary sigh, cing her knitting tools on the counter before shuffling over to the locker-thing. "Legendaries, where is that thing?" It took her a bit to locate theptop. Denzel saw a bunch of the stuff he''d been carrying in there. His old backpack, notebooks, some clothes, some of his merch, potions, full heals¡­ it was so mundane to look at now, but in aforting way. Laptop on hisp, he finally got typing, making sure he didn''t have to extend his arms too far. Finally, something to do. The hospital''s wifi was somewhat slow, but at least it was functional, and emails barely needed anything at all. Denzel would check those first while messaging his friends, and then he''d check the news. Immediately, he opened his messaging app. From a quick scroll, the group chat''s activity had basically evaporated thest two days, which was odd. Maeve had even left itst week, and Mira hadn''t sent a message at all. You - Yooo everyone. I''m up. When are yalling over to visit? He slowly sorted through his emails afterward. First thing''s first, rehiring his manager. She''d been a great help and had aided with his promise to spend more time with his team, but he had given her a ''break'' thest month¡ª in reality, he''d just wanted to focus entirely on dealing with Gctic and had stopped anything content-rted, so he would have been paying her for no reason. His video editor came next. If he wasn''t going to be out of this room, then he would need to move his work in here. That was to say, streaming. Of course, he wouldn''t be able to stream battles or training anymore unless he gave Lopunny his camera and let hermentate with some kind of TTS while he was on a call¡ª holy fuck, that was a wonderful content idea, he''d need to put a tab on that; it would y a lot better than the react streams he was nning. Though maybe as a favor, he''d ask the League for streaming rights to the Conference. That''d be an earth-shattering stream. With that kind of juice and legitimacy, getting battlers on his stream for pre and post-battling interviews was well within the realm of possibility. Hopefully he''d be rehabilitated enough to walk by then¡ª So many concepts for content. Denzel''s mind was going a million miles an hour topensate hisck of agency. One idea led to another; endless branching paths of opportunity for growth. It was almost enough to distract him from the constant prickling in his back, but he''d nearly forgotten about his sponsors. So; Sponsors next¡­ sponsors¡­ okay, he had a lot to go through. First, a general message about his health and apologies for being so nonresponsive after his loss to Byron. Sure, his manager had picked up the ck, but that was until she''d been let go. Some would drop him, and that was fine. Having elevenpanies sponsoring you left you a lot of leeway. He''d grovel and beg. Again, that was fine. Denzel wasn''t above that; he''d never had much of an ego outside of battling and trainer knowledge, anyway, and the onus of being paid by so many businesses meant that your rtionships weren''t as tight as they could be unless you were a legend like Craig. "Goodness," his mother nearly gasped. "I''ve never seen you like this. You look halfway mad and passionate." His mom snapped him out of the zone. Irritating. "Well, I did tell you countless times this was my dream job¡­" it slowly sank in that this was the first time she''d ever seen him work. His eyes nced to the bottom right of his screen at the flurry of notifications. Cece - We have much to talk about and I am ted to see you awake again. I will beingter tonight at 8:30pm if possible. Emi - :)))) omw! looking forward to it! Hothead - Your first message back is this bs? get a grip you ass Hothead - Ive been at the hospitaal for hours already the docs told me ur mom wont let me in the room again talk to her or ill beat her ass and ur ass and ur dads ass there wont be any asses left to beat on god Denzel barely reacted outside of his curling fists at what should have been a humorous statement. His nails scraped against his palms as he struggled to make sense of what his mom''s reasoning was. He couldn''t¡­ blow up at her. No, he had to be level headed about this. He''d confront her when he was caught up with the texts. Hothead - super happy youre up though ngl Chase - Beating people up? Ill join in on that. Hothead - Ok wheels Hothead - Sorry was that too far im trying to be responsible and set boundaries Huh? Denzel didn''t really understand that¡­ joke? Chase - Got a chuckle outta me. Chase - Kys tho. @Louis Louis - ??? Chase - Fatfingered. Mb bro I meant Pauline Louis - I don''t think that''s something you should say regardless, and I feel the same way about this ''wheels'' joke. Denzel, I''m still very busy nning Justin''s funeral for this week, I might not make it this morning. My best wishes to you. Denzel found himself blinking a lot faster than before, chasing away nascent tears. Right, he''d been asleep for so long that the funeral was soon. Would he be able to attend in this state? Again, he looked at his mother. Would she fight him on this? Because one issue, he could forgive. Twice? She had better not start with telling him he couldn''t go. Every man had his limits. Cece - We should go together, Louis. Bff - Just woke up. I''ll be there. Sorry. Louis - If you don''t mind, of course, Cece. Hm. That was weirdly monotone of a message from Grace, reminding him of the days after the Backlot raid. Anxiety rippled through his next few breaths, and he struggled not to grip the side of hisptop. He had most likely missed a lot, and it would take hours for them to go through everything. He still had no idea if all his friends'' Pokemon were safe. If Abomasnow was safe. Chase being upbeat in texts meant nothing, given his reticence at showing even a sliver of weakness. You - Ill talk to my mom "Hey." He''d begun to speak before even sending that message, making sure to keep his tone steady and calm. Evidently, he was struggling at it. "Is it true that you''ve barred all visitors today?" His mother poked one of her fingers with the needle and cursed under her breath. She licked her wound before blowing on her finger. "Yes, I did," she calmly said without an ounce of regret. "Pauline King has been a thorn in my side the entire time you''ve been here, and usually I''d be too tired to fight her. The little hellion has endless energy to argue." Casey shook her head dismissively, cing her knitting set and half-made oven mitt on the table next to Denzel. "Have you¡ª" her eyes narrowed at theptop on his covers. "Ah. She messaged you, didn''t she?" "Her and all of my friends!" Denzel snapped. The anger rose faster than expected, and pain joined in as if the two were linked, ring behind him. "What the hell is this about¡ª about not letting her in now that I''m awake? About having tried to stop her before?" "Watch your tone with me, young man." Her voice was firm and unyielding, enough to make him reconsider himself, yet he didn''t flinch. "I have told you that I respect your choice to be a trainer, that I ept this is what you want to do. But these¡­" she gestured toward the door, "people have put you in danger time and time again." "Mom, they''re¡ª" She shot up, and her chair raked against the floor. "Do you know how worried your father and I were, when every few months it feels like you''re getting yourself into another death trap?!" Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she took a sniffling breath. Denzel had only seen his mother cry once, and it was so striking. The guilt within him was nearly physical. "Do you want me to count, Denzel? Because I. Will. Count." "You''re making a big deal out of nothing¡ª" Her verbal assault was too relentless for him to get a word in. "Mount Cor; you get lost for days trying to save your crazy suicidal friend and break your ribs. Sceon; you get involved with some cultist conspiracy because that Pauline kid lost a tournament? Really?" Sheughed, as if she could barely believe it. "Then, oh my God, then you join the LTIP and have secrets you can''t tell me, and the next incident is you fighting poachers with ACE Trainers in Pastoria!" She was red with anger, and her voice was so raw it was barely held together by the urge to scold him after this year. "And now this? To hear that you were in Cor again fighting Team Gctic? And that''s¡ª that''s not even counting the involvement with the Bianchis and the Obels! I heard it all on the news! You are sitting in a fucking hospital bed, Denzel! Your whole back was burned and again, you could have died! I don''t want to hear about how I''m the problem for making things a big deal!" Casey Williams'' entire body slumped, the energy now sucked out of her. She took a trembling breath. She stood there, her arms extended forward, hands open and palms facing up. Her fingers were slightly spread, trembling ever so faintly, as if they weren''t sure whether to reach out or withdraw. The gesture seemed to plead for understanding, a silent question hanging in the air: ''What am I supposed to do with you?'' "These people are your friends, I won''t deny that," she admitted. "But I am your mother, and it is clear as day to me that they have been a horrible influence on you and your safety, yet I don''t think you realize it." Denzel knew deep down that she was right. Years, she had warned him about the dangers of being a trainer. ''It''d be different if we lived in Gr or Unova'', she would say. That hadn''t stopped him. Even now, passion to be the best trainer he could be and the need to educate others about it still remained, burning hot in his chest with enough intensity to make him so excited he constantly had to work to better himself. But after this year? To his mother, his state meant vindication. Time and time again, he hade close to death, remaining too far away from Twinleaf for her to do anything about it. "Look, I''ll put it simply." Denzel wanted to get angry again, but it was difficult when your mother was still drying her tears and she had a point. "Yes, you''re right that if I hadn''t met any of them, odds are, my journey would have been pretty ordinary. Eterna Forest would have been the worst of it." He might have met an entirely different group with Grace, without that tournament in Floaroma. "But I promise you that it''s the end of it, okay? No more life-risking endeavors." He would do it all again, if given a choice. Usually, Denzel wouldn''t have been bothered to admit it, but now wasn''t the time. While yes, fifteen year olds were allowed to be trainers and travel and be independent, they were still minors who required parental consent to let visitors into their hospital rooms. Policy was a little different if you were in a Pokemon Center (like them allowing visitors in with consent from the patient if no legal guardian was present), but this was a human hospital. Casey scoffed, disbelieving. "That''s what you always say." "I didn''t say it after Backlot¡ª" You know what, that was probably a bad line to take. "Anyway, I mean it this time. No more fighting for my life. Hell, I''ll quit the LTIP if that''s what you want!" It wasn''t like it''d be needed as an excuse for his involvement with the League anyway. The ie would be missed, but it was penniespared to what he was making now. "I''ll be totally uninvolved with the government. Just¡­ I need to see my friends again, mom. You''re just dying the inevitable." "What?" "I hate to do this to you," he said with a wince. "But if you stall and don''t let them see me now, I''ll just go when I''m out of the hospital. You''re my mom, yes, but that, you can''t stop. So just¡­ I''ll be safe from now on. I promise." "Look me in the eyes," she demanded, kneeling next to him¡ª "Mom, your knees¡ª" She gripped his wrist tighter. "Promise me and look me in the eyes. Every time you''ve said it before, it was over the phone. I want to look at your eyes when you say it, because I know you." He nearly shuffled back in his bed, but remembered the torrent of pain it would bring. He was stuck between a rock and a hard ce, because the truth was he had no idea if sometime in his lifetime, his friends would need that kind of help again. If they did, he would answer the call, just as always. He''d be the stalwart, level-headed person in the room they could rely on in a time of crisis. But right now? At this moment? "I promise you." He fully believed everything was over. His mother locked eyes with him, searching for something. She stared deep within him for a moment and sighed, nearly stumbling with a pained grunt when she stood back up again because of her bad knees. "I''ll believe you," she said, turning away. "Legendaries, children. They grow up so quickly¡­" "Thank you. And I''m sorry." He really was. She left the room to allow visitors soon after and said she''d wait in the hospital lobby. ¡ª Denzel had missed a lot. It was tough for all of us to approach the news of what had happened to us in his absence in a way he wouldn''t me himself for ''tapping out early''. For the second time since Pastoria, he''d needed to be caught up on everything going on, but this time, he wanted it all down to the very fine detail. First came one of the biggest-hitting news: Chase being paralyzed from the waist down and his Abomasnow being on life support for the foreseeable future. He med himself, of course he did. It was all about what he could have done better, how he could have prevented this, how he could have stopped Mars earlier. Not about how it could have been so much worse and he had burned his back off to save Chase''s life. While Chase wasn''t there to set him straight, Emi and Pauline did most of the heavy lifting in that regard to get Denzel''s head out of the pity gutter. I would have helped, and I did, but it just¡­ I wasn''t in the best state of mind to give out advicepared to those two. I took over for basically all of the recounting of Cor. He reacted especially strongly to me noting that Cecilia technically died. He''d paled and immediately stared at hisptop at previous texts before I could even tell him she was fine, at least physically. "I don''t want to speak for her, though, so¡­ yeah, you''ll see when shees back." Denzel frowned, and for a moment he did not look bothered by the pain, but distressed by how my face must have looked. Sometimes I wished I could be a selfless as him. Here he was, bound to a hospital bed with his back burned to a crisp and built back with new skin, and he put all of his worry in me instead of himself. Maybe if I''d been like this, I would have managed to fix Cecilia''s and my issues instead of iting to a head. Maybe I''d still have her. Maybe I wouldn''t have ruined¡ª "Grace?" Denzel leaned forward with a slight wince. "What''s wrong?" I bit my lip. "Later. There has to be an order to things." I continued with Cor, and while I went further here than I ever had, telling Pauline and Emilia for the first time that Cecilia, Maylene, Mira and I had all been to the Dusk with Cynthia, I refused to tell the reason why that was or what had happened in there. "Is that why¡­ why you''re so¡­ faded?" he had asked me. I''d answered ''partly'', and that was when his surprised expression turned to pity and he clenched his fists. The final piece came with Craig''s death to Regice; it was another gut punch for Denzel, given that he''d been the closest to the man. That was when he''d broken down crying, curled up on himself and desperately asking why? Craig Goodwill had been his mentor and idol, the one who had set him on the path of a Pokemon Trainer and also the one who had taught him the way he now battled in Sunyshore. The man Denzel went to for advice whenever he had the time; a kindhearted individual who wanted nothing but good for the world and yet who had been ruthlessly ripped from its ne. The world was an unforgiving ce. Beautiful, yet unforgiving. With how Melmetal seemed like a force of nature in Lakhutia, a Pokemonrger than life who embodied metal, I could not imagine facing down Regice and not immediately withering away to Winter. "And yet he, Flint and Aaron saved us all," I insisted to Denzel. "They survived the Hoarfrost¡ª Winter¡ª long enough to tire it out and keep the mountain''s temperature stable. His death was not in vain!" "And he''s getting the recognition he deserves," Emilia added, far softer in her tone. "There''ll be a ceremony for him Friday." "The day after Justin''s¡­" Denzel didn''t finish the sentence. "Yes." Pauline nodded with her arms crossed. "Hopefully your mom and the hospital lets you go to both. We have beef." Denzel let out a sadugh. "Beef? With the whole hospital?" She huffed proudly. "Yep. They get mad at me for arguing with your mom over visits." Her pride wavered, however, something I still wasn''t used to seeing. "Though I guess I''m a bitch being rude to the hospital staff who just want to do their work¡­" Emilia gently nudged her arm. "You just wanted to see him, we don''t hold it against you. Maybe apologize now that the issue''s solved, though." The redhead nodded. "Hmhm. Wait, will they even care?" "Odds are, probably not?" Emilia tilted her head and hummed. "It''s a good thing for you to learn, though." "Learn? What am I, your pet? Arceus." Pauline rolled her eyes as they both chuckled. Ah, they were having a great time, weren''t they? They were kind of fun to watch. I didn''t want to interrupt. I let them exin the majority of what went on after Gctic, with us all sticking around the Lily of the Valley Ind. Even I learned some new things about what they''d been doing in their every day lives. Eventually, and unfortunately, both of their heads turned my way. It was my job to deliver the news about Cecilia. Even dayster, I despised speaking it out loud. Childish, really. "Cece and I¡­" my thumbs fiddled together, "we''ve always been close. Too close. And it got a lot worse after all of this, so¡­" I took a deep breath. It was like jumping in a cold pool. "We''re on a break." He rxed, as if he''d expected me to tell him we''d broken up. "Oh. Like¡ª like after the raid. Okay." "It''s more serious," I muttered. "The problems were magnified, like, tenfold. It''s going to take a while for both of us to fix them, not just a few weeks. And she''s starting from a worse spot than I am because her team is mad at her for killing herself." "Yeah. That makes sense." His lips thinned, and he shifted in his bed. He did that a lot. Like he couldn''t find afortable position, which made sense considering his condition. I wondered how he was going to sleep tonight. On his stomach? "I''m sorry you both have to go through that. I guess that''s why she wanted to show upter." Legendaries, I''d nearly considered not texting in the group chat because she''d gotten to it first. In fact, just seeing a sign of activity from her had made me want to leave the chat because I feared I''d try something. Luckily I managed to stay the course and not interact with her. "And hey," Denzel continued. "If you ever need to talk, I''m here, yeah?" "Thanks. But I''m gonna be leaving soon¡­" I told him about my n to go to Jubilife and live both there and in Twinleaf for the time being. Granted, we''d hopefully see each other again at the funeral and the ceremony¡­ but maybe asking him for advice about Maylene would be good beforehand. Come to think of it. Even if I managed to avoid the Gym Leader sessfully, we''d still both be at the ceremony for Craig in Jubilife. Every Gym Leader would be, along with the Elite Four and the Champion as well. Arceus fucking damn it. Well, I''d manage to avoid her somehow. There would be thousands of people there, after all. The real issue would be avoiding Cecilia in the much smaller-scale Justin funeral. I''d held back over text, but who knew what I''d do if I saw her? Maybe I''d just skip. She deserved to be there more than me, since she''d known Justin for far longer¡ª No, I had to be there. No catastrophizing. I would manage, somehow. My Pokemon would keep me centered. "...lost in her thoughts, just leave her be." Oh. They''d been trying to talk to me. "Sorry, what was that?" My eyes suddenly felt dry. When was thest time I''d blinked? Denzel raised his eyebrow. "Um¡­ Pauline said something about Maylene?" Was she fucking for real? The re that came her way was unintentional, but it sure made her shrink. "How do you even know that? I thought Cecilia didn''t tell you?" "W¡ªwell, she didst night a few hours after we spoke, alright? She felt guilty about not telling me everything after all we''d been through." So I had no say in this? I couldn''t help but not like that. The redhead raised her hands innocently. "Look, I¡ªI didn''t know it was a big secret? You guys are best friends? I thought we were telling him everything!" Emilia pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "My goodness." "Look, you don''t need to talk about it if you don''t want to," Denzel hurriedly said. "No. Hey, Pauline, Emi, could you give us five?" ¡ª Look. Honestly, I was sick and tired of this judgment over this Maylene thing. Recycling the same conversation over and over and over; there was just no end to it. It felt like rehashing the same points again and again, and people''s reactions were always the same. Like they knew better than me. "Are you like¡­ positive you don''t like her?" It was like I was being put under a microscope again and again. It was annoying to say and feel one way and have everyone doubt you and not take you seriously. ''Oh, are you suuuure you''re not in denial about this whole thing?'' Well, I don''t know, Denzel, I''m going to reject her when Ceciliaes back when her rtionship with her Pokemon is fixed, so you tell me! I was going to! It was going to suck, but I was clear-headed enough now to know that our friendship might survive that, especially with long distance making coping easier. Plus, she hadn''t even liked me for that long! Anyway. Of course I didn''t say all of that; thest thing I wanted was to get angry at him when he had no idea I''d been asked the question so many times. He was just waking up, and his eyes were still red from having cried about Craig. If none of us had been here and he''d found out online, he might have still been beside himself. "Yep," I said. "Certain." "Oh. Okay." The way he''d said that felt weird, but I had no energy to fight him on it. Actually, fuck it. "I mean,e on. You were there when I was into Cecilia; you know what I''m like," I said with an exasperated sigh. "You saw it in Floaroma! I was nervous and I could barely hold it together in front of her!" His expression shifted to one of thoughtful acknowledgment. "I mean fair, but I haven''t seen you around Maylene at all¡ª I still can''t believe that, by the way. Maylene? She hates¡ª hated you. Hard to wrap my head around." He blew a raspberry as he shook his head. To him, thest time he''d been awake Maylene and I had a tense alliance at best. "But like, you know there are different¡­ ways to love someone, right?" "Oh yeah! I mean, for example, I love you, but in a family sort of deal. I''m sure Maylene''s the same; I''ve given it some thoughttely¡ª" "No," he interrupted. "I mean different ways to fall in love romantically." He nced at the door. "You saw me with Pauline back in the day, right? Did I look nervous around her at all?" "N¡ªno, but that''s because you''re you. You''re like, a master at handling people, you don''t get nervous. I''m different." I had to be. I was three for three. "What do you feel when you think about Maylene?" he asked. "Anxiety. Difort. Anger. The need to stay away from her." "Okay. How about two days ago?" I threw my hands up in frustration. "What''s the point in any of this? You can guess from what I told you anyway." It was the way he wanted to make me speak it out loud, to wrangle it out of me as if he could get a confession that got to me. This was why I hadn''t wanted him to know just yet, because I was sure he''d be the one to push this the most. He had been my wingman with Cecilia, and while I doubted he would try anything here given his¡­ experience with these types of forced situations with three people, he most likely would keep digging and try to give me advice I didn''t need. There was, however, no way I''d be able to resist that look. The sparkle of interest in his eyes. "Ugh, fine. I guess she was rxing to be around and¡­ whatever. Like she could give me something that was missing. It was mindless fun, at least until I realized everything. Plus I learned it''d be best not to rely on a single person for that kind of stuff. We''re better off like this." "Fair enough. Sorry for pressing you." We shared a slight smile at the apology. Denzel added, "Getting back to me, do get nervous sometimes, though I guess my sample size is a little low; I haven''t really been in love that much." He shrugged, then winced, remembering the state of his back. "How many times?" "Twice. The first one was when I had a bit of a crush in school on this girl, Cori. You know, the usual. She left on her journey and I couldn''t go. We don''t keep up anymore, but I hear she''s in Hoenn these days." He tapped his thigh with a hand and stared out the window. The weather was beautiful today¡ª Wait, twice? That was once less than me! "I was a little nervous around her, but I chalk that up to inexperience more than anything. Anyway, I won''t harass you about it, I just don''t believe you." "You what?" "I don''t believe you," he repeated as clear-cut as could be. "You can reject someone and still feel something for them. You can love someone while still being in love with someone else, especially if she gives you an escape like you''ve described. It''s not a big deal, and I''m not telling you to pursue it or try to make it work, especially not now." "It is a big deal!" How could he not get it? Wouldn''t he be hurt if someone he liked fell in love with someone else? "It would mean I betrayed Cecilia, and if you can''t understand that, then we''re better off not talking about it at all." His brows slowly creased into a frown. "I''m sorry. I just think that I know you well enough to figure this out and that your actions speak otherwise, but I''ll stop¡ª" No. Enough of this. "I have to go. I''ll see youter." I was up before even realizing my legs had moved. I couldn''t deal with this. I was better off trying to get in the groove of training again and visitingter when Cecilia was gone. I was done with everyone not believing me. Sooner orter, they''d see. I sent Emilia and Pauline back into his room before leaving and made my way up north. ¡ª "Oh. I get why Pauline called you wheels now. Sorry about her. They didn''t tell me you were out and about in a chair already." Chase rolled his eyes and inched forward into Denzel''s hospital room. At least he''d had the decency to keep his pity and guilt to a minimum. "I''m not soft enough to care about that bullshit." "Obviously. She wouldn''t say it to a stranger, anyway," Denzel said. "Not anymore." Chase looked around the room. All of his friends had left, but his Pokemon were apparently back. Lopunny was crouch-sitting in the corner of the room with her phone, browsing through whatever the Chatter algorithm was feeding her. That creepy little shit Sylveon wasid down next to Denzel on the bed, a flurry of ribbons wrapped around his left arm. It looked like he was asleep, at least. Milotic kept poking Denzel''s face with his, softly squealing in joy every time he realized his trainer was actually real and Altaria used Lopunny''s head as a substitute for Denzel''s now that he was hurt. The normal type didn''t seem to mind. This ce was a whole lot livelier than his, with how his mother had decorated the ce. Denzel''s pillow was clearly not from here, given the Pikachu-covered casing. There were flower pots all over, along with a picture of Denzel as a kid on the bedside table. He was smiling like there was nothing wrong in the world with a big gap in his teeth, firmly sitting on a tree stump next to an unwary group of Bidoof. It was as if they were the most interesting thing in the world to him. He''d also been fatter than Chase thought he would have been, but his growth spurt probably had stretched him out. "Huh. How old were you in that?" Chase asked, nudging his head toward the picture frame. "Oh, this picture? I think I was eleven. Maybe twelve." "What? You look six." "Fuck off, no I don''t!" Denzel protested. "You''rete, by the way." "Yeah, my bad." Chase had been out in thest few hours practicing moving around on a wheelchair. Mostly, he''d gone to pick up his team, being now confident enough of his ability to be independent on his wheelchair to actually let them see him. They''d met again and spent the entire morning together, though the news about Abomasnow hit all of them hard. They were a unit. One that trained and stuck together through thick and thin. It hurt to hear that it would be years before they could even hope of seeing him again. Of course, they''d thrown themselves into training right away with this new n of his to speak to Byron through battle. Ri had been especially hungry to start again, and Chase had used the opportunity not to work out his arms¡ª that wouldeter¡ª but to work out his mind. The fight would be a delicate one where messaging would be key and all eyes would be on him; he could not afford to be rash and reinforce this idea the mainders had of Iron Inders just being stupid, poor people who didn''t know what was for their own good. No. He would do them justice. "You''re looking fired up over there," Denzel said, snapping him out of his thoughts. Chase realized he''d nearly bumped into his bed and woken up that abominable fairy. Heavy sleeper, that one. "What''re you thinking?" "Thinking about beating Byron''s ass. That always gets me out of bed in the mornings," Chase said, cracking his knuckles. A beat of silence passed. "You know, I thought you''d be taking this a lot worse." Denzel looked him up and down, his stare lingering on Chase''s now defunct lower body. "But it looks like you''re picking yourself up." "Look, I''ve been dealt a shit hand, it''s true. No one can deny that," Chase admitted partly to himself. No matter how much he worked, no matter what he told himself, no matter what his actions would be from now on, at the end of the day he couldn''t walk. "But that''s all it is. A shit hand. And hey, we nearly killed the bitch for it in the process, I''d call that a fair trade even if it''s bullshit." His finger twitched at that. Damn it, he couldn''t even fully believe it himself yet. There was another few seconds of silence, and he took a steady breath. "But yeah, at the end of the day, the house has been spitting in my face since I walked in. My mother died bringing me into this world." God, he had never met her, but he missed her so much. He needed to visit her grave again. "But hey, what can you do but keep your head down and keep going?" Denzel stared at him in awe, as if he hadn''t expected such introspection. Come on, at least don''t make it so obvious. Chase''s friend carefully itched his arm, each movement slow and deliberate. "I don''t know. I thought you''d be angry. Not at me, but at¡­ everything." Chase scoffed. "Oh, anger. You know a year ago, I''d have thought that would have been the y." His hands gripped the side of his wheelchair. "Rage against the world for being so unfair while pretending none of it hurt me before crying myself to sleep at night. Be an ass to everyone around me." "To be fair," Denzel said with a shit-eating grin, "you''re still kind of an ass." "I get to be a little bit of an ass, as a treat," Chase cackled, hisughter mixing with Denzel''s. Lopunny heartily nodded in the corner of the room. "And to be honest, you''re the exception to the rule, you fuckin'' creep. I''ve never seen you get mad. Frustrated, yeah, but never that angry. What''s up with you?" "I do get mad; I got mad at my mom earlier today. You''re right, though, it doesn''t happen very often. My dad''s the same," Denzel said with a shrug. "I mean, we''re all people at the end of the day. I can''t see myself yelling at anyone, ny-nine percent of the time, really." Chase squinted at him. Even after all these months, he couldn''t figure Williams outpletely. "You weirdo. Anyway, I can''t do any of that anymore, or no one''s going to take me seriously. I''ll look like a loon who doesn''t know what he''s talking about." Chase snapped his fingers. "Funny thing about politics is that people look at you weird if you''re that angry unless you''re an Arceus damn Kalosian." "Very¡­ expressive people," Denzel acknowledged with a nod. "Y''know I read they have fistfights in their fucking legitive bodies sometimes. Shit''s crazy, but they''re my kind of people¡ª anyway, the point is that you shouldn''t worry about me. I''ll be fine, Williams. Focus on your own thing; you''re good at that." Chase had rarely seen such a dedicated, disciplined person. ording to that asshole Pauline, Denzel had been working right out of the gate as soon as he''d woken up. Meanwhile, Chase had taken nearly days of wallowing in his own self-pity to get moving again. "I hope you''ll be at my battle with Byron, though." His friend smirked. "Are you kidding? I wouldn''t miss it for the world." "Thanks. Trying to get all the gang together for it," Chase said. It still felt surreal to him, to be angling for a position as Byron''s Gym Trainer, but he could get more change done from the inside. Ri had better train up his steel type quickly, as had the rest of the team. Even Wimpod had gotten a fire lit under her¡ª not that he would let her participate in the battle, she was too precious. God, he couldn''t wait to give that fucker Byron his job offer. "Any news on Mira?" Denzel worryingly asked. "The shrimp''s busy on her quest for love. I''m not one to get in the way of that, I''m d she''s moved on from me." Their dynamic had been fun, but he''d discovered more of himself these past few months. Romance was a fucking bother and a worthless time sink, and one look at all of his friends proved him right. "I hope she''ll be at Justin''s funeral, at least." "Hopefully. I hope she''s at least got a lead." "Cheers to that." Chase raised an imaginary ss. "Anyway, got any advice for this Byron fuck? Since you lost to him and all." It''d do him well tost the longest amount of time possible for his pitch. "Yeah. You''re still a bit of an ass," Denzel repeated to himself. "But sure, I''ve got tips. Here, let me pull up footage of my battle¡­" ¡ª The main way Cecilia had of judging people was now their initial reaction to her. People were divided into two categories. One, the people who shied away or were terrified of looking her in the eye. These were prey, from whom she took great pleasure from. Cecilia knew this was now as instinctual to her as breathing. Ghosts took great pleasure from negative emotions, given that was what they''d been born from. s, she hated that jolt of pleasure and the sliver of a smile she had every time someone was unsettled or at least shook or taken by her appearance. It had not been supposed to be this way. Yet it was. There was a second kind of pleasure, brought by the human half of her which thankfully remained. The way eyes and faces danced with pleasure at the sight of her whenever she met with her friends. She had been nervous about Denzel''s initial reaction to her, but her old friend was thankfully too good for this world. The moment Cecilia and Louis stepped into his room after knocking, he beamed at them with such a bright expression she figured she might have been going blind. He looked as if he''d been struggling to make any movement, however, and they knew a hug wouldn''t be possible. "We missed you," Louis said, clearly relieved. During the way here, he''d made his opinion about how Denzel must have been hiding how bad truly was heard, but their friend looked at least to be functioning. Granted, he was on painkillers. "How has your first day back been? Have the others caught you up?" Cecilia enjoyed letting Louis speak. He was a kind man with more sweetness that he knew what to do with. She opted to let him catch up with Denzel for a while, instead retreated into her own thoughts¡ª No. She could not. Or she would regret her choice again, and her phone was only a mere gesture away. She''d needed to use Scizor to snap her out of a trance with a loud buzzing sound before she could text Grace once she saw her in that group chat. Luckily she hadn''t used it since, and neither had Cecilia. Things would hopefully get easier tomorrow once she got Slowking back, but¡­ The number of times she had nearly slipped was more than ten at this point. The sooner she was off this ind, away from anywhere with reception, the better. And yes, it was getting easier. Slowly. Each day, the water drowning her was an inch lower than thest. The problem was there were countless inches to go through. Instead, when the time came to tell Denzel about herself and her death, she did so, making sure to express regret at what she''d done. He could barely believe his ears, and sometimes even she couldn''t believe she''d survived. To not only have learned Perish Song, but to have used it to bring her back? Lehmhart had always been good at music, but he was a true prodigy. The impact of the news was a little blunted by the others having told Denzel earlier today. "And Cece?" Denzel spoke up. "How are things going? I heard about the break and¡­ everything else surrounding it. Sorry about everything, I hope you guys fix what you''ve got going on." She opened her mouth, but realized it had fallen too far down to make the sound she''d wanted. Instead, a strange, low-pitched grunt came out. "S¡ªsorry." The way her body worked was cumbersome, sometimes. "I hope so as well. It''s¡­ difficult, but I count each day I survive as a blessing." A sad smile stretched across Louis'' lips. A smooth expression Cecilia had been able to make, once. Now nearly everything on her face was sudden and violent. "We''re all here for you, Cece. And look, you''ve said it yourself, right? This is for the better." Yes, she had said that a whole lot these past two days, mostly to convince herself. "I''m surprised about the Maylene thing," Denzel said. When Louis stared daggers at him, he raised an eyebrow. "What? I can talk about it. Wait, can I talk about it?" "I''ll tell you if it''s too much." Cecilia inclined her head, making sure to catch it before it went too low. A mild sess, she''d found. "I kind of pissed Grace off earlier by bringing her up. She came backter, but¡­ yeah, she was still stewing," Denzel said. "Should have known to not insert myself into this stuff. It''s a w of mine." Ugh. Just hearing her name was¡ª "Maybe don''t mention her by name," Cecilia muttered. "It''s¡­ tough." "Shit. Sorry, you were right, Louis¡ª" "No. It''s my fault for being so emotionally weak," the Unovanmented. She rose from her chair and walked around the room. There were signs of Pokemon here. Lopunny''s fur scattered across the room; the floor slick with water from Milotic; an impression on the bed where Sylveon had been. "The truth of the matter is, Maylene isn''t a variable in this situation." She stopped to look through the window. It was so dark, yet it felt like she should have been able to see regardless. "Isn''t she?" Louis asked. Even he was surprised. "She was the cataclysm for everything, but the issues ran deep. Maylene will be fine regardless; her crush on her is an unsustainable one. Immature." Cecilia had seen it even more when they had spent the afternoon together yesterday. Luckily, the Gym Leader hadn''t brought up Grace too much, focusing instead on what both she and Cecilia could learn from each other. "Gra¡ª her crush on you started as an immature one. Mostly based on your looks," Denzel said. "But you are leaving, so I guess you''re right¡ª wait, what''s going to happen if you two don''t get back together by Unova?" Cecilia wanted to copse as a pile of body parts on the floor. How should she know? "I am uncertain, but she has her own part to y and I have mine. That doesn''t change whether we''re together or not; this is how rtionships are supposed to work." At least Emilia had told her so. The truth was, Cecilia wasn''t really sure about what normal rtionships were like. "Things will work out before then, I''m sure," Louis reassured. Cecilia hoped so too, but there was a lot of work to be done. So much toiling. "Let us move on to more positive matters. Denzel, I saw that you posted on Chatter on our way here¡­" Ah, Louis. Bless his soul; he was trying even if it wouldn''t work for her. It did not mean she couldn''t try. She threw herself into the conversation, which devolved into a social media training course from Denzel. Her friend was adamant she needed to be more active if she wanted to be a politician, and he was right. Unovans were very active online on their own version of Chatter run by X Technologies, including Gym Leaders and the Elite Four. She would need to build a following and post about her activities, along with her pleas. Cecilia had been so reluctant toe here tonight, but¡­ This ce; It was suffocating, but things were getting better. Inch by inch. ¡ª A/N: Kind of a bridge chapter filled with conversations and character interactions, but it had to be made. Next chapter is finally the Mira Interlude¡­s? Idk it it''ll take a single part or two.
Interlude – The Search Interlude ¨C The Search
A/N: Missed it by a day, my bad team, but it was very long. INTERLUDE - THE SEARCH "I need you to find someone." Mira jolted awake in the middle of a quaint caf¨¦. A handful of wooden tables were scattered across a polished floor. Each one was topped with a flickering candle, casting a gentle light that danced over the delicate porcin teacups and saucers as if they''d tried to make this ce as Grian as possible. After a quick look around, she heard the bustling activity outside, which could only mean they were back in Jubilife or the more modern parts of Hearthome. Wake the fuck up,processing Mira yelled in her head.I got you your man. In front of Mira, Carlos loomed over the table. His body was sorge that it was as if he''d been sitting at a toy set rather than an actual establishment. His only eye lodged in the intact part of his face was in the process of narrowing in confusion, most likely at her reaction. Mira''s eyes were heavy. How long had she been asleep for? Three hours. Could have been more, but I''m not handling any conversations. Fuck you,processing Mira mored so loud it worsened her headache. Usually, a quick flick within her mind would have sent it to her pained self, but Mira had gone over her quota for the day. Any more, and the damned prick would sabotage her. Pained Mira huffed with a feral smile. She could visualize it so clearly.That''s right; you watch yourself. Arceus damned unionizing personalities. The worst part was that they could never be shut out. She had kept them alive for too long, and they had grown far toorge and independent to be merged ever again. She''d learned her lesson. No more Miras, or things would degenerate and thest thing she needed was to get worse instead of better. In the time it had taken for her to introspect and listen to her other selves berate her, Carlos had finally focused his gaze on her. She''d gotten used to his face by now, but the public was another matter entirely. His left side retained the rugged features of a once-handsome man, with a strong jawline, a high cheekbone, and a dark, intense eye framed by a thick brow. His right was another story. The skin was grotesque and disfigured, melted away by acid, leaving behind a patchwork of scar tissue that twisted and pulled into a patchwork of faded pinks. Within the socket, only an empty, hollow hole could be found. The corner of his mouth on the damaged side was pulled upward into a grimace, and you could see his teeth all the way to his mrs. Needless to say, Carlos attracted attention wherever he went. "I''m someone who kills things efficiently," he said, emotionless. "If you want to figure out where someone is, I''d be awful at it." He says this, but look at him. He wants to help,Cold Mira said, the permanent shiver in her voice still clearly present. Regice''s influence had seeped far into her, and the cold she''d felt would be permanent. Without Uxie''s power, her actual body would have had to deal with it. And it was. Mira just didn''t have to actually process the frigidness spreading through her. As a result of this, Cold was often the slowest speaker due to how she''d stumble through every word, second only to Anxious. Anxious Mira was also shaking, yet for an entirely different reason.I don''t know, Mirs. What if we never find Lauren? What if she''s already on a ship to Johto or something, and we never see her again?! That was¡­ a possibility. Not the boat to Johto part, but the ''disappears forever'' part. The truth was, if a trainer of her caliber wanted to disappear, there was very little a person like Mira could do to stop her. Since she''de back from the Distortion World, Mira had looked up and down Sinnoh, with kazam and Gardevoir working in tandem to Teleport her across the Region. She had posted online about her and scoured every city, but of course, despite her five minds, she was confined to only one body. Fleshy, weak and unable to go off-route where Lauren''s team would be able to keep her safe. F-focus,Anxious Mira stumbled, still reeling from the thought of losing Lauren.Don''t close yourself off again. Ugh, she needed to stop getting lost in her thoughts like this. Mira was thankful Mirs was taking the majority of her worries away from her, though. She wouldn''t have been able to function without¡­ Well, without any of her other selves, no matter how much sheined. Oh. Right, they''de up with a name system. Better than them beingtitled, after all; they were quickly outgrowing their primary reason for existence anyway. Anxious was Mia, Cold was Mirs, Processing was Mims and that jackass Pained had decided to im their full name of Mirabelle, which they hadn''t used since writing their names on school tests and assignments. Maybe that was why they wereing into their own so quickly¡ª "Mira," Carlos gruffed. He waved a hand in front of her until she blinked and remembered where she was before grabbing onto his teacup. It looked minuscule in his hands. "Focus. I''m on break, so I''d like to be enjoying myself instead of helping brats." Arceus, sometimes it feels like you want to fuck up on purpose,Mirabelle scolded. Swallowing, she grounded her feet under the table. "Sorry," she quietly apologized both to her and Carlos, though the ACE knew how she easily got lost in thought. "I just¡­ I haven''t found atraceof her, and I''ve been looking for over a week! Her brother''s ceremony is on Friday, and I''m terrified she''ll miss it! Plus, there''s the funeral afterward, and her family''s been looking for her too! They can''t losetwo kids." We should have gone see them,Mims said as she inhaled air into Mira''s lungs and blinked with her eyes. You were outvoted,Mirs said, teeth chattering.They barely know us. It''d be weird to just show up while they''re mourning Craig.She was cold physically, but cold in spirit as well. A defeatist at heart who would rather wither away instead of fighting for their friend. She could almost picture Mirabelle rolling her eyes.Who cares, anyway? You should have knocked her out again, Mims; we know better¡ª Quiet!the real Mira yelled to herself, pushing them down to the edges of her subconscious. They''d be quieter there, but never truly gone. She refocused just in time, given that Carlos had begun speaking again. "Look, there are guys in the ACE force who could probably track her better than I could." He clicked his tongue when he saw the flicker of hope in Mira''s eyes. "No, Mira. I like you. I like you more than I should, but the extent of our contact is over. An ACE Trainer¡­ shouldn''t get attached. This is it between us; I hope you grow up to be happy. I shouldn''t havee." "What¡ª hey,wait!" Carlos had already stood up, putting money bills down on the table to pay for both their drinks. Mira tried to grab his sleeve, but she felt a cold shiver of magnified dread shot down her spine. Prickles right beneath her skin, poking to burst out at any moment. She hugged herself and gritted her teeth while Mirs noted that she had to deal with worse every day, every hour, every minute. Fucking Mismagius. It was a good thing she hadn''t had Gengar out, or he would havee out to ''y'' with her and gotten himself killed in ten seconds top in the middle of a damn public caf¨¦. Mira''s shoulders sagged as she slumped back in her chair, slowly sipping on her bottled water as she contemted what to do. She was effectively at a dead end here. Carlos had been herst hope, and he''d hung her out to dry. There''s nothing left to do,Mirs mumbled, stumbling over her words.Let''s give up and go home. For once, the rest were quiet. Mira sped her fingers together and leaned against her linked hands. She could head to Canve and find her parents'' address with a little sleuthing, given that her father was a public servant. She just didn''t want to intrude on their space and¡­ disappoint them in any way. It was a stupid, nonsensical thing to do, but Mira was far from a perfect being only driven by logic despite the gift she''d been given. The tip of her fingers felt cold until Mirs sniffled in her head, sucking out the icy touch from Mira''s mind. She''d promised Craig to take care of his sister if anything happened to him, and now that he was dead, she couldn''t even find the damn girl. "Is there anything else I could do for you, or will that be everything?" A waitress hade by to check up on her. Mira hadn''t bothered paying attention until now, given that Mims usually handled all the background stuff like that, but an eye-catching thing about her was that a strand of her hair was dyed white. Mira shook her head. "No, we''ll take the check, thank you." Mims had taken over her mouth to speak. The waitress frowned, but hesitantly nodded before leaving. While Mirabelle fought with Mims over the usage of ''we'', Mira''s eyes slowly widened as an idea wormed itself into her mind. There was another way. ¡ª Finding her had been easier than Mira thought. Sarah Newman had arguably been the second most famous trainer in Sinnoh, right behind Craig. Their rivalry was legendary, with Craig almost iming victory over her during the Conference finalsst summer¡ªa battle so intense that pundits still call it the best Conference Final ever. Even Mira, despite her usual disinterest, had watched that match. Unfortunately, their tale came to an abrupt end afterward. Sarah left for Kanto after losing to Bertha during her Elite Four run, leaving Craig as the undisputed front-runner to win this year. That was until he died. Now she bet everyone was scrambling to be a winner, using the extra time to push their teams to the limit. All of that to say that, again, it was easy to figure out where famous people lived. Sarah Newman, it turned out, had lived just a few blocks away from Mira in the poorer, eastern side of the city until she''d gotten enough money to move her foster family to the posh west. It wasn''t amansionakin to what Pauline or Louis would own, but it was still a home in the most expensive parts of the city. Mira had basically never been here outside of when she''d hung out with Grace for a while inside and near Poketch Headquarters, but she''d seen the effects the bombs had on Jubilife to get here. The remains of copsed or damaged buildings, upturned pavement or asphalt roads, and shrines built tomemorate the dead that left the scent of candles permeating throughout. The city government had passed a bill to get started on a monument to remember the dead by, like the ones you''d see for the Great War or the famine in Sinnoh that followed due to Articuno''s Ice Age. It''d be built in the center of the city and have all the names, and nearly every city was looking at creating something simr with their own spin on it. Now that she was here, Mira hesitated when her finger hovered over the doorbell. What was she even going to say? Hello, I''m looking for Craig''s sister, and I''m pretty sure you knew her decently well. Not only that, but a trainer of your caliber would be able to go anywhere in the country, so I''d appreciate your help,Mirabelle droned sarcastically.How''s that? Not bad,Mims said with a nod. We¡ªwe could show her our phone for p¡ªproof,Mia added. Mirs sighed.We need to, or she''ll think we''re worthless. As always, the quartet felt the need to push their input. Mira pressed the doorbell and heard the sound reverberate in the house. She took the time to get a good look at it. It really looked like one of those old ces from the 19th century, where Jubilife underwent a massive reconstruction after being ravaged by abination of diseases, civil wars, and famines caused by bad harvests and wild Pokemon attacks on farms during the Troubled Century. As a result of this, the buildings older than this were few and far-between in the city. Emilia''s parents owned three, being real estate people. "Who is this?" a muffled voice came through the door. Upon closer look, Mira could see the peephole darked a smidge. "We''ve already said no press. Do we need to call Dragalge back? Or do you want Weavile this time?" That wasn''t a girl''s voice. Maybe one of her foster siblings? "I''m Mira Compton. I''d like to speak to Sarah Newman if she''s here, please? If she isn''t, could I leave a number to contact her? It has to do with¡ª I''m a friend of Lauren Goodwill who''s worried about her and who''s been looking for her for over a week. I have proof if you need it." The voice hummed as if intrigued by her words. The darkness behind the peephole disappeared, but he''d gone too far for Mira to hear what he was saying. A minute passed, then two, thenfive, but that was okay. Mira could wait. She listened to her inner selves strategize while she stayed quiet and leaned against one of the pirs supporting the overhang above their porch. Eventually, she heard a few voices again, and Mims hastily put her back in front of the door with a polite smile, wider-opened eyes, and a good posture. Mira''s heart jumped when the door opened right away. There was this thing about some trainers. People who could capture anyone''s attention without even trying. Maybe it was just because Mira had never seen Sarah Newman before other than on television or online, but she had it while people like random trainers you found off the street did not. Craig had owned it as well. Sarah Newman had been born with naturally white hair. Usually, she wore it long, but this time, it had been fixed into a bob cut that looked horrible on her. She had long bangs that nearly hid her bright hazel eyes behind thick strands of hair. She straddled the line between gaunt and thin, though with how tall she was, there was no way she wasn''t underweight. Not as long as Cynthia and Cecilia were, but still decently taller than average for a woman. As thin as Sarah was, she wasrger than life in a way that held Mira''s gaze for longer than she would have given to anyone else. Even Mirabelle was breathless. Sarah bent slightly forward, eyes narrowing at Mira. "You don''t look like much." Her voice was loud but t. It was like listening to a robot speak, though it was nowhere as bad as Justin had once been. Just odd. "You say you know Lauren?" She wasn''t as depressed as Mira thought she''d be, but then again, everyone had their own way of grieving, and it wasn''t like she''d show herself so vulnerable to a stranger. "I¡ªI do, and I have proof on my phone if you want." She hadn''t used the thing muchtely other than to check if Lauren was seen anywhere on her megathread or to send her a few messages. "We''re friends. Good friends, even." Or at least Mira hoped so. A dark-skinned teenager with a buzz cut came up behind her. "Who''s this gal, Sarah?" he asked. Every word wasced with a tint of irony. "Want me to kick her out? Not like she''d amount to much; she looks prettyscrawny." He drew out thest word in the most obnoxious way possible. The white-haired woman pushed her foster sibling back inside the house with an annoyed, yet love-filled groan, closed the door, and opted to speak to Mira alone. "Sorry about my brother. He''s at that age, and he''s a little lonely." "Lonely?" Mira asked. "Shaun''s the second youngest, and he only has his sister left. Everyone else has moved out. Be a trainer, gotten into a trade, or are prepping for college. Plus, he''s still pissed at me for leaving for a year no matter the amount of money I throw at them," Sarah droned. "Enough about my family life. Show me this proof." Mira scrambled to grab her phone and would have dropped it without Mims backing her up. She quickly scrolled to Lauren''s name on her contacts and showed Sarah her texts. It felt a little wrong to show so much to her, especially when the woman had startedscrolling through everything, but if it was what it took to find Lauren, Mira would swallow her pride. "Hm, yes, this seems legit. That''s her number," Sarah whispered to herself. "I believe you." She threw the phone back into Mira''s hands, which sheagainnearly dropped. "W¡ªwill you help me find her, now?" "Hm. Why don''t youe in, first?" What? Any second wasted here was a second Lauren could be in danger! "Are you sure we can''t just talk on the road?" "Yes," she deadpanned. Mira supposed she had no choice, then. She stepped into the old home, whose entryway was full of old shoes of all sizes. There were plenty of pictures on a drawer showcasing their entire family. Children of all creeds and ages, with Sarah being the oldest, along with their foster parents. A chubby woman with mid-length hair and a burly man whose body was somewhat like Crasher Wake''s. The so-called Shaun, who looked to be around thirteen or so, was sitting in the living room with his feet up on the couch''s backrest, ying on some sort of console upside down. A war game of some sort with all kinds of futuristic guns and two Pokeballs on his tooltip. His sister looked like a typical native Johtoan, somewhat like Maeve, and she was nose-deep in her phone, not even sparing the stranger in her house a nce. "That''s Mei. Anyway, pay them no mind. Want something to drink?" Sarah didn''t wait for an answer. Instead, she made her way to the kitchen and got started on coffee. "I guess that''s a no. Sit somewhere. Anywhere. I''ll get to you." If Sarah was making her wait, she''d do best to at least form a strategy or something. Wasn''t this girl supposed to be super good at reading people like Gardenia or Grace¡ª or at least for thetter, when she was in the right state of mind? Mira had heard that Sarah was even better than the grass type Gym Leader at getting in people''s heads and that she never, ever lost twice to someone. Mira wondered where their parents were. Workhadstarted up again for the majority of people, though, and she''d heard they both worked different jobs at hospitals, so it made sense they wouldn''t be here, especially now. They probably spent entire days away from home. Sarah came back with ahugecoffee mug, and Mira started to notice the bags under her eyes sloppily hidden by foundation and concealer. Had she not slept? Was she grieving after all? The trainer took a chug of the scorching hot coffee as if that hadn''t burned her mouth offpletely and let out a satisfied sigh. "Where have you looked?" The question was so sudden Mira wasn''t sure she''d heard it right. She''dwantedthis, but had expected some random small talk first. "I don''t beat around the bush," Sarah said. "So again, I ask, where have you looked?" "Every city except Twinleaf¡ª I have two Teleporters, so I can cover a lot of ground fast." Mira didn''t miss Sarah rolling her eyes when she mentioned psychics. She ignored her and continued. "Lauren has a pretty rabid fanbase that she hates, but I was able to put them to good use and organize search parties and stuff, but all of that came up empty. I''ve looked on a lot of routes as well, though obviously I can''t covereverythingthere. I considered Cor because it was where her brother went to train, but it''s closed off, so there''s no way she would have made it through without anyone hearing." Mims took a breath and allowed her to continue. "Battle Frontier permits take months to get approved, so there''s also no way she would have managed to get there. Even illegally, she has no flier and has never been, so she couldn''t have had her Reuniclus bring her. She could have gone south of Twinleaf, but I couldn''t check there because I''malsoin the same boat and I can''t fly. Route 216 and 217 are really long and it''s where we really bonded for the first time so I spent a lot of my time scouring the route and I found nothing and¡ª" "Remember to breathe," Sarah warned. Her deep voice cut through Mira''s rambling like a knife. Damn it, what the hell was Mims even doing?! I''m just as invested in this as you are, you bitch!she yelled back.Sorry for being fucking human and not your breathing machine. Maybe you should learn how to function on your own again! Mira winced. Point taken. Yeah, she got you there,Mirabelle acquiesced. "You''ve been diligent; you clearly care for her." Sarah''s hands wrapped around her warm mug tightly. "Lauren and I were never that close if I''m being honest with you¡ª she disliked me because I kept beating her brother, and she''d never admit it to herself now, but she was and remains his biggest fan. Plus, with all of my little siblings, I was tired of kids, especially if they were going to be rude to me," she said. "Fuck you too, Sarah!" Mei yelled from the living room. The trainer shook her head with an exasperated sigh. "I''m not ordering pizza tonight." "What? But why?" her sister whined. "Just be quiet and you''ll get it. Cheesy crust, pepperoni and everything." Sarah waited for both of her siblings to agree, though they demanded soda in exchange for their cooperation. She epted and turned her attention back to Mira. "Lauren and I were never close," she repeated, "butI know her.I have an idea of where she would be." Every single Mira beamed, and more happiness permeated through her right then and there than she''d remembered feeling in months. "Then we can go?" Sarah gulped down more coffee. "Mm. I can go." "What?" Sarah slid her coffee mug across the table. It was already empty, but Mira could still feel the heat radiating off of it. "It''s easy to see you care about her, but I don''t know if I can trust you. I don''t know if you''d be the best person for her to see in her current mental state." What the fuck?Mirabelle clicked her tongue and stomped a foot, which gave Mira a headache.This girl has her head so far up her own ass! "You don''t understand. Ihaveto see her." "Why?" Sarah tilted her head. "Because I¡ª" Something she''d been about to say had made Mirs cut her off. It would have been too warm. "Look, I''m a thousand lies packed into a body that pretends to know what it''s doing, I wouldn''t trust me either," Mira admitted, her eyes downcast. Suddenly, the little creases and stains on the table were the most interesting thing in the world. "But I made a promise to Craig before webothheaded into Cor. I told him that if anything happened to him, I''d be there for Lauren. So I don''t care if you don''t want me to be there,I will be there." Sarah smiled. "There you are." "Huh? ''What do you mean?" The tall girl stood up, her hands against the table. "You were talking like a meek little child who was so uncertain about herself, not someone who wanted to save her friend from grief," she said. "This is who I believe can reach Lauren''s heart. It''d have to be you, after all. Lauren hates me." "R¡ªright." Mira blushed, and her mouth felt dry all of a sudden. "Where are we going, then?" "Where Craig and I used to train after we reconnected," Sarah murmured, slightly misty-eyed. "Victory Road." "Wha¡ª" She then turned toward her siblings, leaving enough money for pizza on the table. "Tell mom and dad I''ll be out on a trip for a bit. Be back in a few days." ¡ª Two things about Sarah Newman. One, she did not speak much beyond the bare minimum. This made sense, considering they were strangers, but even Lauren would speak your ear off about battling or music to someone she didn''t know if they weren''t weird to her first. It made Mira wonder how in the world she''d been Craig''s best friend andpossiblegirlfriend, once? There were a lot of rumors about their rtionship online, though it''d never been confirmed, and eventually they went their separate ways until theirst year, when they reunited. Craig Goodwill was someone who''d never leave a person to stew in silence; he''d always findsomethingto talk about and make you feel right at home. There was this warm aura about him. Or had been. Two; She was fucking insane. Sarah''s team was well documented, and she hadn''t caught anything new in her time in Kanto. Her Swanna wasrger than average and could fit two people with alittleroom to spare, especially a kid like Mira. Her Ditto was known to be able to transform into many Pokemon as well¡ª including many flying types such as Staraptor, Pidgeot and Fearow¡ª though the only ones it had trulymasteredwere Pokemon on her team. Unfortunately for Mira, Sarah preferred to use her Mantine for transportation. Mantine. The Pokemon that swam and sometimes managed to hover for a few dozen seconds out of the water, or maybe a few minutes at most? And that was after building up enough speed? Hers could fly without a hitch, and instead of sitting safely in the center of the water type''s body, Sarah''s legs dangled over her Mantine''s wings¡ªfins!They were fins! Her messy bob cut danced in the wind, and she looked down at the world passing her by without a single flinch even when Mantine abruptly moved, repositioned itself, or pped its¡­ fins. Ju¡ªjust call them wings,Mia muttered.Easier to stomach. They were¡ªshewas strapped on tight to a saddle, but that still didn''t help, even when Mia was handling most of the fear. It was when she''d seen footage of Barry Lane''s Rapidash fly; some things just weren''t intended to be tried, and not only that, she wason top of this experiment,riding it instead of just watching from afar. But Sarah was a professional. A crazy professional, but she knew what she was doing, especially since she hadn''t fallen yet, so Mira took a deep breath as Mantine sang and pivoted upward, flying through a cloud that left her cold, wet, and miserable. Sarah Newman was a shivering mess, hands gripping the side of her Mantine''s wings as she''d nearly slipped, but it was not fear that took her. It wasughter. She was giggling like a little girl at almost having slipped off her Mantine and died. Was she a thrill seeker? The water type seemed to pay her no mind besides some kind of knowing sound. A gentle, whooshing noise that carried whispers of the ocean with it, but still sounded animalistic enough not to unsettle her. It was beautiful up here, even if the air was thin. Actually, shouldn''t they bepassing outright now from theck of oxygen, or the decrease in air pressure? They werefarbeyond the safe limit rmended for flight! A sea of cloudsy beneath them, a veritableoceanthat filled the sky as far as the eye could see. Above themy the endless blue sky, as if you were above everything and only emptiness remained between you and outer space. At least until the illusion was dashed and you looked in front of you¡ª to the east¡ª and saw Cor peaking through the clouds and going further than even that. She''d climbed all of that. "Do it again," Sarah said with a wild grin. What the fuck? Did she forget Mira was on here? She was starting to think that was entirely possible. Mantine acquiesced, and Sarah repositioned herself toy t on her stomach while her hands were wound tightly at the edge of the flying type''s wings. Wings that it pulled in as itdove¡ª holyfuck. It was nosediving toward the clouds at speeds so high the air whistled past Mira''s ears. She shut her eyes when Mantine entered the clouds and held her breath as if it were anything other than vapor. Feeling silly, she reopened them and saw that Mantine was slowly diving and jumping in and out of the clouds like they actuallywerein the ocean. Behind them, it left trails of clouds that stretched for miles. Mira''s eyes darted to Mantine''s wing¡ª Sarah wasn''t there. She wasn''t there! Mira knocked on Mantine''s back, finding it a lot tougher than she''d expected. Like dense rubber. "Hey! Hey, your trainer fell!" she shrieked as loud as she could. Oh, Legendaries, was she going to have to be the cause of Sinnoh''ssecondmost famous trainer''s death too? Mantine seemed unbothered, and it took a few seconds for her toget it. Out of the clouds came Sarah Newman, arms outstretched as if she were a bird with wings and cackling like a wild woman. She was flying. Flying. "Wooooooooooooo!"Her voice ripped through the air, echoing across the sky and clouds. She''s going to get us killed in Victory Road,Mirs said. For once, they all echoed the sentiment. If Mira squinted, she could see the subtle shift around her. This was no psychic move. She floated weightlessly beside her Mantine, cradled within a shimmering bubble of air that clung to her like a second skin. The bubble was a translucent sphere, faintly glimmering with iridescent hues, reflecting the soft light of the sky. Such mastery of flying type TE was¡­ Fucking unheard of in this region. Her hands were moist. It took another six minutes and thirty-six seconds by Mims'' count for Sarah tond back on her Mantine, sweaty and out of breath. At least it exined why she seemed not to fear falling off the damn thing¡ª Mantine would simply pick her back up before she could go st on the ground. Newman ran a hand through her messy hair and looked alive, for a moment, before her face returned to her neutral, t expression reminiscent of Justin. What was going on inside her head? Miracouldhave known, had she been empty of morals. Maybe she was thinking about how it''d been a while since she''d gotten to do that? Or maybe about Craig and what he would have said to her. He''d been a pretty safe flierpared to her, though evenChaseyqualified as a safe flier if Sarah was the standard. "We''ll be flying for a while." Sarah''s voice made Mira jump out of her skin, and all of her selves screamed in her head. "Have I given you enough time yet?" "Time for what?" Mira stammered. Her voice seemed louder now, unaffected by the strong winds around them. Sarah scrunched up her nose. "About what you''re going to say to get Lauren back. About what you''re going to say to her beyond ''Craig told me to take care of you.''" Mira nodded. Oh, she''d had something in mind for days alright, though today had put many things in perspective. "I might have something to add here and there. I don''t know how she''ll react, though. Like, I don''t know how she''ll be grieving." Mira couldn''t believe Lauren might have been right under her feet. She''d put everything off, be that her uncle or her friendships to scour the region in order to find her, and it turned out she''d forgotten to look atVictory Road.Under the Lily of the Valley Ind. She''d been so stupid not to think of that, especially when Craig had trained there as well. "Lauren is an angry girl," Sarah exined, patting Mantine''s wing. "She will be angered beyond reason. You''ll have to reach her heart if you want to convince her to get back." Right. Mira had seen Lauren cry, but that was almost always apanied by anger. Her mind whirled at the thought of having to face her mad again without king, but she knew deep down that she''d find the power to. It was her duty. Mira looked at Sarah out of the corner of her eye. She was talking to Mantine abouthim¡ª Mira had finally figured out his gender¡ª being hungry. "Wait until we get to the open ocean," she reassured the enormous beast. "You''ll get all the nkton you want." Ah. Mira assumed they''d be stopping on the coast or swapping to her Swanna sooner rather thanter, then. Now alittleless anxious, she settled into her saddle and rxed her muscles, which had been tense for at least twenty minutes straight. Eventually, the silence got a little too awkward. "Can I ask what Lauren was like as a kid?" Oh, Mira wanted toknowas well, but the ufortable silence was a convenient excuse. Sarah worked her jaw for a moment. "Do you know how sometimes you look at someone and know they''re destined for great things?" "Um. No?" Mira hesitantly said. "I''ve got a knack for it, I think. Saw it in Craig when we first met; he was just¡­" she sighed, her mouth twisting in a saddened grimace, "sofocusedon a battle he was looking at on his shitty flip phone, but not because it was shy, or because he just liked to look at it. He was learning. It drew me in." Ah. Mira could get that a little. Sometimes, when she looked at her friends, she saw passion for battle that she''d never had, with each fight they looked at being a learning moment. She nodded and hummed, letting Sarah know she finally understood. "Do you have any idea how weird it is to see a seven-year-old fight battles in her own head? Ask her brother to use his Pokemon to train? Know more at her age than we did at fifteen?" Sarah said with a prideful smile. "She was a terrifying little thing. So small, yet so eager to learn." Sarah paused, running a finger below her nose. "But there was a soft side to her as well. Lauren loved taking pictures and drawing Pokemon she found anywhere. Sometimes, some would pose for her, and it''d make her day. Even the wild ones in the city." "She still draws." Mira remembered the moment they''d shared in that tent on the way to Snowpoint. "Though they''re more moments she enjoyed in battle, these days." "d she still has that hobby," Sarah said with a caring nod. "What else? She''d wear Craig''s merchandise to school before puberty hit her and she started growing angry at him. She once threw a tantrum because the usual vor of milkshake she ordered every week was out. One time her parents were out on date night, she sted music so loud she got the cops called on her house¡­" "You do know her well," Mira muttered. Tears flickered in the sunlight. "I did, but Craig was the one¡­ who told me most of this." Her voice was hoarse when she uttered her dead friend''s name. "Oh." Way to put her foot in her mouth. Sarah hadn''t processed his death either, had she? She was just hiding it beneath everything. "Sorry." "S''alright. Wish I could show him the flying trick," sheughed and sniffled right after. "I learned it while in Kanto¡ª Legendaries, they''re fun down there. He''d have looked at me all gobsmacked and¡ª and I''d have asked him to try it. He would have said no a few times, but then he''d do it anyway. Because he was Craig." Below them, Mantine echoed with the sound of the sea. "Thanks, buddy. I''m alright." Eventually, the Mantine swam past the clouds again, diving under them slowly but surely. This time, the frigid cold didn''t hit Mira as hard, and wind whipped around her clothes, causing them to dry immediately. With a happy cry, Mantine continued down toward the water. They were already near the coast somewhere up north, possibly around Veilstone. What was surprising was that they weren''t actually going to stop near the beach. Already, Mantine had rushed past it, wind sweeping below them and annoying a bunch of Krabby and Shellos. One of the crabs was even swept off its feet and thrown into the sea. "Um, the League is still under lockdown, right?" Mira asked. "If you stop, I can call them and let them know you''reing." Sarah ignored her. She''d been quiet since reminiscing about Craig; a return to the norm. Mira felt a pit form in her stomach the closer Mantine got to the water. Another minute, and they were ten feet above it. Another, and Mantine''s wings were grazing it with every movement. Mira was done underestimating Sarah Newman, so she thought there must have been a n to not get immediately shot down by the League. She knew that lying low helped to not get picked up by radar, and maybe they had a technique to stay hidden from psychics and to turn invisible. Or maybe, Mantine showed, they were just going to dive underwater. The water closed over her head, cool and enveloping, but there was no fear¡ª Mantine was with her, and she could feel his reassuring presence beside her, him telling her there was nothing to fear with a gentle sing-song cry. As they descended, Mantine''s wide, graceful fins carved through the water, propelling them deeper into the ocean''s grasp. The light above grew dimmer, the world around them a serene expanse of endless blue. With a soft, almost inaudible hum, Mantine exhaled, and arge, shimmering bubble of air formed around her, drying her instantly. Her mouth felt parched, as did her eyes and skin, but more importantly, Mira couldbreathe. The bubble expanded gently, enveloping both Mira and Sarah''s entire bodies. Inside, the water receded, reced by warm, breathable air that filled her lungs with each steady breath. The pressure of the deep sea remained at bay, the bubble acting as a barrier between her and the crushing depths as Mantine went deeper and deeper into the water. Schools of Goldeen and Magikarp darted past them, curious but unafraid, and she could see the shadowy silhouettes ofrger sea creatures in the distance. The outline of a Wailord, illuminated by the few rays of sunlight which ever made it this deep; a pair of Lumineon which glowed like stars within the endless night of the ocean; a Sharpedo prowling at their side until Mantine sent it careening away with a current akin to a strong hurricane. Mira spoke, but her voice was muffled, unable to be carried toward Sarah''s ears.So it had its limits, still. Not that she would often travel with others; Sarah was a solitary trainer at heart. Mantine was a lot faster under the water than in the air, and they zoomed through the ocean so quickly that Mira''s bubble of air grew unstable enough to have bits of water touch her arms and face. But there was no time to worry. They had a sea to cross. And cross it, they did, until Mantine reeled up andjumped up a waterfall. ¡ª Back in the day, tradition dictated that anyone who wished to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion must make it through Victory Road. This was before the Conference had been set in ce, before the gamification of battles. Make it through here with proof that you''d beaten the other eight Gym Leaders, and you''d get a shot at running the country. It was a tradition taken from Kanto, which had spread to all corners of Shinwa. It hade to Sinnoh through Johtohan immigrants at first, disced from their homnd by the countless wars between the nascent ns thousands of years ago. Today, Victory Road was a vestige of what it once had been. Sure, Mira doubted it''d ever been a bustling small town like the Ranger Stations nking Cor or at the edge of Eterna Forest, but no one came here anymore save for a chosen few. Even the Pokemon Center was in a state of disrepair, having been shut down a few years prior. Its resplendent orange roof was now chipped, dull orange paint, and had been caved in by a falling boulder from up in the ind. "Huh. That''s new," Sarah noted. She stretched with a satisfied moan, arms up in the air as she stared at the caved-in roof. "Guess there was a smallndslide." "...I had a friend who wanted toe here to train to ensure he''d get to the Conference," Mira said. "Well, he''s dead now." "Obviously. No way he would have lived if he was that inexperienced. My condolences." Sarah climbed back on Mantine''s wing¡ª the water type was still in the water¡ª and rummaged through one of therge bags on his back. They''d been behind the saddle and protected from getting wet as well. "Let''s eat something before we head into the caves." "No, he¡ª he died in the bombings." It had taken Mira a while to correct her, because this was still a difficult topic to approach. She hadn''t even had time to process his death before she''d started running around the region in search of Lauren. "Oh." "Yeah. We stopped him froming here," Mira added. "We saved his life, and he died anyway." Life was ruthless. Sometimes, someone just got unlucky and taken early before they could be great. "I miss him." They listened to the sound of the waterfall for a little bit. Gallons upon gallons of watering out from higher up in the mountain. You could see the mist forming at the point of impact with the ocean, rising back up into the sky and dissolving into nothing. The air was moist and humid, clinging to Mira''s throat. Newman grabbed a portable coffee machine. Compact, sleek, and designed for convenience on the go. It was about the size of arge thermos. Next, she grabbed a stove¡ª the same brand that Grace used on the road¡ª and a pack of instant spicy noodles and small chunks of ham. Mira watched her slowly set everything up. Every time she asked if she could help, Sarah would shake her head and grunt. With the press of a button, the coffee machine whirred to life, quietly brewing a rich, aromatic cup of coffee within minutes that Sarah couldn''t help but guzzle down. This time, she burned her mouth and yelped, heaving for fresh air that Mantine supplied to her until she recovered. "''Guess I''ll get started on the noodles. You mind spicy food, kid?" she asked, crouching at the stove. She poured some water inside and turned it on. Mira shook her head. "Good, because that''s all I have." What? Sheonlyhad spicy noodles with ham? Or spicy food in general? The trainer served Mira a bowl first, and she helped herself to her first meal of the day. Actually, I had you eat breakfast. You were asleep,Mims said. Second meal of the day, then. Even so, she was famished. The heat spread throughout her mouth¡ªholy fuck,that was spicy. Not just mildly, but possibly the spiciest food Mira had ever eaten. Mira knew she was reinforcing the stereotype that Sinnohans couldn''t handle spice, but this was just too much. All of her selves screamed in a panic as she scrambled to drink water from her sk. She downed the entire thing before her mouth gottolerable. Mira nced down at the orange noodles with a grimace. They tasted good, but would she be able to finish this? Meanwhile, Sarah was slurping them up with metallic chopsticks like they were just your average noodles. Mims gasped,this is an¡­ assassination attempt. She wants to kill us. She can''t kill us using spicy food! She''s just a dick!Mirabelle whined.And don''t you even think about making me deal with all the pain of this! Distribute it equally! Mira believed what might have happened was that Newman''s spice tolerance was so high she''d forgotten what it was like to have a normal mouth. She refilled her water with Mantine''s help (she was in no position toin about where it came from) and slowly started working on getting food in her system. As Mirabelle said, if she distributed the pain, it was at least tolerable enough to eat without a fuss. Sarah finished her food far before Mira did. Once she did, her finger pressed on one of her Pokeballs, and an amorphous pink blob slumped to the ground with a pathetic gurgle at her side. Sarah looked at the Ditto writhe on the floor. "Sable, you''re on lighting duty today; we''re going into Victory Road." The blob sighed as one, exhaling throughout their entire body. Within three blinks, they were already changed into a Magnemite. Even their eye, which was a Ditto''s biggest giveaway during their transformation, was impossible to distinguish from a normal Magnemite. This Ditto was as good as Abel''s at transforming into things. "This is Sable. They don''t speak very much, and they won''t be annoying, just don''t touch them in any way, shape, or form. They don''t like it." The Ditto''s mas twirled at their side, and they settled on their trainer''sp, as if to say ''except for you!'' They changed again, this time mimicking their trainer''s appearance exactly as their legs happily tapped the ground. "If you''re going to be heavy, get off myp," Sarahined. Ditto huffed, instead opting to go chat with Mantine. The way they moved their hands instead of speaking¡ª yes, that was signnguage, Mira was sure of it. "Intrigued?" Sarah questioned as she sipped on her coffee. "Kind of?" Mira admitted. "The Game Corner had them battle in their fighting rings. They were one of their most famous fighters, with all the transforming and whatnot, and they could trick viewers into thinking another Pokemon was fighting." Sarah gripped her cup tightly. "At some point, Sable just¡­ got tired of it. They justid down and stopped fighting. They threw them out in a dumpster like they were a broken appliance and not a living being." Her usually deep voice was even lower, almost threatening, until the moment passed and her face lit up again. "I''m d that ce finally shut down." "So they''re a rescue?" When Sarah just nodded and decided that was the end of the conversation, Mira slowly finished her noodles. Sarah cleaned up their makeshift camp, putting every back on Mantine, and told the water type to wait for them here and to go eat again if they ever got angry. She''d brought too much stuff for two people to carry inside a cave. Then; She let out her starter. The Dragalge drifted through the air like a queen in her domain, her movements slow and deliberate. Her dark, kelp-like fronds flowed behind her like a flower, and it pulsated with a bright red. Her dark pupil swiveled toward Mira, and she felt the instinctive need to bow her head. The edges of her body were akin to tough driftwood, still supple enough to bend and flow with the air and water, and if Mira squinted enough, she could see the poison shimmer beneath Dragalge''s air sack. Sarah smiled at the poison type, exining the situation at hand. "I''d let out Weavile, but you''d pass out," Sarah added, unbothered. "We''ve trained his Pressure to the highest level." Mira wanted to say she could handle it, but the truth was, she had no idea if diffusing it between her other selves would work properly or if it''d just hit each of them with the same strength as the Distortion World had, to the point where they had all cowered andleft her. "Fine. If you''re sure you can handle the wild Pokemon?" Mira shifted across the ground, clearly nervous as the reality of the situation set in. Sure, she''d been in awful situations before¡ª Sceon, the raid in Pastoria, Cor, and beyond¡ª but she still wasn''t used to how nervous it made her. "You have more Pokemon, don''t you?" Sarah didn''t respond. Instead, the thin woman hoisted her bag on her back and made her way into the cave. Mira hastily followed without a word, as did Dragalge and Ditto. Unlike Cor, whose entrances were wide, cavernous maws that seemed to whisper in your ear with the wind, Victory Road only had a single entryway, and it wastight. It was almost hidden, a narrow, jagged opening carved into the face of the mountainside. It was no grand gateway, but a dark, winding crevice, just wide enough for a single person to squeeze through, forcing them to turn sideways and duck beneath the rough stone. Sable turned back into a Magnemite and shed light deep into the corridor, showing that it''d remain this ustrophobic for at least one hundred feet forward. Dragalge, meanwhile, easily fit through the narrow passage, eyes scanning the pathway ahead and with a subtle, turquoise glow around her skin. At least the ground was even and easy to walk on. Mira slowly pushed herself along the facade, her hands touching the rough, bent stone. The jagged rock jutted out at odd angles, catching the light and casting sharp, shifting shadows that danced upon the walls. Denzel had told Mira about a first-year who had decided toe train here after her eighth badge, shortly before the bombings. One of the few who''d gotten that far. A certain Marley, whose starter was an Arcanine. Mira figured anyone must have been insane to go here of their own volition, especially if they were that green. Even Sarah had agreed, in Justin''s case. Atst, they made it past the tight entrance. Mira sagged against her knees and took a few deep breaths. It had gottenreal tightnear the end to the point where she could barely take a full breath. The air was cool and crisp, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and salt. With Sable''s help, they could see far and wide within Victory Road. Unlike Cor, this was a cavern of winding paths and ever changing elevation, like it had formed naturally instead of being crafted as a throne. Pokemon here were not as self-contained to their spots, either. Whereas in Cor, she would have stumbled on Machop, Geodude, Graveler or simr weaker Pokemon, here in Victory Road, she found Golem, a Machamp, Golbat by the hundred clinging to ceilings and even an Aggron, all spread throughout the cave and screaming at the light brought upon them. Instinctively, Mira released her kazam and Gardevoir, who took to their roles as easily given that they were used to being released in dangerous situations without context. "We''re just passing through," Sarah tried, unbothered by all the attention. Few attacked. Most eyes were glued to Dragalge, who simply exhaled and somehow managed to still be threatening. Those that did¡ª the Golem and a group of Golbat¡ª were immediately choked out by poison so thin Mira could barely see it and immediately rendered unconscious. The noxious air had wormed its way up their lungs, making sure they wouldn''t even need to breathe to feel its effect. A dozen Golbat rained from the sky, and the Golem fell on its back, eyes rolled up into its head. "What can you do?" Sarah scratched her head, looking at her Dragalge''s work. "I haven''t been here in a while, so I guess they were going to attack. Follow." Mira jogged behind herrge strides as she talked to kazam and Gardevoir. Thetter found herself neatly nestled in her head, spreading a cold feeling through Mira''s brain. Here, she could chat with her other selves and get as much attention as she craved. Mia especially was soothed by Gardevoir''spany. The feeling diffused into her, and she hung onto the fairy type''s arm as they made their way deeper into the cave. "Usually, you''d train by challenging Pokemon open to a fight. That way, you both get something out of it," Sarah exined. "Things don''t always work out that way. Anyway, it''s good that you''re here, you''re going to use your psychics to ask the Pokemon around here if they''ve seen Lauren." "Are any open to speak?" Mira asked, looking around. Most had run off when Dragalge had shown off her power. "I''m sure we''ll find one eventually. Knowing Lauren, she''s deeper in the cave, anyway. She has eight badges, these Pokemon would challenge her some, but not much. She''ll be looking for something harder than this." So they made their way down, spending hours traveling through Victory Road. Mira knew that if she''d been alone, this experience would have been harrowing and torture, but Sarah''s presence made it a walk in the park, save for the tough parts to navigate or climb. Luckily, Pokemon served as a good substitute for climbing gear. Most Pokemon did not want to give them the time of day, mostly due to Dragalge''s menacing presence. It took them nearly afull dayto stumble upon a nice Probopass that Gardevoir and Ditto managed to charm, very deep into the cave. Luckily for them, they''d not only stumbled upon the remains of a camping site a few hours earlier, and Probopasshadseen a human girl with jet ck hair walk through here. In exchange for information, the steel type demanded to test itself against Dragalge, a battle which it handily lost, but Sarah made sure to help him up with potions, at the very least. They were willing to put off sleep, if it meant finding her faster. Mira punted off her tiredness to her other selves save for Processing, which for once they didn''tin about, and Sarah hadn''t slept a wink since they''d met, but the woman seemed to sustain herself off caffeine. Probopass led them deeper into the cave in the direction Lauren had gone in until they made it to a cliff. It was only when Sable illuminated the area that Mira saw the way forward. A river system continued to another waterfall inside the cave, its sshing audible even from up here. There was only one path that remained¡ª a straight, narrow trail hugged by the cliff and the wall. Probopass made its way back to its home, and they proceeded deeper in. All Mira could do was hope they''d gone in the right direction. Twenty-eight hours after they''d entered Victory Road, they found her. Lauren was a mess, as expected. Dirtied clothing, tangled hair, bloodshot eyes, and a face smeared by dirt and dust. She was huddled next to her Sceptile, who was the only Pokemon with her. What caught Mira''s eyes was the scarlet red on her hands. Dried blood from wounds in her nails, probably from using them around the cave too much. Not only that, but her sses were cracked, and one lens was gone entirely. She had headphones on, meaning she hadn''t heard them yet, but Sceptile quickly caught wind of their presence. He warned her by shaking her a little¡ª she seemed catatonic¡ª but after a few attempts, she raised her head and looked at Mira and Sarah. Lauren flinched, nearly deciding to run away right then and there, but she stood her ground when she realizedwhowas there. A confused "what?" was all the teenager could muster. With a sluggish movement of her legs, she slowly stood up as her eyes narrowed. "What in the world are you doing here?" Her gaze seemed antagonistic, particrly toward Sarah. Mira looked up at her benefactor, but she shrugged and nudged her forward. This was her job. "Thank the Legendaries, you''re safe." Mira found herself gasping. Now that she knew Lauren was at leastalive, she could at least rx a little. "I''ve been looking for you all over ever since I came back from Cor, Lauren. It''s not safe for you here¡ª" "I''m training. Leave." The interruption was sharp and brutal, as if Lauren couldn''t afford her a care in the world. It hurt like hell. "You''re clearly unwell. You''ve lost weight!" Mira insisted, fists clenching. Her cheekbones were more sunken in than usual. "I''m sorry for your loss, Lauren. I understand what it''s like to lose someone close to you.I understand and can help you.But you''re hurting yourself. It''s time to go home, or you''ll miss the ceremony and the funeral¡ª" Laurenshed out, face reddening with anger, "I don''twantto go there! I don''t want to!" Ah. Was she was burying her head in the sand, unwilling to acknowledge that her brother had died. "Nearly all of the people who''ll be at the fucking ceremony, they won''t have known him! They were justfans!Fakes! They''re all using him; he doesn''t¡­ he doesn''t deserve this," she sobbed, face hidden in her hands. It was true. Poketch, the government, and many people were going to use Craig''s death for their own gain. That was how the world worked. It was unfair, unjust, and miserable, but that was how things went. But she couldn''t say that. "What about his Pokemon?" Mira softly asked. "What about your parents? They''re worried sick about you, and they''re all grieving too." "Roxie¡­" Lauren muttered. "No. No, get out of my head!" she snapped, wildly gesturing with her hands. "Enough of this." Damn it. "I won''t leave until I get you out of there." Worst case scenario, Sarah would have to do something about this, not that she seemed particrly inclined to. "What can I do to change your mind?" Lauren''s back slowly straightened, and she ground her teeth and hoarsed out a single word. "Battle." "...what?" "I was doing well until you showed up. I want nothing to do with you," Mira felt like she''d been stabbed in the heart, "orSarah Newman, orany of you. You abandoned me, left me alone, and I nearly died to a bomb! And you still won''t tell me what really happened in Cor, I bet!" Lauren''s tone rose the more she talked. "You showed up here, so let''s battle so you weren''t a waste of time." Disheveled, crass, dirty and standing like she was justso exhausted, yet possessed enough to keep going. Lauren breathed battling, nourished herself through battling, existed through battling,grieved through battling. She was a born fighter, thrashing to free herself of the pain she was continuously feeling at the demise of her brother. Teeth gnashing, hands bleeding, and with every shivering word was enough anger to burn this entire cave to smithereens. "I''ll arbitrate," Sarah said. Lauren let out some kind of feral, annoyed growl. "eptable. Volis, get ready." Mira nodded, not knowing what to say. She wasn''t a full-fledged,mitted trainer; shecouldn''t win. Lauren already had her starter out, the lean Sceptile whose leaves Mira knew were sharp enough to cut through stone. The grass type wasn''t wounded at all from his time in Victory Road, and he gave Mira an apologetic stare. He knew what he had to do. Sceptile crouched with a reptilian hiss that grew raspy and pointed the longer it went on. Lauren raised a hand, and he silenced himself as soon as she closed a fist. She tweaked her earphones, and Mira could hear her music sting from here, reverberating through the cave even through the device. A cacophony of screams right at home with heavy metal. "This will be," Lauren gasped, "a six-on-six battle with no switches. Send out. Your Pokemon." She gnawed at her overgrown nails, tearing at pieces of it, and Mira flinched when their eyes met. It was as if she''d been looking at a beast. There was nothing but dark anger at the world in them. A desire to see it all blown apart, piece by piece, for taking Craig away from her. Mira shared a knowing look with her psychics and recalled kazam. She''d forgotten what it meant, to be a trainer. It was to speak through battle. "Gardevoir," she rasped out. "You''re up." At once,the fairy said, gliding a few feet ahead. Drip. Drip. Drip.The constant echo of drops of water, seeping into the ground high above and raining through the cave''s ceiling. Everything was so quiet, save for the subtle muffled music, the river and waterfall far below, and Mira''s every breath. Sarah raised her arm, and sweat dripped down Mira''s neck. Understanding drifted through her, one where all of her selves would have to work together in tandem to not crash and burn and have a chance at mending things. Then; She brought it down. Mira was no full-fledged trainer capable of standing up to the best, but she had a few tricks of her own. "Nature''s Wrath!"Lauren barked out. When Sceptile howled at the sky, the cave glowed green, pulsating like veins in a body. Vines creaked through the floor, old vegetation that had been hidden away, greedily sucking onto the cave''s moisture for sustenance. Mira knew Lauren, and she''d known that she''d start with arguably the strongest move in her arsenal. Every single inch of the cavern hummed, yet Mira had a precious resource to ready herself for what wasing. Time to think. Nature''s Wrath was, at its core, unlike Frenzy nt due to how it had been adapted specially for Sceptile. It had been a move she''d been working on to fight Candice for her eighth badge, and the mere act provided Sceptile not just thorny nts to batter his opponent with, but aresourceto use whenever he was obstructed by the weather. "Let''s reach her heart," Mira whispered. "Lance." Gardevoir''s foot grew hot, bursting in mes as she kicked the floor. Rocks erupted, glowing hot from the fire as they coalesced around a pink baton that grew from the fairy type''s hands. They formed into a sharp, elongated pointy end that glowered and vibrated with mour and psychic energy, along with a counterweight near the end of the shaft for bnce. With a menacing hiss, Sceptile prowled low, jumping forward so quickly he turned into a blur of green and red.Fast.So fast Mira had only seen Grace''s Electivire go faster. Her thoughts were quicker, still, but her mouth was a human''s. Gardevoir found herself under assault from hundreds of coiling vines bursting from the wall to her right and the floor, yet she cut them apart with a deft move of hernce. With every movement, the weapon emitted a high-pitched, humming sound that had a continuous, osciting quality, akin to a powerful electrical buzz, and it left trails of light in the air. It was a distraction. Sceptile was already there. A neon green de grew from his wrists, and he cut through Gardevoir''s robe, bleeding her. It sttered on the walls of the cave, yet the psychic''snce caught fire, and she starteddodging. Narrowly, at first, so much so that Sceptile grazed her cheek, arms, legs, and neck with each strike. Her eyes shone with the power of Future Sight, and a slice upward from hernce stabbed into Sceptile''s gut, predicting his dodge to the left toward the cliff. "Mystical Fire!"Mira yelled. Sceptile caught aze; a brilliant torch of blue me that had spread from the tip of Gardevoir''snce to his entire body. The grass type croaked in pain, but neither the heat nor the stab wound stopped him from moving. His hand went for Gardevoir''s throat, sucking her energy with Giga Drain until she managed to Teleport away. Seeing a second into the future didn''t matter if she didn''t have time to react. He''s trying to throw you off the cliff,Mira warned Gardevoir.If I have to recall you, you''re done. She was done talking, at least with her. It''d put them at too much of a disadvantage; her mouth was too slow. The fairy type brushed against her throat, where she found seeds growing around her and feeding Nature''s Wrath directly. She attempted to burn them off or rip them off her, but they were attached too well for her to use her hands and they blew up on her head as soon as they burned.Fuck.Gardevoir shook her head, burned and smoking with spores and dust, which sent her into a wild coughing fit. Low powered spores, unlike Roserade or Tangrowth''s, but powerful enough to bother her nheless. Meanwhile, Sceptile cut apart one of the vines, regenerating the damage from the burns. Scorched scales turned as good as new, and his eyes snapped open with renewed vigor. Every second, she''d have to strike down another vine bursting from the wall, trying to keep her still by clenching around her ankles or just straight upstabbing her. "Attack, attack,attack!" Lauren yelled, stomping a foot down. "Don''t let them collect themselves!" Try Psychic tond some hits!Mira thought. Gardevoir snapped hernce over her knee, dividing it in two, and pink light took over her eyes as another pointed end grew using more rocks from the cave. Sceptile slowed when he got within ten feet due to Psychic, but his momentum carried him enough for him to tackle Gardevoir to the ground. Now on top of her, he once again seized her throat, but the psychic threw half of hernce into the overhang above. The implement lodged itself into the ceiling, creating a spiderweb-like crack that spread throughout the rock until it copsed on both of them. With an annoyed grunt, Sceptile turned and brought his hand up. Vines stabbed through the debris that would have fallen on him, keeping the stones afloat, and he finished the job with Gardevoir, throwing her over the cliff¡ª Until she snapped back to where she''d once been with Teleport, skidding across the rock. Mira''s hand had already beelined to her Pokeball, but Gardevoir was a fighter. With half hernce remaining, shemanded the rocks closest to her, snapping them into a hundred weapons to throw at Sceptile. It didn''t matter. He was too fast, too agile, he too easily cut them apart with Leaf de, and the few of the moves that hit, he just regenerated using Nature''s Wrath. The focus required left Gardevoir open to more hits, and the grass type had nearly rewritten the entire battlefield to his advantage. There was not an inch of ground under his influence, without a vine to use, a seed to explode, or spores to unleash. Sceptile was a hit-and-run fighter meant to oust his opponents, not a Pokemon meant to fight head-on without a n like her Magmortar. They were going to lose.We have to go big. The next fighter will use your work as a stepping stone,Mira quicklymunicated.Moonst! Concentration was not something easy toe by, when fighting Lauren''s Sceptile. At times, it seemed like the gecko was everywhere at once. Gardevoir used a few of the rocks at her disposal to turn her pointednce into a de.Scaffolding. Mira''s sworn knight and protector allowed the de to grow to twice her size, and it fell upon the ground with the weight of her belief, stabbing through it like butter. Lauren wasn''t in the best state of mind to strategize, so Sceptile was still on the attack. With one smooth motion, a push of his leg against one of his vines, he rushed toward Gardevoir in hopes of finishing her off. The moon materialized, wrapping around her sword. Like steel folded hundreds of times into the sharpest and sturdiest of des. She wielded the moon as a weapon. Despite its size, the hilt was slender, elegantly curved, and shimmered with a silver light, as if forged from the purest moonlight. The de itself was sharp and sleek, its surface a mirror of the night sky, reflecting the stars that dotted the heavens above. Even Sceptile looked unsure of himself for the first time, and the mere energy wafting off the sword was enough to cripple his nts. Gardevoir was her ace. She would not go down without a fight. Land a hit,Mira pleaded. de slung over her shoulder¡ª Gardevoir Teleported inches away from Sceptile with her sword already in motion. He ducked under the de, but he found himself still gouged by the sliver of power wrought by the cosmos and was sent careening off to the side. He slid against the ground on all fours and threw himself back into the fight, wrist-des dimming with darkness.Knock Off or Throat Chop?It was masked too well to know. The tip of Gardevoir''s sword zapped with lightning that flew in an arc toward Sceptile. With a grin, he jumped and twisted mid-air. He arranged his vines like a rubber band anchored into the ceiling that he used to go so fast Mira barely registered the Throat Chop hitting the back of her Gardevoir''s neck. The knight fell on one knee. Cracks of light appeared along the de until it dissolved. In that moment of rapture, the de exploded with untold power that washed over Mira and made her see stars until she blinked them away. Lauren was seemingly in the same boat, rubbing her eyes with a savage grin at her first win. There were no psychic barriers here. Just fighting. "Gardevoir is unable to battle," Sarah said, tone finally gripped with interest. "Mira, send out your next Pokemon." Wiping the sweat off her brow, she had a look at the state of the battlefield. Rocks hung like satellites from the ceiling, and thorny nts littered the entire floor. It was simr to Vine Terrain, but different in the way it served to give Sceptile far more mobility instead of swarming opponents with more vines than they knew what to do with. The hair on her arms stood on end as she racked her brain for an answer. Exeggcute was a no-go; they were too weak to do anything to Sceptile. kazam, she''d rather save for thest leg of the fight as a force multiplier. It''d have to be anyone else. Like an old-school trainer, Mira threw her next Pokeball up, releasing Magnezone onto the field. His bulk and flight would give him the advantage, and he too, could use fire type attacks from Tri-Attack. Lauren cracked her neck, a sound that the cave carried, and she licked her lips. "Enough holding back," she decided. "Dragon Dance into Low Kick, let''s go!" Shit. Shit, shit,shit!"Reflect and keep your distance! Hit and run!" Mira yelled. Turquoise light overtook every inch of Sceptile''s skin as the grass type allowed himself toe under the influence of draconic energy with a wild, yet short ritualistic dance. Speed that once was at least manageable turned toout of this world. Sceptile flickered in and out of Mira''s field of view, each movement creating a veritable storm of leaves that harmed even Magnezone''s tough shell. Everything was so confusing; Sceptile was barely visible, camouged behind his Leaf Storm. It was so loud she could barely hear herself think,and that was what she was supposed to be good at. Lauren cackled wildly, her hands tracing the contours of her face, and Sceptilejumpedjust as the thinyer of reflective light finished coating Magnezone. He''d used one of his nts as a trampoline. Magnezone fired rays of electricity and fire at him, but he was so fast he was already there before they could fire off. Sceptile used his momentum to carry enoughstrengthin his kick to dent metal. He''d gone so fast in fact that his feet and skin sizzled from the heat born from the friction in the air. Magnezone crashed higher into the ceiling, where he was assaulted by nts and beaten with rocks until he fell to the ground unconscious. Without future sight and Teleporting, that was where she was left. The gap was too wide to hope to close with her usual tactics. Mira pushed the back of her teeth with her tongue and wonderedhow in the worldshe was going to beat this thing? She wasn''t a good trainer, all she had were feelings and hope. Feelings and hope had never won her anything. "Are you watching me, Craig?" Lauren asked the cave, turning in every direction with each word. "I''ll do it.I''ll win it in your name!" Mira never knew shivering in pity was possible, yet she''d done just that. She wanted to win the Conference in her brother''s name to carry his legacy, to bring his will over the finish line. She''d given up her individuality for this, as if it would bring her brother back. She had let herself be wounded, lost weight and possibly not slept in days. This was self-harm. Mira shut her eyes to stop the avnche of tears and recalled her Magnezone. Focus,every single one of her minds thought. A closer look at Sceptile showed the grass type breathing heavily. Even if he could regenerate faster than they could deal damage,eventually, exhaustion would catch up with him. It had to. "Oh, shit. I nearly forgot." Sarah scratched the back of her neck. She''d been so interested in the battle she hadn''t announced Magnezone being defeated. "Magnezone is unable to battle. Mira, send out your third Pokemon. Gosh." Mira released Porygon2 next. The digital Pokemon was so small as it hovered in the air. It wasn''t specialized for fighting, but Magnezone was and it had done nothing to help. Mira had to think outside the box, if she wanted to w at least one victory away from Lauren. "Download!"Mira ordered. Within the next second, Porygon2 was faster. She''d stolen Sceptile''s hastened speed and made ithers. Sceptile crouched on one knee, closing one eye to aim little shurikens toward the normal type, but all he hit was the wall behind her. The little leaves lodged themselves deep into the rock. Mira continued with haste, "attack mode." Porygon2 continued to avoid every attack like the wind, but something in her eyes changed.Intent. The intent to harm, the intent to fight, the intent toattack. "Conversion into grass." She shimmered green, and the deed was done. When Sceptile finallynded a hit, havinge closer to corner Porygon2, it had minimal effect on her new outer coat of grass TE. Mira ordered for a Lock-On followed by Tri Attack, and the electric, ice and fire beam all converged on Sceptile''s chest. The grass type''s Dragon Dance was so well-honed that even Porygon2''sattackswent faster. However, the Leaf Storm was still raging, and it was difficult to be delusional enough to think they would oust Sceptile. Lauren pointed up at Porygon2 "Jump again¡ª Brick Break, this time!" Sceptile''s entire arm turned bright white as the floor bent to amodate him. In a blur, he propelled himself onto the wall andthenhad another jump toward Porygon2. Mira knew that Brick Break would have a chance to break past Conversion, yet she was undeterred. "Glitch through!" She''d barely had the time to finish that sentence before Sceptile found his hand an inch away from Porygon2. Just before the attack made contact, Porygon2''s form began to shimmer and distort, its smooth, angr body breaking into jagged, pixted fragments. Like a game character phasing through a wall, she made it through the Brick Break unphased and exploded in a burst of ice that clung to Sceptile''s scales. The grass type let out an annoyed hiss as it cut into another vine and garnered the scant energy, making efficient use of it to heal himself. A seed exploded on the wall Porygon2 was closest to, a signal tokeep awayfrom anywhere Sceptile might influence. Porygon2 followed up with another Lock-On, eyes narrowing toward her opponent¡ª "Change of ns," Lauren growled. "Leaf Tornado." The storm suddenly intensified in a circle around Porygon2, and the normal type struggled to tell where exactly Sceptile was, from the way the Tri Attack went horribly wide and beyond the cliff. The Leaf Tornado was slowly bringing the normal type toward the walls, where Sceptile would be able to use his Nature''s Wrath more efficiently to hit her. Even now, the cavern was rumbling with the advent of more vegetation. Was his stamina fucking bottomless? Once, twice, thrice, Porygon2 tried to break out using a burst of mes, but hers were even weaker than Gardevoir''s. She attempted to glitch out of it, but that was like trying to swim against the current in a river. It was just dying the inevitable. Now close to the wall, Lauren again let Sceptile climb up the same facade. This time, it literally ran along it like it wasn''t even affected by gravity, arm glowing with the power of Brick Break. "Discharge, now!" The air around her began to hum with a growing intensity, charged with the anticipation of the imminent attack. The hum escted into a sharp crackle, radiating pulses of electric yellow light that rippled across the cave. Sceptile still managed to easily break through the Conversion, which shattered and crumpled to dust as the Brick Break bore down on Porygon2''s back. That was it, Mira thought as Porygon2 fell to the ground. One clean hit, and they were out. Sceptilended without a hitch, but when he tried to loosen his muscles again to be ready to dash at anything Mira sent out, electricity coursed through him, making him freeze up for a second until it disappeared. He was paralyzed. This was their chance. "Porygon2 is unable to battle¡­" Their chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. "...send out your fourth Pokemon." "kazam!"Mira screamed. With a brilliant sh of red, the psychic type appeared right in front of Sceptile."Battle!" kazam did not have Future Sight, but it was the smartest species on this behind Metagross. Countless possibilitiesy before him as Sceptile raised his hand and the leaves on his wrist took on a wicked sharpness and an emerald glow. If she''d been able to see his eyes, if his back hadn''t been to her, Mira would have seen it within him.Calcting. Power Trick came first. A subtle glow, a coil of energy within his arms as his muscles bulgedrge enough to grow to three times their size in an instant. Then, a touch of fire around his fist as one of his spoons moved with a hypnotic bend in his other hand¡ª Kinesis. Sceptile''s eyes mellowed as he stared at the spoon, and a fiery punch buried itself deep in the grass type''s gut. He was not finished. Psychic to pull him in, then another hit. Another psychic, then another hit. Another, another, another,anotheruntil his belly was scorched by the touch of fire, ckened to a charred, smoldering crisp. "Focus on my voice!" Lauren asked, no,demanded. The power in her voice snapped Sceptile out of this loop, and the grass type''s tail rustled as bug type energy diffused from the appendage. The endless noise snapped kazam from his focus, and Sceptile finally slipped away. So even if Gardevoir had managed to grab him, he would have had this to get out? Fuck. "Transition to speed," Mira muttered. She hadn''t needed to; they both saw it was the best move. What had gone to boost his strength now went to his legs, and kazam found himself quick enough to keep up with a usual speedster. While Sceptile was no usual Pokemon, the paralysis would work well to give kazam the edge. Spoon sharpened with Psycho Cut, he dashed in and out in an attempt to finish off Sceptile, keeping his contact with the ground at a minimum to narrow the window the grass type had to use Giga Drain through the floor. The only times they managed to hit were when Paralysis sprung to action and made Sceptile freeze for a moment. Combine that with Teleport, and now they were cooking with gas. His left shoulder. His right thigh. His back. Slowly but surely, Sceptile was getting hit. He tried retaliating with X-Scissor, but kazam was faster¡ª "Now!"Lauren swept her arm with a mad grin. Mira knew her friend. She only had this particr smile when something was about to explode. She was vindicated when every single area began to swell and grow. Every nt, every vine, every seed expanded like a cancer until they reached critical mass and¡ª A sh of light. Golden like the sun. The cave walls, lined with jagged rocks and ancient crystals, momentarily turned to blinding white as the energy surged forward. The cave erupted into a violent explosion, shaking its very foundations. The st wave roared through the cavern, shattering rocks and sending debris flying in all directions. The explosion''s roar echoed off the cavern walls, a thunderous sound that reverberated through the tunnels and crevices and amplified the destruction. Smoke and debris filled the air, obscuring Mira''s view, but her heart sank for Lauren. The explosion was massive, and it would have hurt them had Sarah''s Ditto not been here. They''d transformed into a Kadabra and shielded both Lauren and Mira. A rock had been hurled right into her face, but it bounced off the barrier like a pillow and fell off the side of the cliff. She heard itnd in the river below with a loudssh, followed by the faint, echoing ripples fading into the distance. So Lauren had made her Sceptile into a beast nearly impossible to take down, and once the situation became untenable, she justblew it up?That was new! She''d really put thewrathin Nature''s Wrath. It wasn''t even over. The remaining spores and energy all coalesced back on Sceptile''s body¡ªno fucking way this was happening.His scales started to shimmer as they began to mend. The cracks gradually filled in, the damaged patches smoothing out and blending back into their original texture. The burnt spots faded, and the scorch marks dissipated as new, healthy scales grew to rece the lost ones. All the resources they''d gathered from the ground, all the energy they''d stolen from Mira''s Pokemon had exploded and reentered Sceptile''s body to heal him as if nothing had happened. Was this thing even beatable? Mira had seen it train and go toe-to-toe with Magmortar, constantly regenerating through his mes, but this was an entirely new level of bullshit. Mira was so out of her depth that it felt like she could barely keep her head above the water. Her ears were still ringing, but the worst of it had also been contained by Sable. "Onest ride, Volis." Lauren almost soundedrabid. The grass type''s chest puffed up, and he took a deep breath. The paralysis was still there, as was the tiredness. Most of it, anyway. Meanwhile, kazam had brought up a hasty shield around himself, but it had shattered under the force of the explosion, and he remained on the ground a smoldering heap. Once Sarah had her spiel about Mira sending her next Pokemon, she took a little time to allow the tiredness to set into Sceptile''s bones. Her friends often did this, but this was the first time she''d applied it in a fight. Thirty seconds. The cliffside was utterly destroyed, with only a narrow stretch of ground to fight on. The space between the cliff and the wall had been utterly ravaged, leaving behind a jagged, hollowed-out expanse bent nearly forty-five degrees to the side. Ordinarily, Sceptile would have good footing even here, but not after so many battles fought. Not after so much struggle. Mira released her Gengar. A raspy cackle that spewed noxious air wherever he went. Teeth upon teeth, needle-like and unsettling enough to send a chill up Mira''s spine, even now. The grin was almost too wide, stretching across too much of his face, and Gengar was transparent enough for Mira to see it through his back. As he floated, the shadowy aura around Gengar pulsed with an unsettling rhythm that carried with it whispers of the dead. The surrounding shadows seemed to respond to Gengar''s presence, elongating and shifting in sync with its movements. The gaseous Pokemon looked back at Mira, as if to ask if he could have fun and fight the tired Sceptile. "Behave; this is a normal battle," Mira warned. "Poison Gas." With each cough, more of the toxic fumes billowed out of Gengar''s mouth. A cold wind swept across the cliffside to carry it toward Sceptile, but the grass type countered with another Leaf Storm. Gengar disappeared, spreading himself thin across the poison until his blood-red eyes popped up right in front of Sceptile, and he bit into the grass type''s arm. His teeth turned to a putrid-smelling purple that Mira could distinguish even through the barrier, and Gengar injected poison directly into Sceptile''s bloodstream. The grass type''s hand arm was corroding. Slowly but surely, more and more veins turned to a menacing purple below his scales. Without Nature''s Wrath here to be a third set of limbs, Sceptile''s influence no longer reached every inch of the battlefield. He was fast, but Gengar could instantly travel through his poison. His Leaf Storm wasn''t enough to send all of the poison away when Gengar was continuously producing more. So they switched strategy. "Don''t lose lying down!" Lauren raged. "Exploding Bullet Seed!" Combining Seed Bomb and Bullet Seed¡ª amon high level move, yet destructive nheless. There was areasonit was so widespread. The force of the explosion would risk Sceptile falling off into oblivion beyond the cliff, but they would do a better job at clearing away the gas. Like a machine gun, seeds came out of Sceptile as he swept his tail, each blowing up in session. Gengar groaned, and his was a cacophony of pained spirits, but he followed up with a Will-O-Wisp whose mes were solid enough to get through the explosions, and the purple mes entered Sceptile''s body with a jubnt scream. Burned. Paralyzed. Poisoned. Mira snapped her fingers, and Gengar brought forth the most powerful of Hexes Mira had ever seen. The ghostly energy wrapped around Sceptile like tendrils, ransacking through his body until he was brought to his knees. His body smoked and smelled like burned grass as he slowly slid down the cliff, but Lauren recalled him before he could fall down. "Sceptile is unable to battle. Lauren, send out your second Pokemon." Lauren''s hands froze above her Pokeballs. Some kind of rity returned to her eyes behind her broken sses. Her starter, her brother''s gift, was gone. Unable to fight and unconscious. It had¡­ It had an effect. The thirty seconds passed without Lauren moving an inch. "I think the battle''s over, Mira," Sarah said. It was. Five Pokemon to take down one of hers, but Lauren had lost the fight on a technicality. Mira''s legs felt like jelly, and she was so exhausted she could barely keep walking straight. Arceus, she fucking hated battling. Mira slowly made her way across the thin ledge that remained from their battle. She nearly slipped a few times, but Sable was there to keep her safe. Lauren looked right at her with a mixture of pain and anger. Her starter, whom she had clearly believed indomitable in this battle, had lost. Just like her brother. She must have believed Craig would always be here, that she''d always be able to chase after him until they finally had a battle where she''d finally surpass him. Lauren burst into tears as soon as Mira grabbed her. She copsed into her arms, and Mira gently stroked her back until she started sobbing too. Arceus, she was horribly dirty, but that didn''t matter in the moment. "I''m sorry," Mira said. "I''m so sorry." Lauren''s words were incoherent, but Mira managed to make out an apology of her own. She cried for a good while, finishing long after the adrenaline had drained from Mira''s body. Mira knew she was back to beingat least functionalwhen she started pushing away from her hug. She''d never been a fan of physical contact, unless it was limited and in specific circumstances like this one. "Let''s go home, now." Lauren sniffled. "Okay." Mira was whole again, and she loved this girl so much she thought her heart was going to burst. "I love you too." What. What? Mira looked up at her friend and saw her usual intense stare, although softened by grief. Had she said that out loud? Fucking.Mims.
Chapter 326 – The Funeral Chapter 326 ¨C The Funeral
CHAPTER 326 - THE FUNERAL The only memories of a funeral I could conjure were vague blotches and images from when I was a child. If I remembered correctly, one of my father''s colleagues in his department had died from some kind of disease, though I had been too young to remember exactly what it was. They had been close enough to be invited, but not close enough for my father to be deeply affected for more than a few days afterward¡ª or maybe dad had just been good at hiding his feelings from his daughter who perpetually needed him. It was lucky, in a way, that I''d never had to go to one. My grandparents on my father''s side had both died before I''d met them, and it didn''t sound like they''d had the best rtionship with him. My grandma on my mom''s side was an option, but honestly, I didn''t feel like going. Justin''s family had rented out Jubilife''srgest cemetery for the day. It was sunny, not at all overcast like it had been thest few days. At the edge of the sprawling cemetery, nestled among ancient oaks and rows of headstones, stood a few wide, white tents. Their heavy canvas ps swayed gently in the breeze, offering shelter to the mourners gathered beneath their canopy. Food and drinks were offered within as well, though no alcohol from what I had seen. Justin had a decent number of family members. Unknown uncles, aunts, cousins, and family friends whom I had never met. The attendance was generally around forty people, give or take. Seeing all these people grieve for him made me realize there was a side of him I had never really known. He had family troubles too, but those hadrgely been ignored after Sceon, when he had cut off most contact with his dad. Justin''s Pokemon were here as well, as sullen as his closest family members, and all huddled together next to Justin''s casket. Even the hard-to-read, stringent Corviknight couldn''t bear to see his trainer''s coffin. Audino''s ears were droopy, and his usual cheerful self was nowhere to be seen. Arcanine kept licking the casket and bumping his nose at the wood as he whined; Toxapex had cried enough to flood a small area they were in, but a hired Natu kept channeling the water away before it could seep into the soil; Krookodile had grieved himself to sleep. All of his friends had thankfullye by as well. I''d seen Mira over by the tents with Lauren, who had new, slightly rounder sses instead of her sharp, rectangr ones. Mira''s recalling of her adventure to go save her had made my heart beat in excitement, especially the battle near the end. That was the stuff a good story was made of, with a happy ending and everything. But it was also just¡­ genuinely a good thing, if I took a step back and stopped thinking like a fairy for a moment. With how loyal Lauren''s Pokemon were, they most likely would have followed her deeper and deeper into Victory Road until she was seriously hurt or worse. Denzel was there too, with his mother and father closely supervising him, much to his annoyance. He was confined to a chair, forbidden from moving to avoid straining his back or stretching the skin. It was probably for the best; otherwise, he might have dragged me back into the group. Chase stuck by his side, relentlessly teasing him about being less mobile than a guy in a wheelchair. I overheard a few of the jokes and couldn''t help butugh to myself, but I knew it was important to keep my distance. The few nces I''d caught of Cecilia made my eyes unconsciously gravitate her way and my legs move in her direction. She''d sequestered herself within the tents with Pauline and Emilia to keep herpany, along with Slowking. She''d gotten all of her Pokemon back from the Center and was leaving tomorrow, or even maybe tonight. She hadn''t told me. Hell, even Maeve hade. She''d stuck around with Louis with a dead look in her eye for a little bit, but was now by herself with her Infernape by her side and Gligar on her head, eating at her hair. I supposed we were both sticking out like sore thumbs. There was a row of dark chairs arranged near a central aisle where friends and family would gather to listen to further speeches. I''d hastily left after Justin''s father had spoken there to thank us foring, unwilling to be exposed to Cecilia''s presence. Here I was, crouching on some grass a ways from any contact and holding up a single de of grass up to Princess'' face. The fairy''s eyes were sown shut as she groaned in concentration. Her wings vibrated with focus, and pink dust wafted off her fur in small quantities. It was barely enough to notice if you squinted. The de of grass was cut in half at its base. Even though the object beingcerated was so fragile, theactof cutting was still loud and clear. A distinct slicing noise reminiscent of a sword drawn from its sheath with a swift, metallic hiss, loud and startling, cutting through the stillness of our istion and leaving behind a sharp, ringing echo that hung in the air. "Nice one." I celebrated with a whisper. Before I could keep going, Angel smothered her in vines and squished her cheeks to congratte her. His new eye was perpetually closed because of its sensitivity to sunlight. My lips couldn''t help but smile when he dragged me closer by the wrist to join in on the hug. Partly soft as a pillow, and partly tough, yet supple. The entire team was nearly reunited; it was only Sunshine left to pick up tomorrow, and we''d all be back together. Angel was wearing a tiny, itty bitty crown of metal atop his head¡ª a concealed Mimi who had jumped for joy at his return. asionally he would pat them with a vine, and the steel type would squeal happily in return. Refocusing my attention on Princess, I noticed she was looking quite smug and proud of herself for cutting the de of grass. Her chest fur puffed up to make her appearrger, and her wings were neatly folded at her sides. In the days before the funeral, I''d gone back to visit Be once, and it was an exercise she''d given us reminiscent of the first trick she had attempted to teach Princess with mour. Whereas before, the goal had been to make the leafmovedue to her core Belief being gravity-focused, she had made Princess'' goal to cut. We had Moonst already, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. I had plenty of ideas workshopped for slicing moves. First, we''d need to get her to consistently work her way up from a leaf to actually useable. Moonst was somewhat of an implement. A tool that made any fairy using their core Belief far easier. What we were asking of her was essentially like getting her toactuallycreate something out of nothing. Squeezing water out of stone. "A little too close to the finger, so don''t get too carried away." My nails dug into her fur, raking past her skin near her crown. "You could have cut it off, youngdy." In her concentration and desperation to slice through the grass, she might have gone a little too hard, even while holding back. Princess countered by saying that I was the one who''d decided to hold the grass up in the first ce, and I told her it was easier for her to focus that way and it''d up her precision. Angel helpfully signed that he could hold it if needed, but what was training without trust in your Pokemon, anyway? "Here, wanna do another?" Between two fingers, I grabbed another de of grass, but Princess said she wasn''t in the mood anymore and would continueter. "Fair," I said, dropping the grass. "You''ve done well for today anyway." I was¡­ a little excited about it, is all. I''d seen how Cynthia''s own Togekiss had suppressed his presence in the Distortion World, and that showed there were more ways to use Belief than with merely Moonst. Betrix had known this, but imed that I would have needed to pay to ess such knowledge before that day. Stingy, but fair. Ididpay her in stories from Cor and how the mountain functioned. Thankfully, she gave me a discount. Ordinarily, I would have had Cass or Honey out, but it was important not to have too many Pokemon bothering the funeral. Plus, Justin''s father had hired a few psychics for security. Now that Indigo had pulled through and sent Sinnoh many of their Kadabra, people couldn''t get their Pokemon pressed into service anymore. The entire country was starting to breathe a little easier. I allowed the minutes to pass, watching people mingle from afar while Tangrowth curiously read out the names of the tombstones around us, growing sadder with each one. It was Princess, who gently distracted him by throwing a bit of mud at his side with Ancient Power, though I had to stop her before she upturned the entire cemetery. It was odd to see her having fun in such a gloomy setting, not that she''d cared much for Justin, anyway. Cecilia and dad were the only other humans she cared for. Honey might be saddened¡ª I''d let him out when we were called to the rows of chairs to sit down. Deciding I''d had enough of standing around, I decided to slowly trudge toward Maeve. She was alone, and I wanted to learn what had been going on with her anyway. She was sitting under the shade of arge tree, facergely emotionless as she flicked her Gligar''s face every time he bothered her. Like everyone else today, she was wearing ck. A dark-colored knee-length skirt paired with a ck jacket over a white blouse. It was surprising she wasn''t dying from the heat, especially with Infernape next to her, but Maeve had always struggled with cold. Maybe her tolerance for heat was higher as a result. Her face was still marked by countless faded scars going up, down, and sideways¡ª asting and dark reminder of what had happened in Pastoria. They gave her a hardier appearance. Her expression soured when she saw me and my Pokemon approach. Angel''s vine wrapped tighter around my ankle¡ª a sensation I''d missed all too much¡ª and Princess reflexively sneered. "If I''m bothering you, I''ll go." There was no point in talking to someone who didn''t want me near them. Since Cecilia had cut things off, I''d begun to think that maybe I was too reliant on people for support, anyway¡ª A few steps in the dry grass rang out behind me, and then there was a pull at the back of my shirt. "No. I mean, it''s fine. I just didn''t expect you to talk to me," she said, voice all quiet. By the time I faced her, her eyes were downcast. Now that we were closer, I could see they were puffy and red from crying. "I made a face, didn''t I?" Infernape, who was still below the tree''s shade, sat down and looked at me with a curious gaze while he kept Gligar under his armpit like some sort of annoying child. "Oh. I mean, it''s okay," I tried, desperate to rid us of this awkwardness. I found myself scratching my arm that didn''t even itch just so my hands would be doingsomething. "It was just a little¡­ lonely." "Lonely?You?" Maeve smiled and shook her head. "All of your friends are¡­ wait, I guessed I missed a lot, huh? Did you guys have a falling out?" "It''s just better if I take my distance for the time being while I figure some things out about myself," I exined to resume Emilia''s advice. As rude as it may seem, Maeve had always been mildly out of our orbit, so I assumed speaking to her for a while was fine. "How are you holding up? It''s been a while." She had not spoken to us since Cor, and was keeping her distance even with Louis. Maeve shrugged. "Doing alright, I guess. I''m kind of like you. Trying to figure out where to go from here." In the background, the hired DJ changed songs; she was ying a ylist of Justin''s favorite. They were mostly low-key songs you could easily study or read to, most of them without lyrics. "He didn''t listen to much music after Sceon," she continued with a sigh. "I didn''t know any of his taste." "Me neither, admittedly." We were shoulder to shoulder now, watching the small crowd mingle. "It''s¡­" "Depressing. Every time I go over it in my head, I go, ''I should have asked him this or that,'' but I''ll never get that time back." Maeve''s voice quivered near the end of the sentence. "Mhm." In the deepest recesses of my heart, there was pain at that idea. Agonizing, twisting, and desperate to show on my face. But it was more manageable than yesterday. And that day had been more manageable than the day before it. I believed I was through the hardest parts of processing Justin''s death, and as Sunshine''s own experience with Kamaile and his team leaving him early, that wasokay. We stayed there for a while, and I mingled with her Pokemon as she did the same with mine. Her Gligar was a curious one, always googly-eyed at anything new. Maeve had to chase him away before he couldnd me out of fear that he''d rip my dress. Infernape was a lot more normal. He told me he''d long admired Sunshine''s prowess at using his frames, and though he had found his own fighting style now, he''d wanted to emte it for the longest time. Maeve, meanwhile, got along great with Angel¡ª to be honest, you''d have to be really odd not to like him at least alittle bit. Princess warmed up to her a little, but one aspect of raising these kids I rarely noticed was that they were too used to speaking to me as if I were another Pokemon. That meant that Maeve got confused really fast at the flurry of words the Togekiss offered her. Hell, Angel had his own makeshift signnguage that didn''t adhere to any rules but the things he''d made up. "You know, I was scouted," Maeve mumbled under her breath. "To join the League and train to be an ACE Trainer." "Huh¡ªwhat?" My head whirled toward her so quickly that my neck ached. "When was this?" Usually, people were often scouted to join the League first, mostly during the Conference where the government would hone in on who would be useful. From what I understood of the system, you basically never went straight to ACE from a normal trainer. Maeve replied, "after Cor. They came and spoke to my parents about it and everything, but I still haven''t made a decision. They lost a decent amount of people fighting Gctic and are looking to fill out their ranks again. I''d just be a candidate with a bunch of other people some a boot camp; it wouldn''t be a sure thing." "I mean, if¡ª if I hadn''t known so much about how horrible being an ACE Trainer was, I would have been super happy for you, Maeve." I gulped, imagining the ruthless training she''d be put through. "But it''s a horrible job, even if you don''t have to guard a bunch of snotty kids twenty-four-seven. They beat the emotion out of you until you be a tool¡ª" My mouth stopped. Wasn''t that what I wanted? "I dunno. I killed like a hundred people in Cor¡ª Pokemon included¡ª and I feel nothing about it. Not an ounce of regret, but not even joy at some sort of revenge or anything." Maeve chewed on her lip. "Just nothing. Like it was just work. Got no dreams, no guilt, no signs of PTSD¡­ apparently, that''s rare in people, and it''s part of something they seek." "I understand the ''just work'' part." After a while, it was just going through the motions. Like getting frustrated at doing too much homework and just wanting to get through it. And to be honest, while I''d tried not to kill people, it was because I was trying to emte what a good person would do thanks to Mimi and Maylene. Of course. there was part of me that thought I could fake it until I made it. "You''re sixteen, Maeve. You have your whole life ahead of you; this would be seriously rash." "It would be, wouldn''t it?" she agreed. "I''ve been turning it over in my head for the two weeks and a half we''ve been out. My parents were fooled by the officers'' smooth words and were all in on me joining. My team''s good with whatever I do except for my Yanma, but I''m sure she''de around." "Maeve¡­ why does it feel like you want to justify doing this? What about Louis?" I turned to see if I could find our friend "Because it''s something I''m good at," she said with a grim smile. "Also, Louis is¡­ he''s sweet, but he was just a crush. I''m over it." "Over it, like¡­?" "I confessed to him a few days before Justin died. I figured that if we were going to die fighting Gctic, why the hell not, right?" Sheughed bitterly. "He rejected me on the spot. Said he couldn''t see himself with anyone after what he''d done to Cecilia and that it wouldn''t be right." Damn. That sounded just like him. "I''m sorry." "Eh. As I said, I''m over it. Anyway, it''s not a sure thing like you think, I still don''t know if I''ll join or not." Maeve looked up at the clear skies, and wind swept past her mid-length hair. "If I don''t, I think I''ll join the army, though. I just feel like I need¡­ a fresh start. And structure." I couldn''t help but exhale in relief. She''d nearly thrown her life away. "Good. Look into that. That''s a far better prospect than being an ACE, trust me. I''ve spent hours upon hours with them and they''re broken people. They''re broken down and molded to what the League wants them to be. You¡ª" My phone vibrated in my pocket. My stupid brain instantly went for Cece even though that made no sense and she was literally right there. "You''re good under pressure; the army fits your shape," I added as I pulled it out of my pocket. "Of course, you don''t have to do either, but it''s your decision." Arceus, it was so odd seeing everyone pulling themselves away from the Circuit. Months ago I thought they''d all be going at it for a few years at least. Just like Pauline, I thought she could have gotten eight badges next year. I''d been about to say something, but forgot what it was when I saw Maylene''s text. "Don''t let me bother you," Maeve said. "And thanks for talking with me. I really appreciate it." She returned under the shade, no doubt waiting for the proceedings to begin, while I scrolled up and entered my phone''s password. Princess, the little rascal, tried to pretend she wasn''t looking at the screen. Angel pestered her by cing vines in front of her eyes until she nearly cursed him out but stopped herself. It wasn''t like Ihadn''theard her cursing. Like Honey, she snuck one in every now and then, just never in front of me. Or Buddy. Or Angel, but that was for entirely different reasons. She just didn''t want to sully his innocent ears. Maylene-Sorry if im bothering u, I just hope the funeral is going okay Maylene-Im always here if you need to talk, and ill be there tomorrow for craigs ceremony It was nice of her to check in. The truth was that we hadn''t really spoken much since Cecilia and I took our break, and most of that had been relegated to small talk or surface-level stuff. Dry. There was no doubt in my mind that she must have noticed the shift or my eagerness to talk to her, and yet she was still¡­ "Damn it," I moaned. "This is needed. It''s needed." Escape from dependency on any person was my mantra, these days. Angel soothed me by stroking my head, and Princess rubbed her head on my side and chirped worryingly. Mimi decided to jump back on my shoulder for support. They weren''t really hiding anymore; they were justzy. We''d made the decision yesterday, and Meltan no longer would have to stay disguised. "Thanks, guys." It honestly felt like every time I texted her was a battle where I had to choose my words as carefully as possible to not give her any renewed hope. At least it was far easier over the phone than face-to-face. It wasn''t like friendscouldn''tspeak for hours about whatever sprang to mind, but she had a crush on me, so distance was warranted. Whereas I might have wanted to answer ''you would never bother me,'' for example, Icouldn''t. Because I knew it was the kind of thing that''d make her heart skip a beat. Every time I needed to know if something would go too far, I''d picture myself and my unrequited crush on Cece.How would I react if Cecilia had said this at the time?It had worked pretty well so far. I just had to hold on until Cecilia came back, and then I''d let her down easy. Tomorrow would be the hurdle to clear. Oh. Right, she could see I''d read this and was waiting for an answer. You-It''s going alright. Waiting for the proceedings to start, which should be in thirteen minutes. You-Thanks for offering your help. I appreciate it. Maylene-Want to hang out tomorrow? What the hell? In one fell swoop, she''d ruined my ns to conveniently avoid her withoutmitting to anything! Now I''d have to deny her instead of being a ke and hoping the world would bend to my desires. You-Won''t you have duties? As a Gym Leader? I wouldn''t want to be annoying and waste your time. Every Gym Leader would be there, after all. They''d have to sit around and do¡­ Gym Leader stuff, surely. Plus, it''d be weird of she was hanging out with someone else and possibly having a good time while people would be sad all around us. Maylene-cmon. I would never find hanging with u annoying, grace. and after some procedural stuff ill be able to roam freely. Why was she so forwardtely? With an annoyed huff, I gathered my courage and typed up a response. You-I think it''d be best not to. There. Right, to the point, and without avoiding anything. It was about time I put my money where my mouth was. Maylene started typing, then stopped for a good while. Two minutes, by my count. Maylene-hey did i do something wrongtely? feels like youve been avoiding me this past week and it kinda hurts Maylene-and i miss u kinda Instantly, my bravado copsed, and I scrambled to give her an answer. Of course, there was no way out of this without hurting her; I''d been stupid to expect anything less. At some point, I would have to stop hiding. Her adding ''kind of'' here didn''t do anything to hide the strength of what she was feeling. Arceus, I was so stupid. Stupid, foolish,moronic! You-I''m sorry; I haven''t been right to youtely. You''re right. Tomorrow we''ll talk. I''d rather be in person for this. I had no choice but to be straight with her, at least to a point. To tell her about the fears of dependency on her. If Cecilia hadn''t told me not to reveal the state of our rtionship, I would have gone further and spilled everything, but this would be a good start. If I told her how broken I was, how I wouldtch myself onto her like some kind of parasite and hurt her if she gave me the opportunity, then surely she would understand. She had a good head on her shoulders, but it would be unhealthy for me, and I''d just drag her down with me. I was in no state of mind for this weird thing we had going on. Maylene-well u just made me super nervous but im still thankful You-I know that this is a useless statement that most likely won''t have any effect on you, but you shouldn''t worry. It won''t be anything drastic. Maylene-if thats a lie u better make it up to me, u dork "I mean, it''s not a lie, but I might be wrong. I don''t know," I whispered to myself. In my point of view, it''d just be a needed readjustment of our situation, but what about hers? If she took it badly, I''d need to fix it somehow. You-How would I make it up to you? I''ll do anything you ask. It took Maylene a bit to answer, so I reread my text and realized how awful this sounded in context. You-I''m so sorry that sounded really bad; I didn''t mean it in any creepy way. Maylene-haha no worries i know. Maylene-i gotta go back to work. see you tomorrow. Maylene wasn''t one to end a conversation so abruptly, and this was her lunch break! Something I''d told her countless times not to skip with Cecilia until she finally relented. She didn''t have to go back to work at all, I had just most likely flustered her enough for her to want out of the conversation. There was no time toment my fuck-up. The music ending and people filtering out of the tent meant that the funeral proceedings were about to begin. I recalled Princess and Angel, but kept Mimi on my shoulder while I released Honey out of his ball. The little blob of metal garnered a few odd looks from people wondering what in the world they were, but these were nearly always passing nces at most. This was Justin''s day. We all made our way toward the chairs, where I''d been given an assigned seat. "Funerals are how we say goodbye to the dead," I exined to the steel type with a whisper. "Usually, in most of Sinnoh, people are buried underground. Justin''s going to be burned after this, though. Like in the Iron Inds." Only Louis and his family would be able to see it done. Mostly, Mimi seemed intrigued by an ind being named after iron. "How did your people do it?" If I understood correctly, they answered with something about being wrapped with thin sheets of metal and then being encased in a sarcophagus. That kind of sounded like treatment only a monarch would get, but I doubted Meltan knew much about themon folk in Lakhutia. Luckily for us, my seat was a ways away from Cecilia. Louis probably had something to do with this, or perhaps Emilia. She''d helped with some of the funeral as well. I was sitting next to a pair of older gentlemen at the edge of the row of chairs so Honey could stand next to me. One of them was crying and continuously patting his eyes with a colorful handkerchief. They spoke to each other in whispers, reminiscing about how Justin had been a good kid and how he''d been taken from them too soon. Albert Gardner took to the small podium wearing dark suit and tie. Elegant, yet simple. It was my first time seeing the man in person, and it was remarkable how much he looked like Justin. He was tall andnky, shoulders hunched over like he hated being here, hands gripping the sides of his lectern until his knuckles turned white. He wore his hair in a neat, old-fashionedbover, and the way he cleared his throat as he slipped his finger between his neck and cor gave the impression of someone being morefortable on his own inbs than a man who''d give a speech to people. Justin''s father awkwardly scratched the side of his ear and patted the sides of his suit. "Thank you all for¡ª" The microphone peaked, and the ufortable sound spread throughout the audience. Albert clicked his tongue and tapped on the microphone with his finger a few times. "Thank you all for being here today. And a special thank you to Louis Bianchi for helping me put all of this together. Justin was lucky to have you as a friend." We all politely pped for a few seconds, and while I couldn''t see Louis from where I was sitting, it was easy to imagine him looking around all embarrassed. Albert''s hand rested on Justin''s coffin. "It''s said that the rtionship between a father and his son is one of the most profound andsting bonds in life." He exhaled, fingers gone limp against the wood. "I was¡­ not a very good father." He allowed the words to sit with us before continuing. "I was preupied with my research and thepany. I didn''t give my son the attention, love, and care he deserved. I made him go on this journey for mary reasons, and because of that, Sceon changed him down to the way he thought about things." Albert turned toward the coffin. "It might be toote to say this now, son, but I''m sorry, and I love you. I''ve always loved you." Honey, as soft-hearted as he was, was tearing up already. I was too. It was echoes in time like these that really got to me. I reminisced about our time in Eterna Forest where Justiny depressed and defeated, sitting on a fallen log of wood, asking himself if his father had ever loved him. I hoped he was seeing this. "I apologize," Albert sniffled into the microphone. "I''ve never been that great at public speaking. My son was¡ª my son was a shy little boy, as I was and still remain in many ways. Restrained and scared of opening up to people. But he was good, he was kind, and most of all, he was passionate, whether that was in his friendships or his career. I remember it like it was yesterday, when he came up and bugged me about everything Pherzen could be doing differently, more efficiently, or what we could do to save costs. He was a real businessman at heart, even as a young child¡­" Albert''s speech continued for around ten minutes, with each wording out growing more and more confident, yet somehow wracked with regret all the same. He talked about how proud he was that his son had gotten so many badges in his first year, and how he believed he might have gotten all eight should Gctic not have taken Justin away so early. He talked about stories of him as a child struggling to speak to people at school, and him oveing that. He talked about his life, struggles and how he so wished he could have been better to Justin every step of the way. The apuse that rang out was thunderous when he was done. So loud it made my hearing aid go into a feedback loop that turned into a loud, high-pitched screech. More family members went next. The crying old man next to me had been his grandfather and mostly focused on Justin as a kid, especially with how he''d spoil him with gifts and snacks when his father wasn''t looking. A cousin in his early twenties spoke about how he''d answer so many questions about business when Albert was too busy. A middle-aged woman not in the family talked about how polite and well-spoken he was whenever they met at gs, fundraisers, parties, or whatever gatherings. It all went on for an hour¡ª a beautiful elegy of Justin''s life, filling in the nks and coloring the person who I had been so happy to call one of my closest friends. But then, atst, it was Louis'' turn to speak. He made a point to have all of Justin''s Pokemon behind him, and I saw a new facet of my friend just then. No, perhaps not a new one. An older Louis which had been buried for months. He carried himself confidently, his shoulders squared and his gaze steady as it passed over the crowd as if he had finally shed the weight of doubt that had shadowed him for so long. The familiar fire in his eyes that had once been a mark of his endless ego now was tempered and matured. Louis the boy had grown into a man. "Justin was my best friend." To me and to my friends, this wasn''t surprising, but to the others? To the people who hadn''t been with us this past year? They knew Louis Bianchi as a selfish manchild who couldn''t see beyond his own nose and who wouldn''t give a quiet kid like Justin the light of day unless it was to make himself shine brighter. He slowly arranged his tie and inclined his head among the doubting crowd. "It took me a while to realize it¡ª until the Darkest Day struck and he left, and I realized what his absence meant¡ª but he was. He centered me in my immature days, and because of that, I vowed to bring him home after the Darkest Day." He''d seeded in Sunyshore after a battle where his newly evolved Vespiquen had nearly drowned Corviknight in honey. Yet the steel type, stalwart behind Louis, did not react negatively to memories of the fight. "He was out getting a book for me when the bombs took him from all of us," Louis said, still somehow calm. "And for that, I apologize to you, his family and friends." I heard Audino cry out behind him, his little voice picked up by the microphone telling Louis it wasn''t his fault. "I have been haunted day and night by ''what ifs'', and while I have forgiven myself, I don''t think I''ll ever shake that little nagging feeling in my head. The little voice telling me that things could have been different." He swallowed, wavering for the first time, and took a deep breath. "I was not a great friend to Justin the majority of the time I knew him. I met him at a g, the sort you''re all very familiar with. I was loud, boisterous, and dragged him wherever I wanted. I was nine and he was seven years old, and I could tell he admired my outgoing nature. Yet I made unwarranted jokes at his expense to make myself feel better, made fun of him for being so quiet, and still, he stuck around. It wasn''t until this year, through many of our shared experiences, that I realized how wed I was." It was easy to forget how he''d behaved when I''d first met him. Louis outstretched his hands and smiled thinly. "Yet we are all born wed beings, and we either grow or get worse as we age. I believe that without Justin in my life, I would have grown up much worse if you can even believe that." There were a few chuckles in the crowd at the self-deprecating humor. "My friends were instrumental at getting my head out of the sand I had buried it into," he nced my way, then Cecilia''s, Denzel''s and at the others, "but Justin was my first genuine friendship, the first step out of that hole. He was also thest." He looked at the coffin with a fond smile. "Thank you for everything, my friend, and may we see each other again one day." He was done. There was another round of pping, and Honey patted me on the shoulder as if to say it was going to be okay. We''d sent him off well, hadn''t we? ¡ª Justin''s casket was avable for viewing by the public after the speeches. It had been moved to one of the wide tents because of how hot it was out. Summer was in full swing, and it was 28 degrees Celsius. Cecilia probably would haveughed about how that wasn''t hot at all, actually. Legendaries, I missed her. It was carved from rich, darker wood that gleamed with a strange luster. Along the edges, intricate floral motifs were delicately etched, each petal and leaf rendered with meticulous detail. I was pretty sure that all of them were different. I had to hold on to Meltan because they wanted to look at the metallic hinges on the casket. Their little head was poking out of my dress. Usually, it''d be open for viewing, and people would be able to say their goodbyes. Instead, there were numerous pictures of Justin from his time as a baby in his mother''s hands a few hours after his birth to the present. "They must have paid a fuck ton for this, huh?" Chase spoke next to me in a mncholic tone. His voice had nearly made me jump. "Do you think he''s happy?" I shrugged. "I think we did all we could. I hope he is." Chase rolled a little closer to the coffin and nudged his chin toward one of the pictures. "What''s this one? First day at school?" Little Justin looked like he''d been crying until he''d run out of tears, and he was being led by the hand of one of his attendants with a backpack full of Growlithe motifs and other canine Pokemon on it. Rockruff, Lillipup, Yamper¡ª just the conventionally cute ones. "I think so," I said. "Must have been a hell of a day, huh? What about this? Tenth birthday?" The next one; a slightly older Justin surrounded by people and family. "Sure, it makes sense with the amount of candles. He looks¡­ not that happy." Chase squinted at the picture. "I guess it''s because there were too many people here." "Or maybe the cake was¡ª you know what, your reason makes more sense." Chase could only muster and incredulous expression as he looked up at me. "Were you about to say the cake was bad?" "N¡ªno." I didn''t know why we got into this conversation. He''d juste up behind me and begun to talk without any goal in mind, but his presence was a wee one anyway. We stayed and went through nearly every picture until Cecilia and Louis barged into the tent. The way both froze, they''d had no idea I was in here. Seconds seemed to endlessly stretch until Chase groaned and yelled to garner our attention. "Come the fuck on, what is this wishy-washy shit? You''re on a break, not sworn enemies who can''t even be in the same room. Now stop being weird. Not at my boy''s funeral. Louis,say something." "Right.Right." Louis nodded, then ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Neither of you need to leave, you can just look at the casket and the pictures together, if need be." My eyes felt dry. I''d forgotten to blink. "R¡ªright," I agreed. "Feel free to¡­ do whatever it is you''re doing."I love you, please take me back. My heart was nearly leaping out of my throat, like it used to when we''d first met and I''d been helplessly crushing on her. "I was going to leave soon, anyway." Chase clicked his tongue. "What?!It''s the truth!" I pinched his shoulder until he yelped and nearly jumped out of his chair. "Asshole. My dad''sing to pick me up at four. That''s in¡­" I looked at my phone, "twenty. He''s already sent me a text. Apparently, traffic is really bad." "Well, Jubilife is synonymous with traffic," Louis said. "I could ruin the vibes and start trauma dumping about how the Iron Inders wish all they had to worry about was traffic," Chase joked. "You''ve effectively done so already," Louis snarked. "Anyway, if I don''t see you again, thank you foring, Grace." We shared a short hug, and I just¡­ nodded at Cecilia. She did the same for me, though she itched her neck when I looked at her like I was giving her an allergic reaction.Not even close to back to normal, huh?On the way out, I told Louis to talk to Albert about Ditto cell research for humans. To this day, the topic was what Justin had been the most passionate about, and it''d be nice if his father could realize his dream, even if it was post-mortem. I swung by to tell the others goodbye, too. Denzel (his mother kept sneering at me with disgust like I was a blister on her son''s life), Pauline, Emilia, Maeve, Mira, and Lauren. There was something off about thest two, like they were more nervous around each other than usual. The final thing I did was speak to Justin''s team to thank them for being here for him until the end and to ask them of their intentions. They fully agreed to be under Louis'' care from now on, but it would take until his sanctuary opened that they''d be legally owned by his ''business''. Until then, they''d be Arthur''s. As soon as he got there, I entered the front seat of my dad''s car and put the seat all the way down. He smiled at me, staring as if he was just happy to see me, and in a way, I supposed he was. It was too bad that other than Mimi, none of my Pokemon could ride in the car. It was small and ergonomic. One of those cheap, local Sinnohan cars that basicallysted forever, unlike those expensive Grian ones. "How were things, kiddo?" "Actually good," I said. "It was¡­ closure for everyone." Things could also have gone far worse with Cecilia than they had. Dad shook his head as he turned on his signals. "What a waste. All this death." A sigh took him. He didn''t know Justin, but anyone would react that way to a sixteen-year-old dying. And Justin hadn''t been the only one. "I''m d things went well for you. Do you want to stop and grab some ice cream on the way home? Milkshake?" "Milkshake sounds good, thanks." "I''m guessing fries as well, then. Two Larges." I snorted. "Yup. I haven''t eaten yet." We ended up spending a lot more time out than originally nned, first to grab a bite to eat since I had left the funeral with an empty stomach, and then to stop by a park to let my Pokemon hang out a little bit. Angel was in his own personal heaven, getting all of the attention, and a few children had stopped around Mimi to see what Pokemon they were. Buddy was thankfully keeping a careful watch. "I found a good piano ce; it has a bunch of people your age as well for the summer," dad said, his arm wrapped around my shoulder. "Still okay with that?" "Sure, when do I start?" "The day after tomorrow." He sipped on a can of beer and let out a satisfied sigh. "And for your therapist¡ª that''s the day after that. And don''t worry, I''ll pay." Huh. It must have shown on my face that I''d been about to say something. "Thanks." At least I''d be able to talk to someone for this co-dependency stuff. Or just a risk of dependency from me, in Maylene''s case. That was artivelynormal issue to have. "I guess¡­ I should tell you something." He frowned, worried about what to expect. "What is it?" "Cecilia and I are on a break. Long story short, everything we''ve been through too much together, and we need to learn how to live on our own from now on. That''s it." "Ah. I can tell you don''t want to talk about it, so thank you for telling me." He stroked the hair on my head, and I leaned into the touch. "Breaks are¡­ tough, but I''ve never been in a situation like yours. I hope things work out for you two, you were cute together. Remember when we baked poffins?" Warmth filled me. "Yeah! That was so much fun¡­" "Don''t look so down. We''ll do it again someday." "I hope so too," I whispered and leaned forward, supporting my head in my palm. "You know, sometimes I wonder how in the world did I manage being so alone all the time?" "You had friends¡­" he tried. "Dad, I think that''s the first time you''ve tried to insinuate the amount of social interaction I had was fine." I rolled my eyes at him, and he mimicked me as a fun jab. "Ha. Ha. Very funny. Anyway, Lynn and rissa don''t count." They''d tried to contact me and my dad, back when I''d gone back to Jubilife to deal with Poketch politics. I''d refused to meet them. Honestly,tely I might have said yes, but I figured it was too awkward to bring it back up when I''d said no the first time. Most of what I did was follow them around anyway; I was kind of like an adopted pet more than anything. Oh yeah. Lynn had been my second crush ever, too. The one who''d made me realize that maybe having liked two girls meant I was gay. Even if it went nowhere, and by the time school was over, it had long faded into an old memory, but it was because of her that I''de out to my dad, so I was thankful anyway. "I don''t know, I could spend hours in my room browsing the forums or watching battles, or in the living room watching TV, and I wouldn''t care for anything else," I continued. My teeth mped down on my bottom lip hard. I hadn''t cared that rissa and the others hung out outside of school without me at all, except when Lynn was here. "I guess you never know what you have until it''s gone." I had to yell at Sweetheart to quiet down when she demanded Angel''s attention away from the others, and a dozen vines wrapped around the Tyranitar to soothe her. "You''re doing okay," he tried. "Putting one foot in front of the other without tripping." A silentugh escaped me. He only said that because he didn''t know what was going on inside my head. "Yeah. I guesstely I wish I could go back to that state of mind. It''d make the next few¡­" weeks? months? Probably months, "months a lot easier,ifwe even get back together." "Come on, Grace. No matter how bad things are now¡ª no, maybe that''s a bad way of phrasing it." He''d always been careful with words. He was the kind of person who liked to gather his thoughts in his head before talking in a debate or an argument. I''d gotten more of my mother''s side in that regard. "Look, if we see rtionships and your dependence on them as some sort of slider¡ª which is certainly not how those work, but I''ll humor you¡ª then you don''t run back to one extreme because you''ve gone too far the other way. There''s a middle ground you can strike." "I know, I know. I was just brooding." "Won''t let you brood on my watch." He messed up my hair. "Dad!I spent so long fixing that for the funeral! Ugh!" I started jabbing him in the stomach until he dropped his beer can in the grass.
Chapter 327 – The Ceremony Chapter 327 ¨C The Ceremony
CHAPTER 327 - THE CEREMONY ¡°We should have gone on foot,¡± my dadined. Even for Jubilife, the amount of cars on the road was extreme. We¡¯d moved three blocks in thest thirty minutes because of thesheer amount of peoplewere going to Craig¡¯s ceremony. The event was set to take ce in and around Poketch Headquarters because they were paying for most of the event at a time when the government had to pinch every penny. Luckily since I was a sponsee and I knew a lot of people, I¡¯d be able to ess and move throughout the actual building, which was open only to a select few. Ugh. That kind of sounded elitist, didn¡¯t it? ¡°You can always pay for parking, and we can walk the rest of the way,¡± I suggested. He scanned the surroundings and shook his head. ¡°Nope. No parking spaces anywhere, we¡¯ll have to wait until we get to Poketch.¡± As an employee, he had a special parking spot reserved for him below ground. It would just take awhileto get here. ¡°Good thing we left so early, then,¡± I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him smile. ¡°Only after I told you to finish getting ready for the millionth time.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t take any longer than yesterday! Now you¡¯re just being annoying on purpose.¡± I was wearing the exact same ck knee-length dress, though I¡¯d styled my hair in waves instead of straight like yesterday. My finger felt strangely naked without my ring, but I¡¯d never worn much jewelry anyway save for Mimi. Not like I could wear a couple¡¯s ring without being in a couple, even if it hurt. Speaking of them, Mimi was sitting on the car¡¯s dashboard and was enthralled by how the car moved and responded to dad¡¯s steering wheel. ¡°I¡¯m just joshin¡¯ ya,¡± he said. ¡°I know. Sorry.¡± Dad nced my way with a worried look. ¡°Come on, no need to apologize.¡± He was also going to be at the ceremony, and as an employee, he wouldalsobe allowed inside. I was d he was going to be here; I had learned yesterday that even if he couldn¡¯t understand or know what I¡¯d been through, he was a soothing presence for me. As it turned out, I had been mostly wrong. So long as he didn¡¯t press me on anything, he was essential in returning to a sense of normalcy. I¡¯d missed these times. Back when I used to be a normal kid. I leaned against the car window and sighed. Sweat permeated through my palms. It was difficult not to be nervous about this event, especially when such a difficult conversation wasing up. The nightmare I¡¯d gottenst night about me making Maylene run away crying certainly didn¡¯t help. Hopefully, I¡¯d get through to her clearly and without causing some kind of disaster. ¡°You look anxious, kiddo,¡± he noticed, looking at me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± It took me a few seconds to find an excuse. ¡°Well, I knew him, you know? Craig¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to your dad, now,¡± he said in a tone dripping with concern. ¡°You¡ª¡± he stopped when someone suddenly merged into hisne without any turn signals. ¡°Legendaries, you won¡¯t get there any faster,¡± dadined. I watched him as his eyes narrowed, likely passing silent judgment on the driver of the oversized Unovan car. He was probably thinking about how someone who drove one of those huge Unovan cars must have been an asshole. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time.¡°Anyway,¡± he resumed, his tone softening as he nced at me again, ¡°you don¡¯t have to tell me if you¡¯re not ready, Grace. I¡¯m just worried about you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°I guess I¡¯m meeting a friend.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Who is it, one of your co-workers?¡± he asked. ¡°That Bobby kid who undermined you?¡± ¡°No, no, it has nothing to do with Poketch.¡± My head turned even further away from him in embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s a Gym Leader. Maylene Suzuki.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ friends?¡± Dad had seen our Gym Battle, and while he hadn¡¯t said anything of its brutality, he knew how strange the concept that we¡¯d ever get along was. ¡°That¡¯s surprising.¡± He nudged the side of my arm. ¡°Look at you, making more friends in high ces.¡± ¡°Focus on the road,¡± I groaned. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re going to have a really tough conversation, and it¡¯s going to suck. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Ah. Well, I hope it goes well between you two. Want me to be there?¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± While I appreciated him not digging to figure out what was going to be said, I couldn¡¯t help but snap, already imagining that misunderstanding waiting to happen. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it, you just go do your thing. Whatever that is!¡± Dadughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to actually listen in, just be close in case it went wrong.¡± He had told me that he¡¯d be with some of his co-workers. Some men and women I only knew by name, but who had apparently been cheering for me during the Circuit. I¡¯d been a big hit in their department because I was his kid, and he was pretty well-liked. It was mildly embarrassing to imagine him touting my every win like I was the seconding of Cynthia, but dad had long prided himself as my biggest fan. It took us anotherhourto get to Poketch. On our way to the parking garage, we slowly drove next to the building, which meant I saw how it had all been set up. The outside was full of people swarming in, giving their tickets to get past both Leagueandprivate Poketch security. I even saw some men in Kanto-Johto uniforms. Unlike the dull orange¡ª almost brown¡ª Sinnoh had adopted, theirs was a mess of greens and khakis. Tickets to the ceremony were not free (the country had to make its money back somehow), but it was cheap enough to have thousands of people swarming in. With the amount of peopleing in, I was certain they were sold out. Around the Poketch Building had usually been an empty stretch of concrete pathways framed by minimalist vegetation that guided visitors through the space in a way that was reminiscent of Veilstone. While that hadn¡¯t changed much save for a little bit more greenery around the edges to appear more presentable, more benches and chairs than I could count had been added around the space, all facing toward a podium adorned with the Sinnohan g gleaming in the sun. Maylene had told me that was where the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion would sit. It¡¯d be my first time seeing Cynthia again, and I sincerely hoped she was doing alright. She probably was, given that the country hadn¡¯t copsed in on itself. Behind the podium was a huge projector screen on which I assumed they would show pictures or videos of Craig. We could hear the anthem softly ying through the slightly-opened windows of the car. ¡°They went all patriotic for this one,¡± dad said with a touch of sarcasm. ¡°Kind of funny, considering you¡¯ve got people from Kanto-Johto here.¡± That statement made me raise an eyebrow. Dad usually wasn¡¯t one to get political, or at least not with me. I knew the basis of his beliefs, though. Mostly, he despised dictatorships or authoritarianism of any kind, which was why the presence of the Indigoan army in the streets of the city he was born in made him so uneasy. ¡°I know how it looks, but it¡¯s a good thing. Without them, we¡¯d be in a much worse spot. They gave us money, Teleporters, medicine, hospital beds¡ª¡± He cut me off. ¡°I know, I know.¡± A sigh escaped him, heavy enough for me to notice his chest visibly sink. ¡°I just fear for the future.¡± That was something I couldn¡¯t fault him for. Even Jasmine had told me that they hadn¡¯t done this only out of the kindness of their hearts. While she was here, she¡¯d most likely be too busy to see me. She¡¯d told me that while she¡¯d wanted to speak due to bing good friends with Craig this year, the League had refused her request. The optics were already bad; they wouldn¡¯t make it worse with having a foreign speaker at an event meant for Sinnohans and to celebrate a Sinnohan life. Personally, I didn¡¯t care, but that was how the world worked. Jasmine wasn¡¯t too bitter about it. I was just starting to take note of the food and drinks they were offering when the car eased into a tunnel and descended into the parking area. Dad noted how even this ce was unusually full as he neatly guided the car within its spot. Before I got out, I decided to text Maylene and the rest of my friends about my arrival. Save for Cecilia, who was gone; Maeve, who hadn¡¯t bothered toe; and Chase, who¡¯d said he didn¡¯t want to watch the government waste so much money on a party for rich people, they were all here. Even Denzel. I¡¯d made note of a few other acquaintances I knew who would be here by scouring the, such as Professor Rowan, Dawn, Lucas, and Barry. Hell, some famous people I didn¡¯t even know were here, too. Buck¡ª Flint¡¯s younger brother¡ª had interrupted his work on the Battle Frontier to get here. One of Sinnoh¡¯s most mysterious figures and few aura users, Riley Ansson, was somewhere here as well. The same man Beast had tried to kill and been beaten back by on the Iron Inds. If you were anybody at all, this ceremony was the ce to be. I wasn¡¯t sure I was going to see much of my friends, considering they weren¡¯t allowed inside. While I was going to go out there when Cynthia and the other important people gave their speeches, there was no way I¡¯d go out there in this massive crowd. I needed the rtive quiet to focus. Last night, I had rehearsed the way the conversation with Maylene would go so many times it was still ringing in my head. I had backups too. So long as the conversation didn¡¯t derail too much¡­ ¡°Getting out?¡± Dad loomed over the car with his hand on the hood. ¡°Y¡ªyeah.¡± I scooped Mimi up in my arms, and the steel type decided to turn into a looser choker resting on my corbone. ¡°You all set up?¡± I whispered. When they vibrated, we finally got going toward the elevators. Even if the underground wasrtivelyfree of people, there were plenty here, either taking refuge from the hordes outside or inside Poketch Headquarters or just making their way up just like we were. Once we got to the elevators (and they tookyearsto get here), I noticed that they¡¯d put a que on the wall saying they had blocked basically every single floor unless you were high up in with thepany. Melody had brought a keycard to our apartment the other day to ess the private elevators that would bring me up. For now, though, we stopped at the ground floor. Even in here, with only employees and close associates, there was a sea of people. Thankfully, it was far easier to navigate, and there were plenty of areas with fewer people around all over this floor. ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s going to be overflow issues,¡± dad pondered. ¡°Are you gonna be alright?¡± He¡¯d grabbed my hand out of habit. Even now, he still had his old instincts of not letting me get too far away from him in crowds. When he noticed, he let go with an apologetic nod. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be okay; I¡¯ll just go upstairs.¡± My eyes kept ncing left and right, as if I¡¯d be osted by Maylene any second now, but I already knew where she¡¯d be. Backstage, waiting for the speeches to begin. After that, we were supposed to meet right around here. ¡°What about you? Gonna get lost?¡± I teased, trying to cheer myself up. He snorted. ¡°Think you¡¯re slick, eh?¡± He hovered his hand up over my hair, as if to threaten he¡¯d mess it up like yesterday, and I nearly jumped out of the way. With anotherugh, he added, ¡°see youter, kid. Remember, I¡¯m just a phone call away if you need it.¡± I waved at him until he disappeared into the crowd, and now the reality of the situation was really setting in. Checking my phone again, Maylene had answered with a cute thumbs-up sticker of a Ducklett. Was she not nervous like I was? That answer didn¡¯t really give the vibe of someone who was anxious. Why did it even matter if she was or not? It wouldn¡¯t change anything, anyway. What I needed to say would remain the same. Maybe micro analyzing texting patterns wasn¡¯t the right idea to get my mind off things. After calming down with a few deep breaths, I made my way toward thenextset of elevators deeper into the building. The floors had recently been cleaned and were so sleek you could see your reflection in the dark tiles. You had to go through anotheryer of security, whom you had to show your pass to. I fumbled around my purse, feeling around my Pokeballs for reassurance that they were still there before I pulled out the keycard. It was odd, not having them around my waist. Plus, dresseswerenice, but this one having no pockets to shove my stuff into was really annoying. Mel had told me there would be a lounge of some sort on the 21st floor of Jubilee Tower, so that¡¯s where I was headed. It took me a while to figure out what room HEC1229 was, it was nothing a few minutes of searching and asking around didn¡¯t fix. The room had been filled with snacks like chips, cookies and charcuterie, and with drinks including champagne. It felt weird to me that this entire thing felt more like a party than somece to mourn; I hoped Craig¡¯s family wouldn¡¯t be too offended. Across the room were plenty of sponsored trainer I only knew by name, or I¡¯d seen their faces on the website. There were also people familiar to me, like Bobby, Ramon, and Sharon. Even Aubri was with them, which meant the sky must have been falling. Just like me, they were all dressed like this was a funeral. Dark colors without too much shiness, save for a golden watch around Bobby¡¯s wrist. They¡¯d all been close to Craig¡ª closer than even me. Aubri, in particr, still seemed utterly destroyed by his death and was quiet, her usual stoic confidence vaporized from her face. Aside from the numerous scars and the missing fingers and eye, you¡¯d think she was a different person. They seemed to be engrossed in some deep conversation, or at least that was until Ramon noticed me grab a bottle of water and I was met with his toothy, juvenile grin. ¡°Grace!¡± He waved and beamed as if he was genuinely happy to see me. Wait, maybe he was. We were kind of friends, and it had been a while. ¡°Come over here and sit with us!¡± Right.Right.Socializing. Okay, Grace, you¡¯re a person. You¡¯re just a person just like them. You can do this. ¡°H¡ªhi!¡± My voice cracked. ¡ª¡ª For what felt like the thousandth time, Maylene peeked her head around the wall of the stage entrance and scanned the sea of people ahead of her. Even as a Gym Leader, she¡¯d never fathomed being in front of so many. This was a big jump from a few self-contained press conferences and doing her job in front of a few hundred to a few thousand at best when the battle was really interesting. Even if she wasn¡¯t a designated speaker and all she¡¯d have to do was stand or sit respectfully at appropriate times, it was still a little intimidating. Not that this was her main concern at the moment. Maylene¡¯s suit felt a little tight around the neck, and she couldn¡¯t help but loosen her cor every minute. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say she¡¯d be inside?¡± Gardenia¡¯s voice rang out behind her and made her jump a little. All of her fellow Gym Leaders were backstage with her. The Elite Four and Cynthia would arriveter, though she¡¯d been informed thetter was taking a thirty-minute power nap, at the moment. She was being worked to the bone. ¡°You poking your head out like that kind of makes us look unprofessional. Today¡¯s all about image.¡± Maylene smoothened her suit around her waist and fixed up her tie. ¡°I can¡¯t help but look anyway.¡± ¡°Even if she was out here, you wouldn¡¯t be able to find her in the crowd no matter how good your eyesight is, Maymay.¡± Nia wrapped a hand around her shoulder and dragged her back in. ¡°Nowe on, have some patience. I said I¡¯d help you, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± she trailed off. ¡°And I¡¯d be able to find her aura, it¡¯s very distinct.¡± That might have been the wrong way to put it. ¡°Or I guess I just know what it feels like by heart now.¡± ¡°Oooh, how romantic,¡± Gardenia teased. Maylene growled in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.¡°Nia.Not so loud!¡± She was still the only Gym Leader who knew about Grace. They were back in the waiting room with their colleagues now. It had been built up in thest few weeks as a luxurious retreat, adorned with plush seating, soft ambient lighting, and plenty of drinks and food. Even the ground below their feet was velvet carpet. Poketch must have splurged so much money on today that the League was going to owe them a huge favor. There were conversations happening all around, but they were all respectfully quiet. Even Wake. He was speaking to Fantina about the state of Hearthome and listening to her vent about retirement as she sipped on some Champagne. While her Pokemon were hidden well from the naked eye and exuded no cold, Maylene easily parsed through her shadow and noticed the multiple ghosts hidden within. Byron was sitting with Roark in silence. His usually wild hair was neatlybed, a stark contrast to his typically disheveled appearance. Even here, he had his trusted shovel with him leaning against his leg. He asked his son if he was doing alright, and Roark just nodded as he nervously adjusted his sses. Since Volkner¡¯s social battery had run out long ago, he was just lying down on one of the couches, not caring about his suit getting all wrinkled. Plus, today was a bit of a double-whammy for him. Not only had he been close friends with Craig, but he was also sulking about breaking up with Jasmine. She¡¯de to talk to him earlier, and they had parted ways amicably. They¡¯d both known this would happen eventually, but it had been earlier than he thought it¡¯d be. Maylene remembered how he would look so pleased at ns they¡¯d made to spend the majority of the summer together in a resort on the Battle Frontier, even going as far as saying he would skip the Conference after the first day to spend as much time with her as possible. Of course, that had been before Team Gctic had begun to ramp up, and far before the bombs. Wake had told him about how there were plenty of fishes in the sea, that he¡¯d find another girl sooner rather thanter, but that hadn¡¯t helped Maylene¡¯s defeatist friend much. Still, she was sure he¡¯d get over it within the next few weeks. Gardenia took her seat next to a sullen and downtrodden Candice, gently rubbing her back. She pushed her best friend¡¯s head back on her shoulder and kissed her forehead, telling her everything was going to be okay. Ever since Maylene had realized she was in love with Grace, she¡¯d looked at the two a little differently. Gardenia reminded her a little of herself, especially when it was obvious she¡¯d restrained herself at multiple opportunities in the years she¡¯d seen the two girls interact. It kind of looked like Gardenia was in love with her, but Maylene wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure just yet. The Gym Leader took a seat on the opposite side of Candice and looked up at her friend¡¯s face. She hadn¡¯t cried in days and had been doing really well, at least until today hade to remind her what she had lost. Craig had been her first crush, and while he hadn¡¯t reciprocated at all due to her age and having known her since she¡¯d been just a little kid watching her grandmother¡¯s Gym Battles, Maylene would be the first to know one did not choose where the heart decided to take them. Candice¡¯s eyes were red and puffy. Every couple of minutes, she would start sobbing and struggle to take full breaths. Where she would usually beughing, throwing out jokes, and being the heart of the room, here she was quiet, desperate to blend into the background and just get through this day. Since Gardenia had ¡®operation help Candice grieve¡¯ under control for now, Maylene grabbed her phone again. There was no new text from Grace, of course. Maylene found herself getting greedier and greedier with her crush¡¯s attention, but things had been weirdtely. She¡¯d racked her mind the entire night, desperate to know what could have been the reason for the sudden distance between them, and gotten nightmares about Grace figuring out she was in love with her and reacting in all sorts of horrifying ways that werepletely out of character, like calling her disgusting for falling in love with a taken girl. They were stupid dreams, but they terrified her nheless. Maylene contemted sending another text, but decided to put the phone away for now. One hour remained until they had to go on stage. Then around an hour and a half of speeches, and finally, she¡¯d be able to have this conversation. It wasn¡¯t like she hadn¡¯t liked Craig¡ª who hadn¡¯t? What Grace was going to tell her had just consumed her mind to the point where she found it difficult to worry about anything else, at the moment. Time was ticking agonizingly slowly, but eventually the Elite Four got here. Lucian first, with a long, confident stride and a polite greeting addressed to them all. Apanying him was his one-eyed kazam, bitter and sour-faced as always. Maylene knew the psychic was coordinating security, but maybe he was on a break. Aaron followed soon after, his usual childlike wonder gone and having been reced by a hardy look. His body was wracked by the asional shiver. Flint seemed the same as usual, loud and boisterous to the point that Gardenia had to re at him to quiet down. Maylene didn¡¯t know how one could have fought a literal God, seen Craig die, and remained in such high spirits, but that was probably just a Flint thing. Bertha, thest due to her aching bones, had always made Maylene somewhat nervous because of how strict she was. Her scarf, a memento from her father who had died in the war, shed heavily with her dark frilly dress, but she never went anywhere without it. Bertha wrinkled her nose. ¡°Volkner, do us all a favor and get up.¡± When he replied with a tired groan, she shook her head in disappointment and phrased it another way. ¡°Don¡¯t you see how old I am? A frail woman such as I needs a ce to sit.¡± ¡°There¡¯s plenty of space to go around.¡± Volkner¡¯s voice came out muffled due to the pillow. It was true that there were more couches all over the room, some of them even empty. Unbothered, she adjusted her brown scarf and sat on his feet until he finally decided to sit up with an exaggerated howl of pain. ¡°Goodness gracious, young people these days. And fix that hair, will you?¡± ¡°Does he need to, really?¡± Flint came up behind him and ruffled a hand through his hair. His friend didn¡¯t even have the energy to fight back. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be Volkner without a horrible bedhead.¡± ¡°kazam can do it for him,¡± Fantina said, her ent thick as she sped both hands together around her ss. ¡°Poor thing.¡± Fantina, I hold a great deal of respect for you; however, I must convey withplete sincerity that I would rather die a horrible, agonizing death,kazam said without an ounce of hesitation. ¡°Wow! Thanks, kazam,¡± Volkner sarcastically whined. ¡°Much appreciated!¡± I didn¡¯t ask,he said. ¡°Well, what¡¯s this, his second-ever breakup?¡± Byron chimed in. He ced his chin on his shovel¡¯s handle and smiled. ¡°Those always tough, when you¡¯re a young¡¯un.¡± ¡°Hmhm. You think you¡¯ll do better than your first, and you¡¯re dejected when they end early anyway.¡± Flint nodded with a pensive look and a hand on his chin. Bertha clicked her tongue. ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯re a slob. I ought to get a cane one of these days to whip you up into a proper man.¡± The fire type specialist chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s the saying again? If they can¡¯t handle me at my worst, they don¡¯t deserve me at my best,¡± he said with a hand on his chin. ¡°Your ¡®best¡¯ is like putting an anchor around your would-be girlfriend¡¯s neck,¡± Bertha said, unimpressed. ¡°Back to the topic at hand. Volkner, no matter how dejected you are, this ceremony is about paying respects. There are news crews from foreign countries here, And the League¡¯s image will not suffer because little Volkner feelssad.¡± ¡°I get it, I get it!¡± Volkner got up as he waved an annoyed hand. ¡°I¡¯ll fix myself up.¡± He shuffled toward the bathroom with a seemingly endless sigh. The room quieted down once he left, something Gardenia was endlessly grateful for. Maylene was, too. All this talk about breakups was making her ufortable. For no reason at all. Once Lucian finished checking in with the event organizers on his phone¡ª they were going to run out of a certain type of cheese¡ª he made his way to Maylene and spared her an apologetic look. ¡°Maylene, my dear; I must warn you.¡± He crouched and looked up at her, his purple hair glistening with every subtle movement. ¡°Your father is here.¡± Byron¡¯s grip on his shovel tightened. ¡°What¡¯s he want?¡± They¡¯d all heard about Oscar¡¯s behaviortely. While Maylene mostly vented to Grace or Cecilia, her support system was a wide. Their opinions of him had lowered considerably since he had been back in Sinnoh. The older Gym Leaders had only known Oscar as their coworker. Tough, but fair, and most of all,reliable. They hadn¡¯t known Oscar the father. Even when she was seen with him, he never acted out orshed out in public; he¡¯d curated his image well. ¡°Officially, to pay his respects to Craig. He fought him numerous times and found him an excellent battling partner,¡± Lucian exined. ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll have to interact with him. As he is no longer a Gym Leader, he does not have ess to this area. I do believe Poketch has given him a pass to their building, though.¡± Maylene shared a worried nce with Gardenia. With his aura, he¡¯d be able to find her wherever she went. ¡°It¡¯s a pressure tactic,¡± Roark said. ¡°Just by being here, he ruins her day. He might have thought that she¡¯d be a speaker and that he could make her mess up.¡± ¡°Well, I better get going, then.¡± Byron stood up and hoisted his shovel over his shoulder. Maylene looked at him like he was crazy. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°I just want to talk to him, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get into a fight,¡± Bertha warned without as much as a second nce. Maylene wrung her hands together so strongly she would have broken any other human¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯d lose handily. I appreciate the sentiment, though.¡± ¡°...I¡¯d get at least one good hit in.¡± Byron sat back down and scratched the back of his neck. ¡°You would need a hospital in seconds,¡± Bertha said. What could Maylene do now? It wasn¡¯t like they could force him out without creating a scene. A confrontation was probablying, one she could avoid if she stayed holed up in here until she could go back to her Gym. Part of her thought she could call Grace over here instead, but would she bail at the sudden change of n, or think it was a trap of some kind? She knew Grace was weird with the spots she liked to have important moments or conversations in. What if this was thest opportunity Maylene would get¡ª ¡°Well, Maylene was nning on meeting a friend without all of us bothering her about it here,¡± Gardenia made Maylene panic. For a moment, she thought the grass type specialist would reveal her crush. ¡°It kind of throws a wrench into her ns.¡± ¡°A friend?¡± Fantina smiled. You didn¡¯t have to let her continue to see that she was curious. ¡°J¡ªjust a friend, yeah. Nothing special.¡± Maylene had stuttered and slurred a few of her words, which made Fantina evenmorecurious. ¡°I¡¯ll manage, somehow.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Candice¡¯s voice was so low that Maylene was pretty sure she was the only one who¡¯d caught what she had said. ¡°Your dad¡¯s a creep; I¡¯ll beat him up.¡± A little louder, this time. Nia nodded and ignored Bertha¡¯s japing. ¡°I was going to say the same thing! The thing about abusers like Oscar is that they want to preserve their squeaky-clean image. As long as you¡¯re in public and you have people around you, it should be fine.¡± The conversation would have continued had kazam not cleared his throat.The Champion is up and will be arriving shortly,he said, idly staring at one of his spoons.Get ready. ¡ª¡ª "The day I met him, he showed me around the ce. Told me it didn¡¯t matter if I had reallymon Pok¨¦mon and that we¡¯d get far through hard work.¡± Ramon¡¯s face was softened by a hint of nostalgia, his eyes distant as the memory had shaped him deeply. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe he¡¯s gone. I¡¯ll miss him.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°He was the model we followed to strive to be better.¡± Bobby spoke of the dead in hushed tones, I had learned. It was no different for Craig. ¡°Especially Aubri¡ª¡± ¡°Shut it,¡± she snapped. Even now, the rasp in her voice due to a lung injury was surprising. It certainly made her capture people¡¯s attention easier. ¡°I¡¯m not here because I want to be involved in these conversations.¡± ¡°Then why are you here?¡± Ramon asked. ¡°Because¡­ because I just enjoy listening. It makes it feel like he¡¯s still here.¡± The elevator dinged, and we all made our way toward the lobby. While they had talked my ear off, it had been fun to listen to old stories about Craig. Even years ago, he¡¯d been dependable enough to have made a mark on so many trainers. Others I hadn¡¯t known had joined in upstairs to chime in with their own experiences with him. He¡¯d touched so many lives it was difficult to fathom. That was the tale of a man whose story would resonate for generations, whispered among the lips of those who sought to embody his spirit or his perseverance. He¡¯d be a beacon for all Sinnohan Trainers for decades toe. I wanted my own life to leave a simr mark on the world. s, so far, I hadn¡¯t done a great job, and instead of going out there and making the world a better ce, I was stuck in a prison of my own making, and I had thrown away the key. Fingers constantly twitching around my waist at theck of Pokeballs there, we exited the building and were met by thousands of people navigating the za. I was lucky my hearing aid was actually the right one, or it would have acted up the entire time. Attendants carrying drinks on tes, guests speaking among themselves, news crews darting between clusters of people¡ª all contributed to the cacophony that filled the expansive space thepany had set up. Things weren¡¯t just rosy, though. Despite having my empathy under control, the need toconsciouslykeep it at bay surged in my mind. Like having to keep a hand pressed on an old wound. That sure is a sad way to put it. That was my gift to you! One that saved your hide multiple times! Don¡¯t you go calling it a wound! Today of all days? Okay, maybe I didn¡¯t need topare it to awound, but the mild headache all these people brought me wasn¡¯t helping things. Luckily most of the attention was kept by Aubri¡¯s sombre, scarred visage and not me. Under any circumstances, I would have been up to talking to reporters. Melody and my time with Poketch had given me a decent amount of media training; the issue was that it justwasn¡¯t a good day. Mesprit should have known this. Oh, don¡¯t mind me, I¡¯m just watching!Mesprit started to hum a little song that reverberated around my brain.Good luck today, Grace! It sure will be enter¡ª err, I mean, I hope you manage to get through to that other human girl! You know that just because you caught yourself doesn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t understand what you were going to say, right?I thought back as I bit my lip.Whatever. Just stay quiet today, and you¡¯ll be able to harass me after. Things should only start improving from here. Sure!The sarcasm was almost physical and nearly made me miss a step. It was Bobby who caught me by the arm, his grip strong despite his thin stature. I ignored the urge to pull away, one so harsh I might have bruised my arm. ¡°You okay, Grace?¡± Due to how loud everyone was, it was tough to parse out his words. ¡°You¡¯ve seemed off since we met.¡± I frowned. What was up with me? That wasn¡¯t how I usually reacted to touch¡ª and it had nothing to do with intent, or the fact that Bobby was a guy. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I could only muster a whisper none of them heard. It wasn¡¯t at all a feeling of repulsion, but a want to keep him safe. As if he¡¯d just touched something radioactive. When ncing at the palm of his hand, it seemed dark. Sullied. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you orchestrated a pce coup to fuck her over, fuckingmein the process.¡± Aubri shoved her hands deeply into the pockets of her jacket, and her lips pressed together. ¡°No, no, we already worked out all of that. It¡¯s just a mild headache,¡± I said. To me, that had been a lifetime ago, but to Aubri, it was still a fresh event she was still bitter about. ¡°Let¡¯s get to our seats quickly, then,¡± Ramon said. While seats in the venue costwaymore than your usual ticket, we¡¯d gotten ours for free. They were organized in three rows, each one growingrger the further back you got from the stage. The first was free and reserved for Craig¡¯s family in friends. His parents were already there, as were Lauren and three older people I assumed were grandparents. Professor Rowan was also sitting there, so I assumed they must have known each other well. Craig¡¯s Pokemon were to the side¡ª even the massive Gyarados, whose serpentine body stretched for dozens of feet. There were plenty of other people I didn¡¯t know, but the only one I knew by name was Sarah Newman, easily spotted due to her white hair and her getup. It was as if she¡¯d just gotten out of bed and still wore whatever she¡¯d slept with¡ªfortable shorts and a shirt bigger than she was. ¡°Yikes. She sticks out like a sore thumb,¡± Ramon whispered. She did. A dot of colors among respectful, dark clothes that made her stand out and garner a lot of attention. She was currently ignoring a pair of reporters I recognized from the Sceon Tournament. It was funny how small the world was. The second row of seats was ours, and would be filled with Poketch sponsees and high-ranking employees. This was where thepany¡¯s founder¡ª Remington Mcmin¡ª would sit along with the rest of the board, including his son Landis. One of them, whose name had slipped my mind, was being pushed in a wheelchair toward his seat, and he looked utterly lost.Thiswas one of the esteemed board members? He looked practically senile! Either way, this was where we¡¯d be sitting. Bobby and I were pretty far up there due to how important we were. He looked in his element here, far morefortable than I was. Next to me was Craig¡¯s liaison, whose name I only knew thanks to Melody. Jonathan Pierremont. He looked to be in his fifties and had followed Craig along his entire career within thepany. Needless to say, the death had hit him hard. Unfortunately, while dad was an engineer for Poketch with a decent amount of responsibility, his seat would be in a third row. Which was basically for everybody else. Chairs had been set up on the stage where Cynthia, the Elite Four and the Gym Leaders would sit while people spoke of Craig. I was pretty sure the only person who was going to speak in that group besides Cynthia was Volkner. Five minutes to the first speech by Cynthia. My phone dinged, which wasn¡¯t unusual. My friends were talking to each other through our group chat and had sent numerous messages since we¡¯d arrived¡ª Maylene-just a heads up my father is here somewhere. If you see him dont threaten to kill him. he wants attention Maylene-to make a scene and be seen as the victim to better his position and make people who would defend me look bad Seriously? Did that piece of shit have no limits or what? I knew he wouldn¡¯t learn his lesson afteronlybeing pushed out of the gym, but didn¡¯t he have another kid on the way? A pregnant wife to take care of instead of ying these meaningless games? If he wanted to be a leader so bad, someone people looked up to again, he could start by volunteering to help Snowpointers get back on their feet. Someone with Pokemon of his level and with aura would be a great help to rebuild the city¡¯s port. Obviously, Oscar wanted none of that. Because he was a pathetic narcissist who deserved to die from mysterious circumstances. You-I wouldn¡¯t threaten to kill him. Maylene-YES U WOUDL U DINGUS You-Maybe just a tiny bit. You-Are you going to be okay? Do you need help? Maylene-its fine just stay put. he wont start anything with you so close to the ceremony starting. and after that well be together anyuway. Candice and Nia r bringing me inside. You-Okay. Be safe. By the time we were done texting, an organizer hastily walked onto the stage.¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the Protector of the frontier, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces; the first Champion of the Sinnohan Republic, Cynthia Collins, along with her Elite Four and Gym Leaders,¡±he announced in a respectful tone. He couldn¡¯t soundtooexcited. The nascent apuse disappeared the moment Cynthia showed herself. The Champion¡¯s steps rang true; shemanded absolute silence over the crowd. There was not even a single word spoken. Cynthia walked in long strides, her familiar ck coat billowing behind her in the wind. Following her was first Togekiss¡ª she didn¡¯t go anywhere without him anymore¡ª then the Elite Four in pairs of two in their order of perceived strength. Lucian and Flint first, then Bertha and Aaron. Finally, the Gym Leaders by theirseniority¡ª how long they had held the position. That meant Fantina was first and Maylenest¡ª Anxiety seized me to the very core of my being when I saw her. She was wearing a ck suit, its lines crisp and sharp. It clung to her shoulders and was tight around her waistline. Somehow I hadn¡¯t expected her to wear one of these, but then again, she didn¡¯t really like feminine clothing. It looked quite good on her. She scanned the crowd, and somehow she found me in an instant. Our eyes locked for a moment before she loosened her cor, and then she looked forward and filed into the final chair left for her. Only Cynthia remained standing on the podium. She moved the microphone attached to it up and began to speak. ¡°Citizens of Sinnoh.¡± I was struck by how clear and confident her voice was, nothing like how it had been when she¡¯d left the Distortion World. She began by thanking both Poketch and Kanto-Johto for having made this event possible, followed, of course, by her own League employees. Knowing dad, he probably would have grumbled at the ordering there. ¡°Of course, we gather here today to celebrate Craig Goodwill¡¯s life. It is so important for us to all remember that without him in Cor to stop Team Gctic¡¯s nefarious ns, devastation would have befallen our beloved country.¡± Almost as if on cue, the row of gs on back of the stage all glistened and pped in the wind.Was Togekiss the one doing all of that stuff?To be honest, I¡¯d nearly forgotten the fairy was on stage, and that was probably the case for everyone here. ¡°I will not mince words with you all, this year has been a tough one for all involved. Your rights were sacrificed, the economy is still reeling, and over twelve thousand people died in thergest scale terrorist attack Sinnoh had ever known since the Great War.¡± She paused, eyes gleaming with determination, hands gripping the side of her lectern. ¡°Sinnoh reels, but it remains standing.Weremain standing. It is perseverance that defined much of Craig¡¯s life, much like it epasses Sinnoh. And marked by its harsh, unyielding terrain, where the biting cold winds sweep across thendscape, and little of ournd is arable. Like everyone else, he began at the age of fifteen¡­¡± Cynthia went into much of Craig¡¯s life, focusing on the greatest moments and qualities. Negotiating with a known herd of aggressive Hippowdonoff-routeto capture his own, charming them over many days. His prowess at bringing people together andworking, his incredible victory over Candice¡¯s grandmother and his viral clip that followed, his negotiating skills that always had both parties winningsomething¡­ Nearly all of it was new to me, but she basked his life in love and reverence possibly never before given to anyone other than another Champion. I met eyes with Maylene a few times during the speech, and each and every time, it felt like my soul was trying to jump out of my skin. I used to be able to have her look at me or talk to me and be fine.It was fine. But ever since I¡¯d realized she liked me, things hadn¡¯t been the same. Beyond the obvious reasons of ¡®it wasn¡¯t like that with her¡¯ and ¡®today was going to be a super difficult conversation,¡¯ I just hated this constant anxiety wrapping around me like an Ekans. ¡°And I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Benjamin and Lilianna Goodwill for raising a man of such unwavering moral fiber,¡± Cynthia said, gesturing at the two parents. ¡°I am sorry for your loss, I truly am. Your son was a great man, and Sinnoh will find itselfcking without him.¡± She turned back toward the audience. ¡°Thank you.¡± Thunderous apuse and whistling erupted, mostly from behind us in the third row. While his family did p, it was more of a polite apuse than anything, from what I could see if I craned my neck. It was a hell of a speech, but it was tainted by the context in which it was given. Draped in the g, fundraising, and most of all, the fact that it was obviously being used as amon loss to unite the country in a time of crisis. But what could you do? Next came Craig¡¯s family. Both of his parents went onto the stage, followed closely by Lauren and her grandparents. His father looked a lot like him. Chubbier and older, but the same. It took me a while to understand that Lilianna wouldn¡¯t speak.Couldn¡¯tspeak. Her breaths were a quivering mess, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Lauren looked dejected and slightly angry. Her face asionally twitched, her jaw was clenched, and her eyes had narrowed into a mild re directed at the crowd, piercing enough for even me to feel guilty. Benjamin¡¯s approach was a more somber speech. One of loss and how he¡¯d miss the little moments with his son. The way he heard him work in his room every time he passed through that hallway, a constant in their lives, as if Craig had vowed to snatch his destiny into his own hands and molded it into his own. How it had eroded at his mental health like waves would to a cliff. The weeks where nothing had gone right, the days where he argued with Roxie, the sheertollthat being great had brought upon his body and mind. How he learned signnguage forhourson end as a child just in case Lauren was mute to the point that his grades started to slip¡ª just for her to speak her first words at the age of three and a half anyway. The way he always refused to swear around children, and how he loved imparting knowledge to them. The nights as a young child when he¡¯d kept his father and mother up, forcing them to watch footage of the battles he found interesting. He got mad whenever it looked like they weren¡¯t paying attention. How he dreamed of fighting and besting every Champion and how giddy he¡¯d been watching footage of the Grian Champion¡¯s battles because he was certain that a few more years would see him be the greatest the world had ever seen inpetitive battling. It went on. And on.And on.The little things that made a person whole, each note driving the stake further into our hearts. While Cynthia asked Sinnoh to remember Craig the symbol, his family was asking the country to remember Craig theperson. And damn it. That got me. That really got me. I wiped my eyes with my arm and sniffled. It was never fair. This one didn¡¯t get as much apuse, but it was the most effective on Craig¡¯s fellow trainers. I was pretty sure the majority of them had burst into tears, Boddy included. Not just a few tears, either. He wasuglycrying, sobbing into his hands at the devastating loss. I wasn¡¯t sure his death had actually hit a lot of trainers that knew him. Until this very moment. ¡ª¡ª Maylene had never seen Candice cry this hard. She thought her friend might have needed to be taken off the stage, at least until her nails sank into her thighs through the fabric of her pants, and she gently closed her eyes. The pace of her breaths took a slow, deliberate rhythm as if she was trying to steady herself, to pull back from the edge of overwhelming emotion. By the time Craig¡¯s family had stepped off the stage, Candice had brought herself back from the brink. Both Gardenia and Volkner checked in on her, being the ones sitting on both her nks. Thetter was going to speak soon, right after another one of Craig¡¯s friends went through. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m gonna be okay,¡± Candice said. Without a microphone to carry their voices further, they could speak freely as long as they kept it down and they didn¡¯t do it while someone was giving their own eulogy. ¡°Eugh. That would have been a good cry to let all of the feelings out.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t look bad in front of the crowd,¡± Volkner said with a familiar sigh. ¡°These things are hard on your heart,¡± the ice type Gym Leader said. ¡°Grandma used to say that.¡± Maylene had gotten teary-eyed, but her childhood had trained her to keep those in, or it¡¯d make Oscar angrier. Of course, sometimes the dam had to break, and it just didn¡¯t work. That was what had happened at her Gym when she¡¯d tried to take all of the work for herself. Recalling the memory made her nce at Grace again, and Maylene found her crying. Her entire body tensed, and rm bells rang in her head¡ª like she was going into fight or flight mode. She felt a hand on her arm, and the buzzing in her ears slowly faded into the background. Gardenia looked at her with a gentle smile. ¡°Rx, the next speech is starting.¡± Maylene¡¯s eyes flickered to the lectern, where she saw Sarah Newman lean against the polished wood, her grip rxed and hand scratching the back of her head as if she didn¡¯t know what to say¡ª ¡ª¡ª ¡°Um. I didn¡¯t reallye here with a speech in mind, or anything,¡± Sarah Newman said, her voice nearly void of emotion. While I knew about her, this was the first time I¡¯d heard her speak. A smallmotion stirred through the crowd as people stared at each other as if this was a bit of some sort. ¡°I¡¯m not really good at these.¡± Why would you go up here andnotknow what to say? Just having her up there was giving me mild second-hand embarrassment. Especially when I knew from Melody that she¡¯d demanded to be put on the speaking schedule. ¡°Do you know her?¡± I asked as I leaned toward Bobby. ¡°Not really. She has her own friends, but I never knew her as anything more than Craig¡¯s old me,¡± he whispered. ¡°She wasn¡¯t really involved in the Poketch orbit.¡± Sarah Newman tapped her finger against the wooden podium. ¡°My name¡¯s Sarah Newman. I¡¯m Craig¡¯s best friend and rival.¡± She took a breath, slowly finding her footing. ¡°Craig and I, we watched a lot of battles together, and we battled too, of course. That¡¯s when we were the closest. Pokemon Training and battling was ourmon ground.¡± Another round of murmurs, this time probably from people asking themselves why she was introducing herself or stating the obvious. But there was something special in that, or at least I thought so. ¡°When we were kids, we used to fight over who¡¯d be the Champion and who would be our second inmand in the Elite Four.¡± Sarah looked behind her; at Flint, Bertha, Lucian, Aaron, and Cynthia. ¡°We didn¡¯t have ns or anything, you know? But, uh, we were children. It was just throwing a bunch of stuff that sounded good at the wall.¡± There was a pause, like she had lost her train of thought. All of a sudden, she changed the topic. ¡°Craig¡ª Craig was the kind of guy whose mere presence could just breathe new life into you. Having him at your side just made you more confident. You know, if you were anxious, or you were scared, he¡¯d always be there to smile at you and give you a hand. I think there¡¯s something beautiful about that.¡± Sarah shook her head with a snort. ¡°It¡¯s silly. He¡¯d always say to just see things through no matter what. That by the end it wouldn¡¯t seem as bad, and what you learned from failing more than made up for how shit you¡¯d feel for a few days.¡± There was a slight gasp in the crowd at the swear. Thiswastelevised. ¡°Of course, more often than not, he didn¡¯t apply that to himself. It took him a while to learn, but the words¡ª he, uh, he truly meant the words. I think. Iknow.¡± She pulled at a strand of her hair in front of her nearly-covered eyes. ¡°He was outgoing. He was loud. And¡ª and he could be really funny. Sometimes. And there was¡ªthere was something about him; he could walk into a room and immediately read the pulse of it, you know? He could just tune right in. He would know x, y, z, what they wanted and how to make them walk out of there happier than they were when they¡¯d entered. He was just that maic.¡± Sarah adjusted the microphone a little closer to her mouth. ¡°He was my first true friend, I think. Pushed me to heights I would never have reached without thatpetition. Made me want to be a better person who helped people for the sake of helping them and to see them as more than little sock puppets I could punch to soak in more battling experience.¡± ¡°And you know, I didn¡¯t¡ª I don¡¯t really like how we drifted apart for so many years.¡± Her bottom lip quivered. ¡°All because of some fight. I could have texted him sooner, you know? I mean, I needed time to cool off, but then he blocked me, and things just got soplicated. And I had¡ª I just¡ª I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s like¡ª okay, we fought. Who cares? I love you.¡± A nervousugh left her lips, and a few tears rolled down her cheek. ¡°I love you,¡± she repeated. ¡°That¡¯s it, I guess. I¡¯m done. Thanks for listening.¡± She released her Swanna, hopped on her back, and just¡­ flew off. I was one of the few who cried for that one. ¡ª¡ª An hour and a half of speeches had never felt so paradoxical¡ª swift in passing, yet somehow drawn out. When Remington McMin finally delivered his closing words, Maylene, the other Gym Leaders, and the Elite Four formed a solemn line behind Cynthia, hands sped behind their backs. Cynthia stood at the front, the Elite Four following in her wake, and the eight Gym Leaders in a final row behind them. All, except Cynthia, bowed in unison, a gesture of gratitude to everyone who hade to honor Craig¡¯s memory. Maylene¡¯s legs were numb from sitting for too long. She eyed the crowd leaving in front of her. Most of them would slowly filter out while a minority would stay behind and enjoy what Poketch had to offer them. Supposedly they were going to rey Craig¡¯s run of the Conferencest year on the projector screen behind them for those who wanted to see. The Gym Leader couldn¡¯tseeGrace anymore, but she felt her leave and reenter the building. She¡¯d be waiting. Back in the waiting room, Cynthia gave them a short spiel about a job well done. Work never stopped for her, even in the wake of Gctic. She¡¯d be going back to the Lily with the rest of her Elites to keep running things, but had given the Gym Leaders the rest of the day off. Finally, Maylene could go see Grace to hear what she had to say. Both Candice and Gardenia walked at her side, keeping an eye out for her dad. Wherever he was, Oscar was either masking his aura or too far away for her to be able to distinguish him from the crowd. ¡°So what¡¯s this ¡®bout meeting a friend?¡± Candice asked, in slightly higher spirits. She was not back to her usual self yet, but this had been closure for her as it had been for many who hade. ¡°Maymay, you look like someone¡¯s going to eat you whole. I¡¯ve never seen you this nervous.¡± Gardenia shot Maylene a look as she adjusted her hairagain, as if to ask if they should tell her. Maylene wasn¡¯t sure how to answer. She¡¯d always considered both girls her best friends¡ª people who she rarely hid things from. Unfortunately, Candice was a bbermouth who couldn¡¯t keep a secret to save her life. ¡°You don¡¯t know her,¡± Maylene lied. ¡°Ooooh,her?¡± She leaned forward, grinned, and wriggled her eyebrows. ¡°If I don¡¯t, then what¡¯s the issue? Do you think yours truly will embarrass you?¡± She ced a hand on her chest in faux indignation. ¡°Does she have a name?¡± Okay, she was getting way too curious about this. Maylene could lie about the name and say the first thing that came to her mind, or she could spill the beans to satisfy her. ¡°Gr¡ª¡± Oh, God, she¡¯d nearly actually said her name. ¡°Hope? Hope.¡± When Candice squinted at her, Maylene finally relented. ¡°Fine, okay! It¡¯s Grace Pastel. Happy?¡± ¡°Come on, do you want me not to know so bad? I won¡¯t tell anyone about your crush, gosh!¡± Still focused on the thinning crowd, Gardenia helpfully chimed in. ¡°She¡¯s telling the truth, Candice.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Her eyes widened, and she gasped. ¡°Wait,what?Excuse me?! Did I miss something¡ª I missed something big, didn¡¯t I? Doesn¡¯t she have a girlfriend already? Oh man, this is so dramatic!¡± She clutched her hands to her chest, a look of disbelief and excitement spreading across her face. ¡°I¡¯ve been helping her deal with it in my own time,¡± Gardenia exined. ¡°You were¡­ well, dealing with your own issues. Sorry.¡± ¡°I get it. At least I¡¯m caught up now¡ª wait, how did this happen? Spill the tea!¡± Somehow, Candice didn¡¯t have to reconcile the fact that thest time she¡¯d regrly spoken with Grace had been to n her apology to Maylene. Apparently, thest text message they¡¯d shared was Grace sending her condolences about Craig, butmunication had been spare post-Cor, with Grace dealing with all of her issues and Maylene having to deal with the massive crisis in Snowpoint. Sure, she¡¯d known that they had ascended Cor together, but she¡¯d still believed that had been the end of their rtionship. Somehow, Candice didn¡¯t care at all that it turned her understanding of Maylene¡¯s rapport with Grace upside down. ¡°What can I say, I¡¯m a hopeless romantic,¡± Candice said before barking out a loudugh. Maylene wanted to shush her, but seeing her friend have such a good time after a tough day was too good to pass up. Her happiness was infectious. ¡°So? What¡¯s the n;e on, fill me in, gals!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no n,¡± Maylene said. ¡°Pretty sure I¡¯m about to get rejected prematurely. Not that I was going to even confess.¡± Nothing good coulde out of theing conversation, that was for sure. They¡¯d almost made it inside the building, now. No signs of Oscar. ¡°Aw, shucks. I thought you two had a date or something.¡± ¡°Why would we have a date when she has a girlfriend?¡± Maylene asked. Candice opened her mouth, but exhaled as she lost her retort. ¡°Fair point. Well, that¡¯s a bummer, but you should try to remain optimistic! Maybe things won¡¯t be catastrophic!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s¡ª manage her expectations here,¡± Gardenia cut in. ¡°Ahhh, Nia. Always the pragmatist to rein me in and ruin my fun. Wait, we should be, like, the devil and angel on her shoulders giving her love advice.¡± Nia couldn¡¯t help but smile and look at her fondly. ¡°Your advice would just be to confess immediately.¡± ¡°N¡ªno. My advice would be to lock all three girls into a room and not let them out until something happened,¡± Candice said. Maylene felt her face grow warm. ¡°Notthat. Come on, I wasn¡¯t actually making an innuendo, okay, don¡¯t yell at me!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to yell¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± her friend poked her in the arm. ¡°Maymay no longer gets mad at those? Nia, this is a transformation of the highest order! I¡¯m liking this new gay Maylene already.¡± The teasing was relentless, and Gardenia enjoyed it too. Or maybe she just enjoyed whatever came out of Candice¡¯s silly mouth. Maylene was pretty sure she was in love, now that she¡¯d gotten a better look at the two. Was that why Nia had felt sopelled to help her, even when it got in the way of work? They¡¯d known each other since they were fifteen, and they were both neen now. Maylene hoped she would know Grace just as long; just being by her side and here to support her was enough for her. Atst, they were face to face with the wide ss doors of the entrance. Maylene could feel Grace¡¯s presence thrumming inside like a bonfire. ¡°Are you sure I don¡¯t look stupid?¡± Maylene desperately asked. ¡°What, no! You look dapper!¡± Gardenia pped her back and pushed her forward. ¡°Go ahead, Maymay. You can do this! And remember, if your dad somehow finds you, just ignore him and call us. We¡¯lle inside a few minutes after you and keep an eye out.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be rooting for you!¡± Candice said. ¡°Turn up the charm! Wink at her and speak with a sultry voice¡ª¡± she yelped when Gardenia pinched the side of her arm. ¡°Ow, ow, ow. Okay, don¡¯t do that! Be yourself!¡± Security let her in without a fuss thanks to her ranking as a Gym Leader.Breathe in, breathe out.Okay. Maylene felt nervous, but strangely, now that the moment hade, she felt a lot calmer than she¡¯d been stewing up on that stage with only ideas of what could happen to keep herpany. As nned, Grace had been waiting at their designated meeting spot¡ª a sort of waiting area inside of the Poketch building with a bunch of couches and magazines years out of date.¡®Cynthia¡¯s Democratic Reforms: What You Need To Know¡¯and¡®New Economic Boom: How Free Trade Brought Riches To Sinnoh¡¯were on top of the pile. Grace wasn¡¯t sitting. She was so focused on her own thoughts that she hadn¡¯t seen Mayleneing. The short ne she¡¯d been wearing earlier was no longer there, meaning she had recalled Meltan. Her leg was repeatedly bouncing beneath her dress. It was a simple dark dress that flowed down to her tibia, right above where her burn scars ended. The fabric swayed slightly with each restless movement. Her hair was different; it cascaded down her back in curls instead of being straight, and¡ª Was she wearing lip gloss? She was. Her teeth were firmly mped down on her glittering bottom lip. Maylene froze for a few seconds, hypnotized by the sheen that caught the bright lights in the ceiling.Don¡¯t just watch her like a weirdo. Say something.But Maylene wanted a moment to take it all in, just in case this was thest time they¡¯d see each other. To sear the image into her brain so she could recall it every time she closed her eyes. No. She had to speak up. ¡°Uh¡ª¡± ¡°Gah!¡± Grace jumped, causing a few faces to turn her way. With a hand halfway into her ck purse, she sighed in relief. ¡°S¡ªsorry. I wasn¡¯t expecting you to get here so fast. I¡ªI thought you¡¯d have Gym Leader stuff to deal with or something.¡± Maylene noticed that Grace struggled to look her in the eye when it was usually the opposite. Was it okay to act how she usually did? Should she be serious? Candice had said to be herself¡­ ¡°Sorry for sneaking up on you. Are you alright? I saw you cry earlier, so I was worried.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. I just¡ª some of the speeches got to me, I guess. I¡¯ll miss Craig and the weight he had on this world. It was a very nice shape,¡± she quietly spoke. Maylene didn¡¯t really know what the whole deal with shapes was. She knew what it generally meant, but it was a cute way to phrase it and was shaped by Grace¡¯s view of the world. ¡°Nothing about Oscar?¡± Grace asked. She clenched her burned arm and squeezed. ¡°No. I think he¡¯s actuallyying off, at least for now. So I doubt we¡¯ll be interrupted,¡± Maylene said. For a moment, Maylene thought she was going to start speaking about her texts, and she braced herself with a wince. ¡°So. A suit, huh?¡± ¡°Oh, this old thing?¡± She let out a nervousugh, and her heart skipped a beat. ¡°Yeah. Never beenfortable in dresses; I know it¡¯s weird¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, it fits you really well; you should wear what you like.¡± A warm feeling fluttered up her stomach. Maylene hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, ¡°your lips look nice too. I meanyoulook nice too.¡± No answer. She quickly cleared her throat to get through the awkward silence. ¡°I like the hair. Your hair¡¯s nice. Uh. Sorry.¡± ¡°Oh. Right, thegloss.¡± It was as if pressure stopped choking her when she found out why Maylene hadmented on her lips. ¡°I was wearing some yesterday too, so¡­ it¡¯s not special or anything. I figured I¡¯de in the same outfit.¡± Grace looked at herself, then pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. ¡°Uh, we should get going.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a great spot to talk. Too many people,¡± Grace said. ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs; I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll let you through. There are some employees and trainers up there now that the speeches are done, but we can find an empty room somewhere. I wish we could do it at your Gym, though¡­¡± she finished with a murmur. Maylene followed her in a silence so thick she found it difficult to take full breaths. Grace wasn¡¯t looking at her. Not even when they were in the elevator, or when Maylene called out to her to tell her about Candice doing okay in an attempt to make small talk before they¡¯d have to start the big conversation. She wanted to dy, to ask her to spend a little time with her with no strings attached, to tell her that actually, everything was fine and she didn¡¯t need any rification if that meant she would never be close to Grace again. They struggled for a bit to find a ce they could use. Grace tried some kind of private room for sponsored trainers, but there were people there talking already. And so, they found themselves not in the cushy executive rooms Maylene had expected from Poketch, but in a bathroom near the ends of Jubilee Tower made for high-ranking people in thepany. She released her Electivire and Togekiss, instructed them to not let anyone in, and then closed the door. There would be no dying. That was the sentiment that sank into Maylene¡¯s mind as Grace turned toward her, eyes fixated on the floor. She remained right next to the door, clinging to it as if she¡¯d need an escape route. Maylene hoped she was ready to take whatever came next. ¡ª¡ª It was so quiet. It was a certain kind of quiet. Not the one where you literally couldn¡¯t hear anything¡ª I could, even though I was deaf in one ear. It was a quiet that ate away at you and wanted to forcefully drag the words out of your mouth. There was the quiet, constant dripping of a leaky faucet in one of the sinks. The faint hum of the air conditioning whispered through the air, one that grew louder and louder as if to demand retribution for myck of honesty. My ear rang deafeningly loudly as I let go of the door handle. The bright, white lights shone over Maylene, but I didn¡¯t see her. Couldn¡¯t see her. For the past ten minutes, all I¡¯d seen was the lower half of her body. ¡°There¡¯s¡ª¡± the words died in my throat.Stick to the n no matter how painful it is. ¡°There¡¯s something I have to tell you before we begin. First, I¡¯m sorry for avoiding you this past week while keeping you in the dark. It was wrong of me, and I should have been better.¡± The apology came easy after the first bump in the road. ¡°You already apologized,¡± Maylene said. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Why was she speaking to me like that? Why was she never angry at me? Not even her body had reacted negatively beyond the subtle, nervous movement of her fingers. ¡°I still felt the need to say it in person. Texting it is a coward¡¯s way of doing things, and that¡¯s what I was for a week. A coward.¡± I saw her shuffle her feet. Dark men''s shoes that looked a little too big for her. ¡°Anyway, I guess I should start at the beginning.¡± I waited to see if she had a question. There were none, so I followed my mental flowchart. ¡°There¡¯s this thing about me. It¡¯s hard to exin¡ª no, it¡¯s easy to exin, but it¡¯s difficult tosay.¡± Damn it, I was already tripping up over my words. ¡°I think that the fact I never experienced any true friendships or love before this year began,bined with everything that happened with all the danger and the death, it makes me get attached to people very easily. To an unhealthy degree. To the point where not having them in my life can drain me of all of my energy and can be physically painful.¡± Again, no reaction. Was she waiting until I was finished entirely? That was the best-case scenario due to having so few deviations. ¡°Last week was when I realized how bad it actually was. And, uh, Cecilia kind of figured it would be best for us to take a break.¡± Maylene tensed up at that, and I nearly looked up at her before reining myself in. ¡°A break?¡± she asked. ¡°Was¡ª was it my¡ª¡± ¡°No!¡± My fists clenched as I yelled. My voice echoed on the walls and mirrors of the bathroom. ¡°No. It wasn¡¯t because of you. The decision was Cecilia¡¯s, and at the time I thought my world was ending, but I see now that it was the right decision. So¡ª so I¡¯ve been taking it one day at a time. Healing. The first two days were the hardest, but my friends pulled me out of that dark ce. I¡¯ll be talking to a therapist in a few days to fix myself, and doing things away from them. So I can learn what it¡¯s like to be normal.¡± Maylene¡¯s hands gripped the side of her pants. ¡°What does that mean for us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we should see each other that regrly until I am fixed,¡± I hesitantly dered. Every word felt like someone was pulling nails off my fingers. ¡°But¡ª how long will that take?¡± she asked, desperation leaking through her voice. ¡°You¡¯re leaving in a few months! I¡ªI can help you, Grace. I can teach you what it¡¯s like¡ª¡± ¡°No. You can¡¯t.¡± The taste of metal spread through my mouth. ¡°Maylene, I don¡¯t think you understand. I¡¯m a mess, okay? I¡¯m broken. You¡¯ve been doing so welltely with your Gym, and I would just drag you down. Chip away at you like some kind of disease. Slow at first, but then you¡¯d blink and realize how I fucked up your life. You¡¯d be even worse than most, really, because you¡¯re special to me. It¡¯s like if I have you, I¡¯d need to haveall of you. All the time. I wouldn¡¯t be able to m the breaks. I can¡¯t live without having someone, and it¡¯ll feel like any time not spent with you might be wasted, or maybe I still feel like I only have a set amount of time before the world ends, or both, or¡­ or¡­¡± I finished, nearly out of breath. I had nearly veered off-course; distractions weren¡¯t something I could afford. Sweat dripped down my forehead and onto the pristine floor. ¡°Why won¡¯t you look at me?¡± she asked. Why did she ask that? That wasn¡¯t¡ª what was the relevance in that? ¡°You¡¯re not even talking to me. You¡¯re just¡­ it¡¯s like you¡¯re reading off a list.¡± She knew me too well. ¡°Let me help you, Grace.¡± ¡°No. It wouldn¡¯t be fair to you; you would be a recement for Cecilia.¡± My mouth tasted like ashes. That was a lie. ¡°I can¡¯t do that to you.¡± Maylene started to walk forward¡ª I took as many steps back as I could until I hit the door behind me. I watched her ck shoes take long strides until she was so close to me that our feet nearly touched. Maylene grabbed me by the hand¡ª or tried until I pulled again. ¡°D¡ªdon¡¯t,¡± I whimpered. ¡°I¡¯ll taint you.¡± ¡°Then taint me,¡± Maylene dered, fingers intecing with mine. She crouched, and her face entered my field of vision. There was not a trace of anger, disappointment, or disgust on her. ¡°I know this is selfish of me to say, but I won¡¯t give up on you, Grace. Not until you love yourself.¡± Not until I loved myself. Was that possible? Maylene seemed to ardently believe it. Seeing her like this, as bright as a star, an angel reaching down to pull me from the murky depths of my own mind, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why. It might have seemed absurd at first¡ª I knew why. She was in love with me. But that was only a fraction of the truth of it all, a piece of arger picture. The real answery in something deeper, something that could be summed up in three simple words. The essence of who she was; the shape she took as she interacted with the world; the way she made others feel. She was Good. Goodness in her wasn¡¯t just a matter of kindness or morality; it was an intrinsic part of her being, woven into the very fabric of her soul and packed into something beautiful. It was the way she looked at you, not just seeing, but desperate to understand so she could help. The tenderness in her voice when I deserved nothing but scorn. And I tried, oh, Itriedto do it like her, yet I only found myself struggling against myself. Where killing and wounding came easy, mindfulness was an uphill battle, a war within myself that I couldn''t seem to win. She made it look effortless, as ifpassion was as natural as breathing. Maylene was better than me. The truth was, every chance to interact with her was a stroke of luck I did not deserve. I nearly ruined her once and would ruin her if we kept this going. Yet she had forgiven me in full and was still waiting for my answer with that precious innocent smile of hers, like a Lillipup looking up at me. She had done it all expecting nothing in return. Yes, she wanted to spend time with me, but no matter what happened, I would still be leaving. We stood upon a bridge half-copsed, unable to support both of our weights, but she still wanted to remain here and hold me. She refused to give up on me because she genuinely believed in me, even if she would join me in the crumbling of the flimsy foundation I stood on in the hope of repairing it. She was a Hero. My Hero. Anointing me in this ceremony with the belief that I could be just as Good as she was. ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult,¡± I muttered. A feeble attempt, when I knew the answer anyway. ¡°I¡¯m a high-maintenance person.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°But you can¡¯t just iste yourself from everyone you know and think that things will go better. It¡¯s¡ª it¡¯s like addicts, right?¡± she stood up and ced a finger under my chin to get me to look up at her. Her other hand still held onto mine. ¡°You can¡¯t just quit cold turkey, okay? Or the majority of people can¡¯t anyway. You¡¯ll either rpse really hard or just be unable to do anything. There has to be an¡­ off-ramp.¡± ¡°But I¡¯ll hurt you.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t. And if you do, I can take it. I¡¯m a big girl, okay?¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the obvious. What¡¯s with this tainting stuff?¡± ¡°Did you ask me to taint you without understanding what I was saying?¡± She blushed. ¡°M¡ªmaybe. How was I even supposed to get it? Only you say stuff like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ fair.¡± Even now, I could see it. Shadows writhing on her hands where she touched me. They were fading now, just as they had with Bobbdy, but¡­ I hadn¡¯t gotten those when my dad ruffled my hair or identally held my hand. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s new.¡± I exined as best as I understood the phenomenon, which wasn¡¯t much. ¡°It¡¯s probably nothing. Just a weird vision I¡¯ll talk to my therapist about. Maybe I¡¯ll sleep it off, and it¡¯ll be gone tomorrow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not nothing. You only say that because it¡¯s tough to talk about, and you want to brush it off. If you can see it, it¡¯s a lot more literal than I thought, though,¡± Maylene said. ¡°Do you see it now?¡± Her hand touched my upper arm, thumb gently caressing the side of my shoulder. ¡°Yeah. I¡ªI don¡¯t like it. I think it¡¯s actually just because getting close to people scares me, now. Like I¡¯ll drag them down with me.¡± ¡°Are you scared right now?¡± The subtle pressure of her fingers rested against my naked shoulder, warm and light. ¡°I¡¯m terrified,¡± I exhaled. ¡°Like you¡¯re in danger. Like a horrible fate is going to befall you.¡± ¡°Okay. Then how does practice sound?¡± ¡°Practice?¡± ¡°Yeah, like what we¡¯re doing now. Light touching, and then we can slowly ramp up. To whatever.¡± What did ¡®whatever¡¯ even mean in this context? A hug? When I nodded, she continued. ¡°And for your co-dependency issues, if I¡¯m the closest to what it would be like with Cecilia, you can also practice on me, okay? We can¡­¡± Maylene thought for a few moments; I could see the gears turning in the head. ¡°We can keep you on a schedule and stuff. Keep your life nice and orderly so you don¡¯t rely on me too much, but you¡¯re not dropped off the deep end, either.¡± Realization hit her, and she quickly added, ¡°You can do that with your other friends, too, it doesn¡¯t have to just be me! Same for the touching!¡± What would Cecilia say? It wasn¡¯t like I could send her a message and ask her; she was already gone. I could justify it however I wanted¡ª that I¡¯d do this with my other friends, that it was to fix myself and the way I thought¡ª at the end of the day, Maylene still liked me, and I was interacting with her. Not that she¡¯d asked me not to, but there was a difference between helping her with her dad and being friends with her and whatever this was going to be. Touching was okay, but hugging for however long? No. Still, I continued, hoping to bring this upter. ¡°I think that might work,¡± I said, struggling not to shake her hand off me. How strange, to crave her touch yet to want to rid myself of it at the same time. ¡°Plus, you live really far.¡± She could always Teleport, but not being in the same house all the time would help. ¡°See, now you¡¯re starting to get into it!¡± she cheered. ¡°This,bined with therapy? You should be back on your feet in no time! Since it¡¯s the week-end, we can start all of this stuff on Monday. I¡¯ll ask Nia to help me with the scheduling stuff¡ª¡± I winced and interrupted her. ¡°Please, no. I know it sounds weird, but I don¡¯t think you should tell her. I just don¡¯t want her to think ill of me.¡± ¡°Fine, but if it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯m still asking her,¡± Maylene said. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the scheduling myself¡ª just the moments I can see you or not, of course; I¡¯m not about to micromanage you, that¡¯d make it worse. It¡¯ll have to be around my work hours, but Veilstone¡¯s doing okay enough now for me to take more time off. We¡¯re only doing, like, ten battles a day right now.¡± ¡°Thank you, Maylene.¡± Already, I felt a little lighter, like I was seeing light at the end of a very dark tunnel. There were still many steps required to make it there, but at least it was visible when it hadn¡¯t been since Cecilia left me. ¡°I said I¡¯d help, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Mhm. So, what¡¯s this practice going to be like?¡± I nced at her hand. Not the one touching my shoulder¡ª she¡¯d since removed it and started typing at a Notes app on her phone¡ª but the one holding onto my very sweaty hand. ¡°Is there a time limit?¡± ¡°I mean, I haven¡¯t thought about that yet,¡± Maylene said. ¡°You¡¯re doing pretty well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still unpleasant. We should set out the rules of this first.¡± I wrangled my hand out of hers and stilled my trembling fingers. It still felt warm. ¡°This is therapeutic first and foremost.¡± ¡°Right, right. It is.¡± ¡°How about¡­ ten minutes?¡± I threw a random number up in the air. It had to be long because we wouldn¡¯t see each other every day. ¡°Every time we meet. We can set up an rm, and everything. We don¡¯t want me to go into touch debt.¡± She giggled. ¡°Touch debt? What the hell is even that?¡± ¡°Something I just made up for the purposes of this process!¡± I said, slightly frustrated. ¡°Okay, you dork.¡± I was beginning to like it when she called me that, at least ording to the smile creeping up my lips and my mild anger instantly evaporating. ¡°I just want strict guidelines; it¡¯s important to not lose sight of the goal here,¡± I sighed. ¡°When you said ¡®ramping up,¡¯ I assume you meant¡­ like, nothing like hugging.¡± Two lies in one day; she was really making me act out of habit. ¡°Oh. I just meant touching with two hands or pressing a little harder. Or more surface area,¡± she said. Of course, she had meant that. I could breathe easy, now. ¡°We can try hugs, too, whenever you¡¯re ready. Not for ten minutes, though, that¡¯d be too long. Maybe thirty seconds.¡± ¡°N¡ªno. That¡¯s too far.¡± She nodded. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s fair.¡± Okay, thank the Legendaries, I managed that. After painstakingly making a list of rules that we both wrote on our phones and double-checking every single line, I had her sign it like a contract. Verbal pacts were the backbone of the fae, and I¡¯d be foolish not to cement this further. By the end, I was feeling a whole lot better. It was impossible to know how long this good mood wouldst, but I felt more ready to face the world and fix my issues than I¡¯d been since Cecilia left¡ª hell, Maylene had even gotten me somewhat pumped to get a therapist again. ¡°Thanks again for the help, Maylene.¡± When we talked now, I could face her. How could I not, when had seen me for who I was time and time again; the deepest recesses of whatmademe? She had witnessed my naked soul and given it another chance. There was no need to feel ashamed. ¡°I feel so refreshed.¡± ¡°Me too, believe it or not.¡± She nced down at her phone. ¡°You know, it¡¯s been ten minutes, but I didn¡¯t actually touch you that long. We should start today.¡± I hesitated. ¡°You know what, sure. Might as well get it over with. Set the rm. We¡¯ll go for six minutes.¡± ¡°Okay. Uh, here I go?¡± Her hand hovered in the air for a moment, the warmth of her palm lingering just above my skin. I could sense her hesitation, the way her fingers wavered before finally descending toward my neck. The sensation was at first jarring, almost violently unpleasant. The shock of it coursed through me, sharp and unwee, like watching her push it down a path lined with razor des. Once I witnessed that it did not hurt her, the sensation slowly subsided. My body felt warm, like I had some kind of fever, and it was difficult to sit still. asionally, her thumb would graze my cheek, and I would find it difficult not to make any noise. Her hand slid up my face¡ª ¡°Maylene¡ª not the face. Not now.¡± It had instantly be intolerable. I could see it through when it was just a finger under my chin, but it was too much, too soon. Immediately, she took her hand off me like she was touching a hot stove. ¡°S¡ªsorry. I got carried away.¡± Her face was red, and she was nearly out of breath. Her eyes were maic; I knew that was the gaze of someone who loved me. She loved me; I was using her to get better, and she knew it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°No, it¡¯s me. This is our first session, I should have taken it slow. Here, let me¡ª¡± the rm rang out from her phone, an ufortable re that ripped us away from our little bubble. ¡°Already? I¡ªI guess it¡¯s over, then.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I could still feel her hand where she¡¯d touched me. ¡°We¡¯ll resume in¡­ what is it, three business days?¡± ¡°Yup. Seven pm, I¡¯ll send a Kadabra to Teleport you to my Gym. We have more than one now, so you won¡¯t be bothering us.¡± It¡¯d be a short stay¡ª only an hour and a half, and we would alternate who came to who each time. The purpose of it was to teach me that having people to depend on was okay, but notalwaysto the point where I¡¯d be emotionally and physically stunted without them. As dad had said, going to another extreme wouldn¡¯t work. I had agreed, but now it was time to put it into practice. Maylene and I left the bathroom and thanked Princess and Honey for keeping watch. When I saw them in front of the door, they were ying rock paper scissors¡ª Princess somehow had gotten a bit of dirt to use as a tool to shape and y the game. At first, I thought she¡¯d damaged the building somewhere, but she told me that she¡¯d grabbed it from a flower pot down the hall, her face full of indignation. It was when I¡¯d been about to recall her that Maylene¡¯s eyes turned from satisfied toalert, narrowing as she squinted at something down the hall. Oscar, trudging down the empty corridor with his familiar swagger. Had he used his standing to get up here? Sensing ill intent, Princess¡¯ rock turned into scissors dusted by mour to render them sharper than hardened dirt could ever get. Honey understood a few secondster and stood a few feet in front of us, causing Oscar to innocently raise his hands as Maylene quietly used the electric type¡¯s body to hide and wrote ¡®I GOT THIS¡¯ in all caps below all of the notes she¡¯d taken. My hand ran through my daughter¡¯s fur. ¡°Princess, no violence,¡± I whispered to her. Her scissors dissolved, the dirt copsing on the ground without form. A feint. I knew she¡¯d be able to reform them within half a second if need be. ¡°Ie with no ill intent,¡± Oscar announced. ¡°No need for threats.¡± ¡°You being here makes me ill, so I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Maylene said, not looking at him. He faltered for a moment, body tensing. He hadn¡¯t been expecting that retort, had he? Just those words¡ª his daughter standing up to her¡ª were enough to put him off-bnce. ¡°I just came here to talk. And to apologize.¡± His mouth was saying these things, but his body showed that he didn¡¯t mean it. There was no regret etched on his face, just a cold, indifferent stare that betrayed nothing. As if this was just aprocessfor him that he needed to get through to get another chance to influence Maylene. The fact that Oscar only showed feelings whenever Maylene stood up to him spoke volumes. ¡°My behavior as ofte hasn¡¯t been great. The truth was, when I saw Sinnoh in such disrepair, I felt an urge to take back the reins¡ª¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re doing,¡± Maylene said, now facing him. ¡°So stop.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Pardon me?¡± ¡°Cecilia taught me this thing called the cycle of abuse,¡± she said. The word ¡®abuse¡¯ made her dad scoff. ¡°You thinkthisis abuse? Wanting to speak to my daughter?¡± His tone rose, spreading through the hall. ¡°Myfather would beat me ck and blue every time we trained; you should consider yourself lucky that¡ª¡± Maylene spoke over him, aura carrying her voice. ¡°How every time there is an incident that puts the victim out of the abuser¡¯s clutches, and they realize they won¡¯t crawl back to them with their head hung low, they swallow their pride and apologize. Promise it¡¯ll never happen again. And for a while, they stick to it. Things are better for a few weeks, and you think things will go better, but eventually, they do it all again.¡± Oscar¡¯s face was wrought with disbelief. He could hardly believe it. ¡°Now you¡¯re just putting words in my mouth.¡± Was that all he could muster? Had he expected things to go his way so much that he could barelye up with anything else? ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t do it consciously. I don¡¯t know. I hope so,¡± Maylene said. ¡°But at the end of the day, you¡¯re still doing it. I¡¯m done with you, Oscar. And so is the Gym. Do me a favor, and please raise your new kid better.Please.¡± That was it. Maylene didn¡¯t wait to hear his answer, not that he had any. She asked me to follow, and I did, walking past her bbergasted father, who had nothing to say for himself but to mutter how she¡¯d changed and was like a different person. I recalled my Pokemon once we reached the elevators, and Maylene leaned against the wall. Her legs and hands were shaking. ¡°Ahhhh, I thought I was going to pass out,¡± shemented. ¡°But¡ª what was that?¡± I asked.¡°You did it.You told him everything you wanted to say!¡± She smiled, sping her hands together so they wouldn¡¯t shake. I¡¯d felt a need to grab them in her ce, but hadn¡¯t. Not outside of our ten minutes. ¡°I did, didn¡¯t I?¡± Maylene let out a long, drawn-out exhale. ¡°Legendaries, today¡¯s been tough for my heart. I thought I was gonna have a panic attack.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you. I¡ª he¡¯s going to take a while to recover from that one.¡± ¡°I had to put my money where my mouth was, right? If I¡¯m going to help you, then I should be able to deal with my own problems,¡± she said. ¡°But I only managed this after Cecilia helped me. That¡¯s an important lesson.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? You¡¯re acting like a teacher.¡± I found my tone to be more teasing than I thought it¡¯d be. The Gym Leader put her hand on her hips, looking all pompous. ¡°Well, I¡¯m like your guru, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯ve got to lead by example.¡± Arceus, she was so silly. When the elevator doors opened, we found the lobby far emptier than it had been when we¡¯d gone up. We¡¯d spent what, an hour in that bathroom? Toplete what had happened and wrap it up in a neat little bow, I brought Maylene to the exact spot she¡¯d picked me up at to scratch the invisible itch. ¡°So¡­¡± she drew out the word. I was leaning against the same wall. ¡°So. I guess this is it for today.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± She kicked her feet, putting her hands behind her back. ¡°Or.How about youe and meet Nia again¡ª actually, I¡¯ll bringher.Just her.¡± Maylene shivered, for some reason. Meeting Gardenia? My favorite Gym Leader who I wanted to emte and whose battles I had watched more times than I could count? I couldn¡¯t help but burst out smiling at the idea; goosebumps ran up and down my arm and neck. Already, I was nervous at being a mess in front of her. Thest time, I¡¯d only spoken a few words with her and barely had time to interact, but now? It¡¯d be a proper meeting. Did she even remember our battle? Legendaries, I hoped not. I¡¯d fought it so badly and made a million mistakes. But at the same time¡­ I hoped that she did! What if we talked about it together? No, no, I was getting ahead of myself. I couldn¡¯t go over my assigned time with Maylene¡­ Well, if Gardenia was going to be here, it was probably fine if I sent dad a message about waiting a little longer. She didn¡¯t know about any of this. ¡ª¡ª The time it took for Maylene to go get Gardenia had been enough for me to start getting second thoughts. What if she thought I was weird? All she knew about me was that I¡¯d killed a bunch of people and watched a man get tortured. Plus, given that she knew I¡¯d been in Cor doingsomething, she probably thought I¡¯d killed more. And she would be correct. What these thoughts brought was a different kind of nervousness. Not the one I¡¯d gotten before talking to Maylene, the familiar pit in my stomach, the gnawing, twisting tread, and the endless thoughts that things were going to go in the worst possible reaction. Instead, my heart raced in a way that was almost painful, a rapid thudding that echoed in my ears. My palms were slick with sweat, and I found myself shifting nervously, unable to keep still. Every possible oue of the encounter shed through my mind. What if I stuttered, what if I said something stupid, what if Gardenia didn''t like me? This anxiety was closer to excitement, akin to what I used to feel before fighting in Gym Battles. I could see them making their way toward me, chatting aboutsomething. Like every Gym Leader, her clothes were dark and muted. A simple skirt that flowed down below her knees, nearly touching the ground, and some kind of top that was nearly a whisper against her skin, thin and see-through on the sleeves. Her heels made her look taller than she already was. ¡°...things are going good. Anyway, Nia, here¡¯s Grace,¡± Maylene finished a sentence. Oh God. Already?! ¡°H¡ªhello. Nice to meet you.¡± Was that fine? It was fine right? Gardenia smiled. ¡°We already met, remember? Inside Maymay¡¯s Gym.¡± ¡°Nia, she means that this is like, apropermeeting,¡± Maylene huffed. ¡°Stop being so matter-of-fact about things!¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± Gardenia chuckled. ¡°You can rx, I¡¯m not going to eat you, okay? Here, why don¡¯t we sit.¡± She gestured at the array of couches next to us. We each took a seat, Gardenia sitting in front of both of us with an analytical stare that made me feel like I was being disassembled. Was she looking for something? Trying to figure me out? After three second or so, she leaned back and crossed her legs. ¡°First, I want to thank you for keeping Maylene safe in Cor, Grace,¡± Gardenia said. ¡°I know that she lost her team in there.¡± ¡°Oh, she saved me more than I saved her. Obviously, I can¡¯t go into much detail, but I wouldn¡¯t be here without her.¡± There was no stutter this time, so I was making progress. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I sounded weird, though. ¡°There was a mutual give and take.¡± She paused for a second. ¡°You helped her with her dad, too, while we were all too busy to be there when she needed it.¡± ¡°Thank you, but that was mostly Cecilia.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You don¡¯t know how to take apliment, don¡¯t you?¡± Gardenia noticed. It wasn¡¯t an aggressive statement, just a thoughtful observation. Her tone was even warm. ¡°Nia! You said you¡¯d be nice, gosh!¡± Maylene yelled. She hadn¡¯t noticed. ¡°Say, why don¡¯t you swing by to my Gym sometime,¡± Gardenia asked. I thought I¡¯d been hearing things, and I was stuck looking at her like some dumb kid. ¡°No? Maylene¡¯s told me about your struggle to return to normal life, and I know I¡¯m your favorite Gym Leader. We could share a few words about battling, tactics, and the like. Plus, I can tell you all about my journey, too.¡± ¡°Y¡ªyes!¡± I practically screamed. ¡°Of course I¡ª yes!¡± Gardenia continued speaking about how she¡¯d used Volkner and Roark to lose Candice¡ª why had they not wanted her to be here?¡ª and I soaked it all in. I¡¯d honestly believed that my door with Gardenia had closed forever, that it would only remain open in Virtuous¡¯ timeline, but here I was, talking to her. Well, mostly listening and enjoying myself. When the day had begun, I thought I''d be going back home in tears.
Chapter 328 Chapter 328
CHAPTER 328 My head rested on my palm as drowsiness began to creep in, the steady drone of the teacher''s voice blending with the rhythmic ticking of the clock, the frantic clicking ofptop keyboards, or the scratching of pen on paper. Below me was the book for this course dad had bought me, and I had a few notes scribbled down on a notebook about different musical symbols and whatnot. This ce was pretty full for a summer ss. By my count, there were twenty-two people here, all teenagers. "Let''s pause here," Ms. Arden said, her tone gentle but firm as she closed therge book of sheet music resting on the piano. The students looked up, some blinking as if emerging from a trance. "You''ve all done wonderfully so far. I know this can feel like learning a newnguage¡ªand in many ways, it is¡ªbut you''re already starting to grasp it." She walked over to the board, where a simple staff with a few notes had been drawn. "We''ll take a short break now. When wee back, we''ll start putting what we''ve learned into exercise at the piano. But before you go," she paused, letting the silence settle, "while you''re on break, I want you to think about what you''ve just learned. Imagine the notes, see them on the staff, and try to hear them in your mind. And it''s ten minutes, not one more! If you''rete, you aren''t getting back in." Ms. Arden was an interesting teacher. In her forties, shorter than me and a little puffy like a Dedenne, but stern enough to have garnered a reputation among those who''d taken her sses before. She wasn''t just areallygood piano yer, a professional who often yed at huge venues for the highest echelons of society; shealsoyed the violin, the harp and the cello. She moved over to the whiteboard to erase some of the notes she''d taken. Most students filtered out of the room. Some had their Pokemon with them¡ª a boy with a Starly sleeping on his head as if it was her nest. Another with an Aipom who Ms. Aiden had forced back into his Pokeball after the normal type had sown too much chaos in ss and thrown a bunch of paper balls at a girl''s Kricketot who''d been just as interested in learning as she was. I would have had Angel here had he not been far toorge for the ssroom. He certainly would have enjoyed it. Instead, Mimi was soundly sleeping around my wrist. I wonder what Lehmhart would have said if he''d been here. My fist clenched around the fabric of my jeans under my desk, and I held my breath until the hurt passed. "Sheesh, it''s a summer ss! She should rx a little bit. You''d think we''re taking exams next ss." A girl to my right snickered at her own remark. Her name was Jess. She wasn''t really a friend¡ªthis was only my second ss here, which was way too early for that¡ªbut I''d consider her a ssroom acquaintance. She had light brown skin and super long tresses. Her parents were apparently Aln and hade to Sinnoh this January. Usually, you heard about people movingtoAl, notfromthere, but at least it meant that she was totally tuned out of the trainer culture here. The main reason we''d kind of bonded was because one, she''d sat next to me and just decided totalk, and two, she had no idea who I was. In the first day of ss, numerous students had grouped around my table when I''d arrived. The most all of them could ask were questions about fame, or corny things about how they liked the way I fought because it was entertaining on TV. They were fans, so I responded as best I could, but the image they had of me was just not at all who I was. They saw me as this cool, calm and collected girl who was as as brutal as possible to make sure she''d obtain victory at all costs. Only thest bit of that was true. I assumed those who vehemently disagreed with that assessment already wanted nothing to do with me. They''d gone for someone else instead: the other acquaintance I''d made, though I hadn''t paid any attention to what they''d asked. She was¡ª "You''re far too easygoing," Marley nearly murmured. "You''re sending yourziness my way; it''s contagious." "That''s how we do it back in the inds. You should try it for a change, Marles." Jess put her feet up on her table, leaned back against her chair and winked at her. Marley was kind of the other side of the coin. Thin, the kind of pale that got sunburned by spending an hour in the sun, timid, and nearly always quiet. She was a diligent student whose pages were somehow filled with notes even though this was thesecondss of this summer course. I was pretty sure she was studying on her own time as well. We''d literally just begun and there was like no material we''d seen. Marley was just the kind of person to look ahead in the book before the teacher even got there. She gave me rich girl vibes with how this was the second time she''de here in extravagant dresses, but from what I knew, she actually lived in the rougher parts of the city andmuted here via bus. I''d never even seen her with a phone. She had short ck hair parted a little to the side and seemingly always had a ribbon somewhere in there. Today''s was white and on the side of her head. "Please don''t call me that." Her voice was a little deep¡ª especially whenever she got loud. I noticed her flush in embarrassment, as she always did whenever her tone slipped. Sometimes, I''d see her open her mouth, consider saying something, but shut down with a saddened look. She probably had a lot more to say a lot of the time, but just didn''t like the sound of her own voice. Part of me wanted to call Melody to give her advice, but I just didn''t know Marley that well, and I didn''t know if she''d be offended or something. I''d had enough of identally hurting people. "Fine.Marley," Jess enunciated the word in an obnoxious way. She probably hadn''t caught it, since she didn''t seem like the kind of girl to pay attention to her surroundings. "It''s a cute nickname. What do you think, Graces? Oh, never mind, she''s back on her phone again." "Hm? Oh, I mean I''m just here to pass the time," I said as I scrolled through my messages. "You''re in a ssroom with one of the best musicians in Jubilife, and you''re here to pass the time?" Jess raised an eyebrow, holding it there for a few seconds and snorted. "You''re weird." "I mean, Idowant to learn the piano¡ª" a smile crept up my face when I saw Maylene had messaged me. She hadn''t been sure if she''d be able to make it today because of work, but she had managed to finish most of what she needed to do today. She wouldn''t be picking me up or anything. She was still a Gym Leader, and it was bad optics to have her just walk the streets, having fun in public, while many people were still having a tough time in hospitals or had lost loved ones. Instead, she''d be discreetly Teleported to my apartmentplex, where we would hang out for an hour and a half andpractice. Moreplicated ns would have to wait at least another week. "Secret boyfriend, ain''t it?" Jess shot Marley a look, and my mood immediately soured. "Okay, I guess not?" Marley cleared her throat. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut once in a while," she said, her confidence now returned. "Also, stop leaning back like that; you''re going to fall." For once, Jess listened. And when I saidfor onceeven though I''d only known this girl for one ss and a half, I meant it. She was¡­ a little annoying, if a little fun as well. Obviously, I wouldn''t have stuck around if I hadn''t liked her. Plus, she was kind of the glue between me and Marley. There was often this dynamic in school groups where ifoneperson left, the others suddenly didn''t know what to talk about and just shuffled there awkwardly until they returned. I had been the victim of this too many times to count. Hell,st time when we''d just met each other, Jess had kind of decided that we were her friends now. She''d left to go to the bathroom while we''d been talking about our history with the piano after ss, and it had literally happened. "Can''t stick around after ss this time," I said. "I''ve got to do stuff." "I get it. You trainers are always too busy for us civvies," Jessmented with sarcasm dripping into her words. "I''ll just stick around with Marley so we can bond over how we''re going to practice¡ª" I felt my heart jump at the word, "¡ªthe piano together and leave you behind in the dust while you go do whatever." Marley shook her head as she pulled a simple spam sandwich from her backpack. "No. I have to go train, too. I''ve been cking off too muchtely." She began to eat at it, taking bites so small I wasn''t sure she''d be done before the break ended. I blinked. Marley was a trainer? She didn''t seem like the type, but that had been my fault for judging a book by its cover. It was difficult to imagine a frail girl like her going out in the wild for days on end, but then again, my picture of what a normal Pokemon journey was like was colored by my own experiences. You could pretty easily go through Sinnoh without many problems if you knew the ces to avoid and waited to go there until your team was powerful enough. And maybe she was like Erin, only going to the outskirts of her city. Or maybe she was super famous and that was why people had swarmed around her on the first day as well. I did assume she was well-known, but not because she was a trainer. Maybe she yed another instrument, or she modeled or something. Meh. What were the odds, right? Looking at her again, she didn''t finish her sandwich, instead deciding to save the other half forter. While these two were just casual acquaintances¡ª maybe loose friends¡ªwho most likely weren''t going tost in the long run, dad had been right when he''d said this would help. My new therapist (who I had only seen once so far) had said the same thing. Sometimes, it was good to just be struggling to stay awake in ss and to be bored out of your mind learning sheet music instead ofactuallyying the instrument I''d signed up for instead of spiraling like I had been before the ceremony. I was still ugly inside, concealed beneath a veneer of smiles and pretenses. These people just remained blissfully unaware and looked at me like I was normal. The effort to maintain this fa?ade was suffocating, leaving me feeling queasy as I forced myself to fit in as if I wasn''t a scar etched upon the world. Maylene was the only one who could see my real self without feeling disappointment¡ªin the case of my friends¡ªor disgust in the case of these two girls. And probably Cecilia. "Are you okay, Graces?" Jess worryingly asked. "You sick? I can take you to the infirmary." "I''m fine. Thanks." It was going to be okay. I would see her soon. ¡ª My Hero had been waiting by my door, chatting with her Medicham. Even though this was our third session, seeing her in casual clothing was still strange. The only other time it had happened was when we''d gone to the gym¡ªthat was one of our nned sessions eventually since there was no point in not being consistent with working out. Maybe she''d wear the same clothes. Thinking back, that crop top looked really good on her. And those yoga pants... would it be fine to ask her to wear them again? Today, Maylene wore a simple, fitted gray tank top that showed off her toned arms; baggy shorts with a deep shade of blue that hung just above her knees; well-worn sneakers with plenty of use, which was kind of charming due to the fact that I got easily attached to things too. She could have had a new pair with her Gym Leader sry, but here she was, wearing these. Ah, but she''d seen meing. Casually inserting myself once there was a lull in the conversation wasn''t going to work. Maylene had already been smiling at some joke Medicham must have made, but there was something different about the way she looked at me. I knew what it was, of course, but one couldn''t help but notice. Denying I''d missed someone looking at me that was a fool''s errand. "There you are," she said. "Hey. Sorry, Ms. Arden kept rambling for an extra ten minutes." Luckily I had avoided traffic by having Princess fly me.Unfortunately, one had to follow thew, so I had to walk to the nearestnding tform firstandGood day, Grace!Medicham saluted and winked.Thank you again for the candy the other day. "She ate way too much," Maylene said with a hint of disapproval. "Medi has no self-control." Oh, Maymay, life''s too short to worry about self-control,Medicham huffed. Maylene and I nced at each other for a moment. My keys jingled as I grabbed them out of my jeans pockets and let both girls in. The rest of Maylene''s team was either still working at the Gym or helping in Snowpoint, but she liked bringing at least one Pokemon with her. The two times she hade here, that had been Medicham. The psychic was a riot; she was immature in the best ways and got it on well with Princess and Honey. We both took off our shoes, but she preferred to stay barefoot whereas I had a pair of dad''s slippers to use. They were way too big for me, but they did the trick. "Hungry?" I nced to the right, toward the kitchen embedded in the corner of the apartment. "I can make you guys something." Medicham beamed. She''d already jumped and imed the couch for herself.Yes¡ª "Don''t, it''s okay. We don''t want to be a bother," Maylene said. My shoulders sagged a little as if the wind was taken out of my sails. Every time I tried offering Maylenesomething¡ªlike making food, lending her stuff, or even paying for takeout¡ªshe always refused or split the bill. Even the candy I''d given out had all gone to Medicham. Did she not want me to do her favors? She''d been helping me so much, making me her priority to the detriment of her own life. She''d epted me fully and given me hope. I knew I''d said I''d be using her, but could I truly give nothing else in return? "Hey. Stop whatever you''re thinking about." Maylene turned toward me, and her hand twitched. She''d wanted to touch me. That would have been a breach of protocol. "How bad was it this time?" "It''s¡ªuh, I thought that you might not want me to treat you. ''Cause I''m¡­ me," I mumbled. "Nope. I already ate beforeing here; you know I track what I eat and stuff. Feeding me''s a hassle because I n all my meals ahead of time." Oh. Of course, that was it. That made sense. "Feel better now?" "Yeah. I''m kind of stupid, huh?" Something tugged the corner of my lips. "Kind of, or very?" she teased, her lips curving into a smug grin as she leaned in slightly, as if she was daring me to challenge her. "Come on, I have something fun for us to do today¡ª ah, Medi, get off the couch!" Maylene jumped on the unsuspecting Medicham, and the situation quickly turned to yfighting. Sometimes, I''d wince when it looked like Medi got a hit in that would have broken basically every bone in my body, but Maylene would just shrug it off andugh. Hell, I was sure Medicham was holding back, but even when fooling around, Maylene was strong enough to pin her down. It looked kind of fun. Once the fighting type finished, I released Honey and Princess so that she would havepany, and the Electivire zipped Mimi away from me through maism. "Do you have Streamix on this?" She snatched the remote on the coffee table and turned the TV on. Dad had left the news on this morning before heading to work. "Oh, we do. We watching a movie?" I sat on the opposite end of the couch, leaning against the armrest. She brought up the menu and clicked on the streaming service. "Yeah. I hope that''s fine? It''s not new or anything, but Candice rmended it to me for us to watch. Apparently, it''s horror?" "Huh. I might know it, what''s it called?" Her eyes widened a smidge in surprise. "What? Believe it or not, I''m a bit of a movie buff. I went to the cinema with my dad all the time and I watched a bunch, growing up." "I just didn''t expect that. You never brought it up." "There was a lot going on. I guess now that routine''s returning to my life, I can start watching movies again." My fingers tapped idly against my cheek. "I actually had this series about a mute trainer I was watching with¡­" With Cecilia. A heavy silence settled in, at least until Maylene broke it. "You two will manage, I''m sure of it. You''ve made a lot of progress, and it''s only been a week!" The way she always tried to cheer me up didn''t consistently work, but it made my heart feel warm. Was having someone to believe in you this powerful? I''d forgotten what it was like. "Let''s just have fun today. The movie is called¡­" she scrolled through the options until she found the horror genre, andthenthrough those movies as well. "There it is! The Frozen Trail!" The movie''s poster was a group of five people, a Monferno and a Charmeleon, trudging through a snowstorm withrge red eyes looming in the darkness behind them. "Did you forget the name? You could have typed in the search bar and saved like 2 minutes." We only had an hour and a half together, so every second counted. "N¡ªno," she stumbled over her words. "Anyway, I''m pressing y¡ª" "Wait! If it''s horror, we should get into the vibes or the genre." I quickly jumped off the couch and closed the curtains everywhere in the house. Then, I barged into my room and interrupted Medicham attempting to ride on Princess'' back while Honey was on the ground,ughing and out of breath as Mimi mimicked him with a weird, high-pitched metallic whine. Grace!Medicham mored.I''ve always wanted to fly on a bird! Princess countered, hurriedly saying that she was too important to be called a merebird, but once Honeytched on to the word, she started getting relentlessly teased until she dropped Medicham on the ground with a huff. "You¡­ you three just don''t break anything, alright? Have fun." I snatched the nket on my bed and left the room, running toward the thermostat to set it to the coldest temperature possible. The entire apartment was dark when I jumped on the couch again, with only light from the television flickering across the living room, casting shadows that danced across the walls and floor. "The name was rted to cold, so I figured I might as well." After burying myself up to my neck under the covers, I passed some to Maylene, who did the same even though she wouldn''t be bothered by the cold. "You good with that?" "Yeah!" she said. "It''s kind of fun, I''ve never watched a movie like this." "It''s immersive, right? C''mon, press y!" Mayleneughed, her head tilting back slightly. "Someone''s excited. I hope you''re good with horror." She put the movie on, and a bunch of logos shed on the screen. "Candice usually justughs at them while Gardenia hangs onto her for dear life. I''m happy I won''t have to be a third wheel for once." "What about you?" I asked, unable to resist my curiosity. "Oh, me? I mean, I clear them easy peasy!" ¡ª Maylene, as it turned out, was not good with horror. Her entire body tensed, and she instinctively curled up on the couch, drawing her knees to her chest as if making herself smaller could somehow shield her from the terror on screen. She screamed for dear life as a Garchomp suddenly burst from under the snow. Rows upon rows of sharp teeth the size of my fingers dug into the movie''s first victim, and the dragon shook their head until there was nothing left but a mutted corpse with limbs and organs sttered across the white expanse that was northern Sinnoh. Maylene''s hands flew to her face, her knuckles white as she clutched the edge of the nket and dragged it over her eyes. Sometimes, I''d feel her brush up against me on ident. The nket was big enough for the both of us to share enough space, but Maylene jumping in terror every time there was tension in the movie made her move around a lot. Luckily, I was wearing jeans to shield myself from what the contact would do to me most of the time, and her hand had only touched my arm twice. It was fine whenever it happened by ident. I wasn''t going to deduct time for it if the instinctual action of responding to fear led to the contact. The movie was real good, too. The basic plot was that a helicopter crash off-route had stranded a group of five, with their only Pokemon being a Monferno and Charmeleon which conveniently kept them warm enough not to die from the cold. I assumed the Garchomp had lived on Cor, had made their way out of the mountain, and was now stalking their victims, killing them one at a time and leaving them alive toe to collect whenever they got hungry. Theywereeasy prey; both Monferno and Charmeleon wouldn''t be enough to fight back unless the plot pulled some strange shenanigans. It was scary for sure, especially the tension-building scenes where you could hear subtle rumbling mixed in with the score that was actually Garchomp moving through the snow. Was there anything scarier than getting stalked by a Garchomp with no way back to civilization but your own two legs? They went really hard on the gore, and while the characters were just meh besides the obvious main couple that would survive at the end, at least the Garchomp was a real actor and not CGI. I assumed they''d actually filmed this in Snowpoint or close to it, so nearly everything was practical effects. The city and its surroundings were excellent for filming winter scenes all year round. Garchomp, Monferno and Charmeleon.They sure must have paid their trainers a whole lot of money to get such a rare lineup of Pokemon who could actually act. "I can''t believe they''d just kill Mitch like that¡­ we''re only twenty minutes in!" Mayleneined with asting whine. "I thought we''d see the Garchomp first, and they''d manage to escape, at least for a while." "Well, he was the one with the least amount of backstory and talked about his wife and kids in the opening act, he was basically condemned to die," I said, ncing at her. The subtle glow of the TV shed across her face, and she was already preparing herself to shield her eyes at the next jumpscare. Normally, I''d be hoping there wouldn''t be that many¡ª not because being scared wasn''t fun, but because too many really cheapened the impact and kind of ruined the movie. They''d handled it perfectly here, revealing Garchomp for the first time after having left clues for attentive viewers to catch without holding their hand. But this time, I figured I''d be kind of okay with it. Part of me wanted to ask her to practice right now, a desperate idea that hung on the tip of my tongue. It would technically be fine because she''d be the one touching me. Plus, Gardenia and Candice did it when watching movies, and they were friends. It was normal. The issue was that I couldn''t be the one to ask because that''d breach a line and go past a point I was willing to cross. There was this tense feeling within me, a subtle squeeze that made me conscious of every breath. A warmth bubbling within me despite the cold temperatures that had spread throughout the apartment. It wasn''t a bad feeling. The movie finished with a runtime of one hour and ten minutes with my expectationspletely subverted. The main couple who I thought would live actually died, along with every human in the movie, leaving only Monferno and Charmeleon alive for thest forty percent of the film as they desperately clung to life, the me on their tails dimming as the movie went on. As it turned out, they''d been the two main characters all along, and their scenes were devoid of any dialogue or subtitles, meaning people had to use bodynguage and guess what they were telling each other. EvenIcouldn''t understand, since my empathy didn''t work through screens. It was extremely enjoyable to watch, even if only Monferno survived Garchomp''s onught in the end thanks to Charmeleon''s sacrifice. He''d evolved into a CGI Charizard and bought just enough time for Monferno to jump into a half-frozen river that washed him up in Snowpoint with only a broken arm, leg, and hypothermia. "That was fun!" I said as the credits rolled. "Honestly, one of the best horrors I''ve watched recently. I wonder if Candice watched and r''ed it because it was a locally-made movie. What''d you think¡ª" Ah. She was crying. Not full-on tears, but her eyes were wet and she sniffled as she dragged herself out of the covers and wiped her eyes. "That was depressing. Good, but depressing." I sighed. "Right." I understood her. It was the kind of movie I''d usually cry at, but it just hadn''t¡­ made me feel as strongly. Yes, I was sad, and yes, I''d gotten scared, but maybe movies were just that, now. Movies. Fake. The veneer of reality one could pretend was there when watching just hadn''t hit me at all. Nothing had immersed me enough to make me think ''these are people, not actors.'' "I really thought they''d escape together. Why did Candice rmend this? Itpletely killed the vibe¡­" Maylene grabbed her phone to check the time, and then I almost thought she''d start texting Candice before she put it away. "I bet she wasughing when she texted me about it! She knew it''d make me cry!" "Maybe she thought you''d enjoy it anyway, right?" I scooted myself a little toward her. "Itwasgood. That scene where Garchomp destroyed their camp and bit off that guy''s leg and he had to bleed out for miles over the snow? It''s so good!" Maylene rolled her eyes. "You''d get on well with her for any horror flicks." "Probably, but watching with you was¡­ cool; your reactions were fun." I found myself tightening the covers around me. "I wish we could do this more often. Hanging out." She gave me a knowing smile. "You know we can''t. It has to be other people pulling you up, not just me," she exined as she had numerous times. "If I''m your answer for everything, then I''m just turning into your new Cecilia. Without the dating part," she was thankfully quick to add. "I know. I''m the one who actually has to swim to shore; you''re just keeping me from drowning." She snapped her fingers. "Exactly! God, you''re good with analogies." I was bummed to hear it, but her knowing when to stop was a good thing. I was horrible at self-control while she actually enforced the limits. That was what I needed. While Maylene went to readjust the thermostat, I opened the curtains again and went to check on our Pokemon. Medicham, as Princess exined it, had enjoyed the cold so much she''d started napping after stealing my bed. The Togekiss and her brother had started taking bets on what they could do without Medicham waking up, which, as it turned out, was a lot. I assumed Honey was the one who had squiggled the lines on her face with permanent marker while Princess had been in the midst of tickling her nose with the tip of her wing just as I''d walked in. Mimi had been staring out my window with a fascinated look and looking at Jubilife''s afternoon life pass them by. I apologized to Maylene for their behavior when she walked in behind me, but she didn''t seem to mind. Even Medicham took it all in good fun and enjoyed having stars drawn around her eyes. "You guys can take the living room," Maylene said. "Grace and I are gonna use the room for a bit." All three Pokemon slowly walked out¡ª I rubbed Princess'' head and Honey''s arm when they did¡ª and Mimi remained transfixed by the city. Maylene closed the door behind them. My throat felt dry when she turned toward me. Her mouth opened, and she asked in a whisper that carried across my bedroom and tickled my ears: "We have enough time; want to practice today?" ¡ª Practice was odd. During our second session after the first in the bathroom, Maylene had backed off due to the reaction I''d had when she had tried touching my face and done my wrist instead. It was a gesture I appreciated greatly; it''d be better to slowly ramp up instead of jumping to the most extreme options right away. The problem was that while I was always anxious before it happened, and the start was always unpleasant, making me fight my instincts to not pull away out of fear of sullying Maylene, part of me couldn''t help but look forward to it. It was in moments like these, right before we began, that the tension was at its highest¡ª so thick I struggled to take anything but shallow breaths, and I had to stay focused by biting my lip. Maylene loomed in front of me, face slightly red and looking right into my eyes. Where was she doing to do it today? The hand? Maybe my shoulder? My thighs? No, she couldn''t¡ª I was wearing jeans. Or could she, anyway? What if she asked me? My mind raced at every possibility as I pressed myself back against the wall and gripped the side of my desk with a slick palm. She was kind of cornering me, yet I could barely look away; I was caught in the intensity of her gaze. "Are you ready?" she asked, slightly breathless. She was nervous just like I was, something that reassured me slightly. "Remember the safe word." My head bobbed up and down without my doing; I was in no state of mind to speak right now. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both of her hands moving in unison toward my waist. They slipped under the hem of my shirt¡ª My entire body shivered, knocking over a cup full of pens and pencils all over my desk and floor. It was as if a jolt of electricity surged through me, setting my body alight. I could literally feel my heartbeat in my ears. Maylene stopped, waiting to see if I''d say anything to stop her, but I didn''t. Instead, I held strong as she moved deeper under my shirt up my waist and then kept her hands firmly in ce. It had to be skin-on-skin, or it didn''t count. The treatment was obviously working. The period of time it took for it to go from me worrying about Maylene''s safety to whatever this feeling was grew tinier and tinier, and today was no exception. To her credit, Maylene stayed very professional. She kept far enough away from me to need to have her arms fully extended to touch me, and¡­ "Is this good?" she softly asked. Maylene squeezed a little harder, and I forgot what I''d just been thinking about. Her fingers traced lightly along my waist, their warmth seeping into my skin. I could feel her other hand draw contours along the edges of my scars. There was no way the thermostat had already adjusted the temperature enough for me to sweat, yet I was anyway. An unknown amount of minutes passed when a dangerous little thought wandered into my head as Maylene''s hands snaked further behind me and onto my back, meaning she had needed to get a smidge closer. Was I enjoying this? I was. There was something freeing about being so vulnerable with her; something freeing about showing her all of me, countless ws included, and yet still having her look at me like this. Like I still deserved to be loved. Touch me like I still deserved to be touched and wasn''t poisonous. Was it okay to like this? Did it go too far? I''d enjoyed my therapy with Aliyah and looked forward to speaking with her; wasn''t this just another form of therapy? Maylene was close enough for her hands to touch behind me, now, and finally, I found myself looking away from her intense gaze. She let out a little sound, almost demanding, to tell me to keep staring so I could keep my confidence, and it was impossible for me to consider not locking eyes again. The ends of her breath tickled my face¡ª The rm rang in her pocket. "Annnd, done," she sighed. Immediately, her warmth left me, leaving only traces. Imprints of purity where her fingers and palms had sunk into my skin to fix me. Soon, it''d be as if it had never been there in the first ce. I could see the darkness lurking on her fingers, palms and forearms. They were already fading; they always went quicker, these days. The ten minutes did as well; I couldn''t believe that was it, already. My legs were numb. I used thest of my energy to shuffle over to my bed and fell on top of it as if I''d just ran a marathon. "You did good today," Maylene said behind me. "You nearly looked at me the entire time and everything; good job. I''m proud of you." My stomach fluttered. "You thirsty? I''m feeling a bit thirsty." She nced at the door. "I can get you some water." "Yes, please." I stared down again so I wouldn''t see her, and my voice was muffled through my pillow. I heard her open the door, letting in our Pokemon''s chatter, but I was too out of it to focus. My head was spinning. Surprisingly, she closed it behind her, and for a moment, there were no steps. It was like a bucket of cold water dropped on my head. Had I fucked up in some way? Made a sound that had creeped her out during practice? I¡ªI needed to fix this. I¡ª It must have taken nearly ten seconds for her to start walking toward the kitchen. Hearing her move soothed my nerves enough to stay seated on the bed instead of barging out there in a panic and apologizing for whatever it was that I did wrong. Maylene came back with two sses of tap water, though she''d already been drinking from hers. My hands pressed against the cool ss to center myself, and I took a sip of water. "Thanks for helping, as always," I said now that I was well enough to speak. "What time is it? How long do you have left?" After downing her ss, Maylene started picking up my knocked-down pen and pencils. "I took a look at the time in the living room. We''ve got thirteen minutes left, but I think I''m gonna head out early." My body froze; the ss nearly slipped out of my hands. "Was it something I did, or¡­?" I asked, unsure of myself. Maylene smiled. "Good. You asked this time instead of thinking the worst all on your own." She finished putting the cup upright and looked at me like someone would a wounded child. Full of care and a desire to help. "No, it was nothing you did, but I think it''d be good for you. Sometimes, things happen, and people have to leave early, y''know? It''d be good for you to learn. Better to get you used to it; it''s just thirteen minutes. Less, now." "That''s fair." I stood up to see her out. "Thanks for swinging by. Kadabra gonna pick you up?" "...I guess I''ll have to stand in front of the door until he does," she slowly realized, hand drifting up to her forehead. "No talking to me, though. Sorry. Oh, and by the way, I was thinking." "Hm?" Unwilling to leave them unattended, I scooped up Mimi in my hands before we left my bedroom. "You know how I told you that you should have other people to practice with?" she asked. Right. I hadn''t even told anyone about this problem yet since I''d been hoping it would go away just with Maylene''s help. "Since you haven''t really gotten started on that, I figured that the session after the next one should be done by someone other than me." I could only muster a weak "yeah," however my displeasure must have shown on my face even though I knew she was right. "I know it''s gonna be tough." She grabbed my hand and squeezed¡ª We both immediately pulled away. She had forgotten that wasn''t supposed to happen. "Shit. Sorry." Her expression looked uneasy rather than apologetic. Like she was unsettled she had actually fucked up. "Um, as I was saying, it''s going to be hard; I know you''re in a bad ce right now. But I''m giving you a session''s warning in advance so it doesn''t feel like the world''s falling underneath you. This has nothing to do with anything you did or what I feel, okay? It''s just better this way, yeah?" "No, no, I get it." Ididget it. But how could she make me feel these weird things and then tell me I had to get it from someone else? How was that fair? Maylene''s hands touched one another, as if she needed a distraction. "You look like it hurts a lot, though." "I''m sorry. I''m trying, and it''s genuinely gotten a lot easier since we talked at the ceremony. Thanks for sticking with me, still." It was difficult to believe that she was still here helping me after all of this. That she still loved me. Yet I knew she did. "So¡­ see you in four days at eight pm?" I''d memorized the schedule, so there was no need to check my phone."Don''t forget, it''s in Twinleaf." "It''s gonna be tough finding a Kadabra who''s been there," Maylene jokinglyined. "I''ll figure it out, though." She turned toward the living room. "Medi! Time to go!" After Medicham told my Pokemon her goodbyes, Maylene and I stood there awkwardly for a few moments. This always happened when one of us had to leave; we kind of didn''t know how to do it without feeling like something was off. This time around, it ended with two stiff nods and a wave on my part. The door closed, and I waited in the living room, ncing at the clock asionally as I caught up with Honey and Princess'' games and what I''d missed with Medicham. It seemed a little more difficult to do things now that Maylene was gone, and I had a few hours until dad came back home. Honey poked my shoulder and asked what we were going to do now, and I smiled at him. "Guess it''s time to wash you guys. You haven''t taken baths in a while." Princess immediately screamed at her sibling for getting her into this mess, which reminded me of some kids'' reactions to the people who''d tell teachers they''d forgotten to check if the ss had done their homework. To make herself feel better, she threw Sunshine under the bus and demanded he be subject to this ''torture.'' Honestly, she just hated getting wet because it made her lose all of her volume, and it exposed how skinny she was to the world. She sure looked a lot less majestic that way. "Don''t worry, Sunshine''s gonna get his share too!" Iughed. Yeah, he''d just gotten out of the Center and didn''t really need his scales cleaned, but it''d be fun to bond. "Then we''ll go out." This time, it was Mimi who chimed excitedly, though the other two were also intrigued. "I don''t know where yet. But¡­ maybe we can go train again, yeah?" ¡ª It was always difficult for Maylene to go to work as if nothing had happened after spending time with Grace. Her mind would always be weighed down by guilt, as if leaving Grace behind was somehow wrong, even though she knew it was for the best. There was something in the way Grace looked up at her, a look so vulnerable, as if her entire world would crumble if Maylene walked out that door. It was a gaze that tugged at her heart, making her want to stay just a little longer, no matter how many responsibilities awaited her. Those eyes were almost hypnotic, and in that moment, Maylene could fully grasp what Cecilia had gone through. It wasn''t just a look; it was a silent plea, a tender vulnerability that was impossible to turn away from¡ªespecially when you loved her. That was why Maylene had grabbed her hand on ident. She''d wanted nothing more but to call Grace a good girl for reassurance and to tell her she''d stay until her father came home from work in exchange for having other people practice with her as if that would be some kind ofpromise and not just giving in to her. And it would probably feel really good. Giving in to her. For a while, at least, until it inevitably blew up. Saying no felt like a betrayal, a cruelty she wasn''t sure she could ever inflict until Maylene stood there for long enough, snapped out of her trance, and remembered this was for Grace''s own good. Now, it was back to work. Luckily for her, she''d finished helping the 7th badge Pokemon train today in hopes of pushing more of them to be usable for 8th badge battles. As Veilstone was the first Gym reopened, and they took more and more trainers every day, Maylene expected the Gym wouldn''t have enough to tackle the flurry of 7 badgers hoping to make it to the Conference who had saved her for their 8th badge in hopes of getting an easier fight. Now, all she''d need to do for the rest of the day was refresh her email, look into getting some new fighting types in Maniac Tunnel tomorrow, and harass the League for more money to pay all of her employees on time this Friday. It was boring, idle work, but that was also part of a Gym Leader''s duties and could be enjoyable if you saw it as taking care of yourmunity. Any distraction was better than reminiscing about today''s practice. If Maylene thought about it too much, she wouldn''t be able to even read right. She was mildly mncholic that other people would have to be involved soon. It was for Grace''s well-being, but practice was¡­ it wastheirthing. Maylene would be sad to see less and less of it as the weeks went on. For their next session in Twinleaf, she''d have to make her ten minutes count. It was okay to be a little selfish, right? A subtle vibration from her phone on her desk snapped her out of her thoughts. Luckily, it wasn''t Grace rpsing¡ªthey weren''t supposed to contact each other outside of emergencies (if Grace was gettingreallybad thoughts; she had revealed her history of self-harm), set hours or to facilitate meetings for their sessions¡ªit was Candice. Reading her name on her screen usually would have made Maylene smile, but the ice type Gym Leader had been relentless in getting ''updates'' on what was happening between Maylene and Grace this past week. Maylene was somewhat to me. She''d kept telling her aboutsomethings to cheer her up, even more than Gardenia sometimes. Maylene had obviously respected Grace''s wishes and not told them how deep their bond went; all they knew was that they''d ''mended'' things at the ceremony and were now sometimes hanging out and talking, but less than they had before. Maylene exhaled before answering. "Candice. Aren''t you supposed to be meeting with some¡ª" "Yes! The Kanto-Johto reps to assign them to different jobs to help fix up the port. I finished all of that already!"she yelled so loudly it was as if she was trying to eat her phone. She was surprised it had gone that quickly, but despite how Candice acted, Maylene knew she wasn''t the kind of person to not take her duties seriously when she couldn''t afford to."How''d it go with Grace? Did she enjoy the movie?" "Why''d you give us a movie like that, anyway?" Maylene asked, dodging the question. "I thought it was gonna be a cheesy kind of horror, not ''ruin your day'' horror." Candice snickered."You don''t know what it''s like to rizz someone, my dear apprentice. First of all, Grace loves movies¡ª" "You knew that?!" "¡ªand I figured you''d jump in her arms, or she''dfort you while you were crying or something,"Candice spoke over her."Second of all, it''s also just a great movie?! Like, hello?! Real boon for the Snowpoint movie industry these past few years! We''re no Pokestar Studio, but I''m hoping to get there in my tenure!" Maylene sighed as she forwarded an email to Sunnyshore''s Gym about some issue about a reported herd of Ponyta arriving from off-route onto route 214 within the next week or so. It was a situation the Rangers would most likely deal with, but they were better safe than sorry. Just knowing wouldn''t hurt, and Sunyshore trainers were so coddled a few might do something stupid in hopes of getting their hands on a new fire type and get burned. "She did like the movie," Maylene admitted. "Really like it. Thanks for the suggestion." Most of hermentary had been about the technical aspects of scenes or the themes behind the story, though. A little funny to hear when someone''s body was being shredded by a Garchomp''s teeth. It was endearing in a way, and nice to listen to her talk about something normally and not berate herself for just existing. Maylene was sure she would have paid more attention if she hadn''t been fighting for her life. "Since I have you here, I want to talk to you about something." "Sure thing, Maymay. Shoot." Her fingers traced the edge of herptop. "I¡­ I don''t think you should keep pushing this narrative about Grace and me bing a thing. It''s not happening." Sure, Grace and Cecilia were temporarily broken up, but thetemporarywas the important bit. The thought of it being final terrified Grace constantly to the point that she''d vent about maybe not being good enough even when she was ''fixed.'' Her intention was to get back with Cecilia eventually, and Maylene encouraged that. Sometimes, especially during practice, Grace would look at her in ways that gave herideasthat maybe, justmaybe,there''d be a chance if Maylene pushed for it. If she just leaned in and took her lips right then and there. But she didn''t want to be a homewrecker. She wasn''t doing this to take advantage of two broken girls, and so far, she''d found restraining herself from goingthatfar to be easy. "If you want me to, I''ll stop,"Candice finally said."But it''s giving a little bit of mixed signals, yeah? You''re literally having dates with this girl every few days, and her girlfriend''s nowhere to be seen. She helped you a lot with Oscar, right? And the three of you talked and spent a decent amount of time together. Aren''t you practicing to show her different colors of aura? I honestly thought something had happened here, like a big ole pile of lesbians. You never did that for me when I asked you." "S¡ªslow down. You asked me that out of curiosity, and you say a bunch of unserious stuff all the time!" Maylene fought back. "And yes, she was the main reason I stood up to him back at the ceremony," Maylene said with a slight smile. "Cecilia''s just busy, at the moment. She''s reconnecting with her team on her own." That was the official narrative Maylene was going for, at least. "Well, if you want to lie to your dear friend Candice, I''ll let you off the hook for now, missus,"she spoke with a huff."I''ll stop bringing it up. Just¡­ if what you''re saying is true and nothing''s changed in their rtionship, then you ought to back off, right? Like I know I joke around a lot and stuff, but¡­" Maylene felt a pit form in her stomach. "It''s not what you think, okay? There''s¡ªthere''s a reason for all of this; I just can''t get into it; it isn''t my ce. If she''s ever fine with me saying this stuff, then I''ll tell you, ''kay?" Maylene hoped her friends wouldn''t think she was a bad person because of a misunderstanding. If it came to that, she''d have to ask Grace to tell them again. Grace was really worrying about their reactions for nothing. They didn''t have to go in-depth; they''d just have to briefly mention the break, the co-dependency issues, and their practice sessions. Then, they would understand easily. Candice let out a long, curious hum with a hint of suspicion."Don''t just get hurt, and try to not hurt others, okay?" Maylene couldn''t muster a verbal response. "Mhm." ¡ª There were plenty of areas to train in Jubilife. Hundreds upon hundreds of arenas to make use of, filled to the brim with hobbyists and professional trainers alike. Sometimes, they''d hold tournaments that dad used to bring me to, and I remembered being so excited to see them¡ª as if my eyes were so transfixed on each fight I barely remembered to blink¡ª until I held Princess in my arms for the first time and I pictured her in that situation, taking hit after hit until she was a bloodied heap on the ground with her Togepi egg fractured to pieces. Times changed, and quickly. One year after that, Princess would be fighting her first battle against a trainer with a Shinx south of the city. The feeling of ecstasy after a win was one I hadn''t felt in a long while. Not when all of my recent fights had been to kill people, most of them just because they were in my way. I hadn''te here to fight anyone yet. The odds of finding someone who''d give me a good battle here were basically zero, given that anyone with eight badges would probably rather hide what they were developing for the dyed Conference. Instead, I''de here to watch young trainers give it all they got on battles with no stakes to remember what that was like. The thrill of a fight; the way your body felt soelectricwhen one of your tactics paid off, and you could justbaskin the moment; how you forgot that the world around you bled away, you forgot anything else existed and could only see the stretch of arena ahead of you and nothing else. The results were¡­ mixed. Not because the battles were boring, or anything¡ªSunshine and I were currently watching a girl''s Staravia lose to another teen''sinsanelyskilled Venonat, who would leave clusters of Rage Powder to lead Staravia astray. I was pretty sure the bug was somehowbining this with a form of Confuse Ray to make the Staravia see things, given how it was throwing Air Cutters at nothing while his trainer constantly yelled at him in an attempt to aim toward Venonat while Psybeams constantly attempted to shoot him out of the sky. It was kind of a baby''s first illusion, which would be incredible given that both these kids had three badges. I did still get excited when I saw things like that. People finding different ways to use moves, or how no two Pokemon fought the same. For example, this girl''s Staravia; he was obviously newly evolved, by the awkward way he sometimes overshot the distance he nned to fly or struggled to stop. That meant that his trainer mostly relied on moves at a distance out of fear he''d mess up. Things like Air Cutter, Gust, or Whirlwind. The issue was that he''d spread the Rage Powder all over the arena due to this, but I assumed his trainer assumed she''d be able to make quick work of a Venonat before it became an issue. She had been wrong. Anyway. I''d seen another Staravia fight earlier (the specieswasone of the most popr flying types a Sinnohan trainer could have), and that Pokemon had been turned into aplete berserker whose only goal was to get as many hits in by getting up close and personal. If that wasn''t enough, Endeavor would do the trick, and I assumed it often turned a loss into a one-to-one trade if it caught opponents off-guard. The move was one of the rtively easy to learn butmuchmore difficult to master, yet that trainer had put all of his time into it and defied the odds. There was beauty in that. How people and Pokemon''s way of fighting was so shaped by their experiences that none of them were the same. Sometimes simr, maybe, but never the same. Sunshine snorted when Staravia was finally brought down by a final Psybeam, and I nudged his arm to tell him to be respectful in public, at least. His scales were so clean and smooth they were nearly shiny, something he didn''t like. ording to him, it made him appear weaker because it looked like he didn''t regrly fight. Like some kind of ''pet'' Pokemon. His words, not mine. It had been easy to settle back into a rhythm with him, and he didn''t care much about any of my rtionship drama besides the fact that it made me feel bad and slow down. He''d told me that I should focus on fighting instead of all these childish impulses, and it was at times like these that I remembered hewasa bitter old dragon who''d only known violence and fighting for over seventy years. One couldn''t just ignore what they were feeling by throwing themselves into something else and giving up everything else, or at least it wasn''t sustainable. I still loved him dearly, though. And I knew this was a partnership, and he wouldn''t want to stay idle. Not just him, either. Nearly all of my Pokemon were eager to get back into the groove of training again but just hadn''t said anything because they hadn''t wanted to distress me. He was just the only one who didn''t care about being blunt, and unlike Sweetheart, Buddy couldn''t rein in his words. The dragon asked me if I had gotten what I wanted bying here, which mainly was inspiration. My notebook was full of ideas scribbled down in thest week or so, but none of them hadclickedlike the ones I''de up with before Cor. Like Vine Terrain, the different ways to utilize Night Shade, or Dark Sandstorm. The closest I''d gotten back to that feeling were concepts for Princess'' cutting moves, but that was far off. "Not really; it was fun, though. I actually have something I want to talk to you about regarding training." He perked up at the notion, shell brightening a smidge. The glower made a few people behind him give him a wide berth. At the side of the battlefield, the two trainers we''d been looking at shook each other''s hands, and the girl bitterly handed her opponent a few thousand Pokedors. Must have been a high-stakes match. I sighed. "Let''s head out." Unfortunately, Sunshine was one of these Pokemon not exactly allowed on most streets of Jubilife, so he''d have to make do with waiting in his Pokeball for now. Princess and I would be flying down south for this one, close to where Angel had first unveiled his Vine Terrain at full force. He actually was one I also wanted to speak to regarding training as well. The thing about flying was that you sawso much moreof the world, spread out below you, and that sometimes included spotting intriguing events. Like a gathering of dark clouds above a slightly wooded area followed by a flurry of bolts of lightning mming into the ground below. The sound hit me a few secondster, and I soothed Princess by rubbing a hand on her head. It wasn''t the first time we spotted an attack like this from above, but it was certainly thergest of its kind. Was some big-shot training in our spot? That looked like something someone with eight badges woulde up with, especially if it was sustainable. I was a little anxious about the woods catching on fire, though I suspect I used that as an excuse to go check out who this was. Any trainer this powerful knew to not damage the area they were in too much whenever they trained. They drilled that into you in school, and if you got caught, you''d get a hefty fine depending on how muchnd you ruined and what the Rangers had to do to fix it. Already, I noticed someone in uniform on a Tropius keeping watch of the area. A thick barrier appeared around Princess as she waited for an opening to dive down. When she did, I found a familiar face among a clearing. Marley from piano ss with an Electrode brimming with energy, the electricity around her pulsating like a beating heart. A Floatzel was a few hundred feet away, extinguishing the few fires that had appeared before they could damage the woods. The air still smelled like ozone and tickled my nostrils. Marley from piano ss¡­ Marley from piano ss?!Again, the technique on that Electrode was definitely some high-level stuff! The electric type looked a little exhausted, heaving for every breath as she subtly rolled back and forth. The storm above us ended, and Marley''s eyes narrowed until she was ring at me. "Are you spying on me?" she asked. What? She was the one who was in my spot¡ª "Damn it, I knew I should have waited to train at night." Electrode sneered at me, her species'' familiar smile nowhere to be seen, and she asked her trainer what they should do. I swallowed, forcing myself not to go for my Pokeballs, and I kept petting Princess as I whispered to her to rx. That we were safe, that they didn''t mean that they''d kill us; no one who was normal thought like that. Floatzel was¡­ hiding behind one of the trees. Not very well, given that I could see his anxiety-ridden tail writhe around. "I''m¡­ sorry?" I hesitantly said. "I''m not here to spy; I came here to train with my team. I usually swing around here whenever I''m in Jubilife, and I''ve never seen you." Marley huffed, turning her head away¡ªshe''d been looking at my Togekiss. "Train? How many badges do you even have?" Did she really not know? How offline was she? Was it possible to be evenmoreoffline than I was? I''d never seen her with a phone, and I could see the edge of a rolled-uppapermap past her backpack''s zipper like this was the 90s or some other ancient time. "Seven." Her eyes widened slightly when I answered as if she was surprised a trainer of my caliber was just hanging out in her piano ss.That was my line."Like I said, I didn''te here to spy on you," I continued and took a step forward. "I wanted to talk to my team ande up with some new stuff." "Uhuh," she said, clearly not believing me. "Your Electrode sure packs a punch, though," I added. If her Pokemon were this strong, why did she save food and live in the worst part of Jubilife? She could be rich if she wanted. "What''s that move called? Is it, like, an ultimate technique?" Maybe something like Vine Terrain was for Angel? "It''s a sustained thunderstorm that just keeps hitting with continuous Thunderbolts all over the field, right? I assume they hone in on your opponent, too. It''s pretty sweet, especially since it''s scaleable with Thunder and eventually even Zap Cannon. Hard to imagine so many ofthose, though. You might melt any battlefield off." Her arms shot straight down to her sides, fists clenching so tightly that her knuckles turned whiter than they already were. "You said you didn''te to spy on me, but you fish around for what move that was?!" Her voice turned deep again when she yelled, and her hands covered her mouth. "Ugh. Whatever," Marley muttered. "I''ll leave you this area. I thought the fact that it was nearly off the route and that the giant thunderstorm would be enough not toe across anyone, but clearly, I was wrong." "Wait! Do you have a phone number or something? We should train together; this is like, the perfect opportunity!" I asked as she recalled her Electrode and Floatzel (by aiming at his tail), then released an Arcanine. Her fur gleamed in the sunlight like a coat of molten gold, and I could see the dense muscle beneath it. She was far bulkier than Justin''s. You''d think she was part fighting type. The fire type immediately rolled on her back, paws up in the air and tongue hanging from her mouth as she demanded pets. "Arcanine, not now. You''re embarrassing me in front of a potential opponent¡­" Princess and I just blinked at her, not knowing what to say. Eventually, Arcanine got the idea, and Marley climbed up on her back, face red in embarrassment and anger. "Don''t tell this to anyone. Especially not Jess!" Her voice got a little louder just then. "Act like none of this happened in ss." She touched Arcanine''s neck twice, and the fire type began to run at a trot, slowly speeding up until she became nothing but a smear of red and gold against the world. I sighed as I released the rest of my team. So much for a training partner.
Chapter 329 Chapter 329
CHAPTER 329 Every time I flew over Twinleaf, I couldn''t help but notice howemptyit really was. A few hundred inhabitants at most, one building that acted as pre, primary, middle, and high school, a single grocery store¡ªlocal and not one of the big chains you saw everywhere else¡ªand houses so spread out you''d think people hated each other. I pressed down on Princess'' fur, almost a reflexive motion to soothe my nerves. Things had gone well with dad. We weren''t back like old times, but all of the tension had gone away and rxing around him was easy. The same couldn''t be said with my mother, considering I hadn''t seen her since leaving the League. We''d texted some, but that was different than talking face-to-face. I had no idea how things would go or how she would react to having a Gym Leader in her house for two hours. At least Denzel''s parents weren''t here, and while this was morbid to say, my grandmother wouldn''t be able to make snidements every five minutes any longer now that she was gone. I wouldn''t go as far as to say that it was good that she died, neverthat. That would have been the old me. But I wasn''t going to lie to myself and say that I''d be grieving in any way, shape, or form like mom had. I hadn''t even gone to the funeral. Leaning in close to Princess'' ear, I whispered, "remember which house is hers?" Mom hadn''t yet inherited the house, but I was calling it hers anyway. The legal process to do so was really slow and would take months, ording to the texts sheined in. Something about the people in Sandgem taking their sweet time getting here. Princess heartily nodded, zipping past the world at increasing speeds. Part of me wanted to tell her to go as fast as possible, but I wasn''t wearing my goggles, at the moment, so I wouldn''t be able to enjoy the earth below just bing one big blend of smeared colors. She circled around Twinleaf until she reached the southern tip of the town, which, ording to Denzel, had once been where Lucas, Dawn and Barry used to live. Ours was just a little ways off, green-roofed with a modest stone chimney for winters and walls made of smooth wood paneling, both of which bore the marks of weathering from being anoldstructure. ording to Buddy, Twinleaf had been originally founded as some sort of summer retreat for rich people from Sandgem and Jubilife, built to get away from the high paced culture of life that dominated those two cities. You could see how it''d make sense. It got apparentlyhotdown here during the summer because it was far ind enough not to be a coastal town. It was overthirtydegrees Celsius today, which was basically heat wave territory. The area was dominated by a smallke that led to the ocean to the south, with a small wooden pier and a few tiny boats docked to it. The location had fallen out of favor and stopped growing after a while, but some of the descendants of these rich men and women had stuck behind, leaving the Twinleaf of the present. While history was no passion of mine, itwasnice to learn about my country. It was important to know the context ofwhythings were the way they were, and it was just another hobby that could stop me from being co-dependent with anyone else. Princessnded in front of our house with a dull, nearly silent thud, and my legs swept above her as I unstrapped myself and jumped off. For a while, I stood there all nervous, imagining that maybe I wouldn''t be able to touch my mom, and she''d look at me like I was some sort of failed product. I pictured Maylene calling me stupid with that smug, frustrating yet delightful smile of hers, and I managed to gather the courage to walk up to the front door. There was no doorbell, so my knuckles rasped against the wooden door. There was a muffled bark behind the door warning that I was here, and a familiar voice saying she was on her way. Mom''s steps grew closer behind the door until she was right there and opened it, and right when she looked at me, blue eyes full of love and care, I was sure I''d been worrying for nothing. I was going to stay here the whole week-end, so being able to withstand being with her would be a blessing¡ª Mom snatched me in her arms, making me seize up in fear of tainting her, but just like dad, there was no darkness seeping into her. With a relieved sigh, I wrapped my arms around her as Herdier greeted me by licking my leg. I couldn''t figure outwhythere was nothing. Part of me wanted to think it was because they were my parents, the people who had made me using half of themselves and allowed me to flourish. Maybe I just knew part of them would love me no matter what happened, but Maylene had said¡ªno, she hadn''t saidthat, but she''d basically implied it. Did I just not believe her, deep down? Or did I just think I''d taint her but not my parents? Or maybe the treatment with Maylene was just workingthatwell, but considering dad had touched me before we''d begun, that didn''t make much sense. No matter what the answer was, one thing was for sure: my brain was weird. "How are you, sweetie?" She grabbed me by the shoulders to get a good look at me. "Legendaries, I missed you." "Missed you too." Was I tearing up? Maybe a little. "I''ve been getting better slowly; I found a system that really worked for me, so¡­" "That''s great! I''m d the sses and therapy are going so well." Mom beamed and dragged me inside. "Come in,e in, I baked a key lime pie for you!" While Princess squeezed past the doorway, her fur easily bending to let her through, I crouched and petted Herdier behind the ear. "How are you, little man?" I smiled at him, and he jumped on my knees to lick my face, saying he was so happy to see me again. "I''m happy too, okay? Come on, let''s hang out." For a while, I spent some time chatting with Mom and Herdier about piano lessons, telling her about Jess and Marley. Thetter had acted like nothing had happenedst ss, and not wanting to press or worry her, I''d just let it go and done the same, something she seemed very appreciative of. "Look at you, making friends," mom praised as I shoved more pie in my mouth. In a way, it was kind of sad that she had to praise me for that. "I''m d you''re adjusting well. Just having a normal life is important." I lifted the tiny fork at her. "And I understand that now. Dad and you were right." It had only taken like, a week of convincing me. Grace Pastel, as it turned out, could be very stubborn. "You know, speaking of friends, is it okay if I have one over tonight?" Okay, maybe asking her now wasn''t the greatest of ideas. If she said no, I''d be kind of screwed and possibly mess up our meetup with only just a few hours notice. "One of the new ones? Sure, if they know how to get here. What time?" "Eight in the evening, and she''s staying for two hours¡ª" Mom''s eyes widened, and she chewed alittletoo hard on her fork."What?I need to make dinner for her! Why do you only tell me these thingsnow¡ª" "No! No, it''s fine!" I quickly cut in. "She''ll have eaten already; I asked her a few days ago."Oneday, I was gonna trap Maylene and get her to eat something I made, even if I had to go through fifty steps to make it good enough for her diet. "And no, it''s not Jess or Marley¡­" my foot idly tapped the ground. "It''s Maylene. You know, the Gym Leader?" "What?" "What?" I said back. "We''re going to have a Gym Leader." She paused, fork dropping onto her te. "In here?" "Yes?" "You''re friends with aGym Leader?" my mother asked me as if I was delusional. "Yes!"I yelled. "I''m friends with Candice too, okay? Can you stop being weird about it?" "Of course, she can show up." Her agreement came with a nce around the house to probably figure out how to make everything perfect and clean for Maylene''s arrival. "I''m d you have people with good heads on their shoulders to guide you, Grace." "Yeah." When one thought of Candice, they couldn''t really say that, but it was true for Maylene, at least. "Thanks. I know it''s a lot." She stood up and "I''m gonna be¡­ vacuuming around here. And cleaning up. And redecorating a little. And¡ªyeah, I''ll be busy most of the day. Is that okay with you? If you need me, we can do something. Meet some of the neighbors." "I''ll be fine." I waved a dismissive hand. The answer kind of surprised me, honestly. I''d be alone with just my Pokemon, and was¡­ pretty sure I''d be okay? "I''ll probably just hang around the house or with my team." "Good. You let me know if that changes." She picked up my empty te and got started on doing the dishes. I could see a panhandle and a big pot peeking above the sink. It was utterly full. Usually, mom wouldn''t let it get to that point. She was still hurting because of grandma''s death, but just hiding it so well it was as if nothing had happened. "Oh! And I volunteered to help at the school tomorrow. Want toe with, since you''re staying for the weekend?" "Sure." I slowly stood up from my chair. "Volunteer as like, a teacher?" "It''s a special event for Renewal Day. All of the kids and some of their parents are going to go to ss for a party, and I volunteered as a cook." Right. Renewal Day was June 1st and usually meant the first day of the Conference, where there would be massive festivities on the Lily of the Valley Ind and end with the deration of the start of the tournament. Since it was dyed, people were taking to their own way of celebrating all over the country; I just hadn''t thought a small, slow town like Twinleaf would do it as well. "Sure. I''ll help out. Honey can help, too." "Great!" she beamed. Had she expected me to say no? "It''s going to be a lot of fun." I stuck around a little bit to help Mom atleastdo the dishes, but she refused any other help and sent me on my way. First, I went back out, released my entire team, and woke up Mimi from their slumber. The good thing about Twinleaf was that Sweetheart could be out no questions asked so long as she didn''t terrify the popce. I had to warn her about not wandering off too far, but she seemed pleased by the location and the fact that there was ake in view. I stuck around for a few hours, which were mostly focused on helping Cass improve their Teleporting capabilities with moral supportandpracticing with Princess'' cutting. Eventually, thoughts of tonight started to get way too overwhelming for me to focus on anything else, so I left my team out and climbed up the stairs to the guest bedroom. It was a tiny thing, with a small one-person bed and a single nightstand beside it whose legs were uneven. It held a dim-lookingmp that was way too small to light up even this tiny room. "Oh." There was also a tiny closet. Good for me, I guess. There were even a bunch of free hangers for my clothes. Herdier followed me inside around a minuteter, and I smirked as I reached down to scratch his chin. He went to lie down beside the bed. Mom said most of what he did these days was sleep, so he was kind of like Sunshine. Grandma''s roomwasavable and a lot bigger, but obviously, I wasn''t going to use a dead woman''s room. Plus, this ce being more cramped was a good thing. Maylene liked small spaces; she would feel a lot morefortable and at home here. After dropping my backpack on the ground, I sat on the bed, hands feeling at the tough mattress before I had to chase away thoughts of Maylene staying overnight. It wasn''t going to happen, even if I asked. Moreover, the bed was too small, stuck against the wall in the corner of the room. I checked again, just to be sure¡ªa harmless thought exercise. Yeah. Too small to sleep without going into touch debt. After downing some water from my gourd, I ced all of my clothes for the week-end in the closet and grabbed my phone. Service around here was pretty bad, but it was enough to send messages and ce calls. A smallugh¡ªnearly a breath¡ªescaped through my nose when I saw that mom still hadn''t put a password on her WiFi. I quickly scrolled through the messages I''d missed on the way here. A selfie from Jess with her tongue hanging out with a piano in the background. I answered with a simple ''Are you taunting me?'' and she asked for a piano duel after our next ss. Well, sure, that sounded fun; she was on. Emilia had sent a video of a new routine she was working on and had asked Denzel if it was good for content in our group chat. Denzel was actually streaming right now¡ªor his Lopunny was. She was training in one of the public arenas at the League with the rest of his team since they were still empty. Even Fross was back, having traveled from Mount Cor to the League on her own and gotten nearly killed again as soon as she crossed the ind''s perimeter. Anyway, he wasmentating from his hospital through a call and was mostly on entertainment duty. I stayed around and watched for a few minutes, dropping a fewments until people noticed I was in there and started pinging my username and being annoying. Maybe I shouldn''t have made it literally my name, but it was what Poketch wanted for my official ount on every site. This was really just dying the inevitable, though. There was something in particr I''d wanted to ask Maylene to do with our hangouts. I clicked on her name and looked at ourst message¡ªher a sticker of Crasher Wake doing a thumbs up a few days ago. She really liked his stickers; she was close to Wake and his husband, and he''d been the one to convince her to start therapy after¡­ Ugh. Before the bad thoughts could take over, I kept thinking forward. Since we couldn''t text much, sometimes I''d scroll back to our past messages and read them again when things got tough. I''d hold on to texts of her saying nice things about me whenever my thoughts went to a dark ce and started telling me I was worthless. These days, there were fewer of those. I considered what would be a proper beginning until I realized I didn''t need an excuse. All of it would follow protocol. You-Hey. Maylene-hii Hm. Only two ''i''s today; she must have been busy at work, so I''d try to keep things short. Wait, I was supposed to keep things short anyway. You-I have a question if that''s okay. Maylene-depends on the reason. R u rpsing or does this hav to do withter You-It''s technically allowed in the rules. It has to do with our next session after this one at your Gym. Maylene-alright Taking a deep breath, I began typing the message. My fingers were slower than usual; there was some kind of self-doubt creeping further and further into my head the longer I looked at what I''d written. My body felt heavy, sinking into my bed''s mattress. This must have been because I hadn''t had enough sessions with her. You-So we''re going to the gym to work out, right? I know we won''t practice that day but I was wondering what you were going to be wearing? Maylene-oh i havent thought about it yet Maylene-whjy Why? What did she mean,why?It was important to know all of the information in advance; this was a very serious process. We needed as few variables as possible, or something might happen to make me rpse¡ª Maylene-I mean I can just throw on whatever You-What about what you were wearingst time? Maylene-at ur dads apartment? Was she going to make me spell it out?! This was so frustrating¡­ but a fun kind of frustrating. I rolled over on my stomach, legs kicking in the air as I took a deep breath. You-The clothes you were wearing at the gym looked nice. You-Easy to move in and stuff. I''m just saying it might be efficient for you to wear them again for the best experience possible. And you wearing the same thing would be nice in a symbolism kind of way. It would rhyme. I like it when that happens. It''s how I see the world. You can ask anyone who knows me, and they''ll tell you the same thing. I dropped my phone on my bed, eagerly waiting for her answer. I peeked at the screen a few seconds after it vibrated again. Maylene-oooooh Maylene-dw I know. I''ll wear it. My throat released a breath I''d apparently been holding, and I couldn''t help but feel mildly lightheaded. It was going to be a good day to have eyes¡ªwhich would be a bonus to all of this. The primary concern was exactly what I''d said to Maylene. I rolled over again, this time on my side, and continued texting her. You-What about today? It''s pretty hot down south; you might want to not wear that much fabric. I know you''re resistant to heatstroke and things like that, but maybe you should be careful. Maylene-thx for the warning ill wear something light like my tank top the other day For a long while, the chat bubble with three dots shed on my screen, and I eagerly awaited what she''d say. Eventually, Maylene must have deleted what she''d been typing because the bubble disappeared and reappeared after a few seconds. Maylene-see u tonight! no more texting, ok? You-Okay! My hands clutched my phone against my heart. Wow, that had been tough. I wouldn''t know what to do with myself if she''d called me creepy for it. That was a constant fear of mine with her, to be honest, even if she was being nice about it and catching the look on my face nearly every time I was about tounch into a self-deprecating spiral. Maylene was just so normalpared to me that I was terrified of scaring her off because of something I''d say or do, even if it was mildly irrational, and she''d already epted the sum of things that made me¡ªboth the ugly and the good. Because therewasgood in me. That was what I had to believe if I wanted to make it, and she was teaching me that every time we interacted. Oh. And ''official'' therapy too, I guess; I''ve only had two sessions so far, though. Admittedly, it was just going¡­ okay? I found it a lot less reliable than what I was doing with Maylene, but again, I couldn''t rely just on her to get better. I imagined things would ramp up eventually on that front. Anyway, now that the situation was dealt with, all that remained was to pick what I was going to wear. I nced out the window at my Pokemon, making sure Sweetheart was still close to the house and not scaring the town''s inhabitants by wandering off wherever she pleased. So long as she stuck close and didn''t scream, we''d be fine. Right now, Buddy was spraying her with water, and I wasn''t certain if it was due to the heat or just because she enjoyed being wet. Leaning against the open windowsill to get a better view, I saw Princess teaching Cass how to¡­ make sharp objects with Ancient Power? No, were they ying at sword fighting? She was obviously way more into it than they were. I chuckled when the ground type kept screaming that she waswaytoo into it and that it was terrifying. She had them on the ropes, and them floating away wouldn''t hurt, considering she was considerably faster. Sunshine, as usual, had found a tree a few hundred feet away to snore under. Sleeping helped him think a lot better, so hopefully he''d give some thought to that technique I''d brought up a few days ago. By the way itlookedlike he was smiling¡ªit was difficult to tell from here¡ªhe was probably just dreaming about ruling vast swathes of territory and holding onto Mount W''s seat of power by snatching a story away from the hands of its domain holder. Honey and Angel weren''t there; they must have brought Mimi exploring somewhere. Maybe by the river with all those Bidoof we''d helped with relocating their dam thest time I''d been here? Oh, Legendaries, Mimi would gocrazyseeing a Bidoof-made dam. Hopefully, that was it! Since they were all behaving, I tiptoed around Herdier, who was lying down with one eye open and one ear up, and grabbed the three options I had brought for tonight. This wasn''t going to be ourst practice session, but itwasgoing to be thest where it was just our thing, so it mattered. That meant I needed to be¡­ well, essible if Maylene wanted to try somewhere new. I was pretty sure she was going to. So; A pair of light blue denim shorts with a ripped aesthetic near the hemline. This, I could pretty much pair with any top, but I''d been nning to use one of the two camisoles I owned. The problem was that these were basically tank tops, and there were odds Maylene would show up in shorts, too. Part of me thought matching would be cute, but it''d also be weird. So weird my mother might get ideas. I could do t-shirts as well, but¡­ meh. They didn''t feel special, and I had a million of them. The other issue with these shorts is that they were a little tight around the thighs, which docked points for essibility. It''d probably looked nice on me for sure¡ªnot that it mattered¡ªbut the goal here was to be as practical as possible. A sundress. Sundresses were nice; they felt like water on your skin, so light it was as if you were flowing in the wind. This one was a soft shade of blue reminiscent of a clear, cloudless day. It was amildlow cut and long enough to nearly reach my ankles. Now, it wasn''t as if she wouldn''t be able to just lift it up like she''d done to my shirt¡ªif she went there, of course; the option was hers. The problem was that if she wanted to go for my waist or my stomach again, that might betoomuch. There was no way she''d get her hands all the way up there without it breaching a serious line. She might as well be undressing me at that point¡ª I swallowed wrong, sending me into a mild coughing fit that had me nearly doubled over. I hadn''t imagined it. Even if my head spun and my next full breath trembled. It''d be wrong in every single way. Not happening. Not happening. And I didn''t want it to happen. The skirt was next, a little above the knees but wide and flowy enough to have zero obstructions. It was a mix of white and pastel pink, and had a flowery pattern all over, which was really good summer vibes. There was something about pastel or pale colors on me that I enjoyed. Again, I could pair it with any top, and Ireallyliked flower patterns on clothes, but I was finding myck of good tops kind of limiting, and I really didn''t have good shoes, either. Did I need to buy more clothes? That thought sat with me for a moment as I looked down at the skirt. The good thing about pairing it with a top was that it''d make everything easy to reach under, unlike the dress. It really was about the pros and the cons, at the end of the day. Both of them had desirable featuresandfaults. The dress was genuinely the one I thought looked the nicest, and I wouldn''t need to worry about a top. It was, however, limiting her options to my legs, my thighs, my neck, or my face. Sure, there were my arms, hands, and wrists, but tonight was special; she wouldn''t limit herself just to those. And the point of the process was to ramp up until I got used to being touched everywhere. Repeats just weren''t optimal as of now; those needed toe after my entire body was used to her touch. One had to consider every angle before these things. The skirt left the most body parts open, so it was a practice-focused choice and not a hanging-out focused choice. Maybe Maylene would want to spread out the touching in some kind of final test for me to see what I''d learned these past sessions. Sure, it wouldn''t befinal,final¡ªwe''d still practice, but just a lot less often¡ªbut again, this one was special. But what top was I gonna wear? The camisole? I must have stood there for eight minutes, ncing between the skirt and the dress, considering every possibility before¡­ Hm. "I think I''m gonna go with the dress," I dered with my hands on my hips. "What do you think, Herdier?" He whined out a sigh, got up, and crawled under the bed as if I was annoying him. "Fine, don''t be any help," I grumbled. "Gotta trust my gut on this one." Better focus on the areas we hadn''t studied yet; it would be a tougher test. My phone said there were only four hours left, so it was about time I got ready and made sure everything was in order. There was nothing in the room to clean up since I''d just moved in, so that was a plus. I must have spent over an hour and a half in the bathroom showering, washing my hair, blow drying it with the most scuffed hair dryer, shaving; it was honestly a lot of work, especially when it took like ten minutes for the water to change from cold to lukewarm. Maybe I should have just called Buddy over for help. I had a few piano guides going in the background on my phone while in there, but it kept buffering even worse than Denzel''s stream somehow. Mom had probably been using the inte. Back in the guest room, I waited as the hours ticked by and the sun slowly set. It always took longer than expected during summer. When there were twenty minutes left or so, I considered putting on the same lip gloss I''d had during the ceremony and funeral, but decided against it. It was too much and probably would make my mom look at me weird. With so little time remaining, it felt difficult to focus on anything else, even if I tried to keep myself busy. Was that odd? Did that mean I was slipping into bad, old habits again and growing too dependent on someone else? That was what percted through my mind as I ate some chicken soup my mother made and eagerly stared out the window. Of course, I brushed my teeth after. Bad breath would suck. Once the clock struck 7:55 pm, I made my way downstairs, and my mom took a long look at me. "You look nice," she nonchntly said. "Do I?!"I eximed, then cleared my throat. "I mean, do I?" The words were a little subdued this time. She frowned for a moment. "Yep. We should go shopping for clothes together in Sandgem sometime this summer; I''ve always wanted a little mother-daughter bonding time." "That''d be nice!" I smiled and leaned against the counter. "I was thinking that I needed more clothes earlier." "Let''s make it happen!" she said with a p of her hands. "Do you like what I did with the ce?" Looking around, I honestly couldn''t tell anything was much different. The house looked cleaner and free of any dust, and¡­ maybe the table had been moved a little? And was the television a little closer to the couch? "...yes?" I tried. Mom sighed and would have said something else had one of my Pokemon called me to say Maylene was here. I lifted my hands to my head, fingers spreading wide as Ibed through my hair before walking out the door and yelling at my mom tostay insideeven if she thought it wouldn''t be polite. As it turned out, Ihadbeen correct¡ªMaylene was wearing shorts, though they weren''t the baggy ones she had wornst time. These were a little tighter, a little shorter, entuating the toned muscles in her legs. Her tank top was different, too¡ªdark, maybe a deep blue, and I could catch glimpses of her sports bra straps peeking out from underneath. My friend waved with a bright smile, and as her arm lifted, her tank top rode up slightly, revealing a glimpse of her stomach. I jogged over to her while my team greeted her. "Hi!" I said, barely containing my smile. "Not too difficult finding the ce?" Maylene scratched the back of her head. "Um. We might have Teleported to another house and spooked some neighbors¡­" she nced down at the v-cut in my dress for a moment¡ªbut only for a moment. "You were our second try, though." "Eh, that''s not too bad. Thest time I came here, Sweetheart scared the living hell out of these people ''cause she''d just evolved, and she would scream all the time." I nced down at her hands. "Oh." Her nails had been done recently, polished in a soft, glossy color. "That looks really good! I didn''t know you were into nails!" Maylene brought both of her hands closer to my face, and I felt my cheeks warm. "I think it''s fun," she said. "Nia took me once, like two years ago, and I''ve been into it ever since. Usually, I can''t do it because I use my hands so much, but I figured that maybe for tonight, it''d look good." I nodded, wishing I could grab her hand to see it up close. "Yeah. It looks really good." "Um. You look good, also." "Oh." I couldn''t help but nce to the side, and somehow, my gaze ended up holding at the sliver of tummyagain. "Th¡ªthanks." "Yeah, I really like the dress." Maylene pulled at the fabric next to my leg¡ªjustthe fabric¡ªnearly giving me a heart attack. "It''s really soft. I''m not that good at fashion, but it''s great. That''s more Nia''s speed." For a few moments, there was silence. Not wishing to let it be awkward, I beckoned her. "Come on in; let me introduce you to my mom." "I''m a little nervous about that¡­" "Psht, what? She''s great." I waved a dismissive hand before turning to my team. "You guys are gonna be good out there? If you''re hungry again, get Buddy toe in, and I''ll bring you something, okay?" Mom had stocked up on alotof food for my arrival, and at least she''d let me pay for it, even if she was super guilty. One had to be wealthy to feed my team, and she didn''t really have a job. We climbed up the porch, and I let Maylene in before me. "Mom, this is Maylene Suzuki." I closed the door behind us. She walked up the Maylene, looking slightly on edge. "It''s nice to meet you, Leader Maylene," she said. "My name is Samantha¡ªSam for short. I''m so sorry we didn''t make anything for you; Grace insisted you wouldn''t be eating. Not even a snack." Maylene blinked at her for a moment, and shook her head. "Oh, no,no, it''spletely fine! I¡ªshe was right, I''m not gonna be eating anything." "Okay, well, if you change your mind, I''m always here," mom said with a wink.Embarrassing.So embarrassing I wanted to drag Maylene up to my room and away from her. In fact¡ª "So we''ll be upstairs?" I probed. Mom''s eyebrows raise a tiny bit as if she''d thought we''d stay downstairs for at least a while. "I mean, we only have two hours." That seemed to confuse her even more. "We''ll just be upstairs," I confirmed firmly. While we were climbing the old, creaking stairs, Maylene whispered, "are you sure that was okay? I don''t want to be impolite or anything¡­" "Don''t worry about it, she''ll understand." A pause. "Probably." Maylene let out a small ''woah'' when she entered the guest room, and I couldn''t help but feel happy at her noting about how it was such a good room to have. "Cozy," she added. "Kind of my style." She plopped herself down on the bed, feeling at it before her eyes widened. "Wait! Stay right here!" I froze. "What?" I asked with a tilt of my head. The Gym Leader pulled out her phone; before I could react, she whipped it up, and I heard asnap. "A picture? I¡ªI wasn''t ready!" "That''s what makes a good picture, Grace." She smiled smugly before looking at what she got. With an excited gasp, she turned the phone. "Look! It''s so good!" It looked¡­ was that how I looked? I was radiating happiness in that frame. "It does look good¡­" I admitted. "See? I told you¡ª" I tried snatching it out of her hands with augh, but of course, she was too quick to move her hand up. "Wha¡ªstop it, you dork!" We ''fought'' over it for a while, though using that word was doing me a favor. She was so good at dodging I couldn''t even graze her. "Fine, I''m making it my background now!" My legs stopped in their tracks just as I''d been about to give up and crawl on the bed to get a better chance. "You are?" Maylene hummed. "It''s supposed to be a punishment, but you look way too happy about it. I feel like it anyway." She fiddled with her phone for a few moments. "There, the job''s done." It was true. And it was both for the lockandhome screen. "You''re lucky I was mindful of whether I could touch you or not, or I would have had a better chance," I grumbled with a pout. "No. No, you really wouldn''t have," Maylene giggled until herugh faded. "But, um, if you really don''t want me to, I''ll¡ª" "It''s fine. I like it." My hand twirled with a strand of hair. "What was it before?" "Oh, just the Veilstone skyline. Basic stuff," Maylene said. "Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to show you a really funny meme!" She patted the side of the bed. "C''mere." I silently slid close to her, but made sure to keep enough distance for our shoulders not to touch. My nose tingled with some kind of really good smell. Was that soap or shampoo? Or both? I mean, Maylene smelled really good in general, anyway. "Okay, okay," she mumbled. "Hold on, I had this bookmarked." She scrolled through Chatter for a few seconds. "I didn''t know you used socials," I said. "Oh, I only do on my alts¡ªthere it is!" She erged an image¡ªa coge of what each Gym Leader would do if they came across a crying child alone on the street with captions under their pictures. I snorted. "Pfft. That''s so stupid." The only ones I knew were pretty correct were Crasher Wake and Candice trying to make the childugh. Gardenia giving detailed instructions to the parents was really funny, though. "Yeah. Like you," she teased. My stomach fluttered. "Um. Anyway, there''s no way you''d be in ''is the reason the child is crying'' with Roark! You''d be in something nicer." "Eh, I mean probably, but it''s funny anyway." That was true enough. Maybe harmless memes were fine. "I try not to let that stuff get to me anymore." "So what''s the alt for?" "Candice rmended it to me to blow off some steam. She has like eight, and that''s just on Chatter. Wait, seven, since she got one of hers banned recently." Banned? How in the world had she even managed that? "Sometimes she''ll find someone who really pisses her off and hone in on them. Like recently, there was this post that blew up about how she was messing up the situation in Snowpoint, but the poster was like,pletely wrong about everything. It got nine thousand likes or so, but Candice got into a really long reply chain with the guy where it was literally him arguing with her seven alts and thinking he was talking to different people." "Arceus¡­ I mean, it''s hrious, but I don''t think I''d have the energy for that. It sounds like so much work." Especially when there was a block button. "I know, right? It''s why I only have one. I don''t even use it much to reply to people; it''s just an ount where I can follow and like stuff without people reading into every little thing." She inhaled sharply. "Actually! Maybe I should follow you. It''d be weird if I did it on my official ount." "I mean, I don''t use Chatter much." "What''s your ount?" she asked. "GracePastelofficial," I said. She looked it up and was met with corporate post after corporate post, most of which had been tweeted by Melody or Poketch. The most recent, I had made, however. It was a farewell Chat about Craig and what he meant to me I''d made a few hours prior to his ceremony. "Oh, you were kind of right. This looks like Cynthia''s ount; it''s just official stuff." I kicked my feet. "Told ya. I mean, what would I even post? I have a bunch of pictures of my team and stuff, but it''s so annoying. Everything I do and say has to be approved, and it''s nearly always reworded. Not that I''m the biggest fan of social media in the first ce. Like ny percent of these posts aren''t even mine." It was just sorestrained. Like I was constantly being held on a leash because they were scared of what I could say. Though I guess when a Chat could potentially lose them millions, that was fine. "Should I follow you? I wanna see the fun stuff you like," I suggested, fingers digging into the mattress. "I¡ªI mean, that would be really cool," Maylene stuttered. "I''d have to really curate them, then. I don''t want you to think I look at unfunny stuff." I grabbed my phone, and Maylene couldn''t help butugh at the fact that I''d forgotten my Chatter password and needed three attempts to log in. "I just don''t remember where the caps go, okay?!" I protested. "Oh,suuuure," she said, all pompous. "They forced me to have a really tough password! I have to change it every month!" "Uhuh. I bet you''d have the same password for everything if you could." The mischievous undertone dripped from her words like honey. I¡­ I did use Princess'' birthday for everything. "See?" Maylene added. "How did you even¡ªhow did you know?" "You''re easy to read when you''re flustered," she said. Ugh. Sometimes, she''d say stuff like this that I''d turn over in my head when going to sleep with a dumb grin. I mean, I knew it was true. Zachary, the teen I''d battled all the way back in Veilstone, had told me I was easy to read after my loss (and it was something I''d greatly improved on), but it was different when she made fun of me for it. And if it wasn''t enough, Maylene balked when she saw that I only followed Poketch and my friends'' ounts. "Grace, are you crazy? If you follow me when you follow so few people, themunity''s gonna talk." "But they don''t know it''s you?" I asked, tilting my head. "I''m sure if I ask Poketch, they''ll let me. Hell, I didn''t even ask to follow my friends; I''m sure it''ll be fine." "Oh my God." Maylene took a deep breath. "You''re so bad at this that it''s kind of cu¡ªendearing." She audibly gulped and looked at me for so long¡ªwas it hot in here? The house didn''t have air conditioning. "Um. Yeah. Uh, I know that''s the case, but people will specte and talk about who this is." "Ah." I wanted to p my forehead. "Yeah, that makes sense. What if we do it anyway?" "Wh¡ªwhat?" "Doesn''t it sound kind of fun? People going wild over basically nothing? Letting them guess for a while?" I leaned toward her, and our eyes met. My hand and fingers were so close they were less than an inch from touching hers on the bed. "Come on. Please? For me?" Her breath hitched in her throat, and her body tensed¡ªit looked very good when it did that. Like, objectively, from a non-biased standpoint, Maylene was an attractive girl. "If you''re sure it doesn''t get you in trouble," she relented. "Yes!"I tapped the follow button before she could change her mind. "No takebacks!" I was sure Melody was going to take this well. She''d be mildly angry at best, but it''d be fine. I turned toward Maylene again before realizing we were still so close; her breath tickled my face. It was¡ªso warm, with a hint of citrus. "S¡ªsorry." I scooted myself away, deciding that maybe looking at her face so close wouldn''t be the best idea. "It''s alright, thanks for theughs. I needed that," Maylene said, a trace of worry threading through her tone. She rarely let it show unless things were truly serious, and seeing that she was still holding up, I felt a bit of tension ease from my shoulders. Instead, her voice would be meek and small like it currently had. "Something wrong?" That had been a rather quick switch. "Blergh. Just work stuff." Maylene smiled at me as if to tell me not to worry. "No need to bother you with it; I''ll deal." "I can listen?" I tried. "I mean, I don''t think I''d be great for advice¡ªI don''t even know what I''m doing most of the time." The urge to grab her hand and tell her I wanted to be here for her was so strong my fingers twitched as if they had a mind of their own. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I know you''re dealing with a lot, and I guess you could call it low-stakes stuff¡­" I turned toward her as much as I could, stopping right before our knees would touch. "Maylene, you''ve been¡ªyou''ve been here for me so much since the ceremony, and I know I said I''duseyou, but I don''t want to just take. I want to give, too. So this¡­ partnership is more equal, eventually. Because I don''t want to be unhealthy forever. That''s the goal, right?" Maylene nodded. "Right." "Actually, you know what?" I shifted slightly away from her and pushed her onto myp, touching both her head and opposite arm in the process. I felt her body tense at the contact, a contraction that sent something akin to a jolt in my fingers. "There. That''s like two seconds taken off our practice timeter," I said as best I could, trying to act like the contact hadn''t bothered me. "Your head''s only touching my dress, not my skin, so it''s okay." I''d definitely made the right choice. There would have been a risk of further bodily contact if I''d gone with the shorts. For a few seconds, she didn''t say anything; I feared I''d fucked it all up, and unabashed horror rippled through me like a wave, seizing my throat and making it hard to breathe. "S¡ªsorry!" Maylene shot up, and we nearly bumped foreheads. "It''s not you¡ªyour thighs are just really soft. I wasn''t¡ªwasn''t ready." Was that good? That was good, right? "Can I do it again? I just need to brace myself." "Oh." I nced at the door; it was shut, and the stairs were so old we''d be able to hear if mom came up. That was close; I''d nearly forgotten to actuallycheck. "Yeah, go ahead." The Gym Leader muttered, "Okay," under her breath, exhaling and inhaling for a few cycles until she dropped her head on myp again. Her breathing went from frantic to slow and steady, and her eyes stopped fluttering, rxing until they were half-closed. The hem of her shirt slipped above her stomach, and there was an urge within me to just run a hand through her hair. Instead, I leaned back, pushing my hands against the bed, and gripped at the fabric. "Can I start?" Maylene asked. "Like I said, it''s not really a big deal. Like, it''s not my dad or anything." She was looking directly at me, pink gaze locked and held onto mine, drawing me in like an unbreakable pull. "Yeah." My response was meek. This felt like a less intense practice session. "Okay, so there''s this issue where the Gym''s really been struggling with money, but it wasfineuntil we reopened," Maylene sighed. "Now we have to spend more on our Pokemon because they''re the ones doing the fighting, and it means I couldn''t pay the cleaning staff on time today because the League wouldn''t give any more. The cash flow''s too tight." Her lips pressed together in disappointment directed at herself. "And I''m the one who had to make the decision on whose pay would be dyed.I''mthe one who had to make that final call, because like, if the trainers or engineers are unhappy, or if we don''t spend enough on taking care of our Pokemon, then there''s no Gym, and I can''t close again because it would fuck everything over¡ªweeks of prep¡ªand it was just¡­ a lot. It was my first time having to deal with that." I¡­ didn''t know what to say. All of this time, she''d helped me deal with my problems, and I hadn''t even considered she might be hurting because of things outside of my control for one second. And that was fine. It took a moment to readjust the thought of it in my head because¡ªshe was perfect, and yet she wasn''t. Maybe that was okay. Maybe she was my Hero, but also just a person. "I''m sorry," was all I could muster. I didn''t know how to run a gym; I didn''t know about handling employees; I didn''t know the first thing aboutcash flow. Yet I wanted to be here for her anyway. "How long is it gonna take to pay them?" "Probably in two weeks," she said. "I''ll hand them a bonus whenever I can and additional paid sick days, but it still sucks, because like, I assume a lot of them need money now." Maylene rubbed her tired eyes. "Y''know, sometimes it''s like, I wonder if I''m a bad boss, still." "I mean, you improved a lot after¡­" afterthe event. And there were so many better ways to go about that, but this remained unsaid. An apology tried to force itself out of my mouth, but I couldn''t. Because then she''d stop venting and focus on me for catastrophizing. This was about her. "I mean, I''m not there a lot, but there''s no doubt in my mind that you''re doing a better job." "Thanks." She smiled and lifted her hand, but it lingered close to my face instead of touching me. She dropped it soon after, and we ignored it just like we always ignored everything else. "It''s just that I still get these thoughts whenever things go wrong, or a trainer messes up a Pokemon''s training regimen, or something. That things would just goso much betterif I could do all of it, and a little voice inside my head calls them useless." Her face scrunched up in disgust at herself. "Like my father''s will is still trying to control me and make me do his bidding even if I got rid of him." "But you don''t act upon those, right?" I tried reassuring her. "People get bad thoughts all the time. The difference, I learned, is when you actuallydothem. That''s when it bes an issue." Maylene didn''t look that sure of what I''d said. "It''s what I learned andsomeof what made me try to grow as a person. There''s a lot of growth left, though." She breathed augh. "I guess we both do. Whatever my intentions, I screwed up by opening too early. I knew it''d be tight, but I miscalcted. I wanted to give the country hope by returning to normal." "I understand. Just¡­ try your best to do better next time?" I tried. "Sorry, was that too¡ª" "No, that was good!" Maylene eximed before her smile turned impish. "Could have been better, though. Like: ''Next time, don''t underestimate how many hours Pokemon will have to be trained to shake off the rust, you idiot!''" She tapped her chin. "Or something like that. I''d rate yours a six." I scoffed. "Six out of ten? Come on." "Six out of a hundred." I shook my legs, nearly throwing her head off me. Of course, she wasMaylene, so while she was caught off-guard, she recovered pretty easily. One day, I''d get her. The Gym Leader flicked me on the nose¡ªthere was something so charming about howsoftit was despite how strong Maylene could get¡ªand she stood up, her head leaving thefort of myp. "We''re even, now¡ªdon''t make that face at me; you touched me first. What, are you gonna takepoint onesecond away from practice?" she challenged. "Yeah, I am." I poked her side, finger digging into the soft tank top. The yelp that followed wasso sweet. "What''re you gonna do about it?" Another poke. Then another, though now that she''d been expecting it, they were less effective at drawing out any noise. One thing I had learned about this girl sinceing back from Cor was that she wasverysparkwhen our skin touched while I struggled, but¡­ it was idental. Thrashing around was a very human reaction to being tickled. I couldn''t take time off for that."S¡ªStop! Maymay, stop! I give up, okay!"I gasped between fits ofughter, though my protest was more yful than serious. I''d expected her to keep going for a while, but she slowly came to a pause. I could still feel her fingers on my waist through my dress, even if they were gone. Twice, she''d been on top of me like this. The first time at her gym, what I''d felt had begun with worry for her well-being, which had led to horror as realization dawned on me, and I could no longer deny what had been in front of my eyes for weeks. Tonight, well¡ª Well, it wasn''t bad. Now that we''d put up limits to this therapy. I hadn''t had the time to appreciate this before. Her eyes were still sparkling with the remnants of ourughter; her defined shoulders were tense above me; her stomach poked out of her shirt from our tussle; loose strands of her short hair hung above me. If she''d been closer, I would have been able to feel her sweet breath on my face again. "Sorry. I was worried your mom would hear; the walls are pretty thin." She nced toward the door, still unmoving. I just about panicked¡ªI''dpletely forgotten my mother was even downstairs! "What''s she doing? Can you hear her?" Maylene closed her eyes and focused for a few seconds. "Hm. Doesn''t look like anything''s changed. I think she''s watching TV? Might be radio¡­ yeah, I think it''s radio." The tendons in my muscles loosened, and my head hit the edge of the pillow behind me. I noticed that Maylene hadn''t gotten off yet. She was looking at me with that same gaze she held during practice that I couldn''t help but shy away from until she reminded me that I was supposed to look at her. "We probably shouldn''t¡ªdo it yet, right?" I whispered. "Hmhm." We always practiced near the end of our assigned time together. Doing it before¡­ well, it was tough to have to go back to normal like nothing had happened afterthat. And structurally, well, it just made more sense. "If you want to keep looking at me from this position, that''s fine," I said. "No." Maylene finally got off. "That position''s dangerous. I might do something bad." Something bad? She must have meant touching outside of practice time for more than a split-second. "You¡­ used my nickname." "Oh.Oh, sorry. It kind of just slipped out; I''ve heard Candice use it all the timetely, so I guess I unconsciously said it." "It''s fine," she said. "Names are important; I shouldn''t have used it without your permission." Maylene''s friendsdiduse it a whole lot, so it wasn''t like it was¡ªokay, maybe it was a big deal, but it wasn''t that bad. "I meant you can call me that," Maylene said, cheeks dusting with a slight tint of red. I blinked at herreallyfast. "That makes sense." I wasn''t certain I would do it much, though. It felt like a line crossed. "Oh! You know, speaking of nicknames, this girl from my piano ss is justsoweird with them! She just adds an ''s'' at the end of everything¡ªher name is Jess¡­" Things continued going pretty well after that. I spoke to her about piano ss until I ran out of things to say, though she seemed pretty proud I''d made two friends-acquaintances-whatever they were. I couldn''t tell her much about wanting to train with Marley because I''d kind of promised I wouldn''t say anything about it, but it was going to be a work in progress. She asked about therapy next and kind of¡­ pushed me a little, saying that it sounded as if I didn''t care. Ididcare, just not as much as this. Me and my therapist just hadn''t clicked yet like I had immediately with Aliyah. Luckily, mom came by to save me and asked if we weresurewe didn''t need anything else. The atmosphere remained light afterward, and much of our time was spent just browsing through Maylene''s Chatter feed or looking at people asking who it was I had followed. Melody had already sent me a worried message, but apparently, Poketch had just¡­figured outit was Maylene''s alt? It was creepy how they could justdo that. Anyway, it was all fun and games until she said I needed to unfollow that ount. Apparently if no one said anything, most people would just think it had been a missclick, and the rumors would die down. Shehadsaid I could follow Maylene''s official ount if I wanted, so I did that, along with Candice''s. I wanted to go for Gardenia''s as well, but was worried it woulde off as stalkerish until Maylene pressed it for me¡ªwithout my permission! ''A joke,'' she called it. She was lucky I couldn''t stay mad at her long. Now, it''d be odd to unfollow her. I hoped I would be able to go to her Gym soon, but she was still busy. Time always went faster when you had fun, and these two hours were going by so quickly. It wasn''t until 9:30 pm that we shared a knowing look, instantly recognizing that it was time to get serious and dive into our practice session. "Where do you want to do it?" For a moment, I thought she''d been asking me where I wanted to be touched and nearly blurted something out, but she was asking where I wanted tobe. Her voice was a low whisper, as it always was before we started. Mine was, too. The room felt a lot more cramped now. "I guess I can stay sitting on the bed," I mumbled. Maylene stood up, then eyed me for a second. "I¡ªI think it''s too low; it wouldn''t befortable for what I want." Upon further reflection, I understood what she meant. She''d probably have to lean in really close if she wanted it to work. "Against the wall is fine, then," the words slipped out. "Okay." Maylene fiddled on her phone, no doubt setting up her rm. "I actually¡ªsince this is kind of ourst session before you branch out, I was thinking that we both get five minutes." I could tell this was something she''d been trying to figure out how to bring it up. "If you''re fine with it." "Me? Doing the touching?" "I''d go first. And if you aren''tfortable, we don''t have to," Maylene reassured me. The thought of it sat in my head, spinning around my brain as I considered every angle. I wasn''t supposed to be touching her, though theoretically, nothing in the contract on our phones said that. It only mentioned ''contact,'' and that was from either party. It had been more of a moral objection than anything else on my part. Yet here she was, offering herself up to me.Ihadn''t been the one to ask. And if it was just for tonight¡­ this might be my final opportunity. "Can we see how I feel after yours?" I said, unsure of myself. "Sure. I put two rms this time," Maylene said. We got into position, with me again close to a structure to support myself on. The nightstand wasn''t that stable, but it would do. I flinched, whimpering when Maylene brought her hand close to me until I realized she''d been grabbing themp and putting it on the ground. "We don''t want it to fall off, right?" she breathed out. "Are you ready?" A nod. "Remember the safe word." Another nod to signal her to start, and she began. Maylene''s hands moved in two different directions. Her left went down, and her right went up¡ªoh my God, she was going for the face¡ªthe leg?¡ªthis was so overwhelming¡ª The first point of contact sent a shiver through me, her touch firm yet delicate as her fingers brushed against my skin. Her left hand traced the line of my jaw, her thumb lightly brushing my cheek as her fingers cradled my face. It was a tender, almost reverent touch that made my breath hitch in my throat. The next touched my thigh through the fabric, at first. It was nearly a grab that made it difficult to stand straight because of the tremor it sent down my leg. While her right hand slid down my leg, her thumb traced the corner of my lip. There was barely any pressure¡ªit was just a graze, probably idental, but it made me hyperaware ofhers. The subtle curve to them was gone; she was entirely focused on this. Onme. Right now, they were rxed. There was a delicate sheen to them, as if she''d unconsciously moistened them in thought. Each of the harsh breaths she took made them part just a little more. Maylene leaned in, not close enough to be near my ear, but¡ª "Remember to breathe," she whispered, and I inhaled what felt like thergest, shivering breath I''d ever taken. Her voice diluted in my ear and made me bite my lip in desperation to stop my voice from leaking uncontrobly. My face felt so hot I thought the skin was going to burn off and meld with her hand. Every time my head would move, she''d bring it back up with a finger so I could look at her, and it was burning, and it was intense, and it was demanding, and it waseverything. But something changed on her left hand. She grew more confident as the dozens of seconds that seemed so long yet so short passed. I was left with a moment¡ªjust a moment of respite as Maylene quickly crouched and grabbed onto the bottom of my dress. The light, blue fabric shifted up under her touch. Up and up and up, her fingertips leaving a trail of heat in their wake and goosebumps across my legs. She brushed up against the burned skin right above my knee and stayed there until¡ª Until the rm rang. My head was so foggy I thought ten minutes had passed, but that was just five. Just five. What if it had been ten? What if she''d kept shifting ever closer to me? My heart was hammering against my ribcage like an animalbeggingto be let out. Her hands immediately got off me, and for a while, we just stood there as the feeling faded, heaving for air to recover from the fervor of that half-session. "Sorry. I thought two ces at once might be too intense," she paused to take a breath, "but I went for it anyway." "It''s fine. It''s like, a final test." I wasn''t in a much better state. "The darkness on you is fading really fast. It was a good session." The few slivers that remained were on her fingertips and bleeding into the world. In a few dozen seconds, there''d be nothing left. "Good. That''s good. It''s important to stay focused." "Yep. Focused," I mirrored. "Are you good to go for your turn?" she asked. "Or should I keep going?" "I think I¡ªI think I can handle it. Can I do your stomach?" I blurted out. "Oh. Sure, you''ve been looking at it a lot. I thought maybe something was wrong." She''d caught that? Wait, ofcourse,she had; her vision was top-notch. "I guess I''ll sit on the bed for this one. If that''s okay?" "Sure. Do whatever you want," I mumbled. Maylene sat on the bed, fingers digging into the side of the thin mattress, and I got on my knees. She was staring down at me. There was something about that look that just¡ªsomething about it justgot me. Maylene lifted her tank top and revealed her full stomach, keeping it under her chest. The skin was smooth and taut, with faint lines of her abdominal muscles subtly outlined beneath the surface. Even if the lighting here was garbage, it glowed from the nighmp, and the sweat on it glistened almost invitingly. There was no denying that the hints of it had caught my attention all night long. It was just¡ªwhen you looked at it from a non-biased standpoint, it was¡­ I lost my train of thought. Shit, I was wasting time. "I can¡ªI can go, right?" I asked, impatience leaking through my shaky voice. "Yeah." The reply came breathless. My fingers hesitantly reached out, but I didn''t even manage a slight graze before a soft, blue glow started to leak out of Maylene''s skin. My hand didn''t flinch back. The aura felt cold, yet hot at the same time, a confusing blend that I was in no mind to try to even think about. It wasn''t¡ªwasn''t hurting me. I looked up at Maylene, who nodded and kept reaching out until I managed a graze it, gliding over the defined lines and feeling the slight give of her muscles under my touch. She was so warm. Her stomach pushed against me with every shaking breath. And while her being on the receiving end wasn''t usual, it wasn''t bad, either. Even ifmetouching her tainted her far more than her touching me. I angled my hand up in an attempt to get my full palm to touch¡ª Maylene''s head whirled up, and she inhaled sharply.Toosharply for it to be a result of what I''d been doing. "Crap¡ªyour mom! Your mother''sing up the stairs!" Immediately, panic sent in; it was an easy transition. The quick breaths went from some kind of yearning and exhaustion tostress, and the excitement of my beating heart turned into anxiety. Part of me wanted to double down and say we weren''t doing anything bad, but I knew how it would look if she came in and I was on my knees in front of Maylene while she was lifting her shirt¡ªand she was already putting it down anyway. We scrambled into whatever would seem natural positions. Maylene was fastest and just sat on the bed, so I followed suit, making sure to be as far away from her as possible. We were lucky Maylene had one undamaged ear left and had good hearing, or it might have been toote. Mom knocked, and while Maylene didn''t look readyat all, we needed to answer and tell her toe in, or she''d get worried and do so anyway. Telling her not to would just make her suspicious. Maylene whispered to tell her to enter. Okay. Deep breaths. Nothing was happening. "Come in!" The door opened, bits of torn wood raking against the floor. "Mom," I exhaled, each breath long, loud and drawn out. "What''s wrong? Did my Pokemon need something? I told you we didn''t need any snacks." My head subconsciously turned toward Maylene, who was as red as a tomato. At least she''d stopped leaking aura. "I heard something rattling up here; I thought there was a problem." Fuck.Fuck!The Arceus damnnightstand?Really? "Is everything okay up here?" She nced between me and Maylene, a constant dance that grew more and more suspicious every time her gaze passed over us. "Yep. Yep. Perfectly okay," Maylene said in the mostapprehensiveway possible. "I was just going to¡ªI was gonna leave soon, Ms¡­ is it still Pastel?" "It is still Pastel," mom confirmed in a pointed tone and crossed her arms. "You''d bettere downstairs." I did my best not to nce toward Maylene or not to show disappointment that we wouldn''t be able to finish practice today. All I could think about as we all walked down the stairs was the shape of her abs on my palm and how her aura writhed around my hand like a living, breathing being without even hurting me. At least just gettingyankedback into the real world had done wonders to recover quicker than usual. Once we all entered the living room, Maylene spoke up again. "Actually, I think I''m gonna leave a little early." I eyed her as if my eyes could throw out knives.Don''t just abandon me here with all of this, you ass!I knew she''d just have to hide out there until Kadabra came back, anyway. She met my gaze with an apologetic look. "Or¡ªor maybe not?" "Oh, we wouldn''t want to hold you up here." Mom was saying this, but I could tell she wanted her to stay. "Unless you have something to tell me?" It was odd to hear her speak this way. In all of our time reconnecting, she''d never, ever sounded like she might scold me. Scoldus. "Not at all; but Kadabra will take a bit to get here anyway." She echoed my thoughts as mom motioned at us to sit on different parts of the couch. "I¡ªI could tell him to swing by early, though." "That won''t be necessary¡ªnow listen, girls. I don''t want toimplyanything here, but on the off-chance thatsomethingmight have been happening upstairs, I feel the need to mention this. Leader Maylene, you do know my daughter is dating another girl¡ª" "Oh God, why are you being so weird?" I interrupted her as I threw my hands up. "Nothing was happening, and she does know! We''re just¡ªfriends." That hadn''te out as easily as it once did. Something to worry aboutter. "I''ve been helping Grace with¡­ therapy." Maylene was looking down at her feet, refusing to meet my mother''s stare. "And are you a licensed therapist, youngdy?" Mom''s voice was a sharp knife. "Well, no, but¡ªit works for her," she tried. "Look. All she does is touch parts of my skin for ten minutes because my head is sofuckedthat I think I''ll make people worse if they evengrazeme. People who aren''t my parents." It was humiliating to say it out loud to anyone who wasn''t Maylene. I wasn''t meant to be exposed like this, to step out into the spotlight and to be seen as the freak that I was. "And I hate the idea of making my friends sink down to my level, so it''s intense for me. I sweat and breathe harshly and stuff." "Does your actual therapist know about this?" mom asked. I couldn''t tell if she believed me or not; I hadn''t known her for long enough to know her tells. "Yes, okay? He does!" I groaned. He knew about my condition, not what I was doing to fix it. "And it won''t be just her doing this." From now on, at least. "If you really need reassurance, I can bring you to one of my friends the next time I do this." I hadn''t even given thought towhowould be helping me. Denzel would be my first choice, but his parents made things really ufortable. Pauline or Emilia might have too many questions¡­ maybe Chase? I felt like he''d do it no questions asked. Just keep a hand wrapped around my wrist for ten minutes, call me a weirdo, and then be on his way. It would be a lot more transactional, less intimate, and part of me thought that wouldblow. My mother drew out a long sigh and closed her eyes, whispering Arceus'' name under her breath. "Okay, Grace. I''lle and see what this is about, but I''d like it if you dealt with it only withprofessionals." Thank the Legendaries, she was letting this stupid idea go, though I didn''t think she would actually agree to look at me practicing¡ª "But I''ll leave you with this thought, okay? And it''s for both of you. Oh, and I''m telling your dad." I leaned against the armrest with an exasperated sigh as sheunched into her story. "When I was younger, I made a horrible, horrible mistake. I cheated on my husband." She paused, letting the idea sink in. I couldn''t bear to look at Maylene right now. "For a while, it was emotional. Flirtyments, and going shopping, and restaurants, and bars¡­" she shook her head, face scrunching up at the memory. "It hadn''t escted yet physically, but it was still cheating, even then." A pit started to form in my stomach, and my hands grew moist. That wasn''t me. Itwasn''t.Couldn''t be. "As a general rule of thumb, you should never do something if you would need to hide it from your partner." Ah. Okay. Everything was fine. It was still under control. "I would have told her already," I said. "But she''s off-route with no service, and I don''t even know where exactly beyond the fact that she''s south of here. The n was always to tell her when she came back." I wasn''t delusional; I knew Cecilia wouldn''t be indifferent to the time I was spending with Maylene. But she would understand, right? She''d left me, and I epted that. I knew she needed time for herself to work through our issues. But I''d been at my lowest point. I wasn''t like her. Once, I might have been capable of running away and figuring everything out on my own. And maybe, eventually, I could have managed without Maylene''s help. But there was no denying how quickly things had improved with her. Without her? I turned toward the Gym Leader, relieved to see that she''d rxed as well. Seeing her calm made me feel even calmer in turn. Without her, just reaching this point might have taken months. There was no doubt in my mind now that my mental health would have cratered had I actually managed to reject Maylene at the Ceremony. I still got goosebumps when I closed my eyes and saw her there, saving me like a damn prince, telling me to taint her and that she could take it. It might have stopped me from ever starting to train in hopes of getting into the Conference. It might have made me start skipping piano and therapy lessons so I couldy in my bed all day¡ªit wasn''t like dad would know; he was always at work. It might have stopped me from making new friends¡ªI was ready to call them that, now. And then Cecilia woulde back, all fixed or on the road to being fixed, and where would I be? I''d be useless. A lump of flesh rotting in my room for days with just my Pokemon to support me. I wasn''t like Cecilia. I neededpeople. Betrix, Jasmine, Aliyah¡ªI needed people to hold on to be myself. Herdier broke the silence with a whine, and my mother followed suit. "Then why did you hide it from¡ª" she clicked her tongue and bit her lip. "I''m just d you''ll tell her, and I hope to Arceus you''re telling the truth. I think it might be best if you got going now," she told Maylene, still in that same pointed tone. "Right. Thanks for having me over, Ms. Pastel. I¡ªI''ll message my Gym so they send Kadabra over¡ª" Maylene''s rm rang throughout the living room, signaling that another five minutes had passed. My mom paid it no mind, but she looked extremely confused at the face we both made. Lately, I''d begun to associate the rm sound with practice, so it was weird to have it just out in the open. When Maylene turned off the rm and finished sending her message, I shot up. "Ah¡ªI''ll see you out." We set out into the warm night air. Sweetheart was sleeping soundly in the grass, snoring like there was no tomorrow with her head against a bundle of Angel''s vines for a pillow. The grass type leaned back and forth like a living cradle, and Mimi''s golden gear poked out of the sea of vines on his head. "How''s he doing that while he''s sleeping?" Maylene whispered at me. Oh, thank the Legendaries, things were normal and not awkward. "I dunno. I think it''s kind of built into him." Cass and Buddy were standing watch, their eyes glowing in the night, and Princess was drooling all over Sunshine''s arm while she cuddled next to him below that same tree he''d been sleeping under the majority of the day. The only one who wasn''t asleep was Honey, who waved at me with an ever-widening grin, sparks flying out of his fingertips. I waved back and whispered that I''de by to talk soon. Mom was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, and waiting for me toe back in. I''d wanted to hold Maylene''s hands, since I technically had like four minutes left even if the rm had rang. So instead, I just stood in front of her. "Sorry. My mom kind of ruined our special practice." It was still astonishing to me that what had made her climb up was the stupid nightstand. I wanted to kick that thing. "She kind of ruined the¡­" what even could I call this? It wasn''t¡ª it wasn''t a mood, that implied something more than this was. Vibe, maybe? Coming up empty, I let out a frustrated groan. "She picked a really bad moment." Maylene let out a little embarrassedugh. "Yeah, she did. But you don''t need to apologize, it''s also my fault. I was kind of intense because it was ourst¡­ well,youof all people would get it." "Hey," I whined in faux-offense. "What''s that mean?" She rolled her eyes at me. "Do I need to pull out today''s texts and read them out?" Before waiting for an answer, shedid. "And you wearing the same thing would be nice in a symbolism kind of way. It would rhyme. I like it when that happens¡ª" "No!" Iughed. "Wait, stop, I was joking!" My face was warm.Everythingwas so warm. She didn''t finish reading the text. "You''re so easy to fluster, y''know?" "Sure."I drew out the word and nced back at the door. "If mom wasn''t watching, I would have touched you to make it easier to grab the phone." Maylene stewed with those thoughts, hand clenching around the device. "Who''s easy to fluster now, hm?" "Whatever. It would have been a repeat of earlier, anyway. You''re so slow. Like a Shuckle." "That''s just called normal human speed!" I protested a little too loud. Mom had probably heard that one. "No, even for a normal human, you''re really slow," she teased, teeth shining in the night as she smiled. "You''re gonna need that treadmill." "One day, I''ll surprise you if you don''t watch out." "Yeah, when Lechonk grow wings." The yful atmosphere faded away a little as Maylene''s stare turned tender. "Um. Listen, I know we won''t be practicing for a while, but next time," she leaned in and whispered, "just as an exception, we can do fifteen minutes to get your time back." I stood there stunned as Kadabra popped into existence. "Wh¡ªwh¡ª" "See youter, dummy." She leaned a little further forward toward my forehead, which I couldn''t help but bow, feeling a slight shift in the air. Nothing came of it. Maylene disappeared in the wind, along with the psychic, and it was only now that the things she''d said registered in my mind. D¡ªdummy? Dummy?! How was I supposed to go to sleep now? ¡ª I hadn''t slept. My mother had thankfully not been weird about things when I came back in that night, but I''d gone back in my room rather early anyway to avoid the possibility. I yawned as mom, Honey and I shuffled toward the school. I''d seen it while flying over Twinleaf, but it was my first time actually getting a good look up close. The school stood quietly in the early morning light, its brick facade catching the soft, golden hues of the morning sun. I was kind of too out of it to pay much attention, especially when it was so early. Even then, some kids were already here with their parents. People of all ages, from the little five-year-old pre-schoolers to the few jaded high schoolers hanging out in the corner of the schoolyard to adults moving out and about the school. I wondered if a few of those teenagers would be bing trainers next year. Part of me wanted to go and say hello as some kind of exercise in being more social and maybe make a few friends for the rest of the weekend, but I was too tired to do so, and I was needed in the kitchen anyway. The party hadn''t officially kicked off¡ªit would only do so at nine in the morning, so in two hours¡ªbut what we were going to do was essentially mass-produce food for the hundreds of people that woulde. "The thing about small towns like this is that everyone knows each other," mom had exined before we entered the yard. People kept greeting her on the way inside the building, osting her at every turn, asking her how she was holding up with grandma''s death, or asking to get to know me. They knew she had a daughter¡ªtoday was just the first time seeing her. Seeing me. "You know, I''m sorry I never asked you," I said. We stepped through the school''s entrance, the wooden double doors creaking slightly as they swung open. The foyer was weing and warm, a stark contrast to the crisp morning air outside. The floor was a mix of polished hardwood and well-worn tiles, their surfaces reflecting the soft, natural light that filtered in through therge windows nking the entrance. Directly ahead, a wide staircase with sturdy banisters led to the upper floors, its steps worn and slightly concave from years of students hurrying up and down. "About grandma. I''m sorry." "Oh." A sad smile stretched upon her face. "I''ll miss her. She¡ª" "Sam!" a woman, maybe ten years younger, walked up to my mother. A small boy was behind her, pulling on the fabric of her loose skirt. "And who''s this? Wait!" She gasped. "Your daughter? No way! And with an Electivire?" Another round of introductions, of smiles, and of pleasantries, though this conversation wassting longer than usual. I walked down the hall a little bit, feeling nostalgic for school¡ªsomething I never thought could ever happen. Yeah, I had piano sses, but they weren''t the same. The little kid, who must have been five, six at most, pulled on my sleeve. "Hey, miss! Why is your face and arm like that? It''s weird!" He pointed up at my burns with that big, wondrous curiosity only a child his age could ask. I smiled, crouching in front of him. "Well, you see, I have a Pokemon called Sunshine who I fought in Mount Cor, and he nearly burned me to death when I caught him." Something shattered on the kid''s face, and he started to tear up, ncing up at Honey a few feet behind us. "W¡ªwait! That''s not him, this is Honey!Honey!And it doesn''t actually hurt in the moment! Because you have this thing called adrenaline, okay? And that tricks your body into not focusing on the pain so youcanrespondtothethreataswespossible¡ª" Man, he was already crying. Someone tapped my shoulder behind me¡ªmy mother and Honey, the former of which looked to be very angry at the fact that I''d made a kid burst into tears while thetter was horrified that he''d beenpared to Sunshine. "Sorry?" I tried. Was I bad with kids, now? A/N: Up next, the Cecilia Interlude¡­s? Maybe there''ll be two.
Interlude – Hollow Vessel Interlude ¨C Hollow Vessel
INTERLUDE - HOLLOW VESSEL The curtains open. Something blinds her; Cecilia grips the armrests of her theater chair as light overwhelms her entire being. It is dazzling, bright enough to have aweight. Like when the sun shines on your skin on a scorching summer day, or the re of fresh snow catches your eye and makes you squint in reflex as you groan at theing headache. She inhales sharply through her teeth and flinches back as it basks all around her, but soon, her eyes adapt to the light. Color. She sees color, a kaleidoscope of hues flooding her vision, each one sharper and more vivid than thest. Reds, blues, browns, yellows¡ªshades she''d only ever imagined in her mind since Cor¡ªnow burst to life before her eyes, and it is sooverwhelmingthat she has to shut her eyes and brace herself before opening them again. A theater. Cecilia is inside a theater. She doesn''t know how she already knew this¡ªeven before she hade to, the knowledge had just wormed itself into her head the moment she came to consciousness. Sparkling letters spelling out ''FIRST DEATH'' shine high above the stage, glittering in every color. Her legs and arms twitch, but her body feels impossibly heavy, as if anchored by a weight she cannot lift. It''s as though her very flesh is bound by the force of a hundred tons, the weight of the world pressing down on her, immobilizing her to a standstill. Yet, despite the crushing burden, she breathes, she lives, she sees. Every sensation that defines life pulses through her, reminding her that she is still here, still alive, still whole, even as her body remains trapped under the invisible weight. Cecilia tries her neck next, realizing that she can actually move it. All around the Unovan, filling every single seat in the theater, are other¡­ Cecilias. Theye in all ages, from her from a newborn, to a toddler, to a child, to a teenager. Each version of herself stares forward, motionless, as if waiting for something. There is a loud sound thates from everywhere around her, an obnoxious re that grinds her ears like a malfunctioning microphone. Lights dim, leaving the stage nk for a few seconds until headlights far behind her shine down on something that leaves Cecilia trembling in terror. The kind of fear that made you hyperaware of the flesh and bones in your body, a reminder that at the end of it all, you were nothing but a neatly packaged bag of meat who could die any second; a reminder that you wereweak; a reminder that you were just a girl despite having saved the world and seen the realm of the dead. It is the primal fear of death. She thought she''d lost that fear, but she had not. Not when her childhood was ying itself out before her very eyes. The stage had changed from wooden to a garden Cecilia recognized very well. It sits on the top floor of one of her father''s apartments and oversees much of Castelia. It is here that she sees herself, a little seven-year-old child leaning against the protective ss as she stares down, down, and ever further down into the city below her. She remains alone for a good while, sniffling by herself among the flowers. She hups and sobs and whines and sniffles and asks herself what she needs to do to bebetter?To be the kind of person who fits her father''s view of a perfect daughter? Listening to herself go through this was like having nails hammered into her wrist, looking at it like having salt poured into her eyes. Cecilia squirms in her seat. She tries to turn her head away, but it''s stuck here, transfixed on what is about to y out. As ast attempt, she tries to yell, there is only an empty, desperate gasp of her thates out of her. There is nothing, absolutelynothingshe can do. So with an internal,crushingsigh, Cecilia resigns to the inevitable and prepares to take it. This has been amon theme, as ofte. Amy Saunier and her brother Mark walk out of the roof ess door, and hatred surges within her as they approach her younger self from behind.Don''t trust them,she wants to yell.They are snakes, slithering through the grass with forked tongues and venom in their words. They coil around your heart, squeezing until you can''t breathe, whispering sweet,fortable lies that seep into your mind like a slow-acting toxin and keep you domesticated.Yet, again, nothing but hot aires out of her burning mouth. Amy is her age, but she''s a tiny little thing. Her little Pichu, her mother used to call her. Her hair is golden blonde like the sun in the sky, and she looks genuinely sad. Mark is a teenager by this point¡ªseven years older than her. He''s twitchy, nervous, and ufortable in his own skin like he has been for thest fourteen years of his life. Fourteen. He will be leaving for his journey soon. Already, he is being ustomed to his Deino, and it isnotgoing well. Father always had plenty to say about that, and he''s been pushing himself given the bandage around the old bite mark on his arm. "Cece! What are you doing alone up there?" Amy asks, hand stroking her hair. Back then, she hadn''t lost her Kalosian ent. It is fading but still thick. The sudden presence makes her younger self jump, but the love and care in her eyes when she sees that it isAmytouching her makes Cecilia sick to her stomach. Years.Yearsof this song and dance, years offort, years of love, years of friendship, years of safety¡ªfake.All fake. Rage is followed by tears that well in the corner of her eyes, yet she cannot close them. It is different when seeing them so young. Harder than when she had her confrontation with her in Veilstone to cut her out of her life like a limb undergoing necrosis. "I''m hiding," the younger Cecilia whimpers. "Father was lecturing me." Ah, the lectures. Dozens of minutes of uninterrupted screaming, calling her worthless in every way possible until he ran out of energy and told her to get out of his sight. "I messed up in my tutoring; I forgot what the capital of Oblivia was." Amy pats her head and gives Cecilia a smile that gives her the strength to stand. "Your dad is always so strict. He sucks. I''d make my mom adopt you if I could! I''ll ask her tonight!" "He¡ªhe wants to see you again," Mark says. Always, that spineless little worm. She couldn''t see it then, but she sees him now.Lackey. A ve to their father both in childhood and in adulthood. "He made us go look for you. He was¡ª" Mark flinches, and the hate within her melts away, like she''s looking at a fellow survivor of a war she''s fought. "He was really loud." He clenches left his arm, and his eye twitches. The younger Cecilia freezes, and trembling like a newborn Deerling, she asks, "w¡ªwhat time is it?" "It''s 2:34 in the afternoon, Cece," Mark replies. "You''rete for your piano lesson." The hope shatters in her eyes as it already had a thousand times before. She turns toward Amy, dejected and resigned to what she knows will probablye next. "Can your mom take me now?" Mark interrupts whatever answer ising. "It''ll make things worse, Cece," he says. "And he''ll take it out on m¡ª" he clenches a fist. "I''m sorry. I¡ªjuste back down. Just go along with him, and it''ll be easy. I''ll be in the room with you, okay?" He crouches and holds onto her hands. "I''ll stay with you. So let''s do it together. And we''ll talk to mom, okay?" "Promise?" "I promise." He smiles at her. It is hollow. The younger Cecilia nods, and her older self''s nails dig into her armrests. Everything goes dark, and Cecilia hears rattling on stage. How is this happening? It felt too real to be a dream, but itcouldn''tbe real. She can''t even feel her Pokeballs on her belt, and she can actually see color. Something she hadn''t even been able tofocus on. The stage suddenly brightens, and Amy is gone when she can see again. All who remain are Cecilia and Mark, standing beside her mother on a balcony on one of the lower floors. She doesn''t even look at their faces as she sits on an old leather couch with a twirling ss of red wine in hand and watches the city through the protective ss. Cecilia faintly remembers when she used to point at all the little things they could see from up here. They would almost make a game of it where the one who won was the person who found the most interesting thing. That woman is gone. Cecilia doesn''t knowexactlywhat happened to this day, but her mother is empty. Stress lines run across her face, and strands of her hair are already turning white. Her cheeks are gaunt, the life has died in her eyes, and she wears long sleeves even if it''s a hot summer day and she''s on a balcony¡ª Something clicks. Something justclicks. Cecilia remembers months ago, when she told Grace in Eterna City about her mother and father in detail for the first time on that tram ride, minutes before they confronted Amy. She remembers telling her that her father had never gotten physically violent. With her, that was still true to this day. But what about her mother? What about her brother? As Mark and his sister beg their mom to talk to rence, memories she had buried beneath the sande to the surface as a giant wave that Cecilia cannot stop. Sunsses, scarves, gloves, long sleeves, tights¡ªhad she suppressed everything? Had she just not wanted to see? She was still there.Living with that pig to this day. Her mother''s voice is barely a whisper when she says no, as if she cannot even fathom going against rence''s will. It''s like staring into a mirror¡ª Cecilia flinches back when the lights turn offagain. The bright letters from the beginning turn on again, spelling out ''INTERMISSION,'' and Cecilia regains control of her neck and mouth as a darkened, writhing shadow and six red eyes appear on the stage. It is purple gas given form, writhing, shaking, vibrating with every breath. "What is this?" she screams for answers."Where am I?!" The being makes a noise as if it''s clicking its tongue. "Don''t interrupt the intermission now." The voice is heavy andgrave. Like it is being spit out of something old who has weight in this world. It is somehow three things at once. The creaking of old wood, vulnerable yet somehow stable after decades; the groan of ancient stone shifting in caverns, alwaysrger in scale than you think you can fathom; droplets of water falling a hundred thousand times just to carve through an inch of rock¡ªpersitence, perseverance given a voice. It is obvious now that this was a ghost''s doing. Cecilia struggles against the invisible force keeping her still until she needs to heave for every breath like it''s herst. "Are you done?" It asks, and there are two distinct whispers that follow, echoing the same statement. There''s nothing she can do. There''s never anything she can do. "Frustrating, is it not?" The beast standspletely still on stage, and every nerve in Cecilia''s body tells her to run. Had she still been able to register the fear of death, she wouldn''t have been able to think straight. "To be such a passive actor within the world." It''s at times like these that images of Grace sh in her mind. She always knew what to do next, even if it was stupid and shortsighted and strange and every little thing that made her,her¡ª something snaps her attention back to the creature, and Cecilia''s eyes sting. "Like mother like daughter. An interesting thought," it speaks again. "It is true that children take much after their parents¡ªand I have had many. A shame that this is what you learned of it, but it isn''t your fault." "Just¡­ tell me what''s going on," Cecilia begs. Somehow, she hates it here more than Cor."Please." The six-eyed being shakes its body as if to mimic shaking its head. "It wouldn''t do to give you all the answers, Cecilia Obel." She cringes at thest name like she always does. "For once, you will not be led to water; for once, you will not be made to drink. You will forge your own path." That''s what she had been trying to do for thest two weeks in the wild with her team. She didn''t need any of this! "Please," it scoffs. "If there''s one thing you like to do when you''re out of answers, it''s to run away in hopes of dying or being saved." The words feel like a sword has been lodged through her heart, like she''s being gutted like a Magikarp. "Even now, I bet a tiny part of you hopes that the girl is going toe chasing after you atop her fairy and that everything will go back as it once was. No more of this. I have seen enough." "How long have you been watching me?" Cecilia knows that the ghost would be able to figure out that she wanted information, given that it could read her thoughts. Is this a mass illusion of some kind? Like that Mismagius in Eterna Forest? This feels like it''s going to be a whole lot worse. It ignores her. "You saw your mother grow to be a shell of her former self; how she made herself subservient to your father. It was the only rtionship you knew." One of the echoing voices makes a heavy sigh akin to someone mourning. "I''ve parsed through what makes you. I know that what you had wasn''t the same; there was no violence between you two, physical or otherwise." There''s a pause. "It is, however, your subconsciously learned normal. And who can me you? Poor little thing." "Don''t pity me," she tries to fight back. If there''s one thing that can still light the fire of opposition in her, it''s herfamily. "I freed myself! I¡ª" "Is one ever free from their parents'' burden, I wonder?" it says slowly as if to ponder. As if it actually didn''t know. "But you didn''t even do that, did you? You came up with a n, yes, but¡ª" it pauses, "don''t worry, we''ll get there. For now, answer me this question: what do you like to do in your life?" What did she like? What kind of game was this?Whowas this? "I like Pokemon Battling. Cities. Politics. Dancing. Spending time with my Pokemon." Even if that had been difficult, as ofte. "I like¡­ I¡ª" she thinks back to the fun things she''s done with Grace before she shuts down those thoughts. "Isn''t that enough? That''s enough, isn''t it?!" Red eyes squint and all converge at her. "Did I ever say it wasn''t?" he says, and her mouth goes dry. "The doubt was already there. It festers in you, growing little by little." "Shut up." "You like dancing because those were the only times your father ever smiled at you." Crushing. "You like cities because they hold onto the remnants of who your mother used to be." It hurts. "You like battling and spending time with your Pokemon! Good job! Every trainer is the same as you. And to you, it will always be a means to an end first and foremost¡ªa method of gathering political power. Speaking of politics, you want to get into a high position of power to get revenge on your father, even if perhaps you might obtain the betterment of Unova along the way. Itwouldbe a nice bonus, wouldn''t it?" That¡ªthat wasn''t true¡ªhow did it know all of this? How had itdissectedher? "All of your life, you have been defined by one, then two being. First your father, and now thatgirlhas been added to the mix." Cecilia isn''t sure what that emotion when it says ''girl'' is, and she is in no state of mind to be able to tell. "You are a pale reflection of what she wants you to be, and without even her, what are you?What remains? A hollow vessel." The words hang in the air and singe her ears, for she knows they are the truth. "Today, I will teach you to break those chains." "Why?" "Because I am weak to pathetic beings in need of help, especially kin," it says after a long pause, two eyes softening at their edges. "Because you remind me of someone." Two others glisten with something that can only be described as nostalgia. "Because seeing you iling around when there is so much potential within youangersme." Thest two offer her a rage so potent she finds it difficult to breathe. She says nothing.Can''t say anything. "The damage will not be undone with just this," the ghost says in a warning tone. "Your hand will not be held; I simply allow you the opportunity to free yourself. And trust me," it mutters menacingly, "it will be painful; I do not coddle. But to not fret." The ghost smiles. "Being empty means that you can be anything; it is better to be empty, if one wishes to be reborn." It disappears, leaving her with a few answers but ten times more questions. The scene shifts once more. What remains when theye back on is her father''s office¡ªand the sight of it is still so triggering she wants to dig out her eyes. She can''t look at him, can''ttake the sight of him in, even if she can''t close her eyes. He is in the shape of a human, but might as well be a monster. A thing. "Get out of the room, Mark," his voice booms so loudly that Cecilia wants to get up and leave the theater. Mark doesn''t even try to fight, becausehow can he?He abandons her there, breaking their promise. That day, something in Cecilia died¡ªnot her body, but the spark of her mind. The childlike wonder that was in every nce, every smile, evaporated as if it had never existed. The imaginative fire that once danced in her eyes grew cold and distant, leaving behind an emptiness where dreams, love, and curiosity had once flourished. And she has to watch. She has to watch all of it alone. She isn''t hit. For anhour, she is pushed, she is screamed at, she is berated, and she and her mother are threatened; the individuality is ripped out of her, piece by piece with every scream, and never returns. Cecilia never misses a lesson again. Subservience is all that remains. Time fast forwards, yet she somehow registers all of the foggy memories she had suppressed or forgotten, like the vast majority of her childhood. What had been impressions, images, blotches, and stories are now sovividfor her to see. Months pass in minutes, and again and again, the pattern forms. Mark leaves to be a trainer and answers the phone less and less. He almost never visits. One taste of freedom, and he has abandoned her. She is broken. Cecilia can''t go to a normal school anymore; she can only get educated by private tutors. All of her friends are lost save for Amy. Sometimes, they go months go by without seeing each other. She is broken. Her mother looks at her like she doesn''t exist every time she tries to get close. One day, she screams at her to leave her alone and to take a hint. Cecilia never tries again despite the sincere apology thates that night. The words ''I love you'' feel hollow when she hears them. She is broken. rencepares her to the children of his business rivals and constantly calls her useless unless she does everything perfectly. Sometimes, rarely, that happens, and the affirmation he gives he sustains her another month. She is broken. And she is broken. And she is broken. And she is broken. Until there is nothing left but the fragments of her spirit, scattered like shards of ss that have long since ceased to reflect light, nearly ground to dust that was spread across miles and miles of time. She has to move to Sinnoh, away from everything she''s known, to marry a boy three years older than her. She has never spoken a single word to him. It is overwhelming, but she manages to keep it in by taking refuge in Amy''s friendship. Those phone calls are her lifeline. She tells her to have sex with him. She is broken. Again. Again. Again until¡ª "Did he send you?" "Did what? Who are you even talking about?" "Don''t act dumb! My father! Did he send you?!" "Why would your dad send me? And to do what? I don''t even know what you''re talking about; you''re making no sense!" The Floaroma memory in the bathroom stall. It fills her with nostalgia and happiness at what once had been, and agony and mncholy at what was lost. There Grace was, so young, innocent, her heart full of kindness; without a blemish or scar on her skin, with the eyes a fifteen-year-old girl should actually have. Cecilia gets it, now. She understands that she had been dead until this moment. That Grace hade in the form of hope had given her a new lease on life¡ª
The transition from sleep to wakefulness was lethargic. For nearly two minutes, Ceciliay in her sleeping bag, tears in the corner of her eyes and unable to blink the image of the theatre away from her mind''s eye. Rain pattered gently overhead above a barrier Slowking had created, and thunder boomed overhead. The colors were gone, leaving the world a deste wash of monochrome grays, whites, and cks. The sky above was a heavy shroud of dark gray, thick and unyielding, with no hint of the sun behind it. The clouds hung low, swollen with rain, their edges blurred by the steady downpour that seemed to merge sky and earth into one seamless, sodden mass. The rain fell in endless sheets, a constant drumming that muted all other sounds, turning the world into a depressing blur of wetness and shadow. It had been raining for the past two days on route 221, the southernmost route in Sinnoh. The route itself was a patch of isles much like the Iron Inds, isted from the outer world with rarely any trainer venturing here. That did not mean that there weren''t any human settlements here, however. Plenty of fishing towns dotted the inds, most of them with a hundred to two hundred inhabitants at most. Cecilia knew that Sinnoh was far more efficient with theirnd, so humans were nearly all grouped into thergest cities, but in a few ces around the country, these small settlements¡ªmost of which weren''t even on any maps, she had checked¡ªmanaged to carve out a life for themselves and forge their own paths. Cecilia groggily woke up from her dream and sat up in her sleeping bag. She''d settled in a small beach cove for the night, away from any civilization or unsuspecting wanderers. The ground was strewn with a soft nket of sand and fallen leaves, and a faint mist lingered in the air as the waves crashed against the beach like a song that barely broke through the endless rain. Up early today, aren''t we?Slowking was sitting a little ways away from her against one of the many stone outcroppings that lined the cove. The dull rays of light passing through the thick clouds were hitting the lower side of his face.You were squirming in thest hour or so; I was considering waking you. "It''s alright, thank you, Slowking." Cecilia rubbed her eyes and frowned. "I just had the strangest of nightmares." Looked like it.That was it. There were no helpfulments, no puns, no worried looks, or a hint of a smile.What shall we do today? Scizor and Toxicroak are out training; Talonme and Zolst are out hunting¡­ I don''t know where Lehmhart is, but he can''t have gone far likest time. Didn''t hear any engines. "I know where he is." The Unovan sighed as she got up and crawled from her sleeping bag. "That''s the first thing I''ll do today. Thatwe''lldo today," she corrected. "Then, we''ll try to get the team together for tonight." Every time she tried to make themstick together, only Talonme and Slowking remained. The former because she genuinely wanted to try, and thetter because even after everything, he didn''t wish for Cecilia to die to some wild Pokemon. The others couldn''t bear to look at her. The wound of betrayal was still fresh, and every time they looked at her new state¡ªthe empty eyes, the scars, her voice, her bodynguage¡ªit was a fresh reminder of how she had thrown her life away for revenge. And she wanted to try to fix it sodesperately, but she didn''t know how to take that first step. How to make everything normal again. Things were progressing at a slow pace, but theywereprogressing. The problem was that at this rate, it was years that she would need to reforge her bonds with her team, not months as she had hoped. This trip was supposed to be the first step in all of that, but she only had a set amount of time before she had to head back¡ª Though if she couldn''t seed, there was no point ining back in time for the Conference. She wouldn''t even win a single battle. It would have to be for Chase. To apany him when he would face Byron and give his pitch. And Grace¡­ Cecilia chased away those thoughts, putting them in a box to openter. That skill no longer came easy, but after weeks of this state, she''d had enough practice, even if its capacity was shallower than before. Not another round of apologies tonight, I hope,Slowking pleaded with a yawn.Even I get tired of those. Cecilia bit her tongue as she grabbed a cereal bar and water from her backpack. "No. I just want us to spend time as a team for one night. Justone night." Well, I''d be a willing participant, but the others probably won''t be, especially not Zolst or Lehmhart. You know this. She looked at him, eyes shut as emotional pain coursed from her heart to her extremities. "I know. I''m¡­ I''m trying my best," Cecilia said with a little sadugh. "I just want to atone." Slowking''s eyes narrowed with guilt.I know, mydy. I know. She ate breakfast in silence, like every morning. Usually, Slowking would have led with topics of conversation, or she would have talked to him about Gr¡ª No. Not now. She''d been doing so well not thinking of her; that dream must have put her in a weird state of mind. Oh! Also, a child came over earlier in the morning,the psychic said.He was crying and lost, so Talonme took him back toward the vige west of here¡ªthe one you warned about sticking around for a bit. I thought it''d be best if you knew. Apparently she got him back to his grandfather safe and sound. Her heart eased at that, but she couldn''t help but notice none of them had woken her up for this. Yet Cecilia said nothing of the sort. "That''s good," was all she could muster. If her Pokemon thought she shouldn''t be woken up, then that meant she needed to work harder to get them back. "Should we go?" Cecilia asked. "To that vige, I mean." The water type shrugged as they began to walk. He waved a hand, ying with the water along the beach as they traveled.I don''t know. I''m surprised you want anything to do with them; you said we''d stay away from civilization. "It''d be something different, at least. I''m¡­" she was bored. Bored out of her mind. Two weeks in the wild with her team shunning her and absolutely nothing to do. "You know, in small towns like this, Pokemon of your caliber can be a great help. I saw it in the Iron Inds. Just having apetent psychic could do wonders." Slowking inclined his head.Well, it is something to do. Cecilia kicked at some sand. "I¡ªI don''t know why, but I''m thinking about horrible things today." Sheughed dryly at her own predicament. "rence, and my issues with Grace." Must have been that nightmare,he tried.How much do you remember? "I was in a theatre¡­" she mumbled. "And¡ªand I was being shown my life by this¡­ this ghost." Her voice grew more and more assured as she went on. "Yes, I remember now! It was¡ªit was so clear I thought it was an illusion!" He ced his hands behind his back and let out a pensive hum.Do you think it has to do with the Dusk?You''ve had nightmares about it before. Cecilia tapped a finger on her crossing arms. "That could be it, but none of the nightmares were likethat." She exhaled long and hard. "I''m just d it''s over." They traveled out of the cove, up a hill, and toward the more mountainous parts of this nameless ind. Sand gradually gave way to fresh soil, and trees began to popte thendscape as the rain continued to pour relentlessly on top of Slowking''s protective barrier. Cecilia knew Lehmhart; she had seen him leave her side for hours on end, and they had exchanged few words since he''d agreed to fly her here. While in the air, she couldn''t help but notice the intrigue in the ground type''s bodynguage as they passed over the ruins of what seemed to be an ancient settlement. As she walked past the remnants of broken wood and crumbling stone, Cecilia squeezed the wrapper of her cereal bar into a tight ball and shoved it into her pocket, her thoughts drifting to the history buried beneath her feet. Golett and Golurk were attracted to defunct, dpidated ces, and Lehmhart was no different. Music was in the air¡ªa long string ofment that prickled Cecilia''s skin and forced her to try not to cry as her own Pokemon was doing. Not with tears, but with a song. The Golurk was kneeling with a pair of Starly perched on his finger, a Furret coiled around his feet, a Poliwag and a Psyduck dancing together next to the remains of a copsed home, and a Krabby closing and opening its pincers to the rhythm of the music. They all looked at her when she stepped closer to them and fled in an instant, flying, skittering, or running away as if she didn''t belong here. No, not as if. She just didn''t. Lehmhart''s head rotated toward her, and the light went out of his eyes and runes. The ghost type copsed on the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut, sending dust and debris into the air and a gentle rumble below Cecilia''s feet. Looks like he''s not in the mood to talk,Slowking sohelpfullynoticed. "I made his audience flee as well; that didn''t help." With another defeated sigh added onto the endless pile, the Unovan calmly treaded toward Lehmhart. Her fingers traced the dusty remains of a destroyed wall. She paused for a moment, almost absently, and began to rub the dust between her fingertips. Dy, dy, dy. Always these meaningless actions to avoid getting to the heart of things until they could no longer be ignored, and she took actions far too drastic for everyone around her. She''d had enough. "Lehmhart." He didn''t even react to his name being called. Cecilia had apologized to him more times than she could count, but as Slowking and Talonme had said, it mattered not that she truly meant it. She needed toshow itthrough her actions, and yet none of them were giving her the opportunity to. "I didn''t know you were going to have an audience today; I would have waited if I had." Her hand went to touch the side of the ghost type''s arm, but it stopped mere inches from making contact. Inhaling through clenched teeth, Ceciliapushedand put her full hand on the construct''s body. "Do theye by often to listen to you?" Nothing. "I wished I could have been there to listen." Finally, movement. The gentle churn of internal industry, a delicate hiss as his eyes and runes flickered back to life. Cecilia let go of a shaky breath while Golurk slowly sat up, revealing an indentation in the ground where he had let himself fall. A single, massive finger came to poke her in the stomach, pushing her back a few steps as she clung to the digit with a soul full of love. Whenever Lehmhart spoke, he did so in song. Hisses and hums, low rumbles, the grinding echoes of ancient gears and woven string. "You would like that?" she asked. He replied with a tentative yes, and Cecilia felt lighter already. Not everything was lost. Even Slowking was trying not to look happy. "I assume it''s toote now, given that I messed it up. I always¡ª" she didn''t finish that sentence. "I''ll try my best to make them like me next time." You haven''t always been the best with the wildlife,Slowking said.There''s a horrible joke to be made here about Talonme and Zolst''s activities while this was happening¡ª "Slowking!" Cecilia yelled with a huff. The Golurk looked down, making a little dejected sound. Not only did Zolst still despise him, but Cecilia just¡ªshe couldn''t pack enough food for aHydreigonand the rest of her team, all while staying here for weeks. Both Lehmhart and Zolst had refused to fly her back to Sandgem to buy more using her LTIP Sry, and so both the dragon and Talonme had started hunting for their food in thest two days. Ah. Sorry, buddy.He patted Lehmhart on the leg. "Here''s what we''re going to do," Cecilia dered, putting as much determination in her voice as possible. "Why don''t we go to that vige so you can cheer up and y music? Then Slowking and I can stick around and see if any of the people there need any help. Afterward, we''ll go and buy food in Sandgem¡ªif that''s okay?" The construct gave it some thought, but nodded. "Talonme will stop killing things without an issue if she''s asked, and I''ll try to convince Zolst. You don''t have to worry," she soothed him. "Your friends will be fine after today." Another agreement, this time stronger, louder, and more assured. Progress was being made, even if it was at a snail''s pace. ¡ª They said Unova had more cities and towns than any other country. With so many refugeesing in from Orre after the war and immigration booming in the decades since, the region had catapulted to the most populous on Earth, eking a little ahead of Kanto-Johto and Gr. It wasn''t¡­ good. It came at the expense and suffering of others. Outside of a few designated cities, Sinnoh, meanwhile, only had towns this small. The fishing vige clung to the edge of the coastline, nestled between craggy cliffs and the restless sea. Weathered wooden cottages dotted the shoreline, their roofs thatched and worn by years of salt and wind. Narrow dirt paths wound through the vige, connecting homes to the small, creaking docks where fishing boats bobbed gently in the tide. The air was thick with the scent of brine and seaweed. There was a bigger dock as well, a long pier that stretched further than any others where bigger boats from Sandgem could anchor and unload supplies. The vigers knew of her already¡ªshe had made herself known when settling on this ind as soon as she''d arrived¡ªbut they still looked at her like she was an alien. Young children hid behind their parents'' legs, adults red at her as if she did not belong, and even the Wingull on the roofs looked like they were stalking her. She had not waltzed in with amassiveGolurk at her side¡ªjust with Slowking¡ªbut it looked like ying music was going to be a little difficult. Cecilia knew nothing of the countryside. All she''d ever known were cities and the life of the ultra-rich. "I feel their stares like daggers pressed at the back of my neck," she whispered. You''re a stranger in and where there are probably five strangers a year at best,Slowking nonchntly said.I''d like to see you try to get close to these people.The sarcasm in his tone was impossible to miss. Cecilia sighed as they made it to one of the long piers stretching across a beach. She tried to imagine the blue of the ocean, but she''d already forgotten what that looked like. The memories had left her so quickly. "One thing''s for sure, it''s not going to take a single day. Poor Lehmhart¡­" How did someone even approach people and meet someone new?Cecilia wondered as she sat at the edge of the pier, legs dangling above the low tide. Come to think of it, she had never done any of that. Not since she''d been taken out of school. rence had forced friends upon her, friends who she was d she''d met now. Grace, Denzel, Chase and Mira had been the ones to approachherfirst. Even after that, she had never branched out and done anything else. Never tried to meet anyone else. Like in the dream, she began to hug her knees as she stared at the endless ocean. "It''s so hard, Slowking. It''s so hard to be a person." She did not look at the face he was making, but felt his dull w on her shoulder.I know,he said. "You know, that dream?" Cecilia asked. "I feel like it meant something. And I feel like it''s been left iplete." If you''re willing to talk, I shall listen.He sat down next to her with a tired sigh after having walked for so long and lifted up a trail of water to y with.Lately I''ve rarely seen you so focused on something that isn''t¡ªnever mind, just go on. "I don''t know if it was my subconscious trying to talk to me or an actual ghost¡­ but if that was the case, you would have felt it, no?" To a psychic, ghosts felt like holes in the world. Like looking at a missing part of a painting. Surely,he said with a nod.It would need to get close to trap you in some kind of dream. Cecilia didn''t like it either way. When she closed her eyes, she could still see that theater. Still see thest embers of herself extinguished. For a while, she told Slowking about the details of the dream, vision, or whatever it was, and the psychic offered her more support than he had in weeks. She''d also released Lehmhart in the water, which was shallow enough to barely reach the bottom of his stomach. It felt good to have them both speak to her for once. "It''s a test of some kind, and I don''t know what I''m supposed to do or what I''m supposed to look for," Cecilia said. "I¡ªI have never known what to do without someone to take charge. Someone for me tofollow. It''s how my brain works." Or at least how it had been taught to work. It was easy to see why Azelf hated her now. She must have had potential when she''d gotten her half of the Shard (which should have been around Eterna City, by her estimate), but had squandered itpletely. There are no easy answers to this,he said.But first¡ªwhy don''t you start by going to talk to that child on the beach? Cecilia nced to her left and saw a young boy sitting in the sand, watching a freighter boat pass by the ind. The Indigoan g on its hull signaled that it was possibly on the way to Sandgem or Pastoria from Kanto-Johto. "Is that the one who was lost this morning?" I think so,he said, squinting.Yep, that''s him¡ªLehmhart interrupted Slowking with an angry hiss as smoke vented from his joints.What, kid? You''re the one who was gone, don''t me me for not telling you! Cecilia was already standing up and shuffling in the beach''s direction, and both of her Pokemon followed her. Water dripped out of Lehmhart''s body as he rose from the sea, and the boy looked up at him with wonder in his eyes while the nearby inhabitants¡ª She''d made a mistake. Already, people were running to grab him as if she''d been about to attack him with her Pokemon¡ªand maybe it did look that way. It was no longer only hate they looked at her with, but fear. Trembling men and women ready to protect their own at any cost, posturing as if they stood a chance. The few of them who owned Pokemon had them out already and prepared to attack, including the wild Wingull she had spotted earlier.Go away, leave us, you don''t belong, nasty fucking ghost¡ªin that moment, they hated her more than anything in the world, even when she tried apologizing and recalled her Golurk. Cecilia wasn''t sure they even heard her. Her voice didn''t carry far enough. They all went quiet when an older man with wisps of¡­ white hair on his head? Either white or very clear. He slowly trudged through the gray sands, his hand raised in the air as if to signal them to be quiet. "Young girl," he said, hand ruffling the boy''s hair. He was short in stature, which his hunching did not help, but hemanded the respect of every viger. Cecilia guessed he must have been a leading figure of some sort¡ªshe didn''t know how this ce governed itself, even if it was legally Sandgem''snd. "Would you kindly tell me what you were about to do with my grandson?" Cecilia opened her mouth, but struggled to make a sound. So many hateful, suspicious gazes; so many people who didn''t know her just like she didn''t know herself. "I¡ªI''m sorry," she finally said. "I just wanted to talk to him to see how he was doing. He got lost this morning." "Ari, did you bother her?" He looked down at his grandson, who quietly shook his head. "Is the Talonme who brought him back here yours, youngdy?" "She is." "She lies!"someone in the back Cecilia couldn''t make out yelled. Andof course, she didn''t have Talonme with her to prove it. "You can''t trust her, not when she has one ofthose." The statement was obviously aimed at her Golurk, who thankfully wasn''t here to get his feelings hurt any longer. "She''s not lying¡ª" the child tried, but was silenced by the others. "He¡ª"he''s not a threat,she wanted to scream, to burn into this world, to defend his kindness, his honor, his tenderness. But how could she me them? She''de out of nowhere without a word because she didn''t remember how to do anything alone without thefort of texting or having her¡­girlfriendto have as a lifeline in case things went wrong. "I''m sorry for bothering you." "I''ll ask that you forgive us as well." A decent amount of people protested at that, but most stayed quiet. "We''ve had a bit of an issue with ghosts these past few months. Little pranks here and there at first, but they''ve grown a lot more unrestrained these past two weeks." Thest two weeks? That was whenshe''dI know,Slowking said, his inner voice just as muted as hers. Cecilia clenched her fists, and her face contorted in rage."And I hate myself and I hate the way I look at things and I hate that I don''t see color anymore and I hate the way that I can barely feel anything but negativity and I hate that the world is so cold now and I hate that I feel so lost without her and I hate that everything I do feels hollow, that every smile, every word, is just an echo of what it used to be and I hate that I feel so invisible that a breeze could make me disappear and I hate this ce and I hate my father and I hate this year for what it did to me and I hate that I look at my reflection and there''s nothing behind my eyes and I hate that it feels that thest sixteen years of my life just happened in an instant and were so miserable and I¡ª"she broke down into tears, wrapping Slowking in her arms just to feel something. "Oh God, what was it all for?" The abuse, the despondency, the pain, the hope, the love, the struggle, the fighting, the begging, the nuggets of happiness, the fighting, the fun, the fighting, the memories, the fighting, the fighting, the fighting, thefighting!Oh God, what was it all for?she asked herself again. "Sixteen years of nothing. Of whimpering, scared in a corner, followed byvacuum," she sobbed. "I hate that I''m alive, but I''m not." Outside of her friends, what was she? She was a passing nce, a fleeting thought, the briefest flicker of something almost remembered and then forgotten a momentter. She''d helped save the world. None of it mattered. Wh¡ªwhy don''t we take it slow for now?the psychic tried.I''m sure Lehmhart won''t be angry. What happened was our fault, but we had no way of knowing they''d have ghost problems. If she''d been more personable, she would have gone into that town like Chase in the Iron Ind and been able to hold a conversation with anyone, meaning she would have figured it out eventually. Itwasher fault for thinking she could just bring a giant golem into a small town and think everything would be fine. As if a Golurk wouldn''t terrify people who had never seen one before. "Fine," she said. "Let''s go to Sandgem." That ghost, or that dream, orwhatever it was. She needed to see it again. ¡ª But nothing ever came. Not when she went to sleep that night with her team either staring daggers at each other for actions she''d forced them to do, or trying her best to act normal, or ignoring her. Not the next day, nor the next after that. Cecilia even tried to sleep more throughout the day in hopes of plunging back into that dream, but while it was seared into her mind, she never managed to enter it again, even after an entire week. Not only that, but while she had progressed with her team, Zolststillwouldn''t speak to her or anyone else on the team, and he wouldn''t even eat the damn food that she''d bought. The most he cooperated with was sticking around and not just running away, so at least Cecilia had that in her favor. Hewantedto stay, but she didn''t know what it would take to bring him back. Not anymore. She''d been so focused on it that she hadn''t even asked to meet Chase in Sandgem¡ªthough she was in no mood to after how she had royally messed up her interaction with rural folkpared to him. And on the seventh night of this¡ª Cecilia was woken up by a dull psychic spark within her mind. Of course, still no dream, but her awful mood was alleviated by the fact that her entire team was still here, sleeping or strewn about the beach. Like usual, Slowking was watching over her, keeping one eye open while he slept. Talonme was snuggled next to Cecilia''s sleeping bag, her warmth seeping past the fabric. Toxicroak and Scizor were speaking in hushed tones on the beach, and the poison type kept prodding at his shell with her ws to see how resistant it would be to her strongest of poisons, a game she''d had for weeks with him. Lehmhart was with them, watching from a distance as he quietly hugged his knees. Even Zolst was lying against the sand, asionally growling at what must have been a dream. Sorry to wake you, but someone''s approaching,Slowking said.Pretty sure it''s that same kid. He was no empath, but he had learned a few tricks up his sleeve to know when people other than ghosts wereing by. Tripwire barriers so thin and light no one would ever know they stepped over them was one. Sure enough, the boy¡ªAri¡ªshowed himself in the alcove and froze the moment he saw the amount of powerful Pokemon within it. Immediately, Cecilia sobered up from her half-asleep state and recalled her starter before he could wake up and scream the fear of death into the child. The rest of her team were more curious than anything, save for Talonme, who had already taken a liking to Ari. Now that she could focus on him, even in the dead of night, he was short-haired, somewhat tanned¡ªthough it was hard to tell with her vision¡ªand looked like this was his first ever delve into the world outside of his vige. Talonme wrapped a wing around Ari''s back and gently cooed at him while Cecilia got up and prepared to face him. She wouldn''t have been nervous had that dream not put these thoughts into her head. She''de here to heal the bond with her team and figure out how to not depend on one person so much, but this trip had turned into a real existential mess. The Unovan crouched in front of Ari and gave him her best smile, but all that got her was a fearful look. "Are you lost again?" she asked. "Nuh-uh," he whispered as she shook his head. "I was grounded for a week, but I managed to run away again ''cause I wanted to see your ghost." Her head turned toward Lehmhart, still sitting silently in the distance, one of his fingers shyly poking into the sand and tracing random shapes. "You''re here without anyone knowing?" He answered her with a nod, and she sighed. "That''s¡­ bad." Cecilia''s fake smile turned genuine, and the fear melted off the child''s face. "But since you''re already here, you can meet him." Her hand brushed a tiny prickle off his shoulder and a leaf off his hair, and he beamed so brightly that she hyped herself up for not messing up the interaction. "But only for five minutes, okay? Then I''m bringing you back. If your parents are awake, they must be worried sick." Ari''s eyes gazed down at his feet. "I don''t have parents. I only have grandpa." "O¡ªoh," Cecilia said. "That''s¡ªit''s¡ª" Goodness gracious, she was horrible at this. "I''m sure your grandpa loves you very much." Ari pouted. "He does, even if he''s annoying about not letting me leave." "You want to leave here?" "Yes! This ce sucks, and nothing ever happens!" he yelled. "It''s why I keep running away! I tried getting on one of the boats that deliver us stuff from Sandgem once, but I was caught midway through the trip, and grandpa had toe and pick me up!" Cecilia hid her wince. That sounded like one hell of a day. Still, it made sense that he looked at the horizon in Sandgem''s direction soyearninglynow. "I was super duper grounded for that one, nothing like today. And then I had to go to church and pray to some stupid sea God called Lugia all the time when I was usually allowed to skip. Let me tell you, if Lugia was a good Sea God, he''d let me ride on his back and take me to the maind! One day, I''ll make it with or without his help!" Talonme chittered out augh, and the glint in her eye told Cecilia that she was thinking about carrying this child into the sky. Hewassmall enough, but there was just no way. They had no saddle; he would most definitely fall and his body would shatter against the unforgiving earth below. Cecilia started to lead Ari toward Golurk, who waved¡ªeach movement of his hand created a small gust of wind that blew away minute grains of sand that glittered under the clear moonlight. For a while, Ari just touched him all over while Toxicroak mocked the golem for being so bashful about being admired. Slowking tried to distract him with horrid jokes, and Talonme showed him tricks using her well-coordinated fire feathers. Scizor didn''t seem that interested and watched from afar, but still¡ª It felt like the night she''d wanted a week ago, even if Zolst couldn''t participate. "Why is Lehmhart your favorite, I wonder?" Cecilia asked. "His name isLehmhart?!" He slightly mispronounced the word. "That sounds so cool! I bet he''s strong as heck!" Ari started to punch and kick the air. If only he knew that he could also fly. "I like ghosts!" he said. "They''re my favorite type, but everyone''s scared of ''em. One day I''ll have a team full of happy ghosts and show my vige that there''s no reason to hate them." Then, he looked up at her. "You kind of look like a ghost,dy. Wait! I never asked you your name!" "It''s Cecilia," she said with a smile. "And I think it''s about time we bring you home¡ª" At the mention of the word "home," Cecilia''s eyes narrowed, catching sight of a glowing, plume in the distance where Ari''s vige should have been. Her team immediately sensed the shift, their yful demeanor vanishing in an instant. This feeling, Cecilia knew all too well. Despite all the soul-searching, the struggle to understand who she was, and the mistakes she had made at the vige, the looming disaster felt all too familiar. A threat. And with the first ounce of familiarity in three weeks, Cecilia felt her inner self growfortable¡ªsomething she had nearly forgotten. It was likeing home after a long day at work. A satisfied sigh left her lips, and her cold hand wrapped around Ari''s. "Listen," she said, pointing up. "Do you see that?" The little boy squinted until his eyes widened. Not in panic, but in awe. "Woah! What is that? The lights are so cool! It''s so purple¡­" "I want you to stay here with¡­" she nced toward her team. There were odds that this was a ghostly phenomenon and that what the pranks that elderly man had spoken about had now turned lethal. The problem was that she wasn''t sure if leaving him here with one of her Pokemon would be safer than taking him with her and keeping him within the safety of Slowking''s barrier. He should stay behind,Slowking said as if he could read her thoughts.What he might see could traumatize him. Right. People did not normally see so much death. Mangled body parts strewn feet away from torsos; the endless screams and faces of people who begged not to die as they soiled themselves; the liters of blood pouring out of every wound; every decapitated head; every amputated leg; every body folded into shapes that shouldn''t have been possible; the snapping of broken bones¡ª her breath hitched in her throat, and her eyes snapped open. She''d thrown herself back in Cor for a moment. She looked at her right palm and found it bleeding from how tightly she''d clenched her fist. "You should stay here with Lehmhart," Cecilia finally said, meeting her Pokemon''s eyes. Her next look went to Talonme, who immediately blurred into the air with an enormous burst of wind that scattered sand in the wind and went to scout ahead. "I''ll go check out your vige. Nowstay put,okay?" "But I wanna see the lights!" he whined, all cute and pouty. "If you do, I''ll let you go on a ride on Talonme''s back when wee back. But not too high off the ground." "Can I go as fast as she just left?" "We''ll see," Cecilia replied with a smile. At least she was so used to death that she could appear calm in these moments and not make Ari panic. "Now, go y with Lehmhart. You can call him Lehmy." Cecilia''s face hardened the moment she turned toward the vige. When they made it out of the alcove, she recalled all of her Pokemon save for Slowking, who raised a tform and brought them high into the air. She could see it better from up here, but the plume was obscuring everything around and within the vige. "Do you sense anything¡ª" her eyes swiveled to Slowking, whose mouth was agape. She had only seen the psychic afraid once, and that was when she''d been about to die. "How bad?" Very bad. Astronomically bad. ''We stand absolutely no chance'' bad!he yelled.You have to leave. Down below, she could hear panicked screams and people running through the smoke, desperate to escape whatever hade down to rein terror upon their town. She could see hints of Gastly, Shuppet and other weak ghosts chasing them out of the smoke, whose smell was reaching them now even if they were in Slowking''s bubble. It carried the stench of decay, like rotting vegetation mixed with the metallic tang of burnt chemicals. The odor was thick and suffocating, curling in her throat and making her eyes water. Cecilia pulled her shirt over her nose as Slowking doubled, tripled,quadrupledhis bubble, but it only barely helped. No one escaping it was dying. Their skin wasn''t rotting or melting off, nor was blood pouring out of their mouths, eyes or noses. Was it a dyed poison that would only kick in minutes or hourster like they''d been working on with Toxicroak? The question lingered in her mind as Talonme burst out of the smoke, her eyes closed and a brilliant me glowing around her. Once she got close to them, she hacked out a few coughs, but otherwise remained in the air without any difficulties. "Could you see anything in there?!" Cecilia asked. Talonme shook her head. "Try blowing it away!" With a powerful p as loud as a thunderp, Talonme sent a gust of wind surging forward, her wings slicing through the air with precision and force. The gust collided with the thick poisonous smoke, creating swirling slices that briefly parted the toxic cloud. Yet it resisted. Like a living creature, it moaned and screamed and yelled in defiance. It was a tree rooted against the ground and desperate to cling to this vige for reasons beyond Cecilia''s understanding. She saw a hint of six glowing eyes in the smoke. We should leave!Slowking repeated again.Take the kid with you and alert the authorities in Sandgem. We can''t handle whatever ghost this is! The Unovan licked her lips, hand brushing against Slowking''s barrier. Her eyes focused once more on the vige, and her mind went to her dream. "Do you trust me?" Cecilia asked. Don''t,he warned.Don''t throw everything away again. I know you feel like you''ve hit rock bottom and it''s not looking good with Grace, but we''ve been making progress¡ª "Listen to my voice and look at me." She stared directly into his eyes full of tears because of the poison and leaned forward. "Look at me," she repeated. "I''m not throwing anything away; I want to learn how to live, and I understand that I have people who care about me despitenot knowing how to yet. Do you remember the dream?" A beat of hesitation followed.I¡­ do. In front of them, Talonme once again tried to blow away the poisonous haze with a wider but less focused Hurricane, and while it was slightly more effective, it too, did nothing to budge the smoke. "This is what I was talking about," she said. "I feel it in my bones, Slowking. The one at the source of all of this could have had us killedright now. Talonme could have been dead. It could have killed the people fleeing instead of scaring them away. It''s calling to me. Do I sound like someone who''s given up?" Slowking gnawed his teeth together.I can''t¡ªyou can''t expect me to just throw you in there on a hunch! "Slowking, I understand your worries, and I know you love me," she paused and patted him on the arm, "but I want to learn how to love myself, too." He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.If that thing tries to kill you and we survive by the grace of Arceus, Zolst will leave the team. I won''t keep him in the dark; there will be no secrets. Her heart sank, but she stuck to her guts. "I''m not throwing my life away; that dream was just so much more than that.I know it now." Cecilia steeled herself and pointed down at the vige. "Whateveres next will be in there." Fine. We''reing with you¡ªyour entire team, save for him. It took less time to convince Talonme, especially when Slowking was on board and there was an understanding between them. Not willing to risk the noxious smell hurting his concentration, the water type lowered them to the ground, where more and more people were fleeing past them. There couldn''t be more than two hundred, maybe two hundred and fifty people in there, and Cecilia was certain she''d seen almost a hundred leave running. Toxicroak and Scizor burst out of their Pokeballs andalsoneeded to be caught up with the n, and while the former was especially adamant about running away, having three of her Pokemon on her side and seeing that so many people were alive gave her the push she needed. With her shirt still pulled tightly over her nose, Cecilia plunged into the pir of smoke. The world around her became a thick, swirling haze, the acrid air pressing against her like a suffocating nket. Each step felt heavy, the ground beneath her feet uncertain and hidden by the toxic fog. The smell was overwhelming, seeping through the fabric of her shirt and wing at her senses with every breath. It stung her eyes, blurring her vision with tears that mingled with the sweat dripping down her face. It was so pungent that she nearly had to stop to throw up a few times, but she swallowed the bile and kept going. Even Toxicroak, apoison type, found it difficult to take a full breath in this ce. She saw hints of weaker ghosts at the edge of her vision, whispering in her ear in a way that she somehow could hear through the fading screams of the fleeing inhabitants. There were far fewer of those, now; they were nearly all out. Like a guiding hand, Cecilia followed the numerous Gastly, Misdreavus, Duskull and Drifloon. The Litwick, the Yamask, the Shuppet, the Sandygast¡ª there were too many of them to count. Cecilia had never seen so many in one ce save for the Distortion World. And in the middle of the vige, where the smoke was the thickest and the odor the foulest, she sawit. Six eyes she remembered were red, floating in the air without a form¡ªno, therewasa form. Strangely enough, she thought it''d be easier to tell when she couldn''t see color. At first, it appeared disembodied, staring at her with an unsettling intensity. But as she squinted through the dense fog, she began to make out a shape¡ªa vague, shifting form that seemed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding smoke. The ghost was amorphous, its edges undefined as if it were made of the very fog that enveloped the vige. It flickered and wavered, constantly shifting and reforming. In fact, it was the source of the smoke. Cecilia could see it billowing from the ghost''s form. A fanged mouth open, wider than the body Cecilia could see. The teeth were so numerous it covered the inside of its mouth, and they were sharp, like needles dripping with poison."You found me,"it spoke, and when Cecilia realized it was theexact same voiceas the theatre but slightly more distorted, her entire hunch was vindicated."Instead of fleeing in hopes of not disappointing your team, a paltry apology that wouldn''t have meant anything and gone against your desires, you negotiated with them, came up with apromise, and you found me."One voice cackled, one sighed, and one growled with low, guttural intensity. Theughing voice, sharp and mocking, echoed through the smoke like broken ss, nails across a chalkboard, an unpleasant vibration in the air. The sighing one was weary, almost sorrowful at the fact that she had to go through this toget here. The growl was deep and primal, burdened rage held on a leash, yet furious at her for taking so long. Thatst one made Scizor threateningly raise a w, but every other Pokemon told him tostopunless he wanted to get them killed. "Did you or your underlings kill anyone?" Cecilia demanded. If they had, then¡ª "Not everyone is as barbaric as you can be, girl." The retort made her flinch back, but she was d she''d been correct. "No. They were just scared away. Not a single life will be lost¡ªand my entourage are no underlings." The creature somehow changed shapes into the form of a humanoidthingwith way too many arms and bowed. "They simply crave interest. Entertainment. And I give it to them in exchange for their services." "Enough games!" She had to admit, thespectacleof it fit whatever theatre nonsense it had used to show her the dream. "I passed whatever this was; I need answers." Each word out of Cecilia''s mouth came with the risk of vomit spewing out of her. "And I need them now." "Oh!" It¡­ he¡­ they? mockingly huffed. "One bit of praise, and you''re back to taking charge. s, if it were anything else, you would be horribly ipetent, just as you''ve been this past week." They''d beenwatching her?Rage bubbled within Cecilia. The idea she was being watched at the worst point of her life by thisbastardof a ghost, and that they were just observing her like she was some sort of captive in a zoo¡ªit made her want to blow this entire ind away. "I¡ªthenshow me!Stop being cryptic and make me dream again! Allow me to see the rest of that vision!" "You are missing the forest for the trees, child," they spoke as one. "What you see will not justgiveyou the answer; it will give you a thesis. It is up to you to figure out the rest. I told you, did I not? You will not be led to water, and you will not be made to drink." "So now what?" she said with a hint of irony. "These people will all think I brought this upon them, and even if I can just leave, what will have changed? What will I havelearned?Why have you traumatized all of these peoplefor this?" "One who wants a journey of a thousand steps to beplete in an instant is no traveler at all," they said. "You have done better than what the majority expected; that is prize enough, even if you have failed." She took a reckless step forward. "I don''t even know what I''m failing! If you want to help me, you are doing it in the mostasinineway possible!" "What do we do when we fail? We try again," they dered, almost a mantra that Cecilia could imagine had been said countless times. A spear of poison passed through Cecilia''s head like a scorching knife would through butter, and she died.
Cecilia awakens back in the theatre with a gasp, her hands scrambling to touch her face to see if she is still whole. When she realizes she can breathe and that there is no massive hole through her forehead, the fear subsides. In a way, the sheer terror she feels reminds her that through it all, she retains the fear of death even after having thrown her life away. That is progress; she understands that it is a facet of what it means to be human. While light slowly dims on the stage, the Unovan realizes that she can move her arms and legs, even if she still cannot stand. The other hers still fill every seat like silent vigils, and when she tries to touch the one closest to her¡ªone who is around thirteen years old¡ª Her hand touches ceramic and not skin. They''re dolls. Her attention goes back to the stage and the sparkling letters hovering above, spelling out ''SECOND DEATH.'' "Did I die?" she asks herself, feeling a pit form in her stomach. This would make sense, considering the fact that her brain was dissolved by poison, but she hadliterallydied once before, and it had felt nothing like this. The aftermath of it, anyway. "No. That was¡ªwas it all fake?" The purple shadow appears on the dark stage, and Cecilia sees the shape of ghostly hands pping without the noise to apany it. The six eyes gleam in delight, and a toothy smile stretches across their face to greet her. "Wonderful. Simply wonderful," they slowly speak as one. "Rare are the ones who can see themselves dying in such visceral detail and be unphased. I am not surprised, given it''s you." "What happened to my Pokemon?" she demands, leaning forward in her chair as her skin bubbled with hot rage. "What did you do?" "I''m sure that you can figure it out if you give it enough time." The ghost''s form shrugs, and two of the eyes close. "Shecan," he strongly adds. He, she assumed, because he kept referring to himself as ''I''. "She did rather well for the first act after her breakdown." "Now you talk about me like I''m not there," Cecilia hisses through her teeth before her hands go to cover her mouth. She should have let them talk, but everything is sofrustratingright now that she speaks without thinking. The two eyes open again, and all six glint with a menacing re. "Right. My apologies; let us get on with the second act¡ªthe shortest of the three; there will be no intermission. Oh, and do not fret. Your Pokemon are well." She manages to calm herself at the news. Once again, she is blinded by the sudden re of the theater lights, their intensity overwhelming her senses. The darkness that had enveloped her moments before is shattered by a barrage of brilliant white beams, sharp and unyielding, that pierce through her vision like daggers. The lights are so bright that they seem to burn into her eyes, leaving behind a haze of afterimages that dance across her sight. But when she opens them; Her life is back on disy, right where they had left off: Grace and her fighting in the bathroom stall. She uses her of being a spy, yet when she denies, denies, denies and Cecilia realizes that she has potentially threatened an innocent trainer, her younger self breaks down into tears and begs Grace not to tell anyone, lest the news get back to her father. "You don''t understand, this¡ª this isn''t about money." There it is. The first crack in her facade, one that threatened to bring down the entire wall she had put up around herself. In her eyes, Grace is the first one to evernotscrew her over, or at least it feels like it. Even when the next time they go into the bathrooms, she demands more information out of her that Cecilia feelspelled to give because she''d thrown the fight against Louis to let him win. "I won''t leave until you tell me," I said, crossing my arms. "Or what? Going to ckmail me?" Cecilia said. "No. I''ll just follow you around and keep asking." "What if I go back to my group? Then what?" "Then they''ll know you throw games because your boyfriend''s ego is too big to take a loss."She smiles with a smug look and crosses her arms, as if she knows she''s won the argument, and Cecilia remembers feeling so enthralled by that expression that she felt her heart throbbing. There''s tension there, tension Cecilia forgot had ever even existed. But now, it''s all smoothed over, toofortable. Both the good and the bad blend together in a way that makes everything feel stagnant, like there''s no point in changing anything. They''re both too scared of what the other might truly think, too afraid to disrupt the fragile bnce they''ve created because of the pain it would bring. It is easier to stay in this safe, predictable space than to face the uncertainty of what might happen if they dared to confront the truth. So what is the point? Cecilia scoffs at her own train of thought.What''s the point?She tried to make it work! Break after break, yet nothing ever changes. They put band-aids on open gashes and hope the wound won''t worsen, and it''s gotten to the point where Cecilia can''t even think of her without feeling like she''s made a mistake for running. Running. She always runs, doesn''t she? It''s like the ghost said¡ªbut she didn''t have a choice, this time. She had to disconnect, or nothing would have ever changed, and she would have forever been locked into Grace''s orbit like a tiny permanently stuck around a star until it died and destroyed everything with it. Now, the wound was festering beneath the surface, a deep, aching rot that no bandage could ever heal. It was a gaping chasm that stretched wider with each passing day, filled with bitterness, regret, and the slow poison of unspoken words. The words from their confrontation in their condo echo in Cecilia''s head. She''d waited too long, and she now suffers because of it. Time fast forwards, and she sees herself learning what it means to allow a little happiness into a life that had once been dull and gray. It''s odd to see her friends as they used to be. Grace, happy and optimistic even after the incident with Gctic; Emilia, shy and meek, scared of everything that moves; Justin, alive and free of darkness, learning to be sociable; Louis, egotistical and hiding his fear behind a mask of fake masculinity and bravado; Denzel, struggling with self-worth; Pauline, so abrasive it was difficult to ever take her seriously. It was also strange to see herself learning, changing in different ways. Her first time telling Grace the entire truth about her father, her first time bantering, her first time telling Denzel about Unova, and him getting defensive because he''s a true Sinnohan at heart. And it is in these moments, between Floaroma and Eterna City, that Cecilia sees the beginning of something great that never arrived. Like someone who missed their train, she let slip the opportunity to learn what it means to be a person, even though the potential was right there in front of her. She was learning,trulylearning, to confide in those close to her, but to stand on her own two feet. The first time she decided to go all out in a Gym Battle against Gardenia, Cecilia saw more fire in her eyes than she ever had before. It wasn''t done with no mistakes. She still feared her father, back then, and hell, maybe she still does, and she still restrains herself socially because of the fear of spies. She still trained her Pokemon the only way she herself had been trained since her very birth. But progress was still being made. That was, until¡ª It all came crashing down with Amy showing up at their hotel. And here, she tried to put everything she''s been through, everything she''s learned to stand up for herself, and she is so utterly crushed by a single threat ofMmarthat none of it ever even mattered. It is ruinous; it is soul-crushing; there is no escape to be had here, or at least that''s what she thinks. This is the moment that defines her, the moment where she dies a second time. The fragile hope she had finally tasted after so long is ripped away, draining from her like lifeblood from a mortal wound. In its ce, only despair remains, a hollow echo of what once was¡ªno, whatcould have been¡ªleaving her empty, lost, and unable to reim the light she had so desperately sought. Cecilia writes a letter and runs in hopes of dying. But again¡ª Her friendse to save her¡ªevenChasetries to stop her, but the nascent crush on Grace means that she''s the only one Cecilia can focus on, and it turns into a mixture of deep love and obsession. The theatre freezes. The lights dim. The ghost reappears. "What do you think?" he asks. It is a simple question with a simple answer that Cecilia doesn''t want to even think about. "You''re giving it some thought already¡ªspit it out." "I was learning," she answers, her voiceced with pain. "Learning to be a person. But it was all thrown away because Amy came back, and I fell in love with Grace. I saw her save me twice and started to think she would save me forever. That she would always be there, by my side, to make the pain go away." She wants to ask what she should have done, but doesn''t. Instead, shethinks, remembering that of the other timelines, she''d been the only one who hadgiven upthis way. So instead, all she can muster is, "if Amy hadn''te, would I have learned?" "I cannot answer hypotheticals; I just know your memories¡ªmost of them, at least. But you see the thesis forming, now," he says. "I see it. I see it all too well." She could, in fact, already tell what the final act of this y was going to be. "Wake me up, then." The ghost gives her a prideful smile¡ª
Cecilia calmly opened her eyes, waking to the sound of crashing waves. The sky was dull and gray, as usual, as was everything else around her. Rain pattered down a psychic barrier above her. Up early today, aren''t we?Slowking said, leaning against a stone outcropping with his eyes half-closed.I''m not surprised. You were shaking a little in your sleep in thest hour or so, but I figured it''d do well to finally let you sleep. You haven''t been getting a lot,tely. Instantly, she shot up with her eyes wide. She was back to one week ago¡ªno,no, some kind of temporal time loop was beyond anything non-Legendary. This was an illusion of some kind; she was trapped in a dream of that ghost''s doing. He had said he had ess to her memories¡ªhad she lived through this before more than once? And if it was a dream created by his powers, how in the world did all of her Pokemon act soright?Had thate from her memories as well? Cecilia had too little information to make anything other than an educated guess. A mass illusion within her own head was the best she could do, at the moment. Um¡­ Cecilia?Slowking managed to mask the worried look on his face well.Are you well, mydy? Her hand rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes, and she smiled. "Slowking, I love you. I''ve never said that, have I?" If he could blush, he would have.W¡ªwell, I''m certain you''ve said it at least once,he stammered.What''s with you today? "I should have said it sooner." Cecilia crawled out of her sleeping bag with more energy than she''d had since she set out to kill Jupiter. To be absolutelycertain, she checked the date on her phone; she was indeed one week in the past. "Hey. Would you believe me if I said this was my second time going through this week?" I would ask you if you''ve had a strange dream. "Zolst and Talonme are out hunting; Scizor and Toxicroak are out training on that cliff up north; there was a child who came by earlier this morning and Talonme took him home to his grandfather. His name is Ari." Slowking''s normally serene expression shifted subtly. His shoulders slumped ever so slightly, and the corners of his mouth drew downward in a faint, almost imperceptible frown.Ah,he admitted defeat.I see you''re telling the truth. I guess stranger things have happened to us. While eating breakfast, Cecilia exined the logistics of this illusion to Slowking and everything that had happened to her in her first attempt at this week. The theatre, the mistake at the vige, the attempts at bonding and thenominalsesses, and the attack on the vige in seven days. Sounds like one hell of a puzzle,Slowking pondered with his hands behind his back.You know, the thought that I might be a fake dream me that''s going to disappear at the end of the week isn''t great. I''m getting a stomachache; I don''t like getting all existential. "I''m sorry I couldn''t get an answer during my dream." Cecilia affectionately patted him on his smooth arm, then slid to the fabric-like material around his neck. "I would have gone through this alone, once, but I want you all to be involved. We''re a team." Don''t be mistaken; I am d you told me.He cleared his throat and waved a hand, scattering the grains of sand off her sleeping bag.What''s the n now? Thunder boomed overhead. It would keep raining for another few hours. "There''s no use forcing things." She scrunched up the stic wrap of her cereal bar, shoving it into her pocket before stretching and wondering what would be the test this week. "If I try to force the team into gathering again, it''ll most likely push them away." Mostly, that meant Scizor, Toxicroak and Zolst. "Let''s go get Lehmhart." Do you know where he is because of the loop? "No. I know where he is because I watched him grow up," she replied with a spring in her step. She had taken much longer now, so when Cecilia made it to the ruined town, Lehmhart was alone and arranging bricks together to make little shapes and house-like cubes that were too small to fit anything in them. The Unovan watched him for a moment; he crushed a brick in between his fingers, letting out a distressed, violin-like sound as his eyes flickered in a panic. "Lehmhart?" Her voice carried across the deste path, and while the construct didn''t flinch, he froze, head slowly rotating toward her. "Are you in need of help building a home? Slowking and I can join in¡ªa psychic would be a great help." This was what would have happenedst time had she not shown up early. Don''t worry, little guy!Slowking cheered.We''ll help you out! Cecilia stood beside the towering Golurk, her eyes focused on the task at hand. The deste path around them was littered with rubble, remnants of old structures that had long since crumbled into the earth. Lehmhart flicked the brick pile with a finger, tearing the majority of the stones to shreds in the process. Cecilia coughed up some of the dust until Slowking blew it away, but all she could do wasugh at the absurdity of the situation. Here they were, a sixteen-year-old and her two 8-badge level Pokemon, yinghouse. Lehmhart''s heavy, stone-like hands carefully liftedrge, weathered bricks from the pile, setting each one into ce while Slowking applied a thinyer of adhesive barrier between each one. They''d figured out different barrier properties long before she''d sent their bond careening down the hill of suicide, and they''d seen Jupiter make use of it as well during their fight. While Cecilia couldn''t say she had helped Slowking with any ideas given their strained rtionship, he had practiced in his own time because his goal was still to keep her alive at all costs¡ªbarriers thatsted long hadn''t been an issue for a while. Cecilia tried her best to help as well, though she''d been put on brick-finding duty. These were all different sizes, after all, but the closest ones could be adjusted using Water Cutter. By the end, the trio stepped back to admire their work¡ªa hollow, brick cube that was as nd as toasted white bread. Cecilia couldn''t help but wipe the sweat off her brow and feel a deep satisfaction. They''d been at this for so long that it was no longer raining. "What do you say we move camps and I sleep in here tonight?" The ''house'' wasrge enough to amodate at least her and maybe one of her smaller Pokemon. Lehmhart gave her a happy thumbs up, and she added, "great. We''ll move our thingster tonight. Plus, it''s close to the vige." She wasn''t going to go today, not when there was so much to do with her team. Maybe tomorrow or the day after would do. Plus, they still needed to go buy food again in Sandgem. Illusion or not, Cecilia didn''t want to see Lehmhart sad at the circle of life. There were also a few tests she needed to run to see how far this dream truly extended. And she would also need to text Chase. "By the way, Lehmhart," she looked up at his bright eyes and saw a person where there once had been a vapid soul shoved into a golem. "Would you believe me if I told you I''ve lived the next week once already?" ¡ª It was as Cecilia thought. While Sandgem itself appeared normal, Cecilia kept flying north on Lehmhart, expecting to reach Jubilife, but instead found herself back on Route 221. If this was indeed a case of dreams within dreams, the effort required to maintain such a facade over the entire region would demand an immense amount of technique and power. The people in Sandgem had been strange, almost hollow¡ªno one spoke to her except for the store clerk from whom she had bought food and supplies. They existed, yet they didn''t; they were mere apparitions, ghosts crafted to fill this world, deceiving her into believing it was real. The realization that she''d been so lost in her own mind, so out of touch, that she hadn''t recognized the illusion the first time around sent an unpleasant feeling coursing through her skin, like something was crawling under there. She supposed that making realistic personalities forthatmany people would be too much to simte. She hadn''t known what to expect when texting Chase. Would he even show up? Would he be another empty sack of meat without a soul? Or would her memories of him be enough to¡­ Her train of thought halted as she sat on the cold, stone bench, watching the silent world of Sandgem unfold before her in shades of gray. A child and a Mankey kicking a pebble back and forth between each other on the sidewalk, leading to a man silently telling them to bugger off and leave space for people to pass through. A mother, hand in hand with her son, walking out of the very store she''d just been in with a bag of groceries around her arm. On the road, a transient walked from car to car with a cup, begging for money. That one, she made due, cing two thousand Pokedors in his hand after gesturing him over. "Thank you," he said, bowing his head to her. "Arceus bless you and your days." Cecilia was so surprised to see he''d gained a voice that all she could muster was a flustered thanks before he left. She had to focus on the people, or she''d remember what she''d lost. But maybe it was fine to acknowledge it. The way she had to identify red or green lights by their position instead of their color, or how she couldn''t tell a lot of Pokemon attacks by their hue anymore, but only their intensity. How she could no longer rely on color when she went shopping for fruit. The difficulty she had reading maps. The death of the lights of a city at night, or how vibrant a sunset was. It was like moving through a dense fog,all the time. Cecilia nced left, where two girls on the next bench listened to music, one earbud in each ear with their handsced together. That one hurt. Cecilia knew she was in a world of smoke and mirrors; she still didn''t likethinkinglike nothing was real. It would lead her to believe that there were no consequences to anything. She''d still followed flying rules, making sure tond outside of Sandgem with Lehmhart and recall him before stepping inside the city. She''d still paid for her food, respectedws, and treated people with respect. It would be dangerous to slip into the mentality that nothing mattered so long as she brute-forced through these trials¡ªthat only a singr goal would make her whole. That was the mentality that had nearly taken her life away. What had she beenthinking?She knew the answer¡ªrevenge for Justin, a concept she had tunnel visioned on for days trekking up the mountain. But really,whyon her own? Why had she considered revenge to be hers and hers alone? Why had she not given thought to what her Pokemon would think, or kept Maeve here to help? It was an interesting thought because Cecilia had never considered herself to be selfish. She''d rarely paused and tried to guess at what made her beyond needing to be different for her rtionship with Grace to work out. That rtionship was still part of the reason she''de here, after all, but it had transformed intothis¡ªnot that she minded.What do you like,the ghost had asked, but maybe Cecilia could start with whatshewas like in the truest sense of that question. An echo in an abandoned room, a faint trace of what perhaps could have been, but she was also¡ª "Looking deep in thought, there." She looked up at Chase, who approached her in his wheelchair. Even now, he still wore his old cap that neatly covered his short hair. His thick eyebrows were raised, as if he was pleased to see her. No, hewas. They were best friends. "Chase," she said with a smile. "I''ve been through a lot,tely." He was getting better at navigating the world in his wheelchair. With a strong grip on the wheels, he turned and positioned his chair next to the bench as he spoke. "I can tell," he said. "But you look kind of different, too." "How so?" "Dunno. There''s a fire in your eye that''s usually not there; I like it." He grabbed his cap off his head and began to trace the ridge with his fingers almost affectionately. "So. How''s your trip going?" "It''s been confusing; I''ll keep it a secret, I need to go through this on my own." Cecilia leaned against her palm with a sigh. "That doesn''t mean I can''t ask for help, however." He chuckled. "You''d do well to internalize that before you get back. Shoot." "What do you think it means to be a person?" The question lingered in the air, and Chase stared at the gray skies for a few seconds. "Getting all philosophical on me, aren''t ya?" He rubbed the back of his head, then groaned. "I dunno. So long as you''re breathing, eating, sleeping, and shittin'', you''re a person in my book, but I can tell that''s not the answer you want." "It''se to my attention that I''mrgely empty. A hollow vessel, I''ve been called." Their eyes met, and she knew Chase wanted to chastise her in that moment for kicking herself down, so she preemptively continued. "I don''t even feel bad about it. It isbad, yes, but this isn''t to wallow in my own self-pity. I''m trying to figure out how to fill my soul." "Hm." He idly cracked his knuckles, then each finger one by one. "Listen pal, can I be real for a sec?" "Always." "You''re nothollow. Whoever told you that can go shove it." She couldn''t help but smile at the fact that he had no idea that ghost would wipe the floor with the both of them. "You''re just shallow sometimes, especially when you get in your own head about what you need to do to fix whatever needs to happen for you to be with Grace. And that''s beeneatingat you ever since Cor." She''d been about to ask if there was any news with her but remembered that one, it didn''t matter now, and two, he wouldn''t know. He was borne of her memories. Anything he''d say would be fabricated on the spot. "And look, you''ve just been through a lot this year. It''s been tough." "For all of us," she added. He snorted. "True that. Fuckin'' look at my dumb ass." He waved annoyingly at his legs. "But it''s tough to ask someone to go through all of your bullshit ande out the other side whole. We all have ways to cope; I just thought you''d figure yourself out now that it was all over." "Did you think I wouldn''te to you for advice?" she asked, finger tapping her cheek. "Cece, I think that if the entire group came to me for advice, then all of their problems would disappear," he boasted and pointed at his chest with a thumb. "Anyway, continuing. You''re notempty. If you were empty, you wouldn''t have that quirk in your eye when talking my ear off about whatshisface who lost his election by three hundred votes in the year whogivesafuck¡ªthat enjoyment you get when you hear about people who sometimes get fucked over." "Only those who deserve it," she specified. "That''s an important addendum." "Sure. Whatever. That night on the Iron Ind? Our pact? It wouldn''t have happened. You wouldn''t have changed your ways with Scizor or tried too hard to fix things with him. You wouldn''t have actually tried to change anything with your girl, even if it came sote." He sighed, shaking his head. "It''s just thattely, your entire existence feels like one big apology. Like you''re scared of actually beingsomeone. And like, you can ease into it. It''s not like I''d know how to just bewholeimmediately. But¡ªyou know, I don''t want to tell you to just stop being depressed, but juststop being depressed. Run some fuckingps or something; scream at things. Get angry, be selfish, make fun of some fucking loser. I don''t know. Just¡­ do something. Anything." Hm. Ease into it. Like stepping into a hot bath. "I think I get it now. Not all of it, but more than what I knew before. I¡­ will not be making fun of anyone." "Lame." "Unless they deserve it," she added again. "And right now, I feel the need to tell you how moronic it is that your first piece of advice to me was to run someps." He scoffed, straightening his back against his wheelchair in outrage. "Bro,. You said the advice worked!" "Not therunning, you absolute dolt. That bit was useless for anyone who isn''t you." She stood up from her bench and patted down her clothes behind her. "I''m leaving; thank you for the advice, as always." "What else was I supposed to say? See a therapist?" She blinked a few times. "Yes. Yes, I think I''ll be doing that as well when Ie back." "Wha¡ªyou told me you didn''t want¡ªhey, don''t just start walking away! God, I hate when you do this cryptic ass bullshit!" "Let''s go eat out or something." Legendaries, she wished she still had the money to eat out at the most expensive restaurants just for thespectacleof it all. "Hey. Call Louis and get him here." He followed behind her, and then made sure to stay at her side. He hatedfollowing. "Sure thing, why?" "We need his ID for alcohol¡ªand you know, I also just want him here. It''s been a while." "I ain''t drinking," he said. "I know. You''ll be the responsible friend tonight." ¡ª One night out was plenty; one vice could not be reced with another. There was much work to do, even if getting drunk once in a while was fun. She couldn''t remember thest time she''d gotten drunk¡ªmaybe in Eterna City, at one of the parties Emilia used to organize? Where Louis sneaked in alcohol into their hotel rooms and Pokemon Centers, and they would enjoy themselves deep into the night. "Of course, the dream world can''t help with hangovers." A groan left her mouth as she dragged herself out of bed. For a moment, she got scared at the unfamiliar ceiling before remembering this was the house Lehmhart, Slowking, and she had built. Part of her hoped to see her entire team when she crouched to fit under the short entrance, but only Talonme, Slowking, Toxicroak, and Lehmhart were there. She was lucky it was overcast again today, because the mere rays of the sun filtering through the clouds was enough to give her a headache so painful it was nearly impossible to open her eyes. She took refuge back into her ''house'' and popped a painkiller from her bag into her mouth, sticking inside until the sun became tolerable again. Slowking let her know that Scizor had actually been with them this morning, but had been baited by Zolst with rumors of a strong ghostsomewherethat they decided to go and find to battle. Cecilia had no idea whether those rumors were artificially disseminated by her captor to make her life harder, or if the wild Pokemon had actually learned that information naturally through the ghosts stalking the ind. She was honestly surprised she hadn''te across any, but they were most likely avoiding her so she couldn''t get any information out of them. "I''ve made some progress regarding myself, but I''m still stalling with them," she whispered to herself. At least she''d made it back safe and sound thanks to Lehmhart. Memories ofst night remained crisp and clear. Louis and Cecilia made for a terrifying drunk pair, given that his old self returned when he was under the influence, bing horribly loud, boisterous, and most of all,obnoxious. Meanwhile, Cecilia somehow knew the exact words to hurt people as much as possible and found pleasure in it. Needless to say, Chase had an awful night and was the subject of many terrible jokes. Cecilia made a vow to try this again when she was out of this dream world for good; now, for what woulde next? The vige whose name she ought to learn by now. Again, she went with Lehmhart safely tucked into his Pokeball, but this time, she came with Talonme. Their stares were still judgmental, piercing res at pictured her a horrible monster instead of a lost girl trying to find her way. It was early in the afternoon when she found Ari sitting by the beach, this time with his grandfather by his side.Did hee here to watch the horizon every day?Cecilia remembered desperately trying tofindherself beyond that line. To see what other Champions saw. He reminded her a little of herself. The yearning for freedom, to go out and escape the shackles of your family and home. His grandfather gently stroked his hair; the gentle sound of the waves crashed against the narrow beach. She cleared her throat. "Good afternoon; may we sit here?" Ari looked at her with a wide smile stretching from ear to ear, making it difficult to remember they technically hadn''t met. He was just fascinated by outsiders. The older man¡ªclear-haired and with a bald spot atop his head¡ªmade a gruff sound. "Plenty of space to go around." He gestured at the entire beach. "Why here, stranger?" "Your grandson got lost yesterday; it was my Talonme that brought him back." The flying type squawked in agreement, pping her wings excitedly. "I wanted to wonder how he was doing¡ªhe has a bit of an exploring streak, doesn''t he?" "I love exploring! I wanna go across the sea!" Ari yelled out until his grandpa quieted him down with a gentle click of his tongue. He still wouldn''t say anything to her, which was somewhat surprising considering he had calmed the crowd she''d brought upon herselfst time. Perhaps he felt less inclined to be friendly when the entire vige wasn''t ganging up on her and she didn''t look like her entire life was copsing in on itself like a dying star. "Is there something on my face?" She smiled, already knowing the answer. Slowking snorted and sneaked in a ''nice one'' in her head. "I promise you; I mean no harm." "You do look quite gnarly," he said. "It makes you look violent¡ªlike you get into terrible fights¡ªand violent people are untrustworthy." "I''m sorry, many mistakes I''ve made in the past have led me to this, but I ask you not judge a book by its cover." Cecilia sat on the beach with her legs stretched out before her, the sand cool beneath her palms as she traced absentminded patterns in the grains. "I''ll leave if you really want me to, I''m just also here regarding another issue." "Please, grandpa?" Ari made big eyes at him. "I want to ask her stuff about the maind." The old man hesitated. "It''d make Ari sad if you were to just leave." "What''s your name? Mine is Cecilia, and it feels like I''ve been born a week ago." He looked at her, all baffled. "Jaime." They spoke about everything and anything. How tough life was for their vige¡ªSeabrook, it was called. A little unoriginal, but it did the trick. The way they struggled with brain drain and every teenager leaving for the maind and how Jaime feared that it would eventually die like a dozen fishing viges before his. Sandgem was good to them in most ways, unlike Canve and the Iron Inds, but they were still a rural vige without much going for them. Sometimes, therge boats the city sent near the coast made Pokemon in the water copse the pier out of anger, and they''d had to rebuild it time and again. The nearest hospital was inSandgem, an hour and a half hours away by boat, and the aging poption felt this the most. There were no official schools¡ªone person who''d taught on the maind just did the same here to the best of her abilities and had to use old, outdated textbooks. Seabrook''s entire livelihood depended on the sea, where fished for Magikarp and other weak water types, but fishing was hard and dangerous work. Deaths were rare in the shallow waters, but injuries from a feisty water type were not umon. One bad storm could wipe out their livelihoods in a single night. Their infrastructure was crumbling, with roads barely maintained and electricity prone to outages during the harsh coastal storms that rolled in more frequently than ever. Hurricanes from Hoenn rarely made it up to Sinnoh without losing a lot of theiroomph, but just those winds were enough to send the town reeling. Cecilia knew that Hoenn had legions of Castforms to weaken or stop the worst of them, but go against nature for too long, and it would be sure to bounce back in uncontroble ways. A lot of them, they let through. These were very real, human problems with very real solutions. Cecilia had seen it at first in the Iron Inds, but she hadn''t given it anywhere as much thought as Chase had. Back then, she''d been taken by thoughts of her Voice, Zolst''s evolution, and her break with Grace. "My Pokemon can help a lot with your issues¡ªmostly Slowking and my Golurk," she said, not missing the wince in Jaime''s eye. "We''ve had a bit of an issue with ghosts these past few months. Little pranks here and there at first, but they''ve grown a lot more unrestrained these past two weeks." These were the exact words he''d told her before. Oh. Right. This was fake. Cecilia had nearly forgotten. "They''ve ramped up, then?" she asked. "Do you not fear that something big might being?" She wished she''d been at the vige when the entire attack had begun¡ªif only she had more information, she''d be able to more urately gauge the threat. "Bah!" he scoffed. "Even then, what can we do? Abandon our homes?" He ignored a happy ''yes'' from his grandson. "If it gets too bad, I''ll send a missive to Sandgem. Usually, they respond within the day, though we''ve rarely had problems with the wildlife requiring their assistance. We have a good rtionship with the Pokemon not in the sea." "I''m a trainer with eight badges," she said, earning a little gasp from Ari and a balk from his grandfather. Was it that surprising, given her Pokemon? Just like in the Iron Inds, it didn''t look like they had a frame of reference. "I can offer you help, either to negotiate with these ghosts or fight them back should they do something violent." Cecilia knew they wouldn''t kill anyone, but the act of scaring them away from their hometown wasrather violent. Violence as a concept came in many more forms than just physical harm. "And if that doesn''t work," like she knew it wouldn''t, "I can at least help in the evacuation efforts." He shook his head, then turned it toward the pier. "I''ve lived here half my life; this will pass like everything else." Then, he snorted. "Nothing can be as bad as that really bad storm ten years back. Came from Hoenn, but flooded us all to hell." Cecilia had been too young to remember, but Hoenn was still scarred by the event. That storm that flooded so much of theirnd, apanied by earthquakes all over the region that led to tsunamis and eruptions. Hundreds of thousands had died. The region''s current istion was a proof that they still bore the scars of that event. She just hadn''t known Indigo and Sinnoh had felt it as well on a smaller scale. "At least let me help around town. I won''t be in your hair all the time, but I can offer to reinforce your pier with barriers that shouldst a few weeks after I leave." They''d be weak, made tost longer, but it''d be enough for the vast majority of what lurked underwater. Cecilia caught thewantin Jaime''s eye at that idea. "I can help pave new paths, repair things¡ªand I suppose I can also just help you as I am now." "What does that mean?" "Do things with my own two hands and learn what it''s like, for a change," she said. Again, he frowned at her, probably confused at the words she was using. "I''d be a fool to refuse." He sighed and gave her his hand. She shook it. The week went by in a blur. Cecilia threw herself into the rhythm of Seabrook, her Pokemon by her side. In the mornings, she''d help repair but expand the old, worn pier, hands raw from hauling nks and hammering nails. Lehmhart lifted heavy beams into ce with effortless strength, his once despised presence slowly growing more wee¡ªhe was even allowed to y music while he worked. With her nimble hands, Toxicroark helped secure the smaller, more intricate pieces, working with a precision that surprised even the seasoned carpenters.Maybethey were extremely skilled, maybe not¡ªit wasn''t like Cecilia had any experience working with carpenters before now. While she refused to take part in the act of fishing itself because it''d make Lehmhart sad, she tried her hand at learning to mend old frayeds. Slowking would sit beside her, his fine psychic control making the work easier as he guided the threads through the stubborn fibers. By the end of the weak, she wasn''tgreatat it, but she could at least do it. She and Lehmhart used materials from the old ruined town¡ªwhich had apparently been abandoned forty or so years ago¡ªto turn some of the dirt paths into paved ones. Scizor and Toxicroak sparred together to entertain, and there were even betting pools about who would win. Cecilia had the pleasure to learn that most of these people barely knew anything about Pokemon Battles, or they wouldn''t keep begging on Toxicroak because she was closer to them than Scizor was. The Unovan became a steady presence in the vige. Not one they could fully trust, but one they had at least grown ustomed to. Jaime even let her take Ari on a day trip to Sandgem, where the boy met Chase, and the two spent the day ying together. To her surprise, she discovered a quiet joy in making children smile, and with Ari, it came effortlessly as she told him about the whole wide world beyond Seabrook. She tried her best to reconnect with Zolst and Scizor, but only thetter made a full effort toseeher progress. The dragon, while happy that she was standing up for herself anddoing things, still gave her the cold shoulder when she asked about anything further than talking, but at least she got hispresenceinstead of him running off to blow his frustration on things. She learned about them and their stories. About Danna''s leaky faucet, how it dripped incessantly through the night, keeping her awake with the constant reminder that there was no one left in town who could fix it quickly. About Wren''s creaky front porch, which groaned under the slightest weight, threatening to copse each time he stepped outside. About Marcy''s bad vision due to her breaking her sses a month ago and Sandgem only giving her an appointment in four. Cecilia rediscovered ideologies, cliques, drama that spanned generations, the pain of old lovers taken by the maind¡ªand when she once again asked herselfwhat was it all for,and what purposes did this trial serve, her mind went toall of this. Humanity. She had not forgotten than she was human, but forgotten the small gestures that madepeople. The dozen aches in their bones, the favorite meal they could only eat once a month, the way their faces softened at the scent of something familiar. The quiet, unspoken connections between neighbors¡ªa nod of understanding, a shared nce of relief, a hand reaching out to steady someone on uneven ground. Mercies so small in passing, and yet they were and remainedeverything. And on the dawn of the seventh day, Ghosts started appearing. A slow trickle at first; then, by the evening, it became a veritable avnche. Pots were knocked over, gutters destroyed, wooden chairs shattered, and the air grew thick with an unsettling chill. Shadows twisted unnaturally in the corners of every room, and the vige was filled with the eerie sounds of disembodied whispers and echoing footsteps. Doors mmed shut on their own, windows rattled as if besieged by an unseen force, and the very walls seemed to groan under the weight of restless spirits. It was harmless; Cecilia did not understand why it had sent the townsfolk in such an uneasy panic when their troupe leader hadn''t even shown up quite yet. Or, correction: she knew that objectively, having items in your housee alive was scary; she just couldn''tprehend it. Their leader had had, Cecilia knew, quite the taste for a grand entrance and theatrics in a way a Pokemon would take after their trainer. She was knocking on Jaime''s door, now. Three Wingull stood on the roof of his house, standing guard and firing Water Guns at any ghosts who showed asionally themselves. By her count, there was an hour and some change left before the smoke started appearing, and that wasifthe ghost would go for the same trick. This time, she had gathered her entire team with her, all waiting in their Pokeballs save for Slowking. The door nearly mmed into her when a giggling Misdreavus disappeared into the night faster than the Wingull could act. Cecilia yelled out for Jaime''s name, but it was Ari who came by. She crouched until their eyes met, one hand sticking on his shoulder. "Where''s your grandpa?" He might have been the only one who wasn''t scared in all of Seabrook. She had to snap her fingers in front of his face to get his attention away from a Ghastly Slowking chased away behind her. "Uh¡­ he said he was going by the church to pray the ghosts away with a bunch of other people." Wasthatwhy they''d fled all at oncest time? Cecilia pinched the bridge of her nose and allowed herself to get angry at this for a few seconds. The anger was benign, not the one she was used to. It was the same feeling she''d get when she forgot something really obvious and it was at the tip of her tongue, proving that sheknewthe answer, or when Grace left her room dirty for no good reason beyondziness. Of course, that had been before she got hampered by all of the pressure and responsibilities saving the world would bring, and had forgotten how to get frustrated at her. It had just been easier to take refuge in her arms and close her eyes. It felt good to feel something sosmall, yet so raw all the same. "Praying won''t work here," she said. "We have to get all of you out; something horrid ising. Do you smell that?" He sniffed the air a few times. "Ew. Yeah, it kind of smells like¡­ I don''t know what it smells like, but I hate it." "It''s going to get so much worse you''re all going to throw up and it''s probably going to stick in your throat and nostrils for days and affect the taste of food. You don''t want that, don''t you?" Panic seized his eyes, and his body tensed. "No!" She gave him her hand. "Then let''s get everyone out of here." He followed. Until she''d spoken to these people, Cecilia hadn''t known that there were enves like these inds¡ªreligious minorities who worshipped Lugia, the Guardian of the Sea. Seabrook''s church was thergest building in town, and it was nestled on a cliff at the edge of the vige, its weathered walls blending seamlessly with the rockyndscape. Their ways required it to be built as close to the ocean as possible; you could see how the stones were weathered by the waves that asionally reached high enough to have battered them over the decades. The entrance was marked by a heavy, featureless wooden door. rence had never been a man of the Unovan Gods, the deities of Truth and Ideals, but all of the churches she''d been had been grand and imposing, a testament of Man''s service to their religion. But this ce was different. There was no grandeur here, no sense of awe inspired by architecture or artistry. The stone church was humble. The inside was cool and dim, lit only by the soft glow of candlelight flickering against the stone walls. Despite the massive crowd, the space was small and lead to an altar at the church''s center with a hole in the ceiling where rain would be allowed to fall. An almostmisshapencarving of Lugia, with its raw, ragged edges and fraying lines, was etched into stone at the altar. Dozens upon dozens of people, all packed like the Magikarp in the verys they caught them with, knelt in quiet reverence around the altar with their hands in the air, so focused on their prayer only a few had noticed Cecilia walk in. "Excuse me," she spoke, her voice snapping the rest of them out of their faithful stupor. So many eyes on her made Cecilia''s hand around Ari''s tighten. "It''s not safe here. We should leave." Jaime was the one who rose to meet her words, eyes full of ire and tension that coiled around him like a tightening spring. "I thought I was clear." He nced down at his grandson, and frustration turned to something more. "Ari!" he yelled. "What are you doing here¡ªit''s dangerous!" "If it''s dangeroushere, then I don''t think it would be wise to stay." She was facing them all, but her voice carried far. Purpose could be found within where there had been nothing in it thest time she''d confronted this many people. The boy flinched, clearly not used to the calm man screaming his lungs out at him. "I¡ªCecilia says it''s not safe to say in the vige," he muttered. Jaime''s steps parted the crowd like water. "You do not get to tell me whatmyfamily should do!" A question. This world was fake; why help them? Cecilia doubted the ghost had evenwantedher to do this, and she didn''t think he would keep her trapped forever. This was a chance he was giving her, not torment or torture. No one in this church or vige was real. They were imitations¡ªgood ones, given her Pokemon, but imitations nheless. Because fake or not, she had learned to live with these people and heard their names, likes, dislikes, and pleas. Because she had learned that connections to people were most important, she did not want to get lost in the ghost''s game and wait until the end of his test. "Stop being sofoolish!" she yelled. "Can''t you see it''s all getting worse¡ª" the church shook as if an earthquake was rippling through the town. "You''re blinding yourselves with faith because you think that if you leave, Seabrook will be abandoned like¡ª" "Let go of my grandson," he demanded. She almost violently tapped her forehead with a finger. "Thinkabout what you''re doing here!" "I''ve given it enough thought. You don''t know cityfolk don''t know what it''s like. To see your town grow decrepit and to justwatchit happen." He scoffed, and Cecilia heard a hint of a Gastly''sugh behind the rattling church doors. "If we abandon this ce, we have nothing left." "What if Ari dies?" She knew no deaths woulde, but she couldn''timaginebeing like this. To be willing to throw it all thanks to faith and because of bitterness at change. To stare disaster right in the face and avert your eyes because it was more convenient to pretend nothing was happening¡ª Oh. Well, that was a bit on the nose, now, wasn''t it? "He will not. Lugia will keep us safe." She could see it now. The mirror, the metaphor, the allegory, the reflection. And by the Legendaries, she hated staring at herself. "Nothing I can say will change your mind," she realized. "Not until it backfires so much you can no longer bury your head in the sand, and the consequences can no longer be ignored." "I think it''d be best if you left," he said, ignoring her. Cecilia walked out that door, and she could see the haze starting to form.That was too soon; the ghost was speeding up hisst act. "We''re facing the ghost," she said. I know you said this isn''t real, and you did prove it throughout this week,Slowking said.But it sure as hell feels real to me. I don''t want to rain on your parade, but you did everything you could; we should leave. You''ve done enough, both to help these people and to past whatever strange test you''ve been given. "Not with physical violence," she sighed, pulling her shirt above her wrinking nose. "With words." Hm. That''s not in the top five of worst ideas you''ve ever had, but it might as well be the sixth. You know what? I''ll take it, though. "No point putting in a barrier around the church; they''ll start running pretty soon," she muttered. One by one, her Pokemon popped out of their balls and followed her as she made her way toward where the ghost would be. Apologies had been needed, yes, along with an attempt totry, but the Unovan understood now that she had also needed a change of character. They''d seen her personality bleed away into nothing as she remained the same person who had killed herself and forced them to squeeze the trigger, yet had been told that things would be different now despite no changeing fromher character. Rancid smoke entered her throat and nose, a smell so horrid she could taste it all over her tongue. Was it worse this time around, or was her mind ying tricks on her? That was fine. She''d been through Azelf''s mind, a maze of physical pain she had willed herself through for the good of the world, even if she had failed to get them to open the door to their little irritating heart. Arceus, shefuckingdespised that Pokemon, God of Willpower or not. Toxicroak lended a helping hand when her knees faltered and her skin started to sting, and then tried to absorb the fumes before they could reach her. Talonme, Scizor, and Slowking abated the poison as best they could with wind or barriers. Lehmhart pushed her forward with a finger so gentle it might as well have been a caress, helping her up the hill. Zolst¡­ Zolst just watched and followed. But the fact that he wasn''t at Lehmhart''s throat and was with them was kindness enough. There, on that little hill, stood her captor, her teacher, her tormentor, and her key. Six eyes within the thick fog, converging toward her in unison, three beings'' whispers caressing her ears with praise, either slightly mocking, mildly raging or with a brush ofpassion. From three, a whole was made and became this. A shapeless horror that would have sent any other into a panic, but someone who she somehow felt at home with. "I remember a few months ago," she started. "I was asked what Willpower was." "Were you?"he said, two parts curious and another furious. His voice was far more distorted than before."I''m afraid I didn''t have ess to those memories." Cecilia breathed out augh. Even now, she was still minutely a Shard and those memories were protected. "I didn''t need to make the vigers evacuate, didn''t I? There was no test¡ªor there was. It was just whatever I wanted it to be. You made me think, and with that trial, I didsomething. And doing something is better than nothing, even if I failed at what I wanted." He grinned, all narrow, poisonous teeth."Good. You shall be let into the theatre onest time." Ance of solid poison pierced Cecilia''s head, exploded, and she died.
Cecilia gasps for air¡ªshe''s back in the theatre, but alone this time. "You really need to stop killing me," she sighs, hands grabbing at her face to see if it was still there. "There''s this visceral element to it. I feel the tip of thence piercing my head before everything cks out. You could have just dissolved the dream." On top of the stage shine letter spelling out ''THIRD DEATH'', shing in every color. This time, she can take her time to appreciate it. Her eyes stay transfixed by the lights, taking every shade in until the ghost speaks. "Come on, now. Where''s your love for ir and elegance?"He starts hovering in the air."After seeing your entire life, you can''t tell me it doesn''t tickle a particr part of your brain." Cecilia snorts. "You''re right. I think I want to try theatre one of these days." She rxes and realizes she can stand and move around the room. Yet she doesn''t do so, instead remaining firmly seated with her legs crossed. "Getting into the life of someone else and feel what they were written to feel,reallygetting into character; it sounds interesting." "Sylvestia loved the theatre," he speaks as if she is long gone, and Cecilia realizes she is. "It''s what made her stop being a tool after the war." Sylvestia, Fantina''s predecessor. These were¡ªher three Gengar. There was no doubt about it. "Was she the one I reminded you of?" "Yes." He opens his mouth again, but the rest is left unspoken. "But I''m afraid I am a selfish ghost; knowledge about that part of her life will remain forever mine and my former teammates." He spread out his gaseous hands and eximed, "rejoice, girl, for you have reached the final act of this y!" "You did not do everything perfectly," he says as he drifts in the air toward her. The gas coalesces around the seat next to hers. Light shines down on the stage, and her life ys in the background, yet they continue to speak. "Many opportunities you didn''t see were lost, both with your Pokemon and with the people of Seabrook. Learning moments that would have served you well for your goals." Cecilia speaks up. "But it''s the attempt that counts." Her fingers drum against the armrest as she watches her first kiss with Grace, deep in the guts of Cor. "The rage against the dying of my inner light." "The candle''s only just been lit; it would only take a breeze for it to vanish again." Her hands clench into a fist. "I know. Sixteen years worth of damage can''t be undone in two weeks." It was going by so fast. Snowpoint, now, and her battle with Candice, where Zolst evolved into a Zweilous and got his first two names. "I think I know what must be done." "Do you know, or do youknow?" Cecilia felt the chill from the roiling ghost. "That phrasing you used¡ªwhat must be done. It is passive in nature, as if you aren''t sure you''re going to do it." Cecilia stays silent for a long while. The reunion with her friends in Eterna. Louis'' departure. Grace''s capture of Turtonator in Cor. Her teaching Pauline to be a better battler. Her time in Hearthome, where she decided to capture Lehmhart. Meeting Grace''s father¡ª One line sticks out to her. "When I asked you to tell me about yourself," he specified. "You couldn''t say anything, like there was ack of identity there. That dancing answer felt like a cop-out too, although I''m sure there was some truth to it. I''m rather straightforward, so I''ll tell you that overdependence on one person is never a good thing, dating or not." "I owe her a talk," Cecilia says. "Maybe a few, even. Just to see where we stand." "You still hope you can make things work, don''t you?" the three Gengar turned one mind said with a hint of disapproval. "Don''t youget it?My thesis¡ª" "I know it!" she snaps. "I know that you think that Grace has been thecauseof everything, but that''s not entirely true! My life isn''t a y; you can''t just put her at the center ofeverythingand wrap it all with one neat little bow. I love her, and this year was just theworst, and I''ve made so many mistakes of my own that worsened both me and her and me and her and me and her in this endlessfuckingcycle, and I just want totryto start over from zero. With boundaries andmunication andeffort." The Unovan takes a deep breath as she watches Abel confront her in Hearthome. "But it might be toote." Tears well up in her eyes. "Poor thing. You want to wear your heart on your sleeve, don''t you?" Cold shadows wrap around her shoulders. "So young, so emotional deep down; it pains me to see kin like this." Cecilia wipes the corner of her eyes with her fingers. "There''s no harm in hoping for the best, is there?" She wants to unlearn that expecting the worst at all times; she wants to believe that Grace waited. "Disappointment wille either way; you can either pretend it doesn''t bother you or cry about it." Veilstone. Her first loss to Lauren. Cecilia sees how intensely Grace studies Maylene¡ªfurther than any other Gym Leader she''s ever done, down to her micro-movements, and tells her about it as advice. Cecilia remembers being so displeased with that both during the fight, and to a less extent after. Such interest paired with such dislike¡ªor was it dislike? Cecilia can''t tell; she realizes that she''s be horrible at reading Grace when she isn''t depressed. "It is your life, not mine," he acknowledges. "But you already know deep down. That is why you nearly broke up with her." She ignores him and keeps watching, making sure to take everything in. And by the Legendaries, her past self is sohappyuntil Sunyshore that she barely recognizes herself. It speeds by in a sh like it''s trying to make a statement about her life. The y goes faster, ever faster, until she dies on Cor to Perish Song and the first thing she sees¡ª "Three times your savior after three of your deaths," Gengar says. "So it is, and so it will be, that you''ve been conditioned to never function without her." "I know." "You think you know," he pauses, and six eyes go in front of her as the y freezes in time, "but you do not know it entirely. She revived you once, twice, but not thrice. You might breathe and your heart might beat, but you''re still dead." "And let me guess," she chuckled, "you''re the one reviving me this time?" He cackled, growled, and sighed at the same time. "No. You''re saving yourself. One small step, followed by another, and another, until you build enough momentum to stand on your own two legs. Let me ask you this, Cecilia. What have you learned thest two weeks?" "I learned that I hate how sand feels in my shoes. I learned how to make a Magikarp edible." She wrinkles her nose at that one. "I learned how to repair a pier and use my hands for manualbor. I learned that Ihatemanualbor. I learned how to watch the ocean and enjoy myself in the little quirks in the waves. I began to focus on the nuances of shapes, shades, and textures, and eventually, I made peace with the fact that I''d never or rarely see color ever again¡ªeven if¡ªeven if it''s going to be difficult. I learned about shipping supply lines and small town economies. I learned about¡­" she continues to list everything she learned in Seabrook, each experience that made her just a little more human each time. There''s something new stirring within her¡ªa hunger, a need to experience everything she''s missed in hopes of leaving no stone unturned. "Then there is nothing left to be said." "Then there is nothing left to be said," she echoes. "And I think I did a damn good job, all things considered. You gave me barely anything." Gengar chuckled, three distinctughs that she couldn''t help but grin at. "Do me a favor. When you see that dangerous breeze, tell her Elekid that we miss him, but that just like I won''t be seeing you again, I won''t be seeing him. Get Cynthia off my back so she stops looking for me." She blinks, feeling mildly confused. "If that is your choice, I will. But why?" "Because I help once and never again. I will not be showing up in the real world to attack Seabrook; you must take your experience gained here and use them in new circumstances." The amalgamation of Gengar stares at her with satisfaction. "I hope you grow into a fulfilled person, Cecilia. Do not tell anyone of the details of this dream." The y ends. "Go forth and be born into this world for the third time and hopefully thest." The curtains close.
Cecilia woke up to the sound of rain pattering Slowking''s barrier above her, and she felt like she''d slept for twenty-four hours straight. Her muscles felt sluggish and taut, her throat felt the driest it had ever been, and she was absolutelyfamished. Her entire team was staring at her and looked to have been in the middle of a heated debate while she slept. Scizor patted her on the head with a w while Toxicroak jumped onto her sleeping bag. Lehmhart let out a celebratory song and the ground below him shook with his excitement. Talonme rubbed her head on her trainer''s neck with a gentle coo, and while Zolst acted like he didn''t care, he''d been floating there in worry. Slowking looks at her with an expression that can only be called sheer relief.Oh, thank God! You''re upte,he noticed.I was going to wake you up, but every time I was about to try I felt this primal fear within me, like I was about to die. I pushed through anyway, but you wouldn''t wake. That might be why you''re a little wet. She looked at her shirt, which waspletelysoaked, and shivered. "That''s okay; I love all of you." Their eyes widened at those words. "I''ve just been through the longest and strangest of dreams." Good things, I hope?Slowking said.Something''s different about you. "Only the best." She did her best to give her attention to every Pokemon with pets or kind words, and even a kiss on Talonme''s forehead. "Things will be different from now on¡ªI think we should stay around here a week before we go back. Oh, and Slowking?" Yes, mydy? The clouds above her thinned as the skies cleared, and the rain gradually slowed to a stop. The scene felt like an old film¡ªthe grays of the sky lightening as the clouds parted. Thendscape, once blurred by the downpour, now stood sharp and clear, a quiet moment of peace. There was a certain beauty in the simplicity of the contrast, like a fresh page turning in her life. Or curtains opening once more. For the third time, Cecilia asked herself what was it all for? To learn to be true to herself. "I think I never liked dancing," sheughed.
A/N: Okay. Before my power scalers start going insane, here is a little rundown so I can get ahead of these and just in case there are questions. Are the three Gengar domain holders? No, not every powerful Pokemon holds a Domain. They are normal Pokemon. Why are theybined into one being when Honey said he was raised by three? They can meld their minds and bodies together and separate at will, it just takes a while. Usually a few days. How did they create such a realistic, wide dream? They belonged to a Gym Leader once soldier (Interlude - Fantina) who specialized in illusions. Long story short, they were hanging out on the route before Cecilia ever got there because Grace asked Cynthia if she could find them. They''re good enough at infiltration to hide from a Slowking while they spent days looking through her memories. When they were ready, they put Cecilia under an advanced form of super-advanced Hypnosis. Like Fantina herself, Sylvestia was the most powerful of the Gym Leaders and was what I''d call Elite Four level when she died; her Pokemon have had decades to grow since then. They also have a troupe of around 150-200 ghosts following them around these days for entertainment (the number varies a lot) to help them support that illusion without it copsing in on itself. People in Seabrook are real, though Gengar might have taken some creative liberties with a lot of their personalities. It does take a lot out of the Gengar, even if it doesn''t show in the dream because, well, it''s a dream where they appear at their strongest.
Interlude – Through Their Eyes Interlude ¨C Through Their Eyes
INTERLUDE - THROUGH THEIR EYES "So I just gotta grab your wrist for ten minutes?" Chase asked, finding it difficult not to stare at Grace like she was a moron. "That''s it? Nothing else?" His friend kept shifting ufortably like she''d been condemned to the death penalty, and the nces she kept giving her mother, who stood there cross armed, didn''t help. It was Chase''s first time seeing one of Grace''s parents, and they looked so simr you could have thought they''d been cloned. Yeah, Samantha Pastel was about an inch taller, had blue eyes instead of green, and had more freckles, but other than that, she was like what Chase figured Grace would look like in her forties. Honestly, he was surprised she''de all the way to Canve forthis, all the way to his Pokemon Center room. Hewasd that he hadn''t been the one to get to Twinleaf, of all ces. He hadn''t even bothered to ask why Grace''s mother was here. His friend had made sure to tell him not to ask a million times, nearly beating it into his skull. He rolled forward in his chair and outstretched his arm. "No need to look like I''m about to torture you," he said. "Justgrab it." Sheesh, she was annoyed today. Well, he wasn''t going to ask any questions; he had a bunch of shit to do because Cecilia wanted to meet him and Louis in Sandgem in around a week, and if he was going to spend parts of a day not hard at work, then he was going to make up for it in the the days before. Of course, Cece had told him not to tell Grace, and that she was going to text her to talk things out right afterward. Things were progressing along quite well with his team, even if they''d had to pivot entirely on the type of moves they used to train. The dy had really helped buy him the time he needed. The Conference was supposed to begin on the fifth of July, now, and already, Roark had been the second to reopen his Gym. More would follow soon enough¡ªhopefully Byron soon. Chase grabbed Grace''s arm, and she immediately shut her eyes, making a weird ass sound that made him want to call her a weirdo. She reopened them a few secondster with the most disappointed look Chase had ever seen from her. Her lips went t, and she let out a little ''huh''. Chase raised an eyebrow. "What''s that mean?" "Nothing. I''m just surprised." She twisted her wrist in his hold a little and hummed again. "Why are you so fuckin'' sweaty?" he asked, ignoring the displeased look in Samantha''s eyes when he swore. So what?Get over it,dy. "Is it working? Are you tainting me?" "Yeah¡­ it''s a lot less than I thought, though." She stared intently at his hand with widened eyes. She was seeing something there, so at least Chase knew she wasn''t full of shit. "See, mom? I told you it was working, and you made a big deal out of nothing!" "Then why not do this with your therapist instead of unqualified people?" Samantha foot tapped irritatingly against the ground. Why was he catching strays? He hadn''t asked for any of this. "Because it works better with her!" Her wrist shook violently in Chase''s grasp. "Can you finally stop? I showed you proof, but now you''re just moving the goal posts!" "I''m just worried you might be making a mistake." She shook her head. "I do believe you more now, but this reaction is a lot more different than you had with Maylene." Samantha sighed. "I just want you to be happy." "Look, it''s a new experience for me too. All of this." She stared down at Chase''s hand and let out a littleugh. "When Ceciliaes back, we''ll¡ªwe''ll talk. It''s all I wanted, but she left, and¡ªand it crushed me. I''m getting better, aren''t I? Compared to before?" "You are." "I just wish you believed in me¡ª" Grace cut herself off. "Sorry, that sounded kind of guilt trippy. I''m trying to get better with that." Her mother''s eyes softened, and the argument stopped. Arceus help him. Ten minutes was a fucking eternity to hear. That name did activate a few rms in his head, because¡ªwell, no, she wasn''t the cause of the break, but she sure as hell had added onto the pile of reasons for it. He''d tell Cecilia about it when she came back. ¡ª Three dayster. Denzel''s back went through phases now. Sometimes, especially during the early mornings right after he woke up, it hurt so much that it felt like the end of the world, making it impossible to focus on anything else. He literally just had to sit there and endure it. Luckily, the pain was more manageable at other times of the day, and there was no denying that he was getting better. He had walked for the first time a week ago and could manage to move around without a wheelchair when it wasn''t morning, even if he was slow about it. His condition was improving, and because of that, his parents had given him a little room to breathe. They didn''t know Grace was going to arrive any minute now. They hadn''t seen each other since Justin''s funeral, and while they texted a lot¡ªshe seemed much happier now than before¡ªthey hadn''t met in person at all. He had to admit, he missed her. It was odd to spend so little time with her after traveling together for so long, but he got over it by taking it as training for what would happen when she flew to Unova. Okay, it wasn''tthatbad. There was no time zone difference, and she was one Teleport away, but he was allowed to be a little dramatic. Denzel heard footsteps beyond his door, along with two voices. One, he recognized easily. The other¡ª He didn''t have time to think about it. There was a soft knock on the door as Grace called out her name, and he yelled at her toe in. Denzel instinctively felt the need to straighten his back when Maylene Suzuki followed behind her and instantly killed the shitty joke he''d prepared telling Grace that he thought she''d forgotten about him. The two of them were allughs and giggles as they entered his hospital room¡ªArceus, it felt weird to see a Gym Leader in casual clothing andoutsideof their Gym. The closest example Denzel could think of was when you ran into your teacher outside of school, which in Twinleaf had somehow happened less than you would think. "Nice to meet you¡ªI guess?" Denzel tried. It was his first time actually seeing her in a casual setting. "I''m Denzel Williams. Uh, thinking back, our battle was pretty fun. If you remember it." "Ew. You''re so stiff," Graceined, wrinkling. "Don''t talk to her aboutwork. Rx, okay? She''s not going to eat you; she''s just a person." Maylene dragged two chairs close to his bed. "I''ve heard a lot of cool things about you! I did kind of forgot our battle, though." She inclined her head a little at Grace, who thanked her for the chair. She then sat on hers¡ªbackwards, leaning against the backrest. There was this weird thing they both did with their knees, slowly letting them drift toward each other until they swiftly took them away. "I hope that''s okay? I go through hundreds and hundreds; it gets a little difficult to remember." "Oh yeah, that''s totally fine; I didn''t actually expect you to remember." Denzel had spoken to enough new people that he knew to brush off any awkwardness if he was offered a lifeline. "Whatdoesbring you here, actually?" "The dork and I were hanging out." She nudged her head sideways. Dork? Maylene was a lot less formal than Denzel thought given what he''d heard¡ªwait, why in the world was Grace looking at her like that? "She told me she doublebooked and forgot that she''d nned to go see you, so here I am." "I didn''tdoublebook," Grace whined. "I just thought you''d be avable at night. You know, like theotherdays you work?" "You''ll have to forgive me, Grace," Maylene said, tone dripping with yful sarcasm. "I sometimes take my breaks early so I can see you during the day because I like it when the sun shines on your face. It just brightens my day." "That''s not why¡ª" she bit her lip and blushed. "I''ll let you win this time, you knave." "Thistime? I win every time. I should honestly get a prize for the amount of times I''ve rolled you," she boasted with an air of smugness around her. What. The fuck? Okay,yes, he had said he believed that Grace liked Maylene from what he''d heard about her, but he hadn''t expected it to be this tant. He felt so out of ce here and in business that had nothing to do with him that he felt likehehad been the one invading their privacy, andtheywere the ones in his room! The two kept bantering a little bit until Grace apparently remembered he existed and that maybe she shouldn''t make fuck eyes at Maylene or flirt when he was literally right there. "See how fun she is?" Never mind, she didn''t have a clue. "That''s why I wanted to introduce you! Plus, she told me that it''d be nice to meet one of my friends, at least." "Erm. Have you¡ªhave you told Cece about this?" Denzel had to assume they were dating and that she''d broken up with Cecilia before she left, orsomethingthat wouldn''t make this horrible. "About you two, I mean." "Oh, she knows we''re hanging out," Grace said. "And I n to tell her the details when shees back. I¡ªI know how it might look, but there''s nothing going on." The words sounded almost rehearsed. Could he have misjudged¡ªno, there was just no way. "And Cecilia knows?" he asked again. "I mean, she''s out in the wilderness down south who knows where; I can''t keep her updated on every little action I take despite wanting to." Grace bit the inside of her mouth, and her hand tensed on top of her shorts. That hade out alittlebitter. "I hope she''s doing well; I just wish we could havetalked, you know? Or that she would talk to me. But I was toxic to her, and you can''t go back in the past. No matter what state shees back in, I have to tell her. Hiding our friendship would be wrong." He knew she''d struggled toe to terms with Cece leaving. She''d ranted about it in their texts in those early days, but those hadrgely stopped after Craig''s ceremony. There was a heavy silence that made Denzel want to crawl out of his skin. These were the bane of his existence. Not only did Grace look a little regretful, Maylene''s expression, while hard to read, couldn''t be described as positive, either. "Sorry for killing the vibes," Denzel said with a slight, apologetic smile. "So, what''s up with you, Grace? Anything I missed?" He could have pressed for more information about the nature of this weird entangled rtionship, but he couldn''t. Not when he couldn''t recall seeing Grace this happy in months. So long as Cece and she spoke, it''d be okay. ¡ª Two dayster. "Alright, are you ready?" Maylene asked. She was all smiles and could barely contain her excitement. "You didn''t peek, right?" "What?Me?I would never go against the sanctity of surprises." Candice wrapped an arm around Maylene''s shoulder and looked right at Gardenia. "I wouldn''t say the same about her; she can be devious, as you know." "Verydevious," Maylene added. Gardenia rolled her eyes, noting to herself that Maylene gotten a lot morebativetely. Maylene had always been this way, especially with Candice, but she''d rarely goof off like this with Gardenia, especially when she was about to present her brand new battlefield. Gardenia knew how much she''d been thinking about reworking her field, and back in the day she would have been incredibly nervous about her and Candice''s opinions. She used to always seek validation from her seniors because of how unsure she was of her own capabilities as a Gym Leader. It was just nice to see her confident and happier, especially after Cor. Maylene wormed herself away from Candice''s hold¡ªGardenia somewhat wished her best friend would do that with her as well¡ªand ced her full palm on the double doors leading to her side of the battlefield. "Here goes." They swung open with someoomph, and Candice sprinted over like a little kid, arms swinging wildly at her side. She hadn''treallyneeded to run because they could already see spires of stone rising high in the air. The heart of the battlefield resembled a small, ancient city of stone, with narrow alleyways, towering stone pirs, and uneven, cobblestone streets that crisscrossed in tight patterns. The walls were high and imposing, constructed fromrge weathered gray stones, and they created abyrinthine effect, limiting visibility and movement for both trainersandPokemon alike. The ground was uneven, with cracks and small boulders scattered throughout, making it difficult for Pokemon to gain any significant speed or maneuverability. If there were amon theme here Gardenia would describe this with, it wasdenseandoppressive. Maylene''s fighting types were generally Pokemon who you really didn''t want to get close to, or you would just lose nine times out of ten. This was going to make any speedsters who weren''t fliers or incredibly agile have to work for their buck to keep away from Maymay''s Pokemon who would maneuver easier within the dense towers. Sure, you could destroy them, but that wasa lotof dense stone to go through unless you brought some serious firepower, and she''d be able to counter you really well while you were doing so. Most of Maylene''s Pokemon knew at least a few rock type moves to counter flying types, so using the shattered stone to their advantage would be easy. Gardenia allowed herself to digest the sight and figured that this would make Maylene areallytough early Gym to tackle, and one that would get more manageable theter you battled her thanks to having more tools at your disposal to deal with the sheer advantage she''d have on the field. She wouldn''t be a walk in the park either, but it would bertivelyeasier to fight herter on. "So you made your choice, huh?" Gardenia noted amidst a millionpliments from Candice. Months ago, shortly after Maylene''s breakdown after her Gym Battle with Grace, Gardenia had called her to ask her to decide what kind of Gym Leader she wanted to be. There were plenty of options beyond the simple slider between ''easy'' or ''tough.'' A Gym was a spectrum with plenty of attributes to define it, be it its Leader, arena, Gym Trainers, et cetera, et cetera¡ªand other regions with moreplicated processes to actually battle Gym Leaders were even more in-depth. Gosh, Gardenia wished she could turn her Gym into a hedge maze full of puzzles, riddles, and ambushes. She hoped Sinnoh would adopt the Unovan model would be adopted in Sinnoh within her tenure. "I want to have a reputation." Maylene nodded along. "I mean, it''s like you said, right? It''s all about consistency. I want to be a consistent pain in the butt and force people to adaptto me," she dered with determination in her voice and a clenched fist. "Oh, she''s in fire!" Candice joked. "On a serious note, though, I really like it! It''s probably the most unique Gym design after Wake; I might rework mine before the next Circuit too, whenever I have time. What are the costs like?" "I''ve run it for three battles so far as a test run; it''s not as bad as you''d think," Maylene said with a hint of embarrassment. Gardenia remembered her talking about some money issues, but she''d never gone into much detail. "You don''t have to rebuild it the same every time¡ªin fact, it''s better to have variation. Roark''s already said he''ll lend me some rock types so I don''t have to train up some of my own to fix this up, and I caught some a few weeks back down south when I went to look for more fighting types. They were very nice about wanting to work with me for a few months." Candice''s mouth fell open. "What?! That hard-ass lent you somethingfor free?" She crossed her arms and stewed in ce for a few seconds. "All I got was that fossil for my birthday¡­" "Candice, that was an extremely generous gift," Gardenia sighed, still admiring the towers. "An Amaura costsa lot, and they''re only found in Kalos and northern Paldea¡ª" "I know, I know!" she groaned. "I just wanted toin about him for fun! This is inspiring, Maymay!" Gardenia noticed Maylene frowning a little at the nickname. "I think we''ve all been resting on oururels for too long; we got toofortable in keeping the way our boring predecessors did it! Except grandma; she was awesome." "Sofia was pretty great¡­" Gardenia mumbled. Eterna''s old Gym Leader had been exceedingly strict to a fault, but that had been because she''d seen potential in her. She needed to call her one of these days so they could catch up. Candice shrugged. "Meh. She hated me." Theyhadbeen co-workers for a year, since Candice had ascended to her position earlier than Gardenia. "That''sprobablybecause you''re so unserious," Nia shot back with a wry smile. "I like that about you." "Look at you, being all flirty. What''s with that?" Candice tilted her head. Hm? Hm? Hm? "It''s far from the first time Ipliment you," she said, as calm as she usually was. Deep inside the recesses of her brain, she was having a massive crisis. Candice hadnever,everpicked up on any signs. "Do you want me to be flirty?" There, simple and easy to back out of. Nia was giving her the opportunity to take this further should she want to. Candice elbowed Maylene in the arm and nudged her head toward Gardenia. "Heh. She''s shitting bricks right now." "Can you two just date already?" Maylene sighed. "I''m tired of this." Why in the world would she¡ªGardenia had never felt such betrayal! For one, she had no idea if Maylene knew howdelicatethe situation was in Craig''s death and the literalyearsof slow build-up and nning. Two, people didn''t justsay thatout of the blue. What if you ruined things between the two people you were trying to get together? "That''s a pretty good idea." Candice had her hand pensively on her chin, nodding along. "We should go ice fishing and make out in an igloo or something." "Are¡ªare you serious, Candice?" Nia stuttered. "Oh, don''t worry, we''d release the water types afterward; it''s just a secret hobby of mine." It wasn''t secret at all. Gardenia had already documented all of Candice''s hobbies and color-coded them from the ones she''d be willing to try to the ones she wasn''t okay with. Ice fishing was in the orange category, which meant''only if she really wants to,''which were next to red for''never do this,''and yellow for''maybe, depending on my mood.''"Well, it''d probably have to wait; I''m a busy Bidoof these days, as you know. So, Maymay, you''ve got to tell me about what inspired you to build this sick battlefield. I want to squeeze your brain juices so I can change mine too." Maylene scratched the back of her head. "It was actually kind of Grace. Well, she didn''t actually give me the idea; I''ve just been thinking about our fight a lottely and liked the idea of obstructing vision for both the trainer and the Pokemon to see how they''d adapt¡­" Gardenia let the exnation fade into the background as she froze in ce and tried to make sense of the enigma that was Candice. Even after years of knowing each other, she''d never wholly figured her out, which was part of why she was so into her. Gardenia had been nning to confess for weeks. First, she''d ask her to ''hang out'' on something that would actually be a date when they had time off work in Eterna City. First, a drink out at a bar to loosen her nerves up a little, followed by an hour or two at a manga caf¨¦ so they could read some sappy romance thing Candice was into¡ªnot because she actually supported the main couple, but because she really liked some side character who Gardenia knew had very little screen time. Then a stroll outside the city to collect some flowers for her personal garden, a round of bowling, and so on and so forth so they each got to do something they were familiar with and liked in turns while the other could partake in the other girl''s hobby. They would have spent the entire day together until the sunset, where they''d stroll through the Eterna City Gardens, and when the sun hit the flowers just right in the central za, Gardenia would have confessed¡ª "Nia? You look on edge," Candiceso helpfullynoticed. "Did me asking you out dazzle you that much?" She pushed herself into a spin before nting a foot on the ground and making a ''V'' sign with her fingers in front of her eyes and a shining smile. Gardenia couldn''t help butugh. "There you go; that''s better." It would have been so perfect. But maybe this could be fine too. "So, are we girlfriends now?" Nia asked. "Sure! Not like there''s much that''ll change. I guess I have more excuses to hang out at your Gym and leave your closet in shambles." "Congrats, you two. Now you can stop circling each other, and you can actually enjoy yourselves." Maylene said with a hint of sadness. "Anyway, I better show you two this sick new spreadsheet system I came up with to track the Gym''s Pokemon¡ª" her phone rang in her pocket. She picked it up, stared at it for a split-second with the screen angled a little away from them, and any sign of negativity disappeared off her face as if it had never been there. She was obviously trying to contain a grin. "Oh¡ªI gotta pick this up, girls, sorry!" She hurried back through the double doors so fast that she moved more like a superhuman than a fifteen-year-old girl. Gardenia heard her say, ''How''s my favorite dork doing today?'' before the door closed behind her. "Wha¡ªdid we miss something?" Candice whispered, slowly walking close to Gardenia. The grass type specialist had to take a conscious breath to stop herself from taking a step back. She was so hyper-aware of her¡­ girlfriend now that it was tough to stick too close. Honestly, itreallyhadn''t sunk in yet. All of that build-up for¡­ this? "I think we might have?" Nia said, her tone rising near the end. "Her voice ispletely different on the phone. Loud and a little higher. There''s also, like, genuine joy.Joy, joy, you know what I mean?" "Yeah. Do you think that''s Grace? It must be, right?" Candice squinted at the door as if that would help her see through it. "Should we listen in?" "Absolutely not." "Aw." "We should ask her about it when shees back instead." Candice grinned, shing her very nice teeth. Her canines were so sharp. "You''re the best, Nia!" She dashed in and hugged her, making Gardenia freeze in ce for a moment before her hands wrapped around her¡­ girlfriend''s body. "That feels nice," Candice quietly said. "It''s a little different now, actually." "We should talk more about this. A rtionship isplicated¡­ we''ll have to disclose it to Cynth and the League, but I''m sure she''ll approve. In terms of public perception, it''d be better to hide it until Snowpoint''s port is fixed, at least. It''ll be important to remain unbiased in decisions having to do with our cities because there could be conflict of interest issues; we might have to recuse ourselves from decision-making entirely to our City Councils when making decisions that have to do with each other''s cities¡ª" she stopped for a moment, expecting a joke of some kind, but Candice was actually nodding along and giving Gardenia her full attention. It was reassuring, in a way. "Are you going to remember all of this?" "I have a really good memory, so yeah." Gardenia could attest to that. "We should take it slow for now. Breaching the boundary between best friends and girlfriends is dangerous; we should take it one step at a time. Instead of your making out in an igloo idea that would obviously lead to something else, why don''t we do this date I had nned for us in like three weeks?" Okay, the truth was, even if Gardenia believed what she was saying, she also didn''t want all of that nning to go to waste. "You''ll love it. Promise." "Hm¡­ fine, but if I don''t, you owe me something." "You''re just gonna say that you didn''t like it anyway¡ª" augh from Maylene through the door interrupted her. "We should probably wait to talk about this." "Agreed." They let go of each other. "She neverughs like that with us." "Well, she''sobviouslyin love; we know this," Gardenia said. "I just didn''t know they were on a ''my favorite dork'' basis. That''s pretty insane." "She must have found a way to break up with Cecilia Obel, right?" Candice asked, and when Gardenia just stared at her with a defeated, resigned look, she grimaced. "Legendaries, they''re so fucking messy." "I think we might not know the half of it." It took another minute for Maylene toe back out, and Candice whispered that it was as if someone had looked up ''happiness'' online and put it in the images section. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed with natural warmth, and a wide smile stretched across her face¡ªbut that specific kind of smile you made when your cheeks hurt fromughing too much. "Had some fun in there?" Candice asked, wriggling her eyebrows. "What?" Maylene asked.Genuinelyasked. "Stop being so weird; it was just a phone call." "With?" Gardenia pressed. Maylene shuffled ufortably, hands t at her sides. She clearly didn''t like where these questions were going. "Grace. Why?" Candice shrugged. "It just sounded awfully chummy." "Wha¡ªdid you spy on me?!" There was a genuine glint of panic in her eyes, along with anger. "No!" Nia yelled. "You started to talk before you closed the door." "What did I say?" Candice spoke up again. "Your face lit up like the night sky when she called; you called her your favorite dork, and she was seemingly fine with that. Itlookslike you''re more than so-called friends." "We''re not. I wish we were, but we''re not, and we never will be." A fist clenched at her side, nails digging into her palm. "I thought I told you to stop talking about that stuff." One didn''t have to be Gardenia to tell Maylene was feeling so ufortable she wanted to jump out of her skin. Gardenia sighed. "Maymay, look¡ªif she likes you back, you can just¡­ wait until Ceciliaes back. Stop all of this for a while. Then Grace can talk to her and decide what she really wants." "You''re the ones who egged me on! I was ready to give up!" Maylene yelled, her voice carrying further due to her ire. That was partly true, but honestly, Gardenia never expected a taken girl to be willing to go so far. She thought Grace would just ignore Maylene for the most part, and there was no way to know Cecilia Obel would just disappear into the wilderness and go no contact. "You two don''t¡ªyou wouldn''t understand!" It was easy to forget that Maymay was a teen sometimes. The situation might beplicated, but there was no way it was as convoluted as she made it sound. "We just don''t want you to make a mistake," Gardenia said as gently as she could. "And you''re right. I apologize for keeping you on this path." Maylene shook her head almost violently. "I can''t. She needs me. I''ve been helping her with her issues, and she''s been getting so much healthier. I just¡ªshe''s not ready yet. It would crush her." Gardenia searched deep in Maylene''s eyes and saw a partial truth. Her friendwantedthis, too, no matter how much she denied it. The Gym Leader walked up to Maylene and clutched her shoulders tightly. "This girl isn''t leading you on while her girlfriend is away, is she? Because if she is, I''ll have somewords¡ª" "She isn''t! God, you''re being so weird!" Maylene shook her hands off. "You better not be weird when she goes to your Gym!" "I won''t be." She wouldn''t be weird, but she would havequestions. "We''re going to tell Cecilia when shees back, so we''re good on that front. And we aren''t actually doing anything physical like¡­ kissing, okay? We just hang out and talk on the phone sometimes; it''s not a big deal. I talk to her less than I do to both of you!" Maylene groaned. "I''m seeing her again tomorrow so she can show me how she practices the piano. She has an important testing up." Gardenia was honestlyreallyproud of Candice for not making a joke about Grace serenading her with music. Instead, they shared a look of acknowledgment at how horrible this was all going to be when it inevitably blew up. They weren''t her guardians, just friends. All they could do was give advice and hope she''d take them up on it. ¡ª One dayter. It was interesting, Maylene thought, to see Grace so focused on something as banal as piano. The Gym Leader tried to search her memories for another moment she''d seen her so profoundly focused, but the only ones that ever came up were the unpleasant ones. One of these instances was the first time they ever met face to face during her Gym Battle. Maylene didn''t really remember what she''d thought of Grace at first¡ªbefore the fight even began, and she''d been walking up on that tform. Memories of before she''d gotten a hold on schedule, job, and life in general were a little blurry. Then, there were the days and nights where they climbed Cor together with the fate of the world uncertain, and anything in front of Grace barring them from that goal became an obstacle to be eliminated, and her eyes became sharp with an air of resignation about them. Like this was just what needed to be done. Some nights, the young girl still found it difficult to imagine those days had been real. That it had been her climbing that coffin. She wasn''t sure she would have been able to do it as she was today. Coming back from saving the world and seeing a fraction of these beings'' power had a way of making you more scared of things, and she actually was doing well in her life, now. Rtively speaking. Maylene shook her head and shut her eyes at the queasy feeling thinking of Cor still gave her. Even now, staring in the mountain''s direction made her nauseous. It was just sorge, so all-epassing, soimpossible to understand¡ª "Maylene? You okay?" Grace''s fingers hovered uncertainly above her electric piano which was actually calledkeyboardfor some dumb reason. The focus on her face melted away¡ªher brows raised a smidge, and her mouth evened out because she stopped biting her tongue or bottom lip. All that remained was worry. Maylene tried to give her the best smile she could manage, but she knew it wouldn''t fool her, so she just gave up halfway anyway. Her mouth just ended up making a weird lip twitch. "Yeah. I''m just thinking about¡­" Maylene didn''t want to sour the mood, nor did she want Grace to recall these memories either, but then her ''friend'' would get angry at her. Maylene knew Grace already must have had five retorts ready for when she tried to brush it off. "I was thinking about Cor." "Wanna talk about it?" Grace put away her piano for now. They were alone in Maylene''s room, so she was just sitting on the mat-covered floor. Well, Maylene was actually lying on her stomach, legs dangling in the air and leaning against her palm as she watched Grace practice piano for some test at her next ss. The Gym Leader found it weird, given that she couldn''t focus unless she was alone without much noise, but she wouldn''t say no to the girl she had a crush on offering to y music for her. Oh, and she''de in the cutest fucking overalls. Pale blue denim over a baggy white shirt. They were just normal clothes, but she was so,soadorable in them! Maylene wanted to poke her puffy little flushed cheeks and pamper her so badly¡­ "You look like, way happier than thirty seconds ago," Grace noted. "What''s going on inside your head?" Before Maylene could answer, the blonde groaned. "Ugh,shut up." "Mesprit again?" Maylene asked. "Another unneededment, yes. They like stirring the pot," she said with a drawn-out sigh. Maylenehadnoticed that she''d spoken to Mesprit more frequently these days. "Anyway, talk to me, Maymay." Her heart squeezed at that nickname. Grace didn''t use it often¡ªsix times, including that night at her house; Maylene had counted¡ªbut she managed to utilize it in the best moments to get something out of her. "You''re good, you know that?" Maylene sat up. "The best," she smugly said as the Gym Leader sat next to her. "At least when I''m not trying to learn this partition by heart." "Partition? What''s that mean?" "Oh, it''s like¡ªthe score or music sheet." She tapped on the thin piece of paper on herp, which had been sitting under the piano. "My teacher calls it partition because she''s obsessed with Kalosian music terms. I guess it slipped into mynguage." Her eyes widened slightly, and she gently pushed Maylene''s shoulder¡ªMaylene had started wearing clothes with sleeves for this. "Hey! Don''t try to avoid the topic!" "I wasn''t!" Maylene yelled. "I swear!" Two piercing green eyes squinted at her. "I''ll believe you," Grace huffed before her shoulder touched Maylene''s. And stayed there. "Therapy not going okay? How''s your new guy? That guy with the fake-sounding name." "Doctor Jack Jones isn''tthatbad!" "I''m not saying it''s bad or making fun of him; I''d never make fun of a name. I''m just saying that it sounded fake when you told me." Maylene snorted before pausing, fingers tapping her leg. Grace''s hand trembled and moved less than an inch toward hers but stayed put like always. "I mean, it''sgoing," Maylene said. "I talk a lot most days, and he always gives me things to think about before our next session; it''s very helpful. It''s just tough to¡­ put everything behind me. I get reminded of Cor by the most random stuff; you wouldn''t believe it." "Oh, no, I believe you," Grace said with a saddened look. There was a short quiet where Maylene could only hear herself breathing. Things were just so¡­fortable with her. "Want toy on myp?" "...sure." Her voice was so small at times like these. "Only for a little while, though. I don''t want to disturb your studying." Grace made a little pout. "That didn''t sound very enthusiastic." "Oh, my bad." Sarcasm dripped out of Maylene''s tone, and she cleared her throat in the most exaggerated manner possible with a fist in front of her mouth. "May I have theprivilegeof lying my head on mydy''sp?" she asked in the most terrible of Grian ents. "What in the world wasthat?" Graceughed¡ªand Maylene loved to hear that sound. It was part of the reason why she tried to be so silly with her. "Do that again?" Maylene took a deep breath, bracing herself before she ced her head on Grace''s thighs. She could feel their warmth even through her clothes, a gentle sensation that made her heartbeat slow and made Maylene want to close her eyes and drift off to sleep. "Only if you ask nicely," Maylene said. "Maylene, can youplease¡ªactually, wait." The blonde grabbed her phone from a pocket, tapped her code, and clumsily hovered the camera over Maylene''s face. "Could you please do that silly ent again? Please?" Well, there was no way she could say no to those eyes, and this was harmless. "What if I did this and sang along to your piano thing?" It was difficult not to cringe at her own awful ent, but luckily no Grians were nearby to take offense. "Oh, God, this is awful, innit?" The ''innit'' made Grace break intoughter again, and Maylene felt her face flush. "I''m done!" she hastily dered in her normal voice. "I was just starting to get immersed. I could almost imagine the streets of Motostoke¡ªthe smell, the sights, the sound of humming machinery¡ª" she giggled. "It wasreallyhorrid, but in the best way." "You''re taking after me too much; your banter''s getting better." Maylene was smiling so hard her mouth hurt. "One day, my little Grace will be all trained and ready to go toe-to-toe with the best in the nation." Grace blushed¡ªMaylene could see it so clearly. Grace''s golden hair fell down toward her face, framing her flushed cheeks like a delicate curtain. The strands caught the light, glinting softly as they swayed with every subtle movement. "I''m already learning from the best." Her hand absentmindedly ran through Maylene''s hair for a few seconds before her digits froze. There wasn''t even any panic, just a subtle acknowledgment that they''d gone too far, followed by aneedingstare, and finally, the removal of her hand. "Sorry." Maylene swallowed. That had feltsogood. "It''s okay." Things were a little awkward after that. How could Maylene stay on herp after a breach of protocol? There were more and more of these every time they hung out; it was impossible to avoid. Here was the thing: Maylene was in love with Grace, and by now, she was pretty certain that she at least had a thing for her, too. There was just no way she would be doing all of this without feeling at least a spark. There had just been so many signals sent her way, and a lot of the time, it was Grace who went further than needed. And it hurt to think about. Because there was just no way it was going to go anywhere. And she''d resigned to this since she realized her feelings¡ªmaybe even since further than that. Cecilia was going toe home, and sooner rather thanter, ording to what Grace had heard from Chase Karlson, and that would be that. "Feeling down again?" Grace asked. "Myp''s still avable." Maylene''s jaw clenched. She could be so unknowingly cruel sometimes, and none of it was only her fault. "I''m fine." Shey back on her stomach. "Do your piano thing, you''re¡ª"so cute when you focus,"you better get a better grade than Jess. I don''t want her to show you up again; I''ll be rooting for you." There was a little disappointed look on her face, and Maylene allowed herself to see if it would pass or devolve into catastrophizing. To her relief, Grace recovered rather quickly and grabbed her electric keyboard. She was steadily improving these days, even if Maylene still struggled to make her take therapy seriously. Grace took a deep, consistent breath, and the focus came again. It was odd to see her stare down a piano like she wanted to murder it twice over. Fingerspletely still; eyes narrow, intense, and barely blinking; her entire body seemed coiled, like a predator ready to strike. And it wasso weird, because she wasn''t even getting ready for an important battle or anything. She was just practicing the damn piano for a test worth ten percent of her grade! Yet, her heart throbbed. A weird part of Maylene wanted Grace to look at her like that. Then, she struck. Each note shended was like amand, firm yet flowing, as if she were drawing the music out from the piano. Maylene mostly just listened, but she snuck in a video that she''d look atter. Her camera roll had started to be half Grace, half other things. She was just really photogenic, and Maylene liked to take silly pictures of people living in the moment without any time for them to try to adjust their faces with fake smiles or other expressions. Sometimes, she''d change her background to whatever picture of Grace she''d taken at the time. Right now, it was her running on a treadmill, her ponytail flowing behind her and sweat glistening on her skin. Ah, that day had been so much fun, even if it was hard to focus because Grace had been looking down at her tummy half the time. Maylene didn''t mind, though. She''d known that was the reaction her outfit would bring this time around, and she could have refused to wear it. Grace had worn something pretty revealing too¡ª The Gym Leader was snapped out of her thoughts by a groan and the end of the music. "Fuck." Grace sighed, and her fingers tensed. "Arceus, Ihad it." She stared down the partition like it had hurt her personally. "Did you mess up?" Maylene asked. "I couldn''t tell." "Yeah, I mistimed a note. I''ll go again." She went again, and again, and again, but she kept getting stuck at that same spot to the point where she was starting to get seriously frustrated with herself. "You want to take a break?" Maylene asked. Grace nodded. "My fingers are kind of tired. I wish I had Jess'', she can just practice all day. Must be all that Aln food her dad makes her." "Hey, I''d never get tired either." Maylene wriggled her fingers in the air, and Grace averted her eyes for whatever reason. "I do wonder, though, why do you stop when you make one mistake? Thest forty minutes I''ve seen you practice here, you''ve never made it pastthatspot. How close is it to the end?" "I just¡ªI have to get it right. It''s about halfway." Arceus, that was a long song. The ss must have been an intense one. "But you run the risk of getting a lot less practice than needed." Grace paused, wanting to fight back, but then she relented with a sigh and sagging shoulders. "I guess it''s true that I haven''t really done any work on the second half. And if I mess up during the actual test, I''ll just have to continue." "See?" "It just feels wrong if things don''t go perfectly, but I guess I should treat this like a battle. Things are going to go south eventually. No n survives contact with the enemy." She nodded along to herself as if what she''d posited wasn''t ludicrous. That was part of what made her so loveable. "You''re such a dummy," Maylene softly spoke. Grace beamed like a little Lillipup at the name. "I''d really like to get full marks, though. Ms. Arden said the top five scorers by the end of the course can get referrals to her contacts and stuff, and she knows people in Unova." "Damn. KalosandUnova? She''s pretty well-connected." Not that Maylene knew anything about the world of ssical music, anyway. "Why don''t I try and y you a little serenade while you cool off?" "Maylene, you''re going to y something really bad." "Psht. Me? No way." She waved a hand dismissively. "Pass it to me." She was horrible. Her ying was an abomination that had no right to be called music. In fact, it wasso badthat Grace didn''t even have it in her to shit-talk her. The weird part was that logically, her dexterity meant that sheshouldhave been good at piano, but it didn''t matter when she had no idea what she was doing. At least it made herugh; that was always fun. Seeing Grace happier and better equipped to face her eighth Gym, the Conference, and Unova every day was worth everything in the world. Eventually, their hour and a half came to a close. Maylene struggled to imagine the next time they were going to meet up. It would be at her Gym again, but this time, they were finally going to practice for fifteen minutes.Fifteen. That was such a long time, yet ten was too and it felt like it went by in a sh every time. It had been so long since thest time they practiced, and Grace had been really unsatisfied by the two times she''d done it with Chase. They had nned to watch some other movie, this time rmended by Grace, but Maylene wasn''t sure they''d be able to wait until the end of their assigned time together this time. There was just nothing to say about it,she''d told Maylene.It''s just unpleasant, and it feels transactional. It''s so weird with him, but I love it with you. It''s special.Her mother staring at her so judgingly didn''t help, along with the questions that followed. Needless to say, Maylene was incredibly nervous, especially when there was one special request she wanted to make. She''d wanted to send it over text originally, but that would have felt¡­wrong. It needed to be face-to-face. So with Grace ready to leave her bedroom with her piano safely inside its case and strapped around her shoulder, Maylene garnered every bit of courage she could scrape within herself and called out. "Grace, I have something to ask." She fiddled with her fingers, and her eyes constantly alternated between her feet and Grace. "And it''s going to sound weird." Grace blinked at her, all innocently. "I''m pretty sure nothing you could do or ask would weird me out." "No, this isreallyweird. Like, I''m weirded out at myself just thinking about it." "Now I''m curious," she said, leaning slightly in. Maylene couldn''t help but look at her lips. They were so plump¡ªgah,focus!"Okay." She took a deep breath and continued. "So I''ve already said I''ve forgiven you for our Gym Battle, but you still struggle with that notion, right? Like you still feel like you have to atone even after all this time. And even after we''ve gotten so close." Grace deted. "Hmhm," was all she could muster. "I feel like¡ªlike you need closure of some kind. And to be honest, I''ve thought about it a lot, and I think this might be the only way for you." For weeks, Maylene had wracked her mind trying to figure out a way to make Grace reach peace, and it had taken knowing her to figure out that the key to thaty in symbolism. "I think that¡ªthat it''d be good to talk about that day in more detail and what our thoughts about it are. And what we were thinking before, during, and after that day as best as we can remember." Maylene''s voice turned into a near-inaudable whisper. "And maybe we should both wear what we were wearing that day, too. You know, so it''s proper¡ª" "Wha¡ª" the words died in Grace''s throat. "It''s super weird right?" Maylene quickly said, apanied by a nervousugh. "I''m sorry, forget I ever brought it up¡ª" "No!"Grace yelled. "No, I¡ªI was surprised, that''s all. To be honest, I think it''s a really good idea." Her foot kicked air, and she began looking away as well. "I don''t really remember what I was wearing, to be honest. I''ve done my best not to think about it. Like, I thought about what it did to you, how horrible that was, and how I needed to apologize, but I wanted to avoid the actual battle as much as possible. I can look at the video¡ª" Words spilled out of Maylene''s mouth immediately. "You were wearing that dark pleated skirt you have with those thick winter tights and a gray cotton sweater that was a little too big for you. You had your old white sneakers on because I''m pretty sure those are your mostfortable shoes, your hair was down like today, and you had your Poketch Watch on your right wrist." "O¡ªoh. You remember it." She pped her forehead. "Wait, of course, it had such an effect on you. I''m sorry." "It''s okay. And I''ll just be wearing my Gym Leader outfit." Words came easy now that Grace had agreed. "Oh, I guess it might be too hot outside; you can change when you get here. In the showers downstairs, or whatever." "That sounds good." She gave herself a few seconds to think, eyes looking at the ceiling. "Yep, that sounds good," she repeated. "Emi has a decent amount of those clothes, but I should be able to get them from her easily." Maylene raised an eyebrow. "She has your clothes?" "Hmhm. We used to move around a lot while she was pretty stationary, so she kind of carried all of our clothes for a decent bit. Mostly, I just forgot to ask her for them back. I could have put them all at my dad''s and my mom''s by now." "Ohhh," Maylene said, long and drawn out. "Yeah, I guess traveling with a million clothes is tough. You don''t really think about this stuff when you don''t participate in the Circuit." "Now, who''s the dummy?" Maylene reached out to smooth the wrinkles from Grace''s overalls she''d gotten while sitting, making her freeze up like a Deerling. "Don''t try to turn that nickname back on me; I know you enjoy it way too much." She finished fixing up Grace''s outfit and yed with a strand of her hair. "You looked really good today, by the way." "Wh¡ªwhu¡ª" She was obviously too tongue-tied to say anything. "Thanks you." Maylene chuckled. "Thanks you? Come on, try again." "I¡ªI meanthank you." Grace audibly gulped, and Maylene could tell she was looking at her lips. "See you next time?" She let go of her hair and smiled. "Yep. Kadabra should be waiting for you outside." They had gotten good at letting the psychics know when and where Grace would need to be Teleported ahead of time. Maylene guided Grace out of her bedroom and through her living quarters. For a moment, she thought about escorting her all the way out, but Grace knew her way around by now, and lingering too long might overextend their assigned time together. Maylene knew Grace enough to know that it was important to still be punctual and not be sloppy, or she would see it as a sign to start depending on her further. She needed people to keep her centered because she had no self-control. Or at least far less self-control than Maylene did. "Um. Can I hug you?" Case in point. She turned toward Maylene with that pleading look in her eyes, as if a refusal would utterly crush her. The ''yes'' nearly flew out of Maylene''s mouth like it would have been a prayer finally answered, but she bit her tongue, and her foot began to bounce on the floor. "It''d kind of be a breach of contract, but like, if I''m the one hugging you over your clothes, our skin won''t touch." Her pleading look turned almost rapacious, as if she wanted to jump Maylene''s bones. "I just want to feel you. Because it''s been so long since we''ve hugged, and I kind of miss it." They hadn''t since Grace and Cecilia hade to her Gym to help her out with Oscar. "And you know, it''d be good for you too¡ª" "That''s probably a bad idea," Maylene interrupted her, because she knew Grace would end up cornering her with words. Her restraint was already fraying as is. "I''d like to, don''t get me wrong," she added as Grace''s face fell. "I just think that¡ª" Maylenereallydidn''t want to say it out loud. "You get it, right?" "I get it," she sighed, clearly disappointed. "Don''t work toote?" "No promises." "You''ve got to take care of yourself," Grace said. "You''re lucky I can''t check in on you outside of our texting hours." "You''d just use it as an excuse to chat," Maylene teased. "Thest time, you just used it toin about Ramon being annoying at that lunch." Grace had gone with Ramon a few days ago to train, since she''d been looking for a training partner and that Marley girl was giving her the slip. She had gotten pretty trashed, but she didn''t really mind. "Well, yeah! He doesn''t know when to turn off his sarcasm setting! It was just getting mildly annoying when he kept shit-talking my Turtonator and making him angry for getting destroyed by his Delibird. You''re way better at banter than he is." "Grace, I could call you anything, and you''d probably like it." Maylene smirked when a retort didn''t immediatelye to shut her down. "Noteverything. Just most things," she finally said. Just then, she leaned in a little, her body spry and full of expectation. She wanted to be called something mean. "You could atleasthide how eager you are." "Just say it." Maylene snorted. "You''re so such a weirdo." "Hmhm." Grace closed her eyes, taking the words in. "And you''re my favorite idiot." "Am I?" She was so close now. Their knuckles and fingers grazed against each other, each point of contact lit ame by the unspoken tension that crackled between them. Maylene contained the urge to cup her face and dosomething else, because while she was certain it would lead to what she wanted in the moment, it''d blow up in both of their faces. She couldn''t do it. So she yed it off with a joke. "I''m actually serious¡ªlike sometimes, I wonder how you got this far." It had the desired effect, drawing a littleugh and making Grace aware of how close she was so she would take a step back. "Oh, and also, I wouldtotally notuse checking in on you at work as an excuse," she countered in that sweet voice she used when she wanted something. "I''d just check in on you asionally, like once or twice throughout the day. It was just an idea, though; I wasn''t actually serious." "Uhuh. I believe you," Maylene lied. "You better get going; we don''t want Kadabra to be angry." "See you next time?" Grace asked, almost a question that Maylene thought was meant to ask,are you okay with this? Can we keep going? She was, and they could. "See you next time." Maylene fondly rubbed her fingers where she''d been touched. She wanted to cry, to call out her name and tell her everything she felt. It''d probably be thest time they would see each other like this.
Chapter 330 – The Sowers, Reaping Chapter 330 ¨C The Sowers, Reaping
CHAPTER 330 - THE SOWERS, REAPING It waste at night as I skulked into Maylene''s Gym, feet uneven against the ground. In my backpack, I carried the clothes Maylene had told me to wear, neatly folded so they would wrinkle as little as possible. Getting them from Emilia had been as easy as saying that now that I lived with my parents, I had enough space to store them. Having ess to League Kadabra as our personal taxis was a Godsend¡ªthough now I needed to go through Maylene to get them because we weren''t at the League any longer. If we hadn''t, then Emi would have needed to either send them via mail, or I would have had to fly all the way to Hearthome on Princess and carry them back home. The Gym was usually closed at this time, so a trainer needed to let me in¡ªone of the few on night shifts. I recognized the one who pulled up near the wide ss doors. He was a rtively older trainer in his thirties with red-orange hair, and he''d seen mee into Maylene''s Gym countless times at this point. Her employees were used to seeing me around. "Fabian¡ªsorry for bothering you sote." I nervously stepped into the lobby. It was difficult not to feel like anxiety was eating at my skin, considering howsignificanttonight was going to be. He closed the doors behind me and locked them. "No worries, Grace; I''m on security duty tonight, anyway. I''ve passed through the lobby like twenty times already." He cleared his throat with a fist in front of his mouth. "May¡ª" he cut himself off. "Leader Maylene''s been waiting for you. She should be in her room upstairs; she had a little bit of work to finish. I''m sure she would havee down to greet you otherwise." I gave him a silent nod and a little sound of affirmation before going on my way. The Gym''s hallways seemed longer at times like these. Narrower, too, like they were attempting to suffocate me. The dim lighting allowed shadows to dance at the edge of my vision, and I''d asionally hear a cough or a voice between the minutes of silence from the few trainers or janitors who worked the night shift. The gentle hum of air conditioning filled the air, and I couldn''t help but quicken my step. I jumped up the stairs and practically broke into a jog by the time I reached Maylene''s room, my backpack bouncing on my spine. The broken hinge from her father''s outburst had been fixed a week ago. My knuckles knocked against the door. "Maylene?" I whispered, knowing she''d hear me thanks to her superhuman capabilities. "I''m here. Sorry, I''m a bitte." It took a few seconds for her to answer the door. Already, she was in her Gym Leader outfit. A thin, dark blue tank top that left her well-defined arms and shoulders exposed; fingerless blue gloves; white jogging pants with a thin, pink strip at their sides; a thick band-aid on the bridge of her surprisingly delicate nose. She was also barefoot, with her long pants covering a part of her feet. She looked just as nervous as I was. Her fingers fidgeted together, and she couldn''t bear to look me in the eye, doing that trick she did where she stared at people''s foreheads instead. Eventhatdidn''t work. Her irises kept darting between that and everywhere else like she just had no idea where to look. Even when nervousness was eating her alive, she was pretty. There was something about seeing her so exposed, so unguarded, that made me feel as if I were glimpsing the truest version of her. We''d met each other like this a million times, but in this instance, itmatteredmore than any other. Fifteen minutes of practice, and finally addressing the first time we ever met instead of burying it under the sandwhile wearing the exact same clothes. It was as if she knew exactly what made me tick¡ªwhat tickled the right parts of my brain. She knew what I loved: stories, mirroring, symbolism, and she didn''t¡­ No, she probably did think it was weird, but that was okay. Because she loved the good, the bad, the strange, the ugly¡ªeverything about me, anyway, even if she still wanted me to change for the better. "Hi." My voice was so meek I could barely recognize it. "Um, sorry I''m not dressed yet. I figured it''d be good if you first saw me in those clothes when we go to your arena." I''de as differently and simply dressed as possible, so it''d reallypopwhen she saw me, and my hair tied up in a simple ponytail. Imagining what we''d feel when seeing each other in the exact same position I''d hurt her in made me bite my lip, and her darting eyes suddenly honed in on them. Like she couldn''t focus on anything else. It took a few seconds for the spell to break, and Maylene forced herself to smile. "No, I get it." She pointed back into her living room with a thumb. "Do you want toe in, or¡­ how are we doing this?" "We should probably talk in here first, right?" I asked. "About what we were thinking and stuff." She let out a nervousugh. "Yeah. Sorry, I''m¡ªI''m really nervous. And excited? Does that make sense?" "I''m the same. I think part of me always yearned for this, but I was just too¡ª" I didn''t exactly know how to phrase this. "I was too focused on atoning instead of, like,municating. With you." Her fake smile turned real in the most subtle of shifts. It stretched a smidge longer across her face, and there was a hint of teeth. "I''m d I had this idea, then." She scratched her arm¡ªGod, I wanted to touch her so bad. "We should probably stop standing around like two statues and head in." "Right." Maylene''s living quarters were the same as always. Instead of stopping on her living room couch, or her asking me if I wanted anything to eat or drink like she always did, a wordless agreement passed between us, and we went straight to her bedroom. Lucario, along with the rest of her team, were in their Pokeballs tonight, as were my Pokemon. We were alone. "Beautifuldies first," Maylene said, outstretching her hand to lead me in. I breathed out augh as I entered her bedroom. "You just made that up." "No, it''s a thing. Or I''m pretty sure it''s a thing? Candice says it sometimes." "I wouldn''t rely on Candice formon idioms." "Well, youare," Maylene muttered, face flushed with blood. "Beautiful, I mean. And you should go in first. So." My toes curled in my shoes. I wasn''t really wearing anything special yet. Just jeans and a shirt. Despite the effects her words had on me, I wanted to taunt her for not being as smooth and confident as usual, but couldn''t bring myself to ruin the moment. "I¡ªyou too." "You can''t just say ''you too!''" Maylene sat herself down and patted the ground next to her. My spot. "You gotta get better material, Grace." "You catch me off-guard every time!" Iined in a high-pitched whine. "I can''t just instantly recover and find the perfect words like you do." "They''re not perfect. Actually, theyare, but just because it''s you hearing them." I could have asked what that meant. I didn''t. Because I¡ªI couldn''t. Sitting down next to Maylene, I made an effort to scoot myself close to her as I grabbed myptop from my bag, making sure to snag it away quickly so Maylene wouldn''t see¡ª "No peeking!" I grumbled, clutching my bag against my chest so she couldn''t see. "That would be cheating." "I already know what you looked like! Itwouldn''tbe." "Yes it would!" "No, it wouldn''t!" "Oh, you want to see me in themsobad, don''t you?" Somehow, I found myself teasing her, and for once,shewas the one reduced to a stuttering, blushing mess. "Behave; there has to be a proper order to things." "I¡ªI know, I was just curious, gosh." Her fingernails dug into her sleeping mats strongly enough to leave a fading mark. "Where should we start, then?" "Let''s look back to that day," I said. "What do you remember, what were you thinking¡ªthings like that." "Oh. I guess I''m going first, then?" "I mean, I don''t know." My fingers drummed anxiously against the back of myptop, where I''d saved all my notes about Maylene when I''d studied her. The truth was, I was terrified what she''d think about them. From what I remembered, they were pretty brutal. "It''d probably be better." The confused look she gave me was proof she didn''t understand why¡ªand that was because there was no reason¡ªbut she nodded anyway. "Okay. So that day¡­ is kind of a blur besides our battle. I can''t really remember details. Everything this year is kind of a blur until that day, to be honest." The shaking of her trembling breath, followed by the shivering of her fingers, made me want to grab her hand. "I thought I found a good groove, but it was the kind of schedule I just couldn''t keep up. That would burn me out." "Was it like that the entire year until I arrived?" "After the first month, pretty much." She nodded with a somber expression. "The longer it went on, the worse of a person I became. Yelling at my employees, threatening to fire them for any minute mistake, taking more and more workload for myself¡­ I wanted to do everything myself because I thought I''d be a terrible Gym Leader otherwise¡ªbut you already know that." "Hmhm." "So I guess that when you came through, I thought it''d just be another fight. I already knew who you were¡ªkind of. You were involved with the Darkest Day, and I remember feeling really sad when I thought a group of kids had been lost in Cor andreallyhappy when they were confirmed alive in Snowpoint. Candice talked a little about your Gym Battle and how she went nuts with her Darmanitan during the fight." Mayleneughed. "I remember scolding her about that." "I would have loved to hear that call." The corner of my lips crept upward. "She was really sorry, for what it''s worth." "Yeah. I remember her saying she would have given me the badge even if I lost." Everything had been so much simpler back in those days, even if Cor had nearly chewed us up. I missed it. "To be honest, it was a fun battle. Not as fun as Gardenia''s, but I literally passed out because of how intense it was." Maylene''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets."What?!She never told me about that!" "Yeah!" I chortled¡ªtheugh made me move an inch to the side, and my shoulder touched Maylene''s. We shared a nce, but we both pulled away¡ªher faster than me. "I was really nervous about losing because I didn''t want to stay stuck up in Snowpoint all this time and hold everyone back. It was just such strong catharsis that my body just gave away." "Arceus, you''re so weak. You''re basically made of ss." Iughed. "What? Passing away after intense battles is a documented phenomenon! I looked it up after!" She rolled her eyes in a far more exaggerated manner than was needed."Sure,"she said, drawing out the word with irony. "Whatever you say; Itotallybelieve you." I restrained the urge to shut her up by doingsomethingthat I put away from my mind the moment the idea appeared. "If you were well-researched enough¡ªyou know what, this is off-topic! This was supposed to be a serious conversation, you goofball!" I bumped her leg with my knee. She did the same, always so softly despite her strength. Then I did. Then she did. And I wanted to push her¡ª "Okay, okay, I''ll continue," Maylene said, interrupting more nefarious ideas to worm their way into my brain. "So. The months pass, Team Gctic gets worse, and Cynthia''s methods to hunt them down didn''t help my mood. I was immature, so I take all of my frustration out on my employees and challengers¡ªthen you get there. I''m pretty sure I remember having a good day before that fight. Rtively speaking." I did remember her looking slightly more rxed than I had hoped when stepping on the podium. "What''d you think when you saw me?" I asked. To be honest, I''d always been curious. "Well at first, it was just work, you know?" I deted immediately. "Hey, don''t look so sad; God, you''re so extra! You were just another challenger, how was I supposed to know you were going to be special?" I pouted, half serious, half joking. "Whatever," I sighed, containing my smile at the notion that I was special. It just would have had a better shape if she instantly was drawn in by me. She¡ªhonestly, thankfully¡ªdecided to ignore my mini-tantrum. "So yeah, I got really annoyed you weren''t attacking and just running away and changing the field. It just made me feel like I had no control, and I couldn''t stop wishing I had my actual team there to stop you." Maylene cringed, her body tensing¡ªI sneaked in a look at her arms. What was wrong with me? She was pouring her heart out, and I couldn''t stop looking at her. "Honestly though, it wasn''t worse than usual until you¡­ until Infernape." It was my turn to cringe, now. "Yeah. Sorry." "You should apologize to her one of these days¡­" the Gym Leader trailed off, and grimaced for a moment. "Iinstantlyhated you after that." She snapped her fingers. "It was like you flipped a switch in my brain. I thought you were¡­" "Speak freely," I said. "I thought you were disgusting. And a sociopath who took pleasure from tormenting others. It''s why I spoke out immediately." My fingers slid against the spine of myptop, almost a self-soothing motion. The cold metal felt good on my skin. "You were kind of right. Actually, not kind of. It¡ªit felt good doing that to you. I felt sorighteousfor no valid reason¡ªbecause it felt like your reaction was proving something. And I''ve done my best to change since then." "I know," she whispered, staring at me with a genuine smile. It was so soft, so gentle that I felt like I wanted to tear up. After all of this, she still believed in me. And I''d started to believe in myself in thest few weeks thanks to her too. She had pulled me out of the deepest levels of my self-hatred. "You¡ªyou really knew how to push my buttons. Just¡ªit was like you were in my head, and Ihatedhow that made me feel. The entire time, I''d tried to pretend nothing could get to me, that I was invulnerable, but you just tore down that wall in a single twenty minute fight and left me feeling the weakest I''d ever felt in my entire life. And it was sohardto reconcile that." "You recovered in the end, though," I remembered. "When you used aura." "I was getting to that. Ididrecover, because in a way, it felt good to finally stop pretending to be someone I wasn''t. It''s why I found the end of that battle fun despite everything you did." Maylene pulled her knees close to her chest and rested her head on top of them. "And you know, that was only temporary. Because after the battle, I tried to get back to how I used to do things, but I just¡ªcouldn''t." When she stopped, I couldn''t help myself. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. Her legs went t again, but she didn''t pull away. "Do you still want to continue, or do you want to take a break? I can go, if you need to." "No. I can do this," she said, thumb caressing the side of my hand. "One, I was used to reading everything people said about me, and it wasa lot." I remembered seeing the threats, the call to fire her, and the countless insults going her way after our fight. From the public''s perspective, while what I''d done to Infernape had been considered scummy (they only knew that I''d stopped Maylene from recalling her),she''dbeen the one to be unprofessional and who had gone too far. "And I couldn''t stop thinking about our fight after that. I kept ying it over and over in my mind,ing up with ways to expose you if I could ever had a do-over. I didn''twantto think about you, but I couldn''t stop." That was a surprise. "I thought you''d put me out of your mind and try to move on, especially when you took that one month break and started therapy." "It''s what I wanted to do. Again, I just couldn''t. And¡ªis it okay to talk about Dialga and the timelines?" My throat squeezed, making it difficult to breathe for a second. "Sure." "The point at which my timelines diverged. It was our Gym Battle," Maylene revealed. I struggled to evenprehend that notion; I''d thought it would be something from her childhood, or an incident with her father. Notme. "More specifically, the way you approached the fight." I blinked at her. "What?" As she exined how each Grace that came up to her was different¡ªand there was a timeline where she didn''te at all¡ªI slowly began to understand that for some reason, we''d basically seen the exact same events, but from a different perspective. Our fates had somehow been linked, but more than that, it meant that I was the defining moment in her life. That notion alone took away the half fake annoyance and made my heart throb instead. It beat against my chest like a drum even more than it already was. I followed suit soon after, telling her about Virtuous, Anguished, and Beast. It felt liberating to finally speak of Beast and how terrified I still was of the fact that I could have been her tosomeone. "You made names for them?" she asked. "I didn''t¡­ make them. I felt them in the moment where they were reborn as new people." Maylene not having any names for hers was somewhat surprising. I honestly thought it was something everyone had gone through. Since Cecilia hadn''t told me what happened in hers, there had been no way for me to know until tonight. "You know¡­ you were actually in love in me. Uh, I mean, Virtuous me." Maylene nced down at her legs. We''d stopped holding hands at some point. "I kind of figured, now. She was really dense about it, though. I think it''s a trait we all share¡ªor shared. I''m not dense anymore." "Really?" "Really," she assured me. "I know a lot of things. And with that knowledgees freedom, but also pain." Again, there was silence. The beating of hearts, the exhaling of breaths growing shallower and shallower, as if the very air itself had been siphoned from the room. Eyes locked, words lost, and all that remained was a herculean effort to return to normalcy. Maylene was the one to take charge by clearing her throat. Twice, so I would break out of the spell. "Moving on!" she eximed, sweat dripping down her tense, luscious neck. "I just mentioned this because I wanted to tell you how important that battle was to me. So¡­" My throat felt dry. "Whates after? Like in between the fight and when we met again at theke?" "Just more of the same. I told you when I blew up at you, didn''t I? That I''d pictured that conversation in my head a thousand times and that I thought you''d be monstrous," she said. "I mean you have your faults, but¡­ that''s okay. You''re doing better." My face warmed. "Thanks." "Feeling a little better?" "I am! And I''m not lying." Talking this out with her was what had been missing instead of just brushing it off with the notion that she''d forgiven me. Ididbelieve her, but it felt more¡­ tangible if we could bring it up openly despite the hurt. "Should I go now?" "If you''re ready." "Okay. So I guess I should start by saying that Sceon kind of fucked with my head." I''d just told her about how it had defined my entire life up to this point, so she knew the gist of it. "I''d just killed for the first time, Justin had gotten screwed by Shiftry''s darkness, Cecilia''s leg got mangled by a Krokorok¡­ I discovered that Princess had identally been influencing my behavior for months because of the way she trained with Fairy Wind. I needed some space to find myself again. Travel on my own a little bit." The difference was that I''d actuallyspokento Cecilia about it instead of just¡ªnever mind. "Anyway, I stumbled upon a Hatterene¡­" Maylene knew about Be, which I expected given her position as a Gym Leader. She''d never met her before since Cynthia''s Togekiss still handled those meetings, but she had heard a few things about her. Mostly protocol about what to do if she ever went rogue, along with her known behavior. "I was lost, and she found me," I fondly spoke with a smile. "She epted me for who I was and made me feel like I belonged¡ªand while it helped a lot with my confidence and stuff, it kind of¡ªwell, not kind of. It made me into a worse person, because I started to think like her. Iwantedto be like her." "You look up to her anyway?" Maylene guessed. "I do. I love her," I said. "She just thinks differently than we do, and that''s okay. Plus, I''d like to think I changed her alittlebit. I should take you to meet her." It''d have to wait until her kid was born, but I''d love for them to speak. It was technically a part of Maylene''s job. "I don''t think we''d get along much¡­" she mumbled, unsure of herself. "If she can get along with Sunshine, she can get along with you." I held back a grimace when I remembered how their first interactions had gone. "You''ll need to meet her at some point for your job anyway." "Cynth probably thought I was too hardheaded for it." "You were," I confirmed. "Don''t just agree!" she yelled¡ªbut I could see her holding back a smile. Ah, being with her was so much fun, even in tense conversations like these. "So¡­ I was very full of myselfing into Veilstone." That confidence was something I did miss, though I hoped that when I''d regain some of it, it wouldn''t be at the expense of others. "I had a lot of pent up anger within me. When I heard about trainers being pissed at you for being too difficult of a challenge, I started looking into you." I lifted myptop screen. "Um, a warning. This is gonna look weird." "That''s okay." That reply was so¡­ nonchnt but in a good way. I ignored her giggle when I typed in Princess'' birthday as my password. The notes I''d taken about her were already stored in a tab I hadn''t opened since beating her. "Here. I started researching you." Maylene squinted at the screen. "Gosh, why is the font you use always so tiny¡ª" a pause when she realized what she was looking at. "Grace¡­" "I told you it was weird!" "I said that was okay!" she eximed, a little frustrated. "I just didn''t expect¡­ all of this." There were pages upon pages of documented behaviors from previous battles of my badge level at the time, from the way her body moved at certain events to what she tended to say when she enjoyed or hated a fight. There were even behaviors recorded outside her Gym like press conferences with Cynthia about Team Gctic. Most of the notes were actually about her and not the Pokemon she used, though those took arge chunk of the document as well. I flinched when she read past my documentation of her apparent issues with her father, making sure to tell her I didn''t know about the abuse, but she didn''t blow up at me for it. She just paused, hand hovering over the trackpad, let out a little "huh," and continued scrolling. She had to lean my way to maneuver theptop, since it was still on my thighs. I could have handed it to her, but she hadn''t asked, so there was no reason to. She smelled so,sogood. It''d be weird to inhale too much, but I really needed to figure out what the perfect blend of Maylene and whatever washing products she used was. Right now, it was obvious she''d showered before my arrival, so it was mostly artificial. There was something missing, given that I really enjoyed her natural smell as well. There was probably¡ªlike¡ªa Goldilocks zone of smells I could figure out if given enough time. Was it weird to think like this? I stared at Maylene, who was focused on the screen, and internally sighed out awhatever. She''d find it weird if she ever found out, maybe make a few jokes about it here and there, but that was fine. "A lot of these I haven''t even noticed," she whispered. "You¡ªyou kind of dissected me, huh?" "Yeah. I¡ªmy goal was to make you realize you weren''t handling your Gym properly, but I went about it in the most roundabout and obtuse way possible." Her eyes were still transfixed on the screen when she asked, "do you do this for every Gym Leader?" The question sounded almost¡­ wanting. "...not to this extent. At least I don''t focus on the person as much, mostly their Pokemon." Maylene yed with a short strand of her pink hair. "Oh." "It''s part of why I can read you so well, even if your bodynguage has changed a decent amount since then. It''s actually kind of fascinating how people unconsciously change the way their body moves¡ªactually, let''s not get lost in that tangent." "You almost sounded like Nia there," Maylene noted. The eyes she was making at me¡ªwide and a sign that I had her full attention¡ªmade me feel so epted in that moment. She was probably the only person in the world I could talk about this stuff with and not feel like I was walking on a minefield. "Give me an example?" "Of what?" "My bodynguage. It doesn''t have to be something I''m doing now." I blinked, momentarily thrown off by the request. "Your bodynguage?" I repeated, trying to organize my thoughts. "Um, the evil glint in your eyes every time you have a really goode back prepared for me. But there''s not just your eyes¡ªyour head kind of gets a little lower, like you''re just about to pounce. You also try to stop yourself from smiling to not give it away, but you fail horribly like nine times out of ten, but whatever you say catches me off guard regardless¡ªI just know it''sing. Also, your lips get really crooked because of it¡ªyou''re doing it right now." Her constrained smile turned devious. "You''re so obsessed with me. You''resucha creep." Unlike her, I managed to hide theing smile very well, but not the flutters in my stomach that always came when she yfully called me something bad and made me squirm in ce. "You can read me pretty well, too," I countered. "And don''t act like the obsession doesn''t go both ways." "Prove it," she challenged. "I could. Easily. I know what makes you tick," I said, leaning toward her with my voice low. "What I''m hearing is that you''re too chicken to actually say it." "Maylene, you literally¡ªyou yed with your hair when I said you were the only one I looked into that much!" Obviously, she didn''t enjoy the battle itself, nor the aftermath, but maybe a part of Maylene enjoyed having someone look into her that much. "Don''t pretend." "Technically, that just means I liked the care you took when looking into me. It doesn''t meanI''mobsessed." She was looking at my lips. The lips I''d started to bite out of habit whenever she stared at them like that¡ªlike she was practically begging. I repeated what she said, but in a voice clearly mocking her, and this¡­ whatever this was fizzled out. "During the fight, I was kind of disassociated. Like it''s this thing I used to do where I became kind of a machine whose only purpose is to get to her goal¡ªand that goal was beating you in a specific way." Maylene stared at me in disbelief. "What? I grew out of it." She couldn''t really make sense of what I was saying. "Grew out of it?" "Yes. It makes me too prone to making mistakes." Not in the sense that I might screw up in a fight, but in the sense that I might identally kill too many people or not value the lives of the people I love. "It was too dangerous. I think it was the first time I did it fully, though. Be''s the one who taught me; she sometimes uses it to bepletely impartial for deals." "So I was like yourb rat?" "Kind of. Granted, I broke out of it at some point and started actually enjoying the fight¡ªthat''s the thing I don''t like about it also. Like, you can''t enjoy a battle if you disassociate." That was why I hadn''t done it with Volkner, Wake, or Byron. Gym Battles were meant to befun. "Um, like I said, the fight is kind of a blur to me because I''ve tried not thinking about it much. I considered watching it tonight with you, but I¡ªI don''t think I''m ready for that yet." "That''s okay. We don''t even have to do it¡ªor we can do it whenever you want. I''ve watched it plenty." "What?" "What? I told you I was imaginingebacks I could have said, didn''t I?! They were angry rewatches!" "I never stated otherwise!" I raised my hands up innocently. "I was just surprised you''d subject yourself to that." And she said she wasn''t obsessed with me. Hmph! "I told you, didn''t I? I''m a big girl." She pointed at herself with her thumb with a smug expression. "I can take it." "After the fight¡­ well, it hit me right away that I''d gone way too far, especially with torturing Infernape. I hid that one from my friends for a while." I''d even only told Cecilia during our break when I confessed everything to her over the phone in Sceon. Backlot, the powers¡ªeverything. "But, um, then Cynthia summoned us, and there was the entire end of the world stuff, so I couldn''t really focus on it. Not until after Pastoria, anyway." Maylene''s lips went t. "The raid." "It''s when I finally pulled my head out of the sand and decided I couldn''t keep going like this, or I''d end up like Mars. Or Beast¡ªthough I didn''t know about her existence at the time. And I started thinking about how to apologize to you over those weeks of soul-searching. Candice actually wanted to help me¡­" "Yeah, I knew about that." She scratched the back of her head, averting her eyes. "I wasn''t ready to forgive you yet." "That''s fine. I''m just happy you forgave me now." She wasn''t wearing sleeves, and I wasn''t about to breach protocolagaintonight, but I desperately wanted to lean against her shoulder. Instead, we just stayed quiet for a minute or two, letting everything we''d said settle in for good. We''d made it. We''d pushed past that day ande out stronger for it. Now, all that remained was my outfit to perfectly end this tale. "Do you feel better now?" Maylene asked. "So much better. I know this is amon saying, but it''s like a weight''s been lifted from my shoulders. I feelsomuch lighter now." Now that we''d gone into detail about that day and the weeks and months surrounding it, I finally found the will to forgive myself for what I''d done. I had fucked up.Seriouslyfucked up. But I''d atoned enough, and she''d forgiven me. "And look at us now, all chummy," I noted with a quirk at the corner of my mouth. "Who would have thought?" She snorted. "Not me. Like, at all." "Oh! I forgot to ask, but how was work today? Fabian told me you were finishing up something before I arrived." Her face soured. "That snitch." For a few minutes, she told me about her day like usual and how the reason she''d been working thiste was because she hadn''t been able to focus throughout the day and she still hadn''t finished. I enjoyed hearing about the small stories she had to tell about incidents with Pokemon or internal Gym drama¡ªthe nonserious kind. It kind of made me wish I had as many little happenings to report on, but my daily life wasn''t nearly as interesting yet. I was still finding my footing; it was a lot more stable than it had been weeks ago. It was nowhere as crippling to be away from CeciliaorMaylene, and I was actually doing things on my own these days. I did have old stories about my journey to tell, but I was kind of running out of those. The interesting, non-depressing ones, at least. "It''s been nearly an hour," I said after staring down at the time on myptop''s screen. "I should go change. Unless you want to talk more?" I''d never be against that; she was just so much fun to be around. "I don''t mind starting now; it''s up to you." "...then I''ll go change." "You can use my bathroom if you don''t want to go all the way to the basement." Maylene stood up and went to open her bedroom door, and there was a squeeze around my heart. "I''ll be waiting down at the arena anyway." "Sure. That''s convenient." I followed suit and left her bedroom with her, making sure to turn off the lights. When we reached her bathroom, she spoke again. "Then I''ll see you in a few? The doors to the arena will be unlocked." Her eyes drifted across my body, like she was taking the sight of me in onest time before I became Grace from the past. It felt so good when she looked at me. "Yep," I said, entuating on the p. She didn''t wait to leave, practically running away before I could even enter her bathroom. It was, I realized, my first time in there. Every time we hung out, we only did for at most two hours, and somehow, I''d never needed to use the bathroom before at her Gym. Maylene''s bathroom was as minimalistic as it got¡ªclean, uncluttered, and quietly functional. Really, it was just like her. The walls were a soft, neutral beige, with no artwork or decorations to break the uniformity. A simple white sink sat beneath a frameless mirror. The countertop was clear, save for a single soap dispenser, a toothbrush in an empty cup, citrus-vored toothpaste, and a neatly folded towel. The shower was enclosed in in ss with a few cleaning products on the ground neatly arranged against the wall. I spied each brand out of the corner of my eye before I started changing. I slid the tights above my knees, then my waist, the fabric tense and warm against my skin. The pleaded skirt followed, its edges settling around my thighs, and finally, the sweater. Maylene had called it a little too big for me, and she was frustratingly still correct¡ªIt draped loosely over my frame, a subtle reminder that I hadn''t grown much, if at all, in the past few months. I pulled my old sneakers from my bag, and my feet slid into them without any resistance. Finally, I untied my ponytail and ran my fingers through my hair, letting it fall naturally over my shoulders just like that day. It felt both wrong and right to stare at myself in the mirror. It was like I''d been transported back to that day. My body thrummed with a mix of excitement and shame, and somehow, it felt almost as if I''d been about to battle her again; it was soweird.After a few final adjustments with my hair, I put my Poketch Watch around my wrist and started making my way down. When asionally crossing paths with the Gym staff, I felt the urge to hide as if they''d somehow know what I was doing. So stupid. When I got to the Gym''s waiting room for challengers, I sat on one of the long wooden benches along the wall with my eyes closed. Besides just¡­ mirroring what had happened with Maylene, if I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and let the silence overtake me, I could almost picture the subtle noise from the crowds that spectated Gym Battles. The sound, albeit fake, made my entire body feel warm. I''d missed this feeling. Being on edge, the way the stakes felt so high for a digital badge. Something given value through society, or more precisely, the countless stories of trainers who had trodden this path before me for hundreds of years. Walking the steps of my ancestors, all with their different goals and dreams and pains and vices¡ªit was a feeling onlythisroom could give you. And I had kind of missed it, even if no battle was going to take ce tonight. I had¡­ considered asking for it, but there was a reason I hadn''t asked to train my team with Maylene despite knowing that Princess could potentially delve into aura. It just felt like a step too far. The way I battled hadn''t changed at all since Cor. In fact, during my training with Ramon, my brain had constantly reached for kill angles and opportunities to win through murder instead of through knockouts. I had never actuallydone so, of course, and my Pokemon wouldn''t have stooped that low even if something had slipped. It just made battling not as enjoyable as it could be. The exciting edge had gone from the fear or loss to the fear that I was fighting someone out to kill me. I was working through it. Slowly. But I was getting sidetracked. I''d nearly missed the loud ring sound of the battlefield''s lights turning on one by one. My hands slowly felt at the wood below me until they gripped the bench with anxiety. One more minute, just to be sure she''d be in her spot, and it was time to go. I was almost in a trance when I pushed the doors open. Usually, a trainer would open them after outfitting me with a microphone. They were heavier than they looked¡ªI heaved against the metallic handle and was met by two rows of hundreds of empty seats. I was so used to seeing them at least half-filled that it felt soalien. Like I''d entered another room and not a Gym''s main arena. My steps reverberated across the enormous room, and there were no ps, no hoots, no snide remarks or words of support. I slowly climbed the stairs and was met with a battlefieldlowerthan I remembered¡ª She''d changed it, with spires that almost looked like buildings¡ª I¡­ it didn''t matter. The moment I saw her, she was all I could focus on. A jolt shot down my spine, sharp and undeniable. My eyes locked onto her like I had no control, and hers never left mine either. The air between us felt charged, like something unspoken but powerful was holding us in ce. I could barely breathe, each exhale shallow, every inhale tighter, as if the room had suddenly shrunk around us. My heart pounded in my chest, and yet, somehow, everything felt right. The tension wasn''t crippling¡ªit was electric, alive,writhing,like a living thing, like something just waiting to happen. It was easy to focus on Maylene. Somehow, as small as she was from this far, she managed to fill every corner of my vision as if she was the only person who would ever matter. My eyes narrowed at her as if we''d been preparing to battle, every muscle in my body coiled tight, and my teeth mping down on my lips to help me focus. Her legs trembled beneath her like she could barely stand upright. For a moment, I thought I''d screwed up, but then I noticed how harshly she was breathing, how flushed her face was despite the fact that she was shaking like some cornered Eevee, and I realized that she was enjoying this like I was. And how could I not? This felt so cathartic, like a loop finally closing, or a ribbon neatly tied together after a hundred attempts. The climax of a story right before the denouement could begin. Time had no meaning here. We could have been standing like this for a minute, or maybe it was ten, or twenty. The world outside didn''t exist. It was just us¡ªher eyes darting, her mouth partly open, her breathing uneven¡ªand I wish she''d worn a microphone so I could hear it¡ªher body twitching and shivering in uncontroble ways, changing with every little action of mine. I could feel the tension between us tightening with every second, an invisible thread wanting to pull us closer, making everything more intense. Each subtle reaction of hers felt like a spark within my chest, fueling this silent exchange. Then; I took a step back, unable to wait any longer. She knew what it meant¡ªshe followed suit and started walking down her tform. I was so lightheaded I nearly tripped on my way down, but I caught myself and jumped thest few stairs.Don''t run. Don''t run.Don''t run.The notion had to be beaten into my legs so I didn''t just make a mad dash toward her as we walked along the edges of the arena. Intentionally or unintentionally, we were replicating exactly what had happened after my victory against her¡ªwalking up to each other so she''d hand me a badge. But there was no badge. Neither victory or defeat, but a quiet understanding that this was the perfect moment to practice, precedent be damned. Formypart, at least. Precedent, notrules. Nothing in the contract said that we weren''t allowed to practice even if we had slightly under an hour left tonight¡ª I blinked at Maylene, my eyes almost fluttering. She was so sweaty¡ªIwas so sweaty, and it certainly wasn''t just because I was wearing winter clothing. The sweat clung to her skin, making her glow in the bright industrial lighting. Beads of it traced down her temples, slipping past her jawline and down her neck. Her hair stuck in damp strands around her face, framing her in a way that somehow made her look even more alluring. There was a sheen in her arm outlining her muscles¡ªbut my eyes couldn''t stray from her mouth for too long. "Was that¡ª" she asked. "Should we practice now?" Words spilled out of me faster than I could register them, and heavy breaths followed suit. Maylene was having difficulty breathing too. The fact that I''d rendered her this way by just looking at her was¡­ I didn''t know what it was, but it was pleasant. "H¡ªhere? I thought we''d go back in my room." "Think about it. Isn''t the moment perfect?" I shed a ravenous smile at her and licked my lips. "Months ago, we stood in this very spot, and you handed me my badge with only hatred in your eyes.Isn''t this perfect?" I asked again, still speaking so quickly that my words were barely coherent. "Ireallydon''t want to lose that thread; it would be sounsatisfying. If we just walk away now, the story''ll be gone." She gave me a tightened nod, her chin barely moving, and said, "I''m ready, then¡ªwait, the rm!" Fuck, I''d nearly forgotten. Maylene quickly set up the rm. She messed up a few times, her sweaty fingers slipping on the screen, but eventually¡ª "Remember the safe word." I was the one who''d said it this time. There would be no order to it. No turns. Maylene touched me first, and I felt her fingertips glide up the fabric of my skirt, the gentle pressure of her palm following the curve of my thigh. The warmth slipped through the tights¡ªwe stumbled around, barely able to stand still until I pushed her toward a wall under the stands. Where she''d been slow and deliberate before, hers was a fraying and desperate movement now. Forceful, demanding, yearning for me in a way that made me feel so loved. At the same time, her other hand found its way to my neck, fingers grazing the skin just beneath my jaw. The touch was light at first, almost tentative, but it lingered, warm and steady. Her thumb brushed the side of my throat in slow, deliberate strokes, sending a shiver down my spine. It wasn''t forceful, but there was an undeniable weight behind it¡ªa quiet intensity that rendered me nearly breathless. Her aura red up when I started touching her momentster, enveloping the both of us in shing blue fire that was both so cold and so warm and just so hypnoticallyher. One of my hands had already slipped under her shirt, fingers pressing against the tight skin of her stomach, feeling the rise and fall of her uneven breaths beneath my palm. Sometimes I moved too far up and felt the edge of her sports bra, but I¡ªI barely controlled myself, instead enjoying the little noises and bursts of aura I could draw out of her like she was my instrument. Not thatIwas any better. My other hand tangled in her hair, fingers gripping tight as my nails dug against her scalp. Every pull, every press drew her closer to me. There was no taint anymore, no darkness wherever I touched her. She''d epted me fully as I was and as I would be. The flickering blue light reflected in her eyes, wide and searching; her chest rose and fell in rhythm with mine. My heart pounded in my ears as the tension between us tightened, every second stretching out as her face hovered just inches from mine. Closer.Closer. Maylene stared into my eyes as her hand somehow made contact with the skin of my thigh, and I could barely stop myself from looking at her lips. The curve of her lower lip seemed to tremble ever so slightly with each sweet breath reaching my nose. They were soft, slightly parted, and glistened faintly in the dim light as if they''d been waiting to be¡ªto be¡ª I couldn''t¡ª I¡ª Looked at her in the eyes. Stars sparkled around her. I closed the final inch and lunged at her mouth like a starving animal would jump at Ambrosia. The moment we connected, everything else fell away¡ªthe tension, the hesitation¡ªit all dissolved into the heat of the kiss. My hand kept dragging against her scalp; my nails under her shirt scratched against her upper back with strength that would have made anyone elsebleedas I tore away their skin. Her body pressed against mine so strongly that it was as if we''d melded into a single being. I''d wanted this for so long. Needed this. So I pushed against her as she tumbled on the ground and then fell on top of her. My knees painfully hit the ground, but¡ªwhatever. This was soelectricI nearly forgot to breathe, so a little pain was low priority. Her eyes practically begged me to continue, and I certainly wasn''t going to wait, so I licked my lips and took hers again. Maylene was so clumsy, but eager. Was I her first kiss? Sometimes our teeth bumped awkwardly against each other, but even that felt right. Like the imperfections were part of what made it so perfect. Her lips moved against mine with an intensity that left me dizzy, her breath mixing with mine in frantic, uneven gasps that passed for breathing. I bit and licked and smiled against her¡ªand everything I could. I was on top of her, and then she was on top of me¡ªI wrapped my legs around her to keep her close¡ªand then I was on top again and over and over in the never-ending dance of bliss and desire that left us rolling around on the cold hard floor like it was the mostfortable bed in the world. I ignored the pesky rm of her phone that had fallen out of her pocket a dozen feet away and pushed for more. I had to keep going. I had to squeeze every single ounce of pleasure from this moment. Because if I stopped for even just a second¡ª "Epi¡ªepilogue!"Maylene forced out against me, shattering the illusion. I stopped immediately, my hands retreated to stay all by their lonesome instead of creeping further up her shirt, I pushed my mouth off hers, and she crawled away from me. For a moment, we just stayed there, sat on the ground and breathing harshly. She was¡ªradiating; there was no other word for it. But¡ª It slowly started sinking in. I''d known we were kissing of course¡ªI¡ªI¡ªthere was no way to deny that; I''d just been so into it, and it had been sogoodthat I couldn''tstopand it had stretched for long and longer until I still wanted more and¡ª Ah. Of course. It was because I was in love with her. Oh God. Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God¡ªno! My hands gripped at my hair, an agonized grimace grew on my face, and I took step after step backwards as tears welled up in my eyes. I could barely see straight; my head was spinning as if I was drunk, or what I imagined being drunk was like¡ªI couldn''t have kissed¡ªthat wasn''t me!I wasn''t who my mother used to be!All those words I threw at her, all the animosity, thevenom, the years of avoidance and calling her every insult under the sun while my dad wasn''t listening. If I was her, then those would apply to me and I¡­ I just couldn''t. "We can''t¡ªwe can''t do this," Maylene cried. "You have Cecilia. I can''t be doing all of this if I''m just gonna be¡ª" a hup interrupted her. "I know I said I could take it, but I''m sorry.Thisis too much. I can''t be your secret you just give up on when Ceciliaes back." "That''s not what I¡ª"I let out a frustrated groan, not at her, but at myself. "I can''t¡­ it wasn''t supposed to be like this." When we''d first forged the contract in the ceremony, I hadwarned herthat I''d taint her! That I''d make herworse.Maylene had helped me so much, but it hade at the extent of her own morals. It was all my fault. "I''m sorry I made you do this." Sheughed, bitter and slightly angry. "You didn''t¡ªGrace,I am in love with you." I knew that already, but the statement hit me like a truck. "Iwanted to kiss you. And to go on dates with you, and to hear your stupidugh every time we met, and to see you get healthier, and to hear you rant about bad movies because of their unrealistic death fights, and¡­" Maylene sighed, wiping the never-ending tears off her face. "I also wanted to help you.So, so bad. And I thought I''d just be able to keep my distance throughout those weeks, but I didn''t think that being with the person you loved could be sofulfillingbut also sopainful¡ªI''ve never even been in love before!" she said with a frustrated scream that made me wince. "I shouldn''t have gotten selfish," Maylene finished in the smallest of voices. "I should have kept you at arm''s length." She would have. If I hadn''t kept pulling her closer. I''d made her cry. I''d make Cecilia cry. Oh, Legendaries, what would she even say? I couldn''t hide the kiss from her; it wouldn''t be right. I had toe clean. "I''m not going to keep this a secret; I''m going to tell her. Everything." Every fibre of my awful existence was telling menot to. It was just one kiss; it would do more harm than good to tell her when we could just sweep this under the rug andwhywasIthinkinglikethis?Stop it.Stop. It.It would just hurt both girls even more, which was thest thing I wanted when I loved them. I just deserved neither. "I¡ªI should go," I sobbed. "I''m sorry. For kissing you when I shouldn''t have." Something died in her eyes, and I wanted tofort her, but what was there even to say? It''d be better if she was cut off from my toxicity. If she could start hating me again, then she''d be better off¡­ I didn''t want her to hate me. I wanted her to love me just like I loved her. But that wasn''t possible. We never should have seen each other at the ceremony; I shouldn''t have allowed myself to feel hope. If we hadn''t made the contract, then my life would have withered away like it should have. I love youwould make it hurt more. "I''m sorry," was what came out again. Maylene only nodded. I didn''t bother getting my stuff back from a room. The world was a haze when I left, and by the time I came to, a car honked at me for crossing the road when the pedestrian light was red. I''d made him m the breaks. "S¡ª" I couldn''t even apologize. There was a disgusting taste in my mouth that made it difficult to speak. He lowered his window and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Just get off the fuckin'' road!" While waiting in front of Maylene''s Gym for the assigned Kadabra toe back would have been an option, I didn''t want to spend another second looking at that ce. It hurt, but the pain barely registered. My body felt numb, like I wasn''t fully there, as though the connection between my mind and flesh had frayed. The skin on my muscles and bones was distant, unfamiliar, as if I were a ghost drifting across Veilstone instead of a human. Eventually, I found myself sitting under the heavy luminescence of a streetlight, watching the time pass me by. To my left, an old convenience store stood, its windows dimly lit and streaked with the residue of countless raindrops, the faint buzz of a flickering neon ''open'' sign cutting through the gloom. Beside it, a narrow alleyway stretched into darkness, littered with forgotten debris. From it emanated the faint stench of damp concrete and old discarded trash. On the right, a row of apartment buildings loomed tall, cold, and impersonal. Their fa?ades were cracked and weathered, with the asional balcony cluttered byundry left out too long or a neglected potted nt. Above, faint shadows moved behind drawn curtains, as distant and indifferent as the world passing me by. My hands sometimes would graze my lips, trying to recall the feeling of kissing Maylene, but then I''d catch myself and remember that I didn''t deserve to remember. Every time someone walked next to me, I would shrink. Could they see how dark my soul was, how I struggled to keep it from spilling over and ruining everything? How vile and twisted it had be? Their gazes felt like des, sharp and unrelenting, grazing the surface of my skin wherever their eyesnded. Every time I moved away, I could feel their judgment, their silent cuts, leaving invisible wounds behind. A text broke me from my spell, and I considered just not looking at it. Just staying here for days until I became one with this bench. Three weeks ago, I probably would have. Today, I grabbed it from my pocket, eyes bleary and tired from having cried for so long, and I looked at who was trying to contact me. Dad-Hey kiddo. You said you''d be home by 10:30, and it''s nearly midnight. Just checking in, so let me know if you''re saying over with your friend. God¡­ damn it. My hand clenched my phone so tightly that they went white. What woulddadsay? The few times he''d talked about mom cheating on him, he''d kept his cards tight against his chest, but the sheer pain in his eyes had been undeniable.So much timehad passed, and it still hurt him like a fresh wound. How would he even look at me? How would he talk to me?Would he even love me anymore? I couldn''t¡ªdeal with this alone. Despite not deserving anything, let alone good memories with her, I thought back to my many moments with Maylene. The lessons of not isting myself to feel the pain I so rightfully deserved. If I didn''t apply them here, then when would I ever? Honey and Angel popped out of their Pokeballs with a hiss, their forms taking shape at my side. The few passersby spared them a nce at best¡ªit was not umon to have trainers releasing Pokemon out at any time of the day, even if one was an Electivire. Months ago, I''d designated them as my conscience. My two pure-hearted children who wanted nothing but good for the world, yet who hadmefor a trainer and mother. Angel was distracted by the warm lighting of the neon sign nearby, but a tap from Honey on his vines made him pay attention, and he instantly figured that there was something wrong with me. A couple of vines cradled my face and wrapped around me in a gentle hug while he signed a''what''s wrong?''at me, and Honey sat himself down next to me even though his frame was far toorge for the bench. The first thing he asked me was if someone died again. I let out a sadugh; I hadn''t been the only one who''d been hurt by this year. "No. It''s not that bad." Though it certainly felt that way. "Rtively speaking, I mean. It''s just¡­ I fucked up again," I said. "I keep fucking up. Over and over. I can''t stop." Angel''s eyes met mine, full of pain and worry, and he asked if I wanted to go see Be since he noticed we were in Veilstone. I shook my head. "No. She wouldn''t understand, and I don''t want to disturb her and her egg with this fucking¡­ drama." An exhausted sigh left my barely parted lips. "I¡­" Legendaries, justsay it. "I kissed Maylene tonight." Their reactions couldn''t have been more different. Honey''s eyes widened, and his hand covered his mouth as he let loose a swear that I didn''t have the energy to scold him for. Angel jumped for joy, two clumps of vines pping together as he signed that he hadn''t known why I''d waited for so long when I clearly liked her. Honey brought his arm down in a swift, chopping motion, his hand slicing through the air as it connected harmlessly with the grass type''s head, before telling him that I wasn''t allowed to have two girlfriends. "Technically, you can, but that ship''s sailed," I mumbled. "It wasn''t even just the kiss, it waseverythingpreceding it. From the ceremony¡­ maybe even earlier than that. I don''t even know where I started liking her exactly." Going over this was making me tear up again. I leaned against Honey''s warm fur and sniffled. "I did something terrible, and now I¡ªI don''t know how to proceed. Dad messaged me, but I don''t know if I should go back on Princess, or get a room at a Pokemon Center." The flight would no doubt takehours, so I''d probably need a room anyway; I wasn''t going to fly at night while I was tired. I just didn''t know how long I wanted to stay away for. "I''m scared of how he''ll look at me." Angel''s eyes gently squeezed shut with sadness, and he signed that dad would always love me no matter what. Well, he didn''t call him dad, he called him ''progenitor,'' but that was the same thing. "I don''t¡ªI mean, maybe. But how can he reconcile that his daughter''s done the one thing that has caused him the most pain in his life?" Again, the Tangrowth signed while he wiped the tears off my face with a vine, saying that while my father would no doubt be disappointed and maybe even hurt, I was his only daughter. He''d forgiven me for killing people; he must have known that I''d killed even more in Cor, or at least he couldinferit. Hemented, adding that this would bring a pain more personal, but he surely would forgive me again. While he didn''t know I had murdered so many I couldn''t remember the actual number, what was the difference between someone who''d killed twenty and someone who''d killed over a hundred? Thescale, yes, but both were monsters anyway. Honey chimed in and gave me his best smile; his teeth shone in the night, even under the streetlight. He agreed with his sibling, but added that if I needed to, I could wait and gather my thoughts for a few days to speak to dad. The most important bit was tonothide it from him. "Yeah." I nodded, fist clenching. "That''s the kind of thing that would make him take¡­ maybe even years to forgive me. I wouldn''t." The electric type patted me on the shoulder. "I think I''ll sleep at a Pokemon Center tonight and then¡­ face the music." My hands cradled my face as I sighed. "Damn it¡­ I hurt Maylenereallybadly." Peeking through a crack in my fingers, I could see Angel ask what I wanted with her. Honey whispered not to be so direct, but instead, the Tangrowth tickled the underside of his arms until he relented. Then, he asked a broader question.In your ideal world, what would happen following this night? "I don''t know," I said. "I don''t even know what I want half the time, Angel." He asked me to please think about it. "...fine. Let me go buy some juice or something first. I''m thirsty." After standing up, I pushed open the door to the convenience store and was greeted by the familiar ding of a bell. The harsh glow of the neon sign outside spilled into the dimly lit interior, casting an eerie tint over the shelves. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, flickering every few seconds. I nced at the half-asleep cashier, who was leaning against the counter. I couldn''t imagine working here without getting a headache. She looked down at my legs with an intrigued look and a raised eyebrow, and I realized that Maylene had torn apart my tights in the excitement of practice. I''d been so out of it that I hadn''t even noticed. The fabric clung to my skin in jagged strips and chaotic webs. Normally, I would have cared, and Melody would probably send me an angry text about it tomorrow morning, but I justcouldn''tbring myself to. The faint hum of the refrigerators pulled me toward the back, where rows of drinks stood lined up, and I saw my reflection in the ss. The girl in the mirror looked¡ªI looked so defeated, and my hair was a mess. I. Me. I had done this; I had cheated. My palm touched the refrigirator window until my face was no longer visible, and a smile tugged the side of my lips. I grabbed a bottle of juice¡ªcitrus, something with a hint of sweetness to cut through the tiredness that woulde tonight¡ªand turned toward the snack aisle where I grabbed a bag of in salted chips. The total came up to barely eighty Pokedors, far cheaper than it would have been in Jubilife. Back on the bench, I struggled against the bottle cap for a bit until Honey popped it open. I inhaled the top of the juice bottle and let out a relieved sigh. It smelled a little like Maylene''s breath after she brushed her teeth¡ª I had to stop. It was over with her; I hurt her too much and I didn''t deserve someone like her. She needed someone kinder. More normal. Like¡ªlike any other trainer. Or maybe soon enough, Fantina would retire, and there''d be a nice co-worker her age avable for her there. Anyone but me. For a few minutes, I sat there silently, munching on my chips and drinking my juice, until I was finally ready to answer the question. "In an ideal world where I couldn''t change the events that had taken ce today," I began before licking my mrs clean, "I''d want to run back to Maylene''s Gym and tell her how much she means to me and that I love her. I''d want to speak to Cecilia to see what changed. If anything changed. And then I''d bring the three of us together to talk. But this isn''t an ideal, utopian world. This is real life, where every actiones at a cost." I wouldn''t be surprised if Maylene wanted nothing to do with me now, and if Cecilia still wasn''t in the correct mindspace to realize that I was scum and she should break up with me, then I''d need to be the one to¡ª The one to¡ª Deep breaths. I''d need to be the one to end things for her own good. Cecilia also deserved someone better than me who she could feel happy with. Maybe some prim and proper orwhateverUnovan girl she''d find there, one who would be able to fill the void I was going to leave. Was I sick if part of mehopedI''d leave a void? A little one that she could still function with? I certainly knew she''d leave a void in me. Nearly a year together, all ruined out because I was selfish girl who wouldn''t control her desires. So selfish in fact that my heart couldn''t help but ache when I imagined her happy with someone else who wasn''t me¡ªerasing myself out of the picturepletely. Imagining Cecilia with someone while I was still there to be her girlfriend was fine, butwithout me?There was a seed of jealousy growing, its vines coiling around my heart until it hurt to breathe. The fuckingnerveof my brain. I''d never imagined usnottogether; it felt like we''d be able to make it through any difficulties ande out¡­ not stronger, buttighterfor it. It was like¡ªlike a story cut short. If I''d talked it out with her like I always did with Maylene, then would we have reached this position? But she''d run. She''d run because I had ignored every problem rearing its ugly head through the year and let her be this warped by my presence. "Yeah. I''m going to sleep, and then I''ll go home tomorrow morning," I said. "Thank you guys for understanding. The others¡­ well, I love them, but they wouldn''t understand." Honey side-hugged me and said they just wanted me to be happy. "Yeah. Me too." Me-Dad I''m staying at Veilstone for tonight, sorry to worry you. I have something to tell you when Ie back. I crumpled the bag of chips and made my way to the nearest Center. ¡ª When you were nervous about something, morning somehow managed toe incredibly slowly and quickly at the same time. What felt like an eternity was spent tossing and turning on your bed passed in a sh when you blinked onest time, and the Starly were chirping outside. It was difficult to breathe when I came to, as if I was being slightly suffocated¡ª "Mmf!" With a gasp of air, I pushed Princess'' wing off my face, and she screeched indignantly like I''d just force fed her carrots.Andshe looked at me like I''d destroyed one of her statues. "What?" I said, bleary eyed. She huffed and jumped on Sunshine''s shell¡ªthe fire type had been asleep, curled up beside the bed¡ªand he groaned at her. I shook my head at the fairy. "Stop being a baby, okay? I''m sorry for not having you outst night; I just thought you wouldn''t have¡­ well, I guess you could have listened to us speak." I''d told the rest of my Pokemon about my predicament before going to sleep (I''d needed to do it with Sweetheart separately), and while they all understood, or just¡­ didn''t care much in acertaindragon''s case, Princess hadn''t taken it well. She considered it a betrayal of some sort. The flying type huffed again, saying that she''d also keep a bunch of secrets from me from now on. "Come on, I didn''t keep it asecret. I just¡ªI told Honey and Angel first, because I was in a really bad state of mind, and they''re better equipped for that kind of stuff." I pushed myself off the bed, sitting at its side. I''d only slept with these two tonight¡ªand Cassianus, who hadn''t spoken up yet. "I still am, to be honest! I just waited a little bit because I don''t think I could have handled the kind of advice you would have given." There was a slight, sharp shiver in the air, and a few strands of my hair fell to the floor. "Cutting won''t do anything about this, youngdy," I scolded, before smiling. "That was great control, though! So close to the neck, but you were still confident enough to go for it; I''m proud of you. You''re getting better." I knelt next to her and ruffled the fur on her head. That was that. The anger evaporated, and we were back to normal. I abhor these¡­ training methods,Cass said, their eyes half-closed to show us howjudgythey were being.What if your head fell off? The Advisor has been telling me about Kalosian monarchs as ofte, and I wouldn''t want the same fate to befall you¡­ Why was Buddy telling him aboutthatwhen he knew Cass thought we were a court. Was he pulling some kind of prank? He did somewhat enjoy scaring people¡­"No worries, the cut would be too shallow to actually kill me," I said. "Thanks for worrying about me, though. No incidentsst night?" No incidents to report, your grace. Ah!they mimicked a gasp.Actually, I saw a Pidgey and a Starly fight for dominance out of the window at approximately 5:36 AM¡ªwait, is this one of those things that are of no importance? "You can tell me about it if you found it interesting." I gave Sunshine a gently kick in the arm, and he finally woke up, warm tail sweeping across the carpet. "Mornin'', Sunshine. Ya hungry?" My morning routine was¡­ not easy. But it was more manageable than I thought it''d be, especially afterst night. That was, of course, because I hadn''t turned on my phone yet or looked at my messages. Was being able to ignore the problem and act almost as if nothing had happened an improvement over just lying in bed all day? Part of me wanted to say yes, but another part wanted to berate myself for daring to chat with my Pokemon like I didn''t deserve the sky to copse on my head. I didn''t dy much¡ªonly one hour. I chatted to Sunshine about my workshopped n for his progress, something I''d donned ''Star Theory,'' and Princess had a drawingpetition with Cass that was the judge of. Truth be told, while she had the best psychic control of the twoso far, she was horrible with crayons and kept drawing things I couldn''t even make sense of. I''d ask her what it was, she''d tell me because she was too excited to wait, and then I would smile, nod, and give her the win after shooting Cass a discreet wink. I''d finally released Mimi out of their Pokeball, but they were giving me the silent treatment for staying in there too long and had morphed into a spiky bracelet to reflect their mood. It was only when I stared daggers at my ckened phone screen that the heavy weight of dread settled deep in my chest. My thumb hovered just above the power button, frozen, as if pressing it would unfreeze time and shatter the peace. But time wasstill going. The world still moved despite wanting to avert my gaze, and so I turned it on. A thumbs up from dad. Nothing from Maylene. An angry paragraph from Melody. A text from Cecilia¡ª I nearly threw my phone across the room. How?Why?I''d known she''d being back soon, butnow? Of course, ithadto be now. The second most likely moment for her to contact me was the morning after making a rtionship-ending mistake¡ªthe first would have been while I''d been kissing Maylene. Stories were useful to anchor myself within the world and navigate its treacherous waters, but they also sometimes fucked me over like this. I peeked at the phone screen again, but it was like staring at the sun. The light threatened to blind me; it was nearly enough to make me give up right then and there in hopes of handling this. Later felt good. It was a nebulous term that theoretically meant soon, but was always dyed, dyed and dyed until the problem could no longer be ignored, and you had to forcefully be dragged into the scorching light. My Pokemon looked at me, clearly wondering what was wrong, and I told them the issue. If you want, I can read it out loud for you,Cassianus helpfully said.I''m very good at reading. The Princess sometimes forces me to read her bedtime stories¡ª "I know," I said, voice trembling. My fingers were tight against my phone case. "I have to do it myself. I deserve this." Enough stalling. I''d made a horrible mistake, but she didn''t deserve to be ignored,especiallywhen I''d cheated on her. Hiding wouldn''t work. Eventually, she''d ask around about me ignoring her, or we''dobviouslybump into each other as stories often went. The best n of action here was to contain the situation and to not let it slip out of my control. A confrontation wasing, but if I could get ready for it¡­ I looked at my screen through a squint. Cece-Good morning, Grace. I''ve done a lot of soul searching these past few weeks, and I''m back on the maind. While I would like to talk to you right away, I''m willing to give you as much time as you need. There are a lot of issues in our rtionship that need to be ironed out. It''s going to be a tough conversation, but I''m confident we can get through this together and start from zero. Until you answer, I will be waiting in Canve with Chase, but if you want, I can alsoe to meet you. Please remember: I love you, and I''m sorry I had to run, but I''m ready. I can wait as long as you need. Tears fell onto my screen, and I silently sobbed for a minute or two. Her text was so¡ªwarm. She had no idea what I''d done, and I was about to break her heart, shattering it into a thousand pieces. If she''d done to me what I''d done to her, I wouldn''t be able to keep going. All of the progress I''d made since the ceremony would have been wiped out in a single conversation. But I had to tell her. She would find out eventually; it would be better if it came from me. "When should I meet her?" I asked my Pokemon. "I¡ªI could dy. I don''t know if I''m ready; I feel like I''ll burst into tears the moment I see her." Sunshine already knew his love advice was unappreciated around here, so he shrugged and said whatever made me feel better. That was in line with Princess'' answer, and Cass had never been one todirectme to do anything. I tapped Mimi, who was still brooding around my wrist, but there was no reaction. "Come on, Mimi¡­" I breathed out. "I''m sorry, okay? I was¡ªI was so out of itst night; you can''t keep giving me the silent treatment. You guysin that I don''t ask you for advice, but you don''t want to help me? I could just ask Angel and Honey again." Sunshine growled out that he didn''t appreciate being lumped in with Princess'' antics, and the two devolved into bickering. The Meltan sighed, which sounded like an ufortable, quiet screech, and they pooled in my hand until they turned back into their original form. They wriggled their nubby arms, a signal I''d learned meant that they wanted to go on my shoulder, and they crawled close to my ear. There was a subtle, nonsensical whisper. It was like trying to make sense of the turning of gears, not the vocalization of a living being. "My dad?" I asked. They followed up with their sound for affirmation. "Yeah, I''m going today, but¡­ I can''t justaskhim about it. I doubt he''ll even want to talk to me for a while after I tell him everything." Their eye ttened in a line, and they wrapped around my neck as a ne of gold and silver. They were apparently done for this morning, but I let their advice bounce around in my head while I cleaned up my room and recalled my team. I needed¡­ direction on how to handle the conversation, and he''d been onCecilia''sside of it once. If I could ask him what to say to hurt her as little as possible¡­ Then maybe¡ª No. It was always going to be ugly; she was always going to despise my guts after, but maybe at least I could stop myself from wiping out whatever progress she''d had with herself during her trip to route 220. "Thank you, Mimi," I said with a sad smile. Myeuppance woulde soon, but right now, I needed to fly back to Jubilife and let my father set the stage. ¡ª It was the afternoon when I made it back to my apartment. I hated being around so many people now; I couldn''t help but think they were judging me for what I''d done every time I came into their field of vision. Like they could somehow see my ckened soul, and as soon as I stepped out of view they would start whispering among themselves and wish for my misfortune or death. They were stupid, self-harming thoughts born of my desire to iste myself, butknowingthat they were wrong didn''t mean that the thoughts didn''t bother me. I''d taken off my ripped tights and smooshed them in my bag in order to stop turning as many heads. Melody had been quite angry at how it affected my image. Someone had taken a picture of me shambling across the street like a zombie and it had spread online. The board was getting quite angry with my actions as ofte; I needed a big win in my rematch against Byron to get them off my back and remind that I was in my position for a reason. That I wasgood. A dominant win seemed far out of reach right now, however, as was a good performance at the Conference. My keys jingled as I opened the door and stepped inside my apartment. Incidentally, since it was a saturday, my dad was already home, sitting on the sofa with a can of cold beer in his hand. He was watching some¡­ well, it didn''t matter. He turned my way with a smile, which fell when he saw what must have been an awful look on my face. "Grace?" His voice was so gentle. He must have thought something had happened to me, instead of the opposite.Ihad been the one to do something wrong. "Something happen?" I bit my lip and failed to hold back tears as dad shot up from the couch and moved to wrap me into a hug I shouldn''t have gotten. Awful as I was, I allowed it to happen and sank into his arm until it ended and he asked me what had happened again. "Um, I need to¡ªI need to tell you something I did that was really bad." I was barely holding it together. There was nothing but kindness and worry in his eyes. "And it might make you never look at me the same again." The softness in his green eyes turned sharp in an instant. "I''m sorry to ask this, but did you¡­ kill someone again?" "No!"I yelled. "I didn''t! Not since Cor ended, at least." It hurt. The fact that this had been where his mind had first gone hurt so much I wanted to go to the nearest Pokemon Center and sleep the day away. "Sit down. Please." He rxed for a moment, but still looked slightly on edge as he slid back into the couch. My mother had told him about ''practice'', or at least the fact that I was having my friends touch me to build up my tolerance, but he''d never brought it up or acted any different. "Are you ready?" I asked. "I should be the one asking you that," he said, looking up at me. "You look like I''m about to pull out your fingernails." In a way, he was. I didn''t need a note this time; the n was to just say it outright. I owed him that. I owed everyone that. "I¡­ I kissed," every instinct in my body was screaming to shut the hell up, "a girl who isn''t my girlfriendst night." Another subtle shift in his eyes¡ªdisbelief broken down brick by brick, inch by inch; followed by the build up of rage. It was the flexing of muscles, the tensing of his neck, the wild glint in his eye that nearly made me run right then and there. But he didn''t scream. Instead, he let out a long exhale that made his anger bleed away all at once. A trickle, followed by a torrent that left behind only sheer disappointment. I''d never really known what it was like to see a parent look at me that way. Disappointment¡ªtruedisappointment that cut through me, sharp as a de, and left my heart in shreds with its bleeding remains seared into my chest. Just¡­ there was nothing I could say. It left me frozen there without any words, becausewhatcould I say,really? That I was sorry? That he didn''t actually understand the context of what had led me to this? I would haveughed at how pathetic that one was if I''d been in any position to. Another exhale, longer this time. He stared away from me and muttered something under his breath. My father ran a hand through his thinning hair and stood up to stare out of the window. "It was that friend you were with." He wasn''t asking, just confirming. His voice was cold. "Yes." "Sam told me that she thought there was something fishy between you two. I didn''t want to believe her¡ªI didn''t want to believeyouwould¡­" he groaned and gripped the windowsill. "I thought she was just seeing things. That this would never have even aone percentchance of happening." So that was why he''d never said anything. Why he''d continued acting as if nothing as wrong. I felt Mimi vibrate against my neck in reassurance. "I''m sorry." "Sit down," he said. Oh God. Thattone, I¡ª Not listening wasn''t an option. It took him another two minutes to even look at me. I couldn''t bare to do the same; I was too terrified to see disgust or hatred in there and ifthathappened, then I would truly,trulynever recover. "Cecilia''s still away?" I heard him rub his stubble as he moved closer to me. His steps were so heavy¡ªunsurmountable. "Yes¡ªno," I corrected quickly. "She came back this morning." "You''re going to tell her. You can''t wait; if she finds out by someoneother than you, it will be ten times worse for her." "I know. That was what I wanted to do." He groaned like I was peeling off his skin. "Grace¡­ why?" "I don''t know. I¡ªI shouldn''t have, but I couldn''t stop and¡ª" "No. No, don''t say anything. I can''t¡ªlisten to this." Dad paced around the room, stopping only once he went around the couch nine and a half times. He crouched, and his face entered my field of her¡ªI closed my eyes¡ª "Look at me." I couldn''t. "Open your eyes, Grace." "I can''t." His hands gently gripped my shoulders. "Listen. I¡ªI haven''t handled this the best, but know that I will always, always love you." "But I did the worst thing you can do to someone you love," I cried. "You did. You can never make things right again, but you have to make them as right as they can be." "How do I tell her by hurting her as little as possible?" "You can''t. There''s no hidden way to just make it feel like a tiny cut you put a band-aid over. You need to understand, kid, this¡ªthis is going to destroy her." A sob. Then another, until I finally opened my eyes and faced the truth of how much my actions would not only affect Cecilia or Maylene, but everyone else as well. My father, mother, friends¡ªwould it get out further than that? Would I get in trouble with Poketch? I''d given Melody an excuse about having trainedst night on route 215, where my tights had gotten torn up in the dense woods, and while shehadbelieved me, if she figured out that I''d lied and it got out¡­ Arceus, I''dlied. There was still an awful taste in my mouth; every time my tongue touched my lips, it felt like I was sampling toxic chemicals. But my father, as disappointed as he was, did not look at me with the rage that had since simmered down within him. "I understand that sometimes, rtionships are¡­ they''re tough," he breathed out a saddenedugh. "Especially with the year you''ve both had? No one deserves to go through that, let alone a teenager. But that''s no excuse. You understand that, don''t you?" "I understand," I said. "Your mother and I, we were going through a rough patch," he said. My eyes widened slightly; he hadneverspoken about his past rtionship beyond how it had ended. "I worked long hours at Poketch back then to support us, and we rarely saw each other. And¡ªI don''t want you to me yourself here, but having a baby¡­ it''s a lot of work. We rarely ever fought, but at some point it felt like we were just living in the same house. Not like we were actually married." "So she cheated." He nodded, shoulders tense. "I thought things would get better eventually. They never did, and she betrayed me." That wound cut him deep. Even over a decadeter, it was still bleeding. "I don''t know much about your rtionship or what went on, but for any future ones, hear this, Grace." Dad stood up and sat down next to me, and he wiped the sweat off his hands on his shorts. "It will always hurt someone less to be broken up with. To be talked to straight up, with straightforwardness and honesty. Don''t try to do things like ''sparing their feelings'' by keeping your infatuation with someone else hidden." I gave him a little affirming noise. "I honestly¡­ well, I just didn''t want to see that I liked Maylene. I think I''m an expert at lying to myself. At justifying things." Ihadknown at some point, but I''d just buried it under tons upon tons of excuses or protocol I could jump at and hold onto for dear life. "I knew at some point, but I blinded myself to the truth. Because I thought that just the act of falling in love with someone else would be a betrayal as deep as the act of cheating itself." Then I''d turned that concept in on its head and tricked myself into believing it wouldn''t be cheating until something physical happened, and eventhatline had been breached. Every time my mind recalled that kiss, goosebumps ran through my arms and my face couldn''t help but heat up. "Technically, there''s nothing wrong with it, though it might hurt your partner''s feelings," he said. "But the most important part is that you''ve got to. Let your partner know that you''re catching feelings for someone else, andthendecide how to go about it together. Tell her when you''re feeling unsatisfied in the rtionship, and take steps together to fix it and relight that me. There''s nothing more doomed than a rtionship where no one tells each other anything." For a few seconds, there was silence. The TV was still ying in the background¡ªa tennis game being yed somewhere in Sunyshore where people yed with their partner Pokemon. "I just wish I''d known beforehand," I sighed, pressing my face into my hands. "Before she left. I was too scared. Too scared to say anything." "It''s always scary at first," he said. "But it''s the right thing to do. Both on a personal level, and if you want to go the distance." He exhaled, his chest rising and lowering to the sound of the television. "Are you ready to talk to her?" "I¡ª"was I ready?What would I even say? "I don''t think I''ll ever be ready. But I have to meet her." He smiled at me. "You do." "I''ll go tonight." I owed it to her and to myself. ¡ª You-Hey Cecilia. I''m up for a talk this evening, and there''s something I have to tell you. I''ll be in Canve at 6:00 pm. Does the Canve Bridge sound good? Cecilia-That sounds perfect, I''ll see you there. Gym-side, near the edge. I must have read these same words over five hundred times in thest hour. Princess had flown me to Canve an hour early, and I was waiting for Cecilia to arrive while looking down at the canal. Boats of all shapes and sizes filtered in and out of the narrow channel, though most were docking in for the night after a day in the safe, shallow waters near the city. Pedestrian and cars alike crossed the wooden bridge like a continuous stream of water that never ended. This ce was the only way to travel between the two sides of Canalve, and I knew it was Cecilia''s favorite spot in the city. I''d listened to her rant about the significance of bridges enough to know what each of the five Unovan Bridges meant. I waved at a couple of Wingull perched on the bridge''s thick cables, and they cawed back¡ªthough one of them asked me to mind my own business. Princess stuck out her tongue at the flying types and blew a raspberry at them until I cut in and told her to stop. "No need to bother the locals," I said. "We''re guests here¡ªguests who are intruding." The fairy slowly nodded, saying that she''d hoped to cheer me up by acting silly. With a smile, I ran a hand through her fur and scritched her forehead. She leaned into the touch and cooed. There was barely any time left. Any minute now, Cecilia would show up, and I would tear down months of history with her with a catastrophe of my own making. I felt¡­ empty. Numb. Not terrified like I thought I would be. The anger at myself had mostly faded, leaving way to whatever this was. eptance, maybe? Princess must have noticed something on my face, because she asked if I was okay. "I''m as okay as I can be," I quietly answered. "Isn''t it calm? The world, I mean." It was. The sun was starting to set, casting a warm, orange glow that refracted on the few clouds in the sky onto the city. There was a slight wind blowing north toward the Iron Inds, carrying with it the smell of sea and salt. Maybe it was because I wasn''t used to Canve, but the sounds of the city were so quiet. The cars, the boats, the waves, the conversations¡ªeverything felt so much slower and rxed than Jubilife. Princess agreed, allowing the soothing sounds to sink in. But then, she asked,if you could choose between the two. If the cheating hadn''t mattered, and you could pick either Cecilia or Maylene. Who would you pick? "I can''t¡ª" No. I could answer that. I gave it to her. The corner of my vision caught Cecilia moving past two teenagers that parted to let her through, and then toward me. The illusion of numbness shattered immediately, giving way to a crippling anxiety and somehow happiness at the sight of her. I''d expected her toe looking her best and wearing something fancy like she usually did, but instead, she''de with one of her old hoodies she''d outgrown this year over a simple dark shirt and what I knew was her only pair of jeans. She didn''t lookunkempt, never that, but she did just look like a person. Even if everyone looked at her like she was a terrifying creature because of her eyes and facial scars. One look at me. One look at me was all it took. "Ah," she said, pain shing across her eyes, anxious wrinkles forming like divulets across her smooth skin as her face contorted with worry. "How bad is it, Grace?" How bad? What did she¡ªno. I had to stop pretending I didn''t know what she meant to buy time and twist myself into a pretzel to find whatever excuse would buy me more time. The issue was that there were plenty of people walking out and about, and I''d let thestoryblind me instead of asking her to speak somewhere in private. "Do you think we could go under here?" I asked, voice weaker than I''d wanted it to be. "I went under the bridge once with Justin along the marina¡ªit was nearly empty at this time of day." She shut her eyes. "Very well." There was a flying tform close to the bridge, so all we''d needed to do was go there and have Princess fly us down one by one. It wasn''t like she couldn''t fly the both of us¡ªwe''d gone on a flying date at the beach in Pastoria a few months ago¡ªbut I just couldn''t. I didn''t deserve to have her pressed against my back for safety. The Canve Marina was usually crowded where the river gave way to open ocean, but under the bridge, away from the sun, and in the evening? There was no one here but a Wooper dozing off on a bench. There were a lot of these benches lining the marine; each was framed by potted nts and something that looked like a palm tree I assumed was imported. Princess disappeared into her Pokeball, and Mimi was either asleep or silent around my neck. It was just us. We didn''t sit. When Cecilia looked at me now, it was as if she was a different person. No, maybe that was an exaggeration. She''d just¡­changedin a way I hadn''t even expected, and it made who she''d been before stand out far more. It was just¡ªthere was a little confidence where there had once been none, and it made her so much more imposing that I struggled to look in her direction. I wanted to ask her how her trip went. What she''d gone through, experienced and everything in-between, but that was not what I was owed. "I''m so sorry, Cecilia," I said. "I cheated on you." The statement hacked her to pieces. Her jaw clenched; she made a pained groan like I''d just driven a stake through her heart; she burst into tears and started to sob. I was crying too, unable toe up with any more words. I didn''t know what to say. There was nothing I could say. "How far did it go?" Even through her tears, her death had allowed her to speak as if she was fine. Yet I knew how hurt she was. "Kissing¡ª" no, that made it sound like a quick, one and done peck. "I made out with her yesterday night; I left when I realized what I was doing. But it was¡ªdates, too. Or basically dates." I stopped to see if I could keep going. She nodded at me. "Did Chase tell you about practice?" "Yes." Anger was barely contained in her tone. "I did that with her too. And it was¡ªit was more than just grabbing my wrist. It wasn''t cuddling either; it was more intense than that. But it also wasn''t sex." She wiped her tears, her eyes full of rage, rage, and more rage the deeper I looked. Had I ever seen her angry at me?Genuinelyangry? "I came here to apologize to you." Her voice trembled with the weight of contempt. "To tell you how I''d screwed up our rtionship and how I wanted to start over again from zero." A step toward me, then another, and another until I flinched when she was right next to me. "All those days spent telling me about how much you struggled with the idea of reconciling with your mother because of what she did to Arthur¡ªand you do that to me?!" she hissed. Her breath collided with my face. I''d never thought she could be intimidating. "I¡ªI''m sorry. I fucked up." Her eyes were an ocean of anger and sorrow. "I don''t know what to say." For a moment, I thought she''d continue raging at me, but she started pacing around like my father had, as if she couldn''t even put her feelings into words. "I hoped. I really hoped that we could have made it work," she said. "Why¡ªno, not why. I know why. It''s because I¡ª" "Don''t me yourself¡ª" "Let me speak!"she screamed before looking at me as if she''d been about to apologize. None came. "I hate what you''ve done to me. A small part of me thought it could be a possibility, but¡ªI know you, Grace. I know you''re going to take this conversation in and think that it''s all on you." "Isn''t it?" I said, bitterly. "Before this? No, it was mostly my fault. Now?" She clenched her fist. "I want to say yes, but there''s no point in making it apetition." Cecilia looked at the sky, where orange and blue mixed into a beautiful tapestry of color she couldn''t see. "I''m breaking up with you." I inhaled sharply through my teeth. "I know." "I can''t even look at you without feeling angry." "I know." "You owe me something," she pressed. "I''ll do whatever you want." "I wanted to speak about our mistakes when I came here¡ªabout the problems we had that were always left unspoken. I hoped this would lead to new kindling in the rtionship, but it would be a beautiful final act, don''t you think?" The most depressed of smiles shed under the sunset as she outstretched her arms. A Wingull cawed overhead; the calm waters crashed against the canal''s walls; the light reflected off her tear-filled white eyes and danced across her face. She was beautiful. "Fine. Then¡­ can I be frank?" I asked. "Of course. It''s not like there are going to beturns; I have gripes as well." "Gripes? How many? You''re the one who¡ª" it was odd to be on the offense. Wrong. "You said it was mostly your fault." I struggled to sound confident. The statement had been a probing one, something to test the waters. "Tell me a gripe, then." "You cheated on me," she said as smooth as water. "That''s the first one." "That one is obvious." "Oh, are you getting angry I''m pointing it out?" she asked in a harsh, mocking tone. "Should I keep going?" "You¡ªif we ignore¡ª" I had no idea how to phrase this! "All of this could have been avoided if you told me to just leave her be! You told me to keep seeing her! I thought you were genuinely worried about her!" "I was. But I was also blinded by my hatred of her father, because I saw herself in me and I didn''t want Oscar to win," she exined. "But let''s be honest here, Grace. You''d just told me she was theonlyperson you could have fun with, and I was about to break your heart. I was worried about what you might do." "You?Worried?" "Yes. Do you think Idon''tworry about you?" she pressed. Iughed harshly. "Cecilia, youkilled yourself." The statement made her recoil for the first time as if I''d physically struck her. "Youmitted suicide, and we never even fuckingtalkedabout it!" "You never even asked!" she yelled. "Because I thought you wouldn''t like it!"Ished out. "I thought you wanted to move past it! But do youknowhow it feels to have your girlfriend kill herself? To have to relearn the way she speaks, moves, sees things, and how you interact with her? Did you eventhinkabout me before having Lehmy use Perish Song?" Cecilia squinted at me, and she readied to yell, inhaling like an Exploud. "Of course I thought about you! I always,alwaysthink think about you to the point where I can''t¡ªcouldn''t do anything else!" I scoffed. "Oh, so now it''s my fault for just fucking existing, then?" "It''s not. It''s my fault for never separating myself from you and learning to be a person!" "Don''t change the subject. I can keep doing this all day." For so long, I''d suppressed all of this. Buried my head in the sand to bask in her love and thefort she afforded me. "We never talked about it. And then you justrun. Again! Because we never fucking talk! About anything!" "Do you think I never wanted to say something?" she asked. "Then why didn''t you?! It''s all I ever wanted, Cecilia!" "Because I thought you wanted me as I was! I thought that if I changed or shackled you with too many of my issues, you''d drop me for someone else! And evidently, you fucking did!" "Wha¡ªthat''s whatIfelt!" "Well only one of us shoved her tongue down another girl''s throat." The smile she gave me was so vicious I wanted to both run away in tears¡ªnot that I wasn''t already crying as she was¡ªand to blow up at her even further. "I wanted to be¡­ whatever you wanted me to be. I just wanted to be with you, Grace. And to be there for you." Well you did a horrible job at itwas the horrible thought that wormed itself into my mind. "You weren''t. And I also wasn''t for you. I¡ªI couldn''t help but feel like I was walking around eggshells after Cor." What if I said this, and she tried taking her own life again? Or that, and she ran away again without a word? "And can I¡ªI''ll be real for a second, you made me feel so abnormal sometimes!" "What?" "Like¡ªI wanted to be normal for you. I wanted to be an average girl that wouldn''t embarrass you, and whenever I failed, you made me feel like worse than dirt." She looked at me like I was insane, the sheer non-understanding on her face so exaggerated that I''d never seen her so emotive, even before her death. "Are. You. Kidding me?!" "No! Obviously I would not be kidding in this very awful fucking moment!" "Grace, I love youbecauseyou''re abnormal," she said. "I''m the furthest thing from normal¡ªlook at me!" She stared, white eyes wide and hands pointing at her scarred face. "I wasn''t a person until a few weeks ago!" "What does that even mean?!" "It means I didn''t know how to live without you! And I still don''t!" "So a few weeks away from me and everything goesso wellfor you?" I bitterly noticed. "Don''t you even start," she said. "Youtold meto start! And now I can''t stop! You said you like that I''m not normal, but I¡ªI can''t be my full self around you!" "How?I have seen you at your worst and best. Engulfed within the depths stories, revenge, symbolism and everything else, and every single time, I have stood by you!" "Well¡ªmaybe in practice!" I faltered. "But it didn''t feel like it. It felt like you were pushing me a certain way. Like¡ªrandom one offments you said to me that I''d turn over in my head for days." "Grace, do you really think I had the inner strength to actually mean any of that?" "I wouldn''t have known!" "Why didn''t you¡ª" why didn''t you tell me, she''d wanted to ask, but we both had the answer to that. "And it felt like you never trusted me. Not truly, anyway. Like when you asked me not to look at your emotions? I mean, I get it, okay? I fucking get it!" I threw my hands up in frustration. "And I know I''m prone to addiction, and that it''s within your rights, but it hurt me, okay? It hurt me so,sobad to think that you thought I was some kind of¡­ some kind ofmonster." Again, the story was much the same. "I didn''t mean for any of that. I just couldn''t¡ªI didn''t even get a day to let knowledge about your powers sink in! And that waswhilelearning about Backlot and the full extent of your Gym Battle with Maylene!" Cecilia yelled. "It was hard for me to¡ªafter Mmar¡ª" she sat down on a bench with a sigh and ran her hands over her face. "I never thought you''d actually do anything. I just wanted to set¡­ boundaries. How could I have phrased that better?" "I don''t¡ªI don''t know!" "Should we scroll through the text? I remember being as gentle as possible. I told you I trusted you, that I forgave you. That I loved you despite everything." "Well it''s difficult to tell over text¡ª" "Youwere the one who wanted it to be a text, remember?!" she cried out. "We called, then you hung up, and you decided to text! I didn''t want to pressure you!" My teeth mped down on my inner cheek. "I¡­that''s not the part my mind focused on." "I can''t read your damn mind, Grace!" Again, it was the lethality of silence that did us in. So many instances where worries that had festered could have been dealt with by using a single sentence, sometimes a single word. The fight kept going for a while. She brought up how ufortable me fixing Louis'' fear of the end of the world made her; I brought up her reaction to the ring I''d gotten her for our birthday party and how humiliating her reaction had been. She brought up how jealous me talking to her about the ins and outs of Maylene in Veilstone made her at the time, and I brought up how I''d tried to change for the better after Backlot while she''d thrown herself into the throes of revenge and how her path up Cor had left a trail of blood behind her because of howobsessedshe''d been with the idea of killing. Of course, she told me that she thought I''d agree with revenge when she''d revealed Justin''s death,but it was never that simple, was it? I''d expended all this effort to be better, and she''d just done the opposite. Sheined I''d never told her about what I''d seen with Dialga, andIdid the same. I asked her when thest time we went on a date was, and she just looked at me in disbelief before wondering out loud when, exactly, since the bombs, would have been an appropriate time to go on one of those, and that was when I realized we''d never really seen eye to eye. It was painful, it was raw, it was everything we should have done before today. It went back and forth and back and forth like a never-ending merry-go-round, each word spinning us deeper into a cycle we couldn''t break. The heat of frustration rose with every exchanged re, every bitter remark. We both knew we were circling the same issue, but neither of us wanted to stop, to let the silence fall when it had engulfed us for so many months before. Each time there was a moment when it felt like one of us would give in¡ªjust a breath, a pause¡ªbut then the stubbornness crept back in, pushing us to speak once more. Everything was aired out within that single hour, and we were left exhausted by the end. Like we''d been battling. Cecilia was sagging against the stone bench, and I was lying on the floor, struggling for every breath. My voice was almost dead, as was hers from all the yelling, but the situation felt strangely cathartic. Even if we both were crying again, and she now despised me for what I''d done to her. Even if I hated myself for cheating on her. Even if I so desperately wanted to embrace her in my arms, kiss her and to start over again in the moment. I wanted to see her growth as she learned what she liked, hated, and who she wanted to be. I wanted to be a part of her life. I wanted to matter to her. I wanted her to hug me and tell me that all was forgiven. This wasn''t that kind of story. Catharsis also didn''t meant it was bittersweet. It wasn''t even just bitter; it was acidic, poisonous,ruinous. A cmity ignored, the build-up of tension no longer able to be contained after so long, lest we both withered away and lost each other again just after having caught a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. Cecilia sniffled on the bench. The sun had set now, and our only source of lighting was flickering street lights and a dim, half-moon. "It''s over, isn''t it?" she said. Yes. Not over in the sense that she was breaking up with me¡ªthat much had already been said. There was just nothing left. No trust, no connection, no life; the remaining embers of love churning in the furnace would never be enough to sustain this. We''d both hacked away at the rotting wood that was our foundation, using emotional lethargy as our weapon, and I''d given thest kick to send the whole structure tumbling down. "It''s over," I said. "Do you think we could have made it work if you hadn''t cheated?" "I don''t know. I hope so. I want it so be so." Then, a pause. "Will you ever forgive me? Like¡­ years down the line?" "Probably not¡ªI do not know. The rancor I feel for you is deep¡ªI resent you." A prickle in my eyes. I''d run out of tears. "Yeah." "Yeah." "I''m sorry," I said. "I know. I''m sorry too." I rolled onto the bricked floor, turning to stare at a boat passing us by. There were so many lights. When it was gone, Cecilia spoke up again. "A word to you," she said. "It''s going to be tough with¡­ our friends." She was obviously going to tell them; that was fine. "I doubt you''ll find much refuge within the group. Denzel will stick around." He probably would, even though I didn''t deserve it. We were tight. "You already did the deed, so¡­ don''t iste yourself from theotherpeople in your life." My eyes widened. "What?" "I''m not going tospell it outfor you," she rebuked me. "Just¡­ go be happy. Don''t smother your own hope to death." I shot up, clothes dirty from lying on the ground for so long. "Are you sure?" "Why are you asking for permission? It''s not like you did while I had my back turned," she said, her voice full of venom. "Just¡ªjust go." When I checked the time on my phone, it read 7:23 PM. I adjusted my cor, patted down my clothes and looked at Cecilia onest time. She was syed out on the bench; you''d be able to mistake her for a corpse rather than a living, breathing person with how little her chest and stomach rose with each breath. Her eyes had taken a tint of red from crying so much. "I''m¡ª" "Onest thing," she interrupted. "I met Honey''s parents on route 220; they told me that they wouldn''t meet them again and that you should tell Cynthia to stop looking for them. Orhim, I suppose." "Wha¡ª" Her hand grazed the side of one of her Pokeballs, and Slowking appeared with a familiar pop and hiss. "Do me a favor, darling. Please carry me back to the Pokemon Center; I''ve no energy left to walk." Something was said between them, but I wasn''t included in the psychic link. "You could say that would be severelyundersellingit," she said. "I''ll tell you when we''re back home." The water type nced at me for a moment, but a wave of his hand, and Cecilia was encased in a transparent bubble where shey curled up into a ball. I tried calling out to her, but she didn''t even react¡ªhe must have cut off sound from the outside world. Just like that, she was gone. Gone forever. I stood there in a daze¡ªcheating or not, Honey''s parents wasn''t something Cecilia wouldn''t have lied about that; she knew it was too important, and Honey had nothing to do with my actions. So she''d¡­ met them, and they''d said to stop looking? No. No, I would not do so unless Honey himself told me to, even if it took years to find them. He wasowed. But right now¡ª I unlocked my phone screen, sending a message to Maylene. It was just her name, nothing long-winded yet, but the red circle next to the chat bubble meant I''d been blocked¡ªfuck, fuck,fuck. What could I do? I didn''t have ess to Kadabra now that I was out of the Lily, and Maylene had been the one to constantly supply me with Teleporters when in past few weeks. There was only one option remaining. I needed to fly back despite the fact that it meant I''d arrive in the middle of the night.I loved her. The others would judge me for thebrazennessof it, and I didn''t deserve happiness, but I sure as hell wanted to be! With renewed determination, like a second wind at my back, I released Princess and hopped on top of her before even exining anything or putting on a saddle on her back. She smiled up at me, not even needing to ask me where to, andburstthrough the air eastward. I ced myself t against her, gripping her fur tightly as she sped up until the world below us became a blur. The wind whipped past, cool and sharp against my face when I realized thatwe''d just broken aw by taking off from there. I nced back to see if any Rangers would show up and follow me, and only rxed when there were none tracking me out of the city. Mimi vibrated against me, their form loose against my neck. "I know what I want!" I yelled, though I wasn''t certain they could hear me at this speed. I could barely keep my eyes open. "Now I just have to hope she gives me a chance!" The clouds swallowed us whole, thick and damp, until they parted like curtains to reveal the stretch of horizon ahead. Please wait for me. ¡ª My clothes were damp by the time wended in Veilstone right in front of Maylene''s Gym. I shivered as I got off Princess, who shook herself off like a wet Herdier, but it didn''t do much to dry her. She still looked thin when all her fur clung to her skin, and to not embarrass herself in public, she demanded I recall her this instant until she could be dried. I acquiesed before checking my phone. Maylene was set to wake up in a few hours, since she did so every day at five in the morning for work. I''d be waking her up early but¡ªbut if I waited any longer, I''d get cold feet and lose myself in a self-deprecating quagmire that meant I wouldneverhave been doing this. I already knew I was awful; repentance for that couldeter, or at least an attempt at it. With a spring in my step, I jumped from stair to stair up to the entrance, and I knocked repeatedly until my knuckles hurt. A sleepy-looking short woman named Jenna frowned at me through the ss door before opening it. "Grace?" She gave me a questioning look. "Are you here to see Leader Maylene again? We weren''t informed¡ª" "I need to talk to her; this is urgent," I said. "Please, let me in." She stared at me as if she''d been about to tell me ten reasons why that was a good idea, but a good look at my resolve told her it''d be too much work, and she shrugged, sighing out a defeated "okay." If I hadn''t spent enough time here to be amon sight, she never would have let me in. It gave me a little sense of belonging that made me feel warm as I climbed the stairs and made my way to Maylene''s room. I stopped at the door, taking a sharp breath. I''de this far; stopping now would be idiotic. Once again, my fingers violently knocked against the newly-repaired wooden door until I heard slow, lumbering steps behind it. Oh, Legendaries. What would I even say? I hadn''te with a n oranything¡ª Maylene opened the door. Tired. She looked tired like she hadn''t slept since we''d kissed, and all she was wearing was one of her khaki tank tops and a blue pair of boxers she probably slept with. She froze in ce when she saw me, like I was thething she''d expected. Her face turned away and stared at the doorframe. "Grace. What are you doing here?" she asked, the life and usual joy sucked out of her tone. What remained was a withered, ky voice that I barely recognized. I''d seen her angry; I''d seen her sad; I had never seen hercrushed. "Maylene!" My voice was a little raspy from all the yelling. "I¡ªI¡ª" just. Fucking. Say it. "I came to talk to you about yesterday. And that¡ªfirst of all, you should hear these words from me. I love you. Like, I seriously,seriouslylove you." She blinked at me. "What?" she uttered in disbelief. Had she expected me to break things off officially with her if I ever came back? "Can Ie in?" Please." She leaned against the doorframe and sighed. "I''m¡­ not sure that''s a good idea, Grace." "Then I''ll say it out here, okay? Cecilia and I broke up¡ªwell, she broke up with me, but there was just¡­ so many issues in the rtionship that it¡ªit kind of felt mutual by the end? Obviously I''m the one at fault, though." There was no denying that we would have tried again without Maylene in the picture. "And I know how this looks, okay? You might think that I''m onlying back here for you as some kind of cheap rebound because she left me¡ª" "Isn''t that what''s happening?" she asked. "No! I¡ªokay, listen. Before the argument even began, Princess asked me a question. If I could choose between you two, who would I pick? And I saidyou. And the answer felt so¡ªit felt so right that I didn''t know what to think." I grabbed her wrist andtouchedher skin; it felt like fire against my palm. "Look at me, Maylene. I would never¡­ I want to hope that I would never use you like that. I want us to be rock solid." She started tearing up. "Grace, I ruined your¡ª" "It was already ruined," I interrupted. "And yes, you and I both did wrong. We were both horrible people." A sad littleugh escaped me. "But we can''t take it back. We opened the box, and we can''t put our feelings back in. Or at leastIcan''t. I love you, Maylene," I said again. Maylene wiped her eyes with an arm. "So what are you asking?" "I¡ªI''m asking if you would want to at least try things out with me. And I''m¡ªI''m sorry, I''m not sure I''m ready forbels yet." I was determined to make this work, but¡­ "So soon after¡­ it would feel so unmerited. I''d like to take things slow, but if you want, I can just take that leap. If you think it has a shape that''s more solid, and it reassures you." "No, it''s fine¡ª" she paused and exhaled in defeat. "Juste in." She dragged me inside and shut the door behind me. Her dimly-litptop sat on her coffee table in front of her couch. "Do you want anything?" ''You''would have been a good answer here, and the absolute truth, but now wasn''t the time foredy. "It''s fine." She didn''t keep talking, instead making her way to her bathroom. A few secondster, she brought me one of her towels and gently ced it on my head. "I''m just going to ask straight up, Grace. Is this real?" "What? Yes it is!" I forced out, feeling a little anger rise within. "It''s hard to tell sometimes. Sorry." She started drying my hair¡ªshe was so close. "Even I get swept up in your stories. You''re very¡­ good at bringing people into your own train of thought. And very good at masking the truth to yourself. I just want to know if this is another fa?ade that''s going to copse in a month and leave me even more hurt." "It''s not!" I grabbed her hand and ced it on my chest so she could feel my heartbeat. "This is real. I''m so anxious I feel like I''m going to die, Maylene. I want this to work out so badly with you that¡ªthat it''s difficult to breathe." She was blushing. I could tell even if her living room was dark because of her breathing pattern. "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean it in like, a pervy way," I mumbled, letting her hand fall from my chest. ""I love you so much that it hurts, Maylene. I love how silly you are and how you try to make meugh when I''m feeling down. I like howbative you are and how banter feels like verbal sparring with you. How vulnerable you let yourself be with me. I love your strength, not just in battles, but in how you face everything life throws at you with that quiet determination. You let me see the parts of you that no one else gets to, the raw and real side, and I wouldn''t trade that for anything. I don''t just love the good moments¡ªI love the messy and the quiet ones, too. The ones that remind me how real we are, how realthisis." She smiled at me, genuine and slightly misty-eyed. "Then I¡ªI think I''d be willing to try with you. And I''m okay with taking it slow." My heart danced in my ribcage, and I couldn''t help but grin at her. "I promise you won''t have to wait long to call yourself my¡­" the final word was already implied. "Thank you for believing in me." "Don''t make me regret it, ''kay?" she asked. An awkward silence settled in, and I kicked the air, unable to stop smiling from ear to ear. In a few hours, the high would probably pass, and the bad thoughts woulde again, but that was okay. She was here to help me stand on my own. "We should probably¡ªgo over the contract again, no?" I asked. "Yeah. Yeah, that''s a good idea," she immediately said. We sat down on the couch, somehow more shy about being so close than we''d ever been before. I was so hyper aware of her that I started to think about how amazing her fingers looked when she was using her phone and her soothing the sound of her breath was in the total silence of her living room. As we shared a single document, and shewasbetter at typing than me even when she focused to make no grammatical mistakes or abbreviations, she was the one who''d update the contract while I watched. "Even though we''re kinda sorta¡­ dating, it doesn''t change your predicament," she said. "You''re prone to self-justification to breach boundaries,andto co-dependency. And since I''ll still be working a lot, especially ahead of the Conference, our schedule will have to stay pretty rigid. I don''t know what it''s going to be like with your friend group¡­" she trailed off with a hint of guilt. "Oh. Well, I''m pretty sure Chase and Pauline are going to hate my guts," I sighed. "Emi and Louis? We''ll probably be on speaking terms, but not friends anymore. I think. Denzel¡­ things will be awkward, but we''ll be fine." "Are you okay?" she asked. "I mean, you''ve known them for a long time." "I don''t think it''s sunk yet, honestly. I''m not¡­prehending it yet. I probably will when I start getting their furious text and get kicked out of their group chat." "Okay. Well¡ªyou''ll have to rely on Denzel, Marley and Jess, then. And maybe the Poketch people? You need more friends." "Hey¡­" "I mean moreclosefriends, jeez," she said. "You only have Denzel right now. I have Nia, Candice, Volkner, Roark¡ªwait, they''re probably going to hate me for this." "Hate''s a strong word." "Right¡­ they''ll be disappointed, at least. And the older Gym Leaders too, ''cause I want to be honest with them. Whenever we go¡­ public. That''s fine, right?" "Yeah." I grabbed her hand and smiled at her. Never would I have thought that she''d be the one wanting to tell the world we were dating. "I''ll tell Melody right away so Poketch makes some preparations." That seemed to put away all remaining doubts Maylene had about this. She smiled at me. "Okay¡­ well, I don''t think Cecilia would say anything, but what about the others?" Her fingers inteced with mine. "I don''t think any of them would, honestly," I said. "They''re good people." Unlike me. "Okay. So I guess our meetups will be the same, we can schedule more of theseter." We hadn''t really, given that Cecilia had beening back soon. "Maybe we can go at the arcade or something." "Oh, I''lldefinitelybeat you at the arcade." Thest time I''d gone had been with Emilia, so I was experienced, and Mayleneneveryed games. There it was¡ªherpetitive streak I''d grown to love. "You''re on. The winner''s the one who wins the most games overall, and she gets one favor from the loser." "Be careful what you wish for," I threatened teasingly. "Sounds good to me, though." Next, Maylene moved on to the biggest topic on the contract: practice. "Honestly I¡ªI kind of like practice?" I shyly mumbled under my breath. "When we were doing it yesterday, the darkness entirely disappeared, but¡­ can we keep it? It kind of keeps me grounded, and it gives me something to look forward to.Not that just being with you isn''t great!" "Only if you ask nicely," she said, all smug. Ugh. I knew she wanted to keep it just as badly as I did, or she would have voiced her disagreements already. Still, I''d entertain her for now. "Can wepleasekeep practice in ourrtionship." I made sure to entuate the word to press her buttons and make her blush and fumble pathetically. "Heh." "Heh,"she mimicked to mock me. "Fine." Maylene did make sure to include that we''d only practice once every two meetups. She''d gone for three originally, probably hoping to entice me with that number, but she wouldn''t fool me! "Oh. Y''know, I kind of graduated, didn''t I? We should make every session fifteen minutes," I said. Another win, and that one came far easier, since she seemed just as eager as I was. We also decided that every greeting and farewell would warrant one free hug that couldn''t go above ten seconds. There were special uses for a bunch of different situations, like handholding when out and about, or small, innocent touches I liked to make all the time. There werelimits, especially whenpared to my rtionship with Cecilia, but we were still far freer now than we''d been before. "Um. Wh¡ªwhat about¡­ k¡ªki¡ª" "Oh, kissing? Sure, let''s talk about it." I beamed at her, fingers yfully grazing her arm. She froze at my touch. "I mean, while I''dlovefor there to be no limit¡ª" "Grace. You would kill me." "What? Not at all!" My protests fell on deaf ears. "You were terrifying yesterday when you kissed me," she said, finger fondly tracing her lip. "It felt¡­ really good, and it was a good kind of scary, but it was scary nheless. I felt like I was being hunted¡­" I waved a dismissive hand at her. "Don''t exaggerate; there was just a lot of pent up desire in that kiss. Not every single one''s gonna be like that¡ªwait, that was your first, wasn''t it?" "I did tell you that you''re the first person I fell in love with, so yeah¡­" she was so cute when she was bashful. "I''m not really experienced at anything." "That''s fine! You were honestly great," I said. Maylene discreetly smirked at the praise. "Sorry about how forceful I was; we''ll take it slow from now on. What about¡­ I don''t know, five kisses every time we meet?" "Five?" "That too much? Give me a number." "I was thinking two!" she eximed. "Maybe one when we see each other and one when we leave?" "How about three? It''s a nice, clean number." "Oh, sonowyou like threes." She scoffed when I stuck out my tongue at her. "Give me your argument for three." "Well, obviously Iwantto kiss you, I mean, look at you," I said. I kept going, ignoring her flustered reaction. She was always used to doing theplimenting, and not the other way around. "It''s true that threeissatisfying in terms of numbers, but I think your framework is too rigid. Knowing when the kissese takes the fun out of it, I think we should be allowed to do it whenever." "Hm. That''s¡­ pretty fair." "Also, does this mean three per person or three total?" "Let''s start with three total for now¡ªand I assume you''re going to follow the spirit of the rules and not just take them all for yourself every time." She made expecting eyes at me, and I was forced to agree. "Good. If you behave, then maybe we''ll think about making it three per person. Now let''s go over¡­" We continued to define the length and intensity of what would be a proper kiss. Obviously, as much as I wanted it, what had happened yesterday wasn''t something that could count asonekiss. That was in the Making Out use, which was TBD until we settled into the rtionship a little more. Overall, we must have spent nearly an hour going over every nook and cranny of the contract, and I gave both my verbal and written signature on the document. Of course, all of this would have to be reworked when we went long distance, but hopefully we''d be able to make that work. Shehadsaid she''d probably be able to go to Unova for a month at some point if she proved herself capable of handling the responsibilities of a diplomatic mission, and worse-case scenario, maybe I''d be able to go see her on a trip. Like, for a week or two maximum if I had the time. Unlike this year, it wasn''t like much was going to happen. Maylenereallypressed on the point that I needed to meet new people there, though. Without Cecilia with me, I''d only have Melody. That was abigstep for someone like me, who ''needed a big supportwork.'' Maylene''s words, not mine. Not that I disagreed with her. "And¡­ onest thing, Maylene," I said. "I¡ªI want us tomunicate well, so I need to tell you this." Honestly, it should have been said far earlier, but I''ve been so swept in the joy of her epting me that I''d forgotten to say it. "I still have feelings for Cecilia.Now that doesn''t mean anything for us!"I quickly added before her expression soured too much. "I''m not gonna try and get back with her or anything. Even if she wanted to, I''d say no. I just want to be honest." She let the thought sit with her for a moment. "That''s okay. I can''t expect your feelings to change just like that." Maylene snapped her fingers. "Thanks for telling me." "Thanks for understanding. And for trusting me. Arceus knows I don''t deserve that after¡­" Maylene cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes, not to kiss me, but just to reassure me. "We fucked up," she agreed. "But I love you, dork. Let''s try and make this work." I nodded and put my forehead against hers with a smile. "Let''s." A/N: Well, that''s the end of this¡­ arc. I''m sure this won''t be controversial whatsoever! Cecilia fans, don''t fret; she''ll keep being a main character even if she''s stopped dating Grace. That''s kind of like, the whole point, really; the break up has been foreshadowed since Sceon, where they talked about the longevity of their rtionship, and cracks continued showing up all throughout. Also, a reminder that I abhor cheating, and none of what happens in the fic means I approve of Grace''s actions. Byebyee.
Chapter 331 Chapter 331
CHAPTER 331 "Excuse me?"Melody''s tone was akin to a coiled Ekans waiting to strike out from the underbrush."Did I understand that correctly?" I grimaced, barely stifling a groan as my fingers curled into my bedsheets. Outside the window, Jubilife stretched before me, the sunlight flickering onto its building in the distance, while Mimi dozed peacefully on the windowsill,pletely unaware. I hadn''t stayed long after working out all of the details with Maylene and I''s rtionship. Instead, we''d taken the collective decision to send me on my way with the help of one of the usual Kadabra, who was pissed he''d needed to wake up forthis. With the emotional highs ofst night, we could have gone too fast and made a mistake. After having a long talk with my dad about potentially dating Maylene¡ªwho he only knew as the girl I''d cheated on Cecilia with and a Gym Leader¡ªthings were a little tense around the house, but he promised that he''d try to look past this if I never made such a mistake again. Regardless, I''d called Melody the morning after to tell her about everything, and I had not slept for even a minute. "Cecilia broke up with me¡­ because I cheated on her with Maylene," I hesitantly said again in between yawns. It still didn''t feel real. Like I was going to wake up from this any second now. "And we''re going to go public soon, if possible?" There was a long sigh at the end of the line, followed by an almost silent curse."This exins so much; I was going to call you in a few hours." "Huh?" "Check your messages," she ordered dryly. I''d rarely seen her like this; she reminded me of my father. Cold, focused anger, with the need to exin exactly where I''d gone wrong. Myptop was still charging on my desk, so I moved over, pushing the notebook I''d nned to study stars on away. There was already an alert when I flipped it open¡ªa message from Chase chewing me out and calling me every insult under the sun for hurting his best friend so badly. He had ended it with''don''t ever show your shitface to her or talk to me again, jackass.'' I hadn''t replied, instead taking in the pain and diffusing it with the help of my Pokemon, who had kept mepany deep into the night. They were mostly all asleep in their balls, save for Mimi and¡ªmy eyes flickered upward¡ªBuddy, who was, as usual, a pool of water shoved in a nook of my ceiling. There was nothing else from the others, but I''d been kicked from the group chat without warning as predicted earlier in the morning. I took the phone away from my ear and whistled to Jellicent until he slid into my sleeve and became slightly warm. The heat would help with the courage needed to get through this conversation, but it''d also be good to keep him hidden like a knife in the dark should someone try to kill me¡ª Oh. Right, that was done and over with. People weren''t after me anymore. "There,"she said. Right. Messages from Melody. Blinking the tiredness from my eyes, I clicked on her name and saw three new pictures other than the one of me shambling through Veilstone with ripped tights. The first had been clearly taken in Canve, and was one of Cecilia curled up in a ball as Slowking levitated her back to the Pokemon Center within a barrier. The second was on us talking on the bridge before leaving to fly on Princess slightly over an hour earlier. The third was a little tougher to tell. I squinted and zoomed in until I figured out it was a blurry picture of me on Princess in the sky. "The third one is you flying away from Canve,"she pointedly exined. I waited to see if there would be any moreing, like me and Cecilia screaming at each other, or me breaking thew by taking off outside of a designated tform, but there was nothing else."It''s easy enough to piece together now. People are already specting online that something broke the two of you up¡ªI just never thought it would have been cheating!"she yelled."Whatpelled you to do this?" "I dunno. I shouldn''t have, I know." My foot started to tap on the ground. This conversation never got easier no matter how many times I had it. Good. "Th¡ªthe rtionship was just in a horrible ce. It had been for a long time, but we were so private that none of you knew. And before you say I should have told you, Cecilia and I also¡­ didn''t really know." "Look, I don''t know Cecilia; I understand you two have been through a lot this year, but this¡­ okay, it wouldn''t be catastrophic if it came out, but it sure would be horrible. Another grievance thepany would have with you to add to the pile." A lump formed in my throat. "Am I gonna be demoted? Fired?" Maybe I hadn''t paid enough. Maybe the world would keeping to collect for what I''d done, equalizing the weight of my sins and paying it back in hurt. My liaison sighed¡ªI could almost picture her cradling her forehead at theing headache."Not yet, but you''re toeing the line, Grace. I can''t keep protecting you forever, you understand?"I nodded as if she could see me. In truth, I hadn''t been what Poketch needed for a long while."With Cynthia breathing down the board''s neck, they understood not to rock the boat, but that protection isrgely gone. That means you''re going to be put to work." "What does that mean in detail?" I asked. "Since you came out of Cor, you haven''t been doing much of anything for thepany,"Melody said."And I know that you were coping; you''ve been through a lot, but the board doesn''t see you as a living, breathing person. They see you as a money printing machine who''s run out of ink, and you don''t keep a broken printer, Grace, especially not anywhere where everyone can see it. You rece it with a new one and either throw it out or put it in the attic, away from any eyes." I chewed on the inside of my mouth and felt Jellicent wrap around my arm, telling me to keep my head on my shoulders. All wasn''t lost; there remained an opportunity to hold onto my position. While I didn''t reallylikePoketch as apany, at least I liked my co-workers. Even Aubri, to some extent! And Iwantedmy name to be sung far and wide to audiences that would remain unreachable without thepany to push me to those heights, or at least right now. And if¡ª If I lost Poketch, I would havenothing left. I needed structure in my life. "Now, I don''t want that to happen to you no matter what I might think¡ªfar from it."That surprised me. Genuinely, it took a moment for the statement to sink in, and I stopped myself from scoffing. I honestly thought she''d¡­ yell at me for cheating? She didn''t really care for any moral quandaries."Not only do I genuinely like you even if you''re tough to work with, whatever happens to you reflects on me and my position." "So what are we going to do?" I asked, my voice small. "Do you have a calendar?"When I answered yes, she continued."You are going to work your ass off." "Okay." "Before saying okay, let mey it all out for you so all of our cards are on the table. You''re supposed to be one of the main faces of thepany, but what have you done, really, to warrant that?"Besides Craig pushing me to the board¡­ not much besides growing quickly as a trainer."Exactly,"she said, taking my silence as an answer."You don''t go out in public to meet fans, you don''t battle in public, you don''t do tournaments, you don''t do interviews, you don''t post on your socials beyond the bare minimum and your ount reads like corporate spiel¡ª"That was their fault! They were the ones who shackled me and controlled whatever I wanted to say!"¡ªpeople know the idea of you and how you fight, but no one really knows you besides a few people inside thepany. So tell me, why should we invest more in you when you''re barely giving anything back, especially ahead of the Conference?"Melody paused for a second."That''s what the board is starting to think, at least." "I get it," I acknowledged with a long exhale. "We''re going to thrust you into the public limelight in a way you haven''t been¡­ ever, really, even if we count that Veilstone interview with Mallory."There was a hint of displeasure at that name I shared with Melody."To start with, your merch is officially releasing next week. June 13th. We''re going to set you up at a public booth where you can meet your fans at one of the venues we own¡ªthey''ve been selling Craig merch like cookies there."Arceus, I didnotneed the remember that the business I worked with was exploiting their figurehead''s death for profit."You''ll meet your fans, interact with them, take pictures, and probably sign a bunch of stuff. It would be nice if your Pokemon could as well." The idea of so many eyes on me was ufortable, not because I wasshyany longer¡ªPoketch had been pretty good at beating that out of me¡ªbut because I hated the fact that they might be able to see the evil in me, and my interaction with that kid in Twinleaf didn''t bode well with my public speaking capabilities should any unpredictable questions be asked. Part of me wanted to negotiate a better deal with Melody, but it was far toote for that. There were no more favors for me to trade in; this was where the rubber had to meet the road. Either I put up and showed I was worth something, or I''d be pushed out of the limelight. "Uh. I don''t have a signature." I grabbed one of my pens and twiddled with it. "Well, correction. Ido," I''d signed a bunch of stuff from the few fans I''d actually interacted with, which had mostly been in Sunyshore when I''d been at my happiest. Helping Erin and her club¡­ gosh, that had been fun, "it''s just that it''s notproper. Like¡ªCraig''s signature''s really nice, smooth, and professional and stuff. I just write my name weird." Her fingers snapped."Perfect! That''s something for you to work on¡ªa nice-looking, recognizable signature is important marketing. Can youe to HQ today?" "Yeah." I''d definitely need to sleep the rest of the day. "Great." "So¡­ that''s it, right?" I scribbled down June 13th on my calendar, making it in red with a bunch of horrible circles to remind myself of how it was going to be a shit day. Melody snorted."Are you kidding me? I said you''d be working your ass off; this is just the start!"She typed something on her keyboard and hummed."You haven''t given an interview since Veilstone¡ªyou''re going to give a few more ahead of your eighth Gym Badge. Tell battling-focused channels how you''re feeling on your rematch with Byron, et cetera, et cetera. They eat that stuff up; Craig used to give these all the time before he got all paranoid. Speaking of! You''ll be challenging Byron at most a week after his Gym opens. That should be¡­ from June 20th to 27th¡ª" "Wait,what?!" "I told you, Grace. The Board''s putting their foot down,"she gently rebuked. "But what if¡ªwhat if I''m not ready?" I sputtered. "I''ve been working on this awesome move and we''ve been making slow progress, but¡ª" "It''s a hard deadline. They actually wanted it to be the day of reopening because that sells better, but I gave you a week of breathing room. And when else were you going to do it, anyway? The Conference is on July 5th! You don''t have time to be meandering; it''ll be full throttle from here on out." "I guess I''ll try my best¡­" "Use the opportunity to train in public and give out advice to those who need it, why don''t you? Well, obviously keep whatever new stuff you have ready hidden."Most of that stuff was forkillingthings, Arceus damn it! Not that they couldn''t be adapted for battle, but still."We don''t want Byron to get the jump on you. Ideally, the board wants this to be a dominant win. 4-6 is¡ª" "4-6?!Are they fucking insane?!" I screamed, making Mimi re at me in annoyance on the windowsill. "That''s just like¡­ impossible!" "I said ideally. It''s not a hard line; a win is a win, but it would make them look at you far more favorably."A long, drawn-out groan escaped me no matter how much I''d wanted to keep it in."Keep your chin up, Grace,"Melody said."We''re kicking things into high gear, but you''ll have to work just as hard in Unova to get our feet off the ground there. Can you swing by the Poketch Building at 12:30? We''ll take a lunch there and talk about your worries before we work on your signature with the team. It''ll be the same people that helped you prep for your interview¡ªI know you prefer to work with familiar people." I had known thateventually, I would have to get back into the swing of things, but this was more than I''d ever,everdone. And it was all at once! It was far toote in the year to have any build-up to it. I felt the confines of my bed calling me, but I shook my head and dug my nails into my palm. Maybe if I worked, then I''d forget to be depressed about losing all of my friends. That was not¡­ exactly a healthy state of mind. But we all had to start somewhere. "Now, this leads us to the final topic I wanted to approach today on the phone¡ªwe''re going to need to send a team ofwyers to your friends to talk about signing an NDA¡ª" I balked, shooting up from my desk as adrenaline immediately diffused through my veins."What?!" "Grace, obviously we''re not going to hope they don''t say anything. Don''t fret the details, thepany will handle it. We can do marypensation to sweeten the deal, along with favors or vacations or whatever the hell they''re gonna throw at ''em. I don''t speak much legalese." "Me¡ªMel, you can''t!" "What do you mean I can''t? It''s out of my hands; I literally have no power over this. And this is to protect you and your reputation. Someone who maims and battles like a brute? Very marketable. A cheater? People hate that because things stop being that cool thing you see on TV and things suddenly be real."I started packing myptop into my backpack¡ª"And before you think about confronting someone high up in thepany, stop. It''ll just make a scene."I froze. Damn it, damn it,damn it!Not only would they hate me, but they might think I had something to do with this! I knew them well enough to know that none of them would sign that NDA, no matter how much money they threw at them. Hell, half of them were filthy rich already! I''d already hurt Cecilia enough; she didn''t need to go through the pain of confronting that we were over by getting bullied by some legal team¡­ "Sorry, Grace. It''s just the way things have to be." "Melody, you doing this literally makes itmorelikely they leak everything!" I eximed, thinking of Chase. A bunch of men and women in suits pressuring him to do something he didn''t want? He was going to blow up! "Let me¡ªwhat if I speak to them, at leastbeforethey send thewyers, so they don''t get ambushed?" "Hm, I might be able to sell that,"she muttered under her breath."Tell them about how abrasive Chase Karlson and Pauline King can be and how it''d be better to prime them for those negotiations¡­ yeah, I''ll see. By the time you get here, I should have an answer for you." I released a tight breath. "Thank the Legendaries. Okay." "You gotta move fast." "I will!" Contacting any of them directly was out of the question¡­ though maybe Emilia or Louis were doable. Emilia especially knew a lot aboutw¡ªshe and Pauline had been the ones to coach me when that firstpany had tried to sponsor me by shing big numbers in Eterna City. It''d be better and safer to go through Denzel first, given that I didn''t want to step on any toes, but¡­ But the problem was that he hadn''t actuallymessaged me yet. Managing to keep my nerves calm throughout this morning was one thing, but if he dropped me too? I¡ªI wanted to call Maylene, I¡ª Another soothing sound from Buddy who slipped out of my sleeve. Our eyes met, mine meeting his red glow, and I bit my lip. Not now. Not unless I was literally on the verge of lying on my bed and doing nothing all day. He''d contact me eventually. For now, I needed to get ready to head out and start working. ¡ª Everything was so ufortable. Skin that was hers and yet wasn''t. Muscles she could move, but felt sluggish like they belonged to someone else. Eyes she could see through but were like looking through a screen. Cecilia had learned to cope with her new body after death, but the fact that her future would be one without Grace was difficult to reconcile, especially now that the rage from their confrontation had¡­ notabated, but only been somewhat tempered. The ache for Grace was ever-present, a dull pulse beneath her thoughts she couldn''t shake, a knot she couldn''t untie. Yesterday, the anger had burned so fiercely she feared it might consume her entirely, but today, it simmered beneath the surface, waiting. It wasn''t gone¡ªit would never be gone¡ªbut it had quieted, leaving behind a sort of hollowness in her, however ironic that may be. She still remained shallow, and without anger to fill that empty space, what was she? Nothingyet. Yet what could Cecilia do but put one foot in front of the other, pressing ahead until she learned to go from a waddle to a confident stride where she would never stumble? A fist clenched, just to snap herself out of her thoughts, and she opened the door in front of her. A door closed behind her, both real and metaphorical; a dozen more had opened. She''d been freed, but freedom¡ªtrue liberation¡ªwas so much more terrifying than she thought it''d be. She had believed herself free since she''d escaped from her father''sphysicalclutches, but she had just moved on to a bigger cage. Inside Cecilia''s Center room were all of her friends. Chase stewed in anger in his wheelchair, teeth clenched and hands wrapped tightly around the armrests. His knuckles were white, the tension in his body making the chair creak ever so slightly under the force of his grip. Denzel looked¡­ guilty, his eyes finding the floor to be the best ofpanions. His arms were crossed, and he was recoiled in on himself, shoulders pulled, as if the weight of his own consciousness had forced him to retreat inward. As soon as he noticed Cecilia, he shot her an apologetic look for reasons he had already told her. Denzel had known something fishy was going on, but hadn''t said anything because of howhappyGrace looked. It would have been enough to make Ceciliash out had she not vented everything out the day before. Besides¡­ it wasn''t as if she hadn''t wished for Grace to be content as well once everything had been said and done. Louis was next to him, and they''d evidently been speaking in hushed tones before Cecilia hade back. Her old fianc¨¦ gave her a tight nod that was a little forced¡ªhe was ufortable with this entire situation. What Grace had done¡­ it shattered the view he''d had of her. Odd and violent, yes, but he''d found her to be dependable, sweet, and someone who would never betray the people closest to her. s, even Grace had her limits to the pain she could take. Pauline was uncharacteristically quiet and had been the entire day since Cecilia had broken the news. She''d expected the redhead to blow up much like Chase had. While she''d remained unquestionably angry, it was deep within her and masked by a thousand questions running through her mind at all times. She''d considered inviting Mira in, but the girl was busy these days with her uncle and Lauren. She''d sent a few messages in support, but Cecilia was under no illusion that she wanted any involvement in this when she was on the path to a rtively fun and healthy life. Maeve had never been that close to Cecilia, and she wanted to amputate herself from the group anyway. Emilia hade to hug her, something Cecilia eagerly returned. The embrace was warm, grounding in a way she hadn''t realized she needed. She clung to Emilia a little tighter, as if trying to draw strength and warmth from the contact, her fingers curling into the fabric of her shirt. "Cleared your head?" she asked. "As best as I could," the reply smoothly came. Her friends had let themselves into her room for some sort of emergency meeting on the topic of what to do about Grace, and things had gotten so heated that Cecilia had decided to leave for a walk. There had been many unsavory questions by her fellow trainers in and around the Pokemon Center, but a re from her sent most who approached her the message, and they''d mostly left her alone after that. Most of the shouting had been between Chase, Denzel, and Emilia. Chase had wanted the entire group to never speak to Grace ever again, like dropping her off the face of the earth, and considered any non-obligated contact to be a betrayal of some sort. Emilia felt the emotional weight of Cecilia''s anger and could somewhat rte even though she''d only been through a fraction of the pain. She''d said that she would support her no matter what and do whatever Cecilia needed of her to make the transition to her independent, single life as smooth as possible.Single. The mere thought of it felt odd, like Cecilia was missing half of herself, but Arceus knew she needed it. Denzel wanted them to clear their heads and reevaluate things when the anger and shock subsided. He posited that they''d all been through too much to let this admittedly horrible event cut Grace off forever. Cecilia thought it to be nonsense. She never wanted to see that girl ever again; it would be too painful, akin to running her heart through a meatgrinder just to make him feel better about the fact that their group wasn''t as tight as it used to be when the world was ending. Denzel was many things, but he was no agent of great change. Cecilia was, however¡­ not against them talking to her or remaining friends with her, even if the idea left a bad taste in her mouth. Chase scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Cece. I got a little heated, I¡ª" he winced. "I didn''t know it''d affect you like that. I forgot people don''t just¡­ get as angry as I do. I mean, she¡ªshe tried justifying that shit by using me." He lifted up his wrist and pped it.Practice,Grace had called it. "Fuck her." "You''re fine¡ª" she crushed the words worming their way out of her mouth.Voice your discontent; cease being subservient."No, you aren''t fine. I told you to stop focusing on throwing out insults and fighting with anyone who disagreed with you when the focus of this meeting was for us tomunicate about what we were each going to do. The next time,pleaselisten." He sighed out a small "yeah," apanied by a nod. "Now that we''ve stopped fighting and that I thought about how to proceed for a while," Cecilia began, "I''ve decided to afford all of you the freedom of choice. Iwillbe honest and say it would hurt me terribly to see you talk to Grace as if nothing had happened¡ªas if she hadn''t extinguished the embers that perhaps could have been reignited." Though that was a little unfair of her. If Grace had wanted to break up with her¡ªfine. Cecilia just wished she''d waited. "But I won''t force my feelings on any of you. You each have your own hearts, your own judgments to make." Cecilia cast a heavy gaze across the room, waiting for each person to make their decision. Chase was first. "I''m with ya all the way." He''d clearly wanted to say more but restrained himself for her. Good. "I still have to think about it," Louis said. "I''ll¡ªI''ll have to let you know when Ie to a decision. I just can''t fathom¡­ Legendaries." "She was hurting," Denzel tried. "Hurt people hurt more people." Chase just about piped up, but Denzel pressed, "youof all people should know that, Chase." "Wouldn''t hurt the person I care about the most. It''d be like me stabbing Ri in the back! The people I hurt were strangers I didn''t give a fuck about because I was an asshole to everyone I met. And I still am an ass. Just be fuckin'' honest, Denzel. The girl''s your best friend, so you want to forgive her for fucking up.Whatever." Despite brushing it off, it was easy to tell that Chase clearly wasn''t''whatever''about this. Cecilia nced at Emi. "Like I said, I''ll take it slow and try to hurt you as least as possible," she said, pushing a strand of her auburn hair away from her eyes. "Right now, that''s staying in your corner¡ªnot that I''m eager to speak to Grace either. I just¡­ you know, I also figured she had a thing with Maylene; I just never thought she''d go that far. This is also on me, not just Denzel." He gave her an appreciative nod. There was a short stretch of silence until she cleared her throat. "But if we''re being honest, I''m of the opinion that this is a good thing in the long term. You two breaking up." "Huh?"Chase sharply questioned. "I think they both need to be single for a while¡ªbut if I''m only getting half of that, them not being together is going to help them." Emilia smiled at Cecilia. "It hurts right now, and it will for a long time, but you''ll find your own path like I did, I promise you. Er, no offense meant, Pauline." "None taken. We spoke about this," she said. "Speaking of. What about you, Pauline?" Cecilia asked. "You''ve been quiet." Pauline had shrunk more and more the further Emilia had gotten into her point of view despite her words. She let out a little groan as if she was a cornered animal waiting to be snatched. "I dunno. I mean I¡ªI saw directly how fucked she was when you left, Cece. She couldn''t even get out of bed. She was justdecaying." Cecilia felt a pang of guilt that grew and grew until she barely kept it at bay with deep breaths.Thatwas part of why she''d left the door to Maylene open. Because she knew how Grace got when the world hurt her. And Legendaries, she''d hurt her a whole lot. "I can''t feel myself to feel too resentful. And Ireallytried, y''know?" Pauline said. "I was angry when I learned the news, and I''m still angry, but every time, I picture her just¡­ lethargic on her hotel bed, her room dark and damp. And I think¡ªshe needed someone there, and if that someone was Maylene, well, it fucking sucks for you, and it doesn''t make your pain worth any less, but it''s what she found to survive." "Grace is like a lightning bolt," Emilia added with a nod. "She needs a conductor to connect with, something or someone to channel her energy, or she''ll just fizzle out. None of us offered that because¡ª" Well. None of them wanted to say it, but Grace was just¡­ a lot of work¡ªCecilia was as well, she knew, but that wasn''t the point¡ªeven if they all loved her deep down. Either they''d been too busy with their own lives or dealing with their own trauma, but none of them really had the time or the will to put facets of their lives on hold to keep her centered except for Maylene. Cecilia ignored the furious jealousy bubbling inches beneath her skin, ten times that of the worst she''d felt when she''d been friendly with the fighting type Gym Leader and seeing the two of them interact right beside her. Cecilia would get over it eventually. She had to. The love she had for Grace was like a deep, unshakable root that had grown this past year. It was a love that had weathered storms, one she thought was unbreakable and wouldst forever. And yet, that same love was tangled up with a fierce enmity and disgust, a bitter sting that came from the betrayal of Grace''s infidelity. She''d left the argument somewhat satisfied, if not hurt, but it felt like there was still so much left to be discussed. So much to yell at her about, and to be yelled at for. Oh well. It was toote now. That lovehadto disappear eventually, right? It was just too early. Arceus¡­ how could she feel both love and resentment? And the fact that shestillloved, still wanted what was good for her. She hated that her heart refused to let go, that it clung to the idea of Grace despite the betrayal, despite the pain. And the more she realized how much she still cared, the angrier she became. It felt like a betrayal of herself, like she was weak for not being able to simply cut her out and move on. And Cecilia knew she just needed time to process everything, that she should allow herself to grieve and give herself time, but she was just¡ª So angry. "We have our verdicts," Cecilia said before faking a smile. "Thank you all foring here today; I''m d to still have all of you in my life." That depressive, self-deprecating part of her had thought that maybe they would abandon her as well, but it was just foolish conjecture from her inner self who wanted to push her to always remain miserable. "Chase, shall we go train and prepare you for Byron¡ª" "Grace messaged me," Denzel interrupted. Cecilia had noticed him looking at his phone, but had made nothing of it until now. "She wants to meet me? Like, ASAP?" He gave Cecilia a look. The Unovan shrugged, trying to act as if it didn''t bother her. "Do as you will, Denzel." "Can Ie with?" Pauline asked. He nodded. "If you''re sure." ¡ª By His grace, stop fidgeting! You''re making me nervous because I''m in your head all the time!Mesprit whined in my head.Ugh, your name shouldn''t even be Grace. You humans should have stayed in yourne. "If you''re nervous, just cut that off," I grumbled. "It''s not like you''re the literal embodiment of emotion or anything." Where''s the fun in that? I want to feel everything at once at all times! You''re just unbncing things!they whined.Keep ying with the Ingot and entertain me until your fleshy friends get here. "Haven''t you been entertained enough in thest few weeks?" I quipped, feet tapping anxiously against the floor. Oh, you''ve been a riot!Mesprit giggled.I hope you feel better soon, though! I brought Mimi up to my eyes and squished them like dough, stretching and prodding until they let out a chime-like giggle. The meeting room I''d been directed to was sleek and impersonal, designed for business, notfort. The long ss table at the center gleamed under the cold, bright lights, reflecting the chrome ents of the minimalist chairs arranged around it. The walls were lined with dark wood paneling, interrupted only by arge screen and a single abstract painting that I didn''t really understand. Originally, I''d wanted to meet my friends in public or maybe in an avable Center room, but Poketch had voiced their displeasure immediately and shoved me into one of their offices in Canve instead. Admittedly, it was safer this way. Away from the curious eyes and cameras of the public seeing us interacting now that the rumors about Cecilia and I breaking up were going wild online. It was even trending on Chatter, though thankfully nowhere near the number one position. The trainermunity was swirling with endless spection about how often Maylene had been seen in Jubilife and me in Veilstone as well, though that was a lot more hushed and kept to confined circles. I''d grown better at browsing Chatter since Maylene had shown me how on multiple asions. The things that specific subgroup was saying about me¡­ well, it was mostly true, if not greatly exaggerated, but I didn''t care. What a minority of them were saying about Cecilia or Maylene? Super fans of mine putting all the me on them for my rtionship copsing¡ªyou know nothing about us or any of what we''ve been through!I wanted to yell, yet I couldn''t. Because I was a public figure. I really needed to make that alt, didn''t I? We should browse this website more often,Mespritmented as I scrolled through my phone with Mimi on my head.I enjoy seeing what people have to say¡ªoh, wait, scroll back up!Arceus, I could feel their excitement buzzing about my head.''That Cecilia bitch didn''t deserve our Grace anyway knife emoji, knife emoji, knife emoji¡ªwow! The human mind is so interesting! It didn''t have any likes or any replies¡ªagain, these were just a few people my mind couldn''t help but focus on. The username was Tyler Galloway with a bunch of numbers at the end. I put my phone on sleep mode before a mistake could be made. Aw. I wish I had my own cellr device! "I wish you wouldn''t harass me about looking at the worst minds the inte has to offer." Sometimes, it was cute. Others, well¡­ it was annoying, especially when I was still so emotionally raw from my breakup. Hmph! I''m being nice because you''re my friend! There was a slight upward quirk in my lip. "I know; you can tell when you''re going too far anyway. Honestly, talking to you is helping keep my mind off things¡ª" There were footsteps in the corridor behind the door, then voices growing closer and closer. My breath hitched in my throat as I scrambled to stand up and put my phone back in my pocket. Mimi followed suit, jumping in the opening for whatever reason when I''d told them they didn''t need to hide anymore. It must have been a habit. I''d nned out what to say and how to say it, but ns I made tended to go off the rails quickly. Sometimes, that was wee, like my talk with Maylene in the ceremony leading to us somehow getting together¡­ My train of thought stopped for a moment. It still made me feel guilty to be happy about it. There was no time to dwell on those feelings. The door to the meeting room swung open, and two women in sharp suits ushered Denzel and Pauline inside. Their nervous energy mirrored my own¡ªfidgeting hands, uneasy nces. The door clicked shut behind them, sealing us in. Suddenly, we were alone. "Um," Denzel started as he grabbed a chair; he was nearly inaudible, "we should probably sit?" He was the first to do so, making so not to put himself against the backrest. I plopped myself back down on mine, ignoring a giggle from Mesprit about how nervous I was when the stakes were so low. Maybe on the scale of what we''d faced before, they were, but to me, these friendships mattered. I''d tried to ignore the fact that they were copsing just like I''d ignored the world ending that day with Cecilia at theke, but now that they were right in front of me, it took everything I had not to prostrate myself at their feet and beg for forgiveness. There was a certain¡­ space in between us. On the one hand, it was physical, with Denzel and Pauline sitting on one side of the table and me on the other; on the other hand, it was emotional. I''d hurt them so much that everything felt distant now, from the way they looked at me to how their eyes darted around the room. It was like they were looking at a stranger. And that stranger was me. "Ah¡ªshit, no need to cry, I¡ª" Pauline stammered. She circled the table and ced a hand on my shoulder while Denzel clenched his forehead. "It''s just so difficult¡­" I sobbed. "I''m sorry fo¡ªfor fucking up." I cried for¡­ probably a good five minutes. I was just tired, really. Part of me was happy that I was evensurvivingthis day, but deep down I just didn''t believe that was allowed under any other circumstances. When Denzel gathered his thoughts and joined in to hug me, I was well enough to speak again. I would have returned it had his back not been delicate; the progress he was making with walking again was astonishing, even if he was still slow. "I know I have to right to ask, but how is she?" I made pleading eyes at my¡­ I didn''t know what they were, now. "She''s doing okay. Chase knows the most," Denzel said. "Obviously, she wants nothing to do with you anymore. At¡ªat least for now," he added, slightly hopefully. "I already know," I said.For now?That was enough to nearly make meugh. He was as optimistic as always. "And the others?" "Shellshocked?" Pauline guessed. "That''s a good word for it. I mean, we never really thought you guys would¡­ break up this way. We always thought you were the kind of couple who''d stay friends even if you separated¡ª" "Pauline," Denzel said through his teeth. "Not the best moment to say that stuff?" She looked at him apologetically and raised her hands. "Ah. Sorry." It was true. If I''d waited, if we''d split amicably, then this would have feltsomuch better. Unfortunately, in life, there were no takebacks. Not without Godly intervention, anyway,Mesprit sohelpfullyIt''s out of my purview; don''t get mad at me. Take it up with Celebi! Cele-who? Blegh, whatever. Probably some other deity whose mere presence could kill me. I sniffled a few times and wiped my tears with my sleeve. "So I would have exined more in my text, but they were adamant to keep it as ambiguous as possible," I hesitated before continuing, shooting them an anxious look. Pauline nodded and crossed her arms as she walked back to her seat. "They had us sign some sworn-to-secrecy nonsense before going in here," the redhead spoke before sitting. "We did it because we trust you, even after everything." "She still gave it an extensive look. We were down there for like an hour and a half. "Denzel patted me on the back and smiled. "And look, things are gonna be awkward¡ªhell, they''re awkward right now, right?" I let out a sadugh. "I feel like my flesh is trying to crawl out of my skin, like my body''s rejecting itself. " "That''s a nice way to put it." He said, squeezing my shoulder. "But I still want to be your friend, Grace. And even after you leave, I want to keep in touch despite the fact that it''s going to beweirdfor a while." "Me too!" Pauline added. "Though y''know, I also want to be here for Cece." I cringed at the nickname I was no longer allowed to refer to her as. "It''s a tough bnce to strike, but I want to make it work because we don''t want you to be on your own. It''ll just¡­ take a bit to get used to this." "Speaking of that, how have you been doing?" Denzel asked. Telling them about my day so far was a little fun and relieving, especially when going over how much of a struggleing up with a new signature was. I''d ended up with one I liked, with sharp lines, and that was easy to replicate en masse. This did lead perfectly to the main issue I''de here for. "Thepany wants to make you guys sign an NDA," I exined, tasting ashes in my mouth. "I told them that I trust you guys not to say anything, but I won''t be able to stop them from atleastsending a millionwyers at you. I figured it''d be best to warn you guys before you were ambushed." "That makes sense." Pauline drummed her fingers on the cold, ss table and crossed her legs. "They''ll try to bribe us," Denzel said. "Not bribe, Denzel. Bribery is illegal; this would be negotiations for settlement," the redhead corrected. "I mean, I''d have to get mommy''swyers to represent us and look over whatever¡ªI doubt Emilia wants to be involved with her parents beyond the minimum politeness she affords them. Personally? I wouldn''t mind signing it?" "I don''t think any of us would except for uh, Chase," I winced at the name, "and maybe Cecilia? I''m not sure." My throat tightened, and I gripped the sides of my chair. "Do you think she would¡ª" He cut me off. "No. It might just be because of the principle of the thing, though. She wouldn''t leak anything." Denzel reassured me with another pat. "But she''s really angry, Grace." "Conflicted,"Pauline corrected. "Angry makes it sound like she''s out for blood; she just¡­ well, she''s hurting, but she''s trying to move on and failing. Emilia''s already told her she''s going too fast¡­" she trailed off, and I knew why she''d gone silent. Pauline just didn''t want to speak about Cecilia''s anguish while I was in the room. Had she asked them to keep quiet because she didn''t want me to hear anything about her? "Well, we''re here for her, so you don''t have to worry," Pauline added with a smile as she leaned forward in her seat. "Focus on yourself. And we''ll¡ªwe''ll tell them about the NDA, but it shouldn''t be much of an issue. Even Chase didn''t even suggest sabotaging your reputation by leaking your affair. I really thought he''d go nuclear, and we''d have to stop him!" "Thanks." I wanted to breathe out a sigh of relief, but couldn''t bring myself to. "Err, they''ll probably sendwyers to Mira. Can you guys get in on that too? I don''t want to ruin her¡ªher happiness, I guess." That was half of the truth. While I knew she was happier with Lauren these days, I also was too exhausted from everything I''d done today to set upanothermeeting, and there was a time limit Poketch had given me for this. "We''ll do that," Denzel said. They didn''t stay long afterward. Things were still stiff between us, and it would take a while for them to return to the way they were, if at all. I''d been¡­pletely wrong about Pauline''s reaction. She''d been so friendly to me when I''d expected only screams and bitterness that it made me smile when I remembered what her reaction might have been if this had happened when we''d first met. I stretched in my seat and felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Maylene was calling me¡ª It was her lunch break! "How''s my dummy doing,"she gently said. I cradled the phone against my ear and took refuge in her voice. That was me. I washerdummy."Tough day today, huh?" "Ugh, the worst," I smiled. "I miss you, Maymay." I hoped that was okay to say. She stammered a bit at the sudden nickname."I¡ªI took an extra long lunch break to talk with you because I knew today would be the hardest,"Maylene said."Remember, if things get out of hand, you cane by." I loved her and wanted not to disappoint her enough not to abuse her kindness. "I''ll be fine. I have nothing else going on today, so I think I''ll just go out and train with my team before heading home. The excitement and anxiety from today''s keeping me awake." "Need me to send a Teleporter?" "Nah, Poketch has it handled," I said, ying with my hair. "Anyway, let''s start with the happy stuff first¡ªdid you know that making a signature you like issooohard? I mean, I needed Princess'' help¡­" I went about my day with her, and she went along with hers when I was done. Iughed when she talked about a feisty Tyrogue who had dered himself her rival during their sparring session today."Kept rushing at me during sparring, never letting up. I''ll give him credit for his persistence, though,"she recounted."He''ll make a good fighter for people with one to two badges; I''m d he agreed toe with me."She went on, talking about the gossip about us at her Gym, and to be honest, people talking about us, but in¡­ a positive manner made me feel giddy inside. "You know,"Maylene hummed,"I know you''re gonna be busy this week with Poketch stuff, but if you want to dpress tomorrow, I have an idea for you." "What is it?" "Why don''t you go see Candice in Snowpoint?" ¡ª Friends were important. They were the ones who stuck by you through thick and thin, helping pull you up in harsh times until you were elevated to heights you never would have reached on your own. To this day, part of me wondered how I''d survived fifteen years of my life without a single real connection. Times hadn''t been as hard back then¡ªnowhere near what they were now. The most I had to deal with wereziness, loneliness, and fear of the prospect of the future.What would I do if I didn''t go on the Circuit?Many roads were open to teenagers with this quandary, whether that be to get an apprenticeship somewhere immediately or to continue on to secondary schooling until they graduated. That then opened the road to university or better work prospects¡ªso many doors opened it was nearly dizzying. Fifteen years was a terrifying number to reach. It meantmaking a decisionthat would affect the rest of my life, and the tingles I''d felt every time I''d watched a battle back then had always been ignored, with Princess'' delicate self chirping and waving her arms in my embrace.What if she got seriously hurt?It was a fear I''d only truly gotten over after my loss to Byron. Walking in the midst of Snowpoint was odd. It was warmer than it had been in winter when I''dst gone after our escape from Cor''s craftiness, but it was still cold and nketed in a thickyer of snow that reflected the harsh sunlight back into my eyes every time I stared too long. Military trucks drove throughout the city, distributing supplies to whoever needed them, whether that be water, rations, or medicine. Oftentimes, I''d see Indigoan men and women apanying Sinnohan League Trainers as they rode on the backs of the trucks, their faces hardy with the weight of duty strewn on their visage. It wasn''t rare to see annoyed Kadabra shivering in the cold, Teleporting things to and fro throughout the city. The ones belonging to Kanto-Johto all donned an armband hewn in gold and silver. Snowpoint was a lot more somber than the rest of the region. The people here still wore the toll of the bombings on their expressions, and off in the distance, ginormous cranes moved tirelessly in the city''s port, participating in the ginormous effort to get it repaired by the next month. I made my way toward the Gym, which was a little smaller than I remembered. It was nestled in one of the corners of the city, away from the brutalist, dreary architecture that easily put even Veilstone to shame. The Gym Trainers were expecting me, so once I showed through the ss door, they let me in. I took a few warm breaths and blew hot air into my hands as one of them led me to wherever Candice was. Snowpoint''s Gym was a lot less narrow than Maylene''s. The hallways were wider, and many areas had more windows that allowed natural sunlight to filter in. It was something you''d expect out of Gardenia''s Gym. Maylene was in one of these many sunrooms, sprawling on a beanbag with aptop on herp. She''d opened the windows to let the cold in, but even then, she was wearing a T-shirt and a short brown skirt. The only thing thatmighthave protected her from the cold was the puffy high socks she had on. Her Gym Trainer cleared his throat twice to get her attention, but she beamed when she saw me. "Grace!" she dashed toward me and nearly suffocated me in a hug that barelysted a second. "Thanks, Art!" Candice saluted sarcastically. "You may return to your duties!" "Sure thing," he deadpanned¡ªhe must have been used to this. "Don''t forget. You blink once or twice, and June 25th is right around the corner." "Blegh." The Gym Leader pulled out her tongue. "The standards they put on our Gym is a tragedy, my dear Arthur." I blinked, surprised that he shared my dad''s name. "We''ll get it done, though." The older man grinned. "Damn right, we will." They shook hands with a firm, open-palmed p, hands colliding with a solidp, and the trainer was on his way. It was interesting to see the different dynamics Gym Leaders had with their trainers. Maylene had spoken about how Candice was basically friends or at leastfriendlywith a lot of hers, though I distinctively remembered her cking off whenever she could afford to. Which right now, was never. "Grace! My favorite blonde!" Candice grinned at me. "Don''t tell Cynth I said that, though. I was waiting for you to get here. Come on,e on, follow me." "What about Volkner?" I questioned, more idly than anything. "He''s moved down the rankings recently due to a severe case of broken heart," she said. "You don''t want to bother him when he''s like that; he gets all antsy and acts like the world''s ending until you light a fire under his butt. He''s kind of a hopeless romantic." Candice led me into one of the hallways again. Compared to how it had been when I''dst been here, her Gym was night and day, with the corridors bustling with activity everywhere I looked. Two engineers looking over a tablet of some sort and talked about problems with the lighting¡­ somewhere; a Trainer carried with her a tray full of minimized Pokeballs; a group of Gym Trainers huddled near a door, deep in conversation about thetest strategies to handle challengers that would soon be pouring in. The hum of voices and the faint sound of Pokemon training in the distance gave the ce a pulse it hadn''t had before. Candice seemed to glide through it all, nodding at familiar faces as we passed. "It''s been hectictely," she said, ncing over at the engineers. "We''ve been having issues with the heating system in the battle arenas¡ªfrost is great for battles, but not when it starts messing with the equipment and we need to keep our staff warm. We''ve been going a little too hard on the training to prepare for the rush of challengers." As we turned a corner, a team of maintenance workers rushed by, pushing a cart full of tools and cables. "Maylene''s had a bit of those issues," I said. Candice practically squealed. "Gosh, you and Maymay! Can you believe it?" The ice type specialist elbowed me. Maylene had informed me that she''d be telling both Gardenia and Candice because they were her closest friends and confidants¡ªwhom she had also informed of the¡­ kissing the night it had happened¡ªso this wasn''t a surprise. "And to think you weren''t even on speaking terms before all this Gctic B.S., huh?" She leaned toward me with a sly expression. "How''s it going with her? Give me the deets!" Blood rushed to my face, and I ignored her teasing at my blushing. "I mean, it''s been like, two days," I said with a nervousugh. "We''re taking it slow, I guess. Haven''t seen her since I confessed, but we''ll be having a date at¡ª" "Ooooh,youconfessed?" she eximed. "Just joking, I knew that; Maymay''s told me already. Anyway, you two have basically been dating for like, nearly a month at this point. Tell me what you like about her." Why''d she have to put me on the spot like this? It wasn''t like I didn''t know what to say; it was just embarrassing to say it out loud to someone who wasn''t her. "It''s not just a big, sweeping thing. Uh, it''s a lot of little things added together¡ªthe sum of her parts." Iunched into everything I loved within her. Herpetitiveness, her drive and diligence, the way she showed she cared for me likenning this whole day outjust so I had a friend to hang out with! Each time I listed something, I''d throw in an example of something she''d done in line with that to apany how great she was. Some of it, I kept to myself. Like how vulnerable she looked under me, or the eyes she made when she wanted to be kissed¡ªI stopped those thoughts before they could go too far. And yeah, she had ws, but that was okay. I really wanted this thing with her tost¡ª "Okay, okay! I get it, sheesh," Candice faltered. "Oh. I kind of rambled on, didn''t I?" I sighed, shaking my head. I needed to be better about these things. "Sorry, I¡ª" "It''s fine! It was really cute!" sheughed. "The truth is¡ªthis was a test." "A test?" She opened a door and let me in. It was kind of a waiting room with a bunch of thick snow shoes and winter Gym uniforms lying on coats lining the walls. I sat on one of the benches which were wet with melted snow. "Yeah, you know." She sat next to me. "Like, when the gruff old dad tests his daughter''s boyfriend before letting them date in the movies¡ªput on the shoes." I took off my boots, which looked punypared to these. "Did I pass?" I painstakingly began putting them on. "With flying colors! Nia''s kinda sorta worried about you two still. Expect to be tested whenever you visit her Gym! That''s next week, right?" "Early next week, yeah." It hurt to think that my idol was still wary of me, but I haven''t really given her a reasonnotto be. She''d been the one to tell Maylene to block me when I left that night. She''d called the grass type Gym Leader in tears, desperate for direction. "Anyway, Maylene''s smoothed things over now, but Nia hates how cagey she''s being about some kind of contract?" I audibly gulped. "She really thinks it''s weird¡ªLegendaries, you should have heard how fiercely Maylene defended you. She''s really into you! Me personally? I think being normal''s boring. Nia kind of has this blind spot where she thinks she''s your average Jane, but she''ssucha weirdo too." She''s already finished putting two of her boots on when I wasn''t even done withoneof mine. All of this velcro was annoying¡­ "It''d be nice if you two got along. We could watch a movie or something, the four of us. Horror, of course." Candice shot me a thumbs-up. I snorted. "You got any more good suggestions¡ª" "It''d be like a double date!" A¡­ what? A double date? Date?Were Candice and Gardenia dating?Since when? "You two are a thing?" I probed with hesitation. Maybe I''d gotten it wrong¡ª "Ah, yeah. We started dating just a few days before you guys officially did, actually. Both Maymay and Nia are scaredy cats when ites to horror, so you know, I was thinking it''d be nice for the both of us. God, she''s so hot¡­" her eyes flicked upward as if she was recalling Gardenia''s appearance. "Sorry. Sometimes I think about her ''cause she''s like my fuel to get through the day. Anyway, just be yourself like today with her, and it should be fine. Need help with those boots?" "I''m fine." I was still a little shaken by the nonchnce of that revtion. "What are we gonna be doing?" "Well, you''re good with Pokemon, right? We have a bunch out there that we need to take care of, and I''m on duty today. We''re gonna feed ''em, solve disputes, ask if there''s anything we could improve for their well-being, things like that." "Oh, that''s cool!" She grinned. "Isn''t it just?" Once my boots were finally on my feet, I decked myself out with one of the coats, which Candice couldn''t help but note how I rocked it before making a joke about how I shoulde and work for her. We left the room, and the cold hit my face like a truck. As much as Iined about the heat all the time, I missed summer and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Whaty in front of us was, well, the wilderness. Endless stretches of snow and ice, as far as the eye could see. The ground beneath was a hard, icy crust, crunching underfoot with each step. Snowden trees loomed in the distance, their branches bending under the weight of fresh snowfall. A few trainers were out and about patrolling, though most were flying on Staraptor high above us. Off to the side, a group of Snover shuffled around a cluster of frost-covered bushes, their icy exhtions hanging in the air like small clouds. A lie hovered silently above them, and his signature hardy expression turned soft as Candice passed them by. She was leading us toward a wooden cabin of some sort at the pen''s center. "Like I said, we keep basically all of our auxiliaries out here¡ªthat''s the wild Pokemon who''re only working in the Gym for a while. Either because they want safety, or a change of pace, or want to train and improve in a short period of time. Those are the big three anyway; every case is different. Our Gym''s a little special because of how many of these we have, but I mean, that''s the advantage of living in permanent winter." There was a small pause that lingered in the air. "Wanna bond over how it sucks that we can''t see our girlfriends all the time?" The sudden change in topics made me stumble in the shallow snow, but she grabbed me with a chortle. "Sorry, sorry," she sheepishly said. I''d even let her calling Maylene my girlfriend slide, not that it didn''t make me feel all fluttery inside. "What? I mean¡ªis that okay?" It felt wrong. Within mey the belief that I just had to bear through with it, that anyint would just mean I was too dependent on her. I just¡­ really didn''t want to fuck everything up. "I mean, Maylene told you about, uh, my issues, right?" "A little; she said that you''d tell me if you wanted, but essentially, it''s co-dependency." "Hmhm." I awkwardly shifted in my coat. "Silly Grace. Missing your girlfriend''s just being human," Candice chided in a teacher-like tone. "No need to deal in absolutes. Boundaries are well and good, but you don''t need to pretend it doesn''t bother you and bottle everything up. And we have itreallyhard, y''know?" she whined as she stared at the sky. "I mean, Jean-Pierre gets to live with Wake, that lucky sonuvabitch!" "How''s he like? I mean, I''ve seen some interviews, and I know he runs some of the day-to-day stuff¡­" "Oh, he''s a sweetie¡ªhe wouldn''t hurt a Cutiefly! And he makes the best fried shrimp I''ve ever had¡ªyou know, you guys should meet one of these days. I could take you. He might dislike you because of how you and Maylene got together." "Aren''t you all busy?" "Pfft. Once this Circuit''s over, we''re all free! Thoughsomeof us will have a lot of work to catch up on." She whistled innocently and kicked some snow, whispering aint about how hot she felt in this coat. "You''re¡­ struggling with your friends, right? Maymay told me. If you ever need to, you can hang with us. Volkner, Nia, Roark, Maymay, and I always hang out during the Conference. And hey, you can meet the others too." Excitement prickled beneath my skin like bugs crawling all over me at the idea thatIwould maybe have the possibility of hanging out with so many Gym Leaders. It was tempered by the part of me that nearly always recoiled in disgust whenever I allowed myself to have fun. "I mean, is that¡ªis that okay?" I asked. "Sure, why not?" "I mean, they know about Backlot and stuff." "Meh." Candice tried to brush it off, but I could tell she didn''t like thinking about it. "Roark''s never cared¡ªhe''s a ''he had iting'' kind of guy. Volkner''s depressed and probably will just want to have fun to keep his mind off Jasmine and work. For Nia and I, it''s nothing new. Plus, you''re making Maylene really happy." She kept talking about the dynamic of their friend group as we stepped into the small cabin. Immediately, I was struck by the crisp, almost biting scent of frozen berries neatly stored in crates along the walls. The air was just as cool as the outside, deliberately kept that way to preserve the special blends of food for ice type Pokemon. Near the back, there was a faint herbal note from powders and berries mixed into the feed¡ªblends shoved in rows upon rows of cans on shelves. "Y''know I don''t know much about ice types," I noted. "I''d like to do work in Unova helping Pokemon, so I guess¡­ uh, do you have tips and stuff to take care of ''em?" Ideally, I''d know as much as possible for every kind of Pokemon. I would have been able to study with Louis if I hadn''t fucked up. Candice beamed as she wiped her feet on the thick carpet. "Sure! lie, for example? They''re total predators." She grinned and shed her sharp teeth. "They love frozen fish¡ªstuff like Magikarp or Remoraid, straight out of icy waters. Sometimes, I feed them chilled meat, too. They need the protein to stay strong. Obviously, we feed them animal products though, not Pokemon¡­" ¡ª Meeting fans was a lot more repetitive than one would think. Sure, the first few interactions were fresh and new. You smiled at the fact that people could tell you their favorite moments from your Gym Battles from memory, their favorite Pokemon of yours, or how much you inspired them to try something new with their own Pokemon. ThatIcould be used as inspiration was something that made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside I had to send a text to Maylene gushing about it. But after hundreds came by, it got a little old, and the queue wasn''t getting any shorter. I''d been set up at a booth¡ªa simple setup with a long rectangr table draped in a bright cloth featuring my name and samples from my merch. The metallic folding chair was ufortable; the sun had a vendetta against me specifically and kept making me sweat bullets. The table wasalsocluttered with sharpies, stacks of glossy photos of my Pokemon for autographs, and a few gifts from early visitors¡ªeverything from handmade bracelets to tiny sculptures made of papier mach¨¦, to fan art. To my left, a small stand held a tablet where people could register for photos or order merchandise from every other Poketch Trainer. We''d been set up right in front of aPoketch Storea few blocks away from HQ, and of course, it meant that people tended to head inside to buy stuff when they were done with me or while someone in their group was waiting in line. That ''stuff'' included my brand-new merch. It feltreallyweird to see people walking out of that store wearing or carrying my merchandise. Besides security guards who seemed to weak to matter, Melody was standing besides me with the fakest of smiles on her face. I''d known her for months, so it was easy to tell that this was just work for her. asionally, she''d discreetly tap my back with a finger in various patterns if I was doing something wrong. Smile more, be more cheerful, belesscheerful, stand up straighter, dodge that question, stop veering into killing talk¡ªI''d memorized all of it in an afternoon. Honey was also behind me, grinning and making sure to take pictures with the people who wanted them. Hewasmy most personable Pokemon, after all. And it was good to see him genuinely happy at the fame when the news about his parents had hit him somewhat hard. It was nothing new for him¡ªhe''d known that they''d abandoned him, but the fact that they were still doing so despiteknowingthat he wanted to talk to them again had left him reeling for a few hours. I also used this opportunity to introduce Mimi to the world. They were sitting on my shoulder and bashfully hiding behind my hair; they were too shy to take a picture, so whenever someone wanted one, they turned into an essory. Buddy was also hidden away in my sleeve for obvious reasons. I told myself I''d stop, but I couldn''t. Not when these ''guards'' were strangers I had to rely on¡ªArceus, they were wide open. Buddy could literally kill them in less than a second. I perked up when I saw a familiar face approach next in the queue. Edith''s hair was different¡ªit had been dyed a mix of bubblegum pink and sky blue¡ªbut there was no way I''d forget them when I''d saved them and their other friends from Eterna Forest. They were basically hiding behind their friend June andoozinganxiety. It was basically spilling out of their every fraying movement. June looked at her friend, who I remembered had a celebrity crush on me, and said, "Err, hi, Grace! Sorry about Edith, they''re¡ªwell, this is like a dreame true to them¡ª" "June!"Edith screamed. The sudden sound made Mimi shrink and turn into a thin ne. "What even is that? I''ve never seen one before." "A Meltan¡ªtheir name''s Mimi." Both teens stared intently at my neck. "Think of them as a travelingpanion and a team mascot¡ª" I felt Melody tap my back twice, press on it, then tap it another two times but faster. Her sign to speed this along. "Anyway, I''m d to see you guys are okay! How are the others?" I asked. Edith poked Honey''s arm, and the electric type let out a boyish giggle. "Doing great! They would havee if they weren''t obsessed with staying in Eterna to get their badge. I mean, the Circuit''s basically over," Juneined. "I see you have¡­ ah, the Sunshine shirt for you," my eyes flickered toward June, "and a knife and the Princess hoodie for Edith. If you want, I can sign ''em and take a picture?" Signing on fabric was actually a lot more difficult than doing so on paper. Sometimes, the point of the pen got caught and I had to pretend like nothing happened, smoothing things over as best I could. This wasn''t one of those. The lines were sharp and led into each other as I signed the clothes and the handle of the knife¡ªEdith wanted to keep the de clear. I was still miffed it wasn''tactuallymetal. "C¡ªcan I have a selfie?" Edith asked. I smiled at them. "Sure thing." They logged their request on the tablet¡ªI still didn''t know why we couldn''t just do without it¡ªand once it was approved, I grabbed their knife, pressed the fake de against my cheek, and found myself genuinely smiling as they snapped a few pictures. "I''ll see you at the Conference," I said. "We''re rooting for you!" Edith finally found her voice. "Kick Byron''s ass!" Maybe this wasn''t so bad after all. Just exhausting. ¡ª Apuse and cheers rang out around me. Sunshine roared out all of his anger as he scrambled and failed to stand up while Delibird patted and extinguished his still-burning feathers with a gust of chilled wind. The cold had made Sunshine nearly lethargic. Each movement came slow and steady as if he was learning to move again, and the frost clung to his scales like a malignant growth, only chipping bit by bit every time he flexed and blue mes exploded out of his scales. Delibird hacked out augh and emptied his gift bag¡ªwhich was histail. Out flew a couple of Dragon Pulses, methrowers, Firests, Rock Tombs, sh Canons and Focus sts he had sohelpfullyreturned as ''Presents.'' Next came out Sunshine''s ambient heat, which had been cut by around¡­ I''d say sixty to seventy percent at first, but even then,somehow, he''d managed to focus all of his efforts on freezing the Turtonator''s body until barely any could squeeze past the frost. What a ruthless fighter truly embodying the concept Regice had shown me on my way up Cor. Delibird was less of a direct battler and more of a presence you had to take out before it was toote. Ice would spread to your Pokemon''s very bones, leaving them frozen and easy pickings if you didn''t, andifyou fought back hard and fast, then Delibird could stall by pocketing your own attacks and throwing them back as presents as he slid across the ice and sped himself up with Rapid Spin. It was tough to move around with consecutive Shell Trap explosions when he could barely move his tail due to the cold. We''d been getting better at fighting him, but Sunshine was still nowhere near a match for Ramon''s Delibird, who had been nicknamed by Ramon as ''dragon-yer'' as a joke."When I was first starting out, I''d sometimes fight these kids with dragons, a decent amount of them rich,"he had told me during one of our training sessions."They''d smirk all confidently when I let out Delibird, and then that''d slowly copse as my little yer ran circles around their dragon and kicked them in the ass." It was, I had to admit, a nice and heartwarming story. Ramon had grown up poor, catching the mostmon of Pokemon often by feeding them, and he always got a kick out of beating people with ''conventionally'' stronger teammates. Granted, that mythrgely disappeared from a trainer''s consciousness the more experience they got and the higher they climbed. Every Pokemon could be strong, and Ramon Casaus was living proof of that. My friend and colleague had made it up to me now, so I recalled Sunshine. While he probably would have shit-talked me if we hadn''t been in public, this time, we just shook hands and let the audience''s apuse wash over us. I didn''t miss that coy smile he made at me as he tipped his blue cap; I rolled my eyes and squeezed his hand as much as I could. Which wasn''t very much. "Good match," he whispered. "I dunno why you''re so obsessed with the Delibird-Turtonator matchup, but hey, the first time we fought, you didn''t even touch us. I''ll give you another fifty-six attempts, and maybe you have a chance of bringing it to a draw." "Fuck off," I yfully groaned. "I''m using you as inspiration, nothing more." He raised an eyebrow. "Well, when your Turtonator starts shitting out ice, I''ll believe ya. See you in a few days, little prodigy. Maybe I''ll let you fight my Mightyena next!" He waved to the captive audience onest time, somehow in sync with their cheers, and I used his social maism to slip out of the training arena. I''d had enough of interacting with rabid fans thest week and just wanted to be on my own for a while.Somehow. My Pokemon would serve as a balm to keep away the awful thoughts that always came when it was quiet and there was only me and my conscience. Arceus, I¡­ It felt odd. Not knowing what Cecilia was up to. I had Princess fly me out to Marley''s training spot. In thest few days, I''d convinced her to talk to me about Pokemon Training through texts and calls, but she was still nowhere near ready for us to prac¡ªto train together. God, that word was ruined for me now that it was Maylene''s. I ignored the flutter in my stomach and hopped off my starter''s back. The meadow was empty save for a few flying types perched on a tree around a hundred feet away, so I released Sunshine once more. He was clearly pissed at hisfourthloss to Delibird on a one-on-one, and the taunts the ice type kept throwing at him while sending his own Dragon Pulses back in his face didn''t help. "No need to look at me like that." Princess nodded with teasing of her own, making fun of him for losing to an ''ice chicken'' until he blew smoke in her face, and she started fake crying. Shecouldhave stopped it with a barrier, but Princess wouldn''t have been my daughter if she hadn''t been as dramatic as possible. "A loss is just a loss. It doesn''t matter, especially when there are no stakes. We survive, and we learn from it." Turtonator grunted,ining thatIwasn''t the one who had to be ridiculed in front of hundreds by a tiny little bird. He didn''t like this mindset. To him, every loss had to count because it cemented weakness within himself that he wanted to purge. I spoke while applying a Hyper Potion to his wounds. "I know, I know. Losses are scary, especially when my brain''s still telling me that it equals me dying." Luckily, I was getting so used to training with Ramon that this had basically stopped being anything more than a tiny little worry with him. "I''msoclose to this breakthrough, though. I canfeelit in my bones. It''s going to happen today." Princess chimed in and said that just like I could feel the breakthrough in my bones, Sunshine could feel the cold in his, and the dragon growled at her, saying that he''d like to see howshewould fare against Delibird. "Oh, she''d get rolled." The fairy let out an indignant gasp. "Honey would be the one with the best chance." The potion now emptied, I threw the empty can back in my bag and sat on the ground, releasing the rest of my team in a circle around me. "Listen up, everyone. I think I have it." The answer behind Star Theory. Princess went and cuddled up into Angel''s vines¡ªthe grass type grabbed Mimi and put them on his head, his eyes shining with interest. Cassianus set the mood with a foreboding pre-recorded song, switching between their stored data until they settled on one they liked. Sweetheart instantly asked if she could be a star too, yelling until Buddy silenced her with a gentle click. Honey scooted himself close to Sunshine, hugging his knees like a little boy excited for presents. I had their full attention. The first thing I did was show them a recording of every single spar Ramon and I had at double speed. The details weren''t as important as the concepts I wanted to pull from, here. "See that little monster?" I pointed at Delibird. "What does his way of fighting remind you of?" There was a flurry of answers, most of them wrong. Buddy and Princess were the ones who hade closest, with both of them trying Cynthia''s ceon. "Technically true. They fight simrly, though ceon''s mastery of cold is unparalleled and Ramon definitely stole that from them." We''d watched as many of her matches with ceon as we could these past few weeksfor this moment. "It reminds me of a little version of Regice." There was uncertainty in their eyes; they hadn''t expected me to bring up Cor. Ineverbrought up Cor. "Obviously we didn''t see Regice fight, thank the Legendaries." That would have been a one-way ticket to my death. "And Delibirdes nowhere close to the Legends. I''m saying, though,look at the effects it had on us. Cold unable to be chased away even by the strongest of mes. A slowed mind, visual and auditory hallucination,the desperate want toy down, give up, and die.That, my friends, is Winter, and we only got a fraction of a dose. Even then, it still nearly won against us." "Correct me if I''m wrong, but I do not believe the Turtonator species to be capable of making use of ice type moves,"Cassianus chimed. Sweetheart and Princess snickered among themselves, most likely a whispered joke I hadn''t heard. "You''d be correct, Cass." My legs crossed, and I ignored the grass prickling my skin. "I also don''t think Sunshine could use Winter to his advantage." Angel signed that he was sure Sunshine would be able to if he triedreallyhard, and Mimi kicked his vines for more head pats that came expeditiously. Honey suggested that maybe we should dress him up like a Delibird, and that even drew augh from Buddy, who, as usual, pretended he hadn''t chuckled at the mental image. Instead, the ghost type clicked again and told the team to remain serious. Princess stuck out her tongue at him and said she could feel his humor from here. "That doesn''t mean we can''t take that concept and flip it on its head," I said. "We''ve seen people do it for ice, why not do it for fire?" Ambition gleamed in Sunshine''s eyes. He''d known this, of course, but every time I''d told him beforehand, my heart hadn''t really been in it. And to be honest, it wasn''tfully. It was difficult to put one hundred percent of my focus in this when Poketch was working me like a dog and I''d ruined all of my friendships. But it was manageable. I would not crumble under the weight of my sins. Momentum was on my side; one could do nothing but keep moving forward with the tools and support they were given. "What is a star?" A ball of fire in the sky, Sweetheart said; a tiny sun, but really far away, Princess said; that thing that came out whenever it was daytime and gave him tasty sunlight, Angel said¡ªArceus, he was so dumb, but in a good way. It was also a little cute. I grabbed my textbook on space from my back and tapped it twice. "This thing over here would tell you that it is a massive, glowing ball of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, held together by its own gravity. At its core, nuclear fusion reactions produce immense heat and light, which is what makes the star shine, , , ." I dropped the book in the grass. "The physics of it is nice; it''s not what I''m after." A few in my team grinned, especially Princess, though both Cass and Buddy were displeased by this. "I ask again, what is a star? Let''s go with the sun." I pointed up with a thumb. No answers came. "The sun," I began again, "isn''t just some ball of gas. It''s an untouchable, unimaginable force. You can''t look at it without being blinded, and yet everything in our world depends on it. It''s power beyondprehension, a zing titan that rises every day, giving life but never asking for anything in return. We revolve around it, helplessly caught in its grasp, likes tethered to a God we can never truly understand. It burns with such fury that even from millions of miles away, it rules over us¡ªlighting our days, deciding when life begins and when it ends. And when it dies, the entire world will die with it." I could see the shape of it, and so could they, now that I''d put it in terms they could work with. "You were already a fraction of this," I told Sunshine. "Untouchable heat capable of evaporating water within seconds, stone into molten rock, or turning sand into ss. So bright it was impossible to look at you without getting spots in our eyes, yet¡ªwe can go further, can''t we?" Not in terms of heat or power¡ªSunshine in particr already had enough of that to stand up to opponents who were stronger than we were, as Byron had told me. Sunshine''s gaze flickered, the light reflecting off his shell like distant sr res. "The sun makes you feel like you can''t win, but not because you ept defeat, but because you''re simply overwhelmed by what you''re looking at," I said, my mind drifting to Cynthia''s Garchomp, the way her mere presence seemed to tilt the battle in her favor. "It''s crushing, unstoppable¡ªtoo far beyond anything we can grasp. The sun''s so powerful that people around the world built religions around it and worshipped it like it was a God." I thought back to the story Cecilia had told me about that old Unovan myth of a Volcarona acting as a civilization''s sun after a supervolcanic eruption had nketed the world in ashes for years. "And maybe they were right." I nced at Sunshine, his shell shimmering faintly, absorbing theparison. "When you face something like that, something so immense, it feels like it could crush you or burn you out without effort,and yet you can''t help but look. To gaze into the only light in the abyss in a desperate need to understand." I paused, watching him. "That''s what you can be. Not just fire or heat, but something that makes your opponents realize they never stood a chance¡ªlike looking at a Pokemon and knowing you''re already beaten." I''d gotten carried away there; one had to pace their expectations, but it wasexciting, wasn''t it? We''d been working on this since I''d stumbled upon Marley in this very spot, and it was finallying together in a coherent idea. I had a lot of concepts for this technique¡ªlike how it actually got extremely cold in space when shielded from the sun''s rays, and how different types of stars acted and appeared, but the first goal was to get our baseline in order. "Now, concepts are well in good, but we actually have to make itworkthrough technique. That means practicing with dragon TE in hopes that you can force Pokemon to step away from shelter and look at your grandeur, attracting them like moths swarming to a me, all while refining the way you move fire and heat around. And light. It''s already been a lot of work, but it''ll be tougher from now on. It''s way more technical than what you usually do, but are you up for it, big guy?" I stared up at him, and he grinned, tail pping excitedly against his shell. I patted him affectionately on the arm. We''d already trained a decent bit for this, but now that there was a clear path, I expected progress to speed up. Shell Smash, which he had finally learned, would be instrumental. "One day, I''ll be able to utter the words You Are A Star in battle, and not just you are a star." My throat felt a little hot at those words. "Speaking of concepts, I wanted to talk about stories next¡ª" Both Sweetie and Princess mored, asking what wouldtheybe if I came up with a move like this for them. My nails scratched the top of my head. "Well, let''s see. It''d be, like, the essence of who you were. Sunshine basks in attention and adoration at his strength, and he wants toownan entire mountain. Plus, there''s also his name. Befitting of a star, I''d say. Princess¡­ maybe ''You Are A Knife''¡ªno, that''s too restrictive," I muttered, shaking my head. A knife was something specific, something limited. It was a tool meant for close, singr action¡ªa precise strike in the dark, hidden until the moment it was used, meant to stab someone in the back when they least expect it. "A de. A de''s broader, more dangerous in its ambiguity. It could be anything¡ªa sword, a razor, a scythe. Even a needle." I turned toward my favorite rock type, who made puppy eyes at me. "For you¡­ well, a huntress, maybe? I''ll give it some thought." She whined, and Iforted her by promising her good meat tonight for dinner. Raw and bloody, just like she liked. "Anyway, as I was saying, I want to use stories in battles." Buddy''s eyes dimmed; he told me that it would make me¡ª "Predictable after a while, yes, especially if I always pick the same type of story," I said. It was true, however, that this type of thinking would lead me to think in terms of threes, turning points and building every attack around crescendos, and saving the biggest moves like You Are A Star for those narrative pivots. All of that might be a detriment¡ªbutfuck it. "Worst-case scenario I''ll have to remember to pull away from that thread if needed and to transition into normal battling. Hell, we could even use that to trick people. I just think that¡­ y''know, it just makes the world so much brighter; it makes everything make so muchsense." I looked up at thezy clouds drifting across the sky, and my fingers dug into the grass. "Do you know what my favorite Gym Battle of the entire year was?" They all answeredGardeniain unison. Even Cass, who was a neer. I snorted, my head thrown back a little. "That would be my second favorite. No, the one where I had the most fun by far was my fight against Wake, because it was astory. I was the heel¡ªthe antagonist to Wake''s Hero.And I won,"I said with a hungry smile. "What I would give to recapture this¡­ energy when battling," I mused, eyes distant. "It wasn''t just about winning. It was the thrill, the narrative. Every move felt like part of a bigger story, like we were characters in something grander than just a fight. I miss that. The stakes, the tension, the way we felt like moving pieces of on a board." I shot Sunshine another look. "And guess what. You''re going to be the protagonist of the next fight." Passion wasn''t reignited with a snap of a finger. It never was that simple. But thest few weeks, I''d¡ª There were sparks. ¡ª "So you''ve never been at an arcade before?Never?" Maylene made her ''are you stupid'' eyes at me, and a short, bbergasted breath left her throat. "Grace, you know my childhood. I literally had no time for any of this." Ah. That was fair enough. "Sorry," I said. But it was a yful sorry, not a catastrophizing sorry, and she could tell the difference. "It should be easy enough to kick your ass, then." The me ofpetitiveness was lit in her gaze. "Hearing you whine about losing in an hour is going to besosweet." Maylene crouched next to the coin machine and inserted a few Pokedor bills in it after ttening the paper. The arcade hummed with life, a blend of soft neon lights and the familiar chime of game machines. Rows of games flickered in every color, their screens drawing yers into quick bursts of fun. The air smelled faintly of popcorn, and small groups huddled by the more popr games, tapping buttons and steering joysticks with quick fingers. There were even a few Pokemon here and there fooling around. Needless to say, Maylene''s arrival here had sparked alotof stares and people walking up to us, but it was actually less than I''d thought. We still didn''t have anybels, but I was close to taking that leap. Denzel and Pauline had managed to get everyone, except Chase, to sign an NDA, and surprisingly, there weren''t many hard feelings. It was hard for things to get any more tense than they already were¡ªthough with some of them, the distance between us was just as difficult. Rich people like Emilia, Louis and Pauline dealt with these happenstances all the time, and the others, well¡ª It was like I was ever going to be friends with Chase or Cecilia again. An ufortable shiver, followed by something crawling all over my skin. My fingers dug into the tough hem of my jeans as Maylene pulled a crap ton of tickets from the machine. I pulled on the remaining strands of warmth from the hug we''d shared when I''de to her Gym, taking sce and refuge with how safe I''d felt with her arms around me. By the time she turned back in my direction, I was almost back to normal, but her eyes flickered to my hand with a piercing gaze, noticing it just as it left theforting pressure that always came with squeezing my clothes. Maylene reached out, her hand hovering for a heartbeat before finally closing around mine. A gentle warmth traveled up my arm, and despite how public this was, I couldn''t help but smile at her. The colorful lights danced across her features, softening them in the glow. She''d gone out on our date with a low key T-shirt and shorts, but if I squinted, sometimes I could see the outline of her stomach through the fabric, and it made the inside of my mouth dry. Thanks to Poketch''s correspondents, both Cecilia and I had announced that we''d broken up yesterday. While our posts hadn''t gone as far as to refer it as ''amicable,'' we''d both said our lives had been heading in different directions and that this was for the best. The truth of it was she just wanted to be done with me and to never think about me again, which meant revealing this would be better for her sooner rather thanter. Either way, while Maylene and I being out together so fast might bring questions, Poketch had avoided the worst of the allegations and none of the cheating rumors had gone mainstream. And I hadn''tined at all even if they were working me to the bone. It was narrow-minded, it was selfish, and maybe short-sighed, but I''d asked Melody about it and gotten amildapproval beforehand. Once she made sure I was okay, Maylene asked, "what game first? Not that it matters, anyway." "There''s this fighting game I used to y with Emilia." I scanned the arcade with a quick look as she let go of my hand before it could breach the contract and be Unnecessary Contact. "But I don''t want you to im I''m cheating because I already knew the controls or whatever, so we should find something else for now." "I would never say that." I shot her alook. "Okay, maybe I would say that." I leaned against her for a second andughed. "You would. Now let''s go and look; we only have an hour. Arceus, I can''t wait until the Conference." "Excited to have me all to yourself?" I ignored the warmth invading my face. "I wouldn''t put it likethat. But I am excited to spend a little more time with you and slowly ramp up as I get better¡ªoh! Wait, this is PokeKart!" I made a mad dash toward the two gaming machines, which were surprisingly avable. "My dad had one of the older ones on a console we used to own! How did I miss it thest time I was here?" "Might be a new one," Maylene nced at the side of the machine, turning slightly away, though I could tell seeing me excited was making her happy. She tapped the side of it with her knuckles, the back of her hand sliding against the colorful stic design. "I''ve never heard of this before. Do you want to y? I wouldn''tactuallymind." "You bet! Prepare to be dominated." She inserted the tickets into the machines, and a colorful ssh art of a bunch of different baby Pokemon appeared on the screen, apanied by an announcer who wasway too loudand way too into this. We quickly selected the two yer mode, and I tried to guess which character Maylene would go for. Riolu would be too obvious¡ª "I wish I knew what character was the best," sheined. "Maylene, I''ve never met someone as tryhard as you.You''ve never yed the game; just go for whatever Pokemon you like. Even I don''t know." Her picking of Magby was apanied by a smug hum on my part, exactly as I''d predicted. The fire type had been stylized to look focused, and had fire that flew out of their mouth and ears whenever they got hit by an item. Since she hadn''t picked Riolu, I selected Cleffa instead of Togepi, and the race began in earnest once we selected Jubilife City as the map. Maylene was doing a lot better than expected¡ªit would have been cute to have herin about what button did what, but she was in the middle of the pack, so to speak, for the entire race until the end. I snagged second ce due to getting hit by an NPC''s Thundershock on the finalp. "Let''s y another?" Maylene immediately said. "I don''t know¡­ what if I wanted to y another game¡ª" She begged at me with her usual eyes, soft and tender; they reminded me of how she''d been when I''d kissed her for the first time, and my body tensed. There was no way I could say no to that. So we yed again. And again. And again, until I realized that Maylene was learning a lot faster than I thought she would. It got to the point that I had to lean in and fake that I''d kiss her to get my fifth win, but that kicked herpetitiveness into high gear, and she zoomed past me the next race, making sure to wait at the finish line and hit me with a few Embers before she reversed and ended the race. She pumped a fist and celebrated."Hell yes!I fucking dusted you! You suck!" I could have told her that she''d only won once out of six times, but¡­ I liked seeing her boast. The silence couldn''tst for long, or she''d realize what was happening and she''d get all shy on me. "I mean, I won more games in total. That favor''s still going to be mine; one little win doesn''t matter." Maylene looked down at her phone. "We probably have time for a few quick games to give me a chance to equalize things. I''ll go to the bathroom first." She looked at me with expectant eyes. "Let mee with," I said. Not like I wasn''t going to anyway. The bathroom was small but clean, with tiled walls reflecting the soft hum of overhead lights. A faint scent of artificial sweetener hung in the air, and the sinks gleamed, polished and spotless. The floor, a pale gray, was slightly damp from earlier visitors and a little dirty in the corners. It was quiet, save for the soft echo of footsteps against the tiles and one upant reapplying her makeup in front of the mirror. "I''ll wait for you out here." I noticed that Maylene was acting somewhat strange; she stuck next to me instead of actually going to the bathroom. I''d just been about to ask her what was wrong when the otherdy left the room¡ª She pulled me into the nearest stall, and our lips met in a brief, clumsy kiss. My eyes fluttered shut as I sank into her, but she quickly pulled away, a sly smirk ying on her lips. "That''s one," she said, her voice teasing, with eyes gleaming with triumph. "For how you baited me during that game. I would have won if¡­ uh¡­" Focus.Focus. I couldn''t just pounce on her, not when we were taking things slow. She was so focused on the rules that she''d even made sure not to go above the Appropriate Kissing Time. Her faux-confidence had been reced by a mildly threatened look. "This stall is kind of small, isn''t it?" Maylene said with a nervousugh. "I¡ªI don''t actually need to go, I just wanted to surprise you. Uh, let''s get out of here." "Let''s," I agreed.Before I take the other two that are owed right now. Maylene could learn fast, but I still ended besting her in the amount of games I won, meaning that I''d gained a singr favor from her. It was while we were walking back to her Gym¡ªwe''d forgone Teleporting when possible just to spend more time together¡ªthat I brought up the topic I''d been dreading. "So, uh, about our deal. Let me cook for you?" I''d wanted to do so for so long, but with her strict diet, it was difficult to find an opening. "You owe me. I''ll make sure it''s something you like to eat." Maylene wanted to fight me on it, but it had almost been involuntary. Like a reflex she''d been trained to do and say instead of a genuine reaction. "Sure." "You don''t sound that enthused." "I guess I''m just not used to it?" she said with a hand scratching the back of her neck. "I''m happy you asked; I know you''ve wanted to do it for a long time. And, uh, I''m ready. Probably." "Cool! What''s your favorite food?" "I guess I''d have to say¡­ tofu stir-fry with quinoa and steamed veggies¡ªuh, with ginger soy sauce." Okay, that was literally unlike anything I''d made before, but I was determined to make it work. "The next time we meet, I''m making it for you," I dered as I linked my arm in hers. It wouldn''t be for long, but we were allowed to enjoy the contact, at the very least. "What about yours?" I blinked up at her. "Hm? Fries from Arlyle''s¡ª" "I''m making you eat the tofu with me." ¡ª How did one meet new people? No, seriously.How? Was it as simple as going outside and osting whatever stranger caught your eye? If that were the case, Cecilia would have a lot of difficulties making this a reality. Oh, people didn''tfleeher. Most weren''t even scared of her. The issue was that she unsettled. Talking to her, looking into her eyes and scarred face,bined with how she towered over most like a silent vigil, nearly always put people on the back foot. She made them ufortable, and any conversation she tried to strike would be smothered before it could even get off the ground. The consequences for her death were not nearly confined to the people she cared about, but to strangers as well. Emilia had helpfully offered toe with her so she didn''t have to jump into the deep end of the pool so quickly, and Cecilia had agreed, but only should she fail horribly today. This could have been solved if she''d been personable. If her voice had been soft and high, if she''d been able to dazzle people with a smile and keep them wrapped around her finger with words that she would have been able to spin for hours. Unfortunately, that wasn''t her. She was threatening; her motions were awkward and forced, like a puppet; she loomed over strangers like she was about to snatch their soul and take it to the Dusk herself. That was only the first step. The main problem was¡ª She stared nkly at a slightly trembling, dark-haired girl and a chubby Bidoof cradled in her arms. Perhaps it was brown hair. ¡ªshe did not have much to talk about to people she barely knew, and so, she had no social acumen. "Woah! You look weird!" Cecilia had stopped by a public food court in the middle of one of Canve''s many zas to recuperate and rethink her strategy. What she hadn''t expected was for this girl to indiscriminately approach and holler at her. "Can I take a pic? You''re Cecilia Obel, right? People are always talking about you online because of how striking you look," the girl continued, squeezing her Bidoof. Was that anxiety? Cecilia stopped herself from grinning with teeth and leaning forward to scare her further. These ghostly instincts would be the death of her. "I¡ªI mean, only if you''re cool with it." The teenager took a step back. "Uh, I''m¡ªsorry?" Oh. Cecilia had not spoken in quite a while; she had forgotten. "Feel free to take one," shemented like a passing gust of wind. She stayed quiet¡ª Wait. Was this not a prime opportunity to gather knowledge in socializing with strangers? Why stay quiet, when this person could be the start of an upswing? It wasn''t just enough to n, research, and have pages upon pages of notes on herptop. She was tired of floundering here like a Magikarp on drynd. Cecilianeededto get better at speaking to people if she wanted to be a politician. "Let''s start over." Cecilia gave the girl the best smile she could, but not too wide. She''de to find that she wasn''t great at those when they were forced. "What''s your name?" She rxed a little, and her Bidoof heaved in her arms, d it could finally take a full breath. "Rose," she said. "Um, sorry for calling you weird. I guess my brain forgot you weren''t just a girl on TV or on a screen." "What a nice name. Very fitting." She''d always liked shorter and simpler names, even if she did not have one. "You''re forgiven, Rose," Cecilia said. The girl blinked a few times before snapping out of her stupor, and ced her Bidoof on the ground. She asked for a selfie, but her arm was too short, so Cecilia snatched her phone from her hand and took it in her stead, squeezing the girl against her. It felt odd to have¡­ well, was she a fan? Maybe Rose thought of her as a cryptid of some sort. A creature she could look at behind iron bars and point at for her amusement. It was up to Cecilia to prove that this was not all she was. "T¡ªthanks," Rose stammered. "I guess I''ll go, sorry for bothering you¡ª" "I have a few questions, if you have time?" the Unovan said, finding the will to actually sound like more than a woman resigned to her fate. Rose looked up at her, finding it difficult to stay focused on her eyes. More fear, then. "What do they say about me? Online?" Cecilia had never been one to ego search like Denzel did every week or so. Sure, she didn''t really care¡ªnot for what the people ofSinnohsaid about her, anyway¡ªbut it was practice for conversing. "Oh. I mean, they''re saying a lot; it''d take like an hour to get through all of it." "Wearein a food court, Rose," she noted. "Have you eaten lunch?" "N¡ªno?" Even the girl''s Bidoof stomped a foot on the ground, its fur bristling. "I know this is forward since we don''t know one another, but why don''t we go out and eat something?" Cecilia stopped her head from tilting too much; her hair brushed across her cheeks. "Then you can tell me all about it. If you''re free, of course." Rose looked at her, mildly star-struck and blushing until Bidoof headbutted her in the ankle. Why was she reacting this way? "I¡ªI¡ªare you asking me out?" She was besides herself, eyes darting, face flush, skin moistening with a slight amount of sweat. Cecilia''s face fell. What a bother. She sighed, limbs going limp at her side. "Never mind. Have a nice day." One quick turn by pushing her heel off the ground and Cecilia was gone. It took another thirty minutes for her to actually start meeting people, this time trainers who knew she was friends with Denzel. Cecilia knew they were probably using her to try to meet their favorite content creator, but a start was a start, and seeing as they were experienced trainers, her scars and affliction did not scare them as much, even if she remained unsettling. Nevertheless, Cecilia couldn''t help but think back to Rose as she leaned against a restaurant table. A thought slithered its way past her skull and into her mind, insidious and just solethal. Maybe if she''d been fair-haired, she could have imagined her to be blonde. ¡ª She couldn''t spend all day sharpening her dull social skills on the whetstone of unfamiliar faces, no matter how tempting it was. There was an important online meeting looming in just ten minutes, and she needed to prepare. Now back in her Pok¨¦mon Center room, she sat at a desk that had shrunk over the past year, or rather, one that she had outgrown. Slowking hummed softly beside her, a steady presence amidst the creeping anxiety she refused to acknowledge. "Would you stop that?" she asked, a little brusque. Oh. My bad.He ced his hands behind his back.Still nervous, then? Grace would have been able to tell immediately, but Grace wasn''t here anymore. Cecilia''s teeth clenched. How dare she take up this much space in her mind after what she''d done to her? She mmed herptop screen down with a frustrated grunt and began pacing about the room¡ªa quest in futility to attempt to forget. No. It wasn''t Grace''s fault, it was hers. In the words of Emilia, she''d been far too attached, and it would take a long time to get her ex-girlfriend to only take a reasonable of space in her train of thought. If you want to take your mind off things, we can talk about that new battling style you were cooking up,the psychic slid in. He moved out of the way when she continued pacing.Cecilia? My Lady? The Unovan stopped by the window and blinked, looking at the streetlights of Canve starting to turn on as the evening crept in and the sun began to set. "I''m sorry." Her hands pressed down on her face, going from her forehead, down to her nose and mouth. "You''re right. Let''s keep brainstorming this." She sat back at her desk, opening a slew of other tabs with her old Gym Battles to look at. Since she had little time, they all yed in fast-forward. "Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, okay¡ª" it took until her seventh and eighth Gym Badge that she finally found something worth looking at. When she''d started weaving together strategies of her own instead of relying on overwhelming strength¡ªthat type of thinking had caused her first loss against Wake. "These are interesting," she pondered, tapping a finger against her desk. Against Byron, she''d used Zolst and Slowking to create a circr ravine filled with water from which the psychic could wreak havoc behind his multipleyers of barriers. Against Wake, she''d carefully calcted her and his switches, Disabling the veritable storm the water type master had summoned with Slowking and cutting off the rain like she''d turned off a tap. Through this, she''d managed to evaporate his makeshift sea with Talonme and had scraped together a win. "Interesting," she repeated. "But are they me?" Isn''t the point of this that you can be whoever you want to be because you''re starting from a metaphorical zero?Slowking questioned, a pondering hand prodding at his colorful ruff.If you want it to be you¡­ "No, no, it needs toclick." Cecilia didn''t want to just limp along into something that would ultimatelynotwork for her, especially when she wanted to put up a decent showing at the Conference. Focusing on battling away from Grace would surely clear her head. "Come to think of it¡­ what about ys?" ys? "ys," she repeated. "Like dividing battles into acts." There was a subtle squeeze in her chest. "Broadly speaking, it would mean that each stage of the fight would be a different setting, a performance to entertain. But also something withir, like how Fantina fights when she has fun. I''ll have to watch her high level fights." Sure¡­ that ys, I think,Slowking muttered within her mind. Cecilia squinted at him and smirked. "Five out of ten." Maybe she needed to add dad jokes into her Raison d''¨ºtre diary, where she kept track of the new things she liked and disliked. I''ll take it. I need to get back into the swing of things, or my Chilly Reception won''t be as good. "Think about it;pictureit. Lehmhart has music, and I''m pretty sure we can figure out a way to make it stick when he''s gone. Like you and your barriers. Talonme can help with lighting if needed¡ª" was she going too far with this? Was it evenviable?Cecilia let out a littleugh; she sure as hell wanted to try, failure be damned. Her worries about performing well had now fallen off the wayside, leaving only a desire to rediscover herself. "I want to tell something through the fight. A statement of some sort, something that reflects me so I can build myself up into somethingmore. With each fight, I''d grow. Stitch myself back together until I be a full person, and then more than that." She wanted to berger than life. She wanted all the air to be sucked out of a room when she walked into it as Cynthia could do, and not just because of how she looked and she unsettled others, but because she wielded soft power. Because she was an aplished politician. Because people had heard of her feats. Because she swam against the current and shaped the world instead of getting swept by it. Because shemattered. Arceus, you''re quite excited about this, aren''t you?Slowking noticed.Oh well. I''m not sure if we can make it work, but we can try. What would you be in this? The main character? Cecilia snorted and said, "oh, darling." She leaned back into her chair, slightly short of breath. "I''d be the Narrator." The two of them kept workshopping this idea until the clock struck 6:55 pm¡ªnearly 9 am in Unovan Time, and tabbed back into her online meeting program. Professor Juniper had sent her a link via email to join in to ''break the ice'' ahead of her arrival in Unova so they''d be able to get along. There wouldn''t be many, but it would help her make a decent first impression. Hopefully. There were three names when Cecilia joined in. Professor Juniper was already here, of course, with her signature bright smile and upbeat energy. Her light brown hair¡ªCecilia remembered from the pictures she had seen before dying¡ªwas swept up into a voluminous style, almost like a wave frozen mid-motion. She wore bold earrings that contrasted against her pale skin and a looseb coat over her casual wear. Cecilia knew she had a reputation for being somewhat of a rxed professor. Though rxed did not mean this job would be easy. Shewasestranged from the widermunity, but she was still among the best in the country. Cecilia had only heard of the two other names, but she was seeing them now for the first time. First was Cheren Harmont. His dark hair, neatly styled and slicked back except for a small, rebellious tuft at the top, framed a face marked by sharp sses and a keen, focused expression that morphed into a befuddled look when he noticed Cecilia. Second was Bianca Bat, whose short light hair peeked out from under a beret-like hat. She''d evidently been smiling until Cecilia had joined the meet, after which her bright eyes widened, and she promptly yelled out a rodent-like squeak and nearly fell off her chair. "Ah, Cecilia! You made it!"Juniper cheered, sping her hands together."And ten to five minutes in advance, unlike a certain someone,"the professor''s expression hardened. Cheren cleared his throat."Hilbert stayed upte yesterday because of some wild Pokemon drama¡ª" "Oh, by His Truth, please tell me he isn''t making them participate in tournaments again; theb''s reputation will take a hit if he gets arrested by the Rangers for creating amotion ag¡ªyou know what, we''re getting distracted. Cheren, Bianca, this is Cecilia. Your fourth and final colleague of the year." "Um. It''s nice to meet you." Legendaries that hade out stiff. "The Professor''s told me a lot about you." Cheren raised an eyebrow."Professor?" The older woman let out a nervousugh."Just a little here and there, Cheren, no need to get your knickers in a twist." "Are you sure that this is a good thing to say in front of your probable new employee, Professor Juniper?" "My God, you''re such a spoilsport."Her eyes nced to the side."What about you, Bianca? You''ve been quiet." "It''s true. Usually, you''d be talking her ear off and asking about how life is in Sinnoh,"Cheren noted with a bit of a smirk."I''m surprised you even made it, considering your awful sense of time." "I¡ªI''m just surprised, that''s all. I didn''t expect her to¡­ Legendaries, I''m sorry. I''ve never seen something like that! Is that okay to say?" Cecilia nodded. "I am aware of how I look. I don''t mind; treat me as you would just another person." "I can''t believe I''m talking to Mark Obel''s sister¡­"Cheren muttered with a glimmer in his eyes, and Cecilia winced."It''s so difficult to get information on your Sinnohan battles; I''m looking forward to seeing how strong you are when you get here! I''ve never spoken to anyone with eight badges before. It''s not like they have any reason to stop in Nuvema, much less pay attention to me until I prove myself powerful enough." There was a bit of an awkward silence¡ªthest thing Cecilia wanted was to bepared to her brother. Juniper pped her hands."Anyway! These two¡ªor three, I suppose, are getting their starter Pokemon in a few days! They''ll get the rest of summer to bond so they hit the ground running when the Circuit begins. Any advice you''d like to give them?" Cheren looked at her eagerly like this was the only thing he''d ever wanted, eyes clearly expecting the best advice he''d ever gotten, while Bianca awkwardly shifted in her chair. That was such a broad question with a million answers. Grace would be so much better at this than she was¡ª "I actually passed my Trainer Certification exam with a 97."Cheren preened like an Unfeazant."I would have aced it had grammatical mistakes not docked off points." Cecilia hid her surprise well, but couldn''t help but be impressed. Even her brother had only gotten a 92 after years of readying himself for the exam with the best tutors Unova had to offer. Results above 90 were exceedingly rare and were considered excellent.Acing itwas basically out of the question. "I barely passed¡­"Bianca muttered before perking up. That must have meant a 50 or right above that."What about you, Cecilia¡ªuh, Ms. Obel? Did you have to take Certification Exams in Sinnoh?" "No," Cecilia simply said. "They don''t have any of those. And please," shemented, "just Cecilia is fine." She was d she wouldn''t have to go through that hassle even when she came back. There were shortcuts in ce for proven trainers like she was. Both soon-to-be trainers looked at her with abject horror."So you can just¡ªgo out and be a trainer? They let anyone do that?"Cheren asked. The distress in his tone was palpable."What if there''s something you don''t know about?"Cheren questioned, leaning forward in his chair."Aren''t some Sinnohan routes dangerous?" "Oh, there are mandatory lessons for you to take in school," she exined, remembering what Grace had told her. "If you stillck knowledge, you can look it up or ask a fellow trainer for advice," Cecilia said. "Or you screw up, and the Rangers yell at you. Or you or your Pokemon get critically injured. Or you die. They take a bit of a trial-by-fire approach, though it''s nowhere as bad as Indigo¡­" There was another stretch of awkward silence¡ªCheren evenughed until he realized she hadn''t been joking. Luckily, the third and final participant''s arrival saved her from would-be disaster. The boy''s bed hair was one of the most horrifying ones Cecilia had ever seen; there were wild tufts of dark hair all over the ce without any direction, and his webcam had the worst quality of the four, making him jitter withg and blurry. "Sorry, I''mte! You guys wouldn''t believe the way my tournament endedst night¡ªa little Patrat won against a Herdier¡ªthe reigning Champion of thest six tournies! She was so scrappy! She got a bunch of Orans as her prize, and I soaked up a bunch of experience just watching them fight. Plus, everyone had so much fun. I couldn''t y trainer this time, or it would have been unfair."It was only then that Cecilia realized he''dorganizeda tournament for wild Pokemon to participate in for a prize."Maybe I''ll ask her next time¡ª" "Maybe you should introduce yourself?"Juniper suggested. Something about his eyes made her frown; even through her screen and his pixted video feed, they burned bright. It was the me of ambition. "Oh, right. The name''s Hilbert,"he said in between a wide, long yawn. Another grunt from the Professor made him add,"uh, Hilbert Cassidy." There was still drool on his chin.
Interlude – Across the Ocean Interlude ¨C Across the Ocean INTERLUDE - THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN Hilbert Cassidy loved people, but love itself was a vice, dragging behind it a thousand tangled problems that came with it. He knew it, had always known it, and would always know it, and yet he pressed on, convinced that the world was worth the struggle. Hands in his pocket, his red cap tightly wound on his head, the teenager walked through the streets of Numeva, a Patrat following closely behind him. Every nce at the little rodent made Hilbert''s heart squeeze in his chest. The Patrat''s whiskers quivered slightly as he padded along beside Hilbert, his usual energy dampened by a heavy tension in the air. His sharp eyes were narrow with the weight of anticipation and still wet with tears. They passed by arge poster stered at the side of a building. A row of Rangers looking toward the future, bright smiles with perfectly white teeth set upon their faces and hands stretched outward. Behind them was a massive, colorful Braviary¡ªthe Rangers'' mascot and symbol.''Join the Rangers today! Keep yourmunities safe!''the poster read. Hilbert had seen it a million times already, and therefore paid it no mind. His attention was Patrat''s. "This way?" Hilbert pointed toward another street. They''d navigated away from Main Street, and toward the less dense parts of their small hometown. He pointed to many houses, each an ind among the wilderness that was Numeva. Once you got away from Main Street in the city center, that was what much of this town was. That was part of why Hilbert loved it so much, even if Bianca found it to be suffocating and Cheren thought it to be a dead-end town with no opportunities to study good trainers up close. That was a distinction his friend liked to make¡ªthe difference betweengoodandbadtrainers. Hilbert liked listening to him ramble on about what''s his name and so and so, but he found him a little condescending sometimes. His train of thought now finished, Hilbert realized that Patrat wasn''t answering. The normal type was frozen in his tracks, trembling like a newborn Deerling. They must have been close. Hilbert crouched in front of Patrat, ignoring the few people around them. The little Patrat, barely four months old, started to sob, and Hilbert seized him with a warm hug, his hands caressing the tough fur that prickled his cheeks. "We''ll get her back. I promised you, didn''t I?" His voice was a gentle thing, because how couldn''t it be in the face of such loss and grief? He barely held his own tears back as Patrat bawled on his shoulder. Hilbert Cassidy loved people. With that came the fact that he could feel the pain and loss of strangers he barely knew. It was easy to find the house. Hilbert thought it to be nothing special. Peeling paint and a sagging porch that looked like it hadn''t seen much care in years. Bare windows that revealed dull curtains inside, and a well-mowed yard with a few chairs strewn about. "Stay here," he said to Patrat as he walked up to the stranger''s house. Numeva was a small town, but it still wasprised of ten thousand souls. Hilbert was scared, for how couldn''t he be? The boy had never trespassed before¡ª Correction: the boy had neverintentionallytrespassed before. He hopped the white picket fence and skulked through the yard until he made it to the worn wooden door. First, his hand hovered in the air, unsure of how to start this¡ªunsure of if he should even do it, but one look back at Patrat behind the fence, little paws wrapped tightly around the wood, and his resolve grew ten, a hundred, a thousand fold. He mmed an angered fist on the door. "Hello? Anyone home?!" Hilbert called out. There were steps, and an irritated voice that hit him back and told him to stop breaking down his door. Hilbert made sure toply, though he was ready to cause as much ruckus as needed to get face-to-face with this person¡ªor more precisely, this person''s son. The adult who answered justscreamedrambunctious, with wild, unkempt hair that seemed to have a life of its own and a t-shirt emzoned with the logo of some forgotten band. "The hell is your problem, son?" he loomed tall over Hilbert''s wiry frame, but the teenager stood his ground, giving the man the widest of smiles. "I''m here to seeyourson, actually!" Hilbert yelled with a nervousugh. "I''m Hilbert Cassidy? Gemma''s kid." His mother had been one of the town''s few doctors before retiring early because of the strain of the job. These days, she worked at a caf¨¦ near their house as a waitress. "I don''t want to cause any trouble." He rubbed his chin and nced up at the afternoon sky. "Ah. Gemma''s kid, huh?" he said. "You friends with Darryl?" "No, but I bet we could be!" Hilbert earnestly said with a snap of a finger. "I promise this''ll be fast; I''m sorry for bothering you." "Just make sure he gets back by six." Hilbert rxed, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Y''know, Darryl caught his first Pokemon yesterday, so he''s probably going to want to stay outte. I keep telling him the Circuit starts in September and to take it easy, but¡­ bah," he sighed, not seeing Hilbert''s clenched fist. The man in front of him¡ªhe really should have gotten his name¡ªturned toward their living room and screamed,"Darryl! Hilbert''s here for you!" "Hilbert who?!"a voice called back. Hilbert felt the hair on his neck rise with anxiety. "Cassidy! He wants to talk!" Legendaries, they were loud; the fact thatHilberthimself thought that meant that Cheren would despise being around this house. Darryl was sandy-haired, and his skin was tan from staying in the sun all day. Hilbert wished he could get tan instead of sunburned. He noticed a bandage around his forearm as he ran down the stairs with a Pokeball clumsily attached to his hip. He shot Hilbert a confused look, then looked at his dad. "Um, hi?" Darryl tried, and then walked up to Hilbert. "Do I know you from school, or something?" Then, he squinted at him. "Wait! You''re that guy who got arre¡ª" "Well, thank you for your time, sir!" Hilbert yelled over Darryl and dragged him by the wrist. "We won''t be out for long!" "Whu¡ªwha¡ªwhat are you doing?!"Darryl yelled, yelled, and yelled as Hilbert forced him through and out of his yard. "The hell is your problem?" He forced his wrist out of Hilbert''s hold and patted his bandaged arm with a slight wince¡ª" "Shoot!I''m so sorry!" Hilbert winced. "I forgot about your injury, I¡ªdo you need to see my mom? She has a bunch of first-aid stuff¡ª" "I''m fine! God, what''s up with you?" Darryl grimaced; his eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "Are you kidnapping me or something?" That would be stupid. If Hilbert had been kidnapping him, he would have called upon his wild Pokemon friends and distracted Darryl''s father while they did the job for him, meaning there would have been no witnesses. Maybe Petilil knew Sleep Powder by now¡­ he hadn''t seen her in two weeks. "Not exactly." His answer came perfectly in sync with a bristle behind Darryl¡ªPatrat had sneaked up on them, though he quickly went and hid behind Hilbert''s leg, his teeth gnawing at the fabric to distract the normal type from his anxiety. "Do you recognize this Patrat?" "Psht, I dunno." Darryl shrugged. "Ain''t he just another Patrat? They all look the same¡ª" "No, they don''t!" Hilbert cut in. "Every Patrat''s different, just like every Pokemon!" Was Darryl blind? Could he not see the slightly narrower eyes, the tougher fur, the smaller frame and that little notch in his ear? "Anyway, that doesn''t matter right now!" Hilbert pointed at the boy''s waist. "You caught another Patrat yesterday!" Darryl beamed excitedly. "Yeah! It was tough, ''cause I had no other Pokemon of my own." He showed his wounded arm. "Luckily she looked like she was tired, and she was distracted by carrying a bunch of Oran Berries in a bag¡­" The words hit Hilbert like a truck as he continued listening. It was his fault. All his fault. He''dknown this, and yet hearing it from the culprit''s mouth made him tense as if he was going to explode. He had healed her with a potion, but so much fighting meant that she still was too tired to fight back. Patrat''s ws raked against his worn pants. If he hadn''t run his tournament, then she would still be free right now. "That Patrat is this one''s mother," Hilbert said. "Release her." Darryl snorted. "Come on, dude! I need a Pokemon for the Circuit, and Patrat are good for beginners. Didn''t you pass your Cert Exam?" He shook his head as if Hilbert was stupid. Hehadpassed! With a 79! "I''ll take good care of her, okay? I brought her to the Pokemon Center, and I''ve been getting to know her¡ªthough that hasn''t been going very well¡ª" "Release her," Hilbert repeated. Darryl''s eyes narrowed. "What the hell is wrong with you?" "Release. Her." Hilbert Cassidy loved people. That made him want to right their wrongs. The punch was clumsy as it came flying toward Darryl''s face. Hilbert wasn''t a great fighter, but the suddenness of it caught Darryl off guard. He barely had time to react as the fist mmed into the side of his face, and the impact sent him tumbling into the ground. Hilbert cried out, a sharp gasp escaping his lips as he instinctively cradled his throbbing hand. The impact reverberated through his knuckles, a stinging pain radiating up his arm, sharp and unrelenting. "What thefuck¡ª" Hilbert jumped on top of Darryl and hissed like a wild animal. "There is so muchpotentialin you," he said, voice full of kindness. Punches hit back, most of them hitting his chest as Darryl thrashed below him. "I love you, Darryl. I love you. Understand that this is for your own good." Hilbert grabbed the boy''s Pokeball. He knew that a trainer could release a Pokemon permanently if they kept the button pressed for thirty seconds straight, but he wasn''t certain he would still be conscious by the end of it. Instead, he immediately released Patrat, winner of his tournament, and yelled,"run! Take your kid, and don''te back for a while!"Eventually, the trace from the Pokeball would fade after a few weeks, and Patrat would be considered wild again by their systems. Darryl was a bigger kid. Four inches taller and broad-shouldered. It had only been a matter of time until Hilbert was pushed back, but he continued smiling as Darryl started swinging at him. Hilbert Cassidy loved people. Sometimes, that meant taking a beating. ¡ª "You have to put yourself together, kid," the mousey-looking Ranger told him. Hilbert remembered her¡ªHarley, she was called.Field RangerHarley, she''d always correct you. "What is this, the sixth time? Seventh? You''re lucky the Professor keeps bailing you out." Ranger Uniforms were different throughout the country depending on where they operated, but Hilbert had only seen these. A muted mix of olive and deep green made to blend into the ins with its grass-like patterns. Their boots were dark and sturdy, and they wore a beret-like hat. On her chest sat two medals¡ªone for graduating from being a cadet, and another for handling a violent Pokemon once two years ago before it could do anything more than material damage. Not in Numeva, but another, smaller town down south that this branch was also responsible for. Thank the Legends for Professor Juniper indeed, along with the clout his mother had. The Rangers had so much authority, especially in small towns like these, that they often did the police''s job for them. That was why Hilbert was currently waiting in a practically empty, sparsely decorated waiting room, the walls lined with faded posters of public safety notices and a few dangerous Pokemon reports¡ªthose that sometimes ''encroached'' on routes during the summer when the Rangers weren''t churning along at one hundred percent capacity. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant and worn leather. A few mismatched chairs were scattered around the room, and Hilbert had chosen the one closest to the window, though the view outside was just a stretch of dirt road and a few scattered trees. The faint hum of an old ceiling fan did little to stir the stale air. A single desk at the far end of the room separated him from the busy hallway, where Rangers in uniform asionally strode by, their radios crackling with updates. Hilbert tried not to move his face or body too much. Everywhere on his upper body felt like one big bruise, and he could barely see out of his right eye because of his swollen it was. "Hmhm," he grumbled. "Thanks for fixing up my face and stuff." Harley sighed, then gave him a tired smile. "You''re gonna have to behave on the Circuit. Stuff like this can ruin your rep, and then say goodbye to getting a sponsor!" Hilbert masked a groan and just decided to stay quiet. He wasn''t like all the kids or even Cheren hoping to make it big by getting sponsored by one of the Big Five. He didn''t care for the fame, the money or the connections it would bring, even if it''d make his goal of bing Champion easier. Because hedidwant to be Champion. Hilbert was tired of seeing Unova squander its potential for a better society, and Mark Obel might as well have been the embodiment of everything holding it back. Stagnation,cency,subservienceto those who wanted to do nothing but loot this country for all it was worth¡ª "Ow. Ow." Getting fired up about this stuff made his body tense up, which was bad news considering how badly he''d been beaten up. Pain throbbed on his face and arms. "You''re going to need to rest a few days for the swelling to get better, but it shouldn''t affect you much besides the pain." Hilbert breathed a sigh of relief. He was supposed to be meeting his first potential friend tomorrow! "Arceus, what''s going to be of you out there?" "What?" Hilbert groaned. "I''m worried about you, you know? Out in the big cities, they''ll chew you up!" Harley said, though he figured it was to scare him. "None of them are gonna have time for a goody¡ª" she raised a finger. "''Guess a goody-two-shoes wouldn''t try and beat up someone and steal their Pokemon." "I wasn''tstealing; I was freeing her!" "Now you''re sounding like one of those sma goons." He would have argued that they were nothing alike, but he saw his mother out of the corner of his eye. Gemma Cassidy immediately winced when she saw Hilbert''s face, and she briskly made her way toward him. Her long, dark brown hair flowed down her shoulders in messy curls, and her bright blue eyes pierced through him. She held out a hand, but he leaned back to avoid her touch, scared that it''d hurt him. Hilbertreallyhated pain; his tolerance was so bad that his mother loved making fun of him for it sometimes. He was the kind of kid who cried every time he had to get his blood drawn. "Goodness gracious," his mother sighed. "You should see the other guy," he lied. "I quite literally saw him; Darryl''s waiting for you outside with his dad." Oh. Yeah, that made a lot of sense. "You''re lucky they''re not pressing charges, Hilbert." She nced toward Ranger Harley, who was busy radioing about some nonsense, and whispered, "did he deserve it?" "Yes," Hilbert mumbled. "Was it worth it?" "For sure. I saved Patrat and reunited her with her son." She gave him a smile and ruffled his hair. "Then I''m proud of you, my little hero." His mother always dealt with the fallout whenever he got a little too big for his boots, and today was no different. She chatted up Harley and said that yes;he would never do it again, yes,she would have a talk with him; yes,she knew that she''d said the exact same thingst time.To be honest, the Rangers were quite nice to him, at least. They''d given Hilbert chance after chance, even after that really bad time when he''d helped a new Cottone in town. Supposedly, inexperienced kids like him weren''t supposed to deal with fairies and heshouldn''thave brought his other friends from school to see her, but she''d just been the nicest little thing! It was too bad they chased her out of town. They were nice and wanted the best, Hilbert knew, but they were quite heavy-handed and there were¡­ A lot of bad apples souring the whole package. Especially when Mark Obel was at their head. A flicker of a pencil and a bit of political lobbying, and he''d be able to bring about the winds of change! A society that was better for all.So why? Of course, it was never that simple,Hilbert thought as he and his mother left the Ranger Station. He kicked a rock and watched it tumble off the dirt road. A nation-state, especially one asrge as Unova, had a lot of moving parts, and one couldn''t influence a tiny, itty bitty part of it without kicking the ant hill and burning support and political capital everywhere. The problem was that Mark Obel just wasn''t doinganythingwith said political capital anyway! What was the point in him even getting to his position if he didn''t even want to steer the darn ship? He felt his mother push him forward, and he met Darryl''s eyes. Seeing the tanned teen look at him so pitifully whenHilberthad been the one to throw the first punch kind of left a bad taste in his mouth, but it also meant that the potential for kindness he had seen hadn''t been for naught. Every living creature could be kind; it was just a matter of finding the right approach. Meanwhile, Darryl''s father red at Hilbert and made him nce down at his feet. Darryl asked to speak in private, and Hilbert followed a few dozen feet away. "Hey." "Um," Hilbert grabbed onto his arm and squeezed. "Hi." "I kind of gave it some thought. What you said." He shuffled in ce. "I mean, I''m still pissed you released my Pokemon, and fuggin''punchingme! But seeing her run away like that with that sheer relief in her eyes¡­ kind of made me realize I was being a dick." Hilbert beamed and grabbed onto his hand, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. "You see it!" he brightly eximed. "I knew I wasn''t wrong about you! Pokemon are like people! Your dad sure wouldn''t like it if someone took you away from him, right?" He waited for the nod and continued. "It''s the same here! Though I guessyoutook the parent in this case." Hilbert scratched the back of his head. "Just be better from now on! That''s whatIstrive to do! To do good no matter what and leave the world a better ce than it was!" "God¡ªI said that I was sorry, not that I wanted to hear your entire life story!" He shook his hand away from Hilbert''s. "But yeah. I still have until September to get a Pokemon; I''ll go about it better and try to meet one. And, uh, get it to agree to join me." "Excellent." He patted the teenager''s back. "I''m sure you''ll be a wonderful trainer; maybe we''ll even see each other on the road." The conversation didn''tst for that long afterward. They mostly spoke of ns on tackling which Gym first. Darryl went over this entire intricate n to skip Nacrene because of the difficulty and the knowledge required to pass the written test to actually get to battle Lenora, and Castelia because of how crowded it was throughout the year. Darryl shot Hilbert the same stupified look Cheren always had when Hilbert said he didn''t have any n. What was the point of traveling if he was going to stress about deadlines and sponsors and strength andworking¡ªat that point, it sounded more like a fulltime job. Hilbert got in his mother''s car, and she began to drive them home. It waste in the afternoon, so knowing his two friends, Bianca was making her way back to her parents'' because her curfew was at five, and Cheren was probably busy looking at win rates, synergies and whatnot in his spreadsheets. Their home was close to Main Street, and Nuvema was pretty spread out, so it''d be a while until they got there. Hilbert half-listened to the news crackling over the radio, the familiar voice reporting on the sma Organization ban that Mark Obel had just signed intow. Apparently, a prominent congressman called Ghetsis had resigned in protest, calling it an egregious example of government and corporate overreach. His statement,''Unova doesn''t have a Champion in charge; it has a boardroom pulling the strings,''was probably going to stick around for a while. "Hilbert." The boy felt his heart squeeze in his chest. The tone was one his mother rarely used¡ªa mix of worry, anger, and sadness that always ended up prodding at his feelings. "Hrmrm." He did not manage to answer anything but a nonsensical grumble. "Don''t look out the window like that. This is important." "I thought you were proud of me," he defensively said, looking at her. Her eyes were still on the road, but she asionally nced his way. "I did the right thing¡ª" "Iknowyou did," she cut him off. "But the world is a big ce, my little Sewaddle." He cringed at the nickname. "Harley has a point when she tells you that stuff! Rangers aren''t always going to be as nice as the ones here; you could get in trouble and get your license revoked if you keep doing this! And you have a responsibility to Professor Juniper, now." "I know¡­" "And you''re¡ª" his mother slowed the car down and took a deep breath, "¡ªI never want to say you''retoo kind, because that''s not true. One is never too kind, and I''m so proud of how you''re growing up. It''s just that¡­ people might take advantage of you, Hilbert. Like in school?" "That was like five years ago. I know better," he gruffed. How was he supposed to know those kidshadn''tactually needed money because of how hungry they were? That had gone on for nearly six months until his mother realized what was happening. "I''ll be fine on the Circuit! I''m fifteen!" "You need to stick close to Cheren, okay? I know you three aren''t traveling together beyond the first route to um, but if there''s ever any doubt about something being fishy, youcall him.Or Bianca!" "Yes, mom." She outstretched one of her hands to pinch his cheek before remembering it''d hurt him, and it went to ruffle his hair instead. "I still have you to myself for a little over two months. Legendaries, you grew up so fast¡ª" "Mom!" ¡ª Hilbert hadn''t slept. The excitement at the prospect of getting a Pokemon friend had built and built and built until he couldn''t stop himself from pacing deep into the night. That, plus the pain made it pretty difficult to sleep, let alone toss and turn in his bed. The clock struck six before he decided to start getting ready. Shower, eat some buttered toast and eggs, kiss his mother goodbye before she went to work¡ªshe would only work the morning shift today¡ªand finally, wait for his friends to get here. He saw them arrive through his bedroom window and met them at the door. Bianca, as always, wore her signature green hat, but today she paired it with a white dressyered under an orange top, bringing her usual cheerful energy. Cheren, on the other hand, stuck to his typical dark clothes, never one to fuss over his appearance. He''d always been popr in school because of how pretty his face was despite not trying at all¡ªhe barely even had to deal with e! Still, Cheren knew he needed to start caring more about his public image, even if it wasn''t something that came naturally to him. Both balked when they saw him. "What the heck happened to you?" Bianca gasped, grabbing him by the shoulders¡ª "Ow! Don''t¡ªit''s still sensitive." Cheren carried with himrge, blue gift box wrapped neatly with a bright green bow. On top of it was a note. He shuffled his way into the wide living room. "The Professor told us you got in trouble again, but I didn''t know you were beaten up that hard. Are you going to be okay?" He ced the box on the dinner table and sharply exhaled. The box must have been heavier than it looked. "I will!" Hilbert eximed. "Are the Pokemon in there?" "Yep. Leave it to Professor Juniper to make receiving our starters so extra." Heughed and patted the top of the box. "But seriously, like, are you fine? I know we''re all excited, but this can wait¡ª" "I''mfine, Cheren." Hilbert moved close to the box, and nearly vibrated with excitement. "Oh, there''s a note." "The prof asked us not to fight over who''d get what and to have fun¡ªyou know, the usual. Then we gotta go to herb after," Bianca said. "Do you guys already know what you''re picking?" When they both looked at each other, her voice trembled. "I mean, I''m fine with whatever! I can gost! So long as I canactuallygo on this journey¡­" Both Hilbert and Cheren understood where she wasing from. Bianca, a year older than them, had fought tooth and nail to even get the chance to start this journey. It had taken two years of relentless pushing from Professor Juniper, Gemma, and Bianca herself to convince her father to let her go. He thought the world would eat her alive, much like it had with Gemma¡ªbut his concerns carried a condescending edge as if he expected Bianca to crumble the moment she stepped outside of his orbit.He just in didn''t believe in her. "Maybe we should wait a little. Let it sit in Hilbert''s room while we let the fact that we''re going to be trainers settle in for an hour or so just so we don''t make any impulsive decisions," Cheren suggested. "It''s not like they''re going anywhere." "I guess," Bianca said, clenching the sides of her dress. "Oh! I know! We still didn''t talk about Cecilia Obel," she said as soon as he came back. They kind ofhad, but not much. Hilbert always spent less time with them in the summers because of how involved he got with wild Pokemon, and Cheren was busy cramming a crap ton of information in his head so he had the best chance of bing the Champion because he desperately wanted to be the strongest trainer in the region. "I dunno. She''s not what I expected." Cheren sat down at the table and ran a hand through his hair. "Though her quiet demeanor kind of makes sense, since our Champion is the same." "She was kind of mysterious, wasn''t she?" Bianca nced up at the ceiling and put her hands behind her back. "Makes you want to know more about her." "She wouldn''t answer my questions." Hilbert had asked her many things, but she just looked nkly at him with her strange, mildly scary stare. "You overwhelmed her, clearly!" Bianca huffed, arms ttening at her side. "And I apologized!" Hilbert yelled. "It looks like she''s been through a lot. Those scars looked kind of fresh, didn''t they?" "I honestly thought she was blind for a bit because of the eyes. The way they look, she shouldn''t be able to see, scientifically speaking," Cheren said. "I''m sure we''ll get along eventually! Unova will do her some good after the year Sinnoh''s had." They''d all heard the news of that rift opening above Cor. ording to Professor Juniper, Cecilia Obel had been a part of the Sinnohan military and had fought Team Gctic terrorists inside the mountain. "I wonder if there''s something we could do to make her feel at ease," Bianca whispered. "It starts by treating her no different, just like she asked," Cheren said. "And not pushing her boundaries with questions. Okay,Hilbert?" "Fine! I was just curious!" Mostly, he''d wanted to get a read on where she stood with her family. He knew there was a lot of drama there, but he was horrible at keeping track of that stuff. "That¡ªthat applies to you too, Cheren!" Bianca said. "Huh?" "She clearly didn''t like it when you asked about her brother! You know what her family says about her on the news." Speak of the devil. Maybe he''d be able to find out more. Hilbert leaned forward in his seat. "My dad''s been totally brainwashed by that stuff about how she''s a foreign spy because of that nasty stuff Crescent Global keeps showing on their channels." "Does he know she''s going to work in ourb¡ª" "Yes, Cheren," she interrupted him. "I let it slip on ident and now he''s doubly against me leaving. He won''t convince me, though! I''ll move in with Professor Juniper if it gets unbearable. She sees potential in me; it''s not my fault hecan''tsee that." Hilbert''s eyes widened at the sudden burst of confidence¡ª "Uh. I got¡ªI got carried away. Sorry." She shrunk back. "Bianca!" Hilbert pushed himself up andughed. "What was that? You were great!" With a supportive nod, Cheren added, "you''re right. You do have potential; a Certification Exam grade isn''teverything. You''ve already been helping the Professor around more than we have¡ª" "Stop it!"sheshed out. Her voice was sharp and reverberated across the living room. That soured the mood for a while. Most of the talking stayed between Hilbert and Cheren following her outburst, given that even apologies wouldn''t get her to open up. They couldn''t do anything to help her when she got like this¡ªit was like she herself thought she''d flown too close to the sun and decided to retreat behind someone''s shadow where no one would see her. This time, it was Hilbert''s. When she recovered a little, she steered the topic away from herself and toward his arrest, and they had a goodugh about it. Hilbert was d his two friends understood Pokemon should be caught through bonds and nothing else¡ªeven if Cheren was a little prickly about having to find the ''right'' Pokemon for his annoyingpoweragenda. Eventually, it was finally time for them to make a decision. Cheren had agreed for Hilbert to go first because he felt bad for how beaten up he was, and Bianca wasstillcontent to gost. They all climbed the stairs to his bedroom. Cheren had set the box on a desk against Hilbert wall¡ªthe one he always stood at, because sitting for too long was unhealthy. The bedroom was big but still cozy, with a single window letting in the soft light of the early morning. An unmade bed sat against one wall, one Cheren couldn''t help butin about. Its purple covers were strewn about haphazardly. In the other corner was another desk with a chair and theptop Hilbert rarely used. Then a trashcan next to that desk, and a TV in theothercorner, its back facing the same wall as the window. Next to it was Hilbert''s library, a dresser, and a console Cheren and Bianca used more than he did. His house was the biggest, so they always hung out here. Less so in recent years, but still. Hilbert grabbed Professor Juniper''s note and chuckled at the silly smiley she left at the bottom. He took off the gift box''s cover, and his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of the three, gleaming Pokeballs. They were so polished they might as well have been brand new! Onest nce toward his friends; they nodded at him, and he released all three Pokemon onto the ground one by one. Tepigwas a small, pig-like Pokemon with a round body covered in bright orange fur. The fire type immediately started running around in circles in the room, oinking like there was no tomorrow. Bianca yelped when it dashed under her dress and around her legs, then Cheren''s, then Hilbert''s, and again and again in a never-ending burst of activity that seemed just a little forced. Snivywas sleek and elegant, its green body adorned with darker stripes that traced down its back. There was something peculiar about it, Hilbert thought as he watched the grass type look around nervously with none of the confidence its species was known for¡ªlike it was all a front to appear more powerful and well put together than it actually was. Oshawottperched quietly at the edge of the room, its round, blue form a stark contrast to the energetic chaos Tepig brought when it tried ramming into the water type. Oshawott just calmly moved out of the way¡ªno, there was more than justcalm. Its eyes weren''t that expressive, and its breaths were so shallow it was like it was barely there. Its shell that would typically be well-maintained for the species was spotty with dirt and scratched. Hilbert didn''t want topickone of them. He wanted to make the decisionwiththem. So he spent some time with each. First, Tepig, who was a bundle of joy and kindness.Hisbody, he had learned, felt warm when he lifted him in his arms, but his ears drooped as soon as he put him back down. There was this real pressure inside of him¡ªthe need to bepicked. Self-esteem issues, maybe? Where had Professor Juniper gotten these Pokemon? Hilbert asked many questions to the little Tepig.What''s your favorite food? Has Juniper been treating you well? What do you want to do in life? Would you be okay with traveling for an entire year? What''s your first impression about me?The fire type answered honestly to all of them earnestly with a hint of desperation¡ªnot that Hilbert could understand it well, but they made it work through hard work and gestures. Once he was done, he patted Tepig on the head to cheer him up and moved on to Snivy. Snivy''s back snapped into a rigid posture the moment Hilbert''s eyesnded on it, as if it were trying to sculpt itself into a perfect frame. He, Hilbert had learned from Bianca prior, gave him his best smile and flicked one of the yellow leaves on his neck back. The same round of questions followed, but Snivy did not answer as truthfully as Tepig. Hilbert thought he gave him whatever answer he wanted to hear. Oshawott¡­ she was odd. Cheren had not at all connected with her, not even coaxing one word out of the water type, and Bianca just found her to be awkward. Hilbert crouched in front of her and met her eyes, right at the edge of his carpet, and asked,"what''s your deal?" It wasn''t mean-spirited, nor was it usatory. It was genuine curiosity born of a heart that had never been left satisfied by missing answers. Oshawott''s barely blinking eyes stared up at him, and she let out an amused squeak. So shecouldfeel something; she was just bad at expressing it. "What''s your favorite food?" Hilbert asked. Oshawott pulled out her tongue. She didn''t like to eat at all, yet forced herself to because she wanted to live. "Has Juniper been treating you well?" A shrug. Sure, she had, but Oshawott didn''t really care. "What do you want to do in life?" Another shrug. "Would you be okay with traveling with me at least for a year? I could release you afterward if you''re¡ª" A shrug. Hilbert knew this line of questioning would go nowhere. "...what''s up with your shell? I''ve read that Oshawott usually maintain them very well." Oshawott pulled her shell off her chest and demanded Hilbert outstretch his hand. It was heavier than it looked when she ced it in his palm. The scalchop was worn, yes, but he looked closer at it and realized something. The chips, the marks, thedamagewere too uniform for it to havee naturally. Tooperfect. "You''re keeping it like this on purpose," he guessed. "Why?" She gave him a look as if to saywouldn''t you like to find out?She grabbed the shell back in a swift motion that betrayed her size and shape and squeaked again, this time with a lower pitch. Hilbert tried to guess at what she meant, but she wouldn''t help him. "I guess you''re done talking," he said. "Wait! It''s true that you''ve been answering everything and I haven''t told you anything about me! Sorry!" He pped his forehead and groaned in pain when it hit a bruise. Oshawott smirked. "Uh, my name is Hilbert. People say I''m a bit of a bbermouth, but I just really like learning about people and Pokemon! I''m horrible at fistfights, as you can see from my sorry state¡­" He continued speaking uninterrupted for a full ten minutes before Oshawott pushed his leg as if to say she''d heard enough. Hilbert looked at his friends, who had disappeared from attention since he''d begun talking to Oshawott, and saw the both of them talking with Tepig and Snivy. "I''ve told you a lot about myself, but I have something else. Something that burns deep within me. Desire." His eyes glimmered with the power of a dream, and Oshawott''s mouth widened a mere inch. "I will turn this world upside down and pull it into the light it so desperately deserves because I know we arecapable," he dered. "One person at a time." He gave her his hand. She merely touched his finger. Hilbert''s mouth quirked up. He knew he had his starter, now. Once he let the others know, Cheren settled on Snivy and Bianca took Tepig. His friends were just as happy as he was, but Hilbert sincerely hoped Tepig wouldn''t feel too bad for being picked first. With the three Pokemon back in their balls, Cheren adjusted his sses. "Since we''re now trainers," he began, "why don''t we have a battle?" Bianca didn''t look that into the idea, but Hilbertughed with glee. "Heck yeah! Though I have to ask Oshawott first¡­ I hope she''ll want to." "I might just watch at first," Bianca stammered. "I¡ªjust to see how you two handle it." "Got it," Cheren said. "And I bought potions beforeing here in preparation for this with the money my parents gave me to heal up after." He released Snivy, who looked around the room. He hadn''t expected to be released here again. "Don''t worry, Snivy; we''re going to be battling¡ª" "In Hilbert''s room?!"Bianca interjected. "¡ªHilbert''s Oshawott. Don''t worry about winning or losing for now." The grass type nervously nodded as Hilbert did the same with his Oshawott. "Hey. You up for a battle? Don''t feel forced to say yes." Not that he thought she''d feel forced to do anything for him regardless. She would shrug at best¡ªah, there it was. "You''re indifferent. Fair, but how about this? It''ll help to see how well we can work together." The little blue Pokemon followed with a brisk nod and an emotionless squeak. "She''s ready!" Hilbert beamed¡ªOshawott seemed to nce away like he was as bright as the sun. The two Pokemon took their position, each standing at the edge of the carpet. It was mildly concerning to Hilbert to see Snivy so anxious when fights were meant to be fun for both the trainer and the Pokemon, but he figured he would let loose once it began. Cheren was so focused and brimming with the need to win despite what he''d said to the grass type that Hilbert couldn''t help but feel a jolt of electricity shoot down his spine. Bianca had agreed to referee and count down, so she raised her hand and slowly uttered the words. "One¡ªuh, I meanthree¡ª" Hilbert had battled many times before, starting from the age of six. "Two¡ª" Many wild Pokemon had let him y trainer, and he had plenty of experience with it. "One¡ª" But this? This felt different. Hilbert looked at his Oshawott''s back, and still felt this was his first. Bianca''s hand dropped in the crisp her."Go!" "Snivy, go in and use Vine Whip!" Cheren instantly said. Knowing him, he had probably studied what moves each three Pokemon most likely had or asked Juniper. Snivy was fast. As fast as Hilbert was when he sprinted at full speed. The snake-like Pokemon scurried across the carpet, a pair of vines bursting and elongating from his neck, and he mmed the two into Oshawott''s stomach before she could react. The water type went tumbling, rolling until she gently hit the wall, but Cheren wasn''t done. "Leer and Vine Whip! Keep them cornered against the wall, but keep your distance! We have the range advantage!" An excellent strategy, Hilbert noted. Snivy had the range advantage and could keep them pressed there, unable to escape. Each strike left a red brand on Oshawott''s skin and sounded like the snapping of a whip. His eyes darted around foranythingthat could give them a leg up¡ª "The trash!" Hilbert yelled. Oshawottcried outwith something that must have been Growl, making Snivy hesitate for a moment. He jumped behind Hilbert''s red trash can, narrowly avoiding another Vine Whip that left a small dent in the bedroom floor near the carpet''s edge. Snivy let out a frustrated hiss and moved in closer. "Snivy, no! Keep your distance! You have the range, but they don''t¡ª" "Throw!" Hilbert yelled. Not what was in the trash, butthe entire trash can.Oshawott lifted up the aluminum with a huff, andthrewit at Snivy, who narrowly threw himself to the side to dodge. Pieces of ripped paper, stic cups, and cutlery went tumbling on the ground. Snivy''snding was turbulent; he''d gone in with so much speed that he mmed into Hilbert''s library, knocking a bunch of books down on his head and body. "Now! Go in!" Hilbert asked. The water type had taken a few hits, but her face was not marred by pain nor excitement nor ambition. It wasduty. Oshawott clumsily jogged across the carpet as Cheren mored at his Snivy to get up¡ª "Water Gun!" Hilbert tried. To his relief, a small jet of water flew out of Oshawott''s mouth. Snivy coughed when the water got in his mouth and closed his eyes, crawling away in an attempt to get it away from him. Hilbert felt a pang of guilt at all the books his mom had given him over the years getting ruined. "It doesn''t hurt, Snivy! It''s not effective against you!" Cheren clicked his tongue. "Focus!" That snapped Snivy out of it, but Oshawott was right up in his face, now. He mmed into Snivy with a Tackle. Then another. And another, each knocking the air out of his lungs and making the library behind him vibrate. The grass typeshed out¡ªa Pokemon wouldn''t just let itself get hit¡ªwith Vine Whips and hits with his hands and tail, and Hilbert knew Oshawott wouldloseif this kept going. There was this concept in fights Hilbert had found to exist in his nearly a decade of experience battling, at least in these low-leveled fights. Momentum. Keep up the pressure, keep making good moves, and more would follow in turn as the opponent scrambled for a response, even if they had the advantage on paper. Both Snivy and Cheren were frustrated that Oshawott and Hilbert hadn''t gone down without a fight, even though she was basically on herst legs.Couldthey even see her fraying breaths, her sluggish movements? They were blinded by the insidious glow of expectations like children attempting to gaze at stars in the bright light of day. Hilbert would be a fool not to take advantage. "Throw him toward the carpet!" he said with a maddened,joyouscackle. Oshawott didn''t look it, but she was strong. Certainly stronger than a gaunt Snivy. The water type pped her opponent with her shell, shredding the nt-like fiber that was his skin slightly, and used his bafflement to lift him up on her head. Shethrewwith a pained squeal that tore Hilbert''s heart in half, and Snivy let out a hurt cry of his own. Oshawott''s body was marred in red marks and bruises, and she could barely stand. She was having fun, wasn''t she? Grinning just like Hilbert was despite her apprehension earlier. "Water Gun again. Aim for the eyes," Hilbert said. A weakness of theirs. Snivy hated not being able to see and the pressure of the water against his delicate eyelids. "Like three more hits, and they''re down!" Cheren yelled, finally realizing. "Come on!" Another jet of water as Oshawott limped toward Snivy. Hilbert knew that the carpet would weigh a lot more once it was wet. Vines were thrashing out and about in every direction in hopes of actually getting a hit off. Hilbert figured they should have used their vines as rapid whips to slow the water''s advance so Snivy could take a breath and recover, but they''d lost the forest for the trees. The opening would be tight. "Grab the edge of the carpet and wrap it around him," Hilbert said. A second, then¡ª"Now!" Oshawott rushed in with another well-ced Growl and brought the carpet over Snivy''s head, but she took another hit for it right in the shoulder. His vines retracted in a panic and tried pushing against the sudden cover, but Oshawott was quick. She wrapped it tighter as she pushed him against the wall, and thendown the stairs!Both Hilbert and Cheren ran to see how the battle would conclude, hearing the grass type thump against each incline. Oshawott pulled up her scalchop andjumped, tearing an opening across the carpet deep enough to hit Snivy upon hernding. Hilbert''s eyes widened in admiration. She''d used the momentum from the fall to cut that deep, but her timing needed to bejust right!He hadn''t even expected for her to do any of that! She was so¡­ scrappy. He loved her already! Oshawott heaved for each breath, lying back against the ground while Snivy was unmoving within the torn and wet carpet. Hilbert ignoredints from Cheren about the fact that in a ''real'' battle, there wouldn''t be a carpet and scrambled down the stairs, grabbing Oshawott in her arms and spinning her around while he called her everypliment he could conjure up. Cheren? Cheren was busy being cheered up by Bianca, but also¡ª Cheren, Hilbert noticed out of the corner of his eye, was thinking. ¡ª Natural Harmonia Gropius turned seventeen today, or at least that was what his father said. N knelt beside the trembling Woobat, her wings torn and fur tangled with dirt. She flinched as he drew closer, wide eyes brimming with fear. Each time he raised his hand, she recoiled, as if expecting the familiar sting of pain. That was how it always was with Pok¨¦mon who had known only the cruelty of the outside world. "It''s okay," N gently whispered. "You''re safe here, at the estate. No one will hurt you anymore." "Is¡ªis that true?" Woobat asked. N smiled as he sprayed a potion on the bat''s bruised wings. She winced but didn''t pull away. "They always lie to me¡­" "The world is full of liars and crooks," N began. "Yet I do not reject it, little one." "But why?" Woobat asked. "There''s nothing out here but suffering and anguish and pain and it stings it stings it stings it stings I''M SORRY I''LL BE BETTER I''LL BATTLE I''LL BATTLE I''LL¡ª" N wrapped the Woobat in his arms and squeezed tightly enough to make her feel seen and loved, but not tightly enough to hurt her delicate, just-healed wounds. "I see the ugliness; I understand how it has dealt you the most terrible of hands," he said. "But one must notlook awayfrom the rot. The first thing a person who wishes to change the world for the better is to acknowledge the truth of it. To see how broken the very foundation we stand upon is." Throughout his life, N had listened to the haunting tales recounted by the Pokemon his followers and subjects returned with. Stories of abuse, kidnapping, and the brutalpulsion to fight against their will filled his ears, painting a grim portrait of the outside. N knew nothing of this world, for he had spent his entire life in this private estate nestled west of a ce his father called Flesy Town, but he had seen and heard the stories ofthousandsof Pokemon. It had to stop. All of it had to be scorched clean and rebuilt anew with new rules, and he would be this country''s King. His father had long railed against whoever ''Champion'' was in charge at the time. Alder, Iris, and now Mark Obel¡ªthey were all the same no matter what their personal agendas were. They still kept the same rules that allowed forthis. He nced down at the trembling Swoobat. "Are you hungry, my dear?" "Is that¡ªis that okay?" she meekly asked against his chest. His heart burned with cold rage. "Yes. Of course." N stayed to keep Swoobatpany, feeding her Oran and Pecha Berries until there was a knock on his bedroom door. His childhood bedroom was grand andrge, but it had always been empty. Perhaps Darmanitan hade to pay him a visit, or Zorua, or Miino¡ª Two Sages entered the room. One of them, Zinzolin, bowed immediately. The other, Rood, nced at Woobat while his Swoobat pped around him, then did the same. N told them to get up. They did. They''d always been subservient since his coronation. He asked them to state their purpose. Zinzolin took charge. He told him happy birthday. He told him about his time in Sinnoh. He told him about sma being banned from the Unovan parliament. He told him that there was no other choice now but to defer to ''street-level'' tactics while Ghetsis nned a new approach. N noticed Rood wince. "What of you, Rood?" he asked. "What do you think?" Zinzolin swallowed a protest and took a step back. "Good on ya," Swoobat huffed with a snort. Rood told N that he was against this new n. He exined that it was an esction. That it would lead to violence, and that he is opposed to it. N stared around the bright room. "Pokemon must be suffering by the millions out there. A little violence is not ideal; make sure my subjects are on their best behavior, but we must proceed however possible. Anything else to report?" Rood nodded and told her something else. About a girl who could understand Pokemon like he was. She woulde to Unova this summer. Grace Pastel, her name was. A sixteen-year-old. N leaned forward and smiled. "I demand to know more about this girl." With every line came a crushing disappointment. She battled for fun, and violently. Far more violently than any stories he had ever heard fromabusedPokemon. She was opposed to their goals, not willing to even entertain them. She wanted to help Pokemon, but every idea of hers was a half-measure that refused to stare the world in the eye and see the facts. How could a girl who understood Pokemon like he did notsee? She was blind to the truth. She did not understand. He would not entertain her delusions. Rood finished his story, and N felt more bitter than he had in years. Truth be told, there were a lot of these Sages N barely knew and that spoke with his father more than they ever did to him, but they were needed to make sma¡ªand his future kingdom¡ªsessful. At least that was what his father said. Before leaving, a few of Zinzolin''s words cut through N like shards of ss, a heavy contrast that outshone everything else he had said so far. "Your father wants to see you in his office." He followed by bowing again and leaving N in his bedroom. "A¡ªare they gone?" Swoobat asked. "They are," he said. "They will not harm you either¡ªno one here will. Here, I will bring you to my sisters. They will take care of you while I go see father." N walked through the grand halls of Team sma''s estate. The cool stone walls echoed with each measured step. Shadows danced in the dim light, punctuated by the soft glow of ornate sconces and chandeliers. A few sma members moved through the estate. They were fewer than one would think. Only a select few were allowed to see him. The rest only heard of N in stories of an ascendant king. One that would lead them to glory and salvation. Each bowed as he passed them. They uttered his name with reverence and love. He turned a corner. N entered an open space where the sound of water trickling filled the air. The fountain at the center glimmered under the mutedte afternoon light. There, beside the fountain, stood his sisters, feeding a lone Ducklett. Familiar faces. He could focus on them and hear their voices. Anthea spotted him first, her faded pink hair catching the soft light as she turned. "Lord N," she said with a gentle smile. "I see you''ve brought another stray." "This is Woobat. She was hurt, but I''ve healed her with one of the potions in my room," he said. "I''d like for you to watch her while I go see father." Concordia''s face twisted with worry; she ran a hand down her golden locks, taking the Woobat in her arms. "Is it important?" "It always is." N gripped at his ne, a reminder of who he was and what he needed to achieve. A King did not show fear. "We would have loved to celebrate your birthday, Lord N," Antheamented. "It''s been so long." N answered half-heartedly. "Birthdays are just a date; they''re of no importance." He nced toward the Ducklett. "How are you doing, my dear?" "Just dandy!" the duck eximed with a squawk. "I''d love to stick around!" "Feel free to. We have plenty of space here at the estate." N cleared his throat. "And with that, my dear sisters, I must make my way to father. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon and evening." "Thank you, Lord N," they answered in unison. N wasn''t¡­ scared of seeing his father. Perhaps he was tense; perhaps he gripped on his ne until he made of to the door a lot quicker than he would have liked; perhaps he took a deep breath and wished one of his friends was here with him¡ªDarmanitan''s warmth would have been weed in such circumstances¡ªbut he¡ªhe wasn''t scared. His father had rescued him from the wild, where he might have died from a disease or ident at a young age, and given him a life and an opportunity to change the world for the better. Before he even needed to knock on the door, Ghetsis'' voice boomed. "Come in." Every time one spoke of his father, or his father spoke to him, their voices had a physical weight to them he couldn''t ignore or rush past. That hehadto focus on like he did with Pokemon or his sisters. He didn''t want to go in. But it was what his father had said, and therefore, he had to listen. Opening the door, N was met with the sight of his father, Ghetsis, hunched over his imposing desk, the room awash in the warm glow of a brassmp. A plush rug covered the polished floor, muffling any sounds N made as he stepped in and closed the door. His father''s office was far bigger than his bedroom. "You''rete," Ghetsis noticed. N instantly detected the cold rage within him, much like his own when he heard of hurt Pokemon. "Has Zinzolin told you the news?" N gulped. "Yes, father." Ghetsis nced up at him with an emotion N couldn''t read before slowly getting up. Ghetsis was an imposing, lean figure that towered over N as he got closer and closer, eating up his personal space until he was cornered near the door. His long hair was a faded shade of lime green, slicked back and framing a sharp, angr face. Piercing red eyes met N''s, and his scarred arm touched the teenager''s shoulder. "You good-for-nothing worm." He squeezed just strongly enough to make Nfortable and smile. "All of your life, you''ve stayed here ying house and doing nothing to further the cause I have been relentlessly pushing.Yourcause. To save all Pokemon from the clutches of trainers and the League. And you can''t even musteran ounce of rage?!" Spittle flew in N''s face as Ghetsis yelled at him, and his father pushed him back¡ªN barely missed the wall. "Years upon years of work, all burned to smithereens because of thatpunylittle Champion." Ghetsis raged as he paced around the room. "My position,gone.My power,gone!I had to abandon all of it! I''ll have hisheadone day." He stopped for a moment, then gripped the backrest of his chair. "N." "Yes?" "It''s time for you to be put to work," Ghetsis said. "Wh¡ªwhat does that mean?" "This was my n B," he exined. "The first was to be Prime Minister and slowly gain influence within the League by controlling Mark Obel, and to then slowly push him out and pushyouin, but now¡ªwe''ll have to rely on you and the word of Legend. Relying on fable andprayersdispleases me greatly, but¡­" again, he rushed toward N so fast that the boy flinched back. "You''re going to join the Circuit." N had lived all of his life here, but he knew what the Circuit was. His eyes widened in outrage. "Andbattle?Father I can''t¡ª" N heard ap, and then the sharp sting followed as it always did. The p had been so hard that the entire right side of his face hurt. "You will do as you aretold," his father hissed. His teeth shed like an animal. "I cannot afford to wait; we have a year at most until all of sma is destroyed. Perhaps less. Or you can donothingas you have your entire life and kiss your dream¡ªourdream of saving Pokemonkind goodbye." When N stayed quiet, he continued. "You will be like any other trainer on the Circuit, and you will gather the badges, just in casethisn also doesn''t work. They are not necessary¡ªthe only legitimacy we need is to beat the Elite Four and Champion, and we can bring that fight to them¡ªbut they will be a cushion." N''s nails dug against his palm. He would¡­ he could do so, but he would refuse to catch Pokemon. Pokeballs were horrifying little devices that deserved to be destroyed or remade entirely. "I will do as you ask." A smile, genuine but still soimpersonal. "Good. Let me tell you about Syncretism," Ghetsis said. "About a particr branch of our religion that says Reshurem and Zekourom¡ªReshiram and Zekrom, ording to the old texts we''ve found¡ªhave split." N listened, the sting of the p now forgotten as he found within these religious stories a way to put Mark Obel away for good. He would reshape the world in the image of kindness and mutual understanding, crafting a sanctuary where Pokemon could thrive in peace, and humans would have to put away their greed, abuse, and selfishness, or he would die trying.
Chapter 332 Chapter 332
CHAPTER 332 "Graces, how long do I gotta be your mule for?" Jess'' whines behind me were thankfully somewhat masked by the constant hum of cars around us. "Couldn''t you just look at these in the library?" "Libraries make me ufortable," I deadpanned ahead of her. A flicker of heat prickled at my skin¡ªthe shadow of a bomb, a phantom explosion that made me shut my eyes and shake my head to remind myself that I was safe. "You keep saying that you''re strong anyway." "I was just mindlessly boasting!" she sighed. "You''re lucky I''m not making you go all the way to Marley''s spot south of the city." Unfortunately, the loop wasn''t perpetually going to be maintained. Icouldhave kept it going, but figured it was better to break it now so I didn''t have to fly out in thatexactsame spot every time I needed to train this specific facet of my Pokemon and battling style. "She has aspot?!" Jess eximed. "Friggin'' trainers. I wonder if she''ll be on time." The n, as Jess had endlesslyined about, had been to go to one of Jubilife''s many libraries to grab a bunch of books¡ªmostly short stories and fables¡ªto study. Marley had suggested she''de along, but she was often one to bail a lot of the time. Of course,Iknew it was to train for the Conference; Jess just thought it was family drama or something. She still had no idea Marley actually had eight badges, just that she was a trainer. "Wish your dad would have picked us up," Jessined again. "He has work. We''re almost there,e on. Unless you finally find your courage and ept flying on Princess." My Aln friend audibly gulped at the idea, freezing for a microsecond before settling into her air of confidence once again. "Yeah, I''ll carry the books." We stopped at a red light, and I nced her way. "Hey. Um, thanks for hanging along, I guess." It was challenging to look at her when we broke the dynamic; I simply wasn''t used to people outside of my usual friends wanting to stick around. It was silly, but maybe I hadn''t gotten over my school days and had begun associating piano ss with them, thinking that at some point, Marley and Jess would eventually drop me like a scorching piece of rock. "I''m no sore loser," she lied. "You beat me in ourtest piano duel; you getonefavor. Plus, you''re fun to hang out with, Graces." "Am I?" "Yeah. You''re weird! And that''s fun, even if I barely get you. Sometimes you say really strange things like ''libraries make me ufortable,'' I mean, I''ve never heard that." "It''s not that weird," I grumbled. Buddy vibrated in my shirt, wrapped around my shoulder and back. He made everything easier to get through, and that meant I didn''t have to make people ufortable with Cass asking every passerby about a million things. Sensing the vibrations, Mimi sent one of their own coursing up my arm, and they began talking through me. I could get the vibes of itsomewhat¡ªit was a debate on what weird even meant to humans¡ªbut the details were lost on me. I didn''t speak whatever codednguage Buddy hade up with in thest few months ying guardian with the steel type because of how crushed I''d been, so it was just starting to register in my head. "I''m weird, but I''m notthatweird," I finally added after that long pause. "Sure you aren''t." She innocently batted her eyes at me. "You don''t even believe that." "You''re just my super famous rich friend who''s fought in the military against terrorists, who looks on edge half the time, and who looks like she never sleeps. No biggie." We were pleasantly surprised to see Marley waiting in front of my apartmentplex, fiddling with some ne she was wearing. True to form, she wore one of her signature dark, frilly dresses, making her look like she''d stepped out of a cosy convention. And Jess thought I was strange? Marley was on a whole other level, with her guarded secrets and odd dressing habits. We exchanged waves, and Jess, without hesitation, offloaded half of her stack of books onto her. Marley''s face went pale at the sheer weight, and she mouthed a silent prayer for an elevator. Thankfully, one was just inside. I unlocked the door and let them in. "Make yourselves at home; just don''t make a mess." Thest thing I wanted was for dad to get here and realize he''d need to clean everything up, not when things were still a little tense. I¡­ still hadn''t spoken to my mother much since I''d kissed Maylene for the first time. It wasn''t fair to her¡ªI just needed time to process. Both girls looked at me like I was the source of all insanity in the world when my Jellicent crawled out of my shirt, but I paid it no mind. The clock struck eleven in the morning when we all sat at the dinner table. Marley didn''t care for Buddy, but Jess kept looking at him with wide, terrified eyes despite the fact that I said she had nothing to worry about; he wasn''t going to kill her. "Why would you say it like that?" Marleyughed. "How else would I say it? He''s not going to kill her, so he''s not going to kill her," I said. "He''s here to help with the books. The more of us there are, the faster we read." With the ghost''s agreement and their doubts sorted out, we finally decided to start. "So what are we looking for?" Jess asked, grabbing her copy of''The Clever Pidgey and the Proud Murkrow.'' We were looking for two things, I answered. It was clear that I couldn''t rely on my narrow understanding of stories forever.Thatwas where the worry of being too predictable came from¡ªand while mastering different types of narratives might not be enough to outwit a determined adversary with time to analyze me, it would at least help obscure my intentions. For example, my journey so far could be described as a Coming of Age, a Redemption Arc, and maybe a Hero''s Journey, all without the satisfying ending at the end. Through these lenses, I had navigated Mount Cor and beyond, but there were more stories than this. The other facet I was looking to identify was tropes embodied by characters. The Reluctant or Fallen Hero, the Mentor Figure, the Comic Relief, the Loyal Sidekick, the Damsel in Distress¡ªnot only would this help me navigate the waters of battles and make them morefun, but by identifying these Roles, stories, and tropes in my opponents, I could anticipate their choices and how they fit within the world. Now, I knew Byron, for example, wouldn''t y around with this stuff. Honestly,no onewould. It was all a matter of deluding myself into seeing these patterns. Kingambit, for example, could easily fit into the role of the protagonist of Byron''s team, and his fight a Hero or a Viin''sst stand depending on what lens you viewed the battle through. There was a hint of truth behind it, too. There was a reason stories had helped me survive Cor. Why domains worked the way they did. Reading a bunch of children''s short stories was a lot more fun than I expected, especially when I was parsing through them line by line. Marley was a lot more helpful than Jess was in literary analysis¡ªthat meant she had basically more skill than us bothbined due to her actually paying attention in school¡ªbut at least Jess easily sorted through each book, reading fast enough to let us know if the current one was going to be a waste of time or not. While Buddy did not know the exact trope names, if they even had one, he was also great at identifying these patterns and was a godsend to have here. He''d sift through books faster than Jess was, lifting them up with Extrasensory. "Hm. Something''s bothering me," I whispered, partly to myself and to my friends and Pokemon. "Do you think anyone on my team can act?" "Act?"Marley scoffed. "What is this? It''s a battle, not some show." "It''s a story," I shrugged. "And stories are meant to be viscerally experienced, or they might as well not exist at all." It had been easy, when my life was on the line, but now that there were no stakes? "I had this thing back in the day where I wanted to fool my opponent with facial expressions," I said. This could somewhat be considered an evolution of those urges. "So I practiced a little bit, but there''s a difference between a few seconds used to trick someone and an entire, coherent narrative." Though¡­ I did think Icouldact in a few narrow roles like a focused killer or perhaps a character desperate to be loved and epted by others, but that wasn''t acting¡ªit was who I was. Arceus forbid I had to act like a na?ve princess or any kind of cheerful hero; that would be the embarrassment of a lifetime. Unfortunately, one didn''t get good at something withoutdoing it. "I''ve got no time for acting sses with my Poketch obligations, but maybe you guys can be myb Rattata." Them and Maylene, but I wasn''t ready to talk about her with them yet, no matter how much I wanted to gush about her. "But anyway, who do you think could act, Bud?" We ended up agreeing on basically everything. With Princess, it''d depend on the role. She''d go ham if she had to y a psychotic killer, for example, but trying to shove her in a box would make herin like it was the end of the world. We''d have to deal with that and push her boundariester, but I did genuinely believe she''d be able to put herself in a character''s mindset the easiest out of everyone. Cass would do it with no issues and would have a crap ton of fun doing it. They wanted to experience as much of the outside world as possible, just like Mimi, and if the steel type''s exaggerated bows said anything, it was that Cassianus would live to act and might even get so into it they''d forget it was fake, which was precisely the kind of energy I needed.Immersion. Sunshine would have the most difficulties with this pivot. He''d probably consider it below him, but I could easily sell him on evil roles, and it was only a matter of time before he slowly epted the rest of the process. Unlike Princess, I couldn''t actually convince him with words, but by showing him how fun it might make a battle. He might have considered himself serious, but he was basically as much of a drama queen as I was, deep down. As for the rest of the family? We figured they''d a try and would just need practice. Angel, Honey and Sweetheart were beings who were very true to themselves, but I knew they''d be into it and try their best. And who cared if it was a little cringe on our first few attempts in public? If we hadfun, that was all that''d matter! "What about you?" Marley nudged her head toward Jellicent. Jess hissed a few hushed whispers at her, but she ignored her. "How''syouracting?" The water type''s body rippled for a moment, and I tranted, "He thinks he''d be terrible at it because he''s too stoic." I raised a hand next to him, which he gently wrapped a little water around. "Don''t worry bud, you have great strengths already. I bet you''d make a good stalker or monster in a horror-themed story." I awkwardly cleared my throat. My mind needed to stop going to antagonistic forces right away. "Or, um, mentor. Yeah!" With an amused glint in his red eyes, he noted that mentors often died or were crippled for life in the stories he''d been reading. "Eh, you can take it," I snorted. To weave a cohesive narrative from a battle, I needed my six Pok¨¦mon to coborate like never before, especially in utilizing the battlefield to our advantage. I already had a vision for how to incorporate Sunshine''s move, "You Are a Star," into the story, along with what tale I even wanted to tell, but I still needed to refine a few details to ensure everything fit seamlessly together. Motivation didn''te easy, but it cameeasier, and time was short. "Wait. What time is it?" I asked. "Uh, 12:03¡ª" "Crap!I''ll be right back!" I scrambled on my feet, ignoring Mimi''s indignant squeals when I nearly identally knocked them over the table. God, they''d take at least twelve hours to forgive me for that one because their sense of time was skewed to a Legendary''s, but I waste to call Maylene! "You girls order pizza or whatever!" "You''re rich! You''re paying!" Jess mored. My door mmed behind me and I instantly called the Gym Leader. I wouldn''t actually have missed her lunch break entirely¡ªshe was most likely working and had forgotten to keep track of time, but she would have eventually realized and called me¡ªI just didn''t want for her to always be the one to call, because it might make her feel unwanted or like she was bothering me. It had taken me a bit to get over the fear that wanting to speak to her was wrong because of my vices with Cecilia, but Candice had helped me realize that it was fine. "Hey dummy."I could hear the smile and yfulness on her lips."Thanks for calling me, actually. I forgot it was my lunch break already¡ªhow are things going?" "Reallygood, believe it or not? I''m hanging out with Jess and Marley like I said¡­" I loved telling her about my day because it felt like I could talk about it for hours and she''d still be here to listen and ask about every little thing, like¡ªlike she was genuinely interested in me. "I''d love to see you act¡ªand how bad you''re going to be at it,"she teased. "You''ve never even seen me try!" I groaned, legs kicking on my bed. "What if I totally sweep you off your feet?" "You don''t need to act to do that." Wha¡ªI swallowed a stammer and allowed the blush to pass. "I bet you feel safe over that phone, don''t you," I bit back. "What?"She let out a disbelieving and embarrassedugh."Grace, I wasplimenting you!" "What can I say, you''re rubbing off on me. Felt like I was letting you win something." I shrugged and put a strand of hair behind my ear. "Any new openings on when I can see you?" "Yes, actually! There''s this big fundraiser tomorrow night at the Contest Hall in Hearthome soon to celebrate Fantina''s Gym opening and raise money to help rebuild the city. I originally wasn''t going toe, but Cynth said a show of unity would do the region some good, so Volkner and Wake are gonna be there too. It starts at six-thirty in the evening?" I bit my lip. "I can''t make it. I have Poketch stuff that night. Interview prep." "Oh. Well, that''s alright."She paused."It is alright, right?" Surprisingly? "Yeah. I''m taking you go-kartingter this week, then." She chuckled."Go-karting? Are you saying that just because we yed Pokekart?" "Maybe I want just want to see you crash into a bunch of tires." "You''re on. You can hang at my Gym after¡ªfinally make me that tofu we talked about." "Do you have the ingredients?" "I figured we could just go grocery shopping. Usually my Gym staff handles that stuff. We have a few cooks on payroll." It hurt not to be able to see her tomorrow, but also¡­ It was fine? Not a crippling kind of hurt, just a ''that sucks, Ireallywanted to see more of her'' kind of hurt. I hadn''t even gotten any urges to cry about it or to desperately ask her if I''d done something wrong, or anything. Sometimes, schedules just didn''t line up. "Anyway, picture this¡ªPrincess as a damsel who has to be saved by a Hero knight¡ª" I heard a subtle beep on the end of the line, then a constant dull hum¡ªmost likely a microwave firing up."Your kid would rather y hero than do any of that." Iughed. "I know, but I can''t help but imagine how embarrassed she''d be; it''d be so funny! Oh, what are you eating today? I think my friends are ordering pizza." ¡ª A pen tapped paper and began to write. On my Enjoyment of Rollercoasters It is unbelievable what these people call ''rollercoasters.'' What I went on should barely qualify as a thrill ride, let alone an experience worthy of the long lines and absurdly priced tickets. The structure, if one can even call it that, was a simple loop of predictable turns and gentle dips, designed more for the stomach of a child than for anyone seeking genuine excitement. Emilia and Louis screamed the entire time and made me feel out of ce, and the vehicr device used to transport us was cramped and cumbersome. s, I must conclude that I most likely do not enjoy rollercoasters, but perhaps what wascking was simply its scale. Sunyshore leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it keeps reminding me of my happier times with her. The ball-point stayed on the period until ink started to spill over the page. My sample size is too low to truly know if I like it or not, but so far, the rating is at a pitiful 4/10. It is more of a social experience than anything; being with my friends is fun. Cecilia nced up, closing her Raison d''¨ºtre diary as Louis and Emilia stepped out of the gift shop. The former''s legs were still a little wobbly from the rollercoaster ride, and he nearly tripped on the sidewalk. Taking her to the Sunyshore Amusement Park had been their idea, one that Cecilia had in no way been opposed to. The park was run by the city of Sunyshore itself, unlike the many private enterprises that ran Unova''s, and that meant that the city was creating a serious drive to funnel people to spend money there not only to recuperate the costs of repairing the boardwalk, but to turn the page on all the doom and gloom that had gued the country for a year. Emilia carried with her two bags full of souvenirs while Louis had a tray of drinks. "Sorry, there was a long queue inside the store." Emi smirked and slid next to her, as did Louis. "Here are our surprises for you." "You go first, Emilia," Louis sighed, a hand on his forehead to hide himself from the sun. "I still need to recover; I feel like I''m going to barf." Cecilia chuckled. "Louis." He nced at her. "Nothing," she said. "You''re just a bit of a coward." He made a grimace that slowly twisted into a genuine, although constrained smile while Emiliaughed, pulling out a little keychain shaped like a Pichu making a silly face. "That''smygift. Honestly, I figured something small you''d be able to keep around would be nice." Cecilia dangled it in front of her face by the chain, looking the stic Pichu in the eye as she blinked. "Thank you, Emi. It''s cute." She ced it in her fist, and then in her pocket. Cecilia couldn''t find it within herself to dress up as she used to, so she was doomed to these in ones for now. "And Louis?" Emilia pulled out a cap with Volkner''s signature woven with a thunderbolt, which¡­ "Louis," Cecilia said. "Do you think I''d wear acap?" The Unovan gave him her hardiest of faces, eyes wide open. He gave her a confused look. "Cece¡ªI''m sorry? I thought you wanted to try new things, I¡ª" Cecilia snorted, head lowering for a moment. "I''m sorry. Thank you, Louis. I''ll try it out. In fact, I''ll wear both of these right now." "You should stop bullying him," Emilia joked. It wasfriendly. She just found it easy to draw joy from the fear within him whenever he thought he might have messed up, but it was true that she shouldn''t do it much, or he might take it to heart. Once she clipped the Pichu to her purse, Cece put on the cap, finding it a perfect fit around her head, and Louis handed her a drink. She took a sip through her straw¡ª "What in the world is this?" "Is that another joke, or¡­" he trailed off. "No. It tastes like¡ªis there coffee in this?" Cecilia didn''thatecoffee, but it was so sweet that it made her mouth feel like it had been coated in ayer of thick sugar. "No, I can''t drink this." "If it''s coffee, I''ll take it," Emilia said. "Louis, what else did you get?" They swapped cups until Cece ended up with a bright pink smoothie. She took a cautious sip, relieved to find that this one was mostly fruit with just the right amount of tartness. "Much better," she muttered. She considered writing it down in her diary, but this was something she''d already known. There was a reason pineapple was her favorite fruit. She couldn''t do sweet without something else like acidity to reign it in. Cecilia watched Emilia nonchntly sip on that awful drink while she idly browsed her socials, and her mind went to Grace. Not because they were anything alike, but because Cecilia couldn''t help but think about how the earliest version of Grace she''d known¡ªbefore everything had begun tumbling down¡ªwould have gotten so flustered about it.Yeah,Cecilia thought with an angered shiver. She would have taken a sip, or maybe a few, then she would have stared at the straw, unblinking for a few moments, and her face would have gone as red as a ripe strawberry. Cecilia waited. And waited. Emilia kept browsing, and the Unovan smiled. They indeed were nothing alike, neither in appearance nor in behavior, and that was a good thing. She despised the fact that she missedher. Craved her like a drug. There were another series of screams in the background, and her eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets. They spent the next thirty minutes or so chatting about the ride and what Cecilia thought of it. They always asked her as many questions about whatever activity they did to squeeze as many opinions out of her as possible. They were baffled at her thought about howunexcitingthat rollercoaster had been, especially the so-called ''big drop,'' which might as well have been a child''s slide. Cecilia did think that perhaps the subsuming of the fear of death had something to do with being unable to feel anything¡ªperhaps she would talk about it to Slowking and Lehmhartter tonight. What did make her burst outughing, however, was the snapshot picture Louis had gotten from the store. Her nk, emotionless look in the middle of such excited faces hadsomethingabout it that was nearly maic. She took a picture of the Proid and henceforth decided to make it her phone background. It wasn''tperfectlyin frame, and her fingers were visible, but that added character to it. ir, so to speak. The background used to be Grace until Chase made her change it to one of the default ones until she settled on something else. She was d she''d found that something¡ªa picture of her and her friends in the midst of a fun activity was a perfect recement. She spoke to Louis for a bit about being somewhat experienced enough with manualbor thanks to her time down south, and that she would be capable of helping him with construction of his sanctuary. He balked at her in disbelief,assuringher that he had a team of people for it until Emilia told him to just take the hint that she wantednew thingsand to let her help. "Oh, by the way, Cece. Check this out." Emilia whipped out three tickets of her own purse, holding them between her fingers. "You said you wanted to go look at a y for inspiration, right? There''s one tomorrow; it''s a really big deal. A lot of important people are going to be here because it''salsoa huge fundraiser to celebrate Fantina''s Gym opening again and raise funds for the city¡ª" "You know Hearthome and their fundraisers," Louis grumbled, memories shing within his eyes. Emi patted him on the back with an affectionate smile. "Yes, yes, you won''t have go. I know you''re busy." That, and it brought back bad memories for him. "Who''s the third?" Cecilia asked. Emilia pulled her tickets back into her purse. "Pauline." Besides some unintentional bitterness, Cecilia was okay with their friending with them. She''d been spending a little time with Grace, as ofte. It wasgood, actually, that she was still giving Cecilia her friendship. The Unovan truly meant what she''d said during their meeting in Canve, even if it was taking her heart longer to catch up to what her brain was telling her was the right thing to do. "You wouldn''t believe what I had to go through to get these tickets. Luckily I havesomeclout in the Hearthome scene," Emiliained. "Even Fantina''s going to be there¡ªshe''s actually an actress in the y." That intrigued Cecilia even more than she already was. She wasn''t one to show much outward excitement, but how could she not now that she''d get front row seats to what had be her main inspiration the past few days? "You don''t even have to stay for the fundraiser before and after, honestly." "We''ll see," Cecilia said. "Thank you, Emi. I''m grateful." Her friend shrugged. "We''re all here to help you." Her eyes flickered at Cecilia''s cap with a hint of amusement. "Even Louis." "Do youhaveto put it like that?" their blond friend sighed, scratching the scar on his cheek. "Louis has made his support known," Cecilia rescued their friend. "And I think I''ll keep it, actually," Cecilia chuckled. "Imagine me and Chase wearing this and his own hat? We''d make quite the duo." Chase and Emilia hadn''t been close, especially when he''d been against her involvement in Cor, but seeing her help Cecilia with the others had given him a new appreciation for her. "I just think it''d be funny to see you dressed like a football mom, honestly," Emi said. Cecilia ignored her urge to correct it to ser. "She''d be quite the sight in the bleachers," Louis added with a nod. "Please. I don''t want to terrify strangers." Cecilia rolled her eyes, something that you could barely see on her these days. "Just my friends, I think." Scaring people, at least when she was close to them so theyknewshe meant nothing by it, was fun. Another note to add to her diary. If things kept going like this, she''d need to buy another quite soon. ¡ª The lobby of the Hearthome Contest Hall exuded an air of grandeur, its high ceilings stretching upward like the vaulted halls of a pce. Cecilia had heard of its famous pink glittering carpet many times, mostly from Emilia, but all she could see was a bright grey that asionally sparkled. The hall waspacked, filled to the brim with the highest echelon of Hearthome''s poption. Socialites, businessmen and women, influencers, and coordinators, all dressed in their finest, mingled in tight circles with sses of expensive champagne, exchanging pleasantries that rang shallow to Cecilia''s ears.Legendaries, she could have gone for a ss right now, but unfortunately they always checked for ages. She''d gone to many events like these in her childhood, acting as a silent follower who nodded and smiled at whatever people said to her. No opinions had been allowed to drip out of any word of hers, lest she identally offend someone and cause rence trouble. Smile, be demure,ugh at jokes even if you don''t find them funny, dance with men who were too old for you¡ªshe wasn''t allowed to be a person. From her days as a debutante, she''d been a tool for her father to wield, a girl to wed to a stranger so advance his goals. Her fist clenched, followed by a breath so silent neither Pauline nor Emilia noticed. It had been a while since Cecilia had dressed up; it was always difficult now that she needed Slowking''s help to parse through colors and outfits. Supposedly, her dress was a deep sapphire blue, though to Cecilia it was just another dark grey among a sea of simr colors. The fabric hugged her form, flowing effortlessly from her waist, but it was the slit along the side that gave the dress its edge¡ªa sharp, precise cut that started just above her knee, revealing a glimpse of her non-scarred leg with every step she took. Her hair was done into a chignon, and she''d needed Pauline and Emilia''s help with her makeup,but. Cecilia had to admit, it felt exceptional to look this good after so long. It was like going back home after a long day at work. She instead focused on the music softly ying in the background¡ªshe''d been trying to find her favorite genre recently and failing¡ªssical wasfine; good, even, but not¡­ it didn''tclicklike she wanted it to. Her eyes couldn''t help but wander around, ncing at each girl her age who had fair hair. Twice, she had recognized a hostage from the Backlot raid. "Arceus, this ce is more packed than I thought it''d be." Pauline needed to raise her voice a little higher just so she was audible through the constant chatter. "Didn''t think contest folk would like ys." "They''re not at all the same, but there''s some ovep," Emilia said before cing a hair behind her ear. "Me, personally, I''ve never been that interested, but I can probably learn a thing or two tonight for next year." Cecilia was d Emilia would be getting something out of it; she was tired of being a burden on her friends and wanted toe into her own as fast as possible. "Oh! That''s Vince!" Emilia beamed and pointed at a short boy in the crowd. Cecevaguelyremembered him; they''d met in Hearthome when Emilia introduced them to her first friend in the scene. He''d been the one to make a big deal out of Grace''s burns like she was some animal on disy, but had grown from it quickly. From what she remembered, he was also the one who edited her videos as well, and they split the revenue fifty-fifty. "Hold on, I''ll be right back." Eventually, she brought him back over, and they made small talk about this and that, and so and so. Vincent Campbell had a plethora of stories about coordinator drama; he was tapped into the very core of Hearthome''s culture even more than Emilia was. Cecilia did not consider herselfabove this,she was just anxious about getting as much from the y as possible. She''d definitely go and see Fantina''s high level fights in her Gym Arena after this¡ªillusions could serve her well for sets, but the issue was that Lehmhart waspletely inexperienced in the matter and did not even have a clue of how to begin. Perhaps Spiritomb¡­ Those were ideas for the future. She ought to worry about what was in front of her before thinking about the thousandth step. Her attention was stolen by a glimpse of clear hair¡ªperhaps silver, though Cecilia figured she''d call it blonde anyway. There was a slight gradient to it, bing darker closest to its roots. It shimmered under the light, not with the warmth she''d expect but with an almost icy sharpness. The girl''s bob cut framed her face in perfect, straight lines, neat and deliberate. She had glitter for skin, fake flecks that made them look like freckles on her cheeks. Cecilia blinked as she passed by surrounded by friends and admirers. "What''s her name?" Cecilia asked. "Huh? Who?" Emilia looked up at her, slightly confused. Cecilia discreetly nudged her chin forward, and her friend''s face soured. "Ah. Temperance Porter, remember? One of the best coordinators in the region. I''ve lost to her, uh, a bunch." Her eyes never left Temperance''s body until she slipped through the crowd too far away to keep track of her. She was a little tall and slightly too shapely, but her hair color was perfect, as was the intensity in her eyes. "You okay?" Pauline asked. Emilia tilted her head. "Hmhm. What color''s her hair?" "Silver, almost blonde¡ª" Vincent was interrupted by Emilia''s re."What the hell did I do?!" "Cecilia,." Emi shook her head. "You''re better than this; don''t just go after the first girl who catches your eye because she''s like yourex." She made sure to entuate the word as much as possible. "Plus, Temperance''s never dated anyone; we don''t know if she''s gay." "Sure," Cece said. "She''s eighteen. You''re probably a little too young for her." Another, "sure." "Just¡ª" the coordinator groaned and dragged Cecilia close by the arm, or at leasttriedto. She wasn''t as physically weak as Grace, but Cecilia was a lot to move. "You''re supposed to be single, remember?" she whispered. "A whirlwind rtionship is thest thing you need right now, with Temperance or anyone else." Then, she cleared her throat and addressed the entire group. "The y''s starting soon; we should get going. Cecilia, I''m talking to you when it''s over." The ceiling arched high above, vanishing into a shadowy expanse, as if the space itself stretched endlessly. Rows of seats, uniform in their rigid arrangement, seemed to cascade down toward the stage like a sea of dark, polished wood. ording to Vincent and Emilia, the room had been repurposed for this y; it was usually used for performances. The stage stood at the room''s heart, a stark contrast to the dim surroundings, bathed in a spotlight''s artificial glow. All of a sudden, it was as if she was back in Gengar''s dream. High above, Cecilia saw private boxes from which the richest guests would observe the y¡ª Her eye twitched. Was that¡ª Crasher Wake. Volkner. Maylene. Hidden away on their heightened throne, chatting andughing as if the world below them didn''t exist. What in the world were they doing in Hearthome? Was this to present some sort of unified front? All of the Gym Leaders of Eastern Sinnoh brought together to support Hearthome, the city the worst affected by the bombs? She noticed Maylene look down at her¡­ phone, probably, and smiling. Cecilia stewed in her confusion and anger as she sat notatbut close to the front row. She could see Temperance two seats above her, slightly to the left. Both Pauline and Emilia kept shooting nces at Cecilia, which she ignored. Did that mean Grace was¡ª No. She couldn''t even fathom it. Better to chase those thoughts away and put them in the box. The dim lights turned dark, snapping Cecilia back into focus, and the y began. The thing about ys was that there was a veneer of fakeness¡ªan unshakable awareness that everything unfolding on stage was, at its core, a carefully constructed lie. No matter how skilled the actors, how convincing their voices, there was always the sense that it was just a performance. The scenery, though meticulously crafted, remained painted wood and fabric, never quite transforming into the worlds they sought to mimic. And yet¡ª Cecilia was captivated the moment the fog began to creep along the stage, curling around the imitation stones like a slow-moving sickness. Three men¡ªactors portraying Craig, Flint, and Aaron¡ªmoved cautiously through the winding, cavernous depths of Mount Cor, their every step heavy with purpose as they sought to ascend the summit and save the world. The scene felt alive, the artificial mist and painted rocks fading into the background as immersion took over, pulling her into their desperate journey. Cecilia knew this story; she also knew it was fake. They would not be fighting Regice here, but ascending Cor to help Cynthia save the world, as was the official story told to the masses. There was no doubt in her mind that the summit would not be Spear Pir either. As of now, however, the story or statement the y was trying to make was secondary to learning how to actually make thiswork. So shedrankthe knowledge afforded to her, desperate not to focus on Maylene. Cecilia paid attention to the narrator''s voice, low and foreboding as itboomedthrough the stage and made her feel like she was right there with them. Somehow, through everything, it managed to be somanding she couldn''t help but pay attention to what it was saying. A disembodied voice,manding the eyes, ears, and minds of hundreds of spectators. Her mind drifted to other elements of the y, the way each movement on stage felt deliberate, almost choreographed to match the rhythm of the narrator''s words. The actors'' faces seemed alive with fear, determination, and exhaustion as if they were as bound by the voice as she was. Had she ever sounded this imposing without Azelf''s gift? Cecilia knew the answer to that already. She might need to get herself a thesaurus. Each part of the y was crafted to make the actors shine; theentireproduction existed solely to elevate their presence. Not only did simplicity of the set drew focus to them, letting every gesture and expression be the center of attention, but Cecilia noticed other technical aspects as well. The lighting, the sound, the way the music lowered in volume right in sync with every flurry of voice lines without feeling out of ce. It was then, Cecilia understood, that a y was industry. Each part¡ªevery actor, prop, and beam of light¡ªwas like a cog in a vast, intricate machine. If one piece faltered, the entire system could grind to a halt and take the audience out of the ypletely. It was not the turning of pages in a book where the mind could easily fill in the missing gaps. "I get it," she whispered to herself. Besides her needing to learn public speaking, her Pokemon needed to shine through carefully built sets she would create, sets that would be thematically relevant and also help her win the battle. Slowking knew how to make thingsst post-mortem¡ªpost-knockoutor after he was recalled.She had it; Cecilia had been right. Besides everything else she needed to work on, besides the lessons, stories and logistics, the theme would henceforth be this: Her entire team needed moves built tost that each Pokemon would be able to make use of to shine ever brighter. ¡ª Once the first wall fell, the breakthrough was so immediate she''d instantly started to take mental notes of everything she would transcribe in her diary. Not only was she learning a lot, but Cecilia had found she enjoyed ys a great deal. One might say she might even love them. The certain corniness that they fully embraced was just excellent and a taste she''d instantly acquired. This was a short y, and one with no intermission, but she decided to use a lull in the moment¡ªthe only fight scene she''d seen so far against a few Gctic members guarding the way to the summit, using real Pokemon actors who in most cases were not their fully evolved forms¡ªto run off toward the lobby and write her ideas down. Better that then forget half of them by the time the y was over; she wouldn''t be able to forgive herself in such a case. Cecilia excused herself, whispering to her friends that she was going to the bathroom before she left. As soon as she was under the lobby''s bright lights, she began to write notes in a frenzy. She was two pages in when she noticed Temperance Porter making her way through the lobby. Alone. The silver-haired coordinator shot her a single nce before heading toward the bathrooms. Cecilia frowned. It was not an inviting kind of stare but more of apetitor''s. But why? Cecilia was no coordinator, and they''d never actually seen each other before today. She was not nervous. Even if she was more ''conventionally'' attractive to the masses, Temperance was no Grace, and only Grace could make her heart trepidate like an army on the march. Cecilia hummed and crossed her arms under her chest. What did she have to lose, anyway? Cecilia strode into the opulent bathroom with quiet confidence, the marble smooth beneath her heels. The space was pristine but impersonal, the kind of luxury found in high-end hotels. Everything was shining so much that it might as well have all been worthless. Temperance was there, waiting for her with a curious expression, a finger twirling in her hair. Her eyes were lightly colored. "You interest me," she dered with unabashed confidence. Her voice was too low, too sultry. Her voice far too self-assured. It shattered the illusion for a moment, but that was fine. Again, she was no Grace. Cecilia blinked, turning to look at one of the spotless mirrors. There, she met her own nk eyes and her scarred visage. "Is that so?" she said, feigning curiosity. "Perhaps you could exin further." "I like people like you. People likeus, who can just capture a room the moment they walk in it," Temperance said. Cecilia thought her to be wrong; the only reason the coordinator had noticed her was because she looked like a ghost. Temperance''s fingers snapped. "I saw you out of the corner of my eyes, and you immediately caught my attention. Do you know how rare that is?" She reminded Cecilia of how Vincent had treated Grace at first. Cecilia sighed, and Temperance faltered. As if she hadn''t expected her reaction. As if she could get anyone eating from the palm of her hand with nothing but a few words equivating to ''you interest me; be part of my entourage.'' "Exin." Cecilia''s voice boomed. The demand matched Temperance''s own confidence; it was a challenge of the authority she thought she might have. "Now." "I thought the eyes were contacts at first." Her breaths were slightly quick. Anxiety, maybe? Probably frustration, much to Cecilia''s disappointment. "But they look far too real. You tower over the crowd, and you look like you belong in an art museum, Cecilia." Nost name. That earned her some points. "You know about me?" she asked. Temperanceughed dryly, having befortable again. "I know you''re Emilia Lussier''s friend, and we haven''t talked much, but she has talent and is a bit of a rising star, soobviouslyI''d keep track of the people around her; I know that your face is practically made of stone and that few things makes it react. I''d like to be one of those things." She took a few steps toward Cecilia. "I know that you caught my attention when I walked in." Had she? Cecilia hadn''t noticed the coordinator even stop. "I know that you looked at me pass you by. I know that you''re into women and that you had a girlfriend, ording to one of my friends." Temperance was sufficiently close to touch her now. Her hand went up to graze Cecilia''s cheek, but the Unovan grabbed her by the wrist when it was less than an inch away from her. She looked at Temperance''s painted nails glitter in the light and squeezed a little tighter than she needed to until her would-be seductress somehow smiled and winced at the same time. "You''re mistaken," Cecilia said. "I''ve no interest in you." "You followed me here." "Because you vaguely remind me of someone." For a moment, Cecilia thought she''d ask who. She almost wanted her to ask who. Instead, Temperance''s lips curved into a grin, sharp and knowing, with just the faintest touch of smug satisfaction as she stared up at her. Cecilia threw her wrist away, and she shook it. "That''ll be that, then," the Unovan said. Her face fell. Did she think Cecilia would take the bait? "Take my number, at least," she said, almost begging. Cecilia considered asking what color were her eyes, but it was better not to. To pretend. Cecilia tilted her head just a little too far. "Maybe if you ask nicely and keep your hair that way the next time you find me, I''ll give it to you." "The next time," she repeated, as if chewing on the thought. "And when would that be? After the y during the fundraiser?" Cecilia didn''t answer; she was already gone, humming as her fingers traced her diary. Shehadwantedto, it''s just¡ªI didn''t want to step on your toes. And it''sTemperancein there." She leaned to the side and watched to see if her colleague would walk out of the bathroom any time soon. After all of this, and despite going up against Temperance a few times in contests, Emilia could still be a nervous fan. "What even happened?" "Nothing that important. I rejected her¡ª" Emilia cut her off, eyes and mouth widening in a mix of surprise and horror. "Shecame onto you?!" "Somewhat, yes. I did leave the door open to something more should she want it." Her friend pinched the bridge of her nose, and her foot tapped the ground. "Look, Cece. I''m sorry, okay? I didn''t know Maylene would be here tonight." "It has nothing to do with her." "It haseverythingto do with her. You saw her, you got jealous, and now you want to prove¡­ like, you want to prove that you can be wanted by going after someothergirl. Bonus points if she vaguely has some qualities resembling Grace!" Cecilia stayed quiet. "I get that it''s tough, but it''s been like a week. Give it time; I promise it''ll get easier. You can''t lean on whatever this is going to be," she vaguely pointed toward Temperance, who was finally walking out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened, "to make it through, or you''re just falling into the same vices." "Are you quite done?" Cecilia asked. "I told you it wasn''t going to lead into anything; we were just ying some messed up game of cat and mouse. I''d like to get back to the y." "You''re still starting therapy next week, right?" "I am." "Good. God, what am I going to do with you." Emilia sighed. "Nowe on, you''re missing Fantina as Commander Jupiter." Cecilia side-hugged her friend, but out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Temperance looking at her as she walked back into the auditorium. Maybe if she squinted and kept pretending, Cecilia would be able to feel something.
Chapter 333 Chapter 333
CHAPTER 333 Cecilia got Temperance''s number the moment she''d been allowed to leave the party. Her pursuer had needed to run and nearly beg for it, hissing in hushed whispers to not humiliate herself in public that she''ddyeher hair blondeand not silver so she could get Cecilia to bite. The Unovan had just smiled and nodded, appreciating thefeelingit gave her for the first time that night. She didn''t care much for Temperance, but as Emilia had warned, it felt good being desired to the point that she nearly had to break her calm and collected public persona to get her. So had Cecilia heeded Emilia''s warnings and decided to cut whatever this was going to be with Temperance? No, not exactly. What did it mean, to be at the top of society? It meant constant, endless parties and meet-and-greets, where your presence was amodity and your absence a scandal. The weight of every conversation bore the pressure of silent judgments, each smile a calcted maneuver, eachugh a transaction. To climb higher meant more eyes watching, more expectations to fulfill, and less room for missteps. It was a life where leisure became work, and every rtionship was a performance staged for an audience. Perhaps she was letting her trauma shine through a little bit. This was, after all, a simple gathering in Temperance''s Hearthome penthouse filled with other coordinators and whatever other jobs they held who were part of her retinue that followed her around constantly. From one look at them, learning each name and face that she would most likely forgete morning, Cecilia could tell these people were actually close friends who couldmostlybe themselves around each other. It was just thatshewas new, and since they allpeted for Temperance''s favor, Cecilia was a threat. Someone their idol had met just a day ago and who was already getting invited to these exclusive gatherings they''d worked for months or even years to get into. Cecilia crossed her legs on the velvet couch and sipped on her Mimosa. There were around twenty people here, give or take¡ªTemperance''s closest confidants, some of whom had their Pokemon out and about. There was a Vivillon chatting with a Lilligant under the sun''s rays on the balcony, a Squawkabilly perched on a chandelier overhead, a reon lounging on a beanbag with Temperance''s Dragonair snuggled against it for warmth. On, and on, but, that wasn''t what she was looking at most of the time. Cecilia observed theblondenotto knit together. Her body was tense; it had been a while since Cecilia had seen her off bnce. "Have you assigned me a time limit?" Cecilia discreetly whispered back, her mouth hidden behind her ss as she stared at her. The sweetness or the orange juice and acidity of the champagne mixed together perfectly. "No, it''s just that¡ªLegendaries, this is making want to tear my hair out." She''d just been about to do it before remembering that it would have humiliated her and wasted an hour of work. Emilia took a deep breath and eyed Cecilia''s drink; she had vowed not to imbibe any alcohol should ''things go south.'' "You know, when I was first starting out, being here¡­ it was my dream," she whispered and nced around the penthouse. The windows were sorge they might as well have been the entire wall. "And now it''s just¡ªit''s just this." Temperance had needed little convincing to let Emilia swing by. It had just been a matter of calling her, telling her to let her in or she wouldn''t show up, and then ignoring her until she''d relented. "Enjoy yourself," Cecilia said. "Isn''t this an opportune moment to further your career?" When Emilia''s face soured, Cecilia''s smile ttened. "I suppose you''vee here for me, not for them. Sorry." The apology helped her find her usual calm again. "I just don''t want to see you get hurt again, Cece." She leaned forward, grabbing a handful of delicate hors d''oeuvres from a nearby tter, the tiny pastries crumbling slightly between her fingers as she spoke. "But at the same time¡ªI don''t want to hold you on a leash, because you''ve been on one your entire life. So it''s tough." "No matter what happens with her," Cecilia nced at Temperance again, "I wouldn''t get hurt. I don''t actually care about her." "But you see how that''s bad too, right? Using her?" Emilia munched on her snacks, then swallowed before continuing. "Don''t you want to¡­ I don''t know,notget tangled up in this crap?" "She''s using me as well; she went after me because I look unique and she enjoys looking at me. It''s mutual." "Meh. It always starts with no strings or feelings attached, and then what? I''m pretty sure she''s into you anyway; she''s been staring daggers at you. A mix of daggers andwanting. You aren''t making any friends here." "Who cares?" She stopped herself. "No, not who cares. I just don''t wantthesepeople to be my friends. There''s nothing wrong with them; I simply didn''te here to meet new people. Here, look at this." Between the idle chatter of the party, Cecilia waited for Temperance to look at her again before she sipped on her ss and wordlessly beckoned her with a single finger, the simple motion somehow cutting through the countless conversations she was a part of. The coordinator''s eyes darted around her friends for a moment, as if she was stuck between a rock and a hard ce, and she then excused herself. Cecilia pursed her lips. "Are youreallydoing this?" Emilia sighed. "I don''t know much about her," Cecilia said. "This is a party, isn''t it? I ought to ask her about herself." Temperance''s hair was a little darker today, looking nearly identical to Grace''s shade to Cecilia''s eyes. She''de without the glitter on her cheeks that looked like freckles, as if to challenge Cece and show her that she wouldn''t fold just because she''d asked a little forcefully, but the Unovan wasn''t bothered. There was time. She''d asked that same boy to follow her¡ªRonaldo, Emilia whispered in Cece''s ear. A Paldean from a minor house who had graduated from the Mesagoza Academy recently. Who was desperate to put a ring on Temperance and to bring her back to his country. The Squawkabilly was his¡ªhe fancied himself a bit of a flying type expert. It was amon tactic, to bring an ally with you whenever you were about to enter a conversation outnumbered in one of these settings. Cecilia was d she had Emi to remember everything about these people. Cecilia tried giving him a perfectly innocent smile when she stood up and looked down at him. She could sense his Squawkabilly''s sharp re from above like needles against her forehead. Her fake smiles most likely still needed practice. "Emilia Lussier," Ronaldo respectfully said, nodding at her. "And¡­ pardon me, I didn''t quite catch your name?" "Cecilia." His eye twitched. "Cecilia¡­?" "Cecilia," she said again. "No need for anything else. Temperance, I was wondering if we could have a chat? You invited me here after all; it would be considerate for you to check oneveryguest." Cecilia paused. "Unless you were expecting me toe after you?" "I was just getting to you. You aren''t the center of the world, Cecilia," Temperance retorted¡ªa clear effort to hurt her that failed as much as a pebble thrown by a child would seed in destroying a building. "I can make time for you now. Should we sit?" "Of course." Cecilia smiled and paused, a hand slowly sliding over her own thigh. "send him back; you don''t need a babysitter." Both Emilia and Ronaldo exchanged wide-eyed nces, their brows lifting in unison as their mouths parted slightly. Temperance linked her arm with the Paldean''s and stuck closer to him. "And why would I do that?" she asked. Cecilia sipped on her ss and ced it back on the coffee table. "Then don''t. I''m leaving. Let''s go, Emi." Temperance thought it was a bluff at first, but when Cecilia walked out the door, she called out behind her.Loudly. The sound cut through the idle discussion of the penthouse, and over twenty pairs of eyes were stuck to Temperance like moths drawn to a me. More if you counted the Pokemon. The desperation was like a drug to Cecilia, but she didn''t even nce back. She''d just been about to walk out with Emilia¡ªwho at this point looked extremely displeased¡ªwhen Temperance grabbed her wrist from behind. Like always, she blinked first. Cecilia looked down at her flushed face, her skin tingling with glee. "Fine," Temperance said. "Let''s talk, but¡ªyou have to send her away too." Temperance looked at Emi. "Excuse me?"Emilia balked. "It''s one for one. It''d be an equal exchange¡ª" Equal exchange. Equal exchange. Cecilia''s heart throbbed as the words percted in the confines of her skull, being hers and hers alone to enjoy. Temperance and Emilia kept arguing in hushed tones, but she was certain the former had no idea the torrent of endorphins and warmth she''d just unleashed in Cecilia''s system. The fact that it was unintentional just made itso much better. But¡ª "No. Emilia stays." It''d be best not to get carried away and let Temperance getleverage, especially when she already had a favor to ask. Emilia exhaled a huge sigh of relief, putting a hand above her heart while Temperance stewed in her own ipetence, fists clenched besides her legs. She knew sheshouldhave said no; she knew there was nogoodreason to entertain this farce beyond her own desire, but Cecilia looked down at her and grazed one of her clenched hands with a lingering finger, and thest thread of self-restraint within Temperance copsed like a fading star, the veryst embers smothered by a single touch. Cecilia gave her a triumphant smile, dering her victory, and that was the end of that. Few came to ''rescue'' Temperance as they made their way back inside; all were rebuked by the woman herself. So back they were, on the couches that now seemed so much morefortable, with Temperance''s Dragonair shooting her worried looks from its beanbag, tightening around the reon who grumbled ufortably. "So," Cece began, "thank you again for inviting me here, Temperance. It''s been quite the party." She rolled her eyes. "This? A party? It''s just where me and my friends hang out." Speaking of her friends, Temperance couldn''t help but make herself small at their piercing gazes. They''d have many questions for her after this, Cecilia was sure. "It''s not a big deal." Emilia''s eye twitched. "I mean¡ªit is. It''s the first time you invite someone you''ve barely met." "Sometimes, there''s just a spark, don''t you think, Emilia?" Temperancestatedmore than asked. "That''s what I do wonder about," her fellow coordinator said, crossing her arms. "Why Cece and not¡­ I don''t know, anyone else at that y?" Emi shot Cecilia and apologetic look, but the Unovan knew she hadn''t meant it in an insulting way. She was simply invested in the answer, just as Cecilia was, despite knowingpartsof it. Temperance scoffed. "Have youseenher?" "I have eyes," Emilia said. "You know plenty of attractive people." "Now you''re just being obtuse; youseehow unique she is. How she strikes importance into your heart the moment you set your eyes on her." Temperance made a mild gesture Cecilia''s way. "Either way,looksare only part of it. It''s how she interacts with me that''s interesting." "Ah. I get it." Then, she shook her head. "I mean, I don''tget it¡ªbut I understand what you mean." Temperance nodded, then leaned forward a little further that was needed. Cecilia didn''t give her the nce she no doubt wanted. "When do you think thest time someone¡­ disagreed with me was among my friend group?" she whispered, eyes yearning."Talked back to me?It''s been like two years!" "That''s because if¡ªyou put so much pressure on them to beperfect; I''ve heard of it! You''veemunicatedsomeone from your group for not being up to your standards. You cultivate that culture!" Emilia countered. "Hm, yes, that interview you had with Yuki and uploaded wasverycute," Temperance said, though Cecilia knew she meant it in a demeaning way, "I hear you''re still friends." Cecilia was a little out of her depth here¡ªthere was more history between these two that met the eye. Temperance seemed to¡­ not be threatened by Emilia, but perhaps to think of her as a Carvanha nipping at her heels in hopes to see her fall. What Cecilia knew, however, was that Emi was and had always been a massive fan of Temperance. Sure, she''d stopped idolizing her at this wless, cold, and calcting goddess of performances, but she still watched all of her content religiously and routinely gushed about her skills as a coordinator. "Weare. But anyway¡ªyou could have more of what you want if you weren''t such a social tyrant," Emi said. "If there''s no risk in pining for me, then how will I know you''re worth a damn?" She shrugged with a smirk before ncing toward her friend. "Take Ronaldo, for example. He''s a handsome man. Good family even if he lies about their importance in the grand scheme of Paldea''s politics. He''s a littledry, but there''s a funny quality to that. There''s a cute, shy side to him because he has next to zero experience with women and he has topushhimself to even bring himself touch me, and seeing him brave that fear is endearing. I could see myself dating him for¡­ I don''t know, a month max, maybe." Emilia nodded along, though Cecilia couldn''t see the appeal of a man at all. Or any other girl who wasn''t Grace, for that matter. "He''s too¡­ vani for you, I guess." Temperance snapped her fingers. "And it''s not really his fault. I''ve just had too many Ronaldos in my life. I got bored of them when I was fifteen." "I thought you never dated," Cecilia interjected. "I''m good at secrets, and the group''s tightly-knit, so it never got out beyond rumors. Dear Yuki was a bit of an exception¡ªnot that I actually dated her. I knew she had a crush on me, and she got a little pissed off when I didn''t reciprocate," Temperance said, staring daggers at Emi. She tood her ground regardless. "So that brings me to you, Cecilia." The Unovan didn''t react, instead continuing to stare into Temperance''s eyes. "Again, beyond how unique you are, you look at me like I''m¡­ worthless." Her face flushed. "You don''t even look at me, you lookpast me, and that makes me want to matter to you." "I barely know you," Cecilia said, slightly confused. "See?!"Temperance shivered in her seat, but her face nked once she realized how loud she''d been. The coordinator turned toward one of her friends and snapped her fingers. "Um. Sandra, a drink for the three of us, if you would?" Emilia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Cecilia, she''s basically asked you to date her." "I know." "So?" "I have something to ask you, Temperance," Cecilia did not sidestep the topic as much as she leaped across it. "I''ve been trying to develop a new battling style recently. One mixed with ys and such¡­" she went on to exin the blueprint and framework of what she thought the endgame of her new style would be like, all of which was new to Emilia as well. "Here is the thing, though. The Conference is in less than a month. On my own, I won''t be able to develop it enough to perform." The sheer glee in Temperance''s eyes told her she''d made a mistake¡ªshe had given her leverage, realleverage, for the first time since they''d met. "And what does that have to do with me?" the blonde smugly asked as her friend brought three more mimosas for them to sip on. "Do you, maybe, have something to ask?" Cecilia considered saying no. Telling her that perhaps she''d just wanted her input on the idea and nothing else, but if she saidnoand Temperance didn''t blink this time, then she''dhavetoe crawling back to her. Who else with as much experience in contests and who was a coordinator of her level could Cecilia ever get ess to? Uneptable. "I need you to help my Pokemon andItrain. There''s ovep in ys and contests, so I believe you''d finally be of use to me for something other than looking like my ex-girlfriend." The truth was, Temperance didn''t really look like Grace at all beyond the hair and maybe the shape of her face, but the words were effective enough to make Temperance''s fingers tremble around her slender ss. "Cece¡­" Emilia muttered. "That''s a crazy thing to say¡ª" "No, no, it''s fine," Temperance said through a trembling breath. "I''d be willing to ept¡ªI can clear my schedule tomorrow, even. It''s not like I have a Grand Festival to prepare for." Unlike the Conference, that tournament was canceled and would only be back the following year. "But you forget yourself, Cecilia. Youneedme. Who else are you going to ask?" "Uh, me?" Emilia said. Temperanceughed¡ªa hearty chortle that had her nearly doubling over. "With all due respect, Emilia, you do not hold acandleto what I can impart on Cecilia. In fact, yes, I believe you would only hold her¡ªholdusback. I think this needs to be a one-on-one lesson. The distractions you would bring are unnecessary." "Excuse me?" "And think about it¡ªyou''re a rising star. I''m not about to give you all of my tricks." Temperance shrugged. "I''m sorry, but it would be better if it was just us." The triumphant grin she sported contradicted her apology. "You cane pick her up when I''m done with her, though¡ª" Emilia rose from her seat, face red with anger. "Cecilia. We should go." A moment stretched into a second, then a few, thenfiveuntil Emi''s eyes met Cecilia''s, and realization dawned on her. "Oh." The Unovan felt her friend''s pain, and it made her stomach knot. "I''m sorry, Emi; I need this." A stare could convey as much as a thousand words. There was mistrust¡ªan idea that sheneededto be there, or Cecilia would slip and fall into Temperance''s arms andtch herself onto her. Pain at the mild betrayal was secondary, but it was there. For a moment, Cecilia thought she''d storm out and leave, and she was pretty sure Emi herself thought she''d do it, with the way she peeked at the door like it alone would bring her liberation, but she sat back down and closed her eyes, as if to soothe herself back to a stable calm while Temperance''s triumphant smile and the high of victory faded. "I get it," Emilia grumbled. "It''s whatever. Just don''te crying if you ever get hurt." Honestly¡ª Partof Cecilia wouldn''t have been against getting hurt again. At least it meant she would have moved on sufficiently enough to feelsomething. ¡ª When you were rich, truly, extravagantly rich, you couldmission a secret underground arena built just for yourself with a dedicated man on staff to maintain it when it was used. There was a lot of money to be made in the coordinator business in Sinnoh. Not only did they have ess to the same sponsors trainers had, but money prizes for contests were farrger and they happened far more frequently than the, at most, eight gym badges you won in a year as a trainer. Combine that with Temperance being a massive content creator who hadunched a beauty productpanyst year for both people and Pokemon that her fans had swarmed toward, and it was fair to say that she had the kind of opulence that was rare in this country. She wasn''t as rich as Louis'' family had been, for example, or Emilia''s still was, but she did have money to throw around while still being able to live in luxury. Of course, in Unova, she''d be a minuscule fish in a very big pond. They didn''t linger in small talk much¡ªnot that Temperance didn''t try to pry about Cecilia''s life. To keep her under her thumb, Cecilia needed a carrot and a stick. The carrot, well, was Cecilia herself, or at least the idea of finally obtaining her before she went and fled to Unova. When Emilia had brought up that Cece would be leaving yesterday near the end of the party, Temperance had said she wouldn''t let a littledistancestop her and that airnes existed for a reason. She''d stopped when Cecilia had red at her for daring to be that forward and hadn''t brought up the idea again. Cecilia bet she was still letting it smolder within her. The stick? It was actions such as these. The threat that one day, she would leave and nevere back, leaving her forever wondering what could have been. "So, Cecilia." While the Unovan hade dressed casually, Temperance had againe wearing expensive and revealing clothes that failed to garner any attention. "I genuinely believe your y idea is good, even if there are a few kinks to sort out. I had never heard of a trainer actually putting that amount of effort in their battles beyond Fantina! So lo and behold, I went and took a look at your Gym Battlesst night to see if there was a foundation we could work on." Her face twisted in sheer horror and disappointment, and she gestured at Cecilia as if she wanted to grab her and shake her. "What is wrong with you?!" "What? I know it''s not my best work, but it got the job done for a while," she deadpanned. "Not your best work? Even if we count thest two which hadsomethings of note, there was no individuality to anything you did!" Cecilia wanted to smile at thatint. If only she knew. It was true that she had just¡­ mimicked Grace rather than strive to find her own path against both Byron and in her second attempt against Wake. "But you had a good idea with the y thing, so it''s still salvageable. Thank God you asked for help before it was toote; you''d be useless without me." "You wish," Cecilia said. "So tell me." "Er, first, the good. Your Talonme and your Slowking have potential. Your Golurk, a little less so, but it''s still there. The rest of your team would have been lost causes without us crossing paths." Temperance snapped her finger. "The bad? Literally everything else." Ceciliaughed, eliciting a surprised smile from Temperance. "I know right?" she chuckled. "The way you battle feels like you''re trying to¡­ convince yourself that you are more than you are. It feels like looking at someone who''s desperate, yet who''s hidden it behind big explosions so she can still feel big and strong." "There''s truth in that. I was dealing with a lot of issues." "Obviously. Do you take me for some kind of amateur? Psht." Temperance raised her already-short skirt, revealing five shrunken Pokeballs attached to a strap around her bare thigh. "Made you look," she boasted in a sing-song voice. Cecilia''s nose wrinkled. "What a petty trick." "There''s more of that where that came from." She winked before tapping her Pokeballs. "Aw, you stopped looking already." "Behave and I might stay for a few hours after this," Cecilia said. Her eyes shone with desperation."Really?Okay¡ªbefore we start talking about your Pokemon, let''s talk aboutyou. You said you want to make astatementabout yourself through these fights, battle ording to your mood, and so on and so forth, and that''sgood. Battles are the ultimate form of self-expression for trainers, and there''sso muchwasted potential in yourmunity that it pisses me off." She sniffed haughtily. "If you battle in a boring way, I''ll think that you''re boring in turn. The same goes for coordinators." And her standards were high enough for people to be desperate to prove themselves to join her group despite failing time and time again. "At least you''re attempting something better now. You''re lucky you caught my heart before I saw your battles, or I never would have given you the time of way," she added. "I suppose I am," Ceciliahadto admit. "But! Here''s the deal about what you want to do. It''sreallyfuckingplicated and convoluted. I mean, the amount of time you''d need to change and reset orseverelychange the field to make it work is crazy, but that''s where your caveman urge to make your Pokemon as strong as possiblees in handy. It makes it easier to rip things apart." She hummed in contemtion for a second. "Turning your orders into some fancy narration type of thing is interesting, but battles arefast. You can easily get lost in the weeds of the statement you''re trying to make while your Pokemon are getting rolled. As for your voice, I can teach you how to make it a tool. It''s all about practicing with pitch and yourrynx. The Conference is on the fifth¡­ it''s going to be tight; you''re lucky you can train with me. If you want to be ready, we''ll have to see each other every day to train." "That is an eptable arrangement, even if I''d appreciate it if you didn''t look this happy." Temperance rolled her eyes, smile unfading. "What''s up with you? I mean I know about your ex, but you''ve got a beautiful catch throwing herself at you and you keep ducking. I''ve never been with another woman before, you know? You should just give up on her and indulge." She was pushing her advantage too much; Cecilia needed to knock her down a peg. A single step was all it took to close the distance, and Temperance froze like a Deerling caught in headlights. Cecilia''s gaze lingered, intense and unwavering, as she leaned in just close enough for her breath to ghost over Temperance''s ear. "Careful," she murmured, her voice low, teasing, dripping with power. "We both know you have leverage, but you wouldn''t want to forget who''s really in control, would you?" Temperance''s breath hitched with a choking sound, and for a fleeting moment, the air between them crackled with an unspoken tension¡ªhalf challenge, half surrender. "You''re certainly helpful, but I do notneed you. I could leave and go back to Emilia, and I''m sure I''d be able to at least hold my own in groups. It wouldn''t be ideal, but I''ll be going to Unova hated by half the nation already, good performance at the Conference or not." It was mostly a lie, but it worked. A meek, miserable nod was her only reply. Honestly, she was so fucking easy. "Wear fake freckles tomorrow," Cecilia ordered. She pushed her back a little harder than she needed to, and Temperance wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "Hmhm." "Come on now, get your thoughts back in order; we shouldn''t keep wasting time with these worthless games." "I was¡ªI was going to ask if there was a Pokemon you wanted to work with first." She cleared her throat, as if to reset her own tone. More confidently, she continued, "your Pokemon need to have tools to make themselves shine, and only Talonme even has aninklingof that so far." "Hydreigon," she said immediately. "Hm. A tough but fair choice. Probably the hardest one you could have made, really. I thought you''d ease into it. Err¡­ your Hydreigon is¡­tamed, right?" "Hm?" "I don''t have to watch for danger?" Ha. Hahahaha!Cecilia''sughter burst out of her like an unstoppable wave, her body doubling over as she clutched her convulsing stomach. Tears welled in her eyes as eachugh became more breathless, more wild, spilling out in gasps between uncontroble fits. Really?One of the best coordinators in the region, scared of Zolst? "It''s not funny!" Temperance yelled. "Oh, Legendaries." She exhaled, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. "I haven''tughed like that inmonths. That was such an unexpected and pathetic thing for you to say." Her eyes widened. "Pathe¡ªNot everyone can be a fuckingbrutelike you. Your Hydreigon looks like some wild uncontroble Pokemon every time he fights." "The truth is, Ihavehad issues with him recently; he tried to mimic killing me a few times." Temperancelookedlike she paled¡ªit was difficult to tell. "But the worst is behind us. He might scare you if you annoy him, but¡ª" "I think we should stick to my Dragonair today, then," she cut in, shuffling uneasily at the edge of the arena. She grabbed her Pokeball and sped it tightly. "I''ve seen how you use Dragon TE, though it''s crude at best. You cloak your Hydreigon in it to weaken attacks before they hit him, and that makes its already tough hide nearly impossible to prate unless he''s hit by something that can see through the fakeness, like fairy or dragon,oran opponent''s firepower outsses yours." Cecilia nodded; she''d already been certain of that second part, though she''d never tested it out exactly. "Every type of energy interacts within the same system, which is why you can mix and match them. Basically, you''re puffing up your chests and saying ''you can''t hit me!'' and it works." "It''s fake. A trick." "It''sbullshit," Temperance snorted. "It makes you realize that the world''s a whole lot morebullshitstrung together with a bunch of tape than anything else, but it lets youtoywith it as well, which. Is. Fucking. Incredible.That''swhy I''m a coordinator.That''swhat gets me up in the mornings." Cecilia couldn''t help but see shes of Grace in that passionate speech, butnowshe knew she was just seeing things. Anyone would sound excited at the prospect of telling someone about their passion. She bitterly sucked in air through her teeth. "I wish I knew what got me up in the mornings." Temperance''s eyes fluttered at the brief moment of weakness afforded to her, and then grinned, her face sharpened by ambition. "With a little bit of luck, this''ll be it. That''s what living means. You find what''s your fire in life, your one me, and youshove your handin it. You grab onto its very essense, and never let go even if it burns. Everything else cer. At least that''s how I did it." It looked like she wanted to say something else. Like she wanted to ask another question, but she didn''t. "Anyway, I''ll start for now. This is a little trick i learned in my first year, and it''sthebasis of everything Dragonair does, so keep your eyes peeled." With the Pokeball she''d been holding, she released Dragonair onto the t, rocky field. The blue-scaled wyrmzily stared around itself and then red at Temperance, eyes lit with none of the gentleness its species were known for. "I know we trained earlier today already," she said. "But this is for¡­ well, this is Cecilia, actually. A new friend I made recently that I want to date." Dragonair rolled its eyes while letting out a judgy whine. "Yes.Another. But this one''s different; I swear she''s going tost for more than a month if I get her!" "Could you not talk about me like some prized item?" Cecilia sighed. "My bad. Things can get out of hand between us two; you''ll have to forgive us. Anyway, ''Nair, can you give us your little attention-grabbing trick? I''ll let you have a sip of ginter." Dragonair''s eye twitched, and it instantly took to the air without anotherint. His flight was one of reverence and awe-inspiring silence, almost reminiscent of Cynthia''s Togekiss. It made Cecilia''s trainer heart warm to know that even Coordinators looked to her for inspiration. "Atta'' girl," Temperance whispered to her Dragonair. "Focus, Cecilia." "I am." The reply came quiet and breathless. Her eyes were glued to the hovering dragon, her body elongated to its maximum length as she fluttered the wings on her head. They took an eerie blue light that Cecilia couldn''thelpbut look at. One second, the air above her was still and lit only by the bright ceiling lights. The next, it erupted into a pulse of draconic energy. Light bled from Dragonair''s form in sharp shes, weaving through the air in smooth, hypnotic arcs, illuminating the space like a living storm that crackled with a singing roar. Cecilia wanted to sear the image into her mind, to imprint it upon her eyes so she would only be able to see Dragonair when she closed her eyes¡ªit was nearlyhypnotic, and yet they were just that. Lights. For thirty seconds, they spun, stretched androaredaround the room, carrying with it the smell of scorched earth. "Show off." Temperance''s voice was so quiet besides Cecilia that she nearly missed it. "They look pretty, but that''s just draconic energy that she made hers by arranging in pleasing configurations. It kind of looked like aurora borealis, didn''t it?" "It did," Cecilia muttered, though she couldn''t see the color. "It was beautiful. Genuinely." "It doesn''t have to look this pretty with yours¡ªthat took me at least a year and a half to perfect. It''s not like you''re going to have judges hounding you if it looks like the sky''s uncontrobly on fire." "I would like it to be on fire," Cecilia said, "but I would also like it to be as pretty as yours one day." Temperance drew a sharp breath. "Thanks. Uh, anyway, this is just a basic trick. You said you wanted these attacks tost, right? First we gotta teach your Hydreigon how to let that energy linger in the air even when it''s back in its ball¡ª" "Then you have to teach us how to make it get everyone''s attention." "Hmhm. Which TE are your Pokemon most familiar with?" Temperance asked. Cecilia had the answer tosomeof these, like ghost with Lehmhart but others were a tossup. Talonme, for example, was just as good with fire as she was with flying. "So long as there''s no fairy in there, you mix those to dragon so they can move it around, and then you''ve got six Pokemon the audiencecan''t help but look at. Of course, it''s easier said than done¡ªdragon energy''s tough to work with, even if some TEs have an easier time. Each Pokemon has to have the right mixture, because what x might be able to use, y might not, but you alsocan''tdilute the dragon TE too much, or you''ve got useless energy soup on your hands. It''s also tougher when you have six Pokemon to worry about at all times withswitchesinstead of one or two for the entire thing, but figuring that out is your job, not mine." "I''ll manage," she dered for herself. Shehad to. "Now, Dragonair. Show that to Cecilia one more time will you?" ¡ª Cecilia hadn''t nned to stay with Temperance this long, but training had runte, and now she was back at her spacious penthouse. Seeing it empty in the evening was night and day whenpared to the party yesterday. The Unovan herself had never trained as intensely as she had today, never pondered the way type energy worked as coordinators often did. Temperance was a good, but ruthless teacher¡ªshe was relentless in quizzing Cecilia in the mixing and matching of different energies and working backwards withhowexactly she thought Dragonair had made a certain move. She was reminded of her many tutors back in Unova, which she didn''t know how exactly to feel about. "I''m going to take you to see more ys, since one isn''t enough for the kind of show you want to put on," Temperance said, bringing some expensive bottle of wine back in the living room with two sses. She poured a few drops of the red in one of the sses. "Taste." Cecilia spun the ss around and inhaled the rich, fruity smell before taking a sip. "It''s good. Though I''ve never been one to fuss over wine." "Well it cost a fortune, so it better be." Temperance smirked, and poured them two sses. "I''ve booked another y in the city in two days¡ªone with a lot of scenes I think will be of help to you because they use Pokemon for it instead of artificial, human techniques. Of course, what you want to do is orders of magnitude more than that, but it''s a start." "How many tickets?" Cecilia asked. "Two." Ah. She was excluding Emilia again. "Fair enough. I''ll have to tell her about it, then. Thank you for the help¡ªgenuinely. It''ll make a distant project into a reality." Her teacher sat down a little too close for Cecilia''s tastes, but a simple re shooed her away. Temperance bit her lip. "Uh, anyway. If we''re spending time togethernotin secret like my past partners, it''s going to trend online. I don''t want to brag, but I''m one of the most famous people in the country." "I know that already?" "Pfft. You never know with you trainers. You wouldn''t know the amount of snotty kids who challenge me just because I have a Dragonair." "We would do that," Cecilia acquiesed with a smile. "But it¡­ doesn''t matter. Rumors, gossip, whatever it brings. I don''t care." "Hm. You obviously do care; look at your face." Cecilia hadn''t realized she''d been grimacing at the prospect. She hid her face behind her wine ss and took another sip. "It doesn''t matter. We aren''t together anymore." "I''ve seen plenty of people who struggle to get over their ex," Temperance said. "And every time they say it doesn''t matter, it does. Not that it bothers me, I mean, I''m going along with it." She pointed at her blonde hair. "Believe it or not, but I''m not just good at talking; I''m good at listening too. We can talk about it if you want." "Careful," Cecilia muttered. "Don''t push your luck." "I saidifyou want. No need to make murder eyes at me." Temperance crossed her legs and downed her ss inone go. So little self-restraint. "That hits the spot. I mean, I did look into it and read the statement you put out, but now that I saw how in love you still are with her, it reeks of PR. Sounds to me like she¡ª" "Stop." "¡ªleft you, maybe? And you loved her still, but she didn''t want to be with you. I mean, there are rumors of Grace Pastel and Maylene Suzuki dating. I say rumors, but it''s all but confirmed at this point. She moved on so quickly, huh? She''s not even bothering to look back¡ª" "Enough!" Cecilia gripped Temperance by the cor andpulled. She whimpered, and the ss she''d been holding went tumbling down the couch, and then shattered against the ground. She held the coordinator close, face contorting with barely controlled rage. Imagining the two of them together¡ªshe couldn''t¡ªshe couldn''t yet she had dreamed of it ever since Grace had revealed cheating on her. "Shut your mouth and be quiet," she ordered. "You''ve burned a lot of umted goodwill tonight; don''t think I still won''t leave you whenever you bother me too much." Temperance''s skin glittered with a nervous sweat; her skin was flush with blood, even up to her ears and down to her neck. "I''m sorry," she whispered. Cecilia let go and grabbed her own hand as what she''d done dawned on her. "No. I''m¡ªI''m the one who''s sorry." What was she even doing? Getting violent with someone? "I don''t usually do this. I¡ªI should leave¡ª" "It''s fine. I''m the one who intentionally pushed your buttons," Temperance quickly cut in, smoothed out her top. "I wanted to provoke a reaction¡ªand it was fine. I liked it. Being scared." It wasn''t fine. She should never do this toanyone. Cecilia cradled her face, feeling tears well up in her eyes that never fell. "She really did a number on you, huh?" Temperance murmured. "I hurt her too. So many times. But it''s toote for take backs, now. I''ll never hold her in my arms ever again. Never even see her again, beyond maybe the asional passing nce whenever we cross paths." "...I can try to make you forget about her," she tried, taking her chance to scoot herself closer. "I can try to show you what it''s like to date someone else. To make you think ofmeinstead of her." "You can''t." "I said I cantry. I didn''t say I would seed." Temperance''s hand went to touch Cecilia''s face, and it traced the long scars from Jupiter''s Skuntank. She''d had her stitches taken out recently. The contact felt cold and devoid of meaning. "Tell me about her," Temperance said. So Cecilia did. In a rare moment of weakness, she told Temperance everything, from the moment she''d met Grace properly in Floaroma to all of their adventures and times together for hours on end as they slowly got tipsy on her wine. She amended a few parts, of course. The ssified information she couldn''t go over, along with the way Grace cheated on her. In the end, she came out of the story looking like the main cause of their rtionship copsing, but it was¡­ whatever. She wasn''t about topromise Grace just so she could feel better about herself. "First rtionships often end up in disaster," Temperance said with a saddened smile. They were leaning against each other now, though the blonde was doing ny percent of the work. "Mine ended because I got jealous about my boyfriend''s skills as a coordinator and blew up at him. I couldn''t handle the fact that he was better than me when we were first starting out." Sheughed. "Ah, man, I remember. It was before I settled on Temperance for my name." Cecilia blinked, then stared at her. "Is it¡­ a stage name?" "No, it''s my actual name that I''m in the process of changing legally. Only a few people know this because most actually just don''t bother to check, or bother bringing it up, but my actual name right now is Pam. Pam, for short." Cecilia couldn''t help butugh, and both women chuckled for a few seconds. "One of the most sessful coordinators of our age," the trainer snorted."Pam." "There''s a reason I changed it. It never felt¡ªit never made me feel right in my own skin. It took me like eight months after I started my career to settle on Temperance, and oh boy, was that name big shoes to fill. You know, people hear it and it''s just¡­" she outstretched her hand, as if she was reaching for the stars, and shesnatchedthem. "They think you''re going to rock their world. So it''s tough when all you have is a Cottonee who only knows how to do fancy powder moves." "Ha. I''d bet." Cecilia''s fingers intertwined in Temperance''s hand. Hers was sweaty, and the Unovan''s was not. "Is that amon thing? In the few contests I''ve been to, you see a lot of those." "It''s like the first trick any rookie with a grass type learns. Make your powder moves glow certain ways by infusing them with different TE¡ªmost judges swat down that type of stuff. They would rather see something botched and unique than the same cookie cutter stuff over and over, but most rookies don''t want to humiliating themselves on stage by fucking up." "You know, it''s a shame there are no more contests this year. I''d sign up for one." "You''d do terrible." "I know. It''d be fun, though," Cecilia said. "I need to go see Fantina battle as well, since her Gym is going again." "Hey. You know what else would be fun?" Temperance turned toward Cecilia and made yearning eyes at her. Cecilia could smell the wine on her warm breath¡ªGrace never drank. She could see how eager and expecting Temperance was¡ªGrace''s eyes would be closed or barely open. Temperance herself slowly leaned forward¡ªGrace would have gone in quicker. Cecilia ced her index finger on Temperance''s lip before she could get too close. "Temperance." "You''re ruining the mood," the girl said behind her finger. "I can''t like you. Not romantically, at least. I can see us being friends, but I won''t fall in love with you." "Ow. That genuinely hurt more than I thought it would¡ªmood ruined," Temperance sighed and leaned back. "You know, you wouldn''t be my first friends with benefits, but it''s like¡ªmeh. I want to try to make you fall for me." "Will you?" Cecilia asked. "I want to." She made Temperance shiver with a piercing stare that practically seized her by the throat. "This is not a rhetorical question; it is arequest. Make me fall for you." Cecilia wasn''t certain she would ever be able to stop loving Grace, but if she could find a girl she likedjust a little bit, then maybe, just maybe, she will have cleared the first bump in the road. "Until then, we won''t be dating." "Come on. If you want me to make you fall in love, then wehaveto date. Doesn''t have to be exclusive and all. I tend to get possessive, but I can share with Emilia Lussier." "What? Emi? I''d never date her." "Damn. No hesitation, huh? You''re pretty ruthless¡ªnot that I didn''t know that." "She''s my friend. I don''t hurt my friends¡ªat least notconsciously," Cecilia corrected herself. "It doesn''t matter what she might think." "Pretty sure she wants you." "I don''t want her." "Music to my ears," Temperance smirked, once again sneaking closer. "Now, can I kiss you?" "You can try," Cecilia sighed. Temperance leaned in, and their lips met. It was underwhelming. She was a good kisser who fought for control until Cecilia bit her lip and made her whimper with a mixture of pain and pleasure. Yet, Cecilia felt nothing, so she pushed Temperance down, closed her eyes and imagined Grace under her. Finally, her heart was alive in her chest; her veins red with warmth and blood; she found herself smiling against Grace¡ªTemperance''s lips as the girl''s voice leaked out and she wrapped her arms around Cecilia''s neck. There''s my fire. The next time, she''d ask her to turn off the lights. ¡ª "You were up therete." Back when Cece had first met Emilia, she''d never have thought that her friend would have so much suspicion and ire in her voice. Little meek Emilia, turned into a strong and independent voice that rarely let others trample upon hers. "You didn''t have toactuallyThatgot a reaction, however subtle. Her time with Grace had long taught her to watch her friends'' bodynguage, and while she was nowhere as good, she caught the sharpness of her next breath and and ttening of her lips. She waited until a lonely car passed them by to continue. "I figured there were good odds of that happening," Emilia said. "I just didn''t expect it to be this fast. You two don''t even know each other¡ªyou''ve literally metthreedays ago." "Sometimes things happen fast," Cecilia said. "Do you even like her?" Emilia asked. Never did her tone rise, but the judginess was impossible to miss. "Not at all, and she knows that. I''m trying tomunicate with her, at least. Learning." Her friend let out a long sigh and threw her head back. "This is a horrible idea." "I don''t think so. I can end it at any moment, and she''d understand. So can she. There would be no hard feelings." "I''m just saying thatTemperance¡­isn''t¡­ like, I have a bunch of girl friends I can introduce you to if you need someone." "There''s nothing wrong with her. I''ve actually learned a good amount about her; she''s more than meets the eye." "I¡ªobviously I know that. No one can be their online persona twenty-four seven. I''m just saying that if you''re so desperate to date someone else, she''s not the girl you should be looking at. Here, Yuki, for example¡ª" Her tirade was interrupted by a text on Cecilia''s phone. She''d forgotten to put it on silent. Temperance-I miss you already babe. You-I don''t. Stop messaging me, Pam. Temperance-Cece, we''re dating. Girlfriends message each other. Also, don''t call me that. You-I don''t care. Message me again and I''m blocking you until tomorrow. The message got a heart react under it, which made Cecilia squint at her screen and smirk. "I''m going to try things out with her. It is what it is. Now, if you have something else to say that perhaps pertain with your likely attraction to me¡ª" Emilia raised and shook her hands in a mild panic. "Legendaries, no! You''re pretty and all, but no. I have¡ªa lot of other people that are flirting with me that I could probably get with at any time." She let out a nervousugh. "I mean, not a lot. A decent amount. Uh, like three. Vincent, Lena¡ª" "I believe you." "¡ªRaine. I just don''t think I can handle one right now. Anyway, you''re myfriend. I would never look at you fromthatangle." "What about Temperance, then?" "I mean, she''s pretty too. I did have a crush on her when I didn''t actually know what she was like, but that''s gone." "Then there''s no problem," Cecilia dered with a smile and a p of her hands. "Don''t worry, I know I''ll be with her every day, but if I ever feel like I''m growingdependent, I''ll let you know." "You probably won''t be able to tell, Cece," she said. "And you should tell me about what you feelbeforethings start going haywire." "That''s fine by me as well." "Then we''re in agreement." "This won''t be an issue?" Cecilia asked. "Because if it is and it''s going to disrupt the already-fragile group, I can always br¡ª" "It''s fine.I get it;I''m not gonna get in your way. Just keep me updated on everything, and it''ll be fine. I will." "And you''re sure about it this¡ª" "Yes! Fuck, Cecilia, I''m not made of ss." Her tone rose slightly. "I told you I only cared because I don''t want you to crash and burn." "Okay. Thank you." Well. Cecilia thought that could have gone a lot worse, all things considered. A/N: There was also supposed to be a Grace POV in this, but it would have been too long because I was busy this week (probably like 15-18k words), so it''ll be split.
Chapter 334 Chapter 334
CHAPTER 334 "It''s been so surprising to see you at all these public events¡ªlet alone aninterviewwith SNN! People have long struggled to squint past your¡­elusiveness, but it really feels like you''ve begun to step into Craig Goodwill''s shoes recently. What do you have to say to that?" I stopped myself from noticing Mimi vibrating around my neck,andstopped myself from gulping too loud into the microphone as I brought it closer to my mouth. In front of me was a live audience of around fifty or so who had paid Poketch and the Sinnohan News Network¡ªa different news channel than the SGNC¡ªto be here. From high-level trainers to regrs of the show who had money to spend to whoever would be interested in seeing me talk on the Paloma Show live instead of on TV. In front of me was the woman herself, Paloma Kier. Dark-skinned, long-legged, and short-haired, she was a young rising star in the news industry thanks to the long-form podcast-like interviews she did with any personalities she deemed interesting. Tonight, that was me. "I owe a lot to Craig." There was a lot to keep track of. My face, if I was smiling enough, if I was smiling too hard, the pace of my breaths, the twitching of my hands around the mic¡ªI had to be tailored for television but not seemtoounnatural. I still had to be myself, to some degree. Worthy of the position, but still a person. It was a tricky line to walk. "He offered me guidance when I was lost and just out of Mount Cor, and he''s been one of the trainers I admired the most, not only because of what he represented, but because I saw who the man was first-hand. His work ethic was second to none¡­" it felt good to finally be able to berealin this interview and talk about what I admired about my predecessor. There were only a few windows to say what I really thought here, like how I, for example, would have rather been doing literally anything else. But at least one could say it was kind of acting practice, which I was trying to pack a lot of in my daily life these days. Paloma beamed at me, waiting for the round of apuse at Craig''s des to diminish before she straightened her back on herfortable couch. I tried not to wince at the loud feedback loop in my hearing aid, but I could tell from Paloma''s apologetic stare that I failed. The studio was arranged somewhat like a lounge and a fireside chat in a cabin during winter, so it looked pretty cozy. It kept reminding me of how tired I was. Being a Poketch mule was hard work; I could almost picture myself drifting off to sleep next to the fire¡­ "We''ve talked about your work within Poketch and the way you train, but let''s talk aboutyou," Paloma said, before turning toward the audience. "Do we have any Grace fans in here tonight?" Around eleven people raised their hands, which was more than I expected. "Excellent, excellent! Does anyone have a question for her?" A few hands went down, then nearly all of them¡ªwere they nervous to speak to me? Two were left, and one of the crew members discreetly passed them a microphone from behind before the camera feed switched to a trainer in his early twenties. I figured he was a trainer because he just had the look about him. "Uh." He cleared his throat; he was clearly nervous. "My name''s Andrew. Been following your Circuit since you disappeared into Cor and were presumed dead and came out with a Larvitar. I guess that''s relevant to the previous question about Craig." Andrew anxiously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "My question is¡ªit''s been a while since we''ve seen you battle.Seriouslybattle, not just train with your colleagues or fighting people in public arenas." That was true enough. There would always be a difference between training with no stakes and an actual Gym Battle or a fight to the death. "A lot of fans are nervous about your rematch with Byron, since it''s going to be yourst try. I guess I wanted to ask how ready do you feel?" Oh. That was tricky. On one hand, the real answer was that I was utterly terrified because the consequences went beyond a badge and the Conference, beyond being demoted within the Poketch hierarchy. If I failed to reignitesomethinghere, if I screamed out into the world and all I heard back was the faint echo of my own tired voice, then¡ª Then what else was left? But I couldn''t justsay that, could I? "Of course, I''m always going to be nervous with such high stakes in a single thirty-minute match," I replied with an honest smile. "I mean, getting to the Conference in my first year''s the kind of stuff dreams are made of; I''d love to make it a reality. I''ve been preparing as hard as I can in order not to disappoint myself and my fans." I hated that answer. It was vapid and felt untrue to myself. I liked having fans, even if interacting with them wasn''t my favorite thing to do nor my forte, and I didn''t want them to think ill of me, but they were not the reason I was worried here. They didn''t even upy one percent of my anxieties. "But my first loss to Byron taught me a lot of things," I added. "Hell, it basically saved my life¡ª" I swallowed my next word when Mimi pricked me in the neck. Crap, I wasnotsupposed to say that. "Um, that was a figure of speech. I getreallyinto battling, haha¡­" That salvaged it a little. Icouldhave spoken about Cor¡ªthe official story the League had peddled anyway¡ªbut that was thest thing I wanted. I''d had enough of things reminding me of that mountain; my only desire was to move past it. The next question followed, this time from a chubby teenage girl. She was even wearing my merch. "Is¡ªis it okay to ask personal questions?" she asked, not introducing herself. I resisted the urge to make eyes that may or may have not have had fighting intent at her and kept up my not-too-forced smile. There was no Melody with me to tell me yes or no to this, but I''d been vetted before this interview totake thesewhenever possible. Poketch was done coddling me, and Craig had taken a million questions about his life, even if he ended up dodging a good majority of them. With a restrained sigh that thankfully didn''t make it through the microphone, I nodded. "I think I spear for a lot of us when I ask: what exactly is going on with you and Maylene?" Her voice went quiet by the end of that sentence. She wanted to go on, but this had taken all of her courage. Unfortunately, I was no Craig, able to dodge and weave in between questions that I didn''t like all while satisfying my inquirer. I stayed silent for a moment, freezing while I recalled what Poketch had coached me to say. "I''ve had a rocky rtionship with Maylene in the past."Because of my own mistakes, which I wasn''t allowed to say. They shouldn''t have¡ªshouldn''t have been looking at me like we were somehow equally at fault. I swallowed the bile at the back of my throat. "Obviously people aren''tblind," I forced myself tough. "We''ve gotten closer recently, but I''d like to keep that private." The girl looked a little unsatisfied with that answer, but she sat back down after thanking me for my time. The interview continued in earnest for another fifteen minutes until I was finally freed, and I met Melody and the rest of my crew out of the SNN''s Jubilife studio lobby. It wasn''t as expansive as the SGNC''s, especially when Jubilife was a lot more expensive. The SNN lobby was smaller and more straightforward, with clean lines, ss walls, and a few nts for decoration. It felt efficient but a little cramped¡ªnothing like the wide halls and Magikarp pond of the SGNC in Veilstone. From her slightly crooked smile and quiet cheers from her colleagues, I knew I had done okay. It wasn''t until we got back in one of the cars that Melody found it fit to speak to me in detail. "You did a good job out there. Some hups, especially near the end, but overall it was a great interview. Paloma will be pleased, I bet." Melody looked in the rearview mirror directly at me. "Grace. Sit up and put your seatbelt on." MaybeI''d lied down in the back of the car and curled up to ready myself to go to sleep. Just maybe. "If there''s a car ident, Buddy will keep me alive. Uh, I meanusalive. Probably," I quietly spoke with a sigh. I felt the water type rumble against my skin, telling me toput the damn seatbelt on. "Fine. But you''re like a warm nket, so you really aren''t helping." "Don''t make him get out in the car!"Melody nearly shrieked. "I won''t! Arceus, rx." Sitting up was tougher than I''d expected. I had to push slowly myself off the seat and blink away the tiredness. The moment my head hit a pillow, I''d be out like a light. My teeth chattered a little bit¡ªthat was a really bad expression for me to use these days. "I can''t believe you had your Jellicent thereduring the interview," Melody exhaled, her hand tapping the steering wheel. She was a little like my dad when she drived. "Well¡ªIcanbelieve it. As long as he''s well hidden, I guess it''s fine." One of my fingers tapped my ne, and Mimi dripped down, pooling onto myp. I gave the steel type a gentle smile. "Thanks for helping me out there." Their eye turned into a smug ''U'' and they chimed. "I don''t have any snacks on me. Wait until we get home¡ªI''ll get you the rusted scrap you like." They didn''t really like the taste as much as they liked purifying the metal and cleansing the rust. "You had your tetanus shot, right?" Melody asked with a hint of worry. "Yeah. I mean, it''s in the vines they make you take when you sign up to be a trainer." I''d heard Unova had more on the list I would need to get. Back in the day, that would have terrified me, but today it was just a needle. Melody continued speaking about the areas I could improve in while I distracted myself with my phone. There were texts from Denzel and Pauline¡ªI had a pretty long conversation with the former about interviews and how he''d bring me on one of his streams again when I felt ready. He even made fun of how stiff I was for the first few minutes of the show. It was¡­ good that he wasfortable enough to go back to that. There was also Jess and Marley, my parents, Bobby and Ramon¡ªhell, even Jasmine, though her text was less about the interview and more about the stuff I had sent her about acting. As it turned out, that was out of her area of expertise, but she was interested in what I had prepared. She said she might be able to make time for one training session for me to prepare against Byron. Normally, I would have been against this, wanting to do everything myself, but the stakes were just too high for me to refuse. As I''d said before, it wasn''t just about abadge. Maymay <3- Good job today! U gave some great answers I sent her a sticker of a Pikachu holding a heart. You-I tried my best, thank you. Was the answer about us fine? I''d been typing an entire essay about the reasons why I''d answered that way¡ªabination of me being deathly terrified that I''d overstep boundaries and go too fast if I put abel on us and Poketch wanting at least alittlebit of a dy before I confirmed anything despite the fact that peoplebasicallyknew already, but¡ª Maymay <3-It was! Jsut take ur time. I can wait, ur worth it I sent her an ''I love you'' and clutched my phone against my chest. "It''s hard work, isn''t it?" Melody said all of a sudden. "All of this." "It is," I agreed. It took a lot of effort to have your story told, I was finding out. ¡ª Twinleaf was quiet at this time of day¡ª Actually, Twinleaf was always quiet. It was just what I needed after how hectic thest few days had been. Rxing in the quietkeside town would also help me get ready for my date in Veilstone tonight. Poketch''s rhythm had infected every aspect of my life, including my sleep schedule (not that I slept very much), so I''d spent the first few hours of the morning flying south from Jubilife and seeing my mother for the first time since I realized I was cheating. She had acted like nothing was wrong, given me a wonderful smile and hug that exuded warmth as she always did. Yet there was a gaping emptiness between us¡ªthe chasm always left by words left unsaid. I needed to talk to her. Not next week, not tomorrow, buttoday. But for now; "You''re doing it all wrong!" I gently scolded Sweetheart. The enormous mass of shifting stone tes stared at me, her eyes furious at myeighthrebuttal of her performance. "No yelling," I firmly added. Thest thing I wanted was to scare the neighbors, and Denzel''s parents were back in Twinleaf for the time being. Even from afar, I could see shifting behind curtains. "You can''t have Sunshine''s role," I said. "Be happy I haven''t given you Buddy''s or Angel''s!" I patted her arm, standing on my tiptoes. She growled at me and angrily red at Turtonator, who was working together closely with Princess around a hundred feet away. All of my Pokemon were out, but I was spending the most time with "Come on, baby. I know it''s tough, but you can do it." It was difficult for Sweetie to be anythingbutan excited toddler or a violent beast. The silence and solemnity I would demand of her didn''te easy. It wasn''t that her acting was bad¡ªallof my Pokemon''s acting was currently bad save for Cass and Buddy. Expecting them to be professionals when they didn''t even have a month of training would be asking for the impossible. It was that after a while, she just lost focus and got bored of making faces and practicing attacks with the right¡­attitude. We were telling a specific tale that was meant to flow like water; it wouldpletely break immersion if she got too excited during the fight and couldn''t conceal her excitement at fighting an actuallyfunfight after so long. Granted, she had fought a decent amounttely, most recently another kid with seven badges who had challenged me, but it wasn''t the kind of fight that got your blood pumping¡ªif I even was capable of feeling that. I always kept these battles to one on ones because I couldn''t afford to have a huge chunk of my team in the Pokemon Center at a time when I had so few days. He had been very confused when I''d looked frustrated after winning¡ªit reminded me of the Sceon Tournament days before everything had gone to shit. "Why don''t we do this." I stepped around her, jumping over her tail and climbed on top of her back, grabbing on each of the jagged spikes behind her until I could speak into her ear. She giggled at me, shing sharp teeth the size of my face. She wasstillgrowing. "Emotions are a spectrum; they bleed into each other easily. There''s a reason they say hate borders on the frontier of love. Sure, they''re opposites, but the obsession needed for both is one and the same." The rock type grunted, and I felt her entire body vibrate against me. She asked if that meant she could be more herself. "Not exactly," I said. "But ideally, you''ll represent an element of transition between two states of mind." It would either be her, Honey or Angel. The thing about turning battles into stories out of my own volition was that it wasso difficult. Battles had so many variables that every Pokemon needed to be ready to act out different scenarios just in case things didn''t line up correctly. Save for Sunshine¡ªand Sweetheart because I knew she wouldn''t be able to handletwoof these quite yet¡ªall of my Pokemon were working on two to three roles that would need to lead not perfectly, but at least well into each other depending on how the fight went. "That means that you aren''t a static character." I saw her eyes squint in confusion. "Like Sunshine, you''re going to change during the battle¡ªthat''s called character development. Slowly but surely, you''ll be someone else." I exined my n, and her mouth slowly spread into a toothy grin. "That feel better to you?" Sweetheart gave me an exaggerated nod and thanked me. "See? Compromise feels nice, doesn''t it?" She began her work earnestly again. It was interesting to see what kind of actors my Pokemon were. There were method actors like myself, who with prep work and mental exercises became someone else like Buddy. ssical acting with exagerated gestures,ughs and voices, like Cassianus or Princess. Those who enjoyed improv and essentially winged it like Honey and Angel, or Pokemon who just stayed true to themselves and tried their best like Sunshine and Sweetheart¡­ The truth of the matter was, so long as itworked, so long as things stayed cohesive and I seeded in making this fight the match box upon which I would be able to strike myself. I just hoped I hadn''t bitten off more than I could chew. Once I was sure Sweetheart was on a good path, I sent her over to Buddy and promised that I''d go and buy her steak she''d eat before heading to Veilstone this evening. Everyone was working well like¡ªit was a thing of beauty, like watching a bunch of cogs help each other spin. The only one who needed to pick up the ck was me. But right now, I needed to talk to mom. "Hey." My mother sat on the couch in front of the small TV with a book about home decoration. Herdier was lying next to her with his head on herp, his body rising and lowering with each calm breath and his eyes half-shut. It was azy week-end in a sleepy town. Honestly speaking, I''d for sure go for a nap right now if I could afford to waste the time. I was jealous about many things Pokemon had, but their energy was probably near the top of that list. "Grace." Mom smiled at me and ced her book next to her. "How''s your training doing, sweetie?" "Pretty good, all things considered. Could be going a lot worse." I took a few steps forward. "Can I, uh, sit? So we can talk?" Her smile didn''t fall, but it did falter. A simple twitch at the corner of her mouth followed by an unnatural stretch to put it back where it was, but it simplywasn''t. It went too far. Not ideal, really. "Always." "I can tell you''re expecting the worst! You shouldn''t be," I said. "I just want to talk about a few things." The usualfort found within a couch was nowhere to be found when I sat. I nced toward my mother, who I had only seen this nervous a few times. Usually, always when she thought our rtionship hung in the bnce of a single conversation like when we reunited in Twinleaf or in Veilstone. "I''m not gonna ghost you again." She let out a nervousugh. "I know." There was this thing with her, I noticed. She wanted to stay positive around others and hide away her pain. It was why I''d rarely seen her grieve her own mother save for the first few days after I''de back from Cor, or why thest time I''d asked her about it she had only answered with''I''ll be fine, don''t worry about me.'' "You were worried!" I pressed. "Because I didn''t text you much. I needed space to just digest everything, so¡­" She cleared her throat and ran her fingers through Herdier''s fur. "And have you? Digested everything, I mean." Would I ever untangle the mess of a person that I was? Maybe not ever, but at least I hade to terms with my actions and what had happened with Maylene and Cecilia. I gave her a nod. "I guess I should start with¡ªwith an apology. I''m sorry I kind of dropped off the face of the earth recently, and I''m sorry I lied to you about Maylene. It wasn''t¡­ an intentional lie, but it was a lie. I wanted to hide myself from the truth that I''d fallen in love with someone else." Mom grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Thank you." "Can we talk about my¡ªmy childhood for a bit?" "Of course, Grace." "Okay. I guess¡­ well it wasn''t too bad, but it was kind of empty before I got Princess?" I tried to look out the window for her, but she was too far away for me to see. Instead, I saw Honey and Angel throwing Mimi between each other like the steel type was some kind of ball.ckers, I thought with a slight smirk. "I dunno. For a while dad just worked long hours. I''d hear about promotions or whatever, and we''d move to a better apartment, but I don''t remember much. At some point his eyes got brighter again and he started taking me somewhere most weekends. Eating out, bowling, the movies, watching battles¡ªit was fun, but there was something missing." "Me," she guessed. "I''d see moms pick up their kids in a car after school while I had to take the bus because dad was working. I''d hear girlsin about how annoying their mom was or just talk about them sometimes. I''d see mothers taking their kids to their Little League battling club or football practice or whatever. And you know, it wasn''t¡ªit wasn''t abig deal, you know?" I was far from the only kid who grew up without a mom. It was far from a unique circumstance to be in. "But it wasn''t nothing, either. It wassomething. It was an itch. There was a certain ufortableness to it that I tried to hide by hating you instead." It wasn''t like shehadn''tdone anything deserving of scorn. But I''d done it too, now. I put myself through what she''d done and I could understand far better than I ever thought I would. Notcondoneit, never that, but understand. And while dad had told me I could see her whenever I wanted from the getgo, I kept saying no and making up my own image of her in my head. Because it was easier to hate than to confront the reality. Easier to hate a fake when you were so deathly afraid that you would also hate the real person and that you truly, truly would never have a mother to hold you in her arms. "I could have kept trying to contact you," she said, hand squeezing tightly. "At some point I just gave up trying as hard. It just hurt every time no answers came. Every time Arthur said you didn''t want to talk. And he¡ªhe just has this way of talking to you that makes you so sorry for disappointing him that he hadn''t lost then and still hasn''t lost now." Ah. Thetone. "The point is¡ªI don''t know. I don''t even know if there is a point to any of what I''m saying, which is rare for me." My foot tapped anxiously against the floorboards. "I''m a lot. I''m just a lot. And I think I put you as the me of everything wrong in my life before I became a trainer. Why dad looked so broken when he thought I wasn''t looking, and how I felt like he had to force himself to take me out. Why I had no friends. Why I couldn''t get interested in anything like clubs at school. Why I just felt like going straight home every time the bell rang and I kept denying invitations until they just stoppeding. Why I was just lost in life like a fleck of dust drifting in the wind." My mother sniffled¡ªshe cried very easily, as did I. "I was the cause." "Maybe. But then it''s like, for how many years can I keep ming you for everything wrong with me, you know? Like¡­ I can''t just put that on you. I could have done more, but it took dad getting me a Togepi and basically lighting a fire under my ass¡ªbutt¡ªcrap, sorry." Herughter broke the tension. "You can swear, Grace. I''m not going to get on your case with that." "Dad doesn''t like it. But I guess you aren''t dad." I could almost hear him yellingfrom the other side of the room. "You''ve sworn in front of me before." "Did I? Ipletely forgot," I chuckled. "Uh. Anyway, I don''t know. I just¡­ wasn''t doing much of anything until dad forced me to go on the Circuit. God, he was so happy when I brought Denzel back." He had tried to hide it by being mad I had justforcedhim to ept Denzel would be staying with us¡ªand to be fair, he was plenty angry¡ªbut he had epted without much of a fight because it had literally never happened before. I''d just never brought a friend home. "There''s no¡­ no grand ending to this vent, I guess. No way to neatly tie it all together. I''m just¡­ I''ve been wanting to talk to you about it." "We can talk all you want," she said, pulling me close and kissing the side of my head. "Cool." I tried ignoring how fuzzy my chest felt. "I have a lot of time until my date tonight." "Ah, this Maylene!" mom said. "You know, she came into our house and I expected her to be¡­ this figure grander than life, but I realized pretty soon that she''s just a kid like you." We bothughed at that, and I teased her for having been so nervous she''d literally rearranged the entire living room. "Tell me about her?" "Sure!" Once I started, it was nearly impossible for me to stop. Mom came to regret it as the minutes passed by the dozens. ¡ª The grocery store was cold and empty like the hearth that was my spirit, an extinguished me that had died long, long ago. The frigid air from the freezers washed over me in waves determined to keep me down, keeping my body lifeless and broken. To keep me dark and quiet, with only faint echoing whispers from eons ago hinting of the girl I used to be. Passionate. Driven.Ardent. My fingers grazed the cold ss, carrying with it air that was apathy distilled down to its very essence, making its way into my lungs with every breath. Each inhale stung, the cold air settling deep in my chest like shards of ice. "That is your idea of me." Each word was like pushing against a mountain. The eyes staring back at me¡ªmy dear reflection¡ªwere as dead as they could be. There was empty, and then there wasempty. The death of an idea, the end of the light in my gaze. "The whispers are here for a reason, aren''t they?" I was my worst enemy. The cold was heavy, smothering ambition in its crib, but fire could be born from nothing. A single spark, swallowing all of the oxygen for miles and miles. It burned so hot, yet went out so fast. It had gone out within me, too. me demanded sacrifice, and I was not sure I had anything left to give. But. All you needed was a breath¡ªa moment, a chance¡ªfor the spark to catch again. Just one flicker of courage, of will, to set it all aze. I could feel it, faint and trembling, like a heartbeat just beneath the surface¡ª "Hey." The world brightened, and I became someone else. No, I turned back to mytrue self. Maylene gently booped my nose with a flicker of amusement. "Take a break. You can''t be trainingallthe time; I sent you here to get some vegetables!" There were plenty of groceries in the cart she was pushing. Soy sauce, garlic, fresh ginger, sesame oil, water¡ª Oh. Right. We were in a grocery store because we weregrocery shopping. I smiled. "Sorry. I''m trying to find a thread¡ªreally, it''s like spinning yarn until you finally get something thatsts. I was gettingreallyinto this one." I noticed a few people looking at me weird as they passed by. By now, the emotions clouding my mind from acting were nearly all gone. "Uh, so what was I supposed to get again?" I nced at the refrigeration unit. Smiling, Maylene shook her head with an exasperated sigh. "Broli and carrots. You had, like, the easiest job." "Sorry," I said. Maylene grabbed my hand. "It''s okay. It''s why I love you," she said, sending my heart into a frenzy. "I''ve got these." She opened the freezer and grabbed a packet of frozen carrots and broli. "Could have gotten them fresh, but this is easier and cheaper." "I''m surprised people here don''t even spare you a nce." In the ten minutes or so we''d been here, no one had even tried to ost Maylene besides a small kid who had vowed that he would be a fighting type specialist just like her one day. His dad had embarrassingly apologized for the bother, but Maylene made sure to talk to him for a few minutes at least.Ihad steered clear, unwilling to repeat the many incidents I''d had with kids back in Twinleaf for Renewal Day. Maybe I''d ask her about it. "I thought you''d get more¡­ fanfare." "They''re used to seeing me here," she said. "Ie by at least once every few weeks to buy stuff in bulk for meal prep. I''m actually here earlier than nned because of this." She nudged her head at the cart. That made sense. Thiswasthe closest grocery store to the Gym, and it was the same I''d seen Candice in back when I''d been consumed by the want to apologize to Maylene. Legendaries time sure flew by fast. It was nice and quiet, though. Peaceful enough not to make my hearing aid re up and destroy my ear like it sometimes did in crowds that got too loud. Plus¡ª Mimi warbled, like the sound of scrap metal falling on the ground, and I had toonce againtell them to sit still on my head. "Wait! Don''t change the subject," she caught on. "I''m serious; you''ve been working too hard." "Notthathard," I grumbled. She put the carrots and broli packages in the cart, and I followed her deeper into the store. "It''s just¡­ putting myself into a different mindset. I get really focused and I lose track of where I am sometimes, but it''s not, like, exhausting." "You train all the time, and you''ve got your Poketch stuff, so you have zero free time.Then, even outside of training when you should be taking time for yourself, you keep prac¡ªyou keep doing this." "Well, there''s not a lot of time," I said. "And you saying that is kind of funny. I literally have to call you so you remember to eat on time." "That''s¡ªfair," she had to admit. "I''m just worried about you. I just don''t want you to burn out. You went from zero to a hundred pretty quickly." I leaned against her, head lying on her shoulder. The sleeve of her t-shirt felt sofortable. "Come on, I wasn''t atzero." It was true that before Poketch had forced me to get active, I hadn''t been doing much, but¡­ "I was still doing stuff." "I''ll give you ten." "Twenty!" The edge of her breath brushed against my head as sheughed, and my knuckles bumped against her hand. I wanted to hold herso bad¡ªthese little touches and grazes constantly kept me at attention. "I''ll give you twenty," she relented near the end of herughter. "The point still applies! No more acting tonight; we have a date." The telling smirk on Maylene''s face let me know that a jab wasing. "Also, it''d be awful if you got in the zone and messed up dinner. I mean, I''d make fun of you¡ª" I pulled my tongue out at her. "Careful. I could always poison your dinner tonight." "Meh. I could take it." "Tofu with a hefty dose of Buddy''s Poison Sting sound good to you?" "Maybe if ites from you." "Ugh. Stop sweet-talking me," I said, unable to the pull on the edge of my lips. "I can''t be banteringeverytime. I gotta keep you on your toes," she said. I stopped sticking to her not to encroach on the Small Touches use, and she perked up. "Hey, since we''re already here, I might as well keep buying stuff so I don''t have to go again until the Conference. You don''t mind?" I shook my head. "Cool. What about you, Mimi?" The steel type chimed happily, wriggling on top of my head. We continued talking about anything that came to mind as Maylene gathered the stuff she usually had someone make for her¡ªchicken, oats, yogurt, avocado, fish, nuts¡ªI made sure to make a mental note of it all. Mostly, I just let her rant about nutrition and asked her questions about it because I knew she loved to talk my ear off about how I needed a good diet if I was going to live a long life.Somehow, that got me to bring up my research about method acting again and living through a character''s head. "When you found me in the frozen aisle again, was I convincing?" I asked. "Scary convincing." We were making our way to thest thing Maylene needed now¡ªoranges that she pressed to make juice in the mornings. She was a lot better at picking the best fruit, so I just held the stic bag open for her. "My brain actually started panicking a little before I remembered it was probably just you acting again." "I mean¡ªit''s kind of intuitive to me. I''m not bing someone else¡ªI''m not good enough for that yet. Just finding a facet of myself togive everythingto." "Hm. That''s pretty scary, honestly." She paused. "Make a face at me. An angry one," Maylene asked. I tied the stic bag and put it in the cart, which was now so full I''d find it difficult to push around if she wasn''t there. Once finished, I made an angry, pouty face at her. "Ah," she sighed with a hand over her mouth. "That''s so cute." "Hey!" "What? Youare!" "Don''t make me do the killing eyes at you," I threatened. She squirmed in ce as if her whole body was tied down. "Don''t call themkillingeyes." "That''s literally what they are." "They''rebattlingeyes. Completely different." They made her feel good regardless of what she wanted to call them. "Anyway! I need at least a good minute to get into the mindset. Ten is ideal, really. Maybe I''ll need more against Byron," I exined as we made our way toward the checkout line. "Uh, and this is how you''re going to be fighting in every battle?" Maylene asked. "Maybe notevery, but like, ny percent of them? Actually, scratch that number. All of the ones thatmatter, at least," I said, feeling my heartbeat quicken with anxiety. "Why? I mean, I know I tend to get lost in stories, but I¡ªI''ve been getting better¡ªI wouldn''t make a mistake or seriously injure someone or kill¡ª" "No, no!" Immediately, she grabbed my hand and let her warmth diffuse through me. Sparks of blue light diffused through her palm. "Arceus, I''m sorry. I don''t meanthat; I was genuinely wondering for¡ªwell, never mind. Just¡ªyou''re okay. I didn''t mean anything by it." I took a deep breath. "I''m okay. God, it''s been a while, huh?" "Yeah. Let''s make the next streak two whole days; I''m sorry for breaking it." "Sorry enough to let me cook something for you once a week?" I wriggled my eyebrows at her. "You sure recover quickly now," she noted. "Maybe! We''ll see¡­" I made puppy eyes at her, and her eye twitched. "Uh, sure. But only when the Conference starts and we''re at the League." I made a little choking sound, part disappointment, part confusion. "Hey." "Hm?" She started putting our items on the belt, and a slightly wide-eyed clerk scanned each item, ncing at her every few seconds. She must have been new here. "What''s up?" "Sorry if I''m stepping over the line here, but¡ªis there, like¡­ a reason beyondmyissues you don''t want me to cook for you?" Maylene blinked a few times, her movements growing slightly slow. "I mean, I kind of noticed," I added. "Like, back before we were¡­ trying things out, you''d refuse a lot of things. Like buying you things, or me wanting to bring you somewhere. That''s all changed, but the food stuff hasn''t." She raised her hand, signaling me to wait until we were out of such a public spot. I felt a little ashamed of how much I enjoyed looking at her flexed arms with four bags bnced on each forearm. The subtle definition of the little amount of strain Maylene needed to carry such weight. Usually, I''d just ogle her without a second thought, but theing topic would probably be hard on her, so I shut my eyes and willed myself to nce up at her face. "Not too heavy?" she asked, looking at the one bag I was carrying. We could have Teleported back to her Gym instead of walking back, but it was the little moments like these that were everything. Plus, MaylenelovedVeilstone. She enjoyed watching the people go out and about, because it gave her job meaning it wouldn''t have if she spent her time Teleporting between her Gym and wherever she needed to go. "Come on. I''m notthatweak." "Grace, I saw you struggle to open a juice bottlest week." I ignored hertotallyhurtful but admittedly truthful jab. "So? The food thing?" "It''s just¡­ I don''t know. It feels like breaking my routine. That''s scary." Her tone was pointed and short, and her usual air of confidence was gone, leaving only a certain smallness to her that was rarely seen. "For as long as I can remember, I''ve been on thisprogram. I eat the same stuff every week. On monday, it''s yogurt and oats for breakfast; chicken and steamed vegetables for lunch¡­" she went on and listed her entire schedule which she hadmitted to memory. Every day. Every week. Every month. Foryears. It was the exact same thing. How fucking dull was that? Nothing to look forward to, nothing to savor¡ªjust the endless repetition of what shehadto eat to stay as healthy as possible. No exceptions, no cakes on her birthdays, no ice cream, no sweets, no pizza,nothing. Eating for the sake of honing your physique was fine, but this wastorture. Even the tofu I was making today was just her Wednesday dinner moved to Sunday! Admittedly, thatst fact hurt me a little. I thought I''d been making something she genuinely loved, not her favorite thing she picked off her rigid meal n! But I also knew from the way she looked and acted that this was a difficult topic for her. Maylene would definitely focus on me if I showed any signs of weakness out of genuine worry, and she''d gottengoodat spotting those. I''d keep myints forter tonight when things were stable and calmer. "Maylene. Have you ever eaten something for fun?" She balked at me, her eyes narrowing as if I were crazy. "For fun?" "Yeah! Because it''s tasty?" "Food''s not meant to taste good; it''s fuel," she said, and I could tell she was parroting something her father had imparted upon her. "I''ll be fine. It''s honestly not bad¡ªyou shouldn''t make it into this whole thing." "I''m not. I''m just saying that¡­ an exception once in a while would do you some good?" I tried. "Is¡ªis this something Oscar did, or¡ª" "It was! But it''s alsome," she cut me off. Her pace quickened slightly, and she nearly left me behind before she realized she walked too fast for me to keep up. "Sorry." "I don''t mind. Just¡ªgive it some thought, maybe?" Her lips ttened, and her brows creased into a pensive frown. "Okay." "Promise?" Now, she winced. She knew I had her. "Yeah." "Say it out loud, or it might as well be smoke and ash. You''ve got to speak it out into the world. "I promise that I''ll give it some thought." Beaming and yelling out a joyous"Yay!"I grabbed onto her arm¡ªwhich was awkward with all of the grocery bags she had with her¡ªand hummed. "What are you, an extra bag?" she teased. "A bag that loves you very much, maybe." There was a short pause as we waited for a light to turn green to cross the street. "Hey, random question. When you talk to a kid, how do you¡­ like, what''s your angle of approach so they don''t end up scared of you? Your n?" Maylene clearly held back augh; her eyes diffused pure unabated joy, and she dragged me close into a quick hug¡ªquick, not because of the contract, but because she got embarrassed about physical contact in public. Even holding hands. It wasmostlyfine when I was the one initiating, but she rarely did the same except when I was visibly distressed and needed reassurance. The stic of the bags touched my back and was generally weird, but the warmth and love seeping from her skin made up for it. Maylene was a blushing mess when she was done with the hug. She pulled a strand of hair down her forehead and fiddled with it, using the bags to hide parts of her face. If she''d tried saying anything, she''d be sputtering out nonsense. I still had two kisses left, but¡ª Not yet. She was just so cute about touching! ¡ª "So? How is it?" I eagerly leaned forward on the table as Maylene pinched another piece of tofu dripping with sauce in between her chopsticks. Honey was to the side, staring as intensely at her as he would look an opponent in the eye during a fight¡ªhad he gotten that from me? Maylene let it sit inside her mouth for a second before she chewed. Sheknewshe held our attention in the palm of her hands, that little scoundrel, because she smugly looked at the two of us and stayed as quiet for as long as possible. Wecouldhave tasted our portions first, but it wouldn''t have been proper. I''d never had tofu before and I''d followed the recipe to the letter in hopes of impressing her, but¡­ "It''s good!" Maylene finally said. I deted. "Just good?" Honey instantly dug into his own meal, which looked way too small for his size because of the size of the bowl. "Come on." Maylene pointed her chopsticks at me. "Yeah, it''sgood. But if I acted out and pretended like it was the best thing in the world, you''d see right through me, wouldn''t you?" "I probably would. Is it¡ªbetter than what you usually get?" "...yes?" "What was that about not lying?" I eximed. I shoved a piece of tofu in my mouth with quinoa and¡­ the taste wasokay, but the texture felt wrong? The quinoa and the sauce were pretty good, at least, but the tofu was too rubbery. "Oh. Yeah, that''s pretty meh. Not even good, really. Sorry, Maylene." Honey nodded with a slightly apologetic grunt, saying that it was our first time cooking that type of food and that we''d do better the next. He had already inhaled all of it, though, unwilling to let his own cooking go to waste or to be given to someone else. "No, it''sgenuinelygood! I think it''s because I looked at how hard you worked when you made it?" she said, taking another bite. With a mouth full, she added, "I can tell it came from the heart. I''d eat buckets of these." "So I can cook more for you? Uh, sometimeswe," I said, ncing up at Honey. The electric type gave me a hearty thumbs up. "You have quinoa stuck in your teeth." His smile fell, and his tails curled up in embarrassment. A tiny whir came up his throat. "Sure! You know what, whenever youe over or there''s an opportunity to, you can make us something. And hell, I don''t want to make you doeverything. I could help eventually; I never learned how to cook." "Actually, on that topic. You kind of hurt me today." Her face fell. "Oh. What did I say?" Once I exined to her that I thought tonight would be unique and not just some other routine meal she always ate, she digested my words for a few seconds in silence, twirling her chopsticks in her bowl in what I assumed was a way to assuage her anxiety. "I can see how¡ª" she stopped herself. "Yeah, I''m sorry, Grace. I didn''t think of it that way." "It''s okay. I mean, itwastechnically your favorite meal, even if we botched it." We both chuckled at that. "Just¡­ you kind of sold it as something¡­ not routine? And I felt a little blindsighted." "I totally get you¡ªI won''t do it again." Wow. That was so easy. The sliver of anxiety I''d felt at her potential reaction fizzled out into the wind, and I took another bite of this horrible tofu. "Wanna watch a movie or something when we''re done? I need one where there''s a character who''s lost their drive so I can learn," I said. "I can call Candice.She''dbe the one to know one of those," Maylene said. "I''m surprisedyoudon''t, actually." An amused scoff left my throat. "I haven''t been regrly watching movies in like a year, and those were never my type." "Sounds like excuses to me." "Don''t make mee over there," I warned. "Don''t make mee over there,"she mimicked in a mocking drawl. "What''re you gonna do about it anyway?" My hand twitched against the table, and she froze¡ªunfortunately, Honey cleared his throat to remind us of his presence, and the moment was gone. We finished dinner and put our dishes in the wash before Maylene went and grabbed a big nket from her bedroom and I called Candice for movie suggestions. "Uh. I guess I can give you one or two names off the top of my head,"the ice type Gym Leader said."Uh, A Star is Born, Flyingman, Unovan Beauty¡ª" "A Star is Born?!" I yelled. "I''m picking that one!" "Damn. I was gonna list off more¡ª" "Thanks, Candice. I really appreciate it!" "Grace, I think you''re probably misunderstanding the point of the movie¡­" That title was too perfectnotto pick it. I ignored Candice''s jokes about ''keeping my hands off her sister'' and hung up when she ran out of steam. Itwasdate night, so for Honey, it was back into his Pokeball, and Mimi was already asleep as a loose bracelet around my wrist from all the excitement of the grocery store. Now that I was in a better ce mentally, I''d better show them more new things. Like¡­ bowling, maybe. They''d probably get a kick out of that and it''d make a good date, even if it was kind of soured by being Cece and I''s first. My Streamix ount was already hooked up to her TV from a previous date, so getting the movie was simply a matter of finding it on the list. It felt good to be cuddling with Maylene under the nket. I was mostly clinging to her under there, tucked into her warmth like I was trying to absorb it while she whined about my cold feet even though I knew for a fact they didn''t bother her. I was curled into her side, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist as if I could hold on forever. My head rested on her chest, tucked beneath her chin, and I could feel the steady rhythm of her breathing, the rise and fall of her body, and the subtle drum of her heartbeat. Maylene held me with a firm yet gentle grip, her arm wrapped securely around my shoulders, fingers resting lightly on my upper back. asionally, she''d y with my hair a little¡ªshe could go all out now that we were alone. It was explicitly allowed in the contract, too, just noteverytime we saw each other, and there was an opportunity. There was a difference between this and practice. Practice was¡ªintense. And harsh. And¡­ Well, better not think about that right now. Tonight was just a lovely experience. One of the things that just madeeverythingworth it was having a partner to rely on at the end of the day. One you could say anything to, really. That was the difference between this and Cece, even if I still missed her so, so dearly and it hurt to remember her. It was alsofortable with Cecilia, just like it was now, but maybetooreallydepressing? It followed Ste, an aspiring coordinator working a dead-end job in Floaroma, who was discovered by Eric, a once-legendary Pokemon trainer Craig whose career was fading due to the death of his Staraptor. He spotted her during one of her routine practices after work and was instantlygrabbedby her potential. He mentored her as they traveled from city to city, helping her hone her skills and guiding her rise to stardom. Ironic, considering he was trainer and she was coordinator, but nowhere was it written that they weren''t allowed to help each other. Ste''s fame grew, but Eric struggled with his own declining relevance. Ste''s sess culminated in her reaching the top of the contest scene in a single year, while her mentor, though proud of her achievements, epted that his time in the spotlight was over, finding peace in passing the torch to a new star. It¡ªkind of made me tear up, really, even if I''d gotten a lot of good information on how to behave myself if I were to be a fading star. I really thought he''d use her intricate knowledge of TE that quickly surpassed his to reignite his passion for battling, and hetried, but there was just nothing. For my acting, I had the bodynguage down but not thevoicehe''d used. The desperation had been there, but it needed a mixture of agony andvapidnessthat I hadn''t owned quite yet. Not only that, but the way his Pokemon acted would be of great help tosomein my own team; I would need to get them to watch this tonight when I got back to my mom''s. She had a projector I''d be able to use outside. The movie just hit all the right notes to get to me¡ªEric''s story ended, and he instead used thest bits of himself that could be lit to fuel another. I needed to stare that fate in the eye and deny it with my full chest. To prepare my utmost to rage against it, I had to gather every ounce of strength and passion that remained within me. The next battle would either be my firestarter or the final ember snuffed out. "I didn''t think we''d actually get one that made you cry," Maylene muttered. "You were so quiet." "I was studying." "I can tell it got to you. Sensitive subject¡ªI can''t believe Candice suggested this! She knows you well enough to¡ª" "I might have gotten too excited at the significance of the title to listen." After a shortpse of realization, she breathed out augh and kissed my forehead. "Dummy. Need any tissues?" There was a slight buzz where she''d kissed me. The lingering shape of her lips branded onto me. "Let me use you as a bed." "I''m pretty sure that goes against Cuddle Time''s rules." Rules could be bent quite easily with the right words, especially when thenguage we''d used in that section of the contract was so vague, but I nodded and remained against her for the time being as we watched the credits roll. We had a goodugh at the after-credit scenes that had Ste and Eric bond over funny moments in their lives past the movie''s plot. Maylene''s head turned toward me. "Sad or not, that was really good. Candice knows what she''s talking about¡ª" I lunged in and kissed her. Sometimes, she was too irresistible to ignore¡ªespecially after she''d gone in with that forehead kiss. I smirked when she got a little red and struggled to find her words for a few moments. "I¡ªum, that¡ªwas nice¡ª" And another¡ªmyst one, just to catch her off guard again. I made sure this one was extra long, skirting right below the usual time limit, and had my hands wrapped around her under her shirt with my nails slightly digging into her back just like I knew she liked. My lips twisted into another smirk as I licked them as soon as they parted. "I get it!" she mumbled, slightly breathless as her lips struggled not to quirk into a dumb grin. "Legendaries." She looked a little cornered on the couch, given I was kind of crawling on top of her. Her stomach peeked under her shirt, and there was a perpetual tug of war in my eyes to either look at her mouth and face or her tummy or her arms or her legs or her¡ªmaybe everywhere, actually. "Maymay. We need to figure out the Making Out use soon," I simply said. "...yeah." I''d said that we''d take it slow and that we wouldn''t have a moment like our first kiss again for a while, but by every Legendary, holding back was tough. Thankfully Cuddle Time was over now that the movie or whatever activity we were doing was as well, so I wouldn''t have to worry about going too fast and making a mistake. There was only around twenty minutes left in the date before she Teleported me back to Jubilife, so things winded down and I just did by obligatory scrolling through Chatter to track what people were saying about meorto asionally reply to a fan message Melody had approved and sent me via link. The algorithm had kind of filtered most things save for fan art or things Maylene''s alts, Candice''s alts, Gardenia, or Denzel retweeted out of my feed. "Hey." Maylene straddled the backward-facing chair, her arms draped casually over the top of the backrest as she leaned in. "Are you ready to see Nia tomorrow afternoon?" I raised an eyebrow and nced up at her. "I think. I mean, Candice gave me some pointers that ended up being just be myself." There was a nervous tint to her eyes. Gardeniawasthe person she was closest to; she most likely didn''t want me to royally fuck up. "Maymay, you being nervous is making me nervous too. I thought I''d worked through that stuff." "Sorry!" she sputtered. "I''m sure you''ll do great and have a great time." "I hope so¡­ I wonder if she could give me acting tips." Gardenia wasn''t someone who became another during a fight, but her mastery of the human condition was second to none in this country. "Plus, knowing how others react to things would help me read the flow of a fight better. I still need to get better at bodynguage." I could probably nab some advice from her depending on how things went¡ª "You''ll be fine," Maylene repeated, almost as if to soothe herself. "Nia just needs to get to know you¡ªthe real you. I talk about you a lot, but she won''t approve until you meet in person. It''d be really important to me for her to support us." Okay, now I wasreallyanxious. "I¡ªI won''t disappoint her. Do you have any pointers beyond ''be yourself'' now I don''t know if that''ll be enough. Should I dress casual or fancy¡ª" A post caught my eye¡ªand it made the fact that Cecilia Obel had been trending make awhole lot more sense. I''d tried to ignore, focusing instead of my job, but this was¡­ What was this? It was a video of her and Temperance Porter. I wanted to scroll past it¡ªIwantedto. But the thumbnail had them so close. Temperance was looking at her with something in her eyes¡ªadmiration? Passion?Love?My thumb hung over the y button like a herald of death. I pressed it. "Grace?" My volume was low enough not to hear what they were saying beyond a few words, but their bodynguage told me all I needed to know even if the captions announcing Temperance''s new girlfriend hadn''t been there. They were dating.Dating. The idea didn''tpute in my head, like I couldn''t ever have imagined Cecilia with someone else. Had I ever seen herugh or smile this much with me? Why did she look so happy? Temperance was¡ªshe must have been something else. Better than I was both in her career and looks. Her face was basically wless as if she was made to be looked at. Not only that, but she was one of the best coordinators in the industry. She must have been used to life in high society, too; I bet they were a way better match than we ever were. She''d be good for Cecilia. Good.Good.I bet Unova would find it a lot more ptable, which went hand in hand with Cecilia''s goals. Temperance was a better fit than a worthless monster like me could ever hope to be. If Cecilia hadn''t met me¡ª The tears dripped down my cheeks and onto myp. My phone fell face down on the floor. Maylene hadn''t understood. Not yet. But she hugged me anyway, staying quiet with her arms wrapped around me until I was well enough to speak between the sobs and the hups. It felt like Cecilia was breaking up with me all over again. "What happened?" Maylene asked. I wanted to brush it off and to say nothing, to act like I''d never found that post, but I had already told her I still had feelings. Lying would do us no good, especially when she wasn''tstupid. "Cecilia," I sniffled, "is dating someone else." I wanted to call her and to say''already?''To berate her for acting like I didn''t exist. But I knew that would be the epitome of hypocrisy and made no senseing from me. Maylene stayed quiet for a long while, allowing me to hold her back. How was she so nice to me all the time? Even when tears flowed down my face because of another girl, she just¡­ held onto me. "I''m sorry," I said. "I know it probably hurts." Ugh. I''d gotten tears and snot on her T-shirt. Maylene looked into my eyes and smiled. "I''m not gonna lie and say that I''m not at least a bit jealous," she whispered. "But I know it''s tough for you. It really isn''t about me." "How is itnotabout you?" I cried out. "It''s¡ªwe''re¡­together, and I''m crying about Cecilia moving on! Like I''m¡ªI''msick," I slowly realized. "I would have felt better had she never gotten with someone else while I was enjoying myself with you!How awful is that?" "I mean¡ªGardenia would have the answers. Not that you should tell her about this!" Maylene quickly added, her body tensing. "But I think that¡­ I don''t know, maybe it''s normal? I already said that I don''t expect you to move on that fast." "Then why isshe?" I asked. "Maybe she isn''t? Maybe she''s like you¡ªwe won''t know." Her hand gently rubbed my back. "Either way, it''s¡­ it''s okay to feel things. Just¡ªdon''t leave me?" My eyes widened. It was a rare hint of insecurity from me, and her arms tightened around me. I steeled myself. "I won''t." "Even in Unova?" "Hmhm. I love you." "...wanna stay an extra hour?" she asked, her voice meek. "We can talk some more. About happy stuff." I smiled. "Yeah. Let me text my dad."
Chapter 335 – Genesis Chapter 335 ¨C Genesis
CHAPTER 335 - GENESIS My fingers tingled as I sat on the Eterna City tram that would bring me to Gardenia''s Gym. The most direct line still wasn''t repaired from the bombs, so I''d needed to take arge detour. Flying there would have been quicker, but the long tram ride would give me what I needed: time to soothe my nerves by going over my n¡ªnot that it was very detailed, anyway. Mental flowcharts would just get me in trouble and make Gardenia think I wasn''t respecting her, or at least that''s what I figured would happen. I mumbled under my breath, imagining the responses I would give to different questions.Just be yourself,they said, and yeah, that was a good idea in theory, but Maylene had put the fear of Arceus in me, and now I was terrifiedIwouldn''t be enough. Did I have qualities I could push forward to make myself look better? I was supposed to spend the entire day with her; masking my ws the whole time wasn''t going to be possible for that long, especially when it wasGardeniawe were talking about. What was this, a job interview? There was a trace of a smile pulling my lips upward. I just really wanted her to like me. Hell, I didn''t even have Buddy on me today; it was just Mimi around my wrist. The steel type missed their usualpanion. I could see the Gym from the tram window¡ªarge, open dome that allowed the sun to shine through its main battlefield. Back in the day, I''d sometimes see the weather change above it, be it an artificial sun or dense rain clouds pulling tightly together until they would pour onto the battlefield as rain. That had been Gardenia''s strategy for low-level Gym Battles. Being able to transition between sun and rain throughout a battle and forcing trainers to adapt to not having control of the weather by eitherpeting with her or working to pull a win another way. "Now stopping: Eterna City Gym. Now stopping: Eterna City Gym." Pushing past other people, I got off the tram, taking a deep breath as I stepped in front of the empty Gym courtyard. It doubled as another one of the city''s countless green spaces and gardens, with numerous species of nts and trees giving ample shade from the scorching summer heat, but it was early in the morning, and people had few reasons to go to the one in front of a closed Gym. After messaging Maylene that I''d made it and clutching my phone against my chest once she''d texted me encouraging words, I hesitantly took step after step toward the wide front doors, rubbing a finger against Mimi''s smooth form. They vibrated back, and the sensation traveled up my arm and fingers. Things were going to be fine. Unlike Maylene or Candice''s Gyms, I didn''t have to knock or wave for someone in the lobby. I had arrived exactly on time at ten in the morning, and three League Trainers were already waiting for me. Two of them were raven-haired and short¡ªah, they were probably siblings now that I could get a better look at their faces. Maybe twins? They were just so simr it was like looking at two reflections. The final one was¡ª "Ah, Grace." The final one was named Rnd, though ording to Maylene, Gardenia and the people around the Gym always called him Roro. He was her right-hand man at the Gym. His pale skin wascoveredin freckles, including his hands. "You''re as punctual as we were told you''d be." "Come in,e in!" One of the other girls said. I could tell she was the kind of person who always brimmed with excitement, which looked like the pr opposite of her exhausted-looking sister. "Leader Gardenia''s in her room doing somest-minute work while waiting!" "Oh. I wouldn''t want to bother her¡ª" "Nonsense!" she yelled over my voice, pulling me by the wrist. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight, and she pulled it closer to her face. "Oooh, nice bracelet. Is that real gold?" I blinked at her, not knowing what to say. "Uh¡ª" "Shina, stop harassing our guest," her sibling said. They kept bickering for a few seconds until Rnd reigned them in, scolding them for being rude to in front of me. He sent them off to help with some soil-enriching work upstairs, leaving only the two of us. "Sorry about those two. I told Gardenia we should have sent someone else," he said with an apologetic smile¡ªalmost sheepish. "Any requests before I bring you to her?" I discreetly bit my inner lip. Shina and that other girl¡ªhad that been a test? And the request? Was Gardenia trying to probe for ws in how I''d react to her employees or what I would request? Maybe that was why she hadn''te to greet me. She was an analytical person, but was I looking too deep into it? Logic dictated that this way of thinking would be insane, but I did not think I could afford the risk¡ª "You okay?" Rnd asked with a hint of worry. Legendaries, what the hell was I doing?Just be normal! "I''m fine. I think I''m ready." The nervousugh that slipped through by the end of that sentence didn''t help assuage Rnd''s apparent worries. "You¡ªyeah, lead the way." His brows creased. I was going to die. Gardenia''s Gym was much like Candice''s: vast and open, with wide halls that invited the sun to pour in through tall ss windows. The light seemed to flow into every corner, casting patterns on the polished floors and giving the entire space a feeling of warmth that I felt stuck by even in the midst of winter when the streets wereden with snow, and you could see your breath. It wasalsoa lot less busy, but somehow more organized. Like every trainer knew their tasks and few moments were wasted¡ªbut I was too nervous to keep track of everything around me. Each step brought me closer to the woman who would¡­ well, even if she disapproved of me, I didn''t think it wouldsinkmy rtionship, but it would certainly cast a heavy shadow over it. And¡ªto be honest? It would just make me really happy to have her approval. Not only because Maylene was basically her little sister, but because I admired Gardenia a great deal. The walk to Gardenia''s room¡ªthe Srium, as Rnd called it¡ªwas quicker than I''d anticipated. A set of doors opened to reveal an inner chamber where an entire room made of ss stood beyond. From the outside, you could see lush greenery spilling from every corner, the space teeming with nts of all shapes and sizes. This was apparently where shelived. I''d find this ce suffocating if I had to spend more than a few days here; it was basically Eterna Forest without the trees or the cold. While Gardenia herself was deeper in the Srium, a wide-eyed Roserade drifted among the nts, watering some of them with a brilliant liquid that dripped from her blue bouquet. Life Dew, probably. She was so engrossed in her work that she hadn''t even noticed us until Rnd had to knock on the door repeatedly. "Roserade will take you in. Gardenia''s probably engrossed in knocking some redundancies out of Eterna City''s budget." Heughed. "Trimming the fat out of it so we can save wherever we can." He paused for a moment. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" Rnd turned toward me with an expectant stare. "I can try. I mean, I''ll do my best!" "Nia''s never had this much control over city policy before, and well¡ª" his lips ttened, and he let out a little scoff. "She''s someone who likes to have a lot of control over things, so she''s been working hard. Juggling the city, the Gym, and her own personal projects with, uh, Candice." Oh. He knew about them already; they weren''t close friends without a reason. Or maybe best friends now that Candice had slid over to ''girlfriend.'' "Basically, this is a long-winded way of asking if you can try to make her have a good time today. The Gym will be fine without her for a few hours." He pped my shoulder with a sliver of a smile while Roserade pushed the Srium door open. "Hey, Rose. This is Grace." The grass type made googly eyes at me, putting her hand forward. A strange, multicolored vine slid out of her flower and wrapped around my hand. I yelped, jumping a little at the sudden touch¡ªit was warmer than I thought it''d be, almost like a surface left exposed to the summer heat for hours¡ªand she shook my hand. Her voice when she said she''d heard of me was a little intense despite the quiet. She confirmed what Rnd had said, that Gardenia was working to squeeze as much time in as she could before we could spend the day together. The difference was that Roseradeclearlydid not approve of this, but this wasn''t a new phenomenon. Roserade continued mouthing her own trainer off before she cut herself off and giggled. Her voice had a calming quality to it, soft and melodic, the kind of sound you could listen to for hours without ever growing tired of it. Herugh was like the gentle rustle of leaves in a breeze. Familiar, soothing, and endlessly pleasant. Okay, then. Time to face the music. A breath to soothe my nerves. A caress around my wrist from Mimi to make me feel loved. The clenching of a fist to remember that this was real and not a dream. I followed her into the garden. nts prickled at my skin with each step. Some were beautiful, and I''d ask Roserade about what kind of nts or flowers they were to break the ice. She said she was the primary caretaker of the Srium while Gardenia was working and that they were always ordering more nts from abroad. Recently, they''d been looking into getting some native to Driftana, the massive continent in the southern hemisphere that was uninhabited by humanity save for the three Ranger Nations that clung to its coast. It was interesting to learn more about the ce from Roserade. People had gone to explore the interior before, but it seemed to change every year. It was a continent sted by deathly winds and reshaped itsndscapes as if the earth itself was restless. Mountains would crumble, rivers would vanish, and vast stretches of forest would appear where none had existed before. Not only that, but the Pokemon there were aggressive because of how unused to humans they were. Roserade had a bit of an explorer streak in her, something we could fully bond over, and she hoped her trainer would take a year off at some point within the next few years like Jasmine so they could explore as much of the world as possible. To be honest, if I could¡­ reignite whatever I wascking during the Byron battle, traveling sounded like a whole lot of fun. I''d sworn that I would do it long ago; it was a dream taken from a man who was now dead. Unfortunately, words were easier than actions. In the midst of the makeshift jungle, Gardenia sat curled up in a ball on a wrought-iron garden chair, her legs tucked beneath her as she typed away at herptop. There was no clearing where she''d be able to have more space, just a chair and table shoved in as well as possible. Tendrils of green brushed against her from nearby vines, and sunlight streamed through the ss ceiling. I''d expected her to look tired, but she wasn''t. She seemed nearly rejuvenated, her fingers typing deftly on herptop and her eyes wide open. Therewasa giant coffee mug next to her, though. The smoke still rose and brushed against the leaves above her. She was surprisingly wearing her Gym Leader outfit and not casual clothing. Orange cargo shorts, green boots, and a cropped, forest-green cape draped over a long-sleeved ck shirt which left her midriff exposed. Strangely, seeing it just made me miss Maylene. Ugh.Get it together. Like clockwork, herptop closed. The expression that met mine was a smile, albeit a polite one. "Hey. I''m d you made it," Gardenia said. She stood up and took a few step toward me. "Sorry I couldn''t go down to get you¡ª" "It''s fine. I know you''re, uh, busy. Rnd told me." She looked down at me, her smile never leaving her face. It felt like my skin was being prickled by needles. "Hm. I''ve noticed this about you¡ªI told you back at the ceremony, right? You struggle to takepliments, but it looks like apologies are the same." "Oh." "When I say I''m sorry, I mean it," she added. "Don''t put yourself down." "I''ll try." "You don''t mind if we stay out here?" she asked, and I shook my head. Gardenia gently grabbed at arge leaf from some nt I didn''t know¡ªslightly purple at its edges¡ªand smiled as she smelled the greenery. "Great. It''s the only ce I feel truly at ease in; I could work here an entire day and not notice." Her eyes softened a little. "How did you find the city?" ncing back, I noticed Roserade had already left, most likely to keep taking care of the nts. Such a garden was most likely a full-time job in and of itself. There was more small talk to be had, and more pleasantries exchanged while Gardenia finished her coffee. This talk didmatter; it just wasn''t going to be the meat of today''s topic and was more of a gateway to what Gardenia really wanted to talk about. "Maylene''s a pretty big fan of this city¡ªthough you''d be hard-pressed to figure out a ce in Sinnoh shedoesn''tlike," Gardenia said with a shortugh. "Even Snowpoint." I studied the way she moved, but her body was nearly still save for asionally bringing her mug to her lips. "I''ve been trying to get her to add more greenery to Veilstone, but she''s had a lot on her tetely." There was a short pause, and her eyes flicked up.Here we go."She''s been a lot happiertely. She''s gotten a lot more confident too." I nodded, hands rxing slightly. "Yeah, I''m d she''s¡­ finding fulfillment in her job now. Making it her own thing instead of letting her father''s abuse influence her." For the first time, there was weakness¡ªno, it wasn''t weakness to let your emotions show; this wasn''t¡­ a fight like how I''d handled Rood and Mallory. Pain flickered on Gardenia''s face for an instant, making her expression sour. "I should have been here for her," she said. "It''s been tough on all of us, but I should have. Thank you again, Grace." It felt odd to be thanked when I''d be the one to push Maylene over the edge in the first ce, like an deced with poison. I took thepliment anyway. "I¡ªyeah. I guess." My finger twirled around a strand of my hair. "I really want her to be happy." "She''s something else, isn''t she?" Gardenia smiled, and finished her coffee. The mug gently cked against the iron table. "Can I show you a nt?" "Sure?" Gardenia led the way to a tall, graceful pot by the window, where there, under the summer sun, stood a striking nt. Its broad, deep red and green leaves fanned out dramatically, catching the light in a way that gave them an almost metallic sheen. "This is a Castor Bean," Gardenia said, gently touching a leaf. "It''s beautiful, isn''t it? But you have to be cautious¡ªit contains one of the most toxic substances in nature¡ªthis is what you make ricin from. You wouldn''t know it just by looking, though." It looked pretty menacing to me, but I didn''t say anything. "It thrives in the right conditions but can be dangerous if mishandled." She looked over, her expression neutral and head utterly still, but eyes sharp. "Appearances can sometimes be deceiving." It was¡­ a pretty-looking nt, for sure, but I was more focused on what she was actually trying to say. I rolled my shoulders ufortably and pushed my tongue against the roof of my mouth to focus. "It looks nice. Does it grow in Sinnoh?" "It doesn''t grow in Shinwa at all. It''s native to southern Unova¡ªand southern Orre, once upon a time." Her fingers kept touching the red-tinted leaf with enough gentleness and care you''d think she was handling a child. "You know, despite its danger, the Castor Bean isn''t all bad. If you know how to work with it, it produces castor oil. Useful in skin care, hair care, and back in the day beforemon medicine, it was a widespread anti-inmmatory." "You keep it here anyway," I stated, trying to keep the uneasiness out of my voice. "You care for it." "It took me a while to actually get one, and longer still to decide if I could trust myself to handle it," Gardenia finished, her voice steady but thoughtful. "When Maylene called me in tears after you ran away, I told her to block you and never speak to you again." My throat felt dry. I hadn''t expected her to swing away from the metaphor so quickly. "It was the right thing to say. I handled that¡­ awfully." "She was devastated in a way I''d never seen her, and I''ve known Maymay a while," the Gym Leader added. "And I''d noticed this a few weeks back, but when she was sobbing over the phone, I thought, ''wow. She must really, really love her to bethisheartbroken.'' And that''s been sitting with me. Percting in my heart, spinning and spinning like a thought I just can''t get rid of." My back straightened, and I grabbed onto my wrist to feel Mimi. "You''re going to be leaving; she''s going to be staying. Long-distance is far from impossible, but it''shard. There are going to be challenges¡ªbut I suppose I''m circling the point.Do you love her as much as she loves you,or is this just¡­ temporary." "I do!" I yelled, fist clenching. I was surprised at how offended I''d gotten at the notion that Maylene wasn''t important to me. Feeling naked due to my outburst, I made myself small and bit my lip. "I do," I repeated. "I want this tost; I''m notusingher. I want her to be happy just as much as you do, and we''ve made ns for the distance, and we talk about things, and¡ªI''m sorry." "You don''t need to apologize." "I don''t want to yell at you." I was thest person who should have been yelling at anyone. The grass type specialist snorted. "Maymay said you could be snarky. She called it cute."She had?I knew it was the way she felt, but her talking to others about me made my body feel warm. Gardenia stepped forward me and poked my chest. "That fight you have in you lets me know youdocare about her," she added. I was blushing, wasn''t I? "I guess so." Gardenia breathed out anotherugh. "Why don''t we go to my office? I barely use it, but it''d be more convenient." "What for? I mean¡ªsure, but what are we going to be doing?" "It''s a surprise," she said. "Tell me about Maymay on the way. She actspletely different with you than she does with us." That? That, I could do. ¡ª "What do you see when you look at this trainer?" Gardenia asked. She was ying old footage of her Gym Battles on her television. She had called it her office, but really, it was more of a living space that wasalsofilled with nts, though these were some I recognized as Sinnohan even if I wasn''t knowledgeable enough to know their names. The footage was crisp and clean,ting a far higher quality than what I was used to or what was usually released to the public. This was the second eighth badge battle she was showing me, and each time, rather than focusing on strategy or the Pokemon used, she narrowed her focus to thepeople. Not that I wasn''t looking to the tactics used, either. It was still incredible to me that no fight would be the same. There were far more subtleties to the maniption of wind from this Pelipper than I''d ever seen. They managed to speed up their attack to near sound barrier breaking levels through a wind tunnel, all while slowing Gardenia''s Shiftry to a crawl amidst the turbulent rain. But that wasn''t the focus, nor was it the trap Gardenia had sprung. It was a masterss in patience; she''d been willing to be behind bytwoPokemon to feed confidence like you would give drywood to a fire. Shiftry seized control of the winds from Pelipper, who was weakened from their previous fight with an Abomasnow, and stolen it for themselves to use as a weapon against the remainder of her challenger''s team. Shiftry being able to use wind wasmon sense. One controlling it as well as a flying type to the point of being able tosteal itfrom them, using their own strength against them was not. "He''s nervous, but trying not to be," I said, leaning closer to the screen. "He''s gotten better at hiding it as the battle went on, but he''s still clenching his jaw after each order, and there''s a little waver in his voice that''s grown more noticeable since he fell behind.." "That is urate, but it''s a surface-level read." Gardenia grabbed the remote and went back in the footage all the way to the start of the battle. The challenger sent out a Mamoswine, and Gardenia followed suit by releasing a Victreebell. "Always go deeper. Figure outwhyhe feels the way he feels." "It''s his first eighth, isn''t it?" I asked. He looked a little old, maybe a third year. "Obviously, he doesn''t want to lose." "A simple but again urate read on him. You can godeeper. He was a third year," ah, I had been right, "there was pressure mounting on him to actuallygetto the Conference. Look at the clothes he''s wearing; he''s sponsored by a sportswearpany. This was going to be hisst attempt¡ªlook at the date." Gardenia pointed to the top right of the screen¡ªit was the final week of May. "It''s the little things that add up to the final answer that ''he doesn''t want to lose.''" She crossed her legs, head tilting slightly to the right. "That''s how I get a lot of my challengers. Sandbag the start via setup to make theme into their own. To see who they really are when they think they''re winning and confidence returns to them. Then," she mmed a fist into a palm, "you strike.Thatmoment when everything copses before their very eyes. You seize it and see how they respond to catastrophe." Arceus. She was socoolit was impossible not to make starry eyes at her. Of course, I knew the result of this battle. The challenger lost and failed to make it to the Conference that year despite his Pokemon being powerful enough to stand their ground. Again, just like in my battle against Byron, it was the trainer who oftengged behind their team. "He made it this year before the bombs, though. Learned a whole lot from his loss," Gardenia added with a nonchnt wave. "I hope he goes far." For a good while, we analyzed more footage together, and I got to ask her as many questions as I wanted. This would have been a dream a mere month ago, but here I was, gaining knowledge from Gardenia. She even offered me tea, and it was just as good, if not better than Aliyah''s. If I had been in a better mental space, I would have been able to soak up so much more information, but even I got mentally tired eventually. Still, this information would be useful to weave narratives out of nothing. To either figure out someone''s way of thinking, or to trick myself into believing they were feeling something else to carry the story. "At the end of the day, everyone''s different, even if there are somemon denominators. People express their emotions differently," she said. That was true enough; Denzel loved to clench his fists when he was nervous, while I bit my tongue or lip sometimes to the point of bruising, and I sweatedgallons. Someone else might have also clenched their fists when they were excited, for example. "There''s no real science to it. Sometimes, your reads are wrong, and it bites you in the butt." "Has that ever happened to you?" I asked. "Oh, plenty, especially when I was starting out. Less so today, but the rare fuck up does happen. I can always recover and offer a proper challenge." Gardenia offered me a helpful smile. "Remember, the strategy at y''s the important part. Reading someone''s bodynguagees second, even if it''s a great help. No need to take needless risks." Ah. I wonder what she''d say if she knew I was reworking my battling style and literally taking a million risks while doing so, especially so close to the Conference¡ªif I even made it there. Gardenia struck me as someone who wouldn''t like unknowns or fraying from certain conditions she''d set in fights. "This is going to be a lot of help to me. Thanks a lot, Gar¡ªLeader Gardenia." Stumbling over my words like a child made my cheeks turn rosy. "Gardenia is fine." "Oh. Gar¡ªGardenia," I forced myself to finish the word. How in the world had Virtuous done so well when meeting her for the first time? Nevermind. That question answered itself; she washer, and I was me. "Say. I have a question," I said. She turned off the television and stretched on her couch, groaning slightly. "Go ahead." "I''ve always been curious. What made you want to decide to battle the way you do? And uh, why did you be a grass type specialist? And a Gym Leader?" "Those are three questions, but I''ll answer anyway."Crap.Thatwasthree questions. "I met Candice pretty early in my journey. In this very city, in fact," she said, a look of fondness on her face. "And for a while, she was impossible for me to read. I could never tell when she was serious or joking or angry or¡ªanything, really. There was just a veneer of irony around her all the time¡ªand trust me, she used to be worse." "Worse?"I repeated, disbelieving. Gardenia nodded. "Worse. It was as irritating as it was captivating. And from there, well¡­" I could see the shape easily. She''d wanted to get better at figuring people out to break through Candice''s walls. "For as long as I''ve lived, I''ve been a fan of grass types," Gardenia continued, her voice carrying a warmth that matched her smile. "There''s a resilience to them, a quiet strength that often goes unnoticed among inexperienced trainers. To them, they''re just Pokemon who for the most part are cheap to handle because a portion of their nutrients wille from the sun or the soil¡ªbut I''m rambling," she quickly added. "Let me paint a different picture." There was a short pause, and the sun seemed to radiate off her, casting a soft glow. "nts are always the first thing back after a catastrophe," she said, her voice steady. "No matter how much destruction there is¡ªfires, storms, or rampaging Legendary¡ªnts are the ones that return, quietly reiming thend. They rebuild the world without fanfare¡ªit''s just soquiet. You see a barren wastnd, and then, almost out of nowhere, a small sprout emerges, and then there''s life again. Just look at Orre!" she nearlyughed, a slight glee in her eyes. "Not even five years after Moltres, nts were growing among the desert and rocks! That''s what makes grass types so special. They''re a reminder that no matter how hard you''re hit, you can alwayse back stronger than before." A "woah" escaped me, and sheughed again, this time more steadily. "That''s why I joined this Gym as a trainer. I wanted to be the best grass type trainer I could be. Plus, I fell in love with this city." Gardenia looked out the window, her eyes full of love and care. "There''s no ce like it." I asked her where she was born, and she surprisingly answered Pastoria¡ªthough she''d flown to Jubilife to start her journey in her first year. Floaroma would have just fit so well¡­ I spoke up again, returning to the topic at hand. "I don''t know if I''d be able to stick in one ce that long. One country, maybe when my wanderlust''s gone. If it ever leaves." Even now, I couldn''t shake the anticipation I had to explore a brand newnd a whole continent away. "But years at a time somewhere, always in a Gym? I don''t know." "It takes a very specific mindset to give your life to this job. The hours aregrueling, the pay''s good, but you can basically never use it anyway, and trainers alwaysin about you. But you can easily find fulfillment in the work. Seeing your city grow for the better, meeting your constituents, meeting all kinds of different Pokemon, fightingreallygood battles once in a while¡­ it gets tiring very quickly, but it''s also fun." She nced at me. "You''ll have to figure yourself out. I doubt Maylene has ever given moving or retiring any thought." I fondly smiled. "I know. She lives for this." It wasn''t like I hadn''t thought about our rtionship beyond the next year. I figured that if the long-distance stuff went well, maybe I''d try to spend a few months at a time in Sinnoh after or while traveling to whatever region, and she''d be able to take more frequent breaks. Of course, there was always Poketch to consider, but we had time to figure things out. "We''ll make it work. Or at least I''ll try my damndest to." "Good." She inhaled. "Now¡ª" Out of the open window, clouds blotted out the bright sun. A shiver swept through the air, and it thickened until it grew suffocating; Gardenia''s eyes sharpened, cutting through the moment that seemed like it would stretch on forever. Her nts writhed around her as one, and despite knowing it must have been a gust of wind or a coincidence, I couldn''t help but think she was making them move as one. Each breath grew shallower and shallower as if a vine was slowly constricting around my throat. For all Gardenia had touted grass types'' survivability, they were creatures of slow death. A Tang striking from behind a bush, sucking the life out of a Bidoof over the course of minutes through a constricting Mega Drain; a Rattata stuck in a Victreebel''s acid sack slowly being digested to death; a Leavanny keeping a Ciino in a bundle of silk to save them for consumption for ater day. It was a terrifying look, a nearly haunting stare that heralded disaster. I forced another breath through my tightened throat and gulped as a bead of sweat dripped from my forehead to my chin, then fell on myp. It wasn''t that I wasn''t used to being stared at this way; it was justso unexpectedfrom Gardenia that I''d needed topletely reframe who I thought she was as a person, and that was disturbing enough to send shivers down my spine. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked once I recovered. My voice was tiny like prey trying to make itself small. "Nothing at all. I''m just curious, you see." The Gym Leader spoke quietly as she stood up from her couch and stared down at me. "I''ve learned a lot about you these past two hours¡ªbut I can''t help but think¡­ do you have what it takes?" "What do you mean?" "I know Maylene loves you, and I know you love her just as much," she continued. "But you''re¡­ hm. I''m the kind of person who thinks two people in a rtionship should push each other to greater heights they would never have reached alone. You''ve been on a steady climb so far, but there''s¡­" she trailed off and snapped her fingers a few times, "there''s something missing. Maylene speaks, and she''s brighter; you speak, and you''re dimmer. You''re doing better, but you still haven''t bloomed, Grace. And I fear you may never do so. That the season''s passed." "What are you saying?" I asked, again not knowing what she meant. "There''s something about you I can''t figure out, and this is the only way I can think of to drag it out of you." Gardenia took a deep breath. "Grace Pastel, I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle." There was a jolt, a jerk that was so sudden within me it was nearly painful. My heart skipped a beat, then pounded in my chest, a mix of shock and something else¡ªanticipation? Fear? It was hard to tell. I hadn''t expected this, not from her. The sun peeked out from behind the cloud, and the room was illuminated in sunlight again. As if on cue, Gardenia''s expression brightened with nothing but kindness, and she pped her hands twice. "I''ll give you twenty minutes to decide. Should you ept my challenge, I will be waiting for you in my arena. Preparations must be made." Before I could even answer¡ª She was gone like the wind. What the fuck had just happened? Fifteen minutes? How the hell was I supposed to prepare in so little time. I''d gotten zero ways of studying¡ªno, wait. She''d let me watch her battles with other seven badgers. Had it been just for this moment? Was this why she''d been wearing her Gym Leader outfit? My eyes widened, and my fingers trembled at the fact that I''d walked into a trap from the moment I''d stepped into Gardenia''s Gym. I was now ensnared within her grasp, and there was nothing I could do. Did I have enough information? Even two hours wasn''t enough to know the ins and outs of Gardenia''s Pokemon or the person herself. If I said no, would she disapprove of me dating Maylene? If I said no, would my me be extinguished and never return? If I said no, would I¡ª Enough! My breathing sped up in line with my racing thoughts, and I ced a hand over my moring heart. I could hear my blood rushing in my ears, feel it pulsing down my arms with each beat against my bones. The challenge was made. Now, I needed to either ept or run with my tail between my legs. Thetter was not an option. Not with so many risks involved. Time was quickly running out. Instead of doing somest-minute cramming I already knew wouldn''t be effective, I released my Pokemon¡ªmy entire family¡ªout in Gardenia''s room, and Mimi transformed back into their original form after crawling up my shoulder. It wasrge enough to amodate all of them, even if it was tight and Sweetheart needednotto move, just in case. They all balked in surprise once I gave them the news, some with more joy than anything else, but all had that underlying ball of anxiety in their gut. I could tell. "I have to ept," I said as Angel caressed my head with a clump of vines. "But our nning''s all gone to waste. It''s¡ªit''s what I''mgood at. Maybe the only thing I''m good at outside of killing!" I bit my lip to keep quiet. It wouldn''t do to have someone overhear through the door. "Do I even stand a chance? This is Gardenia we''re talking about." Princess hopped closer to me and patted my side with her fluffy wing, saying that they were with me no matter what. Sunshine grunted out that it was now or never. That I would get all depressed again if I refused, and it screwed up everything. Buddy followed by saying better a loss to Gardenia thanthatagain as he hovered closer, but the dragon growled at his defeatist attitude.Who said we would lose?he said, nting a heated foot on the ground. Sweetheart grinned, her tail swaying from side to side and nearly hitting Honey in the leg. The electric type nodded at me with a silent look of approval, and wherever the team went, Cassianus followed most of the time, still. Angel wrapped all of us in a tight hug. We had to do this. Together. I sucked in a sharp breath. "We need a new thread to spin," I whispered. "A new story to tell¡ªno, wait. Notpletely new. I can do this. I can make it work." If there was one thing I was good at doing, it was tricking my own brain into believing something else. After two minutes of brainstorming in silence¡ª"I have it."A maddened smile stretched across my mouth. "I''m recalling all of you. Be ready for a fight the next time you''re out¡ªI don''t know who I''ll be picking yet; it depends on how the story''s going. I have to rush to the waiting room to get into the right mindset." They responded with their own noises of approval. Growls, squeals, whistles, grunts, whirs, et cetera. Even a celebratory chime from Cass and a little dance from Mimi. They all disappeared, melting into a red light as their Pokeball absorbed their essence. Everything I hade up with to beat Byron. ns and a narrative burned to smithereens, ground to dust, and thrown into the winds, and for what? For a single chance at redeeming my sense of self. Okay. Okay. Yes. This was an¡ª ¡ª Ambush. Across me stretched an endless expanse of verdant green as far as the eye could see. The grass swayed like a whisper in the wind, a hypnotic motion that had captured my attention for as long as I could remember. The sun above me was scorching, a sting heat that warmed everything it touched, yet the ground below was cold and hard. I remembered now, how I had stayed here since my spirit had been smothered and how I had vowed to remain here for the remainder of my puny little life. However; Beyond the ins grass undting like Ekans slithering in the ground, beyond the shallowkes that mirrored the sun''s light in brilliant, shimmering rainbows, beyond the few oak trees that stood tall and unyielding, each old and worn by time and the elements, was a woman. It was difficult to discern her from here, especially when I could not look at her for long. For the woman was change, and change was an ufortable, terrifying unknown. Better to stay here and keep looking at this unchangingnd for another countless amount of years. There was desire in every glimpse of her eyes caught in my peripheral vision. Her orange hair red up like a me as she spoke andchallenged me. Six on six, three switches, just like the Gym Battles of old. For months, she had heard of me. Of the person I should have been. A creature of passion for fighting that was overzealous in nature, always eager for the next bout. This Adventurer hade all the way here to find me. Toy a trap¡ªan ambush to catch me off-guard and see what I was worth. And oh, how the once brightened light had dimmed; how the mighty all-epassing thirst for battle had fallen. Running was an option; when was it not? All this time, I had run away from responsibility, but I owed it to the select few who knew the truth of me totry. The Pokeball felt alien in my hand, not because of its shape or function, but because of the now unfamiliarintentthat filled my heart. I tried to muster up a grin, and it didn''t quite reach my eyes. I wanted this once. Yearned it. There was something familiar about this ambusher, a need to reignite myself for her and everyone else I cared about. My hand tightened around the ball, its smooth surface cold against my skin. "Fine," I said, my voice a ghost of what it had once been¡ªa decrepit whisper that rasped against my throat. "Don''t be disappointed." Lethargically, I pointed the device at the field and allowed my first Pokemon out of his ball. With silence, I released my Jellicent, and with a deathly silence, he answered in turn. Like forgotten memory, he hovered a few inches off the ground with a transparency that made it feel like he wasn''t even there. nts and grass near him froze, withered and died as if he rejected the very world of the living. Mist coiled around him, thick and carried by purple wind and distortion from anothernd where souls went to die. "We''ve been attacked," I whispered to a piece of him. There was nothing in my voice. "Send her away." The woman frowned, confused and unknowing, but I paid her no mind. She cleared her throat and threw a Pokeball up, releasing one of her own Pokemon. A floating ball of cotton lighter than the wind, its body a brilliant blue that seemed to shine with the sun''s luster. Sheer joy radiated out of the creature, for she enjoyed the way air carried her wherever she wished. Jumpluff, the woman called her, but I knew what her Role would be. I nced away from the Pokemon with a re, realizing she had been the Scout to find me here among the endless prairie. Without a signal, seeds exploded out of the Scout, all uniform and carried by the green-hued winds. They were white and fluffy, almost like Dandruff, and they began littering every inch of the field.Trap,I instantly knew, yet mine Reflection''s reaction was one borne of reluctance. With a sigh that seemed to warp the spirits around him, his body turned to ice, and not with a moment to spare. Seeds around him bounced off or froze before they could sprout and take hold. The mist was still rolling upon the field as my challenger pointed forward, her cape billowing behind her¡ª Arceus, damn it, she was so cool¡ªno. Don''t fucking break character! She pointed forth and ordered a Cotton Spore and a Sunny Day; quicker than I could blick, the rays intensified, yet were still a gentle warmth perfect for nts to grow in. Seeds around Jellicent beyond his aura of death and cold sprung to activity, erupting in¡ª A continuous explosion. They swelled with the fire of life beneath them and burst, spreading more seeds that exploded in turn. Chunks of Jellicent''s frozen went flying, but right from beyond the mist came a scream of agonizing death. Night Shade after Night Shade rushed forth, forcing the Scout to redirect itself upward with the wind as they exploded, bruising the grass type slightly. With a bit of luck, they''d have run. Too bad we were anythingbutlucky. They had traveled too long, gone too far to find me to give up now. "Water and Freeze," I whispered. We would fight at a distance. Still just as sluggish, just as slow, water surged out of every crack formed on my Reflection''s surface by the explosions from the Cotton. My opponent called out to her Scout, and the seeds around Jellicent turned poisonous and exploded in purple, roiling smoke. Somehow, even through the thick mist, they knew where we were; they must have been using the cotton seeds to keep track. Still vapid but undeterred, I watched as countless gallons formed up in rotating walls around Jellicent, each a thickened barrier of ice. Just like I, he would reject the outside world and refuse to move. Instead, he sent out more clones to do his bidding. It was easier to shut out the outside world than to take a step out and allow the flying ball of cotton to take hold. I could see it within the mist. The field was ovepped with each Pokemon''s influence¡ªthe limitless seeds our opponent could call upon that had disseminated to every corner, and the spirits who had spread among the fog. From the vapor, water could be called upon, forming ice around the Scout. Lances of ice that they could not melt, icy rain that pierced through her body, beams that arced toward her in awkward angles. It was difficult to tell exactly how many Night Shades Jellicent had called upon. He had, after all, broken past the limit of two weeks¡ªlong ago. Don''t break character. You''ve been here since time immemorial. However; The Scout brought with it unbridled joy and whimsy that seemed to make the ghosts under my Reflection''s dominion cower in fear. Instead of fearing the pale beyond, sheughed andughed andughed, leaving trails of explosions in her wake as a concentrated Tailwind hastened her to speeds that warped the air around her. Directly above Jellicent''s unmoving body, his form surrounded by rotating walls of ice, the grass typegloweredwith the power of the sun above, its glow like an angel''s halo behind her. Light unyielding, it bore down on us like a hammer, parting the mist in a column below, shattering our five ice walls, and tearing through the earth. The stalking shadows wavered as their master was left a broken pile of liquid and vapor among the smoldering crater, but we were not down for the count. Greedily, Jellicent found within himself an idea¡ªnot the will to fight, to show this challenger that we were worthy of our reputation, but the will tosurvive. We had, after all,sted this long through every trial, every wound, every shattering. "Dissipate," I muttered. And thus, he fizzled out into vapor. Yet the Adventurer¡ªshe smiled, her gaze intense¡ªwould not let Jellicent escape and recover through the ambient mist that remained. She swiftly ordered for her Pokemon to intensify her Tailwind, and it turned green with the essence of life that choked out the spirits that had haunted our mist for so long. They rasped in agony, each scream reverberating across these endless ins. This technique was unknown to me, but I figured out soon enough that it was destroying Jellicent even though he was disembodied into vapor. But herey the truth of it; Gone from eyesight, he was, but he had not moved. Because how could he? Jellicent was my Reflection, and tiredness had seeped into my very bones. The green wind sparkled with energy stolen by the Scout, and life bloomed where it had died around Jellicent, even within the smoking crater. Flowers of every creed and color bloomed, vines slithered on the earth, cotton was born and once more erupted in a cacophony of explosions. "Don''t count us out," I said. "Mass Freeze." The remaining mist liquefied in an instant; water froze in the air. Enough to fill ake, enough to drown our problems and sorrows under the weight of frigid waters. Howdarethis little puny blue thing look at us like this? How dare sheugh as the world around her became encased in ice and her very innards threatened to freeze solid? How dare she push onward despite our attempt to stop her in her tracks? Through determination, she fought the world itself, frozen, crackling, and groaning like a slowly shifting cier, weaving thick, warmed pollen around her like a coat. Palm facing upward, I closed my fist andclenched, almost to willing for the ice to her into entropic paste. Spirits rallied into shades, spitting clumps of Acid at Jumpluff in hopes of destroying her Cotton Guard, but just like everything else, it was all for naught. Mist dissipated. Shades wailed as they shriveled up and ran back into Distortion. Jellicent reappeared, a tiny pond among the flowers on the ground. The Scout heaved for air¡ªI could still see her breath in the quickly-dissipating cold, each onebored and tired as frost ked off her¡ªand spat out a Bullet Seed at the ghost-turned-puddle. He did not go down with a bang, but with the most pathetic of whimpers¡ªthe only sound he had made this entire fight. He had, however, not left without a trace. Behind him, the air was still, and a hollow cavern of frozen ice remained, etched into the otherwise floweryndscape like a scar and using the nt-covered crater as a base. Life refused to take root here as if it had been warded with a curse. It was thin, yet open on both sides of the field; entrances faced both I and our Challenger. His sculpting training with Princess had paid off¡ª "Jellicent is unable to battle! Challenger, send out¡ª" Gah! Cut the referee out of mind; he didn''t exist! Focus.Focus! Deep breaths. For the first time, I faced my challenger¡ªthis Adventurer. Her hair burned like the sun; her clothes were green like nature; she was the herald of change, whereas I was stuck and forever immutable. There was, however, the tiniest of embers. Warmth on my hip, not eager to get out, but not crippled as my Reflection had been. Was now¡­ no, it wasn''t.But was it?I unsped the Pokeball from my belt and stared down at the bumps and crevices in the metal, a knot forming in my stomach. He would perhaps not be ready, but a fire needed time to get going. Hesitantly,hesitantly,I let out Turtonator into the ice cavern. Here, he would be shielded by these life-giving winds carrying seeds, but more importantly¡ª If my fair Jellicent had been my outer Reflection, my flesh, skin, bones, and thoughts, then Turtonator was my Soul within. The empty furnace left barren without even embers to keep it warm. He did not announce his presence with a roar or a sky-bound methrower, but with a deep growl that reverberated all over his hollow chamber. His shell glowered with a dull red instead of our vibrant blue that would wipe anything close to him clean. He had been asleep for longer than we could remember, lying on his stomach with his tail curled up. Yet just like every time action was demanded of us, every time we had tofight, The dragon stood. With a hastymand, our challenger ordered her Scout to float away, up and up through the fading mist that was now but a thin, see-through veil. A sad smile stretched upon my lips, for I knew it meant she had heard great histories of my dear sun. Yet no great fire came, nor did we snatch their Sunny Day and turn the world into an unlivable hell. The following words came out smoothly. "Rock Tomb, Dragon Pulse." Heavy steps followed, each one just as slow as thest as the Adventurer asked for the grass type to swap the winds from grass to fairy. With a ripple across the air, it turned pink and intensified around Turtonator, who had to take a step out of his cave to attack. From the earth rose countless rocks that flew upward with flowers still attached to them. I could see it in the woman''s eyes, how she expected me to spring a trap. Would the rocks explode in great works of me and ash? Would we superheat them until the air itself caught aze? The seeds remaining across these rocks turned to great thorny vines thatsqueezedand crushed many of them as they made their journey upward, and the Scout kept flying back¡ª However. "sh Cannon." It was but a distraction. A bright light gathered on the dragon''s snout before turning pinpoint, their essence tearing through the very wind that had kept battering us. With a tired sigh, my Soul sent it flying¡ªit cut through the air like a knife, its light spreading so quickly the already-tired Scout had scant time to dodge. With an upward swing, it streaked across the flying type''s body and cotton balls, causing her to scream with an ear-shaking shriek. The rocks that were still in the sky, albeit falling,nded all across the field with loud crashes. Unsettled, the Adventurer told her Scout to use Stun Spore. She hadn''t before because she thought we''d justburn them anyway, but she''d seen through us now. A heap of yellow spores exploded around Jumpluff and were carried directly toward the ice cave by their Fairy Wind. These spores were thick, clinging together as they gathered momentum, swirling in the breeze like tiny soldiers on a march. Turtonator shot me alook. My extincts as a trainer and his as an expert battler were screaming something else. I shut him down with my vapid stare and a head nudge. There was an advantage to this, even if¡ª Shut up. Keep your head in the game. "Smokescreen and Smog," I added. The following sh Cannon did not need to be said. Darkened, poisonous ash roiled throughout his cavern This was an old trap of his he had sprung on us many times while training when he had first joined the team. Just then, spores entered the Smog. It was my hope that most of them would degenerate from the poison. But more importantly. This attack. It was important; it was memory; it was warm. There was a warning from Garde¡ªfrom the Adventurer, but her Scout could no longer absorb as much energy from us through the wind, not that we had anything left to give. They were on theirst legs. Another light, the tiniest of points, came to life within the ashes, and then once again sliced through the air. This one singed the grass type, who was a smoking mess as the woman recalled her before she could hit the earth below. The smog cleared, and beyond the sluggish, half-paralyzed movements, I noticed that my Soul was glowing just a little brighter, exuding just a little more heat, standing just a little taller. My breath hitched in my throat as our challenger considered her options. That sh Cannon had been warmer than it should have been. What followed was¡ª A living continent. Massive in size,rge enough to make each of her movements shake the very foundations of the earth. She was sorge, in fact, that she was covered in moss and nts and spiky rocks and a massive tree. Torterra, the woman called her, and for a moment, memories of Harry Rodriguez shed in my mind. The urge to let the story go to waste and to order a killing blow was only a passing one, but it was an urge nheless. "Dragon Pulse¡ª" The adventurer interrupted me with an order of her own, her voice dominant enough to overtake every inch of the field. I took a step back as seeds from Jumpluff still floating around the field,nded on the Guardian''s back and bloomed into a set of brown flowers covering her entire shell, drawing nourishment from the fertilend beneath. Therge, earthy, brown petals began to pulse with energy like a long-held breath as they curved inward and rotated toward our cavern¡ª "Retreat," I corrected. "Retreat and Iron Defense." Gardenia grinned, and the world exploded. In perfect unison, each flower released an earthy st of mud and life. The field seemed to sing in harmony with the strike, surrendering all it had to fuel the Guardian''s attack. Sunshine glimmered with the power of steel as he retreated into his shell, and the st mmed into his cavern. It rended the ice into a million pieces, shattering it like a broken mirror with strength that rattled the barrier in front of me. This Torterra, I realized, was ancient. She hadbored in nature''s service for so long that the earth itself answered her call, giving everything it had to power her attack, a testament to the deep connection she shared with the world beneath her feet. From the broken world above him, Sunshine rose, each movement sluggish. He had been buried in ice and mud, thetter of which clung to his scales like a cancer. He had turned around and retreated into his shell to resist much of the damage, but it was slightly damaged. Swirling turquoise energy peppered by heat swirled around his snout, the birth of a Dragon Pulse, but Gardenia ordered a world-shatteringEarthquake, and the world held its breath. The st of draconic energy hit the grass type head-on, but all it got us was a pained grunt¡ªshe did not even waver nor slow her attack. The Guardianpushedherself off, standing on her two hind legs, and when shended, she showed us the meaning of power. The moment her massive limbs struck the ground, the world beneath us heaved and groaned, as if the very bones of the were shattering beneath her weight. What followed was not a mere tremor but a cataclysmic upheaval¡ªa rolling, thunderous quake that surged outward in violent ripples as if the earth had liquefied. I recalled Turtonator before it could reach him. It would, after all, not do me any good to witness mySoulfall in battle. What surprised me was that the rending of the earth did not destroy it, but bring about more life. Yes, it had been upturned; nts and trees had been ripped apart, but following the Earthquake came a veritable wave of flowers. Again, the seeds from Jumpluff served their purpose, and there were so many still multiplying I feared they would never run out. My eyes scanned the field for a moment. There were still rocks from Sunshine about the ins, though a lot of them had been shattered by the earthquake; the flowers atop the Guardian had all wilted and fallen. There were really two options here that would not bleed into the narrative, and who would be able to take down this Torterra¡ªno, I was thinking far too narrowly. A story was not a straightforward affair but a river with twists and turns.Have faith in your team; see where it takes you.There was one particr aspect of myself whom I could follow with. My Soul was not ready to be reignited yet, so perhaps¡­ A little faster this time¡ªjust a little faster¡ªI sent ydol out of their Pokeball. The psychic beeped, their eyes constantly blinking as they scanned the field below them. Their turrets were reclined in on their body, waiting for a call to action, and whenever theyweren''tblinking, their eyes were half-closed. One look at their opponent, and there was an understanding between us. Yes, I thought with a heavy heart. For Sacrifice was ydol, and ydol was Sacrifice. A desire to fulfill their duty as strong as unbending steel, whether that be protecting me or fighting to keep us alive. Harm and death might cast their ominous shadows in our path, but they would always see things through. Our challenger shot us a curious look¡ªshe must have expected us to respond with something else, like Togekiss or Tyranitar. Those who would be able to go toe-to-toe with the Guardian she had unleashed upon us. What we needed, however, was control. And while Sacrifice still was not an offensive powerhouse like my other aspects, they were no longer a pushover. The Adventurer bellowed out an order with a grin, and leaves and flowers and moss and nts and grass and dirt peeled off the Guardian''s body and the ground, carried by winds only slightly weaker than Jumpluff''s had been. The Leaf Storm was deafening, a careening dissonance that made my head feel like it was spinning. The vibrant greens and earthy browns spiraled upward in a chaotic dance, an orchestra of nature at the Guardian''s beck and call. I bit my lip. "Go forward and Wide Guard." Before the words were even out of my mouth, a transparent point of pink light materialized in front of ydol, then spread as they molded the psychic shape into a wide screen. They slowed in the air when the storm hit them; the winds and objects it carried repeatedly mmed against the wall with a grinding screech, like nails scratching against a chalkboard. It tilted, cracked,wailedunder the strain. But itheld. Growth, the Adventurer ordered, but with a snap-order, I had ydol summon a Sandstorm to mask the sun and slow the Guardian''s recovery. Leaf Storm took a lot out of a user, and now that we were in range, it was our time to strike. To pull them down with us and allow apathy to seize their soul. Where ydolcked in power, they made up for it in finesse. Sands roared, thick enough for me to only make out the two Pokemon because one''s eyes were glowing and the other''s body was doing the same. "Imprison and send them down," I said. What was this I was feeling? This nascent tingle, this need to pull through no matter what? Better bury it like we were going to bury this living ind. "Make them a tomb." Four transparent walls appeared around Torterra where the Sandstorm grew at its most intense, not to harm, but to obscure vision and to snatch the sun away from her.Wood Hammer,our challenger called out, and the grass type''s tree grew, grew and grew until it broke against the barrier and splintered it. We were blessed with the fact that it took a lot more to make a Wood Hammer or an Earthquake than an Imprison and our enemy wasslow, so we trapped them again and again as the earth below them shifted into Scorching Sands. They had power, but we had control over their own element until the Guardian was half buried in her grave and¡ª Wait. Wait, wait,wait. Obscured by a grave of our own making, the Guardian was changing. Beneath her dense, gnarled, and scorched bark, bulging muscles rippled to life, swelling with nature''s song.The roots in the earth. It must have been less efficient than the sun, but it worked regardless. Growth, Bulk Up, Synthesis, a triumvirate of techniques meant tohold on. They would not go down easily. Nature, as I''de to learn, was a resilient beast. The next order cut through the whispering, contained Sandstorm, and made my eyes widen in shock. Wood creaked with every movement, and the Guardianjumped. How? They had been rendered immobile, but they tore through the churning superheated sands and soared through the air, smashing into our Imprison with Superpower. She soared into the air, leaving a trail of rock, mud, and nts behind her. Taken aback, Sacrifice whirred, and beneath them, a pir of stone rose within an instant. It hammered on the Guardian''s stomach butbroke against her body¡ªa hastily erected barrier came next, and it too, broke apart under the weight and strain of the grass type''s charge. Ah. I saw it then, as wood hurled itself against y at speeds that should have been unheard of for her species. As six eyes closed and attempted to assault the Guardian''s mind with Psychic as ast-ditch effort to stay afloat, all of that for naught. The adventurer and her party¡­ it was about pushing themselves beyond the possible. One blow, and Sacrifice went flying, rolling onto the ground like a spinning top when theynded. The Guardian attempted to carry her momentum, though she tripped the moment she started running. Superpower had put a lot of strain on her body, which meant time for us. "Imprison and Earth Power." Could they do it again? That was the question. Another set of walls encased the Guardian, albeit slower this time due to the sheer amount of damage Superpower had done. ydol''s body was almost falling apart; the structure was caved in, its form grotesquely warped in a way that said they shouldn''t even have been able to function. My eyes nced at the orange-haireddy, and I suppressed whatever feeling made the hair on my arms stand on edge. Maybe we had learned from her, just a little bit. Concentrated within the rtively tiny space, the ground below Torterra pulsed with a menacing hum, then bulged outward, then the earth itself came alive with a superheated geyser. The Guardian groaned, but s, there was a reason we had not done this in the first ce. Our offensive power was stillcking when it needed to take out bulky Pokemon like Torterra. So much so that the Guardian could sustain herself through much of the damage; I could see her form healing through the burning earth. It came as no surprise when the Imprison broke apart once again, and although no other Superpower came, the Leaf Storm was still a threat due to the constant Growth the grass type was undergoing. It surged with a fury that defied nature, a twisting, howling vortex of razor-sharp leaves that tore through everything it touched. It swallowed up Sacrifice, chewing them and spitting them out like one of the many rocks the storm carried. Eyes flickered on and off, and my heart jumped in my throat when they all converged toward me. Their voice was a distorted mess¡ªa high-pitched warble that crackled with static¡ªyet I heard their following words cut through the crisp air around me. "Grace. Have you not given enough? Do you not want more than this?" I blinked, eyes rapidly fluttering as the world seemed a little¡­ not brighter, but more authentic. Like the transparency around it that had gripped even Jellicent was gone. Were they right? HadI given enough? I''d nearly forgotten what it was like. The endless toil of a terrified girl being shoved around by her own people in hopes that she was the answer to the world being under threat. What else could I do but ept, when my refusal might mean everything I had known and would ever know would end? And so you threw yourself under the weight of duty, forgetting to take care of anything else. In other words, you gave. You gave, gave, gave, gave, gave, and gave,and it was never enough. Maybe it was time to take. She was a hulking, shifting mass of stone tings, each one more immutable than thest. She towered over even Torterra, rolling her shoulders as she smothered a grin and instead shed her sharp teeth with a cold, almost unseeable anger. Her form radiated a raw, oppressive power¡ªthe kind that could crush small hills underfoot. She was Tyranitar, and she was the all-consuming Desire to be better.I want to be kind I want people to sing my name I want to be strong enough to be safe forever I want to never worry about money I want to trust myself with my powers I want to be forgiven I want to be loved I want to remember how to have fun I want this I want that I want EVERYTHING. But did I deserve it? Desire made herself tall, and my body shivered. The Adventurer stared back pensively, but allowed the Guardian to stand her ground. Earthquake, she bellowed, and once again, the world held its breath as the grass type pushed herself up on her hind legs with strength she had essed through the soil. Grains of darkened sands slipped out of Tyranitar''s vents, slowly at first, and then a deluge of void and silence tore through the world, swarming the Guardian just as shended and broke the earth below her. The ins rippled, shattered, and glowered with energy summoned through the soil and a mighty roar. Desire''s tes took on a metallic sheen, but she kept trudging forward, her steps muffled by the darkened sandstorm until the Earthquakehit her. There was nothing but a tiny wince¡ªshe stood her ground, her feet nted firmly in the ground as the earth shifted around her and let out muffled screams as if the terrain itself could wail in agony. "Stone Edge." There had been rocks spread around through both ydol and Turtonator, and she would put them to use. They were broken shards, yet she brought them together and created enormous pirs of sharpened stones that she sent barrelling toward Torterra. Her bark softened by Superpower, they easily dug into her and made herbleed, the dark red creating a heavy contrast with the darkened sands. The Guardian was dizzied and distracted by pain she was unfamiliar with; now was the time to strike. "Rock Polish," I followed suit, my voice cutting through the storm, "and Ice Fang." Desire''s movements sharpened, her steps growing quicker and aided by the asional expulsion of sand behind her, each greedy stride devouring the distance between her and her opponent. Mist formed around her fangs as soon as they opened, and the rock type mmed into the Guardian with a roar that was swallowed up by the storm. One could not hear the huntress thrashing against the Torterra, the hush of the wind drowning out the sounds of heavy ting meeting flesh and bone, but they couldseeher. Her ws gouged into the Guardian''s massive shell with savage force, cracking stone and uprooting bark with each strike. Her fangs, now jagged and frostbitten, sank deep into Torterra''s side, tearing throughyers of bark and flesh in a violent flurry. The Guardian fought back, limbs smashing the earth in desperate retaliation, calling upon nature toe to her aid, but Desire was relentless¡ªmming, biting, shing, each strike eerily silent. The fight was brutal. Primal. Her movements efficient as her teeth found the walking continent''s throat andtightened. Yes, I thought as her movements grew more and more joyous. As she grinned after each blow, be it dealt or taken. She wanted to fight, to feel the blood pumping in her veins, to feel the pain every time she was hit, to taste the blood in her mouth after a triumph. Theheatof battle. I could feel it, too¡ªher exhration coursing through me like a fire desperate to start; she was me, and I was her, Desire intertwined. The Guardian fell limp against the ground, her body battered, gouged and bloodied in a way that made the Adventurer wince. She did not even have to wait to allow out her next Pokemon. The decision was nearly instantaneous; she released the mass of metal further away, a clear sign of respect. He was a ball of spikes and death with eyes so sinister you would think he hade here to kill us and destroy all we loved. Had hee to take away nascent desire, to smother our fire in its crib? This steel type, this Ferrothorn, this ckguard; he pushed himself up, bncing himself on balls of spikes that could easily navigate the broken terrain. Leech Seed, Gardenia called out, and I hunched over, the Embers already snuffed out at the idea that someone would look at me like the ckguard. Like he knew my long list of sins, and he would pick them out and read them out to me one by one. Yet, Desire fought. The Tyranitar sted the little seeds out of the air with her storm, scattering them to the winds so we wouldn''t have to worry. My challenger frowned for a moment, and then called out for a Gyro Ball. Going in close after having attempted to fight at a distance? Desperate to shake off my nerves, I looked to the future. The Scout had seeded these rolling ins with life, and the Guardian had used and replenished it in an endless cycle of withering, death, and rebirth. The ground was upturned, messy, and unorderly, like someone had thrown as many colors as they could onto a nk canvas. Where there was life, there would be water¡ªnot in the already-ruinedkes that had been present at the start of the battle, but within the confines of the earth. "Ride," I ordered, surprised at the loudness of my own voice. There was a rumble below the ground, and then water took to the surface, flooding thesends and turning them into a shallow bog. The closer the ckguard got to us, each step calcted to be as efficient as possible, the more agitated it got. Desire kicked the wet mud, summoning beneath her an enormous b of stone. She gathered the remaining fragments from her predecessors she could find around her, and then¡ª Water swept her forward, her momentum just as powerful as the ckguard''s Gyroball. For a brief moment, she faltered, slipping in the rush of momentum; my heart stuttered in time with the misstep, and the steel type threw himself into a spin faster and fiercer than his even the gaze burning in his dark eyes, turning him into a whirlwind of metal and malice. Around him, a disc of searing light began to form¡ªa luminous, deadly ring, the beginnings of a sh Cannon that whirled like a saw de. The light grew, expanding with every rotation until it became a shining edge that extended far beyond the steel type''s form. It cut through the battlefield like a scythe, evaporating water, slicing through Tyranitar''s towering stone as though it were nothing but paper, the echo of shattering rock resounding in the air. The light scraped against her tes, screeching as metal met stone, sparks erupting in a brilliant, furious disy. And so, Desire and ckguard shed like two mountains crashing into each other. It was much the same story that had befallen the Guardian, but our opponent this time was more equipped to deal with physical hits. Eachngthat made its way through the darkened storm seemed to reinforce the idea that he was a solid wall, and while his Power Whips failed to do anything but crack my Desire''s armor at best, the Leech Seed he had finally managed to attach to her was pulling its own weight¡ª Wait.Was it? I squinted, eyes struggling to parse through the details of the two''s obscured surroundings, but that Leech Seed was not up to par with what I''de to expect from such a magnificent grass type trainer. Instead, it seemed sluggish, the tendrils that sprouted from them nearly anemic rtive to the previous ones. No matter; there was no time to think. Another sh Canon buried itself deep in Tyranitar''s chest, knocking the air out of her lungs. Her eyes widened, and I ordered her to pull away the ckguard''s feelers. The first one, she got immediately and threw away, but the orange-haired woman barked out another order, and Acid burst out of Ferrothorn in waves. It did not do much, but the drops that slipped through the cracks made Desire screech and attempt to pull the second vine off his body. But then, something clicked. "No!"I yelled. Yelled. Yelled. That was what they''d been waiting for¡ªan opening. The rock type leaned in, w wrapping around the Ferrothorn''s feeler, but¡ªwait,she was listening. Barely, justbarely, Desire utched herself from the ckguard, making theingRevengeattached to the third and final spike ball barely scrape her. "Now use methrower!"I added. mes began to coil and writhe in her ever widening maw, a lighthouse within the darkness that flickered in and out. The air around her turned hazy with the sheer heat she brought forth, and the fire escaped in a single, furious torrent that swallowed up the ckguard. An endless stream of golden mes that vaporized the water ten feet around her. Beyond the fact that I had used a fire type move, beyond the fact that I had screamed in the heat of battle, beyond the fact that there were embers in my hearth¡ª This Pokemon. I knew him. He was a faded memory, a person I couldn''t ce, yet I knew I had seen beforehand. The ckguard did not fall with a single methrower, no, and I could not bring myself to utter any more words, but they kept shing, imprable stone te against sturdy steel hide, mountain against the toughest of roots. Desire, too, could not allow fire to run amock again¡ªthat little rascal sometimes got too excited and had to catch herself a split-second from another methrower that made both our opponents flinch. In these moments, it felt like I had stepped out onto the world naked¡ªexposed and vulnerable, as if my skin had been scraped raw. I had allowed the challenger to goad me, to nearly reignite me, to make mesmile. It was terrifying; I wanted it gone. I wanted it gone, gone, gone,gone. ckguard copsed against the swamp we''d created, only a stump remaining where one of its stems had once been. I could not help but notice how¡­ alone Ferrothorn had been. His strategycked the seamless integration one would expect from a well-coordinated party. This made sense, given his Name. ckguard was a solitary figure, a loner who only allied himself with the others in moments of desperation, otherwise preferring to forge his own path. Yes. Giving it more thought, this was in line with everything I had foreseen. Sweetheart was tired and wounded. She had been poisoned, battered by light and by vines. The knowledge that we could have won easier with methrower than without weighed heavy on her¡ªI could tell, but it wasn''t like the Adventurer would have justletit happen. Strategically speaking, catching her by surprise had been correct. Through heavy breaths that mirrored her own, I sagged against my knees and sighed in relief. I''d flown too close to the sun; it would be better to retreat into my cold, darkened cave. In fact¡ª Fingers cold against my pants, I ordered her to make a cave as our Challenger sped up her decision-making. It was nowhere as sophisticated as my Reflection, but¡ª From the depths of the bog, she emerged¡ªa graceful specter cloaked in vibrant hues, a haunting vision against the backdrop of a dwindling storm. The air shimmered with her ethereal presence, two brilliant sshes of color piercing through the haze: one blue as the endless ocean, the other red like the birth of a raging fire. My throat tightened as she opened her eyes, and nature itself sang her name, for she had traveled countless miles, endless stretches ofnd that never ended.Roserade the Explorer,they beckoned her, and she answered in turn with a bow as the sun somehow intensified brightly enough to pierce through the Dark Sandstorm, and rain started topourby the gallons. Desire demanded the use of methrower. "No," I answered. She asked again. "No," I answered. "Sit still, do not dare try to bite off more than you can chew. Fire is danger, and danger isterrifying," I said with shuddering breaths. Then, sheshed out. Would you let your, their, our sacrifices be for nothing?she yelled at me¡ªthough augh nearly slipped out of her¡ªWould you¡ª Toote. "Rose! Let rain and the sun befall them!" the Adventurer yelled with augh. Her voice resonated like a songstress''s, rich and deep, weaving through the chaos like a melodic thread in a tapestry of sound. It was my first time actuallyhearingit instead of processing it, and it made my soul nearly jump out of my skin. No, no,no.The artificial sun intensified, as did the light of theactualsun, bearing down on us at temperatures more fit for a fire type than a grass one. At the same time, rain mmed into the earth, yet it did not flood. The ground itself greedily drank the liquid, using it to grow even more flowers than the Scout had wrought. This, I recognized easily, was Life Dew pushed to its absolute apex and mixed in with the rain. You could not evenseethe grass¡ªit was as if each drop of rain summoned forth a bud of its own. On Desire as well, nts began to overtake her¡ªthey wrapped around her¡ªthey caused her pain by prickling her wounds and growing on her flesh¡ªthey drained her energy¡ªthey poisoned her¡ªparalyzed her¡ªmade her drowsy¡ªslowed her¡ª I got it. I was not fighting a force of nature, but nature itself. "Fight back!" I tried. Sweat trickled down my skin. I was ready towant, now. "methrower!" Though the nts smothered her grin and started growing inside her mouth, the rain rendered them so weak that they barely burned and fizzled out by the time they reached the Explorer.Earthquake!I tried next, and upon a bed of flowers, the poison type jumped as if she''d reached a trampoline and spun in the air. Upside down, she aimed both her bouquets toward Tyranitar as the earthsplitbelow her¡ªnature and grass fought back to mend the gash¡ªand the sunboomedin intensity, lowering in height until it only hovered thirty feet off the ground, and rain turned to a roaring storm. Light of every color unfurled amidst the vapor rising from the searing heat, a kaleidoscope of hues that danced and shimmered with the Explorer''s ambition and nature''s call. Each color sang its own note in the symphony of life: rich emeralds and deep sapphires intertwined with fiery oranges and passionate reds, creating a breathtaking mosaic that celebrated the beauty of His creation. Life. Theser surged forward, a manifestation of nature''s exuberance as it dispelled all that would bring darkness to His realm. Grains of darkened sands fell lifeless to the ground and were taken below by the earth, and light swallowed the dark. Onest effort. Walls of earth rose up in front of her, one, three, fiveyers of thickened rock while she draconic energy charged within her mouth. They were all blown away, each taking the st just a little longer, but all for naught. The sound of the impact was deafening, causing my hearing aid to crackle with a high-pitched ring that made me wince. How grand for a st that signified hope to be so deadly. Desire staggered, the sheer brilliance forcing her to momentarily shield her eyes as life washed over her scale. She did not budge an inch, standing her ground, but what remained was a body overwhelmed by ntlife¡ªenough of it not to see where the Tyranitar began and ended. In her mouth, eyes, nostrils, under her ws, within her vents. Desire lost consciousness standing. Holy fuck,I wanted to say, but I stayed quiet. That was¡ªit had not been nned, but it was perfect. I recalled her and cracked each of my fingers with a satisfying pop. Roserade looked tired as well, though nowhere near done. It felt as if that was an ultimate attack of some sort, something they had workshopped for years and perfected as time went on. Within my mind, an idea was born, overtaking every other notion until there was nothing left but a single, burning question. Was my Soul ready? This was not a tactical question, though the rest within his ball would have done him some good, and the sun was low and intense enough to fuel him. It was a question concerning my inner self, and by the Legendaries, endless doubt clouded my mind. Yet, Sacrifice had asked me if I had not given enough, and Desire had berated me for letting everything be for nothing, as if to ask what it wasall for? His Pokeball was just a little warmer. Three left each. I sent him out, again within the confines of his ''cave''¡ªcalling it that was doing Tyranitar a favor, it was more two parallel walls and a scuffed overhang than anything else, but she had done her job. While the walls were covered in nts, whaty inside still¡­ well, not lifeless, for the Explorer''s reach extended far, but far less dense. I raised two fingers as soon as he looked back at me, and he sighed, rolling his shoulders as a dull heat exuded from his scales. Dull, but heat nheless. Everything was so calm after such a disy of skill by the Explorer. All I could hear was the rain pattering against the wet mud and the flower petals. "This isherRoserade," I warned. He took one look at her and red as she began to move, opting to fight at a close range at her trainer''s discretion. At the same time, the sun rose higher again, ensuring that it would stay hidden behind the rain clouds. Fire surged from his snout; a dull red turned to an intense orange. He took a step outside the ''cave,'' and water simmered on his back, turning into vapor. None but the sturdiest of flowers could stick to his body. I sucked in moist air through my teeth. "Don''t let here to you. Fire Pir." With a deep, guttural growl from deep within his chest, my Soul wielded the power of fire. Beats of warmth coincided with each burning spire that rose from the earth, leaving behind nothing but a smoldering hole the rain rapidly filled in and seeded once again. The closer the Explorer approached, the nearer the mes came to striking her, but she moved with a speed that far exceeded our expectations. Flowers not only helped her jump, but also made it feel like each stride carried her twice as far as it should have. Not only that, but shetoocould propel herself with Water Sport in short bursts, though it only came from her blue bouquet. Wide, wide, wide, graze, wide, graze,hit, and she burned for a second before slipping out of the fire, wide¡ªshe had made it. "Hit the chest!"Gardenia grinned. Already, we''d put up an Iron Defense¡ªwater pressurized within Roserade''s flower so tightly that half of it turned to form on her upswing. The Shell Trap would be tight. With unprecedented agility and a measured explosion ononeside of his shell, the fire type spun around, and the punch bounced off helplessly against his shell¡ª A massive detonation rattled thend. Fiery, intense, one that sucked in all the air around both Pokemon and left Roserade burned to a crisp until she stepped back into her rain and darkened, ash-covered leaves turned back to a healthy green. It left us an opportunity to follow, to stick to the Explorer like glue in hopes of not letting her a moment''s respite, but¡ªit was and would be a leap of faith. "methrower!" "Extrasensory!" The two orders were exchanged, but our Pokemon had already begun moving. My Soul lowered himself on all fours, tail curling upward as mes gathered in his mouth and exploded in a wide arc that caught the Explorer off-guard. Her psychic powers were there, but they werepaltry, and they failed to contain even the dull orange me. Yes, we''d been ramping up, hadn''t we? The Explorerughed as more mes engulfed her, as did her trainer, and I felt my face warm. Not the time. They lost themselves in a song and dance of dodging and striking each other, though the Explorer dared not venture close. She brought forth jets of water that rivaled a weak Hydro Pump, and we struck her with mes and scorching Dragon Pulses in hopes of destroying her. The earth here was not ours¡ªour attempt at Bulldoze to slow the grass type remained a call unanswered; nature ruled and would rule until at least the Explorer was off the field. But. Eventually. "Let rain and the sun befall them!" With those words came a drop in my chest and a familiar feeling of doom as the sun lowered itself beneath the rainclouds and brought with it swirling rainbows that stretched far and wide across the skies. Again. It was happening again. I couldn''t¡ªno¡ªhe would not survive the st. With a graceful dance, the grass type called upon all under hermand¡ªeverything the light of the sun touched¡ªand ethereal light turnedsolid¡ª I couldn''t. Back into his Pokeball, my Soul went, though I made sure to wait until the stbegan. This time, it utterly destroyed Tyranitar''s ''cave,'' copsing the stone structure into flower-covered rubble. The instincts as a trainer I''d begun to reawaken had forced me to despite my wants and needs. Roserade couldn''t call upon such power multiple times. No, she needed time, just like I did, but for a whole other reason. I understood now. Understood what my Pokemon had been trying to tell me. But I needed to let myself breathe, to allow my eyes to open and witness something that had beencking in my existence for time immemorial. To pierce the dense fog I had wrapped around my heart, to lift the curtains upon the spectacle that was my life. Kindness. Not to others, though I could use that to, but the softness I had denied myself forever. It was always my fault, my problem, my issues, me, me,me, me¡ªand yes, that was warranted sometimes.A lot of the time.And there was a dangerous path to tread to kindness yet, but had I not been terribly unforgiving? The standard I had shackled myself to after all my sins was high, almost impossibly so, and I would meet it one day, but perhaps¡ª Perhaps a sprinkle of Kindness would do. Upon one knee, Electivire appeared, and he rose so quickly, his body spry and young and eager with none of the sluggishness that had gued my other Pokemon. Tails intertwined with excitement, fingers flexed as they formed into fists, he hopped from side to side and faced the doubly tired Roserade¡ª A red beam hit the grass type immediately, and Kindness nearly let out an annoyed whir, throwing his hands up before I shushed him and told him to remain, well,kind. It had been ages since he had been in such a fight, one with no lives at stakes, and he was just a little too restless for the Role. The gentleness and calm needed as if he were a balm to my Soul just wasn''t there. But he would do his best, and I would smile at him in turn. Was that not what being kind was like? One advantage we''d gained turning the field into a wet mess¡ªthough that had been exacerbated by the Explorer¡ªwas that electricity could spread through thesends quite easily. Already, arcs of it were flying across the field quicker than I could take a breath. Strangely enough, the sun remained, but the rain quickly faded. The Adventurer knew our strengths, and any trainer worth their salt would know not to allow a storm in reach of an electric type. My opponent waited, and waited, and waited, for the longer she did so, the more water the ground would swallow without the rain to replenish it. Thirty secondster came a Pokemon I had never seen before. He moved with a feline grace, sleek and poised, his body slender yet powerful beneath a cloak of deep green fur that shimmered in the light of the sun. His appearance was striking, almost theatrical¡ªhis face framed by what looked like petals, forming a mask of soft purples and greens that lent him an air of mystery. He knelt, slowly plucking a purple flower from the ground and snatched it betweet his teeth. "Meowscarada," the Adventurer spoke in a warning tone, "this one is fast, faster than nearly anything you''ve ever faced in a while¡ª" "Rain Dance and Lightning Bolt!"I yelled with a grin. Ah, the joys of having her operate on outdated information. A darkened rain cloud of our own materialized far above Kindness, up and up and up until thunder roiled within and struck us down in two seconds. It coalesced as an elongated, thin spike in his hand, and it crackledblue. This was True Lightning, the kind that two of my mentors had thrown against each other atop a mountain like summoning it was effortless, yet it took all of our concentration¡ª The Adventurer followed up with a "Spikes" that had me frown, but Kindness threw the electricity like a javelin. Ah.It turned back to a normal yellow mid-flight, but it was far too fast for anything to dodge. Yet when it hit Meowscarada¡ª Nothing happened. Not a single hair on the grass type''s body was harmed. A thin sheet of dull, brown energy coiled around him like a second set of skin, and tiny little spikes, barely anything worth noting, littered the ground around his feet. "Flower Trick¡ªYellow," my opponent ordered. Flowers her previous Pokemon had nted rose from the earth, each a dull yellow that spun around Meowscarada. The grass type mushed them together,bining them into an abomination of a bouquet that somehow fit and looked beautiful when it shouldn''t have, and then came another, and another, and¡ª What were wedoing?I pped my hands, snapping both Kindness and I out of our confused stupor. This was an attack we''d used against Gctic grunts, and it had donenothing?There must have been some kind of trick, and more wereing. I knew her modus operandi by now; I expected the barrage of yellow flowers to explode into spores of some kind. The¡­ Magician sent them forth, all at the same time. They flew in a wide arc until they suddenly sped up midway through with a flick of the grass type''s fingers¡ª "Protect!" Yellowpollen¡ªnot spores, it was far too powdery and clumpy¡ªburst out of each bouquet with every explosion, and they swirled around Kindness in the form of a tornado. Undeterred, hemoved, a herculean effort while still maintaining his Protect. As soon as he was out of the smoke, he fired off a quick Thunderbolt to test the Magician''s defenses, but once again, a spike slid out of beneath her cape, and the attack did nothing. I could see the shape of it now, how they needed to use a ground type move to gather a second skin that shielded them from electricity. Look at your feet,the Magician goaded. Shit, I''d been too focused on him¡ªa bouquet camouged between the countless flowers exploded in another swarm of yellow pollen, and Honey quickly flickered back with Radiant Leap before I could blink. Yet, he coughed, grimacing as he waved his hand in front of his nose and mouth and scraped some of the pollen off him. He hurled, cheeks swelling with what I assumed was vomit, and he puked all over the ground, staining the flowers in a sickly yellow-green bile. He was so rattled that his localized Rain Dance ended, dissolving in the wind. A seed came next,nding softly on the electric type''s head like a feather, and instead of the Leech Seed I expected, out burst a strange, red thorn that pricked the side of Kindness'' face and drew a tiny amount of blood. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but that would be doing him a disservice. The fun he had expected had been snuffed out, smothered in trickery and deception. We needed to find our footing, but as it turned out, making an Electivire nauseous to the point of being unable to move was a fantastic way of taking away his main advantage: his speed. He tried moving, but each step was apanied by a grumble in his stomach and more vomit, andsomehow, he kept spewing out even if he must have run out of food a long time ago. The best he managed to do was pull up a Protect to stall other Flower Tricks or Energy Balls or Magical Leaves in hopes of ousting the nausea, but it wasnotletting up. They knew that eventually, we''d get too tired to keep up the Protect. Time to improvise. "Fire Swift! Stagger them!" He turned his head back at me like I was insane. Maybe I was. We''d never used that move, after all, only Electric Swift, but as it turned out, without electric type attacks, we were horribly equipped to deal with foes that kept their distance. We just had Electric Swift, which hadn''t seen serious use in months. Heughed and thrust his arms forward; a cluster of bright, golden stars erupted from his palms as soon as the shimmering green barrier fell around him. I knew the Adventurer''s theme. Knew she worked well with the sun and rain, and that her next move would be water type to keep her Magician safe. Case in point¡ª "Chilling Water," she said. The burning stars carved through the air, trailing streams of fire in their wake likeets streaking across the battlefield. The heat distorted the air around them as they swirled and circled, faster and faster, honing in on the Magician at different speeds. Once again, the attack from the Magician was weak, only there to protect instead of strike. Cold, frozen waters sprouted from the ground at his feet, and the first Swift barely harmed the grass type¡ª I snapped my finger."Thunder." Electricity crackled, coiling around his tails with pulsating energy. It shot out of his hands, and the earth around him shattered with the power brought forth by Thunder. The Magician''s eyes widened, and her trainerughed, knowing that there was no time. That wasn''t forck of trying¡ªthe Magician''s cape pped, and more spikes fell through, but here was the thing about their trick. It was fast, yes. I could see the second set of skin crawling up the Meowscarada''s legs like creeping vines, slithering beneath her fur in a shimmering, translucentyer. It spread quickly, molding over her muscles, sleek and almost invisible, like a living armor that bent the light around it. But we were faster. The rest of the fiery stars collided with her, as did the enormous beam of electricity¡ª I squinted as the Adventurer recalled her Pokemon. It felt almost unfair, how quick she''d been on the draw, but the Magician was one to fight at a distance, and the space between him and Kindness had beenrge enough to allow them respite, though onlybarely. Teeth gnashing, I inhaled a deep breath to calm myself down. It was unlike me to get so excited, sotakenby the idea of victory and the ultimate triumph. The Adventurer had saved her switches for a reason¡ªit allowed her more maneuverability in the end game of the fight. What now, dear challenger? Back into the Explorer? It was a possibility now that Kindness was afflicted by crippling nausea and couldn''t move very well. The manner in which she grabbed her next Pokeball was so casual I nearly found myself forgetting I was fighting for my very existence. It lolled in her hand, but she didn''t wait long. With a guttural groan, the Pokeball split open, and the air around us dropped several degrees in an instant. Twisted pieces bark, ckened like obsidian and linked by the thickest of shadows. He was covered in deep cracks that pulsed with an eerie glow from within. Its eye¡ªa single, hollow orb of crimson¡ªflickered to life, staring forward with a gaze that seemed to pierce the soul. The creature''s crooked form shifted with a creaking groan, each movement quick and deliberate; staring at its six legs was like observing an insect crawling up a wall. I had imagined a Trevenant would berger. This one, though. This one? He carried with him a tree half-grown, allowing him to scuttle across the field at high speeds. Wherever he stepped, flowers died¡ª "Bulldoze! Slow him down and strike!" I yelled. "Phantom Force," the Adventurer countered, hands on her hips. The earth shook, spreading cracks like spiderwebs across the fertile dirt and kicking up flowers, but Trevenant flickered out of existence, immediately reappearing leagues ahead with a screech¡ªthe sound of agony, of many men and women in pain who had gotten lost in a forest. It was enough to make Electivire jump out of his skin, and the Thunder that came out next frayed to the side and grazed the Trevenant''s trunk. Fine.Fine.Let them get close, then; it wasn''t like we could battle at a distance with the Magician''s tricks hampering us. The ghost left behind him a trail of wilting flowers, and the essence of life itself seemed to be absorbed into the Trevenant''s body. I knew what he was now, thest piece of the puzzle in the Adventurer''s party. One they only used in the worst of circumstances, for they were warriors of Good who gave and shared, and he was a viin who only took, wielding death and drawing from the earth, leeching away from vitality as if it were his birthright. Warlock. "Dig and Confuse Ray!" the Adventurer ordered. Dig?Once they got close, the Warlock sank into the ground as if it were a pond and reappeared only three secondster behind Kindness, sprouting like a new tree with a light in front of his eye that hurt to look at for too long, andscreeched. Words spilled out of my mouth."Fire Punch!" A vicious backhand struck Trevenant, cracking and scorching parts of his tree even cker than it already was. The Confuse Ray went wide, fizzling out in the sky, but the Warlock rooted himself with Ingrain, not in the earth, but on Kindness like a parasite. Enough electricity to blind me through closed eyes burst out of Kindness'' fur, but it would take more than that to take down the Warlock. Electivire attempted to strike with Fire Punch, but the ghost''s body seemed to endlessly shift around him, and all he managed to do was hit his own shoulder. He was spinning around in a dance of death, face twisting with the need to puke. Thunder. Thunder.Thunder.By the third one, the Warlock wrenched himself free, scuttling across the field like a twisted marite, leaving another trail of dying flowers in his wake, but not before leaving behind a second Confuse Ray that managed to enter Kindness'' body and rendered his case even worse. He could barely even stand straight by now, his bnce unraveling with each misstep until his legs buckled beneath him, and once again, he hurled on the ground. I grabbed his Pokeball, unsure of whether to recall him or to save it for thest, but I had no idea whether the nausea would stay¡ª "Mean Look." Mistake.My stomach twisted in knots, and the Trevenantred; they were hollow pits of darkened crimson radiating malice and glee at the trap sprung. For a second, the world shrunk to just those eyes, as if everything else around me had never mattered, and I could only hear the sound of my beating heart. The fragility of the human condition. There was no point in evenattemptingto recall the electric type now. Despite this, the damage we''d done to the Warlock was actually substantial, and he did not seem to be able to regenerate any of it unlike the other members of her team. Even Meowscarada had made use of Roserade''s field of flowers to trickle in energy within himself, even if it was subtle. Wait. This made¡­ The taking of energy for seemingly naught, the endless scuttling to cover as much ground as possible, the crippling of arguably the Pokemon who she found the most difficult to deal with over the course of thest few minutes with both the Magician and the Warlock as if she''d been ying the long game. The Trap with a capital T. The Adventurer cackled¡ªshe must have seen the look of realization on my face. I knew it wasing; I just thought it would have been with the Explorer, her most trusted Pokemon! A final sh between her and my Soul, perfectly aligned with the story where both would finally go all out¡ª Thereiny my weakness. "Remembrance!"she screamed as one with the Warlock, and a shadow came to curse the world. Flowers and nts did not have souls, but they were living beings all the same. The air thickened with a haunting silence as the shadow consumed the field. The sun disappeared behind it first, snuffed out like a candle in a storm. The sky followed, swallowed by an imprable ckness that spread over the battlefield like ink flooding water. It wasn''t gradual¡ªit was instant. One blink, and everything vanished into a void soplete it felt suffocating. The earth beneath their feet might as well have ceased to exist; there was no sense of ground, no horizon, no distant shapes to give the illusion of space. The field was gone, consumed by the absolute pitch of nothingness save for them. Everything was so quiet. I was reminded of the Darkest Day, but this was no true nothingness. Hidden in the void were moving shapes and whispering voices. Trevenant''s body twitched. Kindness clenched at his head and began to scream until his eyes rolled back onto his head, and he fell unconscious. I did not even understand what had just happened, what he had just seen. What that attack had just been. I waited. Waited. And waited. But the void didn''t clear. In fact, it didn''t evendiminish. Throughout this battle, our backs had been against the wall; we had conceded much of the field as soon as Reflection had fallen, even if we had fought back on asion, and unfortunately, it looked like the void was here to stay. It was in times like these, where the dark felt insurmountable and despair weighed you down like a mountain, that the most delusional of Hopes sprang up like a stubborn weed through cracked pavement. It was a flicker in the void, a faint glimmer in my heart that dared to defy the oppressive shadows. Had I given up in my countless fights, my tantrums against the world? The battle with Saturn, where I had been outnumbered by numbers too high to count, and it was as if I''d been but a single girl and her friends holding a knife against an army? No. You fought because your life mattered. You fought because the flickering me of existence, however dim, demanded to be tended to. And in this case, you fought because it might, believe it or not, be fun. It was up to her to renew Hope¡ªup to her tobeHope. You fought, you fought, you fought; your skin was cut, your bones were broken, your teeth were knocked out, your mouth was bloodied, your hair was torn out, but at the end of it all, the sun would still rise in the morning and the moon would still shine in the sky at night. There she was. Hope sparkled the moment she popped out of her Pokeball, up into the sky, and her eyes sharpened¡ª "You''re Hope, not Violence!" I warned her as loud as possible, hoping my voice would make it. Wehadprepared multiple roles. Redemption would have been thest, but the story had not progressed at all that way. "Get in character¡ªit''s just you and Sun¡ªmy Soul left!" They didn''t sharpen¡ªthey softened as she began tough, even in the midst of the darkness. The Adventurer opened her mouth, but I could not hear her scream out her next order. The Warlock hummed, his body brimming with whatever this void was made of, and itswarmedHope everywhere she went. Since the color was ck on ck, discerning its proximity became an exercise in futility. Many shadows collided with the dense panels of psychic energy, ricocheting harmlessly away, yet others wove through the defenses with unsettling ease. With urgency creeping into her movements, she quickened her pace, acutely aware of the danger lurking in the inky void. And yet, sheughed. Augh of childlike wonder with every hit as she weaved bright orange mystic mes around her and her fur slicked back¡ª Boom. I couldn''t believe my eyes and ears. The shockwave was invisible in the void, but its sound was undeniable. She''d broken the sound barrier¡ªHope weaved in between attacks, growing morefortable in the environment until she was nothing but a nearly indiscernible blur of white against pitch ck. Yet the Warlock could be anywhere and everywhere at once, traveling throughout his dominion without the usual dy of Phantom Force. He easily dodged the Mystical Fire that was sent in a concentrated jet above him and kept harassing us with the dark. Wind started to pick up, ominous and bearing with it muffled screams of the fallen. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see spirits just like they were in Distortion, all under the Warlock''smand. They took the form of Will-O-Wisps, Confuse Rays, Night Shades, and nearly-invisible Hexes left as traps in the sky Hope would asionally run into. "Cut!"I smiled. A barrel roll to shake off the oil-like darkness, a pass through a zone pressurized by Extrasensory, and Hope once again broke the sound barrier as she swooped down toward the possessed tree. The ghost raised one of his skeletal, wooden hands, and it suddenly grew twice, five,tenfoldin length and girth, all while darkness orbited around it.Wood hammer, but ghostly,I noted. They were hoping to trade a good hit, maybe to break a wing, as Togekiss slowed down to charge up Moonst, but¡ª That was the thing. We were not going to use Moonst. An invisible force borne of beliefcutacross the Warlock''s joint, where his arm remained the thinnest, and it fell clean off of the grass type''s trunk. Then another, and another, a dozen cuts spread across his body until Princess made a pass and rained fire on his body. The Warlock''s pained shriek pierced the air, his fury igniting a furious ze within his singr eye. The Ominous Wind intensified, swirling around him with a vengeance, as countless curses hurled at Princess surged forward, propelled not by Trevenant''s own will but by the agitated spirits that answered his wrath. Just as hope swelled in my heart, Hope ramped up and kept throwing attack after attack, using her wicked cuts to keep the Warlock on the backfoot. Fire, fire, more fire, carried by gusts of Fairy Wind and riding Air shes and imbedded in her Cuts and by the Legendaries, her pace wasunheard offor the Adventurer''s Trevenant, because the focus needed to destroy her justwasn''t there. Blows were exchanged, as they always were. It was not a one-sided fight, but an evenly-matched one. "Dazzling Gleam and Moonst!" It was Light against Dark, Hope against Despair¡ªTogekiss shone, radiant and pure, her resplendence imbuing my heart with an unshakeable faith in her, and she grew blinding, banishing the darkness around her with each pulse. With a thousand screams, the void recoiled as if scorched, retreating further with each pulse of her light, and soon she stood alone, a beacon in a void that once threatened to consume us all. And upon that beacon of radiant light, a moon was born. It started small, just a shimmering orb of pale, silver light cradled within Hope''s grasp, but it grew swiftly, swelling in size with each second, greedily drinking the light afforded to it. A thousand tiny tears in the air surrounded the shimmering sphere, and void swirled around its gravitational pull until it was banished at its center. It was pure, unblemished perfection¡ªthe fusion of two unwavering beliefs, a hope and a prayer to everything that defined us. The Warlock was pulled up, incapable of sticking to the void currently being banished. Already, I could see slivers of color, but¡ª "Distortion Explosion!" The Adventurer''s muffled voice made it through the fading dark. The vast remaining darkness that had smothered the battlefield began to copse inward, sucked back into a single point in the sky, peeling off the ground and invisible walls like paint. Shadows coiled and twisted, pulling away from the earth and sky as if reality itself was unraveling. The once suffocating ckness now swirled into a vortex made of deceased flowers, tightening into a pinprick that distorted everything around it, even light. Three orbs in the sky¡ªthe moon, having absorbed or cut ample darkness and weakening; the sun, having remained, but faded due to Trevenant not replenishing it; a ck hole borne of distortion outgrowing both. They hung there for a second. And then they erupted. Words could not describe what I was looking at. Shapes blurred, as if the fabric of reality had been stretched too thin, threatening to unravel at the seams. The moonlight bled into the void, and the void bled into the moonlight, indistinguishable yet fighting to exist. The barrier around the fight threatened to shatter, and I heard a voice desperately call for another psychic, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. I felt the impact in my bones; the collision of light and dark seared itself into my vision, etching patterns I could barelyprehend, lingering until I blinked them away, though their afterimage clung like a shadow in the back of my mind. The moon and ck hole were gone. The battlefield was covered in deceased flowers, though none of them were torn to shreds or had even a single blemish¡ªthey were all just a mixture of pitch ck and purple at their center, and they carried with them whispers from beyond this world. Not even the corners had been spared¡ªevery inch of these ins had been covered in death. The Ominous Wind had ceased, as had any other attacks. The Warlock was left a burned and exhausted mess, his form barely recognizeable and his shadow barely clinging to his tree. Hope was very much the same, a bleeding heap on the ground coughing ghostly energy out of her lungs. The sun? The sun remained ever-present. A final note. Togekiss was unable to move, but she remained conscious and thinking. In between pained grunts were short bursts ofughter as she eyed her fallen opponent. She did not boast or make fun of him. She giggled at the fight, at the opportunity she had been given to battle a peer and see it through. And thus, with theughs reverberating across these dead grasnds, she allowed herself to believe in me and my Soul. Hope, battered but unbroken, raised her head toward the heavens, her once-glorious wings trembling as they stretched outward. The light of a star shimmered in her eyes, and she drew breath, though each wasced with a pained rasp. Her voice, soft yet resolute, echoed through the deste field, gentle yetced with purpose. Stars above, I beseech thee!Hope yelled as the Adventurer recalled her Warlock.Let thy celestial grace descend upon our humble vessel, for though I falter, Hope itself shall not fall.My eyes widened; she tried turning toward me, bearing through the pain of a broken body.Soul, I offer unto thee this wish, that it may guide us through the dark and heal what has been torn asunder. Let this be my rion call to fate! With a single deep breath, her entire body began to glow from within, the light so subtle at first, it seemed like nothing more than the glint of the sun on her feathers. But then, like the first flicker of a kindling me, it grew. It ascended, higher and higher, casting long shadows across the barren field below. The radiance pulsed gently, growing as it soared above the darkness, as if the very heavens themselves had answered her call. And thus, Togekiss fell. "Ha¡­hahaha!" Laughter spilled out of me. I was losing, andMirth so strong my legs trembled beneath me and I found myself running out of breath, coughing and desperate for air. I was Grace Pastel. Pokemon Trainer. A fire, lit. I understood now. By the time I came to, I realized the Magician was back on the field, this Meowscarada Pokemon I had never seen before today. How fascinating his attacks and tricks were, how I wanted to learn absorb explore decipher graspprehend replicate embody andmastereverything I had seen and done here on this wonferdul day. I had faced my demons, battled my inner self, and hade out so muchstrongerfor it that every vein within me was lit with the me of ambition; every inch of my skin red up to a feverish temperature. My body was alive, dripping with sweat; my eyes were darting around, analyzing everything they could find; my breaths were shallow, yet my body was brimming with insatiable hunger. And it was wonderful, and and it was beautiful, and it was exhrating, and I couldugh andugh andugh about it for as long as needed. Unfortunately, I''d nearly run out of time¡ªnot that it wouldn''t have been the correct strategy, anyway, given Wish. Throat pained due to the throes ofughter, I released my Soul onto the field for a third and final time. "Sunshine!"I remembered now, and his name rang out like a thunderp as it echoed through the air. "You''re thest; our backs are against the wall! A Wish ising¡ª" Gardeniamoved. "Flower Trick¡ªck!" "me Charge and Shell Trap! Close the distance!" That was what he''d been waiting for all day. Blueish-white mes erupted from his scales, tearing out in wild bursts like they couldn''t be contained any longer and burning the weak paralysis out of him. They swirled around him in chaotic, unpredictable arcs, bending and snapping in every direction. The sound¡ªoh, Legendaries, the sound of it felt like a continuous explosion of me. It was a Soul reignited. He retreated into his shell and blew up in a st that carried him up, each strike of his tail making him speed up until he warped the air around him with speed and me, and he left behind him a trail of fire. The Magician had been gathering the darkened flowers¡ªI wasstillsurprised at Gardenia''s sheer tactical foresight to be able to use these dead flowers¡ªbut the sheer momentum at which we''de made the dragon m into Meowscarada like a freight train, blowing up every bouquet in his way and copsing the ones behind him. They exploded in a burst of ck pollen that shivered and spread cold throughout, but it was immediately burned away by fire. No. Fire. It was Fire. White and pure, flickering with blue light at its edges. Both Sunshine and the Magician tumbled forward from the collision, but the dragon refused to let go. mes crackled and surged as he held on tight, his ws searing into the Magician''s throat. The Meowscarada thrashed wildly, limbs iling against the inferno consuming him, but Sunshine''s grip was unrelenting. Fire zed across the dragon''s body, wild and merciless, as he lifted his opponent off the ground and¡ª "Fire st." He was burned to a crisp and did soscreaming, which you could barely hear, anyway. The Magician had always been more of a supportive Pokemon than anything, an anchor to meant to cripple more than win, so there was no way he''d stand up to Sunshine at his peak. Not that the Flower Trick hadn''t done anything. When Sunshine let go of him, and Gardenia recalled Meowscarada, he turned his head wildly and called out that he couldn''t seeanythingbut vague shapes and lights. Blindness.He had blinded us,and it would be perfect for the Explorer to camouge herself as soon as she brought life back onto the field! Out came Roserade, the explorer of a thousandnds, and who would explore another countless regions. She came back gracefully with flowers blooming at her feet, though she instantly noticed the heat and shrunk until she called forth a cold rain and the field was covered with clouds. The majority of it evaporated around Sunshine, but for the mes to be so hot, they needed to beconcentratedon him. The vast majority of the battlefield was still liveable, and flowers bloomed once again wherever the rain fell. "Take away the sun¡ªall in on the rain¡ª" No."No!"I screamed, my body drenched in sweat. "Wrest it away from them!" It was a futile attempt. We knew Sunny Day, but they knew theSunin and out, and our skill wasn''t enough to actuallykeep it there. All we''d done was slow it. The Explorer held her blue bouquet forward and a jet of pressurized water hit Sunshine in the chest, speeding up the process. The artificial sun dipped further and further in the sky with each wave of her red bouquet. The jet grew more powerful as it did so, growing in intensity and width in line with the intensifying rain. Even if we burned too hot for her flowers to take hold, it would be a slow and pathetic loss. An anticlimactic end to the greatest and most exciting fight I had and would most likely ever experience; it would be a story smothered by tactics. We would not allow it. What did it take to achieve victory? It meant to push yourself beyond what you believed to be possible, even if your body broke apart. It meant letting the fire ofpetition devour you whole, without ever burning out¡ªbecause you were endless, inexhaustible, an unquenchable force that would never allow the me to burn out and die again. You were a boundless reservoir of willpower, capable of stoking your inner ze again and again, over and over for as long as you needed. To stop was never an option. You were the engine of your own greatness, and as long as you moved, the fire within you would keep roaring. Did you see it? The Wish bearing down from the heavens, carrying with it a message from each of my parts. Yes. He saw it, a light less bright than the hidden sun, but a light nheless. It was time. "Touch the skies and reach for the stars, my beloved Soul." I held my breath. It was almost scary to utter it, like a forbidden sentence. "You Are A Star." To her, it sounded like praise, but to us?Oh,to us, it waseverything. I knew him, and he knew me, because we were each other. He understood his task immediately. It would be grueling and agonizing, but it would all be worth it.Do not go gentle into the night; do not let the me die out. He shot into the sky, each explosion angled nearly perfectly. Of course, to Gardenia, it looked like we''d overshot our mark. Wish was, after all, a small light that was fuzzy and easy to miss for a blind, normallyndbound dragon that was blind and heavily wounded, barely barely to walk without propelling himself with Shell Trap. We didn''t need to receive it. Princess'' words alone had been enough. My Soul shot past the Wish, and Gardenia''s eyes widened as it fell to the ground and fizzled out. We were not ready to use We Are A Star quite yet, but what if we had acrutch? "Remove your Sunny Day!"she cried out. Ah, she''d been greedy, had she not? Totake it out of reachinstead of taking it out of the equation just in case she found an opening to use whatever that rainbow st of life was. All battle long, she had nurtured and cultivated the sun, and it would have been a waste just todisappear it,wouldn''t it have been?I waited, and waited, andwaited¡ª "Shell Smash!" One more explosion shattered his shell, splitting it in two down the middle, and boundless energy leaked out of him the moment he sunk into the artificial sun even faster. Where was her bloody rainbow now, I thought with anotherugh, and the sun turned to a scorching orange, to an elegant blue, to a brilliant white that turned the earth below a monochrome expanse. The zing orb swelled in size before crashing to the ground, and tendrils spread throughout the arena. Sr res mixed in with draconic energy, each gargantuan in size as the entire battlefield caught aze and all that was left was a scorching, burning hell that Roserade couldn''thelpbut look at even as she caught on fire. Gardenia uttered something, but the words were devoured by the overwhelming roar of the sun, and her starter stood resolute. She bore the brunt of the heat as the star slowly approached and raised her left bouquet, spinning it around herself in a graceful arc, calling forth everyst drop of rain and moisture lingering in the vapor, the clouds, and the earth beneath her. The air shimmered with a dance of droplets, each one responding to her call, converging into a magnificent sphere of water that grew in size, tiny at first, like a whisper of hope, then swellingrger andrger until it eclipsed the very sun itself. This aqueous shield enveloped her, a living cocoon that housed within new life within its translucent embrace. Tender des of grass sprang forth, coiling vines spiraled upwards, and vibrant flowers burst into bloom. The moment hung in the air like a taut string, each heartbeat a countdown to the inevitable collision. The thread snapped. Fire met Life, and the world went white. The sound detonated with the wrath and light of supernovae. It surged forth in waves, each pulse a violent crescendo that tore through the air as if the sound itself had a physical mass¡ªI groaned, clutching at my ear as soon as my hearing aid went haywire, and I allowed the explosion to run its course. It seemed to lower in intensity in sync with my breaths and the realization that the fight was over. Yet I wasn''t nervous about the results, not even a little bit. It was satisfaction that had overwhelmed my heart. My legs wobbled from under me, and I fell on my butt with augh. My clothes were covered in sweat, and my vision was still covered in sunspots whenever I blinked. That had been so much fun that I wanted to go again. Both Fire and Life had dissipated, now. What remained was Roserade burned to a crisp and face down in the scorched earth, and Sunshine on his back, but¡ª Awake. Awake and aware andconscious and whatever the hell that implied?!Had I won? I''d won, hadn''t I? I threw my head up andy t against the ground, struggling for each breath. And thus, the story ended. I''d lost the thread a bit as it went on, but¡­ A rainbow hung in the air. It was raining. ¡ª I didn''t know for how long I hung there, but eventually I heard stepsing up my tform. "Well, well, well. Look at you," Gardenia said casually. It was actually incredible how carefree it was, even if she was radiating with a smile and she looked refreshed. "I thought you might have passed out. Heard it happened with Candice." I groaned, eyes shutting in embarrassment. "That wasonce." I nced toward the field, and she said something I didn''t catch. "What?" I asked. "Need help getting up?" Slowly, it dawned upon me that I wasn''t hearing properly. ¡­my hearing aid might have broken from being overwhelmed by the sounds of that explosion. "Ye¡ª" wait, I was way too sweaty for this. I didn''t want her to touch my icky hands. "No, I''ll be fine." With a grunt, I pushed myself off the ground and stared down at Sunshine, who couldn''t even move beyond the smallest of twitches.Hisbody was burned, something I''d never seen before; his scales had been charred ck."Thank you, Sunshine!"I yelled, cupping my hands, though my voice didn''t sound like much. He annoyingly waved a hand¡ªI could tell he wanted back in his ball to not have to deal with the pain as much, but didn''t want to say it out loud. With a tiredugh, I recalled him and got up. My legs felt like jelly. I noticed two Kadabra carrying a third by levitating her in the air down where the¡­ referee had been. It was probably about time I got upgraded to the ones they used for the Conference, wasn''t it? Or maybe a single Mr. Mime¡ªthough those weren''t in any Gyms. Gardenia pursed her lips, a single hand remaining on her hip. "That was a wonderful fight, Grace. I know a lot more about you now¡ªthough I was a little confused." Oh God, she hadn''t understoodanyof it, hadn''t she? My eyes suddenly found my feet and the ground to be the most appealing thing in the world. "Hey, no need to look so embarrassed. I needed it too¡ªI rarely have fights this fun. I was smiling the entire second half." The next words spilled out anyway. "I was¡ªit''s weird, I know, but I was making a story. Uh, to find myself and my love for battling again¡ª" "Oh, I gotthat. The story bit, at least, even if I didn''t understand the plot much. The dragon hibernating in his cave, the names you gave them, the way you focused on ice at the start and slowly transitioned to only fire by the end as a metaphor for passion worked really well, I''d say,andboth were effective against my grass types. Things like this can be contrived, but you made it work and even beat Rose!" The Gym Leader looked me up and down. "I didn''t take you for a theatre kid." "I don''t do theatre¡­" She threw her head up andughed. "You don''t have to do theatre to epass what that means, Grace. Also, that was somewonderfulsandbagging from you all fight. Usually the tactic''s too risky, but there was abiggap in information between Byron and this battle. That methrower from your Tyranitar you saved until you could secure a takedown, especially. Your ydol was really annoying and baited us into using Superpower, which is an all-or-nothing move for us and left us vulnerable. And by the Legendaries, it wasreallyobvious with Turtonator, but I think it made me feel too secure¡ªand I didn''t expect him toflyandjump into a Sunny Dayto take it over! I''ve never seen that before!" She beamed at me like the sun. Gardenia continued to praise me for my prowess, though honestly the sandbagging stuff had beenpletely unintentional. I''dactuallycaught her off-guard due to her having field control the vast majority of the fight and being able to spring her Trevenant trap on me. Once that had happened, she''d actually believed her win to be assured, and it wasn''t often that she was wrong about something. "You can date Maymay, by the way," she added. "I figured I''d let you know." Both my hands unconsciously grabbed on one of hers, and I shook it wildly. "Oh my God, thank you, thank you,thank you!I won''t disappoint you¡ªI''ll be good to her! And I¡ªand I love her a whole lot, and I''ll make her the happiest she''s ever been, and¡ª" The fact that I was touching her with moist hands sunk in, and I recoiled. "Sorry¡­" She snorted. "It''s fine." "Do¡ªdo you have time for another fight? I still have Angel avable¡ªthat''s my Tangrowth," I mumbled. "Of course, I''d bring my Pokemon to the Center first¡­ oh wait." Would Sunshine be out in time before the Byron battle? What about Princess? I felt my stomach drop and audibly gulped. Fuck, I''d gotten way too into the fight!AndI''d need a new story, too! I''d taken the one I''d been supposed ot act out and adapted it here, but it''d be incredibly unsatisfying to hit nearly the same plot beats again. "I''d wait before that if I were you." Gardenia nudged her head forward. It was only now that I realized we''d been walking toward the door she came out of and not mine. She grabbed her phone while I waited there, trying to workshop a whole new strategy and story I''d be able to use against Byron, possibly without Sunshine, until the door opened. "You''rete," Gardenia groused with a hint of frustration. I gaped at the heavy-muscled, burgundy-haired man as he scratched the back of his head and leaned against the handle of his shovel. What in the world was Byron doing here? "Don''t re at me,ss. I''m clearlysick, as you know. It''s been the nastiest of colds." He put a fist in front of his mouth and let out the most exaggerated, fake cough of all time. "AndI''m a busy man. Sorry if I can''t be right on time everywhere I go." Gardenia rolled her eyes, but I didn''t miss her smirk. "Well, go ahead, then." "Yes, yes." Byron got closer to me and brusequely pped my shoulder. "Grace Pastel! That was some wonderful battling from you; I was watching it from in there!" He pointed back with his thumb. "I see the lesson I imparted onto you during our own fight worked wonders. Pokedex and ID please." "What? What for?" "You defeated my substitute inbat; what do you think? It''s for your badge, money, and TM." I blinked at him. "What?" His face scrunched up in confusion, and he rubbed his beard. "Gardenia, did she not know?" His fellow Gym Leader let out an awkwardugh. "Heavens above!" Byronughed, pping his knee, and waggled his finger at her. "Oh, that''s a good one! That''s¡ª" anotherugh, louder this time. Gardenia clicked her tongue, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Hurry up and give it to her so I can exin!" "Substitute?" I mumbled. "Yes. I''msick, you see." He wasn''t sick at all. He just looked a little tired from work. "And my Gym is undergoing plenty of renovations before we properly open, so I''m afraid it wasn''t useable. Now, Pokedex and ID, please." I absent-mindedly handed it to him, and he fiddled with it for a moment. "You''re now the owner of the Mine Badge, and I''ve transferred eighty-thousand dors to your ount. You''ve also got ess to the reusable sh Cannon TM." When I just looked up at him in silence, he tried smiling at me. "You''ve got eight badges now! Be proud!" "But I already beat Gardenia once for my second badge!" I yelled. "Oh boy," he sighed. "My job here''s done; I''ve got to head back to work. I''ll see youter,ss." He nodded at Gardenia and waved at me. He whistled and left, calmly walking away from us as he twirled his shovel in his hand. He just left! "Is¡ªis this real?" I asked. The badge was right there on my ID with my stupid picture! It had somewhat of a geometric design with three diamond-shaped facets the color of molten amber embedded in a metallic blue backdrop. "It is. Believe me, Iwouldhave told you, but Maymay said it''d be a bad idea and that you''d either have said no because you didn''t want to disappoint me, or you would have been swallowed up by the pressure of the fight and copsed halfway through. If you would have lost, we wouldn''t have told you anything. Anyway, let me exin. That Ferrothorn was one of Byron''s, and Byron''s Gym was registered as open for the duration of the battle, which I''m sure will have people asking questions. All of this was kind of a legal loophole¡­" she kept going, exining the legality of it all, but it was all Kalosian to me. Not that I could pay attention anyway. Maylene hade up with this? "Now, I would have battled you anyway. What I said about needing to know more about you was true. No badge would havee with it¡ªoh." I was crying. They were happy tears. And confused. Very confused. "Why are you he¡ªhelping me?" I sobbed, wiping my face. "I ha¡ªhaven''t even done a¡ªanything deserving of this!" "Because I¡ªwe¡ª" she sighed, not knowing what to say for once. "I''m sorry. Oh, Arceus, please don''t cry. Notnow. I¡ªdo you need tissues? Wait, I don''t have tissues on me. Uh, here take this." She grabbed the short cape on her back and held it out for me. I sobbed even harder. "I¡ªI can''t use yourcape." "Uh, it''s more of a cloak than a cape¡ªbut please dry your tears. I don''t want to look like I did something!" Her fear puzzled me, but I was in no state to think or care. I still didn''t use hercloak, and instead resorted to the bottom of my own shirt. An unknown number of minutes passed until the door openedagain. This time, it was Maylene that came out with a smile. "Are you guys done? Who won¡ª" the words died in her throat when she saw me."Nia!"Maylene ran over to us and pulled me away from her friend. "What did you say to her?" "Nothing, she¡ª" "Nothing," I sniffled. "It''s just the badge. I didn''t expect¡­" she cradled my face, wiped the few remaining tears off my cheek, and exhaled in relief. "It was your idea?" I asked. "Yeah. I hope you''re not mad. I felt bad keeping you in the dark." I let out an ugly cryingugh. "That''s why you asked me so much stuff about today. Stupid. I should have known." "Hey, I could have been worried about your battle with Byron, for all you knew," she said. "And you fell for it, so who''s the real winner here?" I nced up at her pink eyes and crooked smile. "Arceus, I love you," I sighed, melting into her with a hug she eagerly returned, even while whispering aint about Gardenia being right here. "Thank you so much for doing this for me." "I''d do anything for you." My heart squeezed, but in a wonderful way. "And thank Nia, too. She agreed without much convincing from me." "Thank you, Gardenia. For, uh, everything." She waved a hand dismissively. "It was a lot of fun." "Arceus, what is Poketch going to say?" All of these ns and marketing for my rematch with Byron were meaningless now. "I have to tell Melody about this¡­" "That''s your liaison, right?" Gardenia asked. I nodded. "Those new cameras I talked about? Iwasrecording the fight. Won''t be uploaded unless you give me the okay." Oh. That helped a lot¡ªthere being no footage would be the first hurdle to clear. Then I''d have to deal with people possibly thinking this was favoritism because I was close to Maylene. Peopleneverbattled the same Gym Leader twice, and five out of six Pokemon had been Gardenia''s¡ª Maylene gently flicked my nose. "Just enjoy the moment and stop worrying for a sec, okay dummy? I''m skipping work the rest of today to hang out with you. My Gym Trainers are handling battles." "Fine." She was right. I''d won againstGardeniawhile she''d used her starter! I was going to the Conference! "Maymay." Once again, I looked directly into her eyes. I hadn''t thought it possible to love someone this much. "I think I''m ready for the next step." I grabbed onto my girlfriend''s hand tightly. A/N: Sorry about the dy. It''s been a while since I''ve written one of these, so I was a little rusty.
Chapter 336 Chapter 336
CHAPTER 336 There was something uniquely unbearable about awkward elevator rides, the kind of difort you couldn''t experience anywhere else. Maybe it was the cramped space or the endlessly looping, terrible music. Or the way I kept ncing to the side at Melody because of the tight confined space and how she kept tapping her heel on the floor. For what felt like the thousandth time, she clenched her temples, and the motion was apanied by the muttering of aing migraine. My mind drifted, tempted by the thought of breaking free and soaring away on Princess just to avoid the weight of today''s responsibilities. Running would unfortunately get me fired, though. "Any tips?" I mumbled, fingers fiddling together. "I mean, what should I even say?" "Just stay quiet unless directly spoken to. Mr. Remington''s not someone you can talk to without thinking," Melody warned. Out of her purse, she flicked open a tinypact mirror and fixed up her already-perfect hairdo as if it needed to be adjusted. It looked perfect to me already; the light brown locks framed her face like they had been carefully sculpted that way without her input. A single strand dared to fall out of ce, but she quickly tucked it behind her ear, her movements precise and measured. She snapped the mirror shut with a softclickand sighed. "I just don''t understand how a person can be this¡­ unpredictable." "Haha¡­" I let out an awkwardugh and scratched the back of my neck. "I''m just trying my best." Mel sighed again. "I know." "And I mean, wasn''t the battle great?" I asked with a slight lean, inching forward. I''d watched over the footage already, having downloaded it on my phone before leaving the Gym. Despite there being plenty ofcringemoments¡ªinstances where I or my Pokemon had lost their character or once again missing obvious traps that could have been spotted like that Trevenant''s trick, I hadn''t felt the awful self-loathing that usually came from analyzing myself. Granted, there wassomeloathing, and it most likely would have been different if I lost, but¡­ Honestly, right now? Who cared if I lost? I''d do another thousand battles like these if I could. It was too bad Gardenia would be busy from now on. Kicking my feet andmenting at howlongthis elevator was¡ªseriously, how tall was this tower¡ªI continued, "I''m sure it''ll sell¡­ there are plenty of great moments. And Gardenia''s tough! It''s not like she went easy on me; I beat her starter! Kinda. I mean she was holding backskill-wise, but it''s still, like, astatement." Gardenia''s Roserade had been far more versatile than I''d expected her to be. I was willing to bet her red bouquet could control mes as well as her blue one could control water, which was an amazing counter to fire types if she needed it. "No one can say I was justhandeda victory over." Melody''s lips ttened, and she crossed her arms. "It isn''t about if your battle was of an appropriate level or not. Objectively speaking, you were given an advantage no other trainer will get," she said, her tone a little dry. I didn''t me her, considering Ionce againhad screwed up Poketch''s ns. "Oh boy, they are going to be up in arms." I tried not to wince. "Yeah." For example, Aubri had alreadyined about me getting unfair advantages due to my closeness to the League a while back. This would just reinforce her worldview and make her sour on meagain. "I guess there''s no way around it." "You start dating Maylene and you suddenly get to fight a Gym Leader twice? It''d be a miracle if we could even spin this any other way." "I haven''t even gone public with that yet!" Though I had been nning to today before talking to Melody about it. "People aren''tblind, Grace," she chided. "You''re not being discreet at all. We let it slide because you were doing a good job until now, but¡ª" The elevator finallydinged, and the doors opened to a wide room made of darkened tiles like obsidian. I quickly paced behind Melody, who walked inrge strides that were hard to keep up with. I''d be meeting Remington McMin for the first timeevertoday, and needless to say, I was nervous. That was part of why I''d tried to justify myself to Melody since I''d told her the news earlier today. My hip felt light with only Angel and Buddy attached to my belt, and I adjusted my Mimi-ne for reassurance. In front of the doors was a straightced secretary at a desk sitting with a bored Kadabra levitating a strange, glowing brain teaser puzzle back and forth with her spoon. "Sadie. We''re here to see the board," Melody said. "Mr. McMin and his son are inside and will see you in momentarily," the girl droned. I pitied her, working in this somber room all day. There were windows, but the dark tiles made it feel like there was no ambient light in the room even in thete afternoon. My liaison''s eyebrows creased. "I thought it''d only be Mr. McMin in today?" "Landis wanted to sit in the meeting," Sadie said in that same monotone voice. She tilted her head, a finger on a tiny listening device in her ear, and she nudged her head. "Kadabra, send them in." The words were barely audible to me due to her being way to my left. I touched my new hearing aid andmented how worse it was than myst, even if it was just temporary until this was dealt with. At least this ce was quieter than downstairs. The psychic nonchntly waved a spoon, and the great double doors rattled with psychic energy. The shield present had honestly been so weak even Cass would have been able to brute force it¡ªno offense to them. They''d done a great job against Gardenia''s Torterra today; I just felt like the protection afforded to such important people wasn''t up to par with the threats they could face. And onlyoneKadabra? What if you just focused on her, making her concentration fray and allowing other assassins into the room? Hell, she could just die from a stray attack through one of the windows and there would be no more protection. What if¡ª Melody interrupted my racing thoughts by stepping inside. Oh, Arceus, I was nervous. I found myself wiping the sweat off my hands before following her into the thankfully brighter room, even if it was practically empty; there were no decorations, no nts, no nothing besides the long table and a row of chairs, and the sunlight of thete afternoon basking the room in its glow. It wasrger than you''d think, with a table long enough to fit the entire board and then some if need be. Small water bottles had already been ced beside what I assumed were our seats. Melody motioned to me, and I anxiously shuffled into thefortable chair. She sat to my right so I''d hear her. It was my first time seeing Remington McMin up close. I''d seen pictures, videos, footage on the news¡ªbut most recently, I''d seen him from afar at Craig''s ceremony. He was just a man¡ªfrail, soft, and visibly aged. There were only wisps of white hair remaining on his head, arranged in abover that was being asked to do the impossible. His skin was awork of wrinkles, so much so that it seemed harder to find a smooth patch than not. Yet, unlike some of the other board members I''d seen at the ceremony, his eyes were sharp and dangerous, as if the years hadn''t dulled the keen gaze that once built a technological empire across Sinnoh. Built andmaintainedit, even with Cynthia''s rise. Beside him was a secretary of some sort with the same earpiece I''d noticed moments earlier and a phone that I assumed was here for her to record things. She nced toward me for a moment, then away instantly, almost ufortably. She was scared; fear was easy enough to read. Sat at his side sat his son Landis, feet up on the table with a smug smile as he looked at me. He looked absolutely delighted to be here¡ªa stark contrast to his father''s solemn look. There was aptop closed at his feet, along with a notebook and a pen. From what I knew, he was in his forties and kind of reminded me of what Louis would have been like had he never gotten a reality check in his formative years. Hell, he even had blond hair to boot, though his was more of a dirty blond like rather than Louis'' pristine blond. Melody dipped her head for a moment. "Members of the board." I nced at her, wanting to know if I was supposed to say anything before I remembered that she had literally briefed me on this like an hour ago and that I''d just forgotten because of the anxiety. "M¡ªmembers of the board," I mumbled. Only a momentter did I dip my own head. "It''s a pleasure to meet you for the first time." "Pleasure''s ours," Landis said. I had to angle my head to the right, toward him and his father, in hopes of catching their words. "It''s overdue, really. Dad says that it''s not how we do things, but he''s a little old-school." A strange silence settled in¡ªnot awkward, but heavy despite knowing that Remington couldn''t hurt me at all. I was pretty sure he wouldn''t even be able to knock me on the ground physically. He had barely looked my way when I stepped into the room and was slowly drumming his fingers on the table. His son cleared his throat and sat properly, removing his feet from the table, and he muttered something under his breath I didn''t catch. "Now we can begin in earnest," Remington said with a polite smile he must have practiced more times than I could count. "Grace Pastel. In all my years leading thispany¡ªfifty-two years¡ªI have never had someone as unpredictable as you under Poketch''s employ." He stroked his chin with a contemtive look, almost amused. "It''s as if you know exactly how to tow the line between talented and useful, and liability who cannot be controlled. I wonder how you do it, sometimes." Melody spoke up. "Respectfully, Mr. McMin¡ª" "The youngdy can speak for herself, can''t she?" he interrupted her. Melody hid her grimace well, but not her flexing fingers under the table. "Can you me me for being intrigued?" For the first time, he looked at me. I met his milky, baleful grey eyes and stopped myself from sputtering out some non-answer to stall for time. "I had no idea today would happen at all. The battle was offered to me as¡­ more of a personal affair," I tried to exin. "I had no idea the badge woulde along with it." "Yet you took it regardless." "I did. And I''d do it again." Oh God. Iwoulddo it again, but I''d spoken without thinking. "It was the best battle I''ve ever had. It was far more meaningful to me than some rematch against Byron." Theoretically, I could have refused the badge scheme, but I wasn''t going to let Maylene''s gift to me go to waste, nor would I allow the battle to be stripped of part of its meaning. It was reignition, yes, the rebirth of passion, but it was also a union between me and my girlfriend, along with the approval of her family.Thatwas what the badge meant to me. Surprisingly, he rested his cheek against the palm of his hand and hummed¡ªa far more¡­ youthful gesture than I''d expected. "You''re speaking in feelings, not in Pokedors. Try again." For a moment, my eyes could only blink. "Uh. Okay?" Melody seemed tense¡ªmore tense than I''d ever seen her. I could literally hear her teeth gnawing despite being half deaf. I leaned forward in my chair. "I mean obviously people are going to be pissed when this is out, and a whole lot of interviews and preparations just went out the window. Iwasgiven an opportunity no one else has." Not that Gardenia was aneasyfight at all. I stopped to think for a moment, taking deep breaths as if to blow away the nervousness. A good method I''d found to soothe my nerves was to remind myself that we were all weak, creatures of the flesh no matter what social power we amassed. I could kill him just as easily as he could end my career, really. Besides the hardest of superfans like Edith, trainers'' reactions would majorly range from indifference to hatred, especially since this wasn''t the first time I''d been put ahead by something other than my own skill. Hell, I was sitting in this very room because I randomly met Craig near Snowpoint and he felt bad we''d almost died in Cor¡ªnot that he hadn''t seen potential in me. I was allowed to join the LTIP earlier and catch more than six Pokemon, I''d been given the secret to evolving Electivire, I was involved with the government, ¡ªyou could honestly make an endless list of the advantages I''d been given. I didn''t feel bad about it. Not anymore, at least. As Craig himself had once said: luck was one thing, but correctly assessing and making use of the opportunities at your feet was a skill of its own. My bias was obvious, and this wouldn''t move any numbers. Honestly, maybe trainers themselves were a lost cause, but that was the thing, wasn''t it? I wasn''t staying here. "I''m leaving after the Conference," I said. "I doubt Unova will care for this at all." "Better," he said, this time tapping two fingers at once. I assumed he already had these answers. Did he want me to get to them on my own to see my worth? I hated the way he spoke. The way he only saw me as a number to exploit. But I only saw thepany he had created as a megaphone to spread my name far and wide, so I was using him as well¡ªto a much lesser extent.Hewas the one with all the power and leverage, and he would be until I was like Craig. "What do you think, Landis?" Like an unmuzzled Lillipup, or a pet having finally been given attention by its owner, he slicked his hair back with azy faux-grin. "I think it''d be a waste to let her go." My eye twitched. "Craig yed things too by the book. She''s risky, but there''s also opportunity, especially in a foreign market." "Well, if I based every decision off what you said, Poketch would have gone under twenty years ago." Landis'' cheeks reddened, but only for a moment. "Whatever you say, old man." Their little¡­ whatever this was had allowed me time to think. "It isn''t like Sinnoh''s market ispletely ruined for me." Or at least I thought so. I was honestly speaking out of my ass and just trying to sound confident. "We should let time pass post-reveal to see if sales for my merch and stuff take a hit. And honestly?" "Hm?" Remington took a sip of water. "I don''t think civilians will care as much. I mean the ones who are deep in trainer culture will," I said, thinking of forum-browsers. "But the vast majority of the people who buy my merch? They won''t care beyond like, the first day, I bet." People like my dad, people like Jess from piano ss? They had only gleaned the surface of what it meant to be a trainer. "They''re going to think it''sweirdfor sure, but one look at that battle, and I bet you we''lle out the other side of this more positively than not." This, I was actually certain of, and these people were thevast, vastmajority of people in the country and Poketch''s consumers. The ones who only tuned into battles during the Conference or tournaments throughout the year, or for a few trainers they liked, and nothing else. "You should use more confident words when haggling to keep your position," Remington said in an almost fatherly tone. "But you''re right. If you hadn''te to these very obvious conclusions, you would have been fired immediately." My blood ran cold.Fired, not demoted? "I''ve no time for people who can''t think. Poketch is only for the best and the brightest." The nce at his son was very difficult to miss. "Keep going." Keep going. I''d only saved myself from a firing, not a demotion. Was I the only person in the world whose eighth badge was considered abad thing?This stuff only fucking happened to me! I beat Gardenia''s Roserade, her starter, and arguably most versatile and powerful Pokemon,I wanted to say, but that didn''t speakhisverymarketable to the masses, I th¡ªno,it is. Plus, there are plenty of moments in the fight that can be turned into more merch, and it''s already been selling very well." "Your numbers are above what was projected now that you''re pulling your weight," he admitted with smiling eyes. I nodded. "I''d be willing to bet that the dent won''t even be noticeable after a bit." "What about your reputation?" Remington pushed. "You spin a pretty story, but Craig was beloved by all trainers and was a symbol of what it meant to tread that path.Thatis how he sold so well. He was simple in an extremely effective way. What if your co-workers suddenly no longer want to work with you? What trainers say trickles down to the ears of their families. This has never happened before in the history of this country. Theworks are definitely going to run with it in the weeks leading up to the Conference, and your run there is now going to be tainted and bogged down by questions of whether you should even be there in the first ce." That was true. If I got crushed, then their expectations would be met and they''dugh at me. If I did well and had a deep run through abination of luck and skill, then every trainer who lost to me wouldin and say that I shouldn''t have been here. You could spin that Iwouldn''thave lost against Byron¡ªthough honestly, in hindsight, I was pretty sure I would have. Gardenia had just been the best at reigniting my passion in a way Byron never could have met. I was in alotof trouble. "I''m waiting," Remington said. So as you do when you were in trouble, I fought my heart out. I could do more interviews now that I was freed from training¡ªa blitz exining myself and how I deserved to stand among the other trainers who had made it to the Conference. In fact, I could work twice as hard now in general, even if the fact that this meant less Maymay timejustas we''d begin dating officially left a foul taste in my mouth. I could have my friend Denzel make use of his contacts in the trainermunity to give me a leg up¡ªhe even knew the guy who made a podcast that was currently blowing up; Goald42 was topping the charts every time he and Archive released an episode.Granted, Archive being the paranoid, anti-government person that he was, wouldnotappreciate me getting a leg up, but he wouldn''t have to be included, and worst-case scenario, Denzel knew other people. I was close with the League, yes, and Remington knew theyneeded me, just not what for. That meant I could be used as leverage. A middleman of some sort between Poketch and the government. Getting them huge favors was a lost cause now that the world was saved, buthedidn''t know that andhe''dbeen the one basically pushing me to make myself look better than I was. Mostly, I was expecting small favors here and there at most. Like getting this man more psychics for free. God. "You have awful security, by the way!" I was nearly panting. "I''d get at least three of those Kadabra if I were you, it''s not like you can''t afford it! See what I mean when I say the average person doesn''t know much about battling? You just have a single psychic there to make you feel good about yourself¡ª" Landis snorted, nearly vibrating. "¡ªyou can''t tell the difference between a good and a bad barrier. Or one that lets sound in or not. Or one that istes for temperature. Or a one-way barrier. Or¡ª" I smothered the rest of my rant when I noticed Melody stare at me like I was clinically insane. Instead, I grabbed a water bottle and downed it all in one go, but I swallowed wrong and was gripped by a coughing fit. "S¡ªsorry." Remington''s nose was mildly wrinkled, though his son was fighting not to burst outughing. "That''ll do, Ms. Pastel. Thank you for your time today; I''ll ry this meeting to the other members of the board, and we''ll take a vote to figure out our next steps within the next few days. For now, well¡­ feel free to continue your work and to announce your new rtionship on your socials." Melody spoke up before I could have any hopes of putting my foot in my mouth. "Thank you, Mr. Remington. We''ll be looking forward to the results of the vote." After standing up, she ced a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Let''s go, Grace." "Oh. Uh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Remington." My liaison didn''t wait long to freak out at me. The moment we were back in the elevator and she used her keycard to click on the ground floor, she¡ª "I think you might have saved your job." She finally allowed the lines of exhaustion to show on her face. A huge sigh slipped through, and she leaned against the wall of the elevator as her hands tightly gripped the railing. My heart skipped a beat. "Did¡ªdid I make good arguments?! How do you know?" "You made decent arguments. You should have been more detailed on a n to restore your reputation instead of just plugging the holes on a sinking ship, but you did well without a n." Her eyes widened slightly. "I''m sorry, Grace. I should have briefed you on this. Usually, Mr. Remington would have just let me speak, so I didn''t know he would test you like this." "It''s okay. I mean, I figured it out. I think." "Anyway, don''t get your hopes up. It''s not asurething, but the way that meeting finished so open-ended? I know him well enough to figure that he would have crushed you right then and there if he''d been demoting you. He''s a very straightforward person with no bullshit." She kept talking about the different members of the board until the elevator reached the ground floor, and how this was essentially a one-man dictatorship run by Remington McMin. Hell, my suspicions about one of them being senile were literally confirmed! Essentially, this meant that whatever he said would bew, even if there might be one or two votes of dissent for ir. The conversation continued in her car. The activity of the city was too much for me to focus on, and I was finding myself having to turn my hearing aid off in busy areas so the feedback loop wouldn''t give me a headache. "What he appreciated was being spoken tostraight uplike he likes doing¡ªnothing to try to justify your actions, just trying toe up with a n tofix things. Maybe it reminded him a little of Craig," she tried guessing, holding the steering wheel with a single, rxed hand. "Though that thing at the end waswaytoo far¡ªwhat possessed you to talk about his security of all things?" "I just couldn''t help it. It''sso bad, Mel!" I whined. "He''ll thank me if he ever gets attacked by some criminal." "Usually he would have had nothing there. The Kadabra''s a new addition after the bombings," Melody nonchntly said. My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Huh?!" "He hired her as a precaution¡ª" "A single Kadabra? For bombs of that magnitude?"Thatwas nearlyughable. "It''s a serviceable bodyguard for the purposes of what he needs. Plus, he hates spending money." "What about hearing damage from the explosions? What if¡ªwhat if the building copsed?" Arceus, now I felt naked without Buddy or Cass around me. "What about theinfernoafter the explosion, Melody? Has he given any thought about the inferno?! Does he want his skin to melt off¡ª" "Rx, Grace. You''re not¡ª" she stopped and blew a tired raspberry. "People don''t really think like that. Just loosen up, okay? Team Gctic''s gone. Today, you get to rest, but from tomorrow onward, you''ll be working even harder. And remember, if things go south, Mr. Remington is still liable to drop you." I leaned against the window. "Yeah. I know." But the most important part was that I had survived through this, if only barely. Of course, things were nevereasy, but they could have been worse. I''d need to start figuring out how to approach things from now on, especially with my co-workers. And what would Marley say? To cheer myself up, I messaged Maylene about going public sometime tomorrow and finally getting those matching hearing aids. ¡ª The next day Cecilia was d her dream skills seemed to have transferred to the real world. She stood outside in the crisp Floaroma air, hammer in hand, staring at the wooden beams in front of her. The rhythmic clink of metal striking nails felt natural, as though her body knew the motion instinctively. She braced a nk against the frame and raised the hammer high, bringing it down with just the right amount of force. Despite disliking suchbor, the nail drove cleanly into the wood, the impact sending a satisfying vibration up her arm. All around her, people were working on Louis''nd. They''d been hired by Justin''s father to help in the construction of his sanctuary, and while Louis was more of a leading figure, organizing what should go where and rearranging ns over and over so the end product would be one-to-one to his vision, Cecilia had asked for manualbor. Her Pokemon were helping as well, or at least as best as they could. Even her Hydreigon was helping to transport materials. Cecilia was d to see Justin''s Pokemon participating as well, though they stuck to Louis for the most part. Especially Audino. The normal type clung to his shirt like a lost child in a mall. She missed Justin. She nced at the sky as memory of him stalked her mind, and for a moment, she felt a little silly at the thought of him observing his friends live their lives. Chase liked to imagine this with his parents. It made things easier for him, and not wanting to disappoint them was part of what gave him his inexhaustible drive. Sweat clinging to her skin, Cecilia wiped her brow after taking off her cap for a moment and decided to take a breather. The cabin she was working on would be used to store dry foods, but right now it was just a meager wooden frame. Feeling horribly parched, she decided to make her way toward a help desk that had been set up at the edge of Louis''nd. The terrain itself was like much of Floaroma¡ªa t teau covered in flowers. A few Beautifly floatedzily above, their wings shimmering in the sunlight as they flitted from flower to flower. Near the edge of a small stream, a Pachirisu darted between the trees, its bushy tail flicking with excitement. In the distance, a Roselia stood still among the petals, blending almost seamlessly with the vibrant colors around it. Life was everywhere you looked. They weren''t altering thendscape as much as they were adding on top of it, and most of the final project would be open-air¡ªCecilia had seen the blueprints a dozen times. It was Grace who had helped Louis procure this piece ofnd, or at least helped him look into it. As much as it hurt to see him begin to gravitate toward her again, she understood. She''d never done as much for him as Grace had, helping him not with only this, but also his struggles with the knowledge of the end of the world, his troubles with Gible back at the start of the journey, and a million other tiny things that eventually added up into a mountain. Almost as if on cue, her phone rang. For better or for worse¡ªno, it was clearly for the better¡ªgone were the days where she expected Grace to call. These days, it was either Temperance calling to chat when they weren''t together or Emilia checking in. This time, it was the former. "Hi babe,"she said in a sing-song voice."Not too busy, I hope?" "I can give you some time; I''m currently taking a break," Cecilia said. "What''s your deal today?" The Unovan had smoothly integrated herself into Temperance''s group, but that meant that she''d needed to learn the politics of it, along with dozens of different names, wants, and needs. She was honestly still getting the hang of it all, but they were all mostly nice to her, and it felt good to meet new people. She''d even gotten some of their numbers and been added to some group chats that admittedly she had not interacted in yet. What this meant, however, was that Temperance had found in Cecilia a good listener. ''Good'' as in she just let her talk and barely said anything back, but besides her Pokemon, Cecilia was the only person Temperance could speak about this with.Heaven forbid she didn''t look or sound perfect at all times. Cecilia could sympathize with that suffocating state of mind. "Ronaldo''s been down in the dumps since we started dating."With a pensive sigh, she paused, and Cecilia heard her rolling around in her bed. The same bed she''d been in when Cecilia had left this very morning. The Unovan scoffed. "Did you spend all day doing nothing?" "What? It''s not like I have a Grand Festival to prepare for. I deserve a break, Cece." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Whatever. What''s this about Ronaldo?" "I''m trying to figure out how to cheer him up. Maybe I can set him up with another girl and we can do a double date thing." Cecilia rolled her eyes so strongly they nearly receded back into her skull. "And have you hang off my arm the entire night? Are you stupid? Do you want to torture him?" "Not like you aren''t doing the same thing to your other friend,"Temperance dared to fight back."I''m surprised she''s still hanging out with us. She obviously isn''ting today because you aren''t." Emilia¡­ Emilia was odd, really. Sometimes Cecilia wondered why her friend even looked at a person likeherthis way and why it seemed to get worse the longer this new rtionship went on.Whyeven like her, and why lie about it? She''d asked twice more if there was a problem with the state of things, and twice more Emilia had said no. And she didn''t even use the situation¡ªbeing with people she could forge connections with to further her career¡ªto her advantage. Instead, all she did was attempt to babysit Cecilia out of fear that she would fuck up somewhere. Cecilia wasn''t naive. She knew that this thing with Temperance didn''t have legs to stand on for long, even if her girlfriend wanted it to. It was justnew. Something other than Grace to experience¡ª However, that justification fell t when she kept pretending it was Grace under her and not Temperance during the nights they spent together. Still, this wasfun, and Temperance was good at making herugh sometimes. "You''re right," she finally admitted. "I''ll talk to her again today and try to convince her to stoping." There were only so many hours in a day. Between training and integrating herself within a new circle, there was very little of it, but Cecilia was sure she could make time for her if she needed it. "Did you just¡­ relent to something? Am I changing you¡ª" Cecilia hung up on her. She hated that idea, now, the notion that she was being molded by someone. She let out a silentugh, knowing that she might as well have been fighting shadows with how ineffective she''d been up until now to counter this. But little by little, she was bing someone. A person. She was still climbing those stairs. One bottle of waterter, Louis found Cecilia sitting under the cool shade of Lehmhart''s body. She fought away memories of Graceining about the heat with a shake of her head. With her, she had a snack Temperance had bought instead of made. It was an artisanal energy bar, elegantly packaged in matte foil with gold ents that cost way more than it was worth. "Doing okay?" Louis asked, patting the Golurk on the leg. Lehmhart answered with a high-pitched, satisfied sound. His range was improving massivelytely thanks to Temperance''s training. He had grown into himself, fully bing the man he was always meant to be, embodying the potential that had once only lingered as a promise. It was one thing to speak of a dream, and another to make it a reality. "I suppose." Cecilia crouched and slowly munched on her snack. "Where''s Audino?" "With Nales. He''s been struggling the most," he said. "What do you think about our progress so far? At this rate, we''ll be ready to wee Pokemon, both wild and trained, by the start of the next Circuit." His voice brimmed with the excitement of a boy on his birthday in a way Cecilia couldn''t help but smile at. They spoke of the sanctuary for a few minutes. Of future ns and how Louis was studying how to care for different Pokemon types on his own time with the very book Justin had nned on bringing him back from the Canve Library before he died. Hiring was already in progress, and while his first few years would be backed by Justin''s father, it was his hope for this sanctuary to run on donations sooner rather thanter. "Do you have a name for it yet?" Cecilia asked. "''The Sanctuary'' isn''t great." "I haven''t thought of it much, actually. I was thinking of either naming it the Floaroma Sanctuary¡ª" "Come on. You can do better than that," she teased. There was a moment of tension in the air. A fist clenched at his side, and the chewing of his own tongue. Cecilia noticed his neck tighten as his next breath only squeezed past his contracted esophagus. "Listen, Cece¡ª" he groaned, as if speaking to her was suddenly the most difficult thing in the entire world. Feeling the rebuke suddenlye, the Unovan found her mannerisms mimicking Chase''s as she lowered her cap until she couldn''t see his face. "This is¡­ this is a huge project of mine. I''ve been working toward it for half a year now. I¡ªI know you''re feeling hurt, but please don''t¡­ project that onto me." "What?" "You''ve been meaner ever since Grace broke up with you. And you''re angry, I can tell!" She could see his arms move with his words, each gesture akin to those one would make when trying to calm down an aggressive beast. "And this new girlfriend of yours¡­ well, I don''t know. Just don''t take it out on me¡ªit feels belittling. Please." "I¡ªI wasn''t being serious." "The words cut all the same. I know others like Chase or Pauline can take it, but not me. And I wouldn''t do it with Emilia either if I were you. She''d been acting oddtely. I don''t know." The flowers at her feet swayed in the wind. "I thought¡ª" no, that wasn''t what she should have been saying. Justifications would bring her nowhere. Her eyes shut tightly, and she bit her lip. "I''m sorry. I should leave, shouldn''t I?" "That''s not what I¡ª" "I get it. You don''twantme to leave, but honestly, it might give you some peace of mind if I did." He''d be better off if Grace was here instead of her. He''d wanted to go back to her anyway. Cecilia finished her energy bar in one bite and shot up. Louis'' face was wrought with pain. "I''ll leave you my Pokemon here ande back at the end of the day." "Hold on, I¡ª" "Of course, I''ll have to take Lehmhart to fly. Could you change into your rocket mode, darling?" Cecilia stared up at the construct, whose eyes dimmed, and with an ethereal sigh that let her know he would eventually stop doing this, his body began to shift. The tes along his body began to grind and shift with a slow, deliberate movement, revealing the intricate mechanisms beneath the ancient armor. He used to be slower at this, much slower, and it would still be suicide to use it mid-fight, but the sound of the change masked Louis''ints and pleas. Wait. She was just¡ª She was just running away again, wasn''t she? Doing the exact same thing that had lost her Grace. The realization struck her like lightning, and she found herself suddenly hyperaware of every tendon, every bone, every skin cell in her body. Lehmhart stood there at the ready, his engines brimming with energy and warping the air below them with heat that made both Louis and Cecilia sweat and made the flowers below lie t against the earth. Cecilia exhaled. "Never mind, I''m staying." Lehmhart thrummed in relief as well. "Thank the Legendaries."Louis held out his hand, but lowered it. "I never wanted to chase you away. I was just¡­ you know. Just don''t say hurtful things, even if I know you don''t mean it." She found herself hugging Louis tightly, continuously apologizing in his ear as her eyes welled up with tears. He struggled to return it, but he did eventually. "You''re trying to pretend you''re doing fine, but you aren''t." "I''m trying to move on," she said, head still on his shoulder. "But I can''t." "It hasn''t been very long." "That''s what Emilia says¡ªwait, what was that about her acting odd?" She ended the hug and held her friend at arm''s length. "I don''t know. It''s like she''s a lot less energetic than usualtely when talking, or at least that''s what Pauline noticed thest time they were together a few days ago¡ªactually, they should be together right now in Hearthome. It''s unlike her. Do you know something about it?" Louis had been so focused on work that he''d rarely lifted up his head to see what was happening around him. While he knew what was generally happening, he had no idea Emilia had decided to stick to Cecilia to watch her or that she most likely had unrequited feelings for whatever reason. The Unovan figured that being with her while she was with Temperance wasn''t very fun, but if she was acting this way even with Pauline¡­ "I do know," Cecilia said. Maybe it was time to speak to Emilia and tell her that she shouldn''t be involved anymore. It''d hurt her, but¡­ they needed to talk more seriously. And if push came to shove, if no ord could be reached; To protect her feelings in the long term, maybe Emilia was better off no longer being friends with her. "Louis, I think I might need to leave after all."
Chapter 337 – Turning the Tanker Chapter 337 ¨C Turning the Tanker
CHAPTER 337 - TURNING THE TANKER Cecilia''s ears were still hurting from her flight on Lehmhart by the time she made it to Josephine''s mansion, a reminder that she ought to buy ear protection sometime soon after this. Emilia was hunkering down at Pauline''s mother''s Hearthome property, which was a ways away from the city center and more modern than old Hearthome. The manse was set back behind lush, meticulously arranged gardens. Manicured hedges framed winding gravel paths, and clusters of flowers Cecilia imagined were vibrant in color. She tried recalling memories of how it looked thest time she''d been earlier in the year, but those were smudgy at best. She had noticed that Sinnoh didn''t have much variety in terms of homes affluent people lived in. For the most part, they were either penthouses atop high rises or modern mansions like these surrounded by gardens. A few security guards, each apanied by a Pokemon, nodded as she passed, already notified of her arrival. The security business was booming post-bombing; it somewhat reminded her of the raid on Backlot''s mansion and his endless trainers for hire, something he''d been considered entric for. She didn''t feel the slightest pause until she reached the stone b steps, where a hint of hesitation crept in. Cecilia knew what she wanted to say. It was simple, really. She wanted to tell Emilia to stop looking after her and to say that she never should have been involved in this Temperance business in the first ce¡ªand she needed to apologize for letting it go on for this long as well. The issue was that Cecilia wasn''t the best with words, or more precisely at broaching sensitive topics in a way that would leave someone''s feelings as unhurt as possible. If Emilia could not ept this, then Cecilia would need to keep her distance in order not to harm her further¡ªwhich would mean weaning herself off the very friends she''d spent all this time getting closer to. A calming breath, then Cecilia pulled her chin up and made herself taller. She''d faced murderers and death before¡ªhadliterallydied before. This moment shouldn''t feel as daunting or difficult as it did. All she needed was to find the right way to navigate this sensitive topic¡­ If only Slowking had been here for advice. Unfortunately, besides Lehmhart, all of her Pokemon had remained to help Louis at his sanctuary. She owed him that, at the very least; the extrabor would have been missed, especially when they were Pokemon of their calibre. The Unovan pushed the tall wooden double doors open and took a step inside, d to be out of the sun''s re. Already used to thebyrinthian dispositions of her father''s numerous mansions and homes, she found herself easily navigating the wide hallways and soon found Pete¡ªPauline''s most trusted butler¡ªnear the entrance before asking him for directions for directions. There were fewer staff members here than she knew Unovans liked to have, with Pete being one of sixteen currently on service around the mansion, some cleaning a vase, sweeping the floor, keeping ambient music going, or fixing up the dining room for tonight. Nearly all of them were young men. "Ms. King and Lussier are in this room," Pete said, presenting the door with a polite gesture. Cecilia could hear the faint sound of their voices. "May I be of any more service?" "No, thank you." He gently knocked on the door, each tap of his finger deliberate, and he announced their presence to the two before he was let in by Pauline''s rambunctious voice. As soon as the e in!" was heard, Cecilia felt her jaw clench and felt her face twisting into a faux smile before shaking her head and already knowing it would be a meaningless lie. It was difficult to unlearn gestures you''d lived with your entire life, especially if you were punished for not doing them. Only when Grace was here had she found herselffortable enough to rx just in time for the door to slowly open¡ªand Chase, these days. To Cecilia, they looked much the same as always. Pauline carried her usual expression¡ªa hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth, her eyes softened over the past year. You might even call her calm now. Almost. Beneath thatposure, though, a spark still flickered, restless as ever. Emilia was also not that rattled, though unlike her friend, she knew the reason for Cecilia''s visit. Really, the Unovan was surprised she hadn''t told Pauline about it during the multi-hour-long journey to Hearthome; she''d nearly expected to be verbally assaulted the moment she''de into the room. Emilia was tense, her eyes darting throughout the room. It was as if she''d turned back to the girl she''d been when they''d met. Nervous and afraid of anything unexpected. Maybe not that far, Cecilia thought. It was still strange to see her this unsettled these days. The Unovan still didn''t really understand it. No, sheunderstood, but she didn''t get why she''d lied about what she could take and not just told her outright. If she had, Temperance would have been history, but Cecilia didn''t want to break up with her now, especially when they''d gone public and she''d found the coordinator worked well for her emotional needs. Pete asked the two girls if they needed anything¡ªsnacks, drinks, a change in music¡ªhe was denied and swiftly left the room. The door closed with a forebodingclinkbehind Cecilia. "Hey, Cece!" Pauline stood up from her truthfully enormous bed with a smile and hugged her. It was an unexpected gesture she struggled to return in the moment. "I''m d you came to hang out, even if it was sudden. Emi and I were talking about performances and stuff to cheer her up¡ªshe''s been a little offtely." Cecilia''s eyes fell upon the coordinator, and she averted hers immediately. Had her crush gotten worse? Or maybe she was just nervous because of the text Cecilia had sent. Hopefully that was it. "I can see that," she said before pausing. "May I sit? I have something¡ª" "Hey, can I talk to you in private?" Emilia cut in, finding her confidence. Her hands were clenched around Pauline''s fluffy bedsheets tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. "Sorry, Pauline. It won''t be long." "Whaaat?"the redhead drawled with a hint of humor. There was a short pause, and her slightly amused expression gave way to a frown and a look of realization that this would be serious. "Wait. What''s with the cloak and dagger shit?" She was quiet, but still threatening. Like a song slowly building up to a climax. Quickly, her head swiveled back to her bed. "Emi?" Cecilia could see the gear turning inside her head. Still in loungewear just a little too big for her, Emilia sighed. The one leg she had over the bed''s edge started to bounce. "I was hoping to keep this private." Pauline crossed her arms. "Something''s going on between you two. I''m guessing that''s why you''ve been so depressed." Emilia clicked her tongue. "I''m notdepressed, Arceus. No need to exaggerate¡ª" "You haven''t uploaded on your channel in days, you haven''t practiced with your Pokemon in that same length of time¡ªso much so that Metang had to ask me about it," Pauline scathingly listed. "Instead of being the queen of Hearthome or whatever, you''ve been holing up here.With me.You didn''t even bring a change of clothes!" The redhead gestured at her ex like what she was saying was the most obvious thing in the world, and to be honest, it was. Guilt seized Cecilia''s heart. She''d managed to get a hold of her ghostly self by now, so she didn''t let it show, or barely enough that only Grace or perhaps Chase would have caught it. "Just¡­ whatever," Emilia exhaled in defeat. "What if I promise to tell you afterward? It''d be ufortable with you hearing." She closed her eyes and made her voice small. "And humiliating." Pauline''s eyes widened slightly before narrowing into a confused re of sorts aimed at Cecilia. She must have already concluded her to be the viin, and to be honest, this was mainly her fault, so she wasn''t wrong. "Fine," Pauline said. "Just make sure to tell the truth after. I''m worried about you. I''ll go grab some chips or something. I didn''t want to bother Pete, but I''m kind of hungry." "You can grab some chips without pestering him," Emilia said, half-jokingly. "But thanks." Cecilia said the same, dipping her head in appreciation as the redhead passed her by and closed the door. Nearly mmed it, in fact. Now that they were alone, with only Lehmhart''s Pokeball to keep herpany, Cecilia didn''t know if she should stay where she was at a healthy distance or go sit on the bed next to Emi. Wasn''t distance actually what she needed? But would she seem cold if she was too far? So many questions, and so little time to think. She decided topromise and sit on the bed, but a few feet away or so to give her space. Emilia kept stealing nces at her, and once again her fists gripped the bedding. Cecilia just kept unflinchingly looking right at the side of her face. Surely eye contact would showcase her honesty. "You''ll tell Pauline I''m sorry about sitting on her bed with unchanged clothes after a flight," the Unovan said. "I don''t think she''ll be willing to talk to me after this." "After what?" Emilia said. "Emi." There were no two ways about this. She needed to be direct. "I''m sorry for allowing you to watch over my rtionship with Temperance. It was inattentive of me." The girl scoffed. "Allowing me? It was a choice I made." "A horrible one," Cecilia said. "You can''t handle it. You just can''t. Louis and now Pauline have talked about how it''s affected you. You were hiding it well when we were together." "I can. It''s just harder than I thought." "You can''t," she repeated. "And yes.Allowed you. Because I could have cut you out of it right then and there that one night, and I didn''t." Emilia stayed silent, possibly not knowing what to say¡ªCecilia wasn''t certain. "This doesn''t mean we can''t be friends or that I''ll stop seeing you. It just means that¡­ that entire rtionship with Temperance isn''t something we should talk about at all. Or something you should be involved in at all. You never should have been in the first ce." The words hurt her. Cecilia could tell. Emilia winced, a trembling breath escaping the confines of her mouth, and she curled up into a ball, hugging her knees as she still sat. "You don''t want me near you. Fine." This time, it was Cecilia''s turn to grimace; she flinched back and shook her head in disbelief. "That isn''t what I said." "It''s what you mean," she bitterlyughed. "Think about it. You see her every day for the majority of the day. This morning and afternoon you spent with Louis is the first time you''ve seen one of us since you started dating her! Beside me, obviously." That was true enough. Cecilia would have made time for Chase, but he had secluded himself now and was living in the wild like a hermit. They texted asionally when he had service closer to Canve, but he wasn''t one to put his goals on hold to babysit her permanently. "You used me as leverage to make Temperance jealous, and now you''re just going away," she continued. "But it''s whatever. I mean, it''s not, but it is. Whatever." "Why do you keep saying that when it isn''t?" "Because ithasto be," she forced out through a constricted throat. "I''ll get over it." There was a short moment of silence that seemed to stretch forever as she stared at the little plushies Pauline had arranged by her window. Most of them were fierce Pokemon like Druddigon or Charizard. "It just always feels like Ie second, never first, no matter how hard I try. It''s never enough." "I''m sorry." It was half a genuine apology, half not knowing what to say. It was her first time rejecting someone she cared about¡ªAmy could eat a bag of rusty needles. But at least now, Emilia could probably acknowledge the following instead of lying. "You like me, then. Not that I believed you when you denied it." She wouldn''t have made that mistake again. Not after Grace. Fool me twice, shame on me, as they said. The words struck Emilia like a thousand tons. Her head jerked back, and she looked at her and looked ready to fight the usation, but relented within seconds and deted like a helium balloon. "It was just an idea," she quietly said. "It wasn''t actually serious. Not a big thing like you and Grace had." "Why me, anyway?" Cecilia asked. She scoffed."Why?So I need areasonto have a mild crush on someone?" It was a genuine question. There wasn''t much to like about her, the Unovan had realized, and her friend wasn''t one to get with someone just for their looks. Maybe Cecilia could fill a gimmick for a few weeks or months like she was doing with her current girlfriend, but it was only a matter of time until something went wrong with her or Temperance got bored¡ªand it was only a matter of time until she left as well, which is why Cecilia would be doing so first. Not only that, but she was horrid at dating people. Why else would Grace have left? "I believe you just had an idea of me in your head and thought I could be that, but I can''t," she said. "What the hell are you saying?" She shot up from the bed. "Do you realize how that makes you sound?" "No." She threw her hands up in exasperation. "I¡ª" she evidently let the topic go and started pacing around the room. "I can''t believe this. Why couldn''t I like someone who¡ªargh!" Emilia nearly tore her hair out. "Do you realize how I feel used, at least?" Cecilia wanted to say,You could have just said no. I trusted you when you said you could handle it.But the words stayed lodged in her throat. She was even surprised at thatbative part of her. People were so confusing. They could lie to your face about one thing and mean something else entirely. Lying to herself, she knew well, but why not be honest when the opportunity had been given? Grace, too had lied about Maylene, and now she was gone. It wasn''t like it had been some sort of y to gain an advantage over her like something Cecilia might do when talking to someone she could get something from, it had just been a lie for the sake of lying. Why did people not realize when they liked someone? She''d realized her crush on Grace as soon as she realized that it''d be okay for her to be gay. "I''m sorry," was all that came out through clenched teeth. "I still think this Temperance thing is bad for you, but we can just leave it at that. I, uh," she nced around, "might need some space? And if you see Pauline on the way out, tell her that I''m ready to talk to her. I''m sorry, but she should know. She cares about me." Relief flooded Cecilia''s veins like an aphrodisiac. She hadn''t handled this very well and had nearly let anger get the better of her, but things wereokay. Genuinely okay. It would probably take Emilia a while to lose her feelings, but no permanent damage in their friendship had taken hold. There were no more hugs, but instead an awkward wave as a goodbye, but before Cecilia could leave¡ª "Onest thing," she asked. "What''s so wrong with me?" Cecilia frowned. "What do you mean?" Emilia fell back on the bed with a littleugh, hair syed out on the mattress. "What''s so wrong with me that I''m never the one people choose?" Never was an exaggeration here¡ªsure, Pauline had gotten a crush on Denzel and forced all three of them into a rtionship, but she''d never fallen out of love with Emilia. And this was just¡­ she''d just never been into her that way. "There''s nothing wrong with you." Cecilia gently smiled at her. "I''m sorry I couldn''t return your feelings. I''m sure you''ll find someone soon who can make you happy." Cecilia could maybe have given it a try, but there would be no point when she''d just be using her as a rebound and imagining her as Grace and she looked nothing like her. It would have been a far worse offense than what she''d done to her now, and unlike Temperance, she''d get no strange enjoyment out of it. "Blegh," Emilia groaned. That was hopefully the end of that whole debacle. Surprisingly, Pauline wasn''t at the door to eavesdrop, something Cecilia had expected her to do. Instead, the redhead was down the hall, leaning against the wall and munching on some salted chips. "Done?" she dryly said, scrunching up the bag. Was she already finished? She and Emilia hadn''t spoken for long. "Done," the Unovan said with a nod. "She''s ready to talk." Pauline walked past Cecilia, but stopped midway. "How is she?" she asked behind her. "She''s fine. Or at least she was fine when I left her," Cecilia said. "We''ll talk after," she nearly threatened. "Of course." Cecilia wouldn''t run. Not only would it be cowardly, but it would just dy the inevitable, anyway. She settled into the same spot Pauline had imed, wishing she had her Pokemon with her or that these halls were spacious enough to amodate a Golurk. It made her recall how Grace and she used to daydream about renting some apartment in Castelia, or at least Cecilia daydreamed about it. Thinking back, it wasn''t like she''d given her the option to choose the city or had even heard her input; Grace had just agreed right away. With a heavy sigh, she pushed her head down against the wall she was facing and just existed for a few minutes. She remembered one of the breathing exercises Temperance taught her¡ªone that was usually for singers, but that would be of use for her voice to stay steady when it was loud during a battle. She inhaled as much as possible and slowly exhaled while hissing, keeping it as level as possible. Then there was panting rapidly or gasping to build up the stamina in your throat muscles, and a million other things that had made her realize howplex a human throat was¡ªand she''dseenmultiple get crushed or cut. Innards just looked like innards to her. Red and mushy. That kept her distracted for a bit, but Pauline''s conversation was taking a long time. Cecilia found her finger drifting toward Temperance''s name. She wouldn''t give her the satisfaction of asking for support during a tough day, but instead, she decided to keep her updated on what was happening. But keeping her updated? That felt like a ''girlfriend'' thing to do¡ªor at least, one she was willing to count as one. She picked and chose which things fit that role, ording to her own liking. Her girlfriend answered with a ''proud of you babe! stay strong!'' and it did surprisingly feel quite nice. Cecilia replied with a thanks and decided that was enough of that. She couldn''t let herself get too attached or grow too close; she needed to keep Temperance at arm''s length, both because of dependency fears and the fact that it was all temporary. So as she usually did to distract herself, she found herself browsing the trainer forums. It was something she''d found enjoyment in since herphysicalrevival post Jupiter and a hobby she hadn''t lost after being revived by those Gengar. There were plenty of news about the Conference and the top uing trainers that she honestly just nced over. She was looking at a ''hype'' thread where ''connoisseurs'' liked to theorize and power scale, though most of what they said was utter rubbish. She found a strange enjoyment in seeing people speak about her. Her rtionship with Temperance had put her on the map, and it felt nice for her name to matter for once. Cecilia should have expected to find Grace spoken about there. She hadn''t looked at her ex''s thread once since breaking up, but with her position at Poketch, she was famous enough to have people talk about her all the time even outside of it. Cecilia first found a post saying that Grace and Maylene were officially dating that was issued a warning for being off-topic, then another, then multiple over the course of thest few hours, and she opened Chatter and found Grace''s ount and read hertest Chat and¡ª She heaved for every breath and crouched face-first against the wall, her forehead never leaving the cool surface. Obviously, Cecilia had known they were dating. She''d seen plenty of people online guess that fact, even. It wasn''t like they''d been hiding it¡ªthey were more unting it in everyone''s faces. But having the announcement spelled out right in front of her apanied by a picture of Grace kissing the Gym Leader on the cheek in her room, having the entire country seeing it confirmed, having to face this certain truth on her own again? It was nearly as painful as that day she''d found out for the first time. Within hery a treacherous, simmering rage. A pressure began to build in her chest, a fierce, twisting ache that rose into her throat, wing for release yet held back by sheer will. Why was she being hurt again? Why did it evenmatter?There must have been something wrong with her to be still hung up on this, and it made the Unovan want to dive deep into her own ribcage and rip out her own heart so she could give it a stern talking to. The door opened down the hall¡ªno, it swung open and crashed into the little stopper that kept it from mming on the wall. Emilia chased behind Pauline, calling her name over and over and telling her not to do this. The redhead approached with a determined step. Cecilia rose to meet her despite her anger still covering every inch of her skin and coiling around her like an Ekans. "Youbitch!What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Pauline yelled as she moved. Emilia spoke up, desperation leaking into every word. "Pauline, please. We dealt with it like adults¡ª" "Who do you think you are, exactly?"She ignored her, her tone so loud that it washed over Emilia''s small voice. Upon getting a closer look, Cecilia noticed Emi had been tearing up, or maybe crying. It was difficult to tell. Pauline pointed back at Emilia with an almost violent fervor. "What gives you the right to grab her heart and tear it into a million pieces?!" She violently jabbed a finger in her chest. Cecilia looked down at her, ears ringing like nails scraping against a chalkboard as the pain in her heart allowed the anger to fester and grow. "Say something," Pauline growled. "Not only did you and that other prick use her in this sick game, but you fucking used her asleverage?Really?Do you think people are just empty sacks of meat without feelings that you can string along to gain something? And you let this go on forso long¡ª" she continued her verbal assault, recounting all of Cecilia''s wrongs like she was crossing her t''s and dotting her i''s. Emilia had told her everything to thest detail, and none of it would be amiss. The Unovan watched Emilia retreat back to Pauline''s room, unable to listen to this beatdown. This was probably thest thing she''d wanted, and even she had her limits. Oh, it was soeasywith hindsight, wasn''t it, Pauline? Saying that she should have done this, or that, or said this and that. That she should have just cut her off immediately as if Cecilia didn''t fear harming her friendship by disappointing her, and genuinely thought she would give her good advice because of how mature she''d grown. Cecilia was tired. But most of all, she feared that¡ªthat she would say something off should she speak. "I''m sorry," Cecilia said. "I shouldn''t have done any of it." Pauline let out aical, exaggeratedugh as her face contorted in near delirium. "You''re justsayingthat. Look at you.Areyou even sorry? Or is it just something you say in hopes of moving on?" "I mean it," she said. "Are you done?" After each word hade a pause each more frustrated than thest. "Oh. Getting a little angry, aren''t you?" she taunted with an infuriating smirk and flicked her hair back. "Get out of my house." Something snapped inside her¡ªa taut string pulled too tight, finally breaking under the pressure. It was like the sound of a dam giving way, the sudden, sharp crack of something carefully held back shattering into release, leading to a maddenedugh that spread through the hall. "And you think you''re any better?You?!" she yelled. "Please. Spare me your belligerence." Already, Pauline had turned away, but that caught her attention. "What," her eyes sharpened, and her face and body tightened like a rubber band stretched to its maxim, "the fuck are you saying?" "I was nothing. Some stupid crush that didn''t even matter. You were all she had for her entire life and youbetrayed herby leading her on,lyingto her about how you felt about Denzel while she was fighting to make a life for herself in Hearthome alone!" Cecilia knew how to hit it where it hurt; she could even see a vein pop up on Pauline''s forehead. The redhead clenched a fist, and her teeth nearly chattered in anger. "So screw you and your so-called morality. Every time,Ihave to be perfect.Ihave to read your minds! Every time I take people at their word and think they can handle me, they break! It''smyfault; me, me,me!" This was dangerous. It felt so good. "Maybe Emilia should have justtold meinstead of hiding behind a veil of constant excuses. Have you considered that maybe,just maybe, I''ve been in the middle of trying to turn the fuckingtankerthat is my life, sosorryif I can''t be just,ohso attentive to every little thing¡ª" She felt a sharp sting on her cheek, and the sound of a p resonated a split-secondter. She grinned, the physical pain a wee sensation and distraction. Cecilia worked her jaw as the tingling faded, fingers grazing where she''d just been hit. "How mature," she said. "I guess that proves my point." "That wasn''t for shittalking me. That was for being so fucking dense about what Emilia feels and ming her for what you did," Pauline muttered. Cecilia rolled her eyes. "A wonderful little lie." "When did you be so fucking cold?" Pauline''s voice wavered, and she allowed pain to show in her eyes for the first time. "I don''t recognize you." "Sorry if I didn''t immediately prostrate myself before you and beg for forgiveness," she spat. "I became someone." She immediately answered, "Yeah, well you became an asshole. ''Guess that''s why you''re single¡ªor wait, I guess you''re with that other asshole now. However long thatsts." The words hurt like paper cuts all over her skin, but she forced a shrug. "I won''t even deign to answer that." "Right. Of course, you won''t, that''d go against the pretentious shtick you''ve got going on." Pauline paused, foot tapping against the carpeted floor. "Hey, do me a favor. When you go to sleep tonight in the arms of a woman you don''t love, you should ask yourself why the girl who got cheated on is losing her friends. Now fuck off." The shouting match had caught the attention of a few attendants, however Cecilia was already leaving. It was strange. She felt light and unburdened, like the argument itself had fueled her shallow soul with personality. Deserved or not, she''d stood up for herself, and she had to admit that felt grand even if the satisfaction was tainted. The taste of it lingered, sharp and bittersweet. It felt good, that defiance, even if it came with the sting of consequence¡ªa satisfactionced with bitterness, like swallowing a poisoned piece of candy just for the taste. For once, she''d been her own voice, no matter how wed. She did not feel the urge to run and take refuge, neither to Temperance who would have jumped at the asion, nor Chase who would have made time if she truly needed it¡ªshe knew he would forever be in her corner. Instead, she just wished her Pokemon could be here. She''d even let go of her awful reaction to that Chatter post. She didn''t get a ride back in a car to the city outskirts where taking off with Lehmhart would be allowed. Whatever. She could walk. She had, after all, turned the tanker. A/N: One interlude inbound, and then a time skip.
Interlude – Job Application Interlude ¨C Job Application
INTERLUDE - JOB APPLICATION Another pellet arced through the air, and Wimpod shot forward, her legs iling with anticipation as her mouth opened wide. Her legs wriggled in the air, her mouth mped down, and she skittled away with the food to eat it hidden away from them behind the undergrowth as if it was at risk of being stolen. Even now, her instinct as a Pokemon of prey told her that she should always eat in secret to not lure predators to her location. Chase didn''t mind. He even found it somewhat cute. The little bug¡ªhe hade to realize she was smaller than average for her species¡ªchittered, and her entire body vibrated in glee as she nestled close to a nearby rock Zangoose had brought over to sharpen her ws, savoring her prize in private. Chase watched with a soft smile, keeping his movements slow and gentle, knowing too well that any sudden motion might send her running off even further. It was a game of some sort. He''d throw her food, and she''d catch it. It made her a lot more active and was motivation for her training; Wimpod was, after all, working just as hard as the others in her own way. Her food now finished, she slowly scuttled toward Chase''s wheelchair and jumped on hisp. He couldn''t really feel her countless legs against his, but the subtle pressure of her light weight was still there. Each white segment of her body moved almost independently of each other. "Feeling full?" he asked. The water type screeched, her antennas lying t against her body and her eyes barely opened. "Nap time, then." His hand rubbed at the chitin and gave his other Pokemon a knowing look, asking them to be quiet. Not that they''d been very active in the first ce. They''d trained hard enough today and deserved a break. Vikavolt crawled on a tree with his wings fanned out as he cut berries off branches with his sharp mandibles. One of them fell on Houndoom''s head, and the fire type growled in annoyance. His tail curled up, and he decided to switch spots, settling in next to Zangoose to feel fur against him. It wasn''tsoft¡ªin fact, Chase would call it prickly, but the dark type enjoyed sticking close to something orsomeoneto rx. Zangoose red, shing her teeth as she softly kicked him in the ribs, and Houndoom started yfighting with her, biting her legs with a hint of mes in his maw until she packed up and moved a few hundred feet away. Houndoom let out a sigh that sounded almost human before settling down beside Chase, who reached over with his free hand to gently stroke the Pokemon''s head. Sigilyph, meanwhile, clearly wanted to follow Zangoose to her new resting spot, but the psychic shot Chase a look¡ª "Don''t worry about it," he whispered with a shrug. "I''ll send Vikavolt to get you if I need to move around." Rolling this stupid fucking chair around in the woods was impossible; it just wasn''t meant for this environment. They''d settled in the woods west of Canve, which were rtively dense. That was why his main method of transportation levitatation by Sig. Anywhere else, though, and he''d move on his own. He hated relying on others for mobility, and he still wasn''t used to not being able to move his legs. Toote to cry about it. At least that bitch Mars was dead and her clone was in prison. Ri shot him a passing, worried nce. He''d been half meditating, half chatting with Zangoose before she''d been chased away by Houndoom. "M''fine." Chase loved Ri, but Arceus, he was way too perceptive at times. Sometimes, he just wanted to brood on his own without someone asking if he was okay for the thousandth time. "I''m thinking about the Gym Fight." Byron''s Gym had opened its doors to sign-ups today and would be opening fully in two. Chase had basically camped outside the Gym''s doors to be among the first to register, and it had worked. Now, he could finally get the answers he''d been looking for all these years. If you say so,the Lucario spoke into his mind. His aura felt like a bucket of ice had dropped on his head.The team is always avable if you need to vent about Abomasnow or your legs. We miss him too. Every day. Chase rolled his shoulders as if to shake an invisible hand off."I''ll be fine."He''d raised his tone on ident¡ªhis eyes looked down at Wimpod, who hadn''t noticed. With a calmer tone, he continued, "He wouldn''t want me to get stuck¡­ mourning. He''d want me to keep going." A pale blue light danced in the fighting type''s palm, forming a bone that turned to solid steel. It was so pure Chase could see his starter''s reflection on its surface.Weakness is not a fault. You learned that already. It is a facet of human emotion like any other. Feeling the morality lessoning, Chase tried not to roll his eyes and absent-mindedly agreed. He knew Ri was right¡ªit just wasn''t what he needed to hear right now. All this sentimentality and regret, when he was so close to what this entire year had built up to¡ªChase grunted when Ri threw the bone at his face. He caught it, though his palms hurt from the impact. "The fuck was that for?" he whispered in a hiss. "You could have hit Wimpod." Ri smirked and grew another bone, this time quicker.I wouldn''t have.I''m far too excellent to miss, and you have a big head. Vikavolt snorted¡ªa sharp, crackling hiss with a buzzing undertone¡ªand he munched on more berries. "Fuck off, Vikavolt." Chase threw the bone at the electric type, who simply directed it away through maism. It was heavier than it had looked, but the Iron Inder had kept his body active since bing crippled¡ªor disabled.Crippledwas offensive ording to Cecilia, and while he didn''t care, the disappointed look she had every time he said it was annoying, so he''d been trying to cut down on the usage, even if he was the one the word was directed toward. His legs, however? They were growing smaller and smaller by the week. He was keeping themmovingthrough physical therapy Ri helped him with that he had continued from the hospital so they wouldn''t atrophy, but that was all they could do. I meant big figuratively, by the way,Ri specified with augh of his own. "What if you broke my skull? Then what?" Don''t be a baby, now. "I''m sending you out hunting next, asshole." Chase waspletely broke, which was a familiar sight for him. All of his money, he''d spent on TMs for the Pokemon who needed it, and the only payment he got each month was the LTIP money from the League. He didn''t even have money to feed himself more than twice a day, so he''d been forced to eat whatever food his Pokemon brought back. Today, it had been berries from this tree they''d found. Trees with so many types of berry like this one were rtively rare in Sinnoh, but more abundant in the south. Granted, they ranged from blegh to fuckin'' disgusting to his human pte when not processed, but they were at leastedibleand nutritious. Plus, they weren''t that ripe, but it wasn''t like they had time to waste. He could have gone to a Pokemon Center for food, but he tried to avoid wasting time, and only food for humans was free. It was all jokes amidst his camp from that point on, and honestly, Chase appreciated the lightened atmosphere. The burden of expectations was heavy, and should he fail, he would have to wait for months or even years for another opportunity. A few hourster¡ªwhen the sun had set, another round of training had beenpleted, and they were preparing to settle down and sleep, Chase began to hear the faint sound of an engine far above him. It was subtle at first, so much so that he thought his ears had been ying tricks on him. The fire they''d lit to illuminate their surroundings at some point, but luckily he''d recalled Wimpod into her ball hours earlier so she could sleep soundly. He''d been burned by her scares countless times already¡ªenough to know that Zangoose would have been pissed. And whatever Zangoose felt, Sig would follow, and then he''d have a whole situation to deal with. The trees bent to Golurk''s engines. Their branches thrashed as the giant construct descended, its thrusters casting an eerie purplish-red glow across the forest floor. Leaves scattered in wild spirals, and the underbrush trembled. Chase had to spit out a mouthful as his wheelchair was pushed a few inches back until he gripped the wheels, and the wind nearly blew off his cap. That was the annoying thing about Golurk. Having one as a flier meant you couldn''t be discreet, or at least Cecilia hadn''t specialized that way. The ghost''s trainer climbed off his back in a single, elegant hop she had practiced a thousand times, and she held her hair still so it didn''t fly in front of her scarred face. Chase''s Pokemon, who were already used to suchmotion, ignored their arrival, though Zangoose was probably covering her ears in displeasure. Sig wasn''t great at barriers. "Cece," Chase said. "I thought you wereing by tomorrow night. Battling pep talk and all that." The Unovan stepped close to the fire, and Chase got a better look at her. She looked neither happy nor unhappy. A little mncholic, maybe¡ªit was still tough to tell with the eyes sometimes. "''Sup?" "I can leave ande back if I''m interrupting," she said. "Nah, I wasn''t doin'' much. Just hanging with these fucks." Chase gestured toward his team. Vikavoltnded on his head¡ªwhich he wasway too bigfor¡ªand started gnawing at his hat. "It''s meant lovingly! Arceus! Get off me!" By the time the bug type had zipped off with Chase''s hat, and he wouldn''t be back for an hour at least. Cecilia was grinning. So shewasn''thiding some kind of depression behind walls. Or at least not onerge enough to see her copse before him like when she''d just broken up with Grace. Those nights sure had been long. She replied while he ttened his hair, which had now risen up due to static, "I have something to tell you, but maybe we should do our routine first." "Sure." Had she looked like she needed it, then he would have pressed answers out of her. "So, Cecilia. What have you done to achieve your goals since west saw each other?" Words spilled out of her mouth. Training, research, reading news articles¡ªmore of the usual she''d been doing for weeks at this point. It was less of a thing to prove to each other that theywereworking toward their dream, though it was also that, but it was just something to hold each other ountable. Cecilia hade changed from her experience down south, and she wouldn''t let the light within her go out for anybody. Something was new, however: a third meeting with her new co-workers yesterday. Cecilia called all of them good kids. Innocent, yet passionate to make it far, and ready to amodate her despite the rumors swirling around in that country. Unova was basically shit covered in gold, wheras most regions were just shit. Chase didn''t really care for them. Instead, he kept asking about this Juniper woman until his friend ran out of words. It was his turn next, and his was more boring than it had been thest time they''d seen each other. He hadn''t gone to the Iron Inds again likest week to talk to the people or see how they needed help. Instead, he''d stuck in these woods, going off-route to train with wild Pokemon who were either aggressive or who were looking for a challenge. Luckily, Cecilia often came by to hand over potions he couldn''t afford, so his Pokemon were in good shape. All he''d done was more training every day. "I fear that there might be something wrong with me on the social level. It unsettles me." "This is what you wanted to speak about?" he asked. His friend nodded, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear. "I did something objectively bad today, or at least I did ording to Talonme and Slowking." Golurk let out a booming sound of disapproval beside her. "And Lehmhart." She nced up at him. "But parts of it made you happy too, it was fifty-fifty." The ground type patted the top of her head with a single finger, and sheughed at him. The moon peaked in between the trees, shining some of its light on the surroundings. Chase sighed, leaning against his palm as he stared at her through the crackling mes. "Tell me about it. I''ll see if it''s bullshit or not." So she did. Chase understood the gist of it. Romantic feelings were icky and weird, but he knew what they weresupposedto be, or he thought so. Cece had strung Emilia along with her new girl Temperance until yesterday, and had gotten into a verbal fight with Pauline over it. She''d pointed out that she just wished Emilia had said something sooner so it didn''t have toe to this instead of suffering in silence. It reminded her too much of her first rtionship, and she hated that. As far as he knew, it was the first actual fight she''d ever gotten in with someone other than Grace when they''d broken up. He was almost proud of her¡ªhe could see why that big hulk of a golem was partly prideful as well. It must have been astonishing to see his trainer progress so quickly. Almost. Almost proud of her. He also figured she was acting moronic. "I don''t think I''ll be speaking to them anymore, unfortunately. And things are going to be awkward with Louis, since he''s stuck in the middle of every side, but I''ve been rude to him. I figure he''ll slowly drift away," the Unovanmented with a deep sigh. Her hands folded neatly atop herp. "I screwed it up. But I can''t help but feel like I should be sadder, and yet the anguish isn''ting. That''s why I''m saying I feel like there''s something wrong with me." It couldn''t be ghost fuckery. That would have had the opposite effect¡ªno, Cecilia was in control of her own emotions here. "Just when I was starting to get along with her," Chaseined. They weren''t really friends, but he''d enjoyed Emilia''spany in the few times they''d seen each other since Cor, even if part of that was most likely because she and Pauline had saved his life. "Sucks." She winced, quick and hard. "Sorry." "You''re good, man. I make my own decisions on who to hang with." Her eyes softened in relief. Maybe she''d thought he''d blow up at her and tell her to leave. The thought of it had never even popped up in his head until now. She''d done bad, yes, but she was hopefully learning. Like a child going to kindergarten and socializing for the first time, except she was leaving hurt in her wake. And in the grand scheme of things¡ªif you took a step back and looked the situation in the eye, it wasn''t much. Just some drama bullshit he''d tried to stay away from the entire year because it was honestly a waste of time. Unfortunately for him, Cecilia seemed to get involved in that a whole lot. Chase leaned back in his chair with a groan. "You sound like an old man," she quipped. "You sound like a bitch," he said back. His friend chuckled, light dancing across her dark hair as it swayed with the movement of her face. "I do. I really wish I didn''t. I''ve never done anything like this. It was alwaysply,ply,ply. Nod and smile, say sorry, lower your head, and act like you were worse than trash. And after reading Grace''s post, I just saw red. Which is ironic, considering¡­" she motioned at her nk eyes. "Who cares about what Grace is doing? Focus on yourself!" "I was trying!" she countered, hands clenching on herp. "I wasn''t even looking at her socials! I haven''t done that! People just talked about her on the forums!" With another sigh, Chase grabbed water from the sk in his backpack, downing nearly all of its contents. "Look," he started as he closed the gourd. "You had your reasons. People always have their reasons for being assholes. I think. Some reasons are better than others, but at the end of the day, when the cards are all on the table, you''re still an asshole. You''ve still hurt somebody, right? Or, uh, multiple people, in this case." "Hmhm." "And while in an ideal world, Emilia would have just told you to stop when you gave her the chance to end all of this and she technically did lie to you, people can''t be expected to do what''s best for themselves all the time." He waggled his finger and threw his sk back in his bag, though he missed. Houndoom grabbed it with his mouth and ced it back in. "Fucking up is a part of the human condition, I say. Some fuck ups are irredeemable in the eyes of those you hurt. No one in this world is owed forgiveness¡ªforgiveness is a favor." He thought of Grace, in that moment, and clenched his teeth. She''d beeneverythingto her, and she couldn''t be assed to wait a few weeks. At least she seemed to be doing well for herself with Maylene now, which was a good thing. Chase was no animal. He had principles¡ªin this case not to hurt the one he was closest to¡ªbut he wished her to do well. Away from him. Something about that level of betrayal just gave him the ick. He couldn''t exin it. Finally, he continued, "I don''t know if this mistake is irredeemable; I''m not in their heads." Lucario nodded sagely in his corner with that prideful look, and Chase harumphed in embarrassment. "It most likely is." Her chest rose with a long breath. "What should I have done, then?" Cecilia asked. "Not bring her to that first party in the first ce, for one. She would have disliked me for it, but it would have been better?" She paused, eyes narrowing and her brows knitting together. "Or I could have brought her but treated her better, staying only friendly with Temperance that day. Is that a fairer way of looking at it? But then would that have her think she had a chance? But I didn''t know she liked me during that first party¡­ maybe I could have guessed." She let out somewhat of a bitterugh. "She''d been helping me so much, after all. Maybe I shouldn''t have needed Temperance to tell me, but friends are always a bit of a blind spot. Goodness, it''s so difficult. It feels like I have to treat everyone with kid gloves until I learn how to properly interact with them. Except you." "Do me a favor and never say this kind of shit to anyone who isn''t me." Chase didn''t mind, but she sounded way too analytical. It''de off as cold and unfeeling to most. He knew despite this that she was trying her best and that it was somewhat weighing on her, or she wouldn''t havee here unprompted. "Though honestly, I don''t know. I''m thest one you shoulde to for advice about this; I''m basically clueless. And I''d be thest one to go to some gathering of socialites no matter what I could get out of it." "You''d be surprised at the quality of your advice. I''m blessed to have you." "Huh. That''s nice. What about your girl¡ªTemperance? Isn''t she good at that kind of thing?" Cecilia snorted. "And to bleed myself upon the altar of dependence once again? You might as well be telling me all my work has been for naught." Her gaze softened for a moment¡ªbut just a moment. "She''s nice. Nicer than I thought someone of her status would be. But I''m bad for her. I should probably break up with her tonight or tomorrow." "What''d you mean?" Chase asked. "You wouldn''t get it if I exined to you how we interact." Cecilia drummed her fingers against Lehmhart''s leg, and the ghost let out a soothing thrum. "She''s told me she''s fine with it, but you know, what if she''s also lying to herself? What if two weeks from now, she realizes she''s not okay with being used as a rebound and she blows up at me?" Chase stayed silent for a moment. "What''s a rebound?" "Oh God." She began tough."Oh, God!"she cackled and doubled over. "What?!Don''t lord over me on your throne of¡­" he dismissively waved a hand at her, "fucked up rtionships! I don''t know what it means! So what?!" He felt a little shame, but it was good to see herugh. "I''m¡ªsorry. Hah." Cecilia wiped a tear away. It took her another few seconds to be well enough to speak. "It''s a bit of a reactionary rtionship. When you''re deeply hurt by your previous breakup and you throw yourself into the arms of another for refuge. Most of them are temporary." "And she knows this? And she''s willing to date your broken ass anyway?" Chase was so surprised his mouth half-gaped. "The fuck?" "I asked her to make me fall in love with her," Cecilia said. "I''m not that far, nowhere near, but I''m learning to appreciate her. Give it another few months, or maybe weeks, and I could see myself dating her for her. Liking her." Chase couldn''t find a response, so all he did was shake his head in confusion. Legendaries, how had he ended up in this position, giving love advice? "Does she make you happy right now?" "Not exactly¡ªor I should say there are some moments; they grow more frequent because we spend so much time together." "I mean, I''m no expert, but it sounds like you could make this work, no? Just wait for time to pass and¡­ be honest with her about it." "Oh, I have been honest. She''s giddy with excitement." The Unovan pursed her lips and crossed her legs. "I don''t like it, to tell you the truth." He leaned forward, nearly falling off his chair. He pushed himself off his armrests and gripped them tight. "You don''t want to explore a potential path to happiness?" "When you put it likethat¡ª" "I''m putting it like that becauseit isthat, moron." "¡ªI don''t want to be all ''it would never be the same as it was with her,'' because to tell you the truth, I don''t think we were ever that. Truly happy." She paused, finding her thoughts as she looked at the moon. "There were shes of it, yes, but it was a blessing when they came. I just don''t think I''d ever be able to give Temperance my full attention. She''d be better off with someone else, and I think eventually she''ll figure it out and leave¡ªespecially over long distance¡ªwhich is why I think I should break things off¡ª" "I''ll kill you." She let out a little surprised sound, almost a grunt. "Again? Dying a fourth time would be gauche after all the help I got." "Four? I thought that''d make it twice¡ªnever mind. Look, just give it a try, okay? Take a chance on yourself. Not just for me or your team, but for yourself. I see what you''re doing." He pointed usingly at her. "Grace cheated on you. She left you, so you think everything''s going to be the same and find another person, so you want to be the first to leave so you''re hurt less." Or at least he thought so. That made sense, right? She stayed silent a long while. Chase didn''t know if that was a good or a bad sign. She stared at the dancing mes, eyes darting from ember to ember as they floated up and dissipated in the sky. Eventually,finally, she rubbed her face with an extended exhale that seemed to sync to her Golurk''s ambient song. "I''d fuck it up." That was neither an agreement nor a disagreement¡ª "I can try." "Ifyou do, I''ll be there to help ya, pal." She left soon afterward, looking the saddest she''d been sinceing by. ¡ª A whisper. "Good luck. Don''t dim your light." Cecilia gently patted him on the shoulder and squeezed. In front of himy the result of a year of hard work and sixteen years of internal strife. Byron Fisker, draped in his childish cape and his dirty garb as if he didn''t have the money to dress properly. As if he was still a miner from the Iron Inds and not a traitor to his ss, the useful idiot prop Teracore could parade around and say''look, someone who was born there''s totally fine with what we''re doing!''Chase barely heard Cecilia walk down the steps of the Gym tform. She''d pushed him up there and spoken to him until the veryst moment, and for that, he would forever be grateful. He tightened his grip on the wheels of his chair, bracing himself for a moment before locking it securely, ensuring he wouldn''t slip down the stairs or ramp. This wasn''t the first time Chase hade face-to-face with Byron. Years ago, when he and the few survivors of Falkirk had been evacuated, he''d seen the man. The Gym Leader hade to meet them personally, hear their worries and so and so. He could remember it as clear as day. Gripping the man''s wrist with all of his strength, tears in his eyes,beggingfor something to be done. For the inds to see justice. For them to live just as well as the maind. After all, wasn''t he one of them? How could he just look at this and donothing? "I''ll help,"Byron had said."I promise." Yearster? Nothing. Not one new Pokemon Center. Not one new hospital. Not one new Ranger Station. Not one new reform to protect workers. Not one new policy to make it easier to move out of the inds for a better life. Not one initiative to revive the viges that were slowly dying or stagnating. Not one school upgraded or new one built. Not one investment to give their children hopes of bing trainers instead of watching them stay in search of a future that currently didn''t exist for them here. Not one bridge built. Not one program to ensure their safety, their health, or their prosperity. Just promises, empty promises, while they struggled to keep our homes from crumbling around them.TwoFalkirk-tier disasters in the years he''d left since; entire small towns wiped off the map. He had researched all of this. Cecilia hadmade himso he wouldn''tin or show up here without knowing the bigger picture. It was as if the inds were being perpetually kept in limbo, never changing, never growing. A prison made for his ancestors and his descendants to keep mining until their bones broke and they died alone at home because they could no longer move and their only caretaker was too busy working the mines or fishing to put food on the table and the nearest hospital was a ferry ride away with tickets that cost months of wages. What they did get instead? A new deepwater port to export more iron. Fucking. Liar. "Challenger," Byron said, "send out your first Pokemon." Chase adjusted his suit and tie. "dy," he whispered, before bellowing."And this is a job application, by the way!" Amidst confused looks in the audience and from Byron, he sent out Vikavolt and braced himself. ¡ª Holding one person ountable meant that there was no room for hesitation, no tolerance for weakness. When ountability fell on a single set of shoulders, it demanded resilience stronger than iron and a will sharper than any de. It was a weight that could crush a person or forge them into something harder, something able to stand against pressure others would flee from. It wasn''t about me or punishment; it was about strength, discipline, and amitment that could only be trusted by those who were tempered enough to bear it. It meant one thing. To be unyielding like steel. Through weeks of training, and perhaps this past year, Chase had forged a new tempered self. One who listened instead of screamed, who looked and observed before making a decision that would be rash. His Pokemon had watched his back grow taller and taller and had thrown themselves into what it meant to behim. It did not matter what the battle was like, for its results had already been determined, but what mattered was how they had pushed themselves to their limits to learn the ways of steel. Vikavolt''s shell gleamed with the hardened sheen of iron as it barreled into Skarmory with the force of andslide, an unstoppable avnche of weight and momentum. The impact was brutal, reverberating through the air with a sound that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them, like mountains colliding. The force was enough to shatter and tear through the toughest steel. With every beat of his wings, a torrent of Thunder bore down on the ground, and he carried with him shards of the battlefield he could manipte to his will. Zangoose traded blows with a Lucario whose body seemed more bone than flesh, a skeletal figure held together by sheer will and hardened resolve. But her ws and fur were like iron, every swipe carrying the weight of tempered steel. Each sh resounded with the metallic ring of two living weapons colliding, refined ferocity, precision and speed meeting raw strength and the sheer joy of battling through pain. Sigilyph hovered with an eerie calm, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the looming Aggron. With a sudden flicker of her rune-covered wings, she unleashed a sh Cannon, a beam of concentrated steel energy that shot forward like a silver bolt. The st struck Aggron''s armored chest with a resounding ng, forcing the steel-d giant back a step. Undeterred, she twisted gracefully in the air, wings glowing with metallic light as she readied a Steel Wing that coated them in a sheen, using her psychic power to gathered bits of the broken field to gather more and more material until her wings were the width of the entire arena and each strike hit like a ton. Houndoom crouched low, his dark fur bristling as he squared off against Empoleon, whose regal, steel-blue feathers gleamed under the battlefield lights. With a snarl, Houndoom''s eyes glinted with a menacing burn as he unleashed an Iron Tail, swinging his hardened tail in a swift arc. The strike nged against Empoleon''s chest armor, sparking as steel shed with steel. Some of these battles ended in failure. Houndoom failed to take down his foe while Zangoose was overwhelmed by Lucario''s ferocity. That was fine. They were here to pitch, not to win. To eventually speak with the man who had taken so much from Chase and Ri through inaction. Even Wimpod got a little action with Metal w she''d learned from Zangoose, though the fear took a hold of her within a minute and she screeched enough to cut Chase''s heart in two, and he recalled her. Ri¡ª Ri faced a small Steelix who moved at speeds it had no right to move at, its massive body coiling and snapping forward with fluidity unexpected for. In fact it moved so quickly that the friction in the air made it glower red like one of those rockets from Hoenn reentering the atmosphere. Byron''s personal Steelix, one who was hailed to be among the fastest in the entire world. Bone Rush had turned from ground type to steel, and Ri''s sheer strength was enough to go toe to toe with the giant. This one feltpersonal.They went all out, using bursts of aura from the soles of Ri''s feet to fly and ramming bones in its segments just like the old times in Mount Cor. In the end¡ª Chase lost three to six. He still would have lost had he used something other than steel type moves, but to be quite honest, he could not give less of a fuck. What mattered wouldenow. "You were holding back," Byron immediately noticed when they met besides the broken up battlefield. "Using steel to fight when it''s not your specialty. Your Houndoom didn''t even use any fire." "I didn''t lie when I said this was a job interview, sir," Chase said. Arceus, he hated looking up at him. It was still aplex he needed to get over, having to look up at everyone he met. "I''m applying to be one of your battle-specialized Gym Trainers on behalf of the Iron Inds and its people. They''re counting on me." Byron leaned against his shovel with a look of understanding as if he''d expected this to happen one day. He gestured over to one of his Gym Trainers, asking him to take over for the next battle, and said this: "Follow me." ¡ª It felt strange, standing behind the door Gym Leaders usually emerged from¡ªa ce typically hidden, like the back of a store counter or an office desk. It was a view Chase had never imagined he''d see. But now, with his own ambitions set on this role, he figured he''d better get used to it. Of course, he hadn''t been hired yet, and even if he was, he''d be up against a dozen others vying for Byron''s spot someday. Inside, rows ofrge lockers lined the walls,beled from ''0 badge'' to ''8 badge,'' though there were far more of the former than thetter. It wasmon knowledge that as trainers rose in level, the number of Pokemon a Gym could field against them steadily dwindled. "Do you want anything? I know a battle can take a lot out of a man, especially one that intense. You were really into it." Byron sat down on one of the chairs, legs spread out and resting his chin on both his fists as he stared at Chase. "I can make you a coffee." "I don''t need anything," he said. "Let''s talk." The man nodded, running a tired hand through his burgundy hair. "You said this was a job application." "To be a Gym Trainer for the Canve Gym." Chase adjusted his tie, more as a reflex than something he needed to do. "What did you think of the way my Pokemon fought? Did I show enough expertise?" "Plenty. You taught them the art of steel types well¡ªI was honestly surprised. When I heard you wereing to fight, I thought you''d rage at me. For everything." Chase raised an eyebrow. "I wanted to, but it wouldn''t have fixed anything. You''re shit to the Iron Inds. I know that, andyouknow that." He moved closer, fingers tightening around his wheels. "So why? Exin it to me," he said. "Please." If Chase had to guess, Byron looked distinctly ufortable with the topic. The Gym Leader was many things, but restrained was not one of them. Now, he seemed to recoil inward like some sort of dying creature or a newborn ghost exposed to the sunlight. Chase couldn''t help but feel satisfied at that, because at least it meant that he cared. But on the other hand, him caring and not doing anything left a taste of bile in his mouth. Had he never expected at least one Iron Inder to make their way here and demand answers? If not Chase, then someone else would havee eventually, even if it took years. "I knew it would happen eventually," Byron forced out. His voice was tight and constrained, never losing that gravely tone. It feels like my sins have finally caught up to me. It feels like I''m staring my failure in the face." "Well," he said, "we couldn''t all stay good little pets and die ignorant." Byron stood once more and began to pace around the room, shovel rasping against the metallic floor with each step as if it were his third leg. Behind the doors, restrained bursts of cheers could be heard for whatever battle was being fought. "You''ve served this country well by being an instrumental part of ridding ourselves of Team Gctic." Byron''s gaze drifted to Chase''s legs. Fuck him. "I owe you answers." Chase wanted to retort, to say that he was owed answers regardless of whatever he had to do to save this world, but he wasn''t going to ruin things when he was so close. Byron went to lock the door, noting that a seven-badge battle would take a while, and with a sigh, he began to talk. "I started working in the mines when I was thirteen. My dad busted his leg in an ident on the job, and my mother''s back had always been bad, so it fell onto me to feed us." "Happens." It was amon story among the inds. Chase had been lucky his dad had been so sturdy and had allowed him to live a sheltered life for so long. "And?" "I was small back then. Could fit into holes no one else could, and I was a fast learner. The supervisors always had something good to say about me¡ª" "So you could sit and stay and give them your paw when they asked you too?" he immediately said. "Sorry. Keep going." Byron scratched the back of his unkempt hair. "One day, I stumbled upon a fossil. Bastiodon." Back in the day, Chase would have askedhowhe''d gotten the money to revive a Shieldon when he was some poor miner with no money. Today, he''de well-researched. It was a lottery of some sort¡ªa promise to keep them all docile, one that would keep them dreaming for years as their arms broke upon iron ore.If you find a fossil, you either get to sell it to Teracore or revive it on their Pokedor.Of course, the odds of finding a fossil were nearly zero, but every time people went to mine, they did so with hope of a single event that could take them overseas to a better life. Most chose to sell to Teracore and get the fuck out with their families. Records had been difficult to find because Teracore was a tight lipped operation who had cordoned off most newsing out of the Iron Inds, and these people had always stayed anonymous before selling out of fear of getting hurt or worse because someone could want to steal their ticket to a better life. He''d needed to ask actual miners for the information during his visits. Byron? Byron chose to keep his fossil and be a trainer. "I wanted to be a Gym Leader. I wanted to save the Iron Inds." He brought up his hand, as if to grip something Chase couldn''t see, and he snatched the air before sagging like a stringless puppet. "I became the Gym Leader of Oreburgh first because my predecessor was old, and that was the best opening. There, I racked up experience and improved the lives of miners in the city." He shut his eyes tightly. "I thought I''d be able to do the same here. I was so excited at the prospect that I neglected my son and made him take over my Gym so he would preserve my reforms. I was wrong." "You tried?" "I could not even do one percent of what I wanted," hemented. "This position has more chains than you think it does, boy." "Do you want to be more detailed with that?" "You get there," he said, "You take the seat, and you look upon everything you have power over. And it''s just such a tangled,plicated mess¡ªbut that''s not just it." He gripped his hair. "You¡­ get contacted by both the League and Teracore about what sleeps beneath our shores. And you get utterlyparalyzed." Chase squinted. "What?" Despair. Byron was despairing, eyes wide with the sheer horror of the knowledge that had gripped him by the throat all these years. To see him¡ªthe symbol of his oppression¡ªso weak, wasnotwhat he had expected. "You already have the highest clearance beneath the Champion," he said. "You deserve to know." He was nearly breathless. "What is it?" Byron grimaced, and answered with a whisper, "The source of all iron within ournds; the monster who has been sleeping there for untold millennia; Registeel." ¡ª Many beasts dotted this world. Monarchs with domains, each one more different than thest. Pokemon who were simply strong, both wild or trained, like that Steelix who had ttened his hometown or Cynthia''s Garchomp. But there were the true monsters¡ªthe horrors that kept you up at night and that were truly impossible to put down for good. Cecilia had told him of Dialga, the ruler of Time whose mere roar had made her see her life split in four, or Giratina who still haunted her at night whenever she deigned to close her eyes for too long. Registeel. The Iron Pokemon. The Alloy. Source of all iron that perpetually grew throughout the inds and the reason why Sinnoh was thergest manufacturer of steel in the entire world by far. They were quite literally getting rich off a sleeping God and had been for as long as Sinnoh had existed as a political entity. Even when the Iron Inds had been independent and had been Canve''s rival! "There''s much we don''t know about it, but we alsodo knowa lot. The fact that electrical devices malfunction when you get too close¡ªor that it gives you cancer¡ª" "It gives you cancer?!" "Not unless you''re within its chamber for hours at a time!" Byron yelled. "Inders are safe." "What the actualfuck, Byron?" Chase screamed back. "Do you know what this implies? Are we in danger?!" "No. The two times it''s woken up, we''ve contained it." Byron traced the edge of his shovel with a trembling finger. "Well, Cynthia and whatever Elite Four she has avable with her¡ªFlint, Bertha or Lucian. I get the reports about all that pertains to Registeel, down to whatever sounds it''s made that day. Every. Day." "You can''t¡­" obviously they couldn''t kill it. "You can''t move it?" "Even if we could do that without jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of lives¡ªRegisteel is one of Sinnoh''s main economic forces. They''d never risk it moving to some other country." "So we get that thing buried under us mainly because it''sprofitable?" If he could, he would haveughed at how absurd it sounded. "Why does Teracore even know about this?" "Because they work thend. They need to, or an ident would for sure have happened. Only their higher ups know, but they need to in order to implement their mining policies." "And you can''t tell them to fuck off and rece them with anotherpany because they have decades of experience." "Centuries. They''ve existed in some form or another for 473 years, mining for whatever Champion reigns." He shook his head in dismay. "And changing the status quo bes terrifying when you know about it all. If I for example fight tooth and nail for two years to lower the quota every miner has to bring back¡ªthe unbnce has a chance to wake Registeel up more frequently. I allow the use of machines¡ªbeyond attracting more angry wild Pokemon, what if the electricity agitates Registeel? There''s a reason all we use is gasmps and non-electric tools deep underground." "Fuck." "Fuck," Byron mirrored. "You have it now. The entire story." "But wait. What if you¡ªthat doesn''t changenotbuilding more schools or hospitals!" Sure, he theoretically couldn''t change mining practices¡ªwhich Chase would have to figure out eventually¡ªbut what did that have to do with lifeoutsideof the mines?" Dead eyes stared back at him. "There''s a bnce that must be maintained. Things must remain as they are." "Huh?" "It''s been the same way for so long. It''s beyond me. Beyond even Cynthia. I''m unfortunately a cog in the machine." Ah. So hewasan asshole. The vindication felt disgusting to Chase. A small little part of him wished there would have been a reason for it all. Therewasa reason. It was all just bullshit. Smoke and mirrors, self justification that went so far that it became a whole lot of nothing.We can''t build a new hospital because of Registeel. We can''t teach people how to read because of Registeel. We can''t pay people more because of Registeel.Say it out loud, and it sounded delusional. "You''re a coward," Chase realized. "You''re scared of putting your hands on the steering wheel because you might crash the car." Byron said nothing. He could barely face him. "I am. I am truly sorry." "And you want me to justeptthat? To just smile and wave and say that I understand?" He scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I bet those higher ups at Teracore are lying half the time while they squeeze profit out of us! We''re a fucking colony!" Eyes wandered his way until they stayed transfixed on Chase. "Do you know how tough it is to have to make the call that our people living in squalor might be better than tens of thousands¡ªif not more people getting killed in an afternoon? Containment is the policy that takes precedent overeverything.Team Gctic even tried to worm their way into that chamber without my knowing¡ªI¡ª" his shoulders sagged. "My tenure has been a failure. That''s why I haven''t been back to the Iron Inds. I''m far too ashamed, and I see how they look at me. I don''t me them." "So far, it has been," Chase said. "So save your legacy. Hire me." "And make you my sessor?" Byron let out a saddenedugh and pped his knee with a sluggish movement of his hand. "This is the strangest job interview I''ve ever given." "Well, it''s my first. But what I''m saying is¡ªIcan handle it. The weight thates with every decision." Responsibility was something he''d learned long ago. "I won''t pretend like I don''t have a lot to learn or that I''d be better than you immediately, but give me a chance. Change cane slow at first. It can be gradual. I''ll make you proud." A hand outstretched. Byron shook it. The grip was firm. "You start tomorrow morning. You have much to learn."
Chapter 338 Chapter 338
A/N: Here it is. Sinnoh''s final arc, and a new one begins slowly, as always. CHAPTER 338 "Do you have your toothbrush?" I paused for a second, eyes meeting Maylene''s, and she smirked at me while leaning against the doorframe of my apartment. She was lucky her smugness was always apanied by an unbeatable force that I couldn''t go against unless she pushed too far. She was just really cute. "I knew you''d forget something," she said. "One thing.One." Leaving her in front of my apartment door, I scrambled to my bathroom and ignored her yells that running was unneeded. I swept my toothbrushandtoothpaste, shoving them in my backpack which was admittedly running out of space. After onest look around the room, I sped back to the entrance, struggling to put my bag back around my shoulder until Buddy helped with a makeshift limb from under my shirt. "Okay. Now I''m ready¡ªwait." I nced at the ceiling, going through a mental checklist of what I had with me, hand wrapped around the handle of my suitcase. It wasn''treallymy fault I''d forgotten. Usually in hotels and in Pokemon Centers, they just gave you that stuff, and my brain was still in ''you''ll be staying in a hotel'' mode instead of where we were actually going. Plus, with all the excitement buzzing around¡ªhow could Inotforget something? It was a miracle that I''d even managed to pack when the Conference would begin tomorrow morning! "Yeah. I''m probably ready." "Hrm¡­" Maylene''s arms wrapped around me slowly, where she stayed for a few seconds and leaned against my shoulder. Her new pink hearing aid looked really good on her, and we were matching, now. These were a lot better than the emergency one I''d needed to use after my battle with Gardenia. "What''s up?" Iughed a little before returning the hug. "I mean it''s nice." I rubbed the back of her head, softly digging against her scalp. She smelled so good¡­ Arceus, no, no, those were bad thoughts to have. "Something wrong?" "I''m just happy I''m finally off work and we can spend more time together. It''s been so busytely." "Right." Between Poketch and the rush from her Gym, we''d gone more than a week without seeing each other in person at times. "But this month''s ours. We''ll have a lot of fun!" "Don''t try to act like you aren''t nervous." I didn''t see her smile, but I could tell she was anyway because of her voice. "I can feel your Jellicent through your shirt by the way¡­" she grumbled. "Kind of ruins things." The ghost type let out a click, half apologizing, half not understanding what it was with us humans and skin-on-skin contact. Mimi chimed in agreement around my neck, that little rascal. "I mean if you want," I paused, interrupting the hug to grab Buddy''s Pokeball, and recalled him for a moment before outstretching my arms. "There." She sank into me again, this time running her hands under my shirt¡ªbut in appropriate areas, just to feel me. She had me pushed against the walls of the hallway; I could feel each shiver within her when I ran nails behind her back. Thinking about it, this probably had the opportunity to turn into practice if I pushed for it, but would we bete?Probably not, I thought as my lips grazed her neck. And worst-case scenario, she''d told me Candice and Volkner were alwayste to these things¡ª Maylene froze around me for a second, and then detached herself without a word, leaving me wanting. A few momentster, one of the neighbors passed by with groceries in hand, greeting us with a polite smile before stepping into her apartment. She''d gotten used to seeing Maylene around here, and it was often underestimated how easily people could get used to seeing famous people around their living spaces. "Legendaries!" My girlfriend shuddered, hugging herself tight. Her face was as red as a tomato. "We almost got caught!" I rolled my eyes. "We were just hugging." "My neck begs to differ!" It was funny seeing her making wanting eyes at my lips before realizing what she was doing and internally scolding herself. "You were basically about to kiss me!" Damn it. I should have dragged her inside instead of doing this out there. "At least we can hold hands in public now." The teasing did not go unnoticed, and she grumbled something unintelligible under her breath.Justthat, and not for long. Going beyond was still too embarrassing for her. "But you''re right." I raised a knowing finger. "There''s a time for everything!" At least we weren''t going to bete. I locked the door, and once Maylene grabbed my suitcase before I could say anything, we made our way to the elevators. I kind ofined, but not really. I mean, I wasn''t going to say no to seeing her arms exert themselves carrying both her and some of my stuff, and summer was the perfect season for her numerous tank tops. Her suitcase was a lot smaller than mine, but she''d assured me that she''d have enough clothes and that worst-case scenario, she''d just go home and grab some more at an opportune time. Gym Leader privilege. Privilege that I was now privy to, for better or worse for my public image. Casswasgetting better at it, but long-distance across a region was still a pipe dream and months away. Maylene pressed the elevator button and warned, "You''ll have to behave in the house with the others." She gave me a knowing look. "Psht." I waved a hand in dismissal. "I can behave." She threw her head back andughed. "Yeah. And you can also do more than fifteen pushups in a row," she said, tone dripping with sarcasm. "I''m serious! I''m not gonna do anything bad, okay?" Maylene kicked her feet, suddenly a little shy. "It wouldn''t be¡­ bad. Just not while they''re in the house, it''d feel weird." "Of course!" I wasn''t about to bethatbrazen. "I promise!" When we stepped into the elevator, someone was already inside. We stayed quiet until he got off on the first floor¡ªhe was probably going to the recycling chute¡ªand we continued on our way to the ground floor. "Sucks that I couldn''t say goodbye to your dad," Maylenemented. "Work doesn''t stop, yeah," I said with a small nod. He wasn''t actually going to arrive until tomorrow for the opening ceremony, the same as Mom. "Feels like he just doesn''t want to see me. I mean, I get it, but it sucks." "What?" I scoffed. "Come on, he¡ª" The doors opened. I could see the Kadabra waiting for us beyond the apartmentplex''s lobby¡ªI recognized this one because of the slight bent and rust in his spoon. You got used to recognizing them when you relied on their services so much. "It''s tough for him because of his¡­ history," I added as we stepped out. "But he genuinely does want to get to know you better! He''s a softie at heart. And he does like you!" Maylene nced at me. "Dinner was weird, though." She was talking about dinner thest time we''d seen each otherst week, where I''d decided to finally rip off the band-aid and let them see each other again after everything that hade to pass. Everything had just been off that night, from the way she tripped over her words the entire time to how he seemed to be way more difficult in his test of character than he''d ever been when he met Cecilia in Hearthome. It hadn''t been a disaster, but it hadn''t been great either. "It wasn''tweird, it was¡­ offbeat," I said. "Hm. Offbeat." She paused as we stepped out of the apartment. "I like that." "Yours truly has a way with words." I bent down in an exaggerated bow. "Don''t let your head get too big now, dork. Now it''s your turn to get eaten alive by my family." "It won''t bethatbad. Candice is already my friend! Gardenia''s¡­ cool." My lips tugged upward a little. "It''s the others I''m worried about." The Conference was an entire month of festivities, battles, and high activity all concentrated within a single ind. Pokemon Centers and hotels were going to be packed full, and some people even set up tents outside of the League in designated areas to stay the entire month, opting to use the Centers'' public showers or the manyundromats that dotted the city to keep themselves going the entire month. Gym Leaders? They got to stay in their own ce a ways away from all the activity of the bustling League¡ªa quiet retreat of sorts. ording to Maylene, there were two homes, one for the adults and another for the¡­ well, they weren''tkids, considering only Maylene and I were under eighteen, but they were of the younger generation. Each was close enough to be considered the same property and shared a yard with a pool, so it''d be a real opportunity to show them what I was made of. I''d proven myself to Gardenia and Candice, but what about the others? In a way, this entire month would be another battle of some sort. Ugh. Now I was a little nervous. But it''d be better if it hit me now instead of the moment I made it there. This was a recent addition to how things were organized and was only two years old. It had been pushed mainly by Candice, Roark, and Wake from what Maymay had said in her extensive lessons. I was ast-minute addition, so I''d have to room with Maylene for the month. It was a big step forward, especially considering Istillhad never stayed over at her Gym overnight even after we started officially dating, but we only had a little under two months left before I went to Unova. Poketch had already set a date. It was okay to be greedy once in a while. And if things went badly, I could always stay with either Mom or Dad. I doubted I''d find space in a Pokemon Center or a hotel thiste. Outside, we greeted the sheepish-looking Kadabra and allowed him to take note of everything he needed to Teleport before he began to concentrate. I felt a little naked without Buddy under my shirt, but it''d just give Kadabra extra work, so I waited until he Teleported us to release him again. It felt a little chillier and drier as soon as we appeared further north at the Lily of the Valley. I could hear the faint noise of the flurry of activity down in the city¡ªhell, I could even see it some. Ferries docking at the Lily''s port, helicopters flying overhead for the richest patrons, and people dotting the streets like little bugs, each going about their day and getting ready for tomorrow''s ceremony. Beyond trainers orpanies using this month as an opportunity to drive sales, the League itself would try to recuperate as many losses it had incurred as possible during the past year of dealing with Team Gctic. You''d be hard-pressed to go two minutes before seeing them selling anything they managed to scrounge up. Elite-Four based merchandise, training sses and workshops, and of course, anything a trainer would need for the month, includingitems. I had a few ones in mind¡ªthough they were more for a funny little story than anything. It wasn''t like they were game-changing. My friends would arriveter in the day too, including Marley. Lauren was going to participate, I''d heard, and I''d love to reconnect with her and Mira before I left. And Cecilia was going to be here too, I assumed. Maylene gently bumped my elbow with hers, catching my attention. Kadabra was gone, and all that remained was making our way to the Gym House. It was a few minutes away because the psychic had never been, so we''d have to walk for a bit. Things were a little confusing with the group at the moment. There''d been a falling out between Pauline and Cecilia¡ªthe former had told meallabout it¡ªand now Cecilia was more separated from them than ever, save for her connections with Louis and Chase. These days, you''d most likely find her with Temperance''s clique most of the time. She''d walked all over Emi''s feelings with the tact of an uncaring bulldozer, and while I''d heard enough raging from Pauline for a lifetime and I agreed Cecilia had been unnecessarily mean, I had no right to criticize her considering what I''d done had been far worse. Just¡­ Hopefully she wasnding on her feet. There was some friction between Emilia and Pauline too, even if that wasrgely gone. The fact that I''d been somehow involved in these after everything left a strange taste in my mouth. Not bad. Just strange. In my mind, it would have been a clean break. I''d done something wrong, and so I''d pay the price and lose them. But here I was, weekster, and things felt different, but also the same. Mostly, Pauline would use me or Denzel as a way to vent because Emilia wanted to hear nothing about Cecilia so she''d be able to move on and get over that hump. Still¡­ thinking about them together? It was a lost cause now considering what had happened and that Cecilia didn''t reciprocate, but I could have maybe seen it. It was easier to imagine her with someone else without me these days, even if it still stung. There was still a lingering dislike for Temperance, a childish one that I couldn''t wait to get rid of. If there was one thing this year had shown me, it was that time was the best cure for a lot of afflictions like these. "You okay?" Maylene asked. "Yep. What about you?" I asked. "Sorry if my suitcase is too heavy." She scoffed, pulling it up with ease. "Come on. I could carry your backpack easily too. And you." "And me?" "Yeah. Not like I haven''t done it multiple times." That was true. Not just in Cor to save my life¡ªI repressed the awful memory. There was that time at the beach in Sandgem when she kissed me just as the sun was setting and the sky had been a tapestry of vivid oranges and pinks, fading softly into the night, and we''d fallen on the ground, my hair and clothes full of sand. Another when I''d surprised her in her room when she''de back at night after a long day of work¡ªthere were a few more, but I had noticed she enjoyed picking me up. "Meh. I bet you couldn''t do it while carrying all of this luggage," I lied. Oh, how easy it was to provoke her. Just as we reached the gates of the property, Maylene swept me off my feet and spun around. Iughed, the sound echoing through the quiet dusk as she lifted me effortlessly, her strength both yful and grounding. "Put me down!" I protested, half-heartedly, feeling the thrill of her hold, the steady warmth of her hands. But Maylene only grinned, that mischievous spark in her eyes, and spun me around once more, as if daring me to resist. "What if I threw you in the pool?" She stood at the edge of it, its waters clear and spaces wide. It was deep enough to jump. "Maymay!" It was getting difficult to breathe because of how hard I wasughing. "I''ll make you regret it, I swear to God!" "Yeah, but for a moment, I''ll be winning and you''ll be losing¡ª" "I see some of us are having fun," a voice¡ªno, that was Wake¡ªsaid. Even Maylene had failed to notice him¡ªshe quickly let me on the ground and slid behind me like a child full of shame. The water type Gym Leader swam along the pool''s edge with only his head and nose above the water as if he were Feraligatr. Now that I could focus, noticing other Pokemon dotting the yard was easy. There was a Rampardos lounging in the grass, having created a nest of stones below himself to rest. A blurry, orange shape below the water darting to and fro that must have been Wake''s Floatzel. A Drifblim floating high in the sky with a posse of Drifloon, though Buddy whispered that there were a few more powerful ghosts out and about. I waved awkwardly at Roserade, who returned to growing flowers in her corner of the backward soon afterward. Candice''s Weavile was busy sparring with a Luxray a few hundred feet away outside the property. "G¡ªgood morning," I said, swallowing an apology. "We didn''t know people would be outside already." Wake pulled himself out of the pool with a grunt, and water dripped from his skin. "It''s just me and a few Pokemon!" heughed, as boisterous as ever. "Don''t let me interrupt your kids'' fun." "Uh." Maylene hesitantly stepped out from behind me, her fingers intertwining with mine as if to reassure me that things were fine. I knew that already; she was just embarrassed by physical touch in public when she was initiating. "Is J.P. here yet?" "He''ll be thereter today¡ªthere were somest-minute issues to deal with at the Gym before closing and he basicallyforcedme into an early break." The Gym Leader ran a hand over his wet, bald head. It was easy to see the love and care in his eyes whenever he brought up his husband. "Don''t know what I''d do without him¡ªbut Grace!" He beamed, smile stretching so far yet looking so natural still. "I''ve wanted to talk to you for¡ª" Maylene pushed me forward. "Come on, don''t just immediately press her on stuff. We''ll¡ªwe''ll talkter! I promise!" Wake just shrugged, deciding to hop back into the pool with Floatzel, who had finallye back up for air and decided that sshing the entire surroundings with his spinning tails would be the next best thing to do. I whispered a ''thanks'' to her; she''d known that I wouldn''t be ready moments after we were fooling around, that I would have gotten in my head and overthought things, and ended up not saying anything great. The house''s walls were painted in a soft, weathered white, with the faintest traces of sea-blue hues where the paint met the wooden window frames. The windows were wide and sliding,rge enough to catch a glimpse of a lounging Leafeon on a fort of pillows and Volkner, who was evidently napping on the couch in a pose that spelled disaster for his neck. His excited Raichu''s head popped up from behind the couch the moment I opened the sliding ss door and pped his forehead with his tail repeatedly until the Gym Leader groaned and blearily opened his eyes. "I''m up! I''m up!" he nearly yelled. Raichu darted toward Maylene and affectionately wrapped his tail around her leg while she dropped parts of our luggage to pet his head. "Oh. You guys are here." Volkner''s eyes settled on me, and I couldn''t help but feel a little out of ce. All of these Gym Leaders and their Pokemon, and thenme?I was just some girl! It was a good thing I''d worked so hard these past few weeks to fight back against the nepotism allegations as best as I could. Theywerereal¡ªthere was no doubt, but at least I''d done a good enough job for Poketch to allow me to stay here so long as I stayed discrete. It hadn''t stopped the side-eyeing or the much of the trash talking online, but we expected that to diminish with time and if I had performed well at the tournament. There were still narratives that it was somehow going to be rigged to get me to the top, which would be funny if they weren''t rtively popr among neers to the Conference like me. After a shy greeting and some small talk between Maylene and Volkner, my girlfriend looked around the spacious living room, taking it in for the first time in over a year. It was open and airy, withrge windows flooding the space with natural light and offering views of the lush yard outside, a little against what Maylene liked, but I was willing to bet her bedroom was small and cozy. Plus, it wasn''t like shecouldn''tstay in spacious ces. "I''m surprised you made it this early," Maylene said as her older friend covered his mouth to yawn. "Don''t lump me in with the likes of Candice," he slowly chided. "I learned to show up to things on time when Jasmine threatened to break up with me if I didn''t." I expected sadness there, but it looked like he was over it, for the most part. There was just a trace of mncholy, of what could have been, but other than that, he didn''t seem to care much any longer. "Well, if you hung out with me more, maybe I''d know!" Mayleneined with a cute pout, grabbing her luggage again. "The others?" "Catching up on their sleep, mostly. The n is to reconvene together when everyone''s here and we''re well-rested for what''s looking to be ate lunch and¡­ I don''t know, probably tabletop games and ranting about work. Gardenia brought a whole lot of ''em." An elongated sigh followed his statement. "Monopoly today, I think. Those are alwaysso, solong." "Oh. Time together, the horror!" Maylene joked. He rolled his eyes, lying back down on the couch with his hands over his stomach. "We''re missing Candice, Jean-Pierre, and Byron." "Byron?" Maylene questioned with a hum. "He''s usually punctual." "He''s working on some Iron Ind project. I don''t know much about it, I can''t be expected to keep track of anything not Sunyshore-rted now that I''m off for the next month." That made sense, considering that while their Gym was closed, they still had responsibilities over their cities. If it called for it, they''d leave for a few hours or even a few days if need be to handle things. Volkner paused, eyes meeting mine once more. "Anyway. I''m looking forward to this," he said with a slight smirk. "Ugh. Don''t be weird.Weirdo." She went over to grab the pillow from under his head and threw it on his face. "Treat her normally!" "I didn''t say anything!" "I know that look!" "I was just surprised you got yourself a girlfriend, you hardass¡ª" Oh. This wasstrange. Maylene was the only other Gym Leader I''d seen outside of a work setting for any extended period of time, so it was like I''d stepped foot on apletely different. It''d feel strange to step in and join, even if I saw some angle of attacks to gang up on Maylene, so I stayed silent, lips quirking every time either of themnded a good jab. A minuteter, she gave in and we continued on our way. With a lean, I whispered a question. "Why doesn''t he sleep in his room like the others?" "Oh, he''s odd like that. He enjoys sleeping on¡­ basically anything other than a bed. If you asked, him, he''d say the mostfortable ce to sleep is at his desk." she said as we walked through the wide hallways. Our room was near the edge of the house, with an exit door nearby and a winding gravel path that led to what Maylene said was a backdoor to the adults'' house. The bedroom was small, as expected, just big enough for a double bed pushed against the wall. Maylene would usually have slept on the ground, but we''dpromised and she''d had the usual mattress reced by a tougher one so that we''d both be fine with it. Above the bed was an empty shelf with a few books Maylene had left herest summer, most of them about employee management. The bathroom was opposite the bedroom, which we''d have to share, but I didn''t mind. In fact, it was kind of¡­ exciting. It felt like we were moving in somewhere together. We spent the next thirty minutes unpacking clothes and belongings with the help of a few of our Pokemon. Cass, Medicham and Princess, mostly, though Lucario helped some too before he couldn''t resist the prospect of cannonballing in the pool to surprise Wake. Once we were done, she released the rest of her Pokemon so they could go and socialize with the rest, something I was going to wait to do first. I needed to have a talk with them before I let them loose. The usual ''don''t be weird, be more social'' thing that I had to tell them every time we met a new group of Pokemon and people. "Are you ready?" Maylene threw her shoes into the closet, opting to go barefoot, and stretched with her hands above her head. "You look stressed out." "Iam," I said. "It''s kind of sunk in." "Come on, you''ll do great, just like with Nia and Candice." She got close and lifted up my chin with a finger. "And if you don''t, well¡ªthat''s fine too. It''s not like I didn''t screw up first impressions with your family." "It''d be easier to do this through battle," I said. Her pink eyes softened with a quietugh. "What?" I added. "It''s true!" Words were just that. Words. Battling someone meant that you''d learn so much about them through the way they approached the fight¡ªall of the different facets of battle, win or lose. "Too bad I can''t. And now I''m overthinking things, and I¡ª" "Cass?" Maylene said, still staring directly at me. One of Cassianus'' eyes rotated toward us. They''d been sifting through Maylene''s old books with Buddy."Hm?"they absent-mindedly answered before¡ª"Oh, pardon my unmannerliness I mean¡ªhow may I help you?" "What''d you think the first time you met Grace?" "I thought she was one of my Kings'' descendants, bound by blood! A tyrant who would order me around as her ve!"the psychic enthused, arms shivering in excitement."Instead, she''s just a child. I suppose she carries that mantle through title only. But a King is still a King, and she remains mine. She''s inherited¡ª" "Okay," she interrupted, not wanting another flurry of anecdotes about ancient Sinnoh. "Buddy?" The Jellicent hovered there, eyes dimming, and he said he thought I was an annoying brat that he''d eventually manage to kill until he slowly figured that maybe life could be interesting again and he got out of that century-long mise. "Um. I didn''t¡ªunderstand that, but she did, and that''s the goal." What she''d heard was a flurry of wind-like whistles and the asional click. "But here''s the spirit of what I meant. I hated you when we first met, right? Sure, it morphed into a kind of obsession¡­" "Not kind of." "I''m trying to help you and you stab me in the back," Maylene yfully sighed. "What I mean is you have a way of worming yourself into peoples'' hearts, even if it takes a while." Was that¡­ true? Come to think of it, a decent amount of the people I was close to hadn''t liked me at first. Cecilia, Pauline, Sunshine, Chase¡ªwell, not Chase anymore. "Are you calling me a worm?" I said, trying to cheer myself up. "You know what? Yeah." Maylene shrugged. "Don''t worry, I''ll keep you in a nice terrarium." I stuck out my tongue at her and plopped myself down on the bed with a loud, admittedly exaggerated exhale. I''d been given no reason to be anxious, and they''d probably all be nice and polite to me. It just felt like I always had to expect things to go south and for everything to blow up in my face, especially considering that things had been going way too welltely. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I felt at the tough mattress with a pensive hum. Yeah, this was going to be fine to sleep on. "Don''t forget you have to start eating outside your regimen. You promised! No more dying." "Yes, yes, I will. I promise," she said. "Now are you ready to go see the others? They''re all separated, so it shouldn''t be too overwhelming." I restrained a groan. "Sure." Maylene outstretched her hand, and I took it."Maymaaaaay,"I whined in a sweet voice, "can I have a good luck kiss?" Buddy made himself small and looked away, and Cass suddenly found that page 38 of Maylene''s book demanded all of their attention. "So much for controlling yourself," she said, ncing back at the closed door. "Just this once." ¡ª These past few months, Roark hadn''t been able to sleep well. Knowing how close they''de to catastrophe¡ªto Cyrus summoning some country-wide apocalypse that would wipe Sinnoh and its people off the face of the earth¡ªkept him up both at night and during the day. He had tried to nap for thirty minutes at this point, and none of his sleeping techniques were working well. Imagining himself in an endless underground tunnel that stretched for miles and miles usually did the trick. With a grunt that was half frustration half misery, Roark sat up from his bed and wished he''d brought his handheld magnification lens, the one with the bright light and multiple magnification settings that allowed him to inspect every tiny crevice and vein in his fossils. He''d found an Old Amber months ago that he still hadn''t had time to inspect closely. In fact, it was sitting right there on his desk, bright and orange, the ancient history and countless years it must have seen almost taunting him. Finding his sses on his nightstand, he grabbed his phone and noticed a text from his father saying that he would be there soon. With the existence and convenience of their League Kadabra¡ªArceus bless their service to the state¡ªit was easy to let yourself go and work until thest possible minute before Teleporting where you needed to be. He was apparently dealing with a lot of red tape and aplicated bureaucraticwork to allow Canve to have more sway over the Iron Inds, at the moment, but Teracore was fighting back relentlessly. Roark was surprised his father was movingnowof all times. Byron had been the one to regte the Oreburgh miningpanies before he''d taken over Canve, so it wasn''t out of character, but he''d been in charge of that city for over a decade. There was no use asking questions without answers. If Byron wanted to tell him, he would. Once he gathered his thoughts, Roark opened his bedroom door and found himself face to face with Maylene and her new girlfriend Grace doing the same further down the hall. He vaguely remembered Grace''s challenge because she''d been the one to first alert him about Team Gctic¡ªher and her friend he forgot the name of. Danny? Daniel? D-something. "Hey you two," he greeted them with a smile and a wave. "I didn''t hear youe in, I must have been out of it." "Hi, Roark!" Maylene rushed toward him, and anticipating getting all the air knocked out of his lungs, Roark squared his legs and braced himself. She tackled him with a hug and sank her head into his chest. "I haven''t seen you out of a work setting in so long! I missed you!" She turned toward Grace and gestured for her to get closer. "Come,e. He''s not gonna eat you, even if his resting face is kind of a re. He onlylookslike that." "Ha. Ha. Very funny." They let go of each other, and Roark got a better look at the girl in question. He''d read her file. What she was capable of. He''d never disapproved¡ªSinnoh''s survival was worth a lot to him, and while some of it had been disturbing, he''d never held it against her like the others had before. And knowing she''d scaled Cor, she most likely had a body count higher than anyone he could think of other than Cynthia or maybe one of the other Shards. She was brutally scarred. Her left forearm was covered in shallow cuts, and the entire side of her body was burned up to the cheek, leaving behind only charred skin. Yet before him stood a nervous teenager who couldn''t even bear to look him in the eye for longer than a second. "N¡ªnice to meet you," she mumbled. "R¡ªRoark." Grace held out a nervous hand, and he shook it. It was sweaty. "Maylene''s been happier since you started dating. And thank you for helping deal with Oscar," he firmly patted her on the shoulder. "It wasn''t just¡ª" she stopped herself. "No problem. I''d help again a million times. Buddy, Mimi, say hi." Out of her clothes, a crawling, blue amalgamation wrenched itself free with the morbid whistle of the wind across an ocean and the smell of salt. A Jellicent oozed out and slowly took shape with only red, hollow eyes to use as a frame of reference for its head. Behind her, Maylene eyed him with a knowing look. She''d warned him about this¡ªit was her way of feeling safe from any sudden attacks. A trauma response. It was mildly unsettling, but he could get used to it if given time. The Jellicent''s appearance had made him not notice the little blob of metal that had crawled atop her head. It was¡­ dancing. Waving its hands from side to side and wriggling as some sort of greeting. "That''s Meltan. They actually got an entry in the Pokedex recently!" Grace said, pointing at her head. "They can turn into anything. Here, Mimi, do a crown." The steel type morphed into a diadem of some sort. "Isn''t that cool¡ªI mean, it''s¡­ you know, it''s cool." She scratched the side of her arm. "They can also turn into a skeleton key to open any doors. I''d better be careful if I were you, we don''t want to catch you freaking out over a rock," Maylene teased. "That happened onlyonce. And it was aPlume Fossil, which is usually only found overseas in Unova and Orre! I was right to be freaked out!" Grace blinked a few times. "I mean, a skeleton key is nice, but couldn''t I just blow up the door?" "Uh¡­" Roark trailed off. "I guess?" "She''s technically right!" Maylene said. "I mean, if you want to be discreet, I could see the advantage, but Buddy can slip through doors easily too. With the way he can fit in any cracks and crevices, you''d never see himing, and I wouldn''t need to endanger myself¡­" Had any of what they''d said implied fighting in any way? Was this because of her experiences too? Roark almost expected Maylene to stop her and redirect the conversation, but she just looked at her with a smile she could barely hide. Small talk continued, mostly with Roark prodding about how Grace was feeling for her first Conference, but a few minutester, Maylene took her away for her to meet Wake outside so she could release the rest of her Pokemon. That had been a strange first impression, but¡­ yeah she was fine. Now to go take a walk and see if that cave he remembered fromst year was still there¡­ ¡ª Amidst the chaos of eight big personalities shing, I found myself observing Candice trying to cheat in Monopoly by trying to invent new rules. It was a four-person game with Roark, Volkner and Gardenia, and arge part of the round had been spent in both of the boys allying to defeat Gardenia out of fear of her social acumen. I sipped on some juice and grinned when Roarknded on one of Candice''s spaces, and the rent cost nearly took him out of the game, forcing him to mortgage some of his properties. I wasn''t exactly rooting for anyone since Maylene wasn''t ying and she was currently chatting with Wake on the patio, but there was something about seeing Roark angry that felt at least a little funny considering how mature and calm he''d looked earlier. There was a shake around my wrist, a warning from Mimi because I was on my own too much. Introductions and small talk were well and good, but I needed to get in there somehow. I couldn''t interject and interrupt their game, and just interjecting in Maylene''s conversation with Wake felt wrong. Was I really that socially useless without her to carry the conversations? What could I even talk about? Thest thing they wanted to mention were battles because most of it for them was work and this was a month to get away from that! But it was also the best icebreaker I knew¡­ Another vibration made me bring my wrist up to my mouth. "It''s easy for you to say considering you can just sit there and backseat me," I whispered, fingers clenching my ss. "I mean, Fantina and Byron are talking." The ghost type specialist was currently coercing Byron into wearing proper clothing on the couch while she sipped on a ss of red wine. It wasreallyweird seeing her with her hair down and not in some extravagant style. "Everyone''s in a group except, uh¡­" a metallic arrow protruded out of the steel type in the kitchen''s direction. "Jean-Pierre, I guess." Wake''s husband had arrived a little earlier in the day and had gone off to prepare lunch. He was the opposite of Wake¡ªsomewhatnky with hair long enough to be tied into a ponytail and a thick, salt-and-pepper beard that was excellently trimmed. He moved through the kitchen with practiced ease, his long, nimble fingers skillfully chopping vegetables and seasoning meats like he could do it with his eyes closed. He was making Boeuf Camphrier, a ssic Kalosian dish which was going to take a while. "Would it be weird to ask him if he needed help, you think?" I asked in a whisper. Mimi ''sighed'', as in they contracted around my wrist and crawled up my arm and into my shirt. They were giving up on me! I side-hugged myself, giving Maylene''s back onest look, and I downed my grape juice. I wasn''t going to just hang around awkwardly and do nothing until either she or Candice could pick me up and help. I had to be independent, and Jean-Pierre was just a normal person like me. Not a Gym Leader. It was probably unfair to him, but that made the decision easier. Using my empty ss as an excuse, I slowly made my way to the kitchen counter and rinsed it out before putting it in the dishwasher. I eyed Jean-Pierre to the side. "Need any, uh, help?" I asked. He was taller from up close; it was somewhat intimidating. Nevertheless, he gave me a soft smile. "Maylene''s told me you''re an avid cook." Unlike Fantina, he''d nearlypletely lost his ent. I could still somewhat tell, but it was extremely faint. "Well, me and my Electivire." Honey was probably off racing with Volkner''s own Electivire across the ind''s wilderness. "But yeah. Kind of." "There isn''t much else to do with the beef but put it in the oven, and I''m nearly done with the sides as well," he pondered, wiping his hands on his flowery apron before he went to wash his hands. "But you could help me clean this ce up and bake the dessert." My eyes widened. "You''re making dessert?!" Oh Arceus, that had been loud. Loud enough to turn Fantina and Byron''s heads. "Sorry. I mean, after all of this work?" "These fools have got to eat somehow, don''t they?" He nudged his head back to the living room. "They already neglect themselves so much they deserve a little treat," he said. "Though I''m pretty sure Fantina would be able to subside solely off of wine." I snorted. "Is she big on that?" "One ss a night, usually¡ª" Speaking of the devil, Fantina cocked her head to the side with pursed lips. "Jean-Jean, are you badmouthing me to Grace?" He clicked his tongue a few times like a disappointed father. "Are your ghosts spying on us again?" "Again implies that they had ever stopped, my dear." Suddenly, there was a chill running down my neck that I couldn''t help but shake my entire body at, and a shriveled-up shadow darted back in Fantina''s own. Damn. I wondered if Buddy would have noticed if he''d still been close. He would have been, but it''d be inconsiderate of me to have him by me all the time when every other Pokemon had gone to socialize. He was swimming in the pool right now with some of Wake''s team. "I have a shovel at my disposal and a man willing to use it." Fantina spun the wine in her ss a few times. Byron raised both of his hands. "Leave me out of this. I might have some emails to answer." With that, he rose and ran off¡ªFantina grabbed onto his cape to stop him. It was stuck there a lot better than it looked. "I''m serious Fantina. Furious messages from Teracore and such. That''s why I won''t be able to stay tonight." With an understanding sigh, she let go. "Very well. I suppose my bake-off idea for revenge will have to wait." "Oh. A bake-off would be cool some other day!" I excitedly said, feeling my innerpetitive spirit re to life. "I''d want to be against Maymay, though¡­" "We aren''t making anythingplicated today. Just brownies," Jean-Pierre said. "Oooh, I can help with those," I chimed in. "You can never go wrong with chocte." I paused, noticing him wrinkle his nose. "You¡­ what?" "I don''t like chocte much. I can eat it, but¡ª" "Are you kidding?!"My mouth gaped, and I looked over to Fantina as I leaned over the counter and pointed at him with a thumb. "Is he screwing with me?" "Hereallyisn''t. Jean-Jean was cursed with a terrible pte when ites to desserts, I''m afraid," The Gym Leader said, slowly shaking her head in disapproval. "He doesn''t really like anything sweet, which crosses off a lot of desserts." I turned back to Jean-Pierre, eyes tightly shut, and sped his shoulder. "I''m so sorry." Both he and Fantinaughed. Things were easier from here on out. I stood by the counter, sleeves rolled up, watching Jean-Pierre sift cocoa powder into arge mixing bowl with the ease of someone who had done it a thousand times before. He handed me the wooden spoon, nodding for me to start stirring while he melted butter on the stove. Amidst tips of being gentle with the eggs to avoid air bubbles or adding less flour, he and Fantina told me old stories about Kalos and that their friendly rivalry stemmed back from her being from Lumiose and there being some kind of joke in their country that anyone from that city being an asshole. "Maylene''s told me you want to travel," Jean-Pierre had said. "If you want to truly experience our dear Kalos, you''ll want to go anywherebutLumiose." "Mais tu racontes n''importe quoi, toi," Fantina said¡ªthough I didn''t understand, and they devolved into Kalosian bickering until she noted that I''d feel left out. Kalosian was weird. Felt nice on the ears, though. Maybe I''d be able to pick up on a few words here and there this month. Funnily enough, the brownies finished before the main course, so I went out to call Maylene over so she could have a taste while Jean-Pierre went to talk to his husband and Fantina went to check in on that seemingly endless Monopoly game. They''d be scorching hot, yes, but her mouth could take a lot of pain¡ªand that wasn''t meant weirdly. My girlfriend lifted up a piece of brownie which had been cut into a square, and she stared at it like it was going to¡ª "It''s not going to kill you," I teased. "Come on, you can do it." Maylene audibly gulped, and then whispered, "feels like Oscar''s going to jump from behind and yell at me any second." Her voice was small and weak, like she was about to freak out. It was a mental block first and foremost. "It''s terrifying." I grabbed her hand and squeezed in an attempt to share my belief in her. "He''s not here. He won''t ever have that much power over you again." And if he did, I''d kill¡ªwound¡ªrestrain him. I''d restrain him without harming a hair on his stupid fucking head just because things so be soplicated otherwise. "Just a little bite." "Maymay!" I chuckled. "You did it.You did it!" My arms found themselves around her, and I jumped in ce, unable to contain the sheer happiness within. "I did it¡­" she murmured in disbelief. "It''s¡ªit tastes really good, it¡ª" she took another bite. "Oh my God,how is it so good¡ª" Then, a deathly silence. The advantage of the house being so open meant that we could see everyone all looking at us. From Candice''s mouth gaping open with a bunch of fake money in her hand, to Fantina blinking silently and tapping her foot on the ground, to Wake and Jean-Pierre through the sliding window. It was all quiet until¡ª A cacophony of cheers and congrattions erupted, firsting fromRoarkof all people. The Gym Leaders swarmed around not just Maylene, butus, and even I got thanked for getting her to deviate from her diet. They''d tried for years, and none of them had seeded untiltoday. "Wanna y another game of Monopoly after lunch?" Candice asked me. "We can do six yer this time!" "Just don''t cheat, and we can y again," Gardenia said. "Pookie, honey buns,snookums." With each word, her girlfriend stepped closer to her. "how could you insinuate such a thing? That I, Candice, would ever cheat at anything? And you cheated too; you never targeted me." "That''s called realpolitik. You were useful to me in the game, so I let you run rampant." "A likely story. So, Grace?" With a grin, I jumped in excitement. "Yeah! I''ll y. Maylene, you''re dead to me." "Wha¡ªoh, you''re on!" I''d done so much wrong in the past, and maybe I''d do wrong in the future too, but I felt a part of this. A part of them. Things were going to be okay!
Chapter 339 Chapter 339
CHAPTER 339 It was the morning of the opening ceremony. As such, it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack than figure out where in the world my friends were. We''d sent each other texts with ns to meet on this exact za, but it was so full that I couldn''t even rely on the old ''find Denzel''s head poking out somewhere from the crowd'' trick. I''d turned off my hearing aid for the moment so the feedback loop wouldn''t give me a headache by sounding like a malfunctioning microphone, but luckily Buddy was here to help just in case I missed a voice or someone calling out. The number of fans I''d been stopped by was a little overwhelming, and each wanted a picture or something signed. Nearly all of them were civilians, though, not trainers. Mimi was sleeping.Somehow. They''d spent all of yesterday evening hitching a ride on Byron''s Skarmory, who had stayed behind while his trainer had gone back to his Gym to prepare for a meeting with Teracore officials. At least that meant we wouldn''t have to watch for their shenanigans. They were the kind of person who''d suddenly run off because they noticed something interesting. Amidst the countless civilians, you often found trainers who would do a double-take when they saw me. Most stayed away, and fewer still gave me the stink eye for obvious reasons. My advantage was clear, and it was very real. I paid them no mind, but it made me miss the times when I''d been an unknown who could blend into crowds easily. To be honest and luckily for me, most people were just too busy enjoying themselves to care. Another vibration shot up my overalls pocket, and I grabbed my phone after managing to wrest myself to a bit of free space in a za with arge fountain where a few small water types rested. Pelipper and Wingull, for the most part, but two eastern Shellos and a Buizel too. Denzel and Pauline had found each other next to some kind of ice cream ce¡­ I scanned the surroundings for a moment until my arm moved without my doing, the transparent water wrapping itself around the skin and pointing in a direction. Crystal Cones.Yeah, that was it. "Thanks, Bud," I whispered before I broke into a jog toward the store. There was another vibration that probably signaled Marley had made it too. It would just be the four of us today. I wished Maymay could have been with us, but with the opening ceremony being at two in the afternoon today, she had a lot of work to do beforeactuallybeing free to do whatever she wanted the entire month. Not only did every Gym Leader have to be present, but they had to coordinate how their cities were going to be represented and what they''d showcase to the entire region. It had taken alotof work to get Marley to agree to hang out. She wasn''t exactly shy, just an introvert who''d rather spend most of her time alone than with people. Oh, and Jess? Jess didn''t really care for the Conference and had taken too much time to get her tickets. She was only going to be able to watch this stuff on TV. On one hand, it was hrious; on the other, it was also really, really tragic. At least we still had phones. Like every business that opened its doors yesterday, theCrystal Coneswas bustling with people. I could already see my three friends through the windows in a queue to buy ice cream. Denzel and Pauline beamed when they saw me, waving and beckoning me into the store silently while Marley just greeted me with an awkward wave. Once I squeezed myself into the entrance, I turned my hearing aid back on and ran past the line of people. Before any outrage could spring up, Pauline spoke up. "She''s with us!" she said before wrapping me in a warm hug I eagerly returned. "There you are, little gremlin! I thought you''d never figure it out." I greeted them one by one, hugging Denzel and Marley¡ªthough thetter was surprised at the warmth and hesitated to return it. Maybe I''d been too forward; people didn''t like being hugged all the time. "What''s with the camera?" I nudged my face toward Denzel, who pointed it at Pauline until she made a finger at it. It was a tiny one, small enough to fit at the end of a stick. Heughed at her until she stepped on his foot. "I messaged that I was going to be streaming?" Denzel frowned. "It said you read it. Should I end the stream?" "Wha¡ªno, no. It''s fine. I''m fine with it." He had told me his ns to stream a whole lot during the Conference, including interviews with trainers and such. I must have forgotten it was startingtodaybecause I''d been having too much fun yesterday night. "How many viewers you got?" "Sixty-thousand, give or take. Want apel mic?" At this point, why not? Poketch would kill me if I let this opportunity go by. I wouldn''t answer or talk to his chat, even; it would just be a way to humanize myself before the tournament. A slight shiver shot down my spine. When had I learned to think this way off the cuff? Maybe a month straight of intense work for thepany had changed me some. While slowly advancing through the queue, I put thepel microphone on my shirt and acted like nothing was really different. I couldn''t even see his chat, though Denzel sometimes told them not to be weird or to cut it out, whatever ''it'' was. Gone were the days of his skeleton staff moderator team, however. From what I knew, he had dozens of them who he actually paid for their time whenever they did work on a stream. As expected during the Conference, once we all spoke about how we''d found the ind so far as first-timers (I made sure to stay quiet¡ªthest thing I wanted was for people to know I was staying with Gym Leaders), the topic quickly moved on to the tournament itself. About what trainers to watch out for, who would be the worst to end up in a group with, and such. "Well, obviously you don''t want to end up meeting an experienced trainer." Denzel took a lick of his pistachio-vani-sprinkles abomination and bit into his cone without a care in the world. "Aubri would be the worst-case scenario¡ªand she''s a favorite, but there are a lot more dangerous people than just her." "Like?" Pauline probed, along with possibly everyone in chat. Names spilled out of both his and Marley''s mouth at speeds I didn''t know thetter could speak at. Some of them, I knew. Ammar Hamili from Orre and his crazed Fearow, violent beyond what Sinnoh was used to, along with his other Pokemon which were experts at fighting in a desert and the sun. Bobby or Ramon, my Poketch colleagues¡ªwhose friendships with me had frosted over a little bit, but were still very amicable. Archie Wright, who was impossibly difficult to n against due to his out there tactics and the fact that he owned twenty Pokemon he could make use of¡ªall of them, I''d heard of from Craig back in Sunyshore. Some that followed, however, were new, and I paid attention to each just in case some information could be gleaned, but Denzel unfortunately kept his exnations simple so his chat didn''t get lost. "Ruben Stutton," Marley said. She''d ordered chocte, but still had barely touched her ice cream. "Grian, but he''s traveled to Paldea too, so this is his third year. He''s the one people say might win other than Aubri." "Your ice cream''s melting," I noted. "Oh." She absent-mindedly started to go at it."Thanks,"she said, voice muffled. We were trying to find a spot we could stay at that wasn''t crowded, which by all means was probably going to end up being in one of the green spaces at the outskirts of town. At least now that we were out of the za, things were manageable for my hearing aid. The smooth, orange streets felt smooth under my feet. After taking a spoonful of strawberry ice cream, I noted, "I remember Craig being worried about him." He''d always been a paranoid man, andthattrainer had been the one on his mind. Not Aubri. Not any other peer. A foreigner from across the ocean that carried with him a Glimmora and other exotic Pokemon I''d never seen. I''d also met him updating some documents all the way back in Veilstone when I was getting my license to carry over six Pokemon. He''d been average-looking enough¡ªslightly long brown hair, skin dotted by a few e scars, and a crooked smile that seemed to hide mischief beneath his agreeable character. Denzel grabbed the camera off its stick and pulled it closer to his face. "It''d suck if a non-Sinnohan wonthisyear of all years," he grumbled. "Wait, I have ice cream on my nose¡ª" "Get your patriotic head out of the gutter. What we need is a fun tournament; it doesn''t matter who wins." "Did you hear they''re gonna y videos of Craig at the opening ceremony?" Marley said. "Arceus. Why not just go get the guy from his grave prop up his body or something at this point?" She watched the reactions of chat trickle down on her phone."What!?It''s not like theywouldn''tdo it if they could!" "There''s a movie with this plotline," I chimed in. "Forgot the title, but my dad has the old DVD. Weekend at¡­" "Sorry if I wanted Sinnoh to get a win for once! Think about how humiliating it''d be for us to get wiped out. A win would be a statement!" I nced at my friend, whose jaw clenched slightly, and figured he''d get along with Roark pretty well. The conversation flowed freely, with Marley growing more and morefortable as we made it to a wider park where we could releaseonePokemon each. That was actually a rule on a sign due to how many people were around the space. Denzel opted for Sylveon, Pauline for Primeape, Marley for Arcanine, and me, well¡ªI technically had Buddy already. He slithered out of my clothes, which made Marley''s nose wrinkle and both Denzel and Pauline blink, but the reactions were brief and we thankfully moved on rather quickly. I was growing a bit tired of people thinking I was weird just for protecting myself. If anything, they were the weird ones. There was nothingstrangeabout keeping myself safe. Hmph. Sylvi''s ribbons wrapped all around me and I hugged the fairy type with all my might, kneeling down and gently petting his soft back. The fur felt almost glossy and artificial. Arcanine immediately started begging for belly rubs, putting himself on his back with his four paws hanging in the air. With a curious stare, Sylveon tried mimicking him and did the same, making eyes at both me and Denzel. Pauline held out a hand, and the fairy type groaned, crawling away with his feelers with a disappointed sigh. "You gonna buy itemster today?" Denzel asked as he fiddled with his camera. "Might be smart to do it before groups are announced after the ceremony." "Who do you think you''re talking to, dude?" I proudly boasted, pointing at my chest with a thumb. "I''ll do it ASAP, no worries." Most likely while or right before meeting my parents. "Someone who loses track of things easily," he said. "Touch¨¦." With a hand on my heart, a sign of deep betrayal, I yelled,"Marley!" It wasn''t like I was going torevealanything in a stream with tens of thousands of people watching. There were a lot of eyes on me in the first ce, and I needed every advantage I could get, however incremental. I''d need to hand them all back after the month was over, though. Items were expensive and regted to the point where you weren''t allowed to take them out of the League. Nearly all of them were manufactured and owned by the government. Denzel had called it a way to add anotheryer of depth of strategy to battles. While he continued talking to Marley, trying to probe at something shemightreveal, Pauline singled me out away from the stream, motioning at the microphone. With a quick understanding, I muted it, and she ran a hand through her red hair. "Sorry. I just wanted to ask how things are with Maylene?" "Oh. Oh, she''s great," I said and sat on the ground. The grass prickled at my palms, stopping me from saying a thousand things about her. "Wish she could be there; I bet you''d get along! I can introduce you two tomorrow when there''s time." "Won''t you have to train all the time?" "I''ll have to train some, but nothing intense. You know how tournaments go: keeping your Pokemon healthy is as¡­" I trailed off, "ismoreimportant than any intense training you''d get." Buddy nodded along with a knowing stare. "Thest thing I''d want is having my Pokemon hurt from battling before an important fight. Andeveryfight''s important." Right now, the most I''d ask of them is to build up their acting skills. They were already a lot better than they''d been in our fight with Gardenia. I''d rarely felt this confident about where we were at technique and power-wise. Sure, I didn''t expect a win¡ªmy goal was somewhat nebulous, at the moment, when it entirely depended on what group I was in. I kind of just wanted to have a good time and show that I deserved to be here. This Conference had arger volume of participants than average, even if it was fewer than what was originally projected due to Team Gctic and the dy, and the scheduling issues. There were a lot ofints about it online¡ªpeople who thought they''d deserved to get in but hadn''t. The only reason this year was so crowded was the surge of ticket sales. The League had printed a lot more to recuperate, and it meant that they could barely handle this many people. "But things are really, really good right now," I added with a smile I couldn''t help. "Her family''s cool too and have taken a liking to me. It kind of makes me feel anxious, honestly." "Why?" I crossed my legs. "''Cause things are going too well. Feels like I''m just waiting for a disaster," I whispered, idly tapping my fingers against the ground. "I kind of want it to just happen already so I can start fixing it. Sucks that I can''t get ahead of it, you know?" She gave me a look¡ªa sorry one¡ªand dragged me close with an arm around my shoulder. "You''ll be fine. The world''s not gonnae falling down on you; just enjoy the tourny." "Sure," I half-lied. I could enjoy things while being attentive. Thest thing I wanted was to be caught off-guard. "Hey, why don''t I introduce Mimi to Denzel''s stream? They love attention." The steel type rustled a bit at their name, but they were still soundly in bracelet mode. I felt a little sorry for using them to switch the topic, but thest thing I wanted was a friend worrying about me when things were going to well. Plus, it was either that or talking to her about Emilia, and I didn''t want to be mean. There was a reason she hadn''te over right now and she''d be meeting us at the ceremony. Things were still awkward with them. "Sure. He better pay you for driving up his numbers," she said with a mocking grin. ¡ª Cecilia had always known there was no authenticity to these hotels. Their designs were all the same¡ªuninspired, unoriginal, and interchangeable no matter the city. It was something Cecilia had always known, but it had only started to bother her recently. From her days as a younger, unborn girl when she feared these ces due to Amy finally deciding to cement her betrayal in Eterna City, stabbing her in the back, she had opted to stay in Pokemon Centers instead. It helped, especially now that she didn''t have the money to spendvishly, without a care in the world. Now that Temperance had decided to pay, her refusal hadn''t exactly been an option. It wasn''t as if her girlfriend could have stayed in a Pokemon Center¡ªthe rules did not allow it. Plus, she wasn''t going to let Temperance down. She''d been looking forward to this. Cecilia looked out the window, her breaths slow and deliberate, and the world passed by below her. The ind was so packed it reminded her of Castelia City during rush hour, where the people turned into a sea, a mass of flesh that at times appeared like a hive mind. A little part of her was d that this enjoyment from city-gazing had been a reality and not something artificially ingrained in her like dancing. It had been a way to connect with her mother, one of the very few, but even alone, she found herself smiling at what she would notice. There was something fascinating about the little moments that unfolded like secret gifts for those who bothered to look. The early morning light bathed the streets in a soft, gray hue, and a light mist hung over the buildings, giving the scene an ethereal quality that she ought to steal for her own battles. Even from this height, she could see vendors setting up their stalls in neat rows, unfurling vibrant banners adorned with all kinds of motifs. Arge electronic screen on a nearby building had flickered to life, disying a countdown to the opening ceremony. Sinnohan gs hung everywhere you looked, music and cheer made it all the way to her ears¡ª Arms softly draped around her, and Cecilia felt a kiss at the back of her neck. "Sorry. I didn''t hear youe out," the Unovan said. Temperance giggled, and sat down next to her. "It''s fine. You were cute. Really focused." Her face caught the light of the morning sun. Her fake freckles were gone, now, and her hair was apparently something called ''Champagne Blonde'' despite telling her that was no longer needed. It was difficult to tell the difference. "See anything interesting?" she asked. She let the words flow freely, content to spend a few minutes recounting a few things. She groaned when she realized Temperance had missed a particr funny sight¡ªa Drifloon having spooked a group of trainers by appearing too close to their face before disappearing. It was odd, considering she''d rarely heard of that species hanging around this ind. "Do you want to hang out with the others? It looks like Ronaldo snatched himself a penthouse," Temperance asked. She''d never been to the Conference, so she''d taken too long to get their room, which was the reason why they were in a normal hotel room. A bed, a bathroom, a TV and a window. It was okay. Boring. "We could go get a drink with the others before we start to get going." Only a few hours remained until the opening ceremony. The two older friends who remained, Chase and Louis, couldn''t be present. Chase was busy learning and dealing with internal Gym politics¡ªhehadbeen hired in quite an unusual way and all signs were pointing to him being the most likely sessor, which other Gym Trainers weren''t happy with. Louis, meanwhile, had to work hard on his sanctuary. The others¡­ weren''t her friends any longer. It was something she still struggled with. Not just losing them¡ªmostly the reasoning behind it. In theory, she understood why. She''d discussed it many times and even been pped because of it. In practice, well, she still didn''t understand how she could have rejected Emilia without hurting her. Oh, she knew the wrongs. Using her, dragging her around, and such. There were obvious ways to have handled it better. It was just that reying the scenario in her mind over and over again, it was tough to envision a world without any sort of pain. Sometimes, it felt like her body was a cage of her own making. She''d have to somehow escape, slipping through the narrow bars, if she ever wished to learn tact. People were hard. "I''d do it, but I should be on my way to buy items," she finally answered. "I''m already terriblyte because of a certainsomeonespends too much time getting ready." Cecilia was no stranger to spending too much time in the bathroom, but Temperance just brought it to an entirely new level. The coordinator ironically fluttered her eyes at her. "Aww, you potentially screwed yourself over because of me? Thanks, babe!" Cecilia''s lips twitched in amusement, and she put a finger on her girlfriend''s mouth when she leaned in. Strands of moist hair touched her wrist; she still hadn''t gone to dry it. "Now I''ll be spending the rest of this morning away from you." She rose from her seat, sparing the window onest look, and patted down her skirt. "Bye." "Bye? That''s it?" "Yes. Unless you wanted something else." Temperance scoffed, crossing her arms with a pout. "Obviously not." "Then bye," she repeated. "Oh. And nice or mean today?" "Border on the nice, please." Then border on the nice, she shall. Cecilia grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers before leaving. As soon as she was out of the hotel, she released Scizor. He always made for funpany. Metallic tes ground softly as he stretched, his powerful pincers opening and closing with a series of satisfying clicks. The morning sunlight glinted off his armor, casting faint reflections onto the sidewalk, and he let out a low, contented hum. She''d already researched where these ''items'' were sold, and while she wouldn''t have enough money to get everything she wanted, at the very least she could try and make it so her Pokemon shone the brightest on the battlefield so that their light would never be swallowed by despondency. The more crowded the area got as they moved, the more annoyed Scizor got. He was moments away from hissing at a pair of tourists before Cecilia reigned him in by tapping on one of his ws¡ªhe nearly closed them on her hands and cut them clean off¡ªand she asked him if he wanted back in his Pokeball. Unwilling to admit to any weakness, Scizor violently shook his head, and his wings shivered in irritation. "I''m just saying," she noted, "I don''t want you to be ufortable. There''s no shame to it." He shrugged. "Here, let me buy you some Lum Berries." He hissed to refuse, but she just linked her arms in his and spoke over him, her voice piercing through his vocalizations and the noise of the hundreds of people around them. "A couple of berries aren''t going to make any difference to what I can buy. I need to have Slowking teach you the value of money." Another hiss, this time as if to say ''absolutely not.'' They bought them at a stand anyway. The Lum Berries were lightly brushed with a ze made from honey and a touch of Oran Berry juice¡ªThe skewers were grilled over open mes, the heat caramelizing the honey, and they were skewered when everything was said and done. He didn''twantto say thank you, but he devoured these so quickly Cecilia didn''t even get to taste a single one. Somehow, that turned into sampling all kinds of foods from different stalls and ranking them on a tier list. They didn''t agree much, and Scizor looked ready tounch a sh Cannon into her face for daring to say that no, food sprinkled and embedded with metal wasn''t edible for her and therefore belonged at the bottom of the list. She was enjoying herself quite a bit. Even if she washorribly''League-sanctioned Item Store''in bold, cheerful letters. A Kadabra trio stood guard at the entrance, and Cecilia had to get her trainer ID scanned to enter just to make sure she actually had eight badges and had signed up for the Conference. The interior was a treasure trove of curiosities, carefully organized yet brimming with life. Shelves made of polished wood held rows of neatly disyed items, each sitting on a cushion of soft velvet or nestled inside ss cases. Tiny cards described their properties with meticulous care. For example, ''Focus Sash ¨C Ensures survival in critical moments.''or''Shell Bell ¨C Restores a little with every strike.'' It was a decent bit moreplicated than these cards gave them credit for. There wereyers to this¡ªsuch as a Shell Bell being far more effective on something that could dish out hit after hit in quick session. This was one of the few item stores in the city.The few.There was an artificial scarcity system in ce, with only a limited amount of items distributed each year to better keep track of any who''d attempt to steal them, but also, Cecilia guessed, to fosterpetition and ingenuity among trainers. To make them think outside the box. Luckily, she was only here for a few things. A Damp Rock and a few gems of her Pokemon''sbesttyping. Luckily for her, all of that was still avable, even if it cost her an arm and a leg. So much for my savings,Cecilia thought with a sigh as she carried them to the cashier, a tired-looking League Trainer who looked to be about the end of his rope. People were asking him question after question after question about options and if whatever item was avable at another store even though there were employees specifically for this. Scizor pushed her, and they inched forward until they finally paid and could get out of this crowded hell. Outside, she didn''t mind, but within here? It felt like she was being suffocated from every direction. What really ripped the air out of her throat like she''d been punched in the stomach, however, was a certain sight. She found it odd how she could instantly recognize the shade of gray Grace''s hair appeared as to her warped eyesight. The world around her disappeared as she and some other fancily dressed girl crossed into the store, but Cecilia could see Pauline and Denzel waiting outside. There was less pain at the sight of her now. Less anger, too, even if it remained. Instead, however, it had been washed over by a deep sense of embarrassment, shame, and humiliation. Their eyes unfortunately met immediately, and that snapped Cecilia out of her spell. She stumbled back half a step before realizing she''d look foolish trying to hide behind Scizor, so instead she decided to do the next best thing she could think of. Leave. Nothing that could be currently said would help either of them¡ª "Cecilia!" Her voice resonated throughout the store. Cecilia considered herself lucky that there were only a set amount of people allowed in at all times. Grace was rather famous these days; heads were already turning in her direction apanied by whispers. The blonde whispered something to her other friend, who shrugged, and made her way toward Cecilia. Why? Why even revisit these old wounds, Grace? "Um. Sorry. You can leave if you want; I just wanted to¡ªto see if you were doing a little better." Grace''s gaze felt so piercing it was almost painful. The air around them shivered for a moment and turned blurry, a telltale sign of Extrasensory. She waited for a bit to see what Cecilia would say, but the Unovan found herself nodding along. "I know I have no right to, but I heard a lot about you and I was worried. You know. With the Pauline and Emi stuff." Cecilia forced a smile in an attempt to avoid the total lysis of what she''d been working toward this entire month. Her eyes darted around, finding anywhere that wasn''t her to be so, so interesting. asionally, she''d unfortunately allow a glimpse that lingered too long. A strap of her overalls, a piece of her skin, a quiver in her hand,she needed to gouge her own eyes out for her own good. "Things are going well." Her voice felt robotic. Unnatural. Like it wasing out of someone else''s throat. "I''m trying my best to move on. It was tough before, but little by little¡­ I''m getting better, I think. It''ll be easier when I''m back home." There was nothing left in Sinnoh for her but a promise with its Champion which would soon be fulfilled and endless painful memories. "And you aren''t¡­ lonely?" "I have other friends now. It''s not the same as¡­" she nced up toward Denzel and Pauline, who hadn''t noticed her yet. "And it''s difficult to forge meaningful connections while learning so much about myself. And knowing that I''ll be leaving so soon. It feels difficult to nt down roots." "As long as you have people," she said, scratching her arm. "Oh, speaking of¡ªI guess that''s Marley." Grace nudged her head back. "I met her in piano ss. Turns out she''s a really good trainer who''s also in the Conference¡ªwait, I guess that''s obvious since she was allowed inside¡ª" "I should leave," Cecilia interrupted. Better cut this off now before the realization that she was nowhere near getting over her was beaten into her over and over. She was still weak. Still beholden to someone else. "I have to go see¡ªTemperance." She''d hesitated there for no reason at all. They weren''t dating anymore. "Oh. Right, right," Grace said. "You can stop, Bud." She was out of breath. Her heart felt like an earthquake. Only Grace had ever had her feel like that. Cecilia hoped she was happy. She looked the part. More confident than she''d ever been with her, too. The air shivered again, returning to its normal state, and the buzz around the store slowly filled her ears once more. With a nod, the Unovan slipped past Grace. She looked back for a moment. Grace did not. Hopefully they would not cross paths again. Having noticed her, Pauline made herself taller, clearly itching for a fight, while Denzel hurriedly clicked something on his camera and pulled her back. It felt a little tiresome now when it might have not a month ago. "What did you tell her¡ª" "Just small talk. Have a nice day," Cecilia said. The way back was far less joyous and carefree than earlier in the morning, as if all the life had been sapped out of her. She shouldn''t have talked to Grace. Scizor was of that opinion as well. Why even treat Grace this way when so much hurt hade their way because of her? Her soul was still a fragile one, a hodgepodge of broken pieces of herself that she had managed to push together atst. Why even take the risk? In the moment, just looking at her had been awe-inspiring, and the memories beautiful, and the way she moved, spoke, looked, so enticing it had left her tongue-tied for the first time in months. Now it was like she was in withdrawal. With a quickened pace, her strides carried her through the bustling streets, weaving between clusters of trainers and their Pokemon until she was back at her hotel room. Instead of their floor, she clicked on the final one¡ªPH2. She could hear the loud music from Ronaldo''s penthouse even as the elevator climbed up. It was the first time Temperance''s group was even going to the Conference, and they''d already made themselves at home. She''d only brought her closest confidants, a small group of five including herself. They were already day drinking ahead of the opening ceremony, but Cecilia had to admit, it felt nice to return among them, especially after this morning. Cassandra''s antics were amusing most of the time; Kael, as the oldest member of the group at twenty-four, took a bit of a parenting role, but he wasn''t above mingling; There was the aforementioned Ronaldo, a minor Paldean noble whose bravery outshone his shyness. There was also a new girl. Amber Stewart. When Cecilia entered the room, she noticed the seventeen-year-old take a hasty step away from Temperance as if them talking in the Unovan''s absence was a crime. Cecilia let go of her bag with a tired sigh and nced at her friends. Don''t take it out on them.And especially not on her.She had promised Chase she would try, and so she would do her best to do better. Temperance excitedly beckoned her closer; she was akin to a balm to her soul, these days. "I''m back," she said with a tired smile. "Can I get a ss of that wine before we head out?" ¡ª "So basically, I just wanted to check in on her to make sure she wasn''t¡ªyou know, self-destructing. Nothing else really happened." My phone hung between my ear and my shoulder as I struggled to carry my bags. Maylene hummed on the other end of the line. "It was¡­extremelyawkward, so I kind of just kept talking to fill in the void, I guess. She was nicer than she had any right to be." I''d expected Cecilia to look at me with that same ire she''d had during our argument in Canve, but instead, they''d been somewhat subsumed. That was a good word to describe not only the meeting, but its aftermath, too. Even Pauline hadn''t expected her to basically flee the scene as fast as she had. She''d built up an entire scenario in her head where everything would have been explosive and maybe Cecilia would have gone after me with her words too or tried to take me back, but that wasn''t her. She wasn''t some¡­ viin. She''d just been hurt by my actions, and that pain had rippled across and hurt more people in turn. A heavy sigh bled through my lips. "Sorry you had to go through that,"she said."I''d say it''d probably be better to keep your distance now that you got that stuff off your chest. I don''t want to hurt her more than we have already." "Hmhm. I won''t." Now that I''d gotten a good look at her and I was certain she was at least okay, I could breathe far easier than usual. It was selfish of me to have called out to her, but I didn''t know if I''d be able to keep going if I knew she was still spiraling. I could fully let go, now. "How are the preparations?" "Going well. They''re basically almost over. I can''t believe you got so sidetracked you have to carry your stuff everywhere, by the way. Half of it aren''t even items! What if it gets stolen?Snatched in the crowd?" "Come on," Iughed. "People can''t steal fromme. I''d just have Buddy spook them a little." "I could steal from you." "Yeah. Hmhm. I believe you," I said in the driest tone known to man. "I''ll show you when we''re home!"she yelled. ''When we''re home'' made my heart feel fuzzy and warm. There was a sudden sound on the other end of the line."Crap. I gotta head out. I''m pretty sure one of the gs just caught on fire." "How is that even possible?!" "There are a lot of moving parts. See youter! Love you!" I grinned. "I love you too." After running back to my friends who werealsomostly carrying my stuff, we made our way to the central stadium. The ceremony would be starting soon. ¡ª From our seats high in the stands, the view was breathtaking. The field below stretched out like a canvas, a smooth, metallic surface that seemed to curve reflected sunlight. I knew it could be changed at a moment''s notice from different battlefields deep below, but they''d opted for this neutral one this time around. There was so much noise that I''d needed to turn off my hearing aidagain. The things I''d bought sat at our feet, and we eagerly snacked on pretzels, cheesy fries, sandwiches, or popcorn. Nearly all of my friends were next to me¡ªnot only Denzel, Marley, and Pauline, but Emilia, Mira, and Lauren too. My parents were a row down and a bit to the right. Emi seemed fairly okay, at least from the outside. She felt a little jittery at the idea that she''d missed Cecilia by not having been with us earlier. Apparently she wanted to talk to her again¡ªa civilized conversation where she''d be able to get some things off her chest and maybe where they''d be able to start over as friends before she left for Unova and the connection was lost possibly forever. Pauline clearly disapproved, but had remained quiet at least so far. Lauren had noise-canceling headphones on due to how the sheerweightof the crowd bothered her. It had been a long time since I''d seen her, but while she still hid her grieving self beneathyers and walls, she was as I remembered her, if a little happier, especially whenever Mira was around.Her brother should have been there. Those words must have been echoing in her mind over and over, and yet she wasn''t here just for him. She was also here for herself. To prove she was more. Mira was¡­ hearing about her divided mind due to overuse of her power had shaken me quite a bit, but I couldn''t really tell anyway other than her being more scatterbrained and sometimes saying something out of the blue. She didn''t care much for the battle themselves or the results of the Conference. The main reason she''de here was to support her girlfriend, but it also was more convenient when wanting to visit her uncle in prison. Really, outside of the fact that Iknewthey were dating, there weren''t that many signs. They weren''t a touchy couple at all. Though I was probably being too narrow in my thinking. I just couldn''t imagine it myself. I wished I could have seen Jasmine around, but she was busy coordinating between Indigo and Sinnoh, still. We''d arranged a meetingter today anyway after the groups would be announced. The stands themselves formed a sweeping, multi-tiered oval around the field, packed with to the brim with spectators, many waving banners or holding up signs adorned with their favorite trainers'' names or wearing their merch. I''d seen a few walking in on the way in here, which was honestly quite surreal to see. The stadium roof arched high above, attice of transparent panels letting sunlight flood the arena while still providing protection from the elements. asional bursts of confetti floated down from what I assumed were hidden dispensers, shimmering like tiny rainbows as they caught the light. But suddenly¡ª "Ladies and gentlemen! Trainers and civilians from all across Sinnoh and beyond!"a male voice yelled¡ªwait, was that one of Wake''s Gym Trainers? I recognized the voice."Wee to the grand opening ceremony of the Pokemon Conference!" The crowd erupted into cheers, and the announcer paused, allowing the energy to swell before continuing."Tonight, we honor the incredible spirit of our dear region¡ªa spirit that has endured and thrived, even through one of the most challenging years in our history. We gather here not just to celebrate battles and victories, but to reaffirm what makes Sinnoh truly extraordinary: our resilience, our unity, and our hope."Then came a pause, and for once, everyone was quiet. So quiet it was as if they''d all died. A silent image of Craig yed on therge screens above the stands, but also of a Sinnoh in ruin right after the bombings."And now, as wee together for this Conference, let it serve as a reminder of everything we''ve ovee¡ªand everything we still strive to achieve. But most importantly¡­ LET''S HAVE A DAMN GOOD TIME!" The next wave of cheers hit like a crashing wall, overwhelming and all-epassing. Fists were raged in tion as Sinnohan gs billowed, and I had never, ever felt as Sinnohan and patriotic as I had in this moment. It was somoving. "And without further ado, here are our delegations!" What followed were different delegations amidst the Sinnohan anthem, each pouring out of the entry tunnel and onto the field one by one. As Sinnoh''s capital city, Jubilife came first, heeded by a procession of people in sharp, tailored outfits, apanied by drones forming dazzling light disys. Then came Oreburgh, with its hardy folk, its rock types and its makeshift minecarts atop which rode Roark; then came Hearthome and its ghosts sending a chill across the field and dimming it to summon a thousand glimmering stars in the sky; then came Eterna City with its thousand different flowers and ancient history¡ªGardenia''s cloak billowed behind her and nts bloomed with her every step¡­ On, and on, and on. It was endless, and each was just as beautiful as thest. It was so much better seeing it inrealitythan on TV, but even then, this was probably thergest ceremony they''d ever put on. Each city was led by a representative, either the mayor or Gym Leader, or both, and even Twinleaf was represented, though it had the smallest of all. I couldn''t help but burst into the loudest cheer of them all when Veilstone arrived, led by Maylene¡ªfollowed by martial artists that represented the city''s discipline and fighting spirit, and tech magnates and scientists that had made it grow sorge. Thest of the delegations came from the League itself, with Cynthia, the Elite Four, and a dozen officials behind them. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TRAINERS AND CIVILIANS,"he repeated,"I''LL ONLY ASK THIS ONCE. ARE YOU READY?"he asked. "YES. WE. ARE!"the crowd answered as one. "THEN LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"
Chapter 340 Chapter 340
CHAPTER 340 Excitement from the opening ceremony had thrown the entire ind into a frenzy of enthusiasm and spending. You couldn''t go five seconds without seeing someone carrying something new they''d bought, either for their Pokemon, friends, family, or themselves. I was, as it turned out, horrible with money when pushed by peer pressure. Seeing all these people blowing their cash on stuff they most likely didn''t need had me buying evenmore. Clothes, gifts for friends or my family, or food despite the fact that I was full. Just out of sheer gluttony! Maylene would probably look at me disapprovingly for eating so unhealthy, but if I wasn''t going to enjoy this month, what was the point? Plus, maybe I''d be able to convince her to try different kinds of sweets. Or even pizza. She still had to work for a few hours and handle the end of the ceremony, so I''d be waiting for her a while. Honey helped carry most of the new bags of things I bought, much to his chagrin. He wanted to run off and have fun with his new friends at the Gym House instead of helping his mom shop. Denzel had gone off to interview some trainer he''d found in the crowd with Pauline, so it was just the rest of us. Things were a little awkward. It had been so long since I''d spoken regrly with either Lauren or Mira, and Marley didn''t know either of them, so she kept ncing my way every few seconds or so expecting me to carry the conversation. Feeling my throat tighten, I nced at my phone. "Forty minutes until the groups are revealed," I said, hoping to lure Lauren intosomekind of conversation. She seemed morefortable now that we were away from the crowd¡ªor as far away as wecouldget. It helped that her Reuniclus or Mira''s own psychics could Teleport us around and she''d had them scout the premises yesterday. "You guys nervous? I''m nervous." "I''m happy I made it so far already." Marley nced down at her feet, her voice slightly meek. "Of course, I''d love to go the distance, but I''m¡­ well, I would be satisfied no matter the result." That got a reaction out of Lauren. She adjusted her sses as her fingers twitched. "You aren''t making it far, then." It was not an aggressive statement, just something she''d said as a matter of fact. A truth¡ªorhertruth, at the very least. A curious, mildly offended look from Marley prompted her to continue. "You have to be hungry for it. Hungry for victory. Or you won''t ever push your limits and you''ll stay mediocre." Mira intervened slowly, "I wouldn''t call making it to the Conference in her first year mediocre, Lauren." "I¡ª" The raven-haired girl couldn''t stop her fingers from moving, now. "I meant it in¡ª" "I know," Mira said. "But, uh, you don''t know Marley. Marley doesn''t know you. It might havee off as rude for no reason." A slight sigh slipped through Lauren''s lips, and she averted her eyes. "Okay. My bad." "It''s okay," Marley said. "I, uh, I''m sorry about your¡ª" Mira suddenly hissed like some sort of wild animal, and Marley quickly caught the hint tonotfinish that sentence. It''d be best not to bring Craig up at all, or at least in the context of being sorry for her. She must have been told that a million times already, and seeing the government use his death for so much profit had most likely gotten on her nerves. If I had to guess, this would have brought a different kind of anger had Lauren not immediately retreated behind the safety of her noise-canceling headphones before she could keep track of what Marley had been saying. Not the old one where she grew pissed at anyone bringing Craig up out of fear of forever chasing his shadow, but because it was all sotiresometo have people who barely knew her mention it. She was participating for herself. Not to prove anything to anyone. While Marley and Mira continued making small talk to get to know each other better¡ªmostly, thetter kept bringing up old traveling stories¡ªI told Honey to stay put and shuffled closer to Lauren, whose head bopped up and down to some kind of music I couldn''t hear. I raised a finger to garner her attention, and she made ''can this wait?'' eyes at me. It could,I mouthed at her with a shrug. She made a knowing smirk at me and pulled her headphones off one ear. "Hi." "Hi," I repeated. "Been a while." With the rush to get to the ceremony, we didn''t have time to actually talk beyond a polite greeting. Training every day with her and Cecilia while we were in Sunyshore still felt so recent. And itwas, technically, yet it felt like a lifetime ago. We''de far since then, and I''d grown into a better version of myself. The constant journey of self-improvement was an exhausting one, but one I relentlessly chased nheless. How had she changed, I wondered? With her, I knew I had to be the one to keep her going in a conversation unless we were talking about battling or music. "So. You and Mira, huh?" I said. "Me and Mira what?" "Dating," I specified like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I''m happy for you two!" Lauren blinked so many times I thought something had gotten in her eyes and then nodded, eyes drifting toward her girlfriend with a dumb smile I''d never seen on her face before. "She''s nice, I guess. I''m happier and she helps me with a lot of things. Like how to handle dealing with strangers." She nudged her face toward Marley. I was curious of how things functioned because of all the¡­ split personalities, but I figured I''d only bring it up when we got closer again. "She''d be perfect if she was a good battler. Too bad she just rolls over and dies whenever we battle because her Pokemon are so weak," Lauren continued a little more enthusiastically. "Her split-second decision-making is decent, and shees up with unique out-of-the-box moves that surprise me sometimes, but everything else is mediocre. There''s potential. Or there would be if she cared about it much." She kept fixating on Mira; her stare was nearly unmoving. "She''s said she''d be rooting for me, but I can''t help but think she should be rooting for herself. Oh well. At least it''s cool." Oh, she wassoin love. "It''s cool," I repeated with a smug, knowing smirk that then faltered. "Hey¡­ um, sorry if I''m being too forward. But are Craig''s Pokemon okay?" Lauren took off her headphones fully and ced them around her neck. "People don''t really ask about them. Or at least not a lot besides Roxie. Thanks." A silence settled in for a few seconds, and for a moment I figured it must have been a tough topic for her. "You don''t need to tell me if you don''t want to. I was just worried." I''d seen Justin''s Pokemon struggle with their grief, and every few days, the thought of Lou''s Pokemon ming me for her death reared its ugly head. "No. It''s fine," she said. "It''splicated." Craig''s Pokemon, it turned out, had mostly gone their separate ways. She''d given them all they wanted. Hippowdon had gone back to her herd near route 207 and challenged her aging mother for the right to lead the herd, and she''d won handily. Apparently the League was happy to have a trained Pokemon take control of such a powerful force because it made working with them easier should a problem ever arise. His Gyarados had decided to just swim off into the ocean from Canve to travel the seas, though he had promised toe back in a few years. He just wanted something different for a while. Snox had been loaned to the Battle Frontier for two years¡ªwith visiting rights to the family whenever he wished. Typhlosion and Orbeetle had decided to stay with Lauren''s parents. The former was still lost and couldn''t imagine a life without the family, and thetter because she had vowed to protect them until they vanished. She thought it was her due for failing to protect Craig from Regice.Laurendidn''t know, still, and I didn''t know if it was because Craig''s Pokemon wanted to spare her the pain or if she hadn''t asked in hopes of moving on. It was tragic to hear. All these stories separating, some of them for good. It was like hearing about Mudsdale and Lurantis¡ªwho were happy together now, thank the Legendaries¡ªall over again. "What about Roxie?" I asked. "Roxie''s with me," Lauren said. "Not as a fighter. She doesn''t want to do that anymore. Doesn''t see the point." Ah. It would have been somewhat poetic to have Lauren bring Roxie into battle, finally winning it all¡ªbut that was rude of me to think. People were people. Stories were stories. They didn''t have to step into their throes if they didn''t want to. "She helps me fly around when I need it, and it''s just nice to have her around. She''s not with me right now. She''s flying around somewhere away from the Lily. She hates the atmosphere; it reminds her of Craig too much. He loved this time of year; it was where he was truly in his element. Among his fellow trainers instead of posers." "It''s nice anyway," I said. "You''ve known her long." "For as long as I can remember," she said with a nod. "It''s hard, but dad says the world keeps going. The rivers keep flowing, and the earth keeps spinning around the sun." That must have been his way to cope. Lauren stopped for a moment, hand scratching her arm. "You know, for all people talk about him saving the country, I think he would have been sick and tired of it by now." "Probably," Iughed. "You know, with your¡­" Lauren pointed at her ear. "I noticed that the sound was bothering you sometimes. You should buy these headphones. They''re decent." "Oh, don''t worry. That''s because I''m not great at remembering to turn it off and on in time before I get burned. I''ll get better." She remained quiet for a moment. "Sometimes I use them as an excuse to not talk to people." I snorted."What?!" "You should do it too. Just say you''re deaf¡­" "I''m pretty sure I''m legally deaf?" The conversation continued, and eventually we all regrouped when Denzel came back with not just one, buttwointerviews behind him. Apparently he''d met another trainer who had wanted to get on his stream, and it felt strange for him to be chased and not to be pursuing famed personalities instead. Every trainer participating in the Conference were famoussomeway or another, even if the levels varied from local celebrities within theirmunity to the most famous like, well, Aubri. Or me. Blegh, it still felt odd to say it. Like walking in the shoes and clothes of a dead man. Maybe one day, I''d grow used to it. One day. We were lucky to snatch a few free benches down a less-frequented street for ourselves. The ind was quite mountainous the further you went from the coast, and people tended to stick next to the coast, where most of the stadiums were. I used the opportunity to send Princess getmostof the stuff I''d bought back to the Gym House. It was quite the amount of bags to carry with Psychic, but she was capable and faster than Cass. Speaking of, a few hats for them were in those bags; we''d picked them out together earlier today. Water spilled out of Denzel mouth as she scrolled through his phone."Oh shit!"His voice snapped me back to reality¡ªI''d been idly looking forward to Maylene sending me a message telling me she was free. "The groups are out!" My heart squeezed and sank deep into the depths of anxiety. My thumb slipped when I tried to go to the website the League had set up for the Conference and I identally opened my camera and took a picture before Ifinallygot into my search browser. "Group three," I heard Lauren speak next to me. "What about you guys?" "Twenty-one," Mayley said. I stared down at my phone and inhaled sharply. Group 21 Le Harrison Marley Webb Hayden Browning Emerick Wagenaari Jamie Pearce Ramon Casaus Grace Pastel ¡­ There it was. My name, along with sixteen other people¡ª Wait. Twenty-one. My eyes had nced over her name to find mine, but there Marley was, her trainer ID picture included above her name. "T¡ªtwenty-one," I said. "I got twenty-one too." Her eyebrows raised a bit. "Fun. It''s a good thing I rarely let you train with me. What were the odds ofthat?" "Don''t trigger her; she''ll start talking all about stories and stuff." Mira hopped off the bench and stretched, her long pink hair swaying with her movements. "It''s not like it dooms you two to have to fight it out. The top six out of sixteen make it out¡ªat least for your group size. Some are different because of odd numbers and such. I checked it all out with Sirris a few weeks back." Right. It had juste as a shock because of how low the odds were in the six hundred or so people who had gotten eight badges this year. There was also Ramon and that Grian frontrunner Pearce. I continued scanning down the list, and thankfully didn''t findsomeoneelse I knew. Thest thing I needed was the significance of a battle with Cecilia right now. Anyway. I was of course informed about how the group stages worked¡ªI had been for months, now. Denzel had been the first to tell me about it, but I''d done an ample amount of research on my own. Sinnoh followed a more streamlined model inspired by Indigo where a loss counted for zero points; a draw for one, but for both participants; and a win for two points for the winner. ording to Cecilia, Unova, for example, had a far moreplicated system whereknock-outswere the things that counted for points, so you could have funny situations where someone with more losses could win over a trainer with more victories in some edge cases because they''d kept more of their battles close. None of that here. It was winner-takes-all. Three-on-threes with one switch as well, keeping the fights fast-paced because there werea lotof them to go through. Starting tomorrow, the stadiums would have non-stop fights from early in the morning to night for days. Being in group twenty-one meant that I wouldn''t have to start battling for quite a few days yet, so I had more time to¡­ settle in, so to speak. Not that this made any difference¡ªit wasn''t as if I''d have more time to study my opponents considering everyone I was supposed to fight was in the same boat. Lauren would have to fight earlier than all of us, but she would also have more time to recover. Already, she was entirely focused on her phone screen, probably thinking to herself about how she was going to make it through groups. As first years, we wereing in at a disadvantage. While we''d progressed far very quickly, people here would be more experienced than us, and that counted for something, but the fact that so many people¡ªsix out of sixteen for us¡ªcould make it through allowed for some slippage. For example, as much as I wanted to prove that I could stand against the best, there was no way I was winning against Ramon, let alone Jamie Pearce. There was much to think about, and the online world was most likely going insane. I sent out a pre-approved post on Chatter about how I would give the Conference my all, making sure to turn off the replies because they''d been a toxic cesspool ever since the context of my eighth badge had leaked, and took a deep breath. Later tonight, I''d have a meeting with my team about this and start studying each opponent and their teams as much as I could, just like old times. For now, however¡ª Maymay-I''m freeeeeeee where r u I smiled. "Guys, I think I''m gonna go." ¡ª There was something mildly amusing about seeing Volkner soaked in sweat and struggling for every breath as he climbed the hill toe check on us. He was the kind of guy to always, constantlyin about the summer heat even more than I did, and being out and about when the sun was at its most intense was not doing him any favors. Maylene and I weren''t reallydoinganything. We''d ventured off to the uninhabited parts of the Lily, and she''d found a hill shaped like a crescent moon. That had triggered a funky part of her brain, and instantly, she''d wanted to run up it for fun, and I''d been forced to follow her up. This was where we''d spent thest hour, her head in myp while shey in the grass and I sat against Angel for support while he slept to the sound of the nearly silent winds, soaking up the sun. Her hair was softer than it looked. She''d cut it again just before the Conference because it was getting long and ''in the way'', so it was back to how it had been when we met. It still felt nice to run my hand through. Short, neat, and practical¡ªjust like her. The kind of cut that left nothing to hide behind. It suited her, though. Maylene leaned slightly into my touch and looked up into my eyes¡ªthat was how you knew she loved me. Because she was so preupied with me she couldn''t even stop and make fun of Volkner. I wasn''t sure she had even noticed him. Her eyes were still such a striking shade of pink¡ª "Did you," a ragged voice exhaled and inhaled, "have to get all the way up here?" Oh. He''d made it up. Volkner leaned against his knees and copsed on the grass with a groan that woke Angel up. The grass type immediately wiped the sweat off the Gym Leader''s forehead even without any idea of what had been going on. Maylene shot up from myp with a little yelp that made me want to drag her closer and tease her. "M¡ªmaybe learn to climb a stupid hill!" she yelled. Her heart clearly wasn''t in it; she was off-bnce and it showed. It was all the wrong cadence and with none of the fake venom that made banter with her fun. "Even Grace can do it better than you." "Hey. Don''t just throw me under the bus!" I yelled, faking offense. "Well, kid, I sit at a desk all day, so sorry if I can''t be running around everywhere like you." "Ialsosit at a desk all day," Maylene countered. "Yet I also find time to stay active. Curious." "Pfft. Whatever." Volkner shook his head at her¡ªthough he struggled withthat, too. "Candice sent me before you," he nced at me, "could fly off somewhere, ''cause you''re apparently going off to see Jasmine?" I nodded and hummed in affirmation. "And you''re kind of inattentive, so I wasn''t sure phones were going to work." "I''m not inattentive. I can focus on something very easily." "She can focus on something very easily," Maylene repeated. Volkner''s nose wrinkled in annoyance. "What? Maylene, you were the one¡ª" My girlfriend slid behind me and covered my ears for a moment. I figured it was more as a joke than anything because I knew what he was going to say. She''d told him I was inattentive, that little¡­ "...nder the good name of my girlfriend like this," Maylene finished right as her hands left my ears. "I''ll have you know that I''m implementing a new policy to have anyone who badmouths her sentenced to a massive fine. Anyone but me, I mean." Damn it, she''d sensedthatretorting. "Woah. You must really be having a good time," Volkner slowly spoke. "Hm?" "I mean, back in the day you would have never joked about stuff like this," he added, lifting his phone out of his pocket. "It''s a good thing I was recording and I''ll be leaking this to the press¡ª" She stuck out her tongue at him, blowing a raspberry. "I wouldn''t want to be caught in the crossfire ofthatcontroversy," I said. "But maybe Volkner should get prison time instead of a fine." Maymay beamed. "Exactly! And there, I''lle by every day to make him do cardio! He can''t leave until he can run for twenty minutes withoutining!" I snickered. "Oh, you might as well sentence him to life." "This is what I get foring to deliver news¡­" Volknermented, shoving his hands in his pockets. The way he turned slightly, I noticed hispretty badposture, but made noment. I didn''t want to push too far; I didn''t really know the dynamics without Maylene here to guide me yet. "Anyway, there''s a movie night tonight. Movies plural. We figured we wanted to give you the option to show up, but we don''t know if you''ll be off training." "Oh. Cool." I gave it some thought for a moment. "Yeah, I can stay for a while. Dunno if it''ll be the whole night, but¡­ a while." Maylene pumped her fist in a silent celebration, but I noticed her anyway. Angel mimicked her with a bundle of vines. She turned toward me. "Don''t worktoohard. People can get in over their heads with this stuff and perform worse because of it sometimes." I nodded. That was why she''d made the entire fight with Gardenia a surprise in the first ce, and while I''d fought in front of crowds before, theConferencewas different. Yes, there were more people, and yes, there was a livementator, but that was honestly the least of my worries considering how good I''d gotten at tuning people out when I was in the zone. There was simply more meaning behind this tournament. It was a symbol, the culmination of an entire year of hard work for hundreds of trainers, but also a desperate reprieve for the people of Sinnoh. It was a lot to carry. "Yeah. I''ll handle it, no worries," I finally answered with a smile. "You better! I''ll be rooting for you so loud I bet you''ll hear me." It would have been something cute to say had she not looked like she actually meant it. "But you know, also remember to just have fun no matter what. That''s the theme this year, after all." She brought her hand close to my arm, then paused as her eyes nced to Volkner on the right. With a small gulp, she continued and rubbed my skin. I was so proud and happy I was nearly ready to scream. "The world''s not going to end no matter what spot you end up getting." "I''ll remember that," I quietly said. "I should probably go. I really don''t want to bete. You know, with meeting Brock and Will." It was an old promise now made whole. The two were now finally here on a diplomatic mission, along with an entire team, to cut Jasmine some ck and allow her to rx after the absolute hell of a time she''d had working since the Gctic situation came to a close. "Oh! Yeah, you reallydon''twant to make people fromKanto-Johtowait, especially not an Elite Four member," she said. "That could be a disaster. I hear they''re strict." We stood in silence awkwardly¡ªthis would have been a really good moment to kiss. Volkner cleared his throat and announced his departure, feeling that he was probably not going to want to be around here right now. As soon as he got enough distance and kept his back turned, I lunged¡ªuh, I gently kissed her and felt my leg unconsciously lift behind me when her hands settled on my hips. It was nice. It was always really nice. I wished we''d be able to practice tonight, but there was no way we were going to get the house to ourselves today, or any day this month, for that matter. There were always a few people inside. I yfully bit on her bottom lip and sheughed against me, giving me butterflies until the kiss ended. I tugged slightly on the vine Angel had wrapped around my ankle and touched more of his vines until I recalled him, swapping him out for Princess, and I was soon on my way to see Jasmine close to the actual League Building¡ªknown and referred to as The Spire in the news or when people just wanted to use its official name because of its architecture. Rare were the times when I''d flown with so many people in the sky with me. Princess made sure to keep a proper distance. If there was anywhere I''d get caught for breaking flightws, it was here. I needed a clean record to get an equivalent one in Unova without having to take a test again. I''d pass it no problem, but it''d be a chore. Or maybe it''d be a way to meet new friends? What was I doing, considering breaking thew to make friends? I had a reputation to worry about. I leaned in close to Princess'' ears and asked, "have you been having a good time here?" We were flying slowly enough to hear her answer; I''d leaned in more out of habit than anything else. The Togekiss said that things were going¡­ fine¡ªwith that exact same hesitation. She was excited to get into the battling and acting of it all, but she was unused to meeting so many new people at once. "Me too," I said. "But hey, things get better. You should stick around with Honey and Angel instead of Sunshine if you want to socialize. Follow their lead; they''ll help you out. Or even Buddy!" I quickly added before remembering he wasn''t clinging to me. Oops. Jasmine had said she''d be waiting around the central road leading to the League Building. I could see it easily from up here in all its glory, a structure that felt more like a monument than a mere building. The League rose like a fortress carved out of marble and other stones, its design a seamless blend that came together perfectly and radiated power. Tall, cylindrical towers framed the central hall, their roofs capped with gleaming red spires that caught the sunlight and seemed to glow like embers. Stained ss windows dotted its facade depicting great battles below Arceus'' light, for that where what the ones who had built this monument believed themselves to be. This was supposed to be the seat closest to God. If only they''d known how wrong they were. Wended on the closest avable tform, and I kept Princess around for the time being. Shezily hovered a little off the ground upside down. Buddy deserved a longer break from always being on bodyguard duty, even if he told me it didn''t bother him one bit. I felt naked without him. My skin felt so vulnerable to the elements, and I couldn''t help but asionally nce back behind me. It wasn''t like I didn''t trust Princess to defend me. She''d been charged with keeping me safe with her barriers until Cassianus hade into the picture, after all. It was just¡ªdifferent. There was something about keeping myself wrapped in a cocoon at all times that made me feel safer. The street here was less filled with tourists and hopeful trainers, and more with government employees buzzing around like Combee. This was around where most of them lived, after all, and they rarely got any time off even in the summer. In fact, this was most likely the busiest time of all for them. Ah, there Jasmine was, waiting for me with Amphy. There was no one else with her besides the two ''bodyguards'' that followed her everywhere¡ªRynara and Renzo, I remembered. She spotted me first, and her Ampharos swayed from side to side, his tail nearly tripping Renzo as it shone in tandem with the electric type''s excitement. "Grace!" Jasmine spread her arms and wrapped me in a tight hug. She was wearing one of the sundresses I''de to know her for and sandals. "I missed you. Let me get a good look at you." With both her hands, she grabbed my face and pointed it up, pausing for a few moments. "You look happier." I let out an awkwardugh, unused to someone just stating that outright. "I am." Greetings were short, though I made sure to let Honey out so he could see his old teacher. They made a promise to see how far he''de before we all had to go our separate ways¡ªher back to Johto, and me to Unova. Jasmine was still sad I wasn''ting with her instead, making sure to show me an exaggerated pout that didn''t reach her sharp eyes. Once everything was said and done, she told me to follow her. Her two guards followed in silence behind us. "Not too nervous?" Jasmine asked. "I''m so nervous I could die," I quickly said. I''d kept itrgely under wraps by distracting myself, but the closer we were getting to the moment, the more I was finding my brain making excuses to have to leave. Depending on the first impression I made, I could either fumble everything and ruin two rtionships with some of the most powerful men on the, or do well and have them like me. If it was something in-between, I''d consider that a win. "But I''m trying to keep it together. Seeding, even." "Oh, you don''t have to worry," Jasmine waved a hand in front of her face, "they''re both among the nicest you could get from our dear Indigo¡ªat least with people on their good side, and I have a good rtionship with them, otherwise dear old Lance never would have sent them. If it was someone like Surge or Blue or Sabrina or¡ªit''d take too long to list them all out¡ªthey''d be ruthlessly upfront, good or bad, and possibly use you to get to me, but Brock and Will know tact." "Tact. Right." She bent down slightly to whisper as we walked. "Remember how I told you about Renzo and his psychic woes?" I did remember¡ªshe''d told me he''d been exiled from the Natsume n because the psychic powers he''d awakened had been too weak. "Well, Will''s a psychic in truth. He''s a yful man who focuses on finesse and tricks rather than raw power like Sabrina can bring." "Oh. Is he a Natsume too?" Jasmine burst outughing, taking a few seconds to recover. "Oh, Grace! You say the funniest things sometimes." She let out a long, satisfied sigh. "They''d rather die than be involved in each other''s affairs. No, no, Will isn''t even part of a n; he just got lucky. Brock is¡­ Brock." "And that means¡­?'' "He''s got a lot of walls around him, so don''t worry if hees off as cold. Oh, and they''re married." "They''re what?" "Married." I gawked at her. "Andthisis when you tell me?! I could have¡ªI could have walked in there not knowing anything!" "I did tell you. I told you right now." She shrugged and gently patted me on the back. "It''s a funny story, actually. Used to despise each other''s guts for years and years back in the day, but I guess they couldn''t get each other out of their heads." That reminded me of¡­ well, me and Maymay, just on a longer time scale. Her eyes met mine for a moment. "Don''t mention any of this part, by the way." "I obviously willnot." She led meinsideof The Spire, which was my first time in the building and not its side facilities like thepublicwing of the Hall of Fame, where I''d gone with Cecilia to see the many paintings of the past Champions going back hundreds of years. It felt wrong to be here. Amidst the people who all knew what they were doing, who carried themselves high, and looked like they were never lost. Amongst those who kept this nation standing in the shadows, never to be rewarded for it in the stories and songs. It made me feel uneasy. Wrongness. A room had been set apart just for Brock and Will, where they could spend their time whenever work was not calling. Teasingly, Jasmine ushered me in the room first while her guards stood at attention and remained behind the door. The one who caught my attention first was will, for he was dressed like some sort of colorful Chatot. His outfit was mboyant, almost theatrical, with its sharp, tailored lines offset by bright, shing colors. Crimsons and purples, golds and cks. His hair was mid-length and soft purple. He''d been in the midst of reading some book he was levitating in front of him and sitting at a desk, but with one smooth wave of his finger, it fell back on the table with a marker neatly inserting itself within before it closed. Brock, meanwhile, was dark-skinned, tall, spiky-haired, and nearly utterly still. Staring out the window with his arms crossed, yet I couldn''t read the look on his face. Was he worried? Angry? Some form of sadness or mncholy? It was mildly unsettling to the point that the hair on my neck stood on end. When he turned toward me, the movements felt too¡­ they had a certain weight behind them, like he was twice his actual size. It was odd to look at. "Is this the child?" Will asked with a bright smile. He stood up, body flowing like water, and slid in front of me¡ªso close. "My! What a striking look." He fixated on my burns. "Where did you find her?" "Through Craig Goodwill," Jasmine said, flicking his forehead back and dragging me closer to her. Her nail sharply scraped the psychic''s forehead. "Don''t overwhelm her. She''s not from Indigo; don''t forget." Will innocently raised his hands. "I was just interested. People don''t catch your attention often. There was Gold¡ªoh, you were so shy, back then¡ª" "Keep talking and I''ll slit your throat." Her threat cut through the room like a freshly sharpened sword. Why had she even reacted this way¡ªI already knew this! And weren''t they supposed to be on good terms? My eyes darted between the two, and for a few seconds that felt endless, no one talked. Jasmine leaned forward, hand slowly drifting toward the purse where she''d put back Amphy''s Pokeball and where the rest of her team was. Energy started brimming around Will¡ªmore than had ever appeared around Lou¡ªand a dark shadow veiled his eyes¡ª Then,ughter exploded from the both of them. Jasmine''s was loud and undisturbed while Will''s was quiet, like a whisper. "Ah, Will! Never a dull moment with you!" Jasmine smirked, and the firm touch around my shoulder let me know that it had all been one big joke despite how real it had felt, thank the fucking Legendaries. "I''ve got to keep ady on her toes! Though we''ve been over this; there is absolutely no way you would manage to kill me in a fight, especially not with this setup! Your brain would be paste before your hand ever reached your Pokeball!" he joyously eximed. "Forgive us for the game, Ms¡­" I''d nearly forgotten to breathe. "Uh. Uh. I''m¡ªGrace Pastel. Just call me Grace." "Grace it is! Brock, say hello." "Hello," he gruffed. Goodness, his voice was deep. "What''s the point of this meeting again?" "Don''t be rude, dear," Will gently chided. "Isn''t it just fun to meet Jasmine''s pupil?" He spun around in a grand manner, each movement arcing with grace that felt nearly inhuman until his hand calmly settled on Brock''s chest. "Sorry. Nice to meet you." He nudged his head at me. "I hear you have a Tyranitar." "Oh!" Had she told him about that already? "I do¡ªshe''s still a baby and growing, but I do. I was confused about how to handle her when she''d just evolved, but I found a rhythm that worked." "Tyranitar are a great, never-ending challenge, but if you can earn their trust and guide them well, they''ll give you more than you could ever ask for¡ªnot in terms of strength or power, but they''ll always be there for you, through thick and thin." All of my Pokemon were loyal, but it was true that Sweetheart was¡­ the only one who I doubted would question any order. Princess had gotten over that phase. "It''s a shame people often think of them as simple brutes. Apex predators have to be smart." Brock''s finger tapped his elbow. "Are you looking for advice ahead of the Conference? Because I wouldn''t¡ª" "It''s fine¡ªoh, sorry for interrupting." Once upon a time, maybe I would have begged him to absorb everything he knew of the species. And the temptation was still so sweet. To have one of the few trainers who owned a Tyranitar, a treasure trove of information, right at my fingertips was something few would be able to boast about. Today, however, was different. I was treading my own path, making my own story. "Good. Through adversityes strength." "You''re right, but can you turn off the guru version of you in your head and be sweet Brock already?" Jasmine groaned. "Do I need to get one of your siblings on the phone? Suzie?" "Suzie wouldn''t answer," Will said. "Your best bet is Ynda or Forrest." Brock''s facade cracked; he drew upon the faintest smile recalling his apparent siblings. "I miss them so much¡­ I hope Forrest isn''t finding the Gym duties to be too much. Is Timmy''s journey going well? What about Salvadore¡­" Oh. He was kind of like Craig with Lauren. But as he kept listing out names¡ªBilly, Tilly, Tommy Cindy¡ªI couldn''t help but wonderhow many siblings did he have?! Nine was the answer.Nine. But upon closer notice, he felt less like an older brother worrying for his siblings, and more like a single parent. For a few minutes, Brock vented about his anxieties as he apparently always did when he was away from Kanto-Johto, ording to a discrete whisper from Jasmine. Will kept him wrapped around his arm, rubbing his back gently while Brock''s head rested on his shoulder. It was somewhatical, seeing the difference in size. The moment eventually passed, however. "You asked what the point of the meeting was. And uh, like I said, it''s not for advice to do better in the tournament or anything like that." I was trying really hard not to fidget. Brock seemed to hate the fact that I''d seen his weak side. "I guess I just want to connect with people who have left their mark on the world. People who can move mountains with nothing but a word. It''s selfish, I know." Because that is what I wanted for myself. "But Ineedit," I finished. "Do you see it? Ambition zes in her eyes," Will said with a smug smile. "She wants to steal our fire for herself!" "I want to." I did not dare deny it. "So tell me about your stories. Tell me what made you, you." "Very well," Will said with a nod, "I''ll begin." A pause, then a look to Jasmine, who nodded as if to say that he did not need to censor himself. "My ''story'', as you call it, begins with a handful of murders¡ªidental ones, mind you. One is always going to run wild when they awaken powers as a teen and they don''t know what in the world is happening¡­" I soaked everything in like a sponge. ¡ª Maylene''s arms felt warm. So warm I kind of never wanted to leave them. Every Gym Leader was huddled around, save for Byron. Under covers, sipping on alcohol, soda, or juice. The air was thick with thefortable sort of fatigue that only came from hours spent lounging in goodpany. This was the end of our third movie of the night, some sappy ro about two Trainers who fell in love while chasing after the same rare Pokemon that didn''t actually exist. I had paid attention to the acting in hopes of creating more joyous stories in theing fights. It ended with the two main characters fake catching each other by softly bumping Pokeballs on each other''s foreheads, which while cheesy, was also really cute. Even if Candiceughed about it until Gardenia smothered her in covers. They were getting pretty chummy. Duty unfortunately called. I could not stay with them too long, or I''d never go and work. Warmth was good, but it was important not to sit still, or the engine would go out and I would be extinguished. Plus, I felt more motivated now. ording to Jasmine, Will hadlovedme, and Brock had¡­ tolerated me, which wasn''t great, but wasn''t terrible. I blew Maylene a kiss, and her entire family erupted in exaggerated''oooooohs''before I fled. After grabbing myptop from our bedroom, I made my way to the yard, releasing my entire team to show them the names in my group. The wind blew in my hair. "Here it is," I started. "We''vee far, haven''t we?" Noises of affirmation followed, each prouder than thest. Sunshine smirked, heat wafting off his shell and snout, and he added this: We''ll go further, still. "We''ll go further, still," I repeated. "Now let''s see what we have to deal with."
Chapter 341 Chapter 341
CHAPTER 341 Group 13 Jude Wilkinson Ayaan Warsame Zuri Mwangi Josh Erick Ammar Hamili Aubri Schneider Cecilia Obel ¡­ For thest ten minutes, Cecilia had been staring at her group from top to bottom on her phone. She watched the face of each contestant she would have to fight; some were scarred, some were not. Some eyes were innocent, as if they hadn''t ever had one close brush with death while others looked as if they had been to hell and back. It was a group simr to the others she''d checked for¡­ no reason in particr. Near-death experiences or not, many of these trainers were far better and more experienced than she was, but there were also those who were new or those she had a chance to win against. No more information could be gleaned from scrolling through the ck and white of the league''s website unless she desired to learn their names and faces by heart. Here was the truth. She was nervous. Confident enough in her abilities and new fighting style in a controlled environment guided by Temperance, but with the stakes so high and the sheeratmospherethe Conference brought to the table, her assurance had been thrown in jeopardy. Having already obtained the sponsorship with Professor Juniper had made her believe that any good results would be a bonus, a tform from which tounch her career in Unova. But there had been a certain weight to that opening ceremony crowd¡ªa particr feeling she''d never gotten before in her Gym Battles or the Sceon Tournament that she could not describe, yet that had brought forth immense pressure as if she were in the presence of a Spiritomb. A worm of a thought had managed to blow past all of her defenses¡ªshould she just drop everything and battle as she had before? What if shepletely bungled her first attempt and made a fool of herself in front of millions? Videos of this would for sure reach Unovan shores before the day was over, and it wasn''t as if she''d been effective atnotscrewing things uptely. Progress as Cecilia might have, she had left a trail of destroyed rtionships in her wake. She leaned against her palm, sitting on a table back at her hotel. Cecilia had wanted a bit of peace and quiet from the constant activity of her friends. A party was being organized for Amber Stewart''s seventeenth birthday, and she couldn''t currently be a part of it¡ªnot that she was good at nning them like Emilia had been anyway. The skin of her hand felt cold. Cecilia considered staying here, stuck in her own mind for another few hours, but there was no point. She was wasting too much time here doing nothing, and lethargy would be the death of her. Thetruedeath. With a sh of crimson that was so familiar, Slowking materialized in the hotel room, slowly blinking. He must have been asleep. "If you were sleeping, I can have Scizor escort me once again¡ª" Nonsense.The psychic waved his arm to and fro, shaking his head to deny her.It''s been quite a few days since it''s been just the two of us, mydy. She answered with a hum before speaking. "I try to make time for all of you not only as a group, but individuals¡ª" that had been something important to learn. To spend more time one-on-one with her Pokemon and not merely treat them as a collective. "Have youe up with any new jokes for youredy routine?" she asked, slowly looking over the room to see if she wasn''t forgetting anything. Keycard, check. Purse, check. Phone¡ªin her hand. Slowking gave her an umitted nod.So and so. I need to find the right bnce for¡­ actually, I''d make a killing if I had a partner. A straight man who can be my foil. Hold on, let me think¡­ This was not a conversation pertaining to the looming axe over Cecilia''s neck; her future battles would being within the next few days. This was a goal of Slowking''s. To start aedy show while he was in Unova. Even in the best-case scenario, his audience would be narrow at first due to the fact that your average person did not have their tolerance to telepathy built up, however, they had stumbled over arumorwhen brainstorming ways to bypass this. A talking Slowking. Articting words verbally as a Chatot would. Now, this was a simple rumor of an all-powerful Slowking in an isted archipgo south of Shinwa, but there were hundreds of witnesses. A cargo ship''s crew that had washed ashore in a storm had started the rumor ten years ago and multiple people had tried to find this Slowking since, only to fail. They weren''t going togo there; that would be an exercise in futility. However, if it was possible¡­ Thoughts forter. "No one else in the team can talk," Cecilia said before smirking. "Even if Talonme seems to believe otherwise, with her loud caws and the like." Slowking pped his stomach and chortled.Oh! That was a good one, especiallypared to the usual attempts. Cecilia looped her purse in her arm and opened the hotel door with a widening quirk in her lips. "How vicious." For some reason or another, Cecilia had found herself unable to resist the temptation of being rude to others as a joke. She did not know if this was to cope with her own loss¡ªnot of her friendships, because she''d begun this before those had gone haywire, but with her loss of self-esteem. Her Pokemon had agreed to this if they could strike back just as much, and Slowking served as the team''s trantor as always. She''d cut back on a lot of it since she''d started to like Temperance, but the teasing was still here and there. As in all things, she''d learned, bnce and boundaries had to be struck. Her friends and girlfriend would be, as usual, holed up in Ronaldo''s penthouse. While they had enjoyed the Conference thus far, they found trainers too rowdy and loud for their tastes. She chatted with Slowking about her future battles and worries while waiting for one of the elevators¡ªthey always took long, given that this hotel was full. "What do you think?" she asked, idly watching the digital disy above the elevator doors as the numbers ticked up, floor by floor. "I''m anxious, Slowking. There''s a lot at stake. Too much to risk making a fool of myself." The water type sighed, hands behind his back, as always. There was pity in his eyes.You''vee so far,he said.Too far to give up now. You''ve practiced day in and day out, leaving little time for yourself to have free time or recover from your trauma.He blinked, taking a step forward.It still clings to you and haunts you; I see it on your shoulders. Instinctively, Cecilia rubbed her shoulders, feeling the strap of her dress. "What?" The thought that you will never be enough. You try to run and to keep climbing the steps you tell us so much about¡ªthe ones that will lead to you bing more than you could ever hope to be¡ªbut you skip some in a rush to satisfy yourself and issues still remain. Then, they follow and whisper doubts in your ear. "No. I acknowledge it¡ª" Cecilia stopped when a family of four walked up to the elevators and pressed the down button. Fortunately, Slowking had no such restrictions and continued to speak while she greeted them. The daughter, the youngest of the two children, hid behind her father''s legs away from her. Acknowledging the problem is the first step, my fairdy.Slowking dipped his head at the family, waving at the little girl until she hesitantly waved back with a tiny smile.Ah. How cute. Regardless, speak to Temperance about it. She''ll get your head out of that fog like she usually does. And if she can''t, well, there''s always Zolst''s Dragon Pulse. The elevator dinged, and Cecilia rode it up in silence, thinking about what Slowking had just said. It was true that she''d felt a certain rush to throw away the shackles that had held her back previously, dead in spirit, but alive in the flesh. She looked at the palm of her hand, slowly closing it into a fist, finger by finger, and felt her nails scrape against the skin.Yes,she thought.Feel.Breathe in the air and let it settle into your lungs. Watch the tiny scrapes embedded in the elevator buttons left behind by tens of thousands before you, the texture of the walls, the imperfections in it all. "Do not seek perfection, but functionality," she whispered to herself. She felt mildly better now. The elevator dinged again. Penthouse two. With a lighter step, she moved out of the doors and slid a copy of Ronaldo''s keycard against the sensor before entering and was met with the familiar sight of her group lounging around the living room, save that they were not drinking. Cassandra blew Cecilia a kiss. It was a funny sight, considering her bangs nearly covered her eyes. "There you are, Cecilia. I was wondering if you were ever gonna show up¡ª" Ronaldo cut her off. "We saw your group! I hear Aubri Schneider is the apparent favorite to win. A good showing against her would raise your profile!" Ah, coordinators. They always had reputation at the forefront of their minds¡ªnot that Cecilia disagreed, in this case. "We''ll¡­ see," The Unovan said, unsure of herself. "I''ve told you to call me Cece a million times, by the way." The noble winced, but it was Cassandra who spoke with augh. "''Rance gets fussy every time someone other than her does it." Hm. Cecilia was quite surprised at how good that made her feel. Like her heart had been dropped into a warm bath. "Interesting. Where is she, by the way?" "In Kael''s bedroom with Amber. And y''know¡ªKael too," Cassandra quickly added. That made sense. Kael was best at nning these things; he was the most responsible out of them all, given his age. "For the party?" "No, no, they''re just hanging out. Party nning''sme and Amber repeatedly said maybe she didn''t need something big or special." Cassandray down on the couch backward, her head hanging over the edge. "Just hanging out like usual would be nice." A ball of anxiety bubbled in her stomach, but she shut it out immediately. Or tried to. She didn''t know which. "I''ll go; I need to talk to her for a second." "Slowking! Hang out with us!" Cassandra eximed with a grin. Cecilia nodded at him and left on her own. Hallway to hallway, her step quickened. It felt as if her organs were being ripped out of her through gashes in her skin; it burned, burned, burned until she couldn''t help but m the door to Kael''s bedroom open¡ª And found nothing out of the ordinary. Kael at his desk working on his blog while awful techno music sted out of hisptop; Amber, pale-skinned, on her phone while on his bed and under the covers; Temperance at the foot of the bed, mid-sentence and with her mouth still open. "Babe!" Temperance beamed. "I was gonna check up on you if yousted more than an hour down in that hellhole of a room." She shot up and skipped toward her, kissing her cheek. The Unovan noticed a pained look from Amber. "What does your group look like? Ronaldo wanted to tell me, but I wanted to hear it out of your mouth." Cecilia''s mouth felt as dry as the Unovan Desert Resort. She stood there, shell-shocked for a moment before staggering back with a hand on her forehead. She stumbled until she stopped herself with Kael''s desk and ignored his worried inquiry. The world had gone dark for a moment. Just a moment. Cecilia could still hear the blood pulsing in her ears, feel it throbbing through her wrists and temples. Amber''s stare had turned to worry too. Maybe that was what made it so much worse. "I''m okay," Cecilia pushed out, suddenly feeling incredibly exhausted. "Sorry, I don''t think I ate or drank much today and the summer heat must have taken a toll." "I''ll go get water." Kael left the room with haste. "Are you sure?" Temperance touched her cheek and stared up at her. "Cece, you look out of breath." She slumped down in Kael''s chair and recovered for a few seconds, feeling her heart slowly recalibrate itself and all the other little processes in her body that kept her alive return to normal. The sweat slowly evaporating off her skin. The oxygen squeezing into her lungs. "Hey, sorry Ambs, but can you get out for a sec?" Temperance nudged her head toward the door. Ambs? She hadn''t heard her call Amber that way before. The pale girl nced between the two of them for a moment. "Oh. Uh, sure." Having already gotten up, she easily slid off the bed and silently walked out the room. Temperance waited at the door until Kael got back, grabbed the huge ss of water, and put it on the desk in front of Cecilia. She whispered something to him and closed the door. "Did you get put in Grace Pastel''s group?" the coordinator asked. "Wha¡ªno." And thank the Legendaries she had not. "It doesn''t¡ªit''s nothing bad, really." Her arms felt itchy. So itchy. Bugs crawling all over her. "Look, it''s stupid. It''s about¡ª" Cecilia paused for a moment, finding the perfect opportunity to skirt the truth. "¡ªI''m unsure I can actually perform during my battles. I''m terrified of messing up my debut and making a fool of myself." There was no need to bring the other issue up. Absolutely no need. She was worrying for nothing; Temperance had not given her a single reason to do so yet. "Cece¡­" she slid the ss of water up to her. Cecilia downed it in one go. "Look, in a coordinator''s life, there''s no way to be certain that a new routine or trick you''ve been working on for weeks or months will work the day of. Maybe your Pokemon will get nervous, or maybe you''ll miss the timing, or maybe you''ll push them too hard in hopes of impressing the judges. Or maybe, or maybe, or maybe. It never ends when you give it some thought." Temperance pushed herself up and sat on the desk next to her with the weight of hundreds of performances in her eyes. "It''s endless, and you never truly shake the nerves. It gets better, but they never leave. But I like it¡ªshows that I still care." "You''re so stoic in your performances," Cecilia said. "I''m ying a character. I''m Temperance, infallible, wless inside and out." She snorted, throwing her head back a little. "The Grand Festival and the Conference are two sides of the same coin. I''ve been in that seat," she said, looking at Cecilia. "When the eyes feel like a million piercing needles and every little movement is judged by a million people or more." She crossed her legs. "Wanna know what helps?" "Sure." She expected something like more breathing exercises, or perhaps a trick to make the crowd disappear like Grace was so good at doing, but instead, she got this: "I have seen you work hour after hour until you lost your voice and your throat bled. Until your entire body was sore and you pushed yourself beyond even your team. Beyond how muchIever trained all at once." Well, she''d needed to catch up, and fast. It only made sense to¡ª "Hey. I see justification in your face already, but you worked like amadwomanbecause you were hungry for it, and that was beautiful. So no matter what happens, you have to go in there with the knowledge that you did everything you could, and that if,ifit doesn''t work out, then you''ll get it next time. Therearea lot of battles to go through." Right. Even if she messed up the first, or the first few, there was always the opportunity to perform in the next battles. No one would remember a bungled first fight if she knocked the next one out of the park. "Thank you, darling. That helps." "Good. And for the record, I know that you are capable, and I truly believe in you." Temperance bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Cecilia felt light. Slowking had been correct. How astute. "Also, today''s a mean afternoon, I think." Temperance winked. ¡ª Cecilia had begun to study her opponents when her worried friends had dragged her away after a few hours due to worry she''d overwork herself. There were many minute details to look at to make sure her performance went well, each opponent with a different quirk to work out. A y against Ammar Hamili would be approachedpletely differently than one against one of her peers, for example. The brutal Orrean would press, press and press her, always keeping on the attack and not allowing her one minute of respite. Part of her found him quite interesting¡ªshe''d always been interested in Orre from a young age, given that the country had been Unova''s main geopolitical rival before Moltres burned it to smithereens. Sometimes, she''d hear her father or his entourage raging against refugees crossing the well-manned western border, but she''d never actually spoken to a person from the country. Perhaps she would get a chance. While Amber still made her uneasy, the reassurance from Temperance had helped Cecilia recover nicely, and it was all thrown under the rug. Slowking would say that something thrown under a carpet wasstill thereuntil it could no longer be ignored, but¡ª She feared where that conversation would lead. She feared retreading the beaten path, for she knew where it would lead. Arceus, she was beginning to feel uneasy again. Cecilia''s phone rang on the coffee table, and she grabbed it at once, hoping it would free her from these thoughts. It wasn''t Emilia like earlier shortly after the opening ceremony, thank the Legendaries. Her old friend had asked to meet again¡ªbut no. Why extend her suffering more than it had already been? There was nothing left to be said. She hadn''tghostedher, just told her that she didn''t think it was a good idea, and that had been that. It''d be best for Emilia to move on with her life. Plus, if that time they crossed paths in the item store told her anything, Pauline might legitimately physically assault her, and Cecilia didn''t want her to get in trouble. Ah. She missed Justin. Would she have thrown his friendship away too, she wondered? But no. It was Sinnoh''s Champion, who had texted her. Her heart admittedly jumped, but she was less shaken than she thought she''d be. They''d already spoken many times, starting with long conversations after the Darkest Day in the aftermath of Sceon. Cynthia had usually always been the one to initiate these; Cecilia believed that Cynthia most likely thought she''d reach a position of power in Unova at some point and she''d be better off cultivating their rapport. She was quite the crafty woman, often nning years into the future, taking step after step toy down the exact pieces she needed instead of failing to see beyond the immediate. Cecilia was just confused this rtive closeness was apparently still going on now that she''d lost nearly all of the half of her shard. She''d expected the Champion to only see her for perhaps a week after the Conference when they trekked up to the frontier to catch that Spiritomb, and nothing more. She''d expected Cynthia to keep their contact at a minimum. Regardless of the answer, when the Champion called, one would be a fool not to go. The text itself was quite vague, asking Cecilia to simplye to the Spire for a meeting if she had the time to and to keep it a secret. There were no signs of what it could possibly entail. She told her friends she had to go for possibly more than a few hours, but couldn''t help but notice the glimmer of hope in Amber''s eyes. Cecilia''s stomach churned, and her smile twitched, stretching further in an effort not to falter. She beckoned Slowking and left without looking back¡ª "Distract me." Huh?Slowking tilted his head. Cecilia had reached the elevators without realizing; she needed to keep her thoughts from racing. Her feet felt unsteady on the carpeted floor. "Tell me about this possible partner you were envisioning¡ªa straight man for your routine." Uh. Sure, if you''re certain everything''s okay. "I''ll get over it. And if I truly can''t, I''ll talk to her about it and get answers." Slowking''s face creased in confusion, but he knew that when she got like this, pushing for more would only make her retreat within herself further. And so, he spoke. ¡ª Louis would have loved the architecture here. The tall spires, the intricate stone carvings that adorned every arch and pir, and the delicate tracery of the pointed windows all spoke of a bygone era. Cecilia, though? Cecilia just walked in. Amidst hushed whispers of Will and Brock being present¡ªshe remembered Grace was supposed to meet them¡ªshe pushed past those thoughts and moved deeper into the building''s wide hallways. The sound of every step reverberated against the floor and the vaulted ceilings above, filling the vast space with a steady, rhythmic echo. Cecilia''s gaze swept briefly across the towering stained ss windows, their colorful depictions of battles and triumphs muted under the dim light of the chandeliers. She avoided lingering too long; the weight of the building''s history pressed down on her like an unspoken judgment. If Grace were here, she would have looked at every window and talked about how she wished to be in one of these one day. They were expecting her already, and so, they let her through the non-public areas, where through asking for directions multiple times, she quickly found the entry point to the tallest spire in the building¡ªthe tower leading to the Champion''s room. Like a Braviary''s nest, Cynthia had a bird''s eye view of everything that went on in the League, it seemed. The climb up was long, and by the end, painful on her ankles; it surprised her that Cynthia hadn''t installed an elevator somewhere and that she walked these steps every day. It felt surreal to retrace her steps as if Cecilia were a little girl imitating her idol. Despite the months passing her by, Cynthia Collins was still her favorite trainer. The door was less ornate than she thought it''d be. A simple wooden frame, darkened by years of wear and a brass handle that was slightly tarnished. Cecilia leaned against the door. "Hello?" she called out, unsure of herself. "It''s Cecilia. You called for me?" Cecilia heard the response muffled through the thick door. "Ah yes. Come in." Beyond the door, Sinnoh''s strongest sat at her desk with her Togekiss in tow behind her, and that white Zoroark Grace had given her was here as well. The ghost''s hair was like a cold, wispy me. He stared at her a moment, then grunted and turned away with an angered stomp until Togekiss chirped at him and he rxed, albeit slightly. Cynthia herself looked tired as always. Deep bags sat under her eyes from an entire year of sleepless nights, or close to it, her usual sharpness dulled by the weight of responsibility that seemed etched into her every feature. Togekiss bounced behind the desk and waved at Cecilia and Slowking with a lonely wing and forced Zoroark to do the same. "Don''t mind them; they''re both harmless," Cynthia said, eyes drawn to an endless amount of papers strewn on her desk. Cecilia was surprised at how little of it was digital¡ªany Unovan politician would have blown a gasket at such a sight. "Come and sit, Cecilia." The air was heavy with the scent of aged wood, ink, and stone. Shelves lined the walls, crammed with books and trinkets, each seemingly ced with purpose. Cecilia even noticed a picture of a younger Cynthia sitting in the grass with her Gabite and Roselia. The single desk dominated the center, and upon the ceiling was arge, horizontal, circr ss-stained window from which the sun shone. Irritating, but she could work with it. The Unovan felt almost forced to listen to whatever Cynthia said. She''d been moving since she''d told her to sit; she one of two chairs, making sure not to drag it on the ground, and sat down before patting down her dress. Cynthia''s eyes¡ªCecilia remembered they were grey¡ªmet hers. "You wanted to see me," the Unovan said. "Here I am. Is this about Spiritomb?" Pen continuously scratched against old paper. "Not necessarily. I simply wanted to catch up with you¡ªI''ve heard many things about you and Grace." Cecilia cringed, nearly recoiling in the wooden chair as her eye twitched and shame permeated through her. "Be at ease, Cecilia. Rx. I''m the Champion, Grace''s unfaithfulness would have reached me eventually." "So you were¡­ worried about me?" The notion was so incredulous Cecilia almost wanted tough. If Slowking could sweat, he would have, with the way he was staring at her. "Is that so surprising?" Cecilia ced an indignant hand on her chest. "I am no longer anywhere as useful to you as I once was. You know this!" Why was she even raising her voice? "Theremustbe something else!" Still as calm as ever, Cynthia answered, "would it astonish you to hear that I have a soft spot for you?" "Excuse me?" Cecilia scoffed. "A child in search of freedom from abuse through strength, and then a purpose." She tapped her pen against her desk. "Someone who''s had to throw away a year of her life to save the world, forged in fires far too hot for her, and dying in the process because it was her or our known universe." Togekiss chirped in agreement next to her. "And yet, after all of it, she''s the one who''s had it worse out of everyone who was involved. I''d be quite heartless to not feel something after getting you involved in this in the first ce, don''t you think?" "I¡ªI don''t believe you." The thought alone didn''tpute. "Look at it this way," Cynthia said. "We first met when you first got kidnapped by Team Gctic in Floaroma, and I had no idea you would be a Shard, I still stopped by. You believe I am a machine that operates logic and pragmatism, but I am also human, and I worry for you." She drummed her fingers against her desk and sighed. "So, Cecilia. How have you been doingtely?" She was still reluctant, but¡­ sinking into her chair, she spoke. "I''ve been doing fine. Some days are tougher than others, but that''s life, isn''t it? I''m trying to move on, and I''ve met new people who are decent to me." Even Amber was. "It''s not the same, but I''ll be fine. I just need to get to Unova and get a fresh start." Never mind the crippling worry that something would happen in her absence when she went long-distance with Temperance. Cynthia hummed; the sound was long and slow. "I see." A beat of silence passed. "You see, I had plenty of rtionship issues as a teenager and young adult. I was the problem for most¡­ hm, nearly all of them. I won''t say that I ever got cheated on and that Iprehend your pain, but I remember being devastated when my first partner didn''t work out. I was bitter at Bertha for eight months," a slight smile reached her lips, "though she would tell you it was more than that. I don''t want to bore you with stories of my life, though. Perhaps when we''ll be on the road after the Conference." Cecilia stared at Cynthia''s framed picture once again. This was during her journey¡ªbefore all of this, but it was the only way she had of visualizing a younger Cynthia in the moment. Still tall andnky¡ªperhaps even spindly, at times. Hair that was so long it must have been a bother to travel with, yet an endless hunger in her eyes for more. Today, it was still there, if muted. Was she running out? "What happens to you," she began, "is not something you can simply ignore and hope goes away. It is most likely something that will stay with you for years¡ªpossibly your entire life. It is no small thing. Not breaking up with someone, per se, but beingcheated on." "Not like I can do anything about that anyway," she bitterly said. "I bet you''re happy now that Grace is tied to the League through Maylene¡ª" her teeth gnawed. "Sorry." "No, you would be correct. It''s quite convenient." Cynthia inclined her head. When Cecilia just blinked at her, she continued. "You''re smart; there''s little point in lying to you."Little. Notnopoint. "And you''ll have to be stronger than this if you truly want a Spiritomb. As you are now, they would eat you alive in a day." Cecilia''s blood ran colder than it already felt. "But you just said that¡ª" "It would take years, possibly your entire life to get over this." Cynthia nodded along. "Agreed. And don''t worry, I won''t tell Togekiss here to fix you, even though he would agree if asked." The ease at which she said such things was terrifying. "But having someone to talk to is good, and I''ve been informed you''ve stopped going to your therapist the past three weeks." "Didn''t think I needed it," she replied, her voice small. "I was improving and fast." "I''ll be assigning you a new one. Her name is Aliyah¡ªyou''ll recognize her name because she handled Grace before." Noticing her reluctance, the Champion continued. "Youcoulddisagree, but that takes the Spiritomb out of the picture. I am telling you, they prey on mentally weak people for breakfast. Do you want to be told terrible things and shownunpleasantvisions until you break and starve yourself to death?" Cecilia shook her head. "Good. She''s a little busy this week due to¡­ obligations abroad, but you start next week on Tuesday. Aliyah will be seeing you twice a week until you head out to Unova; that means she will also be following us in the frontier next month." She clicked her tongue, foot tapping against the floor. "...fine." "Good. And you can always show up here once in a while if needed. Just be prepared to have usations of favoritism thrown your way if it''s too noticeable." Ah, that must have been why she''d told Cecilia to keep it a secret. "That was all for today, but you can stay if you wish. What I''m currently doing doesn''t require much focus; it is simply long. And who knows, maybe this''ll let you soak up experience." Cecilia took her up on her offer. It was¡­ awkward, for the most part. While being with Temperance had taught her how to speak to people¡ªor at least bettered her skills at it¡ªCynthia was still Cynthia, and Cecilia did not know how to approach her. There was a real intimidating force about her that was nearly otherworldly, even when she was so tired it looked like she was ready to just about fall asleep as soon as her head hit a pillow. But it was also pleasant to speak to her in such a casual setting, and to see where the bread was made, so to speak. Things she approved or disapproved of, how she changed her voice every time she got a phone call to sound moremanding, and all the little things that made a Champion beyond the title itself. The Champion mostly asked about Cecilia''s adaptation to her new state¡ªthe cold, the negativity, not seeing color¡ªand she found herself talking a lot more than she ever had on the matter than even to Grace. After a while, Cecilia decided to work as well, studying the opponents she''d face in her group in silence to not bother Cynthia. That was, until she spoke. "I remember my Conference," the Champion chimed in. "Were you anxious?" "Not at all after the first few battles and I got used to the crowd. I had a duty to fulfill." She nced up at the ceiling¡ªno, further, at the stained ss window as if she was reliving the memory. "I will admit, I did start feeling the nerves again once I was set to face the Radetic and his Elite Four. I couldn''t help but think¡ªwhat if I faltered so close to the goal?" She felt at the table''s edge as if to ground herself. "In the end, I managed." Cecilia couldn''t believe it; Temperance was right.Everyonegot nervous, even a Champion. "You seem surprised," Cynthia said. Cecilia shrugged. "I don''t know. You seem wless in the ways that matter." She remembered sitting in that hospital bed, both in Floaroma and in Sceon with Cynthia at her side, wishing that she too could obtain such infallible strength. "That means I''m doing my job correctly." Ah. She could be funny too, even if she hadn''t meant it. After an hour and a half, a group of officials knocked on Cynthia''s door, saying that her attention was needed elsewhere, and Cecilia decided to leave as well instead of hanging with that blood-thirsty-looking Zoroark alone in Cynthia''s office. This had been nicer than she figured she would have guessed had she known what the Champion had wanted beforehand. Cecilia quickly descended the stairs with Slowking back in his Pokeball, finding the descent far easier than the opposite. She paced back to the public part of the League Headquarters, where she found an annoying sight. She noticed Grace exiting the Spire on her way out. She subconsciously held her breath and blended in the crowd of government employees, making sure to wait another ten minutes before she left, feeling three things. A subsumed anger at her own self for feeling like she needed to hide when she''d done nothing wrong. A bitter sense of frustration at the unfairness of it all, the way Grace''s mere presence could turn her world sideways without so much as a word. A stubborn determination to not let the sight of Grace unravel the progress she had fought so hard to achieve. A need to see Temperance. Back at her hotel, she went.
Interlude – Spectators Interlude ¨C Spectators
INTERLUDE - SPECTATORS Anxiety coiled around Temperance''s neck like an Ekans looking to asphyxiate her. She did not show it¡ªnot with so many people around, including her friends. She was perfection, and perfection could not be outwardly nervous. The coordinator was surprised at how many eyes were set on a low-stakes battle such as this, especially with dozens of stadiums to choose from constantly running fight after fight. Granted, in the Conference, one could argue that every battle''s stake was high. It certainly felt that way in her heart waiting for Cece''s third battle to begin. Her current score was zero wins, two losses, the second of which she could have won had she stood her ground and not let doubt cloud her mind. Losses early did not matter¡ªno, they did. They were mentally taxing and ramped up the pressure, squeezing a trainer''s heart to see if it was steel or cloth. Temperance knew her girlfriend might be able to afforda fewmore losses, but would that send her spiraling? Her new style, albeit effective, was still clumsily implemented under so many eyes, and trainers did not tend to remember that Pokemon, too, got nervous and felt the pressure to perform. Few people knew this more than coordinators themselves. Again, Temperance''s gaze found itself drawn to the enormous corridor Cecilia would be arriving from. She wished she could have been down there with her to squeeze her hands tight and warm them. "Who is Cece¡ª" Kael shrunk from the way Temperance red at him, "¡ªCecilia fighting again?" Of course, everyone in the group hade to support Cecilia in her time of need, though amidst these rowdy folk, voices had to be raised to even hold a conversation. If this was the Grand Festival, people would have been speaking in hushed whispers to not disturb each otherorthe coordinators about to have one of the most important performances of their careers. "Some brute fromOrre." When Cassandra spoke the word, she did so wrinkling her nose. They had all heard the stories swirling around such a ce: and withoutws where encountering death was something one had to grow up with. Temperance would have nodded along and grimaced as well, once. "Hamili, I think." "Ammar''s his first name," Ronaldo corrected. "I''ve heard nothing but bad things about him and his¡­ tactics." "Sorry, but I''d rather trust a ten-year-old aspirant trainer than you when ites to gathering info on trainers," Cassandra said with augh¡ªthough Temperance figured Ronaldo hadn''t heard due to all the noise. She was well-positioned to catch every word that was said in the center. The coordinator felt a pull on the sleeve of her blouse and turned toward Amber, who had sat down next to her. "Yes?" she asked. In the corner of her mind, she imagined Cecilia tilting her head to the side to the point where Temperance feared for the structural integrity of her bones. She''d picked that up from her slightly. "Is something wrong, Ambs?" She could already see it on her face, but she figured she might as well ask. People were more likely to answer that way. Amber was new and a nervous little thing. They''d met through a mutual friend a month back at one of the endless Hearthome fundraisers, and she had quickly proven herself to be able to stand among Temperance''s closest confidants, be it through social acumen or her skills at contests. Not inparticipatingin them, per se¡ªshe had no Pokemon of her own¡ªbut in analyzing them and knowing the ins and outs of how Type Energy functioned. It wasn''t often that Temperance herself learned something new through someone other than herself. No matter what, however, Amber still couldn''t be herself in front of her. She was more real than most, which was why she had even been invited here for the month in the first ce, but none of them were their true selves to a fault. Even if they had to tell Temperance off, call her names, or just saynoto what she asked, sometimes, they only rarely did so. None of them could be likeher. "You know what, never mind," Amber said. "I guess I''m a little nauseous. There are so many people around and you know how I get about violence." She twirled with a strand of her hair and pulled her other hand away. "Close your eyes if you need to. And you know, there''s no shame in leaving if it really gets to you." Temperance watched Amber nervously smile and adjust her position on the admittedly ufortable chair. To be heard better, the coordinator leaned in for a second, and Amber flinched. "Want water?" She turned toward her other friends who were engrossed in a shouting conversation about Orre. "I think Kael has some bottles¡ª" "I''m fine! Uh, yeah. I''ll just close my eyes, I guess." Temperance raised a finger. "But don''t forget to tell us if something''s wrong. Thest thing I want is for you to bethatufortable. Cece would understand." The conversation ended there, and the coordinator refocused toward the door. The crowd was slowly ramping up as the minutes ticked by, still feral despite the fact that there had been a battle here just thirty minutes ago. The battlefield itself was nearly finished being fixed up by an array of Pokemon. Hippopotas and their evolution for the soil and mud, Gulpin and Bibarel to set up for what appeared to be a torrent of poisonous water, Kadabra to moverge chunks of rock and Mr. Mime to reinforce the barrier. Thest battle had been on a battlefield dotted with ind floating with residual psychic energy high above an icy, etherealke, and this one¡­ looked like it was going to be a poisonous swamp of some kind. Often, some of these arenas were boring, only being meadows or deserts et cetera, but the League knew how to y ball sometimes. "...talk about Ammar''s violence, but Cecilia didn''t seem that phased by it at all when she studied him," Cassandra said, though Temperance hadn''t heard the start of that sentence. "She''s seen her fair share of violence. Her face isn''t like that for nothing," Ronaldo spoke so quietly Temperance was surprised she caught it. "Poor girl''s been through a lot." If only they knew the half of it,Temperance thought. Not that she knew much either besides the information avable to the public. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs before flicking a piece of dust on her shorts. How long had that been here? Had people noticed? She¡ª Needed to calm down. No one was looking at her¡ªbesides Ambs. This was no performance. Cecilia had always been cold and closed off. She''d gotten better about it, yes. One day, she hade back from some unknown conversation with her friend Chase Karlson and suddenly apologized and they''d had a long talk about boundaries and what was okay and what was not. While Temperance hadn''t known it at the time, it had been a wee change and she wouldn''t go back for any reason. It had made what felt like an attraction-based fling turn into a genuine rtionship, and she knew now that they would never havested this long otherwise. Yet even still, Temperance felt like there was part of her girlfriend she could never ess¡ªthe true weakness within. Slowly, painstakingly, Temperance had peeled away at her like theyers of an onion, but the more she progressed, the more it felt like so much of her was hidden away. And most of it was because of Grace Pastel and what she''d done to her. How the cheating destroyed Cecilia and crushed what remained of her confidence and self-love to a pulp. But slowly, she was getting closer. Slowly. "You seem deep in thought," Amber noticed. Temperance stayed unmoving from her seat. "Oh, it''s nothing. I was just thinking about Cecilia and¡ª" She could not find it within herself to finish that sentence, nor would it have mattered anyway. A cacophonous apuse erupted from all around the stands as the announcer began to speak and introduce the two trainers to the crowd. Temperance despised how unrefined she was being, but it would do for this bunch of trainers. "...side, the wild and brutal trainer from the untamednds of Orre, Ammar Hamili!"Her voice rang sharp and loudly across the stadium."Ammar''s no stranger to high stakes and crowds; he learned the ways of battling in their colosseums, and he''se to the other side of the world to give us a show, so give him a huge round of apuse!" Somehow, the crowd gotlouder. Ammar might not have been a frontrunner, but from the way Cecilia had talked about him, most peopledespisedhim. Oh. She''d thought the crowd was getting louder, but it had done so withboos. "Or boo him, I guess,"the announcer said. They hated him because he was the only one actively trying to cripple his opponents through violence and maiming, making sure they''d be in the Center for longer to narrow down trainers'' options in their future battles even with the best care avable, and the few who had attempted to fight fire with fire had just beenworsethan him. Even Grace Pastel, the other trainer associated with such tactics, was not expected to go that far. Temperance was realizing she knew way too much about trainers these days, but unfortunately, Cecilia seemed to enjoy speaking about them. Ammar was already up on his tform, unbothered by the noxious swamp the League had created. He was a confident-looking man with sun-kissed skin, dark stubble, and a constant, smug look on his face that made you want to hate him from the get-go. His arms and face were dotted with scars, some shallow, some deep. He was also frustratingly attractive, with the way his in shirt was unbuttoned. Ugh. Like he could ruin her life if he wanted. "On the other side of the battlefield, we have our famous Unovan! A rising star who''s gotten eight badges in her first year, who''s helped Sinnoh beat the scourge that was Team Gctic in her time of need despite being a stranger to thesends, I give you¡­ Cecilia Obel!" Thistime, they cheered, and loudly. Cece was wearing a fitted sky-blue tunic with a high neckline and a subtle gradient that faded to white near the hem, the fabric soft and flowing enough to move with her but still practical. Her leggings were a sleek silver-gray, hugging her form and catching the light faintly with a metallic sheen that hinted at elegance without being overdone. On her feet, she donned slightly white sneakers with a hint of wear, the kind you''d expect from someone who spent a lot of time on the go. It was a starkly different look than her usual, one but it was what she needed to embody the theme of this battle, and it would have nothing to do with poison. The referee announced the rules¡ªno killing, three-on-three with one switch, et cetera, et cetera, and Temperance found herself squeezing the side of her chair. Both trainers had already locked in their first choice before the battle, so it did not matter who sent out their Pokemon first; they both had the same amount of time. Ammar did so, releasing his mighty Fearow. The bird erupted from the Pokeball with a sharp cry, its voice cutting through the air like a de. Its faded feathers were a patchwork of battle-worn plumage. The crimson crest atop its head was jagged, no longer smooth, with small nicks and missing tufts that told stories of vicious shes. Its beak, long and sharp, bore faint scratches and a slight curve at the tip as if it had been blunted and reforged by countless strikes. It hovered there, each p of its massive wings a testament to its strength and sending sts of wind below the flying type that might as well have been Gusts on their own. Smart to release a flying type when stepping in the poison would slowly diminish a Pokemon''s strength. Cecilia''s Pokeball had already been in theair¡ªyes, she threw it just like old timers did¡ªlooking at the bird with unabashed awe in her nk eyes and a smile that looked like it belonged to a little girl.Good. It was not so much as being in character as it was understanding that Fearow encapsted the theme of her y. Cece had also always loved the power that came through raw strength. And it was also about having a good time. Scizor would be the first. He appeared amidst the swamp, ankle-deep in one of the shallower parts of the water and unharmed by its poison or fumes even as they slid off his gleaming red tes of armor. Temperance knew that within one of his pincers was a Flying Gem ready to be used. The referee''s arm bore down, and the stadium immediately wentquiet. "Do your thing, Fearow," Ammarzily ordered in a thick ent before following with a series of whistles. His nonchnt tone betrayed him¡ªTemperance knew focused eyes when she saw them. It was a front to frustrate his opponent, but he was taking her seriously, just as he would every trainer facing him. Fearowcroaked, each movement of its mighty, scarred wings kicking up more and more poison, anddovetoward Scizor. The bird was not fast so much as it wasmighty. It was like looking at a freight truck barrel at you on a road. There was a sudden sense of inevitableness that made you want to freeze up. Cecilia took a deep breath and lifted up a hand, her movements smooth like the wind. "Scizor steps forward in a dance." It would be Swords Dance; it would be Agility¡ªbut that was not what Temperance was focused on. Her voice aplished three things. One, its tonescreamednarration, somehow being fast enough to fit the rhythm of battle, but slow enough for the audience to parse and relish every word; two it was loud¡ªlouder than Cecilia had ever used to speak and it overwhelmed the ears and made people focus onherandmanded attention with an almost maic pull, every syble sharp and deliberate, like the cracking of a whip; three¡ªand perhaps it was a little too early for this¡ªit carried an undeniable sense of purpose, as though her voice alone was an instrument in the battle itself. Scizor moved graciously through the muk; his wings buzzed and he danced, each movement a deliberate motion to make him move faster and faster as his edges sharpened and dripped with a metallic gleam that seemed almost alive. "Each step builds momentum," Cecilia continued, her voice rising in tempo to match Scizor''s elerating movements. "His edges gleam, sharper than a de, preparing to strike with unmatched precision¡ª" Just in time, she finished. Fearow descended from the sky like a thunderbolt, a streak of brown and cream against the air. Its wings stretched wide, each feather sharp and bristling with power, cutting through the air with a forceful whoosh that made the crowd instinctively flinch. The bird''s talons gleamed with a wicked power¡ªit screeched when Scizor shed across its legs, but it did not relent and grabbed him by the shoulders, carrying him up into the air. Scizor struggled, but Fearow''s grip was irond, and beams of light erupted from his body powerful enough to burn the winged beast''s plumage. His wings red with Bug Buzz until Fearow repositioned its grip and tore half of them apart. The Orrean trainer called for a Drill Peck, but Cecilia paid him no mind. "Scizor panics," she said, slightly breathless, and through her voice that rivals Fearow''s screaming, her steel type ceases his thrashing and senseless attacks, "but he sees how high he is, he tastes the crisp air, understands the cost of freedom¡ª" Ammar scoffed as his Fearow still dominated Scizor in the air. "Kid,what the fuck are you on about?" "¡ªand he isunbound." Scizor''s w shone with a brilliant light blue, the color of the sky, and Temperance was overtaken by a feeling she could not name. What it felt to look at an endless expanse and to realize howrge the world was. Pressurized air swirled around the two Pokemon until it exploded and separated them. Fearow let out an annoyed grunt, having been far less hurt than its opponent in the exchange, but¡ª Two-winged, torn apart, and shredded, poison prating the tiny openings in his ting, Scizor flew. "Sharpened and quickened through his dance, Scizor fights to be free. Close Combat." The Scizor species couldn''t fly. It wasimpossible. Yet with a little help from a Flying Gem and having trained their control, they were defying the odds. Ammar''s eyes widened, but he was undeterred, knowing his Fearow would win in a battle up close through its bulk and brutality. And yet. Scizorfought. Each part of his body was a weapon, a de, a blunt object; each strike was apanied by a burst of wind that shattered bone or pierced feathers and thick skin. The Fearow shrieked, its wings beating furiously to maintain altitude as Scizor clung to it, his metallic ws locking around its slender neck. The two spiraled through the air, a violent dance of desperation for liberation and violence that left Scizor''s armor broken and his body lit ame. Two wings were not enough to regte his inner temperature. Cecilia''s narration grew faster, more desperate, morehungry, and Temperance noticed that even the battle''smentator had stopped speaking¡ªnot that she had ever focused on her. Her girlfriend''s voice was notmanding Scizor as much as it was now in lock and step with his actions. She knew him so well that she simply knew what he would do next, and whatever she said nearly always was exactly what Scizor was doing in the moment. Trainer or not, coordinator or not, one would be a fool not to understand the amount of practice; of blood, sweat, and tears; oftrustneeded to achieve such a feat. The struggle between the two Pokemonlookedclose to the untrained eye, until it simply was not. Using its beak as its implement, Fearow stabbed right into a minute opening in Scizor''s burning flesh on his lower abdomen, and just like that, it was over. The flying type croaked, creating an updraft to keep itself still and gather back its strength. Some bootleg version of Roost still useable in the air? Cuts and bruises slowly healed, leaving behind dried blood, yet not wiping the mild exhaustion. Ammar whistled, and he stared at Scizor''s crumpled body copsing amidst the swamp. "Not bad, not bad." "What follows an unbounding, the first experience with freedom, is usually a flight too close to the sun." Cecilia ignored him, instead instantly releasing her second Pokemon¡ªher fierce Hydreigon. He appeared onto the field a silent killer, his six narrow eyes facing the Fearow with a surprising amount of intelligence. Yet, Temperance knew, he was restrained. "Always wanted myself one of those," Ammar quipped, "Fearow." He nudged his head forward and whistled once more, this one more grave and long-winded. Fearow closed his eyes and began to glow and its feathers stood utterly still in the constant wind. "Hydreigon," Cecilia started; beforehand, her tone had been wondrous andwanting, but now it evolved to what could only be described as restrained joy, almost terrified, "looks upon the world and finds himself with more power at his fingertips than he has ever expected to own, and so, decides to test its limits and experiment." Already, power had been surging in all of Hydreigon''s throats. One, the central head, cold and blue, its fangs tipped with a cold that smoked amidst the noxious fumes. A beam of ice burst out, but it hovered right in front of his face, growing more and more intense as frost spread among the swamp. The other two heads burned with opposing fires. On the left, a deep, searing red glow radiated from its jaws, embers falling like dying stars. The air around it shimmered and warped, suffused with blistering heat. mes licked hungrily at its fangs, twisting and writhing like serpents desperate to be unleashed. Each breath sent tiny bursts of fire cracking into the swampy air, the moisture hissing into steam on contact. The right head burned differently¡ªa savage, wild orange with flecks of golden yellow that sparked and danced in chaotic patterns. The fire there seemed alive, almost feral, snapping at the air as if impatient for release. The three orbsbined together into a ying and yang, cold and hot, opposites that had no right to stick together, yet were subjugated by draconic energy peppered throughout its structure.Just like they''d practiced. "Do you know what it feels like to be freed yet feel trapped at the same time? To still feel the ghost of the chains wrapped around your ankles despite the wind blowing through your hair?" Cecilia whispered, with Temperance hanging on her every word. "It feels like this.Frostburn." Ammar, who had seemed content to buy time until now, whistled to his Fearow, and the flying type''s eyes snapped open right as the orb left Hydreigon''sbined maws. It did not rush forth at speeds that would distort the air, yet it turned the battlefield into an incoherent mesh of fire and ice and poison and, and, and. A piercing cry sliced through the chaos. Fearow''s wings snapped open with a force that sent a gust of wind rippling through the swamp, scattering steam and ash and cold like dry leaves in a storm. For a moment, it hovered midair, the powerful beats of its wings holding it steady. Then its entire body tensed, talons curling and beak pointing forward like a spear. The atmosphere around it began to shift¡ªan invisible pressure radiated outward, pulling the battlefield''s fractured elements into its orbit. There was an unimaginable focus in its eyes, like it could see things that it never had. Fearowunched itself forward in a burst of speed that was almost deafening, the sound like a thunderp tearing through the air. Its trajectory was direct, unyielding, and terrifyingly precise, cutting through the mesh of fire and ice with the defiance of a creature that refused to be caged by chaos. The move was rarely seen, but it was known by all because of how iconic it was.Giga Impact. Fearow tore through the orb that had grown to twice its size, and it exploded in a mixture of steam and vapor that suddenly expanded andexplodedamidst the barrier. Temperance could not see the results, though she heard Amber shriek, remembering she was not alone. Her breath hitched in her throat aseverythingslowly dissipated. The mist, debris, mes, and everything you could think of. Hydreigon was skewered by Fearow''s beak like a Magikarp, blood pouring out of his chest with half of his body submerged in the remains of the poisonous bog. Each breath came out as a pathetic wheeze that betrayed that one of his lungs had been punctured. They were wet, weak, and ufortable to listen to. Fearow too, had taken punishment. Not only was it more skin than feathers, covered in burns and frostbite, but the talons that once gripped with terrifying strength now flexed weakly against the muddy ground, their tips coated in a thinyer of frost that ked away with each futile attempt to rise. Yet it managed to remove and open its beak regardless, and a thin Ice Beam finished Hydreigon off; the dragon went limp in the poison. That was the thing about Ammar, apparently. Heramped upinstead of slowing down. "That sure was anti-climactic for your little show," Ammar taunted with a shit-eating grin. Cecilia''s arms went limp when she recalled the dragon, but Temperance could tell she was hiding a smile. This was even better than what she''d wanted. "He was given too much too soon, and in his confusion, failed to achieve anything at all." "Roost," the Orrean ordered. He seemingly did not care for switching; he trusted his partner could pull this through no matter what. You could see it in his eyes. A bond a decade old, or perhaps even older than that. Shared scars and death stared in the eye countless times between the two of them. Fearow slowly pulled itself from the muk and began to glow. "Atta girl." The swamp quaked and was utterly destroyed, with upturned earth and rocks below having mixed with the liquid and turned much of the arena to hard ground. Enough to release one of hernd-bound Pokemon if she so wished¡ªnot that she had many of those. Slowking could fly on his barriers, Golurk on rockets, and only Toxicroak¡ª Cecilia grabbed her final Pokeball and prepared herself for the third and final act. "You fail again and again. Countless times until you wonder if life was better before you realized the vastness of the world and how overwhelming it all is." Talonme shrieked in the air as Cecilia threw her Pokeball the highest she''d ever done¡ªit went on and fell back behind her ramp. "Or," she said, tone rising,"Or,"it was feverish now, almost in reverence of flight. Madness, "you can embrace it," Cecilia continued, her voice rising with fervor, almost trembling with the weight of her words. "You can let it consume you, let it carry you higher and higher, until the fear, the doubt, the failures¡ªthey''re all specks beneath your wings." Talonme formed a sleek silhouette of red and white against the sky. She soared with a cry that seemed to tear through the swamp''s stagnant atmosphere, her wings cut clean through the haze of frost and the remnants of battle below. Ammar whistled as Talonme sped up, spinning around the battlefield until she''d created a veritable tornado that seemed to bounce off of Fearow every time it got close.Brute or not, their control is still excellent,Temperance thought to herself. "These failures are all learned lessons, mind you," Cecilia added, "But Talonme wishes she could stop fearing an inevitable fall, and thus¡ª" Fearowjumpedin the air, rising with a ragged screech as it hungered to destroy, destroy, destroy Talonme; she was one third its size, able to be torn apart with a single swipe of its talon. "¡ªshe finally understands what it means to soar." The battle began in earnest, the air alive with the sh of wingbeats and shrill cries. Scorching winds conjured by Talonme''s fiery wings were countered by cold drafts, heavy and oppressive, generated by Fearow''s own power. Cecilia spoke so quickly, stumbling over her words, but it was halfintentional. Passion, joy, and revtion were frantic, and so she would be as well.Brave Bird¡ªno, Acrobatics! She uses ming Feathers and, and¡ªit was never-ending, and each strike brought moreughter as Talonme proved too quick to get fatally hit. Fearow couldnd a few cuts and grazes here and there, but it had moved on to using Uproar instead. It warmed Temperance''s heart to see Cecilia this way. Weeks ago, when they had first met and she had analyzed her girlfriend''s battles, it was not just her battling style that was boring, but herself, for she barely emoted at all. She was not a part of the battlewithher Pokemon, but merely a spectator watching from beyond a window. Quiet. Passive. "Drawing on her speed, Talonme banks hard to the right, mes trailing from her wings in a fiery arc!" Cecilia screamed. Talonme climbed higher, the sun at her back, forcing Fearow to follow her into the blinding light. For a moment, it seemed to work; therger bird hesitated, its sharp eyes blinking against the re. Talonme seized the opening, diving like aet with a me Charge turned re Blitz, her body encased in fire as she mmed into Fearow''s side as her body gleamed with metal and she generated a shockwave¡ª A sharp whistle. Mistake. Fearow absorbed the impact with a guttural screech, twisting its body mid-air to catch Talonme, its ws still weakened from the thermal shock wrought by Hydreigon, but still able to rival the fire type''s strength. Therger birdshed out with its talons, catching one of Talonme''s legs in a crushing grip. A sharp cry of pain escaped her as the two birds locked together, tumbling through the sky in a violent spiral. Fearow''s talons clenched tighter, pulling Talonme closer as its wings red and fire overtook them, stabilizing their descent. Talonme retaliated, her smaller talons snapping forward to grasp Fearow''s legs in turn. The struggle became a deadly aerial waltz; they were intertwined together, struggling for domination as they stumbled toward the earth and wind turned to battering rams powerful enough to bend metal and sharpened knives that could cut through stone. Yet Fearow''s legs went limp. Right before they hit the ground. Talonme red her wings wide, straining against gravity with a final burst of strength. She pulled up sharply, her body bloodied body trembling as she skimmed mere inches above the dirt, a trail of scorched earth marking where the tips of her feathers had grazed the ground. Fearow hit the earth with a thunderous crash behind her, its massive body rolling to a halt, limbs sprawled in the dirt, unmoving save for the faint rise and fall of its chest. Temperance couldn''t believe it. A story in three acts, each Pokemon representing a single character that resonated with her. Far from wless, but at the very least executed correctly¡ªthe audience erupted into cheers despite the fact that Cecilia hadn''t won. Ammar let out a pensive ''huh'' as he recalled Fearow and released a Krookodile without missing a beat on a patch of less-poisoned mud. Temperance noticed a little gasp at the sight of the ground type, but Cecilia had been ready for it. The results were already obvious, but she''d won in everyone''s hearts. Krookodile made quick work of Talonme, using the earth as a means to hit a sky-bound target. The attempts themselves were clumsy, but they exploded with scorching mud knitted with darkened tendrils that seemed to seek out Talonme. The flying type eventually fell back to earth. "It''s important to nt your feet on the ground and to remind yourself of where you''vee from, sometimes," Cecilia said before she bowed to the audience. "Thank you." She quickly went to pick up Talonme''s Pokeball¡ªshe''d gotten a little carried away there¡ªand recalled the flying type before leaving. Kael, Cassandra, and Ronaldo all spoke of her achievements and praised her performance, but Amber was more restrained. As if she were focused on something else entirely. Temperance hadn''t been paying attention to her enough to see if she''d closed her eyes or not, but she seemed to be doingokay. Amber looked away, then at Temperance, and then away again, like she didn''t know where to look. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something, uh, on my birthday?" "Sure thing, Ambs," Temperance answered with a slight smile. She was a good kid. Kind of made you want to take off her hat and ruffle her hair a bit. Technically, she was a few months older than Cecilia, but it was just the way she acted¡­ "Let''s get going, shall we?" "Let''s." Temperance checked the time for her phone. Grace Pastel should have been finishing one of her battles right about now. She was going to try to see her not because she wanted to confront her, but because she wanted to understand how that girl had captured Cecilia''s heart and still owned it to this day; she might have told Temperance to stoppretendingto be Grace, but Temperance was certain she still thought of her during their nights together¡ªand by the Legendaries, that was frustrating now that she''d gotten a taste of Cece''s true affection. With how famous Grace was, it''d be easy to keep track of her whereabouts online. Really, she just wanted to observe. It would be alone, of course. She would not subject Cecilia to such torment. "Cassandra, do me a favor, will you?" ¡ª The battlefield before Maylene shimmered with gold. No, itwasgold. She''d never seen this Pokemon before¡ªGholdengo, it was called. It looked quite cheerful for a ghost, even if everything it touched turned to solid gold. A flurry of vines shot out from Angel, whipping through the air with precision as they sought to ensnare Gholdengo. The golden figure dodged with an almost whimsical ease, its body turning to shining ribbons as it weaved between each appendage. Spores and the power of the sun exploded from their tips, and Gholdengo let out a pained metallic chime before the golden ribbons reformed atop a rock it had also twisted in its image. From its perch, Gholdengo raised its thumb, flicking a coin with casual ease. The small, gleaming piece tore through the air, breaking the sound barrier with a deafening crack before mming deep into Angel''s hide. The impact left a jagged, golden wound, and Angel staggered, his vines momentarily faltering in tandem with the ghost''sugh. "Yeah, it''s over," Nia whispered beside Maylene. "Surprised she didn''t bring out Tyranitar¡ªnot that it would have made a difference." "She''s having fun," Maylene grouched. She still couldn''t help but grind her teeth. It wasn''t a battle Grace hade in expecting to win, given she was fighting Jamie Pearce. Already, she''d lost her Electivire and ydol in this fight and had made use of her one switch while Pearce still had his Gholdengo raring to go with a bunch of unknown Pokemon from Gr and Paldea in his pocket. Even then, Grace looked like she was having the time of her life. She was ying Intrepid Explorer this time¡ªhell, she''d even bought thecutestcostume, hat and all¡ªand of course, she was decked out in a Poketch Watch and their logo on her back and front. Gholdengo had been a happy little ident in that regard; now she could pretend she''de here to loot and use the ghost for her own greed. A fun story that would end with a human''s hubris defeated, Maylene supposed. It wasn''t the end of the world. This was only her first battle; she''d just been unlucky to draw Pearce first. Candice shrugged. "She put up a good fight! Aubri''s gonna have her work cut out for her if she wants to win," she nonchntly chimed in. "Who do you think takes it between the two of ''em, Nia?" "Pfft, could go either way." The grass type Gym Leader leaned in as Tangrowth this time took a flurry of golden coins. Nearly all of his body was covered in a thick, golden crust, now. "Sr de!I''m not leaving without any treasure!" Grace mored with a stomp. Light shimmered through the gold, and Angel exploded with light, his vines glowing with a radiant green as he surged upward. He pushed himself off the ground, his hulking mass surprisingly agile, dodging a well-timed Shadow Ball that swept low, kicking up a cloud of golden dust where it struck. The attack had been aimed to pin him down, but Angel wasn''t ready to be outmaneuvered again. His vines shot outward in all directions, still seeking purchase. The golden terrain beneath him, reshaped by Gholdengo''s touch, gave no grip, but Angel found his anchor in the twisted remnants of a once-tall tree now frozen in gold. Using the leverage, he swung himself forward, closing the distance with the elusive steel-ghost. Like a bs, he threw a pair of vines that caught Pearce and his Pokemon off-guard. It wrapped itself around the ghost andtightenedwith swirling darkness. Gholdengo turned them to gold within the second, but the time bought had been enough for a Knock Off to m on the steel type''s head. "Fun''s over," Nia said. Pearce calmly ordered a Metal Sound that made Angel and all of the spectators wince. The grass type recovered just in time to have a point-nk sh Cannon delivered in his gut, and he fell a pile of smoldering vines and gold. "Tangrowth is unable to battle!"the referee bellowed."Victory to Jamie Pearce!" The three Gym Leaders were on their way out as soon as the cheers ended. Grace would need to give her Pokemon to one of the nurse teams waiting in the stadium for her Pokemon to receive the best care avable, given her next fight would be in a couple of hours. Sometimes, it wasn''t fast enough. The system was unfair, but some said it allowed for further strategizing. Either way, with the way the tournament was organized, they didn''t have much of a choice; even if the Conferencested a month, the group stages were weeks of non-stop battling for every participant. Sinnoh had chosen to create a gauntlet both mental and physical for its trainers and Pokemon instead of the many alternatives avable. Even as Gym Leaders, they weren''t allowed in the trainer holding room; they had to wait for Grace toe out instead. She was sweaty, still riding the high from that fight despite the fact that she''d gotten utterly crushed. Luckily for them, she wasn''t gettingswarmed, just nodding and greeting the people who hade along as fans to cheer for her. Maylene had seen a few of them wearing her merch. Her other friends¡ªDenzel, Emilia, and Pauline¡ªhad found her first, it seemed. Marley was preparing for her own fight, and Lauren''s group had been going on for days, with Mira going to every single fight. "Guys! That Gholdengo wascrazy,weren''t they? I thought he''d bring out someone else, but it yed so perfectly! And I learned a lot!" Grace blurted out as soon as she was within earshot. "It''s unfortunate that he doesn''t have many videos of his battles out! I bet I could take Gholdengo down if I had another try¡ª" "Rx, okay?" Gardenia said, patting her on the shoulder. "You''ve got another oneing in a few hours, so you''ve got to calm down and rest your mind." Denzel scratched the back of his head and nced between Candice and Nia. He must not have been used to hanging out with them still, even if they''d met a few times during the Conference already. "Heard a lot of stuff about that. Lots of horror stories about people throwing or not having the right Pokemon ready for a fight." "Sheesh. Sounds terrible¡­" Emi muttered. Grace had said there was something off about her. "Oh yeah, the group stages gave me aheadache." Candice gripped her forehead as if she could recall the exact pain. "I was fried by the end and lost a bunch of fights I could have won. Luckily I''d won enough by that time that it didn''t matter." Grace flexed her non-existent muscles¡ªokay, maybe that was too mean¡ªand puffed out her chest. "I can¡­probablytake it. I''m excited!" She turned toward Maylene. "Maymay, what''d you think?" Grace looked at her with those yearning, Lillipup eyes she always made, and Maylene couldn''t help but adjust her cor. "You wereawesome, obviously. And Cass has been improving so much I''m surprised at how well they did." Grace kissed Maylene on the cheek; her heart felt warm and her stomach fuzzy. "Tell them when they''re out of the Center; it''ll make their daying from someone else. They''re already too used topliments from me." "I''ll tell them too!" Candice cheered. "Should we go and eat lunch or what? Double date?" "Candice,pleasedon''t be so exclusionary." Gardenia pulled her back to reality and shook her head with a silent sigh. Then, she leaned in and whispered, "plus, Cynth called us over. I think she needs help withmunity outreach or something like that." No one but Maylene had caught that, though she already knew about this. "You kids feel free to hang out together¡ª" "I was thinking, we could go the two of us, right?" Grace asked. "Unless it bothers you guys." "You go ahead and have fun, gremlin. I''ll hold down the fort." Pauline gave her a thumbs-up. "Uh, right," Maylene said. "It''s pizza today, right?" "Legendaries, you''lllove it," Candice yelled a little too loudly. Nia spoke up. "To be honest, I don''t really see why people like it so much¡ª" "Don''t listen to her; she''s a deviant!" Candice cut in. Pauline blinked, and something on her face shattered. She nearly gasped. "Wait, she doesn''t enjoypizza¡ª" "I just think it''s not the best thing in the world." The conversation continued for a few minutes until the group dispersed. There was still a little ball of nervousness in Maylene''s stomach at the thought of eating something that deviated from the norm, and her throat desperately tried to get her to sayno, but then she stared at Grace and saw her take off her silly little hat and wipe the sweat off her brow before she realized Maylene had been looking at her, and she beamed like the sun. Everything was so wonderful with her. There was just¡ª Just the guilt. Hidden so deep within that even her girlfriend couldn''t wrestle that out of her. It was a terrible, terrible thing she''d done, and while Maylene would never give up Grace for anything in the world, it still hurt to think about Cecilia.She''d helped Maylene with her father and her Gym so much, and what had she gotten for it?Nothing.Worsethan nothing. A broken heart. Grace grabbed Maylene''s hand, and they made their way toward a Kalosian pizza ce up in the hills. Maylene had told Grace that anything they could both tell Cecilia right now would most likely just make things worse. The Unovan most likely did not want an apology or for Maylene to grovel at her feet, but that left a bad taste in the Gym Leader''s mouth. She shielded her eyes from the morning sun and rolled her shoulders¡ªGrace was looking right at her.Don''t freeze. Keep walking. Look at her and smile.Her girlfriend sheathed the daggers that were her eyes, and they softened within a second. Arceus, she was perceptive. But no. Maylene was not going to see Grace''s ex, especially without informing her first. It would be incredibly stupid of her to create drama, even if she was being selfish. After all, had Grace not stood there and taken her¡­euppance, she had called it? So why? Why in the world wasTemperancein the restaurant when they arrived?
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 342 Chapter 342
A/N: Been busy with exams and papers, but I''m back. CHAPTER 342 Like thunder, adrenaline coursed through my veins, each drop a cold reminder that the good times could onlyst so long before the other shoe dropped and happiness turned out only to be a drop in a bucket. Shortly after sitting at our table, I noticed her in the room, legs crossed as she browsed through her phone without a care in the world. Temperance¡ªDragonair, Whimsicott¡­ Legendaries, what else?¡ªwas as striking as I remembered. I''d only seen her in real life once during one of Emilia''s contests. Tall, long-legged and pretty enough to be a model, with how every part of her face seemed to be perfect. Her tinum blonde hair framed it very well. It was difficult to exin the way she was¡­ arranged. It was as if every inch, every minute detail had been meticulously ced to appear wless; it was like looking at a painting instead of a person. Cold and impersonal. That was just her physical appearance¡ªher eyes and bodynguage were human. Sunny and feeling. My mouth felt dry, and my tongue felt awkward in my mouth. I clenched my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering, and Maylene touched my arm like it was made of ss. "We can leave; there are other pizza ces around." She discreetly nced toward Temperance, then back at me. My skin felt fragile. I wanted Buddy wrapped around it. "No need to stick around." There was a restrained chitter in the back of my head. Mesprit couldn''t be less obvious if they tried¡ªSorry, I heard. When Maylene noticed my silence, she grabbed my hand. "Grace?" "Sorry. I think we should stay." Quiet, then words. "I hate it when you look like this," she said. Her fingers were warm. Around us, the pizzeria buzzed with a warm and lively energy. The crackle and roar of the wood-fired oven added a rustic charm, the faint aroma of charred crust and bubbling cheese wafting through the air. Bursts ofughter and excitement, theorizing about the Conference, squealing at how good the food was or a cool moment in one of the countless battles taking ce. "Do what?" Maylene traced the ridges of my knuckles, letting her finger settle in each groove. "Disallow yourself to avoid a painful experience ''cause you think you deserve to get hurt." I tried looking at Temperance¡ªI just couldn''t bear to for more than a few seconds, as if she were the sun. It was not jealousy; there was no longer much of that. It was mostly guilt and fear. How much did she know? What horrible things must Cecilia have told her about me? No, Cecilia wouldn''t. But would she?Who cares what she thinks,a small part of me wanted to say, but then came remembrance of all the wrong I''d done. But I was also a little fine. It didn''t feel like I was back in Cor killing grunts in the cold, or in a battle of wits with Rood and Mallory. It felt like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin into a dark ce nobody could see how dirty I was. It was something I hadn''t felt in a while, even when speaking to Cecilia herself in that Item Store. Maybe it was because¡ªbecause she wasCecilia, and this was a stranger who possibly knew everything about me. As if she''d shone a piercing light into the shadows, and the creatures lurking there sofortable in the dark scattered, their scrabbling ws and frantic movements betraying their panic. "We can stick around," I repeated slowly. Noticing theing protest, I added, "remember when we met again after all those months and I let you yell at me because I deserved it?" Maylene''s hand clenched around my own, and her body tensed. "That¡ª" I took off my Explorer hat, cing it on myp. "We can''t deny it. We can pretend it''s not there all we want, pat ourselves on the back at how happy we are¡ªand we are." I bit the inside of my mouth and leaned against a palm, hair slipping down my arm. "But it was ultimately the greatest betrayal of a person I love¡­ loved¡ªlove," I settled, "but not like you." It was different now that so much time had passed. Not fading per se, but transformed into something that barely remained romantic. "So if her new girlfriend wants to yell at me, then I''ll take it." "...she could say things that could impact your career," Maylene leaned in to whisper. "Yeah. She could have all along already, but she didn''t," I muttered back. "I think it''d be fine." "I know, I''m just worried about you." I smiled at her, slightly tired. "Yeah. Me too." A waiter came up to us soon after this to offer us water, and we spent some time perusing the menu. Maylene settled on a ssic margarita pizza we''d share while she got a side sd and I got mozzare sticks. Obviously, she judged me for the choice, but it was more her being astonished that I was gettingmorecheese. Every so often, I''d look at Temperance, but she didn''t even look to be staring at me. Had I just been paranoid? No. Having her eat lunch at the exact same spot I was at the same time? It would be too much of a coincidence for this story. Whatever she was preparing, I needed to be ready to receive it with an open heart. ¡ª Hm. Temperance hadn''t really known what to expect whening here to observe. She''d heard so much about Grace Pastel from Cecilia''s mouth¡ªperhaps too much, at times. An idea of the girl had formed in her head like she''d been spinning yarn endlessly, each story and detail adding to the bundle until it became a big, fuzzy ball of impressions. Temperance sliced through her primavera pizza with her knife and fork and observed the girl out of the corner of her eye. For one, she was smaller than expected, not in height, but in presence, at least at first nce. The way Cece spoke about her was akin to a giant one could neither ignore nor look away from. She spoke of an aura that was frankly not there. Second, Temperance had not expected Grace Pastel to be so unbothered by her presence besides a few nces her way that had faded away as lunch went on. It was somewhat frustrating, how she was so uncaring andughed with Leader Maylene. They teased each other with food, made Lillipup eyes at each other, and frankly did not appear to care whatsoever for her. It wasn''t as if she''d expected them to get up in arms about her mere presence, but a little bit of emotion beyond surprise would have been nice. Temperance did not consider herself a bitter or vengeful person, yet for Cecilia, she would have loved to see Grace squirm in her seat. Just to give her a little jolt for the amount of hurt she had dealt to Cece and how the Unovan struggled to even connect to people now because of her besides her two old friends. She had not offered her broken heart to reforge connections anew with the endless people Temperance suggested, using her departure to Unova as an excuse when they both knew it was because she would rather keep someone at arm''s length or destroy existing rtionships because she thought they would eventually throw her away in a fit of betrayal. Grace wasughing. Enjoying herself. Footage of her battle on Temperance''s phone showed her fooling around as if she didn''t even care for the results of her tournament. No one had abandoned her, no one knew what she had done, and besides the speed bump that was her controversy with the way she obtained her eighth badge that fed into the nepotism usations, the little blonde was on her way up in the world. If it were up to Temperance, she would have leaked everything and further obstructed Grace Pastel''s career. But it wasn''t up to her. Cecilia would never forgive her. Bless her heart, she was kinder than she had a right to be. Temperance blinked. Her pizza was getting cold, and she''d only eaten half of it. The utensils'' metal was chilly around her digits, and her hands felt numb. She hadn''t expected to be the one getting worked up visiting the girl. Emotions were something to be tamed and controlled unless she was alone or with Cecilia. A well-ced sh of anger or stream of tears had won her countless contests when in line with the theme of her performance. Why did her fingers shake so? Why did she find herself hyper-focusing on the pores on her skin, the unevenness in one of her nails, the shape her mouth made as she chewed? Yes. Because simmering dislike or hatred toward another could never stray too far from her own self for long. Yet she was used to living like this, thus Temperance finished her pizza without a word orint. As she inserted her card into the payment terminal a waitress had brought her, the coordinator found her eyes meeting Grace''s for the first time¡ªdifferent. This was different. There was depth to the green not seen before; sunlight filtering through a forest canopy. A certain intensity that the girl could seemingly turn on and off, an unsettling aversion to blinks, and maybe, just maybe, the slight edge of a well-maintained de against your neck. Where had this been? This¡­ re. Was it a re? Subdued to leave a ce for love for her girlfriend during their date, perhaps? "Thank you for eating at Le Four en mme!" The waitress shook Temperance out of her daze and grabbed the terminal. "We hope to see you again during the Conference!" "Of course," Temperance said, making sure her voice did not stutter. "Would you be so kind as to direct me to the bathroom?" ¡ª "Stop looking at her like that." My stare did not drift away from Temperance for a second as she calmly paced herself to the bathroom, even as my eyes burned. "Like what?" "Like that girl owes you something," Maylene said, finishing her sd. She''d quite loved pizza, and it had been really funny when she''d tried worming herself out of asking to eat here again a few times before the month ended. "It probably unsettled her¡ªand you know, shedoesn''tactually owe you anything." Looking back at my girlfriend, I answered,"she does. She can''t just show up here, look at me, and then donothing." I blinked away the sunspots in frustration, running one of my hands over Mimi, who was a metallic ring around my index finger. asionally, the steel type had sent vibrations up my finger to soothe me¡ªwhen they hadn''t been begging to eat the forks. "It''s like she doesn''t even care about the shape of things!" "Grace, you''re basically asking to be emotionally scathed so you can feel bad about it afterward because you think it''d be a way to bnce out the bad we did." I paused mying retort. Sometimes, Maylene could untangle things and put them in such a simple phrase. "That is¡ªkind of right. But¡ª" "What we did is already done. It can''t be undone no matter who you let yell at you. At us," she finished after a short pause. "What if she really dide here by pure coincidence, and then looked at you once or twice because she didn''t expect to run into her girlfriend''s ex?" Maylene leaned forward on the table. "What if you''re just being paranoid?" "...I dunno." "Look, this is the best-case scenario," she gently pressed. "Feels like an itch I can''t scratch." Or like a loop meant to be linked together that would never be tied. A broken circle, so maddening and taunting in its simple resolution. "But you''re¡ªright?" Teeth mped down on my lips. "Sorry, I said it, but I really can''t bring myself to believe it. But I can try." She was right, anyway. If Temperance really wanted nothing to do with me, then I''d look terribly nosey following her into a public bathroom for no reason and even more of an asshole than I already was. "Thank you for trying." A smile so gentle made it nearly all worth it. Nearly. "Let''s get the check¡ªand Grace?" "Hm?" "Don''t let this cloud your mind," Maylene said. "Youcanget out of groups. You can. You just can''t be thinking about anything else; immerse yourself in the fight, and you''ll win." I nodded. The fuel had not run out yet, and hopefully, it never would. ¡ª Knuckles, white. Face, strained. Foot, tapping. What was she doing here? Temperance stared herself down in the mirror, ignoring blemishes and imperfections as best she could. Had she not run here, she would have let emotions get the better of her and confronted Grace Pastel in public. The ensuing drama would no doubt have sullied her Conference run, but it would have rippled and harmed herself, as well as Cecilia. And what of their rtionship when it inevitably leaked? Maybe a curious eye had noticed all of the exchanged stares and was already writing a Chatter post about it. All she''de here for was to observe and sate her curiosity, yet she''de close to letting her wings burn up in the sun. Temperance wasn''t thinking right¡ªshe''d almost been drawn into a confrontation by that girl''s simple look. Forherto be provoked so easily? Something about her eyes¡ªsomething about the way she looked felt like falling into a deep, dark well you''d never climb out of if you started ying her game. Legendaries, she''d gotten unsettled and angry at a girl ying dress-up in a kid''s costume. "You are master of your own destiny," she mumbled under her breath. "Do not get drawn into meaningless drivel and keep honing your craft. You are as close to perfection as anyone will ever get¡ªand if you aren''t yet, then eventually, you will be." A mantra repeated a thousandfold throughout her teenage years, one she had not spoken out loud since the beginning of her new rtionship. Cecilia¡­ Temperance would tell her when she came back, though she would omit the part about tracking her down. A little white lie that would not hurt a Cutiefly. The two girls were paying for their meal when Temperance walked out¡ªsplitting the bill. Maylene noticed her first, then Grace noticed Maylene noticing her, or at least that''s what it looked like to the coordinator. Temperance''s eyes twitched when Grace looked at her, and she paced away, leaving the restaurant with her phone in hand. Phones were a woman''s greatest tool. With enough training, it allowed her to look busy or appear unbothered when she was the opposite of that. She sent a text to Cassandra asking her not to speak of this with anyone else and basically ignored her when thirsty for drama as she always was, Cass asked her all of the details of how their meeting had gone down.''It was meaningless'',she answered, avoiding the question,''but at the very least, I satiated my curiosity and learned about her first-hand.'' The truth was, it only left her with more questions she was sure she would never get an answer to. Cecilia''s stories mainly shared Grace''s positives, and her own negatives and how she had screwed things up, ming herself constantly even as a victim of emotional terrorism¡ªArceus, it wasinfuriating.Temperance was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely noticed time pass. Once, she had been in the restaurant, and now, she was in front of her hotel, a towering spire of opulence and service to the wealthy. Cross-armed, her finger tapped endlessly against her elbow during the elevator ride up. Knowing her, Cecilia must have been hard at work workshopping her following battle. Temperance wanted to see her before anyone else. She enjoyed the peace and quiet of their admittedly awful hotel room, away from the activity of Ronaldo''s penthouse he had rented out for the month. An excuse, Temperance knew, to facilitate weaning herself off the group sooner rather thanter. There she was with her Scizor next to her, who had grown to be something of an emotional stabilizer. It was a little odd¡ªmost trainers with a psychic avable often picked that one to forge their closest link. "You took a while," Cecilia said, yet she did not turn from the desk she sat on. Scizor just nodded at her¡ªnot respectfully, but a curt one just to be polite. "How was lunch?" It was difficultnotto think it was being said in an usatory tone. Temperance knew there was no way her girlfriend knew anything yet and that her nerves were ying tricks on her. She knew how Cecilia got when she was angry or usatory. She loomed tall, cornering her despite barely moving a finger, and her eyes narrowed into white slits that could spell doom in Temperance''s heart. "Decent. Feels good to be alone once in a while, and the pizza was okay," Temperance said. She dropped her purse on the bed she had not slept on even once and looked out the window. "Grace was there. She noticed me." Fight, flight or freeze¡ªCecilia was a fighter that would rather see the worldand herselfburn than to deal with a loss save for this particr topic. Temperance cracked each individual finger to fill the dead air and gave some thought to her words while Cece could barely even turn her head in her direction. "You don''t have to worry." For reassurance, the coordinator dragged a chair next to the desk and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend''s waist. "Nothing of note happened. We just¡­ awkwardly stared at each other for a little bit." The Unovan finally got control of her fingers back. She slowly wriggled them over her keyboard, rewinding the video of her next opponent to beginning of one of his Gym Battles¡ªhe was a second year from what Temperance knew. Cecilia gulped, her fists closed and she took a deep breath. "If that was the end of it, then that''s fine." Scizor whirred, a metallic grunt from deep within. "How was she doing? Was she okay? Seeing you?" "Does it matter?" Temperance asked. So much pain, and she still cared.She still cared. "No." Cecilia bitterly smiled, lowering her head slightly. "It does not." A pause followed. "I''m going to go see Cynthia again after my battles this evening, so I might not be avable. Is that okay?" Temperance let out an abominable sound. It was somewhat of a groan, but the attempts to restrain it had allowed it to grow long-winded and high-pitched. No such sound should have evere out of her. "I''d like for us to spend more time together, the two of us." "Hmmm." The long and teasing hum made Temperance''s heart squeeze. Who else would draw that out of her?Who else?Nobody. "Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?" Cecilia let her stew in the warmth of rejection for a few seconds beforeughing. It was deep,manding, and whimsical, andeverything. "Fine." The warmth from her smile spread throughout her body, allowing her to rx and loosen up. "Let''s go out on a date, just the two of us." "What about your battle?" Cecilia closed herptop. "I''m ready." Scizor hissed at her, clearly disagreeing and thinking that there could always bemoreto be done. "Oh,please." Cecilia leaned back into her chair and stretched. "I have the script ready, I have a general knowledge of how Samuel fights, and I have the ultimate weapon at my disposal." The bug type grunted, as if to ask what that was. "Passion so strong even the blistering sun or thoughts of Grace cannot keep me down for long, darling," she triumphantly dered before getting up. Temperance was still sitting, but she enjoyed¡­ seeing her active. One of Cecilia''s hands traced the side of the coordinator''s face, and she leaned down into a kiss Temperance wished was longer. "Let me take you into town and let''s buy each other an outfit. We can theme it to mean something, and we can try to guess what it is. Three strikes." Butterflies were still dancing in Temperance''s stomach as if they were celebrating life itself. "Don''t you need to save¡ª" She was so close. "For you, I''ll do anything." The statement left her a mushy pile of love blended with bliss, barely capable of thought for a moment. It was sweeping, yes, but she had said it so forcefully it was impossible for your breath not to shiver. That lie by omission did not seem so white after all. The guilt, it suddenly consumed her. Crawled out of the butterflies swarming her insides and brought with them a tight knot twisted endless times until it was impossible to unmake save for the magic words that next spilled out of her mouth. "I''m sorry¡ªI hid something." Ashes and poisonced her tongue. "I was¡­ curious. Curious about the history between you and Grace. Curious about if she was as great as you spoke of her¡ªa wless girl who had only been hurt," Temperance sighed. "I followed her. I didn''t talk to her, but¡ªI followed her into the restaurant." Not anger. Not acrimony. Not anguish. Disappointment. You could see it in her eyes despite them being white as snow, in her body that turned from being akin to wound up on a string to ck like a leaderless puppet. She did not stumble back, but Cecilia exhaled through her nose long and hard before she looked at Scizor, and the bug type shook his head, his red tes gleaming under the sun filtering through the window. It was morbid to say, but Cecilia was even more beautiful at that very moment. A broken doll, but a doll nheless, looming a head above her. "Thank you for telling me," she said. "I forgive you." She did not. She clearly did not. "Let''s get going." A flurry of statements followed. "I''m sorry," Temperancemented. "I know." "I won''t do it again." "I hope so." "Do you still love me? Even as awful as I am?" "I do. I must have done something wrong¡ª" Insanity. Temperance gripped her girlfriend by the wrist and dragged her close while Scizor hissed at her. "Listen closely." Why had she done this? Added to the list of people who hurt her, and for what? "My fuck up is not your fault, it is entirely on me." Cecilia nced away¡ªit was difficult to tell."It''s on me,"the coordinator repeated. "Do not let your own head convince you otherwise. You''re a brilliant girl, one who deserves the world, but who has been scorned by it at every turn, and I have added to the pile." "Don''t." "It''s true. We''ve never talked about it in depth, have we? Not since that first night we spent together. I will not force the matter, but listen well, Cecilia. I believe in the strength of the human spirit, that spark that makes the Cynthias of the world. I will not im you to be close to her, or to even understand what that spark it fully, but¡ªthere is a pathid down for you in your homnd, and it starts here, at the Conference. Do not let my mistake squander it. Please." Cecilia waited before answering. "I will not." Her cold hands touched Temperance''s face once more, tracing below her chin. "Iwould not forgive myself for it, nor would my team." Thank God. ¡ª "Challenger? You''ve won." The referee''s word snapped me out of my battle lust, and I realized that I was no longer in a fight. Already, I''d been supporting myself on my knees, sweat clinging to my forehead and tongue parting my lips, ready to see what kind of Pokemon my opponent would bring out next. He''d been a third year, one who seemed to be following the path of slow and steady growth instead of explosive progress, and the battle had been close. 3-2, with only Buddy remaining, by the end. He had yed the role of the cursed weapon very well, draining more and more from the field and myself as he continued being of use. An artifact of some sort found in one of my adventures¡ªgosh, I could not wait to y another role tomorrow! My opponent recalled his Umbreon from the field and left without a word. I somewhat missed the intimacy of smaller tournaments, where trainers shook hands after a battle and sometimes even spoke for a little while. A victory was delicious, yes, and scraping one always got the fire burning high and hot, but this felt so impersonal. Not that I''d expected him to want anything to do with me with how I had tried to cripple his team so he would be at a disadvantage during his next fight. An explorer had to make sure her enemies wouldn''t be able to get back on their feet so she could loot their possessions, after all! Spectators pped, cheered, and a minority of them booed, but I allowed it to wash over me like water off a Ducklett''s back. There was no point getting hung up on things so long as I had a good time. My energy was better spent on things I could affect. That was one loss, one win in my favor, and I''d need to keep that rtively tilting in favor of wins to have a chance out of groups. And there''d be another battle today. Three per day for every trainer until each group finished every fight. Even as I recalled Buddy after some encouraging words, I was raring to go for more. What was this whenpared to the gauntlet that was Cor? Nothing! And this time, it was fun, and there were so many people better than me to learn from and so many of my friends were here and oh, Arceus, had this lunch not happened it would have felt like I''d be on my way to sprouting wings. Yet it had. I couldn''t shake the edge off. My eyes darted at every corner seeking to find Temperance whenever I was on my own. There was no doubt within me that without Maylene to stop me, I''d have confronted her in that restaurant. Had shee up to me while alone, I would not have cut it short or run off. It was an uncontroble vice that had me realize something about myself that was somewhat terrifying. Instead of sticking around with my friends or girlfriend, or studying my next opponent, I allowed myself time to think. I would tell Maymay after, of course, but it had been a while since it had just been me and one of my family members. Sweetheart and Princess were in one of the League''s specialized Centers given that I''d used them in the battle, and so were the Pokemon I had used in the fight against Pearce. Cass¡ªwho had been healed from the previous battle¡ªBuddy, and of course, Mimi, remained. Sunshine too, but he was often asleep at this time during the afternoon, and I didn''t want him to hear me whine constantly. I''d tell him about itter. The Lily of the Valley Ind held a singr river that flowed from the mountain''s peak all the way down to the ocean, a cascade and violent flow of water that was impossible to swim through for anyone but water types or Pokemon well ustomed to these conditions. There had been a few trainers hanging about¡ªthose who like me could never stay away from the still of the wilderness for long. Without Princess to fly me up here, I''d needed to rely on Cass, but even so, my legs were sore from how much I moved around during battles, putting every ounce of energy I had into my explorer character, but thishike. It was good physical activity, so at least Maymay would be proud. I allowed myself a few seconds to think about her cute face and smiled. The sound of the water rushing by¡ªLegendaries, it was so loud, roaring like a beast that never tired as water crashed into stone and created foam. But there was a certain calm to it as well. How it had flowed this path or something simr for hundreds or maybe thousands of years, and how it would continue long after you were dead. Afortable consistency, maybe. However, even it would end eventually. Like everything else. "Cass," I asked, voice cutting through the noise. "How long do you think this river willst for?" Under my explorer hat, the psychic''s eyes lit up, and they continuously mumbled ''calcting'' until they suddenly stopped.Error.I am not sufficiently equipped in potamology to answer this,they levitated a bit of water, crushing it into a tight ball until it heated up and turned to steam in the air,but it would depend on numerous factors such as such as the river''s flow rate, sedimentposition, surrounding vegetation, and even the seasonal variations affecting water levels and temperatures. Apologies for failing. Out of the water, Buddy poked his head out. His red, glinting eyes stared silently at me, and he remained still even in the strong currents. Water froze at the edges of his body. "Do you think we could, like, put asting mark somewhere here?" I asked. "Obviously it wouldn''tst forever, but maybe we could make it stick for a few decades. Hell, how about a hundred years?!" Cassianus red like a machine.I''m afraid that would go against the Wilderness Conservation Act,st updated in the year 2009, my King, and the Sinnohan government does not recognize your legal immunity as a monarch.A sad, defeated tune flowed through the air.It was a nice idea, however. I kicked dirt into the river and pouted. "Hmph. Stupidws and their stupid reasonings." That was an exaggeration. I knew, of course, that without this particrw, our wilderness would be damaged far more than I could probably imagined, by corporations, local governments, and snotty trainers like me. With a saddened smile, I lowered myself and hugged my knees. Mimi reformed their body and crawled up my hand with a worried mewl. Buddy, meanwhile, saw right through me. He calmly stated that I was ovepensating for something and that there was obviously an issue on my mind. When I hesitated¡ªwhy even hesitate, when I''de here to talk about it?¡ªhe blew a small stream of cold water on my head. With a squeal, I fell back andughed. "Stupid." His eyes narrowed with a yful murderous stare, and he called me stupid back. I believe we''re all stupid in the grand scheme of the universe, considering the forces at y,Cass said. Mimi chimed. I snorted, picking the steel type up and cing them on my head. "How bad is it, you think," I mumbled, "that I miss being in danger?" Mimi screeched, tail sparking with electricity; Cassianus started to list the numerous ways safety was preferable to crisis after crisis; Buddy''s eyes darkened, and this time not in a joking manner. "It''s not like I''m going to seek it out. I''d never do that." It would be an utter betrayal of who''d I''d be and cause immense pain to the people I loved. "It''s just¡ªyou know. I saw Temperance today¡ªCecilia''s new girlfriend," I reminded Buddy. He''d always been bad at remembering names of people he would never care for. "And you know something that rtively small," I pinched my fingers together, "is nothingpared to what I''d been through. But in the moment, it''s terrifying. Like I''m about to go through so much pain. And now that it''s done and over with, and I''m done with being scared, I miss it. It''s a sick kind of feeling. I feel so happy here. My friends are here, I have the most wonderful girlfriend whose family likes me, and we''re all having fun with the battles." I nudged my head toward my team. "So why the hell am I whining? Why can''t I help but feel like I''d feel more at home in a cramped cavern fighting for my life every waking moment than here?" Two of Cass'' eyes narrowed, and the ydol floated close until I could smell the y.The human brain is so peculiar. I traced a line in the wet dirt on the riverbank, then a few others until I was left with a sword. Mimi created a needle on the tip of their arm, mimicking the drawing, and my finger gently touched their head as I ignored Mesprit''s squeals of glee. "The first thought that came to my head when I saw her wasn''t ''oh, Arceus, she''s gonna chew me out'', it was ''oh, Arceus, she''s going to kill me. What Pokemon does she have again? Dragonair, Cottonee¡­'' blegh. Then I nked. Could have been fatal." Buddy shook his bulbous head and said that now I was just being silly. "I know." I clenched my forehead. "I know that it''s stupid, but I have toiled long and hard to put the idea that I was just a weapon out of my head, but every time there''ssomeamount of tension, it keeps rearing its ugly head back. You know, the next time someone tries to kill me, I think I''m genuinely going to be relieved." This time, Buddy floated out of the water, creating a ssh that would have soaked Cass had they not shielded us. The water type rammed himself against the psychic barrier, his body spilling over as hedaredme to say that again, and¡ª A voice to my side around a hundred feet away. "What the fuck?! Dude, are you okay¡ª" The barrier solidified, my hand went for my Pokeballs, and I bit down on my tongue tofocus. But it was nothing. It was never anything. "I''m fine!"I yelled back to the trainer. He''d been grabbing one of his Pokeballs, probably a dark type. "No worries." He muttered something under his breath, and left further upriver. "See what your antics got us?" I said before shrinking under his watchful eyes. "Sorry. I won''t say it again, that was stupid." And please never do that again when I''m involved, thank you,Cassianus asked the ghost before one of his hands gently hit me in the head. They were heavier than they looked.And yes. Perhaps it would be wise to be more tactful with your words. "Yeah¡­" It was a lot, wasn''t it? Being happy was just a lot. But I owed it to myself to try to remain here for as long as humanly possible. I would grip the edge even if my nails bled, even if someone stepped on my hand, even if there was no more strength in my arm, and I would do my best. "Let''s stay an hour before we head back." I pulled out myptop from my back to start studying my next opponent. Not Marley yet, but the fight was inevitable. "Sweetheart is gonna be so jealous she missed this."
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Interlude – Confidants I Interlude ¨C Confidants I
INTERLUDE - CONFIDANTS I "Hey. Got a question for ya." Denzel blinked, slowly turning away from hisptop. He uncovered one of his ears, pushed his headphones to the side, and peeked at his friend. For her part, Grace hadn''t looked up from her own screen at all. Her eyes darted across her screen, her fingers scrolling through a video of her next opponent''s battles with precision and focus. She leaned slightly forward, her superhero costume catching the light from herptop. The deep red and cobalt blue fabric clung to her frame, the sleek material glinting faintly with each small movement. It looked a bit tight on her, and extremely silly. Her crimson cape draped over the back of her chair pooled slightly on the floor. And her domino mask? Pushed up and resting on her forehead. Denzel had made noment about it¡ªshe was having fun. More fun than ever. Comments online ranged from calling her extremely corny to cute to cringe to everything in between, but one thing was for certain, she sure left an impression. She''de to his hotel room for some peace and quiet to study, along with information about the trainers she was going to face. He enjoyed herpany, especially when they hadn''t hung out one one-on-one in a while. Denzel hummed as he scrolled through stream analytics. His numbers were on fire, but he wanted to know exactly what points of his streams and highlights his audience was most excited about. "Yeah? Shoot." His friend''s fingers drummed against the warmed aluminum chassis. You could hear the fan of herptop churning ever so subtly, the internal machinery, the engineering that connected so many throughout the world¡ªall of them at his fingertips if you worked hard enough. With a bored twirl of her hair, Grace nced at him. It was a weary kind of stare, one that worried him slightly. On the desk was a plethora of snacks¡ªbrain food, Denzel liked to call it. Chips, cookies, candy, whatever unhealthy trash they could get their hands on. Grace grabbed on a bunch of cheese-vored chips, chewing on them carefully as she thought. "I''ve given a lot of thought to a lot of things the past day or so¡ªand I was wondering if people close to me felt the same way about things." Denzel readjusted his posture, nearly rolling his shoulder. "Sure, you can always talk to me." "Could have gone to Cecilia, but I didn''t for obvious reasons," she contemted. "Chase is the same. Mira¡­ well, I don''t want to bother her. You''ve been in basically the same amount of shit as I have." Her body straightened. "And I don''t want you to think that you''re like, ast resort or something! I''m just exining, like, why I''m saddling you with this." Saddling¡­? "Grace, you can alwayse to me with stuff. We''re best friends." Even if they hadn''t hung out as much as when they traveled together, the bond was still there. An underlying trust that Denzel hoped would remain for the rest of their lives, as naive as that sounded. "What''s up?" Click. Click. Click. She''d pressed back in the video feed until it reached zero seconds and paused, muttering some storyboarding under her breath followed by what Pokemon her opponent would most likely use. "Okay, so," she closed herptop, "how have you been feelingtely?" Denzel smirked. "I thought I was the one supposed to ask that question." Grace rolled her eyes and sighed. "Answer, you ass." He let a few thoughts settle in his head for a moment, feeling his feet go t against the floor as if he were grounding himself. "Great." His friend looked up at him with ardency in her eyes. Something burning. "Uh, I guess my career''s taking off this summer; I''ve gone from a popr trainer streamer tothetrainer streamer in the country." That was still staggering to think about. Like it wasn''t real. "I''ve been training my team to set up for my next Circuit run." It''d be a doozy to handle all those high-level Gym fights, but he was ready. "Been talking to my parents more, so that''s nice. And you know, it''s also nice just not having so much to worry about. So yeah, things are going great." "But¡­?" Grace tilted her head and leaned forward as if expecting something more. "Are there no buts?" "What do you mean, but?" he asked, raising a curious brow. "Nothing else? No insidious feeling deep inside you that it''s temporary?" she rambled. "Or¡ªor that it''d be¡­ not better, but that it''d be like, weirdly okay if things went back to being awful?" "Wha¡ª" the teenager gawked at her, "of course not! I''d have a nervous breakdown! Doyoufeel that way? Because if you do, that''s like¡ªextremely worrying?" Damn it, usually he''d see the signs, but she was just sohappyhere that he hadn''t noticed anything. He hadn''t realized the difference. Denzel rose from his seat, and Grace raised her gloved hands innocently, as if surrendering to some unspoken usation. In any other circumstances, watching her, a supposed superhero, do this, would have been hrious. Not today, however. "Grace, this is¡ªthere''s a word for this. It''s something in PTS¡ª" "D," she finished his sentence, crossing her legs on the chair like a child. "I know. Been brought up to me a few times, really, the first times months ago by Aliyah¡ªthe therapist the League gave me. She was great." Denzel knew Grace was seeing a new therapist based in Jubilife once a week, even currently despite the Conference. He hadn''t asked much about it because, well, it looked like it had worked wonders? Now, he just wasn''t sure. She was better than before, much better in a way that a person like her just wasn''t capable of faking, but what if there was more hidden beneath the facade? "What''d you tell her?" Grace snorted¡ªwhy the hell was sheughing? "I basically told her she was full of it¡ªin kinder and less confident words. Now I think she was right." "So?" "So?" she repeated, sping her metallic ne¡ªMeltan. "What''re you gonna do about it?" "Oh, well, I dunno." She shrugged and extended her legs in a stretch. "I''ll probably deal with itter." "What?" Her face twitched, and her hold on her Meltan grew tighter. "I talked about it, okay? And I''ll deal with it," her breath caught in her throat, like she''d held back on saying something else. Finally, she finished, ter." "Is this because you think it''d sink your chances in the tournament?" "Obviously not." "Do you think you''re too broken to be fixed or something?" A saddened smile crept across her mouth. "Used to. Maymay showed me that I wasn''t." Denzel threw his hands up. "Thenwhy?!" he nearly yelled. "''Cause it feels like it''s not a big deal, that''s why!" she yelled back. "Sorry. But it''s not! It''s just not. Notpared to¡­ everything else. It''s just a pebble stuck in my shoe, and everyone''s having a great time, so why even bother? I should be grateful I''ve even made it this far." "Ugh. I''m calling Maylene¡ª" Something stole the air from his lungs¡ªno, he had just forgotten to breathe after hisst exhale. "Do not," she interrupted. Her voice cut through the silence, sharp and final. She held his gaze, her eyes firm, yet not unkind. "I was gonna tell her tonight, anyway. I''m just taking stock first. Seeing what people have to say." They weren''t close friends, but only the Gym Leader had learned to cut through all of this¡­ tape in order to get to the heart of a matter when it came to Grace without her meandering and convincing you that she was fine. Denzel wanted to believe her, even now. Her plea rang sincere. Had she not truly improved since Cor? Shehad. Denzel''s back ached with his doubt. "I''ll believe you, but I''ll text her tomorrow morning to see if you actually did." Compromise was enough for now; forcing Grace''s hand was rarely wise. The only other time he''d done so was during the Backlot situation, and thank the Legendaries, it had worked out. Instead, Denzel much preferredcontainingher, either through ultimatum or things like this. Grace heeded his answer, breaths steady as she swayed from side to side on the creaky swivel chair before finally nodding. "That''s fair. A day should be enough. Thanks." Then, the blonde stood up all of a sudden, eyes flickering to life with luminosity like a candle just lit. "But I should get going and fight my next battle. There are people all over the world who need to be saved!" Hands on her hips, she faced forward like, well, a superhero. "Darn¡­ it would have been better if I had Princess to blow wind in my cape." Denzel smiled, then couldn''t help but chortle. "Remember what I said. Damien''s, uh, very concerned about his image. He''s a better trainer than you on paper, but make him look bad and he might slip up, giving you a chance to get a W." Grace visibly cringed, nose wrinkling with a groan. "You stream too much." "Dude, you''re in a superhero costume." "So?" "...you know, what, never mind. Just go out there and have a good time." She pumped a fist. "That''s what I n on doing! Right, Mimi?" The steel type chimed, shaking around her neck. "Mimi''s my sidekick. Helps me fight any evil lying about." "Yep. Make sure to go and defeat those viins¡ªI''ll be watching you." He pointed a thumb toward hisptop. He wasn''t going to join her today; he would instead livementate League matches all day with Goald and Archive¡ªwithout feed of the actual battles on his stream, of course, or the League would immediately take the videos down no matter how much he wished they wouldn''t.Everythinghe''d done, and they wouldn''t even give him the rights. Unfortunate, but he''d been lucky enough for a lifetime not toin about it. Viewers would be able to sync the footage, so it was mildly inconvenient at best. A few more words were exchanged before Grace left, mostly about taking the wrinkles out of her costume and making her look as good as possible before she left for her fight. But right before she walked out the door; "Oh, and you wouldn''t have a breakdown, by the way," she said out of nowhere. "Hm?" "If things turned for the worse, you wouldn''t have a breakdown." She looked back at him, holding the door open. "You''d be there for us just like you''ve always been. I believe in you." The door closed. Despite it all, Denzel couldn''t help it. He smiled. ¡ª "I don''t think I particrly nailed the story aspect of it." In a bar, Grace tapped her chin with a finger while staring at the ceiling. "I mean, honestly, I think I would have lost even if I''d nailed it, but the fact that I screwed up made it kind of unsatisfying. I wasn''t¡­ hero-like enough." Marley silently observed her friend talk her troubles away, wondering if there would ever be an end to her made-up problems. At the very least, it was intriguing to listen to. Stimting, even. Sipping on her sparkling water through a straw, Marley listened to Grace speak of how difficult it was for her to act like a stereotypical hero you''d find in aic or a movie. She had to admit that life was easier now than it used to be, even if she rarely saw her parents because they''d never ept her for who she was even though they showered her with money. Any moment now, she''d expect it to stop, but it still hadn''t after an entire year of being out. They''d even convinced her to join that stupid piano ss through her grandparents, and she''d epted on the off-chance it might make them ept her in turn, yet it had not. That was why she hated spending money¡ªthe idea that the tap would eventually be cut haunted her enough to make her neglect eating until she met Grace and Jess. Piano ended up being fun too, just like when she''d been a child. At the very least, Marley''s grandma sent her messages every day about her matches, and endless doting on if she''d been eating, sleeping, and taking care of herself. Of course, there was the mental exhaustion beginning to ramp up from so many fights in a row. While Marley had gone to train in Victory Road¡ªalong with the goal of sharpening her Pokemon''s skills¡ªto ready herself for this stage of the Conference in an effort to ward her mind against mental fatigue, three days in and she was already struggling. At least her team seemed raring to go, still. Meanwhile, her friend seemed to be brimming with boundless energy as she spoke. She really didn''t understand how Grace did it. "So what''s your score now?" Marley asked, making sure her voice remained steady just like she''d practiced. The superhero pouted, then ced her head against the table¡ªew. So many people had been here before them. "Aw, Marley! I can''t believe you haven''t been keeping track!" "What''s mine¡ª" "4-3!" Grace yelled, voice muffled by her position against the table. Her words buzzed against the surface. "Which is the same as mine. God, I want to fight Damien Gunnhild again¡­" Marley nodded, something Grace barely saw out of the corner of her eyes. She suspected her friend could possibly have been at a 5-2 had she not been so entangled in her silly games. Oh, and there was no way Marley didn''tactuallyknow her friend''s score, let alone everyone in their entire group; it would be foolish of her not to keep track of the standings at all times. She''d just said no to tease Grace. What was she even doing, throwing matches like this just because she was an agent of justice, or whatever? How was her sponsor even okay with this? Marley sighed and patted the girl on her back. You couldn''t help but support her in times like these. "I''m sure your next battle will go better now that you got your feet wet into your role," Marley said. "''Sure hope so." Two fingers rhythmically tapped her ne. "Hmhm. You''re right." That was directed not at Marley, but at the strange creature around her neck. "Wait. Marley." "What is it?" "You trained in Victory Road all the time until they closed it for the bombings, right?" Gracezily leaned against the counter, face resting in her gloved hand.At least take the costume off when you''re not battling,Marley wanted to beg. Instead, she nodded. "What''d you think of the caves there? You know, I''ve never been even though it''s literally right there. Too dangerous." Marley frowned at her and pulled a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "It was awful, obviously. Both navigating it, getting through it, and just, you know, living in the wild for days at a time." "Days?" "Over a week, but just once. Plus, I''m always forced to wear such dreary clothes." If Marley had one vice, one ring exception to her habits with money, it was her spending on clothes. Margaretan fashion, mostly; the term had been coined from the era of that very same name, when Gr, heeded by Queen Margaret IV, had been the undisputed world power over two hundred years ago until both Orre and Unova rose to challenge that im. Today, she wore that same clothing style. A dress of deep obsidian hueyered with intricatecework, even if it made the heat nigh unbearable¡ª Wait. When you really thought about it, no one else dressed like this outside of costume parties, cosy, and the like. Did¡ªdid that mean that she was just like Grace, only a lot more discreet? "Marley? Anything else to say about Victory Road?" Grace pushed her ss with a finger, intrigued by its movements on the rugged bar counter. She really struggled to sit still, didn''t she? "C''mon, talk to me about some stories. I''ll pay for the tab." "You don''t have to¡ª" "Marley, I make so much money that I don''t even know what to spend it on. A little bill at the bar won''t bother me." She smirked up at her, assured that she had cornered Marley with a wless argument. It wasn''t about money, but about the principle of the thing, but¡­ "We wanna hear about it! Think of it like an exchange of favors¡ªa bnced one." Although she blew a quiet raspberry, Marley relented. "Fine, stories. Okay. I guess I''ll begin at the start. Fresh off winning my eighth badge against Volkner because I skipped him and kept him forst." "Oh! That''s a rare choice; why''d you do it?" "A lot of his personal Pokemon are known for their speed, along with the electric type in general," she said with passion she could barely contain. Her voice nearly shook every time she recalled that battle¡ªhow her Arcanine had finished off the Gym Leader''s Raichu in a nailbiter of a duel with their newly acquired Extreme Speed. "I wanted to test myself in a true test of speed to see if I had what it takes. I wish I could have gone against his Electivire though¡­" Graceughed. "Marley! I never see you get like this, oh my God! Look at you!" "It¡ªI mean, it''s nothing." Marley scratched the side of her face, feeling awkward and thanking Arceus Jess wasn''t here to tease her about this too. "It''s just his starter, y''know?" "Yeah. Hey, keep this a secret, but I faced him once. He''s really no joke," she said, sipping on her fruit punch as if she hadn''t just dropped an insane piece of information. Marley''s mouth gaped open."What?" "Oh yeah. It was a battle with special rules and stuff. The goal was for Honey to touch him three times," Grace whispered with a hand hiding her mouth. "Anyway, Electivire kind of shattered Honey''s back, it was really gnarly stuff. All because he''s an immature brat who hates losing." "NowIwant to hear about it¡­" "Okay, well, one story at a time, miss," Grace teased. "We should probably order another drink, too." Marley quickly agreed, but as she spoke, she couldn''t shake the feeling that a part of Grace grew restless the longer she recounted just how dreadful Victory Road had been. Grace''s concern always felt genuine, but it seemed tinged with a quiet disappointment, as if she had expected something more from those tales. Either way, she paid and went on her way¡ªthey both had a few hours before their second battle of the day. When she did, she told Marley something about meeting a colleague. ¡ª Aubri might have only had one eye, but setting it on Grace Pastel made her want to pretend she''d never worked with Poketch. Sharing apany with this clown made her want to crawl into a hole she''d nevere out of. She was a sight for sore eyes, with her costume being slightly too small for even her. Plus, she was still wearing white sneakers which broke immersion, and it was wrinkly all over, and the gloves left part of her wrists exposed, and, and, and¡ªyou''d never run out of things toin about. Not only had this girl texted her, asking to meet at one of the most crucial times in Aubri''s life to talk about whatever nonsense it was she always brought up, but her attempts to get her to talk to someone else like Ramon had failed¡ªPastel wantedher. Aubri hated her. "You''ve got some nerveing here after that Gardenia nonsense," Aubri said, eyeing her own fingerless stump of a hand. Purple and broken skin covered her right arm, andscape of deep burn scars that twisted and puckered the flesh like melted wax. The scars crawled up to her shoulder, usually a permanent reminder of the cost of carelessness, but now an added twist that she''d been refused this kid''s position because she was a sorry sight for the eyes. All of her talent and hard work, her years of service to Poketch, thrown away. How did one reconcile the trainer she had admired, worked herself to death to catch up to at the expense of her own body, had caused this? All of that for what? And she hadn''t ever had the opportunity to really chew into him. To really ask him why, to really let her have a piece of her mind. A nned final showdown at the Conference where she would finally have bested him and proved to him thatshe''dbeen the one to deserve it all. And she would never get to. "You already barged into this Pokemon Center to talk to me, so just hurry the hell up and make it worth my time!"Chatot squawked on her shoulder. Her trusted partner had been about to say more, but she raised her hand. The one with fingers on it. Grace had always looked ufortable with Aubri around. With the Poketch guys, she kept ncing back at her at her as if Aubri would justunch into a tirade, or maybe even physically strike her sometimes. Alone? She fidgeted, hugging herself and tapping a restless foot against the ground. Biting the inside of her mouth to distract herself with a bit of stimtion. Since her arranged and unfair fight with Gardenia¡ªone that had made Aubri think far less of the Gym Leader and her entire clique¡ªthey had only spoken in short instances for their jobs. Aubri suspected Poketch itself kept those interactions at a minimum. So much to protect this single person, to string her up despite all of her fuck ups. It was so frustrating; and all of that for Grace to beg for a meeting, yet to not have the confidence to even speak up? Damn it. So fucking pathetic. So fucking¡­ damn it. "What do you want?" Aubri sighed, running her hand over her face. Her voice, as always, was raspy and deep from the time she''d caught her Szzle¡ªsame reason the burns were there, sunken into her right arm. Like a mockery of what she used to sound like. "Err." Unsure of herself, as always. "I''ve always had this deep sense of respect for you, Aubri. You''re¡ªyou''re so cool. And like, your battles are really a testament to your skill and perseverance. I look at you and I see a story of someone who''s been chasing something for a long time but who''ll never get it. Um, sorry. But your fights don''t seem to excite you as much as previous years." Had she watched Aubri''s previous battles? Of course she had. "It''s no fun rolling over people over and over without a good struggle." Excuse, for they both knew that was not even close to the reason. Aubri enjoyed crushing thepetition, close battle or not, and now, this crazy girl liked pretending to be someone else. Grace walked around the Center room and leaned against the wall, finally rxing some. "You''re undefeated in groups so far; that''s extremely impressive. My friend Denzel says¡ª" "I don''t care about what anyone says." Aubri turned away from Grace, and Chatot chirped in anger. "I didn''t let you barge in here so you could psychoanalyze me. This is myst time asking before I kick you out: what the hell do you want?" The blonde deted, seemingly smaller than she was just ten seconds ago when she thought she was getting somewhere. Aubri wouldn''t listen to her crazed ramblings, especially not when she was dressed like a kid for their eighth birthday. "Fair. Sorry." A pause, punctuated by a particr expression that could only be described asregrouping. A regathering of her thoughts as if she needed to reconsider he entire approach. Seconds passed by the dozens until finally, a minuteter, she struck. "Like me, you''ve been through a whole lot of stuff ''cause you train in ces like Victory Road. I''d like to know if you ever have issues coping with this." Ha! A question without any games or bullshit? She''de to know Aubri didn''t like to waste time. She scratched her Chatot''s head with a gentle finger. "Woah. You''re smiling." Aubri clicked her tongue. "I''m not. Shut up." Grace promptly did so without even a scared squeal. A shame. Aubri pointed up at her blindspot, an eyepatch that covered much of her face. "When I first set out of Jubilife and tried to get a wild Spearow at the edge of route 203 because I heard you might catch a stronger one close to off-route, it called its entire flock and I came out of it with a missing eye." It had crushed her at the time, but today, she could look back on it and shrug. Smile, even. "When I started training in dangerous routes and got deeper into Eterna Forest than I ever had," she showered Grace her wounded hand where only her thumb remained, "a Leavanny took half my hand. When I heard a Szzle had snuck onto an Aln ship and fled into the Sinnohan wilderness, I went and caught her. For that, she nearly killed me and became my ace." On her shoulder, Chatot eagerly nodded at each story, for he had been here for every one but the first. Where was she going with this? Here. "You carry them your entire life, your scars. They stick to you like tattoos you never asked for. They stay with you, etched into your skin, into your memory, shaping the person you see in the mirror. You can try to cover them up, try to ignore them, but they''re still there. A part of you, whether you want them to be or not. Your scars can''t be ignored¡ªit''s what people first see when they look at you." She tapped the side of her head as Grace rubbed the burned side of her neck. "That goes for mental scars too. People may not know they''re here, but whether they and you want it or not, they''lle up when you interact. You can''t run away from them¡ªnot forever, at least." Grace''s eyes were wide with admiration Aubri frankly did not care for. "Woah¡­ you''re so responsible¡­" "What? Did you think I''d just let you walk in here like a sad, pathetic wet cat and let you leave?" She should have. That would have been great to see. Grace shook her head. "I know you''re nice, deep down." Aubri red at her. "Not deep down! You''re extremely nice inside and out!" she yelled with a hint of panic, shaking her hands innocently. "Um, can I have some battling advice¡ª" "Goodbye. If you''re lucky, I''ll see you out of groups and show the board how I''ll put you in the dirt." "That sounds like I''d learn a lot, so sure!" she said before leaving.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Don''t show your face here again!"Chatot squawked. And Aubri meant it. She''d had enough Grace Pastel for at least a week. ¡ª Busy, busy, busy. Jasmine couldn''t believe it, but she''d thank Lugia himself when her feet touched the sands of Olivine again. Sinnoh had felt so much better when all she''d had to do was fool around all day and spend time with Volkner. Now, it was meeting after meeting after meeting. Diplomats, Elite Four Members, League officials, economists; she wanted out of here and fast, but Lance had saddled her withsomuch work, and his nosy self couldn''t help but call every few days to hear a needlessly long report about how things were going as if he didn''t already know every time a Cutiefly moved around these parts with how deep he''d spread Indigo''s influence around the country since Unova''s diplomatic fuck up. Hmph. At least Brock and Will were working just as hard now, even if they neverined and whined like she did. She''d always make time for her only and favorite student, however. Grace had texted a few hours ago asking for Jasmine''s avable hours. She''d nearly had to consider cutting a meeting with a team of Indigoan and Sinnohan politicians about rxing trade and visa restrictions even further. Unlike his predecessor, Lance was no advocate for autarky, but he was no fighter for free trade like those money-grubbing Grians either. It was a surprising step forward, especially considering how much opposition he''d face at home for the move. Jasmine figured he''d consider burning decades'' worth of political capital if it meant putting Sinnoh under permanent Indigoan influence. It certainly would put them in the best position they''d ever reached since the birth of their union. Although Kanto-Johto had been birthed by war and fear of the Gods, Lance knew times had changed and navigated these peaceful times extraordinarily well. It was a good thing Unova''s Champion was sleeping at the helm and constantly dealing with internal strife, thosezy fat meows. But really, that was Lance''s game. Jasmine enjoyed seeing the region she''d spent so many months in getting back on its feet this quickly¡ª A knock at the door of the office she''d been given at the Spire made her put away those thoughts for now. "Grace? If it''s Grace,e in. If it''s not, I''m exceedingly busy." "It''s not Grace¡­ it''s Lady Justice." The voice was low and foreboding, with a hint of a threat that made the hair on Jasmine''s arms stand on end and made her hand creep toward her Pokeballs neatly arranged on her desk, always just a reach away. But it was also just Grace. "Open up and surrender, or I''m afraid I''ll have to make you." "Grace, I can clearly tell that''s you. Who even is Lady Justice¡ª" she opened the door, "¡ªpfft." Maybe, just maybe, Jasmineughed for the following minute at Grace''s getup. Maybe she had tears in her eyes and her mouth hurt because of it afterward. Maybe she''d been so hysterical a League official had shown up asking about all the noise.Maybeall of that happened. Look¡ª Jasmine just couldn''t believe that Grace had walked into theofficialLeague HQ with this costume and didn''t seem to care. "I thought you were gonna asphyxiate to death fromughing too much," Grace said, rocking back and forth on her chair. That was the best part! She didn''t even seem to care what people thought! "It''s just a costume." "Ithought I was going to asphyxiate to death!" the Gym Leader cackled, nearly kicking her feet. "Oh, Grace, you''re so wonderful. Every time I see you, you just make my day." Jasmine stood up to once again hug her student, who remained seated. "What brings me to you¡ªsorry, what bringsyouto me." Legendaries, she was still out of it. "Oh, not much." Grace looked around the office; it was quite impersonal, considering it wasn''t actually Jasmine''s, and modernized instead of old like it probably had been once akin to the Champion''s. The walls were in, painted a sterile white, and the furniture was utilitarian, devoid of personal touches or character. A standard-issue desk sat in the middle of the room, neatly organized with only aptop, a few stacked papers, and a pen holder to break the monotony. "But remember when I saw you after Gctic was destroyed?" "Yes. You looked quite lost, back then." Her student nodded, pointing at Jasmine with a finger. "Exactly. And I''m not lost anymore, which is great. But I''m also kind of lost still?" The Gym Leader had grabbed a pen, and twirled it in her hand. "My dear, those are two opposing statements." "Do you notfeelthe two mesh together still?" Grace questioned with an unsatisfied frown. "Don''t be so rigid in your view of things, Jasmine." "Look at you, giving me lessons." "The point is, I have a path to walk on, but it feels like I have a few demons shackling me. And you know, maybe they''ll always be there. That''d be fine. I''d love to reconcile missing war, though. Feels off." "Oh. Easy." The pen stopped in Jasmine''s hand, and she snapped her fingers, a sharp sound that resonated through the office. Grace blinked, surprised by the sudden gesture. Jasmine leaned forward, her gaze steady and deliberate, as if she''d just solved a puzzle only she could see. "You don''t reconcile it," Jasmine said simply, her voice calm but resolute. "You ept it." "Now who''s being vague? Does that mean ept that I''ll always miss it¡ª" the metallic ne around her neck grew spikes, "¡ªrx, this is a hypothetical." Jasmine smirked. "It''s a simple statement. Missing war doesn''t make you a monster, Grace. It makes you human. People talk about war like it''s all bloodshed and suffering, and while it''s a lot of that and I wouldn''t wish it on anyone, especially not children, you and I both know it''s more than that. It''s purpose. It''s rity. It''s knowing exactly what''s at stake every single day." For a while, there was silence as Jasmine waited to see if Grace would say something else. Her pen rested forgotten on the desk as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Peace isn''t like that. Peace is messy, uncertain, full of choices you''re never sure are the right ones. Of course you''d miss war¡ªit''s simpler. Capture this city, secure this objective, kill, kill, kill until it feels like nothing. Even when the walls and your body''s soaked in blood, everything isid out in ck and white. There''s no ambiguity in war if you''re a footsoldier¡ªjust orders to follow and goals to achieve. You''re the good guys fighting the bad guys; the constant edge of survival sharpens every decision. It''seasy." Something clicked in Grace''s mind. You could see the gears turning behind her eyes. "But peace? Again, peace is gray. It''s the little things that for some reason matter so much even if you aren''t fighting for your life every day. When I was killing Rocket Grunts left and right, I didn''t have to worry about love; no one was harassing me about how much alcohol I drank. And for your information, that amount is still zero." "You''re¡­ kinda right." "Of course I''m right." "But notpletely right!" she eximed as if a lightbulb had lit up above her head. "It''s true that things are simple. Not easy.Simple." Grace paced around the room, cape flowing behind her. "But that''s not because those little issues don''t exist, it''s because we keep putting them off. Ignoring them, so it''s as if they aren''t there until it''s toote to keep doing so. We can look back fondly on those times, thinking that all we had to think about was what was right in front of us, but that''s really doing ourselves a disservice. All of it always mattered, we just couldn''t see it because war isn''t easy, it''sblinding. It hogs your attention and makes it so you can hardly think of anything else until it''s over, and it leaves you in the dark to deal with everything you''ve been putting off." Jasmine was¡ª A little stumped. She kept clicking on her mechanical pen, letting the tip constantly poke at the skin of her arm, because she did not enjoy how correct that sounded, and how the words could havee right out of Lieutenant Surge''s mouth if she''d been closing her eyes and Grace''s voice had been numerous octaves lower. "I suppose you''d be correct." "Of course I''m right," Grace mockingly mimicked her. "Do you wanna hear about my character tomorrow? I went 2-1 today, but I''m sure I can do better when Ie dressed as a Kalosian knight. Do you think I should be doing an ent, or would that be offensive? Fantina told me to go for it¡ª" ¡ª Grace waste, and Maylene was worried. Thest message she''d gotten from her girlfriend after her third and final battle of the day had been about meeting Jasmine for some ''advice'', as she''d been doing with multiple people the entire day. It wasn''t that they hadn''t seen each other much today¡ªeven though she was a little sad about that¡ªit was that Grace could sometimes get carried away, and by the time you realized, she''d be fifteen steps into a nonsensical, roundabout n to do something you''d never even think of. Ever since they''de across Temperance at that Kalosian restaurant, Grace had been just a little off in ways only few were capable of catching. "She''lle home soon," Nia said behind her before cing a hand on her shoulder. "She must have gotten carried away and not noticed the time." "That does sound like a Grace thing to do¡­" she gazed past the sliding ss doors across the garden, beyond the pool, and at the gate of the Gym Leader house. It was sote they''d all eaten dinner already and the adults had gone back to their own home on the other side of the property. "I texted her, but she hasn''t read them." "Well, I''ll be in Candice''s room. Call us over if you need us." A silent nod, then footsteps that got further and further away. Maylene considered just going back to their home, but she couldn''t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong. Jasmine¡­ was Grace''s teacher, and Maylene respected that fully, but like that Hatterene, she sometimes put bad notions into her head due to her upbringing. Unable to contain her worry, Maylene dialed Denzel, the person who she knew Grace had met first. A hoarse voice answered her."Grace, what is it¡ª" "It''s Maylene." "Wha¡ª"there was a crash on the other end of the line, and then a scramble to stand."Sorry, I thought Grace was calling me through your phone." "Has she¡­ done that?" "Twice. Both times because she wanted to prank me and see me act stiff¡ªI''m sorry for the confusion." "No, no, it''s fine." Maylene restrained a smile. "I was actually hoping you knew where she went?" What followed was a game of telephone, tracking Grace''s day through word of mouth. First came Marley, who she called despite having never spoken to her one-on-one. Then came the Poketch sponsees she was closest to¡ªfirst Ramon, then Bobby, and then somehow, it wasAubri,whom she had gone to see. Those she''d needed to get the hard way. Messaging them on Chatter through her official Gym Leader ount and chatting through direct messages. Schneider kept the exchange short and was nearly downright rude, but that was okay; at least she''d answered. Amon theme espoused through each meeting was a ravenous intrigue at one location: Victory Road. Maylene''s anxiety reached a fever pitch, and a continuous flow of paranoid thoughts of Grace delving into those caves because of some Graceian n. Would she? No, she wouldn''t. Not after so much progress, and certainly not without telling her. But what if Temperance found her, or vice versa, or they met by pure coincidence again? What if she really did confront Grace? Andwhyhad the expression ''Graceian'' even popped up in her head¡ªshould she grab her Pokemon and go check Victory Road? Not without telling the others about it¡ª Maylene paused, her breath catching as she felt it¡ªa faint yet unmistakable warmth brushing against her senses like an oldpanion''s hand on her shoulder. It wasn''t overwhelming, but a steady, familiar pulse that made her heart settle in her chest. She couldn''t see Grace, not yet, but she could feel her. That aura, so distinctly her own, like the soft glow of a candle in a storm, always burning, always present. "Thank the Legendaries," she whispered to herself as she opened the sliding ss door. This feeling was akin to a melody she could sing by heart, an unmistakable sensation that pushed Maylene to run to the gates. In a few seconds, she was already there, and it was here that she saw the me around Grace illuminating the dirt road in the dead of night. Its edges were sharp and angr, slicing through the air like shards of ss catching the light. The blue hue wasn''t serene¡ªit was electric, humming with an energy that felt alive, almost predatory in its focus. Yes. This was someone whom, once an idea materialized in her head, would move heaven and earth to make it a reality. Still in her costume, Grace''s eyes widened when Maylene ran up to hug her. The Gym Leader grabbed her girlfriend by the face and held back a sob. "Where were you? I was so worried¡ªI texted you like twenty times!" "Oh.Oh.My phone died, sorry. I used it too much today and I never came back home to charge it." Grace hugged her as well, hands snaking toward her back. "I guess I never opened myptop. Sorry for worrying you." "Arceus¡­ so you were with Jasmine, still?" "Oh, no. I left her hours ago because she was busy; I was on my own walking around the wilderness of the ind and thinking about things. It was a pretty productive day." "Okay. If it was just that, then fine. I was worried for no reason¡ªjust, let me know next time?" Maylene knew Grace well enough to understand that one bad day could undo months of progress, and there were plenty of people here who could press that trigger. It was always fine for her to be alone, just¡ªhalf a day without any news, and one started to worry. "Oh, by the way, I might have been extremely panicked and texted like, everyone you met with today. And Bobby and Ramon." Grace grabbed her by the hand, and they started walking back through the garden. "That''s fine. And I should tell you what today was about¡ªbut first, I''ll tell you this: I should probably try harder the next time I see my therapist, I think." Oh. Maybe Maylene had underestimated Jasmine.
Interlude – Confidants II Interlude ¨C Confidants II
A/N: Happy new year! Here''s the final part of this interlude INTERLUDE - CONFIDANTS II The hum of the world was a song he always heard but never understood. Vibrations threaded through his exoskeleton, a constant rhythm that spoke of prey moving, hiding, breathing. Each tremor was a verse, every whisper of movement a stanza in the predator''s symphony. He did not see the world as others did¡ªthe numerous colors Slowking or Toxicroak spoke of were muted. It was, however, a more brilliant world than his trainer could ever hope to see. Arge hat covered Cecilia''s head to keep her eyes shielded from the sun; she leaned back into a chair and sat on a terrace belonging to some feeding establishment. The terrace buzzed with the idle chatter of humans, an endless stream of soft voices and softer bodies. Scizor scanned the crowd, instinctively assessing. None of them wouldst more than a second should he rise, should his predatory gaze mark them as prey. Their confidence baffled him¡ªso exposed, so unguarded, as though the fragile shell of their lives was imprable. Perhaps he would never understand them. Still, he obeyed. Cecilia had ordered him to sit, and so he did. The chair beneath him was too small, too fragile, creaking under his weight. His ws rested idly, twitching now and then, craving purpose. The air carried the scent of food¡ªsweet, savory, fleetingly warm. It stirred nothing in him. "It tastes good," Cecilia had told him, her tone light, pleased. He did not care. Food was sustenance first, nothing more. "Sorry to bring you all the way out there," his trainer said, voice soft. "I''ve wanted to eat here for a while¡ªyou were at the Pokemon Center when it caught my eye." Needles in his joints, the coldness of gloved human hands, blinding lights, and a consciousness that was barely even there. These so-called ''Centers'' were unpleasant, but they allowed him to fight and to push himself further and further. Scizor did not answer; he nodded instead, inclining his head to his trainer. He listened as she keptmenting on the intricacies of the food, a leftover trait from her earliest days as an offspring of her well-off family. He did not particrly care for it, but he engaged. Scizor pointed at the tastiest-looking morsels, and she would tell him what it was, let him taste it, or tell him that she could order one for him if he so wished. It was pleasant. His trainer adjusted her hat, leaned forward on the table, and smiledzily at him as if she was not about to face certain loss in her next battle. She did not care, he knew, because win or lose, a battle, albeit a mockery of a fight for survival he had been through countless times in Eterna Forest, was fun. Her theatrics were fun. Her entricity was fun. Her sense of self had been born, and it had brought with it enjoyment beyond her or his wildest dreams. He did not understand most of it, but the voice at his back seemed so engrossed in the sh that he could not help but fight twice as hard. It was the end of Cecilia''s time to feed, now, and she looked rejuvenated, ready to face the giant that would be Aubri Schneider. Her nk eyes were difficult to judge, even now, but the stare felt as if it was longing for something. A ceaseless hunger to be more. It was a look that unsettled many of her fellow humans. "How well do you recall our first meeting?" It was crystal clear. He had smelled them entering his territory and observed for a time, gauging his chances until he''d been ready to strike. He steps out of the shadows and presents himself with a screech in hopes of making the humans and their Pokemon flee, breaking formation so they be easy pickings, but they stand their ground. And so, he lunges forward, going straight for the Pokemon he now calls arade¡ªZolst. I do as if it was yesterday,Scizor answered. A grin followed, and he snapped his pincers together, attracting attention.Easy pickings. "What a day that was," she said. "I valued my life so little that I held my friends hostage in order to catch you." Her head cocked to the side with a fluid, unnatural tilt. "I suppose it was a kidnapping." For a moment, Scizor believed an apology wasing, and he prepared to rebuke her¡ªnot because she hadn''t done anything wrong. Part of the steel type believed in the rule of the strong, and she had not defeated him on her own, let alone overwhelmed him with numbers. So what worth had she been? But no. They had hashed out their differences long ago, and through her, Scizor would be able to obtain far more strength than he would alone. Enough to eventually destroy the Sleeping Mother that was Eterna''s beating heart and shake up its order. Why reminisce?Feeling nostalgic?Scizor wondered with a chittering, metallicugh. Cecilia could not understand his words, not exactly. But she had learned enough about him by now, and been through enough with her team to understand the gist of most of whatever they said whenever they spoke. His trainerughed too, a hearty sound that made his wings flutter despite his best efforts. Herughter spilled from her lips like it had no bounds, her body moving with it in a way that was too loose, too free. Her head tipped back abruptly, as though a string had been yanked. "Sad?" So she had misunderstood nostalgia for sadness¡ªclose enough, in Scizor''s eyes. He nodded. "No, no, I''m¡­ no, not always happier than back then, but I certainly am better. I was just thinking about the amount of change a person can go through in such a short time. Such a violent alteration of the self." Scizor shrugged. His head was more in theing fight than philosophy; Slowking or Talonme would have been better partners for this discussion. Still, she had picked him, and he would listen, for that was his duty to her.Sure,he reluctantly said.Experiences make people change, humans faster than Pokemon.Throughout the years he''d spent in the forest, he did not remember changing. New tricks, new ways to fight, new territory, but his way of thinking had remained the same. The bond between human and Pokemon, the shared experiences, learning to know others instead of viewing them as prey or a threat; they had changed him more in a few months than the length of time between when he crawled out of his egg and he was caught. Finding himself suddenly interested, Scizor did his best to exin this concept to Cecilia. She got the gist of his message, even if some of the details were lost in trantion. "Do you know what the most morbid part is?" she chuckled. "I think that I was stuck in that forest for a while. I was you." Scizor''s eyes narrowed and his ws flexed, preparing to snap, but he did not call her stupid quite yet. "Learning how to fight more effectively¡ªhow to better kill, but never anything else." She did not lower her voice, and quite a few heads turned her way, some wary, curious, and a few inly unsettled. "But now I''m out. I can see the sun unobstructed by any canopy or fog, and it''s so blinding." She raised a hand to call over a waiter, asking for the bill. "You know how it is, to see our star after a long time without it. It''s all-epassing, and you can hardly make out anything other than obstructing light." Stop meandering,Scizor said.I already know what you mean. "Right? I''m changing every day, even now," Cecilia said. "And while I''ve already burned many a bridge, seeing more of them set ame would be a shame." Temperance. She was talking about Temperance. "You were a solitary soul with no one to leave behind and thus the transition was easier, but I ask you this." A finger tapped their table twice. "Howisone supposed to go through this without destroying what they built beforehand, and how do they prevent it?" A hefty question, one Scizor figured he was ill-fitted to answer, yet she had picked him. His mind did not dare to even think to offer someone else in his stead.You truly do like her,Scizor sighed.So I cannot tell you to burn it like you did with the others¡ªto free yourself of their expectations of you. "That would have been just like you." He couldn''t help it; he leaned in, and the table ttered.Then why ask if you expected to hear something you didn''t want to? Her face softened¡ªhe had learned human expressions well. "That would be because I trust you. I would not just cut her out like a rotting limb just because you''d tell me to, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts." Does she make you happy?he hesitantly asked. She looked like she''d heard the question many times, the familiarity of it all reflecting in her rxed state. "Of course. The issue is¡ªit''s difficult to trust her. Can I love someone if I look her every action over twice?" Scizor shrugged. He did not know that type of love, and he did not care for it. When one did not understand something, they were better off telling the truth. After a few moments, he answered,I watched the blonde in silence, observing her before we left southward. The desperation to lie to herself.It had been irritating, even if he hadn''t known what it had meant back then.I can tell you that this new one is not the same. She breached your trust, yes, but she came clean soon after. She wants to do good by you. For a long while, they stayed silent. Enough time for Cecilia to pay the bill and for them to start walking toward the stadium to meet the very woman they''d been talking about and her friends. Scizor loomed behind her, a silent guardian meant to shadow her at all times to show support, but his trainer''s face lit up like morning sunlight filtering through the scant openings in Eterna Forest when she saw her mate, and he couldn''t help but restrain mockingughter. He kept his posture stiff, his gaze scanning their surroundings for anything that might disrupt this nauseatingly sweet reunion. Cecilia gently caressed Temperance''s cheek, and one of the friends¡ªa pale girl¡ªstared away with a smile that reminded him of his trainer when she forced herself to look happy. Back in Eterna Forest, many Pokemon feigned readiness for battle when they crossed his path, and he had done the same¡ªring his wings, puffing out his chest, and hissing in a show of bravado. It was all a desperate act to appear stronger than he truly was, hoping to intimidate opponents who could have easily overpowered him. Scizor thought this girl¡ªAmber¡ªto be horrid at acting. ¡ªn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om The Floaroma Sanctuary sat on the outskirts of the northern part of town, blending seamlessly with the vibrant flower fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a ce of purpose and quiet care, dedicated to providing a home for abandoned wild Pokemon and those left behind by deceased trainers. Those who had nowhere else to turn to in the face of loss so devastating, or simply somewhere Pokemon could rest if they were tired. Paths of worn dirt and stone curved through the sanctuary, dividing the sprawling fields into distinct yet interconnected areas. Each path was lined with wildflowers, their summer blooms swaying gently in the breeze, creating natural boundaries between the habitats currently being built by the staff. They wouldn''t be as expansive and detailed as the Hunters'' ''daycare'', at least for now, but they would do. It was the ce of Louis'' dreams. Buildings had sprung up, dotting the meadow here and there, but most of it was unobstructed wilderness. Already, Pokemon wandered in asionally. Justin''s Ludicolo hopped and sang to a pair of Buizel near a pond, apanied by his dancing Audino. Sometimes, Louis would spy Corviknight flying overhead; the steel type coulde and go, leaving for days at a time, but he always came back eventually. The rest of Justin''s Pokemon were out of view, as were his. He imagined Gabite to be making the rounds, guarding the edges of their territory despite the surroundings being rtively peaceful. He had already gathered an entourage of underlings wanting to grow stronger with his guidance¡ªperhaps these would be the bulk of their security one day. Vespiquen was thinking of starting a colony around here with a few of the wild Combee she had added to her thrall, and Louis figured selling the honey would be an adequate source of ie. Nales enjoyed speaking to people, whether human or Pokemon. Already, she''d helped at least a dozen wild Pokemon get back on their feet with one of her famous pep talks. Empoleon¡­ was still finding his footing here. Louis'' starter still felt out of ce, a mise-like feeling that he swore he would push through. He had, after all, never done anything but be Louis'' loyal and first Pokemon. Louis ran a hand through his hair, letting out a satisfied sigh. He enjoyed watching everyone going about their tasks; a few dozen feet away, an older man in a wide-brimmed hat adjusted the ropes on a canvas awning shading the future feeding station. With practiced ease, he tightened the knots and tested their strength, giving a satisfied nod before moving to inspect the wooden tables underneath. As he worked, a Linoone scurried by his feet, carrying a bundle of towels that someone had clearly entrusted it with. Closer to Ludicolo and the pond, a young woman crouched by the water''s edge, her hands submerged as she carefully rinsed smooth stones. She ced them one by one along a winding path meant to guide Pok¨¦mon safely to the water. Hehad made it happen. With moneying from Justin''s father and Grace''s help finding the location, butLouishad coordinated all of this. It had been endless, but satisfying work, and he was still vibrating with more ideas to implement¡ª A light tap on his shoulder. Louis turned and¡ª "Gah!" He stumbled back, nearly tripping in the process until he nted a strong leg on the ground and let out a ragged breath that only managed to squeeze past his tightened lips. Cecilia stared down at him with an apologetic look that he would have struggled to find in her empty eyes, once. Back when they first met, he used to be a smidge taller than her. "S¡ªsorry? I was calling and you didn''t say anything, so I figured a tap¡­ are you quite alright?" She patted him on the shoulder and craned her neck to look to his side. "I am, I am." Goodness, to be scared by your own friend? How embarrassing. Getting a better look at her, she was wearing all ck¡ªobsidian, even. Maybe it''d had something to do with her battles today. "I wasn''t expecting you, is something wrong?" They''d seen each other a few times, but none of these had been since the Conference began. He''d expected her to call as always. "Did you fly here?" "It pays to help save the world." Cecilia pointed back with a thumb at a nice-looking Kadabra. "I wouldn''t have the time to fly¡ªI have another battle in a few hours." Louis'' eyes widened. "Oh, how was your battle with Aubri¡ª" Suddenly, the Unovan burst outughing, holding onto her stomach. The two long scars on her face stretched and bent with theughter."She wiped the floor with me!"Louis struggled to see the hrity there, but seeing herugh was enjoyable. "Even Scizor''s armor just dissolved in the face of her Szzle''s poison. It was quite the show." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Ah¡­ what a rush. I didn''t even get to finish my y, she just shut me down entirely. She has a way of just¡­ closing doors and destroying your options. Oh well, it was fun, still." A mildly threatening look glinted in her eye. "I got good data out of it, and I barely managed to strike down that Szzle. Then again, it felt like she wasn''t trying as hard as she could have been¡­ but I''m rambling." "It''s fine," Louis said. "I''m not busy at the moment. Want to sit and watch the sanctuary while you talk?" She nodded, patting down behind her skirt the moment she sat on the grass. Without wasting a breath, she talked of her fight. Of how she used Golurk to set up and break the field,steallight itself with a technique he couldn''t even wrap his head around, and make music linger long enough for Scizor to appear on the field and remain a red, beating heart whose attacks would make him shine ever brighter in the pitch ck and he was all the audience could look at or hear. She even showed him the video! It was too bad that Szzle just shut down Scizor in a mere minute and thirty seconds. "Aubri''s an analytical fighter, but not like Grace, studying every move and tactic and whatnot, or Gardenia who gets into her opponents'' heads. She''s like a surgeon, see?" Cecilia exined, pointing at her screen. "Even in the dark and over shattered terrain, her Szzle has immacte spacing; not a movement of theirs is wasted. They always remain close enough to be a lethal threat, but far enough to be safe from Scizor even when he''s using Agility. It''s disgustingly efficient." Cecilia tapped the edge of her phone. "It makes me shiver just looking at it." "Does anyone else battle like her?" Louis asked. "Plenty try, she''s just the best at it if you ignore Cynthia and Lucian." Cecilia looked longingly ahead. "And a few of the Battle Frontier, maybe." "You''ll be headed there, soon, right?" "The day the Conference ends. To be honest, I was nervous about it now, but the truth is, I cannot wait. I''d like to spar with Cynthia at least once even if it would be akin to challenging a God. She promised me." Louis hummed in surprise, leaning back in the grass as he watched a few of his employees pass them by, carrying crates of care supplies. "When she told you about Spiritomb?" "No. When we first met in this very city." Her eyes burned so intensely that he mistook the life in them for pupils. She''d found so much totch onto, was so much better than she used to be, that it was like night and day with her. Louis was ted for her. When he looked at his friend, it was like her entire body was screaming as one for the challenge even if she''d get crushed. "But how areyoudoing¡ª" "You know," Louis interrupted her with a smile. "I''m d you met Temperance." She squinted at him¡ªnot maliciously, but out of pure nonunderstanding. "What does that mean?" "I''m happy you met her," he repeated. His legs went t against the grass, and he stretched with a groan. "I''m sure your Pokemon are as well. It''s as if she breathed life into you." "I don''t like the idea of needing someone to do that," she stated inly and slowly. "But I suppose you''re somewhat correct. She made me love battling instead of seeing the practice as a means to an end. When I fight, I remember that I''m alive. I feel the rush of blood through my veins, I wee the nails that dig against my palm, I await the soreness that overtakes me afterward. It''s a wonderful experience." He understood that, even now, despite not having reached as high as she or Grace had. "I considered bringing her here for you two to finally meet," she continued, "but she didn''t feel like going out." "That happens sometimes." "Hey, Louis." Cecilia hugged her knees, her long arms draping around her legs. "Do you think I''m capable of this?" He wondered what she meant. "Of what?" "Sometimes, when it''s dark andte at night, it''s pitch ck, and it''s so quiet that all I can hear is my beating heart," you could barely hear her, now, "I get shes in my mind. Visions of distilled agony." "Can you tell me what those are? You know I used to get¡­ dreams." A crack opening atop Cor, howling and howling until they could only hear its songs and the screams until it swallowed the world whole. "Though I suppose Grace fixed those." One of her eyes twitched. "I don''t know. It''s shameful." Louis flinched back¡ª "Notyou. Sorry." Cecilia nibbled on one of her nails. "I feel so much shame all the time, and no matter how many steps I climb toward my journey to reincarnation it''s always there, right behind me. No. I have tocarryit with me, and it''s grown so heavy." The Unovan sighed, shielding her dark skin from the sun with an open palm. The light filtered through the opening in her fingers. "It was easier when I was so angry I couldn''t tell it was there." He understood the¡­ gist of it, or at least he figured he did. Louis awkwardly dragged Cecilia into a side hug. It wasn''t smooth¡ªhis elbow bumped against her arm, and his hand awkwardly rested just above her opposite shoulder. "Love''s hard. I get it. But I discovered something after, uh, you left us that letter and you left running in Cor. And then when you came back, my hopes and dreams of bettering myself for you were crushed." It was funny to look back on now, to think he had a chance. Back then, however, it had shattered him into a million pieces. Maeve had helped pick them up, and Mira had tagged along for the ride¡­ Maeve, uh. He wasn''t romantically interested in her, still, but he did miss her. She''d all but vanished, checking in via text once in a blue moon. "I believe that before you can fully and healthily love another, I think you have to first love yourself," Louis said. "But that''s a¡­ utopic vision of it I hold. Insecurities can work to crush a rtionship, so I think that if you just bring it up, she''ll amodate your fears." Cecilia bit her lip. "You''re right. You''re right, I want to make this work. I''ll talk to her¡ªI''ll tell her tomorrow. After her friend''s birthday partyter tonight." Louis nodded. With how ashamed she was of this topic, he figured she needed time to prepare. "Great." "So now¡­ how are you doing?" Cecilia asked. ¡ª Sinnoh''s Champion traced a spreadsheet line with a finger, adjusting her reading sses. Every week, each Sinnohan city and town sent her an expense report, along with budgetary needs she needed to sign on. It was quite the busywork for the people who had topile all of this, but little for her so long as she looked the numbers over. For Cynthia, life was an endless stream of work. Sometimes, it was a torrent that threatened to wash her away should she not tighten her grip around her most trusted advisors and her Elite Four, and sometimes, it was like today. A trickle, barely a stream. She had delegated tasks well, and now found herself with only menial work to do for the rest of the day, and it would most likely remain so for a while. She would, after all, be absent for a few weeks after the Conference with the very trainer sitting in her office. Though she''d remain reachable for much of that time, thanks to their proximity to the southern tip of the Battle Frontier, the eventual stretch of radio silence would be inevitable. It would do well to let Sinnoh breathe and function without her while she was gone, even if she felt like the ce would copse without her. It was not a realistic worry, but one borne of her being so hands-on with every facet of her cherished nation. Togekiss chirped behind her, sending endless waves of soothing calm that kept her going so long as she didn''t close her eyes for long. The nightmares¡ªseing thatthingevery night, observing her silently¡ªwould most likely not be something she would ever get used to. With a heavy breath, Cynthia ran a hand through Togekiss'' fur¡ªthe fairy leaned into the touch¡ªand she nced at a framed picture of her twin sister, grandmother, and herself they had taken recently near their home with Garchomp behind them. Of course, her dear draconic sister never looked at the camera, and she was blurry. Cecilia Obel hummed a tune she was preparing for her next set of battles tomorrow. The sun was about to set, with her record for the day being one victory and two defeats. She was in the middle of the pack, but she would need to ramp things up should she want to progress past groups. At least she looked to be enjoying herself. Cynthia dove back into her spreadsheet¡ª "That''s your sister, right?" Cecilia leaned forward in her seat, eyeing the side of the framed picture. Cynthia smiled, turning the picture so she could get a better look. "Celeste, yes. That''s my grandmother, Carolina." She pointed at the older woman. "She''d dislike you." The teenager deted. "Why?" "I just know my grandmother." Oh, she''d be polite to her face, but behind closed doors, she would talk all about how the kid''s behavior unsettled her and how ''nosy'' she''d be. "My sister would like you, though. She''d find you interesting." Cecilia''s nk eyes fixated on the picture. "I wanted a sister when I was young. I thought that we''d be able to go through everything together. That I''d keep her protected from rence." A sad smile reached her lips, and she put the frame down. "A foolish endeavor. It''s a good thing he didn''t put any more children into the world." She returned to humming a song¡ªquite an upbeat one. She seemed in an optimistic mood despite the somber topic. "I thought of Amy Saunier as a sister, once." "People change," Cynthia offered; the statement seemed to resonate inside of Cecilia. "Some for the worse." The Unovan shook her head in disgust. "What''s it like to have a family?" "It is¡­ a lot of work," the Champion said, "it''s a bond you have to constantly nurture, despite what people may tell you. But you know about that already. For a while, I let this bond decay, but I''m hoping to make the most of it now." Pride surged in Cynthia''s chest. Bubbling excitement surged within her, forcing her to push words out. "I''m going to be an aunt." "Th¡ªthat''s the fifth time you''ve told me that since we started these meetings." "And I''ll tell you a sixth," Cynthia shot back without hesitation. "You''re starting to sound like Bertha. Can you imagine it?Celestewith a kid¡ªArceus, that feels so strange to say, but I''m so excited to spoil the little one¡­ I can''t wait to teach him all about battling." Togekiss let out a worried chirp, telling her to calm down, but she ignored him. There was no age too early to be taught about Pokemon. "Why is that strange? She''s your age¡­" Cecilia muttered, nearly under her breath. Cynthia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Of course, she wouldn''t understand¡ªnot yet. That kind of perspective only came with time, when the years began to slip past unnoticed, and news of friends marrying or starting families became the norm. Life had a way of moving faster than anyone was prepared to admit. "Did I say something wrong?" Cecilia''s tone rose in a mild panic. "You''ll get it one day¡ªah, yes, family. Nurturing bonds," Cynthia continued, finding her footing. "This is the case with every rtionship, be it a friend, a partner, or even a co-worker. You tend to it like a garden. Some days, it''s easy¡ªsunshine, fresh soil, everything flourishing without much effort. Other days, it''s storms, droughts, or pests trying to tear it all apart. But the key is consistency. You don''t give up just because it''s hard until you''re certain your nts are irreparably damaged and dead." Cecilia had already begun to diligently write notes on herptop¡ª "Do not do that," Cynthia said. The girl''s fingers froze. "Take notes?" "Yes. Do not take my word for anything unrted to Pokemon battling or governance." Sometimes, she forgot the image she''d cultivated over the years. The infallible Champion who could never lose nor be wrong. "I''m just giving my opinion." "Your opinion is still¡­ appreciated." Cecilia gulped and scratched her neck; she was the picture of anxiety in that moment. Blinking rapidly, dry-lipped, twitching. All of thatsted barely a second. Cecilia pushed her chair back with a soft scrape, the hesitation in her movements giving way to a growing steadiness. "I''m going to try even harder from now on." "Good. Don''t forget¡ªin two days, Aliyah will be here." The Unovan nodded, thanked Cynthia for her time, and left. "It''s just you and me now, Togekiss," she muttered. "Let''s move on to Floaroma''s spreadsheet¡­"
Chapter 343 – Happy Birthday! Chapter 343 ¨C Happy Birthday!
CHAPTER 343 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Alcohol flowed freely as Amber Stewart''s birthday party came to life inside Ronaldo''s sprawling penthouse. The living room buzzed with energy, a whirlwind of people and Pokemon moving to the pounding beat of the music. Cassandra, ever the clown, belted out off-key lyrics for the crowd''s amusement, drawingughter and groans in equal measure. Meanwhile, Temperance''s Whimsicott danced with Kael, leading him in a yful whirl under the gentle breeze she conjured. Temperance herself was doubled over withughter, her Dragonair drapedzily across herp, letting out an indignant growl whenever her hand paused mid-pet. Amid the chaos, Amber sat stiffly beside Temperance, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Normally, her sharp wit had no trouble cutting through Cassandra''s antics, deflecting Kael''s dotingpliments, or matching Ronaldo''s long-winded speeches. But tonight, she was quieter, her usual sharp tongue reced by nervous silence. Her shyness was never far when Temperance was around, but tonight it seemed magnified, her unease more noticeable against theughter and cheer echoing around her. Cecilia herself couldn''t focus, either. She no longer found dancing enjoyable¡ªand they knew as much¡ªso at least she had an excuse to be sitting. She found refuge at the bar away from Temperance''s worried gazes, her gaze drifting toward the glittering lights of the League outside, as if anchoring herself to the world beyond the party. She wished, more than anything, that she could allow herself a drink, let the alcohol dull the edge of her thoughts. But not tonight. Tonight, her mind had to stay clear like the sky on a beautiful day. Still thinking?Slowking said beside her, his hands behind his back. He curiously browsed the selection of drinks at the counter¡ªTanqueray Gin straight from Gr, Chardonnay from Kalos, Paldean Wines from Ronaldo''s family''s vineyard, and all kinds of the usual hard liquor and mixing beverages.You ought to rip off the band-aid. Carefully. Like, you know when you douse it under warm water to get at the edges, but at the end of the day you''re gonna have to get to it anyway¡ª Cecilia exhaled long and hard. "I know what taking off a band-aid is like." She reached for her ss of cold water and took a swig, enjoying the frigid sensation within her. "And I hate that metaphor." I mean, we can talk metaphors all night; we can also just differ in opinions and cut to the chase.Slowking took a step in the air, the invisible barrier not even making a sound under him, and he sat on one of the high chairs next to her. His stubby legs dangling up and down were quite cute.Unless you do want to talk about metaphors all night. Wouldn''t surprise me¡ª Cecilia threw the rest of her water at him, knowing he''d easily stop it. The gem atop his Shellder shone bright red, and the liquid turned to a thin line, snaking its way back into her ss with an elegance fit for someone who''d gotten water thrown at them their entire life. That was before the psychic nudged his head up, and a few drops of water flew on Cecilia''s face. "My makeup!" she whined and lunged at one of the napkins. You dish it out, but you can''t take it.Slowking winked, evaporating the water in an instant.Did our fighting like a couple of children make you feel better? She gave it some thought, leaning against one of her palms as she twirled her ss around. Cecilia hadn''t realized she''d been smiling, but the respite onlysted a moment. Despair and shame quickly wed their way back into her, tunneling through skin like worms into soil until they reached her heart; they clung to her, making her body feel like lead. Her ankles, her wrists were rigid; her knees would have buckled under the weight of such pressure had she been standing. The Unovan finished her water, and Slowking gave her a refill by dragging some out of the tap and levitating it directly into her ss. She needed more¡ªshe was out of breath, she was¡ªshe was cold¡ªher fingertips felt so numb it was as if her hands weren''t hers¡ª A hand and a dull w gently scraped across her back.Why don''t we go somewhere more private?He looked around nervously to see if anyone had noticed, but Cassandra''stest fall had everyone enthralled.Temperance will most likelye check in on you soon; she doesn''t like it when you''re isted too long. "And this time I don''t have ''studying for a battle'' as an excuse." The Unovan wiped cold sweat off her face, and her fingers lingered on the edge of her biggest scar until feeling returned to their tips. "I don''t think I was this nervous when I was about to face Jupiter, even." Adrenaline and not caring about your life back then was a horrible mixture.Slowking waved a hand dismissively.So? Shall we? "Mhm." She carried her ss of water like it was her lifeline, making her way over the edge of the busy living room. Music boomed in her ears, the vibration goingthroughher as if she were in a concert. Would they get noise anyints tonight? Did it even matter? "Cecilia!" Cassandra called out, nearly out of breath. Her body was covered in sweat, and multicolored lights reflected on her skin¡ªor at least she''d been told it was multicolored. "Stop sulking about some battle ande dance with us!" "There''s nous!Gah!" Ronaldo screamed when Whimsicott blew a gust of air at him, and he stumbled back. "Temperance! Get your foul beast off me¡ªah!" They were fun, these people. Out of touch, perhaps, but as kind as they could manage. Kinder, even, than she had ever been in her days as a sheltered rich girl. The same, she supposed, could be said of her friends. Oh. She''d forgotten herself. Heroldfriends. "I''lle byter, I just need to discuss something with Slowking," she said back. "We''ll be just¡­ ten¡ªtwenty minutes. Sorry, Amber. I know this is your birthday, but¡­" Amber, for her part, answered with a ghost of a nod, not even meeting her eyes. Temperance did not say anything, but her eyes betrayed the rity with which she saw Cecilia. Slightly narrow, eyebrows raised with worry, and an unspoken expression that seemed to ask if she needed her. Cecilia bit her lip and mouthed back a ''soon.'' She just had to get her thoughts in order. She just had to get her thoughts in order. She just had to get her thoughts in order¡­ Room. A bedroom, to be exact. You could tell it was Ronaldo''s by all of the Paldean things he kept in it. His family''s heraldry hung on his wall: a stylized Bombirdier give that the species roamed the mountains of his house. A handwoven rug he had transported up here was spread across the floor, its bold light colors forming patterns reminiscent of Paldean tapestry. Paldean books, brands, everything and anything. You could tell he was somewhat homesick, even if he hade here to spread his wings away from his mother''s watchful eye. "I hope he doesn''t mind." Cecilia wasn''t sure he would approve her being in here, but already, her breaths came easier. With a hand on her chest, she took deep inhales and exhales. "I''m okay. Don''t touch anything." Wasn''t going to. I''m not Toxicroak.After a pause, the water type raised his hands with a grin.She might hit me over the head if she hears. You wouldn''t sell me out, would you? Cecilia leaned against the walls with her arms half-crossed and imagined it¡ªa well-ced Brick Break right on Slowking''s head. "I won''t. Or I will if you don''t focus on the matter at hand." I''m trying to make you rx. "It''s unfortunately working," she answered dryly. He paused, the words lingering on the edge of his tongue as he seemed to weigh his options. Cecilia braced herself for a witty retort or one of his signature bad jokes. Instead, she got this.How may I be of help, mydy? Why are you finding venting about your anxieties to your own partner so stressful? Hm. She knew the answer. It wasn''t as if she hadn''t hinted at it all throughout this day when she had gathered advice from people she thought would be of help. "Picture a basement. It used to be a box, but it grew into a chest, then a vault. Over time, it got bigger, more reinforced. Every worry, every fear, every doubt I''ve had about Temperance''s fidelity¡ªI packed them inside and locked them away. And now¡­" she trailed off, blinking rapidly. "Now I have to just let it out.All of it.It''s grown so, so big. It used to be tolerable, but I can''t bring myself to fully trust her. I get thoughts. Horrible n¡ªnightmares." The words came out with a shiver. He had seen her waking with tears in her eyes. The Pokemon tilted his head, letting the words sink in.Do you think she''d refuse to ept you? I am certain she would understand, especially since she knows your history. Temperance is an understanding human. Empathetic toward those she keeps close. The Unovan did not even hesitate for a moment. "Of course, she would. That''s what scares me." eptance? "Amodation. As it stands, there''d be no way to fix the way I feel unless we took drastic measures. I''d need¡ªI''d need so much reassurance¡­ it would border on the¡ªno, maybe we could reachpromise." A pause. "Compromise. I start therapy soon. Then maybe. Maybe." She kept whispering the word over in over, thinking about every single way this could go and no doubt not even scratching the surface. "There''s also the shame," she said, quieter. There''s nothing to be ashamed of. You were hurt, and now it''s like you''re expecting to be able to just be able to walk on with a gash in your leg.He pointed at her scarred limb for effect.Grace was the Krokorok in this instance, and this time you didn''t kill it. "Please refrain from bringing her up, especially if it''s to put that picture in my head." The psychic sighed, not understanding, butplying.My apologies.He bowed with an arm on his chest.Let us speak of shame, then. She chuckled bitterly, tasting bile in the back of her throat until she sipped on more water. "The Copperajah in the room? Sure, let''s talk about it. I''ve felt ashamed of myself for getting my heart broken since that day. I go outside, and it feels like people wouldugh at me if they knew. I hear someone talk abouther, and I feel the need to quicken my pace to get away from her name. Iseeher, and I stumble over my words and feel the need to say sorry even if I should not." She''d nearly run out of oxygen. "All I feel is shame except when I''m battling, the only method I have of expressing myself freely." Wouldn''t that mean it would feel good to tell Temperance everything? Isn''t that expressing yourself freely? "Iwilltell her tonight; I''m tired of running. It''s just¡­ I need to work my way up to it. Plus, I wouldn''t want to ruin this party for Amber. Arceus, I wish I could hate her." The crush on Temperance was¡­ Cecilia figured it was obvious. Sometimes, she imagined getting in between the two of them and telling Amber toback off. Oh, who was she kidding? She''d be too scared of being dumped again. The fear of being abandoned for someone better¡ªmore stable and understanding¡ªwhile she dealt with her issues was a constant pressure that had her feeling like she hadn''t taken a clear breath since that evening in Canve. Stuck in ce, dying of thirst around an oasis with so much water avable around her. Cecilia looked down at her near-empty cup, seeing her distorted reflection in the ss. Fingers sped tightly at the receptacle, a sad smile building upon her visage that hurt the corner of her lips. "Killing is so much easier than this." That, it is,Slowking agreed.Let us speak more of this. ¡ª Nine minutes¡ªno, ten. Ten minutes since Cecilia had gone off on her own, and over forty since Temperance and she had spoken a word to each other. Slightly over an hour since the party had begun. Temperance craned her neck toward the hallway until Dragonair bumped her in the arm with her head. Ever the histrionic dragon, this one, but Temperance loved her all the same. The coordinator gently ran her nails under Dragonair''s chin, eliciting a soft vibration from the delicate wings on her head. Even the tip of Dragonair''s tail responded, the two pearls at its end softly clinking together as they rattled in delight. To head over there or to not head over there? Temperance knew Cecilia needed her space when she got like this, or she would close herself off even more and stare you down in¡­ she still didn''t even understand what it was. Not anger, but disappointment? No, it wasn''t. She knew what disappointed Cecilia looked like. Temperance watched Cassandra copse on one of the couches for a break with ragged breaths so loud they broke through the music¡ªthe music that Kael lowered now that everyone was done dancing. Fear? What did a scared Cecilia look like, even? She''d scantly seen that look on her face. God, why was she so bad at deciphering her own girlfriend''s expressions? Cecilia wasn''t easy; she could be quiet, lived in her own world most of the time, and despised¡ªtruly despised being vulnerable. She was a book closed down by a sp, shoved into a safe that had been dumped to the bottom of the sea a continent away. Kael pped his hands to gather their attention. "Should we do gifts? Ambs, what do you think?" When he did not get an answer, his brows creased with worry. "Ambs?" Amber was paler than usual¡ªyou could tell even with all of the party lights bouncing around. She kept fidgeting with her thumbs, looking down at herp and mouthing something so quiet no one could hear but herself. Whimsicott spun in the air, growing closer and closer with curiosity until Amber yelped and backed up against the couch. Temperance wished her girlfriend was this easy to read. New members of her entourage were often nervous around her before they grew used to her presence, either because of her standing amongst those in the coordinatormunity, some crush or both. Ronaldo had been only a crush, since he was already used to mingling with those society designated as ''above'' him in society. Cassandra was her oldestpanion, and there had been one-sided sparks there for a while until Temperance talked her down. Kael, meanwhile, did not have a crush, but he had stumbled over his words the first few weeks they''d interacted because of how terrified he''d been of making a social faux pas. Amber had been the most obvious of all, asking Temperance about what she and Cecilia thought of open rtionships a few weeks ago with the subtlety of a Snox attempting to tiptoe in a library. Really, the only reason Temperance hadn''t privately shot Amber down yet was because she worried about the reaction the little critter would have. She was bright, brimming with potential, and filled with so many great ideas, but she was also¡­ she was alsoAmber.Skittish as a Wimpod and ready to run at the first sign of hardship. Her life had been blessed by good looks, talent, and intuition; she had not truly faced rejectionever, romantic or otherwise. Long story short, Temperance would have to pick her words very carefully to not hamper her future. Once upon a time, she wouldn''t have cared much; things were so much easier back then. "Earth to Ambs," Cassandra joked. "Come on, did you get hit by a Confuse Ray, or what? Whimsy, did you¡ª" The grass type hissed in indignation, a sound that did not sound like it should havee out of her mouth, as if to say she technically didn''tknowthat move, even if she could technically replicate a bootleg version of it that looked pretty. "Sorry. Erm, if that''s¡ªif that''s okay with everyone¡­" Amber trailed off. Ah.There was her opportunity. "Shouldn''t we wait for Cece? Actually, let me go get her," she said before they or her jealous Dragonair could react. Not that they would have said no regardless. They all agreed as she made her way toward the hallway¡ª "Um¡ªTemperance!"Amber''s voice cut through the living room, stunning the coordinator like lightning. "Before we do gifts, actually, could we talk about something, just the two of us?" She gripped the sides of her dress like a child. "It''s, um, contest rted." It wasn''t contest-rted, that much was obvious. Temperance looked back toward the hallway, noticing the light under the door to Ronaldo''s bedroom and catching the quiet sound of Cecilia''s voice now that everything was so still. She then nced at Amber, who was trembling like a leaf and looked like she was about to have a heart attack. She was putting everything on the line for this. Oh, dear. Saying no here would destroy her; she could see Amber tearing up already. The coordinator ran her hands through her hair and gave her a reassuring smile. "Sure, Ambs. Let''s go for a walk for a second." Her friends all knew already, having opted to let Temperance deal with this on her own this entire time. "Guys, if Ceciliaes back, you let her know that we''ll talk when I''m back." When she''d said go out for a walk, she had meant it. The ride down the elevator was quiet, but Amber looked just about ready to copse in on herself. It was quite admirable, to see the girl push herself to. The little rituals she had to calm down¡ªthe muttering under her breath, the constant tracing of fingers against her palm, the way she nodded as if to reassure herself. None of it would matter, in the end.Ding, the elevator rang, and they made their way out of the extravagant hotel lobby. Dinners and conversations,ughter and joy, to be surrounded by such things and to be about to crush a girl''s dream was¡­ it had to be done. Even if the Lily was active during the night, it was nothingpared to daytime. One could easily find a deserted street or alley or bench or park for themselves. Temperance did not know where Amber and she were going, but it was only a matter of time until her friend gathered enough courage for a confession. So long as they didn''t stray too far and it didn''t take too long, the coordinator was willing to make this as easy as possible. Eventually they stopped a few minutester in a small, tucked-away park nestled between two towering apartment buildings. The dim glow of streetlights filtered through the sparse canopy of trees, casting dappled shadows on the worn cobblestone path. A single wooden bench sat beneath an oldmppost, its light flickering faintly, giving the space an almost ethereal quality and inspiring a million contest routines. It wasn''t grand or picturesque, but there was an intimacy to it. Was that why Amber had chosen this spot? She looked striking under the soft, flickering glow of themppost, the light catching the subtle shimmer of her brown hair, which had been styled into loose waves that framed her face. Her pale skin seemed almost luminous in the dim surroundings, a stark contrast to the dark fabric of her dress. Amber took a breath.Here goes. "I¡ª" Amber clearly wanted to stop, every nerve in her body was screaming at her not to do this. Clenched fists, tightened jaw, and a whole lot of desperation. "Temperance, I''m sorry to say this when you¡ªyou have a girlfriend. But I can''t take advantage of your kindness any longer!" Was that how she saw it? Taking advantage¡­ maybe from her perspective, it could make sense. Amber clutched at her heart, wrinkling her clothes. "I''m in love with you. I''m so in love with you that every second spent thinking that I might never get to date you hurts like my heart''s being run through a blender. I can''t do this anymore." Sheughed nervously, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "So I''m putting it all on the table." Oh, Legendaries. Temperance wished she would have given up eventually; she figured Amber would have, given that the girl had never been inappropriate with her. Temperance''s saddened gaze lingered on her, and she blushed bashfully, face turning away. Boring. Too childlike. But not her fault. "It must have taken a lot of courage for you to say this," the coordinator sighed. Amber was barely holding it together; this wasnotwhat someone wanted to hear after their confession. "I''m sorry, but I don''t reciprocate your feelings. I love Cecilia." The dam broke. She could not hold onto her tears any longer. "I¡ªI figured as m¡ªmuch," Amber sobbed. "Yeah. You two probably want me out of your hair. I''m sorry, I''ll go¡ª" "Do not." Temperance knew how this ended. First, she''d go sleep somewhere else, then they wouldn''t speak for a few days, and they''d slowly drift apart. "I mean, obviously you can leave if you want because I''m sure you''ll need space, but hey." The coordinator stepped forward, sitting on the beach before patting the space next to her. Amber didn''t move. "Crushes are hard, I get it. Sometimes, they''re hopeless, but you can''t help but want to get it off your chest so you can finally move on." Amber nodded amidst her sniffles and sobs. "I still want you to be a part of the group, not only because you''ll squander career opportunities if we aren''t close, but because I like hanging out with you¡­ though I haven''t seen you be normal next to me in quite some time with your anxiety around me and whatnot. When''s thest time we had a conversation about ideas for performances? It''s been over a month!" Amber let out achrymoseughter, full of tears and regret, and she wiped her face with her arms. "I''m sorry. I guess I''ve been a bother." Sheughed again, this time harder. "Arceus, I forgot¡ªI had this whole pitch about how good of a duo we could have been with me helping youe up with routines for contests." Temperance smiled. "Did you forget?" She chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah, I justpletely forgot." She slid onto the bench¡ªbut stayed at the edge so she wouldn''t be too close. "I think I knew I had no chance, deep down. You''re right that I just needed it off my chest¡ªI feel like I can actually function around you now and it hasn''t even been ten minutes." Good. That had gone as best as it could have. "If you want, we can stick around here for a bit while you calm down before we head back¡ªif you want to." Now all she''d have to do was tell Cecilia while they talked. Amber nced up at the moon, half hidden behind a cloud. "I have gifts to open, don''t I? Let''s stick around a little and then head back." ¡ª It wasn''t perfect. It just wasn''t, but maybe it never would be and that was okay. Cecilia stood perfectly still in front of the door, not even a finger twitching. She was real. She existed, and she could feel her feet against the ground; the air working its way past her nose, throat, and into her lungs; the cold spreading across her hand when she wrapped it around the doorknob. Slowking had been helpful just listening and challenging her ideas; Cecilia knew she could count on her Pokemon for everything and anything. They were so good to her even if she had rarely deserved their kindness. Today, Cecilia was ready to say that she had worked her way up and that she deserved them again. She was nervous¡ªof course she was. The little voice in the back of her head told her that she needed to silence herself if she wanted this rtionship tost, but she knew the trickster was only scared to wear her heart on her sleeve. You can do this,Slowking said. "I can do this." Cecilia slowly pushed the door open. She let the sound of the outside world sink in for a moment. Voices, music, Pokemon, flowing drinks. She imbibed it to center herself and anchor her newfound courage to this reality. Momentum carried her, for she could not allow herself to think too long. She reached the spacious living room and found the usual suspects, meeting them with a smile¡ªthey were all sitting on different couches, though Dragonair had imed a beanbag for herself coiling up so she could fit. Cassandra browsed through her phone, asionally joining in on the conversation between Ronaldo and Kael. Cecilia scanned the room¡ª Her smile fell. "Where are Temperance and Amber?" "Went out to talk," Amber said. "Odds are the newbie''s shooting her shot and confessing. They''ll be back soon, but odds are¡­" Cecilia didn''t hear the rest of that sentence. Her ears were ringing¡ªhad she been stabbed? She slowly looked down at her chest, expecting to find a de or a spike embedded in her ribs, for blood to be pouring down her skin and clothes, but found nothing. Where was this hurting from? Her vision was spinning as if she were drunk¡ªshe didn''t even feel alive. An out-of-body experience that left her staring down at herself and taking in a spoonful of agony at a time. It was happening again.It was happening again.She''d been too slow to act out of fear of being reced and in turn, shewasbeing reced. She could have stopped it she could have said something she could have intervened she could have saved herself and now it was over over over overover. Had she even changed at all? A hand and a dull w gently scraped across her back. Cecilia!Slowking screamed into her mind. "Cecilia?" Kael was close to her now. Too close. He tried sping her shoulder, but a hand rebuffed him¡ªit was her hand. She hadn''t even registered the skin-to-skin contact or noticed she''d been moving. "O¡ªoh. Sorry? I was just worried¡ªCass didn''t speak right¡ª" Cassandra held her hands together and made an exaggerated bow. "Sorry!" "¡ªshe meant that there wasnoway Amber wouldn''t be rejected. I mean, it''s obvious, right?" Kael finished. "Even Ronaldo had better odds," Cassandra mumbled. "Screw off," he grumbled. "Spare me your titudes." Cecilia shambled along the living room; her knees felt like they were carrying Cor itself. Slowking kept calling out her name, but it didn''t matter. It was toote. Theughs and giggles, the time they spent together on their own, how much Temperance brought Amber up unprompted even when they trained¡ªthe signs had been there. No, it hadn''t even been toote. There was just nothing she could have done; they were destined to be together. She would have fallen off the wayside eventually. One of the best coordinators in the country and a girl who was being heralded as a Type Energy genius across themunity? The writing had been on the wall. "I''m leaving. I''m so tired." They tried stopping her¡ªit was all a blur. Sheshed out without thinking, calling them unserious clowns who ought to experience ten percent of what she had before telling her thatit wasn''t a big deal. She yelled that she''d never see them again and that she would be all the better for it. She tore into them until they stopped trying to reason with her, and despite the anger feeling good, despite it being a veil to hide her fears and regret behind, she knew she did not mean any of it before the words even left her mouth. She''d torched her only new friendships for a few minutes of respite. Not that they were ever real. Just like with Temperance, it was only a matter of time until they saw the ugly part of her and threw her away. No, they were real. But were they? They were; it was just easier to pretend they weren''t to facilitate tolerating what she''d just done. Tears were slowly running down her cheeks, but she did not sob. Not since she''d died. Now, they just flowed. Whatever. They were in the lobby now, and she was hugging herself, lying down on one of the public couches. The small ones that were never sizeable enough to contain her, and so her legs dangled off the side and every so often someone would ask her to pass, and she would ignore them, and they''d go around her with annoyance in their eyes until they saw what she looked like. Some fled, some apologized, some¡ª That wasn''t a very good thing you did,Slowking said.I almost considered knocking you out with Hypnosis, but decided against it. That was the understatement of the century. It wasn''t as if she was going to stay in the group and pour endless salt into the wound, watching Temperance and Amber be with each other. Just imagining was enough to get her sick¡ªoh God, she couldn''t throw up here. Cecilia rushed and crawled toward a bin next to the couch, but only managed to cough over the can. "I think I''m sick." She looked around¡ªpeople were shooting her concerned looks. Luckily, it waste, so the lobby wasn''t as packed as it could have been. Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered. Cecilia wiped the corner of her mouth. "I need to¡­" A bit of psychic force pushed her upright.If you puke, I''ll pick it up before there can be any issues,Slowking spoke into her mind.Are you going to run away? She gave it some thought. "No. I was going to wait upstairs, but evidently my emotions got the better of me." She wiped more tears from her face, taking deep breaths of fresh air to keep her stomach from acting up. "What now? Do I just wait at the hotel entrance and let her break me?" she whispered. "I''d like to go out there and meet them to quicken the process, but I don''t have the tools to find them in the middle of a city." The water type shook his head.You didn''t listen, but the others were thinking Amber was going to get rejected¡ª "It won''t happen. No, itmighthappen tonight, but eventually¡­ eventually it''ll be over." Just like before. "It''s just like you said. I don''t want to limp through this a second time, hoping I''ll be the one who gets chosen in the end. It''s okay." Slowking clicked his tongue.Hear her out! You''re being like this for no reason¡ªno, not for no reason. I apologize.He shook his head and circled around the lobby''s couch.You''ve been hurt; you think you''ll get hurt again, but confessions aren''t a zero-sum game. "We''ll see," she whispered, already knowing that everything was doomed. Eventually, Cecilia started feeling well enough to walk, but as the minutes passed, she started figuring that if Temperance had rejected her, there''d be no reason for them to be out this long. How many minutes had it been? It felt like nearly an hour, but her phone told her twenty-three. Cecilia waited, waited, and waited until she noticed theme in. They looked quite unbothered¡ªthey were smiling, even. Jealousy burned within her, a bonfire high enough to reach for the skies, intense enough to sear all that would reach too close. It didn''t even matter what Temperance and Amber were like. One simple fact already spelled Cecilia''s downfall. Both of them were here. Even Slowking had doubt etched on his face. She wanted to slip away and to pretend she''d never known these people. "Do you think they were nning to deliver the news together, or just Temperance?" Cecilia asked. "Not that it matters. I''ll engage them on my terms." Once again, she would enable a new couple''s happiness and fall on her sword for them. She''d already caused enough damage upstairs, so she at least owed them this¡ªand wasn''t it better this way? They could be truly happy, and there was technically no infidelity afoot. In fact, this is what Grace should have done. Yes, things were better this way. It hurt, but it was better. "I''ll tell you how it went." She recalled Slowking, who despite the look in his eye, did not protest her tackling this on her own. She threw his Pokeball up and down, feeling mildly better now that she''d gotten thirty minutes to think. Around the central help desk, beyond one of the hotel''s restaurant, and onto the elevator hall. Her steps carried her further than theirs; she reached them quickly. ¡ª A haunting voice fit for an evil spirit startled them. "Evening, you two." Temperance flinched, and Amber''s soul nearly jumped out of her skin¡ªshe would have fallen over had Temperance not grabbed her by the arm. The coordinator recognized the voice, but she did not like Cecilia''s horrible tone. Defeated, yet resigned. Nails against chalkboard, each word forced through her esophagus like toothpaste through a tube too tight. The white in her eyes was tinted red, a sign that she''d cried some, and she used her height to loom over them like a Pokemon wanting to appear more threatening than it was.Why wasn''t she up at the penthouse?In the moments that followed, a deafening quiet overtook the three of them. Until Cecilia spoke again, fangs bared. "What? I''m making it easy for you, so justwith it. At least say it to my face." What the hell was she even talking about? "I think there''s¡ªthere''s a misunderstanding here. Why don''t you go upstairs and wait for us toe back, Ambs?" No answer. Temperance nced to her right and saw her frozen in ce. They weren''treallycornered and about to die, but Cecilia had a way of making you feel you were."Amber."Temperance shook her friend by the shoulder." "S¡ªsorry." "Go up to the penthouse. We''ll meet you there." She nodded meekly, following her guidance to the letter. She stood there awkwardly until an elevator came and climbed on. "So it''s just going to be you?" Cecilia said. "I¡ªCecilia, what''s wrong?" The Unovan''s eye twitched, and her fist clenched. Temperance had said something wrong. "I know she confessed to you already," she growled. "Were you going to tell me today, or were you going to string me along? Until when? The Conference''s ending so it didn''t affect my performance in the tournament? Give me a break." Cecilia moved in closer, hunching over until they were at eye level. "After I told youeverything, you would do that to me?" In this instant, something clicked in Temperance''s head and she realized something. Her rtionship was now on a knife''s edge. "Cece, I was going to tell you as soon as we came home." She spoke fast¡ªshe had to if she wanted to rectify this. "Yes, Ambs confessed to me¡ª" "Ambs. Always Ambs. She''s the only one that gets her nickname used as many times as me." Ceciliaughed, and her hand touched her forehead. "I''m always so blind¡ª" "No,no. Let me speak." She had to put her foot down,now. "I rejected her, Cecilia! Nothing is going on between us. I told her clearly that I didn''t like her back." Her face was still the same it didn''t work why didn''t it work¡ª "then tell her to get out. Kick her out of your group, block her on everything, and never talk to her again." "Come on, that''s a bit extreme¡ª" "I see. Then it''s over." Why was she being¡ªno, it was obvious why she was being like this. Temperance''s mind was racing; what should she say, how should she react, how could she salvage this? "Cece, I''m willing to spend less time with her¡ªI can do that. I can stop calling her Ambs, I can¡ªI can do whatever you want," Temperance said. "But I can''t¡­ exile her. I¡ªyou know that I have a lot of clout. People will talk, wonder why she was given the boot so soon after being epted, and the gossiping will ruin her career before she could ever get her foot off the ground." It wasdangerousto be her friend. She was not the best coordinator in the region¡ªalthough she was close¡ªbut she was easily the most famous. That was why she usually kept everyone but a few at arm''s length. Something akin to rity reached Cecilia''s eyes. ¡ª I see. Cecilia tried making sense of it in her head instead of attacking, attacking, and attacking to shield herself from the pain for just a few more minutes, and she truly gave it some thought. It was true that Amber''s reputation would most likely never recover so long as Temperance was on top of the coordinator world. And surprisingly¡ª Cecilia did not want this. She found herself caring when she wished she did not. "I understand," she said, her limbs going limp at her side. "I get it." "So, can we¡­ just pretend this never happened?" Temperance''s voice trembled with a desperation Cecilia had rarely witnessed. It twisted something inside her¡ªan uneasy mix of guilt and gratification. She hated herself for the flicker of warmth that came from knowing she did truly matter to her. She found herself disgusting. "Let''s just head back to our own hotel room? I just¡ªI can''t handle a party tonight." Yeah. Yeah, Cecilia could see herself epting this. An apology, a smile, a hug, and an ''I love you'' whispered in Temperance''s ear; it would be easy, too. She might even be forgiven for her outburst toward her friends given a few days despite not deserving that at all. Things would eventually go back to normal, and everything would be fixed. Everything except for her. "I''m sorry." Cecilia noticed the shattering of a face¡ªlike porcin under pressure. "I can''t." The words were barely out of the Unovan''s mouth when Temperance followed up with a"why?!" Why? Because she would never be able to shake the feeling of an impending betrayal. Grace had said the same thing, after all. That she didn''treallylike Maylene, that the Gym Leader had been but a friend, and then something more then a friend but less than a girlfriend, and then she was gone for a few weeks, and then theymade outbehind her back. "I''ll never trust you. It''s not your fault, but I never will." "Have I done anything to erode that trust?" Temperance asked, desperate to understand. "No. It''s not your fault," she repeated. "I''m just¡­ not right. I''m going to Unova soon, and every day, I''ll wonder if you aren''t doing things without my knowing. I''ll start wanting to micromanage you, and then I''ll start hating you. It won''t work." Even if it hadn''t been Amber, someone else would have inevitably used their long-distance rtionship to confess to Temperance. Their rtionship had just been doomed because her sense of trust was broken. "We can''t date anymore." "But weloveeach other. I''ve never loved someone as much as you!" she begged. "We do." "I¡ªI''ll¡ªI changed my mind," she forced out, her breathing uneven as she struggled to form the words. "I''ll¡­ I''ll do what you asked. I''ll talk to Amber and say she can''t stay¡ª" "You don''t really want or mean that. You''re a good person, Temperance." Her shoulders sagged. "You start therapy soon. Maybe we can work something out¡ª" "I realize now that it''s meaningless. I''d break up with you now either way. I''m sorry." Tears in her eyes."We''re so good together." Tears in hers, too. "We were." Then, silence. Perhaps a hope from Temperance that Cecilia would change her mind, perhaps a hope from Cecilia that she''d find a way to make things work. Nothing came up. "Can I go get my things from our hotel room?" Cecilia asked. "If you want, I cane another day¡ªor I can send one of my Pokemon to get it¡ª" "Just get it now." She hid her eyes with a hand and whimpered. "Just¡ªjust get it now so it''s over with." Cecilia called for the elevator, waited what felt like an eternity, and then hopped on, but she was surprised to see Temperance get on, too. Not because she figured the coordinator would try to win her back somehow, but because of how awkward it was going to be¡ªnot that Cecilia cared much about such a notion. She just thought Temperance would. "Sheruined you," Temperance hissed through clenched teeth and paced around the elevator. "Grace Pastel broke you like a piece of frail wood over her knee, and now we both suffer for it while she goes around in costume like some cheap¡­ some cheap jester." "Yes." She kicked the elevator wall and then moaned in pain. "Fuck.Fuck." She sobbed and stared up at the elevator lights. "How can youforgiveher for this? There is notoneounce of regret in that piece of shit."N?v(el)B\\jnn Cecilia allowed the urge to defend her first ex-girlfriend pass and watched the numbers tick by. Floor 18, 19, 20¡ªit helped. "I was angry for a while. It felt good. Righteous. I raged against everyone and everything around me, which is why I treated you so badly at first." The Unovan stood utterly still. Every extremity felt frigid. "It makes you feel active. In control. It''s a very potent illusion, I think." Even before Grace''s infidelity, she''d found herself getting angry beyond control. Maylene''s mere presence, Cor in general, Justin''s death and her thrashing that house¡­ "I was scared all the time in my childhood, and up until very recently. All the time. So I ovepensate by getting angry and burning everything down. But I''m not angry right now." She finally moved, running a hand through her loose hair. "I don''t know. Maybe I''m just tired." Temperance blinked at her. "You can say whatever you want; I will never,everforgive her for taking you away." "And that is your right." 25th, 26th, 27th floor. "I hope you don''t do anything rash." "...you''re too good to her." "I''ve seen her down the deepest throes of depression. If I let you hurt her¡ª" and by the Legendaries, Temperance could do so easily "¡ªwhat does that do for me? Does it bring my sense of trust back? Obviously not. In fact, it probably damages it further in the long run. It doesn''t even bring me¡­ petty satisfaction. It''s nothing. Just nothing. Smoke. I wasn''t a good girlfriend, so she chewed me up and spit me out. It is what it is." Ding.The elevator doors opened on the 38th floor, and they set out toward their room. Cecilia could tell Temperance walked slower than she could have. The Unovan humored her. "People will talk," she mumbled, "about the breakup. It''ll tarnish your reputation, even if I put out a statement that makes you look good. I mean, I will." Of course, it would. Two breakups so close to each other? Not only had Grace''s rather toxic stans been a sight for sore eyes¡ªalready, they''d noticed that the friend group had splitpletely in Grace''s favor; clearly this must have meant Cecilia was a demon who deserved nothing, so she was sure they''d rejoice¡ªbut Temperance''s was older, more seasoned, andrger. "Thank you." Cecilia dipped her head. "I appreciate it. I can''t do anything about it regardless. No use crying over the inevitable. I''ll keep a low profile." "...are you sure there''s really nothing I can do to salvage this?" "Nothing." "Damn it." Their hotel room looked more somber than usual. Beyond clothes and herptop, Cecilia didn''t have much here. She didn''t have much in general; nothing kept her tethered to this world. No more friends she could frequently see, with how busy Louis and Chase were these days, no more girlfriend, no more connections. Sometimes, Grace, when it waste at night and neither Grace nor she managed to fall asleep out of fear, her ex often talked about what it meant to be remembered, and what she could do for her name to echo generations beyond their death. Beyond her Pokemon, Chase, and Louis, Cecilia figured she''d be forgotten in about a few years should she die. She''d be an afterthought in a few minds¡ªremember that Unovan trainer who was in the Conference as a first year? Oh, what was her name again?That would be it. She had no roots nted anywhere, no ce to call home, nothing that anchored her to this ce. She might as well drift away in the wind as soon as her echo returned to Distortion. Temperance lent her a bag she could pack all of her clothes in so she wouldn''t have to make two trips, and honestly, she didn''t feel like having to exin this all to Slowking before she settled inside the nearest Center¡ªArceus, would there even be room thiste into the Conference? Would she have to camp out in the wilderness or sleep on some bench and wait to use the showers in the morning? Two heavy duffel bags in hand, she stood at the door of their room. "So this is it, then? Nothing to be said to me¡ªyou''ll just put your head down and pretend all of this is your fault?" Temperance demanded to know. "It isn''t fully¡ªI acknowledge that." "I¡ªI hate that you''re doing this. And¡ªand Grace gets away with this scot-free." "I think that if the opportunity came by, I''d want to talk to her onest time," Cecilia admitted. "For thest time in a while, at least." She wanted to gently caress her cheek, to offer her a hug so overwhelming she would no longer be crying, but it would just make things hurt more for the both of them. "If you start battling worse because of this, if you let this hamper you, I''ll make sure you hear from me," Temperance threatened with her arms crossed. "I''m afraid you''ve instilled a love for battling in me that is strong enough to withstand this. Even now I''m excited for my fight tomorrow¡ªhopefully, my team cooperates." "Good." "And I want to take this opportunity to thank you for everything," Cecilia said. "I¡ªI was lost and at my worst when I found you. I still kind of am, but at least I¡ªat least I''m better. I think." Good enough to see beyond wanting to destroy anything mildly unpleasant, at least. "I honestly had no right to date you¡ª" Temperance''s eyes moistened. "Stop¡­" "It''s true. I was awful to you in every sense of the word, and you put up with me until I changed. You''re so kind, Temperance. Kind, driven, well-spoken, social, at the top of your field¡ªyou''re everything I aspire to be. I was lucky to have you." The coordinator rushed forward, wrapping Cecilia into a tight hug, who couldn''t help it; she let her bags go and felt her back. It hurt. It hurt a thousand times. A self-inflicted splinter beneath her skin buried deep and bleeding her drop by drop. It wasfinal. It was also soothing, and Cecilia finally got that undisturbed breath she longed for. The embrace felt like an eternity, but it was still too short. "Thank you for everything," Cecilia said, grabbing her bags onest time. "Tell the others I''m sorry forshing out at them. I said a lot of unsavory things that they didn''t deserve." She turned to open the door but didn''t move. She''d nearly forgotten. "Oh. And tell Amber happy birthday for me. I never did tell her." "I will." A pause. "Think of me once in a while. Take care." She left. ¡ª Lehmhart sang a sappy tune, his internal chords producing a melody that was akin to a mncholic piece on a violin¡ªperfect for what she needed. The soft hum of his gears provided a rhythmic undertone, like a metronome with a mind of its own, asionally skipping a beat. His fingers moved in perfect sync with the music. Zolst had sprawled across the grass, his central head resting heavily on Cecilia''sp. His snores were enough to make a child stumble, though Slowking would have a lot worse to say about it. Speaking of, nearby, the psychic was nearly finished weaving invisible, opaque barriers around their makeshift camp, enclosing them in a bubble of quiet safety. If they had to sleep under the stars tonight, then they would do so in a sanctuary of their own making. Cecilia exhaled softly, her frustration still lingering from her earlier attempts to find shelter. Four Pokemon Centers, each one turning her away with the same apologetic exnation: no space. The rest of her team, meanwhile, was still at the nearest Center being treated after hertest battle. They''d discover her predicament soon enough, and she could only imagine the reactions. These three had reacted with¡­ more understanding than she''d have thought. Even the Hydreigon on herp. "I''m exhausted," she sighed. "I think I''ll go to sleep right away. I have to wake up early if I want to catch a shower. Then I have clothes to iron for my outfit of the day tomorrow¡­" she''d never ironed before. Something to learn, she supposed. "Yeah." I''ll wake you, Slowking said. Good night, mydy. Cecilia slid away from Zolst and hopped inside of a sleeping bag. A hand and a dull w gently scraped across her back.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 344 Chapter 344
CHAPTER 344 "Oh shit. Did you hear?" Rare were the times these days when Emilia looked shaken to such an extent¡ªat least with me. Wide-eyed, she stared right at me with an iron grip on her phone. "Shit, shit, shit." I nced at her for a moment, finding it difficult to rip my attention away from studying Marley''s battles. She was a real headache to n around for given that her Pokemon could easily run circles around mine save for Honey, who I hadn''t used all day specifically for this asion. There was also my costume to adjust and n for¡ªsince we were friends, I was going to wear a special one for our battle and not just go with themultipleI''d been repeating en masse. Emilia called my name again, and I spun toward her on my chair, sinking deeper into it as if I were melting. The Kalosian Knight idea had gone over well, even if it was dyed due to costume issues until Melody finally got it delivered to me. The ent was¡­ a work in progress that Poketch stopped me from doing because it''d be offensive.A brand risk,they''d called it. "When I took refuge in your room, it was toreallyget away from all the noise." If I''d stuck with Maylene during study time, I never would have been able to focus and I would have been trying to hang out with her within twenty minutes¡ªplus, she had work to do for the opening of the knockout stage; Denzel was streaming, most of the time with some people I didn''t know online; Paulinehadjust been here, but had gone to buy us lunch while I holed up in this Pokemon Center. "If I lose this next battle, I''mscrewed. I won''t get to fight anymore." I''d gotten enough pressure from Poketch telling me that it would bereallygreat if I got to the knockout stages given that this was when the majority of TV and inte viewers started tuning in to understand not to screw around and apply myself meticulously. So far, I''d basically been living a dream, fluttering my wings to carry myself from one fight to the next, caring more about the hrity and adrenaline of a battle and about what was learned than the results themselves. If it were up to me, that would still have been the case. I wasn''tnervous; I just knew that a lot of people counted on me to make them a crap ton of money. Only the top six would be allowed to advance within our group, and both Marley and I were jockeying for that position, somehow having exactly the exact same win-to-loss ratio. In these final days of the group stages, there was no room for error. That did not mean fun was out of the picture; it was just that every single angle had to be considered.Honey would be instrumental in the battle, but Marley was smart, and she knew this. What measures would she take to counter him, did she have Pokemon unavable to fight, did¡ª "I think it''d be better to tell you instead of you finding out."@@novelbin@@ ¡ªcounter him? Crobat''s going to be a factor for certain, but who are going to be the other two? Arcanine?Electrode?Having to consider which of my own Pokemon to bring in factoring on my opponent''s hadn''t been something I''d been too experienced with before this month. Only Gym Battles had filled a simr niche¡ª "Cecilia and Temperance broke up¡­ a few days ago," Emilia said all of a sudden, "It was announced today on her socials¡ªnot that I look at them often or anything. Haha¡­" I snatched her phone from her hands faster than she could react. The statement Temperance put out was short, to the point, and eerily simr to mine.Hauntinglyso, in fact. There was an obviously hidden facet that people would be able to glean: there was more behind the breakup than an ''amicable split'' as was described. I read it. Then I read it again, and again, desperate to decipher these titudes, to read in-between the lines tounderstandwhat happened because¡ª Because despite it not making any sense, I still felt involved in Cecilia''s life. I had hurt her so terribly in a way I possibly could not fully understand despiteknowinghow awful my actions had been, so hearing that she''d moved on to someone else¡­ it hurt me at first when there was still enough fuel for jealousy within me, but now, I was just happy for her. Had been happy for her. My heart felt cold. Charred sticks and spent coal, smoke, and ash. The afternoon sun shone brightly through the living room''s curtains, casting long, jagged shadows across the floor and pooling like ink in the corners. There was not one cloud in the sky. The light carried with it a weight that felt nearly suffocating, like hands covering the room, spreading until they''d choke the life out of everything they touched. You flew too close to the sun. Emilia let out a long sigh. "I want to say I told her being single was better but¡­ it''d be in bad faith; I''m obviously biased." She slowly outstretched her hand, expecting her phone back. I moved my arm¡ªI tried moving my arm. It was heavy; the device felt like one of Maylene''s heaviest dumbbells. "Grace? Are you¡ª" "I''m okay," I forced out. "Well, no. Not really, but I''ll deal." "You look really pale." I gulped and grimaced. "I''m just¡­" this time, ittrulyfelt as if I were melting in Emilia''s chair. "It had been a while. I thought they were going to go strong¡ªI thought she''d be able to behappy. And if she can''t do that, well, I¡ªI¡ª" Did I deserve¡ª There was a soft prickle on my wrist, followed by one of Mimi''s soothing vibrations. Reflexively, my hand found itself touching and feeling at the warm metal. How the tremors spread through the tip of my fingers, down the skin and bone, and then reached up to my shoulder. The rhythm was soothing. "I''ll be fine," I exhaled. I''d nearly been about to call Maylene for help¡ªoh, I had to text her about the break-up, too. We were involved in Cecilia''s troubles, the two of us, whether we liked it or not. My legs pushed me back toward myptop, where a video of Marley''s Crobat in action was paused. Poison was just about to gush out of the flying type''s wings, as if had with each p of his massive wingspan. "Right now, I need to focus on this." The words rang hollow. I nced at my phone next to theptop. "Right after I text my girlfriend." Surprisingly¡ªor many might say unsurprisingly, Maylene had texted me about the news two minutes ago, asking if I needed to see her. The first urge that red up within every nerve, every synapse, was to fire off a quick ''no,'' using her work as an excuse to shield myself away from the world and to pretend it''d be a good exercise in independence. Urges were just that: urges, and Candice''s words echoed in my head. It was fine to depend on her, just as it was fine for her to rely on me. And by the way she texted, I could tell she wanted to see me too. There were no grammatical mistakes or shortenings. I told her we could meet when she was free in about an hour. "Can you close the ckout curtains and turn on the lights?" I asked. "The room feels too bright." "Too bright?" Emi looked around. "I mean, I don''t see it, but sure." She moved to close the window, looked through it for a moment, and then drew the curtains together. "Are youcertainyou can deal?" "I gotta, anyway. Not like I can go and talk to her about it," I said. Legendaries, I wished I could so dearly¡ªa heart-to-heart, this time, and not a shouting match. "I gave away that privilege a long time ago, and I shouldn''t have spoken to her in that item shop." My stomach rumbled, and I rubbed a hand over it to soothe the ache. "Where''s Pauline? I''m so hungry." Everythingfelt mildly ufortable. The weight of my hair brushing against my neck, the hollow sound of my nails tapping the keyboard, even the rhythm of my own blinking¡ªit all grated on me. And the lights. Those relentless, artificial lights. They burned too bright, sharp enough to scorch the edges of my skin and dig deep, as if they could settle beneath the surface and fester. The re bounced off myptop screen, piercing straight into my eyes, and I couldn''t shake the desperate urge to crawl under a bed and nevere out. I changed my mind and asked for Emilia to open the curtains again. The sun was indifference. A giant ball of sma incredibly far away that skewered the world with light not out of malice or purpose but simply because that was its nature. The bulbs on the ceiling felt¡­ too personal. A magnifying ss on my person meant to look at my sins. Fortunately, Pauline returned with the food not long after, offering an apologetic smile as she set the bags down. "Sorry for the wait," she said, brushing a stray strand of red hair behind her ear. "There were a fuck ton of people out there. You''d think they''d get bored after spending so many days on here." She''d picked up a few neatly packaged meals, the kind that came with utensils tucked in the wrapping, and the faint aroma of roasted spices and something fried filled the room almost instantly. She took the news of Cecilia and Temperance breaking up¡­ Not mockingly. That would be wrong of me to say, but she did not feel bad about either, and I could swear I heard her mutter ''told you so'' under her breath. It did not do much to assuage my worries¡ªin fact, it mildly frustrated me, but I stayed silent and ate my food. Crispy breaded chicken with steaming white rice nearly smothered in some kind of sauce. Neither Pauline nor Emilia said much about the break-up other than a few theories about what could have happened, but it was clear that they didn''t want to speak on this topic with me in the room. The meeting with Maylene was soon approaching, so I gave them what they wanted and left the Pokemon Center, forgoing my armor, stic sword, and helmet to go out in normal clothes. Thest thing I wanted right now was to attract any attention. Usually, when I walked around the Lily in costume, people couldn''t help but look at me. Some pointed andughed, some just nced, some asked for pictures, but theylooked. I was radiant, giving light and shine of my own. I was in no mood for that this afternoon. I considered myselfdecentwith people. Not great, but decent. That was why I expected Temperance to be absolutely furious at me from our previous interaction at that Kalosian restaurant¡ªor theof it. Maylenebelievedit to be a coincidence, but there was no way it wasn''t linked in some way. Just no way. That could only mean that she was a woman of action and that an attack would being any time now¡ªfiguratively speaking. I deserved it. Of course, I deserved it. But I still couldn''t help to theorize. It wouldn''t be a reveal that I was a cheater, given that this would hurt Cecilia as well, but¡­ Gah. No use catastrophizing about something out of my control, even if that was easier said than done. Wecouldhave met anywhere but opted for the Gym House away from the crowds and prying eyes. I kept Buddy out during the half-jog there, wrapped tightly around my skin more forfort than for protection at this point. The Jellicent was soft and had made himself warm like a nket. Every so often, his tendrils shifted, anchoring lightly against my shoulders or waist as if to remind me he was still there. The sensation used to be strange, somewhere between a hug and a second skin, but it was wee. Really, it felt as if he were doing half of the walking, keeping me from tripping while running uphill or pushing me forward when I hesitated. Maylene was already waiting at the gate beyond the narrow road leading to the property, cross-armed and with a frown strewn across her pretty face. Her hair looked like it had been ruffled recently, probably by Candice or Roark looking to cheer her up. Just seeing her made me feel ten times lighter; she could purge the tar around my heart and fuel it for what felt like a thousand years toe. Buddy slipped through my sleeve the moment my hands motioned to hug her. "Maymay," I said with a satisfied sigh. I felt so safe in her arms. "I¡ªthings feel like¡ªmy demons are finally catching up to me, and it''s making me feelawfulbecause this¡ªthis feels like I''m trying to make it about me and¡ª" She gently grabbed my head and ced her forehead against mine. Her pink eyes could see right through me. "I get it. I feel the same way." I could tell she was trying to keep her speech pattern steady to reassure me, but it ended up sounding mildly unnatural. Either way, it somehow worked. "Wait. Your costume¡­?" "Left it at Emi''s," I mumbled. "Didn''t feel like getting people to look at me today." "Oh¡­" her voice trailed off, fizzling off into the wind. She looked behind me, making sure I hadn''t been trailed by some rabid gossiper. If I had, Buddy would have warned me. Maybe scared them off too. "Wanna head inside, or¡­?" "Sure." The tone I took reassured her for an unknown reason, but I could tell it did. Maybe it was the fact that I could still answer questions with a minimal amount of aplomb, or maybe it was something else, but Maylene gave me one of her reassuring smiles and held my hand until we were through the garden, patio, and inside the house. I shook my shoes off at the sliding ss door leading up to the living room. Buddy remained outside, vowing to chase away any wannabe paparazzi. "The others are still out¡ªI came here as fast I could and they told me they''d take over my work." Good. We were alone, away from so many eyes. Maylene trudged through the kitchen, opened the fridge, and leaned down to look inside. "Want anything to drink? Nia bought, uh, grape juice earlier. We were out." I flopped head-first on the couches and groaned. "I feelphysicallyunwell," I spoke into the seat with a muffled, whiny voice. "I don''t even know how I''m going to battle today¡ªand I still have Temperance to worry about, and I''m gonna have to deal with people being weird about it online and out on the street¡ªI shouldn''t evenworryabout that." What I was dealing with must have been so smallpared to Cecilia''s heartache. "I shouldn''t even worry about anything. I''m making it about myself." Ack of concern was unrealistic, maybe I was making this a bigger deal than it was? "Plus, Pauline was being super weird about it. She''s still hung up on their fight. It might cause tensions in the group¡ª" The couch sank slightly, and I felt Maylene''s hand on my head. I allowed the silence to settle for a few moments, enjoying the safety her touch afforded me. Like a worm crawling through dirt, I crept toward the warmth of her skin and ced my head on herp. As usual, she was wearing shorts; her skin was soft. I clung to it like a lifeline, wrapping my hands around her stomach and holding on for dear life. "Why are things so hard?" I sighed. Maylene''s fingers traced the outside of my ear. "Wish I had an answer." "Sorry. I know this is hard for you too, but I haven''t even¡­ asked." I turned to face her, still resting on herp, but finally releasing her from mytch. She''d ced a ss of cold juice on the table. As always when I caught her, tension spread across her legs, disappearing momentarily. "I''m¡ª" she made a little choked sound, then released a tight breath. "Yeah. I was¡ªthinking back when we were walking toward the restaurant." Sheughed; it was a small and awkward chortle. "I feel so awful for what we''ve done that it''s slowly been eating me inside¡­" she rubbed her forehead and sighed before looking off into the distance, her eyes searching for something far away¡ªsomewhere I''d never be able to see. "I keep telling myself that¡ªyou know, it''ll pass eventually, butshould it?" "I knew there was something off about you back then." Maylene scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah. You nearly caught me¡ªit was kinda terrifying. I didn''t want to say anything because I thought it was a little silly of me to want to make amends, especially when I''d just told you to back off." "That''s fair. Maybe we¡ª" "It''s still a bad idea," Maylene meekly interrupted. "You want to right now because you feel like you caused this¡­ and we don''t even know if we did." She tried.Reallytried to sound sure of herself, but to no avail; Maylene was an open book, and she spelled regret and ire at herself for actions past. I rose slowly from herp, cing my head against her shoulder. We were selfish, the two of us. We''d grasped onto thest threads of love, desperately holding ourselves up, but allowed Cecilia to fall in the process. "I''m here, you know?" I said, the words unyielding. Her lips twitched into a smile. "I know." Her face went a little red up to the ears. "You, uh, doing better?" Leaning forward, I grabbed the juice off the table, enjoying the cold condensation that had wrapped itself on the ss. "I feel like thest thing I want is to have so many eyes on me. I''m usually good at tuning out the crowd, but¡­ I''m nervous." "Are you still going to do your costume idea?" she asked. I took a sip. "I don''t know. I might message Melody and call it off. We can sell it as me wanting to be serious for such an important match¡ªI only have a few hours to decide." "Okay. Well!" Maylene pped her hands. "You studying right now wouldn''t do much¡ªlet''s get your mind off of things and watch a movie or something. No phones." "Sure! But why no phones¡­?" "You''ll browse Chatter and get angry at people." I wanted to retort but came up empty. "You know what, fair enough." ¡ª Maylene waved her girlfriend farewell, wishing they could have spent more time together despite the fact that they were practically glued at the hip these days, but Grace had nearly forgotten she''d promised to spend some time with her parents before her match. The blonde was... rtively fine. Surprisingly so, even, having built up her mental resilience over thest few months, but she still wasn''t going to go battle in costume. She watched her Jellicent slip under her clothes again as a secondyer of skin, watched her fingers graze her Meltan around her wrist, watched until her head dipped below the hill, and then she turned back toward the house. Candice and Roark¡ªwho hade back while Grace and she had been hanging out¡ªasked Maylene about her for a few minutes, but the Gym Leader didn''t want to gotoodeep into Grace''s troubles without her there. They knew the gist of it: the breakup had caused spection to run amok online. Candice especially had made herself busy fighting random people online with her endless burner ounts. She ran a trembling hand through her hair the moment she was back in their room.Such a stressful day.Grace had evidently forgotten to make the bed¡ªagain. The sheets were a tangled mess of navy and white, twisted up like a storm had passed through. A single pillowy on the floor, half-covered by a discarded hoodie. From there, you could trace herptop charger from the floor all the way to the plug under their small desk. It was still plugged in from this morning¡ªdarn.Hopefully, she wouldn''t run out of battery¡ªno, if she did, Denzel had a million cables to lend her. It was easy to tell that Grace had probably gotten tired of studying at her desk in the morning and hadid down on this pillow instead. On said desk was her ideas notebook and an empty ss of juice. She needed to drink more water. Maylene hadn''t realized she''d been smiling. "Dummy¡­ what am I gonna do with you?" shemented as she started cleaning up the room. Clothes returned to their drawers, the desk was cleared, the bed was made, and the window was opened to ventte the room. "Now what?" Therewasstill a while until Grace''s battle, and Maylene had endless options at her disposal. Hanging out with her fellow Gym Leaders or even some of Grace''s friends to get to know them better, logging into the League''s issueswork to know if any department that ran the Conference needed help¡ªthetest news she''d seen was from security having to detain some stupid kid who had tried stalking one of his idols after sending her creepy messages all Conference. There was always at least one such incident during this month, with so many personalities concentrated on a single, tiny ind. Maylene''s Pokemon were spread around the League with only Machamp being in her Pokeball, so there was also the option of spending some time with her. The fighting type appeared with a sh of scarlet, easily towering over her trainer. She blinked for a few seconds, having been asleep to pass the time, then grinned and patted Maylene on the arm with two of her hands. The impact was enough to make Maylene take a half-step back, though she didn''t lose her bnce. "Easy there, Machamp," she said with augh, rubbing her arm where the massive Fighting-type''s enthusiasm hadnded. "I might need that arm for a sparter." The fighting type apologetically caressed her arm with a single, coarse finger and croaked,ining about something Medicham did yesterday¡ªsome kind of prank involving cotton candy. "I''ll scold her for youter," Maylene said. "She always gets rowdy when we''re out of the Gym!" The Gym Leader never thought she''d be capable of saying this a mere six months ago, but shemissedher work. Whenever she fell asleep, most of what she thought about had to do with her Gym¡ªhow to raise its efficiency in all departments, new tactics to use on challengers, new strategies to keep her trainers and Pokemon motivated. Maylene''s eyes drifted toward the window, where thete afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds. She stretched her arms over her head, feeling the slight ache in her muscles from the morning''s workout. Summer was a well-needed break, but sitting idle didn''t suit her; it never had. Thinking about her Gym made her check on a few of her contacts in Veilstone. Half the reason was to pass the time, and the other half was to check up on what her father was doing. She''d half expected him toe here to embarrass and make things awkward for her as some sort of power move, but instead, Oscar had decided to stick in Veilstone to drum up support. Last she''d heard, he was working toward opening some kind of dojo¡ªan unofficial ''Gym'' in name only¡ªwhere trainers would be able to battle him and get advice on how to raise their fighting types. Thiswaslegal, and fully within his rights. The practice was moremon in Indigo, but Jubilife had a few unofficial Gyms. Maylene could have harried him withwyers, but she wanted nothing to do with him and he would win the case eventually. She wasn''t even sure she''d be able to dy the construction because she''d basically have no standing. Asinnocentas he tried to frame this, it was fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that he was jockeying for influence within Veilstone. Maylene eventually wanted to get a mole within Oscar''s circle, but for now¡­ For now, just checking in would do. ¡ª Like usual, the stadium was chock-full of spectators from every corner of the region, and Maylene figured they were even more excited than usual. Tie breakers like this were always electrifying to the public, especially when it was between two friends. The arena looked to be some sort of volcanic teau with a dormant volcano at its center¡ªthough cracks sometimes formed and spewed hot air and mes through the gaps all throughout the battlefield. Knowing Grace, she would havemented it not beingva, but even at levels this high, the League wanted no idents. To her right was Candice, and toherright was Volkner, who had decided that he would rather go and watch this battle than to do any work like the rest of the Gym Leaders. Cynthia was nice about off-time during the summer, but everyone still wanted to help her. They knew she was struggling. That was why Nia wasn''t here. Maylene tried closing her eyes to feel Grace''s aura, but there were far too many people here for her senses to reach that far. Maybe Lucario would have been able to, but hers just got overwhelmed. There were nowhere near this amount of people at Craig''s Ceremony. "She''s going to get here when she gets here," Candice yelled in her ear. "No need to crane your neck like a Farigiraf!" "I''ll have you know my neck is normal-sized!" Maylene tried to answer, but she had to literally lean right next to Candice''s ear for her to hear. Volkner looked miserable, cradling his head and possibly regretting his choice. Maylene would have teased him had he not looked like he was about to die. She checked her phone¡ªeleven minutes left until show time. Friends in Grace''s group chat were sendingst-minute good luck messages just in case she was looking at her phone, so Maylene opted to do the same. Knowing her, she was so focused that she wouldn''t even be looking at her Poketch, though¡ª A tap on her shoulder. Maylene turned to look at Candice, who was still observing all around the stadium like a little kid. She thought it must have been a prank, but she noticed a paper note on herp, neatly folded. With a frown, she opened it to read. Meet me in restroom C close to that souvenir shop with the awful Garchomp plushies and the aloof Cynthia figurines alone. We have a lot to talk about. - Temperance. Maylene read it again. And again. This couldn''t be real.But it was. Maylene quickly scrunched the paper, shoved it into her pocket, and gripped the side of her chair until she remembered she might crush the armrests. What did she want¡ªno, it was obvious what she wanted. Should Maylene even entertain her? Getting involved in this spelled trouble, but what if she spoke to Grace when she was out? What if she''dalreadyspoken to Grace¡ªno, there was no way. That made no sense; they separated right when she''d walked to the waiting room. Her first worry was sound, however. Every time she blinked, nightmarish visions of Grace broken and sobbing at Temperance''s feet shed in her mind. It could be a trap of some kind, but¡­ Fine. There was no way out of this. "I''m going to the bathroom." Maylene was too out of it to wait to see if Candice or Volkner had heard. She shimmied her way out of the bleachers, and down into the stadium''s guts. Down here, where the halls were wide and empty save for the asional straggler trying to rush to their seat, she could sense individuals. She followed Temperance''s me to the designated bathroom, having nearly caught up to her by the time they were there due to how fast she''d been walking. The door was closing when Maylene made it. The Gym Leader pped her cheeks to shake herself out of this haze. She needed to focus. Maylene pushed the door open and entered the coordinator''sir. She hadfeltTemperance, but it was only now that Maylene got a look at what she was wearing. All ck, akin to a widow mourning her husband or wife at a funeral. Even her hair was as dark as the night sky. The fabric of her dress was smooth and satiny, draping her form with an elegance that seemed frankly out of ce in the public restrooms¡ªand even then,Maylenewas the one who felt underdressed in her t-shirt and shorts. Everything was so quiet you could hear one of the faucets leaking against the sink apanied by the asional muffled cheer from the battlefield, audible even from this far. Maylene bit her lip, not knowing what to say. Wasn''t it up to Temperance to speak given she had asked her here? The Gym Leader was starting to regret following her. Maybe she should leave; it wasn''t as if Temperance could actually stop her. Yes, she''d gotten in over her head. Enough of this! "I''m leav¡ª" Temperance cut her off. "I considered whether to do this endlessly thest few days." Her inflection was a tired one, worn down by what could have been screaming, crying, or both. "Cece would probably hate that I''m doing this; she said not to talk or do anything to Grace¡ªoh, poor, innocent Grace." Her tone dripped with irony as she red at Maylene. "But she said nothing aboutyou." "I don''t think this is a great idea¡ª" She interrupted heragain, taking a step forward. "But you followed me here because you''re curious, aren''t you?" she hissed through her teeth, each wordpoppingwith frustration. Temperance paused, taking a breath that seemed to calm her. She nearly stumbled, leaning against one of the sinks, and muttered something under her breath. "Listen, Leader Maylene. I''m not going to¡­ berate you. I''m going to try not to yell at you. I justtireof imagining the two of you going about your happy little lives as if nothing happened. As if you didn''t ruin a girl''s confidence, self-esteem, and trust because you couldn''t be bothered to wait a few weeks before you kissed. Youknewher. You knew her, went through hell together, she helped you with your Gym, and youstabbed her in the back." Oh.Oh,she knew so much more than what Maylene thought she would have; the knowledge the coordinator brought to the table was enough to make her skin crawl. It was so shameful that she could not help but lower her head and stare at her feet. Temperance must have had the wrong idea about them from the time she''d seen them at the restaurant. "It''s not a good thing we did," Maylene acknowledged. "I won''t defend it. Grace was in a terrible state of mind, but¡ªI could have helped her without going so far." "Hm. I expected such sanctimonious behavior; none of it matters. I''m just here to tell you what your actions have caused because I know that you are¡­ a ''decent'' person," she wrinkled her nose, "in theory. You''re free to leave, but¡ª" "I''ll stay." Maylene clenched a fist, feet firm against the ground. She''d nearly slipped and panicked, but better she listen to this than Grace; the Gym Leader would tell her in a way her girlfriend could better digest as soon as her battle was over, win or lose. Grace Pastel was many things, but she even now after her improvements, she could still be fragile like ss. Maylene knew herself to be mentally strong enough to take this. And she did not trust Temperance not to tell Grace anyway should she not get what she wanted here. The coordinator scoffed. "Very well." Then, she started to talk with eloquence Maylene had rarely seen. It was slow at first, a story of a girl who did not know how to interact with people because she had never learned, yet had caught her eye one night in Hearthome. As Maylene listened, she could hear the passion in Temperance''s voice whenever she spoke of Cecilia¡ªstill affectionately using her nickname. But intertwined with that passion was a lingering grief, palpable in the way Temperance''s breath hitched ever so slightly at the end of each sentence as if each one carried the weight of realizing she would never get that love from her ever again. Temperance spoke of cracks forming under the surface of their rtionship; those cracks, she could not spot, because she too had never beenseriousabout someone, and Cecilia did well to hide her pain in secret. Maylene got the entire, summarized story until they broke up. "I share some of the me," Temperance said. "I did not know what was hiding below the hull, could not see the fractures forming until it was toote. I was too caught up in the surface¡ªtoo enamored by the image of us and our apparent progress to realize that we''d begun to take in water." She once again leaned against the sinks for support with a tired look in her eyes. "But you," she exhaled until her lungs were empty. "You two damaged her in such insidious ways that she¡­ she¡­" Temperance paused. "She looked like she''d just seen the end of the world when she finally understood." Maylene sniffled. She''d teared up¡ªnot a surprise for her. She tried to speak, but did not know what to say. Her lips quivered when she opened her mouth and felt so alien that she nearly forgot how to move them. It was just as Grace thought, and just as Maylene had feared. She''d brought up that her father had never found someone else earlier today¡ªmore than a decade after the incident. "I must admit." Temperance wiped a tear of her own with a finger. "Though it is fairly obvious, I came here for selfish reasons. Cecilia is so harsh on herself, but she wants to move on rather than get bogged down in the trenches here with us." The coordinatorughed tearfully and grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser to wipe the corner of her eyes. "She thinks I''m a good person, can you believe it? The fool." She turned to throw the tissue in the trash, mming her foot down on the pedal. "I came here to see you weep. And maybe tomorrow, or in a few days, or in a few weeks, I''ll regret it. But right now?" She trudged past Maylene but stopped when they were level. "It feels like there''s a little justice in this world." The bathroom door opened, and Temperance left amidst another round of cheers. Grace''s battle had started already¡ªhow would she even tell her after it ended? Fuck. She needed a minute.
Chapter 345 Chapter 345
A/N: Been a while; I''m kinda burned out so it took a long time to get this over with and I might be a little rusty. Sinnoh''s almost over, so fuck it I''ll manage to finish it without asrge of a break. We ball.
CHAPTER 345 A person could look back on their past and wonder how they''d arrived at this moment, unable to grasp how they''d made it this far. Not just in the life-or-death crises¡ªthe narrow escapes, the chances seized to keep going¡ªbut in the quiet, ordinary things too. Even now, as the battle unfolded before my eyes, it felt distant and strange, like something that was never meant to be part of my person. A pir of fire erupted from the volcanic grounds, weaved into a powerful jet of blue mes by Sunshine''s will. It was loud, so loud the crowd was nearly inaudible behind the roar of the fire almost animalistic in nature. It bent at an angle toward the Electrode who blurred to the side with Agility. The fire singed the spherical Pokemon''s nk, but he used his momentum down the slope, his body bursting with electric power rivaling Honey. Good. I called out, "Shell Tr¡ª" Sunshine already knew, but Marley and Electrode knew as well. The electric type reacted beyond what we could even dream of, sliding out of the explosion''s way before the dragon had even managed to spin around. With a boomingugh, Electrode fired off another Thunderbolt toward the glowing shell to trigger the explosion, and Sunshine growled in frustration, turning more of the earth beneath him into molten g. We were not fast enough to catch them even with our ''flying'' with Shell Trap trick, but Sunshine''s defenses were so high that they were struggling to break through. The battle had turned into a battle of attrition that we were neither winning nor losing. As it stood, it was advantageous for the both of us to not use our switches this early in the fight and to allow the likely trade to take ce. Eventually, the heat from Sunshine would allow us to triumph, or Electrode would defeat us with a thousand cuts, I would send out Honey to take him out, and then Marley would follow suit with one of her own teammates. On and on, and on and on. Most likely, she had registered in Pokemon incapable of taking out Sunshine on their own, otherwise she would have switched already¡ªmost likely Ninjask along with her Crobat. There was no story behind it. It was a rigid arrangement of tactics and spacing and efficiency and strategy and giving and taking¡ªand that was good. Even with the new style I had made my own, that still remained to arge extent, but always the backdrop of arger tale. Never the focus, but always at the edge of thought. And maybe,maybeif a decision was incoherent with the story I attempted to weave but the best strategically avable to me, then I would not take it. Now? I used to battle like this? It wasn''t¡­ bad. I could still recall the exhrating rush of adrenaline during close calls, the thrill when a hard-fought strategy finally paid off after countless twists and turns. But what once felt electrifying now felt ordinary. The excitement had dulled, leaving the world muted and colorless, as if all the magic in the art of battling had quietly slipped away. It was like¡ªyou tasted french fries from Arlyle''s, and you couldn''t go back to other worse fast food ces no matter how hard you tried. There''d always be an inescapable ndness about it; they weren''t as crisp, as warm, as well-salted. And you tried to go back. Oh, Arceus, you tried. But maybe I still had it. A pivot had presented itself, half luck, half stratagem. Therge ''volcano'' at the battlefield''s center had slowly grown more and more unstable throughout the fight, spewing fire and ash and taking stray hits from both Pokemon. In the highest echelons of battling, the trainer took more of a backseat, havinge up with a n of action before the fight itself and trusting their partner to see them through. But when opportunity presented itself and your Pokemon was too embroiled in the fight¡ªor in this case, so angry he might as well have been blind beyond what Electrode was doing¡ªit was a trainer''s role to know which artery to insert the knife into to see your opponent bleed out. "Rock Tomb¡ªthe volcano!" My voice cut through the battlefield, echoing across the mountain''s slope. The very same slope we were aiming for. The Turtonator''s eyes widened, but he immediately understood. Fiery rock at the mountainside turned molten under his influence, and he turned the volcano from pale mimicry spewing mes to a malevolent throne ejecting flows ofva. "Get back here!" Marley screamed. The subtle fray in her voice betrayed the panic she was trying to hide. It wasn''t the same given that she would be alive at the end of this, but I had heard it in dozens of Gctic grunts and their Pokemon. Electrode sparked with the brilliance of a star, thinning and thinning until he grew indistinguishable from pure electricity. Before the sides of the mountain copsed into a mess ofva that would trap him on the other side of the field, the electric type made it past our trap in one piece. Burned, but alive. At least Sunshine was focusing now that Electrode''s permanent grin had been wiped off. It was surprising, with how shy the electric type was outside of battle. Damn it. I was rusty. I clenched a fist, ignoring the irritation in the back of my head. I nced at Marley through the dissipating toxic gases and saw her struggle. She was fighting for her life: a spot at the top 256, and you could see it in her movements. Every order came with a certain trill in her voice that made it break, with movements wild and unrestrained. Meanwhile, I had to contend with irritation, not fun. So what was the point?Why was I battling?A good finish in the Conference no longer seemed appealing if every battle was going to be like this. Suddenly¡ª The world buzzed and came alight with electricity. Balls of lightning glided into the skies, each one pulsing with a steady, synchronized glow. For a moment, the battlefield below was bathed in a strange, flickering light, as if the sky itself had beented in electricity. The hum of charged air grew louder, a tension building in the space between earth and sky, until it felt like the entire world was holding its breath. A trap of their own. I could tell she''d been holding onto this because she''d only be able to use it once; it was a finisher, the kind of move that would wipe out your own Pokemon''s energy. Then, all at once, the Electro Balls began to descend¡ªnot with chaos, but with precise, calcted intent. They rained down like falling stars, each one targeting its mark with ruthless uracy, each hitting a singr spot in Sunshine''s chest until he retreated into his shell, but even then, they kept hammering him until it was nearly broken and nigh unusable. It was not the strength of the attacks that would do us in, but their pinpoint precision. Like a drop of water digging into stone for a decade, it had punctured us. Could I counter this¡ªyes, of course I could. shes of brilliant ideas, threads nearly within reach that I had grown toozy to grab onto. Unwilling to let himself be bested without a fight, Sunshine roared from within his shell, mes spilling from every opening, begging to burst at its seams. The jet pushed behind him; he traveled up the molten slope as fast as he could. The jet of fire surged behind him, propelling him up the molten slope with blistering speed. As he barreled forward, the ground trembled beneath his weight. Chunks of hardenedva cracked and shattered, flung into the air like volcanic shrapnel. He could see his opponent again, and he struck. His shell brimmed with power¡ªShell Smash¡ªhe was quicker, stronger, more determined than ever, and he barrelled down toward Electrode with the heat of a small star at his side. A game of cat and mouse ensued, one I felt nearlyabsentin. He chased, and Electrode ran; he brought heat upon the electric type like a physical force, a hammer on a nail visible through the way the air vibrated, and Electrode summoned a Light Screen and Reflect to bear the relentless attacks at the cost of much of his speed. Not enough of it, however, for even then, he was quicker than us. Splitting the field in two had allowed us to cut off the amount of space they had to y with in half, but Electrode still managed to chip us down. I hadn''t really felt a part of that. The battlementator buzzed on and on about the state of the fight¡ªobvious statements for the people sitting at home in front of their television instead of for me, so I paid him no mind. Rolling my shoulders, I recalled Sunshine and moistened my lips. They''d rarely felt this dry. "...job Electrode." Marley''s voice came into focus. Her Pokemon grinned and sparkled with electricity even while tired. "Keep going! You''ve got this!" Quickly, she stared at me, dark blue eyes piercing with¡­ wanting. "Grace, are you¡ªokay?" There were murmurs in the audience, the highs from the first bout having now abated. Thirty seconds to speak¡ªless than that now. Her voice somewhat snapped me out of my autopilot. Already, Sunshine was back in his Pokeball; he would be a hassle when he was healed. It would take a week for me to hear the end of it. "Yup." My words resonated in the microphone, which hopefully hid away the bitterness in my tone. "Just dandy." What next? I could take a risk and go with Princess, hoping that Electrode was tired enough to take down, or y it safe with Honey and give her the tempo back right after Electrode fainted. He''d suffer from the heat, but with Rain Dance and general use of ice TE through Ice Punch¡­ "You seem out of it. Where''s¡ªyou don''t have a story?" she hesitantly asked. She usually wasn''t one for attention like this. "Everything seems t." I gave her a look, not knowing what to answer. "This isn''t¡­ what I really wanted." I grabbed Honey''s Pokeball. "Sorry, I guess." I had too much on my mind for this. My focus was already fraying some now that there wasn''t action right in front of me. Time was running out. "What did you want?" "Haven''t I shown you?" I did not know if she''d answered like this because she had no time left, or because she truly meant it. Honey materialized onto the field, his feet and fur catching fire until he flexed and frost returned cool temperatures to his surroundings. It wasn''t perfect¡ªbut we''d practiced giving everyone their little ways of surviving one of Sunshine''s rampages for the stories we''de up with. Still, he suffered under the remaining heat and summoned a Rain Dance whose drops turned to steam before they could even touch the ground, nketing the battlefield in a dense fog and hiding Marley away. The fight began in earnest with Honey blurring across the field until he disappeared in a fog and all I could see was a sh of yellow and blue electricity. It coiled around the vapor like living serpents, crackling and hissing as they fought for dominance in the thick, damp air. The fog pulsed with each surge of power, shing bright enough to momentarily carve out silhouettes within the haze. Through her actions¡ªthose of an eager girl in the most exciting, high-stakes battle of her life¡ªshe''d spoken to me. This was life and death for her, given that we were both on a knife''s edge. I had never considered her a rival, but she had, hadn''t she? From the day that we had met, she had opted to hide her tactics away from me. Ah. She''d be disappointed if she won like this. And maybe I would be, too. A battle without meaning, made up or otherwise, was no battle at all. The sh between Electivire and Electrode was short-lived as expected, with my electric type besting hers in around twenty seconds. The electricity slowly subsided, and everything went quiet for a moment after the referee announced that Electrode had fainted. "I don''t know what happened, but Grace, I think you inhibit yourself too much." Her words cut me deep, even if I couldn''t see her. "I know you want to let loose. Solet looseand do what you want to do. The world isn''t holding you hostage." A pause. "You''re better than this." "You don''t¡­"understand, I wanted to say, but it wasn''t thatplicated, was it? Something bad had happened to Cecilia, and it was most likely my fault, so I just couldn''t help but self-sabotage.Self-sabotage.It was at this moment that I had just realized I''d wanted to lose as some sort of punishment for myself, some sort of way to bnce the world. You put it in words so strikingly straightforward, and it sounded so silly. The world wasplicated, but sometimes it was simple. An opponent faced me, and I needed to beat her until she was incapable of fighting back. I gripped my wrist, feeling at Mimi, and took a deep breath. Chains, broken¡ªno, there were never any in the first ce. I just imagined them to be. "Let''s do this, then," I dered right as a sh of red appeared in the vapor. I recognized that screech, high-pitched and ragged, like frantic chittering undting across the battlefield. Crobat might have not been Marley''s starter, but she had turned her into one of her most vicious fighters. Instead of clearing the mist, the bat sank into its depths and grew so quiet she might as well have not been there. Electric energy sparked around Honey, keeping him protected from attacks up close, but Crobat''s true threaty in her poison and her attacks at a distance. Their hit-and-run tactics had the potential to destroy us. And then, I heard it. The sizzling of poison melting through fur and skin, pained groans, and shes of electricity exploding outward in Dischargesrge enough to cover nearly half of the battlefield. There was a story to seize, to grip within my palm without letting go even for a second. Not one of a trainer tired and who had lost her me¡ªthat wasn''t what this was, and I would be retreading the same grounds I had sworn would now be unneeded. No, there was something else which was far more obvious. A trainer who unbeknownst to her had met her match, a final sh of rivals where to err meant the unraveling of a year of work and the bitter taste of defeat. I had beaten her easily over and over and hadn''t taken her seriously until now, when the realization thatI might losehad finally sunk in. Added weight. "Honey!"I bellowed, cupping my mouth with my hands. Color returned to the world."Clear the fog!" Two of his fists shone brightly with Hammer Arm, and he pped his hands together¡ªthe fog shuddered under the pressure, twisting and peeling back in ragged sheets as the nascent shockwave tore through it. Honey was in quite a sorry state, burned by acid, his skin punctured with holes that crippled him in all the ways that mattered. He had obviously been poisoned and was now on a timer. I pointed toward my rival. "I guess you''ve made it here for a reason. Maybe I''ll have to take you seriously after all!" I boasted with a haughty grin. "Let''s bring the fight to them! Railgun!" Though the shockwave had cleared much of the fog, it had also shattered the earth into many pieces¡ªrocks Honey gathered around himself with electric currents like spiderwebs. They clung to his two fists, turning intorger andrger spheres and building up into what we needed, but Crobat was not idle. In between Air shes and torrents of poison she brought forth with each p of her wings, Marley had another trick up her sleeve. A shrill screech tore through the clearing mist, sharper than before, and suddenly Crobat split into dozens of flickering afterimages, darting through the air like a swarm of shadows. With some luck, it wouldn''t matter. Honey''s arm bulged, vibrated with a high-pitched hum and shone once more with an electrified Hammer Arm until his entire limb was alight. Then, with a thunderous crack, Honey thrust his arm forward and the rocks flew off like shrapnel. Each fragment was the size of a pebble, but fast enough to puncture metal. The rocks shot through the air in a blinding volley, propelled by electromaic force, and left streaks of light in their wake. The electrified projectiles dissolved Crobat''s clones in a single hit, but none of them got to the real¡ª "Behind¡ª" "Leech Life!" Marleyughed. The real Crobat. She''ddisappearedsomehow and snuck up behind Honey, something they''d done before in the videos¡ªsome kind of U-Turn trick that tricked the human brain by overwhelming it¡ªbut toreposition, not to get up close. Honey shed with Discharge, then built it up into a Thunderbolt and then a Thunder, but Crobat''s sharp teeth were locked tightly onto his neck, no doubt sucking up his energy and injecting poison at the same time.You''re not going to oust us,I thought as sweat dripped off my cheek, but then I realized their Toxic was going to be the great equalizer. Crobat fell apart first, her remaining clones disappearing and the poison type copsing onto the volcanic grounds, but Marley made use of her thirty seconds and Honey followed on the twenty-third. Effectively, it was a draw, because even though she''d have to release herst Pokemon first, Princess was already locked in and I wouldn''t be able to adjust my choice. It was all or nothing. Marley''s final Pok¨¦mon emerged with a constant, grating buzz that set my teeth on edge, eerily reminiscent of Louis'' Vespiquen, but sharper¡ªif less all-epassing and unnerving. It felt like it burrowed beneath the skin, a droning vibration that made the air itself seem thin and brittle. Red eyes gleamed in a darkness that wasn''t even there. Already, Ninjask was a blur of motion smeared across the air, more of a sttering of beige, ck, and red than a concrete shape. Aside from the asional sonic boom, I had no way of knowing where Ninjask currently was.Her fastest Pokemon. She was putting it all on the line. My teeth unmped from the inside of my mouth. "I didn''t know you''d grown into a risk-taker, Marley," I probed, hands immediately going for Princess. With Speed Boost, there was no way I''d let her gain any more time. "You''ve surely grown, but it won''t be enough to defeat me!" My tone was corny, but it wasfunagain. Out into the air came Princess, but she was attacked before she could even take stock of the situation. shes and cuts relentless and too fast to even see. Ninjask was so quick he might as well have been everywhere all at once; he was an omnipresent enemy that would be nigh impossible to beat conventionally. He was more like a force of nature than an singr opponent. Princess exploded with a burning Dazzling Gleam to get Ninjask away from her, but he managed to slip away and only got slightly burned¡ªor at least Ithoughthe did, it was difficult to tell. Bloodied but far from beaten, Princess summoned burning, red-hot mes that she spun around herself like a ring that then stretched into a sphere. "Barrier!"Imanded. It wassolidnow. A bubble of fiery wrath wrapped around a psychic shield. It would cost us speed, but it wasn''t like it mattered given that we were fighting Ninjask. The bug type buzzed in irritation, a sound that was everywhere all at once, and darkness blurred¡ªNight sh¡ªit broke Princess'' barrier at the cost of heavy burns, but his ws cut deep and left behind lingering consequences.Damn it,everyone knew that trick now. It wasn''t perfect, but the time it took for Princess to make her barrier appear would now be longer, and in this fight, that was the difference between five hits and none. The assault began anew, and again we were on the defensive. Ninjask wasrelentless, sticking to us like glue. The moment Princess left an opening in between a Dazzling Gleam or Mystical Fire or an omnidirectional Air sh, he was always there¡ªan impossible blur against the sky. Ninjask darted through the air with a speed that felt unreal like he wasn''t flying but teleporting from one angle to the next. Princess tried to climb higher, banking hard to gain distance, but it was useless. He was already there, shing at her nk with ws glowing dark as pitch. Night sh again. Were they hoping to make all types of TE slower to use and slowly cripple us? That was the thing with Marley''s team. Offensively, they weren''t that tough to deal with, Ninjask especially, but the damageadded up. Attacks requiring concentration like Moonst were impossible to use under such conditions. We''d fought battles where we hadn''t been the fastest in the air, but rarely had she been dominated so. "Cut!"I bellowed the order, feeling my voice rasping against my throat. Nearly invisible, belief streaked through the air like razors against reality. Little tears she had willed into existence. My jaw unclenched for a moment when I caught a glimpse of a shape, a slowness that could have only meant Ninjask had gotten hit, but my expression fell when he¡ª I didn''t think it possible to be so fast you could go through belief. Princess was fighting a force, not a thing with a tangible shape. There was nomeatto cut into, and so her cuts frayed and allowed Ninjask to slip past. A shockwave burst right next to Princess, stunning her¡ªArceus, breaking the sound barrier right next to your opponent to confuse them; theydid that?!¡ªand a sttering of mudnded on the Togekiss'' eyes, allowing for something deeper. I recognized that particr gleam, and theweightadded to Ninjask from Metal w slowed him some, but he was still so quick he cut across Princess'' nk, dealingrealdamage. Things couldn''t keep going this way, or we would lose. Marley would snatch victory for the first time andruin us. We were better than that and better than her. Princess didn''t know where to aim or what to do besides attacks that hurt the world around her. Wehadharmed Ninjask throughout this, but we needed something decisive. A trap that would take them down in one fell swoop. Ninjask was fast, but he was frail. Able to be crumpled like a leaf underfoot. My fist clenched with that thought, and my eyes focused on the remains of the volcano amidst cheers, gasps, and screams from the crowd. It was nearly all copsed, but it was what remained under that interested me, the bits and pieces that hadn''t been fully cooled by Rain Dance. Fire and hot air expunged by the asional geyser turned to molten rock and toxic gasses. It was allthere, but trapped, having suffused below the earth and building up with pressure. My eyes darted back toward the sky¡ªPrincess, bloodied fur, bruised skin, and half blind, but not broken just yet. She had used everything in her power to stay alive, and she was still hanging on. The Togekiss was losing altitude due to Ninjask''s constant harassment, and I assumed Marley''s goal was to ground her permanently. I snapped my fingers and whistled sharply.Cool, calm, and collected in the face of what looked to be certain defeat; that''s my character."Down," I ordered, waiting, waiting, waiting as she fell further and further toward the ground like a fallen angel. Ninjask followed closely behind, catching up in less than a second. My face remained neutral, waiting for our opportunity, waiting for Marley and Ninjask to overextend. That familiar gleam of Metal w hoping to finish us off¡ª"Ancient Power! Blow up the earth!"the words spilled out of my mouth as fast as they could. Turning on her back and remaining afloat, Princess responded instantly, her wings ring out wide as a shimmer of energy pulsed through the air. The ground beneath us groaned, a low, guttural sound that seemed to vibrate through my bones. Marley''s mouth gaped, the confidence in her stance faltering as the earth itself seemed toe alive under Princess''mand. The battlefield cracked and split, jagged lines racing outward like veins, glowing faintly orange from the heat beneath. Princess burned, butshecould still summon a barrier even if it tookseconds¡ªan eternity on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the defenseless Ninjask''s entire body caught fire, leaving afterimages of himself burning as he followed Marley''s orders to flee back into the sky. Lava spewed up from the ground in great bursts, partly cooled but still functional. Princess widened it, casting a wide that made Ninjask flee and gave her the space needed for this. "Moonst, gravity." The sphere materialized in front of Princess, glowing with a soft, ethereal light that belied the sheer force simmering beneath its surface. A perfect replica of our dearest moon that gathered rocks¡ªmolten and solid¡ªunder its thrall. Ninjask darted through the air, wings a blur of desperate motion, but even speed couldn''t outrun gravity. The bug type burned to a crisp soon after. It had been difficult to tell how much damage exactly Ninjask had taken due to how fast he''d been, but he was a sorry sight. Ignoring the obvious burns, he had plenty of cuts covering his body and residual mour from Dazzling Gleams. Princess was worse for wear too, nearly incapable of even floating and covered in shallow wounds that must have hurt like hell. I hadn''t even noticed the cheers rising up and up and up, along with the referee dering my victory. My legs were shaking.Top 256. It didn''t feel real, and thank the Legendaries, I was brimming with excitement¡ªnot that I had forgotten the Copperajah in the room. Cecilia was in pain, but¡­ I could worry about her without destroying myself. I recalled Princess, letting my shoulders sag, and I wiped the sweat off my forehead. Mimi vibrated in glee around my wrist, and Mesprit giggled in the back of my head. Rarely did trainerse and meet each other beside the field in the Conference outside of the knockout stages, but this fight was too important not to. Marley''s eyes were red with tears when I got close to her. Heat and poison coiled beside us right behind the psychic barrier. Many words could have been said here: apologies for getting her out of the tournament, affirmations guaranteeing she would do better next year, or that it could have gone either way, but that wasn''t what she wanted to hear or what I would have wanted to hear had I lost. "Thanks for battling me. That was anawesomefight." I smiled at her. "And thanks for shaking me out of my¡­ issues. I hope you had fun too." It wasn''t¡­ a great story. I''d pulled at the nearest thread on the spot and used it as a springboard more thanmitting to a character for much of the battle, but it had pulled me out of my funk and served its purpose. "Are you kidding?" Marley let out a snifflingugh and held out her hands. "I''m still shaking, look." She could barely keep them still. "That¡ªI feltalive. I don''t think I''ve ever spoken that loud." "Your voicehasgone a little." "It would have been embarrassing if I''d had to keep going with a raspy voice like this." She gently rubbed the front of her throat. "Theva¡ªLegendaries, thatpletely went out of my mind after Rain Dance. I thought Ihad youafterward, and with your Turtonator gone, Ninjask had nothing to worry about." Which exined why she had sacrificed her Crobat to set up for a one-on-one. Ninjask''s biggest counters wererge changes in temperature, and she''d taken care of that. Her strategy had nearly worked. It would have with a little more power without her attacks.@@novelbin@@ "Your Ninjask sure is a piece of work," I sighed. I''d expected him to have much less stamina, but thest time he''d been used in a public fight had been her eighth Gym Badge. She''d kept his progress hidden this entire Conference. "He''s pushed his limits." We didn''t have much time left, but we promised each other we''d talkter and tell each other about how we''d strategized to beat each other. We shared a hug before leaving. ¡ª Maylene had two kinds of anxiety. The one where it concerned herself¡ªfor example with her father or Gym¡ªand it made her want to avoid even thinking about it, throw herself into work, andsh out at people before finally epting help. Then, there was anxiety for others, which was a much more restrained affair. Fidgeting fingers, darting eyes, and the desperate need to saysomethingdespite clearly not wanting to. Finally, she leaned against the stadium''s hall''s wall and took a deep breath. "Temperance came to talk to me." I froze for a second, but nodded, letting her exin what had happened. Temperance had spoken to her just to hurt in an attempt to heal her broken heart. "It''s gonna be okay," Maylene rambled in a whisper. "Just keep your head in the game for your tournament¡ªdidn''t Melody call you? You should¡ª" "Maymay." I looked up at her. "I''m fine." And Iwasfine, in the literal sense of the word. The guilt was there because it had never left, but things were going to be okay just as she said. Maylene''s eyes widened, but I continued before she could speak. "There are words we left unsaid, Cecilia and I. I think we need to have a heart-to-heart¡ªif she wants to." Enough avoidance, enough self-harm, enough of it all. I didn''t think it would clear the air between us and we''d go back to being friends or even acquaintances¡ªfar from it, but there was so much more I wanted to say. She leaned in and murmured, "a¡ªare you sure that''s a good idea?" "I know her," I said. "I think she''d want it, but I''ll let her take the first step." Only a few dayster, the group stages finished, and my first battle of the knock-out stages was revealed, along with the entire bracket. Grace Pastal v Cecilia Obel The world had a way of doing these things. A heart-to-heart, I had wished for, a heart-to-heart, we would get.
Chapter 346 Chapter 346
CHAPTER 346 Life was often stranger than fiction. Cecilia took the stairs of the Spire two at a time, nearly bounding toward Cynthia''s office with her phone clutched in her hand, its battery hanging on by a thread. It was tough to charge things when you were homeless. There were plenty of outlets to use around, whether that be in Pokemon Centers or other public buildings, but they were nearly all upied at all times of day. She had checked her side of the bracket once, twice, a dozen times to be sure she hadn''t misread or imagined things. Then a dozen more, just to be certain. But the truth remained: in three days, she would be battling Grace Pastel. The final step sent a faint tremor up Cecilia''s leg, giving her pause. She never showed up to the Champion''s office unannounced, but this time, she had no choice. This¡ªallof this¡ªhad Cynthia''s fingerprints all over it. She had been of great help this entire Conference, but Cecilia remembered now why the Champion had gotten to where she was. Cynthia Collins had a way of arranging events in ways that would benefit her.@@novelbin@@ But that was the question, wasn''t it? Cecilia''s fingertips felt cold as her hand reached for the door.How in the world did this benefit her?What wheels had she set in motion, and to what end? Her head went spinning with each answer that appeared on the tip of her tongue. Ratings from the potential drama¡ªno, of course not. She wasn''t that shallow. A way to mend things between them? No, Cynthia herself had said that it would take much that this single Conference to even do that. Special training of some kind? While Cynthia did not really have ns to directly train anyone who wasn''t her unborn nephew, she did enjoy throwing people into the deep end of the pool and letting them either sink or suddenly muster the capacity to swim¡ª Cecilia jumped, hearing the Champion''s voice through the door. "Well? Aren''t youing in?" Taking a few deep breaths to settle down, the Unovan pushed the great wooden doors open and entered Cynthia''s office. She was at her desk, as always, with her Togekiss with her, as always, and with a mountain of paperwork waiting for her, as always, but what was different today was the particr stone she had in her hand. Weighty, creased, and weathered by the centuries as it may have been, Cecilia recognized Spiritomb''s keystone that usually rested deep inside Cynthia''s pocket. The tall woman toyed with it with a nonchnce that felt rmingly dangerous, turning it within her palm while she gave Cecilia a long look. "You came to speak," Cynthia said before nudging her head toward one of her two chairs. "Come and sit." Cecilia gulped, eyes stuck to the keystone, but she followed suit and¡ªjumped when wisps of ghostly energy roiled around Cynthia''s palm when she rasped the chair against the floor. Togekiss giggled, wings fluttering at his side. "They don''t like the noise," the Champion said. "S¡ªsorry." While Cecilia had seen it before, it had been in the midst of what had felt like an endless fight for life itself atop Cor, so she''d been too emotionally exhausted to care. The teasing sight of a sliver of Spiritomb left her heart feeling like it was stuck in her throat, especially when the Unovan knew how¡­ vulnerable she could be at the moment. Everything was still so raw. Cynthia ced the pulsating keystone on her desk, tapped it twice with a finger, and all activity ceased within a few seconds. It did not all ceaseinstantly, but was agging decision taken by the one hundred and eight souls within. For a while, Cecilia was caught up in the routine questions: how are you today, have you eaten, do you need me to procure you a room, how are you feeling, et cetera, but eventually, she put her foot down, literally and figuratively. "You''ve seen the bracket of the knock-out stage, haven''t you?" Cecilia asked in an usatory manner. "I''m against¡­Grace." "I''ve given it a look or two," Cynthia banally answered. She tapped a pen against her chin and leaned forward on her desk. "Stranger things have happened." "Don''t spew lies at me," she hissed in between her teeth. "Craig Goodwill went up against Sarah Newman the first time he got out of groups in the midst of a personal falling out." That was the example Cecilia knew of, but Cynthia continued listing battles between friends, enemies, exes, and everything in between that had gone on throughout the years. "It happens." "You say all of this," the Unovan noticed, "but you never explicitly denied not having anything to do with it." There was a subtle shift in Cynthia''s eyes, though Cecilia couldn''t evene close to knowing what it meant. The blond woman, worn out by decades of rule and what it implied, stared Cecilia dead in the eye with none of the warmth she had gotten used to these past two weeks. It was not a killer''s look, but it still took her so aback that it robbed her lungs of their air¡ªor perhaps she had simply forgotten to breathe. The unpleasantness that followed was akin to the jarring sensation of plummeting through empty space, that brief, stomach-dropping lurch before waking from a nightmare. She almost expected Spiritomb to be acting up, but the ghost was still inactive, resting within their keystone. "Are you a fatalist, Cecilia?" The girl blinked for a few moments, not knowing what to say. "I¡ªno?" "You came up here multiple times in our meetings, telling me how you wished you could talk to Grace one more time." Like a de back in its sheath, sentimentality returned to her gaze. "Now, obviouslyIhave nothing to do with this matter, but I can tell you that this is not meant to force some reconciliation." It was as Cecilia thought¡ªthere would be no advantage. Grace was already in her grasp through Maylene, and Cecilia wouldn''t be of use there. Granted, the Unovan doubtedeverythingwas such a zero-sum game for Cynthia as Mira had once guessed. "A battle is many things, Cecilia, but it can also be the purest form of conversation if you let it." She tapped the table four times, enunciating thest four words. "Speech through actions and through your dearestrades," she ced a hand under Togekiss'' chin and gently scratched, "equal footing impossible anywhere else. Whether it be a fight for sport or a fight for survival, there is no better or purer form ofmunication." Yes, Cecilia thought,there''s the madness in her. "Furthermore," a pause, "it''s what you wanted." "Not like this." Cynthia''s lips quirked upward. "Look at you, already thinking destiny is set in stone." She sighed, and Cecilia knew it to be the beginning of a lesson. "To be a living creature is to have agency, and to have agency is to have the capacity to inflict change upon the world." She stood up and calmly walked toward her window, hands behind her back. Traces of sunlight danced across her face. "An individual may be told they cannot do something their entire life, that it would be all for naught, but they are not alive until they take their own destiny into their own hands and face the world with grit. Even if it brings failure, humiliation, or what have you, at least you''re living." She pped her palm with the back of her hand. "You have toact. You have to act on the world, or it consumes you." Once, a girl hadmented in the rural north of Celestic Town, a backwater that barely anyone bothered with. How many times had she been told shecouldn''t do it?You can''t be a trainer, you can''t join the Circuit, you can''t get a badge, you can''t reach the Conference, you can''twin, yet suddenly, within the year, she was Champion. She had seized the region by its throat despite the naysayers and had been ready to reshape it in her image. Cecilia might not have expected the lesson, but she managed an answer. "I get what you''re saying, but I''ve been given enough metaphors about life and death for a lifetime." Cynthia grinned. "They do that a lot, don''t they?" She walked back to her desk and raised an eyebrow at Togekiss having stolen her seat. She gave him a joking look, and he jumped off with an innocent hum. "But the point remains the same. This is a two-pronged lesson: one, you want something, and the opportunity''s fallen into yourp, soget it. Two¡­" she grabbed Spiritomb''s keystone again. "Better get everything off your chest before meeting your own ghost. What were yourst few interactions with Grace like?" Cecilia sighed. Hiding from her in this very building, awkwardness beyond relief in that item store, and then a shouting match in Canve. "Not good," Cynthia guessed. "It makes your job in a few weeks harder if you have nothing but painful memories to remember recently and the good is further away." The Unovan slumped in her seat, convinced, but notready. "Here''s the thing. I dislike people who believe events are set in stone. That the world is rigid and their fate is sealed and that nothing they do can change it." Ah. That must have been what that re had meant when she''d asked if Cecilia was a fatalist. "You''re acting as if you''ve already lost in all of the ways that matter." "I''m not¡ª" "You are. That kind of thinking is a self-fulfilling prophecy." Cynthia leaned back in her chair and rested her head on a loose fist. Golden curls of messy hair got in Togekiss'' face. "Sorry if I''m being harsh on you, I just want you to make use of this opportunity, becauseit isan opportunity, not just a risk." Yes, itwasa risk. A risk to be unmade. But she was right. One could avoid Grace to heal without getting into a fit of anxiety every time she was mentioned. The thought of facing her was still a haunting one, but it was¡­ "There you go," Cynthia said. "Now you get it." Cecilia felt her lips curving. "Yes. Yes, I do." ¡ª "...oring the drama, could be anyone''s game. I mean, both of these trainers have radically changed their styles recently, seemingly to a lot of sess. They''ve shown themselves capable of reaching the knock-out stages in their first year! Granted, there are more than them. Barry Lane, Lauren Goodwill¡­"Goald listed more names, some of them I hadn''t heard about."It''s a shame the bombings cut so many first years'' Circuits short! Before we go into details about their Pokemon and each of their capabilities, Denzel, what do you think about this battle?" My best friend looked in his element without a shred of nervousness to his tall frame."I mean again, right? Everyone keeps talking about the low odds of this matchup, but for the results, I think it really depends on who manages to snag a switch advantage early and who presses that into real material gains¡­"Denzel kept droning about what he thought the battle might look like in ways that were so rigid I could have wept. It annoyed me, so I decided I''d stop listening to the livestream for now and maybe get back to itter. I closed myptop and stretched; the grass prickled the bottom of my legs as I observed my Pokemon do some light training in the distance. I had to remind Sweetheart that it wouldremainlight every five minutes, or she always started going crazy and I was sure Cassianus didn''t want to get pelted with Dark Pulses. Other than Honey, Princess, and Sunshine, they were all near the cliffs save for Mimi, who was napping on myptop. The news of theing battle had me somewhat anxious, but calmer than I had any right to be. My mind wasn''t racing about what I''d say or do, or how I''d perform, or if I even deserved to win. Instead, I had the jitters one would have before any important battle. Maylene and Emilia were more nervous than I was! It was difficult to believe that in two days we''d be fighting. I''d thought about a pep talk with my team, but they already knew what was at stake, and this wasn''t as important to them as this was to me. For Sunshine or Buddy, for example, this would just be another battle. The difference, however, was that theyknewhow much this mattered to me. The day since the announcement had been spent studying Cecilia''s new style and workshopping my own strategy with my family. I''d stayed away beforehand because it hadn''t felt¡­ proper to check up on how her battles had been doing. The only time I''d seen her enjoy herself as close to that much in a battle was during our first fight with Chase and Denzel in Hearthome. I was d it had worked out for her and happier that Temperance had taught her so much in such a short amount of time. Outside of actual Pokemon training, I was confident I would have beaten Cecilia from two months ago with a decent performance. Today was a different story; there wasa lotto worry about and keep track of now that her Pokemon were so versatile. Marley had offered to help me train, but other than general advice, I''d refused¡ªnot because I didn''t want to win, but because no one else could interfere. This was going to beourbattle. There would be no meddling, no one influencing the decisions I took. "I guess the break''s done," I whispered to myself. With renewed vigor, I pressed on, ying video after video, looking within every frame, every nook and cranny I could find. The more informed I was, the more I''d know how to approach this entire fight. I was not going toe in a silly costume¡ªshe was owed more than that¡ªbut I still needed to decide exactly what narrative to take. It was already taking shape within the back of my mind, and if¡ªifI went with this, I just hoped it wouldn''te off as too pretentious. To Cecilia, not the audience. I didn''t give a crap about the audience. Less than forty-eight hours remained until the battle. I''d better make good use of them. ¡ª And I did. Time with my friends was put to the wayside these past few days, and although I still made time for Maylene, it was less than I''d wanted to have. Sometimes I wished there were more than twenty-four hours in a day. There was a certain vibration in the air¡ªa constantly beating drum hammering against my skin as the fated hour approached. I felt ready, or as ready as one could be considering the circumstances. But that was only for the battle itself. The knock-out stage functioned differently not only in its rules, but in every sh''s importance.Thiswas when the majority of the viewers would tune in outside of the Lily, when so many battles would stop happening simultaneously. With fewer battles to cover, the media could zero in on the mostpelling shes andunch interviews on a massive scale. I was no stranger to attention after my time with Poketch, but that didn''t make it any less aggravating. They were pushing a narrative now¡ªspinning our old rtionship into drama to juice their ratings. Despite wanting to tell them to screw off, I was all smiles when what felt like the fiftieth microphone was shoved into my face on my way to the stadium. "Ms. Pastel! Ms. Pastel!" a freckled, round-faced woman called out. "I''m Regina with the Hearthome Herald!" She looked a tad nervous. Her eyes didn''t know where to look and her hand was shaking a little¡ªwas it because Maylene was with me? "Could you answer a few questions about the battle if you''d like?" And to think that Craig would set up literal press conferences for these. I gave her a smile and nodded, gazing at the massive camera her colleague carried on his shoulder. He was tall too, assuring that he''d tower over the masses to get a good shot of whatever was needed. "Sure thing, but please keep it short. I wouldn''t want to bete." "Thank you! And of course!" she practically squealed. "Now, plenty ofworks have asked you about how you feel and what you expect, but we''d like to know what you expect from this battle? Besides a simple victory, of course." There was no way to delve deep into this question without unraveling all of our history, so I decided to keep the answer simple. "Battling is my passion¡ªthere really isn''t anything else that makes me feel the way this sport does," I said. "So what I really want for today is for the both of us toe out of this satisfied no matter the result." It was a bit of a cop-out, PR answer, but it was the honest truth. A win or a loss here was secondary¡ªthis was my truest of goals. A few more questions followed, the most notable of which was the reporter asking me what I thought of Hearthome and if I''d ever decide to spend more time there before my departure to Unova. She was probably looking to boost her city''s reputation with my words, which was somewhat surreal, even after all of the fame. "For our final question," the reporter said, "if you had one thing you wanted to tell your fans ahead of this pivotal moment, what would it be?" I paused for a second, hand reaching at Mimi around my wrist. "I''d tell them that I''m happy they stuck around for so long, through thick and thin." My fist clenched. I was a murderer, violent, crazed, and entric, but they still remained. Despite us not interacting as much as we could have, I appreciated them. A legacy was what I wanted to leave behind. "And that I''m going to etch this battle into Conference history." The reporter seemed to like that line¡ªitwouldmake a good headline, wouldn''t it? The live feed was cut off soon afterward, and I finally allowed myself to rx, even if I still had an approachable look about me. "Your opponent has been rather silent and is rather difficult to approach, so we appreciate your cooperation! If only she was like you¡­" Regina trailed off. My smile twitched, but the moment I opened my mouth, I felt Maylene''s hand gently grab mine. She''d been sidelined in a lot of these interviews, so I felt somewhat bad for her, but she''d decided to brave them anyway to support me for as long as possible before we had to go our separate ways. She''d be cheering me on as a spectator soon enough, but her presence was a blessing. Instead of making a scene wanting to say that neither Regina or any newswork was owed anything, we moved on toward the towering stadium. I didn''t take any more interviews after that. "You okay?" she asked in a low voice. The fact that she was still holding onto my hand with so many people around was a testament to how much she''d been worrying. "Your body feels tense." There was an unsavory joke to be made here but now wasn''t the time. "A little. This is important." I rolled my shoulders, trying to unloosen the metaphorical knots in them. "I just want to be standing on that tform already." Maylene let out a soft chuckle. "At least you''re eager." A pause. "I''m looking forward to it too, you know?" "Hm?" "To hear what you both have to say," she added. The stadium loomed ahead, a monolith of steel and ss that seemed to swallow the sky. Its sleek, curved walls reflected the overcast light, casting distorted images of the crowds gathering below. Massive digital screens wrapped around the upper levels, shing highlights of both Cecilia and my earlier group stage battles, and asionally our faces, including my horrid trainer ID picture I took at the start of the year in Sandgem. Unburned, innocent, and clearly so, so nervous. Strangely enough, even if the option was avable for a fee that was honestly paltry, I''d never wanted to change it. It felt like looking at a time capsule, the key to an easier time, which was the energy I would need to channel soon. Stepping inside and getting through the maelstrom of people at the entrance, I met my friends in one of the halls leading to the bleachers.Everyonewas here¡ªeven Louis hade around for the day, though from what I knew he''d stopped by to see Cecilia first. My parents too, even if they were a little separated from the group due to the age gap. Marley seemed to be talking to them a bunch, though. Lauren was off to the side with her headphones scrolling through her phone, most likely listening to music. Mira was chatting and catching up with Denzel, Pauline, and Emi¡ªseeing her and Pauline talk amicably was a sight I would have thought impossible a few months ago. They all had words to say, whether that be good luck, or quiet reassurances that were honestly quite wee. Denzel pped me on the shoulder with that familiar, easy grin, though there was something steadier behind it this time¡ªan understanding of what this moment meant. Mira''s enthusiasm was like a spark, practically vibrating with energy as she rattled off encouragements so fast they blended together. Lauren nodded in the distance with a discrete smile. Pauline offered a quick nod, sharp and confident, her eyes carrying a fire that saidwin, because I know you can, not out of a desire to see Cecilia crushed, but out of genuine support.My parents gave me a warm hug and both said they wereproud of me. The support made my heart swell. Yes, this wasmyfight, but having people at your back was never unnoticed. Cecilia didn''t have all of this support. She had Louis and Chase¡ªbut I was sure something must have felt like it was missing. Twenty minutes spent chatting, and it was time to go. Maylene cupped my cheek and whispered "go out there and have fun," in my ear, and I pecked her on the face quickly before running off. Having all been built or renovated after the Final War, most of the League''s stadiums had a simr inneryout despite minor differences like size or their outeryer. Where I was led by this League Trainer wasn''t where I was ustomed to, but a shorter path that would lead to, ording to them, a different waiting room. The halls quickly thinned, and soon enough it was just us two. The distant roar of the expectant crowd faded into a dull hum behind thick concrete walls. Each step echoed faintly against the sterile, polished floors¡ªan empty rhythm that felt louder with every turn we took. Then, a sliding door. Before entering, he fitted me with the usualpel microphone. "Now remember," he said, "you''ve got to walk out together." "Huh?" He opened the door to a spacious lounge filled withfortable-looking couches, snacks, and drinks lining the counters. My eyes darted toward the only other individual in the room. Cecilia hade dressed quite simply. Her tunic was loose and a dark gray while her trousers were flexible, a dark charcoal with reinforced stitching along the knees and sides. Her dark boots were the most worn part of her attire almost in an artificial way¡ªlike how you could sometimes tell if someone had ripped their jeans on purpose or not. On her face was eyeliner with sharp, geometric shapes around the eyes¡ªlike winged tips that stretched farther than usual along with simple, bold golden eyeshadow. Her white eyes widened a smidge when she looked at me. I was, after all, wearing what I''d had on the day we met¡ªtrulymet. Floaroma. Baggy jeans and a wooly blue t-shirt the color of the sky. My hair tied in a ponytail from my run that very morning. Cecilia dipped her head, greeted me with a simple, smooth ''good morning'', and grabbed a pack of cookies to munch on. Barely given enough time to think, the League Trainer ushered me inside. My legs felt a little stiff, but I managed to sit down on to closest couch, remaining in silence as the seconds passed by and the League Trainer left. How had I missed this? When I''d watched the Conference in my childhood in the knock-out stages, the two trainers had alwayse out together, waving at the spectators for a bit before splitting up and walking toward their respective tforms. There was probably an email or message I''d gotten I hadn''t paid attention to because of how engrossed I''d been in nning. Cecilia didn''t seem surprised at all. I silently gulped and started to slowly rx. The room had a strange physicality to it. It wasn''t just tension, though that was there, thick and undeniable. Awkwardness, maybe, but something else lurked beneath it. Anticipation, perhaps. Whatever it was, it clung to the air like smoke¡ªdense, lingering, something you could almost reach out and tear away. This wasn''t like in the item store; there would be weight behind every word spoken before this fight. It was she who broke the silence. "How are the others?" Cecilia asked. "Oh. They''re doing good; they''re very excited, obviously." I didn''t stumble over my words. It was strangely normal. I briefly went over each member of our old group. It was awkward small talk, but it was something, even if I felt like this would be so much easier in a Pokemon battle. "Is Chase around?" "He''s finally taken a break from non-stop work and is somewhere in the stands. Heined about how much of a pain in the ass it was to navigate the ind with so many people, but he managed." "He does usually manage," I repeated with a few nods. "It''s a wonderful thing, to have his drive and spirit. I hope I channel some of that today." She crossed her legs. "Are you nervous?" "Kinda. You?" "Deathly so. I feel like my body''s going to explode," sheughed softly. "But I''m looking forward to it." I mirrored her smile. "So am I." An rm red above, telling us that it was time to get going. We stood together side by side as a timer counted down above the door from thirty. "Remember when you''d juste back from Lakhutia and we explored the ind together?" Cecilia reminisced, stretching and cracking each finger. I touched the Pokeballs at my hip. "Hmhm," I softly said. "We found a stadium much like this one, didn''t we? I wish it was the same one." "That''s just like you." "But I remember that promise," I whispered. "I always remember." The doors swung open. A wall of sound crashed over us¡ªcheers roaring, relentless, and deafening. We both smiled, raising our hands in unison to wave at the sea of faces beyond. Yes. I was ready. Just let me get to the battle already!
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